Part Two

Gwen looked across the bar toward the front door. At midday people didn’t often come in the saloon. This time of year a few cowboys might ride in later in the day when the ranch work was done, but there weren’t many of them. Most of the locals who had the money to spend on drinking, women or gambling were still working and came in during the evening. This time of day was usually kind of restful.

When she heard horses come up outside the front door she peeked out and saw a man and a woman on horses riding up to where old Johnnie sat in his usual spot. Although he was dressed in mighty fancy clothes for this town, the man sat his horse with a naturalness, as if he had been on one all his life, looking relaxed and at ease. He held the reins lightly in one hand and he crossed him arm over it, resting his other hand in his lap. She couldn’t see a gun holster, so she figured he wore his gun under his coat just about where his hand rested. Keeping his hand close seemed like another natural motion, not just something he was doing now. Everything about him screamed gun fighter.

She turned her attention to the attractive the woman beside him who shifted uncomfortably in her saddle - a sure indication her ass was sore from riding. She sat the horse fine though, so Gwen guessed that she had ridden a ways recently but was out of practice.

They were a curious pair. They didn’t get many women coming into town on horseback. There wasn’t much out here to come to.

“We are looking for Bobby Cramer,” the man said.

Gwen couldn’t see Johnnie, but knew he’d have his chair tilted back against the wall, trying to stay in the dwindling shade. Since she could hear the conversation well enough from where she stood, Gwen just stayed where she was.

“Bobby? You mean the fella owns this saloon?”

“That’d be the one,” the man said.

“He’s been a bit peaked of late. I expect he’ll be over at his house,” Johnnie told them. Gwen could imagine his toothless grin and the way he hitched his thumb, pointing down the dusty main street. “It’d be that two-story house with the blue shingles.”

“Thanks,” the man said.

He looked at Aimee. “But if the lady is wanting work whoring here, she’d need to talk to Gwen. I suspect she’d right inside.”

“What an outrageous assumption,” the woman snorted. She turned her horse and spurred it toward the house.

“That’s Bobby’s sister,” the man said, smiling.

“Shit. How’s a fella supposed to know a thing like that?” old Johnny asked.

The man shrugged and followed after her.

Gwen reeled. The sister had gotten here. Jack had said there was no need to worry about her, that she wouldn’t come. Being his secretive self he wouldn’t say how he knew that, but he’d been sure. Clearly something had gone wrong.

Even if she did come the way Bobby expected, she was early. The stage would just be arriving up at the station in Amarillo and they’d have to ride in from there.

It dawned on her that she shouldn’t let on that the woman’s arrival rattled her. She needed to warn Jack though - he wouldn’t know that whatever he had planned hadn’t worked out.

“Hey Dorah,” she called. A dull-looking blonde playing solitaire looked up. “Take a run over to the bank and tell Jack that Bobby’s sister just got into town? He’ll want to know.”

“Sure thing,” she said, tossing the cards on the table.

A woman sitting in the back of the room laughed. “Dorah won’t mind doing that at all, Gwen. Jack’s office is nice and private. She can give him the news and then, if he ain’t in a rush to say howdy, she might talk him into having a quickie before he gives his respects to the lady.”

“You are something, Toni,” Dorah said. “Jack don’t never fuck me in his office. He likes a blow job now and then is all. He wants to get laid, he wants it in a proper bed.” Dorah tossed her head, smiled and happily flounced out the door.

Gwen shook her head. Most of the time she couldn’t tell if Toni was joking or serious. Even when she knew the girl was joking she couldn’t shake the feeling that Toni was laughing at her. It was almost as if she knew something.

****

As they rode down the street Jason let his gaze dart about, checking alleys and windows that opened onto the street. He was being careful, but he didn’t sense any danger, and soon he’d deliver this fickle woman to her brother and he could be shed of her. The damn woman left a bad taste in his mouth. She had come onto him and been a fine lover. Fucking her had been glorious and he’d set his face on getting a lot more and getting to know her. He had been stupid enough to think he might really care for her and then suddenly turned ice cold. He could deal with that but hated this silent shit. If she’d at least tell him what he’d said or done that upset her, well maybe he’d understand or be able to accept it at least.

“That’s a fine house your brother has,” Jason said as they rode up. “Needs a little work, like most things around here, but it’s a real nice one.”

“We inherited that from our Uncle along with the saloon,” she said.

Bobby was sitting on his porch in a rocker and stood weakly when he saw them ride up. “Aimee,” he shouted. Aimee jumped off her horse and ran up the steps to hug her brother.

“Bobby, I was so worried when I heard you were sick.”

“I’ll live, I think,” he said. “You being here will give me strength. It always has.” He looked at Jason. “You must be Sharp, the fella I hired.”

“That’s right.”

Bobby stood with his arm around his sister, looking beanpole thin next to her. “I hope you’ll tell me I wasted my money hiring you and there weren’t any troubles getting here.”

Aimee shot Jason a hard look and he smiled. “Nothing we couldn’t handle easy enough. There was some confusion and the stage went off without us at a waystation. Our luggage went on without us. I’m sure that is a bigger problem for Mrs. Young than for me. You might want to send someone to the depot to fetch it.”

“Of course. Did you have to buy horses and ride?”

“We had to ride, but the stage company provided the horses for us after the mishap. Mrs. Young is a fine rider and we probably made better time than we would have if we’d stayed with the stage.”

Bobby shook his head. “Never heard of such a thing, but at least they took care of things.” He kissed his sister’s cheek. “Well, never mind, now you are here. We’ll get your things in short order.”

A short plump man came walking up to them, smiling. “You must be the beautiful sister I’ve heard so much about,” he said as Jason dismounted and came around to help Aimee down. She felt stiff in his hands.

“This here is Jack Casey,” Bobby said. “He manages the local bank and is our mayor, so quite a busy fella.”

“And the potential buyer as I recall?” Aimee asked.

“Beautiful and quick too,” Jack said with an admiring smile.

“This is Jason Sharp,” she said. “He provided my protection for the trip.”

Jack gave Jason a quick glance but said nothing.

“Pleased to meet you too,” Jason said.

Bobby struggled down the steps, hugged Aimee then shook hands with Jason. “I know our deal was for the trip, but I’d like you to stay around a few days on the payroll.”

“That suits me fine,” Jason said. It did, but he wasn’t sure why, other than finding it nice to stay employed.

“I have plenty of room in this huge house so you can stay with us.”

Jason tipped his hat, using his hand to hide the smile that crossed his face when he saw panic light up Aimee’s face. “That is very kind of you to offer, Mr. Cramer, but as tempting as it is, I think it’s better if I get a room at the saloon. You two will have a lot to talk about and I would just be underfoot. I suspect we’ll all be more comfortable that way.”

Bobby shrugged. “Well, suit yourself. Gwen runs the place for me, so just tell her I said to give you a room as long as you need it.”

“Then I’ll leave you two to catching up and go settle in.” Without waiting for a response, he got on his horse and started back up the street, happy to be putting a little space between himself and the desirable but capricious Mrs. Young. One of them had a lot to sort out, and he figured it was her.

He wondered if her problem could be as simple as being a city girl who was totally out of her environment. She seemed more practical, more level headed than that, but you never knew how people would react to big changes. No matter how he turned the ideas, the way she ran hot and cold about him didn’t make sense. Maybe he simply spooked her, fucked her too hard or too eager. The reasons didn’t matter a hell of a lot. What did matter was that she didn’t want anything to do with him. That hurt, but he intended to be smart enough to take the hint and not hang around her with his mouth open like some lovesick kid. He wouldn’t pester her. If Aimee Young decided later on that she was interested in him, she would damn well have to come to him and say it right out. It irked him to know that he actually held out hope that she would.

“Mister,” a voice said, making him realize that he had drifted, dangerously, into a reverie. Out here it didn’t pay to let your mind drift. Jason stopped his horse and looked toward the voice. He saw a small man with a mustache. His clothes were dirty, but the star on his shirt was shiny. He wore a handgun and carried a rifle.

“Hello, sheriff,” he said. Jason noticed a tremor in the man’s hands and didn’t think it likely that fear caused it. The man had the face of a heavy drinker.

“What can I do for you?”

“We don’t want trouble in this town?”

“We?”

“The honest citizens.”

