Falls Church

She made her way to the shop after stepping from the stage and getting her horse. “It feels good to be home,” she thought with a small sad smile. Then she stopped in the middle of the street and stared at the ruins of her father’s shop.

The fire must have been worse than she remembered. There was practically no work area, no windows and her father’s desk…

”Dear God,” she whispered in anguish. Her father’s desk…all that was left of it was charred bits of wood in the center of the work area.

Jane felt nauseous. Tears began to flow like a trickling stream and her heart ached so much. The loss of her father had just been compounded with what stood before her. There was no way now that she could do business. It would be too much for her just to rebuild let alone replace her father’s antique desk…a desk that had been in his family for several generations and irreplaceable. She wanted to crumple right there in the street, but she managed to stay standing as she absorbed the vision in front of her. Then she heard her name being called and when she turned, she saw Mrs. Starkweather and Lauralei walking towards her.

Mrs. Starkweather held open her arms and Jane stepped into her embrace, shaking with an untold amount of un-shed tears.

“It’s gone,” she cried. “Everything’s gone.”

“Hush child. Not all is lost. Most of your father’s customers were able to retrieve their jewelry with the help of my husband. The rest of it has been stored in the banks safe while we try to find their rightful owners.”

“My…father’s tools? Our living quarters?”

“I’m sorry dear. His tools were a total loss, but your quarters aren’t that bad. Although they do still smell a little of the smoke.”

Jane stepped out of Mrs. Starkweather’s embrace, knowing what she had to do now. Then with a deep breath stepped across the burnt-out thresh-hold of the building she’d shared with her father from the time she was a small girl and into what used to be her father’s workshop. 

“Hey Buck,” Cody called from outside Thompkins’ store. “She’s ba-ack.”

Buck quickly exited the shop his arms loaded down with packages and watched the woman of his heart disembark from the stagecoach. He placed the packages in the buckboard and walked over to where she stood.

“Jane.”

She spun around at the sound of her name being whispered from his lips and came face to face with the man who could melt her with just an arch of his brow.

“B-Buck?”

He took her by the shoulders, pulled her close and gave her a kiss that sent sparkles clear down to her toes. When he ended the kiss, he just held her till Cody came over and interrupted them.

“Uh…Buck. We got to get these things back to the station before Rachel has a fit for us being late again.”

He smiled. Then he explained to Jane what had happened the last time he and Cody came into town for supplies as he picked up her bags.

They started walking back over to the buckboard when she remembered that she’d forgotten to untie Diamond Girl from the back of the stage.

“Wait. My horse.”

“I’ll get her,” Cody replied. “You go on and get settled in the buckboard.”

With that, he was loping across the street again while Buck helped her up to the seat of the wagon.

“I’m glad you returned,” he said quietly.

She just smiled at him, unable to say anything.

As they traveled down the well-worn road towards the Weigh Station, Jane kept glancing over at Buck till he angled his head and arched his brow.

“Lord a mercy,” she thought shakily as heat skittered down her back. “Why does he have to do that all the time?”

Then Cody interrupted them again.

“So Jane, how’s the business going?”

“It’s not,” she replied in a whisper.

They fell silent for a few moments then Buck asked her, “What happened?”

She shook her head.

“Are you going to be ok?”

Jane’s tear filled doe brown eyes crashed into his and he knew, without her having to say anything, that the store had been a total loss.

“Damn that Pike,” he thought angrily as he re-focused his attention back on the road. “If he weren’t dead already…” Then he made a silent promise to the Gods. He would build Jane her very own little store someday.

When they reached the bunkhouse, all who were there with the exception of Jesse received her with open arms. He just stood near the door, not even caring to say hi. Then as she, Rachel and Louise headed for the house she heard Jesse’s hurtful words and turned back.

She stormed over to where he was nonchalantly leaning against one of the bunkhouse posts and demanded him to repeat what he’d said.

“Why? You already heard me.”

