Chapter 1

November 1999

Amanda Peterson wished all her students a Happy Thanksgiving as they passed 
by her desk on the way out of class. One by one, they dropped off their term papers, said good-bye and were gone. When the last student had left, she sighed in relief and leaned back in her chair. Thanksgiving had finally arrived. 

She had been looking forward to this week of vacation since Halloween. Unfortunately, Thanksgiving for her was going to be Chinese take-out and Corona’s, on the couch, grading term papers. Her family was back in California where she had grown up. She had gone to Wyoming for college because the State University had offered the best history program in the United States. She had 
fallen in love with Wyoming and had never left. She visited her family during Christmas, but that was it. High school history teachers did not make enough to 
fly back and forth across the United States. 

Picking up the pile of papers that had been left in disarray on her desk, she carefully packed them inside her briefcase. Snapping it closed, she picked up her purse, and with one last look around her classroom, she left to start her vacation. 
 

Lander, Wyoming was an extremely small town compared to San Francisco where she had grown up. She had never enjoyed the “big city” life, finding it oppressive and violent. The small town life suited her nicely. Amanda looked around the dark, snow covered streets as she walked the few blocks to the small Chinese restaurant. In San Francisco, she never would have walked the streets alone at night. Here, she did not think twice about it. The crime rate was so low compared to what she had grown up with it was almost as if there was no crime at all. 

She clutched her bulky jacket closer to her body as she walked. The streets were covered with a thick coat of snow that had fallen the night before. She walked carefully, trying not to slip on the icy sidewalk. The sky was clear and the stars shone bright. The smell of an oncoming storm was thick in the air; the meteorologist had forecasted another heavy snow for the next day. 

As a history teacher, she found Lander interesting for its historical significance. Lander now stood a few miles north where the town of Sweetwater had once 
stood. Before the Civil War, Sweetwater had been special because the Pony Express had had one of its home stations located there. For nineteen months, 
from 1860 to 1861, riders for the Pony Express had ridden through here on their way to deliver the mail. 

An odd feeling suddenly struck Amanda, bringing her thoughts to the present. 
She clutched her purse tighter against her side. She had not had this feeling in a long time. The last time she had felt it was the last time she had ever walked the streets of San Francisco alone. She had come across a mugging in progress. It 
had scared her so badly she learned her lesson and never walked alone again. 
Now the same feeling swept across her in full force. 

She continued to walk, her steps more purposeful as her stride lengthened. With feigned casualness, she looked over her shoulder behind her. She did not see anyone lurking behind her, so she casually scanned the sidewalks and streets around her. She still did not see anyone, but her heart was thumping in her chest and her breathing was shallow and quick. She could feel someone, somewhere nearby, watching her. 

As she was about to cross the next intersection, she felt someone grab her arm. She spun around to face her attacker, ready to protect herself. Her attacker yanked on her arm and pulled her back into the shadows of the nearby building. She stumbled forward and used the building to balance herself. She felt her attacker grab her purse and pull on it. She instinctively let go of it, willing to let 
him have it if it meant protecting herself. The strap of her purse caught on the bulkiness of her jacket and refused to come off. Her mugger yanked harder on the purse. The force of his pull caused her to loose her balance on the ice covered sidewalk. She fell forward and the mugger let go of her purse. She tried to put her hands out in front of her to break her fall, but she was to late. She hit the ground and cried out in pain when her head struck the sidewalk. 

The last thing she saw before she lost consciousness were the feet of her mugger as he ran away. 
 

Amanda shivered as she started to wake up. The pain in her head was intense and she moaned. 

“She’s wakin’ up,” she heard a faint voice say. 

“She’s still shivering. Jimmy, go get some more blankets from downstairs,” another voice instructed. 

“I wonder how long she was out there,” still another voice wondered. 

“She’s lucky Jimmy came across her when he did. If she had been out there much longer she might have died,” the second voice, a female voice, added. 

“She sure is Emma. I wonder how she ended up out there,” the third voice replied. 

“Someone—attacked—me,” Amanda told them, her voice raspy and dry. 

“Here’s that blanket Emma.” 

“Thank you Jimmy,” the woman, Emma, said. Amanda felt another blanket laid 
out over her. 

Amanda opened her eyes and squinted at the light. She saw three dark figures standing over her. 

“Turn down the lamp, Jimmy. The light’s hurting her eyes,” Emma directed. 

The figure on the left moved behind the others and turned down the light. Amanda opened her eyes wider and got a better look at the three people who had taken 
her in. 

