A Love So Bold
by Anon Allsop

The story continues - Hope you enjoy!

-Sixteen-

As they rode closer to the wagon train, Hannah looked over toward Gideon, admiring his rugged handsomeness. She knew that she could pull off the ruse; she had been doing it for weeks already, but one little question was in the back of her mind and she wanted to ask it before they got too close to prying ears.

“Gideon?” she asked.

“Hannah?” he said with a laugh and then smiled boyishly to her, and decided now wasn’t the time to kid with her after all that she had been through. He decided that he should respectfully reply, “Yes Hannah, what is it?”

“I’m basically giving up my… let’s just say ‘life’ here… to help you with the children.” She looked at him, studying the expression he would give for asking. “What is in it for me?”

He looked toward her and in his expression; she saw that he didn’t really have an answer.

“That’s the best you have?” she responded sharply, angry that he said nothing. “My parents were already going to Oregon. I have this little cart… I was well on my way there by myself!” She retorted, making sure he realized it wasn’t the answer she was hoping to hear.

He pulled up on the reins and stopped Blackie halfway between the pond and the wagon train, “Hannah, I’ll treat you with kindness as long as you are with us. I won’t hit you… I will treat you like the beautiful woman you are. I promise you this, Hannah; you will have nothing to want for as long as you are with us.”

She said nothing, but turned her head back toward the wagon train and just sat in deep thought. She could do this; she only needed to stay this way for a few more months. She looked down at Em already asleep in the box, then turned back to watch Cade trying to see around them to the wagons. She had made a promise to the original Hannah and she wouldn’t go back on her word. She couldn’t do that to her.

Still with her head facing forward, she nodded like a woman born to prominence. For at that moment, she was the queen of her household, and would rule with dignity, poise and grace…or die trying.

Hannah and Em 'rejoined' the wagon train and several strangers spoke to her about her serious injury, they all seemed very surprised to see her up and around so quickly. One particular family asked them to supper with them since Hannah had only returned that day. As evening rolled around, Hannah was sitting inside Gideon's wagon nursing Em. Cade and his father had been off caring for Blackie and the mules.

She heard Gideon just outside the wagon, then saw him lift Cade and place him in with her. "Here's the boy, he was getting underfoot." He quickly peered over the edge and did a double-take at Emma nursing.

Hannah looked up and their eyes momentarily locked. "Uh...I'll wait out here," he stammered.

"Why? I'm sure I don't have anything you've not seen already," Hannah stated the obvious.

"Well, no... But I don't want to stare." He quickly looked away.

"I'm okay." She replied quietly, "It isn't like I have anything to hide, now is it?"

He hesitantly climbed inside and began to busy himself with several blankets, all the while he was trying not to look. "I'll set our bed up outside, Cade and Emma can have the wagon." He picked up several folded blankets and carried them out with him, Hanna momentarily watched as he left. With her free hand, she peeled back covers and motioned for Cade to crawl in.

"I don't want to go to bed yet, I'm not tired," he complained with a broad yawn.

"You can just lay down there and talk to me then. Will that be okay?" She said with a smile, knowing full well that he would be asleep in minutes.

Cade sat there staring at her, and then folded his arms behind his head. "Does it hurt?"

Hannah replied without looking, "Does what hurt?" thinking he was referring to the wound from the arrow shaft that his 'real' mother received.

"Where Emma's biting you." He yawned.

Hannah laughed, "Your sister isn't biting me, she’s just nursing, it’s how Em gets her food."

Cade began rubbing his eyes but it didn't prevent him from responding in the way his young mind could fathom. "Like with a kitten and his mommy?"

"Yes, something just like that.” She laughed, the adjusted a thin blanket over him, “You really need to go to sleep so you'll be ready to help your Pa, come morning." She adjusted herself to make nursing more comfortable, when she had finished she exchanged sides with Em.

"Okay, Mommy," he yawned. She could barely make out the words, but Hannah understood him just fine. After around fifteen minutes had passed, she had burped Em, cleaned her up, kissed her then placed her in the handy box in lieu of her crib. As she was backing out of the wagon, she paused and watched them sleeping.

It was strange to go from one child depending on her, to now having two; she stared at Cade sleeping soundly. She found herself smiling, and realized that it wasn't so bad being called ‘Mommy’; in fact she was rapidly growing to like it. She bent low, her corseted frame constricting her movement. As she tenderly swept the hair from off his face, she kissed him and finished backing out of the wagon.

She stood on the ground and looked for Gideon, but couldn't locate him. "Gideon?" She whispered, "Where are you?"

"Down here..." He said laughing, "Under the wagon."

"Well that's clever." She crouched low and peeked underneath, "You placed cloth around the sides and everything."

"I did that for you... so you'd have privacy getting undressed and all." He slowly scooted out, straightening the thick blanket that he had been laying on. Rolling onto his hands and knees he straightened up and stood beside her.

"My Lady, your chamber waits." He pulled the cloth curtain aside to allow her in.

She bent low and crawled in as she was turning around to remove her shoes; he dropped the curtain and began walking away. "Wait a minute - where you going?"

"A woman needs her privacy, Hannah, I understand that. Don't worry about me; I'll be sleeping over by the mules and horse.

"No you won't," she responded flatly. "There's enough room under here for the both of us."

He turned and looked back, "Are you sure?"

"I know who I am inside my head, you see me as Hannah so either way, I figure I'll be alright." She held aside the curtain, "I'd rather get this over with now than if I think about it for too long."

