Brides of the West-Part One

by Hestand, Rita

Chapter Five

  She had planned to go to sleep before Buck discovered what was happening. But there was no such luck.

  Willa knocked on her door, and when she called, "Come in." Rachel was surprised to see her standing there with her hands on her hips and a huge frown on her face.

  "Something wrong," Rachel asked huskily, wiping the sleep away with one hand over her eyes.

  "You can't go to bed yet!" She frowned at her.

  "What do you mean? Why can't I?"

  "We got to celebrate the marriage, silly. Now you get yourself dressed and come on out and join the party. This isn't time for sleeping. Besides, there's a lot more to come for you tonight."

  "But…"

  "Come on…" Willa instructed.

  "Okay…I'll be right there." Rachel cried when Willa started to come in.

  Reluctantly she changed her clothes and joined Buck once more. He was standing at the bar and drinking, joining everyone in celebration of her marriage to Hershel. He wasn't drunk though, like most of the others.

  "I thought you went belly up on me. Thought you walked out or something. They want us to stay the night." Buck said against her ear.

  "I know…" she whispered for his ears alone.

  "Don't you fret none. I'll take the floor and you can have the bed. It not much different than spending the night outside as we go up the mountain." He explained giving her a quick glance.

  "You're right of course. It isn't much different, is it? Okay, we can handle this. But…we were married by proxy, why do they expect us to sleep in the same bed?" She felt her voice go up a notch.

  "That's true…that is…But we came up the mountain together and they must think it is the same thing. I don't know. You want me to ask them?" Buck asked.

  "No….that would be entirely too embarrassing. No, we'll do as we planned. You'll sleep on the floor, I'll sleep in the bed. Then tomorrow we'll go on up the mountain." She determined staring at him. "It doesn't matter what they think."

  "Yeah…that's true. Tomorrow we'll leave first thing. We'll be there in a few days and all of this will be behind us." Buck assured her. "Course it is snowing out there tonight, so it might take a while longer to get there."

  She shrugged, "As long as we get there that's what is necessary, right?"

  "Yeah."

  Rachel was glad Buck agreed with her. And before she could tell him, someone whisk her onto the dance floor and spun her around.

  The big man had ugly teeth, but he was smiling and happy about her marriage, so she couldn't protest. She did her best to keep up with him.

  This went on for several minutes, her being tossed from one man to the next, until finally Buck rescued her on the floor and danced with her himself.

  Being in Buck's arms startled her at first, but from his expression he meant to put her at ease. She relaxed against him and hung her head at his shoulder. She had sipped some of the whiskey everyone passed around and she felt tipsy.

  Liquor was one thing she had never indulged in.

  "I hope I've made the right choice…" She murmured as he held her close.

  "W-what do you mean?" He asked pulling away to look into her glassy-eyed stare.

  "Marrying Hershel!" She said, and hiccupped. "I don't really know him, do I?"

  "Well, of course, you did, that's what you came for, wasn't it?" He cleared his throat when she laid her head on his shoulder.

  She didn't realize she was breathing into his ear, not that it affected him, except he felt himself react in the most natural way.

  "Yes…but the more I think about it. The more I wonder…I mean…he didn't write those letters, did he?" Rachel glanced at Buck, looking deep into his eyes, and smiling.

  Buck looked her strangely. "How'd you know?"

  "Lilly told me he couldn't read nor write." She whispered.

  "Who wrote them Buck?"

  "It doesn't matter who wrote them, it was his words." Buck frowned down into her face.

  "Of course," she shook herself and straightened, extending their arms so they weren't dancing close any longer.

  "Will you be leaving as soon as we get there?" She asked breathlessly.

  "Y-yeah, pretty quick." He answered.

  "Oh! I'll miss you, Buck…"

  "You'll be so happy to get there, you won't know I'm gone."

  "I'll have one of those," Rachel pointed to a whiskey on the bar as Buck left her for the bar once more.

  The bartender stared at her and then nodded. "Sure, of course."

  Buck came up beside her. "I'd go easy on that stuff, Rachel."