“I’m glad to hear that,” Jason told him. “Now that I know the law is on the ball, keeping trouble outside the town limits, I can go into that saloon behind you, and either drink myself into a stupor, or perhaps find a nice whore, or engage in a little of each. I thought I saw an attractive blonde in there earlier. It’s good to know I can do all that in the knowledge that the law is there to keep me safe.”

“You look like trouble to me,” the sheriff said.

“Not unless you point a gun at me; when people do that I become serious trouble.”

The man backed up slightly. “Just be warned that I’ll be watching you. You start trouble and I’ll finish it.”

“Thanks for the friendly advice,” Jason said. His knees urged his horse forward. He’d been honest with the sheriff. Although a room sounded nice, at the moment he wanted a few drinks and intended to check out the pretty blond whore. He was feeling edgy and figured a good whore knew just how to deal with that. And whores were consistent.

He tied up his horse and noticed a kid watching him. “Want to make some money?” he asked.

The kid nodded and Jason flipped him a coin. “Take more horse to the smith and tell him I want him boarded for a few days. I’ll be down to talk with him tomorrow.”

The kid led the horse down the street and Jason walked into the saloon. He flashed a big smile at the three girls inside. One, the oldest of the three, played cards, standing at the bar. She looked up and gave him a curious but welcoming a smile. The other came up to him as he walked in. She walked alongside him as he went over to the bar to where a slightly older woman, probably early thirties was recording in some ledgers.

“I need a room,” he said. “Something that overlooks the main street, if you have it.”

“All our rooms are available,” the woman said. He noted that she seemed to be expecting him. “So that is no problem.” She held out a hand. “My name is Gwen and I can set you up with a nice one. What’s your name and how long you thinking of staying?”

“Name’s Jason Sharp,” he said, “and I don’t really know how long I’ll be around,” he said. “I figure at least a week, but maybe a little longer.”

The younger woman who had followed him wrapped her arm around his. Her head came up to her shoulder and she leaned back to look up at him, giving him a nice and deliberate view of the tops of her breasts, which were pushed up by a tight corset. The sleeves of her dress were down on her arms, baring her pale shoulders.

“Hey cowboy, my name is Toni. Since you intend to be around this town a little while you should know that I am about the most fun a man can find in this town.”

Jason grinned and tipped his head toward two other girls who stood by the bar. “What about the other girls? They look like they could be fun too. Aren’t they going to say the same thing?”

Her shrug was flirty. “Well they probably would say something like that. Some men consider Margie over there fun when they want is a quick lay. Gwen is the manager and doesn’t do tricks as far as I know. She took his hand and put it on her breast. “I am talking quality fun.”

“Quality fun,” he chuckled. “Has a nice ring to it.”

“Sure does,” she said, running her hand over his crotch. She got up on her tiptoes to put her lips close to his ear and whispered, “A nice and tight little ring.”

This time Jason laughed. “You are quite the saleslady, ain’t you?”

Toni looked around the room as if searching for something. “You see anyone else drumming up business for me? Gwen here pushes the rooms, meals and the booze, but sometimes she neglects to mention some of the other creature comforts available that a man might enjoy. If I don’t make a sale then I don’t make any money or have any fun myself. So I figure that it’s up to me to promote all the extra features this place offers.”

Jason looked down at her. “You certainly take the initiative.”

She giggled and rubbed her warm and soft body against his hip. “If you are considering my offer, I can show you to your room for no extra charge. Help you get settled in.”

“If she is bothering you, just smack her one,” Gwen said.

“I’d rather you smacked me in your room,” Toni said, licking her lips.

Jason liked her. She was tempting and probably as much fun as she thought she was. But he needed to think a bit. He looked at Gwen. “Give us a bottle and a couple of glasses and we will sit at a table and discuss things a bit,” he said.

“I like a man who knows how to take it slow,” Toni said, making a fake sigh.

They sat and Jason poured two glasses. “I know it’s early,” he said.

“Is it?” she asked. She picked up her glass and raised it. “I must’ve lost my clock along with my virginity.”

“And I doubt you spent any time fretting over the loss of either,” Jason said.

“I would have picked a more romantic setting and person for losing my virginity,” she said, “but fretting? No.”

“I like your attitude,” Jason said. “Too many people start off thinking life is gonna be fair and then get riled cause it don’t work that way. Life is a lot more fun if you are willing to take it as it is.”

Toni leaned across the table. “If that is the way you feel, why the hell are we just sitting at this table instead of going up to your room so you can take me?”

He smiled. “Damn good question, woman. And maybe the only answer is that I’m a little slow at working things out.”

“It’s that woman you came in with that is bugging you,” Toni said. “You got a problem there and it is stuck in your craw and that ain’t healthy.” She stood up and took his hand. “Let’s go upstairs and I will show you how to forget all about her, least for a time.”

Jason smiled. He liked her attitude as well as appreciating her nice figure. He stood. “Okay, teacher. Show me the way to the classroom.”

****

Jason took to Toni quickly. She seemed to be a rare kind of person. She was smart, self-assured and had a desire to enjoy life. She accepted that she was a whore and made the most of it.

Inside the room, she led him to the bed and lay down on it, looking up at him. “I know that whores tell cowboys a lot of shit,” she said, “but I am looking forward to this.”

“In that case, get out of that dress and we can start having fun,” he said.

As she undressed, doing her best to tease him as she unveiled her body, he saw that she watched him carefully and it wasn’t just because she liked looking at him.

“I know I am paying for the use of your body, but how about tossing in your thoughts?”

She smiled. “Okay, as a special introductory deal. I was thinking that you seem like a strong guy, but I think you are also a nice one. I am turned on by the powerful guy I see hiding inside, while I think the nice guy balances him a bit, I wouldn’t want you to be too nice. I am not delicate and delicate treatment isn’t the way I get off.”

She was out of her dress now, and she stretched out naked on the bed, letting him see her body. As he watched, enjoying her performance, she opened her legs and touched herself. “You like to watch?” she asked.

“Not as much as doing,” he said.

Toni smiled. “Now you are talking.”

Jason took off his jacket and shirt, tossing them aside, and then he took his holster off and put it gently on the nightstand. He saw Toni had her eyes on his crotch and he reached out to her. “You undo my pants and see what ideas come into your dirty mind,” he told her.

“Oh that sounds good,” she said. She got on her hands and knees and crawled across the bed to him, staying that way to undo the buttons. When she opened his fly she reached in and pulled out his cock, stroking it.

“Oh yes,” she said, and she licked it.

He put a hand on her head and she opened her mouth and let him pull her face forward to swallow his cock. She sucked it hungrily, rolling her eyes up at him. He smiled down at her, enjoying the sight of her taking his shaft between her bright red lips. He began fucking her mouth, feeling the touch of her tongue as she sucked him.

But he wasn’t ready to come in her mouth. There would be time for that later. He pushed her away, sending her sprawling on her back. He sat on the bed and took off his boots, then stood and pulled down his pants. His cock throbbed. She had gotten him excited with her talk and the way she sucked his dick and he was ready to fuck her. She looked at him with a hunger gleaming in her eyes, telling him she was eager for it.

He got on the bed and rolled her on her stomach, bending down to kiss her ass cheek and then nip it with his teeth, making her cry out. Then he lifted her so that she was on her knees facing the headboard, which was against the wall. When she grabbed the headboard with her hands, he got behind her and put his hand between her legs, pushing his fingers into her cunt. She was starting to get wet.

He wanted to play with her more, tease her and make her come, but his need was urgent. He brought his throbbing cock to the lips of her pussy and felt her fingers as she reached back to help guide him in. As she worked the head of his cock between the tender and warm lips, he grabbed her hips and thrust his own hips forward until his pelvis slammed into her ass. She grunted with delight as he penetrated deep inside her and feeling her hot cunt welcoming him.

“Oh yes,” she gasped as he began stroking into her, trying to go deeper. They rocked the bed, slamming the headboard against the wall as he filled her and then pulled back. She rocked back to meet him and when he exploded inside her, her pussy continued to squeeze him.

“I’m glad it’s early,” he said. “I want a lot more of that pussy before the night is over.”

She rolled over and looked up at him. She spread her legs and rubbed her pussy. “I want a lot more of that cock too,” she said. “If you were inclined to have a little snack down there, I have a hunch that your tongue would feel might welcome too.”

“Oh really,” he said. “That cunt looks mighty delicious, now that you mention it. I would have gotten to it sooner or later, but let’s make sure we don’t forget it.”