"Get what over with?" he cautiously asked as he started inside the curtain.

"Sleeping… with you," she again replied flatly. It was almost as though she was channeling the original Hannah, a woman who most assuredly, had been well acquainted with and was comfortable around Gideon, whether clothed or not.

He sat off to one side and watched as she continued to ready herself for bed. Was it right to view this stranger who was an exact duplicate of his wife? Hannah hesitated and looked back over her shoulder as she was untying her corset, "You going to get ready for bed?"

"I... well...I guess," he faltered, nervousness evident in his voice.

She removed her corset and sighed in deep relief as the cool night air hit her, "I sure won't miss that thing..." she said with a laugh as she cast it to the side. Hiking up her chemise she began to remove her stockings, "Gosh, that feels so much better."

"I really think I need to sleep outside," he finally worked up the nerve to say.

"Why?" She glanced toward him and then looked down at her bare leg; the chemise had ridden up to mid thigh. Gideon's eyes were fixated on her supple form. Hannah laughed as she followed his eyes, "If I'm not concerned, you shouldn't be either."

"Hannah, you don't understand... she had been so mad at me, right after she found out she was pregnant with Emma... we had no..." His face reddened as he searched his mind for a word.

"Relations?" she added with a laugh. "What you've got, I've already seen, and what I’ve got… I’m sure you have already seen that too."

He sighed deeply and removed his boots, "I'll do it, but I'm not going to be responsible for what you see..."

She only laughed; her male side was too naive to fully comprehend what the man meant. He lay down and sighed deeply, she on the other hand was on her side and facing him.

Gideon placed his boots aside and removed his shirt, settling down on the big blanket he slid off his pants. He cast a glance her way and lied down, clad only in his drawers made of lightweight linen probably by the original Hannah.

“This will be alright, you’ll see. Those that see us crawl under here will see us leave in the morning,” she replied as she made herself comfortable on the blanket, adjusting the roll under her fiery red hair.

“You’re right; we must do what we have to do to propagate this ruse,” he reluctantly whispered. “But I don’t have to like it.”

“Like it or not, we’re in this together until I can leave somewhere in the Willamette Valley.” Hannah responded as she rolled quietly over and placed her back toward him.

The night enveloped them, and their slumber became deep with the weight of their travel. It was an uncomfortable full feeling in her breasts that woke Hannah up; she rolled to her side and faced Gideon. He lay on his back, chest bare and sleeping soundly. Hannah eyed him, admiring the way he slept without snoring like her father did.

She watched the slow rise and fall of his breathing as he slept; sparse hair covered his muscular chest. There was something about being so close that she felt compelled to reach out, and held her tiny hand over his chest. Quietly she placed one of her slender palms upon his left pectoral, and then gently drew her fingers through the chest hair. It surprised her that it wasn’t as coarse as she might have thought it would be; instead it was soft and easily moved under the grace of her fingertips.

She lifted herself up on an elbow; he rolled his head slightly to the right, away from her. She quietly traced her finger around his smaller nipple then glided her fingertips toward the opposite one and touched it. Remembering that it hadn’t been so long ago that hers mirrored Gideon’s… but now she could not claim that similarity… at least not for awhile.

Hannah traced around the furthest nipple of Gideon’s, and then drew her finger back through his chest hair as lightly as possible. The young beauty tried to ignore the feeling she received within her swollen breasts, full with milk and needing the comforting draining that she would receive from nursing Em.

Sighing, she resigned herself to having to crawl out and nurse the baby even though she was very tired. She allowed her hand to rise from Gideon’s chest and as she was pulling it back toward her, she happened to look down toward the end of the wagon. There was no mistaking the erection that Gideon was experiencing.

She was taken aback at the realization that she alone did that to him; her gentle touch created such a response to this man that even in his slumber he would react to her touch. She quickly looked toward him, guilt caused her face to grow warm, yet he still had not awakened from his sleep.

Thinking back to the early days on the trail, she had experience one such morning as Ezrah… but this was much different in so many ways. She raised herself further on her elbow, almost compelled to examine what she had done. Slowly and hesitantly, she touched the material where it was ‘tented’, it didn’t move in the least. Her fingers traced its circumference, and then rolled slowly across the very peak.

Again she allowed her hand to slide toward the base, and a slow smile spread across her face as she realized that she had some sort of magical power to be able to do this to the poor man. He was at her control and as she closed her fingers tighter at the base, Hannah marveled at the sheer thickness that this man’s penis had grown.

Remembering back to the day when Ezrah woke, experiencing a similar result, she slowly pulled cloth and all upward. As she forced the cloth of his drawers down, she repeated her manipulation for several more times before she reluctantly released her grasp.

She too was experiencing a strange result from her exploration of Gideon’s body as he slept, her nipples were swollen and stood out like two twin sentinels, and there was a strange feeling within the apex of her groin. Hannah slowly backed out of the wagon and stood in the cool night air, her nipples hard and demanding immediate attention. Mistakenly, she felt that it was the way of this body reminding her to nurse her daughter, so she quietly climbed into the wagon and woke Em.

As she began her climb inside, Gideon’s head raised and he looked at the slender legs of Hannah as she began to climb into the wagon. His eyes shifted then toward his powerful erection that only moments before was being manipulated by an exact duplicate of his dead wife. He sighed, realizing just how difficult this journey would be when he would lie beside one of the most beautiful women he had ever remembered seeing.