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Justin Thyme

By: Callicious



This is a progressive story about a young man's introduction to the female body and sex. If you are looking for a quick jerk and a lot of heavy sex, you won't find it here. This segment has more of a flavor of Exhibitionist and Voyeur, but I wanted to insert it in the First Time category as I believe it is a better fit for the continuation. Enjoy! Comments are welcome and appreciated. 

*

My parents had a weird sense of humor! My name is Justin, and my twin sister is Rosemary. The last name? Thyme. I guess I should be grateful. They could have named me Sage or Parsley. Needless to say, those names were an albatross about our necks the whole time we were growing up. They didn't keep us from having friends, but the constant teasing grew old a long time ago.

I'm nothing special, just your run of the mill high school senior nerd/tech geek, slight of stature and build. I ran cross-country and the two mile in track, but otherwise was not in to sports all that much. Rosemary on the other hand was into volleyball and soccer, having played soccer since she was 5 years old. I started playing then, too, but I got bored with it early on. I was much more interested in taking things apart to see why they worked, which had disastrous consequences when I took apart our brand new projection TV, back when they were the new thing on the market. 

Fortunately, the TV repair guy was able to put it back together. I hadn't broken anything. In fact, I had laid the pieces out so neatly it was easy for him. He let me watch what he was doing with the absolute promise I would never take apart anything else in the house. He saved my life when he told my father how neatly I had done everything, and promised to bring by some electronics that had been deemed unrepairable or unworthy of repair so I could tinker on them. I think I was eight at the time. 

When I was twelve I started riding my bike over to his shop and he let me "work" with him on repairing things, and taught me how to read a schematic and to use electrical meters and other tools. By the time I was fifteen I could work on about anything, and had a room full of gadgets and an awesome sound system; All of which I had either rebuilt, or in some cases built up from scratch for myself.

I started building out sets for friends and selling them, which made me some nice pocket change, and a name for myself. Plus, I started working at Jim's Electronics as soon as I was legal at 16. Our school had a great Industrial Arts program, with a variety of course tracks we could follow. 

Woodworking and Architectural Drafting didn't interest me, and the Electronics/Electrical classes were all very elementary to me, but I took them anyway, just because Dave Hulvey, the teacher was a cool guy, and he had a cute daughter. Mr. Hulvey knew his class was not going to teach me anything, so he allowed me to use the equipment and design and build my own computer as a class project, provided also helped mentor some of the other kids in the class. I pulled an A in the class with no problems, and came out with what at the time was a better computer than you could buy off the shelf. Some of the things I had in there didn't come out on the market for two years.

What really made me the hero as far as Janelle, Mr. Hulvey's daughter was concerned was when I rescued the Junior Class Play. On Thursday evening, right after school, during dress rehearsal the sound system blew, and there was no way to call someone in to work on it. Actually, the system was older than Methusaluh's housecat, and should have been given a good Christian burial a long time ago. It used TUBES for goodness sake! I was in the electronics room tinkering on my computer when Janelle came running in looking for her father.

"Where's Daddy, Justin?"

"He left early. Said he was taking your mother out tonight to celebrate their anniversary."

"Oh, no. I forgot! Now, what do we do?" She sat down in her dad's chair and held her face in her hands and started crying.

"Hey, now. What's the problem?"

"The sound system in the auditorium died. We can't go on with the dress rehearsal without sound, and we really need the rehearsal."

"Want me to take a look?"

"Can you do anything with it? Would you be allowed?"

I smirked. "With that old thing? I don't know, but I can take a look."

Janelle slumped her shoulders as she stood up. "I guess it can't hurt. You can't break it any worse than it already is." Slowly she walked out of the room as I gathered a few tools and followed a few seconds later. Walking behind her was never a chore anyway! I loved watching her ass move as she walked. She was so dejected I don't even think she was aware I was following, otherwise I would have been busted.

When I arrived in the sound booth/projection room of the auditorium Mrs. Sylvester was flipping switches and pushing buttons vainly trying to get some life out of the box somehow. "Hi, Mrs. Sylvester. Mind if I take a look at it for you?"

"Do you know anything about these?"

"Not much about one that old. Mostly I deal with electronics, but it can't be too hard to figure out the problem. If it is just a tube it will be no problem, if we have one around." When she stepped out of the way I knelt down on the floor and pulled the cabinet out to where I could get a good look at it. I already knew it wasn't a tube. The smell of burnt wiring was strong in the room. "Janelle, why don't you find a way to prop that door open? Breathing these fumes can't be good for us."

Janelle propped open the door as I opened the access panel. "You know, this system is older than I am! I'm amazed it still worked." I took one look at the charred wiring inside the box and closed the panel back up. "I'm sorry, but this system is dead. The capacitor overheated and caught fire, burning the wiring out. I'm surprised it didn't set off the alarm and sprinklers!"

Janelle slumped to the floor and started crying. She had finally won the lead role, and was devastated by the news. Without the sound system there was no way to go on with the dress rehearsal, and it was doubtful they could find another system and get it installed in time for the first performance Friday night. I started looking around at the sound board and what they had available and jotted down some notes on the back of a program the sound operator was using. 

"If I can get a ride to my house I can get you back up and running for rehearsal tonight, and I can have a better system in place for you to use tomorrow night. Tonight will be rather jury-rigged, but it will let you rehearse."

Janelle jumped up from the floor and threw her arms around me. "Really, can you do that?"

"I'll need about an hour before I can have you going tonight, and then I'll need to work on it afterwards and during the day tomorrow. Can you get me out of classes, Mrs. Sylvester?"

"If you can get us operating classes will be no problem!"

"I'll drive you home, if that's OK, Mrs. Sylvester?" At her nod Janelle and I hurried out to her car, and she drove me home. I sat there basically tongue-tied, riding all alone with my crush, who I don't think even knew I existed before now. When we arrived I asked her if she would please come in with me and help me gather what was needed and to carry it out. I should have asked a couple of the guys to come along but I'm really glad I didn't. They would have been a help, but they also would have been in the way. Not that I was going to do anything. I was much too shy to try.

When we walked into my bedroom Janelle's eyes bugged out. "Whoa! Where did you get all this stuff? You've got more electronics than some stores!" She looked at me suspiciously at first.

"Most of it I have either rebuilt, or some of it I built from scratch. You like?"

She walked around looking, especially at my stereo set up. "What is all this stuff, anyway?"

"Well, there is a pre-amp, an amplifier, an equalizer, a receiver, turn-table, tape deck, an old eight-track I kept just for fun, a five disk CD player, a mixer, a couple of older game systems, a VCR, and a DVD player. The pre-amp, amplifier, and the mixer I built myself because I didn't like the sound quality of what I had. The speakers," I pointed up to the corners of the room and to the subwoofer against the far wall, "are custom. I built them myself for the room size and acoustics. I also designed my own surround sound to fit the room."

"It's amazing! I never saw anything like it! Can I hear it?"

"Quickly. We don't have much time if you want to have your rehearsal." I plugged in Beethoven's Fifth Symphony, not because I thought she would like it, but because I wanted to show off the sound. "Here, sit at my desk. That is where the sound is best for right now. When I go to bed I adjust it to the other side of the room." 

"You can do that?"

"Sure. It's not that hard."

"Right! That's why everyone has a setup like this!" The sarcasm fairly dripped as she spoke. Just then those famous opening notes boomed out and her jaw dropped open. As the first movement opened up and the themes were presented she looked at me in awe. "I feel like I'm in the orchestra pit itself! I don't really like classical, but I could like this!"

