Chapter 33

Grumbling and growling, Kid stomped in the direction of town, eager to let some steam out. He felt frustrated and irritated after the speech Teaspoon had just given them, which had severed his previous intentions. None of his protests had led him anywhere as much as he had tried to reason with the marshal. All Kid wanted was to spend Saturday night in peace and quiet and skip the social held in town. It made no sense to take part in the celebration when his girlfriend wouldn't be attending. Kid had explained his reasons to the marshal, but they had had little or no effect at all.

According to Teaspoon, Rachel was the one demanding that all her boys join in and she wouldn't hear any protests whatsoever. It was a special dance to celebrate the opening of the new schoolhouse, and since the station mistress had been directly involved in the whole project, she wanted all those she considered family there with her. Kid could understand Rachel's reasoning, but he also needed her understanding. On any other occasion, he hadn't minded attending a social on his own with the sole company of his friends, but now things were different. Lou was his girl, and it didn't feel right to attend the social while she had to work at the hotel first and then clean the dance hall afterwards.

With the intention of reasoning with Rachel, Kid marched towards the schoolhouse. The station mistress had left early this morning since she needed to explain a few things to the new teacher, who had arrived the day before. Apparently, Rachel had been asked to stay on as an assistant, an offer which she had accepted straightaway. Everybody could see that the woman enjoyed her new job thoroughly, and the children also seemed to have taken an immediate liking to her.

As the schoolhouse came into view, Kid quickened his steps. He could well have waited for Rachel to return home, but he was too anxious to try his patience. He was about to climb the few steps leading to the building when he stopped dead as his eyes fell on the woman leaving the place at that very moment. Recognition instantly dawned on him, and a smile quickly spread across the lady's fair face when she spotted him.

"My, my, Kid, what a nice surprise!" she exclaimed as she descended the steps and came to stand facing the rider.

"Miss Samantha Edgars. Don't tell me you're the new teacher!" the Southerner added, his mouth matching her wide smile.

"Well, yes, I am."

"Then Rock Creek's children are truly lucky," Kid remarked. He had met Samantha when she had first arrived in Sweetwater to teach in its school months ago. On his way back from a ride he had come across an out-of-control wagon, which dashed along the prairie at breakneck speed. Apparently a slithering snake had spooked the horses and the two ladies on the carriage had been unable to regain the control. Kid hadn't thought about it twice and ridden like lightning to help them. The story had ended up happily when the Southerner had managed to stop the horses and save the two ladies from a likely bad accident.

"Thank you," Samantha answered the rider's compliment, her smile never fading. "I'm really glad to see you again, Kid."

"Me too," the rider replied truthfully.

"So how's life treating you?" the teacher asked. "Are you planning your wedding to that fiancée of yours or maybe you're a married man already?"

Kid fidgeted nervously at the question. Doritha was a topic that he still didn't feel comfortable talking about. It was rather difficult to explain everything that had happened in just a few months and besides, it was nobody else's business. "Uh…," Kid began clumsily. "Doritha and I broke up a little while ago."

"Oh," Samantha let out, obviously surprised at the news. "I'm sorry."

"It's fine, really," the rider replied, not wanting to go into detail about the circumstances under which he and Doritha had broken up. "Things were kind of complicated between us … and … well… the rest is history."

Samantha nodded in understanding, internally glad of what she was hearing. She had always thought that Kid was a good catch and, even though she had known that he was out of bounds back then, she had had a secret little crush on him. Maybe now was her chance to have the romance she needed to forget the man who still haunted her. Yet, his next words flattened all her expectations and hopes.

"There's somebody else in my life now. She's really special."

"Oh," Samantha exclaimed again this time stiffly, but she soon hurried to hide her true feelings. "I'm glad for you."

"Thanks," Kid replied and not feeling like sharing the special bond joining him and Lou with anybody else, he tried to divert the direction of the conversation. "So where are you living here in Rock Creek?"

