Disclaimer: I do not own The Young Riders.
"Hey, there's Ike!" Cody elbowed Jimmy so hard Jimmy fell backwards off the fence post, cussing a up a storm, as Ike road into the station. "Hey, Ike! How'd it go? She as pretty as e'rybody says? She ask 'bout me? I'm gonna marry me Polly Tucker."
Ike jumped off his horse and just left Marie there in a lather of sweat with her saddle still strapped to her when he stormed off to the bunkhouse, slamming the door behind him.
"Was it something I said?" Cody asked, looking at Lou with his mouth slightly open and a confused expression in his eyes.
"Boys," Lou shook her head and jumped off the fence post, headed towards the bunkhouse after Ike. "You're all dumber than a pack o' pigs livin' with coyotes." Lou opened the bunkhouse door and shut it behind her. Leaning against the door jam, she took in the sight of Ike lying in his bunk on his side, facing away from her. "It's just me, Ike. You feel like talkin?"
Ike flung his hat at her without turning around.
"C'mon now, Ike. I ain't do nothin. Besides, you know Cody's just talkin to move his mouth. He don't mean what he say. He says he's gonna marry a different girl every week."
Ike rolled over and sat up on the edge on his bunk. "Go away, Lou."
"Ike –"
"Go away! I don't want to talk!"
"What's wrong, Ike?" Lou pushed off on the door jam. "She married?"
Shaking his head, Ike stared down at his boots. Eventually, the whole story came tumbling out so fast that Lou could barely keep up.
"And Jimmy says you have no moves," Lou elbowed him in the side lightly, sitting next to Ike on his bunk.
"She doesn't want me. It was stupid."
"I dunno, maybe a little reckless. You've only met her twice, Ike. You probably scared her half to death."
"Why would someone like her want someone like me?" His hand movements were sharp and angry. His nostrils flared in an attempt to stop the angry tears. Ike would not cry over the life he'd lost as a child. He'd already cried a lifetime of tears over the would-have-been's. He would shed no more for them.
"Why wouldn't she? Ike, you're a good man. Any girl would be lucky to have you. But put yourself in her position," Lou leaned down on her elbows, her hands clasped together in front of her. "Ain't she livin with Reverend Williams and his family? Reverend Williams is a real strict man. Don't you think she might be a little worried about gettin caught kissing? He could put her out of his house and then where'd she be? She's a long way from home with no family."
ooo ooo ooo ooo
"Dammit, Ike," Jimmy covered his eyes with the crook of his elbow and groaned in annoyance. "It's Sunday. You know why God made Sundays? To rest! Stop makin noise, I'm tryin to sleep while there's still some damn darkness left!"
Ike pulled on his boots and tied his clean, black bandana around his head. Bending over Buck's bunk, he shook him awake. Startled, Buck jerked up, bashed his head into the bottom of Kid's bunk. Kid jumped like a bat out of Hell and crashed to the floor on top of Ike with a holler that woke everyone from Sweetwater to Fort Laramie.
"Ike McSwain, I'm gonna kill you," Cody threw back his blanket and swung his legs over the side. "Why you waking all us up before the sun's even up?"
"I need Buck to come with me."
"Is someone dying?" Buck rubbed the top of his head.
"Come to church with me."
"Church? You never go to church, Ike." Buck ran a hand over his face and stared up at his best friend. "You don't even know where the church is, that's how often you go to church. I'm not going to church I don't believe in."
"Polly Tucker lives with the good Reverend Williams and his family," Lou smiled and peeked out from her top bunk. "Remember?"
Ike's face went scarlet and he told Lou to shut her mouth. Lou just smirked and rolled over, pulling her pillow over her head.
"Now wait just a minute. You're goin to ride all the way into the Sweetwater and sit through some stuffy, do-goody sermon from Reverend Nose-In-The-Air while he looks down at you like you're a spot of dirt on his shiny shoe just so's you can see Polly Tucker," Jimmy whistled in disbelief, "and you want one of us to go with you. She's right – you're plum crazy. You oughta be locked up."
"I'll go with you, Ike," the Kid gave him a smile. "My mama would be ashamed if she knew how long it's been since I set foot in a church."
"Well, get out quick so the rest of us can sleep through what little night there is left," Jimmy groused, pulling his hat off the post of his bed and dropping it over his face, crossing his arms over his chest. "And be quiet about it! I don't wanna havta shoot you on a Sunday."
Ike and Kid tied up their horses outside of the church later that morning just as the church bells started ringing out over the town. Walking in, Ike and Kid found seats in one of the back pews and sat awkwardly, trying not to draw attention to themselves.
"Which one is she?"
Scouring the room since they'd entered, Ike's eyes were fixed on Polly sitting in the front row next to Mrs. Williams and the Reverend's two children, Jedaiah and Mabel. She wore a plain green dress and her blond hair was braided and pinned up the way Ike had wanted to tell her was pretty.
"That's her?" Kid leaned over and whispered quietly. Ike nodded. "Are you goin to ask if you can court her?"
Ike shook his head no.
"Then why are we here?"
"I want to see her."
"Well, it doesn't make sense to me not to ask," Kid whispered.
Of course Kid wouldn't understand. Kid had everything going for him. He could actually offer Lou a life if they ever got their hands together properly. Ike had nothing to offer anyone except a way with horses. He wouldn't waste Polly's time. He wouldn't make a fool out of himself believing in fairytale dreams.
Reverend Williams took to the pulpit and Ike did his best to listen while the Reverend spoke, but found his attention drifting back to Polly every few seconds. At the end of the service, Ike couldn't rightly remember what it had even been about. He and the Kid stood with everyone else. Polly spotted Ike as people surged to the front to shake the Reverend's hand. She smiled and gave a nod of greeting, but stayed with Mrs. Williams.
"Boys," Reverend Williams looked down at Ike and Kid like he wanted to step away from a particularly smelly dog that had come up begging for scraps.
"Nice sermon, Reverend," Kid held out his hand and Ike was almost surprised the Reverend didn't scrub his hand afterwards.
"We don't see you Pony Express riders often. Glad you could make the time to pay proper respect to God this Sunday. Where are the rest of your pony riders? Asleep in bed, I expect?"
"They have rides today," Ike lied and, with a small cringe, Kid verbalized Ike's words.
"I suppose the mail waits for no man," Reverend Williams gave a tight smile, "or even God." The Reverend moved on to the next, more important person and Ike and Kid shuffled along out of the building with the flow of bodies.
"What do we do now?" The Kid asked when they were outside.
"There she is," Ike said, staring ahead and a little to the left. "She's right there."
Polly saw them and raised a hand in greeting as she started making her way over to them.
"Polly?" Reverend Williams appeared next to Polly and Polly stopped in her tracks. Ike watched as Polly's eyes darted to him and then back to the Reverend. "There's someone I want you to meet. Miss Polly Tucker, this is Dr. Moses Barnes."
"Pleasure to meet you, Miss Tucker," Moses held out his hand and took hers. Ike saw Polly's glance shift from Moses to him as Moses kissed her hand.
"You as well, Dr. Barnes."
Ike felt his attitude towards the doctor who had taken good care of quite a few of his injuries plummet. He'd never give Dr. Barnes another dollar, even if it meant keeping a bullet in his leg.
A/N:
I feel like crap and it's kept me up all night, so, I guess, at least I got something written? I hope I feel better for work tomorrow, but I have a feeling I won't. Yay. I'm so excited. Can you hear it in my typing?
Thanks for reading and I hope you liked it.
Love, Thalia
P.S. I'm still mad at you, J-bird. xoxo