Chapter 7
Diana and Buck carried on their relationship peacefully and sometimes took trips to the river with Kid and Lou, now that everyone knew about their history.
Kid would have liked to marry Lou, but she didn't feel ready, while Diana and Buck continued to date regularly, even in public, very calmly and without haste, being careful not to cause Diana's pregnancy.
Buck joined her either at home or at school as soon as he could and she did the same, often going to the station just to see him and spend a few minutes in his company when commitments prevented them from spending much time together.
One afternoon, Diana decided to go and visit Buck at the station: he had been out for a run that had kept him away for two nights and she knew that they wouldn't see each other until at least until the evening, so she decided to surprise him. When he saw her coming, Buck walked towards her with a dazzling smile.
"Good morning, what are you doing here?", he asked her, leaning with one arm on the wall of the stable and looking into her eyes with a wonderful smile.
"Well, you know, I was passing by and thought I'd say hello", she replied.
He laughed out loud, leaving her breathless. His smile was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen in the world.
"Ah, were you passing by here by any chance? So I guess you didn't come just because you missed me."
Diana started laughing and replied: "Well yes, I confess, I missed these lips so much..." and she leaned in to kiss him.
"Oh please, at least when we're working!", Cody said as he passed by, rolling his eyes.
Buck and Diana laughed heartily.
"You're right, I'll let you work. Are you coming to dinner with me tonight? So we can celebrate your return..." and she touched his lips.
A shiver ran through Buck's body and, true to his promises, he asked her: "Can we?"
"I wouldn't have proposed it to you otherwise...", she replied with a knowing look.
"I can't wait. I'll come by 6pm, okay?"
"Perfect. Now I'll leave you to your tasks, I'll go say hello to Rachel and Lou and then I'll go prepare dinner"
They exchanged one more sweet kiss and then separated.
After saying goodbye to the two women, Diana went home to prepare dinner.
A few hours later, Teaspoon received bad news in his office: Amanda, a young woman he considered his daughter, had been kidnapped.
Amanda had met Teaspoon's real daughter, Elizabeth, and in cahoots with a gambler had tried to deceive the marshal to take over the inheritance that Elizabeth's mother had left him.
When she met Teaspoon, Amanda had become fond of him and had helped him escape from the deception and obtain his inheritance. Teaspoon had begun to treat her like a daughter and had invested his inheritance in helping Amanda open a classy saloon of which he was a half partner. In those days Teaspoon was guarding an outlaw in Sweetwater waiting to be transported to Fort Laramie to be executed. Pike's brother, the outlaw in question, had kidnapped Amanda in order to free his brother, blackmailing Teaspoon.
The latter rushed to the station and informed his boys that they would leave the next morning to go and free Amanda. Buck, Jimmy and Noah would have been tasked with taking Pike to Fort Laramie for hanging, while he, Kid and Cody would have attempted to free the woman. Lou and Ike were out for a run and would stay at the station.
That evening Buck went to Diana and explained what had happened.
Diana told him: "Please Buck, be careful, it's a very dangerous mission"
"Don't worry darling, everything will be fine and I will be back to you soon. I don't know how many days it will take."
She held onto him tightly and they made love wildly.
Diana promised Buck that she would come and say goodbye to him the next morning. He tried to protest but she was adamant.
The next morning, before leaving, Kid wrote a letter to Lou informing her of what had happened and that he was happy she wasn't with them and that he didn't want her to join them. Buck asked if he and Lou were still together then, as she had rejected his marriage proposal a few weeks earlier and they had apparently broken up, and Kid reacted violently to his question and to Jimmy's comments trying to tell Kid that he wasn't he could decide for Lou; if she wanted to reach them, she should be free to do so.
"I'm tired of your intrusions into my relationship with Lou, even if we're no longer together it doesn't mean I don't care about her damn it!" and went out like a fury.
"Good thing you have a less troublesome girlfriend Buck", Noah commented.
