Later

by pbj3133

A promise Jess Harper made two years ago has to be fulfilled. And he's not ready.

This story can stand alone, but some references are from the first two stories in this series.

"Today" = M rating

"Again" = M rating

"Later" = T rating

"Camille" = M rating (current project)

Later

I've been jumpier than a long-tailed cat in a roomful of rockin' chairs for the last week. And meaner than a snake for the last three days accordin' to Slim. Guess it's true 'cause Daisy is threatenin' me with her spring tonic if I get any ornerier.

I kicked a bucket over in the barn this mornin'. It jumped out in front of me and I didn't wanna go around. Big mistake; it weren't empty. I dang near broke my toes. Plus Slim happened to be the one who set it there and he was inside a stall tendin' one of the relay horses who'd worn the hide off from a bad harness leather.

"What in the Sam Hill is your problem, Jess?"

"Nothin', I don't have any problems," I snarled.

"Then maybe you need a good dunking in the water trough, Pard," Slim threatened, comin' at me with his arms spread like he was hazin' dogies. That boy is tall and his wingspan is a bunch wider than mine. So if he was serious, I was gonna have a fight on my hands to keep from gettin' wet.

I dropped my hands and relaxed: Maybe I can talk my way outta this.

"Sorry, Slim. I've been worryin' about that shindig the Hendersons are throwin' for their daughter." I felt kinda foolish, "I've got myself in a fix with two gals expectin' me to take 'em, ya know."

That part was true, so far as it went. But the main reason I was so jumpy was word had come by way of Mose, that Olivia Henderson was comin' home after two years of schoolin' in Rhode Island.

"Later" had arrived on my doorstep and I wasn't near ready for it.

"Two girls, huh? Well, Pard, who are they?" Slim laughed. "Maybe I'll take one of them off your hands."

"It's not funny, Slim. I could have half the girls in Laramie mad at me. If they get to talkin' among themselves, hen talk, ya know. . ."

Slim laughed some more, "Quite a corner you've painted yourself into, Jess. Who'd you say the poor . . . uhhh, I mean, the lucky ladies were?"

I grinned and shook my head, "I didn't say."

Me and Slim wandered out of the barn together. Slim slapped me on the shoulder.

"I offered, Jess, but I guess you'll just have to dig yourself out of this hole."

"Well, I can't have you runnin' under me, now can I?"

XxXxX

Now that Slim's off my back, I can get back to my real worryin'.

I've changed my mind about going to the Hendersons' party 'bout three hundred times. Sooner or later I'll have to face Olivia. The last thing I shouted to her was "Later" and I'm pretty dad-gum sure she'll hold me to that the first minute she lays eyes on me.

If I ain't there tonight, tongues will be waggin' all over the county before the roosters crow in the mornin'.

I decided I'm goin' by myself. No gal. I'm gonna show up late; I got Slim to go on ahead with Daisy and Mike. Maybe I can sneak in and see what's what before Olivia or her brothers or Mama catch sight of me. Her Pa will be politickin' with the other ranchers, so he probably won't notice me at all.

Olivia-Livvy's been gone for two years, to a "finishing school" back east, whatever that is. I asked Daisy, but her explanation was about as clear as mud.

XxXxX

I got fresh horses for the last run of the day harnessed, and the stage pulled out on time. The used up team is in the barn corral, fed and watered, leathers put away and it's still too dad gum early to get dressed for Livvy's welcome home dance.

Nobody's left here but me, so I can dilly dally if I want to. And I sure as hell want to.

I'm ready. I guess.

My suit coat's been brushed twice and my hair three times; polished my boots till they shine like new money. I'll splash on some of that bay rum Jonesy left here and take off.

XxXxX

I could hear music and people laughin' and talkin' before I turned into the Henderson's lane. Light was spillin' out of the open barn doors and couples were sashayin' around the barn dancin' a Virginia Reel.

