Another Time in the West, Ch. 02

The weather was perfect as the sky started to turn crimson as the sun was slowly starting to rise on the horizon. Lisa was up before this, starting on a sturdy breakfast for her daughter and Seth. She was still both excited and scared for her daughter. Seth had saved them, but he was a man, and what would happen if he realized he was travelling with a young woman. She had no way of knowing that Seth was the last man in the world to rape or manhandle a woman. His own daughter would be the same age as Natalie, and his wife only a little older than Lisa.

Seth sat at the table double checking his gear and when Natalie arrived dressed in her boyish clothing, he made her double check her gear too. He didn't stare but quietly observed the way she did it and was amazed to see how skillful she was. Some of the things he had subconsciously noticed came to mind as he saw Nate's nimble fingers working. Her hands and fingers seemed a bit delicate and not as strong as one might expect of a young hardworking man.

While eating a good breakfast, Seth insisted that Nate eat extra but took his lack of appetite as jitters from being about to go on an adventure. Seth, usually silent, did tell the two that he was following this group because of things they had done in Texas, including burning his home and the two people he had living there taking care of it while he worked. It was a mother and her mute child, and both had been killed like you put down an animal. He didn't see a reason to mention that it was two Indians that he had taken in after saving them a few years back.

Along with plenty of provisions, horse feed and a lot more ammunition than seemed needed, Lisa gave them each a nice pack of beef jerky. Seth had a simple map that was given to him by the town sheriff, and it was all set, tobacco and all.

Natalie got a tight hug from her mom that she both enjoyed immensely but also felt was very inappropriate for a mother to give her son. She suddenly felt butterflies in her belly; the adventure was suddenly very real. She recalled the screams of dying men and things suddenly felt too real.

"Nate, move your ass and get in the saddle... don't dwell on it" Seth ordered harshly, his tone commanding but not loud. And it worked wonders Nate mounted 'Dust-devil' before realizing he had been ordered to do so. Instantly, worries were gone and only the excitement at what was to come was present as Natalie smiled at her mother and set the horse to move.

"I will look out for Nate, like my own" Seth said smiling at Lisa and raising his hat politely and giving her a charming smile full of confidence. Lisa, having seen him in action, knew these words were golden and could be counted on, believed in. She felt certain that she would see her daughter again. When that is, was a whole other matter.

They rode at a steady pace but without pushing the horses too much. They rode mostly in silence but slowly Seth would start to speak from time to time. Teaching Nate about everything that a man on the trail should know and understand. All from basic perception, learning to understand the sounds, smells and what you could take from what you saw, and sometimes from what you didn't see. Learning about reading the clouds, reading the wind, observing distances and reading the terrain both at a distance but also up close. Reading tracks, signs of life, water, and generally much of what is needed for surviving in the wilderness.

Seth was very patient and very good at explaining himself and teaching these skills to Natalie. But also, Natalie was the perfect pupil, taking it all in and processing it, often able to ask questions that showed understanding of what was taught and insight into what this could mean. Seth would pat his shoulder or sometimes tap his head when standing close or while they both were mounted and were close for him to point and instruct. Slowly as the day passed, the pats would linger. Seth's tone seemed to get milder, still strong and commanding but more considerate and calmer.

Natalie was having the time of her life. This was exactly the life she thought she had been cheated from when her father had died. She was learning so much, and she took everything in, absorbing everything and needing more. It was like she was getting years with her father but all in a single day and she needed to take advantage of it, every minute of it. At first, she didn't think much of it when she received a pat on her back or shoulder, or a tap on the head. It felt natural, comfortable and she took it as it was meant, as acknowledgement and praise for doing well.

But suddenly without realizing it, Natalie came to enjoy the feel of the big strong hand on her body, she felt a need for it to last, and it was almost like Seth knew this, because slowly his hand lingered on her longer each time. She started to think harder about questions to ask, and her brain was working hard to get good at everything, all so he might pat her, touch her. He made her feel so safe, like she could be a girl again, like she again had a father that could keep her safe. On the other hand, he almost made her feel like a woman and for the first time in her life she started to look at him like a girl looks at a boy she might fancy. She found herself wondering if he would think she was pretty, she even started to regret not having long hair and being dressed all pretty.

