MORNING GLORY
by HBK © 2002
Kid and Noah spent the morning in town. They had to guard the cell in the marshal's office for a few hours while Teaspoon took a rather long break. Kid's eyes lit up when he saw Boggs's daughter enter the dress shop.
"I don't believe this," Kid muttered under his breath.
Noah grinned, remembering Kid's story of his first encounter with the saloon owner's daughter which took place three days ago. "Here's your chance, Kid. Go on, talk to her."
"In the dress shop?" Kid asked. "I should just wait for her to come outside."
"Kid, this waiting won't do anything. So what if she's in the dress shop? I've seen some men go in there."
"With their wives," Kid replied.
"It's up to you, Kid. It's now or never."
Kid sighed, gathering the nerves to walk up to the dress shop. Of all places, why did she have to go in the dress shop? he wondered.
He walked inside the shop and was greeted immediately by the sales clerk. "Hi, sir, how can I help you today?"
"I'm just looking around. Thanks," he said politely. His eyes wandered, seeking the young woman who seemed to become permanently implanted in his fantasies. He found her looking at a pretty blue dress. He walked towards her, feigning interest in the dresses on display.
His acting was flawless that Lou fell for it. She noticed the pensive look on his face as if he was pondering which dress was better. It was the first time that she got a real good look at him, and she was not disappointed. Like his acting, his face was flawless.
Smiling, Lou approached him. When he didn't acknowledge her presence, she softly patted his shoulder.
He looked up, pretending to be surprised to see her. "Hey, what are you doing here?"
"I should ask you the same question," she replied. Although she never really had a real conversation with him, it felt like they had been old friends. "Personally, I think you look better in pants."
He chuckled. "Thanks." He was so captivated by her that he continued to hold the dresses.
"Buying a dress for a special friend?" Lou teased him.
He quickly put the dresses back in the rack. "I didn't find anything she'd like."
"Who, Samantha?" she questioned him.
He enjoyed her teasing. "Actually, I was looking for something you'd like," he retorted.
"Is that so?"
"Yes, it is."
"Wanna go outside and talk?" she asked him.
"Aren't you looking for a dress?"
"That's all right. I can do that later. Come on, let's go outside." Now that she had his full attention, she didn't want to bore him. Without even thinking about it, she innocently grabbed his hand as she led him outside the store.
Her touch brought great pleasure to his senses. She was so different from most women he knew. "So what do you wanna talk about?"
She glared at him. "That's a nice way to start a conversation."
"Got any better ideas?"
"Wanna go for a ride?" she asked him. "I'll race you."
"Is that a challenge, Miss Louise McCloud?"
She turned to him, surprised at the mention of her name. "How did you know my name? I don't remember ever introducing myself to you."
"I'm sure you remember that Jesse lives at the station."
She grinned. "So you've been askin' about me?"
"I suppose so."
"Kid, if I remember correctly, you haven't told me your name yet."
"I have."
"Don't expect me to believe that your parents named you Kid."
"They didn't, but that's what I go by now."
Sensing his reluctance to tell her his real name, she let the topic go. "That's a mighty fine horse," she complimented.
Kid stroked Katy's mane softly. "She definitely is." He then began telling her about how he acquired his favorite horse with his sweat and blood.
She listened and understood Kid's profound love for the horse. She only wished that someone would do something like that for her someday. If only her father treated her as kindly as he treated his own horses, her life would be so much better.
"Miss McCloud, is something wrong?" he asked, noting the sudden cloud of dejection that surrounded her.
She smiled at him. "I'm fine. Call me Lou. Noone ever calls me Miss McCloud."
"Okay then, Lou," he said, happy to see her eyes lit up when he mentioned her name. "What about that race?"
"Oh I forgot. I didn't bring my horse," she told him. "Next time, you'll get your race."
He was disappointed but happy at the same time. At least he had another excuse to see her next time. "So tell me about your life at the saloon."
She couldn't believe that he was actually interested in her life. "Well, it's all right. My father's owned the saloon for five years now. We moved from St. Joseph to open the saloon. It's not really my idea of business, to tell you the truth."
"So what else do you do?" he asked innocently.
"Serve," she said simply.
His eyes widened. He hated to pry in her business, but he was curious. "Serve?"
She laughed. She knew exactly what he was thinking. Unlike most women, Lou understood his curiosity. "Serve the customers, but not in that way," she told him. "I just take care of requests, complaints, that kinda stuff. I don't personally enforce anything. I just basically do my best to help without crossing the line."
