As she walked across the street to the mercantile, Lou waved to everyone who passed by; those she knew, those that she didn't, those that she loved, and even those that she hated. She had a list of goods to pick up for Emma, and needed to get back to the ranch.
"Flour, beans, thread," She softly said to her self, "Oh, and a new ten-cent book for Cody." She slowly approached the store, list in hand, and saw a strange man sitting on a bench nearby. Lou quickly scanned her eyes over the foreigner, then, looked away, not wanting to draw any attention to herself.
Lou stepped up into the entrance to the general store, soon forgetting about the man and focusing on which book to pick up for Cody. In about seven minutes time, she had gathered all the items on her listed, paid, and left the store with the newly purchased supplies.
Lou left to walk towards her horse and passed by the fabric shop. Some days, Lou would go in, borrow a dress for the afternoon, and prance around town like a real lady. And today just happened to be one of those days.
She entered the store, and told Eliza, the owner and one of her closest and only female friends, what kind of day it was. Eliza walked over to the window, and pulled down a beautiful blue dress with lace trim, matched with a blue hat accented by a white ribbon.
"I think this will just look lovely on you, honey," Eliza said with a warm smile. Lou smiled back, took the dress, and tried it on.
"How do I look?" Lou asked, grinning.
"Just lovely!" Eliza replied. "Don't worry about getting it back in here. Just whenever you can."
"Of course, Eliza. Thank you so much!" Lou quickly said. She didn't hesitate to rush out the door, but slowly transformed how she carried herself to appear more lady-like.
Lou couldn't help but notice the strange man was still sitting outside the mercantile. She tried to look away, but the stranger made eye contact with her, and slowly picked himself up from the bench.
Lou, being the true lady that she was, trusted her woman's intuition and picked up her pace from strolling to briskly walking, feeling uncomfortable in the intruder's presence. The outsider stepped onto the street and walked in Lou's direction. In no more than a minute, the man had caught to Lou and began to speak with her.
"Hello, ma'am." The man said, tipping his hat and smiling.
"Hello." Lou said, hoping he would leave her alone.
"I just strolled into town. I saw you walk out of the fabric shop in that very pretty dress." He smiled at Lou again, but she said nothing. "I was hoping that you could show me around; I'm assuming you're from around here?"
"Yes." She answered sharply, speeding up again.
"I was just going to the hotel to have some lunch, and I was hoping you could join me-"
"No," Lou cut him off, "I have plans." The man put his hand over her mouth and grabbed her arms.
"I said, I was hoping you could join me for lunch." The man said very sternly, grinning in an evil way. The stranger dragged Lou behind the buildings, neither saying a word.
Kid finished tamping the last post in. He had spent the day repairing the pasture fence alone. Emma, Teaspoon, and Cody all left for the city to run some big errands that couldn't be completed in Sweetwater, Jimmy was out with the mail, and the rest of the riders were on a trip picking up some new horses. Kid and Lou were by themselves the weekend, a rare occasion, and he had never felt so free. Kid also had a plan. The two had had a relationship for quite a while, but never physically satisfying for Kid. After much thought, Kid decided he loved Lou, and tonight he was going to show her how much. He had already packed his saddlebags, and rolled up a blanket to bring with. He even snuck over to the house during the night, and cut a beautiful red rose from Emma's favorite bush. He knew if Emma ever found out, he would be in the doghouse, but he didn't care. Kid put away the extra fence posts in the shed, let the horses back into the pasture, and went to prepare himself for what he hoped would be the best time of his life.
After he cleaned up and put on a fresh shirt, Kid went out to sit on the porch and await the arrival of his lady. Last time he was in town, he even bought three fancy tea cookies, because that's what Jimmy said the gals love. He wrapped his treats in a napkin, and put them in the saddlebag, along with the rose.
Kid could see dust at the end of the trail, and smiled, for he knew that it was none other than Lou, coming home to him and him only. He hurriedly took Katy, tacked up and ready to go, out of the barn and tied her to one of the new fence posts. Lou slowed her horse as she entered the lane, and Kid came rushing to meet her.
Lou got down from her horse, still in the blue dress, now torn and dirty. Slowly, she walked her horse to the barn.
"Lou, Lou!" Kid yelled as he followed her. She kept walking. He caught up to her. "Lou, I've got a surprise for you," he gently grabbed her hand, "Since everyone's-" Lou jerked her hand away, and sped towards the barn. Shuddering, she turned around, with tearful, worn eyes.
