Love of a Lifetime

Several times over the next two years Jesse would show up at Lou's house just outside of Liberty, Missouri. Usually he was hiding out from the law after one bank robbery or another that he and the James-Younger gang had committed.
Lou was not thrilled to have Jesse there, knowing that he was still breaking the law and living a life style that she and the other members of the 'family' disapproved of. Yet, she couldn't just turn her back on the young man. She had a soft spot in her heart for him and knew that deep down, he was a good man, though misguided. That is why she allowed him to 'hide-out' at her farm when the law was hot on his trail.
When Jesse was younger, Teaspoon and Rachel tried their best to keep him on the right side of the law, but the sway of his older brother Frank was just too much of a temptation for the young man who craved excitement and excitement was exactly what he got when he ran off with Frank and formed the James gang, later joining with the Younger brothers.
Over the years, Jesse became the leader of the gang much to the dismay of his old Express family. Lou started to dread reading the newspaper headlines because often there was another article on the James-Younger gang and some new bank or train that they had robbed.
It was no surprise when late one summer evening there was a knock at the back door. Lou grabbed her gun as she entered the kitchen to see who was there when she heard a voice calling, "Lou, it's me Jesse. Open up, would ya?"
Lou pointed the gun down and unlocked the door, opening it to allow the young man entry. He wasn't alone. There was a young man with him. He was at least four or five years younger than Jesse, Lou guessed as her gaze traveled over the newcomer.
He wasn't bad looking. In fact, there was a spark in his blue eyes and the way his blondish brown hair fell over his forehead and into his eyes, caught her attention.
"Jesse! What on earth? Don't tell me you're in trouble again..." Lou said exasperated with the man's continued lawlessness.
Jesse grinned and glanced at his companion. "I ain't in no trouble, this time Lou. I was just in the area here with my good friend Bob and I'd been tellin' Bob about you and the Express days and we decided to stop by and visit with ya for a spell."
Turning to the man next to him, he made a formal introduction. "Lou, this here is Bob Younger. Bob, meet Louise McCloud, the woman I was tellin' you about."
Bob smiled at Lou and told her, "My pleasure meeting you ma'am."
*~*~*~*~*
That was the first of many visits by both Jesse and Bob Younger over the next few months. For the first time, just before Christmas, Bob stopped by without Jesse.
The winds were blowing something fierce and snow was falling fast and hard when Lou opened her front door to find Bob standing on her steps.
"Bob, please come in. You must be freezing out here. Is Jesse with you?" she inquired ushering in the half frozen man.
"I'm by myself. I hope you don't mind my stopping by like this, it being so close to the holidays and all," Bob mentioned as he took off his snow-covered coat and handed it to her at her urging.
"Not at all. Please come and warm yourself by the fire." Lou lead the way into the parlor where she had a fire roaring to keep the cold at bay from the storm that had been brewing all day.
"Are you hungry? I have some stew and fresh biscuits that I made for dinner. I could warm them if you like?"
"Thank you. That would be much welcomed, if you're sure you don't mind. I wouldn't want you to go to any trouble."
"It'd be no trouble at all Bob. I'll be just a few minutes." Lou told him as she headed into the kitchen to warm some dinner for him.
When she returned, Bob was standing in front of her small Christmas tree, admiring a paper bird ornament that was hanging on one of the branches.
"I just love Christmas, don't you?" she queried setting a tray of hot food on the side table next to the fire. "The smell of the fresh pine and boughs always cheers me up."
He turned when she first began to talk. She looked so pretty by the firelight and the blue of her winter dress suited her just fine. Of all the women in his acquaintance, this is the one who caught his fancy the most and he just couldn't stop himself from coming to see her.
"The way you fixed up the room is a wonder. We didn't celebrate Christmas much when my brothers and I were growing up. Did you make the ornaments yourself?" he asked as he sat down to partake of the stew from which wafted the most tempting scents.
"A few of them. Others Rachel sent me that her students made when she was teaching back in Sweetwater. Are you heading home for the holidays? The weather isn't the best for traveling if you're going on horse."
