The Black Rose Legacy Ch. 02

Listening to the young lovers consummate their relationship, my desire for another go-round with Daisy kicked up even further. Black Rose and Haggerty had been in the plank house when I'd first coupled with Daisy, but since I'd been injured initially, I'd had time to get used to the idea of coupling while my in-laws lay only a few feet away. Certainly the two of them had no shyness or reservations, as they'd gone at it nightly while Daisy nursed me back to health after finding me injured.

Unlike me, however, Seamus had been raised in towns and cities and was used to the mores of conventional human society. I suspected if Daisy and I were in the plank house, Seamus might be intimidated and wouldn't be able to perform. To make sure he gave his all to my daughter's pleasure, I grabbed a dried deerskin hanging on the side of the plank house for us to lay on, and took Daisy into the woods.

We found a clearing with the warm sun in just the right angle. There was a small (for a redwood tree) 4' diameter log laying on the ground; I put down the deerskin and sat down with my back against it, then pulled Daisy down nest to me so her body was perpendicular to mine and her head was in my lap. As we rested together in the sun, I stroked the fur on her shoulders and arms. In a low voice, I murmured, "I love you so much, Daisy. You've given me three beautiful daughters and way more love than I deserve. A man couldn't ask for a better wife."

Daisy was quiet for a moment, then sat up, turned and embraced me. She tilted her head down and kissed me, and I felt her fingers undoing the buttons on the fly of my denim pants. My right hand went south and squeezed her golden-furred bottom, while my left hand found one of her breasts and began playing with her nipple. We kissed like that until our passions were running high, then she whispered, "Take me, husband."

I didn't need to be asked twice. Standing, I quickly removed my shirt and kicked off my pants and pulled her to her feet, then bent her forwards over the log. Pulling her thighs apart, I smelled her excitement as my hand guided my stiff manhood into her and began to couple with all the passion I could muster. Holding her hips firmly in my hands, I took her as requested, grunting and moaning incoherently with pleasure. For her part, Daisy pushed back with her hips, urging me on, her happy cries answering mine. Too soon I felt my release, due to the unbridled lust of our coupling. I shuddered as wave after wave of my juice coated her insides.

Now barely able to stand, I moved her off the log and back onto the deerskin, where we embraced in a naked pile, bathing in the light of the sun and the afterglow of our coupling. For a moment I flashed on the memory of a conversation I had with a bar girl in Seattle one time. The bar girl had propositioned me, and I'd responded that coupling with her held no interest for me because of what I had waiting for me back at home. As I lay with Daisy in this clearing, I knew that no truer words had ever been spoken.

As we lay together dozing in the sunshine, Tulip's high voice came floating through the air. She was having an interesting conversation with her new suitor.

"Declan, you can kiss me and say all the pretty things you want, but Daddy says words are cheap. I'm not going to couple with you until you prove you'll love me forever." I swelled with pride hearing my youngest refuse to simply give herself away for just words, which Declan had a near-endless supply. She was demanding hard evidence!

Declan, for his part, was steadfast in his resolve to sample Tulip's treasures. I guess my description of what it was like being with a Sasquatch girl had fueled his determination. "Fer Pete's sake, Tulip, look atcha! Yer such a beauty, yer makin' me loins ache!"

I chuckled at the thought that Declan, the unstoppable force, was colliding with Tulip, the immovable object. Ah, young love. Their voices started to fade as they walked away, probably on their way to the stream to fetch some buckets of water.

I pressed my face into Daisy's warm breasts, the soft sensation stirring the embers of desire in me yet again. Before I could do anything about it, however, she sat straight up, pushing me aside. "Did you hear that? Something's wrong!"

"I don't hear anything." This was not unusual, what with Daisy's good hearing. Mine had started to fade as of late, probably just due to my age. She jumped upright, and pulled me to my feet.

"Come on." She rushed in the direction that Declan and Tulip had been walking. A few minutes later, we found Declan unconscious on the ground. I pulled him into a sitting position, and he began to come around. He groaned in pain, holding a hand to the left side of his head where a large lump was forming. A small stream of blood was trickling down the side of his face.

I took him by the shoulders to steady hm. "Declan, what happened? Where's Tulip?"

"Three men come out of the woods and held Tulip and me at gunpoint. They threw a couple a' ropes around Tulip and told her they'd kill me if she didn't go with them. When she agreed, the bastards hit me with a rock."

I told him, "You stay here. Daisy and I can track them."

Declan looked at me, fury in his eyes. "I'll be comin' with ya. If they wanted to stop me, they shoulda got me knees or me feet. Me head's the hardest part."

