Brides of the West-Part One

by Hestand, Rita

  "We can't. We are on the other side of the mountain. It would take days. I can mail it to you."

  "I have to have it Buck." She insisted.

  "I'll get it to you, don't you worry." Buck assured her.

  "It's as important to Hershel as it is to me." She reminded him.

  "What makes you think so?"

  "He's a bigamist if I don't get it annulled," she answered.

  "I'll get the paper for you Rach, I promise."

  She nodded. "I've been thinking I might stay in town for a while. Maybe until I get this settled. That way if I need to get a hold of Hershel or you, I can. If I go home, I'll have to wait."

  "That might not be a bad idea. At least until you get this taken care of. Alright. When we get down the mountain, we'll get you squared away somewhere and as soon as I see the preacher, I'll get the paper to you. How is that?"

  "Sounds like a good idea to me." Rachel smiled.

  Buck seemed relieved with the solution. He couldn't figure out what had happened to the paper in his pocket, but they'd had a rough trip and it could have simply fallen out of his pocket.

  The path that Buck had found was narrow, but easy to use. And Hershel spotted the moccasin tracks. "You were right, the Indians use it."

  "It's not so bad." Rachel said as they wound their way through a thick forest.

  However, that evening Hershel and Buck both heard the cry of a mountain lion and they immediately tensed. Rachel noticed how they kept eyeing the area around them, how their shoulders bunched, how they became silent off and on.

  "What was that sound?" Rachel asked, looking about.

  "Mountain lion." Hershel whispered the words.

  "Is he close?"

  "Close enough. We need to build the fire up tonight." Hershel said, his gaze scanning the horizon. "You girls stay close, don't wander off alone. That's what they wait for, catching you alone."

  As night came the cat screeched several times. Little Feather fed the fire, and even she seemed tense.

  "He won't come into camp will he?" Rachel asked Buck as he scouted the edges of the camp.

  "Maybe…"

  "Is there anything I can do?"

  Buck looked at her, "Just help find twigs and small branches for the fire. They don't like fire."

  "Okay," she began to head to the camp and found a few branches and twigs to carry to put on the fire.

  Hershel and Buck took turns watching over the campsite. Neither one of them got much sleep.

  By morning it began to snow again.

  "Are mountain lions dangerous?" Rachel asked Buck as they traveled.

  "They can be. They usually eat deer, and small animals. But in the winter food is harder to find, that's when they are dangerous. They are usually shy of people unless they are looking for food, or you are bothering their young. They are more known for attacking a single person than a crowd. So stay close."

  "Oh believe me, I will."

  "Ranchers and farmers are more wary of them than anyone. They tend to be hard on livestock in winter months. Still, if you get in their territory and they are having a time finding food, then you are in danger." Hershel told her.

  "Will he follow us?"

  "Depends, on why he's upset in the first place. He could be wounded and have no way of getting his own food, or he could simply be marking his territory. Either way, it's best to stay clear of them and stay with a group, not be alone."

  "How do you know so much about them?"

  "When you live in the wilds, you have to know." Buck answered for him.

  They kept traveling at a steady pace, going down the mountain. But they heard the cry of the mountain lion all day long.

  Before dark they stumbled upon an injured man, lying in the snow, his face packed with the snow.

  "Is he dead?" Rachel shrieked.

  "No…but he probably wishes he was. The lion got him. He was evidently traveling alone. We'll set up camp here, do what we can for him and rig a travois up to carry him down the mountain to the doctor." Hershel said.

  Little Feather made some bandages from leather, and after cleaning his wounds, she wound the bandage around him. "He's feverish. We should bath him in cool waters."

  Rachel lent a hand. "I can do that."

  "Good."

  Buck and Hershel moved the man to a warm blanket and made a fire quickly. The man was either half froze or unconscious. Rachel and Little Feather made some food for him and tried to feed him but they couldn't rouse him.

  "Will he be alright?" Rachel asked helplessly.