Grinning sheepishly he offered, "Don't have much choice. Trains aren't exactly the safest place for me to be going on with all the robberies and all..."
Taken back for a moment all Lou could stammer was, "Oh, I hadn't thought of that..."
He laughed at the look on her face. It was a cross between embarrassment and not knowing where to look.
The next hour was spent in pleasant conversation about anything other than trains and banks or what Bob did when he was with the James-Younger gang.
Not once did Lou think it unusual for her to be sitting in her living room entertaining a well-known outlaw. What he and Jesse did for a living may have been against her principles but there was just something she couldn't shake when she was in Bob's presence.
He had a way of making her feel like she was the only woman in the world when he talked to her and when he turned that smile her way, well it just made her insides start to quiver.
It had been so long since any man paid any attention to her, that she had almost forgotten what it felt like to have someone pay mind to what she had to say and what she thought. It was nice having Bob talk to her about mundane everyday things, that she found herself wishing that the evening would not come to an end.
To both their amazement, the clock chimed eleven, reminding them that it was time for Bob to get going.
He put his coat on and stood in front of the door, lingering, not wanting to leave the safe haven he felt when in Lou's company.
"Thank you for the meal and the company. I enjoyed visiting with you like this Louise. I'd like to do it again sometime, if you don't object?" he confessed twisting his hat in his hands nervously.
"I think I'd like that Bob. It gets lonely out here all by myself at times. Company is always welcome. Especially when the company is as congenial as yours."
He placed his hat upon his head and opened the door to a swirling whiteout. Without their realizing it, during their visit, the snow had turned into a full-blown blizzard. There was a drift already up to the top step Lou saw as she looked out past Bob as he stood in the door looking out into what was once the front yard.
"I think you had best plan on spending the night Bob," Lou suggested nudging him back inside. "You can't go out in that mess."
As he reluctantly removed his hat and coat he had to agree with her. It was not a night to be out traveling by horse and he sure couldn't head into town to the nearest hotel. He'd be recognized for sure and with a bounty on his head, he didn't want to tempt fate.
"You know where the guest room is. I'll get you another blanket. I don't think I put one in there since you and Jesse were last here."
After leaving two extra blankets in the room, Lou told her unexpected guest good night and headed towards her own room to settle in for a restless night.
*~*~*~*~*
The next morning found the blizzard still raging and it didn't subside for another day and a half. During that time, Lou regaled Bob with stories of riding for the Pony Express and stories about Jesse that would give Bob fodder for ribbing later on. He admired how she strived to be accepted by the other riders and how she pulled her weight once they found out that 'he' was a 'she'. He didn't talk much about the banks or trains that he and the others robbed, but he did tell her about his brothers and what they were like.
"Maybe one day you will get to meet them. I know that they would like you. You are everything Jesse has told us and more. I really admire you Louise," Bob admitted making Lou blush.
They engaged in light banter and a little flirting, which made her feel like life was no longer passing her by but reaching out to her and making her live again. Since parting with Kid, Lou had kept to herself. She hardly went to town and didn't mingle with the town's people.
There was a moment, last year when she had opened the front door to find Jimmy Hickok there. Her heart had raced at the sight of him. All the old feeling she had felt for him all those years ago came rushing back and when he kissed her in greeting, she had hoped that he had finally come for her after all that time. She knew that he had loved her but he had never felt that he could give her the life she deserved. Maybe, he had finally realized that any life with his would make her happy.
But it wasn't to be. Jimmy had come to tell her that in March of the next year he planned to marry circus owner, Agnes Lake Thatcher. After he left, Lou had let herself have a good cry for an hour before wiping the tears from her face and promising herself that she was no longer going to dwell on past loves and move on with her life.
And now, here was this man, who even though he led a dubious life, was making her feel alive again. She now looked forward to Jesse's visits ever since he had brought Bob with him all those months ago. There was just something about the man that she couldn't ignore.
During one of their conversations, Lou had mentioned that in the spring, she was taking a trip to visit Rachel and Teaspoon. Teaspoon was getting on in years and not in the best of health and she needed to go see them. Bob had told her he'd let Jesse know about the man he once had looked upon as a father figure before he took up with Frank.
