Shut Up and Kiss Me
by: Debbie

The barn door opened with a creaking sound that he was sure echoed throughout the way station property, giving his location away. But when he didn’t hear any approaching footsteps, he slowly stuck his sandy-haired head out the small opening he’d allowed so he could see outside. A glance in the direction of the bunkhouse then the corral and finally Emma’s house showed absolutely no one in view. He didn’t take the time to ponder on where the other boys were; all he was concerned about was that he didn’t see the person he was hoping to not see.

With one foot planted softly in front of the other, the rider crept across the shadows the barn cast on the dirt. When he didn’t hear his name called out from having been spotted, he dug his heals in and ran the rest of the way to the front steps of the bunkhouse. As he raised his foot to take the first step, he turned his head for one last look around the yard. He breathed a sigh of relief at seeing nothing but open space and turned to take another step, only he realized too late that he’d already taken that step so his foot had no where to go and … THUD!

Jimmy opened the bunkhouse door and didn’t have far to look to see what had made the noise he’d heard from within. With a grin on his face, the longhaired rider crossed his arms over his chest and looked down at the figure sprawled out on his belly on the porch, his feet hanging in the air over the steps.

“What’s the matter, Kid, you forget how to climb steps?”

“Jimmy, come here,” Kid whispered as the only thing he moved was his hand in a sweeping kind of motion toward his body.

“I’m right here, Kid.”

“Would you get down here!” he hissed through clenched teeth.

Jimmy raised his eyebrows then, very intrigued that his usually together friend sounded anything but, tugged at his trousers and got down on his haunches. “Alright, Kid, I’m down here; now what is it?”

“Is she in there?”

“Is who in there?” Jimmy almost had to strain to hear the voice speaking to him, it was coming out in such a soft whisper. But he heard loud and clear the next words spoken to him as the stilled figure suddenly whipped out his hand, took hold of Jimmy’s shirtfront and pulled him down until he was almost eating hair.

“How many ‘she’s’ do you know that live in the bunkhouse?!”

Jimmy ripped his shirt out of the strong hands attached to it and moved back out of reach, though he still stayed low to the wood beneath him. “Oh, that ‘she’. Nope, she’s not in there; actually I haven’t seen her all afternoon.”

Kid let out a huge multisyllable sigh as he laid his head on the wooden planking.

“You’re relieved to hear that?” Jimmy asked in complete surprise. “I thought you two love birds were tighter than a snake being hugged by his old skin.”

“We are; that’s the problem.”

Hearing the distressed tone Kid was using had Jimmy nearly bursting with the need to know what was going on but while he wanted to find out each and every little detail, he couldn’t ignore the little voice deep, way back in his head, telling him that the Kid was really troubled by something and needed their help. “Kid, I think what you need is some alone time with the boys. It’s been way too long.”

Kid lifted his head and with hopeful eyes, looked up at his friend. “Yeah, Jimmy, you may be right. Some time alone with the boys might be just what I could use right about now. I just have one question to ask, though … is the coast clear?”

It took the other rider a few moments to figure out what Kid meant. Trying to hide a smile from the serious face looking at him, Jimmy dramatically stood up and, looking one way across the yard then the other, finally leaned down close to the Virginian and whispered, “She’s no where to be seen now hurry before she comes back from wherever she’s gotten to.”

Hearing that, Kid was on his feet in less than a second. Wanting to make sure Jimmy was telling the truth, Kid turned to glance behind him but this time, didn’t look behind him and walk at the same time, instead he firmly planted his feet before checking the yard for occupants and when he didn’t see anyone, he then moved to the door. He turned the knob and opened the door just wide enough for him to squeeze through.

Jimmy took one look at the foot-wide space Kid had left for him to enter through and shoved the door open the rest of the way with the palm of his hand. Upon seeing the startled look on Kid’s face as the door hit the bunk behind it, Jimmy grabbed hold of the wooden edge and quickly pushed the door closed to satisfy his friend.

