SOMETIMES
THE PAST COMES BACK...SOMETIMES
THE PAST COMES BACK...© 2000
It had only been a few weeks since his wife had died of scarlet fever. He grieved deeply for her but felt that there was nothing left for him in Virginia now that she was gone. He had met her shortly after he returned home to Virginia, leaving Rock Creek and the one true love of his life. He would have married Lou and stayed out west if she had agreed. But when she refused after his second proposal he knew he couldn't stay there, that he would not be able to live in the bunkhouse with her and the rest of the boys. He knew he would love her forever but if she didn't love him in return then life held nothing for him in the west, he would give Teaspoon, the station master his notice and head back to his home. He knew he would never find true happiness, knowing Louise was his soul mate, but he could at least exist and live without the constant torment of living and working with her knowing she didn't love him.
It wasn't long after he returned to Virginia that he met Mary. She was pretty and easy to talk to, but he didn't have any desire to start a romantic relationship. Mary ended up being the pursuer and after quite a bit of patience on her part Kid finally started to court her.
Kid had know from Rachel's letters that Lou had married so after a lengthy courtship, he had imagined that though this was and could never come close to what he and Lou had shared, maybe he could after all be married and have a family. Hadn't he seen many people who weren't married to their soul mates make their marriage successful.
Unlike Lou, Mary accepted his very first proposal and they were married shortly after. Kid was satisfied with the life he had found in Virginia; he didn't try to kid himself into believing that this was the way he had hoped to spend the rest of his life - but he was not unhappy.
Making love to Mary was not at all how he remembered the sweet passionate love making he and Lou had shared, the first time at Red Fern, the many times at the watering hole and even sneaking out of the bunkhouse late at night when they couldn't keep their hands off of each other. It wasn't like that with Mary, another thing he had to resolve to accept.
Only about six months after their wedding she had fallen ill with the fever and died. Kid wasn't sure what to do, he felt empty inside and only one thought brought even a glimmer of hope to his emptiness. That was the thought of his first love, if he could only see her, he knew she was a married women, but maybe, resolving himself to the fact that he would never love or marry again, maybe he could just find her again, find comfort in just being her friend, if that was possible.
He made up his mind, he would head back out west. He would search for the family he had lost so long ago when he left Rock Creek. He'd try to find some of his closest friends; one in particular.
CHAPTER 1 - CHAPTER 2 - CHAPTER 3
TO BE CONTINUED...
