by Becky Lower
Val caught the gleam in Jack’s eyes. Yep, he was a gambler all right. “If you fellas think you can keep up with me, sure, I’m in. All we need is one more.”
Fred’s mouth turned up a bit at Jack’s reaction. He glanced at Val and then turned to Jack. “Won’t take me but a minute to find one more. Get your money out of your pockets, man, and put it where your mouth is.” Fred pushed his chair back, the legs scraping across the wood floor, and walked to another table. He made quick work of finding a fourth, and they settled in, back at the table Jack occupied. Val called for another round of ale for everyone. At this rate, Jack would soon be too drunk to play intelligently, and would be out of money before midnight. Val would make certain Jack found a bed after he and Fred took all his money. Samantha would be safe for tonight, anyway.
What happened tomorrow would be anyone’s guess.
• • •
While she appreciated the fact Val was in the hotel keeping an eye on Jack for her, Samantha didn’t mind admitting, at least to the horses, she missed his presence in the barn. Since their first kiss a few weeks ago, she’d thought of little else. They needed time alone together, as a man and a woman, not as a man and herself masquerading as one. Maybe they could take a break from their routine and take off for a day or two into the wild. Her body hummed as she thought of them touching each other when they had all the time in the world to do so, rather than the furtive stolen moments they’d shared so far. The electricity between them was so hot she thought everyone could see it. Not a good scenario for maintaining her cover, but it couldn’t be helped. Her body reacted to him every time.
The rider coming from the west would not arrive until dawn. She placed her picture of her parents back on the little table by the bed, kissing the picture before she said her prayers, as was her routine. The little lead ball nestled alongside the picture. But with Jack so close she could feel his hot breath on the back of her neck, even with Val’s help, sleep would be elusive tonight.
Tears clouded her vision as she stared at the picture. “Momma, Daddy, you had no idea when you sent for Aunt Hilda what kind of man she was married to. Your only concern was for me. Aunt Hilda did her best to keep me safe, but now it’s up to me. I won’t let him get within an arm’s length of me, I swear to you.”
In the early morning, she made her way into the kitchen to grab some breakfast before she began to get the stagecoach’s horses readied. There were a few women in the large room, preparing for the early risers and talking to each other. Samantha listened to their conversation from the corner. She was certain they were unaware of her presence in the room.
“Lordy, did you see that strange man in the inn last night? The one who stared at every woman who walked by him?”
“Gave me the willies, he did, and that’s a fact. Gus said he’s on the lookout for his niece who ran away.”
“Can’t say I’d blame her for running from the likes of him. But Val and Fred took care of him last night. They said it was as easy as taking candy from a baby, how they won his money in the poker game. The man wouldn’t give up, though. Always thought the next hand would be the one where he’d win back his stake. Poor fellow.”
“Well, he is now, at any rate.” The two ladies tittered at the pun and got back to work. Samantha slipped from the room with a grin on her face. So Val and Fred got the best of Jack at the card table. That came as no surprise, since Jack was very unlucky at cards. He drank too much to be able to concentrate on what was happening at the table, and she was certain Val had kept the ale coming while they were playing. Samantha smiled as she munched on a sweet roll. Oh, to have been a fly on the wall and able to see when Val got the best of Uncle Jack.
But she had no time to lose. She needed to get the stagecoach horses into the yard and ready. She also needed to get the Pony Express horse positioned in the corral since she expected the warning call at any moment.
Sure enough, the blasts from the horn signaled an incoming rider. Fred emerged from the inn, and right behind him were Gus and Jack! Samantha pulled her hat down low over her face. She couldn’t leave the area. Not with a rider coming in and the stagecoach about to depart. She waited next to Fred for the rider to appear, keeping Fred between herself and Jack. But Gus and Jack were close enough for her to overhear their conversation.
Gus tried to mollify the man. “I’m sorry, Jack, but we only have the one stable boy, and he’s busy with the Express riders and the stage. You’ll have to saddle your horse yourself if you’re intent on leaving right away.”
