“James, have you been playing with my wife?” Dominic poured a cup of coffee and sat back. Matthew was sitting on Garnett’s lap playing with the cards.
“I didn’t touch her.”
“If she affects you that fast without touching, I’m going to have to leave you on the top of the list.” Meeks smiled.
“Sorry, but you know with me it has always been watching a woman’s reaction.” He blew smoke rings which Matthew loved to watch. “She has become absolutely erotic.”
Mirisa came out with the dishes and put them down. Dominic looked at her and tried to be unbiased but he couldn’t. He asked her if she needed help and she said no she’d had enough help tonight. She turned to go back to the kitchen when Matthew called her. She turned. “What sweetheart?”
“James said you are 'rotic.” Her expression was priceless and James almost died. Dominic laughed so hard he had tears rolling down his face.
“Mirisa.” She turned to Meeks knowing.
“Alexander?” It was the first time she had ever used his given name and they all looked at her. Meeks smiled because she always used it if others couldn’t hear.
“Never mind.” Meeks sat back and decided not to call her bluff.
“Matthew, would you like to help me with dinner?” He crawled down off of Garnett’s lap and ran after her.
They were talking about the plans for the ride when she came back out with a large tray fresh pork tamales. They ate late because of the swimming and Matthew started to fall asleep in his plate so Dominic picked him up and put him to bed. Mirisa cleared off the table as they set up to play cards.
Meeks slid her shot glass over and she let it sit just sipping on it through the first hour. Mirisa wasn’t winning so she took money from her husband. “Mirisa, when you run out of money you are out of the game.”
“Dominic, I will never run out of money so I’ll always be in the game.”
“You think it’s an endless supply?”
“Obviously, since I’m always in the game.”
“Mirisa.”
“I love the way you say my name.” She anted, raised and asked for two cards.
“Mirisa, what game are you referring to?” She looked at her husband.
“The only game that all of you seem to enjoy playing.” She folded and went to check on Matthew.
“Dominic, I think it’s your turn.” Dominic looked at James before turning back to his cards. Mirisa had been quiet since James had told him that she had overheard their conversation and yet she asked no questions. He knew she was struggling with what she suspected but he knew she wanted to believe in their love.
Mirisa came back in and sat next to Garnett. She picked up her shot glass and finished it. They knew tonight she was going to torture all four of them and they couldn’t blame anyone because they were usually very careful about what they said around her. Dominic folded and asked her if she would get him another cigar. She got up and brought back several and put them on the table along with a new bottle of whisky. She sat down next to him but was up on her knees. She didn’t win often and she drank very little but it didn’t matter because they really were all having a lot of problem just sitting at the table with her.
After a few hours they threw in the towel and decided to call it a night. She sat back as they got up and gathered up their shirts. “I think I like all of you a lot better in just your jeans.”
Garnett was buckling his belt and stopped. “I prefer you in just the moonlight.”
Her eyes were still very dark green and she smiled. “I think I understand the blonde in San Antonio now.”
SUMMER 1868
THEY got up early and began getting the horses ready for the ride. Mirisa spent weeks drying fruits and vegetables for Matthew and since she was riding the Bay she could use the larger saddlebags to carry everything. On their last trip to Dallas, she had the seamstress take in new jeans to fit Matthew and he loved them so much that he wouldn’t wear anything else. Meeks made a silver belt buckle which Matthew wore with pride. Matthew also loved to be stark naked whenever he could. His clothes and food actually took up more space than hers but she was more concerned with being prepared for anything with him where she had learned the first time what she could do without.
They started out slow picking up speed when they thought he was comfortable. They were soon traveling at an easy gallop. The fields were pretty flat with an occasional rolling hill so they rode side by side. By the end of the first day, Garnett discovered that Matthew took his nap as though he were at home. He merely leaned back into Garnett and slept. They stopped before the sun set and made camp on the open trail. Because there was no water and only scrub trees it was a very different experience for Mirisa. Matthew wanted to know when they were going home but he ate well and curled up in his sleeping bag with Dog and went to sleep early. Mirisa lay down with him and fell asleep almost as fast.
The boys sat up late talking and drinking. They had never ridden in this part of Texas but once they reached the Red River they knew the trail well. Right now they were heading northwest toward the panhandle where it met the Oklahoma Territory. There were a lot of small towns west of Dallas but they were more interested in living off the land. Mirisa agreed to wear her side arm only if she could wear jeans instead of her gauchos. When she came out that morning in tight jeans none of them said a word but decided that James wasn’t going to do well on this trip at all especially considering they always avoided the temptations of small towns. It took them six days of riding to reach the river where they set up a more permanent camp on a plateau that was about ten feet above the river. There was a large sandy bank where the river split off and headed south in a small stream.
James set up the fire pit before he took Matthew out to spear fish for dinner while Mirisa sat on the ledge of the rock in the sun watching them fish. When the men came back from hunting, they hung the birds on a low branch gutting them before throwing the innards into the fire for Dog. She turned back around and realized that James and Matthew had stripped down to swim.
