MORNING GLORY

Chapter 10

After a few minutes of hard riding, Lou and Kid arrived at the station. It was quite late, and Kid was surprised to see Samantha's horse in front of the bunkhouse. Lou dismounted so slowly and carefully from her horse that Kid silently wondered why she didn't get away from him as quickly as possible after the foul mood and mean attitude he showed her tonight. He stared at her as she glanced at him as if waiting for him to say something.

Why do I even expect him to speak to me after all that happened tonight? He lost his beautiful horse, and it's all my fault! Lou sighed at the sight of Samantha's horse. She wished she could speak with Jimmy or Buck about what happened, but she was certain that in order to get to her friends, she would have to go to the bunkhouse, which meant another encounter with Samantha.

Kid watched her as she started in the direction of Rachel's house. The pain in her wounded arm caused her to limp a bit as she fought to steady her arm. What if she's hurt? What if that robber did something to her? How can I be so inconsiderate! Kid scolded himself.

"Lou, are you okay?" he finally asked after she walked a few yards from him.

She nodded, continuing her slow pace.

"You sure?"

She nodded again, trying to steady her arm.

"That man didn't do anything to you, did he? He didn't hit you or anything, right?"

She wanted to tell him the truth, but felt dizzy. Afraid to faint before she got to her room, she nodded again, hoping Kid would stop asking her questions. I just need to get this thing bandaged and get some sleep, she told herself. The throbbing in her temples made it almost impossible to think.

Kid watched until she opened the door to Rachel's house. She sure walks funny tonight. It's probably from that kiss with that guy in town. Hell, if she ever kissed me like that, I'd probably still be out of breath.

He entered the bunkhouse quietly, surprised to see the solemn faces of his friends and Samantha.

"What's the matter?" Kid asked, eyeing Cody who wore a nervous look in his face.

Samantha immediately rose to her feet. "Oh Kid, where have you been? We thought something happened to you." She gave him a hug and kissed his lips.

"I was in town to get Jesse. Did Jesse get back yet?"

Jimmy nodded. "Almost an hour ago. We've been worried about you. Teaspoon's been talking about all the robbers killing folks these past few days. Two men were killed earlier this evening."

"Kid! Oh my God!" Samantha cried, panic in her eyes. "You're bleeding."

Kid examined himself. He sure didn't feel any pain anywhere. "I'm not bleeding," he said nonchalantly.

"Kid, there's blood on your shirt," Buck told him, pointing at the fresh blood spot on his shirt. Unlike Samantha, Buck was not stupid enough to fall for the blood as Kid's own.

"You're still numb," Samantha said softly. "Let's see if you're wounded." She proceeded to unbutton his shirt.

Cody frowned as he watched the affair. Even Cody was not that stupid to fall for the blood as Kid's. Hell, if it was Kid's blood, it sure would have been more soaked at the moment. Samantha's just using this as an excuse to get Kid undressed, he thought.

Kid pushed her hands away. "I'm not hurt. I'm fine." He frowned, trying to think where the blood might have come from. It certainly wasn't the madman's. The man didn't even touch him. Oh my God! It's Lou's.

"What's the matter?" Noah asked, rising to his feet. "What happened to you?"

"I'll explain later," he said, running out of the bunkhouse.

"Where you going?" Cody yelled after him.

"It's Lou's," Kid yelled back. "I gotta see if she's okay."

The riders, even Samantha, followed after him. Jimmy could hear his heart pounding heavier against his chest as his nervousness overwhelmed him. "Lou was with you? What the hell happened?"

Kid ignored him and continued toward Rachel's house.

"You were with her, and you didn't see if she was hurt!" Jimmy yelled accusingly.

"Shut up, Jimmy," Kid yelled back, returning Jimmy's angry stare. "I don't need this right now."

Buck immediately placed himself between the two riders before any violence erupted. "C'mon, we don't need this. We have to make sure she's fine, and you two can handle this later."

