He hadn't known Jimmy was stopping by the house to see Lou while he was working at the telegraph office. It just so happened that one day, he got off for lunch and was coming to surprise Lou when he saw Jimmy leaving. Kid wondered how long that had been going on. He was so upset that he didn't go in but turned and went back to town. That evening he asked how her day had been. She just looked at him and said it was the same as usual. She never mentioned that Jimmy had been to see her. He noticed that lately when he got home, she wasn't waiting at the door of the old way station's house to greet him. There was a hint of indifference in her voice when they talked. He noticed that she no longer mentioned their future either. 'I know she still loves me, but I don't know if she is in love with me anymore,' Kid thought as he lay in his bed that night out in the old bunkhouse. He was too frightened to actually ask her if she no longer wanted to get married, not wanting to know the answer if she didn't. His heart was already breaking even though Lou was still with him. 'I think I need to talk to Rachel. She may know if something's going on with Lou and Jimmy since he boards with her,' he said to himself as he drifted off into an uneasy slumber. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ The next day, Kid sat at the table in Rachel's kitchen holding onto a cup of coffee so that she wouldn't see his hands tremble. "I just don't know what to do anymore Rachel. Lately, I can't seem to make Lou smile and when I get home, she's no longer waiting for me..." Rachel's heart went out to the Kid. Shaking her head in sorrow, she tried to find the words that would give him some comfort but they weren't coming. She and Jimmy had already gone several rounds about his visiting Lou while Kid was at work. She didn't think it was right that they were 'sneaking' behind the Kid's back. She told Jimmy that the two of them needed to sit down and talk to the Kid about their feelings, that if they continued on the way they were, one if not all of them were going to get hurt. "Kid, I think you need to talk with Lou. You need to find out how she's really feeling. I know that you wanted her to marry you and not wait, but something is making her hold back, keeping her from taking that step. Go home and talk with her, it's the only way you'll know where you stand." Kid finished his coffee and thanked her for the talk. "I think I will do just that, as long as Jimmy ain't there right now." Rachel smiled and told him, "I know that Jimmy and Teaspoon went to see Buck this morning about a horse and won't be back until this afternoon." She gave Kid a hug and hurried him on his way. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ "Kid!" Lou jumped as he stepped into the living room where she had been darning a shirt that was ripped. "What are you doing home at this time of day? You aren't sick are you?" she inquired setting the shirt down on her lap. Kid smiled at her and sat down in the chair across from hers. "I'm not sick. I just needed some time with you. There's been something I been meaning to talk to you about and thought this might be a good time..." "You're starting to worry me Kid. What's going on?" "That's what I was wondering Lou." She looked at him with weary eyes and wondered what he was getting at. "What do you mean Kid?" He got up and began to pace, not knowing the right words to say that wouldn't get her riled at him if his suspicions were wrong. "I'm not exactly sure Lou. You just seem different lately, something's changed and I don't know what it is. Have I done anything to make you mad or is there something I need to do that I haven't been doing?" Lou grimaced and mentioned, "If I was mad you'd know it Kid." He had to smile at that. "I guess you're right about that. Ain't no mistaking when you're riled. It's just you seem unhappy these days. You hardly smile, you hardly laugh. I just want to know what is going on with you, with us..." Lou had known this day was coming and she dreaded having to cause Kid any hurt but she wouldn't lie. It wasn't fair to him and it wasn't fair to her. "Oh, Kid. I'm so sorry. What can I say that won't hurt you? You're right. Things have changed. My feelings have changed. I didn't know how to tell you, how to let you know what I was feeling." She started crying as she saw the crestfallen look that crossed Kid's face as he dropped back into the chair. "You don't love me anymore do you, Lou?" he asked with a shaky voice, knowing what her reply would be. She hung her head and whispered, "No Kid, not like I did before. I still love you, but it isn't the same kind of love we shared in the beginning." He let out the breath he was holding. "There's no chance for us is there?" Looking over at him, Lou shook her head 'no.' "Looks like this is the end for us," he told her as he went to stare out the window. "I guess it is," Lou murmured then told him, "I'll leave before you get back this evening, it's only right since you bought this house for us, for when we got married. Why make it any more difficult than it's gonna be by being here to cause us both more pain." "Where will you go?" he asked. "I'll go to Rachel's for now." "That figure's," Kid muttered under his breath. Opening the door, he paused and turned back to look at her one last time. "I just have to know, it's Jimmy isn't it? He's the reason everything's changed, isn't he?" When she didn't answer he said, "It's always been Jimmy, hasn't it?" He turned and left closing the door softly behind him. Drop me a note and let me know what you thought!