Chapter 2
All the boys had told something about themselves, some more than others. Jimmy had said that he had two sisters and that his father had served on a slave liberation committee; Kid had said he was from Virginia and that he had a brother he hadn't seen in a while; Cody had joked about his life and boasted of adventures that no one believed; Lou had said he had a brother and sister in an orphanage and that he hoped to be able to take them in soon; Ike had told through Buck that he had had scarlet fever as a child and had also witnessed the massacre of his family. He was no longer able to speak and when he met Buck on a mission, he taught him the Indian signs to be able to express himself. Buck had tried not to say anything about himself: having spoken for Ike, he hoped to drop the conversation and go unnoticed, but Beatrice asked him directly: "And you Buck, won't you tell us anything about yourself?"
"There is little to tell: my mother was Kiowa and was raped by a white man. I lived in camp with my brother Red Bear until I could no longer stand being looked at as a traitor and left. I spent time at the mission where I met Ike but things didn't change there either: in the camp they treated me like a white man, at the mission like an Indian: I learned to accept my fate" and he lowered his gaze.
"Well. Here you are neither white nor Indian, you are a rider like everyone else and you will be part of the family if you want it", Emma underlined.
"Well said Emma, son, we don't care what color your skin is as long as you work hard and that goes for all of you", Teaspoon added.
Beatrice didn't say anything, but she couldn't stop considering Buck's sad expression which made her feel a lot of empathy for that boy who had already suffered so much in his young life.
The following days were of adjustment. The boys got into the rhythm of the rides and began to bond with each other and with Emma, Teaspoon and Beatrice. The latter had noticed Lou's somewhat strange behavior and his particular understanding with Kid, especially after his first run, but had decided not to say anything to Emma, at least for the moment.
She had established a good relationship with all the boys, only Buck was very elusive with her, they spoke as little as was necessary, just for daily needs, but she had never had a real conversation with him, which instead had happened with all the others boys, even with Ike thanks to Buck's help. She had deduced that he didn't find her nice and had decided to leave him to his own devices.
The first days of her stay at the station Bea had sent a letter to Italy to inform her parents of how she had settled in and as promised to her aunt Rose, she had not said a word about her accident.
Every now and then on Sundays she went with Emma to visit her: the woman had taken advantage of her presence to reconnect with her old friend and this seemed to be good for Rose's health.
A month and a half had now passed since Beatrice's arrival in America and the group of riders had become like a family: they relied on each other, helped each other and spent all their time together.
Emma and Teaspoon were proud of the boys and Beatrice was also happy and felt satisfied.
The only problem had once been with Buck: Jimmy had accused him of being a traitor because he had gone to visit his brother Red Bear at night because there had been problems with the Indians. Jimmy had thought that Buck had sided with his brother and he had left. Ike had been captured by the Kiowas and Buck had managed to free him and resolve the situation: all doubts had been dispelled and Buck had understood that he had truly found a family in Sweetwater.
On that occasion Beatrice had not wanted to believe that Buck was a traitor and had tried to intervene in his defense, attracting Jimmy's ire. Teaspoon had to intervene to break up the argument, so much so that Jimmy finally said to her: "Why do you get so heated over someone who barely speaks to you!"
Beatrice replied: "I'm doing it as a matter of justice and because sometimes perhaps it's better to remain silent than to speak out of turn."
Jimmy had tried to resume the argument but Emma had definitively separated them.
Beatrice had reflected on what had happened and wondered why she had actually decided to take the side of a person who didn't even consider her, but something inside her told her that Buck was a nice person and that he didn't deserve Jimmy's contempt.
One day a bulky envelope arrived for Beatrice: her parents had sent her some important documents to deliver to aunt Rose: they contained papers relating to an inheritance and they had not trusted themselves to send them to the woman, given her age. It was important to deposit them by the end of the following month, otherwise Rose would have to give up the sum: Beatrice had to leave the next day and send them back to Italy within two days if she wanted to make it in time.
"You won't go alone, Buck will come with you", Emma told her when Beatrice informed the others.
"Why?" Bea asked surprised.
"Because things might get long and you would have to stay out for a night, you can't go alone. I would come with you but I have to go to a friend who has just given birth and I can't postpone. Buck is the best person to accompany you, no one knows the area better than him. Buck, is this a problem for you? I know you have a couple of days off."
Buck shook his head and began packing his bag.
"Well, you will leave tomorrow morning", Emma concluded.
