by Rita Hestand
Charlie glanced at him and smiled sadly. "She was, wasn't she?"
Clay looked around, his glance landing on the small cemetery. "There is one thing. Are we gonna leave the cemetery here, I mean, do you think we should move them over there?"
Charlie scratched his chin. "It might be something I ought to talk over with Cora. Once we sell it, the owner won't want them buried there."
"That's what I was thinking." Clay agreed.
"I'll take it up with her, and if she agrees, we'll bury them over by Sam, if she don't mind. You are right about that, glad you thought about it."
"Sounds good to me."
After all the animals were squared away, Charlie decided to go into town to put a notice up that he was selling his place. He thought about how Clay still loved the old place, but someday Cora's place would belong to him and Willa and it was much roomier there, plenty of room for some children and Elan.
Thoughts of Elan made him smile. He sure loved that little rascal.
Charlie went inside the bank and right up to Jim Stalwart's desk, the President of the bank.
Jim stuck out his hand and stood up, "Charlie Nelson, it's good to see you, you old rascal, it's been a while."
Charlie smiled and shook hands with him, then sat down in the chair he offered.
"What brings you here, Charlie?" Jim asked as he sat down at his desk.
"Need to sell my land, Jim."
"Sell it. Why Charlie, you've lived there for a long time. I don't understand, you're leaving for good or where are you moving to."
"Cora and I area getting married Jim. Her place is bigger so we're moving there." Charlie informed him.
"Married? Why what do you know."
"Yeah, so we'll be moving to her place, with selling my land I can make some needed improvements on Cora's place."
"You and Clay?" Jim asked.
"Yes." Charlie didn't add Willa and Elan, but he didn't want any trouble today, he wanted to take care of business and go home. Like Clay he didn't have much affection for this town after the fire.
"Getting married, well, this is something to celebrate."
"Not having a big ceremony, gonna marry at her place. You must have heard my place burned down." Charlie waited for his answer, watching his expression all the time.
"Uh, yeah, I did hear something about it, what happened out there?"
Charlie eyed him, he hadn't even said he knew about it, but then Jim was that way. Not usually a nosey man, Charlie remembered.
"I don't know, but it's gone. Me and Clay been movin' our hay and animals all week over to Cora's."
"Well, you're gonna invite me to your wedding, aren't you?" Jim chuckled.
"No, like I said, it's gonna be done at her house and just my family will be there."
"Well, that don't seem very friendly Charlie, we've known each other a long time." Jim told him with a frown.
"Don’t mean it to be unfriendly Jim, but somebody burnt my place down, and I don't feel real friendly right now. Especially with this town. I don't know who did it, but someone did. And I figure someday it will all come out. Guilt has a way of doing that to people."
"Somebody did burn you out then, you say?"
"Well, it wasn't me or Clay."
"Laura said some Indians have been botherin' you out there." Jim added with another frown.
"Did she. Well, I guess she'll have told everyone in town it was Indians."
Jim turned a bright red.
"You don't think it was?" Jim asked leaning forward to hear his answer as he was a might hard of hearing.
Charlie took that information in with a grim look. So, had she started a rumor that the Indians did it? If she did, it could cause more trouble. Naturally, she'd blame them. But Charlie knew better.
"Could be, but I doubt it. There was only one horse track that wasn't ours, and it was shod. Indians don't shoe their horses, Jim."
"No, I suppose they don't. You got any idea who might have done it, then?" Jim, a big man with nearly white hair, and bushy brows studied that for a moment.
"Nope. Ain't gonna worry myself about it. But the wedding will be private, as I have no idea who I can trust anymore. All I can say is that it's a good damn thing Clay wasn't in it when it happened."
"Well, you don't think I… "
"No, I don't." Charlie shook his head. "But I think you might have some suspicions about who did. And you obviously ain't talkin' about it."