Jimmy, the one who had just turned down the light, was probably in his early twenties. He had light brown hair that reached his shoulders. He was wearing a long sleeved shirt and leather vest. Around his waist was an old fashion gun belt that held a single pistol in a holster on his left hip. Amanda wondered at his 
holster as she studied his pants. They were made out of the same fabric as his shirt. The pants were faded and worn. 

Amanda turned her eyes on the woman standing between the two men. Emma, as she had been called, was a small thin woman. Her blonde hair was pulled up into what Amanda thought was a bun. She was wearing an old fashioned dress that 
had a full skirt that reached the floor and loose fitting bodice that was buttoned clear up to Emma’s collar bone. The last three buttons had been left undone. Tied around her waist and covering the skirt of the dress was an apron. 

Moving on to the third person standing in the room, she found herself studying an older gentleman. Amanda guessed him to be in his fifty’s, at least. He had a head of scraggly white hair that was covered by a wide brimmed hat. He was not as thin as Jimmy, or as tall. He was dressed similar, however. He was wearing a white buttoned down shirt that had long sleeves. Around his waist, he also carried a gun holster that housed a pistol that looked similar to the one Jimmy carried. 

“How are you feeling?” Emma asked, moving to sit on the side of the bed. She reached a hand out and held it to Amanda’s forehead. 

“My head hurts,” Amanda told her. 

“You don’t seem to be comin’ down with a fever. That’s a good sign. What’s your name?” 

“Amanda. Amanda Peterson.” 

“Well, Amanda, my name is Emma. That young man over there is Jimmy and that man over there is Teaspoon Hunter,” Emma introduced them. 

“Hi,” Amanda tried to smile. 

“You said someone attacked you,” Teaspoon said, taking a step forward. 

“Yeah. He tried to grab my purse, but I fell and he ran off.” 

“Do you know what he looked like?” Teaspoon asked. 

“No, he was wearing a mask. Do you have my purse?” 

“It’s right here,” Emma told her, picking up her purse and handing it to her. 

“You don’t have any idea what he looked like?” 

“No. He was wearing all black and it was dark. I couldn’t even tell you how tall he was.” 

“That’s too bad,” Teaspoon told her. 

“Jimmy, why don’t you go get her a glass of water,” Emma suggested. 

“Sure Emma,” Jimmy replied before leaving the room. 

Amanda dug through her purse and sighed in relief when she found everything 
still there. 

“Do you have anyone that you want me to get a hold of?” Emma asked. 

“No, my family all lives in California,” Amanda answered. 

Jimmy returned with the glass of water and handed it to Amanda. She sat up in 
the bed and sipped the water. Immediately, she began to feel better. When she was done with the water, the throbbing in her head had settled to a dull ache. 

“What time is it?” Amanda suddenly asked. 

“It’s about 11:00 at night,” Emma told her. 

“11:00? I really should be going,” Amanda told them, swinging her legs over the side of the bed. 

“You should really stay the night. You took a nasty bump on the head,” Emma disagreed. 

“That’s okay. Thank you so much for taking care of me, I really appreciate it, but I should really go home,” Amanda told them standing up. 

“Are you sure?” Emma asked. 

“Yes, I’m sure. I really thank you though.” 

“If you’re sure, I’ll have Jimmy see you home.” 

“That really isn’t necessary,” Amanda argued. 

“Yes it is. Jimmy, why don’t you go out and get ready to take Amanda home,” Emma suggested and Jimmy left the room. 

“You’ve done so much for me already, you don’t have to do this. I don’t live too 
far from here. I can walk.” 

“Nonsense. I won’t have that,” Emma told her firmly. 

“Okay,” Amanda finally consented. 

“Here’s your coat,” Emma said, handing her her jacket. 

Amanda pulled on her jacket and pulled her purse over her shoulder. Zipping up 
her jacket, Amanda followed Emma and Teaspoon down the stairs. 

They reached the front door and Emma opened it. Before walking outside, 
Amanda turned to Emma and Teaspoon. 

“Thank you so much,” she told them again before walking out onto the porch. Amanda stopped in her tracks when she saw Jimmy waiting for her. He was sitting in a buckboard, which was attached to two horses. Amanda had seen a buckboard similar to the one Jimmy now sat in at the Lander Museum near her apartment. 

Amanda looked around at her surroundings. Though Lander was a small town, there were buildings everywhere. Emma’s house stood alone, out in the middle of nowhere. There was a barn to her right at the side of the house and another building to her left. 

