Chapter II
It was a balmy summer morning as life began to wake up at the way station. The first chirps of the birds could be heard in the peaceful yard while the horses neighed their greetings to the new day. The rays of the morning sun made their way through the bedroom window and outlined the shadows of two figures lying on the double bed.
Rachel was sleeping soundly when something woke her up; she felt a tickling sensation on her cheek. Drowsily she opened her eyes and in a haze saw her husband brushing a feather against her face. He leaned his elbow on the mattres and was grinning broadly.
"What are you doing?" she muttered half-asleep.
"Trying to wake my love," Boggs whispered, "the most beautiful woman in the whole world." He brushed his lips against his wife's, and soon the couple joined in a passionate, deep kiss.
"Do you really think that about me?" Rachel teased, pulling away from him.
"Oh, not really. I was just being polite," he teased back.
"You're a fool!" Rachel laughed as she got up from bed and began getting dressed. While she was doing up the buttons of her blouse, she remembered something, and her countenance lit up. "John," she ventured, "do you know what day it is today?"
"Today?" he echoed, frowning. "Uh... let me think. Today, today. Is it somebody's birthday?" he asked mischievously.
Rachel sent him an unhappy look. "No, it's nobody's birthday," she said slightly upset.
"Don't frown, honey. How could I forget the happiest day of my life? Our wedding day. Two months, Rachel. I can't believe it has been two months, the two most wonderful months of my entire existence. It has been so perfect. You make my life perfect. I love you," Boggs stated heartedly.
"I love you too," Rachel answered his declaration of love as her husband folded her in his arms and kissed her passionately till they were out of breath. After a few minutes and despite herself Rachel pulled away and resumed her dressing. "You'd better stop fooling around if you don't want to be late."
"Well, I'm not an expert," Boggs said teasingly, "but if we wanna give Theresa and Jeremiah a little brother or sister, shouldn't we...?"
"Just shut up and get dressed," Rachel ordered among giggles.
"You cruel woman. You know, a third child, born of our love, would be just perfect" Boggs stopped as his wife made a face, insisting that he should get a move on in a mildly threatening way. "We'll leave the matter for later, Ma'am."
"Yes, we'll discuss it later," Rachel said with a smile. "By the way, today's dinner is special. We celebrate something, remember? Please come home early from work. I want to have a peaceful evening with the children, the boys, Teaspoon and us. We couldn't celebrate our first month, so I want tonight to be something to remember and share it with our family," she said as she finished lacing her shoes.
"As you wish, my love. But after tha we'll have our own private celebration, won't we?" he asked mischievously.
"Uhmm, I'll think about it, but now go," she giggled as she pushed her husband out of the room.
Rachel leaned on the wall for a moment and mumbled a thank you for the wonderful gift that has been granted to her. This was what she had been dreaming about all her life. A loving husband to spend a lifetime with, a family, love, dreams. She had everything and it felt so good. Nothing was going to spoil it.
"Where's Cody? I thought he would have been back from his ride by now," Boggs asked.
The five riders, Teaspoon and the Boggs family were sitting around the table in the bunkhouse, enjoying a delicious dinner that Rachel had prepared.
"He should, but with the last rains the roads are muddy and slippery, so it would be hard for him to keep his usual pace," Rachel explained.
"I don't know, Rachel," said Jimmy, "I bet Cody can smell your food from miles away and I wouldn't be too surprised if he burst in before dinner's over".
Everybody chuckled at Jimmy's comment, implying that there was some truth in what Hickok had said. Rachel then got up from her seat and took a bottle from the cupboard near the sink.
"Boys, I'd like to call your attention for a moment." Rachel spoke up. "Today is a very special day for me and John. We've been married for two whole months and we're glad to share our happiness with you, our family. I've thought that we can have a toast for the occasion. Teaspoon has lifted the alcohol ban just for today, all right?"
Everybody clapped their hands and approached their cups to be filled with the red wine. The atmosphere in the room was jovial and cheerful. All the riders and Teaspoon were smiling broadly at the couple, who were unmistakingly so much in love. They were happy for them and everybody was glad to be sharing this moment with them.
"Jeremiah, I don't think your father would appreciate you having a taste of this," Kid told the boy, who had been caught trying to snatch the bottle of wine. The young boy blushed at being caught, and instantly glared at the rider.
