Chapter 45

Like every day Kid woke up bright and early, and after getting dressed, he left the bedroom to go and feed the animals. Lou was still sleeping and he didn't have the heart to wake her however much he longed for a morning kiss. He had noticed that lately she looked more tired than usual and he imagined that since she had moved in here, she had more work and responsibilities upon her shoulders than before. She spent every day at the store, working very long hours and when she came back every afternoon, she did all the housework and even sometimes she gave him a hand with some of the chores on the ranch. No wonder she sometimes looked on the verge of collapsing. Kid wished he could offer her an easy life, but that was the way it worked for people like them without many means. He hoped that when the ranch would go to full steam, he could hire somebody to do the housework. Lou'd probably quit her job at Tompkins' when they get married, or at least she'd have to someday when they had children. Of course first he had to talk to Lou about all this and more importantly, he needed to finally ask her to marry him.

After finishing his early chores he came back to the house. Today Buck was out of town, doing a favor for Teaspoon. The marshal was suffering lately from gout and as in his condition he was unable to ride, he had asked the Kiowa to accompany Jimmy and escort a prisoner to Seneca. Buck had accepted after talking with Kid and even though he would be back the following day, the Southerner didn't welcome the double share of work he had to shoulder in his absence.

When he stepped into the house, Kid headed for the kitchen straightaway and from the open door he could see Lou before the stove fixing breakfast like every day. He approached the kitchen with slow steps, not sure what mood she would be in today, and once inside he cleared his throat. On hearing him Lou turned on her heels and kept staring at him with a serious expression without saying a word. Kid knew she was angry but he was unsure what according to her he had done wrong. He didn't know what she expected him to do. Should he apologize for something he didn't have the faintest clue about or what?

"Lou…" he began, but the girl didn't let him carry on any further.

"No, Kid, please allow me," she said and when she had Kid's full attention, she continued. "Please forgive me for snapping at you like that last night."

Kid walked to her and wrapped his arms around her petite frame, and Lou let herself be cocooned between his arms. Last night she had felt so lonely sleeping in that big bed close to him but at the same time it felt as if he were miles away. "What was that about, Lou?" he asked, looking into her eyes intently.

"I don't know," she muttered and when Kid sent her a dubious look, she shrugged her shoulders and added, "I guess Doritha showing up caught me by surprise. I didn't expect that at all."

"Neither did I, Lou."

"I know, but … she kind of makes me feel awkward."

"Don't," Kid added. "You got nothing to worry about. You're my girl, not her, and she won't be here forever." Lou nodded, aware that she had always known what he was telling her, but for some reason she had felt threatened by the woman's presence last night. She had never trusted Doritha and having her under the same roof as she was made her feel nervous to say the least. "I love you, you know that," Kid said and kissed her passionately. After a while they pulled back, but they remained in each other's hold with wide smiles in their mouths.

"I believe you wanted to tell me something last night, didn't you?" Lou whispered huskily, placing soft pecks on his lips as she talked. "And I never let you finish."

"Yeah," Kid replied with a smile.

"Well, I'm all ears."

"It's not so much something to tell you as something to ask you," Kid explained turning dead serious all of a sudden. "Something important."

"Yes?" Lou let out with a curious expression.

Kid fumbled for words for a while and finally decided he should stop beating about the bush, and blurt out the question that had been on his mind for a long time now, "Lou will you…?"

"Morning!" the cheerful greeting resounded in the room, interrupting his intentions once again. As soon as the couple saw the woman step inside, they let go of each other. Lou continued fixing breakfast while Kid returned the greeting.

"Morning, Doritha. Did you sleep well?"

"Like an angel," she answered in a dreamy voice. "I hadn't slept so peacefully in a long time.

"Yeah, it's quite quiet in these parts," he replied with a smile, and suddenly he felt very awkward because he realized he had nothing to tell her. She was like a stranger, which was quite peculiar considering that he had been engaged to marry her not so long ago. Not knowing what else to say he stuck to the only topic he could think of. "Would you like some breakfast?"

"I'd love some," she responded with a wide smile.

"What would you like?" Kid asked again.

"I fancy something strong, eggs and bacon. I feel strangely hungry suddenly."

