by Robin Gideon
While passing the bar of soap over her breasts, she felt warm tingles emanate outward, and she closed her eyes. Every one of the McGowans seemed thoroughly besotted with her breasts.
They like their woman fleshy, thank God. Every time I even mention going on a diet, they all start complaining. She smiled as her thoughts shifted focus. Maybe I should invent my own diet. I’ll call it the McGowan Diet Plan. She smiled. The McGowan Diet Plan involves lots of meat and protein, combined with an exhausting physical regimen. Provided I don’t die of happiness or they don’t fuck me completely to death, the McGowan Diet Plan is perfect.
She rinsed the soap from her body and limped slightly as she crossed the bathroom to get a towel.
Yes, her life was perfect.
Except for the fact that someone had tried to kill her and had very nearly succeeded, and unless she was very much mistaken, the person who had tried and failed would keep trying until he succeeded.
Chapter Nine
Just seeing Katie’s car, with its smashed windows and bent metal, made a cold dread go through Aaron’s veins. His hands unconsciously tightened into threatening fists. With effort, he tamped down his desire for immediate revenge. He walked around the car slowly.
“Hey there, Aaron, whatcha doing?”
It was the gas station owner. Aaron knew he liked to talk, but he himself wasn’t in any mood to be even remotely friendly.
“I’ve just stopped by to pick up some of Katie’s things from the trunk of her car,” he explained. “It’ll only take me a second, and then I’ll be gone.”
“That other fella took more than a second,” the old man said, hooking his thumbs into the shoulder straps of his bib overalls. “He had all sorts of questions about that gal and what happened to her.”
It was as though a hand was slowly tightening around Aaron’s throat. He turned to face the old man and asked, in as casual a tone as he could manage, “What kinds of questions? What did he look like?”
“Wanted to know if she got hurt. Had an odd look on his face when he found out she gots herself a bushel basket full of luck.” He scratched his beard-stubbled chin contemplatively. “An outsider, he was. Didn’t have real fancy clothes on, but he had one of those fancy ways about him that some city folks have. Not a big guy like you, though. Just a little feller gettin’ kind of doughy ’round the middle.”
“Did he say where he was staying?”
“Nope.”
“Did he say anything else that might help me?”
“Nope. Twitchy fella, though. You’ll know him when you see him. Ain’t from around these parts.”
* * * *
David looked at the owner of Paulie’s Gun Shop and wanted very much to kill him. Paulie was just one more insufferable dumbfuck without the sense to know his betters.
“There’s simply no way I can sell a pistol to you without the state doing a complete background check, sir,” Paulie said for the third time. “I’d lose my license if I did.”
And there was no way that David was going to let this asshole, or anyone else, for that matter, do a background check on him. Would his stint in jail show up? He hadn’t actually been sent to prison, just the county lockup—but that was bad enough.
David put his hands on his hips and forced himself to remain calm. The only way he would ever be able to collect on the debt that Katie owned him was if he remained calm, if he let his brilliant mind deal rationally and objectively with the inferiors that surrounded him.
Turning slowly away from the counter, David looked around the store. The new rifles and shotguns were stored in racks near the front of the store. The used rifles and shotguns were in racks along the back of the store. All of the handguns were in glass cases near the cash register, and all of the cases were locked. David wondered if the glass was breakable, or if it was really some kind of plastic that was impervious to the blows of a hammer.
“You’ve got enough guns here to supply an army,” David said, his tone disrespectful.
“I try to stock up at this time of year. Once deer and elk season starts and then goose and duck season, I can’t keep enough guns on the shelves. And the ammunition just flies out of here.”
“Maybe you’ll have something I might like after all,” David said, nonchalantly tucking his hands into his back pockets as he headed toward the rear of the store. His funds were running low, and if he was going to buy any kind of weapon at all, it would surely have to be used. “I’m in the mood to increase my weapon supply.”