Samantha noticed his reluctance to talk, but said nothing, and instead she made an exaggerated gesture while she answered his questions, "On Elk Farm outside of town, you know it?" At Kid's nod she continued, "It's even in worse condition than the one in Sweetwater when we first went to live there, remember?" Kid nodded a second time as he recalled the house and how he had given a hand to Samantha with some repairs around the property. "I wouldn't mind your fine skills again," the teacher pinpointed directly, "that is, if you can."

It would have been easy for Kid to come up with an excuse to get away from her snare. There were enough reasons why he could easily refuse. He needed to work on his own property or simply use his free time to be with Louise. Besides, he didn't feel like working his guts out in the sun repairing Samantha's new place. Yet, the gentleman in him didn't allow refusing a lady's request for help and despite himself, he ended up accepting, "I'd love to give you a hand. Actually, I have a few hours to spare this afternoon."

"You sure?" the lady asked to keep the manners.

"Say no!" a little voice kept repeating in his mind, but Kid turned a deaf ear to it and confirmed his offer to Samantha, "I'm sure."

The teacher smiled happily while she exclaimed, "Thank you so much, Kid. You really saved my day."

In that moment Rachel stepped out of the schoolhouse and walked down to join the pair who was engaged in conversation. The station mistress furrowed her brow as she spotted Kid talking to Samantha. When Rachel had first come to the school to meet the new teacher this morning, she had been surprised to find Samantha. She knew the girl from Sweetwater and, even though Rachel had never had a real conversation with Samantha before, she felt that there was something in the teacher that she distrusted. She could swear that Samantha was the kind of woman who made good use of her fair features to have her way with men.

There wasn't anything wrong with that when women had to struggle in a world ruled by men. Yet, Rachel felt that Samantha went beyond the limits of survival and would trample over anybody irrespective of who it was. Maybe, Rachel pondered, she was just being illogical, but she didn't like the girl having any kind of dealings with the riders. Despite their hard and dangerous job, the boys could sometimes be too naïve and would be like putty in the wrong woman's hands. It had happened before with women like Kathleen Devlin, Sarah Downs and Doritha, so Rachel was always wary of any girls coming closer to her boys. Of course, after meeting the new teacher, the station mother had been wondering whether she had been too rash in accepting the offer from the school council because she felt it wouldn't be easy to work with Samantha at all.

Rachel finally reached the pair and plastering a smile on her face, she addressed the rider, "Hey, Kid, what brings you here?"

The Southerner turned his entire attention to the blonde lady and said, "I came to talk to you." He threw a look to Samantha, letting her know that he needed to be left alone with the older woman, but the teacher didn't seem to catch his hints, and stood there, smiling in his direction. Not daring to dismiss her directly, Kid finally decided to speak up. After all, it wasn't such a big deal.

"Rachel," he started, turning his attention back to the station mistress, "Teaspoon told us that matter about Saturday's dance. And… well… I need to be excused from going."

"I'm sorry, Kid, but you all need to be there," Rachel added, folding her arms over her chest, clearly implying that the matter wasn't up for discussion. Lou was so looking forward to giving this surprise to the rider, and the station mistress wasn't going to let him ruin the girl's plans for anything in the world. If Kid only knew… "It ain't just another social, but a special gathering for our community."

"Rachel's right, Kid," Samantha piped up, exaggeratedly moving her lips in a suggestive fashion, which of course the rider wasn't really aware of. "You can't possibly miss it when I was hoping to steal you for a dance."

"But…"

"No buts, Kid," Rachel cut him off a bit too roughly, not liking the way Samantha was flirting with the rider. At least, the boy seemed oblivious and unaffected by the teacher's signals, which the station mistress was relieved of. She'd need to keep an eye on her from now on as it seemed that Samantha would gladly be more than an acquaintance to the rider. Rachel wouldn't stand still if the teacher no more than thought of playing with Kid. Even though the blonde woman knew that the rider and Louise were utterly in love, she was aware that a thorn in the wrong place could do much more than prick tender skin.

"All right," Kid finally relented, his face still showing that he wasn't very pleased with the situation. "I'll go."

