CHAPTER ELEVEN
The following morning Georgia helped Colleen prepare a breakfast of bacon, eggs and biscuits. Matthew and Brian hurried to the table at once, claiming to be starving. Excited about the planned ride with Hank, Georgia found her appetite had deserted her and nibbled half-heartedly at a biscuit.
"Are ya sick, Georgia?" Colleen asked as Georgia gave up on the biscuit and sipped coffee instead.
"No, I'm just not very hungry. I think I must have eaten too much supper last night," Georgia explained.
Matthew and Brian excused themselves from the table after the meal and went to hitch the horse to the wagon while Georgia and Colleen cleared the table.
"What're ya gonna do today?" Colleen asked.
"I'm going riding."
"Again?"
"I love riding. I never got the chance to ride horses in Boston," said Georgia. "I had to travel in a carriage."
"You're just gonna go on your own?"
"No, with a…a friend." Georgia wasn't sure she should mention with whom, but was saved from explaining further by Brian throwing the door open and charging in to collect his knapsack for school. Moments later the four of them were heading for town in the wagon. Georgia rode up front with Matthew, her stomach now twisting itself into knots of excitement and nervousness as she thought about spending another day with Hank.
Matthew let Georgia and the children out of the wagon by the schoolhouse and then drove off to the ranch. Georgia left Colleen and Brian there and walked over to Grace's to collect the picnic and to get the horse from Robert E. Grace had packed the food and cider into a basket and when Georgia arrived at the livery, Robert E tied it securely to the back of the horse's saddle for her.
"What's her name?" Georgia asked, having omitted to find out the day before.
"Cherry," said Robert E. "Need a leg up?"
"Yes, please."
A moment later she was in the saddle, smoothing down the skirts of the royal blue dress she had borrowed from Michaela's closet. Today she wore her hair in a long fat braid fastened at the end with a scrap of narrow blue ribbon and her excitement mounted as she rode Cherry slowly towards the clinic.
As she passed the barber's shop, Jake appeared on the porch to change his shop sign to 'open' and he paused to greet her.
"Mornin', Georgia."
"Good morning, Jake." She smiled down at him and halted Cherry briefly.
"Where you off to?" Jake asked then. "Fancy some company?"
"I'm sorry, I have plans. Besides, don't you have to work?"
"It's my own business, I can close up for a couple hours," Jake said hopefully.
"Sorry," Georgia repeated. "Like I said, I…" She broke off as Hank and Hurricane suddenly appeared from behind the saloon, trotting briskly towards them. Hank was wearing black pants and a red shirt and vest, a black wide-brimmed hat on his head. Aware that she was staring and smiling rather too eagerly, Georgia straightened her face and lowered her eyes.
"Good morning, Hank," she said primly.
"Mornin'." He grinned broadly and nodded briefly at Jake before turning his gaze back to Georgia. "Ya look real pretty," he added.
"Thank you."
"Huh," muttered Jake.
Hank glanced at him and winked, then wheeled Hurricane around and urged him forwards. Georgia pushed Cherry into a trot and followed, calling goodbye to Jake over her shoulder. Shrugging, Jake stepped back into the barber's shop.
Georgia and Hank passed Loren's store on the way out of town and earned curious glances from both Loren and Dorothy who were standing on the porch. The two horses trotted slowly away from the buildings, their riders enjoying a companionable silence until they had left Colorado Springs behind.
"What's in the basket?" Hank asked then, glancing at the back of Cherry's saddle.
"I asked Grace to make us a picnic," Georgia said, blushing slightly and hoping he hadn't made plans for them to do anything particular.
Hank grinned. "Is there meatloaf in there? Tuesday's meatloaf day."
"Yes, there is. And blueberry pie and cider," Georgia told him.
"Suddenly I'm awful hungry!" Hank exclaimed.
"It's barely past nine; didn't you eat breakfast?"
"Nah. Weren't hungry then," said Hank sheepishly.
"Well, I didn't eat breakfast either," Georgia confessed, pulling Cherry to a halt suddenly. She tucked the reins under her knee and twisted around in the saddle, carefully opening one end of the basket without untying it. She pulled out a hunk of bread and some cheese, broke the items in half and reached out to pass a share to Hank.
"I'm afraid you'll have to wait for the meatloaf," she said. "It needs slicing."
"Thanks." Hank crammed a large piece of bread and cheese into his mouth and urged Hurricane onwards.
After the snack the two of them continued to ride slowly in the direction of the creek where they had stopped the previous day. For the last half mile they pushed the horses into a gallop and raced towards the trees, Georgia's hair working its way free from the loose braid and flying out behind her.
Halting in the shade of a large oak tree, Hank jumped to the ground and tethered Hurricane, then walked towards Cherry. Before Georgia had even swung her leg over the saddle to dismount, Hank grasped her by the waist and lifted her down. When her feet touched the ground his arms remained around her, holding her close against him.
Georgia's pulse quickened and she rested her hands on Hank's chest, feeling the rapid thudding of his heart as he quickly removed his hat, hung it over Cherry's saddle horn and lowered his head to kiss her. His lips caressed hers gently and she closed her eyes, sliding her arms up around his neck beneath his hair. Her knees began to feel weak as he deepened the kiss, his lips now crushing hers and his tongue plunging into her mouth. She held onto him tighter, her body trembling and a sudden rush of desire filling her. For a fleeting moment it occurred to her that letting herself be kissed like this by a man she barely knew, miles from civilisation, was asking for trouble, but as starved as she was for affection she found herself unable to stop. However, it was Hank who put a stop to things after another moment, breathing hard as he gently pushed her from him and turned away.