"Good then," Kid replied and turning to Lou, he said, "I'll pick up today's eggs from the henhouse. I don't think we have enough." Lou nodded without saying a word and Kid turned to leave. She heard the front door close and as she lifted her eyes from the skillet in the stove and threw a glance through the window opposite her, she saw him stomping across the yard. Movement next to her caught her eye, and she saw Doritha by her staring at him through the window with a satisfied smile.

"Do you need something?" Lou asked curtly not liking the way she was looking at Kid.

Doritha turned her eyes to the girl and her smile faded instantly, showing her cold demeanor instead. "Nothing from you, no doubt about it," the woman replied scornfully. She paused briefly without averting her glacial eyes from Louise and then said, "This place is great, much better than I first thought."

"Kid's working very hard to make it bloom," Lou replied.

"And you're also working your way on him very hard too, aren't you?" Doritha remarked maliciously.

Louise glared at her silently, not giving her the satisfaction of seeing that her words had actually hurt her. She wouldn't let Doritha drag her into a fight because she suspected that for some reason that was what she wanted. Instead she turned away from her and removing the skillet from the stove she started serving the food on the plates she had left on the kitchen table.

The blonde woman followed her and sat on a chair at the table while she looked at Lou with a presumptuous and haughty expression. "Tell me, Louise. Don't you ever worry thinking that you're simply a replacement in his life?" she asked, which made Lou stop her movements and look daggers at her silently. "Can't you understand that all you see around here will never be truly yours? Kid bought this place for me, made his plans thinking of me and I'm sure every single object in this house bears my stamp. Doesn't it bother you?"

Her resolution to keep quiet and calm was broken as Doritha's questions really wounded her pride. "Kid loves me and you need to stick to your own damn business and leave us alone."

"Sorry but I can't," Doritha retorted with a satisfied smirk. "Louise, don't be so naïve. You know, Kid's mine and always has been."

"Kid belongs to no one," Lou said seriously. "He's his own man and makes his own decisions."

Doritha let out a peal of laughter, sending her blonde head backwards in an exaggerated fashion. "We will see that in good time," she replied spitefully.

Lou was about to throw one of her acid remarks when Kid stepped back into the kitchen, bringing a bucket with the eggs, which he handed to her. He noticed her serious countenance and when he asked her about it, Lou forced a smile in her face and disregarded his concern. She didn't want to take part in a cat fight in front of him. Somehow she knew what Doritha was like and Lou could guess that she'd try to ridicule and humiliate her in front of Kid. Her intentions were crystal clear and Louise was starting to grow concerned about her presence here. That woman was going to try to cause havoc between her and Kid, and knowing about it didn't make her feel more reassured. Would she try to seduce him before her very nose?

Lou knew Kid wouldn't cheat on her. He was too straightforward to play with her like that, but the idea that he might realize that he really wanted to be with Doritha scared her to death. She was fully aware of the pain the woman had caused him in the past when they had broken up. Kid must have loved her terribly if he had been so hurt by her unfaithfulness, and a love so strong couldn't be forgotten so easily. Maybe now that she was a widow, Kid might forgive her and they could continue where they had last left off. Louise was starting to feel scared for her life. She didn't want to lose him for anything but she couldn't detain him forcibly. Then a thought hit her hard. What if she was pregnant? How could she cope with a child on her own? Of course she knew that if she wanted, the baby could be her safety card. Kid wouldn't leave her if he learned that she was with child. Yet, Lou swore to herself that she couldn't do that, she couldn't trade with the life of her baby for anything, not even for the man she loved.

Lou had to chide herself mentally for letting her imagination run wild. Kid was with her, loved her and she had no reason to believe that he'd want to leave her for that horrible woman. They had something very special and Doritha wasn't going to make her doubt his love for her. That woman was simply bitter because of the way life had treated her lately, and she would want Kid and Lou to suffer from misfortune as well. Lou told herself that she wouldn't let her come between her and Kid. They were strong and this would just prove that nothing will make them stagger, nothing at all.

That morning breakfast had been awkward and too long for Lou's taste. She hadn't opened her mouth once while Doritha had kept babbling on cheerfully. Lou thought that she had strangely got over her husband's demise pretty quick and with all probability all those tears from last night had been nothing but pretence. To Lou's chagrin Doritha kept pointing at objects in the kitchen and subtly remarking to him that she remembered the two of them talking about buying the thing when they were courting. Lou knew that all she wanted was to prove her point about every object in the house having her personal stamp.

