ALWAYS,
FOREVERALWAYS,
FOREVER
A few days have passed by. Doritha's husband, Garth, was now dead and the Kid
was obviously spending as much time as possible with his friend. He also convinced
Doritha that the best thing to do now was to move in Rachel's house, so she
would be alone and maybe helping Rachel would be good to try and keep her mind
busy.
In the meantime, Louise was desperately trying to cope with all the things that
recently came to upset her life and heart. She was very quiet, even quieter
when Kid was around, she avoided to speak with Rachel, Teaspoon or the boys.
Her face was always very pale and looked very skinny, as she almost completely
lost her appetite. When Doritha was around, she would simply walk away: she
seemed to have lost all of her strength.
As she just came back from a run, she took Lightning to the stables and was
starting to make her way towards the bunkhouse, when she heard footsteps behind
her.
"Lou, wait!"
She turned and saw Buck running towards her
"Lou, I need to talk to you, it's very important…" Buck said
"I'm sorry, but I just got back from my run and I want to have lunch and
get some sleep, if you want we can talk later"
"I know that you haven't been in the mood to talk with people lately, but
I really think you should listen to what I have to say right now"
"Ok, I'm listening"
"Well, we are all a little worried about you… you hardly speak to
all of us, and you always seem tired…"
"You're right, I'm tired: tired of you worrying about me, tired of being
always quiet and tired of this whole Doritha thing!!" Lou said with a voice
full of anger
"But you know you rely on us. I mean, even if you and Kid barely speak
to each other, that doesn't mean you can't speak to us" Buck said, trying
to comfort her
"It ain't that simple Buck… every time I'm home, she's always around
for some reason, that's why I try to take the longest runs, so I can be away
as much as possible"
"Lou, you can't keep things as they are right now. You must handle the
situation in a different way" Buck suggested
"In which way? Talking to Doritha and acting like we're good friends? Well,
that's asking too much!"
"I'm not talking about Doritha, I'm talking about the Kid…"
"So you're suggesting that I should have a talk with him? But what will
be the purpose of talking to him?"
"You two can figure things out! He told me he longs to speak with you,
but he's afraid you just won't listen to him!"
"Oh, I see. So he wants me to go and speak with him, so he can personally
tell me how much I mean to him, right? He can tell me that in a not too distant
future he's going to marry Doritha and maybe he's going to invite me at the
wedding too!" Lou wasn't able to control herself anymore and started crying
"Lou, just calm down, you're not thinking rationally. He would never hurt
you in that way, he told me he only wants you to be happy, he wants the best
for you…"
"And what the hell is supposed to be the best for me? Maybe I should quit
riding for the Pony Express and go to Seneca or somewhere else, find another
job and start a new life"
"Don't you ever think about leaving, ok? You listening to me Lou? You're
not leaving!"
Lou just nodded her head, still trying to wipe her tears away
"Now go to the bunkhouse and have some sleep, ok? And if you need to talk
to somebody, just scream my name loud and clear, right?"
"I will" Lou said
As she was walking towards the bunkhouse, she noticed Doritha and Kid laughing
near the corral.
'Doritha sure is very pretty, she's almost perfect' Lou thought 'I just can't
blame Kid for liking her, she's the woman he deserves to have and love'
'Even if he said he loves you more than life itself' she heard a little voice
in her mind saying, but she didn't pay much attention to it.
After eating supper in the bunkhouse, Lou went out for a walk and she ended
up in the stables, getting her horse ready for the next ride.
As she was brushing Lightning, she heard footsteps approaching her.
Thinking it was Buck again, she kept on brushing
"Buck, I've already told you, I'm not going to speak with him! Not in a
million years!" Lou said
"But what if 'he' comes and talks to you?" a familiar voice asked
Lou stopped brushing Lightning and turned to face the most beautiful blue eyes
she'd ever seen, the same ones that were haunting her day and night.
"Kid… I don't think it's a good idea" she was unable to make
eye contact with him
"Why? We didn't speak to each other in what seemed like eternity!"
Kid said, moving closer to her
"I'm sure you'll find something much more amusing than talking to me…"
Lou said, trying to walk away
"What's that supposed to mean? Maybe that I should be with Doritha instead
of being with you? You tell me"
"That's a possibility. However, it is really not my business to tell you
what you should do or not do!" Lou was now desperate: she wanted to walk
away from him before losing control and getting too emotional
"Lou, I wanted to apologize for the way I spoke to you last week. It wasn't
your fault, I know you were trying to help…" Kid almost whispered
to her
Hearing this, Lou realized she didn't know what to say, so she slowly started
walking away.
"Lou, Lou!" Kid said, grabbing her arm and forcing her to face him
"Lou, I want us to be good friends, I want us to get along like we used
to do… I don't want to lose you, not in a million years" he said
"I'm sorry Kid, but you already lost me" Lou said, fighting her tears
"But why? Why can't we be friends?"
"Because I want more" Lou said, finally walking away
To be continued...
