The Wanderer

Looking up at the boiling sun, I wonder if it could get any hotter. It had to be over 100 degrees and I need to find water for my horse or I’ll soon be walking. The sweat is pouring from under my hat, but it provides what little shade I do have for my face.

Patting my horse on her neck, I lean forward and tell her, “Find the water for us girl, I’ll just follow your lead,” as I let the reins fall from my hands.

She trudges on, her hooves kicking up the loose sand of the desert. Taking me onward, hopefully to water.

I can feel my lips cracking from lack of moisture as we top another sand dune and she stops. I look down the far side of the dune and see cactus . I prodded her and told her, “Let’s get us something to drink here.

Making her way down the dune, she stopped at the bottom and wouldn’t move another inch. I was barely alive myself, but I managed to climb down .

Falling several times before reaching the cactus, the last giving me a face full of dirt. On my knees, I wiped the sand from my face and could not rise again. My legs wouldn’t hold me, so on my knees, I trudged forward another twenty feet .

Reaching behind my back at the beltline, I pulled out a Bowie Knife that had a razors edge and cut a chunk from the base of the cactus. Removing it, I brought the inner portion to my mouth and sucked in the pungent liquid it released.

A couple beers would not have tasted as good , and I continued until there was nothing left to get. Regaining a little strength, I cut a larger section and called to my horse.

“Come on girl, at least it’s wet, get over here.”

She finally moved to me and when she got close enough, I raised the cactus to her lips. She whinnied at the smell at first, then she snorted and shook her head, as if saying, “You want me to eat that crap after carrying your ass all this way?”

I turned and cut another section and put it to my mouth and held her piece to her. Seeing me , she followed suit and got water from her piece. It wasn’t much, but it saved both of our lives for the moment.

Your probably asking yourselves, “What in hell would make someone go through this?”

That would have a lot to do with the letter I got two months ago from my brother. I was on the east coast in Norfolk, Virginia working as a ranch hand when I got his letter.

Actually, the letter was from his wife, and she let me know that John, my younger brother was having some problems with the railroad people that wanted his property and he was refusing to sell. She feared that things were about to get worse and he may be able to use my help.

I let my boss know of the problem and he paid me up to date and gave me a little extra, because I worked hard for him. I went to the bunkhouse and packed what little gear I had, got on my horse and headed to Santa Cruz, New Mexico.

It’s taken me a month and a half to get this far. Not much more to go, maybe another seventy five miles or so before I get to his place, but I have to clear this dam desert first.

Having enough strength to stand, I grabbed my canteen and sat down next to a second cactus. Removing my neckerchief, I wiped the sweat from my face and neck then rung it out and opened it up on my lap.

Cutting a small piece from the cactus, I squeezed it as hard as I could and watched as the fluids dripped onto the neckerchief. I continued this until I was able to ring out the fluid into my canteen. By the time I finished, there was not much left to the cactus and my canteen was full.

My horse didn’t want anymore and I was ready to get the hell out of here, so I jumped on her back and we headed out once again.

Four hours later, we had reached signs of green grass and the end of the desert. My girl had saw this too and she moved a little quicker, then all of a sudden she went into a trot.

I wasn’t ready for that and nearly got thrown, but I held on while she ran. She had a reason for running, just over the ridge was a small lake with clean fresh water and she had smelt it.

When she stopped at the lake, I jumped off and threw myself into the water whooping and hollering like some crazy person. I must of scared her, cause she backed away from the water and then came back and drank her fill.

It was late in the afternoon, so I removed my saddle from her back and made camp for the night. The fire was cozy and there was a little breeze coming across the lake, so I slept well, and she had walked off to get some grass while I slept.

In the morning, the rising sun woke me and I had to walk a mile to find my horse, but we got it all together and headed towards Santa Cruz.

At noon we found ourselves looking at what I thought was a ghost town, but the closer we got, I began to see signs of life. When we got into town, I went to the livery and told the man to fix her up good and rub her down, tossing him some coins.

I went to the saloon, I needed a drink. I deserved a drink. The bartender looked at me and said, “What can I get ya?”

“Beer, and don’t let me go empty either.”

That first beer tasted so good, and went down fast, but he was a good bartender and had another ready. Looking around the place, it was quiet.

“Not much going on in this town, is there? I said.

