“What is?” she asked, startled by his lateness.
“We’re going to get your hair cut, and I’ve got the clothes for you here too.” He handed them to her.
She examined the clothes and glanced at him wide-eyed. “You’ve thought of everything.” She sighed.
“Relax, you have nothing to fear at the whorehouse,” Sam assured her. “Everything is set up for you. And they know to be quiet about it, too.”
“I’ve never set foot inside one of those places,” Riley declared. “I’ve been told they don’t wear much clothing.”
“They don’t, that’s a fact.”
“It’s embarrassing.”
“Maybe, but it is safer this way. But there is nothing to worry about. I explained exactly what you need. They agreed to fix you up.” Sam beamed with pride.
“I’ll bet they did…” she replied, firming her lips.
“I didn’t pay them, thought you could do that,” Sam explained. “And remember, once you come out of there, you are a gentleman.”
She nodded. “I only hope I can pull this off, Sam.”
“You’ll do just fine. Since your cousin is a man, it won’t be as hard as you might think. And it sure helps that you got a voice that is low.”
“Do I? I never noticed,” Riley reflected. “Well, I guess since you arranged everything, I’m ready…”
***
Riley hadn’t expected the lavish furnishings of golds and reds, nor the huge dark drapes that hung like stage curtains with their gold tassels. Half-clad women met her as she entered the brothel. However, she’d made her mind up to put occupations aside and accept these women for who and what they were without question. After all, they were doing her a service and being quiet about it too.
Miss Tilda came forward when she was met with a hoard of girls in skimpy clothes. “Well now, you must be Riley.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Riley gulped. Never in all her life had she seen women dressed or not dressed in this fashion and it embarrassed her despite her better intentions.
One girl brushed up against her, her breast grazing Riley’s arm. “Are you a girl or a man?”
“I’m a girl, right now, but I need to leave here a man. Or looking like one.”
“Ooh,” one of them purred at her.
Miss Tilda cleared her throat.
The girls giggled about her. “Want us to make you something for your pants?” One of them giggled.
Miss Tilda scolded them. “Don’t pay them no mind. This is serious business, girls. This young lady has a real problem. Some nasty old men are trying to take her land from her. We won’t let that happen. No sir, we won’t. Get me the scissors, Helen…”
“Yes ‘um.” The girl nodded and ran to the other room.
It was late and there were no customers except a few upstairs, so the girls were very relaxed and happy to help her. They lounged in the red and gold tufted chairs, draping their peek-a-boo gowns about them. Everything in this place must have cost a fortune, Riley thought. She’d never seen such beautiful furniture, and so many flowers.
“You just relax, we’ll get you fixed up.” Miss Tilda smiled.
While Miss Tilda waited for the scissors, Riley looked about. There was a man cuddled up to a young whore, sucking on her breast like a baby. The whore was smiling and pulling his shaft from his pants.
“Why are you with a black man?” the little Asian girl asked.
Miss Tilda slanted the girl called Nannette a thunderous frown. “That’s none of our business.”
Riley shrugged. “We both needed help and we were there for each other.”
“He’s a stud,” the girl cooed. “If you don’t want him, I do…”
“Girls!” Miss Tilda scolded. “We must do everything we can to help Riley, as she owns a sizeable ranch and her foreman is trying to steal it out from under her. We must remember not to speak of this to anyone.”
The whore in the chair with the man pulled on his shaft. “You hear that, Henry? You don’t repeat anything you hear tonight.”
“Yes honey, I hear.”
“You’re a rancher?” one of them quipped.
“Yes ma’am, I am.” Riley nodded. “And I’ve got to look like my cousin from the east in order to get my money and ranch back. Sam agreed to help me, and that’s why he’s involved.”
“It’s a sorry time when a man will take advantage of a poor helpless woman,” Miss Tilda affirmed.
