by: Wendy Mills
Christmas Day found Lou up earlier than Kid again. Silence was the first thing that greeted her when she climbed out of bed. She slid carefully out of bed and patted barefoot over to the window. A smile lit her features as she gazed out at the quiet calm of a blizzard free day.
Snow blanketed everything as far as the naked eye could see, but there was not a snowflake in sight. In fact, the lightening appeared to be cloudless from her vantage point, and that gave her hope that maybe her PX family members would make its to Sweetwater after all.
She moved away from the window and slid her feet into her slippers, before putting her robe on, and heading out into the hallway. She made her rounds with the children before heading downstairs. She stoked the still hot ashes in the parlor fireplace before adding wood to them, it was apparent to her that sometime during the night, Kid, had come down and placed more wood in it so that their family stayed warm. When she had a fire going, she moved into the kitchen. She repeated the process of starting a fire in the stove, before she extracted the turkey from the cold pit and stuck it in the oven to cook. Next she set to work on breakfast.
Kid joined her a short time later. They shared a cup of coffee and some snuggling time with one another before he headed outside to milk the cows. He would let most of the chores wait until after the children were awake and they had enjoyed the contents of their stockings, as per Kidrickson tradition, gifts were not open until after breakfast.
Buck, Cherokee, and their children were the first of their family members to arrive. Dancing Willow gave away their presence on the K&L just as Kid was heading back to the house with two pails of foaming milk. He nearly dropped them when Buck stepped suddenly into his path.
"Damn Buck, it's good to see you." Kid exclaimed, as the PX brothers hugged.
"It's good to see you, too. We would have been here yesterday, but we had to wait out the blizzard. It didn't lessen up our way until last night."
"You are here now and that's what counts." Kid told him. "Let's get Cherokee and your children inside where it's warm and then you and I will tend to your mounts."
Buck nodded his agreement, taking one the buckets of milk so that Kid could hug Cherokee. Then Kid led the way toward the house. Once inside he said, "Lou could you come here for a minute?"
Lou stirred the pot of porridge and set the pan with salt pork she had frying off the heat so it would not burn while she went to see what Kid needed. The first thing she saw as she moved into the parlor was Kid's beaming face, before she realized that her husband was not alone. Tears welled up in her eyes as they came to rest on Buck's familiar features. "Oh, Buck."
Kid took back the bucket of milk his Kiowa brother had carried into the house, and headed into the kitchen with them while his wife and Buck greeted each other. Buck, with moisture in his own eyes, strolled across the room and embraced Lou in a bear hug which she returned heartily. The bond that had developed between the two of them when they were riding for the express had deepened after Buck had helped a pregnant, kidnapped, Lou return safely home to her family. A new son had arrived several months later, and he had been given his uncle's name to honor Buck.
"How's my namesake grown?" Buck asked as Lou moved to greet Cherokee, her nephews, and new niece.
"Growing like a weed," Kid said as he rejoined them. "All the children are."
There was a patter of feet running on the floor overhead. He smiled. "Looks like you're going to get to see for yourself."
"I best go finish breakfast." Lou said and headed for the kitchen.
'Take Willow and I'll go help Lou with breakfast." Cherokee said, turning toward her husband she waited for him to remove their daughter's cradleboard strapped to her back.
Buck removed their daughter, cradleboard and all, off his wife's back, and Cherokee headed for the kitchen. He pulled a wriggling Dancing Willow from the cradleboard and kissed her smiling face.
"Can I hold my niece?" Kid asked.
Buck passed Dancing Willow to him. Kid cradled the small bundle close, smiling down into her cherubic face, remembering how it felt to hold each of his children in his arms when they were as small as Dancing Willow. Little Buck was nearly two year old. He wondered for a brief moment if they would be blessed with another child, and then smiled at his foolishness. He and Lou had their hands full with the seven children they already had.
As if they were aware of his thoughts, he heard his own brood on the floor above gathering near the landing at the top of the staircase, before they descended it at a slower pace. He and Lou had spent countless moments apiece on letting them know that playing on the stairs was not safe, nor was it going to be tolerated.
He turned toward the staircase with his new niece in his arms to watch the children come down them. Buck moved up beside him, his hands resting on Shadow Walker and Soaring Wren's shoulders. He knew his sons' were a bit apprehensive about meeting their cousins for the first time.
Kid watched with a broad smile on his face as his children's features lit up, first at the pile of presents under the tree in the corner, and then when they caught sight of who was standing next to him.
"Uncle Buck!" Jamie and Jed cried out together as they raced forward.
Shadow Walker and Soaring Wren shifted into defensive stances in front of their father, as the older boys neared. Jamie and Jed came to an abrupt halt a foot away to stare at their Kiowa cousins in surprise.
Buck quietly assured his sons in Kiowa that their cousins were only eager to greet him. He stepped past them and held his arms out to Jamie and Jed. It was all the prodding they needed to run to him. He swept them into a bear hug and was rewarded with laughter. He smiled over their heads at Cody and Little Buck who were watching the proceeding with curiosity.
