by Purple Les
The Tequila Kid was up early. While Annie and Arabella slept on in the dark of morning, she went naked to the well and poured a bucket of water over herself. It was icy, but bracing — just what she needed to start the day. Filling the bucket again, The Kid brought it back to the cabin, then fed the stove and started a pot of coffee.
Annie stirred and got up, moving slowly so as to not wake the ten-year-old girl who’d kept her up late playing sex games. She kissed The Kid and whispered, “Mornin’, Tequila. I’m gonna go milk the cow and gather up the eggs.”
Annie put on her boots and went out naked to the barn. Once she’d returned with a bucket of milk and four eggs, she washed and put on some clothes. The Kid was already dressed, seated at the table and sipping coffee from a steaming mug. She’d just finished cleaning her pistols and was now loading them with the cartridges Annie had bought for her. That task accomplished, The Kid slid the shiny nickel-plated Colt 45 peacemakers into the double-holstered black leather gun belt she wore around her waist.
“No need to be quiet, Annie. Time for Button to get up. We have to hit the trail.” With a smile and a twinkle in her sky-blue eyes, she added, “I reckon you two kept each other up for a spell last night.”
“That youngster done wore me out,” Annie said, blushing in spite of herself. Her voice caught in her throat when she said, “I guess it’s good you’re both leavin’, else my cunt will be plum rubbed raw.”
The Kid stood up, took Annie in her arms and kissed her deeply, then said, “We’re much obliged to you for the hospitality, Annie. You’re a mighty fine woman. Next time I’m hereabouts, I hope you’ll allow me to pay you a visit.”
Annie beamed. “You’re always welcome here. In my home, and my bed.”
The Kid’s expression turned serious. “Listen, Annie. You can still help me to keep Button safe.”
Annie gave The Kid a determined look. “Anything I can do for her, I’ll do, Tequila. Count on that.”
“Good,” The Kid said, “In a day or two, a half-breed Indian with a bowler hat with an eagle feather and an old blue cavalry jacket will show up here. Don’t trust him, not for a second. Keep your shotgun on him. He’ll ask about me and the girl. Tell him you saw me. That I spent the night and moved on to town. Don’t say anything about Button. No matter how he asks, tell him I was alone.”
Annie looked a little worried, but replied, “I’ll do just as you say.”
The Kid woke up Arabella. The little girl ran outside to the privy, then came back in and washed up.
They all ate breakfast together. The girl had stayed naked and Annie couldn’t stop looking at the beautiful child, recalling the pleasures they’d shared in the warmth of her bed.
Annie had bought a dress and underclothes, as per The Kid’s instructions, and boy’s things as well, including a straw hat.
The Kid had Arabella put on the boy’s clothing. “You got a pretty new dress here, Button, but you need to wear britches for riding and such.” She put Arabella’s hair up in a bun, then set the hat on her head. “There, Button. You look just like a boy now.”
“Well, I don’t think I ever saw a boy with such a sweet face.” Annie said. Then she added with a wink, “Or such a cute behind.”
The Kid went to the barn and saddled up Charlie Redeye’s horse, adding two full canteens, the bedroll, and her large heavy saddlebags. The last thing she did was put her Winchester in the rifle boot. She walked the horse outside to where Annie and Arabella were hugging goodbye.
Annie wore a new ribbon in her hair, and The Kid smiled when she saw it.
The Kid mounted the horse, then reached down and pulled Arabella up on to the saddle behind her. The girl settled hung tight to The Kid, with both arms wrapped around her waist.
“Adios, Annie.” The Kid said as she nudged the horse forward with a soft kick to his side.
“Bye, Miss Annie.” Arabella yelled as The Kid got the horse up to a slow trot.
“Bye, Button. Bye, Tequila.” called Annie, watching them ride off till they vanished from sight. Finally, with a wistful sigh, she went into the barn to begin the day’s work.
