Once downstairs Mrs. Brenan had led them to a little table in the corner of the dining room. It was still a little over an hour before the lunch hour, so the room was empty of diners with the exception of a man near one of the front window sipping on a cup of coffee.
"Tell me about your ranch," Camille asked.
"It’s not just mine, its Kid and Lou’s too." He answered.
"I thought they were headed to VA, wasn’t he going to join the Confederacy?"
"Well he didn’t, I think Lou had something to do with it, it is amazing how different a man’s thinkin’ can be when a woman is involved." Suddenly he got a feeling he would pay for that comment.
"Meaning...?" she asked curiously.
Hoping to recover from his mistake he said, "Meaning, how smart he gets."
"Right..." She smiled at him. "Ok, so where is this ranch you three started?"
"The old Pony Express Station," he said, cutting the ham on his plate.
"Really?" she said.
"Yeah, once the telegraph lines were up, we were out of a job and the station went up for sale, Kid thought it would be a good place for the horse ranch he and Lou were plannin' on starting. They asked if I wanted in."
"I’m happy for you Buck, you have done well for yourself." She then asked, "Would you have left Rock Creek, if you hadn’t started the ranch?"
"Not sure," he said as he took a mouth full of food.
"Well I am glad that you and Kid and Lou were able to stay together. When we stopped in Rock Creek, I could tell that all of you were more like a family, than just riders for the express. It’s sad that the war has driven so many of you in different directions."
"Most of us have managed to stay in Rock Creek, you know Cody is scouting for the army. He stops in from time to time when he’s passin' through."
"So he is not writing his stories any more?" Camille questioned.
"Ugh...I am not sure even the war could stop Cody from writing that junk."
"Now Buck, you don’t like going down in history in Cody's stories?" she said with a giggle.
"Not as much as I would like to break Cody’s fingers," he teased.
"My, my...." she responded to his comment, then moving on she asked, "Tell me about Teaspoon."
"He is officially Marshall of Rock Creek, the badge fits him well. Lou thinks he is sweet on Rachel," he said and then took another bite of his meal. He had not realized how hungry he was until the delicious plate of food had been put before him.
"What do you think?" Camille asked.
Smiling at her with his cock-eyed grin he said, "I think Rachel is sweet on him."
Camille laughed. "How wonderful," she said. "How is Ike, is he working ranch too?"
The color suddenly drained from Buck’s face, he’d forgotten, the last time she had been to Rock Creek, Ike was still alive.
"What is it?" She was concerned.
"Ike is dead." He said flatly.
"God No," She was horrified. "Oh, Buck no, how?"
"Jumpin' between a bullet and a woman," he answered.
"When?" she asked, too shocked to find more words.
He just stared at his food, not looking up. Camille placed her hand on top of Buck’s hand on the table. Her heart broke for him, she curled her fingers around his as if to wrap her arms around him and comfort him. After a minute he gave her hand a squeeze, looked up at her and asked, "You ready to go?"
She answered with a nod. She knew he couldn’t do it, it just wasn’t the right time or the right place to talk about something that held so many painful memories. She would be patient and not push, when he was ready he would tell her and she would be ready. Ready to be there for him the way he was always been they’re for her.
As they left the dining room, they passed the front desk where Eulala was going over some ledgers. "Hello there, I hope that you enjoyed your meal," she said.
"Yes Ma’am, thank you." He answered.
Eulala turned to Camille, thinking how wonderful it was to see her smiling. If she had had any second thoughts about contacting Buck they were gone now. "Camille," she said, "I have seen to it that the rest of those rooms were finished. I thought you might like the rest of the day to show Mr. Cross our fine town."
Camille was thrilled. "Yes, I would like that..." Then as she looked into Mrs. Brenan’s eyes she said "thank you" in the most heartfelt way. Eulala knew that she was not only thanking her for the day but also for bringing Buck to her.
"May I ask you for one favor though," Eulala said, "I believe that my order at the store should be ready and I cannot leave the hotel. Would you mind picking it up while you are out?"
"We’ll make it our first stop," Camille answered.
"Thank you," she said, "now you two get going and enjoy your day"
*******************************************
After Camille had gone to her room to freshen up, they set out to pick up Mrs. Brenan’s order. It was a beautiful spring day, the sun was shining and there was just the slightest crisp chill in the air. Which seemed to be a reminder that the end of winter was here. Camille wrapped her shawl around her shoulders as she took Buck’s arm and they walked down the boardwalk. This was truly the best she had felt in so long, she felt light and happy, as if she could once again feel the air in her lungs. Maybe it was the freedom of an afternoon off, or maybe it was the promise of spring in the air or maybe, just maybe, it was the man beside her. No matter the reason, she intended to enjoy this afternoon. They crossed the street and entered Mrs. Ford’s mercantile.
"I’ll just be a minute," Camille said to Buck. He started looking around the store while Camille headed to the counter.
