LONGING

 

 

            Laura had wistfully watched the Forresters all of her life. She had watched, and waited, ...and wanted them. Their power, virility, and imposing stature had awed her and stopped her breath. She could nearly suffocate obliviously, staring at them, until the pain in her chest reminded her that she must breathe again. And then she pretended that the formidable men had somehow inflicted that pain, sending a cold electric shiver down her spine.

            She routinely observed her demigods on their monthly visit to Volusia to trade at Boyles' Store, spying on them from across the street, wishing that she had the nerve to actually enter the store and greet them, and to see them much closer. She dared not. One glance into her eyes, and they would know, they would see what was in her heart, and guess how terribly vulnerable she was to them. Didn't she want them to know? No, she couldn't face up to that. Like most of the people of Volusia, she was utterly intimidated by them. She had heard the stories of how they treated women. Her fantasies were best left mere fantasies, weren't they? Plus, no one could deny that the men were genuinely dangerous. That fact was starkly brought home to her when she had seen, from a distance, what three of them had done to that poor fellow Oliver. She had viewed the tumultuous violence from several yards away, not daring to enter the inner circle of onlookers, not risking that the objects of her desire might actually see her. Desire? Surely that was too strong a word. She was far too frightened of them to do more than contemplate the possibilities of how it might feel to have their strong rough hands on her, and to have their intense, magnetic eyes melting her with a look. She had passed close by them, incidentally, only a few times in her life, and had been almost stopped cold in her tracks by their intense, mesmerizing eyes, even though those eyes had speared her for only nanoseconds.

            Still, she could not deny that she wanted them. There were other young men in Volusia, to be sure. But when she looked at those others, she felt nothing. She simply didn't want any others, couldn't want any others. However, to dare to pursue her exotic wishes, the wild fantasies that haunted her every daylit moment, and then invaded her nighttime dreams as well: wasn't that just too risky? Shouldn't her first time be with just one man, and a gentle one at that? Surely it would be truly dangerous to let six supermen ravish her, especially as her very first time! And if she ever did let them have their way with her, how could she keep them from tearing her apart? Maybe it would be wiser to let some gentle fellow ease her into the experience first. Except, ...she didn't want to get a reputation. At least, not until it could be...with them. As it was, her unblemished reputation should actually make her more appealing, more alluring to them...if they ever even noticed her. The fact that they had not, as far as she was aware, was her own fault, she knew. For someone who desired them obsessively, she had certainly made a career of keeping herself out of their sight and their reach. Perhaps that was foolish. There were bold women in the town, just a few, who dared to flirt with the Forresters, on occasion. Those women approached the mountainous men at the Christmas doin's each year, and giggled when the Forresters asked them to dance. If Laura waited too long, one of the men might get too involved with one of those women, and she would lose her chance. In fact, that had already happened, in regard to Lem's love for Twink. But that specific example didn't really bother Laura. She found Lem the least appealing of the Forresters. His eyes didn't twinkle when he looked at women, and he seldom smiled. By contrast, the other five seemed to be ever so much more fun. Particularly the four well-matched tall ones. They drew her far more than the shorter one, Gabby. He wasn't really all that short; he was just short compared to his "skyscraper" brothers.

 

            She wondered if the brothers had ever shared a woman before, and if it would appeal to them. Logistically, how could she approach and flirt with all of them generally, without becoming overly involved with any one of them, and seeing the others back off accordingly? She pondered that problem endlessly. Eventually, she realized that the approach most likely to succeed was the only truly obvious one: she must enter the square dance at the doin's the very next Christmas. During it, she must manage to dance with, and flirt with, as many different Forrester men as possible. Then, she must keep an eye on them throughout the evening, so as to anticipate the time when they would decide to soon leave. That was when she should step outside for some air. And flirt with the bunch of them again as they exited the church. Would they then ask her to go with them? Laura shivered in fright, and in delight, at the thought.

            It worked.

           

            "What an enchantin' evenin'!" she said as she gazed at the full moonlight, where she stood in the middle of the scrub, while the Forresters built a warm fire.

            "What, you never been campin' b'fore?" wondered Gabby with a smile.

            "Never with you-all." Her gaze enveloped each of them, wonderingly. She took a step closer. "Don't you-all realize how...magical you are??"

            The men chuckled good-naturedly at the precious wording.

            "'Magical?'" Pack queried.