"Absolutely not," came the immediate reply of his father. "Milk will be good enough for you. You're still too young for this."
Jeremiah frowned at his father and let out a snort of protest. He was trying so hard to prove that he was not a child but it seemed that his efforts were in vain. "I'm not a baby. You don't have to treat me like Tessa," he wailed.
"Hey!" Theresa objected.
"That's enough!" Boggs shushed the two children. "This is a celebration and, Jeremiah, if you're not a baby, that's not the way of showing it".
The boy looked down sheepishly and muttered a quiet 'sorry'. Ike, who was sitting next to him, ruffled the boy's hair and smiled. After everybody's cups had been filled with the sweet red wine, Teaspoon cleared his throat to draw everybody's attention and stood up. "Rachel. John. If you let me, I'd like to say a few words to...".
The beginning of his speech was cut short, as Buck broke in, "Teaspoon, you know we have to turn in early. We have a hard day tomorrow".
The occupants of the bunkhouse laughed again as the stationmaster looked daggers at Buck. It was common among the riders to make jokes on Teaspoon's loquacity, and even though the marshal seemed upset for the tease, he secretly enjoyed the lighthearted banter.
"Just kidding, Teaspoon," Buck said apologetically.
"Really, boys, your sense of humor is sometimes absolutely obnoxious," he grumbled in mocked discontent and forgetting Buck's interruption, the marshal continued, "Anyway, I'd like to tell this charmin' couple how pleased we are to have 'em as part of this family. As I say, family sticks together, nothing' is more sacred. Let's lift our cups to join in their happiness. For love and family."
"For love and family," the rest echoed.
They were still tasting the fruity flavor of the red wine when the door slammed open and Cody burst in, his muddy boots dirtying the floor as he made his way to the table. "Rachel, I'm starving. Is there anything left? What's this? Wine? What's the occasion?" Cody rattled away.
"Cody!" Rachel scolded the blonde rider. "Stop blabbering and for Christ's sake, take off those filthy boots of yours. You're making a mess of my clean floor!"
"Just one moment," Cody said as he snapped a chicken leg and began devouring it still standing. While he was satisfying his appetite, he tried to remove his boots with one hand. At some point during the process he lost the balance and fell flat on his back, which provoked an uproar of laughter around him.
The blonde rider sat up, and took another bite of the chicken. "Cody, do you plan to stay in that position for ever or do we need to call the army for your assistance?" Jimmy said, still laughing.
Cody scowled at Jimmy and clumsily got up. He was about to retort when in a flash Jimmy's words him remember something. "By the way, I have a letter for you, Mr. Boggs. I almost forgot. It's from the army."
Cody handed Boggs the letter that he had tucked in his belt. The mention of the army had attracted the attention of everybody, in particular Rachel's. Although Boggs as an important businessman received letters daily, most of them were addressed to the bank of Sweetwater. Unlike the norm, this one had been personally sent to him and from the army, no less, which was just uncommon.
"A letter from the army?" Rachel asked. "What do they have to do with you?"
"I don't know," said Boggs as he ripped the letter open and began reading it. The calm expression on her countenance gradually started to fade as he read the contents of the paper in his hands. His face had turned pale when he had finished the letter. With a sudden outburst he threw the piece of paper and got up from the table muttering 'oh no' repeatedly. Rachel got alarmed to see her husband so distraught. He always seemed to keep control of his reactions and this fit of anger was something completely new to Rachel.
"What's the matter, John?" she asked Boggs, who by then had rose to his feet and was pacing up and down and muttering angrily.
"If there's some kind of problem, perhaps me and the boys could help," Teaspoon added.
Boggs stopped pacing and looked around the room. All the riders, his wife and children were observing him with wide eyes. All of them were silent, even Cody was speechless this time.
"Jeremiah, Theresa, it's time for bed. Say your good-nights," Boggs said.
"But, Pa ...," Jeremiah ventured but stopped at the meaningful look of his father.
"Fine. Good night," he said resignedly.
"Good night," Theresa chorused.
"Sleep tight," Rachel said as she gave each of them a hug. She had grown quite maternal in the two months she had been part of this family. The children adored her and she loved them very dearly. They had lost their mother at an early age and she was glad that in some way she could fill the void that their mother had left.
