WITHOUT YOU
WITHOUT YOU
The day dawned bright and crisp and despite the threat of attack hanging over their heads later that night, James Butler Hickok awoke with a new sense of purpose. He and Lou would be married soon and their son was now going to call him 'pa'. He never thought that one little word, pa, could mean so much to him. But it did. It meant the world to him.
Avery, who was still on a gambler's time clock, was still asleep when the rest of the camp awoke.
"I've come up with a plan" Jimmy announced to Lou and their son as he made his way toward them. "But I need to talk it over with you both first."
"So what's your idea?" Lou asked.
"It concerns your gold claim. Now after you hear what I've got ta' say you can nix the idea if you want. But I think it would work."
"Go on." Lou urged him, anxious to hear what he had come up with.
"It would mean givin' up the mine…tonight. Now before you say anything, hear me out. We mine as much as we can today, pack up all the gold and lay in wait for those three tonight. Once we take care of them, we bury them, but mark the graves with our own names. Now here comes the sticky part - we're gonna have to take Avery into our confidence. He's gonna want to know why we're doin' this and we're gonna have to tell him. It'll be his job to go back to town after this is all over and tell what happened - that the three of us are dead and the outlaws are responsible and stole the gold…just like they said they would. This way no one's gonna come gunnin' for Wild Bill again and the two of you will be safe with me."
Jimmy was holding his breath, waiting for a reply from the two, but it was long in coming. They both sat somewhat dumbfounded at the idea.
"Pa, I think it's a great idea!"
Jimmy's breath was knocked out of him by the simple fact his son had just called him 'pa'. Lou smiled happily at their son and readily agreed the plan was a good one.
"So he is your son." The sound of Avery's voice came from behind them. "I had my suspicions. Shoot, he even looks like ya'. Quick draw, too, just like ya'. Congratulations, Hickok!"
Jimmy just beamed with pride that he could finally acknowledge to someone that he had a son. He was definitely going to enjoy being a father…even if he was 14 years late in doing so.
"I heard part of your plan. Sounds do-able. I give you my word I won't tell anyone about your little family here. You can trust me. Maybe not at cards, but you can trust me in this." He chuckled to himself.
"Lou, you're sure you want to give up the mine? I know the dreams you had. I don't want to take that away from you and have you hate me for it later."
"Jimmy, I could never hate you. I love you. As long as the three of us are together that's my dream, the life I've been wantin'. Doesn't matter to me how much money we have or where we go, just that we're finally a family." Lou told him, speaking from her heart.
"Uh, pa, where are we gonna go?"
"Well, I don't know yet. Guess we'll just figure that one out as we go. " Jimmy said.
The whole day through the trio worked together on mining the gold. Avery spent his time digging three shallow graves for the outlaws later that night. Then he went to work on the markers, carving out each of their names.
Finally when they had sifted and separated the gold from the rock and sand, they loaded the gold up in their saddlebags. As the afternoon waned into early evening, they quickly ate and started to break camp - getting ready for their escape later that night.
Even though he would be officially dead after tonight, Jimmy knew he would still be recognizable as Wild Bill and decided he needed to alter his appearance completely.
Jimmy wandered down to the creek with a package he had brought from town days earlier. When he returned to their campsite he was hard to recognize.
Gone was the long hair and mustache and in its place was a man of short, neatly trimmed hair - as neat as could be since he did the cutting himself. Gone was the gambler attire and in its place were woolen-linen shirt and whipcord pants. He topped it off with a short coat much like he used to wear in his Express days.
Still damp from the washing, a forelock of his hair hung down, giving him a rakish appearance.
Lou gasped when she saw him return from the creek. She was instantly attracted to the new look her love sported.
She walked toward him and Lou soon found herself winding her fingers through his damp tendrils. "My don't you look handsome this evenin', Jimmy Hickok."
"Lou, you know we ain't got time for this. As much as I'd like to…"
She cut him off with a kiss.
"Ya' mean the kissin' only works one way? You're the only one allowed to kiss me whenever you want, but I can't?" She kissed him again before he could answer.
"Ah, kissin', that's what you had in mind. Don't see any harm in a little kissin', Lou." He kissed her this time.
"Aw, are you guys gonna be doin' that all the time?" The younger Jimmy whined.
"Better get used to it." Both Jimmy and Lou said at the same time and laughed when they realized it.
"Son, just wait until you find the right girl for you. You're not gonna want to ever let her go either…and if you do, second chances are few and far between - if you're lucky enough to get it." Jimmy explained to his namesake, hugging Lou to him all the while.
"I hate to break this up, but we really need to get ready for those three, it's nearly dark now. I've already tied the horses up down near the creek for ya'."
"Thanks, Avery. Guess, we better get positioned and wait 'em out." Jimmy's take-charge, all business temperament was back in place. "Lou and Jimmy, I want you two behind the boulder like last time. And before you say it, Lou, I want you two safe and that's the best vantage point around here. Avery can you climb up in that tree there, but don't start shooting 'til there's only one left, otherwise they'll get the bead on you real quick and it'll be all over for ya'."
"And where are you gonna be?" Lou asked Jimmy.
"I'll be sittin' over by the fire waitin' for 'em."
"What! You can't just sit idly by and let them get the drop on you!"
"Lou, honey, wait. I'm not really gonna be there, but they'll think I am."
She looked at him confused. "But how…"
"With this!" He proudly said and displayed his old clothing stuffed with leaves and twigs. He sat the stuffed man on a log, arranging him until he sat somewhat straight. The only problem he had was trying to get his old hat to stay on.
When he was all done, he stepped back to admire his handiwork. "Well, what do ya' think? Will it pass?"
"Thank goodness it'll be dark, otherwise…"
"Oh, alright. It only has to fool them into taking the first shot. We don't know if they'll be stupid enough to walk into camp and shoot at close range or they'll hide behind those trees. If they're anything like their friend they'll probably hide. But we've got to be ready for any possibility."
Jimmy walked over to Lou
and kissed her, "For luck." He said. He hugged his son to him and
told him to "be safe". Then Jimmy disappeared into the darkness.