Starting Over

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Starting Over

Note: Jamie entered this story in the Kidnations first annual AU Contest where she placed second.

The Sandhills were always beautiful this time of year. Spring has always been his favorite season. When the grass just starts growing and the flowers are blooming. The colors are just amazing. Too bad he couldn’t appreciate it this year. The winter had been so hard on them. But spring always brings new life.
“Kid, why don’t you go run pastures and make sure we haven’t lost any more calves.”
“Sure Dad.”
“Get going. It looks like we could get some weather before the day is over.”
Kid welcomed the chance to get away from the yard. Some days it was just too hard to be there, he kept expecting her come out of the house to talk before he went anywhere.
“Kid, want some company?”
“Not today Jimmy, I’d kinda like to be alone.” He knew everything had been just as hard on Jimmy as it had him. She was gone and there was nothing they could do to bring her back.
One year earlier
“How was school this week boys?” Teaspoon was glad to see his sons pull into the place. Sometimes he wished they lived closer to town so the boys would be home more, but the land had been in their family for years.
“It was all right. Mrs. K gave us another big essay for Monday.” Kid didn’t mind the essay so much. He liked to write and Mrs. K was his favorite teacher.
“There’s a new girl at school. She’s beautiful. I think I’m going to ask her to the Spring Dance.” Jimmy didn’t care for school much. It was worth it though to meet girls.
Kid didn’t like hearing that Jimmy was going to ask the girl to the dance. He wanted to ask her, but he was too shy. She seems nice. Maybe he’d try to be her partner when they proofread their essays on Monday.
“Well, you boys better get changed and get your chores done. Mom will have dinner on the table soon.”
The boys ran into the house so they could get their chores done. The hour drive from town means they need to rush through their chores before dinner. It was much worse when the weather got bad, but it could be worse. They could be stuck in a city somewhere. If they had any choice, they’d never leave Nebraska.
“Hi boys! Come give me a hug. I’ve missed you.” Rachel told her sons that every Friday. It would be nice to live closer to town so the boys didn’t have to board, but she could never leave the farm.
“Hi Mom. What’s for dinner?”
“A surprise, now go get the chores done.” Rachel smiled as they rushed downstairs. They were growing up so fast. They’d be married and gone before she knew it. It was going to be hard enough to let Jimmy head off to college in the fall. At least he was only going to Hastings and he’d be home often. Kid would be around though. As much as she and Teaspoon tried to talk him into going to college, it never worked. All he wanted to do was be a farmer and take care of the land. He was so good with the animals. He’d make a wonderful vet if only he had the desire.
“Hi Honey. Those two sure did make a racket heading out to do chores. It’ll be so quiet when Jimmy leaves.” Teaspoon loved the boys like his own flesh and blood. Even though they’d been adopted, you could never tell by the way they all acted. It had been hard at first, but they had quickly become a family. Teaspoon and Rachel had gotten the boys when they were five years old. They had only intended to adopt one and Kid had been that one. He refused to leave Jimmy behind though. The two had been together and depended on each other for so long, they were brothers. You couldn’t take one without the other. Now his boys were growing up and it was going to be so hard to let them go.

Louise had had a very rough life. Her father had disappeared shortly after her sister was born, her mother died shortly after that and her siblings had just died that winter from pneumonia. After her siblings death, her aunt had decided that she couldn’t raise a teenager and told Louise she’d better find somewhere else to live. Louise couldn’t believe this woman who’d practically raised her was throwing her out. Life with Grandma would be better. Anything would be better than Omaha.
“Hi Lou-Lou. How was school?” The old nickname made Louise smile. Grandma was the only person that didn’t call her Louise.
“Good Grandma. How was your day?”
“Busy, I cleaned house, walked to get the mail and picked up some groceries. How about liver and onions for dinner?”
“Ew! I think I’ll just have a peanut butter sandwich. Enjoy your liver.”
As she headed to her room, she thought about how much her life had changed since she had moved to Bassett. She had become so relaxed and could almost behave like a normal teenager again. She needed to get going on her essay for Mrs. K. It was a long one and she wasn’t sure about how to set it up. “Damn, I knew I should’ve gotten that guy’s number. He seemed so nice and I’m sure he wouldn’t have minded helping me out.”

Cody always hated it when Kid and Jimmy went home for the weekend. He loved having his best friends around. Plus, Kid worked with him at his parents’ grocery store and he could get out of some of the work then. They were always busy on Saturdays. It seemed like everyone in town waited until then to get groceries.
“Billy, could you come and help ring?”
“Sure Mom. Where is everybody today?” It seemed like the only ones working today were he and his parents.
“Well, Charlie quit until the summer and Stacie went to Lincoln to visit her sister.”
“Excuse me, I was wondering if you were hiring?” Louise had been meaning to stop in here since she moved to town, but was too busy settling in to walk over.
“We sure are. Are you new in town?” Mrs. Cody hadn’t seen the girl and it’s a small enough town that a person knows everyone.
“I just moved in with my grandmother. I used to live in Omaha.”
“Who’s your grandmother?”
“Mrs. Boggs”
“Oh, she’s such a nice lady. Here’s the application, you can just drop it off when you’re finished.”
“Thank you very much.” Louise thought the boy at the register looked very familiar. He was from her English class. Maybe he could help her out. “Excuse me, Cody right?”
“That’s me. What can I do for you?” Cody had his eye on Louise since she first walked into Mrs. K’s classroom. He knew he didn’t have a chance though because both Kid and Jimmy were interested in her too. He’d learned it was best to just give up on a girl if Jimmy was interested. He hoped Kid would remember it too.
“I need some help with my essay for Mrs. Kalkowski.”
“Let me give you Kid’s phone number, he’s much better than I am at writing. By the way, you can just call her Mrs. K. It’s easier.” Cody jotted down the phone number and passed it to Louise. “See you Monday.”
“Bye Cody, thanks.” She couldn’t believe her luck. She’d gotten the cute boy’s phone number. When she got outside and looked at it, she thought there must be a mistake. There was a different area code. “It can’t hurt to try, I’ll call him this evening.”

It had been a long day. Teaspoon, Jimmy, Kid, and their friend, Buck, had been riding the pastures checking on the calves. Twelve hours on a horse got to be a little much. Katy was a great horse though and Kid enjoyed getting to spend the time riding her after being in town all week. Buck and Jimmy were heading to Burwell to a dance, but Kid just wanted to stay home and work on his essay.
“Kid, are you sure you don’t want to come with us. It’ll be fun.” Jimmy wished Kid would go with them. He wanted to spend some more time with his brother before he headed to college.
“Yeah, I’m sure. Have…”
“Kid, telephone. It’s Louise?” Rachel was shocked to hear a girl ask for Kid, but it’s about time!
“What’s she calling you for and how did she get the number?” Jimmy couldn’t believe the girl was calling Kid! He wanted to ask this girl out, but it looked like his brother had staked his claim already.
“I don’t know Jimmy, maybe it something for Mrs. K’s class. Have fun guys. I’ll talk to you later.” Kid didn’t want to go to the phone until Jimmy had left. He had heard Jimmy say that he was interested in the girl. Maybe if Kid got to know her first, he’d have a chance. “Hello”
“Hi Kid. My name is Louise McCloud. Billy Cody gave me your phone number because I asked him about the essay for Mrs. K.” Louise was so nervous. She had never had a problem talking to boys before.
“Oh, what can I help you with?” Kid was so disappointed. He thought maybe she was interested, but she just needed help with English.

“Where’s Kid?” Teaspoon hadn’t seen him leave with Jimmy and Buck. He usually watched a movie with his parents before going to bed, but no one had seen him since after dinner.
“I think he’s still on the phone with that girl.” Rachel was dying to find out what they were talking about. She’d never known Kid to talk this long on the phone to anyone let alone a girl.
“It’s been over two hours! What could they possibly have to talk about?”

“Oh my! Kid I better go! My grandma is going to kill me when she gets this phone bill. It was nice talking to you. Thanks for all your help.” Louise had never had two hours go so quickly. She wished she could talk to Kid longer, but it was long distance and she’d have to pay her grandma back.
“Next time, I’ll call you. Lou, would you like to go to the Spring Dance with me?” Kid had wanted to ask her since he answered the phone. He knew Jimmy would be upset with him, but he didn’t care.
“I’d love to Kid. I’ll see you Monday. Bye.” Louise couldn’t wait for school.
“Bye Lou, I’ll look for you before school.” Kid rushed upstairs as soon as he got off the phone. He was so excited about his date with Louise. “Mom, Dad, the most amazing thing has happened. I’ve got a date for the Spring Dance. The new girl at school called to get help with her essay, but we ended up talking forever. We’ve got so much in common and we hit it off so well. I can’t wait for school on Monday.”
“That’s great Kid. I’m so excited for you.” Rachel couldn’t believe how excited Kid was. She’d never seen him like this since he picked out his horse.
“I’ve got to go and work on my essay. We decided we’re going to be partners to proofread our essays and I want mine to be perfect.” With that, Kid rushed downstairs to spend some quality time on the computer.
“Oh Teaspoon. It’s been so long since I’ve seen him this excited and happy.”
“I hope this goes well. Jimmy’s going to have a fit when he finds out. He told me when he got home that he wanted to ask the new girl at school to the Spring Dance.” Teaspoon didn’t know what was going to happen between his boys, but it couldn’t be good.

