Gunslinger's Redemption

(Closed for Rayne.)

Ethan Granger: Gunman, ranch hand, nomad. He can only laugh at the name of the small town he is entering. Salvation? Not what he expected, nor what he expects he will ever find. He's been wrong before and he may just be wrong this time. He has no clue though. Even the gods of the plains and mountains pause at trying. He isn't a bad man. He is just a hard man.

The gunslinger rides into Salvation slowly, the brim of his Stetson low over his eyes. One hand keeps a light touch on the reins, the other at the pistol resting easy beneath his dusty black trail coat, or duster. No one starts anything. He relaxes just a little. Maybe this will not turn out like his last stop at a ranch town. He needs a place to rest and find some work. He needs to restock his provisions before he moves on again as he always does. He moves towards the General Store with easy grace once his mount is hitched to the rail., eyes constantly scanning for threats. He carries a saddle bag on his shoulder.

On entering Ethan lets his eyes adjust. "Mornin Mister. Looking to get some supplies and find some work. Any of the ranchers around these parts looking?" He unloads the bag, dropping a few gold nuggets, some furs and the like, as well as some finely crafted toys and pipes. After a few minutes of haggling, he and the shop keeper come to an agreement. In parting the keep says take a look on the board over there. Ethan tips his hat, thanking the man quietly.

There is a lady rancher looking for at least one hand, maybe two out on the Buffalo River, about 5 miles north of town. He peruses it, and smiles. Food, a bunk, and 20 dollars a month. Sounds fair enough. Time to head north. He pulls up in the late afternoon, about four o clock or so, riding easy. He shouts a greeting, announcing himself, seeing who might be home.

Name: Mrs Katherin (or Kate) McInnis
Age:21
Marital Status: Widow
Hair:Reddish Brown
Eyes: Golden Brown


BIO: Kate was born and raised in Salvation, a small hick town in the god forsaken middle of no where. She is the only daughter of Gabe and Mary Jacobs, Gabe made his living as a prospector and not a very good one.

So of course when down on his luck he chose to gamble the last funds the family had to strike it rich........ And he lost, this was how Kate became the wife of Henry Charles McInns. Her father had given her away to cover his gambling debts and save his own neck. No one saw the blessing that was going to come from this, who could?

You see Henry, took his new bride back to his farm and made her tend to his every need. Forced her to suffer daily with harsh chores and no love or any respect shown to her. If she did a good job he would simply grunt and leave her in peace for a short while. If Kate failed to meet his standards he beat her from one side of the old run down farm house to the other.

Coming into their first winter, Henry came down ill. It didn't seem to be serious at first, a slight sniffle was all. Not that Kate ever got close enough to him to check for herself how ill he was. She took Henry's word for it so when he said "I am fine woman shut up and leave me be" she did.

Henry didn't last a week, fever had taken hold and before the doc got to the farm house, he was gone. Kate would love to say she morned her husband and suffered from his loss but it was the best thing that ever happened to her.

She buried him respectfully on a hill near the farm, bid him farewell and then got on with her life. She now owned the farm there where no other living relatives of Henry's to contest it so lock stock and barrel it was hers. Now she just had to make it work, so that she had enough to survive the next winter herself.

Kate worked the next few weeks on the farm by herself but she just couldn't do it all, not and have the herd ready for auction by the end of the month and get the garden producing and fix all the repairs that needed to be done. She was also sewing gowns for some of the ladies in town to produce some cash flow but it just wasn't going to be enough...if she didn't get done what needed to be done she wouldn't make the sale or the next winter.

So Kate needed a hand she could not afford much but if she got set up, she might be able to run the farm by herself eventually. Kate took out an advertisement at the local general store in Salvation and hoped she would get someone useful who would work for a woman.

One afternoon Kate was digging in the garden trying to get the beds furrowed when she heard someone calling out in greeting, she lifted her head and shielded her eyes from the sun and called back "Hello ...I am around the side, who's there?"

Ethan hitches his mount to the rail, slowly stroking his neck while waiting for a reply. One comes from the side of the house. Ethan follows the voice, his long long legs carrying his six foot four frame around the corner with ease. Many a trap has come with just such a call. A woman's voice is a siren's song that lulls many a man to be eaten or crashed against the rocks. Ethan has no illusions. His were all stripped away long ago.

