Brides of the West-Part One

by Hestand, Rita

  "Very much, sir."

  "I see. Where do you live?"

  "On Pike's Peak."

  "The mountain?"

  "That's right."

  "Can you support my daughter?"

  "Not like this maybe, but we'll get by just fine. That girl has pioneer blood in her, sir."

  "Would you care to stay a day or two so we could get acquainted?"

  "I would, but since you don't know where she is, and I don't either, I think it would be best if I try to track her down. She might have met with some trouble along the way."

  Mr. Landers frowned and studied Buck for a long moment. "You think you can find her?"

  "I'll find her if it takes forever." Buck promised.

  Mr. Landers reached into his pocket and drew out a sum of money. "Then take this, in case you have any trouble."

  Buck looked at the money, then shook his head. "I don't need money. That would cause trouble. Money brings troubles. I'll get by just fine. I just need to get after her now. It was nice meeting you."

  "When you find her, tell her I'd love to see her again." He stammered as though frozen in some emotional trauma.

  "I'll tell her. And I'm glad to hear you say that. She'll be glad too. Only, quit trying to make her over. She's fine just as she is."

  "Pike's Peak, you say."

  "Yes sir."

  "Mr. Daggett," Mr. Landers reached his hand out to Buck. "I'm very pleased to meet you. I want to thank you for introducing yourself and explaining a few things. It may not look like it, but I have been worrying about her."

  "You're welcome. I better get going…" Buck said.

  "Of course. And thank you."

  Buck nodded and left. The butler eyed him and he got a quick glimpse of the lady of the house. She was dressed in the most stylish clothes and looked more like a queen than a woman.

  Buck began to understand now where Rachel came from and why she left. He also understood why she didn't come back. It was a cold house, there was little love here.

  The sooner he got out of Philadelphia, the better. He was no city person, and he knew he didn't belong, just like Rachel must have known she didn't belong here either.

  Still he felt uneasy knowing Rachel never made it home. Where could she be? Was there stage trouble, outlaws, what might have happened to her? He could spend a lifetime wondering, he aimed to find out, one way or another.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  "I'd have thought Buck would have been down the mountain by now." Rachel cried one evening when Lilly came into the kitchen. "He promised to get those papers to me."

  "Yes dear, but he doesn't know you are here. He might have already sent them to your home in Philadelphia."

  "That's true. I hadn't thought of that."

  Rachel mopped her brow. She wore her hair up while she was in the kitchen, it was cooler that way and it kept it out of the food.

  "It isn't like him. If he told you he'd tend to getting the papers, he should have done it. Buck don't go back on his promises. Hershel does, but not Buck. Hershel should have tended this himself. Of course, he might have just mailed it to you, back home." Lilly suggested. "He's certainly had the time to."

  Rachel turned to look at her. "He might have. I guess I could wire home."

  "Give him a few more days. It takes time for these kinds of things. The parson might not could find the paper or something. There could be all sorts of explanations for it. Meanwhile, you are doing well here, and you're provided for. You have no real worries."

  "You are right, of course. All thanks to you."

  "You still insist you don't want to see him, if he comes in."

  "Truth be known, I'd love to see Buck. But…there's no use stirring up trouble for myself. I'm sure he's a happy man if he found a woman of his own. In a way, it's kind of ironic that him and Hershel both found women of their own while I was the one looking to marry."

  "You know dear, the more I think about it, maybe he wasn't marrying that girl. Maybe he found another woman who was marrying someone else. Just like you." Lilly smiled. "But I think you owe him to hear him out."

  Rachel nodded, "Maybe," and went back to work. She was washing dishes and wiping the sweat from her brow as it was hot in the kitchen.

  Her job was simple. She was a cook and she was good at it. Some of Lilly's clientele told her they loved her cooking. Of course, no one knew it was her because Rachel didn't want anyone to know. She never went out front.