  "Why, we're celebrating aren't we?" She cried. "It's my wedding day."

  "Yeah…but…"

  The bartender poured her another whiskey and smiled. "Your lady sure seems to like it."

  "She's not…"

  "I do…I do like it. It's so warm when it goes down and it gives me this fuzzy feeling." She chuckled.

  She gulped it down and Buck stared at her wide-eyed.

  "Rach, you are going to regret this…just remember, I warned you." Buck shook his head.

  ~*~

  "I think you got a keeper, Buck."

  "She's not…aw…" He turned to go, but just as he did, she nearly fell off the stool.

  He grabbed her in his arms and hauled her over his shoulder to the room that they were given.

  He stared at the room in disbelief. It was all bed, the biggest bed he'd ever seen. There was barely enough floor to curl up on.

  He sighed heavily and laid her on the bed, covering her with a blanket.

  He stared down into her face and realized for the first time how beautiful she was. What was a man like Hershel going to do with a lady like this?

  When she mumbled, he bent his head to listen and she suddenly reached up, pulled him to her and kissed him on the mouth.

  Ice met fire as her lips began to melt against his. He couldn't help but respond, she was so sweet, and so…drunk!

  He pulled up his head and stared down at her.

  "God didn't make anything more beautiful than that," He whispered to himself and raised up.

  He stared at her a long while.

  Maybe he had done the wrong thing bringing her up here to Hershel. It was obvious she didn't belong in this rugged country. Yet, since they left the station, she had blossomed under his nose. Her cheeks were rosy, her smile wide and her eyes sparkled with a warmth he hadn't experienced before. That smile of hers did things to him.

  She hadn't really meant to kiss him, he reasoned. She was drunk that was all. He couldn't put any stock in that. No, and she was Hershel's woman, not his. He had to remember that. She was Hershel's wife!

  Buck glanced around the room. The bed was too big for just her.

  He took his boots off and went to the other side of the bed. She was out cold. He'd just lay down for a while, get a little sleep and then be up before the rooster crowed. That was a good plan.

  Before he thought about it too much, he laid down beside her and closed his eyes.

  Next morning he woke up to a screaming woman next to him in the bed.

  He raised up and looked over at her.

  Her hair had fallen and was hanging in curls around her shoulders and back. Her eyes were wide with terror.

  "You slept with me!" She hollered at the top of her lungs.

  "I did not!" He declared just as loud.

  "You're in my bed, aren't you?"

  "I still got all my clothes on, don't I?" He frowned into her angry face.

  She looked at him, and then herself.

  A cloud of doubt hung between them.

  "Buck Daggett, why are you in this bed, and not on the floor, where we agreed?" She demanded.

  "You were drunk, I put you on the bed and covered you up. Then I realized there wasn't enough floor for me to sleep on. I figured you'd be out cold most of the night, so I came over and laid down myself. I didn't mean to go to sleep, just rest for a while. But I guess I was tireder than I thought. That's all ther
e was to it, I swear."

  She seemed to digest his words. "That's all?"

  "That's all…except…"

  "Except what?" She hollered again.

  "Well, you sort of kissed me…goodnight I guess." He admitted.

  "I never!" She grabbed the covers as though she were naked and pulled them around her.

  "Yes ma'am you did."

  "What did you do then?" She asked her eyes prepared for the worse of it.

  "Nothing. I came over here on this side and got in. You see, the bed takes up most the room…Not much floor to sleep on. And I guess I was more tuckered than I thought."

  "I don't believe you!" She shrieked.

  "Well, now I am not in the habit of lying." Buck frowned back at her now.

  "You swear you didn’t touch me?" She got off the bed and twisted to look at him.

  "I swear it. Besides, you got all your clothes on too. It would have been pretty hard to do it and get dressed without waking you up, wouldn't it?"

  She sighed. "How do I know that?"

  He scratched his chin. "You're a virgin…aren't you?"

  Her face turned bright red, and he knew immediately he shouldn't have used that word, it was too intimate.

