by S. E. Smith
Indy nodded. She cleaned up the dirty dishes, stacking them neatly back into the box next to the tree. Pulling her sleeping bag out, she laid it near the fire. She would leave her boots on tonight. She didn’t need any surprise visitors in them when she went to put them on. Unzipping the thick bag, she pulled her coat off and rolled it up to use as a pillow before she slid in and zipped it back up. She hadn’t realized Cal was watching her with wide eyes until she had laid back down.
“What type of bed roll is that?” He asked looking at her thick sleeping bag before glancing down at his thin wool blanket.
“It’s a thermal sleeping bag designed especially for cold weather country. I can zip myself in this puppy and stay warm in sub-zero temperatures if I have to. The worst part is getting out of it. It keeps you so warm you don’t want to get up in the morning,” Indy said. “It also has a little extra padding so you don’t feel the ground as much.” She couldn’t help adding with a grin before rolling over. She might be a softy but she had learned a long time ago never to give up her sleeping bag.
Jake woke Indy up at midnight eyeing her sleeping bag with envy as he threw another log on the fire. Indy unzipped the bag and softly whistled for Midnight. The black horse was impossible to see at night. A moment later the sound of hooves could be heard. Indy quickly saddled Midnight and led him out of the firelight before mounting him. She rode down toward the stream first to take care of her personal business. One thing she desperately missed about home was indoor plumbing. She would kill for a hot soak in a tub and a real toilet. She spent the next four hours making the rounds. She motioned for Tweed and Chester to return to camp to stay near the men. If she was right, the two dogs would snuggle up next to each one of them. They loved to snuggle with her at night. At four she woke Cal to take over and crawled back into her sleeping bag. Chester quickly resumed his snuggling duty next to her since he’d lost Cal.
Indy rose early the next morning. She was just coming back from the stream again when she heard the sound of horses approaching. She pulled her toiletry bag closer to her and felt for the nine millimeter fully automatic pistol she kept under her coat. She quickly motioned for the dogs to go on alert. If they were expecting trouble, she would need the element of surprise. When she topped the rise, she could see a group of about six men. One of the men climbed down off his horse and shook hands with Jake and clapped Cal on the back. It looked like the men knew each other. Indy rose and slid the nine millimeter handgun back into its holster. Pulling her hat further down to cover her face and pulling up her scarf so the lower half of her face was covered fairly well, she moved cautiously toward the group of men now standing around the fire.
Jonathan Tucker watched as the small figure moved cautiously towards them. He had listened as Jake and Cal told them about how this kid named Indy had come riding in firing his rifle while the kid’s dogs had gone after the other two men and rounded up the cattle they had tried to steal. The kid then patched Jake up better than the doc from town. He couldn’t see the kid’s face because of the way he was wearing his hat and coat. Jake said the boy was looking for employment and the Twin Rivers would be getting a deal between the kid and his dogs.
Indy glanced warily at the men, giving them a brief nod before moving over to her saddlebags and tucking her toiletry bag away. She knew she was being rude but after having been in hiding for so long she didn’t feel comfortable around so many people. The man standing near Jake took her breath away. His dark hair and chiseled features made her think of dark nights and steamy beds. Shaking her head lightly at her bemusing thoughts, Indy wondered if she was beginning to lose her mind from being out on the range for so long. Turning, she gave a silent motion with her hand to Tweed and Chester. A few moments later, Midnight and Kahlua were walking slowly towards her followed by the two dogs.
“Boss, this here is Indy, the lad I told you about. Those two bringing up the horses are Tweed and Chester. Best damn cattle dogs I’ve ever seen,” Jake said.
Jonathan had watched as the lad walked right by them with barely any acknowledgement. It surprised him as most boys his age usually wouldn’t shut up, especially if they wanted a job working for the Twin Rivers. He watched closely as the boy barely moved his hand giving the two dogs a signal. The two dogs sitting next to him immediately took off. His eyes widened when a few moments later the lad looked over towards the two horses moving toward him. Another slight hand movement had the horses standing still and the dogs returning to their spot behind him.
