TITLE: Sisters
AUTHOR: Red Sky
FEEDBACK: bg120@lafn.org
STANDARD DISCLAIMER: The Young Riders don't belong to the author, but to
MGM/UA Television, Ed Spielman and Josh Kane. No copyright infringement
intended.


                                   Sisters
                                 By RED SKY


Author's Note: All characters except Mel, Abe, Will, Ruby and Floyd belong
to The Ogiens/Kane Company in association with MGM/UA Television. I just
borrowed them for awhile. Anyway they weren't using them. No infringment
intended.

Why is it that just when things are becoming really comfortable and I'm
having the best dream, the sun comes up and hits me right in the face. If I
open your eyes, I'll just wake up on a hard bunk, under an old blanket, in a
rickety bunkhouse, with a bunch of snoring guys. And the man I love is
sleeping halfway across the room. Maybe if I don't open my eyes, the dream
won't go away, Lou thought. I can still be in a big soft bed under a warm
and thick comforter. And I can pretend that Kid isn't across the room but
next to me, and that Hickok, Cody and the other guys are far, far -- really
far away.

As Lou fought to keep her dream she feels a soft kiss on her bare shoulder.
OK, she thinks, this is definitely not a dream so maybe waking up won't be
too bad. Then she remembers, she's not in Rock Creek but in Denver. And she
is not in the bunkhouse but in a nice warm hotel with Kid. The two riders
had to take some army dispatches to Denver and had to wait for the replies.
Unfortunately -- or fortunately depending on how you look at it -- the
replies weren't ready yet and wouldn't be for a couple of days. So here they
are in Denver with nothing to do. Luckily, they were able to find something
to keep them occupied and out of trouble. The best part was that she could
be Louise and not Lou for a couple of days and not have to worry about who
might see her. She could wear a dress and fix her hair and walk down the
street holding hands with the Kid and not care who sees them. But the
replies are going to be ready today and Lou has to reappear to help deliver
them but maybe not for a little while yet. So she rolls over onto her back
and open her eyes to look up into the Kid's smiling face.

"Good morning, Louise, sleep well?" he says.

"Real well, but someone kept me up real late last night"

"Who would be that inconsiderate?"

"I don't know", she says, "but if he was a gentleman he might try to make it
up to me".

The Kid thinks on this and then kisses her, not a short kiss but one of
those long kisses that make you forget how to think. Just before her brain
totally shuts down, she thinks the Kid is definitely a gentleman.

                                   *****

It's a beautiful day and the trip back to Rock Creek was real easy. The
weather was good and they didn't met up with any Indians or outlaws. Lou
knew she should feel great. The last few days were wonderful but she can't
seem to shake off her uneasy feeling. It wasn't a bad feeling, just a
nervous one. But the closer they got to Rock Creek, the stronger the feeling
got. It is just like when a big storm is coming and the air around changes.
She usually only feels this way when Mel is around but she is supposed to be
in California with Jake, hunting down some bank robber for the bounty.

Jake Colter. He isn't the nicest person in the territory, after all, he
tried to collect a bounty on Hickok even though Jimmy was innocent. But Mel
can more than handle him, so there is no worry there. Mel, now there's a
cause for worry. She loved Mel with all her heart. Mel was there for her
when no one else was, helping her, taking care of her, but Mel can stir up
trouble faster than a rattlesnake can strike, too. Like a force of nature,
Mel is totally unpredictable and equally uncontrollable. As her uneasines
grew, Lou began to believe that her suspicions are true. What if Mel is in
Rock Creek? Oh, dear...

                                   *****

Two days and no Mel. but Lou has become increasingly jumpy. She started when
Cody entered the bunkhouse and loudly called out to her. "Lou."

Hickok looked up from the checker board and glanced the petite figure of the
rider seated on her bed near the window. Transfering his gaze to Noah, Jimmy
gave a slight shrug before returning to the game.

"LOU."

"What do you want, Cody?"

"I need a favor."

"No, Cody."

"Lou, you can't say no. It's just a little favor."

Lou gets up and walks toward the table. "You're right Cody, if you don't ask
me I can't say no. So don't ask me." she says

"She's got you there, Cody," Hickok says.

"Lou, all I need is a little loan."

"No, Cody"

"Cody, how come you get paid just like the rest of us but you never have any
money," Noah asks.

"Because I have an image to uphold. Can I help it if people expect me to
have a certain style?"

"Paying girls to talk to you isn't considered style, Cody" says Hickok.

"You're just jealous.."

Despite the riders' bickering, Lou heard the sound of approaching horses.
"Be quiet, Cody, I hear someone coming," says Lou as heads for the door.
Outside, Buck, Ike and Teaspoon have come out of the barn and Rachel stopped
hanging the wash to see who was coming. Two riders came into view. One tall
with long wavy hair, the other one small with shoulder length red hair. The
tall one is obviously Jake Colter -- the bounty hunter who went after Hickok
when he was framed for bank robbery and murder -- but only Lou knows who the
other person is.

As Jake and his companion get off their horses, Teaspoon walks. "Jake ,we
don't want any trouble, what do ya want?"

"It's not me you have to worry about this time." Glancing around, his
finally saw the figure he was looking for half hidden Jimmy and Buck. "Hey
Lou!"

"Jake." she acknowledged the man with a nod of her head. "How bad was the
ride?"

A simple question but Jake's companion blew off. "Don't talk about me like
I'm not here," Mel said in a huff. One look at a furious Mel made Lou turn
and walk inside the bunkhouse. Mel follows and closes the door. But even the
thick wood couldn't hide the interesting "conversation" going inside the
bunkhouse.

"LOUISE McCLOUD, HOW COULD YOU LET THAT MANGY LOWDOWN PIECE OF POND SCUM
TRICK ME?"

"ME, WHAT DID I DO?" Lou yells back.

"YOU LET ME GO OFF WITH THAT SNAKE!"

"Mel no one lets you do anything. You do what you want. Besides you can
handle Jake better than anyone," Lou replies in a hiss.

Outside Teaspoon,Rachel and the riders listen to the argument while Jake
sits down in a chair on the porch, stretches out his legs, and pushes his
hat over his eyes. Noah turns to Hickok. "Jimmy doesn't this feel like we've
been through this before."

"Whaddya mean, the lady never been here before."

"No, I mean a little fellow comes in, rides like a man, walks like a man..."
Noah starts.

"Probably shoots like a man, does a man job, but...," Hickok continues.