  "What has that to do with anything?" Her eyes rounded on him.

  "If I touched you, you'd have known it." He answered clearly.

  Again she paused to think about it. Slowly, she nodded, and a smile crept up her rosy cheeks. "I'm sorry, then. But you must admit this is highly unusual. I never expected to wake up with you in my bed."

  "Yes, ma'am, neither did I, I was just a bit tuckered, myself." He agreed with a slight smile. "That bed looked awful good to me, too."

  She sat on the edge of the bed. After looking about, she turned to him. "Mr. Daggett, I apologize. You've been a gentleman from the start. I shouldn't have accused you." She stuck out her hand to shake it.

  He stared at her hand, then the look on her face. He saw some flicker of emotion cross her face as he took her hand in his. "I think under the circumstances, you can call me Buck…"

  She glanced around, blushed and nodded. "You're right of course."

  "Now that we got that settled, we better get to packing up. We still got a few days on the trail…"

  "Of course."

  "Get your stuff rounded up and we'll eat some breakfast and head out again." He instructed getting out of the bed and not turning around to look at her.

  Chapter Six

  The kitchen was spacious, with a long oak table and a lot of chairs for whoever was invited. Willa had sausage, eggs, biscuits, and gravy all prepared and on the long table. The smell enticed them. The table was apparently built for a lot of company or his parishioners that made sense. "Well, you two are up mighty early. I didn't expect you up for another hour or two."

  Buck grimaced. Didn't she remember that he just stood in for Hershel? Apparently not many paid attention to the fact. The very idea of giving them the same bedroom told him that. It irritated him, but he kept quiet, unwilling to make a scene on the day they were to leave. They had gotten the wedding over with and now all he had to do was take her to Hershel's. He wouldn't start any trouble where there wasn't any.

  "We got to get on the trail…" Buck announced as they passed the food around.

  The parson joined them at the table and said grace. When he lifted his eyes, he stared at them both. "Did you sleep well?"

  "Yes…thanks." Rachel blushed again.

  "Best bed in the whole place." The parson laughed.

  "How long have you been a preacher?" Rachel asked as she sipped the cold buttermilk that Willa poured.

  "Oh, about thirty years or so. The church was burned down by some Indians a few years back and I quit preaching. But folks come up here to get married most the time. Everybody knows me. We all got together and built this home. My intentions at first was to open another church here, but I hold services here in the bar most Sundays for those who want to come. I guess I never really retired."

  "You have a lovely place," Rachel remarked, glancing around the big kitchen. "You mean the whole community helped you build this place."

  "Me and my parishioners. It suits us." The parson passed Buck the gravy and smiled. "Sometimes we have a lot of people stay over and there's plenty of room. We put up boarders when they get stranded."

  "You hold church in a bar all the time?" Rachel exclaimed with shock after his words finally soaked in. "That's a bit unusual."

  The preacher looked at her funny, then nodded. "God don't care where you worship, just that you do."

  Rachel nodded and a slight blush colored her cheeks.

  Just then, a couple stumbled into the kitchen in a frenzy. The man was carrying a child.

  "Parson, my little girl's sick."

  Willa moved between them. "I'll get a room ready for her, come this way."

  Rachel stared at them.

  "We'll be leaving directly." Buck informed him, glancing at Rachel.

  "What's your hurry?" Willa asked. "A body only marries once, they should enjoy it. Embrace it."

  "We're headed for Hershel's place, remember?" Buck explained. Buck felt uneasy about the way they kept forgetting Hershel in all of this. Hershel was the husband, not him.

  "Oh yes, I remember you mentioning him." The preacher nodded.

  "Hershel won't be there for a week or more." Willa laughed.

  "Oh…why not?" Rachel asked dipping her biscuit in her gravy.

  "He took off for Cedar Crest, it's a good thirty miles over rough land. He won't be back for another week or so…" Willa said as she wiped her mouth. "Maybe longer."

  "Well, it will take us a while to get there. He should be home by the time we get up there." Buck said matter-of-factly, not letting Willa's news bother him.

