Author's note: Seeing as this story is nominated for Most Wanted, I better start doing something about it. Thank you, Kim!
Jimmy leaned nonchalantly on the wall of one of the stores along the small town's main road as he watched Colter enter into another, presumably for another round of questions like the ones he had asked at the livery and the marshal. Jimmy had soon stopped following, seeing no point in it as he knew, or thought he knew, what answers Colter would receive. He had already recognise Cody's horse by the livery as it was standing outside and although he had to admit that he was a bit puzzled to why Cody had stopped here, he found Colter's actions tiresome and boring. But since he had nothing else to do, he stayed in the shade, waiting for Colter to emerge or stop this stupid game he was playing. It was with interest he suddenly noticed Cody and he pondered if he should walk over to greet him when he noticed the girl on Cody's arm. "That figures," he mumbled to himself. Only Cody would find time to think of girls in a time like this. Sighing he was sank back and idly watched the couple walk closer, as he couldn't help feeling slightly jealous of his carefree friend. Almost feeling as an intruder he turned away from the couple and scanned the street for a sign of Colter. "This is ridiculous", he mumbled to himself, thinking that he should have stayed and talked to James as Teaspoon had requested as Colter was nowhere in sight. He seriously thought of heading back when Colter emerged from one of the stores on the other side of the road. Seeing Jimmy waiting on the other side, Colter started walking towards him, on a path that brought him close to Cody and the girl. At that moment Jimmy saw the girl turn to look at something in a window only to abruptly turn back to Cody. It might be Jimmy forgiven that he hadn't recognised her before, but he had never imagined that she might dress as a girl, he was so used seeing her in her boy's outfit, and the shock almost sent him reeling. He grabbed a chair nearby for support as he stared at her. Cody's female companion was no other than
Lou! His mind whirled as he realised what it meant. If Lou was here
then Buck couldn't be far off. Before Jimmy had a chance to recover
from the discovery, Lou kissed Cody. Jimmy stared in disbelief as
Colter passed the couple, grinning amiable at them. Jimmy had barely
time to recover and try to rearrange his expression to go with an
attitude of, as he hoped, disinterest and boredom. "Having fun?" he asked sarcastically
as Colter joined him on the boardwalk. Colter grinned and Jimmy couldn't
help feeling relieved that Colter obviously hadn't recognised Lou
- and, intentionally or not, Lou had just given him the perfect explanation
for Cody being there. If Jimmy just played his cards right, he might
get Colter out of there before the bounty hunter discovered that he'd
been right all along. Jimmy had no doubt that the only reason Colter
had had for following Cody was that somehow the man had believed that
it would leave him to Buck. Straightening himself, Jimmy looked at
Cody. "So your instinct told you to follow
a lovesick fool," he added in the same tone. "Well, it's
been an interesting trip, Colter. Where do we go from here?" "I might have made a mistake,"
Colter admitted as he turned to look after the couple that had turned
and now was walking down the street in the same direction they had
come from. "Should have listened to me,"
Jimmy added lightly. "Could have saved you a day." "Hmm," Colter muttered, a bit
annoyed of being proved wrong, "I could have sworn - he didn't
stay for more than an hour at the station. There must have been something,"
he added under his breath. Jimmy looked at him as he realised the
reason for Colter suspicions. Colter must have seen Cody return and
then leave the station again, which would have been enough to tell
the man that it wasn't any ordinary mail run. Well, whatever the reason,
the main thing was now to get Colter out of the way. "Well, that's Cody for you,"
he said with a crooked smile. "Nothing so bad he ain't got time
for a pretty girl." "He certainly found himself a spicy
one there," Colter grinned as he pulled out a cigar from his
inner pocket. "Did you see that kiss she gave him?" Jimmy merely nodded. He had seen the kiss
and for Cody's sake he hoped that Kid never would found out about
it. "Well, guess we might as well continue,"
he said. "Where do we go from here?" "We?" Colter asked with mocked
surprise. "Does that mean that you're really going through with
this bounty hunt, Hickok? I thought they were you're friends." "The only thing you have to care
about Colter is whether or not I will beat you to it," Jimmy
replied grimly. "I didn't think you appreciated what
I do. How come you're doing this?" "The difference between you and me,
Colter," Jimmy replied, "is that I don't kill the ones I
intend to bring in." Colter laughed softly as he lighted his
cigar and then he turned to gaze out over the street. Impatiently,
Jimmy walked up to him. "Well?" he asked. "Are
we leaving?" Colter lifted his eyes to the sky above
them and inhaled deeply before he deliberately blow out the smoke. Jimmy's hopes of getting Colter out of
the way slowly vanished. There was no way he'd get Colter out of Manasco,
at least not until tomorrow. "I can do with a meal," he agreed, knowing that there was no way he'd let Colter out of his sight until he was sure that Lou and Buck were safe from the man. Colter must have suspected the same thing, as he grinned at his unwanted companion, slowly smoking his cigar.
