Gone to Kansas Ch. 04

This is part four of Gone to Kansas, you need to start with Ch. 01 in this series for it to make since. Everyone having sex in this story is 18 or older. I do not give permission for anyone to copy, print or publish any part of this story.

Previously in CH. 03

I ate breakfast with Ben and Emma, when we finished Ben said he was off to do chores and wished me luck, shaking my hand, he said he looked forward to seein me soon. Which left a little privacy for Emma and I to say our goodbyes to each other. I swear the more I kissed her the harder it was to get myself to leave, but I managed to pull myself away and get on down the road.

I had about 40 miles to go to get to Aunt Helen's ranch, then I'd find out what I'd gotten myself into. I loaded up my horses then hit the trail West, wishing I didn't have to leave.

**********

The day turned into a scorcher; I was hoping that Kansas wouldn't be as hot in the summer as back home. I was findin out that the weather here sucked just as bad as Missouri. Between the oppressive heat and havin to leave Emma, I found myself in a foul mood, but I still found myself lookin forward to seeing Aunt Helen. She would be the next best thing to bein home and her cooking was just as good as momma's.

I tried to make as good a time as possible and made about thirty miles the first day leavin about ten more miles to go. I got up before the sun the next mornin and took off for Aunt Helen's ranch.

Buddy had thrown a shoe, so I needed to get that taken care of before I went to the ranch. I rode into the little town of Sedan and stopped in front of the blacksmith's shop. There was a big ole boy workin the forge, he looked to be about 6' 2" and weighed about 225 pounds with massive forearms and not an ounce of fat on him.

"Howdy there, got time to shoe a couple a horses today?" I asked the blacksmith as I unsaddled.

He walked out to me and stuck out his hand. "Names Jeramiah, folks around here just call me the Swede, I reckon I could get you fixed up." I took his hand; he had the strongest grip of anyone I'd ever shook hands with. He was about 35 years old and had fairly long hair for a man, it went to just below his shoulders, he reminded me of those Vikings momma used to tell me stories about when I was a young boy.

"Pleasure to meet ya Jeremiah, names Zeb, I'm new to these parts but I reckon I'll be around a bit. Going to be working over at the Carrington Ranch."

When I said that the Swede's demeanor slightly changed, he seemed more distant than at first, I couldn't help but wonder about that.

The Swede got to workin and I stayed with him, tellin him about my journey, when I got around to mentioning that Helen and Tom were family, he seemed to be less tense around me. I went on to tell him I was comin out to help Aunt Helen run her ranch, that she was havin problems with a few of the hands and that I was there to try to straighten things out.

When I finished my tale, he looked up at me and said, "Mrs. Carrington is a very nice lady, I hope you can help her. I used to do some work for them before the trouble began and I thought the world of your aunt and uncle. But I need to warn you, things on that ranch ain't been right for a while, even before your uncle's death. Rumor is some of those boys are outlaws and have been rustlin cattle. Your aunt and uncle didn't know anything about it but since they got your uncle out of the way, I'm not sure how much they try to hide from your aunt. Rumor is that they've pretty much takin over all operation of the ranch and just ignore Mrs. Carrington. I haven't been out there since the death of your uncle; the two hands she has left made it clear they didn't want strangers pokin around."

"I figured she'd get the law involved with something like this." I replied.

"Well, I'm sure she would have if there was any law that would do somethin in these parts. Sedan has a town Marshal, but he won't leave the town to do anything, and we don't have a sheriff for the county in these parts yet. So don't plan on no help from the law, it's pretty much nonexistent."

"Well thanks for the heads up on the ranch situation."

"No problem, although I'd appreciate it if you kept our conversation just between us, like I said I think a lot of Mrs. Carrington and you bein here to help her is the only reason I gave you the information. If word got out, I was talkin bad about the boys out there I'd probably be the next one dead. Good luck to ya Zeb!"

"Thanks again Swede." I said as I handed him three dollars for shoeing both my horses. It was barely after noon, when I rode outa town and headed to the ranch.

While ridin to Aunt Helen's I munched on some jerky and dried fruit so I wouldn't have to take time out for lunch. It was hot and the ground was dry, I was raisin quite a bit of dust, so I wouldn't be too hard to spot from a distance if someone was of mind to do me in before I got there. I figured it was unlikely though since no one new exactly when I was a comin, or even if I was.