“No, we wouldn’t want that,” she moaned as he lowered his face and ran his tongue up her inner thigh toward its destination. He took her legs in his hands and pushed them back and apart, letting his eyes feast on her pussy. Then he licked his lips and brought his face close, inhaling her musky smell and as he extended his broad tongue and ran it the length of her cunt, she tangled her fingers in his hair and moaned happily.

The movement of her hips under him as he tasted her told him she was getting aroused. He worked the fingers of one hand inside her as his tongue explored the folds of her cunt, finding her clitoris. He toyed with it for a time, then took it in his mouth as his fingers filled her cunt and he began probing around inside her, enjoying the way her warm flesh grasped at his fingers, the urgency with which she pressed his face tighter against her crotch.

“Shit,” she cried suddenly and her body writhed, she arched her hips as if she could pull his fingers and tongue deeper inside. He savored the vibrations of her body as she came, and he tasted her fluids as the flowed over his tongue and onto her thighs.

He sat up and looked at her as she regained her breath.

“That was good, but now I am hard again,” he told her. This time he climbed on her, resting his weight on her legs and carefully eased his cock between the swollen lips of her pussy. He bent her legs back and took her with agonizing slowness, savoring the sensations of her body receiving his. He watched his shaft gradually disappear into her, spreading the soft flesh and slipping inside - the deliciousness of it was incredible.

She held her own legs for him, pulling them tight against her chest. “Fuck me harder, cowboy,” she said, but he steadily slow fucked her, watching the union of their bodies.

“I want to see just how long I can make it last,” he said.

****

Aimee expected that learning the new business would be a handful but she hadn’t expected that Bobby’s lifestyle or her own problems would complicate things so much. The first evening, as she was trying to come to grips with everything else, he introduced her to Gwen and she learned that she was sharing his bed and had been caring for him. Gwen seemed ill at ease, but Aimee figured it was natural to be uncomfortable, meeting her lover’s sister who also happened to be half owner of the business. It would have been odd if she wasn’t uneasy.

Right off she knew that his relationship with Gwen was going to complicate things. Under the circumstance it would be harder to ask tough questions of Gwen than if she was just an employee. But that was the way things were and she would deal with it. Still, when she watched them go off to bed together that first evening, it bothered her. It wasn’t that Bobby was bedding Gwen - he always had a thing for the ladies. Maybe he was settling down and Aimee couldn’t guess if that was good or bad.

That Bobby was living with Gwen gnawed at her in another way, however because it made her look at herself in a new way. It made her wonder if she had made a huge mistake in pushing Jason away. She had assumed that the same attitudes she knew in the city would prevail out here and that had been a big factor in her reaction. She hadn’t stopped to think that it might be different in a small Western town - and she was part owner of a brothel. Getting upset because she had screwed a cowboy that she was drawn too might have been an overreaction. If that was true, she’d hurt Jason, and done it deliberately to salvage her pride.

She shook her head. Thinking about her personal situation that way was not only painful, it was a waste of time and energy. She had come here for a reason - to help Bobby and take care of business.

She wanted to settle in with domestic things before she even thought about the business. After all, the saloon seemed to be going along okay for the moment. So, in the morning, she had a talk with Gwen and learned how things worked.

As she took stock of the situation, she came to feel that Bobby didn’t really seem like he was ill. Not like he had some sickness. When she heard he was sick she’d worried it was TB. She’d heard there was a lot of it in the West, but there was no sign of that. Mostly he just seemed weak as if he’d been sick and was having a rough time getting well again. Her momma had always said that a man who was weak wasn’t eating right.

“I’ll take over the cooking,” she told Gwen.

“Gwen’s been doing fine,” Bobby protested.

“She is trying to run the business for you, dummy. This will take some load off her. Besides, she don’t know our momma’s recipes,” Aimee said. “They got daddy on his feet after his illness and they’ll put you right too.”

Gwen hadn’t seemed thrilled by Aimee taking work from her, but she wrote it off to women being territorial about their kitchens.

Learning the new kitchen wasn’t any trick at all. It was basic, as was the supply of food. The spices were in a rack by the stove; a quick inventory told her that Gwen had most things covered. She noticed an unusually large bowl of salt and thought that cutting down on the salt would help his blood. That was the idea anyway. She made mental notes of what she wanted to get from the store and went through things, sniffing and testing the things she found to make sure they were all right.

Idly, she dipped her finger in the salt and tasted it. It didn’t taste at all like salt, but slightly bitter. Whatever it was, it didn’t belong in food. Aimee dumped it out into the trash and washed the bowl thoroughly. She’d buy new salt at the store.

****

In the middle of the night Jason woke to the pleasant feel of a woman’s hand holding his cock. She lay behind him, her leg draped over him and as he came from a deep sleep he imagined it was Aimee there with him. Then it came back to him. Aimee didn’t want to talk to him and he was spending the night with Toni, Toni who wanted him. He rolled over to face her and she smiled at him. She reached for his cock and stroked it.

“I didn’t mean to wake you,” she said.

“Like hell,” he said. He rolled onto his back and watched her small hand making his shaft stiffen. She bent over and licked it, running her tongue from the base to the tip and then taking it in her mouth and sucking it. She was winding him up, but before he came, she stopped.

He watched her straddle his body, facing his feet. “You seem to like watching,” she said. “You should have a nice view this way.” She took his cock in her hand and held it as she lowered herself onto it, taking him inside in one smooth gulp.

“Damn,” he said. From his perspective he had a great view of her asshole above her other hole filled with his cock. He poked it with a finger and found it was tight. Later, he promised himself. We don’t have to batter down every door the first night.

As she began moving up and down on him he did as she suggested and watched. It felt great but after a time he had her turn around and face him. Then, as she rode him, he played with her tits, pinching her hard nipples, and then using his fingers on her pussy, finding the spots that made her wiggle even more, and rubbing them until she came. When she caught her breath, she got off and took him in her mouth, sucking him until he finally emptied his balls in her mouth.

And then they slept, but although Toni had pleased him so amazingly he still dreamed of Aimee.

****

When Jason and Toni came down the next morning Jason had to admit he felt damn good. He had to admit it for two reasons: first, because it was true, and second he had to admit it because Toni insisted.

“Now wasn’t that a fun night?” she said.

“Yeah,” he said. “You are a great fuck, Toni.”

Gwen was already behind the bar, moving things around. Margie and Dorah played cards with each other at a table in back.

As Jason and Toni went to a table and sat, Aimee came in the door. She looked at Jason and then quickly looked away, turning her head toward the bar and calling a good morning out to Gwen.

Toni watched Aimee for a moment. “What the hell is she upset about?” she asked.

“Bobby’s sister? Is she upset? She came out to help him sell this place or find out why it’s losing money. Maybe it’s not going well.”

“No. It ain’t that. That look says she’s jealous.”

“Jealous?”

“She is giving me a bitchy, possessive look that says she would like to see me killed.”

Jason laughed. “I’m not sure that look is intended for you. The last few days on the road I got the distinct impression that she doesn’t think much of me and might appreciate it if some cowboy would put a bullet in me.”

Toni looked at Aimee and then back at Jason, smiling. “And you got that sudden impression the morning after you fucked her, right?”

“You are a nosy whore,” he said.

“I see things when they are in front of me; I don’t flinch and look away,” she said. “And what I see is that girl wants you. She just don’t think it’s proper to let on.”

Jason laughed.

“It’s all right there in her face, although you can’t expect a man to read it. Clear enough, you two got caught up in wanting each other. Could have been love, or just sex. You are a sexy man, she felt vulnerable and close to you. Women like to touch and often as not when they touch the man he winds up fucking them. I’d guess that she right enjoyed it, but then she got all upset with herself because that isn’t how it is supposed to go for her, letting a man she barely knows have her so easy. So she got all messed up, not knowing what to do but afraid to keep on like that. It scared her to feel passion that strong. She ain’t used to it so she got all rigid and started to pretend she doesn’t like you and that what you did was wrong.”

“Where were you standing when all this went on?” he asked.

Toni shook her head. “Now the girl is wondering how she can turn back the clock. She wants you, but she is wishing you two could be just meeting. She can’t make that happen so she doesn’t know what to do. It’s cause of the way they bring up those proper women.”

“So what does she want?”

“She wants you. She just doesn’t know how to go about making that happen. Maybe she isn’t even smart enough to admit that she liked what happened.”

“Acting like that, how the hell is a man supposed to figure she even likes him? And why would he want to try starting over when fucking her caused such a problem in the first place?”

