Chapter 31
A month later
The bright glow of the flames lit the whole town, even threatening to set fire to the whole sky above. Soon people started dashing around the building that was being devoured in flames. The strong burning smell and the explosion of a couple of kerosene lamps in the silence of the night had woken a bunch of Rock Creek's citizens who had stormed out of their houses in town like a shot, stopping just briefly to throw a jacket or a gown over their bodies for the sake of minimum decency. Buckets of water were soon passed from man to man in a well-formed line as they tried to put out the terrible fire in the schoolhouse.
Louise was one of the many who had been aroused suddenly from her rest and left her cozy bed to help out. By the looks of the fire Lou thought that it was too late to save the local schoolhouse, and with all probability the flames would destroy it completely. A few minutes later the riders and Rachel barged onto the site. Kid was away on a ride, and he was the only one who wasn't among his friends. They joined their forces to the rest of the citizens already in the place, and Rachel called Teaspoon in an urgent voice, crying that Mr. Hearst, the teacher, was still inside the building.
To Lou's horror the marshal started towards the burning schoolhouse, intending to get in, regardless of the danger involved. The girl voiced her warnings above the people's voices but Teaspoon didn't pay any heed and persevered with his intentions. He managed to slip into the place followed by Jimmy Hickok. Louise held her breath as she stared in agony at the building waiting while exchanging worried looks with Rachel. A few minutes later the marshal and his rider left the building unharmed as Teaspoon bellowed in a rougher voice than usual that there was nothing to be done for the old teacher.
As Louise had predicted, the schoolhouse burned to the ground, and when the flames were finally extinguished at the break of dawn, the people started gradually trickling away from the site. Louise, though, remained in the place, staring at the rubble and ashes left by the big fire. A cold chill ran through her body, and Louise wrapped her arms tightly around her petite frame. The incident had perturbed her greatly, and she wished Kid were there with her. He was the only one who was able to soothe her when she was left troubled or nervous for any reason. It seemed that he knew her better than she knew herself. This notion somehow irritated her, feeling that it threatened her sense of independence, but that was the strong effect Kid had on her.
It had been a month since that lovely afternoon when they had confessed their feelings to each other, and Lou had to smile at the memory and the other memories they had made since then. She still couldn't believe that everything had turned out to be so good. It had been the best month of her whole life, and every day she prayed that nothing ruined it. They used every free minute they had to be together; of course with his often rides and her own responsibilities those moments didn't abound, and Kid was always complaining that he wanted to see her more often than that. Louise wished the same but there was nothing they could do about it. Lou had work to do and couldn't be fussy about it. Her siblings counted on her, and she needed the money to provide for them. Kid was in a similar position since he had to meet the payments for his new place, and now he was planning to start making alterations and buying everything he would need for his future home. So for the moment they would have to be content with those brief moments they shared, and actually Lou was happy with how things were. Kid was so romantic and sweet whenever they were together that she felt in seventh heaven. She enjoyed deeply the long conversations they shared, his kisses, his hugs and the way he held her hand when they walked side by side. Everything was just perfect.
Lou scrunched up her nose at her own thoughts, feeling she was lying to herself while she made her way back to her rooms. She started work in less than an hour, and Mr. Tompkins wouldn't accept any of her well-grounded excuses for staying in bed, which was what she really felt like doing. The store owner had also been awake all night long like the rest of the other citizens giving a hand in the matter of the burnt schoolhouse. So she had no justification, and the day would go on as always.
At least Kid was arriving today from his ride, and she couldn't wait to see him. She smiled dreamily as she began getting dressed. Yet, her smile faded as a nagging voice started disturbingly grunting inside her chest. Something wasn't completely right between her and Kid. At the beginning she had disregarded the whole matter, attributing it to her imagination or their nerves. Yet, after a time she had reached the conclusion that there was really something wrong. It was pretty clear, and Lou could well tell what the root of the problem was, which didn't make it any easier, though. She knew that it was on her that lay all the blame. It really didn't catch her by surprise since she had feared that something similar could happen. Maybe she should talk to Kid, but she didn't know how without being misunderstood. Besides, should she risk getting things tangled up for a tiny thing when the rest was spotless? She would hate it if her clumsy words wound up ruining the special relationship they had. She was probably worrying too much, and all she had to do was to let time pass. That would probably do.