*****
Annie had shown her a map, so The Kid had already planned out the route they would take. She guided the horse down a path that would avoid the town of Hellsfork and take them direct to Oak Creek.
A couple of hours later, they stopped for a break to let the horse rest and have themselves some water and hardtack. Then they rode on at slower pace, until they found themselves moving through the sagebrush near a creek as the sun was setting.
“We’ll camp here tonight,” The Kid told Arabella as she reined in the horse and they dismounted.
After they made camp and dined on some cornbread Annie had given them, they lay side by side on the bedroll, gazing up at the stars that filled the sky.
“It sure is a warm night. I reckon we could sleep right on top of the bedroll,” The Kid said.
Arabella turned over on her side and said, “It’s so warm, I bet we could sleep bare naked.”
The Kid turned to the girl and, in the moon’s friendly light, saw a big smile on the ten-year-old’s face. “We could, if we’d a mind to,” she replied.
Accustomed as she was to the quiet of riding the trail, The Kid had to admit that it had been fun listening to Arabella chatter all day about whatever came into her head. She’d also enjoyed the way that the girl would occasionally fondle her breasts from behind as they rode.
Now that she’s had her a taste of it, The Kid told herself, little Button’s gonna want love all the time.
Arabella looked back up at the stars. “I like dressing like a boy, Kid. It’s fun.”
“Well, now. I hope you ain’t turned into a boy.” The Kid said, a hint of mischief in her voice. “If you’re so warm, you best take them duds off, so I can check and make sure you are still a girl.”
“All right.” Arabella giggled. Sitting up, she pulled off her shoes and socks, took off her jacket and shirt, then stood up and removed her pants. The Kid looked Arabella up and down as the young girl stood, bathed by the moonlight, dressed only in her boy’s drawers.
Arabella unbuttoned the underwear and let it drop to the ground. Putting her thumb between her legs, she spoke in a gruff voice. “Look! I’m a boy.”
“Want me to suck that, little boy?” The Kid said as she got up on her knees, her face near Arabella’s thumb. The child pulled her hand away and The Kid said, “Now where did that little noodle go? Well, I reckon you are a girl, after all.”
The Kid pulled the naked ten-year-old down onto the bed roll and began to kiss her all over. Arabella laughed and giggled till The Kid was lying between her thighs, staring at the child’s smooth sex.
“Please… please lick me,” Arabella begged, a note of urgency in her voice.
Gently kissing the girl’s slit, The Kid then traced it with the tip of her tongue. Spurred on by Arabella’s blissful sigh, she began to lick harder, faster. The child spread her legs as far as they would go, offering her cunt up to her older lover, moaning long and low as she approached her climax.
Then her moan slowly rose into a wild cry, the little girl staring up at the night sky as she came. The Kid continued to pleasure Arabella — carrying her to the peak of ecstasy, then bringing her back down with the gentlest of kisses upon her sweet pink cleft.
As Arabella recovered, The Kid crawled up to lie beside her, and the two lovers’ mouths drifted together once more.
“I like how I taste on your lips,” said a sleepy-eyed Arabella. She relaxed into The Kid’s arms — then abruptly sat up, as if she’d just recalled something she’d forgotten. “Hey, Kid — can I do that to you? Make you feel good?”
The Kid smiled warmly at the child. “Anything you want, Button.”
Arabella grinned back. “Miss Annie showed me a few things,” she said, then got on her knees and began to unbutton and tug at The Kid’s clothes. “Let me make sure you’re a woman!” The Kid helped her some, and soon she was naked too.
Kneeling above The Kid, Arabella gave her a deep kiss, then began to suck her nipples, switching from one to the other. Thrusting a hand between the young woman’s legs, she caressed The Kid’s wet pussy, then slipped two of her fingers inside and started fucking her, using her thumb to manipulate the erect clitoris. It didn’t take long for The Kid to climax.