"Good!" Samantha exclaimed, clapping her hands at the same time. "Excuse me, but I need to go now. Martha's waiting for me. See you this afternoon, Kid." She bid the rider and the blonde woman good-bye and rushed towards her buggy.

Rachel and Kid started walking towards the station, and unable to control her curiosity any longer, the woman asked, "What's this afternoon?" The rider sent her a confused frown and the lady explained, "Samantha mentioned something about this afternoon."

Kid nodded and added, "I'm just going to help her with some repairs around her new place."

"Do you think that's a smart move?" Rachel asked again, feeling that she couldn't keep quiet in the matter.

"Why not? I'm just doing my duty as a good neighbor," Kid replied, not getting what Rachel was talking about. He had always suspected that for some unknown reason the station mistress didn't harbor warm feelings for Samantha, and her stiff demeanor and words confirmed his suspicions. "There's nothing wrong in that."

"I guess not," the lady agreed half-heartedly. "But please be careful."

Kid nodded, not really knowing what he was agreeing to, and without another word they continued their way towards the station.

As he had promised, Kid rode to Samantha's place that same afternoon, and instantly started to work around the property. The veranda around the porch was almost falling, some of the window shutters threatened to get loose from their hinges at any moment and the steps leading to the porch and the ones inside the house were in urgent need of new planks. Apart from all that, Kid also had a look at the house roof and discovered that the shingles were falling apart, so he advised Samantha to hire somebody in town to do the job. He didn't have the time to do a more complicated and time-consuming task.

The sun was brightly shining, which made Kid flushed and hot as he worked around the place. Like the last time Martha followed all his movements with keen and wary eyes from her sitting position on a rocking chair on the porch. Kid hurried to get done as soon as he could. Lou finished at the store in a couple of hours and would be waiting for him like every day. Whenever the rider wasn't on a ride, he met her at the end of the day and they spent some moments together till he left her at her place later in the evening. And today he wasn't planning to change his plans even though he had to leave these repairs half-done.

His back was killing him and his hands were starting to hurt from the blisters appearing on them. In that moment Samantha stepped out of the house and walked towards him. She was wearing that pair of tight pants Kid had seen her in before. As she wordlessly passed by Martha, the older lady threw her an admonishing look but didn't say anything. Kid could guess that the black woman wasn't very happy with Samantha's attire. The rider couldn't blame her for feeling like that. A young lady flaunting herself in those pants could get in trouble with the least civil men who often hung about in town.

Louise also frequently wore trousers, especially when she went riding, but it was somehow different. Even though Kid found it enticing to see how the material of the pants wrapped Lou's well-formed legs and surrounded her soft hips, he knew that the image was reserved only for his eyes. For the rest she was a girl dressed in too wide masculine clothes. Samantha, though, seemed to enjoy attracting the attention to herself, a dangerous game, Kid thought. Somebody should warn her against it, but the rider didn't consider it was his place to do so, and didn't say a word about it.

The teacher reached Kid and extended a glass of cold lemonade to him. "Come on, Kid, have a break." The rider smiled his thanks and avidly emptied the contents of the glass.

"Thirsty, uh?" Samantha remarked with a tone of amusement in her voice. The Southerner chuckled in agreement as he rested his hips against the wobbly hitching post he was repairing. "And now show me your hands," the lady ordered him urgently and when Kid simply stared at her uncomprehending, she grabbed one of his hands, bringing it closer to her eyes. "I knew it! Blisters!" Samantha exclaimed in a chastising voice. "Kid, you don't need to overdo yourself! Slow down, please."

"Yes, ma'am," he replied with a sheepish smile.

"Your girl will want to skin me alive if I give you back all dented," Samantha continued, and the rider simply looked at her without saying a word. Now that she had mustered the courage to bring up Kid's girl in the conversation, Samantha couldn't control her curiosity anymore. "You never told me anything about her."

