At The Beginning

As the minutes dragged by Buck grew increasingly impatient. Waiting had never been his strongpoint. He tried to think of something to say to ease the tense situation.

"You have a fine bunch of horses," he said, looking down at the animals in their stalls. "Some of the best I've seen."

Kate glanced up at him. "Thank you." Then she smiled a little. "Does that mean you're still interested in buying some for the express?" Though she would have died before admitting it, the waiting was wearing on her already strained nerves, and she was glad to distract herself with conversation.

"I think that could be arranged. Maybe when this is all over you can talk to Teaspoon about it."

"What does the marshal have to do with buying horses for the Pony Express?" asked Kate curiously.

"Teaspoon was the station master at the old station in Sweetwater. He took over for the marshal over there when he got promoted. Then when we moved to the Rock Creek station Teaspoon took over for the marshal that was killed. But he's still in charge of the station too. Somebody's got to keep all us riders in line."

"How many riders are there besides you?"

Buck started to say six, but caught himself in time. "There's five now," he said softly.

Kate sensed the change in his tone and looked up at him again. She saw the sadness in his face and decided to change the subject. "How long have you been riding for the express?"

"Since it first started," he answered with a touch of pride. "I signed up as soon as I got out of the orphanage school."

"Is that where you learned to write?" asked Kate. She had been a bit surprised earlier by his ability to read and write. A decent education was hard to come by, especially for someone like Buck.

Buck nodded. "Yeah, that was about the only good thing I got out of being there."

"Let me guess, you didn't exactly fit in with the other students."

"You could say that."

"I know the feeling," said Kate. "When I was growing up we were never in one place very long, so I never really made friends with the other kids. But I guess I didn't much fit in with them anyway."

"Why not?" asked Buck.

She laughed a little. "Well, for starters I always seemed to get along better with horses than I did with people. And then I used to help my father with all his jobs. Girls didn't like me because I dressed like a boy, and boys didn't like me because I was a girl." She shrugged. "So most of the time it was just me and Da." Her eyes threatened to fill with tears but she blinked them away fiercely.

"You don't have any brothers or sisters?"

Kate shook her head. "No. No kin to speak of, besides Da. I guess I'm an orphan now, too."

Buck was trying to think of something comforting to say when a faint sound caught his attention. Kate heard it too, and looked at him anxiously.

"Riders coming," he said, peering cautiously out the hayloft door.

"Which way?" she asked tensely.

Buck tried to conceal his disappointment. "From the south." Rock Creek was to the east.

Kate seemed to accept the bad news calmly. "How many riders?"

He squinted against the dying sunlight. "Five."

"Must be their lucky number," muttered Kate, getting a better grip on her rifle.

"Let's hope not," said Buck. "Get ready." He settled down into the hay.

Kate crouched lower in her own hiding place, her heart thudding painfully. "Buck?" she whispered.

"What is it?" His voice was muffled by the hay.

"I'm sorry I hit you with the skillet," she said sheepishly.

Buck smiled in spite of the lingering pain in his head. "Don't worry about it. I've got a pretty hard head."

But there was no time for her to reply, for the riders had galloped into the yard. They circled around the house, talking amongst themselves in gruff voices.

"There's no sign of that blasted girl," said one of them. Kate peered out between the slats in the barn wall and saw the blood-soaked bandage around his upper thigh. She smiled grimly. So she had managed to hit one after all.

"She's probably off crying to the marshal," said another with a laugh.

"Will you two quit jawin'!" snapped a third man, apparently the leader of the gang. Kate's eyes narrowed as she recognized him as the man who shot her father. "Let's get the horses and get out of here!"

The hoof beats grew louder as the men approached the barn. Then two of them could be heard dismounting and coming to open the doors, where they made a surprising discovery. Buck and Kate listened to the startled exclamations with satisfaction.

"It's locked!"

"What do you mean, locked?" demanded the leader.

"It's barred from the inside," explained one of the men on the ground. He sounded slightly nervous. "Maybe there's somebody in there!"

"He's right, Jake!" chimed another. "Maybe that girl got the marshal already! Maybe there's a posse in there waitin' to ambush us!"

"And maybe I'm gonna shoot you if you don't get them doors open right now!" retorted Jake, drawing his pistol.

That settled it. After a lot of cursing and bickering the first two men finally managed to ram the doors open and stumbled into the shadowed interior.

Kate was ready. She stood and swung the rifle with all her strength, and the first man went down with a thud as the butt connected with his chin.

