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Chapter 7
Til Birth Does Us Part
© Hanny
Chapter 7Buck was heading toward Sweetwater. His trip to Seneca was in vain. Nobody knew anything about an Express rider. He even tried asking about a young girl named Louise, but no one, except for the man who sold tickets for the stage, knew anything about her, and he only said that she indeed bought a ticket. He tried to look for the doctor, but he was out of town on some kind of a convention. The hotel clerk was so young and confused that he wasn’t much help either.
He was just a couple of hours’ ride from the station. He hoped things had changed, that at least Rachel found out what was wrong with Lou and that they’d sorted everything out. Jimmy would probably blame him for not finding anything and for not caring enough. What would Kid say? he thought. Jimmy was much closer to Lou nowadays than the Kid. He was very protective of her since she and the Kid broke up. It was very clear to everyone that if it wasn’t for the Kid still living with them all, and Jimmy’s respect for him, and maybe fear from his reaction, that Jimmy would’ve made a move for her himself. They all loved her, but there was something else in Jimmy’s feelings. They were more like the Kid’s.
Buck sighed. It probably was hell at the station these last few days, he thought. I wouldn’t want to be in Lou’s place when the two of them start blaming one another for her behavior. If anything ever split the two best friends, it would be Lou.
Lou harnessed Lightning to the backboard. She had to get out of the station. The Kid and Jimmy just proved her that she can not stay. They will just keep blaming each other for her bad mood and everything in the world. She didn’t want to be the reason for their fight once again. They were best friends yet they practically looked for any excuse to be at each other’s throat. She knew she’s not staying but she still had to wait for a response from Emma. She hoped she would hear from her soon. In the meantime, she thought, the best thing for me to do is keep as far away from the station for as long as I can. She decided to go over to the pond. It was always her favorite place to think at. She even shared it with the Kid when they were… Oh, no, she thought, I’m not gonna think of him again. I can’t. It will only bring me pain. She spurred Lightning out of the station’s yard and toward the pond.
Rachel was tending to the Kid’s scratches from his fight with Jimmy. The latter was nowhere to be seen.
"Aw." The Kid cried as Rachel put a cloth soaked with alcohol on a scratch near his lower lip.
"You know, Kid, for a grownup man, you’re quite a baby." Rachel tried to joke.
He stooped her hand and looked her in the eyes. Through his tears she could see all the pain and hurt that was stored in his heart.
"What is it, Kid?" She asked.
"Is she dying, Rachel?" He asked, his voice full of dread.
"What?" Rachel gave a nervous laugh. "Where did you come up with this?"
"I don’t know, Rachel, but something very weird is going on here and I can’t stop thinking that…"
Rachel stopped him, putting a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "She’s not dying, Kid."
"So what is it then?" He worked hard to disguise his breaking voice. "I’ve heard her say she’s leaving."
"Oh, Kid." Rachel sighed. What am I going to tell him? She thought. "She’s just going for a couple of weeks," she lied. "That’s all."
"So why did Jimmy ask her to marry him?" He almost choked on these words.
"He did what?" Rachel almost shouted.
"You didn’t know?" He was sure Rachel was in on it.
She shook her head. "I wonder what went through his stupid brain to make him do such a thing…"
After a couple of seconds the Kid started again. "I thought you would approve it." He said in a whisper.
"What? Jimmy and Lou? Kid, it’s you she loves and you’re the right man for her. I love Jimmy just as much as I love you, but it was wrong for him to do that."
A few seconds passed silently before Rachel restarted cleaning his wounds. "What did she say?" She asked in almost a whisper.
"She said no, but she said no to me too, Rachel. She doesn’t want to get back with me."
"Give her time, Kid." Rachel advised.
"What time, Rachel?" He asked. "She’s leaving." Before she could interrupt him he continued. "And I know it’s not for just a couple of weeks. It’s for good."
He looked up at her; the tears in her eyes confirmed his suspicions. He walked out of her house.
Lou reached the pond and got off of the buckboard. She freed Lightning from the buckboard. Maybe I should just set you free, she thought, but dismissed it almost immediately. You wouldn’t be happy like that, would you? She patted him and headed toward the water. She took off her shoes and lay on the grass, her legs in the water up to her knees. She closed her eyes from the sun and almost immediately fell asleep.
Buck was only a couple of hours’ ride from the station and he fastened his horse’s pace. Might as well finish with this as soon as possible, he thought.
"Jimmy!" Rachel called to the young man that came into her view.
He rolled his eyes and approached her reluctantly.
"Where were you?" she asked him rather harshly.
"Hanging around."
"What about your chores?"
"Is that what this is all about? My chores?" He asked sarcastically.
"Don’t be sassy, young man. I want to know exactly what was it that you thought about when you asked Louise to marry you. Hasn’t this poor girl been confused enough?"
Jimmy had the sense to look shameful. "I don’t want her to leave, Rachel." He said earnestly.
"And you marring her would make everything swell for her again?"
"Well, at least people won’t disregard her for her" he looked to see that no one was listening, "her fatherless baby."