"Yes well, more or less, she's stubborn that she wants to come and say goodbye to me this morning before we leave even though I told her it wasn't necessary. At least I don't run the risk of her following me", he commented.
Soon after, Diana arrived and as the boys were leaving, she said goodbye to a very scared Buck: "Ride safe darling. I would like to be by your side"
"Don't worry my love, I will return safe and sound as soon as possible".
He kissed her and they left.
"Diana, do you want to come to dinner tonight so you can help me calm Lou down? I foresee a storm when she reads Kid's words and maybe you can distract your mind a little. I know these days will be difficult for you, you've never seen Buck in a dangerous situation before."
"Thank you Rachel, you are a friend"
In the evening Diana arrived just before Lou and Ike returned from their run. Lou appreciated Kid's letter very much, for the words of love it contained, but she told Rachel that she had to go with the boys. Rachel said she understood and told her that Ike was waiting for her to leave.
Diana made a decision in that instant and said to Lou: "Can I help you get things ready? I would like to talk to you"
"Sure, come with me."
While Lou was saddling her horse and packing up her bags, Diana said, "Take me with you, please."
"What?" Lou asked in disbelief.
"It's out of the question, Diana, it's too dangerous and Buck would kill me if I let you. Rachel will definitely stop you."
"And that's why I didn't talk about it in front of her. Please Lou, I feel exactly like you, I can't sit here idly waiting for Buck to come back, if he comes back."
Lou looked into her eyes and saw all her pain, then replied: "Okay, although I know I will regret it. Tell Rachel you're tired and want to go home, I'll see you there."
"Thanks Lou" and hugged her.
Diana returned to the house and after greeting Ike and Lou with Rachel, she said to the latter: "Rachel, I have a bit of a headache, maybe I'd better go home and get some sleep, I'm sorry about dinner "
"Of course darling and don't worry, they will all come back safe and sound" and she hugged her.
When Diana arrived home, she found Ike and Lou waiting for her.
Know that I absolutely do not agree with this. Buck will kill us and will be very angry when he finds out
"I know Ike, but I can't sit at home idle, I feel like I'm going crazy. "
"What about school?" Lou asked.
"We'll stop by Margaret's and I'll leave her a note."
The three set off and after leaving a note under Margaret's door, they set off to join the other couriers.
Meanwhile, things weren't going well: Kid, Cody and Teaspoon couldn't find Amanda and Pike was mortally wounded. Plus they had to bring with them Jane, the daughter of the man Pike had killed, who wanted to witness the hanging of her father's killer.
Ike, Lou and Diana joined Noah, Jimmy and Buck's group two days later.
When the latter saw her arrive he turned pale like a corpse: "What are you doing here? Have you gone crazy perhaps?"
"I couldn't stay at home waiting for you, the anxiety would have killed me", she replied guiltily.
"Instead you thought it best to come and get killed here! But where's your mind, it's not a game, it's a dangerous mission and you, Lou, shouldn't be here either", Buck railed.
Diana had never seen him so furious and tears came to her eyes.
Noah tried to make light of the situation by saying: "Good thing you said she wouldn't follow you", but Buck glared at him.
"It's pure madness! Now you go home with Lou and wait for me to come back. We'll talk about it at home! Ike, I'm amazed at you too! How could you think of bringing her with you?"
Do you think that with two worried women I could have done something? , the friend signed.
Jimmy intervened: "They're part of the family, if they feel like it I won't oppose it"
"Diana isn't used to these things, she would only get in our way, we already have Jane to manage and it's too dangerous for Lou too", Buck replied.
"Who is Jane?" asked Diana curiously.
"The daughter of the man Pike killed. She followed us and now she's coming with us, Buck couldn't stop her", Noah replied.
Diana felt a rush of jealousy come over her and said: "Well, if you already have someone to take care of, I'll gladly go back. Have a good trip" and turned Spirit to leave.
"Wait, what did you understand?", Buck shouted at her, but Diana didn't turn around.
"Ike, go with her please and walk her home and Lou, make a decision", Buck said worriedly.
