Chapter 25

Buck had been in the infirmary for over a week. He was bored and ready to move on. It was plain that the army did not like him being there. In fact the only one that was even polite to him was the doctor. The rest treated him like garbage. Lou of course let them have it whenever they were rude to Buck, but it didn't stop the comments and sneers. It just made them attack her more, calling her all sorts of names. Buck was going crazy not being able to protect Lou from the hurtful words. He was grateful that Sam and Emma were still there, that they had decided to head west with Buck and Lou as soon as Buck was well enough.

Buck was sitting up on the cot in the infirmary, sharpening his knife when Lou walked in. She had tied her hair back into a low pony tail with a piece of leather. Buck smiled as he took in her outfit, she was wearing a buckskin dress that came to her calves, and the bead work on it was exceptional. It was beautiful on her. He couldn't help but picture her walking to him in that dress with flowers in her flowing hair he could see them exchanging vows the way he had always dreamt of, meaning every single word.

"Where did ya get that?" Buck asked after Lou kissed his cheek.

Lou grinned, "You like it?"

"I really do, you look beautiful … but I'm not sure you should be wearing it around here. The army might not take too kindly to it," Buck stated a little worried.

"I can look after myself Buck, plus Sam hasn't let me or Emma and their children out of his sight, unless we are in here with you," Lou explained.

"I know … I just worry. I don't want to lose you," Buck whispered grabbing Lou's hand.

"I'm not going anywhere Buck," Lou replied kissing his hand.

Buck smiled and stroked her cheek, "I wish we could get out of here … I want to love my wife."

Lou blushed and looked down coyly before looking back up at him through her lashes, "I want that too… but you still need to regain your strength. We will be together again soon enough."

"I know … doesn't stop me from wanting you though. You're so beautiful and I love you so much," Buck whispered, leaning forward to brush his lips across hers.

"I love you too," Lou replied when they broke apart.

"Now where did you get that dress?" Buck asked leaning back against the wall.

"I traded for it. There was a group of Indians that came to trade at the fort yesterday. One of the women had this dress for trade. I traded her, a pot and sack of flour for it… I did give her enough didn't I?" Lou asked suddenly worried she might have been too cheap with the woman.

"You did, she probably would have just taken the flour but I'm glad you gave her a pot too … that's a wedding garment. You see all the beadwork on it… everyday garments don't have that much detail. This dress would have been worn for a wedding or other special ceremony. It's not something that would normally be traded," Buck explained.

"Why do you think she traded it then?" Lou asked fingering the delicate beadwork.

"I don't know … it could be that there was no longer a need for it," Buck said sadly.

"I should have given her more," Lou whispered, thinking about the young woman who had traded with her, she remembered the sadness in her eyes, she knew that sadness personally.

"You would have offended her if you offered any more… she would have thought you were offering charity," Buck explained.

Lou sat quietly for a few minutes. "Buck, have I told you that I have wanted to tell you that I loved you since Rock Creek?"

"No … why didn't you?" Buck asked.

"I was going too; I had gone to bed with my mind made up that I would tell you that I wanted a real marriage. But I had a dream… I dreamt of my wedding to Kid, and then how everything had gone to hell. I dreamed of holding his bloody body only when I pulled away it was you dying in my arms. I got scared. And then after you kissed me that night Weston tried to attack me, I had another dream. I dream of being with you like a real wife…" Lou stopped and looked at Buck.

"And?" Buck asked.

"The dream changed, you were lying bloody on the ground, dying. Then Weston tore me away from your body. Buck that dream almost came true… I almost lost you. I kept pushing you away because I knew I'd never survive losing you," Lou spoke softly tears streaming down her face.

"I know, honey. I could see you holding back from me. I was sure you had some kind of feelings, but something was keeping that wall up between us. I didn't know what it was. I thought I would never break down your walls, I told Rachel as much. She told me that I had to be patient; that you were scared of being hurt again. She understood because she had gone through the same thing with Henry. She had been scared to let him in," Buck said quietly brushing the tears away with his thumbs.

Lou gave a little laugh, "Rachel is pretty smart."

"Well I'm glad you think so Louise," Rachel said from the doorway of the infirmary.

"Rachel!" Lou and Buck exclaimed at the same time.