            She struggled to define it, "Handsome...powerful...appealin'...intriguin'...."

            The Forresters were clearly conditionally flattered.

            But Mill-wheel wondered, "Iffen you find us so...'magical'...how come you never danced with us, nor talked to us b'fore?"

            "I was...too shy...too scared."

            Buck asked, "So then, why come to us now?"

            Laura answered ruefully, "I got tired o' lettin' my fear rule me. I been admirin' you-all for a long time."

            "How long a time?" demanded Arch curiously.

            "Years," she admitted.

            "Years." Buck was amazed.

            She nodded. "Fear kin keep a person stuck for a long time."

            All of the men eyed her, clearly thinking hard. Cautiously, Buck said, "But no matter how long it takened you, you know you made a bold move comin' out here alone with all of us tonight. And after flirtin' with the bunch of us in the dance."

            She nodded timidly.

            Mill-wheel took up the thought, "You seem right innocent to us, gal."

            She nodded again.

            Arch got to the point, "Jest how innocent are you? And how innocent do you still wanta be when this night's over?"

            Laura hesitated and lowered her eyes demurely. She was half-panting, half-gasping, albeit with closed lips.

            Arch repeated, "How innocent are you?"

            "Quite," she confessed.

            The men exchanged meaningful looks.

            "And how innocent do you still wanta be after tonight?"

            "Not quite," she whispered, and shivered slightly.

            Mill-wheel spoke bluntly. "Now let's talk plain: you're a virgin??"

            Laura could only nod spasmodically.

            Buck took up his point, "And you aim to let us take it from you."

            This time, she could only manage a single head-jerk.

            Several of them let out low whistles.

            Carefully, Buck said, "You know, that'll not be easy on you."

            She winced.

            "Gals tend to say it hurts the first time."

            She cringed.

            "And this'd be six first-times in one night."

            She whimpered. "But...you could be...gentle??"

            "Yes," Buck responded slowly. "But iffen you was to panic partway into it, and want out of it, you could turn it into a gang-rape."

            She gasped in fright.

            "I mean, we'd not wanta hurt you, but once we pass a certain point, that's it, for fellers. You're takin' a risk."

            Mill-wheel added, "You're terrified, gal. Maybe you hadn't oughta be doin' this."

            Laura shuddered. But she still didn't back away from them, literally or metaphorically.

            Buck stepped close to her. "Let's try this." He took her into his arms and kissed her. Her arms wound welcomingly around his neck. After a long, leisurely kiss, he drew slightly back from her, but without releasing her. "That was a right sweet kiss, Honey." He gazed into her face with brows raised, and she gazed back adoringly. "Fellers, I think she means it." He caressed her face. "But iffen you're gonna want out o' this, gal, say so now."

            She closed her eyes, but shook her head.

 

            Swarming hands. Lisa could not tell where one Forrester's touch ended and another's began. Their caresses were intoxicating.

            Mill-wheel murmured, "How 'bout one o' them sweet kisses for me?"

            She yielded gladly.

            Their soft, exploring touches in her private places were just as magical as she'd hoped and envisioned. She just had to struggle to suppress her overwhelming fear of their eventual inevitable splitting of her most tender place, and banish it far into the back of her mind, so as not to let it spoil her enjoyment of heaven. "After heaven comes hell," a nasty, persistent voice insisted perversely from the back of her brain. She squelched it by passionately kissing the nearest Forrester, who at the moment happened to be Arch.

            Buck's skilled, wandering, tweaking fingers hit just the right chord and instantly sent her to paradise, even as she gazed upward at the halo of bearded Forrester faces all around and above her. Her imagination of her past fantasies had never painted it better. Perfection was not only possible; it was achieved. Unfortunately, inevitably, she had to come back to earth. Buck probed carefully; at least she had made him, and all of the others, promise that he, Buck, would take her first. Laura gasped and cried out slightly, and caught her lower lip between her teeth. Her eyes glittered with barely-formed tears. But she considered aloud that maybe she could handle this.

            And Buck said, "Honey, that's only my finger."

            "Oh god...ohhhhh!" Terror overcame her.

            "Now gal, we warned you," Mill-wheel reminded her.

            Buck said, "Now that's 'bout as far as a finger kin go." He looked up at his brothers, and told them, "She's mighty tight."

            In response, Arch eased one of her bare legs one way, and Pack slid the other leg in the other direction.