Lou turned the knob of her room's door with her unwounded arm. Rachel was already asleep, and left some food for her on the kitchen table. Seeing the blood trickled down her arm made her sick. She was aware of the seriousness that could result if she did not get the wound cleaned up. After years of living in the saloon, she had seen hundreds of shootings, but the visuals did not quite prepare her for the pain.

She carefully slipped out of her shredded dress and began to wash the wound. Judging from the open flesh, she decided that stitches were unnecessary. Biting her lower lip to prevent any cry of pain, she applied some medicine from Rachel's supplies and wrapped the bandage around the arm.

Realizing her thirst, she went down the stairs to the kitchen for a drink of water. There was a frantic knock on the door, and she could hear Cody calling for her and Rachel.

"I'm coming," she cried as she walked as quickly as she possibly could to open the door. "What's the matter?"

"Lou, you all right?" Noah asked.

She stared at the faces of the riders, including Samantha. "Keep it down, will you? Rachel's sleeping. What's wrong?" She felt strange under their scrutinizing eyes as she closed the door behind her.

"Are you wounded?"

Lou frowned, sitting on the only chair on the porch. "So this is what you all came here for?" Although she was surprised at their concern, she was more irritated than grateful. "I'm fine."

"There's blood on my shirt," Kid explained. "You bleeding anywhere?"

Lou glanced at Samantha before answering. The schoolteacher was certainly upset with her. "His shot was inaccurate. It barely touched my arm."

"Who shot you?" Jimmy asked.

Lou sighed, looking at Kid with a displeased look. "It's a long story."

"Will someone tell me what the hell happened tonight?" Buck asked, frustrated with the lack of information. "Are you gonna keep us guessing?"

"I was riding from town," Lou began. "Then I heard a gunshot, and the bullet just brushed against my skin. It ain't serious at all."

"Let's take a look," Noah suggested. He did not trust Lou's word. She often understated things when they concerned her.

"Now?" Lou asked.

"Yes, now!" Kid repeated.

She was wearing a loose long-sleeve blouse. Rolling up the sleeves would not be enough to expose the wound, which only gave her one alternative. She had to unbutton her blouse and slip the blouse down her wounded arm.

"Lou, we gotta take a look at your wound. It might be serious," Cody said with concern.

"Trust me. It's okay," Lou said, crossing her arms across her chest.

"What are shy about?" Jimmy asked. "We're just gonna examine the wound. What if you put the wrong medicine or the wrong bandage?"

"In case you're forgetting, I've spent years at the saloon. I've been exposed to people getting shot, and often times, I have to fix them up."

"But you're no nurse," Jimmy argued.

"Neither are you," she replied.

"At least let one of us take a look at it," Buck said, wishing she'd see the purpose behind the madness.

She sighed. "If it will make you feel better, I'll show it to Rachel first thing in the morning."

"Lou, we're talking about right now!" Kid said. "The wound can get infected."

"Fine, if you wanna take a look, go ahead!" shy yelled at him.

Kid suddenly realized the dilemma. He began to unbutton the top of her blouse with nervous fingers, hoping that unbuttoning three buttons was all that would be required to slip the blouse down her arm. "Can you make this any easier?" he said sarcastically, referring to her crossed arms against her chest. She glared at him. He wished for privacy, but to request for it would be odd, considering that they were surrounded by friends with great concern for her well-being.

Kid moved away from her. "I give up," he said. "I won't be able to get that blouse off her shoulders."

"Lou, how about this? Let Buck take a look at it inside the house so you can have some privacy," Jimmy suggested. He knew that girls could be so picky sometimes.

"Okay," she said, opening the door of the house as Buck followed after her. "I'm telling you. It's no big deal," she said as she began to unbutton her shirt. She slipped the neckline off her shoulder to give Buck a look at the bandaged wound.

He carefully removed the bandage and examined her burnt flesh. "Not too bad," he concluded. "You've been wounded before?"

She shook her head. "I guess there's a first time for everything."

"I guess you know what you're doing," he said, wrapping the bandage back in place. "Looks like you can take care of the wound by yourself."

She smiled. "Thanks, Buck."

"Hey, no problem," he said. "Go to bed. Sorry to bother you. We were just concerned."