Sunday night as they were headed to town, Kid decided to tell Jimmy about his date with Louise. “Jimmy, do you have a date for the Spring Dance?”
“You know I am planning on asking the new girl.”
“Well, she’s already got a date to the dance so maybe you should find someone else to ask.” Kid could tell that Jimmy was mad. He was glad he decided not to drive to town.
“How the hell do you know that she’s got a date?” Jimmy couldn’t believe his brother would do that to him. He told Kid and their Dad that he planned on asking her out and that jerk went and asked her anyway.
“When she called yesterday, I asked her to the dance.” Kid winced as Jimmy pulled the truck over to the side of the road. He didn’t realize that Jimmy would get this upset over a girl. Jimmy had always been with a different girl every week. Why would he get so worked up over this one?
“Now Kid, would you please explain to me why you would do that? I would really like to understand what in God’s name possessed you to ask her out when you knew that I had planned on it.” Jimmy couldn’t understand why his brother would do this to him. Besides, what chance did Kid have with a great looking girl like that.
“Jimmy we got to talking and we really hit it off. We talked for two hours without even realizing the time had gone past. She’s a great girl.” Kid couldn’t help smiling while he thought of Louise. She really was very nice. The kind of woman he could really settle down with.
“Well, I won’t say I’m not disappointed, but I’m happy for you Kid. I can tell that you really like her. There’s a lot more girls out there just waiting for the chance to spend an evening with Jimmy Hunter.” The brothers could never stay mad at each other for long. They had been through too much together not to forgive and forget. “Now we better get going or Mrs. Cody’s gonna start to worry.”

Kid would never understand why Jimmy and Cody always insisted on driving to school. The Codys only lived a little way from school. All they had to do was cross the highway. Today though, he was glad that they didn’t walk. He left the house extra early so he could be at the school to meet Louise. As he crossed the highway, he saw her getting out of an old beat up Ford pickup. He’d seen it before when he passed Mrs. Boggs’s house, but hadn’t realized that it still ran. No one had seen it moved since Mr. Boggs had died years ago.
“Morning Lou. How was your weekend?”
“Hi Kid. Fine, how was yours?” Louise was surprised at how early Kid was at school. He must’ve left home so early to get here! She thought. She loved the nickname he had for her. He was the only person, other than her grandma, to ever call her anything but Louise.
“I see you’re driving your grandpa’s truck. I didn’t think that still ran.”
“Yeah, Grandma thought that I should use it so she wouldn’t have to get up so early to take me to school. She didn’t want me to walk either after what happened to my brother and sister.”
Since Lou had told him what happened before she moved to Bassett, he didn’t ask. He knew how much the circumstances troubled her. “How’d your essay turn out? I don’t think mine is long enough.”
“Oh it turned out just fine, well I think it did anyway.”
The couple sat outside the school and chatted until the bell rang. Kid made sure to avoid his brother and Cody when they showed up. He knew Cody would demand an introduction to Lou and who knew what Jimmy would say. It was just easier to avoid them for now.

Kid didn’t have a chance to look for Lou after school had let out. He and Cody had to rush to work right after school and drop Jimmy off at work. Today, it took them a little longer because Jimmy’s boss, Norm, had to find out about their weekends and Jimmy had to mention Kid’s date for the dance. After some teasing, the boys finally left the repair shop and got to work.
“It’s about time you boys got here. I was expecting you about 20 minutes ago.”
“Sorry Mr. Cody. Norm was really chatty today so it was hard to get away. I could stop in before school tomorrow if you need some help.” Kid always felt guilty when they were late. The Cody’s had always done so much for him and Jimmy.
“There’s no need for that Kid, but you both better get to work. I’ve got to do an interview. With any luck, we’ll have someone who can help out on the weekends.” Mr. Cody loved his store, but it got so busy on the weekends. He wished Kid could stay in town, but knew the boy had to go home to help on the farm for the weekends. Kid usually stayed though if the weather was bad. Such a dependable boy.
“You want us to stock the shelves Dad?” Cody never felt bad about being late. He wished he didn’t have to work in the store, but knew that his parents would be hurt if he did anything else.
“That would be great boys and could you see if Louise McCloud is here? She’s supposed to be here for an interview.”
Kid rushed out front and almost ran Lou over. “Hi.” He was so excited at the chance of them working together.
“Hi. What are you doing here?” Louise was so surprised to see Kid. This was the last place she expected to see him.
“I work here during the week. My brother and I board with the Cody’s during the week, then go out to the ranch for the weekends. Let me show you to Mr. Cody’s office. I know he’s waiting for you.” Kid showed her to the back room that served as the store’s office. “Come find me after you’re done. Let me know how it went.” With that said, Kid showed her in.
After about an hour, Louise was the newest employee of Cody’s Market. “Kid, guess what. I got the job!!” She was so excited. She couldn’t wait to tell her grandma about everything that had happened that day.
“Lou that great! Are you starting today?”
“Sure am. I was told to come to you to be trained. I guess Cody tends to slack off too much. His dad doesn’t think I’ll learn as much from him.” Louise loved the thought of spending the next two hours with Kid. Today was a wonderful day.

“Lou, you want a ride home? Cody’s going to ride with his parents, so...” Kid was nervous about asking and he had to beg Cody to ride home with his parents instead of Kid.
“I’d love one Kid. I really don’t live that far though.” Lou loved the thought of riding with Kid. She was glad she decided to walk to the store instead of drive.
The two rode in silence for the few blocks it was to Lou’s grandmother’s house. As the got close, Louise got the idea to have Kid come in and meet her grandma. After he left, then the two women could have a nice chat. Besides, if she doesn’t, her grandmother might not know who the heck she was talking about. “Kid would you like to come in for a minute?”
“Sure, I can’t stay long though. I’ve got to pick Jimmy up on my way to Cody’s.”
“Grandma, I’m home.”
“Hello Lou-Lou. Oh, hello. Louise, who’s your friend?” Mrs. Boggs knew this was one of the Hunter boys, but she couldn’t remember who was who. She had a feeling she’d be getting to know this one a lot better.
“Grandma, this is Kid Hunter. Kid, this is my Grandma.”
“It’s nice to meet you Mrs. Boggs. Lou, I’ve really got to run. Jimmy’s gonna kill me if I make him wait too long.”
“Oh, ok Kid. I’ll walk you out.”
“Bye Kid. Thanks for giving Louise a ride.”
Kid grabbed Lou’s hand as they made their way to his truck. “If you need any help with your homework Lou, just give me a call. You’ve got the Cody’s number right?”
“Yeah Kid, I’ll give you a call. Night. See you tomorrow.” With that said, she leaned over and gave Kid a kiss on the cheek. At first, Kid was surprised by her actions, but he wasted no time in reacting. He leaned over, gave her a quick kiss on the mouth and jumped in the truck. Lou stepped forward before he could get the door shut and gave him another kiss.
“Bye Kid.”

Kid was in such a daze after he left Louise, he completely forgot to pick up Jimmy from work. He walked into the house and headed straight to the basement. He needed some time to think about what had just happened.
“Kid, where’s Jimmy?” Cody really wanted to know what had happened between Kid and Louise, but knew he’d get nothing from Kid if he asked. “Kid? What’s going on?”
“Huh? Cody what do you want?” Kid hadn’t even heard Cody enter the room.
“What’s going on with you? Where’s Jimmy?”
“Oh Shit! I forgot all about Jimmy. He’s gonna kill me.” Kid rushed upstairs and opened the door for his very angry brother. “Jimmy I’m so sorry. I had something on my mind and completely forgot to stop. At least you didn’t have to walk far.” Kid smiled weakly at his brother, but could tell that once they both got downstairs he was a goner.

Louise watched Kid drive off and couldn’t believe what had happened. He was the perfect man. Handsome, kind, and he really liked her. That was the part she couldn’t believe. She floated into the house and headed for the kitchen to talk to her grandma.
“How was your day Lou-Lou?” Mrs. Boggs could tell that something wonderful had happened outside. She wanted to ask about that, but knew Louise would get to that.
“Wonderful. I got the job at the grocery store. Did you know Kid works there during the week? Well, he offered to drive me home even though it’s only a couple blocks. He’s taking me to the Spring Dance. Did I already tell you that? He’s the nicest boy I’ve ever met. I can’t wait until school tomorrow.” Louise had a sappy smile on her face and a dreamy look in her eye. Mrs. Boggs could tell that she was very happy.

