Chapter 4

“Good morning everyone,” Amanda greeted her first class. 

“Good morning,” they echoed back to her. She looked out at the wide range of thirty faces staring back at her expectantly. The students ranged in ages from six to sixteen which made her a little nervous. She was used to teaching 11th grade history, where all the students were studying the same subject and were of the same age. She did not know how she was going to juggle teaching different levels of the same subjects almost simultaneously. 

Turning to the blackboard behind her, she wrote her name on the board. 

“My name is Amanda Peterson,” she introduced herself as she wrote. “Now, I 
want us to be friends as well as teacher and students, so you may call me 
Amanda or Miss Peterson. Whichever you are more comfortable with.” 

She waited a moment before continuing. 

“Also, I don’t want any of you to feel uncomfortable about asking questions. If 
you don’t understand something, raise your hand and ask. I’ll be more than happy to try to explain it in a different way. And remember, there is no such thing as a stupid question. The only stupid question is the one you don’t ask. Everyone understand?” 

“Yes, Miss Peterson,” they recited. 

“Since it’s the first day, I want us to spend time getting to know each other. How many of you can write, even a little bit?” She asked. A small handful of hands 
went up. 

“Okay, here’s what we’re going to do. One at a time, you’re going to stand up and introduce yourself to the class and to me. That way, I can get to know you and eventually put a face to your names. Then I want you to tell the class a little 
about yourself. Are you an only child….Where are you from….Have you lived in Sweetwater your whole life or did you move here…. What your favorite thing is….What do you like, what you don’t like…. What do you want to be when you grow up…. Those are just some ideas. You don’t have to answer them all, or you can add something I didn’t mention. Then when all of you have finished, I’ll tell 
you about myself. How does that sound?” She asked. She almost laughed at the expressions of fear that flashed across most of the faces. 

“Okay, why don’t we start over here and them move around the class,” she suggested, pointing to a young girl sitting in the front row. 

The girl stood up, her legs shaking. Amanda took a seat on the corner of her desk and listened as the girl began to introduce herself in a shaky voice. 
 

Amanda hurried to put the horse and buckboard away. She wanted to get out of 
the dress Emma had let her borrow until she could buy one of her own. The dress was pretty, but she was uncomfortable in it. She was used to her own loose, comfortable clothing. The dress was much too constricting. 

Bursting into the house, she raced up the stairs; the dress pulled up to her waist 
so she could take the steps two at a time. As she ran, she thought back to her first day. She felt it had gone well, and after the first few students had gone, the others had loosened up, even adding more information to their introductions. 

Opening the door to her room, she stopped in her tracks when she saw Buck on 
his knees by her bed, the contents of her purse lying out on the floor in front of him. 

“What are you doing?” She asked him, the anger and fear evident in her voice. 
She rushed to the bed and began to shove her belongings back into her purse. 

“What is all that stuff?” He asked her, standing up so she could get all her things. 

“It’s none of your business. What the hell gave you the right to go through my stuff?” She asked him, turning to face him. 

“I wasn’t going through it,” he told her. 

“Like hell you weren’t, I saw you,” she accused him. 

“Emma wanted me to bring up your clothes after she washed them. I knocked 
your purse over when I set the clothes on the bed,” he told her, indicating the pile of clothes sitting on the foot of her bed. 

“So then you decided to go through my purse?” She asked him, the sarcasm evident in her voice. 

“I knocked over your purse. I’m sorry,” he apologized. When she did not answer him, he turned and silently left the room, shutting the door behind him. 

Amanda sat on her bed, her purse in her lap. Opening it, she began to pull things out to see if anything was missing. When she pulled out her pager, she noticed 
that the display was cracked. She had had the case of her pager replaced a few days before she was mugged. She was always dropping her pager and cracking it someplace, but she had not cracked this one. If Buck had been going through her things like she had accused him of, her pager would not have been broken. However, if he had knocked over her purse and it had fallen to the floor…. 

Then he would be telling the truth, she told herself. She needed to find him and apologize for accusing him of something he did not do. She changed quickly, still desperate to get out of the dress. She took the purse with her when she went to look for Buck, knowing that she might have to conceivably “come clean” about where she had come from since he had obviously seen the contents of her purse. 

She found Buck in the barn, brushing down one of the horses. She stood at the opening of the stall, waiting for him to acknowledge her. When he did not, she cleared her throat. He still refused to look up. 

“Buck,” she began. 

“I wasn’t goin’ through your things,” he insisted, still not looking at her. 

“I know. I want to apologize for accusing you of that. I was wrong,” she admitted, relieved when he stopped brushing and looked at her. 

“It’s just that the things in my purse are personal, and when I came in and saw 
you with them, I jumped to the wrong conclusions,” she continued. 

