Independence 6

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This is historical fiction - with the naughty parts included. It's entertainment. If you want to know more (which, quite honestly, I hope this tale encourages), search the facts out for yourself.

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I was still in Heaven when I woke up. I kissed their faces until their eyes opened and then I kissed their mouths until they were horny enough to ride me. They took turns until I warned them that I was at my end. Once again, they shared my seed between them.

We got up, used the latrine, and took another quick basin-bath. We dressed and headed downstairs.

Annie's mother was frying bacon and potatoes. She served us each a plate with a glass of cider. She apparently had gotten up early and visited the market.

When I took her my plate and glass, she rewarded me with a lusty kiss.

"Mother...," Annie warned.

"You'll be gone for months," her mother complained.

I squeezed a breast and kissed her again while her daughter shook her head at me.

"You'll just encourage her," she snarled.

"Ungrateful child," her mother retorted.

We went to the stables to look over the horses of the thieves. Larry's horse had already gotten used to Slowpoke and Dusty. He was also pretty well-behaved. I had no clue what his previous owner called him. I named him "Larry" - just to keep things simple. Annie shook her head at me and grinned.

The horses that we'd collected at Holly's parents place were still there. William said that they were our property, but that he'd be glad to keep them if he was permitted to use them. I readily agreed to his terms. Housing and feeding them here would just cost me money that I didn't need to spend.

In the stable behind the boarding house, we found four more horses. In order for each of us to have a pair of horses for the ride to Missouri, I really needed all four of them to be serviceable. I went from stall to stall and checked them over physically. Annie and I also talked to them, patted them, scratched them, and slid on and off of their backs without a saddle - finding out their temperaments and dispositions.

Lydia, meanwhile, had headed to the market (with directions from Annie's mother) to get trail food for us, heavier clothing, and some oatcakes for the mounts - for when there wasn't enough forage.

The horses seemed to be workable. Annie and I saddled each of them, rode them to the edge of town, got them to a hard gallop, brought them back to town, returned to the stables, and then brushed them down. I had worried that one or two might need to be traded out for one of the horses at William's place but - in the end - we decided that we could make do with these.

When Lydia returned, I let her and Annie pick their primary and secondary mounts. Annie picked Larry and Dusty. I argued that Dusty was a pack-horse and Annie just shrugged.

"He's carried me plenty," she said. "If it doesn't work out, I'll switch."

I couldn't really argue with her.

Lydia picked two horses that seemed to connect with her on some level. She named one "Elmer" and the other "Skittles".

"What is Skittles?" I asked her.

"A game, I think," she said. "I heard it once. I thought it was cute. I decided that, if I ever owned a horse, I was calling him that."

"Elmer?" I asked.

She laughed and said, "A cousin on my mother's side. He kind of looks like him."

Out of the pair that remained, I picked the one who I thought was least likely to want to carry a person over the 2,000-mile trip. I named him "Packer".

"Very original," Annie scoffed.

I stuck my tongue out at her.

The other almost immediately earned the name "Side-eye."

The girls laughed when I said it - and then nodded.

We loaded Packer down with three sets of saddle bags and the tent and then mounted the others and took a ride to William's house and back. The animals seemed to work well enough together so I was happy. I was actually quite ecstatic.

We got back to Parson's Place around lunchtime. Everyone was still working to get things cleaned up, replaced, or repaired.

Annie's mother ordered us to gather around the table. She came walking out of the kitchen with steaming pans of food. She was assisted by a dusty-red-skinned young woman.

"Who's this?" I asked.

"Thomas O'Malley," she said. "Meet Lucinda with no last name - our first employee."

"Employee?" I asked.

"Lucinda has no one, needs a place to stay, and - at least so far - has been a willing and helpful assistant. For now, she won't collect a wage. We'll provide room, board, and teach her to read and write. When you get back from Missouri I'll know more."

I looked at the girl. She immediately looked at the floor.

"Please look at me," I said softly.

She raised her eyes until they were focused on me.

"You're okay with this arrangement?"

She nodded.

"Don't steal from us or lie - and you'll never have anything to worry about," I told her.

She glanced at Annie's mother.

"I told her the same," the woman informed me - while looking at the girl.