“Well, unless you’re willing to give me a free meal, I have to be on my way now. Your two Express riders cleaned me out last night. I don’t even have enough money left to buy some grub.”
Fred bumped into Samantha slightly, and his usually dour mouth turned up at the corners. “Poor bastard,” he muttered so only Samantha could hear.
“He is now, at any rate,” she replied, taking a cue from the two women in the kitchen. Fred grunted his approval as they caught sight of the incoming rider.
The next few minutes were a flurry, as the rider passed the mochila on to Fred, who looped it over his saddle, jumped up, and sped off. The rider turned his horse over to Samantha, and she glanced around the yard. Both Gus and Jack had disappeared. But the knot between Samantha’s shoulders, which had taken up residence there the minute she spied Jack yesterday, hadn’t disappeared. And the sweet roll she had just consumed threatened to make a reappearance. She ran a hand over her stomach to ease its lurching movement. Jack may be gone from the yard, but he wasn’t yet far enough away.
It took several agonizingly long minutes to cool the horse down and lead him into the barn, and to then hitch the six horses to the stagecoach. She put the Pony Express horse into a stall and let him have a bit of water and oats before she left him. At the opposite end of the barn, she glanced at the stall where Jack’s horse had been. It was gone, thank God. She let out her breath. Then, in a wild panic, she ran to the little room she occupied. The tack room was next to hers, and if Jack saddled his own horse, he would have walked right by it. The picture of her parents was on the crude dresser beside the bed. All Jack would have had to do was wander into this room, by mistake or on purpose, and he’d have found her.
She inhaled a huge gulp of air as she spied the picture right where she’d left it. She scooped it up and put it into her shirt pocket. She’d rather risk the glass breaking than having herself exposed.
Eight more months and three days of not letting down her guard.
Chapter 16
Gus sat down beside Samantha several days later, as she was polishing off the last of her chicken and noodles. She sopped up the final bit of juices with a dinner roll and popped it into her mouth, smacking her lips in a most manly fashion. She rubbed her stomach and belched as she slid back from the table. There were some benefits to masquerading as a man, and belching was one of them.
Gus nudged her in the arm. “How’s the gunshot wound healing, Sam?”
“It’s doing all right. Still a bit tender, but my appetite’s back to normal, as you can tell.” She grinned and pointed to her empty plate.
Gus smiled back. “No one can resist Emma’s food for too long.”
“I haven’t yet thanked you for all you did to retrieve the bullet. Val told me the two of you worked on me.”
“Yep, we did. Val was green the whole time, but he hung in there.”
“Is there some reason you asked how I am doing?”
“Well, yeah, there is.” Gus slid his boots across the wood floor. “I need someone to go to Atchison, to the trading post there. Wild Bill Hickok was supposed to bring me a wagonload of goods, but he got sent off to Ft. Kearney, and my wagon’s still in Atchison. We’ll run out of food if we have to wait for Bill to get back from the fort and then turn around and drive the wagon here.”
Samantha’s heart began to beat a bit faster. Atchison was close to where her parents had put down roots. Where her father had built a house with hi
s own hands. Where their graves were. She had been too sick herself to pay her proper respects before Aunt Hilda took her to Missouri to live with her and Uncle Jack. Maybe now she could do so. She missed the place where she had so many good memories until the smallpox upended her blissful existence. She wanted to see her home again. And she hoped her mother’s rose bush, which had been transported from Massachusetts when they migrated, had survived even without daily care. She tamped down her excitement and became all business again.
“Who’ll take care of the barn while I’m gone?”
“Just so happens my nephew’s coming in for a few days. I’d send him to the post if I could, but he doesn’t know the country as well as you and Val do.”
Samantha’s heart sped up again. “Me and Val? We’ll be going together?”