They all turn and look at Jake. Teaspoon walks over to Jake pushes up his
hat and looks Jake right in the eye. "Son, what's your partner's name."

Jake looks around at everyone, smirks and says, "Mel. Didn't you hear Lou?"

Teaspoon looks at the sky, and then at Jake and tries one more time, "What
is Mel's full name, Jake?"

At that, Jake smiles and says, "Melanie Colter, Lou's sister and my bride."

                                   *****

Suddenly it gets quiet inside. The door slams open and a very angry Mel
stomps over to Jake and slaps the back of his head knocking his hat off.
"Look you no good, back-stabbing, flea-ridden dog. One, my name is not
Colter. Just because I in some drunken nightmare I might have stood up with
you infront of preacher doesn't mean I am a Colter..."

"Well Mel, actually it does." says Jake.

"Shut up, Jake. Two, you don't call me Melanie. Only my friends call me
Melanie and YOU ARE NOT MY FRIEND. YOU ARE A SNAKE. And last you slimmy, no
good reptile, I HOPE YOU ROT IN HELL." With that she storms off the porch,
gets on her horse and rides toward town.

Lou strolls over to Jake and sits next to him. "You got her drunk?" Lou asks
cautiously.

"A bottle of whiskey, and half a bottle of champagne."

"And she didn't shoot you."

"Well, she didn't try to hit me."

"So why are you and Mel here together?"

For the first time since they arrived, Jake became serious. "Because Mel is
a little upset and she needed an excuse to see you so she decided to blame
you so she'd have a reason to come and see you. Plus since everyone here
knows you're a girl now she figured it was safe and I'm here to make sure
you two don't figure out a way to get her out of this," he said in a rush
like he has practiced the whole thing.

"What do you care?"

He turns and looks Lou in the eye and says, "Because Lou if she didn't want
to be married to me, I'd be dead and I wasn't drunk when I married her. I
knew exactly what I was doing." And with that Jake gets up, walks to his
horse and follows Mel into town.

                                   *****

Everyone, except the Kid who is out on a ride and Mel who's moping in
Rachel's guest room, is eating dinner at the bunkhouse. Lou was peppered
with questions by the riders. "I thought you only had one sister," asks
Noah.

"I have one blood sister. Mel and I kind of adopted each other" Lou replies.

"How'd you meet?" asks Cody.

A flicker of pain flashed in her eyes before she answered. "After I left the
orphanage, I ended up in St. Louis. Mel was already there. She helped me
out, showed me the ropes." Only the Kid and Rachel know how Lou was attacked
in St. Jo and how Lou's friend, Charlotte, put her on a stage to St. Louis.
Rachel knew that it had been a very painful time for Lou and she is glad Mel
helped her through that.

"Whaddya mean?" asks Jesse.

"You know, where to find food, how to fight, how to act like a boy, how to
play poker, and how to make money," replies Lou.

"She taught you how to play poker? She must be good. You always beat us at
poker. You think she'd help me," asks Cody.

"Knowing Mel, she would clean you out first," Lou replies.

"So how does Jake fit into this," asks Hickok.

"Mel and I met Jake over a poker table. He thought we were some dumb kids he
could make some money off of. We won enough off him and the other players to
get Lightening and Mel's horse, Dynamite. Then Mel had one of her great
ideas that if a low life like Jake could be a bounty hunter so could we. So
we did and we got pretty good at it."

"You were a bounty hunter?"

With a sigh, Lou continued, "If we were after the same bounty as Jake, Mel
would pull a dirty trick to slow him down and Jake would do the same to Mel.
Mel has had Jake thrown in more than one jail on trumped up charges but she
always makes sure he gets out in a couple of days. Just long enough for us
to collect the bounty and get out of town."

"I think I like Mel already," Hickok says smiling.

"Anyway in order to collect one bounty Mel decided that it would be easier
to catch the guy if she was a girl. We got the bounty but Jake figured out
we were girls. Since then Mel and Jake have gone back and forth between
being together and trying to kill each other. When I decided I was tired of
bounty hunting and came here. Mel and Jake decided they could make more
money working together so they became business partners. They work
separately sometimes but mostly they work together, when they aren't
fighting."

"So Mel was working with Jake when he came after me?" Hickok asks.

"No. When Jake went after you, Mel and him had just had a big fight so she
didn't know about it. When I told Mel she almost yelled his ears off and
then wouldn't talk to him for two weeks. And now they're here and I have a
feeling it is only a matter of time before all hell breaks lose."

"In my experience, women like Mel are like a wild horse. Hard to handle. I
think Mel is just perfect for Jake," says Teaspoon.

"It couldn't happen to a nicer guy," says Hickok.

                                   *****

The Kid got back from his ride and took Katy to her stall, rubbing her down
and feeding her. When he turns around, he finds Lou leaning against the door
frame. "Hey!"

"Hey, yourself. How was your ride?"

"It was alright. What are you doing up?"

"Trying to decide if I should head to Mexico or Canada. Whaddaya think?"

"I think you were right and Mel showed up?" Kid sits down a bale of hay and
leans against the wall behind it. Lou walks over and sits next to him. He
puts his arm around her and she drops her head on his shoulders.

"Why are you thinking of leaving the country?"

"Well, Jake got Mel drunk and married her. When she sobered up and found out
she was married she was fit to be tied and ready to shoot Jake. And just so
I don't miss any of the fun they come here and put me in the middle. That's
how my day was."

"So where are they now?"

"Jake's at the hotel and Rachel let Mel stay in her guest room. I'm staying
with Mel. She needs me right now."

"Did I miss something? Mel and Jake have been together for months why'd he'd
decide he just had to marry her now?" asks Kid.

"You're right. Jake is up to something. I just can't figure out what and Mel
so upset about being married she's no help at all."

"Well, no use worrying about it. Jake will show his hand when he is ready."

"Let's just hope Mel doesn't get hurt or he won't have to worry about Mel
'cause I'll kill him myself."

                                    *****

Lou was right about one thing, Jake is up to something, Mel thought as she
walked into the hotel dining room wearing one of Lou's dresses. There is no
reason for Jake to trick her into marriage. Jake being the deceitful scum
that he is must be planning something and one way or another she was going
to find out what it was. But first she's gonna have dinner with Jake. That's
another thing, Jake actually asked her out. Well, he sent a note through
Cody asking her out. He was being much too nice. Jake is trouble on the best
of days, but when he is being nice, he is down right dangerous.

