Chapter 1

The sounds of the town bustling with activity filled the air in Sweetwater that morning…the clattery rambling of wagons traveling through the main thoroughfare, the familiar cadence of horse hooves pounding along the dusty trail. It seemed that everybody had picked today to come to town. But then, who could blame them? The sun was shining above in a perfectly cloudless, azure sky, and the most refreshing, gentle breeze swept through the warm spring air. Yes, it was definitely a beautiful day.

Emma and the Sweetwater riders were no exception. They, too, had come to town, primarily for the purpose of helping Emma restock with supplies from Thompkin's General Store. However, they also came with the intent of enjoying a nice little vacation away from work and the humdrum way station scenery as they meandered around town while Emma visited with Marshal Sam Cain.

---

"Sure is a fine day, ain't it?" Jimmy asked, his head tilted up toward the clear sky.

"Such a fine day that I'd like nothin' more than to fall asleep in the shade of a big ol' tree," Cody responded dreamily, after swallowing a large bite from the juicy, red apple he was enjoying.

Buck shook his head and laughed at Cody as they walked through the streets of Sweetwater. "Is that all you think about, Cody? Sleep?"

"Well," Cody began, getting defensive, "it ain't like this work is a piece of cake, fellas. Ridin' for days in the saddle is tirin'!"

"We ain't denyin' that, Cody," Lou stated matter-of-factly, "it's just that you sleep more than you do anythin' else! That is, except eatin'."

The six riders began to laugh at Lou's comment, knowing just how much truth there was in her remark. If anybody knew how to get out of doing work or chores, it was Cody. Though he did work hard at his job when required, there were times when he was just plain lazy.

"Hey, Cody, I think that's another one of those deadly sins Teaspoon was talkin' about that you can mark off your list," Kid chuckled. He began using his fingers to count the deadly sins Cody has already committed. "Let's see, you got gluttony and pride already, and now you can cross off sloth!"

"How about not bathing regularly? Isn't that a sin, too?" Ike signed, doing his best to contain his devilish grin.

"Well, Ike, they do say that cleanliness is next to Godliness," Lou added, an impish smirk on her lips.

Cody had finally had enough of this. He refused to be the butt of the other riders' jokes any longer. So, Cody stopped dead in his tracks and spun around to face the riders who were now completely consumed by gut-wrenching laughter.

"Oh, yeah?" Cody shouted out angrily. "I don't see you all as bein' any better." He paused and turned to Jimmy. "Hickok, you shoot someone if they even look at you the wrong way." Now he turned his gaze upon Lou and lowered his voice slightly. "And Lou, isn't there somethin' in the Bible that says a woman shall not don the clothes of a man?" Cody paused his speech again and began walking backwards along the sidewalk. "And…well, I'm sure I could find somethin' on the rest of ya if I gave it more thought."

Jimmy and Lou were absolutely livid at Cody's accusatory remarks. Lou's eyes were blazing with rage, but her fury did not even compare to Jimmy's. By now, Jimmy had attempted to lunge forth into Cody only to be met with Buck, Ike, and Kid's restraining arms. The only satisfaction Jimmy and Lou got was when they watched as Cody, who was not paying attention to where he was walking, suddenly fell backwards off of the elevated sidewalk causing Cody, along with his half-eaten apple, to land on the dirt-covered ground below. However, on his way down, Cody had managed to bump into a young woman who was passing by, catching her completely off guard. She was so startled that she dropped the two large luggage bags that she had been carrying.

Cody realized what had happened and was extremely apologetic, especially when he saw just how pretty the young lady really was. He quickly rose to his feet, brushed himself off a bit so as to regain some shred of dignity and respectability, and tipped his hat.

"William F. Cody," he introduced himself. "I apologize for bumpin' into you, miss," Cody stated sincerely as he bent down again to pick up the bags that she had dropped.

The young lady caught her breath after the shock and replied with a smile, "Oh that's alright. I guess neither of us was looking where we were going."

Cody stood silently staring at the young woman for what seemed to be an eternity. He was completely mesmerized and dumbstruck by her beauty. She could not have been more than eighteen. She wore an ecru blouse that had lacy ruffles cascading from her neckline all the way down to where it was tucked in at the waist into a dark green skirt. Her hair was a dark auburn, almost the shade of Lou's, but it was much longer with the section of hair nearest her face pulled up and away from her face in a comb leaving the rest falling in loose curls down her back.

Even though her clothes were dusty and her hair somewhat disheveled, as she had obviously just come into town on the stage, Cody could only see the loveliness radiating from her pearly smile and her dazzling blue eyes…eyes not much unlike his own. It was most definitely love at first sight for William F. Cody.

Cody was only brought out of his reverie when Jimmy kicked him slightly from behind. By now, Jimmy and the rest of the boys were well aware that Cody had fallen for the young lady, and they grinned and chuckled to themselves as they watched Cody become a blundering idiot right before their eyes.

"Uh, sorry, miss," Cody repeated himself.

"That's quite alright. But if you don't mind, I do have to be going," she replied.

"Oh, yes…well, it was nice meetin' ya, miss…?" Cody was prompting for her name. He had to know the name that went along with such a gorgeous face and figure.

"Caroline Harding," the young woman answered.

"Well, I guess I'll be seein' ya…Caroline." Cody's face suddenly turned a bright shade of pink as he stumbled to say her name out loud. Usually he was such a smooth talker when it came to women, but for some reason, he suddenly found himself feeling like a lovesick schoolboy.

Cody was beginning to turn around to rejoin his friends, in such a stupor that he did not even realize that he was still carrying Caroline's luggage.

"Mister Cody?" Caroline called out.

Cody quickly spun around, still not cognizant of the fact that he was about to head off with her bags, and definitely unaware that the five riders behind him were snickering at the sight he presented.

"My bags, Mr. Cody."

He creased his brow in confusion before he finally looked down and realized that he was holding her luggage. Cody cursed himself for his foolishness, knowing that he was not making the best first impression to the young woman. He handed over the bags and smiled sheepishly as she turned her back to leave.

Cody watched as Caroline walked down the street toward the Sweetwater Hotel, her curls bobbing with each step she took. I'm in love, Cody sighed to himself before he was finally awakened from his trance-like daze by the audible laughter coming from his fellow Pony Express riders behind him.

Cody jerked back around and suddenly, his lovey-dovey, puppy-dog expression turned into a fitful rage. "Will y'all shut up! You made me look bad in front of Caroline!"

Lou managed to stop her laughter for a moment and blurted out, "Naw, Cody, I think you did a good job of that yourself!"

"Yeah, Cody," Jimmy chimed in, "I don't think anyone could've made you look any stupider than you made yourself look already."

Cody was about to take a jab at Jimmy, but he stopped himself and simply remarked coolly, "Yer just jealous, Hickok. And so are the rest of ya. Jealous that such a pretty girl talked to me instead of you."

"If we'd knocked her over, I'm sure she'd be talkin' to us, too," Buck teased.

Cody could feel the steam of rage building inside his head, but again, he repressed his actions, choosing to fight with words instead of fists. "We'll just see about that. I'll show you that once I lay my sights on something, I get it."

"I think you can cross 'lust' off that list of sins, too," Ike signed, only intensifying the bout of laughter from the others.

Cody began to walk away, furious. But then he turned back when he was some distance from the riders, raised his arm into the air, his index finger pointing in determinations, and called out, "You mark my words! William F. Cody always gets his girl!"

Chapter 2

After helping Emma carry and load the supplies onto the buckboard, Emma and the riders left the town of Sweetwater and headed back out toward the Pony Express way station. The ride was relatively quiet, especially since Cody was still angry with the other riders for giving him a hard time about Caroline Harding. He refused to talk to them and only shot an occasional piercing glare in the direction of any rider who tried to make eye contact.

The others couldn't help but to let a little chuckle slip out every now and then at the way Cody was behaving. Even Emma noticed that Cody was not his typical boisterous self, but she just shook her head to herself and grinned, amused by the antics of Cody and the rest of her boys.

---

Cody's sour mood persisted throughout the day and carried on into the bunkhouse during suppertime. Though he was bitter at his friends and the way they had teased him for his silly behavior in town, at the same time, he felt a warm feeling in the fluttering in his stomach when he thought of Caroline.

Cody began to fall deeper and deeper into his daydream of Caroline that he simply sat at the supper table, his head propped up on his elbow, his eyes staring out into the distance, not even touching the steaming plate of food in front of him. It was very unlike Cody to let food sit in front of him for so long before he devoured it. But for the time being, he was just content to envision that Caroline was standing before him, her beautiful hair blowing in the breeze and her eyes smiling back at him.

In fact, Cody was so entranced by these images that were running through his mind that he did not even notice Teaspoon and his fellow riders staring at him with huge grins on their faces. Finally, it was Teaspoon who brought Cody out of his semi-consciousness and back into the realm of reality.

"Uh, Cody, did anythin', uh, interesting happen in town today?" Teaspoon probed, though he already had a hunch that something indeed had happened, judging by the look on Cody's face, the glimmer in his eyes, and the full plate in front of him. After all, Teaspoon had been married six times. He knew only too well what the look of love was.

Cody shook his head slightly as the visions of Caroline disappeared when he heard Teaspoon's voice. "What, Teaspoon?"

Teaspoon began to repeat himself, this time speaking slower and louder. "I said, did anythin' interestin' happen while you was in town today?"

Cody looked around the table and was met with the laughing eyes and smirking lips of the other riders who were trying their best to contain their giggling. Suddenly, Cody was once again irritated. Now they had gotten Teaspoon to join in making fun of him.

"So I suppose they've already told you what happened," Cody spat, crossing his arms across his chest.

"Naw, Cody, the boys didn't say anythin' to me," Teaspoon began with a smile. "It's just that I been married six times, been in love maybe twice that many times…I can tell when someone's been struck by Cupid's arrow."

Cody looked at Teaspoon confused. "Who is this Cupid fella, Teaspoon? I don't recall anybody hittin' me with anythin'."

"That's because you were too busy actin' like a fool in front of Miss Caroline Harding," Jimmy joked, his voice growing haughty when he spoke the young lady's name. "You wouldn't have noticed if someone picked yer pockets and shot ya with yer own gun!"

Cody shot Jimmy another murdering glare through his narrowed eyes. He was about to say something not quite so nice in response to Jimmy's belittling remark, but he was silenced by Teaspoon.

"To answer yer question, Cody, Cupid is what the Romans used to call the God of Love. They believed he used to fly around in the sky and use his bow and arrow to shoot people and make 'em fall in love with each other."

"But that's silly," Cody retorted snidely.

"It's just an expression, Cody," Lou stated. "A figure of speech."

"Well, I ain't in love, so there." Cody stuck his tongue out at Lou as if he were a five-year old. She simply ignored his childish gesture.

"Ain't what it looked like to us," Buck added.

"We nearly had to roll your tongue back in your mouth the way you were droolin' so much," Kid snickered.

Cody's temper was now fully flaring. He jumped up from his seat at the bunkhouse table, ready to take a swing at the next person to say another word about the incident in town with Caroline Harding.

"I wouldn't talk if I was you, Kid," Cody shot back. Both Kid and Lou knew that Cody was talking about them. After throwing Cody dirty looks, the two glanced at each other shyly for only a split second since they were under the watchful eyes of Teaspoon and Emma who were still in the dark concerning Lou's true gender.