*~*~*~*~*
The winds and snow finally subsided and Bob felt it was time for him to head out to his brother's. Christmas was two days away and he would make it there just in time to celebrate with his family.
Lou watched with regret as Bob rode away. As she closed the door behind her and returned to the kitchen she couldn't help but notice how empty the house felt with just her in it.
Trying to shake the sadness that came over her as she put the dishes from their breakfast in the sink. 'I'm being silly,' she told herself and finished tidying up the kitchen.
'One would think I was some school girl with a crush on a boy,' she thought as she sat down in the living room where her thoughts drifted to a certain blond man who brought a smile to her face and to her heart.
*~*~*~*~*
It was late March before Lou saw either Jesse or Bob again. She had read in the paper that they had been up to their old tricks again. It made her sad, but she still held out hope that both men would one day give up the outlaw life style they were living before it was too late.
Just before the end of March, Jesse rode up with his brother Frank. "Ma'am," Frank said tipping his hat as Jesse jumped down from his horse.
"Hello Frank," Lou nodded and turning to Jesse she gave him a hug, "It's so good to see you again Jesse."
"You're looking well Lou," Jesse said lifting her in his usual bear hug. "Bob tells me you plan on goin' to see Teaspoon. How is he?" he questioned with real concern in his eyes.
Lou shook her head as she told him of Rachel's last letter.
"Rachel said that there are days when he's like the old Teaspoon we all knew and loved and then there are days he's like a man on his death bed. I'm scared that we're gonna lose him soon Jesse."
She wiped away a tear. "I'm going to see them in two weeks. I'm afraid to wait any longer. You know they'd love to see you too, Jesse," she nudged him in the side and gave him an impish grin.
Looking properly chastised for not visiting the old stationmaster and Rachel, Jesse just hung his head. "I know Lou. I'll see. Maybe I can make it out there soon."
At Frank's clearing his throat, Jesse pushed a small bag into Lou's hand and turned to mount his horse. "We got to get going Lou, but I wanted to check up on you and make sure you were alright."
Shaking his head, he refused to take the small bag back from her. "Now, Lou. I know that you don't want nothin' from me, but I really want you to have that. You've helped us all out from time to time when you didn't have to and it means a lot to all of us. Please, just keep it. Use it to go see Teaspoon. Please..." he pleaded with her, making her accept the money she knew was in the bag.
As he turned to ride away, Lou once again reminded him, "They'd love to see you Jesse. Think about it. Ride safe."
He raised his hand and waved calling out, "I'll think on it Lou. Take care," and then he and Frank were gone once more.
*~*~*~*~*
The morning before she was to leave for Sweetwater, Lou heard horses galloping towards her. Looking up from the laundry she was taking off the line, her heart skipped a beat as she recognized Bob and Jesse coming to a stop at the gate.
"Bob! Jesse! What a pleasant surprise. One more day and you would have missed me," she told them, putting her basket of laundry on the steps and going to greet the men with warm hugs and a kiss on each of their cheeks.
"I know. That's why we're here Lou. If you don't mind, Bob and I would like to go with you to see Rachel and Teaspoon."
Lou couldn't have been more surprised than she was at that moment. Never had she imagined that Jesse would actually go see Teaspoon. Joy radiated from her face as she smiled at him. "I think that's a wonderful idea Jesse!"
*~*~*~*~*
"How did you do it Lou?" Rachel asked as she watched the three men across the yard at the old bunkhouse. "I never dreamed we'd ever see Jesse again. You could have knocked me over with a feather when I seen you riding up and realized who you had with you."
Both women looked over to where Teaspoon was giving Jesse and Bob a stern talking too. They didn't have to hear his words to know what was going on. Everyone had always known when Teaspoon had something important to say and it looked like Jesse was taking his talking to like a man instead of the whiny boy they used to know.
"It wasn't my doing Rachel. Honest." Lou told her with a shake of her head. "He just showed up the day before I was leaving and asked if they could come with. What was I suppose to do, tell him no? I knew that Teaspoon would be happy to see him again so I was more than happy to have him and Bob come along."