Kid answered to her comments without much enthusiasm and even making strange faces at her as if he didn't know what she was talking about. Lou knew that it was foolish but she couldn't help feeling jealous, and more than once she had the urge to punch her hard on the face or make her swallow the object in question in one piece. Doritha was the most obnoxious woman she had ever met, and Lou didn't know how she was going to endure her presence much longer.

Finally, breakfast came to an end and Lou was finally able to leave for town and get rid of Doritha for a few hours. Never before had she felt so glad to work than right now. During the day Louise couldn't stop thinking about the venomous comments of Doritha, realizing that she practically had the very devil at home. How could she get rid of her? Lou wondered. Maybe she should talk to Kid and explain everything to him. Would he believe her? He already knew that she felt uncomfortable having Doritha at home, and if Lou didn't know better, he surely thought that she was simply jealous like other times. Louise could bet that Kid wouldn't be too willing to ask Doritha to leave the house even though she explained to him how the blonde Southern lady wanted to come between the two of them. The situation was too absurd. Doritha seemed to be a character taken out of one of those fairy tales in which there was a wicked stepsister or witch. She wasn't good at all, and until this very moment Lou hadn't realized what a bad person she could be. Lou wondered how someone as noble and good-hearted as Kid had been in love with someone like her. What could he possibly have seen in her? Of course she was quite beautiful, elegant and intelligent, but other than that she was empty inside.

Lou would like to talk to Rachel about all this and ask her for advice. Besides, there was still the outstanding matter of going to the doctor to confirm her pregnancy, but today was bad timing. She needed to do a lot at home and she didn't want to leave Doritha out of her sight for so long either. So after finishing at Tompkins she drove the wagon back to the ranch. Like usual Kid came out to receive her with a kiss, and when she asked him about their guest, he told her that the lady had gone visiting some of her old acquaintances in Rock Creek all day long. The notion brought about a sense of relief over Lou, and not wanting to waste any more energy or worries on Doritha, she decided to carry out the small jobs she had in the house.

Louise started boiling some water in the kitchen because she wanted to give the lounge floor a good scrub today. It was the biggest room in the house and for one reason or another she hadn't been able to wash it for the last two weeks, and she couldn't put it off any longer. Kid always told her that he didn't expect her to do any housework, and he should be the one to take that responsibility upon himself. Lou had to laugh at his naiveté. He couldn't expect her to live in a place that he cleaned only when he felt like it. Kid was a good-intentioned man, but he could be so clumsy in this kind of tasks.

It took her almost two hours to finish with the floor. She had had to scrub harder than usual and almost had lost her nails to the dang floor. She was still on her knees, swearing to herself that she wouldn't neglect her housework again, when a feminine voice reached her ears and then the door opened and Doritha appeared. She stood still for a moment sending Lou a vicious look and after a while the blond woman stomped purposely all over the floor with her boots, leaving marks and stains as she watched Louise, her eyes implying that she knew what she was doing. Doritha came to stand next to Lou, her figure hovering over the girl's, and looking down at her she said with a smirk, "Once the servant, always the servant."

Lou glared up at her and as if on a cue the other woman exclaimed, "Oh Louise, I'm so sorry. How clumsy of me stomping on your clean floor like that!" Lou looked at her with a confused expression and realized why she had changed so suddenly. Kid was at the door watching the exchange. Lou forced a smile into her face and while motioning to the young man that it was fine to step in, she said, "It's all right, Doritha. No problem at all."

Kid approached them and as soon as he reached them, Doritha turned to him straightway and said, "Oh Kid, why don't we go for a walk and you show me the property? I didn't get to see much the first time you brought me here."

Lou cringed hearing her say that she had seen the place Lou considered her home before anybody else. Kid didn't answer straightaway, surprised by her suggestion. "Uh… sure," he replied awkwardly and turning to Lou he added, "Honey, what do you say? Shall we go for a stroll with Doritha?"

It was obvious that the blonde woman didn't appreciate having Louise tag along but didn't say anything. She simply looked the girl up and down with a stilted expression, making Lou aware of her appearance being in such a disarray from cleaning the lounge for the last couple of hours. "I … I should wash up first and get changed," Lou said awkwardly.

"We'll wait for you then," Kid replied promptly.