“What’s goin’ on?” Buck asked since he and the other riders had noticed Kid slip into the room as if he was being shadowed and how he had nearly jumped out of his skin as Jimmy had shoved the door open.

“Boys, it seems Kid here has a bit of a problem and its name is … Lou.”

“Where?!”

Cody got up from his bunk, his mouth hanging wide open and his finger digging into his ear, as he walked toward the table. He gawked in shock at seeing Kid turning around in circles like a dog chasing his tail, looking every which way. He’d never seen the man so on edge before. He finally closed his mouth but kept his finger in his ear, sure that the screech he’d just heard had done damage to his eardrum.

Jimmy went to Kid and placed his hands on the southerner’s shoulders to get him to stop moving. “Kid … Kid … Kid!” he finally snapped to get the man’s attention. “She ain’t here; I was just tellin’ them what the brunt of your troubles stemmed from.”

“Oh,” Kid breathed. “Thanks, Jimmy, you’re a good friend. Oh … oh, my troubles; you don’t know the half of it.” He pushed his way past Jimmy and went to his bunk. He lay down and threw his head back on his pillow, covering his eyes with his arm.

Cody, Jimmy, Ike, Noah, and Buck all stared at each other then at the occupied bunk then back at each other.

“Alright, I’ll ask,” Cody finally said as the silence was getting on his nerves, not to mention feeling like he was about to burst with the need to know what was going on with his bunkmate. He cautiously approached the bunk, taking a step back once or twice when he detected movement from his destination. Once at the side of the bunk, Cody knelt down next to it then thought better of it and stood back up. “Um, Kid, is there somethin’ going on with Lou that you might wanna tell us about? I mean, sometimes it helps to have a neutral party hear all your concerns so they can offer advise without hurtin’ anyone’s feelin’s.” He nodded his head as he looked at the others over his shoulder. He’d almost sounded like a lawyer there and found he almost liked talking that way … almost.

Kid slowly let his arm fall off his eyes enough for him to see the blonde standing over him. “There’s nothin’ goin’ on with her that I can’t figure out on my own with time,” he began as he sat up. “But then she won’t give me the time for that.” He flopped back down on his pillow and covered his face back up.

“Well things can’t be that bad if she’s at least givin’ you time for some things,” Jimmy offered, however lame it might sound.

“I’d say more than just a little time if judging things by how many nights a week the two of you sneak out of here is any indication.” Cody crossed his arms over his chest, knowing he was right because his bunk was closest to the door and their leaving always woke him up.

“If you only knew the whole of it,” the muffled voice of Kid called out.

Noah let out a chuckle. “What could be a problem with your woman wantin’ to give you a little lovin’?”

“‘Cause she won’t let me stop dancin’ with her!!”

Five sets of eyes stared at the man now sitting straight up in his bunk; well, as straight up as he could sit without hitting his head on the bunk above his.

“That’s your problem?!” Cody voiced for all of the boys.

“Oh yeah, and it’s a bad one.”

“Every man should have it as rough as you apparently do,” Noah mocked with a shake of his head.

“But it is … I tell ya it is.” Kid got up and went to sit at the table. He was quickly surrounded by five bodies as they all leaned in close to hear what he had to say.

“That don’t sound like a problem to me, Kid, sounds like a delight if ya ask me,” Jimmy told him with a grin.

“Yeah, it’s a compliment of sorts,” Buck agreed as he shared a smile with the others, a smile that Kid completely missed as he kept staring at the table.

“Well I kinda took it as that at first,” Kid admitted proudly, not being able to stop himself from smiling, “and did what any other man would have done – I set about tryin’ to please her. But then it was like, the more we did it, the more she wanted.” Realizing just what he was saying, Kid paused before continuing. The southerner wiped his forehead as he felt wetness forming there then lowered his head as he was sure his cheeks were now a bright shade of red. It was one thing to hear Cody or Jimmy talk about women but Kid was finding it was a lot harder to be the one doing the talking. But he’d been around the others long enough to know they wouldn’t let him stop there and he really did need this problem of his cleared up and this was the only way to do it so he took a deep breath and plunged into the rest of his explanation. “And I know we shouldn’t have done it in the first place ‘cause it’s wrong but I’ve gotten past that and I’m glad we did … so glad we did.” Kid smiled as his mind began to drift to places like Red Fern and the barn and the pond and out behind the …

He sat up straight and shifted uneasily in his seat, mad that his mind was telling him how nice it is. “So I’ve tried to keep my distance but that’s not easy … this is Lou we’re talkin’ about … when she sets her mind on somethin’, there’s no stoppin’ her. I’m tellin’ ya she’s wearin’ me out!” His arms slumped heavily on the table.

