Chapter 11

During the evening Mary talked a lot and also wanted to know something about all the boys.

Cody, as usual, tried to draw attention to himself, while Jimmy stiffened when she confessed that she had read the book about him.

"It's all nonsense", he said annoyed.

"Oh sorry, I didn't mean to offend you, I was just so thrilled to have met the famous little savage Hickock", she replied.

"I repeat that the one described in the book is not me, that is just garbage", Jimmy reiterated.

Buck intervened to soften the matter: "That Marcus created a false image of Jimmy, he's not that violent and bloodthirsty. He is a hothead but deep down he has a good soul ".

"Look who's talking about hotheads", Noah commented and everyone burst into a big laugh, except for Melissa.

"And you Buck, what about you? Do you have a girlfriend? "Mary asked.

Silence fell in the room.

Buck realized he had to say something and began to reply: "Well, here ..."

"Come on, don't tell me that a handsome and generous guy like you, my savior, by the way, doesn't have a girlfriend or a sweetheart at least"

"Buck is very reserved, Mary, he doesn't like to talk much about himself", Rachel intervened to try to sidetrack the conversation seeing the man in trouble and Melissa very nervous.

"Oh, sorry, I didn't mean to embarrass you, I was too impertinent, I'm sorry"

"No, do not worry. There is actually a woman who has captured my heart, but it's not that simple ", Buck said, amazing everyone. His smile had faded again.

"Oh if a woman makes someone like you suffer, she's just a fool"

"I think you don't have to make hasty judgments if you don't know the situation, right Buck?", Melissa intervened.

"Mary, really, I don't think I need to talk about this, Melissa is right, you shouldn't make hasty judgments", he specified.

"Sorry again, I have to learn to bite my tongue"

"Sorry everyone, I still have to finish correcting some homework for school, I'm going home. Good night. See you tomorrow". Melissa got up and left the bunkhouse.

Everyone said goodnight and continued chatting for a while but completely changing the subject.

Rachel, after arranging the dishes, went home where she found Melissa sitting at the living room table with an open book but staring into space.

"I'm sorry, Melissa, in a few days she will go away and this torture will end"

"If she really goes away. I don't want to be mean to her after what happened to her, and I know I have no right to interfere, but it really bothered me to be judged by her. "

"But she didn't judge you, she certainly doesn't know your situation"

"I know, but I still felt bad"

"I understand. Don't worry, you will see that it will go away for sure. Buck is not attracted to women like her, you should know by now "

"I think I don't know anything anymore, Rachel, and then Buck is free to hang out with whoever he wants, I left him"

"Buck is trying in every way to win you back, he doesn't have time to flirt with someone else"

"I don't know Rachel, it's just that I can't take it anymore. I swear to you that sometimes I would just like to throw myself into his arms and hold him tightly to me, but then his behavior in the stable comes back to me and my head wobbles "

"Come here honey" and Rachel hugged her, "It takes time."

"I don't know if I have enough"

"Everything will be fine, let's go to sleep now"

Melissa and Rachel headed to their rooms but Melissa spent a sleepless night.

In the morning, after breakfast, Buck and Mary went in the buggy to retrieve what was left of the girl's belongings.

Melissa went to school and then returned in time to help Rachel prepare lunch. That day they would have lunch a little later than usual to allow Buck and Mary to do things at their leisure.

While they were in the bunkhouse preparing, they heard the two young men who had returned and were unloading the gig. Melissa heard Buck burst into one of his wonderful laughs that once warmed her heart and which she adored. Now her heart stopped. She looked out the window and saw them laughing and joking like he hadn't done for a long time. She leaned against the table for a moment but tried to recover quickly because she didn't want Rachel to notice. The latter came out the back for a moment to get some vegetables from the garden and only Melissa was left inside. A little later Buck and Mary were entering the bunkhouse and as he opened the door she said to him: "Really Buck, give me a reason to stay and I will."

Buck opened the door and saw Melissa before him. She was silent as Mary told her: "Oh sorry, we thought there was no one there"

"Don't worry, I was just going out. Rachel and I are preparing lunch and it will be ready soon. I'll join you immediately. Excuse me "

"Melissa ..." Buck said, but she didn't look at him and didn't answer him. If she had turned to look at him she would have burst into tears and couldn't afford it, not in front of her.