“Boys, dinner’s on the table. Eat it while it’s hot.” Cody and Jimmy rushed up from the basement, while Kid slowly walked in from the office. As they all sat down, Jimmy shot Kid a look that said he’d be paying for his forgetfulness the second he got to the basement. For Kid, dinner was over too soon. He knew he couldn’t avoid the basement much longer. His homework was down there. He had finished fixing the errors on his essay, so he no longer had an excuse to use the computer.
“Goodnight everyone. I’m going to finish my homework and head to bed.” His only hope was that Jimmy didn’t hear him. As he reached the bottom of the steps, he heard footsteps start after him. Time had come for him to pay for forgetting Jimmy.
“Kid, would you like to give me one good reason how you could forget your only brother and make him walk home from work?” Jimmy wasn’t really mad at Kid, he just wanted him to squirm. Cody had told him that Kid had taken Louise home from work.
“Well, I was distracted. I took Louise home from work and she kissed me before I left her grandmother’s house.”
“She kissed you and you’re just now telling us! Kid, you can’t wait around to give out juicy tidbits like that.” Cody had wanted to see the fight that he was sure was going to take place, but this little revelation was much better than any fight. He could tease Kid about this for weeks.
“That must’ve been some kiss to make you forget me. You’re forgiven Kid. That’s worth forgetting me.” Jimmy was very happy for Kid. He was the only person who knew how shy Kid got around girls. In fact, he was a little surprised that Kid wasn’t that way around Louise. “Maybe she was the one he’s been waiting for.” Jimmy thought to himself.

As the days went past, Lou and Kid fell into a routine of meeting early at school and Kid giving her a ride home from work. Through those days and weeks, they got very close. Lou dreaded Fridays when Kid would go to the ranch for the weekend. He never failed to call her at least once while he was gone. During the week, he started spending more and more time with Lou and her grandmother. Somedays, he’d even let Cody drive home so he could have dinner with them. He didn’t mind much. It wasn’t really a long walk from Mrs. Boggs’ house to the Cody’s. Besides, it gave him plenty of time to think. Tonight was no different. He had been trying to think of someplace special to take Lou after the Spring Dance. He knew there was a big party down by the river, but he didn’t want to take her there. He wanted to go someplace where the two of them could be alone. Maybe Jimmy would know of a place.
“Kid! Hey Kid!” Buck hadn’t seen much of Kid lately. He’d found out from Jimmy that he had a new girlfriend and spent most of his free time with her.
“Oh, hi Buck. I sure haven’t seen you in awhile.” Kid hadn’t even heard Buck’s truck pull up next to him.
“Hop in, I’ll give you a ride. Besides, I think you’ve got a lot to tell me.” Buck and the Hunter boys had been friends since grade school. The three had gone to Rose school together. Buck was a year older than the boys, but since he was the only person in his grade, he often worked on projects with the boys. His parents also lived close to the Hunter ranch and the families often helped each other out on their ranches.
“Thanks Buck. I sure do. I need some advice though. I’ve got a girlfriend and I want to take her someplace quiet where we can be alone after the Spring Dance on Saturday. I know there’s a party down by the river, but I don’t want to take her there. I’d like to spend some time alone with here. Do you know of anyplace?”
“There’s a little cove a few miles past the bridge. I can take you down there tomorrow. Show you how to get there.”
“I appreciate that Buck. You headed to the ranch this weekend?” Buck still helped out at the ranch on the weekends, but lived in town and worked at Norm’s Repair with Jimmy. He had finished high school, but hadn’t known what he wanted to do. Now he had decided to go to school in Hastings with Jimmy. The two were going to get an Associates Degree for diesel mechanics. They hoped that one day they could open up their own little shop somewhere. Maybe they’d just come back to Bassett when they were done though and work with Norm. They could always take over the shop if he ever decided to retire.
“Sure am. With you and Jimmy staying in town this weekend for the dance, your folks needed some help so I volunteered. You know next weekend we’re going to have to brand right?”
“I know. Thanks for the ride Buck. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”

Louise woke up Saturday morning so excited. She had to work in the morning, but had the rest of the day to get ready for the dance. She and her grandma had gone to Norfolk the weekend before to buy a dress. They had found a perfect one too. Dark green, off the shoulder and it hit just above her knees. She hoped Kid liked it. Her grandmother had even told her she didn’t have a curfew for the night. She didn’t plan on staying out late, but she knew Kid had some plan for after the dance. She hoped he didn’t want to go to the party. Louise had never been really big on parties and this one sounded like it would be huge.
“Louise? Don’t you have to work in 20 minutes?”
Crap! “Yep, I’m up and on my way out the door. Thanks Grandma.” Lou hadn’t meant to stay in bed so long. She would really have to rush if she was going to make it to work on time.
She burst through the door to the store as it turned 9:00am. She was on time. “Morning, sorry I’m late.”
“Morning Louise. Ready for the dance tonight.” Stacie and Louise had become quick friends. Stacie and Billy had recently started going out so they got to see even more of each other.
“I hope so. Are you still coming over to get ready?” The girls, along with Jimmy’s newest lady Amanda, had decided to get ready at Louise’s house.
“Of course. I just hope this day gets over quickly. I can’t wait for tonight.” Both girls got off work at 1:00 and the mornings had been pretty busy lately so the time passed quickly. Before they knew it, it was time to go home and start getting ready. “Bye Louise, see you in an hour.”
“Bye Stace. See you soon.”

“Buck this place is perfect. Thanks for bringing me.” Kid hadn’t even known that the place existed. It was so quiet and peaceful here. Very secluded too. “How’d you find this?”
“I was walking along the river one day and just came upon it. I come out here a lot to think. What are the two of you planning on doing?” As long as he’d known Kid, Buck had never known him to make such an effort with a girl. Kid had gone out on a few dates, but he’d never felt for anyone the way he felt about Louise.
“I’m going to surprise Lou. She doesn’t know that we’re not going to the party. I just wanted us to be able to spend some quality time alone together. We’re always around her friends, my friends or her grandmother. It’s all right, but I’d like to get to spend a lot of time with just her.”
“Have you taken her out to the ranch to meet your folks?”
“We’re going out there tomorrow. Mom’s really excited about getting to meet Lou. We better head back so we can get ready for the dance.” Buck’s girlfriend, Leslie, was still in school so he was going to be there too.
“You’re right. Les will kill me if I’m not ready when she is.”

It was a good thing the Codys had two bathrooms. The boys were all rushing to get cleaned up for the dance and they still managed to be in each others way all the time. Kid had made it back in time to shower before the others had made it home so he was putting on the finishing touches while Jimmy and Cody were just getting started.
“Cody, if you don’t get the hell out of here, you won’t be going to the dance!”
“Jimmy! I have to use this bathroom. It’s got the biggest mirror and I can make sure everything is in perfect order better.”
Mrs. Cody decided to diffuse the situation before the boys came to blows. “Billy, why don’t you use the mirror in my room. That way both of you have enough room to primp better.”
Kid laughed as Cody sulked into his parents room to finish getting ready. “You know guys, if you don’t hurry the girls are going to kill you for being late. You’ve only got 10 more minutes.” They had all agreed that Kid could take the Hunters’ truck and Jimmy and Cody would take the Codys’ car since Kid and Lou weren’t going to the party after the dance.
“Finished! Cody you better hurry your ass up or I’m going to leave you behind.” Jimmy had no patience to wait for anyone. His family had learned that they better be ready to go well before he was.
“I’m ready. Let’s go and get the girls.” Cody had learned over the years that when Jimmy said he was going to do something, he really would do it. Getting left behind by Jimmy today was not an option.

The girls were so excited about the dance. Since the school was so small, there was no Prom. They had the Spring Dance instead. Everyone in the school was invited to go and everyone knew you just HAD to have a date. Since Louise had only been at the school a short time, she thought she was pretty lucky to have a date and such a wonderful date at that.
“Louise, are you and Kid coming down to the party after the dance?” Stacie knew they weren’t riding together, but Cody wouldn’t tell her what was going on.
“I really don’t know. Kid hasn’t told me what he has planned. I don’t think we are.” Louise was a little nervous about that night. She knew that she loved Kid but she just wished she knew what he had planned. “Amanda, has Jimmy told you anything?”
“Nope, only that you two aren’t coming with us. What that means I don’t know.”
“Girls, the guys are here.” Mrs. Boggs loved having kids in the house again. Louise had become friends with so many nice people since she moved and she whole heartedly approved of Kid. He was the nicest young man.
The boys were nervous waiting for the girls. They just wanted to get out of there and to the dance. As the girls came out of Louise’s room, three jaws hit the floor. Living where they did didn’t give anyone a whole lot of opportunities to dress up, but the girls looked gorgeous.
“Oh my! Let me get a picture of you guys.” Mrs. Boggs must’ve taken a whole roll of film of the couples. She thought they all looked amazing together. “Now all of you have a good time. Louise, I want to hear all the details tomorrow.”
Kid couldn’t take his eyes from Louise. The emerald green dress was perfect for her. “Louise, you look beautiful. I’ve got the most beautiful date.” As he helped her into the pickup, he gave her a kiss that conveyed what his words couldn’t.
“You look pretty good yourself Kid.” The couple sat looking at each other for the longest time. “Kid, don’t you think we better head over to the dance?”
“I guess you’re right. The faster we get there, the sooner we can leave.”

