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Subject: {ASSM} NEW STORY: Road Trip by Dorsai (MF MFF FF viol)
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Copyright (c) 2003 - Dorsai
LEGAL DISBLAMER This is a dirty, nasty, *filthy* story - or some people
would have you believe. If you're old enough to read it in your area,
make up your own mind. If you're not `of age', then you're not
_supposed_ to be reading this stuff. Don't get caught - I won't take the
hit for it.
INFORMATION You can get a copy of this story in text and .pdf (Adobe
Acrobat) formats, and my other stories, at the alt.sex.stories text
repository at www.asstr.org under my Author name of Dorsai. Or, if you
prefer, you can read it as an HTML document on my web page at asstr. If
you do, *PLEASE* make a donation to them so they can continue to afford
to make erotica available on the net. The money they receive is used
ONLY to maintain the site (pay for bandwidth [faster downloads!],
servers, etc.), NOT to pay us authors. They will accept any donation,
and you can donate anonymously - see their donations page to learn how.
You can reach me directly at my public email account at:
dorsai@mail.com
This story is released for FREE public distribution provided the
copyright notice is retained. This story is NOT FOR SALE at any time, by
anyone. This story may NOT be included in any collections or posted on
any site for which ANY type of fee or other charge is required before
the user can read it. I *WILL* prosecute any violations of my copyright,
or the terms of distribution.
For those wishing to provide feedback to me, or any other author, there
are a number of anonymous remailers available from the site:
http://www.1netcentral.com/anonymous-email.html
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-==-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Road Trip
This is yet _another_ in the Next Door Neighbor series;
reading those stories isn't strictly *necessary*, but would
probably be helpful.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
When Robyn - Lucy's daughter by a previous marriage - graduated
High School, and went on to start college, Lucy and I decided
that it was time for us to have a little time off for ourselves.
When we told Robyn and Sandra - adopted by us when her parents
were killed - what we were thinking of doing, both girls were not
only accepting of the idea, but went on to encourage us. As Robyn
put it "Dad, you and Mom haven't had a vacation just for
yourselves since you got married; it's time the two of you took
the time to get away!", to which Sandra added "Don't worry, Uncle
Dan - we can take care of ourselves while you're gone."
I suppose that most parents, on hearing something like that
with two girls in college and living at home, would worry that
their kids would be throwing parties every night and bringing
home all of the school's athletic teams for some 'horizontal
recreation' - but Lucy and I both knew, all too well, that OUR
two weren't like that. For starters, both had _already_ brought
home boyfriends for the purpose of staying the night - with our
knowledge and permission. You see, our family was a *lot* closer
than most: _I_ had been the one to deflower
Robyn when she was just 13, and Sandra when she was 15; from
there both girls went on to make love with Lucy. Since that time,
all four of us had shared the tremendous love that we all felt
for each other innumerable times. We'd even had _others_ join us,
as well - including a number of FBI agents (Amy and friends) that
we'd come into contact with, as well as a woman and her daughter
that we'd provided 'protective custody' for.
These are all closer than average relationships, the names
will help emphasize that closeness and help link the other story
to this one.
With the knowledge that the girls would be okay with our
absence, Lucy and I proceeded to make the necessary arrangements.
Lucy was a Vice-President at the company where she worked, and
it took only a _little_ negotiation before they'd approve her
taking an unpaid leave of absence for as long as we wanted to
make our vacation: a full year. Me, I didn't have any problems: I
worked for myself, and only had to make sure that all the
projects I was working on for my customers would be done before
we left. Previously, I'd earned myself a nice chunk of money by
recovering over 300 million dollars for one of the clients of
Lucy's company; my paycheck had been 8% of the money that had
been recovered. Even after taxes and everything else, I still had
*more* than enough money to take care of Lucy and Robyn. I
continued working as a free-lance programmer mostly just so I'd
have something to do - much as Lucy had stayed at _her_ job.
When everything was settled that we *could* go, we started
making plans for the _how and when_. We finallysettled on renting
a large motor home; that we wanted to rent it for an entire year
made the company we got it from _more_ than willing to add a few
things to it, like a satellite Internet hookup, miniature TV
camera that looked out the back window with the monitor on the
dash so I could see what was behind me when I had to back the
monster up, an automatic leveling system so that all I had to do
was hit a switch and the beast would extend stabilizers until it
was level, and so on. When they were done, I took it to a friend
that was a hardware geek (as opposed to my being a software
geek), and he added a few more niceties: providing connections so
I could tie a GPS system into the laptop I planned to take along.
Finally, I took it to another friend that was kind enough to add
a few little hidden cubbyholes to it so that Lucy and I could
take along a few things without having to worry about them being
found and stolen if someon e broke into it while we were
somewhere else.
When all of that was done, Lucy and I spent a full week driving
the thing around (soon calling it 'the Monster' because it drove,
well, like a bus) just to make sure that we knew how, so that we
had a better 'feel' for where it was and what it would do. Once
we were satisfied we could do a decent job of driving it, we went
down to the Motor Vehicles office and took the tests, getting the
appropriate endorsements for our driver's licenses.
Lucy and I had decided that what we wanted to do was to do a
'grand tour' of the United States while I took photos of whatever
caught my attention; Lucy and others continued to tell me that I
definitely had an 'eye' for good photos, and finally talked me
into devoting a little time to the subject. With that in mind,
Lucy and I planned to time our 'tour' so that we were in the
southern part of the country during the winter, and work our way
North as summer approached. Along the way, we would detour as
necessary to stop in and visit many of the friends that we'd
made.
The last few nights before we were to leave, Robyn and Sandra
each let us know that we'd be missed...
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Lucy and I went up to go to bed a little late one night, only to
find Sandra waiting for us: stark naked and spread-eagled on our
bed!
Lucy and I looked at each other before Lucy turned to ask Sandra
"And you've parked yourself in the middle of our bed.... why?"
Sandra just grinned at us, and answered "Because I wanted to let
you know how much I'm going to miss you while you're gone, of
course!"
I smiled back at her, as did Lucy, as I responded "Of course.
What was I thinking of?"
As Sandra watched us, Lucy and I didn't dawdle getting
undressed, and into the bed with her. Lucy took position on one
side of her, and I, the other. Lucy and I reached out to place a
hand over one of her breasts, each of us feeling her nipple erect
into our palms. With a silent communication, each of us lowered
our head to begin kissing her - not on the lips, as she clearly
expected us to, but on her shoulders - then moving on to include
her neck, then her ears. It was only a couple of minutes before
we could hear her begin to pant as our 'stereo' efforts at
arousing her took effect.
Even as we continued to kiss and 'lip-nibble' her neck and
shoulders, Lucy was slowly touching and caressing her way down
Sandra's body. Lucy began to softly stroke the insides of
Sandra's spread thighs as she gently kissed the youngster's
smooth skin; I started playing with her delightful breasts:
Sandra had reached her full growth, and proudly sported a bust
that measured 34-C. Each of her pale mounds was capped with an
areola that was just a couple of shades darker than her skin. The
size of a quarter, they formed little cones that flowed
gracefully into pencil-diameter nipples that grew to a full
half-inch when erect - as they were, thanks to my most attentive
ministrations!
I knew when Lucy's hand finally came into contact with Sandra's
mons and vaginal lips because of the deep moan of aroused
pleasure she released. Soon after, I detected the musky aroma of
an aroused young woman.
A quick glance let me know that Lucy's mouth was approaching the
source of the wetness that glistened on her fingers before I
moved 'up' to start kissing Sandra's face and lips.
I knew when Lucy got to her target when I felt Sandra's hips
arch off the bed as she released a low moan into my mouth.
My hand continued to busy itself with Sandra's breasts as our
tongues danced and dueled in each others mouths, accompanied by
her steadily increasing moans and soft gasps as Lucy tenderly
ministered to our adopted daughter's sex.
Several happy minutes later, Sandra broke her kiss with me to
pant "Please! I want Uncle Dan in me!"
Lucy slowly ended her licking of Sandra's clitoris, and raised
her head, smiling as she asked "How would you like to do it,
dear?"
Sandra told us "I... I want him to make love to me in my butt.
And I want to use my mouth on you, too, Aunt Lucy!"
Lucy and I shared a look - it wasn't often that Sandra asked for
me to have anal sex with her; having her do so now, and wanting
to engage in some mutual frau-licking with Lucy, only told us
just how much she'd miss us while we were gone.
It took only a moment for us to figure out the best way of
giving Sandra what she wanted. Lucy moved to lie on her back, and
Sandra quickly and happily moved to position herself in a '69'
over her. While the two of them got started with each other, I
went to the bathroom to retrieve a tube of lubricant. When I got
back, the room was already filled with the soft, liquid sounds of
two women giving each other pleasure - and the heady aromas of
TWO highly-aroused females. I moved behind Sandra, and opened
the tube of lubricant before squirting a healthy dollop into my
hand. As I began to apply it to Sandra's nether regions, Lucy
took the opportunity to take me into her mouth and start sucking
me to erection. Even as I was lengthening and hardening in Lucy's
mouth, Sandra began pressing herself back against my fingers as I
carefully made sure that her rectum was slippery enough for what
we were about to do.
When I was fully erect, Lucy let me slip from between her lips
and returned to applying her considerable oral skills to Sandra's
labia and clitoris. For my part, I quickly applied another blob
of lube to my penis before moving to rest the head against the
rosette of Sandra's anus.
Sandra lifted her head from between Lucy's thighs long enough to
tell me "Yes, Uncle Dan - that's what I want!"
As Sandra's head lowered again, I started pressing myself
against her, feeling it as she consciously relaxed herself to
help make it easier for me. A little more pressure and it was
done: the head of my erect penis slipped through the tight ring
of her anus, accompanied by a deep moan. From the tone of it, I
knew that it was a moan of pleasure, not complaint. I paused for
a bit - not only to give Sandra a chance to adjust to having me
in her ass, but to let ME 'settle down', too - before easing
myself even farther into her. A few moments later, and my pubic
hair was tight against her tailbone, my hardness fully inside
her.
Again, I paused for a bit before slowly withdrawing myself from
her a bit, then sliding back in. Over the next few minutes, I
slowly increased the speed and length of my strokes into her most
personal opening. As I did, the sounds of Sandra's arousal and
pleasure quickly increased - along with her enthusiasm for what
she was doing to/for Lucy, judging from the sounds Lucy was
making.
All three of us delighted in the pleasure we were giving and
receiving for the next several minutes, the sounds and scents of
lovemaking permeating the air. Along the way, Lucy's lips and
tongue - combined with my activities - brought Sandra to an
orgasm. It was followed a few minutes later by another, even
stronger.
Finally finding her own release, Lucy let her head drop back
onto the bed as she cried out with the first spasm that overtook
her, then gasping and moaning as Sandra continued stimulating her
in time with each successive wave of pleasure. Only when Lucy
managed to croak "Sandra! Please!" did the youngster lift her
head again to let herself focus exclusively on what *I* was doing
to her.
As I continued pistoning in and out of her nether opening, I
could feel Sandra's excitement building: periodically, a small
spasm would overtake her, causing her anus to tighten around me -
and increasing my own arousal in the process.
A couple more minutes went by before Lucy was able to raise her
head again, and begin licking at Sandra's vaginal opening,
sucking on her labia and clitoris, and every so often detouring
to lick my balls as they swung forward. With both of us 'working'
on her, Sandra's arousal increased dramatically; it was only a
few more minutes before she threw her head back and released a
soft cry as she found her release.
As spasms coursed through her body, Sandra's back opening would
tighten around me - nearly painfully so. But it _wasn't_ painful:
it was incredibly arousing, and even as the power of her orgasm
began to taper off, the sensations she was creating around my
penis were enough to trigger my own climax. As the first hot jet
of my semen washed her bowels, Sandra cried out again, nearly
screaming "I feel it! You're coming in me! It feels so *hot*!"
Adding fuel to the fire of my climax, Lucy reached between my
legs and began dragging her fingernails across my scrotum,
causing the next spurt of my cum to erupt from me nearly as
powerfully as the first.
As our respective climaxes tapered off, I felt Sandra start to
weaken underneath me, and I quickly got hold of her so that she
wouldn't collapse on top of Lucy. Lucy saw what was happening,
and quickly ended her attentions to Sandra's pelvis to eel out
from under the two of us. With the way clear, I gently lowered
Sandra to the bed, keeping my semi-erect penis still buried
between her cute buns.
Once on the bed, I held myself over our adopted daughter,
covering her body with mine. The most capable of the three of us,
Lucy got out of bed and went into the bathroom; she returned a
short time later with an obviously damp washcloth and a towel.
When she was back in bed with us, Lucy waited until my penis had
shrunk enough to pull free of Sandra's intimate embrace before
going about cleaning the remains of the lubricant - and my semen
- from Sandra and me. Once she'd made sure that both of us were
reasonably clean and dried off, Lucy tossed the washcloth and
towel onto a nightstand before lying down on the opposite side of
Sandra from me, so that both of us could hold and cuddle her.
A couple of minutes later and Sandra had recovered enough to
turn over so that she could turn her head and look at each of us
before telling us "I'm going to miss _both_ of you SO much - and
I'm going to miss being able to have fun with you like this even
more!"
First Lucy, then I, tilted our heads forward to kiss her softly
on the lips before Lucy told her "We're going to miss you, too,
sweetheart. *And* having fun with you!"
I followed Lucy's remark with my own "Sandra, what Lucy said is
true - we're going to miss you as much as you'll be missing us.
But we'll be back before long, and just think about the 'welcome
home' party we can have!", the last with a grin.
Sandra managed a smile for me, but I - and Lucy - knew that her
heart really wasn't in it; both of us knew how much she loved us,
and how much we loved her.
