Never
Should Have Let You Go Never
Should Have Let You Go 
"Hello again, gentlemen!", Jimmy shouted as they burst through the
door.
Sheriff Gregors and his deputy almost fell out their chairs at the sudden interruption.
"Why hello there. Wasn't expectin' to be seein' you again", Sheriff
Gregors said with a false smile as he tilted his hat back into place.
"Why not? I told you we'd be stopping by to talk more about our missing
friend", Jimmy said with a barely contained grin.Buck had moved to stand
behind the deputy and barely able to hide a chuckle.
Kid however was not as entertained as his two friends. His desire to find Lou
was too strong to be sidetracked by that no-good sheriff as his brainless sidekick.
"Well, I'm gonna ask you this just once, where is she?", Kid said
as he approached the sheriff's desk.
"Well, I'm gonna tell ya like I told your friend over there. I can't help
ya", sheriff Gregors replied as he sat straighter in his chair.
"Can't or won't, sheriff?", Kid all but growled.
Buck and Jimmy passed a nervous glance before Jimmy moved forward to come between
the Kid and the sheriff.
"What my friend here is getting at is that we know she's here. As a matter
of fact he saw her last night", Jimmy said as he placed a hand on the sheriff's
desk.
"Really? Well don't that just beat all", sheriff Gregors said-neverousness
making his voice crack.
"Yeah, really, sheriff. I saw her-last night-talking to you", Kid
snarled as he pushed past Jimmy to walk around the desk to stand directly in
front of Gregors.
"So why are you lying to us, sheriff?", he demanded.
"Now just ho-hold on a minute, son", Gregors stammered as he tried
to stand and back away only to find his chair in the way.
"Th-there must be some mis-mistake", he stuttered as he kept falling
backwards into his seat. Kid came up and stood in front of him. He leaned down
and placed both of his hands on the arms of the chair-trapping the sheriff in
his seat. Deputy Redness finally started to rise from his own seat, but was
cut short when Buck came and placed a firm hand on his shoulder and forced him
back into the chair.
The Kid was completely unaware of anything else as he spoke so that only the
sheriff could hear, "The only mistake was when you decided to lie to us.
There is no one or no thing that is gonna keep me from finding her-especially
not some two-bit sheriff and his incompetent deputy, So, I'm just gonna say
this once. Stay out of our way. If I find out that you were trying to keep me
from her again, I'll kill you and make sure no one finds your body. You got
me?". The sheriff merely nodded his head slowly as the Kid stood.
" Good. I think we're done here, boys", he said as he walked towards
the door.
"You gentlemen enjoy the rest of your day, now", Jimmy laughed as
he and Buck followed behind the Kid.
"Hey, Kid, what'd ya say to make him turn that shade of green?", Jimmy
asked still wearing his grin.
"I just told him that if he kept trying to keep us from finding her, I'd
kill him and make sure no one found his body", Kid replied rather matter-of
factly. His response caused both Buck and Jimmy to stop in their tracks.
"You can't be serious, Kid", Buck said.
Kid stopped and turned to face his friends, anger and frustration making his
face hard and his voice cold.
"Damn right I'm serious. I've made too many mistakes when it comes to Lou.
Too many things and too many people have gotten in the way. Well, nothing and
no one is gonna get in the way now. Now, are you two still gonna help me or…".
"Whoa, now. Just hold on, Kid", Jimmy interrupted. "You know
we're always gonna stand with you, and you know we'll help you anyway we can.",
he continued as he moved to place a calming hand on the Kid's shoulder.
"Yeah, Kid. We just want to make sure that you don't get so caught up in
what you're trying to do, that you lose sight of what you're actually doing
here", Buck chimed in.
"So, you guys think I went too far in there?". Kid asked.
"You tell me", Jimmy replied. "Would you consider telling the
sheriff that you are gonna kill him and make sure no one finds his body to be
going to far?", he asked with a slight laugh.
"I guess I can see your point", Kid admitted. "It's just that
we are so close. I can feel it. And it just gets to me that some idiot with
a badge could get in the way".