"What the---!" The second man whirled and fired his gun, but Kate was already diving for cover in the shadows. She rolled and fired her own gun, catching him in the shoulder even as Buck's shot sent him sprawling. Then everything seemed to happen at once.

The three remaining men outside charged into the barn, yelling and firing into the shadows. Buck dropped the first one immediately, while Kate pulled the second from his horse. He foolishly went for his gun, forcing her to shoot him first. Jake had been caught off guard and was hanging back behind his men, but now he saw his chance. He raised his gun to shoot Kate, who was facing away from him.

With a shout Buck jumped down onto the cowardly leader, knocking him off his horse. Kate spun around as the two of them wrestled with the pistol before Buck punched Jake in the jaw and ripped the gun from his hand. Defenseless, the thief glanced around desperately for a weapon before finally holding up his hands in surrender.

Kate had her pistol leveled directly at his head. Her eyes burned with fury as she glared at the man who had killed her father. She took a step toward him and tightened her grip on the gun.

Jake looked at her nervously. "You ain't gonna shoot an unarmed man," he said with more confidence than he felt.

"You murdered my father," said Kate flatly. Her finger hovered over the trigger.

"Don't do it," said Buck quietly, though he kept his own gun aimed at Jake.

"Do what? Kill the thieving low-life who killed my father?"

Buck chose his words carefully, wary of her reaction. "Jake deserves to pay for what he's done. But if you shoot him now you'll have to pay for that too. He's going to die anyway--listen." Just then they heard riders approaching fast. "Here comes the marshal," Buck continued. "He'll make sure justice is done."

Kate didn't budge. "The only justice for him is a bullet between the eyes!" she snapped viciously.

"Maybe so," agreed Buck. "I'm not gonna try to tell you any different. But I will tell you that if you kill him now, that's something you're going to have to live with every day for the rest of your life."

She looked at him for a long moment. He was right and she knew it, but it was hard to let go of her hatred. Somehow she felt she would be letting her father down if she did not avenge him now. But as it turned out, she didn't really get a choice. Suddenly Teaspoon burst into the barn, followed closely by Lou, Hickok, and Noah.

It was just the distraction Jake had been hoping for. He lunged for a pistol lying a few feet away, dropped by one of his fallen men. Kate saw him and without hesitation pulled the trigger. Jake screamed in pain as the bullet pierced through his hand.

"Marshal, arrest this man," said Kate clearly, looking with disgust at the man now clutching his wounded hand and writhing in the dirt before her. "He is a horse thief and a murderer."

If Teaspoon had been impressed by her skill with a gun, he was further amazed by her apparent calm. "With pleasure," said Teaspoon after seeing Buck's confirming nod. He looked at Jimmy. "Hickok, would you do the honors?" Buck had yanked the moaning Jake to his feet, and now Jimmy helped handcuff him and push him roughly out of the barn. Lou and Noah were already busy dragging the bodies of the other men outside and hauling them onto their horses.

Teaspoon stepped up to where Kate was standing mutely, looking after the departing horse thief. "Are you all right, miss?" At her nod he continued, "Looks like you put up quite a fight. I'm just sorry we didn't get here in time to help."

Kate managed a small smile. "You can still help, marshal. The rest of the gang is still camped somewhere south of here. You can make sure they pay for what they've done."

"You can count on it," said Teaspoon. "In fact, me and the boys are gonna ride out there right now."

Kate smiled gratefully. "Thank you."

Teaspoon shook his head. "Don't thank me, miss, that's my job. Besides, I oughtta be thankin' you for doing the hardest part for me!" He peered at her closely. "Are you sure you're all right?"

She nodded again. "I'll be fine. Just give me a minute?"

"Alright." The grizzled marshal gave her a reassuring pat on the arm before going outside to join the others.

Buck was waiting for him with a question. "Are we going after the others?"

"Some of us are," answered Teaspoon, turning to the other riders. They were already on their horses, with Jake tied onto his mount between them. "Lou, I want you to take this garbage back to town and throw him in jail. Jimmy, Noah-you and me are gonna find his friends so's they can enjoy the same arrangement." The riders all nodded in agreement.

"What about me, Teaspoon?" asked Buck.

"Buck, I think you should stay and handle things here for a while." He threw a meaningful glance at where Kate was emerging from the barn. "I get the feeling you may be needed."

Buck nodded, for he had the same feeling. Kate had been through so much, and the strain of the last two days would have to catch up to her eventually.