During dinner the topic was no longer spoken of, but Beatrice saw that Buck almost didn't speak to anyone and she got a little annoyed: "If he doesn't want to accompany me, just say it, what kind of attitude is this?", she thought to herself.
At night she struggled to sleep; she thought it would be a tiring journey if Buck didn't loosen up a little. She really didn't want to do the whole journey in silence and tension. Then little by little she fell asleep.
The next morning she got up early, had breakfast with Emma, who was also leaving, and with Buck in their house while the others were still sleeping.
Bea then went to the stable to organize the luggage and the bag with the documents and while she was arranging the last things, Buck joined her who had to get the necessary things for the wagon.
While fiddling with the harnesses he said to her: "If it bothers you that I accompany you, I can ask someone else to replace me, except Jimmy who has to feed everyone in Emma's absence..."
"No, it doesn't bother me at all. I'm just sorry that you have to sacrifice your free days to come with me", she replied.
"It's not a sacrifice, I like to cross the prairie calmly every now and then, without having to rush to carry the mail"
Bea was a little surprised by this answer, perhaps he wasn't as gruff as he seemed. That boy really intrigued her, he was so strange.
"Well then", she replied, "let's go"
He nodded and after saying goodbye to Emma they left.
For the first stretch they didn't speak, then she decided to try a conversational approach.
"Why did you ask me if it bothers me that you accompany me?"
He was surprised by this question point blank, but decided to be honest: "Because I have the impression that you are afraid of me"
"What?", Bea replied in amazement.
"But why should I be afraid of you?"
"Maybe because I'm half Kiowa?"
"So? We've known each other for a while now and I think I've understood that I can trust you, regardless of your origins."
"You mean to tell me that dealing with someone like me didn't scare you? Yet when we said goodbye for the first time you jumped back."
"Oh Lord, I don't believe it. So is this why you avoid me?"
"I don't avoid you, you stay away from me", he replied.
"I think there was a big misunderstanding between us. The day we introduced ourselves, my hands were wet and I got a shock when I shook your hand, I remember it well and I also told you"
"I thought it was an excuse to hide your fear"
"Absolutely not. I admit that when I heard that you were half Kiowa I was a little scared because I didn't know your culture and I only knew about the Indians what they told us in Italy. But then, knowing you and hearing you talk about your traditions, I no longer had any fears. To me you are just like everyone else. I really thought you disliked me, you never had a conversation with me except out of necessity to coexist"
"We were two fools. I was convinced that you were afraid of me and I didn't dare come closer."
"Well, thank goodness Emma made us take this trip together then, so we could clarify things. But I'm really sorry that you have to spend your free time coming with me."
"It's not a problem, especially now that I've taken a weight off my stomach. What would you say about starting over? Nice to meet you, I'm Buck Cross" and held out his hand.
"My pleasure Buck, I'm Beatrice" and they started laughing.
Buck asked her if she wanted to tell him about her life in Italy and she obliged him: she told him about her childhood, her passion for reading and her desire to visit America after reading some exciting books about the Far West. She only hid from him that she hoped to find her great love there, it didn't seem appropriate to open up so much to him.
"And you?" she asked him.
"I what?"
"I told you everything about myself but I know nothing about you except what you told everyone"
"Oh well, there's not much more to say"
"Tell me about your Kiowa traditions then, I'm curious and they fascinate me a lot"
"Really?"
"Ah Ah", she said, nodding.
He seemed very surprised by this request but began to tell her about the most ancient traditions of his tribe and little by little he even came to tell her some episodes of his life and how he ended up at the mission.
Suddenly, however, Buck became so serious that Bea became worried.
"What's going on Buck?" she asked him.
"I don't know, I have a strange feeling. Whatever happens, please stay close to me and don't contradict me."
"You're scaring me".
She barely had time to finish her sentence when Indian warriors appeared from afar.
"Stay calm and do as I told you, you'll see that everything will be fine"
She hugged him a little, terrified.
The warriors approached and stopped before them, forcing Buck to stop the wagon.
They started talking to each other in a language Bea couldn't understand and after a moment, one of them approached her. Bea instinctively clung to Buck as the man seemed to examine her from top to bottom.
He then returned to the others, spoke to them, and then turned again to Buck, who replied something, and then the warriors departed as they had come.
When they were completely gone, Buck said to her: "You can relax, it's all over, we can continue our journey"
"What did they want?" she asked, continuing to cling to Buck's arm without realizing it.
