Blackfeather
23 Hard Winter
WE MADE BELIEVE we were snowed in all Thanksgiving week. There was only one day of school left anyway. Kyle and Aubrey came in surprised to find me already in the kitchen wearing my sweats and my six-gun. I don’t know what came over me but I kissed them both. Not like big romantic kisses, but more like a ‘good morning, dear’ kiss.
“We’ve got to get feed out to those horses,” I said, pointing down to the lower pasture. The pregnant mares and our working stock were all up in the paddock where they had shelter and easy access to food and water. The rescues, farm stock, mules, and Harley were all down in the lower pasture. They had pretty good shelter and we had a bubbler in the stock tank, but we had to make sure there was adequate hay for them to keep grazing. We took a load down a couple times a week.
After breakfast, we got dressed for outdoor work. Poor Aubrey didn’t come prepared to stay the week, so she got relegated to the kitchen helping get Thanksgiving dinner ready. Kyle and I bundled up in our parkas and Sorrels and loaded a dozen bales of hay on the wagon. He drove while I kept watch on the fender. I had my Remington 700 in the tractor scabbard and my 1911 on my hip. The kids rode on the hay wagon and they had their rifles with them. We just didn’t go anyplace away from the house without arms these days. You could hear the wolves in the hills almost every day.
“Would you look at that?” Kyle said pointing.
There were twenty antelope mixed right in among the horses. It looked like even the wild things were huddling near the ranches. We discussed whether it was a good thing to have them up where we could protect them or whether having the deer around the ranch would entice the wolves down lower as well. One thing was for sure, we needed to start bringing each horse up to the barn once a week to curry come spring, so we could check for ticks. Mixing wild animals with domestic ones could have far-reaching consequences if any of the wilds bore Chronic Wasting Disease. We still didn’t have a good handle on whether CWD could be spread to cattle, horses, or other livestock.
Old Blackfeather was sitting on the hay racks as the horses came running for the fresh food. Some of the antelope came right up with the horses to eat hay.
“I think we need another load of hay if we’re feeding an extra twenty head,” Kyle said, laughing.
“We’ll go get it!” Caitlin yelled. She was in the tractor seat and had it started before Kyle and me could get around the hay rack.
“Yahoo!” Phile yelled. They had their guns in the scabbards and were putting toward the barn.
“It’s all still a game to them,” Kyle laughed.
“Not to me,” I said. He turned toward me. “That’s what I found out last night, Kyle. What we’re doing? Going back in time? It’s not a dream.” I told him about marking my gun and then about seeing the mark last night. He clutched me in a big hug just as the raven called.
“I am so sorry to bring you this news, Miss Theresa,” Jason said as he stood in front of us. “I was heading out to deliver dispatches and the lieutenant granted permission for me to find you. I felt it would be better coming from someone you know as a friend than in a telegram.”
“Thank you, Corporal,” Theresa said. “I need to walk a bit to take in this news. Katie, would you accompany me?” Theresa pulled on her muffler and coat. Katie followed her out, looking longingly behind her at Jason. “Oh, John Hamm, could we impose upon you to accompany us for safety? It is late.” John looked at the two of us before he spun on his heel and followed the girls.
Suddenly, I was alone with Jason.
The realization struck him as well.
“Miss Miranda, I apologize for this imposition on your hospitality,” Jason sputtered. “I will take my departure and await the return of our companions.” Miranda raised her hand to stop him.
“Jason, please do not rush to leave. I would feel more comforted in your presence,” Miranda said.
“I do not wish to besmirch your reputation by entertaining a gentleman without a chaperone,” he said, smiling.
“It is because you are a gentleman that I do not fear for my reputation,” Miranda answered. “I am twenty years of age and in truth, I wish to speak to you of matters of the heart. Let us sit beside the fire.” Jason held my chair to steady it while I sat and then sat in the other.
“Miranda, I have longed to speak with you—heart to heart.”
“Do you think you could love a woman such as me? I’ve a raven lodged in my throat that caws his harsh cry when I speak. I am not a beauty. I have lived a hard life working with my hands and learning to use guns and knives. Is it in your heart to love such a woman as me?”
Jason slipped out of his chair and knelt before me. Is he going to propose? My heart skipped a beat.
