"How long have you known Hershel?" Rachel asked.
"I came to Colorado about ten years ago. I'd been on my own for a couple of years and wanted some adventure. I'm originally from Texas. Not many mountains in Texas. When I saw those mountains, I had to climb them. And that's when I met Hershel. He was born up there. He doesn't know much else. But he's a character. We hunted and fished together and every winter I'd make at least one trip up the mountain to visit. But the solitude up there got to me. I kind of like people being around."
Rachel smiled, understanding that.
"Hershel doesn't like people?"
"Not as a whole. They don't understand him. So he keeps to himself. And he's a content and happy man."
"Then if he wants to be alone, why did he write to me?"
Buck became uneasy, stopping and looking at her. "I guess that was my fault."
"Your fault?" She frowned. "You mean you think this is all a big mistake or something?"
"I suggested him getting a woman to keep him company. A man can do without strangers, but a woman, that's his own, I told him. He got to thinking about it and decided I was right."
"So how did he find me to write to?" She asked.
"I sort of found you for him. You belonged to some kind of club or something for unwed ladies?"
"Oh yes, the Ladies of the day Society. We were a silly bunch of women who corresponded with men through the mail which were unwed. It was a part of the mail-order-bride society, but we only wrote letters, we didn't solicit a husband."
"But you found one, didn't you?" Buck said, his eyes narrowing on her.
"You want to tell me who wrote those letters, Buck?"
"I think you ought to ask Hershel," Buck answered.
"Maybe your right." She agreed as they pressed on.
"That was pretty nice, what you did back there?" Buck blurted out.
"What?"
"The little girl. Folks panic when their kids get sick. You got a real way about you, Rach."
She smiled.
At noonday, they stopped. "We're gonna have to walk our horses from tomorrow on. We're getting to the high country and it's pretty rocky from there. Since you aren't familiar with the territory, I think we should go slow. Besides, Hershel might not be there when we first arrive. No use rushing it."
"All right. Whatever you say."
"So…" she gathered wood and he made a fire. "Why haven't you married Buck?" She asked as she placed the firewood close by.
Buck was taken aback by her question. He didn't seem to have a ready answer.
"I don't know. I never met a lady that could put up with my wanderings. I like to drink, to hunt, to fish."
"Nothing wrong with that, I suppose." Rachel shrugged. "In moderation, of course."
"Women need a lot of attention. They like a man who says pretty words to them, and takes them out a lot, to dances and social functions. I was never very good at those things. Although I do enjoy myself. I love music."
"Maybe you just never met the right woman." She suggested.
"Maybe," he replied and stared into her eyes.
Rachel was about the prettiest woman he'd ever met. She was strong and didn't complain a lot. He liked that. He wished he'd found a woman like that for himself. He wondered silently what it might be like to cuddle up to a woman of his own.
It silently irritated him that she had brought it up. Until now, he'd been very content with his life. He'd never considered having a woman of his own. Just because he'd gotten comfortable having her around, his mind was wandering.
Then he pictured Rachel with Hershel and that stirred him more. They were not compatible. They couldn't be. Hershel was too crude for her. But she'd probably realize that in a second once she met him. Then it would be too late. He wondered about this proxy marriage. Had he done her an injustice? Perhaps he should have told her to wait.
"Rachel, I don't know what you are expecting with Hershel, but I got to tell you he is a good man. And honorable man. Got a heart of gold, do anything for you. But he might come off a bit mean when you first meet him." Buck frowned.
Rachel firmed her lips. "I realized he must be unusual when you told me he was a mountain man."
"That don’t bother you?"
Rachel shrugged and turned to look at him directly. "A man, is a man. I'll adapt, I guess…"
"Don't get me wrong. He'd never hurt you." Buck amended.
"No?"
"No. He's not that kind. But he lacks a few things."
Rachel sat down as the coffee was brewing now. "What does he lack."