Actually, he didn’t have a supply of weapons. He didn’t own any guns at all, and he found it appalling that there were so many weapons in this store that were openly for sale to whoever could plunk down the money.
He looked at several used rifles. All of them had gleaming, polished stocks and looked to be in immaculate condition. And they were all more expensive than David could afford. While it was true that delivering the punishment to Katie that she deserved was his main priority, it was also true that until he made her suffer, he had to sleep somewhere, he had to eat, and he had to put gasoline in his car. All of that took money.
“Is there anything in particular you’re looking for?” the proprietor asked. “I might be able to steer you in the right direction.”
So what would he admit to hunting? Elk? Deer? Or maybe he’d just be honest and admit that he was hunting the stupid bitch who had ruined his life?
“Deer. Pretty big deer, so the shotgun’s got to have some punch to it.”
“I see,” Paulie replied, cocking his head slightly as he looked at David. “You do much hunting?”
David was about to brag about hunting in Africa and decided his lie would be an overreach. “I used to, but then I was married for a while. She didn’t like me hunting, but now that she and I have parted company, I’d like to get back to it.”
Paulie smiled broadly, and David knew that he’d come up with the right lie to get the man on his side.
“Ammunition these days is a lot more powerful than it used to be.”
“Oh?”
“A lot more deadly.”
David felt a sudden surge of confidence. He didn’t know anything about guns, but with Paulie’s help, he’d know a lot more before he walked out of the gun shop.
“What would you recommend, then?”
Paulie pulled a weapon from the rack, pulled back the bolt to see for himself that it was unloaded, and then handed the rifle to David.
“If it’s deer you’re after, this is all the weapon you need. It’s easy to use, and with the four-power scope, you can’t hardly miss.”
David’s brow furrowed. “The barrel doesn’t seem to have a real big hole.”
Paulie laughed softly. “You’re thinking of the old days when you had to have a bullet as big around as your wrist in order to drop a deer. Those days are long gone, my friend. This is what puts ’em down and keeps ’em there.” He winked conspiratorially. “And it’s a bargain at an even one hundred fifty bucks.”
David had hoped to spend less than that, but the weapon seemed so perfect, and Paulie had given it such glowing praise, that he just had to have it.
“It’s a deal,” he said.
“Fine. You’ve made a fine choice. Now let me tighten down that scope, get you some ammunition, and you can be on your way.”
A shiver went through David as he held the gun in his hands. This time he wasn’t going to set it up so that an “accident” happened. This time he was going to look at Katie through the four-power telescopic sight. He’d be looking right at her face when he squeezed the trigger.
And once that happened, David would finally have settled a score, and justice at last would be served.
* * * *
Katie stood in the kitchen wearing jeans and a man’s strap-sleeved T-shirt that showed the curvature of her breasts, smiling softly, thinking that she wouldn’t mind considering this kitchen as her kitchen for the rest of her life.
On the table were four segregated meals, each
pile containing two large sandwiches wrapped in tinfoil, with similar-sized squares of tinfoil containing freshly baked caramel rolls. In the middle of the table was a large insulated plastic jug containing coffee that had finished brewing only minutes earlier.
Katie inhaled deeply, savoring the fresh scents of caramel rolls and coffee. When she exhaled it was a long, slow sigh of sweet and utter contentment.
It wasn’t just the fantastic sex, though if she wanted to be honest with herself, Katie would admit that sex was a prime source for much of her contentment. It was really nothing more than, well, everything. And everything had names. The names all ended in McGowan.
Katie’s name never would end in McGowan. A woman simply didn’t marry four men. It just wasn’t done. Elk’s Crossing was a long, long way from San Francisco, and what might be accepted in the city by the bay wouldn’t fly in North Dakota.
Bitterly, Katie reflected that in some places in the world, men were allowed to marry more than one woman. In fact, having multiple wives was commonplace. But a woman marrying four men? Unthinkable! Even in Katie’s hometown of San Francisco, one woman marrying four men would cause an absolute uproar.