“Kid, no offense, but we just don’t see the problem you’re havin’,” Buck told him as he glanced at the others. He knew they were all thinking the same thought because at the moment, Kid was the only one of them with a girl.

“It’s like she’s obsessed with dancin’! She - wants - to - do - it – all – the - time!” Kid spoke each word slowly and distinctly so they would understand where he was coming from once and for all. “She arranges for us to be alone together – we’re always ridin’ with each other … and I’m not just talkin’ about deliverin’ the mail! It seems like whenever Rachel needs somethin’ from town, Lou and I are the ones to go retrieve it then the ride home winds up takin’ hours longer than it should ‘cause she takes a detour and we wind up at our spot by the pond. How can I refuse when she’s found us our own spot?!” He looked around the group for an answer, knowing none of them would be able to provide one because none existed!

“And it’s not just her wakin’ me up in the middle of the night to head out to the barn,” he continued, “‘cause we wind up there in the daytime too. We’ve tried the hayloft, each and every stall … though I can’t be sure of that ‘cause I’m kinda busy at the time and not paying too much attention to which horse is watchin’ us! It’s all she wants to do. I try to hide but she finds me … she’s a tricky one, I tell ya. Once in a while is fine but she’s takin’ things a bit too far in my opinion. I turn around and there she is, waitin’ for me, ready to pounce. She even ambushed me in the outhouse!”

“I think I’ll skip askin’ for details on that one,” Cody muttered.

“Not that I’m sayin’ I don’t believe you but that doesn’t sound like you’re talkin’ about Lou, Kid,” Buck admitted as Ike nodded his head in agreement.

“Now hold on a minute.” Cody held up his hand to have the attention brought his way. “I’ve heard tell of women actin’ all different like when they have the deed done to them; never thought it would affect Lou but she is a girl so anythin’s possible I guess.” He shrugged his shoulders as he looked at Jimmy for another opinion.

“I don’t know about the actin’ different thing Cody’s talkin’ about but I do know women and if I had one wantin’ to dance on a regular basis, I sure wouldn’t think twice about offerin’ my assistance.”

“I do offer, that’s my problem! It’s just never enough!”

Jimmy looked around at the other boys as he tried very hard not to laugh. “Like I said – don’t sound like much of a problem to me, Kid. Actually sounds pretty good.” He deliberately tried to sound envious to get Kid all riled up, thinking that might pull Kid back to thinking practical again but unfortunately, Kid was so wrapped up in his dilemma that he hadn’t noticed.

Kid sighed as his body relaxed for the first time since coming into the bunkhouse.
“Ahh, yeah it is good … no! It’s bad; very, very bad! I keep tryin’ to tell her what we’re doin’ is wrong, that it could have disastrous effects if we’re not careful but she won’t hear any of it.”

“Then just tell her no,” Noah offered.

“I can’t!”

“Why not?”

“’Cause there’s just somethin’ about her – those eyes, those lips, her hips,” he paused for a moment as his head tilted to the side, his eyes took on a faraway look and he let out a soft sigh before continuing, “and when she says those words to me …”

Cody gave a shudder as he tried to picture Lou in that way, only he kept seeing her running around in her boy togs and not all girlie like.

Jimmy rolled his eyes as he did picture Lou that way and realized he shouldn’t be. So to cover up his thoughts, he turned to Kid and asked, “What words?”

“Shut up and kiss me.”