“No, folks have been movin left and right, not many left. Been thinking of closing this down and movin on myself.”

“What’s making them cut and run?”

“With the railroad going through Santa Cruz, folks think it’ll be better there.”

“How far is Santa Cruz?”

“Bout four hours, west.”

“I heard the railroad people were causing trouble over there, or something like that.”

“You know as well as I do, those with the money always win out, one way or another.”

“Yeah, spect your right there,” I said. “Where can a guy get a bath and a shave round here?”

“Cross the street, Jim Anderson is the barber and his wife Hannah will set up a tub of good n’ hot water for ya.”

“Thanks,” I said as I tossed a fifty cent piece to him.

Walking across the street, I entered the Barber Shop and was met by an elderly guy who introduced himself as Jim Anderson.

Told him I wanted a haircut and also wanted to get rid of this growth on my face. While sitting in the chair, I told him I wanted a bath too.

He yelled, “Hannah, fix up a hot tub, you’ll have a customer in a bit.” There was no response. After Jim removed a month and a half of beard and hair, he said, “If ya want, the wife will wash and dry your clothes too.”

Walking to the back of the Barber Shop, I opened the rear door and had to stop dead in my tracks.

Pouring a bucket of hot water into a large tub, was the most beautiful young lady I had ever seen. No more than twenty, blonde hair put up in a bun, with strands hanging here and there. She was dressed fancy, kind of looked like a sack dress, but God she was busty to say the least.

She turned her head towards me and brushed the strands of hair from her face and said, “Hello, I’m Hannah, Jim’s wife.”

From the look on my face she knew exactly what I was thinking.

“I know, I know, I hear it all the time. Why am I married to such an older man, right?

“Yeah, that kinda went through my head.”

“As you can see, there ain’t a whole lot here abouts to pick from.”

As she walked around a wall, she said, “Just leave your clothes on the chair and I’ll get em cleaned up for ya.”

I stripped down to my birthday suit and jumped into the tub and yelled, “SHIT!!!!”

Hannah came running from the other side of the wall, seeing the look on my face, she laughed and said, “Forgot to tell ya, the waters really hot.” Bringing her hand to cover her mouth, she went and took my clothes and walked behind the wall again.

While I got use to the water and began to scrub myself down, I heard a sweet voice start singing. I stopped and just listened in amazement at one of the prettiest singing voices I had ever heard.

After a while, I heard a door open and Jim stuck his head in the room and said, “Hannah, I’m going over to the saloon, see ya in a while.”

Hannah walked out and with her hands on her hips, she looked at her husband and said, “Will ya be back in time for supper?”

“Yeah, won’t be missin’ any of your cookin’.”

He closed the door and she turned to look at me and smiled, going back into her area. In a little while Hannah came out with a bucket in her hand and came to the tub.

“Well, I was gonna pour this over your head to rinse out the soap, but ya haven’t touched your face.”

Reaching for a small cloth, Hannah dipped it in the tub water and softly tugged his head back and scrubbed his face. His head was resting between her soft breasts, so he let her continue.

After his face was washed, she reached for a small scrub brush and also dunked it into the tub. Taking the large bar of soap from his hand, she soaped the brush down then in a swift move, shoved his head under water and then pulled him back up, then started to scrub his hair clean.

“Dang woman, you tryin’ to drown me?”

“No!, just get ya clean, like your payin’ for.”

“What else am I payin’ for that I don’t know about?”

“Guess that all depends on how much you’re wantin’ to spend.”

“I’ve never been know to pinch any coins, and I do like good treatment, so what ya got in mind?”

Hannah stood up and went to the side of the tub and looking into the water at him, then at his face, she pulled her sack dress up over her head and stood naked next to him and said, “Interested?”

With a smile on his face, his hand reached out to hers, as his eyes traveled up and down her body. Her breasts were large and perfectly round, with big stiff nipples, her waist was small and her pussy was covered by blonde pubic hair.

Hannah stepped into the tub and lying along his side, she kissed his lips and her hand searched the water for his cock. She found it and wrapped her hand around it and started to masturbate him.

His hand roamed her breasts, and his mouth found her nipple. He moved her on top of him and Hannah held onto his stiff cock and inserted it into her pussy.

Hannah rode his cock as he continued to suck on her nipples. Water was lapping over the rim of the tub with all the movement and he kept thrusting his cock inside of her.

