Erika

"No."

"Something wrong?"

"No."

All her answers sounded typical of a teenager who'd had a very bad day.

I pulled into the drive-through of the local Dairy Queen.

"Chocolate okay?" I asked.

"What?" she asked with a scowl.

"I'm getting a chocolate milkshake: want one?"

She shrugged, but lit into it hers when it arrived. We both had a reason to avoid talking as we drove home. Her mood had improved slightly. But the sight of Riley bounding towards her door soon had her smiling.

She helped me carry in the groceries and asked where I wanted them. I had her set the table while I fixed a simple dinner of Mac and Cheese and sliced tomatoes. By the time she'd finished the Mac and Cheese, Erika was ready to talk.

Between her appearance, and the fact Charlie Gillespie had been her father, people weren't interested in talking to her! Even with Mom's jeans and top, she still looked like a punk!

"You won't want to hear this, but you need to change your looks a little if you want to find work in a small town. I can help, if you will let me."

I led her upstairs to her room. In Mom's closet, I found a couple of summer dresses, some skirts, and some blouses. I pulled a box from under the bed that held shoes and purses. A box in top of the closet held some of Mom's jewelry, mostly simple earrings and cheap, but nice necklaces.

Thirty minutes later, Erika came down wearing a dress that covered most of her tattoos. She wore a pair of Mom's flats. She'd removed the Goth jewelry and put plain studs in her ears.

"Is...Will this do?" she asked nervously.

"You look very nice," I replied.

"Won't your mother mind?"

"She wouldn't have minded."

"That's the second time you've talked about her in the past tense: where is she?"

"She passed away quietly a few years back. We found her out by the barn."

"She would have liked you," I added.

Erika came over and hugged me tightly.

Later that night, I lay awake thinking about Mom. Seeing Erika in her clothes reminded me how much I missed her: how lonely I was. So, when Erika crawled into bed with me, I was grateful.

"Tom, I hope you don't mind. I was thinking of my father and felt sad. You seemed to be sad and lonely, too! Can I stay with you tonight?"

Erika snuggled into my shoulder and soon fell asleep. I lay there stroking her hair and soon felt better: it was nice having someone next to me!

The next thing I knew, my alarm was going off.

"Umm...just a little longer?" Erika muttered.

"Sleep a little longer. I need to check the cows before I go to work."

She sat up and said, "I wanna come, too! I can help!"

She dashed off to change and was waiting for me by the truck, dogs loaded.

Erika was in a better mood this morning: in fact, so was I! She squealed with delight when a deer ran across the road. She rushed to open the gate and rode it as it swung in. She was full of questions about the cows and the horses.

I was pleased to have such enthusiastic company: my girlfriends had either stayed at the house, or acted bored around my cattle. I found myself wishing Mom could have met Erika.

After breakfast, I informed Erika I was taking her to get her hair trimmed: it looked like she cut it herself and contributed to her punk look. She pouted, but gave in. The stylist didn't remove much. She suggested a couple of looks that would accentuate her face. When Erika came out, she looked lovely!

Again, I told her I'd meet her around 4:30. I reminded her she could use me as a reference: I could, at least, tell people she worked hard at the ranch!

4:30 today was much different than yesterday! Erika met me at the diner door: she had a job! It was only part time: 7 to noon, six days a week, for three weeks at the feed store. Old Jack's cashier needed mornings off while her mother was having physical therapy.

She also had a second part time job: at the diner, working for Martha. Erika started clearing dishes after customers left and wiped down tables while she was waiting for me. She went around refilling water glasses. She sat quietly at a booth in the back when no one was there. Martha talked with her and found out Erika had waited tables before, so she offered her a chance to wait tables for those that came in for coffee and pie during the early afternoon.

Martha pulled me aside.

"Tom, that girl works harder than any of the girls I had before. She is extremely eager to please! It's almost like the people in her past ran her down and made her feel worthless. But, be careful: there's no telling what she might do to try to please you. She looks up to you!"

I already knew how far Erika might go. I daren't tell Martha what had already transpired between us. Martha knew me, but she might think I was taking advantage of the girl.

Erika couldn't stop talking on the drive home. Since we would have to leave for town earlier, I explained I needed to check on the cows this evening, and every evening to make things easier.

"Do you check on your cows every day?"