“Where are we?” She asked still looking at the wide expanse of land that surrounded the house. 

“We’re just outside of Sweetwater,” Teaspoon told her. 

“Sweetwater?” Amanda asked in confusion. Sweetwater had not been a town for over 100 years. 

“Yes ma’am,” Jimmy confirmed from the buckboard. “You’re at the Pony Express Station.” 

“The Pony Express? But that’s impossible,” she argued. 

“Jimmy found you a few miles out of town and brought you here. Where in Sweetwater do you live?” Emma asked. 

Amanda did not answer. Her head felt light and everything felt like it was happening far away from her. As she fainted, she heard Emma cry out behind her. 
 

Chapter 2

1860 

When Amanda woke the next time, the sunlight was shining brightly through her bedroom window. Stretching out, she thought back over the strange dream she had had during the night. In it, someone had tried to mug her. She had slipped and fell, hitting her head. When she had woken up, she had found herself back in the 1860’s at the Sweetwater Pony Express Station. 

Laughing to herself, she opened her eyes and sat up in her bed. 

“Oh my God,” she gasped looking at the room. She was not in her room. She was 
in the same room as in her dream. Hitting her forehead with the palm of her hand, she willed herself to wake up. Opening her eyes again, she found the room unchanged. 

She could feel a panic rising in her body and forced herself to calm down. She needed to think. She pinched herself and cried out in pain. 

“I’m not dreaming,” she told herself. 

Throwing back her covers, she jumped from the bed. Running to the window, she looked out. Below her, she could see several young men sitting on the fence of a corral while another young man tried to break a horse inside. She watched the young man get bucked off and land on the ground. He jumped to his feet as some of the other young men ran out to get control of the horse. 

Turning away from the window, she looked down and was relieved to find she was still wearing her own clothes. She needed to get out of here. She did not know where she was going, but she had to leave. She had to find some way to get back to her own time. 

Grabbing her jacket off the back of a chair, she found her purse sitting on the floor next to the bed. Sitting down on the bed, she grabbed her purse and dug through 
it. Finding her cell phone, she flipped it open and turned it on. 

“What the hell are you doing?” She asked herself when she realized what she was doing. 

“Who the hell are you going to call here? They don’t have no freakin’ phones,” she admonished herself. 

Turning her phone back off, she closed it and tossed it in her purse with disgust. What the hell was she going to do? 

Deciding her earlier plan was full of problems, she decided it would probably be in her best interest to stay at the station for as long as possible. Especially since the only money she had on her was useless here. She needed to stay until she found 
a job. Where that would be, she did not know. 

Pulling on her jacket, she left the room and walked down the stairs and outside. She could hear the young men yelling from the corral to her right. She did not 
want to see them so she headed towards the other building. 

“What are ya doin’ out of bed?” She heard a familiar voice ask from behind her. Turning around, she saw Teaspoon with another young man. 

“I needed fresh air,” she answered, studying the young man he was with. He looked to be about her age, twenty-four, and maybe a little younger. He had dark brown hair that hung to his shoulders and intense brown eyes. His skin was dark and from his features, she guessed that he was part Native American. He was 
tall, she noticed, and like Teaspoon and Jimmy, he wore a gun holster slung low around his hips. He was very handsome, she realized. 

“Amanda, this is one of our riders, Buck. Buck, this is Amanda. Jimmy found her late yesterday on his way back.” 

“It’s nice to meet you,” he greeted her politely. 

“You too,” she reciprocated. 

“If you’re lookin’ for Emma, she’s inside the bunkhouse getting’ dinner ready,” Teaspoon told her. 

“The bunkhouse?” Amanda asked in confusion. 

“That’s where the riders sleep. Follow us, we were just headin’ there,” Teaspoon told her. Amanda fell in step beside him. 

“Amanda!” Emma said when they stepped inside the bunkhouse. “How are you feelin’?” 

“Pretty good. I still have this dull throbbing in my head, but it’s going away.” 

“That’s good. You gave us quite a scare when you fainted on the porch last night.” 

“I’m sorry about that. I just didn’t expect to wind up in Sweetwater,” she told them. I sure as hell didn’t expect to wind up in 1860, she thought to herself. 

“I’m glad that you’re feeling better. Why don’t you take a seat? Dinner will be ready in a few minutes,” Emma suggested, motioning towards the benches 
around the large picnic table. 

“Do you need any help?” Amanda offered. 

