Chapter 1
1835 Texas
He was young and spry with thick black hair and a rounded youthful face. He worked the ranch of the wealthy family as a hired hand. His job was to round up herds of cattle and keep predators both animal and human in nature away from the wealthy rancher and his family. Aloysius "Teaspoon" Hunter rode the chestnut coated horse to the barn after a long day's work. He wore tan trousers and blue and white striped shirt with an oversize cowboy hat. He dismounted the horse and tended to his duties and then went to the wash bin to tidy himself up from the dust and dirt that caked his face. He heard a voice of a young woman call from behind.
"There you are," the voice softly called.
A smile crept across his face as he turned. His hazel eyes settled on the beautiful young woman with long brown hair and matching eyes before him. She sported a yellow dress that was spotless as she gazed upon him with loving eyes. "Isabelle," he replied drying his face and neck. He placed the towel down and came closer to her. His hands settled on her waist as she leaned closer and kissed his lips.
"My dearest husband," she coyly replied. They were newlyweds and Teaspoon's new wife was the youngest daughter of the ranger he worked for. "I'm having Mabel prepare a special meal for us tonight." she teased.
"What's for dinner?" he asked feeling as if he was walking on clouds. His new wife was young and beautiful. Her family was wealthy and they adored him. He was set to become a rancher himself and could see his future as a rancher and young men working under him.
"Fried chicken." she grinned "My secret recipe."
"If it's secret than why does Mabel have it?" he teased her.
"She's more than a servant. She's family!" she insisted.
"I suppose." he agreed. Mabel was a black slave the rancher had acquired a few years prior. Her former owner had gone bankrupt and was forced to auction off the slaves he owned. The rancher was given Mabel at a steal for the woman worked as the housekeeper and nanny to the children.
Isabelle released her embrace and retrieved a small box from her purse. She held it before him, "I know you don't know your birthday but I thought I would give you this for your birthday."
Teaspoon took the blue velvet box. It was rectangle in shape but rather small. He opened the box and found a tiny silver spoon. He lifted the spoon out of the box and discovered his initials on the back of the decorative piece. He stated amused, "It's a little spoon."
"It's a silver spoon. I found this man in San Antonio who sold these little tiny spoons. I saw it and thought of you." she admitted. "I had your initial engraved on the back."
"I see that." he gave a nod. He placed the little spoon back in the box and wrapped his hands around her waist once more. He pulled her closer, "How did I ever get to be as lucky as to have you for my wife?" he asked.
"The Lord has blessed us." she concluded. She kissed his lips once more and added, "The lord has blessed us with a child."
Teaspoon paused, "A child?"
"I'm with child." she told him. "That's why I gave you a baby spoon. It was a hint."
His eyes grew wide, "I'm gonna be a father!"
"Yes," she confirmed. She leaned closer and kissed him once more, "We can make our announcement tonight after dinner. Father said he had something important to discuss with you and my brothers."
"Did he say what's so important?" he asked alarmed for he knew there was strife about the border and the Mexican Army.
"Not yet." she informed. "You best get changed for dinner. Mabel don't like dirty clothes in the house."
"I will," he agreed.
1860 - Rock Creek
The rider came over the dusty horizon to make the layover at the Pony Express station in the little town of Rock Creek. Aloysius "Teaspoon" Hunter squinted as the rider came closer. His red and white striped shirt was a bit dusty from working hard. He called to the riders, "You're up next, Buck!"
The half Indian boy mounted his ride and waited for the pass off of the pouch of mail. He soon gathered the pouch from the incoming rider and took off like a shot. The incoming rider soon came to a halt as the white and brown horse needed a rest. The rider was someone new that Teaspoon had yet to see before. The first thing Teaspoon noticed was the new rider was rather short and about the same height as Lou. The rider sported black trousers and a tan shirt under a brown twill coat and wore a brown derby hat and had a youthful round face. Oddly, the new rider didn't carry a traditional holster but rather a cummerbund around the middle and the butt of a revolver sticking out nestled by the side of the body.
"I ain't seen you before, son." Teaspoon stated approaching.
The rider's brown eyes settled on Teaspoon as if finding a treasure and studied Teaspoon's features. A soft smile crept across the rider's face. "I'm new! I'm Pip."
Rachel Dunn shifted her weight as she watched the new rider come into the station. She cocked an eyebrow for she figured the rider was not a boy but rather a girl like Lou. She glanced at Lou wondering if her friend figured out the new rider's obvious secret.
Teaspoon felt like he was looking into his own youthful face for a moment. He asked, "Your name is Pip?"
She nodded, "It's a nickname."
"Gotta full name?" he wondered.
"Yup," she gave a nod but didn't say anymore. She spied the stables and motioned, "I'll settle my horse." She walked by giving a nod to the other rides as she led the horse to the stable.
Jimmy wondered, "They robbing cradles to get riders." To Jimmy Hickok the new rider seemed too young.
Rachel laughed to herself and shook her head, "Supper will be ready soon, boys." She then walked back towards the house.