Rachel gave him a hard glare. "This baby has a father, Jimmy. Have you even tried to talk her into telling him?"
"Sure I did, Rachel. What are you taking me for? Kid’s my best friend."
"Jimmy, this is not a way to treat your best friend, even if you are indeed in love with his girlfriend."
"Ex-girlfriend." Jimmy reminded her.
"No to him, Jimmy, and I don’t think it is to her either. What do you think?"
Jimmy shook his head. When he looked at Rachel again he had tears in his eyes. "Kid must be hating me now. And Lou too."
Rachel shrugged. "What ever, Jimmy, you can’t make peace with him now, without you having to tell him what made you ask her."
"So what can I do? I don’t want him to hate me."
"Stay away from Louise, Jimmy. She’s leaving in a few days. You can’t stop her leaving, but you might be able to save your friendships with her and with the Kid." She saw the uncertainty in his eyes. "I know how you feel, Jimmy. I’d hate to see her leave to, but that’s her choice and I respect her for it, even though I don’t agree. All you can do is be there for her if she decides she does need your help."
Jimmy nodded. "Thanks, Rachel." He started to walk toward the corral.
"And, Jimmy." She started and he turned back to her. "Keep your distance from the Kid too, and don’t give him a hard time. It’s hard for him too. He knows she’s leaving." To his questioning look she added. "All he knows is that she’s leaving but he doesn’t know why."
Jimmy nodded again and walked away.
Rachel sighed as she watched him going. Oh, boy. She thought. I hope they won’t kill each other when she’ll leave.
Lou woke up to the sound of someone approaching. She opened her eyes just to find herself staring into a gun’s barrel.
"Get up!" A gruff voice told her.
She tried to reach her gun but the man stepped on her hand. She heard bones cracking and cried in pain.
"Don’t try anything funny." Another man told her.
She got to a sitting position, holding her right hand in her left, and looked around. Five men were standing above her, all holding guns at her.
"What do you want?" she asked.
"Shut up!" the first man, obviously the leader, told her and kicked her in the stomach. His leg however missed a bit and hit her rib cage. "You’re in no position to ask any question. Is that clear?"
Tears were starting in her eyes, but she forced them in. Oh, my God, she thought. What are they going to do to me? "Please, let me go… I’m pregnant."
Now the leader looked more closely at her. "My, my, boys, this little boy here is actually a girl." He laughed. "A pregnant girl."
All the men joined his laugh. "That’s even better, Missy, you see, we need ourselves a hostage, and a pregnant one would do the job even better." He shoved the barrel into her shoulder. "And you might be able to serve us in more ways than one…" he said dangerously, his eyes searching her entire body.
"Don’t get your hopes high." Lou spat at him and received a slap on her face.
"Tie her up." The leader said.
Two men tied her hands behind her back, ignoring her cries of pain when they touched her injured hand. She tried to struggle against them but she was no match for their strength. There was no point in screaming either, for they were too far from the main road or any civilization.
The first man led her toward Lightning. "Get up!" He said.
"I can’t."
"Oh, really, and why is that?"
"I can’t ride in my situation."
"What situation? There will be no situation for you ever again if you won’t get on that damn horse right now." He aimed his gun right between her eyes. "Now get up!"
"Boss," one of the men called and the man who threatened her turned to the speaker. "Maybe we can take the buckboard for her."
Lou felt the first glimpse of hope but that was too soon. Before she even knew what had happened, the man was lying on his back, a hole in his head.
"Now," the leader bellowed. "Does any of you has any more dumb ideas?" he looked at his remaining three men. "Taking the wagon will slow us down." He said as he turned to face the terrified Lou.
"Now get up!"
"I can’t mount with my hands tied behind my back." She said
"Henry," the leader called one of the two that tied her. "Help her up."
Henry practically shoved her into the saddle.
"And don’t try to escape. Danny here is a very efficient gunman." He said as he pointed toward another man. "So don’t try anything foolish."
"You won’t get away with this." She said with certainty she did not feel.
"And how’s that? You’re lawful wedded husband will came and rescue you?"
"I have friends who will hunt you down. One of them is a marshal."
"Is that so?" he said with a mock impression. "So you better hope for their sake, as well as your own, that they won’t find you. Ever." He burst out laughing and the rest of them joined him again.
Oh, Kid. Please don’t let me down now, she thought.
The Kid was sitting on the corral’s fence. Jimmy stood a few feet behind him. After a few minutes he came closer.
As he sat himself on the fence the Kid gave him a look full of hate.
"I’m sorry." Jimmy said.
The Kid didn’t give him any hint that he’d actually heard.
"Kid?"
"You’re not sorry, Jimmy. All you’re sorry for is me hearing you. I was such a fool to think of you as my friend." He jumped of the fence and headed back to the bunkhouse.
Jimmy sat there, tears rolling down his cheeks. I really messed things up, he thought. He wondered if the two of them would ever forgive him. He wondered if he would ever forgive himself.