"Buck, don't let Kid out tonight, okay?"

"Why? What happened out there?"

"I told you there was this madman. He shot me, but he missed. I don't know what he wanted with me. He was saying all these things that he'd do to me."

"That's awful."

"It gets worse," she said, feeling the unreal quality of the night as if it happened to someone else. "The next thing I remember, Kid came riding in. Both of them drew their guns. The man still had his other arm around my neck with his gun pointed at my head. His other hand held a gun pointed at the Kid. The man asked Kid to trade Katy for me. The fool that he is, he actually did it! He traded Katy for me!"

"He did that for you?" Buck asked for clarification. Kid loved her more than Buck thought. "He's crazy about you."

"No, Buck, he's going crazy because of me. He wanted to track the robber, but I told him it's too late. He's mad at me. I hope he could take it back and not make that stupid trade."

"Trust me, Lou, you're worth the horse. You're worth more than Katy, more than ten Katies."

Lou laughed sadly. "He blames me, but he was the one who made the decision. I guess he regrets it so much he can't even stand me right now."

"He said that?"

"No, but he sure acts like it," she replied.

"Lou, he'll get over it. It ain't your fault. Go to bed, all right?" He gave her a warm hug before she retired to her bedroom.

"What's taking him so long?" Kid asked worriedly. "You think it's something serious?"

"If what she told us is true, I don't think so," Noah said. "Did you get the man who shot her?"

Kid lowered his eyes, an indication that he was in a dangerous mood. "I had to let him go."

"What?" Jimmy asked.

"I heard a gunshot and checked out what happened. Next thing I knew, he was pointing a gun in my face and another at Lou's head. He wanted my horse for her, and so I had no choice." He paused, remembering the pain of losing a loved one. "I had to give him Katy. If I shot him, he could have hurt Lou. I didn't wanna take any chances."

Jimmy smiled. "You did the right thing, Kid. We'll get Katy back. I promise."

Kid nodded, trying to control the rage that was on the verge of erupting. "I'm gonna track him down first thing in the morning. I would have done it tonight, but Lou was being a pest."

She always is, Samantha thought. She didn't understand why Kid would trade his beautiful horse for that young woman! She was hardly worth the deal! Her father, her own flesh and blood, would not have done what Kid had done for her. That girl is trouble, Samantha declared in her mind. Everywhere she goes comes trouble. How can Kid do such a sacrifice for her? Did she use one of the tricks she learned at the saloon to make him do such a thing?

Buck walked out of the house, closing the door behind him. "She's fine. The wound's not serious at all. She went to bed. I guess all the drama tonight is enough to put anybody to sleep."

"Try telling that to Kid," said Noah. "I doubt he'll get any sleep tonight."

"Kid, you can't track the robber. It's too dark. You have to wait till morning," Buck told him. "We gotta talk to Teaspoon first. We can't just drop delivering letters every time there's a problem."

Cody turned to Samantha. "You oughtta be going. It's pretty late. You'd probably need some company."

All eyes turned to the silent Kid. "Listen, I'd love to take you home, but I just don't feel like riding any horse right now," he said.

"Hell, you'd probably not ride any horse unless it's Katy," Jimmy teased him. "I don't recall a time when I've seen you riding any horse besides Katy."

Kid chuckled. "I'm sure Cody won't mind accompanying you home."

Cody replied with a ridiculous grin on his face.

"Kid, I hope to be there when you search for Katy," she said. "I'm coming here tomorrow morning. Please don't leave without me."

"I can't promise you anything, but thank you," Kid said, giving her a hug. Despite Samantha's good looks and kindness, he did not feel anything from their embrace. He felt emotionless holding her in his arms. The excitement and pleasure he thought he'd feel were missing as if he was missing someone who was missing from him. He knew he had to confront Lou about what he witnessed earlier that evening in town. He would have to be prepared for her accusations of him spying on her. He would have to be prepared to hear the truth. But most of all, he would have to be prepared to accept the truth and see her for the heartless, dishonest person that she might be.

NEXT

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