Chapter 2

Ann and I had retired to our bedrolls, and Eddy was guarding the camp. Hell, he and I both knew that he could do a better job than I could, so I had no qualms about sleeping away the whole night without taking a turn or two at guard duty.

I had just dropped off to sleep when I felt a hand shaking my shoulder. It was Ann. “Bill, I need help. I can’t get to sleep. Can I join you? I just need a man to hold me. Could you do that, please? I am still scared and upset, and it would be a great comfort to feel your arms around me.”

Well, except for our boots, we were both fully dressed. Under the circumstances of the nearness of the Navajos, we didn’t dare undress because we would never have had time to put our clothes back on if we were attacked. Given that, there was no reason why she could not join me in my bedroll, so I quickly invited her in. I opened my blankets and moved over a little bit. Ann lay down on my arm, and I put my second one over her. I was spooning her, my front to her back, and we both soon went to sleep.

Oops! I woke up the next morning cupping her breast in my hand. I started to move away slowly because I didn’t want to wake Ann, but I need not have bothered. “You don’t need to move your hand, Bill. It really felt good. That’s what my husband used to do, and I was really enjoying it.”

“Ann, I don’t want to seem too forward. But I must admit that I enjoyed it, too, even though my enjoyment didn’t get to last very long. But we need to get up and start moving before we get caught by the Navajos.”

With a grin and a groan, Ann slipped out of the blankets and put on her boots. I followed her and went out of camp to piss. I had just buttoned my fly when I heard a squeal of alarm. I ran to the source of the scream and found Ann lying on the ground with her trousers around her ankles. And there was Eddy standing between Ann and a moderate sized cougar.

Well, I had learned long ago not to go anywhere without at least one of my pistols, so I had one available when I needed it. I drew my gun and tried to get in a position for a better shot. I was not happy with a straight head shot, but I would take it if I couldn’t manage something better.

Eddy was as big as that cat, so the cat was reluctant to charge. Eddy had all of the piss and ginger exhibited by a dog when facing a cat, so I knew that he was not about to back down. On the other hand, in a fight with a cat that big, Eddy was bound to be injured, and I sure as hell did not want that. It looked to me like there were two possible outcomes to this standoff. Either the cat turned and ran, or I had to kill it. Now, I really didn’t want to fire a shot and possibly attract the attention of the Navajos who were chasing us, so I hoped that the big cat would just leave.

Fortunately, the cat decided to back down, so I did not have to shoot. The sudden departure by the cat caused Eddy to back off from his fighting stance, but he didn’t go anywhere. Eddy just sat down where he was, still facing where the cat had been, and proceeded to lick his balls—the picture of a dog with the situation well in hand!

She must have been in a mild state of shock, because Ann did not try to pull up her pants, nor did she make any effort to cover her crotch, which I could not help staring at. Instead, she covered her face with her hands and began to cry, though not hysterically. I have to admit that I, too, was slow to react as I was treated to the sight of a beautiful belly, pussy, and couple of thighs. Now, that was something that I rarely had a chance to see!

Finally, I came to myself and asked, “Ann, are you OK? That cat didn’t hurt you, did it?”

“N ... N ... No, I guess that I am OK. I was just scared out of my mind, again, by that animal. Thanks to Eddy and you, I wasn’t hurt, though I did pee all over myself.”

“Just a minute and I will get you something to wipe yourself off with.”

“No, that’s OK. I have something here I can use.” She picked up a scrap of cloth which she used to wipe between her legs and down both thighs. She wiped her ass with the cloth and looked at it with disgust before pitching it into the bushes. She pulled up her pants and fastened them. “OK, I’ll wash my hands and start breakfast. I think that I am OK, now.”

We walked the few feet back to camp and cleaned up. I usually go about a week between shaves, so I didn’t take time for that this morning.

During breakfast, I commented, “Ann, I noticed that you did not have your gun with you when that cat showed up. Please don’t forget it again. Remember that we are in a wilderness and threatened by Indians, so you should never leave yourself in such a vulnerable position.”

She grinned at me and said, “I guess that my lack of a gun was not the only thing you noticed. You are right, and I will be sure to keep the pistol with me at all times. The problem is that I don’t have a holster for it. I didn’t need one when I was home, I usually kept it on the counter or table within easy reach. I guess that I will have to carry it in my pocket until I can find a better place for it.”

I blushed when she acknowledged that she had seen me staring at her pussy, but she did not say any more about that at the time, so I was happy to let the matter drop. On the other hand, having felt her tits, I would not turn down an opportunity to see them—I was sure that they would be as beautiful as the rest of her. Her reddish-brown hair, blue eyes, and very attractive face went well with what appeared to be a height of around 5’-4” and a weight in the neighborhood of 140 pounds. Actually, Ann was almost a perfect fit for what I considered to be the body of my ideal woman.

We continued to press on toward the small town of Gilead, where I hoped to lose the chasing Navajos, if they had not given up beforehand. We rode into Gilead in the middle of the afternoon, and stopped at the hotel restaurant for a combination of dinner and supper, since we had pressed on at noon without stopping. It wasn’t what you would call a gourmet meal, but it was a step above beef and beans, and the coffee was decent.

Eddy and the horses were put up in the hotel stable; I knew that I could depend on Eddy to keep an eye on the horses.

We had to take the last room available for both of us. It seems that there was some sort of to-do in the town to celebrate Independence Day. Son of a bitch! The good old USA would be 100 years old, come tomorrow. I had forgotten all about the current date.

This was a high class hotel, so they actually had a bath room with a real bath tub. You could even get hot water for your bath if you were willing to pay an extra two-bits. Well, Ann said that she’d had it. A week without a bath in all that dust and heat was all she could take. So, when we checked in, Ann reserved the bathroom at 5:30 PM and ordered hot water.

She didn’t have any women’s clothes with her, but she did have one last set of her husband’s trousers and shirt still clean from the pack. We checked, and the bathroom door did have a latch, so we decided that it was not necessary for me to stand guard outside the bathroom door while Ann bathed.

Ann told me that she planned to luxuriate in the tub until the water got cold, so I should not be surprised if she was gone a long time. I was lying on the bed, kind of napping, but still fully dressed, all but my boots and gun belt. I had been lazing around for about 20 or 30 minutes when I heard gunshots coming from down the hall in the direction of the bathroom. I guess that I had been more nearly asleep than I had realized, because it took me a few moments to register what the noise was.