Kid and Lou were sitting on the bunkhouse porch snuggled against one another as the sun was setting. The day had been eventful. Kid couldn't complain. After the blow up at Buck and Cody's picnic, Lou was very attentive and the rest of their afternoon had been lovely.
"So are you going to tell me what you did today?" Kid asked giving Lou a gentle squeeze.
"I saved Buck from a broken heart," Lou answered.
"How do you know Buck would have gotten his heart broken?" he asked.
"You were right, Kid," Lou said, "I shouldn't meddle in the affairs of the hearts of others."
"I don't understand," Kid said. "You don't want to meddle, but you did something to their picnic."
"I was just undoing what I'd already done," she explained. "Cody and me set Buck and Myra up together. Cody had to bribe her with a new bonnet. So you see? Buck would have gotten his heart broken."
Kid ran his hand through his hair and looked out at the sunset. A small smile spread across his lips. "So, what did you do to that picnic basket?" he asked.
"I put a bunch of baby garter snakes in it," she answered burying her head in her arms and trying not to laugh.
Kid smiled and started to tickle her. "Have you learned your lesson?" Kid asked as he tickled her with more effort.
Lou laughed out loud as Kid 'tortured' her.
"Yes!" she cried between fits of laughter, "I've learned my lesson! I've learned my lesson!"
Kid stopped tickling her and caught his breath and smiled at Lou.
"I've learned never to confess my crimes to you," she teased.
Kid began to tickle her again with gusto and just when Lou could hardly breathe anymore from the laughter, he kissed her long and slow. He had wanted to kiss Lou this way all day long. He swept her off her feet and spirited her off to the barn for a little post picnic recreation. Lou wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him senseless the whole way there.
Kid laid her down in a soft pile of clean straw next to an empty stall. He wanted her, but he would be patient. He wanted to ask for her hand before he took her body completely.
The next day Lou was sitting outside on the bunkhouse porch sipping coffee as Cody came out of the barn after doing some morning chores.
"Cody," Lou said sweetly, "Just the man I was looking for."
"Oh no, Lou," Cody said, "You're not roping me into another round of matchmaking."
"But Cody," Lou whined, "The dance is coming up soon and we need to make sure Buck has a good time."
"Like he had a good time at the picnic?" Cody asked. "No thanks, Lou, I think Buck's better off on his own."
"You had to bribe Myra to be there," Lou said angrily. "It would have only hurt Buck when he found out."
"I don't think Myra would have made me get her a bonnet, Lou," Cody said, "I think she was really starting to like him."
"It never would have worked, so let's just move on," Lou said with an air of finality. "The dance is next week and we need to either make sure he is escorting someone or keep him from holding up the wall all night."
"I think it is safer for him to go alone," Cody advised.
Lou started to protest.
"We can see to it he has fun and dances a lot without having to be roped to one girl," Cody explained. "Maybe he'll hit it off with one of the girls and then we let nature take its course."
"Alright, I guess you have a point," Lou conceded.
"Now, I've updated my book since last we spoke," Cody revealed. "I've added all the single ladies of Rock Creek and made notes on all of them."
"Cody, that's disturbing," Lou said with a scrunched face.
"Well, most of the prettiest ones are really more my type than Buck's," Cody rationalized.
"What is that supposed to mean?" Lou demanded.
"They're shallow, Lou," Cody said humorlessly, "They only look at people that make them more popular and desirable. None of the ladies in my book turned out to be any good for Buck. Will you agree?"
"I guess you are right," Lou answered.
"So I had to do some scouting," Cody said jovially.
"So we're calling leering at unsuspecting women scouting now?" Lou asked sarcastically.
Cody gave her a patronizing smile and then continued, "I was looking for ladies with more substance than I usually require for myself."
"Cody, you are amazing," Lou said running her hand through her hair.
"Why thank you, Lou," Cody said beaming.
"That's not what I meant," she said into her hands.
"Let's just get through these names," Cody said.
"Ok, who's first?" Lou asked trying to remain calm.
"Grace Thomsen," Cody read from his book.
"The widow Grace Thomsen?" Lou asked angrily. "Cody, she's past her child bearing years and she smells funny."
"Oh and who's shallow now?" Cody taunted.
"Just pick another one," Lou ordered, "Someone our age this time."
"How about Erma Peavy?" Cody asked.
"She's really nice, but she's shy," Lou observed. "I don't think she's ever made eye contact with any of us. She'd be hard to count on to say yes if Buck asked her to dance."
"Well, I have some more and I think they'll be more agreeable to you, Lou," Cody said.
Cody went through the rest of his list and they found a few ladies that Lou thought might work out. Cody decided he would start laying the seeds for Buck when he was in town next. He would casually compliment them and tell them that Buck was right when he said they were pretty. He would butter them up and give Buck all the credit. That ought to get them to look Buck's way at the dance and when they made eye contact with Buck, Cody would nudge him into asking them to dance. It would work like magic.
