Chapter 11

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“Somethings are hard to figure out,” said Bart as they got out of range of the house.

“What do you mean, hard to figure out?”

“Take last night, for example. You gobbled my pecker and I wanted you to do it. See, there are some things hard to figure out.”

“I didn’t think about it. It felt passable to me. I can’t say I would do that with other men, except one,” confessed Colt.

“What are you talking about?” asked Bart, “except one!”

“Never mind, I have jawed enough already. You milk the cow, and I’ll tend to the hen house.”

“Okay,” Bart agreed.

They finished their morning chores and Bart went to the upper pasture to help his pa mend fences. Colt went to the river to bathe. He liked feeling clean. His work pants smelled like a chicken coop.

Time was changing for Colt, more so for him, than for Bart. Colt was a different animal from his brother. 

As teenagers, they fondled each other. It was fine with them. That is what boys did, when nobody was around. At least, that is what they told themselves. They figured it was wrong, but they didn’t care.

Colt yearned to be clover fresh, as much as possible. Life on the farm was nothing but work. It was stressful when hormones ravished a young body with thoughts constantly about getting off. Colt was sex driven and there is no denying that. His brother Bart was even more so! He talked about holes and women all the time.

One time however, attending a rodeo, he watched a cowpoke with an absurd luscious butt bounce up and down on a horse. He talked about his perfect butt for days. Colt wondered about a straight man doing that.

He removed his boots putting his feet in the water. A small garter snake slithered under his hand on the ground, but he ignored it.

As a farm boy, although, a bit of a dude, Colt, possessed a sense of what is, and what is not. He didn’t worry about a little garter snake. That would be a stretch. A rattlesnake would have been a different story.

Somebody came up behind him, tapping his shoulder. It was Bart.

Dang, you scared five years out of me; I thought it was a coyote,” barked Colt, lifting his feet from the water.

“Hah, a coyote, what are you jawing about, with a story like that?  Pa had me find you. He needs help in the upper pasture. A tree fell on the gate and pushed it over. We got the tree off, but he needs help, to getter nailed up.”

Colt put his boots on over wet feet. “Let’s go!”

Bart threw his legs over the saddle, of a large horse, like a Cheyenne brave riding bareback.  He was downright amazing, the things he did with ease.

With both on the same horse, Colt held his brother, from behind by the waist.

“Hang on,” said Bart. “Not there, you ninny. Leave the pecker be.”

“My fingers slipped,” whispered Colt returning his arms back around Bart’s waist. “There, is that better?”

The gate was back in place in no time at all. The stock would not be running loose, any longer. They united with remarkable work ethics.

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Back at the house, there were two strange mounts tied to the hitching rail by the stoop. “It looks like ma’s got somebody come a calling!” said pa.

Colt recognized one of the horses belonging to Abe, or at least, he believed he did.

Sitting on the stoop and rocking in the rope swing, was Abe with a stranger.

Ma had given them lemonade and they were bustin friendly words back and forth, laughing and having a grand old time.

Pa perked up seeing Abe. It was clear he was fond of him. Abe had a positive strength about him, with the gentleness of a little boy.

“Put up the horse,” said Pa, speaking to whoever would listen.

“I’ve got it pa,” Colt replied, grabbing the reins to lead back to the barn.

“Abe jumped from the rope swing, landing on the ground, with barely a stumble. “I’ll give you a hand,” he volunteered.

Hatti poured some lemonade for Bart and pa, giving them a place to sit on the stoop.

“Now, there goes some mighty fine boys,” said Hatti watching Colt and Abe walking together, towards the barn.

“I didn’t catch your ‘howdy,’” said pa, to the cowpoke who came with Abe.

“They call me Rudy.”

“Mighty please,” said pa. “Just call me Chester, we are all friends here.”

“Abe is mighty fond of you folks and he wanted y’all to be the first to hear about going to Colorado panning for gold.  Who knows, maybe even mining is something we can try!” said Rudy.

“So you’ve got the gold fever too, huh,” said pa!

“Sure nuff. I’m plenty tired of scratching out a living workin in a corral. I need to be rich,” replied Rudy, in a rough manner of speaking.

“I guess there is no accounting for a man’s interest,” added Hatti. “Nothing wrong with being rich.”

“Got a point there, dear woman – got a really good point,” said Rudy, setting down his empty glass of lemonade. “Yes ’em, no accounting for any of it!”

*******

Colt and Abe unsaddled the horses and put them into stalls in the barn.

“Mighty good seeing you,” said Colt, looking at Abe in a special way. Nobody was around to see it, so he touched his face as a way to be near him.

Abe made sure nobody was looking, then kissed him.

“Yeow, don’t start something, when I can’t do anything to stop myself.”

“Naw, I’m not starting a thing. I wanted to do it.  I came to tell you and your folks that I am going to Colorado.

“So you are going for the gold?”

“Yup, I wanna have money to buy a ranch someplace,” replied Abe.

The feller back on the stoop is my prospecting partner. He is not my first choice, (you are) but he has money to stake half of the equipment.

“Plum sweet, hitting it rich. You are coming back?” questioned Colt.

“Count on it. I am coming back for you.”

“I’m not sure what that means,” confessed Colt.

“You will,” declared Abe, “you will.”

When Colt and Abe got back to the house, Hatti had moved everybody inside and she was making supper for the men.

Rudy was a kindhearted feller, not bad looking, and older than Abe. He sported a mustache and beard. His dream was to mine for silver but that never happened. After meeting Abe, they teamed up as partners, only it was not for silver, but gold. Abe heard about a tributary river to the Colorado called “The Caydutta,” So that is where they were going to start.

“When are you planning on leaving,” asked Colt.

“We are sleeping at the Livery stable tonight. Tomorrow, gonna breeze the trail at first light,” replied Rudy.

Everybody stopped talking about Colorado. It didn’t seem as important as the food sprawled out on the table. Hatti called everybody to supper.

It wasn’t long after that, a cloud of dust swirled into the air as Abe and Rudy road off into the setting sun headed back to the livery stable in town. 

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To be continued……