Rachel froze in shock as she stared at the 'Wanted For Murder' poster of her that Teaspoon help up for her to see. She glanced up to see both Teaspoon and Lou McCloud looking at her with wary, yet concerned expressions on their faces.
She couldn't blame either of them for wondering if they had misjudged their feelings for her. Teaspoon for hiring her as the new housekeeper for the Express, and Lou for considering her a friend.
"It's not what you think," Rachel said hurriedly. "I didn't murder anyone. I did kill someone, but it was after they murdered my husband."
Lou let out the breath she'd been holding at Rachel's words. She might have only known Rachel for a short time, but she was already sure about her character. If Rachel said she didn't murder anyone, then Lou believed her.
"Why don't you start at the beginning?" Teaspoon suggested. "Give us the important bit in as few words as you can. Lou told me that the Marshal of Blue Creek and his Posse, are handing out more of these posters around town. Sooner or later someone is going to tell them that you work for the Express. They're bound to show up here any time."
"I didn't have a daddy growing up..." Rachel began.
She told Teaspoon and Lou how her Mama had lots of male 'friends' after her daddy had left them. Men who took whatever they wanted from her Mama until she was all used up.
Lou found herself thinking oabout how similar her and Rachel's growing-up years had been. Both with good-for-nothing fathers, mamas used up before their times, and them having to fend for themselves at a young age.
Rachel told them about how she had decided not to let men do to her what they had done to her Mama. She had crossed paths with Thad Browning soon after she had struck out on her own. She knew she was trouble the moment he came into the bar where she was playing cards, but she couldn't help getting a taste of what he had to offer.
It was the biggest mistake she ever made in her life. He wouldn't take no for an answer and thought he owned her when he didn't. She wasn't the property of any man and the sooner Thag got that into his head, the sooner he would leave her alone. To make it a little easier on her, she left Blue Creek. She figured putting distance between her and Thad would be a good thing.
She never saw Henry Dunne coming.. She was playing a game of cards with a few gents when Henry strolled up to the table. They had an empty chair at the table and Henry asked them if he could join their game.
Rachel fell in love with him that night. She had never had a man treat her with such love and respect. Henry made her feel as if she was the luckiest woman alive and before she knew it, they were standing before a preacher vowing to be husband and wife.
They found a small piece of land with a house on it. They pooled their resources together and bought it. They worked hard to build a future together for themselves and the family they wanted to have.
A few months passed after they settled onto their property. Both poured a lot of hard work into their part and at night their love was served. Rachel was ecstatic to discover she was pregnant and shared the news with Henry. He was overjoyed to hear they had a baby on the way. Their happiness was short-lived.
"Thad and his brothers showed up. Henry told me to go inside our house. I reluctantly went inside, knowing that I had to protect my baby., leaving Henry alone to deal with them. Henry ordered them to leave but Thad just laughed and killed him. I came out of the house carrying Henry's rife and started shooting at them. They fled leaving me alone with Henry's body. I had a miscarriage." Rachel batted tears away from her eyes.
"It wasn't until sometime later that I learned from someone that I had hit and killed one of Thad's brothers. The Marshal of Blue Creek is owned by Thad's family and came after me. They caught up to me once and were hauling me back to Blue Creek when I managed to escape. I saw an advertisement about the Express needing a housekeeper, and so I came to Sweetwater." Rachel finished.
Silence settled for a few moments as Teaspoon and Lou pondered what Rachel had told them.
"Rachel, you know how to ride?" Teaspoon asked.
"A little," Rachel said. "Why?"
"Get your things. Hurry, you don't have much time." Teaspoon said as he left her house with Lou.
"You're going to let her go?" Lou asked Teaspoon as she followed him to the barn.
"You think I should turn her over to the Marshal and his posse?" Teaspoon turned and looked at her with a cocked eyebrow.
"No!" Lou exclaimed. "How are we going to help her if we don't know where she is?"
"We're going to give her a head start, Lou. Buy her some time while we deal with this so-called Marshal and his men. Help me get Sarsparilla ready for Rachel." Teaspoon instructed.
Lou headed toward the tack room, while Teaspoon walked down the row of stalls to get Sarsparilla, one of the extra horses they kept on hand for the Express's use.
Less than ten minutes after Rachel had galloped away from the station, the other riders raced into the yard. They had caught wind that a Marshal and his Posse were in Sweetwater looking for Rachel, and had hightailed it back to the station to warn her. Lou and Teaspoon quickly filled them in on what they knew and not a moment too soon. All watched with wary expressions as the Blue Creek Marshal and his Posse road into the yard demanding to know where Rachel was.