Lou took a deep breath hoping this would work better than the picnic.
"Who are you taking to the dance, Cody?" Lou asked.
"Nora and Flora Thorton," Cody said dreamily.
"Both of them?" Lou asked surprised.
"They're twins, they do everything together," Cody said tilting his head and smiling.
The bunkhouse door opened and Kid came out.
"What are you two up to?" he asked suspiciously.
"Nothing, Kid," Lou said nonchalantly. "We were talking about the dance and did you know Cody is taking both the Thorton Twins."
Kid looked over to Cody and tried to hide how impressed he was. He didn't want to hurt Lou's feelings.
"Who're you taking, Kid?" Cody asked slyly and looked right at Lou.
"I ain't been asked," Lou said fake pouting.
"Lou, may I have the honor of escorting you to the dance?" Kid asked as he looked into her eyes and smiled.
Lou pretended to think about it and answered, "You may."
Kid leaned over and rubbed noses with Lou as she smiled and let out a soft giggle.
"I think I'm going to be sick," Cody said as he left the porch.
Cody was in town planting the seeds of his and Lou's plans with all the subtlety he could muster. He was getting a better response than he thought he would get. The ladies would be falling all over themselves to get a dance with Buck. Cody smiled. This was like shooting fish in a barrel.
With Cody in town setting up the first part of the plan, Lou knew it was time to work on the second part of the plan. She walked into the bunkhouse and found who she was looking for. Buck was sitting at the table writing a letter.
"Whatcha doin' Buck," Lou asked mischievously.
Buck smiled, "Writing a letter to Emma and Sam."
Lou smiled warmly.
"I was wondering if I could ask a favor," Lou hesitantly asked.
"What is it, Lou?" Buck asked back.
"I want to practice dancing before the big dance gets here and I need a partner," Lou baited.
"Lou, you know I don't dance that well," Buck said blushing. "It's hardly a skill I've needed to keep up anyway."
"But that's perfect we can help each other," Lou said excited.
"I don't need to practice something I ain't gonna use," Buck said with a hint of sadness in his voice and looked back to his letter.
"Buck, I'll make sure you use it," Lou said. "I will always want you to save me a dance. So what do you say? Will you help me?"
Buck looked up at the pleading look on Lou's face. She looked really cute when she batted her eyes at him or any of the other riders for that matter. He really never could deny her anything.
"Oh alright, Lou," Buck said caving.
Buck stood up and wiped his palms, which were suddenly sweaty, on his pants.
"Did you want to do this now?" Buck asked.
"Sure," Lou answered. No one but she and Buck were around the station so they wouldn't be interrupted or discovered.
Lou walked up to him and helped him place his arms and hands. She moved his right hand to her back just below her shoulder blade and moved her left hand to his upper arm. It brought the two riders closer to each other. Lou could feel the heat between them. It clouded her thoughts momentarily. She swallowed hard and squared her shoulders to keep her mind on her task. She took his right hand in her left and they were set.
"Oh, we need some music," Lou said fretting.
"No, we don't," Buck said smiling. "We can hum a little. By the way, I'm sorry if I step on your toes."
Slowly, Buck started to hum. Lou looked into his eyes and they started to dance. Buck was a much better dancer than he took credit for. She felt like she was floating above the bunkhouse floor. She let her eyes close and listened to the rich baritone of his voice. His pulse quickened against her hand and she felt her own body stiffen. Lou opened her eyes and found herself staring into the depths of his. They were darker than she had ever seen them. She saw a spark of emotion there she didn't recognize. Her mouth was suddenly dry and she felt a little nervous. She was enjoying the dance a bit too much.
Buck looked down at Lou. He wished he were in another time and place. It felt right having her in his arms and leading her around a dance floor. He could feel the muscles in her back as he led her around the room. His heart started to race and he could almost hear it beating. He didn't understand why he was suddenly feeling this way around Lou. Maybe it was because he was hoping to find a girl just like her someday. They were just friends though and she was Kid's girl.
Buck ended the phrase of the song he was humming and slowly brought their dance to a halt. He cleared his throat and looked away.
"I should finish my letter to Emma if I want to get it out with the next rider," Buck said quickly.
All Lou could do was nod. She went over to her bunk and grabbed a shirt that needed mending and smiled and pointed at the main house indicating she was going to see Rachel.
Buck nodded and tried to get back to his letter.
Lou opened the door and lingered a second trying to make sense of her feelings. She shook her head in an attempt to free her mind and walked up to Rachel's house.