"Well Charlie, even if I did have a suspicion, I couldn't prove a thing. And as you know I try to mind my own business and stay out of others, if I can help it."
"I can't prove anything either. Now, would you be so kind to run the ad in the paper for me, I'll pay for it myself. And any inquiries you have about it, tell them there will be one stipulation."
"Oh, what's that, Charlie?" Jim moved in his chair a bit restlessly.
"The water rights must be shared with the community. Otherwise, no sale."
"Well, I think that's a very good idea myself. A lot of people would be upset if you sold to someone that didn't share the water rights with the surrounding community."
"That's how I figure it too, Jim. Ed, my neighbor has been after my property for some time, but he doesn't want to share the water rights, that's why I'm insisting it be put in the contract. I'd appreciate it if you could have that written up for me. But the way things are, well, I gotta get back, we got lots of work to do yet." Charlie told him.
"Of course, I'll take care of everything. Don't you worry, and I'm sure we'll get it sold in no time. Gotta a price in mind?"
Charlie pulled out a slip of paper from his pocket. Jim looked at it and nodded. "That seems fair too. And Charlie," he looked up at Charlie as he was about to leave. "I'm sorry, truly I am."
"Thanks Jim." Charlie nodded and walked out.
The fact that he mentioned Laura's name had Charlie wondering. Was she capable of doing such a thing? He didn't know, but he wasn't going to mention it to Clay. He might get upset and fret about it. And Charlie wanted the weddings to go off well. Still the fact that Laura had probably spread it all over town, was damage enough. And if she intimated it was the Indians, then it could cause a stir too.
There was not one word from Jim about Willa, and Charlie was thankful for that. Charlie was proud that Clay and Willa were marrying, but he didn't figure it was anyone else's business, as he knew how most of the townspeople felt about Indians.
Some of the people didn't acknowledge Charlie as he walked down the boardwalk, but that didn't bother him. He expected it. It would-be all-over town soon that he was selling his place and there would be some raised eyebrows about that too.
Laura ran into him just as he headed for the stable. She was all dressed up in fine silks and had a big smile on her face. Charlie hadn't seen her smile like that in a long while, but he didn't say a word about it.
"Charlie, well, this is a surprise. What are you doin' in town?" She grabbed her chest and stared. It was obvious she was in some sort of fluster. Was it the rumor or guilt that had her acting so nervous?
Charlie eyed her with precision, wondering if she might have torched the place. It was hard to imagine a woman doing something like that, but Laura had an unusual amount of hate in her heart for Indians. He wouldn't put it past her. The way she grabbed her chest, and the color in her face had drained too, made him very suspicious of her.
"Not much Laura, good day to you."
Laura stared after him a long while.
Chapter Nineteen
It was late afternoon and Clay and Willa took the wagon over to the old place. Clay told Cora they were gonna pick up some tools from the shed they might need.
Cora told them she'd watch the baby for them.
But as they pulled out of the yard, Cora looked at Elan, "I know what they are going for, and it don't have anything to do with tools. They aren't foolin' me. Oh, to be that young again!" She cackled as she picked Elan up and spun him in the air. He gurgled at her.
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br /> "Your mommy and daddy love each other very much." She kissed Elan's cheek as he gurgled at her.
Clay was unusually quiet on the trip over, as though something were on his mind. Willa glanced at him several times, but he seemed in a hurry to get there.
She knew it bothered him digging up the graves, she understood how he felt. But knowing they were all together in one place where they'd never be disturbed again was reassuring to Willa.
Willa did not say a thing, but when they got to the place, he pulled her inside the shed, closed the door with his boo,t and took her into his arms and kissed her hard on the lips as though he had hungered to be with her.
She moaned and threw her arms around his neck.
"I just needed to be alone with you." He murmured against her soft cheek. This isn't the best place, but I didn’t want to waste time I might have with you, going to the cave."