As the couples walked into the gym, they couldn’t believe it was the gym. The decorations were perfect for the dance and hid everything that could give away the real purpose of the room. The decorators had used black plastic to hide the bleachers and cut down the size of the room, but one couldn’t tell that it was black plastic. Everything about the night had been perfect so far. Each only hoped the night continued to get better.
After the first couple of hours, the crowd began to thin out. Louise wasn’t sure what Kid had planned, but she was hoping he didn’t want to stay at the dance until it ended. She was having a great time with him, but she really wanted to have him all to herself. He had yet to tell her what they where they were going after they left, bust she didn’t mind. All she cared about was that they’d be spending time alone. They hadn’t really had a chance to spend time alone since they met. One was always at the others house and on the weekends Kid had been going to the ranch. It was the busy season so he couldn’t get out of going. She saw Jimmy, Cody, Amanda, and Stacie heading towards them and wondered what was up.
“Hey Kid, we’re going to take off. You sure you don’t want to come out to the party?” Jimmy knew what Kid had planned for the evening, but he thought he’d take a shot.
“No, I think we’re going to be taking off in a few minutes. We’re headed out to the ranch tomorrow, you want to come with us?” Kid couldn’t wait to introduce Lou to his parents. He knew they’d just love her.
“Sure. I need to pick up some stuff for school anyway. Say Amanda, you wanna come with us?” Jimmy and Amanda had been on again/off again for years. She was like a member of the family.
“Of course. It’s been awhile since I was out there.”
“OK Kid, what time do you want to meet in the morning? 9:00am?”
“Sounds like a plan. See you guys tomorrow.” Kid turned to Lou. He hoped she didn’t want to stay much longer. “Lou, are you ready to go?”
“Let’s get out of here Kid.” And they were off to the pickup to see where the night would take them.

Lou sat as close to Kid as she could during the drive. She hadn’t been out through the countryside much and had never been North of town. With all the curves in the road, she couldn’t wait to go through it again in the morning when she could see. She was pretty sure they were headed for the river. She really didn’t mind where though, as long as she got to be alone with Kid. “Kid, there’s something I’ve been wondering. What’s your name?”
Kid wasn’t surprised at her question. He’d been asked it more times than he could count. It was time he finally answered the question. “Well Lou, you know that Jimmy and I were both adopted right.” He didn’t’ even notice her nod, just continued on. “Anyway, when I first got to the home, I refused to talk to anyone. I was about three and scared to death. Everyone just called me ‘hey kid’ and I’d reacted to it, so they started calling me Kid. By the time I started to talk, no one ever asked what my name was, they just kept calling me Kid. The first person there that asked me my real name was Jimmy. The only people who know my real name is my family. I haven’t told anyone...but I’m going to tell you. My name is Colton Matthew Hunter.”
“That’s a very nice name Kid. Why don’t you go by it?”
“I’ve gotten used to Kid. It’s grown on me. Nobody would know who you were talking about if you called me Colton.”
“Well, then I’ll just have to call you Colton in public. That’ll teach people what your name is.” Lou grinned and gave Kid a quick kiss on the cheek.
“You’re not going to make me regret telling you my name are you?” He couldn’t help but be charmed by her attitude. She could call him whatever her little heart desired.
It got quiet in the pickup for a while. Lou found herself daydreaming about a life as Mrs. Colton Hunter when she noticed the truck was slowing down. “Where are we?”
“Buck showed me a little cove on the side of the river. It’s quiet and peaceful. The perfect way to end a wonderful night. Here we are. Don’t get out yet, let me help you out.” He lifted her out of the pickup and gave her a heart stopping kiss before he let go of her. She stayed near the pickup and looked around. Kid was right, it was peaceful. All you could hear was the rushing of the water. They started a little fire and Lou spread out a sleeping bag she found in the back of the pickup. Kid threw his jacket in the truck and grabbed the other blanket from the back. It was Spring, but it still got pretty chilly at night.
As he sat down to join Lou in front of the fire, he found he was a little nervous about what might happen. He knew that he wanted to spend his life with Lou. She made each day better just by being near him. He was pretty sure she felt the same way, but she was just barley 17. She still had a lot of life to live. Maybe she wouldn’t want to stay near Bassett. Lou interrupted his thoughts. “Are you just gonna stand there or are you going to join me?” Kid just grinned at her and sat down. He’d worry about that later, right now he was going to spend time with his girl.

As Lou and Kid headed back to Bassett to meet Jimmy the next morning, they talked very little. Too much had happened the night before, but neither regretted any of it. Lou was amazed at everything that had happened last night. She found herself telling Kid about everything that had happened in her life, even the bad stuff. He hadn’t run away or even looked down on her. It had been the complete opposite reaction. He had just taken her in his arms and kissed her until she was weak. She hadn’t even been nervous about what was about to happen. It had all felt so right. She knew in her heart that this was meant to be. There was nothing she’d do to wreck it. It had been the most beautiful experience she’d ever had.
Kid’s thoughts mirrored Lou’s. He couldn’t believe how wonderful the night had been. He had known for a couple weeks that he loved Louise and that he never wanted to lose her. He hadn’t intended on making love to Louise last night. It had just happened, but it was wonderful. He had heard Jimmy and Cody talk about their experiences with women, but he couldn’t quite believe everything they had said until now. He also thought about what could happen because of what they had done. It was a risk, but he couldn’t help but be a little excited at the possibility of a child. A little girl who would look exactly like her mother... Kid shook his head at the thought, what were the chances that they had made a baby last night.
As they reached the edge of town, Kid realized he had no idea if Lou was ready to head straight out to the ranch. “Did you need to get changed before we head to the ranch?”
“Yeah, I can change real quick while you go and pick up Jimmy and Amanda”
“Okay, I’ll be back over to pick you up in about 15 minutes.” With a quick kiss, Louise jumped out of the truck to get ready.
Kid had wished the ride from Mrs. Boggs’ house to the Cody’s was more than just five minutes. He would’ve liked to have more time to himself to think, but he knew that would have to wait until they got back to town tonight. “Jimmy, Amanda you guys ready to go?”
“We were beginning to wonder if you were ever gonna get here. What to you so long?” Jimmy really hoped Kid would tell him about what happened with Louise. He knew that Kid had very strong feelings for her and had worked very hard on making last night special.
“Sorry about that. It took us longer to get back to town than I thought it would. We’ve got to run, pick up Louise and then we’re on our way.”

Teaspoon and Rachel couldn’t wait for the boys to get home. They hadn’t expected them to come out, but Kid had called the day before and said they would be stopping by. Rachel was very excited to finally get to meet Louise. Both of the boys had talked about her and she could tell that Kid had some very strong feelings for this girl. Teaspoon was a little more reserved about meeting Louise. He knew that Kid cared deeply for her, but was worried about them rushing into things. Teaspoon was headed to the house for lunch when he saw the truck pull in.
“Hi boys! We were wondering what time you’d get here.” Teaspoon walked over to the truck to greet it’s occupants.
“Hi Dad. We would’ve been here sooner, but Kid overslept.” Jimmy wasn’t about to tell his Dad that Kid never came back the night before. The boys had an agreement to keep certain activities to themselves.
“Sorry we’re late Dad. Where’s Mom?” Kid could hit Jimmy for saying he overslept. Everyone knew he never overslept!
“She’s in the house. Are you going to introduce me to your friends now boys or am I gonna have to guess who’s who?”
“Mr. Hunter, don’t tell me you’ve forgotten who I am already?” Amanda loved coming out to visit with Jimmy’s parents. They were always a lot of fun.
“I don’t think anyone could ever forget you and how many times do I gotta tell you to call me Teaspoon girl? Now get over here and give me a hug!” Teaspoon loved Amanda. He was very happy to see she and Jimmy had gotten together again. He was just sure the two would end up together, but they sure were taking their time about it! “So you must be Louise.”
Louise was a little intimidated after watching the greeting that Amanda had gotten. She knew that Jimmy and Amanda had been a couple practically since grade school and Amanda’s family had known Jimmy’s longer than that, but... “It’s nice to meet you Mr. Hunter. Kid has told me so much about you.”
“And I’ve heard a lot about you too Louise. Please, call me Teaspoon.” He was impressed with the way the girl was handling herself. He could tell she was nervous, but she didn’t let that stand in her way of making a great first impression. Teaspoon just knew that Rachel would love her. “Let’s get inside and see what Rachel’s cooking for lunch.” Teaspoon put an arm around each girl and led them into the house. “Hurry up boys, we’d hate for you to miss out.”
“Look at him Kid. Who knows what kind of stories he’s making up about us?”
“I know. We better catch up so we can set him straight.”

