Chapter 3

The ride to the Golden Horse took Kid a day and a half. Around midday, he pulled up to the sprawling structure. It sat in the middle of a wide vale, stretching out to encompass most of the valley. Once he got closer he was able to see why Teaspoon chose this place. The livestock looked healthy and there was plenty of it. Katy nickered as they got closer to the corral. "Don't worry, girl," Kid comforted her. "You're not being replaced." He patted her gently on the neck and smoothly dismounted, securing her to a hitching post, more from habit than anything. He knew she wouldn't stray.

He circled the corral fence where a couple ranch hands were currently trotting a pretty pinto that looked similar to his beloved mount. "Hey there," Kid greeted them, introducing himself as a Pony Express rider here to buy. Unlike many other places, Express riders carried a bit of weight with the Nebraska Territory ranches. They were known for picking the best and for Russel, Majors, and Wadell's deep pockets.

"What are you looking for?" Kid told them he needed horses that were ready to ride and that wouldn't require a lot of breaking in. They needed to be fast and rugged. "Just like the men that ride them, huh?"

"Sure," he humorlessly agreed, thoughts drifting immediately to the rider that didn't quite fit the definition. She was pretty fast to bed Jimmy, he thought. He could tell. Supposedly they had just started "courting" but it seemed to him they'd went straight to coupling. He wanted to pummel Jimmy. Though maybe, he thought, it's just a physical thing. She doesn't love him. It'll burn itself out in no time. He could hope, couldn't he.

Lightning galloped into the station yard. Lou tossed the mochila to Buck, wished him a good ride, and slowed Lightning to a halt before dismounting and handing her off to Ike to cool down. She took a few minutes to wash up before joining the others in the bunkhouse. When she opened the door she saw Rachel at the head of the table, enjoying lunch with Cody, Noah, and Jimmy. She tried to suppress her smile as she slid in beside Jimmy and started piling food onto her plate. "How was your ride?" he asked her. She told him it was fine, nearly blushing, thinking about how she'd had to race out of here after they'd gotten carried away in the barn, hoping they could find the time to do it again.

Ike came in then, wiping sweat from his brow as he took a seat at the table. "Another hot one, huh Ike?" The silent rider just nodded and took a long swig of water.

"Good day for a swim," Lou whispered to the man sitting next to her, making his eyes light up.

After lunch, Lou took off for the swimming hole making, a point to say she planned to be there for the rest of the afternoon. There was an understanding amongst the boys that when Lou was there, they would stay away, give her some privacy. Jimmy couldn't help the self-satisfied grin that spread across his face knowing that rule didn't apply to him anymore. Suddenly the hot days weren't so bad after all. He finished his chores in half the time it would normally take him and took off after her.

He found her at the pond, sitting on a rock, feet dangling in the clear water. She was fully dressed, she'd been waiting for him, it appeared. She smiled shyly as he approached and Jimmy thought she was incredibly seductive, more than any woman he'd ever met. When he got close, she practically jumped up, throwing her arms around him and kissed him fiercely. "I missed you," she told him in between her attacks on his lips, hands already finding the buttons of his shirt.

Jimmy knew exactly how she felt. He wanted her. Her naked skin on his, her demanding kisses, her tightness making him lose his mind. All of it. He slipped his hand around her belt and used it to yank her closer before he started unbuckling it. "You make me fucking crazy," he growled at her.

"Then go crazy on me." She took Jimmy's shirt off and threw it aside before pulling her own shirt up over her head and tossing it in the same general direction. She wasn't trying to tease him or drag this out. "I want you in me," she said boldly, not caring what kind of woman that made her. Pulling his face to hers, she continued with her demanding kisses, sucking his lower lip into her mouth, tasting him on her tongue. Her pants hit the ground and she stepped out of them just as Jimmy was toeing off his boots. Her fingers twined in his hair while he worked on his belt. He pushed his pants down and his cock jutted out, straining to fulfill her wish. His hands groped for her hips and her ass as hers traveled lower. Her fingertips traced a path down to his groin. He slipped his tongue into her mouth again and again, imagining what he was going to do to her.