Lou was mounted on Lightning, watching Henry and Danny ditching the dead man in the bushes. She fought the tears that threatened to escape her eyes. She couldn’t let them see her weakness. She feared the thought of what might happen to her and what might happen to the child she was carrying. Please, God. Please don’t let them hurt us. The both of us, she thought.
The men mounted their horses. "Let’s get going." The leader of the group said. He took Lightning’s reins and dragged her after him. The others followed them.
Buck was riding hard toward the station. He was tired and hungry and thirsty. He thought of his bunk, of Rachel’s food. He was so lost in thoughts that he never saw the low branch before it hit him and he fell of his horse. The horse neighed at him.
"Yeah. Ha ha ha. Very funny." Buck collected himself from the ground. He touched his head and felt something sticky. Blood. "Oh, great." He said to his horse. Since he didn’t have any water left, he headed toward the pond to wash his head from the dirt and blood. Rachel would freak out if she saw it, he thought.
Lunch at the bunkhouse was quieter than normal. Everyone except Buck and Lou was there.
Rachel looked at Lou’s empty place. "Where is Louise?" she asked no one in particular, but her gaze rested accusingly on Jimmy.
"She said she was going to the pond for a while." Noah answered. "Thought she’d be back for lunch, though."
"So where is she then?" Rachel asked a bit concerned. Had Lou decided to leave earlier, without a word from Emma? She thought.
Noah shrugged. "She probably decided to stay there a while longer. Quieter there." Cody said through his full mouth.
"I guess." Rachel said.
Ten minutes later they heard a horse approaching.
"You see?" Cody asked. "Here she is. You had nothing to worry about."
"She took the buckboard, Cody." Rachel answered him as she headed for the door to welcome the newcomer.
"It’s Buck." The Kid said disappointed.
Buck dismounted near the bunkhouse. "Hey. All this for me?" he joked.
"For Lou." Cody informed him. "We thought you were her."
"Why? Where is she?"
"She went away for awhile."
"Not the pond, I hope…" Buck knew it was one of her favorite places. Rachel gave him a confused look so he explained. "I passed by it on my way here, saw a buckboard. I thought it looked likes yours, Rachel, but there was no one there."
Kid was on his way to the stables. "Where are you going, Kid?" Teaspoon asked him, but got no answer. He didn’t need one either. It was clear to him as it was to everyone else. He was going to the pond. Teaspoon, Noah, Ike, Cody and buck followed him. Jimmy stayed beside Rachel.
"Aren’t you going with them?" She asked.
"I don’t know if this is such a good idea." He said.
"Go." She told him.
He hesitated for another second but then run toward the stable to saddle his horse.
Kid didn’t wait for the others. He didn’t really cared what they might think of his impatience. Lou was behaving weird for the last couple of weeks and he had a bad feeling it all connected in a way.
They arrived at the pond only a few minutes after the kid. They found him searching the ground. Buck knelt beside him, examining the tracks.
"Lightning’s gone." The Kid told them.
"Maybe she decided to go for a ride."
"She didn’t." Jimmy said eminently.
Kid looked up at him.
"How do you know?" Noah asked.
"I just know."
"How?" The Kid demanded, getting up and coming closer toward him.
Jimmy backed off a bit. "Kid, I just know that she didn’t just go to ride Lightning."
"Well someone did." Buck said.
All eyes turned toward Buck.
"What?" Jimmy asked, unbelievingly.
"See the tracks here?" Buck asked, pointing toward some hoof marks on the dry dirt. "They’re Lightning’s. And someone was riding him. Someone light."
"It can’t be her." Jimmy insisted.
"Jimmy, who else can it be?" Buck asked.
"I don’t know. But it can’t be her."
"Then who?" The Kid was getting even angrier with every word he said.
"She can’t ride."
"What do you mean?" The Kid threatened.
"Hey, guys," Cody interrupted them. "Kid, is that…?"
"Lou’s." The Kid said grabbing the boots from Cody’s hand.
"Now you’re saying she rode without her boots on?" Jimmy demanded of Buck.
"Look, Jimmy," Buck said defensively. "There are more tracks here from the same time. Maybe she rode with someone."
"She didn’t ride."
"Damn it, Jimmy. You better start explaining." The Kid barked at him. "What’s going on?"
Teaspoon, who stood aside from the young men, watching them, came closer and put a reassuring hand on the Kid’s shoulders. He understood Lou must have told Jimmy about the pregnancy. "Son, I’m sure there is a perfect good explanation for this."
Kid shrugged his hand. He went toward Katy.
"Where are you going?" Teaspoon asked him.
"To track her."
Jimmy just nodded. The other also went for their horses.
"Now hold on, boys. You can’t all go. There’s still mail to carry."
"But Teaspoon," Cody started to object. "If anything happens to her…"
Teaspoon stopped him. "Now hold your horses, son. You don’t know that anything happened to her."
"Something must have happen, Teaspoon." Jimmy rushed into Teaspoon’s talking. "She wouldn’t have gone on a ride. She knows she can’t because of the baby." He talked so fast that the words were out there before he could understand what he was going to say.
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