Mel scanned the room looking for Jake but couldn't find him. Then a man
stood up and Mel thought she would die of shock right there and then. Jake
was wearing a suit. He must have just gotten it today because she knew he
didn't own one. God, did he look good in it! Get a hold of yourself Mel,
he's just trying to throw you off. Well, it's not going to work.

"Hi, Jake."

"Hello, Melanie."

When did Jake learn any manners, she thought when her husband held out a
chair for her to sit. What are you up to?"

"Mel, can't we just have a nice dinner and talk about this latter."

"So you are up to something."

"No I'm not and I don't want to argue. Can't we just get a nice dinner,
please"

Jake said please. Jake never says please. Oh-oh, I'm in trouble now. "OK, we
will have a nice dinner then you will tell me what you're up to. Right?"

"Of course, dear."

                                   *****

"'Got in kind of early this morning, Mel."

Mel threw one look at her "sister" and knew Lou wasn't going to let this
pass so she finished buttoning her shirt and turned to look at the figure
sitting on the bed. "Yes, mother. You got a problem with that?"

"No. Just wondered if you got any answers or did other things get in the
way?"

"Have I told you what a pain in the..."

"I'm just wonderin' what is going on."

"When you asked for a good hotel in Denver did I ask you a lot of
questions?" "Yeah, you did" "Did you answer them?"

"No, but I didn't show up on your doorstep married to the Kid"

"By the way, how did you and the Kid like the hotel?"

"Don't even try to change the subject. Spill it."

"All I know is when I woke up this morning he was gone and all that was left
was a note."

"That bastard. What do you mean he's gone? Wait... Why aren't you upset?
What did the note say?"

"It said to wait for him here, that he'll be back soon and to stay out of
trouble."

"And you're not upset, why?"

"Because Jake, in his messed up way, is trying to protect me from something
and he thinks he can take care of it himself."

"So, you are going to wait here for him to come back."

"Hell no, you're going to help me find out what he is protecting me from and
then we'll find him and help him take care of it."

"So where do we start?"

"I say I go check out the new wanted posters. They might give us a clue."

                                   *****

Well, that was a waste of time Mel thought as she helped Rachel peel some
potatoes for supper. There had been nothing in the wanted posters that would
give Jake a reason for leaving her behind. Lou was out on a ride so she had
had plenty of time to think this over. Jake had left her behind before but
this time he had made sure to leave her with Lou. Maybe it had something to
do with Lou.

"You seem to be awfully far away," Rachel said.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to ignore you. I was just thinking," Mel
replied.

"It's OK. I just thought you might want to talk about it. Sometimes it
helps."

"I'm just trying to figure out why Jake left me behind and what's he up to.
I mean Jake can be a snake but since Lou's been here and we've been
partners, he usually tries to keep me close. Too close sometimes. Now he has
run off to God knows where for some secret reason. I don't like it."

"Had anything strange happened before you got here" Rachel asked.

"Besides getting married? No, just business as usual. But to tell the truth,
after we got married I was pretty mad so I might have missed something"

"Maybe he is giving you time to cool off."

"No, Jake and Mel made up the night before he left. They were on more than
friendly terms when he left," Lou says as she entered the bunkhouse. Mel
turns and gives Lou a why-don't-you-shut-up-look. "Any news on Jake?" Lou
asked.

"No, you hear anything?"

Just then a grim-looking Teaspoon comes in with Cody, Noah, Buck and Ike
trailing behind him. The boys start packing their bedrolls and checking
their guns while Teaspoon explains. "Abe Lawson escaped from territorial
prison and he's on a rampage. We just got a message from the territorial
governor asking for our help."

At Teaspoon's statement, Lou and Mel looked at each other. Suddenly Jake's
actions make perfect sense. "Teaspoon, I might be able to help you. I know
someone in Roseville that might be able to help you find Abe," Mel says.

"OK Mel, we'll head there. When the Kid and Hickok get back, they can meet
up with us in Roseville."

                                   *****

Abe Lawson was a particularly vicious outlaw. He did the usual things
criminals do, stealing and killing, but also seemed to take special pleasure
in hurting women. He would viciously beat and rape them and then cut them
till they bled to death. That was enough for any sane man to leave his wife
behind, but Jake had another reason. Lou and Mel had been instrumental in
Lawson's capture, but they also paid a price. It was one of the main reasons
Lou had quit bounty hunting. Mel still had nightmares about it.

As he sat in the saloon in Seneca, hoping someone, anyone would have some
information about Abe, he wondered how much time he had left. Mel would find
out sooner or later about his deceit and then she would start looking for
Abe. The only thing that might slow her down is that she would want to
protect Lou. That is why he left them together. The problem was Lou would
want Abe as bad as Mel, but at least they could watch each others' backs.
Hopefully he could hunt down the bastard before Lou and Mel could get
started. The problem was he couldn't find anyone who knew anything. Just
when he thought that his luck had run dry, Jake sees an "old friend" enter
the saloon. Jake gets up and walks over to Floyd's table. Floyd has a bottle
of whiskey on the table that he is trying to empty in record time. Jake sits
down on the chair across from Floyd.

"What's new, Floyd?" The man looks up and jumps when he recognizes Jake.
Jake slowly smiles, amused at the caged look in Floyd's eyes. "Long time, no
see," Jake says.

"Yeah, how's it going?" Floyd asks fearfully.

"Well Floyd, I have a problem and I think you can help. You see Abe Lawson
decided to take a little trip instead of meeting with the hangman like he
was suppose to. I figured that since Abe was out, maybe we could meet up and
talk about old times. But see, I can't seem to find him. You wouldn't happen
to know where I can find him."

"Me? No Jake, I don't know nothing," Floyd whispers hurriedly.

"You sure you don't know anything, Floyd. I would hate to miss him 'cause
you forgot to tell me somethin'."

At Jake's hard look, Floyd starts to sweat. "Jake, Abe will kill me if he
hears I've been talkin' to you."

"Well, I'll kill you if you don't. Your choice."

Floyd is so scared he can barely think straight. His heart is pounding so
loud he can't hear anything else and his shirt is soaking wet because he is
dripping sweat. He knows he doesn't want to die. And he knows Jake isn't
bluffing. Since Jake is here and Abe isn't, he decides to deal with Jake and
worry about Abe later. Maybe Jake will kill Abe and his problem will be
over. "OK. Abe decided he needs some traveling money, a lot of it. So he is
stealing guns and selling them to the South. They are paying good money and
Abe says he can "retire" in style."

"Who is his contact, Floyd and, where can I find him?"

"Will Sloan. He's from Roseville."

