Jake sat up straight in his chair. She had his attention now. "Is that so?"
"Yes," she said, her voice getting higher and faster the more excited she became. "And do you know who the new assistant to the postmistress is?"
"Um, well, it's not Millie or Josie. Is it Tassie?" He grinned at her before popping more bread into his mouth.
"Jake!" She swatted his arm. "It's me! Me! Mrs. Everett said she'd give me a trial period and I start tomorrow. And I'll get paid and we can use the money for the house or to save or for all kinds of things and maybe someday I'll get to be the postmistress of all of Juniper Junction, wouldn't that be something?"
When she stopped to catch her breath she looked up at Jake who was beaming at her. "I'm very proud of you, sweetheart."
She jumped from her chair and went to him. "Are you really? Really and truly proud of me?"
He cupped the side of her face and peered deep into her eyes. "I am always proud of you, Posey. Don't you forget it. But I am especially proud of you for going to see Mrs. Everett. Not that I can't provide for us both just fine."
"Oh, I know, Jake, and I appreciate how hard you work for us, but this way I can help too."
"Yes, you can." He shifted in his seat and drew her to stand between his knees, both her hands in his. "You just never cease to surprise me, Posey. That's one of the things I love about you."
She could feel her face light up with happiness. "Really?"
"Why do you have such trouble believing the things I say?"
"Oh, it's just that nobody ever talks to me as nice as you do."
"Well, they don't know you like I do, now do they?"
That night excitement over her new job made it difficult for Posey to sleep. She tossed and turned, fluffed up her pillow, folded it in half. Nothing seemed to help. Despite her best efforts at not disrupting her husband, Jake soon woke, raised himself up on an elbow and looked at her in the dim light of their bedroom.
"Got something on your mind, little girl? Shouldn't you be sleeping? Can't have you going off to your first day on the job with dark circles under your eyes."
When he gazed down at her, Posey couldn't help but squirm. His voice washed over her, filling her with warmth. "I'm so-sorry to wake you, Jake," she whispered. "I promise I'll be quiet." She rolled over so her back was to him. "You go on back to sleep."
When Jake chuckled, the whole bed vibrated. "Oh, no. There's no going back to sleep just yet." His hand slipped up her leg and under the fabric of her nightgown, not stopping until he had hold of her breast. "I know just the thing that will help you get to sleep."
His fingers brushed over her nipple, making it harden instantly.
"Oh," she said, turning to look at him over her shoulder, "are you going to sing me a lullaby?" She gave him a sassy grin.
He gave her nipple a gasp-inducing pinch. "Oh, there's going to be some singing, I bet, but not a lullaby."
Pulling her back to meet his firm body—he slept naked—his cock already hard against her buttocks. "You've woken me up, in more ways than one, now you have to pay the price, my sweet wife.” Her nightgown was pushed upward until she raised her hands and it was lifted over her head and tossed to the floor. "Don't know why you bother with that thing in the first place. Just gets in my way."
Jake's hands stroked across her body, igniting desire in every part of her. His fingers dipped between her pussy lips and he gave a satisfied sound. "Good girl. You're nice and wet for me."
Posey whimpered, lost in the desire building inside her.
Jake shifted on the bed and raised her up onto her hands and knees, adjusting her hips so she was at the edge of the bed while he stood on the floor next to the mattress. "My, ain't that a pretty sight?" He gave her bottom a squeeze before slipping his hand into her core, pressing a finger to her clitty until she gasped and arched her back, pressing toward him.
"All in due time, little Posey," he said, moving her thighs wider. "I need some space to get to you. I'm gonna go nice and deep. You'll like it."
Posey lowered her head and rested it on the bed, mewling into the quilt. All she wanted was to feel Jake encased in the walls of her pussy. The way he filled her, taking her roughly at times, sometimes he was tender.
Tonight was going to be one of those fast and rough sessions, which was just what she needed. Jake gripped her hips and held her in place, then without preamble he shoved all the way into her welcoming core. "Ah," they both said as soon as he was buried deep in her. There was a pause as they each enjoyed the feeling of being joined in the most carnal of ways.