  For now, she had a job and a place to stay and that would do, until she could do better. She needed some kind of plan. But for the first time in her life, she was out of plans and ideas. Just knowing she could stay here and make it gave her some relief. Where was she going from here? Sure, the mountain appealed to her, but it was Buck and Hershel's mountain, not hers.

  She tried her best not to think about Buck, but it was impossible. She wondered if he was happy with his new lady. She wondered why it happened so fast, she'd hardly been gone any time at all and here he was getting married. But then, she couldn't be mad at him, she married Hershel. She only wished she could get the paper from him so she could return home once and for all.

  Still, thinking of returning home wouldn't solve all her problems either. She'd never hear the end of how silly she had acted. And then there was Frank.

  Despite all her efforts though, her mind kept wandering back to Buck. What kind of girl would Buck marry? He sure must have fallen fast for whomever.

  She couldn't fret over it, it was over. And until she could get her bearings on what she wanted to do, she'd stay right here in Cripple Creek.

  ~*~

  Buck tracked down the stage lines out of Philadelphia, but her name wasn't listed anywhere. She hadn't gotten this far. This made him wonder. Just how far out of Cripple Creek did she go?

  That meant she was somewhere between St. Louis and Colorado. That was a lot of territories to cover. He had his work cut out for him. But right now finding her was his number one ambition.

  The thought of Indians getting a hold of her again scared him witless. Or outlaws either. So many things could happen to a young and pretty woman like Rachel.

  If he'd known he was going to worry this much, he'd have gone with her.

  The west wasn't tame and she could be anywhere.

  As he sailed down the Mississippi, he checked the boats coming and going and there was no sign of her name on any of their rosters, so he ruled out her getting that far.

  The farther west he went, the more apprehension he had.

  He checked the stage lines, along with the wagon trains, but some were long gone and he couldn't get any information from them.

  He knew his task was daunting and he had to keep his spirits up somehow. He was going to find her, no matter what. Even if it took him a lifetime. After all, she was married to him now and he was more than anxious about it.

  For the first time, he wondered how she'd react when she finally realized she'd married him instead of Hershel. Buck had felt funny that day, the way the parson had wished him luck, and the way they had given that bedroom to them. He should have known something was amiss. Yet, he didn't regret one moment of it. Even if Rachel didn't want him as a husband, he found some pleasure in the here and now.

  "Are you sure you don't have anyone listed on that train named Landers?" Buck asked a wagon master that was headed up to move west.

  "Nope. Not a one." The man said staring at Buck.

  "Who exactly are you looking for?"

  "My wife."

  The man stared at him a while. "What's her name again?"

  "She'd be going by either Rachel Landers or Rachel Newton, I expect."

  "I don't have her." The man checked his list thoroughly.

  "Thanks…"

  He'd exhausted the wagon trains leaving from Missouri, there was no sign of her ever being with any of them. He'd have to go back to the stage lines and try to trace her steps.

  When he was closer to home, he began checking the stage lines.<
br />
  It wasn't until he was finally in Colorado that he found her name on a stage line ticket. She'd been signing it Rachel Newton.

  "Where's the driver?" Buck asked as soon as he turned up a clue.

  "He's out, he'll be back in a day or two if you want to wait to talk to him."

  "I sure do." Buck said.

  So Buck got a room at a boarding house and checked with the depot every day until the driver showed up.

  "You Daggett?"

  "That's right," Buck answered one day when he was checking for the driver again. The big man stared at him. "I'm looking for a Rachel Landers."

  "No Landers. The name don't sound too familiar, what did she look like?"

  "Real pretty redhead, with soft brown eyes and a very womanly shape." Buck described her.

  "Now wait a minute hang on. Let me see here. Yeah…wait a minute, could it be Rachel Newton?"

  Buck slapped his leg with his hand as though he should have known it. "Of course, that's it."

  "Oh yeah, she got on at Cripple Creek and we got to Golden City and she said she was going back. I remember now, the stage busted a wheel on some rocks, and I had to ride into town to get it fixed. When I came back, she was determined she was going back where she came from."

  "Back where?"