Teaspoon swung himself into the saddle. "Let's go, boys!"

Lou turned her horse to the east, pulling Jake behind her along with the other thieves slung over their horses' backs. "You boys ride safe!" she called over her shoulder.

Noah laughed. "Like we always do!" Then he and the others disappeared in a cloud of dust.

Kate had come to stand beside Buck as he watched his friends ride off. He turned to her with a smile.

"Well, you did it. You saved the ranch."

"Yes," she said softly, looking around at the finally peaceful surroundings.

Buck was watching her face carefully. "You're father would have been proud," he said gently.

Kate looked back at him for a moment as the reality of his words sunk in. Would have been. Then all at once the world seemed to be crashing down around her. Pain clutched at her heart as all the grief she had been holding inside welled up and overflowed. Her face crumpled, and suddenly she was on her knees sobbing uncontrollably and gasping for breath.

Buck was at her side in an instant. He knelt wordlessly and folded her into a gentle embrace, rocking her soothingly. At first she tried to pull away, wanting only to be left alone to die with her misery. But his strong arms held her patiently, until she gave up and buried her face against his chest. Buck felt the tension gradually leave her body as she sobbed until she was too exhausted to cry anymore. For a few minutes he let her rest against him, big tears sliding down her cheeks while her breathing slowly returned to normal.

Then she stirred and pushed herself away from him. "I'm sorry," she whispered hoarsely, ashamed of her weakness.

Buck smiled down at her and brushed away the last of her tears. "Don't worry about it. I never liked this shirt anyway."

Kate made a sound somewhere between a hiccup and a laugh. "Thank you," she said simply.

"You're welcome. Now c'mon, let's get you up." He slid an arm around her waist and helped her slowly to her feet. She leaned against him briefly, feeling weak and dizzy.

He looked at her pale face suspiciously. "When was the last time you ate?"

"I don't remember," she confessed.

Buck sighed. "Well I'm no great cook, but I'll see what I can do."

Buck did manage to find some food, and though Kate didn't have much of an appetite she ate it to please him. So she was starting to feel like her normal self by the time Teaspoon and the boys arrived with the rest of the gang in custody. The stolen horses had been found and were temporarily being held at an abandoned homestead to the south. Teaspoon was glad to bring Kate the good news of the gang's capture, and offered her a place to stay in Rock Creek for the night. But Kate politely insisted on staying at the ranch, saying that she was fine and didn't mind being alone. She thanked them all again, especially Buck, and watched them ride away into the dark.

That night at dinner the bunkhouse echoed with questions about the day's adventure and the riders' spirited new neighbor. Buck did his best to explain what had happened, with Teaspoon, Jimmy, Lou, and Noah chiming in at the parts they knew. Everyone was interested in Kate's obvious skill with a gun, and pestered Buck with questions about her character. He tried to describe her as best he could, though he was reluctant to share some details of her behavior that he thought she would prefer to remain private.

Buck finally grew tired of all the questions. "Look," he said, "I've only known her for a few hours. All I know for sure is that she's independent and really stubborn."

Rachel smiled around the table at all the riders. "Sounds like some people I know."

Kate splashed cold water on her face and hands, scrubbing at the grime that had accumulated in the past few hours. She had not had a pleasant morning, for the minister had arrived to bury her father, and after the brief funeral Kate had immediately thrown herself into her chores. There was a lot of work to do to make up for what she had missed yesterday, but she was grateful because it gave her no time to dwell on her sadness. Now she had forced herself to take a break and get something to eat.

As Kate wiped her face with a towel she caught a glimpse of herself in the small mirror above the wash basin, and grimaced. Her eyes looked dull and listless, and her freckles seemed to stand out against her unusually pale cheeks. Wisps of hair had escaped the loose braid and clung in damp strands to her face and neck. The slight warp and greenish cast of the old mirror only made her appear more haggard.

Kate was not in the least bit vain, for she rarely had time to be concerned with appearances. The wash basin mirror was the only one she owned, so the only knowledge she had of her looks came from distorted reflections of herself after long hours of hard work and sweating in the hot sun. Needless to say, she would have been very surprised to learn that she had grown into a very attractive young lady. Her eyes were fringed by long, dark lashes and were normally bright and expressive, with a tendency to change colors depending on her mood. A light dusting of freckles set off high cheekbones, and when she smiled her full lips parted over white teeth and curved up to a dimple on one side. Her hair, though often uncooperative, was thick and shiny and fell almost to her waist.

