A Love Foretold by Kimberly Wright Chapters Sixteen to Eighteen

Summer was in full force and Breanna was in the process of washing the clothes during another week of the heat wave that they’d been having lately. She smiled to herself, remembering the day she and Rachel went to the doctors. Of course Buck came too so that he would be there to know the prognosis. Breanna softly rubbed her hand over her belly where their baby slept and sighed.

“Well little one, I wish you could’ve seen your father’s face. He’s been practically floating on air ever since the doctor said you were definitely here and I don’t think he’s ever going to come down. But then, I don’t think I would either although one of us has got to be level headed about things. We’ll just have to be the ones cause I’m sure he’s going to spoil you more so after you’re born.”

Then she turned to pick up the basket of wet clothes so that she could get them hung for drying. As she strode over to the clothesline, she heard Lou calling out to her.

“Here, let me car…” Lou began to say as she came near.

Breanna shook her head.

“Come on Bre, you know what the doctor said and you also know what…”

“Yeah, yeah,” she replied. “I know what Buck said, but I am starting to get a little sick of all the tender handling and I will scream if anyone reminds me again what my Warrior said before he went on his run.”

Lou was laughing. Buck had warned everybody that Breanna was not to lift a finger, especially after finding out that the doctor had told her to take things easy with the heat wave that was upon them. But with Breanna being Breanna, it was hard to keep her from doing any chore, let alone sitting still.

“All right,” Lou answered. “Just let me help with this and I’ll not bug you till later.”

Breanna hesitated, but when she saw the stubborn glint that crept into her friend’s eyes, she nodded. So the two girls hung the clothes as they talked about the relationship they had with the two most mule-headed men in Sweet Water. They talked about marriage and the children they would have, then they talked some more about the men who’d stolen their hearts. After all the clothes were hung and flowing in the stiff summer breeze, Lou went back to finishing her other chores and Breanna went back to where the washtub stood. She placed the now empty basket against the side of the house and went to empty the water from the washtub.

A sudden zing of sharp pain pierced through her side and radiated completely around her stomach. Breanna doubled over as another pain shot through her belly like glass cutting skin and she gasped.

“Oh no,” she cried. “Dear Lord…don’t let it be…” then she crumpled to the ground in a dead faint, the word ‘baby’ slipping silently from her lips.

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“Hey Lou,” Buck called out after he handed the pouch off to Cody and slid from Warriors Pride. “You seen my Little Fire today?”

Lou smiled at the name Red Bear had given Breanna when he and his men had aided her and the others of the wagon train years before. Then she replied, “She’s just finishing washing the laun…”

Buck took off running before Lou could finish speaking.

Buck ran toward the clothes that were blowing in the summer heat while calling out for the woman who’d captured his heart. When he didn’t here her answer back, he went around the side of the house only to skid to a stop when he saw her curled up on the dusty ground.

“Bre? Little Fire?” he barely whispered as he made his feet move again. Then he knelt down, felt her forehead and gently shook her shoulders. “Breanna, can you hear me?”

She didn’t answer. She lay still as death and Buck began to worry. He quickly ran his hands across her body to check for snakebite then gasped when he saw the dark stain that had spread beneath her hips. He gently pulled her closer to his heart, rocked her and prayed to the Great Father…then he began to yell.

It seemed as if it took forever for everyone to come, but they came. Rachel was first since she had just been in the kitchen. Then Ike, Lou, Kid, Jimmy and Noah were there right behind her. Buck looked up at them with the saddest eyes they’d ever seen then Rachel took charge of the situation.

“Lou, run and fetch the doctor,” Rachel ordered quietly. “Jimmy, help me get Breanna inside and you others,” she turned to Ike, Kid and Noah, “keep Buck out here till the doctor can see her.” Everyone swung into action. Moments later, Breanna was lying limply on Rachel’s bed while Rachel began to wash the dirt from the young woman’s face.

Breanna moaned. She didn’t want to open her eyes to see if the nightmare had been real, but the coolness of the cloth that slid across her face seemed to be working its magic. She softly moaned again as her eyes fluttered open.

“Rachel? What am I doing in here?”

“You passed out doing the laundry.”

“I passed…dear God no.” She shut her eyes again as the memory of the stinging pain that ripped through her body slammed into her brain.

“Breanna, I’ve sent Lou to fetch the doctor.”

“Don’t need one,” Breanna replied in a whisper. “I already know my baby is gone.”