The day followed its course like usual, but naturally the topic in everyone's conversation was the fire in the schoolhouse, and Mr. Hearst's tragic death. The incident had left Rock Creek's children without a school or teacher. With a coy smile Lou could imagine that more than one young'un would be happy without lessons for a while, but the problem was going to be tackled as soon as possible. Later on in the day Mr. Tompkins left the store for a bit to attend a meeting where the matter would be discussed. When he came back to the mercantile, he looked anything but happy. Lou didn't have to guess what the reason behind his bad mood was as he quickly started moaning about the decisions taken at the meeting.
A new schoolhouse was going to be built in the same site as the old one in the next few days, and there was going to be a special collection of books and funds to help supply everything that was needed. Mr. Tompkins ranted on and on about the matter; as he didn't have much use of a new school himself, he was disgruntled, feeling that his share of money was going to waste. Louise tried to reason with the man, but realizing that it was an impossible task, she opted for not rebutting anymore. Since working at the store, Lou had learned that Mr. Tompkins was the kind of man with very ingrained ideas, and most of the time it was better to let him give tongue to his narrow-minded views without paying him much heed. He wasn't a bad man, just one whose life had been left dented and bruised. She knew from Kid that the store owner had lost his wife and daughter in an Indian attack, believing them to be dead, and when they had been rescued from an Indian village, things hadn't been easier. His wife had eventually died, and his daughter was practically a stranger to him. Lou really pitied the hard and lonely life the man had to lead, and she could really understand why he sometimes sounded so bitter.
The talk about the new school had been going on and on all day long, which was a bit too much for Lou's ears, and it was with a light heart that she welcomed the end of it at the store and bid good-bye to Mr. Tompkins till the next morning. She dropped by her rooms to have a quick change of clothes and made herself look presentable. Kid was coming from his ride today, and she wanted to give him a nice surprise by being at the station when he rode in. She hadn't cared much about her looks before. Actually she had tried to appear as plain as possible, thus hampering to attract attention over herself. There was a time when she had thought that all men's eyes were continually on her, and she had feared that a repeat of Wicks' episode would take place.
Terror had dominated her and as a desperate try she had started doing her hair in braids and wearing childish unbecoming dresses. If growing up meant to go through all that, then she didn't want to. To her mind the trick had worked fine since no man had ever approached her with romantic or other less clear intentions, but then she had never let anybody, man or woman, come too close to her. Only Kid. He was the one who had broken the spell and had taught her to trust and start living again. She had to admit that she had changed a great deal since he had appeared in her life. Now she even paid extra attention to her looks, not because she wanted to hide herself behind a disguise, but because she wanted to look her best for him. Lou was aware of her own flaws and how plain she was compared to other women. So she went out of her way to stretch her assets a bit. Not that she could do much to improve herself, but she usually wore her less worn dresses or made sure her hair looked decent enough whenever she met Kid.
When she reached the station, only Cody was around. Apparently, everybody else was busy, which the rider gave her a blow-to-blow account of. They stood on the porch as Louise fixed her eyes in the distance ahead.
"So waiting for your darling?" Cody asked with a smirk on his face.
Lou didn't like perceiving the amusement badly concealed by the rider. She knew that Cody was the prankster of the group, and to her dismay she had crossed the line keeping her at a proper distance from Kid's friends and now she had kind of become part of their family, which included becoming another target for Cody's jokes and pranks. "I'm waiting for Kid," Louise answered flatly rectifying the rider's teasing words. "He told me he'd be coming back today."
"He should unless something delayed him," Cody remarked matter-of-factly.
Lou turned her eyes to him and asked with curiosity, "A delay? Do you get delayed much?"
"More often than not! You know, there are too many risks out there," the rider explained, not noticing Lou blanching suddenly. The rider's words had left her disappointed and worried, fearing that she wouldn't see him today or ever. "You might have a long wait ahead, so why don't you get inside, and I'll make you a nice cup of coffee?"
