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be goverened by Swedish law. The characters have been
borrowed from the TV-drama "The Young Riders" . This has not
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Chapter 4
Til Birth Does Us Part
Chapter 4
Lou woke up while the rest were still sleeping and sneaked out. She walked into the stables, straight toward Lightning stall."What am I going to do with you? Uh?" She asked as she rubbed his neck. "Do you want to stay with all your friends?" Lightning just stared in her eyes and said nothing. "I don't know, Lightning. I think I should. I think I should leave you here, though. You know they will take good care of you. I won't be able to ride anymore anyway. And you'll get to be with Katy and everyone…"
"Why? Where are you going?"
Lou felt the hair on neck stand. She turned around. "How long have you been standing here?" she asked.
Jimmy came closer. "Just a minute. What is it, Lou? Is it because of the Kid?"
"Not all my problems are related to the Kid, Jimmy." She said mockingly.
"Yeah, sorry." He said. "So, where are you going?"
"Who said I'm going anywhere?"
"So you're talking to your horse about leaving him here cause you're…" he was waiting for her to answer but she just lowered her eyes.
"I can't talk about it, Jimmy." She couldn't bring herself to meet his eyes.
He came closer and put his hands on her shoulders. "Lou, what is it? I want to help you."
"There's nothing you can do, Jimmy, and I really don't want to talk about it."
"A hint?"
Lou smiled at his persistence. "If I'll give you a hint you promise you'll give up?"
He nodded.
"I'm leaving. And that's all I'm gonna say."
"But why?"
"And that's all I'm gonna say." She repeated more sternly.
"You can't just leave like that, without an excuse."
"I have an excuse, Jimmy, I just don't feel like sharing it." He was starting to annoy her.
"I thought we had trust between us."
"We do, Jimmy, we do." She put a hand on his arm. "But I can't talk about it. Please don't ask me anymore questions about it, and don't tell the boys about it."
"Rachel and Teaspoon know?"
Lou nodded.
"So, is it a special something for Teaspoon? You know, like the one I did back then with that Grace woman?"
"It's nothing like that, Jimmy, but please don't ask me anymore about it. Please…"
Jimmy just nodded.
"Rachel's calling everybody for breakfast."
They both turned to see Noah standing in the doorway.
"You O.K.?" He asked Lou.
She smiled and nodded and started toward the door, Jimmy behind her.
"Have you seen the Kid anywhere?" Noah asked as he waited for them to reach him.
Lou stopped in her tracks, Jimmy almost bumped into her. "Why?" she asked dreadfully. What does Noah knows? She thought.
"Cause he's not at the bunkhouse and Rachel told me to get everyone." He looked at her suspiciously.
"Oh." She said simply, walking past him.
Noah gave Jimmy a questionable look but Jimmy just shrugged. He couldn't tell what was bugging her so much.
Rachel turned from the stove as Lou came into the bunkhouse. "Good morning, sweetheart. How did you sleep?"
"Fine." Lou answered and took a sit next to Ike.
Jimmy and Noah came in less than a minute later and sat at the table.
"Where's the Kid?" Rachel asked.
"I couldn't find him anywhere, Rachel." Noah answered.
"Well, I'd better save him something, I guess." Rachel couldn't help it but she felt sorry for the Kid who will never know about his child.
She brought the food to the table: biscuits and eggs. Lou saw the food and felt nausea in her stomach. She ran out of the bunkhouse, Jimmy on her heals.
Rachel felt tears starting in her eyes. "Oh, poor girl." She sighed.
Ike and Noah looked at each other and then at her. They were confused.
Lou threw up for what seemed like forever, even though she had nothing to eat in the past couple of days. Jimmy stood beside her the whole time. When she finally looked up she had tears running down her cheeks.
"Damn it, Jimmy. Why did you have to come after me?"
Jimmy was worried. "Lou, are you sick?"
Lou bit her lips and looked at the ground. "I'm going to wash up my face." She said finally.
She went past him. He waited for a minute and then walked after her.
She bumped into him after she washed her face and started back toward the bunkhouse. "Jimmy, why do you keep following me?" She snapped at him.
"Lou, you're starting to frighten me with your behavior." He put a finger under her chin, forcing her to look at him.
