I'll Be There for you
These five words I swear to you
Emma Shannon Cain kept her back rigid and her chin up as she sat beside her new husband on the wagon seat while they drove out of the Sweetwater Pony Express way station yard. She couldn't bring herself to look back upon the group of young men, young woman, and the wrinkled older man who had so quickly endeared themselves to her. She had already cried a bucket of tears when she packed up her worldly possessions to take with her to her and Sam's new destination. She was determined not to let another drop fall.
Over the past couple of days since her wedding, Emma had taken each of the riders aside for some quiet time alone. Jimmy Hickok had sworn to set Sam straight if he did anything to hurt her. Kid thanked her for being someone he could look up to. Cody mourned the loss of both her and her cooking which had made her laugh. Ike vowed never to forget her, while Buck stoically expressed his thanks for her treating him the same as the others.
Her time with Lou McCloud had been the most difficult. Both of them wept as Lou lamented that she would never forget her and promised to write. Emma had vowed to do the same. Her love and admiration for the determined young woman made leaving Lou the hardest. She had talked to Teaspoon last. The older man had become a trusted confidante, protector and friend, and she was going to miss him dearly.
The tears she had been determined not to shed now began to slowly roll down her cheeks as the voices of her Pony Express family members called out to her and Sam.
Sensing her distress, Sam reached over and took one of her slender hands in his own. He gave it a gentle squeeze and said, "It's going to be all right, Emma. I'll be there for you. I swear that I'm never going to leave you."
"I know you won't, Sam. Everything is going to be just fine."
Emma drew strength from Sam's words and felt her own spirits rise. She would see her Pony Express family again some day, but for now her place was with Sam.