Kid whispered to Lou, "You noticed anything weird about that new rider?"
She asked, "Like what?" She immediately noticed that Pip was not a boy.
"He kind of looks like…Teaspoon." he whispered back.
Lou did a double take and shook the thought from her mind. "I didn't notice." she admitted.
Dinner Time
The riders had settled down for dinner in the bunkhouse. Pip had washed up and was assigned a bed for the night. She took a seat on the bench across from Lou whom she quickly figured out was actually female as well.
Teaspoon took his seat at the head of the table. He decided to get to know the new rider a little better. As Rachel rounded the table with a pot of stew and ladled out the servings into each bowl before each rider Teaspoon buttered up a slice of bread before him and glanced over to Pip sitting to his right. He casually asked, "So where are you from, son?"
Pip replied, "My folks are from Texas but they died when I was a baby and I went to New York. I grew up in the city."
Billy asked, "You are from New York City?" He wondered what the big city was like. From what he was told it was a huge city that had everything you could ever want.
She nodded, "I grew up in NY City. I lived with a family friend who took me with her. She worked as a housekeeper for a lawyer." Pip remained rather vague on the upbringing and didn't add more.
Billy asked, "What is New York City like?"
"It's a city!" she replied with a shrug, "Lots of buildings and street cars."
"What's a street car?" he asked.
"It's like a coach but looks more like a train carriage and is pulled by horses." she told him. She then added as an afterthought, "I bet I could put a steam powered engine in one and use that instead of horses."
Jimmy chuckled, "No steam engine would be that small."
"I could design one." she figured thinking about the project. Pip's mind would conjure up all sorts of devices. She had engineer's mind and would often spend hours and days thinking about how to make something better.
Teaspoon figured, "If we could find a way to shrink a locomotive down it could work to pull a carriage or buckboard." He looked to Jimmy, "I always believed that when it comes to technology things can always be…invented."
Pip cocked an eyebrow and glanced at Teaspoon. She began to nod as she kept her thoughts to herself. "So that's where it comes from," she muttered under her breath.
Jimmy then asked, "So why do they call you, Pip?"
"It's a nickname." she repeated.
He teased, "What's it short for? Pipsqueak!"
Jimmy was correct for it was indeed short for Pipsqueak. She curled the side of her lip annoyed and rolled her eyes.
By the reaction Jimmy knew he had the full nickname. "Pipsqueak! I can see you are a bit short and all. Pipsqueak! It's Pipsqueak!"
"Just Pip." she sighed.
"Pipsqueak," Jimmy grinned amused. He liked the new rider and found the nickname hilarious.
Teaspoon countered, "We all have our nicknames, Jimmy."
Rachel added, "Kid's nickname is Kid." she motioned towards the young man sitting next to Lou.
Kid nodded, "Least mine is not Pipsqueak."
Jimmy stated, "I'm James Butler Hickok. You got a last name, Pipsqueak?"
"Hunter." she nodded.
Lou cocked her head, "Your last name is Hunter." She glanced at Teaspoon for Kid pointed out the look alike she could see the resemblance and wondered if they were related.
"It's a common name." she told her. She tried to change the subject, "This is very good stew, Rachel. Thank you for the meal."
"You're very welcome." she replied pleased. She then took note that Pip did seem to share some features with Teaspoon. She had dark hair and the same rounded face but her nose was smaller and eye color was brown.
Billy asked, "What did you do when you lived in New York City, Pip?"
"I went to school and delivered newspapers." she replied. "I was what ya call a 'Newsie'."
Jimmy told her, "Riding for the Pony Express ain't like delivering newspapers!"
"Obviously," she nodded in agreement.
Jimmy wondered, "Why ya carry your Colt like that? Why no holster?"
"I didn't have the money to buy both the holster and the gun," she explained. "So, I improvised and I found using the cummerbund is more efficient and effective."
"How so?" Jimmy wondered.
She demonstrated with her hand as she made her finger into the shape of the pistol and placed her hand on her left side across her body. She pulled her hand out and forward pointing her finger directly at Jimmy sitting across the table. "If I draw like this it automatically lines up the sight picture. If I were to draw from a holster," She moved her hand to her side and demonstrated, "I would have to draw upward to clear the holster and then line up the sight picture. Drawing from side saved nearly three seconds on draw time and I don't have to really aim."
Jimmy sat thinking about what she said. He made his hand into the shape of the gun with his index finger pointed up. He then copied the motions and counted the seconds. He found she was right that it was quicker to draw in the fashion she demonstrated. "Huh!" he sat thinking.
Kid smirked, "Looks like Pip can out draw Jimmy."
Jimmy argued, "We will see about that!" He looked at Pip who sat wide-eyed. "You and me and gonna have a little competition in the morning."
"I'm not shooting anyone!" she shook her head.
Jimmy blinked, "Not each other!" his head rolled back. "You and me are gonna shoot some targets in the morning."
"I can do that." she sounded relieved.