  "To Cripple Creek." The man shouted.

  "Are you sure?"

  "Positive. I let her off in Golden. It ain't a habit of mine, letting passengers change their minds like that, but it's hard to argue with a woman."

  "I know. Thanks…." Buck nodded.

  He was off to Golden now, getting closer to home. Why would she go back to Cripple Creek he wondered.

  In Golden, he checked all the hotels but her name wasn't listed. Then he began checking the boarding houses. He finally found a lady who remembered her.

  "Oh yes, a lovely little thing she was too." The woman cried. "I hope she's alright."

  "So do I. Now can you tell me where she might have been going."

  "Oh yes, she told us at the breakfast table, she was going back to Cripple Creek. At the time, I couldn't imagine why though. That's a rough town." The woman said. "Not a town for a real lady. I felt sorry that I couldn't talk her out of going there."

  "Yes ma'am it is rough. But it's the mountain she loved."

  "Yes, I remember her saying so. She'd go out on the veranda and look out at those mountains everyday she was here. I felt so very sorry for her. If ever there was anyone misplaced, it was her."

  "Thank you ma'am, you've been very helpful." Buck said and left immediately. If the woman was right, then Rachel was in Cripple Creek somewhere.

  Misplaced? Rachel wasn't misplaced. She knew exactly where she wanted to be.

  Buck headed homeward now. It could just be that she was there in town somewhere. Of course, he had no idea where to look. He'd check the hotels, the boarding houses, and then he'd check with Lilly to see if she had heard from her.

  The ride home wasn't so bad. Buck felt so much better about everything. He knew in his heart now that Rachel loved it out here. And he was glad he spoke with her father although Rachel might not have appreciated it as much.

  In another night, he'd be home and he could look for her again. As he camped out under the stars, he looked up at the sky and smiled. "Hold on Rach, I'll find you."

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  The town was buzzing the day he rode back. People were everywhere. But he had decided to check the hotels and boarding houses first. She had to be staying somewhere, he reasoned.

  Every hotel was full and had been for some time. He even ran into Turner and his bride that first afternoon. They looked happy and content. Gloria was all decked out in a fancy uptown kind of dress with a funny little hat on her head. She looked jubilant though.

  "So how did the mine play out?" Buck asked as he agreed to have a drink with Turner in the hotel bar.

  "There's gold there, but I'm afraid it would take too much money to haul it out of there to be profitable." Turner shook his head. He laid his money on the bar to pay for their drinks. "Let me get these, it's the least I can do for you."

  "I'm sorry for that. Guess it kind of got your hopes up a bit." Buck asked.

  "A little. I think Gloria was disappointed. We were all pretty elated when we heard about the gold strikes being made around here."

  "Well, maybe you'll make your fortune some other way." Buck suggested.

  "We have a family ranch back home. We are headed back that way at the end of the month." Turner said. "Ranching doesn't compare to gold mining, but it's steady work and dependable. We'll have a good life."

  "Now that sounds promising."

  "I hope Gloria can adjust to it. She was so hoping to move to a bigger town."

  "Well, you'll work it out, I'm sure. You have all the time in the world to do so. So, where's your dad?"

  "He's doing some other business while we are here, and he's selling the mine to one of those big corporations that have the money to invest in it," Turner explained. "He said it would take their kind of know how to get the gold up and out of there enough to make a profit."

  "Well, then the trip was profitable, in some ways, I expect."

  "I got my lady…." Turner smiled.

  "You sure did." Buck agreed. "Here's to the ladies."

  "You have a woman Buck?" Turner asked surprised.

  "I sure do, I just got to find her." Buck mumbled.

  "Then I do wish you luck." Turner smiled. "I better get back up there. She gets worried if she doesn't see me every hour." Turner chuckled.

  "Good seeing you." Buck called to him.

  Buck glanced around the bar. Suddenly it dawned on him that Rachel could be out of funds. She never mentioned her money situation to him so he didn't know for sure. Perhaps she had found a job or something here in town.