Buck studied the question before answering her. "Social graces, I'd expect. He doesn't have manners at the table. He picks his teeth a lot. He snores like a bear in hibernation. He's rough around the edges. But his heart is gentle."
"Then we'll make out," Rachel promised.
"He ain't boring that's for sure. He can spin a tall tale like no one you ever heard. He's real gentle with animals. Just don't do one thing to him."
"What's that?"
"Lie…he can't tolerate a liar. He'd rather hear the ugly truth than a lie." Buck said reaching for a cup of coffee she poured him.
"Then I shall be as honest as I can with him in all things. Thank you Buck for telling me about him. I mean, we are still strangers, him and I. And I don't know what to expect from him. I guess in a way I know more about you than him."
"Yes ma'am." Buck nodded and drank his coffee quietly. "I guess you do." He mumbled under his breath.
"It's funny, but I thought this marriage by proxy thing was a good idea, but I must admit, I don't feel very married." Rachel mused as she put some fatback in the frying pan and turned it to keep from burning it. "You see I merely read about the proxy marriage. Never knew anyone personally married that way."
"Yes ma'am. I'm sorry about that…"
"Nothing you could do. You've been very helpful. I feel as though I should pay you…something." Rachel murmured.
"No ma'am. I'm doing this for you and Hershel." Buck said. "And I don't want you to think I'm talking bad about Hershel, he's a good man, do anything for you. But…he's just rough around the edges is all."
"You've said that, as a warning, Buck. I think I'm beginning to understand. Don't fret so much, I'll get along fine. If he's really as good a person as you say, we'll be all right, I'm sure." Rachel tried to smile, but the smile didn't reach her lips. She almost wished she had waited.
"Yes ma'am. It's really none of my business anyway." Buck told himself aloud.
A howl broke their conversation and Rachel bolted upright on a log where she sipped her coffee. "What was that?"
"A wolf. There are a lot of them up this way. We'll need to keep the fire burning all night. I only heard one, they don't attack unless there is a pack of them and there is something they want." Buck assured her.
"You aren't afraid?" She asked, her voice quivering in the night air.
"Cautious is more like it." Buck glanced at her.
"Do you mind if I bring my blanket closer to the fire, then?" She asked.
"Nope, I insist on it." He smiled. "Don't be afraid, I'm here to protect you. I'll keep watch through the night."
"I'm glad you are here, but we can take turns, keeping watch. Otherwise, you'll get no sleep…Buck." She whispered as she prepared them both a plate of beans.
When she handed him the plate she looked at him and he was staring at her.
He cleared his throat and took it. "Looks good."
"Just canned beans, but I put some fatback in them that Willa gave me." Rachel smiled.
"Tasty. Where did you learn to cook?" Buck asked changing the subject.
"My mother taught me some. I tried to learn from everyone around me. Even my father cooked, of course, his was mostly outside, roasting a side of beef or a pig. But I picked up a lot from everyone I met. You see I was sort of an ugly duckling of the family and I wanted to hone my skills. My mother insisted I would need it for a good marriage."
&n
bsp; "Ugly duckling? You?"
Rachel glanced at him as she sat down. "Yes…"
"I don't believe that." Buck exclaimed, shaking his head. "You've got the prettiest head of hair I've ever seen, and your eyes almost match."
"You should have seen my mother, and my step-mother, gorgeous, both of them." She smiled.
"Did you go to school much?"
"Yes, I did. I'd considered going to college until my mother died and my father took another wife."
"What happened? Didn't he want to see you go to college?"
"I'm afraid not. My father was heavy into the banking business and insisted I take an active part in that. I worked from the bottom up so to speak, starting as a teller. You see after he had married he thought that women were more suited for the home, not the business world, or careers of any kind. That's why he concentrated on getting me married to a banker as soon as possible."
"Are you good with figures, then?"
"I'd say so, yes." She smiled. "But my heart wasn't in it. Since I showed little interest in matrimony, my father and stepmother insisted I should learn the business, to support myself later in life."
