Independence 7

~~~

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.

~~~

We spent three nights together - catching up - before Sarah informed me that we should probably visit her parents.

I had gotten directions to the wooded area where Sarah's father had suggested hunting for fowls. Annie and I geared up for the hunt. Lydia and Juniper insisted on tagging along - rather than being stuck in the room by themselves. I had no doubt that Lydia could handle it, but I warned Juniper than it wouldn't be all fun and games and that we would expect her to obey our every instruction. She assured me that she could handle it and would do as we told her.

The first outing resulted in no game - but - but the time we returned home, Lydia and Juniper were working with us much better than they had been when we started the day.

We shifted to the west the second day and we found a small stream with lots of small animal tracks. We spent quite a lot of time watching Annie fashion snares - and then practicing the skills ourselves. I had never done much trapping so those skills were new to me. I pulled her into a tight hug and told her how much I appreciated her. Once again, she simply said that she wished that I'd gotten the chance to meet her father. She had never given much history on him but I had begun to suspect that he'd been in the service as well.

We took a pheasant that afternoon - and Annie brought down a small buck just as we were leaving. That resulted in lessons for Lydia and Juniper on field-dressing birds and deer. Juniper made a face but stuck to it - and had mastered the basics by the time we headed home.

Annie was careful to explain why she did what she did - warning them - especially on the bird since it was so small - to be careful to keep from rupturing the bile organs and fouling the harvest.

"Plus is smells to high heaven!" she told them, laughing.

We handed the pheasant and the deer off to Sarah's father. He invited us to come to dinner the following evening - which would give Sarah's mother a day to turn the meat into a meal.

His eyes played over the bird and he asked what had happened to the head. I merely pointed at Annie - who blushed.

"Her father taught her to aim at the head to keep from spoiling the pelt," I told him.

"How far away were you?!" he gasped.

"At least a hundred paces," I told him.

He shook his head and gave Annie a wink.

"Helluva shot, little miss," he said.

"Yes, she is," I told him, unable to keep from grinning.

The next day, we came home with four hares that Annie had snared. Once again, she gave the girls lessons on cleaning the animals up while doing as much as possible to preserve the skins whole.

We traded the four pelts for coin and took the meat with us when we went to Sarah's parents' house. I let Annie be the one to hand them off to her mother.

"Am I to understand that you're the hunter?" she asked the redhead - who refused to wear a dress but had left her hat in the room.

"Yes, ma'am," Annie answered.

"And you dressed them?" she inquired.

"I'm teaching the others," she replied.

"I would tell you that you'll make some man a fine wife but I'm to understand that you're caught up in this whole mess with my daughter," the woman said.

"I am very happy to be caught up in this mess," Annie answered her.

The woman studied her face for a moment and then sighed and nodded.

"I suppose it takes all kinds," she said at last.

Sarah's mother had roasted the fowl and turned some of the venison into a big pot of chili. The smells that filled the house had my mouth watering.

The woman eyeballed us all several times during the meal, but Sarah told her to save her questions until afterwards. She sighed but nodded.

We moved to the front room after dinner and each had a tumbler filled with sweetened tea. It was marvelous.

"You can use cane sugar, or sugar from beets," her mother said, "but I prefer honey."

"We should raise bees - on the farm," Annie said, taking another sip of her beverage.

From there, the evening turned into a quick discussion about Oregon - and then the girls began retracing our steps from Independence to Oregon City. I brushed away tears a couple times, and held Lydia in my arms during Annie's explanation of those days. Juniper held me while Lydia described the ordeal with Edna. Annie held me when she told the story about Jessica. The whole time, her mother (and father) took it all in.

"Juniper is Edna's aunt?" her mother asked.

I nodded and said, "Maybelle's husband, Jasper, served with me in the Illinois volunteers. I ran into them back home when they were traveling here and he jokingly invited me to tag along."

"On a 2,000-mile trek across the country?" her mother asked.

"I was feeling a little bored at the time," I told her, grinning. "I'm not much for farmwork."

"You will be," Annie said, laughing.

"I promise you, my gorgeous huntress," I told her. "I fully intend to pay others to do the farming for me."