Kid shrugged his shoulders and added, "There's nothing much to say." For some reason he didn't want to talk about Lou. He felt that her love was too precious to mention it in an everyday conversation, as if the words could taint and demean it. Naturally, he didn't mind talking to Rachel and his friends about Louise and how much she meant in his life because he was aware that they really appreciated Lou. Yet, he didn't want anybody else's ears or eyes appraising her or their love. Kid wanted her all for himself, all of her, even all the thoughts and words.

"What's her name?" Samantha insisted.

"Lou… well… Louise," Kid answered curtly, hoping that the woman stopped the questioning.

Samantha instantly noticed that Kid didn't feel like talking about his new girl, and she couldn't help but wonder why. His attitude had her thinking that with all probability the rider had turned to the first woman he had come across after breaking up with his long standing fiancée. Samantha didn't dare to ask why they had split up, but she had already heard rumors in town. Apparently, Doritha had fled with another man, leaving the rider heart-broken. That was what everybody said, and Samantha had no reason to doubt the tale. Kid must have hurt terribly and it was no wonder that he had tried to fill the void left by his fiancée with another woman so soon.

Maybe, Samantha thought, he was gradually realizing that he wasn't in love with that Louise. The teacher's mind went beyond that and played with the idea that Kid was as good as free. Maybe Kid had realized that he was making a mistake with that girl when he and Samantha had re-met today. The teacher had thought that there had always been something, even though subtle, very special between the two of them, but of course when they had first met in Sweetwater, Kid had been head over heels in love with his then fiancée. He would have never made a pass at Samantha although she knew that there was a certain attraction between the two of them. But now… now things could be different.

This Louise obviously didn't have such a strong grip on the rider and Samantha really believed that she could have her chance to enjoy love and romance. It was months ago that her story with Robert had ended. The time they had been together had been the happiest in her life. She knew that she would always love Robert, even though their relationship was an impossible dream. Yet, it was high time she moved on and enjoyed something similar to what they had … maybe with Kid.

The rider and Samantha remained in silence and as she realized that he wasn't going to say anything else, she added, "I need to go to town now. Order some stuff for the school, you know." Kid simply nodded and as the woman headed toward her wagon, she said, "And remember, don't work yourself to the bones."

Kid simply waved at her as she set the carriage into motion and drove away. He kept staring as the buggy disappeared in the distance and wished he could be the one going to town. Samantha's few questions about Lou had woken a deep desire in him to go and see his girlfriend. As he always told her, he needed to have more time with her. Of course, he knew that he would have to resign himself to their present situation but still… If he could really have his way, he would ask Louise to marry him as soon as the right moment came along. He was sure that she was the one and only for him. Yet, he needed to be more patient.

A marriage proposal now would surely scare Lou away and that was something he couldn't risk. God willing, when he had fixed his property and had the ranch going, he would gather the courage to ask her and hopefully, she would say yes. But till then, there were yet months to come, too many to his liking. "Too many," he muttered with a sigh and without a moment's hesitation he resumed the task at hand. The sooner he finished, the sooner he'd be with Lou. At least that was all he could dream of having now.

While Kid was busy on her property, Samantha reached town. She stopped the wagon opposite the general store, and with a brisk jump she landed on the dusty ground. As she crossed the street, she flashed her smile to everybody she came across, not missing the appreciative looks the gentlemen threw her way. With a proud stance she continued towards the store and as soon as she stepped inside, she noticed Tompkins behind the counter.

"Why, Mr. Tompkins, I'm starting to wonder whether I'm actually in Rock Creek or back in Sweetwater," Samantha exclaimed between giggles.

"Miss Edgars," the store keeper greeted her politely. "I heard that you were the new teacher, and I have to tell you that the town couldn't have chosen anybody better."

"Thanks," Samantha replied with a wide smile, visibly surprised to hear the sincere compliment from the usual morose store owner.

"I gather you want to order some books for your school."

"That's right," the woman said as she handed over a paper with the list of reading books she needed. "And this time you needn't warn me about how long it will take them to get here."