But Kate had never noticed any of this, and just now she was certainly far from looking her best. She sighed. "You'd better pull yourself together, Kate O' Sullivan, or we've got a long haul ahead of us," she told her reflection sternly before turning to enter the house.

To her surprise she heard a rider coming, and looked to see Buck trotting into the yard with a large bundle strapped to his saddle. She stepped off the porch and walked out to greet him, her heart sinking with the momentary fear that he was bringing news of the gang's escape.

"Buck, what are you doing here?"

He slid off his horse and offered her the bundle. "Rachel asked me to bring this out to you. It ain't much, just some food for you so you don't have to worry with cooking right now."

"Who's Rachel?" asked Kate, accepting the package awkwardly.

"She's the housekeeper at the express station," explained Buck. "She does all the cooking and cleaning and makes all us riders behave…most of the time, anyway."

Kate smiled faintly. "Sounds like a tough job. It's awful nice of her to go to this trouble for me when she's already so busy."

Buck shrugged. "That's Rachel."

Kate looked at him shyly. "Will you stay and eat with me? I don't want this to go to waste, and besides…I'm not used to eating alone."

He nodded. "Sure."

They went inside and sat at the kitchen table that had hosted their first painful conversation the day before. At first Buck felt awkward, unsure of the appropriate conversation for someone who had just buried her father. When Rachel had asked him to deliver the food he had hesitated, reluctant to intrude any further in Kate's private sorrow. He remembered how when Ike died he had just wanted to be left alone, but he also knew that it was only with the help of his friends that he was able to deal with his grief. So now he tried to help Kate deal with hers, and he found that it was easier than he expected.

They talked about neutral things, like books and places they had been around the country. Buck told her about Teaspoon and Rachel and the other riders, and she grew increasingly curious about the unlikely group. The stories of their various adventures made Kate laugh in spite of her sadness. She knew Buck was trying to cheer her up, and was grateful.

"….and you can bet he never tried that again!" Buck finished his story, chuckling at the memory of Cody performing the humiliating ritual to appease the spirits he had previously scorned.

Kate giggled, trying to imagine someone covered in war paint, pork fat, and dirt. It was not a pretty picture. "You sure have an interesting family," she told him.

"It never gets boring, that's for sure," agreed Buck.

"I must be crazy," said Kate, "but I think I'd like to meet them someday."

Buck smiled. "Why don't you come to the station for lunch tomorrow?"

She hesitated, though she was very pleased by the invitation. "I wouldn't want to get in the way of one of your adventures."

He laughed. "I'm sure we could squeeze you in to our busy schedule. Besides, the others wanted to meet you, too."

"Really?" Kate looked surprised. "Why?"

"Well, we are gonna be neighbors. And it's not every girl who's a dead shot and takes on a bunch of outlaws by herself."

Kate looked down. "I don't think that's something I oughtta be too proud of."

"Why not?" asked Buck. "What you did took a lot of guts. You did what had to be done, and you should be proud of that."

She sighed. "I guess you're right. It's strange…until yesterday I never killed anybody, and there I was ready to shoot a man in cold blood." Kate shuddered a little. "If you hadn't been there to talk me out of it I might've killed that man." She looked at Buck sharply. "How did you know what to say to me to keep me from pulling that trigger? Have you ever killed anyone in cold blood?"

Buck nodded gravely. "Once."

"Why?"

"He killed my best friend Ike, among other things," replied Buck sadly. "Everybody knew he was a criminal and a murderer, but the law couldn't touch him. He was going to go free, so I shot him."

Kate studied him quietly for a moment. "Are you sorry?"

Buck shook his head. "I don't regret what I did. But I do have to live with it for the rest of my life. You should be glad you don't have to."

She smiled a little, and decided to change the subject. "Tell me about Ike. Did he ride for the express too?"

"Yes. Ike was our best rider. He was real good around horses…" Buck smiled as he tried to describe his friend, remembering all the things that made Ike so special-his quirky sense of humor, his gentle spirit, and the wide grin that always accompanied the occasional spark of mischief. Buck could almost see him standing there laughing, strong hands moving rapidly in the familiar gestures. Talking about Ike suddenly made his memory more vivid, and lessened the sting of his absence. This had been a good idea after all.

To Chapter 5

Copyright 1998-This work is not to be reproduced without the permission of the author

The Way Station
Campfire Tales

Email: glitterchic19@yahoo.com