Chapter 20

Finally, we had all said what we had to say, and it was time to return to the plain. I reminded my brothers that we would be back with more gold at the end of the Summer, but that the banker had enough money that they could leave and go to Denver now.

“If I was you, I would ride to town and have Mr. Howe get an agent to buy land and begin building your houses in Denver. Then after a nice Summer you can head to Denver before the weather turns and be all settled into new houses.”

“Not a bad idea,” Mick said. “I could ride in and set the whole thing up, we wouldn’t have to travel with the entire family.”

“I don’t like that idea at all,” Betty Mae said. “After all the problems we’ve had as a group, I think traveling alone is too dangerous.”

Mick chuckled, “It’s not a problem. I can travel quiet, and it’s not like I haven’t snuck behind enemy lines before. This will be no problem and I can make it alone in three days instead of four. I can get to Fountain City and back in a week.”

“Do you want us to stick around until you come back?” I asked the whole group while I was looking at Mick.

“No, go on and get home. Rory can watch over the family until I get back.”

“And no, Paul, he won’t be watching over me like you’re thinking,” Betty Mae said with a smirk.

“Then Opal Anne and I’ll be heading home. Be sure to get the elk salted or in the smokehouse before some bear or puma comes for it.”

“Will do, big brother,” Rory said. Then he added, in a whisper just for me, “And now that I know where you live, if there is a problem, I know how to find you.”

We said our farewells and I drove the wagon, with Opal Anne and Pauli riding next to me back to the plain. On the way we spoke about our current impressions of the wives and if they would indeed be able to stop fucking the other’s husband.

“I wonder how the high society of Denver will take to a couple of very rich families swapping spouses,” Opal Anne supposed.

Up to that point I had never considered the idea of living in a city and there being other people. Having never lived in a city or having never been rich, I didn’t take others into consideration.

“Society? What do you mean, Opal Anne?”

“Paul, rich people have parties with each other. They like to show off being rich and making themselves feel like they are better than others. That’s how they set up the pecking order. More money, prettier wives, better furniture, more servants are the measure. I have more than you, so I’m better than you.”

“Really? Now I’m even more set that we never become a part of that nonsense. We may well become the richest people in the Western USA, but I swear, Opal Anne, if you begin acting like those people, I’ll turn you over my knee.”

“Me too, Paul.”

“What? You’re going to spank me?” I said with a laugh.

“If you ever get like those people, I swear I’ll take a shovel to your head.” Opal Anne looked at me and smiled that smile that scared me, because it was somewhere between serious and a joke.

“Yeah, you do that,” I said with a smile, hoping that what she said was a joke.

Just then Pauli fussed, and Opal Anne opened her shirt to feed our little girl, I had recently noticed she was much larger than the small package I’d held in my arms back in February. Pauli was growing really fast. Where I used to be able to hold her completely enclosed between my hand and elbow, now my hand was on her bottom.

“She’s growing awfully fast, Opal Anne. That must be some powerful stuff you’re pumping into her.”

“Well it sure seems to make you sprout when you drink it.” She smiled and opened the other side of her shirt so I could see her other teat.

“I never thought that red freckles and dark pink would become two of my favorite colors.”

“And I never thought that I would someday crave a man’s cock inside me. Paul, I love you and I want as many more babies as we can make. I want a huge clan to take over for us some day. I want sons and daughters who are bankers, and lawyers, and the most trusted people anyone knows.”

“Well, I’m sure if you keep pumping all of us full of that magic milk, that will happen.”

“US?”

“Well I do like the occasional taste myself.”

“Paul let’s stop talking about that sort of thing for now. I’m getting horny and we don’t want to scare the wildlife with my screaming when you take me.”

“OK,” I agreed. But not before I reached over and tweaked her nipple, soaking my finger with milk. I brought it to my lips and then brayed like the stud I am.

A few hours later we were driving up the trail to the plain. Opal Anne had a sleeping Pauli in her right arm and my exposed cock in her left hand. I had squirted spunk on her hand four times since Pauli had fallen asleep. Opal Anne just kept pumping and I kept squirting. So, it came as a complete surprise when we got home that before we did anything else, Opal Anne had me on my back in the wagon and was riding me for all she was worth.

“Come some more for me, husband. Pump out a little more for your woman’s pussy.”

With my fingers pinching her nipples and spraying milk all over me as she rode me, it took less time than I thought to give her what she wanted. Finally, sated, Opal Anne lay on my chest and spoke to me between kisses.

