Lou sat on the porch of the bunkhouse, arms crossed across her chest, a book laying in her lap and her foot propped up with a pillow under it. Her expression and the stiffness of her posture let everyone near know she was not happy with the situation.
When she'd overheard Kid's comments about their relationship she'd stormed off and ended up falling off of Lightning. She'd thought she was unhurt but when Jimmy helped her to stand she realized she'd twisted her ankle. The worst part though was when they returned to the station. Rachel had ordered her off her feet for the rest of the day. She told Rachel she was fine but her friend wouldn't listen. To make matters worse when Teaspoon had come home for dinner he'd agreed with Rachel dooming her to the porch for the rest of the day and the boys to her chores…except for Kid, who was off with that Samantha woman.
Lou sighed, uncrossed her arms picked up the book from her lap then slammed it down on the bench next to her.
"You know you could just enjoy this pretty day," Rachel said as she stepped up on the porch carrying the fixings for dinner. "And you could make yourself useful by snapping these," she added handing Lou a bowl of green beans.
"Fine," Lou grumbled taking the bowl from Rachel.
Rachel looked down at her young friend. "Could be a fine day, sugar," Rachel said sitting down next to Lou and placing the other bowl in her lap.
"I ain't pullin' my weight," Lou grouched her expression still sullen.
"At least it's a pretty day, otherwise you could be cooped up inside," Rachel said as her gaze wandered over the yard. "Besides you do have a fine view of things," Rachel said a smile lighting her face. When Lou didn't respond Rachel stood up and walked to the door. "Just holler when you finish," she said then glancing over her shoulder at the station yard she added, "A fine view."
Lou looked out over the yard as she absentmindedly snapped the beans. 'A fine view?' she thought. 'What in the world was Rachel talking about? Only things in the yard were a few chickens, the horses in the corral, a couple of trees and dirt. The only other thing was the boys doing the chores.'
Cody was brushing one of the new horses by the corral. He'd taken his jacket off and his hat hung on a post of the fence. The bright sun put lighter streaks of blond in his hair, and it even made his light-colored shirt a bit transparent. She could see the muscles of his arms and back move as he brushed the horse. He looked her way and smiled. Lou blushed at having been caught watching him. She'd not noticed before though how handsome he was. She smiled back and continued to snap the beans in the bowl. Looking away, she spotted Ike chopping wood.
Ike had seemed odd to her at first and she'd been a bit afraid of him. He was so quiet that she always thought he was watching her and expected him to be the first to find out her secret, because she'd noticed how observant he was. She watched as he lifted the ax to chop the next log. She noticed then that he'd removed his shirt. It was hard to miss that he was almost as dark as Buck. The ax fell against the wood and his muscles tensed, revealing how well define they were. As he started to swing the ax again she watched as his muscles rippled across his chest. Lou looked away quickly when she noticed Ike pause for a moment. She didn't want him to catch her staring like Cody had.
Leaning back against the wall she closed her eyes for a moment as thoughts ran through her mind. 'What was she doing? These are my friends, they're like brothers to me.' "Good Lord," she said out loud using Teaspoon's favorite term.
Opening her eyes she spotted Buck in the doorway of the loft. He was pitching hay down to Jimmy. She noticed he too had taken his shirt off but he still wore his vest. As he filled the pitchfork with hay and tossed it down she watched the muscles move in his arm and across his chest. His long dark hair was tied back and as he concentrated on this work he seemed to relax. Usually Buck seemed tense ready to spring but not today. As she watched him working she realized how handsome he was. Where the others were always trying to prove themselves, Buck had a quiet confidence. His dark skin glistened with sweat and his lean figure on any of the others wouldn't have looked nearly as fine.
"Damn," she muttered as he smiled at her. She smiled back, her next thought surprised her. 'I can see why some women don't want to be rescued if the warrior that takes them looks half as good as Buck does.' She laughed at the thought, surprised at the direction it had taken. Her laugh caught Jimmy's attention from where he stood in the doorway of the barn.
She smiled and waved to him. Jimmy, her best friend, he was every bit as handsome as the others. He disappeared into the dark barn with a pitchfork full of hay for one of the stalls then reappeared a short time later. His face was hidden from her by his hat that was pulled down to block the bright sun. She thought about how he always tried to appear so tough but was so soft on the inside. He looked scared when she'd been unable to stand after her fall; he was the first to call out to Rachel when they returned to the station. Not many knew the good man that was hidden under the tough front he put up. Of course many women didn't bother to try and get past his handsome face either. He'd taken to wearing black more lately and she thought about how handsome the color looked on him.
"Lou, you alright? I saw Teaspoon in town and he told me what happened," Kid said from beside her.
Lou's head snapped up her small smile fading. "I'm fine, Kid." 'Like you care,' she thought as she stared at him.
Rachel appeared then with a glass of lemonade. "Thought you might like something to drink, Louise," she said. "Kid, the stove is going to need more wood and Teaspoon said to start stacking the rest next to the south wall, he expects it to turn cold here soon." Turning to Lou she asked, "You about done with those?"
"Just finished," Lou replied her smile returning as she handed the bowl of beans to Rachel and took the glass.
Kid stared at the two women who were completely ignoring him now.
"Think you could peel some potatoes?" Rachel asked Lou.
"Yep," Lou replied, "I can do that. I could do more if you'd let me."
Rachel shook her head as she went back in to get the potatoes.
"Lou, you sure you're alright?" Kid asked. He knew how she felt about doing her share of the chores and couldn't believe she was fine with just sitting on the porch snapping beans and peeling potatoes.
"I'm fine, Kid," Lou said her smile real and the irritation he'd noticed in her voice earlier gone. "Figure since I can't help with the chores I'd give Rachel a hand and just enjoy the view."
Rachel returned with the bowl of potatoes and about dropped it at Lou's words. Lou giggled and continued, "Yep, can't do much anyway, just sit here, and enjoy the view. And it's definitely a fine one," she said as she looked around the station yard to where the other riders worked.
Kid scratched his head as he headed off to stack the wood for the stove and fireplace.
A moment later as Lou sat on the porch peeling the potatoes, she watched as Kid bent over to pick up some of the wood Ike had chopped. "A fine view, and it just got a bit better."