Chapter 7
Three weeks later, Shadow was showing. She had ten nipples that were enlarging, had an increased appetite, and was moping about in the mornings. Molly was excited. Bear was going to be a father. She and Bart were going to be grandparents.
Having studied Bear’s papers, she was pleased.
His heritage was well documented and impressive.
His father had been widely shown, winning both in his category and in the larger show.
The documents and photos of Max and Milly, Bear’s father and mother, were great and would help sell the pups.
And Bear and Shadow were handsome together, representing the best of the breed.
The ten nipples were not an indication of litter size.
Average litter size for German Shepherds was eight pups.
The largest on record was fifteen, but ten was not unusual.
And, of course, all might not survive or be robust. Molly had worked two years as a Veterinarian tech and was experienced in dog breeding.
Many owners brought their pregnant female to the Vet a few days before birth so it could be overseen by professionals.
Molly’s vet had four birthing rooms, and Molly had overseen hundreds of births.
Molly was creating a special birthing room at the cabin for Shadow.
The normal gestation period for a German Shepherd was sixty three days.
They were twenty one days in, so she was expecting the birth event in about forty days.
A birthing room was intended to make Shadow feel comfortable.
Molly had relocated Shadow’s sleeping mat to a pantry off the kitchen where she’d also set up her own medical supplies.
She removed unnecessary items from the floor, moved Shadow’s sleeping mat into place, and set up water and feeding bowls for Shadow there.
She wanted Shadow to expect that the birth would happen there.
Molly didn’t need Shadow wandering away in the woods for the big event, a place where Molly couldn’t be present to help and document the process.
As the days approached, Molly would begin day and night monitoring. She knew the timing and the signs to look for. Once those started, she would be close by at all times, day or night.
The correspondence with Kitty had been fun.
The day after getting Kitty’s first note, Molly sent a long note telling Kitty what she knew about Bart.
That he had a place in the wilderness well off the grid that he didn’t share with anyone.
She reported that Bart was in good health and good spirits and that they’d spent a weekend together.
She didn’t give details but she knew Kitty the barrel racer could fill in those blanks.
She told Kitty about Beryl, the jenny mule, Bella, the lost and found lynx, and Blitz, his hunting falcon.
She sent a photo of the leather bracelet Bart had made for her and talked about the beautiful leather hat, vest, and moccasins he wore.
She reported he was reading a Kindle and coming out of the mountains about once a month.
And she spoke generally about the PTSD disability and the requirement that he be in touch with his VA-appointed therapist. She’d debated talking about that, but decided Kitty and the family probably knew about it.
And she told Kitty all about Summer’s End and her family history there.
Several weeks after sending that email to Kitty, she’d learned inadvertently from Mai that Kitty had reserved three cabins and one RV site for the weekend of the Omak Stampede.
Since Kitty hadn’t told her about that, she could only conclude that Bart’s family was coming to see Kitty’s farewell ride and hopefully to see Bart.
Molly decided she’d tell Bart about Kitty coming for the Stampede but not that Kitty had reserved cabins and an RV spot for that weekend.
That was Kitty’s deal. Maybe when the time got closer, Kitty would share her plan.
The Omak Stampede is one of the largest rodeos in Washington State, second only to the Ellensburg Rodeo, one of the top ten rodeos in the country. Molly had grown up with the Omak Stampede, watching it as a kid, working it her teen years, and finally, competing in barrel racing and calf roping.
Following high school graduation, Molly was crowned Queen of the Omak Stampede, an honor for any young cowgirl.
The qualifying was more a show of horse skills than a beauty contest. The crown went to the best young female rider, but it was a bonus when the queen was also lean and attractive, as Molly had been.
Being a rodeo queen carried many responsibilities.
Besides leading the traditional Omak Stampede parade through town with floats and marching bands, and leading the Queen’s Ride that opened the rodeo itself, the queen was expected to represent the Stampede at other regional rodeos.
