THE ROCK CREEK
ADVENTUROUS TALES, PART 1
The next morning Buck stumbles out of the front door of his home tucking his shirt into his pants while trying to hang onto his gun belt with one hand. After he accomplishes that task with some difficultly, he buckles his gun belt on as he walks over to Teaspoon's home where he is to meet up with Kid.
Kid greets Buck by Rachel and Teaspoon's white picket fence. A white picket fence that is still in shambles from the storm. Kid is still yawning, but at least he has himself completely dressed.
"What do you suppose Teaspoon wants to talk to us about?" Kid asked in between long drawn out yawns.
"Probably wants to reprimand you for lying to his wife the way you did last night," Buck spoke as he strolled into the front yard and left a stunned Kid holding up the broken gate door.
Kid propped the gate up and ran to catch up with Buck. "Your kidding right?"
Buck just arched an eyebrow at Kid and smiled. Both men enter the house to the smell of fresh coffee brewing. They take the stairs two at a time and bust in on Teaspoon and Rachel in a loving embrace on the bed. Kid and Buck both clear their throats to get the couple's attention.
"What you two didn't think we heard you coming? You sound like a herd a cattle walking up those stairs," Teaspoon bellowed.
"Rachel places one last soothing kiss on Teaspoon's forehead. "I'm sure you men have a lot to talk about. I'll be downstairs." She leaves the bedroom.
Teaspoon is laying flat on his back, but is reaching his hands out for Buck and Kid to help him sit up. "You think you boys could help an old man out here."
"Sorry Teaspoon," Kid spoke rushing to Teaspoon's side.
Buck props Teaspoon's pillows up in back of him while Kid helps Teaspoon into a sitting position.
"You think maybe you could put a couple pillows underneath that bad leg?" Teaspoon asked pathetically.
Buck grabs two pillows from a nearby chair. Kid lifts Teaspoon's bad leg up while Buck situates the pillows underneath the leg. Once Buck has the pillows fluffed and right under Teaspoon's leg, Kid drops the leg onto the pillows without thinking about it being broke.
Teaspoon lets out a stifling scream of pain as he grabs for his broken leg. "You could try being a little more gentle about it Kid."
"Ah, sorry Teaspoon. I wasn't thinking," Kid spoke behind tired eyes.
Teaspoon eyes his boys over suspiciously. After one day at the marshal's office they are both looking a bit under the weather. "You two sure everything's alright? You both look like you should be sleeping in your bed's instead of starting a new day."
"We were up pretty late last evening fixing the barn roof. Afterwards we had horses grazing in the pastures that had to be guided into the barn for the night," Buck spoke supplying Teaspoon with an answer to their yawns and bloodshot eyes.
"You sure nothing happened in town yesterday?"
"Nothing out of the ordinary," Kid replied lying through his teeth again.
"Ok. I guess the town folks haven't been too hard on you then. I sure could go for a cup of that coffee Rachel's brewing," Teaspoon spoke with a hint of a request for the boys to fetch him his morning coffee.
"I'll get it for you," Buck spoke turning his attention to Kid and shaking his head. He knows Teaspoon is up to no good. Buck leaves the room and heads downstairs for the coffee. Rachel is at the foot of the stairs with three cups in her hands. She hands the boiling liquid over to Buck.
"Are you sure you can handle all three?"
"I'm fine Rachel."
Buck walks back up the stairs more quietly this time around. When he gets into Teaspoon's bedroom, he hands Kid and Teaspoon each a cup of steaming coffee. Buck and Kid start to drink from their cups. Teaspoon glances down at the contents of his cup and shows dislike for the liquid inside.
"Something wrong Teaspoon?" Buck asked with concern.
"I thought maybe I'd try my coffee with some cream in it this morning."
"Since when did you start drinking coffee with cream?" Buck asked confused.
"Well… I…I thought maybe I'd just give it a try that's all," Teaspoon spoke rather soft spoken.
Buck takes Teaspoon's cup of coffee from him and rushes out of the bedroom and back down the stairs to Rachel's kitchen.
"My foot is getting cold. You think you could get a pair of my socks out of the drawer for me," Teaspoon asked Kid.
Kid walks over to Teaspoon's chest of drawers and goes through all the drawers before finding his socks in the very last drawer. He hands them to Teaspoon.
"I don't think I can reach my foot son," Teaspoon spoke sarcastically.
Kid grabs the socks from Teaspoon and tries to put them on the marshal's feet with Teaspoon moaning in pain. "I'm trying to be careful."
"You have a lousy bedside manner Kid."