"I'll come with you. I'm going to get some supplies, wait for me" and headed towards her horse.
Buck and Noah convinced Jimmy to take advantage of the situation to leave her there too and they set off at a gallop.
"When you come back you'll have a lot to worry about, brother!", Noah told Buck.
"I can't believe she came all this way and I can't believe I got into this mix-up with Jane!", Buck said.
"Diana loves you to death Buck, be careful not to lose her, control your anger", Jimmy advised him.
Buck realized he had been too harsh on her, but he was terrified that something would happen to her.
When Lou returned after refueling, she no longer found the boys and realized that they had left her behind again. She took her horse and ran to catch up with Ike and Diana.
"Wait for me! Stop for a moment!", she shouted at them when she caught a glimpse of them.
The two stopped.
"They left me behind, do you think you're going to let them get away with it?", Lou asked as soon as she reached them.
You heard Buck, Ike replied.
We should never have taken her with us
"Diana?" Lou asked and realized she was crying.
"Buck has other things to think about now, he doesn't want me here. I've never seen him so furious with me, I don't recognize him anymore", the girl moaned.
"Diana, Buck loves you, he's just really worried about you, Kid would have reacted that way too", Lou tried to reassure her.
"And that Jane?", she asked looking at her.
"You don't really think Buck is interested in her? Don't be ridiculous. They probably carry her with them because they can't do without it. I have no intention of returning home, I will go either with you or alone"
Lou, please, let's go back to the station, I would like to be with them too, but it's too dangerous for you two , Ike tried to protest.
"Diana?" Lou asked.
" Let's reach them. Then I'll deal with Buck, this is our first test to overcome, if we can't get out of an argument like this, our love has no future. It's not a whim, I'm worried about him and I want to help him", she replied.
Lou nodded and Ike shook his head, helpless in the face of the iron will of the two women.
The boys and Teaspoon managed to discover where Amanda was being held captive and set up camp just outside Pike's headquarters, after having all gathered together, to decide on the strategy to adopt.
Lou, Ike and Diana also managed to find out where the woman was being held and with a ruse they entered the camp. They immediately found Amanda who apparently betrayed them and handed them over to Pike, while Ike managed to escape to warn the others. Meanwhile Kid had been sent by Teaspoon as a messenger to inform Pike's brother that they accepted the exchange, but when he arrived at the camp, he found a nasty surprise: instead of Amanda, he saw Lou and Diana prisoners and his blood ran cold.
Kid cursed Pike and returned to the camp where Ike had already arrived to break the news. Buck threw himself ferociously at Ike, with unprecedented violence, so much so that the young man feared for his life. The same happened to Jimmy when the Kid returned.
"How could you bring them back, Ike, I told you to bring Diana home!" Buck railed
It wasn't possible to stop them, they wanted to help you free Amanda
"If anything happens to her, I will hold you responsible and disown you as a brother!" Buck shouted.
"Guys, stop it, we have a bigger problem, Pike is dead", Teaspoon pointed out.
Kid and Buck's blood ran cold.
The boys decided to bluff and bring Pike's fenced corpse to make the exchange anyway.
When his brother noticed this, all hell broke loose, but luckily Amanda had managed to free Diana and Lou and the three women helped the boys and Teaspoon as much as they could to defeat the gang. Pike's brother and his henchmen were also killed and the boys emerged victorious from this feat as well. Lou ran to hug Kid who was injured, Teaspoon hugged Amanda, while Diana kept her distance from Buck, causing him acute suffering.
"Are you okay?", he asked her, trying to get closer, but she moved away, even if with death in her heart, and replied: "Yes, don't worry about me, think about your new friend" and left Amanda and Teaspoon.
When they returned to camp, Lou looked after Kid and explained her reasons which the boy understood and apologized to Jimmy.
Jane had sought out Buck to thank him for helping her get revenge and this had created even more misunderstandings between him and Diana.