She went out slowly and after a few steps she began to run but she had to stop because she felt that she was out of breath, she could not breathe. Noah, who came out of the stable, saw her lean against the fence and collapse to the ground and ran to meet her. He caught her just before she hit her head against a post.

"Damn Melissa, what's up? You can't continue like this, you'll end up getting sick "

She recovered and burst into tears. she only managed to say: "Take me into the house, please, he mustn't see me like this"

Noah held her up and carried her inside.

"What happened again?" He asked her.

Melissa through her tears could only say: "I'm losing him forever, he's falling in love with her and it's only my fault and my stupidity" and started crying again.

"Buck isn't falling in love with anyone. You don't want to tell me what happened that day in the stable and that's okay, but I know for sure that you are not to blame. As soon as Mary is gone, however, you have to make a decision, for better or for worse, so you can't go on ".

Melissa threw herself into his arms.

Rachel could be heard calling them.

"Go ahead, I'll be right, time to get back together"

"Are you sure?"

Melissa nodded.

Meanwhile, after Melissa left, Buck felt compelled to speak openly with Mary as things were getting out of hand.

"Mary, about what you told me, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, but I can't be the man for you, I don't want to delude you. You're a beautiful girl and you won't struggle to find a boyfriend in Chicago, but my heart belongs to another "

"Thank you for your sincerity, Buck. Is it Melissa right? I'm not a fool, I observed you and I realized that there is something unsolved between you two "

"Yes, I am in love with Melissa and she is in love with me, but we are facing a difficult time because of me. My goal is to win her back "

They didn't have the opportunity to continue the conversation because Rachel came back.

"Oh, you are back. But where is Melissa? "Rachel asked.

"She went home for a moment, she will be back soon. If you want, I'll go and call her "

"Melissa will arrive in a moment, you don't need to go and call her, I met her as she entered the house", Noah said entering and hearing Buck's last words.

"Oh ok", he replied.

"Can I talk to you for a moment, Buck?" Noah asked him.

"Of course. Let's go out. Rachel, let's be right back "

Rachel nodded.

The two young men went into the barn and Noah turned to Buck abruptly: "I don't know what you're up to and I don't know what happened that day in this damn barn, but I only know one thing: I'm tired of picking up Melissa's pieces. If you continue like this sooner or later you will taste either my whip or Hickock's gun, do we understand each other? "

Buck looked at him in amazement, Noah had never spoken to him like that.

"About what happened here, it's none of your business, about the rest, I'm not doing anything, I'm just trying to be nice to a girl who has lost everything, to whom I just told that my heart belongs to another"

"Glad to hear it. Buck make up your mind, but make it soon, Melissa will get sick otherwise. We often find her in tears or shortness of breath because of you. I shouldn't tell you these things and she would kill me if she knew I did, but you have to make a decision, one way or another "

Buck sighed and then said: "You're right Noah, I need to talk to her. Either we will resume our story or it will be over forever and in that case I will leave. It is clear that our coexistence here would be hell "

"Good luck friend"

"Thanks, I need it"

The two returned to the bunkhouse, where in the meantime everyone had arrived, including Melissa.

The day passed quietly and in the evening Mary announced that two days later she would take the stagecoach to Chicago.

The boys said they were sorry, but Rachel and Melissa heaved a sigh of relief. Only Buck looked a bit surprised.

The next morning, Buck took Mary into town who said she needed to buy some things for the trip and Melissa went to school regularly.

During her break, Melissa came out of school to get some fresh air and saw Buck and Mary come out of a shop selling jewelry. The two smiled pleased. Melissa felt dying: she had lost him. She tried to hold back the tears but it was very difficult. She went inside so as not to collapse.

Buck greeted Mary and entered Teaspoon's office: "Can I talk to you?"

"Sure son", replied the marshal.

Buck confided in him and stayed in his office for a long time; before he left, Teaspoon told him: "Good luck son"

"Thanks, I hope everything goes well"

Buck had just left when a little girl running around crying collided with him.

"What's going on baby?" He asked her.

The little girl looked at him and in tears said to him: "My mom! She is locked in the house and no longer responds! She told me to wait for her outside because she had to change her clothes but then I heard the sound of something breaking. I called her several times but she doesn't answer me "

Buck asked her where she lived and the little girl pointed it out.

