Chapter 4

The next morning I woke before sunrise and felt strange laying in a dead man's wagon. The warm flesh of his widow pressed against me wasn't making me feel as good as you'd think either. What the hell, he hadn't given me a choice in the matter and it wasn't like he'd been the first man or boy I'd killed.

Bill had made some of the right moves toward adjusting to the post war situation, but I guess he just couldn't bring his nature around as quickly as he had his mind. He'd known he was no longer cock of the walk in his own chicken yard after the south lost the war, but he still felt like he had to act that way. He should have known once you were man enough to carry a gun you needed to be man enough to use it, or smart enough to keep your hands off it in an argument.

The hell of it was he hadn't been mad at me, not at first anyway. But he'd been mad and frustrated about something and he fell back on the old standby of lashing out at his slaves. That shit just didn't cut it anymore, and Bill was only one of hundreds of thousands who failed to come to grips with the new reality on the ground.

It had been his problem though and now it was nobodys. Last night showed me his wife and stepdaughters didn't miss him much and I was betting neither Mary, Honey, nor Jim shed a single tear over his demise. As far as I could see, Bill's death left me with only one problem. We needed another driver for the number three wagon. I put my clothes on and got out to start the day.

I barely had the cook fire going before Mary showed up, and I could tell she was surprised to see me when she got out of her wagon.

"Mr Frank, is you gonna build the fire still? You don't have to do that now," Mary said.

"I never did have to do it Mary, and I'm not saying I will every day. If I get up and the fire's not going I'll build it. If the fire's built already I'll be over here looking for coffee.

"That Mr Frank business is gone for good now too. Nobody in our bunch was a slave owner one time anymore, and I won't stand for anybody acting like they were. I'm Frank and that's what you can call me all the time."

"Yes sir, Mr ... Yes sir Frank," she said.

"None of that yes sir crap either. That don't mean I'm not the boss, it just means I don't want you calling me sir."

I took her hand then and pulled her beside the wagon where it was still pitch black even though false dawn was well underway. She stiffened a little when I pulled her to me but as I put my lips to hers she kissed back with enthusiasm. I let my hands drop to get hold of her jutting ass and pulled her in against my rising dick.

Her ass felt great as I palmed it with both hands and when she felt what I had for her, pressing against her abdomen, she wiggled and squimed against it.

"Oh Frank, it'll be light soon. Someone will see us," Mary said, nearly moaning.

"It don't matter if they do. Helen already got her break-in last night and she or the girls know better than to say anything about who I'm kissing. If Honey makes a fuss I can give her some of the same. Jim won't say a thing, will he?"

"No, Jim won't, but there's other white folks in this train what will," Mary said, still wiggling against my dick.

"Well if it's a man he can get a dose of what I gave Bill. I don't put up with other people meddlin' in my business. Tell Honey no to be surprised when I get in the wagon with you two tonight, and you needn't bother putting on anything to sleep in," I said, giving her another deep kiss and fondling her ass some more.

"I'll tell her Frank," Mary said, as I released her so she could get the coffee started.

Honey came out of the back of the wagon then and I could tell by the way she was nearly trembling she'd been listening to what I told Mary. I pulled her to me as soon as she had both feet on the ground. She gasp lowly but was quick trying to help when I pulled her against me for a kiss, and she did her best to kiss me back.

"You heard what I told Mary, didn't you?"

"Yes, I heard. We'll be ready when you come to us," she said, sounding nervous but pressing herself against me firmly.

"Have you ever been poked before?"

"No. Mama always kept close tabs on me and even Mr Bill warned the other bucks away when we lived at the plantation," she said.

"Good. Don't worry, I'll be gentle and I promise you're going to like it. If you don't, just tell me and I'll keep doing it until I get it right," I told her, kissing her neck and nibbling on an earlobe until she shivered.

"I'll be waiting for you, but I don't really know how to do it," she said, whispering in my ear.

"You can watch close while I do it to your momma. You'll catch on in no time. Now, go see about making some coffee," I said, giving her firm ass checks a squeeze before I let her go.

I went back to the wagon to see Helen and the girls, poking my head inside through the curtain at back. Helen was just starting to pull on some drawers and her swinging titties made me want some more of her pussy pretty bad, especially after my morning greetings to Mary and Honey.

"Damn if you don't look good Helen, if I didn't know you're probably sore this morning I'd climb right back in this wagon."

Helen blushed scarlet while Elizabeth and Rebecca giggled wildly. She smiled at me though and said she'd do her best if I needed her.

"Of course I need you, but I don't want to wear out my welcome."

"I'm not sore," Rebecca said.

"Me neither," Elizabeth said, right behind her.

"I know you're not, but you both would be, all day, if I came in there now. I'm going to visit Mary and Honey tonight, right after dark. Honey can watch close so she'll know exactly what's going to happen. Tomorrow night your mother will be rested and we can show you how it's done."

"We watched last night," Rebecca said.

"Well you can watch closer tomorrow night and then you'll get your turns. Believe me, I'm gonna make it worth waiting for," I said, and the two of them blushed this time.

"Now, get your pretty asses dressed and come on out to breakfast. We won't be watching from inside the wagon anymore. This ain't Bill's family anymore, it's mine now and all of us are going to do a little helping out."

It was time to let them be for a while so I got a cup of the coffee Honey just made. Jim was sipping a cup of his own but he'd moved off away from the fire.

"Jim, come on back over here please. I need to talk to you."

"Yessa, Mister Frank."

"You remember where Mr Bill is don't ya?"

"Yessa."

"Well the Misters and the yes sirs are buried with him. I'm just Frank and you don't have to call me sir. You're Jim and I'm Frank and that's all we need to say about it. If you mess up and call me Mr Frank I'm gonna remind you every time until you quit it.

"You don't even have to stay with us if you don't want to, but I sure hope you will. Was Bill even paying you for working for him?" I asked.

"Not really. He made me tell other men he was but he never did."

"Well I'm goning to pay you and not just tell a lie about it," I said, reaching into my pocket for my last three double eagles.

"Here's sixty dollars to start with. I can't pay you whatever Bill should have, but from now on I'll pay you in advance. Sixty a month and found if that suits you."

Jim was stupefied, and I'm sure he could barely believe it. He could only stare at me in disbelief for a while.

"Thank you Frank. This is the first time I've ever been paid in my life, and I thank you for it. I'll never leave you unless you run me off, even if someday you can't pay me no more."

"I don't think we have to worry about that for a long while Jim, but I appreciate the thought. Now I spect I'd better go talk to Jenkins and see about finding another man to drive one of the wagons for us. Well, I guess I will see about some breakfast first."

The eating arrangements were different this morning too, and I could tell Helen had insured the changes. Before there'd been two seperate tables, one for the hired help and one for the white folks. Actually they had both been rickety and inconveinient. This morning they were pushed together but were still just as precarious. At least we all had three legged stools that could deal with the uneven ground.

It took a little talking to get Jim to eat at the new enlarged table with us, and I could see he was uncomfortable with the new situation, but I hoped it would grow on him. I didn't see a damned thing wrong with his table manners, they were probably better than mine. He did stay silent for the whole meal though.