“Wild Bill may be able to deliver a load of goods on his own, but you’re a whole lot smaller than he is. There are outlaws in these parts, and a wagon full of goods will be mighty attractive to them. I’ll need you to take the reins, since you’re so good with the horses, while Val rides shotgun. There has been some unrest on the Kickapoo Res, too, and I wouldn’t feel right sending you out alone.”
“All right, then, if you think it’s best. When do we leave?”
“Val’s due back tonight, so you two can take off in the morning.”
Sam slid back from the table farther and stood. “I’ll make sure the barn’s in great shape before I leave.”
“Leave a little something for my nephew to do. He’s pretty much a worthless sod, and I’m trying to teach him hard work pays off.”
Samantha grinned at Gus, and turned to head back to the barn. Gus’s comment about his nephew wasn’t the only reason she had a grin on her face. She and Val would finally be alone together for a few days!
For the first time in months, she wished she had a dress she could put on for Val’s approval. And she wished she had her long hair back. It had always been her best feature.
Their first kiss had happened even though she had short hair and no dress, she reminded herself. Then there had been the second kiss, when he had caressed her breast and made her weak in the knees. Maybe she didn’t need all the trappings girls usually wore to entice men. Maybe Val could see who she was without all that.
She hummed to herself as she mucked out a stall and thought about Valerian. He had made it his business to keep her safe. Well, as safe as she could be. Samantha said a little prayer every night, thanking God for allowing them to meet, and asking Him to keep Val safe on the trail. So far, God hadn’t let her down. So she had God and Valerian in her corner. And seven months and twenty-nine days to go.
• • •
Valerian stowed the rifle on his horse and mounted up. Rifles had been issued to every rider when the Express began months ago, but most of the riders found the guns too cumbersome and resorted to handguns, if they carried anything at all. Valerian preferred to carry no weapon, relying on the speed of his horse to get him out of danger. Strong horseflesh, good care and ample feed made for faster mounts than any Indian had at his disposal. At least until the Indians had begun to raid the relay stations and steal their horses. Now, each rider who had the trek through Indian country had to be extra vigilant, since the Indians were riding Pony Express horses themselves.
But this was a different situation. Val wasn’t riding his Express route. He and Sam were heading out to pick up a supply wagon. Samantha, not Sam.
He glanced over at her as she climbed aboard her horse. They’d use the two horses to pull the wagon once they got to Atchison, but for now, they were riding side by side. She was as eager as he was to get away from the hotel and far from prying eyes. They could finally have some alone time together. Maybe they’d get to do more than just kiss. Val couldn’t wait to see how the day unfolded.
Samantha asked him for details about the poker game with Uncle Jack. Val glanced across at her.
“Your uncle is a lousy card player, that’s for sure.”
Samantha laughed at his assessment and Valerian grinned at her. Her laughter sounded very feminine, and reminded him of his sisters. Had he ever witnessed her laughter before? He shook his head. No, he never had. Because, up until now, she’d had very little in her life to find humorous.
“It feels good to have you laughing.”
“It feels good to have a reason to. Thank you, Val. For everything.”
Their gazes held for a long minute, and their horses slowed. Samantha’s tongue crept out of her mouth as she moistened her lips. Val followed the movement of her tongue, and his own mouth went dry. Their legs touched as their mounts came closer, but both hesitated to lean in farther and kiss. Val was nervous about being alone with her, yet excited to the point where his hardened shaft made riding difficult. They’d have to stop soon, or Val would face a most uncomfortable afternoon in the saddle.
Miles later, the sun was low in the sky, and the horses were tiring. A lake came into view at exactly the right moment. They stopped, dismounted, and led the horses to water before letting them graze under a tree with their reins loosely tied around a branch. Val removed the saddles from their backs. Samantha retrieved their food from the saddlebag, and they both plopped onto the ground.
“Nice place to spend the night, don’t you think, Val? We can even take a bath in the lake if we want.”
“Yeah, we’ll finish the ride tomorrow morning, and spend the afternoon getting the wagon together so we can leave Atchison the next morning.”
