Texas Gal
by   C. Sprite
© 1999

 

Chapter Nine     The Horses

Auntie arrived home promptly at 6 o'clock. After she told me about her day, we discussed the delivery of our horses the following day. I had avoided saying anything about my day at Karen's. Auntie said that she had contacted the vet, and she would be out on Thursday to examine the horses. Auntie also said that she would be home as early as possible. We discussed which stalls to use for which horse. She told me to put fresh hay in each stall and make sure that each horse got water. They would be hungry and a little dehydrated after their trip. She warned me that we didn't know their individual temperaments yet, and they would be a little disoriented at first, so be very careful around them lest I get hurt. The delivery people were good horse handlers, and they would move the animals. I had only to direct them where to place each horse. I said that I would be careful.

After dinner, Auntie went to change while I cleaned up. Then I changed and we watched TV for a couple of hours before retiring to bed. In bed that night I went over the events of the day. I thought about being helpless while Mike first spanked, then kissed me. I thought about my involuntary reaction to his caressing of my breasts, and the fact that I had not told him to stop. I thought about spanking him, and his adoption of servile language even after we had released him. I drifted off to sleep thinking about Mike and Karen and dreamt about them that night. I dreamed that Karen had tied me to the post, in the suspension position, and left me there all night. Mike came in during the night and toyed with my body. He left me tied up but kissed and caressed me for hours. My body betrayed me and responded to his caresses against my will. He finally decided to release me from the post. As he untied the ropes, I woke up.

It was almost dawn, so I got out of bed and took a long hot bath. I dressed and made breakfast. After Auntie had left and the kitchen was clean, I returned to the bedroom. I was going to put on the jeans that Auntie had loaned me on Sunday, when I had an idea. Since David was still away on his trip, I could borrow a pair of his jeans. After all, we were about the same size. I went to his bedroom and selected a well-used pair and returned to my bedroom. After removing my skirt, I started to put the jeans on. I easily got them up as far as my rear end but had great difficulty pulling them up the rest of the way. I struggled and strained and finally got them closed. The waist was too big, but my hips were so large that I couldn't bend over when they were closed. I finally brought them back to David's room. I tried on several other pair but had the same problem. I decided to give up. I left David's room and was crossing the hall when I thought about my sisters clothes in the spare bedroom. After a short search, I found a pair of Susan's jeans. I tried them on and found that they fit perfect. So I returned to my room and finished dressing. I put on my black boots and the work shirt that Auntie had given me. Then I took the work gloves that Auntie had given me and went to the stable.

First I placed fresh hay in the stalls that we would be using, and then I filled the water buckets that hung on the wall in each stall. With the doors open at both ends of the stable, a gentle breeze freshened the building. I smiled as I thought to myself that soon the smell of horses would make the smell of fresh air in this building just a distant memory. I went up to the house to wait for the delivery. While I waited I called Grandma. We spoke for about an hour. I told her again how much I liked the corsets, and I told her how comfortable they are. When I heard a large truck in the driveway, I told her that I had to go, but that I would call again soon. The horse truck pulled right around to the stables. I greeted the driver as he stepped down. "Miss Darla?"

"Yes"

"Howdy Miss, I'm Slim Harkins. I got your horses on board. Do y'all want them in the stable?"

"Yes, Mr. Harkins. I'll show you which stall to use as you bring them in."

As he lowered the ramp on the truck, I waited in the doorway. As he led each horse into the stable, I opened the gate of the appropriate stall. In a half-hour all the horses were in their stalls, and Mr. Harkins had left after I signed the delivery receipt.

I walked around the stable stopping at each stall. All the horses were eating or drinking. I went to my horse's stall and stood there looking at her. She came over to me and I stroked her head. I stayed there with her for about an hour. Then I went up to the house and got a couple of apples. I brought them back and gave one to her. The appaloosa stuck his head out of his stall and I went over and gave him the other apple. A little while later Auntie came home and after changing to her ranch clothes, came to the stable. When she saw what I was wearing she asked where I had gotten the jeans. I told her that I had borrowed them from Susan's clothes. She remarked that they fit perfectly, and I said that I had put on some weight since coming here. She said that working with the horses might work some of it off.