The three of us lie there holding each other until we quietly
drifted off to sleep. When we woke up the next morning, Lucy and
I discovered that Sandra had left us sometime during the night.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- When Robyn showed up a couple nights
later, after Lucy and I had gone to bed, she didn't make any
bones about why she was there: she crawled onto the foot of the
bed between us and clearly announced "I'm here to try and get
enough love from both of you to hold me until you get back. Think
you can do it?"
Lucy and I both laughed a little before I answered "I don't
know - but we can sure _try_!" - accompanied by Lucy's
enthusiastic nodding, something that made Robyn smile.
Lucy and I threw the bedcovers back, and opened our arms to
her; when she was close enough, we both hugging and kissing her
as she moved to lie on her back between us.
It wasn't but a few moments before we felt Robyn's soft hands
begin to explore our bodies, and only a moment after that before
we began to reciprocate. As always, I couldn't help but marvel at
the smooth softness of her skin, the firmness of her breasts, and
farther down, the tautness of her delightfully curved ass. Along
the way, my hand met Lucy's as she gently caressed Robyn's mons
and pubic thatch.
In return, I could feel Robyn's fingertips re-memorizing the
scars I bore as a result of my service in the Army, then her cool
hand enveloping my manhood and slowly stroking it, and the gentle
touch of her lips on mine.
After a bit, Robyn's lips left mine, and I was free to begin
kissing her neck and shoulder as I slowly eased my way down her
body, until I could begin kissing her breast and sucking on her
rapidly-erecting nipple. As I happily teased her nipple with my
lips, Robyn put her hand behind my head holding me in place as
she moaned low in her throat.
As pleasant as it was to nurse at Robyn's delightful breasts, I
wanted to do more. Slowly, I began kissing my way down her body
again, until I finally reached my goal: the dark wedge of pubic
hair at the base of her belly - and more to the point, the hot,
wet channel that I knew lay between her smooth, firm thighs.
When it became clear what my goal was, Robyn readily spread her
legs to make room for me. A few moments more, and I could see the
target of my desires: the glistening lips of Robyn's parted
vaginal lips.
The first pass of my tongue between her labia earned me a full
taste of Robyn's light, sweet nectar as she arched her hips in
pleasure at what I was doing. Another pass of my tongue, then
another; Robyn's muffled moan caused me to look up and see that
Lucy was astraddle her daughter's face, receiving much the same
treatment that I was dispensing. I soon expanded my efforts to
include taking Robyn's labia between my lips and gently 'chewing'
on them, and sucking them - then moving on to begin softly
licking and sucking on her erect clitoris. My attentions served
to increase her arousal, and I happily made frequent side-trips
to lick up the overflow of Robyn's oils before returning to my
various ministrations. Things finally got to the point where I
was spending nearly as much time lapping up her nectar as I was
doing anything else; at that point, I formed a 'spear' with my
tongue and tried to see if I could reach her tonsils from her
crotch. The result was a muffled shriek from Robyn, followed
by her trying to spread her legs as far as they would go to
encourage me to try harder. I did, and soon had my hands full -
literally, since they were cupping her ass cheeks - trying to
hold her still so that I didn't get a whiplash as I repeatedly
penetrated her hot opening.
This all went on for several minutes before I heard Lucy's
cries of pleasure as she tripped over into orgasm, thanks to
Robyn's talented tongue.
When Lucy finally got her senses back, she nearly collapsed to
lie on the bed - opening the way for my participation to become
much more active. Lifting my head from between Robyn's thighs
(accompanied by a moan of disappointment from Robyn), I quickly
moved to a kneeling position. Robyn looked up at me, and with a
delighted look on her face, saw that I was erect. With a happy
"Let me get you ready!" she lifted up so that she could lean
forward and take me into her mouth, eagerly licking and sucking
on my manhood. When she was finally satisfied that I was properly
lubricated with her saliva, she pulled her lips from around me
with a soft 'pop', and lie down again in open invitation for me
to make love with her. I positioned myself between her legs, and
she reached down to take me in her hand so she could position the
head of my penis against her hot opening. I pressed forward, and
after only a little initial resistance, slipped through the tight
ring of her entrance and on into the tight, wet channel of her
womanhood. I backed out a little, then pressed in again; another
cycle of that, and I was balls-deep into my adopted daughter's
sheath. Securely embedded in her, I let my body tilt forward
so that I could lower my head and begin kissing her as I started
slowly sliding my penis out of her; when only the head was
inside, I reversed direction, filling her again, accompanied by
her deep groan of pleasure. Over the next couple of minutes, I
slowly increased the speed of my movement in her until the steady
rhythm of our union filled the room with the liquid noises of our
lovemaking.
Between what I'd done to her, and what she'd done to Lucy, it
wasn't long before our lovemaking added enough to Robyn's arousal
to push her into an orgasm. The clenching of her hot, wet vagina
around my manhood felt wonderful - but I managed to keep control
of myself so that I could continue making love with her.
As she came down from her release, her eyes suddenly flew open
when she realized that I was still making love with her. With a
moaned "Oh, Go-o-o-d-d-d!", she put her arms around me and pulled
me down so she could start planting kisses and soft bites on my
neck and shoulders even as her panting started ratcheting up
again. A few minutes later, she cried out as another climax
washed over her. Though it was a lot closer that time, I still
managed to keep from filling her with my cum; instead, I simply
stopped my motion over her, holding myself deep inside her as I
enjoyed the feeling of her vagina clenching around me.
When she'd caught her breath again, she opened her eyes to look
up at me in joy before she realized that I was still fully erect,
and buried deep inside her. Her eyes grew to the size of saucers
as she asked "You didn't... You're still hard?!"
I smiled down at her and answered "You said you wanted enough
to hold you while we're gone - have you changed you mind, now?"
"Oh, god, no!" she replied before arching her hips to get me
moving in her again, her delight plain on her face.
With her affirmation that she was ready for more, I started
making love with her again. Soon, I was sliding in and out of her
with a steady movement that I knew wouldn't end until I'd found
my own release. That came (pardon the pun) a few minutes later
when I felt her slip into her third climax since I'd entered her;
that time, the feeling of her spasming vagina milking my penis
was enough to let me find my own pleasure. Pressing myself as far
into her as I could, I fired jet after jet of my hot cum into
her.
When both of us had recovered enough from the power of our
climaxes, I lowered my head so the two of us could share a number
of soft, gentle kisses before my penis shrank enough to pull free
of her intimate grasp.
Lucy apparently recognized the expression on Robyn's face when
that happened, and told us "If you'll get out of the way, Dan,
I'll clean her up...", her intentions clear. I smiled and did as
I was told while Robyn looked pleased. A few moments later, and
Lucy was eagerly licking my cum out of her daughter's dripping
opening - accompanied by Robyn's moans of pleasure.
Even after Lucy had vacuumed my semen from Robyn, she continued
licking and sucking on the girl's labia and clitoris. For my
part, I busied myself with kissing Robyn - and more importantly,
playing with and sucking on her breasts and nipples. Together,
Lucy and I managed to bring Robyn to another orgasm - clearly the
most powerful yet - within just a few minutes.
When Robyn had recovered from her release, Lucy moved up so
that she and I were neatly bracketing her; together, we gently
caressed the youngster as we lovingly shared kisses with her for
a few minutes more.
After a bit, things slowed down and we were content to simply
hold each other until we fell asleep. Robyn was still with us the
next morning, and happily shared a shower with me and Lucy.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
The night before Lucy and I were to leave, we heard a soft
knocking at the door to our bedroom. We told whoever it was to
come in; it turned out to be Robyn and Sandra, both. We asked
what they wanted, and they told us that they simply wanted to
spend the night with us - making love if we (Lucy and I) wanted
to, but what they wanted most was to just *be* with us. Lucy and
I didn't even have to look at each other - both girls were _more_
than welcome to keep us company. The next morning's shower was a
bit crowded, but none of us minded in the slightest...
When Lucy and I actually left, Sandra and Robyn were both
trying as best they could to keep up a happy front; but Lucy and
I both knew that they'd be crying as soon as we were out of sight
- mostly because I think both of us were expecting to do the same
damn thing.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Once we were on the road, it took Lucy and I a few days to get
into a routine of sorts; once that happened, things went along
pretty darn well. Once a week or so, we'd spend the night in a
motel instead of the motor home, using the opportunity to do
whatever laundry or shopping that needed to be done. We were
towing my car on the back of the motor home, so we didn't have to
drive the massive hunk of metal just to go get a loaf of bread or
a six-pack of sodas or beer.
Along the way, we'd pause wherever and whenever the mood struck
- sometimes, I'd want to spend an extra day (or even two)
someplace; other times, it was Lucy that kept us still. Either
way, we were both happy, and enjoying the hell out of it.
I took lots of photos with the high-end digital camera Lucy had
gotten me for my birthday one year; Lucy had a blast meeting
people and seeing the different places and things we came across
along the way.
Each night, when we'd found a place to stop and settled in for
the evening, we'd send an email to the girls and let them know
where we were (they'd put a U.S. map on the wall in their room
and were marking it to keep track of our travels). We'd also tell
them a little bit about what we'd seen and done that day, and
hear from them how they were doing. Both missed us, of course,
just as we missed them; but they were always careful to make
their emails to us happy and cheerful - mostly to try and keep us
from worrying about them (which we did, anyway), we suspected.
One of the first people we stopped in to visit was Amy and her
husband Tom, along with Erika Simpson, in Washington, D.C. All of
them were delighted to see us again, and we spent a full weekend
debauching with them before we continued our American Tour.
We were amazed, delighted, fascinated, and overawed along the
way by all the people, places, and things that we saw - New York
simply overwhelmed us; Philadelphia drove home just how lucky we
were to have been born and raised where we were. New England
fascinated us. The Midwest - and particularly the Great Plains -
left us awed: that people had the guts to head across that vast
expanse with little more than a covered wagon and team of
horses/mules was all but inconceivable. Then we hit the mountain
states, and could only wonder at the stamina and fortitude of
those that had made it across the plains, only to take on the
Rocky Mountains - and *win*.
We were nearly 8 months into our journey when we hit Idaho. We
were going through a small town in the northern part of the state
(we'd made a detour into Canada, just for the sake of saying we'd
been there, eh?) after just getting back on the road one morning
when we saw what looked like a young girl trying to hitchhike.
Early on, Lucy and I had agreed that we weren't going to pick up
hitchhikers, and I eased the motor home to the edge of the lane
to make sure I left the hitchhiker plenty of room as we went by.
Even as the ass end of the motor home was just clearing the girl,
Lucy grabbed my arm and started telling me to stop - that we
needed to pick the girl up. I looked at her in surprise, and Lucy
told me "I know your eyes were on the road, Dan - but that girl
*needs* a ride - and maybe more. We _have_ to stop for her!"
Nothing to do, of course, but slow the beast back down, and get
it over onto the side of the road so we didn't block traffic any
more than we had to. I looked behind us, and it didn't seem that
the girl had noticed we'd stopped; Lucy corrected that oversight
through the simple expedient of getting out and going to get her.
When the two of them got back, and climbed in, I could see that
Lucy had been right. It wasn't real obvious at first look, but
the girl was in SOME kind of trouble: dressed in pretty worn
clothing, there was a scared look around her eyes, and all she
had was carrying a ragged backpack. At first look, I thought she
looked to be in her mid- to late-20's; a second, then third, look
dropped that number - I finally settled on late teens. She was
maybe five and half feet tall, and couldn't have weighed a
hundred pounds, sopping wet and with a brick in each hand. It had
obviously been a while since she'd last bathed: not only was she
dirty, but there was a faint aroma about her. Not that she
actually _stank_, mind you; only enough to let you know that her
last bath had been too long ago. Underneath the grime, it looked
like she was _probably_ blonde, her hair done in a ponytail that
hung past her shoulders; she had a pretty face, with regular
features, and a pair of the most beauti ful green eyes I'd ever
seen. It was all but impossible to tell what her figure was like
underneath the (dirty) loose, baggy clothing she was wearing.
As she stood there, I could see that she was trembling slightly;
Lucy told me "Dan, this is Lisa Hammarlund. She's looking for a
ride - to Seattle, you said?", the last directed at the girl who
nodded and answered "Um, yeah, if you're headed that way." in a
beautiful contralto voice.
The road we were on was a state road that eventually linked up
with an interstate that would take us to Seattle, so the
destination wasn't too surprising. What DID surprise me, though,
was the way she trembled slightly. Lucy noticed it, too, and
asked "Lisa, what's the matter, dear? Is something wrong?"
That seemed to sink in for her, and she answered "Um, yeah,
there is. There are some people after me, and I really need to
get out of here. Uh, maybe I shouldn't go with you - you look
like nice people, and you stopped to give me a ride and all, but
I don't want any of MY trouble to rub off on you. I'll just get
out, and try to catch another ride, okay?"
On hearing that, I thought to myself "Oh, *shit*, here we go
again!", even as Lucy was giving me a Look before telling her
"That isn't necessary, Lisa. We'll be glad to help you out. Why
don't you tell us about it?"
Lisa answered "I guess I can do that; but you'd better get this
thing moving. I don't know how far they are behind me, and they
could be here any time. You _really_ don't want to be on the
wrong side of them, you know?"
Part of what I learned in the Army was the judgment of when the
time was right to 'argue' something. This wasn't that time. It
was blatantly obvious by then that the girl was scared out of her
wits. I told them "We're on the way, then" as I turned around and
got ready to get the Monster moving. When the traffic had thinned
enough, I hit the gas and got us going again - accompanied by an
audible sigh and visible relief from Lisa.