  He had to find her.

  He swallowed his beer and walked out of the hotel.

  Next on his list were the boarding houses.

  According to the stage lines, she was going by Rachel Newton. He'd have to remember that.

  By nightfall, he was tired and weary and wondering why he couldn't find hide nor hair of her. After all, Cripple Creek wasn't as big as Colorado Territory.

  He finally went to the Red Lantern Saloon and spotted Lilly right away at the end of the bar.

  "Lilly, how are you?" Buck asked scooting up to the bar beside her.

  Lilly eyed him with precision. "I'm fine, how are you, Buck?"

  "I got a real problem…" He murmured in her ear. "Can we go talk at the table over yonder?"

  "Sure, come on." Lilly had two beers brought to the table and sat down waiting for Buck to explain himself. "What's going on Buck. The last I heard from you, you were taking another lady up to see the parson. So…did you get married?"

  "Married?" He frowned at Lilly now as though she ought to know better than to ask such a question. "Not hardly. I didn't have time to explain, but I met these two men on the way to see the preacher about Rachel's papers. One of them was just a kid, still kind of wet behind the ears, and he wanted to get married. Only his bride wanted a church wedding. They thought Lowell would come down the mountain and marry them. But naturally he wouldn't. He had troubles at the time. Remember Sam Walters?"

  "Yeah, I remember Sam, haven't seen him for a long time, but I remember him. I liked Sam. What about him?"

  "He got consumption and died. Me and the parson sat with him up until the end. He was a good friend." Buck said sadly. "Tore his wife and kids up pretty bad but he died good, Lilly. You can't ask more than that, can you?"

  "I guess not. So what happened to the young couple?"

  "I took her up, and they got married up there. I was best man at their wedding too." Buck said proudly. "Seems as though I'm running into a lot of wanna be brides, lately."

  "Then the girl wasn't for you?"

  "No…she was just a kid. Didn't you get a look at her? Besides…I got other worries."

  "What other wor
ries?" Lilly probed, putting her hand on her fist and staring at Buck.

  "Rach. You know I told you I was taking her up there to get her married by proxy to Hershel?" Buck said, staring into his beer.

  "Yeah, I remember. So…"

  "So…when I got the paper from the parson, come to find out, he didn't put Hershel's name on the license, he put mine. I'm married to Rachel now."

  Lilly let her hand down and stared into Buck's grave face.

  "You! Does she know?"

  "Nope! I'm trying to find her. I even went to Philadelphia to find her. I mean I watched her get on a stage going home, so I assumed she was there. She wasn't."

  Lilly sat back in her chair now and a smile lit her lips. "You went all the way to Philadelphia to find her?"

  "I did. I had a little talk with her father too. Lilly, Rach comes from a wealthy family. I had no idea. But you never met such cold people in your life. No wonder she didn't want to go home. I mean the house…if you could call it a house was beautiful, chandeliers and all, winding staircase, a library full of books. Never seen anything like it."

  "You've been busy, haven't you?" Lilly questioned. "A wedding, a funeral and off to Philadelphia."

  "That's not all. I've been trying to track her down. It seems she didn't go home at all. Had me some worried. She's supposed to be right here in Cripple Creek, according to the stage driver." Buck said shaking his head. "Only I haven't found her."

  "Do you want to find her Buck?" Lilly asked staring into his face.

  "'Course I do. She's my wife, and I love her. Why wouldn't I?"

  "You love her?" Lilly smiled again.

  "Of course I do. I don't have the slightest idea how she's gonna feel about all of this, but I've got to find her and let her know. I guess if she still wants an annulment, then she can have it. I just hope she doesn't." Buck explained.

  "But Buck you aren't a very settled down kind of man. You don't even have a home to offer her. Do you?"

  "I got a piece of property on the mountain. I've decided to build a home there, for Rach if she'll have me. I showed it to her on the way up, she sure did like it there. Gonna find me some steady employment too. Maybe I'll go to work on the railroad or something. Maybe we can raise a family."