Chapter 14

Meanwhile at the saloon, Louise experienced a similar surge of determination. As she did her daily chores, she watched the other girls around her. They looked so defeated and empty. Even though they chattered happily with one another, she saw the pain behind the words and knew that she had to get out of here before she became a shell of a woman too. Her thoughts turned to Kid and his impending move to Rock Creek. She had stayed in Sweetwater because she had been tired of wandering, but the thought of him was enough to make her consider another move. This raised plenty of uncertainties and questions, none of which she had answers for at this point.

There is one thing I know for sure. I know I'm not ready to give up a chance to be happy with Kid. There aren't many men who'd look my way for more than a temporary fling, and I don't know a single one who is so kind, gentle, understanding, handsome…

Her thoughts floated along the familiar trail of Kid and his many great qualities. Before she lost herself entirely in the daydream, she made a decision. I have to see him today.

Try as he might, Kid's further attempts to solve his and Louise's problems resulted in little. Though he would have preferred solitude to allow him time to think, the rest of the day's work required him to be around the others, and he couldn't spare much of his mental energy. For all his good intentions, the day was nearly at an end, and he had no solution.

Sitting at the table for another meal, Kid remained in his own world with only a half-hearted attempt to participate in the conversation. Cody, as usual, dominated the conversation.

"Did I ever tell y'all about the play I saw in St. Joe?" he asked eyes wide and mouth full as usual.

"Only a hundred times," Noah muttered.

Cody continued happily, ignoring Noah's comment. "It was something else. It was by Mr. William Shakespeare. Now I heard he's some great writer, but I don't know. His characters sure talked funny. Sometimes I weren't sure they were even speakin' English!"

Jimmy responded sagely, "That's why I don't take much stock in readin'. The people in books don't sound like anyone I ever met."

"But you woulda liked this play, Jimmy, even though it was a little hard to follow. You see, there was this girl who was shipwrecked, and she thought her twin brother drowned, so she had to find work to survive. For some reason, she couldn't find any lady work, so she decided to dress up like a man to work for this Duke guy. She ends up fallin' in love with him, but he had no clue she was a woman! Personally, I don't think it woulda fooled me. Women have certain assets that stand out, if you know what I mean," he finished, winking to the other riders.

"Cody," Rachel replied with a scowl, "I'm pretty sure we all know what you mean."

"Sorry, Rachel. So anyways, back to the story…" Cody continued, only to be interrupted by Kid, who was suddenly very interested in what he had to say.

"That's it! You're a genius, Cody!" he said with a wide grin on his face. For the third time in one day, he rushed out of the bunkhouse, adding, "I'll be back later" before he closed the door.

"Finally somebody recognizes my genius! I knew I always liked Kid," Cody said with a satisfied smirk and a puffed up chest.

"Just because you noticed that women have assets don't make you a genius, Cody. Hell, if that makes you a genius, then you can call me the world's smartest man!" Jimmy replied.

"Jimmy!" Rachel chastised. These boys and their hormones will drive me into the loony bin one of these days.

"Well, I don't know why he said Cody was a genius, but it sounds like he found a solution to whatever his problem is. Maybe tomorrow he will be able to sit through an entire meal," Noah said.

Ike asked, *You think he went to see that girl?*

"Maybe so, maybe not, but you boys best leave him alone. He'll let you know if wants your advice. If he's got any sense, he'll keep his mouth shut," answered Teaspoon. He had a sinking suspicion what Kid was thinking, and he just hoped he could convince his lady friend to go along with it. He had overheard Kid tell Jimmy how this woman had beat him in a race, which intrigued him as Kid was one of his best riders. Another rider would be helpful, especially with the move to Rock Creek and the likely increase in mail it would bring. All I have to do is play dumb, and then me and Kid will both have solutions to our problems. Yep, that's it – play dumb.