Rachel was thrilled to have her boys home for dinner. She was glad to see Amanda back with Jimmy and thought that Louise was the perfect match for Kid. She complimented all of his characteristics, but seemed to be a little afraid to come out of her shell. Maybe after Rachel got to know Louise, the shell would fall away. Rachel thought Louise had some sparks of independence that could drive Kid crazy or at least keep him on his toes.
“Rachel, you really out did yourself with that meal.”
“Dad’s right, it was wonderful!” Kid wanted to get a chance to show Lou around the ranch. “May I be excused to show Lou around the place?”
“Sure Kid. Be careful.”
“Mrs. Hunter, that was a wonderful dinner. Thank you.” Louise was having so much fun. It was great getting to see Kid interact with his parents. She could see how he had become such a good person. With such wonderful role models, how could he not?
“Your welcome Louise and please, call me Rachel.”

Louise was surprised at the size of the ranch. She’d never really been on a farm before and this was so much larger than she could’ve imagined. Kid had showed just about everything. She couldn’t imagine what else was left.
“C’mon, I want to introduce you to someone.” Kid grabbed Lou’s arm and pulled her into the barn.
“Where are we going Kid?” Lou couldn’t imagine who would be in the barn. When Kid stopped in front of a stall, she had a pretty good idea. She’d heard the boys tease Kid about Katy. At first, she’d been a little upset. She thought it was another woman, but Kid had explained that Katy was his horse. “This must be Katy.”
“Yep, this is Katy. I’ve had her for years. She’s the best horse anyone could have.” Kid knew how everyone teased him about his relationship with his horse, but he didn’t care. She was his and he wouldn’t let her go.
Lou turned around and saw the most beautiful horse. In her opinion, much better than Katy. “Kid, who’s this?” She moved forward to rub the horse’s nose and get a closer look.
“That’s Lightening. Nobody’s been able to ride her. Actually, we haven’t been able to get that close to her. She seems to really like you.” He couldn’t believe how close Lou could get to the horse. Lightening didn’t like anyone! “They must have the same kind of connection Katy and I have.” Kid thought to himself. He hadn’t known anyone to have that same kind of bond with an animal. “Well, since you’re the only one who can ride her, why don’t we just make her your horse?”
“Really Kid? I don’t know how to ride. I’ve always wanted to learn, but there’s not much of a chance in Omaha.”
“I’d be happy to teach you to ride. Cody and Stacie keep their horses out here, so you could come out with them when they ride.”
“When can we start?” Lou didn’t want to have to wait any longer to learn how to ride. Getting to spend more time with Kid was just a bonus.
“How about we have your first lesson next weekend? We’ve got to get headed back to town soon otherwise I’d start teaching you tonight.” Kid felt bad telling Lou that they couldn’t get started tonight. He’d do anything to make her happy, but they just didn’t have enough time.
“I guess that’ll be okay Kid. I really wish we could start sooner though.” Lou looked up at Kid and gave him a quick kiss. Kid decided to take advantage of the chance to be alone and really took his time kissing Louise.
“Kid? Lou? You guys in here?” Kid reluctantly pulled away from Lou and replied to his brother. “Back here Jimmy.”
“What’re you guys doing back here?” Jimmy hoped he and Amanda hadn’t interrupted anything. As he saw where they were standing he was pretty sure they hadn’t. “Never mind. Lou, I see you’ve gotten the pleasure of meeting Katy.”
“She’s a beautiful horse, but I think Lightening here is much better.” Lou reached out and patted Lightening’s nose again. Jimmy was shocked to see the horse let her do that. “Kid’s going to teach me how to ride her next weekend.”
“Kid are you crazy?? You know that horse won’t let anybody sit on her. Are you trying to get Lou killed?”
“Watch her with that horse Jimmy. It won’t do anything to hurt her.”
“I hope you’re right Kid.”

The next week just couldn’t go fast enough for Louise. Stacie had decided to spend the night with her great-grandmother Saturday night and asked Lou and Amanda to stay with her. Both Lou and Amanda loved Stacie’s Grandma Martha. She was the cutest woman, so tiny and independent. She had lost her husband years ago, yet still lived on the place. Growing her garden and canning the produce. Besides, every kid near there knew that she had THE best swingset around! Lou was excited about getting to know Mrs. Vose, but by staying out there she was already pretty close to Kid’s place. It would take them no time at all to get there and she could start her lessons. Hopefully, they wouldn’t have to wait around on Cody. Sometimes he just took so long to get going.
“Good morning sunshine. Are you ready to go out to Mrs. Vose’s today?” Mrs. Boggs was so happy to see how quickly Lou had made friends. Besides that, Lou had some of the nicest friends and Kid was just about the most polite young man she’d ever met.
“I think I’m all packed. I better get to work. I’ll talk to you before we head out, if you’re not here, I’ll see you tomorrow.” Lou almost hoped her grandma wouldn’t be home when the girls came to pick up her stuff so they could get headed out faster.
“Have a nice time.”

Kid couldn’t believe how busy he’d been this week. Jimmy and Norm had been swamped at the shop so he helped the two of them out this week. He hadn’t had much time to spend with Lou this week either. He was so ready for Sunday. He didn’t think he knew how to teach anyone how to ride, but he’d sure enjoy teaching Lou to do it.
“Kid, you better watch where you’re riding. You almost walked Katy into that gopher hole.” Teaspoon couldn’t believe how distracted Kid was. He’d never seen his son act like this.
“Thanks Dad. I guess I wasn’t paying attention.”
“Want to talk about it?” Neither of the boys had ever had a problem going to their father when they needed some advice or had been having troubles. Teaspoon hoped that Kid took the opportunity to discuss what had been going on with him since he had met Louise.
Kid wasn’t quite sure if he should be sharing anything with his dad. He trusted his dad completely, but it didn’t seem right to discuss his love life with his father. “Not now Dad. I think I just need to think about things some more.”
“Well, whenever you’re ready, I’ll be around.” Teaspoon was a little hurt that Kid wouldn’t confide in him, but knew it would only be a matter of time. Kid never could keep his problems to himself.

Kid could hardly look at Cody when he and Jimmy got to town on Sunday. Jimmy wasn’t very happy with Cody either after what he had done. Kid had told Jimmy everything that had happened at the river and asked him for some tips on how he should act now. Jimmy was surprised Kid asked him, but glad he finally told someone. For the last week, Kid had been very hard to live with.
“Billy, phone! It’s Louise.” Kid couldn’t believe that she would be calling Cody. That fact made him even madder.
“C’mon Kid. Let’s go and stay with Buck tonight. It’ll give us both a chance to calm down.”
“I’ll be in the truck. You explain to Mr. and Mrs. Cody.” Jimmy could tell that Cody better quit whatever he was up to before someone got hurt even more. The rate things were going, it was going to be Cody. “Mrs. Cody, Kid and I are going to stay over at Buck’s tonight. We forgot that he needed us to help him out on a project.” Jimmy hated lying to Mrs. Cody, but he couldn’t very well tell her that if they didn’t leave her son may not make it through the night.
The trip over to Buck’s house was really quick. Buck could tell just by looking at Kid that something big had happened. “Well, I sure didn’t expect to see the two of you here. What’s going on?”
“I didn’t want Kid to kill Cody.” After hearing Jimmy’s explanation, Kid headed to the basement to brood.
“Why would Kid want to kill Cody?” Buck was confused. He had stopped out at the ranch earlier and it seemed like everyone was having a great time.
“Cody was showing off some of his riding tricks while Kid was trying to teach Louise to ride. Lou decided that she’d rather have Cody teach her how to ride. Of course Cody didn’t turn her down. Then when we got back to town, Lou called for Cody instead of Kid.”
“What the hell is Cody thinking? He knows what happens when Kid gets mad. I’m sure it’s got to be worse when jealousy is in there too.”
“I know. Hopefully, this will all be over very soon.”

