Chapter 12

Cicero led Andy and Jasmine toward the possible water supply for the herd, and they talked as they rode. Andy asked how Cicero happened to be riding alone like he was, and Cicero explained, "I was born a slave of the Cherokees, but I managed ta escape ta Kansas jus' afore the war started. I stayed there 'til the end of the war. I'm on my way back, now, ta find my old massa an blow his fuckin' head off fer the way he treated me an' my momma. Yeah, in case ya're wonderin', my momma said I was half Cherokee an' my pa was that bastard what was my massa. She knew it, an' he knew it, but he still treated me like dirt! Anyway, I run off when my momma died—from his mistreatment, I think. Now that the guv'ment says that I'm a free man, I'm gonna kill that bastard."

Andy said, "Well, I kin shore see yer point, but ain't ya afeared of being hung fer murder?"

"Oh, I ain't gonna murder him. I plan ta call him out an' kill him in a fair duel. Ain't nobody gonna hang me fer that."

"Good luck, then, but I still think ya should be a mite careful."

They rode on for a while, talking about this and that, and Jasmine told Cicero about how she wound up riding with Andy. Cicero was appalled when he heard about the breeding farm, but thought about it for a moment and decided that he was not surprised.

They continued to ride a little south of east until they could see a line of trees in the distance. "That's the water," Cicero said as he pointed at the trees, "but, like I said, it ain't much ta brag about. Now, I'll be leavin' y'all, cuz I wanna find an' kill that bastard Cherokee today ifen I kin."

Andy and Jasmine wished him luck, and Cicero rode away. They continued toward the water and eventually reached it. Andy got off his horse and bent down to taste the water. "God! That water tastes filthy! But, I 'spect that the cattle kin put up with it, since it's shore better than no water. I know that I'll be livin' out of my canteen fer tonight, though." Andy climbed back on his horse, and they quickly rode back to the cattle herd to tell Josh the good news and the bad news about the water.

They found the herd where Andy expected them to be and told Josh about the barely usable water. He agreed that barely usable water was better than no water, so he had the herd turned to head toward it. There was not much point in doing any more scouting that day, so Andy and Jasmine retired to the wagon to work on Jasmine's pussy hair problem. She sucked while he pulled, and they both spent an interesting afternoon. By spending a little extra time on the job, Andy was able to remove the last of Jasmine's pussy hair, so he sucked and chewed on her clit to make up for the extra pain she'd had to put up with. The combined oral work caused them both to come, so the effort was worth while all around. It sure was nice to have a mule to pull the wagon that didn't have to be driven!

They finished up a few minutes before they had to help set up camp, and the women had to change clothes before fixing supper, so everything worked out very conveniently. That evening, Sue Ann asked Andy if he would start work on pulling out her pussy hair on the day it was her turn to ride with him. Andy said that he would be happy to accommodate her.

Jasmine told the story that evening about the meeting with Cicero; she said that she thought that he was a handsome man, even if he was part Cherokee. She winked at Elizabeth, who was starting to get a little huffy, and they both laughed.

A few days later at supper, Elizabeth announced, "Tomorrow is my day of decision. Tomorrow is when we will be as close as the trail herd will come to the home of my parents. If I am to leave you, then would be the best time. Here is what I would like to do: I need your decision tonight, and I will travel to their home tomorrow to tell them the result of it. I still want to stay with you, but I will understand if you decide to cast me out. Whatever happens, I want to tell my parents so that they won't worry about me. Furthermore, I would like for Andy to go with me, whether or not I return to the Hopper clan."

This produced a clamorous vote for Elizabeth to stay with them and become a permanent member of the clan. This outbreak of spontaneous love caused Elizabeth to break down in happy tears. When she recovered herself, she told them that Andy's services as a scout could be dispensed with tomorrow because the country was open around here and there was plenty of water. Josh acquiesced, so that was the plan for the next day.

Elizabeth and Andy left camp at his usual time for the scouting trips, so there was little break in the routine, except for a minor realignment of who rode with Sue Ann, since it was her normal turn to go with Andy. Sue Ann joined Josh and Elizabeth led Andy toward the east to find her former home.

They rode for about two hours until they came upon a moderate sized home that looked completely normal to Andy. The Cherokees had adopted virtually all of the exterior appearances of the White man, figuring that they should look like the winner so that they could be winners, too. They tied their horses to the hitching post in front and went to the front door.

Elizabeth opened the door, but they waited on the veranda while Elizabeth called out, "MA! PA! IT'S ELIZABETH! WHERE ARE YOU?" Most of the Cherokees had adopted English by then, so Andy had no trouble understanding her.

There was a clatter of furniture from the back of the house, probably the kitchen, and the sound of running feet and cries of joy. A man, a woman, and three siblings descended upon Elizabeth with hugs and kisses of greeting and great joy. It was at least 10 minutes before they even noticed Andy standing to one side, wearing a big grin.

Elizabeth introduced Andy and explained that he was her escort for the day. They adjourned to the kitchen where the two were served coffee while the rest of the family finished their breakfast. While they were sitting there, Elizabeth related her adventures: the kidnapping by the Choctaws, her rescue by Andy, and her time with the trail drive, except she did leave out the part about the sex.

Her family was shocked when she got to the part about leaving them to return to the Hoppers, but they calmed down when she reached over and took Andy's hand and kissed it. His blush convinced them that she would be in good hands. He told about being headed to Sedalia with the cattle to sell them at the railhead. The family relaxed when Elizabeth promised to stop by to visit for a few days on their return to Texas. Andy pointed out that they would probably make the same drive next year, and they could also see Elizabeth then, but, of course, he couldn't promise anything. Elizabeth shocked them all by saying, "After all, I could be in a family way by then!"

The family spent several hours together, work was forgotten for the day, and Elizabeth and Andy stayed as late in the afternoon as they safely could and still get back to camp before dark. Elizabeth was glad that she'd had this opportunity to see her parents and siblings, but felt as if she was returning to her true family when they got back to camp. Elizabeth went back to sleep with Josh and Sue Ann returned to Andy for that night.

This was a momentous night, though none of the participants were aware of anything unusual. But tonight was the first night that Sue Ann's fertility had returned after the shock of her capture and ill treatment just before Andy rescued her. So, after the usual preliminaries, Andy was buried deep within Sue Ann when he began to shoot. As usual, he squirted with some force past her cervix and, this time, caught an egg at its most fertile time. The coupling was fully consummated, and Andy had another son on the way. By the time they returned to Texas, all four of the bellies would be swelling with Andy's offspring.

Sue Ann went riding with Andy the next day to get the cycle back in order; Elizabeth would spend the night with him. They rode out, heading more or less north east. Josh wanted to get into Missouri as quickly as he could, since he wanted to avoid all contact with the Kansas Jayhawkers. The Jayhawkers had been Union "guerrillas" during the war, so were not closely watched by the Army. As a result, many of the Jayhawkers had turned to banditry, rather than return to making an honest living. If you were from Texas and encountered a band of them, the best you could hope for was to pay a toll for your cattle, and the worst would be for them to kill you and rustle your cattle. All-in-all, it was best to avoid Kansas.