A
LOVE REBORNA
LOVE REBORN
"Lily! Lily, please wait!" Buck called from the porch steps.
Lily stopped running and turned around, her long black hair swinging out behind her. When she faced Buck her cheeks were stained with tears, her eyes a harsh red, her breath coming in fierce gasps. Buck felt his heart leap into his throat at the site of her. He was causing her this pain, and it killed him inside, but he didn't know what to do. Devon must be mad for sure, but how could he explain how she knew about his birthmark?
Buck walked down the steps and over to Lily in three long strides. When he reached her, he took her hands in his and looked into her eyes. "Lily, you must believe me. I swear to you, I have no idea who she is. I've never seen her before today in my life!"
Lily continued to sob as she looked at Buck with pained eyes. "Then, how does she know? How could she?"
Buck shook his head and went to embrace Lily, but she pushed him away. "Lily-"
"No, don't. I want to believe you, I want to believe you more than anything." Lily looked over Buck's shoulder towards the house. "But how am I supposed to accept the fact that a woman you claim to have never seen before knows something that I only discovered two nights ago?"
"I told you, I don't know. But she's crazy if she thinks that I believe her story!" Buck turned her chin so that she was facing him again and stared deeply into her eyes. "I love you Lily. I have given you my heart, and I don't ever want it back again. You are the woman that I want to spend the rest of my life with. You are the woman that I want to have children with. Not some crazy woman who says that she was married to me 170 years ago!"
"I know that Buck, and you know that I feel the same way about you." Lily blinked back fresh tears as sobs continued to wrack her lithe frame.
"Then what's the matter?"
Lily wiped her tears away with the palms of her hands, and cocked her head to the right as she looked up into Buck's distressed face. "I think that you should go and see Red Bear."
"My brother? Why? He'll just tell me what we already know. That Devon is mad!" Buck stated.
Lily shook her head. "You're telling me that there isn't at least a small part of you that is wondering if Devon could possibly be telling the truth?"
Buck's eyes shifted downward.
"I thought so," Lily stated gravely as she pulled out of Buck's arms.
Buck looked up, a hurt and hopeless expression on his face. "Lily-"
Lily walked over to him, smiled and gave him a quick kiss on his lips. "Don't think I'm saying that I'm willing to give you up. Oh no, if Miss Morgan thinks that she is going to get rid of me that easily, she has a lot to learn."
Buck gave a crooked smile.
Lily's expression turned serious again. "But I do want you to visit Red Bear and tell him what's going on. Maybe he'll have some advice."
Buck nodded. The last time he was having problems, he had gone through a ritual with The Man of Dreams. Maybe he will be able to help me again, he thought to himself. "You're right," he finally told her.
"I know I am." Lily gave a small smile. "When are you planning to leave?"
"I'm going to mount up and leave right away. I want this cleared up as soon as possible so that life can go back to normal." Buck told her as he gathered her in his arms again, burying his face in her hair. "And I want our life to get back to normal."
Lily looked up at him and kissed him again. "Be careful Buck."
"I will. Tell the others where I've gone?" He asked.
Lily nodded.
"I love you." Buck kissed her softly, their passion growing as the seconds passed by. Lily finally pulled away reluctantly and took a deep breath.
"I promise you, there will be plenty of time for dancin' when you get back."
Buck grinned back at her, his eyebrow raised, a mischievous glint in his eyes. "Don't think I'm not going to hold you to it!"
Lily laughed a deep throaty laugh. "I wouldn't have it any other way! Now if you ever plan on making it to the camp before nightfall, you had better get moving!"
"Okay, okay!" Buck leaned down and kissed Lily quickly as he turned and mounted his horse, which had been left as it was since returning from town. "I'll be back by tomorrow afternoon." He called as he kicked the horse and took off.
"Ride safe my love." Lily said softly as she watched Buck ride off. She was filled with apprehension and fear, for she wasn't sure she wanted to find out what Buck would learn back at the Kiowa camp.
As soon as Buck left, the room was draped in silence. After several minutes, I rose from my seat slowly and looked over at Rachel. She wouldn't meet my eyes.
"I'm sorry." I said quietly. "I only wanted him to know the truth. I'm not crazy."
"You could've fooled me." Lou said as she turned and left the small parlor, followed by Cody and the doctor. Jimmy stayed in the room with Rachel.
"Aren't you going to go too?" I asked.
He shook his head, "I don't want to leave Rachel alone in the same room with you."
