Adventure of a Life Time

Chapter 41

Adventure of a Life Time 

Chapter 41 

Early the next Lori could smell coffee brewing over open fire. She waited a few moments before opening her eyes, just listening as the birds are singing up into the trees above her and from the other trees surrounding where she was lying. 

She could hear Mark and Billy moving around there campsite, she guess maybe repacking their few things back into their saddlebags. However, it wasn't long before she was smelt something wonderful cooking, that made her stomach growl. She hoped no one heard the way her stomach was growling. She would never live it down from the men. 

The made her open her eyes really fast to see if anyone was standing close by. She thought she was safe when she didn't see anyone. Then she heard Mark laughing not too far away from her. 

Mark stops laughing and looks over to where she was still lying in her bedroll. "You better get up Lori, and get you something to eat before your stomach starts eating through to your backbone. Because I have to say I heard it all the way over here, and that was a mighty hungry growl, if I have ever heard one." 

"So what are you cooking that smells so good this morning?" 

"Lori you would not believe me if I told you what it was to begin with." 

Lori rose up halfway looking over at what was cooking. What she saw she could not believe that a snake would smell that good.  

She looks back over where Mark was standing with a questioning look on her face. It looks like he was not going to answer her, so she came right out and ask anyways.  

"Well where did you or Billy find that snake?" 

"Are you sure you want to know, Lori?" 

"Yes, otherwise I would not be asking, Mark. Would I?" 

"Since you have asked so nicely this morning I will tell you. He was crawling out of your bedroll, when he got too hot. So I killed him, now we are eating him for breakfast." 

"You got to be bull shitting me, Mark. I would have felt something like that in my bed roll." 

Mark was smiling at her as he was shaking his head at her. "No I am not bull shitting you. Therefore, you might want to crawl out of your sleeping bag very slowly, just in case there is another one in there. 

Lori crawls ever slowly out of the bedroll, saying under her breath. "I have heard of a lot things I might have done before, while helping my dad doing different things, but I never, never slept with a damn snake before and not know about it. That is just too damn creepy, if you ask me." 

Lori crawls out of her bedroll with her butt sticking up high in the air and she hears Mark and Billy laughing at her. She paid them no mind, walked over to the fire, and grabbed the coffee pot and cup that was setting down on the ground by the fire and then poured her tin cup of coffee. She takes a sip of her coffee while looking at snake's meat that Billy had cooked this morning. 

Billy walked over to her and said to her before setting down across from her on the other side of the fire, "Go ahead and grab some. You will find out how good it really is, and this might be the only time we get to eat today until tonight sometime. So eat up Lori. However, I have to say I have never seen anyone crawl out of a sleep bag as you did this morning. I couldn't help but laugh. That was damn funny; I needed that laugh, Lori."  

Mark comes up, sets down on the other side of her, and said to Billy. "If you think that was funny you ought to see how she looks most mornings. She always makes me laugh of a morning." 

"I can see why she isn't a morning person, is she? Now she has to worry about what is sleeping with her when she wakes up in the morning." 

Mark just laughs as he is rubbing his neck. Then said to Billy, "Where are headed to now? Alternatively, are we going back to the wagon train and bring them this way. You know I like this area a lot and I think Lori does too. I think I am going to ask her if you would like to build our home here instead of going to Oregon. You know this area would be a great place to raise horses or cattle here, plenty of trees to build a ranch house, and with the river here, so you know you will always have plenty of game for hunting. I really like it here." 

Billy looks around and nobs his head, then he answers, "I can see you would like it here, it won't get to hot in the summers, but you will have to deal with the winters with the snow each winter. However, other than that you are right. I will tell you what. If you and Lori decide to stay here and build I will come back here ad help you build your home, if you want. You just let me know. Ok Mark." 

"So Billy is we going back to the wagon train or goes forward another day, or what? I am with you here. You tell me. I am just here for the ride really, because after I have found what I am looking for. I am hoping Lori mom and dad will feel the same way about this place." 

Lori came walking back to camp after washing down by the river and came set down beside Mark.  

Mark stood up and then pulled Lori up to her feet; he kisses her lips then said to her. "Lori I want to ask you something. Honey how well does you like this area right here, where we have made our camp?" 

Lori replies as she looks around one more time before answering him. She is hoping he like this area too. Because while she was bathing at the river, she could see her house seating right over there by the cottonwoods trees, and hearing the birds singing and rabbits are jumping around. She did not think anything could compare to this place. It was so beautiful here. 

"Oh Mark, I love it here. It is so beautiful. Honey while I was bathing by the river I could see our home over there by the cottonwoods trees. We could have a horse ranch or a cattle ranch here and we would not have to worry about water or anything like that, like we did back home." 

Mark was so happy to hear she felt the same way as he did, he couldn't keep his hands or his lips off her. Before Lori knew it he was kissing right there in front of Billy and the world. 

Billy clear his throat and said to them, "OK kids, let's head back to the wagon train and bring them through here and let see how any families would like to settle here instead of going toward Oregon. How does that sounds to you too? Because I think this could be God's country right here where we are standing. Let's head out." 

They put off their campfire, had their bed rolls on backs of their horses, within a heartbeat they were on horses and heading back toward their wagon train where their love ones was waiting for them.