“You shoulda believed me.” 

“I know. I’m sorry,” she apologized again. 

“What were those things? Where are you from?” He asked her. 

She had hoped he would not have asked her that, but she had expected it. She would have asked the same questions if their places had been reversed. 

“It’s a really long story,” she told him. 

“I’m not goin’ anywhere.” 

“Then you might want to take a seat,” she told him. She waited until he was 
seated on a bail of hay before continuing. 

“I’m, not from around here,” she began, unsure of how to tell him the truth. 

“I know. You’re from California,” he told her. She could see he was not going to make this any easier for her. 

“What I mean is….I’m,” she paused, trying to find the right words. “I’m, not from this…. Time,” she finally forced out. 

“What are you talkin’ about?” He asked. 

“What I’m telling you is that…. I’m from the future,” she struggled to find the right words. 

“The future? What are you talking about?” 

“I mean, I’m from the future. When I was mugged, I fell and hit my head. I woke 
up here.” 

“That’s because Jimmy brought you here.” 

“I know that. But where Jimmy found me was where I was standing in my own time. Haven’t you wondered how I ended up there without a horse and the robber didn’t take my purse? Doesn’t that seem odd?” 

“I figured your horse ran away.” 

“I don’t own a horse. I never have.” 

“So you’re tellin’ me you’re from the future?” 

“Yes.” 

“When in the future?” 

“I was born in 1975. When I came here, it was the year 1999.” 

“That’s over a hundred years from now.” 

“I know.” 

“If you didn’t want to tell me the truth, you could’ve told me to mind my 
business,” he told her. 

“What?” 

“You don’t have ta lie.” 

“I’m not lying, Buck. Look,” she told him, pulling out her cellular phone. 

“What’s that?” 

“It’s called a cellular phone.” 

“What’s that?” He repeated. 

“There will be an invention called the telephone. They’ll allow people to communicate from one place to another. Kinda like the telegraph, but not quite. You will actually be able to talk to a person hundreds of miles away. Hear their voice.” 

“That’s not possible,” he argued. 

“Not now, but it will be. This phone is similar. Except that in my time, I could be anywhere and call someone with it.” 

“Sure,” he told her, not believing her story. 

“Okay, try this. If I’m not from the future, how do you explain this?” She asked, flipping open her phone and turning it on. There was a beep as the power came 
on. She saw Buck’s eyes go wide in astonishment. She handed him the phone so 
he could look at the display screen that had information like date, time, her name, and a power bar. 

“How’d you do this?” He asked her. 

“I can’t explain it so that you would understand it. But I’m from the future. How about this?” She asked, taking the phone from him and pulling out her pager. She flipped the on/off switch several times, making it beep. Then she handed it to 
him. 

“Push that black switch all the way down,” she instructed him. She watched him 
as he carefully pushed the switch. When the pager vibrated in his hand, he
dropped it in astonishment. 

She picked up the pager and put it back in her purse. Pulling out her wallet, she opened it and handed it to him. 

“See that white card with my picture on it?” She asked him, indicating her driver’s license. 

“Yeah.” 

“See right here, where it says DOB? That means date of birth. And see that red bar? That says I turned 21 in the year 1996. See this?” She asked, pulling out her paper money. She handed them to him. 

“See where it says Series? Under it is says 1993. What you’re holding now is what we use for money in my time.” 

She pulled out the pictures in her wallet next. 

“This is a picture of my nephew when he was born. See here? It says he was born on November 21, 1995.” 

“This can’t be true,” he told her, but she could tell that somewhere inside him, he believed her. 

“Then how do you explain my having these things? I’m from the future Buck. I could give you more proof by telling you things that will happen soon in the future.” 

“Like what?” 

“Like this war everyone is worried about? It will happen, and soon. It will become known as The Civil War. Lincoln will be elected President. Slavery will be abolished in a few years. Blacks will even run for President in my time,” she told him. She could see the astonishment in his face. He believed her. 

“You believe me now, don’t you?” 

“I guess I have to. I don’t know how else to explain all this. So how did you end up here?” 

“That I don’t know. Something happened when I hit my head. I don’t understand this. In my time, it’s still impossible to time travel, though somewhere in my time, I’m sure there’s some scientist trying.” 

“Is that how you knew Jimmy?” Buck asked, referring back to her first dinner with them. “Does he become famous or something?” 

“Or something,” Amanda answered vaguely. She could not tell him that Jimmy would become a famous gunfighter who would die when someone shot him in the back. She had been trying to find a way to warn Jimmy about it, but had not found a way yet. 

“Oh,” Buck replied, knowing she was hiding something about Jimmy’s future, but he did not want to push her into revealing something she did not want to. 

“You can’t tell anyone else about this, okay? I don’t want everyone finding out about me.” 

