The Whippoorwill Trilogy - Sharon Sala Page 0,162

exhaled on a sigh and told herself to remain calm.

“Eulis.”

He put the coffee pot down and looked up.

“Yeah?”

“I said I need to pee.”

“Well, go on ahead,” Eulis said.

“I would if I could see where I was going.”

“Oh. Yeah. Sorry,” he said, then hurried toward her. He took her by the arm and started leading her toward the trees.

“Here’s good,” he said.

Letty reached out, feeling the shelter of being surrounded by bushes, and then frowned.

“Can you see me?”

Eulis sighed. “Well, hell yes, Letty. I’m a’standin’ right here.”

She took a deep breath, smelled too much of herself and gagged again, and then hit him on the arm.

“That’s not what I mean. If I squat down here, are you gonna be able to see me.”

“Not if I walk away,” Eulis said.

“Then get.”

“Oh. Yeah. All right. When you’re done, just holler.”

“I was hollering my head off last night and you didn’t hear me.”

“I’ll be right over there,” Eulis said, pointing to indicate his location, and then sheepishly grinned. “I forgot. You can’t see.”

“Go away, Eulis. Walk away and turn your back, please. I am humiliated enough as it is.”

“All right.”

Letty stood, listening until she could no longer hear Eulis’s footsteps.

“Are you looking?”

“No, Sister Leticia, I am not looking at your bare ass, although I am probably the only man within a hundred-mile range that hasn’t seen it.”

Letty would have liked to give him what for, but the truth was a hard thing to ignore. Instead, she pulled down her bloomers and squatted, taking no small amount of comfort from the relief of emptying her bladder. Now if she could only see and rid herself of the smell on her body, she might never complain about anything again.

A few moments later, she walked out of the bushes.

“Eulis.”

Eulis turned around. Letty was out of the trees, but she was looking toward the creek.

“I’m here,” he said.

“Oh,” she said, and turned to face him.

“Do you mind taking me down to the creek? I know I won’t be able to wash off the skunk, but I would sure like to get rid of the dirt and weeds.”

“Yeah, sure,” Eulis said. “Want me to go get your soap?”

Letty smiled. “That would be wonderful.”

“Okay,” he said. “Don’t move. I’ll be right back.”

Standing On The Promises

Once Letty had given up trying to maintain any sense of modesty, she stripped down to her skin then eased into the creek.

Eulis handed her the soap and then patted her on the head as she sat down.

“I’ll wait for you up here on the bank,” he said.

Letty hesitated. It would be comforting to know he was nearby, but she remembered the breakfast meat he’d been cooking.

“I’ll be fine,” she said. “You go on back and have your breakfast. I’ll yell at you when I’m ready to get out.”

Eulis eyed the buxom sway of her breasts and the soft curves on her body and then sighed. She was a fine looking woman, but that was as far as it went.

“You sure?”

“You don’t see any snakes or such?” Letty asked.

Eulis looked carefully around. “Nope. All clear.”

“Then run along.”

Eulis waded out of the water and up the side of the creek bank. He looked back once to make sure Letty was okay, and then hurried back to camp.

The water was spring-fed, so it was cold on Letty’s skin, but she didn’t care. She’d never felt so disgusting in her life. She scrubbed at her undergarments with some of the soap and then rinsed them in the water. Bracing herself against the swift flow, she lowered herself backward until her hair was completely submerged and let the current have its’ way with the filth. Once the worst of it was gone, she sat up, scrubbed the soap through her hair and then rinsed again and again.

When she was satisfied with the feel of her hair, she began working on her skin. Time passed until only a small sliver of soap was left. She’d rubbed her skin raw and her swollen eyes were seeping tears. Her hair had been scrubbed clean and shiny, but she still smelled to high heaven.

She lifted her arm to her nose and inhaled, then coughed and choked. The worst of the nausea she’d experienced last night was beginning to pass. If it weren’t for the smell and her eyes, she’d feel close to normal.

She combed her fingers through her hair several times to get out the tangles, then turned so that it caught the sun to let it dry. She thought about getting out and