A SECRET SHARED
A SECRET SHAREDby
Disclaimer: The characters and early scenes are creations of Ed Spielman. They are used for entertainment purposes only and no copyright infringement is intended.
Author's Note: With the new category of "what if" stories popping up, I thought I would throw my hat in the ring. The question has been posed on some message boards before..."What if another rider found out Lou was a girl instead of Kid?" This "what if" addresses that issue. If this story is similar to another, I apologize - sometimes the show and fan fic get mixed up in my old brain. No ideas were taken on purpose!
It was a full ten days until Louise had recovered enough to leave her sick bed. Doc Horner had said fresh air would do her lungs good, but she still wasn't allowed to do any sort of work yet. And she had yet to see any of the riders.
The day was warm and a pleasant mountain breeze swept through the Sweetwater station. Emma decided it was time for Lou to get outside, since the young woman's skin was taking on a sickly pallor from being indoors for such an extended period of time. She gathered up her old clothing she had altered to fit Louise, as well as a few new items she had either sewn or purchased for the petite former rider. Emma carried them upstairs into the guest room, where Louise would be staying from now on.
Emma knocked on her own bedroom door. "Louise?" she called.
"Yeah, Emma. Come on in," Lou answered. She still looked tired and weak from her injuries, which only persuaded Emma all the more that the girl needed some fresh air to bring some color back into her face and life into her eyes.
"You ready to move into your new room?" Emma asked.
"I guess so," Lou answered. She'd never had her own room before, especially in a house like Emma's.
"You got all your things together?" Emma questioned.
"I still got stuff in the bunkhouse, but everything else is missin', like my hat and my coat an' stuff," Lou replied.
"Louise, you're a young lady now. There's no sense in you dressin' like a boy anymore," Emma told her.
"You took 'em away?" Lou asked, confused.
"You won't be needin' 'em," Emma answered simply.
Lou wasn't sure she liked that idea. She'd been dressing as a boy for three years. It wouldn't be easy to go back to being a girl, or as Emma said, a young lady. The last time she wore a dress, she'd just been a kid, and her skirts hadn't even touched the floor then. Lou had no idea how a young lady should act, other than what she'd seen from the girls in town. She wasn't too keen on batting her eyelashes, giggling with boys, and making polite conversation she wasn't even interested in.
Emma led Louise into her new bedroom. It was simply decorated, with plain lace curtains on the windows and a quilt similar to Emma's on the bed. It held a small dresser and a rocking chair as well.
"I figured you could make it more personal to suite you," Emma said graciously.
Lou walked slowly around the small room, stopping by the window, which just happened to overlook the bunkhouse. My old home, she thought. She glanced back at the bed, where she noticed the pile of clothing neatly folded , ready to be placed in the dresser.
"What's all this?" Lou asked.
"Your new clothes," Emma answered.
"They're all dresses!" Lou pointed out. "I ain't wearin' a dress if I'm sloppin' stalls, Emma. No way! It's bad enough in trousers."
"Louise, do I hafta keep tellin' ya?"
"Emma, you try muckin' manure in a dress," Lou argued. "I ain't doin' it. There'll be manure all over your house, trust me."
Emma just rolled her eyes. "We'll cross that bridge when we come to it," she conceded. Then she continued, "It's such a nice day, I thought you could spend some time out in the yard. I'll have one of the boys bring down the rockin' chair."
Louise was mortified. It would be her first meeting with the riders since her secret broke. She didn't want to have to answer their questions and be treated differently. She was the same person, after all, just in different clothes.
"That's okay, Emma. I'm fine," Lou answered.
"Doc Horner's orders," Emma pointed out.
Thankfully, Emma had called in Ike to carry down the rocking chair and out into the fresh, open Wyoming air. Ike had smiled shyly at Louise, who certainly didn't look like the old Lou he knew. Louise was dressed in a simple white blouse and a blue riding skirt, and somehow Emma had managed to make her short hair look more feminine.
"Now, remember Louise," Emma told the young woman, "You're just supposed to relax and enjoy the fresh air."