We are one. I am his.
And then the pounding began. Slow strokes at first that rapidly picked up pace until Posey moved across the mattress with an "oomph" after a particularly determined thrust from Jake. She dug in with her hands and knees and braced for the onslaught. Jake reached around and stroked the sensitive bundle of nerves of her clitty. Her arms shook and she wondered if she'd be able to hold her position until they had both reached their completion, but she managed.
"Oh lord, Posey. You feel so good." He stroked her with his cock and fingers and soon she exploded with her climax and then Jake cried out and released his seed inside her, so much that it seeped out onto her thighs.
His hands were shaking as he pulled out of her and settled her back in the bed, spooning her and bringing the covers over them both. "Sweet dreams, my little post office girl."
Chapter 9
"I, Posey Lincoln, do solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute the duties of postal assistant, keeping confidential all matters I learn in my position as a guardian of the mail and upholding the high standards of all employees who represent the great Territory of Wyoming. So help me God."
The weight of the words fell heavily on her shoulders. This was almost as significant as the wedding vows she'd made with Jake. She hadn't had to raise her right hand then, though.
Mrs. Everett shook her hand in a most business-like manner. Posey wondered if she should salute. The post office was serious business as far as Mrs. Everett was concerned. A bit of anxiety pooled in Posey's tummy. What if she messed up?
No, she told herself. If she could tolerate living with Uncle Fritz all those years, she could do this and do a good job. Surely Mrs. Everett wouldn't be as horrible as Uncle Fritz.
"Well, we've finished with the formalities," Mrs. Everett said, putting away the big book containing the postal pledge. Posey had signed it, too. This was an important job and she renewed her determination to show everyone in town that she was a grown up. Besides, Mrs. Everett had stuck her neck out to hire Posey and she did not want to let her down.
Shelving the book, Mrs. Everett turned to her and smiled. "I'm glad to have you here, Posey. I hope you don't mind me calling you Posey?"
"Oh no, I prefer it. Mrs. Lincoln seems like a stranger to me."
"You may call me Phyllis, when no one else is here. But in front of the customers, we'll be Mrs. Everett and Mrs. Lincoln. How does that sound?"
Posey smiled. "That sounds perfect." Some of the tension left her. She and Mrs. Ev...er...Phyllis, were going to become fast friends. She could just tell.
"Let's get started." Phyllis moved efficiently around the small space dedicated to the mail for Juniper Junction. It was more crowded than Posey had expected. She'd rarely received or sent mail. Once her family was gone, there was no one for her to communicate with. Basically, everyone she knew was in the town of Juniper Junction.
"The mail arrives on the train, twice a week." Phyllis hoisted a large bag onto the work table and it landed with a resounding thud. "Now that the train is bringing the mail and everything is moving faster, people are sending more letters and also receiving more." She shook her head as she poured out the multitude of letters and parcels in all different shapes and sizes. "They call it modern convenience, but it sure makes my job harder." Then she turned and smiled at Posey. "But now that you are here, I am sure we'll be able to keep up with everything just fine."
/> "Oh yes, we will." Posey said. "I'm a hard worker."
Phyllis handed her a heavy work apron. "You'll want to wear this. Handling all these letters can be dirtier work than you'd expect."
Posey tied on the apron and pushed her sleeves up as far as she could. She'd worn her second best dress and that might not have been a good idea, but she'd be very careful and maybe with her earnings she'd be able to get some fabric for a new dress or even one of Josie's lovely creations and then she could wear some of her other dresses for work while still having some pretty things to wear for church or special occasions.
Phyllis tapped the table and Posey returned her wandering attention. If she didn't do the job, she wouldn't earn any money. Focus, Posey.
