The Gunsmith 420 Page 2

  “He said he went to town lookin’ for a steak,” Belinda said, as Clint helped her down from the buckboard.

  “I can do that,” Loretta said. “Steaks it is.”

  She went back inside as Clint helped Teresa down.

  “She’s suspicious of strange men,” she said to Clint.

  “Hey,” he said, “three women living alone? I can understand it. Now why don’t you ladies show me where all these supplies go?”

  ~*~

  Clint unloaded the buckboard with some assistance from Teresa and Belinda, but he did all the heavy lifting.

  “Okay,” he said, when he was done, “I’ll unhitch the horses and put them and my horse in the barn. Where can I wash up after?”

  “There’s a barrel right next to the barn,” Belinda said. “I can help with the horses.”

  “That’d be fine,” he said. He looked at Teresa. “I’ll see you inside.”

  “Don’t be long, you two,” Teresa said.

  “We won’t,” Belinda promised.

  Clint walked the team and the buckboard to the barn, with Eclipse following behind.

  “You never have to tie him off so he don’t run?” she asked.

  “Nope,” Clint said. “He knows better than to run.”

  “I ain’t never seen a horse like him before,” she said. “Can I touch ’im?”

  “I don’t know,” he said. “That’d be up to him. If you want to risk losing a finger ...”

  “Oh,” she said, “he won’t bite me.”

  “Well, we’ll see,” he said, “when we get into the barn and I unsaddle him. Maybe I’ll let you rub him down.”

  “That’d be great!”

  ~*~

  In the barn Clint unsaddled Eclipse, then allowed Belinda to rub him down while he unhitched the team.

  “See?” she said, rubbing Eclipse’s neck. “He’s not tryin’ to bite me.”

  “Then he likes you,” he said.

  “Males usually do,” she said.

  Clint had been getting signals from Belinda since they met. When she volunteered to go into the barn with him, he wondered what she was going to do? She was a healthy young woman who had apparently been without a man for a while. Normally, he’d have been receptive to a woman like that, but there were two more women in the house, and he wasn’t looking to cause any trouble.

  But once they were in the barn, she seemed to turn most of her attention to Eclipse. That was okay with him. He finished up with the two team horses, rubbed them down and fed them.

  “Done?” he asked Belinda.

  “Yup,” she said. “He’s all rubbed down and fed.”

  She turned to face him. She had sweat through her shirt, and he could see the outline of her breasts and nipples through it. The smell of her filled the barn, and he felt his body reacting to it. She noticed, too, as she glanced at his crotch.

  “We better get in the house,” she said, “or they’ll come looking for us.”

  “You go ahead,” he said. “I’ll wash up out here and be along.”

  “Okay.” She came up close to him, her scent even stronger in his nostrils. “Don’t be long.”

  “I won’t,” he promised.

  Five

  The inside of the house seemed cavernous, with high ceilings and windows, and not much in the way of furniture.

  Clint found his way to the dining room, which feature a very long, handmade wooden table, a couple of chairs at each end, and wooden benches on either side.

  “There you are,” Teresa said. She was setting plates and utensils on the table. “The steaks are ready.”

  “I can smell them,” Clint said.

  “You look like you cleaned up very nicely,” she said.

  “I tried,” he said.

  Belinda came out of the kitchen, carrying a bowl that was filled with hot rolls.

  “Almost ready,” she said, happily, setting the bowl down. “Have a seat.”

  “Does it matter where?” he asked.

  “No,’ Teresa said, “anywhere you’re comfortable.”

  He sat on one of the benches, leaving the chairs for two of the sisters.

  The kitchen door opened again and Loretta appeared, carrying a large platter of meat.

  “Teresa, could you go and get the vegetables, please.”

  “Right away.” She rushed into the kitchen.

  Loretta put the platter down on the table and looked at Clint.

  “You get first choice, since you’re our guest.”

  “I appreciate that,” he said. “I’ll just take the one on top.”

  “Well, go ahead.”

  Teresa reappeared with platters of potatoes and carrots.”

  “Fresh vegetables?” Clint asked.

  “Loretta has a garden out back,” Belinda said, proudly. “And we have a few head of cattle so we can have a steak once in a while.”

  “Like when we have a guest,” Teresa said.

  Loretta sat in the chair at the head of the table, while Teresa sat at the other end. Belinda took the bench right across from Clint.

  “Lemonade?” she asked Clint.

  “Sure.”

  She picked up a pitcher and poured him a glass, then did the same for her sisters. Before long they all had a steak and vegetables on their plates.

  “This is great,” Clint said. “It’s cooked perfectly.”

  “Loretta’s a great cook,” Belinda said.

  “Obviously.”

  They got busy cutting into their steaks and making a dent in the vegetables.

  “So, you were just passin’ through Corazon?” Loretta asked.

  “Yes,” Clint said, “I had been there once before, when it was a thriving little town. Your sisters said you could tell me what happened. Where did everyone go?”

  “They ran,” she said. “That is, if they were smart.”

  “And if they weren’t?”

  “They died.”

  “Died?”

  “Well, they were killed.”

  “By who?”