Lucinda glanced back at me once again.

"I'm very happy to have you here," I told her. "I have an errand that will take me several months, so I won't be around. I'm looking forward to getting a little better chance to get to know you when I return. These people are my family."

She looked around the room. Most of us didn't look anything alike.

"We're not family by blood," I told her.

"I don't have a family," she whispered.

"You do now, hun," Annie's mother told her, putting an arm around her and pulling her close.

She looked up at me. I nodded. She nodded back.

"Sit," I told her. "Let's eat."

Lydia got a chair for Lucinda and put it by hers. When the girl sat down, she put an arm around her and gave her a squeeze.

"I'm Lydia," she said. "I'll be running off with Annie and Thomas, but my children will be here. They'll be practicing their letters with you. Don't let them give you any shit."

Lucinda nodded and gave a little smile.

"I'm Annie," the redhead said from her seat, introducing herself.

"You're... a woman?" Lucinda asked, stunned.

Annie laughed and pulled off her hat, revealing her flaming locks - which were beginning to grow back.

"Oh my!" Lucinda gasped. "What pretty hair!"

"Thank you," Annie replied, laughing softly.

Introductions complete, we tucked into our meals.

~~~

With the mounts figured out - and the supplies ready - Lydia, Annie, and I had no excuse but to help the others work to clean up and repair the boarding house. At dinnertime, we all ended up around the big dining room table again.

Virgil cleared his throat.

"I think we may be able to start letting rooms in a couple weeks," he announced. "I need a record book, a receipt book, and some pens and I can keep the accounting and serve at the front desk."

"Lucinda and I can manage the kitchens," Annie's mother said. "I can get a shopping list together, but I don't know if I'll have time to go to the market."

"I should be able to manage that," Maybelle told her.

I glanced at Jasper and said, "Looks like you're the school marm."

He gave a bark of laughter and said, "Supplies, stables, and repairs, I think."

Nathanial said, "I can teach - and help clean rooms."

"I'll teach as well, clean rooms, and help wherever needed," Holly added.

"Lydia, Annie, and I will owe you all a great deal by the time we return," I said, looking around the room.

"You two bought this place," Jasper replied. "If we need to, we'll find a couple other employees, but our families should only need to occupy the top floor at most - which leaves us plenty of rooms to rent out."

"Wagon trains will be tapering off soon," I noted.

"Which is part of why I think we should open in the next week or so," Virgil replied.

The others nodded.

"I just... I don't know what to say," I told them.

"Say 'yes'," Holly said, grinning.

"I think it all sounds amazing!" I replied.

We finished eating, cleaned up, and then sat around to visit and play a few games until bedtime.

Once again, Annie and Lydia led me up to "our" room.

Lydia stripped and crawled to the center of the mattress. Once Annie was naked she ordered her to climb over and give her kisses. As soon as she did, Lydia reached around the girl and grabbed a hold of her ass.

"Fuck us both," Lydia ordered, "just like this. Slam it into her and then into me - and then back again. When you need to cum, slide it between us and spray it on our bellies."

My vision narrowed to two willing twats - stacked one on top of the other. I ripped my clothes off as fast as possible and leapt onto the bed. I grabbed a hold of Annie's ass and drove all of the way into her cunt in one go. She howled - and then ordered me to fuck her. I pulled out of her and slid into Lydia - not stopping until my balls were mashed against her ass.

I pulled out of one hole and then plundered the other - back and forth - over and over - ignoring their moans, pleadings, and climaxes - driving towards my own release. They kissed each other, squeezed each other, and teased each other.

Finally, I couldn't last another moment longer. I slid my cock between their bodies - as far as it would go - and began pumping my seed into the space between their stomachs. The pair hissed as the heat of my gooey spend oozed over their tender flesh. When I finished, I tumbled onto my back - exhausted.

I closed my eyes and listened to the two of them giggle as they cleaned each other up.

~~~

I woke to the sound of someone saying, "Bang, bang."

I opened my eyes to see Annie's mother grinning at me.

"That is seriously not funny," I told her.

She grinned more broadly and gave me a quick kiss - just before her daughter opened her eyes. The woman climbed off of the bed and went to the doorway.