"Thanks Floyd. Enjoy your drink." With that Jake gets up and leaves while
Floyd nearly passes out from sheer relief that he somehow managed to survive
another day. Outside Jake can't believe his incredible fortune -- or
misfortune. Of all the people Abe could deal with, he had to pick the one
Lou could wrap around her finger. Jake is sure that if Lou hears about will,
she'll go down to Roseville herself come hell or high water. Jake looked up
at the gloomy sky. This day couldn't get any worse.

                                   *****

Roseville was a typical frontier town. A little bigger than Rock Creek with
a general store and various saloons scattered along the main street. It's
one claim to fame is the Crystal Palace, a high class brothel and casino run
by Ruby Flannigan. Ruby is a beautiful woman with black hair and piercing
green eyes. She wasn't a young woman but she could compete with any of the
girls in her house. When she entered a room, all the men would stop whatever
they were doing just to look at her. But she wasn't just beautiful but smart
too, and ruthless when necessary. By sheer force of will, she pulled herself
up from being a common whore to one of most influential women in the
territory. Important men from all over the territory came to the Palace. It
was known for its classy decor, fine food and even finer women. As a result,
Ruby knew everything that went on in the territory. She knew everyone's
secrets but she was discreet and that had earned her the undying loyalty of
more than one influential man. And though she was proud of all she had
accomplished, in her opinion the best thing she had ever done was take in
Jake Colter.

She had met Jake when he was just 5 years old but he had been a tough kid
even then. His ma had worked for her but had skipped out taking $200 with
her and leaving Jake behind. So Ruby was stuck with him, since no one was
going to take in a whore's kid. It hadn't been easy at first but Ruby's
maternal instinct had kicked in and Jake, once he knew she wasn't going to
dump him like his ma did, became totally devoted to her. She loved that boy
more than life itself and even though most folks thought Jake was
cold-blooded killer -- which he could be at times -- Ruby knew he had a
heart of gold. He just hid it real well. Only a few people had earned a
place in Ruby's heart, Jake was one and two others were about to walk in her
door.

                                   *****

"Hey Ruby, how's it going," Mel called as she walked toward Ruby.

"A lot better since you got here. Get over here and give me a hug."

Mel ran over to Ruby and was immediately wrapped in Ruby's arms. Once they
finished hugging, Mel said to Ruby, "I brought some friends along and there
is one in particular I thought you might want see."

At that, Lou came in the door followed by Teaspoon, Rachel and the boys.
Ruby took one look at Lou and called, "Girl get over here and let me get a
look at you."

Lou walked over to Ruby and with a huge smile asked, "So whaddaya think?"

Ruby looked her up and down and said, "I think you're too skinny, that
you've been away much too long, and if you don't give me a hug soon I'm
going to beat the living daylights out of you." With that she pulled Lou
into a big bear hug. Once she was through, she looked over at the others and
her eyes grew large with shock. She released Lou and walked up to Teaspoon.
"Teaspoon Hunter, is that you?"

"Yeah, Ruby its me. I'm surprised you remembered."

Ruby leered at him and said "Sugar, in my line of work you don't find too
many fine looking men especially ones with your special talents. You tend to
remember the ones you come across. What brings you to my neck of the woods?"

Teaspoon looks kind of uncomfortable but its pretty clear that Teaspoon has
equally fond memories of Ruby. He clears his throat and says, "Well, Mel
thought you could help us with a problem we have."

"Ruby, Abe Lawson missed his day with the hangman and is on the run. We want
to know if you've heard anything about him," Mel explained.

"Well, have a seat and I'll see what I can tell you."

                                   *****

The house was empty except for some of the girls who were lounging around --
a scene which was proving to be very distracting for the boys, especially
Cody. "Let's see," Ruby started, "It seems that since Abe's broke out he has
been hitting mostly army gun shipments. The South is stocking up weapons for
the war and are paying top dollars for anything they can get."

"So how does he plan to get rid of the guns, Ruby?" Teaspoon asked.

"Well, this should interest you Lou, Will Sloan has become a middle man
between the South and the gun runners. For a percentage, Will makes
arrangement for outlaws like Abe to sell their goods to patriotic Southern
citizens. He getting rich doing it, too."

"What does Lou have to do with it" Buck asked as he looked at Lou, who had
at mention of Will Sloan, hid her face on her folded arms on the table and
started mumbling, "Don't ask me, I'm not going to do it."

"Well, it seems Will has a special fondness for Louise. Last time, she was
here he dogged her every step. He begged her to give him the time of day.
She said she'd rather shoot him," Mel said.

"I would have and I still will," Lou shot back.

"Anyway," Ruby continued, "Will runs his operation out of Roseville so Abe
will have to bring the guns somewhere near here to make the deal."

"So all we have to do is find out where Will and Abe are going to do the
trade and we have Abe and the guns." Noah said.

"Usually, the runners send some boys in first to scout around to find a
place to keep the guns till the trade and to make sure there aren't any army
troops around," Ruby explained.

"And they probably come in here to be entertained when they aren't
scouting," Rachel added.

"My girls can tell me if their pillow talk is interesting but lets admit it,
men don't usually go to whores to talk. But Rachel I hear you're pretty good
at cards," Ruby asked.

"I've been known to play a hand or two," Rachel replied. "You can deal at
one of my tables. Men tend to talk more when they are trying to impress a
pretty girl and maybe you can learn something."

"And me and the boys can do a little scoutin' of our own to see if anyone
comes around with a lot of men and wagons. Maybe sit in on a couple of games
and see if anyone lets something slip," Teaspoon added.

Then Ruby and Mel looked at Lou and she could feel the noose tightening so
she decided to make a dash for it. "Well that's all settled I think I'll see
to the horses," she said as she jumped up out of the chair but Mel grabbed
her arm and pulled her back down.

"Lou, it won't be that bad."

"Then you be nice to him."

"I would but he doesn't want me, he wants you. Plus Abe knows Melanie had a
part in his capture the last time. It's too risky for me to be Melanie. I'm
going to have enough trouble with Jake when he gets here without him finding
out I took that big a risk."

"That's another thing, what am I going to do when the Kid gets here? "

"Well if Ruby plays her cards right she could get enough firewood to last
for the next two winters." Cody supplied. Before Lou could start the fight
she had been itching to start, Ruby grabbed her and said, "Come on lets go
to the house and get things rolling".

