ROCK CREEK ADVENTUROUS TALES
PART 2

GHOSTS FROM THE PAST

by Debra © 2001

CHAPTER ONE

Dusk has fallen onto The Kid & Buck Horse ranch. The sky has become a very soft blue almost pale gray hue. The deep orange and vibrant ambers of the sunset are slowly descending beyond a mountain in the far distance away from Rock Creek. The astounding sunset still holds enough light to keep the owners of the ranch still laboriously at work.THE ROCK CREEK ADVENTUROUS TALES

Louise walks out onto her front porch from the inside of her harmonious home, which is sometimes difficult to obtain with teen-agers in residence. The beautiful sky nearly taking her breath away, almost causing her to forget the reason she came outside in the first place. She searches the ranch grounds for the men in her life that she loves dearly, and couldn't bear to live without.

Her eyes meet up with Jeremiah painting the last coat of paint on the newly constructed picket fence around the front yard of the Hunter homestead. Even though the sky has turned to dusk, Louise can clearly see that Jeremiah is wearing at least one coat of paint on his clothing. She smiles. Jeremiah had been rather insistent that he be allowed to help Kid and Buck with the repairs that needed to be done to the ranch. The only thing being that Jeremiah wasn't counting on Teaspoon volunteering him to fix and repaint the white picket fence that extends around the front of Rachel and Teaspoon's home. Jeremiah would have rather been involved with helping mend the corrals. Teaspoon certainly is one smart old man. He knew that Kid and Buck needed to see that Jeremiah is a hard worker and that he's responsible enough to stay with a job until it is finished. Teaspoon also knew that Jeremiah should be a distance away from Kid and Buck, and the work they need to complete before the summer heat turns to winter frost.

Louise stretches her body forward to gaze out over the porch. She squints her eyes to search the land before and beyond horse corrals. She barely can make out the silhouettes of two men still connecting and hammering the new corral sections back together. She gazes over the newly constructed corrals and notices that Kid and Buck accomplished a lot today. They both will be hungry and tired after the strenuous day they just put in repairing the corrals in the late summer heat. When they first went out to the corrals that morning, Kid and Buck made a commitment to her that they weren't retiring for the evening until the corrals are finished. It looks like they kept their promise. But, tomorrow will just bring another day with other repairs that need done before cold weather sets in. The weeks that have passed since the relentless storm have certainly been a tiring time for the family who reside at the Kid & Buck Horse Ranch.

Louise reaches her hand up to the dinner bell hanging down from her porch roof. She rings it loud and long to make sure she catches Kid, Buck and Jeremiah's attention. She smiles when all three men look away from their work to see her standing on the porch beckoning them to come to supper.

"Supper is ready!" Louise bellowed loud enough for all of Rock Creek to hear her. She prays that she doesn't get any uninvited guests for supper.

Jeremiah is the first to put down the brush that is saturated with white paint that he is using to paint the fence with. He starts walking towards Louise in a hurry to get to the table before anyone else. At sixteen, his appetite has become rather enormous. When he reaches the steps he takes two steps at a time, his stomach rumbling to be fed. But, when he reaches Louise, she promptly turns him around to face the water pump at the left side of the house.

"You're not stepping one foot in my house with that paint covering you from head to foot. Go wash up first. I'll bring you out a change of clothes," Louise commanded.

"I can't change out here," Jeremiah whined.

"Don't pretend to be modest Jeremiah. I know better. Besides no one is going to see you. All the proper young ladies from town are already nestled in their homes with their families. Now go clean up or you'll go without eating at the table and sleeping in your bed until you do."

Jeremiah gives out a heavy sigh, but stomps back down the steps in a spoiled fashion and makes his way out slowly to the water pump.

Louise can only shake her head. She finds it extremely difficult to raise teen-agers. She can only pray that her two young girls don't grow up too quickly. Heaven help the first young man that asks permission to court one of Kid's daughters. Louise opens the front door to her home, and walks inside.

Kid and Buck place the last section of corral together before calling it quits for another day. The two men are picking their tools up from the ground and placing them in a wooden toolbox.

"You were pretty quiet today. Something troubling you?" Kid asked Buck hoping to get an answer for his friend's somber mood today. Kid lifts the toolbox from the ground as the two men start walking toward the barn, wiping sweat from their faces with the back of their hands, and depositing the wetness onto the front of their trousers.

"Not really. I've been trying to figure out the murders that Cody's here to investigate. The person responsible for the killings didn't leave a shred of evidence behind."

"I thought Cody had confiscated arrows from the bodies of the dead soldiers."

"He did. Cody was hoping I could tell him what tribe they were from. To me they appear to be made by a white man. I think Cody doubts my judgment."

