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Matt nodded, "Maybe we could do that before we leave in the spring."
"Good idea." Coon nodded.
Raz, Doolin and Colby amused themselves. Raz was good on the harmonica and everyone seemed to enjoy him playing late in the evening, it settled everyone out.
The wind blew up a lot, and in the cold of winter the wind was an enemy. It whistled through the cracks making a lonely sound. Men stuffed it with whatever was available as the small crack could easily freeze a man.
Firewood had to be moved inside so the door wasn't opened so much. They'd had three men chopping firewood before the big storm, so they were equipped with necessities.
It was da
rk inside the cabin most days as the sun didn't shine, only a gray monotonous sky. Lanterns were lit all over the place, so people could see to get around. A lot of stragglers came in from the weather too. The cabin was now full. Most trappers could read the signs of a coming storm and headed straight for Sutton's Place.
The storm only lasted a day, but what it left behind lasted nearly two weeks before the sun came out to stay a while.
***
One day, as Joe Banks seemed healed from his injuries, he noticed Rose, the black girl staring at him. Every time he looked at her, she would smile.
Joe studied on that. She was a pretty black girl, small, with lips that he'd enjoy kissing.
She was also young too.
So far, she hadn't spoken to him, just tossed him a smile now and then.
This went on a couple of days until she got the nerve to talk to him. "You look kind of sad. Aren't you feeling well?" She asked him as she came to sit beside him on the floor.
He offered her a blanket to warm her.
Joe stared at her, noting her pretty smile, his eyes going over her. "Just thinking about my sister."
"Was she in the raid of the wagon train."
"Yeah. I tried to get to her before they cut her down, but I couldn't. She was dead before I reached her."
"I’m sorry. I know how it feels to lose the ones you love." Rose told him, her hand going to his as they sat close now.
He stared at her hand, then his thumb stroked the top of her hand and she smiled at him.
Rose was young and most of the men she let touch her, were old, so when Joe came along, she was curious if he'd accept her. Especially since he turned his nose up at Snow Bird. Being a woman of color here didn't mean much as the men got raunchy and weren't too choosy.
"You do?" Joe stared, his eyes going over her now, stopping at points of interest on the way at her full breast held tight by her dress, her small waist and her round hips, then back to her pretty young face, and her luscious looking lips. He'd noticed that Negress women had fuller lips and had often wondered if that made them better kissers.
"Yeah, my family was sold to a plantation owner. I never saw them again." Rose told him sadly.
"All of them?"
"No, my mama and papa were sold first to a rich plantation owner, the kids went different places." She explained. "It changed everything."
"And you, where did you go?" Joe asked suddenly curious about this young woman. His hand began to sweat in hers.
"At first I went to an old farmer. But his wife was jealous of me and they threw me out. He had me a few times and she caught us one night. She threw a hissy-fit. When she threw me out, he looked a bit sad, but she told me to fend for myself. So, I did. I went to work in a saloon." She explained.
"He, had you?" Joe asked curiously.
"Yeah," her black eyes glistened, as she stared at him, all of him. "That's what white men do with Negro women, they take them at their leisure. As a slave, there's not much you can do about it." Her tone turned sour now at the recollection.
"Did you like being taken?"