                                    *****

The house Ruby was referring to was her personal residence. When her
business got too big for this house, she built a new one closer to the
middle of town and kept the old one for herself so she could have some peace
and quiet. Not that she was going to have much of that for the next few
days, but she didn't mind 'cause her babies were back. While Mel picked on
Lou, Rachel tried to find a dress for her to wear to meet Will Sloan. Ruby
was doing Lou's hair while Lou looked like she was about to be sent to the
guillotine. After Mel had picked on her one too many times, Lou decided to
retaliate. "Ruby, did Mel tell you Jake and her got married."

"WHAT? When did this happen?" asked Ruby.

"About two weeks and one hangover ago" Lou said with a grin.

"Shut up Lou."

"This is wonderful. I always wanted you two to get hitched," Ruby gushed.

"This is horrible. Your Jake managed to trick me into marrying him and now
I'm stuck with him."

"Well if you didn't consummate marriage, you can get out of it," Ruby
supplied, knowing that was unlikely.

"What's con-su-mate," Lou asked.

"Been to bed with him," Ruby answered. Mel started to turn red and got real
interested in the dresses.

"They consummated the marriage way before they were married," Lou said.

Mel retaliated, "Well since we're talking about consummating things, let's
talk about you and the Kid."

And the argument was on and all Rachel and Ruby could do was sit back and
laugh. Even though Mel wouldn't admit it, she loved Jake and Ruby knew Jake
loved Mel. But being to two pig-headed fools they were, Ruby knew it would
take awhile before they admitted it to each other. What Ruby was really
interested in was this Kid person. She couldn't wait to check this guy out.

                                   *****

Lou stood outside Ruby's place waiting for that slimy Will Sloan to appear
so they could 'accidentally' bump into each other. This was a dumb idea.
Will wouldn't tell her anything so why should she have to suffer. It wasn't
fair. She was just about to get up and go over to the house and tell them
all that when she heard, "Why Miss Louise, fortune has definitely smiled on
me today, that it allowed me to gazed on you lovely face once again."

Lou looked up and there was Will in all his tawdry glory. He wore a dark
gold suit with a paisley vest and God was it ugly. The man's taste had to be
in his feet. With his hair slicked back with what had to be three pounds of
oil, he stood there with his walking stick thinking he was the most handsome
man in the world. Lou thought he looked like hell but she fixed a smile on
her face and said, "Hello, Mr. Sloan how nice to see you."

"How many times have I told you to please call me Will, Louise."

"I'm sorry, how are you, Will."

"Much better now that I've seen you. May I sit down?"

"Oh please do, Will." And that is how it started. The nightmare that was
going to become her life for the next several hours. He smiled and
complimented her. She smiled, thanked him, and tried not to be sick. He
asked her if he could take her to dinner that night. She forced herself to
say yes. He walked her back to Ruby's house and told her he couldn't wait
until they met again. She smiled and said she was looking forward to it.
Then she went inside to look for the headache powder because he made her
head hurt.

Later that evening, a tired Lou watched Will play cards. For the hundredth
time, she prayed that Will would just take her home, she could get some
rest. But he had brought her to Ruby's for good luck at the poker table and
proceeded to win a lot of money. Unfortunately, every time he would win he
would kiss Lou on the cheek or hug her. When he was playing, he would rub
his hand up and down her arm or hold her hand. He was driving her crazy by
always touching her. She didn't think she could stand much more but she kept
smiling.

At least she wasn't alone. Buck and Ike were at the bar and Mel, Rachel, and
Noah were playing at various tables around the room. Of course, Cody was
flirting with one of the girls near the front door. Teaspoon and Ruby were
nowhere to be seen but Lou knew they were near by.

Then, Ruby and Teaspoon walked in followed by the Kid and Hickok. The Kid
looked furious and it looked like the other three had been trying to keep
him from blowing his top, without much success. The Kid looked over at Lou,
and she could see the anger in his eyes. Just then Will won a really big pot
and jumped up out of his chair. Lou turned to look at him. Will pulled her
out of the chair wrapped his arms around her and kissed her hard on the
lips. By the time Will had let her go and she could look around the room
again, the Kid was gone.

                                   *****

Lou finally got Will to take her home. He walked her to the front door and
asked her out for the next night. Lou agreed to meet him and suffered
through another bout of hand kissing. When she was finally able to get
inside, she slumped against the door. This had to have been one of the worst
days of her life and she was glad it was finally over. When she finally made
it to her room, she kicked off her shoes and looked down at her dress. She
seriously considered throwing it out the window because the sight of it
reminded her of how much a disaster this day had been. She couldn't though
because the dress wasn't even hers.

"That's a pretty dress. Did he buy it for you?"

Lou must have jump at least a foot off the ground. She turned toward the
voice and could just make out the Kid sitting in the dark by the window.
"No, I borrowed it from Ruby. How long you been waiting?"

"For a couple of hours. So did you find out anything?" the Kid asked quietly
as he got up and walked toward her.

"No, not yet?" she answered as she backed up. It wasn't that Lou was scared
of the Kid but he was making her feel really uncomfortable and she really
wanted to avoid the fight she knew was coming. He continued to walk forward
and she continued to back up till her back hit the wall and she had to stop.
Lou looked up at Kid," Why don't you just get it off your chest and tell me
what is on your mind?"

"Why'd you let him kiss you?"

"I didn't let him kiss me, he just did it. What was I suppose to do hit him?
I'm trying to get him to trust me."

"Oh, thanks for telling me that kissing someone is a way to gain their
trust."

"Stop it. You're just being stubborn."

"I watch you kiss another man and you tell me it was to gain his trust and
I'm being stubborn."

"I know Teaspoon told you what I was doing so why are so upset."

"Cause I didn't know that getting information from the guy meant letting him
slobber all over you."

"He did not slobber all over me."

"No? When you saw me come in with Teaspoon and Ruby that was the second time
I came in, not the first. I saw him rubbing your arm and kissing you.
Teaspoon got me out of there to explain things to me before I could bash
that little weasel's head in."

"I know what I'm doing."

"That's what you think."

"That's what I know."

Lou and the Kid stared at each other. The Kid knew he had to get out of
there before he said something he would live to regret. So he turned and
headed for the door.

"Where are you going?"

"Out."

Then he walked out the door and closed it behind him. Lou just stared at the
door. The whole miserable night just caught up with her. "Damn it," she said
as she flopped down on the bed and cried herself to sleep.