Toni laughed. “You are asking the wrong girl. I been a whore for five years. I never learned those games that so-called decent women play. You might have noticed that I come right out and tell a man, so I can’t explain them either. I just figured you ought to know that when she saw you with me, realizing that we came down from your room and figured out what we did together, her color went bright around that high neck on her dress. That isn’t indifference. It’s jealousy.”

“Damn,” he said.

Toni reached under the table and put her hand in his lap, stroking him.

“Now what are you up to?”

“Playing a game. I got fifty cents says I can make her faint within ten minutes and never have to get out of this chair. I just open up your pants and let her see me getting your cock hard.”

“No bet,” he said and moved Toni’s hand. “Not that the touching ain’t enjoyable.”

“I could tell you was enjoying it,” she said. “I wanted to make sure you remembered I could make you warm up inside. Now I’ll go in the kitchen and get us some breakfast.”

****

As Jason sat with Toni eating breakfast, Margie, the other whore came and sat with them. They nodded to Bobby as he came in, heading to the bar, where he saw Gwen and Aimee. Both women turned toward him as he approached, calling his name.

“Bobby, your sister says I have to give her all my books. What the hell is going on?” Gwen snapped.

“They are our books, not yours, Gwen,” he said tiredly. “Aimee needs to get a handle on the numbers before we can decide if we will sell this place.” He pulled out a chair and sank into it, staying out of her reach. Although he still had a chalky pallor, Jason thought he seemed a bit steadier on his feet than he had been just a day before. Aimee’s presence was already helping him.

“Gwen, you been after me to sell this place to Jack,” Bobby said. “Well, Aimee is half owner and she needs to put them books in order before I can think of it. I’m sure you been keeping proper tabs on things, but there is a real way the books are supposed to be done and Aimee knows what it is. So you give her the books and any receipts that haven’t been entered yet and let her figure out where we stand.”

Gwen gave him a sour look. “Jack seemed to be able to look at the books the way they are and figure what this place is worth. And it ain’t much.”

“Oh I’m sure he can tell what it is worth to him,” Aimee said. “He knows what he’d want pay for it, but that doesn’t tell us how much it is worth, or how much we’d clear once the deal was done. We need to know all the debts and taxes that are owed and what the inventory is worth. And there is a thing called goodwill that is worth money too. Besides, if you want the deal to go through, no bank is gonna hand over money for a business without proper books, even if the buyer runs the bank. It shouldn’t anyhow. Auditors would go plum crazy.”

“Fine,” Gwen said. She pushed the ledger over toward Aimee. “The rest of ‘em are in the safe in the office.”

“Take her in there and give her the combination to the damn safe, Gwen. That way she can just get what she needs herself and won’t have to bother you.”

Gwen looked shocked. “The safe too?”

Bobby nodded. When the women went into the office, he smiled at Jason. “Sometimes women don’t seem worth all the trouble.”

Jason grinned. “And other times you need them.”

“Especially when your pecker is stiff,” Margie said. She smiled and patted his leg. “Sounded like Toni helped you out in that regard last night,” she said.

Bobby chuckled. “You seem to be settling in right fine,” he said.

“You have a nice welcome wagon crew,” Jason said. “I think a man would have to be a pretty sour person to not settle in nice here.”

“I heard a bit more detail about your troubles getting here. Think you’d recognize the fella that escaped if you saw him again?”

Jason nodded. “No question.”

Bobby nodded. “Sounded pretty organized and well-informed for it to be just a simple ambush.”

“I figure someone who knows what’s going on in this town had to be behind it. Any idea why they’d care if Aimee got here?”

He shook his head. “No reasons worth killing for. Well, if you see the fella who got away, try not to kill him and maybe we can get some answers.”

Jason smiled. “I’ll try.”

“I’m gonna have to end our contract though. I can’t afford to have you hear just in case.”

“It’s slow season, right?”

“Yup.”

“I’ll make a deal. I have no urgent business and the whores here are nice, so you let me have my room for free and I will hang around a while and keep an eye on things.”

“Fair enough,” Bobby said. “I’ll say that since we don’t know what is going on, having you around is a comfort, Jason.”

****

Aimee was still getting oriented in the saloon. She hadn’t been upstairs yet. With Toni taking customers up there, Jason living up there and fucking her, she wasn’t sure she wanted to go up those stairs. Not yet. As hard as she tried to think otherwise, she felt his pull - she was drawn to him. Memories of making love with him in that small cabin overcame her in moments of weakness and she imagined being with him in his bed upstairs.

As she looked around she noticed two small rooms in the back of the main part of the saloon. Each was separated from the main room by a thin curtain across the doorway; each held a large bed and a dresser with a water pitcher and bowl on it. An old mirror, large with a tattered gilt frame, hung on the wall.

Gwen saw her peeking in and smiled.

“What are these rooms?” Aimee asked.

“Them are the quickie parlors,” Gwen said.

“Quickie parlors?”

“Some of the cowboys who want a whore can’t afford to rent a room upstairs or a girl like Toni. There are more of them than those with more cash so Dorah and Margie use these rooms to accommodate them.”

“Just those two?”

Gwen grinned. “You might’ve noticed that Margie is getting along in years for a whore. She used to be a beauty too. Dorah is younger, and she has a decent figure, but her face is plain. She don’t attract men who have money. If the cowboys are horny enough and the price is right they are happy to put down a bit to fuck either of them. When we get real busy, them two are big earners for us as well as themselves. Toni takes care of the ones with money and the ones with special requests upstairs. When we get busier, we’ll need to get at least another upstairs girl and maybe another downstairs.” She grinned. “There are a lot of cowboys willing to ignore how the girl looks if she is willing to fuck for cheap.

Aimee pictured Dorah and Margie dragging a series of men back to this sad little room for a quick and passionless fuck and shuddered. “These rooms don’t even have a door.”

Gwen shrugged. “Privacy costs more. And this is better. Having these rooms set up this way improves business.”

“What do you mean?”

“I can’t really explain. Look, it’s Saturday, and even though this ain’t the busy season, we’ll get some cowboys in tonight. If you come back with me after dinner and hang around to watch you’ll see how it works. That’s when you’ll really start to learn what this business is about. See, you can stare at liquor sales and prices and deliveries all you want. Sure the cowboys come for drinks, but there ain’t many women in these parts, and mostly it is the women they come for. You won’t find how that works in the books and the numbers you like so much. A lot of it involves understanding the people out here, and they are different than the folks back in Baltimore, I imagine.”

“Okay,” Aimee said. “I do want to learn the business.”

Gwen nodded. “Then why don’t we go get some dinner?”

Aimee couldn’t be sure if Gwen’s idea about going back to the saloon in the evening was an honest suggestion so that she could learn things that would help her understand the business better or some kind of challenge. Either way, she had accepted and she determined she would go back with Gwen after dinner. After all, Gwen did it all the time.

“The place can get pretty damn rowdy on a Saturday,” Gwen said as they walked back in the dark. “Most of the cowboys are good sorts, just rough and they can get a little crazy. If they step past the line, you gotta be tough with them and then they’ll behave, at least toward you. You might see goings on that don’t seem proper, but let the whores take care of themselves unless they ask for help. And if a fight breaks out, send someone for Pete, although don’t expect him to show before the fight is over and don’t expect him to be sober when he does.”

“What if things get out of hand?”

“We keep a loaded shotgun under the bar. Just set it on the bar, point it and pull the trigger. Likely as not you won’t hit nothing, but you’ll sure get their attention.”

Her head buzzing with all the advice, Aimee was relieved to find the bar quiet when she walked in. A couple of cowboys played poker with Toni at one table and another cowboy was drinking at the bar. Dorah was playing bartender and Margie was sitting at a table by herself.

Almost as soon as they settled in behind the bar, however, four young cowboys came in all excited, whooping and hollering.

“What’s all the hoopla, boys?” Gwen asked.

“It’s Billy’s birthday,” one of them told Gwen as two others walked an embarrassed young man into the saloon and sat him roughly down in a chair. “Billy here just turned 19 today and he ain’t never had him a woman.”

“Is that so?”

Aimee noted that both Dorah and Margie pricked up their ears at the nature of the conversation.

“Now that ain’t right and we didn’t want to wait until payday, so we all chipped in to get him a quickie,” he said.

Gwen winked at Dorah. “You think you might want to help young Billy here lose his cherry, Dorah? You got time for a virgin?”