As they cuddled together under the bedroll, the night air grew cooler. The Kid sighed contentedly, tousling the girl’s hair. “Miss Annie taught you real good, I gotta say.”
Arabella giggled and said, “Uh-huh, she did. I sure do like her.”
“Me too, Button. Me too.”
Within a few minutes, they both dozed off.
*****
Arabella awakened up at dawn. There was a small fire going, and coffee heating up. The Kid was naked and standing hip deep in the creek, looking intently into the water with her arms beneath the flowing surface. The child watched, wondering what The Kid was up to.
Suddenly The Kid lunged down into the creek and, an instant later, threw a large trout out of the water and onto the bank. She quickly emerged, the water glistening on her skin in the morning light, and snatched up her knife, which she’d left close by. The Kid hit the fish’s head with the butt of the knife, killing it instantly.
Glancing up, she spied Arabella and gave her a wink. “Howdy, Button. You feelin’ hungry? I got us some breakfast here.”
“Thanks, Kid. I am hungry, now I think of it. You gonna cook that?”
“Sure am.” The Kid scaled it and cleaned the fish, then washed the blood off it in the stream, cleaning herself at the same time, then carried it over to the fire, where her skillet awaited.
As she seasoned the sizzling fish with oil and herbs The Kid said, “Go do your necessities, Button. This’ll be ready ‘fore too long.”
When Arabella returned, they breakfasted on coffee, fried fish and what was left of Annie’s cornbread.
“That was mighty good. Thanks, Kid,” Arabella said, then wiped her mouth with the back of her forearm. “It’s nice, just being here with no clothes on. I like lookin’ at you naked.”
“You’re a sight for sore eyes yourself, Button.” said The Kid.
Slowly rising to her feet, Arabella padded over to the bedroll and stretched out on it, her legs spread wide apart, a smile on her angelic face.
“Well,” said The Kid, shaking her head and smiling, “Why not.”
Kneeling next to her Arabella on the bedroll, she bent down and began to lick the little girl, her tongue gliding again and again through the smooth slit. Arabella saw that The Kid’s cunt was within reach, so she reached out to touch it, her fingers fiddling about in the juicy flesh. Soon, they each experienced a satisfying climax.
The Kid gave her young lover a minute or so to recover, then sat up. “C’mon, Button — we got things to get done ‘fore we hit the trail.” Moving over to where her saddle lay, she hunkered down and fished around in the bag for her towel and soap, then turned back to Arabella, who was stretching herself. “Let’s hop in the creek and get ourselves washed up,” she said.
“Sounds like fun!” the girl said, a wicked smile on her lips.
“No foolin’ around, now,” The Kid said, trying to look stern. “If we get to makin’ love again, we’ll never be on our way. Anyhow, ain’t you had enough to hold you for a couple hours, at least?”
“Nope,” Arabella replied.
“Lord, give me strength,” The Kid muttered, but with a smile. Shaking her head, she waded into the water. Arabella followed, and they quickly washed up.
Drying herself as best she could with The Kid’s rather small towel, Arabella put her boy clothes back on. The Kid wore her Levi Strauss jeans, boots, gray and white checkered shirt and green corduroy vest. Then she fastened her gun belt around her waist, a six gun in each holster and six gun on each side.
As she put her hat on, Arabella asked, “How come your hat’s so beat up, Kid? Where’d all them holes come from?”
The Kid shrugged. “I got a story for every hole. Tonight I’ll tell you a few. But for right now, let’s break camp.”
She saddled up the horse, then turned back to Arabella, “Listen, Button. We’ll be passin’ not too far from where your family was attacked.” She placed her hand on the girl’s shoulder. “I’d like to take a look around there, if you think you could stand it. It’s just a few hours out of our way. Might get some clues there as to who’s responsible. What do you say?”
“Okay,” was Arabella’s answer, though the girl couldn’t conceal the glumness she felt at the prospect of returning to the place where her parents and older sister had lost their lives.