“How can you be sure?”

Before Breanna could answer Rachel’s question, they heard the unmistakable sound of a wagon approaching in a hurry. Then, the clomping of boots echoed up the stairs of the porch to Rachel’s house.

“Ra-chel,” Lou yelled as she pulled the doctor along in her whirlwind, “I got the doc.”

“Now hold on there Lou, I ain’t as young as I used to be,” the doctor said with a smile while letting Lou pull him into Rachel’s room. Then he saw Rachel holding Breanna in her arms.

“She’s hurt doc,” Lou said. “She was f-fine earlier, b-but…”

“Alright Lou.” Then he stepped toward the two women sitting on the bed and said, “Miss Rachel, why don’t you go on out with Lou and sit with the boys while I examine my patient.”

Rachel nodded in agreement, took one look at Lou’s stricken face and put her arm around the young woman as they walked out to the porch. They said nothing as they sat down on the swing, watching the boys doing their best to keep Buck from charging into the house. Lou felt a little guilty for not staying with her friend after they’d hung up the clothes. She glanced at Rachel, then to where Buck was being forced to sit in one of the bunkhouse chairs and began to quietly cry.

“Don’t cry Louise,” Rachel said as she wrapped her arm around her shoulder. “Things like this tend to happen sometimes.”

“Y-eah, but if I h-had stayed wi-th her…”

“It still could’ve happened, so don’t be blaming yourself for it.”

“B-ut I…”

“Not another word from you young lady,” Rachel said firmly. “We’ll just have to wait to hear what the doctor has to say.”

Several minutes later the doctor came outside, sighing as he wiped his brow with his neckerchief then he looked up to find seven pair of eyes staring at him. 

“The baby?” Buck choked, his face still a little ashen.

“I’m sorry son,” the doctor replied. “I’ll return in a couple of days to check on her, in the meantime make sure she gets plenty of rest for the next few days and make sure she drinks plenty of liquid.”

“Can I see her?”

“Yes. But Buck, only for a few minutes ok?”

Buck nodded then he slowly made his way into the house and into the room that Breanna was in. Her back was facing him and her shoulders were trembling. He knew she was crying so he carefully sat at the edge of the bed and hesitantly reached out to touch her, to comfort her.

Breanna’s body jerked as she slapped the hand on her shoulder. She barely glanced at Buck then hissed, “Don’t touch me. D-on’t come n-near me.”

“Bre…”

“J-just go a-way. H-ave ba-bies with some-one w-who won’t k-kill them.”

“You didn’t kill our child.”

Her green eyes glared at him. She backed further away from him and whispered in anguish, “I did. I-I was…a-am a b-ad per-son. I killed our ch-ild.”

Rachel had heard enough. She stepped into the room, placed her hands on her hips and said, “Breanna Nicole, you aught to be ashamed for thinking like that.” Then she looked at Buck. “I made some fresh coffee. Why don’t you get yourself a cup while I talk with this young lady.”

Buck nodded then stood away from the bed. He glanced back at the woman still curled up on the bed, thinking back to the time when she was just a small girl kneeling at the grave of her Uncle. Then, with shoulders slumped, he just walked out of the house and kept on walking till Ike had caught up with him.

~ How is she? ~

“She doesn’t want me to touch her. Told me to find someone else.”

~ She doesn’t mean it you know ~

“I know,” he replied. “It’s just that…if she weren’t so pig-headed…if she would just let me hold her again…if…” he stopped walking, turned around and headed back to the bunkhouse.

~ What are you going to do? ~

“Going for a ride…to the sweat-lodge to think.”
 

Chapter Seventeen

Rachel stood at the window, watching as Buck came back from his time at the sweat lodge. Breanna was still sleeping and had stated emphatically that she didn’t want Buck to be near her. Rachel knew it would be some time before Breanna actually stopped blaming herself for her miscarriage. She sighed sadly as she returned her focus on getting the rest of dinner ready to cook for the boys.

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“Man, did you see those new women at Rose’s place?” Cody said while chewing on a piece of licorice.

“You would notice them,” Lou countered as she smacked Cody’s upper arm.

“Who wouldn’t,” he replied, “and why’d you have to smack me?”

Lou didn’t answer, she just angled her head in Buck’s direction.

“Oh…yeah. Tell me something Lou…when do you suppose Bre is ever going to let him even hold her hand? I mean, geesh, it’s been what…ten days or so?”

