By Lisa and Melissa
CHAPTER 2
Devon rode as fast as she could, not knowing where she was going, just that she couldn't stay where she was. Her vision was blurred by hot, stinging tears that wouldn't stop cascading down her cheeks. She felt a crushing pain in her chest and was having a difficult time breathing. Seeing Red Eagle with another woman practically ripped her apart inside, but coming face to face with her murderer almost sent her over the edge.
Devon rounded a corner and found herself at the side of a road. Since she was not in her right frame of mind, she continued riding right out into the middle of the road. She didn't have enough time to get out of the way of the horse and wagon that was coming straight towards her - all she could do was bury her head in her horse's mane and brace for the impact.
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Rachel was humming softly to herself as she steered the wagon down the road, on her way to town. She didn't see the young girl frantically ride out in front of the wagon until it was too late. Her horses reared and whinnied, startling the horse the girl was riding. Rachel could only watch in horror as the young girl was thrown from her horse.
"Whoa! Whoa there!" Rachel cried as she tried to calm the horses. When she was finally able to climb down, she ran to where the girl was lying motionless on the ground. Rachel felt for her pulse and took relief in knowing that she was still alive, but unconscious. She struggled to pull her up to the back of the wagon, and as soon as she was secure, Rachel climbed back up on to the buckboard.
"Hah!" she exclaimed, urging the horses forward. "Hold on honey, you're going to be just fine," she told the unconscious girl.
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"Rider comin'!" Cody called out.
Lou walked over to him and squinted. "Hey, that's Rachel! She was supposed to be in town, I wonder what happened?"
"I don't know," Cody answered.
"Cody! Lou!" The wagon had barely stopped before Rachel jumped out of it, calling for the riders.
Cody and Lou looked at each other and then ran over to the wagon to see what was wrong.
"What's the matta Rachel?" Cody asked at the same time that Lou spoke.
"Rachel, what happened? Who's that?" Lou cocked her head to the side to indicate the girl in the back of the wagon.
"I don't know who she is," Rachel sighed wearily. "She was on a horse and just dashed out into the middle of the road in front of the wagon! Her horse got spooked, and she was thrown. She's alive, but unconscious."
"Let's get her into the house," Cody said as he gently lifted the unconscious girl out of the wagon and carried her up the porch steps. Once inside, he laid her down on the couch, while Lou got a basin of water and a cloth to clean the wound with. When Rachel wiped the cloth on the girl's forehead, she moaned and stirred.
"Do you want me to go get the Doc Rachel?" Cody asked.
"Yes, please." she answered.
Cody walked over to her and put his hand on her shoulder. "She's gonna be all right Rachel, don't you worry."
Rachel looked up at him and smiled. "Thank you Cody."
Cody nodded his head, smiled, and ran outside to get his horse. On his way out he noticed Jimmy, Buck and Lily riding in from town. He still wasn't quite used to the fact that their quiet, moody rider was in love, and walking around with a goofy grin on his face half the time! Cody chuckled to himself as he watched Buck walk over to Lily and place his arm around her waist.
"Now, why do you look like the cat that ate the canary Cody?" Lily questioned, an amused smile on her face.
"Oh, no reason, no reason at all!" Cody grinned back mischievously.
"Hey Cody? Rachel's back from town already?" Jimmy asked.
"Huh? Oh, yeah!" Cody snapped back to attention. "She had an accident on the way into town."
"Accident?" Lily asked, a worried look crossing her face. "Is she okay?"
"She's fine, but the girl that was thrown from her horse ain't. Apparently this girl was upset about something, and just rode into the middle of the road without lookin' where she was goin'. Rachel's wagon spooked the horse, and she was thrown. She's unconscious and Rachel brought her back here. I'm on my way to get the Doc now."
Buck and Lily glanced quickly at each other before running towards the house.
"What's with them?" Cody asked Jimmy.
Jimmy shrugged. "Beats me, but I'm gonna go find out."
Cody nodded as he ran towards the barn. "I'll be back with the Doc!" he yelled to Jimmy.
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"Are you thinkin' the same thing that I am?" Buck asked Lily as they walked into the living room. Laying unconscious on the couch was the mysterious girl from town.
Lily gasped. "Buck! That's the same girl from before!"