Teaspoon then rose from his chair also and held out his arm in an attempt to prevent Cody from lashing out in anger against one of the other riders. "Now hold on, Cody!" Teaspoon paused as the hotheaded blonde rider began to calm down. "Can't we all just sit down and enjoy a nice, peaceful meal for once?"

Cody felt somewhat ashamed for his behavior. He nodded his head and took his seat. "Sorry, Teaspoon…fellas."

The others felt pretty bad themselves as well. They've all had similar feelings for someone else before, and they knew it wasn't always easy to deal with them. It wasn't fair for them to make matters worse for Cody with their constant teasing and taunting.

Jimmy especially recalled that it was not too long ago that he was in Cody's shoes and the woman of his desire was Sarah Downs. He laughed to himself when he thought back to the time he had walked into the bunkhouse only to find that the other riders, Teaspoon, and even Emma were innocently mocking him with flowers and devilish grins. Jimmy's mood darkened slightly, though, when he began to hope that Cody would not experience the heartache that he had when he realized Sarah had betrayed him by attempting to frame him for murder. Though the short affair ended badly for Jimmy and left him somewhat embittered, he later became thankful for the closeness it brought him and Lou.

"We're sorry, too, Cody," Jimmy voiced for all of the riders. "It's just that you looked so silly back in town--"

Jimmy's 'apology' was cut short when Lou jabbed him in the side with her elbow causing him to wince in pain. Lou knew that maybe Jimmy didn't realize that what he was starting to say would have ended up riling Cody once again.

"What he means to say," Lou continued for Jimmy, "is that we know it ain't easy not to get nervous when you talk to someone you have feelin's for. But if ya like someone enough, ya gotta keep tryin', and then it'll get easier."

Cody appreciated Lou's word a lot. They were heartfelt and honest, and he knew that she was right. If he wanted to get anywhere with Caroline Harding, he would have to make an attempt to get to know her better in an environment where he felt more comfortable.

"Hey, Emma?" Cody called out.

"Yes, Billy?" she acknowledged.

"Do you think I could invite Caroline over for supper sometime?"

"Why, Billy, I think that's a great idea," Emma smiled. "She must be new in town, so I'm sure she'll appreciate the opportunity to meet some of the people…especially a group of fine-lookin' boys such as yourselves," she teased slightly, sending a wink over to Cody.

"Great! How 'bout tomorrow?" Cody asked eagerly.

"I s'pose tomorrow would be alright," responded Emma.

"I'll go over to the hotel where she's stayin' first thing in the mornin' and ask."

Cody was getting more and more excited by the minute. He couldn't wait to see Caroline again. But at the same time, Cody remembered how bad of an impression he had made earlier in town, and he was afraid that maybe she wouldn't want to have anything to do with him after the way he had so rudely bumped into her. But then she did smile at him. Oh, I'll just have to get up the nerve to ask her, Cody thought. Then his confidence suddenly began to grow a bit. Besides, who could resist the charm of William F. Cody?

Chapter 3

William Cody was awake unusually early the next morning. He wanted to make sure he had plenty of time to prepare himself for his trip into town so he could ask Caroline Harding to supper at the way station.

While the rest of the riders were still asleep, Cody spent nearly a half an hour primping in front of the tiny mirror that hung on the wall of bunkhouse. After making sure his clothes and attire looked their finest, he moved on to his hair. He couldn't decide whether he should part it on the right or the left. Maybe no part at all, just comb the hair straight back, he considered. In the end, though, and after many frustrated attempts at combing his blond locks, he decided that he would just wear his hat and when he removed it, his hair would be in complete disarray anyway, so it didn't really matter.

After deciding to himself that he was the image of perfection, Cody strapped on his gun, picked up his hat, quietly sneaked out of the bunkhouse, and went to the barn to get his horse.

---

Cody made it into Sweetwater in record time. He pulled his horse to a halt right outside the hotel where he had last seen the gorgeous Miss Caroline Harding headed. He entered through the main foyer and approached the reception desk where a portly little man was busy tending to the bookkeeping.

"Excuse me, Mister," Cody began, "I was wondering if you could tell me what room Miss Caroline Harding is staying in? I believe she checked in just yesterday."

The clerk raised his eyes from his books and looked at Cody. "Uh, yes. Let me just check the registry log. You know, if you want, you can leave a message here for her and I'll make sure she gets it. It's still pretty early, and some folks like to sleep in."

"If it's all the same, I'd like to go and talk to her myself," Cody replied.

"Alright, then. Just a minute." The clerk then reached into a drawer and pulled out a leather-covered book with gold lettering on the front that read 'Hotel Log'. He turned to the page dated the day before and moved his finger down the page until he came to the correct name. "Here it is. Caroline Harding, room 110." The clerk smiled and glanced back up at Cody. "Just go down the hall, and it's on your left."

Cody tipped his hat. "I'm much obliged." With that, he turned the corner and started down the hallway, checking each door for the number 110.

After passing several doors, he finally came to the room where Caroline was staying. He quickly straightened himself, dusted off his clothes, took off his hat and ran his fingers through his hair to smooth it out, and cleared his throat in preparation for asking her over to dine with him. He even had a little speech that he had rehearsed repeating through his mind. Cody had already messed up their first meeting, and he felt that he absolutely needed to get this one right.

Cody let out one last sigh before he raised his hand, made a fist, and knocked boldly on the door.

Knock, knock, knock.

Cody waited for a few moments, but there was no answer. Maybe it wasn't loud enough, he thought. He went for it again, only this time he pounded much louder.

Knock, knock, knock.

Some more time passed, and Cody was about to give up all hope when the door finally swung open with Caroline standing just inside the doorway, still in her nightgown.

Suddenly, Cody froze. There Caroline was in front of him, rubbing her tired eyes with hands as she had just woken up with a start by Cody's rapping on the door. When she finally realized that someone was at the door, and it was a man, no less, she remembered her modesty and began clutching at the robe that was haphazardly thrown over her white satin nightgown in an attempt to cover her bare neck.

"Who are you?" She asked with much caution present in her voice. "And what are you doing here?"

Caroline's face was taut, her lips tightly pressed together, her eyes as cold as ice. This was definitely not the kind of welcome that Cody had expected. His face fell as he realized that he had awoken her, and that she did not recall who he was. He now felt extremely awkward, even more so than he had during their first meeting, when he had carelessly bumped into her, causing her to drop the luggage she was carrying.

Finally, Cody mustered up some words. "It's me, Caroline…William F. Cody." He looked at her to see if the stone expression on her face had changed. It hadn't. So, he began again, "I bumped into you on the street yesterday mornin'…accidentally, of course."

Caroline's face began to soften a bit as the recollection of the clumsy young man began to flood her memory. However, the lovely smile and gleaming eyes that Cody had been so captured by the previous day still failed to surface. "Oh, yes, I do remember you. Well, what is it? What do you want?"

Cody's pre-rehearsed speech was suddenly lost as his nervousness returned. "Oh, well, I figured you bein' new in Sweetwater that you might not have had the chance to meet many of the town folks yet. And…and I came by to see if you would like to…meet some of the folks here, that is."

Cody found himself stumbling over his words more than ever now. Caroline merely looked at him, trying to decipher exactly what it was that he was saying to her in such a long-winded and confusing manner.

Cody realized that he must sound like a babbling dolt to Caroline. So, he paused for a moment and took a deep breath as he began to make a second attempt at asking the young woman over for supper.

"Actually…what I'm tryin' to say is…would you like to join me and my friends for supper tonight?"

Caroline stood silent for what seemed to Cody to be for eons. Then, she finally cracked a slight smile and answered, "Yes, that sounds lovely. I'd be happy to join you for supper."

The blonde rider could hardly contain the sheer pleasure and excitement he felt when he heard Caroline accept his invitation. Once again, though, he got ahead of himself when he said, "Then I'll see you tonight. Goodbye…Caroline."

Cody was already halfway down the hall when he heard a voice call after him. "Mr. Cody?"

Cody stopped and cringed to himself as he remembered that he had forgotten to tell Caroline where and when she would be eating dinner. He slowly turned around and walked back toward Caroline's room, not really wanting to face the woman who had such an uncanny ability to make William F. Cody turn into such a blundering fool. All she had to do was smile at him, and he was completely gone.

Cody brought his eyes up to meet Caroline's and replied sheepishly, "Sorry, I almost forgot. I'll be by here around seven to pick you up for supper."

A full smile now on her lips, Caroline nodded, "Alright. I'll see you then."

Chapter 4

Later that day, Cody was on his way back to Sweetwater once more only after having returned home from town that same morning. This time he rode into town using Emma's buckboard so that he could bring Caroline back to the way station for dinner. Before leaving, though, he made sure that all the other riders knew to clean up and dress in their Sunday finest so that their good manners would reflect well on Cody. He also asked Emma to use her best tablecloth and maybe have some flowers picked fresh from her garden as a nice centerpiece. It wasn't often that the way station had special guests, except maybe for Sam Cain, so Emma was only too happy to oblige.

As Jimmy began to hear the rustling of an approaching wagon, he signaled the rest of the riders who soon joined him in peering out through the bunkhouse windows.

"Here they come," Lou called out.

Emma came to the window as well, only she was obviously not interested in gaping at Cody and Caroline driving up in the buckboard. She quickly pulled the curtains shut and admonished the riders for making such a scene.

"Now you boys be on your best behavior, ya hear?" she warned.

"I'm sure they'll do their best, Emma," Teaspoon replied.

"And that goes for you too, Mr. Spoon," Emma waved her finger scoldingly at the older man as she passed by him and placed a vase of daisies in the center of the table.

"Me?" Teaspoon asked in an innocent voice, as if offended at such an insinuation that he might instigate something with Cody.

"Yeah, you," Emma nodded. "Sometimes I think yer just as bad as these boys."

"Aw, Emma, I don't see why we had to get all dressed up just to eat dinner," Jimmy complained as he began to pull away at the buttoned-up collar on his clean white shirt that was uncomfortably snug around his neck. "This shirt and necktie hardly let a body breathe!"

"Jimmy," Emma voiced calmly, "you should understand how Cody feels. He likes this young girl a lot, and he wants to do his best to make a good impression on her. Now, how do you think it would look if he brought that girl in here to a bunch of horse-smelling, dust-covered ruffians?"

"Emma's right, Jimmy," Lou added. "We got to put up with this for Cody's sake. He's our friend, and we owe it to him."

Jimmy sighed heavily and nodded in agreement. He supposed that he could deal with near suffocation for one night. "Yeah, I guess so. I just hope he appreciates all the trouble we're goin' through for him."

"Well, if he don't, Jimmy, I'm certain you'll make sure to remind him," Kid teased.

Immediate following Kid's comment, there was a loud thud on the bunkhouse door. It was only Cody acknowledging his return with Caroline and signaling that everyone inside was to take 'their places'. Cody had been so concerned with making sure that everything went perfectly and according to his grand scheme for the evening that he even planned for how and where Emma, Teaspoon, and the riders were to stand when he brought Caroline into the bunkhouse. Although the riders all agreed that Cody was definitely taking this way too far, they complied with his wishes with the help of Emma's strong urging.

A few moments after the knock, Cody opened the bunkhouse door and led Caroline Harding inside. She entered the room and looked around and saw the widely smiling faces of the five young men--an Indian, a bald-headed man, and three relatively normal looking fellows. Some of the riders seemed to have plastic smiles permanently plastered on their faces. Then her eyes shifted to a teddy bear of an older man who grinned with one eye squinting, and a fiery redhead who was probably in her thirties. The image they presented was quite a montage. To an outsider, they definitely seemed to be a motley crew. Caroline couldn't help but to be slightly stunned by the sight.