"Cody has known you a long time. He should know by now that you wouldn't lie about something as important as evidence to cover up a killer, no matter who it is."

"It would make Cody's job a lot easier if it were a tribe of Indians."

"It might make his job easier, but it wouldn't find the person who's really responsible for the killings," Kid spoke as he turns his attention to placing the toolbox right inside the barn door. He latches the barn door closed before turning his attention back to Buck. "I'm starved. Lets get some supper. We can sort out Cody's dilemma in the morning."

"Uh…I can't tonight Kid. Cody and Jimmy are having supper with Rachel and Teaspoon tonight. They both wanted me to be there to discuss Cody's dilemma," Buck spoke with eyebrows arched.

"It seems to me that Cody and Jimmy should be able to handle solving these killings without getting you involved. Don't they realize that you have a full time job working our ranch, not to mention all the repairs we have to make before winter?" Kid spoke harshly aiming his words at Cody and Jimmy, not at Buck.

Buck doesn't want Kid to be upset with Cody or Jimmy any longer. As he watches Kid's anger come to the surface again, he's thinking that it might be wise on his part to keep any conversation about Cody and Jimmy silent when he's talking with Kid. It seems that whenever he brings up their names in conversation with Kid, no matter what they're doing or not doing, his temper takes total control of him and Kid doesn't have one good thing to say about either one of them. "Kid really I don't mind. It's only for one evening. Besides Louise will enjoy having you all to herself for supper," Buck spoke smiling at Louise's apparent jealously fits of him and Kid. He is even more pleased when a smile spreads across his business partner's face. He hopes guiding the conversation to Lou will help Kid forget Jimmy for a while.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't let my feelings about Jimmy overflow onto everything else that is going on around me."

"It's alright. I'll see you first thing tomorrow morning."

"Sure thing," Kid spoke as he watches Buck walk through the open gateway and up the path to the home of Rachel and Teaspoon Hunter. Once Buck walks inside the house, he turns his attention to his own home and heads on over to his family.

When Buck enters the Hunter household Rachel, Teapsoon, Cody and Jimmy look away from their plates to see who has come through the front door. Buck has four sets of eyes watching his every movement, while he places his hat on the coat rack near the front door, and strides to the table. All of them, who are already seated and served, are waiting for an explanation for his tardiness. Cody had made it a point to inform him that dinner would be at seven.

"I guess I should have escorted you to dinner for what little good it did for me to tell you what time it would be ready," Cody spoke gruffly.

"I'm sorry. Kid and I were finishing up the last section of the corrals," Buck spoke embarrassed about his being late to dinner. He seats himself next to Jimmy, and across from Cody.

"That's good that you and Kid have finished the corrals. At least the horses will be a content herd tomorrow," Teaspoon spoke referring to his family not being so content these days.

"We're pleased. We still have quite a bit of work to get done though."
Buck serves himself a plate of Rachel's cooking while Cody proceeds to talk with a mouth full of food. Buck watches Cody shovel his food in faster than he can chew it up. Cody's incessant appetite almost causes Buck to lose his.

"Now that Buck is finally here we can get down to business," Cody spoke in-between his first and second helping.

"Perhaps son we should wait until you've eaten your dinner. Seems to me it would make this meeting move a whole lot quicker," Teaspoon stated watching Cody with amazement at the amount of food the man can still put away, but yet remain so thin.

"What's the hurry? We have all evening," Cody spoke.

"Cody you said earlier today you had some important news for all of us. What is it?" Jimmy asked impatiently.

Cody takes his napkin that is tucked under his chin and tosses it onto his plate. It is time to get down to business. "The army found two more soldiers murdered at an abandoned farm a few miles north of here."

"It wouldn't happen to be the two soldiers who escorted Buck and I out to view those four soldiers, who I might add had been dead for quite some time?" Jimmy asked still showing resentment for those particular men.

"No Jimmy it wasn't those two soldiers. Can't you just let it go? Soldiers have to harden their souls so scenes like what you witnessed don't bother them. They see killing all the time Jimmy."

"Cody how did the soldiers know where to look for the two men that were just found?" Buck asked diverting the conversation back to the business at hand.

"They were tipped off. A note arrived this morning by messenger."

"Who was the messenger?" Teaspoon asked.

"He said his name is Phillip Anderson. Said he found the note attached to his barn with a bloody arrow!" Cody replied disheartened a bit.

"You think there's something wrong with that picture?" Teaspoon asked trying to figure out what Cody actually thinks.

"You know the Anderson's, don't you Teaspoon?" Cody asked.

"Yeah. They're a bit of a wild bunch. I don't pay them much attention unless they break the law."

"They have a ranch a few miles from here. They raise cattle and a few horses. The ranch is actually owned by Phillip's father Oliver," Buck spoke knowingly.