Kid sighed with relief. "Isn't it hard?"
"Oh sure, it gets tough sometimes. There are always those rude customers, but I'm pretty used to them. Besides, I don't think my job is as tough as yours."
"I'm not so sure."
She liked his humility and quiet modesty. "I've been gone too long. My dad might be looking for me. I guess I'll just see you around."
"Let me walk you," he offered.
"Oh, please, don't," she denied his offer. "I've taken too much of your time already. I'm sure I'll find my way just fine."
"I insist," he said, following her. "So, tell me about your boyfriend."
She shook her head. "What makes you think I have one?"
"I don't know. I mean it's quite rare for a pretty girl like you to be single."
"To tell you the truth, I have none."
"That's great," he said cheerfully. Feeling suddenly self-conscious, he continued, "That's great to have so much independence and freedom to pursue your other interests."
You're certainly one of those interests, she thought to herself. "So how serious are you and Samantha?"
Kid chuckled. "What are you talking about? For your information, Samantha and I are just friends."
"Sure you are," she said, refusing to believe him.
"I'm serious. We're just good friends." A thought crossed his mind and made him grin. "Don't tell me you're jealous."
Lou blushed. How could he read my feelings? "Of course not, Kid! What makes you think such a thing? First of all, I've only known you for such a short time to feel jealous over whatever relationship you might have with that woman. Besides, if you two were together, I'd certainly be happy for you," she defended her pride.
He laughed, knowing well that this burst of anger was an indication of suppressed jealousy. He decided to tease her. "Well, I'd certainly be happy if you and I are as close as Samantha and I are."
"So you admit it! There's something going on between you two," she told him. She was glad that they finally reached the saloon. "Well, goodbye, sir. I'm sure I won't be seeing you anymore today."
Kid followed after her, half-running. "Are you mad?"
"No!" she said angrily.
"Then what's wrong?"
"Nothing," she said, her voice softening. Her heart pounded upon the realization that he was only inches away from her. "Thanks for the company."
He smiled at her, gazing tenderly into her eyes. He thought about kissing her, but decided against it. After all, they had only known eachother for a short time. Apart from the teasing and joking, he was uncertain about her feelings for him. "I'll see you around. You still owe me that race," he told her softly.
Lou nodded in agreement. She stood in front of the saloon, watching him as he walked away. She was surprised at how nice and funny he was. From her experience, good-looking men often had a personality that didn't match their faces. His certainly matched his face. She walked in the saloon, feeling somewhat happier, younger, and freer.
As soon as she stepped into her bedroom, she was greeted by a hard slap on the face. Lou stared back at her father's furious eyes in shock. She did not, and maybe could never, understand his anger.
"Where the hell have you been?"
She covered her bruised cheek with her hand. She could taste the blood from the open cut in her lower lip.
"Answer me! Where have you been?" he repeated angrily.
Frightened, she managed to say in a shaky voice, "I was looking at dresses. I guess I lost track of time."
"You lost track of time? Again, Louise?" Boggs was angry beyond sanity. "Did you know I needed you here today? You should have been taking care of the customers instead of looking at dresses! What the hell is the matter with you? What do you want me to do with you? After all I've done for you, after everything you put me through, this is your show of appreciation? I gave you a home, Louise! I gave you a life!"
She began to cry. She hated breaking down in front of him, but she could not help it. Each time she felt like on top of the world, Boggs always succeeded in bringing her down.
"Go ahead and cry! That's what you're good at," he mocked her. "If I weren't such a good father, I would have disowned you by now."
Lou felt worse than being disowned. Once again, she felt worthless as she drowned in the sea of despair. "I'm sorry."
"Sorry? That's all you ever say!" Boggs was so angry that his eyes were almost popping out of their sockets. His face, like his action toward her, was frightening. "Get out!"
She looked up at him in disbelief. I can't believe him! she thought, but somewhere inside her mind, she knew that someday it would come to this, and that someday had become this one day.
"That's right," he said as if he had read her mind. "I'm kicking you out! You can come back when you're ready to act properly and take responsibility, you ungrateful bitch!"
"Where am I supposed to go?" she asked out loud.
"You figure that out," he told her. "That's your problem! You brought this upon yourself so don't go blaming me!"
He stormed out of her room, completely upset with her. He didn't really mean what he said, but he would leave Lou to figure that out for herself.