"You three need to get moving," she said. "Everyone is gathering downstairs."

I groaned and sat up. I was really not ready to start this all over again.

We got up, splashed water on our faces, dressed, and headed down the stairs. Annie's mother hadn't lied. Everyone was lined up to see us off. It wasn't even light outside yet. The children were drowsy until they saw us and then they were immediately awake - and emotional.

Little Edna clung to me. I held her and cried.

"I'll be back soon," I promised. "With Aunt Juniper and... Aunt Sarah."

She took my face in her hands and kissed me on the mouth.

"Don't drink bad water," she ordered. "You stay healthy".

"I intend to, sweet angel," I told her, hugging her tightly.

I passed her off to Annie and picked up Ruth - who'd been hugging my leg. Our exchange was almost exactly like the one that I'd had with Edna. I passed her off to Annie and dropped to one knee to talk to the boys.

"You boys listen, learn your lessons, and help out around here and I'll bring you a treat," I promised.

I just about lost it when they hugged my neck.

They stood up tall and straight, gave me a salute, and then went to hug Annie and Lydia.

After the kids finished with me, I went down the line, giving hugs (or handshakes). Annie's mother hugged me, squeezed my butt, and got a long kiss. Annie cracked her on the ass, but she didn't act like she'd even felt it.

"I took your Army tent," Jasper informed me. "You've got my tent and three bedrolls."

"If I get wet in a prairie thunderstorm," I told him, "I'm blaming you."

"It'll be snow and not rain," he said, "and you don't need that extra weight. You need to be light and fast like cavalry. I would've just left you with a tarp, but the girls would've complained."

He grinned at me.

"You're probably right," I told him.

"You know I am," he replied.

Virgil was next.

"May the wind be always at your back," he offered.

I laughed and said, "Actually, that might be the one advantage we have this time."

Nathanial shook my hand and then hugged me.

"Take care of my sister," he said.

"I will," I promised.

Holly gave me a quick hug.

Maybelle wrapped her arms around me. She leaned over until her lips were by my ear.

"Fuck the shit out of my sister," she ordered, "and then get her lazy ass over here so I can put her to work. Try not to get anybody pregnant on the trail. I can't imagine how much worse that would make it."

I hugged her and kissed her on the temple.

"You're too good to me," I told her.

"... and don't you forget it," she replied, squeezing me harder.

As we finished up with the women, Virgil, Jasper, and Nathanial went and got the horses for us and brought them around to the front of the boarding house. The sun was just starting to chase away the shadows.

"You have your wallet?" Annie's mother asked.

I patted it and nodded. Jasper had made me take half of the loot-money - in addition to what I already had leftover in my wallet from the trip out here.

Lydia, Annie, and I gave the kids one last set of hugs and then headed out of the door and stepped off of the porch.

Packer had the supplies (loaded into the saddlebags), a couple extra guns, the tent, the sleeping bags, some rope, and the bulk of the food. The rest of the horses were in their full tack - bridles, saddles, and saddlebags - so that we could switch mounts as we needed - almost without having to stop. All of the extra gear would make things a little longer at night and in the morning - but every horse would be ready to go - no matter what and no matter when. If it didn't work out the way I planned, we could easily sell the stuff along the trail and pocket the money.

I was, in fact, already trying to figure out what I could carry with us from Missouri that would make the next trip more profitable. Livestock was an option, but I wasn't much of a cowboy. My current plan was to find several bottles of whiskey...

We mounted up and headed towards the edge of town - to the place where we'd entered just a few days before. In almost no time, we were at the exit for the toll road. There was no one there to collect - either because it was so early or because they didn't expect traffic to be heading east. We rode up Laurel Hill in less than an hour. When we'd brought the wagons down it, we'd spent half a day winching them slowly to the bottom.

By the end of that first day, we'd covered more than half of the toll road. The sky was clear but we set up the tent anyway - just to be safe. Rather than hobble the horses, we stretched out a picket line and tethered them to it - letting them rest and graze. We left them in their tack. I felt badly about it, but I was feeling nervous. We slept until just before dawn, broke camp, loaded up, and ate on the road.

