STANDING BETWEEN LOVE AND BETRAYAL

By Debra © 2001
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CHAPTER NINETEEN

It has been far too long since Buck had been able to relax in his own home without Rachel trying to do her best to make him feel comfortable. Even though he knows Rachel and Teaspoon both wanted him to stay longer at their home, it was way past the time for Buck to move back into his home. His only reason for dreading the move is because Charlene has made herself comfortable at home in his house once again.

Looking around his home this morning had been like many mornings before Jimmy's arrival several months back. With Jimmy's arrival came the complicated mess of Charlene moving into his move for protection. Then came Jane. She came back into his life like the storm that broke Teaspoon's leg. She took his heart, and has yet to return it.

Charlene stands angrily at the edge of the kitchen table and flops burnt toast onto Buck's plate of cold eggs, and burnt bacon.

Buck gazes up into Charlene's eyes wondering if there is any compassion in her heart at all. She really can't expect him to eat the breakfast that she has prepared for him. He wouldn't give Charlene's cooking to his worst enemy. At this very moment that enemy would happen to be Cody.

Charlene is holding a coffee pot in her hands. "Would you like some coffee? Perhaps my discolored coffee won't be as bad as my cooking," Charlene spoke while making a horrible face as she peers into the pot of watered down coffee.

"Sure," Buck spoke as he pushes his coffee cup to the side where Charlene can reach the cup.

Charlene pours the coffee in Buck's cup. He watches the weak almost water like liquid pour into his cup.

Charlene backs away from the table to place the coffeepot back on the counter. She watches Buck intensely as he tries to muster the strength to give her coffee a try.

"Doesn't my coffee appeal to you either?" Charlene asked somewhat disappointed that Buck seems frightened to try the weak black mixture that she has poured into his coffee cup.

"It's a little too weak for me," Buck spoke quietly not wanting to hurt Charlene's feelings.

Charlene walks close to Buck, and bends to put her arms around his neck. "My cooking may have caused you to lose your appetite, but I can assure you that your appetite will increase once we are in bed together."

Charlene leans closer to Buck, and runs her lips softly against his.

Buck is somewhat shocked by Charlene's actions. He tries without much success to unleash her hands from around his neck. But, Charlene strengthens her hold, and with Buck's still weaken physical state, he is having a difficult time fending for himself. Charlene continues her seductive assault on his luscious lips.

The back door that is in the kitchen opens up with Cody and Jane standing in the doorway. Jane can't take her troubled eyes off the way Charlene is unreserved at the way she is behaving with Buck in front of her and Cody.

Buck sees the horrified look on Jane's face. He slightly pushes Charlene away from him. He has no intentions of making Jane think that he and Charlene are now together as a couple. The thought of making Jane jealous doesn't appeal to him.
Charlene backs off with a disapproving gaze toward Buck.

"I've brought Jane over because she would like to collect some of her things from the bedroom that she occupied while she stayed here," Cody spoke in a monotone voice.

Charlene turns and faces Jane with a smug look on her face. "Jane knows where she slept. She may go upstairs, and retrieve her things. It probably would be best if everything she owns were removed from Buck's home. After all, we all know that little Miss Jane won't ever be staying in this house again."

"Charlene, do you have to be so damn rude to everyone that walks through the doors of this house?" Jane asked taken back by Charlene's obvious claim to Buck's home.

Charlene walked out of the kitchen without answering Jane.

Jane gazes down at Buck. She had thought she would find a smug look on his face too, but all Jane sees is pain in his eyes.
"I won't be long, Cody."

Jane walked out of the kitchen leaving Cody and Buck alone.

"I know that it probably doesn't really interest you, but I thought maybe because at one time I had accused you of these murders that you might care to know that Hannah will soon be found guilty of all these crimes," Cody spoke bluntly.

"You're right Cody, I really don't care to hear about it. In my opinion you haven't done anything to prove that Hannah is guilty," Buck spoke adamantly.

"Haven't proved that she's guilty! Buck, open your eyes! You are just as blind as Jimmy. Why can't the two of you see that Hannah is our killer?"

Buck can only gaze at the blonde rider that he once knew and cared for like a brother. He isn't so sure he ever really knew Cody.

Jane with suitcase in hand stops at the top of the stairs that lead to the downstairs of Buck's home. She gazes down at his bedroom. The bedroom that someday she had hoped that she would share with him. Her thoughts briefly go back to the night they shared together in the cave. How she longed for his hands to caress her bare skin again. The thought was making it unbearable for her to stay in this house another moment longer. As Jane starts to take one step down onto the stairs, she witnesses Charlene walking out of Buck's bedroom with the linens from his bed gathered up in her arms.

When Charlene spots Jane watching her with bewilderment in her eyes, she decides that this is the perfect opportunity to drive the space between Buck and Jane even further apart.
Charlene slowly walks toward Jane. "The linens needed to be changed after my passionate encounter with Buck last evening."

The hurt that swells over in Jane's eyes is even difficult for Charlene to watch. Charlene walks away from Jane and rushes past her down the stairs.

Jane can't help herself but to walk over to his bedroom. She stares looking in at the bed that has been restored with fresh linens. Jane walks into the bedroom, and gazes down at the bed trying to block out the images of what happened in this bed last night. Thoughts of Buck making love to Charlene turn her stomach inside out.

"What are you doing in here?" Buck asked softly.

Jane turns around rapidly at the sound of Buck's voice. She makes her way over to stand in front of him, and she roughly pushes Buck in the chest. "You bastard!"

Jane rushes away from him.

"Jane!" Buck hollered in a confused tone.