Sidlin' through the milkin' door, I slipped into the back row of young cowpunchers all gussied up in their Sunday-go-to-meetin' clothes. The fiddlers and caller were takin' a break and talk died down till you could hear a pin drop.

Like ever'body else in the place, I turned to see what was goin' on. A beautiful young woman stood at the edge of the dance floor. There was a glow around her. Jewelry at her neck and wrists caught the light, her ear bobs flashed, and the combs in her hair held back them auburn curls I had run my hands through just before she left for Rhode Island.

I swear the people separatin' us moved out of the way like Moses partin' the Red Sea. Olivia Rose Henderson smiled at me and I know I got red in the face like any school boy stealin' his first kiss. Almost of their own will, my feet side stepped through the crowd. I held out my hands, Olivia nodded, and glided into my arms. The fiddlers struck up some slow dance tune and I floated around the floor grinnin' like a fool, taken by the sight and smell of the grown-up Miss Henderson.

We kept a suitable distance between us for a proper young lady dancin' with an almost acceptable suitor. Olivia fixed her eyes firmly on my shirt front and I scanned the crowd searchin' for her over-grown brothers and her sweet Mama. The only person I recognized was Slim, grinnin' like a possum. He'll get his tomorrow!

We finished our dance and there was a line of town-boys and cow pokes waiting to be Olivia's next partner. She danced with all of 'em, twirlin' and laughin' and talkin'. Lots a young mens' ears turned beet red and their faces took on a blank stare aimed square at Abe Henderson's oldest daughter.

Finally, pleading she had to rest for a few minutes, Olivia paid her respects to the old ladies and young marrieds sittin' on the sidelines, who'd all been gearin' up for their next six month's gossip at her expense.

The unmarried girls who'd been starin' daggers at Olivia's back she gathered up and took to a corner. After much arm and hand wavin' from Olivia, she and the girls laughed and hugged each other all 'round.

Marchin' up to whichever feller had caught their eye, more than one of them gals smiled sweetly and asked Joe or Sam or Tex, "Will you pleeeaase get me some punch?"

Marcy Benton had latched onto Slim's arm and he didn't seem inclined to shake her off. He led her to the refreshment table and filled a plate for both of them. Then they pushed through the crowd to a corner where they could talk.

Plump little Marta Sorensen was making a beeline straight for me. With my back against the wall, I couldn't see no way out of squirin' her around for a while.

Then, I caught a whiff of Olivia's perfume and looked down to see her at my elbow, grinning evilly, "Jess Harper, I should leave you to Marta's clutches, but I have questions. You have answers and I want them now."

Marta looked disappointed Olivia had gotten to me first, but she shrugged and latched onto one of the wranglers from the Circle M.

Dadgum, Olivia, all grown up and newly "finished" had me corralled and she weren't used to bein' told "No".

Olivia got a plate of food and I carried two cups of punch. She led me over to meet her mother and grandmother. There were introductions just as though neither lady had ever seen me before in their lives.

Then Olivia said respectfully, "Mama, Gram Dodie, Jess is going to be my chaperone out by the wagons for a bit. It's so warm in here, I have to cool off before I faint."

Mrs. Henderson agreed, her gran'ma nodded and called her granddaughter a "sweet child".

Olivia spoke to ever'body we passed, while telling me quietly, "I'm making sure there'll be no gasps when we step outside. Tongues will be wagging soon enough without adding fuel to the fire."

"Livvy, you are a wonder."

XxXxX

We walked over to where all the buggies and buckboards and wagons were pulled up. Olivia asked which one belonged to the ranch and I pointed it out. She plunked the plate of food on the tail gate and turned around toward me. She held out her arms and I just stood there wonderin' what she was goin' to do next.

"Well, cowboy, are you gonna help me or not? These shoes are killing me."

I set the punch cups beside the plate and lifted her onto the back of the buckboard. She reached her arm toward me again. I was dartin' my eyes all directions searchin' for anyone watchin' us.