Once we were up to speed, Lucy gently guided Lisa to the
passenger seat at the front of the bus, then folded down the jump
seat immediately behind it for herself. A minute or two went by
in silence before Lucy asked Lisa "Is there anything I can get
for you, Lisa? Something to eat or drink, perhaps?" Lisa turned
to look at Lucy, then me, then back to Lucy before answering "Uh,
if it isn't any bother, some food and water or maybe a soda would
be _really_ good."
I looked over at her, and with her a bit closer, could see that
she appeared to be a few pounds UNDER weight. I asked her "When
was the last time you ate?"
She looked down at her lap, and softly answered "Yesterday - I
think."
Lucy just looked at me, and got up to head back to where the
little kitchen was. A minute later, I heard the microwave kick
on, and shortly after that, detected the aroma of the
meat-and-pastry snacks that we carried along for when we just
wanted a quick bite. A couple minutes later, I heard the
microwave go off, shortly followed by Lucy reappearing with a
couple of the snacks and a cold soda. She handed them to Lisa,
who didn't even wait for the food to cool: she just bit off a
chunk and sucked air as she gave it a couple of token chews
before washing it down with a swallow of soda. She repeated that
a couple more times as Lucy and I shared another look: yesterday,
hell - if she'd eaten in the last 2 days, Lucy and I would have
BOTH been surprised.
After Lisa got through the first of the pastries, she slowed
down for the second - pausing in between to thank us, profusely.
When she was done, she released a soft belch, blushed, and took
another swallow of the soda.
When she settled back in the passenger seat, Lucy asked her
"Would you like to tell us about it, now, dear?"
With that question, Lisa started looking scared again, but
started to slowly tell us her story.
"I'm from a little town a bit south of here; neven as small as
it is, it's still the county capitol. There's some folks there
that pretty much run *everything* - the cops, the town
Councilman, the businesses, _everything_. Me and my boyfriend
Charlie, we saw some stuff happen that we weren't supposed to. We
kept quiet about it, but somehow, somebody found out. When they
found out it was us that saw them, we were _really_ in trouble.
"At first, they just threatened us, and we did what they wanted
- that is, kept our mouths shut and didn't say _anything_. But
then they started telling us to do stuff, and the next thing we
new, both of us were in even MORE trouble. It kept going on like
that for a while, until a week, week and a half ago. That's when
Charlie disappeared. I looked all over for him, but couldn't find
him *anyplace*. I hung around for a couple of days, keeping out
of the way; then one of my friends told me that they were looking
for ME. That was when I put some stuff in my pack and headed out
- I didn't know what happened to Charlie, and *I* didn't want to
just disappear, too. I was SO scared, but I knew that if I didn't
get away, something bad was going to happen to me, so I tried to
sleep in the daytime and only move at night, but I was outside of
town and all, and it was pretty hard."
"What did you see?", I asked.
Lisa got a terrified look on her face and answered "Me and
Charlie, we saw a couple of people beat this girl to death, and
bury her."
"Who did it?", asked Lucy.
Several seconds went by before Lisa softly told us "Sheriff
Purdy and one of his deputies."
Lucy and I looked at each other for a couple of seconds before I
could pull my eyes back around to watch the road, my mind going
about a thousand miles an hour as I mulled over Lisa's story.
It was Lucy that asked "Do you know who the girl was, Lisa?"
A couple of seconds went by before Lisa told us "That's the
thing - me and Charlie, we never saw her before. She didn't live
in town, or go to the same school we did, that's for sure!"
I spared a glance over to Lisa before looking back at the road
again as I asked her "How old are you, Lisa?"
"I'm nineteen. Me and Charlie, we graduated from high school in
June last year. Charlie, he was getting ready to join the Marines
next month, so he could get the money to go to college. He's
pretty good working with computers and such."
It was Lucy that asked the really obvious question: "Are you
*sure* it was the sheriff, Lisa? And his deputy? It couldn't have
been someone else, or somebody that just LOOKED like them?"
Somewhere, Lisa pulled up the nerve to give Lucy a withering
look before answering "I'm sure it was him - them. Ain't nobody
looks anything LIKE Sheriff Purdy 'cept him. And only one that
looks like Dep'ty Schoffield is Dep'ty Schoffield. No, it was
them, all right. Anyway, if it _wasn't_ them, how come they come
after Charlie and me so hard?"
Good point. Lucy and I shared another look.
About that time, I saw flashing lights in my driver's side
mirror; it was still too far away to tell who it was. Somehow, I
didn't think it was the Hall Patrol from my grade school coming
to get me for that time I made an unauthorized visit to the Boys
Room. I waited a bit to see if I could be lucky enough that
whoever it was, they were after someone else, or headed somewhere
else. No such luck. Nothing to do but let Lucy and Lisa know, so
they could have a little time to get ready.
"I don't want to worry anybody, but there's some kind of cop car
coming up on us from behind.", I told them.
Lisa immediately started to panic; Lucy was made of sterner
stuff, and moved to the back of the Monster, picking up a pair of
binoculars along the way so she could get a good look at whatever
it was. A moment later, she called out to us "Lisa, are you from
Oak Tree County?"
Lisa managed to croak out, loud enough for Lucy to hear, "Yes!"
"Does Sheriff Purdy look a lot like a bulldog? And Deputy
Schoffield kind of like Lurch from the Addams family?"
"That's them!" Lisa nearly screamed.
"Screwed again!", I thought to myself before calling out "Lucy,
get on the phone and call Ira. Tell him what's happening, what
Lisa told us, and where we are. If he doesn't hear from us within
the next six hours, to get in touch with Amy." Ira was my lawyer;
he was the guy that _other_ lawyers went to when they had
problems. On top of being damn good in dealing with the law, his
judgment on when to be circumspect - and when to be as subtle as
a bulldozer - was about as good as it could be. If there was any
real trouble, *somebody* besides us was going to be _real_ sorry.
Lucy quickly answered "On it!" before moving to where we stowed
the cell phone while we were on the road.
She'd just called out "Done!" when Sheriff Purdy hit the siren
to let us know that it was US he was after.
Lucy quickly moved back to sit on the jump seat behind Lisa, and
started talking to her, trying to get her calmed down. I took as
much time as I dared slowing down and getting off to the
shoulder, trying to give her as much time to settle Lisa as
possible. Finally, though, there was nothing for me to do but
stop - particularly when Deputy Schoffield started gesturing for
me to do that very thing.
By the time the Sheriff and Deputy got out of their car and
headed back to the Monster, Lucy had managed to settle Lisa down
somewhat. She was still obviously terrified, though.
As the Sheriff and Deputy got close to us, the Sheriff indicated
that I should meet him at the door. I got up and did as told,
politely opening it up for them before they had to knock. Smiling
down at them, I asked "What can I do for you gentlemen, today?"
Neither one looked particularly pleased, but Sheriff Purdy
managed to keep his cool as he told me "Well, sir, me and the
deputy, here, we're after a known criminal that escaped custody."
"And who would that be, Sheriff?"
"Why, that young girl sitting in the passenger seat up front
there. Her name's Lisa Hammarlund, no matter what she might have
told you it is."
"Well, Sheriff, as a matter of fact, that IS the name she gave
us. Doesn't look too dangerous, though - half-starved and scared
out of her wits is more like it. What did she do?"
It was the good deputy that responded to that by telling me
"What she done ain't no business of yours, mister. You just fetch
her on out here, and we'll take care of her real good!"
"I don't know that I can do that just yet, Deputy. You *say* she
escaped custody, but she doesn't look like she could escape a wet
paper bag. How did she get away? And you still haven't told me
what she's wanted for."
"That's nothin' for you to concern yourself about, mister. You
just hand her over, and you'll be on your way."
"I'm sorry Deputy, but I can't do that. Until I get some
answers, I'm not willing to let her go anywhere with you."
The sheriff spoke up then, telling me "Mister, if you're all
that damn anxious to know what's goin' on with her, then I reckon
we can do that. I'm takin'*all* of you into custody. Luther, you
get on up there and follow me back to town. If anybody gives you
any trouble, just cuff 'em to something where they'll be out of
your way. If I see you stop or pull over, I'll come back to give
you a hand. Okay?"
"You got it, Sheriff!" Luther answered before stepping up into
the Monster.
Once inside, he had the three of us move back and sit around the
little table in the kitchen area; he planted himself in the
driver's seat and got himself situated. A few moments later, the
Sheriffs car started off, with us following right behind.
Once we were on the road going the other direction, Lucy started
to ask me something, but the Deputy interrupted her by shouting
"Y'all hush up, back there. I don't want anybody cookin' up no
stories or makin' any trouble, y'hear?"
The rest of the drive to the teeming metropolis of Claude, Idaho
(population 3,802 according to the city limit sign) was quiet -
other than Luther muttering to himself.
We pulled up next to a nondescript brick building that proudly
proclaimed itself to be the County Services Building. Sheriff
Purdy met us at the door to the Monster, and gestured for us all
to follow him through a heavy steel door set into the side of the
building. Inside, we saw a couple of old-fashioned jail cells -
the kind with the heavy iron bars from floor to ceiling - with a
desk and counter set off to the side. Opposite was a shower
stall, fingerprint setup, computer on a desk, and a couple of
straight chairs.
The first thing Purdy told us was "Well, now that we got you,
Lisa, I reckon we're gonna have to lock you up for a while. But
before I can do that, I'm gonna have to make sure you're not
trying to smuggle in any kind of _contraband_ like drugs or guns
or suchlike."
Having said that, he took Lisa by the arm and led her over to a
section of the wall that didn't have anything on, or in front of,
it. Looking closely, I could see that it was the 'designated'
frisking area because of the dark smudges on the wall, a bit over
head-high.
Lisa started to protest, but the Sheriff just told her "No,
don't be fussin' now - you're already IN enough trouble. Just
grab yourself a piece of wall, there, and spread your feet."
With a pleading look at me and Lucy, Lisa did as she was told -
and a few moments later, Sheriff Purdy took it upon himself to
frisk her - if you consider pressing his crotch against her
buttocks while he fondled her breasts and crotch 'frisking'. He'd
been at it for a minute or so when he announced "Damn, girl - you
stink! I reckon we're gonna have to clean you up some before I
can give you a proper friskin'!"
That said, he got her standing up again, and pushed her over
toward where the shower stall was. It took her a few moments to
realize that he meant for her to shower right then, and right
there; when she did, she turned around and started to say
something to him. He just backhanded her across the face and said
"Go on, girl! Get them duds off, and get into that shower! I
ain't gonna have you stinking up my jail, now!"
Hesitantly, Lisa started to do as she'd been told. First to go
was her blouse - and as she took it off, I could see that my
earlier estimation of her needing to add a little weight was
correct: her ribs were clearly visible. It was only a few moments
before the blouse was on the floor, revealing that she had on a
soft half-cup bra that left her half-dollar-sized dark pink
areolas and crayon-diameter nipples exposed. Next went the jeans
she was wearing, showing that she not only had the French-cut
panties to match the bra, but that she had a pair of strong, trim
legs. Openly crying, she reached between her breasts and
unfastened the bra, then let it drop to the floor so that her
half-grapefruit sized breasts swayed slightly. Reaching down, she
slipped her thumbs under the waistband of her panties before
giving a beseeching look to the Sheriff - who just leered at her
and gestured for her to get on with it. She did, and when she
stood up after setting her panties with the rest of her
clothes, all of us could see that she sported a wedge of dark
pubic hair that appeared to have been trimmed. She tried to cover
herself as best she could, but there simply wasn't any way to
conceal her assets. Sheriff Purdy just grinned at her as he
reached over to where he could grab a bar of soap, then held it
out to her - but far enough away that she'd have to reach for it,
effectively exposing her even more even as he forced her into the
role of a beggar.
Once she had the soap in her hand, Purdy told her "Okay, get in
there. And make sure you clean up GOOD! I'm going to be standing
here to make sure you do - and don't take too long about it,
either!"
As she went about cleaning herself up, Purdy stood back from the
shower - it didn't have a shower curtain - and made no pretense
of not watching her.
When she was done, she stepped out of the shower, and Purdy
repeated the soap trick with the towel he handed her. Once she
was dry, he let her dress again, then took her back over to be
'frisked' again.
After a few minutes of such treatment, he stepped back and told
her she could stand up. When she did, he took her by the arm
again and guided her over to one of the cells. He pushed her in
roughly, and she fell onto the cot chained to the wall. As she
moved to turn around and sit on it, he stepped back and slammed
the cell door shut.
Turning to me and Lucy, he said "Mister, you done stepped in it
when you picked that girl up. Then you made an even bigger
mistake: you didn't do like me and the deputy told you. Now
you're going to learn that *I'm* the law in these parts! Luther,
frisk him and put him in the other cell. _I'm_ gonna be the one
to frisk that fine-looking woman with him!"
"Aw, Sheriff, you get all the fun!", Luther complained as he
started toward me.
He told me to put my hands on top of my head, and held them
there with one hand as he started checking me for weapons - it
didn't take him long to discover the .45 I carried. As soon as he
touched it through my shirt, he called out "Sheriff! He's got a
gun on him!" as he put his hand on the revolver on his hip.
"Well, now, why you packin' a gun, there, hotshot?" the sheriff
asked me.
"Seems like a good idea, Sheriff - There's no telling what kind
of folks you might run into on the road, these days." I answered,
before adding "If I can get my wallet out, I can show you that
I've got a Federal permit to carry it."
"Luther, you reach in there and pull his wallet out real
careful-like and hand it to him. Mister, you make any sudden
moves, and you're gonna start leakin' blood, you understand me?"
"Loud and clear, Sheriff", I answered. With that, the deputy did
as he was told, using the hand that had been keeping mine on top
of my head to do it. I slowly moved my left hand down, and opened
up my wallet, then dug out the card that Clara Hawkes had given
me during my first pass at helping the FBI. I handed it to
Sheriff Purdy. He took it and looked it over carefully before
asking me "Now, why would you be packing around a Federal carry
permit, there, Mister Andrews? Specially one issued by the FBI?"