Dorah walked out from behind the bar running her hands over her hips and walking with an exaggerated swish of her hips that seem to excite the young cowboys. “Shit yeah. Hell, making men out of boys is fun.” She walked over to him and ran her fingers through his hair. “How does that sound to you, Billy? You ready to fuck a woman? Does the idea get your little pecker stiff?”

Aimee blushed as she listened and Gwen poked her. “Get used to that kind of talk if you want to run a place like this, cause listening to the talk is the easy part.”

Billy swallowed. “Sounds might fine to me, Ma’am.”

“Well, if you intend to fuck me, Billy, you best stop with that Ma’am shit and call me Dorah like the other men do.”

He gave her a sheepish smile. “Okay, Dorah.”

She reached down and took his hand. “Well come on then,” she said. As he stood up, she looked around. “Which of you boys is holding this man’s coming of age money?”

“I got it,” one said, taking off his hat and fumbling nervously as he dug money out of his pocket and handed it to her. She looked at it and smiled. “Come on Billy,” she said encouragingly. His friends set up a cheer as she led him back through the curtain into one of the quickie rooms. As they went in, he glanced back over his shoulder with an eager but embarrassed grin.

“That’s worth seeing,” the man drinking at the bar said. He plunked a coin down on the bar and Gwen nodded. “On the back side,” she said.

“What’s that?” Aimee asked as the man headed for a doorway that led to the back.

“He paid for the right to watch them through peepholes.”

“Do they know they are being watched?”

She shrugged. “The girls do. They get a cut of the peeping money, which encourages them to put on a good show. Any of the boys that come in here more than a couple of times figure out the score. A couple of them love to show off. One cowboy comes in from time to time from Amarillo and always wants both girls at once. I think he’d be sorely disappointed if no one watched him fucking two at a time.”

Aimee shook her head to stop herself from trying to picture the threesome. She saw the poker game breaking up. One of the men got up from his seat and went over to sit with Margie and the other one was pouring a drink for Toni.

“It’s easy to see who won the game,” Gwen said. “They both came in with money. The one who lost is going to console himself with a quickie with Margie while the winner is setting his sights on taking Toni up to her room for a night of fun.”

“A busy night,” Aimee said.

“Kinda slow really. Later, when the cowboys are heading home after trail drives, they got money in their pockets and a lot of trail dust on their peckers. Then you’ll see the horny bastards lining up outside those curtains, waiting their turn with the girls. Dorah and Margie don’t even get off their backs most of the night.”

Aimee just blushed at the thought. But if it suited the girls, it certainly seemed to suit the customers and that meant it was good business.

She wondered if she was growing callous.

****

Jason sat in the saloon eating breakfast as some riders came in. They dismounted and tied their horses outside the saloon and came in, led by a burly man with a big cheerful smile.

“Morning everyone,” he shouted. “What does a man have to do to get a nice big breakfast in this place?”

“We are simple people, Tyler. You just show your money and you get anything you want,” Toni said, getting up to go over and give him a hug.

“Oh you are such a callous wench,” Tyler moaned. “I love you despite your hard heart.” He caught sight of Gwen behind the bar. “Gwen, I need breakfast for myself and my three idiot sidekicks. We have been riding since first light and if we don’t get some food I’ll have to start eating the furniture.”

“I can think of something more pleasant than that to eat,” Toni said. “Costs more, but it’s a lot tastier.”

“Oh you wonderfully wicked woman,” he said. “Keep that thought for later. Right now I’d never last long enough to do anyone any good.”

“I’ll get you some food then,” she said. “You can chat with Jason here. Jason, Tyler owns a big ranch outside of town. He is the richest man in the county.”

Tyler came over and shook Jason’s hand, looking into his eyes and smiling. “She neglects to mention that this is the poorest county in the nearest three states,” he said. I have a nice ranch with some pretty nice stock so people think I’m rich.”

“Well, if you don’t mind sitting with a poor man who really is poor, pull up a chair,” Jason said.

“I’ll only sit with you because it gets me the company of the loveliest whore in these parts,” he said. He held out a hand. “Glad to meet you. You don’t look much like a cowhand or a trail bum and I can’t figure out why anyone else would come to this fair town.”

“I rode shotgun for Bobby’s sister when she came from Baltimore.”

“So that was you. I heard there was trouble.”

He nodded and let it go at that.

“What’s your plans tonight, Tyler?” Toni asked pointedly.

“I’m having dinner at Bobby’s place. I got some business with Jack at the bank, then this evening we both are invited over for food and socializing.” He looked at Jason. “Will I see you at dinner?”

He shook his head. “I’m not really on social terms with them. I’m just a hired gun.”

Tyler nodded. “Well, I don’t recall seeing your picture on any posters, so I’ll take it that you are one of the good guys unless I see different.”

“Much obliged,” Jason said.

Gwen brought three plates of breakfast and Tyler excused himself. “I can’t face business with Jack on an empty stomach,” he said. “It’s upsetting enough with a full belly.”

“Jack’s his banker,” Toni told Jason. “Course he’s everyone’s banker.”

“And he’s the one that wants to buy this place, isn’t he?”

She nodded. “He runs the bank, he’s mayor and now he intends to own the saloon. I don’t figure why, since I heard Gwen say it is losing Bobby money.” She scratched her head. “Damn if I can figure out how it does that.”

“Maybe his sister will sort that out.”

“Don’t matter much to me who owns it as long as they are fair. The work stays the same.” She smiled at him. “Sometimes it’s even pleasurable.”

He put his hand on her knee. “Well I hope we can keep it that way.”

****

That night Tyler and Jack Casey both joined Bobby, Gwen and Aimee for dinner. Aimee found Tyler intriguing and charming. He was good looking, with the tanned skin of a man who actually worked outside. She suspected he was no gentleman rancher with hands doing all the work. Plus his attitude suggested he liked making things happen, not watching. Combined with his almost constant engaging smile and she warmed to him

“You still thinking of selling that place of yours to Jack?” Tyler asked Bobby.

Bobby shrugged. “That’s why Aimee is here, to help decide. After all, half the place is hers. I was just running it while she kept the banks in Baltimore in line.” He laughed. “I thought I knew what I was doing, but I got in over my head.”

“Any thoughts on what you’ve found so far, Mrs. Young?” Tyler asked.

“Please call me Aimee,” she said, then, seeing as he really seemed interested, she tried to give him a thoughtful reply. “I’m learning a lot and I think we are in less of a rush to make a decision. My initial impression is that we are doing all right for the moment. Cash flow is positive and that being the case it seems sensible to hold off making a decision. It takes time to understand the business and how things happen out here. I need to figure out how the business was losing money before. That’s the biggest mystery.”

“Getting them to make a decision is like trying to make it rain,” Jack said. “The winds and skies keep changing. I don’t know where I stand.”

Aimee caught an odd look on Gwen’s face and wondered what it meant. “Well, Mr. Casey,” she said, “you know that Bobby only considered selling in the first place because the place was losing money and his health was bad. And he didn’t ask you to buy it - you sold him on the idea.”

“I didn’t sell it very well, apparently. Actually, I don’t see why it is so hard to figure out if you want to sell it to me.”

“We aren’t trying to string you along, but there are two issues we have to consider, Jack,” she said. Jack seemed on edge that evening and she didn’t want to pussy foot around him, but it seemed right to measure her words carefully. “One is whether we want to sell at all. The other is if we can accept your price. And both will take me some time to answer. Even though I know accounting and management and the books for the saloon are nothing special, I’ve had to depend on Gwen and the girls to give me a crash course in how brothels work. I must admit that isn’t the kind of business they discussed in school.”

Bobby smiled. “The fact is, Tyler, that whatever magic Aimee is doing, we’ve started showing a profit. We still might want to sell the place, just to get out from under running a business, but on the other hand, I’ve gotten used to the town. I kinda like it here and what would I do without the saloon? Why I’d be reduced to loafing around, staring at cattle like Tyler here.”

Tyler laughed. “Don’t knock staring at cattle, Bobby. But I am delighted that you are making a little money and, more important, you seem to be looking better too,” Tyler said. “That is fantastic.” He looked at Aimee and nodded. “A wonder is what you are. Good thing you came out here and not only for Bobby’s sake.” He gave her an admiring smile. “May I say that it is extremely nice to have such a lovely lady around? I hope you decide to stay.”