They all took off their clothes and went into the river as she sat on the rock and watched them. James came out first and she just looked away as he slipped on his jeans. They were all so well defined but she felt like a hungry fish weighing whether to take the bait.
Matthew yelled up at her to swim with him. "It’s getting too late darling. I’ll swim with you tomorrow."
“I’m hungry." Mirisa got up, took a towel off the line and walked down to him as he came out of the water. She made Matthew sit down in front of the fire ring and went over to help James with the dinner. Meeks came over and sat behind Matthew and asked what they were having for dinner.
"We caught big fish and James is cooking them. James said we can’t eat the innards, right James." Matthew didn’t like most meat but he loved fishing. "We’re going to dry some for the ride. Do you want some?"
Mirisa brought over a plate for Matthew and Meeks before she fixed a plate for Dominic and Garnett. Dominic hadn’t had a moment alone with Mirisa in almost a week and he thought tonight he really needed time alone with her. Garnett cleared his throat and Mirisa untangled herself and walked back to get another plate.
"Mirisa?" She looked across the fire at them. "Don’t you think you need to start eating?"
She hesitated for a moment but instead of responding she walked over to her saddlebags and took out a change of clothes and took down a towel from the tree limb.
"Where’s mommy going? It’s too dark for the river." He looked around Meeks to watch her walk out of sight. “Daddy, where’s mommy going?” His little lip started to quiver and Garnett just couldn’t help but laugh.
“She’ll be right back Matthew; she just went to change clothes.”
“She can change with us.” They all smiled.
“No, she’s a girl.”
“No, she’s my mommy.” He finished his dinner but kept looking back toward the river waiting for her to come back. He was chewing
on his lip until he saw her. Matthew put his plate down and ran to her. She bent down and he wrapped his arms around her crying.
“That is definitely his mother. Guess we need to work on his independence a little more.” They watched as she put her stuff away, fixed a plate of fish taking Matthew’s hand and walked out to the ledge with him. They could hear her singing but couldn’t tell what the song was though it sounded French. Dominic walked out picking up his sleeping son and put him in his bedroll.
He mounted his horse bareback and pulled her up in front of him. They rode stopping on the top of a hill that led into a deep valley. He slid off and lifted her down. She was in such a soft quiet mood and though she responded it was very passive. They slowly rode back to camp.
The boys were playing cards and asked if they wanted in so they both sat down and Dominic played while Mirisa just watched. Her quiet moods didn’t come often but they knew enough now to just let her have them. She fell asleep in Dominic’s lap so he asked Garnett to put her next to Matthew. Garnett laid her down touching the curl on her cheek before he reached over making sure Matthew was covered.
“Garnett you carry your love on your sleeve.” Meeks dealt the cards and sat back.
“I don’t think I’ve denied my feelings from the moment I saw her.” He picked up his cards and anted.
“Do you guys realize that it is my wife you keep discussing?” He anted and upped the bet.
“Do you realize that we’re willing to play cards for her?” James met the bet and Meeks upped it and took two cards.
“It would have to be awfully high stakes.”
Meeks lit his cigar and took the cap off the canteen passing it. “I believe the stakes are already high.”
Dominic met the bet. "Meeks you know bluffing only works if the man across from you isn’t holding a good hand?"
Meeks laughed. “I know what’s in your hand and I don’t suggest you call my bluff.”
Dominic looked at him before turning back to his cards. The one thing they knew about Meeks was that he never bluffed whether he was sitting at a table or in real life.
At the end of the week they stocked up on food and were ready to cross the river and head west. Mirisa took Matthew down to the river to swim on their last afternoon. He would jump off a large limb that hung over the water and swim to her returning to the tree. You could hear him yelling and laughing each time he got ready to jump. Meeks was sitting on the ledge watching them and Garnett came out with the canteen and joined him. Matthew spent so much time in the water that he was golden brown from head to toe. Dominic and James came out and sat down.
James lit a cigar and passed the canteen. “I don’t think my mother ever did anything that motherly in her life.”
Dominic took the canteen. “I never knew mine.” He took a swig and passed it to Meeks.
“I was raised by my father’s wife as his illegitimate son. Something she never let either of us forget.”
Garnett took the canteen. “I don’t think mine ever looked like that.” They all looked at him and smiled.
Matthew saw them and yelled for them. For obvious reasons they didn’t swim when she was in the water and it had nothing to do with how they felt. Matthew swam back to her climbing out of the lake and grabbed his jeans and put them on wet.
“Matthew, you need to dry off.”
“No, it’s okay to be wet.” He ran up the slope and sat down with the boys. Dominic got up and walked down handing her a towel as she came out. He was talking to her and they could tell he was propositioning her. She kissed him before walking up to the camp. They all got up and Meeks picked up Matthew throwing him over his shoulder. They stopped at the edge of camp because she was standing next to her horse with her back to them in only jeans and was reaching for a blouse.
“Dominic, I will give you my share of the ranch.” She put on the blouse and turned as she was buttoning it.
“For what James?” They watched as she buttoned only half of the buttons, undid her pants and tucked it in.
“For…” She looked up and smiled, turned around and picked up her boots.
