The Locket

It was tense waiting at the pXp. Despite being tied up and under guard, McCaffrey still had an air of supreme confidence, as if he expected Marshal Pierce to back up his side of the dispute. As a result, he would just smirk every time Lou, Buck or the Kid caught his eye. He had even taken to leering at Lydia from time to time, but stopped when Buck cocked his gun and raised his eyebrow warningly. Lydia went upstairs to lie down after that.

"You're so sure that Pierce will side with you?" McCaffrey asked mockingly. "Lydia still owes me for my hospitality. I took her in and I intend to collect."

"Haven't you ever heard of human kindness?" Lou asked sarcastically. Having been the victim of a man like McCaffrey, she did not want Lydia to suffer the same fate she did. Not after the shock she had received the night before.

"You intend to collect, huh?" Buck's voice also dripped with sarcasm. "By making her work as a prostitute?"

"It's the best way. I need a new girl, and she'll fill in nicely."

Buck thanked the Spirits that Lydia wasn't there to hear McCaffrey's comment. "She won't do it."

"She'll have no choice. Besides, I don't know what you're so upset about. She's just a two-bit whore I found..."

Buck's control snapped, and he shoved his gun into McCaffrey's chest, his finger tightening on the trigger. "McCaffrey, if you don't shut up, I won't wait for Pierce to come here and settle the matter. I'll kill you myself!"

"Buck!" Lou gasped. She had never heard nor seen buck act like this. She knew that he had a temper, they all had; and she had even seen him lose it. But never like this. Never this deadly, deceptive calm. He did not even acknowledge that she had spoken.

McCaffrey was no fool. He knew that Buck would kill him if he had the chance, and Sholto McCaffrey wasn't about to give him the satisfaction. He just chalked up Buck's threat as more ammunition to use.

"Calm down, Buck, he ain't worth it." Kid murmured in his friend's ear. "This won't help Lydia. Wait until Pierce gets here."

The sound of horses outside drew their attention, and Lou glanced out the window. "We don't have to wait long," she said. "They're here."

Lydia was lying on her bed when she heard the Marshal and Jeremiah arrived. She didn't get up right away, knowing that Buck or Louise would come up and fetch her when she was wanted. She didn't have to worry. It was not long before McCaffrey and Buck started yelling at each other, disregarding the fact that there was a baby in the house, who was disturbed by the voices. McCaffrey still maintain that she owed him for his hospitality, and Buck was still maintaining that she did not want to work for him. But when McCaffrey suddenly pointed out that she was just a runaway who had nowhere to go, and that he did not understand why Buck objected to her working off a debt that she herself earned, Lydia knew that she had to set the record straight; especially as McCaffrey was claiming that she had asked him for help.

Forgive me, Buck," the marshal was saying, "but just how do you know how this girl feels about workin' for McCaffrey?"

"Apart from the fact that we saw her jump from a balcony tryin' to get away from him?" Buck asked dryly.

"I will tell you everything you want to know, Marshal," Lydia spoke up as she came down the stairs.

It was late morning when Loran and Forge rode into Lone Tree Valley. Thirsty from their long hard ride, they headed straight for the saloon. Rather it was Forge who insisted on going in for a drink; Loran would have preferred to start searching for their loose end. But Forge made sense when he suggest that they could (discretely) ask about the girl whilst having a drink.

Only at that time of the morning the saloon was near to deserted. In fact the only patrons seemed to be the saloon owner's henchmen, drinking it up while their boss was away chasing down a girl who got away from him. Loran's ears perked up at this. The description these henchmen were giving matched the girl they had taken from the stagecoach. What clinched it for Loran was the fact that the girl, Lydia, had been found on the road by their boss a few days earlier. Loran nudged Forge on the shoulder, and nodded toward the swinging doors.

"Aw, Loran, I haven't finished my drink yet!" Forge complained a little too loudly.

Loran hit Forge on the back of the head. "Shut up, you idiot! You can have another drink later. We need to talk and we can't talk in here."

"All right, all right." As soon as they got to the doors, Forge whirled on Loran, his hazel eyes blazing. "What was so important that I couldn't finish my drink?"

"I think we've found the girl."

"What? I didn't see no girl. Unless you're talkin' about one of the bargirls…"

"Not in there, you fool. But I heard those goons talkin' in there. It seems they work for this fine establishment."

"So? What has that got to do with anything?"

"So they're sayin' how their boss was chasin' after a girl he wanted workin' for him. A girl he supposedly found wanderin' along the road south of here a few days ago."

"And you think the girl they're talkin' about is the same one we're lookin' for?"

Loran nodded. "It shouldn't be too hard to prove. I think we should wait until the owner gets back and have a little chat, don't you?"