"Well, what do you say about finding her before he gets the chance",
Buck suggested with a smile.
"I say let's get going". Kid said with an answereing smile.
"Alright, how do you wanna play this, Kid", Jimmy asked as they stood
at the edge of town.
"I think that we'll get more done if we split up", Kid said as he
stared into town-realizing just how big Hastings really was.
"Kid, I agree, but I don't think that I'll be able to get as much information
from these people if I go asking on my own", Buck said seriously.
"I hate to admit it, Kid, but Buck may have a point there", Jimmy
said honestly.
"Well, in that case how about you two take one side of town and I'll talk
the other?", Kid said after a moment.
"Alright and if we don't find her or any real lead as to where she may
be, let's meet back at the hotel at 6:00. Otherwise, whoever finds out anything
well let the others know", Jimmy added.
"Alright, good luck fellas", Kid said as he walked into town.
"Good luck to you, Kid", Buck called back as he and Jimmy started
toward their side of town.
"What time is it?" Jimmy asked.
"Last clock I saw had it as being 5:00, and that was about thirty minutes
ago."
"Damn", Jimmy swore softly. "We've been at this for hours now,
and we still don't have anything to really go on. Either they don't know her,
or they know her but don't know where we can find her.", he continued.
"Yeah, this really is frustrating, and I doubt the Kid's doing any better
seein' as how we haven't heard from him", Buck added.
"Well, we have time for a few more shops before we're supposed to meet
the Kid", Jimmy said with a sigh. "So, let's get back to work, and
let's hope someone gets luck real soon".
He'd been at it for hours and he still was no closer to finding her than he
was when he started. To top it all off, it was almost time for him to call it
quits for the day and go meet his friends.
"I can't keep coming up empty handed", he thought. "Soemone's
got to know where she is", he said to himself as he approached one of the
few stores he had left. "Great. A dress shop" , he thought to himself.
"Well, here goes nothing", he whispered to himself as he entered.
"May I help you, young man?", a kindly looking old woman asked from
behind the counter.
"Ma'am, I sure hope you can", Kid said with a tired smile.
"Are you looking for something in particular? We have the best selection
in town, ya know. I'm sure the young lady you're buying this for will just love
one of our new designs. We have all the latest big city designs. And just remember
that we can make a dress in case you have something special in mind", the
old woman chattered on-clearly excited by the idea of helping a man in love
find something special for his girl.
Kid spoke up before she had him looking at patterens, "No, no, I'm not
looking to buy a dress".
"Then what are you looking for in a dress shop?", she asked as she
turned to look at him with confusion showing clearly on her face.
"Actually, it's not a what I'm looking. I'm looking for a who-a young lady
to be exact".
Horror ran across the old woman's face as she yelled, "We sell dresses
here! Not young ladies!".
And with that she turned her back to him and proceeded to show him the exit.
"I think the place you're looking for is the saloon", she added with
a huff. Kid stood in disbelief for a few moments before he really understood
what happened.
"Ma'am, I'm afraid you and I are not understanding each other", he
said with the first true smile he had in hours. "See, I'm not looking for
that kind of young lady. I'm looking for a friend of mine. She came here almost
two weeks ago, and I was wondering if you've seen her or know where she might
be", Kid said slowly trying to let the meaning of his words sink in.
"Oh my word!", the old woman chuckled. "You're right. I totally
misunderstood. I knew you were a nice young man", she said after a few
moments of giggling. "My name is Lilian Henderson. My husband and I own
this shop. I'm not sure if I can help you with your particular situation, but
I'll sure try. Believe you me, any young lady who comes to this town usually
ends up in my shop at least once", she with pride.
"She sure is a nice old woman", Kid thought to himself. "Well,
her name is Louise. She has brown hair that almost touches her shoulders and
big brown eyes. She's about this tall", he said with his hand coming up
to his chest to gvie the woman an idea of Lou's height. "And like I said
earlier, she came here about two weeks ago. Oh, and she has a black horse, calls
him Lightning", Kid finished.
