Jimmy looked over at Kid, grinning as he pointed to the weather vane on top of the barn and took aim. The metal spun around multiple times before part of the arrow on it fell off from where Jimmy had shot it. Kid pointed to the rope, holding a bale of hay that was waiting to be pulled into the loft. With one shot, he dropped the bale. They'd been carrying on like that for the last half hour, when Lou came up along side them, shaking her head. "If you two are through seeing whose manhood is larger, Teaspoon wants you both out back by the well. Seems there's no water and Emma's complaining." Kid blushed at her comparison of his and Jimmy's friendly competition on who was the better shot. He didn't think females should be saying such things. Jimmy just laughed and holstered his gun. Kid ran to catch up with Lou as she headed towards the bunkhouse. "We were just seeing who was the best shot, Lou..." "I know what you was doing Kid. We all know and we're sick and tired of this competition you got going," she stopped on the top step and turned towards the two young men. With a twinkle of mischievousness in her eye, she added offhandedly, "'Sides, I bet Ike has the biggest and Cody the smallest. Just don't you dare tell Cody that I told you that or he's like to come in and whip it out just to prove me wrong." Jimmy busted out laughing and Kid didn't know where to look at her statement as she disappeared inside where they could hear Emma complaining that there was still no water. Before they received the threat of no dinner, the two men hurried to the well site, where the others where already dirty from digging, trying to rectify the problem. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Not knowing when the water problem would be taken care of, Emma went back to her house to finish some chores she had to do. "Let me know when the water's working again, will you Lou?" she asked as she was leaving the bunkhouse. "I've got a run coming up soon, but if it's working before then, I'll let you know." Close to a half hour later, Lou could hear the boys coming towards the bunkhouse. 'Must have got the problem taken care of,' she thought getting off her bunk to go check so she could give Emma a holler. Lou had just sat down at the table again when in stomped her fellow riders. With all the noise they were making tramping into the bunkhouse, Lou wondered what was going on. Ike came prancing in, his chest all puffed out and arms flexed wearing the largest grin she had ever seen on him. Her eyes narrowed when she caught sight of Kid's head down, purposely avoiding her glare and Jimmy coming in behind him with a grin that said he'd been up to something. Buck was just silent, but grinning. "Tell me you didn't tell them!" Lou blurted out as she watched Ike strut around the bunkhouse like a rooster in the henhouse. Kid still wouldn't meet her gaze and was keeping to the other side of the room out of her reach. Jimmy sat down at the end of the table away from her. "You didn't think we'd keep it all to ourselves now, did you Lou?" he smirked. Lou was infuriated with the both Kid and Jimmy. 'What nerve of them telling the others.' She stood up and grabbed her things off her bunk and turned, yelling at them all, "I can't believe how cocky you men are. You drive me insane do you know that? Who cares...well you know what I'm talking about! I sure don't!" And with that, she stomped out of the bunkhouse. 'We'll see about that,' Jimmy thought watching her with a devilish look in his eye, hearing her words as a challenge that he was interested in accepting. "You were right about Cody too, Lou," Jimmy yelled out to her retreating figure, receiving a punch from a blushing Kid. When she heard that, she felt like sinking into the ground. It wasn't until Jimmy yelled out; that she realized Cody hadn't come into the bunkhouse with the others. 'Oh, Lordy! Now I'm gonna have to deal with his bruised ego!" Grabbing the reins of Lightning, Lou quickly mounted her horse as the incoming rider entered the yard. She called out to Emma, who was taking laundry off the line, "Emma, the water's working again. See you in a couple of days!" "Ride safe Lou," Emma called as the rider from the east came into the yard handing off the mochila to Lou. As the door to the bunkhouse closed, Ike held out his hand demanding Jimmy pay him the two dollars he promised if he'd come into the bunkhouse and strut around like a rooster in front of Lou. A few minutes later, Cody entered, dripping water having been out back washing off some of the dirt from digging the well deeper. "What's so funny?" Cody asked. The other riders were laughing so hard, recalling the look of horror on Lou's face when she thought Jimmy and Kid had told some confidence, that they couldn't answer him. As she raced away from her home station, Lou couldn't help but wonder, 'Just how big is Ike?' Drop me a note and let me know what you thought!