Chapter 4

Shadow Valley, Texas - June 1872

Teaspoon tapped his boot impatiently against the dusty floorboards of his office. He didn't like the way Buck hovered over the Mills family. Sure, the accident was bad, but Buck wasn't responsible. A runaway horse, a misplaced foot – these things happened. Yet, Buck acted like he'd personally shattered the girl's leg. The way he was practically pacing a hole in the floorboards now, a crease etched between his brows, only fueled Teaspoon's irritation.

"The doc won't keep her in there forever, Buck," Teaspoon drawled, leaning back further in his chair. "Besides, ain't like you can do much cooped up in here anyway."

Buck stopped mid-stride, his jaw clenching slightly. "You don't understand, Teaspoon," he said, his voice tight. He hesitated, frustration flickering in his eyes. "Look, I just want to make sure they're alright."

"Have you heard from Louise and the Kid lately?" Teaspoon changed the subject.

"They had the twins, so this will be the sixth." Buck laughed.

"I heard from Cody and Louisa." Teaspoon swung his feet off the desk. "They had a daughter in December."

"It's hard to believe Cody is a father." Buck shook his head.

"None of you are boys anymore." Teaspoon smiled.

"Yeah I'm starting to feel it." Buck stretched and groaned teasingly.

"I don't want to hear that at your age." Teaspoon laughed. "Are you even thirty yet?"

"A few more years." Buck smiled.

"When you get to be my age. You'll really know what it feels like to get old."

Buck raised an eyebrow. "How old are you, Teaspoon? Seems like you forget every year after fifty."

Teaspoon's grin widened. "Old enough to know better than to answer that question." He abruptly changed the subject. "Heard anything from Jimmy?"

"Just what I read in the papers," Buck replied, a shadow crossing his features.

Teaspoon squinted at the dusty sunlight filtering through the saloon window. He couldn't remember the last time it hadn't been dusty. The war had sucked the moisture out of everything, leaving behind a world parched and parched again. Unlike Buck, Teaspoon had been too old for the fight. While the younger men marched off with dreams of glory and nightmares waiting in the trenches, Teaspoon had packed his bags for Texas.

Home, a land as untamed as his restless spirit.

It was in Shadow Valley, a dusty frontier town clinging to existence on the edge of nowhere, that Teaspoon had come into his own. Within months, the worn badge of Marshal pinned to his worn leather vest became a symbol of a hard-won peace. He'd seen war's aftermath before, the way it ripped through communities like a twister, leaving behind a trail of broken men and shattered dreams. He wasn't about to let it happen here.

That's when Buck arrived, a year after the war ended. Buck moved onto a quiet patch of land just outside of town. He started with horses, breeding strong, sure-footed creatures that could handle the harsh terrain. Then came the cattle, a growing herd that grazed across the endless plains. Buck was a good man, quiet and steady, but he had an emptiness in him. Teaspoon had seen it in his youth, but it only seemed to grow since the war.

"So, Buck," he drawled, "how serious are you with that Mills girl?"

Buck shifted uncomfortably. "Bethany?" He asked, surprised by the sudden turn in the conversation.

"Unless you're courting someone else I don't know about." Teaspoon said with a sly grin.

A blush crept up Buck's neck. "She's a sweet girl. Kind, smart, pretty…" He trailed off, searching for the right words. "We get along well."

"Get along well, huh? You ever thought about marryin' her?"

Buck leaned against the door frame and watched as people walked through the street. Was there something wrong with him? Why didn't he feel more than a friendship for Bethany? It certainly wasn't because she wasn't beautiful, she was an angel. Her long blonde ringlets hung to her shoulders. She had the deepest blue eyes, like a cool pond in the summer. She was kind and they were good friends. Great marriages were founded on friendships though weren't they? Perhaps the romance would follow.

"I don't know," Buck admitted, his voice honest. "Can't say the thought hasn't crossed my mind."

Teaspoon chuckled, the sound rumbling like distant thunder. "Well, you ain't getting any younger, son. You have a lot to offer a woman. Don't go settling just because some pretty face bats her eyelashes at you."

Buck felt a familiar prickle of guilt. Was that what he was doing? Settling for comfort and companionship?