"And you wouldn't be trying to start up any trouble for this young lady?"Lilian
asked a few moments after Kid finished his description.
"No, of course not. I told you, she and I are friends", he said quickly.
"Actually, I care about her a lot", he added not able to look the
old woman in the eyes. "Besides, I'm a nice young man, remember?",
he joked.
"I do believe you are. And I do believe you've come to right place",
she said with a smile.
Kid almost didn't dare believe her. His smile became so big it threatened to
split his face.
"Louise came to me about two weeks ago, like you said", she said.
"She was such a lovely girl. She bought some dresses from me", she
added.
"Do you know where she went?", Kid asked almost coming undone with
excitement.
"Sure do. Actually, she didn't' really go anywhere. She's such a lovely
girl, and I could tell she was going through a bad time. So I offered her a
job here helping me in the shop. Walter, my husband, works the fields around
our house, and I was really getting overwhelmed here. I was just about to go
make a sign in the window when she walked in. Musta been fate", she said
with a smile. Kid had stopped hearing the woman soon after she told him that
Lou, his Lou, worked here. He came around just in time to hear he say, "She
went to the post office to pick up some fabrics I ordered a while back. She
should be back any minute now. As a matter of fact, I think that's her crossing
the street".
Kid spun around, and there she was-loaded down with packages and drawing attention
from everyone she passed.
"How could any of them not know who I was looking for?", he thought
to himself. He rushed out of the shop just as she approached. She was so overwhelmed
by her packages that she didn't see him standing in front of the door.
"Need help with those, Ma'am?", Kid asked as she came closer.
Lou stopped dead in her tracks, her mind racing. The words "It can't be"
just kept repeating themselves in her head until she realized that she was actually
mumbling them to herself. Sbe tried to slowly peek around her load, and what
she saw stole her breath away. Those eyes. Those beautiful blue eyes that haunted
her day and night were staring back at her. She felt her heart stop as the packages
fell to the street.
"Hello, Lou. Long time no see", Kid said with a slight smile.
"Oh, no", she whispered as she felt her legs getting weak and her
mind getting fuzzy. Kid rushed to grab her as she began to sway. Once she regained
her senses, she jerked away from him like his touch burned her. A mixture of
hurt and confusion washed across the Kid's face at her reaction to his touch.
"Lou, what….", he started. He was interrupted by someone shouting
her name from across the street.
"Lou!", Jimmy shouted as he and Buck came to meet them.
"Jimmy! Buck!", Lou exclaimed as she ran into their waiting arms.
Anger began to build up in Kid at the difference in Lou's reaction to their
meeting and her reaction to seeing Jimmy and Buck. He bent down to start picking
up the dropped packages just to give himself something else to focus on.
"What are you boys doin' here?", Lou asked in between hugs, glad to
have something else to do other than think about what was going on.
"What do you think? We're here with him", Jimmy replied nodding his
head in the Kid's direction.
This brought her attention back to Kid who had just finished picking up her
packages and was now standing there waiting for her to make her move. She began
to walk towards him and stopped only about a foot away.
"Thanks", she said softly making sure to avoid his eyes as she reached
for the packages.
"You're welcome, Lou", he replied as he turned so that she could not
reach the parcels.
"I can carry those, Kid. Why don't you get back to doing whatever brought
you here", Lou said trying once again to retrieve the packages.
"Don't worry. I have plenty of time now", Kid said with a slight smile
as he began to walk back to the store.
Lou, Jimmy, and Buck followed behind him as he entered the store.
"Why I thought you were never comin' in here!", Lilian exclaimed as
she hurried to help the Kid into the store.
"We had a little catchin' up to do, isn't that right, Lou?", Kid said
as he placed the parcels on the counter.
"Lou? Who is this Lou?", Lilian asked as she looked around.
"I'm sorry. Perhaps I should have said Louise", Kid said smiling at
the old woman's confusion.