"Um-hmm," Rachel responded. "What about this Bob Younger? What's the story there? I know who he is, that he's part of the gang that rides with Jesse and Frank, but there's more to it isn't there?"
Lou squirmed in her seat on the swing next to Rachel, thinking how to tell the woman so that she could understand how she felt.
"Rachel, I'm not really sure I can explain it. You know what happened with Kid and how I felt afterwards. I didn't want anything to do with men. I'd been hurt by one or another all my life. Then when Jimmy showed up at my door last summer I thought that maybe, just maybe love was something I could have again. Then he told me about Agnes...that he was planning on marrying her the next spring," she paused a moment as she tried to keep from crying at the pain she had felt at Jimmy's news.
"It was like I died inside Rachel. I thought he'd finally come for me and as he rode away, it felt like my heart had broke in pieces. I felt so empty and so alone. I didn't think it'd ever get better. Then one day, Jesse showed up with Bob."
Here she smiled and glanced to where the man was sitting listening with rapt attention to what Teaspoon was telling him and Jesse. At that moment he looked over and caught her eye. He gave her a quick smile before turning to answer some question Teaspoon had put to him.
"Oh, Lou..." Rachel sighed as she patted the younger woman's hand as she noticed the emotions crossing Lou's face as she looked at Bob. "He's nothing but trouble. You know that the road that Jesse is on leads to no good. Same with Bob. I'm afraid you're opening yourself up to a whole lot more pain if you fall for someone like him. And what about the age difference? He's a bit younger than you isn't he?"
"You think I don't know that Rachel? But you have no right bringing up age to me when you went and married Teaspoon! Don't even go there," Lou said angrily and took a deep breath to calm herself down. "I've had this talk with myself many times since I met Bob. I just can't talk myself out of not falling for him. Rachel, he makes me feel special, like I matter. I haven't felt that in so long...and when he looks at me, well, lets just say I haven't felt that way in a long, long time."
At the last admission both women gave each other knowing looks and laughed.
Standing up, they headed down the steps and towards the bunkhouse. "He is kind of handsome," Rachel admitted whispering so only Lou could hear her.
"I think so too," Lou stated looking at the man who had come to mean so much to her in the last few months.
*~*~*~*~*
The week went by so quickly that before she knew it, Lou was saying goodbye to the couple who helped raise the other riders and her all those years ago. It was an emotional parting because Lou knew that it was probably the last time she would see the man she considered her father alive. During the visit, she realized just how sickly Teaspoon had become and it was hard having to let go of someone she loved so much once again.
As the trio neared Liberty, Jesse said his farewells and headed back to his family who was living in hiding at the moment. Bob promised to see Lou back home safely and then would join Jesse and the others in a few days time.
It was late when the couple arrived back at Lou's homestead. She suggested that Bob plan on staying the night.
"I'd like that Lou," Bob told her as he took the reigns of her horse and turned to lead their mounts into the barn. "I'll be in as soon as I get the horses settled in for the night."
Bob locked the back door when he came in from the barn. Lou wasn't downstairs so he checked the front door and headed up the stairs towards his usual room.
As he went towards the end of the hall he heard Lou call his name.
He turned back to the door he'd just past. Stopping in the open doorway, he noticed Lou sitting up in her bed with the sheet pulled up in her lap. She looked so pretty with her hair all down around her shoulder in the lamp's glow from the nearby table.
The lump that lodged itself in Lou's throat as he stepped into her doorway made it hard to swallow as she prepared herself to do something she had never done before.
Clearing her throat, Lou smiled nervously at Bob and told herself to just say what she'd been thinking all the way home with him after leaving Jesse.
"Umm, I was just thinking...I mean I wondered...oh, this isn't coming out right!" she looked embarrassed and turned her gaze down to where her fingers worried the blanket in her hands.
Leaning against the door jam, Bob grinned to himself. He had a feeling he knew what Lou was trying to say, trying to ask. He couldn't help prodding, "Yes Lou? Is there something you wanted?" with a feigned innocence before moving to the bedside at her look of wanting and despair.
Before she could think of how to pose the question on her mind, Bob sat down on the bed and leaned towards her. His strong, warm hand wove in her long locks, bringing her head towards him and her lips to his waiting mouth.