Riley began to relax and look about the place. There were lounging chairs all about, a big piano, and the girls draped themselves over the furniture as she looked about. Surprised by their lack of modesty, she suddenly realized these girls meant no harm and were not judging her, so she quickly determined not to judge them. But it was hard not to stare at the couple making love in plain sight. The girl wrapped herself around the man and what her mouth was doing to him made him squirm and moan like a baby.
Miss Tilda saw her staring and chuckled. “Don’t mind them. Maria has no shame. She’d do it in the street if someone paid her for it.”
Miss Tilda took her hand and guided her into a big chair. “You just sit here and I’ll have you fixed up in no time.” She chuckled. “We’ll fix you up good. By the time you walk out of here, you’ll think you are a man.”
“Thank you, ma’am.”
“Now, tell me about your cousin. What does he do for a living?”
“He’s a doctor…”
The other girls giggled. “Always wanted to bed me a doctor. They are so physical.”
Everyone laughed, including Riley.
“I like your young man, he’s quite the gentleman and very handsome too.” Miss Tilda smiled at her. “Don’t blame you none for latchin’ onto him. He’s a good one, I’ll bet.”
“Good one?” Riley questioned.
“In bed.” She laughed.
“Oh well…” Riley started to refute it, but decided not to. Let them think Sam was taken.
“You give your man half of what Maria gives Henry once a week and he’ll never leave ya.” She chuckled again.
“Oh…he’s not really my young man. We’re just friends, that’s all. He’d never get mixed up with a white girl like me,” Riley explained.
Nanette handed Miss Tilda the scissors from a drawer and nodded as Riley tried to explain.
“Well dearie, if you want to keep him, you should certainly claim him as yours, or he might get taken up by another lady. And I would venture to guess that he’s well worth taking up. Don’t kid yourself, he didn’t have any trouble kissing me.” Miss Tilda winked at her. “And I had a feelin’ he was probably good at a lot more than just kissin’, if you know what I mean.”
Riley tried to smile. “I’ll remember that.”
Sam had kissed Miss Tilda? Of all the nerve.
Miss Tilda laughed out loud and began to cut her hair once more. When she was finished, Riley gazed into the mirror and saw herself. She hated looking like a man. Tears rolled down her cheek.
“What’s wrong, isn’t this what you wanted?” Miss Tilda asked.
“Yeah…it’s perfect,” Riley cried. “It’s just…I look like a man. I look just like a man, don’t I?” Riley turned to face her. “My daddy always said I was plain. This just proves it.”
“Well…isn’t that what you wanted?”
“I guess…”
Miss Tilda sensed her discomfort. “Don’t fret, it will grow out and you’ll be your old self soon, but desperate times calls fer desperate measures. You don’t want these thieves to win, do ya?”
“No, I guess not. Oh…sometimes I don’t know.” Riley broke down and cried.
Miss Tilda sat beside her and removed Riley’s hands from her face. “What are you really fretting about?”
The girls all gathered around her, instantly interested in her story.
Riley glanced at all of them, seeing they all had concern written on their faces. “It’s just hard. I never knew anything but my ranch until my father died. I never r
ealized how much I depended on my dad for my little world. When he died…I was alone. I had no one to comfort me, no one to care. Then Sam came into my life. And I knew right off he was a decent man. When I met him, he was burying a man that was hung. Oh…he didn’t hang him. But he buried him, and said words over him. Then he did the nicest thing: he gave me his horse and gun and told me to go get my money and stand up for what was mine. I never had anyone give me so much, other than my father. I was grateful. But now…when I think on it, I wonder. What will I do when I go back? A woman living in a man’s world don’t make many friends. Everyone in the territory would take it away from me if they could. Anyone would try to marry me to get it. My life seems to hinge on the ranch. Sam was the only one who ever cared about me, other than my father. But he’s black and we could never marry. So there is no future in loving him. But…I do.”
Then she cried openly. Through her tears, she admitted, “I don’t know why I’m telling you all this.”
The girls gathered around her.
Miss Tilda firmed her lips and stood watching them for a long moment, then she went to Riley’s side and she jerked her by the hair so she would look at her.