"Louise! Oh, that's darling little name!", Lilian squealed as she
walked to stand beside Lou. "And who are your friends? Unless I'm completely
off my mark, they ain't here for the dresses", Lilian whispered in her
ear.
"Oh, sorry", Lou said distractedly.
"This here is Buck", she said moving to stand near Buck.
"His name is Jimmy", she said pointing to Jimmy. "And the guy
who brought in the packages is called Kid", Lou said not even looking in
his direction.
"Oh, so that's your name. It's a might strange don't ya think?", Lilian
said moving to lean on the counter like a little girl.
"You two know each other?", Lou asked with surprise.
"We met a short while ago. He came in while you were out. I thought he
was coming in to find a dress. When actually he was in here looking for a young
lady", Lilian said with a wink in the Kid's direction.
"Oh, really", Lou whispred softly as her head dropped down to stare
at the floor. Everyone took notice of her reaction, but only Lilian spoke up.
"Well, Miss Louise, I do believe it's past time for us to close up for
the day. Walter should be waiting on me right now. So, I'll be leaving you to
lock up like I always do. Unless you need me for something?", Lilian spoke
as she began gathering her belongings to leave.
"No, no it's alright Miss Lilian. I'll be just fine, thank you", she
said looking up just long enough to catch Lilian's eye.
"Well alrighty then. Would you two young men be kind enough to escort me
to meet my husband? I really would like to introduce him to some of Louise's
good friends", Lilian asked as she took the arms of Jimmy and Buck and
all but dragged them out of the store.
"We'll be around if you two need anything", Jimmy called back as they
left.
Once the others were gone, silence filled the room. Tension and nerves made
it hard for either of them to breathe let alone speak.. However, it was Lou
who broke the silence with a barely heard question.
"So, who's the girl, Kid?.Is it anyone I know?". At first Kid said
nothing. He simply moved to stand directly in front of her, filling her presence.
Lou was still looking at the ground when he started to speak.
"Lou", he said softly. "Lou, come on. Look at me", he said
but without any success. So he tried again, "Lou, look at me. Please",
he asked softly as reached to cup her chin and bring her eyes to meet his.
The emotions showing in his eyes were almost too much for her. She couldn't
quite make out exactly what was going on behind those baby blues, but she knew
it was intense. She just figured that it wasn't good, at least for her. She
knew that Kid hated it when he wasn't in charge of a situation, and she knew
that he was probably furious with her for taking control away from him when
it came to theiir relationship. It didn't matter if he found someone new. He
still hated her for making the final decision without him. She didn't know how
she was going to survive his fury, but she had no choice. So, she took a deep
breath and tried to prepare herself for the worst.
"Alright, Kid", she started with a sigh but was interrupted by a finger
being placed gently on her lips.
"You know who I came here for, Lou", he said with an soft smile. "I
came here for you, just like I will always come for you. I just couldn't let
you go, not again. So, are you still jealous? Or can I finally see the smile
I've been dreaming of for so long now?", he asked as he cupped her face
in his hands At his unexpected declaration Lou did the only thing she could.
She began to cry.
Kid was completely unprepared for her reaction to his words. He'd envisioned
passionate kisses, laughter, hurried declarations of eternal love and fogiveness.
The tears that had now begun to fall in earnest were the furthest things from
his mind.
"Well, Lou, this isn't quite the reaction I was hoping for", he said
on a nervous laugh. This only seemed to upset her further as she began to struggle
to free herself from his touch.
"No, you can't be here. You can't be saying those things to me. I can't
do this", Lou said between sobs. She had begun pacing back and forth, shaking
her head and wringing her hands.
"Lou, what do you mean?", Kid asked, growing more nervous with every
step she took. "Lou, just calm down and talk to me", he said as he
reached out and grabbed her arm to stop her. "What are you talking about?",
he asked her with all the patience he could gather.
"Oh, Kid", she began before another sob stopped her.
"Lou, it's alright", he reassured her. "You can tell me. Whatever
it is we will work it out". Lou hung her head in a pose of absolute defeat.
