Cheyenne Mail Order Bride (Mail Order Brides Book 13) (8 page)

chapter Eighteen

The Last Night On the Farm

Sitting on the front porch in the old wooden swing su
spended from the ceiling by two triangles of chain, she closed her eyes, and thought of all that had happened in the past few days. She dozed off, lulled by the gentle rocking of the swing.

Cal awakened her with a gentle kiss on the lips, “A penny for your thoughts,” he said.

“What? I don’t understand,” she said.

“It’s an old expression. I’ll give you a penny if you tell me what you’re thinking,” he said.

“Oh. I was just thinking of all that’s happened in the past few days, and all that is about to happen. My life will be completely changed.”

“
Do you think that is bad?” he asked.

“Oh my, no.
Just the opposite. I’ve struggled for so long, and now my only struggle will be to make you a good wife.”

“You won’t have to make much of an effort there. You’re already the best wife I’ve ever had.”

“She laughed. “Thanks a lot. Tell me about our house again. What’s the bedroom like?”

“It has double windows, and gets the morning sun. You see the mountains when you look out
of the window. There is a pasture on each side of the road that leads to the house. One or the other usually has cattle grazing.

“We have what is called open range, which means there are no fences, but Clay and I talked about fencing off some of it to keep squatters out, and the cattle in.”

“What happens if the cattle wander away?”

“They’re called strays then, and we round them up and drive them back to the herd. We miss a few, but not an awful lot,” he said.

“What if they get mixed in another ranch’s herd?” she asked.

“They’r
e branded”. He took her hand, and with his finger, drew a circle and den drew a CP inside. “That’s our brand. A circle with CP inside.” Cattle intermingled are returned at roundup time. If they’re not branded, then anyone can claim them. Calves are usually born in the spring and we brand them. They carry the brand for the rest of their lives. Stealing someone’s cattle is called rustling and is a hanging offense.”

“That’s horrible,” she said.

“Think about it,” he said. “You’re taking someone else’s food.”

“Have you ever hanged anyone?”

“No we haven’t,” he said. “The Indians take a few head, but we don’t worry about those few. They would starve if they didn’t. The whites have killed off the buffalo and the Indians depended on the buffalo for food, and clothes. I don’t begrudge them the few cattle they take. If they got really bad about it, then we would stop it, but it hasn’t been a problem.”

“The foreman’s name is Clay, right?”

“Correct. I was lucky to get him. He drove my first herd up from Texas, and I was able to convince him to stay on as foreman. He really runs things. He does all of the hiring and firing, but tells me what he’s doing. It would be rough to have to do without him.

“He wanted to go back to Texas and start his own spread, but I was able to convince him Cheyenne was a better deal for him.”

“I had better go rustle up something for supper,” she said.

After supper, Cal and Jennie sat on the front porch, her head on his shoulder, watching the lightning bugs flitting around, flashing their ta
ils, searching for mates. “I’m going to miss this place,” Jennie said. “I was born here, grew up and married and still live here Chris was born here. We’re going to leave a lot of history behind us.”

“We’re going to make our own history together,
” Cal said.

“I know, but this is all I’ve known, it’s kind of scary thinking about going off into the unknown.”

“I’ll be there to show you the way; you won’t get lost.”

“I’m going to get ready for bed,” Jennie said.

“I’m going to sit out here for a few minutes,” Cal said. “Give you a little privacy.”

“I don’t need privacy. I need you,” she said.

“In that case,” Cal said, “I’ll hold the door for you.”

Cal went to the kitchen for some water, while Jennie co
ntinued into the bedroom. When he walked in, she was already undressed and in bed. She was wearing nothing. He stripped quickly and lay down beside her.

His kiss sent tingles down her back and chest. She r
esponded and kissed him back with a growing hunger. His tongue touched hers, and the shocks magnified. “You make me tingle all over,” she said.

“Is that good?” he asked.

She took his hand and guided it to her core, moist with her juices. “What do you think?” she asked.

He spread the lips and slid a finger inside and began ma
ssaging, searching for the bundle of nerves that was the trigger. Propped on his elbow, he lowered his mouth to cover hers, while his finger continued its ministrations. He felt her muscles tighten as her hunger grew. He deepened the kiss, as she grasped his member and began moving it in a pumping motion. Her grip tightened as her climax caught up to her, and she began thrashing beneath him, undulating her hips against his hand.

She lay so still Cal thought she had fallen asleep and started to move away. Her arms held him captive. “Do me,” she said. “Do me now.”