"They thought you were going to be an old maid?" Buck looked incredulous at her.
"They were sure of it. I mean I'm twenty-three and most women are married with a child by now."
Buck stared at her for a long moment, looking her up and down.
She looked at his perplexed glance. "Not just because I wasn't the prettiest girl around, but because I stood up for myself and was progressive thinking. I felt I didn't need a husband to prove my worth."
"No ma'am, I don't reckon you do. I think you could stand on your own. And that's good. Hershel would need an independent kind of woman. So why did you leave home."
Rachel glanced at Buck, who had finished eating, raked his plate clean and set it by the fire.
He leaned back on his blanket and stared at her.
"I was supposed to marry a man my father picked out for me and I didn't love the man. It was as simple as that. It's hard to explain really."
"But…you aren't sure you like Hershel either, are you?"
"No, point taken. I guess I looked at him as more of an adventure. The marriage part still hasn't sunken in. And you are right, he's a stranger too. I was a fool to come here. I see that now. But just getting away…makes it all worth it. I'll make out, and I'll be a good wife."
"Well, I'd say you got your little adventure."
"You probably think I'm nothing but a spoiled brat. Undisciplined and all. But there's so much more than that to it. Frank Parker was eager to get ahead, and had no real designs on me. So I started writing to Hershel. I wanted marriage as much as the next girl, but not forced on me. Hershel's letters were so full of this country, I fell in love with it just from reading them. I guess you might say I'm in love with his letters."
Buck's face drained of color and he squirmed. "But Miss Rachel, letters don't tell you much about the man."
"Oh, but you are wrong. You said Hershel was a gentleman deep down. He'd have to be, to write such letters. So much came through to me in those letters. I decided, even though I hadn't met him, I wanted to, and I'd much rather be married to a man like that than the one I was engaged to marry." Rachel explained.
"But either way, you are kind of selling yourself short by not knowing the man, don't you think?"
Rachel's gleam in her eyes faded. "I hope not, Buck. I hope not."
The way she whispered those words sent a chill over Buck.
The lady had no idea what she was letting herself in for.
Chapter Seven
Next day, they were making their way through the thickest part of the rocks when an Indian hunting party spotted them.
Rachel pulled her horse close and stood beside Buck. Buck put his arm around her to steady her with one hand and leaned on his rifle.
"Easy girl, let me handle this." Buck whispered as the leader of the hunting party approached them. "Don't let them see your fear." He instructed lowly.
"You want something?" Buck asked as they neared the camp. He recognized them as Cheyenne and knew they spoke English. Although they were usually peaceable, they would take advantage of stragglers along the way.
"I am Running Wolf. We see your fire. We see the woman."
"What is it you want?" Buck asked standing his ground in front of the Indian.
"Want woman!" The Indian said, walking around them slowly and eyeing Rachel with interest. His hand reached to touch her hair.
"She has hair like fire!"
"My woman, you cannot have her." Buck didn't blink an eye.
"Want woman, will trade a horse for her." The Indian's eyes fastened on her as he spoke.
"No! No deal."
"I take!" The Indian insisted.
Rachel was white as a sheet and he knew she was scared. "My woman, you cannot take what is not yours. Will trade something else, but not the woman."
The Indian shot him a glance.
Buck offered his horse.
The Indian studied him for a long moment, then looked at his horse. "Want woman!"
"No deal!" Buck insisted his voice steady, his nerves paused for attack.
"She yours?" The Indian looked incredible.
"That's right, we just got married." Buck told him.
"What is married?" The Indian questioned.
Buck raised his fingers, and showed two fingers, then put them together to show one.
The Indian looked at her again.
Rachel didn't object or argue. She couldn't.
"Two horses…" The Indian bargained, his eyes trained on Rachel.
"Okay, two horses. No woman." Buck repeated.