"Kid, I can't just fall back into your arms this time. It just hurts too
much when it falls apart", she said softly before the tears began again.
Kid was actually becoming frightened by the way the conversation was going.
"Lou, things can be different this time", he said desparately.
"Things are already different, Kid", Lou exclaimed. "That's the
problem. You are different. I am different. I want more, but you want less.
I want the life you promised me before!", she yelled as she pulled away
from him again. "I want the life you can't give me because you don't love
me the way you used to", Lou said as she tried to regain her composure.
"Look, Kid, I know at the beginning I was always ran away. I didn't think
that I deserved that kind of love", she said quietly before looking up
to gaze right into his eyes. "Now, thanks to you, I know that I don't deserve
anything less. You showed me the way love is supposed to be. You changed me,
Kid, and I can't change back-not even for you", she said as she turned
to walk away.
"Lou, wait", he started as he went after her.
"Kid…", Lou began.
"No, Lou, you're right. I don't love you the same as I used to", he
said simply. At the look of devestation that crossed her face, he hurried to
finish. "I love you so much more", he said with a smile.
"What?", she squeaked as her head shot up.
"I think you heard me. I love you, Lou-always have, always will. But I
never love you the same. Each day my love for you changes. Every day I love
you more than I did the day before", he said as he tried to keep her gaze.
"So, unless you just don't want that life with me, I'd like to try again."
"Oh, Kid", she gasped. "Of course I wanna try again!", she
exclaimed as she jumped into his open arms. "I'm just so scared, Kid. What
if we try and it doesn't work-again?", she mumbled into his chest.
He lifted his hand and began to stroke her hair as he whispered softly into
her ear, "Then we'll try again, Lou. We'll just keep trying until it works.
I'm not giving up on us".
They didn't know how long they had been standing there simply holding each other.
Kid was the first to notice that it had begun to grow dark.
"Are you hungry?", he asked as he lifted his head to kiss her cheek.
"I'm starvin' come to think of it", she said on a laugh.
He grew serious for a moment as took his finger and traced her lips. "For
a while there I thought I'd never hear your laugh again. I thought I'd never
get to hold you like this", he said as he brushed the back of his hand
across her cheek.
She noticed the sudden turn the mood had taken and decided to lighten it up
by saying, "Well, the sooner you feed me, the sooner we can get back here
and get reacquainted".
He didn't need any more inspiration as he all but dragged her out of the store
and down the street to the restaurant.
"Fancy seein' you two here", Buck said on a chuckle.
"Yeah, I thought you two would be dancin' the night away", Jimmy said
trying to make his friends squirm.
He laughed when they both turned bright shades of red as they completely understood
his hidden meaning.
"Yeah, well, it was getting' late and we were hungry", Kid mumbled.
"Well, pull up some chairs", Buck said, trying help the Kid and Lou
out of their embarrassment.
"I was afraid that I'd be stuck by myself with Jimmy for dinner",
he finished with a smile and a wink at Lou. Jimmy just shot him a dirty look
as moved to make room at the table.
"Have you already ordered?", Kid asked he sat.
"Actually, no we haven't", Buck replied. "I guess you two have
good timing".
"So, what looks good tonight?", Lou asked as she began to search her
menu.
"Well, that's an easy one……..you", Kid leaned over and whispered
in her ear. Lou was thankful for her menu because it allowed her to hide her
blush.
"Hey, you two, cut that out. We're in public remember", Jimmy shouted
from the other side of the table.
"Aww, Jimmy, leave them alone", Buck said softly.
"Yeah, Jimmy, leave us alone", Kid said smiling.
"Alright, alright. I can see I'm out numbered here", Jimmy gave in.
"But I doubt you'll have much luck with Cody when you get back". He
finished as the waitress came to take their orders.
Dinner lasted longer than the Kid and Lou realized. The reuninted friends began
talking about old times, and the boys tried filling Lou in on what it had been
like without her. It wasn't unitl the waitress came to remind them that the
tables were reserved for diners that anyone noticed how long they had been sitting
there.