“In a minute,” he whispered. He took her breast in his mouth, his free hand mounding it so he could get more into his mouth. He began sucking on the nipple. He mounted her and began plunging into her.

“Yes. Yes. Yes,
” she moaned, as her breathing became faster. She wrapped her legs around his hips and squeezed, pulling him in deeper. A long, low moan came from somewhere deep within, as she thrashed wildly about, in a climax that went on and on. When control finally returned, she lay limp, her body glistening from the exertion.

She looked at him in wonderment. “I don’t know what just happened. It was like nothing I’ve ever felt before. I couldn’t get enough. I feel like… I don’t know what I feel like. It was unbelievable.”

A light dawned, “You didn’t, did you?”

“Didn’t what?” he asked.

“You know… complete?”

“Honey, I was so wrapped up in your pleasure, I didn’t even think of it,” he said, with a grin. “Besides, it was all I could do to hold on.”

“I feel so selfish,” she said.

“No. You shouldn’t feel that
, ever. It gives me pleasure to make you feel good.”

“Well, you should be feeling a lot of pleasure right now, because I feel wonderful. In fact, why don’t you just…” she said and gave him a lascivious look. “You just lay back and let me work this time.
” She straddled his hips and lowered herself onto his staff, and began moving. This time he did.

chapter Nineteen

On The Train

Jennie and Cal spent the day visiting her friends and neighbors, most of whom had met Cal on the day of the wedding. Today was the day for goodbyes.

Tears flowed, as Jennie told her lifelong neighbors goo
dbye, each knowing it was likely they would never see each other again. They rode to tell Bess and Clarence goodbye.

“You’re a good man, Cal, and you’ve got a mighty fine woman. You take care of her. The good Lord willing, and we get an invite, we just might take a trip out to your place. We’ve never been anywhere, and it’s time we changed that.”

They shook hands. “Clarence, you and Bess have an open invitation to visit any time you like. Just tell us and we’ll meet the train,” Cal said.

Bess and Jennie were both crying. “You have been so important to me for so long, I can’t even begin to tell you how much I love you and will miss you. Our door is always open to you,” Jennie said.

Chris and his grandparents shed tears as he said goodbye. “I will see you again,” Chris vowed.

As they rode back to the farm for their final night before leaving, Chris asked, “Cal, could I borrow the horse and buggy? I want to go tell Amy Lou goodbye.”

“Of course you can,” Cal said.

* * *

“Amy Lou, I’m going to miss you,” Chris said.

“I’ll miss you too, she said.
“You’ll probably forget all about me after you leave, but I won’t forget you.”

“I won’t forget, and I’ll write, I promise,” he said. “I’ll come back someday,”

“You mean it now, but you won’t. We’ll never see each other again,” she said.

“That’s not true. We will see each other again,” he vowed.

“Amy Lou, could I kiss you goodbye?” he asked.

“Yes.”

It was an awkward kiss. Even though both were sixteen, they had never experimented. Amy Lou wrapped her arms around Chris’s neck and hugged him fiercely. “Goodbye, Chris.” They kissed again. A little less awkward this time. Amy Lou had tears in her eyes as she walked with Chris from her porch to the carriage. Chris climbed into the carriage, flicked the reins and the carriage pulled away from the Carter farm. He waved goodbye one last time to his young girlfriend.

* * *

Cal turned the trunk carrying Jennie and Chris’s clothes over to the baggage agent. He and Chris carried the bags containing the things they would use over the next few days.

The train from Charlotte to Washington had only chair cars. Chris and Jennie sat by the windows and watched the scenery as the train
sped toward its destination at speeds in excess of forty miles per hour.

Cal purchased sandwiches from a vendor for lunch. They ate
, watching the scenery through the window. Midafternoon they arrived in Washington, where they transferred to a different train for the short distance to Philadelphia.

In Philadelphia, they boarded the Transcontinental E
xpress for the rest of the way to Cheyenne.

They had tickets
for a drawing room for Cal and Jennie and a Pullman berth for Chris. Once the train began moving away from the station in Philadelphia, Cal led the way to the dining car, where they were seated by a porter.

“This is unbelievable,” Jennie said. “They have a car just for eating. This is the most beautiful room I’ve ever seen,” she said.

The porter presented them with menus. Cal explained, “Tell the porter what you would like to have. They fix it and serve it to you hot.”

