by Reece Butler
Face hot, she kept her head down, watching Beth’s feet, until they arrived in the room. Like in her own room across the valley, clothing hung on pegs on the wall. A screen closed off one corner for the chamber pot, which Gillis insisted on calling a “thunder mug.” Since her fussing about it almost made him smile, she reacted as he expected.
It didn’t take long for her to discover that men, especially bachelor brothers, could be very crude to each other. Most of the time, she pretended not to hear their outrageous arguments and boasts. Sometimes it made her blush, but the discomfort was because she wanted to do what they said.
“You’ll have to look at our bed to see them, Amelia. You might as well get it over.” Beth’s smile matched the tone of her voice.
Amelia closed her eyes, faced the far side of the room, took a deep breath, and then looked. A very wide bed filled the far wall. There was enough space on either side to walk past to make the bed, but that was all. Beth walked over and sat on one corner. She pointed to the wall above the bed.
“Oh, Beth, they’re beautiful!”
Amelia walked slowly forward, staring at the four picture quilts, one for each season. She recognized the one far to the left, spring, as it was the view she had every time she looked out the parlor window.
“I didn’t know Prue quilted.” She frowned at Beth. “Why isn’t there any of her work on our walls?”
Beth patted the mattress. After she looked at her fill of Prue’s work, Amelia sat beside Beth. She sank into feathers, far more comfortable than the cornhusk mattress she slept on.
“We took everything down because Gillis got upset having to look at them.” Beth pointed to a trunk in the corner. “Anytime you think he’s ready, or if you want them back, they’re all in that trunk. I packed them very carefully as they’re so precious. Her lace is in there, too.”
Amelia looked up at the tiny, framed quilts once more. The detail in them! She squinted and, yes, two brown dogs played in the autumn fallen leaves. A man on a horse walked through the snowy winter scene, facing home. A yellow light in the window welcomed him. Home.
An arrow of loss shot into her heart. She collapsed sideways onto the bed. She covered her face with her hands, but the tears wouldn’t stop. She was jostled when Beth moved closer and rubbed her back.
“I’m sorry,” Amelia choked. “I know Prue’s gone, but now and then, it hits me.”
“Don’t be sorry for a few tears. Your father and sister, the only family you had left, are gone. You have a baby to raise in a place far from anything you know. You’ve got to get used to living with your husband. Even more, he has two brothers who want you.” She leaned closer and hugged Amelia. “Nothing could have prepared you for the thought of sharing your bed with more than one man. Cry as much as you want. I’m here, and I’m ready to answer your questions.”
Beth patiently waited while Amelia’s emotional storm passed. Beth handed her a handkerchief when she sat up. The delicate lace edging, Prue’s signature work, almost got her started again.
“Better?”
Amelia nodded. Beth brought her a cup of water from the jug on the side wall. She drank it slowly, thinking about what to say.
“Actually, something did help prepare me for this.” She waved her hand at the huge bed. Beth said nothing so she continued, still looking at her cup. “I had these…dreams. For years, before I came here. Then, just before I left, I found a book.” Beth was silent. “With drawings. Of men and women together.”
“A pillow book?”
“Is that what they’re called? The title is Sinful Pleasures. I looked at the whole book one night, page after page. I had terribly wicked dreams. In the morning, I packed it away in my trunk. It’s still there, in the bunkhouse.”
Beth leaned over, an eyebrow raised over a sparkling eye. “Does Ross know about it?”
Amelia nodded. Heat flashed up her body.
“Someday, I’d like to borrow it. When you’ve memorized it, that is. I might get some ideas to surprise my men.”
“There’s one drawing with three men and a woman. She looks”—Amelia bit her lip, looking for a word—“uncomfortable.”
Beth laughed. “You might find it so the first time, but once you relax and enjoy it, things will go much better. Remember, you are the one in charge of the bed. You decide if you will share it, with whom, and what goes on.” She wiggled her eyebrows like a bad villain actor. “Or comes off.”