“Okay. This will all be between you and me,” he promised. 

“Thank you, Buck. For believing me.” 
 

Chapter 5

Amanda arrived at the schoolhouse early the next morning to get everything 
ready for her students. Walking inside, she began to open the drapes and 
windows to allow the fresh air and sunshine in. Walking to her desk, she noticed 
for the first time, the bouquet of flowers lying on her desk with a letter. 

Picking up the flowers, she held them to her nose and smelled them. Lying them back on the desk, she picked up the folded letter and began to read. 
 

My Dearest Miss Peterson, 
Please forgive my assertive nature in leaving these flowers for you. However, 
since I first saw you, I have been unable to stop thinking about you. You are the prettiest and smartest woman I have ever seen. I hope you like the flowers. 
When I saw them, I immediately thought of you. 

Until next time, 
Your Admirer
 

She had a secret admirer. She smiled at the thought. She had never had one 
before and she felt honored by it. 

I wonder who it is? She thought to herself. She had met quite a few people since she first came to Sweetwater. The letter could be from several of them. Whoever 
it was, had access to the schoolhouse, though. 

She set the letter down on the desk and walked outside. She looked around the countryside, seeing if there was not a clue out there as to who had left her the flowers. Not seeing anything, she walked around the schoolhouse, hoping to find 
a clue. Coming to the back door, something caught her attention. 

Kneeling in front of the door handle, she examined the lock. She was not an 
expert, but she had taken several classes and read books on criminal investigation. Running a finger over the lock, she felt the scratch marks around 
the locking mechanism. Someone had picked this lock. She was sure of it. When she had received the keys to the schoolhouse, she had immediately tried them 
out on all the doors, to make sure they worked. The scratches on the lock were not there when she had done that. 

She stood up and looked around again. The scratches on the lock completely changed the tone of the letter. She began to feel a little frightened. Her admirer 
did not have access to the schoolhouse; he had broken into it. A sincere admirer would have left the flowers on the porch. Someone who would break into a home 
or school to leave flowers could not be sincere. There was something more 
sinister behind it. 

She wanted to leave and go get Teaspoon, to have him look at this and give her 
his thoughts about it all, but her students began to arrive. Forcing herself to push thoughts of her admirer and his actions to the back of her mind, she focused on 
the day ahead. After school was over, she would show this to Teaspoon. 
 

“Well, you’re right, Amanda,” Teaspoon agreed, standing up to stretch his back. “Whoever left you those flowers isn’t ta be trusted. ‘Specially since he broke into the school to leave them.” 

“So what do I do now?” She asked him. 

“Well, first of all, you’re not goin’ anywhere alone ‘til we figure out who this 
admirer of yours is.” 

“Teaspoon, I have a school to run. I can’t teach with a bodyguard watching my every move,” she argued. 

“It’s the only way. We can’t have you goin’ around by yourself. Who knows what 
he might do next.” 

“So far it’s pretty harmless, Teaspoon. Maybe he was just over anxious and didn’t think about what he was doing or how it would look,” she told him. 

“Do ya honestly believe that?” 

“No,” she admitted. 

Though she would not admit it, the whole thing made her a little nervous. The situation had the ring of a potential stalker. When she was in college, she had 
once found herself the object of a co-workers unwanted affections. She had only wanted to be friends, but he wanted a relationship. He had not stalked her, 
per-se, but he had blown up her pager for weeks. Some days, she would receive over 20 voice-mails and pages from him. She ended up having to quit her job because he had made her uncomfortable. Eventually, he had given up, but she knew that not all situations ended that way. Many stalkers believed their victims loved them. If the stalker begins to believe their victims affections are changing, 
or someone comes between them, they, more often than not, turn violent. 

“So then it’s agreed, one of the boys will stay with you at all times,” Teaspoon 
told her. 

“Nothing's agreed, Teaspoon. The fact hasn’t changed that I have a school to run, and I can’t do that effectively if someone’s watching me all the time. I can take care of myself.” 

“Let me rephrase it then. It’s not up for discussion. You will not go anywhere by yourself. One of the boys will escort you to and from school. They don’t have to stay during the day, but they will be here before school's out so that they can see you home. Understand?” 

Amanda realized arguing was useless. She nodded her head in agreement. 

“We will have these locks changed though, even though it’s probably useless to 
do so. If he picked this lock, he can pick any that we put in.” 

“Okay,” she agreed. Suddenly, she was not scared anymore, but angry. Angry 
that whoever had left her the flowers had forced her to change her life so drastically. She was an independent woman. She was used to taking care of herself, and now she unwillingly had a bodyguard. She had faith in Teaspoon though. He would find out who had left her the flowers. Then everything would go back to normal. 
 