So when one Kate McInnis first sees him there is an extremely tall, extremely lean slab of man there, arms crossed over his chest so his hands rest on the butts of his matching Colt .45s. His brim still sits low, casting a slight shadow over the hard lines of his face, making his coal black eyes seem even darker in the meager shade of the side of the main house. The only thing not roughly chiseled is his lips, seeming soft and sensual, the only thing about him that doesn't exude the air of a minimalised man. Even they are thinned out right now, pressed tight.

A light breeze lifts his duster, making it trail out behind him, exposing the chaps that cover his jean pants and the dark green plaid workman's shirt above as well as his very ready weapons. He is prepared for trouble and it shows. Ethan never looks for trouble. Ethan doesn't want trouble. Ethan always just seems to find trouble so he is always ready to deal with it when it inevitably finds him.

This grim specter, with the visage of an Old West darly tanned angel of death is what the woman sees coming towards her, apparently about to shoot someone. "Mizz McInnis I presume? Im here to see about a job. Is the position still open?" His voice is a smooth throaty drawl, one much more suited to the story his lips tell than the rest of the whipcord thin man, a man who has seemed to be cut down to the bare minimum like a coyote. His hands never leave his iron, not sure what may or may not come out of the woodwork.

Kate leaned on the hoe, wiped some sweat from her brow with the back of her arm. She watched this hulk of a man come around the corner of the house, for a moment she considered running or hitting him with the hoe but his voice and questions calmed her. "Mrs Katherin McInnis, is my name" she hadn't wanted to embrace the Mrs part of her name for fact she never loved her husband and hated being recognized as his, but she was a smart woman and knew it would be safer to imply she was still married just till she got a read on this tall dark stranger.

He was very intimidating, he just had this very dark aura. Not like he was trouble or meant to harm her but just like he could and like he was burdened. It was none of her concern though. He said he was here for the job so as long as he could work he would be hired "I see, and are you agreeable to the wage stated? Now that you have seen the place" she gestured around her, it was run down there was no hiding it. "the advertisement is for someone that can be relied on to help get it running" She didn't want to tell him just yet that it was only her here so she needed to know she could rely on him. She wanted to know his intentions first.

"Yes maam. The wage is fully acceptable, equivalent to that which I have recieved in the past for what I would assume shall be required. Feed and shelter for myself and my horse, 20 dollars to be paid at the end of the month in cash. I had hoped to find somewhere to lie over for the winter anyway as well. Build up as much funding as I can for when I move on again. So yes. I will stay as long as you need me. Do we have an accord?"

His hands move from his weapons but are still very close as he steps forward til he is within arms length, extending one hand to be shaken. He can't help but notice she said misses when the store owner said to look at the widow McInnis' spread. His other hand slowly relaxes, assuming she must be alone if she is covering with words to imply she is not.

Kate nodded glad he agreed to her terms and he was going to stick around awhile but not forever, that was just what she needed. Just enough help to get herself settled and organized in such a way that she could run the farm alone. Then she didn't have to rely on any man.

She took his hand and shook it "we have a deal Mr?" she quirk an eyebrow realizing she hadn't even gotten his name yet. His hand was warm and large, his skin rough and callused so he was no stranger to hard work, Kate approved of that.

" Ethan Granger." He is saddened when the look of at least momentary surprise and horror enter her eyes, then the questioning. "Yes maam. That Ethan Granger. I had hoped this far out no one would know of my name"

He releases her hand slowly, taking a step backwards. "Do we still have an agreement? I don't want any trouble, there are no posses after me and I assure you that I only want what was offered." Then all he can do is wait.

Kate had not meant to be rude or to make him uneasy, but his name was common in whispered gossip and many of his tales were shared in warning to any who should cross his path. She swallowed and looked up at him, embarrassed that her shock had been so easy to read and that she couldn't cover it with a soothing remark so she went with honesty "I have heard of you Mr Granger, I would dare say there are not many who haven't. But it's lucky I don't tend to do as I am told or to listen to idle gossip. We all have our skeletons Mr Granger" her eyes left his and focused on the hill in the distance where her despised husband was buried.

"You assure me you mean no trouble and that none is coming my way, so I will take you at your word until you prove to me that I can't......we have a deal Mr Granger" she lifted her hand again for him to shake it. Katherin was not like to many women around these parts, she ran her own farm, had her own business sewing dresses and she was not one for idle gossip.