  “I don’t know that for sure,” she said. “All I know is what I heard. A gang of men rode into Corazon one day. The first thing they did was kill the sheriff and his deputies. Then they started takin’ over the town.”

  “Takin’ it over?”

  “Takin’ it apart,” she said. “Destroyin’ it. Killin’ people. Drivin’ them out of town.”

  “How would they decide who to kill and who to drive out?” Clint asked.

  “I don’t know.”

  “Where did you get your information?”

  “From a couple who drove through here while my sisters were away. I let them spend the night, and they told me what happened. They left the next day in their buggy.”

  “What else did they tell you?”

  “When they left the gang was still there,” Loretta said. “I rode to town to see for myself—and everybody was gone.”

  “You took a chance,” he said.

  “Loretta’s real brave,” Belinda said.

  “And sometimes stupid,” Teresa said.

  “And sometimes both at the same time,” Loretta said. “Anyway, they were all gone—the citizens, and the gang.”

  “Once the gang was gone, why didn’t the people come back?” he asked.

  “Who knows?” she asked. “Maybe they were too afraid. Or maybe they don’t know it’s safe now.”

  “How many men were in the gang?”

  “About half a dozen.”

  Clint shook his head.

  “All the townspeople had to do was join together and fight.”

  “That’s not what townspeople do,” Loretta said. “Once the sheriff and his deputies were killed, everybody else was too scared to do anything.”

  “Too bad,” Clint said. “It’s a decent little town.”

  “I wonder ...” Teresa started, then stopped.

  “You wonder what?” Clint asked.

  “I wonder why they didn’t burn it to the ground?�
� she said. “I mean, if they drove everybody out, the town was theirs. If they didn’t want it, why not burn it?”

  “Actually,” Clint said, “I was wondering the same thing.”

  Six

  After they finished eating, Clint offered to help clear the table.

  “Nonsense,” Loretta said. “There are three women here to do that.”

  “So what do I do?”

  “If you don’t mind, take a glass of lemonade out to the porch,” Loretta said. “We’ll bring you some coffee.”

  “I’ll skip the lemonade and wait for the coffee,” Clint said.

  “Fine.”

  Clint walked through the house and out to the front porch, where there were some rattan chairs and table. He sat in one, and looked out at the expanse of ground in front of the house. There was a barn and corral, but didn’t look like it had ever been a working ranch. There was no bunkhouse, and no place a bunkhouse might have stood.

  Belinda came out the front door with a cup of coffee and a piece of pie on a small plate, with a fork.

  “Dessert,” she said, setting everything down on the table.

  “Shouldn’t I come inside and have it with everyone else?” he said.

  “No. Be comfortable out here. We’ll come out.”

  She went back inside. Clint picked up the fork and tasted a chunk of pie, which turned out to be apple.

  Teresa and Belinda came out, carrying their own cups of coffee and slices of pie.

  “What about Loretta?” he asked.

  They sat down with him at the table and said, “She’s cleanin’ the kitchen.”

  “Will she be comin’ out?”

  “Maybe,” Teresa said. “We should just eat.”

  They all started eating their pie, washing bites down with coffee—which was the only flaw Clint could see in Loretta’s cooking. It wasn’t strong enough.

  “So you’ll stay the night?” Belinda said.

  “What?”

  “You can’t leave,” Teresa said. “It’ll be dark soon.”

  “Yes it will.”

  “We have extra rooms, and beds,” Belinda said. “You can have one for the night.”

  “How does Loretta feel about that?”

  “She’s fine,” Teresa said. “Belinda and I will make up your room.”

  “After we finish here.”

  “All right,” he said. “I’ll have to go to the barn and get my saddlebags.”

  “Good!” Belinda said. “You’re room will be ready when you get back.”

  “I might also take a walk around the grounds, to work off that big meal,” he said.

  “That’s okay,” Teresa said.

  They all finished their desserts and while the ladies went back inside, Clint headed for the barn.

  ~*~

  He decided to check on Eclipse before collecting his saddlebags. He wanted to be sure he knew everything about the place if he was going to stay there overnight.

  “How you doing, big feller?” he asked, entering Eclipse’s stall. The big horse turned his head and nudged Clint. “You made a new friend today, didn’t you?” Clint asked, stroking his neck.

  Eclipse bobbed his head up and down. Sometimes Clint thought the Darley Arabian understood him very well.

  While in the stall Clint heard the barn door—which he had left open—swing closed. It was another squeak he was going to have to fix for the ladies before he left.

  He backed out of the stall and saw Loretta Perkins standing inside the barn, with her back to the door.

  “Hello,” he said. “What brings you out here?”

  “We don’t have much time,” she said.

  “Time?” he asked. “Time for what?”

  “For what most men want.”

  “Loretta—”

  She shrugged her shoulders, and suddenly her dress was bunched up around her ankles. She was naked. Her breasts were full, with heavy, rounded undersides, large pink nipples. The hair between her thighs was bushy, as dark as the hair on her head, which was now cascading down around her shoulders. She was lovely, but even moreso than that, she appeared wanton.

  “Loretta ...” he said, his mouth dry.