Out of the corner of his eye he saw Melissa coming out of school, he called out to her and when she was next to him he said: "Hold the baby and calm her down, I have to go to her mother. Teaspoon come with me, I might need help ", he yelled at the marshal who had come out intrigued by the screams.

The two men rushed to the house indicated by the girl. They called the woman but, getting no answer, Buck broke down the door. They went in and searched the rooms until they found the woman on the ground, she must have tripped and in the fall she hit her head and passed out.

Buck felt that the pulse was still there, picked her up and rushed to the doctor.

Meanwhile, Melissa had picked up the child and kept repeating: "You'll see that Buck will save her, he will always find a solution to trouble" and as she said it, she felt her heart melt. Within two days Buck had saved the lives of two women, he could no longer be the violent man who had tried to take her by force. Only then did she realize it was time to turn the page and let go of the past. Too bad he was about to rebuild a life with another woman.

Teaspoon and Buck walked out of the doctor's office with a smile. Buck picked up the baby and said to her: "Your mom will be fine, she'll just have a little headache in the next few days. You're a heroine, if you hadn't rushed to ask for help, she wouldn't have made it "and kissed her on the cheek. Melissa's heart melted: that was her Buck. She smiled at him and he smiled back.

Melissa stopped in town on errands, while Buck went to the station and asked Rachel and the boys if they could have dinner that night. Teaspoon was already informed and Kid would be back from the race the next morning. He wanted to organize a special evening. Everyone agreed.

When Melissa arrived home, Rachel told her that she and the boys would not be there for dinner: she had to go to a friend of hers who had just given birth and the boys and Teaspoon had to do she did not understand what. She knew nothing of Mary.

"Cook something for her too, you never know", Rachel told her.

None of the boys were around, so Melissa couldn't get any more information.

Reluctantly, at dinner time she went to the bunkhouse to get something to eat. Mary hadn't seen herself either, so she assumed she would be alone. She didn't want to eat anything after she saw Buck and Mary walk out of that store that morning, but Rachel would notice and she didn't want to argue. She opened the cabin door and gasped. She found Buck standing in front of a beautifully laid table with candles on the table and a vase of flowers in the middle. Buck wore a blue striped shirt, was not wearing his leather jacket and had his hair pulled up in a bun at the nape of his neck. He was very nervous.

Melissa felt dying but managed to say: "Oh sorry, I think I misunderstood, I thought I was alone at dinner, I didn't know you had organized a romantic evening"

Buck smiled at her and said: "Please come in"

"But Mary could come at any moment"

"Mary won't come and neither will the others. This evening is just for us "

Melissa felt her legs give out. Buck advanced towards her. He did not dare to touch her, but told her: "Tonight I want to define our situation, in one way or another. I love you, I want your forgiveness, I want to prove that I am worthy of you, that you can trust me. I want you to be my woman, my lover, the mother of my children and above all I want you to be ... "

He knelt in front of her, put his hand in his pocket, took out a ring from the stone as green as her eyes and said taking her hand: "Above all I want you to be my wife. Do you want to marry me Melissa? "

She felt herself faint. She began to cry, but finally they were tears of joy.

She looked at Buck in his big dark worried and anxious eyes, saw all the love he felt for her and could not help but say: "Yes, I want to be your wife".

A huge smile spread across Buck's face that warmed her heart. He put the ring on her finger, she made him stand up and threw herself into his arms.

The two kissed greedily, full of desire, wanting to make up for all the time they hadn't touched. She pulled away to take a breath after their mouths and tongues had merged into a moan of pleasure.

She looked at him and started unbuttoning his shirt.

He stopped her and said: "Are you sure? I don't want to rush you or pressure you "

"I want to make love with you, I want to cancel what happened and feel yours again"

He smiled at her and carried her to his bed, like the first time.

"It will be a second first time", he told her.

She nodded.

As they undressed each other, he told her: "Stop me if you feel something is wrong or if I do something wrong. We can wait, we have plenty of time, I never want you to feel in danger with me again "

In response, she pushed him onto the bed and straddled him.

He began fiddling with her nipples as she positioned herself on his lust-hardened penis and picked up his pace. Together they reached the peak of desire and when she lay down next to him, he took her again after asking her if she was okay. They made love as they had never done before, without brakes and exploring every inch of their bodies.

Finally everything had passed, they had returned to love each other and to be one as before all that bad story, indeed, they were stronger than before, aware that love can do anything.