The bells of the small church pealed joyously across the town. It was a characteristic sound for the people of Sweetwater to know that two of their neighbors had gotten hitched. Some of the people who were in town stopped to see the newly married couple emerge from inside the whitewashed chapel.
The bride and the groom were grinning from ear to ear as they made their way out followed by their families and friends. Once they had reached the porch, they couldn't resist the temptation of kissing again. They pulled away as their relatives and friends one by one came and wished them all the best.
Rachel couldn't believe that the handsome man beside her was her husband. Her husband. Just the thought of it made her grin wider and blush. She felt the luckiest woman in the whole world. Barely some months before she had been all alone and her life had seemed senseless. Her truly first love, Henry Dunne, had been killed by a man looking for retaliation. As always, it never rains, it pours, and Rachel had lost her unborn child when she had confronted her husband's murderer. As a result of this confrontation, she had killed one of the men who had been with him and she had become an outcast, constantly running away from the law.
Her life had turned into an endless pain, a miserable existence. She had felt sour, empty and terribly lonely. Looking at her new husband she had to shake her head and ward off her scaring thoughts.
Rachel smiled as she remembered how everything had taken an unexpected turn. Her arrival at Sweetwater looking for a job had been filled with apprehension. Knowing that she would be working for the marshal hadn't helped things. She had thought that taking the job as a cook in a Pony Express station would give her the perfect opportunity to hide, at least temporarily. But everything had been for the best. Although her relationship with the riders had been awkward at first, all of them ogling at her like owls and making inappropriate remarks, things had blown over once she had got things cleared out. In addition, her matter with justice had also been solved thanks to the boys' and Teaspoon's efforts. Yeah, with her arrival at the Sweetwater way station she had found a home, her home, her family.
She grinned at the boys as one by one kissed and hugged her on her happy day. Every one of them was dear to her and she had a soft spot for them. All of them were so different, but at the same time they were so similar in some ways. Cody, who always raised everyone's spirits, even in the worst of situations, with his wisecracks. Gentle Ike, who could say more than words could express; Buck, who in spite of his eerie countenance was sweet and calm; Noah, a black man devoid of the chains; Jimmy, who behind that hard mask hid a loving human being; and Kid, who always did what was right in this time of violence and vice. Yes, they were a very different bunch but in spite of the differences they didn't hesitate to put their lives in the line for each other.
Teaspoon came after the boys to give her a big bear hug. She couldn't help the tears as he wished her happiness and told her how beautiful she looked. Teaspoon was eccentric and sometimes weird, but he was the unitary force of this family with his special wit and wisdom.
After the congratulations were over, Rachel took her husband's hand and the two of them, escorted by their family, headed to the restaurant where they would have a small reception.
Rachel gazed at the man by her side, who proudly escorted her through the town. She felt an immense joy and remembered the first time she had seen him. It had been in the same church that they had just left. He had been sitting a few pews in front of her. She had immediately noticed him. He was tall, handsome, smart, everything in him had attracted her at once. She hadn't felt so affected by any man for a long time. Her husband had died a few years before and she hadn't had the need for any man. And there she had been watching, staring, scrutinizing this man, who she didn't know anything about. She had been so immersed in her own thoughts and in the view before her that she hadn't noticed that the service was over. One of the boys had had to nudge her gently on her arm to catch her attention.
From then on she had learnt everything about this man. He was the new manager of the Sweetwater Bank. He was a widower like her and had two young children: a ten-year-old daughter and a twelve-year-old boy. Rachel smiled as she reminisced about the day that they had finally met. He had come to the station to talk to Teaspoon about a shipment of gold that was on its way to Sweetwater. The moment their eyes met Rachel had known that he had felt the same way as she had. It had been love at first sight and the days that had followed this first meeting had deepened their feelings for each other. Both of them had become inseparable and soon it had been common gossip in the town that the new banker and the housekeeper of the Pony Express station were courting.
Rachel cherished these memories dearly, she had been as happy as a queen. Their relationship had felt so right from the beginning, everything had been perfect. John had been a real gentleman, bringing her flowers every day, taking her out for dinner in town, showing his love for her and granting her every single wish. Also from the beginning she had got on well with the children. They had accepted her and she thought they were wonderful children and Rachel had grown very fond of them. Also the boys and Teaspoon had liked John and it wasn't strange to have him at dinner in the bunkhouse.
Then had come the proposal, his romantic proposal. She hadn't hesitated to accept it. It was what she had been looking forward to for a long time. And here she was, a married woman with a wonderful husband, two children and a family of seven men. There wasn't anything she could wish for.
John had been wonderful. He had accepted to move and live in the way station. He didn't want her to lose anything she cared for. He so understood, she thought.
Rachel was taken from her reverie by the sweet voice of her husband. They were
in front of the restaurant door and he asked: "Are you ready, Mrs. Boggs?"
"More than ready, Mr. Boggs, more than ready."