"I did a little work for them some years ago, and that was part
of the deal", I answered. I went on to tell him "My wife has one,
too - and she's carrying a nine millimeter in her purse, just so
you know."
The sheriff and deputy were giving me and Lucy BOTH some serious
attention by that time. After a minute or so, Purdy said "I think
maybe I'd better just lock you two up until I find out what's
going on here. Luther, get his gun, then lock both of them in the
other cell. I'm going to get him onto the wires and see what he's
all about - I ain't too sure he isn't funnin' us with this
Federal permit."
"You've got it, Sheriff" Luther answered, lifting up the back of
my shirt and slipping my holstered pistol off my belt. Sheriff
Purdy kept an eye on us as the deputy went over to stow my pistol
in a locker before coming back to guide us to the other cell.
Once the door slammed behind us, the sheriff went over to the
computer and began tying on it - doubtless entering my name and
other data into the national crime database.
When he was done, he looked up at us and said "You folks just
rest easy in there. Sometimes this takes a little while. If it
gets on toward lunch, we'll bring you something to eat from the
cafe across the street. You ain't been too much trouble so far,
and as long as you behave yourselves, you may get out of here by
this afternoon. If you don't, then you don't - get my drift?"
Lucy and I both nodded at him. When I turned to look at her, I
could see that she was cycling between being utterly outraged at
what was happening, and scared by it, too.
I asked the sheriff "Am I going to get a phone call somewhere
along the line?"
"You don't need no phone call - you ain't even been arrested
yet!" Luther told me, laughing. Sheriff Purdy just smiled at us.
Lucy and I sat down on the cot in our cell; I took her hand, and
when she looked at me told her "Don't forget that phone call you
made!" - something she'd forgotten about. If we didn't get in
contact with the Ira before that six hours timed out, something
close to the whole world was gong to fall in on Sheriff Purdy and
Deputy Sheffield. Lucy knew it, and gave me a nervous smile in
return.
A few minutes later, Deputy Sheffield went outside, returning
some twenty minutes later with Lucy's pistol, which he put with
mine.
When it got close to noon, the Sheriff told Luther "C'mon,
Luther - let's get us some lunch."
The two of them got up from where they'd been sitting, and made
their way through a different door than we'd come in through -
apparently, one that led toward the front of the building and the
cafe across the street.
When we were sure they were gone, I quickly moved over next to
where Lisa was lying on her cot, quietly crying into the pillow.
"Lisa! Lisa! Get up, and talk to me!" I told her.
She continued to cry for a minute, but eventually managed to sit
up. She looked over at me, and asked "What do you want? To blame
me for getting us here?"
"Not even a little bit", I assured her, before going on to say
"No, I came over to tell you that I'm GLAD we picked you up!
*Nobody* should have to put up with the kind of crap he's
pulling. How the hell does he stay in office, anyway?
Lisa gave me a wan smile and answered "His daddy owns damn near
everything in the county: the lumber mill, the best land, most of
the stores, and a lot of the property here in town - not to
mention the bank. If he don't get voted back into office every
three years, folks know they'll be sorry. I'm sorry I got you
into this, Mister Andrews - and you, too, Lucy."
Lucy just smiled at her and said "I'm with Dan - I'm glad we
gave you a ride, too. And don't worry about us - we can take care
of ourselves. What I'm worried about is YOU! What's going to
happen to you now?"
"I don't know. I suppose I'll just disappear, like Charlie did",
she replied, despondent.
Lucy looked at me, and I could see that she wanted the two of us
to talk. I turned back to Lisa and said "try not to worry about
it too much, okay? Lucy's right - we can take care of ourselves
just fine; and we're going to see if there's anything we can do
for you, too."
"You think you can do anything?" Lisa asked, with only a faint
trace of hope in her voice.
"I don't know - but we're sure as hell going to try!" I assured
her. That seemed to comfort her a bit, and I went back to sit
next to Lucy. We got our heads together and started trying to
figure out what we could do.
By the time the Sheriff and Deputy got back from lunch -
bringing something for me and Lucy, but not Lisa - I had a pretty
good idea of what to do.
The sheriff came over to hand me and Lucy our lunches as the
deputy went over to see what had been printed out while they were
gone. He'd been reading for only a few seconds before he
exclaimed "Sheriff! You better have a look at this!"
"What is it that got you so riled up, Luther?"
"This Andrews fella! Seems he's got some kind of Army record -
bunch of medals and such, and some other stuff about if he's
arrested or anything, folks are supposed to notify the Army. And
there's some notice here about the FBI being interested in him,
too; that if he's accused of any kind of crime, it's to be
reported to them!"
The sheriff hurried over to have a look at the paper in Luther's
hand; he read it over quickly, then again more slowly. When he
was done, he looked over at me speculatively and said "Looks like
you've got some kind of reputation there, Mister Andrews - and
some angels watching over you, too. If I'm reading this right,
just *asking* about you has let the FBI know we're interested in
you, and maybe even already have you. Looks to me like you're
gonna get out of here a little quicker and a little happier than
I'd planned." Turning to Luther, he said "Luther, you let Mister
Andrews out, and make sure him and his missus are okay. Then you
get them outside, and into that fancy motor home they got. Take
them to the gas station - you know which one - and fill 'em up so
they ain't out anything gas-wise. If they need or want anything
while they're on their way out of town, you try and help 'em. If
you ain't sure, you call me on the radio, and I'll tell you what
to do. You got it?"
"You bet, Sheriff!" Luther answered as he hurried over to where
Lucy and I had stood up. Pulling a key off the wall, he quickly
unlocked our cell, and opened the door so we could leave before
going back over to stand next to the sheriff.
"Now, Mister Andrews, I hope you can understand that this was
all a little mistake - I didn't know who you are, and when you
kinda got between me and Lisa, here, well, I just did what I
figured I had to do. There ain't no hard feelings on my part, you
understand?"
"Sure, Sheriff, I understand just _fine_. And knowing how
concerned you are about the law and all that, I'm sure *you'll*
understand when I tell you that I'm taking a personal interest in
what happens to Miss Hammarlund, here. In fact, I'm so concerned
that I'm going to ask you _again_ what the charges are against
her - and then I'm going to see about getting her a good lawyer.
Maybe one from out of town, so that she doesn't have to worry
about him being... _influenced_ by any local conditions. And
since I don't have to be anyplace in particular, maybe I'll just
stay in the area, to see how things go for her. She sure seems
like a nice enough young lady, and I'd hate to see her get
railroaded by the legal system. You can understand that, can't
you?"
Next to me, I could hear Lucy's almost-silent laughter - she
understood, as well as I did, that the LAST thing the sheriff
wanted was for anything even *approximating* real law enforcement
to happen in his happy little town. That point was made more than
obvious by the crestfallen, then nervous, and finally frightened
looks on the faces of both men.
"Now, Mister Andrews, you don't have to go through all that
trouble just for Lisa, here. Shucks, she's been in all KINDS of
trouble with us before, and we already know how to handle her.
Why don't you just take it easy on yourself and go on about your
business?" the sheriff told me.
"Oh, it's no trouble for me - I *like* helping folks out when I
can. So, what were you saying the charges against her are?"
The sheriff and deputy looked at each other for a few moments
before the sheriff told me "Well, you know, now that you mention
it, I don't reckon that what she done is worth fussin' over. I
reckon we'll just let her go with a warning, and call it good
enough. How would that suit you?"
"Why, that's right nice of you, Sheriff", I answered, agreeably.
"Luther, you let Lisa out of that cell - right now, you hear?"
the sheriff told Luther - who didn't hesitate to do just that. In
just a minute or so, Lisa was standing next with us, Lucy's arm
holding her protectively.
"I'm glad you're such a kind man, Sheriff", I told him before
asking "Now, could my wife and I get our weapons back, you
think?"
It was the sheriff himself that went over to the locker where
Luther had put our pistols, unlocked it, and got them out so he
could bring them over to us. I quickly got mine repositioned on
my belt, under my shirt in the back. Lucy simply held hers by her
side, her grip on it making it clear that she knew how to handle
it.
"If there ain't anything else, Mister Andrews?" the sheriff
asked.
"No, I don't think there is" I replied. The three of us turned
toward the door where we'd been brought in, and Lisa whispered to
us "If you don't take me with you, as soon as you're out of town
I'll be right back here!"
Lucy gave her a small hug and answered "Don't worry, dear. We're
going to be staying - ALL of us!" - something that had Lisa
looking at her as though Lucy had just levitated off the floor.
The sheriff and deputy followed us outside, and after we'd
gotten into the Monster, I turned to them and said "You know,
Sheriff, I didn't realize what nice country this is until we got
off the highway. I may just stay around a few days to see the
sights."
Purdy and Luther both looked a bit crestfallen at that, but
covered it quickly. The sheriff responded by telling me "Why
thank you, Mister Andrews" - as though he had _personally_ come
up with the landscaping design - followed by "We'd sure be glad
to have you as our guests. You pick out what motel you want to
stay at, and we'll take care of the charges just to show you how
sorry we are about this misunderstanding. Would that suit you?"
"That real generous of you, Sheriff, but this rig is pretty well
fixed up. I expect we'll just find someplace we can park it where
it won't be in anybody's way, and stay here", I answered.
The sheriff didn't look any too happy about that - which caused
alarms to start going off in my head - but didn't say anything.
"Well, I guess we'll be on our way, then" I told him, before
closing the door and moving up to the driver's seat.
Along the way, I saw that in the process of retrieving Lucy's
pistol from her purse, Luther had taken the opportunity to give
the Monster a good going over. He hadn't made a mess of things,
but it was patently clear that he'd gone through pretty much
everything in it.
Lisa took station in the passenger seat, with Lucy in the jump
seat. I got the engine started, and we headed away from where the
sheriff and deputy were standing, still watching us.
As soon as we got out of sight of them, I asked Lisa "Where do
you want to go, Lisa? Home? Family? A friend's house?"
"I think I'd better go back to my Mom's place" she answered, "I
don't think I'd be any too welcome at any of my friend's houses,
and I just wouldn't be happy in mine and Charlie's place."
"Your mom's house it is. How do we get there?" I asked.
Over the next few minutes, Lisa carefully navigated us. Along
the way, Lucy called Ira and let him know that things seemed to
be back under control.
We finally pulled up in front of an old - but well-cared-for -
two-story clapboard house. As we were getting out of the Monster,
a woman came out the front door; when she saw Lisa step out, she
got a delighted look on her face and came rushing toward us. When
she got to us, the first thing she did was throw her arms around
the girl, crying and sobbing. After a couple of minutes, she
finally let go, and stepped back to look at Lucy and me before
asking Lisa "Honey, who are these folks? Why are you with them,
and how come it's them bringing you home?"
Lisa told her "Momma, this here is Mister Andrews, and his wife
Lucy. They were the ones that picked me up on the highway when I
left and tried to get to Seattle. They wouldn't let the Sheriff
have me, and got took in with me when he caught with me - I mean,
us. Mister Andrews is some kind of big shot, and when Purdy found
out who he was, turned him loose real quick. But Mister Andrews
wasn't going to leave unless I got let go, too. Then he brought
me back here; he's figuring on staying around for a few days - I
don't know why."
I stuck my hand out, seeing where Lisa had gotten her eyes, and
said "I'm glad to meet you, Mrs. Hammarlund. My name is Dan
Andrews, but please just call me Dan. This is my wife, Lucy".
With the time and opportunity to give her a proper once-over, I
could see where Lisa had gotten her looks.
"I'm Sarah. I honestly didn't think I'd ever see Lisa again - if
Purdy got her, she'd of just disappeared like some others have;
if she made it to Seattle, I hoped and prayed she'd have enough
sense to just *stay* there and not come back here, ever. I'm glad
to be able to see her again, and if you and your wife are
willing, you're more than welcome to join us for supper tonight.
Say, six o'clock?"
"We'd be delighted to have supper with you, Sarah", Lucy
answered.
With that, Sarah happily put her arm around Lisa and the two of
them started toward the house. Lucy and I stood and watched them
go, turning to get back into the Monster only when they reached
the front door.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
A few minutes before supper, Lucy and I found ourselves standing
on the porch. I barely had time to get my finger off the button
for the doorbell before the door opened and we were being
greeting by a much different looking Lisa. Not only had she
changed into a dress that definitely flattered her figure, but
she'd apparently cleaned up again, and taken the time to brush
her hair out; it fairly gleamed as it framed her pretty face and
those beautiful eyes.
Seeing us, she immediately got a happy expression on her face
and quickly invited us inside. Once the door closed behind us,
she guided us into the living room that was obviously the room
where 'company' was entertained: it didn't have the 'lived in'
look of an area that the family used routinely.
When we were seated, Lisa told us "Momma will be be right here;
there's just a couple things she's still got to do."
Lucy and I both smiled at her before I told her "That's fine,
Lisa. Thank you."
She hesitated a moment before telling us "Things were so busy
and confusing before, I don't recall if I remembered to thank you
for what you did, or not - so I'd like to make sure by saying it
now: *thank you*. You tried to help me when you gave me a ride,
and you _did_ help me when he came to get me, and even more by
getting me out of there. There ain't enough words to tell you how
much it means to me or how grateful I am; but I want you to know
that I'll never forget it. If there's anything I can do to try
and repay you or make it up to you, I'll be more than happy to do
it." - then looking directly at both of us, she added
"*Anything.*"
Having said her piece, she excused herself to go and check on
her mother; after she'd left, Lucy looked at me and with a smile
on her face asked "Did we just get offered a bed partner, if we
wanted one?"
I grinned back and answered "Yeah, I think we did."
