“Good morning again, Beulah,” he said. To Anna, he said, “Good morning again, honey.” And kissed her cheek.
“Is that the best you can do, cowboy,?” Anna asked.
“No, actually, I can do better than that.” He proceeded to demonstrate.
When he released her, she licked her lick as if tasting them. “That was better,” she agreed. Beulah chuckled her agreement.
Beulah put the breakfast before them. Anna indicated the other chair, and asked, “Beulah, won’t you sit and eat with us?”
“Oh nome, Miss Anna. That wouldn’t be fitten.”
“You said I was the lady of the house and could do what I wanted, didn’t you?”
“Yessm.”
“I would like for you to sit and eat with us.” Anna didn’t see the smile that flitted across Josiah’s face.
Later, he told her, “Beulah ate breakfast most every morning. Caroline insisted on it. She didn’t know where you stood, so she took the way she thought was right. I think you made her day.”
“Mother always had the nanny eat with us, Anna said. “When father was home, it wasn’t allowed. “Servants have to know their place,” she mimicked.
“Well, you don’t have to worry about him now. You’re here. All you have to worry about now is me,” Josiah said. “Or maybe the Indians. We have occasionally had problems with the Lakota Sioux. They take a few head of cattle now and then, but we don’t worry about that. They need to eat too.”
“After last night, I guess I had better worry about you,” she said, with the hint of a giggle.
“I guess you had better. I might do it again,” he said.
“You know where I’ll be,” she replied.
Seeing the laughter in her eyes, he leaned over and kissed her on the cheek. “I had better get out of here and get some work done,” he said.
“What time do you finish?” she asked.
“Well, on a ranch, there’s always something that needs doing. If it isn’t fences to be mended, it’s strays to be rounded up, horses to be broken, saddles to be mended, things like that.
“Beulah, we’re going to be moving to the far pasture this morning, so I won’t be in for lunch. Can you fix me a cold lunch?”
It was nearly dark when Josiah returned to the big house. “I’m so tired, I can’t even spit,” he said. “We moved about three hundred head today and they were cantankerous. They wanted to go everywhere except where they were supposed to go.”
“I’ll bet you’d feel better with a nice hot bath. Why don’t get some water heated, and you can soak the tiredness away?” Anna asked.
Beulah said, “Child, that’s Maybelle’s work. I’ll tell her to take care of it.”
“What is there for me to do?” she asked.
“Do you do shoulder rubs?” Joshiah asked.
“I can do a shoulder rub,” she said. “You turn around. I have strong hands from playing the piano and should be able to loosen those tight muscles.” She began kneading his shoulders. He groaned with the pleasure.
“You do have strong fingers. It feels as if you’re trying to make your fingers meet right through the shoulder.”
After about ten minutes of intense massaging, she said, “That makes my fingers tired.”
Maybelle told him his bath was ready. “If you want me to wash your back, let me know,” Anna said.
“That might be asking for trouble,” he said.
After his bath, he walked into Rebecca’s bedroom in time to catch the last half of Thumblelina. He listened as Anna deviated from the story and added some parts that were new to Rebecca. “That’s not Thumblelina,” the little girl said.
“This is a special version I learned just for you,” Anna said.
When she finished reading, she told Rebecca, “Hug and kiss your Papa good night and I’ll tuck you in.”
After the hug and kisses to Rebecca and the two dolls, Josiah said, “I’m about ready for bed too. Will you tuck me in?”
“It will be my pleasure,” Anna said.
In their bedroom, she watched while Josiah readied himself for bed. When he finished, she asked, “Are you too tired to help me get ready?”
“Never,” came the quick reply. He unbuttoned her dress, and pulled it over her head. Then layer by layer, he helped her disrobe. When she was totally revealed to him, he said, “Turn around for me please. I want to see all of you in the light of day.” Smiling, she clasped her hands together and did a slow turn. Facing him, she put a hand under each breast and pushed them up, the nipples firm and erect. He pulled his night shirt off and divested himself of his underwear.
He took her into his arms and pulled her tightly against him, her breasts against his chest and her place of dreams against his manhood. He pushed her down on the bed and lay on top of her.
She looked at him with eyes open wide. “I could lose myself in those eyes,” he thought. He sheathed himself and moved his hand down her belly to the entrance to her vault of treasure. He inserted a finger and probed the interior of her body.
“Be gentle,” she asked. “It’s sore from last night.”
He found the magic spot and as he massaged, it she moaned. Moving his finger back and forth against the clitoris, she began to moan loud, bucking and thrusting upward. Nothing last night had prepared her for the intensity of the feeling that took control of her body. She dug her fingers into his back and clung tightly to him, the lower part of her body repeatedly pushing hard against him. Then, it was over.
