DECEMBER 26, 1861

The sound of something hitting the window woke Tina. The more she lie there the more scared she got.

A loud crash sent her scrambling from her bed and into the hall. She looked between her father’s closed door and her sisters. She moved closer to Caly’s door. As she reached it a noise on the stairs made her jump and spin around. She saw a dark figure coming up the stairs. Her fear kept her frozen where she stood.

Buck was tired he had just gotten back from a two day run. All he wanted to do was crawl into bed and hold his wife while he slept. As he climbed the last step he saw a figure standing at his door. He drew his gun quickly. “Whose there?” He called out.

He watched as the figure curled into a ball on the floor. He quickly holstered his gun and lit the lamp in the hall. A frown crossed his face when he saw that it was Tina on the floor. He slowly walked over and knelt in front of her. “Tina, it's me Buck. You okay?” He slowly reached out and touched her arm.

The small girl jumped at the touch. Slowly she looked up and saw who it was with her. “B . . . B . . .  Buck?” she saw the young man nod, so she reached out to her big brother now.

Buck smiled as he pulled the young girl into his arms. “I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you.” He stood and held the girl close. He looked around, but not seeing anyone else up, he headed for the stairs.

Tina clung to him as he carried her down to the parlor. He sat down in the rocker, and as the two of them sat quietly in the dark, Buck began to rock his new sister. He removed his gun belt and covered them with an afghan, and she snuggled into his lap.

The young man began to softly tell her about his first Christmas in the white man’s world. He watched as Tina slowly fell asleep in his arms.

After what seemed like hours, Buck stood and grabbed his gun belt before heading back up the stairs. He tucked Tina into bed and checked on the other two girls. Once he was sure they all were sleeping, he headed for his own room.

After he put his gun belt on the headboard and his knife under his pillow, the young man quickly changed and crawled into bed and spooned up to her. He smiled as he felt Caly snuggle into his arms. He finally felt secure with his life and happy with it, so he was able to drift off to sleep.