Having been without a woman in over six months, he came quickly. Hannah felt the initial spurt spray inside of her and she tightened her pussy on his shaft as he let loose three more times.

Seeing that he was finished and his cock was shrinking inside of her, Hannah stood up an grabbed a nearby towel and dried herself off, while she stood over him.

All the while, his eyes were looking right at her pussy and he kept licking his lips. Stepping out of the tub, she wiped down her legs and then getting another towel, said, “Stand up.”

He did, and she started to dry him off, his head was first and she worked her way down his body. When she got to his waist, she had him step out of the tub and she got another towel and went back to drying him off, this time his legs were first.

Kneeling in front of him while doing this, his cock dangling in front of her face, she couldn’t help herself, she leaned forward and took his limp dick into her mouth and let it grow in her mouth.

When his cock was finally hard enough, she pulled off of him and said, “Now you can fuck me properly.”

He lifted her into his arms and carried her to a nearby table and laid her on it. Standing between her legs, he brought his mouth to her pussy and stuck his tongue deep into her pussy.

Holding onto his head, she shoved her pussy into him and he ate her like he had never eaten another woman. Taking her clit into his mouth, he nibbled and tongued it, until Hannah screamed out, “Oh dear Lord, I’m cuming,” pushing his harder into her pussy.

When she finished cuming, he stood straight and placed his cockhead at her pussy entrance and then slid his shaft deep inside of her. His hips moved back and forth, and hers rose and fell in unison.

With a desire she had not felt since she got married, she fucked this cowboy and she kept telling herself, “ I want his child, I want his child.”

Soon both were at the edge of their limits and when he unloaded his for jet of sperm inside of her, she climaxed too. Together they held tight onto one another as nerve end after nerve end tingled.

Still a little lightheaded, she sat up and said, “I’ll have to put my dress on to go get your clothes outside.”

As she walked away from him, he watched her beautiful ass cheeks as they bounced up and down and when she threw her dress back on, he retained the vision of her nakedness.

Bringing his clothes back to him, he started to dress, and she stood there and watched him.

“Where bouts’ya headin’?”

“Goin’to see my brother in Santa Cruz, seems he’s got a few problems that need takin’ care of.”

“What’s your brothers name, may have heard bout him?”

“John Kincaid, and by the way, I’m Randall, Randall Kincaid.”

“He’s the one that was refusing to sell his property to the railroad people. Yeah! I heard of him.”

“What do you mean, Was refusing?”

“If I read the article in the paper right, seem to recall that he was shot up pretty bad and the paper said something about the bank taking his property if he doesn’t make his payment.”

Randall quickly dressed and after strapping on his Colt to his hip, he handed Hannah a twenty dollar gold piece and started to walk out.

“Randall, Hannah said, If when your done in Santa Cruz, would ya be headin’ back this way?”

“Don’t rightly know, but if I do, I’ll be dam sure to see ya again, if that’s alright?”

“Yes!, That’s what I wanted to hear.”

Randall left and headed for the stable and after paying the hand, he saddled his horse and rode off.

Standing on the top of the knoll, looking down on my brother’s place, I notice that there’s very little movement. Night was beginning to settle in, so I went back down the knoll and made a camp.

Taking the saddle of my horse, I let her go graze and collected some wood for a small fire. After about an hour, I walked back up the knoll and looked at the ranch and saw a light in the front of the house.

Waiting until it got darker, I decided to go to the house and see who was there and if the rumor about John was true. I made a small amount of coffee and nibbled on some corn biscuits and just waited.

Keeping to the darkest areas, I worked my way to the house and slid along the side. A light shone through, but I couldn’t make out who was moving around in there. Squatting, I went under the window and over to the front door.

Reaching down, I drew my colt and got ready for any problems that may lay ahead. I pulled the lever up and it was well greased and made no noise, so I pushed the door open and with my colt aimed inside, I entered the house.

I heard a scream to my left and quickly turned. It was a woman, her hands were on her face and she looked terrified.

“Are you Kathleen?”

She nodded her head yes and I said, “I’m Randall, John’s brother. Anyone else in here?”

She said, “No, just me, when did you arrive?”

“Been watching the house for a couple hours now, where’s John?”

