Chapter 83

Eli was standing just inside the main barn when he saw Caleb and Abigail walking toward him. They were holding hands and smiling as they approached him. He remembered the trip to Fort Worth and seeing Caleb with Abigail. Eli smiled as he thought of his son and the day they met those Texas girls. That was only the beginning and now those wild Texas girls are here to stake a permanent claim on his Young Bucks.

“Dad, Pike said you wanted to see Abigail and me. We were hoping we could talk to you this morning. We sure have lots of questions for you and we have a lot to tell you about us too,” Caleb said as they came to hm.

“Good morning, Marshal. Thanks for letting us come talk to you. Caleb and I do have some questions, but we’ve already talked to Isaac and Samantha so we pretty well know what we can expect,” Abigail said as she walked right into Eli’s arms as he held them out.

“You’re just like your sisters and cousins, Abigail. All of you Blasingame girls are full of life and spunky as hell. I really like that about you, too. Caleb needs a girl like you to keep his feet solid on the ground”

“Thanks Marshal. I think Caleb Crow is the best boy I could ever hope to meet. He’s so tall and handsome, and he’s such a gentleman. I’m about to convince him that when it’s just him and me, he can be as wild as I am. Caleb and I have had so much fun since they met us in Little Tree,” she said with a big grin toward Caleb as he turned red.

Eli looked at his son and knew he was about to boil over.

“Dad, Abigail and I are in love with each other. We need to talk to you about how we feel. I’m not sure we can wait another three and a half years,” Caleb said, still gripping Abigail’s hand tightly in his.

“What do you think we need to do about that, Caleb?” Eli asked. He wasn’t going to make this easy for them. He wanted them to tell him what they thought and what they had talked about between them.

“Dad, do you think there’s any way Abigail and I can be together before we’re married?” Caleb asked and Abigail smiled, then kissed his cheek.

“Abigail, do you feel the same way?” Eli asked as he looked at her.

“I do, Marshal. Caleb told me he was going to ask you that. I know he loves me now, because that took a lot of courage for him to say that to you. He and I have talked a lot about our life together and about our future, since we’ve been here. We’ve done some things that you and my parents may not approve of, but we haven’t done sex yet, so don’t think bad about us.”

“I’ll never think bad of you, Abigail. I remember what it was like to be young. I’m trying to think of ways to help all of you make it a few more years. The one thing we have to be sure of, is that none of you Blasingame girls, or any of my girls get pregnant!” Eli said and Caleb looked up quickly.

“Caleb, do you have anything more you need to tell me? I want both of you to be honest with me. I’ll be honest with you and tell you exactly what I’ve come up with.”

“Marshal, I need to tell you something first, before Caleb answers you,” Abigail said quickly.

“Have you and Caleb done something you’re ashamed of or afraid I’ll be mad about?” He asked her.

“No. Well, I don’t think we have anyway. We haven’t had sex yet, if that’s what you’re asking. I did let him see me naked the first night we were here. Belinda and I were together and Lee Yu and Lilly Beth were in the room when we did it. I wanted Caleb to see me and hold me like that. I thought of him all those months we were writing and sending telegraph messages back and forth. I was about to go crazy wanting him to hold me that way. I hope you’re not mad at him and I hope you still like me,” she said as she looked at Eli with her big brown eyes, never blinking as she looked at him for some sign.

“Is that all?” Eli asked, saying it like he may have expected more.

Caleb put his other hand on Abigail’s arm before she could answer.

“Dad, Abigail and I have slept together naked the last three nights. We have only touched, we haven’t done sex.” Caleb stated as matter of fact. He wasn’t apologizing, he wasn’t ashamed.

“Caleb Crow, you’re a stronger man than I am!” Eli told his son.

Caleb and Abigail looked at Eli, then each other with wide eyes. They looked at each other again, then grinned.

“You mean you’re not mad at me for being so weak?” he asked.

“No. But I am proud of you both for being so strong. How did you keep from doing sex together, while sleeping with no clothes three nights in a row?” Eli asked, looking from one to the other.

“We’ve promised my parents and we have all promised each other that we wouldn’t do that. I mean at least until Caleb and I had talked to you about it, Marshal,” Abigail answered.

“So what are your plans now that you know I’m not mad?”

“Dad, I reckon we didn’t make any yet. But I’d still like to sleep with Abigail,” Caleb said as he looked at his dad.

“With no clothes?” Eli asked.

“I can answer that, Marshal. I want to sleep the rest of my life with Caleb and never wear clothes to bed. I love him so much I hurt in my heart. I can’t stand for him to even walk away from me to go pee,” she said, laughing when Caleb laughed aloud.