            "I ain't a wishbone!" she cried in panic.

            "They're he'pin', Honey," Buck assured her. "I'll ease in slow."

            He might as well have knifed her. Laura screamed in pain and fear.

            Buck shook his head. "She's clampin' down," he told the men, and then said to her, "You got to relax."

            This advice was met with a scream and a sob.

            With a look of regret, but yielding to grim necessity, Mill-wheel calculatedly punched her in the gut, where she lay flat on the ground. She gasped, and Buck slipped in the rest of the way, saying, "That done it. Made her unclench."

            Laura cried like a small child as Mill-wheel told her, "Sorry, gal. But we got to do what works."

            The rest was a blur of pain and panic and blood, as each Forrester took his turn within her.

            When the repeated assault was over, Laura slipped in and out of consciousness, and heard only bits of their conversation.

            "We cain't take her back to town like this."

            "We cain't jest leave her here, neither."

 

            The Forresters took her home with them to Forresters' Island. Buck carried Laura inside in his arms. Their parents' first view revealed the fact that generous portions of her pink skirt were now red.

            Mrs. Forrester tsked at the sight. "You brutes o' mine," she muttered, and glared at them. "You jaybirds raped her?!"

            "No, Ma, she wanted it," Pack declared.

            Their mother harrumphed and swore. "That's what they all say! Men allus say that! And worse, I figger some of 'em really even b'lieve it!"

            "Happens to be true this time, Ma," Mill-wheel informed her.

            Mr. Forrester chuckled. "That's my boys!"

            Buck insisted, "She's been wantin' us for a long time. Tryin' to git up the nerve to come to us."

            Arch promised, "When she wakes up, she'll confirm it."

            "If she wakes up," Mrs. Forrester countered. "She's lost a heap o' blood."

 

            The girl did survive, but within two days, she was once again quite sore, and hobbled as she walked.

            Mrs. Forrester shook her head at her randy sons. "Cain't you-all even leave her recover b'fore you go tearin' into her agin??"

            "We got to keep her loose so's she don't suffer so bad agin," Pack insisted.

            She eyed him, unimpressed. "Oh, and you're so kind and thoughtful, ain't you? Who you think you're foolin'?"

 

            A full week later, Mrs. Forrester demanded, "You-all aim to keep her? She ain't a pet, you know."

            "'Cept, she keeps tellin' us she wants to be our slave." Mill-wheel winked.

            Pack nodded. "And she's a heap less trouble 'n ary other gal we ever seed."

            "Once we got her broke in," Gabby put in, as if he were discussing a horse.

            "Whew!" Arch commented. "That part wa'n't easy!"

            Their mother emphasized, "Wa'n't easy on her, I kin sure say!"

            Buck shrugged expansively. "Ma, what was we to do? Refuse her? And turn and walk away?" He failed to suppress a grin. "You know us better'n that. Plus, she's sich a charmin' leetle thing, and right purty."

            "She was sure 'nough worth the trouble o' breakin' into her," Gabby announced.

            As usual, Lem was glum and unappreciative. "She ain't Twink."

            Mill-wheel glared and said, "Thank the lord." That earned him a returning glare.

            Buck said meaningfully, "Admit it, Ma, you like havin' her 'round."

            "Well, yes. She's sweet as she kin be. And it's nice not to be th'only woman here for a change."

            Mill-wheel asserted, "You jest don't like the way she worships us."

            "No," she agreed. "I know you-all too good, not to find that peculiar." She sighed. "But she's sure 'nough the most submissive gal I ever seed."

 

            "Well, now you've goed and done it," Mrs. Forrester declared several weeks later. "She's lost her monthly."

            "Huh?" demanded a mystified Gabby.

            "You-all've caused a baby, you...!" She bit back whatever she'd been about to call him.

            "Uh oh," said Mill-wheel.

            "Oops," said Buck.

            "Well, you-all sure have a way with words!" she fussed irritably, sarcastically.

            Her sons all exchanged glances.

            "Now what?" said Arch.

            "I'll tell you 'now what.' That baby, whichever one o' you scapers caused it, is still a Forrester. One o' you got to do right by her, and give it our name."

            "Now hold on, Ma," objected Pack. "Iffen one of us marries her, then he might shut out the rest of us. This'n's special; ain't no other we kin share that-a-way, and have whenever we want her."