Cody, who had some memory of his Kiowa uncle stored up in his young mind, seemed to recognize something Buck's mile that reassured him. He grinned back and moved to join his older brothers with Little Buck in tow. Buck drew the two younger boys in for a hug, as his three nieces brought up the rear.
Kid watched Buck interact with his children with a warm smile on his face, He hoped with time that Shadow Walker and Soaring Wren would respond to him in the same manner. Dancing Willow let out a gurgle and Kid's attention once more focused on his new niece.
They were all in the process of sitting down to breakfast when they heard the sound of a wagon coming into the yard. Kid went to see who it was while the other adults worked on getting the children settled around the table.
Cody and Teaspoon were helping Louisa and Rachel out of the wagon when Kid opened the door and stepped out onto the porch. A welcoming smile lit his face as he saw who the visitors were.
"Buck, Lou, come here for a moment." He called out before he went to greet the new arrivals. "Cody, Teaspoon, ladies, it's sure good to see you."
The men exchanged handshakes before Rachel and Kid shared a hug. Sariah threw herself into her uncle's arms and Kid twirled around. He was still twirling her when Lou and Buck joined them. More handshakes and hugs were exchanged before Cody presented Louisa to them all, and they welcomed her warmly.
Then they all headed inside to eat breakfast. It was a noisy brood who retired to the sitting room as short time later to exchange gifts. Kid and Lou got a couple of minutes alone to talk amid all the commotion.
"I'm glad Buck, Cherokee, Cody, Louisa, Teaspoon, Rachel, and their kids made it here." Kid said, glancing around at their noisy family members.
"Me too," Lou said.
Kid took her hand in his. "They would have been here if they could be Lou."
"I know." She sighed. "I just miss them so much. I was looking forward to all of our family being here for Christmas."
"We both were." Kid kissed her, stood up, and headed for the door. "Teaspoon, Cody, Buck, you all want to help me with the chores?"
"Sure." Teaspoon rose gingerly to his feet and moved over to join him by the door.
Cody and Buck followed suit and the four men went outside. Lou and Rachel left Louisa and Cherokee to get better acquainted and look after the children, while they headed into the kitchen to start on dinner preparations. The Turkey was close to being done and there were other vegetables and items that needed to be cooked before the meal was ready.
The men were finished with the chores and heading back to the house when another pulled into the yard. Greetings were exchanged between them, the Cains, and the Hickok's.
"I'm glad you all were able to make it." Kid told Jimmy and the others. "Lou was really hoping that we'd all be together for Christmas."
"Where is she now?" Jimmy asked. "I'd like to surprise her."
"I reckon she's probably in the kitchen by now checking on turkey." Kid told him as they reached the porch.
"Why don't you go around back?" Kid suggested.
"I'll do that." Jimmy said and started toward the back of the house.
"We'll wait out here on the porch. "Emma said. "That way the children won't give the surprise away."
Jimmy nodded and continued around the corner of the house. He creepy up to the back door and slowly opened it. He spotted Lou standing at the stove with her back to him. He stepped carefully inside, closing the door behind him. His stomach rumbled as his nose was assaulted by the delicious aromas rising up from all the food being cooked.
"Something sure smells good in here." He said softly.
Lou whirled around. Jimmy watched as a delighted grin lit up her beautiful features. "Jimmy!"
She dropped the spoon she held in her hand and ran to him. Jimmy swept her up into his arms and hugged her tight.
"I've missed you." They said together, and promptly burst out laughing.
Jimmy set Lou down.
I'm so glad you're here." Lou told him as she smoothed out her dress. "Did you bring Amanda and Jemma?"
"Of course I did, and someone else as well." He told her.
Lou's features colored with surprise. "Who?"
"He's about this big and carries the last name of Hickok." With his hands Jimmy measured out the size of his infant son.
"A son? You have a son? What did you name him? Why didn't you tell us Amanda was pregnant again?"
"Yes, I have a son. We named him Hunter James, and we wanted it to be a surprise." Jimmy answered her questions with amusement.
"Now all the family is here, except for Sam and Emma and their children." Lou said as she went back to stirring the butter and flour together in the frying pan which was a starter to the gravy she was making to go over the turkey and mashed potatoes.
"Guess again, Lou. Amanda and I met up with Sam and Emma in town. They are waiting outside on the porch to come in so that the children wouldn't give the surprise away."
"Here, stir, I'll be right back." Lou handed him the spoon and hurried out of the kitchen.
Lou welcomed the new arrivals with hugs, warm smiles, and happy tears. Her Christmas wish had come true. All of her Pony Express family was together again and that made it the best Christmas she had had in a long time. The only thing that would have made it better was if her younger siblings, Jeremiah and Teresa were with them. Both had recently finished their schooling. Teresa had taken a position as a teacher back East, and Jeremiah, lawyer was just given a job with a local practice in the same area. Neither of them had the funds or the time to make the journey back home, after only arriving there and starting their new jobs a couple of months earlier.
Later, after everyone had gone to bed, Kid and Lou lay quietly talking.
"You happy Lou?"
"Happier than I've got reason to. I have you, our children, and a wonderful family. Having all of our PX family here to share this special time with us, is the best thing of all. Merry Christmas Kid."
"Merry Christmas Lou."