"The sun will be setting soon," Doritha continued in a whining tone. "I'm sure Louise won't mind staying behind while you show me something she must have seen dozens of times, will you?"

Lou forced herself to smile and be civil, and said through gritted teeth, "Of course not."

"You sure, Lou?" Kid insisted, feeling that she was acting weirdly. She didn't look comfortable, and he didn't want to do something that would hurt her pride or make her mad again.

"Of course," Lou replied, trying to sound good-heartedly. "And I still have to finish the floor anyway."

Kid nodded and didn't dare to insist and contradict her. If she said it was all right, he'd have to believe her. "I'll see you later then," Kid said, giving her a soft peck on her cheek before he followed Doritha out of the house.

Lou kept looking after them and could hear the cheerful voice of the woman, which to her ears sounded as strident as a nail scratching the surface of a slate. When the door closed behind them, Louise mentally counted till ten and then let out a loud shriek at the top of her lungs. She didn't care if they heard her. Oh that woman! With all those airs she put on and she was nothing but scum, the lowest most rotten and detestable scum. Lou was fuming; she had never felt so furious in her life. If Doritha was before her at this very moment, she would squeeze her white perfect neck between her small hands with all her might. That hyena of a woman had ruined her clean floor and then had the nerve to leave with her man as if she were the lady of the house and Lou the maid. Louise felt that she was over the edge and she needed to do something. One day. Only one day Doritha had been in the house and Lou knew she couldn't take much longer.

About half an hour later Kid returned from his stroll with Doritha. He hadn't managed to enjoy the treat very much. Doritha made him feel very uncomfortable and when she insisted on talking about the past and their times as a courting couple, Kid didn't know how to deal with it. He didn't want to look back; things were different now and all he wanted was to look into the future, a future that would be full with Lou and their plans together. Doritha shouldn't be touching those matters so lightly. Of course he knew that the only bond joining them together was that past, but all in all, there were some things that shouldn't be mentioned. They weren't a couple anymore, and it wasn't very considerate from her part to bring up certain moments of their lives when he had another girlfriend and she was a recent widow.

As soon as they stepped into the house, Doritha scurried up the stairs towards the room she was staying in and Kid started to look for Lou. He called her name several times and when she didn't answer, he decided to go and see if she was in their bedroom. When he reached the room, he saw her next to the bed, but a concerned frown creased his features as he realized that she was folding some of her clothes and placing them in her carpet bag that she had on the bed.

"What are you doing, Lou?"

Lou looked up, not having noticed his presence till now. "What does it look like?" she asked instead of answering his question.

"Where on earth are you going?" he asked again, his voice a bit louder than usual.

"To my rooms in town. Where else?"

"But why?" Kid questioned with an anxious expression.

"Because I can't stand her!" she exclaimed loudly.

"Lou…"

"No, listen to me!" she cut him off in mid-sentence and rounding the big bed she stood in front of him, her hands resting on her hips cockily. "I don't really mind you helping her in her time of need, but I can't stay in the same house as her."

"Lou, don't you think you're exaggerating?" Kid asked, taking her hand in his.

"Yeah, sure," she let out sarcastically and yanking her hand from his grasp she walked back towards where she had left her bag and continued packing.

"This is because I went for a walk with Doritha?"

"Kid, no, honestly, it ain't that," Lou answered. "I ain't even angry with you, but I can't stay here while she's around. We ain't breaking up or anything. You can come and see me whenever you want to and … well… you told me that she wouldn't be here forever, so when she leaves, I'll come back."

"Please Lou, don't go. You're my girl, and it ain't fair you have to leave! This is your home."

"Maybe, but you won't ask her to leave instead, will you?" Lou asked and Kid's silence told her everything she needed to know. After fastening the buckles of her bag, she took it and walked towards the door. "See you, Kid," she said and kissing him on the lips lightly she stepped out of the room.

Kid stood here for a few seconds and then dropped onto the bed heavily as if he couldn't endure the weight of his soul. How was it things had started setting back? He was supposed to have proposed to Lou and by now they should be planning their wedding, and instead he hadn't had the chance to even ask her and Lou had left the house they had shared for over a month now. How did everything go so wrong? Doritha had appeared back in his life like a curse and Kid couldn't see how he could put an end to it. Lou had said that she'd be back when Doritha left, but how could he make it happen? How on earth?