If Cody was surprised he quickly recovered
and as Lou's lips left his, she remained close to him. "Just play along," she whispered
as she let out a soft giggle, "Jake Colter is right behind you." The mentioning of the bounty hunter made
Cody realise what might have happened. Had Colter been close enough
to hear Buck's name being mentioned, the game would have been up.
Then Colter would have known that they knew Buck's whereabouts and
they would never have been able to shake him off. Smiling at her he
placed her arm around her shoulder and pulled her closer as he managed
to turn around and see for himself. As he looked around Colter caught
his eye and with a teasing smile the bounty hunter passed them on
the street as he nudged the brim on his hat in a greeting. Cody wasn't
sure if the man recognised him or not - when Colter had been after
Jimmy he hadn't really been around the riders much except for Teaspoon
and maybe Kid. But the greeting had at least made clear that he had
recognised him as an Express rider, for there was just one reason
for Colter to be there. He was looking for Buck. That's why he had
greeted Cody in such teasing manner. With his arm still around Lou,
Cody turned away from the man and begun walking in the opposite direction. "Do you think he recognised us?"
Lou asked as they had put some distance between themselves and the
bounty hunter. "I ain't sure," Cody replied
between his teeth. "He knows who I am that's for certain. Just
give me a reason and I swear ..." "Do you think he recognised me?"
Lou interrupted him and looked at him. Cody looked at her, knowing
what she was worried about. If Colter by any chance had recognised
her as the missing Express rider, they would be in trouble, deep trouble.
Cody looked at her, trying to see her with new eyes. For him there
weren't much difference between the girl before him and the rider
he worked with, but what was more important at the moment was how
anyone else would see her. Cody took in every aspect of her from the
brown short hair, swept back to give an expression of being longer,
the brown expressive eyes that even without makeup were framed with
long dark lashes, the dress that showed off her waist and her features
and he shook his head. "Not a chance," her replied
with sincerity to Lou's relief. "You don't look anything like
an Express rider." "What he's doing here?" she
muttered as the answer came to her. "You think he's after Buck?" "I don't think there's any doubt
about it," Cody muttered. "What do we do now?" she asked
as she bit her lower lip. Colter's appearance was not to be taken
lightly nor was the man's reputation of bringing in his charges more
often dead than alive. "We keep an eye on him," Cody
suggested, "and make sure that he doesn't keep an eye on us.
I think it's better you stay with me until you have to go to the saloon.
Buck can manage on his own, can't he?" Lou nodded. "But I need to change..." "You can do that and check on Buck,
but don't stay too long. We don't want Colter hanging around the boarding
house more than necessary." Lou frowned. "He'll follow us no
doubt." "Yes, until he's sure we're not what
he's after. I guess that we have to keep up this charade a bit longer." "Don't expect me to kiss you again
though," Lou muttered as she gazed down the street where, fearing
seeing Colter behind them. To her relief he was no where to be seen.
"Oh, I wouldn't mind," Cody
teased her. "If we have to keep up appearances..." "Cody," Lou warned between her
teeth and he held up his hands defensively. "No kissing, I swear. Unless you
would feel it necessary," he added with a smile that quickly
faded. "You're not gonna tell Kid about it, are you?" "No, I'm not. And if you know what's
good for you, you won't either." "Wouldn't dream about it," Cody
replied and taking her arm he started walking again. "How about
a late lunch somewhere where we can keep an eye on Mr. Colter?" "No," Lou replied, still unable to shake off the feeling that Colter might recognise her. "I say we stay as far away from him as possible."
Lou managed to press out a smile as the
man handed her a large tip as she served the beer. It had been a long
day and she was tired. She hadn't been able to get back to the boarding
house for a rest before the work at the saloon. Instead she had been
with Cody, discussing the new situation they were in. Cody had suggested
that she'd tell Buck about it, but she had flatly refused. It would
only upset him and he needed the rest, she argued and Cody had to
settle for that. However, as she had returned to the boarding house
to change into her working outfit, Buck had been awake, worried about
her. He had harassed her with questions that she didn't want to answer.
Finally she had excused herself with telling him that she needed to
be at the saloon and simply left. She knew that it wasn't fair to
Buck but after their talk she was afraid that he would begin to talk
about leaving them again if he knew the truth. And then she might
not be able to talk him out of it. It was quite a busy night and it was with
relief that Lou suddenly found herself between chores. She leaned
against the bar as she kept an eye on her tables should their need
her attention. When the door opened she therefore turned her gaze
in that direction and paled slightly as she recognised the newcomer.