"Close your eyes and sit quietly now." I stopped the Fifth Symphony and slipped in the disk for Pachelbel's Canon in D Major. As the richness of the quiet tones poured from the speakers Janelle just melted into the chair. Since it is a fairly short piece I allowed her to just enjoy its beauty while I gathered other equipment we would need. 

"That was awesome," Janelle whispered as the last notes faded from our ears. I, who am an audiophile, sometimes forget how good I have it, and to see someone I like so much overwhelmed by the beauty thrills me. "I wish I had a setup like this."

"We had better get moving if we are going to be able to have your rehearsal. Can you grab that box and carry it out? I'll carry out this equipment." It took me two trips to get out what I needed. Janelle followed me back in for the second trip, although I didn't need her to carry anything. When we stepped into my room she pushed the door closed and gave me a big hug and kiss that curled my toes. "I just wanted to say thank you for doing this for me. And thank you for sharing your music." She gave me another kiss, just a soft one this time, but it was very nice just the same. The feeling of her in my arms, and her soft breasts against my chest stayed in my memory and fueled my imaginations for a long time. All the work I was doing was well worthwhile for that kiss.

When we returned to the school I asked Mrs. Sylvester to have a table and some extension cords brought down to the front of the auditorium. I quickly set up a temporary sound control station and ran some cables to either side of the stage and placed a speaker at each side. "This is not sufficient for your performance, by any means," I told Mrs. Sylvester, "but it should be sufficient for you to rehearse. I have some other equipment I can bring back later, but I'm going to have to hang new speakers in the auditorium and run new cables. What is in here now is too outdated for me to use with my gear. If I tried to hook the old speakers up to my amps and turn any power through them they would blow, and the old cables have so much impedance the sound is bad. It is past time for it to be updated. Would it be possible to have a couple of the guys cut class tomorrow to help me run the cable and set things up? We're going to be close on getting it all done in time."

Mrs. Sylvester agreed to arrange for two of the actors to work with me each hour of the school day, and OK'd my request to buy the cable I needed for the sound. I know it was not in the budget, but she was getting free labor and expertise. Much of the equipment we would need I had already, and had refurbished it to better than when it was new. I wouldn't give it to them, but the price was much lower than what they would be able to purchase at much lesser quality. Mrs. Sylvester was a little concerned about OK'ing purchases without going through the normal process, so we left it that if the Board of Education did not want to buy the equipment after the performance I would remove it again, and all they would be out would be the cost of the cable. I was very confident they would not want to hire contractors to replace everything after I had already put it in place at no charge. The things a kid will do for a kiss from a pretty girl!

The rehearsal went very well, and everyone was amazed at the better sound coming from a jury-rigged setup with just two small speakers. Janelle kept going on and on about the system in my room, and how good it sounded. I had several people ask if I would build systems for them, so it looked like I would generate some good business from doing this good deed. I wished I had time to build out a balanced system for the auditorium, but that was not going to be possible. The time constraint was too great, and the expense would not be approved I knew. I could still provide a much improved system though that would serve the school well for a long time.

I had no intention of attending the performance Friday night, but after setting up the new soundboard and amplifier in the sound booth and showing it to Mr. Purdy, who ran the old soundboard, he just shook his head. "Justin, there is no way I can run a board like that. You've got more gadgets and do-dads on that board than Carter's got liver pills. You're going to have to stay around and run it until you can teach me what to do." I couldn't very well just drop it on them and then leave, so Friday night found me back at the school, as did Saturday night.

I will say this for Mrs. Sylvester: She publicly thanked me and Jim's Electronics for getting the sound system up and running, saving the show. She also recommended my services to anyone wanting special sound setups, which led to more phone calls for estimates than I could handle. Just-in-Thyme Custom Electronics was born as a result, which was not bad for a 16 year old kid. I never got another kiss from Janelle, though.

I'm a bit of a late bloomer, and while I've always been interested in girls, I never took the time to pursue them. I was so busy with school, running, work, and my business that girls kind of took a back seat. It was in the spring of our senior year that I got a wake-up call, and it was Rosemary that gave it to me. Although twins, we were definitely fraternal twins. We had so little in common that some didn't even believe we were related at first. 

For one thing, she is the spitting image of Mom, less 23 years. To look at Mom you know Rosemary is going to look great at 41 also. She has red-gold hair that is naturally curly, but not frizzy like a lot of red-heads are. She doesn't have freckles either, but she does have piercing green eyes that seem to reach out and grab you. Years of playing soccer and volleyball have kept her in great shape. She is somewhat reserved and quiet, but yet friendly to everyone, and doesn't have an enemy that I know of. Not a great beauty, but not one you would want to put a bag over her head either. Just a normal girl.

Me on the other hand? I look like Dad. That isn't necessarily a bad thing, but neither is it anything that will get me on the cover of GQ or any other magazine. I'm a tall 5'6" in my shoes, and I weigh a whole 128 lbs of wiry muscle. Running has kept me lean and fit, but I'm no prize that the girls are clamoring for either. My hair, instead of an attractive red-gold like hers, mine was a flat, dull, straight, brown.

Rosemary and I love each other, but we really don't have all that much in common, so we don't spend all that much time together. It wasn't until the week before our 18th birthday that I had an epiphany. It was on the Friday before our birthday on the next Tuesday, and we had no school because of a teacher's workday. Rosemary had a couple of her friends over in the afternoon to swim and sun. (Here in southern Arizona we keep our pool open all year.) I walked out of my room, where I had the music blasting, to get a Coke when Rosemary's door opened across the hall and Susie walked out in her bikini, headed to the pool. Now, Susie won't be seen on the cover of Sports Illustrated, or one of the inside pages either, but still, she was female, not ugly, and did I mention the bikini?

"Oh, Hi, Justin! Say, can you show me your sound system? I've wanted to see it since you fixed the system at school." When she put her hand on my arm I swallowed hard and just nodded. We stepped into my room, and she oohed over all the stuff. "Janelle told me you played a really beautiful piece of music for her and you had her sitting where the sound was optimized. She has been trying to match it ever since, but she can't. What did you play?"

"Oh, that piece. Yeah, Pachelbel's Canon. It's one of my favorites for when I want to sit and think. Sit here at my desk, and I'll put it on for you." She sat down in my desk chair and leaned back to watch as I put the CD into the player and reset the surround sound. One of the AC vents is right over the desk chair, and the AC kicked on right then. I noticed two bumps appearing on the front of her top from the chilled air. "Lean your head back and close your eyes. Just let the music envelope you." And let me stare at your pokies without being caught perving! I watched as the music washed over her, and saw her relax and go with the music, her nipples poking out the front of her bikini, and the thought struck me that three girls had been changing into their swimwear just right across the hall from me. What could I do to watch? I'd have to give this some real thought.

The music stopped, and Susie stood up with a dreamy look in her eyes. Pachelbel can do that to you if you really get into it. It's very introspective. The other girls came out of Rosemary's room just then, and Susie turned to leave with them, but stopped and gave me a hug and said "Thanks." Maybe I was on to something else. Two girls listening to my sound system, two hugs. Coincidence? Probably, but still a nice thought. 

Rosemary and Stephanie looked into the room in passing, and I knew for sure Mom and Dad weren't home! There was no way Rosemary was wearing THAT bathing suit with them around! I said something about it, and Rosemary did a little pirouette in the hallway. "You like it? Good. I'll have to take it to the lake on Memorial Day, then."