The first kiss was intoxicating to Lou and her head swam with the sensations that his searching lips were evoking within her. Without realizing it, her hands had gone to his chest as they kissed once more and began exploring the broad, hard muscles through his shirt.
With a sense of urgency, Lou began to unbutton Bob's shirt and he soon brushed them aside to rid himself of the bothersome garment. Lou's breath caught when he tossed the shirt to the floor and stood to remove his trousers.
Bob looked up at her intake of breath and smiled at her. Lou slid over in the bed to make room for him and pulled the covers back so he could join her.
There was no need for words. Everything they were feeling was conveyed through looks of desire, need and longing...
*~*~*~*~*
Much later, Lou smiled as she snuggled deeper into Bob's embrace, feeling a lingering sense of satisfaction and contentment that she had never felt before. A feeling of loving and being loved washed over her as she drifted to sleep listening to the rhythm of his heart beating under her head where it lay against his chest.
It was late the next morning before the couple got out of bed. Much of the morning had been spent exploring their newfound love and both were reluctant to leave the others warm embrace.
*~*~*~*~*
It was about a week later that Jesse rode up to the house looking for Bob. Getting off his horse and tethering it to a bush out front, he greeted Lou as she came to the front door.
"Have you seen Bob, Lou? Cole and I have been waiting for him and he hasn't returned yet. We got worried and I figured I'd ride out here and see when he left. Haven't heard of him being caught..." he said standing on the porch with her.
"He's just fine Jesse. In fact, he's probably still sleeping. If you want, I'll go tell him you're here," Lou offered as they entered the house.
"That's okay, Lou. I'll just go wake him. Something I need to talk to him about anyway..." Jesse threw over his shoulder as he took the step two at a time upstairs.
He'd just stomped passed Lou's room heading towards the room he and Bob usually shared when staying at Lou's when a door behind him flew open making him reach for his gun as he twirled around towards the sound.
"Damn it Bob! I could've killed ya...don't ever do that to me again." Jesse declared holstering his gun.
"Well next time don't come charging up the stairs like that Jesse! I thought you were the law!" Bob growled back at his friend, lowering his gun.
Jesse just raised his eyebrow at the fact that Bob was standing in Lou's bedroom doorway, just having woken from sleeping in said room. Jesse couldn't help but feel a twinge of jealousy at the thought of the two together, knowing he'd harbored feelings for Lou all these years, even though he himself had married.
'Some feelings don't never go away...' he thought sitting down in the chair in Lou's room as Bob got dressed and he began to tell Bob about a 'job' that they were planning.
Lou had just laid out three plates of food as the men came tramping down the stairs. She heard the end of what Jesse was saying and cringed.
"...so, we need ya to come back and be ready to ride in the next couple of days."
Lou gave a weak smile to them as they sat down at the table. She knew what Jesse was planning without being told. He and the gang were going to rob another bank or train and he'd come for Bob. With all her heart she wished she could beg Bob not to go, to give up the robbing, but it was too soon for her to voice such thoughts to him. She knew that their relationship was too fragile, and with it being so new, she would do anything right then to keep their love safe and not let anything come in the way of it, even if it meant staying quiet. So, Lou ate in silence as Jesse and Bob talked of mundane things.
Shortly after eating, Lou stood on the porch as Bob saddled his horse to ride with Jesse once more. Try as she might, she couldn't keep the tears from welling up as he came to say good-bye.
Bob cupped her cheek and stroked it as he looked into her eyes. The tears were pulling at his heart, but he knew that he had to go. He kissed her gently and laid his forehead against hers, as he looked her in the eye.
"I'll be back soon Lou. I promise. I'll come back just as soon as I can..."
Lou wiped away a tear that escaped and grasped his hand. "Be careful Bob, please...just come back safe..." she whispered as his lips captured hers in a promise filled with passion.
As they left the farm behind, Jesse looked over at his friend and shook his head, "You and Lou, huh? Just don't you ever hurt her or I'll have ta kill ya Bob," Jesse growled and left it at that.