                                   *****

The next day started as most days started back in Rock Creek, with Cody
consuming more food than anyone thought one person could. Ruby didn't mind
though, she liked seeing a man enjoy his food. Anyway watching him, kept her
from worrying about Lou, who hadn't come down to breakfast. She wasn't the
only one, another rider missed the day's first meal. Ruby had met the Kid
last night and even though he had been really mad, she could tell he was a
nice boy and that he was thoroughly in love with Lou. He got upset when he
saw Lou with Will. A man only got that upset if he cared about a woman. She
had a feeling they would work things out. Rachel was telling the group that
she found something out last night.

"A man who has a farm south of town said he'd seen some 'army scouts'
hanging out by an abandoned mine," Rachel said.

"That would be the 'Lucky Lady' mine. It used to be a silver mine but it was
played out a few years ago and was abandoned," Ruby supplied.

"Sounds like a good place to hide some guns until you could make a deal.
Jimmy, take Noah and Cody with you and see if anythin' is going on at the
mine. Don't get too close. Don't want them to get spooked," Teaspoon
instructed.

"Sure. If you think Cody can bear to leave the table while food is still on
it," answered Jimmy.

"Don't know Jimmy. Cody seems to have gotten real attached to Ruby's
pancakes," Noah joked.

"I'm ready. You two just try to keep up" Cody said as he walked to the door
with two pancakes in his hand. Noah and Jimmy looked at each other, laughed
and followed him. Jake walked in just as Jimmy was walking out the door.

"Jake."

"Hickok."

"Looking for your wife?"

"No, got a pretty good idea where she is."

"Really know how to handle your women, Jake."

Jake just looked at Hickok, smirked and started to turn away. He was just
about to turn back around and sucker punch Jimmy when he heard Ruby's voice.
"Don't even try it, Jake."

Hickok smiled and walked away.

"Hey, Rube. Where's Mel?"

"What, no 'how you doing Ruby' or 'How's everything, Ruby'?"

"OK, how ya doing Ruby?"

"Why just fine Jake and you?"

"I'd be better if Mel was in Rock Creek and not here."

"You mean your wife, Mel."

"Yea, my wife. And where is the little woman?"

"Upstairs. Have anything new for us?"

"Besides the fact that he is definitely meeting Will Sloan here for some
guns, nothing. Lou working on Will?"

"Yea, but she hasn't got anything yet."

"Don't worry when Abe gets here, Will will tell Lou 'cause he'll just have
to brag to her."

"Well go to your wife but could you change the usual routine a little? We
need Mel tonight."

"What routine?"

"The one where you argue all day and then spend all night making up. Could
you try to fit some work in there somewhere?"

Jake smiled and said "I'll try but you know Mel just can't get enough of
me." Then he walks to the bottom of the stairs and calls up "Mel, WHAT THE
HELL ARE YOU DOING HERE?"

Mel yelled back, "WHAT DAMN BUSINESS IS IT OF YOURS?" With that Jake heads
upstairs. At the table, Teaspoon, Ruby, and Rachel laugh as they listen to
the argument progress upstairs.

Rachel is the first to sober up. "Anyone talk to Kid or Lou this morning,"
she asked.

"No, but the Kid has started chopping wood which ain't a good sign,"
Teaspoon answered.

"And Lou's been holed up in her room all morning," Ruby supplied.

"Well, I guess I've got the Kid" Teaspoon said as he started to get up.

"No Teaspoon. Let me go talk to the Kid. It will give me a chance to get to
know him. Rachel you want to take Lou," Ruby instructed.

"Sure, good luck with the Kid," Rachel said.

                                    *****

Ruby found the Kid sitting on the ground near the woodpile, pulling up dead
grass. He looked so damn miserable. And for some reason Ruby decided right
there and then this is the man for her Lou. She didn't know why, it was
probably because he looked so sad. No man who didn't care for a woman could
look so sad just because they had a fight.

"Hi, Kid."

The Kid jumps up. A good sign in Ruby's opinion.

"Ma'am."

This is even a better sign. This boy has manners. "You can call me, Ruby,
ma'am makes me feel old."

"Ruby."

"Kid come sit with me on the porch and talk a bit," Ruby said. The Kid
looked uncertain but followed Ruby to the back porch and sat down. "Well
Kid, Mel tells me you and Lou have gotten close."

"Well, we were, until last night."

"Oh, so you two had words"

"You could say that."

"I'm guessing they were about Will and Lou."

"I told her I didn't like the way he was all over her. She said she knew
what she was doing and it kind of went downhill from there."

"Lou has been known to be kind of stubborn at times."

"Lou is more stubborn than any mule I ever saw."

"I know but that's what I like about Lou, she doesn't give up. Considering
her past, that's probably the only thing that has kept her alive this long.
And even though it gets in your way sometimes, I think you like that about
Lou, too."

"Maybe."

"Anyway, Lou wouldn't give Will the time of day if she wasn't trying to get
Abe Lawson. Lou has seen how bad Abe can be. Last time they met, he beat her
up really bad. Broke a couple of ribs. The only reason it wasn't worse is
that he didn't know she was a girl. Mel got beat up so bad she just passed
out from the pain. He would have raped her but he likes to see the fear in
his victims eyes. He had just killed another girl when Jake got to him. He
would have killed him there and then but a sheriff was with him and he
needed to get Lou and Mel to a doctor." Getting no response from Kid, Ruby
continued. "Anyway knowing Lou she'll probably try to shoot Will when this
is all over, so you have no reason to be jealous."

"I'm not jealous. I just don't want Lou to get hurt."

Just then they heard Buck calling to tell Lou she's got a package. In the
parlor, Teaspoon, Rachel, Buck and Ike were already there with Lou and Mel
and Jake have stopped arguing long enough to come downstairs. Lou read the
card. "Take it back, I'm not opening it."

Mel grabbed the card from Lou and read "To my Lady Luck. Your humble
servant, Will."

"I'm not opening it."

"Come on Lou its from that fancy dressmaker in town. Open it."

"You've seen the way he dresses. It's got to be horrible," Lou answered.

"I'll open it then," Mel said as she cut the string tied around the box.
Horrible was an understatement. The dress was a disaster. It was so bad it
left the whole room speechless. It was made of a satin material of wide
stripes of oranges and hot pink. It was an off the shoulder style with big
ruffles around the bottom and top, edged in black lace. It was plain awful.
Lou just stared at it, then looked at Mel. There was an evil smile in her
sister's face. Lou made a break for room with Mel right behind her. Mel
would have caught her but she tripped on the rug which gave Lou enough time
to get to her room and lock the door. Downstairs, the Kid stared at the
dress then smiled for the first time all day and decided to see if there was
any breakfast left.