"They wanted to buy you"
"What? And what have you answered?"
"I made my offer: they wanted to give me 4 horses and I asked for 10"
"Are you crazy? What if they accepted? How the hell did that come to your mind?"
"I knew what I was doing. They wanted a strong, virgin woman who could give them healthy children."
"And what did you say?"
"I simply informed them that you are my wife, therefore you are not a virgin and that you are incapable of giving me children"
"But how dare you? I'm a virg... Um you had no right to pass me off as your wife and above all sterile!"
Buck smiled at the girl's embarrassed but angry reaction and teased her a little to lighten the situation.
"Would you have preferred me to tell the truth? They would have bought you and I couldn't have done anything to stop them, there were ten of them and I'm only one. I chose the lesser of evils."
"What if they had accepted?"
"They would never have exchanged 10 horses for a woman incapable of bearing children, it is too important for my culture"
"Well, maybe I think I should thank you, you actually saved me. Sorry if I was so rude."
"You don't have to apologize, little wife, in fact it's not nice to be seen as a useless person!"
"Buck! Do not joke! And anyway women who can't have children aren't useless, you have no idea how much they can suffer because of this", Bea scolded him.
"You're right, sorry, I also think like you, but unfortunately in our tribes they still think like that and a woman who doesn't give birth to children can be repudiated"
"It's really sad and unfair"
"I know, I would never do it" and as he said this, he looked her straight in the eyes so much so that she felt captivated by that look.
They realized that they had taken too long to look at each other and Bea, to get out of the embarrassment, asked him: "Is there still much to go?"
"No, but maybe we should stop for lunch somewhere, meeting that group of Indians made us waste some time. We can stop at a village nearby and then continue, we will arrive in the early afternoon"
Bea nodded. Half an hour later they arrived in a very small village and went to the saloon for a bite to eat. Bea was still shaken by what had happened and was truly grateful to Buck for saving her. This trip was turning out to be truly amazing.
Buck noticed that she was thoughtful and asked: "Are you okay?"
"Yes, sorry, I was thinking back to before"
"Were you very scared?"
"I would be lying if I told you no. It's one thing to deal with you, it's another to meet a group of Indians in the middle of nowhere who don't speak my language. By the way, how did you understand each other?"
"We spoke Lakota, I know their language very well, I have dealt with their tribes several times. They are calm and if they are not provoked they do not cause problems. That's why I played the game."
"Thank you so much Buck, I owe you" and shook his hand.
They had lunch and then left. In the early afternoon they arrived at Aunt Rose's.
When they knocked on the door, Lively Eyes came to open it and immediately recognized Beatrice and invited her to come in.
"Thank you Lively Eyes, this is my friend Buck Cross. How is aunt doing?"
"Nice to meet you Buck, you're welcome. Aunt is fine, come into the living room, she will be happy to see you"
The two followed Lively Eyes into the living room and when the aunt saw her, she exclaimed: "Bea! What a nice surprise! What are you doing here? And who is this handsome young man? Don't tell me he's your boyfriend."
Bea and Buck blushed and she quickly said: "Oh no, aunt, this is Buck Cross, a Pony Express rider who accompanied me here because Emma couldn't come."
"Oh nice to meet you Buck. Too bad, you would make a nice couple. But take a seat. Lively Eyes, make us some tea."
The two blushed again at their aunt's words.
When they were seated, Bea explained to Rose the reason for the visit and showed her the documents. When the woman saw them, she was moved: memories of her life in Italy came back to her mind and above all the days of her childhood when she lived in the house implicated in the inheritance she was entitled to. She poured out passionate and emotional stories that made them lose track of time, so much so that by the time Rose decided to sign the documents it was already time for dinner.
"Oh guys, I'm so sorry, I didn't notice the time passing and I made you late. Stay for dinner, Lively Eyes is a very good cook, remember Bea?"
"Don't worry aunt, it was wonderful listening to your stories. We had already taken into account the possibility of not returning that day. We will stop to sleep in the hotel and leave tomorrow morning. We are happy to stay for dinner."
Rose was happy about it. During the meal, Buck and Lively Eyes talked a little about their tribes and the two Italians listened to them with interest. When it got a little late, Bea and Buck said goodbye to the two women and Bea promised her aunt that she would return soon with Emma.
They said good night and went to the hotel.
Both were very nervous and couldn't understand why. They would have slept in two separate rooms obviously, but the fact of being out of the house together at night made them somewhat nervous. Their feelings were not wrong….