"Don't plan to Jesse," Bob answered, knowing that Jesse would make good on his threat if he ever hurt Lou.
Within a week, Bob had returned to Lou's. This time, he brought most of his belongings, intending to stay.
*~*~*~*~*
Every two weeks, Lou would head into Liberty for supplies and to listen to the news and make sure no one suspected that Bob Younger was living out at her place. Living so far out of town had it's advantages, no close neighbors, no one just dropping by for visits, especially since she had never gone out of her way to make friends after she bought the house several years ago.
She had just returned from one such trip and was carrying the last of the house hold items in when a horse with a man she had never seen came galloping into the yard. He pulled up when he noticed her near the house.
Lou wished she had her gun, but it was in the house. Thankfully, Bob was in the barn and would have his if needed.
"Can I help you?" she called to the stranger.
"Bob around?" he asked.
"I'm sorry. There's no Bob here. Are you sure you got the right place mister?" she said as she tried to keep a tremble of fear from her voice. 'Had someone found out about Bob being here? Was this man sent to find out if he was there so they could come arrest him?' Lou wondered as she started to panic.
Just then, she heard Bob call out from the barn, "Bill, what the hell brings you out here?"
A sense of relief that Bob apparently knew the man flooded through her and she let out the breath she had been holding. She watched as the two men greeted each other and Bob led the man over to introduce them.
"Lou, I'd like you to meet Bill Chadwell. He's a friend of mine. Bill, this is Louise McCloud, the one you've heard Jesse and I talk about."
Lou disliked the man on site. If he was here to see Bob, it couldn't mean anything good. She'd taken her leave of the two men as soon as introductions were over, excusing herself on the pretext of having to get things put away.
From the parlor window, Lou watched as Bob and Bill talked while sitting in the shade of the barn. After a short while, Bill got back on his horse and rode off.
A while later, Bob found Lou sitting in their bedroom, staring out the window.
"Is anything wrong, Lou?" he asked coming to crouch next to her.
She didn't look at him. "Did Jesse send for you? Do you have to go away again?" was all she could ask, afraid to say more.
"Jesse didn't send Bill for me. He came with a message from my brother Cole is all."
As she turned to look at him, Bob noticed her tear stained face. "Oh, Louise. Don't cry, honey. I'm not going anywhere," he murmured enclosing her his embrace.
He led her to the bed and sat on it, cradling her in his arms, soothing her tears and fears away with quiet words.
Lou rested her head on his shoulder taking comfort in his just being there.
"I'm just so afraid for you Bob. I worry every time you leave that you may not come back. Even if we don't talk about it, I know what you do when you ride with Jesse, I know how dangerous it can be...call me selfish, but I want you here safe with me not being chased by some posse looking to make a name for themselves by catching or killing members of the James-Younger Gang."
"I know you do Lou. That's why I've already told Cole that I'm ready to quit," he paused to gauge her reaction, which was what he'd hoped it would be.
"You have? You mean it Bob? You really want to quit?" Lou said with happiness in her voice that carried to the sparkle in her eyes.
Bob laughed and nodded his head, "Yeah, I do. In fact, Bill came to tell me about some property I asked Cole to check into near the Texas border. I was thinking that maybe you and I could get a place down there and raise some cattle or something. What do you think Lou, would you like that?"
Lou threw her arms around his neck and kissed him soundly on the lips before murmuring, "I'd like nothing better Robert Ewing Younger." She then covered his face with feather light kisses until he caught her face in his hands stilling her movement.
His eyes looked deeply into hers filled with a smoldering passion before plundering her mouth like a dying man getting his fill of life saving drink.
*~*~*~*~*
"When do you think you will be able to buy the farm you were talking about?" Lou inquired, as she lay snuggled up against Bob's body with his arm holding her close.
"With what Bill told me, the owner would be ready to leave the end of September. I figure by that time, you should be able to find a buyer for your place here and we can make it there before the weather here turns."
"Why, that's only about seven weeks away!" she declared sitting up.
"I have about a million things to do before then. Packing, finding a buyer, letting Rachel know..." Lou rambled before Bob grabbed her arm and drew her back down to him.