She was a mess. Not only was her dress torn, but her eyes and arms were black, blue, and covered in bruises. Her hair was all mangled, her lip was swollen, and she wanted to throw up. She collapsed on the ground, crying, for what had happened to her was so terrifying, she would never be the same woman again.
After she had spent a few minutes on the ground, Kid held out his hand to help her up. She reached up, and not only took his hand, but also hugged him tightly. Still crying, Kid hugged her and stroked her hair. Her eyes spoke to him, as if they saying "hold me."
Once Lou had controlled her crying, Kid led her into the house. When the got in, he looked at her and calmly asked, "What happened?"
Choking on the words, Lou opened her mouth, but nothing came out. She tried again, but all that came out was "I'm not a virgin anymore." Kid looked at her, not knowing exactly what she meant. "I've been raped Kid, I was raped."
Lou went on to describe what had happened. How she borrowed the dress. How she tried to get the strange man to go away, but he wouldn't. How he drug her into the back alley of Sweetwater. Kid told her she could stop talking if she wanted, but Lou continued to let what had happened spill out. She told him about how he stripped her of her dress and undergarments. She told Kid about how he forced himself into her body, in a way she had never felt before.
Lou, holding tears back, then told Kid about how he beat her. The stranger hit her on her arms and legs, around her breasts, and on her lips and eyes. She also gave him a detailed description of how what he did had hurt her body, everywhere. Kid's eyes began to swell with tears, as Lou said, "He made me bleed, Kid, and it hurts like hell."
Kid knew he had no idea what his girl had been through, but he knew that he could hug her. So he wrapped her in a warm embrace. And then they cried. Kid suddenly stopped and let her go. Lou looked at him with big, scared eyes.
"I-I didn't know how bad… I didn't want to hurt… I don't want to-" Lou cut him off.
"Kid," she let out a sigh, "Do you want to know how bad it is?" Lou could tell that he wanted to know, but was enough of a gentleman to know not to ask. Kid looked at her, and Lou took it as a yes.
She walked just a few steps away from him, and slipped off the tattered blue dress, leaving her in just her petticoat. Taking a leap of faith, she began to slip out of the protective, covering, and now ruined undergarment. With both rider's hearts pounding, trust occupied both of them, and Louise McCloud cautiously showed her body to the young rider sitting across from her. She turned to Kid, nervously and shyly, letting him take in every part of her figure.
After he had starred for a long while, Lou went upstairs and changed into her only nightgown, which she hid in Emma's attic. When she came back downstairs, she walked to the Kid.
"I tried to stop it, Kid it really did," She said, holding back tears, "I wanted my first time to be special, I-" Lou paused. "I wanted it to be with you." Lou quickly turned away from him, embarrassed at what she had said.
"Louise McCloud," She slowly turned back towards Kid, "It doesn't matter to me what happened today. I still love you."
"Oh, Kid-" Lou stopped and walked up to Kid. She slowly reached up and tucked one of his brown locks behind his ear. She quickly kissed his soft, warm lips, then backed off. Kid gently passed his hand over her face, and leaned in to kiss Lou back. Lou embraced the situation, and turned what began as a thoughtful kiss into a passionate act between the two express riders and their tender lips.
Lip biting, neck kissing; nothing short of what leads up to love making. Kid began to move his hands down towards her waist, but stopped, remembering what she had been through today.
The two suddenly paused as they heard horse hooves coming up to the house. Afraid at first, they looked out the window, only to see Jimmy dismounting from his horse. Both relieved and frightened, Kid and Lou stopped. Lou ran back up the stairs to put a pair of loose work clothes on. Jimmy stepped up onto the porch and opened the door.
"Kid," Jimmy said, "You'll never believe this: on my way back from delivering the mail, I saw the sheriff arresting a stranger. I walked up and asked him what the hell the guy did. You know what the sheriff told me? He said there was a wanted poster out on him for rape and assault! Now really, what are the chances of that happening in lil' old Sweetwater?" Kid stood up and looked Jimmy straight in they eye.
"What are the chances? Well, Jimmy, pretty damn good if you ask me." Kid left, letting the door slam behind him. He understood that Jimmy had no idea, but Kid was mad. And he wasn't going to hide it. But then he stopped in his tracks. He knew that Lou's first time was never going to be with him. But he did know that when they did dance together, it would mean more than it ever would have before. And so, Kid awaited the day that Lou would be ready to dance for him. But until that day, Kid would stand like a rock, and be there for her when her eyes said "hold me."