“You don’t know who sent these to you?” Lou asked, turning the flowers over in 
her hands. 

“No. It could be anyone,” Amanda answered. They were all sitting around the 
table in the bunkhouse. Teaspoon had explained what they had found to the riders. 

“The point is, whoever sent her these, broke inta the school ta leave them. Maybe he didn’t mean nothin’ by it, but we’re not takin’ that chance. One of you will ride with Amanda to and from school every day ‘til we find out who left ‘er these flowers,” Teaspoon instructed. 

“We can do that,” Cody agreed, looking at the other riders who nodded their agreement. 

“Good. Amanda’s not to leave your sight. Even for a minute, understand?” 

“Yes,” the riders told him at the same time. 

“Good. Jimmy, you’re goin’ ta go with Amanda tomorrow morning. Ya don’t have 
to stay there the whole day, but ya have ta be there at two o’clock when school gets out. Is that understood?” 

“Yes, sir,” Jimmy told him. 

“I don’t know Teaspoon,” Cody disagreed. “Don’t ya think maybe Jimmy should stay there? Maybe he could learn ta read,” he finished. 

“That’s up ta him. I’m just want ya there when school’s over,” Teaspoon re-iterated, not laughing at the joke. 

“Is that understood, Amanda?” Teaspoon asked, looking over at her. 

“Yes,” she sullenly answered. 
 

The ride to the schoolhouse the next morning was void of conversation. Amanda wanted to talk, but Jimmy was preoccupied with watching their surroundings, looking for anyone who might be following them. She wanted to get to the schoolhouse early today since she had decided, the night before, to leave the cleaning until the morning. 

“You don’t have to stay, Jimmy,” she told him as they pulled up in front. 

“Teaspoon wants me to stay, and I’m stayin’,” he told her as they climbed down from the buckboard. 

Amanda unlocked the front door and they stepped inside. 

“I thought you wanted to clean up this morning? It looks pretty clean,” Jimmy 
told her. “I did. When I left yesterday, all these desks were in a circle. There were drawings all over my desk that I wanted to tape to the walls. The trash can was 
full of trash, there was dirt on the floor and I hadn’t erased the chalkboard,” she told him as she looked around the immaculate schoolroom. The desks were lined up perfectly, the pictures had all been put up on the walls in neat rows, the chalkboard was a shiny black again, and the trashcan was empty. The floor was spotless and there was the distinct smell of wood polish in the air. The 
schoolhouse was cleaner than it had been on the first day of school. 

“Stay here,” Jimmy ordered her. She stayed where she was as he searched the school, not because he had told her to, but because she was still in awe of how clean everything was. 

“There’s no one here,” he told her when he returned. 

“I didn’t think so,” she replied. 

“I found this on the desk,” he told her, handing her a letter. 

“’My Dearest Miss Peterson,’” Amanda read aloud. 

“’I am so happy you liked the flowers. I could tell by your smile that you thought they were pretty. Unfortunately, they were no where near as beautiful as you are. 
I have been unable to stop thinking about the way your smile lit up you face. I love to watch you with the children. You are so good with them. When you have 
children of your own, I know you will be a good mother. I cleaned up your classroom for you. You rushed out of there so quickly last night. Did you have somewhere important that you needed to be? I hope you like what I did. I did it to celebrate our first anniversary since we met. I wish I could have done something more romantic, but these feelings I have for you are new to me. Please be patient with me. I’m sure you’ve had many suitors, but none will treat you as nicely as I will. I can’t wait until I can see you again. I will count the minutes until I can see your beautiful smiling face once again. 
Until I see you next time.’” 

“Your first anniversary?” Jimmy asked when she lowered the letter. 

“I don’t know what he’s talking about,” she told him. 

“The guy sounds crazy.” 

“Maybe,” Amanda agreed. 

“Teaspoon’s gonna want ta see that letter.” 

“I know. Why don’t you take it to him?” She asked, handing it over to him. 

“Okay,” he responded, taking the letter from her. He folded it and put it in his pocket. 

“He was watching me,” she told him. 

“What do you mean?” 

“That part in his letter where he said he could tell by my smile that I liked his flowers. He had to be watching me then.” 

“He was that close and you didn’t see him?” 

“He had to be looking through a window, he wasn’t inside,” she answered. 

“That’s to close for me. I’m not leaving you here alone today.” 

“There is going to be fifteen students with me all day until school’s out. I’ll be fine. You can go back home.” 

“I’m not leaving you here with some strange guy out there watching you.” 

“Jimmy,” she began, her voice firm, “I will be fine. I am telling you to go home as soon as the kids start coming. Come back after school.” 

“Are you sure?” He asked reluctantly. 

“I’m sure,” she insisted. 
 