                                   *****

Lou refused to come out of her room for the rest of the afternoon. They
finally promised her she wouldn't have to wear the dress and that they'd
help her find some way to explain it to Will. The Kid, on the other hand,
seemed to be in a much better mood after the dress arrived. Nobody really
understood why but if they didn't have to tip toe around him, they weren't
about to question it. Later that night, Lou sat with Will in the hotel
restaurant. This time Will had found another suit to display his unusual
fashion sense. A peacock blue suit with a light green brocade vest. He was a
sight to behold.

"Thanks for understanding about the dress, Will. It really is a lovely dress
but I wouldn't feel right accepting it. It is a far too expensive present
and we haven't been seeing each other all that long."

"I understand but you really shouldn't worry about the expense. I'm putting
together a little deal that should make me a very rich man. Rich enough so
that I can shower you with all kinds of tokens of my affection. So I hope
you will feel comfortable enough with me to accept these tokens. I feel that
this could be the beginning of very special relationship between the two of
us."

As Lou tried to keep herself from getting sick at the thought of her and
Will "together", she asked, "What kind of deal, Will?"

"Much too complicated a deal for a lady like you to understand. Let's just
say that in two days I should have more than enough money to satisfy all my
needs with some to spare."

Finally some information to justify all the suffering she had put herself
through. Lou smiled at Will, raised her glass and said "To Will and to the
success of his deal."

                                   *****

Will had to have more than two hands, Lou thought as she entered her room,
'cause it felt like she had been fighting off at least a dozen hands all
night. The man hands were everywhere. She thought as she threw her shoes in
the corner. She took off her dress and hung it up. The dress didn't seem so
bad compared to the dress Will gave her. She was about to take off the
petticoat but stopped. She sat down on the bed, leaned back on her elbows
and said, "Kid, just leave if you came here to fight 'cause I can't handle
it tonight."

The Kid came away from the window and sat down next to her on the bed and
turn to look at her.

"Didn't have a good time with Will?" he asked.

Funny, he didn't sound upset, Lou thought, what's up? "Let's just say that
spending time with Will isn't my idea of a fun evening" Lou replied.

"I thought Will was the kind of guy girls love, sophisticated, worldly and
generous."

Lou turned and looked at him. "Who are you and what have you done with the
Kid?"

"What?"

"What do you mean 'What?'. Last night you come in here mad 'cause I'm
spending time with Will, now you're here acting like you don't care. What's
up?"

"Nothing."

"Nothing?"

"I just had time to think about it and I figured the man can't be that bad.
I mean he sent you that dress. A man who would pick out that dress for you
can't be all bad."

The Kid could barely keep from laughing at the look on Lou's face. She
looked like she thought he had lost his mind. Then her eyes narrowed and she
said "You think you're funny don't you?", then she grabbed a pillow from the
bed and started hitting him with it. Then he started laughing and grabbed
the other pillow and started hitting her back. She started laughing and soon
they were both lying breathless on the bed.

The Kid propped himself up on one elbow and looked down at Lou. "You know
I'm sorry I got all upset last night. I know you don't want to spend time
with Will, I guess I just lost it when I saw him kissing you."

"Well I guess I wouldn't have acted any different if I saw you kissing some
girl even if you were doin' it for a good reason. I'm sorry I wasn't more
understanding." Then the Kid leaned down and kissed her, softly at first and
then deeply. Then all of a sudden he jumped up and said he better go. That
wasn't what Lou was expecting.

"Why? " she asked.

"Lou, Ruby's right down the hall. She's like a ma to you. We can't do that
here."

"Listen. One, Ruby likes you. She told me so. Two, Ruby's a madam. I don't
think she would be upset if we were together here. She wasn't upset when Mel
and Jake were together here before they got married. And three, she is much
too busy with Teaspoon to worry about what you and I might be doing in
here."

"Teaspoon?"

"Been with her every night since we got here."

"You sure."

"Yep. Saw him coming out of her room one morning."

"I don't know." Lou got off the bed and walked to the door, "Kid, if you
would rather spend the night alone, on a cold hard bunk instead of with me
in a nice warm bed, I won't try to stop you." Lou opened the door and looked
at the Kid questioningly.

The Kid walked over, closed the door and took her in his arms. "When you put
it that way, I don't have much of a choice."

"I knew you'd see it my way. And to make you feel better we'll lock the
door, just so there aren't any surprises."

                                   *****

Its amazing how hungry making up with Jake could make a person, Mel thought,
as she walked toward her room with a sandwich. She knew breakfast was in a
few hours but she was starving and didn't think she could last that long. As
she was going into her room, she heard the lock turn on Lou's door so she
ducked into her room and peaked out. As she looked out she saw the Kid come
out of the room and go down the stairs. Hmmm, seems that she and Jake
weren't the only ones makin' up last night. Well, she thought as she bit
into the sandwich, she could go back in her room or she could go get back at
Lou for all the little remarks about her and Jake. Decisions. Decisions. Lou
is a tough girl she can handle a little torture. Mel headed towards Lou's
room. She opened the door as quietly as she can. Whoa, someone had fun in
here last night. It almost looked as bad as her room. But of course Jake and
her have more experience at this sort of thing. Lou's clothes were thrown
all over the place. Funny, Lou isn't usually this messy. She looked toward
the bed and saw Lou asleep on one side of the bed, buried under a mound of
blankets. She went over to the other side of the bed and reclined against
the headboard.

"Lou." Nothing. "Lou," a little louder.

"Mmm," Lou replied.

"LOU."

"WHAT?" Lou peeked above the blankets to see who was bothering her.

"Good morning. How are you today?" Mel asked sweetly.

"Fine, Mel and you" Lou replied cautiously.

"Oh, I'm fine. Just wondering if you were too." Lou turned over to look at
Mel, careful to keep the blankets up around her neck. "Why?"

"Its just it is a mess in here," Mel said with a grin.

"I was just real tired last night."

"Looks like you were in a awful hurry to get out of your clothes. You got a
fever Lou. You look kind of flushed."

"No, I'm just fine."

"Maybe you have too many blankets." Mel pulled at the blankets but Lou
pulled them back. One of the blankets fell off Lou's shoulder and back,
showing her lack of clothes. "Lou, don't you usually sleep in your long
johns."

Beet red, Lou sat up, pulled her arms out from under the blankets and tucked
the blankets under her arms. "Mel are you having fun?"

"I'm having a ball," she said as she bit into the sandwich.