Once the children were gone, Boggs flopped onto a bunk and ran his fingers through his hair over and over again. Rachel approached and knelt before him. She brought both of her hands to his face and made him meet her gaze.
"What's happening, honey?" she asked after a few moments of tense silence.
"Ahem, boys, I think we'd better leave..."
"No!" Boggs cut Teaspoon off. "This is something that I want to share with all of you because in some way it involves you." He turned his gaze to Rachel and caressed her cheek with his hand. "Oh, my love, I'm so sorry about all this."
"Don't think about it." Rachel said. She was annoyed at her husband's attitude. "I'm your wife now and your problems are my problems. Please tell us," she pleaded.
Boggs took a deep breath, rose from the bunk and steered his wife to the table where they took a seat. He sadly looked into Rachel's eyes and angrily blurted out, "I knew it. I knew she would cause trouble again. She always does."
"She? A woman?" Rachel asked shocked. A woman was making her husband so upset? Who the hell was she? Thousands of questions crossed her mind and she felt angrier by the minute.
Boggs saw the expression in Rachel's eyes and hurried to calm her fears and doubts. "Oh, not like that. Please don't think that. Never." He was at a loss and was unsure how to tell her. He paused and then hesitantly added. "I know I should have told you sooner but I didn't see the need. Honestly, I never intended to hide anything from you, I never gave it any thought. I thought we wouldn't be bothered, but seemingly I was mistaken."
"What is it, for goodness sake, John?" Rachel was losing her patience and was tired of all his enigmatic wordiness.
"It's a delicate matter and I really don't like talking about it," he started, but noticing Rachel's glare, he held up his hands as he added, "Fine, fine. I'll tell you," he paused again, took a deep breath, and continued after a second, "Well, ...uh... you see, ... Jeremiah and Theresa are not my only children. There's another one, a girl."
"You have another daughter!" Rachel exclaimed, surprised but somewhat relieved. This was not as bad as she had thought. His weird attitude had made her imagine the worst scenarios possible and curiosity took hold of her whole soul. "But… but why didn't you tell me? Why isn't she with us? And… and what's her name? How old is she? Where is she? How...?"
"Hey, hey, Rachel! Please hold your horses. I can't keep up with all those questions of yours!" Boggs interrupted her harangue.
Rachel smiled at him sheepishly and after glancing at the boys and Teaspoon she whispered, "Tell us about her, John."
"Well, there isn't much to tell," he said morosely. He was cursing himself for this situation because he actually hoped he did not have to hear from her again, or tell his wife. "Let's see," he continued after a pause," She's my eldest child, she's ...uh... seventeen years-old and her name's Louise."
"Louise," Teaspoon said absent-mindedly. "A beautiful name. Once I met a...".
"Teaspoon!" Rachel and the riders chorused. This was not the time for one of the stationmaster's stories.
"Oops, sorry!" he mumbled sheepishly. "I was just making an observation."
"Never mind. There's not much more, at least, nothing nice. Her name is one the few good things I can say about her," Boggs said. He was furious about all this. He had thought that he would never have to pronounce her name again, and now he had to talk about her and probably had to stand her presence once again.
"John!" Rachel exclaimed aghast. She had never heard her husband to sound so bitter, he was always kind to everybody and never had a bad opinion about anyone. Sometimes she had thought that he was too mild with people. But this attitude was really shocking and new to her. He was speaking about his own daughter with such venom in his voice that it completely shocked her and the men sitting around them. "How can you talk like that? Why on earth are you so angry?"
"Rachel, you don't know her, so don't go judging me and don't tell me how I should feel," Boggs snorted irritated.
"What does your daughter have to do with that letter from the army, Mr. Boggs?" Kid asked hesitantly.
Rachel had completely forgotten about the letter and now she was really curious about the whole thing. Seemingly, John's new daughter was trouble and she hoped that it would not mean problems for John, for the children, for her family. If the army was involved, it meant that it was something serious. Stop it, Rachel! she thought. Don't begin imagining things that you don't know anything about. Patience. "Is she in some kind of trouble?" she finally managed to ask.
"Well," Boggs started. "This is the difficult part. Please don't interrupt me. It's hard as it is. Well, ..."