"You're actually going to wear that in public?" squealed Steph. Rosemary just grinned and walked on down the hall. I know she is my sister, but WOW! I had to adjust myself just as soon as Susie got out of sight. I had been about half hard already from looking at her pokies, but Rosemary finished it off. Now I had to get thinking about seeing into her room. I know, I know, I'm creepy, but c'est la vie.

With the girls out of the house I snuck into Rosemary's room to see if I could get any ideas. While there I might have taken a peek at their underwear just to see what size bras they wore. Rosemary's is a 36C. Anyway, I didn't see anything special about the room, not that I really expected to. We didn't have an adjoining wall or any connection. I was just fishing for ideas. All I saw was the typical girl's room with posters of guys she thought were hot, makeup on her dresser, and a bunch of stuffed animals. She isn't geeky like me and isn't into technology or anything. In fact, all she had for music was a clock radio! She had an iPod with earbuds on her bed table, but that was it. Major contrast between our rooms, and that is for sure! Mine was packed with all sorts of technology. Somehow I had to make that work for.

I went back to my room and sat down at my desk with the internet open, but I just stared at the home page. I restarted Pachelbel and thought. What was there about her room, about her in general that I could use? She was an athlete, but still somewhat of a girly girl. It had to be something unobtrusive, something she would accept without thought or hesitation. How could I introduce technology in such a manner it wouldn't tip her off or that she wouldn't reject outright. I had offered to build her a stereo system of her own, but she was not interested. Her iPod and radio were more than sufficient for what she wanted. She had a laptop, but rarely used it other than for homework. Her posters were a non-starter for sure. What could you do with a poster?


Justin Thyme Ch. 02



This is part two of a multi-part story. If you have not yet read Part 1, please read it first to get the flow of the story. It is long, but develops the characters involved. If you are looking for a quick jerk and a lot of sex please move along. This is not the place for you. Again, I have categorized this as "First Time" because I believe it is the best placement for the story as it unfolds. There are elements of Exhibition and Voyeur, as well as Group Sex also. Comments are welcome and appreciated. 

*

I was glued to the screen as she reached down and grasped the hem of her top and pulled it up and over her head in one smooth, quick motion. Unfortunately, she still had her back to me, so I didn't see her tits. She tossed her top on the floor, and then in one fluid motion slipped her Baby Doll panties down her legs, and kicked them to the side. I had just a split second where I could almost see her pussy between her legs, but not quite. I thought she was going to climb directly into the bed, and my viewing would be over, but she stood there, rubbing her tits with both hands and swaying back and forth.

My mouth was dry, and I kept licking my lips with anticipation, but I still didn't see anything. My cock was hard again, and twitching in my hand as I held it. Then disaster struck.

Rosemary's phone rang. I looked at the clock on the monitor quickly and saw it was only 11:45. I could have sworn it was much later, but still it was late for a call. Rosemary jumped from her bed and grabbed her phone from her pocketbook. I could hear her, but not who it was on the other end. It was obviously bad news as she sank down on the bed and burst into tears. I paid no attention to the others as I watched my sister cry. I wanted badly to go in and comfort her, but I couldn't. How could I know anything was wrong? I saw her nod her head a time or two, and then she thumbed off the phone. "That was Mom. My Grandmother just had a stroke, and they want us right away. She and Dad are driving back, but Justin and I are to go directly to the hospital. I have to tell him."

Quickly, I shut down the monitor and jumped into my bed. I had to play this cool. Somehow I couldn't let my emotions show when she called me. My Grandmother! This was going to be tough. My cock had shriveled instantly at the news, but I was still nude, which was normal. I just hoped if she opened the door she wouldn't notice I had wiped off the semen that was on my chest.

A knock at the door interrupted my thoughts. I hesitated before answering, as if I had to be awakened. My mind was racing to be certain I didn't give myself away. Another knock, a little louder, along with Rosemary's voice, "Justin, Justin, are you awake?"

"Hmmm?" I mumbled.

My door popped open a crack. "Justin, you need to wake up. I have to talk to you."

Thinking quickly I sat halfway up. Perhaps I could open up opportunities if I was careful. "Come on in," I said, as if half asleep.

Rosemary opened the door and stepped in my room. "Oh! You aren't dressed!" She fumbled behind her for the doorknob, but I noticed she didn't take her eyes off of me as she tried to get the door opened, but pulled it against her foot instead. She fumbled about, flustered at being seen looking at me and turned and ducked out the door. I struggled mightily not to smile as she said through the door, "Can you get dressed and come out a minute. I have to talk with you." 

I slipped on some boxers, there wasn't a lot of point in being more discreet now that they had all seen me starkers, and had their fun. I walked over and opened the door, rubbing my eyes, as if I had been asleep.

"Mom just called. She and Dad are on their way. Grandma just had a stroke, and you and I have to hurry over to the hospital. They have called the family in." Tears were flowing, and I couldn't help them welling in my own eyes. Grandma Stevens, Mom's mom, was one of the finest people you could ever meet, and Rosemary and I were very close to her.

Susie and Stephanie were both in the hall with Rosemary, with arms around her, but I hardly noticed them. How things change in a hurry! I turned about and went back into my room to throw on some clothes.

Five minutes later, Rosemary came down the stairs to the kitchen where I was waiting. Over her shoulder she called back up to the others, "You guys may as well sleep here. I don't know how long we will be. I'll let you know what is going on. Feel free to help yourself to anything you want." "Yeah, Mom knows you are here, so it won't be a problem," she said to a question I couldn't hear. She and I hurried out to my Mini, and I drove quickly across town to the hospital, with my heart in my throat, worried about my grandmother. Rosemary sat beside me, with tears on her cheeks. I made very good time getting to the hospital, and parked by the emergency room. We both jumped out of the car and hurried across the drive to the entry. A rather harried attendant at the desk looked up at us, and looked back down at her computer and continued at her task. Rosemary quickly spoke up. "Florence Stevens? Where can we find her?"

The attendant held up a hand in a "just a minute" sign and continued typing away at her keyboard. After a couple of minutes she looked up and said, "Sorry. We are totally swamped tonight. Who did you need?"

"Florence Stevens, please." 

"I'm sorry, but she is in ICU, and I can't let you in there. Are you family?"

"Yes," I said. "We are her grandchildren, and we were called to come immediately, that she had a stroke."

"I see. I'm sorry, but I can't allow anyone into the ICU units. I'll page the Dr. and ask him to step out and talk with you. I'm sure he can help you. Please have a seat in the second waiting area. What are your names?

"I'm Justin, and she is Rosemary Thyme."

"Someone will be with you as soon as possible. Don't worry. Your grandmother is getting the best care possible." Not exactly the most caring response, but what did I expect?

With heavy hearts we walked across the lobby to the family waiting area, and sat down in rather uncomfortable chairs to wait. Rosemary grasped my hand in hers and leaned her head on my shoulder, and momentarily I felt moisture as her tears dropped onto my shirt. Although we were not all that close, with totally different interests, there was no doubt we loved each other. As badly as I was hurting, worried about my grandmother; having Rosemary crying on my shoulder hurt me even more. I reached my arm around her, and let her snuggle herself closely to me for comfort, as she continued weeping. 

With no information I didn't even have anything with which to comfort her. All I could do was to hold her and let her cry. I nestled my face down into her hair and did my best not to join her in tears. 

We sat that way for at least half an hour before a young Dr. came bustling into the room. "Mr. Thyme? I'm Dr. Dawson, and I'm one of the physicians who has been caring for your grandmother. Please let me set your minds at ease. She is doing well, and resting comfortably. Your grandfather is with her, but we really feel it would be better if she didn't have any other visitors at this time.