"How do you want it?"

She told him she wanted it hard, bruising, that she wanted to be able to feel him inside her long after they were done. Her words made him groan, made his dick achingly hard. He hefted her onto his hips, his length brushing against her, and looked for a place to lay her down. A soft patch of green grass near the water looked inviting. That's where he brought her, laying her on her back. He told her to cover her mouth. Part of this pond's appeal was that it was too far from town and any of the usual trails for anyone other than the riders to bother coming out here. Still, better safe than sorry.

He sat on his knees, forcing her thighs apart, legs dangling over his shoulders, and plunged into her, balls smacking her ass. Her back arched, sending her ass off the ground and pushing herself further onto his cock. After the initial shock of his penetration she began to move with him. He rolled his hips, pushing himself in and out, stretching her with his width. He sucked his thumb into his mouth before using it to rub her clit. She came fast and hard and before her climax had subsided, Jimmy turned her onto her stomach and pulled her ass to him, diving into her again. "Now I'm gonna give you what you asked for."

Hours later they rode up to the station. From the bunkhouse porch, their friends watched them make a beeline to the barn, looking exhausted and wet. "Guess they finally got around to that swim," Cody declared.

At the stables, the two new lovers were unbridling their horses and putting them up for the night. "Guess we're in for some ribbing tonight," Lou said tiredly. Jimmy took in her disheveled, dog-tired appearance.

"Maybe we overdid it a little." He didn't care about the boys teasing when it was directed at him. But he knew Lou was in an uncomfortable position, him being her second bunkmate to have "danced" with. "You could go over to Rachel's, get in a nap. I'll tell the others you went to help her with dinner." She smiled gratefully, knowing the boys would never buy it but it bought her a reprieve.

Louise did not help with preparing their dinner. She was so tired, Rachel doubted she could hold up a paring knife. The station mistress held back her scolding as Louise collapsed onto the couch. She remembered what young love was like, never being able to get enough of each other. These two in particular were both full of fire so she supposed, they were bound to combust. Knowing how her and the Kid had flamed out, she hoped Louise might be a little more prudent this time around. Maybe it was Jimmy that needed a talking to.

The next day, Jimmy was off on a ride, as were most of the others. Buck and Lou were seeing to odd jobs around the station. This all worked out well for her since Buck was never going to tease her about the state her and Jimmy had been in last night and they could work peacefully side by side, talking about other things. They were hanging up their tools in the barn when Rachel came in and announced that Louise had a visitor.

"A visitor?" Who would come see her? She stepped outside and froze, just staring at the attractive older woman clutching a carpet bag in one hand and a parasol in the other. "Charlotte?"

"Hello, Louise," the woman said brightly. When the young woman didn't say anything, she pushed on. "Who are your friends?" Lou turned to see Rachel and Buck standing behind her, in the shade of the barn.

Struggling to compose herself, Lou forced a smile. "I'm sorry, ah, Buck, Rachel, this is Charlotte, an old friend. What are you doing here Charlotte?" She hadn't meant for the question to come out so rudely.

The other woman never let her smile falter. She was practiced at putting up a false facade. "I was traveling through. Figured I would come by and see an old friend. Sorry I didn't send word. I know it's been a while."

Lou tried to shake away the feelings that came up when looking into the familiar face. It brought up bad memories, but that wasn't Charlotte's fault. She took a few steps and hugged the woman tight. "That's alright, Charlotte. It's good to see you." It was only half a lie.

Neither Rachel nor Buck asked any questions about how they knew each other, for which Lou was grateful. When Charlotte mentioned needing a place to stay, she was quick to volunteer to walk her to the hotel.

"Sorry I'm late," she said as she entered the bunkhouse. She went immediately to the wash area before sitting down to dinner.

"Don't worry about it Lou. I'm sure you were real busy with your new sweetheart." Cody giggled at his own joke. "Saw you escorting her to the hotel earlier. Gonna make Jimmy jealous."

Lou found Jimmy's eyes across the table and she rolled her own in response to their friend's dramatic antics. He smiled back, already feeling ten times happier since she came into the room.

"Who's this?" he inquired.