Jane calmly walked up the steps to stand before him then as she poked his shoulder she said, “Tell me anyway.”

He was silent and started to back away from the anger he’d seen in her eyes.

“Jesse,” she began quietly. “I swear if you don’t speak up…”

“Ok, ok,” he replied as he threw his hands in the air, “I just said that I knew you couldn’t do it…you couldn’t run a store by yourself.”

“And why’s that?” she asked, stepping closer.

“B-because girls…”

“Girls what?”

He glanced at the others, but saw that they would be of no help at all… especially Rachel and Louise. He could also see that they seemed to be as angry as Jane and realized he was in for some serious talking to later on.

“I’m waiting.”

“Uh…uhm…be-cause girls are the weaker person?”

“Is that right?”

He’d barely nodded his head when a fist came flying at his face. The next thing he knew, he was sprawled on the ground staring unbelievingly up into Jane’s unwavering anger filled eyes as she told him to get up and fight like a man.

“No way,” he squeaked while scrambling backwards.

“Why? Chicken?”

He shook his head furiously.

She waited.

“Ain’t fighting no girl,” he finally spoke as he stood to dust himself off.

“Oh yeah?”

As she was getting ready to pounce on him again, he was saved just in time when the other two women…and Buck, came over to rescue him. They each gave him a stare that had him backing away a little more, but he wouldn’t let them intimidate him just because they were the adults.

Buck pulled gently on Jane’s arm, trying to get her away from Jesse before she did any more damage to the boy’s ego. When she turned her eyes on him, he took an unconscious step back as the full force of the heat that filled her eyes slammed into him. He dropped his hand from her arm and waited.

Jane was confused. Why did Buck back away from her? Why did he seem afraid? Then she felt someone else’s arm wrap around her shoulder and give it a small squeeze. She glanced from Buck to the woman standing beside her. When she was able to focus clearly on the woman’s face, she realized that it was Rachel.

“Rachel?”

Rachel just smiled, gave her another hug and said, “It’s all right now. Why don’t we go on to the house?”

Jane’s nod was barely perceivable then she glanced at Buck again. When their eyes met this time, there was no fear in his…only compassion, understanding and…love.

“Love?” she thought as she looked away again and started walking. “How can there be love in them when he hardly knows me?”

During supper that night, she sat silently at the table with the rest of her friends till one of them mentioned Chester’s name. She glanced over to where Teaspoon sat and asked if they had gotten him to jail.

“Yep. Locked him up tight and threw away the key,” he replied with a smile.

She sighed with relief. Now maybe she could concentrate on why she felt such deep emotions for Buck. They’d only known each other a short time, but to her it felt like a lifetime. She knew she shouldn’t have these feelings, knew that she was definitely too young for him and knew she’d have to eventually find herself a job and a place to live because she couldn’t very well stay with Rachel forever.

“Rise and shine boys”, Rachel said as they entered the bunkhouse several days later. Then she turned around in time to see Jane walking back out the door. 

“Just where do you think you’re going young lady?”

“To check on Diamond. I’ll eat later”.

“I don’t think so…you will sit down and eat now. You can check on your horse after breakfast.”

She didn’t budge.

Rachel placed her arms across her chest replying, “Sit…now.”

So Jane sat. As she did, she realized that Rachel was exactly the way her mother had been and smiled to herself. It felt good to have a parent figure around, even if it wasn’t her parent.

Meanwhile Buck was leaning against the headboard of his bed with a smile of his own. Sassy mouth was learning that Rachel didn’t take any crap from anyone. Not him, not the boys, not Teaspoon and definitely not the spit-fired woman that was all Jane. Then he pushed himself from the bed and went to sit next to his fuming woman.

~ You better watch yourself ~ Ike joked.

Buck arched his brow as he sat down.

As the breakfast was being served, Cody managed to talk while chewing through a mouthful of food. 

“Hey Tarzan…you…should eat your breakfast…or I’ll take it.”

