Love on the Run
Part 3
There were many changes at the Sweetwater station over the next six months. The biggest was that Emma and Sam had run off and gotten married when Sam was given the opportunity to become the Territorial Marshal. Each of the riders would take turns cooking, but without a station mother, things were going downhill and fast. Teaspoon had also been given Sam's old job and a new rider, a black man by the name of Noah, had joined the group.
Kid tried to move on as if he'd never met Lou, but it was a hard thing to do. When he arrived back to the station, much earlier than expected, Teaspoon took one look at his face and knew something had happened. The stationmaster didn't ask for questions, and for once Kid was glad that Teaspoon didn't try giving him advice that would confuse him more than help.
A couple of days after Cody left on a special run with a message from to be delivered to Fort Miles, Kid got up early and dressed. Without Cody's snoring, things were quiet at night, and everyone was getting a good nights rest, except for Kid. Every night Lou haunted his dreams and he would wake up usually in a foul mood. This morning though as he exited the bunkhouse, he almost tripped on something left on the porch.
"Dang it! Who left their stuff laying out here? I coulda killed myself!" Kid yelled without looking over what he tripped over. He stopped when he heard what sounded like a baby crying. He looked down to see a small baby in a basket with a note attached.
"Teaspoon!" he yelled after briefly reading over the note. "Teaspoon!"
Teaspoon came running from the tack room as the other riders exited the bunkhouse to see what the commotion was.
"Kid, what in hell has you yellin' this early in the mornin'?"
"That," he said pointing to the basket. "Someone left a baby on our doorstep."
"A baby? Who in the world..." Teaspoon looked and sure enough Kid was right. "Well boys, just don't stand there. Take it inside, and let's try to figure this out."
The next few minutes passed in a blur as the riders sprung into action. There was something about a baby that made even the toughest in the group turn to mush, as they tried to figure out where he had come from and what to do with it.
"Jedidiah's a good baby. Please look after him, and when he's old enough to ask, just tell him his momma died. I know I've got no right asking your help, but his father is one of your Express riders, and I figured he'd be better off with his loving father than with me. Thank you and God Bless" Teaspoon read the note out loud. "And it's signed Desperate."
Kid shook his head. "What kind of mother would do something like that?"
"Well probably somebody in pretty bad trouble."
"What are we going to do, Teaspoon?" Buck asked.
"Well, we just uh... Wish to hell I knew."
"Well I'm already doin' the cookin' and cleanin'. How much more could motherin' be?" Jimmy asked making baby noises. The riders giggled.
"With that head, he kinda looks like Ike," Kid offered.
"Drools like Cody," Jimmy said laughing.
*Who do you think the father is,* Ike signed. *Do you really think it's one of us?*
Everyone in the room looked at Jimmy. "What's everyone lookin' at me for?"
"Well Jimmy," Teaspoon started. "You do have a reputation with the ladies, now don't ya?"
"So does Cody. I don't think..."
"Well that's the trouble. You boys ain't thinkin' when you go in to town on your nights off," Teaspoon informed them. He put the baby on his lap and started to play horsey with him.
The baby started fidgeting and Teaspoon hoped to entertain him before he started crying. "What this baby needs is somethin' to play with. Keep him from fussin'."
Jimmy walked to his bunk with an idea. A few moments later he returned with the spurs from his boots. "How 'bout these?" he said holding them up. Teaspoon and the rest of the riders just stared at him. "Well they're shiny and they make noises."
"Well so's your gun but you wouldn't give him that, would ya? Never mind."
"What do I know anyway?"
"More about cookin' I hope," Buck answered.
"Yeah Jimmy, what ifs we gonna have for breakfast anyway?"
"I'm workin' on it!" Jimmy exclaimed before storming out of the bunkhouse.
"I better go check on this menu, dontcha think? Somebody wanna hold him?" he asked the remaining boys. All jumped at the chance, Kid getting there first.
"Kid, now relax son. He ain't gonna explode. You put one hand under the bottom and the other right around the back," he informed him, placing the tiny baby in Kid's arms. He walked towards the door sparing one last glance at his boys.
"Just can't understand how a mother could leave her baby like that," Buck wondered.
Kid looked down at the tiny bundle in his arms. The baby looked up at Kid and seemed to quiet down. "I don't know, Buck. Maybe she thought he would be better off with his pa."
Kid began to imagine what his kids would look like someday. Of course he imagined the girls looking as beautiful as their mother and his sons strong like him. They would have Lou's chocolate eyes and his unruly sandy hair. He shook his head, not surprised Lou had popped into his mind as the mother of his children.
Another strange image popped into Kid's head, but just as quickly disappeared as he felt the front of his shirt getting wet. He looked down to see the diaper had come loose.
Buck noticed the strange look that Kid on his face. Looking down at his shirt, he saw the problem. "Teaspoon! I think he just sprung a leak!"
Ike thumped on his chest to get Kid's attention and held his arms out. Kid was more than happy to hand the baby over to someone else. He rushed out of the bunk to talk to Teaspoon and caught up with him on his way back to the bunkhouse from the main house.
"Teaspoon, what's gonna happen to the baby?"
"I don't know, Kid. Why?"
"Was just wonderin'. Are we gonna try to find the mother?"
Teaspoon shook his head. "With Emma gone and me still not bein' able to find a replacement, we have our hands full as it is, even with Noah."
A similar thought to what Kid had had earlier popped back into his mind. "I may have a solution to that problem, Teaspoon. Can I have some days off? Please?" he said almost begging.
"I guess so, Kid. It's been awhile since you've had any time off. You even refused when I tried to get you to take some when your brother died. Since you've been workin' hard, go ahead and take as much time as you need."
Kid smiled. "Thanks, Teaspoon. Is it possible you could keep the baby until I get back?"
"I reckon that's possible. Since we can rule out Noah, it'll give me a chance to question Cody when he returns from his runs. Unless the mother comes back, I think he'll be safe here for the time bein'."
Kid ran back to the bunkhouse to pack a few items for the trip. The others too busy with the baby to notice, Kid took one last look at the baby and smiled. Then he ran to the barn to ready Katy.