Finding Her Way
By Donna and Abby

Ula woke earlier than the rest of the residents and guests of the Lovelace establishment. To be truthful, she didn't think she'd slept much at all. She had been so disappointed that Colonel O'Neil had not come to the party that she had cried herself to sleep, but it had not lasted. 

Getting up now, she wondered which way led to the fort. Maybe she could see him. . . 

As she slipped out of the house and into the woods, the others continued to sleep soundly. But thinking she could take a short cut though the woods proved to
be a mistake, and she ended up going in circles instead.

Meanwhile, someone was making his way towards Lovelace's house. Archie Grey Owl, who was out on a hunting trip, had found a beautiful palomino mare grazing in a forest meadow. She was saddled but her bridle had been stripped off her head. Thinking her rider could have fallen off her and was laying injured someplace, he was backtracking her. 

They found each other at the same time. Ula was wearing something warm, yet sexy - a tight fitting sweater that showed off her curves while protecting her from the elements. Seeing the horse, she said, "Ladybug!"

"Is she yours?" the handsome half-breed said, glad that he had apparently found the rider alive and well, even though he wondered what she was doing alone in
the woods. "I found her a long ways from here." 

"No, she belongs. . . to a friend of mine. She's back at the house. Which I could not find now if I tried!" Ula looked a little desperate.

"I will find the way back for you," he assured her. "Here, let me boost you up onto the mare. Ladybug? That is a nice name. I am called Archie by the way. Archie Grey Owl." 

"My name is Ula. It means . . ."

"Sea jewel," he finished.

She looked at him in surprise. Even though he looked like a savage in a lot of ways with his clothing and long braided hair, he was obviously well learned. There was definitely more to him that met the eye! 

Suddenly embarrassed, she explained, "I was looking for the fort and got lost. I-I wanted to see . . . someone. I thought he'd come to the house . . ."  She flushed deeply, ashamed at her silly acts but not really over what she did for a living.

The man shrugged and led the mare up to her, holding her with a rope vine that he made to lead her with. "Her tracks led that way," he motioned, pointing off
in a direction she hadn't tried yet. 

"That must be the way back. I should have looked for the tracks. I'm not good on land." 

He smiled at her and nodded. "I understand. I like being out on the water myself. The creek by our camp isn't deep enough for a canoe, but the river it flows into is good for that." 

"You live near water?" She sighed. "The river is not far from the house where I work in Esperanza, but we do not get there often; 

"Yes," he said, boosting her up on Ladybug and then slowly following the mare's tracks. "We call it the Singing Creek. It makes a joyful sound as it cascades over the rocks. Our camp is right by it.”

"Sounds so nice," she said settling in on the horse's back. "I guess I have to get Ladybug back to Candi now. I don't suppose I'll see you again. You don't look the type to frequent Lovelace's."

"No," he admitted. They walked in silence for a while, until they spotted the house off in the distance. Turning to face Ula, he handed her the vine rope. "Go in peace, beautiful jewel. If you ever have the desire to see our camp for yourself, you would find yourself welcome there, not only by myself, but by all the others living there." 

Ula nodded. He sure made her feel nice! But she was not sure what it would be like out on her own. As she rode back to the house, she realized she would have
left in a minute if O'Neil had asked. But he hadn't asked. So she would continue to do as she had been doing, and work at the House of Many Pleasures.

Only one of the girls ended up staying at Lovelace's, but the profit the others had made during their two nights there had cushioned the loss as far as the men
who ran the house were concerned. After all, Grayson had always claimed the girls were free to come and go as they liked. 

Things had settled back into the normal routine, but for one of the girls, things just weren't the same. 

Ula brooded constantly. She had to be reasonable.  O'Neil just was not going to come visiting. He came just that once, and the men she asked about it said they'd practically had to twist his arm! Not that he did not like women . . . she sighed when she remembered that night. But she was being silly, waiting for him to return. And even if he did, it would not be because he liked her!

