It hadn't taken but a second.
One split second, maybe less, for Kid to fall head over heels in love.
Later on in life, when telling this story, he knew people were smiling because they thought he was talking about his wife. They thought it was sweet - love at first sight, and all that.
But, for all he loved Lou, and he did, so much it was like he couldn't breath without her, he fell in love with Katy first.
One split second of seeing her, standing in the barn with the sun shining through and lighting her up, and he was a goner.
Three minutes, thirty dollars, and a whole hell of a lot of bruises, he walked out of that barn leading her - her old owner still watching in amazement and scratching his head. Kid had the rope tight around his hand, but he swore that he hadn't needed it. Katy would've followed him anyways.
Going in for that fight had been impulsive and stupid, and his face reminded him of that fact repeatedly over the next two weeks, but he wanted that horse like nothing else. And when Kid made up his mind about something - well, Lou and Jimmy, both could tell anybody that there weren't no way to change it.
He couldn't even afford her upkeep, but he didn't care. He spent that last five dollars on the only decent saddle he could find in town, and figured he could learn to eat dirt and rocks if it meant he got to keep her.
He had himself a horse, and she was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen.
The boys all made fun of him some, about how crazy he was over Katy, but he couldn't help it. She was his dream come true. She was freedom and power and a friend, all wrapped up in wind and spurs.
It wasn't smooth sailing, though, not by a long shot. He might love her like crazy, but she was just as ornery as he was, and for most of the same reasons. He lost count of how many times he got bucked off those first couple of weeks of riding with her. They had to both learn how to trust each other, how to read each other, and it wasn't until they'd been together a few months that they really figured out how to move like they weren't two separate things.
It was a risk, going for the Pony Express job with Katy, but it was one they had to take. He was flat out broke, and Katy didn't like eating nothing but grass. She deserved a stall and proper grooming, and Kid sure could use something to eat besides what birds were stupid enough to startle right in front of him when he was shooting.
They'd only been together a short while, and she still wasn't sure of him on jumps, and Kid was concerned about how she handled switching from a canter to a gallop. She had this funny lurch that nearly threw him 'til he got used to it and figured out how to compensate for it by standing up in the stirrups, but going for a Rider..and one with his own horse. Well, it wasn't something he was too sure about.
Least ways, he hadn't been too sure 'til they handed him a handful of cash just for signing his name - and yeah, he did sign it 'Kid.' Might as well be his legal name. He tucked the money and his doubts away, and hauled Katy away to get them both spiffed up and pretty for their new job.
Kid hadn't been sure Katy would be accepted by the Riders, anyway. She was plenty fast, and had stamina to run the whole night if she needed to, but she wouldn't run for just anybody. Kid could coax out a speed above gallop when he was feeling rushed, or when they both just wanted to fly, but most of the time, she could be a mite touchy with anybody else on her back.
Even Ike could barely handle her, and all the horses loved Ike. Kid figured it had to be because Ike wasn't constantly yelling when he was out in the stables. Oh, Katy would let Ike ride her, all right, but Katy responded a touch too slow, a half second behind, to Ike's commands, like she couldn't tell what he wanted. It puzzled Ike something fierce, but Kid just grinned and told him not to worry. Katy was a one man horse.
Lou could ride her without problems, pretty much from the beginning. Kid figured that was because he had boosted Lou up onto Katy's back when Lou got hurt, right after Kid found out she was a girl, and Katy could tell that Kid had no idea what to think, so she had just taken over and taken care of things.
Katy was like that.
Teaspoon put her through her paces those first days with the Riders, Kid hanging over the side of the fence anxiously when he wasn't the one riding her, with Teaspoon making thoughtful noises every once in a while. Katy wasn't a proper trained Indian pony, like the others, and her size and her paces might have been enough for Teaspoon to have turned her out. And if Katy had to go, Kid was going too. He couldn't see himself selling her off or giving her away, like she wasn't everything to him, even if it was for a good paying job.
"Alright," Teaspoon had finally said, shoving his hat down onto his head and giving Kid something that could've been a smile. "I figure she'll do."
Kid had thought his face would split and fall off from grinning after hearing that, and he had spent some of his leftover advance from joining the Riders to buy Katy a few apples. She deserved them.
She treated him well, only scaring the beejeezus out of him the once, when he thought for sure he was going to have to put her down. He couldn't let her lay there in pain, trusting him to fix it, if he couldn't do a thing to help. He could barely see the trigger, he was crying so hard, and it was a damn good thing Sam had come 'round and known what to do. Kid wasn't sure how he'd have gone about living if he lost Katy at that point. She was the only family he had, and he couldn't see staying with the Riders without her there to carry him.
And Katy trusted him to take care of her, and fix her when she was hurting.
She had slowed down some, now, but it wasn't her fault. Age gets everybody, after a while, and after three years of running with the Riders, both her and her boy had been knocked around and seen their fair share of hurt. She still ran like nothing else when Kid was on her back, and he still spoiled her with apples as often as he could.
After all, it's only proper to treat your first love right.
You always got to treat her like a lady.
END