“Um, Ross thinks he’s in charge of the bedroom. And other things as well.”
“You let him think that, but don’t let it stop you from doing otherwise. Men, especially strong ones like ours, like to think they’re in charge. Smart women let them have their illusions. You’re a very smart woman, Amelia MacDougal.”
Beth took her hand. “If Auntie is going to stay in the downstairs bedroom with Hope, get Ross to build you a small room of your own. Anytime I want to just sleep, I go downstairs and rest in my own room. Alone, or with someone to hold me. It’s a sunny room, so I have my sewing in there as well.”
“If I had a place of my own, I wouldn’t feel so overwhelmed.”
“I’m much taller than you, Amelia, and I get overwhelmed by all that he-man bravado sometimes.”
“How do you stand it?”
“They’re just trying to be the top dog in the pack.”
“But we’re a family, not a pack of dogs.”
“They’re male, and men work in packs,” said Beth in a droll voice. “Men don’t think or act like women. We are the ones who nurture and build families. They protect us and provide what we need for our family.”
“Mrs. Beth, riders!”
The yell came in through the open window. Beth scrambled across the bed to look. She leaned out for a moment before facing Amelia.
“I recognize the Circle C men, but the others are strangers. We’d better go down and greet them.” She smiled reassuringly at Amelia. “Luke Frost wouldn’t bring trouble to our door. Perhaps the others heard about our cooking. Single men will do almost anything for a good woman-cooked meal.”
Amelia followed Beth downstairs and across the yard.
“Luke Frost, you are not having any pie unless you put in a good day’s work!”
Beth shook her finger at the repentant-looking man, but Amelia heard the laugh in her voice. He turned his head, and she saw a wide scar on the right side of his face. He was the man who stood up first in the hotel dining room. His smile pulled at the scar, disfiguring his face even more. The sparkle in his eyes more than made up for it.
“I brought lots of help, Mrs. Elliott.” He pointed downhill, where three men slowly approached on horseback. Luke and his two partners dismounted as the others approached.
“Mrs. MacDougal,” said Luke, bowing his bare head. “It is a pleasure to meet you in person. May I introduce my partners, Gabe Downey and Oscar Cutler?”
Both men pulled off their hats. Mr. Downey was built like Gillis but with brown hair. Mr. Cutler winked at her with his left eye, the other being covered with a black patch.
“Mrs. Elliott, Mrs. MacDougal,” said the two.
They replaced their hats and, along with Luke, led their horses to the barn as the strangers rode up and dismounted. Trace and Ross strode over. Jack trotted up, grinning like a ten-year-old eager to play.
“Langford, Statham, and Bennett of the Double Diamond,” said Jack, still grinning. “It is a very great pleasure to meet you.” He held out his dirty hand. The men didn’t hesitate to grasp it, each one trying to outdo the others in grip. Langford won, and Bennett lost. Statham, two inches taller than Ross and far broader, made Jack wince. He shook his fingers out, mugging as if Statham had destroyed his hand.
“These gentlemen are our new neighbors,” continued Jack. He flexed his right hand into a fist and released. “They took over the Double Diamond from that ba—”—he glanced at Amelia and Beth—“that undesirable so-and-so Smythe.”
“I’m Trace Elliott, that’s Jack, and this i
s my wife, Beth.”
“Ross MacDougal and my wife, Amelia.”
“Kenrick Langford but please, call me Ace.” He bowed to the women as if they were in a drawing room. “Ladies.” The other two doffed their hats. Bennett winked at Beth and Amelia.
“I hear Smythe’s longhorns are now yours,” said Jack.
“If he sent the gold to pay for them,” said Bennett with a frown.
“Mr. Smythe was not forthcoming with many details,” said Ace. “He refused to say from whom he purchased them, but only that they would arrive at some point.”
“The longhorns are on the way from the Elliott ranch in Texas,” said Trace. “They’ll be here before the snow.”
Ace, who seemed to be the leader, perked up. “Elliott ranch? Is there a relation?”