“Call me Tarzan again Cody and I promise you that your next meal will be full of soap.”

Cody laughed. Then the others joined in. It had been a running joke with everyone since they’d found out that Jane had given him the nickname and it wasn’t about to stop now.
 

Chapter Nine

Jane was pushing an unsaddled Diamond as fast as she could go, laughing like she’d never laughed before. Hearing her name being whispered on the wind, she glanced back to see Buck. He was on an equally unsaddled horse and quickly gaining on her.

“So, you think you can catch me?” she thought as she laughed again.

The day had started out in a teasing mood then, when she had been in the barn tending to her horse, Buck had snuck up on her and they had tumbled to the hay filled ground. Her body still tingled from the touch of his hands and his kisses had almost been her undoing till she’d remembered where they were. She had managed to push him away and jumped on Diamond’s bare back while daring Buck to catch her…if he could. 

She leaned in closer to Diamond’s ear, urging her to go faster and not seeing the riders in front of her till it was too late.

Suddenly she felt herself flying off her horse’s back and landing on the ground with a sickening thud. Then she just lay there trying to catch her breath. When she finally opened her eyes and looked up, she was in complete disbelief. Standing over her was a very angry Chester Farmington, flanked by two of his men.

“Just what the hell do you think running from me would solve?”

“Y-you’re sup-posed to b-be in jail.”

“No jail’s going to hold me. Besides you know I always get what I want and no little brat is going to stop me.”

“No, but I will,” Buck replied in a stern voice when he heard Chester saying this to Jane. “Now you just back away from her and I won’t have to kill you where you stand.”

“Buck…no,” Jane whispered frantically while getting up from the ground. 

‘Big mistake’

With the speed of a striking snake, the man closest to her grabs her by the hair, slams her into his chest and places a knife at her throat. 

“Drop the gun half-breed or I’ll slit her pretty little throat if Chester tells me to.”

“Don’t do it Buck…please,” she whimpered softly, but he dropped the gun anyway.

“Now, get off your horse.”

Never once taking his eyes off of Jane, Buck got down while at the same time slowly reaching for his knife. When she was able to understand what he was planning to do, she stomped down hard on her captors’ foot and threw herself to the ground as Buck’s knife came flying towards them, hitting its target. In the next instant a volley of gunfire was being exchanged and to her horror, she watches Buck slowly crumple to the ground.

“Noooooo!” she screamed as she started to run toward him, only to be yanked back by Chester’s cruel hands.

“I told you I always get what I want.”

“Go to hell.”

Chester slapped her hard across the face, causing her to stumble, “You belong to me!” he roared angrily.

“I will never belong to you!”

Buck thought he heard his name being called from the thick fog that seemed to be resonating in his head and hoped the sound would go away. When it didn’t, he slowly opened his eyes.

“Thank God, you’re awake,” a relieved Rachel said as she bathed his brow with a cool compress. “What happened out there anyway?”

“Ches…ster,” he managed to say.

“But I thought he was in jail.”

Buck barely shook his head. “Not a good idea,” he thought as he grimaced in pain. Then said to Rachel, “Guess he didn’t want to stay. Is Jane ok?”

Rachel was silent.

“He still has her, doesn’t he?”

“Yes, but I’ve already sent Cody, Ike and Jimmy back out searching for her… now why don’t you get some rest while I get supper started.”

“Rachel?”

“Hmmm?”

“How many hits did I take?”

“Three,” she whispered. “Your right side, just under the ribcage. It went clean through. Your left shoulder was just grazed and,” she pause to clear the tears from her throat, “and just above your heart. Doc had a hell of a time with that one.”

He smiled weakly before saying, “So that’s why I feel like there’s a buffalo sitting on my chest.”

“Yeah, probably. Now rest and don’t worry…the boys will get her back.”

Meanwhile, Jane was racking her brain to figure a way out of this latest predicament. If she and Buck hadn’t been teasing each other so much in the first place, she wouldn’t have jumped on Diamond’s bare back and taken off with the wind.