By the end of the second day, we were almost off of the toll road. This leg of the trip had been almost a week before - and we'd finished it in two days. We could have gotten to The Dalles before full dark but - after the experiences we'd had in Oregon City - I decided to camp in the timber rather than take a chance in town. Once again, we picketed the horses, used the tent for cover, and slept as little as we thought we could manage.

We rose before daylight came and quickly got back underway. The bewildered toll collector, at the mouth of the Barlow Road, was still rubbing the sleep from his eyes as we passed. He didn't holler at us, so I decided that there was no toll for the return trip. I was confident they would make up for it when we came back the following spring.

We passed through The Dalles before most folks were up and moving. The place was kind of eerie when the streets were nearly deserted.

It was weird as fuck riding back the way we'd just came - seeing things from the other side. Over the next couple days, we remarked again and again about how different things looked coming at them from the west.

It took us four days to get to the pass through the Blue Mountains. It was the first week of October. The air was cool and crisp. I didn't think it smelled like snow, but I wasn't planning to stick around to see if I was right. The trip out - from the pass to The Dalles - had taken 12 days. Right now, we were running at about three times the speed that we had when we came west.

I wasn't about to say it out loud - and tempt the Fates - but I was seriously praying that things continued like this. I'd feel much better getting back to Missouri in two months - rather than three. Two months would put us at the first week of December - which - in Illinois often meant snow. Another month would be January, and I was fairly certain that meant that we'd either be riding through snow or really cold mud.

We passed through the Blue Mountains in a day - again a third as long as the trip had taken before. Any climbs or slopes with a significant grade were always a challenge - but we were only moving seven horses - and not a hundred wagons. We also were able to climb at a walk - rather than having to take the time to winch ourselves up or down the otherwise insurmountable terrain.

Three days later, we found ourselves trotting along the Snake River. After what we'd seen of the Columbia, the thing looked almost tame by comparison.

The nights were getting colder. We laid our bedrolls side-by-side, made love, and then dressed again and huddled together to help keep ourselves warm. I had begun to worry that I might lose my toes before this ordeal was over. My feet always seemed to be cold.

Another week found us at Salmon Falls. Two more days to Twin Falls. Two days more to get to American Falls. We passed Fort Hall the next day and camped just to the east. Two more days brought us to Fort Bridger.

There were fewer and fewer travelers on the trail. The window - to make it through the passes - was closing quickly. Anybody who wasn't already close was either looking for trouble - or spending the winter in one of the forts.

I learned something new. You could have a thunderstorm where it snowed instead of raining. Somehow, the snow made the tent feel warmer - rather than colder - maybe because the snow blocked out the wind.

We experienced the thunder-snow in the middle of the seven days that it took us to return to Tortoise Hill. It still didn't look like a turtle to me. I just couldn't see it.

We got to South Pass a day later. The snow was up to my hips in places. The horses were walking - almost slogging - through the stuff. I'm not sure that a person on foot would have made five miles in that snow. It was mostly powder - but there was so much!

It was a long day, but we made it all of the way through the pass. We travelled well into the night, trying to put the last of the mountains as far behind us as possible. I fed the horses the last of the apples and told them that I'd let them rest as soon as we traveled just a bit farther.

We found a cluster of pine trees with almost no snow beneath them and set up camp there. We didn't try to make love that night. We just huddled together and slept - trying to recover our strength.

I got a fire going in the morning using some of the needles as starter and fallen branches as fuel. I melted some snow for us and for the horses. We huddled close and thawed our hands and feet.

Four more days brought us back to Devil's Gate. The sun had come out long enough to turn the snow into mud. The shit was everywhere! I had no idea how there could be mud on the back of my coat, but it was there - and not just a little! There were no pine trees to shelter under. I had to knock the mud off of the bedrolls each morning.

The next day, we came to Independence Rock. Two days later, we found the Platte River - almost the same as we'd left it. There were little pockets of ice here and there along its banks where the current was slower.

Six days more brought us to Fort Laramie. We found an inn, stabled the horses for the night, paid for a hot bath, and slept in a real bed. I felt like a fucking king. It cost me almost a month's pay and it was worth every single penny. After the bath, we collapsed into the bed and immediately fell asleep - not even having the strength to make love.