She went completely limp in his arms. “That was wonderful,” she panted. “I didn’t know my body could feel that way.” As she lay there beneath him she reached down and took hold of his member and guided it into the place it was wanting. He began moving in and out of her. She caught the rhythm and moved in counter thrusts. The undulations of her hips increased in speed, as did his thrusts.
“Wait for me,” he urged.
“I don’t think I can. It’s almost here. Here it coooommmmes,” she said in a low throaty voice. His speed increased as did the pumping, and together they went the rest of the way up their mountains of ecstasy and over the edge together.
“That was good,” she said as she languished in his arms. “What a feeling,” she said. And she pulled him to her and began to move again.
“You’re insatiable,” he said.
“It’s your fault,” she answered as the slow movement of her body continued.
CHAPTER 12: TELL ME ABOUT THE INDIANS
“Josiah, tell me about the Indians,” she said in a troubled voice.
“Well,” he said, “there are several different tribes in the state, generally all peaceful. Individually, they are too small to do more than harass. Sitting Bull is the chief of the Lakota Sioux. They are relatively small in number also. If the Sioux, Cheyenne, and Arapahoe ever joined together, they would be formidable. So far, that hasn’t happened. In 1875 there were some harassing raids, a wagon train got wiped out. That was the worst. You shouldn’t worry. They’ve mostly been after cattle out on the range. There’s always a few cowboys around here and we could handle a raiding party. The worst time for them to hit would be during roundup, and there would only be the house staff here.”
“I guess you should teach me how to shoot a rifle, then,” she said.
‘That’s probably a good idea,” he said, “if for nothing more, it might make you feel better. We’ll do that one day soon and certainly before roundup.”
“I know it sounds dumb, but I’m not familiar with your terms. What’s roundup,” she asked.
“In this area of the country, we have free range. That means we don’t have to feed the cattle during winter, saving a lot of money on feed. They forage for their food. We lose a few to the weather but not enough to hurt us. Most calves are born in the spring and taken to market in the fall. In the spring, we round up all the cattle on our land, cull out the ones that aren’t our brand and give them back to their owners. We put our brand on our new calves. Our brand loo
ks like this.” He drew a rough picture of a devil’s head. “It’s one of the more complicated brands and would be hard to alter.
“In the fall, we have another roundup and take them to market. During roundup we are almost all out on the range. We have chuck wagons that feed us and we sleep on the ground. It’s hard work, but the cowboys mostly enjoy it.
“We have a contract with Fort Laramie, and they get most of our cattle, the rest satisfies Cheyenne and Laramie’s needs. Did you keep up with all of that?” he asked.
“I think so,” she said.
He said, “By the way, this afternoon, when they finish up, the hands will be here and I’ll introduce you to them. You’re their boss just as I am. We’ve got a good bunch. Some of them have been on the ranch all of their lives.
“In time, I’ll get Doc Williams to teach you some basic things so you can take care of minor injuries.”
Later that day…
“I asked you to come over here this afternoon, because I would like to introduce my wife to you. Honey, the distinguished man with the gray hair is Jud Pierce, our foreman. Jud, this is Anna. If you want to know anything about ranching, Jud is the man to ask. Next to Jud is Clayton, then Cody, Tom, Chung Woo who is the trail cook. Next is Preston, and Trace. The best ranch hands in all of Wyoming. This is Anna. Anything she says comes from me. That was all I had. Thank you for a good day.” The men began to straggle away, except for Jud. He came over.
“If you’re going to try to straighten him out, Miss Anna. You’ve got your work cut out for you. I’ve tried for these past eighteen years and you see the result. Welcome to Diablo. I hope you’re happy here.”
“Thank you, Jud. I appreciate it and thank you for the warning, but I think I’ll leave him the way he is.” She threw a smile at him that would have blinded most men. “It has been a pleasure meeting you. I’ll try to stay out of your way so you can do your job.”
“Anna,” Josiah said, “Do you feel up to a short walk? There’s someone else I’d like for you to meet.” A troubled look flitted across Jud’s face. Josiah ignored it. He took Anna’s hand and led her on a path that wound up a hill toward a copse of trees. When they got close, she could see a white picket fence surrounding a group of headstones. It was the Moore family cemetery. “If this makes you uncomfortable, please say so. My grandparents are over here, and my parents are here. This was my little brother. He died shortly after he was born. This is Caroline.” He spoke as if she was there. “Caroline, this is Anna. She is going to be taking care of Rebecca and me now.” He knelt, and closed his eyes. Anna could see him mouthing a prayer. He heard him say “Amen,” then he stood and took her hand and said, “We can go now. I just wanted you to know the family you are joining. They were good people. All of them.”
She squeezed his hand. “Thank you for that. It was very touching and emotional. I’m glad you brought me up here.”
They walked back down the hill and into the kitchen. “Papa,” came the cry as Rebecca rushed into his arms. He picked her up and swung her around.