Cody broke the silence when he introduced Caroline. This time, he appeared to be much more comfortable and at ease when speaking, "Everyone, I am pleased to introduce you to Miss Caroline Harding." Then Cody began to point out the others to the young lady. "Caroline, this is Buck, Lou, Jimmy, Kid, and Ike. You might remember them from town yesterday. And that is our station master, Mr. Teaspoon Hunter, and there's our wonderful cook and caretaker, Ms. Emma Shannon."

The riders all nodded when Cody stated their names, and Teaspoon tipped his hat to the girl.

Caroline smiled in return and curtseyed. "I'm so happy to meet you all. Thank you, Ms. Shannon, for having me to supper."

"Well, you're very welcome, Caroline," Emma responded warmly. "And please, call me Emma."

Caroline nodded, and Cody led her to the table after she hung her shawl on a hook on the wall.

Everybody gathered around the table while Emma went over to the preparation area to get the food. Teaspoon sat at the head of the table as usual, with Lou, Jimmy, Kid, and Buck sharing the bench to his left side, and Caroline, Cody, and Ike on his right. Once Emma had placed the food on the table, she took her spot on the far side of the table opposite Teaspoon.

The meal consisted of roast beef and gravy, mashed potatoes, string beans, and homemade buttermilk biscuits. Everybody was definitely enjoying the special supper as well as the company and conversation. Every once and a while, though, Lou caught herself eyeing the young girl with curious envy. Lou agreed that she was very attractive, and she could see why Cody had fallen head over heels for her. Everything about her was just perfect…from her perfectly upswept hair and her perfectly white teeth, down to her the way her beautiful white silk blouse and navy blue skirt fell on her perfect figure so perfectly. It was almost irritating.

But what was even worse was the way Lou felt Caroline's eyes burn into her own almost every time she looked up from her dinner plate. It's not as if Caroline was glaring at her with malicious intent. In fact Lou could swear that she was almost smiling bashfully at her. For a while Lou thought that maybe Caroline could see through her and that she knew her secret. But then Lou realized that it was something else, something she couldn't quite lay her finger on…not just yet, anyway.

Lou's thoughts were interrupted when the conversation started up again.

"So what brings you to Sweetwater, Miss Harding?" Teaspoon asked, trying his best to be the gentleman.

"I am originally from Boston, but I came here to open a little dress shop with some money that my aunt left me," Caroline replied.

"Well, that sounds lovely," Emma stated sincerely. "You'll be able to introduce Sweetwater to the styles and fashions back East."

"I hope so," Caroline smiled.

"Where do you plan to set up shop," Kid questioned.

"Oh, I was planning on renting out that little place across the street from the mercantile. The owner says there's a small room upstairs where I can stay," she answered, her face now glowing at the thought of her new shop.

"But that place has been vacant for months!" Cody exclaimed. "It'll take a lot of work to fix it up so it's suitable for a ladies' dress shop."

"I know, but I thought I'd be able to hire a hand to do the repairs for me," Caroline said.

"You'll do no such thing! I'd be only too glad to help you fix the place up myself," Cody suggested.

Teaspoon cleared his throat as if to protest Cody's plan to help Caroline. "That sounds like a full time job, Cody. And seein' as how you already got one, I don't think…"

"But I'm sure we can all pitch in and help, Teaspoon," Lou interrupted. She did so with the hopes of helping Cody to be able to spend more time with Caroline so they could get better acquainted. Even though she felt that there was something odd about the way Caroline looked at her, Lou thought it would be a good gesture nonetheless.

"But you got a job to do just like Cody," Teaspoon stated matter-of-factly.

"Well, all I'm sayin' is that maybe me and the boys would be willin' to take turns helpin', when we're not out on runs, that is," Lou proposed.

Cody looked at Lou, somewhat surprised at her offer to help Caroline out. Then he glanced around the table at the rest of the riders who had been sitting silently while Lou had all but volunteered their services in fixing up the dress shop.

"What do ya say, fellas? Help a pretty lady out?" Cody nearly pled.

Caroline began to blush slightly at Cody's remark as well as the motion for he and his friends to assist in getting the building ready for her to set up her business.

The riders looked around at each other, and then Jimmy spoke up for all them, "Sure, why not. With all of us, it shouldn't take that much time. And it sure beats puttin' up fences," he joked.

"Alright then," Teaspoon acquiesced. "So long as it don't interfere with yer jobs. There's still mail to run and messages to send out. Just don't forget that's yer primary concern."

"We won't, Teaspoon," Cody responded ecstatically.

Caroline was also extremely happy, a thankful smile now gracing her lovely face. "I don't know how to thank you all." Then, she set her shining eyes upon Lou who was sitting directly across the table. "And a special thanks to you, Lou, for the suggestion."

Lou was sort of shocked by Caroline thanking her instead of Cody who had the idea to help in the first place. But she was not nearly as shocked as Cody, who now stared at Lou, his eyes wide with wonder.

"Uh, your welcome, Caroline," Lou replied tentatively, uncertain as to why she was the recipient of such gratitude. However, both she and Cody simply decided to shrug it off for the time being and continue eating their meals. Caroline probably meant nothing by it anyway, and Cody was just glad that everyone was getting along so well.

As supper began to draw to a close and dessert was now being served, Cody found himself completely enchanted by Caroline. He hung on every word she said and followed her with his dazzling turquoise eyes with every move she made. Yes, Cody was making quite a spectacle of himself, although it was not nearly as bad as the impression he had made when he literally ran into her in town, or when he had awoken her in her hotel room during his unexpectedly early visit.

Soon, though, it was time to call an end to the evening. It was getting late, and Cody still had to drive Caroline back to her hotel room in Sweetwater. Everybody said their good-byes, and Caroline graciously thanked them for having invited her to dinner. She seemed genuinely pleased to have been given the opportunity to get to know some of the people where she would be living and hoped that she might be able to get a similar chance to see the members of the Express family in the very near future.

Cody, too, was extremely happy that the dinner had gone fairly smoothly. He breathed a sigh of relief as he internally praised himself for not making any glaring mistakes in Caroline's presence. So then, Cody helped Caroline onto the buckboard like a perfect gentleman. After walking around the back to the other side of the wagon, he took his seat, slapped the reins, and they were on their way. Emma, Teaspoon, and the other riders stood on the porch of the bunkhouse waving good-bye as they watched the wagon disappear over the horizon.

Chapter 5

The next morning brought with it many chores to be done at the Pony Express station and multiple deliveries to be made. With Buck and Kid having just departed on their runs, Ike preparing for his later that afternoon, and Emma and Teaspoon gone into town to get some more supplies, the daily tasks of keeping the station up and running were left to Cody, Jimmy, and Lou.

"Ouch!" Jimmy yelped in pain, as he shook his finger that had been the mistaken target of Cody's faulty hammering.

"Sorry, Jimmy," Cody half-heartedly apologized, "but if we don't fix this porch railing, Emma's gonna have our hides."

"And since when are you so anxious to do work, Cody?" Jimmy asked in a playful manner.

"Since he wants to get on Emma's good side so she'll let him invite Caroline back over to supper tonight," Lou replied, grinning.

"That ain't so, Lou," Cody protested. "Emma said Caroline's welcome to come over any time she likes." Cody's face brightened instantly at the thought of seeing the young lady again.

Lou then heard the familiar sound of a wagon approaching, and she turned her head to see who was coming up the way. It was too early for Teaspoon and Emma to be back, she thought. She raised her hand to her face, shielding the blinding rays from her eyes so that she could make out the form that was being obscured by the sunlight. It was Caroline.

Lou nudged Cody, who had not even noticed that they very person he wanted to see the most was driving up to the house that very moment.

"Looks like she's taken Emma up on her offer already," Lou commented.

Cody quickly spun around, his eyes widening with surprise at seeing Caroline again, and so soon, too! In fact, he was so pleasantly shocked, that he let his fingers grow limp, causing the hammer he had been holding to fall right on Jimmy's foot.

"Ouch!" Jimmy fumed, now limping on one foot, his eyes closed and his face grimacing in agony. "Dammit, Cody! Why don't ya pay attention to what your doin'!"

"I guess it's hard to pay attention when Miss Caroline Harding is in view," Lou responded, noticing that Cody was completely oblivious to the fact that he had again incurred the wrath of Jimmy Hickok.

Cody's eyes stayed fixed on the figure in the approaching buckboard as he distanced himself from his friends and the task that they were supposed to be doing.

"Whoa!" Caroline called out, pulling the reins until the horse and buggy came to a halt.

By this time, Cody was at her side, offering his hand to the young lady to help her in the descent from the buckboard.

"Thank you, Billy," she sent Cody one of her gleaming smiles as she set foot on the secure ground.

"It's nice to see you again so soon, Caroline," Cody beamed. "What brings you all the way out here?"

"Actually, I just came back to get my shawl. I must have left it here last night," Caroline replied.

"Oh," Cody suddenly seemed somewhat downcast. He thought that maybe she had wanted to see him again, but she had only come back to retrieve her forgotten shawl.

"But now that I'm here," she began, "it would be nice to visit for a while with you and the other boys, especially since I went to all the trouble of renting this buckboard from the livery this morning."

Cody spirits were raised almost instantly at Caroline's remark. "Yes, another visit would be just great!" Cody realized that he was sounding overly eager at the prospect of an extended visit with Caroline, so he toned it down a notch. "I mean, it would be a shame to waste the buckboard and all."

Cody and Caroline began walking toward Jimmy and Lou who had been observing them with curiosity.

"Good morning, Jimmy, Lou." Caroline smiled and greeted them warmly.

"Mornin'," Jimmy offered a similar welcome. Lou just nodded, her arms now folded tightly across her chest.

"Caroline's gonna visit with us for a while," Cody informed his friends.

"Oh, that is unless you all are too busy. I don't want to take you away from your work," Caroline spoke.

Lou was about to answer, saying that they did have a lot of work to do, but Cody anticipated Lou's objection and blurted out, "Of course not. We were just finishin' up here, weren't we, fellas?"

Cody eyed Jimmy and Lou forcefully, urging them to let him go on this one. After all, Teaspoon and Emma would probably be in town most of the day, between getting supplies and chatting with Marshal Cain.

Jimmy and Lou looked at each other quickly wondering what they should do. Lou simply shrugged. They both wanted to help out Cody, but they also knew that if Emma realized that they were slacking off on their duties, she'd have their hides for sure.

"Yeah," Jimmy nodded, "we just finished up here. Why don't we go inside?"

"Why, that's an excellent idea, Jimmy," Cody sighed thankfully. "It'll be much more comfortable inside. Come on."

Cody and Caroline headed toward the bunkhouse with Jimmy and Lou following behind them.

Jimmy leaned in to whisper to Lou, "All I know is he's gonna be on the other side of that hammer next time. This is the last time I'm helpin' him out."

"Come on, Jimmy," Lou assured, "he really likes this girl. We're his friends and we should help him out."

"Yeah, I guess your right," Jimmy reluctantly agreed. Then, a devilish smile began to cross his lips. "She sure is pretty, though. I guess Cody's taste is improvin'."

Lou responded to Jimmy's comment with a mildly dirty look. Sure Lou agreed that Caroline Harding was pretty, but she didn't need to be reminded of that fact twenty-four hours a day. It was bad enough that Cody was constantly drooling over her like a puppy; she certainly didn't need the other boys to start doing the same.