"I admit I don't have much experience in putting other people's socks on. Hell I have a hard time dressing myself in the morning."
"I bet you do," Teaspoon spoke with a snicker.
Buck walks back into the bedroom. He stops dead in his tracks with a silly expression on his face when he witnesses the scene before him. "Here's your coffee with cream in it Teaspoon." Buck hands the fresh cup of coffee with cream over to Teaspoon.
Kid forces the sock on Teaspoon's foot. Which causes Teaspoon to spill some of his steaming hot coffee down the front of his shirt. "Kid I could have wrestled with the undertaking of putting my socks on a whole lot better then what you're accomplishing."
"Sorry Teaspoon. I suppose you need a dry shirt now too."
"That would be nice."
Buck is standing in the background trying to hold in his laughter and not doing very well with the task. He watches as Teaspoon takes a sip of his coffee. He watches as Teaspoon's face turns sour.
"You're right son. There's no way I can drink that god awful stuff," Teaspoon spoke gruffly as he hands the cup of coffee back to Buck.
Buck takes the coffee cup from Teaspoon. "I suppose you'd like a fresh cup of black coffee."
"That'd be nice of you to get me a fresh cup," Teaspoon smiled pleased with himself for causing both men a morning they won't soon forget.
Kid takes Teaspoon's soiled shirt off and puts a clean shirt back on the disabled
marshal. He's buttoning the shirt up when Buck comes back into the room with
a cup of black coffee. He hands it over to Teaspoon.
Teaspoon takes a pleasing sip of the black brew.
"Now that's much better. You two best get into town. It's already eight o'clock. You've got a busy day ahead of yourselves," Teaspoon spoke commandingly. Both men start to leave the bedroom. "Oh and boys. Thanks for the visit this morning. It was…interesting to say the least."
"Have a nice day Teaspoon," Kid spoke gruntingly to an amused Teaspoon Hunter.
Addison and Daniel Hunter come barreling into their father's bedroom landing abruptly onto his bed. Teaspoon moans in pain pretending that the boys hurt his leg. Addison has beautiful brown chestnut locks like his mother, with light brown eyes. He is five years old. He is Rachel and Teaspoon's elder son, and he definitely shows his devilish side when his laughter lightens up a room. He starts to tickle Teaspoon. The same way Teaspoon is always tickling him whenever he doesn't obey his father.
"How are you daddy?" Addison asked in-between his giggles.
Teaspoon finally gets the boy down on the bed and gives him just a little taste of his own medicine. He tickles him feverishly. Addison giggles are uncontrollable. Teaspoon can't help but laugh at the boy's seeming torture.
"Ok. I give up!" Addison muffled his scream mixed with giggles.
Teaspoon gives him one last tickle and then stops. "I suppose you may have had enough tickles for one day."
Daniel Hunter is Teaspoon's youngest son. He is three years old. He doesn't demand tickles. Teaspoon pulls Daniel up to his chest and gives the boy a big old bear hug. Daniel has reddish brown hair, and a few freckles scattered on his face. He is a little quieter than his untamed brother. Daniel points at Teaspoon's bad leg.
"Daddy, you have a boo boo. You need me to fix it for you?" Daniel asked as he hugs Teaspoon back.
"Ah… Daniel. The doc already fixed my boo boo."
"Do you have to stay in bed because you're sick?" Addison asked getting into the conversation with his dad and brother.
"I ain't sick. Your mama won't let me get out of bed," Teaspoon spoke to both his boys.
"You just make sure you listen to mama, Teaspoon Hunter," Rachel ordered from the doorway.
"Mama!" Both boys yelled in unison. Both boys jump off the bed and leave their father in a mass of disheveled blankets. They run into their mother's open arms. Rachel bends down to give them each a kiss and giant hug to start their morning.
"You two run along downstairs. Your breakfast is at the table," Rachel spoke softly to her two children.
Both boys high tail it down the stairs. Rachel turns around to view Teaspoon straightening out his blankets. Rachel places a kiss on his cheek. "Those two are going to miss their daddy being confined to a bed for a month or more."
"Once I get those crutches, I'll be able to walk around a bit. I'll at least be able to sit outside and watch them play even if I can't join in."
Rachel glances skeptically at her stubborn husband.
"You ain't going to even let me sit outside?" Teaspoon asked a frown developing on his face.
Rachel hates seeing Teaspoon so beside himself with anxiety over his bedridden state. She fluffs his pillows and props them up again for him to rest his back on. "I suppose if you sit still and don't do too much moving around. I can let you sit outside now and then."
"Thank-you very much warden."
"Your welcome," Rachel spoke beaming brightly at her husband.
