Chapter 8
The next morning Bea wrote a letter back to her parents, thanking them heartily for having welcomed Buck and given consent to their relationship.
"What are you doing?" he asked, seeing her busy with pen and paper.
Bea almost jumped because she hadn't heard him enter.
"Oh Buck, is that you? You scared me"
"Sorry, I did not want to. I was about to knock when I met Emma coming out and she told me you were here, I should have called you so as not to scare you"
"But no darling, I'm just focused on writing the letter for my parents. I want to thank them from the bottom of my heart for their blessing."
Buck meanwhile had placed a kiss on her hair as she spoke.
"I still can't believe it, I feel so lucky!"
Bea turned, stood up and kissed him tenderly. They held onto each other and deepened their kiss. They struggled to break away.
"I was thinking something: would it seem inappropriate if I wrote a letter to your parents too? I want to thank them in person for their trust and I want to inform them that I have serious intentions with you", Buck asked her.
"I think they would be very pleased. We could send them in the same envelope. If you like, you can write it now, here with me"
Buck nodded. He pulled up a chair and sat on the other side of the desk. Grabbing a pen, he began to think about how to put on paper what he felt and what was in his heart. It took them a good half hour to write the letters. Bea didn't ask Buck to read what he had written and he did the same: they understood that those writings had to be private.
They then went out together to entrust them to Ike who had to leave for his race.
"Please remember Ike, this envelope is very important", Buck told him.
+ Don't worry, it's in good hands +, he signed and galloped off.
Buck and Bea greeted him and Ike smiled to himself: he had stopped to look at them holding each other, hand in hand as if it were the most natural thing in the world. He had never seen Buck so happy and serene and in his heart he prayed that everything would go well, he really deserved it after so much suffering. He was a little envious though, he too would have liked to find a good girl and fall in love. He sighed a little and broke into his run.
Sam's last days as marshal in Sweetwater were very difficult. A gang of outlaws had settled near the city led by a man who called himself "The Hawk", who proposed himself as a liberator and defender of the weak, but with his men he had robbed the bank and sowed terror in the city. The militia led by Captain Lewis, with whom Sam didn't get along very well, had also arrived. Teaspoon and the boys had offered their help to their friend, but the situation was very difficult.
The only one who didn't seem to pay much attention to all this chaos was Ike, who was finally busy courting a girl, Annie.
A few days before the arrival of the Hawk's gang, what were called "mail order brides" had arrived on the stagecoach: they were girls who had married by proxy to men they had never seen and had only met by letter, through an agency created specifically for this purpose.
Annie, the girl courted by Ike, was also supposed to meet her husband, but the news had arrived that the latter had died in the mine where he worked. Ike had taken care of her and had begun to have feelings for this unfortunate girl. Buck, Bea, Emma and Lou were happy for him and it seemed that Annie was not insensitive to Ike's court either.
The situation with the Hawk soon degenerated: Kid worked as an infiltrator in the gang, then followed by Jimmy who had personally known the identity of the Hawk, the teacher who had recently arrived in the city. A real armed clash broke out which ended with the death of the Hawk and the capture of the remaining gang members: Sam had ended his career in Sweetwater on a high note thanks to the help of his friends and the entire community.
Ike asked Teaspoon if he could propose Annie as the new teacher in place of the Hawk and Teaspoon said that in his opinion there would be no problems.
Ike talked about it with the girl, who in the meantime had learned to use signs to communicate with him.
Annie was thrilled and replied: "Oh Ike, that would be great, thank you, you are always so kind to me"
Ike took advantage of this and kissed her tenderly. Annie let him do it and kissed him back.
Ike told her shyly: + I would love it if I could consider you my girlfriend+
Annie smiled at him and shyly replied: "I would be honored."
Ike showed off his best smile and they kissed again, then he invited her to dinner at the station to inform the others of the news.
Everyone welcomed the good news and wished Annie good luck in her new job. Emma and Sam invited her to their wedding and she happily accepted.
The wedding day arrived and Emma was beaming.
The ceremony was simple but touching and at the reception the kids had a lot of fun dancing and eating treats. Bea and Buck didn't miss a dance and so did Ike and Annie. Kid tried to stay close to Lou as much as possible to make the situation less burdensome to her and she thanked him.
Emma and Sam spent their wedding night at the hotel where they had already moved all their luggage because they would be leaving for Abilene the following morning.
That night, taking advantage of the free house, Buck went to Bea and they spent almost the whole night together.
"I wish I could wake up next to you in the morning instead of sneaking away like this", he told her when they lay next to each other.
"I think that even if you stayed, the boys wouldn't have anything to say. Do you think they don't know that we're often together?", she replied.
"Of course they know, but it's one thing to make them suspect it, and another to confirm it to them. I don't want to compromise you too much, it wouldn't be right"
"I love you, you know?"
"I know and I love you too, I promise that soon we will always be together" and he pulled her to him again.
Just before dawn he returned to the bunkhouse where the boys pretended not to notice him...
In the morning they all gathered at the stagecoach stop. The girls dissolved into tears and even the boys and Teaspoon were teary-eyed. They said goodbye with the promise to write to each other often.