On their way into the bunkhouse Caroline, Jimmy, Cody, and Lou briefly met up with Ike who was on his way out to the barn to saddle up his horse for his run.

"Make yourself at home, Caroline," Cody stated.

Caroline took a seat at the bunkhouse table and nodded kindly. The others followed her example. Several moments went by before anybody said anything, and frankly, it was beginning to get terribly uncomfortable in the silence. Jimmy and Lou were glancing at each other thinking, Great! Here we are twiddling our thumbs when there's work to be done.

Finally, Jimmy broke the ice.

"So, Caroline," he said, "do you have any hobbies…things you like to do in your spare time?"

"I just adore reading." Caroline's face lit up. "My mother always told me that reading was the mark of an educated man."

Cody took his chance and jumped right into the conversation, trying his best to get Caroline's attention and gain her affection. "I consider myself to be a very well-read man, Caroline," he boasted.

Caroline's interests appeared to have been sparked, and at last, Cody had her complete and undivided attention. "Oh! Well, tell me some of your favorite books."

"Well, there are just so many good ones out there," Cody stated, a self-satisfied smirk on his face. "But I always liked the classics best. Let's see, there's The Adventures of the One-Eyed Bandit, The Masked Avenger Rides Again, Showdown at Sunset Ridge. But I'd have to say that my all-time favorite would be The Man in Black."

Caroline's face fell as she realized that what Cody was referring to as 'classical literature' were merely dime-store novels--trash in her opinion. Cody glanced at Caroline, his forehead now knit in confusion at her disappointed expression.

Then, Caroline turned her back to Cody and fixed her gaze upon Lou. "I'm sure you must have read lots of book, Lou, judging by your need to wear spectacles."

Lou almost cringed when she heard Caroline direct the question at her. Lou hesitated to answer the question and looked to Cody for a moment as if to apologize for the way Caroline seemed to be more interested in her than to him.

"Lou…" Cody called out after a few moments of silence had passed. "Didn't you hear that Caroline asked you a question?"

The pressure became unbearable, and Lou knew that she would have to give some sort of reply, but she wasn't sure exactly what she should say. She sensed two pairs of eyes blazing into her, waiting for her response as if their lives depended on it. And Cody…well, he just leered at Lou because he thought she was being rude to his guest. Lou could feel a tiny bead of nervous perspiration cascade down her back as she felt as if she were on trial for murder.

What should she say? Why was Caroline looking at her that way? Didn't she know that 'he' was really a woman? Lou had felt that there was something suspicious about the way Caroline had been making eyes at her last night at dinner, and now she knew what it was. Being a female herself, Lou recognized the glint in her eyes, and that horrible realization sent a cold chill down Lou's spine.

At last, Lou blurted out, "Uh, I don't read much."

Of course it was a bold-faced lie. Everybody knew it, and by the way Caroline was looking at her, Lou knew that she didn't believe it either. Caroline sent a playful grin in Lou's direction as she rose from her seat at the table and crossed the floor to where the bunks were. She strolled around, examining them, her fingers laced behind her back. Nobody knew what the woman was up to, and nobody said a word to stop her, not even Cody, who just followed Caroline with his curious eyes. Then, she stopped when she came to Lou's bunk.

Caroline picked up an object that had been sitting out on the bed, turned around, hiding the object behind her back, and asked in a way that indicated that she already knew the answer, "Is this your bed, Lou?"

Lou was utterly confused. "Yes, why?" she muttered.

Next, Caroline revealed the object. It was a book, a very worn and faded one at that. She smiled a very devilish smile. "I suppose this book isn't yours then, is it?" Her voice was full of sarcasm.

She approached Lou again and gave 'him' the book. Lou's cheeks now felt a fire in them as her lie had been exposed. She cursed herself for having left the book out in the open.

This time when Caroline spoke her words were earnest and radiated with excitement, "The Three Musketeers by Alexander Dumas. One of my very favorites! I knew you were the scholar of the bunch…and so modest too!"

Lou could hardly believe what she was seeing or hearing. This was just too much! If only Caroline Hardy knew that 'Lou' was really 'Louise'…then she'd think twice about dismissing Cody's advances. But for now, she left Lou in a state of absolute shock and disbelief and Jimmy completely confused.

Through all this, Cody was totally oblivious to the fact that Caroline seemed to be acting fairly indifferent toward him. Lou could see that she did not seem to be directing her attentions toward Cody. Rather, it was Lou who seemed to have caught Caroline's eye.

For the rest of her visit, it seemed that whenever she found the chance, Caroline would turn the conversation to Lou, always asking 'his' opinion or what 'he' would do if this or that happened, asking about 'his' adventures as a Pony Express rider. Lou would reluctantly answer Caroline's questions, and even tried redirecting them toward Cody. Lou grew more and more uncomfortable and nervous as her suspicions were confirmed.

Eventually, it all became disturbingly clear to Jimmy, as it appeared obvious that Cody, who sat lovesick and unaware, was soon having trouble just getting a word in edgewise. While Cody was busy trying to entertain Caroline and make her notice him, she was busy flirting with Lou! And to make matters worse, Cody was too love-struck and goo-goo eyed over Caroline to even notice! He thought she was just being friendly.

Also, Cody couldn't quite understand why his two friends were acting so strangely all of the sudden, which is why he wrinkled his brow in confusion when Lou unexpectedly excused herself and exited the bunkhouse, Jimmy hot on her heels.

Chapter 6

"Jimmy," Lou huffed, having practically ran all the way out to the barn, "what the hell just happened in there?"

Jimmy shook his head. He, too, had seen what went on…the way Caroline was all but ignoring Cody and batting her eyelashes at Lou instead. "I don't know, Lou. But I do know that Cody's about to get his heart stomped on."

"What should I do?" Lou had begun to pace back and forth nervously in the barn. "I mean, you saw the way she was lookin' at me, the way she kept wantin' to talk to me."

"Well, I did say once that you were the best lookin' boy I ever seen," Jimmy teased. "I guess Caroline Harding just happens to agree with me."

"Jimmy, this is no time to make jokes!" Lou scolded. "This is serious! She thinks I'm a 'he', and now she's lookin' at me like that…and Cody really likes her and thinks she likes him…and I don't want Cody to be hurt…but I can't have her knowin' that I'm not what she thinks I am!"

Jimmy's head was spinning from trying to decipher Lou's words that were spewing forth at the speed of lightning.

"Now hold on, Lou," Jimmy held out his hand to silence the ranting young woman. "We got to think this out rational-like."

Lou took a deep breath in an attempt to calm herself. "Sorry, Jimmy. I guess I just got scared with the way things were goin' in there."

Jimmy nodded understandingly and spoke, his voice low and gentle, "I know, Lou. This is all just too much."

"It's funny, 'cause I suspected there was somethin' odd about Caroline and the way she kept glancin' over at me last night at supper," Lou explained. "But I just never expected…I mean, she can't…Argh!"

Suddenly, Jimmy and Lou heard the barn door slamming in the background, and they turned to see Cody standing in front of them, his eyes blazing.

"Thanks a lot, fellas!" Cody shouted. "Because of you, Caroline decided to leave!"

"What do you mean 'because of us'?" Jimmy wondered.

"The way you ran off like that with no explanation, Caroline thought she'd done or said somethin' wrong. So she left!" Cody fumed as he placed his hands on his hips in anger.

"Well, we just thought we'd give you two a little privacy," Lou lied.

Jimmy decided to follow along with Lou. "Yeah, Cody. We thought we was interferin' with you two lovebirds gettin' better acquainted."

"Oh," Cody replied, his rage now somewhat subdued. "Well, why didn't ya say somethin' before ya ran off?"

Lou and Jimmy glanced at each other nervously for a moment before Lou spoke up, "How do you think that would have looked if we came right out and said that we wanted to leave you alone? We thought that would be too obvious."

"I guess you meant well," Cody admitted, now much more calm. "Just make sure ya let me in on the plan next time."

"Oh, we will, Cody," Jimmy responded, with Lou nodding her head in agreement.

"Well, alright." Cody sighed and turned to exit the barn.

When Cody was out of sight, Lou and Jimmy turned back to face each other to finish the conversation they were having before Cody busted into the barn.

"Well? What now?" Lou questioned.

"I don't know, Lou." Jimmy shook his head in frustration. "Maybe you ought to just avoid her company…leave right away whenever she stops by. I don't know."

"Yeah, I guess. But we offered to help Caroline fix up the dress shop," Lou mentioned. "If I don't help out, Cody'll never forgive me. He may be too blind to see what's goin' on now, but sooner or later, he's bound to find out."

Jimmy sighed deeply as he knew that Lou was right. Cody couldn't keep chasing after a woman who doesn't share his affections.

"I s'pose all we can do is hope that maybe Caroline will grow to like Cody after all," Jimmy surmised.

"I sure do hope so, Jimmy," Lou replied, the doubt and worry apparent in her tone of voice. "'Cause all I know is, I can't be comfortable 'round her knowin' she's lookin' at me the same way I look at Kid."

"Maybe this won't turn out to be so bad after all," Jimmy joked. "Maybe Kid seein' that he may lose you to someone else will prompt him to make a move!"

"Very funny, Hickok," she retorted sarcastically. Lou was obviously not amused by Jimmy's suggestion in the least.

"All I'm sayin' is jealousy does strange things to a man," he continued, on the outside Jimmy let on as if he were teasing about Kid, but on the inside he knew his words might apply to his growing affection for Lou as well.

"Kid's more likely to shoot me dead," Lou added.

"I guess, there's not much we can do right now, Lou." Jimmy placed his hand gently on Lou's shoulder. "Come on. Let's get back inside."

Lou nodded wordlessly and followed Jimmy out of the barn.

What kind of a mess has Cody gotten me into this time? Lou thought to herself. At least I know I'm not crazy thinkin' that Caroline has fallen for me since Jimmy sees it too. I guess all I can do is hope things turn out alright in the end…

Chapter 7

The following day, the Sweetwater Express riders were supposed to go into town, at Cody's urging, in order to help take care of some of the repairs necessary to get the building ready for Caroline to start her dress shop business. To do the work, Cody had recruited Kid, Ike, and a reluctant Jimmy since none of them had runs to make that day. Lou was taking Jimmy's advice in avoiding Caroline at all costs and had volunteered to take over a run for Buck so that she would be unavailable to help in town. Buck was both extremely grateful and surprised at Lou's willingness to make the run for him, especially since it would require spending two days bumping relentlessly in the saddle.

None of the other riders knew what had happened with Caroline and Lou the previous day. Jimmy and Lou decided that they should keep it all hush-hush for the time being. The only problem was that it was tearing them apart seeing Cody so in love with this woman, knowing that sooner or later, he was going to end up with nothing but a broken heart.

---

Jimmy, Kid, Ike, and Cody spent most of the morning with hammers in hand, fixing up the shop while Caroline supervised their every move. She had to admit that although the place was not in the best of conditions, it was shaping up rather nicely.

It was nearing lunchtime, and Caroline suggested that they get a bite to eat over at the restaurant in the Sweetwater Hotel. Jimmy made up an excuse to get away, saying that he had some errands to run while in town. Kid and Ike quickly followed suit so that Cody would be able to spend some quality time alone with Caroline.

Cody appreciated this rare opportunity. He held out his arm to Caroline, and she accepted. Then the two walked down the street to the hotel.