“Nice trick,” Jonathan said waiting for the lad’s reaction to him noticing the signals.
“Not a trick, training,” came the calm, husky reply.
Jonathan felt a shiver run down his spine at the husky voice. His eyes narrowed as he studied what little he could see of the kid’s face. It was baby smooth with lush pink lips and a small nose. He let his gaze wander further down but couldn’t see much under the thick coat and chaps. He felt his body stir to life in sudden interest. He frowned in shock and disbelief. What was he thinking? It had been a long time since he had been with a woman so he could understand having a reaction like this to a woman but for a boy? He scowled as his eyes moved back up to the boy’s face. Dark green eyes narrowed on his as he jerked his eyes back up.
“Nice training,” Jonathan corrected. “Jake says you’re interested in working for the Twin Rivers.”
Slim shoulders barely moved in a shrug. “Yes,” came the short reply.
“You old enough to be working? The last thing I need is your ma to come looking for you,” Jonathan replied beginning to get irritated with the boy’s attitude.
“I’m old enough to shave. And for your information, my ma is dead. So’s my pa,” came the short response.
“Sorry to hear that,” Jonathan said.
Again, the slim shoulders shrugged drawing Jonathan’s attention to the figure hidden under the thick coat. Jonathan turned before he said something he knew he would regret. He needed to pay a visit to the brothel in town if he was having reactions like this to some smooth-faced kid. It had definitely been too long.
“Jake, I want you to head back to the ranch house and have doc take a look at your shoulder. Indy, you’re hired. You’ll stay here with Cal, Levi, and Duke. I want you to bring the cattle to the pasture closer to the homestead.” With a nod of dismissal he turned toward his horse.
Indy let out a sigh of relief as she watched her new boss and two other men ride away. She felt good about her act. She could tell he misinterpreted her comment about shaving. He didn’t have to know she was talking about her legs and not her face. If she could keep out of everyone’s way and keep a low profile she didn’t have to correct their views on her, at least not at first. She didn’t owe anyone anything as far as she was concerned except a full day’s worth of work. Moving quickly, she saddled Midnight and motioned for the dogs to follow her. She wanted to put as much space between her and the other cowpunchers as possible.
Chapter 4
Indy spent the next three weeks out on the range. At times it was tough. Since she was a girl she couldn’t just whip it out and go like the guys did. She also liked to bathe more than they did. In order to do that she had taken to leaving early or coming back late. She used Tweed and Chester as an alarm system to let her know if anyone was around. There had been a couple of times when she had almost gotten caught. She knew she would have to do something when it came time to return to the ranch. There was no way she was going to stay in the bunkhouse. For one thing, all the men seemed to take great pleasure in releasing gas from both ends of their body. While accustomed to working with ranch hands and being around Sam’s boys, these guys seemed to take it to a new level of competing with each other to see who could be the most obnoxious. Even Cal had joined in after the first night. Indy had quickly taken to building a camp away from the others saying it was better for the dogs to be alert for danger.
The weather had started to warm up a little more as it moved into the middle of April. Ind
y still hadn’t seen the ranch house yet. Jake had come out once to let her know he had healed up right pretty and the doc wanted to meet the lad who had done such a fine job of sewing him up. Indy had talked with Jake for a while before he headed back to the ranch.
It was about midday two days later when Indy heard her name. Turning in her saddle, she watched as Jake rode up again. She turned Midnight around to let him know she had heard him.
“Indy, boss man says to come in,” Jake said pushing his hat up onto his forehead.
“What for?” Indy asked. She hoped it wasn’t to fire her. She liked the job even if she had trouble with the overabundance of gas the men put out.
Jake spit before answering. “Seems Jacob is bringing in a herd of mustangs and they need some help with them. Things are quiet out here. Trace and Butler can handle the cattle.”
“I need to pack my stuff up,” Indy said nodding towards her camp.
Jake looked at her in surprise. “What are you doing camping out here by yourself?”