For a few minutes, the only sounds were the munching of the horses on the grass, a few crickets chirping their presence, and the gentle lapping of the lake as the breeze lifted the water and it made contact with the shoreline. Val and Samantha chewed lazily on the sandwiches and dried fruit Emma had packed for them. Valerian thought he’d never been so at peace. Samantha must have had the same drowsy feeling, since she lay back in the grass, her head cradled on a saddle, and let the setting sun caress her face. She’d removed her hat while they’d eaten, and Val had a clear view of her. He was jealous of the sun kissing her skin.
He moved over, blocking out the sun’s rays with his body. She opened her eyes at the loss of the sun’s heat and stared up at him. He had more heat than any sun, and it unleashed itself at that moment. He leaned into her, capturing her lips in a searing kiss. She wrapped her arms around him and drew him closer. His hands drifted to her chest, and he ran his hand over the binding she had placed over her breasts.
“I want to see them again.”
“And I want a bath. Shall we jump in the lake?”
Val’s dry mouth began to water.
He pulled her up from the grass and began to unbutton her shirt, pulling it from her pants. Her big brown eyes never left his face. The shirt came off, and he undid the tuck that held the binding, unrolling it slowly. Val noticed Samantha’s gulp of air as she stood quietly, allowing him to unbind her. Val gulped himself. Even during the time he’d taken care of her after her gunshot, he hadn’t undone the binding around her breasts. The vision of her the night he caught her without the binding when he walked in on her bathing herself had seared itself into his brain.
His hand was familiar with her breasts, but he hadn’t had time to really survey them. Unrolling the binding, a bit at a time, heightened his awareness of her sensuality. Finally, the last of the cloth was undone, and her breasts were free from their restraint. Val took a step back and studied them. They were small, and a bit squashed, due to the binding, but Valerian thought he’d never seen more perfect breasts. His hand came up and ran over them, his actions turning her nipples into hard little peaks. She lowered her eyes, stifling a small groan.
“This is the first time in months my breasts have had the breeze on them. Feels good.”
“Is the breeze the only thing that feels good?” he teased her.
In response, she raised herself onto her toes and kissed him. “No, you idiot.”
The remainder of their clothing came off quickly. They stood
naked side by side, both embarrassed, and neither of them stealing a glance at the other. Val was overcome by shyness all of a sudden. He grabbed some soap from his saddlebag and dashed into the water before Samantha could see his naked man parts. He let out a yelp at the coldness of the water. She splashed into the water after him, her gasp resonating with him. He had hoped to make her gasp in delight, but the cold water made him shrivel up. Well, he needed to get rid of a coating of trail dust anyway. First things first. The heat between them would warm his body parts up when the time was right. He began to lather himself up.
“Here, let me.” Samantha swam over and retrieved the bar from him. Her hand ran down his chest. His eyes closed to better remember the sensation, to plant it firmly in his memory. His skin erupted in gooseflesh that had nothing to do with the water temperature. Samantha paid close attention to every part of his upper body, washing his fingers, his ears, shampooing his hair, letting her hands play over his back. When she completed her task on his upper body, she sniffed his neck.
“Much better. You don’t smell of the trail anymore.”
Her hands began to work their way lower. Val held his breath as she touched his shaft, which had begun to acclimate itself to the water’s temperature. At her touch, his erection blossomed. Samantha ran the bar of soap over and under his manhood, caressing his testicles, immensely interested in what she found. His breathing hitched as she worked on him. He closed his eyes and gritted his teeth.
When he opened his eyes again and stared at Samantha, she had a sweet smile on her face. He decided he was clean enough. Grabbing the soap from her, he began to lather up her body in the same manner, spending extra time on her breasts, which were now expanding to their regular size. Still small, but wonderfully reactive to his ministrations. He rinsed her breasts with handfuls of water, and then he lowered his head to take her peak into his mouth. His nose was only an inch above the water. She leaned back and allowed him access, her small moans matching his.