Louise McCloud gazed at herself in the gold framed mirror in Charlotte Rowan's suite of rooms at Wicks' bordello. Her face was pale, her dark eyes were red-rimmed, her bottom lip was split, and there was a shadowing of bruises along the left-side of her jawline and onto her neck.
She shuddered as she remembered the feel of his hand wrapped tightly around her neck. She remembered how it felt to have his much larger and stronger frame pinning her down, hurting her as he took her against her will.
She blinked away tears, forcing the horror of what had happened to her only a short time earlier from the forefront of her mind. There would be time later to give in to everything she was feeling.
The sound of the knob turning on Charlotte's door had her scurrying to hide herself. For all she knew Wicks had already awakened from his drunken stupor and would be furious she'd escaped his clutches.
"Louise?"
Lou came out of her hiding place at hearing Charlotte call her name.
"Put these on." Charlotte handed her a pile of clothing.
Lou hastily stripped off the robe Charlotte had given to her earlier when she'd come to her friend for help. Soon she was dressed from head to toe in boy's clothing. She cinched the belt she wore on the last loop, so the pants would stay up. Wire-rimmed glasses, a hat, boots, and a gun belt completed her outfit.
Lou took the new Colt out of the gun belt and checked to make sure there were bullets in the chamber. She closed it and holstered it.
"You act like you know how to use that?" Charlotte commented.
"I do." Lou told her. "My pa taught me how to shoot before he left us. I haven't done it for a while, but I'm sure I'll remember how."
"There's one more thing we need to do." Charlotte said moving over to retrieve a pair of scissors from her sewing table in one corner of the room.
Lou sighed and sat down. Her tears slid silently as her long, dark tresses fell to the floor at her feet. She was still crying when she moved to stand in front of the mirror again. Charlotte replaced the hat on her head and the two women were surprised at how different she looked in her new disguise.
"He'll never find you looking like this." Charlotte said encouragingly.
Her words were enough to send an edge of fear racing through Lou. She had to get out of town before Wicks woke up and came looking for her. "I need to get out of here."
"While you were taking a bath, I went to your room and poured some laudanum down Wicks' throat." Charlotte told her reassuringly. "He won't wake up for awhile yet."
She steered Lou over to her bed and picked up a small canvas bag. "While I was in your room, I packed up your few treasures and money sack. I added some of my own to it. You should have enough to last you until you can settle somewhere and get a job. There's a horse, complete with gear, including a bedroll, waiting for you outside. Along with your clothes, I purchased you some food as well, and packed it in your saddlebags.
"Thank you, Charlotte." Lou cried, hugging her.
"Sweet Louise, I'm going to miss you. Stay safe. Always be true to yourself." Charlotte hugged her back.
"I will." Lou promised.
Charlotte escorted her out the back way of the bordello, making sure no one spotted her. Once outside, Lou hurriedly mounted the black gelding Charlotte had purchased for her, thankful she knew how to ride. She kicked the horse into a gallop and rode out of town. She didn't know where she was going, just as long as she got as far away from Wicks as she possibly could.
A wake later found Lou riding Lightning onto Emma Shannon's homestead, which was the place where she and other boys would train to be Pony Express riders.
A thrill of excitement swept through her. She'd always wanted to live an adventure and now she would. Best of all, she would be able to save up enough money to get her younger siblings from the orphanage and buy them a ranch somewhere to settle down on.
A woman with curly red hair, kind eyes, and warm smile welcomed her when she rode up to the large, two-story yellow house. 'I'm Emma Shannon. How can I help you?"
"Name's Lou McCLoud. Folks in town told me this is where I needed to come to train to be a Pony Express rider."
"You'd be correct. Hop on down from your horse and I'll take you over to the bunkhouse and introduce you to Teaspoon Hunter. He's the stationmaster who'll be teaching you everything you need to know about being a rider."
Lou did as she was instructed. Ignoring the butterflies in her stomach, she followed Emma to the bunkhouse never knowing how drastically her life was going to change forever.