"We really must do this more often", Buck said as they rose from the
table.
"Sure. How about tomorrow?". Lou said with a smile.
"It's a date", Buck said as he placed a kiss on the back of her hand.
"Speaking of dates…", Kid interrupted. "
Yeah, Buck, I think these two have a previous engagement", Jimmy said,
unable to resist.
"So, Kid and Lou, when are we returning home?", Buck asked out of
nowhere.
"Well, I think it's only right that I stay until Mrs. Lilian finds a replacement.
She's been so kind, and I'd to leave her short handed after all she's done for
me", Lou answered. "I know that you guys need to be getting back soon
though. So, if you want to head on back, I'll should be back a few days after
you", she finished.
"Are you kidding? I'm not letting you out of my sight", Kid said as
he pulled her close. Lou couldn't help but giggle at his public display of affection.
"Buck, what's your hurry?", Jimmy asked. "We should at least
give ourselves another day. Kid put us through hell, and personally, I haven't
fully recovered yet".
"You do have the point there", Buck said with a grin.
"Yeah, and not just the one on his head.", Lou joked.
"Kid, are you just gonna stand there and let her insult me like that?",
Jimmy asked with fake outrage.
"Pretty much, Jimmy", Kid said laughing.
They group said their goodbyes and made plans for the next day. Then they all
parted ways for the evening. Buck headed back to his room, Jimmy headed toward
the saloon, and Kid and Lou headed through town, hand in hand.
They arrived back at the dress shop shortly after leaving the restaurant. Kid
followed Lou around to the back of the store where they came upon the stairs
that led to the upstairs room. He followed close behind her as she ascended
the steps and stopped to unlock the door. As she opened the door, Kid took her
by the arm and turned her to face him. He just stared at her as the full moon
illuminated her face. He traced her features with his fingers until he'd touched
them all. Then he gently framed her face with his large hands and softly whispered
to her, "You are so beautiful, Lou".
He slowly leaned in and placed a tender kiss on her lips. When the kiss ended,
Lou eyes were filled with tears once again.
"Oh, Kid. I've missed you so", she said as she threw herself into
his embrace. His body shook with laughter as she began frantically kissing any
part of him she could reach.
"Whoa, Lou. I thought we'd do this slow", Kid said as he stepped back
slightly.
"Yeah, well, we can do slow later, Kid. I need you now", Lou said
as she gave him a long, wet kiss. With that, Kid's resistence crumbled, and
they tumbled into her apartment, landing on the floor with a thud. They were
unaware of the fall. All they felt was their need for each other. Their kisses
were deep and passionate. Their touches were rough and urgent. They couldn't
get close enough. Finally, they had nothing between them but the night. Their
ragged breathing filled the silence. He couldn't see her in the darkness, but
he could imagine how beautiful she was, and it made him pause. He reached out
to grab both of her hands in his. He gingely kissed them both and whispered,
"I love you so much, Baby".
"Oh, I love you too, Kid", she whispered back. Then there were no
more pauses. The only words spoken were hushed and so passion filled they were
almost unintelligible.
Afterwards, they continued to lay there, just content to be next to each other.
Finally, the chill of the nigh air snapped Kid out of trance, and he sat up
and began placed her in his lap.
"Kid, what are you doing?", Lou asked with surprise. He didn't answer
her question but stood up with her still in his arms.
"Lou, you got a bed somewhere in here?", he laughed.
"Ummm, yeah. It's a over there by the wall", she answered.
"This would have been a better idea with some sort of light", Kid
grumbled as he tripped over yet another unseen object. "Geex, Lou, what
are growing things out of your floor?", he complained as he finally reached
her bed. He gently sat her on the edge as he reached around and pulled the covers
back. He gently picked her up again and layed her on the bed. Once she had snuggled
in, he climbed in beside her and wrapped his arms around her. He placed a soft
kiss in her hair, and they soon drifted off to sleep.