Buck helped Lou practice for the dance the up until the day before the dance. They both took a more detached approach to the sessions as the first one left them both feeling disconcerted and confused. Lou thanked him for helping her and promised to save a dance for him. They became better friends over the last two weeks and Buck and Lou became confidants for each other. Lou told Buck about her hopes and fears for Kid and Buck shared that he hoped he'd be as lucky and find a good woman to share his life with him. Lou immediately felt better about her plotting and scheming with Cody.
Buck was feeling restless the day before the big dance and took a walk into town. He was noticing some of the ladies in town looking at him all week. He really thought he was in the wrong town sometimes. He looked down at his arms and they were the same color they had always been and he even stopped to check himself in a mirror in Tompkins' store to make sure he still looked like himself. It was mysterious. He stopped by Teaspoon's office just to get out of the way of the ladies leering at him.
Teaspoon was looking over some wanted posters when Buck came in. He laughed at the expression his rider wore.
"Buck you've become quite popular with the ladies this week," Teaspoon said.
Buck's eyes got big. "I have?" he asked dumbfounded.
"I've have several parents come and ask me for a reference," Teaspoon said smiling. "They wanted to know what kind of man you were."
"Why?" Buck asked. He truly didn't understand what was going on with his sense of reality.
"I guess they want to know that their daughters will be safe dancing with you tomorrow night," Teaspoon said grinning.
"Dancing with me?" Buck asked. He was still having a hard time comprehending what was going on. "Nobody ever wanted to dance with me before. Why would they want to dance with me now?"
"I don't know, Buck," Teaspoon answered. "Maybe the people in this town are finally coming around."
"I'm going back to the station, I got chores to do," Buck decided.
The night of the dance arrived. Lou decided she would keep herself from interfering in Buck's night and just enjoy herself with Kid. She was wearing a new dress she picked up in Seneca on an Express run and she couldn't wait to show it off. She and Cody had done all they could and now it was up to Buck.
Buck let everyone go ahead of him. He was trying to summon some courage. The last dance in town had been a catalyst to one of the worst times in his life. Ike and Emily had sealed their love at that last dance and then Ike was violently taken from them all. He remembered feeling so happy for Ike and then having to find him later to tell them Emily's father had been killed. Buck finished tying his string tie and smoothed his hair back into a ponytail. He took a deep breath and put on his suit jacket. Looking once more in the mirror, he left the bunkhouse and slowly walked toward the dance hall.
Buck walked toward the soft glow of the dance hall. He could hear the spritely fiddle music weave its way through the more dominating tones of the squeezebox Edwin Montgomery was certainly responsible for. He could see the shadows play on the boardwalk just outside the doors to the dance. He walked up to the door and peeked inside. Lou was dancing with Kid and she looked happy and carefree. Cody had a twin on each arm and was regaling them with some wild story. Rachel and Teaspoon were dancing as were Noah and Cassie. Buck smiled at that. While no one was paying attention, Noah and Cassie were getting closer and closer. They didn't need to shout their love from the center of town they just quietly went about loving each other. He hoped for the same kind of scrutiny free love affair. Jimmy was by the dessert table getting a snack for himself and Buck decided he would slip into the dance hall and join him.
Jimmy nodded at him and Buck walked up to join him.
"You alright?" Jimmy asked.
Buck grabbed a molasses cookie from the table and started to think about biting into it. He nodded.
"You're thinking about Ike, aren't you?" Jimmy asked.
Buck nodded again. "There hasn't been a dance in town since that night," he said.
"Well, snap out of it," Jimmy advised, "There's a bunch of ladies making eyes at you."
"Are you sure they're not looking at you?" Buck said hopefully and not looking.
"I'm sure," Jimmy said with a small laugh, "Their eyes followed you all the way over here. You should probably ask one of them to dance."
Buck placed his cookie on Jimmy's plate. He didn't know why he even took it. Slowly he turned around and noticed a trio of ladies blush and smile as he looked at them. He knew of them. They were nice young ladies from respectable families. He couldn't for the life of him figure out just why they were suddenly interested in him. Hazel Polston was the prettiest of the three. Maybe she would like to dance.
"Hickok, what do I do," Buck asked slightly terrified.
"Just walk up to her and say, 'May I have the honor of this dance?' and hold your hand out," Jimmy instructed.
Buck hesitated and Jimmy took it upon himself to give Buck a gentle push in the ladies direction.
Buck walked up to Hazel and repeated the line Jimmy had fed him and soon he and Hazel were dancing. Hazel wasn't as good of a dancer as Lou, but Buck still had a good time. They talked a little bit. Buck caught Lou looking at him and smiling over Kid's shoulder.
Throughout the night Buck hardly sat out a dance. There were a few ladies he wouldn't mind having another dance with. He thought about Hazel and her two friends, they seemed really nice. Their families were all local ranchers. He could fit in on a ranch. He saw the three of them over by the punch bowl.