Both of us released a small laugh before turning to where we
could hear Lisa and Sarah coming. A few moments later, and they
came into the room. Sarah had 'dressed up' for the occasion, as
well. Gone were the man's shirt and jeans she'd been wearing
earlier. In their place, she'd put on her own dress that did as
much to flatter her nice figure as Lisa's did. It also revealed
that she had a smooth pair of trim, tanned legs, a nice curve to
her hips, and revealed enough cleavage to make it abundantly
clear that she was female without making her look 'top-heavy'.
She wasn't 'beautiful' in the classic sense of the word, but she
was what I would call 'handsome' - a simple attractiveness that
she would keep well into old age.
Visibly nervous, she gestured for me and Lucy to sit down, and
told us "Is there anything you folks would like to drink? A pop?
A mixed drink? A beer? Supper is roast beef and all the fixing's,
if that matters any."
I thought it over for a second and to try and put her at ease
and let her know that Lucy and I were 'just people', answered "A
beer would be just fine, Misses Hammarlund". Next to me, Lucy
nodded to indicate she'd have the same.
"After what you did for Lisa, please just call me Sarah," she
told us.
"And we're Lucy and Dan - both of you, please", Lucy replied.
Both nodded, and Lisa left us to get us the drinks while Sarah
found her own seat.
"And what was it that brought you and Lucy to Idaho, anyway,
Dan?"
"It's been some time since Lucy and I have had time to ourselves
- we've got a couple of daughters in college, now - so we decided
we'd both take some time off and take a little 'road trip' to see
the country." I answered.
"When is your vacation up?"
"Oh, we've still got a few months left", Lucy answered, "We both
took a year off from our jobs so we could travel and see as much
as possible."
An obviously surprised Sarah asked "And what kinds of jobs do
you have where you can take a year off and still have them when
you get back?"
"Lucy is a vice-president with a financial company, and I'm an
independent computer programmer", I answered.
"Yes, sometimes he's _very_ independent!" Lucy joked - making
Sarah laugh. About then, Lisa returned, carrying a small tray
with four bottles of beer and glasses on it. She carefully set
them down before taking a seat near her mother. All of us reached
out to select one of the bottles - "Moose Drool" was the brand,
of all things. From the corner of my eye, I could see that Sarah
and Lisa were waiting to see if Lucy and I were going to use the
glasses; again, to try and put them at ease, I went the 'just
folks' route, and sat back with the bottle in my hand. A moment
later, Lucy picked up a glass and carefully poured her beer into
it. Lisa and Sarah both opted to skip the glasses.
"How is it that you wound up here in *Idaho*, though?" Sarah
asked us.
"Well, we've been traveling around seeing different places. We
were over
in Montana after going through Wyoming to see the Devil's Tower
and Yellowstone, and figured we were so close, we might as well
hit Canada while we were at it. We were on our way to Seattle so
we could start heading down the coast when we saw Lisa." Lucy
answered.
Sarah gave a small shudder before telling us "If you folks
hadn't done just _exactly_ what you did, Lisa wouldn't be here
tonight - with me, or anywhere, for that matter."
Hearing that, Lisa only gave me and Lucy a Significant Look,
emphasizing her previous offer.
In another part of the house, we heard something make a small
'ding', and Sarah sat up, telling us "That's the timer for the
dinner rolls. If you'll follow me, I think I can fix you up with
some decent food - I expect you might be some tired of fast food
and restaurants."
"That we are!" Lucy told her, laughing as we all stood up.
As we got close, I could start to smell the food - and from the
way my mouth started watering, figured that Sarah's cooking was
going to be a more than pleasant diversion from the fare we'd
sampled along the way.
During supper, we kept the talk light; by unspoken agreement, we
stayed away from how it came about that Lucy and I were there
with them.
After supper, and after Lucy and I had helped Lisa and Sarah
clear the table over Sarah's protests, we were sitting in the
living room again when Sarah decided to 'get down to business'
again.
"Dan, Lucy - You seem like real decent folks, and it isn't like
I'm not grateful for what you did for Lisa, and me. I am, more
than I can say. But just who are you that you can not only get
picked up by Sheriff Purdy, and get out scott-free, but bring
Lisa out with you? And why are you figuring to stay here when you
could be on your way to Seattle so you can enjoy the rest of your
vacation? And most of all, what is it that makes you think
there's anything you _can_ do about what's going on here? There's
been plenty of folks before you that have tried to get us clear
of him, and ain't one of them done it yet."
Lucy and I looked at each other for several moments; I don't
think either one of us was really surprised by Sarah's questions.
Lucy and Sarah had seemed to connect with each other a bit, I
told Lucy "You can tell her, if you want."
Lucy nodded, and turned back to face Sarah before saying "When
we first got here, I heard Lisa tell you that we're some kind of
big shots. Actually, we're not - I mean, we're not politicians or
movie people, or anything like that. Dan, here, was in the Army;
he got a lot of training and ended up in an outfit that
eventually turned into the Delta Force - he did things like go
into some pretty scary places and rescue people and do other
things. Along the way, he earned a Silver Star and two Bronze
Stars - those are medals given to soldiers when they're
_particularly_ brave. I've heard _about_ some of it - but none of
the real details. A lot of what he did was classified, and he
can't talk about it. Take my word on this: he is very, _very_
good at protecting himself and the people around him. From what
I've heard" - and here I got something of a Look - "there are two
FBI agents that owe their lives to him, and how good he is.
"After he got out of the Army, he went to college and ended up
with THREE college degrees: he has a Masters degree in computer
science, and Bachelors degrees in Mathematics and Philosophy.
From what I just told you, you can tell that he's not only strong
and brave, but he's smart, too. If you get to know him, I don't
think it will take you long to figure out that he's a LOT smarter
than almost anyone you're ever likely to meet.
"After I met him, and got an *idea* of what kind of man he is -
I didn't really _know_ until later - I asked him to help me with
a problem I was having with my work. Do you remember several
years ago there was a story about a company that had been taken
over by the Mafia? And that the company was being embezzled so
the executives could run drugs and guns?"
Sarah though for a moment, then nodded. Lucy went on "That was
us - well, Dan, actually. I was the one that figured out that
something was going on there; but it was Dan that actually
figured out what it was. You know that story a few years ago
where the FBI arrested all those drug dealers all over the
country? They didn't give his name because we've got two
daughters - one of them adopted because the dealers killed her
parents - but the man that made that case for them was Dan. The
dealers tried to kill him *twice* while he was doing it; that was
when he saved those two FBI agents."
"As for why we're planning to stay, the reason is actually
pretty simple: we've seen what Sheriff Purdy and the deputy are
like for ourselves. Lisa told us why she was trying to get away.
Neither Dan, nor me, thinks those two should be able to do the
things they are. Dan and I both know several different people
that are in law enforcement - a few policemen, and several FBI
agents. We *know* that all of them would want to do something
about what's going on here, if they knew about it, and could.
They aren't here, but Dan and I _are_. You see, Dan told me
during some 'pillow talk' one night why he went into the Army,
and why he's been willing to help the FBi as much as he has:
because he - and me, too, now - believes that there are too many
people being hurt, killed, and abused by THINGS that look like
people, but don't have anything you could call a 'soul' - they
look human enough on the outside, but on the inside, there's
nothing to make them _alive_. All they know is what they want,
and they'll do anything to anybody they have to to get it."
"Dan and I have already talked about it, and we know that we -
by ourselves - can't do anything to change what's happening here.
But what we - well, mostly Dan - CAN do is enough to get _other_
people involved. Enough of them that we think things not only
can, but *will* change."
Sarah and Lisa sat there looking at us - well, mostly me - for a
minute or so before Sarah said "That all sounds pretty
impressive. But why should I believe any of it?"
Lucy didn't bat an eye; she just answered "You SHOULD believe it
because it's true. Whether you DO believe it is up to you. I
can't force you to believe in, or trust, us - and I wouldn't,
even if I could."
I cleared my throat, and Lisa and Sarah both looked over at me
as I told them "I can appreciate that all of what Lucy just said
might sound too good to be true. So what I'm going to do is ask
you to make a phone call tomorrow."
"And who would I be calling, Dan?", Sarah asked.
"You'll be calling any one of four of the people at FBI
headquarters in Washington that can verify some of what Lucy told
you tonight. Their names are" - I waited while Sarah grabbed a
piece of paper and a pencil - "either Amy or Tom Gallery, Clara
Hawkes, and Erika Simpson. I could give you their telephone
numbers, but for all you know, I could just be giving you the
phone numbers of someone else that's just pretending to be one of
these people. If you get the Washington number for the FBI and
THEN talk to them, you'll know that they are who we say they
are."
I saw Sarah nod at that, and went on to tell her "We haven't
seen a Mister Hammarlund, and you haven't said anything about
where he might be; so I'm going to guess that he's not around any
more for some reason. If that's the case, then I'd expect that
you might not have a lot of money to be making long-distance
phone calls to Washington, D.C. during peak hours. So I'm going
to offer you twenty dollars to cover the cost of the call;
there's no reason it should cost you money to make sure
somebody's being honest with you."
Sarah gave me an appraising look, and answered "No, there's no
Mister Hammarlund. Bill was his name, and he wasn't real popular
with the Sheriff because he wasn't afraid to talk about things
the Sheriff didn't want mentioned; some years ago, there was an
'accident' out at the lumber mill where he worked, and he got
killed. As for paying for the phone call, that won't be
necessary. I ain't rich, not by a long shot - but Bill, he was
careful to think ahead about his family's future. He had an extra
insurance policy, and he put some of our money into savings and
the stock market and such. He was a pretty sharp man, and did
pretty good, so I've got enough money to keep me comfortable. I
*own* this house, free and clear; otherwise, I'd be as easy
pickin's for Sheriff Purdy and all them as anyone else is. As for
the rest, if you're willing to have me call folks at the FBI,
then I'm thinking that you're telling me the truth; but something
I learned from my hus band was that there's no such thing as
being TOO careful. I'll be making that call tomorrow, Dan and
Lucy, and talking to you again after I hear what they have to
say."
Lucy took that as an opportunity to call an end to the evening
for all of us by saying "We'll be looking forward to that, Sarah.
Until then, it's been a long day, and I think Dan and I would
like to get some rest. Would it be okay if we just stayed out
front in the street, tonight?"
"If you do, there's a chance somebody _might_ take objection,
and bother you about it. You're more than welcome to pull your
rig along side the house, here, and park it. There's plenty of
room for you, and once you're on private property, there ain't
nobody can say anything about it."
"Thank you, Sarah." Lucy answered. "No need to thank me. After
what you did for Lisa, I'm just sorry there isn't more I can do.
If you'll go most of the way around the block, so you come to the
west end of the alley, you can come down it and pull up next to
the house. It'll be a little close, but you can make it - before
Bill died, we used to keep our boat next to the house, and did
the same thing to get it parked."
Lucy and I both stood up, followed by Sarah and Lisa. I told
them "Thank you for the supper - it was delicious."
"I'm glad you liked it - it's been some time since I've cooked
like that, and had folks enjoy it as much as you and Lucy did",
Sarah replied.
We made our way to the front door, and wished each other a good
evening before Lucy and I went out to the Monster. Following
Sarah's instructions, we were soon parked and leveled close to
her house; as she'd said, it was a bit close, but we made it.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
The next morning, Lucy and I unhooked my car from the back of
the Monster and went out for breakfast. The people we met were
friendly enough, and the food at the little cafe we ate at was
pretty good. If somebody didn't know better, they'd think it was
just a happy little town.
The morning went by quietly as Lucy and I took care of a few
things - some laundry, a little grocery shopping, and so on. We'd
just gotten out of the Monster to go out for lunch when Sarah
appeared from behind her house, saying "I was just coming out to
see you. I called one of those folks you told me about last night
- Amy. When she found out that I was calling about you, and doing
it long distance, she called me back so that I wouldn't have to
pay the long distance bill. I'm glad she did - we were on the
phone for the better part of two hours!"
Lucy and I smiled, and Sarah went on "Anyway, she told me plenty
about you, Dan - and you, too, Lucy. She wanted to know if there
was any trouble, but I remembered you said you were going to be
the ones that did this, so I told her no. I said that I was just
calling because we'd met and you'd mentioned her, and I just
wanted to get an idea of what kind of people you are. And boy,
did she tell me!"
Sarah gave me another speculative look, and went on to say "The
way she tells it, you must be some special man, Dan Andrews.
Anyway, there ain't no doubt in my mind, now, that what you told
me about yourselves last night is the truth. I figured it was,
but..."
Lucy assured her "No, that's okay, Sarah; we understand. As for
Dan, I think you'll find out for yourself just how special he is
- like you said last night, there aren't the words."
"Well, me and Lisa sat down last night, and she told me what all
this is about - and I've got to admit that I'm more than a little
afraid. Not just for her and me, but for _everybody_ that lives
here. If that bastard Purdy is killing folks now, then ALL of us
have a long row to hoe in front of us if he stays around."
I spoke up next, telling Sarah "We were just getting ready to go
out for some lunch. Would you and Lisa like to join us?"
Sarah looked pleased, and answered "I would, and after seeing
Lisa eat last night, I don't expect she'd turn you down, either.
Where were you planning on going?"
"We had breakfast at a place called the Sidesaddle Cafe this
morning, and we thought we'd see how they were for lunch, too",
Lucy answered.
Sarah laughed, and said "Yeah, they're good at breakfast, and
sometimes supper's okay there; but for lunch, I think you'll like
the Roundup Grill better. Let me get Lisa; we'll be right back."
As promised, both of them were ready to go in just a couple of
minutes. We got into my car, and Sarah provided directions to
where we were going. When we got there, I think my Volvo felt
lonely among all the beat-up pickup trucks in their parking lot.