“I’m not by myself. I have the boys. I prefer their snoring to the gas geysers going off with Trace and Butler,” Indy said as she turned Midnight towards her camp. With a whistle, Kahlua and the dogs followed.
Jake and Indy were heading back to the ranch within the hour. It took them half a day to get there and it was getting dark as they rode into the yard.
“You must have left right at first light. I didn’t realize we were still so far out,” Indy murmured softly looking at the ranch house in awe. It was huge! Even bigger than her grandfather’s house. It had a large wraparound porch with plenty of windows.
“Wow, some house!” Indy said, staring in open amazement at it.
“Yeah, pain in the ass if you ask me. Jacob and Jonathan’s folks built it. They wanted a place big enough to entertain. Their ma was from a rich family back east used to big houses, hard to heat during the winter months if you ask me,” Jake said spitting again. He groaned as he got down off his horse. “I’m getting too old for those long rides,” he muttered under his breath.
“Where will I be staying?” Indy asked getting down.
“No room in the bunkhouse. Boss said you can stay in the old cabin near the river. Needs some work but he figured if you wanted to stay there you could do it. If not, he said the barn would have to do until a space was freed up. Since you was the last hired you don’t get much choice.”
“Why don’t any of the other men want the old cabin?” Indy asked curiously. If she had a choice of staying in a smelly, overcrowded bunkhouse or have a place of her own she would choose a place of her own any day.
“None of them want to waste time fixing it up. They would rather be going to town on their time off to spend it with the ladies,” Jake said with a grin.
“Oh. Well, my luck then,” Indy said. “Which way to the cabin and when should I report for duty?”
“Cabin is down that trail about a quarter mile. The rivers not very big but has been known to flood a time or two. The cabin is up high enough so it usually just gets water to the steps. The boss wanted to give you a couple days’ time off since you ain’t had none so you could work on it. He had two of the men deliver some materials down there yesterday figuring you might prefer it to the barn. Jacob is supposed to be in with the horses in about three days. That’s when we’ll need you.”
Indy nodded. So, she had three days to get the cabin fixed up which shouldn’t be a problem as long as it wasn’t too bad. She wondered if it had a tub or a shower. She really didn’t care as long as it had a real toilet. She thanked Jake for his help and told him she would be back up to the barn at sunrise three days from now. Mounting Midnight again, she turned the horses toward the narrow road Jake had pointed to and rode off.
*.*.*
By the middle of the first day Indy was thinking Jake needed to clarify what ‘some work’ meant. She had spent the better part of the first night just cleaning out all the local inhabitants who had moved in, which included a family of raccoons and mice, in addition to all the ugly bugs. Chester had even found the remains of a rattlesnake that hadn’t survived the frigid temperatures of winter. Indy was just glad it was dead. She ended up tossing what was left of the mattress outside and built a bonfire with it to help light up the night so she could see. After setting up her sleeping bag in the finally clean cabin, she fell into an exhausted sleep. The next morning she took a survey of what needed to be done. First, there was no tub, no shower, no toilet because there was no bathroom or indoor plumbing! She had screamed out her frustration for a good ten minutes. The cabin consisted of one room. The kitchen consisted of a long shelf with what looked like a wash tub and a hand pump along with more shelves above it and an old wood burning stove. The dining room consisted of two rickety chairs around a small rough wood table set in the middle of the room. The bedroom consisted of an old wash stand, a charming chamber pot, and a rope bed that looked more like a medieval torture chamber rack along the far wall.
Indy finished cleaning the sparse area inside until it shone before she moved to look at the outside. The roof needed repair in several places. As she moved around to the back she noticed an outhouse that was leaning slightly. Moving over to it, she carefully opened the door and peeked inside. A wooden seat with a hole cut out of the center greeted her. She closed the door and pushed gently on the small structure. It didn’t move at all. It must have settled into the ground after one of the floods. Well, at least she had a toilet of sorts instead of a pot to piss in. Beside the house was a small enclosed area with some of the fencing missing and an old double stall lean-to. Midnight looked up as Indy walked around the structure testing it for weaknesses. He whinnied softly when she shook her head in dismay. It needed a new roof as well but seemed to be sound otherwise.
