Chapter Seven

Buck opened the barn door and walked over to Speedy's stall there was no sign of Cricket. He looked up in the hay loft and didn't see her there either. Buck thought maybe Cricket was in the bunkhouse. He walked up to it and opened the door.

"What do you think, Buck?" Cody said as he polished a brand new shiny black saddle. "Do you think Cricket will like it? Jimmy, Noah, Kid and me all pitched in for it."

Buck smiled. The saddle would look very nice on Speedy. "Yeah, I think she will," he said. "Have you seen Cricket around today? I thought sure she would stop by after school."

"Haven't seen her," Cody answered. "Did you check the house?"

"No, not yet," Buck said heading for the door.

"Well, I hope she ain't there," Cody said, "Lou and Rachel are working on a riding skirts up there. I don't understand why. Cricket wears pants already."

Buck let out a small laugh and shrugged. "I don't know. I guess they think Cricket will like them."

"Well, they are womenfolk," Cody rationalized, "Lou wears pants too, and so maybe they know something we don't."

Buck walked up to the house and knocked.

"Buck, what do you need?" Rachel asked.

"I was looking to see if Cricket was here," he said, "She wasn't in the barn and I thought she would stop by after school."

"I thought I saw her go into the barn after school," Rachel said searching her memory. "You know she was acting really quiet after lunch today."

Buck remembered his timing for the day and wondered if Cricket had seen him leave with Ava or if she had heard them outside the barn when they returned.

"I'm going to look for her down by the fishing hole," Buck said as he turned to go.

"Maybe she went home," Rachel called after him.

Buck looked at all of her haunts and decided she must have gone home. He couldn't help feeling nervous about her absence. He had a bad feeling.


It wasn't long after Cricket fled the station that she heard a horse trotting along behind her. She turned half hoping, half dreading that the rider was Buck. She turned and couldn't hide her surprise.

"What do you want?" Cricket asked as Frank James slowed his horse to a stop next to her.

"You shouldn't be walking alone out here," Frank scolded. "It isn't safe for little girls."

"I'm not a little girl," Cricket growled.

"Then come with me," Frank said offering his hand to pull her up behind him.

"I shouldn't," Cricket said trying not to sound timid.

"I thought you weren't a little girl," Frank taunted. "You sound just like one to me."

Frank retracted his offered hand.

Cricket put her hands on her hips in protest and opened her mouth to say something, but Frank cut her off.

"Come on, then," Frank said putting his hand down again.

Cricket took his hand and soon Cricket was riding off with Frank.

"Where are we going?" Cricket asked.

"Why, you got someplace else you gotta be?" Frank asked back. "You have to run off to your mama?"

"No," Cricket answered feeling stung. She cursed her impetuousness. She should have just found Violet or Lou to talk to. Instead she was heading off to God knows where with Jesse's estranged older brother. She was just trying to prove she was old enough to make her own decisions.

After about a half an hour, Frank stopped his horse and lowered Cricket to the ground. Cricket looked around. There was an old cabin in between some trees. It was almost hidden. Cricket had missed seeing it until they were almost right next to it. Frank jumped down from his horse and tied it to a post. He grabbed Cricket's hand and led her inside.

Frank had dark eyes like Buck, but that is where the similarities ended. Where Buck had a kind expression, Frank had something much harder almost cruel in his eyes. It made Cricket uncomfortable the way he looked at her. As Frank walked toward her, Cricket moved away from him until her back was against the wall. Cricket swallowed hard as Frank trapped her. She couldn't run away and she was starting to panic.

"I want to go home now," Cricket said trying to sound confident but failing.

"So you are just a little girl then?" Frank asked.

"No, I'm just old enough to know where I don't want to be and that's here."

"It's too late for that now," Frank said with an ominous laugh.

Frank pressed his body up against Cricket's and made it nearly impossible for her to move. When Frank started to kiss her, Cricket struggled against him. This isn't what she wanted from anyone. The way Frank held her and kissed her frightened her. She couldn't move.