Daisy caught the scent in no time, and we spread out, about 30 feet apart as we crept through the forest. I was able to keep Daisy in sight, but Declan's red hair disappeared into the thickness of the trees.

After a few minutes, we found them in a small clearing. Tulip was in the middle, struggling, surrounded by three men holding taut ropes. Her flannel shirt had been torn from her. Two of the men, a pale man with a beard and a darker-skinned man with his hair in a long braid, most likely an Indian, had lassos around her upper body which held her arms tightly to her sides, while the third, a white man with a red bandanna, was pulling a noose tightly around her neck and making it hard for her to breathe.

In 1879, United States troops were ordered into action based on white settler's false claims that a Shoshone tribe, the Tukudeka, stole horses and killed 3 settlers. A surrender was eventually negotiated, but not all the Tukudeka went along with it; some of the renegades vanished into the wilderness, and over time hooked up with white bad actors on the run from the law. These three men in the clearing appeared to be such a group.

One of them barked, "Lay down, you stupid cow! Me and the boys just want what's between those legs of yours. We've been without a woman for so long, even a beast like you looks good." Before Daisy or I could move to help Tulip, the head of the man with the bandanna exploded, struck by a small boulder the size of a coal bucket. There was no question he was dead before he hit the ground, the man's body was now about a foot shorter than it had been. The pressure on her neck now released, Tulip gasped as air flowed to her lungs.

There was only one creature that could throw something that big so accurately and effortlessly. Sure enough, Julius's distinctive bellow echoed through the valley. One of the remaining men turned to run, but a knife with a distinctive ram's horn handle was suddenly sticking in his chest.

The desperado dropped the rope and collapsed. It looked like the knife had missed most of his vital organs, but judging by his screams, I'd wager the 8" of steel stuck in his chest didn't exactly tickle.

That left one man standing -- the Shoshone renegade. He dropped the rope and drew a pistol, unsure of where to point it. Then Julius stepped into the clearing, Declan by his side. Tulip ran to her beau, but he pushed her behind him; now he stood between her and the renegade.

Declan shouted, "BEST BE DROPPING YER WEAPON, OTHERWISE ME AND THIS BIG FELLA WILL BE RELOCATIN' IT UP YER ASS."

The renegade wavered for a moment, debating whether to flee or not. His eyes were wide with fear -- facing an angry 10'5" Sasquatch will do that to a man -- but he was brave, holding his ground. Declan fearlessly took a few steps forward. The anger on his face seemed to match Julius's.

Still wide-eyed, the dark-skinned man asked, "Who ARE you?"

Declan snapped back, "I'm the leprechaun at the end of the rainbow, ye stupid git! You lot took my treasure, and I come to get her back. You already got one man dead and one on the way, now drop yer damned pistol or there won't be one a'ya left to tell the tale!"

With Tulip safe and no longer bound, Daisy and I had quietly circled around and walked into the clearing behind him. I spoke up, "He's right. Even if you manage to shoot one of us, there's no way you get away alive." The renegade turned and saw Daisy and me. Realizing he was surrounded, he dropped his six-shooter. An almost stoic calm descended over him, as if resigned to his fate.

He addressed me directly. "I remember you. I saw you once in the camp of Two Eagles. You're the one called Tall Daughters."

I nodded. "Yes, I am Tall Daughters, and you and your boys just tried to abuse one of my children. I should kill you for it."

The man said nothing, just stood there as if anticipating a fatal blow. I knew with one gestured to Julius, the renegade would be a dead man; he knew it as well. The only sounds now were the wind blowing through the trees and the groaning of the injured man.

This man was definitely a Shoshone if he knew Two Eagles, a friend for many years. Given that, I broke the silence and said, "There's already been enough blood shed today. Take your friend and go. The wolves and bears will see to the other man."

The Shoshone wasted no time pulling the injured outlaw to his feet. Declan walked over and pulled his knife out of the man, wiping the blade on the man's shirt. He looked at me and grinned. "I guess me pap was right. The knife come in handy, right enough!"

Speaking to the renegade, I gestured at the trees. "Tell people what you saw here today. Tell them these woods belong to the family of Tall Daughters. Tell them if they ever touch any of my children, they will die." The renegade nodded and the two limped off. It was over. I nodded at Julius, and like a tall ghost he silently disappeared into the woods.

Tulip embraced Declan, and told him, "I was so scared, when they hit you in the head, I thought they killed you! How did you find Julius?"

The boy may have had a slight head injury, but his brain was as quick as ever. "T'was me Irish luck that I come across him as we was tryin' to find you. Quick as I could, I told him you was in trouble, and he straightaway come with me. I guess he don't want to kill me now, I musta passed his test."