“Buck wouldn’t be out there dying right now either,” she thought while choking back a sob and struggling to loosen the ropes.

“Shut that crying up Jane. You shouldn’t be wasting such tears on some half-breed when you can have a real man like myself.”

“Go to hell Chester,” she replied scathingly. “Buck is more a man than you’ll ever be and I’d rather die than have your filthy hands touch me again.”

Chester brought his horse to a stop. He got down, walked over to where Jane had stopped and yanked her from the horse, pulling her close. 

“Oh yeah. Well maybe that could be arranged,” he said. “First I’d like to sample the fruits of your body before doing so.”

Then his hands started roaming all over her body and he began kissing her with his cold, slimy lips. 

She was going to be physically sick if he continued this assault on her body. Then she stomped on his foot and bit down on his lower lip when it came into contact with her teeth. 

He swore as he let her go and she started to run as fast as her shaky legs would carry her, but he caught up to her and they both tumbled to the ground.

“Why you little Indian loving wh…”

Then he slapped her so hard that it caused her face to instantly sting like several bees had stung her as tears sprang into her eyes and her ears to ring. She would not give him the pleasure of seeing her cry and silently promised to send him back to Hades. 

“I’ll show you how you should treat a man,” he angrily said as he began to rip open her shirt.

She screamed at him to go to hell again while desperately trying to cling to the shirt that was being torn from her shoulders. She could see that she was fighting a losing battle, but she would never give up, never let him have something that wasn’t his to begin with and kept screaming at the top of her lungs till she could scream no more. 

Chester was smiling evilly as he fought with the little hellion and was so bent on having his way with her, he didn’t hear anything except the blood rushing to his brain while other blood pooled in the recesses of his loins. Then he yanked off his shirt with one hand, keeping the other firmly on her throat and started to loosen his belt. When his pants are almost to his knees, he heard a voice and the unmistakable click of several guns being cocked.

“Back away Chester…slow and easy,” Cody said calmly and deadly.

“Do it mister,” Jimmy replied. “Back away from the lady and don’t get any funny ideas.” 

Then Jimmy slowly moved toward an already scrambling Jane, helps her to stand and wraps a protective arm around her trembling body.

“You ok?” he whispered. 

When he receives the slightest nod from her, he tells Ike and Cody to start tying Chester and his henchman up.

“H-he killed Buck…all my fault.” She begins to sob. “It’s all my fault.” 

Jimmy set her gently back onto the horse after wrapping his coat around her and said, “He’s not dead. We got him back to the station in time. He’ll be a little sore for awhile, but he’s definitely not dead.”

“He’s not?” she asked, her eyes wide with unbelief. “But I saw…”

“No Jane…your Tarzan is not dead,” he answered with a smile. “Now come on, lets get back to the station so we can hand these men over to Teaspoon.”

The four-some were lost in their own thoughts, as were the two criminals, as they rode back towards the station then Jimmy spoke up.

“Ike, why don’t you take Jane back to station. I’m sure there’s a certain friend of ours waiting to see that she’s ok. Meanwhile Cody and I will take these two straight to the jailhouse.”

~ Ok ~

Then he looked toward Jane.

~ Maybe Tarzan will be awake by the time we get there ~

“You mean he’s unconscious?”

~ Yes…at least he was when we left ~

“Dear God,” she anguished, “what have I done?”

“Now Jane,” Jimmy spoke sternly, “don’t be worrying so much. You know how hard headed he is sometimes…how we all are. Besides, worrying just causes frown lines.”

She smiled…just a little. Jimmy was an old softy deep inside that rough exterior of his, but he hardly let that side of him be seen.

“Yeah, I know. Thank you for everything and…for saving Buck.” 