Chapter 6

“’My Dearest Amanda, 
I wish I could have stayed to see how you liked my anniversary gift to you, but I had to go to work early today. I promise that won’t happen again. I did come by 
the school after it was out so I could see you home. You really shouldn’t travel this area alone. A woman as beautiful as you might attract some men who would not 
be concerned with making you happy. They would only bring you harm. Unfortunately, James Hickok was already there. I know that he stays with you at the Pony Express Station, but to travel with him alone. What would people think? 
I will not have anyone in town think unkindly of you. Maybe you did it to hurt me? Have I done something to offend you? Is that it? I do not understand why else you would risk your reputation to be seen alone with him. Is there something between you two? You don’t have to be afraid to tell me. It would never change my feelings for you. Unless he’s threatening you. Is that it? He has the nickname “Wild Bill” 
for a reason. I won’t let him hurt you. I promise you that. I’ll take care of him. 
Don’t you worry about it anymore. I promise you, I won’t let anything come between us.’” 
 

“What do you think he means by he won’t let anything come between you two?” Cody asked her, taking the letter from her and rereading it. 

“He’s threatening him. He thinks that Jimmy is a threat to him. And to this “relationship” he thinks we have. Someone needs to warn him,” Amanda told him. 

“He’s already left on his run by now. There’s no way to warn him now,” Cody reminded her. 

“I forgot. Isn’t there some way to catch up to him?” 

“Not likely, he has to much of a head start. The best we can do is wait for him to get back. Don’t worry,” Cody assured her, “Jimmy can take care of himself.” 

“How can he protect himself against something he doesn’t know about?” 

“This is hard for me too, but there’s nothing we can do about it now,” Cody told her. 
 

Amanda could not believe how slowly the day dragged by. She could hardly concentrate on the lessons she was teaching. By the time two o’clock arrived, Amanda thought she would go crazy. 

“Okay, I’m ready, let’s go,” she told Cody after the last student had left. She 
pulled her cloak around her shoulders as she ran ahead of him out of the schoolhouse. She locked the door behind him and ran to the buckboard where she waited impatiently for Cody. 

Cody climbed up beside her and they made their way to the station as quickly as they could. Amanda could tell by his silence that Cody was just as worried as she was. He was trying not to show it, but Cody was never quiet unless something 
was wrong. 

When they pulled into the station, Amanda could tell immediately that something was wrong. Everything was quiet except for a wind cutting through the trees. It was to quiet for a day like today. Except for Jimmy, no one had a ride, so someone should have been outside. The horses were still slowing down when Amanda jumped from the buckboard. 

“Amanda!” Cody called after her as she raced to the bunkhouse. She threw open the door and saw everyone inside, huddled around Jimmy’s bed. 

“Is he---?” Amanda asked, unable to finish the sentence. 

“He was shot on his way back from his ride,” Teaspoon told her quietly. 

“How is he?” 

“The doctor says he’ll be okay. He was lucky, the bullet only went clean through and there was no internal damage. The Kid found him on his way into town to run errands for Emma.” 

Amanda leaned against the doorframe, afraid her legs would give out. Cody came inside and Teaspoon repeated what he had told Amanda. 

“How did you know something was wrong?” Emma asked her. 

“He left me this letter today,” Amanda answered, pulling the letter from her apron pocket and handing it to Teaspoon. 

Teaspoon quickly read it before passing it to Emma. 

“I can’t believe it,” Emma said aloud. 

“Now he thinks we’re threats to him,” Cody added. 

“That’s absurd. Everyone in town knows that Amanda lives here with us. This guy must know too. How can he think one of us is a threat?” Lou asked. 

“No one knows how the mind of someone like this works,” Teaspoon answered. 

“The important thing to remember is that it isn’t your fault Amanda,” Emma told her. 

“It might not be my fault directly, but this guy thinks we have a relationship. And until I know who he is, you all are in danger,” Amanda told them before leaving 
the bunkhouse. She walked to the house and up to her room. She changed quickly and headed for the barn where she saddled her favorite horse. 

Leading him from the barn, she saw Buck walk out of the bunkhouse. 

“Amanda!” He called, running towards her. 

She ignored him and mounted the horse. Before Buck could reach her, she kicked the horse in his haunches and rode out of the station. 

She headed for the hills west of town. When Buck had showed her around the area when she first arrived, he had shown her a hill that had a group of large rocks. She had fallen in love with that spot and the view it offered her. She had ridden there several times when she wanted to be alone. She headed there now. 

She reached the rocks a small while later. Allowing the reigns to drag on the ground, she climbed the rocks. She reached her favorite rock and sat down. She loved this rock. It was larger than the rest and was shaped like a chair, somewhat. 