  "Don't know. All we can do is try to make him comfortable and get him to a doc as soon as we can." Hershel explained. "He's suffering from the cold alright, might even have some frostbite. Best thing we can do is get him down this mountain and to a doctor in a hurry.

  "Will the cat come back?"

  "It's doubtful, but it is his prey. Still with all of us about, it isn't likely he'll be claiming it." Buck said offhandedly.

  The men built a travois and the women helped by gathering wood for them.

  Little Feather and Hershel laid with the man between them, trying to warm him up with their body heat.

  It was morning before the man stirred.

  His shoulder was half torn off and the pain had been numbed by the snow and freezing temperatures.

  "You are alright. We are gonna get you down this mountain and to the doctor." Buck explained.

  "My thanks…" the man mumbled.

  "Are you in a lot of pain?"

  "Some, but not much. I'm just cold as all get out."

  "That's to your advantage right now. It's when you really thaw out that the pain will hit you." Hershel snickered.

  "At least you are still alive." Buck smiled at him.

  "Who are you?" the man asked, glancing around the campsite.

  "This is Hershel, his wife Little Feather, Rachel and me, I'm Buck. We found you yesterday. We been hearing that cat for some time now."

  "Damn cat!"

  "Yeah, he should leave us alone, they don't like attacking a group of people. They are sneaky and usually try to catch someone alone. He must be pretty hungry to attack a human." Buck told him.

  "It's a she and I stumbled across her kittens. Didn't please her none. I tried to run, but she was too fast for me. She jumped me."

  "Did you wound her or anything?"

  "No, didn't have a chance."

  "That's probably best. A wounded cat is very dangerous." Hershel told the man. "We are not around her kittens so she probably won't mess with us at all."

  "My name's Victor Lawrence…."

  "Pleased to meet you. What are you doing on the mountain?"

  "Surveying the land. They want to run a railroad through this mountain eventually. I was sent ahead to survey the land."

  "A railroad?"

  "Well, naturally it would go down the mountain, but it would allow for mining and travel." The man said defensively.

  "More progress as you call it, Buck?" Hershel frowned.

  "Sounds like it."

  Chapter Nineteen

  They were getting close to the end of the trip.

  Hershel and Buck took turns carrying the travois. They both looked tired.

  But before anything else, they took Victor to a doctor to get him patched up.

  The old doctor came out of the room and looked at the four of them standing there.

  "How is he doc?"

  "He'll mend. He's gonna lose some fingers and toes though. He was frostbit pretty bad, but then, that saved him a lot of pain too. That cat got him pretty good. He'll need a lot of rest before he can resume working." The old doctor took off his glasses and wiped them.

  "Good. We just wanted to make sure he was alright, before we left him."

  "He's a lucky man in more ways than one. He run into the four of you."

  "He didn't run into us doc. He was near froze when we found him." Hershel laughed.

  "Who does he work for?" The doctor asked.

&nb
sp; "The railroad."

  "Another one of those. Well, if anyone inquires I'll let him know."

  "Thanks doc." Hershel smiled. "I guess we best be going then."

  "I sure could use a big steak about now," Buck said as they came out of the doctor's office.

  "Sounds good to me too. Let's go over to the Railhead and eat. They got some good ones there." Hershel slapped Buck on the back.

  The women followed.

  As they waited for their steaks Rachel looked at Hershel. "Buck can't find the marriage license."

  "Oh…you got to have that?" Hershel asked.

  "Of course. I mean, the way it stands, you are a bigamist." Rachel informed him.

  "I'm a what?"

  "A bigamist." She repeated.

  "What do that mean?"

  "You have two wives." She explained, watching his wide eyed expression settle down. "It's very illegal."

  "Well…I don't think they'd throw me in jail for that. Since the white courts don't recognize my marriage to her." Hershel said.

  "Legally, you are married to me. And naturally under the circumstances I will want to cancel that out." Rachel explained.

  "Will you need me to do that?"

  "No, I might need a signature though."

  "I cain't write." Hershel barked.