“Don’t be silly. You’re our guest, take a seat. Buck, why don’t you go get the boys?” Emma asked. Buck walked outside as Amanda took a seat at the table. Shrugging out of her jacket, she laid it over her legs and hung her purse from her knee. 

A few minutes later, several young men streamed into the bunkhouse, talking loudly and joking with each other. When they saw Amanda, they immediately quieted down and took their seats. Amanda felt uncomfortable as the riders 
stared at her in curiosity. 

“Boys, this is Amanda. She’ll be staying with us for a while,” Emma told them. “Amanda, let me introduce the boys. Starting on your left is Cody, Kid, Lou, Jimmy and Teaspoon you’ve met, Ike, and Buck you met,” Emma introduced. 

“Hi,” Amanda greeted them, with a shy, little wave. 

The riders began to talk again as Emma set out the plates of food. Amanda was quiet as the food was passed around the table. 

“Where are you from Amanda?” She looked up to see who had spoken and saw all the riders looking at her. 

“California,” she told them. Lander had not been around until the early 1900’s. 

“Where’s about?” This time she noticed it was Lou speaking. 

“San Francisco.” 

“Really? How’d you end up way out here?” Teaspoon asked, setting down his fork. 

“I came out here looking for a job,” she lied. 

“What kind of job?” Emma asked. 

“I’m a teacher,” she replied. 

“Really? You couldn’t teach back in San Francisco?” 

“I could have,” she began, thinking quickly for a story that would wash with them. “But they already had a couple of really good teachers there. I decided to come out here where there would be more of a need,” she lied. 

“What did your parents think about you comin’ way out here?” Teaspoon asked. 

“They weren’t happy,” she told them, thinking back to when she had first broke 
the news to her parents. “But when they realized it was what I really wanted, 
they supported me.” 

“How nice of them,” Emma told her with a smile. 

“We’re actually in need of a teacher here in Sweetwater,” Teaspoon told her. 

“Really?” Amanda asked in genuine interest. 

“If you’re interested, I’ll see what I can do,” Teaspoon told her. 

“That would be so great. I just came into town last night,” she told them. 

“And someone tried to rob you? How horrible,” Emma exclaimed. 

“At least they didn’t take anything,” she replied, laying a hand on her purse. It 
was odd the amount of comfort she got from that one simple act. 
 

Buck watched Amanda from across the table. He could not take his eyes off the beautiful, mysterious, woman. She had dark red hair that fell down her back in 
soft waves. Her green eyes stood out brilliantly against her fair skin. From where he was sitting, he could see the freckles that were sprinkled across her nose and high cheekbones. 

When Jimmy had told them about finding her the night before, he had said how he had found her a few miles outside of Sweetwater, unconscious, alone, and with no horse. If she had been robbed, why had her horse been taken, but not her belongings? Was she just really lucky, or was there more to her story than she 
was letting on? 

He could not understand her clothes either. She was wearing pants that were 
made out of a strange blue material. They were fitted and showed off her slender waist and legs. She was also wearing a light brown, thick, knitted shirt with long sleeves that fit loosely on her. Her coat was like nothing he had ever seen. It was made out of a strange material that reminded him of the parasols the ladies in town carried, but it was stuffed with something that made it bulge out. 

He enjoyed listening to her talk. Her voice had a musical lilt to it that drew his attention. He was so caught up listening to her, that he ignored the conversation around him until he heard his name. 

“Buck?” Teaspoon asked again. Everyone at the table stopped talking and looked over at him. Buck was embarrassed that he had been caught staring. 

“Yeah?” He asked, trying to ignore Amanda and concentrate on what was being said. 

“You’re not up today, would you care to show Amanda around Sweetwater?” 

“Um—sure, Teaspoon,” Buck agreed, casting a sideways glance towards Amanda. She was watching him intently with those green eyes of hers. 

“Great, you two can start out just after dinner, try to be back by supper though,” Teaspoon suggested. 

“Hey, Hickok, pass me the meat,” Cody requested. 

Amanda’s head snapped up at the mention of the name. She looked over at 
Jimmy and studied him. 

“What?” He asked her, noticing her stare. 

“James Butler Hickok?” She asked. 

“Yeah, why?” He asked warily. 

“Nothing,” she shook her head to get over her shock. “I just didn’t know you rode for the Pony Express, that’s all,” she told him. None of her reading had ever said 
he had worked for the Express. How did researchers miss such an important fact, she wondered. 