“I’m not sure I want to know about all that. I can tell that both of you have fun, even when you go relieve yourselves.”

“We do, Marshal. He stays close to me when I pee. He said you told him and the other Bucks to never leave a woman at risk like that. It just makes me feel better that he is there with me. Not that I’m scared either,” Abigail told Eli, and laughed.

She was still grinning and so was Caleb.

“Caleb, you did the right thing. Just make sure others don’t see you together like that. It’s a private thing between a man and woman. To me it has always been anyway,” Eli told them.

“Thanks Dad. Abigail isn’t the least bit bashful to pee in front of me and we sometimes go at the same time. I hope that’s alright.”

“As long as you keep watch. Never take for granted that no one will walk upon you, no matter where you are.”

“You’ve always taught us that, Dad. I’ll never forget those things and I’ll be glad when I can teach our girls and boys the things you’ve taught us,” Caleb told him.

“So you’re determined to make this last? You want to wait out the years and be together?”

“We will wait as long as it takes and we’ll do whatever we have to do, Marshal. I’m going to marry Caleb Crow, one way or another.” Abigail stated.

“If we can work out a way for you and Caleb to make sure there are no babies, will that make the wait easier?” Eli asked, looking at both their shocked faces.

Eli wasn’t sure how to ask that question, so he just asked it as plain as he could.

“Dad, are you sure?” Caleb asked.

“Marshal, would you really do that? I’d never tell anyone and I already know how to count my days. Momma taught us girls that when we first started getting our monthlies. I could hug your neck, Marshal Crow,” Abigail said as she grinned.

“We’ll all meet with Doc and Lettie when I’ve talked with Micah and Belinda. Just me and all you young men and women. Doc and Lettie will help you and make sure you know how not to have babies, even after you’re married.”

“I never thought we’d be talking about these things, Marshal, but I just love you and I’m so glad I’ll be your daughter-in-law one day. I hope Caleb and I can have boys and girls and that you’ll help us teach them how to be young men and women.”

“You’ve got to keep all this private, you can’t be letting others see you getting in and out of bed with no clothes on. You both need to make sure your mommas don’t see you or find out about how you sleep. Abigail, you need to be sure your daddy never knows either. He may turn his back, as long as you don’t get too wild, but he’ll have your hide if you make a show of it.”

“Marshal, you’re about the smartest man I have ever been around. Caleb, Lee Yu and Lilly Beth told me you were, and now I believe them. You’re going to let all of us be together as man and wife, aren’t you?”

“If that’s what you want. You don’t have to, just because the others do, you know. You and Caleb go talk over all we’ve talked about. Keep it private too.

“Caleb, find Micah and tell him I need to see him and Belinda.”

“You’ll have a time with those two, Marshal. They’d be naked in the full daylight if they could,” Abigail told him.

“You sisters and cousins tell each other everything, don’t you?”

“Yep. It’s fun too. Especially now that we have boys and we’re in love. It’s really a lot of fun now for us girls to talk about doing sex with our boys.”

“Don’t be talking about things like that in front of your mommas or Caleb’s momma and Aunts,” Eli said and looked at this little hellion from Texas. He had to smile, she was just like her sister and cousins.

“Thanks Dad. Thanks for being my Dad and for being a friend to Abigail and me right now. We needed to have this talk with you today–real bad,” Caleb said as he reached out to hug his dad.

Abigail wrapped her arms around both of them as they stood in the barn and held each other.

Eli was standing in the barn waiting for Micah and Belinda to show up. He was down to the last of his bucks. Having already talked to his six girls first, he felt good about the time he had spent with each of them.

He was excited about getting them together with Doc and Lettie. They had convinced him that this was the best way to get the girls and boys of the family through the next few years without having babies out of wedlock. Lettie had confessed to Eli that she and Doc had spent the last two years of her school in St. Louis living together and this was the way they kept her from getting pregnant.

“Eli, we even used this until we had the clinic opened. Lettie has already talked Hadalee and Nadalee into using this form of protection now that they have become active for the first time since you rescued them,” Doc had told him.

“Eli, I don’t suppose you’ve been told about those two nurses back there in Tulsa secretly seeing James and Leon Petersen, have you?” Lettie asked and watched as Eli’s eyes lit up.

“Are they really? I never even thought of those girls as being attracted to my oilfield experts. That only leaves Albert to get fixed up now. Why didn’t you tell me about this? We could’ve brought the two nurses with us.”