"What do you mean by they're a wild bunch Teaspoon?" Cody asked.

"I think what Teaspoon means by wild are Oliver and Charlotte's two daughters, Hannah and Charlene Anderson. The two of them are quite well known in town at the saloon. The both of them have been known to accompany married men to the rooms above the saloon. Of course this is just hearsay, and besides both girls have repeatedly denied these accusations," Rachel stated to the group of men at her table.

"I thought one of those girls is engaged to Oliver's top ranch hand." Teaspoon stated confusion worn on his face.

"Charlene. She's the one who's marrying Simon Davenport, but from what I understand she isn't happy about it," Rachel spoke.

"Why would she marry the man if she ain't happy about it?" Jimmy asked even more confused then Teaspoon.

"From what I understand Oliver Anderson took it upon himself and decided that his daughters aren't getting married off quick enough. He's forcing her to wed Simon," Rachel spoke turning her attention to Teaspoon. "I'm surprised you haven't already heard all this in town."

"Me! That's woman talk. I don't pay no mind to woman talk," Teaspoon commented with a guilty expression on his face.

Teaspoon's remark gets a round of laughs from Buck, Jimmy and Cody. They all figure Teaspoon has heard the story by at least a dozen or so gossips from town. Rachel pours all the men a hot cup of coffee before she pours herself a cup, while trying to keep the smirk off her face concerning her husband's guilty expression.

"Perhaps the best thing to do Cody would be to pay Phillip Anderson a visit at his ranch and judge him for yourself," Buck spoke turning his attention to Cody.

"If it makes a difference, I've never heard anything bad about the son," Rachel spoke softly.

"Is there any other interesting news you've heard in town that would be worth sharing with the rest of us?" Teaspoon asked becoming more interested in the local gossip these days then the law. He shifts himself in his chair in an uncomfortable fashion, trying to find a better position for his broken limb. He lets out a painful sigh when he moves his leg to get more comfortable.

"You okay Teaspoon? Jimmy asked with concern.

"Yeah. This old leg of mine just gets a little tired of sitting after awhile."

"There's a new school teacher arriving soon," Rachel spoke abruptly trying to get Buck, Cody and Jimmy's attention. She's hoping one of these young men will have a chance at courting her.

All three men turn their attention from Teaspoon's agony to Rachel's thought-provoking news.

"I understand she's in her twenties and very much a single woman."

"Is this suppose to mean something to us Rachel?" Jimmy asked in a teasing manner.

This gets a smile out of Buck and Cody.

"It wouldn't hurt any one of you to court a woman in a proper manner," Rachel spoke rather upset at the three men sitting at her table. Her berating of the three men has Buck looking down toward his plate before him.

"I ain't looking to get married Rachel," Jimmy spoke no longer amused by Rachel's suggestion of romance for one of them.

"I didn't say anything about getting married….

"Actually Rachel, I'll be looking forward to meeting the new school teacher. Just let me know when she arrives in town," Cody spoke boldly before Buck got the chance to ask Rachel about the young woman.

Teaspoon notices Buck's slight disappointment at Cody's unreserved behavior. Cody has enough confidence for twenty men, but Buck's confidence is easily shattered when faced with competition in the romance department. "What about you Buck? Would you like to meet the young lady in question also?"

Buck turns his attention to everyone at the table. It seems as if they're all staring at him waiting for him to stumble over an answer. He clears the hoarseness from his throat before he speaks. "I don't think so Teaspoon."

"And why not?" Teaspoon asked perplexed by Buck's answer.

"I have enough to handle with the ranch, Kid and Lou."

"What do you have to handle with Kid and Louise?" Rachel asked with bewilderment. She was actually praying Buck would be the one taking an interest in the schoolteacher.

"It's a long story. Too long of a story to tell tonight," Buck stated softly.

"It's getting late. Buck, Jimmy can I count on both you helping me tomorrow with the Anderson's? We'll also have to ride out to this abandoned farm where the two soldiers were found. We'll need to see if the killer left any evidence behind," Cody asked turning the conversation back to the army's problems.

"I'll go with you," Jimmy stated flatly.

"I'll help, but I'll need to get back here to the ranch. I can't be away from here all day," Buck spoke not wanting to leave Kid with all the work.

"It's settled then. Cody, tomorrow morning Buck and I will meet you over at the bunkhouse," Jimmy spoke as he's standing up and walking to the front door. "Thanks for dinner Rachel."

Buck walks over to Rachel and kisses her on the cheek. "Thanks for supper. Good-night." Buck walks over to the front door. "Good-night Teaspoon."

"Good-night son."

"Oh and Buck, seven o'clock sharp," Cody commanded softly.

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