The conversation moved on to other subjects, but Buck fazed out. He started thinking about spending the next few hours alone with Amanda. She intrigued 
him, but he did not trust her. He had not trusted a woman, except for Lou, since Kathleen Devlin. He had fallen in love with her only to find out that she had used him to get back at her father. He would never trust another woman the way he 
had trusted Kathleen. A woman like Amanda would never be interested in a half-breed like him. He had found out about Kathleen the hard way. He did not 
need to learn a lesson twice. 

Pushing his thoughts of Amanda to the back of his mind, he concentrated on the conversation at the table. 
 

“How long have you ridden for The Pony Express?” Amanda asked as they rode around the countryside surrounding Sweetwater. 

“About six months,” Buck answered. 

“Do you enjoy it?” 

“It’s a job. There aren’t many jobs for a half-breed,” he told her. 

“That’s not what I asked,” she told him with a smile. “Do you enjoy it?” She repeated. 

“I like the people I work with. We’re a family.” 

“What about your ‘real’ family?” 

“My mother died a few years back. My half-brother is a Kiowa War Chief.” 

“Are you close with your brother?” 

“About as close as we can be. We live two separate lives.” 

Amanda fell silent. She was puzzled by Buck’s responses towards her. He was being polite enough in his answers, but there was something in his answers that told her that he did not want to talk to her. He had also refused to look at her. He had not looked at her once since they had started out on the ride. She was trying not to get to personal with her questions, but she was curious about the riders. 

“So, you’re Kiowa?” She asked, trying again. 

“Yeah.” 

“How long did you live with them?” 

“Until I was sixteen, then I left.” 

“It must’ve been hard for you,” she told him, sympathetically. 

“I got over it,” he lied. 

Amanda fell silent again as she tried to think of a way to bring Buck out of his 
shell. The others riders had been kind enough to her, answering her questions and asking some of their own. Buck, on the other hand, seemed to not want anything 
to do with her. Why had he agreed to ride with her, showing her the sights, if he 
did not want to be around her? 

She knew somewhat of what Buck’s life had been like from books she had read 
and her own family history. She understood the difficulties he had faced growing 
up half Kiowa and half white. Not accepted by either because of his other half. 
She guessed that a white man had probably raped his mother since he did not speak of a father. 

She had been lucky because of the time she had been raised in. She was, herself, 
a quarter Lakota Sioux. Fortunately, in her time, it was not a sin to have mixed blood. By the time she was born, there was hardly a person in the United States who did not come from a mixed heritage. She could have told him about her own mixed heritage, but for some reason, she did not. 

When they finally rode into the home station, she was relieved. The ride had been painful from lack of conversation. She knew that if Buck would just open up to her, be himself, they could be friends, but he was unwilling to give her a chance. 

“Thank you for showing me around, Buck,” she told him as they led their horses into the barn. 

“Don’t worry about your horse. I’ll take care of it for you,” he told her. 

“Are you sure? I can do it myself.” 

“I’ll take care of it,” he repeated. 

“Okay,” she agreed after a moment of hesitation. She handed the reins over to 
him and with one last look at Buck, she left the barn. 
 

Chapter 3

“So, how do you like Sweetwater so far?” Lou asked her a week later as they watched Jimmy and Buck break a new horse. 

“The people here are being really nice,” she replied, looking at Buck as she spoke. 

“Everyone except for Buck?” Lou asked, following her gaze. 

“That’s not true. Buck’s been very nice to me,” Amanda lied. 

“You don’t have to cover for him, Amanda. We’ve all seen him avoiding you.” 

“I just don’t understand him,” Amanda admitted. “Have I done something to offend him?” 

“I don’t think that’s it. Buck’s a hard person to get to know. Just give him time,” Lou suggested. Time. It’s funny how it takes on a whole new meaning now, Amanda thought wryly. 
 

“Hey Buck!” Lou called out as she followed Buck into the barn later that day. 

“What’s up Lou?” Buck asked, waiting for her to catch up. 

“I need to talk to you for a second,” Lou told him as she walked with him to the barn. 

“What about?” 

“Amanda.” 

“What about her?” Buck asked, suddenly wishing he had not waited for Lou. 

“Is there a reason you are acting cold towards her?” 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” 

“We’ve all seen it Buck. You haven’t exactly been nice to her. Why is that?” 

“It must be your imagination Lou.” 

“Don’t lie to me Buck, I know you too well. You are normally a very nice guy, but since Amanda showed up, you’ve avoided her like the plague. Did something happen on the ride you guys went on?” 