I rode into Aunt Helen's at about one in the afternoon, I'd never been there before so I was takin everything in on the way. She had a decent size house; it was made of field stone and there was a covered breezeway between one half the house and the other half, it also had a decent size covered front porch. Not far from the house was a barn with a lot fence and a corral nearby. There was also a bunkhouse near the corral. In the middle of all that there was a small windmill with a pipe that ran water into what looked to be a man-made water tank, used to water the stock, it was about twelve feet in diameter and probably a little over two feet deep.

I rode right up to the house, there was no sign of anyone, not that I was expectin there to be since it was mid-day, I figured all the hands should be out workin. I tied my horses off to the front porch and went on up the steps and knocked on the door. I was gettin ready to knock again when the door came open, it was Aunt Helen. She took a look at me and said, "Zeb, is that you?"

"Yes'm it surely is." I said with my hat in my hand and a big smile on my face. Aunt Helen let out a squeal and jumped into my arms. "Oh Zeb, I'm so thankful you're here!"

After she hugged me Aunt Helen looked me over, put her hand up to her mouth and said, "Oh my gosh Zeb, I wouldn't have recognized you if I passed you on the street! You've grown so much since the last time I've laid eyes on you!"

"Well, it's been a few years since we've seen each other and I was only about half grown then," I said.

"Well, your definitely full grown now! My goodness Zeb, your mother told me you were cuttin ties for a livin, looks like that hard work made a man of you!"

I was embarrassed and turned red at Aunt Helen's complement, Aunt Helen looked me up and down again and invited me in. Aunt Helen was a good lookin woman and I doubted she'd be unmarried for long with the looks and body she had. She looked a lot like my mom, the only real difference being her age, she was younger, and her hair was strawberry blonde.

Aunt Helen told me to have a seat at the table and she'd get us a cup of coffee, then fill me in on all that happened since Uncle Tom's death. She brought my cup over and sat across from me, "Zeb, why don't you tell me about your trip before we get down to business."

So, I told Aunt Helen all about my adventures gettin to her place, leavin out the killins and the snake part, I didn't want Aunt Helen feelin bad for my trouble. I did tell her about Emma and Ben and that I hoped to make a trip back to see her as soon as things settled down here.

"My Zeb sounds to me like you're pretty sweet on this Emma girl," Aunt Helen replied.

"Yeah, I'd be lying if I didn't admit I have strong feelings for her Aunt Helen, you and momma are gonna love her."

We'd done gone through our first cup of coffee so Aunt Helen got up to get us each another cup. I took in my surroundings, we were in the kitchen, it had a huge rock fireplace that you could cook in or heat your water, there was also a wood cookstove, the table we sat at could seat around eight people and there was a copper tub in the corner off to the side of the fireplace for bathing. On the back wall was a door to what I guessed to be Aunt Helen's bedroom. There were two doors into the kitchen from outside, one from the breezeway and one from the front porch. Uncle Tom's rifle was propped in the corner by the door to the front porch and his pistol was layin on the kitchen table.

Aunt Helen sat back down, handed me my cup and said, "well I'll fill you in on all that's been going on here since Tom was killed."

Aunt Helens story didn't have much more information than what I'd learned or been told already other than when Charlie Price came back, he gave Aunt Helen everything belonging to Uncle Tom except the $20 he had on him.

"So, tell me about what's going on here now, is Charlie still workin for you?" I asked.

"Well Zeb, Charlie is still here along with another guy named Clive Baker, I believe he and Charlie are pretty tight. I had another hand, a young man named Jeremy Young, but he went back to his daddy's ranch once Tom was killed. I don't believe he got along well with Charlie or Clive, seemed to be a lot of tension. It's a shame because out of the three Jeremy could outwork the other two put together."

"Are Charlie and Clive staying in the bunkhouse yet?"

"Yeah, they are, I reckon they're out checkin the herd right now, but I expect they'll be back around sundown or so."

"How are you set for money; do you think you can make it till next summer to sell stock?"

