The next morning Cricket awoke early with a smile on her face. She dreamed a wonderful dream of Buck. He told her he didn't care what anyone thought. He wanted to court her and take her to the next dance. She had no doubt Buck was a romantic. He would bring her flowers all the time and walk her home from school. She just knew it.
Cricket got up quickly and helped her mother get breakfast ready. The quicker her parents left the quicker she could get back to reading about Tristan and Helena. Her parents were looking at her strangely and Cricket realized that she needed to tone her happiness down otherwise her parents would think her punishment wasn't working. Her parents looked at each other and then shrugged.
When her parents were finally gone, Cricket raced back to her room and reverently took Whispering Spring out from under her mattress. She opened the book to the page she had left off and removed the hair ribbon from it. She looked at the ribbon. Someday Buck would buy her some ribbon to tie up her long red hair. He once gave her a piece of rawhide to tie her hair back while she was helping him groom horses in the barn. She still had it. It had a place of honor amongst her other hair ribbons that she never wore.
Cricket started back into Tristan and Helena's story. Forbidden lovers that knew the other was the one for them. Cricket thought about Buck. Most people she knew would say that Buck was forbidden because he was part Indian. Cricket thought that only made him more interesting. He was smart too and so very handsome.
Cricket started to read some more in the book. Helena made excuses to interact with Tristan and met him in the stables near the end of the day and everyday Tristan would kiss her just once and send Helena's emotions soaring. Then one day Helena's father left for a trip and she was left alone to manage the farm.
That day Helena looked furtively at Tristan. She had more on her mind than mere kisses.
Cricket wondered what more there could be besides kissing. She read on.
Helena appeared in the open door of the stable. Tristan was just finishing up the last of the chores. She looked at him with desire burning in her eyes and he met her gaze with eyes that burned with a savage inner fire of his own. He tossed his shirt aside and started to walk to her, his every step exciting her. She could feel herself ache for him. His closeness was making her tremble with longing. He led her into a nearby stall and kissed her fiercely sending spirals of ecstasy through her. He ripped away her bodice in a move that left her gasping. She liked his forcefulness. He reclaimed her lips into a bruising kiss. She started to undo the stays on her corset. When she finished her breasts spilled out leaving her brazenly bare before him.
Cricket slammed the book closed.
"Oh my goodness!" she exclaimed. She was sure her entire body was blushing. That was a lot more than kissing. Her breathing was ragged and she wasn't sure she wanted to know what came next. She coughed a couple of times and tried to relax. The last thing she wanted was to have an asthma attack from reading a book.
Cricket looked out the window making sure no one was outside about to come in. She took a deep breath and opened the book again. Her eyes widened and her jaw dropped. Cricket didn't think she could blush any deeper. She couldn't look away though. She read on in wide-eyed fascination. She knew clinically how babies were made but what she was reading made it sound so amazingly enjoyable and yet she would be terribly embarrassed to be in that situation. She kept reading until there was a knock on the door. It startled her and she began to panic.
Cricket started to wheeze and she felt a surge of energy run through her. The people at the door must have walked. She would have heard a horse or a wagon. She didn't hear them. Her chest tightened and she started to cough.
Violet sat at her desk a few seconds longer after all the other children had left. Rachel was sitting up at her desk at the head of the class. Violet swallowed nervously and slowly stood up. She walked up to Rachel's desk and stood there silently waiting for Rachel to look up from her grade book.
"What can I do for you, Violet?" Rachel said not taking her eyes off her book.
"I was wondering if I could take Cricket her homework." Violet said shyly.
"That's very nice of you, Violet," Rachel said looking up. She appraised the young lady and immediately thought that Violet would be a good influence on Cricket, but even with all the mischief she gets into, Cricket might also be a good influence on Violet. Perhaps they would even each other out
Rachel handed her a small stack of papers along with a list of assignments. Violet tucked them into her books and stepped out of the schoolhouse. She stopped at the bottom of the stairs and started to feel uneasy. Cricket's house was on the edge of the woods near where her friend Carrie used to live. Violet hated the woods and all of the sudden she didn't know if visiting Cricket was such a good idea. She knew she needed to get over this. It had been so long since all that happened. Then the idea came to her. She would ask Jimmy to escort her to Cricket's. That would make her feel safe and he said he would escort her home anytime she felt she needed it.
Violet walked over to the bunkhouse at the Pony Express station. She gently knocked on the door and waited. The door opened and Buck stood before her.
"Hello, Violet, can I help you with something?" Buck asked with a smile.
"I was wondering if Jimmy was around," Violet asked keeping her eyes focused down.
"He's out on a run," Buck said, "I'm sorry. Is there something I could help you with?"
Violet frowned and then a smile crept slowly across her face. This was perfect.
"I think you can, Buck," Violet said and looked up at him. "I'm going to Cricket's house to bring her homework to her. I was wondering since it is so close to the woods if…"
"I'll escort you if you like," Buck said.
"Oh, thank you, Buck," she said. "I would really appreciate it." And I bet someone else will appreciate it too, she added to herself.
They walked out of town and finally arrived at Crickets door. Violet knocked on the door and was surprised when no one opened the door right away.