Emma pointed out: "I want to be present at all your weddings, you will never get rid of me".
Everyone laughed and made a solemn promise.
They watched the stagecoach drive away and then returned to the station.
Teaspoon had placed an advert looking for help for Bea and in the meantime Annie offered to lend her a hand.
The two girls quickly became friends and Bea pushed Lou to confess her secret to Annie so as not to make her feel excluded. Lou agreed and the relationship with Annie helped her miss Emma less.
A few days later, the station was enriched with a new rider, Noah Dixon, a black boy who Jimmy had met during one of his runs and who he had had to help because a slave owner had questioned his freedom. Teaspoon offered Noah to stay and work for the Pony Express and he accepted, soon integrating into the group and also becoming part of their big family.
About two weeks later, a woman interested in Teaspoon's ad showed up at the station: Rachel Dunne. She was very beautiful, with light eyes and blonde hair and very pronounced breasts. The boys fell head over heels for her and Lou got very angry at Kid.
Only Buck and Ike seemed not to notice Rachel's sensuality, they were so engrossed in their respective girls.
Rachel broached the conversation with Lou, who discovered that the woman had figured out on her own that she was a girl. She asked her not to build a wall with her just because of the boys' behavior and to try to be friends with her. Lou apologized to her and little by little Rachel also integrated into the group of women.
The only one who remained unaware of Lou's situation was Teaspoon but one hot afternoon in July, while Lou was bathing in the river, Teaspoon, despite her protests, dove into the water and discovered the truth.
"How on earth did I not notice this before?", he wondered as they were all gathered in the sweat lodge that he sometimes built to relax.
Lou replied that perhaps he didn't want to admit it because now he would have to fire her, but Teaspoon replied that he had no intention of doing so: "You are one of my best riders and I don't see why I should do that. And then I like that women are becoming more and more numerous in this family" and everyone started laughing.
Some time later, a letter arrived for Buck: it was the response from Bea's parents. In his letter to them, he had officially asked for her hand and her parents had given consent: now Buck was ready to officially start a family. He had asked Bea's parents not to tell the girl anything about his request because he wanted to surprise her and they agreed: they didn't mention it in the letter addressed to her.
Buck turned to Teaspoon for help: "I have received consent from Bea's parents to ask her to be my wife", he told him.
"Congratulations son! When is the wedding? Does she already know?"
"No, I want to organize things properly first. Do you think it would be possible to build our house next to Rachel and Bea's? It would be a way to stay close to you: she could continue working at the station and it would be easy for me too with the races"
"Oh well, I guess there's no problem, but maybe you should ask the mayor"
"Would you accompany me? I wouldn't want to get a door in my face..."
"Son, by now you know that the people here respect you and know you for who you are, but if it makes you feel calmer, we'll go together tomorrow morning, okay?"
"Thank you Teaspoon."
The man gave him an affectionate pat on the shoulder. Outside the friend's office, Buck went to buy the ring for Bea: he chose a simple one with a green stone that matched her eyes and hid it among his things: once he got the permit to build the house, he would propose to her.
Bea hadn't been in great shape in the last few days, she often felt tired and never felt like eating in the morning, in fact food bored her. Rachel noticed this and one day said to her: "Can I ask you a very private question?"
"Of course Rachel, there must be no secrets between us"
"I've noticed that you've been looking a little worn lately... are you okay?"
"Yes, I think I'm just a little tired"
"Tired or…"
"OR?"
"Honey, you and Buck…I mean, you're very close, dare I say close, right?"
"Rachel, you embarrass me a little, but yes, we are, you know, according to its traditions we are already husband and wife…"
"Behold, according to their traditions, not yours…."
"Rachel, what are you trying to tell me? Are you being a moralist?"
"Am I a moralist? But you know, you know where I'm coming from, but sometimes if you go too far things happen that are difficult to manage..."
"What do you mean?"
"Bea, what if you were pregnant?"
"What? But no, it can't be!"
"And why not if you and Buck are together?"
"Oh my God Rachel, do you think that?"
"I don't know, tell me, is your period regular?"
"Well, it's never been so regular but...in fact, now that I think about it, I think I missed this month"
"If you combine your discomfort, your annoyance with food…"
"Oh dear Rachel, now what? What if Buck doesn't want it, what if..."
"Easy darling, breathe! First of all we need to understand if it is true or if it is just my impression. This afternoon we go to the doctor and take the first step and then we'll think about it."
"Thank you Rachel, you're a friend" and hugged her.
In the afternoon, Rachel with an excuse asked Bea to accompany her to the city, they went to the doctor who confirmed that Beatrice was almost two months pregnant.
"Oh Rachel and now?"
"And now you throw a nice dinner and tell Buck"
"What if he's not ready?"
"You meet Buck, he will be delighted"
"I think it will be too, but what if we're wrong?"
"Don't worry darling, you'll see that everything will be fine"
When they returned home, they met Buck coming out of the barn.
"Bea, can I talk to you for a moment?", he said, walking towards her.
"Sure honey, I'll be right there. Thanks Rachel, see you later."
Rachel smiled at her.