Kissing her hand, he told her, "I was tellin' the truth to that man, yanno. Chasin after' ya, I was so scared that somethin' bad was gonna happen that it made me realize you were me treasure. I swore to meself that if I got you back, I'd never let ya go again!"

Putting his arms around my baby girl, he drew her in close. Looking up at her, he said the human words: "I'm askin' ya to be me wife, Tulip. I promise I'll always do me best to be the husband ya deserve."

After fighting to rescue his love, Declan had said the right words. Judging by Tulip's reaction, I could tell she was going to give her new fiancé a night to remember. Just as Haggerty and Black Rose had once coupled in the plank house across the room from Daisy and me, the Bohannon brothers were going to follow the family tradition and be coupling with their wives in the plank house, a few feet from each other.

Fortunately, it was a warm night, so like good Sasquatch parents, Daisy and I would be sleeping under the stars a few feet from the plank house just to keep an eye on things. Of course, if the sounds of newly-betrothed couples encouraged my wife and I to do some coupling of our own, well, far be it from me to fight it.

A few days later we managed to find another preacher on horseback to come by and do an official double wedding ceremony for the two couples, so we got signed marriage certificates that made everything good and legal. This one didn't even need whiskey to get it done, but my double-donation to his travelling ministry was much appreciated.

As a wedding gift, I gave my gold-panning equipment to my new sons-in-law, then took them to my secret spot in a secluded creek about 5 miles from the plank house. Since they had no jobs at the moment, spending a week there panning for gold nuggets seems a prudent thing to do. Their brides didn't think so; after a few days missing their new spouses, they made their way to where Seamus and Declan were camped and reminded them that a Sasquatch woman's desire will not be denied.

Despite the conjugal visit interruptions the boys ended up with a nice haul, nonetheless. I took them on a trip to Seattle and helped them cash out and set up their own bank accounts. With Daisy's approval, I also took the opportunity to close out my bank account and split the not-inconsiderable funds, half into Seamus and Marigold's account, and half into Declan and Tulip's. I wanted to make sure they'd have adequate funds to take care of themselves, and our grandchildren.

1922 -- Pacific Northwest/Bear Grove, Washington

After the Great War started in 1914, demand for timber soared because of all the trenchworks being built on the front lines. The logging company began cutting wider and wider swaths through the wilderness. The logging operation was no longer twenty miles away from our cedar plank homes, it was now two miles, and they got closer to us every day. A national timber company, Weyerhaeuser, had bought up much of the land in our section of the wilderness. The US Army had relocated the Shoshone to a reservation elsewhere, so we no longer saw our friend Chief Two Eagles and his tribe.

A new town had sprung up, Bear Grove, and the population was at 3,000 already. Seamus and Declan used the money from the gold they'd panned to buy three houses on the edge of town for house their growing families, plus Daisy and I. My wife and I were getting older and slower. At the time, 1918, she was 41 and I was 52, which isn't all that old if we'd lived soft lives in town, but being in the wilderness for as long as we had took a toll on both of us.

Marigold and Seamus had 3 children, all girls: Siobhan was now 5, Roisin was 4, and little Fiona was 3. Declan and Tulip had two girls, 5-year-old Maeve and 3-year-old Sinead. They're red-haired beauties, each and every one; even at their young ages, you can see all five were already tall and lithe, with big hands and feet, but not overly muscular. By my reckoning, the girls were all about 80% human with very little Sasquatch left in them, except for their tempers. Get one mad, hoo boy, the whole town would hear it!

With the logging camp encroaching on our cedar plank homes, Julius and Daffodil decided to move further north and seek safe harbor in the Canadian wilderness. While Marigold and Tulip had all girls, Daffodil and Julius had themselves a boy. Before we moved out, they stopped by the plank house one more time and introduced us to our grandson, Augustus. At a year old he was already walking, and he was a black-furred mirror image of Julius at that age. I was sorry Haggerty never got to see our grandson, because I know he would have been busting his buttons with pride.

Sadly, living in a town came at a cost. While Daisy never left the house, I did, and I contracted the Spanish influenza that was going around, and Daisy caught it from me. I somehow survived, but my love did not. The light in her eyes was extinguished in December of 1920.

I'm writing this as I await my own final journey. My life has been more than any man could ask for. I am safe and warm, with food on my table and grandchildren on my knee. When my light finally fades out, I'll go gladly, looking forward to reuniting with my beloved Daisy and the wonderful couple that gave her to me: Haggerty, my friend and father-in-law, and her mother, Black Rose.

END