It was the first nice day in weeks. Spring would be here before they knew it. Everyone was taking advantage of being outside and she was no exception. During the cold, harsh winter, Teaspoon had been checking with Tompkins to see if he’d written her yet. It had been almost a year without hearing from him. Lou and Kid had long ago forgiven each other for the terrible fight that had driven him to Virginia. They had let their anger and stubborn pride go too far. Unfortunately, by the time they realized how silly they’d been, Kid had joined up with the Virginia militia and there was no turning back. He had made a commitment to fight for Virginia and wouldn’t leave his obligation. Sure, he’d left Lou, but she had told him to go, thrown him out actually. The first couple months after he’d left, she heard from him often. Then the letters just stopped. Everyday she checked with Tompkins and everyday there was no letter. Maybe today would be different. “Afternoon Lou.” Tompkins couldn’t help but feel a little sorry for Lou. As much as the Pony Express riders got under his skin, he’d developed a bit of a soft spot for Louise McCloud. The more times he told her there was no letter, the worse he felt. Today would be different though. He’d give her what she wanted to hear. “Nice day isn’t it. Any mail for me today?” Lou had tried to wait longer to ask. Over the past year, her feelings for Mr. Tompkins had changed. The boys wouldn’t believe her if she told them she felt a little sorry for him. He really was a nice man. “I think this is what you’ve been waiting for.” The smile on Lou’s face was the only answer he needed. She clutched the letter to her chest and waved goodbye as she rushed out the store. “Mrs. McCloud! Wait!” “Horace?” “You got a telegram. I was just getting ready to run it out to ya.” Lou took the paper from Horace and felt a little of her joy slip away. Telegrams didn’t often bring good news. Maybe this one would be different. Maybe that nice couple who had taken Jeremiah and Theresa in had decided to adopt them. Since the telegram wouldn’t be long, she decided to read it quickly so she could get home to curl up with Kid’s letter. MRS MCCLOUD[STOP] I REGRET TO INFORM YOU OF YOUR HUSBANDS DEATH[STOP] HE WAS A GOOD MAN AND ONE I CONSIDERED A FRIEND[STOP] WHEN THE RIOT BROKE OUT HE WAS ONE OF THE FIRST TO DIE[STOP] I BELIEVE IT WAS BECAUSE OF OUR FRIENDSHIP[STOP] I WILL SEND YOU HIS BELONGINGS SOON[STOP] LIEUTENANT JOHN RICHARDS US ARMY[FULL STOP] Lou felt her knees go weak at the words she had just read. Kid was dead. How could she go on with her life without Kid? She didn’t see the heads turn at her screams as she ran to the house. Teaspoon stepped out of his office as he heard the screams. When he saw Lou, he realized that she had gotten the news she’d been fearing. He locked up the office and rushed after Lou. Rachel enjoyed her walk home from the schoolhouse. The nice weather had made the kids more rambunctious than usual. She was ready for a nice relaxing evening at home. She was so glad Lou had finally learned how to cook! She didn’t even have to worry about feeding the family when she got there. After this day, she just wanted to prop her feet up. Some days she wished she was just dealing with her boys problems, they could be so much easier. As she rounded the corner and the house came into view, she could tell she wouldn’t get to relax. By the way Buck was standing, she could tell something terrible had happened. “Buck, what’s going on?” “We got word about Kid. It’s not good. Telegram said he was killed in a riot. Teaspoon thinks that he might’ve gotten captured and put in a prison camp. Won’t know until we get his stuff from the man who sent the telegram.” Buck couldn’t believe that he’d lost another of his brothers. He hoped that the senseless deaths would end before he was left with no family. “How’s Lou?” Rachel could empathize with Lou about the loss of her husband, but couldn’t imagine the pain that the circumstances have caused. “Teaspoon’s with her. She’s been crying most of the day. She got a letter from him today too. She’d been waiting so long for word about him to just find out he’s dead.” Buck pulled Rachel into his arms and the pair held each other as they cried for their loss. Teaspoon seemed to have aged twenty years when he came down to join Rachel and Buck at the table. Lou’s pain at the loss of Kid was overwhelming. After crying in his arms for hours, Lou had finally fallen asleep. Rachel had offered to sit with her, but Teaspoon wasn’t ready to leave Lou. He needed to comfort her as much as she needed to be comforted. “How is she?” “Sleeping now. We need to plan a service for him. I don’t think that she’ll be much help planning it, but we can start on that in the morning though. Rachel, do we have any lemonade?” “Here ya go. Want anything to eat?” Neither Rachel nor Buck had any appetite, she felt she should offer something to Teaspoon though. She knew he wasn’t going to want anything, but still didn’t know quite what to do with herself. “No thanks. I think I’m gonna go check out what’s going on around town. One of ya come find me if something happens.” Teaspoon needed time to work things out in his mind. Time to understand how another of his sons could die before their time. “Teaspoon, send a telegram to Jimmy and Cody, they’ll want to know what’s going on.” Buck knew he’d want to know if anything happened to his family when he was away. Besides, Jimmy and Cody might be able to be there for the service. “I will. They’ll want to know.” With that, Teaspoon left the house to take care of his town. In the middle of the night, Lou woke up reaching for Kid. Within seconds, she remembered the terrible news she’d gotten that day. The only man she would ever love was dead. She tried to go back to sleep, but she kept reliving all their happy times. Then she remembered the letter. In her pain from the telegram, she had forgotten all about