Dominic hit him upside the head as he walked by. “She’s just a woman James.”
“Matthew, put on your boots and a shirt.”
“Okay, but they don’t wear their shirts so I’ll put on my boots.”
“Matthew.” She handed him his boots before she looked at Meeks. “You are being an extremely bad influence on him.”
Meeks put him down, put his arm around her and pulled her up to him and softly spoke to her. “I think you are about to cross my line sweetheart.”
“We’ll see.” She slid out from his grip and walked over to start dinner. His touch drove her absolutely crazy. She had gone out earlier with Matthew and found berries so they made sweet berries with biscuits. They dried the rest for traveling. She fixed Matthew dinner and then sat down behind him and combed his hair.
On the third day into Oklahoma, they stopped early in the evening and set up camp. “How far are we from Amarillo?”
“I think we have maybe another day’s ride maybe a day and a half. We’ll have to decide whether to travel west or to head due north from there.
“Is that a town?” Mirisa was taking the saddle off her horse.
“It’s more of a crossroads for the cattle drives. Not somewhere I would allow you and Matthew to visit.” He took her saddle and put it with the others. “We’ll probably skirt it and the boys can go in and get supplies.”
Both Mirisa and Matthew were tired from the long day. They had a light supper and she fell asleep early with Matthew.
“We need to get more fruit into her during the day. I don’t know how she can be so good at taking care of Matthew and constantly ignores her own needs.” James was always fussing over proper eating on the trail. Mirisa had brought back Cook’s traveling wafer recipe and they had experimented with it to make it better but they had also found a great recipe for the jerky that kept it chewable. They set up a cooking shed and Senior Gomez made the jerky from the marbled strips of beef after Tom butchered a cow.
They reached Amarillo in a day, skirted it heading north so that they camped northwest of the town near a small lake that looked like it was not in the cattle paths. The land which seemed to stretch forever was so flat and dry looking and the tumbleweeds were still green and planted in the caramel colored dirt. Mirisa asked how long they were staying and Dominic said only overnight. Dominic stayed in the camp with Mirisa and Matthew as the boys headed for town. It was nice to be alone for the evening. They rode back into camp as Dominic was fixing coffee. Matthew and Mirisa were still asleep curled around each other.
Heading due north, they frequently spotted cattle drives in the distance. Even though there were small settlements populated by a lot of men working the drives as well as settlers setting down stakes, the countryside was basically flat but the closer they got to the mountains the more magnificent the land became. To avoid the Comanche and Cheyenne Indians living between the panhandle, Oklahoma and the eastern part of Colorado they skirted the area before heading west again. This route took them closer to the larger mining settlements. Mirisa asked why they wanted to move to someplace even they considered dangerous and they told her it was the only way they could get a good piece of land for a future ranch.
They followed the river on the south side heading west slowly toward Denver. Late in the afternoon, they came to a small log cabin that sat on a hill overlooking the river on an outcrop about fifty feet above the riverbank. They all dismounted and tied up their horses as Mirisa took her son’s hand walking over to the edge and looking out over the expanse of the green land. She squatted down and pointed as Matthew followed her direction finding a large herd of deer. James walked up and handed Matthew the binoculars and his reaction was instantaneous.
“Momma, look how big they are.” He pointed but didn’t share the binoculars that James was still holding for him. James told him to sit before putting the binocular
s in his hands showing him how to adjust them before he headed back to the cabin.
Meeks opened the door and shutters letting in the light which filtered through the undisturbed dust. The heavy musky smell filled his lungs in a not so unpleasant way that brought back memories of the many days on the trails. The cabin had one large room with a stone cooking fireplace a small kitchen and hand carved furniture. To one side there were three large sleeping areas with built in dormitory style beds. James cut the ties on the rolled up mattresses letting them flop open to air out. He went through the cabinets taking a mental count on what they would need from town.
It took them an hour to sweep out the year’s worth of dust and dirt, clean out the spider webs and wash down the furniture. Meeks gathered up firewood and started a fire before he sat down on the porch lighting a cigar. Mirisa finally stood and took her sons hand as he chattered about the animals. She climbed the steps and went into the cabin. James had put on a pot of coffee and was washing all the dishes in the cabinets. Mirisa looked around and thought the cabin was similar to the old cabins on her father’s land except this one had a wood floor instead of dirt. She asked James if there was a wash tub with running water and he told her it was right out the back door in the clearing. By the time the sun had swung over the cabin, the bedding had been washed and hung out to dry and the kitchen was clean.
Mirisa found Matthew curled up on one of the beds with his bedroll wrapped around him and dog at his knees. She pulled the curtain thinking that men just didn’t seem to care about privacy since there were no doors and the only facility was a little outhouse a hundred yards away from the cabin. She poured a cup of coffee and walked out onto the porch. On one end was a swing and across the front were wooden chairs. They were all kicked back with their feet on the railing drinking and enjoying their own company. Mirisa sat down on the steps and watched the ducks floating along the shore occasionally diving before coming up with small fish and aquatic grasses.
The Visitor_Texas 1863_1869 Page 22