She sat on the floor next to his bunk and watched him sleep. He looked so peaceful just lying there, as if he hadn’t been shot. His face was smooth and unblemished, his lashes…well they were something else. They fanned out across his upper cheeks like a woman’s hand held fan. Perfect, long, silky lashes and she was just a bit jealous of them. Just as she reached out to trace them with her finger, Rachel quietly walked in with some clean bandages and a bowl of water. 

“Jane, I need to check his wounds again.”

“Could I?”

“All right. I’ll just set this here for you and be back in a while.”

“Thank you.”

After Rachel had left, she gently shook Buck by the shoulder.

“Buck,” she whispered. “Buck, you got to wake up.”

“Hmmm?” came his sleepy response.

“I said, y…”

She yelped as he pulled her up and across his chest.

“Don’t want to wake up yet.”

“But…”

His smooth liquid kisses rained down on her trembling lips before she was able to mutter another word. When he started down the column of her neck, she let out an audible sigh and her insides began turning to mush.

“Bu-uck,” she gasped. “We got…to…ch-ange your ban-dag-es.”

“Not yet sassy mouth,” he smiled. Then he continued to kiss her.

After dinner, they took a leisurely stroll around the grounds of the station while holding hands. Jane was still a little tongue tied from all the kisses he’d given her earlier in the day and couldn’t think of anything except the way they made her feel. When they were passing the barn, she recalled how the touch of his hands on her body burned through her clothes and she began to tremble slightly.

“Buck?”

He pulled her close. So close in fact that she thought for sure if they were any closer, they be permanently melded together. There was so much heat radiating between them that she felt the searing of his eyes as they looked down upon her. Then when she was able to look up, she did melt…quite literally…into the deep recesses of his liquid chocolate eyes.

She tried to speak, but no words were forthcoming. Then it was too late…he started to kiss her again.

“Are you going to stay quiet and listen to what I’ve got to say?” he asked when he finally stopped the sensual assault on her lips.

She barely nodded.

“You know you make me crazy with wanting you, right?”

She nodded again.

“Since the day you took those pot shots at us, I knew you were the one I’d give my heart to…”

Jane started to shake her head, but Buck gently framed her face with his hands saying, “It’s true. I love you Jane.”

Then as he sank to one knee, she held her breath and her heart nearly doubled its thumping beneath her ribs.

“Will you marry me Jane?”

She was crying again, her thoughts silently asking him if he was sure. When she saw his soft eyes full of such compassion and love, she finally understood that he truly meant what he’d said and barely choked out her answer as she also dropped to her knees.

“Yes…I’ll marry you Buck.”
 

Epilogue

Sweet Water - Spring 1863

Their wedding had been perfect. The only thing…people missing from their happy occasion were Ike, Noah and Jesse.

Ike and Noah had been killed protecting two separate women from the anger that had been inside of the women. 

Emily Metcalf and Rosemary Burke had been out for revenge for the murders of the important men in their lives. Emily’s was her father while it was Rosemary’s husband who had been killed. How Ike and Noah got involved was something else.

Ike fell in love with Emily. They had made a great couple and seemed to be on the track to matrimony when, while they were at a dance, her father had walked over to the saloon and called out a gambler by the name of Neville. Both men drew their guns, but Mr. Metcalf’s gun had jammed and Mr. Neville was able to kill his opponent. When Emily found out, she swore revenge. After the funeral of Emily’s father, she took it upon herself to pay Mr. Neville a visit at the saloon to exact her revenge; only it was Ike who ended up being shot…he died later that afternoon. With Noah, it was his understanding 
of how Rosemary felt that had him trying to protect her for her own good and ended up with him getting shot in a crossfire between the Army and the outlaws. Then there was Jesse.

She really did miss Jesse. He’d learned a lot from everyone and was doing so well with all of their tender loving care that they gave him, but then his “real” brother showed up. 

“Poor Jesse,” she thought as she gathered some wildflowers that grew in front of the old Weigh Station. “He never really had a chance with Teaspoon or any of us once Frank came back into his life.”