"What behavior?" She asked innocently.
"What behavior?! First you come here by stage…"
"Who told you that?" She asked before he could continue.
"Told me what?"
"About me coming here in a stage. Kid told you, didn't he?" Even now he betrays me… She thought.
"Was it a secret?"
Lou shrugged.
"Why did you come in a stage instead of just riding here, anyway?"
Lou lowered her eyes. "Please…" She whispered.
"No, Lou. Damn it. I'm worried about you. Everybody here's worried about you."
"Jimmy…" She tried to speak but the tears choked her.
Jimmy suddenly felt guilty for making her cry and he pulled her into a tight embrace.
She hugged him back and sobbed into his shirt. "Oh, go ahead," He said. "It's not one of my favorites anyway."
She laughed and smiled at him. "Thank you."
"That's O.K." He said. "But please, Lou, tell me what's wrong."
Should I? She thought. This would be the ultimate betrayal against the Kid. She decided she didn't have it in her heart. "Come on." She said. "Rachel's probably worried." She didn't wait for his answer and just started back toward the bunkhouse.
"Oh, nice of you to join us." Rachel scolded fondly, and then added in a whisper to Lou. "Are you alright?"
Lou nodded. "I'm starved."
After they finished breakfast, Jimmy stayed longer than the others. He wanted to talk to Rachel.
"She threw up, you know."
"Yeah, I know, Jimmy." Rachel said.
"So?" Jimmy wanted some kind of an explanation.
Jimmy, don't you gave chores to do?"
He sighed. "What are you both hiding, Rachel?"
"Hiding, Jimmy? No one's hiding anything. Just go and get your chores done before I would find more things I need you to do."
Jimmy reluctantly walked to the door. Before he stepped out he turned back to Rachel. "I still think you're hiding something, though."
An hour later Lou saw a wagon approaching the station. As it came closer Lou recognized the driver. She sighed as she approached it.
"Louise." The driver said.
"Samantha." Lou acknowledged her with a nod.
There was a moment of awkward silence before Samantha spoke again. "Is the Kid around?"
"We all thought he went to your place. Nobody has seen him since last night."
"Oh, I see." Samantha said, then remembering her manners she asked, "How are you?"
"Uh?" Lou didn't understand why the woman would ask about her being.
"You looked a bit sick yesterday." Samantha explained.
"Oh, that… I'm fine. It was probably just exhaustion, that's all."
"Oh," Samantha said. "I guess I'll go now."
"I'll tell Kid you were looking for him."
This was more than Samantha had ever expected from the girl that was once her boyfriend's girlfriend. "Thanks." She said simply before she turned the wagon and headed back to her house.
The Kid came back an hour later. He dismounted Katy near the bunkhouse and tied her to the fence. He stopped for a second as he saw Lou inside when he opened the door. He didn't say a thing and just went to put his gun belt on his bunk.
"Nice of you to show up." She said from her new bunk. "People were looking for you."
"Oh, yeah, right." Go on, Lou, this is real funny right now. He didn't feel like fighting with her.
"Samantha." She said.
He turned to face her. "Samantha was here?"
Lou nodded. "You know, Kid…" she started.
"What?" He demanded after she stopped in the middle of the sentence.
"Oh, nothing." She said innocently.
"When was she here?"
"About an hour ago." Lou said. "Looked pretty disappointed that you weren't here."
"Oh, is that so?" He asked. "Who did she talk to?"
"Me." Lou said somewhat triumphantly.
"You?" Kid didn't believe that. "Oh, great. That's just great."
"What's frightening you so about it, Kid? I didn't tell her any of your dirty little secrets."
"That's cause I don't have any."
"Oh, really? I can think of at least one."
Now that was a challenge. Kid looked at her expectantly.
"How about telling girls you love them without really mean it?" She asked and now she had tears in her throat.
"I've never lied to you, Lou."
She just looked at him. "Well, it doesn't really matter anymore now, does it?" she then grabbed her hat a walked out of the bunkhouse.
Kid sank to his bunk.
A few minutes later Jimmy walked in. "Where were you?" He asked the Kid.
"Nowhere in particular. I just needed a ride."
"You could've asked Teaspoon for an assignment while you were at it." Jimmy joked.