"What will you do?" her mother asked.

"Help with the boarding house," I said. "The sheriff also told me to come talk to him about a job when we returned."

"With what you've seen and done so far," Sarah's mother said, casting a glance at her daughter, "you should see if the sheriff here has something for you to help with."

"Mother...," Sarah objected.

"They put up more and more of those posters and they never seem to take them down," her mother complained. "If the boy craves adventure..."

"You realize that you're asking me to be okay with him risking his life...," Sarah countered.

"I'm not risking much," I said pompously, "Annie shoots them before they can square up on me."

Annie laughed and said, "You've already admitted to them about mashing your jewels on the empty barrel and rolling under that shot at William's house..."

I looked at Sarah and said, "It couldn't hurt to go and talk with them...?"

"So help me," she said. "If I've waited this long to get married and you fuck around and get yourself killed..."

"Speaking of marriage...," Lydia said. "When do you want to do that?"

Sarah looked at me and asked, "How is this going to work?"

"The sheriff in Oregon suggested only one wife - though they don't really have laws about it," I told her. "He said the others would just be called friends or associates or something."

"Wife's maids?" Sarah asked. "They'd be bride's maids for the wedding."

I looked around at the faces of the other three. They nodded, smiling sweetly.

"Three maids, master, and mistress," Juniper said, nodding.

Sarah's mother leveled her gaze at me, formulating a question it seemed. Her daughter interrupted.

"He loves us all, mother," she told her. "He'd told Lydia and Annie so much about me that they attacked me with hugs and kisses as soon as I looked up and said his name. They didn't know my face but still they carried on as if we'd been together for months. Tell me, truly, that I could find another like that and I won't marry him."

Her mother glanced at her and then dropped her eyes to her lap - where her fingers were fidgeting.

I stood, went to her chair, and knelt in front of her.

"I love your daughter," I told her. "I have since I first saw her."

"She's... unusual," the woman argued.

"Lydia is a widow with two children," I said. "Annie shoots better than any person - man or woman - than I've ever seen and loves nothing better than hunting - whether man or beast. Juniper's sister told me - almost from the first day that we spent in each other's company - that she was writing to her to tell her to find a way to marry me - and later told me that she's written to tell her to prostrate herself to Sarah and do everything within her power to serve us both."

"Why would she do that?" the woman asked me.

I glanced at Juniper and smiled at her - then I turned my attention back to Sarah's mother.

"She said the girl was nearly untamable," I reported. "She told me to do everything I could to keep from marrying her - but also told me - in front of her husband - that if anything ever happened to her - that I would be taking his place."

"Her daughter is Edna?" the woman asked me.

I nodded.

"And you left all of them behind - in Oregon country?" she asked.

"I reasoned that the fastest way to be reunited was to get back to Sarah before the winter and then leave as soon as the passes open again."

"You'll take her from me and I'll never see her again?" she asked.

"I would take you with us but the journey is hard - as we've already described," I told her. "I've heard that the railroads are building west. It may be that you can come and visit in a few years - without risking life or limb. I promise that we'll have a place for you."

I glanced at Sarah's father.

"Both of you," I told him.

He nodded and said, "Maybe one day. For now, my place is here."

Sarah's mother sat there a minute or so longer before she looked up at me.

"You have my blessing," she said. "She's done nothing but talk about you since the day you met. There's no way I could deny her. You took your friends all of the way across the country - and made more friends along the way - and then you raced back here to see her. I've never seen such drive and determination - and in one so young - you remind me of her. Promise me you'll always love her and take care of her."

"As long as blood flows in my veins," I vowed.

She caught my chin in her fingers and kissed me on the forehead. She released me and nodded. I stood and returned to my seat. Sarah dropped onto my lap and kissed me - long and hard - and then hugged my neck.

When we got back to the rooms that night, we repeated what had now become our routine. I fucked Sarah until I came inside of her and then fucked each of the other three as they worked to lick and suck my seed from her. I fucked them until I was ready to cum again and then finished in Sarah once more.