“Now lookie here, girl. Since you got nobody to tell you what to do, I’m gonna tell you,” she began. “No, better yet, I’m gonna show ya.”
Riley dried her eyes and stared at the older woman.
“Come on,” Miss Tilda directed, pulling her by the hand.
They went upstairs and gently opened a door.
There was a couple inside the room, making love. They were groping each other so hard, they didn’t hear anyone come into the room.
“Watch and learn, honey,” Miss Tilda whispered in her ear.
Riley didn’t want this kind of education, but the curiosity of it all had her staring with her mouth open. The man had his head at the woman’s legs and was laping her with his tongue, as his hands stretched to lightly pinch her nipples. Riley felt herself flush. Despite the embarrassment, she noticed how the girl enjoyed it, so much so she begged for more. Then he slid up her young body and shoved his shaft inside her with a hard thrust. Instead of screaming like Riley figured she might, she sighed as though that was what she wanted all along. The woman’s hips came up to thrust against the man as she scratched and clawed his back. Their breathing was loud and sweat dripped from them, but in a moment they both stopped, hanging in mid-air. Riley couldn’t take her eyes away now. The looks on their faces made her crimson.
“What’s happening?” she whispered to Miss Tilda.
“It’s an orgasm honey, the payoff for a woman, if she gets one.” Miss Tilda chuckled, pulling her out of the room.
“That’s how you make love to a man. Mary Beth is my best whore. She gets off as much as they do.” Miss Tilda smiled. “It don’t matter if they are dirty, mean, or butt-ugly, she knows how to turn a rutting man into a lover, and that is the key to making love. If you learn this now, you will always keep your man.
“If you love this man, then you stick by him. You do what it takes to be with him. If you have to give up the ranch and move, then do it. A good man is hard to find. And he’s worth a hundred men, if he’s the right man. Don’t matter what others say, oh, yeah, it hurts, but it don’t matter. It’s what you feel inside you. Look at him, girl. If he didn’t care about you he sure wouldn’t be hanging around willing to get himself killed over you. And it could happen, easy like. If you love him, stand beside him. Be proud of what you have. I can say this, he’s worth more than that ranch if you ask me. You love him right, he won’t be comin’ here, that’s for sure.”
“How do I know I am lovin’ him right, though? I’ve never…”
Miss Tilda smiled. “Let your heart and soul teach you. When you marry a man, the Bible says you become one with them.”
“The Bible? You read the Bible?” Riley found that interesting.
“Of course I do. God forgives everyone, you know.” Miss Tilda smiled gently at her.
“Oh, I didn’t mean…no disrespect. But what does that mean, you become one?” Riley persisted.
“It means when you have sexual relations with your husband, in God’s eyes the two of you are joined and are of one mind.”
Riley’s mouth hung open. “That’s amazing; I always thought sex was dirty.”
Miss Tilda patted her arm. “Honey, it’s the sweetest thing here on earth if you are with the right person.”
Riley stared at her in awe. Then she looked in the beautiful looking glass. “Oh but look at me, I’m a man now. My own father told me I’m plain and ugly. How can I hold any man?”
“True love looks past all that, honey. If he loves you, you’ll know soon enough.” Miss Tilda smiled. “Besides, you’re not ugly. You have an angelic look about you. I think it’s your eyes, they look so innocent. Too bad you never took up the profession. You’d probably be one of my best girls. Now, let’s get these clothes on you.”
Everyone gathered around, giggling at each thing Riley had to wear. Miss Tilda knew exactly where everything went, and showed her how to relieve herself.
“Hope I don’t get in a hurry…” She giggled.
“That won’t be half as hard as tryin’ to relieve yourself in front of a man.” Miss Tilda laughed.
Riley blushed.
When she was fully dressed, the girls walked out on the porch with her.
“Now, hold your head up high. Don’t let these scoundrels get away with this. You beat them at their own game. You get that ranch back, and you love that man of yours, or I will…” Miss Tilda laughed.