"Did you find anything about her?" the Kid suddenly turned serious.
Jimmy shook his head. "She wouldn't talk and Rachel just dismissed me. And she threw up before breakfast."
"Threw up?" Kid started to be real concerned.
"We sat at the table for breakfast and suddenly she just run outside and threw up."
"Just like that?"
Jimmy nodded.
Suddenly something hit the Kid. "Do you think it got anything to do with her running out every morning last week?"
Jimmy pondered that for a second. "I'm going to talk to her." He said on his way out.
He found her in the barn, sitting on a barrel. "How are you feeling?"
"Fine. How are you?" she said.
"Lou, get serious, please, will you." He took another barrel and sat on it next to her.
"O.K., Jimmy." She said. "Sorry. I won't ask how you're feeling anymore, O.K.?"
He smiled at her. "Can we talk?"
"Sure." She said.
"But will you be serious?"
"Promise."
"Thanks."
"So, what was it that you wanted to talk about?"
"Well, the Kid and I…"
Lou stopped him. "Do we have to mention him?"
"Well, it kind'a was his idea."
"What? You talking to me?"
"No. He thinks maybe you're throw-up this morning has something to do with you're running out every morning last week."
"Oh, Jimmy, why did you have to tell him I threw up?"
"He asked how you were doing." Jimmy answered simply.
"Jimmy," Lou was desperate. "Please don't tell him anything more, O.K.?"
Jimmy saw the pleading in her eyes. "Why?" he asked. He needed to understand this.
"Cause I'm asking you."
"Yes. But why are you asking me that, Lou? What's going on?"
"Look, whatever's going on, I can't have him find out."
"Why?"
"Jimmy!" By now she was quite irritated.
"What?" He jumped of the barrel. "Did it has a connection to you're running outs?"
Lou sighed. She felt tears again. Why can't they just leave me alone?
Jimmy wasn't going to back off now. This whole thing was just too weird for him. "So, are you going to tell me or aren't you?"
"Jimmy… please… you have to trust me on this one. I can't tell you about it." Lou tried to make him understand.
"So there is a connection."
"Jimmy…"
"Lou, I want to help you."
"You can't help me, Jimmy, you can't."
"Why not?"
"Cause it got nothing to do with you."
"Does it has anything to do with Rachel?"
Lou looked bewildered. "No."
"So why did you tell her?"
"Cause she's my friend."
"I'm your friend too, you know."
"I know, Jimmy, but it's different."
"Why is it different?"
"Because it is."
"Why?"
"Because she's a woman."
"And I'm not…"
"No, you're not, Jimmy."
"So that's my problem, right? And you can't trust me because of this?"
"I never said I couldn't trust you."
"You're not saying this, but you can't."
"Jimmy, it's just that everything I'm saying or doing you're running to tell the Kid."
"So all this is just because I told him you threw up?"
"It's not because of this, Jimmy, it's just that whatever happens, I cant' have him find out."
"So it is about him."
"Partly, but it's about me."
"Him and Samantha?"
Lou shook her head. "Him and me."
Jimmy came closer to her. He put a hand on her shoulder and looked at her eyes. She had tears again. "What is it, Lou?"
"I'm going to have a baby, Jimmy."
Jimmy stared at her unbelievingly. He opened his mouth in an attempt to say something but he didn't know what kind of words he could offer at this moment.
Lou broke the silence. "Jimmy, please don't tell him."
"Tell him what, Lou? That he's going to be a father? Are you nuts? You can't hide this from him. This is too important, Lou."
"It's not important to him, Jimmy, and…"
"Not important to him? Are you kidding?" Jimmy was amazed by her.
"Please, Jimmy. I'm leaving anyway, and there's no reason for him to know."
"How about decency, Lou?"
"Decency? So now he'll be decent and marry me and indecent and leave the woman that he loves?"
"He doesn't love her, Lou."
"Oh, come on, Jimmy. Look, I don't want him to find out. I cant' have him find out. Will you please keep my secret?"
Jimmy walked away and started pacing before he answered her. "I won't tell him, Lou, on one condition."
Lou looked at him with a question in her eyes.
"You let me take care of you."
"I'm leaving, Jimmy."
"Don't leave. Marry me."
