SOMETIMES
THE PAST COMES BACK...SOMETIMES
THE PAST COMES BACK...© 2000
Lou stared at him, trying to recover the courage she had let slip away earlier - cursing herself for letting her guard down. (Why wouldn't I think this is where he'd be dammit! Come on Louise, you can do this, for Seth and for you.... her mind wandered to the Kid and what they could have together if she could just pull this off) She was surprised at the feelings building back up in her as she thought about what she wanted her life to be. Her loathing for the man seated in front of her visibly evident, now.
He peered over his whiskey filled glass that he was drinking and almost choked as he noticed her staring at him. After clearing his throat and wiping the liquor from his chin he glared at her, "Well, well, well....look here" he motioned to the saloon girl "look who's come back" he sneered. A malicious grin forming on his face (which Lou thought made him look like the devil himself) "So, you finally came back, huh?" he stood to his feet, the saloon girl falling into a heap on the floor. "I knew you wouldn't stay away too long, you're nothing without me Louise dear - nothing!" He started towards her and Jimmy stepped forward. For the first time Robert took notice of him and his badge. "Well now, Louise what'd you bring the law for" his question directed more towards Jimmy than Lou. "I haven't done anything against the law, now have I?"
Jimmy didn't say a word, he silently prayed that God would give her the strength she needed.
Lou finally found her voice and determined she would not sound afraid, cleared her throat and prayed for a steady, convincing voice. "Robert, I've come to ask you for a divorce." she stated flatly and sighed inwardly, thinking she sounded pretty convincing.
"YOU WHAT!" he laughed at her menacingly. "You are out of your mind, you're mine Louise," he growled, " an' there's no way I'll give you your freedom - you should have known better than to ask!" He spoke to her in the tone he used to use when he was angry enough to kill her.
His threatening tone alerting Jimmy, he began to step between Lou and Robert, who was approaching her quickly. The saloon had grown quiet - all eyes on the threesome. "Why, that's Wild Bill Hickock," Jimmy heard a voice from behind him, inwardly he growled. Robert's attention left Louise for a moment as he looked at Jimmy then back at her. "Well Louise, I see you've got some pretty famous friends," his voice becoming more and more evil as he spoke. Lou could see in his eyes that he was not thinking rationally - his temper mixed with alcohol was always a dangerous mix. She felt very vulnerable, her old self-image returning, even with Jimmy by her side.
Jimmy turned to find the voice who had identified him - in that split second Robert grabbed an unsuspecting Louise and yanked her to him. His gun unholstered and pointed at her temple.
Jimmy froze and cursed himself. He realized any move he made would probably end in her death. He knew that Robert was crazy and he had completely lost his mind and wouldn't hesitate in pulling the trigger.
Lou stood perfectly still, he leaned into her and bit her ear as he whispered hoarsely, "Now, I've really missed you Louise, I hope you didn't let pretty boy Kid use you all up again..." Her skin crawling at his lusty voice. "Now you and me - we're gonna leave real quiet like so we can get reacquainted," he eyed Jimmy daring him to make a move. Robert began to back out of the saloon toward the doors, dragging Louise. Jimmy was frozen, frantically trying to come up with a plan.
Kid had finished at the bank and was mounting Katy as he heard some kids run by yelling about a fight at the saloon. His heart fell to his stomach, he had a gut feeling that it involved Lou and Robert. "Oh please God, no," he mumbled a quick prayer and kicked Katy into a full gallop.
As he got to the saloon he saw Robert dragging Lou at gunpoint down the steps into the street.
His usual approach to dangerous situations was to think it through-have a plan. But seeing the situation, his mind blurred and he didn't see anything but the monster of a man they had come to confront aiming his gun at Lou and dragging her roughly in the street.
It had been so long since his gun fighting days - he briefly prayed that the accuracy he'd become known for was still as sharp as ever. Without a second thought he drew his gun and heard himself yell "ROBERT!" At the sound of his voice Robert spun around quickly, noticing his foe he dropped Louise and took aim at the Kid - firing two shots rapidly. Robert fell to a heap at Lou's side.
Lou looked over and saw Robert, crumpled and obviously dead. Shaken and hysterical she looked over to where she had heard Kid call Robert out. What she saw paralyzed her as she realized her worst fear had been realized.
Kid lay in a pool of blood, by the time Lou came to her senses he was surrounded by some of the townsfolk. She stumbled to him and found him bleeding badly and unconscious. "Somebody get the doctor!" she yelled as she absent mindedly placed her hands over the gushing wound next to his heart. She began to sob and scream his name. "Kid, Kid, please.....Kid please don't die, I need you Kid....you know that.....I don't ...I can't live my life without you, please" she sobbed sinking her head into his chest, not caring that she was being covered in blood, his blood.
Jimmy came running quickly with the doctor and he began to pull Lou away from the Kid to let the doctor get a closer look. Jimmy finally pulled her into his embrace, after she refused to let go of her love. He held her tiny trembling body trying to soothe her, but not accomplishing it. The doctor ordered a few men to help carry the Kid to his surgery. Jimmy, Lou & Rachel, who had heard the commotion and had joined them by now followed.
It seemed like hours since the doctor had taken Kid into his surgery, the three waited impatiently for him to come and fill them in. Lou wasn't sure whether it was good or bad that it was taking so long, if he was dead surely the doctor would have come out and told them by now, but if he wasn't what on earth could he be doing. She was almost physically sick, Rachel sat next to her stroking her hair and trying to soothe her with words, words that Lou did not hear. Jimmy paced, blaming himself for the entire situation, thinking he should have handled the whole thing differently. All of them lost in their thoughts and the only if's, when the door to the surgery opened.
The doctor approached Lou, his face grim. "I really don't know what else to do, it doesn't look good" he tried to be honest without being too blunt. "The bullet missed his heart by only an inch, but I got it out, however, he's lost a lot of blood. I'm not sure he can recover from that much blood loss" he look at her sympathetically "We'll just have to wait and see."
"Can I see him" she whispered, unable to find her voice.
"Yes, for a few minutes, but miss I want you to be prepared, he doesn't look good" he warned.
She entered the room and tried to prepare herself for what she would see, but when her eyes found him lying, almost lifeless and paper white she felt a cold chill, she thought he looked dead.
"Oh god," she looked to the doctor for reassurance that he was still alive. "Yes ma'am, he's still alive, but as I said I don't know whether he'll make it" he left the room. Lou approached the bed apprehensively and reached out to touch his hand, "Oh God" she pleaded "please God don't take him from me, not now, not when we can finally be a family" tears flowing freely down her cheeks.
As she placed her small hand over his rather large hand she noticed that it was warm, the warmth bringing her some comfort, but still there was no response from the Kid.
After a few minutes the doctor came back in and told her to go get some rest, he would need her to help tomorrow with trying to feed him and to bath his wound. She reluctantly let go of him and in a trance-like state followed Rachel and Jimmy back to Rachel's house.
She tossed and turned all night, not sleeping at all. If she dozed off even for a second, she'd dream Kid had died and would wake in a sweat with a scream caught in her throat. So she decided to think about the good times they had, back when they rode for the Pony Express. She would tell him tomorrow, whether he could hear her or not, exactly how she felt about him, even way back when they first started riding, before he knew she was a girl. Tomorrow she thought as she welcomed a few moments of sleep.
CHAPTER 13 - CHAPTER 14 - CHAPTER 15 - CHAPTER 16
THE END