"The mail from the train arrives on Wednesday and Friday so I'd like you to come in those days and help me get it sorted. Now that people know when the mail arrives, they are very impatient. I guess I can't blame them, everyone loves news from family or they are waiting for goods they've ordered. But, getting all this sorted out is time consuming and it's even worse when people are interrupting to ask for their mail."
Posey blushed. If she'd ever expected mail, she'd no doubt have been one of the people pestering for it.
"Now, it's a fairly simple process," Phyllis said, lining up a series of boxes on the table. They were labeled with a range of letters of the alphabet on each one. "The mail gets sorted by last name, so as you go along, simply drop the envelope into the box with that letter. A through D here," she pointed, "E through H," she pointed again. "And so on."
Posey nodded. Seemed pretty straightforward.
"Once that's finished, we'll take each box and organize the letters in it so that when people come for their mail, we have it all ready." Posey nodded again.
"This box," Phyllis dropped a box that was twice as big as the others onto the table, "is for all the mail that goes to Windy River Ranch. You can just toss it all in there and they'll sort and distribute it to everyone at the ranch. Most people include Windy River on the address, but it also helps if you know the names of some of the folks out there. Their employees come and go, but you know the foreman," Phyllis smiled at her and Posey felt like her new boss was warming up to her.
"Yes, I do," Posey said. "But is it all right for me to discuss official postal business with him?"
"Well, that is a good point, but as long as it's just asking him if a certain person is at the ranch, I'm sure that would be fine." Phyllis paused for a moment and turned to Posey. "I've got to tell you, Posey, you'll be surprised by the amount of information you'll pick up about people just from sorting their mail. Who has family that can afford fancy stationary and thick letters, who only gets letters a few times a year. Who is ordering books from the warehouses in Chicago or San Francisco. People order all kinds of things and it's tempting to shake the boxes or try to figure it out. Let me warn you right now, don't let that temptation win out. The last thing you need, or me either for that matter, is for someone to come in and see one of us shaking a box or trying to hold a letter up to the light."
Posey gasped. "Oh yes, that would be horrible. I know I am easily tempted by that sort of thing, but hearing that you're sometimes tempted really helps. Thanks for telling me that, but I am determined to uphold my oath. I take oaths very seriously."
"Good." Phyllis glanced down at the clock on the wall. "Oh dear, we'd best hurry. I open the doors at 10 a.m. sharp and then it will be mayhem in here for several hours while people collect their mail. Let's get started."
Posey peeked at the clock as well. Nine-thirty. She picked up a stack of letters and started tossing them into the various containers. Just when she hit a hot streak and got through a handful of letters quickly, she picked up an envelope with indecipherable handwriting. Squinting and tilting it toward the light, she tried to ascertain the addressee. She didn't have time to dilly dally. She could hear people lining up outside already.
"Let me take a look, dear," Phyllis said, holding out her hand, then examining the letter once Posey gave it to her. "Oh yes, this goes to Pastor Ellis. His mother has the worst handwriting, but I've gotten used to it." She smiled and tossed it into the E through H box and kept going.
Posey picked up another stack of envelopes and started over. Phyllis wasn't kidding. Already her hands were smudged. This job wasn't nearly as glamorous as she'd expected.
"Oh dear," Phyllis said, looking at the clock and untying her apron. "It's time for me to open the doors." She poured some water into a basin and washed her hands. "You keep sorting, Posey. You're doing a wonderful job." She hurried past Posey and opened the door.
Two hours later, Posey's hands were filthy and her feet and back ached from standing in the same spot that whole time. She rolled her shoulders and glanced toward the door. The line had dwindled, but it had been a madhouse earlier. People were rather aggressive about their mail.
During the rush of customers, Phyllis had come back to the work table several times to gather up mail or to dig through the piles looking for letters people insisted had to be in today's delivery, but otherwise, she'd been occupied and working as hard or harder than Posey.
In the midst of all that, Posey quickly understood what Phyllis had meant about all the information you learned about people while sorting the mail. And then there were the people who shared their business with everyone in the building.