“I know, boy. Not like home, is it? Guess we’ll just have to make a new home for you. Custom built by Indiana Wild,” she said patting his head as he leaned over her shoulder.
“Well, daylight is wasting. Guess I’d better get busy,” Indy said moving toward the little cabin.
The weather had become unexpectedly warm for an April day and Indy knew it was only going to get warmer as she worked. Changing out of her jeans into a pair of low-cut tan shorts and pulling on a sports bra and a button up shirt, she finished her work clothes out by sliding her feet into a pair of tennis shoes. They had a better grip than her boots and would have to do. Pulling her long hair into a ponytail on top of her head, she pulled out her iPod touch and a set of ear buds. She had bought one of those new cases that used solar to charge it. It had been a life saver over the last couple of months as she liked to listen to music or read one of the many ebooks she had downloaded before her escape. It helped to fight the loneliness too. Setting her iPod to shuffle the music, she cranked up the volume as she tied a small fabric utility belt with pockets around her waist and knotted the shirt under her breasts. She was ready to do some serious damage.
*.*.*
Jacob Tucker was never as glad as he was now when he caught sight of the main house. He had ridden ahead to make sure everything was ready. He left his foreman, Ed Rawlings, to finish bringing in the herd of Mustangs. He had been on the trail for the past six weeks and was ready for a hot bath and a decent meal. Right now, he would take the hot bath. He smelled like horse, smoke, and sweat. Pulling up in front of the barn, he dismounted with a fluid ease born from years in the saddle.
“Hey boss, didn’t expect you back for another two days,” Jake said coming out of the barn. “I’ll take Roam if you like.”
“Thanks Jake, appreciate it. Hell, it’s good to be back,” Jacob said as he moved towards the huge ranch house.
“Jacob, welcome back. We weren’t expecting you for another couple of days,” Jonathan said meeting his younger twin before he even had a chance to put his foot on the first step.
It was almost impossible to tell the two apart when they were cleaned up. Six foot two, with broad muscular shoulders built from years of hard work had
given them hard bodies the women liked. Jonathan and Jacob couldn’t go to town without the women flaunting their daughters and sometimes themselves before them trying to catch one of the bachelor brothers’ eyes. They both had dark blue eyes and dark brown hair that hung almost to their shoulders. The only difference was Jacob had a slight scar above his left eye from a fight a few years back. They often liked to use their close looks to sample different women. If one liked a woman, he might see if the other did and vice-versa. At that moment though, they looked nothing alike. Jacob was covered in filth from the long ride and had a couple days growth of beard on his face not to mention his hair was down below his shoulders.
“Looks like you could use a bath. Come on in and I’ll get Wally to prepare you one.” Wally was a Chinaman they had found in the back alley a few years ago. He had been drunker than a skunk and smelled like one too. He had come out to work on the railroad and didn’t like it. He had been beaten pretty badly by the time Jacob and Jonathan stumbled upon him while taking a piss outside the back of the saloon in town. They had brought him home and Wally had been with them ever since.
“Wally, can you draw a bath for Jacob here?” Jonathan called out.
“Yes, sir. Yes, sir. Welcome home Mr. Jacob. Wally, have you bath in no time,” Wally said as he moved with lightening quick reflexes to pull out a huge copper bathtub and dragged it into the middle of the kitchen. In a matter of minutes, Jacob was lowering himself into the steaming tub with a groan.
“Damn, that feels good,” Jacob said as he leaned back.
Jonathan sat at the table studying his brother’s tired face. “How did it go?”
“Great. All the ponies made the journey, I have a signed contract with the army to supply them with a hundred and fifty trained horses by the end of the summer, and I got laid while I was in Jackson,” Jacob said with a grin.
“Shit. Was she good?” Jonathan asked rubbing his crotch. Damn, it had been the better part of six months since he had gotten laid. He didn’t like visiting the local brothel but he just might have to before too long.