Lou ran out of the room, not caring who witnessed her bruised face and cut lip, completely oblivious of the people's reaction to her predicament.
"Hey, Miss, you all right?" she heard one of the customers asked. She almost laughed at the discovery that there were some decent men who went to the saloon.
She ran out of the smoky saloon, out in the open where everyone in town could see her sad situation. She ran into Jesse who failed to notice the abuse that manifested itself on her face.
"What's the hurry, Lou?" he asked her.
"Leave me alone!" she yelled, running away from the worried boy.
She found a shady spot in front of the marshal's headquarters. She cried silently, covering her face with her hands. Rachel walked out of the marshal's office after bringing Teaspoon's lunch. Buck followed after her. He had just arrived from his ride and was already bored out of his mind. They both passed by Lou, but something about the young woman made Rachel turn back. She gestured for Buck to go home and to not wait for her.
Buck took a look at the woman whose hands covered her face. He was not quite sure if she was crying, tired, or both. He waved good bye to Rachel and started home.
Rachel sat next to the woman who made no sign of acknowledging her presence. Something about her made Rachel's heart warm. She realized the woman was crying, and she wanted to comfort her. "Excuse me, Miss," she began. "Are you all right?"
Lou managed to smile. She quickly brushed her tears away, but her hand still remained on her bruised face. "Yeah, I just have some dust in my eyes. Thanks for your concern, but I feel better already."
Rachel was not convinced. She noted the young woman's cut lip and the side of her face that was beginning to turn purple. She knew that this woman was in much deeper trouble than she cared to admit but decided not to push the topic until the woman was comfortable with her. "Well, I'm glad I can make you feel better."
Lou could tell that the woman was sincere, and there was warmth in her eyes. "Thanks. I'm Louise. You can call me Lou."
"I'm Rachel," she introduced herself. "Is something the matter?"
Lou forced a smile. Everything around her was a haze as if nothing was real. "I'm fine."
"Are you from around here? I've never seen you around."
"I'm from here. I've been here for five years. You're the one I haven't seen around here."
"Well, I just moved here this week."
"How do you like it?"
"It's been great so far. How do you like it?"
Lou sighed. "It's hard to say. I guess so."
"Where do you stay?"
Lou thought about it. She wasn't sure how to answer her question. She didn't even know if she could call the saloon her home. The concept of home had been gone from her memory since her mother's death. Then she remembered what Boggs had told her. Apparently, he kicked her out of the saloon until she got herself straightened out. "Right now, nowhere," she finally answered.
Rachel frowned, refusing to believe the young woman. She looked anything but homeless. She had a pretty face marred by bruises and cuts. Her eyes were beautiful but sad. Her dress was clean and in good order. "You're homeless?"
Lou nodded. "Yeah. I got kicked out of my place."
Rachel thought that maybe Lou was in an abusive relationship. Maybe she and her husband had a fight, and he kicked her out of the house. Rachel felt that Lou was much too young to be married, so it must be a boyfriend. She knew how violent men could get. "You have no place to stay?"
"I'll find something," she said, still uncertain about where she would go.
Rachel felt a tug at her heart. She had some feeling that the woman was in more trouble than she was willing to admit. "Listen, you can stay with me."
Lou's eyes widened. How could she offer me a place to stay just like that? What does she want from me? "Excuse me?"
"Stay with me. I live by the Pony Express Station. You're welcome to stay at my place."
"I can't," she refused. "You hardly know me."
Rachel smiled, understanding how little social interaction the woman received in her life. Lou appeared to be aloof, distant, less trusting as if every relationship she had was a failure. Rachel had no idea how right she was. "That doesn't make a difference. You need a place to stay. I have an extra room in my place. I'm asking you to stay with me. It's as simple as that."
Whoa, this is too good to be true. Something like this doesn't happen to people like me, Lou thought. "Are you sure it's all right?"
"Yes, sweetheart. You're welcome to stay for as long as you want to."
"No one would mind?"
"Of course not."
"What about your family? Don't you have to take care of your husband, kids?"
Rachel laughed, remembering the riders who were more than capable of taking care of themselves. "I'm positive no one would mind. Besides, I don't have any family here. My husband died a long time ago."
"I'm sorry."
Rachel smiled, erasing the bitter memories of her husband's murder. "So, what do you say? Ready to go?"
Something about Rachel eased her mind. "I don't have any clothes with me."