Rachel looked up from where she had finished bandaging the wound. "Buck, Lily, do you know her?"
Buck shook his head. "No, but we saw her in town a little while ago. Lily said that she was staring at her outside of the Marshal's Office, but then took off runnin'. In fact, she ran right into Thompkins, but then she screamed like she was scared of him and ran off again!"
"Well, even though Thompkins ain't the friendliest person in town, something must have happened to scare her like that." Jimmy said as he walked in the room from where he had been standing in the doorway listening.
"Well, from what you're tellin' me Buck, it sounds like we had the accident right after she came running from whatever it was that scared her." Rachel reasoned.
Buck walked over to where the girl was laying and took a close look at her. She was very beautiful, with thick masses of black curly hair, porcelain-like translucent skin, defined features, and a petite figure. Buck had the tugging feeling that he knew her from somewhere, but he couldn't quite place it.
"Mhmm," the girl moaned as she shifted slightly.
"Hey, it looks like she's finally waking up," Jimmy said as all five of them gathered around her.
Her eyelids began to flutter, her long black eyelashes opening to reveal a stunning pair of violet eyes. The eyes widened as she took in the sight in front of her, five people leaning down over her with expectant looks on their faces. Her eyes traveled from Rachel, to Lou, to Jimmy, and then finally landed on Buck and Lily, when they widened even more.
Chapter 3
My head ached and I felt sore all over. I never had felt so uncomfortable in my bed, I finally gave up trying to sleep and decided that now was the time to get up and do my chores. The throbbing in my head only increased as I opened my eyes. Then I saw them, all standing around me.
As my eyes adjusted to the light I looked at them all. A pretty woman with strawberry blond hair, another woman who was dressed as a man, a rather handsome if not menacing looking young man, and . . . .Red Eagle and his new woman! I groaned. Understanding hit me suddenly. Seeing Red Eagle in the arms of another, running into Tinsdale the Witch hunter, fleeing the town and then my accident. I kept my gaze on my beloved and reached out a hand to him.
"My love." I said in a raspy voice.
The group looked at each other than at him with questions in their eyes. "Buck, do you know this girl?" The blond woman asked.
He looked over to the Indian woman by his side and spoke his answer to her, "No, I've never seen her before in my life." The young woman seemed contented with his answer.
Oh to hear his voice again, it was wonderful. I don't know what I expected him to do, but it was not to put his arm around the maiden and hold her to his side as the blond woman tended to the wound on my head. Seeing them together broke what small restraint I had on my emotions. The tears flowed quickly. As I cried, the blond woman ushered the group out of the room, telling them to wait for the doctor on the porch.
"There, there now. you're gonna be just fine. Don't cry." The blond woman said soothingly. "Are you thirsty?"
I nodded and she gave me a glass of water from a pitcher by the sofa. It took a minute or two but I managed to calm myself a bit to drink some and ask some questions. "Where am I?"
"You're in my living room. Are you in any pain?"
The pain in my head was no match for the one in my heart. I shook my head no and handed her the now empty glass of water. "Who are you?"
"The name's Rachel, and I keep house for some of the boys in the Pony Express. I'm also the one who ran into you on the road. And you are?"
"My name is Devon Morgan. I'm new in town, and the accident was my fault. I wasn't paying attention to what I was doing or where I was going. Are you hurt?"
"No I'm fine, I was worried about you though." She said with a kind smile.
I liked this woman. While we sat and talked for a while I found myself believing that we could be good friends, at least I hoped we could. We were deep in conversation, when the sound of hoof beats vibrated from outside. Minutes later an older man came in with a young blond man I hadn't seen before behind him. In the doorway stood Red Eagle, and his friends. Rachel spoke quickly to the doctor, explaining what had happened and how long I had been unconscious.
The doctor took over quickly. He emptied the room of everyone but Rachel, and just as quickly examined me. After finding me no worse for the wear, he turned to leave but was stopped by Rachel who spoke to him so quietly I couldn't hear what they were saying. The doctor opened the door and spoke to the men and women on the porch, then came back into the house followed by everyone else.
