Mr.
& Mrs. CodyMr.
& Mrs. Cody
Author's Note:
I changed two crucial parts of the show to fit my story: Emily Metcalf's father
was the one cheating at cards, not Neville; and the riders never leave Sweetwater.
Keeping that in mind…happy reading!
Prologue
It had been three months since that wonderful evening Jimmy had proposed to Lou and she had accepted. Even though they were engaged, Jimmy often brought her flowers…all of them her favorite. They had pooled their savings together and purchased a small homestead a few miles outside of Sweetwater. In fact the land was adjacent to the property owned by the father of a girl Ike was sweet on. Her name was Emily Metcalf.
In exactly three weeks Jimmy and Lou were going to be married. One month earlier Emma paid them all a visit and she and Rachel began plans on Lou's wedding dress.
"Loulabelle, I've got just the dress for your wedding. It's straight out of the latest issue of Godey's Lady Book. Here, take a look." Emma shoved the periodical in front of Lou. "Of course there's another perfect one on page 10. And then the one page 12 is wonderful, too, even though it's really not a wedding dress we could do it in ivory. We could also move the neckline a bit and then…" Emma chatted excitedly away and Lou began to tune her out. Not that Lou wasn't excited about the wedding. Just the opposite was true. She just didn't see what all the fuss was about when it came to the style of dress she wore. Of course she knew Emma was overjoyed about her one and only 'daughter' getting married, so Lou let Emma take over the details of the dress. Eventually between Emma and Rachel they had come up with a dress design and after taking Lou's measurements busily began work on it.
Jimmy and Lou spent as much time as they could taking care of what would soon be their new home. Ambrose Riley, the previous owner, had sold it to Jimmy at a bargain. Ambrose had wanted to just give the property to Jimmy, but Jimmy felt as if he'd be taking advantage of Mr. Riley's situation of needing to leave in a hurry, so they had finally agreed on a price. Mr. Riley's brother had met with an accident that left him wheelchair bound and Ambrose had been called back East to help with his brother's business. So Mr. Riley packed up his small family and their clothing and moved, leaving behind all their furniture and household belongings along with two cows and a dozen chickens. The root cellar was even stocked.
Whenever Ike came to visit Emily, which was often, the two would walk over to the homestead and take care of the animals and the house. Of course it gave the two lovebirds a chance to be alone also and 'play house'. The Express family all silently wondered if another wedding would be planned in the not-so-distant future.
Chapter 1
"Lou, can you come in the house for awhile? Emma's a little confused on some of the measurements of the dress." Rachel asked her.
"Sure. But how many more times is she going to check my measurements? It's just getting frustrating. I never knew there was so much planning to getting married."
"Now Lou, you know Emma just wants everything to be perfect. Don't be too hard on her."
"Oh, no, Rachel. I appreciate everything Emma and you are doing for me and Jimmy. I just had no idea a wedding was so complicated."
"Just wait until you get to the marriage part of it." Emma commented from the porch. "I swear that Sam Cain can really be trying. He's lucky I love him or sometimes I think I'd kill him."
"Emma, he can't be that bad." Lou said naively.
"Oh, just you wait until Jimmy does something that gets on your nerves. You won't know whether to hit him, kiss him or just plain ignore him."
"But I've been living with him and the guys for a long time now. If I can handle all of them, I can certainly handle just Jimmy." Proclaimed Lou.
"Yes, but it'll be different when it's just the two of you…alone."
Lou's blush felt like it came from her toes and worked it way all the way up to the roots of her hair.
Seeing Lou's discomfort, Rachel interrupted. "Maybe we best get onto those measurements now. What do you think, Emma?"
The ladies moved upstairs to the bedroom and Lou began to undress. After Emma took her measurements she looked puzzled. "I could have sworn when I last measured you…oh, never mind. I must have got the measurement wrong last time. No matter. I can still fix the waist. There's enough fabric to make it a bit bigger. See, Loulabelle, this is why I keep taking your measurements so the dress will be sure to actually fit when your big day comes. Go ahead and get dressed, I'm all finished - for now." Lou had to keep from rolling her eyes.
Rachel said, "Don't you have a run coming up?"
"Yes, Cody and I have a run to Ft. Laramie. Teaspoon wanted both of us to go. Some Army papers or something. Who knows what it's all about." Lou replied.
Lou entered the empty bunkhouse to get her gear together for the run. She then walked over to Jimmy's bunk and slipped a piece of paper under his pillow. Smiling to herself she exited the bunkhouse and headed to barn to saddle Lightning. Cody was already inside saddling his horse. He instantly started complaining.
"I don't see why both of us have to go. The Indians haven't been giving us any trouble in that direction. And besides I was supposed to escort Miss Eloise Haversham to church on Sunday." Cody grumbled.
"Church!" Lou exclaimed. "Cody you never go to church!"
"Yeah, but that's the only way Mrs. Haversham will let me see her daughter."
"Well Miss Haversham will just have to wait Cody." Teaspoon said. "You've got a job to do, son, don't forget that."
"Yes, Teaspoon." Cody relented. Lou just shook her head at Cody.
"The reason I got two of you on this one is I don't want anything to go wrong. The Army needs this information without delay. Not 'specting any trouble, but you never know." Teaspoon handed over a packet of papers to Cody. "Now finish up here and git going. The sooner you leave the sooner you'll be back." He winked at Lou. "And Miss Haversham can again be blessed with your presence Mr. Cody." He mockingly tipped his hat at Cody and left the barn.
"That Teaspoon, such a wise man." Lou grinned.
"Wise acre is more like it." Cody quipped.
"You better not let him hear you say that, Cody." Replied Lou.
Teaspoon quietly chuckled to himself and left his post on the other side of the door.
"Ride safe you two!" Rachel hollered from the porch with Teaspoon at her side waving at the two young riders. Lou waved back and spurring their horses they were off.
***
That night at the bunkhouse was a quiet affair, mainly because Cody wasn't there. Bedtime was even more quiet since he wasn't there to snore. As Jimmy flopped down on his bunk, he heard something crinkle underneath his head. He reached under his pillow smiling. This was a common occurrence between him and Lou whenever one was on a ride. They could always expect a surprise under their pillow.
Jimmy quickly unfolded the paper before the lamp was turned down for the night. '21 more days. I love you Mr. Hickok. All my love, the future Mrs. Hickok.' The note read.
"Whatcha got there, Jimmy?" Noah asked, even though he already had a good idea who the note was from.
Jimmy just smiled. "Personal."
"Gee, I wonder who that could be from?" asked Buck.
"I bet I know." Noah said in a sing-song voice.
"Just think, in 21 more days you won't have me here every night to tease anymore."
"You're counting down the days?" Noah asked astonished.
"Hey, don't knock it. Just wait until you find the right woman then we can tease you for a change." Jimmy said.
Not having a comeback for that one, Noah simply said, "Yeah, well I've got a run early tomorrow when Ike gets back. Can I turn down the light now, loverboy, or are you going to moon over the note some more?"
Sensing Noah was getting a bit testy, Jimmy said, "Sure, whatever you want."
Buck just looked at Noah and wondered at what was eating him, but wisely decided not to say anything.