A difficult man
Chapter 9
The next day, as promised to Kathleen, Buck took her to buy an engagement ring, then they went to the Reverend to set up the ceremony: they were going to get married in two Saturdays. Buck seemed to be undergoing the situation, but he dared not say anything against Kathleen's plans, it had to be that way now. Buck then went to the office and told Kid and Teaspoon that he was waiting for them that night for dinner at his house with Rachel and Jimmy to celebrate an important event.
"What are you doing son?" Teaspoon asked him.
"Tonight you will know. You warn Jimmy? Thank you "and went to carry out his duties.
Kid looked at Teaspoon and said: "I hope that's not what I think."
"I hope so too boy ..."
Jane, after the blow she had received the day before and after Buck hadn't told her anything about him and Kathleen, was convinced that she didn't count for anything to him and that she was wrong about him. She just had to forget him, but she didn't know how to do it, she loved him too much. She tried to think about it as little as possible and avoided entering the room where she had hosted him.
Kathleen had been to Buck's house in the afternoon to arrange dinner. When he got home he found everything perfectly prepared. Kathleen was really doing it big.
As soon as Buck had washed and settled down, they all arrived.
Kathleen welcomed them and when they were all in the living room, she said: "Well, the whole family is there now. Buck, the honor of breaking the news to you "
"But don't we have to wait for Jane?" Rachel noted.
"Well, she's not part of the family, so she wasn't invited", Kathleen replied angrily.
"But Buck, I thought you considered her one of the family after what she did for you, at least for all of us she is", Lou said.
"We'll go to her tomorrow Lou, tonight is okay" , Buck replied.
"So this news?", Jimmy tried to change the subject, seeing that things were taking a bad turn.
"Oh yes, we have gathered you all here to announce that between two Saturdays we will get married"
"What?" Lou and Rachel exclaimed together.
The men were left speechless.
Kathleen intervened: "Yes, we discovered that we still love each other and we want to make up for lost time"
"Lost because of you if I remember correctly", Lou said.
"Lou, please moderate your tone", Buck asked.
"Oh sorry if I offended your girlfriend Buck, but I only told the truth"
"Things have changed and I am happy as well. If you consider me as a brother you should be happy for me "
"Just because you are like a brother I don't want to see you suffer"
"I won't suffer this time, Kathleen has changed. We will be happy "
"I really hope so. Congratulations ", Lou said through gritted teeth.
The others also congratulated the two engaged couples and then they all sat down to table and talked about the future wedding and the preparations. Buck was very quiet and this did not escape his friends.
After dinner, while the women were in the kitchen, the men approached Buck and Teaspoon asked him: "Buck, are you sure what you're doing? Lou was not wrong before "
"Yes Teaspoon, I'm sure. That's okay. She has changed and she loves me "
"What about you?" Asked Jimmy.
"I wouldn't marry her otherwise".
"You didn't answer anyway", Teaspoon noted.
Buck said nothing.
The next day, late in the morning, while she was out watering the flowers in the garden, Jane saw an elegant gig arriving. As it got closer, she recognized Kathleen and Buck in that wagon and felt sick.
The two got out and approached her.
"Good morning Jane", Buck greeted her, followed by Kathleen.
"Good morning. What do I owe this visit to? Are you okay, Buck? "Jane worried.
"Yes, yes, I'm fine, don't worry"
Kathleen spoke up: "We have come to bring you an invitation"
"Oh really? Would you like to enter the house for a moment? "
"Oh no, thanks, that's not necessary. It will only take a moment. Buck, do you tell her? "
"Well yeah, here's Jane, we came to invite you to our wedding between two Saturdays. We would be happy if you came "
Jane was given a slap in the face. She had to work hard not to prove what she really felt.
She was overwhelmed by Kathleen who added: "Buck and I have reunited and we don't want to waste any more time. You absolutely have to be there, after all it is thanks to you that Buck is alive and you cannot miss it ".
Buck noticed the pain in Jane's eyes and he felt dying, at that moment he realized that she loved him, that he was really the man she had feelings for and that he had deeply disappointed her. He did not know what to do: at this point he could not break the engagement with Kathleen but he understood that if only he had the courage to trust his feelings, things would have been different. It probably wasn't meant to be. He hoped she would soon forget him.