With a devilish grin he stated, "That can wait...this can't," as he began to run his hand down her side all the while pulling her closer.
"Ummm, I think you're right, this is more important," Lou sighed as a tingle of anticipation washed over her.
*~*~*~*~*
It had been pouring all day and late in the evening as was his want, Jesse appeared soaking and seeking shelter at Lou's.
As she took his soaking jacket and hung it in the mud room, Lou called out, "You're not in any trouble are you Jesse?"
Grinning, he looked at Bob sitting across the table from him and took a sip of hot coffee before answering her.
"Naw, ain't done nothing lately to make 'em be chasing me."
"If you say so..." Lou grumbled knowing better as she headed up the stairs to ready the spare room for him.
After he was sure that Lou was out of hearing, Jesse pulled his chair closer to Bob and became serious.
"We got a job, Bob," he told his friend.
"But Jesse, I told you and Cole that I wasn't interested in doing that any more. Louise and I are buying a place just over the border in Texas. We're going to start a new life there, you know that."
"I know Bob. Just one last job, then you can take off like you planned. This way you'd have some money to start out with...think about it after you hear what it is."
With some doubt, Bob agreed to hear Jesse out.
"I've got in mind the First National Bank in Northfield, Minnesota..."
Neither man mentioned the 'job' as they visited with Lou later that evening. Jesse thought it best that Bob be the one to tell her about it since he was going to do this one last job before leaving for a new life.
*~*~*~*~*
It wasn't until two days later that Bob finally broached the subject of leaving for a short time to meet up with Jesse and the others with Lou.
"Please, Bob," Lou cried staring at him when he'd finished telling her he planned on doing this one last job with Jesse. "Please don't. I don't have a good feeling about this...please don't leave. If you won't stay for my sake, then think about not doing it for the baby..." her voice trailed off as she began to sob.
"Baby? Do you mean you're pregnant? Why didn't you tell me? When? Are you sure?" he stammered in disbelief.
"I suspected for a little while. I went to the doc earlier today and he confirmed it. Please Bob, don't go with Jesse!"
He had to sit down and do some thinking. A baby changed the whole situation. He knew Lou wouldn't feel the same but he thought that now he'd have to go so that he'd have enough money to get started on their farm and to take care of his new family.
Hugging her close, Bob blurted out, "I'm sorry Lou, I have to go. I need money to take care of you and the baby. This way, if I do this last job, we'll have a good start...we'll get married like we talked about once we get to Texas. Everything will be all right. You'll see," he told her.
*~*~*~*~*
Two days later, Lou stood in the yard with fear filling her soul and tears slipping down her cheeks as she watched Bob ride away with Jesse, Frank, Cole and the rest of the gang.
"Ride safe..." she whispered to the disappearing men.
*~*~*~*~*
Like wildfire, the news was sent town to town through the telegraph that the James-Younger Gang had failed in a robbery attempt at the First National Bank in Northfield, Minnesota. Several members were injured but had gotten away.
When Lou heard the news she fainted in the store and the doctor had been called. She didn't sleep and could hardly eat with worry over Bob. She had no news from him and he hadn't returned. Night and day she prayed for him and the others, that all would return. Then about two weeks later a lone rider was heard coming into the yard.
Thinking it may be Bob, Lou ran to the door and raced outside. It wasn't Bob to her dismay, but Jesse himself.
He jumped off his horse and moved towards where she stood. "Lou..." he began, as he stopped a little ways away from her when he noticed the look in her eye.
"I felt that I had to come myself, to tell you the news..."
"Where's Bob? What news? What's happened now?" she stammered fear filling her heart.
"Yesterday, near Madelia, Minnesota a posse found Bob, Cole and Jim. There was a shoot out and they were captured. Bob was shot in the lung..."
He was not surprise when the attack came from Lou with fists pounding at his chest as she sobbed, "It's all your fault Jesse...if he dies it's because of you! I hate you! I hate you!" she screamed. After spending her anger on the young man, she collapsed into his arms.
"We were going to get married Jesse," she whispered softly, "and were having a baby..." and she began to cry again.