  "Well, then you'll have to make your mark in front of a witness and the witness will have to sign it." Rachel explained.

  "Is that all there is to it?"

  "I think so."

  "Alright. Buck can let me know. Because we are heading back as soon as we can. I don't like towns. Too many people."

  "I'm going to stop off at the preacher's place on the way up." Buck announced.

  "And I've decided I am going home." Rachel announced.

  "You are?" Buck frowned.

  "I think it's best."

  Buck didn't say any more. He was quiet through their dinner.

  When nightfall came, Hershel and Little Feather had left to go home. Buck had stayed to see Rachel off.

  "Maybe we should get a couple of rooms, then." Buck said.

  "You really could have gone with them. I'm capable of catching the stage alone." Rachel explained.

  "Can I ask why you are so set on going home now?" Buck asked. "I mean I could run up there see the preacher, get the paper and be back in a day or two."

  "I hate to put you to that much trouble." She stared at him.

  "It's no problem Rachel." Buck insisted. "But I guess if you are in a hurry to get home then…"

  Rachel dropped her head, and stared at the boardwalk where they stood in front of the café. "I've been a lot of trouble to you already Buck."

  "You haven't heard me complain about it, have you?" he asked.

  "No, you've been very good about everything, Buck. I want to thank you. This has been an adventure I'll never forget." Rachel voice held some strain.

  "Is that what it's been for you, an adventure?" He asked staring into her eyes when she raised her head to look at him.

  "We should get a room for the night at least and then I'll make up my mind what to do." Rachel said.

  But the hotel in town was full up, because a celebration of a gold strike. Men were shooting off their guns and hollering all over town.

  "Where are we going to stay?" Rachel asked.

  "Come on, there's one place I know of." Buck insisted.

  When Buck motioned her to the saloon again Rachel wasn't sure what to think.

  He pulled Lilly aside and asked her point blank for a couple of beds to sleep in.

  "Sure, come on, I'll get the two of you fixed up." Lilly insisted.

  "So…did Hershel and her get married?" Lilly asked as they went down a dark hallway.

  "Yes, and no."

  "Well," Lilly stopped and stared at Buck. "Which is it?"

  "Hershel already married a Indian gal. And Rachel got married by proxy like we talked about. So now, Rachel needs to stay in town until I can help her get this straightened out. Since Hershel wasn't going to bother with it."

  "Land sakes, what a mess. Come on child. You look like you could use a good night's sleep." Lilly shook her head and gave the first empty room to Rachel.

  "She lost most her clothes, you think you could give her a nightgown or something to sleep in?" Buck asked.

  "Sure I can, honey." Lilly smiled. "Now you go on down the hallway to the end room. That's your room for the night, Buck. I'll get her fixed up proper." Lilly promised.

  "I hate asking for your help again." Rachel shook her head.

  "Honey, after what you've been through, I don't mind at all. I can't believe you married him, sight unseen. Well, did you sleep with him?"

  "No!" Rachel was quick to answer.

  "Then you can get one of those annulments, can't you."

  "That's my plan."

  "He don't deserve anyone like you, anyway." Lilly smiled and pulled out a gown for Rachel. "This is flannel and none of my girls will wear it, so you might as well make use of it."

  "Thank you so much…"

  "Sure honey, get some rest."

  When Lilly left the room Rachel put the gown on and snuggled deep in the bed. It was comfortable and smelled so sweet. She was exhausted from the trip.

  She wished with all her heart that Buck would come talk to her. Maybe he was afraid to. Maybe he was afraid of falling in love with someone. There were a lot of maybes.

  But the minute she closed her eyes, her dreams were filled with Buck and how to say goodbye to him. It was best to end this now, she knew she had already grown too close to Buck and it would hurt telling him goodbye, but since he made no declarations of his own feelings, it was all she could do.

  She knew now that her feelings for him had magnified and she wasn't sure what to do about it. She was still married to Hershel and there was nothing to be done. But in her dreams she rushed into Buck's waiting arms.