Jane, appealing to all her strength, said: "Congratulations then. I will be happy to attend your wedding. You'll finally be happy Buck, you deserve it. Don't you really want to come in for a moment? "
"Oh no, thank you dear, we have so many things to organize. See you soon and thank you again for saving Buck and bringing him back to me "
"Kathleen!", Buck exclaimed.
"That there is, my love, I'm just telling the truth"
"I am happy to have contributed to your joy, good luck then"
"Hi Jane", Buck said and looked into her eyes but she looked away. If she had supported him, she would have burst into tears and could not afford it.
When the gig was gone, tears streamed incessantly down Jane's cheeks and she almost felt dying, she was out of breath and could not stand up. She realized she needed help. She mounted her horse and went to Rachel's.
She knocked on the door and when the woman opened it, she threw herself into her arms.
"Oh honey, you found out, right? I'm so sorry, come here "and she hugged her.
Jane took refuge in Rachel's arms and broke down in tears. She couldn't stop and the woman let her vent.
When she had calmed down a bit, Jane told her: "Thanks Rachel, you're a friend. I couldn't stay in that house, I was out of breath "
"Honey, would you like to spend a few days here with me? Teaspoon and I have an extra room and we would be happy to host you "
"Thanks Rachel, I gladly accept. I need to stay away from memories for a few days "
"Very good. If that's okay with you, I'll go to your house to get you some things for your stay here, so you don't have to go "
Jane nodded and thanked Rachel again.
Lou came by in the afternoon and tried to console Jane as well as she could, but it was totally useless. Jane begged the two women not to tell Buck about why she was with Rachel if he found out, they would have to come up with an excuse.
"Don't worry about this Jane", Lou said, "you'll see it's going to be okay" and she hugged her.
Rachel in the following days did everything to distract the girl, involving her in many activities and chores. Jane was immensely grateful to her.
Within a week of the wedding, Kathleen told Buck that she would go to the doctor for a check-up to make sure she was okay and could have healthy children because she wanted a family with him. Buck said to her: "I can accompany you if you want."
"Oh no, honey, don't bother, I'll just do a routine check, thanks."
Kathleen went to Dr. Pearson who after the visit told her: "Miss Devlin, I think you know you are three months pregnant"
"Sure doctor, but I wish we didn't know for now. At least until after the wedding, please "
"Miss Devlin, does Buck know it?"
"Certainly doctor and even if the child is not his, he will love him as if he were the blood of his own blood. You also know his big heart "
"Well then, congratulations on the birth of the baby and on your wedding"
"Thank you doctor and please, discretion ..."
"Do not worry. Have a nice day miss "
Kathleen went to Buck's house and cooked a romantic dinner. When he returned, he was pleased with Kathleen's surprise and began to think that maybe this should have been the case and that he had done the right thing. He was trying to erase from his mind the pain he had read in Jane's eyes.
"Why this surprise Kathleen?" He asked.
"Because do we have to celebrate"
"Did I miss something?"
She approached him provocatively and whispered in his ear: "Sit down and you'll know".
Buck sat down at the table, she positioned herself on his lap and said: "You know I went to the doctor today, right?"
"Yes, of course, how did it go? Everything good?"
"I'd say just fine! The doctor said I'm three weeks pregnant. We will have a baby darling! "
Buck gasped. He did not even expect this novelty. His head began to spin, everything was happening so fast and he felt overwhelmed by the events.
"Well. Do not say anything? Aren't you happy to be a dad? "
"Oh yes, sorry, I just didn't expect it, you caught me off guard"
"Well, you know, we haven't been acting quite like brother and sister lately…." She whispered mischievously.
"Yes, that's it, it's just that I hadn't put it into account"
"Aren't you happy to have a child with me?"
"Of course, that's wonderful news!"
She kissed him greedily and after dinner they made love. Buck's head, however, was somewhere else: how was he going to give this new pain to Jane?
A couple of days later, as Buck and Kathleen were leaving a shop where she had wanted to buy something for the baby even though Buck thought it was still early, they met Jane.
Buck hadn't told anyone about the news yet and had asked Kathleen to wait at least after the wedding to keep up appearances. Kathleen had agreed. Actually Buck had been tempting to find a way to break the news as painlessly as possible, even though he knew it wasn't going to be easy.
Kathleen did not miss the chance to stop and torment Jane.
"Hi Jane, how nice to see you"
"Kathleen, Buck" and she nodded to them.
"We heard you moved in with Rachel", Kathleen added.