"I am glad, I was holding my breath until we got here. I don't think I could be still a moment longer without your kisses." she whispered, kissing him back. "I too needed to be with you." She cried absorbing his kisses with eagerness.
"I didn't bring you here just to seduce you, although that was on my mind," he grinned.
"Oh, then why?" she asked with a sweet smile and a gentle kiss to the corner of his lips.
"I want to be with you, to talk to you about how I feel and how glad I am that we will be married soon."
"I am anxious to be your wife," she told him.
He took her to the back where there was more privacy and he laid her down in the hay. He wasted no time in taking her dress off and cuddling her in the hay. She threw his shirt off and her hands were everywhere. She was no longer a shy lover, but her hunger matched his.
"I can hardly keep my eyes away from you," she cried as she unbuckled his belt.
He sat down and took off his boots. Then thrust his pants in the hay and joined her there. He stared at her and smiled, "This is much better. I wanted to look at you, hold you, kiss you, and make love a few times but I want you to know how proud I am to claim you. The fact that I finally found the woman of my dreams, the family actually, makes me so content. More so than I've ever been. I know some of the valley won't like what we are about to do, but I don't care. I love you with all my heart, Willa. I've never said that to another woman before." He told her as he kissed her lips with a raw hunger in his eyes.
"And I feel the same, my love." she answered, between hot steamy kisses.
"I've never wanted a woman this badly before. Sometimes I feel totally out of control, the way I want you." He whispered sweet words of love as he kissed her lovely breasts. "I think about wrapping my lips around your beautiful breasts and suckling there. Sometimes I'm almost jealous of Elan. But I love watching the two of you. It is such a beautiful thing to behold. I will watch you suckle all our babies."
"I am glad you like watching it. But sometimes, I feel sinful the way I want you. The way I let you watch me bathe, and the pure satisfaction knowing you were there, knowing you enjoyed watching, thrilled me. I have not been this open with any other man."
He cuddled her against him, kissing the top of her head now. His hand going to her breast, kneading it, pleasuring her in every way.
"The other day when you took your shirt off, I wanted you so bad. I saw you and I got hot and wet, I felt shameful, and yet, I could not move away. I had to stare at your body. You love me like no man I've ever known. Your eyes tell me how you feel, and I feel the same. But that day, my blood boiled for you, so I brought you something to drink, to be closer. I hoped you would want me too. But you had work to do that day, and this is a much better plan, to be alone together. I like us with nothing between us. Am I shameful?"
"No, sweetheart you are in love, and so am I. It's natural. I will always want you, Willa." He told her passionately as he entered her eagerly, not bothering with trying to ready her. She was wet and warm and so inviting. Her sweet luscious body welcomed him with open arms.
She bent her body toward him, thrusting herself harder against him, needing the sweet pleasure of his love. He kissed her neck, and shoulders and then her breasts. She moved to welcome those kisses. She moved so he could eagerly touch and kiss as much as he wanted.
The need to be together had brought a quick and steady climax that made her nearly climb the wall. She straddled him now, unable to turn loose of the moment, she was panting and clawing him and nipping at his skin. Her eagerness surprised him, but he smiled at the way she took him over. She kissed him like there was no tomorrow, as the orgasm satiated their need of each other. The look in her eyes mesmerized him. He'd never seen a woman in the throes of passion look so beautiful.
He held her close and they rested. He turned her so her back was to him and held her close, his hand at her breast.
She slept with such a sigh.
They didn't sleep long though.
He woke up and kissed her all over and held her in his arms. "I gotta feeling we're gonna have a lot of babies."
"I would like to have your babies," she smiled temptingly. "I wish I was pregnant now. To carry your child would be such an honor."
"I can't wait to see your belly swollen with them, so I can kiss them before they are born. So, I can thrust myself inside you and welcome them." He smiled at her.
"Your words, they excite me." She smiled tenderly at him.
She leaned her head back and her hair fell over her shoulders in a dark cloud. He loved her hair. He reached to touch her there and run his fingers over the silkiness.