Mounting the horse, The Kid pulled Arabella up to sit behind her, then they rode off.
*****
Charlie Redeye had slept for more than ten hours. He awoke confused and disoriented, then dozed off again. The next time he woke, he knew it to be near dawn. Charlie saw his canteen and pint bottle of whiskey sitting nearby. It took a little while to understand that the reason his limbs didn’t work was due to being tied up.
He tried to work out what had happened, and figured it out quickly enough. The Tequila Kid was what happened. He thought he’d killed her, then she had the drop on him. She’d buried him up to his head. No, wait, that isn’t right. She’d talked about it, but had given him coffee spiked with whiskey instead, and then… well, here he was, with at least half a day lost in between then and now.
It took Charlie three hours to get free of the ropes. The moment he was loose, Charlie lunged for the pint bottle bottle and gulped down its contents, then tossed the empty away. Now that his burning thirst was eased — for the moment, at least — the half-breed slowly stood up and moved around, wincing at the stiffness of his joints.
When he saw the rest of his whiskey bottles smashed on the rocks, the liquor long since evaporated, Charlie howled with rage. He stomped around the abandoned campsite, cursing the Tequila Kid’s name with every breath he took.
His horse was gone, and he ached too much to travel just yet, so Charlie elected to make camp there for the night, at least, The Kid had taken all of his weapons, but left his food untouched, so he’d be able to travel after an evening’s rest.
With nothing else to do, and needing to think about something, anything besides his lost whiskey, Charlie searched the area, looking for signs of the missing girl. Right away, he found a small pit. It looked like an animal had dug into it — maybe dragged something away?. All the pit held were the tattered remains of a little girl’s clothes.
Seating himself, the half-breed began to think. Did The Kid tell the truth? he wondered. Did the girl die, get buried here? He shook his head, uncertain. Hard to say. The Kid, she’s a sneaky one, I know that.
He put the clothes in his saddle bag, ate a handful of jerky, and turned in for the night.
The next day, Charlie set off, leaving everything behind but his saddle bag. He followed the creek, quickly finding some tracks, but they vanished where the heavy rain had been. He walked all day and night, briefly resting here and there.
An hour or two after dawn, he came across a small trail that went to a little cabin and barn.
He stopped and yelled out, “Howdy!”
*****
Annie appeared from the barn, the shotgun in her arms. No doubt about it, this was the half-breed she’d been warned about. The Kid had given her a perfect description of the man.
“Howdy.” Annie called back. “You lost?”
“I lost my friend, wonder if she came by here. Young woman, dress like a man. Wears two pistols. Maybe had a little girl with her, not sure.”
Annie nodded. “If you mean the Tequila Kid, she was here. Rode off on her mangy horse two days ago.”
“With the little girl?”
“She was alone. No girl with her. You need water?”
The stranger licked his cracked lips. “Some whiskey, if you got it.”
“I don’t. If you want to catch up to The Kid, she rode on to the town of Hellsfork.”
“Do you have a horse? Someone steal mine. Let me look in your barn, see if my horse in there.”
Annie Bloom pulled the two hammers back on the shotgun, raised it to her shoulder and put her finger on the triggers. “I got a lot of work to do, and you’re wastin’ my time, mister. I’d hate to shoot you in half and have to spend the day burying your sorry-ass carcass. Now move on or die.”
Pausing to spit on the ground, Charlie Redeye sullenly turned and went back the way he’d come. Annie followed at a distance and watched him head down the trail to town until he was long out of sight.
*****
As the Tequila Kid and Arabella relaxed by the campfire that evening, The Kid told the child about a few of the holes in her hat and how they got there.
After a moment’s silence, Arabella asked, “Can I hold one of your guns?”
“I reckon so.” The Kid answered. She drew the gun on her left hip and unloaded it. She spun it in circles on her trigger finger, tossed it in the air, caught it by the barrel and extended it to Arabella.