"Jess Harper, all I need is you to steady me while I take off these slippers. Stop acting so guilty. People will talk."

Olivia took off one shoe and tossed it over her head, then the other one. She lifted her skirt and crossed her legs, massaging her foot while she groaned out loud.

"I swear everybody I danced with, except you and Slim, stomped my toes every other step. Young or old!"

She straightened up and glared at me, "Are you going to hand over my punch or not?"

I hurried to obey, and pushed the plate in her direction, too. Olivia took a piece of fried chicken and tore into it. After a few seconds, she realized I hadn't picked out anything.

"Are you going to just stand there?"

My first big slug of punch went down the wrong way. Olivia swung off the buckboard and pounded my back till I could catch my breath.

"Take another drink," she insisted. I did and wiped at the tears streaming from my eyes.

We ate in silence for a few minutes, sittin' on the tailgate, till Olivia offered me our shared napkin to wipe the grease off my mouth and hands.

"It's later, Jess. Are you ready to tell me now?"

Takin' Olivia's hands in mine I began to gently caress the palms of her small, soft hands with my thumbs. Realizing the liberty I was takin', I dropped her hands and tucked mine under my legs.

"Livvy, what I'm about to tell you I've never told another livin' soul exceptin' Slim."

Olivia lifted cautious eyes to my face, but her gaze never faltered. Her trust in me to tell her the truth and be honorable in the tellin' was plain on her face.

I cleared my throat and began, "About five years ago, you might've been too young to hear about it, a man named Roney Bishop came to the ranch lookin' for me. I had only been with Slim and Andy for a few weeks, so Slim lit into me when he found out I got Andy to lie for me and tell Bishop I had moved on. Slim and me argued, but I didn't tell him why I asked Andy to fib."

I wiped my mouth again, "I didn't know Slim well enough then to tell him. and it took me a good while after I come back to the ranch to finally tell him all about Roney."

Olivia was gazing at me with her big brown eyes. She reached for one of my hands.

Scootin' closer, she whispered, "Jess, you don't have to go on, I know you killed Roney Bishop."

I gently sat Olivia back on her side of the tail gate.

"It's not what you think, Livvy. I promised to tell you when you got home. And then maybe it'll all fade into the past.

"Roney Bishop found me out on the prairie near Diamond Springs, Kansas, nearly dead from layin' on the ground for four days. My horse spooked at a snake and bucked me off. My right leg was broke in two places and I had crawled a few hundred feet tryin' to find water. Roney loaded me up on his horse and took me into town."

Takin' a deep breath, I went on, "Roney paid the doctor for lookin' after me. I was out of my head and didn't know anything about it till later. The doc didn't have any place to keep me, so Roney asked around town and found one of the saloons had a room where I could stay. He paid the owner to nurse me.

"I spent over two months in that bed. The doc rigged up a frame with weights on it to keep my leg straight. If he hadn't done that, I would a been limpin' ever step since. The owner of that saloon-she called it a 'salon'-had a big bed with a canopy over it. She put me in that bed and stripped off the canopy so ropes and bricks could be added or taken away as the doctor decided."

Quietly I added, "She's who taught me how to make love to a woman and do it right.

"This lady and her girls looked after me night and day. For almost a month, I drifted in and out, never really comin' to myself. They held me down in the bed or tied sheets around me to keep me from doin' any more damage to my leg. Camille wiped me down with cool water and sponged the sweat and stink off of me, cleaned me up when I messed her bed."

I was uncomfortable tellin' a young, genteel woman all the things those girls did for me, but ever' last word of it was true.

"Is that her name? Camille?" Olivia asked.

"That's the name she used. One of her girls said it wasn't her real name. But she never told me nothin' but 'Camille'."

"Then I owe Camille and her girls for saving your life, Jess Harper. She saw something good in you and helped make sure you survived to find a home with the Shermans."

"Livvy, I ain't worth all I put Camille and them girls through. I was a no good saddle tramp and gun hand, driftin' from town to town and job to job, sometimes skirtin' the letter of the law."