Not used to such praise, Aimee blushed. “Right now we are just working on getting Bobby healthy and figuring out what is best for our future. Although Jack seems to think that he could invest the money from selling the place for us and we will be set for life. I’m not inclined to think it is that easy.”

Tyler stopped in the middle of putting a forkful of food in his mouth. “Not to be negative or to cast doubt on anything Jack says, but personally I think you are right to be cautious. I don’t feel that my investments are doing all that well right now.”

“Your investments ain’t doing bad at all, Tyler,” Jack said, scowling. “In fact, like I told you in my office, I figure you are doing fine. Things are just taking a normal dip. With you reinvesting, when they pop up again you’ll be ahead of the game.”

“Sure, sure,” Tyler said. “But see, I don’t depend on that money to live on. I didn’t mean anything bad, Jack, I just want Bobby and Mrs. Young to understand that there ain’t no sure things and that even your knowhow don’t guarantee a lifetime of ease.”

“True, very true,” Jack said. “But your new black Angus cows are doing well, aren’t they?”

Tyler’s face lit up. “My new babies are great. They’ve fattened up real nice. The market looks good for them. If we get a bit more rain we won’t need to buy much feed and then, come branding time, we should see a nice profit.” Tyler rubbed his hands together. “Old man Harper, the biggest buyer in Abilene, promised to run up with the inspector to check them out himself. If things go well, we will be running them straight down to Abilene and put them on the Texas and Pacific Railway.”

Aimee smiled to herself at the clever way Jack had turned the conversation away from Tyler’s concern over investments and led the men into a spirited discussion about cattle. Half listening, she turned the idea of selling the business over in her mind yet again. While she wouldn’t have picked a saloon as a business to start or buy, she could see that it had great potential. It was essential to the community whether people thought it proper or not. The idea of having whores working for her had bothered her at first, but the truth was it was just the idea - the word. The girls were okay and now she could see that in a world with so few women, they probably did better for themselves than settling down with one impoverished dirt farmer. What kind of life would a girl like Dorah have without her work? She’d just whore in some other place. And the cowboys would be fighting and going crazy without them.

She also didn’t much care for the idea of selling to Jack and then having him invest the money for them. She was going to have to get Bobby see those as separate things. One thing she knew about was checks and balances and that situation seemed to invite a man to pick your pocket. For all she knew, Jack was as honest as all get out, but that could be a sizable temptation for anyone and he might be weak. There was something about him that she found she didn’t care for.

She shook off the unpleasant thoughts as uncharitable. He seemed very nice - he wasn’t as polished as Tyler, but he tried to be pleasant. A part of her brain couldn’t resist comparing them both to Jason Sharp. But that didn’t make sense. He was, as he said, a hired gun. He didn’t have money or any sort of permanence. He offered her nothing.

Another image of them making love that night came unbidden into her head and she shivered. She could see his muscled torso looming above her naked body as he entered her. Okay, it was unfair to say that he offered her nothing.

“Are you all right?” Bobby asked her.

She smiled weakly. “I just felt a bit of a chill,” she said.

His looked was concerned. “We were going to step outside and smoke,” he said. “Gwen will join us, and I thought you would too, but if you are chilled...”

She patted his hand. “I’m fine, Bobby. You all go outside; I’ll go to my room and fetch my shawl and join you in a bit.”

By the time Aimee got down to the porch, she had calmed herself. She wrapped her shawl around her and sat in a rocker listening to the men talk around her. They seemed to enjoy her presence, but she didn’t have much to add to the conversation.

After a bit, Tyler stood up.

“I have to excuse myself and thank you for the wonderful evening,” he said. “I want to return the favor and welcome Aimee here to the community. What if you all come out to my place for dinner? I know it’s a long way just for dinner, so plan to stay overnight. I’ve sure got the room and the place hasn’t echoed with the joyful sound of company in a long time. Please allow me to show off my hacienda and the excellent fare my cook can prepare.”

“I haven’t seen your place either,” Bobby said. “That sounds like it would be fun. When?”

“Well, I have to head back to the ranch tomorrow. That’s Tuesday. How about giving me a day to sort things out and coming out Wednesday afternoon. That’s a slow night in town as I recall, so Gwen will have no excuse not to come too? I’m sure Toni could mind the store for one slow night.”

“I think I’ll have to pass on the invitation, Tyler,” Jack said. “I have some paperwork to do for the Central bank. If it is late, they’ll be after my skin.”

Aimee let out a groan. “That is the main thing central banks are good at...requiring paperwork.” She smiled at him. “My sympathies,” she said, although she found herself just as happy that he couldn’t make it. There seemed to be competition between he and Tyler and she found Tyler a much more interesting man. She looked forward to seeing his ranch and getting to know him better without Jack there. “I know I’d like to see this famous hacienda of yours, Tyler.”

“Gwen?” he asked.

She smiled. “Of course, Tyler.”

“It’s all set then,” he said happily. “And now, I will retire to the room I have reserved at your fine saloon. I intend to get an early start in the morning.”

“You can stay here,” Bobby said.

“My men are staying at the saloon and I need to talk to them tonight, and get them set up for some chores they need to do in the morning. I will be up and out early, so while the offer is appreciated, I’ll take a rain check.”

As he left, Bobby yawned. “Better get me off to bed, Gwen too,” he said. “I think I’ve overdone things a bit.”

As they said their good nights and Gwen took Bobby inside, Jack smiled. “I’m glad to have a chance to talk to you alone,” he said. “And not about business.”

“Really?”

“You are quite a woman, Aimee. Tyler was right about that. You are pretty fearless.”

“I don’t think that is true at all,” she said.

“You are being modest. You crossed the country to come out here and help your brother.”

“I had an armed escort,” she pointed out.

“Still, it isn’t something many women would do.” H paused. “I just wanted you to know that I admire you. More than that, even.”

She held up her hand. “Jack, before you get too personal, I have to stop you. I don’t doubt your sincerity, but we are also negotiating a business deal and one thing I know is that you don’t mix the two. Until we have a deal or decide there isn’t one to be had, it is unseemly to even raise personal issues between us.”

Jack looked surprised. “Well, I suppose you are right. Out here we often don’t have time for the niceties and I guess I forgot myself. I didn’t mean to speak out of turn. But I have to make one point - I can see that you like Tyler. He is a fine man and all, but please, if you can’t consider me as a man while we are doing business, please don’t rush into judgments about him neither.”

She smiled in the dark. You are a little late with that, she thought. “I can’t promise anything, Jack. It would be a lie, a foolish lie to say I can put my emotions on hold when there is no reason. But I’ll keep what you said in mind. I can do that much.”

He nodded and picked up his hat. “Then I better say my good night,” she said. He stopped at the top of the steps and bowed, then turned and went down them and toward his house.

****

Aimee looked over toward the bar as she came in and saw Gwen arguing with a cute little Mexican girl. She looked to be twenty or so and had a slim figure. Aimee seemed to be part of the conversation and she was getting agitated.

“That is Rosa,” Toni told her. Seeing Aimee watching, she had wandered over. “She wants to whore here, but Gwen don’t care for the idea of a Mexican working the place. Rosa is selling it for all she is worth.”

“What do you think about it?” she asked.

“Long as there aren’t too many girls working the place, if there is plenty of business, where they come from doesn’t matter to me. As long as the cowboys like her, then I figure why not? A little new pussy will draw them like flies to honey and she has the look.” Toni laughed. Sometimes Gwen forgets that it’s just business and it shouldn’t matter what she thinks of Mexicans.”

Aimee wandered over to hear Gwen say, “I can’t see it happening, Rosa. I might hire you as a maid or something.”

“What’s the problem?” Aimee asked.

“Rosa here wants to whore here but I don’t see it as a good thing.”

Aimee shrugged. “Why not?”

“Mexican whore might make the place seem trashy.”

“I don’t see why?” Aimee said. “Rosa is a nice looking girl. You could let her try. Letting her work doesn’t cost the bar a dime and maybe makes money.”

“It costs money if having a Mex whore keeps the cowboys away,” Gwen said.

Gwen was irritated. She hated that kind of dismissal of a person. She turned to look at Jason who was nursing a drink. “What do you think, Mister Sharp?” she asked.

Every time she saw him in the saloon, talking with the whores, going upstairs with Toni, it made her angry. She knew it had nothing to do with her. He had no reason to think she gave a damn about him and she was trying not to, but it still grated. Maybe his presence would be useful for once.

