Brad and I were riding the grub line, heading in a general northwest direction. We figured that once we arrived at some of the bigger ranches we were likely to find jobs. If only one of us found work that would be okay. The other would wish him luck and keep going. Work was reasonably easy to find if you were willing to put in the effort.
We weren't following the main routes across the country, preferring to ride secondary trails. They'd still get us to where we wanted to go and the hunting would be a lot better in less travelled areas. A bit of fortuitous hunting would help stretch our rations.
Following one trail between a couple of high hills we came upon a very nice valley. Someone had set up their establishment there. It was a typical small-holding. A house, a barn, a corral, and a few fields. It wasn't the sort of place that would have work available and I very much doubted that they'd have any spare food to help us out. Still, we might score a home-cooked meal. We headed on down towards the homestead.
"Hullo the house," I called as we approached. I didn't want the occupants to think we were trying to sneak up on them.
A woman appeared in the doorway, very conspicuously holding a shotgun, and watching us warily.
"Morning, ma'am," I said as we approached. "We're just passing through. Mind if we stop to water our horses?" I nodded towards the horse trough next to the barn.
She gave me a nervous look but I was simply smiling happily, trying my best to radiate an aura of harmlessness.
"I guess," she said, not wanting to agree but not wanting to be rude, either.
"Thanks, ma-am," I said as we dismounted. "We won't be long. Um, just as a suggestion, you should load that thing if you're carrying it. Why don't you do that while we water the horses?"
She blushed something fierce and lowered the gun but didn't make any effort to go back inside to do as I suggested.
"I suppose you do know how to load that thing?" I asked with a sigh.
"Of course I do," she snapped, apparently insulted at the suggestion.
I couldn't help it. I face-palmed and gave a small groan.
"Don't tell me. Let me guess. You don't have any cartridges. Where's your idiot husband, or father, or whoever looks after you?"
"It's not my fault we ran out," she said defensively. "We thought we had another box but we didn't. My husband will pick some up while he's in town."
"Meanwhile you're here with nothing. Brad, let her have a few cartridges."
Brad dismounted and rooted through his saddle-bag and came up with a couple of cartridges. He strolled over to the woman and handed her the cartridges.
"Your shotgun seems to be the same model as mine," he said. "Old but reliable. Let me see you load it."
She promptly proved that she indeed did know how to load her shotgun, breaking it open and inserting the cartridges with no waste motions.
Brad and I finished watering the horses and left them next to the trough, ground tethered, as we strolled back over to talk to the lady of the house who had, I noticed, put the shotgun away. I guess she assumed that as we loaded it for her we were probably trustworthy, which we were for a given definition of trustworthy.
"Thanks for the water," I said. "Any chance of a home-cooked meal?"
"Fortunately for you, no," she replied with a smile. "I've barely got enough to eat until David gets back from town."
"That's fine, but why do you say fortunately for us?"
"I'm a lousy cook. Really bad. David makes me eat first in case I've poisoned the food. Anyway, I couldn't invite you in with David not here."
"Understandable," I assured her. "Not a problem. We'll make do."
"Yes, well thank you for the shells. If there's anything I can do in exchange, other than cook?" Her voice trailed away, not really expecting us to ask for anything.
"Funny you should say that," I said, nodding to Brad who was now standing behind her. "A little bit of sex will prove to be a remarkable tonic for us and well and truly show your thanks."
Brad had bent down when I gave him the nod and took hold of the hem of her dress. He had it waist high and going higher before she had any chance to react. Her dress was off in nothing flat and I could see that my guess had been correct -- it was the only thing she was wearing and she was now standing there naked.
She promptly starting doing the hand dance, trying to cover her charms, but with breasts like hers she needed both hands to cover them, and even that wouldn't do the job. She gave a giggling squeal, as she tried to cover herself. I kid you not. She was obviously surprised at what had happened but she also found it funny for some reason.
"That wasn't funny," she protested, still giggling. "You had no right to do something that outrageous."
"True, but it's done now. You have a very nice body, you know. Just made for masculine enjoyment."
"Maybe," she said with a blush, "but if you think I'm going to lie down and let you use me you're crazy. Not happening, no how, no way."
"You've got it wrong," I told her, not bothering to ask how she expected to stop us if we insisted. "I'm the one who's going to lie down and let you use me."
"What do you mean?"
I had already undone my trousers and I was now pushing them down, my erection standing tall and proud. I gave it a gentle slap, causing it to sway to and fro.
"I assume that you know what this is," I said as she stood there watching it sway, blushing. "All you have to do is settle down on it. You'll find it easy enough. Just think. You'll have full control of what goes on."