"Your grandfather noticed she wasn't reacting normally and called 911 right away, and the EMT's were able to stabilize her and get her here within minutes, so we were able to give her tPA early enough that we think she will have little damage. It was a mild stroke, and barring further complications she should make a full recovery. We will keep her in ICU overnight, though, to keep an eye on her. My advice would be to return home and get a good night's rest and come back tomorrow in the late morning after she has been transferred to a regular room. We will give you a call if anything changes. OK?"

Rosemary wiped her eyes and asked, "Are you sure we can't see her for just a few minutes?"

"I'm sorry, Miss, but it really would not be wise. She doesn't need anything that would excite her at this point, and seeing her grandchildren worried about her would do that. It isn't that we are uncaring, but we have to look out for the best interest of our patients, and in the long run, your best interests, too."

"Can we at least see Grandpa?" She sniffled. "At least let him know we are here?"

"Oh, certainly. I thought he already knew you were here! The receptionist should have told him. I'll let him know right away and ask him to step out here. If you will please excuse me, we are extremely busy tonight, and I need to get back to my patients. I'm not trying to run out on you, I promise, but I must go. Come back tomorrow, oh, say after 10:00. 11 would be even better."

He hurried back out of the room, and Rosemary threw herself into my arms again and sobbed on my shoulder once more. "Oh, Justin, I don't know what I would do if she wasn't going to be OK."

"Easy, there, Rosemary. You heard the doc. She's going to be fine. A lot of people have these little strokes, and you never know anything happened. She's going to be fine." I kept repeating that over and over, trying to give comfort, as I myself felt such a load lifted off of my shoulders. "Why don't you give Mom a call, so that she and Dad don't push themselves too hard to get back here?"

Rosemary lifted her head and looked through tear swollen eyes at me. "I'd rather wait until we've talked with Grandpa. I won't be sure she's going to be OK until he tells me." I felt like a total jerk just then, when I realized my cock had been reacting to Rosemary pressing her bra-less breasts against me as she sat there and cried. I tried not to notice, honest, but my cock noticed. Holding her just felt so nice, and now that I wasn't worried about my Grandmother any more I was aware.

Grandpa Stevens came hurrying into the waiting room as Rosemary continued to snuggle her head on my shoulder for comfort. "Rosemary, Justin, I'm sorry I gave you guys a scare and made you come down here!"

Rosemary jumped up from the chair and threw herself into his arms and burst into tears again. "Easy, there, girl. Easy. She's going to be fine. It was just a minor blood clot, and they were able to treat it right away, so there's probably not going to be any damage."

I handed Rosemary a couple of tissues from the box on the table, and she wiped her eyes and blew her nose. "You're sure, Grandpa? You aren't just trying to make me feel good, are you?"

"No, girl. She's going to be fine. When she fell over the garden hose two weeks ago and banged her knee on that shovel she got a blood clot. She's been taking Coumadin for it, and the Dr. warned her there was a possibility the clot could break loose and cause this. That's why I noticed as soon as I did and got her here, where they were able to treat it with that new stuff that stops strokes. Fortunately we hadn't gone to sleep yet. They just need to keep an eye on her overnight and make sure she doesn't have any others, but they say she will be fine. Now why don't you two go on home and get some rest, then come in to see her tomorrow."

"OK, Grandpa, if you are sure. Tell Grandma we love her."

"I'll do that thing. She loves you two, too, you know. How about do me one favor?"

"Sure," I said. "What can we do?"

"Call your mother and tell her not to hurry in here. There isn't anything they can do tonight, and I'm sorry I dragged them back home. I can't use my cell in the ICU, and I don't have any reception in here either."

Rosemary spoke up. "Now, Grandpa, you know she is going to come here first. I'll call her and tell her what's going on, but you know her better than that."

Grandpa just chuckled. "She is her mother's daughter, and I can see the nut didn't fall to far from the tree, did it?" He reached out and gave Rosemary a hug. "Thanks for hurrying in here, but get on out of here and get some rest." He hugged my neck, too, and said, "Scat. I'll see you in the morning. Or a little later in the morning, I guess it is." He waved a hand and turned back to go be with Grandma. 

Rosemary and I walked back out into the night, very much relieved by the news. Rosemary gave me a big hug just before we got back to the car. I'll blame it on the relief I was feeling, but when I felt her breasts pressing against my chest, and she laid her head on my shoulder, my cock lurched. I know she felt it, and I couldn't pull away, because I was leaning against the car. She didn't pull away either, but just hugged me tighter. I kept telling myself, "she's your sister dude, she's your sister," but it didn't seem to make much difference. 

Rosemary lifted her head, and looked into my eyes, but she didn't loosen her hug. All it did was to cause her lower body to press even more closely against mine. "Thank you for being here for me, Justin. I love you. Sometimes I think you are more than just a brother to me." She leaned in and gave me a quick peck on the lips, and turned and got into the car. My head was spinning as I walked around to my door and got in.

I started the car and backed out of the parking place as Rosemary dialed Mom on her cell phone. As I pulled into the street I could hear Mom answer, and Rosemary put it on speaker so I could be in on the conversation as well. I jumped, though, when Rosemary rested her hand on my thigh as we talked with Mom, reassuring her that Grandma was going to be OK, and that they didn't have to hurry back. Rosemary had told Grandpa correctly, though. Mom was going to the hospital before anything else. In fact, they planned on just staying there with Grandpa. Since she was a daughter she knew she would be allowed to stay in the room also, if Grandpa was, and Dad would be allowed as well. They had recliners in the rooms that could suffice to sleep in until the Dr's made their decisions in the morning. They would see us when we went in to see Grandma about 11.

We drove for a couple of blocks in silence before Rosemary squeezed my thigh, where she had left her hand, and said quietly, "Justin, I'm sorry I walked in on you when you weren't dressed. I'll ask before I open the door next time. Do you always sleep nude?"

I blushed. I knew what I was doing when I told her to come in, but I wasn't used to talking about things with my sister. "Yeah. I always do. Why?"

"I was just curious. I never do, but . . . "

I waited, and when she didn't continue, "But what?"

It was Rosemary's turn to blush. "Well . . . Sometimes . . . Sometimes, when no one is home I like to go nude around the house." I turned to look at her, surprised. "Don't say anything to Mom, or the girls!"

"Why would I want to do that?"

"I don't know. I don't even know why I told you, other than talking about walking in on you, I guess."

"Sleeping nude is one thing, but why do you want to walk around the house nude?"

"I don't know. It just feels good, and free, sort of. It's a rush."

"Aren't you afraid of getting seen?"

"I'm careful when I do it, like I only do it if I know Mom and Dad aren't going to be home, and you are at work or something. Once, I even went swimming."

I looked over at Rosemary amazed. Maybe this was part of the new bikini and going bra-less in the tight tee shirts and stuff. "Well, don't let me stop you."

She just laughed. "Yeah, right. I'll bet you'd like that wouldn't you? Maybe you would want to join me?" She laughed again at the look of consternation on my face.

My cock was growing again. I couldn't seem to keep it down, lately. And to think I was trying so hard to see in her room, hoping to see her naked and she is walking around the whole house nude.

"I never had the guts to try walking around the whole house naked. A lot of times I'm naked in my room, but with the door locked, just in case. I like to sleep naked, it just feels free, as you say, but that's with my door closed. Is that why you've started dressing like you have been lately? You know, the little shorts and the tee-shirt with no bra?"

She sat quietly for a moment. "No, not really. That was something else. You acted like you liked it, though?"

