Chapter 4

Annie and I had to take a short break from our courting as I got another call from the freight shippers to guard another load of gold going to the railroad. This time, we made it all the way without meeting any bandits. It was almost disappointing not to have to do anything but ride to the railhead and return. Oh, well, such is the life of a working man!

As usual, Annie was ecstatic to see me back, and I was invited to the parlor after work this evening. I could hardly wait! Naturally, I arrived early for supper just so I could look at Annie as she worked. She did take every opportunity to stop by my table to talk for a moment or two.

When work was finally finished for the day, she led me to the parlor, and her mother talked with me (to me, to be more precise) until Annie returned from changing clothes. I couldn't help but notice that she was dressed the same way as she had been the last time I saw her. Her shirtwaist was even untucked from her waist band. If that wasn't a telling sign, I don't know what was. Her mother noticed, but did not say anything. I'm sure she knew what was going on.

Mrs. Weston stayed with us for only a few minutes before saying that it was her time for bed after a trying day. Yeah, I'll bet! I did appreciate that woman's kind consideration of a love-struck boy. As soon as she left, Annie joined me on the sofa and we started our kissing, etc. Not long after that, I had both hands under her shirtwaist and was massaging her bare breasts. She started to moan as soon as I began to rub my palms on her bare nipples. It didn't take long for us to end up exactly as we had the previous time, with Annie a limp dishrag in my arms.

I didn't know what had happened to her, but she certainly liked the sensations, so I could hardly argue, especially when she returned to kissing me the way she did. Of course, I returned my hands to her bare breasts before long, and Annie moaned in time with my rubbing of her nipples, but she didn't collapse on me any more that evening. My curiosity was killing me, so I vowed to myself to ask her what was going on when she collapsed the next time it happened.

Before this evening visit was over, Annie had shifted position to sit in my lap. That was where she was when her mother came in to tell me to go home and to let Annie get to sleep. Of course, Annie had been wiggling around on my lap and was feeling my erection poke into her beautiful posterior. How did I know? Because she told me, that's how!

Annie jumped up when her mother came in, and Mrs. Weston did look closely at my lap. She couldn't help seeing that I had an erection, but she did not comment directly on my condition. She gently smiled, kind of knowingly, and simply announced that it was time for Annie and me to say goodnight.

I left, and Mrs. Weston was kind enough to ignore my plight as I walked out the door. I guess that she was getting as serious as Annie and I were. Yep, she had me pegged as the perspective son-in-law and didn't want to mess things up too much, though she didn't mind embarrassing me a little bit.

The next few evenings were a duplicate of that night, and Annie and I were getting very serious about our groping each other. At the rate we were going, I expected to have a hand under her dress within two weeks, and I was not sure which one of us was in the greater hurry for that to happen.

Naturally, we had continued our afternoon dates except on those days when it rained. It was a relatively dry summer, so that did not happen often. However, it was on one of those rainy days that Annie and I were sitting in her parlor. I couldn't take it any longer, so I grabbed my courage with both hands and blurted out, "Annie, will you marry me?"

I was stunned when I was met with silence for what seemed like hours, but was probably less than a minute. "Oh, Aaron, of course I'll marry ya. I was wondering when ya was going ta ask. Ma approves of ya, soz we can get right on it. Can ya move in tonight?"

Now that was something that I had not been expecting! I was delighted to discover that asking for marriage and receiving an affirmative was all the action we needed to make us officially married as far as the locals were concerned. Of course, Annie and Mrs. Weston planned on a church wedding, but that was weeks away, what with all of the things that had to be done to get ready for it. In the meantime, I was expected to start living with Annie as we were all but married, except that for that minor detail of the ceremony.

Thank God, the Westons had a regular house, because I could not have rationally considered asking Annie to move into that shack with me. Hell, I could move in right away. The only things I needed to be concerned about moving were my straight razor and the safe, not necessarily in that order. Oh, I had a few other things, but they could have easily been abandoned if they were going to slow down my moving into Annie's bed.

Anyway, Annie jumped up to run to tell Mrs. Weston the good news. Only a few seconds later, both women were back in the parlor, crying great tears of joy, and hugging me as if I might try to run away. We quickly settled that I would move in that afternoon and spend that night in bed with Annie. With that settled, I went to borrow a hand-truck from Mr. Hanson so that I could move my few things to my new home. Of course, I told him what was going on, and the word was all over town by nightfall. A lot of time at supper was spent in receiving congratulations on my new status. Naturally, everybody in town was coming to the wedding—nobody was dumb enough to miss that much free entertainment.

I managed to get the safe upstairs to our bedroom (that does sound nice) and pushed into a corner before going down to supper. In a flash of bravado, I promised to show the women its contents after work. As expected, that stirred up their curiosity almost to the boiling point, and I enjoyed making them suffer through the wait.

They cleaned up after work in record time that evening and rushed to the bedroom for the great opening ceremony. I made a bigger deal out of it than I should, but I was enjoying watching them fidget. I opened the door to the safe, and I could feel the letdown when all they saw were those little canvas bags with no markings on them.

However, with a flourish, I took one of the little bags out of the safe and dumped it onto the bed. There were actually squeals of shock as the gold coins tumbled out onto the bed covers. Almost together, the two women asked in hushed voices, "How much is there?"

"There are 21 of the little bags. There is $2,000 in 20 of them and $390 in one. That is the total of my worldly fortune, and I wanted the both of you women to know that Annie would be well provided for."

Annie almost fainted, and Mrs. Weston had to take a deep breath to stay conscious. Annie said, "I had no idea that ya had so much money. Why are ya workin' like anybody else with all that money?" Mrs. Weston nodded her head to acknowledge that she wondered the same thing.

"I came into the money only since I arrived in Deadwood. I inherited it from the man who tried to rob me on my first day here. I have always been a working man, and I saw no reason to change. Besides, I wanted a cushion to protect my future family if something ever happened to me."

Mrs. Weston beamed at that, and Annie hugged me and gave me a big loving kiss on the lips. I flushed a little at that, and Mrs. Weston giggled. "Oh, Aaron, it's OK for me to kiss you now that we are to be married. You don't need to be so embarrassed all of the time."

Annie gathered up the coins from the bed and returned them to the little sack. "Here, Aaron, ya put these up while I fix our bed." She gave her mother a piercing look, and Mrs. Weston giggled as she left the room.

"Now, y'all don't make so much noise that ya keep me awake, tonight. And, remember, daughter, ya does have ta work tomorrow."

"Yes, Ma, now, goodnight!" That sent Mrs. Weston out the door laughing heartily. Annie was in complete command of herself as she closed the door. She took her clothes off expeditiously and plopped herself on the bed on her back. "Come along, husband. I am growin' impatient! What are ya starin' at?"