With wide eyes Arabella took the grip, and then reached out with her other hand as she realized how heavy the pistol was. “How’s it work?”
Figuring it was a good idea to teach her some of the basics of firearm use, The Kid said, “First, you pull the hammer back.” Resting the gun on her lap, Arabella did just that, grinning delightedly when the hammer locked into place.
“That’s right, Button. Good job. Now, hold it up with both hands. See, you look down the barrel at the sight on the end of the gun. That helps you to aim it at what what you’re tryin’ to shoot. Then you squeeze the trigger, nice and slow.”
Arabella aimed it at a branch on a tree and squeezed the trigger until the hammer fell back with a loud click. She studied the weapon in awe. “Gosh! Can I shoot it for real some time?”
“All right, some time.” Taking the gun back, The Kid reloaded it and slipped it back into the holster. “We best turn in now, Button. Lots to do tomorrow.”
The Kid got up to check on the horse, then got into the bedroll with Arabella. She watched the girl fall asleep while she thought things out.
*****
Charlie Redeye reached Hellsfork at sunset. He went to the first saloon he came to and was thrown out for being a half-breed. Making his way to the dead line side of town, he entered a lower class saloon and laid his money on the bar, muttering, “Bottle of whiskey.”
Reaching beneath the counter, the barkeep produced a bottle, which he set down in front of Charlie, then said, “Take it somewhere else to drink, you,” not bothering to hide his contempt.
Charlie took his prize to a nearby alley, where he pulled the cork with trembling hands, tilting his head back to take that first glorious pull from the bottle. He stood, swaying slightly, letting the warmth of the cheap liquor surge through him. Sliding down to sit against the wall, he downed another slug, then another.
He came to the next morning, head pounding, the empty bottle at his elbow. Struggling to his feet, Charlie shambled into the street. He found a cheap hash house, where he bought breakfast, then went back to the bar for another fifth of whiskey. The bartender was different this time, a bored younger man who took the half-breed’s money without a word. Charlie took a couple of swallows to steady himself, then tucked the bottle into his saddle bag.
He asked around about the Tequila Kid, with no success. Charlie spent the day idle in the town, gradually polishing off the contents of the bottle. Later that night, he stole a horse hitched in front of a saloon and rode off for Oak Creek.
*****
The Kid reined in the horse at the top of a hill. Shielding her eyes from the sun, she peered off into the distance and spied a spot of white against the tawny hue of the land. Dismounting, she helped Arabella down from the saddle. “Stretch your legs, if you’ve a mind to,” was all she said.
Reaching into her saddlebag, The Kid took out a battered brass telescope, which she held to her eye. Sure enough, she saw a covered wagon, lying on its side. “I think we found it,” she said, turning to Arabella.
They mounted the horse, then rode until they were within a few hundred feet of the wagon. The Kid stopped by a Joshua tree, and they both dismounted again.
“I think you best stay here for now,” The Kid told Arabella, taking a small spade from her saddlebag. “I’d like to look around, take care of any remains before you come down. Watch the horse for me, okay?”
Arabella nodded, and The Kid walked down the hill.
She drew closer. There was the broken water barrel Arabella had been hidden in. Cautiously making her way around the side of the overturned wagon, The Kid found three bodies. They’d been got at by vultures — maybe only one or two of them, but they’d done some real damage.
She stood, arms folded, fighting to calm her anger as she studied the remains of Button’s parents and big sister. They’d all been shot, then scalped. Scalped not by Indians, but by white men. She could tell by the way it had been done — a sloppy, amateurish job.
About half a dozen arrows bristled from the wagon. Plucking one from the canvas, The Kid examined it closely. Again, it was unlike any Indian arrow she’d ever seen. She put two of them aside to take with her. The footprints around the crime scene were old, but still visible. The horses of the attackers had been shod, and the men had all worn boots.