"Well, duh! I'm a guy! Even if you are my sister, you have a sexy body. What's not to like?"

"You think I have a sexy body?"

"Uh huh." 

"Justin, have you ever, well, how, I mean, have you ever seen a girl naked before? Besides porn, I mean?"

What was going on here? Where was this questioning going? "No. I never have. What's with the questions? Have you seen a guy?"

"I don't know. Just kind of curious I guess. You're the only one I've seen, and it wasn't nearly as big as it is now." She giggled. "Remember, I told you girls like to look, too." "I'd better text the girls, so they won't be surprised when we walk in."

I hadn't noticed, before now, but her hand had slid a little higher on my leg. What was going on here? I noticed because she gave my leg a squeeze just below the end of my cock before she let go to grab her phone.

I have no idea what she said on the text, but it went back and forth a few times, and Rosemary kept looking up at me with a little grin on her face. 

We pulled into the drive just a few minutes later, and I turned the car off and I opened my door. "Justin." I turned and looked at Rosemary. "Thanks for being such a wonderful brother. I love you."

"I don't know that I'm so wonderful, but thanks. What brought that about?"

"I appreciate the way you took care of me tonight. I don't know what I'd have done without you. And then there are the nice things you do for me, like my Koala. Do you know all the girls at school are jealous?"

"They are?"

"Umh hmm. I took pictures of him and took them to school. I'll bet I could hook you up with about anyone you wanted. Of course, Susie and Stephanie already think you are wonderful. Stephie was already crushing on you before she saw Mr. Koala." She laid a hand on my arm almost possessively. "She talks to it like it's real." A blush stole across her face. "I do, too," she half whispered. "I tell him things I can't tell other people, because I know he keeps secrets." A half smile split her lips. "I have him help me pick out my outfits, even. He is so real that, don't laugh at me, I don't even get dressed in front of him. I always turn the lights out!"

I just smiled at her. No way could I let on I knew she was shy about undressing in front of a stuffed animal. "You'll walk around the house nude, but you won't undress in front of a stuffed animal?

"I know it's silly! He just looks so real, I feel like someone is watching me all the time. You should have seen me the first morning when the alarm went off and I touched him trying to hit the snooze." She giggled. "I woke up enough for two mornings!"

"I'm glad you like him. I wanted to do something special for you for your 18th. I was afraid you would think it childish."

"Never! He's my confidant. I can tell him things I can't tell anyone, even Stephie and Susie. Anyway, I just wanted to say how much I appreciate you." She leaned across the car and gave me another hug. Those boobs brushing against my tee shirt weren't doing anything to deflate my cock. That was for sure!

We started up the walk to the front door and Rosemary uncharacteristically grabbed my hand and leaned into my shoulder. The door popped open just as we reached it. Obviously the girls were waiting for us. I didn't see anyone, though, although the reason why was obvious when we entered. Both girls were behind the door, where they would not be seen with it open because they were wearing their nightwear. I know my eyes went wide with surprise as both girls hugged Rosemary, obviously happy with us that our Grandmother Stevens was going to be OK. What really surprised me though was both girls turned and hugged me, also. Feeling two sets of unfettered breasts against me did nothing to deflate my still partially hard cock from Rosemary's breasts and talk. 

Seeing Stephanie's legs that went all the way up to those baby doll panties didn't help either! I know, I know, I had seen them when she was wearing a bikini, (which also turned me on) but there was just something different about seeing them going up to her PJ panties, knowing there was nothing else under there, was icing on the cake. 




Justin Thyme Ch. 02



Stephanie rubbed her breasts on me a bit as she pulled away and said, "We made some cocoa. Why don't you come in the kitchen and tell us about it?"

Susie piped up quickly, almost too quickly, and said, "Why don't you get ready for bed first. We'll make it a pajama party." From the look she gave Rosemary I knew it wasn't spontaneous. That had probably been part of the texting frenzy.

"I guess I'll just have to stay like this, then. I don't wear anything to bed."

"Ohhh, that would be OK!" said Stephie with a raised eyebrow. "I'd like that!" 

Rosemary quickly said, "Why don't you throw on some boxers like you did earlier tonight? That would work OK."

Now I knew this was planned. I wanted to look over the recording of the time we were gone to see what had transpired, but decided I'd see how this played out first. I could watch that later. First, though, I had to release some pressure. There was no way I was going to go back to the kitchen sporting a boner in my boxers. I knew I would be sporting one, before the time was over, and I knew the girls were counting on it, but I wasn't going to go down the stairs with one.

I hurried to my room, and locked the door behind me this time. Quickly I turned on my monitor just as Rosemary entered her room. Maybe, just maybe I'd get lucky this time. I watched intently as I dropped my trousers, freeing my hard cock. Rosemary first of all walked over to the Koala and stroked it a few times. "I'm so confused, Mr. Koala," she said as she unbuttoned her jeans and unzipped the fly. "I don't understand my feelings for Justin." She slipped her jeans down her legs, and then sat on the edge of the bed to pull them over her feet as I stared fixated on the screen.

"I think I'm in love with him." The impact of her words struck me like a blow to the chest. Wow! I never saw that coming! "I know it isn't right, that I shouldn't be in love with my own brother, but it's different. I can't help how I feel! Will you help me get him interested in Stephie? I think I could bear that, because she's my friend."

Rosemary stood, and true to form turned her back and slipped off her shirt and panties, before putting on my oversized tee-shirt that she slept in, over her head. She turned back and stroked the Koala again and giggled. "I don't know why I feel funny undressing in front of you, Mr. Koala. You just seem so real. I tell you everything, but I feel funny with you watching me." She bent over and hugged it, nestling the fur with her cheek. Her neckline gapped open, giving me a wonderful view down her cleavage all the way to her navel, but her nipples were covered. I groaned as cum shot from my cock. I hadn't even realized I'd been stroking. 

I pulled on some boxers and started to leave the room after cleaning up the mess I made, but then on a whim turned around and grabbed a clean tee shirt from my drawer and pulled it on. After all, the girls weren't topless. Maybe I could make something happen.

Rosemary was just descending the steps when I stepped out, and I noted the jiggle of her ass as she took each step. Both Stephanie and Susie were waiting for us at the bottom of the stairs, and I took a good look at their sleepwear as I slowly made my way down. Steph's baby dolls had a deep scoop neck and puffy sleeves with a frill at the end, where they were gathered with elastic. They only difference between the styling, and that of what a little girl would wear was the gathering just below the bust, from which it flared out widely, ending just below the junction of the legs. The baby doll panties were billowy, and designed to have legs like shorts, but Steph was wearing them with the legs pulled all the way up. They were gathered with elastic, and had a frill around them also. Like I said earlier, her bikini showed more, but knowing what they were, plus the frill around each thigh drew the eyes down there.

Susie's gown was as I had thought from seeing it in the monitor. It was satin, or something of the sort. I'm not a seamstress or tailor. Whatever it was, it molded itself around whatever surface it lay on. Susie's breasts were well defined, with the material sinking into her cleavage beautifully. As she moved, every jiggle of her breasts was accented by the accompanying jiggle of the fabric. I didn't know where I wanted to look the most, but I tried hard not to stare at any of the girls. 

It was when we went into the kitchen that I noticed Rosemary. She was wearing a different shirt than she had worn earlier. This one was an older shirt, and not quite as large, although it was still long. I remembered this one from several years ago. I had hardly worn it, because it was too long. I thought it felt like a dress rather than a shirt. It still looked somewhat like a short dress on Rosemary, coming to upper mid-thigh, but the interesting thing was how thin it was. I could see just a bit of darkness around the nipples, which made obvious bumps, although her nipples weren't particularly hard. I had to swallow hard and look away when I saw them. Stroking myself off for some relief before coming down was going to be short-lived if I kept looking at her!