Tompkins nodded as he scanned the contents of the list. "So have you and Miss Martha settled down already?" he asked again.

The woman let out a peal of laughter and said, "Well, let me tell you that the house isn't better than a shack. We gave it a good cleaning and thank God, Kid's kindly helping with the repairs."

"Kid?" the man repeated with a frown, as he directed his eyes to Louise, who was filling small bags with sugar close to where he stood. "You mean one of those Pony Express fellas?"

"Yeah, that's the one," Samantha replied and following the direction of the man's gaze, her eyes fell on the girl who was watching her with a curious expression. "Forgive my rudeness," the woman said as she noticed Lou for the first time. "My name's Samantha Edgars, I'm the new teacher."

Lou stared at her impassive. As soon as the lady had mentioned Kid, Louise had felt her body stiffen and jealousy hit her hard. One look at the woman before her and her insecurities soared, threatening her peace of mind. She had never thought that she would be the jealous type, but whenever Kid was concerned, she felt that he would fall in love with somebody else better than her. She had to admit that the teacher was beautiful, a real classy lady and with a mortified heart Lou thought that Kid would surely see what she could so plainly see.

Was he getting tired of her and that was the reason why he was spending his free time with this girl? Lou asked herself silently. Today he hadn't even dropped by the store to see her like he usually did when he had the time. Instead he had been with the new teacher. "Louise, stop it!" she scolded herself silently. "Kid loves you and he's just helping her. Nothing else. You had no right to doubt him!" Her silent words didn't make her feel better as fear had taken a strong grip of her heart and seemed reluctant to let go.

Noticing that Samantha was looking at her with a confused expression, apparently curious by her lengthy silence, Lou spurred into action, "I'm Louise, Louise McCloud."

"Nice to meet you, Louise," Samantha replied in a sweet voice and then a sudden thought struck her. "Excuse my boldness, Louise, but… are you Kid's girlfriend?" The petite girl sent her a wary glance and nodded reluctantly. "You see, he told me about you."

"Did he?" Lou let out in a tenser voice than she had planned and to her chagrin she could tell that the woman could feel the animosity coursing all over her.

Samantha simply nodded to her question as she studied the girl before her intently, without being too forward. Her first impressions about Kid's new relationship had proved to be right as she laid eyes on Louise. She was nothing much, an ordinary girl with a pretty face… Well, that was what he had said, wasn't it? "There's nothing much to say." Yes, he was right, there was nothing much to say about Louise.

"Well, thank you, Mr. Tompkins," Samantha finally broke the uncomfortable silence and turned to leave. "And nice meeting you, Louise," she said as she walked to the door and stepped out.

Lou didn't reply to her words as she stared at the door through which she had disappeared. She really didn't feel glad of meeting the lady. For some reason Louise feared that she wasn't as innocent and sweet as she looked. Samantha's scrutinizing eyes had told her that she had reasons to start worrying. Lou felt in her heart that this new teacher could mean a threat to her peace of mind and if push came to shove, Lou knew that she would have nothing to do against her. She was the kind of woman that made men go crazy and chuck everything for them. She knew that kind.

Even though her experience with men didn't amount to much, working in the brothel had made her privy to that secret world of men. She hadn't been deaf to the free comments heard in that saloon, which taught her how men reacted and what they really wanted in a woman. Kid loved her, she had no doubts about it, but he was a man after all. Could she dare to think that he had found a new interest? Somebody exciting and free from a dark past. Somebody who he wouldn't be afraid to touch. No! She couldn't believe that. She was tired of her own insecurities.

Kid and she shared something real special and she had no right to doubt that love. That new teacher or any others could come along, but nobody would snatch what she and Kid had. Nobody. She kept repeating the same in her head over and over again, but still the nagging voice didn't fade and it rather threatened with silencing her own weak convictions.