Marshal Pierce was amazed at the young woman in front of him. It was obvious that Lydia had been through a lot in the past few days, judging by her pallor and the marks on her face, yet she was calm and composed enough to tell her story. Which differed slightly from McCaffrey's. Upon hearing her name, Pierce briefly wondered about the telegraph he received earlier; but there was no time to dwell on it. McCaffrey was still demanding payment.

Pierce shook his head. McCaffrey must really have a thing for this girl, if he was trying so hard to keep her. "McCaffrey, you offer to take this girl into town, you show her to a room so she can 'freshen up', then lock her in there for two days; and have the hide to say that she owes you?"

"That's her story, not mine. Who do you believe?"

"Knowin' you, McCaffrey, I'm inclined to believe Lydia."

"Her word against mine."

"I can vouch for her," Buck spoke up. "I've known her for years. She wouldn't lie about something like this, and she would never willingly work in a saloon."

"You'll take a half-breed's word over mine?"

"Marshal, you can check my story out. You know which stage I was on, and I booked passage in St Joseph. I caught a train to there from Baltimore. All of this can be verified."

"I know that you're right about the stage hold-up. I believe you're tellin' the truth. I've a good mind to arrest you for kidnapping, McCaffrey."

McCaffrey smirked. "Why don't you, Marshal?"

"Because kidnappin' won't stick. But I'm takin' you in for holdin' these folks up."

"How long can you hold him?" Buck asked, knowing that McCaffrey would be itching for revenge.

"Only for a few days, I'm afraid, Buck. After that..."

"I understand." It was futile to argue. Buck knew that the law was meant to protect the innocent, but it often protected the criminals instead.

McCaffrey was seething. Kid Andrews and that damned half-breed had thwarted his plans again. "You'll pay for this Cross," he snarled at Buck.

"That's enough, McCaffrey," Pierce ordered, leading him out.

"I'm sorry," Lydia said after Pierce and Kid led McCaffrey and his men out. "I'm causin' too much trouble. I'll leave as soon as I can."

"It's not your fault, Lydia.' Lou said. "McCaffrey won't be botherin' you again, You don't have to leave."

"Besides," Buck spoke up. "You have nowhere to go. Unless you want to see your stepmother..."

Lou smiled at Lydia's grimace. "It's settled then. Now why don't you go upstairs and lie down before you fall down and Buck has to carry you up?"

"That's an idea." Ignoring Lydia's protests, Buck swept her off her feet and proceeded up the stairs.

Loran and Forge stood leaning again the posts outside the saloon. They were none too please that McCaffrey had been arrested, and Lydia was safe and protected on a ranch outside of town.

"Now what?' Forge asked. "Do we try to get her at the ranch?"

"Keep you voice down!" Loran hissed. "Do you want to bring the Marshal down on us? We're not goin' to the ranch just yet. They'd be expectin' somethin' and we'd be ambushed."

"So what are we gonna do?"

"We'll just sit tight. She won't be goin' anywhere til things cool down. We'll wait til then, then scope the ranch to see if it's the same girl. Meanwhile, we get room at the hotel and keep our eyes peeled. An opportunity may present itself."

Emotions were running high and low at the pXp over the next two days. For the most part, Lydia fit right in; even helping as much as an over-protective Buck would allow. Buck tried telling himself that he was just concerned because she needed to recover from her jump off the balcony, but he knew he was only fooling himself. Before, when he and Ike were working for her father, Buck had fallen hard for her. But because she had been Ike's girlfriend, he hid his feelings and shut out the pain. As the years passed, he moved past the feelings and forgot about them. Now, with Lydia so close and needing his support, he knew he was falling for her again. And no matter how he tried, the feelings would not go away.

Lou found a sort of a kindred spirit in Lydia. As Kid pointed out when Buck was trying to get Lydia to take it easy, Lydia was very much like Lou in many ways. Growing up on a ranch, Lydia learned how to ride and shoot at a young age. She had spunk, as Jeremiah had put it, and she did not back down from a challenge. While Lydia's life had not been as hard as Lou's, they had a lot in common, and found a lot to talk about; and it was not long before Lydia knew about Lou riding for the Pony Express.

Although there were moments to the contrary, the only person Lydia was not comfortable around was Emily. And the feeling was mutual. The problem mainly was jealousy. Emily was jealous, because Lydia had known Ike a lot longer than she had. Every time Buck and Lydia started talking about old times and things they had together with Ike, Emily just seethed. She cursed Neville for taking Ike form her. Their time together was so short, she always regretted that, and wished that there were some way Ike could come back. Especially now that they had a beautiful son. But she knew that there was no way, and she resigned herself to learning about her love from Buck and Lou. Until Lydia turned up. Lydia represented everything that Emily wished she could have had, and she found herself resenting the newcomer.