“Think about what?” he asked nonchalantly, as if he hadn’t been paying attention.

“Think about Rosa working here as a whore. You are a man who enjoys whores,” she said, trying not to sound too venomous. “You are a customer and I am asking your opinion. Do you think the cowboys want to be in a saloon with Mexican whores?”

“You go down to Sonora and see how much the cowboys hate Mexican whores,” Jason chuckled. He ran his eyes over Rosa. “And of course it depends on the girl. So let’s see what we have here...lovely brown legs, nice figure, cute tits, a winning and suggestive smile...I guess I think they’ll like it fine.”

“See,” Aimee, said.

Aimee saw that Gwen caught the glance she had given Jason. There was something nasty in the smile that followed. “Okay then,” Gwen said. “You value his opinion, we should find out if she has what it takes. You willing Jason?”

Jason chuckled. “Depends on what you are asking.”

Gwen smiled. “It’s my experience that it’s one thing for a girl to say she wants to be a whore, and another to have what it takes to do it proper. Ask Toni. She’s seen a few come and go. Some girls think it will be like having lots of boyfriends and partying all the time. When they have to deal with real customers and only focus on pleasing them, they can see it different.”

“How does involve Jason?” Aimee asked.

Toni had come up behind Jason and she laughed. “Naughty Gwen wants Jason to break her in.”

“Break her in?” Aimee said.

“Fuck her. See how Rosa takes to being a whore,” she laughed. “Right, Gwen?”

Gwen snorted. “Damn right.” She smiled at Jason. “Show me that you mean it when you say she’s got what it takes to please men the way Toni does. Take her up there and put her through her paces - spend the night fucking her any way that pleases you.”

“But...” Aimee said. She suddenly felt the trap close. Somehow Gwen knew she cared about Jason and had tricked her into setting it up for him to fuck Rosa.

Gwen laughed. “Aimee, it was you who asked his opinion, brought him into this.” She turned to Jason. “So give her a ride. Spend a night finding out how many ways you can fuck her. In the morning, if she still wants the work and you tell me she was worth the price, I’ll give her a try.”

Jason looked around as if he expected someone else to speak, but all four women were staring at him, waiting for him to respond. Gwen wore her “I dare you” look; Rosa looked hopeful; Toni seemed amused; Aimee was certain shock showed on her face.

Finally Jason sighed and looked at Rosa. He walked up to her and slipped his arm around her slender waist. The top of her head barely came up to his shoulder and she rested it against him. “This ain’t much of a challenge, Gwen. Since we are making a night of it, first we are going to sit over here and chat for a bit, get to know each other. Bring us a bottle of whiskey,” he said. He took a smiling Rosa’s hand and led her toward a table. He looked at Aimee and motioned to her. “Come sit at the table with us for a bit.”

“We don’t go upstairs now?” Rosa asked. Jason thought she looked disappointed.

“In a bit,” he told Rosa. “After we eat. Aimee, sit and eat with us.”

“I got to go fix Bobby’s food,” she said, but she sat cautiously wondering why he wanted her to be there. “He seems to be getting better,” she added.

Gwen came over with a bottle and glasses and put them on the table. She poured whiskey into four glasses, putting one in front of Rosa, Aimee and Jason. She picked up the fourth and drank it down. “Let me tell you, you brother is recovering real fast. The man’s pecker was the first thing to recover,” she said, “and he is trying to make up for the fucking he missed while he felt bad.” She grinned. “Guess I shouldn’t sound like I’m complaining when that’s a good thing.” Then she went back to the bar.

Jason nodded. “Glad to hear he is recovering. There is nothing like family care, I guess.”

Aimee nodded.

“Okay, now Rosa, I want to tell us why you are so anxious to work as a whore.”

She laughed as if it was the most foolish question in the world. “For money, mi amor. My family works in the fields. They work all day for little money. They want me to work in the fields too but I would much rather have fun with men and get more money.”

Jason looked at her, letting his eyes capture her big brown stare. “Are you a virgin?”

She shook her head. “No.”

He nodded. “Fair enough.”

“Why do you ask?” Rosa asked, looking concerned. “Do you want a virgin?”

“No. I just wanted to know that you understand what having fun with men means.”

“A woman knows that,” she said.

Jason touched her cheek. “Rosa, it’s a rough world and I see no need to make things rougher on anyone that it needs to be. I don’t want to see anyone keeping you from doing what you want, as long as you really want to do it.”

Rosa put her hand on Jason’s crotch. “Amigo, all the girls in this cantina make more money on some nights than my entire family does in a month. They live better than the girls in my village who maybe have their virtue or a husband and no food.”

Aimee felt puzzled. Although she kept telling herself that she didn’t care about Jason, she kept seeing sides to him that surprised her, like his obvious concern for Rosa, the tenderness of his gesture. She knew that she was jealous of Rosa, jealous that she would be the one feeling him inside her, touching her, making love to her. She knew it and that made her angry with herself.

The saloon was nearly empty. Gwen stood behind the bar as Toni played solitaire at a table. Dorah and Margie lingered at the door, as if they could will horny cowboys inside. Jason could feel the periodic glances from Toni and the other whores as he and Rosa ate.

After a time three young men came in. They chatted with Margie and Dorah for a moment then took the girls by the arm and headed to the bar for a drink. After they chatted for a time Aimee saw Dorah take a young cowboy’s hand and put it on her crotch. As he stroked her she moved close and whispered in his ear. He nodded and she led him to the back of the room and Aimee watched them slip through the curtain into a quickie room. A short time later she heard the sound of their cries coming from the room. Trying not to look toward the curtain, Aimee saw that Jason was watching her and blushed.

One of the other young men came up to Rosa and bent down to ask, “Are you busy sweetheart or just trying to be?”

“Sorry,” she said sweetly, putting her hand on top of Jason’s, which rested on the table. “I have a lover already.”

“I can wait around for a time,” the cowboy said.

Rosa grinned at the man happily, seeming to enjoy the attention. “I am busy for the whole night.” She winked at him. “I sure wouldn’t mind if a cute guy like you came in earlier tomorrow night, though.”

The cowboy shrugged. “I’m here and horny tonight, sweetheart,” he said. “Maybe another time.” He gave Rosa a last wistful look and went to talk with Toni. After a bit they went to the bar and the cowboy exchanged some money for the key to a room and they went upstairs.

The last cowboy was heading to the other curtained quickie room with Dorah. ”See what I told you about the lack of privacy being good for business,” Gwen called to Aimee. “These boys hear someone else having a good time with one of the girls and they get ideas. Good ideas.”

Jason nodded at Rosa. “Speaking of ideas, chiquita, it’s time for you to go to work in your new profession.”

Aimee stood up, suddenly feeling upset. How did she manage to keep messing things up so badly? Because of her Jason had practically been corralled into fucking Rosa and now it bothered her that he was going to do it. Or was that her real concern? The way things were he might have hired her for the night if she hadn’t done anything at all. So was it what she had done, or just that he obviously liked Rosa. Was it more that he was showing no interest in her? If it was, well that too was at her insistence.

She watched Rosa lead the way to the stairs and had a brief fantasy of taking Rosa’s place. That Jason was paying her to go to his room and fuck him. Any way he wanted, Gwen had said; Aimee knew all too well that she hadn’t given him that chance with her. She might never know all the ways he might want her. She trembled.

“I think I see what you mean, Gwen,” she said. “I think I’ll head home.”

Gwen smiled as she watched her leave.

****

Rosa liked his room and said so. “And what a wonderful bed,” she said, sitting on it and bouncing, enjoying hearing it squeak.

“It isn’t bad at all,” he said as he took off his holster and hung it over the back of a chair. “I’ve seen better, and stayed in worse, but for a small town, it ain’t bad.”

The room had a view of the dusty street outside the saloon and the late afternoon light tinged the room in yellow.

Rosa looked smaller and more fragile in the light. As he went to the window and then turned back to look at her, he noted a bit of anxiousness in her smile now. “What do you want me to do?” she asked.

“Show me what I’m getting,” he said gently. “Sit there looking as pretty as you do and slowly unbutton your dress.”

Her fingers went to the buttons and began undoing them.

“When you get it all undone, then slip it down off your shoulders and let me see your breasts.”

With delicate motions, Rosa did as he asked and soon her dress was around her waist. Jason came over to the bed and put a hand on her cheek, then ran it down her neck, over her collarbone, and to her breast, watching her nipple stiffen. His cock began to stiffen as he imagined how it would feel when he buried it between the legs, deep in the hot pussy of this sweet Mexican Rose.

