My appetite was coming back, and I hoped I’d be well enough to ride out with Oscar and Trick tomorrow.I’d had some willow bark tea when I’d woke this morning, and the residual pain was still manageable hours later.
The girls and I ate cinnamon rolls, and they told me stories about their business and how funny it could be at times.They said a lot of the men that came to them didn’t know anything about giving a woman pleasure.Some of them didn’t even know a woman could get pleasure from sex.Miss June’s girls figured ’twas in the public interest for them to teach these men a thing or two, if the men wanted to learn.They said most of them did catch on, even though the main reason for their visit was their own enjoyment.The usual technique was to get them off quick one time, then show them how they could pleasure their wives, get them all randy again, convince them to practice their skills andvoila!That girl could get her own as well.’Twas clever and no doubt ended up delaying the departure of the man in question and earned the girl more money, as well as providing some much-needed education.
I didn’t know too much about women, but I did know they could get as much pleasure from sex as a man.And I supposed, now that I thought back on it, ’twas a whore who’d taught me that.I hadn’t told Miss June or her girls that I’d been in the habit of paying for these kinds of services back when I’d run with them outlaws, but I doubt they would have been surprised if I had told them.Things got to a point for most men who weren’t married or involved with someone, who got tired of bringing themselves off with their own hand and were driven to search out a proper tumbling—and pay for it, if necessary.
Of course, knowing I was firmly with Oscar and not looking for anything else must have seemed like a challenge to some of them girls.I couldn’t count the number of times a peignoir fell open or a girl’s tits got close to my face, all through innocent means, of course.But I did catch a few sly looks, and I figured these girls didn’t get to have much fun.Why shouldn’t they try to tempt me?
But all I could think about was Oscar, and the way he’d looked in the peignoir and frilly panties when Cal and Trick had dressed him up for me.Cal was such a nice person—funny and sweet and witty.I only hoped we could find her and help her if she needed it.When I’d first met her, I’d thought she was a young man only dressed in women’s things.But after talking to her, I learned that Cal thought of herself as a woman and dressed accordingly when she could.And the folks that knew her accepted this without argument, for they could see the truth of it, and it made sense to them.
If Cal was in some kind of trouble, we needed to find her.I only hoped that, if Oscar and Trick didn’t find her today, I could help them search tomorrow.
I spent the morning reading, but after lunch I couldn’t stop fretting about all three of them.’Twas frustrating lounging about like I was.I was a man of action, and even when things were quiet, I liked to keep busy—only I knew Miss June wanted me to rest.
Along about three o’clock or so, I tracked her down.
“How are you managing, Jimmy?”she asked, when I found her sewing a skirt in the kitchen, while Cook chopped vegetables and added them to a simmering pot on the iron stovetop.
“I’m feeling much better,” I said with hope and cheerfulness.“My side hardly hurts at all now.I think it’s healin’ up pretty good.”
“I do appreciate you following my instructions.”
When Miss June had examined the stitches this morning, she’d said the wound looked real good and was healing well, with no sign of infection.She’d left it open to the air and made me promise to be careful not to rub it or bang against anything.I still had to be careful, but she reckoned I was on the path to a good recovery.
“I imagine you’re wanting to go riding out with Oscar and Trick tomorrow.”
I blinked.This woman had a sixth sense.
“Well, yes, that is what I wanted to talk to you about.”
She rested the skirt in her lap and gazed at me with some concern.“I suppose you can, but I want you to be careful.Don’t get into any scrapes or over-extend yourself.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Maybe the three of you can go out for a few hours tomorrow, rather than the whole day.”
“Sure.But we need to find Cal.I reckon I can manage for a bit longer than that.”
She narrowed her eyes at me.“Jimmy, you want to heal and avoid an infection, or else you’ll be in worse trouble and so will Cal.She needs you in fine form.”
I nodded.“All right.That’s true.”
Miss June gave me a kind smile.“I am so grateful to you for coming.It makes me feel less anxious to have Oscar and Trick out looking for Cal, and if you’re with them, why, she’s sure to be found.”
“I hope so.”
I didn’t remind Miss June that Cal could be anywhere—that she could have left the region entirely.But I reckoned Miss June was well aware of that possibility and was trying to be optimistic.
“Was it hard to leave Port Essington?”she asked.
“Yes, ma’am.We’d barely finished building our house.”
“Oh, Jimmy!I’m so sorry.”
“It’s not your fault.We needed to be here for you and Cal.There weren’t no way around that.If you hadn’t sent that letter and we’d found out later that something terrible had happened, ‘twould have been hard…real hard.At least, this way we can do somethin’.E’en if it comes to nought, we’ll know we tried.”We gazed at each other, considering all the possibilities.“Oscar might not be alive if not for you and your girls.I can never repay you for the help you gave us.”
Miss June’s breath hitched.“You repay me every day that you do right by Oscar and make a loving and safe home to call your own.”
Emotion rose in me, and I couldn’t speak, so I only nodded, blinking my eyes to hold it back.Miss June must have noticed, because she stood, put aside the skirt she was sewing and stepped forward, opening her arms to me.