After they ate and returned to their drawing room, Jennie was uncomfortable. She whispered into Cal’s ear. He opened the door to a small room in the drawing room, and demo
nstrated the operation of the toilet. And the wash basin. “Well, I never,” she exclaimed.

He showed Chris the larger toilet for the passengers with berth tickets.

Jennie returned to the seating area embarrassed by having had to say something to Cal about her bodily functions. He sensed her discomfort, and patted her hand. He pulled her close and whispered in her ear.

“Really? I couldn’t,” she said. “I’d be so embarrassed.”

“We’ll see,” Cal said.

The porter tapped softly on the door. Cal went to the door, turned and said, “Honey, he is going to fix the bed for sleeping.” He took her hand, and they went to where Chris was sitting.

“In a few minutes, the porter will convert these seats to berths. You’ll have curtains for your space,” he told Chris.

“Yessir.
He told me about it already. I can’t believe all of this. I wish Amy Lou could see it.” His cheeks immediately flushed at the thought of being in a sleeping compartment with Amy Lou Carter.

Cal saw the porter leaving their room. “We can go back in,” he said. “See you in the morning,” he said to Chris.

In the room, Jennie said, “Would you look at that?” Their  space had been converted and now had two beds. She looked at her husband and said, “You weren’t funning me were you?”

“I was not,” he said.
“Unless of course it embarrasses you. I wouldn’t want to do that.”

“Would you like for me to leave so you can have some privacy while you get ready for bed?” he asked.

“I don’t see why. I have no secrets from you. They made slow, sweet love as they traveled through the mountains of Pennsylvania.

The next three days contained nothing new. The food was good, and the rocking of the car and the clackety clack of the wheels lulled them to sleep each night.

“Tomorrow is the big day. We’ll be in Cheyenne shortly after lunch. We’ll have lunch on the train, and then we’ll gather our luggage, and our trunk. Clay will have someone to meet us at the station, and we’ll head home.”

“Home.
Doesn’t that sound wonderful?” she said.

“It does. It will be good to get back. It has been a rewar
ding trip, but I’m anxious to be home.”

Cheyenne Station…

The train huffed and puffed into the depot in Cheyenne. There were the usual onlookers on the platform, craning their necks to gawk at the strangers from the east, coming to their city. Cal stepped from the train onto the metal step placed on the platform by the porter, then down. He gave the porter a bill, and said, “Thank you for taking such good care of us. You’ve been great. “

The porter did not look at the bill. “Thank you,
Cap’n. I appreciate it.”

Cal held Jennie’s hand to steady her as she stepped from the train. “Welcome to Cheyenne, Honey.”

“Thank you. She looked around. “Everything looks almost new.”

“It is. It’s less than ten years old,” he said.
“It started up when the railroad was coming through.”

“It’s
already larger than Yorkville,” she exclaimed.

“It had
a lot more people when all of the gold miners were here,” he said.

“There’s Clay. He came himself,” Cal said and waved.

The lean cowboy whom Cal had pointed out, tugged at his Stetson, and walked over to them. “Welcome back, Boss. Nice trip?”

“The best,” Cal said. “Jennie, this is Clay Terwilliger, the best foreman in the Territory of Wyoming. Clay, this is my wife, Jennie, and her son Chris.

Jennie smiled, shook his hand, and in her soft voice said, “I’m pleased to meet you. Cal has told me a lot of good things about you. Chris, this is the ranch foreman, Mr. Terwilliger.”

They shook hands.

“I’m surprised to see you. I expected you would send one of the hands. Should I read anything into that?

“No, we needed a few supplies and I figgered the ride would be peaceful.
I brought the wagon, Johnny’s at the mercantile, getting the supplies loaded up. I’ll ride back with him.”

“Okay, good. Thanks Clay. That was thoughtful,” Cal said.

Their trunk was on a freight dolly “Chris, give me a hand with the trunk, please.”

“Yessir,” Chris said.

With the trunk on the back of the carriage, and their bags alongside, they were all set. Would you like to walk and stretch your legs before we leave?” he asked. “It’s about an hour’s ride to the ranch.”

“I would like to go on now, if it’s okay with you,” Jennie said.

“Me too,” Chris said.

“Home it is, then,” Cal said.

“I can see why you like it here so much. It is really beautiful,” Jennie said.

“The winters are pretty cold, and we get plenty of snow, but it makes for good grass come spring,” Cal said.

Cal clucked to the horses, and flicked the reins, and they were on their way home.