“My dear Miranda, your hard life has proven you a woman of stature and beauty. I would sooner listen to your voice than that of a thousand babbling débutantes. Your words hold strength and command. And as such, I find my heart, my soul, and my body are yours to command.” I could feel a trickle of tears on my cheeks. He was so beautiful. I stood and pulled him to his feet.
“Jason, there are many things to discuss before you next kneel before me. But know that my heart is yours. I… I wonder… Jason, I have never kissed a man. I must seem brazen, but…” He caught me in his arms and touched his lips tenderly to mine. I felt my heart flutter and my legs grow weak. I thought about pushing my tongue into his mouth, but restrained myself from taking over for Miranda. This was a different age than that in which I lived. We weren’t going to tumble into bed tonight, no matter that I could feel Miranda’s slickness in her privities.
Damn, I liked that kiss!
“Friend Ramie,” Miranda said silently. “I love Jason. But I cannot deceive him. Help me. Help me tell him of you and… of Katie.” With that, she gently slipped into the background leaving me hanging from his lips.
“Let us sit… by the fire… talk…” Jason stuttered. The kiss had affected him as well. I scooted our chairs closer together and we sat again.
“Do you always wear your gloves, Jason?” I asked.
“No, Miranda. It is merely a habit.”
“Will you remove the glove on your left hand so that it is your flesh that I grip and not buckskin?” He was flustered, but hurriedly stripped off his glove and took my offered hand. We sat in silence watching the fire as I tried to decide what course to take. His face was red and I thought it was wonderful.
“Jason,” I said at last, “I am Miranda’s friend.” I’d finally decided to take the bull by the horns and dive right in. Miranda cringed in the back of my mind. “I know you understand. I know your friend. Before you ask Miranda for her hand, are you willing to accept me as well?”
“Friend, I know not how to address you, but I believe that you are as real as he who visits me. Often, he has gazed on Miranda’s face with love as deep as my own. Sometimes he has provided words for my wooing. Is Miranda also willing to accept my friend?”
Yes!
“Yes, she understands. You are two unique people in all the world. It is a miracle that you have found each other. But there is more.”
“More?”
“We must tread carefully. When we escaped our kidnappers, Katie and I made our way north together.”
“Yes, Katie is…” Jason blushed in his enthusiasm.
“Ah. You have noticed her.”
“She pales by comparison…”
“Hush, my brave soldier. Make no comparisons. Because we would have perished otherwise, I disguised myself as a man. Katie and I made our way to Omaha pretending to be husband and wife,” I said. “She refers to me still as her husband. Before you bend your knee to Miranda, you must ask yourself if you can accept Katie in our family as well.”
“So, you would have two husbands?” Oops. I was almost over Jason’s head. He was confused.
“She has preferred to believe that she will be my mistress. And yours.”
“She wishes to be with us both?”
“Do not judge her harshly, Jason. Nor me. Katie is a virgin. I am a virgin. We escaped a life that would have made us playthings for a penny. But think on this, Jason. We agreed to speak of the heart. In my heart, I know we both love you.”
“I will think carefully on these things,” Jason said. “But my dear Miranda, are these things also in your heart?” I yielded her body back to Miranda.
“I feel these things my friend has told you, Jason. When you decide if you can live with this, know that we both… all three of us love you.”
We spent another half-hour sitting quietly by the fire, my hand held gently in his. Perhaps more was said in that silence than in the entire conversation that went before.
The door to our apartment opened and the three came in shaking snow from their hair and boots. December of 1869 was coming to an end. 1870 would find us in Laramie. I saw Blackfeather sitting on the railing outside and pouted as he called. I’d so hoped to make love with Katie.
The raven’s caws were still echoing as I realized Kyle was holding me. The kids were unloading the second wagon of hay, occasionally casting glances our direction. I squeezed Kyle.
“Do you love Miranda?” I whispered.
“Yes,” he answered. “I don’t know how it is possible to love Miranda and Katie and Aubrey and…” He stopped. I squeezed him and we ran to the tractor, fired it up, and hauled the kids hollering and screaming up to the house. I knew what he didn’t say.
Seniors. We all three got our acceptance letters from the University of Wyoming. Our SATs were good enough and our grade point average just high enough to get automatic acceptance.