“Just about,” she answered. “But then you know Rachel’s been talking to her about how she lost her own baby.”

“I know,” he grumbled. “I just wish she would let Buck…”

“Yeah…me too.”

Cody and Lou watched as Buck walked over to Teaspoon’s office after making sure the buckboard was secured at the general store. Then they glanced at each other with a sigh and turned to go into the store to get the supplies needed for the weigh station. Just as they turned, they heard someone yelling and spun around quicker than a jackrabbit, with their guns drawn.

Everything seemed to happen in slow motion. Buck was halfway to Teaspoon’s office, Teaspoon was walking out of his office, Lou and Cody stared in disbelief and the afternoon stage barreled down the middle of the road…straight for Buck.

Then Lou began to scream as she ran towards her friend, Cody right at her heels.

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The fog in his brain was slowly dissipating. The pain in his leg began to throb and he felt as if he’d swallowed the entire main street of Sweet Water.

“Leave me alone,” his thoughts whispered when he felt someone shaking him. Then he let the fog envelope him again and sank into a blackness he never thought he’d be in.

Rachel…and Breanna took turns watching over Buck as he struggled with whatever pulled him back into sleep and Breanna’s heart couldn’t take much more of his thrashing about. She glanced over at Rachel, who’d just fallen asleep in a chair then she took a deep breath, knowing what she had to do. She gathered Buck’s arms, pinned them to his side and halfway lay across his body whispering how sorry she was for loosing their baby…how sorry she was for pushing him away and that she loved him so much that she just wanted him to come back to her.

Meanwhile, as Buck fought the shadow in his mind he also felt the warmth of something else…something else that cared deeply about him. Then he heard the slightest of whispers and fought harder to reach the voice of his ladylove.
“I’m here Little Fire…don’t leave me”, he whispered back from the recesses of his mind. “I’m still here.” 

The shadow tried to make the warmth go away, to take Buck back into the lonely pit with it but was unable to compete with the love that radiated down into Buck’s heart.

An hour or so later Buck’s eyes opened to find that day had turned into night, that there was something pressing on his chest and when he turned his head, he smiled. Breanna had laid her head over his heart and had fallen asleep. He was glad that she was there to ‘pull’ him from the shadows of his mind. They would talk…later, but right now he was content to hold her close again. He closed his eyes and went back to sleep with his arms around the woman of his heart.

A Week Later
Breanna glanced up from her work with a smile, but the smile faded when she saw the sad look in Buck’s eyes. Thinking that something was wrong with one of their friends, she dropped her sewing and ran to him.

“What…what is it?”

“Walk with me,” he said as he gently took her hand.

They stepped outside of Tanya’s shop and she asked, “Is everyone ok? Are you…”

“We…” he ran his fingers though his hair then continued. “Russell, Majors and Waddell are sending us to Rock Creek. We leave in two weeks.”

“Why?”

“Someone attacked the weigh station there and the company wants their best to get it up and running again.”

“All of you?”

“Yeah.”

Breanna wrapped her shawl tighter around her arms and quietly said, “I won’t let them.”

“Ain’t got much of a choice Bre,” Buck replied with a small smile. “You could come with us.”

“But what about our plans? My job with Tanya?”

He turned to her, saw that her eyes were brimmed with tears and gently brushed the stray tear that coursed down her cheek before saying; “We’ll find something for you when we get there.”

“And if we don’t?”

“We’ll find something…I promise.”

Two weeks later, the rest of the express riders from Sweet Water plus Rachel and Breanna were heading for their new home in Rock Creek. Rachel was at the helm of one wagon and Noah had taken the helm of the second one. Buck, Ike and Lou were on horseback. As they put more miles between themselves and Sweet Water, Breanna wondered what differences the two towns would have.

“I hope the people in Rock Creek won’t mind us moving into their town,” she mentioned to Rachel a few moments later.

“Why would they?”

“Well, from what we’ve heard from Teaspoon, it wasn’t exactly a warm welcome that he and the others received…especially Jimmy.”

“I know, but Jimmy’s been written about before,” Rachel replied. “You remember me telling you about that Marcus fellow?”

“Yeah.”

“Well he was just plain mean and the folks in Rock Creek were just scared of not being on the ‘right’ side.”

“How can there be a ‘right’ side to owning another person? I mean, look at Noah and what he’s probably had to go through…not to mention his own ancestors.”