Jane stumbles into Charlene on her way out of Buck's bedroom. She pushes Charlene away and all Buck can hear is Jane making her way down the stairs.

Buck tries to go after Jane, but Charlene eases him back and over to his bed. "Let her go. She doesn't want you anymore. Why don't you give in, and let a woman who wants you show you what love is really all about."

Buck is confused. He is so tired of not knowing what it is that Jane really wants. One minute she wants him, and then the next minute all she can think about is hurting him. He allows Charlene to push him backwards onto his bed!

Charlene manages to lean her body into Buck's, and as he descends onto the bed, Charlene goes down on top of him! She begins to feverishly kiss Buck hoping that he will lose his senses, and allow her to make love to him.

Buck brings his arms up around Charlene, and holds her down tightly to his body. He returns her kisses, but with little passion in them. He can't help that his feelings for Charlene are not even close to lukewarm in the bedroom. He just can't make himself feel love that is not there.

Charlene thinking that she has Buck under control takes a free hand and begins to run her hand up and down the length of his body! What she gets in return isn't exactly what she had been hoping for. Buck rises up from the bed tossing her aside. He stands up, and quickly gathers his thoughts and strength.

"Your plans to seduce me aren't going to work, Charlene. I don't want to go to bed with you, and I don't intend on allowing it to happen just because Jane isn't in my life anymore."

"My feelings for you have nothing to do with Jane," Charlene spoke in a fretting tone.

"What did you say to Jane that made her run out of this house like she had been hurt in the worst possible way?" Buck asked convinced that Charlene had told Jane some sort of lie that connected him to Charlene.

Charlene stands up and with her hands she smoothes out the wrinkles in her dress. She walks close to Buck, and stands directly in front of me. "It doesn't really matter. Her trust in you is all but gone," she spoke as she walked past Buck and out of his bedroom.

Buck stands alone in his bedroom wandering if he'll ever find a woman that will truly love him for just him.

The evening had taken over the day so quickly. Jimmy had stayed with Hannah through the evening, but just before midnight Cody had ordered some of his men to relieve Jimmy of his duties. Jimmy had actually wanted to stay all night, but in the end it was best that he had left. It wasn't like Hannah will have anything at all to do with him. As a matter of fact, she won't even speak to him.

As he strolls down the wooden walkway of the town Jimmy decides that he could use a drink. Instead of retrieving his horse he decides that a long walk to clear his head of all the guilt he is feeling about Hannah will be good for his soul.

As he walks toward the saloon an unusual noise from behind him makes him slow down his pace. He doesn't want to stop walking completely for fear that whoever is behind him will realize that he is aware of his presence. Jimmy tries to gather his thoughts on how he will deal with this assailant. But, be Jimmy can really put a plan together the man is pounding into the back of Jimmy, and bringing his body down onto the ground with such a force that it knocks the air right out of Jimmy!

His attacker backs up slightly. Jimmy tries to catch the breath that had been snatched from him. He slowly makes his way onto his feet only to be attacked with a man clinging onto a knife! He thrashes the knife at Jimmy!

Jimmy is rather quick, and manages to get out of the way of the knife aimed for his mid-section!

For a brief moment Jimmy is able to look up toward the face of his attacker. He sees that his face is covered with a black mask!

The person attacking Jimmy raises his knife into the air to bring it down onto Jimmy, but Jimmy is able to jump backwards away from the apparent penetration that the knife had intended to make!

As Jimmy jumps backwards he takes his eyes off his attacker for just a brief moment, but it is long enough for the man with the knife to cut Jimmy open with the horizontal motion of the knife across Jimmy's mid-section. Blood quickly absorbs onto Jimmy's shirt!

Jimmy can no longer play games with this man. He obviously has no intentions of allowing Jimmy to escape without being fatally wounded. Jimmy gathers his senses, and rushes his assailant kicking the knife from his hand!

The attacker barrels into Jimmy knocking him flatly to the ground! Then the attacker makes the mistake of searching for his knife in the darkness of the night. As he is combing the ground with his hands, Jimmy pulls his gun from his holster, and cocks the gun at the attackers head.

The attacker slowly stops searching for a knife that he will never find in the dust bowl that he has created.

"Get up real nice and slow," Jimmy spoke behind clinched teeth.

Jimmy spies in the distance Cody and a few of his soldiers coming to see what all the commotion is about.

Cody stands in front of the person wearing the black mask. He looks over at Jimmy. Jimmy nods as if giving his approval for Cody to remove the black mask. Cody takes both hands and slowly takes the mask up over the man's face.

Jimmy is stunned to see that the man behind the mask is none other than Phillip Anderson!

Back at the jailhouse Hannah stands up from her bunk when she sees Jimmy, and Cody bringing Phillip in the jail with handcuffs on.

"What is going on?" Hannah asked in a demanding tone.

Phillip won't even acknowledge that he hears Hannah's voice. Cody escorts Phillip to a cell in the back of the jailhouse away from Hannah. He pushes Phillip into the cell, and abruptly locks the jail door.

Jimmy walks over to Hannah's cell. She looks away from her brother to get an explanation from Jimmy.

"Apparently Phillip has been the one doing the killings all along," Jimmy spoke softly.

For a long moment Hannah can't find any words to deal with what Jimmy has just told her. She looks from Phillip to Jimmy several times before keeping her eyes glued on Jimmy. "That can't be true. Phillip wouldn't hurt anyone."

"It seems that Phillip believes that his two sisters need protection from the men that live here in Rock Creek. Hannah Phillip tried to kill me tonight. He has already confessed to the crimes."

Hannah shakes her head as tears stream down her face. "No. That can't be true."

NEXT

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