Rosa helped that fantasy along, putting her hands on his crotch, using one hand to rub the bulge of his erection and the other to slowly undo the buttons. She was teasing him and her smiled taunted him even more.

“I think you do want me very much, cowboy,” she said. “You want to fuck little Rosa with this big thing?”

“That’s about right,” he said, watching her slide his pants open and take his cock out. She leaned forward to kiss the tip of it and stroke it with her hand.

“It is warm and hard,” she sighed. “Just right for filling up where Rosa is warm and wet and soft.” She opened her mouth and took it slowly inside and he felt her tongue on it, her spit wetting it so that when it came out of her mouth it was shiny and wet. “You should fuck me quick now,” she said, “then you can take me slowly when you are not wanting it in my pussy quite so much.”

“Not wanting it quite so much isn’t a feeling that lasts very long,” he laughed, pulling her head to him and forcing his cock between her soft lips and into that sweet mouth again.

When he pulled his cock from her mouth again, her saliva glistened leaving a trail back to her tongue. She wiggled her head and smiled happily. Jason pushed her onto her back and she spread her legs apart, her feet in the air. He pushed her dress down her legs. She was naked underneath, and his curious fingers found her cunt wet. “You want it too,” he said, forcing three fingers into her, savoring the warmth of that snug canyon.

“Oh yes,” she moaned.

He climbed over her and tingled as her warm and slender brown legs wrapped around him, his cock spread open the lips of her cunt and entered her. She sighed with pleasure as his fingers grabbed her tiny ass and pulled her hips up to meet his. He began grinding his cock into her, holding her tight.

“Fuck me hard, gringo,” she moaned and he started taking her in long strokes. Her tight little cunt grabbed him, felt wonderful caressing his cock as he rammed it into her until he came, relaxing on top of her and catching his breath and listening to her laughing happily.

“I love the feel of you inside my pussy,” she said, “but now you come slipping out. Well, never mind, we get it all excited again soon.”

They shed their clothes and lay together on the bed, with Rosa pouring drinks from the bottle. She leaned back, letting him feel the warmth of her bare back against his chest. He reached around her to fondle her pert breasts, his fingers tweaking the nipples while they sipped their drinks.

“Do I please you,” she asked.

He heard an element of concern in her voice and kissed her neck. “You are doing good so far,” he said. “I have no complaints.”

“Tell me what makes you feel good so I will know.”

“I will. The night is young and we will do many things,” he said.

After a time, when he grew hard again, he led her to the window and had her bend forward, holding onto the window sill. The late afternoon sun shone on her ass as he ran his hands over it. Then he spread her feet apart and brought his stiff rod between her legs.

“Reach between your legs and guide me into you,” he said.

He felt her gentle touch as she worked his cock between the lips of her cunt and then she moaned as he thrust into her, feeling her warmth encapsulate him. She turned her head back to look at him over her shoulder, hissing at him.

“Nice,” he said softly. He grabbed her hips roughly and began fucking her.

He liked fucking her from behind this way, seeing her lithe body stretched out in front of him, available for his pleasure. He had chosen the window because he liked hearing people on the street below them going about their business, while he fucked this hot little Mexican whore. If the people outside heard them, all the better.

She came first this time, giving voice to her passion in a torrent of Spanish, English and Indio cuss words. Her reaction excited him, and he slammed his prick into her, relishing the sensation of her body contracting around his swollen cock as she came. He felt her, heard her trying to make him come with her, but the timing wasn’t there and anyway, that wasn’t what he had in mind.

He rocked slowly and steadily, driving his cock into the lean body bent forward in front of him; she rested a hand on the window sill, arching her back, and hissing again. Her skin shone with the glisten of sweat, her thighs silvery with their fucking. She reached between her legs, to cup his balls and squeeze them gently.

“Muy fantastico,” she said. “But you are still heavy with cum. What will please you? What will empty these heavy balls?”

He spread her ass cheeks apart and touched the tight ring of her anus, feeling her start. “I want to fuck your little brown ass,” he told her.

She looked back at him, her eyes wide. “It’s so big. Too big for me there.”

“Not too big for you Rosa,” he was fucking her incredibly slowly now, anticipating the feeling of his cock in her ass, “and it will be the most delicious thing.”

She was breathing slowly, trembling slightly. “Did you fuck the other whore’s ass?”

“Not yet,” he said. “Only because I hadn’t gotten to it yet. I was thinking of taking her up here again tonight for that very thing. She has a nice ass too, lovely and round and firm. And she is a hell of woman. Of course when I saw your cute little ass wiggling in front of me and got the offer of breaking you in, I decided she could wait her turn.”

“Okay chico,” she sighed. “Please go slowly with me, because for that I am a virgin.”

“I will try to do it so that you learn to love a cock in your ass,” he said. “After all, I might want to have it fairly often.”

“Come to the bed,” he said. “We need to teach your asshole how to accept a cock.”

With an uncertain look on her face, Rosa went to the bed and got on her knees, her face down on the mattress. Jason crawled behind her and spread her cheeks open. He slipped his finger into her pussy.

“What?” she asked.

“I need to get my fingers wet and slippery,” he told her, and she sighed as he finger fucked her. When he moved his fingers to her anus and forced a fingertip into the tight pucker, she cried out. He wormed the finger around, stretching her. “This is going to be incredible,” he told her as his finger slipped inside. Rosa moaned and rocked back and forth as he worked his finger in and then added a second, watching how his fingers spread her asshole open. “I’m getting it ready,” he said.

Soon he couldn’t wait any longer. He finger fucked her ass as he slipped his cock into her cunt and got it slippery again. When he pulled his fingers out of her ass he saw that it didn’t close up quite as snuggly, but when he pressed the head of his cock in the center of it, it still resisted him. He used his weight to drive it into her and suddenly it popped in the tiny orifice and Rosa cried out.

He held still for a moment, letting her adjust, then began rocking gently, working it in her rectum. It was the tightest ass he’d ever fucked, and even though his cock was slippery from her pussy, the friction burned a little. It was a good burn.

“Damn,” he said happily and as she relaxed he began fucking her ass in longer strokes. He held her hips and rocked her back and forth as his hips reamed his cock in and out of her ass. She started cussing him a blue streak in rhythm with his thrusts. With his blood pumping and pounding in his ears he only heard about every fifth word and understood half of that, and none of it mattered. What mattered was that his world exploded and he finally began shooting his cum in her ass.

When he slipped out of her, watching his cum oozing out of her anus, she was laughing. He poked a finger in her ass and wiggled it before they collapsed together on the floor.

Later, when they lay side by side and finally got their wind back, she wound her brown legs around him and ran her small hands over his broad back.

“What did you think?” he asked.

“Of you fucking my ass? It hurt, especially at first, but then it was good in a crazy kind of way. It got me excited knowing that you wanted my ass so bad and I liked feeling you come inside it. It felt like it shot way up in me.”

They fell asleep again until she woke him in the first light of early morning. She lay across him, stroking and licking him. He grabbed her ass and squeezed as she got him hard then she mounted his stiff rod, squatting over it and lowering herself slowly onto it. He let her take the lead, lying still and watching her fuck herself on his cock, moving slowly with her hand playing with her pussy and her eyes, barely visible in the dim light, rolling back in her head as his cock and her fingers brought her to orgasm. He reached up and pulled her nipples as her face contorted with passion.

Then, as the sun came up, he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her down over his chest, keeping himself inside her. He rolled them over, putting her on her back under him, enjoying the feel of her under him, the thrill of his cock impaling this slender woman. He pushed her knees up to her ears, rocking back on his heels to look at his cock spreading the swollen lips of her wet pussy and then moved forward, sinking his cock deep into her slippery and hot depths. He caught his breath and then began pounding into her, bouncing their bodies on the bed, feeling the way her velvety sheath caressed him during each trip into her, teasing him until he came and felt the thrill of sending his seed roaring up inside her. He held her tight and trembled and then sat back to watch his cum leaking out to wet her thighs. He spread over her with his fingers then had her suck them clean.

“You make me sore,” she said, teasingly.

“And you are draining me dry,” he said as she squeezed his softening shaft. “I think that’s what is supposed to happen. We must be good for each other.”

“I think I will like this work,” she said.

“I think you will,” he agreed.