For the next several hours we went from horse to horse, examining them from head to hoof. Auntie said that we had done very well at the auction. She said that the vet would be the final judge, but her years of horse ownership told her that there was not a bad one in the bunch. We would give them a couple of days to get used to their new home and to us before we saddled any of them. This weekend would be soon enough. She showed me how to handle them, and how to lead them around. She told me about letting them out of their stalls so that they could exercise in the corral. I learned about their care and feeding. By the time that darkness was falling, I knew everything that I would need to know for their basic day to day charge. Until my sisters arrived, I would be solely responsible for their daily care. I was very tired when we finally finished and went back to the house to prepare dinner. We were both tired so we heated some frozen chili for dinner. After dinner, we cleaned up and went to put on our sleepwear. We watched some TV but the offerings were so poor that we turned it off and went to bed. I had no difficulty falling asleep and dreamed only of riding horses that night.

The next morning the vet came out and examined all of the horses. My White would be fine, but shouldn't be saddled for at least another week. The vet changed the dressing and gave me some medicated salve so that I could change the dressing twice more. The appaloosa was fine also. She put a new dressing on and said that it could be removed this weekend. It was okay to saddle him up now. The other horses were all healthy and sound, as Auntie had thought. The vet complimented Auntie; "Kathy has always had a keen eye when it comes to horses. You've got a very nice herd started here. I'll come out in a week and a half to do a final check on the White and the Appaloosa." The vet left to go on to her next appointment. I went back into the stable.

 I got an apple for 'Emily,' the name that I had selected for my White. She came over to me when I walked to the gate on her stall. I hoped that sometime she would come just to greet me, but I knew that she was just looking for the apple. But that was enough for now. I stood there and stroked her face for a while then walked to all the other horses and gave each an apple. Then, closing the door that led out the front, I opened the door that led to the corral, and one by one, I opened the stalls and let each horse go out into the corral, except my Emily. The vet didn't want her moving around too much yet. There was fresh hay in the corral, and a full water trough. I walked into it and sat on the fence. The Appaloosa came over to me and I stroked his face. When I didn't offer him another apple, he wandered away, but came back every once in a while. Emily whinnied from inside the stable. I couldn't let her out so I went back inside. I stood and stroked her face, head, and neck. I talked to her so that she would get used to my voice.

After about an hour I went up to the house to have a light lunch. When I had finished eating, I took a book and went out onto the front porch to rock and read. Grandma drove up and I went to greet her. "Grandma, it's so wonderful to see you. It's been a whole week." 

"And it's wonderful to see you too. I've very busy with the cause. I've missed our talks."

"Come up to the porch. Would you like some tea, or perhaps some lemonade?"

"Lemonade sounds wonderful."

"I'll just be a moment." I hurried upstairs to get the fresh lemonade that I had made earlier, some ice, and glasses.

 When I returned, Grandma was looking at my book. "Hell hath no Furie!" she said.  "Darla Anne what are you doing reading such books?"

"Just something that I found in the library. I've been having strange feelings and dreams lately, Grandma. I can't explain why?"

"Dreams about boys, or men?"

"Partly. I'm always helpless, and they rescue me, and we start to make passionate love, and then I wake up."

"You're just becoming a woman, my dear. All girls go through this when their time comes. I'm afraid that it will get worse before it gets better. Your hormones are changing your body, and it affects your mind. Over the next few years, you'll dream about boys, or men, almost every night. It's nature's way of promoting procreation. When it comes time for boys, they dream constantly of girls, or women. It happens to us at an earlier age. But reading about it will not make it any easier. It might even make it worse. These books are intended for older women who want to re-awaken such feelings. Now put this away and get something constructive."

"Okay, Grandma. I will."

"Good, now tell me everything that's happened since I saw you last."