"Snap out of it" Seth said half sounding a little hard but half like he was amused. As he said this to get Nate's attention, he smacked his ass and Natalie blushed, instantly forgetting her drifting thoughts. What was most embarrassing about it wasn't that she had been so caught up in thoughts, that she wasn't focused as she was supposed to be. No, the most embarrassing, was that she found that she loved having his hand on her ass like that and sighed when the hand left and she could feel the slight burning sensation from brief spanking of her ass.

Seth pointed to the ground and area and showed that they had reached the trail they had been aiming for that would lead them toward Wyoming. He dismounted and showed Nate the tracks, showing that several horses had passed by.

"We are a day behind, we should pick up speed until shortly before sunset, we might catch a little up and then be ready to ride at first light."

They increased their pace, and this brought Natalie's thoughts back in focus. She found herself very alert about everything around her. Seth was silent and his gaze ever switching between scanning the horizon and reading the ground they were riding on. It was very late afternoon when he noticed what seemed to be two horses having moved up toward the hill and ridge to the north while the rest of the group carried on. Seth had a feeling two men had been left to observe the trail to make sure no one followed them and to watch out for the raid party that had gone to pillage Natalie's home and neighbor.

Where they were right now was out of view from the most likely place, they would be scouting and laying in wait. Seth stopped his horse to take a drink of water and waited for Nate to come up beside him.

"Take a drink of water and don't look around, take a bite of your mother's jerky and relax" he started. He then went on to explain what was happening and said what they were going to do. A bit further there was a big rock beside the path, big enough for Nate and his horse to get behind, if he was quick to get it under cover. Seth told him that he was to ride ahead there and then stay under cover, if Nate was up to it, shoot up at the ridge above him but focus on staying under cover. Seth pointed out that the distance to the ridge was further than many would expect so for most rifles were beyond the usual range. So, Seth told Nate to aim a little higher, to keep bullets flying up there. But only if they opened fire from up there.

Seth had to choose if to go the distance around the back of the ridge on foot, it would take time, and it might leave him in the open if they happened to be vigilant. This was a quiet approach but time consuming. The other option was riding at a pace that made the least noise but got him there the fastest. He would dismount as soon as he could and sneak up the rest of the way as stealthily as he could. The second option was chosen, mostly because he didn't want the time to drag out and for Nate to get impatient. Impatience usually means making mistakes and that could be fatal.

Seth told Nate to slowly count to a hundred and then continue riding forward at a normal pace, eating jerky and seeming relaxed. And then take up cover behind the big rock, if possible, have the horse lay down and keep it down if he could. Only fire back if fired upon. He then proceeded to ride a little back and follow the trail the two horses had taken. Riding in a way to minimize the noise of hooves slowing down the closer he came to the rockface and rise that lead to the two men. He counted himself as he rode and after reaching a hundred, he estimated it would take a minute or two before Nate would be at the rock.

Took a little longer than he had expected before he heard gunfire from the ridge before him. He was happy to hear two shooters firing. Not to long after Nate started to return fire, and the shooting from the ridge slowed down. Clearly Nate was keeping them busy. Seth approached as quickly as he could with a focus on not tripping or making noise to alert his opponents. When he saw the first, he couldn't see the other, which could be a problem. He could hear where he was firing from. He dispatched the first with his heavy knife and approached the position of the other gunman while making sure not to be caught by a random shot from Nate who was reloading at this time. He was closing in when suddenly the other guy came around the rock, he was behind, he was going to another position or to talk to his friend. Both were equally surprised, but Seth was fastest. He was still cleaning his blade and about to return it to its sheath on his back when they were face to face. The other guy reached for his gun, but Seth just attacked him swiftly with his blade, a single slash and his opponent's neck was cut before he ever knew who this was and what was happening.