Louise shook her head stubbornly. "No, I'm fine here," she stated, not peeling her eyes from the direction where Kid should be coming. Cody had made her nervous with his comment, and now she was worried sick. Until now she hadn't actually given it a thought to the fact that Kid risked his life whenever he was on a ride. What if something had happened to him? In a rush dozens of images stumbled on her mind, scenes where Kid laid wounded or fell victim to a bunch of criminals. With a sigh she silently told herself that she had nothing to fear. Kid was a good rider and was used to getting away from any dangerous situations. She sighed again and it was then that she realized that Cody was eyeing her intently. "What are you looking at?" she asked him with a frown.
Cody flashed his brightest smile and adopting his usual pompous posture he said, "Louise, let me tell you that you're a beautiful woman and well… know that if you ever get tired of our friend Kid, well … you know… you can always find me around."
The girl stared at him for a brief lapse, and then she couldn't help it and burst out laughing aloud. The rider stiffened and feigned to feel offended, but soon joined in her mirth for a few minutes. Suddenly, the sound of horse hooves drew her attention and turning her eyes ahead Lou brightened up as she recognized the pinto mare and the rider galloping towards the station.
"Kid!" she exclaimed softly and quickly jumped off the porch, ready to dash towards the rider. Yet, she stopped short as she heard Cody calling her.
Unwillingly she turned towards him, sending him a quizzical look and he said with a hesitant tone, "Uh… Louise… what I told you… well…we'd better keep it between the two of us. Kid might get a bit … upset."
At his words Louise couldn't hide her amusement. "I'll think about it," she let out with a grin as she swirled around again and scurried along. Stopping in the middle of the yard, Lou waited for Kid and his horse to halt. His mouth split into a wide smile as soon as his eyes spotted her, and as soon as he slid off the mare, he threw his arms around her and held her close.
"This is some welcome, Lou," he muttered in her ear as she brought her own arms around his body. When they pulled away, she sent him a coy smile and framing her face with his hands, he remarked, "You look very happy today."
Louise shrugged her shoulders and simply muttered, "I missed you." Kid beamed happily and softly brought her face to his, and they joined in a sweet kiss. It was when the sound of shouts reached them that they backed away suddenly, and they stared agape as from the porch Cody gesticulated exaggeratedly in their direction while guffawing loudly.
"What's with him?" Lou asked with a confused expression as they started walking towards the bunkhouse.
"Cody's … well… just being himself… like usual," Kid simply said, which provoked spontaneous laughter from Louise.
"Maybe all he needs is a nice girl to simmer him down," she offered.
"Naw, one wouldn't be enough, more like one for each day," Kid quipped and they burst out laughing and never stopped till they reached the bunkhouse.
A bit later the couple and Cody were inside the bunkhouse. Kid had taken a quick shower after the dusty ride, and then Cody and Louise had filled him in about what had happened with the schoolhouse and the local teacher the night before. Cody then had the sense to give the couple some privacy, and he retired and lay sprawled on his bunk on the other side of the room while reading one of his novels. In the meantime, Kid was eating something while telling his girl about his uneventful ride. "I'm sure glad to be back," the Southerner was remarking. "My back will really thank me since tonight I'll finally rest in my bunk. While in Seneca, I thought of staying at the hotel, but I had no energy to ride to town. A bad decision on my part. One of the planks of the bunk I slept in was splintered into two and it was digging into my back all night long."
At his words Louise raised one of her eyebrows and feigning to feel offended, she said, "Why, Kid, me here thinking that you had really missed me when all you wanted was to go to bed." Her cheeks instantly colored up when she realized how her innocent comment sounded. "I mean… I," she stuttered, trying to explain herself, but she refrained from adding anything else, feeling that anything would make her remark worse. She noticed that Kid looked as flushed as she probably did, and to her utter dismay she heard a soft chuckle coming from the far end of the room.
Kid cleared his throat, pretending that he hadn't heard Cody, and taking hold of her hand, he brought it to his mouth and placed a soft kiss on it. "You know, I miss you whenever you ain't with me." The Southerner whispered softly, which brought a sheepish smile to her lips. "You know what?" he exclaimed after a moment's silence. "How about you and me spend the day together tomorrow? We can pack some food and go for a picnic."