A couple of hours later Louise stood at the store door waiting for Kid. She had been in the same position for the last ten minutes, and there wasn't a trace of the rider yet. The thought that he was still with that woman filled her with anguish and made her throat tighten. He had never forgotten to meet her at this time of the day, not once, and it took one day for that woman to cause havoc in their lives. Usually Kid was the one to come too early and had to wait for her to finish. But today… she felt like a fool, a complete fool. He wasn't going to turn up, it was clear. And all because of that woman.

Trying to cover the tumult she was experiencing in her insides, Lou bid the store-keeper good-bye with a smile and started walking towards her lonely rooms. With each step she took, she felt the tears prick in her eyes, threatening to spill. She fought them hard and swore to herself that she wouldn't shed a single one. She was strong and had never needed anyone, so nothing would make her change now.

As she reached the end of the boardwalk, Louise stopped short as a loud cry calling her name reached her ears. She turned round to find Kid running towards her. Quickly Louise wiped her wet eyes furiously before he reached her. She was very angry and she had no intention of showing him how upset he had made her. Kid finally reached her, not noticing anything out of the ordinary in her and he automatically draped his arms around her as he whispered, "God, Lou, I missed you so much today."

The girl didn't respond at the gesture and when the rider noticed her body stiff and unmoving, he pulled back, holding her at arms length. He kept looking at her long face without having the slightest clue where her annoyance came from.

"What's wrong, Lou?"

Instead of answering his question, Lou blurted out one of her own, "Where have you been?"

"Sorry I'm late, honey," Kid replied softly. He had finished at Samantha's place later than he had intended, and with dropping by the station for a quick shower, he hadn't been able to make it sooner. "You see," Kid started awkwardly, "the new teacher was…"

"I know all about her!" Lou cut him off in a loud voice, not caring if she sounded like a jealous possessive wife. She was too furious to mind her manners right now and his calm demeanor made her livid. The whole afternoon had been a torture for her as she had imagined all kinds of tortuous thoughts regarding that woman and Kid. And the last straw had been when he hadn't turned up at the agreed time like every day. "I thought you had stood me up!"

"Lou, you know I would never do something so callous to you! I just got delayed!"

"I just don't understand why you had to help her. She could well have hired somebody in town," she insisted, praying that she was simply overreacting. She didn't like feeling as if he was on the edge and at any moment she could be sent to the abyss.

"Honey, I know her from Sweetwater, and I didn't have the heart to turn my back to a woman straining on her own. It's difficult to get by without a little help," Kid explained, genuinely surprised by Lou's attitude. He would never have expected that she would react this way, but somehow he felt strangely pleased to see her show her jealousy.

"I know all there is to know about being a woman on her own," she retorted sarcastically.

"Yeah, and that's why it touches me especially when I see a lone woman in need. It reminds me of you."

Louise looked at him skeptically, not quite getting the image Kid was trying to draw for her. Samantha Edgars didn't fit the bill of a person who was in urgent need of help, but looked as if she had no immediate cares in life or could achieve anything she put her mind to. Yet, Lou didn't contradict his words and simply said, "She's very pretty."

"Is she?" he replied in a dismissive tone, while his arms came round her slender waist.

"Oh come on, Kid. Don't give me that innocent look. As if you hadn't noticed!"

"You know I only have eyes for you," Kid continued in a very soft voice, brushing his cheek against hers.

"You are such a flatterer," Louise said with a smile, her anger fading by the minute.

"And you are such a cute little thing when you get all jealous," the rider added in a teasing tone as his lips almost touched hers.

"Hey!" Louise exclaimed, swatting his shoulder in mocking offense. "I ain't jealous… I'm just … well …. concerned for your … health. You shouldn't wear yourself out."

An amused smile tugged at the corner of his mouth as she tried to come up with a far-fetched excuse for her reaction. Lou tried to disengage herself from his hold but his hands around her waist didn't let go. "Has anybody told you that you talk too much?"

"What?" Lou let out with a frown.

"Just kiss me, for goodness' sake," he said in a firm voice, and Lou smiled brightly as his lips came to cover hers in a soft and long kiss. Forgotten were her recent fears and all she now cared about was the man holding her. Nothing else.