My love will have to remain a secret, that’s all. As long as I love the McGowans and they love me, I don’t care if I can’t go public with it. What difference does it make if other people don’t know?
In a large wicker basket, Katie packed the lunches she’d prepared for her men then picked up the heavy container of coffee and stepped outside into the midday North Dakota sun. After the recent storms, the air seemed cleaner than it had been, the sun brighter and more welcoming.
She put the food into the bed of a Ford pickup and was just about to get behind the steering wheel when a thought struck her. What if she showed up at the worksite wearing nothing but some sexy lingerie, like she had that first night she arrived at the Circle-Square-Circle Ranch when it had been raining so hard? The look of stunned surprise on all of their faces when she’d removed her raincoat had been nothing short of priceless.
Stop thinking about sex all the time. That’s not the only reason they love you, after all.
That morning, the only concession she had made to overt sexuality was that, for one of the extraordinarily few times in her adult life, she had consciously decided to go outside without wearing a bra. Garrett had teased her that she didn’t need to wear one all the time, especially around the ranch, and though she had pooh-poohed the idea when it was first presented to her, on that morning, she had decided to be a just little naughty, but not a lot. She’d found a strap-sleeved T-shirt in Garrett’s bureau.
The men were working the high-country pasture that was bisected by a slender, slow-moving mountain stream aptly named Meandering Creek. Though Aaron had written down very precise directions on how to drive to the pasture, she was glad that Garrett had punched the coordinates into the GPS unit. Up in the unpopulated Badlands, street signs were a luxury the taxpayers could afford to do without.
The narrow, gravel road split into a Y, and Katie brought the pickup to a stop. The GPS unit didn’t seem to show definitively which direction to take. When she checked Aaron’s handwritten directions, it made it very clear she was to go to the left. Katie smiled. Her men looked after her. Garrett, more tech-savvy than Aaron, had programmed the GPS unit for her. Aaron, an old hand at the unmarked mountainous Badlands roads, had printed clear and precise directions that were easy to follow.
It’s easy to be in love when you’re treated with such respect and with such consideration. How did I get so lucky to have such men in my life?
Five minutes later, when she found the elbow bend in Meandering Creek and saw the four horses loosely tied to the stream’s grassy bank, Katie eased the pickup half off the gravel road and put the transmission into park. The brothers were in the stream, apparently sitting down since they were all in water up to their necks.
Aaron noticed the pickup truck and waved a long arm. All heads turned instantly toward Katie. Then Aaron stood up, revealing several critical facts. The first was that the water was only knee-deep. The second was that he and his brothers were completely naked. The third was that the water was from melted snow high in the hills, and that it was still very cold.
“I thought you were supposed to be working?” Katie called out, opening the truck’s door. Seeing her men all entirely naked made her nipples pebble up instantly, causing distinct dents in the thin cotton T-shirt she wore. “Swimming doesn’t seem to me like working.”
“The horses needed a rest, so we thought we’d take one, too,” Aaron countered with a smile, walking slowly toward the nearest grassy bank. “Besides, it feels good to soak in a cool stream every now and then.”
As Katie approached the men with the wicker basket in the crook of one elbow and the insulated coffee container in the other, she smiled broadly, giving a general nod in the direction of Aaron’s penis. “From the looks of things, I’d say the water’s more ice-cold than cool.”
Blair, Flynn, and Garrett laughed at the jibe.
“You men seem to be of diminished stature as well,” Katie said, making sure she didn’t single out any of her lovers for teasing. She doubted these men were insecure about such things, particularly since they were all gorgeously endowed and spectacularly responsive, but sometimes insecurities lurked even in the most confident of men. “I’ve brought you sandwiches, caramel rolls, and plenty of fresh, hot coffee.”
“Everything smells wonderful,” Aaron said, stepping closer to Katie. With his hands, he wiped water off his arms, chest, and legs. “If I’d have thought this through properly, we’d all have been sun-dried and completely dressed by the time you got here.”