  "Don't think so."

  "What do you mean?" Buck inquired, angry that they thought they knew more than he did about his friend.

  "I guess you ain't heard. He's after a rogue bear. The bear's been killing livestock on that range and some of the farmers got word to him about it."

  "I thought he was hunting."

  "That was his intention. But they got word to him anyhow and he took off. You know how good he is with bears. He's about the only one that can bring a bear down in these parts. Especially a grizzly. So he'll be a while. He'll be making his traps and setting them that can't be done in a day or so." Willa laughed again.

  "A rogue bear, huh?" Buck frowned. "He should have waited for me to come and I could've helped him. Bears can be contrary animals to catch. Especially if they back-track on you."

  "The Lord will help him," Willa added.

  Buck nodded. "I guess…" He whispered under his breath.

  Rachel looked up at Willa, "Is there anything I can do for the little girl?"

  "Have you nursed before?" Willa asked.

  "Some, I used to help a midwife back home."

  "Then you can help."

  Buck looked at her, but he saw the determined look on her face and he wasn't about to argue.

  Rachel went into the room where the little girl was. Her mother had fallen asleep in the chair, her father was talking in the hallway to the parson.

  "Do you think it's smallpox?" the father was asking.

  "Can't rightly tell yet. We'll keep a close eye on her though."

  "We can't lose another child parson, my wife…she couldn't take it."

  "Don't you fret, we'll do everything we can to help her." The parson assured him.

  Rachel came close to the child and sat beside her bed. She reached for her hand and held it. It was a tiny hand and feverish too.

  After a few minutes, Rachel came out of the room. "It isn't smallpox, it's measles…she'll need to be kept isolated, out of the light and not around any children. Keep her cooled down with wet cloths and she'll be alright. She's beginning to break out now."

  "Are you sure it's measles?" The father asked.

  "Yes, I've seen many cases back home. Have you o
r your wife had them?"

  "I have, but my wife, I don't know…"

  "If she hasn't, then she needs to stay away. I've had them so I'm immune to them. Do you have any other children?"

  "Nope, we lost two last year, Cholera."

  "I'm so sorry," Rachel said.

  "Thank you ma'am."

  Willa came into the room and Rachel told her what it was. Willa nodded. "She'll have to stay here."

  Rachel looked at the child, cooled her down with a rag that Willa brought and whispered to the child.

  "You are going to be just fine." Rachel finally got up and went back to the kitchen.

  Buck was packing some of Willa's biscuits and homemade jerky.

  "You about ready to go?" He asked looking at Rachel.

  "I suppose so. The little girl has the measles." She informed him.

  "Will she be alright?"

  "Yes, but she can't be moved," Rachel explained.

  "Don't you worry, we'll take good care of her." Willa was behind her and was changing the pan of water out.

  "Good…" Rachel smiled.

  After breakfast, they geared up to leave.

  "Thanks for the help." Buck shook the parson's hand and tipped his hat to Willa.

  "Any time Buck…glad you finally got some sense in your head."

  Buck frowned at him. What in the world did he mean by that?

  "So long, folks." He called over his shoulder to him.

  "Oh…wait…I got the marriage licensed right here. Here you go Buck. And good luck to you. And you take good care of that little lady, she'll make you an excellent wife."

  "Thanks!" Buck tucked the licensed into his coat pocket and they were off. It ain't me that needs luck, it's Hershel!

  ~*~

  "You been kind of quiet this morning, something bothering you?" She asked him when he hadn't said a word for over an hour.

  "Naw…I guess I got a lot on my mind. I wish Hershel hadn't taken off on his own for that bear."

  "That is a dangerous thing to do. I would think." Rachel agreed. "Is he really that good with killing bears?"

  Buck thought about it moment before answering. "He's the best we got. That's the truth of it. He's got a gun that can bring them down. But, a bear can be a sneaky one. And alone, it can get mighty dangerous. Hershel's not one to think about danger. I don’t know why, he never has. I guess he's pretty heroic in his own way."