“We need to make sure,” kiss, “that Daisy is OK,” kiss, “and that Doc,” kiss, “is taking care of her,” kiss, “and her girls.”

“Yeah, we do. I should have told Mick to talk to them when he went to town.”

Kiss, “Not to worry,” kiss, “I asked him,” kiss, “to check for us.” Kiss.

I wrapped my arms around her and squeezed her as tight as I could.

“Opal Anne, I love you so much. I really do feel like you are my other half.”

“Paul, I feel like you are a true part of me, even when you’re not inside me. I’m going to start feeding Pauli solid food, so I can slow down my milk and get pregnant again. OK?”

“More than OK.”

I slipped out of Opal Anne and we exited the wagon. For the first time Opal Anne saw what my brothers and I had been working on during our ‘hunting’ trip. She was concerned about the number of tree stumps.

“I’m going to clear the stumps between the hogan and the stable but leave the ones between the hogan and the edge. If we have to make a getaway, the stumps will slow down any pursuers. I can cut slits in the stumps we don’t want and pack in saltpeter, from the stable straw. You might want to hollow out some of the stumps for flowers.”

“Saltpeter?” Opal Anne looked worried.

“Yeah, it sorta dissolves the tree stumps.”

“Yeah, it also sorta of makes men not able to get it up!”

“Only if they eat it in their food. If you don’t slip any in my food, there should be no problem.”

“Oh, no worries there. The last thing I want is that big old thing of yours hanging loose and useless,” Opal Anne said, patting my big old thing.

We walked to the edge and Opal Anne was happy with the work my brothers and I had done. When she saw the new wind breaks, and the work we had done to harvest more gold from the riverbed, she smiled brightly. Then she went to say hello to her pet mule, and Thumper actually was prancing to the fence when he saw her.

“I may have to show him my cock more often to keep him in his place.”

“Paul, you will not do that. It depresses him,” Opal Anne said with another pat to my big old thing.

“Let’s lead all the animals to the new stable. It is ready, right? It’s got water and a working stove, right?”

“Yes, dear all of that is there. I’m a little worried that the water might freeze up in the winter. But I think I can put out some pots of hot coals that will allow some thawed water to run even in the winter. Same for our hogan although I know you care more for that animal than for Pauli and me.”

“Paul O’Dell you take that back. You know I love Pauli more than Thumper!”

Now it was my turn, I swatted Opal Anne on her wonderful bottom, and we ran back to our hogan for lunch and love.

Ten days later, we were working on filling the tree stumps we didn’t want with water and saltpeter when Thumper began to bray. Thinking a puma or bear had wondered into our home, Opal Anne and I ran, armed, to the paddock where he and the other animals were kept.

“PAUL!” The voice was loud and desperate.

“Rory! What’s wrong?”

“It’s Mick. He hasn’t come back.”

“Opal Anne, put together some ammo and food and get Pauli ready to travel.”

“Yes, sir!” she answered as she took off without any other directions.

“Rory? No signs, no traces nothing?”

“No, Paul, nothing. I rode out a day’s worth to check and found nothing.”

“Did you check both sides of the river?”

“No, just the side most traveled.”

“OK, we’ll take the wagon and I’ll cover the other side of the river on horseback. Is Betty Mae OK?”

“No, she’s scared to death. Raylene is watching her.”

“Are they going to come with us or wait for us to come back?”

“They’re going to stay in camp with the kids. Do you want to leave Pauli with them?’

“No, she’ll come with us and we’ll save time when we take the other route to Fountain City. We save a day by not covering the area you already did.”

Opal Anne had the food and the baby ready. Rory and I saw that she also had everything that looked like a weapon in the back of the wagon. We hitched the team of mules, including Thumper, and I saddled my horse.

“Opal Anne, are you expecting a war?” I asked, half joking.

“Paul, you tell me, would Mick go down to one or two men?”

Once again she had scared me with how smart she was.

“Nope. You ready, Rory?”

“Yes, sir,” my little brother answered.

“Yes, sir,” Opal Anne added with a salute.

“Opal Anne you said that to me earlier. Why?” I said looking at my wife.

“Paul, you’re running this family in my mind. You should be called sir on important occasions like this.”

“I agree with your wife, sir!” Rory added with a smile. “Let’s go find Mick, big brother.”