Once we got inside, it was clear that the Roundup Grill was a
popular place for lunch. We had to wait nearly ten minutes before
a booth opened up; even then, we were seated before the waitress
could get over to wipe the table off for us, then handing us our
menus.
As Lucy and I were looking it over, Sarah told us "Pretty much
anything they've got here for lunch is good; but if you're hungry
enough, you might want to try the chicken-fried steak."
Lucy and I casually looked around, and it didn't take us long to
see why Sarah's warning: it looked to me like the cut of meat
they used was approximately the same size as Nebraska.
Lucy told her "I don't think I'm quite THAT hungry, thank you! I
think I'll just go with one of their cheeseburgers."
Sarah laughed, and answered "Oh, I don't expect you'll be
disappointed by it, at all" before turning to me to see what I
wanted. I thought it over, and told her "I decided that I might
be hungry enough to do some damage to one of those chicken-fried
steaks", getting another laugh from Sarah.
It was a couple of minutes before the waitress came over to take
our order; Lisa and Sarah opted for some barbequed brisket. It
wasn't a minute after the waitress left before she was back with
the iced tea that all of us had ordered to drink.
The four of us sat there quietly for a couple of minutes before
I asked Sarah "Is it just my imagination, or are a lot of the
folks in here giving us the eye when they think we're not
looking?"
Sarah looked a little perturbed, but answered "No, I don't think
you're imagining it. Me, I'm kind of a pariah around these parts
- what with me not having to answer up to Sheriff Purdy as much
as the rest. I've still got a few friends, and I've got to be a
careful about what I say, and who I say it to, though. That, and
I expect that it's gotten around town that Purdy pulled some
folks in yesterday, and then had to let them go real quick. I
wouldn't be surprised if most of them didn't already figure that
you're the ones; us being seen together, it might make things
some interesting around here for a while."
"Interesting how", Lucy asked.
Sarah's look got a little worse, and she said "Oh, I wouldn't
expect any real direct trouble, mind you - but you, and
'specially me and Lisa, might find things not going for us as
good as you might hope they would."
"How's that?", I asked.
Sarah hesitated a few moments, then answered "A body might go to
the grocery store, and come out to find somebody done dinged your
car door with theirs pretty bad. Or there might be somebody come
along in the middle of the night and dump your garbage can all
over your yard - just a kid's prank, right? You might find that
the spot where you park your car regular suddenly has a handful
of nails to puncture your tires. That kind of thing."
Sarah started to tell us more, but the waitress showed up with
our orders. She quickly relieved herself of the burden of my
chicken-fried steak, then Lucy's cheeseburger - which appeared to
consist of about a pound-and-a-half worth of ground beef AFTER
they'd cooked it. What with the bun and fixings, it must have
been a good six inches thick. When she saw what she'd ordered,
Lucy's eyes widened considerably, causing Sarah and Lisa to both
laugh before Sarah told her "I can see I should have warned you
about the burgers, too!"
Lisa and Sarah's orders of brisket _probably_ weren't more than
a half- to three-quarters of a pound of beef, each. Even from
across the table, it was clear that it was
fall-apart-if-you-breathe-on-it tender, too. And of course, all
of us had a small mountain of home-made French fries. With my
work cut out for me, I picked up my knife and fork and tucked
into the steak - and a minute later, put the knife back down: the
steak was tender enough that I could cut it with just the fork.
As we ate, we continued to chat with each other - Lisa and Sarah
told us what it had been like growing up in a Purdy-controlled
county, and Lucy and I told them about our life at home. At one
point, Lisa asked us "So what do you think about the food here?"
Without even thinking about it, I answered "Beats grubs!" - and
answer that Lucy took pains to explain after seeing the
expressions on their faces. When she was done, both of them were
laughing.
Along the way, I had a bite of Lucy's burger, and she got a bit
of my steak so that each of us could get an idea of how good the
other's meal was. When we got down to the end of the meal, I'd
managed to put away about three quarters of my steak and perhaps
half the French fries. Lucy got through half of her burger and a
third of her fries. Lisa finished her brisket, nearly all of her
fries, and the few ounces of brisket her mother hadn't finished.
As I sat there trying to decide if I'd ever need to eat again,
Sarah told us "If you want, they'll put what you didn't finish in
a box so you can take it back with you, for later. Don't feel
bad; there's plenty of folks here in town that have to do the
same thing."
"How in the world can they serve so much food for such small
prices?" Lucy asked.
Sarah grinned, and answered "Lucy, you're in cattle country;
when the cow you're eating was raised not five miles from here,
and the folks that butchered it have their place a couple blocks
down the street, beef isn't expensive. And this is Idaho - we
GROW those potatoes here."
By the time we'd finished eating, the place had pretty much
cleared out; there wasn't any pressure or need for us to hurry
about vacating the booth we were in, so we all sat around sipping
our iced tea and quietly talking about what Sheriff Purdy might
be up to - and what might be done about it. Sarah and Lisa were
able to give us some tips on what kinds of things we might look
for, and where to look for them.
By the time we were ready to leave, I had a pretty fair idea of
what needed to be done - the only question I still had was how
much time I had to do it in.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
The next couple of days were spent getting things organized, and
getting started trying to collect whatever information we could
on the good Sheriff Purdy and his sidekick. Lucy happily accepted
Lisa's offer to help, and the two of them spent a lot of time in
the County courthouse, going through records. Me, I spent a fair
amount of time in the Monster, using the computer to do much the
same thing Lucy was: gathering information. I also got in touch
with some of the people that I knew had gone into law enforcement
and security to see if any of them could find out anything that
might help.
Each evening, Lucy and I would have supper with Sarah and Lisa,
then spend a little time with them chatting about different
things.
After a week had gone by, I wanted to check a few things with
Sarah while verifying what Lucy and Lisa had brought in. I also
wanted to get 'out' a bit, and suggested that the four of us go
out for dinner the next night; all three of the ladies were
agreeable to the idea.
Sarah and Lisa surprised me by suggesting a restaurant nearly
fifty miles away; when I asked why they wanted to go there, both
admitted that it was a place that Sarah's deceased husband Bill
had taken them for special events.
The next day, all three of them went 'into town' (a larger city
in a neighboring county) to get 'fixed up'; I happily stayed
behind.
Lucy and I had gone 'out' a number of times on our trip, and I
had a pretty good idea of what she would be wearing. As I'd
expected, she went with a nice silk suit that showed off her
figure; I wore one of the two suits that I'd brought along. It
was when Lisa and Sarah turned up that I got surprised. Both had
apparently opted for their best dresses, and were made up,
coiffed, and generally loaded for bear. Lisa was wearing a simple
black dress that only came down to about mid-thigh on her,
leaving a nice expanse of attractive leg exposed. Sleeveless, it
was also cut a bit low in the front, showing off a nice amount of
cleavage. For her part, Sarah was wearing something a little
longer that showed her nicely turned calves to good effect. It
was sleeveless, too; though not as low-cut as Lisa's, Sarah had a
bit more bust to compensate. When the Hammarlunds and Lucy saw
each other, there were a few minutes of mutual ooh-ing and ah-ing
before we could get in the car and be on our way.
The place that Sarah and Lisa guided us to was pretty well known
in the area, and what we were wearing blended in just fine.
Dinner was a quiet, pleasant time, and I was able to get the
information I was after without messing up the evening's mood.
That was taken care of for me by the two goobers we found
planted on my car when we left the place.
"This your car, Mister?" the taller of the two of them
yelled/asked as we got close.
"Matter of fact, it is", I answered.
"Ain't Volvo one of those doctor words for a _pussy_?" he
demanded, accompanied by the laughter of his partner.
"Nope. The word *you're* thinking of is 'peckerhead',
peckerhead."
That got his, and his partner's, attention. He slid off the hood
of my car and turned to face me. After taking a long swallow from
the oversized bottle of beer in his hand, he said "You know, I
reckon I might just have to whoop your ass, Mister!"
I looked over to where his partner had slid off the trunk and
was moving over to stand next to him before answering "Well, you
might, I suppose - but I can promise you that you'll EARN it."
That seemed to give him something to think about for a few
moments before he announced "Yup, I'm gonna ENJOY kicking your
ass all over this parking lot, smartass!"
I sighed, and told him "Well, don't let the long walk over here
stop you from _trying_".
He got an indignant look on his face, and the two of them walked
over to where the four of us were standing. Stopping in front of
me, he took another long swallow of beer - then dropped the
bottle and tried to hit me.
I blocked his swing, then slid my hand down to grab the back of
his; pivoting, I turned him around as I bent his hand forward as
though trying to introduce his fingertips to his elbow. As I
heard his wrist break, I heard the other one release a
sick-sounding 'oooof!'. My dance partner yelled, and drew back
his other arm as though to try and use it to hit me. I slid my
other hand down his arm, and with a sudden sharp push, bent his
elbow the wrong way, accompanied by the sound of bones breaking.
He screamed, and fell to his knees, so I finished up by kicking
him in the pit of the arm I still had hold of, dislocating his
shoulder. When I released him, he fell over onto his side,
moaning.
I turned to see how Lucy had done, and saw that she'd apparently
kicked HER new friend where his brains were: both hands were
holding his crotch as he tried to throw up between gasps for air.
All told, the whole 'fight' couldn't have taken five seconds;
behind us, I heard an engine start before somebody yelled "You
sumbitch!" - and the click of a revolver's hammer being pulled
back. Lucy was looking in my direction, and I saw her eyes go
wide as she moved toward where Lisa and Sarah were standing. She
was knocking them to the ground when we heard the parallel sounds
of a pistol being fired and a vehicle accelerating.
I heard one round impact something; the other didn't seem to hit
anything; I stood back up and drew my pistol. I saw a pickup
truck heading away from us with the driver's pistol-laden hand
still outside the window.
I emptied one magazine into the fleeing vehicle, replaced it,
and got off a couple more shots before the truck swerved to the
side and ran - without slowing down in the slightest - straight
into a tree some twenty feet farther on.
Turning back around, I headed for Lucy. She saw me coming, and
began to stand up, telling me "I'm fine, Dan - and so are they",
gesturing to where Lisa and Sarah were just raising their heads.
My next move was toward the couple that had been behind us as we
left; both of them were still standing; unhurt, but shaken and
stunned.
A couple minutes more, and the restaurant had emptied as people
came out to see what all the fuss had been about. The manager of
the place saw me with my pistol in my hand, and quickly nodded in
agreement when I said "You'll be wanting to call the law about
this."
Some twenty minutes later, a Deputy Sheriff's car pulled into
the parking lot, followed a few minutes later by a State Trooper
vehicle. The deputy accepted my pistol with a little bit of
nervousness and secured it in his car. From there, he went over
to have a look at the pickup truck, then came back so he and the
trooper could begin clearing the area; they'd just about gotten
everyone back inside when the Sheriff's vehicle pulled in.
The Sheriff - John Babcock, according to his nametag - came over
to where we were standing and asked the question of the night:
"So what the Sam Hill is goin' on here?"
I explained to him what had happened - he looked over to where
the trooper was standing next to the two goobers, calling in an
ambulance for them - and then back to where the pickup truck was
hugging the tree after the engine died.
"Deputy, go over there and see who's in that truck!" he called
out; the deputy called back "Already did, Sheriff. It's Purdy's
boy, Leroy, deader'n shit. One bullet hole in the back of his
head; back window's gone, and there's more bullet holes in the
windshield, too. Leroy had him a six-gun; prob'ly stole, knowin'
Leroy."
The sheriff looked at me, and asked "Where you learn to shoot?"
"Army Special Forces", I answered.
He got a thoughtful look, and asked "You got a permit to be
packin' that thing around?"
"Yup. Federal, here in my wallet, if I can pull it out."
He gestured for me to go ahead, and looked it over carefully
when I handed it to him.
He finally gave it back, and told me "You just stand there like
you been doing while I check this out..."
I told him I would, and he left to go talk to the couple that
had been out in the parking lot when everything started. A few
minutes later, he went inside, and I saw him talking to the
restaurant manager and some of the other people that had been
inside.
After a while, he came back out and went over to talk to the
deputy. I watched as they talked for several minutes before he
came back over toward me.
When he was standing in front of me again, he gave me an
appraising look before telling me "That fella you shot was Leroy
Schultz. The law around these parts know him pretty good; he's
been some some trouble to us until he did a few years in prison
for burglary and assault before Purdy put him to work. Those
other two are Purdy's boys, too. Now, I don't take kindly to
folks gettin' killed - 'specially not when it's in front of the
place me and my wife used to like to go to eat. But those other
folks over there, they were real plain that those two you hurt
started all this, and that you didn't pull your weapon until
AFTER ol' Leroy got off a couple rounds. And my Deputy, he tells
me that you were real careful not to be doing anything sudden,
and that you were real polite about handing over your weapon. He
also tells me that he's been hearin' that there's somebody
lookin' to see what they can find out about what Purdy's been up
to down there in Claude. That be you, Mister?" be fore pulling a
pouch of chewing tobacco from his pocket and 'loading up'.
I nodded, and told him "Me and my wife - she's the one in the
suit - got taken in after Purdy pulled us over while we were
helping the girl over there; that's her mother next to her. I
know a few cops and some FBI agents, and the way he operated
wasn't what I'd call 'law enforcement'. I decided I'd hang around
a bit and see what made him act like a cat trying to cover up on
a linoleum floor."
The sheriff smiled at my description of Purdy's actions, spit,
and told me "Well, there ain't many of us in these parts that
care for how 'Sheriff' Purdy operates, our own selves. If you can
figure out what he's up to good enough for the *law* to take care
of him, I don't reckon there's many that would complain about it.
I want to make sure we understand each other, Mister Andrews: I
don't like folks getting killed in my county. But it sure sounds
like you only did what you had to, and I can't fault you for
that. I'm goin' to give you your gun back, and not press any
charges. But I don't want any more trouble in this county,
either. Do we understand each other?"