She spied a small piece of colorful paper caught under one of the wagon wheels, and bent to pick it up — a cigar band, not one she recognized. There was a picture on in, the painted head of an Indian chief. She put it in her vest pocket.
She found a handprint on the wagon — a large one, made by blood. The tracing she’d made in Adobe Wells of the hand mark left on the neck of Arabella’s dead grandmother was back in her saddlebag, but she knew without a doubt that this bloody print had been left by the same man’s hand.
They pretended to be Indians, but these fellows was white men for sure. Why’d they go to so much trouble, and who were they tryin’ to fool? She pondered the question, but finally shook her head. Time enough for thinking later — there was work to be done.
Using the spade, The Kid dug a grave. Luckily, the earth was soft, and the digging was fairly easy. Getting the hole deep enough still took a couple of hours, though. That accomplished, she cut a large piece of canvas from the wagon’s side, then used it to drag each body to the grave. The smell was awful, and The Kid was fighting a losing battle with her stomach all the while. She’d covered her nose and mouth with her bandana, but the stench of decaying flesh still seeped through.
Once the bodies were safely in the hole, The Kid quickly shoveled the dirt back in. Dropping the small shovel, she marched about fifty feet away from the grave, then fell to her knees and vomited up that morning’s breakfast. Finally she rose, wiped her mouth, then kicked some dirt over the mess.
Returning to the burial mound, The Kid began to cover it with large stones, carrying them to the grave until she was bathed in sweat from head to toe. Taking a couple of planks and a bent nail from the wagon’s frame, she put together a makeshift cross, placing it upright in the center of the grave. Removing her hat, she whispered, “Rest in peace,” then walked back to the Joshua tree to get Arabella.
*****
While Arabella had waited for The Kid, unwanted images came into her mind’s eye. The faces of her family, their eyes wide with horror. Wild Indians yelling and hitting and stripping her mother and sister, and their screams of agony. The big Indian who kept hitting her Pa. “Where is it, Hodgekiss?” he kept saying in his deep rumble of a voice, “By God, we’ll make you watch your wife and daughter get raped and killed. So you better talk.”
She remembered hearing her Pa say, “Go to blazes! You’ll kill us all anyway, so damn you to hell!” Then her father’s cry of pain, suddenly choked off. That must of been when he died, she realized. Tears ran from Arabella’s eyes as the awful things she wanted to forget came back to assault her.
Then she saw The Kid, standing just a few feet away. “You can go say goodbye to your folks now, if you want,” she said. “I took care of them.”
They walked to the wagon in silence. Once there, Arabella saw their family Bible stuck under a part of the wagon. She picked it up out of the dust, cradling it tenderly in her arms.
“I’m sorry I couldn’t make a more decent grave,” The Kid said.
Arabella knelt by the pile of rocks. “It’s fine, Kid. Thank you.” She opened the Bible, thumbed through its pages and said, “My ma used t-to read us this every night.” The Kid removed her hat and listened closely as Arabella began to read. “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want…”
The child broke down a few times, but managed to get through the whole psalm, finishing with, “And I shall d-dwell in the house of the Lord… forever.” With that, Arabella fell across the grave, weeping piteously. The Kid knelt next to Arabella, comforting the girl until she was cried out.
As Arabella stood, wiping her face, The Kid said to her, “If there’s anything else you want from here…” She’d noticed that, unlike when genuine Indians attacked, the family’s everyday possessions had been left behind.
“No. I guess just this Bible is all.” As Arabella turned to go, she saw something glint in the sun and walked over to it. She bent to pick the trinket up — it was her ma’s gold wedding ring. “And this.” She put it in her pocket, then gazed at her older friend with sorrowful eyes. “Please, Kid, let’s go.”
The Kid nodded her head and mounted the horse, pulling Arabella up behind her before they hit the trail for Oak Creek.
Coming into visibility on the desert horizon: Chapter Six!