"There is a room off the Kitchen at the back of the house and a space for your horse in the barn, Go get yourself settled and then I will give you some chores to do before supper.......that is if you wish to start today Mr Granger?" Katie often went inside and ate a meal at noon because it was the harshest heat of the day and she had usually more then earned it by then.

He reaches out and takes her hand. "There will never be a reason to change that maam. I don't play people false." His voice goes slightly hard, that coldness in him coming out full force, one hand twitching a heart beat's length of time towards him when he speaks his next words.

A heartbeat is a long time. A cowboy can draw and fire in just over 1.25 seconds. The true greats are even better. The reasons hes famous...? His quick draw, and the accuracy of his colts. It is said he once used a colt to split a card in half with one shot. The card's edge was to him. The man timing it swears that from the time he said shoot to the time the card fell was under 1 tick of his fancy Swedish pocketwatch, guaranteed to be accurate to the second. This shot, alledgedly, was at fifty paces though some swear it was sixtfive to this day. How could he be that accurate -and- that fast? Impossible!

They say the man lied, or was mistaken. He never tells it even an iota different though. He knows what he saw. Then others say it was luck, 1 in a million. That even were the man right, he couldn't do it again. He has never done it again though. He set himself a test. He pased it. Now it would just be a trick. He doesn't do tricks.

There is a reason he is called the coldest killer west of the Connecticut river. He doesn't get angry. He doesn't get into arguments. He just gets...Ice Cold. Then other people dead. The stunned look on their faces are identical. "Nor do I enjoy being played. I do not tolerate it." The full brunt is directed at her for the few seconds it takes to speak. Most only bear the brunt a second or so before they see nothing again. "Loyalty given, loyalty recieved."

His voice is normal when he continues though. "I ate on the way here. Plenty of time before the sun sets." She lists out the things she wishes to cover. Ethan stables his horse, depositing his gear in the room she specied. If it almost spartan, but as clean as a whistle. Table, armoir, chair, very pleasant if smallish bunk. He likes it. What more do you need after all?

Its easier to wash himself than his clothes. That shirt could easily go another day or two. Whether his chest gets filthy or not he will need to. Its protection is negligible. So he comes out to her in Stetson, gloves, Jeans, botts and nothing else. The sparse curly hair of his chest gleam in the dying light, his skin as well shortly after beginning. He brands a few of her smallish herd of beef. He tosses hay up into the loft so the rain doesn't get it wet, doesnt make it mold and be useless. Four hours later as the sun sets, the things Kate had set two days aside for were done.

He is milking the cows. She went in a bit ago to prepare supper. Just a minute or two before he's done she comes and says dinner will be ready in fifteen to twenty minutes. He brings the milk to the kitchen then goes out to the river behind the house to scrub down. She has a tub but it shall takes too much time and effort. Being late to dinner would be impolite. He is dressed very crisply, his person extremely clean when he reappears. "It all smells amazing maam. And depending how long this light lasts I may get some of that wood stacked after our meal."

Kate was a little taken back at the cold edge to his voice but she simply nodded her head and let him get on with it. She went back to the gardening, such things would normally bother a person but Kate had lived with a man who had been nothing but cold to her. Even when he forced himself on her claiming his husbandly rights he was cold and often cruel to her.

It got so that she switched off from it, she stopped responding to his cold malicious ways she simply shut down to it and did not take it as a sign that she was insignificant or worthless she chose to see it for what it was and that was that he was an arrogant pig of a man that she would never love even though she was his wife. "till death do us part" she whispered as she dug the hoe and worked on another row for beans.

After that she went into the barn to grab some wooden steaks and string to do up some runs for the beans to climb, it was then she saw him pitch fork in hand hauling the hay bails up to the loft. His bare torso had a slight shine from sweat and his muscles flexed and bulged with every movement. She was mesmerized for a moment, even the smudges of dirt and grim on his body did not detract from how mouth wateringly good he looked. Kate blushed and hurried out of the barn before noticed her staring like some love sick school girl with her first crush.

Once the beans where done, Kate went to the house and grabbed some apples before mixing a dough and leaving it to rise. She was going to make a pie for after dinner. She then went out to the river and filled up some buckets to carry water back to the house for dishes and to wash up once her chores where done.