"They thought you were, Jess, and so do I. I want to hear the rest. You made me wait long enough, I deserve it," Olivia told me.

"All right, but it's embarrassin' for me to say and you to hear. It might be stuff you never heard before, or even dreamed of."

"Doesn't matter. The memories of you making love to me kept me going through many a long night while I was back East. And the thought of making you tell me how you knew those feelings and sensations were inside me, and I guess all women, stayed with me, until I could get back here where I belong."

After lookin' around to make sure nobody was close, I told Olivia some more, "One day I woke up, not knowin' where I was. I turned my head and I thought I had died and was seein' an angel. It was Camille. She had undone her robe and was standin' there naked. She never acted all coy or covered herself up. She walked over to me and checked my forehead. Her voice was husky and she spoke with an accent I found out later was French. 'Finally, mon cher, you are awake,' she said.

"My fever went up a bunch more times, but Camille climbed into bed with me and held me while I shook with chills. Sometimes she had on a nightgown, other times it was her skin against mine.

"As I started to feel better, Camille would wash me off, but she also began to play with me. She might swirl her warm rag across my stomach, tweak my nipples, or stare at me while she wiped the insides of my thighs. I was young and bull headed and thought I knew a thing or two about women, but I soon found out I didn't know nothin'."

A flush crept up my neck and I knew I was blushin' as I told Olivia Henderson things no unmarried girl should hear, even from her Mama.

"I was kinda 'fraid of Camille; she was beautiful and she had saved my life too. She finally got aggravated with me and asked if I thought she was pretty. I stammered out some lame brain answer before she took my hand and placed it on one of her breasts.

"Camille said, 'Mon Cherie, Jess, I want to make love with you. I heard your fever talk and know the hard life you have lived since you were only a boy, but none of it makes a difference to me. We all have pasts no one should know.'

"She guided my hands, scolded me when I rushed or was too rough, talked to me about how to make love. She knew where to touch me, how to make me ready."

"Jess, that's beautiful. Why wouldn't you want to share that experience with anyone?"

"Because of what happened at the end of our time together."

"Tell me," Olivia demanded, "What could possibly go wrong between you?"

"Roney Bishop came back to Diamond Springs. He was a strange man, Livvy. Always gettin' mad if he thought somebody was makin' fun of him. He attacked Pearl, one of Camille's girls, 'cause she was grinnin' when he asked where I was. He thought she was laughin' at him. Roney stormed out of the saloon, while a bunch of men did laugh at how he was actin'. He waited for Pearl to get off work and beat her within an inch of her life.

"Roney came back to the saloon the next day and Camille brought him to see me. He was all happy and excited for us to hit the trail. . .together. When Camille told Roney she didn't think I was ready to travel yet, he turned on her. He back-handed her, screamin' that no one would listen to him. I agreed to go with Roney to keep him from hurtin' Camille.

"Neither of us knew who had beat Pearl up. He told me about it after a day or two of ridin'. Glad he had got her back for laughin' at him.

"Roney was changeable as the weather. I never knew what might set him off. For some reason, after almost a week, he decided it weren't a good idea for us to travel together. He tossed a silver dollar in the air and let it hit the ground. Heads, I would go east. Tails, he would. Tails came up, so I headed west, glad to be rid of him and hopin' never to see him again.

"I didn't see him any more till that day at Slim's ranch. I hid inside, but Miss Essie's wagon broke down, and Roney came back to get Slim to fix it.

"He found me hidin' behind the front door," I told Olivia, "So I went with him and Essie Bright to keep Roney from hurtin' Andy or Jonesy or Slim. If any of 'em had said the wrong thing, Roney might have attacked 'em before I could stop him."

"Oh, Jess, that was so brave of you!" Olivia exclaimed.

"No! It was stupid not to tell Slim so he could protect them all if Bishop decided to go to the ranch for some fool reason."