"That's okay. I have lotsa dresses that I've kept even though they're too small for me. I'm sure we'll find something that'll fit you."
"I promise I'll pay you back," Lou told her.
"Don't worry about it," Rachel said, laughing.
"Thank you so much," Lou said gratefully. "You don't know how much it means to me."
Seeing the happiness in Lou's eyes, Rachel had a pretty good idea of how much it meant to the young woman.
Lou masked her confusion and worries. Now she was really beginning to ponder her circumstance. She realized she had no place to stay. Of course she could go back to the saloon and apologize to her father. It was more than likely that he'd accept her apology and allow her to resume her daily routine. She had bee kicked out of the place countless of times, and this time was sure not different from the others.
I better figure out where I'll stay, Lou thought helplessly, scrambling her mind to come up with a temporary shelter. I can't rely on this woman forever. She hardly knows me, and when she finally knows me, what then? She remembered the awful things her father had told her about herself. In all her life, Charlotte was the only friend she ever had. Maybe Boggs was right after all. Maybe there was something wrong with her that made people distrusting, distant. Maybe there was something about her that just made people want nothing to do with her.
"Louise, honey, let's go," Rachel urged. "I gotta attend to some chores."
Lou nodded, pulling herself together. She tried to straighten her wrinkled dress, but it was useless. They walked to Rachel's house as they talked cheerfully. Rachel loved to make the young woman smile, an indication of her improving mood.
Lou noted how near Rachel's house was to the Pony Express Station. "It must be nice living here," she commented.
"Sure it is," Rachel replied with a smile. "But trust me, sometimes it gets too crazy, especially with those riders running around. You know sometimes those boys can be as untamed as the wild horses in the corral."
"I can imagine," Lou said, thinking of the handsome rider who occupied her mind.
Rachel opened the door, welcoming Lou inside. "Your room is gonna be the first room upstairs. Go ahead and clean up. I'm sure you'll find some dresses that will fit you in the dresser."
"Thank you." Lou could not believe her luck, but she was prepared to lose it. Everything good that ever happened to her usually vanished as quickly as it appeared.
She entered the cozy room, surprised at how neat and beautiful it was. She immediately felt like it was her own room. There was no smell of alcohol, no loud voices and shouts of drunk men, no sign of the saloon. She stopped in front of the mirror and finally took a good look at her face. One side of her face was already terribly bruised. The cut on her lip did not help matters.
Why didn't Rachel mention something about my appearance? she wondered. She knew that it didn't take a genius to have some idea of what happened to her, and she was grateful that Rachel didn't pursue the dire matter at all. She chose a plain gray dress, washed her face, and got out of the room as quickly as possible in order to help Rachel with the chores.
She was surprised to learn that Rachel was nowhere to be found. There was a note from her saying she would be gone for a few minutes. Lou frowned, glancing at the food Rachel left for her. She wandered around the house, in search for some unfinished chores. She found some dirty sheets that needed washing. She gladly proceeded with the washing, happy to have found something to save her from boredom.
"What's so special about tonight? Is this some kinda surprise?" a confused Cody asked as he lie lazily across his bunk.
Rachel smiled, gazing at the riders in the bunkhouse. "Well, someone's staying with us for a while. She has no place to stay so I offered her my place."
"Are you crazy, Rachel?" Noah asked, not meaning to be rude. "You just can't trust anybody these days."
"Noah's right," Jimmy agreed. "You've only met her for a few minutes, and you offered her your place?"
"You don't understand," Rachel defended her decision. "If you'd only see her, you'll understand."
"Where is she?" Buck asked.
"At my place."
"Rachel!" Cody almost shouted. "She could be stealing from you. Why did you leave her there? From my experience, girls that look innocent are often not so innocent! To tell you the truth, I often like it that way."
"Well, the decision's made," Rachel continued, ignoring Cody's last statement. "Besides, why are you so worried? It ain't like she's staying with you. She's staying with me, and you can have nothing to do with her if you choose. No one's forcing you to socialize. All I'm asking is for you to be in your good behavior tonight at dinner."
Jimmy shrugged his shoulders. "Don't worry about it, Rachel. We'll be good."
"Does that mean we're having good food for dinner?" Cody asked.
Noah shook his head. "We always have good food, Cody."
"Well, let me see how Louise is doing."
Jesse and Kid, who remained quiet during the whole conversation, suddenly asked in unison, "Louise?"
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