Before Lou could react to Kid's suggestion, somebody replied for her, "I don't think so, Kid," Cody said as he rose from his bunk and advanced towards the couple.
The Southerner sent his friend an irritated glare as he snapped, "Believe it or not, Cody, I wasn't asking you. And for goodness' sake, stop eavesdropping."
The rider didn't heed his friend's rebuke and continued regardless, "Teaspoon wants all of us to help in the building of the new schoolhouse tomorrow."
"I'm supposed to have tomorrow off," Kid retorted irritated and turning to Lou, he added, "Don't worry. I'll talk to Teaspoon."
"In your case, I wouldn't waste my time," Cody carried on. "I'm afraid you won't get out of it. The whole town will be there to put their shoulders to the wheel."
"Cody's right, Kid," Louise added. "I don't think I can get that free time myself." The Southerner made a bitter gesture, feeling disappointed that his plans had been spoiled and as Lou watched his unhappy face, she piped, "But we can save that picnic for the following day, uh?"
Kid gave her a goofy grin and leaning towards her, he planted a quick kiss on her cheek. "You're such a clever girl." Lou smiled back at him while they kept lovingly looking at each other. At the tender and oversweet atmosphere between the couple, Cody rolled his eyes and noticing the remains of untouched food on Kid's plate, he stealthily slid the dish towards him and muttered in a very low voice, "Well, half a loaf is better than none."
As the three had been discussing, the following day the riders joined up with the rest of Rock Creek's citizens to start the building of the new schoolhouse. The local carpenters had been incessantly working on its basic structure, and today the men united their strengths to put the whole frame up, which they did among cheers. The atmosphere at the site was jovial and optimistic. It was the first time for the riders to witness the whole town coming together for one sole purpose. Rock Creek was a place where prejudices, feuds and conflicts were the normal routine, so this sense of goodwill and camaraderie in the project was really welcome and seemed to spread among the whole citizenship smoothly. Only Tompkins and a few snotty local ladies kept grumbling and complaining unhappily about everything that was being done. They were getting on everybody's nerves but despite everything, the day continued without much trouble.
The basis for the new school was finished thanks to the efforts of the men and women of Rock Creek, and the completion of work would be carried out in the following few weeks. Now what they needed was a new teacher for the school and for that purpose advertisements had been posted in the papers of the closest towns and cities. Yet, in the meantime a temporary fix had been thought of even though Tompkins and the same ladies had vehemently protested against it. It was agreed that Rachel could teach Rock Creek's children until a new teacher came along. The station mistress had been hesitant about the offer at first, noticing the disdain in some people, but with a great dose of subtlety Teaspoon had managed to convince her eventually.
The following day as they had agreed, Kid picked up Louise from her place in town and took her for a drive around the beautiful countryside on the outskirts of Rock Creek. After a very rainy winter the fields were covered in a lush green, and the flowers left a sweet scent in the air. After a while they stopped the wagon at a spot near the waterhole that Kid usually chose to get lost in on those days when his mind needed to clear up. The day had dawned bright and sunny, but now a few clouds were scattered in the azure sky, spoiling its spotless surface.
Louise spread a blanket on the green grass where they sat down and then Kid helped her to take the food she had brought along out of the big hamper. Louise was fully aware of her deficiencies in cooking and had felt concerned for two days in a row about what Kid would think of her once he tasted her food. Actually, like with her looks since they started being more than just friends, she lately kind of lived with the constant worry of Kid's opinion about her. It was as if she couldn't believe that Kid actually loved her and had decided to be with her over any other women. It wasn't that she doubted his word or his feelings, but in her heart she expected to blunder it with him at any moment, and Kid would then end up leaving her. Even though she had no reasons to believe that things would take that turning point, but rather the opposite, she couldn't help but feel that he did deserve somebody better than her. Lou knew that she should stop tormenting herself with these destructive thoughts because in the long run they might wind up affecting her and their relationship. Maybe they were already affecting her, and that was why she felt something wasn't right between them. However, deep down she knew she was just trying to fool herself with weak excuses.
