Lou sat outside the bunkhouse, staring vacantly at the beautiful sunset just over the horizon. She was looking in that direction, but it wasn�t the sunset that she was seeing. It was Tyson�s face, looming before her, smiling the way only Tyson could. Damn him! She thought to herself, he was going to cause her a lot of trouble if anyone else found out about her secret identity. It was something she couldn�t well afford yet it was the one thing she desperately wanted more than anything in her life.

Lou watched all the other ladies roam about town in their dressy, frilly outfits and she was jealous that they could and she couldn�t! She would give anything to wear something like that and have Tyson see her in it. Louise knew that Teaspoon was aware of the fact that Lee was also a female, but she didn�t know how he would accept Lou being the same.

Giggles erupted from within her as she thought about what a look Tyson would have on his face if he actually could see her dressed like a lady. He�d never leave her alone then. And maybe she didn�t want him to. Just thinking about what a rise she could get out of him made her want to do it even more.

Deep down, Louise knew that she�d grown attached to Tyson but she didn�t want him to know it just yet. Sure, she knew that he liked her too and that made her heart race in her chest. But she wanted more than that, more than that he just liked her. Louise wanted Tyson to care about her, care for her. And there was only one way to do that. Avoid him like the plague!

"Penny for your thoughts," a man�s voice spoke from behind her, startling Lou so badly that she nearly lunged from the porch steps.

Lou turned around quickly to see Tyson�s smirking face and it made her heart pound this time. But she feigned indifference and slight anger. "You mind not sneaking up on people?" She yelled, watching that smirk turn into a frown and she instantly regretted her harsh words.

Tyson looked apologetically toward her. He hadn�t meant to scare her so badly, only meant to catch her attention. Well, he had it and now he didn�t know if he wanted it. "Wasn�t sneaking, thank you very much," he replied, a hint of disappointment in his voice, "If you�re busy . . ."

"Tyson, I�m sorry, I didn�t mean to snap at you," Lou said, asking for forgiveness, "It�s my fault, really. I�m just kinda tired lately and wasn�t thinking straight. Mind telling me what you came all the way out here for?"

He shrugged and didn�t answer. His eyes followed hers to the breathtaking sunset that was nearly gone behind the lands and sighed to himself. He had come out here hoping to find Louise and ask her what she was doing for Christmas, but now he found that the words he�s rehearsed on the way out had completely escaped him. Dang! How come no other woman could make him feel like a little kid or something? He always lost his nerve when it came to her and it aggravated him and thrilled him at the same time!

"Hello? Anyone home?" Lou teased, waving her hand in front of his face, giggling to herself when he finally snapped out of his trance.

"I . . ." he began, only to freeze, "I came out here to . . . to ask you something."

Louise tapped her foot impatiently, waiting for the rest. She knew what he�d come to say to her and she hated treating him this way, but it was the only way to get what she wanted. And she wanted Tyson; only he didn�t know it yet. "Ask me what?" She pressed, trying not to crack a smile.

Tyson really didn�t appreciate Louise�s attitude, but he admired her self-control. It was hard enough to actually come out and say what he had to say. She was pretending that she had no idea what he was up to so he decided to let them both save face and play along. He knew that she liked him and the feeling was mutual. Very mutual. "Are you having Christmas dinner . . . at the station?" He stuttered, swallowing so hard he thought she could hear it.

"Yep."

Both stood silent for a few minutes and then Tyson, impatient man that he was, blurted out the whole thing in one complete sentence. "Okay, since we�re both going to be having dinner on Christmas then why don�t we at least have it together, I mean, it can�t hurt anything, right? So, what do you say, Louise? Would you like to have Christmas dinner with me?"

Louise let his words sink in and she shrugged, hoping for the reaction she wanted. She got it, all right. Tyson was fit to be tied! His usual cool demeanor gone straight out the window.

"I mean, we don�t have to act like you�re a girl or anything and let everyone else know your little secret, I just thought that since it�s Christmas and everything you might want to . . ."

"Tyson! Will you shut up?" She shouted, placing her hand over his mouth and sighing in exasperation, "I�ll do it, okay? But don�t you say anything to anyone and I mean it! You just act like it worked out that way somehow, got it?"

He nodded, dumbfounded that she had actually agreed to do this without fighting him the way she normally did. He knew she was sweet on him but he never believed she�d really act on it. With that famous grin creeping across his face, Tyson bade Louise good-evening and fairly bounded down the steps.