Cricket looked out the window and panicked. What was he doing here? Her chest tightened more and she began to cough. She didn't feel like she could get enough air. She opened the door and the smiling faces that greeted her turned immediately concerned. She started to feel a little dizzy. She felt Buck sweep her off her feet and heard him say something to Violet. Buck carried her to her room and laid her gently on her bed. He stacked a bunch of pillows behind her so she could sit up. Cricket saw the book sitting out in the open and her eyes widened and her face went flush. Buck hurried out of the room and Cricket seized the chance to hide the book back beneath her mattress. Buck returned shortly with a bowl of steaming herbs and made a steam tent for Cricket until the attack was done.
Cricket closed her eyes and rested a few minutes. When she next opened them she saw Violet sitting at the end of her bed and Buck seated in a chair near the door to her room. They both bore expressions of worry and concern.
"I'm alright," Cricket said. "What are you doing here?"
"I brought your homework," Violet said. "I'm really glad I did. Are you sure you're alright? You were all pale and your lips were blue."
"I'm better now," she said reassuring Violet. "Thank you."
She looked over at her hero and gave him a weak smile. She hated that she was only in his arms when she was sick.
"What were you doing to trigger an attack like that?" Buck asked.
"I was," Cricket hesitated while she thought. "I was cleaning around the house. It was a lot dustier that I thought."
Cricket hoped Buck believed her. She didn't like to fib, but telling him the truth was too embarrassing.
"Where should I leave your school work?" Violet asked.
"The desk over by the door is fine," Cricket answered. "I'll get around to doing it tomorrow I think."
Violet left the room discreetly to give Cricket some alone time with Buck. She knew it would be innocent just like her times alone with Jimmy, but she knew Cricket would treasure the time with Buck just as she treasured her time with Jimmy.
"Don't scare me like that again, ok?" Buck said as he tucked Cricket in. He ruffled the hair on top of her head and stood to leave. "I'm coming back tomorrow to check on you, so you better take it easy."
"I promise," Cricket said with a brighter smile. She was so tired.
Cricket found herself back at the Pony Express barn and she was wearing a dress. Cricket thought she must be dreaming as she would never voluntarily wear a dress to the Pony Express barn of all places. She looked down. The dress was kind of low cut. She giggled. The door of the barn squeaked and she looked over to see Buck walk through without his shirt on. The wind was in his hair and his chest muscles rippled and glistened. Cricket could feel herself get nervous as he approached her and pulled her into a scorching kiss.
Cricket woke with a start and her mother rushed into the room and started to comfort her. Her mother must have thought she was having a nightmare. Cricket felt her mother start to rock her gently and ease her back down into bed and tucked her back in. It was then Cricket noticed that she was wearing a night gown and not the clothes she was in earlier. She must have had a much worse attack than she thought. She had no idea what time it was but it looked late. She let her eyes close again and woke again when it was morning. She started to stir and sat up. Her head hurt a little bit but other than that she felt alright. Her mother rushed into her room and looked her over. She checked her for fever and Cricket slapped her hands away. She was fine. She was about to ask what time it was when there was a knock at the door. Her mother told her to get back in bed.
Cricket heard the familiar voice of Buck asking after her health. Maybe she was sick…it must be afternoon. Buck came into her room escorted by her mother. She left leaving Cricket's door wide open.
"I'm glad you're finally awake," Buck said greeting Cricket with a smile.
"How long have I been sleeping?" Cricket asked a bit alarmed.
"Only since yesterday," Buck answered. "That attack hit you pretty hard."
"I guess," Cricket said trying not to look into his eyes. She loved his eyes and she had been thinking such thoughts about his eyes looking into hers.
"I noticed you were almost out of herbs so I brought some over today," Buck said conversationally.
"I was going to go out gathering this last Saturday afternoon," Cricket said quietly, "Then everything happened at school."
Cricket accidentally made eye contact with Buck. He was looking so very handsome today. His hat was on her desk and his hair was slightly tussled. It was parted slightly off center and to the right making the hair cascade thickly down the left side of his face. Cricket wished she could disappear. She knew she was blushing. She took a deep breath and tried to get the scenes of Tristan and Helena out of her head. She'd been able to talk to Buck plenty of times before. This wasn't any different. She swallowed hard and willed herself into the place where she and Buck were friends and found her place of comfort with him.
Cricket saw Buck study her and his face turned concerned.
"Are you feeling alright today?" Buck asked.
"Just a little headache," Cricket said.
"I'll let you rest then," Buck said.
"Will you visit tomorrow?" Cricket asked as he stood to leave.
"I've got a run tomorrow," Buck answered, "Maybe later in the week?"
Cricket nodded. Buck turned and left the room and as he did Cricket started to relax. She needed to snap out of this otherwise she would never be able to be in the same room with Buck again. She was just being silly.
Mrs. Jones came into Cricket's room after thanking Buck for everything with a bowl of chicken broth. Cricket put the bowl to the side and wondered what everything was. Her mother told her how he left Violet with Cricket and came to town to get her and also Cricket's father. He fetched the doctor for them and then took Violet home. She also said that she was glad Buck was so much older than Cricket so she didn't have to worry about a romance between the two of them. She said it wouldn't be a proper match with Buck being an Indian an all. She thought she heard her mother say as she left that it was too bad, because Buck was a nice young man.
Cricket frowned and didn't really feel like eating the soup her mother had brought in. Her love for Buck was just like Helena and Tristan. Forbidden. Even if she was old enough to be courted by Buck, her parents wouldn't have it and that made her sad. Cricket rolled over and tried to sleep some more. Buck came to see her today. She smiled. She didn't think she would ever forget how his hair looked today. She bit her lip as she thought about it. He probably ran his fingers through his hair after taking his hat off.