Realizing that she was letting her own thoughts get out of control, Louise forced herself to fix all her attention and heart on the beautiful day they were spending together. As she turned her eyes to Kid, she found him staring at her like in trance. "Have I told you how lovely you look today?" he whispered after being caught with his eyes on her.
Despite not feeling very lovely today or any other day, Louise smiled sheepishly in admittance. She was wearing a white blouse and a simple bluish skirt, and now that her hair was a bit longer, she had tied a blue material band around her head. At his words her heart swelled up with love and leaning her body towards him, Louise kissed him full on the lips. Kid brought her arms to draw her towards him and deepened the kiss. Her arms came to wrap around his torso, straining to feel him as close to her as her own skin, but then he pulled away, leaving her bewildered and confused.
"We should eat, shouldn't we?" Kid said breathlessly, his cheeks flushed, while he moved his body a bit away from hers. Louise just shrugged her shoulders in indifference and without another word she followed his example and started helping herself from the pots with the food. She ate lightly without much appetite as she tasted her own dishes, which to her mind didn't have much flavor. Kid, however, wolfed down the food on his plate, and even had seconds. Like the gentleman he was he kept praising her and babbling on and on. She knew his excessive verbosity showed that for some reason he was very nervous. Lou opted for keeping her curiosity to herself and focused her attention on enjoying this time with her man.
The clouds that had seemed harmless started flowing across the sky, covering its blueness with their grey soft blanket. The land below was suddenly left in shadows and a soft wind also picked up. The first drop fell on Lou's face and before neither had time to react, rain started pouring heavily.
Kid grabbed her hand and helping her to her feet, he said, "I know where we can get shelter from the rain." Lou hardly had the time to nod before he ran off, dragging her along. The rain was falling so heavily that they could barely see where they were going. "There!" Kid almost shouted, pointing at the distance with his hand.
With difficulty she tried to clear her eyes from the water trickling down all over her profusely and to remove her wet hair that clung wildly to her face. It was then that she saw the small run-down hut that Kid had pointed at. They made the last few feet amongst laughs and with a deep sensation of relief they finally reached the comfort of being under a dry roof.
Lou stepped inside first, and as she looked around all she could see was a gloomy, empty room with a few sacks and bales of hay stacked along the far end wall. This place must have been an old shed which wasn't used any more. Kid remained at the door looking at the strong rain falling like a thick curtain before him. "Some picnic we've had! At least, we're lucky that this old shed was close by or we'd be practically swimming by now," he quipped and turned round toward her.
His eyes instantly took in her soaked figure and got drawn to her middle. Her blouse was completely drenched, the material clinging to her body and leaving her skin obvious to his stare. Lou followed the direction of his eyes, and a little smile tugged at the corner of her lips as she realized what he was looking so intently at. Although his gaze made her warm inside, Lou couldn't help but feel self-conscious and started fidgeting nervously.
Kid noticed that she had caught him staring at her like a peeping Tom and feeling embarrassed and awkward, he swirled around. "Uh… you'd better get out of that blouse before you catch your death," he said with his back turned to her, and removing his jacket he extended it to her. Lou grabbed the garment with a grave countenance and started removing her wet blouse and the fine chemise under it.
Kid remained on the same spot at the door with his back turned towards her, watching the rain fall steadily. He nervously kept wringing his hands as the soft sounds of her peeling her clothes off made suggestive images sneak into his mind, especially after having seen her so lovingly even soaked to the skin. Lou had such a pull on him that the feelings and sensations rushed over him overwhelmingly. His nights and even his days were filled with feverish images of him and Lou together, something which his mind played with repeatedly. Kid chastised himself continually and kept reminding himself that he should be ashamed of himself. If Lou no more than suspected what his everyday thoughts about her were, she would be utterly shocked to say the least. Kid didn't know what was wrong with him. He loved and respected Louise deeply but for some reason he never got enough of her and wanted more than he should. Of course he knew that to desire the woman he loved was natural. He had felt so with Doritha, but it had been easier to simmer down with her, but now with Lou those feelings were beyond his control. He feared that he'd end up doing something that would scare her and that was the last thing he wanted.