Pulling her knees up, she looked out over the town of Sweetwater. She could see someone riding towards her. She could tell from the way he rode that it was Buck. He disappeared at the base of the hill and she knew it would only be a few minutes before he reached her. 

She did not hear him walk up behind her, but she could sense him standing there, watching her. 

“You can go ahead and sit down, I know you’re there,” she told him, not bothering to turn around. He came up beside her and sat down next to her. 

“You shouldn’t have left by yourself,” he told her. 

“I needed to get away. To think,” she told him. 

“I know you’re worried about Jimmy, but he’ll be fine,” Buck assured her. 

“I know he’ll be okay. I’m worried about the rest of you. Maybe next time one of you won’t be so lucky,” Amanda told him. 

“We can take care of ourselves.” 

“That’s what Jimmy thought and look what happened to him. We don’t know who this guy is. He could get any one of you anytime he wants too. He thought Jimmy was a threat to “us”. What happens next time he thinks one of you is a threat? Hell, he could be out there right now watching us. In fact, I’m sure he is. He’s probably planning how he’s going to get rid of you right now,” Amanda told him. 

“He could try, but he won’t succeed,” Buck promised her. 

“Don’t you understand Buck? He could be anyone. He could be the guy Teaspoon buys horses from. Or the blacksmith, or one of the guys in the bank, or the post office, or the telegraph office. He could be anyone. He could be the guy you pass on the street but wouldn’t look twice at.” 

“Well then, I guess I’m going to have to be even more careful.” 

“I just don’t want anything to happen to you,” she told him. 

“Nothing will happen to me.” 

“How can you be so sure?” 

“I just do.” 

She searched his face for a sign, anything that could tell her how he could be so sure. All she could see was how positive he was that he would come out of this harm free. 

“Why did you hate me so much when I first arrived?” She asked him suddenly. 

“What?” He asked, confused by the sudden change in subject. 

“When I first came here, you hated me. Why?” She repeated. 

“I didn’t hate you.” 

“You sure acted like you did.” 

“I’m sorry about that,” he apologized. 

“But why?” 

“It’s a long story,” he told her. 

“I’m not going anywhere. I really want to know, Buck. Did I do something that rubbed you wrong? What was it?” 

“It wasn’t anything you did,” he assured her. 

“Then what was it?” She asked, refusing to give up. 

“A few months before you came, there was this girl. Kathleen Devlin. She was the daughter of the new owner of the bank,” Buck began, thinking back on a time that he had forced himself to stop thinking about a long time ago. 

“She was beautiful. I was surprised when she seemed interested in me.” 

Amanda wanted to ask him why he would be surprised, but she forced herself to remain silent. 

“We started to seeing each other. I honestly thought that there was something special between us. But it turned out that she was only seeing me so that she could get back at her father and force him to get rid of one of his men. When you arrived, you reminded me of her a little. Her hair had more brown in it, but she 
had the same green eyes that you have. Except yours have this way of changing color that’s just amazing. I’ve never seen anything like it.” 

“They change color depending on what I wear,” she told him. 

“They’re beautiful.” 

She smiled at his compliment and lowered her eyes. She never did learn how to take a compliment graciously. 

Suddenly, Buck reached out and cupped her cheek with his hand. She leaned her head against his hand and he pulled her forward. 

When he kissed her, she jumped at the electricity she felt pass between them. 
She responded eagerly to his kiss. When he pulled away from her suddenly, she was confused. 

“What?” She asked him. He refused to look at her. 

“I shouldn’t have done that, I’m sorry,” he told her. 

“Why?” 

“This just isn’t right, I’m sorry,” he repeated. Amanda knew there was more, but she did not ask. Something inside her told her it was about Kathleen. She 
wondered who this girl was and how she could have hurt Buck the way she did. 
Did she not realize just how lucky she was? 

“Let’s go back,” she told him, standing up. She wanted to stay out there longer. She still had things she needed to think over, but she knew Buck would not let her stay alone. She could tell he was anxious to leave and she did not want to add to the torment he was obviously already feeling. 

She led the way back down the rocks and mounted her horse. When he had mounted his, they rode silently back home. 
 

Amanda, 
I just don’t understand what’s happening. I told you I would take care of Hickok 
and I did. I could have killed him, but I didn’t. I just wanted him to get the 
message that he needed to stay away from you. He won’t bother you anymore. But then you repay me by going out alone with that Indian? I saw you with him on those rocks outside of town. I saw him kiss you. I waited for you to push him 
away, to slap him, to tell him that you are a lady. I waited for you to call me to come and protect you. But you kissed him back. Don’t deny it, because I saw you. Are you getting back at me for something? If I did something wrong, please tell 
me. We can work through this together. But you need to stay away from that Indian. Indians are dangerous to be around. I don’t know why Teaspoon Hunter even lets him ride for The Pony Express. He’s a savage who will turn against you the first chance he’s given. He’ll scalp you without giving it a thought. Remember that, Amanda. I’m only looking out for your best interests. 
 