"We understand each other just fine, Sheriff", I answered.
"That's good, Mister Andrews. I'll ask you to come up here
tomorrow so we can take a sworn statement from you. Once you've
done that, you and your missus can be on your way any time you
want. Those other ladies with you _might_ have to come up here to
testify when we take those other two to trial, but likely not -
we know those boys pretty fair, too."
Having had his say, he went over to the deputy's car, got my
pistol, and brought it back to me. He looked on in approval when
I checked to make sure it was 'safe' before putting it back in
the holster.
Satisfied, he started walking away, turned back toward me, spit,
and said "Now, any ruckus you stir up down there for Purdy, THAT
ain't in my jurisdiction." before giving me a half-grin and
heading back for his car, where he got in and drove off. I think
it would have been a fair statement to say that Sheriff Babcock
might get a little enjoyment out of seeing Purdy get his
comeuppance. One of the few constants I'd seen in my life was the
fact that GOOD cops didn't like BAD cops - *at all*.
When he was gone, Lucy, Sarah, and Lisa all came over to me, and
the four of us shared a group hug that ended only when Lisa saw
that one of Leroy's bullets had flattened one of the tires on my
car. It was a few minutes work to change it; by the time I was
done, enough emergency vehicles had left that I could back out of
my parking space and head us back to Sarah's place. As we went by
the pickup truck, all of us could see that I'd shot out the back
window, and that there were a number of holes in the windshield,
just as the deputy had said - all of them clustered around where
the driver's head would have been.
The quiet on the ride home lasted until we got inside Sarah's
house and had all taken a seat around the dining room table. Only
then did Sarah tell us "If I hadn't seen it, I likely wouldn't
have believed it - that two people would be *that* willing to
help folks that were in trouble" - giving me and Lucy a look of
wonder. She looked over at Lisa, then back at us before saying "I
knew you two were trying to help us, and you were trying to watch
out for us - I knew why you were trying to keep you and Lisa
together, Lucy! - but I really didn't _understand_ what it meant
when you told us you couldn't stand to see folks being done wrong
by bad people. Now I do."
She took a deep breath, and added "Lucy, you told me that I'd
find out for myself just what kind of man Dan is - and I have.
And don't think that I didn't notice that you were the one that
got us down onto the ground where we'd be safe, either - or that
you put yourself between us and that gun."
With that said, Sarah started quietly crying as she looked from
Lisa to Lucy to me and back again. It was only a few moments
before Lisa joined her, the two of them sitting there looking at
us, tears streaming down their faces.
Lucy got up and went over to give each of them a hug, and after
she gave me a look that made it clear *I* was expected to help
out, I got up and joined her; both of us trying to console and/or
reassure Lisa and Sarah that everything was going to work out.
After a while, both of them managed to pull themselves back
together, and the waterworks dried up. Lucy and I went back to
where we'd been sitting, and Lisa told us "Even after you got me
out of the jail and away from the sheriff, I've still been afraid
that he was going to do something. I mean, me and Charlie, we saw
him _kill_ somebody! But you two have been so *nice* and all, I
didn't realize just what it meant, all that stuff you told Momma
that night, about you bein' in the Army and all. But now I really
do *understand* it. I just don't know how Dan can be that good to
Momma and me, and be so strong and tough, at the same time."
Sarah spoke up, adding "I'm not understanding that part of it,
myself. I mean, Bill was a strong man, and he loved me and Lisa
with all his heart, but there were still times that his bein'
strong got in the way of being lovin', too."
Lucy laughed softly before telling them "I can understand what
both of you are saying - believe me, I do! When I first met Dan,
I thought he was actually kind of wimpy, and wondered if he might
even be gay! But then a few things happened, and the two of us
actually _talked_ to each other one night, and I started to get
an idea of just how much there is inside him. One of the things
that he told me was that after being in the Army, and doing the
things he did, he didn't figure that he had to 'prove' anything -
that he'd been and done what he needed to. Since then, I've
figured out for myself that a *real* man doesn't have to be
rough-and-tough all the time - that he IS strong and brave where
it really matters: in his heart and in his mind. Most men, they
only get 'macho' or turn into hardasses when they're insecure
about themselves, or they're afraid of something and feel like
they have to make like they aren't. Dan isn't like that - at
_all_. Like I told you that first night , I've heard *about* a
few of the things that Dan did while he was in the Army, and I
have a pretty good idea of what he did in general. Knowing what
he's already been through, I don't think that he actually gets
SCARED like most of us do." - she held up a hand when Lisa and
Sarah started to say something - "Not that I'm saying he isn't
careful, or that he doesn't think things through, or that he
doesn't worry about things. What I'm saying is that he's already
been through enough OTHER troubles - a lot worse than we saw
tonight! - that the kind of fear and insecurity that makes most
men act up simply doesn't happen with him."_
Sarah looked at me and asked "What kind of things HAVE you done,
Dan Andrews?"
"I can't talk about the specifics of where I went and what I did
in the Army", I answered, adding "Let me just say that on almost
every mission I went on, we were either outnumbered and outgunned
by a LONG shot, or in places and doing things where we had to
keep our heads out of our asses if we wanted to have any hope of
getting out in one piece."
Sarah didn't look very reassured by that, and Lucy told her
"You've got to understand, Sarah, that the unit Dan was in was
what _turned into_ the Delta Force. What they had Dan doing was a
lot of classified stuff in places where he wasn't OFFICIALLY
there. Like I told you, even *I* don't know the details of any of
it; I've only heard some of the stories - without the specifics -
from people that Dan knew, and I've met. Dan is a real stickler
for keeping his word, and unless somebody from the government
tells him it's okay to talk more about what he did, he simply
isn't going to tell _anyone_. I know that it makes ME a little
crazy, sometimes, too!" - that last getting a smile from Sarah.
Sarah, and Lisa, looked at me in wonder for a little bit before
Sarah gave a little shake of her head and said "I knew that my
Bill was a good man, and I treasured him every day we were
together. But that man sitting there - he's some kind of
_special_. But I reckon you know that."
Lucy smiled and answered "Yeah, I know it - and sometimes I
wonder what incredible thing I might have done that brought him
into my life."
I added my own two cents worth by saying "And *I* know just how
lucky I am to have met Lucy, and have her as my wife."
Sarah and Lisa saw how Lucy and I looked at each other, and both
of them got wistful looks on their faces, realizing just how much
Lucy and I loved each other.
Sarah sighed, and Lucy and I turned back to look at her looking
at us as she said "Me and Bill, we used to look at each other
like that, too - but nothin' like what you two just were". Lisa
was looking at us, too, and nodded before saying "Me and Charlie,
too."
Sarah looked at me and asked "Didn't I hear the sheriff tell you
that you had to go back up there tomorrow to give some kind of
statement?" I nodded, and she said "That being the case, I reckon
we'd all best be getting some sleep, tonight, then - here it is,
after midnight."
Lucy and I nodded, and the four of us stood up; to my surprise,
Sarah came around to where I was and put her arms around me,
giving me a solid hug and kiss on the cheek before telling me
"There ain't words for thanking you, Dan, but I won't be
forgetting what you did tonight, either."
Lisa followed her mother's example by giving me a hug and kiss,
too, before saying "I won't be forgetting, either, Dan!"
Both of them looked at Lucy, a little nervous and embarrassed by
what they'd done, and she just told them "Don't worry about it -
I'd want to do the same thing, if I were you."
Relieved, both of them escorted us to the door.
Back out in the Monster, Lucy wrapped her arms around me and
gave me a massive hug before telling me "Oh, Dan, I love you so
much, and I'm so proud of you!"
I hugged her back, of course, and answered "And me, you."
Lucy released me and stepped back before looking down at herself
and saying "Well, so much for THIS suit!" - it was torn in a
couple of places, dirty, and most definitely ruined.
I laughed, and told her "Well, I guess if we watch our nickels
and dimes for a little while, you can afford to get another
one..."
Lucy laughed, too, and said "Well, it was worth it - what this
suit cost is _nothing_ compared to how I'd feel if we didn't help
them."
That said, the two of us undressed and went to bed - and made
love.
It started after the two of us got snuggled next to each other,
Lucy 'spooning' in front of me. My hand was cupping her breast
(as usual) when she wriggled her cute fanny against me - rubbing
her ass cheeks against my penis. Naturally, I started to react,
and that only encouraged her to keep at it. Before long, I was
fully erect; when that happened she lifted her leg slightly and
wriggled around some more until I slid between her thighs, to top
of my penis along the cleft of her sex.
I could feel that she was already a little wet, and as she
started rocking back and forth to slide her labia along my
erection, I could feel her nipple stiffen where it was pressing
against my palm.
I lifted my head and gently nibbled her earlobe for a little bit
before whispering "Sheesh. Some women. A little gunplay, and they
turn into such _nymphomaniacs_!"
I could FEEL her smile before she turned her head to tell me
"I'll have you know, sir, that I was *already* a nymphomaniac!
But only for you..."
I grinned at her, and went back to nibbling on her earlobe as I
started playing with her breast - caressing it, gently squeezing
it, and softly pulling on her nipple. She moaned deep in her
throat, and I could feel her getting even wetter as she continued
to slide herself along my penis.
As she continued to spread her woman's oils along my manhood, I
extended my attentions to include the back of her neck (something
that *always* got her going), and shoulder. It wasn't long before
I could feel how wet and aroused she'd become, accompanied by her
almost constant moans of excitement. It wasn't much longer before
I heard her gasp "As nice as this feels" - "Damn right!" I
interjected - "I want you IN me! Roll over, and I'll be on
top..."
That was all the encouragement I needed, and was just a few
moments before she was astraddle my hips, my erect and glistening
penis in her hand as she positioned the head against her opening.
Holding me steady, she slowly impaled herself on me as she
groaned with pleasure. Her pleasure was matched by my own as I
felt myself being enveloped by her hot, wet channel.
I moved my hands up to cover her breasts, delighting again at
how perfectly they seemed to fit my hands, and how her puckered
areolas and erect nipples pressed into my palms. A few seconds
later, I started moving my hands on them, cupping them to feel
their heft. I gently squeezed them before running my thumbs
across her nipples to make them stand out even more.
Together, we spend a bit of time enjoying the pleasure we were
giving each other before Lucy slowly raised herself up a ways,
then slowly lowered herself onto me again. A second later, she
did it again as she looked into my eyes and told me "Dear god,
how I love making love with you!"
She leaned forward, and I cupped her face in my hands before
telling her "I love you, so much more than I could ever say."
She turned her head to kiss the palm of my hand, and I moved my
hands to cup her smooth, firm ass as I lifted my head to begin
licking and sucking on her nipples. Holding her torso steady so I
could continue nursing at her breasts, she started arching her
hips to slide herself up and down my penis. It wasn't long before
her actions sped up slightly as she got more and more aroused.
For my part, I was enjoying the hell out of what she was doing,
too - the feeling of the tight ring of her opening slipping along
my manhood, and the way her snug sheath wrapped so tightly around
me when she had me fully inside her. She was amazingly wet
inside, and I could feel the overflow of her juices begin to
saturate my pubic hair, and even trickle down between my thighs;
the scent of her arousal filled my nose and increased my own
desire.
We continued to make love like that for a long time - slowly,
gently, and most of all _lovingly_.
It was when I noticed that she was starting to tire a bit that I
reached up and gently pulled her into my arms to tell her "Let
me, now..."
She nodded, and the two of us kissed, deeply and passionately,
before I rolled us over. I little adjustment, and she was on her
back, her legs spread wide and pulled up to let me enter her as
deeply as possible.
Supporting myself over her on my elbows, we were able to
continue kissing each other's lips and faces and I started to
move myself in her. Pressing myself into her as far as I could,
I'd hold myself there for a second before sliding back out of her
until only the head of my penis was inside before easing my
erection back into her. A couple minutes of such slow-motion
lovemaking went by before she groaned to me "Oh, god, that feels
so good - but I want *more*!"
I was more than happy to do as she asked; it wasn't long before
I was sliding in and out of her at a pace that I knew - from the
way she responded - pleased her.
I don't know how long we made love like that - I only know that
there finally came the time when I felt her tighten around me as
she softly cried out her pleasure and release. The feeling of her
hot womanhood clenching around me as she orgasmed was enough to
stimulate me into my own climax; pushing myself into her as far
as I could, I felt myself washing her womb with my seed. As I
did, I saw her eyes fly open as she called out "Yes! Give it to
me!"
For a brief moment, I thought I heard a noise outside the motor
home, but it was so soft and so brief that I wasn't sure; then
the passion of the moment reclaimed my attention.
Lucy and I continued to hold and kiss, each of us satisfied and
happy that we'd been able to give each other such pleasure, and
shared the love we felt for each other.
Finally, though, my penis softened and shrank enough to pull
free of her; Lucy looked up at me and smiled before saying "That
was *so* nice - but if you don't let me up so I can clean up,
we're going to be sleeping in a wet spot, tonight!"
"I think it would be worth it; but I know you wouldn't be
comfortable", I answered before raising off of her. She grinned
up at me, and I told her "You stay here - I'll take care of it."
I went to the small bathroom the Monster had, and dampened a
washcloth with some warm water before grabbing a towel and
heading back. I found Lucy lying there with one hand cupping her
mons, obviously holding our combined juices inside until I
returned. She lifted her hips, and I quickly slid one end of the
towel under her so that it would catch the drainage as I went
about wiping her pelvis and the area between her thighs clean.
Done with that, I dried her off, then took the washcloth and
towel and put them in the hamper we kept dirty laundry in after
cleaning myself off, too.