Her brooding had not gone unnoticed. One afternoon, as she sat in the courtyard behind the House, Grayson came up to her. "May I sit with you?" he asked. 

Ula, who was normally a bubbly party girl, nodded.  She hoped he would not be angry with her for not smiling as much with the men.

He took her hand and squeezed it. "Candi says you aren't happy here anymore. Is there anything I can do to make it better for you?" he asked, hoping to find a
way not to lose her too. 

"Not unless you can turn a man's heart," she said with a sigh.

Grayson shook his head. "No," he said softly. "I cannot. Is this man your One?" 

"Thought so but he doesn't so I'm wrong. Anyway, I guess I will have to stay here till I find my true One."

"If you want to stay, you are more than welcome," Grayson said sincerely. "But it’s obvious your heart is not longer in the business." 

"I don't know where my heart is," she sighed. "When we were down in Edan I met a man. He wasn't my one, but he spoke of a camp near a singing creek. It sounded so nice. I almost wanted to go there."

"Then go," Grayson said. "Take a break. If it isn't what you are searching for, just remember that you are always free to return. If you like, I will arrange for you to go back to Edan with some of the men from the fort. Or you can wait for the stage." 

Ula smiled, suddenly pleased by the idea. “I'd rather go by water, if that is possible. He said they are near a creek, and I will be able to find it more easily if I follow the river down."

And so, the arrangements were made. All the girls came to bid Ula farewell, hugging her tightly and wishing her much happiness through their tears. Even many of her customers came to see her off, at least those who could be out in the daylight. 

As she was settled in on the river barge, a well-dressed man sat by her. "Hello, I hear you want to go to Singing Creek Camp. I have a friend that lives there." He grinned at her. "My name is Maverick by the way. Bret Maverick. I was up here for a poker
game." 

"Who is your friend?" Ula asked. "Is he on the boat with us? If not, I was thinking I could swim there from the river. She wouldn't let me down."

"His name is Joseph. He’s not here with me unfortunately. We know each other from our other life. I took him and the other two newcomers to the Camp when they arrived. Nakoma and Archie were their names." 

"The man I met said his name was Archie!"

"Half-breed, I believe, but a good man. Well educated chap. Wrote some type of book, from what I heard." 

"But I don’t understand, how can Joseph make me a map to the place I need to go to find him?" She asked it innocently, her eyes big in her face, but Maverick had
to stop and think that one out a minute.

"Good question!" he chuckled. "I can make you a map I think, but it won't be near as good." He thought for a while. "The Pony Express rider! He can take you to the
camp! The kid has a woman there. Comes to work in town, but runs back to her furs at night. Lucky dog! Shiloh is one beautiful gal. Same as you by the way," he said with a teasing smile. 

Ula blushed. "Is it far from town? Does the creek come off the river?"

“It does." He dragged out a little notebook from inside his coat and made a rough sketch of where the camp was compared to Edan and the major rivers and farms. "I don't know the little creeks though that well," he admitted. 

"They will speak to me," she said, looking at the map. She had really wanted to swim all the way, but Grayson had ordered the barge, and she felt bad not going that way, after he'd gone to the trouble.

They continued to talk as the barge lazily made its way down the river until it came to the Fort itself. Maverick insisted on carrying her bags for her, but instead of taking her to any of the buildings, he took her to where a small river joined the larger one. "If you really want to swim, this is the way. Stay to the left when it forks into a stream and then follow it through the farms, then fork to the left on a creek. When it becomes too shallow to swim in, you won't be far from the camp. I'll have Ben bring your things out to you."

Ula was so pleased with this, she threw her arms around his neck and hugged him. Ula was quite well endowed, so this was pleasant to him, and he was smiling when she pulled away and made her way to the stream.

As she told him, the water spoke to her, showing her the way. She kept taking the left forks, going from a small river to a stream, and then finally to a creek. She followed it until she saw the smoke from the camp drifting into the sky as the water around her feet seemed to cry out in welcome to her, saying "Welcome home!"