Heading back out she grabbed the axe and got some kindling and fire wood for the stove, she would need to build it soon if she was going to have it hot enough to cook dinner and warm the house for the night. She wasn't sure where Mr Granger was but visions of him sweaty and half naked still made her cheeks blush a rosy pink. Kate had never been courted and had never even kissed a man before she had been gambled off by her daddy, so it was unsettling for her to have this stranger stirring her senses.

Some wood chopped and hauled back into the house and the fire stoked, Kate then went to wash up for the night. She took a bucket into her room and stripped down, she filled a jug with water and then stepped into the wooden tub in her room. She poured the cold water over herself and shivered and gasped at how cold it was. "ooooh dear god thats cold" she muttered to herself as she then took some soap powder and began to scrub the days dirt away. She then grabbed another jug of water and rinsed, she did this a few times till she was both blue from the cold and smelling fresh from being clean. Dressing in a simple skirt and blouse, she then set about fixing a stew for dinner and baking the pie and some bread to go with it.

She smiled when Mr Granger came through to the kitchen clean and ready for the meal "Your right on time Mr Granger, take a seat." she gestured to the table and then poured him some milk before dishing up his plate with a heap of stew and a large chunk of fresh bread. "I hope this satisfies you Mr Granger, there is also pie for after if you like" she then set about getting her own plate and joined him at the table "it ain't nothing fancy but it should at least fill your stomach" she smiled and picked up her knife and fork.

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He digs in, quickly devouring three plates of it. He says he's done at that point, needing to save room for dessert. With food this good you don't talk. You eat. For when you're with seven other men its get what you can til it is gone. "That is not simple Maam. That is -DIVINE-. That is exactly the kind of thing a man loves coming in to. You are too modest."

Food is the one thing Ethan gets truly excited about. He has helped a few cooks out because he'd miss their grub. He still gets to eat their cooking. So from him this is high praise. "I think a nice large slice of that pie would top me off perfectly. I hate to be rude, but that's what I've been waiting for. The meal is good but that smell...The just right cinnamon and nutmeg. Not too much sugar. Beautiful flaky crust. I think it was love at first sight and smell."

Kate blushed a little and fussed with the plates not really looking at him, she was not use to compliments, she was un nerved by them. "um ah thank you Mr Granger, I hope the pie lives up to your expectations." she busied herself fixing him a large slice, she even managed to give him some cream she had worked in the small churn earlier in the day.

Placing the plate in front of him she gave him a polite smile "here you go, there is more if you would like it" and then hurried back to the wash tub to work on the dishes, she didn't want the food to harden as it just made the chore worse. She didn't know what had come over her but she was warm and nervous, taking a few deep breaths she tried to focus on the tub full of dirty dishes.

She felt foolish for being so silly over a simple compliment on her cooking, she guessed it was because her husband hadn't appreciated a darn thing. She looked out the window and up to the hill were he laid and shook her head. So grateful that part of her life was over. She then remembered she had not told Mr Granger that there was no Mr McInnis, maybe she should hold off just to be safe, let him think he is on business or something.

Ethan takes his time with the pie. He still concentrates on it completely though. When he is finished the plate is completely cleaned. There is not a crumb or smear of fillin left anywhere. He sighs contentedly, chugging the last few sips of milk. "Damned find meal Mizz. When I'm back on the trail I shall really miss it. If I tell any of the boys about the food here you'll be hit with cowpokes by the droves in weeks. A few would stay on without pay for food of that quality. Best pie I've eaten. The cream...Delicate yet full and the perfect touch. I can barely wait to see breakfast."

He looks out, judging the light left and notes the grave she's looking at. It's none of his business though. He doesn't give voice to certain questions. He just hands her the plate. "I'd say I have another twenty minutes or so of light. I'll get some of the wood taken care of. Then a bit of tack and clothing repairs before I sleep. Anything else you'd prefer to be taken care of instead?"

He compliments flowed over her again making her stomach do a little flip flop and colour climb her cheeks again. "I am glad you liked it Mr Granger" She reached out and took his plate noting he had truly cleaned it, she smiled and dunked it into the tub.

"That sounds fine, if you would like ...I can mend your shirt for you. Just put them on the chair by the stove and I will look at them after I finish here" sewing was something she knew she could do because the ladies in town brought dresses from her when ever she had the time and money to make them, it was how she had kept the farm a float so far. She nodded to wards the chair with the sewing box sitting beside it, she often sat in it to do embellishments and ribbon to the gowns she sold.