“Ranger and Patrick are my brothers,” replied Trace, nodding. “Half that herd of longhorns are yours. The rest go to their ranch to the west of here, the RB.”
“I will certainly sleep more easily now,” said Ace. He looked at his partners, both of whom looked relieved.
“Enough jawing,” said Trace. “We’ve got some building to do.”
“Ah, yes.” Ace spread his hands and looked at them. Fresh cuts and bruises marred the long, slender fingers. “I recently got reacquainted with a hammer. We didn’t agree on the placing of a few nails. Mine, in particular. You wouldn’t happen to know of a manicurist?”
Statham punched him in the shoulder. “We’re ready to work.”
“Don’t mind Ace,” said Bennett. He shook his head as if Langford was a naughty child he’d given up on. “He likes to see how many people he can irritate in a day. Please, call me Henry, and this is Sin.” He pointed his thumb to Statham. The blond man nodded, his still face expressionless. “Where do you want us?”
“I’d appreciate you working near the miners to keep an eye on them. We’ve got women and young girls here, and some of them can’t be trusted.”
“We’d be honored,” said Ace with a slight bow. He and Henry walked their horses toward the barn. Sin silently tipped his hat to the women and followed.
“They’ve known each other awhile,” observed Ross.
“You’d think they were brothers, the way they treat each other,” said Jack. He punched Trace in the shoulder the way Sin had Ace. He quickly danced over to where Simon and the miners sorted boards.
“Be good to see Ranger before the snow flies,” said Trace. He winked as he tucked a strand of hair behind Beth’s ear. “More hungry Elliott males to feed.”
“They can feed themselves,” growled Beth at her husband. “They bought the RB, and they can live there and take care of themselves.” She eluded his hands. “Amelia, you’d better get to the kitchen with me before our husbands do something foolish.”
“Kissing my wife is never foolish,” said Trace.
Amelia saw the same heated look on Ross’s face. She skipped away, following Beth toward the kitchen and the relative safety of women’s work.
“You’ll pay for that tonight, woman!” Trace made a spanking motion with his hand. Beth stuck out her tongue and waggled her hands at her ears.
“Don’t teach Amelia any bad habits,” called Ross to Beth.
Amelia did the same as Beth but also wiggled her bottom at him.
“Don’t count on sitting down to breakfast!” roared Ross.
“Do you think he’ll do it?” Amelia whispered the question to Beth.
“Of course. And when he does, you whimper. That way, he’ll take a long time to make you happy again.”
Beth winked. Amelia stood by the door, hot and eager but with no way of satisfying her need until the night.
Chapter Fifteen
Amelia rested her head on Ross’s shoulder. He drove the horses, but she could relax now. All the food was gone, the bulk of the work done. She hadn’t seen Nevin or Gillis since the miners left an hour earlier. She expected they were “escorting” the men home.
“Would you rather have married someone else?” Ross almost whispered the question.
She raised her head and looked at him. “Why are you asking me that?”
“Life would be easier with a white man. Back East, you’d be a lot warmer—”
“I don’t care about that!” She poked him in the ribs with her finger. “Yes, if I didn’t come out here, I’d not be working morning to night.”
“Wouldn’t that be better?”
“Not when I’d be forced to stay in the attics out of what my dear cousin calls ‘decency.’”
“Your cousin?”
She looked to her left. Nothing but dark out there, but she had a warm body to her right. His strong thigh rested against her leg, making her tingle.
“Father left everything to a cousin. Ev-ry-thing.”
They rode on for a few minutes. Amelia tilted her head back to look at the stars. They sparkled, so bright and clear she could make a wish then reach out and pull one into her heart.
“That why you sent so much by freight train?”
She tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. “I only brought what should have come to Prudence and me. Cousin Oral will never know.”
He nodded absently. The horses pulled the wagon down toward the creek. They seemed in no hurry to get home. Amelia, on the other hand, was ready for sleep. Not since before the fire had she been near so many strangers. Fighting to stop herself from covering her face and hand took more effort than she’d expected. On top of that, she’d done more work today than she could remember. She rolled her shoulders, stretching out sore muscles.