Amanda felt the anger rise within her as she read the letter. She had never been faced with such brutal prejudice against herself or her people before. Of course, 
he did not know she was part Native American, which suited her just fine. The less he knew about her, the happier she was. 

“What is it?” Buck asked her. He had not wanted to come with her today, but something inside him made him go. Although he had pushed her away the day before, he could not stop thinking about her. 

“Nothing,” she told him quickly, folding the letter. 

“Can I read it?” He asked, holding out his hand. 

“No,” she answered as quickly as before. She would never let him see this letter. 
If it had made her this angry, what would it do to him? She knew she could not protect him from all the prejudice he might face, but she could protect him from this. 

“Why not?” He asked. He wanted to read the letter. Whatever was in it had made her angry. He had never seen her this angry before. He wanted to reach out to 
her, but he did not. 

“Because I said so,” she snapped, instantly regretting the tone of her voice. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it to come out that way,” she apologized. 

“That’s okay. I understand. This has been tough on you,” he told her. He did understand, but he still wanted to see that letter. He got the feeling she was 
trying to protect him from whatever was inside that letter. 

“The kids are coming,” she told him as feet began to trample across the porch. 
She forced herself to smile as the students began to pile into the school. 

As the day went on, she forgot about the letter, at least for the time. By the end of the day, snow had begun to fall. 

“I know you are all anxious to get out of school and play in the snow,” she informed her class at the end of school. “I just want to let you all know that if it’s not snowing tomorrow, we will have school. But in the event that it is still snowing tomorrow morning, I will cancel school for the day. So if it’s snowing tomorrow morning, don’t bother coming to school, okay?” She asked the class. They nodded their understanding. 

“Okay then. School is dismissed for the day.” She watched as they jumped to 
their feet and gathered their schoolbooks. They bundled themselves up and ran 
out the door. She helped some of the smaller children with their coats and watched them run after the older kids. 

“You’re really good with them,” Buck told her when they were finally alone. 

“They are good kids,” she replied, pulling on her own coat. 

“You’ll be a great mother when you have kids of your own.” 

“I guess. I never really thought about it,” she told him as they left the schoolhouse. 

“Really? Why not?” He asked. 

“I just never wanted kids of my own.” 

“I thought all woman wanted children.” 

“Maybe here they do, but in my time it’s different. A lot of women choose not to have children. I just never wanted to go through the misery of being pregnant for nine months. Morning sickness, hemorrhoids, swelling, weight gain, none of that appeals to me.” 

“But to have a child of your own?” He asked. 

“I just never wanted one. Maybe one of these days I’ll change my mind, but for now, I’m happy being responsible for only myself.” 

“And women in your time actually think this way?” 

“Yeah. It’s not socially acceptable. Whenever I told people I didn’t want to have children, they would always tell me that I would. That I would change my mind. Maybe I will. But no one will be more surprised than me if that happens. Mainly, I just could never see myself with anyone that I would want to have children with.” 

“I find that hard to believe,” he disagreed. 

“There just aren’t a lot of men in my time that I would want to have a child with. Let alone be a good father to that child.” 

“What about here?” 

“Who knows?” She told him, shrugging her shoulders. 

Actually, there is one guy, she thought to herself as they pulled away from the schoolhouse. She looked over at Buck. She could see him being a good father. 

Maybe if he ever gets over whatever is keeping him back. Then we’ll see what happens, she thought as they rode along. 
 

Amanda could not sleep. Everytime she closed her eyes, she thought about the letters. When she did manage to sleep, she tossed and turned as nightmares assaulted her. Finally, at dawn, she gave up sleeping. She climbed out of bed exhausted, dreading the day ahead of her. Walking to the window, she looked out and was relieved to see it was still snowing. She just did not feel like teaching today. Having the day off would actually give her time to catch up on her grading. She had been pushing it off, her time preoccupied with thoughts of her “admirer”. 

She walked across the room to her desk. Opening her satchel, she realized she 
had left the tests the students had taken the day before back at the school. She really wanted to get all her grading out of the way at once. She did not know when she would next have an opportunity to do it. 

Getting dressed, she pulled quietly went downstairs, not wanting to wake Emma. She opened the front door and silently shut it behind her. She walked to the bunkhouse and was about to walk in when she stopped. 

She really did not want to wake anyone to go with her. Because of the snow, this was the first day in a long time the riders would be able to sleep in for a long time. She just did not have the heart to take that from anyone. Besides, the school 
really was not that far from the station, only a few miles. She could get there and back before anyone even woke up. She knew Teaspoon would kill her when he found out, but by then, she would be back safely. 