So I did, leaving out the tie-up games at Karen's. I told her that my sisters would be done with school in a week and a half, and then they could come here, and if mother was well enough she could be transferred here also. I told that I hoped that she would still be here because I would love for them to meet her. I was sure that they would love her as much as I do. She told me that she expected to still be here. Then she asked me if I wanted to go to Portland with her next week. She said that she had to fly up there for a meeting and would love some company. She would give me a tour of the logging operation. I said that I would love to go but that I had to check with Auntie first. She said that I should call her as soon as I knew so that we could make preparations. We would leave Monday morning and return Tuesday evening. I asked her how we would get there. She said that she usually left from a local airport near her house, but we could leave right from here since we had a runway big enough for her jet. I told her that I would call her as soon as I had a chance to talk to Auntie. 

Grandma and I talked all afternoon. She taught me about logging and lumber production. When the time came for her to leave, I felt that I understood the basics quite well. She must have agreed because she complimented my insightful questions. Grandma was not just a titular head of her companies. She really ran them. My admiration of her continued to grow. After she left I returned the book to the library. She was right; I was having a difficult enough time as it was without adding fuel to the fire. I thought how lucky David was. He would not have to go through puberty for a couple of years yet. I took the lemonade pitcher and glasses upstairs. It was time to start dinner.

After Auntie and I ate, and the kitchen was clean, we went outside to bring the horses in. I had told her during dinner what the vet had said. We put them in their stalls and gave them oats. I gave Emily another apple, and Auntie gave her appaloosa an apple. She had come up with a name for him. From now on he would be "Henry." He reminded her of a man she had once known. After the horses were fed and watered, we returned to the house.

I asked Auntie if I could go with Grandma on Monday. I would leave after breakfast and after I had taken care of the horses. She said that it would be a good experience for me and of course I could go. I told her that I was sorry that I would not be here to make dinner on Monday or to take care of the horses on Tuesday morning. She said that it wasn't a problem. She would miss me but it was only for 2 days and I had been working too hard anyway and should have a couple of days off. She gave me an overnight case and a hanging clothes bag to use for my trip and told me to bring my mauve party dress for dinner on Monday night, and some warm clothes because it was a lot cooler up in Oregon this time of year. I kissed her and we went to put on our sleepwear before going to watch TV. While I was in my bedroom I called Grandma and told her that Auntie gave me permission to go with her on Monday. She said that that was wonderful. She would be over at 8:30 on Monday morning. She told me not to be upset when the plane landed. It might get there a little early. The pilot had a reputation of never being late and sometimes was very early. I told her that I would be ready.

After breakfast the next morning, we started working with the horses. All were "broken" and gave us no problem as we saddled them up and Auntie test rode each before letting me ride it. She showed me how to bridle and saddle the horses, then go back and check the chinches. She told me how a few horses will swell their belly up when you saddle them, so that when you go to get on, the saddle slips, but all our horses were well behaved. We spent the day working with them in the corral. On Sunday we planned on going for a long ride around the property. I wished that I could ride Emily but that would be another week. Every once in a while she would whinny. She wanted to be out in the corral with the other horses.

When I went up to the house to prepare dinner, I was a little sore. Auntie admitted to me later that she was sore also. We watched some TV then went up to bed. Auntie asked me to come into her room. We crawled up onto the bed to talk. She told me that my sisters would be finished with school in a few days, and could join us, but they wanted to stay with mother and travel with her. Auntie said that she had spoken with the doctors and they said that mother should wait for two more weeks. By then they could remove the body cast that covered her lower torso from her waist to her toes, and replace it with separate casts only on her legs. Auntie would make travel arrangements as soon as she had exact dates. I was sad that I would have to wait an extra week, but happy about Mother's progress.

I slept in Auntie's bed that night. I always slept well when I was with her. In the morning, I was not disoriented since I had slept there a couple of times before. I slid to the edge of the bed and got off.

"Leaving so soon?" Auntie said.

I turned to see that she had awakened. "It's almost dawn. Time to get up so I can enjoy a nice hot bath."

"I'll see you at breakfast after I get a little more sleep."