“Noah is special… all of you are special and we love Noah just as we love Buck and Ike…and Lou…and…”

Breanna laughed. Then she said, “Ok…I know you love us all and I’m glad our family background, or lack of, isn’t an issue with you and Teaspoon. Speaking of special,” she said when her eyes contacted with Buck’s, ”here comes my special person.”

Buck had heard Breanna laughing and glanced back at her. When he did he felt a zinging tingle course through his body and turned his horse toward the wagon she rode in.

“Ladies,” he said with a tip of his hat. “You enjoying the ride?”

“Of course we are,” Rachel replied. “It’s a beautiful day for a ride.”
“Speak for yourself Rachel,” Breanna groused as she squirmed again on the hard seat of the wagon. “I’d rather be on horseback…bareback.”

“That could be arranged Little Fire,” Buck quietly spoke as his chocolate brown gaze bored into her emerald green eyes.

“Buck Cross,” Lou’s voice joined in the conversation, “you keep your hands off of her and Bre…keep your hands off him. It ain’t fair that you two can make goo-goo eyes at each other while I have to wait to arrive in Rock Creek before I can make goo-goo eyes at my man.”

Rachel couldn’t help laughing. It was just too funny. Lou was actually perturbed that Kid wasn’t around to make “goo-goo” eyes with, but then if Kid was here and Buck was in Rock Creek…then maybe Breanna would be perturbed.

“Enough with the ‘goo-goo’ eyes,” she said after taking a deep breath. “Louise is right. You two need to focus more on us getting to Rock Creek and less on each other.”

Buck and Breanna smiled as they glanced at each other again…each thinking the same thoughts then Buck gave a slight nod to the women and urged his horse into a canter to catch up with Ike and Noah.

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The Pony Express family reached Plum Creek almost two days later and was now saying good-by to Breanna. She had decided to visit with her family since she knew they’d be nearby and promised to catch up with them when she could.

“You take care riding out there by yourself,” Rachel said softly as she gave the young woman a hug, “and tell your family we said hello.”

“I will, I promise,” she spoke through the tears that clogged her throat. Then she turned to Buck. His eyes spoke volumes of unsaid words as he wrapped her in his arms. “I will miss you my Warrior.”

“As I will miss you too my Little Fire.”

Everybody swung up onto their horses or into the seat of a wagon and headed out of town. When they were about five miles from Plum Creek, they waved to Breanna as she turned south towards her family’s village.

“Come on Buck,” Rachel called. “You know she’ll be ok.”

“I know…her people are watching.”

“They’re watching?”

“Yes.”

“How long?”

He glanced at Rachel then back to where Breanna was no more than just a speck on the horizon. Then he sighed and answered, “About half a day.”

“So they were expecting her?”

“Yes.”

With that simple answer, he turned his horse east again and continued on with his Pony Express family to their new home in Rock Creek.
 

Chapter Eighteen

“Daughter…it is good to see you again,” her father greeted when she rode into the village. “Red Eagle said that you would be arriving soon.”

“Kind of figured that out when I saw those Warriors,” she replied as she gave her father a hug. “I’ve missed you daddy. How are mom and the boys?”

“Come see for yourself.”

Father and daughter walked to where her parent’s lodge was and smiled when she saw her mother standing near a cooking pot, stirring the contents. She glanced up at her father, saw the sparkle in his eyes and felt pride in knowing that he still deeply loved her mother.

“Daddy…your eyes got stars in them,” she said with a smile.

He looked down at his daughter, his own face split with a smile a mile wide and replied; “That’s because your mother put them there. And you…where is the one who put stars in your eyes?”

“He had to go to Rock Creek. The Pony Express bosses said they had to move there since someone destroyed that station and they said they wanted their best men to get it up and running again.”

“They must have a lot of faith in the men that work for that Teaspoon fellow you told us about.”

She just smiled then called out to her mother.

Elizabeth glanced up with a start at the sound of her daughter’s voice. She dropped the spoon she was stirring with and ran to envelope her daughter in a hug.

“Moon Flower…you’ve come.”

“I’ve missed you mama.”

Mother and daughter hug for a long time then Elizabeth steps back to take a look at how grown up her baby has become. The tears fell, unstoppable.

“Mama don’t cry,” Breanna whispered.

“Oh sweetheart, I’m just happy that you’re here.” She paused, then said, “Stay here…I’ve got someone you need to meet.”