I sat up on the sofa. Rachel who sat by my side introduced me to everyone. The dark haired man was Jimmy, the blond man was Cody, the woman in trousers was Lou, and she introduced me to Red Eagle who she called Buck and the Indian maiden, Lily. As I looked at each in turn the two men, Jimmy and Cody looked at me with genuine male interest, especially Cody. Lou, however looked as if she didn't trust me. Perhaps it was my dress or maybe my hair or eyes. I was used to women disliking me for one reason or another without even knowing me. I smiled shyly at her but she gave me no response. I then looked over at Lily and Buck. My tears threatened to spill again but I would not let that happen. I looked away quickly and focused my attention on the doctor.
The doctor sat on a chair across from me. "I hear that you had a problem in town today, would you like to talk about it."
His tone was condescending, and I didn't particularly like the way he was speaking to me. I raised my chin a notch. "No, no problems." I lied, then I chanced a glance at Buck. He and Lily shared a quick and silent exchange that spoke volumes to me not only did they know I was lying but it showed me the way they felt about each other, it was the same way we looked at each other; once. I tried and failed to hold back the sobs that were now racking my body.
Rachel immediately put an arm around my shoulders. "What's wrong Devon?"
"I can't lose him!" I wailed.
"Who?"
I pointed to Buck, "Him, Red Eagle." The group turned their attention to Buck who shrugged and arched an eyebrow.
Rachel shook her head, "You're mistaken honey, his name is Buck."
"No, his name is now Buck, but it used to be Red Eagle."
Rachel turned to look at him. "My name has always been Running Buck Cross." He said.
No!" I yelled. "Not when we were married!"
Buck stepped back as if he were struck. He looked around at all the faces of his friends, then turned to Lily who's eyes were wide. Her gaze searching for answers and afraid of what he might tell her.
"We were never married." He said to her.
If I hadn't been hysterical perhaps I would have thought before speaking, but that wasn't the case. I wanted him back at any cost, even if that meant hurting this innocent young woman. "Yes we were!" I said and I held everyone's attention, then without thinking I added, "We were married in Salem Massachusetts in 1692!" The expressions on the faces before me went from suspicion to pity.
"Are you telling us that you and Buck have been married for almost two hundred years." Jimmy asked, "Because if you are I'd just like to say how good you look for your age."
In one moment I was put on the defensive, I had to make them believe. It was my only chance. "No what I'm saying is that he and I were married two hundred years ago."
"Oh well that makes more sense." He muttered.
"Jimmy . ." Rachel said in warning. It was then, in the silence that followed that I knew they all thought I was insane. I had to convince them.
"I can prove it."
"How?" Jimmy said.
I looked around the room at all the faces. "Haven't you ever known something, or were able to do something without ever knowing where you learned it?"
"Yeah, so." Lou said.
"It's because you've already learned it. In a past life." They were all still unconvinced. "I knew him, we were married, and then I was murdered."
"In 1692, in Salem, Massachusetts?" The doctor said, then looked at me with wide eyes. "My Lord are you saying you were killed for being a Witch?"
I sighed, "Yes."
"That's no proof you two were married." Lou pointed out.
"Okay, Red - I mean Buck has a birthmark." I said.
The group looked over at the Kiowa questioningly. "I ain't never seen a birthmark on him." Cody said.
"It's not where you could've easily seen it, but I as his wife did."
"Well now I'm interested." Jimmy said with a devilish grin. "So where is it?"
I blushed as I fumbled for the right way to phrase my statement. "It's well . . .it's umm . . .it's a crescent shape, and it's . . .er well it's on his left . . .cheek." There, I had said it. That should be all the proof they needed.
Cody looked at Buck's face closely, "I don't see no moon birthmark."
"Not that cheek." I said quietly.
Realization hit Cody quickly and he began to laugh heartily, the other's in the room tried to hold it in. "So when Buck drops his drawers you see two moons?" Cody said between laughs, and the others in the room exploded in laughter.
Everyone except Buck and Lily. Buck looked down into Lily's face, her eyes were wide; shining with unshed tears and questions. The foremost question being how could Devon know about the birthmark that Lily had just recently seen for herself. Buck reached out to Lily, but she turned and fled the house.
He looked at me then, I hoped he would have come to me, wrap me in his arms and tell me he believed. Instead, he shook his head slowly and left to go after Lily.
To Be continued...
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Copyright 1999: Not to be reproduced without written permission from the author.
The Way Station
Campfire Tales