Ike had approached her and said: Don't be silly, go to him, you need to clarify yourselves
"There's nothing to clarify, Ike, look at them, I am too many", she replied, pointing to Buck and Jane who were smiling.
Ike decided he had to talk to his friend too and left Diana in tears.
He caught up with Buck while he was talking to Jane.
Buck, can I talk to you for a moment?
"Go ahead, I'll go thank the others", Jane told him.
What the hell are you doing? Diana is suffering, go to her and clarify things like Lou and Kid did
"There's nothing to clarify, Ike, she doesn't want me anymore and then I still haven't forgiven her and I haven't forgiven you either for putting her in danger", Buck told him bitterly.
Clear up this misunderstanding please, she thinks you don't love her anymore because you met Jane, don't be stupid. Take it out on me instead, but go to her
Buck realized that Ike was right. She reached Diana, who was in a corner of the field, after having chased Noah and Teaspoon away because she wanted to be alone and not even Lou and Amanda had been able to console her.
He approached her and asked: "Can I sit here next to you?"
"Don't you have to take care of that Jane?", she replied testily
"Diana, please, let's resolve this misunderstanding. I chased Jane who shot at us in an attempt to kill Pike. Could I leave her alone and defenseless in the woods? We brought her with us so we could defend her and that's it. I love only you, so much that when I saw you with Ike and Lou I lost my mind. I really thought I might lose you, and when Ike told us that Pike had taken you prisoner, I almost died of fear. I'm sorry if I got so angry with you, but I don't want you to feel bad because of me", he said to her from the heart.
Diana melted a little and replied: "Buck, I love you too more than anything in the world and that's why I couldn't stay home and worry. If I had been alone I would never have left, but when I heard that Ike and Lou were going to join you, I thought I couldn't stay at home waiting for you with my hands folded. Now I understand, I shouldn't have done it, but it's love that pushed me to act like this."
Buck hugged her and she didn't pull away this time.
"I know you acted out of love and I'm so grateful for how you feel about me, but promise me you won't risk your life because of me again."
"Buck, you know I can't promise you that. If I were in danger, I would not hesitate to risk my life for you."
"What should I do with you?" he asked, kissing her head.
"Loving me, that's all I ask", she replied.
"You should never have any doubts about this"
They kissed tenderly, dissolving all resentment and fear.
"I think you owe Ike an apology", she suggested.
"You're right, I'll go right away"
"And as for Jane, I understand, be nice to her" and she blew him a kiss with her hand. He smiled.
Buck apologized to Ike and the two ended up hugging.
When it was time to leave, Buck went to say goodbye to Jane. They took a walk and Buck asked her what her plans were. Jane replied that she still had to process everything that had happened.
"You should start thinking about the man you love, not the one you hate", Buck advised her.
"I would like to do it, but unfortunately he loves another wonderful woman who risked her life for him", the girl replied back.
Buck was taken aback and tried to justify himself: "Jane, I…."
"Don't say anything, Buck, you two love each other very much and it shows a mile away, I hope to find sooner or later a man who loves me like you love her, even if I think it will be very difficult, your way of loving is unique "
Buck blushed and replied: "You'll find him, you'll see. I love Diana more than anything in the world and I would die if I had to lose her."
Jane nodded.
Diana, not far from there, while cooling off in the waters of the river, heard those words and thanked her good fortune for having found a man like Buck.
The boys, Lou, Diana and Teaspoon left after taking Amanda and Jane back to town, promising Amanda that they would see each other more often from now on.
When they returned, Rachel lashed out at Diana.
"Do you have any idea how scared I was when Margaret brought me the note you left her?"
"I know Rachel, but you would have done the same thing for your husband", Diana replied.
Rachel knew the girl was telling the truth and said: "Come here and next time talk to me before you do anything" and hugged her.
Buck candidly communicated that he would not sleep at the station that night and left with Diana for her home.
They loved each other all night and he slipped away in the morning before dawn to avoid anyone seeing him, aware that there was only one certainty in his life: his love for Diana.