The thought of riding to the school alone did frighten her a little. Especially with 
her “admirer” stalking her. As a precaution, she decided, she would take a gun 
with her. What gun though? Emma only had rifles in her house and Amanda really did not want to ride with such a bulky weapon. Especially since she was not that proficient at firing them. 

But if I had a handgun….she thought to herself as an idea formed in her head. 

Quietly opening the door to the bunkhouse, she crept across the floor to Buck’s bed. Hanging on his bedpost was his holster with his two revolvers. Slipping one out, she tucked it into the back of her jeans. Tip-toeing back out of the bunkhouse, she shut the door behind her. She walked across the yard to the barn and quickly saddled a horse. 

She rode as quickly as she could to the schoolhouse, carefully scanning the countryside around her. When she reached the schoolhouse, she wrapped the reigns around the porch railing and unlocked the door. Shutting the door behind 
her to keep the snow out, she walked to her desk. 

Opening the top drawer, she pulled the stack of tests out. She sat in her chair and began to flip through them to make sure she was not missing any. 

Suddenly, her chest began to tighten and her breathing became shallow. She 
froze. She strained her ears, listening for the smallest sound. All she could hear was the snow blowing outside, but her body told her someone was nearby. 

She pulled the revolver from the back of her jeans and checked the chamber although she knew Buck always kept it completely loaded. Snapping the chamber closed, she set the revolver on the desk. She continued to listen, her body telling her that whoever had triggered the reaction was still out there. 

Then she heard it. Footsteps walking up the stairs of the porch. She snatched the revolver off the desk and aimed it at the door. The footsteps approached the door and stopped. She held her breath as she waited for their next move. When they knocked, she jumped in her chair. Of all the things that had gone through her 
mind, knocking had not even occurred to her. 

“Who is it?” She asked, forcing herself to sound normal. She stood up and walked to the front of the desk. 

“Miss Peterson?” An unfamiliar voice called through the door. 

“Who is it?” She repeated. 

“It’s Mr. Paulson. From the town council? We met when you came to interview for the job. Can I come in?” He asked. 

She searched her memory. She vaguely remembered the name, but she could not place a face to the name. Her chest was still tight, though her breathing had returned to normal. She returned to her seat and laid the revolver on her legs, keeping one hand on it. 

“The door’s open,” she called. 

She watched the door open and when he stepped through the door, she finally remembered who he was. 

“Good morning, Mr. Paulson,” she greeted him warmly, though she was still wary. 

“Good morning, Miss Peterson,” he reciprocated, closing the door behind him. 

“What are you doing out here on a morning like this?” She asked him politely. 

“Actually, I came out here because I wasn’t sure if you knew to cancel school today.” 

“Oh yes. I told the students yesterday that if it was snowing this morning then school was canceled.” 

“Good. I realized last night that after we hired you we never went over things like this. If school is canceled, why are you here? Especially on a morning like this?” 

“I forgot to take their tests home with me last night, so I rode out here to grab them, especially since I have a whole day to spend grading papers.” 

“That’s a good idea. Is that them there?” He asked, pointing to the pile in her hand. 

“Yeah.” 

“Well, listen. It’s still snowing pretty lightly right now, but we’re due for a pretty heavy snow anytime now. You really should head back home while the going’s 
still easy,” he recommended to her. 

“That’s a good idea,” she agreed, taking the tests and tucking them into her satchel. She stood up, not realizing she still held the revolver. 

“That’s a nice revolver,” he commented, bringing her attention to it. 

“What? Oh. Thank you. The one thing Emma and Teaspoon have drilled into my head is that it’s not safe out here for a woman alone. I don’t normally carry a gun, especially to school,” she assured him. 

“Don’t worry about it. Teaspoon and Emma are right, and you can never be too careful,” he agreed, opening the door and stepping outside. He waited by his 
horse while she locked the door. She was careful not to completely turn her back on him, because she still did not trust him fully. Especially since her chest had yet to loosen up. 

She hung her satchel on her back and walked down the stairs to her horse. She unwrapped the reigns and pulled them over the horses head. She started to pull herself into the saddle, but the stirrup broke and she fell to the ground. 

“Miss Peterson!” Mr. Paulson yelled, running to her side. “Are you okay?” He asked, helping her to her feet. 

“I’m fine,” she assured him, brushing the snow off. “I hate it when that happens,” she continued, trying to make a joke to cover her embarrassment. 

She bent down to pick up her satchel, which had fallen off when she fell. At that moment, when her guard was down, she felt a blinding pain on the back of her head. She fell forward into the snow, the pain too intense for her to react quickly. She knew instantly that her intuition had been right as she blacked out.