Stephie took one look at me and started complaining right away. "What are you doing wearing a tee shirt? You don't sleep in one! Not fair!"

"Yeah, but you aren't topless, either."

"Right. It's not the same and you know it. I think we ought to take if off of him. What do you say, girls?"

"Works for me," Susie said. "Let's get him!"

I'm not all that big, and there were three of them! Well, to be honest, I really didn't struggle all that much. There was a good bit of grabbing and rubbing and pushing all around, and a good time was had by all. Anyway, I ended up shirtless, and almost boxerless, but I did put up a struggle for those. At one time or another I "accidentally" felt up all three girl's breasts; and I can assure you Steph's legs go all the way up. The horseplay lasted a lot longer than it needed, but the girls really didn't try much harder to get it off than I tried to keep it on. I know my cock was fondled more than three times, so I assume they each had a shot at it. 

I was better than half hard when we finally sat down at the table, all of us breathing hard, but then I was also looking at three sets of nipples that appeared at least somewhat excited, based on the protrusions they made in the nightwear. Susie served up the cocoa, made with milk and real cocoa instead of that instant mix stuff. That instant stuff may be OK to keep one alive if stranded with nothing else in a snow storm, but we don't get many of those down her in southern Arizona! The top of each mug was smothered with four melted marshmallows, and was steaming. Somehow, she managed to brush my shoulder with one of her boobs as she set my mug down on the table, and then gave me a cheeky smile as she stepped back. I noticed Steph kind of gave her a dirty look in return.

I picked up my cup and took a healthy sip, and sputtered in surprise. When I looked up all three girls giggled at me. "I told her to put in a little Bailey's", sniggered Rosemary. "I kind of felt like having a party. Not a 'party' kind of party, but after tonight I just wanted to let off a little steam. We aren't going anyplace, and we won't hurt anything. One little drink won't make us drunk." I just nodded, tentatively, although mine didn't taste like a "little" drink. It was pretty stiff.

I didn't have much to add to the conversation as we drank our cocoa as it was mostly chick stuff, but I can't say enough about the scenery. I felt a foot sliding up my calf, and jumped a little, which brought a giggle from Stephie. Rosemary looked at her questioningly, but only got a sly grin in response. The foot caressed my calf again, and not being surprised, I didn't react. It took Rosemary and Susie only moments though to figure out what was happening, and before I knew it I had three feet vying for my attention, sliding up and down my legs. 

Rosemary was across from me, and she had the angle that allowed her to slide her foot up higher and between my knees, and on up to press on my boxers. She gave me a knowing smile as she slipped her big toe under the hem and up toward the hinge of my thigh. Fortunately, she was on the left leg, or she would have run into the head of my cock on the right leg. I know she bumped it a couple of times, though, although I'm not really sure she noticed from her lack of reaction. 

The girls started getting rather giggly, and started laughing at the slightest thing. I started paying a little closer attention, as some of the subjects started getting a little more ribald. It wasn't as if the girls forgot I was there, but more that there wasn't any difference. They weren't drunk, not by any means, but it seemed their inhibitions were significantly lower. 

Susie is the one who really got things going. "Say, did you hear about Deb Jenson, and her boob job?"

That had them giggling again. Neither of the others had. Susie responded, "Yeah, she did it over Spring Break, and went up two cup sizes."

Stephie said, "What's she going to do, carry them in a wheelbarrow?" which had us all laughing hysterically. Deb Jenson was not underendowed to start with. Going up two sizes was going to make her look huge.

"What do you think about it, Justin?" All three girls were looking at me with anticipation to see what I had to say. I was embarrassed at the attention, but they wouldn't let up. 

"I think it is silly. I don't think they look right, and they are unbalanced. Besides, I don't think bigger is always better."

"What do you think about ours? Are we big enough?" Now I knew the alcohol was affecting them for certain. 

I hesitated, but with all of them looking at me, awaiting my response I had to say something. How was I to answer without getting myself in too deep? "I think they are just fine," finally was my reply.

Stephie looked downward with a sad look on her face. "I knew it. Mine are small, I know."

"I didn't say that! I said I think they are just fine."

"Yes, but you hesitated, and I know what 'fine' means when a guy says it." She covered her breasts with her hands. "I know I'm not big like Rosemary or Susie, or about anyone else. It's OK."

I think the alcohol must have been getting to me, too, because I said, "Steph, you are not too small! I love your boobs." My face was inflamed, but I couldn't stop myself. "I've had the hardest time not staring at them all night, and earlier, when you were wearing your bikini, especially when the AC made your nipples poke. I thought you would think I'm the biggest perv around, the way I was looking at you. All three of you have had me in testosterone heaven all night, and I haven't even seen them!" I stopped nonplussed, not believing what I had said. I meant what I said; it's not that, it is just that I said it!

"Thanks."

"Stephie, how big are you?" asked Susie.

"34 B"

"That's not bad at all," piped in Rosemary. "Ellie Campbell is only an A."

"I think it's about time to go to bed before we do something we would be sorry about later," said Stephanie. "I'm not sure that Bailey's was such a good idea."

"Don't feel badly, Steph. It was all good fun, and it all stays here, right guys?" said Rosemary. "It is 2:20, and Justin and I have to get going to see Grandma in the morning."

I didn't want to stand right then, because of the erection tenting my boxers. Even with the relief from earlier, two plus hours of constant stimulation had me so hard I hurt and was leaking a big wet spot on the front of my boxers.

Stephie stopped at my chair though, and I wasn't going to be able to remain seated. "Don't I get a good-night hug, Justin?" I slowly stood, and she looked at my crotch and giggled. "I guess maybe I'm not too small, after all, hmm?" I tried to hug her from the side, but she stepped right into my arms and hugged me straight on, and even rubbed herself against my cock once or twice. "I'll blame the alcohol for that." She giggled and let me go with a little kiss on the cheek. 

Susie stepped over for a hug as well. Her nipples were showing nicely through her satin gown, and the light shimmered off of her breasts as they moved. I swallowed hard as she stepped in and hugged me tight. "Goodnight, Justin. Think of me when you rub one out tonight," she whispered in my ear. Leaning back a little she said, "I hope you like mine a little bit, too."

Rosemary stepped in for a hug as well, and crushed her breasts into my chest. She seemed almost jealous in her actions, but I played it off as nothing. She gave me a little peck on the lips and half whispered, "I love you, Justin. Good night." With that they all turned and headed up the steps. I flipped off the lights and followed, and again, I swear there was a little extra wiggle in Rosemary's ass as she ascended the steps.

As soon as I could get my door closed and locked I hurried over to my computer and turned on the monitor. "sure my boobs are big enough?" Stephanie was in mid-sentence. She cupped her breasts in her hands thoughtfully. 

"Stephie, girl," said Susie, "the least of your worries is your tits. Didn't you notice I hardly could catch Justin's eyes all night?" That wasn't quite true, but it is true Steph got more than her share of my attention, along with Rosemary. Steph wasn't even wearing an outfit that showed off her breasts as much as the others were.