"Thank you maam. I'd appreciate that. Perhaps I'll get some other things done instead since you're handling it. I'm competent, but I'm no tailor. Like most things. We cowboys are pretty good at a lotta things. Weve got to be. We're great at only a few though. And sewing sure aint one of my greats." He brings in the torn clothes."Some are a bit worse off than I remembered." Some of the clothes are pretty worn, but scrupulously clean. "Hrm, I might have to get some made. Hard to find easily bought ones. Always too tight or too loose and it messes with my draw. While you fix those up I'll be outside taking care of a few things. Tomorrow I think I'll find a tailor or seamstress."

"I forgot how long its been since I replace some stuff. Theyre mighty comfortable though. I shouldn't be out too long. I think I could get the corral fence fixed after I'm back. Going to the persons home shouldnt take too long right? It'll take what, a few hours for fitting and fabrics and the like?

Kate turned and smiled a little shy "well you wont have to travel too far Mr Granger, I am the only tailor in these parts. Some of the other women can sew but I am the only one who sells off the clothes she makes." she shrugged a little and smiled "It is how I have kept this place a float" she then realized she had said to much she just told him she had been keeping the place a float if she had a husband that would be his job.

With her back to him and concentrating on the last of the dishes "I will fix what I can of your clothes, and then if you like I can make you some new stuff using the old ones as templates. You would have to go to town and get some fabric though" she laughed lightly "I don't think the pink or blue cottons I have would suit you much." she only really had a supply of dress fabric although she did have some old clothes of her husbands that she would cut up for patches to Mr Granger's clothes tonight.

"What ever work you manage to get done before you turn in is fine, I certainly don't expect you to work every hour of the day and night Mr Granger" she said softly as she then began to dry the dishes with a cloth and put them away on the shelves.

"This is my lucky day then. Job, fine meal, the seamstress is my new boss. As to the clothes...Well that is part of the problem you see. Why I need a tailor. My build seems to be a bit odd. Most men aren't my proportions. And my physique has changed a lot since I last had some made."

"You'll need to do some remeasuring once I get the fabric. Its harder to shoot when your clothes don't fit right. Also the more likely they are to get messed up on the trail too. So good clothes helps. Say a bolt each of a few different fabric types. How much for a couple of work shirts, chaps, a sunday getup and a few pairs of pants? I can pay in advance for the work."

He smiles. "Just want to earn my keep maam. I take my days off, relax. I have some energy to burn before I shall sleep well this night. I can't sleep unless I'm exhausted. Even then I sleep lightly. So anything goes wrong, you just yell out. I'll come running. Shoot first, let the gods sort out the details after."

Kate turned to face him, a dish in one hand a cloth for drying in the other. "I am sure I can tailor something to fit, although you would have to let me know if they are good for your quick draw or not."

She smiled and looked at him thoughtfully her eyes going over his form, she was assessing him but as her eyes met his she blushed and looked away realizing she was staring. "Just let me know when you have the cloth and we can work something out, until then I will do the repairs for you with scraps I have" put the dish away and then began to stoke the fire in the old stove.

"after you have chopped some of the wood could you bring some in so that I can stoke this up for the night, other wise it gets frightfully cold." Kate then picked up the dish tub and tipped the dirty dish water out the window. When kate turned back she noticed he had left a few items of clothing for her to repair.

Taking a lantern from the kitchen she moved over to the rocker and and settled down with her sewing basket and a pair of pants that had worn in the knees and across the bum. They were a simple brown pair of pants so she placed them on the chair and then went to her room and searching through her husbands old things came back with a pair in a similar coloured pants of course they would be miles to big for Ethan but she planed to cut them up for patches. Settling down into her chair she began working.

Ethan comes in when it is too dark to see where his axe is falling. He pauses in the open doorway, staring at her. There she is, a rather gorgeous woman working on a pair of pants for him, a few stacks of clothes beside her. One has only a couple pieces, neatly folded. She is focused on the mending, not seeming to know he is there.

For just a brief moment he wonders what it'd be like to come in to this every night, to have the great food every day, a warm bed with a beautiful woman to hold and have sex with. A strong roof to shelter under during bad weather, never having to use his crude mending skills. The patches are well concealed from what he can see, barely noticing them, partly just because he has keen eyes like that and knows here to look.

