Chapter 2

Lou stirred, trying to bring her body out of the deep sleep it was engaged in.  She stretched her right arm out, letting it rest on the empty pillow alongside her own.  Glancing at the spot her husband usually occupied, she said,  "Well, that's two nights gone without him, only another two to go." 

She realized she'd overslept again and felt guilty about it for the hundredth time because of the extra work it caused Rachel.  She quickly sat up and that's when it hit her.  She clutched her stomach, immediately regretting the sudden movement as her stomach began to churn and the same nausea that hit her the previous seven mornings struck again. 

She covered her mouth as the contents of her nearly empty stomach demanded to be released.  She glanced at the dresser and silently cursed as she noticed the wash basin was not there.  Having no choice, she ran for the door then carefully made a mad dash down the stairs and out the closest exit, which was the front door, all the while praying she made it in time.  Since the front of the house faced the direction of town, she bolted down the couple steps and around the side of the structure to get out of sight.

Buck walked out of the barn, leading his and Lou's horses behind him.  Since Kid was on the last run for the station, that left Buck to do all the chores around the barn.  He had accepted that responsibility and Lou took care of the house and the meals, well, she attempted to take care of the meals.  It usually meant she heated something up or served it cold.  Buck smiled and shook his head, feeling sorry for the Kid once they got a place of their own;  his friend was bound to starve to death if she didn't learn how to get around a kitchen.

He put the two horses in the corral for the day to get some exercise since they wouldn't be going out on any more Express runs.  As Buck turned to head back to the barn, he noticed a blur of white making its way around the corner of the house.  This was not the first time he had observed such a sight.  He made his way to the figure in white's destination, not surprised at what he saw when he got there. 

Lou was so intent on emptying her stomach that she was unaware of anything else around her so she jumped when she heard Buck speak directly behind her.

"You alright, Lou?"

She whirled around and almost bumped into him, he was that close.  "Jeez, Buck, will you quit sneakin' up on me?"  she asked in annoyance.  A person couldn't even get sick in private with Mr. Keen Eyes and Ears around, she thought sarcastically as she tried to wipe her mouth with her sleeve then realized her nightgown didn't have any.  In fact, her garment didn't have too much fabric up top either - a fact that Kid found very exciting to see but which now was causing her to feel slightly indecent.  Instinctively, she crossed her arms over her chest.

"I wasn't sneakin', Lou, I was walking,"  Buck replied, matter-of-factly.

"Well, don't,"  she told him crossly.

He got an amused grin on his face.  "Don't walk?"  he asked, trying to appear confused.

"Oh, you know what I mean!"  she cried in frustration.  "How come everytime I turn around you're right there watchin' me?  Whatever I do ain't none of your business."

"I'm not watching you, Lou, but I can't help seein' what's going on right in front of me.  You've been running out of the house getting sick for about a week now.  What am I supposed to do - not be concerned?  It's not normal behavior on your part and you know it."    He crossed his arms in front of his chest, mimicking her stance.  He knew it would annoy her but this conversation was annoying.  This wasn't the first time he'd tried to get an explanation out of her only to be given the runaround.  When it didn't seem to be working, he tried another approach - teasing.  "Besides, it's not everyday I see a woman run practically into the middle of town wearing a nightgown that only her husband should see her in."  He grinned as he indicated the area under her chin with his eyes, which made her even more self conscious.

"Well then quit lookin',"  she ordered.  "Why do you feel like you gotta keep an eye on me anyway?  What, did Kid put you up to it before he left?  I saw him talkin' to you about something."  She knew she had an edge to her voice but she couldn't help it;  she never liked it when Kid had been obviously worried about her safety and tried to smother her when they were first together.  But she thought he'd learned his lesson and stopped.  Actually, Lou did like the feeling it caused inside her, only she would never admit to it, especially to any of the boys.

"What he said had nothing to do with me keeping an eye on you."  It was the truth, but he couldn't tell her what their brief conversation had really been about, Kid wanted it to be a surprise for her.  Buck knew she wouldn't be satisfied with that answer but also didn't want to get Kid in trouble.  He knew how touchy Lou was with this subject so he answered carefully,  "He mentioned he was worried about your health and he wished he could stay around to take care of you."  He took a step back, waiting for the fireworks to start.  Buck breathed a sigh of relief when he didn't see her becoming angry, instead what he saw caught him totally off guard.

Lou's face softened as she brought her fingers up to her lips, as if she was feeling Kid's last kiss on them.  "He did?  That was so sweet of him,"  she sighed.

Buck stared at her, his mouth hanging open.  Was this the same Louise McCloud that he knew standing in front of him?  The one he had ridden with for the Express, the one who would chew a man's head off for saying anything about her not being able to take care of herself?

"That is the LAST thing I expected to hear you say,"  he admitted.  "You're usually jumping down our throats after a comment like that.  What happened to the Lou I know?"

"I'm still the same Lou,"  she defended.  She couldn't help feeling this swept up in emotions;  she felt like her feelings were out of her control all of a sudden.  "Why?  Do I appear different to you?"  she asked curiously.  But before he could answer, she quickly defended herself.  "Besides, what is so wrong with knowing my husband just wants to look out for me?"  She stared at him, waiting for an answer.

"Nothing, I guess,"  Buck admitted.  "You just took me off guard.  This is just a new side of you I'm seein'." 

"There's a lot more sides of me you're gonna be seein' ... especially my front,"  Lou admitted with a silly grin on her face.  Instinctively her hands started making their way down the front of her nightgown, until she realized she was exposing herself once more to Buck so she brought them up to her throat once again.

"What's that supposed to mean?"  Buck was staring at her curiously.  Everything she'd said and done has made absolutely no sense to him.

Realizing she'd said more than she'd planned on, Lou quickly answered,  "You'll find out soon enough but not before the Kid does.  Now if you'll excuse me, I have a house full of chores awaiting me."  She walked past Buck, acting like it was perfectly normal for her to have been out there dressed as she was.

He stared after her and found himself shaking his head.  He thought he had her all figured out but now felt like he was just meeting her for the first time.  What in the world was going on with her?  He'd have to keep a closer eye on her or the curiosity would kill him!