"Got any idea how much longer you plan to make me suffer."

"I don't know. You can't really plan these things. You just have to flow
with it."

"Mel, I think you've hit on pretty much everything."

"Oh no I haven't even started on how your bloomers got on top of the cabinet
over there." Lou followed her gaze and wished the ground would just open up
and swallow her now.

"Lou I didn't think it was possible but I think your getting redder"

"Mel, I really hate you."

"Yea, I know."

"Don't you have a husband to see to?"

"No, Jake's asleep."

"Mel get out."

"Nope, I kind of like it here."

Meanwhile just outside the door Ruby is listening and barely suppressing her
laughter. Mel definitely has a mean streak, that's probably why her and Jake
are together. Ruby thinks Lou has taken about enough. "Mel," Ruby calls.

"Yes, Ruby."

"Could you come out here?"

"Why don't you come in here." Then Ruby hears a thump and Mel yells "Ouch."

"No Mel I need you out here"

"OK Ruby."

As soon as Mel walks out of Lou's room, the door slams and the lock is
turned. "Mel, give Lou a break. If the Kid and her want to be together while
they're here, leave them alone. Unlike you and Jake, they won't have much
time together when they leave here."

"But you should have seen Lou, got as red as an apple"

"Mel."

"OK. OK. I've had my fun. I'll leave her alone... For now."

                                   *****

"So Will is going to make the deal tomorrow. What's happenin' at the mine?"

"They moved the guns in late last night but Lawson wasn't with them. We
still don't know when or if he is showing up," Hickok told Teaspoon.

"Abe is going to show up. He won't trust anyone else with his money. He'll
be there. We just have to find out when," Jake added.

"According to the bank manager, Will has an appointment with him at noon.
That means the meeting is going to happen before noon," Mel supplied.

"Melanie, I thought you were going be Mel this time around," Jake asked
suspiciously.

"But the manager liked Melanie a lot better than he liked Mel."

                                   *****

The next morning the riders, Teaspoon, Jake and Mel are already in position
around the mine, waiting. The actual mine had caved in a long time ago but
the surrounding buildings were still intact. The guns were in the main
building. Most of the guards are around it and two men are watching the only
road leading to the mine. Will comes riding in with two men. One is a well
dressed gentleman, the other is the man that they've been looking for, Abe
Lawson.

"This is Marshal Hunter, throw down your weapons and put your hands up,"
Teaspoon yells as the men stopped in front of the building. No one dropped
their weapons, no one put their hands up. Instead, everyone started shooting
and heading for covers. The whole area explodes in gunfire. The two men
guarding the road fire toward the sound of Teaspoon's voice while running
toward the main house. One makes it to the house but Hickok hits the other
one before he can reach it. Will and Abe make it to the building, but the
gentleman doesn't.

Hickok makes his way to a shed near the main house, while Buck and Ike try
to keep the guards busy. He could see Abe through the side window. He is
about to shoot him when he hears a shotgun blast and turns to see a man fall
from the roof of the barn. The man had a clear shot of Hickok. He turns to
see Jake holding a shotgun, smiling at him. Then Jake pulls out a six
shooter and heads to the other side of the house. Soon most of the guards
are dead or wounded but Abe and Will are still holding on inside. Jake seems
to be in position to get Abe but one guard who has made it to the barn fires
and hits Jake in the shoulder.

"JAKE," Mel yells and turns and shoots the man in the barn. Lou tries to
grab her but she breaks free and runs toward Jake. Abe sees his chance. As
Mel runs toward Jake, Abe runs and grabs Mel. He holds her in front of him
as a shield and holds his gun to Mel's side. He glances down at her and
recognizes her.

"Melanie, we meet again. Maybe this time we can finish what we started
before," he whispers in her ear. Mel can hear the desperation in his voice
but she can also hear a sick kind of excitement, too. She had a good idea
just what he is planning on finishing and it scared the hell out of her.
"Back off or I'll kill her" Abe yells to the others.

Everyone stands perfectly still, afraid if they move they'll spook Abe. "Now
the little lady and me are going to get on our horses and ride out of here.
As long as no one tries to stop us, Melanie won't get hurt." Abe yells as he
pulls Mel to the horses. He tries to force Mel on his horse, but she
resists. She is in a panic. All she can think of is the pain he inflicted on
her last time. Lou can see the fear in her eyes even though she is trying to
hide it.

Just then Jake screams Mel name. Abe, already frazzled from struggling with
Mel, makes a fatal mistake. Acting on instinct, he turns his gun toward
Jake. As he takes his gun off of Mel, she drops to the ground and Lou shoots
Abe in the chest.

                                   *****

A few days later Teaspoon, Rachel and the riders are getting ready to head
home. Jake wasn't wounded that bad. He lost a lot of blood but the doctor
said he should be all right. Mel has alternated between pampering Jake and
cussing him out for scaring her and being stupid enough to go and get
himself shot. Mel and Lou stood on Ruby's porch.

"You goin' be all right?" Lou asked.

"Sure, Jake's goin' be OK and he's at my mercy for a few days. What could be
better?" replies Mel smiling.

Lou looks at her but decides to let it drop. "You gonna stay with Jake or
ditch him the first chance you get?"

"Well, now that I've got him trained, it be a shame to waste it. What about
you and the Kid?"

"What about us?"

"You gonna marry him?"

"What now that you're married, everyone has to be?"

"No, but three months ago if I had asked that question the answer would have
been 'No', now you're just dodging the question. You're softening, Lou."

"You're crazy."

"We'll see."

Meanwhile, Ruby is giving Teaspoon an open invitation. "Teaspoon, don't be a
stranger. Roseville ain't that far from Rock Creek, I'm sure you can visit
once in a while. I'm sure I could find something to make it worth your
time," Ruby says suggestively.

"I'm sure you could," Teaspoon says as he smiles. Everyone is mounted up
when they realized Hickok isn't there. As they start to wonder where he is,
he comes out of the house saying, "Now you get well soon, Jake, ya hear."

"Go to hell Hickok and stay away from my wife," Jake yells. Jimmy closes the
door and walks up to Mel.

"You just couldn't resist kicking a man when he's down could you, Hickok,"
Mel says.

"Well, Jake's a special case."

"What ya say to him."

"That you were a mighty pretty lady, too good for him, and I might have to
take you from him."

"Hickok, you've got a mean streak. I knew there was something I liked about
you."

"If he doesn't treat you right you know where I am." With that said, he
mounted up and the whole group galloped towards Rock Creek.

                                  The End