Chapter 5

The woman eyed me or a minute. “You don’t know me mister, but you owe me. The man your ass kicked in the ribs was my brother, and the man you shot was my brother-in-law. We were on our way West when we stopped here to see kin. You know the rest of the story. My brother won’t be going anywhere for a long while unless it’s a short trip to the cemetery and that looks more and more likely as the days pass. I reeckon the burden falls on you to take me West. I can’t pay you because I left all our cash with Bud because he’s gonna need it. I need to get out of this town, mister. My sister-in-law is a cast iron bitch and she’s giving me a lot of grief about getting a job and helping with the bills. If I do that she’ll take every penny and I’ll be stuck here forever.”

It all came out in a rush and I considered the situation, watching her as she blushed and fidgited. She appeared earnest. I thought about it for a minute. I didn’t owe her diddly, the mess she was in was all on her family, but she was trying to be brave as tears threatened to fall, and I got a feeling she was telling me the truth. I thought of my mother and how she could have used a helping hand there at the end, and made my decision.

“Get up on the chestnut. I’ll take you as far as Independence but after that we’re quits. You whine, you cry, you get demanding and you’ll be on foot watching my dust settled. And he ain’t an ass. He’s a mule.”

She blinked back a tear and grinned. “Fair enough. I apologise to your animal, but they all look alike to me.”

“That what he thinks about people.”

We were about five miles out of town before she spoke again. “My name is Melody.”

“Joshua.”

That was all the conversation we had that day. We rode into another small town right after dark and I sprung for a room. For her, not me. I was sticking to my plan and staying with the animals. She tried to talk after we had supper but I shut her down and told her to be ready to roll at daylight.

She was up and ready and after a quick breakfast we were on the road. A few miles later she came up beside me. “Where you headin’?”

“West.”

“What part?”

“All of me.”

That caused her to pause. She drew in a breath before calming and tried again. “You know what I meant. Where you going?”

“Doin’t really know. Just West.”

“Whatcha goinna do when you get there?”

“Ain’t give it a lot of thought.”

“You runnin’ from somebody?”

I had to think about that. Yeah, I’d executed the carpetbagger and left his body in an unmarked grave. I had serious doubts he’d ever be found and if he was no one would connect a fifteen year old kid that was supposed to be gone weeks ago to his death. If Jericho Peters ever found out the truth I doubt he would do anything. He was a pretty big fish in a really small pond and he wouldn’t go far out of his comfort zone, and damn sure wasn’t goin’ to ride away from everything he’d stolen to chase a kid all over the West.

My uncle was famous for sayin’ sometimes there waren’t any justice in this world unless you made your own. I felt like the man had paid for his crimes and I could sleep with a clear conscious. It was years, though, before I forgot the look of terror in his eyes when the knife went into his throat.

I looked at Melody. “Prob’bly not.”

It wasn’t the answer she was expecting but she dropped the conversation. I decided to steer the conversation elsewhere. “What are you goin’ to do when you get to Independence?”

“I’m gonna be a whore.”

That wasn’t the answer I was expectin’ and I stopped. She stared at me, defying me to judge her.

“Are you a whore now?”

She blushed. “No.”

“Then what makes you think that’s a good career choice?”

She sighed. “Look at me, Joshua. I ain’t pretty, got no skills, and no money. What I do have is a good body and a really nice set of jugs. And the fact is I love sex and according to my dead husband and the other two men I’ve been with I’m pretty good at it. The truth is I just love to fuck. Besides, what else can I do?” Mel pushed her large chest up and giggled when I blushed.

“You could find a decent man andd marry. The farther west we go the fewer single women can be found. I’d say as soon as you pass Indepence your prospects would go up quite a bit.”

“That’s probably so, but a girl has to eat. If you got any suggestions I’m...” She paused and pushed those big breasts up again “all ears.”

That was the end of the conversation until we made camp. There wasn’t a town close so tonight we’d be roughing it. I tended to the horses while Melody cooked supper. It was a mighty fine meal for the situation and I told her so.

“Thank you Joshua. Momma taught me and she was one of the best, judging by the blue ribbons she won every year at the fair.”

I sat back and watched her until she dropped her eyes. “All right, here’s the deal. You don’t take up whorin’ and I’ll help you. We’ll tell everybody we’re brother and sister and see if we can’t hook up with a wagon train. You cook like this, we invite a few of the more likely single men to supper, and I guarantee you you’ll be able to pick and choose when it comes to a husband. Deal?”

Her mouth opened and closed a couple of times and then the tears started. Thern all of a sudden I had a handful of crying woman. I could feel that big chest rubbing up against me and had a natural reaction. Melody felt it and stepped back, grinning.

“You never been with a woman before?”

I was probably twenty-seven shades of red by then and it seemed to amuse her when I stuttered out a “no”.

“How old are you?”

“What day is it?”

She thought for a minute. “If I remember right, today is April 15th.”

I kind of grinned. “Well then. Today is my birthday. I’m officially sixteen.”

Her smile got wide and she started unbottoning her dress. “You look and act a lot older.”

