Author's Note: Third installment of the Lou & Kid - Return To Sweetwater series. This story is a sequel to Times of Trouble.

The young woman sat contentedly on the front porch, trying her best to entertain the young toddler by her side. It was all she could do to keep him from bolting down the stairs and towards the gate of the picket fence. His soft brown curls were highlighted by his bright blue eyes, which lit up as he pointed towards the pasture and yelled, "Hosey!"

Louise Jackson smiled and answered, "Yeah, Ike, those are horsies all right. And a lot of them, too." The pasture was dotted with the well-bred, cattle herding horses the KL&E had become known for in the short time they'd been in business. Lou tried to keep her gaze away from the action in the corral, where her young husband, Kid, and close friend, Buck Cross, were doing their all-fired best to break their necks as they worked on breaking a particularly stubborn gelding. Lou believed it was a battle of the wills and couldn't predict who would come out on top - the men or the horse.

Emily Metcalfe-McSwain appeared from around the corner of the house, empty close basket in hand. She smiled softly when she saw her young son and her best friend, seemingly deep in conversation. She knew the little tike could just about talk your ear off if you let him, and there was no doubt he was jabbering about "hoseys", his all time favorite subject. It was all the two women could do to keep the youngster away from the bustling excitement of the corral, where he could easily be injured.

"He wear you out yet, Lou?" Emily asked her friend as she climbed the steps of the porch. Louise was five months into her third pregnancy after a miscarriage and a stillborn son, and everyone at the KL&E was making sure she did absolutely nothing even remotely strenuous that might endanger the coming child.

"Nah," Lou answered. "We were just talkin' horses, weren't we, Ike?" The adults of the KL&E had recently started referring to Ike McSwain's son as "Ike", rather than "Baby Ike" or "Little Ike," since he was the only Ike around. It reduced arguments with the toddler when he began insisting he wasn't "wittle."

"What a surprise!" answered a laughing Emily. Reaching for her son, she said, "Enough horsies for today, though, mister. I do believe it's time for your nap."

"NOOOO!" screamed the toddler at the top of his lungs. "Don't wanna!"

"'Wanna' or not, it's time," scolded his mother. "I'll be right down, Lou," Emily called over her shoulder as she toted the child indoors.

The fresh breeze that drifted softly through the valley lulled Louise as she sat relaxing on the porch swing. The smell of wildflowers hung in the air, surprisingly overpowering the barnyard scents. Lou closed her eyes and her thoughts were transported to a land filled with memories. Memories of Sweetwater in the "good old days" nearly five years prior, when Teaspoon had become the riders' surrogate father and teacher, Emma had been her confidant, Sam had been an upstanding and fair marshall, and she and the other riders had good-naturedly poked fun at each other and helped one another through this scrape and that. Lou remembered her mixed feelings at Sam and Emma's wedding, knowing they'd be leaving the tiny town due to Sam's promotion. And she remembered the arrival of Rachel and how the boys had nearly tripped on their tongues until the woman put them in their places and thereby earned their respect. Lou recalled their relocation to the Rock Creek way station, and how Noah and Jesse joined their family, each finding their place into the riders' hearts. Lou's most treasured memories centered around the Kid - how he discovered her secret and promised to keep it from the other riders, how they quickly fell in love, how stubborn they'd been when it came to compromising for the good of their relationship, and all the events leading to their eventual wedding.

But these good memories gave way to the heart-wrenching ones - first Ike's untimely death, followed by Noah's, Jesse's disappearance, Jimmy and Cody's departure, and the end of the Pony Express and life as they'd come to know it. Lou couldn't help but remember the events that led to her miscarriage and further disappointment when her and Kid's first son had been stillborn. She thought of her heartbreak when she'd discovered her siblings didn't want to come to Sweetwater, after all her hard work and savings to bring her family together. And she was still haunted by her attack by Casey Howard, a brute who'd been shot dead by Emily.

Dear Emily, Louise thought. Where would I be without her? The two women were inseparable. Emily had had her share of heartbreaks, too, but she always stood beside Louise and nothing could shake the sisterly love they shared. Louise hoped true love would once again find her friend someday, that she'd stop pining for Ike. Since their return to Sweetwater, many young men had come to the KL&E calling on Emily, but they never came back. Lou knew Emily held each poor soul in comparison to Ike, and none of the suitors ever came close to fitting the bill. Someday, she hoped for her friend's sake.

Louise knew she should be thankful her someday had come - that she had finally conceived the much-wanted child she now carried. But instead of excitement and anticipation, she felt fear and worry. She was afraid to get her hopes up, afraid to fall in love with the unborn baby. Louise was terrified that somehow her dreams would again be dashed and her arms again be empty. She never shared her fears with Kid. He was too thrilled about the upcoming birth to even think straight. She knew he'd say she was being irrational, and he'd be right. But she couldn't help feeling the way she did, especially when she looked across the yard to where the old oak tree shaded her tiny son's grave.

The sound of the screen door opening and closing and the appearance of Emily brought Louise's thoughts back to the present. Lou smiled as Emily sat down next to her and slipped her arm around Lou protectively.

"So you got him down?" Lou questioned.

"Not without a struggle!" declared Emily. "That child will send me to an early grave!" she added, laughing. Both women knew the "terrible twos" certainly applied where Ike was concerned.

"Well he better not," Lou commented. "I'd be bored to tears without you, and no doubt I'd do something to incur the disapproval of Kid and Buck!" The men had been ever-watchful of Louise throughout her pregnancy. They barely allowed her to walk up the porch steps, and Lou feared that may end soon, too. "Pretty soon they'll have the doctor here 'round the clock and checking my every heartbeat!"

"They're just concerned, Louise," Emily comforted her. "You know that."

"Yeah," Lou concurred. "But it ain't gonna make one bit o' difference when the time comes. You don't know how much I just wanna jump on Lightning and ride..." her voice drifted off. "I think they forget how much it used to be a part of my life - a part of who I am."

"Someday you'll be able to do just that," Emily replied. "Just get on Lightning like the old days and ride like the wind." She breathed in the fresh air, both as an emphasis on her statement and a cleansing breathe of her own. Someday she'd find true love again - someone who'd love her completely, who she could tell the truth about her past and who would love Ike's son as his own.

Someday, each woman thought silently.

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