They stared into each other's eyes, then she leaned herself back, so her breasts were thrust toward him, offering herself to him, with a sultry glance. He kissed her there over and over, his hot tongue scorching her nipples and making them stand at attention for him, as his mustache and day-old growth rubbed her raw, with his pleasures. She didn't mind the sweet tortures. Already her body was on fire for him.
"Am I hurting you?" he asked softly.
"My body aches for you," she cried. "I would hurt a million times to have you kiss me there like you do. Your kisses make me hot and wet for you all the time. I am shameless when it comes to loving you."
"Do you think Cora knew why we came here?"
"She knew. A woman her age has had some life of her own, I'm sure. And I've never seen dad act so young. I think they have the same kind of feelings we do, my sweet."
"It is good. For love should be shared like this." She murmured as her hand reached to guide him inside her once more. He growled with pleasure, loving the fact that this woman loved him enough to offer herself up to him so eagerly.
He looked into her love drugged face and smiled, "I've been savin' up my entire life for this." He told her as he moved her hair and kissed her neck. She enjoyed his roughness as much as his tenderness.
"Forgive me for loving you so much," he told her. Then he slowly entered her, teasing her as he pulled out then thrust himself inside again.
She smiled lustfully now, her muscles working to pull him deeper inside. "There is nothing to forgive, for we are of one mind. I am your woman and my body belongs to you. I ache to be yours always."
When the orgasm came, her face mirrored the sweet moment as her mouth came open and her eyes closed, and she met him with his hard thrusts. The joy of the climax enraptured them.
Sweat rippled over their bodies, making them slick to the touch. It was a sensual feel.
Spent they lay in each other's arms, smiling, kissing, and touching each other. They slept for a short while, exhausted from their rough play.
Later they roused and smiled at each other, "You do not think bad of me to want you so." she asked.
"I'd never think bad of you for anything, especially how much you want me to love you," he kissed the top of her head. "I guess Indians fight hard and love hard."
"It would be hard to love someone like Laura, like you do me," she chuckled.
"I could never love her; she is way too prim and proper and I prefer your honest sw
eetness to her phony manners. I like the way you love, primitive and wild. It excites me, and just looking at you, excites me. Knowing you wear nothing under that Indian deerskin dress, makes me want to rip it off you all the time."
"It is not meant to be nasty. But warriors sometimes take a woman in broad daylight in strange places, wearing nothing makes it easier to lean her up against a tree and have his way."
"Did your husband do that?"
"Yes, many times. It was strange, he took me often, but only for his own pleasure. He said once I made his blood boil with needs."
"I can certainly understand that. But part of the pleasure of taking a woman is watching what pleases her!"
"You please me in every way. I will never want another."
"Good, because I feel the same. And it is as it should be."
He got up and pulled her up in his arms, his hands going to her backside to massage her sweet butt. Her butt was perfectly formed, round, firm, and sensationally built. She sighed happily in his arms, her arms going around his ribs. "You like touching me there?" she asked with a smile.
"Very much, you've got a sweet little tush."
"Tush?" she quirked her head.
"Another word for butt."
"When we marry, I want to bathe in the creek with you. I want to play and make love on the banks and play some more. I want you in every way. And every day." She cried with a soft laugh.
"We'll have to be gentler when you get pregnant, but there are many ways to please a woman and I'm sure I will try them all."
"We should save some of it, for our wedding night, don't you think?"
"I don't know. I hate missing a day of loving you."
He pulled her up against him and suddenly she cradled her legs over his waist and opened for him as he plunged himself in the warm depths, she offered him. She was so wet, warm and inviting. She sighed, closing her eyes as he pumped her generously. She let her hair drape over her shoulder and almost to the floor. Her breasts heaved toward him, he kissed her thoroughly there. His eyes watched the beautiful look of her as she seduced him with hot kisses and moved to absorb him into her once more.
