Chapter 5

It didn’t seem to matter where James went, he always seemed to find some form of trouble. Whether it be women who needed to be rescued or people being attacked. Claire was starting to sense a pattern.

She saw him twig on something and, as when he had rescued Weather, he kicked the horse into gear, racing off. This time, however, Anne’s horse joined his pursuit of something only he could hear. As he moved, James pulled unslung his bow from his back and made some arrows ready. Soon he found his way into the midst of an attack on a wagon.

Only this time it wasn’t ruffians and highbinders, but a full-on Indian assault.

As he neared the action, James targeted one of the leads. He nocked an arrow, pulled the bow back, and loosed it. His shot was a direct hit on the Indian, knocking him from his horse. Through his peripheral vision, he saw one of the natives taking aim at him. With his horse in full gallop, he was unable to change course. But there was a flash of an image from deep in his memory; it was a painting he had once seen.

He grabbed the mane of the horse and, as the native loosed the arrow, he slid down the side of the horse so that the arrow flew harmlessly over him. He grinned and hefted himself back up. Anne had arrived and stopped her horse. She grabbed her rifle and quickly took down a couple more from the group, inspiring the attackers to retreat.

James and Anne regrouped at the carriage to find a blond woman shrieking in pain. She had a lovely figure on her but was heavily pregnant.

“James!” Claire barked as she hopped off the wagon and ran over.

He hitched his horse and ran over with Anne. Weather and Amber arrived as well. James told them to take care of the wagon as he crouched down, “Holy shit.”

“Yes, now is no time to argue,” Claire took charge and got to work as the woman screamed loudly. It was apparent that the baby was coming Right Now.

Claire wanted clean cloths, towels, clean water, and a suitable place for the mother-to-be, and more. James and Anne hopped to it, bringing the requested items as quickly as humanly possible. The hurried activity was punctuated by the almost non-stop shrieks of the woman in full labor.

Claire was in total midwife mode.

“Breathe quickly and puff your exhales with your mouth.”

“James, I need those forceps.”

“Anne, get another couple of cloths for me.”

Finally, she said, “Okay, just two really big pushes. I see the baby’s head. Push hard with the next contraction.” Then...”Okay, the head’s out. One more push as I bring the baby the rest of the way out.”

And then it was over. The baby was healthy. The cord was severed properly and, thankfully, was nowhere near the baby’s neck or arms. The mother survived but was exhausted. Who knows how long she had been struggling before Claire had arrived.

James and Anne set up camp while Claire, Weather and Amber looked after the mother and child.

When the fire was roaring, James pulled out his rations and started cooking them. Meanwhile, Anne got out the coffee pot and filled it with water. She threw a handful of ground coffee into it and sat it next to the fire.

The food smelled good. It actually smelled delicious.

James dished it all up while Anne poured the coffee, Claire and the women sat around the new mother and ate. She was holding the baby in her arms as her eyes drooped with exhaustion.

Nevertheless, she was the one who started the conversation. “Hallo?”

James lifted his eyes and smiled her way, “Hello.”

“Wer sind sie?” (“Who are you?”)

Continuing in English, he said, “My name is James and these are my wives.”

She nodded as he introduced them all.

Claire turned to him, “You speak German?”

“Yes,” James nodded. “And a couple of other languages as well.”

“You never told me that.” He grinned, “You never asked.”

The conversation with the new woman continued. “Am I to be your wife now?”

James quirked his eyebrow up, “I don’t know. That’s entirely up to you. If that’s what you want, then I will do my very best to be a good husband. But I should tell you that I am already married.”

“To who?”

James turned to Anne, “This one’s sister.”

“Oh.”

James smiled, “But if you’ll have me I’ll do my very best to take care of you in all husbandly needs.”

She nodded.

“What’s your name?”

“Karen,” she said, pronouncing it like ‘car-en.’

“It’s very nice to meet you, Karen,” Claire responded for James.

“Of course, the name doesn’t surprise me,” He mused. “Considering where you’re from.”

Claire winked, “Speaking German did come in handy.”

“I’ll bet.”

They set up camp for the night while Karen rested. When the baby fed, James eyed her large breasts, noting that they were a bit more pointed than Amber’s and Anne’s.

James leaned into Claire, “Claire, can we?”

“Now?”

He nodded.

“Perhaps I can offer some relief,” Amber suggested.