Silence reigned in the little shed with just the rain pattering outside and the rustling of Lou's clothes being discarded breaking it. Louise stopped her movements for a moment and kept watching his turned figure with longing eyes. After a second's hesitation she asked, "Kid, can I ask you something?"
"Sure. Just shoot," he replied promptly.
The girl wrung out the white garments and left them on the floor. As she proceeded to throw Kid's jacket over her body, she blurted out her question, "Do you like me?"
In a flash the Southerner swirled around to face her and stared at her with a confused frown, "What do you mean by that?"
Louise was finishing doing up the last buttons of the jacket and with her eyes lowered to her busy hands she replied breezily, "It's just a question." Once the buttons were all done, she lifted her gaze to him while she folded her arms over her chest. "Do you like me?" she repeated the question.
Kid gazed at her in confusion as if she had gone crazy all of the sudden, and after a beat he whispered his answer, "You know I love you."
"Kid, I ain't asking you that!" she exclaimed, taking a few steps closer to him.
"It sounds the same to me."
Louise shook her head and explained, "The mother of a criminal can love her son unconditionally, but might not like him very much."
Kid let out a sigh, and when he didn't speak up, Lou urged him impatiently. The Southerner had to smile and asked, "What was the question again?"
Lou sent him an irritated look, not liking his playfulness right now. She wasn't in the mood for his games and didn't appreciate being the target of his amusement when she was talking about important matters for her. "Kid, I'm serious," she let him know, her mouth pursed in an unhappy pout.
"Me too," he retorted, sobering up instantly. "Come on, tell me," he asked her as he brushed his hand over her back.
Lou met his now serious eyes and she said, "Kid, do you like me? What I'm like… what I look like?"
Kid kept silent and even though he didn't know what her silly questions were hinting at, he answered in all honestly. "Yes, I like you," he whispered huskily, "very much. You're a beautiful, brave, amazing woman. What's there not to like?" With each word he placed gentle kisses on her cheek, each time closer to her lips. Lou smiled pleasantly at his words and as he brought his face mere inches from hers and fixed his eyes in her brown ones, he breathed, "You simply drive me crazy." Barely had the words left his mouth, his lips captured hers in an ardent lingering kiss. When they pulled away, he rested his forehead on hers, and their eyes kept locked with each other. "And why is it that Miss McCloud is now asking me all these questions?"
Lou broke away from his hold and shrugging her shoulders in indifference, she let out with her eyes downcast, "No reason. Anything wrong with a girl wanting to know about her beau?"
"No, nothing wrong," Kid replied, feeling that she wasn't completely honest with him. "But are you sure it's just that?"
"Of course! What else?" she exclaimed, her voice tinged with irritation. She was feeling very embarrassed thinking that he could see through her half truths, and at the same time it angered her that he doubted her word, even though he was right to do so. Louise crossed her arms tightly and looked at him with a miffed expression.
"Come here, silly," he said in a teasing tone as he grabbed her arm and drew her towards him. Lou let herself be cuddled against his chest and her body relaxed as soon as his arms engulfed her petite frame. "I like you and I love you, all right?" he whispered as they hugged in a warm embrace. Lou smiled as she snuggled against him. After a few minutes holding to each other, Kid suddenly pulled back to look at her face and asked with a mysterious air over him, "Can you hear that, Lou?"
Louise stopped for a beat trying to perceive what he was referring to, and then she said with a frown, "Hear what? I can't hear a thing."
"That's it! It's stopped raining," he announced happily and she realized that he was right. The rain had ceased outside and the chirping of the birds could be heard again. They stepped outside holding hands, and a bright rainbow greeted them above them in the sky. Without a second's hesitation they hurried towards where they had left their wagon and rescued their things that had been under the rain all this time. Lou felt light-hearted as she walked next to the man she loved. The storm had passed this time, but even though her whole soul wanted to believe that it was gone for good, she feared that it would be still lurking somewhere to appear unexpectedly at any moment.