Every rodeo begins with a Queen’s Ride where all visiting queens dress in their finest rodeo outfits and carry the flag of the rodeo they represent.
At a major rodeo like the Omak Stampede, it wouldn’t be unusual to have twenty visiting queens, dressed in their finest, holding a flag, and riding at top speed around the edge of the arena to screaming and applauding fans who love the event that features the best young female riders in the region.
Many of the queens also participate in events.
And that was Molly’s introduction to the rodeo circuit.
She liked it so much that it became her way of life after community college.
Bart’s next visit was scheduled for May 25, a Thursday, and one week after Molly had confirmed Shadow’s pregnancy.
As the day approached, Molly could feel the anticipation.
He’d said he’d stay with her, and she was counting on that.
She was surprised how much she was looking forward to seeing him.
As the day approached, she was conscious of her body.
Anticipating several days of sex, her body was talking to her.
She was aroused. She felt it in her breasts, between her legs, and in her head.
Her dreams were sexually charged, and she woke aroused.
She knew how to take care of herself, and she did, more often than normal.
Knowing Bart had only purchased six condoms at the store and that they’d had sex three times, she assumed he only had three on hand.
Well, based on her plans, that would never do for a two or three day visit.
Not wanting to buy them from Betsy, she stocked up at a Tonasket drug store where she was less well-known than in Omak or Okanogan.
She felt silly at her age slinking around buying condoms, but the public enjoyment of Bart’s last purchase at the resort store had her on guard.
She wondered how long he’d stay, and what his business was.
He’d said he had a business day scheduled for May 25.
She knew that involved a video call appointment with his VA therapist. He’d said that would be at the federal building in Okanogan.
He was required to be physically verified by someone, and then proceed with the video call in a conference room.
She could picture that. But did he have other business that she didn’t know about? She had no idea.
And his visit would include provisioning.
She could guess the kinds of things he might regularly need: flour, sugar, salt, grains, spices, and the like.
Did he have an oven? Did he make bread? She could envision fresh and smoked meat.
A sharp shooter in the wild likely wasn’t going hungry.
But what else was he cooking, and how was he doing that?
Most likely a wood burning stove, but how would he get that to a remote retreat?
And a stove wasn’t very practical in the hot summer.
Maybe he cooked outside in the summer. She could visualize an outside cooking rack set up over an open fire.
The image of a mountain man living off the grid in a secret hideaway was wildly romantic.
And it carried many questions that Molly enjoyed mulling.
What about the sex? Well, if he stayed at her place, there’d be sex.
Lots of sex. And that was a good thing. But what would happen on arrival?
Would the clothes be on the floor in the living room with her backed up against a wall?
Well, that’d be just fine. She could do rough and kinky, especially with this guy.
Or would it be more patient. Maybe a drink, a hot shower, and a cuddle before the main event.
She didn’t care, but the more she thought about it, the more aroused she became.
She woke on May 24 thinking he might be arriving this day.
If he had business on the 25 th , he’d likely arrive a day early, unpack, get settled, clean up, and be ready for whatever business he had the next day.
She stocked up on ingredients for some meals.
She didn’t want to be running around for last minute supplies.
She put clean sheets on the bed. After breakfast, she cleaned the kitchen and bathroom and gave the cabin a once over.
Shadow was watching her closely. Could Shadow sense that Bear was coming?
Molly had not been using Bear’s name because she didn’t want to create false expectations.
She started the day with her usual stop at the stables and, after brushing Jo down, she tracked Silas down at the corral.
“Hey, Silas, all good?”
“Hi Molly. Yeah, got an outfit leaving today. Getting the livestock ready. Six horses, four mules. Going out for two weeks into the high country. They’re going to find snow, but that’s what they want.”
“Who’s got the gig?”
“Pasayten Backcountry. They do a good job. The clients give them great reviews. I think they’re the best outfit we’re working with now.”
“Seen Bart lately?”