“Cole, we ain’t gonna argue about this again. Frank and I have told ya, Lou is ridin’ with us and that’s that!” Jesse snarled, tired of hearing Cole’s objections to the female’s inclusion in the gang. Cole’s eyes narrowed, anger riling up in his gut. For weeks now he had been trying to dissuade the James brothers from letting the woman ride with them. He felt she would be trouble for them, but would they listen? No, instead they seemed to see her as their equal in the gang, even above him and his brothers who had been with them long before Lou showed up. Opening the door for Cole to leave, Jesse looked him in the eye. “And you’d best not make trouble for her. If I hear anyone talkin’ that Lou McCloud is ridin’ with the James-Younger gang, I’ll be comin’ for you.” He said this with such a calm and level voice; Cole was shaken but wouldn’t let Jesse know it. One thing Cole knew was if Jesse said he’d be comin’ for you, you’d best have your affairs in order. Climbing on his horse, Cole rode away from the James farm formulating a plan on how to get ride of the woman. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ With the money from the Hughes and Wasson Bank robbery, Lou had been able to go home and pay off the money owed on the house and the owner of the store for what she’d charged on account. Having the majority of her share of the money leftover, she decided to buy a few items that would be considered frivolous by many others. In nearby Liberty, she purchased a new pair of trousers and a warm woolen jacket for next winter. Her boots were old and worn so she had a new pair made to fit her diminutive feet. Throwing a longing glance in the window of the local dress shop, she hurried inside on the spur of the moment. Just off to the side of the window was the most beautiful shade of sky-blue confection she had ever seen. “May I help you?” a neatly dressed woman asked coming up to where Lou stood, fingering the soft, material. “Umm, yes,” she said feeling a bit foolish for looking at the dress when she had more pressing matters to think about. “I’d like to try this on, if you don’t mind,” she asked the woman before she could talk herself into leaving. “Right this way, ma’am. This color will look beautiful on you and it’s just perfect for the coming winter.” The woman led Lou into a changing area and left her to try the dress on in private. Once Lou had the last button closed, she stepped back out into the shop to see how she looked in the trio of mirrors for patrons use. She felt so beautiful in the dress. The color did suit her and it fit like a glove. Smiling, she thought back to the blue dress Jimmy had bought her so long ago. Turning to the woman, Lou said, “I’ll take it! Do you mind if I wear it?” The woman smiled knowingly. “Not at all. I must say you chose a wonderful color for you. Is there anything else I can help you with today?” As Lou paid for her purchase she admitted, “This is a splurge as it is. But when I do need anything else, I will be sure to come back.” Gathering her other clothing from the changing room, Lou headed out the door and loaded her purchases in the wagon nearby. Upon arriving home, Lou took her purchases into the house before heading out to unhitch the horses. Entering the barn, Lou was talking quietly to the horse, promising an extra ration of feed as a treat when sudden movement out of the corner of her eye startled her. Quickly reaching for her gun, she remembered that she had left her gun and holster in the house with the discarded clothing. Positioning the horse between her and the unknown assailant, Lou took a step back towards the door. “Why don’t you look all pretty gussied up? To bad the rest of the boys couldn’t see you,” sneered a voice that she knew well. “What are you doing here Cole? Where’s Jesse?” she asked anger replacing the fear she first felt when she realized she wasn’t alone in the barn. “He ain’t here,” came his reply. Lou’s eyes narrowed as she watched him, trying to gauge his mood. “Like I asked, what are you doing here Cole?” When he said nothing, she continued, “Since we both know I’m not your favorite person, this can’t be a social call. What do you want?” He gave her a sardonic grin before speaking. “I know that Jesse and Frank feel it’s fine for you to ride with us, but me and the others, we don’t feel the same. We just wanted you to think about quitting. What we do is not the life for some dainty female,” Cole said with a searing look. Not to be daunted, Lou stood up taller, refusing to be dictated by the oversized outlaw. “I’m sorry you feel that way