"I know Lou. Bob told me. I'm so sorry. I don't know what I can do for him, but I'll try to get help, I'll try to get him out for you...try not to worry though, I'll make sure you and the baby are taken care of," Jesse said trying to give some kind of comfort.
*~*~*~*~*
Lou headed up to Minnesota before the trial of the Younger brothers was to begin. Bob had been doing well enough to be moved to the jail, though he looked awful. Not only was he suffering from the shot to the lung, but when the botched robbery happened, he'd suffered a broken elbow.
Sitting up on his cot when he was told he had a visitor, Bob rose to go to the bars when he saw it was Lou being escorted in.
"Lou! What are you doing here? You shouldn't have come," he told her even though his heart was glad that she was there. "God, how I've missed you!" he cried as his hand reached through the bars to draw her head closer so he could kiss her.
The guards who sat talking and watching them did nothing to stop the contact so he kissed her again.
"A friend came to see me. Told me where you were," she whispered.
He understood whom she meant without naming names. So far the Younger's had refused to give up the names of their two accomplices who had eluded capture. Everyone suspected it had been Jesse and Frank James with them but no one could say for sure.
"I had to come Bob. I have to be here for you. I don't care what anyone thinks, I love you."
"I love you too Lou. God, I wish I had listened to you. I should have stayed home with you and the baby. We should have just left like we planned...now, now I'm not sure what's going to happen..." his voice trailed off full of regrets.
"I've heard rumors of prison. I hope that's all it is. I just hope the judge doesn't consider hanging," Lou told him, praying that all he got was a prison sentence, dreading that he may be sentenced to hang due to the anger and uproar of the citizens of Northfield.
"Don't think about it Lou. It can't be good for the baby. Just hold me a minute before they send you away."
Too soon the guard interrupted the couple and told Lou that her visiting time was up and she'd have to leave.
"I'll be there tomorrow in the court room for you Bob. I love you!" she called over her shoulder, as she was lead out of the jail.
The next day, the courtroom was filled to capacity and many observers were standing outside the building as the Younger's were sentenced to life in prison for their participation in the attempted Northfield robbery and the death of several Northfield citizens during the fight that ensued. They would be remanded to the Stillwater Prison where they'd carry out their sentences.
The last view of Louise that Bob had leaving the courtroom was her crying, hand out stretched towards him and saying she loved him.
*~*~*~*~*
Since the house had been sold, Lou moved into the Younger home in Jackson County, Missouri with one of Bob's sisters until the baby was born April third the next year. Lou delivered a healthy son whom she named James Robert Younger, as his father had wanted when he wrote her last.
The next several years were spent moving between Texas and Missouri and visiting Bob when possible. James Robert grew quickly and looked more and more like his father each day.
In prison, Bob worked as a clerk and bookbinder until he came down with tuberculosis in 1888. Friends and family members bombarded the governor to pardon Bob so that he could come home to live out the last days of his life, but it wasn't to be. On September 16th, 1889, Bob passed away, still a ward of the state of Minnesota prison system.
Louise was surprised to see well over eight hundred people attend Bob's funeral. Next to her stood James Robert who was just twelve years old. Though he didn't know his father very well, she could tell that he was shaken by Bob's death. She had never been allowed to marry Bob while he was in prison, but the family and surrounding community treated her with the reverence and respect of being the former outlaw's widow. Many even called her "Mrs. Younger" and she never corrected them.
With Bob's death, Lou was unsure of what to do with her life until one day a message came from Texas. It was more of a summons, from a one John L. Courtney telling her to bring James Robert down with her to Texas where she would be with those that cared about her and her son.
With a smile on her face, Lou decided that was just what they needed. A new start in a new town with an old friend who was fulfilling the promise he made to her in her front yard, that tragic day he told her about Bob being captured.
"Yes," she said out loud to herself as she tapped the message against her hand, "Texas is where we'll go!" She headed off to tell her son they were going to be leaving as soon as arrangements could be made.
*~*~*~*~*
Lou and her son lived on a small homestead near the Courtney ranch and when she died in 1920 at the age of 76 she was taken back to Lee's Summit, Missouri to be buried near Bob Younger, the man she never stopped loving.
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