“Trust me on this,” Katie said quietly, her gaze alive on Aaron’s face. “I’m not offended by seeing my men nude. I’m just a little worried that some other women will drive by, see you men, and try to steal you away.”
“Never happen,” Aaron said. “We’re yours. You’re ours. And that’s that.”
“But she’d get to see what I have, and then she’d be envious.”
Garrett shook his head. “You’ve got to get used to Badlands life. We could be here three or four days and maybe not see another truck drive by.”
Aaron started to put his clothes back on, but Katie stopped him. “You’d normally just let yourself dry in the sun, and then you’d put your clothes on, right?”
Aaron nodded. “A man gets a little chafed in the saddle riding in wet underwear.”
“Then please, eat your meal and dry, just as you normally would.” She smiled teasingly. “I promise, no more jokes about cold water.”
“That,” Aaron replied with mock annoyance, “will be greatly appreciated. Now, let’s see what you’ve brought us.”
They sat cross-legged in a circle in the thick grass, with Katie passing out the sandwiches, knowing that Blair preferred the roast beef with spiced mustard, and Garrett was especially fond of summer sausage with Monterey Jack cheese and just a touch of mayonnaise. She passed out blue enameled tin coffee cups then walked around and filled them in turn. It gave her exquisite pleasure to be serving her men, to help them with their cowboy duties in a manner that made them grateful.
For her part, with each passing second, Katie felt the juices flowing more freely to the lips of her pussy, and she experienced that sensation in the pit of her stomach that was always there whenever all her men were around and she could sense their virility. Her nipples, without a bra to hide them, were hard little pebbles of aroused tissue showing plainly through the snug strap-sleeved T-shirt. Her amorous emotions were on display. And the movement of her breasts inside the T-shirt, causing her nipples to rub against the well-washed cotton, was a small but evocative caress that sent little tingles throughout her body.
The men fell into an easy banter. Each one in turn complimented Katie for the quality of his sandwich, and she made a mental note to always pay special attention to which of the brothers liked what. She would have to be caref
ul to never assume that, for instance, just because Aaron liked to have a whiskey once in a while with his beer, that any of the others brothers did.
It’s going to be so damned complicated loving four men simultaneously...but I wouldn’t have it any other way.
As time passed, Katie became more and more aware of the men looking surreptitiously at her, casting sidelong glances when she was looking in a different direction.
They like me going braless.
She rose to her feet and slowly walked around the circle of men, bending low each time she filled a tin cup with coffee. The men all voiced their appreciation, and Katie moved leisurely so they could look at her charms.
She filled Aaron’s cup last, and when she stood upright, he put his hand on her calf, touching her through her jeans.
“Nice to see a city girl like you dressed like a cowgirl,” he said, smiling up at her.
“You like me in jeans and a T-shirt?”
Garrett piped in quickly, “My T-shirt, if I’m not mistaken. And you’ve never looked better. Seriously.”
“I decided to go without a bra.” Katie leveled her gaze directly on the young man’s. “Just for you.”
“I like it.”
Aaron’s deep voice cut in. “Yes, it’s fine for you to go without a bra, but only when you’re coming to see us exclusively. If you went without a bra at the Mountain View Saloon, then I wouldn’t like it.”
Katie raised her eyebrows. “Oh? You wouldn’t like other men looking at me, watching my breast jiggling as I poured beers and served drinks? And if I thought of you men, my nipples would get all hard and tingly, and those other men would see that, too, wouldn’t they?”
She watched color come to Aaron’s cheeks, and she knew that she had piqued his anger a bit more than she had intended. With Aaron and his brothers, jealousy didn’t scare her, didn’t make her feel like she was being controlled without her consent. She had, against her better judgment but of her own free will, consented to be their lover, their woman. Their only woman. If they were jealous and possessive, it was only because they cared, and they wanted to hold on to the good thing they had.