They entered the hotel lobby and made their way into the large dining area where they would be seated. Trying to be the gentleman and impress Caroline, Cody pulled out the chair for her and helped her get situated at the table. He took his own seat just opposite her.

"I do hope you'll tell the others how much I appreciate their help in getting my shop ready," Caroline stated sincerely.

"It's no problem, Caroline," Cody began. "They told me themselves that they were only too happy to help."

"It's a shame Jimmy, Kid, and Ike couldn't join us for lunch," she seemed genuinely disappointed.

"Well, they're just too busy I guess. Me, on the other hand, I'm never too busy to dine with a lovely lady such as yourself." Cody smiled broadly. Then he reached over and took Caroline's hand into his own, raised it to his lips, and kissed it softly.

Caroline grinned falsely. Though she was flattered by Cody's comment and gesture, she couldn't help thinking how much she wished it were another rider sitting opposite from her.

"So, what happened to Lou?" She asked. "I'm kind of disappointed that he didn't come into town and help me today."

"Oh, Lou had a run to make today," Cody responded. "Otherwise, I'm sure he would have been here to help."

Caroline seemed somewhat relieved to hear this. "I was afraid that I had done something to upset or offend him…after the way he ran off yesterday in the middle of my visit."

"I apologize to you on Lou's behalf," Cody reassured. "I asked him about it later, and he told me that he'd forgotten about some chore he'd left undone. I guess he remembered it all of the sudden and just rushed right out of the bunkhouse."

Caroline let out a huge sigh of relief. "Oh, good. I was afraid that he didn't like me."

"I know for a fact that's not the case," Cody asserted as he tried to make Caroline feel that she was well liked by all of his friends.

Suddenly, Caroline's ears perked up and her eyes began to gleam with joy and excitement. "You do?" she asked eagerly, her hopes now soaring higher and higher.

"Well, of course!" Cody was still so completely clueless as to why Caroline cared so much about Lou's opinion of her.

"Then, Billy, I have a favor to ask of you," she stated bashfully.

"Anything at all, Caroline," he replied without even a moment's thought. "You just name it."

Cody was earnest in his willingness to help the young woman who had captured his heart, but if he had any idea of what she was going to ask, he might have felt differently about his quick response.

"Well," Caroline began while picking at her fingernails and biting her lip nervously, "you see, I was wondering if you would tell me if Lou has a sweetheart?"

Cody's face immediately fell. He wasn't sure if he had heart Caroline right. "What do you mean?"

"You know, silly! A sweetheart…a lady friend." Caroline paused for a moment and then continued. "Is Lou courting anybody?"

At that instant, Cody felt his heart sink down into the pit of his stomach. He thought for a brief moment that he had mistaken or misunderstood what Caroline was saying. But now it was clear. All he had to do was look at the expression on her face, listen to the tone of voice in which she asked these questions about Lou. It had hit him like a ton of bricks…stabbed him like a hundred knives piercing right through his newly aching heart.

"Lou?" Cody cried out, his face contorted with complete shock. "Lou?" he repeated.

Caroline was entirely puzzled by Cody's reaction. "Is there something wrong, Billy?"

Cody just sat there silently, stunned and astonished that Caroline not only did not share his feelings for her, but that she actually liked Lou instead! Of all people…Lou! For a short while Cody thought that he was going to let Lou's true identity slip from his mouth. But it seemed that for once, Cody had been struck dumb, absolutely speechless at Caroline's revelation.

After waiting quite a while for a response from Cody, Caroline finished asking the rest of her favor. "You see, I just wanted to know…I know this is bold of me…but I was wondering, since you're so close with Lou and everything, if you would ask him for me if he would like to accompany me to dinner here at the restaurant…when he gets back from his run, that is."

"Lou?" Cody called out a third time.

"There is something wrong…he does have a lady friend, doesn't he, Billy?" Caroline was severely downcast at this thought. "You have to tell me, Billy."

Cody finally took a deep breath and attempted to calm himself. "No, he doesn't have a lady friend."

"Oh, good!" Caroline was so ecstatic that she was practically jumping up and down in her chair. "Then you'll ask him for me?"

"Ask him what?" Cody had been in such shock that he barely heard Caroline's request that he invite Lou to join her at dinner tomorrow.

Caroline shook her head dismissively, "Ask him if he wants to go to dinner with me tomorrow night!"

"Tomorrow night?" he repeated. "Sure…I'll ask him when he gets back tomorrow afternoon." Cody had a frightened smile on his face, but he couldn't bring himself to disappoint Caroline. "I'm sure he'd be happy to go." Though, he was not really sure if he meant it.

The young lady's face was beaming with pleasure. Her blue eyes were perfectly radiant, offset by her shining dark hair, and her mauve-stained lips showed the most beautiful smile. The way Caroline looked just then, though she was thinking about having supper with Lou, it somehow made Cody love her even more.

I have to find a way to make her like me, Cody thought.

Just then, the wheels in Cody's warped little mind began to turn out a twisted plan. Lou would go to dinner with Caroline…he'd make sure of it. Even if it took using all of his money or promising to take over all of Lou's runs for the next month as bribery, he would make sure that Lou went on that date.

Chapter 8

"Rider comin'!" Buck, who was sitting on the bunkhouse porch, called out as Lou rode in and handed off the mochilla to Kid.

"Ride safe, Kid!" Lou cried out after him.

The minute Cody realized that Lou was home from her two-day run, he ran outside the bunkhouse to meet up with her.

"Tough ride, Lou?" Cody asked, trying to make small talk before he informed her that she had a dinner date with Caroline in just a few hours.

"Had worse," she replied as she brushed the trail dust off of her clothes.

"Here, I'll take care of your horse for ya," Cody offered.

"Thanks, Cody," Lou spoke, extremely surprised that he had offered to do her such a favor, and without even being asked.

Lou stumbled into the bunkhouse and immediately collapsed on her bunk. Though the ride had gone as planned and she had encountered no unexpected danger, it had been very tiring and physically draining nonetheless.

Cody returned from tending to Lou's horse within a few minutes and came back into the bunkhouse.

"Lou?" Cody called out, though he saw her lying down on her bed.

"Hmmm?" she mumbled, now only semi-conscious.

"Don't ya think ya ought to get cleaned up for supper?" he asked, his true ulterior motive still hidden for the time being.

"I think I might just sleep right through, I'm so tired," Lou replied.

Cody wasn't really sure how he was going to go about telling Lou that she was to dine with Caroline in town that evening. Lou would definitely be furious with him for the stunt he was about to pull. But he decided that there was no easy way around it. He would just have to come straight out with it.

He took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and blurted it all out at once: "Lou, you have to get cleaned up because I told Caroline you'd go to dinner with her in town tonight."

Cody's eyes were still closed as he waited for the reaction from Lou. There was total silence for a few moments, and then Cody slowly opened one eye, and next, the other.

By now, Lou had popped up from her bunk and was sitting up. "You what?" she fumed, her eyes wide with fury as she jumped down off of her top bunk and approached Cody.

"Now hold on, Lou," Cody replied, raising his hands as if to hold back an attacking beast that was out for blood.

"You told her I'd go to dinner with her!?" Lou began closing in on Cody, and he kept trying to back away from her. "Just the two of us!?"

"Well, she likes you a whole lot, Lou," Cody defended, "a lot more than me, apparently."

Lou stopped coming at Cody when she heard this. She realized that Cody now understood that Caroline did not feel about him the way that he felt about her. Lou was afraid that something like this was going to happen. Her face softened as she began to feel sorry for her friend whose heart must surely be breaking.

"Oh, Cody, I'm so sorry," Lou stated, the sincerity showing in her soft brown eyes and gentle voice.

"You mean you knew?" Cody asked astonished.

"Well, I thought there was somethin' funny 'bout the way Caroline was lookin' at me that first night at dinner," Lou said plainly. "And then, the other day when she came by to pick up her shawl…I knew what was goin' on, and Jimmy confirmed my suspicions."

"I can't believe I was so stupid!" Cody threw up his arms in frustration and took a seat on the bench at the bunkhouse table. He brought his heavy head to rest on his hands and began to sulk.

Lou quickly joined Cody and tried her best to console him. "It's alright, Cody. It's just that sometimes when you feel so strong about someone, it can cloud the way you see things so's you only see the good things about that person."

"I know, but I really liked her," Cody admitted, "and I still do." He paused for a moment to prepare again to ask Lou if she would still go to dinner with Caroline. "That's why I need you to meet Caroline for supper tonight."

Cody was practically pleading to Lou. His moistened blue eyes and pouting mouth made him look like a little lost puppy dog.

"I don't understand…why do you need me to go?" Lou shook her head in confusion.

"Okay, I need you go to dinner with Caroline to tell her that you don't feel that way about her…tell her somethin' like you got hurt not too long ago when a girl broke off her engagement to you…"

"I see, you want me to sound pitiful to this girl!" Lou objected.

"Not really, well, just enough so she doesn't take it too hard."

"Go on, I'm listening," Lou urged.

"And the whole night, you can build me up," Cody began, "and make me sound real great and all so she'll start to like me more. It's that simple!"

"And why should I do this for you in the first place?" Lou questioned Cody, as she began to have serious doubts about helping out her friend in a situation that could turn out to be really messy.

"Because I asked you to," Cody pouted, "and 'cause you're my friend."

The thought of something going wrong with Cody's simple-sounding plan caused Lou to want to call the whole thing off.

"I don't think I can do this, Cody," Lou shook her head, wanting to take back any indication she might have given to Cody to make him think that she would do this favor for him.

"Come on, Lou!" he begged, tugging at her shirtsleeves. "You can't disappoint Caroline. It's already after five o'clock and she'll be expectin' you by six-thirty. She's probably already dressed up an' everythin'. You wouldn't want to leave a lady waitin' alone in the middle of the restaurant alone, would ya? That'd just be plain cruel!"

After a few moments of silence, he spoke again, "Please, Lou. Do it for me. Just this once."

Cody was trying to appeal to Lou as a woman, and it seemed like it could be working. Lou sighed deeply, knowing that she would soon be regretting what she was about to say to Cody.

"Somethin' might go wrong…what if she finds out I'm not what she thinks…what if she tries somethin' funny…what if she tries to kiss me!"

Suddenly Lou grew horrified as she began to spout off these things that could happen. She covered her mouth in pure terror.

"Caroline's a proper young lady," Cody assured. "Nothin' like that's gonna happen. Come on Lou," he began pleading again. "It's only this one time! I'll do anythin' for you! I'll do all your chores for a week…"

"A week! Ha!" Lou laughed in disgust. "For somethin' like this, it'll take more like a month!"

"Alright, alright!" Cody reluctantly acquiesced. "A month of me doin' your chores."

"I know I'm gonna regret this, but, okay, just this once," Lou warned. "If it don't work, that's it. I'm stayin' away from her for good!"

"Sure!" Cody beamed. "Now go get cleaned up! You don't have much time."

Lou rose from her seat at the table, got some towels and clean clothes, and was on her way out to the showers. Before she closed the bunkhouse door behind her, she spun around on her heels to face Cody one last time.

"And you better not tell the boys 'bout this, Cody," she mildly threatened, "or I'll shoot you myself!"

Chapter 9

After showering and getting dressed for the "date" with Caroline, Lou rode away from the way station faster and more furiously than she had ever done before. She had to make sure that none of the other riders had the chance to ask where she was going or why she was all dressed up in a bow tie and everything. She had also made up some lame excuse to tell Emma explaining why she would be missing dinner. Lou knew it wouldn't sound right and that Emma would probably be suspicious, but she had to say something, anything, to attempt to justify her absence that evening.