Lou sneaked peeks at Buck's progress all night. She danced mostly with Kid, but took time to dance with Jimmy and Teaspoon too. She was taking a break near the punch bowl, when she heard some raised voices nearby. Hazel and her friends Rose and Bernice were arguing about who should get to have Buck walk her home. Lou smiled. It was nice to hear women fighting over Buck for a change. Her smile faded as the argument started to turn vicious. They started talking about entrapping Buck just to keep the others from getting him. Lou felt her plan about to backfire on poor Buck, so she did the only thing she could think of. She gave a leg on the punch table a discrete but swift kick. The table leg gave out and sent the punch bowl crashing to the ground. The dark red punch splattered all over the girls' dresses. Lou turned around just in time to intercept Buck on his way to asking one of the ladies for another dance.
"I told you I'd save a dance for you, Buck," Lou said getting as far from the punch accident as she could.
Buck took her hand and led her out to the dance floor looking back wide eyed at the carnage of the punch table.
"Did you do that, Lou?" he asked with a curious look.
"You don't know it, Buck, but I just saved your life," Lou said.
Buck chose not to ask how and the dance continued on while the girls' mothers took care of their punch soaked daughters. Buck had danced with many young women at the dance this night, but his favorite partner was still Lou. It was probably because they had been practicing together the last two weeks and he was used to the way she moved.
Teaspoon, Rachel and the riders returned home after a night of happiness. Jimmy was especially glad Rosemary did not show up. He hadn't seen her for a couple of days and was hoping maybe she left town. His thoughts drifted to Alice. It would be nice to dance with Alice for the rest of his life.
It was a beautiful morning and Kid couldn't think of anything he wanted to do more than spend the day with Lou. He had gone to St. Jo last week on a run and picked up something for Lou that was now burning a hole in his pocket. He was waiting for the right time and felt like today could be the day. He would wait to see what kind of a mood Lou was in, but he really wanted today to be special. The two of them had been getting along really well lately and he knew he loved Lou more than anything. He hoped she felt the same way.
Lou came out of the bunkhouse yawning as she put her vest on. She saw Kid and smiled.
"Lou, can we go for a ride today?" Kid asked with a shy smile, "Just you and me?"
Lou smiled back and bit her lip. "I would love to go for a ride with you, Kid," Lou said.
Kid took Lou gently by the hand and they walked to the barn
"Do you mind if we take only Katy?" Kid said when he got to the barn door and looked deep into her eyes.
Lou felt her stomach start to do flips.
Kid quickly saddled Katy and led her out of the barn. He vaulted up into the saddle and Lou climbed up behind him. The ride was pleasant and ended near a pond with a view of wild flowers and some gently rolling hills.
"Lou, do you remember that farm we looked at?" Kid asked as they gazed at the beauty of their surroundings.
"Yes, I think about that place a lot," Lou answered honestly.
"Me too," Kid said.
Kid walked up behind Lou and hugged her. "I think about the two of us together all the time and I want to spend my life with you," Kid said as he leaned his head against hers.
Kid turned Lou to face him and lowered himself down on one knee. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a tiny velvet bag.
"Lou McCloud, you are the love of my life," Kid spoke as tears of joy mixed with fear gathered in his eyes. "I can't imagine my life without you. I want to be with you now and forever."
Kid slipped his finger into the velvet bag and came out with a golden ring with a shiny white stone in it. He took Lou's left hand in his.
"Lou would you do me the honor of becoming my wife?" Kid asked nervously as he looked deeply into Lou's eyes.
Lou felt a tear gently roll down her cheek and nodded her head before she could speak. "I will," she said and sank to her knees and placed a tender kiss on Kid's lips.
Kid slipped the ring onto her slender finger and picked her up and spun her around. He had never felt so happy. As soon as they stopped spinning they started kissing. Kid gently picked her up and laid her on the soft grass and lowered his body next to hers. They both basked in the warmth of the sun and the warmth of each other while they kissed each other savoring every moment.
Kid rested himself on his elbow and looked down at Lou as she lay in the grass. He traced her jaw line with his finger and then leaned in for another kiss. Lou started to undo the buttons of his shirt with trembling fingers. Kid stopped the kiss and looked at her seriously.
"Are you sure, Lou?" he asked breathlessly.
"I'm sure, Kid," Lou answered her eyes and smile beckoning him to take her.
Kid reached down and reclaimed Lou's lips as a swell of passion ripped through them both. They spent the rest of the morning making sweet love amongst the wildflowers of the prairie and then lay in the sun next to each other spent and happy. Kid looked over at Lou. Her eyes were closed, but he could tell she was still awake. He reached over and plucked a wildflower from the ground.
"I love you, Lou," he said and kissed her gently.
Her eyes opened dreamily and he presented her with the flower. She smiled and took it from him and inhaled its fragrance.
"I love you too, Kid," she said.