James nodded, he looked at Claire, who replied gratefully to his unspoken agreement, “I’m knackered, James. Please let her take care of it.”

He kissed the doctor and, holding hands, the two left to a secluded spot perhaps a hundred yards away. James undid his trousers and sat down, she slid next to him, taking the issue into hand.

“Oh,” he groaned.

“So, what were you thinking?”

“I was wondering why those Indians attacked them.”

“Do you think it was for money?”

“No,” he said as she massaged him. “They don’t attack for that sort of thing, or for weapons.”

They paused. Taking that as a sign that he was thinking about only one thing, she picked up speed.

“Oh, fuck,” he ejaculated. Then he ejaculated, spurting out everywhere.

He slumped down and puffed to catch a bit of breath.

“Better?”

He turned to see Anne standing there with a silly grin on her face, her nipples erect.

“Yes, baby.”

She inclined her head, “Dinner is ready and our guest is awake.”

“Do you speak German?”

“Yes,” she nodded an affirmation. Her eyes danced.

“Why doesn’t that surprise me, my love?”

Anne smiled and inclined her head as she walked away, Amber stood up, wiped her hands clean and put his dick away. She lay with him while he caught his breath.

The smell caused him to stir.

James sighed and got up, hauling Amber with him. Then he headed over to the campfire where they were all resting. Karen sat with the baby sleeping in her arms as he sat down.

“So, the next question is: where to?”

“We have a homestead not far from here,” Karen explained. “It was where we were heading when we were ambushed. We were unarmed. They should not have attacked.”

James shrugged, “Sometimes the things people do can’t be explained away.”

“True,” she nodded.

The next day they packed up and attached the horses to her wagon. They took everything that wasn’t nailed down, of course. Then Karen guided them to her home. James was aware that they were being watched, but pleasantly surprised that they weren’t attacked.

“Do you have any idea why they’re not attacking us?”

“No,” James shrugged at Anne’s question, because he, too, was mystified.

She nodded, “I’ve got my trigger finger ready.”

“Not too twitching I hope. Let’s not start anything we can’t finish.”

“Yup.”

There was no more incident and they arrived at the homestead without a problem. When they got there, James unhitched the horses and led them to the simple corral. He looked around, noting how rustic it was.

“It needs work.”

“Ja,” Karen nodded. “But that is why we brought supplies.”

“True enough,” James acknowledged. James helped her down from the carriage, taking note of her deep cleavage. The baby fussed and he cooed at her in her mother’s arms. The new mother smiled but said nothing.

Inside was even worse.

The cabin had one room with some openings for windows. He would need to either buy or create screening for them, otherwise the bug infestation would be upon them quickly and they would suffer in summer. He remembered reading stories from his time. James checked the outside well, musing about whether or not he could create a hot water bath/shower. The major pieces of furniture were a stove, fireplace, table/chairs and bed.

“How is it?”

“Hope you don’t mind sharing a bed,” James grunted.

Anne grinned, “not in the slightest.”

“I meant with all of us.”

“Oh.”

“It’s only designed for her and her husband.”

“Makes sense.”

“Aye,” he scratched his chin. “We’ll need to get the windows sorted. At the height of summer it’s going to be full of bugs. I bet mosquitos and flies are thicker than fog.”

“Yes,” Anne twitched at the thought of so many flying insects.

The first item of business was to set up the fire. He got some firewood and started the stove. When the fire was roaring, he started getting supplies out. Karen was brought in and laid down on the bed. For the moment, the others would use their bedrolls until the house had better accommodation. After a day’s travel, everyone was asleep early.

James got up in the morning, noting that it was nice to wake up inside for a change. As soon as he was up, he set about getting the stove on. The fire was soon roaring away. He grabbed his crossbow and headed out.

In the early morning, it was easier to track deer. He was able to see the tracks on the ground, allowing him to follow them through the terrain, until, creeping through the underbrush, he spotted a stag.

He raised his crossbow, took aim, and fired.

It hit the buck square in the head, dropping it to the ground. He got up and waited to see if it was actually dead. Sure that it was, he pulled out his knife as he walked up to it. He wasted no time hefting it over his shoulders. It was heavy, but not impossible. Although he trudged back to the cabin, it was much faster than dragging it or taking the time to build a travois. He knew the sooner he got back, the sooner he’d have help bleeding, skinning, and butchering it.