I nodded slowly, and looked around for anything that might have been mine. "I better go. I have a farm to run and I've been gone too long as it is." Once again I turned to Rachel, and although I knew she might not take it, I held my hand out to her. "Thank you for being worried about me." My hand stood hanging in the air for about a minute before I dropped it and turned to leave.
"Jimmy, ride back with her." Rachel said softly.
Jimmy and I looked at each other. He shook his head as I said, "That's not necessary, if you just tell me in what direction to go I can find my own way home."
Rachel stood and walked up to me, a slight smile on her face. "You seem to be having a run of bad luck, I wouldn't be able to forgive myself if something happened to you on your way home. Jimmy will make sure that doesn't happen."
"I'd appreciate that."
Rachel looked over at Jimmy and nodded towards the door. "Why don't you go and saddle up Devon's horse, while she straightens herself up?" Jimmy sighed loudly then turned and walked out of the house.
Several minutes later, I left the safety of Rachel's house and walked out into the daylight. The doctor had left but the group of riders were all standing by the corral, everyone but Buck. I turned my face quickly and looked at Rachel, who was also looking for the young Indian.
"Rachel, I know everyone thinks I'm crazy, and I'd understand if you want nothing to do with me, but I'd like to repay your kindness. I'd like you to come to my home for dinner or lunch." I said hopefully.
Rachel saw the hope in my eyes, and nodded slowly. "I'd like that."
Jimmy interrupted us then. "Buck left to go see his brother. He said he needed to talk to him."
I took the reins from Jimmy and looked over to the group still standing at the corral staring at me. Seeing how easily Lily had gotten along with the group made me feel ashamed as if I had intruded on a family. I mounted my horse Starlight, with Jimmy by my side and headed for my home.
The ride back home was quick, although it seemed longer since Jimmy never spoke a word to me. I never knew I lived so close to the man who had been my destiny. I directed Starlight into my paddock, Jimmy beside me. As I dismounted, I decided to be a good hostess.
"Would you like something to drink or eat before you leave?" I asked.
"No." He said from his saddle on his Palomino.
"Alright, well thank you for bringing me home." I turned and lead Starlight into the stable leaving Jimmy behind.
Jimmy took the opportunity to look around the small farm. Devon had a small house with plenty of land, she had about 12 heads of the healthiest cattle he'd ever seen in a field and a diverse selection of crops. In front of her house she had a small garden of herbs and a small bed of flowers. It didn't look like the home of a crazed woman.
I was brushing Starlight when I felt him come into the stable.
"Why'd you do it?" Jimmy asked.
"Do what?" I answered without looking at him.
"Why are you trying to cause trouble between Buck and Lily?"
I stopped brushing and came around to stand in front of him, "I am not trying to cause anyone any trouble. I just want a chance to make him see what we had. I want to make him believe me and know I'm not crazy."
"No you're not crazy, you're just a witch." Jimmy said snippily.
"I may be a witch, but I'm not a liar." I said then turned towards the door. "Forget it," I said over my shoulder, "I can't explain it to you."
Jimmy ran after me as I left the stable and walked towards my house. He grabbed my elbow and turned me around to face him. "Try." He said
"I know to you it seems like I've never met him before. But I know I have, I have memories, real memories that I relive everyday. When I lived in Boston, I succeeded in pushing those memories to the back of my mind, then I saw him today and it was like a dam broke and everything I held in my heart came rushing out. I just needed to be with him."
Jimmy looked at me still unconvinced. "Then you saw Lily and him together."
I nodded, "And it was like my heart shattered in a hundred pieces. You don't know what it's like to love someone with every part of you and not have that person love you back, but instead give all the love they have to another person"
"Yes I do."
Jimmy's answer was so soft spoken that I wasn't sure I had heard him, but the hurt in his eyes was evident. "So then can you try to understand what I'm feeling?"
"Yeah, I guess I can." Jimmy then turned to leave.
I called out to him. "Jimmy -?" He turned, "-If you ever want someone to talk to about it, I'm always here."
Jimmy nodded slowly, mounted his horse and rode towards town.
Prologue ~ Chapter
1 ~ Chapter 2 ~ Chapter 3
~ Chapter 4 ~ Chapter 5 ~ Chapter
6 ~ Chapter 7 ~ Chapter 8
~ Chapter 9
~ Chapter 10 ~ Chapter 11 ~
Chapter 12