Steph turned to the Koala. "Mr. Koala, do you think my breasts are big enough for Justin?" She cupped them in her hands, stretching the fabric over them enticingly, and thumbing her nipples. I groaned, glad they couldn't hear me. For a moment she grasped the hem of her top, looking at the Koala with her lower lip between her teeth. I thought she was going to pull it off, but then she let it drop with "I don't know what is wrong with me, asking a stuffed animal what it thinks." She brushed her hands back down across her boobs once more before turning back toward the bed.

Susie turned to Rosemary, who seemed almost cross for some reason. "Hey, Rosie, do you think maybe we could sneak into Justin's room again tonight?"

"I don't think so. I don't think we could stay quiet enough tonight. Besides, I have to get up before long if I'm going to get a shower before going to see Grandma Stevens. I think we'd better leave well enough alone for tonight. Maybe we can do something again soon. I'll try to see if Mom and Dad are both going out of town the same weekend again." She turned toward the Koala, and cupped her own breasts in her hands. "Justin didn't say anything about me, tonight, Mr. Koala." Her nipples responded to her stroking and stood out; highlighting the faint brown outline I was straining to see through the fabric. "I wore this shirt on purpose, too. I didn't want it to be see-through, but I thought it would be something he would like." 

Susie stepped up beside her and slipped an arm around her waist. "Honey, you should have seen his eyes when you first came down. I thought I was going to have to pick them up and hand them back to him. He almost drooled."

Rosemary visibly brightened. How insecure these girls are! If you don't compliment them frequently they lose all sense of value and beauty. Susie was not as bad as the others, but that was probably because she was such a tease. I wondered how it would be when she finally found a guy she was really interested in. Right now, she was interested in us all, but more as toys than anything. That didn't stop me from admiring her boobs as they showed on my screen.

Rosemary circled her nipples a few times with a finger-tip, and then plucked at the nipple a time or two before turning and saying, "If I don't stop that, I'm going to have to finish it off. I'm so horny now I don't know how I'll sleep." Turning to the bed she crawled onto it by putting up a knee and then getting on her hands and knees to crawl to the center. Her shirt came up almost high enough, but not quite. Close, oh so close, but not enough. It seemed to be the story of my life. Their light went out, and all I could see was a little movement in the king-sized bed as they got comfortable.

As I stroked one out it wasn't Susie I thought of, no matter her request, but rather Stephanie, and then just before the final explosion it was Rosemary's eyes as she looked into Mr. Koala's eyes and fingered her nipples. Oh well, tomorrow is another day . . .



Justin Thyme Ch. 03



This is part three of a multi-part story. If you have not read the first two parts I recommend you do so, in order to follow along with the plot and characters. If you are looking for a lot of gratuitous sex please go elsewhere. It will not be found in this section. Again, I placed it in "First Time" because I feel it is the best placement for the story as a whole. This section has a lot of Exhibition and Voyeur, along with a strong Incest theme. As always, I appreciate your comments on my work. I hope you enjoy! 

*

Sunday morning started off on a rather subdued note. There was no opportunity for any hi-jinks before Rosemary and I left for the hospital. I didn't even get an opportunity to watch anything of interest as the girls go dressed, as they took their clothes into the bathroom and dressed after they showered. 

I really wasn't all that disappointed, as my Grandmother was weighing rather heavily on my mind. Our family has been blessed in that Rosemary and I have not been faced with serious illness or death among any of our close family, and the concept was rather foreign to us. To have our Grandmother in the hospital was a major thing; even though we had been assure she would be OK. I couldn't even remember anyone ever being in the hospital. I was in the ER once, when I broke my collar bone, but that is all I can remember.

I know it was really bothering Rosemary, too, because she hardly talked at all. Her clothes were the most conservative I've seen her wear in quite a while, also. She has never been one to dress in a slutty fashion, well, except for lately when Mom and Dad aren't home. Today, however, was radically different than normal. She looked nice, don't get me wrong. I think she would look nice wearing a burlap bag, but that's not what I'm talking about. She wasn't dowdy, just very demure.

I guess I wasn't a whole lot different, in that I wore a pair of Khaki's and a polo shirt with dress shoes. For me, it was almost formal.

Susie and Stephanie both gave me a big hug when they left for home, just before Rosemary and I took off for the hospital. We had just gotten into my Mini and I started the engine, when Dad pulled into the drive. I was surprised to see him, and jumped out of the car to see what was wrong, but Rosemary beat me to it. 

"Hi, Daddy. What's wrong?"

"Wrong? Nothing. Can't a man come home?" he asked with a grin. 

"You know! How's Grandma?" Rosemary gave him a big hug, and he reached an arm out and pulled me into the embrace as well. We tend to be a huggy family.

"Oh, her. Is that why you two are dressed for a funeral? She's doing fine. No sign of any permanent damage, and they think it was from the blood clot, so there is no sign of any disease, but they'll be checking some more before she goes home."

"Why are you home, then?"

"I have to fly to St. Louis this afternoon. Did you forget? I've got to clean up a bit and grab my stuff. I'm also going to take some things to your mother. She plans to stay with Mom tonight, so Grandpa can go home and get some rest. Can you two 'adults' make it on your own for one more night?"

"Sure," I said. Do you want us to take Mom's stuff to her?"

"No, I want to stop back by on the way to the airport. Why don't you two head on over there? Your grandmother was asking for you. No, don't worry!" he said at the look on my face. "She just knows you are worried and wants to see you. Scoot on over, but don't stay long, please. She is fine, but being in the hospital is tiring enough, and talking with people is wearing. Forty-five minutes at the most, but leave after thirty if you see she is tired. OK?"

"Will do, Daddy. When will you be home from St. Louis?"

"Not until Friday, this time. I'm sorry."

"Me, too. I miss you." Rosemary turned and walked back around my car.

I shook Dad's hand and gave him a hug before climbing back into the car myself. He is a man I really admire. Although he has to travel a lot for business he is not stinting of his time with us when he is home. Neither does he try to buy our affection with gifts like some of my friends parents do. Sure, he gives us nice things, like our cars, but they have practical purpose behind them as well. 

I know he and Mom put a lot of thought into what cars to get us, and they picked ones that went along with our personality and that we would enjoy. I loved my Mini, but there was no way I was riding in that little Bug. Nothing wrong with the Bug, but it just wasn't me. 

I was going to have to pay attention to the way he did things if I was to be half the man he is.

Rosemary and I drove on over to the hospital. Neither of us had any idea what to expect, and we both were trying to prepare ourselves for whatever we found. About half way there Rosemary's hand found mine, and held it tightly until we pulled into the parking lot. It made for some difficulty shifting gears, but we made it, and truth be told, I kind of liked it myself.

A few times a tear trickled down Rosemary's cheek, and she sniffled a few times, but other than that things were pretty much under control, just subdued. When we got out of the car, but before going across the drive to the sidewalk, Rosemary buried her face on my shoulder and sobbed once. "Justin, what if she isn't really all right? She isn't going to die, is she?"

I put an arm about her shoulders and pulled her to me gently. "No, honey, she is going to be fine. Dad wouldn't have left if there was any problem, you know that."

"I know. I'm just a big baby, but I'm scared."

"Hey, there. You'll be OK. It's just the 'not knowing' that has you scared. Once we get up there, you'll see." I pulled gently on her shoulder guiding her toward the crosswalk. Once again, her hand found mine and grasped it tightly, as if to be certain I wasn't taken away from her.

We crossed the street and made our way in the entrance and up the elevator to the fourth floor and down to room 422, where Dad had told us to go. Grandma greeted us with a great big smile when we walked in the door. Her hospital bed was raised at the head, so that she was nearly sitting. To say I was relieved is totally understated. She didn't look sick. Sure, she had an IV in her arm, but that is standard practice.