            Buck rose from his chair in formality. "I'll marry her. And I'll still share her. It's what she wants. And I...figger I love her."

            Mrs. Forrester made a face, but then nodded.

 

            The men tried to approach Laura casually, but she could tell that that was an act.

            Pseudo-offhandedly, Buck asked her, "How do you feel 'bout this baby business?"

            She eyed him warily, and admitted, "Scared."

            He sat down beside her. "Now why is that?"

            She stared at him as if he were missing the obvious. "That could tear me apart worse'n anythin' you-all done to me the first night."

            "Oh. Yeah. Course."

            Lem offered, "You want we should git rid of it for you then?"

            Laura blinked in a combination of disbelief and horror. "How would you do that??"

            Lem raised a fist, and said, "Punch you good, in the gut."

            She recoiled in terror. Involuntarily, she couldn't help glancing up at Mill-wheel, where he stood beside Lem. "L...like you h...hit me that first night???"

            Mill-wheel tried not to look irked. "That was diff'rent. I done that to make your muscles stop clenchin', clampin' down. Without meanin' to, you was fightin' to keep Buck out. Iffen I ain't put a stop to it, he'da had to rip you a heap worse'n he done. I was he'pin' you, makin' it easier on you."

            She eyed him warily, and swallowed hard. "I...didn't know that. I figgered you was punishin' me for not submittin' easier to him. I've...feared you...'bout that...ever since, Mill-wheel. B'fore I met you-all, I never figgered none o' you-all would ever...hit me that-a-way...like you-all done that poor Oliver feller."

            Lem's eyes flared momentarily in anger.

            "You seed that?" Mill-wheel asked her quietly.

            She nodded silently, and then stammered, "It...scared me bad.... It...made me wait even longer to ever go near you-all. But still, I figgered I was safe from bein' punched, 'cause I'm a gal."

            Buck nudged her to draw her attention, and then said softly, "I'm sorry you seed that fight. I'm sure it fretted you. Most o' the time, we don't beat gals that-a-way. What Mill-wheel done to you that night was a special case, and b'lieve me, it really did make it easier on you, than woulda been iffen he hadn't. But still, I'm sorry he had to hurt you, and I know he's sorry, too, even iffen 'twas necessary."

            Mill-wheel was nodding agreement.

            Buck went on, "But you should know, iffen it'd been th'other way 'round: iffen Mill-wheel'd been takin' you first, and you'da clamped down that-a-way, I'da hit you, too, and he'ped him git in without rippin' you too turrible."

            Laura let out a single sob before suppressing her urge to cry.

            Buck sighed and put his arm around her.

            Lem said gruffly, "And it'd also be a special case iffen I was to hit you to git rid o' the baby. It'd hurt, but it'd be a heap easier on you, than iffen you had to let it out full-growed. Right now, it's tiny; you might not even feel it comin' out o' you. But full-growed? You'll feel it, all right." His tone was so ominous that now, Laura did cry, and made no effort to stop.

            Buck held her.

            Arch said, "You got time yit. You don't gotta decide today, or tomorrer. But don't wait too long."

            She sniffled. "Your ma said she could he'p me through havin' it."

            Pack shrugged. "Sure. Doc Wilson, too. But even so, you'll be the one sufferin'."

            Laura cried into Buck's chest, and he rocked her gently for a while. When she simmered down, he told her, "Iffen you decide to keep it, you and me'll git married. Nothin' else don't need to change, but a Forrester baby has to have the Forrester name. So, you think on that, too."

            She stared at him in a bizarre combination of fright and rapture.

            Lem pressed his point. "Iffen you wanta do what hurts the least, you'll leave me git rid of it for you."

            She looked him in the eye and swallowed hard. "You've...done it b'fore?"

            "Now and agin."

            "Most of us have," Pack added.

            She looked from one Forrester to another and saw more than a few nods. Gingerly, she asked, "And it allus works...at the first try?"

            Arch eyed her calculatingly. "Not allus. Sometimes we gotta do it agin."

            Laura shivered, which turned into trembling that wouldn't stop.

            Buck held her for a while longer until the tremors subsided.

            She stammered, "When I seed you-all beat that feller in town, I had to keep tellin' myself, leastways I'd never have to fear that. That I'd never give you-all reason to be that riled at me. Never occurred to me that you might have a reason to...hit me, ...without bein' riled."