---

As Lou rode into Sweetwater and pulled her horse up just outside the hotel, she had some serious second thoughts about the whole thing. She didn't know what she might be getting herself into. This was Cody's problem, not hers, Lou thought, and this little scheme of Cody's could end up not only hurting her, but Caroline as well. Hearts aren't something to be played with.

Lou stood by her horse outside the hotel for what seemed like an eternity. She couldn't decide whether she should leave right now, before Caroline saw her, or whether she should just get it over with and do the favor like she promised to Cody. After tethering her horse to a post, Lou stepped toward the hotel window and looked into the dining area. She saw Caroline sitting at a table in the middle of the room.

Suddenly, Lou felt sorry for the girl. How would it look if she left Caroline sitting there alone waiting for her to show up all night? It would upset Caroline and also reflect badly on Cody who still had strong feelings for her.

Lou sighed deeply, and with much hesitation, entered the hotel and turned into the restaurant dining room just left of the lobby and reception area.

When Caroline saw Lou heading towards her, her face began to brighten, her eyes began to shimmer, and her lovely smile radiated in such a way that it lit up the entire room. Lou also noticed the gorgeous hunter green taffeta dress that she was wearing as well as the beautiful cameo that hung from a black velvet choker around her neck. She couldn't help but to be envious, though she knew that she could not allow her feelings to be revealed.

"I'm so glad you came, Lou," Caroline beamed.

Lou forced a smile and joined Caroline who had already been seated at the table.

"Sorry I'm late," Lou began, her voice deep and low as she tried her best to sound masculine, "but I was slowed up some on my run earlier."

"Oh, that's alright. I haven't been waiting long," she assured.

Lou simply smiled and nodded, not quite sure what she should say to Caroline. She had never quite felt so awkward before, not even when she was around Teaspoon and Emma who still did not know that she was a woman and not the young boy she pretended to be.

Caroline saw that Lou was nervous and shy, so she decided to begin the conversation.

"So tell me about yourself, Lou." Caroline leaned into the table further, her face shining with curiosity. Lou understood that Caroline was being genuine in her desire to get to know 'him' better, which was going to make it even harder to tell her that 'he' does not share in her feelings.

"Well, ain't really much to tell." Lou figured she should be as elusive as possible and not really answer Caroline's questions except in an obscure manner.

"I'm sure that's not the case," Caroline responded, certain that Lou was merely being modest and shy again. "You must encounter all sorts of adventures riding for the Pony Express. News of the Express has even reached all the way back East!"

"If you call gettin' shot at by thieves wantin' to rob you or bein' chased by Indians 'cause you're ridin' across their land adventure, then I guess I've seen my fair share of it." Lou had to laugh at the notion.

"Sounds more exciting than life in Boston," Caroline admitted.

"So why did you leave Boston and come all the way out West?" Lou asked, her curiosity getting the better of her. And as much as Lou didn't want to admit it, Caroline seemed to be a very nice person, and someone who took an interest in Lou for once.

Caroline's smile faded when she thought about Lou's question. She lowered her eyes for a moment and paused before answering. "I left Boston because I had no reason to stay anymore."

Lou gave her a questioning look, but then she continued. "My older brother ran off about five years back after a disagreement with my father. I haven't seen or heard from him since. I remain faithful in my correspondence, sending my letters to the last known address I have, though I later learned that he had moved on to who-knows-where. Then my mother and father both died about six months ago from the influenza epidemic that swept the area."

"I'm so sorry," Lou sighed, her voice reflecting a great deal of sincerity and compassion. She knew how it felt to be an orphan and alone in the world…all the riders did.

"After that, I went to live with my great aunt who also lived in Boston," Caroline stated. "But she was getting up in years, and her health really began to fail in the last month or so. She always said that I took care of her more than she took care of me. So when she died, I decided that I should try to make it on my own. I had no other family in the area that I knew of, so I left to start my life fresh out West with the little bit of money that my aunt had left me. I figured Sweetwater was as good a place as any. And when I saw the vacant building in town, I knew it would be the perfect place to open shop. So here I am."

The smile on Caroline's face had now returned as she spoke hopefully and dreamily of her new life in Sweetwater. It was a feeling that Lou had herself not too long ago when she first came to work at the Pony Express station. Lou began to feel a real connection with Caroline, one she hadn't felt with anyone else in a long time, especially not another woman.

What have I gotten myself into? Lou thought to herself. This girl turns out to be someone I could actually be friends with, but instead, I need to keep up this charade…for myself and for Cody.

"Here you are!" Lou repeated, as her mind returned to the time and situation at hand.

Caroline's smile was intoxicating, and before Lou knew what was happening, Caroline had reached over to her side of the table and boldly placed her hand on top of Lou's. Caroline's eyes were now gazing into hers in a way that made Lou feel extremely uneasy.

"I've never met anyone like you before, Lou," Caroline commented.

"Is that a fact," Lou answered as she shifted nervously in her seat.

"You're not like the other boys," the young woman added.

"You don't know the half of it," Lou muttered under her breath.

"What?" Caroline wondered at Lou's mumbled words.

"Oh, nothing," Lou said dismissively.

"You're not like the other boys at all," Caroline repeated, a dreamy look sweeping across her face. Lou tried not to make eye contact. She could see that when Caroline gazed at her, a look mirroring the way Lou would look at Kid filled her eyes.

"You're quiet and modest," she continued. "I like that. You know when it's time to say something. Sometimes the other boys can just talk and talk, and only about themselves. I can tell that you're the more serious type."

"Actually, I…" Lou didn't know what she was getting ready to say, but she was saved for the time being when the hostess came to the table. Lou was also able to retrieve her hand back from under Caroline's and place them out of sight in her lap.

"Have you decided what you would like to order?" she asked, pencil and paper in hand, ready to take their order.

"Oh, I think I'll have the special," Caroline replied.

Lou had not even looked to see what the special was, but she nodded and said, "I'll have the same."

The conversation continued throughout supper. Every time Caroline would try to say something flattering or complimentary to Lou, Lou would try to change the subject by bringing up how Cody is really good at this or that, or how Cody is such a nice fellow…anything to try to sway Caroline's affections to the blonde rider, and away from her. However, as this persisted, Caroline simply thought Lou was being modest and soft-spoken again.

At one point, Lou told Caroline that all Cody could talk about was how pretty he thought she was. But Caroline only blushed, thinking that Lou was really speaking of 'his' own feelings for her, and asked, "Why don't you speak for yourself, Lou?"

It seemed that Lou was just adding more fuel to the fire by trying to build up Cody's image when, instead, her own seemed to be gaining more favor in Caroline's mind.

The meal itself was one of the best that Lou had eaten in a long time, but she found that she could not eat very much of it knowing that as the evening came to a close, she would have to break things off with Caroline. And despite all of Lou's attempts to be aloof and ambiguous, she soon learned that she and Caroline shared many of the same opinions and experiences. Lou knew she was only going to make it harder on herself later on, but as the evening went on, she found herself feeling less nervous and became more open and comfortable when talking to Caroline. Lou realized that she would very much like to have Caroline as a friend, but she also knew that was not possible, not under the present circumstances.

"I find that it is so easy talking to you, Lou," Caroline remarked, taking another sip of the coffee she was enjoying with desert, a slice of homemade apple pie.

As much as Lou didn't want to admit it, she felt the same way. "Me, too," she said.

Lou felt the conflict going on inside her. She afraid that it showed on her face. She smiled at Caroline, but her brow was knit with worry and sorrow all at the same time. Lou didn't want to hurt Caroline, but she understood that she might have to…before things went too far. But Lou was afraid that for Caroline, they already had.

"Lou," Caroline spoke softly, and she diverted her eyes from Lou's for a moment as her face turned a darker shade of pink. Then she brought her sparkling blue eyes to meet with Lou's once more. "Lou, I want you to know that…"

Lou closed her eyes and cringed, as she knew what was coming. Lou felt terrible thinking that she had led Caroline on by conversing so freely with her, but she couldn't help it. For the first time in a long time, Lou felt that she could actually be herself, and at times she felt as if she were talking woman to woman, even though Caroline thought she was talking woman to man. Lou had not talked to a woman in so long that talking to Caroline now somewhat relieved the aching emptiness and loneliness that she sometimes felt by being constantly surrounded by men and by hiding her true identity and feelings from most of the world.

She had felt apart for so long, separated from men because of the past traumas she had suffered at the hands of several men she had known in her life, and separated from women because of the masquerade she was using to protect herself from being hurt by such men again. Lou's source of protection and security was preventing her from finding a kindred spirit among another female, something that she desperately needed.

Lou could not let Caroline finish her sentence. "Caroline, I can't do this," she blurted out, rising from her seat at the table

Lou opened her eyes and saw Caroline's face and knew that her heart was breaking inside. "I like you a lot…I really do." This was the truth, but now Lou knew that she had to tell a lie to Caroline if she was to get herself out of this mess. "But you see, I just got out of a relationship…my fiancée broke off our engagement…" Lou was stumbling over her words terribly, and she was afraid that Caroline would see through her lie. "I'm not yet over the loss. I don't think we should…"

Lou looked down at Caroline who, through all of the harsh words, still had her eyes fixed on Lou's. Caroline's eyes were now beginning to brim over with tears, and it broke Lou's heart to see the young girl looking at her like that. She forced herself to look away.

"You'd be better to like Cody. He's a real good fella, and he likes you a lot. I gotta go." Those were Lou's final words as she put on her hat, ran from the table and out the hotel lobby, and left Caroline sitting alone in the restaurant, tears streaming down her porcelain face.

Chapter 10

"This Three Musketeers ain't half bad," Cody said to himself.

In yet another attempt to gain Caroline's affections, Cody had borrowed Lou's book so that he could read up and have something to discuss with Caroline.

Cody looked up from the book he was reading when he heard the well-known sound of a horse rapidly approaching. It was Lou. He left the spot where he had been sitting comfortably on the bunkhouse porch, reading by lamplight, and waiting for Lou's return with much anticipation. But when Cody saw the way Lou was riding in like a bat out of Hell, he immediately knew that things must not have gone according to his plan.

Lou yanked the reigns on her horse Lightning, urging him to stop in front of the barn where Cody now stood.

"Well?" Cody asked.

"Let's talk in the barn," Lou stated as she looked around her suspiciously. "Someone might come out and hear us."

Cody shrugged and followed Lou into the barn where she promptly plopped down on a haystack, sighing deeply, not even attending to her horse.

"Are you gonna keep me in suspense all night?" Cody questioned. "What happened?"

"Cody, remind me to kill you when I get over feelin' guilty," Lou lashed out.

"Guilty? What for?" Cody wrinkled his nose in puzzlement.

"Guilty because I had to break Caroline's heart, that's why!" she snapped at Cody.

"She took it that bad?"

"As much as I hate to say it, I think she thinks she's in love with me," Lou remarked, horrified at such a thought.

"What!?" Cody shouted in disbelief. "You were supposed to go there and convince her that I'm the one she should like!" Cody's tone of voice was now laced with anger.

"Cody, I tried and tried all night long," Lou explained. "But she kept complimentin' me, and sayin' how 'I'm not like other boys'…"

"The problem is, she don't know how right she really is!" Cody hollered, thinking that this whole thing was absolutely absurd.

