Esther woke to the smell of frying fish. She raised herself onto one arm, looking around disoriented. Grant looked up for a second and then returned his attention to the pan.
Everything became clear again. She was pregnant, she was traveling alone with a strange man to find the father, and she had agreed to let the man use her body.
So far it seemed like an empty threat he was using to mess with her. Either way, she didn't want to push her luck so she tried to appear as pleasant as possible.
"Good morning," she said brightly.
"Morning."
"Did you just catch those?" she asked indicating towards the fish.
"I knew you're stupid but I didn't realize you're that stupid. Obviously I did."
"Sorry. I did know."
"Here," he handed her a plate. "Eat this."
"Thank you." The fish was surprisingly good and she ate two plates worth.
She rolled up her blanket and folded up the burlap sack, shaking it off and folding the dusty side inward.
Taking her newly altered green dress from her sack, she walked behind a tree to change.
After the breakfast things were washed and everything packed onto Sunshine, they started their second day of riding.
Esther was self conscious of her stockinged legs on full display, spread open over the saddle. Anyone who saw her would have instantly lost respect. She had once seen a whore through the window of a saloon and even she hadn't been wearing something this short and low cut.
When they had been riding for about three hours, Esther started feeling nauseous. Without warning, she leaned to the side and violently vomited on the ground. Grant halted Sunshine and grabbed Esther's hips to keep her from falling off the horse.
He slipped off Sunshine and helped Esther down, She ran to a bush and vomited again.
Grant brought a flask of water and some saltines over to where she was now sitting on the ground in the shade. He also brought a dampened cloth so she could wipe her mouth.
"I guess the morning sickness has started then," he said not unkindly.
Esther just nodded, accepting the refreshments.
"We can rest here for a while if you like."
Esther shook her head. "No, let's continue on." The pregnancy had just become a lot more real. She wanted to get to Rob as soon as possible.
Grant gently hoisted her back onto Sunshine. While they rode on, he tried to keep them in the shade as much as possible. Soon the nausea passed, and Esther's nerves were somewhat calmed.
Grant asked if she was frightened of being a mother.
"No, I suppose not. I guess all girls are mothers-in-training. The only thing that frightens me of being a mother is if there isn't a father around."
"Do you want to have a girl?"
"I haven't really thought about it, honestly. I guess it doesn't really matter what I want, it won't change anything."
"But if you could choose?"
"Then I guess I would choose a boy. Boys have freedom. They get to go where they want when they want, and nobody questions them. They also can't get pregnant and have to go what I'm going through. What would you choose?"
"I choose neither. I'd never want a son or daughter. That's why I only fuck whores. No woman can ever come to me and claim I got her pregnant if she was being fucked by hundreds of other men at the same time.
When they stopped to set up camp that late afternoon, Grant told her to go clean herself once more, and this time wash her dress as well. She welcomed the break from his quiet company and stayed away for an hour, allowing her dress to fully dry.
She mulled over what Grant had said about only fucking whores. She wondered if he considered her a whore or not since she didn't trade sex for money, but she did have sex out of wedlock. Going off of his actions so far, he just wanted to look at her body and not sleep with her.
That evening after they'd eaten, Grant got out his whittling. Bored, Esther wanted to ask if he'd brought a book that she could read but she was worried it would irritate him so she stared at the flames licking the dead branches and listened to their sharp snaps instead.
"Take off your dress."
His order startled her.
"What?" She pretended to misunderstand him.
"You clearly need something to do. Take off your dress now."
Given he'd already seen her naked, she figured she might as well comply. The last thing she needed was to be abandoned in woods she wasn't familiar with.
She felt her face flush as she undid the buttons on her dress and pulled it off.
"Now take your underwear off."
Esther had to kneel to slide them off over her ass and down her legs. She was left in her bra and stockings.
"Now face me and sit on the ground with your legs spread."
She didn't move.
"Don't be shy. You've spread your legs for men before after all."
Esther shifted from her knees to a sitting position. Her arms held her upright from behind while she spread hers legs, bending them slightly so her soles rested on the ground, giving Grant a clear view of her pussy.
"That's right," Grant goaded. "You're going to stay like that until we sleep."
The heat from the fire was intense for her sensitive exposed skin.
Despite her opened legs, Grant barely looked at her or her cunt, more focused on his whittling. In fact, he ignored her entirely besides the initial glance.
Esther was confused why it was almost more humiliating to be treated like furniture when she was in this state than for him to ogle her outright. The position was uncomfortable and she didn't know what the purpose of it was.
Grant reached into his bag and took out sandpaper, buffing it all over the cylinder he appeared to have finished whittling. It was about 8 inches long, the thickness of a bottle neck and one end was tapered.
He sanded the whole thing smooth and then produced a small bottle of wood polish to seal it. Finishing the project, he set it on a stone next to the fire to dry overnight.
"It's time to sleep," he said, rolling up a small blanket for his head.
Esther moved to get her sleeping dress.
"No clothes. You'll sleep naked without a blanket. It's warm enough."
"But, but what if someone comes upon us?" she stammered.
"No matter. You seem more than comfortable showing men all of your body. What's one more set of eyes?"
Lying down, Esther didn't know if it was better to face him with her groin and pubic hair exposed, or let him see her ass as she slept. She decided on spending the night on her back.
Much like the day before, she woke to Grant cooking breakfast. She reached for her underwear and dress and to her relief, he didn't say anything.
On that third day of travel, they had been riding for a while when the woods thinned and then ended altogether, opening into a meadow with giant clay colored rock-formations dotting the horizon.
The grasses came well up past Sunshine's knees and a breeze rippled through the green and golden stalks. Esther tried to imprint the view in her mind she found it so beautiful.
At midday, Grant made an uncharacteristic stop for lunch. He spread a blanket out on the tall grasses and unpacked some dried fruit and somewhat stale crackers.