            Buck squeezed her gently closer.

            "Would you hit me...harder...or lighter...than what Mill-wheel done to me that first night??"

            Clearly, no one wanted to answer, but when their silence stressed her worse, Mill-wheel quietly said, "Harder. A heap harder."

            The torrent of tears returned, and Buck enveloped her again.

            When it died down to sniffles again, Mill-wheel explained, "The first night, I jest had to shock your muscles into relaxin'. But for this, we'd have to hit hard 'nough to make your muscles push somethin' out."

            Laura sat gasping, until she could manage to say, "Makes sense, I reckon." But then her face visibly clouded over, as she wailed, "I don't wanta git hit!" She again buried her face in Buck's chest.

            He soothed her.

            But Lem insisted, "You're tryin' to avoid a leetle pain now, but then you'll have a helluva heap o' pain, months from now."

            "No! No!!!"

            Arch remarked, "And this'll keep on happenin', so whatever you decide, we'll have to keep on dealin' with it, likely a time or two a year."

            "Oh gawd!!!"

            The men shook their heads at each other while Laura's face was hidden in Buck's chest; they weren't going to settle this issue today.

 

            The next day, Laura approached them meekly.

            Arch regarded her quizzically. "You decided yit?"

            "No. But I got more questions."

            "Ask."

            "When...you-all done that b'fore...to other gals...did your ma know?"

            A chorus of negatives startled her, such that she stepped back a pace. She stood bewildered, waiting for explanations, not even sure what to ask.

            Arch chuckled. "Wa'n't a gal I aimed to keep 'round; no point in talkin' 'bout it to-home."

            Pack shook his head. "When 'twas me, I ain't even liked the gal much."

            Mill-wheel shrugged. "I was seein' a coupla gals at t'oncet. I ain't wanted to git too tangled with ary one of 'em."

            Buck just looked dubious. "Didn't seem like a good idea to tell nothin', nor let nothin' go on too fur."

            Lisa's brow furrowed. "Sounds like you-all ain't gave none o' them gals no choice."

            That was followed by a chorus of "Nope." "Didn't." "Ain't." "Uh uh."

            She regarded them timidly. "Then, ...why you givin' me a choice?"

            The men tried to suppress smiles, with varying degrees of success.

            Finally, Buck said, "We aim to keep you 'round."

            She smiled back faintly, and then said, "And this time, your ma knows. She figgered it out b'fore I did."

            They nodded. One or two looked about to say something, but none of them did so.

            Laura guessed, "Iffen you make me git rid of it, your ma'll not be happy."

            They exchanged very meaningful long looks.

            Then, Lem said, "You'll not tell her."

            Laura was puzzled.

            "You'll not tell her 'twas nothin' we done."

            "Oh." She dropped her gaze.

            Lem added pointedly, "Iffen you do tell it, you'll be in a heap more trouble with us'n we'll be with her."

            Laura's eyes rose to his, and she shuddered, and then said, "I'll obey you."

            The men looked satisfied.

            Playfully, Mill-wheel told her, "Now see why we keep you 'round: you do as we say."

            She nodded, trying not to look too scared.

 

            Two days later, she approached them again with tears streaming.

            This time, Mill-wheel put his arms around her. "Aw now, what's the matter?" he asked good-naturedly.

            Laura eyed each man in turn. "I...I reckon...I best git hit." Then, she broke down and bawled into Mill-wheel's chest. He picked her up; the men exchanged brief glances and nods, and then they carried her far from the cabin, well out of earshot of the parents.

            In a clearing, Mill-wheel laid her down gently, sat beside her in the grass, and held her hand. Buck lowered himself to the other side of her, and took her other hand in his. Lem grimly knelt alongside her legs. Her sobbing turned into a shrill scream when she saw his fist. Arch dropped down at her head and braced her shoulders. Pack and Gabby bent down to keep her legs under control; there would be no kicking.

            Regretfully, Mill-wheel stated, "Now this's gonna hurt right bad. Bear up."

            Her eyes grew wild with fright as they darted back and forth between Buck and Mill-wheel. Buck looked so sorry for her. She struggled to avoid Lem's eyes; he looked smug and superior; he always enjoyed lording it over her, she knew. Plus, he had never shown her the least amount of kindness; he just used her as a poor substitute for his accursed Twink. All of the other five were kind, and cared for her to varying degrees. Laura resented Lem. And now, he was about to hurt her horribly, while the ones who cared restrained her for him. She shivered and then shuddered, and then absolute tremors took over her completely. Her teeth were even chattering in terror.