"I should check them twice a day: I usually do on weekends and on days I'm off. Conditions can change rapidly on a ranch. I could lose most of my herd if I missed more than a couple of days."

"Well, as long as I'm staying with you, I want to help any way I can!"

I smiled to myself and decide to test her resolve. This weekend, we'd be building fences. And cleaning out the horses' stalls.

Saturday morning, I stayed at the diner and drank coffee while Erika dashed over to the feed store. When things slowed down, Martha came and sat by me.

"Tom, I'm going to have to cancel tonight: Bill Jennings asked me out."

I was pleased at the news. Bill and Martha had dated on and off for several years. He worked for the highway department and had a decent job.

I went over to the feed store and handed Erika my order. I visited with Old Jack while she found everything and loaded the pickup. Jack just shook his head.

"She has a lot to learn about this business, but she's bright, listens, and asks intelligent questions. She noticed two farmers used different fertilizers and wanted to know what the difference was. I explained they were growing different crops. Your girl is a real hard worker!"

Erika finished loading and handed me the bill.

"Erika, when you finish with Tom you can go on."

"But, Mr. Jack! I still have an hour left!"

Jack smiled and said, "That's okay. See you Monday!"

She rushed over and gave him a hug, before hopping in the front seat.

"Hungry?"

"Can we get a burger at the DQ?"

Over lunch, she told me a boy had asked her if she had a boyfriend. She looked at me and grinned.

"I said, maybe."

Warning bells rang.

"He is cute, but Mr. Jack said he was only trying to get in my pants. Dillon has a bad reputation."

Dillon Smith. He bragged about all the girls he fucked, then dumped.

"Old Jack knows everyone around here. He won't lie to you: if he says someone is no good, he's usually right. He won't tell you why he disapproves of anyone unless you ask."

"Mr. Jack says you're a good man: soft-hearted, but decent. He also asked if I was one of your strays. What does that mean?"

I explained someone had tossed Riley out of their car and left him to starve. I found Ben and Sally tied to a tree on the roadside. Badger wandered into my yard and no one claimed him.

"Am I one of your strays? Will you keep me and look after me?"

I was uncomfortable with the way this conversation was headed.

"You're not abandoned."

"But I was mistreated."

We made the rest of the drive in silence.

We loaded fence posts and wire and headed out to the pasture. I found Erika some gloves and a cap. She looked worried when I strapped on an old revolver.

"In case of snakes."

Erika watched as I dug a hole with a posthole digger. She wanted to try it: but was surprise at how difficult it was working in the rocky soil. I told her I would dig and she could set the posts and fill in behind them. Fortunately, we only had about a dozen posts to replace.

Erika didn't complain: she seemed to enjoy the hard work! She listened carefully as I taught her how to level and backfill around the posts. I showed her scars on my hands from not wearing the leather gloves. I showed her how to hammer the staples into the posts. I even let her fire a couple of shots at a rotten stump.

We were both drenched in sweat on the ride back to the barn. I could smell Erika: I liked her smell!

I backed a small trailer close, and we shoveled manure out of the stalls onto the trailer. It was nearly full when we started. It was piled high when we finished. I pulled the trailer close to the gate and called a friend.

"One of my friends uses this as fertilizer on his garden. He pays $25 a load."

"If he wants it, why doesn't he come shovel this shit?"

"Because, he's eighty years old, that's why."

"Oh."

"Come on, let's go swimming."

We still had a couple of hours before dark: we had plenty of time to take a dip at the cattle tanks.

A windmill kept the main tank full, which filled a smaller tank, and then a pond. Erika complained she didn't have a swimsuit. I told her to wear her underwear: I would wear mine. We would change into the dry clothes when we were done.

I dove into the pond, but I neglected to tell Erika the water, being spring fed, would be very cold. She hollered when she dove in.

"Damn you! I'm freezing!"

I laughed, and soon she was laughing, too! I rinsed the sweat from my body and splashed around a little. I could see her nipples poking through the tank tee she wore instead of a bra. I could also see the outline of her triangle through her panties.

We sat on the banks, an old blanket wrapped around us and shared a beer. Soon animals were coming to the pond to drink. As the sun set an old boar and some hogs came out.

'Oh, Tom! This place is beautiful! I could stay here forever!"

I was beginning to wish she could!