Sarah and Juniper slept on my right - trading places each night - while Lydia and Annie did the same on my left.

~~~

It was a week before Christmas.

I stopped to see the sheriff, explained who I was, and told him about what Annie and I had done in Oregon. He, of course, didn't believe half of what we told him. I had him take us to a gun range that they had set up to test their officers. Annie and I both showed off our skills with the musket, the rifle, and our pistols.

He gave us a wanted poster, explained that the rendering was probably poor, told us where the last rumors had placed the man, and explained about associates that would likely be with him. The poster said, "Dead or Alive" but the sheriff said that he wasn't convinced that the man was guilty and asked for us to try to bring him in alive if at all possible. He offered us a bonus if we accomplished it.

He deputized the two of us, gave us silver badges, and handed us a warrant with the charge of murder. He noted that it was the first time that he had ever deputized a woman. Annie smiled and pulled her hat over her flaming locks - which were now almost to the base of her neck.

I had planned to leave Lydia and Juniper at the rented room, but they weren't having it. They assembled a kit of medical supplies and vowed that they would assist us in ways other than shooting. I told Lydia that - if she was coming along - I was giving her two pistols to carry - so that she could cover Juniper and herself. She agreed.

We took Slowpoke, Larry, Skittles, Side-eye, and Packer. We followed the sheriff's directions and ended up at a farmhouse late in the afternoon. Juniper stayed with the horses. I placed Lydia at one corner of the front of the house and Annie at the other. Lydia had the pistols and Annie had the ring lever rifle, as always. I had a musket lashed to my back and two pistols holstered on my belt. I pounded on the door.

"Who's there?" came a man's voice.

"I have a warrant," I said, "for the arrest of Jeffery Dalton. I'm here to take him into custody. If he's here, send him out, unarmed."

"He ain't here," the voice said.

"I would like to come inside and see for myself," I replied.

"Not happening," the voice said.

"By the authority of the sheriff," I replied. "You will open up and submit to search. I'm only here for Jeffery Dalton. I'll be out of your hair as soon as I'm confident that he's not here."

"Runner!" Annie hollered.

"Shoot to wound," I yelled back.

The Colt squawked once.

"Open up and submit to search," I hollered again, "by the authority of the sheriff."

Lydia's pistol fired twice.

"You're only making this harder on yourselves," I told the man.

He didn't answer. I eased back off of the front door a pace and dropped to one knee.

"Eyes open," I whispered to the other two.

I heard the horses shuffling behind me and briefly thought that I should have placed Juniper farther away.

The door whipped open and the man inside tried to locate me to take aim. I shot him in the throat. He dropped his gun and grabbed for his neck.

"Going in...," I told Annie and Lydia. "Watch the sides."

I stood, stuck my shoulder into the man's stomach, and lifted him, carrying him with me. A woman was seated to the right with her hands up. A pistol fired up ahead and the man over my shoulder grunted as he took a bullet in the ass. I quickly shot the attacker in the face.

I carried my meat-shield through the house as I quickly went through each room. I walked back outside and dumped him onto the ground.

"Juniper," I hollered. "I'm sending a woman out to you. Find some rope and tie her up."

Back inside, I looked at the woman.

"There's a sandy-haired woman with the horses," I told her. "She'll tie you up. This is your one chance to live. Don't screw it up."

She nodded and headed for the door.

I walked through the front room to the hall - where the guy with one eye was lying. He looked a lot like the face on the poster. I grabbed him by the ankle and pulled him out behind me.

The guy that Lydia had shot was dead. She wasn't as accurate as Annie and one of her shots had taken the man in a lung. I told her that she did just fine. I squeezed her hard and kissed her harder.

She and I dragged the man to the horses while Annie went to get the one that she'd shot in the thigh. He was bleeding pretty good. She'd hit an artery. I told him to stay put and not fuck with the tourniquet or he would bleed out before we got to town.

By the time the others were dealt with, the guy I'd shot in the throat was dead. It seemed that the shot that he'd taken from his buddy had got the bottom of a lung - and not his ass as I'd previously thought.

The woman rode with Juniper. The injured man rode with Lydia. Packer carried the three bodies. Annie and I rode on either side of the other two and kept an eye on the prisoners.

The sheriff's eyes went wide when he saw us coming down the street.

"Holy shit!" he gasped.

He sent a deputy to get the jail cells ready and another to make sure his ledger and receipt book were ready for him.

When he saw the injured man, he sent the second deputy to get the doctor. He had the deputy take the woman to one of the cells and put the injured guy in another one. He informed me that he only had four cells so he probably hold off on having us go back out again until these people were dealt with.

He confirmed that the man I'd shot in the face was the one they were after. Two of the others matched descriptions he had for those wanted for questioning in relation to the first man - as well as some other robberies that had occurred.

The man counted out a small stack of bills, I signed for them, and we were on our way.

I walked up to Juniper - seated on Side-eye - and asked how she was doing.

"It all happened so fast!" she said.

I compared notes with Annie - and Lydia - and confirmed that I needed to keep her and the horses farther back from the house if we did this again.

I reassured Lydia that she had done a fabulous job. Annie hugged her and told her the same. I told her that - whether she loved the idea or not - we really needed her on one of the flanks in those situations. She hugged me and kissed me and promised that she'd do whatever I needed her to do.

Later that night, after we had all finished making love, Sarah held Lydia in her arms and stroked her fingers through her hair as the older woman told her about her fears and doubts.

"You protected our husband," Sarah told her. "You're a good girl and I'm proud of you facing your fears like that. You should only have to worry about your babies - and not about bad men shooting at you."

Lydia turned her face up to look at her and said, "Does it make me something unnatural if I admit that I've never felt so alive?"

Sarah glanced over at me and then back into the blonde's face and said, "You've been through hell and back again. I won't judge you. I don't live like most women choose to. Thomas didn't pick us because we're normal."

That night, we had Lydia sleep in the middle. Annie and I cuddled in on her left while Sarah and Juniper snuggled in on her right.