"What in the world are you doing here?" Lou asked as she rushed over to hug the woman.

"I'm glad to see you too Lou," Rachel giggled. "As far as what I'm doing here, I'm checking on Buck."

"How'd you know I was here though … and how did you get here?" Buck asked after Rachel gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"Simple, I told Mr. Spoon, when I saw him and his wife and Rachel roll into town on that wagon train," Emma stated walking in.

"What?" Lou asked grinning.

"See we realized about a day after ya'll left that we didn't want to lose ya'll again. So we made the arrangements, got everything ready and as soon as a wagon train came into town we joined up with them," Rachel explained.

"So Teaspoon and Polly are here too?" Buck asked.

"Yup … Sam is getting them settled. When we found out ya'll were here and what happened, we decided to stay until you're well enough to travel again."

"And then we are going to move out with ya'll," Teaspoon stated walking in.

Teaspoon hugged and kissed Lou before give Buck a one arm hug. "Boy, you sure do keep your promises," Teaspoon teased.

"Huh?" Lou asked.

"I told him to keep you safe," Teaspoon said.

"And I told him I would with my life," Buck added.

"Well I for one am glad it didn't take your life to keep me safe," Lou whispered in his ear.

"I'm sorry but I'm going have to ask ya'll to leave. I need to change my patient's dressing," The doctor spoke up coming in from his office.

"Loulabelle you go on with Teaspoon and Rachel, I'll stay with Buck," Emma stated in her don't argue with me voice.

"Yes ma'am," Lou replied before kissing Buck. "I'll be back in a little while."

"I'll be fine," Buck said quietly.

Lou walked out with Teaspoon and Rachel, Teaspoon with his arm around her shoulder. They lead her over to the rooms Sam had secured for them to use until they could move on.

Teaspoon let go of Lou as he entered the room and Rachel put her hand on Lou's shoulder to stop her from entering. Lou turned to look at Rachel.

"I'm glad you finally let him in," Rachel said smiling.

"Me too … I just wish I had done it sooner," Lou replied.

"You let him in when you were ready. So I'm assuming it's not a 'in name only' marriage anymore," Rachel teased.

Lou blushed and shook her head no. "It's unlike anything I've ever known before."

"I don't doubt it," Rachel said before walking into the room.

Lou followed after her shaking her head and grinning.

The little family spent the next week getting Buck back on his feet and his strength up. They also made plans as to what they would do once they reached Oregon.

"I was thinking we could buy some land on the Willamette River and start a vineyard. The California-Oregon train runs up and down it. We'd be able to transport the grapes off to a winery. The land is fertile and rich, it's perfect. There are vineyards popping up all over Oregon, it's going to be a big industry," Buck said quietly when nobody seemed to know what they could do to make money.

Everybody just looked at him a moment. "Buck, that'd cost a lot of money to start up." Lou whispered quietly so only Buck could hear.

"Don't you worry about money, Lou I've got that covered, twelve years of saving almost every penny I ever made adds up," Buck whispered back.

Lou's eyes got huge, "Twelve years of savings? And I thought I had saved a lot."

Teaspoon leaned back in his chair and hooked a thumb under his faded red suspenders. "Ya know … I've always wanted to have a vineyard. I reckon a place on the river and with the train nearby would be just about right."

"Be a lot of hard work, it will take a couple of years before the grapes even start producing. We are going to need help too, at least a couple of additional men," Sam stated scratching the side of his face.

"We are going to want a place near a town for supplies but far enough away from the city that we don't have to deal with all those people," Lou said quietly.

"The first thing, we are going have to do once we get to Oregon and find land is build, a couple of houses," Emma said.

"Yes, because none of us want to spend the winter in the wagons," Rachel added.

"So are we going to do this?" Buck asked.

"I think it sounds like a wonderful idea," Lou stated smiling.

"I think with all of us working together, we can make a go of it," Sam added.

"Ain't got no better idea," Teaspoon said simply.

"I'm all for it, if it means I get to stay near my young'uns,'" Emma stated with a grin.

"What Emma said," Rachel laughed out.

"Alright then, when we reach Oregon, we'll buy some land on the river and start a vineyard … after we build the houses." Buck said adding the last part quickly when Emma arched her eyebrow at him.

Two days later the small group left out of Fort Hall and continued on their way to Oregon.