"It ain't right!" Cal said vehemently.
"Danged right it ain't," his father agreed. "I've known Charley a long time. Maybe I can get him to give us a break."
"Dad, you're grabbing at straws," Pete said. "We're just going to have to pay the increase somehow."
"With cattle prices the way they are, it'll bust us," Gus complained.
Rosa brought a large glass of orange juice for Millie, and she took a sip as she thought about what she had just heard.
Danny had told her of the trouble his family was having with the man named Reed. His holdings completely surrounded Stallion Ranch, and he was pressuring the Hinshaws to sell out. In recent weeks there had been a number of strange happenings on Stallion Ranch – stock had been rustled, fences broken, and the access road had been flooded by water spilling over from Reed's land. Apparently getting the Hinshaws' taxes increased while his own were lowered was the latest of Reed's tactics.
Gus finished his coffee and stood. "Excuse me, Millie, but I've got to be going. It's better than an hour's drive to the county seat, and I want to be there when Charley opens his office. How's Danny this morning? Did you look in on him?"
"Yes," Millie replied. "He's getting along all right."
She glanced guiltily at Pete and caught him watching her. He quickly averted his eyes and stood.
"Come on, Cal," he said.
"Be with you in a minute," the younger man responded. He grinned across the table at Millie.
Her breakfast arrived. It consisted of a generous serving of steak and eggs, with a stack of hotcakes on the side. Millie had never eaten so much in the morning in her life.
Cal kept his blue eyes on her as he sipped coffee. "How about letting me show you around the ranch today?" he suggested. "Danny didn't get a chance to do that before he was hurt."
"Thank you, but I'll have to stay here at the house," the young woman replied. "Danny needs looking after."
"Rosa can tend to him."
"I'd rather look out for him myself."
"If I was the one that was hurt, would you be looking out for me?" Cal asked, his eyes twinkling.
"I'm married to Danny," Millie replied coolly.
"But now it's like being single again, ain't it?"
Millie colored and looked down.
"Well, let me know if you change your mind about riding across the ranch," Cal said as he got up. "There's some mighty pretty scenery around the back line."
"Thanks, Cal. I'll let you know."
Millie watched the husky young man leave the dining room. As she finished her breakfast, she was alone with her thoughts. They turned first to Danny, than to Pete.
I must have been out of my mind to let Pete go as far with me as he did, Millie thought. Before I was married, I would never have let any guy do that. Even Danny never got under my dress.
She wondered what had happened to her panties – whether Pete had kept them. What if he showed them to Cal or somebody else?
Even though she was alone, Millie blushed.
She visualized Pete's stiffly erect penis as she had seen it last night on the lawn.
No! she told herself sternly. I can't think about that. Danny's my husband, and I love him. Anyway, I couldn't stand to have another man stick his thing into me! If one of Danny's brothers were to do it, it would be a double sin.
She hoped Pete wasn't saving her panties and that he wouldn't show them to anyone. Whoever saw them would think he had taken her. He might even say that he had.
Millie felt more and more uncomfortable. She couldn't finish her breakfast, though the food was very good.
She left the table and thought about returning upstairs to be with Danny. But she felt she couldn't face him right then. She decided to step outside and get some fresh air.
The day was already warm. A bright sun was blazing in a virtually cloudless sky. Millie stood in the shade of a large tree and breathed in the subtle, invigorating scent of the prairie.
"So you decided to come out after all," Cal said as he emerged from a little building next to the house.
"Just for a minute," Millie replied.
Cal grinned as he walked up to her, moving with a characteristic strut which Millie found objectionable. "I had to adjust the pump," he said. "Have you seen it?"
"No."
"I'd better show you how to turn it on and off. We only run it a few minutes a day, to fill the water tank for the house. It's going now."
Millie followed the robust young man to the open door of the shack. He stepped aside and let her enter first. Inside an electric motor was whirring. A pipe extended from the motor down a dark shaft.
"That's our well," Cal said. "Take a look down there."
Leaning against the protective railing, Millie bent forward. Suddenly she felt a hand at the back of her thighs. She straightened quickly, but not before the hand had scooted all the way up under her skirt and was pressing her panty-clad bottom.
"Stop that!" she exclaimed indignantly, whirling to face Cal.
Keeping his hand where it was, he used his other arm to draw Millie into a snug embrace. Her breasts crushed against his chest. Almost before the startled girl knew what was happening, Cal was pressing his mouth to hers. His lips were thick and moist. He didn't try to use his tongue, but he kissed Millie with ardent force as his hand squeezed and wobbled the cheeks of her fanny.
Clenching her fists, she beat at Cal's strong, thick body. She tried to squirm away from him, but the effort proved futile. Her belly merely rubbed against his belt buckle.
Millie felt Cal's cock come alive against her. The organ turned hard and pushed upward.
Millie's outrage turned to fear. Twisting her mouth against Cal's, she bit his lip. He quickly backed up and let go of her.
"Why you danged little savage!" he said, touching his lip, then looking at his hand to see if Millie had drawn blood. She hadn't.
She was breathing hard and staring at him with shocked condemnation in her eyes. "You had no right to do that!" she exclaimed. "If Danny knew about it, he'd beat you up."
"What're you giving me?" Cal retorted scornfully. "He couldn't beat up nobody. Shit, he can't even get outa bed! Anyhow, you don't need to act so high and mighty. Pete showed me the pants he took off you last night."
Millie gasped. Her face turned red. She was about to turn and run from the pump house, but she decided she couldn't leave without correcting the wrong impression Cal had obviously gained.
"I didn't let Pete take my panties off," Millie said, blushing furiously. "He… he just grabbed them. I couldn't stop him."
"Oh, sure!" Cal laughed derisively. "Listen, no gal gets her pants pulled off unless she wants it to happen – or unless the guy's holding a knife or a gun on her. Pete didn't do that, I'll bet."
"No, but he took advantage of me!" Millie maintained, her cheeks continuing to glow and her eyes snapping angrily.
"He claims he screwed you. Is that right?"
"Certainly not!" Millie's cheeks were hotter than ever. "What dirty boys you are – you and your brother both! I hate you!"
Cal's answer was a laugh. "Well, if old Pete didn't fuck you, he came mighty close to it. How come you let him go that far and wouldn't let me?"
Millie backed up. Her eyes were wild with anger. "I'm going to tell your father on you!"
"Yeah? And have him tell Danny?" Cal moved close to her, crowding her against the wall. "If you was going to tell Pop anything, you'd have done it last night or sure as hell this morning. You don't want no fuss, baby. Now be nice, huh?"
Cal's ham-like hand covered Millie's left breast, and he rolled the resilient orb through her blouse and brassiere. She gasped and her brain turned giddy. She wanted to scream, but she was afraid of what would happen if anyone were to come and catch Cal and her together. Anyway, old Gus had left the ranch. Only Pete and Rosa were about.