"Cody, I don't know what to do!" Lou cried. "I tried to make her think that you were the right man for her. She wouldn't hear any of it! And somehow, she thought I was just bein' modest, and it made her like me even more!"

Cody's face softened, and he sat down next to Lou on the bale of hay.

"I'm sorry, Lou." Cody was serious in his apology. "I shouldn't have made ya do this for me."

"I know, Cody. Things are just so messed up and confused right now! Caroline was havin' the time of her life all through dinner even though I was doin' my best to make her like you and not me. Finally, I told her that lie about me still tryin' to get over another woman who broke my heart…I told her you were the man for her, and then I ran out of the restaurant and left her. She was cryin'." Now Lou's own eyes were beginning to overflow with tears as the image of Caroline sitting alone--crying-- flooded her thoughts. "I've never felt so ashamed and guilty in all my life."

"I'm so sorry, Lou," Cody repeated, his head hung low in despair. "I never counted on anythin' like this happenin'. I guess your disguise really does work, Lou."

"I'm afraid it must be workin' too good," Lou shook her head. "I never thought she could fall for it that long…not the way we started to talk…we talked like two old girl friends. I don't understand how she didn't see." Lou sighed heavily and gulped down the lump that was forming in her throat. "For once I wished someone could see through my disguise and know that I'm a girl."

"What should we do now?" Cody wondered, his question more rhetorical as he did not really expect to receive an answer.

Lou did not have time to respond because her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the barn door opening. Lou and Cody looked up simultaneously and saw that Jimmy was standing in the entranceway.

"Where have you been, Lou?" Jimmy asked. "And why are you all dressed up? Did someone die on ya?" he joked. When he saw the expressions on Lou and Cody's faces, he instantly regretted his teasing, though it was not meant to be malicious or cruel.

"I, uh, was out with Caroline," Lou stated matter-of-factly.

"What!?" was all Jimmy managed to blurt out.

"I went to dinner in town with Caroline," Lou elucidated.

"But I don't understand. Why would you, I mean, after what happened the other day?" he questioned.

"It was all my doin', Jimmy," Cody confessed. "I realized that Caroline didn't like me. She liked Lou instead." His face was again starting to reveal just how depressed he was about that fact. "I can't believe I was such a fool!"

"I'm sorry, Cody. But you know how they say 'love is blind'." Jimmy joined the two in their brooding spot. "I should've known somethin' wasn't right when Emma said you'd be missin' dinner, Lou. So what happened tonight?"

Lou and Cody looked at each other, trying to figure out who would be the one to explain it all to Jimmy. Lou spoke up first. "Cody realized that day in town when he and Caroline had lunch that she was only interested in me. She kept askin' Cody if I had a lady friend and such."

Jimmy let a chuckle escape his lips before he quickly apologized and repressed his laughter.

"Anyway, when I got back from my run earlier today, Cody informed me that he had taken the liberty of acceptin' an invitation for me to join Caroline for supper tonight. I was furious at first, but Cody begged and pleaded and groveled. So I gave in."

"I didn't beg and plead," Cody denied, feeling highly offended.

Jimmy and Lou both shot Cody dirty looks, as they knew well how pitiful Cody could make himself seem when he wanted something so badly. Begging and pleading was just what he was capable of.

"So I met Caroline at the hotel restaurant with the intention of lettin' her down easy, tellin' her I wasn't interested in her that way. I even tried to make Cody sound like some sort of genius hero through all this," Lou explained.

"That musta been hard, Lou," Jimmy laughed. "You musta been lyin' through your teeth the whole evenin'!"

"That ain't funny, Jimmy!" Cody snapped.

"Okay, sorry," Jimmy apologized, stifling the laughter that was building up inside of him.

"Are you two gonna let me finish?" Lou scolded. The two men nodded, and Lou continued, "Well, Caroline's a real nice girl and everythin', someone I could easily become good friends with…if the circumstances weren't what they are."

"I guess it's been hard on ya, Lou, not bein' able to be who you really are," Jimmy realized.

"It's just so hard not havin' a woman to talk to…a woman I can talk to as a woman myself," Lou admitted. "I mean, I love you fellas more than anythin', but sometimes…"

"Sometimes a girl needs another woman." Jimmy finished her sentence for her, and Lou knew that he understood how she felt.

"Yeah," Lou smiled at him.

"So then what happened?" Jimmy inquired.

"Things got too messy, and I got scared that if I didn't end it all soon, it might be too late. So I told Caroline some lie and left her sittin' there in the restaurant…cryin'. And here I am, and I feel terrible!" Lou took a deep breath after retelling the story for the second time that night.

"What are you gonna do, Cody?" Jimmy mused.

"I don't rightly know, Jimmy," Cody replied, resting his head on his hands, his elbows propped up on his thighs.

"All I know is I can't bear the thought of seein' Caroline again," Lou commented.

"You still like her, don't ya, Cody?" Jimmy asked, though he realized that he already knew the answer, and so did Lou.

"I just can't get her outta my mind," the blonde rider sighed, exhaling deeply and audibly.

"Maybe you should just go and talk to her," Jimmy suggested.

"I guess so, but I don't want to be second choice…'specially not to Lou of all people!"

Lou punched Cody lightly on the shoulder. "Thanks a lot, Cody!" Her ire quickly faded, and then she pointed out jokingly, "It ain't my fault women find me more irresistible than you!"

"Ya didn't have to remind me," Cody muttered.

The seriousness of the situation seemed to lessen for a few moments while the three engaged in laughter. Then the heaviness of it all seemed to return, and their brief levity disappeared.

"I almost feel like I should tell Caroline the truth…the whole truth," Lou stated. "At least I wouldn't have all this guilt on my head. I can only hope she forgives me."

"No, Lou, you can't do that!" Cody protested as he was aware that what Lou was implying involved telling Caroline that she is a girl and that he knew it all along. "Then she'll know I put you up to it, and she'll hate me, too!"

"Cody," Lou began raising her voice to him, the anger growing more and more with every word she spoke, "this ain't about you no more! This is about hurtin' an innocent girl! She don't deserve to have her heart and emotions played with like this! It ain't right, and it's just plain cruel!"

Cody was extremely taken back by Lou's harsh words. But at the same time, he knew that she was right. He knew it was true; Caroline didn't deserve to be the victim of his childish games. And now he felt even worse for having dragged Lou into the middle of it.

"So what do you want me to do?" Cody asked, the hesitation apparent in his voice.

"I think we need to talk to her…both of us," Lou began. "We need to tell her the truth, and hope that she can find it in her heart to forgive us. 'Cause, Lord knows, I don't know if I can even forgive myself."

With that, Lou rose from the haystack and stormed out of the barn. Jimmy glanced at Cody and then quickly followed Lou out, leaving Cody sitting alone with nothing but his haunted soul and guilty conscience.

Chapter 11

Lou returned to the bunkhouse from the barn only to be met with many questions from the other riders as to her whereabouts earlier that evening. Lou defensively avoided them all and went to her bunk, turning her back on everyone else in the room.

She didn't sleep a wink that night. All she could think about was Caroline and how upset she had been when Lou left her at the restaurant. Lou cursed herself for having let Cody persuade her into getting involved in this whole muddle to begin with. She knew it wasn't all Cody's fault. After all, no one could have predicted that events would turn out like this, but Lou couldn't help thinking that somehow she should have known better.

---

The next morning, Lou had wanted to go and talk to Caroline and confess the whole thing to her, but she suddenly remembered that she had a ride scheduled. Lou had forgotten when she had asked to take over Buck's run, the one she just returned from the previous day, that she would be returning only to head back out on the trail again the next day. This delivery would only take a day, so Lou thought she might still be able to talk to Caroline later that night.

Lou left the Sweetwater Express station on her run without so much as saying a word to the other riders, Teaspoon, or Emma. They all knew that something was wrong, but only Jimmy and Cody knew what it was. They wouldn't dare speak of what happened between Lou and Caroline and the mess that Cody had gotten her into.

By noontime, Buck had departed on his run, Teaspoon and Emma had gone into town, and the rest of the riders were busy doing their many daily chores. Cody had been doing his best all morning to keep his mind off of Caroline; he had already chopped an entire cord of kindling. But all of Cody's efforts were soon completely negated when he saw Caroline driving up the path to the bunkhouse.

Caroline stopped the buckboard in front of Cody and asked to speak with him. Cody noticed how despondent Caroline was. The gleam and glimmer in her eyes that he had fallen in love with the first time he saw her was not present. Her face was solemn and stoic. Cody offered to take her into the bunkhouse where they could talk and be more comfortable, but Caroline shook her head and did move from her position on the wagon seat.

"Billy, I know you and Lou are good friends," Caroline began trying to repress any emotion that was stirring inside her, "and I know I'm probably asking you to break a trust. But I was wondering if you could tell me why Lou ran away from me last night."

Cody could see the tears forming in the corner of her eyes. He looked up to her from where he was standing and began repeating the lie Lou had told her earlier. "I thought Lou told you that he was just gettin' over a bad relationship. Yeah, that girl broke his heart, she did."

"I don't believe that for a minute, William Cody," Caroline retorted sharply. "I could see it in Lou's eyes. He wasn't telling me the truth, and I don't understand why."

Cody knew that he should tell Caroline everything, but he couldn't bring himself to do it. He still liked her; he couldn't deny it. Maybe there was a way he could make Caroline like him yet.

"I don't know why, Caroline," Cody replied, his voice soft and gentle as he tried to console the teary-eyed young woman. "But what Lou told you before he ran out was true…I really like you, Caroline. I have since the moment I set eyes on you."

Caroline could see that Cody was genuine and earnest in his confession of his feelings for her, and she felt flattered.

"Thank you for caring, Billy," she said.

"Lou never meant to hurt you. Lou wants nothin' more than to be your friend, Caroline, and that's the truth. I asked him to go to dinner with you as a favor for me," Cody admitted, feeling the shame and guilt well up within. "I told him to spend the whole time talkin' about me and how great I am…so you'd like me instead."

"Oh," Caroline sighed, "I am flattered that you would go to such great lengths to make me like you, Billy. I just wish you'd told me about your feelings earlier…before I let myself fall for Lou and make such a fool out of myself."

"No, you didn't make a fool outta yourself," Cody assured. "I'm the fool, Caroline. I used Lou to get to you, and now I've allowed you to be hurt in the process. I never meant for that to happen."

Cody was full of regret for all he had done, and Caroline could see it in his face. Maybe for the first time Caroline actually realized just how much Cody did care for her, though he did have a strange way of showing it.

"Tell Lou I'm sorry," Caroline added.

"You have nothin' to be sorry about, Caroline. It's me who's sorry," Cody remarked.

The conversation was put on hold when Cody heard the distinct sound of riders coming up the drive to the way station…and they were approaching extremely fast.

"Jimmy! Kid! Ike! Cody!" the voice screamed out.

As the figures became clearer, Cody could make out the shape of two horses, but one did not have a rider on it. He ran over to meet up with the horses, and Jimmy, Kid, and Ike followed suit.

"It's Buck!" Jimmy cried out.

"And that's Lightning!" Kid was nearly in a state of panic when he saw the horse and that Lou was not riding him.

"Look!" Jimmy pointed out, "Lou's ridin' with Buck!"

All four of them began to run over to where Buck had now pulled his horse, and the horse he led, to a halt. Buck dismounted his steed and lifted an unconscious and blood-covered Lou out of the saddle.

"Oh my God! What happened?!" Kid cried out as he saw Lou's limp body now being carried into the bunkhouse by Buck.