            "Easy, gal." Buck rubbed her arm affectionately.

            "Easy, Honey." Mill-wheel did the same for the arm whose hand he held.

            Laura fully expected her next scream to be the loudest, most high-pitched scream she had ever emitted, and indeed, as Lem's dreaded fist cocked back, she drew in a harsh, gasping breath in preparation. But to her shock and horror, Lem knocked the wind so completely out of her that she had no breath left with which to so much as squeak. Worse, the pain was so severe, so many magnitudes more intense than she could ever have imagined, that she lay stunned and unable to draw in a replacement breath. Laura lay silent and helpless like a deflated balloon. Fortunately, having seen this before, the other Forresters knew what to do about it. As if previously planned, Arch reached past her shoulders that he'd just been bracing, and pressed her chest in a demanding reminder to inhale again afterward. Involuntarily, her body obeyed, and then the endless shrieking and weeping began. Typically, Lem rose, turned, and wandered several yards away, while the other five Forresters petted and patted and comforted and consoled and soothed her. From his distance, Lem stood regarding her ruefully with folded arms, while she wailed at the fire that he had set in her womb. Laura was astonished and horrified at the way that it burned on and on, and then, incredibly, worsened into sharp cramping. Then came the blood.

            Clinically, Pack remarked, "Good job, Lem; you got it on the first try."

            Lem nodded and smirked in acknowledgement.

            When Laura glared at Pack in betrayal, he said, "Sorry, leetle Darlin', but would you've wanted to go agin?"

            "No!" she blubbered in despair, "I couldn't've goed through that agin!!!"

            The men all exchanged dubious looks above her, as if communicating that they wouldn't have allowed her to back out, if another effort had been necessary. At that, she turned her wet face away from them, and wouldn't be cajoled into meeting their eyes again for quite a while.

 

            The following day, Laura managed to find Buck and Mill-wheel apart from the others, and asked to speak to just the two of them alone. They agreed and led her to an out-of-the-way area unlikely to be stumbled upon by the other men. The three sat comfortably in the weeds.

            She pushed the waistband of her skirt down and revealed her abdomen: her horribly bruised abdomen. She regarded them bitterly. Both men sighed.

            Buck said, "I'm sorry, Darlin', but ain't as bad as it looks."

            Mill-wheel added, "Looks 'bout same as allus does, after doin' what we had to do. Lem done a good job, and he ain't hit you no worse'n he had to, to git the job done."

            Laura sagged. "But I cain't keep goin' through this! I keep thinkin' 'bout what Arch said, 'bout this'll keep happenin'. I cain't keep facin' this!"

            Buck cautioned her, "Then you're back to th'only other answer: you'll have it, and you and me'll git married."

            She hesitated. "I'm right honored, and in a way, I'd love that. But I'd still be so awful scared o' havin' it!"

            He shrugged hopelessly. "I don't see no other answer."

            "I do. Let me go."

            "What?" they both said.

            "Take me back to Volusia. And leave me."

            Mill-wheel attempted to suppress anger. "You'd leave us? Jest to avoid pain?"

            "I'm a coward! Fear makes me miserable! I got through the pain o' my first night with you-all, 'cause I figgered it'd only hurt that bad once, that-a-way. But, to imagine that this pain'll repeat over and over agin, year after year...!"

            Buck was also angry. "We been patient and kind to you, and we ain't even takin' your body agin 'til you're recovered from this here; we're leavin' you be, long's you're sore. Some of us, includin' us two, even love you; I love you 'nough to marry you; I done said that! We ain't dumpin' you back where we found you! We ain't lettin' you go!"

            Mill-wheel joined in, "Things's too good betwixt us to jest give you up! And don't you git no notions o' runnin' away, neither; you'd never make it alone the sixteen miles back to Volusia, and likely some wild critter'd git you anyways!"

            Laura was flabbergasted and frightened by their anger. She backpedaled. "I'm sorry! I ain't meant to rile you! I do love you also; I knowed I loved you even b'fore you-all knowed I existed! And I'd never dare try to run away, so far away, and past all them wild critters! Plus, I'd be too terrified o' what you-all'd do to me iffen you caught me! I'm sorry! Don't be riled!! Please don't be riled!!!" She was crying.