"I think we can make it till then, but I want you to take a look at the herd and see if there's enough steers you could gather up that might have been missed during the last roundup to make it worth making another drive. If there is I want it done. If you can't find at least twenty head it won't be worth the trouble. I don't want to sell my breedin stock."

"Speaking of breedin stock, about how many head of cows and heifers do you think you should have?"

"Well Zeb, the last time Tom and I talked about that was last fall when we were calving. Tom said we had around a hundred and twenty-five cows and heifers that would be of age, so I'd guess we should have close to two hundred bred cows and heifers right now that will be calving this fall, plus about fifty young heifers that haven't been bred yet."

"Well, that gives me a number to work with, tomorrow I'll start ridin your range and see what kind of count I can come up with. How many acres you got here Aunt Helen?"

"We've got a thousand acres of our own, but there's some unclaimed land to our Northwest that we use for pasture as well. Normally we'll run the cattle on the far pastures through the late spring and all summer, then come fall we move them closer to be able to keep an eye on the calving. That and so we don't have to ride clear across the country to break ice for them once it freezes."

"Momma said in your last letter that Charlie and Clive were bein a little forward and free with you, tell me about that."

"Well, not long after Tom was killed Jeremy left the ranch, I expect he was run off. Charlie and Clive began acting a little different around me, little things like staring and not lookin away or even acting ashamed if I caught them staring. They also would make little comments about me needin a man and such, nothin to offensive but between that and their leering eyes it's been makin me a little nervous."

"So, are they still doin what needs to be done on the ranch?"

"Well Zeb they seem to be but to be honest I've been too nervous to saddle up a horse and check on things. I feel fairly safe here at the house but ridin out by myself with all that's happened lately, well, I just haven't gotten the nerve up to do it."

"Well Aunt Helen, I'll tell you what, tomorrow we'll both take a ride, and you can show me the layout of this place and get you out for a long overdue ride. How does that sound to you?"

"That sounds wonderful Zeb, I would love to go out tomorrow!"

"Have you told Charlie and Clive about me comin here to be foreman?"

"No, I figured it best not to give them any information about anyone comin just in case they did have something to do with Tom's murder, I didn't want anyone lying in wait for you."

"That was good thinkin Aunt Helen. Alright then it's settled, tomorrow mornin we'll head out after breakfast. Oh, I still need to put up my horses and unload my gear, should I put it in the bunkhouse?"

"Oh no Zeb, I have plenty of room here in the house. You can take the front room across the breezeway, the back one has supplies and such in it so it's pretty much full. I'll get started on supper while you get settled."

"After I put up my horses and gear, I'm going to check things out right around here. What time should I be back for supper?"

"Oh, why don't you come in about 6:30 and we'll eat."

"Sounds good, I'll see you then."

I walked out to unload everything from my horses and brought it to my room. There was a bed with a nightstand and a lamp. There was also a desk with a chair in the corner, the desk had its own lamp as well. Along the outside wall was a small woodstove that provided heat in the winter.

After unloading my things, I took my horses to the barn, unsaddled them, then brushed them down and turned them loose in the corral. I checked out the condition of the corral and barn then walked over and checked out the windmill and water tank. Most everything I saw seemed to be in good repair at least.

While I was checkin out the water tank I saw some dust raisin from the West, I could make out two riders, one on a dun-colored horse and the other on a sorrel with a white splash on its face. As they neared, they slowed their mounts and stopped at the corral, both men appeared to be in their late thirties or so. About that time, they noticed me and rode over to where I was, neither one appearing all that happy to have a visitor.

They stopped their horses about twenty feet away from me, both men were about average size and appeared to be in pretty good shape, both had pistols on their sides and rifles in scabbards on their mounts.

The man on the sorrel horse had black hair, he was lean, clean shaven and had a rawboned look about him. The other man on the dun horse had sandy colored hair, looked a little more unkempt with about a week's growth on his face and was built similar to the black-haired man, both being about 5' 10".

The Black haired one spoke first. "Names Charlie Price, I'm the foreman of this here outfit, what brings you to our ranch boy?"

"Pleased to make you acquaintance, I'm Zeb Schmidt, Mrs. Helen hired me on to help out here on the ranch."

Charlie couldn't hide his irritation. "Hired you on, what the hell are you talkin about boy, she never mentioned anything to me about hirin anybody. Clive, did you ever hear about a new hand?" Charlie asked lookin at the sandy haired man.

