by Karen

Author's Note: Thanks to Sameena for all her help with this story. You're the best!

Disclaimer: The characters of The Young Riders were created for television by Ed Spielman. The series aired on ABC TELEVISION from 1989 - 1992. This story is a sequel to my stories "Acceptance" and "Morning Sun" which took place six years after the Pony Express was disbanded.

Chapter Twelve

Jeremiah McCloud rode into Wichita, Kansas just as the shops were beginning to open. He surveyed to street and located the only dress shop. He went there and dismounted. As he tied his horse to the hitching post, he checked out the shop. There were two women inside. He decided this would be a good time to see if he was in the right place. He straightened his coat and hat and then opened the door. Both women turned as he entered. The older one came towards him, "I'm sorry, young man," but we're not open for business just yet. Perhaps you should come back in a few minutes?"
"Ma'am," Jeremiah said. "I'm not here for business purposes. I have a message for Anne-Marie Adams from her son."
The younger woman gasped and dropped the bolt of cloth she had been holding. "He's alive? Where is he? How . . ."
"Hush," said the older lady.
The younger woman quit talking.
"Come in," the older lady said to Jeremiah. "My name is Margaret Anderson and this is my daughter, Amelia. Anne-Marie was our business partner."
Jeremiah noticed the lady's choice of words, "Was?" he asked.
"Come, sit down. Let me get you some coffee," said Margaret. "Amelia make room for the young man."
"Jeremiah," he said. "Pleased to meet you both."
Margaret nodded. "About ten years ago, Anne-Marie came here; she had been sending money for six months or so to buy part of the business. She came on day and said she had worked out her situation and could start working with us sooner than we had expected.
"She and Amelia were about the same age; they became great friends and she was soon like my second daughter. The business was doing well. I was ready to turn it over to the two of them.
"I guess Anne-Marie had been here about two, maybe three, months when we figured out she was with child. Since she was new in town, we made up a story about her being a widow. Everyone in town accepted the story, so her condition didn't hurt the business," she sighed.
Amelia set down her cup and took up the story. "She told me that she didn't know how to get in touch with the baby's father because she didn't know his name. She told me this beautiful story about how he saved her from her previous life. She decided that when the baby was older, if he hadn't come to look for her, she would take the baby and go look for him.
"She really intended to go, but then Nathan showed up. He was handsome, kind, attentive, and didn't care that she was carrying another man's child. He began courting her. Everything was fine until Isaac was a couple of years old. Nathan found out that Isaac's father was part Indian and he turned cold and mean. He would beat Anne-Marie for no reason. Luckily she hadn't married him yet, but she still couldn't bring herself to stop seeing him. In fact, she seemed to act like she deserved the pain as a form of punishment for something she had done wrong in her previous life. It wasn't until he came over drunk one evening and hit Isaac that she decided to do something about the situation.
"The next morning, she brought Isaac to our house and told me she was going looking for his father. She didn't want to take him along because she'd have to travel too slow. She gave me their family Bible, a letter for Isaac explaining why she left, and a letter for anyone who came looking for Mary Lou.
"She came back a few months later. All she said was that it was too late, and could Isaac stay with us a few more days. She put something else in the Mary Lou letter and went back to her house.
"The next day, Nathan came and picked up Isaac. He told us that Anne-Marie wouldn't be coming in to work for a few days. They were going to spend some time together as a family.
"We didn't find out until a week later that he'd beaten her, left her for dead, and run off with the boy."
"I'm so sorry," said Jeremiah. "I guess he'll never know for sure then. I'm sorry to take up your time." He stood to leave.
"Who won't know what?" asked Amelia. "Why did you come? Is Isaac alright?"
Jeremiah sat back down, "Nicholas, I mean Isaac, is fine. He's staying with my sister and her family. It's possible my sister's husband is his father; that's what I was sent here to find out. I guess now he'll never know."
"What happened to Nathan?" asked Margaret.
"He's in jail. It's really rather complicated," Jeremiah said.
"We've got time," said Amelia. "Please explain it to us. Maybe we'll be able to clear up some doubts. Wait, I've still got the letter she wrote for the person asking for Mary Lou. Would that help?"
"I'm sure it would, especially if the person it's intended for is really Buck," Jeremiah said.
At the mention of Buck's name, Margaret looked up from the table. She caught her daughter's eye and then looked at Jeremiah. She stood, "We're going to have to open soon. Why don't you go to the hotel, get cleaned up, rest for a bit. Meet us here around closing, and you can come to our house for dinner. Amelia can show you her letter, and you can fill us in on the details of how Isaac ended up with your family."
"That sounds real good, Ma'am," said Jeremiah. He stood. "I'll see you two ladies for dinner."
They watched him leave. "You best get going if you're going to get things ready," Margaret said. "It's going to take some serious talking to get her to come out of her room. Be sure and mention that he knew to ask for Mary Lou, and that he mentioned someone named Buck. That's the name she kept repeating when we found her, ain't it?"

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