"Stop," Cricket demanded. "Let me go!"

"Why should I?" Frank asked. "You want to be all grown up? Well this is what grownups do."

"I don't even like you, Frank," Cricket protested, "Why would I want to kiss you?"

"You want someone to kiss you," Frank teased. "I'm not Buck, but I'm here kissing you and he's not."

"Let me go!" Cricket yelled trying to hide the shock that she felt. How did Frank know of her feelings for Buck? Jesse must have told him.

"Oh, did you think your feelings for that half-breed were a secret?" Frank asked laughing. He leaned in and kissed her again.

The kisses were hard and punishing. Frank's hands were moving all over her body and Cricket didn't like it. It wasn't anything like the loving caresses shared between Helena and Tristan from her mother's romance books. Cricket tried to keep her wits about her. She needed to escape somehow. She did the only thing she could at this point and bit down as hard as she could on Frank's lip.

Frank yelled out in pain releasing Cricket for a moment. Cricket was too stunned to move. Frank took advantage of her shock as he hit her hard across the face with the back of his hand. He grabbed Cricket around the neck with one hand and pushed her up against the wall. All Cricket could do was to struggle. Her eyes were wide and she held back the whimper she wanted to let out. She needed to stay strong. It was the only way to get out this situation. Cricket's hands went instinctively to Frank's arm. She tried furiously to get him to let her go. It was a mistake she would never make again. Frank now had a hold of her wrists in his other hand.

Cricket looked into Frank's eyes and knew she wasn't the first girl Frank had hurt this way. She felt Frank start to raise her arms over her head. He released her neck and for that she was relieved. All she needed to do now was to keep him from pinning her down. Cricket panicked when she heard and felt the front of her shirt rip. She couldn't let him touch her. She just couldn't. Cricket had never fought so hard to free herself. She felt the hot tears sting her face at the same time she felt Frank touch the bare skin of her chest.

"Well what do we have here?" Frank said with an amused tone. "You're a lot curvier than you look."

"Please, stop!" Cricket yelled.

"Buck doesn't know what he's missing," Frank said licking his lips.

Cricket's tears turned to a constant stream as Frank touched her naked breasts. "No, don't," she pleaded.

Cricket started screaming when she felt Frank's hand tug at the waistband of her trousers. She felt the buttons give way and didn't want to even think about what was about to happen anymore. She just knew she had to keep struggling.

"It would be such a waste if a dirty Indian was the first to get a taste of you," Frank

Frank started to laugh and Cricket was finally able to break free one of her legs. She thrust her knee into his groin and broke Frank's hold on her. Cricket wasted no time breaking for the door.

Frank yelled a slew of colorful terms so profane it would make a sailor blush. It wasn't something she could completely understand and she didn't want to stop and figure it out.

Cricket's tears blinded her as she ran. The evening was getting later and later and it was near twilight when she got back to the edge of town. The nightlife of Rock Creek was just starting. The melodies of the saloon piano wafted out across the town as well as the noise of talking and laughter. Cricket didn't want to be around people. She looked down at her shirt. It was badly torn and the buttons were missing. Her hands were barely holding her shirt closed and her pants up. She was indecent and wouldn't be able to get through town without someone seeing her. The thought of being seen by a man scared her, especially if the man had come from the saloon. Cricket just wanted to hide and cuddle up next to something soft and safe. She turned to go to the Pony Express barn. Speedy was there. Cricket could feel safe cuddling up with Speedy.

Speedy walked up to greet Cricket when she walked up to her stall. Cricket hugged the horse and let herself cry into Speedy's mane. She let out all the shame, fear, loathing, and hate she was feeling. Cricket felt so stupid. Why did she go off with Frank of all people? Cricket climbed over the rails of the stall and sat in a corner and curled herself up into a ball. Everyone was right; she was just a little girl. She wasn't ready to deal with being a woman. Frank proved it.


A/N I am so sorry if this traumatized any of you. I just want to break every bone in Frank's body about now.