What would it be like to not wander all over hell and back. What if he saw the looks she seemed to be giving him earlier every day? He saw them, just ignored them. Could have been any number of things but the ones he is thinking of are very specific.

He zones out thinking about it. His face loses some of the marble, the tiniest hint of a smile at his lips. His eyes actually seem to have a spark in them Then, a couple seconds later he blinks and he is himself again. It'll never happen. No one wants to keep him and he doesn't want anyone. The open plains are his home. Places like this are jobs and for others. He learned this the day he was born when his mother died giving birth to him in a whorehouse.

He got lucky, taken in by the Madam who ran the joint. He got schooling. He got fed, though he earned his keep. He even learned some stuff from the Chinaman that watched the door and did some of the harder labor around the place. There was some affection. As he grew into his older self there was more, of a very adult kind. It was never love though. Plus in a whorehouse you see some of the worst in people. Then there was his seventeenth birthday, the day he first killed.

He blinks again, looking upwards, where he catches her eyes. She's looking at him intently, but he can't read her expression. How long has she been watching him? How long has he been standing there? It's been years since he so tuned out the rest of the world even so briefly. He just nods, dropping the wood in the box, then getting three or four more loads. On the last he's carrying a small chunk as well that he keeps from the pile. "Is that enough Mizz? Anything else I can do?"

Kate had managed to repair one pair of pants, two shirts and was working on the lats pair of pants when she noticed him looking at her. He was just standing by the fire looking her way. He actually looked peaceful, which was not a word she would have used to describe him at all.

She didn't say anything but when he seemed to notice she was looking, Kate just looked away and finished off the last couple of stitches on the pants. He went back to bringing in some wood and she moved on to darning his socks. It was funny Kate had actually enjoyed fixing his clothes, she had always resented any time she had to repair or make clothes for her husband. But that was probably because he never appreciated damn thing and as far as she was concerned never deserved anything either...especially her.

Kate folded Ethan's socks and added them to the pile when he asked "Is that enough Mizz? Anything else I can do?" she looked over to him and smiled "no, I think that is about it Mr Granger and your clothes are ready if you would like to take a look" she stood and carried the pile towards him and then held them out to him. "Some are a little rough but I did the best I could, sorry not all the patches blend in"

He finds he likes her smile. It is beautiful. Then she speaks. "no, I think that is about it Mr Granger and your clothes are ready if you would like to take a look" she stood and carried the pile towards him and then held them out to him. "Some are a little rough but I did the best I could, sorry not all the patches blend in" He looks over the clothes with his usual eye for detail. They are much better than he would do. Theyre not like new, as worn as they were they couldnt be. They are damned near though. He doesn't like false modesty. She has to know how good they are. She must know her own skill right? Or is she can say she can do that much better with a little time?

"With scraps of your husband's old clothes that are probably worn themselves, no new material, you took a cowboy's trailgear that hasnt seen a needle in four years other than my own to looking like its seen four months of use and you call it rough? You made the patches look intentional, part of the style. I half expected you to say they were unsavable. Others have when it has been this long." He accepts the clothes with a satisfied nod.

To him it was a job done very well. It's not the eagerness shown towards the pie.This is just a man who expects a job well done. He rarely sees them done this well with such little crowing about it. He isn't sure what to think. "I can pay you cash in the morning or dock the materials and labor cost from my pay. I sure do appreciate it. I'll have to swing this way whenever I'm in the area and need clothes." His somewhat serious though grateful demeanor changes, breaking into a huge grin. "And that pie. I'd come back to the area just for the pie."

Kate felt the heat fill her cheeks again, sure the ladies buying her dresses had complemented on her work before but she was not use to a man seeing any value in her or anything she did. She smiled softly and shrugged her shoulders unsure what to say "I am glad your happy with them Mr Granger" she fidgeted a little more and looked at a loss as to what to do with her hands or where to look, clearly uncomfortable with the praise.

When he offered to pay her for the repairs, Kate held up her hand silencing him and waving away the idea "oh no its fine honestly, the rags where of no use to anyone and I had some spare time this evening, you can pay me when I make you some new items but the repairs are a favor Mr Granger. I can't have you walking around here in your underwear" she tried to smile but the sudden thoughts of him in his underwear had her mouth going dry and her pulse racing a little.