The Indian came to stand in front of her. His look was galvanizing. He reached to pull a strand of her hair through his fingers and smiled. "Are you this man's woman?" He asked her boldly.
"Y-yes!" Rachel answered without falter.
He looked at Buck and frowned, "Two horses."
"No trade, but I take the horses. And maybe I'll come back for her." He said, smiling at her.
"Two horses, no woman." Buck repeated.
The Indian seemed impatient, but he threw the saddles off, and straddled Buck's horse. He let out a whoop and the three Indians left as silently as they had come.
Rachel fell against Buck. "My God…I was so scared." She cried.
"Hey, it's all right now. They won't bother you. You see with a Cheyenne you have to show no fear, if you do, they might just kill you. If you don't, they will respect you. If I had given into him, he might have taken you and killed me. But I stood up to him, so he let us be. It's like intimidation."
Rachel was clutching Buck's shirt and the terror inside her made her hold on to him tightly.
"Rachel," he pulled her hands from his shirt and looked into her eyes. "You're okay…" He smiled.
She pulled away and looked at him. "Why did you tell him I was your woman?"
Buck leaned on his rifle, "It would be too complicated for them to understand if I'd told the truth."
Rachel nodded. "Oh…I guess you are right. When I first read bout the proxy marriages I didn't understand it either. It is rather unusual."
"They speak English, mostly, but it would take a heap of understanding to figure this all out. It was simpler to say you belonged to me. He respected that."
She nodded a little embarrassed for asking.
"Look Rachel. I'll do anything to save yours or my hide, understand. So if anything else comes up, just go along with whatever I say. It'll be easier that way."
"I suppose you are right. It was fast thinking." She swallowed and turned away. "How do you know so much about survival?"
"This might shock you, but Hershel taught me a lot. He's been around the Indians all his life, he knows them. A lot better than I do. But he's taught me how to deal with them enough to get by and save my own hide."
He grabbed her arm and swung her around. His knuckles grazed her cheek. "I w
on't let any harm come to Rachel, no matter what I have to say…"
For just a split second, she leaned into that caress but pulled abruptly away when she realized she was doing it.
"Thank you." Was all she could say.
He nodded. "Well, we'll have to walk the rest of the way now. We have no choice. Probably done us a favor taking those horses with them. Now we don't have to feed them."
She put out the fire and they began hiking up the mountain again. They didn't talk much as they climbed, and several times he had to help her up a steep incline.
He finally decided to put a rope around her so he could pull her up when he needed to.
"How much further is it?" She asked that evening over the campfire.
"A couple or three days. We're afoot and it takes time, especially if we want to get there in one piece. One wrong foothold can send you tumbling down this mountain, Rachel." He told her.
"I can believe that." She said pouring him some coffee. "I didn't realize it was freezing so much up here this early in the year."
"Winter came early this year."
"You think Hershel will be all right?" She asked, looking at him for an answer.
"He knows how to handle himself, but things sometimes happen that are not expected. If that old bear doubles back on him, he could be in a heap of trouble. Of course, he knows all that, but without someone to remind him, he could forget."
Rachel made them some supper, with some canned food that Willa had packed for them. They ate in silence. Listening to the crackle of the fire. She had packed a jar of peaches for them to share.
Buck took his knife out and whittled the end to a small branch, and then he handed it to her and then he made himself one. "Works better than a fork."
When she ate in silence, he glanced at her.
"Tell me something, what was wrong with the fella you was fixing to marry?" Buck asked as things got too quiet. "I mean there had to be something you really didn't like about him, to flat out refuse him."
"Frank? Well, like I said, he was sort of a coward and he wasn't interested in me. He only wanted a better position at the bank. He was using me to get to my father. He got along famously with my dad, even my step mother. But we hardly ever talked. I did him a favor by leaving. He had no real interest in me. I'd bet he was especially relieved when he found out I was gone."
Brides of the West-Part One Page 26