Kid’s letter. She turned up the lamp by her bedside to read her husband’s final words. My Dearest Lou, I miss you so much! Especially now that I’m doing a lot of sitting. I don’t want you to worry, I’ve been taken prisoner. I was injured during a battle and was still on the battlefield and alive when I was found by Union troops. I can’t even describe the camp I’m in. It’s very hard here sweetheart and I don’t want you to worry. I have seemed to have made a friend though, Lieutenant John Richards. He’s one of our guards. He reminds me a lot of Jimmy. Same attitude, even looks a little like him. He told me he’d love to go out West when the war is over. I told him he should come to Rock Creek with me and I’d introduce him to you. He says he feels like he already knows you as much as I talk about you. Honey, I’ve got to wrap this up, John told me he’d get this sent for me today and he’ll be around shortly to check on us. Before you know it, I’ll be back in your arms. The war can’t last forever. I love you! Kid After reading Kid’s letter, she decided to go for a walk around town to try and put her mind to rest. The town was so peaceful. There didn’t seem to be anyone out. Of course at this time of night, even the saloon was closed. She had Rock Creek all to herself. She stopped at all the places they used to go together, even stopped at the places where they had argued. She wanted to be anywhere he had been. As dawn started to break, she found herself at the cemetery. She sat down between the markers for Ike and Noah. Kid would need a marker and a memorial service. They may not have had a lot of friends outside of their Pony Express family, but she had learned how highly people thought of her husband. She stayed with Ike and Noah until the town started to wake up. Then headed to the church to start setting up Kid’s service with the reverend. Slowly over the next few weeks, Lou started acting more like herself. She became more involved with the rest of the family and had even started volunteering to help out at the church when they needed it. She didn’t even leave the room when she was left alone with Rachel and Teaspoon any more. Some days though, watching their budding romance was too much for her. Today was one of those days. She didn’t mind too much though. It was a beautiful day and a nice change from the rain they’d been getting lately. “Why hello Lou! Haven’t seen you around lately.” “Hello Mr. Tompkins. I’ve been busy helping out at the church. Besides, with Cody and Jimmy visiting over the past couple weeks, I haven’t had much time to get out.” “Sure was nice to see those boys. Oh, before I forget, got a package here for you. I meant to bring it by last night, but I got held up.” Lou looked at the unfamiliar handwriting on the package and wondered what it could be. She knew she hadn’t ordered anything. Maybe it was something from her brother and sister. She did her best to think positive and ignore the sense of dread that she felt since taking the package. “Thanks. Guess I better get home and find out what it is. Have a nice evening.” “You too Lou. Take care.” She slowly walked toward the house wondering what the package could possibly hold. She grabbed her scissors as she walked up to her room to open it. The first thing she noticed was his blue shirt. She’d always loved the shirt on him. Kid’s possessions, she’d forgotten the soldier said they’d be sent to her. As she reached in the box to pick up her husband’s favorite shirt, she noticed an envelope with her name on it. Her hands shook as she tore it open. Dear Mrs. McCloud, My name is Lieutenant John Richards. I would give anything to not be writing you. I think your husband was a great man and one I admired. When he was first captured, he didn’t fight his imprisonment like the other men did. He made the best of a bad situation. I was the night guard for the prison camp and found your husband trying to write a letter in the dark. There was no light allowed to the prisoners from sundown to sunup, but here was this man who felt he had to finish writing. I stopped and asked him what was so important that he had to finish in the dark. He told me he was writing a letter to his wife. I reminded him that no letters would be sent for the prisoners and he told me it didn’t matter. He’d just have to tell you when he was free again. Mrs. McCloud, he wrote you every night. After a couple months, I realized that he was writing your letters in the dirt. He didn’t have any paper, but he just kept writing you. He told me that as long as he was writing to you, you’d know he was all right. It took me a while to get him some paper in to him. I told him that as soon as he finished writing the letter, I’d send it for him. He was so excited about the idea of you getting to hear from him. He knew that you’d worry since he hadn’t been able to write you in so long. He wanted you to know he was doing fine and would be home to you as quickly as he could. You see, he and I were working on a plan to get him out. He said he had no interest in fighting a losing battle anymore. He just wanted to be with the woman he loved. Little did we know, the other prisoners had other plans. They had been planning a riot. They too were tired of being held prisoner. They had their riot before we could get Kid out. We didn’t realize they had noticed our friendship, so we didn’t notice how angry it made them. He was one of the first to be killed. We captured most of the prisoners. During their interrogations, they told us why they had killed Kid. Their reasons sickened me and made writing this letter even harder. I have sent all of the belongings Kid had snuck to me during the night. We hadn’t confiscated all of the soldiers’ effects so as Kid and I planned for his escape, I took his stuff to hide for him. I wish he was there with you. Please believe me when I tell you how terribly sorry I am. If only I’d gotten him out sooner. I will live with