Cole, but it isn’t up to you whether I ride or not. I’m not going to let you intimidate me into leaving the gang either. I can ride and shoot better than you and you know it. Maybe that’s part of your problem, you can’t handle a woman being better than you. Deal with it, ‘cause I’m not going anywhere!” Fuming at her words, Cole grabbed his horse’s reins and led the animal towards the door. “This ain’t the end of it, you hear?” he threatened and swung up on the horse. Throwing her a look so full of hate, it made Lou cringe; Cole spurred his horse out of the yard. As she watched his departure with relief, Lou decided she’d better keep on guard when around Cole and his brothers, in case they decided to do something about her riding with them on jobs. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Spring turned into summer and then came fall and winter, which passed by quietly. Jesse had been by a few times to see how Lou was faring and if she needed anything. Other than that, she hadn’t seen him or any of the others for months. It was the middle of March when Lou heard the sound of horse’s hoofs on the lane leading to her farmhouse. Putting her laundry basket aside, Lou went to stand on the front porch. Hand resting gently on her gun, she waited as horse and rider finally came into view. Letting out the breath she had been holding, Lou greeted Jesse with a welcoming yell. “Been a while Jesse,” she smiled, watching him loop his horses reins on a bush near the steps. “Hey, Lou. The place looks good. You’ve been working hard.” Glad to know someone noticed her efforts, she grinned. “What brings you out this way?” she inquired, leading him into the house where in the kitchen she proceeded to pour them both a steaming cup of coffee. Unbuttoning his jacket, Jesse took a sip of the hot brew before telling her what was on his mind. “Me and some of the boys are heading to Kentucky. I was wantin’ to know if you’d like to go with?” “What’s in Kentucky?” she inquired, curious as to what would take him so far from home. “Well, we’re heading to a little place called Russellville. There’s a nice little bank that we hear has a tidy sum of money in it and we’re gonna withdraw some of it.” Jesse smirked at his play of words and watched as Lou digested his offer. “So, are you in?” he asked after several minutes. Holding out her hand, Lou nodded as Jesse took her hand in his and shook it. “Great! How soon can you be ready to ride? We’re gonna take the train into Kentucky and then go by horse which we got waiting nearby.” “If you want me to go with you right now, I can be ready in about twenty minutes. Good thing that I don’t keep livestock around other than my horse so no one has to be around to take care of them when I’m gone…” she told Jesse as she started upstairs to change and throw a few belongings in her saddlebags. “Hey, Lou. I’m gonna go saddle your horse and secure the barn for ya. I’ll meet ya out front,” he called. A muffled, “Fine,” could be heard as he opened the door to go outside. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ “Lou, I’d like you to meet George Shepard and his brother Oliver. This one here on the far side is John Jarrette and you know Cole already. Lou shook hands with the three men Frank was introducing her to as Jesse came up to them with the train tickets. “Now remember, act like we don’t know each other. That way no one should take notice of us if we don’t bring attention to ourselves,” he told everyone as he handed them their ticket. “When we get off, just do as we discussed.” Down the track the train whistle blew as the engine came around a bend, scattering the band of outlaws among the waiting passengers. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Lou had taken out a book shortly after boarding the passenger car. She had read about a chapter when she got the feeling that she was being watched. Trying not to make it obvious, she yawned, stretched out her leg, rubbing a kink out of it and looked slowly around at the others in the car. No one seemed to paying her mind. That is until her eyes met with Cole Younger’s. She knew immediately that he had been the one watching her. The look in his eyes was full of contempt, telling her how much he disliked her. Noticing her staring at him, he smiled slightly and nodded his head before turning to look out the window at the passing countryside. As Lou opened her book up again, she couldn’t help wondering what it was she had done to cause such hate in the man across the isle a few seats back. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ “If things go bad, do what you have to do to get away. Don’t let ‘em catch ya,” Jesse ordered before opening the door of the Nimrod Long Banking Company. There were only a few patrons in the bank as the outlaws rushed in. All held guns cocked and ready as Jesse said loudly, “I’d like to make a withdrawal.” His gun pointed at the chest of the teller in the window at the counter. The man’s hands shot up in the air and he was visibly shaking, as Jesse demanded that the teller start putting money into one of the bags he’d put on the counter. “Just…just don’t shoot. Please…” the teller stuttered as one of the men went behind the counter and barged through the door of Nimrod Long, the bank’s owner. The others could hear yelling coming from the room as Cole forced an aging man through the door. “You, open the safe!” Cole ordered, sticking the barrel of his gun in the man’s back and giving him a little push. Frank looked to Lou who was the closest to the two men and said, “Go help get the money when he opens it.” She hurried to the banker’s side, not speaking and keeping her head tilted down so that he couldn’t get a good view of her face. When the banker finally opened the safe, Lou held a bag open for him to put the stacks of money in. Her back was to Cole and the others so she never noticed when Cole’s gun shifted towards her. The teller had been standing hands in the air again after handing Jesse two bags of money and was watching his boss. His indrawn breath alerted Jesse and Frank that something wasn’t right. They turned just in time to see the bank owner pull a small pistol from his jacket pocket and swing towards Cole. Jesse fired before the man got off a shot and fell to the floor in a heap. As Cole was about to pull the trigger, second shot rang in the air causing Cole’s gun to fly from his hand. Cole stood in disbelief, staring at his hand where his gun had been just a moment ago as Jesse flew at him. Grabbing Cole’s collar, Jesse stood with his face mere inches from the Cole’s. “If you ever try something like that again Cole, I’ll kill you myself,” Jesse growled, letting the man go. Cole stepped back as Frank and John demanded to know what Cole had done. “He wasn’t aiming at the banker!” Jesse hissed, grabbing a bag from Lou and hurrying her out the front door of the bank. The outlaws rode out of town in a cloud of dust as a cry of “The bank’s been robbed!” sounded behind them. About an hour out of town, the band stopped at a deserted barn on a run down farm. Jumping off his horse, Jesse stomped towards where Cole stood next to Oliver. “What the hell do you think you were doing back there Cole?” he demanded, fists curled in anger. With an air of indifference, Cole answered, “I don’t know what you’re talking about Jesse.” “Like hell you don’t. You was gonna shoot Lou. I saw ya so don’t try lying to me! If you ever try anything like that again, I’ll forget that we’re cousins and I’ll shoot you myself.” Before Cole could say a word, Jesse turned and strode into the barn with Lou and George following. Frank watched as Cole fumed, waiting outside with him and Oliver as John carried a saddlebag into the barn after the others. “Cole, Jesse and I told you Lou stays. If you don’t like that, you can leave. Don’t push Jesse on this issue. She’s his family too,” Frank warned and went in to help count the money they’d just taken. After dividing up the fourteen thousand that they’d just lifted, the outlaws separated and went their own way, hoping to avoid capture by the posse they were sure would be out looking for them. Jesse rode with Lou, so he could watch over her and keep her safe on her trip home. He was worried about the incident with Cole and told her as much. “I don’t know what the problem is, Lou, but you need to keep an eye on Cole. I don’t like what I saw today. If that teller didn’t make a noise, you might have gotten shot and it would have looked like an accident. I’ll talk to Cole again, but watch your back, okay?” Lou had been shaken when she realized that Jesse had shot Cole’s gun out of his hand to stop him from shooting her. Until that point she hadn’t believed Cole would actually do anything other than try to intimidate her into leaving the gang. “Don’t worry Jesse. There won’t be a repeat of today, that’s for sure. I just can’t promise I won’t shoot him, even if he is your cousin Jesse, if he draws a gun on me again…” she admitted, looking over at her friend. “I know you’d do it Lou, if he was stupid enough to try again. I just don’t think Cole knows it.”

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