"Tell me darling" and kissed him.
"Listen, what would you say about going to dinner tomorrow night, just you and me?"
"I say you read my mind, because I wanted to propose the same thing to you"
"Good, then we agree, let's go to the hotel restaurant, okay?"
"Perfect, I really want to be alone with you for a bit"
"Me too, honey. I'm going to finish my work, see you later" and joined the other boys after giving her a kiss.
Bea was very tense, she didn't know how to approach the topic and she hoped that Buck was really happy with the news. She would have confided it to him after dinner, she would have proposed a romantic walk and she would have gotten straight to the point.
The next evening, Buck dressed very elegantly and got a beautiful bouquet of flowers for Bea.
When he knocked on her door, she said: "Flowers too? You spoil me too much my love"
"All for the love of my life, I want to woo you a little properly."
Bea smiled, put the flowers in a vase and then they went out arm in arm, took the carriage and amidst the playful laughter of the others, went into town.
They had a pleasant dinner chatting about everything, but they were both tense about what they had to say and in their worry they didn't realize that they were both nervous.
After eating a dessert, Bea proposed: "Do you want to go for a walk? I have to work off dinner"
"Sure honey, I wanted to propose it", Buck replied.
They went out hand in hand and walked under the stars, remaining silent for a while.
Neither he nor she knew how to broach the subject, but suddenly in unison they broke the silence and said: "Darling, I have something to tell you."
Realizing they had spoken together, they burst out laughing and Bea said: "You first, my love", trying to take a little more time.
"All right. Here, you know that I love you more than anything in the world and that I couldn't imagine my life without you."
Bea's eyes lit up and he realized it: he was doing the right thing.
"I thought a lot about our future together and I made a decision: I talked to Teaspoon and they helped me with my idea: I got permission to build a house for us right on the land next to the one where you and Rachel live now"
Bea's eyes widened because she didn't expect that Buck was really going out of his way to build a life with her, they had talked about it vaguely but had never seriously broached the topic.
"I hope I didn't make a mistake in moving without asking your opinion first, but I wanted to surprise you and offer you something concrete before doing what I'm about to do"
Bea felt the ground slipping from under her feet, perhaps Buck was about to…
She didn't have time to finish her thoughts before she found Buck kneeling before her with a ring in his hand that he had taken from his pocket.
"Bea, will you do me the honor of becoming my wife? Your parents agree and have given me your hand."
Bea was so surprised and happy that she couldn't utter a word. Buck was taken aback by her silence and said: "Maybe I'm running too fast? It's just that I can't wait any longer, I want to share my life with you."
While Buck uttered those words, Bea recovered and managed to reply: "You're not rushing too fast my darling, marrying you is the thing I want most in the world and your proposal couldn't have come at a better time"
"So that's a yes?" Buck asked nervously.
"Of course it's a yes darling, I'll marry you!" , then she threw her arms around his neck and they kissed passionately.
When they broke away, they stood up again and Buck put the ring on her and said: "I want to marry you as soon as possible, but first we have to build our house. I hope the guys will help me with this, so as to speed things up"
Bea understood that it was the moment of her revelation and told him: "I think it's time to speed up darling."
"I like hearing these words, it means that you too can't wait to officially become my wife"
"Absolutely yes darling, but there is also another reason and that is what I wanted to talk to you about"
"Oh yes, sorry, you're right, in the excitement I completely forgot about it"
"Buck, do you want a big family? Do you want children from me?"
"Of course darling, why are you asking me these questions? I seem to have told you more than once that I would like to have children, it would be fantastic"
"Well here…"
"What is it darling? Has something happened? You're not OK?"
"No no, I'm fine, don't worry, it's just that I think our wishes will come true very soon…"
"Well of course, we will get married and…". Then he understood what she was saying.
"Wait, are you saying that….."
She nodded and then said: "We are expecting a baby, they are about two months old"
Buck gasped and she asked him: "Do you want this baby Buck?"
He took her face in his hands, looked her straight in the eyes and said: "Of course darling, all my wishes are coming true. Oh my God, I'm about to become a father, we're about to become parents! But how are you? You don't have to get tired, let's go and sit somewhere."
"I'm fine Buck, I just went to the doctor and everything is fine, I was just afraid that it wasn't the right time, then you proposed to me and everything seemed like a beautiful dream"
"We have to get married as soon as possible, I don't want to compromise you"
"Well honey, actually we have already done it, but we can always say that when we were at your brother's camp we got married according to your tribe's ritual and now we will confirm the ceremony"
"We still need to speed up the process. Who knows about it? We need to notify your parents."
"Only Rachel knows, she had the suspicion and as for my parents, maybe it's better to tell them one thing at a time, let's start by informing them about the wedding. By the way, did you say that you received their consent?"
"Yes, in the letter I sent them I officially asked for your hand and they agreed"
"You are a wonderful man"
"You are wonderful and you are mine" and he kissed her passionately.
They decided to inform the boys and Teaspoon of everything the next day and to ask them for help with the house, so as to shorten the construction time, so that they could get married as soon as possible.
They returned home happy and in love like never before, convinced that their love would last forever and that it would be indelible.