Folks started trailering in mares in estrus in March. Bolt and Harley were having a hell of a good time. We were banking stud fees every weekend. By April, the snow was all gone from Laramie except where they’d piled it high around the light posts in parking lots. It took a little longer to melt from the shaded part of the mountains, but we were warm and comfortable when last year’s mares started foaling. Bells and Bows were the first to drop beautiful fillies. They had the distinctive pinto markings of their dams with the dun coloring of their sire. They were beautiful. By Kyle’s birthday, we had six healthy foals on the ground.
Riders started coming out the first of May to start working their boarded horses. They were pleased to see each horse with a shiny and well-groomed coat. They were easy to handle since we handled them almost daily. Phile and Caitlin led horses in from the field each day and groomed them. Two years ago, I’d never have believed what I was seeing today. I was really proud of those two kids.
As soon as the snow started melting, Aubrey started spending more and more time at the ranch. Before graduation, she was spending three nights a week with us on a regular basis. Sometimes she split the night between Kyle and me. Sometimes she stayed with him one night and me the next. Neither of us minded. I figured there was a limit to how much sex you could really enjoy. I just never figured out what Aubrey’s limit was.
I knew Kyle was continuing to travel because I occasionally saw new information on the map. His dates were getting closer to mine. We talked generally about travel, but never specifically about our interactions. We agreed that some things had to be between Miranda and Jason as much as possible, and we tried not to influence them. It was their lives we were infringing on. What we could do was study and learn all we could about Laramie, if that was where our hosts were bound.
It was Kyle’s Golden Birthday—he was 18 on the 18th. Mom Ash thought it was appropriate for him to have his own truck. He got the keys to a Ford F150 Lariat. It wasn’t new, but it pretty much blew Kyle away. Mom Ash had carefully explained to me that it was because of his golden birthday and I could count on something at least as special for mine when I turned 22. It was okay with me anyway. This baby had a full towing package and a long bed with a crew cab. Kyle was going to be hauling a lot of horses in the future. The first thing he did was take Aubrey and me for a ride up behind the ski lodge. We parked out there looking up at the stars while we made out. Neither Kyle nor I got undressed, but Aubrey was practically naked between us. It was clear that while I was fingering her pussy and sucking a nipple, she was jacking Kyle off in his pants. When we got back to the ranch, she went with Kyle and I listened through the wall to half a dozen orgasms. I had a few, myself.
Six days after Kyle turned eighteen, we stood in the school auditorium as we waited to receive our diplomas.
I don’t know what inspired me that night. I’d kissed Aubrey until she couldn’t catch her breath and then smacked her on the butt and sent her to Kyle. That was all I wanted that night.
I was a high school graduate.
I was excited about what the future would bring. We’d be starting something all new when we went to UWyo in the fall, but it didn’t seem that different. Mom Ash was encouraging us to live on campus our freshman year, but we had a for-real business going now. We couldn’t just leave and expect Phile and Caitlin to care for all the stock, especially since we picked up four mustangs in a government sale and another six old nags at auction. This summer we’d have to work on fences on the new leased land and make sure there were proper shelters and feed stations for next winter.
I wandered around the ranch outside in the moonlight. It was just past full and with the trees starting to leaf out, it was casting soft shadows over everything. I was standing by the corral in my sweats with just my 1911 on my hip. Pooky came trotting over to see if I had anything interesting and I decided to just slide onto his back. I clipped a lead rope to his halter and tied the other end. We walked out of the yard and down toward the river. The night was still and calm. I wasn’t supposed to be out this far alone, but it was such a beautiful night.
I saw movement down by the water and regretted not having my 700 and backup. I didn’t even have a saddle or proper riding clothes. I pulled out my Remington and jacked a shell into the chamber. I was wearing my boots, so I had my knife. I slid off Pooky and stood quietly beside him. I wasn’t sure what I’d seen.
But there it was again. I was sure it was a wolf, though all I saw was the shadow moving across the ground. Where is the damned thing? I didn’t dare turn my back on it to ride back to the house. I couldn’t back up and lead Pooky because a horse always wants to face the same direction as the rider.
I saw the shadow again and it was closer. Much closer. I raised the gun, searching for my target.
Out of the shadow flew the raven.
Awkawkawkawk!
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