Kid couldn’t believe how Lou had been acting. Ever since that night by the river, things had been different. He couldn’t place how they’d changed, but they had. Everything between them had become so serious. They didn’t have nearly as much fun together anymore. To top it all off, she was spending a lot of time with Cody. Cody was still with Stacie for heaven’s sake! What did he need with two girls?
The longer he rode, the more frustrated he got. Work at the store was very difficult. Cody is a natural flirt and could have both girls’ attention with very little effort. The jerk had even taken over Lou’s riding lessons. The first lesson he had gotten to give her had gone great, but Cody started showing off his skills and gotten Lou’s attention. She told Kid she’d like to learn how to ride like that so she was going to have Cody show her some of his moves. Cody could’ve at least said no when Lou asked him to show her, but no, he was more than happy to show her everything he knew.
Sure shows how much friendship means to Cody. Kid would never do anything that could cause problems between Cody and Stacie. Cody couldn’t wait for the chance to wedge himself between Lou and him. Lou even called Cody more than she called Kid. Cody’s parents knew something was going on between the boys since Kid had started staying with Buck all the time. Jimmy was caught in the middle of everything, but had started staying with Kid and Buck more too. Cody just didn’t care about who he hurt.
He finally saw the house up in front of him and wasn’t surprised to see Cody’s car out front. It was time for Lou’s lesson. As he rode into the barn, he couldn’t see Lou or Cody, but he sure could hear them. They were laughing and having a good time. Neither realized what they’d been putting him through. A smart man would take care of his horse and walk into the house. Kid chose not to take this route.

Lou was surprised at how close she and Cody had become over the past few weeks. They had been having so much fun. She wasn’t sure how she felt about Kid right now. Everything had been going so well between them, but it had changed since the night at the river. She knew she should explain what was going on to Kid, but what would she say. Cody had been giving her all kinds of hints and tips about what she should do . He had been such a help to her. She did feel bad about not taking riding lessons from Kid anymore. She enjoyed spending the time with him, but Cody had all these fun little tricks she could learn. It seemed odd to come out tot Kid’s house and not even see him. That had happened last weekend. It was almost like Kid was avoiding them. He didn’t even stay at Cody’s anymore, so she hardly got to see him. She decided that today had to be the day she and Kid had a talk. They had gone up to the house, but Rachel had told them Kid was out checking cattle. Lou hoped he’d be back soon. She wanted to figure out what was going on between them soon.
“Lou, you’ve got to pay attention if you want to learn how to saddle your own horse. You’ve been getting off easy since we started this, but you’ve got to learn on your own. Now you’re going to pick up the saddle and swing it on tope of the horse.”
“Cody, you’ve got to help me! It’s too heavy.” As Cody wrapped his arms around Lou to grab a hold of the saddle, Kid walked in.
“What the hell is going on here?” Kid was furious to see Cody with his arms around Lou. The couple dropped the saddle at the sound of Kid’s voice and turned around.
“Kid! I didn’t think I’d get to see you.” Lou could tell that Kid was mad, but couldn’t figure out why.
“Why don’t you go to the house and visit with Mom? Cody and I’ll be in soon. We’ve got to have a friendly little chat.” Cody knew that what was about to happen would be anything but friendly.
“Um...ok I guess. Don’t be too long though.” Lou was confused when Kid asked her to leave. She had a feeling that something terrible was about to happen.
As soon as Lou started walking away, Kid threw the first punch. Cody knew he was no match for Kid, but he did his best to protect himself. Lou turned around when she heard the first punch and decided she better find some help. Luckily, she ran into Teaspoon before she got very far.
“Whoa! Lou, what’s wrong?” Teaspoon had seen Lou and Cody pull up and knew there was going to be trouble. Kid had been stomping around for the past couple weeks and he had a feeling it had to do with Cody and Lou.
“Kid and Cody are fighting! I don’t know what started it, but you’ve got to stop them.”
“You head to the house and I’ll put an end to this.” Teaspoon rushed into the barn, stopping at the trough to get some water. “These boys just need to cool off.”

Kid and Cody never heard Teaspoon come up behind them. As the cold water hit them, they both yelled and jerked up. “What the hell is going on here? You boys know better than this.”
“Sorry Mr. Hunter.” “Sorry Dad” Both boys felt terrible about fighting each other. Kid knew this wasn’t going to fix things between him and Louise, but he didn’t know what was wrong. Cody just seemed to be in the way.
“Does this have something to do with Louise?”
“I don’t know what this is about.” Cody hadn’t been able to figure out why Kid had been avoiding him since that first riding lesson.
“Cody, you’re trying to take my girl! You’ve got Stacie, but she’s not enough! You’ve just got to have Lou too.” Kid couldn’t believe how dense Cody could be sometimes.
“Maybe you should talk to Lou, Kid. She doesn’t want me. She’s just confused about what’s going on between the two of you.”
“Let’s get to the house boys. Rachel will clean you both up and you need to get into some dry clothes.” Teaspoon hoped the boys could get over what had happened. The two had been friends for years, but had never had a fight like this.
Jimmy wasn’t surprised to see the condition of the boys when they walked out of the barn. This had been coming for weeks. Luckily, school had just finished for the year and they had no reason to head to town anymore. They wouldn’t have to stay with the Codys anymore. “You too sure have seen better days.”
“Shut up Jimmy! I just hope Stacie won’t kill me when she hears about what happened. She’s been warning me that something was going to happen if I kept bumming around with Lou. She’s never going to let me live this down.”
Lou was waiting at the door when the boys got to the house. “Kid, we need to talk. It can’t wait.” She had decided that she couldn’t put up with Kid fighting or acting all weird when she was hanging out with a guy friend. She had realized what was going on as soon as she saw the boys fighting. She couldn’t let Kid do this. Besides that, she wasn’t ready for the relationship to get much more serious. She still had a year of high school left and didn’t want to just rush out and get married as soon as she finished.
“Ok Lou. Let’s go for a walk.” Kid was dreading what she had to say, but he never expected to hear what she was about to say.
“Kid, I know that I love you, but I just can’t do this right now. I don’t want to hurt you, but I think we need to take a break. I still want to be your friend, but I can’t be your girlfriend right now. Maybe we can work things out and eventually get together again, but right now, I just can’t” As Lou finished her speech, she burst into tears. Kid couldn’t believe what he had just heard. He knew there would never be another woman for him. He had just lost the love of his life. “If that’s what you want Lou, I’ll stay out of your way.” With that said, Kid just turned around and headed for the house. When he got there, he went straight to his room, lay down on his bed and cried. He kept thinking, “How can I live without her?”

Kid threw himself into work on the ranch. He hadn’t left the ranch since Lou had dumped him two weeks ago. Jimmy kept trying to get him into town, but he didn’t want to run into her. He was sure she wasn’t having any troubles since they had split.
Lou had been regretting breaking up with Kid since she saw him walk away from her. She didn’t know what could’ve possessed her to do that, but she knew it was for the best. She needed the space to think about what was going on. All the anxiety of the events had really gotten to her though. She hadn’t been feeling very well since it happened. She always had an upset stomach and was so tired. Stacie had asked her if she wanted to go to Lincoln with her to visit Stacie’s sister and nephew. She jumped at the chance. It would be nice to get away from a place where everything reminded her of Kid.
The trip to Lincoln was very long. It didn’t help that Lou had seemed to develop car sickness. The girls had finally broken down and bought a bucket so they wouldn’t have to stop quite so much. It didn’t help though. Lou was relieved to finally see Nicki and Larry’s house. She didn’t think they would ever get there.
“Hi girls! We’ve been waiting for you. Stacie, Tucker didn’t think you would ever get here. He’s been asking where you are every fifteen minutes.” Tucker loved his Auntie Stacie. She wished she could get down to see him more often.
“Great! Lou, you’ve met my sister right?”
“Oh yeah. Nicki, I’m sorry, but could you show me where your bathroom is?” Lou knew she didn’t have much time left before she got sick again. Hopefully, whatever bug she’d caught would be gone soon.
“No problem. Down the hallway second door on the right.” Nicki and Stacie watched as Lou ran to the house. “She’s not sick is she?” Nicki sure hoped she wasn’t, she didn’t need a sick two-year old.
“I don’t think so. She’s been feeling pretty poorly since she and Kid broke up. Maybe it’s just nerves.”
Nicki wasn’t quite sure that was the problem, but she didn’t know Lou well enough yet to speculate.

When Lou woke up Saturday morning, she fought her usual urge to get sick. Whatever it was, she hoped this would get over very soon. She headed out to the kitchen and found Nicki giving Tucker his breakfast. “Morning. How’d you sleep?” Nicki was surprised to see Lou up so early. They hadn’t made it to bed until late. “Very well, thanks.”
“Want some breakfast?” Nicki watched as Lou’s face paled at the thought of breakfast. “Guess not. Are you sure you’re feeling all right?”
“I’m fine. I just don’t know what’s wrong with me. The thought of food before about 10:00 just turns my stomach. Of course, just about everything turns my stomach now.” Lou found herself telling Nicki things she’d never told anyone. “I’ve got a good idea what it is, but I can’t be sure right now.”
“You know, what you’re describing sound a lot like how I felt when I was pregnant with Tucker.” Nicki had an idea that Lou was trying to avoid thinking that pregnancy could be the source of her ailments. She knew her theory to be true when Lou broke down in tears. “Tucker, why don’t you go and see if Auntie Stacie is awake.” As the little boy ran off, Nicki turned to Lou. “You know, it can’t be that bad. If you’re not sure, you could take a test while your here and find out if that’s the case.”
“I guess that makes the most sense, but what if I am pregnant? I mean, Kid and I broke up and he doesn’t even come to town anymore. He won’t call me and I don’t even know how to tell him.” Lou felt like her world was crumbling around her. She knew that if she really was pregnant, she’d have to go and tell Kid as soon as she got home. Then what though? “What if he doesn’t think that the baby is his? He was pretty upset when we broke up. He thought that I was fooling around with Billy Cody.”
Nicki wasn’t surprised at what Lou had told her. She had heard the whole story from Stacie, but not even Stacie knew how badly Lou felt about what happened. Lou had been hiding her feelings from everyone. She didn’t want them to know how much she missed Kid and wanted him back. “Let’s first find out if you are pregnant. I’ll get Stacie to watch Tucker for a few minutes and you and I will run out to the drug store to pick up a test.”
“I guess that will be all right. It would let me know if that’s the cause of all my troubles.”