The boar had cornered a sow and mounted her. We could hear them grunting.

"Give you any ideas?" Erika asked.

I pulled her to me and kissed her. She wrapped her arms around my shoulders and kissed back, pushing her tongue between my lips. My mind was reeling as I pushed her away.

"What's wrong?"

I shook my head.

"Am I too young? Don't you like me?"

"I do like you. It's just I...I don't want to take advantage of you. I don't want you hating me later!"

"Tom, I like you. And I want you," she whispered. "Not out of gratitude. Not out of any obligation to you. Just... because...I...can."

She picked up her dry clothes and went around the truck to change.

I did want her! Badly! But we hardly knew each other! And she seemed so fragile, so vulnerable!

Erika picked at her supper and went to bed early.

Sunday, we started setting posts for a new holding pen. This one would have wooden sides, like a corral. Erika worked hard and said little about the previous night. In fact, she said little about anything! She was giving me space to speak.

She refused a swim that afternoon, so we grilled instead. I went to check on my cows while she cleaned the kitchen. She was in bed when I returned.

The next few weeks, Erika was pleasant enough, but some of the enthusiasm she'd shown had worn off. She helped without complaining, and worked as hard as she always had, but, it was as if she was growing distant from me.

One afternoon, Martha came over to my office and plopped herself down next to a client I had. Her look encouraged him to reschedule.

"What did you do to that girl? She used to talk about you all the time! Now, she just turns away whenever your name comes up! Did you take advantage of her? Did you take her to bed?"

"That's the problem. I didn't"

I explained the evening at the pond.

"You idiot! Haven't you noticed she looks at you all moon-eyed? She's in love with you! And, I think you're in love with her, too!"

Martha grabbed my face, and continued, "She's thinking about moving into town. She nearly has enough saved for an apartment. And Old Jack offered her full-time work!"

That Saturday, on the drive home, I could tell Erika had something on her mind. We stopped at the ranch first, before going to the pasture. I hooked up the horse trailer and loaded the horses.

"Have you ever ridden? Would you like to? Badger needs riding regularly to keep him rideable. Amy is gentle, and she is good with inexperienced riders."

We unloaded the horses at the pasture. Erika watched closely as I saddled them. Badger tried to pull away until I grabbed a rolled up newspaper I kept handy.

I shook it in his face and yelled, "You better behave unless you want some of this!"

I tied Badger to the fence post and went to help Erika. I easily assisted her into Amy's saddle. I adjusted her stirrups and gave her a quick lesson on how to use the reins. Whatever had been on her mind vanished.

"Just take it easy, and let Amy follow Badger. When you are used to her, I will let you take the lead."

Erika seemed to be a natural rider: she was soon moving with Amy, instead of just sitting in the saddle. We started with a walk, but Badger was ready to gallop. I knew better than to let him have his head: I would be walking home if I did.

While Amy was the gentler horse, she had no patience with Badger's antics. She bared her teeth and snorted at him. He may have been a stallion, but she'd been the leader of the herd when we had more horses. He was afraid of her and behaved well after that.

I let Amy take the lead. When she sensed Erika was ready she began trotting. As Erika became more comfortable, Amy moved to a canter. Erika was laughing, her hair was flying. She was having a great time!

Erika pulled back on the reins and Amy slowed to a walk, then stopped.

"Oh, Tom! This is wonderful! I never knew riding a horse was so liberating!"

I'd never heard anyone call riding liberating, but I could see her point. My previous girlfriends...Previous? Was I now thinking of Erika as my girlfriend?

My previous girlfriends were neutral about riding, and Amy sensed that. She never went faster than a trot with most of them. She seemed to know Erika liked animals.

We were at a good point of the dirt road. I knew the horse could gallop safely here.

"Want to go faster?"

Erika's eyes went wide in anticipation as I showed her how to get Amy to gallop. They were off in a flash! I held Badger back a moment then turned him loose. He was younger and faster than Amy, but he held back some. He could sense Amy's moods and didn't want to get nipped again.

We rode for about ten minutes, before Erika reined Amy in. We went back in a walk. About a quarter mile from the corral, I helped Erika dismount, explaining we needed to walk them back in to allow them to cool down. It had been months since anyone had ridden them. If we rode them more often, they would be able to handle longer rides.

"Could we do this again? Soon?"

