Chapter 6 – Buck's POV
It's been well over a month since I left Lou in search of my brother Red Bear and our tribe. I'm just about ready to give up and go home to my wife and family. I miss her soft warm body next to mine at night. I miss those little heathens we call our children. Hell I even miss my 'brothers' and other extended family. I just want to go home. I just don't understand how Kid can claim he loved Lou so much and then abandon her for ten years. I'm about to go mad from just a month without her. But just as I have decided to turn around and go home my luck turns.
I spot signs that there is a tribe nearby. I don't know if its my village or if it's even a Kiowa village, so I use extreme caution as I approach. Before getting too close to the village I dismount from my horse so I can remove my shirt and jacket. I put my black vest back on and remount. I clutch my medicine bag and whisper a quick prayer to the spirits that I will find Red Bear at this village.
When I am close enough to the village I am relieved to see it's in fact a Kiowa village. Even if it's not Red Bear's tribe they should be able to point me in the right direction. I was not twenty feet into the village when a familiar figure stepped out in front of my horse. At last I had found my brother. "Brother" I cried dismounting and embracing Red Bear. "Running Buck it seems that the white man's world has agreed with you; you're not so scrawny anymore." Red Bear said teasing me. It's true though, in the years since I had seen Red Bear last I had filled out more. I was a true warrior now, strong, lean, and well-muscled, my heart was true Kiowa.
My brother leads me to his tepee were we could talk without others listening. He knows I have come for a reason. After we were seated inside his wife brought in food. I hadn't realized how hungry I was until I smelt it. Red Bear laughed as I dug in. "You need to find yourself a woman brother to cook for you." I grin at him; it had been so long since we have spoken he knew nothing of Lou and the children. "That's why I'm here brother. I've found a woman; we've been married eight years and have four children, another due in four moons.' Red Bear's smile got huge as he slapped me on the back, "It seems you are blessed by the spirits Running Buck." My smile slowly slipped from my face. "That's my reason for coming brother, to be blessed by the Great Spirit. There has been a complication to our union."
Red Bear looked at me in confusion, "What do you mean little brother?" "Do you remember me telling you about my brothers in the Pony Express? Well Lou, my wife, was one of those. She hid the fact she was a female to get a job. For the longest time only us riders knew she was a woman. Well she fell in love and married another one of the riders, Kid. And after they married they moved back to Kid's home in Virginia so he could fight in the war for the south. That was ten years ago. Two years later she returned to Rock Creek with news that Kid had been killed. I had loved her for years, so when she returned it wasn't long before we married. She had always loved me as well. Well one moon ago, Kid returned to Rock Creek, he was never killed in the war. So he claims his marriage to Lou still stands in the eyes of the white man's law. Lou says she doesn't care what the law says. I'm her husband. But I want our union to be right in the sight of the Great Spirit. That's why I've come to you Red Bear; we want to be united in the Kiowa way."
Red Bear was silent for a while as he considered my story. "If I do this that you ask, your woman would still be considered the other's wife in the white world. She will not be accepted. Are you sure this is what she wants?" Red Bear asked looking at me seriously. "Yes. We both are used to not being accepted by others. Our family accepts us and that is all that matters to us." Red Bear nodded his head at my words, "It cannot be a completely traditional ceremony. That would require the whole village to participate. I will come with you and perform a smaller ceremony. We will leave at first light." "Thank you my brother." I say as I grasp his arm.
We left just as the sun was starting to rise the next morning. I knew it wouldn't take a whole month to get home but it would still be a couple of weeks since we would have to avoid a lot of the towns, just as a precaution. In two weeks I should be back home in Lou's waiting arms. That thought alone brings a smile to my face.
A/N: I know a short chapter but since Buck is the only main character in this one, I didn't have to put what was going on in other peoples heads.