~~~

Two days before Christmas, we went hunting again. We started early in the day and set a few snares for small game as we headed towards where we'd seen a flock of pheasants.

We came back with two turkeys, a pheasant, and a pair of rabbits. We got them cleaned up and then we mounted up to head back to town. We stopped by Sarah's mom's house and dropped off the harvest. She said she was looking forward to having us all over again and promised to have the birds roasted for the big day.

We rode back to the stables and got the mounts out of their tack and got them brushed - and fed some treats.

The next day, I convinced Sarah's father to let me take her place at the stables. I gave the girls a wad of money and sent them off to buy Christmas presents for everyone. Sarah complained that she had no idea what to get - but Lydia grabbed the money (and Sarah's elbow) and hustled her away.

They must have had a grand time together because they didn't return until almost dinner time. I complained that they'd abandoned me to eat lunch with Sarah's dad and they just laughed and then dragged me off to dinner. We ate until we were stuffed and then went to our room.

They spent the next hour showing me the presents that they had bought. I had only intended for them to get presents for Sarah's parents but they had gotten something for each other as well. Seeing their glowing faces, I couldn't be upset with them - and then I felt badly that I hadn't thought to do it myself. They assured me that - if I fucked them hard enough - they'd forget all about my shortcomings.

They had bought some brown paper so we took a little time to wrap the gifts. Lydia was a dab hand at the skill and we each practiced until we had the basics down. We tied them up with twine and wrote names on the paper with a grease pencil.

Sarah had me lie on my back. She had the girls take turns riding me while she and the others helped me lick, suck, caress, and tug on their sensitive bits as each of them got me closer and closer to spilling my seed.

Juniper went first. Her tender little curves were delightfully sensitive and we carefully trod the balance between giggles and groans as she rode me hard - convinced that she could get me to cum. I sucked her soft titties and massaged her ass in my fists as she fucked me until she couldn't go any more. She came twice.

Annie was next and rode me like a true cowgirl, waving her hat in the air in her fist as she stroked her tight little pussy up and down on my shaft. I tugged at her stiff nipples and ran my hands up and down her flat powerful stomach while the others teased her legs, thighs, and ass. Sarah giggled as she teased a fingertip towards the redhead's rear entrance and her pussy clamped down on me as she shrieked and came hard.