"No, can't say I did," said Clive.

"Well guys the truth is she didn't just hire me on here, I'm her nephew and she hired me to be the new foreman. I hope we can work together and that there won't be no hard feelins."

I could tell by the look on their faces that they were pissed off about this new development, but I gotta hand it to Charlie, he didn't throw a fit he just kinda smiled an evil smile and turned his horse back to the corral, Clive followed and I walked over to the corral as well to let them know what I was expectin from them, figured I might as well lay it all out at the get go.

I got up to where Charlie and Clive were unsaddling and said, "tomorrow mornin Mrs. Helen is going to show me the lay of the land and where all her range is. She mentioned makin another trail drive with a herd of steers if there were enough to make it worthwhile. Do you all know about how many head of steers are still out there available to take?"

"Boy, there ain't no other steers available, they was all takin on the last drive and we won't have any ready to sell till next summer." Charlie said as he was takin off his saddle.

"Well, I just figured there'd be a mess of steers that were passed over or missed from the last drive, hard to believe they were all rounded up," I said.

Charlie got a sour look on his face like he wanted to tell me where to go but got himself under control. "Boy, I reckon we'd know if there were any steers left on this ranch, since we been workin it for the last several years. I don't know how the hell you ended up bein foreman, seeins you never even set foot on this place!"

"Well, truth be told Charlie, Mrs. Helen's been a bit shook up by the murder of her husband and just isn't real sure who she can trust these days, so I came out here from Missouri to help her out."

"Missoura, huh.... well, I guess that about figures. Clive, you hear that, the boys from Missoura! Don't that just beat all, not only are we expected to take orders from a wet nosed kid, to heap more shit on the pile, he's from Missoura! Damn boy, I just don't know if I can stomach all this." Said Charlie with a hateful scowl on his face.

"Well, you all think on it tonight, but the fact of the matter is, I am the foreman, and this ranch will be run the way I say it'll be run. If you all don't think you can live with that, then just draw your pay and ride on." I left them there by the corral and headed back to the house.

Once inside I told Aunt Helen that I had words with Charlie and Clive and that it wouldn't surprise me if they drew their pay in the morning and left.

"When you go to pay Charlie take $20 off what you owe him, I talked with the sheriff in Baxter Springs, Uncle Tom had $20 in his pockets that Charlie took to return to you."

"I never got any money from Charlie when he returned, but I sure don't want to start no trouble by not paying him what he thinks is comin to him either."

"You cut $20 from his pay, and I'll deal with it if he throws a fit, don't you worry none about that."

Charlie and Clive headed for the bunkhouse, neither one in a very good mood upon learning of the changes coming to the ranch.

"Damn Charlie, whata we gonna do about this pecker head comin in here from Missoura and fuckin up our little operation," said Clive.

"Well Clive, we'll take care of this here little problem in due time. I don't think we should stir anything up just yet though. I'm thinkin we'll just ride on outta here and wait a month or so then we can take care of this little bastard. If we wait a bit, no one will place us with the killin, especially if we're not seen around these parts for a while. Tomorrow mornin we'll draw our pay, pretend there's no hard feelins and act like were just leavin for something else, but we'll be watchin for our chance. Sides we got some more cattle we can move to keep us occupied. We'll drive that breedin stock we're holdin in the dead-end valley down south to the Territories and sell them, then we'll be set for a while."

"You mean to sell the breedin stock to the Miller's? They ain't a gonna pay us what they're worth."

"Yeah Clive, I know we won't get but maybe a third of what they're worth, but it's quick money and we don't have to worry about findin a buyer that don't ask questions. Besides them Miller boys are fairly close, and they'll be happy to buy, they're always lookin for more cattle to move, they've got quite the operation going down there."

"Yeah, I guess you're right Charlie, speakin of breedin stock, I sure do hate to walk away from here, that woman is one fine piece of pussy, I sure did want to sample some of that!"

"Well, we get rid of the cattle and the boy, and we might just have to come back and pay ole Mrs. Carrington a special visit. Maybe show her what a couple of real men can do, why I bet that little bitch will practically beg us to service her after we break her of her uppity ways!"