Chapter 20

He went to the pond with the other two buckets and filled them with water. He carried them to the corral and dumped the water into the barrel for the horses. He went to the back of the shelter and scooped some grain into each of the two tubs for the horses to eat, carried the dishes out and placed them on the ground in front of the horses. He watched the horses eat, but his mind was not on the magnificent animals before him. Jack kept glancing over at the door to the cabin where his beloved Ariel slept. He was very worried about her. He had never had any woman pass out on him during sex like she did.

Jack took the grain dishes from the corral when the horses were done eating, rinsing them out at the pond before putting them back in the shed with the grain barrel. He went back to the cabin, quietly went inside and checked on Ariel. She was still sleeping, but her face was still slightly flushed. He gently laid a hand on her forehead. She wasn't feverish, but he wet the washcloth again and laid it on her forehead. He leaned down and kissed her, then went outside to gather more firewood. He made sure to stay within sight of the cabin in case Ariel awoke and yelled for him. Luckily there were many trees and branches on the ground that only needed to be chopped into pieces and split.

He found a nice log and started chopping it into shorter lengths with the axe. His muscles rippled and flexed with each swing of the axe and the sweat trickled down his face and back from his exertions. When he had about twenty large chunks cut, he split them into smaller pieces, then carried the chunks in arm loads to the cabin, stacking them along the wall between the door and the box where the saddles were stored. When he had a pile about eight feet long and five feet high, he decided that was enough wood.

He went to the pond and splashed some water on his sweaty face and back, then went to check on Ariel. She was awake, laying on the bed. She smiled as Jack came through the door. He took a cup from the shelf and scooped some water from the bucket for her to drink. He sat on the side of the bed and helped her sit up. She took the cup and slowly drank the fresh cold water. As Ariel sat up, the blanket slid down, exposing her luscious breasts to Jack's loving gaze. She made no move to pull it up again and Jack smiled. He asked her, "Are you feeling better, baby? You really had me worried there."

She reached over and took his hand in hers, "Yes, my love. I'm feeling much better now, thank you. The nap and the water helped a lot." Jack leaned over and kissed her tenderly on the lips, pulling her close and hugging her. She kissed him back gently and said, "I love you very much, Jack. You are my whole life and I'd die if anything ever happened to you."

"Baby, there's no need to worry. Nothing will ever happen to me. I'm going to be here for you for eternity. I love you, my beautiful Ariel." he said quietly, then asked her, "Baby, do you feel up for a swim? It's quite warm in here and the cool air and water might help you feel even better."

Ariel nodded, then Jack got off the bed and walked to the trunk where he took out two towels, handing them to her. Then Jack scooped Ariel up and carried her, blanket and towels together, to the bank of the pond. He sat her down on the ground, making sure the blanket was beneath her bottom. Jack uncovered her and took her hands, pulling her to her feet. She took a step and almost fell. She was still weak from passing out, so Jack told her to sit back down for a moment while he undressed. He tossed his boots, pants and underwear on the ground by the blanket. When he was standing before her in all his naked muscled glory, Ariel looked up at him and smiled.