Once I was back in bed with her, we reassumed the positions we'd
been in to start with, and soon fell asleep.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
As had become routine, the next morning Lucy and I went inside
the house to have breakfast with Lisa and Sarah - but to our
surprise, only Sarah was up and moving. She told us "Lisa got to
sleep even later than I did, last night - I think both of us kept
remembering what happened. I don't think she got to sleep before
late; so she's still up there in bed. So it looks like it's just
the three of us for breakfast, this morning..."
Following Sarah's instructions, Lucy and I took our seats as
Sarah brought out a big stack of waffles, bacon, sausage, and
eggs. As we ate, I noticed that Sarah seemed a bit 'distant' from
us. Apparently, Lucy noticed it, too, because after we'd put the
dishes in the kitchen (something Sarah had tried to object to,
but finally gave up on: Lucy and I helping clear the table) Lucy
asked "Sarah? Did we do something wrong? You seem kind of, well,
standoffish this morning."
Sarah finished topping off everyone's coffee, then set the
coffeepot aside before answering "No, you didn't do anything
wrong. If anything, *I* did. I ain't going to lie to you, not
after all you've done for me and Lisa. I came down to your motor
home last night to talk to you. I was going to tell you that me
and Lisa had a little bit of a talk after you left last night,
and from what she said, and how she said it, I think she might
have it in her head to try and, well, go to bed with you" - and
with a look at Lucy, added "BOTH of you."
Puzzled, Lucy asked "So what happened, then?"
Sarah flushed slightly, and answered "When I got down there, I
started to knock on your door when I heard a noise. I waited a
second, and heard another - then I realized you two were...
busy."
Lucy nodded her understanding, and asked "Okay, I understand
that. But why are you acting strange this morning? I mean, that
can't be the first time something like that has happened in your
life..."
Sarah smiled briefly and answered "No, that's not the first
time. What WAS the first for me, though, was that I didn't leave
like I should have. I could hear you two making love in there,
and it sounded like you were enjoying it so much, Lucy, that I
just _couldn't_ leave. It's been so long since I've got any kind
of pleasure like that - at least, not just with myself" - that
last followed by a blush as she realized that she'd just admitted
to masturbating.
She went on to say "I just stayed there and listened to you,
and kept getting more and more excited; when you finally, uh,
finished, Lucy, I had my own, uh, pleasure just from thinking
about doing that, without even doing anything." - the last part
accompanied by another small blush.
"Oh, pooh. Don't be ashamed that you make yourself feel good -
ALL of us have done it, and still do it, whether folks admit to
it, or not", Lucy told her before adding "As for the rest of it,
I suppose I could be upset that you listened, but I'm not. You
just told us that it's been a long time since you were with Bill;
if you were able to find some pleasure from it, then I'm just
glad for you, is all."
Seeing Sarah's continued look of discomfort, Lucy asked
"There's more?"
Sarah looked at her lap and fidgeted for a few moments before
quietly telling her "Yes, there's more. It wasn't Bill that I was
thinking of - it was Dan!" before looking up to see Lucy's
reaction.
Lucy reached out and took Sarah's hand before replying "Don't
be embarrassed, Sarah. And you don't have to be afraid that I'm
going to be upset with you. I know that Dan's a pretty special
guy. You aren't the first woman that's wanted to share yourself
with him, and I don't think you'll be the last. I'm only sorry
that you thought you had to be afraid of what I would say. The
only thing I want to know is _why_ you would want to be with
him."
Sarah was speechless for a few moments, then asked "You're not
upset? That I would think about taking your man to bed?"
Lucy smiled, and shook her head, before Sarah asked "What
difference would it make why I wanted him, anyway?"
Lucy answered "Let's just say I'm curious, for now."
Sarah just looked at her for a few seconds, then said "He's
what I expect any woman thinks of when she thinks about what a
man should be - he's strong, not just in his body, but in his
heart, and spirit. But at the same time, he's so gentle and
patient and _caring_. It took me a little bit to realize it, but
he's so damn *smart*, too - we were talking one afternoon, and he
started telling me about what he was trying to do, and I suddenly
realized that he was thinking about things that *I* should have
thought about, too. He ain't handsome - not like some movie star
or anything - but you look at his face and you can see that he's
going to keep looking the way he does for a long time; and when
you look, you know that there's a _person_ in there, and what
kind. I guess the short explanation is that being who and what he
is, I reckon I've done fallen in love with him", that last
followed by a nervous look at Lucy - then me.
Lucy just smiled, and said "That's what I wanted to hear.
Sarah, if you love him - and I believe you do - then I wouldn't
mind if you wanted to make love with him."
Sarah could only sit there, stunned, as Lucy went on to
explain "Sarah, I told you: you're not the first woman to fall in
love with him - for the very reasons that you just told me. And
you're not the first woman that's wanted to make love with him.
He *has* made love with some of those women - I not only know
about them, but _encouraged_ them to do it, too!"
"How... How can you do that? Let him.. be with other women
like that? Aren't you jealous, or worried that he might leave you
for one of them?"
Lucy laughed before answering "I can share him like that
*because* I know how he affects women - it's the same way he does
ME. I'm not jealous or worried because I _know_ how much he loves
me, and our girls. Yes, some of the women he's been with have
been younger than I am, and prettier, too - but I know how much
he loves ME, and it's more than I thought anyone COULD be loved.
And I love him, too, just as much. I don't only love him, I TRUST
him. I know that if he's willing to make love with a woman, she's
got to be a good person: honest and trustworthy and all the
things people should be. And I know that if she's that good of a
good person, she'll understand that she's only getting to
'borrow' him for a little while - that after he's made her as
happy as she's ever been, he'll still come home to ME."
Sarah just stared at her, and Lucy went on "There's something
you have to understand about us, me and Dan: we have a way of
thinking about - and dealing with - people that's a LOT different
than anyone else. There's something I'd like you to do, Sarah -
that's sit there a minute, and think about how you've _seen_ me
and Dan treat other people: waitresses, you and Lisa, and so on.
Then think about WHY we'd treat people that way."
Lucy and I sat there sipping our coffee as we watched Sarah do
as Lucy had asked. After a few minutes, she gave a small start,
and looked at us before saying "You all treat folks the way they
show you they *deserve*. When you're dealing with a waitress, you
treat her good if she IS good at what she does, and you don't if
she isn't. I think me and Lisa are decent folks, and you treat us
that way. When we left the restaurant last night, Dan dealt with
those two the way they deserved. But you're FAIR about it, too -
the other day, the girl serving us at the Roundup was pretty
busy, so you was more patient with her. Last night, it sounded
like Dan was willing to give those two fellas a chance until that
one said what he did; after that, Dan wasn't cutting them *any*
slack."
"That's it, exactly", Lucy told her. "We're *absolutely* fair
with people, and treat them the way they SHOW us they _deserve_.
Have you ever helped anybody, just because you didn't think they
were getting a fair deal, or because you thought they deserved
it?"
"I have. But that's a far piece from what you and Dan are
doing, Lucy!"
"Is it? Do you _really_ think it's different?"
Sarah stared at Lucy for a few moments, then said "Okay, it's
not different, as far as taking the time to help someone. But how
MUCH you're doing to help! You gotta admit, THAT'S different!"
"Of course it is. But when you helped someone, did you ever go
a little out of your way to do it? Did it ever cost you anything
- even if that cost was something you were willing to pay?"
Sarah started to speak again, stopped, then said "Yes, to both
questions."
"The difference between what you were doing, and what WE'RE
doing, is that we HAVE more, and can DO more, wouldn't you
agree?"
That shut Sarah down for a few seconds before she grudgingly
admitted "There ain't no doubt that you got more, or that you can
*do* more." - then, a moment later, with wonder in her voice
asked "What kind of people are you, that you're willing to do
things like helping the FBI like you did, and even folks like me
and Lisa?"
Lucy smiled, and said "If you'll think about it, you already
_know_ what kind of people we are. And NOW we're to the point
where I can tell you that if YOU want to make love with Dan, too,
you're welcome to, with my permission and encouragement, if he's
willing."
Sarah sat there and blinked a few times as she thought about
what Lucy said about her already knowing what kind of people we
were; Lucy and I both knew when she got to the part about being
welcome to make love with me when she suddenly gasped, and looked
back and forth between us for several seconds. She finally pulled
herself together (again) and asked Lucy "You... You'd let me be
with him? Just like that?"
"It's not _quite_ 'just like that', if you'll remember how
we've been talking, but yes. You said something yourself last
night about how Dan and I look at each other, and how much we
love each other. Do you really think that I'm afraid he's going
to drop me for another woman? Any woman?"
After mulling that one over for a few seconds, Sarah admitted
"No, I don't think he'd EVER do anything like that, no how, no
way." Then, a second later, Sarah turned to me and asked "What do
YOU think about all this, Dan?"
I smiled, and told her "When I look at you, I see a woman
that's had some pretty hard times and is still standing up for
herself and fighting for what's hers. I see a woman that's got
nerve and courage and compassion. I see a woman that has enough
sense to know what she knows, and isn't afraid to listen, and
learn what she _doesn't_ know. If you wanted to make love with
me, I'd be delighted by the opportunity."
As Sarah sat there looking at me, obviously stunned; we could
hear Lucy laugh at the expression on her face, followed by Lucy
telling her "Sarah, what Dan just told you is *exactly* how he
sees you - and I can promise you that he finds you physically
attractive, too, even if he didn't say it."
Sarah turned to Lucy again, and asked "Why wouldn't he say
so?"
"Because how a woman looks isn't the important thing to him.
What matters - to him, and to me - is what another person is like
on the _inside_, not the outside."
"But how can you know that he thinks I'm pretty?" Sarah asked.
"Because Dan and I both think the same way about women, and
*I* think you're pretty, too."
It took a few seconds for that to sink in before a re-stunned
Sarah asked "You... you've been with women, too?"
Lucy answered "Yes, I've been with women, too. When you were
growing up, didn't you and another girl ever experiment with each
other? Practicing kissing boys, and such?"
Sarah replied "Of course we done some of _that_ - but it ain't
the same."
"No, it's not the same. But didn't you get 'feelings' when you
were doing it? Didn't it feel good, whether it was another girl,
or not?"
Hesitantly, reluctantly, Sarah answered "Yeah, I had some
'feelings', as you put it. And yeah, it felt good, even though it
was another girl. But still..."
"But still, it's feeling good and having pleasure. If you and
the other person are both doing it because you WANT to, and it
feels good, is anyone being hurt? And if no one is being hurt,
and it feels good, can it _really_ be all *that* wrong?" Lucy
responded.
Thinking it over, Sarah finally answered "You put it that way,
I reckon it can't. But I don't know if I could ever do anything
like that, though - I never done it, and I wouldn't know what to
do, and I'd be too dang nervous about the whole thing to get any
pleasure out of it, I expect."
Lucy just smiled, and said "You'd be surprised how easy it is,
when it gets down to it. But you still haven't said whether or
not you'd like to be with Dan."
Reminded of what track the conversation had been on before it
was derailed, Sarah gave both of us a surprisingly shy look
before answering "It being okay with you, Lucy, and Dan being
willing, I reckon I *would* like to be finding some pleasure with
him."
"That's fine, Sarah. I've got some research to do at the
library, and I can use Lisa's help; I don't expect we'd be back
before suppertime, anyway, but I'll make we stay out that long
just to be sure. Dan still has to go make his statement, and I
wouldn't be surprised if that took most of the morning, so how
about if Lisa and I leave after she's had some breakfast? Then
you can have some time to get ready before Dan gets back?"
Sarah smiled and said "I can't believe I'm getting help from a
married woman about how I can take her man to bed, but that
sounds just fine."
Lucy smiled, too, as I did, before she replied "Good. That's
what we'll do, then."
Sarah stood up, and told us "Dan, you'd best be on your way,
if you're going to be going. I'll go upstairs and get Lisa up so
you can get your work done, too, Lucy", before turning and
leaving us.
Lucy and I shared a smile and laugh, knowing that we were
probably going to change Sarah's definition of what a friend was.
Lucy and I were heading for the front door when we saw Lisa
and Sarah coming down the stairs; Lisa gave us a smile - but
nothing like the one Sarah shared with us.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
It was after lunch when I got back from giving my deposition
to Sheriff Babcock. I went into the house to find that Sarah had
obviously taken the time to prepare herself by changing into a
blouse and skirt, doing something with her hair, and unless my
nose deceived me, adding a little perfume. It was equally obvious
that she was very nervous, too.
She'd gotten up from the chair she'd been in when I came in,
and was standing there fidgeting slightly as I walked over to
her. Her head only came up to my chin, and I looked down at her
and said "It's okay, Sarah. You don't have to be nervous or
afraid; everything's going to be fine."
She smiled up at me, nervously, and said "That's easy enough
for you to say, Dan Andrews. I've never done this before, though
- not making love with a man that wasn't my husband, and in broad
daylight, too."
I put my hand under her chin to steady her before tilting my
head down to kiss her - on the forehead, to her surprise. Looking
into her eyes, I told her "See? There's nothing to it."
Shyly, she told me "Okay, you made your point - you ain't
gonna just jump on me and have at it. But I'm still nervous about
all this."
"Sarah, there's nothing to be nervous about. No, I'm not going
to just jump on you and have at it. You have to understand that
what we're going to do is make _love_. No, I don't mean that I
love you the way I do Lucy - you know it, I know it, and Lucy
knows it. But I *do* love you - for the very things I told you I
see in you, this morning. You're what, 35 years old?"
She gave me a playful slap on the arm, and said "Oh, go on,
you. Lisa's nineteen years old, and I didn't have her until after
Bill and I had been married some years. I'm coming up on my 40th
birthday."
I grinned, and told her "Whatever age you are, you've still
been in this town a lot longer than I have, and as much as I've
taken a dislike to Purdy, I'm sure you must want to be rid of him
even more. But you've stayed here and put up