"Okay." I went into my bathroom and ran my bath. I was still a little sore from yesterday but 5 minutes after I entered the tub I felt like a new woman. I soaked until I 'pruned,' then I got out, dried off, and examined myself in the full-length mirror. I liked my figure. The corset was doing its job. My waist had slimmed down considerably and was now without a trace of fat, my hips had filled out, and my breasts were getting larger. Every young girl should wear one I thought. Finished with my exam, I powdered, and put on my undies. I made my face and brushed my hair. It had been three weeks since my last salon visit. I would need to go again soon.

After dressing, I went to the kitchen and prepared breakfast. When Auntie was 10 minutes late, I went to see how much longer she would be. She was still fast asleep. I pulled back the cover and used the technique that Judy had perfected for using on Mary. I think that the horses might have spooked from the noise of the slap. Auntie woke up and jumped to the other side of the bed.

"Did somebody hit me?"

"I didn't see anybody hit you?"

"You did it," she said smiling. You assaulted me."

 I smiled, "Moi?"

"You're in for it now. I'm going to tickle you until you scream."

She started chasing me around the room. I was used to my corset now, so I didn't have the problem that had felled me the last time. I managed to evade her grasp. As I ran out of the room, I said, "Breakfast was ready 5 minutes ago, come and get it or I'll throw it to the hogs."

 A few minutes later, Auntie walked into the kitchen, yawning. She pulled out her chair and started to sit down then all of a sudden she sprang at me and wrapped her arms around me and started tickling me. I squirmed and thrashed around as I giggled, then laughed, then screamed. She stopped tickling me but continued to hold me and said, "That'll teach to go around assaulting sleeping women."

"I'm sorry," I said. "I won't do it again…today."

"I didn't make any such promise," she said as she tickled me some more. When I reached the pointing of screaming again, she stopped. I turned in her arms to face her and put my arms around her neck.

"I'm sorry that I slapped your bottom."

"I'm sorry that I kept you holding breakfast."

We hugged each other.

"To be honest," she said, "I had fun."

"Me too. But we had better eat or we'll miss services."

"Oh gosh. You're right."

We hurried through breakfast and Auntie hurried to get ready while I fixed my makeup and put on my lipstick. 

We arrived at the church as the congregation was going in. After services, we talked for awhile with some of the members, then returned home. We changed our clothes to jeans and work shirts, and after packing a small lunch, we went to the stable and let all but the Palomino, Henry, and Emily, out into the corral. We put some fresh hay in the corral and filled the water trough. We moved the 3 horses to empty stalls and we mucked out the six stalls and put in fresh hay and water. Then I put Emily back in her stall and I gave her an apple. We saddled Henry and the Palomino, grabbed the lunch, and left for our ride. Auntie and I rode around the perimeter of the thousand acres that was not leased out. Then we rode around the other nine thousand acres. We stopped to eat our lunch near a small brook about halfway around the second leg. During the ride we came across several neighbors and stopped to talk each time. Auntie introduced me as one of her four nieces that would be living with her.

We arrived back home as the sun was going down. The ride had been very enjoyable but I was very sore.  We unsaddled the horses and rubbed them down. We put them in their stalls and gave them an extra portion of oats. We brought in the rest of the horses and gave them their oats. Auntie and I walked back to the house holding onto each other. She confessed that she was sore also. It had been a long time since she had spent most of a day on horseback. We ate some leftovers rather than cooking because we were sore and tired. After dinner, we both decided to soak rather than watch TV. So we went into our bedrooms and ran steaming hot baths. As I slipped in, I felt better almost immediately as my muscles relaxed. I stayed in until I started to prune and then decided to stay a little longer. It's difficult to leave a heavenly bath. I finally got out, and climbed into bed. I fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow.

 

(continued in Part 10)

 

 

 

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© 1999 by C. Sprite. All Rights Reserved. These documents (including, without limitation, all articles, text, images, logos, compilation design) may be printed for personal use only. No portion of these documents may be stored electronically, distributed electronically, or otherwise made available without express written consent of the copyright holder.