that regret for the rest of my days. Sincerely, John Richards Reading about her husband’s senseless death sent Lou back to a place she thought she’d left for good. In her rage at the other prisoners, Lieutinant Richards, and even Kid, Lou threw everything she could get her hands on. When she threw their wedding picture into the wall, she stopped. She fell to her knees next to it and cried at the smiling faces in the picture. She also made a decision. It was time to see her husband again. Rachel and Teaspoon were looking forward to a quiet evening together as they met on the porch. Lou had told them she would leave dinner on the stove for them. She was planning on helping out Mrs. Williams who had fallen earlier in the week. They thought nothing of the quiet house when they went inside, but quickly realized something was wrong when the stove was cold and no food had been made since lunch. “Where could she be? It’s not like her to just disappear.” “I’ll go check if she’s at Mrs. Williams. Maybe she had to head over there sooner than expected. I’m sure she’s just fine Rachel.” Teaspoon headed back out the door and hoped that Lou really was at Mrs. Williams’ house. He had a gut feeling that was going to be the last place she’d be. After Teaspoon left, Rachel headed upstairs to check if maybe Lou was sick and in bed. What she saw when she opened Lou’s door caused her heart to skip a beat. The room was a disaster. There was broken glass everywhere. She knew Lou must be in trouble. “Maybe she was attacked and taken.” Rachel knew the chances of that were unlikely, but it was the only explanation she could come up with. When she saw the broken picture frame that used to hold Lou and Kid’s wedding picture, she rushed out the door to find Teaspoon and Buck. Buck couldn’t wait to get off his horse. The ride to Blue Creek had been long, but profitable. He’d sold quite a few of their horses to the Army and had an agreement that they would be purchasing more in the next few months. “Lou’s going to be so excited.” In the past weeks, Lou had taken a more active role in their budding ranch. She was even the one who had come up with the idea to sell horses to the army. Buck had been opposed at first, but Lou wore him down. As he saw the house come into view, he saw Rachel go running out the door and he knew something terrible must’ve happened. “Rachel!” He jumped off his horse almost before it stopped and grabbed Rachel. “What’s going on?” “Lou’s missing. We thought maybe she went over to Mrs. Williams early, but her room’s a mess and I found this.” Rachel held up the frame to the wedding picture and Buck felt his stomach drop. Lou treasured both the frame and the picture. If the picture was missing and the frame broken, she must be in trouble. “I’ll saddle a fresh horse and go look for her. Don’t worry Rachel, we’ll find her.” Buck grabbed his horse and headed for the barn, while Rachel rushed to Mrs. Williams to get Teaspoon. Buck was the one that found her. He had a feeling she’d go someplace special for her and Kid, the swimming hole was the only place that came to mind. She clutched their wedding picture in her hands and looked more peaceful in death than she had looked in a long time. He knew that she was with Kid again and that she was happy. Buck gathered the woman he would always think of as his sister in his arms and headed back to the house. He had thought she was getting better and this was the last thing he had expected from her. There must be an explanation at the house. He only hoped Rachel had found out why Lou would want to do this. A very worried Teaspoon was waiting on the porch when Buck’s horse walked in. He could tell by the way Buck was holding Lou that she was gone. Teaspoon had wanted to go out and help after not finding Lou at Mrs. Williams, but when Rachel came to the barn with the letter from Lieutenant Richards he knew what they were going to find. “Rachel, Buck’s found her.” Rachel rushed down the stairs at Teaspoon’s statement, but cried at the sight of the woman who was both sister and daughter to her. Teaspoon grabbed Rachel as she rushed towards Buck and Lou. As she sobbed into his arms, he reminded Buck what they needed to do. “Let’s get her to the undertakers and let Jimmy and Cody know what’s going on.” The day of her service couldn’t have been more beautiful. It was the kind of day she loved. Not too hot, not too cold with the bright sun bringing life to everything and everyone. They had been surprised at the number of people who showed up for the service, but were glad to have the cemetery to themselves to say goodbye. Jimmy and Cody had made it back for the service. Jimmy had decided to stay behind for good and Cody planned on coming back very soon. As the five stood around her grave, they looked at the loss their family had suffered from the damn war. Two brothers and a sister, gone for no good reason. How would the family go on without them? THE STORM Written by Kent Blazy, Kim Williams, and Garth Brooks She sits among the pieces of broken glass and photographs Reluctantly releases the last of what was her past It struck without a warning or did she just ignore the signs In those dark clouds forming behind her sliver lines CHORUS: The door it slammed like thunder and the tears they fell like rain And the warnings from her family whirl like a hurricane She’s drowning in emotions and she cannot reach the shore She’s alive, but can she survive the storm A broken jewel box dancer lies in pieces down the hall She’s finding out the answers don’t change nothing at all It’s time that she stopped searching for who’s to blame or what went wrong CHORUS Someday days just roll on by without a gray cloud in the sky Shye keeps telling herself, “I will make it on my own” And her friends they’ve all gone back to their lives Thinking she will be all right As she races through the night to make it home Drop Jamie a note and let her know what you thought!