“He’s over Doc Riddley’s place, can’t be moved.”

“The paper was right then, how bad is he?”

“He was gut shot Randall, then they stood over him and shot him in each leg and each shoulder, just for the hell of it.”

“Who did it, do you know?”

“No he sent me into town to get some supplies and when I got back here, he was lying out front all shot up. I thought he was dead, but he wasn’t so I somehow got him in the back of the wagon and headed to the doc’s place.”

“I was told that the bank was going to foreclose on you?”

“Tomorrow, payment is due tomorrow by 10AM.”

“How much is left to pay this place off?”

“I think John mentioned he had a year left to pay at a hundred dollars a month.”

“What’s the doc saying about John, is he gonna live?”

“At first the doc said no, but John’s hung on for three weeks now and the doc changed his mind.”

“OK, give me a few moments to get my saddlebags and I’ll be back.”

I checked outside and didn’t see anyone, so I made my way to my saddle and called for my horse. I just threw the saddle on her and walked her to the stable and set her up for the night.

I threw my saddlebag over my shoulder and went back to the house. Kathleen had put some water on for coffee and turned to look at me when I walked in.

“Ain’t got no food to offer ya, but I got coffee.”

“That’s just fine, I ate already.”

Sitting at the table, she told me about the railroad people wanting to buy the ranch and how it was sitting right in the line of the tracks they were putting down. She mentioned a man named Belmont, seems he was the one making all the decisions for the railroad.

After all was said, I reached into my bag and pulled out a leather wallet and opened it up. Counting out fifteen hundred dollars, I handed it to Kathleen.

“Go to the bank, first thing in the morning and pay off the lien on the ranch and make sure you get the signed deed in your hands. Then take the rest and buy some food for this place.”

“I…I can’t take this.”

“Why? I come by it honest.”

“John would be furious with me.”

“So, don’t tell him until he’s well enough. If he wants to pay me back, he can, no bother.”

We both heard the sound of horses out front, and I watched Kathleen reach for a 30 gauge, over/under shotgun and head to the door.

“Don’t let them know I’m here.”

Opening the door, the shotgun tucked deep into her shoulder, she yelled, “Who are you, speak your peace.”

A voice came back, “Mrs. Kincaid, its me, Joe Bentley, just stopping by to see how much work its going to take to get rid of these buildings tomorrow afternoon.”

“Well, Mr. Bentley, that’s tomorrow and tonight the property is still mine, so I’d appreciate it if you left without any trouble.”

“Sure enough Mrs. Kincaid, sure enough. Just make sure you got all your belongings, cause I’ll be burnin’ all of it tomorrow. Let’s go men.”

They took off and Kathleen stood on the porch, still holding the shotgun until they were out of range and then turned back into the house, closing the door behind her.

“Pretty gutsy for a women to face that many men.”

“If they could see me good, I was shaking like crazy.”

“They’re gone so you can relax, don’t believe they’ll be back tonight. They are pretty confident the property will belong to the railroad tomorrow.”

“Now, about tomorrow morning, here’s what we’ll do…..”

At 9AM, Kathleen walked into the bank and told the teller she needed to see Mr. Colton, the bank owner. He went back and told her to come on in.

Kathleen walked through the swinging doors and went to the back of the bank where Mr. Colton was sitting behind his desk. Sitting at his desk she looked at him and said, "I’ll be needing the deed to the ranch today, here’s the money that’s owed to you,” as she tossed the money onto his desk.

Hank Colton looked at the money, then into her face and said, “Are you sure this is the way you want to play this Mrs. Kincaid?"

“My deed sir, if you will, then I can be going.”

Picking up the money, he went to the safe and came back with an envelope and handed it to Kathleen. “I’m sure you’ve given this a lot of thought, so here’s the deed and the ranch now belongs to you and your husband. How is he doing, by the way?”

Standing, she looked down at him and said, “John is just fine and doing quite well, thank you,” as she turned and walked out of the bank.

I left the bank, just after Kathleen and stood on the sidewalk watching her walking to the General Store. No one was bothering her, but I was just making sure. Leaning against a pole, I reached into my pocket and pulled out my fixing’s and rolled me a smoke. Lighting it, I caught movement on my right.

Three men were coming from the alley and looked as if they were headed in the direction of the General Store, so I strode across the street and followed them.