...

I used to have a brother. I say used to because he died. Jimmy shot him. Truth is, he stopped being the brother I knew a long time before then. The brother I knew wouldn't have done the things that Jed did. He wouldn't have robbed banks or stolen from the government and he would never have committed murder in cold blood. I... I don't really wanna talk about him right now.

I'd rather talk about the family I got right here in Sweetwater. It's funny, but if somebody would have told me that these people would become the people I depended on, I mighta laughed at ya. But there isn't a bunch of people I trust more. We eat together, ride together, fight together (and sometimes with each other) and if it comes down to it, I know we'd die together. Of course, I hope it never does. Especially with the war coming. I need to be there. I should be there NOW. Even Jed said that it was my duty and I believe it. The South is my home and those people are my kin, in a way. It ain't like I always agree with them, but it's my heritage. It's in my blood. And someday, this here Pony Express is going to be gone, replaced by something bigger and better. It's a good thing to know that I'll still have these people in my heart and mind, no matter what. And that? That's family.

They call me The Kid, and pretty much that is all I have ever answered to for as long as I can remember.

I ride for the Pony Express and I'm one of the members of Teaspoon's outfit. Gotta have respect for Teaspoon. He doesn't know anything about most of us, and he takes us in without question. He also fights for us if he thinks we need some extra help in that department. Just ask Jimmy or Buck.

I'm a Southerner and if the states go to war, I'm going to have to go back home.

Leaving my friends and surrogate family will be one of the hardest things I have to do, but the South is my heritage.



[[Locked from Jimmy and Lou]]


If I thought that she'd say yes, I'd ask Lou to come home with me. I don't like the way she and Jimmy look at each other. It makes me nervous. It makes me feel like I'm missing something with her that Jimmy seems to understand much better than I do.

I don't get it and I don't like it.

She's my girl.

Well, no, I didn't exactly ask her, but she and I did start spending a lot more time with each other after I found out she was a girl.

We've kissed, so that makes her mine, right?


[[Unlocked]]



I've enjoyed being with the Express so far and am grateful for the people I've met.

I'd like to talk to you more, but there's a rider coming in, and it's my turn to mount up and carry the mail to the next post.



Muse: The Kid
Fandom: "Young Riders"
Words: 265