            Conditionally, partially, they relented, and moved to comfort her. She recoiled slightly in fright, until she read their good intentions in their eyes, and then she timidly and gratefully submitted to their comforting touches.

            When she quieted, and they eased their hold on her, Laura looked up into their faces, completely intimidated, and said, "I promise I'll not suggest that ever agin! Please don't tell the others!" Then she winced and added in a tiny voice, "I'm afraid they'll hurt me!"

            Buck and Mill-wheel rolled their eyes and shook their heads at her, but then managed mostly sincere, tolerant smiles.

            "Don't tell us what?" demanded Arch, from directly behind her.

            Laura's piercing scream nearly deafened Buck and Mill-wheel, who still held her reasonably close. She whirled, saw that all four of the others had successfully followed them here, and let loose another shrill scream. Then, she turned back and launched herself more tightly than ever into Buck's arms, begging, "No no no no!!! Protect me, please!!! Don't let 'em beat me!!!"

            "Let's have it," insisted Pack.

            "What's goin' on?" Lem's no-nonsense voice demanded.

            Mill-wheel addressed the other men, defending her, "Now, now, she jest said somethin' she ain't meant 'cause she's a mite cranky, on account o' she's hurtin'."

            "Easy, Honey; I don't figger they'll hurt you for that," Buck soothed her. "We ain't."

            Laura responded to Buck, blubbering, "But you two were riled at me, and you're the most patient! Think how riled they'll be!!!" She buried her face in Buck's beard, and even worked her fingers nervously, deeply, into the beard, just as Jody had done as a baby.

            Buck looked down at that fondly. "Now who do that remind you of?"

            "Ne' mind that," Lem said harshly. "What did she say to rile us??"

            Buck dodged a bit, saying, "Arch, this is your fault. I wish you ain't told her that we'll have to keep hittin' her a coupla times a year to bring back her monthly. Anyways, that made her panic and say she couldn't take it happenin' over and over that-a-way. So we pointed out th'only other way was to have a baby...."

            Laura whimpered throughout, and tried to burrow impossibly deeper into Buck's arms, heart, and beard.

            "Aw, Honey," he said.

            Mill-wheel took over, "So, she jest said there was a third way: we could take her back to Volusia and leave her."

            Silence, except for Laura's soft keening. She dared to take a quick peek over her left shoulder at the four men who were standing behind her, shrieked briefly in terror at their grim expressions, and turned back to the relative safety of Buck's embrace. It was clear that she feared a fist hitting from behind, as evidenced by her nearly rhythmically cringing, spasming back.

            Deceptively quietly, Arch said, "So, you want out o' this?"

            Laura turned in Buck's embrace to face him. "No! I don't!" she insisted sincerely. "It was the dumbest, most desperate, unthinkin' thing I ever said! I ain't meant it, and I'll never say it agin! Please!! Don't be riled!! Don't hurt me!!!" She hid again briefly. After a moment, she risked another quick glance, and saw the four of them staring at her contemplatively, sternly. "Nooo, no!!" She turned back to bury her delicate face into Buck's beard again. "No please, no please! No please!! No please!!!"

            Mill-wheel touched her lightly on the shoulder. She withdrew from Buck's chest only enough to peer over at him, sitting to her left. "Turn and face 'em, Honey," he said in a soothing tone.

            "Oh no! They're gonna hit me! They're gonna beat me!!"

            "No," he told her with certainty, "they ain't."

            Laura meekly, fearfully turned to face them.

            Lem said, "Even I ain't aimin' to hurt you. Mainly 'cause I figger you're hurtin' 'nough a'ready. And anyways, you takened back what you said."

            Arch agreed, "You 'pologized so good, and begged so nice, we don't wanta punish you."

            Pack added, "And you promised never to say it agin, even b'fore we could order you to promise that. What more could we want?"

            Gabby put in, "You obey us so good, even right after you jest been bad. See why we like to keep you 'round?"

            Now Laura shed tears of relief, murmuring, "Thank you thank you thank you!" She nearly collapsed in relief into Buck's embrace, now from behind her.

            Mill-wheel commented, "Most gals we know'd be quarrelin' with a feller, 'stead of apologizin'. You don't do that. See why we like you a heap better?"

            Buck rocked her and soothed, "There, there. You're all right now."