“What are you doing?”

“I’m going to give you a birthday gift. In fact, until we hit Independence, I’ll be training you in the ways of women. By the time we get to wherever we’re going you’ll have a good education in what it takes to please a woman. Your future wife will thank me, even if she never knows.”

By now the dress was off and she was unlacing her bodice. I watched, fascinated, as her breasts sprang free. They were every bit as impressive as I thought they’d be. She grinned at my expression.

“You never seen a set of titties?”

“No.”

“I guess that means you’re still a virgin?”

I nodded and the smile got wider. “Come on over here, honey. Let me fix that for you.”

Fix it she did. I’d like to say I respected her virtue and was a complete gentleman, but I was sixteen in front of a naked woman and I was a rolling mass of horny. The first was a little clumsy and hurried and I was a little embarrassed. She hugged me. “Don’t fret it, hon. You didn’t even go soft, so let’s start over.”

The next time was slow, and unhurried, and she directed me like we were in a play or something. I learned what pleased her, and what didn’t. It was part pure lust and part classroom but I enjoyed every minute of it. I was surprised she wanted me to suck on her nipples but it seemed to get her super excited. The third time was even better, as she showed me positions I had no idea existed and we ended up with me behind her, riding her like a mare in season. I think she liked that one best.

I wanted to play again in the morning, but she pushed me off and started breakfast, We did it twice when we stopped for our midday meal, and twice again after we made camp. I was still standing tall when she pushed me away.

“Enough, Josh. I’m a little sore. I know you didn’t finish, so I’m going to do something for you. Popular opinion is that only whores do what I’m about to do, but I’ve been to many a quilting bee where the talk gets racy after a few brandies get consumed and the truth won out. Most womnen will do whatever it takes to please their man whether they like it or not. I happen to like it, the feeling, the texture, the fact that I can please a man without spreading my legs. Try to stay still.”

I nearly came off the bedroll when she wrapped her lips around my Johnson. Mel had skills and was indeed good at what she was doing and I had a fleeting thought that if she ever did turn whore she’d be in high demand. She pulled off and gave me a lick, grinning at the look on my face. “When you get close you tell me, understand?”

I figured she stop and finish me by hand but when I gripped her hair five minutes later and let out a strangled moan, she sped up. “Mel, I’m gonna...”

That was all I got out before she pulled back with only the head in her mouth, using her hand and pumping like mad. I literally felt like I exploded and she stayed on me until I was empty, sliding down one more time to the root and coming off with one long slurp. She grinned at my stunned face. “When you get with a woman, especially one as young as you, don’t expect this. It’s a skill that has to be acquired and some women refuse to even consider it. Tomorrow, after a really good bath, I’ll show you something a man can do for a woman. Most won’t, but if you do she’ll probably love you for life.”

She refused my advances the next morning, and in the middle of the afternoon we found a really clear creek and a secluded meadow. She stripped down and I spent half my time watching her and the other half watching for people. Then I lay my pistols on a rock close to hand and joined her.

When she told me what she wanted I was totally opposed to the idea, but she said if I’d try it she’d do me. It wasn’t as nasty as I thought. In fact, she seemed to taste a little sweet. I listened for her cues, the slight movement as she gripped my hair, and was rewarded a few minutes later with a very damp face. Instead of stopping she gripped me tighter, telling me to use my fingers to heighten her experience. She shrieked as she coated my face, then pushed me away. She sighed, then told me to rinse my face.

“You’re a natural, honey. Whoever you end up with is going to be a very happy girl.”

Then she frowned and I asked what was bothering her. “I’m fine. I’m just sad tonight will be our last time. You got the makin’s of a fine stud, Joshua.”

I admit I was smitten. “Maybe we could...”

She put her fingers to my lips. “No honey, we can’t. It’s natural to get attached to the first person you take to bed, but we don’t love each other, at least not like that. For one thing I’m eight years older and I don’t want people to look at you fifteen years from now and wondering what a handsome young man like you is doing with a sad old woman. There’s a love for you out there somewhere waiting for you even if she doesn’t know it yet. Let’s enjoy what time we have left.”

It saddened me but I realized even as young as I was she was right. We dressed and rode on, and that night I got into my stash and gave her fifty dollars. Instead of being grateful she got angry. “What’s this? Payment for services rendered?”

“That never crossed my mind, Mel. This is just in case money I’d already promised you. I might drown, or get shot by bandits or Indians. I might get snakebit or die some other way. No one can tell the future and I wanted to give you some security. When we hook on with a train I’ll make it clear to all that if something happens to me as my sister you get everything I have. I know from experience bad things can happen and I don’t want to see you destitute.

She went into a crying fit and then crawled all over me. We didn’t get a lot of sleep that night.

We practiced our story as we rode the next day. We were half-siblings, same father but different mothers. Our parents had died and we were heading West for a better life.

We talked about what we’d do. I had a vague notion of getting a farm or a ranch, and she wanted to live in a town so she’d be around people and maybe marry well. I made sure she understood not to take the first offer, to weigh her options carefully. After all, it was going to be a lifelong committment.