Lydia's jealousy was more basic and easier to explain. To put it simply, Lydia was jealous of Emily's son. Baby Ike Metcalfe represented something, which Emily had which Lydia never could. Lydia only knew Ike McSwain for a few months when he was working for her father, and even then their relationship had been innocent. During the years in Baltimore, Lydia occasionally wondered what it would have been like to have been more intimate with Ike. Then she would wonder if she were a bad girl for thinking like that.

But Emily had gone that one step further. She'd had that with Ike, and baby Ike was the result. Lydia knew that Emily would be facing hard times as an unwed mother, but she still envied her. Envied all that Ike and Emily had shared.

This tension had not gone unnoticed. On the third day, after dinner, where Buck and Lydia were talking about old times and Emily was unusually silent, Lou cornered Buck before he went back to work. "What do you think os goin' on with Em and Lydia?"

Buck frowned. "You mean the looks they were shootin ' each other at dinner?"

"Yeah, I've never seen Emily so quiet, not even when Ike..." Lou trailed off, there was no need to finish the thought.

"Maybe she's jealous."

"What?!"

"Think about it. Lydia and me were talkin' about Ike, and the stuff we all did together. Emily only knew Ike for what, a week before he died?"

"That makes sense. And I know what Lydia's jealous of."

So did Buck. "The baby."

Lou nodded. "To hold a candle for someone all this time, only to come back and find that he's gone and had a child... I'll keep an eye on them. Somethin's bound to blow soon."

"So long as it's not somebody's head."

Lou was thinking about her conversation with Buck a few moments later as the tension continued to build in the kitchen. Emily was clearing the table to wash the dishes, and Lydia was helping, figuring that it was the least she could do. The silence was deafening, and Lou had no idea how to ease it.

When Lydia shook her head and pinched the bridge of the nose, Lou saw an opportunity. "Here, Lydia, why don't you let me do that, and sit down for a moment. You're s'posed to be restin' anyway." Lou started to take the dishcloth from Lydia, ignoring the fact that Kid had given her the same directive.

Lydia smiled at Lou's testament to Buck's over-protectiveness. It had been four days since she jumped off the balcony! ""Oh, I'm all right, it's just a little headache. This is the least I can do for you all lookin' after me like this. Besides, I hate lyin' in bed when I feel perfectly fine."

In spite of herself, Emily glanced over her shoulder at Lou. "She remind you of anyone we know?"

"Yeah, the boys never knew when to quit."

Emily grinned impishly. "Oh, I was thinkin' of you."

Lou shot Emily a mock glare. "You're not draggin' me into this." Abruptly she changed the subject. "Lord, what we do you love."

Both Emily and Lydia blinked at thew non sequitur. "What are you talkin' about, Lou?" Em asked.

"This," Lou indicated the mess. "Just once, I would like to see the boys clean the kitchen."

Lydia giggled at the mental image that thought gave her. "Somehow I can't see Buck cleanin' the kitchen."

"Kid neither," Emily added.

"You'd be surprised," Lou informed them. "Between Emma and Rachel, we had a whole string of cooks come through the station, but they never stayed long. Some of them would make all of us clean the bunkhouse, even though it was there job."

"Lou," Emily started. "What has cleanin' the kitchen got to do with love?"

Lou frowned, she had forgotten her train of thought. "I don't know. Maybe I can use Kid's love for me to get him to clean the kitchen."

Knowing that Lou was most likely joking, Emily just shook her head. "You're dreamin' Lou."

"Oh, I don't know," Lydia spoke up. "Love makes you do some pretty strange things sometimes."

"And the longer you know someone, the deeper you love them, and you do even stranger things."

Emily shot Lou a look suggesting that love had addled her brain. "You don't have to know someone for a long time to love them deeply. Ike and me only knew each other for about a week, but you couldn't say that we didn't love each other."

Lou cringed as Emily's words hung in the air. While Emily had a point, the statement only served to remind Lydia of what she had lost; and played right into her jealousy. It could prove to be a catalyst.

And it was. Lydia just stared at Emily for a long moment, a wounded expression in her eyes. All the jealous, paranoid, and insecure feelings she had intensified, and she lashed out. "Do you think you're better than I am because you had Ike's child?" she screamed at Emily. "You took Ike away from me!"

"I took Ike away from you?" Emily's callous words came out before she thought. "Ike forgot about you before we even met. He moved on with his life, and that's somethin' you need to do too. It's pathetic, holdin' on to someone who wasn't even yours!"

"I hate you!" Lydia shrieked and ran out the back door.

Emily and Lou exchanged a glance, as Emily sank slowly to the bench. That could have gone better.

Onto to Chapter 6