"Charlotte. An old friend." Lou's answers were short and she refocused her attention to the food in front of her, signaling to the others that the topic was closed.

Jimmy wondered what more to this story she didn't want to share and why. For a woman that often wore her heart on her sleeve, she could close herself off as easily as shutting a door. If it was him, she would counsel him to confide in his friends, lean on them, not to go it alone. She seldom took her own advice in that regard.

"She's a lovely woman. Lou, why don;t you invite her to dinner tomorrow so everyone can meet her," Rachel encouraged. It was a rare treat for them to have company at the station, especially old friends.

"She's just passing through. I don't know if she'll have the time." Lou didn't look up from her plate as she brushed off Rachel's suggestion.

Lou spent more time at dinner chewing on her bottom lip than her food. She barely registered the banter taking place around her. Charlotte showing up here had thrown her, hard. The woman had been a good friend to her and Lou knew she wasn't doing her justice. But Charlotte was from another lifetime. One she'd worked hard to bury in the past.

Lou declined to play in the boys' post dinner poker game. Instead she took a book out to the porch and tried to quiet her mind. She didn't know how long she'd been out there when Jimmy came to check on her.

"Good book?" It was a joke. She'd been staring off into space.

She looked at him then to the closed book resting on her lap. "Guess not."

Not one to beat around the bush, he asked what was on his mind. "What's going on, Lou? What's got you so thoughtful? It has to do with that woman, Charlotte?"

She shifted her gaze back to the horizon, to the pink and orange skies. "It's a pretty night, Jimmy. Just makes me contemplative, I guess." She wished he wasn't so damn perceptive, especially when it came to her.

Jimmy knew there was more to it, but he wouldn't push. She'd put up her walls and, as much as he hated it, he would respect her privacy. He left her with her thoughts and went to lie down in his bunk. As he laid there, unable to sleep, he let his mind drift. Shifting to his side he looked at her empty bunk and the one below it. It was easy to forget about the consequences of his actions with Kid away from the station. That would change. He hoped their friendship could survive this.

Of all of them Lou, Kid, and Jimmy had the most in common. Violent fathers. Dead mothers. Painful pasts. The others knew pain and had lost people. They were all considered orphans after all. But there was something about suffering at the hands of the one that was supposed to love you, that brought you into the world. Jimmy knew it. He knew Kid and Lou knew it too.

Kid described his own father as a part time dirt farmer and full time drunk. Not that Kid shared a lot but Jimmy knew the man would beat his wife and his sons regularly. All the hard living and abuse finally caught up with his parents and they both passed within a few months of each other. Jimmy's own father was a well respected abolitionist in his day, William Alonzo Hickok. He had a public face and a much scarier private one that only his family ever saw. In their home, Jimmy's father had loomed large and terrifying over everything that transpired. It was their mother that got the brunt of his anger and most of Jimmy's memories were of trying to fight him off her, catching the punches himself. She finally won a few years of peace after he died, sick in his bed.

Then there was Lou. He had actually met her father. Boggs. An outlaw tyrant by all accounts. He could see why Lou had run after her mother passed. She spoke little about her parents and even less about her time in between leaving home and finding the Express, just that she'd discarded her feminine identity so that she could get a decent job. Jimmy didn't question that. A young girl on her own in the world, that would have been the smartest choice.

After he'd left home, he had gotten mixed up in plenty of things he wasn't proud of, before he found a home here. He hardly ever talked about it. Teaspoon was the one he would sometimes confide in about his past, and Lou was always the one he went to with what was in his heart.

It was dark in the bunkhouse when she finally came in. The others were sleeping but Jimmy watched her shrug off her outer clothes till she stood in nothing but long johns and climb into her bunk. She curled up facing the wall.

Jimmy felt like he could perceive the tension wafting from Lou even as she lay still in her bunk. Something didn't add up. If this Charlotte was a friend, why did her presence in town put Lou on edge? What if this woman wasn't a friend but someone who meant to do her harm? It would be just like Lou to keep it to herself, to try and protect the rest of them by handling it on her own. Like always. Damn but she was a stubborn and reckless woman sometimes.