By Kirsten Page
Copyright 1999
Once he had finished with his story, Teaspoon looked around at the others. Sadness clouded the room, and he would have given anything to be able to put an end to their misery, as well as his own. “There’s something else too,” Teaspoon continued, and everyone once again glanced his way, “Cole wasn’t telling me the truth about what happened.”
“What do you mean?” Came a chorus of replies.
“Just this, if he had tried to save her life, like he so claimed, there’s no way that he wouldn’t have known that Lou was a girl,” he finished.
The thought caused Kid to cringe......the first time he discovered that Lou was a girl, was in a similar situation. That made it hurt him even more.
Everyone around the room looked at each other. Jimmy tried to be logical about the situation, in spite of his overpowering emotions. “You think he had something to do with it?”
Teaspoon shrugged, “Could be, but then I don’t really see why. Anyone with any sense at all would know that she wouldn’t have been carrying anything that valuable.”
“And why would he have gone to all that trouble?” Buck questioned.
“That’s another thing that I’d like to find out,” Teaspoon continued.
Cole made his way into town. He wondered if his plan was going to work out this time. Somehow these boys seemed more determined and wouldn’t be as hard to fool as some of the other men that he had dealt with before. And he, who thought that he was an expert, began to doubt his own abilities.
He walked down the main street of Rock Creek, looking for any kind of trouble that he could find. Cole was just going to have to wait this one out and see if his plan was really going to work. If he played his cards just right, and luck was on his side, Teaspoon might be the first one to approach him about getting a job riding for the Express. After all, they are one rider short. He laughed to himself.
“Then I’m going, Teaspoon, and there’s nothing you can say that is going to stop me,” Kid said as he rose to his feet and pulled on his warmer shirt and jacket. If there was even a chance that Lou might still be alive out there, he was going to take it.
Jimmy stood up, “You can’t, Kid.”
Kid turned and shot him an angry look, “You mean I can’t go find Lou, work on the last glimmer of hope that I might have that she’s still alive! I’m sorry, I’m going.”
Shaking his head, Jimmy pulled on his warm coat and gathered a few things. His friend could be one of the most hot-headed people he’d ever met in his life. At the same time, he couldn’t help but admire the determination that Kid had. “That ain’t what I meant, Kid.”
Without looking back he asked, “Then what do you mean?”
Jimmy stepped forward, looked at Rachel who’s eyes were now somewhat hopeful, and then turned his attention back to Kid. “I meant that you can’t go alone.”
Kid looked at him, not having to say how grateful he was that he wouldn’t have to face this alone. He knew that Jimmy understood how he felt, and the love that he had for Louise. In fact, they both shared much of the same feelings.
Rachel stood up for the first time since the news was thrown at her. She took each of the boy’s hands, her own trembling at the touch. If Lou was out there somewhere, and still alive, she had complete confidence that they would find her. “You both be careful.”
“We will,” Jimmy assured her.
Cody, Buck, and Noah, both desperately wished that they could make this run alongside of their friends. They did, however, have a responsibility and duty to fulfill. Besides the fact that if anyone could find Lou, it would be those two.
“In the meantime, we’ll see what we can find out from Cole. His story just doesn’t add up, and there’s something about him that I just don’t trust.” Buck added, as he rose from his seat and turned his attention to Teaspoon. “You want us to go into town and question him further?”
“No,” Teaspoon said, “I’m going to do better than that. We’re going to offer Cole a job right here.”
Kid and Jimmy spoke all but two words on their ride through the afternoon. Neither one could openly speak their thoughts, it hurt too much. If this mission was a failure, and they found no trace of Lou, how would they press on from here?
Deep down, Jimmy knew where his feelings were. It hadn’t been that long ago that he and Lou had wrestled with some feelings, and he wasn’t convinced that they had still been resolved. Jimmy also knew that he would give his life if only he could remove the pain that he knew the man beside him was facing.
“Are we headed in the right direction?” Kid asked, his tone completely on track and to the point.
Jimmy surveyed his surroundings, “I don’t know where else it could be,” he paused, “But this sure seems like a strange way to send her, it must have been a pretty special document that she was supposed to deliver.”
Kid nodded in agreement, “Which means that whatever it was must have been pretty important. I just hope that this is where she really was.”
Lou looked around the room, she didn’t recognize where she was. She just knew that her surroundings were blurry and her head pounded with an unbearable pain. When she tried to sit up, there was no feeling in the lower half of her body. It was useless to try to get up and walk. She closed her eyes and her arms seemed to stiffen with each movement.
In the distance, she could hear faint voices. They were approaching closer and growing louder. Lou decided that it would be best to remain silent and fake sleep until she knew what it was that they wanted.
“I’m not asking, I’m telling you, Bryce, get rid of the rider!” Wayne snapped. This young boy that Cole was so insistent they ‘hire’ was turning out to be one of the biggest mistakes that he’d ever made. He didn’t know how to take orders, much less follow them.
Bryce fiddled with his own fingers, “I’m sorry, I’ve just never killed anyone before.”
Wayne towered over him, his expression clearly stating that if the youth didn’t comply with his orders anytime soon, he’d regret it. “DO IT!”
Nodding with wide eyes and trembling legs, he did as instructed and walked over to the lifeless form of Lou McCloud. Touching Lou's floppy arm that dangled over the edge of the bed, he scooped her limp body into his arms and proceeded to carry her outside.
“Don’t come back till he’s dead and buried.” The vicious man ordered as he slammed the door behind the boy. “And I mean DEAD!”
On to Chapter Four