Lou wasn’t exactly surprised to see the pregnancy test come out positive. She didn’t know what she was going to do now though. She would have to head out to Kid’s on Monday. She wouldn’t call first. He would probably leave just to avoid her then. She wasn’t sure what was going to happen after she told him though. What if he threw her off the place and left her to her own devices? She was the one that ended their relationship. Her heart said that Kid would never do that to her, but her head kept letting the most terrible thoughts get into her head. She knew Kid hadn’t been seeing anyone. She talked to Jimmy every time he came to town to talk to Amanda. He told her that Kid never left the ranch. All he’d ever do was work. Maybe that was a good thing though.
“Lou? Lou?” Stacie had been trying to find out what was going on with Lou for about an hour. She’d been very quiet. At least the ride back to Bassett was less eventful that the drive to Lincoln.
“Sorry Stace. I was just thinking about how to tell Kid. What if he thinks I’m lying? Or that he tells me tough, I’m on my own?”
“Kid is not going to do that. He’s going to take care of you. He’ll be there to help you.”
“I know you’re probably right, but I can’t help doubting what’s about to happen though. I hope he doesn’t hate me.”

Kid was surprised to see a car pulling into the place Monday morning. They weren’t expecting anyone. As it slowed down, he realized it was Lou in Amanda’s car. “What is she doing here? Hasn’t she hurt me enough?”
Lou parked close to the house and saw Kid walking out of the barn. “Hi Kid. Do you have a minute? We need to talk.” Lou was even more nervous about telling him now that she saw him. He looked so mad at her. She hadn’t realized how much she’d missed him though. It looked like he’d lost some weight and he could use a good night’s sleep.
“Sure Lou.” She looked so tired and pale. He still thought that she looked beautiful though. “Would you like to take a ride?”
“How about a walk instead? I can’t ride right now.” Kid thought that sounded strange, but he was willing to do anything to spend a little time with her. They walked through the barn and headed out to the pasture. “How’ve you been Lou?”
“Well, I’ve been pretty sick lately, but I know why now.”
“What’s wrong with you? Is that why you look so pale and tired?” Kid hoped she didn’t have some terrible disease. He didn’t want her to suffer like her mother had.
“Yeah, that’s why. Kid...” Lou stopped and turned to face Kid. She was so nervous, but there was no turning back now. “I’m pregnant.”
Kid didn’t know what to say. It was the last thing he expected her to tell him. He was going to be a father and he wasn’t even with the mother anymore. They had to work this out so they could be a family. “Marry me Lou. I still love you. I never stopped. I haven’t gone to town because I didn’t want to see you. I was afraid that I’d beg you to take me back and I knew that wasn’t something that you wanted. I think I’ve loved you since you walked into Mrs. K’s classroom when you started school.” Kid held his breath while he waited for Lou’s response.
“Kid, I love you too, but I don’t know. I don’t want you getting jealous again when I talk to a guy or hang out with someone.” Lou wanted so badly to say yes. She knew when she found out for sure that she was pregnant that she wanted to marry Kid and be a family. She just needed to make sure that there would be no repeats of what happened between Kid and Cody.
“I was stupid. I should’ve known that neither you nor Cody would’ve done anything to hurt me. I can’t say I won’t get jealous, but I’ll make sure to keep it under control. Please Louise Elizabeth McCloud, will you marry me?” Kid was down on one knee looking up to her with so much love in his eyes it brought tears to her face.
“Of course I’ll marry you Colton Matthew Hunter.” Kid jumped up, wrapped his arms around Lou and kissed her breathless. “Let’s go and tell your parents. We’ve got to get planning before everyone knows about the baby.”

Everyone was very surprised by the sudden engagement of Kid and Lou, but quickly figured out that no one could change their minds. Only their families and very close friends knew about the baby. The wedding was set for the last weekend in June. There was a lot to take care of before then, but the women were up to the challenge. It was decided that Lou would board with her grandmother during the week so she could finish school. Kid and Lou went out about a week before the wedding and picked up a used car for Lou to use. She’d be able to get around on her own now. She was going to keep her job at the grocery store, but wouldn’t be working after the wedding. It was just too far to drive everyday, so she’d start again when school started.
The wedding was small, but so beautiful. Kid couldn’t believe how lucky he was when he saw Lou walk into the church on her grandmother’s arm. The ceremony flew by. Before he knew it the minister was telling him he could kiss the bride. The best was yet to come though. When Jimmy said “I am proud to introduce Mr. and Mrs. Colton Matthew Hunter,” he knew he’d made the right decision.
Lou also was amazed at her luck. She was going to get to spend the rest of her life with Kid. After hearing Jimmy introduce them, she loved the sound of her new name. She kept saying it over and over in her head. Mrs. Kid Hunter.

The summer past very quickly. Lou and Kid moved into a trailer near his parents’ house. Lou spent most of her days helping Rachel with canning or laundry. She was disappointed that school was going to be starting again. She really enjoyed helping Rachel and she was going to miss Kid terribly during the week. Besides, she was more than a little nervous about having her classmates see her. She wasn’t ashamed of being pregnant, just nervous about the looks she knew she’d get. Luckily, she wasn’t too big yet. Stacie and Cody would still be around to help her if things got rough. As she pulled up to her grandma’s house, her fears went away. This was going to be wonderful. Before she knew it, school would be over, the baby would be here, and she’d be with Kid all the time again.

Lou quickly got used to the schedule of boarding with her grandmother. She always got the best welcome home from her husband. Kid made a habit of calling Lou twice while she was gone. He said he always got lonely without her around and just needed to hear her voice. As the year went on and the weather turned colder, Lou hoped that she’d never have a problem getting home. She really didn’t want to ever have to spend more than a week from Kid, but the Nebraska weather wasn’t cooperating.
“Kid, I’ll be fine. I’ll go very slow. I need to see you. Before you know it, we’re going to be parents and I won’t get any private time with you anymore.” Lou had been arguing with Kid about going home for so long. She knew he was right, but she really needed to see him. It had been one of those weeks.
“Sweetheart, there’s nothing better I’d like than to have you here with me, but I don’t want you to risk anything by driving home. The roads aren’t that great out here. If they get better, I promise I’ll come in and stay with you tomorrow. All right?”
“I guess. Maybe I’ll go up to the basketball game in Ainsworth. I’m sure the team could use the support.”
“If you do, be careful! If you really want to go, why don’t you call Cody? I’m sure he’ll be there to watch Stacie.” Kid hated the thought of Lou on the roads, but she had said the weather wasn’t that bad there. The storm hadn’t hit them yet.
“I will. I’ve got to go Kid. Dinner’s ready. I love you.”
“Love you too Lou. Be careful and I’ll do everything I can to see you tomorrow.”

Cody was amazed to see Lou walk into the gym for the basketball game, especially without Kid following her. “Hi Lou! What are you doing here? I figured that husband of yours would’ve had you staying home on a night like this.”
“I couldn’t go home this weekend. Kid said the roads were terrible so I should stay in town this weekend. I thought I could use a night out so I headed up. I completely forgot about calling you to see if you wanted some company.”
“That’s all right. I left really early so it would’ve been hard to catch me. Have a seat, let’s see if the girls can pull this one out.”

Cody and Lou waited outside for Stacie. She was going to ride home with Cody instead of on the bus. Riding through the hills by Long Pine had always made her a little sick, but with the roads looking so terrible, she knew she’d never be able to make it home on the bus. “Hi guys. Lou, I didn’t expect to see you here.”
“Well I couldn’t go home this weekend, so I came up for the game.”
“Lou, the weather’s gotten a lot worse from when we got here. Maybe you should ride back with us. Buck and I can come and pick up your car tomorrow.” Cody knew that Kid wouldn’t want Lou driving in this and would kill him if anything happened to her. He just hoped that she didn’t get stubborn on him.
“I’ll be fine Cody. It’s probably not as bad as it looks.: Lou was a little nervous about driving through the hills, but she really didn’t want to leave her car in Ainsworth.
“Are you sure? It’s no problem to come back and get your car. I’d feel a lot better if you weren’t driving and I know Kid would too.”
“I’ll be fine! Why don’t you just follow me? That way if I get into any trouble, you can help me out of it.” Lou thought it sounded like the perfect solution.
“I guess. Just don’t tell Kid I let you do this. He really gets mean when your in trouble.” Cody had a bad feeling about this, but he’d let Lou have her way. “Well, let’s get going. It’s going to take forever to get home as it is.”