She didn’t like Frank one bit. He was a no good, two bit thief and reminded her too much of Chester…who, by the way found himself in jail again. He was awaiting sentencing on the charges of attempted murder and assault. She had gone to the trial, although she didn’t want to be there, but without her testimony he wouldn’t have been found guilty. 

Then she looked up at the sound of a rider approaching and saw that it was her husband returning from an errand he had in town. He slowed the horse to a stop in front of her, jumped down and gathered her into his arms, swinging her in circles.

“What’s gotten you so happy today?”

“Rachel and Teaspoon are getting married.”

“No way.”

“Yep,” he replied as he stopped spinning. “They’re coming here for the ceremony. Sent the invitations out to everybody already.”

“And?”

“Then they plan to stay here in Sweet Water. Rachel wants to help you with the shop and Teaspoon…well he all he wants is to settle down, take care of Rachel and maybe get started on that family he’s been promising himself lately.”

She was still a little surprised at the wedding announcement, but then again she should have seen it coming. They made a great couple, Teaspoon and Rachel, and they were terrific parents. You could tell by the way they’d taught their express riders in the year that the Pony Express was in business.

“You and Teaspoon plan on building them a house?”

“Of course and they won’t be too far away. So we’ll be able to visit them any time you’d like.”

“Oh Buck, that is great news,” she replied as she flung her arms around his neck. “I love you so much…you know.”

“Yeah,” he whispered as he carried her into the house, into their bedroom. “I know.”

Teaspoon stood at the front of the church fidgeting with his tie as one by one, the girls came walking down the isle.

First came Teresa, Louise’s baby sister, with her basket of daisy petals. Next was Louise herself…a very pregnant Louise, with another basket of flower petals. Then came Stacy, Jimmy’s soon to be bride. Joycelynn was after her…she was Cody’s current love interest and finally there was Jane.

Now Jane was something else. She had come into their lives when the Pike brothers were causing trouble for the town of Benton, not to mention that Emery had killed her father and Frank had kidnapped Amanda. 

“Ah, Amanda,” Teaspoon thought as he glanced at the woman he’d adopted when she told him of the death of his own daughter. They’d gotten off to a rocky start, but things were good now. They were partners of one of Benton’s finest saloons and even though she ran it, he went for visits every chance he could get. Then he glanced back at Jane.

She had the radiant look of a woman who was expecting a child and wondered if she’d told Buck about his impending fatherhood. When he looked back towards the end of the isle, his heart dropped to the floor.

Rachel was just a pure vision of loveliness. She had been hard to convince about marrying him, but after everyone had talked to her…she’d said yes and made him promise that she’d be the last of all his wives.

He promised. Then they laughed at themselves. They hugged, they cried… and they loved.

“Thank you Lord,” he whispered silently as his bride walked toward him. “Thank you for giving me such a wonderful family and such a wonderful woman.”

“You’re being awfully quiet tonight,” Buck whispered as he wrapped an arm around his wife. “Is something wrong?”

“No love,” she sighed. 

His hand slowly crept up her thigh and rested itself on her hip.

“What is it then?”

She turned to face the man she’d married only a year before and smiled.

“Well?” he asked as his brow arched skyward as it had on so many occasions in the past.

“Just thinking of how much I love you,” she answered.

He smiled back before he said, “I love you too my heart." 

They were silent for a few moments, just staring at each other in the dark.

“So…when were you going to tell me about the baby?”

“You know?” she asked in a stunned tone. “Who told you?”

“No one had to tell me Jane. I just knew.”

“How?”

He smiled that special smile when he had a secret and she waited patiently for him to “spill the beans” on this latest one he’d kept from her.

“You really want to know how I knew?”

“Yes.”

“Alright. It goes something like this.”

And he proceeded to explain his secret to her…all through the deep, dark, moonlit night.

Your heart knows the secrets of what love is all about, so when you think you hear your heart say something…listen to it carefully, cause you never know if the one you were truly meant to love is just around the corner.