Lou was becoming desperate. The money she owed to the bank on the house and the bill she had over at the mercantile was nearing the limit that the owner was willing to let her charge. "Damn you Kid!" Lou cried out loud in the empty house. "Why did you leave this all on my shoulders? Why?" At first things hadn't been too bad for her when Kid left to fight for Virginia. She had refused to leave everything and everyone she had known to move to a place that was going to be right in the middle of the fighting. So, Kid went to the bank and took out a loan for a small house for her to live in while he was gone. At first, money trickled in from Kid whenever he received pay, but that had stopped long ago. Kid wrote that no one was getting pay and things were tough for him on his end and she would have to just do the best she could. The war had been over for some time now and she still hadn't heard from him, nor had she any word that he'd perished in battle. In the beginning, she had taken in laundry for a small fee and did some sewing, but like her, most people didn't have much money to spare and the work had dwindled. Slamming the door to the near empty pantry, Lou let out a disgusted, "Do your best...ha!" Her neighbor, an elderly widow had been to visit earlier in the day and brought Lou her weekly paper to read since she had finished with it. As Lou passed the table where it lay, a headline caught her attention. It read: "The James Gang Strikes Again". Sitting down to read about Jesse James, who had lived with the 'family' in Rock Creek for a time when the Pony Express ran, a wild idea popped into her head when she read, "The amount stated by the railroad as having been stolen by the James Gang was $30,000." Lou's heart began to race as she set the paper down on the table. Not giving herself a chance to talk herself out of what she was about to do, Lou raced up the stairs, changed into her old Express clothing, packed a bag and ran out of the house. Lou didn't think about what she was doing, only that if it saved her home and kept her from starving, it would be worth it in the end. It took a day and a half of hard riding to reach the house where the James family lived. When she knocked on the front door, a young girl answered it. "Hello, I'm looking for Jesse. Would he be here by any chance?" Lou asked the wide-eyed beauty. "Who are you?" the child asked in a quiet, polite voice. "I'm an old friend of Jesse's. My name is Lou McCloud. Is he here?" With a little shake of her head, the girl told her, "No." "Oh. Do you know where I can find him? I really need to talk to him, it's very important that I do." "No one knows where Jesse or Frank are. Sorry." The girl closed the door, dashing any hope Lou had of finding a solution to her problems. As she gathered her horse's reins and was about to swing herself up on the horse, movement out of the corner of her eye caught her attention. Someone was there, watching her through the bush at the side of the house. "Lou? Is that really you?" a familiar voice called out softly from within the leaves. Dropping the reins, Lou peered into the branches, not able to see who exactly was calling her. The voice had a familiar ring to it, so she took a chance and called out, "Jesse? Is that you?" When the man stepped out into the open, she could see the young boy who she had last seen had grown into a handsome, young man. "It is you! What on earth are you doing hiding in the bushes?" Jesse waved her over to where he was standing, still partially hidden. "Can't be to careful, Lou. Them damn Pinkertons are always comin' around tryin' to nab me." As he led Lou around the back of the house, Jesse asked, "So what are you doin' here Lou? I thought you and Kid left for Virginia at the start of the war." Jesse turned to look at his old friend before he asked, "Kid ain't dead is he Lou?" Lou was solemn when she spoke, "I don't know Jesse. I haven't heard a word from him in ages and he ain't come back yet." Jesse put a comforting arm around her and begged her not to cry. "Please, Lou. Everything will work out. You'll see..." "I'll try not to cry Jesse, it's just that everything's going wrong...I can't find work, there's no money, no food, payment's are late on the house and I have no idea if Kid is alive or not!" she whispered, desperately. Opening the back door of the house, Jesse looked around once more, making sure they weren't being spied upon and ushered his old friend into the kitchen, which was deserted. As Jesse asked her to sit at the kitchen table, she continued, "That's why I came to see you Jesse. I need your help. I want to join you and Frank." Jesse's eyes shot up in surprise but before he could speak she mentioned, "You know I can ride and shoot Jesse. I can do whatever you tell me too. Please," she begged. Leaning back in the chair, Jesse pondered her request as he ran his hands through his hair. "It ain't up to just me Lou. If it were, I'd let you ride in a heartbeat, you know that..." Seeing Lou's crestfallen face, Jesse's heart did a funny little dance, reminding him that not too many years ago, he fancied himself in love with her. "Let me talk to Frank. Why don't you bring your things in and I'll introduce you to the rest of the family and then I'll go find him." Lou couldn't help but smile as she jumped up and hugged the one man she felt might be able to help her. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ The newcomers that Frank, Jesse and Lou met up with sat upon their mounts, eyeing her warily. "I don't like it Jesse," Cole Younger said watching Lou as she and Frank talked quietly. "We don't need nobody else's help. Me and Jim and the others have always been enough." Jesse was getting tired of Cole's complaints. "No one said we needed help." "Than why are you letting someone else in on this train job and why a woman? This ain't no place for a female Jesse!" Cole hissed, having not liked Lou on sight. "It's not your call Cole. Me and Frank, we say Lou is going and that's that. If you don't like it, you can leave. We can do it without you." The thought of missing out on what would amount to a lot of money with this train robbery was too tempting for Cole to pass up, so he grumbled, "Whatever you say Jesse. That don't mean I have to like it. How do I know she can be trusted?" Not liking the insinuation that his and Frank's trust in Lou could be misplaced, Jesse snarled, "Frank and I trust her. That's all you need to know!" Turning his horse away from Cole, Jesse called out, "Let's ride!" (And this is how Lou joined Jesse in becoming an outlaw...) Drop me a note and let me know what you thought!