Buck raised an eyebrow as he looked at Noah and Ike. They simultaneously shrugged their shoulders at the Indian so he turned his eyes to Kid and questioned, “What?”

The Virginian gave a smile as he pictured being told those wonderful words and the result they produced each and every time. “Shut up and kiss me,” he repeated dreamily.

Noah shook his head as a chuckle escaped his lips. “Let me guess – you shut up …”

“… and kiss her!” Buck finished as his shoulders began to shake with laughter.

“And don’t stop there!” Jimmy raised his eyebrows at the blue-eyed man, wanting more details.

“I have no will power where Lou is concerned.” Kid slumped forward on the table once more. “I’m a goner.”

“You’re gonna be a goner from the Express in about nine months time if you two ain’t careful!” Cody told him with a disapproving shake of his head. “‘Love ‘em fast and sweet and pray they don’t remember your name’ that’s my philosophy.”

“That’s why you can’t ever get a date, Cody, and why you’ll never have the problem Kid thinks he has,” Jimmy said as he got up from the table. He walked around to the other bench and slapped his hand down on Kid’s shoulder. “Don’t listen to anythin’ he says, Kid. Lou’s a grown woman; she can do as she pleases. Wish there were more like her around actually so I’d say enjoy it while you can ‘cause in my experience, it’ll fizzle soon enough and you won’t be able to get a kiss out of her, much less drag her to the barn.”

“You think?” Kid asked hopefully as he glanced up at the other rider. But before he could get a response, he heard the door begin to open. Knowing how many of them were already in the bunkhouse and realizing the footsteps had been light enough to not be heard, Kid jumped to his feet, nearly knocking the bench over in his haste to get away from the table. As he noticed the lustful person now standing in the doorway, Kid jumped behind Jimmy and cowered there until Hickok’s strong arms took hold of his and forcefully brought him out into the open until the table was in front of him and Jimmy was breathing down his neck behind him. So Kid glanced from one side to the other, thinking he could make a run for it either way but before he could move, Cody and Noah moved to stand on one side of Jimmy while Buck and Ike took up residence on the other side of him, blocking off all routes of escape. He now had five faces in varying stages of grins and smiles all watching him closely. Kid frowned at the pleased expressions on their faces but quickly erased that look as he had no choice but to acknowledge the girl in the room.

“H – hey, Lou.”

“Been lookin’ for ya, Kid.”

Kid tried to back up as Lou was now slowly coming closer to him but Jimmy’s big body was in the way so Kid cast him an annoyed look over his shoulder then turned around and pasted a smile on his face for the female rider’s sake.

“Really?! How about that?” He let out a nervous bit of a laugh, which he quickly covered by giving her a small grin. “I been around. Fortunately … I mean, unfortunately, it appears as if our paths just haven’t crossed yet today.” His shoulders relaxed as he sighed in relief but an elbow in the back forced him to stand tall again. Kid’s hands began to fidget with his belt, pockets in his trousers and the buttons on his shirt but when he noticed Lou’s eyes boring holes through the fabric, he quickly rested his hands on his hips and left them there, unaware her dark eyes had followed his hands there.

“I was just checkin’ in the barn to see if you were there.” Lou took another few steps closer to Kid, causing Buck and Ike to back up as she did. She stopped to look down at the floor then turned her long eyelashes upward in his direction. “Kid, I feel I should tell ya - as I was leavin’ I happened to notice somethin’ out of sorts with one of Katy’s legs.”

“What?! Her leg? I was just in there for hours and she was fine!” Kid left the safety of the table and Jimmy and, using the opening Buck and Ike had provided, crossed the short distance to where Lou was standing. “Maybe she hurt herself on my ride yesterday and I didn’t know it. Maybe the ground was too hard and she took a wrong step and now some swelling is forming. I better go check it out.” The southerner brushed past Lou in his haste to get out the door to his beloved horse.

Lou turned on her heal as she stared at the now opened door. “I’ll give you a hand, Kid!” she called after him even though she knew he was long out of hearing range. She brushed her hair back behind her ears and biting back a sly smile, sauntered toward the doorway, shutting the piece of wood behind her as she went out.