"I don't see why not."

We led them to the trough and unsaddled them while they drank. I pulled them back and showed Erika how to rub Amy down. I could see by her ears, Amy loved that attention. We let them drink a little more then gave each of them an apple.

I swatted Badger on the rump with my hat and he took off, with Amy close behind. We watched them cavort and play until they were out of sight. I loaded all the gear into the truck and motioned for Erika. I still had to check on the cows.

"Aren't we taking them back with us?"

"They will be home before we will. The ranch is a couple of miles over those hills. I can't take my truck that way, at least not until I make a cut up one of the hills."

To prove my point, Riley, Ben, and Sally were coming to the truck's horn. The cattle were on their way, too!

Erika was quiet on the ride back to the house, but she was smiling as she looked out the window. She went in to make supper while I led the horses to their stalls. I cleaned the saddles and hung up the blankets to air out. I heard Erika call supper was ready.

I stepped out and saw Erica in a peasant blouse and skirt, her shoulders exposed. She looked beautiful in the setting sun!

She had prepared meatloaf, boiled potatoes, and green beans. She beamed when I told her how delicious it was!

"I found your mother's recipe cards: this was marked as your favorite dish!"

"It still is!"

"I don't know how to bake a pie, but I'll learn, if you want me to stay."

I must have looked like an idiot. What did she just say?

"That IS the reason you took me riding today, isn't it? Martha told you I was leaving, didn't she?"

I nodded yes.

"If you want me to stay, then you have to prove you really..."

I pulled her to me and silenced her with a long, deep kiss.

"Woo! That's a start! Now go take a shower: you stink!"

I came out of the shower to find Erika laying on the bed, wearing one of my shirts. As I walked closer to my bed, she rolled over onto her stomach and positioned her face near the edge. She bent her legs and crossed her ankles behind her. She grabbed my towel and yanked it away. She began stroking my shaft and balls. I was soon rock hard.

"Nice," she said.

Erika moistened her lips and kissed the head. She bobbed on it a couple of times, then looked up at me.

"I told you I like sucking cock. If we are going to be together, you'd better get used having lots of blowjobs!"

"I think I could live with that."

"Good!"

She started off sucking slowly and gently. She took about half my length each time. Her hand never left my balls. She cupped them as she began sucking harder and faster. I let my hand rest in her hair, but did nothing to influence how she performed.

After a few moments, she stopped and lay on her back. Her smile invited me to explore her. She hadn't buttoned the shirt. I could see the area between her breasts down to her triangle. Her pelvis was covered with pale, downy fuzz, nothing like her hair color.

She shrugged, and said, "I dye my hair, but I will let it go back to my natural color, if you want."

"As long as you don't change your smell, I don't think Riley will care."

She laughed and hit me with a small pillow.

Her laughing stopped as I leaned over her and lightly kissed her. She grabbed my face and returned my kiss passionately. She sucked on my tongue as I pushed it between her teeth. I lined up between her legs and positioned my cock against her opening.

"Go easy, at first. I might gasp, but everything will be okay," she warned.

She was right: she did gasp. Her eyes went wide and she bit her lip. She felt incredibly tight as I worked in. Then her resistance faded and I was inside.

"Please, wait a second."

Suddenly, I realized, I was her first! She was still a virgin!

She smiled at me and rotated her hips. Instinct kicked in, and I began thrusting into her and was soon all the way inside. As she relaxed, fucking her became easier, and she was soon moaning. Even relaxed, Erika was incredibly tight! I came quicker than I liked and filled her with my load.

I rolled off her, and she snuggled against me, draping her slender leg across my pelvis. She began tracing outlines on my chest.

"Wow!" she exclaimed.

She saw the distress on my face and kissed me.

"You told me you turned tricks when you left home."

"I did: but I only gave blowjobs and hand jobs. I never said I let anyone fuck me. I didn't tell you because I was afraid you wouldn't go to bed with me."

"Sometimes, I think you are smarter than I am," I said.

I kissed her lightly before we drifted off to sleep.

I woke early the next morning and reached over to pull Erika to me, but she slid out of reach and wagged her finger at me.

"Cattle first, then me. You can have me all you want when you get back."

"You're not coming?"

"Nope. Call when you start back and I will have breakfast ready when you return. You're going to need it!" she laughed.