When we awoke the next morning, we didn't say a word about what we had done. We just quietly got dressed and headed back to town. Neville was going to be released today. I knew he would not leave Rock Creek alive, but I also knew that this was something that Buck shouldn't do alone. So as he stood in the middle of the road, waiting for Teaspoon to let the man that had killed Ike go, I stood with him.
I watched as our friends joined us. Kid and Jimmy came up on the left. Cody and Noah on the right. So when Neville walked out of the jail there was nowhere for him to go. "As much as I would love to put you boys in your place, I'm afraid I'm not up to a fight today as you can see." Neville said as he opened his jacket to show he wasn't armed. It didn't matter to us. Nobody said a word, but we all cocked our guns.
Looking at Buck the evil man said, "You don't have the guts boy, to shoot a man in cold blood. You're nothing but a dirty half breed who can't even avenge his dummy friend." Neville's cruel smiled died on his lips as Buck's shot rang through the air, followed by six others. When the last shot was fired Neville dropped to the ground so full of holes that if the wind blew he would whistle as Teaspoon would say.
We all looked up from where he fell to see Teaspoon in the door of the jail holstering his pistol. He was the seventh shooter. And though we had been in the middle of town and people were all around, nobody came forward as a witness. Everybody claimed that they had not seen a thing.
That night we had Ike's funeral. Buck performed a Kiowa burial ceremony for Ike, which means we burned his body. Before Buck lite the fire he removed Ike's bandana and tied it around his head. Tears poured from his eyes as we all watched the fire burn Ike's lifeless body. I wanted to go comfort him but Kid's arm around my shoulder kept me anchored in place.
It had been three weeks since Ike was killed and Buck was still grieving horribly for him. He barely slept, hardly ate, and he had not said more than three words to anyone, me included. I wished there was something I could do for him but when he came back from his latest run he seemed better. He told us that he had saved a woman's life and delivered her baby. A son she gave the middle name of Ike, I knew that is what helped Buck.
After that Buck started acting like his old self, but we still had never talked about what had happened between us. So when Buck had to go on a run that would mean an overnight stay, I volunteered to go with him. The guys were thankful, we all hated overnighters. So when asked why I wanted to go, I told them I had some business I needed to take care of. The guys thought nothing else about it, but I caught the questioning look on Buck's face. I just smiled at him as I got my gear together; I slipped one of my dresses into my bags.
We arrived at our destination in late afternoon, dismounting my horse I stretched, "Man I could kill for a hot bath right about now." Buck grinned at me, "I think we can arrange that, though I don't believe killing anybody will be required." I smacked Buck lightly on the arm, grinning at him as we entered the hotel.
"We would like two rooms please." Buck said to the little man behind the counter. "Sorry but I can't rent a room to you." The clerk said looking at Buck. I could see Buck tense up, "What's the problem?" I asked stepping forward. "Look kid, I don't have anything against your friend, but I can't rent him a room, the owners don't allow it. If he wants to stay, you'll have to share and put the room in your name." The clerk told me looking nervously at Buck like he was afraid Buck might scalp him for refusing to rent him a room.
"Fine." I said as I signed my name to the register. "Come on Buck." I said pulling on his arm a little after the clerk handed me a key. Buck turned to follow me but stopped and said to the clerk, "would you please send up a bath for my friend and plenty of towels." The clerk nodded clearly relieved that Buck wasn't intending to harm him.
When we arrived in our room I looked around, it wasn't very big; the bed would barely be big enough for the two of us. "I'll sleep on the floor Lou." Buck said as he took in the room. "Don't be silly Buck that bed is big enough for both of us, and it's not like we haven't shared a bed before." I said looking at him. I could have sworn I saw a slight blush on his face. I was about to broach the topic that we had avoided for weeks when I was interrupted by a knock on the door. It was the maid bringing my bath.
After the bath was filled Buck moved to leave, "I'll just leave you to bathe. I'll just go um…" Buck said clearly not knowing what he was doing. I laugh, "Buck, it's not like you haven't seen me naked. Besides you need a bath as much as I do. That tub is big enough for us both." After I said this I winked at him before I started stripping.
Buck actually laughed, a sound that had been absent for too long as he started undressing as well. I was naked by this time and stepped into the tub. I sat and leaned forward, "Are you coming or not?" Buck grinned back at me before he removed the last of his clothes and stepped in behind me. When he was seated I leaned back against his lean muscular chest, his arms going around me.
We sat like that for a while, just soaking in the hot water before I spoke. "Buck I need to say something to you. We need to talk about what happened between us the night Ike was killed. I know it may not have meant anything to you and that's fine if that's the case. I don't want that to ruin our friendship, but I've come to realize these past few weeks, that yes at the time I didn't really think much about what we were doing; I just needed it, but now I know that's not the truth. You've been so distant these past weeks, and I've missed you terribly."
I could feel Buck sigh against my back, "I've been right here Lou." He said to me. "I know you were there, but you weren't. You wouldn't speak to me and I needed you too. Buck what I'm trying to say is that I think I'm in love with you." Buck's hands that had been moving over my body suddenly stopped, "You think? You don't know for sure?" he asked me. I knew I had to tell him the truth, "No. I know for sure. I love you Buck, but if you don't feel the same its fine." That was the truth, but if he didn't feel the same about me my heart was going to be broken.
Buck turned me so I was sitting facing him, looking me in the eyes he said, "Lou I'm sorry I've been so distant. It had nothing to do with you or what happened. I was having a hard time dealing with the loss of Ike. And I didn't ever say anything about what we shared that night because I didn't know if it meant to you what it did to me. Lou, I've been in love with you since I've known you were a girl. Even before than I would catch myself looking at you like you were one. I never said anything because of Kid. I don't regret what we did, the only thing I regret is the fact it took Ike's death to bring us together."
As I looked into his eyes, I knew he was telling me the truth, so I did what I had wanted to do for weeks; I leaned forward and kissed him. But as much as I wanted to continue things my stomach had other plans as it let out a loud rumble. Buck laughed out right. "Guess we better hurry up and finish bathing so we can get you some food." I laughed and turned my back to him so he could wash it. He also helped me wash the dust from my hair. After my hair was cleaned I got out of the tub and wrapped a towel around me. I washed Buck's back for him and helped him with his hair as well.
Once dried I put on my dress and got Buck to do up the back. He placed a kiss on my bare back before he did up the buttons. "You look beautiful Lou." He said when I turned around. I smiled at him and teased, "You don't look half bad yourself." Buck gave me that crooked grin I loved so much. After eating a wonderful dinner we caught a small traveling play. Once we returned to our hotel room we couldn't undress fast enough. Unlike the first time we had made love, there was no question to the reason why we were doing this. We loved each other, that knowledge made it even better than the first time.