"I found her about ten miles outside of town. She'd been shot and knocked out…left for dead," Buck explained to the others who were following him into the bunkhouse.

"I'll go get the doctor!" Kid exclaimed as he ran out of the bunkhouse and jumped onto Lou's already-saddled horse and rode off toward town.

"Lou! Lou!" Jimmy called out, but Lou did not stir. They all stood around the bunk where she lay, filled with worry and concern for the female rider.

"Is she gonna be alright?" Ike signed, the fear evident by the lines and creases in his face.

"She has to be, Ike!" Jimmy yelled, not wanting to imagine the alternative.

Jimmy and Buck bandaged up Lou's wound. She had been shot in the left shoulder, and it was still bleeding pretty badly. But they did what they could for the time being and hoped the doctor would arrive as soon as possible.

By this time Caroline was now aware of what was going on. Nobody had bothered to notice that she was still around, not even Cody. Caroline had heard the boys referring to Lou as 'she' and 'her'. Lou's charade had been revealed to her, but Caroline had been speechless until now.

"She?!" Caroline cried out. "She?!"

Everybody turned around and saw the puzzled and irate young woman standing inside the bunkhouse.

Cody quickly rose to his feet. He had a lot of explaining to do, and he just hoped that Caroline would stay around long enough to let him do it.

"Caroline, I can explain," Cody asserted, but Caroline cut him off before he could continue.

"How can you explain that what I thought was a man…someone I thought I had feelings for…" Caroline found that she couldn't continue as she raised her hand and covered her mouth, the sobs completely overcoming her and the tears now freely streaming down her cheeks.

Cody began to approach Caroline ever so gently. "Caroline, this ain't like you think!" he tried to tell her.

"The hell it isn't!" Caroline cursed so that she even surprised herself when she heard the words reverberate in her ears.

"Caroline?" a weak, barely audible voice from behind called out.

Cody and Caroline turned and saw that it was Lou. Jimmy, Buck, and Ike looked just as shocked as Cody and Caroline when they heard Lou speak.

"Caroline, please know that we never meant for you to get hurt." Lou's voice was soft and low.

Caroline simply shook her head. "I can't believe I trusted you! The way we talked the other night at dinner…I told you things I'd never told anyone else before, things I'd never dream I'd ever tell a man. I guess now I know why. I can't believe I really thought that you…"

Again, Caroline covered her mouth with her hands as she tried to hide the pain she was feeling and push back the sobs that were threatening to take control over her. She shook her head one last time and turned to run out of the bunkhouse.

"Caroline!" Lou's shouted as loud as she could given her condition. She began to cough as calling out after Caroline had taken so much strength from her frail body.

But it was no use. Caroline was out the door, having slammed it loudly behind her, and was already headed away from the express station, her horse pulling her and the buckboard as fast as it could.

Chapter 12

Kid arrived not too long after with Doc Barnes. Having examined Lou's head injury and cleaned and bandaged her shoulder wound, Doc Barnes informed the other riders that she would be just fine after several days of rest.

The riders were all relieved to hear this, but they were still extremely worried about Lou. She was so depressed over what happened with Caroline that she wouldn't speak. The only thing they managed to get out of her was the story of how she was shot and knocked unconscious in the first place.

Lou told them how a bunch of drunken drifters ambushed her with the hopes that she was carrying something important like bank drafts or treasury bonds. They'd opened the pouch while holding Lou at gunpoint and then threw it back to her disgusted when they realized it only contained letters and ordinary mail. But they decided they'd have to kill Lou because she could identify them. She managed to slip away and tried to outrun them but they shot her, the impact of the bullet forceful enough to cause Lou to tumble from her horse and hit her head on the hard ground below. The men must have thought she was dead and left her. Then Buck showed up.

But Lou could not even think about herself and her own well being when she knew that Caroline was so upset with her. She's right, Lou thought. She has every right to be mad at me for the way I tricked her. I pretended to be her friend, not knowing that I actually would want to become her friend. I made her feel a fool.

As much as her fellow riders, who all had become fully aware of the situation by now, tried to comfort and console Lou, she would have none of it. She began to withdraw further and further within herself for the next few days while she was mending. Everyone was extremely concerned for her, especially Emma and Teaspoon who still did not know the full story behind Lou's sudden depression. The boys tried to convince Teaspoon and Emma that Lou was just upset about what happened when she was attacked on her run. They wouldn't betray her further by revealing her secret identity.

Caroline did not make any visits to the way station after that day when she found out that Lou, the person she thought she had such deep feelings for, was really a woman. Along with Lou, Cody was also not his usual jaunty self, making the bunkhouse an extremely dismal and downcast atmosphere.

Cody knew he had created a big mess for himself, and more importantly, for Lou and Caroline. It wasn't fair that Caroline hated Lou, he thought. She had every right in the world to hate him, though. Cody felt that he had to make amends somehow. He had to make things right…if not for Caroline, for Lou.

---

Despite Lou's apparent lack of will, she mended relatively quickly. Within a week after the date of the attack, Lou was able to ride and carry her full weight around the Sweetwater express station. She remained quiet and emotionless, however, and the riders grew more and more concerned for her mental state.

Lou was raking hay in the barn late that morning when she heard someone come up from behind. She didn't turn around though, thinking it was just Jimmy or Kid or one of the other boys there to tell her how worried they were for her, and she certainly was not in the mood to hear any of that. It wasn't until she heard a voice, a woman's voice, that she turned around to face the visitor.

"Hello, Lou," Caroline spoke. Much to Lou's surprise, the words she heard were not filled with hate or anger.

"Hi, Caroline," Lou replied timidly and cautiously.

"I came here to talk to you," Caroline began gently. "Do you mind?"

"No, of course not. Actually, I'm glad you did," Lou replied as she breathed a sigh of relief.

Lou took a seat on the bale of hay and signaled for Caroline join her.

The two were totally silent for a few minutes, as neither really knew what to say, where to begin.

Then, Lou moved her lips to speak. "Caroline, I know it probably don't count for much, but I…"

"Lou," Caroline cut her off and raised her hand up in the air to silence Lou. Lou complied and let Caroline have her say. It was the very least she could do after all that's happened. "I came here today to tell you that I'm sorry for the way I reacted when I found out that you were really a woman."

"Oh, no, Caroline," Lou shook her head. "You have no reason to apologize to me. It's me who should say I'm sorry. And I am…I am so sorry."

"I realize that you must have your own reasons for dressing this way and pretending to be a boy. And you were just trying to be a good friend to Cody when you agreed to go to dinner with me that night. I know that now," Caroline acknowledged.

Lou could tell that there was no hint of malice or loathing in Caroline's words and was extremely grateful. She admired the young woman so much for being able to come out of this whole catastrophe with an even temper and an open heart.

"I never wanted things to end up the way they did…and neither did Cody. You have to believe that."

Caroline could sense the pleading in Lou's dark brown eyes, which were now beginning to well up with tears.

"I do, Lou," Caroline nodded assuredly. "I realize now that you'd been trying to tell me all along that you didn't feel the way I did…the way I thought I did when I thought you were a man. But I wouldn't let myself believe it. In some ways, I'm as much to blame as you."

"That's not true, Caroline," Lou stated. "It could never be your fault. I tried to make you think that I didn't like you. I tried to get you to like Cody instead." She paused for moment before continuing with her confession. "But the truth is, I had a wonderful time talkin' with you that night. It was the first time in such a long time that I'd been able to talk to another woman like that. I felt like we were friends, and I wanted so much for us to be. I still do. But I ended up leadin' you on, and that wasn't fair of me."

Caroline only nodded, removing her focus from Lou's eyes for a moment.

"Well, I'm still the same person I was before, only now I can only be your friend and nothin' more. That is, if you'd have me for a friend," Lou requested, the honesty and sincerity apparent in her voice and eyes.

"I want us to be friends, too, Lou," Caroline admitted, her face fully showing the deep sympathy she felt for Lou. She understood how the guilt must have been eating away at Lou all this time.

Lou managed to crack a smile through her trembling facial muscles and tear-streaked cheeks. Caroline returned the smile, her eyes full of sympathy and compassion, and held her hand out to Lou. Lou accepted it gratefully.

"I guess I should have realized that you weren't a boy by the way talking to you came so easy and natural," Caroline remarked. "It was an easiness I think I could only have with another woman…with a friend."

The two women shared an understanding smile, and Lou felt as if the weight of the world had been lifted from her shoulders.

Lou had hoped with all of her heart and soul that Caroline would be able to forgive her, but Lou never dreamed or imagined that after everything that had happened that she would not only gain the absolution she so desperately needed, but that she would also gain a friend.

Epilogue

A few weeks went by, and both Lou and Cody were once again themselves. Caroline had forgiven Cody as well and soon became a frequent and welcome visitor to the Sweetwater Pony Express station. Though his conscience mended faster than his heart, Cody had soon resigned himself to simply being Caroline's friend. She reassured him that one day, the right woman would come along and that she would consider this woman to be very lucky indeed.

Caroline and Lou grew very close in that time, though, to some degree, their friendship had to be kept a secret so that Teaspoon, Emma, and the rest of the townspeople did not discover Lou's real identity. Looking back on the whole experience, Lou would never have guessed that her role as a substitute suitor would lead her to a true friend. Thus, the closeness and camaraderie that she and Caroline felt for each other made it extremely difficult when Caroline informed Lou and the rest of the riders that she would soon be leaving Sweetwater.

Caroline explained that in the short time she was in Sweetwater, she had managed to receive a package of letters from her estranged older brother. They were letters that he had apparently written over the course of several years in reply to Caroline's own letters…letters she thought had just gone unanswered. But as it would turn out, her brother, Stanley, though he had been moving around from place to place and only received her first few letters at the last address that Caroline knew, had been writing faithfully to his younger sister while she was still in Boston.

Apparently, when Stanley severed his ties with his father, he was also forced to be cut off from the rest of the family as well. When she received the package of past-dated letters, Caroline learned that her father had purposely kept the letters from her, hoping that she would come to share in his anger with Stanley. But she did not. And after her parents died and Caroline left to stay with her aunt, she did not receive any letters for those few months because Stanley was in the process of moving out further west.

After her aunt had died, Caroline had gone back to the house where she had lived with her parents in Boston and left some instructions with the people who took over the new ownership. She always kept hope that maybe her older brother Stanley might come back one day looking for her. She told the owners to tell her brother what had happened to their parents and that she would be moving out west, to a little town called Sweetwater.

The bundle of unopened letters was found by the new owners hidden in the attic shortly after Caroline had started her journey out west. They sent them to her, and by the miracle of the United States postal service, the letters were received.

Caroline read through all of the letters, following her brother's life for the past five years that he was absent. Somehow, it made the gap that had existed in her heart since Stanley's departure complete, and the sense of kinship and family that she felt she'd lost when her parents died quickly returned. In the most recent letters, Stanley asked Caroline to join him in California, where he had made a new home with his wife and two young daughters.

Caroline was so overjoyed at the thought of being reunited with her long lost brother that she decided she would have to leave Sweetwater and the new friends she had come to know there. It was not an easy decision in the least, but the thought of being with family again was just so overwhelming and overpowering that she could not turn her back on it.

And so, Caroline would leave Sweetwater. She would leave Cody and Jimmy and all the others whom she had grown so fond of. She would leave Lou, but the friendship and bond that they shared would remain intact in their memories and hearts…always.

The End

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