A Couple More Years

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Image Courtesy of The Writers Ranch


~~ April 1860 ~~

Teaspoon Hunter sat against the fence looking around at his charges. Why Russell, Majors and Waddell put him in charge of such a group of misfits was beyond him. He'd trained some of the roughest and toughest boys in his days in both the Army and as a Texas Ranger, but he wondered if maybe now he'd met his match. Though the fact they survived their first month was nothing less than a miracle; especially since he had laid odds that they would kill each other before someone else did.

First there's Ike. My first thoughts on him were that he wouldn't fit in, that his lack of speech would alienate him from the others. And except for Buck, he'll have to prove himself to the others. What this boy lacks in speech, he makes up for in passion. And as Buck said, he is very good around horses. He'll probably be one of the best riders this outfit will see. He...

Why is everyone laughing? I turn around just in time to see Ike signing something. I know it's about me. "Ike, stop talkin' behind my back."

Then there's Cody. He's too cocky for his own good. Once challenged he won't back down, and he's often getting himself in trouble with his pride. I can tell he's going to be the lazy one. I've already caught several of the other boys doing Cody's chores. I think once he grows up out here, if he survives, might just prove us all wrong, and make something of himself.

I'm not sure if Kid can handle himself out here. Being raised in the south hasn't prepared him for what he's about to see and do. He'd rather talk his way out of a fight than go for his gun, but out here it's a different world and one I'm not sure he's ready for.

He doesn't seem to want to fit in... doesn't talk much about himself... but he's got to learn that he'll have to work with the others as a team if they're to survive. If he lasts out here he'll grow up real quick.

Lou keeps pretty much to himself, though I've noticed Kid talking to him on occasion. He's got horse skills far better than any of them and I expect him to be the best rider we've got. He may be small but he's got guts. And his size doesn't matter, he'll catch up to the others, and it's often the small ones that pack the most punch.

There's something about Lou and I just can't put my finger on it. I can tell he's lived a hard life up until now and he probably has more secrets than any of them, but I doubt anyone, even Kid, will ever get close enough to him to learn what.

Jimmy is the one I'm most worried about. He reminds me so much of me at that age, and if he's not careful, he'll find himself in an early grave. He's not too good on a horse, but he'll learn; he'll have too. He'll also have to learn to be able to trust the others, but it won't be easy.

The boy needs an attitude adjustment if he's going to fit in. He'd rather go for his gun first than think things over and that hair trigger of his will either get him shot, or on the wrong end of a noose. Jimmy's like a coyote fighting for pack leadership. Nothing or no one will stand in his way.

Lastly there's Buck. He thinks he has to prove himself because he's a half breed. But most people will never see past that no matter what he does. I have a feeling it will cause him more problems with the others even though it makes no difference to me. But he must feel that he needs to prove that he can survive in both worlds. If he can do that, than this boy'll do anything.

"I want to congratulate you boys."

"For what?"

"Stickin' together and stayin' alive and that ain't nothin' but dumb luck, so don't go gettin' smug."

"Do you like us Teaspoon?" Cody asked with his cocky smugness.

I look again at these boys and I realize that yes, they're growing on me. Of course it's like the scum on the top of the water in the trough, but that's the last thing they need to know. "Can't say. I ain't paid to like ya."

Then again, let's see how I like them after a couple more years...

~~ ** ~~
~~ October 1861 ~~

"I guess I... I guess I've seen more than my fair share of funerals. I kinda got use to 'em. They seem like they was a natural part of life. But this, this here... this ain't natural."

I'm standing here as we bury yet another one of our family. Noah wasn't one of my original boys, but he meant the same to me as the others. And now that the Express is about to end, I take another good look at my boys now and wonder how I was wrong in so many ways about them back then.

Buck did finally find his place in a world that accepted him for who he was, not what he was. He became the one the others went to for guidance or if they needed a shoulder to cry on. It wasn't an easy journey and he was often torn between his two worlds, but he always will be torn that way; and it will make him a stronger man for it.

Jimmy did get his attitude adjustment and became a better man for it. He learned to accept help and to trust in the others and they learned to trust him. Most surprisingly was Jimmy's friendship with Kid. At the beginning they fought like two wet cats tied up in a potato sack, but eventually they became best friends, even though their love for the same woman nearly tore them apart.

Jimmy would still rather go for his gun first, but at least now he'll pause if necessary to make sure it's the right thing to do. I'm sure of them all; Jimmy will make me the most proud in the future.

The more I learned about Lou, the more my heart broke. Never did I imagine that scrawny little boy was really a beautiful young woman hiding from the pain of her past. She did turn out to be one of the best riders, but it was the budding relationship with Kid that brought her out of her shell.

Only Kid treated her differently after the boys learned her secret. To the others she was still one of them. She had proven to them not only could she could fight beside them and hold her own, but they could go to her when they had girl troubles. Then again, they gave her more than her fair share of troubles by always teasing her and Kid. But when Kid broke her heart, they rallied around her and comforted her.

Kid learned that not everything was as black and white as he'd like to believe. The hardest lesson he learned was that his southern ways almost cost him the woman he was meant to spend his life with and it had pushed her straight in to the arms of his best friend.

The two of them had had their fair share of problems, but I was lucky enough to have the honor of presiding over their union just a few days ago... What a shame to have to bury their brother just days after such a joyous occasion.

It wasn't too long ago that we had to say goodbye to Ike. Ike had always cared too much for & tried to protect children and animals, but when he met Emily, he realized there was more in this world to love. When he should've been planning his future with her, he tried to keep her from killing the man that killed her father, and sadly he made the ultimate sacrifice saving her. His was just one more senseless death that shouldn't have happened.

Cody was another one of my surprises. He may have been a lazy, gluttonous, care free young boy, but he became a man you could count on in a pinch. He's full of big dreams, but I know the army will soon change that.

Out of all my boys, he took Noah's death the hardest. Maybe it was because they were so close or maybe because he had been there when it happened and there was nothing he could do. Either way, he'll have to get use to death if he wants to survive in this war.

"What's happenin' around us ain't natural. Our nation bein' divided, friends are turnin' against friends, family against family and it's all leadin' to the same place. That place is here. In cemeteries like this, with grief stricken friends and family like this; young lives cut short, long before their time..."

And if the Good Lord's willing, it'll be a couple more years before we have to gather here again.