  “Did you have sex with my sisters in town?”

  “What? No—we just met, and we worked on loading the buckboard. There was no time.”

  “Good,” she said “I want to be first.”

  “First,” Clint said, “meaning somebody will be second, and somebody will be third?”

  “That’s right.”

  “Now look, you don’t have to do this,” he said. “All I did was load and unload your buckboard.”

  “You don’t understand,” she said. “Our husbands are all dead. We haven’t had a man for a long time. My sisters like you, and approve of you.”

  “And do you approve of me?”

  Her eyes sparked and she said, “That’s what we’re gonna find out right now.”

  Seven

  She pushed away from the door and crossed the barn toward him.

  “You’ll have to get rid of that gun.”

  “I’ll take it off,” he said, “but it has to stay within reach.”

  She shook her head. “Men and their toys.”

  “This is no toy,” he said, unstrapping it. “I use it when I need to.”

  “Well,” she said, reaching him, “you won’t need it tonight.”

  He hung the gunbelt on a nail on a nearby post then turned to Loretta as she reached him. He could feel the heat coming off her body. Her nipples were hard, her nostrils were flared, and he could smell the scent of her readiness.

  She pressed against him and kissed him. He kissed her back, slid his hand down between her legs to touch her wetness.

  “Oh!” she said, as he probed with a finger. “My God.”

  “You’re so wet,” he said. “It has been a long time, hasn’t it?”

  “Quickly,” she said, “spread a blanket over that hay.”

  He looked around, found a blanket and did as she asked.

  “Now get those clothes off,” she said. “We don’t have time for romance, just sex.”

  “Well,” he said, “I do want you to approve.”

  He started to undress ...

  ~*~

  Both completely naked they fell onto the blanket in a hot embrace. Clint would like to have spent some time getting to know her body, but she was having none of it. She pushed him onto his back, exhibiting surprising strength, and mounted him.

  “Now?” she said. Her hot, slick pussy took his hard penis all the way as she came down on him with a satisfied grunt. As she began to ride him up and down she put her finger to his lips. “We have to be quiet!”

  “Easy for you to say,” he grunted.

  “No,” she said, with a smile, “not so easy.” And when the smile spread over her face—the first he had seen it. lost that hard set that marred her beauty, and she blossomed.

  “Oooh,” she groaned, pressing her hands down onto his chest for balance as she continued to bounce up and down on him.

  Clint moved his hips in unison with hers, coming up to meet her as she came down, and soon the inside of the barn was filled with the sound of their flesh slapping together.

  She bit her lips and growled with the effort to not screaming. When her time came she arched her back, her head fell back, she opened her mouth and no sound came out, even though the cords on her neck were stretched.

  When he erupted inside of her he strained to keep from bellowing, and then she collapsed atop him and they laid there like that for a few seconds, until suddenly she sat up and got to her feet.

  “Hurry,” she said, pulling her clothes on. “I’ll go back to the house now. You follow in a few minutes.”

  “What do we say?” he asked, getting to his feet.

  “Don’t worry about what I’ll say,” she said. “You say you saw to your horse, took a walk, got your saddlebags and came back.”

  “But you said you’re first,” he
reminded her. “That means your sisters—”

  She waved her hands at him and said, “Don’t try to figure us out! Just do as I ask. All right?”

  “Sure,” he said, “since I’m a guest, I’ll do as you ask.”

  She rushed to him, grabbed him behind the head and kissed him soundly, then ran from the barn.

  He finished dressing, shaking his head at what had just happened.

  Eight

  He walked back to the house with his saddlebags over his shoulder, and mounted the porch. None of the ladies remained seated there, so he went inside.

  Voices were being raised in the kitchen, but he couldn’t make out the words. He slammed the door to let them know he was there, then waited.

  “Clint!” Belinda said, coming out of the kitchen. “You’re back. Good. I thought maybe you’d changed your mind and ridden off.”

  “No,” he said, “that would’ve made me a rude guest.”

  “Well, I’ll show you to your room. It’s ready.” She had changed from the shirt and trousers of the morning to a simple dress. Her skirt twirled as she turned to the stairs. “Come on!”

  He followed her to the second floor and along a hallway.

  “Here you go,” she said, waving. “You’re right across the hall from me. Isn’t that cozy?”

  “Yes,” he said, “very cozy.”

  He entered the room, which was simply furnished, much cleaner than most hotel rooms he’d been in.

  “You’ll like the bed,” she said. “It’s the best mattress in the house.”

  “Really?” he asked. “Better than yours?”

  She giggled. “Wouldn’t you like to know?”

  He dropped his saddlebags onto the bed.

  Belinda stood at the door, remaining in the hall, and said, “We ain’t got no indoor water closet, so you’ll have to go wash up in the kitchen.”

  “I don’t want to get in anybody’s way,” he said.

  “Aw, we’ll be in bed soon,” she said. “We don’t stay up too late. Loretta’s always got chores for us early in the mornin’.”

  “I’ll keep that in mind.”

  “You might wanna keep your door closed,” she told him, with a sly smile. “We ain’t had a man in the house in a long time.”