"Oh yeah, just for a few days. I had a problem with water leaks but Jimmy and Kid are helping me fix the problem. I'll be back home soon "
"Oh well, I'm glad" Kathleen replied.
She knew Buck meant nothing about the baby, but she wanted Jane to know, so she pretended to inadvertently drop the shoe bag she had bought in the store. They fell to the ground and she exclaimed: "Oh no! It had to be a secret! I'm sorry Buck! "
Jane's eyes rested on the fallen shoes and she understood everything in an instant. Her breathing stopped and so did Buck's as he tried to resolve the situation as best he could.
"We didn't want anyone to know until after the wedding, Kathleen is only three weeks pregnant. "
He looked into her eyes and saw her heart break.
"This is wonderful news Buck. You will finally have the family you've always wanted. I am very happy for you. Don't worry, I'll keep your secret. Congratulations Kathleen "
"Thank you dear, you will see that soon you too will find the right man for you and you will build a beautiful family like ours"
"Kathleen!" Buck called back.
"I'm really sorry things went like this, we wanted to have a nice party to announce it but we can still do it after the wedding, right honey?" and she turned to Buck as if to apologize for upsetting the plans.
"Yes Kathleen, sure. Jane has already told you she won't say anything ", he replied almost crossly.
Kathleen realized she had exaggerated and fell silent.
It was Jane who broke the silence: "Excuse me now, I promised Rachel to do the laundry while she's out and I really have to go. Congratulations again. See you on Saturday at the wedding. Good afternoon"
"Hi", Buck said, as Kathleen waved her hand.
Buck was furious and saddened, but he didn't want his future wife to understand that he was bothered by her behavior, so he ignored it and went back to his office after saying goodbye.
Jane walked into Rachel's house, closed the door, leaned against it, and put her hands on her chest. She felt an unbearable pain. All of a sudden she felt short of breath, saw everything black and passed out.
Rachel found her, slumped in front of the door.
"Oh my God, Jane, Jane, answer me!"
Rachel immediately felt the girl's heartbeat and was reassured when she heard it but this did not diminish her concern. She went into the kitchen where she kept some salts and made Jane inhale them, who slowly regained consciousness.
"Where am I, what happened?", she asked as soon as she opened his eyes.
"I found you passed out in front of the door, what happened honey?"
Suddenly Jane remembered everything and burst into sobs.
"Jane, talk, what's going on? You scare me"
"Oh Rachel, they're expecting a baby" and she began to lose her breath again.
Fortunately, at that moment entered Teaspoon who wanted some peace of mind as Buck had resumed his work at full speed and so he had decided to go home to take a nap.
When Rachel saw him she yelled at him: "Teaspoon, run for Dr. Pearson, Jane is sick"
Teaspoon without asking questions, feeling Rachel's anguish, rushed to the doctor, while the woman tried to reassure her friend by making her take long breaths.
When the doctor arrived, he examined Jane and said that she had had a panic attack due to a severe shock and that she needed absolute rest.
"Thanks doctor, but in a couple of days I'll be back at my house. I need to take back my life "
"No Jane, youe have to rest and you have to be quiet, I'll give you some medicine and you'll have to rest here with Rachel"
"Don't worry doctor, I'll keep an eye on her. Thanks"
"Doctor, Rachel, I know what my cure is. I have to get out of here. I have to leave and start over again. My evil is here and as long as I stay I will not be able to live "
"Go ahead if it will make you feel better, but first you must rest, please"
"Okay, doctor, thank you"
When Pearson was gone, Jane turned to Rachel: "Tomorrow I will go back to my house and organize my departure, I will go to California where I will try to be a teacher or something. I can't stay here anymore. I will leave soon after the wedding. Rachel, swear to me you won't tell Buck about what happened "
"Jane, I have to talk to him, he must know he's doing the wrong thing, it's time for someone to make him think"
"No Rachel, please. If you are my friend don't do it, let me go. Now there is an innocent child involved who does not have to pay for the sins of others. We're going to the wedding and I'm leaving on Monday. Thank you for welcoming me into your heart and home, I will miss you very much, I will miss you all, but I can no longer stay here "
Rachel hugged her crying and nodded. Teaspoon had witnessed the scene. He walked in and said: "Damn Jane, it doesn't have to end like this, Buck made a mess"
"It's not his fault Teaspoon, it had to go like this" and she hugged him like a father, as if to let him know how important he was to her and that she would never forget him.
She had to leave everything again and start over, once again.