Riley smiled. “I don’t know how to thank you all…”
“Oh wait…one more thing.” Nanette squealed with laughter. She left and brought back a hairy thing on her hand.
“What’s that?” Riley asked.
“That is a mustache…you are simply too clean shaven, besides, it will age you a little,” she assured her.
After applying it, they all giggled and laughed together. Riley wasn’t sure when she’d had so much fun. But the look in the mirror scared her. She did look like a man.
“Here, can you smoke a cigar?” Miss Tilda asked, handing her a cigar and staring at her.
“Never tried.” Riley took the cigar and rolled it between her fingers like she had seen her father do. They all laughed.
“Well, you don’t have to smoke it really, unless you want to.”
Everyone laughed.
“Good luck, honey.” She winked at Riley.
Riley nodded to them all, and smiled as she walked away.
Miss Tilda smiled coyly. “Now, you come back sweet man, there’s plenty of that for you next time…”
Riley held her shoulders up and smiled as she walked out of the whorehouse and into the street.
Sam stood at the end of the street with the reins to a buggy. “Mr. Morgan, are we ready to leave, sir?”
A few gentlemen passed by, gave her a glance and nodded, then went on their way.
Riley smiled, twitching the fake mustache with a finger. “I believe so.”
Sam smiled and waited until Riley got in the buggy before he trotted out of town toward the west.
“You look perfect,” he whispered as he settled in beside her.
“Thanks, Sam…for everything.”
He shot her a quick appraisal and smiled. “My pleasure. Now let’s go get that ranch back.”
Nodog took his place in front of the buggy and led the way.
Chapter Twelve
“So what did you think of it?” Sam asked after they were well out of town.
“Of what?” she asked as she kept her voice steady and her eyes averted.
“The whorehouse,” Sam spoke as though jesting.
“Oh…well, the furniture and decorations were elaborate, never seen anything so grand in my life. Fit for a queen. Reminds me of what my daddy used to call an oasis in a desert.” She smiled. “And Miss Tilda is special, she really is.”
“And the girls?”
“Well.” She cleared her throat. “Once I got used to the fact that no one had clothes on, I got on well. I found them wild, beautiful and hardy. They were all so nice to me, I had to like them.”
Sam threw back his head and laughed.
Riley looked at him as though he’d lost his mind. “What’s so funny?”
“Haven’t ever seen a lady like a whore before. You beat all.” Sam laughed, a glint of humor flashed across his face.
“Well, they were nice…” she explained as her cheeks brightened. “And very kind to me.”
Sam patted her on the leg and she glanced at his action. “I guess you think I’m crazy.”
“No…I think you are about the grandest lady I’ve ever known.” Sam’s eyes raked her with a sensual glance. His glance enflamed her, but she hid it well.
She felt weak-kneed at his compliment. “Thank you, Sam…that’s the sweetest thing you’ve ever said to me…”
His heated glance raked her. “You just caught me in a good mood.”
She smiled and he jerked on the reins harder.
That night they camped and Sam handed her some old clothes.
“What’s this for?” she asked.
He scratched his chin for a minute. “Can’t have you getting those duds dirty before we get there. Sleep in these,” he said.
“Oh yeah, that’s good thinkin’.” She smiled and went behind the bushes to change.
***
“Couple of days this is all gonna be over, you’ll have your ranch back, your money, and I’ll be headed west, like I started,” Sam remarked as he made a pot of coffee and offered her a cup.
Dressed more comfortably now, he noted how she had to roll the legs up on the pants and how she tucked the shirt in to keep the pants up. She took the cup of coffee and sighed heavily. “You’re not interested in being my foreman, then?” Riley asked.
Sam glanced at her misfit outfit, and then averted his attention elsewhere. “Riley, I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
Riley sat down on a dead tree that lay sprawled obviously from the tornado that had hit the area. She sipped her coffee thoughtfully and watched Sam out of the corner of her eye. “Then I guess we’ll be sayin’ goodbye when this is over, huh?”
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