Unable to let go she stared as Colter stopped by the entrance and
gazed over the room. But it wasn't Colter that made her inhale deeply
and stare intensely. It was the man that had followed him. Jimmy!
Thoughts whirled in her mind as she heard Sam tell her something as
if at a distance. Slowly she found herself and managed to turn and
face the frowning barkeep. "We've got guests, Louise,"
he said sternly. "Sorry," Lou mumbled and took
the two menus he handed to her. "What was Jimmy doing there?"
she pondered as she tried her best to look as the saloon girl she
was playing as she on weak legs walked over to the two men who had
sat down by a table. "What will it be?" she asked,
hoping that her voice wouldn't betray her uneasiness and silently
praying that Jimmy wouldn't blow her cover. She saw how Jimmy reacted
as he recognised her voice, but apart from a quick glance at her,
he didn't bat an eyelid at her appearance nor did he make any sign
that he recognised her. A little relieved Lou relaxed some. She turned
to Colter, ready to take the order as the bounty hunter grinned broadly
at her, letting his eyes wander over her neat figure, much to Lou's
anger. "Maybe I should come back later,"
she said icily, unable to hid her disapproval of his behaviour in
her voice. Jimmy looked up from the menu with a frown. "Two steaks," he said quickly,
trying to defuse the situation Colter had created and knowing, better
than Colter, what an angry Lou meant. "And a pitcher of beer, sweetheart,"
Colter added. "Sarsaparilla," Jimmy said decisively
which made Colter shake his head sadly. Lou nodded and walked away on shaky legs to take care of their orders. So far there was nothing that said that Colter put her in connection with the station, but you could never tell. Cody had tried to convince her that there was no way that anyone could see any similarities between her and the smallest Express rider at the Sweetwater station, but it still made her nervous. But the deep frown in her forehead as she walked over to the kitchen wasn't so much on the chance of being recognised, but on the question what Jimmy was doing there. Colter and Jimmy was still there two hours later, Colter still sipping on his beer, and Lou begun to doubt that they would ever leave. She had hoped that they would be gone when Cody would get there, but now it seemed unlikely. Luckily she was close to the door when Cody finally arrived. Knowing that he'd been surprised over seeing Colter, not to mention Jimmy, at the saloon, Lou quickly walked up to him, only knowing too well that Colter was following her with his eyes, as he'd been doing for most of the evening. "Ahh," Colter sighed with a
hint of disappointment in his voice, "the boyfriend arrived." Jimmy turned his head slightly to see
what Colter was looking at. He saw Cody and Lou by the door in what
appeared to be a silent conversation and he returned to Colter. "So what?" he said, feigning disinterest. "You didn't think she'd ever be interested in you now, Colter?"
"Cody. Colter's here - and Jimmy's
with'im," Lou whispered as she smiled at him, hoping that it
would look like the smile of a girl in love. "Jimmy's here? What the hell is he
doin' here? Lou wasn't sure if Cody was referring
to Colter or Jimmy but it didn't matter. "I don't know," she replied.
"Just don't look surprised. Colter knows something, I'm sure
of it!" Cody nodded and looked over her shoulder,
scanning the premise. "He's looking at us right now,"
he mumbled. "I don't think I can avoid him - he must know that
Jimmy and I are friends." "I s'pose you're right," Lou
mumbled and was about to walk away when Cody held her back. "We better make this look good,"
he said silently. "Lou…" "I know," Lou muttered and gave
him a slight nod. Only to happy to oblige, Cody gave her a quick kiss before he started to walk over to the two men by the table.
"What are you doin' here Jimmy?"
Cody asked lightly as he dragged forward a chair. "Just keepin' Colter here company
- to make sure he knows what he's doin'," Jimmy replied in the
same tone, both of them well aware of the reason why they were here. "And what about you, Colter? Ain't
this time a bit too small for your liking?" Cody grinned. "Well, it certainly got the good-looking
girls, ain't it?" Colter said with a crooked smile as he nodded
in Lou's direction, not failing to see the look that passed between
the two riders. "That doesn't explain what you're
doing here," Cody insisted, not willing to enter into a discussion
about Lou. "Maybe I'm looking for a girl myself,"
Colter smirked and pulled out a cigar. "You wouldn't be looking for anyone unless there was a price attached to them," Jimmy sneered.
The evening dragged by slowly for the two riders. Colter didn't make a slightest indication to leave, but instead had taken upon himself to show the two younger men how to have a good time while he teased Cody for being "tied to a woman", which apparently would prevent the rider from having fun. Jimmy and Cody did their best to put up with it, as they both wanted to keep an eye on the bounty hunter. It was quite late when Colter excused him and headed over to the bar for a drink and Jimmy and Cody finally found a moment to exchange thoughts. "What the hell's goin' on here?"