"Good day, Miss Camille," Mrs. Ford said in what Camille thought was a strange kind of way.
"Hello, Mrs. Ford," Camille responded. She noticed that Mrs. Ford had her eye on Buck.
"What can I do your you?" she said strangely.
Having a good feeling what was wrong with the storekeeper, she smiled her prettiest smile and responded, "Mrs. Brenan sent me over to pick up her order for the hotel."
Not wanting to take her eyes off of Buck, Mrs. Ford reluctantly turned to get the order. "Yes, it is right over here." She paused before picking it up and whispered to Camille, "Are you okay, child?"
"Yes...shouldn’t I be?" she asked, wishing she hadn’t.
"It’s...just...your..." she hesitated. "I don’t like the thought of a man with Indian blood in my store."
Camille retained her composure, and "Then I suggest you don’t think about it."
"Well," Mrs. Ford said, not caring for the tone of Camille’s response.
Continuing with the business she had come to the store for, Camille asked, "Could I also get some writing paper and pencils, please?"
The older woman nodded and gathered the order. Placing the order on the counter, she gave it one more try, "Be careful, young lady, they are not all as they seem."
Camille was totally irritated now and Buck was concerned. He had been watching what was transpiring between the two ladies. The last thing he wanted to do was make trouble for Camille. He knew that look on Camille’s face and he knew what was in store for Mrs. Ford.
Camille took a deep breath, "Mrs. Ford, you will find that most things are not what they seem. Take myself for instance, I was not as fortunate as Mr. Cross to be born of Indian blood, as you put it. But I did have the good fortune to spend most of my childhood among the Kiowa people. Buck’s mother raised me as her own daughter from infancy." She turned to look at Buck and then back to Mrs. Ford. "So I am sure you can understand how pleased I was to have my brother come visit me here in Cedar Falls."
Buck was having a hard time not cracking a huge smile at the old woman, who was finally speechless.
Camille broke the silence, " I believe this is what I owe you...Good Day."
Buck stepped up to take the box from Camille as they left the store.
Once outside Camille let out a sigh, she would never understand the cruelty of some people. As they walked back across the street, she heard a little chuckle.
She looked up at Buck, "What?"
"You always did have a sharp tongue," he said looking straight ahead.
She looked up at him, the sun shining in her squinting eyes. "Oh, really?"
"Yes, really...I’m just glad I am not on the receiving end this time," he said mischievously.
"This time...." she agreed. "She is a narrow minded woman anyway."
A few seconds later as they were approaching the hotel, he stopped her and said "By the way..."
"Yes?" she said looking up at him.
"I never though of myself as your brother," he said seriously.
With a twinkle in her eyes she said, "Neither did I."
She then abruptly turned and walked into the hotel. Buck watched her as she went through the doors, her skirt swishing back and forth. Never in his life had he been happier that he was not her brother.
*******************************************
Mrs. Brenan had asked Buck if he would put her order back in the kitchen. When he returned he saw Camille sitting at the desk intently reading a letter. When she was done she looked at Buck and said, "It’s from Bill’s family, I had written them to tell them about Bill." She continued, "they want me to go live with them."
Buck felt like someone had kicked him in the stomach. He crouched down beside her as he did his best to hide his feelings.
She looked at him as if in a daze. "It never occurred to me they would want me with them, Bill and I were never married. They have no responsibility to me." She retreated to her own thoughts for a moment.
Buck felt panic running though his body, this was not what he had expected. He had planned on taking Camille back to Rock Creek with him, and never considered any other possibility. He wanted to tell her to say "no", he wanted to make the decision for her but he knew he could not do that and he would not offer his opinion unless she asked.
As if she had read his mind, she looked at him and said, "Should I go?"
"No," he said. He couldn’t help it. That was how he felt.
She thought for a moment then said, "You’re right, I have begun to make a life for myself here, I will be fine here..."
"No...." he interrupted, "you didn’t hear me."
"Buck," she said in the long drawn out way she use to, "you said I should stay here."
She just wasn’t getting it; he looked her straight in the eyes. "No, I said you should come back to Rock Creek with me."
She thought that his deep black eyes would bore holes right through her. He could see her soul. She should say no to him. It just wasn’t right. Her fiancée had only been dead 11 months; she was just now approaching the proper time to put away her mourning clothes. The proper thing to do was to go live with her future husband’s family. She had met them when she and Bill had stopped to visit on their way East. She would not be thought well of if she were to leave town with another man.
But this was not just another man, this was Buck. He knew her better and longer than any person on this earth. He was right earlier when he had said that they were the only family that either of them had ever had. She would not allow propriety to take from her once again her only family… her Buck.
She looked deep into his eyes and quietly said, "Are you sure?"
He took her hands in his. "I have never been more sure of anything in my life, Little Bird."
She caught her breath. "How do you do that? You have always done that."
Buck was confused. "What?"
She tucked a stray piece of his straight black hair behind his ear and whispered, "Make everything all right."