“You came out here just to escape your cousin?”
She shook her head. “The only thing I ever wanted was a home where I belonged and children to love. For that, I needed a husband.” She picked at her dress, smoothing it over her thighs. “I knew husbands owned their wives and could do whatever they wanted to them. Just like fathers did to their daughters. I knew nothing about men, so it didn’t matter who I married, as long as he was kind.” She looked at Ross. “Prudence said her brothers-in-law were kind.”
“It wasn’t your choice to marry me.”
“No, but few women have a choice.” She leaned her head on his shoulder again. “That first night, I discovered a world I could never, ever have imagined. The way you made me feel when you touched me…” She flushed and looked down. “I could understand why women wanted to marry a certain man. Why I wanted to be your wife.”
“You could have the pick of every unmarried man within a hundred miles.” He looked up at the moon, almost full now. “Still could, if you wanted.” He almost whispered the words.
“Ross MacDougal, if I look back at every man I saw back East, on my trip, in town, and today, I would still choose you as my husband.”
He sat a little straighter. “Even without what we share in bed?”
She laughed and smiled up at him. “That would be difficult to do without.” She placed her hand lightly on his thigh. “I enjoyed watching you work today without your shirt. You showed those miners how a real man works.”
“I enjoy watching you naked.” His eyes seemed to glow down at her. “Woman, you’ve been wearing far too many clothes all day. Take them off.”
“Now?”
“Yep.”
Her pussy twinged at the thought of riding naked in the warm air. She started at the top buttons of her dress. Noticing the hitch in his breathing, she put on a show. Slowly, seductively, she stripped off her clothing while the horses plodded slowly home. Auntie and Tillie had the babies at home. Nevin and Gillis were riding somewhere. There was only her and Ross and the moonlight. He almost choked when she rested her hand on his shoulder to slide her drawers off. She placed her things on the seat as padding. Of course, she kept her boots on.
She sat back down, wriggling a little just to hear the way his breath caught.
“Did you see Beth’s bed?” Ross croaked out the words, almost like Trace.
“Yes. I even sat on it. Beth has a feather matt
ress. It’s so soft.” She plumped up her breasts.
“Tell me,” he said.
“It’s bigger than ours. Three big beds, pushed together. It takes up almost the whole wall. Do you think we might get a bigger, softer bed?”
Ross hooked the leather traces at his feet. The horses kept on plodding.
“What do you think of lying in the middle of a big bed with three men to pleasure you? One would suckle your breast.” He wrapped his arm around her back, capturing a breast with his hand. “One would lie between your thighs and lick your sweet pussy. And your mouth would be full of the other one’s cock. Open my pants, Amelia.”
She shivered at the deep voice ordering her to do exactly what she wanted. She unbuttoned him and released his cock. Ever since she’d looked at Beth’s bed that morning, she’d thought about this cock.
“Sit on my lap, Amy. Ride me.”
His hand supported her as she knelt on the hard bench. She raised herself up, lifted her leg, and felt him push into her. She settled down, face against his chest, his arm holding her tight. The rattling of the wagon sent vibrations into her pussy.
She stayed there, connected to her man, until they neared home. Only then did she haphazardly put on her skirt and blouse, missing half the buttons but not caring in her need.
“You head up to bed while I put the wagon away.”
“Do you want help?”
“If you don’t get upstairs right now, I’m going to toss you into the hay pile and make you scream my name.”
“Oh!” She scrambled down from the wagon and ran for the house, clutching her undergarments to her chest.
* * * *
“I’ll do this. You go to your wife. I think if you put one finger in her, she’ll erupt.”
Ross continued past Nevin and hung the harness on its peg.
“Beth took her upstairs and showed her their bed,” said Ross.
Nevin groaned like a wounded animal. “I didn’t need to know that. Tomorrow, I’m wearing a kilt. My cock’s so hard all the time it’s wearing a hole through my pants.”