“But…”

Breanna didn’t get to finish whatever she was going to say because her mother fled back toward the lodge, entered then quickly re-emerged holding a small baby in her arms.

“I see you and dad have been busy while I’ve been away,” Breanna chuckled. “When did you have him?”

“Your brother was born not long after you and Buck returned to Sweet Water.”

“But…you didn’t look like you were with child.”

“I know,” her mother answered. “He decided to curl up against my back. That is why I had more pain there.”

“Can I hold him?”

Elizabeth nodded with a smile then gently handed her newest child into the waiting arms of his older sister. She glanced at her husband, who had wrapped an arm around her shoulder, and whispered ‘I love you’ with her eyes.

“And I love you desert Flaming Hair. Now I must go see about business.” He faced his daughter, telling her that he would see them at the evening meal.

Breanna just nodded her head, not taking her eyes off her little brother. Then, without warning, thoughts of her own child brought tears to her eyes. She quickly handed the little boy back to his mother, whispered ‘I’m sorry’ and ran as fast as she could to get away from something she knew she’d never have. She ran past the village and into the trees, not stopping till her breath came in the form of big gulps of air between crying and trying to breath then she slumped onto the fallen log that she and Buck had sat not so long ago. A while later she heard her mother’s concerned voice.

“What makes you cry so my daughter?” Elizabeth asked when she sat next to her. Breanna just shook her head, not wanting to talk about something that she thought she had finally dealt with. But her mother gently wrapped an arm around her trembling shoulders and said; “Something has gone wrong between you and your Warrior.”

“No, nothing’s wrong with us.”

“Then why the tears?”

“Oh mother, I…we…” she faltered till her mother gave her a re-assuring hug then she continue. “We were t-to have a ba-by of our own, b-but I lost h-her.”

“Hush now my daughter, these things are known to happen. Besides, I’m sure you and Running Buck will have many others.”

“But I don’t want to replace the one we lost,” Breanna responded with a deep ache in her heart.

Her mother smiled sadly at the pain that was evident in her daughter’s eyes then said, “You can never replace the loss of one child with the birth of another and no one would expect you to, for that child will always be in your heart. I am sure that she would want you to have other children and not grieve so much for her loss because now she is among the stars, watching over you with her love.”

Breanna smiled up at her mother. “That’s what Rachel said too,” she softly spoke.

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Several days had passed since the talk with her mother and now she was sitting on a buffalo hide watching after her brother. She laughed at his second attempt to stand on his chubby legs and commented, “Come on wobbles, I know you can do it.”

He tried again, but landed with a resounding thump on his rear and let out a frustrating howl so loud that Breanna winced. Then she scooted over to him and picked him up, telling him that someday he’d be running around.

“Just don’t be in a hurry,” she whispered against his smooth cheek as she gave him a kiss. “I’d like to be…” she paused, looked around then shrugged her shoulders. “Would you like to try again wobbles?”

His answer was a soft snore and she knew he’d fallen asleep. So she ducked into her parents lodge and gently laid him on his pallet of buffalo hides, gave him another kiss and went back outside.

She stood for just a moment at the entrance to the lodge then felt the same strange feeling she’d felt before her brother had fallen asleep. This time when she looked around the village, she noticed Red Eagle walking towards her and not looking his usual cheery self, which raised the hairs on the back of her neck. Somehow she knew he was going to tell her something she would rather not hear.

“Grandfather?”

He didn’t answer her. He just gazed into her green eyes and when she felt the sense of pain that he felt, her heart nearly broke.

“It’s Buck. He’s in trouble isn’t he?”

“No child. Close your eyes this time and reach for him.”

She did as the shaman instructed and concentrates solely on Buck’s emotions, leading her to where he was. She staggers back a little when she ‘sees’ him kneeling inside a prayer circle, wafting incense around him as tears course down his bronzed cheeks. On a rock in front of him was a feather, a bible and a picture in the likeness of him. Then her eyes snapped open and she gazed blurrily at Red Eagle.

“Ike’s been hurt…badly.”

“Yes child. You must return to your Warrior for I see much anger in him and it will swallow him whole like a snake swallows its prey. He will need your understanding strength and…your love.”

Within two days, Breanna was saying good-by to her family again. She swung up onto her horse and with an escort of five of her father’s best Warriors, including her father; they set of at a brisk pace for the town of Plum Creek.
 

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