"I'm sorry," he grunted, grabbing Cherry's reins and leading her to the tree where Hurricane was tethered. He tied her up and then removed the picnic basket from the back of the saddle and the blanket from Hurricane. He spread the blanket out on the grass on the bank of the creek and Georgia walked across slowly to sit down.
"Are you alright?" she asked softly.
"Yeah." Hank sprawled out beside her and pulled out a cigar. "Mind if I smoke?"
Georgia shook her head and watched as he lit it and lay on his back blowing smoke rings up towards the sky.
"Ya said your husband saw bein' married as a duty," he commented suddenly.
"Yes." She looked away from him.
"He never kiss ya like that?"
"No." She felt her cheeks growing warm.
"Hell, musta been somethin' wrong with him," said Hank. "You're beautiful and desirable and lovin'. How could he not see that? I can barely keep control of myself and I hardly know ya yet."
Georgia blushed more deeply. "Well, perhaps it was as you said the other day; that he wasn't much of a man," she said, her voice scarcely above a whisper.
"Ya got that right." Hank took another deep pull on his cigar and closed his eyes.
Georgia took the opportunity to open the picnic basket, remove the bottle of cider Grace had packed and pour some out into the two tin cups provided. When Hank opened his eyes and then sat up, she passed one to him.
They spent several hours by the creek, talking and later eating the picnic. Hank kept his distance until after the meal when Georgia kneeled by the edge of the water and dipped her hands in to rinse them. Then he sat down close beside her and slid his arm around her shoulders. She straightened up, smiling at him.
"The water's so lovely and cool."
"I used to swim in it when I was younger," said Hank. "Over there where it's deeper."
"I'd love to dip my feet in," Georgia sighed, imagining what Aunt Elizabeth would say about her thinking of paddling in the creek. She giggled suddenly.
"What's stoppin' ya?"
"Oh, I couldn't possibly."
"Why not? Who's to see ya, other than me?" grinned Hank.
"Well…" she hesitated. "These boots are awfully hot."
"Ya said ya wanted to have fun while you're here," Hank reminded her.
"Mm. Alright." Unable to resist the cool water, Georgia began to unfasten her boots, then realised she would also have to remove the thick black stockings she wore, held up by garters a few inches above her knees. She glanced uncomfortably at Hank for a moment, wondering if she dared ask him to look the other way. He smiled at her and then turned his head away as if he could read her mind.
Georgia hastily pulled her skirts up over her knees and rolled the garters and stockings down her legs, noticing that Hank took one surreptitious peek before she had pulled her skirt down again. Reasoning that he was going to see the bottom half of her legs anyway when she stepped into the water, she got to her feet and gathered up her skirts at both sides, cautiously dipping a toe into the edge of the creek. Hank stood up.
"Give me your hand, ya don't wanna go slippin' in there," he said, reaching out to her.
Georgia gripped her skirts in one hand and slid her free one into Hank's, holding on tight as she stepped off the bank into the water. It was deeper than she expected and reached her knees immediately. She walked carefully along the edge for a few yards, then turned to go back, swapping hands with her skirt and grasping Hank's hand again quickly, almost losing her balance for a second and squealing loudly. Hank laughed at her.
"You know, I could pull you in here," she threatened.
"Wanna try it?" Hank raised one eyebrow and when she hesitated he bent down suddenly and scooped her up into his arms, holding her over the water. "What ya gonna do now?" he grinned as she cried out again and fastened both arms tightly around his neck.
"Beg for mercy?" she suggested.
Hank's eyes twinkled. "A kiss might work better."
Georgia dropped her eyes away from his, hoping she wasn't blushing again. She was so unused to such closeness that she just wasn't confident with it. However, she made herself swallow her nerves and brought her lips down on his for a brief moment before drawing back again.
"That the best ya can do?" teased Hank, stepping onto the blanket and sitting down carefully, lowering Georgia onto his lap.
Her heart thumping, she leaned closer again, her eyes half-closed as she brushed her lips against his for a second time. This time she didn't pull back, but lengthened the kiss, the tip of her tongue sliding along the underside of his upper lip, her mouth clinging to his, causing him to groan suddenly and tighten his arms around her. He stroked one hand through her hair, then gripped the back of her neck, holding her more firmly as his mouth devoured hers. Georgia heard a whimper of desire rise from her throat and tried to tell herself to pull away, to stop things progressing any further. She removed one hand from Hank's neck and rested it on his chest, intending to push herself away from him, but she felt the rapid beat of his heart under her fingers, its pace matching her own and she relaxed again, leaning closer to him, her breasts pressing against him.
Hank removed his hand from the back of her legs where it had remained after he carried her from the creek and rested his palm on her knee, his fingers warm on her skin which had been made cold by the water. After a moment his hand slid upwards a few inches beneath the hem of her skirt and the lace cuff of her pantaloons, and once again she told herself she must stop before it was too late. Before she even reached down to push his hand off her leg, he withdrew it himself and broke the kiss, opening his eyes slowly. The blue of his irises was largely obscured by the dilated pupils and he breathed hard for a moment before speaking.
"We better get back to town before this gets outta hand," he said softly. Giving Georgia one last kiss on the cheek, he slid her off his lap onto the blanket and got to his feet with a groan, his back turned to her as he grabbed the picnic basket and went to fasten it to Cherry's saddle.
Georgia pulled her stockings and boots back on quickly and stood up to fold the blanket, her heart still thumping wildly and her cheeks pink. This was only the second outing she had had with Hank and she couldn't help thinking about what might happen by the end of the week, or the next, if she continued to spend time with him. She did her best to put it out of her mind as they rode back to Colorado Springs, but she couldn't forget the heat of Hank's kisses, the feel of his hand on her bare leg, his arms tight around her and she longed for more.