"I think I will turn in for the night Mr Granger" she turned away and headed to her room, at the door she stopped and said with her back to him "goodnight Mr Granger Sleep well" Kate had a few chores she should have done like preparing dough for the mornings bread or making sure the fire was stoked so that it saw them through the night but being in his presence was causing her to feel and act strangely and she wasn't sure what to do about it.

Kate opened the door to her bedroom and closed it behind her with a soft click, she leaned against it for a moment and caught her breath and steadied her pulse before preparing for bed. Stripping down to her undergarments she used a jug of water a bowel and a cloth to wash up and then she slipped into bed wearing nothing but her white bloomers and white lace corset.

"Sleep well maam. Thank you once again." He watches her enter the room, admiring her shapely bottom. When the door has closed helooks around. The fire should be banked. He takes care of it, piling on a few logs, enough to hold through the night. He does it on autopilot, wondering why his new employer seems so flustered. So far as he knows he has neither said nor done anything that should have made her react so.

Normally women do 1 of 3 things around him. They get scared and get away fast as they can, try to get him to fuck them for the status, or are coldly polite. She is a bit of a mystery. He ponders a moment, then gives in to his usual pattern of thought. Oh well, whatever happens happens.

Since she forgot at least that Ethan wanders the house, making sure the windows are closed, the stove and such are taken care of. He sees the dough for the morning baking isn't ready. He figures she won't mind, might even appreciate it if he takes care of it. Its a simple recipe. He whips it up quickly after finding the ingredients in the cupboard.

On an impulse he goes to his saddlebags and gets some ingredients that are rather precious to him. He makes another batch, liberally sprinkling cinnamon and raisins into the dough so over the time it rises the flavors are absorbed well. He covers the two bowls he did his mixing in with cloths, then cleans up the other utensils he used before getting his chunk of wood and retiring.

He scouts the area, making sure all is well, that nothing feels off. He whittles a little at the new hunk, trimming the bark. He isn't sure what it'll be yet. After a short time of this Ethan strips, slipping between the sheets. His holster hangs in easy reach, one gun in his hand. He never sleeps without them. He sleeps deeply as he ever does, his dreams tumultuous.

Kate heard him messing about in the kitchen and the house but she was not about to walk about in her under garments to investigate. She closed her eyes and pulled the covers up to her chin instead and tried to get some sleep. She groaned a little she was going to have to get up earlier then normal to do the bread, hopefully the fire wouldn't go out overnight.

She couldn't understand what it was about Mr Granger that unnerved her so much, she wasn't scared of him as one might expect her to be. But some how he made her insides tremble and she caught herself staring at him more then was proper. Closing her eyes Kate began to drift off shortly after she was sound asleep.

Kate's dream started much like any other, she was out in the field working away the hot sun beating down her warming her skin and making her feel good. It was very common for her to relive her day in her dreams, but it then changed over the ridge she saw a man riding his hat hiding his eyes from view and as he pulled up right beside her he dismounted and swept her up into his arms and kissed her.

The kiss was fierce and possessive and made her toes curl, Kate melted against him and when she opened her eyes from the kiss to look up at the stranger, it was Mr Granger. Kate grasped in surprise and he smiled at her giving her a cocky sure of himself grin as he said simply "howdy Ma'am"

Kate rolled over in bed, the dream making her restless. She rolled again and landed with a thud on the hard wooden floor beside the bed "Ooooooow Dammit" she cursed in pain and shock, falling out of bed was not something she normally did.

It's false dawn when Ethan hears the crash from the bedroom. His gun belt is instantly over his should, one gun in his hand, barely taking the time to put his boots on with the other before strapping the belt around his hips and drawing the other gun. only a few seonds have passed. hes out the door, racing silently around the house looking and listening for anything odd.

He hears nothing but the normal night sounds of a plains ranch. No horses outside. He moves into the house still seeing no one. Could it be a lone vagabond? He can see the kitchen is empty. He kicks the door to Kate's room open. One gun low, the other high so he can fire that much faster wherever the intruder might be.

So it's easy to imagine the slight mortification on seeing only her on her hands and knees and very close to undressed, no assailant in sight. He's even more exposed. His body begins responding to her beauty while his brain catches up. "Sorry. I thought I heard a crash. Everything alright? His eyes move back to her body, gaze moving up over it slowly. He stops at her eyes and doesnt look back down again. "If so I'll return to my bed." He reholsters his guns, calmly standing there for all intents and purposes, naked.