The Blessing
~~ Part 2 ~~
Due to an unexpected storm, Kid had had to stop frequently and now he pushed Katy hard to make up for lost time as he headed towards St. Joe's. After leaving Katy in good hands at the livery, he checked into a hotel and cleaned up.
Kid began to wish Lou was here with him because he was having second thoughts about doing this. They could have taken the few days together and acted like a real engaged couple. Since they'd been back together, especially after he found about what Wicks had done, they decided to take things slowly, do things right this time. Make sure it was meant to be. It hadn't been easy; they had run into a few problems along the way, but the trip to Davenport showed them both they could handle anything that came there way... as long as they faced it together.
Looking at the clock, Kid decided it was time to head back to the livery and rent a buckboard. He figured it would be easier than having to borrow two more horses, especially since he wasn't sure how well or even if Teresa and Jeremiah could ride.
After getting directions, Kid headed off towards the orphanage. He hoped that Jeremiah and Teresa would remember him. When ever she would talk about her visits, Lou never mentioned if they said anything about him. It was mainly that Teresa had developed a case of hero worship towards Jimmy and Jeremiah had wanted to hear of Cody's often exaggerated escapades. Kid took it as a good sign that they had hopefully forgotten that he had been responsible for killing their father.
As he pulled in towards the orphanage, the gates opened and he could hear the children playing and laughing. Many of them surrounded him as he came to a stop in the courtyard, and he smiled and greeted each one. Finally one of the nuns approached as he was stepping down.
"May I help you?" She asked.
"If it's not too much trouble I'd like to see Mother Superior. I know she's not expectin' me..."
"Come with me and she'll see you as soon as she can." She said as they entered the church vestibule. Out of habit Kid removed his hat. "She's with someone right now, but if you tell me your name, I'll let her know you're here."
"My name is Kid; I'm a friend of Louise McCloud's." The nun nodded and walked away as Kid sat down on a pew.
After what seemed like forever, Mother Superior and the nun who greeted him entered the room with a worried expression on her face. "Kid, is everything ok? Is Louise alright?"
"Actually things couldn't be better. Louise has agreed to marry me."
Placing a hand over her chest she looked relieved. "I was worried when the sister told me you were here and anxious to see me. I'm so happy for you both, is Sissy with you?"
"Actually, no she's not. I made this trip alone, hoping to be able to talk to Jeremiah and Teresa. If it's alright with you, I was hopin' to take them in to town for lunch."
"I'm sure they would enjoy that very much," she turned towards the sister. "Would you please inform them they have a visitor and help them get ready for the trip?" The nun nodded and left.
They made small talk while waiting for Teresa and Jeremiah. After a few minutes he heard Teresa squeal in delight.
"Kid!" she said running to him and hugging him around the waist. She had grown since they last saw each other, but she still carried Ms. Mumblepuss with her. "Is Louise with you?"
"No not this time, I came to talk to you and Jeremiah about something very grown up." He noticed Jeremiah standing back and reached out his hand to shake Jeremiah's hand. "Jeremiah."
The evil scowl Jeremiah expressed worried Kid and he pulled back his arm. "What are you doing here?" Jeremiah hissed. "Where's our sister?"
"Lou's fine and back in Rock Creek. I came all this way to talk to the two of you, especially with you. I was hoping I could take you guys in to town for lunch."
Teresa nodded happily, while Jeremiah shook his head. "I'm not going anywhere with you. You can't make me!"
"Jeremiah!" Mother Superior scolded him. "You have better manners than that."
"Do I have to go?" the Mother Superior nodded. "Fine, but I don't have to like it."