Relax! Lou snorted. With all the boys gawkin' at me like I'm some sort o' freak show! But she'd gingerly made her way outside, easing herself into the chair, the sun seeming incredibly bright after being indoors so long.
The Express runs having been completed for the day, all the boys were outside working on their various chores. Lou saw Ike and Buck pitching clean hay into the stalls in the barn, while Cody, Jimmy, and Kid were repairing a damaged section of the corral. The mere sight of Cody made Louise tighten her fists in anger.
Although Ike had been the one to bring Louise's chair outside, he hadn't mentioned it to the other boys. Since he'd been out on a run when the whole "discovery" had occurred, Buck, and eventually the talk of the others, had filled him in on the former rider's situation. He couldn't help but feel sorry for her. Still pitching hay, he glanced over at her sitting in the big wood rocking chair, shielding her eyes from the sun. She looked so small and helpless. He almost wished he'd been the one to find her. He, unlike Cody, would have kept her secret. He thought she had a right to keep riding, just as the rest of them did. Any one of them could have been shot out on that run, unfortunately it had happened to be her.
Buck noticed his friend's continual glances in the direction of Emma's house. He looked over his shoulder and saw what Ike had been too shy to point out to him. There was little Lou, or Louise, as Teaspoon had told them to call her now, sitting in the front yard, almost as if she was on display. He felt awkward for her. What was Emma thinking, putting her out there for the whole world to see? Buck felt like going to her and giving her a big hug, just to let her know they were sorry for what had happened, and how it had happened. He, too, thought Cody'd made a mistake in telling Teaspoon. Lou was a good rider. She'd proven herself the very first day. Buck didn't fault Teaspoon for making the decision he'd made - he did have rules to follow. He just thought Cody could have kept his big mouth shut.
Kid saw Louise, too. It was hard to miss her. Even with her short hair, she sure was a pretty thing. He wanted to go and talk to her and ask her what had brought her here in the first place, why she'd thought she could pull off such an incredible charade. If she hadn't been injured, no one would have ever found out she was a girl. No, he thought, if Cody hadn't told. I wouldn't have told. Kid imagined the girl would have it in for the blonde rider. I know I would if I was in her shoes! He was sure she had her reasons for doing what she did, and he wished he had the courage to go and ask her, but it was too soon. Not on her first day out.
Jimmy and Cody became aware of Lou's presence at the same time. Cody caught a glimpse of her, caught Jimmy's eye, and nodded her way with a goofy grin plastered across his face. Jimmy knew exactly what he was thinking.
"Naw, man. Just leave her alone," Jimmy cautioned.
"C'mon, Hickock. Ain't she a sight for sore eyes?" Cody replied. "And to think she was sharin' the bunkhouse with us not two weeks ago!" Cody dropped the end of the fence post he and Jimmy were holding, causing Jimmy to lose his grip and drop his own end, the post falling on his foot.
"Damn you, Cody!" Jimmy swore. "Jus' what d' ya think you're doin'?" he demanded as Cody walked toward Emma's picket-fenced yard.
"Good Lord," Kid observed. "What is he doin'?"
Buck and Ike had stopped their work after hearing the commotion. They both watched Cody making a beeline for Louise.
<And people think I'm the dumb one>, Ike signed.
"He's gonna get it for sure," Buck agreed.
Cody boldly opened the fence gate and walked directly up to Louise. He crouched down in front of her, so they were at eye level. He tipped his hat to her, and then stuck out his hand. "Nice to meet ya, ma'am. The name's William F. Cody."
Lou could not believe the audacity of the rider. After all the trouble he'd caused, he just thought he could walk up and talk to her like nothing had ever happened! Her brown eyes shot daggers at him and she felt her jaw clench in anger. She heard a low growl, and realized too late it was coming from her throat. Before she knew it, she'd thrown her petite body out of the rocking chair and at Cody, catching him off guard and knocking him to the ground. An anger she couldn't control took over her, as her fists pounded his chest and face and she screamed every curse word she knew at him.