Cody said as he leaned over the table. "What are you doin' here
Jimmy?" "I saw Colter in town - he's after
the reward. I couldn't take the chance of him finding them, so I decided
to follow. He tried to get rid of me, but I caught up with him." "How come you ended up here?" "He followed you." "Me? Why?" "He saw you ride in and then leave
again - the short time made him suspicious. I've tried to make him
leave ever since I saw you and Lou earlier but the man's more stubborn
than a mule." "Do you think he suspect anything?" "Ain't sure - after the act you and
Lou pulled outside the store, one would have think he would have decided
to leave. With him still here, who knows what he's up to?" "Maybe he just wanna have a good
time? He might have decided to give up looking for Buck?" "When there's money involved? Doubt
it. I think he still believes that we can lead him right and as long
as we're trying to get him away, he'll probably stay." "So what do we do?" "Act as if it doesn't matter to us
-that you're here for Lou's sake and I'll pretend that I'll head back
home. Maybe we can fool him." "You mean that we'll don't have to
stay with him for the rest of the evening?" Cody asked hopefully. "No, we better keep an eye on him
until we're sure he ain't after Buck and Lou." "Maybe we don't have to," Cody
added as he glared over to the bar, where Colter was talking to a
blonde woman. Cody seemed to be right as Colter left the bar with
an arm around the woman's waist only to follow her up the stairs. "Looks like Colter got lucky,"
Cody grinned as Lou seized the opportunity to join them. "What's going on?" she wanted
to know. Jimmy briefly explained before he nodded
towards the stairs. "Who was that with Colter?"
he wanted to know. "That's Hallie," Lou informed
him. "She's one of Mrs. Abell's 'girls'." "And with a little luck, we don't have to worry about Colter for the rest of the night," Cody said with a big smile.
Colter smiled as the blonde woman closed
the door behind them. "It's been a long time, Hallie,"
he said as she dropped the lace shawl from her bare shoulders. "What on earth dragged you to this
small town, Jake?" she asked as she walked up to him. "Money," he said grinningly
placing his arms around her waist. "And who knows, some of it
might end up with you." "You know what to say to a girl to
get her interested," Hallie purred. "What can I do?" "You can tell me about that girl
downstairs - the one with the short brown hair." Hallie sighed seductively. "And here
I thought you came for me." "Well, you know that you'll always
be my first choice." "I can tell you what I know, but
it ain't much," Hallie said as she let her fingers play with
the curls of his hair. "But I hope you do have time for some
fun before you leave?" She released herself from his embrace
and walked over to the bed, smiling invitingly at him. "I always got time for fun," Colter replied as he tossed his hat over to the corner and dropped his coat on the floor before closing the space between them.
Cody and Jimmy managed to linger on for
two more hours before they tired. Together with Lou they agreed to
call it a night. None of them believed that Colter would be visible
before dawn and after making sure that Lou would be all right, they
decided to try and get a few hours sleep. "You're sure you'll be all right?"
Jimmy asked once more as they rose from the table. "Yes," Lou insisted. "I
can ask Bo to follow me and Millie home. He does that when there's
been trouble, and I'm sure he don't mind doing it if I ask." "All right then," Jimmy muttered
as Lou was called away. "We'll be seeing you in the morning." Lou nodded and then hastened off to another
table. "Maybe I should say a proper goodbye?"
Cody asked as they walked to the door. "Seeing as Lou's my girlfriend,
and all?" "Don't press your luck," Jimmy
stated dryly. "If Kid finds out you kissed her - twice…" "Hey, she kissed me!" Cody objected. "Whatever," Jimmy muttered. "Jealous, Hickok?" Cody teased as they left the smoky and boisterous saloon for the fresh night air outside.
Lou thanked Bo for accompanying her and Millie back to the boarding house as they reached the gate. During the rest of the night, she hadn't seen anything of either Colter or Hallie and she believed that the boys had been right. Colter wouldn't be a problem, at least not for the time being. If only Jimmy could convince the man to leave town, then maybe they would have a chance of getting away. She hoped that by morning, everything would look better, maybe even a word from Teaspoon. She couldn't keep up this charade forever. She missed being an Express rider, she missed being with the others and she missed Kid. She couldn't believe she was stuck in a small town, working in a saloon and pretending to be Cody's girlfriend. She smiled at herself as an image of her and Cody walking up the aisle as bride and groom to keep up appearances got stuck in her mind. "I must be tired," she pondered as she said good night to Millie and walked over to her room. She brushed her hair out of her face as
she fumbled with the key. It was dark inside as she stepped in and
as she searched for the light she couldn't find it. There was something
wrong and as she gazed into the dark room she noticed that Buck wasn't
in the bed. |
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Part
23