"Did he go back to the ranch, Jess?"

I shook my head, no.

"But I knew Bishop was dangerous. I should've told the sheriff or Miss Essie. Jonesy went with us to Laramie to play the piano for Miss Essie. After bein' around Roney for a little while, Jonesy worked out he was loco and guessed why I left the ranch.

"Don'tcha see, Livvy, I nearly let him kill a half dozen other people. And maybe he did in them years I didn't hear nothin' about him."

"Jess, it's not your fault. That man was crazy. He could have killed you as easy as not when you left with him the first time."

Olivia slipped off the buckboard and came to stand in front of me.

Softly she said, "You did the best you could to protect Camille and her girls when you rode out with him. You kept Slim and Andy safe. You stayed in Laramie to keep an eye on Jonesy and the lady preacher. I already heard the end of your story, Jess. Everyone in Laramie talked about what had happened in the saloon during Miss Essie's preaching. For weeks, Mama and Pa discussed Roney threatening to kill you. How you grabbed the rifle from Miss Essie and shot Roney before he could hurt anybody else."

Olivia put both hands on my shoulders. The tone of her voice changed as she shyly looked up at me.

"I, um, I met a young man on the train east, Jess. I didn't do one thing wrong the whole time I was in Rhode Island, either!" she exclaimed.

Boldly, Olivia added, "His name is David Wainwright and his family lives in Denver. We 'kept company' under Miss Pruitt's watchful eyes whenever he could get away to come see me."

Tossing her head back and stammering, Olivia blurted out, "David's college studies are finished, and. . . and he's an attorney now and he's coming to ask Pa for my hand in marriage next Friday and we're probably gonna live in Denver if I can't convince him to stay in Wyoming so I can help Pa and the boys run the ranch. And I want to teach him how to love me like Camille did you."

I was shocked, and then began to laugh out loud. She kept tryin' to get me to hush, but I only laughed more. Finishin' school might have made her outer trappin's all lady-like, but inside she was still Abe Henderson's Western-bred, plain-spoken oldest daughter.

"If you teach your new husband to make love to you the way Camille did me, he might never make a good lawyer! He won't have time. And, Livvy, he's gonna wonder what all they taught you in that fancy school you went to," I teased.

XxXxX

I heard boots crunchin' over to where the buggies were. I put my finger on Livvy's lips to silence her.

"Livvy! Olivia! Where in the dickens are you hidin'?" Eli Henderson shouted, near the top of his lungs.

Olivia jumped back about three feet and dropped her hands to her sides. Her eyes were wide, but she gamely answered her brother, never taking her eyes off my face.

"Over here, Eli. You don't have to yell loud enough to wake the dead."

Crossly, she added, "I'm not deaf and not in the next county either. What is it?"

Eli answered hurriedly, "Pa's on the warpath lookin' all over the barn for you. He has somethin' to tell everybody and he wants you pronto."

Grabbin' Olivia's elbow he started to drag her toward the light spillin' out of the barn.

"Wait," I called after them, "Livvy don't have no shoes on. Abe won't want her barefoot in front of all the neighbors."

I jumped onto the buckboard and rooted 'round till I found her slippers and tossed 'em to Eli.

"Thanks, Harper," Eli grinned, "Pa would have a fit if all Mama's good intentions for gettin' this tom-boy married off had already flown out the window."

Throwin' up my hand, I grinned and said, "Tell your Pa he ain't got nothin' to worry about, Eli."

I watched until they disappeared into the barn.

Walkin' over to my horse, I let my mind drift back to that summer day I first saw Camille. She did look like an angel, and I've never changed my mind 'bout that.

I tightened the cinch and settled the saddle, then jerked the reins loose from the branch where they were looped. Stoppin' to pet Traveler's neck before I swung into the saddle, I whispered, "Wherever you are . . . in Diamond Springs. . . or if you moved on. . . maybe you're married now . . . I wish you a long and happy life, Camille.

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