  The next morning brought a reality she didn't want to face.

  Buck was having coffee in the room behind the bar. Lilly guided her to him.

  "Sit down and have some breakfast Rach." Buck was saying. "Did you sleep well?"

  "Oh my yes. The bed was so comfortable."

  "Yeah, trust Lilly to have good beds, alright." Buck smiled.

  A black woman was cooking ham and eggs and biscuits. And it smelled heavenly.

  "Tootie, this is Rachel, she's hungry too." Lilly instructed her.

  "She'll fix you right up."

  "Thanks again Lilly."

  "I've got to get to work, you two need another night's sleep just let me know." Lilly winked at them and was gone.

  Tootie served her the same as Buck and they were finally left alone.

  "So what did you decide?"

  "I think I might as well go home, Buck. I mean, it should only require our signatures to be legal. And we can accomplish it by mail."

  "I thought you didn't want to go home."

  "No…but there's nothing to hold me here, either. Is there?"

  One of Lilly's girls wandered in and hollered at Buck. She came up to him, planted a more than friendly kiss on his lips and sat in his lap.

  "Uh…Peaches, this is Rachel." Buck nearly blushed.

  "Peaches?" Rachel raised a brow. "Pleased to meet you."

  "Well Buck, how come it's been so long since you been by to see me? I've missed you honey." Peaches cuddled against him.

  Her clothes were hanging on her loosely and showing nearly everything she had. Rachel tried her best not to blush.

  "I've been kind of busy lately." Buck informed her.

  "Too busy for me? Since when?" She asked and kissed him again.

  Buck got up from the table now and started backing to the doorway.

  "Rach, when you are ready to go, I'll be out front." Buck insisted.

  "I need to get a few things. I don't have any good clothes, so I'll need something to travel in." Rachel explained.

  "Oh sure, we can take care of that."

  Peac
hes got up and looked from one to the other. "Oh…so she's your woman now, huh?"

  "Well…not exactly…" Buck cleared his throat.

  Rachel continued eating and drinking her coffee. It tasted so good and she wasn't going to leave it until she finished it. Besides, the conversation was beginning to get interesting. Not exactly?

  Buck left the room with no more explanations.

  So he was a regular here at Lilly's.

  When Rachel finally joined Buck in front of the saloon he was nervous as a cat about to strike.

  "I'd like to explain about that Rachel. She's not my…well…you know, anything. I won't lie and tell you I don't know her. I do, but that was a while back."

  Rachel saw his discomfiture. "She seems nice. And it's your business Buck."

  Buck didn't seem happy with that conclusion either.

  "So where can I get some clothes?" She asked.

  "Over at the General Store, come on." Buck said, frustrated that he couldn't explain things.

  They walked several streets over and went inside the store.

  Rachel found a couple of things she could wear and paid for them herself.

  Buck stood by, but not too close.

  When she'd changed into a riding outfit Buck looked her over.

  "That's right nice, but will your folks approve?"

  Rachel shrugged. "I don't know. And I don't care any longer."

  "You don't?"

  "No…"

  "You want to catch the stage today?"

  "Yes, no use putting it off, is there?"

  "No…I guess not." he rubbed the back of his neck. "Rach….?"

  "What?" She asked stopping on the boardwalk once more to stare into his confused face.

  "There's things I think I should say…but I can't say them. Not now, and well…"

  She looked into his eyes and saw the confusion and frustration, "Buck, it's been a pleasure knowing you. You've been more than kind to me. I do appreciate it."

  "What will you do, back east…?" His eyes studied her.

  "I don't know. I really don't know. I'm not sure I'm doing the right thing, going home now. I guess I haven't found a place I belong yet. Maybe that's what I've been looking for all along, a place to belong."

  "I wish you'd stay long enough for me to get that paper to you." Buck insisted.

  "That would mean you'd have to go up there, get it and then turn around and come give it to me. Hershel should have seen to it, after all, it's his annulment too." Rachel frowned. "I would have thought he would be a little concerned about it."