Jimmy stood in the middle of the floor with his arms crossed over his chest. He stared at the closed door and shook his head. “Damn, she’s good!”

“Well, boys, I’d say the barns off limits for the rest of the afternoon; how about a game of cards?” Cody asked as he pulled the deck of cards out of the top drawer of the dresser.

“Cody, you already owe me two dollars.” Buck took the deck of cards out of Cody’s hand and began to shuffle them.

“You’ll get it … just as soon as I win it back from the others.” He grinned as he took his usual seat at the head of the table. “You comin’, Hickok?” he called to his friend.

“Poor fella ain’t even aware of what’s about to hit him.”

“Well I’m sure Lou’ll take real good care of him in his state of shock,” Noah told him as he picked his cards up off the table.

“Yeah, you jealous, Jimmy?”

“Cody ….”

“Yeah?”

“Shut up …”

“And kiss me!” Buck and Noah shouted as everyone but Cody began to roar in laughter.

“I wouldn’t kiss any of you if you were the last people on earth.”

“You just don’t get it, do you, Cody?”

The teasing continued as Jimmy left his thoughts on what was going on in the barn and joined the others at the table. Meanwhile, in the barn ….

Lou closed the barn door tightly behind her and headed straight for Katy’s stall. She found Kid exactly where she knew he would be – bent over, running his hands up and down the paint’s legs. As she walked through the opened stall door, Lou began to undo a couple buttons on her blouse.

Kid finished running his hand down Katy’s rear right leg and went to move to her left when he was met with an obstacle. “Lou,” he cried, annoyed, as he tried to push her leg out of the way. “I need you to move so I can check this leg out.” He tried to bend over once more to reach the horse but only encountered the human leg once more. “The other three were fine. Where did you see the problem?”

“Right here, Kid.” Lou held her leg up and placed it in his outstretched arms. She was glad she was very flexible, she thought with a smile.

Kid caught the leg thrust into his hands and gulped down the lump that had formed in his throat. He knew what the feel of Lou’s legs did to him. “Lou?” he croaked as she began to run her hand from her calf to her thigh and up to her hip. Oh, he loved those hips!

He shook his head to clear his thoughts, not too hard though so he wouldn’t throw Lou off balance and cause her to fall as she was only standing on one leg. “You used Katy to get me out here? Makin’ me think her leg might be swollen and havin’ me all worried while I feel for heat in her leg. That ain’t playin’ fair, Lou.”

“Who said I was playin’?” she challenged him as she reached out and placed one arm around his neck then moving so she was whispering in his ear. “There is heat I need you to feel for. It’s a burning inside of me that needs to be rubbed down; it starts in my toes and goes all the way up to here.” Lou leaned her mouth toward his and began to touch her lips to his.

Kid thought he was going to die from the breath touching his ear but then when he felt the contact on his lips, he knew he had to stop her now or forever hold his peace. He quickly backed his face out of her reach, which wasn’t easy as she had a tight grip on his neck. “Now, Lou, we talked about this. You know we need to be takin’ things much slower. Let’s try some hand holding; goin’ for a walk; how about swimming? No, that wouldn’t work,” he realized as his mind drifted back to their ‘spot’ by the pond.

“Kid.”

“Yeah, Lou?”

“Shut up and kiss me.”

“You sure know how to wear a man down, Lou.”

Kid wrapped his arms around her and together they let themselves down on the hay below them. Lou rolled onto her back, pulling Kid with her as his hand reached out and swatted at the tail that swished in his face before the annoyed horse moved away from having its space invaded. He looked down into the face of the woman he loved as he placed his hands on the ground near both sides of her face, caging her in.

He looked at her wickedly as Lou grinned triumphantly back at him. “Now where were we? Oh, yeah … tryin’ to extinguish some heat. Now enough talking out of you.” Kid smiled as he lowered himself on her and met her lips in a passionate kiss.

*This is one of SEVEN 'Sins' stories... Debbie's chosen sin was 'LUST.'

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