CHOICESCHOICES
Lou had barely risen from the bed and made her way carefully to the bureau to light the lamp, when someone began knocking again on the door to her room. She jumped in surprise and let out a muffled cry. Stifling the urge to giggle at her own foolishness, Lou fumbled for the butt of her gun hanging from its holster at the foot of the bed. She planted herself against the wall next to the door, cocked her gun and spoke gruffly,
"Who is it?"
"It's Trevayne, Mistah Boggs. Treva sent me up tell ya that supper will be on the table in about ten minutes." A deep voice answered.
"I'll be down in a few minutes." Lou told him, easing her finger off the trigger of her gun.
"Alright, Mistah Boggs," Trevayne called back.
A moment later Lou heard the sound of Trevayne's footsteps retreating down the hallway. She holstered her gun and dressed quickly in a clean pair of denims and shirt. After slipping into her boots, Lou fastened her gun belt around her waist, put on her hat and glasses and left the room. Once she had reached the lower level of the boarding house, Lou followed the tantalizing aromas permeating the air through the parlor and into the dining room.
Treva greeted her with a warm smile and directed her to a vacant chair on one
end of the long oak table. Lou took the chair Treva indicated and bowed her
head as Trevayne said a blessing over the meal. When he had finished saying
the blessing over the meal, Trevayne introduced Lou to the other diners at the
table. She
took an immediate disliking to the harmless looking Mr. Spencer(a dime novelist)
who she had, unfortunately, been seated next to and was careful to answer his
prying questions with evasive answers. She and the other riders, except maybe
Cody, had learned to distrust all dime novelists after Jimmy's experience with
J.D. Marcus.
After thoroughly enjoying a scrumptious meal of fried chicken, mashed potatoes,
corn on the cob, collard greens, buttermilk biscuits and apple pie, Lou thanked
Treva for the fine meal and excused herself. Before leaving the room, Lou inquired
about how late the boarding house doors stayed open. Pleased to hear that she
had decided to stay the night, Treva told Lou that she locked the doors at ten
o'clock. Lou made her way through the parlor to the foyer and out the front
door
into the night.
The night sky was clear except for the silver moon that hung overhead. A slight
breeze offered her some respite from the otherwise warm evening and Lou found
herself glad that she had left her jacket in her room. Lou strolled along at
a leisurely pace as she headed toward Trevayne's livery to check on Lightning.
As she
walked, Lou occasionally stopped before a store's windows and peer in at the
goods displayed. One store's display in particular caught Lou's attention with
an assortment of craftily sewn, crocheted, and quilted baby items.
Lou gazed at the tiny items in wonder and tried to picture what it would be like to hold a person so small as to fit into the tiny clothing before her. Of course she had had some experience in taking care of babies, since she had helped her Ma with both Jeremiah and Theresa when they were born. She knew though that this time around it would be much different. She wouldn't be caring for someone's baby, she would be caring for a child that both she and Kid had created and that made it infinitely more special.
She stood there for several minutes, imaginatively dressing her son and daughter up in the finery before her. Always when she imagined their looks, whether it be a boy or girl, the child would have a full head of chestnut curls, azure eyes and lopsided smile just like its pa. The sound of shattering glass nearby startle Lou out of her reverie and made her spin around in surprise. Raucous laughter followed by a gunshot drew Lou's attention down the street to a shabby looking building at the end of the street. Hoping no one had observed her strange behavior, Lou glanced obscurely around and then proceeded onto the livery.
Kid, Jimmy, Buck and Ike slowed their mounts to a walk outside the entrance to Ft. Kearney. The two soldiers on sentry duty gave them bored, but alert nods as they passed through the gate. Kid reined Katie to a stop just inside the fort and waited for the other riders to do the same.
(What are you stopping for Kid?) Ike signed.
"I think that we ought to split up and do a brief look around town to see if we can locate another hotel, boarding house or livery." Kid said.
"Why?" Buck asked.
"Because if Lou came into Ft. Kearney like we think, she wouldn't go anywhere
near the hotel or waystation, for fear of someone spotting her and reporting
it back
to us." Jimmy explained.
"Let's meet back here in about ten minutes," Kid suggested.
"Sounds good to me," Jimmy said, kicking Sundancer into motion.
"Dang it, Lightning! Hold still!" Lou exclaimed irritably as she struggled to keep her grip on the stallion's right hindleg so she could examine his hoof.
She had reached the livery a short time earlier and had proceeded to give Lightning a thorough examination. He hadn't offered up any struggle until she was almost through and had picked up his last right hindleg to examine the hoof for any pebbles or cuts embedded in the thick flesh. Lightning through his rump into his mistress that sent Lou stumbling backwards into the wall and causing her to lose her grip on his hindleg. He backed up as far as he could go and glared defiantly at Lou over his shoulder. Lou straightened up, set her shoulders and determinedly approached the stallion. Planting her left elbow firmly in between his rump and abdomen, Lou picked up the hindleg non-to-gently in her left hand and bent it upward so she could see the underside. Lightning struggled to free his hindleg from his mistress' grasp, but Lou held on. Taking a quick look, Lou located a thumb-nail sized pebble wedged between the padding and wall of the hoof. Using a hoof pick, Lou pried the pebble free from the hoof and released Lightning's leg.
"There you go boy," Lou crooned softly as she patted Lightning's neck. "That nasty ole ebble won't bother you anymore."
After making sure Lightning had enough water and hay, Lou left the livery and started back to the boarding house. She was only about a block away from the boarding house when she noticed a chestnut stallion tied to the hitching post out front. There was something eerily familiar about the horse, but Lou couldn't pinpoint what it was until the door open and a figure bounded down the steps. Lou took one look at the figure and gasped. She would know that red-bandanna covered head anywhere. It was Ike! And wherever Ike was, Buck and the other riders couldn't be too far away.
Lou ducked into the alleyway between two stores, her heart pounding as she heard hoof prints near where she was hiding. She held her breath as the hoof prints grew louder, hoping that Ike hadn't spotted her ducking into the alleyway. Luckily the horse and mute rider continued on past her hiding place and Lou breathed a huge sigh of relief. As soon as she thought it was safe, Lou darted out of the alleyway and ran for the safety of the boarding house.