"Hold your fire... hold your fire Nate" Seth called from the ridge he checked both men for any papers or interesting objects. No reason to leave any cash lying around. He got what he could use and then returned to his horse and rode back to where Nate was.

"Excellent job, young man" he said to Nate with a big grin. He then went on to saying that they could stop for the day, this was a good place to look for them to find a spot to camp at. He wanted to use the opportunity to have Nate practice shooting his rifle.

Natalie was amazed at how calm Seth was after a gunfight. He tried to make it rub off on Nate by acting calm about it all and just talk about the gunfight and now how to use a rifle correctly. Seth explained a lot of basic stuff that needed to be a good shot even before you fire the weapon. Things like reading the wind, but in this instance when you find a position do it in a place where the weapon you have has optimal firing conditions, also try to ensure that you can cover it all. He went on to explain how the two men they were up against, if they had been smart, they would have been far apart so they could have covered the rock from either side so no one could be hiding without one of them having a shot.

Seth pointed out things for Nate to shoot and kept changing range to the targets, so Natalie kept having to adjust accordingly. Seth was generous with praise but only when deserved. He then started doing things to distract Nate as he was firing. Like throwing rocks onto the ground a few feet ahead. Natalie did an excellent job and soon felt very confident.

"One silver dollar for you, if you hit the next target with at least 3 out of 5 shots" Seth said laying down beside Nate very close and then pointing out a target over 100 meters away. First shot hit it, second shot missed. Natalie focused but the third shot missed too. Seth whispered "remember the wind... you aimed the same place every time, but the wind wasn't the same, so you didn't hit" he said, and fourth shot hit the target. She was two for two and had to hit with the last shot.

Natalie was aiming carefully when Seth suddenly whispered into her ear "How many know that you are a girl" she gasped, fired and hit nothing. Natalie blushed red and looked at Seth confused, excited and nervous. Seth placed his hand on Natalie's cute ass and squeezed it. "I think I noticed some things here and there, but this isn't a boy's ass" he chuckled and kept softly caressing it.

"I give you an extra shot" he offered her, and Natalie just let his hand stay where it was without a comment and focused on aiming again. Her focus was perfect, and she did very well to ignore that he was feeling her ass not pausing. She just relaxed and was about to shoot when he whispered, "I think you like my hand on your ass, don't you... Natalie?". Again, Natalie gasped but this time she had remembered all his advice, one being not to put the finger onto the trigger until ready to shoot and her having had an idea that something would happen. She just stopped and looked at him, blushing red but instead of shying away she just smiled at Seth and nodded, then calmly returned to aiming and shot and hit the third time. She giggled in a fully girlish fashion, not acting like Nate. And she kind of raised her ass up like offering it to Seth's hand, like to show him, that he could do what he wanted, she could take it and focus. Seth had started to feel like a father, having a son but had started to feel strange when he had begun to suspect that Nate was a girl.

"Yes, my name is Natalie" she giggled and just lay there softly wiggling her ass so invitingly as this much older man was touching her in a very inappropriate way, for a lady to let him. Hand still resting on her ass he leaned in close, his lips so near her neck and ear.

"You did good, very good" he chuckled and smacked her ass kind of hard before standing up. He went on to say that they needed to make a camp and pointed to a spot that he had found would be suitable, with cover and a place for the horses to stand in the shade and out of any wind.

Natalie felt happy, Seth ordered her around exactly like he had from the beginning, not treating her differently but she did feel his eyes looking at her in a new way, and she liked that way. She was told to feed and water the horses while he built the campfire and started to cook beans for them. He made a big pot of it. They settled down, Seth made sure Natalie cleaned and checked her rifle. He made a cigarette and offered Natalie who accepted. When she came near, he smiled at her and while she took her first taste of a cigarette, he softly felt her ass, clearly having gotten used to the way she felt but also that she clearly liked that he did it.

Both slept soon after eating and it was a perfect restful night.