“How’s my girl today?” he asked.
“Hi, Mama,” she said to Anna.
Anna picked her up. “Hello sweetheart. Did you have a good day? Have you decided which story you want me to read tonight?” Josiah noticed the tears in her eyes and the catch in her voice when she spoke. He looked over at Beulah, who was hovering in the background. “Thank you,” he mouthed. Beulah just smiled and turned away.
“I want Thumblelina,” Rebecca said.
“Thumblelina it will be,” Anna said. She put Rebecca down. As Rebecca hurried off to do whatever it is little girls do, Anna turned to Josiah and said, “That was really special. She’s a precious little girl.”
“Yes she is,” agreed Josiah.
“She needs a little brother,” Anna said.
“Are you, uh… with child?” he asked.
“How would you feel if I were?” she asked.
“I think I would rather wait until we get to know each other better,” he said.
“It’s way too early to tell, but I doubt it,” she said. “Are you saying you don’t think you want to have another baby? “ she asked. “If you are, then I want to know about it. I want to have a baby, and would be very disappointed if you don’t.”
“You are misunderstanding what I am saying. I simply mean I would prefer not to have another child at this time,” he said. “I think we are an extremely good match for each other. Rebecca likes you too.
“I can respect that. I just want you to know, at some point, I want another baby,” she said.
“Well, it would probably be interesting to have a son. Being an only child, I never had anyone to play with, when I was growing up.”
“I need something to do. Other than spending time with Rebecca, I don’t have anything to take up my time. Do you have any suggestions?” she asked.
“Have you ever had a garden?” he asked.
“No I haven’t and neither did my mother,” she said.
“Beulah has a garden and grows most of the vegetables we eat. They don’t have many vegetables at the general store. Ranches typically grow most of what they eat. You might talk to her about it. Ma always had a garden, but then she did the cooking for the family and the ranch hands.” He said. “After Beulah started doing most of the cooking, Ma sort of let the garden die away.”
“How often do you go into Cheyenne?” she asked.
Josiah replied, “Whenever it’s necessary to pick up supplies, I’ll take the wagon in, and usually one of the hands will go along to ride shotgun.”
“What does that mean,” she asked, “Ride shotgun.”
“It’s just for safety. You can’t very well drive a wagon and use a rifle at the same time.”
“I don’t remember seeing anyone when you picked me up at the depot,” she said.
“He was there. You just didn’t see him. He rides off to the side, so he isn’t so easily seen. He can see someone before the man handling the wagon, and join up if need be. Actually, if there was anything, he could defend better from the side than with the wagon. That way, we could establish a crossfire. We haven’t had an incident in a long time,” he quickly added.
“So, there really is an Indian threat,” she said.
“A small chance, I guess,” he allowed.
“I would like to go, the next time a trip is planned. I need to write Mama a letter to let her know how I’m doing,” Anna said.
“Okay, I’ll ask the folks what they need and we’ll go in. It will be a nice break in the routine.”
CHAPTER 13: CHEYENNE
Cheyenne…
The streets of Cheyenne were uneven and bumpy. Churned up by wagon wheels, herds of cattle driven through town to the cattle pens where they would be sold, and possibly loaded. Dust swirled around and coated everything and everyone with a layer. Ladies crossed the streets holding the hems of their dresses out of the dirt and mud.
Anna and Josiah went into the general store, where Josiah introduced Anna to the storekeeper, Asa Johnson, and then gave him the list of supplies he needed. Meanwhile, Anna walked around the store, looking at the bolts of cloth, buttons and other items of interest. She spied something in the corner that caught her interest. She went back to the storekeeper. “Is the piano for sale? Would it be all right if I played it?” she asked.
“The Blackjack Saloon had that shipped in, but they went bust before it got here. Sure, go ahead and play. No one has touched it since it came in,” he said and went back to gathering up the order.
Anna went back to the corner, and pulled the bench to the front of the Steinway upright piano. She sat, arranged her dress, intertwined her fingers and bent them back to stretch them. She began to play a relatively new hymn, Blessed Assurance, her eyes closed as her hands moved gracefully over the keyboard. She then played one of Tchaikovsky’s latest compositions, the likes of which had never been heard in Cheyenne. Not until she had finished the piece was she aware of the several patrons
of the store that had gathered to hear her play. They clapped, and several were heard to say, “Beautiful”.
She went to the storekeeper and said, Thank you for allowing me to play. It’s been so long, and I do enjoy it.”
“Believe me, it was my pleasure, Mrs Moore.” Anna then looked at the toys, and picked something for Rebecca and then into the candy case, where she asked for jelly beans, for Beulah and Rebecca.
When she moved away, Josiah asked if the piano was for sale. “I can make you a really good price on it. It has been here nearly a year and no one has taken any interest in it.” They negotiated a price and Josiah paid to have it delivered to the Diablo.
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