"I'm waiting for a letter from San Francisco. It's from a lawyer. My grandfather died, rest his soul, and I'm supposed to get his pocket watch."
"Oh, look!" Someone else had exclaimed causing Posey to glance around to see a middle-aged woman waving an open letter in the air and smiling broadly, "I'm a grandmother! A baby boy born three weeks ago."
Posey used to think the general store was the hub of activity and news, but that paled in comparison to a morning at the post office.
Fortunately, she was much too busy sorting and organizing the mail to dig deeply into the information that seemed to be all around her. Keeping her mind on the envelopes and the alphabet boxes, she finally tossed the last letter with a sigh.
"My goodness," Phyllis said, "I was just coming back to help you. Thank you so much, Posey. You have done a good job. Now we just need to sort the different boxes out and get ready for the folks who come in the afternoon."
"More people?" Posey asked, eyes wide.
Phyllis chuckled. "Bet you didn't expect it to be so busy, did you?"
"No," she shook her head. "But it is also sort of exciting. I like being in the center of activity."
After a few more days of sorting the mail, Posey's skill grew and she soon had the boxes filled and sorted with plenty of time to assist Phyllis in passing mail out to the ever growing hordes of people who thronged the post office on mail days. The post office was open six days per week, but the busiest were Wednesday and Friday when the mail arrived by train. Mrs. Everett was able to manage on her own the other days.
So far, Posey hadn't committed any mistakes and she'd refrained from paying too much attention to the mail other than to read the name on the address. All in all, she was proud of herself and looked forward to the days she spent as Phyllis's assistant.
When she got her first pay, she went to the general store and bought Jake a pocket knife.
"Now, Posey honey, you didn't need to do that," he'd said, though his eyes sparked with happiness as he examined it, then slipped it in his pants pocket. "Thank you. I know you worked hard for that money and that makes this gift all that much more special." She'd beamed with pride. She'd worked hard her whole life it seemed, but getting paid for it sure made a big difference.
"I need to run over to the general store for a couple things," Phyllis said after the morning rush had cleared out. "Do you think you can manage on your own for a few minutes?"
"Of course!" Posey said, proud that her employer thought she was ready to handle things on her own, even if for only a few minutes.
"Thank you, dear. I won't be long." Phyllis hung up he
r apron and hurried out the door toward the general store.
Posey picked up one of the boxes of letters and began sorting them by name and bundling them together. She enjoyed the task of sorting and alphabetizing. She liked making things tidy.
Sighing with contentment, she worked away in the rare quiet at the post office. How lucky she'd been that Phyllis had taken a chance on her. Though she went home tired on the days she worked at the post office, she also had a sense of satisfaction from a job well done. Plus, when she was tired, she had less energy for those activities that she wanted to put in her past.
Mrs. Weatherly had certainly taken a keen interest in Posey's job at the post office, but Posey had told her about the oath of confidentiality and that seemed to slow her curious neighbor down a bit.
She finished up E through H and picked up I through L.
The bell above the door jingled and she looked up with a smile. It started to fade as soon as she saw Aggie and Myrtle. Did those two ever go anywhere alone? But, she remembered her oath and also her promise to Mrs. Everett to be a good employee and kept the smile pinned to her face, much as it pained her.
It seemed the Myrth sisters were as unpleasantly surprised to see her as she was them. Myrtle's lips turned down while Aggie's nose wrinkled. "Oh heavens, Posey, just look at your hands. They're absolutely filthy. Have you been shoveling coal?"
Posey bristled, but bit back the sharp response on the tip of her tongue.
"May I help you?" she asked, ignoring Aggie's bait.
"We're here on official ranch business," Myrtle said with a superior sniff. "We need our mail." She waved her hand toward the large box with the words Windy River Ranch on the side.
Much as it galled her to do their bidding, it was her job. Posey gathered up the stack of mail and tied a length of string around it. Glancing down she saw a letter addressed to Jake.
Cowboy's Orders (Brides of Juniper Junction Book 2) Page 7