“Nothing happened. There’s just something about her I can’t put my finger on.” 

“What?” 

“I don’t know.” 

“Well, until you do, how ‘bout you give her a chance? She’s a very nice girl,” Lou told him. 

That’s what I’m afraid of, he thought to himself. 

“So, can you try to be nice to her?” Lou asked him. 

“I’ll try to be nicer to her, okay?” 

“That’s what I wanted to hear,” Lou told him before running off. 

Maybe I have been too hard on her, Buck thought to himself as he got his horse ready for his ride. He had been going out of his way to avoid her and to be rude when he did encounter her. He was blaming her for what Kathleen had done to 
him and it was not fair to Amanda. 

I guess I could be nicer to her. After all, it’s not like she’d be interested in me as anything more than a friend, he reasoned. 

With that decided, he finished getting ready and waited for the rider to come in. 
 

“Good news Amanda,” Teaspoon told her, coming into the bunkhouse for supper. 

“What’s that?” She asked, looking up from the plates she had been laying out. 

“I talked to some of the town council members today and they’re interested in interviewing you for the teacher’s position when the town council meets next Tuesday.” 

“That’s great!” She cried out, hopping up and down in excitement. 

“The meetin’s just a formality. I’m sure you’ll get the job, no problem.” 

“Thank you, Teaspoon. You don’t know how much this means,” she told him, putting the plates down to give him a hug. 

“I’m sure I do. You just impress them like you’ve impressed us and you won’t 
have any problem,” he told her. 

“Oh thank you, thank you, thank you,” she repeated. 

“Don’t thank me, it’s up to you to get the job, I just set it up for ya,” he said. 

“I won’t let you down Teaspoon,” she promised him. 
 

The meeting went well with the town council and by the time Amanda left, they 
had offered her the job. She raced home to tell Teaspoon and the others the good news. She had never ridden a horse that fast in her life, and when she arrived at the station, she was breathless. 

Sliding off the horse, she wrapped the reins around the corral fence post. Running towards the bunkhouse, she turned the corner and ran right into someone, knocking her flat on her back. 

“What are you so excited about?” She heard Buck ask. 

Opening her eyes and looking up, she saw him standing over her with his hand extended down to her. Sitting up, she took his hand and he pulled her to her feet. 

“So? What are you so excited about?” He repeated. 

Amanda wondered at his sudden change of attitude towards her, but she was to excited to let the question linger for long. 

“I just got the teaching job in town,” she told him, still breathless from her ride. 

“Congratulations,” he told her and she believed he was honestly happy for her. 

“Thank you. I was just on my way in to tell Teaspoon,” she told him. 

“Go in and tell him the news. Don’t worry about your horse, I’ll put him up for 
you,” he offered. 

“Are you sure?” She asked, thinking back to the last time he had offered to do 
that for her. 

“I’m sure. Go in and tell him. He’s been waitin’ for you to get back to find out how 
it went,” he told her. 

“Thanks a lot Buck,” she told him, smiling as he walked away. She watched him disappear around the corner before heading into the bunkhouse. 

“So? How’d the meetin’ go?” Teaspoon asked as she walked through the door. He had been waiting with Emma and the other riders for her to return. 

“I got the job!” She told him. 

“Yippee!” Teaspoon cheered. 

“Congratulations,” Lou told her. 

“Yeah, good job Amanda,” The Kid told her. 

“I don’t know about havin’ a teacher livin’ with us,” Cody joked with her. 

“Hey! If you’re not nice to me, I might have to slap your wrist with a ruler,” she laughed. 

“Be careful, Cody might just enjoy that,” Jimmy warned her. 

“I’ll keep that in mind,” she replied. 

“I think this calls for a celebration,” Emma told her, pulling out a cake she had made. 

“You didn’t have to do this, Emma,” Amanda told her. 

“I wanted to. I knew how much getting this job meant to you,” Emma disagreed. 

They were cutting the cake when Buck walked back into the bunkhouse. 

“Hey, did you hear the news Buck? Amanda’s goin’ to be the new school teacher,” Cody announced. 

“She told me already,” Buck answered, smiling in Amanda’s direction. 

She smiled in return and handed him a piece of cake. She enjoyed the closeness she felt here. They made her feel at home. Even Buck seemed to be warming up to her now. She even found herself not thinking about her past life as often as she 
had before. In the beginning, she had thought something would happen to send 
her back, but the longer she stayed, the more she realized she was there for 
good. In the event she ever did leave, she would miss these people terribly.