Prologue
The shadowed outline of a rider contrasted against the orange tones of the afternoon sky. He gradually approached the property, and windmill greeted him as he saw several buildings in the place appear before his eyes. He slowed down his mount to a canter, and his hand stroked his mare's soft neck as they came to a standstill. They must have been spotted, and soon a door opened, and a middle-aged man stepped out, followed by a group of five youngsters.
Kid dismounted, and held the horse's reins while expectantly waiting for the group of men. He recognized the marshal from when his parents had died, but he did not know anybody else. It was the marshal who first addressed him. "Anythin' we can do for you?"
"I heard in town you're hiring, and I need a job."
Teaspoon squinted thoughtfully, trying to remember where he had seen this young man's face before. "What's your name, son?"
"People just call me Kid," he replied breezily.
Teaspoon nodded, instantly remembering the ugly circumstances under which he had made the boy's acquaintance. "So you want the job?" the marshal asked.
"I'm good around horses, and hard-working," Kid stated proudly.
"You realize you'll be facin' danger and riskin' your neck every day?" Teaspoon insisted.
"Yes, sir."
Teaspoon threw a look at his other riders, and cracking a smile, he said, "Boys, seems we got us a new addition to this Pony Express station."
Kid smiled, and Teaspoon made the introductions. Kid thought that they were a very peculiar group, so different, but he instantly felt at ease around them, even with the one called Hickok, who kept looking at him warily. After greeting and exchanging a few pleasantries with his new fellow riders, Kid followed them into the bunkhouse. There he met Rachel Dunne, the woman who cooked and looked after the men at the station. She greeted him with a bright smile, and Kid tilted his head to her courteously like his dear mother had taught him to treat women.
Rachel had finished cooking dinner, and asked Kid to join them. The men sat around the dinner table while Rachel served the beautiful-smelling meat. Teaspoon had been telling Kid about his duties as a rider, but when the plate was before him, he clammed up and started eating in silence.
"This is real nice, Mrs. Dunne," Kid complimented the woman once he had tasted the meat on his plate.
"Thank you, Kid, but please call me Rachel. "
Kid nodded, and kept eating in silence. Everybody was curious to know something about the newcomer, and Cody, who was not one to beat around the bush, expressed what everyone around the table was thinking. "So, Kid, tell us a bit about yourself."
Kid looked at him. "What do you want to know?"
"Where are you from?" Jimmy asked.
"Virginia, but I've been around these parts for a few months now," he explained.
"Don't you have a family?" Noah added.
Kid hesitated, and then he said, "My parents are dead." He paused briefly, and then added, "I have a cottage heading south. It's nothing much, just a small field, stables with a cow, a couple of horses, and some hens. Some day I might make something out of the place, but right now it's just useless land. With the hail storm last week, my crops went to ruin, so now I need the job."
"I gather you won't be stationed here all the time," Teaspoon said.
"That's my home," Kid replied with a strange tone in his voice.
"And do you live there on your own then?" Rachel asked this time.
Kid hesitated again, but there was no reason he had to lie about this. He shook his head, and said, "I… just my wife and me," he said, his eyes lowered to his plate.
His revelation surprised everybody. "You're married?" a voice Kid could not identify asked.
Kid lifted his eyes back to the group, and in a flat voice, he replied, "Yes, I am."
"And what does your wife say about you voluntarily facin' danger in this job?" Buck asked.
Kid paused, and kept thoughtful for a while. "Things with her are … peculiar," Kid muttered.
"How peculiar?" Cody insisted.
"To explain that, I would have to tell you what's been going on in my life in the last four months," Kid said, smiling wryly.
"So what are you waiting for?" Cody added again.
Kid shifted uncomfortably in his seat. He was very particular about his private life, but right now he was really considering telling this group of strangers everything that had happened to him. Since his mother had died, he had nobody to talk to, and he really needed to disclose what had been bubbling in his insides lately. So without thinking about it twice, he said, "Well, let me start from the very beginning…"