Lou really regretted her decision not to ride with Cody and Stacie. The road was like a sheet of ice. It took all her concentration to keep from sliding all over the road. She was dreading going through the hills. They could be treacherous enough during nice weather. “What was I thinking?? Where’s Kid when I need him?” She thought as she headed down the first of the hills.
As she headed up the last of the hills, she thought that they weren’t as bad as she had expected. Suddenly, the car started to slide. She jerked the wheel and the car slid across the road. She fought to regain control of the car. When she looked up next, all she could see were the headlights from the oncoming car. “Oh my God!” There was nothing the other driver could do, they hit her right in the driver’s side door.

Cody stayed as close to Lou’s car as he could. He wanted to make sure he would be close enough to her in case she needed any help. The road was really bad. He should’ve insisted that she ride with them. He never should’ve let her get into her car. It was turning out though that what he thought would be the worst part of the ride home, the hills, hadn’t been bad at all. Then he saw Lou start to skid. He started slowing down so he could help her. “Maybe this will make her stop.”
“Shit! Cody, she’s going to get hit!” Stacie turned her head away. She didn’t want to see what was about to happen.
“Grab the cell, call 911!” Cody pulled the car of to the side of the road and jumped out. He had to get to Lou.

Kid couldn’t shake the bad feeling he had. He should’ve driven to town to pick Lou up for the weekend. The truck could’ve made in, coming back might’ve been a different story though. “I’m going to call Lou.”
“Something wrong son?” Teaspoon had noticed how distracted Kid had been all evening. He hadn’t been like this since he and Lou had split up.
“I don’t know. I just got a bad feeling, like something happened to her. I’m sure she’s fine. She’s probably just watching movies with her grandma.” Before Kid got to the phone, it started to ring. “That’s got to be her. She’ll tell me I’m being silly.”
“Hello?” Kid had a terrible feeling wash over him when he picked up the phone.
“Kid...”
“Cody, what do you want? I thought you were going to watch Stacie’s game.”
“Shut up and listen to me Kid! It’s Lou. She showed up at the game. The weather got a lot worse while we were inside. I tried to convince her to let me drive her back to Bassett. I couldn’t do it. I should’ve just forced her into the car, gave her no choice.”
“What are you trying to tell me Cody?” All the feeling left Kid’s legs and he dropped to the floor. Teaspoon and Rachel rushed to Kid’s side when they heard the panic in his voice.
“I followed behind her and made sure she didn’t get too far in front of me just in case she needed me. As we were heading out of the hills by Long Pine, she hit a patch of black ice and started to skid. She did everything she could to get control. Then a car popped up over the hill. Neither could avoid it and they hit. The car hit her right in the driver’s door. We’re waiting for the ambulance now. Stacie’s gonna ride to the hospital with her and I’ll follow in the car. You better hurry Kid.”
“Oh God. What about the baby?” Kid couldn’t imagine what he would do without Lou. She had become his whole world. He didn’t want to lose her, but he didn’t want to lose the baby either.
“I don’t know Kid. I just don’t know.” Cody hated telling Kid what happened. He wished he could ignore what happened. That he’d wake up from this nightmare soon.
“I’m on my way. Tell Lou I love her.” Kid slammed the phone down and fought to keep from breaking down in tears. “Lou was in an accident. Cody and Stacie are with her. I gotta get to town.” He jumped up, grabbed his coat and rushed outside. Rachel and Teaspoon were right behind him. They knew that he’d need them if anything happened to Lou or the baby.

Cody was relieved to hear the sirens. Lou had been awake the whole time and had been screaming for Kid. Stacie tried to calm her down, but it wasn’t working. After Cody got off the phone with Kid, he told Lou that Kid was on his way. That seemed to calm her down a little. The other driver wasn’t hurt. He walked out of his car and started yelling at Lou, until he saw he was pregnant and how hurt she was. Cody rushed at the guy to show him what an ass he was being. Before he could throw a punch though, the guy dropped to his knees and crawled over to Lou to try to help comfort her.
“Cody! I didn’t expect to see you here when we got the call. What happened?” Buck thought that one of the cars looked an awful lot like Lou’s. He hoped he was wrong.
“Buck, you gotta help Lou. She’s hurt.”
“You call Kid yet?”
“Yeah. I hope he gets to town in time.”

Kid drove faster than he should have and he knew it. It didn’t matter to him though. Lou was hurt and he had to get to her. He could her his father telling Jimmy what was going on. It sounded so much worse the second time. He had such terrible images going through his head. What if they were too late and she was already gone? What if Cody didn’t even get the chance to pass along his message?
“Kid, please slow down!” Rachel knew why he was in such a hurry, but she was afraid they would end up in the same situation if he didn’t slow down. He took it easy on the gravel roads, but now that they were on the highway, it was a different story.
“Sorry Mom. We gotta get there though. Besides, this road is pretty straight and nobody wants to be out in this crap.” Kid didn’t really care if anyone else was out. He had to get to his wife.

Cody me Kid at the door of the hospital. Kid could tell that Cody was very upset. He was covered in blood. Kid hoped it wasn’t Lou’s, but he knew that it was. “Where is she?” Kid couldn’t wait to get to Lou, he hoped that he wasn’t too late.
“We just go here Kid. The doctor’s still with her, but I can take you as close as we can get. Buck and Stacie are waiting for us there anyway.” Cody didn’t want to be the one to give Kid the bad news.
“Oh Kid! I’m so sorry!” Stacie couldn’t believe that she was losing her best friend. She couldn’t imagine what Kid was going through.
“Buck, what’s going on? She’s ok right?” Kid had a feeling that he already knew the answer he was about to hear, but he hoped he was wrong.
“We did everything we could Kid. Her injuries are very severe. It’s a mir...” The doctor came out from the room before Buck could finish.
“Mr. Hunter. I’m Dr. Ramsey. Your wife is in very bad shape. We’ve got to perform an emergency Cesarean section to get the baby out. As far as we can tell, the baby is uninjured, but we won’t know until it’s delivered. A nurse is going to be here shortly to have you sign some forms. As soon as we’ve delivered the baby, you can see your wife.”
“Please let me see her before you take her.” Kid just needed to see her, to know what she was up against. Dr. Ramsey could tell that Kid wouldn’t take no for an answer so he consented. Kid felt all the air leave his body when he looked at his wife. She was covered in blood, with more tubes than he could count coming from her. “Lou, I’m here sweetheart. I can’t talk to you long, they’re going to deliver our baby. We’re going to be parents today. I love you so much Lou. I can’t wait to bring you both home.” Kid had tears in his eyes as they wheeled Lou out of the room. He walked over to his family and friends to wait and pray.

Kid and Louise Hunter’s child was born as it’s mother died. The doctors rushed to get the baby out so they could start working on the mother, but it wasn’t fast enough. Within five minutes of her child’s birth, Louise Hunter died from her injuries.
Everyone jumped up when they saw Dr. Ramsey come from the delivery room. “Mr. Hunter, you have a beautiful baby girl. We are checking her out, but so far it looks like she suffered no injuries from the accident.”
“What about my wife?” Kid was glad to hear the baby was all right, but it seemed like the doctor was holding something back.
“I’m very sorry Mr. Hunter, she didn’t make it. We tried everything possible to save her, but her injuries were too severe. She died within minutes of your daughter’s birth.” Kid dropped to his knees in tears. He couldn’t believe that she was gone. How was he going to take care of his daughter without Lou?

Present Time
Kid had to smile as he rode up to the house. He could see his mom outside with Elizabeth strapped onto her chest. Rachel had found it easier to get her outside chores done if she just strapped Lizzy on for the ride. The past few months had been really hard without Lou, but it was getting easier. He’d never get over losing her, but having Lizzy with him helped. He thanked God everyday that he didn’t lose both of them that night.
“I see she finally woke up from her nap? Is Daddy’s little girl being good?” Kid reached for his daughter. She looked more and more like her mother everyday. “I’m going to have my hands full with you aren’t I?” Lizzy just smiled at her father.
“Kid, you and Lizzy want to go into town with me tonight? I’m headed in to see Amanda, you two could go and visit Mrs. Boggs.” Jimmy loved traveling with his niece. She cooed and smiled the whole way to town, if she wasn’t sleeping that is.
“Sure Jimmy, we’ll come along. We haven’t been in to see her in awhile.” Mrs. Boggs also took comfort in seeing her great-granddaughter. Little Elizabeth Louise Hunter had saved them all.

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