“This is really quite delicious.” Bill said, his mouth still half full of food. “I don’t believe I’ve ever ate anything this good.”

Abigail Mae blushed at the compliment. “Oh, Bill, you’re too sweet.”

Annie ate sparingly, and kept a close eye on their dinner guest. She still didn’t trust him and her time in the stable had caused even more suspicion to arise. The man claimed to be Bill Parker, though one of his saddlebags was clearly marked with the initials “KJ”. Sure, from time to time folks would buy these things second-hand, occasionally or even getting them along with the purchase of a horse. But Annie had a sneaking suspicion there was more to it than that. Her curiosity had prompted her to dig further, and inside his bedroll she found a small leather sack containing hundreds of dollars. She’d carefully tucked it all back away, just as she had found it and then found her way back to the main building of the ranch when Bill had walked in.

He was still a bit wet from his washing, and his clothes clung to him. She could not deny that he was a very sexy man, but she had been around long enough to know that all men had secrets, and some of them were dangerous.

She had nearly got the words out of her mouth when he walked in. She was going to tell Abigail Mae about what she had found in the bedroll and about the monogram. Far from damning proof, she knew, but the young blonde girl had become like a sister to her over these past few months and Annie felt she should know that this man may not be as he seemed.

He sat and ate, politely, often complimenting the both of them. Annie saw him glance at her breasts, as well as Abigail Mae’s, from time to time. But she’d grown used to that from men. All of the women at the ranch were much more endowed than most women, and all of them had grown accustomed to the attention that large breasts bring, except Abigail Mae. Annie knew how she felt, young and still a bit intimidated by her body. Where Abigail Mae had been a plump girl, Annie was just the opposite. Her body was rail thin and she’d grown up with taunts about her being like a board or a stick. Those taunts stopped at 13. Seemingly overnight her breasts grew larger and larger. By the time she was 15 they were larger than any other woman’s in town and it seemed they may never stop growing. To her dismay, the rest of her body hadn’t entirely followed suit. Her hips never really flared out like most women, and her ass stayed tight and tiny. Maybe that was a part of why all these women, these outcasts from other places had all ended up here. Maybe Darlene, knowingly or unknowingly, had offered a place free from the opinions others may have of their bodies. Whatever reason there may have been, Annie Bellwood found a home here, and this was her family now. She would do whatever she had to do to make sure it was protected.

She glowered at Bill as she moved some mashed potatoes around on her plate with her fork.

“You sure don’t say much… Annie, was it?” Bill remarked.

Annie only nodded in reply.

“Annie’s never really been one for talkin’. But she’s the best shot with a rifle anyone’s ever seen,” Abigail Mae blurted out.

“Is that right?” asked Bill.

“Why had Abigail Mae said that?” Annie asked herself, but she already knew the answer. The girl was young and clearly attracted to this man. She was just trying to impress him, and she wasn’t comfortable enough to brag on her own skills.

The chair made a loud creaking sound to break the silence as Annie stood up abruptly, sliding it backward. As Annie left the room, the two others sat in stunned silence. As Annie walked out towards the barn, she heard Bill make some joke, and the sound of Abigail Mae’s fresh young laughter filled the night.