"So how are my favorite grandchildren doing? You didn't get all dressed up for me, did you? I'm not dead yet. Don't you know only the good die young?" If that was the case she had outlived her time by quite a lot. Grandma Stevens was one of the kindest, gentlest people you will ever meet. Being 'good' was just a part of her DNA. Mom inherited a lot of it fortunately.

We walked in quietly and each gave her a hug and told her we love her. She, as was her custom, kissed us on the cheek and told us she loves us too. We also gave Mom a hug and a hello. Grandpa had gone home to get a little rest. I guess he had remained awake most of the night, starting at every little thing, no matter how well he had told us Grandma was doing. They are fun to watch together, being so in love they still hold hands when out and about. I hope I find someone I can last with for over forty years, and still want to hold hands. Of course, Grandpa says it is to keep her from running away, and Grandma says it is to keep him from chasing the girls.

We were uncertain as to what to do, so we sat, ill at ease talking with Grandma and Mom until Grandma finally put our minds to rest. We had been there for about thirty minutes or so when Dad came back with a small bag for Mom. Grandma seemed rather quiet and still for a few minutes, and Dad just looked over at us and nodded at Grandma. We took that as our cue to call it a day and go home. We each gave her a hug and kiss and promised to look in on her and left. 

Dad walked out to the hallway with us. "See? I told you she was OK. She just needs to rest and recover a bit, but will probably go home in the next day or two. Your Mom may need to spend a little extra time over there for a few days, so do what you can to help out at the house, OK? Don't leave dishes or laundry for her to do."

He reached an arm around each of us and pulled us close. "I'm glad I can count on you to behave and keep up with things. I love you kids. See you Friday, OK?"

"Sure, Dad. We'll take care of things. You don't have to worry," Rosemary assured him. I just nodded.

"All right. You kids get on out of here then. Drop in tomorrow after school if you want. Again, keep it short. If she has visitors and look tired, just say your 'Hi's' and claim you have to do homework or something. The biggest thing she needs is rest." He gave us another squeeze, then turned and walked back into Grandma's room.

Rosemary was pensive on the walk back to the car. When we got to the Mini she sat down in her seat and grabbed my hand. Laying her head on my shoulder she let out a big sigh. "That was really hard. I don't like to see Grandma sick like that, but I'm glad she's going to be OK. I'm so relieved I don't know what to do."

I just nodded and started the car for the drive back home. Again, Rosemary held my hand the whole way home. I don't know if she was just needing reassurance, or why she held it, but once again, I liked it. Once we arrived at home Rosemary said, "I've got to get out of these clothes! I feel like I'm wearing mourning rags or something," and she shivered. Something seemed on her mind as she went directly to her room. I wasn't far behind in going to get changed myself, but first thing when I went in my room and closed the door I turned on my monitor, for the feed from the Koala. 

At first, Rosemary sat on the edge of her bed and kicked off her shoes; then again looking pensive she slowly unbuttoned her shirt, showing the camisole she was wearing under it. She was deeply lost in thought as she undid each button, and I noted tears slowly trickling down her cheeks. "Mr. Koala, I was so scared. I thought I was going to lose my Grandma." She sniffed a time or two and reached over for a couple of tissues to pat her eyes dry. Girls are so funny. Even at times like this, and when they are at home changing down, they have to be so careful not to smudge the make-up they are going to take off in just a few minutes.

Rosemary reached over and stroked the Koala as she continued to sit and think. "I don't know what I would have done without Justin. I'm glad he was strong and able to help me. It's funny, Mr. Koala, but him giving me you is when I noticed how special he is. We just kind of went our own ways before, but now it's different." She pulled her shirt, untucking it from her waist as she said, "I need to find something special to do for him. Something to show him how special he is and what he means to me." Meantime, she stood and unzipped her slacks and slowly slid them down her legs. "What can I do?"

I had dropped my pants and underwear right away, and was working one-handed on pulling my shirt over my head, being careful to not lose sight of the monitor any more than absolutely necessary, and holding my turgid cock in my other hand. Was I at last going to see what I have been waiting for so impatiently since our birthdays?

Rosemary stepped out of her pants, and turning laid them on her bed carefully before slipping a hanger under the legs to hang it up. She walked slowly, thinking, over to her closet, wearing only her bikini underwear and camisole top. The more I saw of her, the more beautiful she became to me. On the one hand I was ashamed of myself for spying like this, but on the other I couldn't tear myself away. She hung the pants on the rail and turned, facing directly toward the Koala and grasped the bottom of her camisole and started lifting. 

My breath hung in my throat. At last! She was still deep in thought as she was lifting the hem up to her boobs, and the trailing material rose along behind her hands up to the bottom swell of her breasts when she stopped and slowly lowered it back down. If I didn't know better I would think she knew about the camera, and was just playing with my mind, but her thoughtfulness as she lowered the camisole back down belied any knowledge of the Koala's double duty. 

"No, that won't work," she muttered as she moved slowly back across the room to sit on her bed before the Koala once again. "Mr. Koala, what can I do for Justin?" She gathered the hem of the camisole between her fingers and slowly rolled it up and down as she thought. Her tugging on the cloth pulled it tighter across her nipples, and then as she loosened it, it would pop back up, causing them to bounce gently, but delightfully. I could see the shadow of her areolas when it pulled tight, which made my cock leak a droplet of pre-cum.

She was wearing a light pink pair of bikini hi-cut panties, through which I could make out just a shadow of pubic hair, but not enough to tell how trimmed it was. I knew it was trimmed, because of the bikini she was wearing the other day, but I didn't know if it was just a landing strip or full, but trimmed. I thought I was going to wear out the monitor, staring holes in it trying to make things out. 

A knee bent, and her foot appeared to rest on the edge of the night table in front of the Koala as she lay back on the bed, still pulling and releasing the camisole. Her thigh effectively hid her pussy shadow from view, but the smooth skin of her thigh was highlighted, backed up by those lovely breasts being pulled and loosed behind it.

Suddenly, she sat up. 

"I don't know what I'm going to do, yet, Mr. Koala, but I'll find some way." She rose from the bed and opened her chest of drawers and pulled out her little tee-shirt and old volleyball short and laid them on the bed. Then facing the bed she pulled the camisole over her head and tossed it aside, then slipped her panties down her legs and kicked them off. She picked up the shorts and slipped them on, pulling a bit because they were so tight, then pulled the tee-shirt over her head. Bending over she picked up her panties and tossed them into her hamper. When she bent over I could almost swear I could see the outline of her pussy in her shorts. They were that tight! Then she picked up her camisole and put it in the proper drawer.

Rosemary turned back to the Koala and smoothed the shirt over her breasts a couple of times, and then plucked at the nipples to make them protrude a little bit. "Well, what do you think, Mr. Koala? Justin seems to like it when I wear this. What do you think?" as she pulled her nipples one more time. She cupped her breasts in her hands and turned and walked out the door. A moment later I heard a knock on my door. "Justin? I'm going to throw a frozen pizza in the oven for lunch. Do you want to come down to eat?"

"Sure. I'll be down in just a few." Now what to do. I desperately needed relief, but knowing what she was wearing I know she is going to be looking for a reaction. If I jerk off now will I stay soft later? In some ways, as badly as I want to see her naked, the anticipation and the way she is stopping just short is driving me wild, even more than it would if she walked around naked. Unconsciously I had been holding back, waiting to see her before I allowed myself to cum, but it didn't take much and I was spurting into some tissues. I thought I was going to black out for a moment. This was getting intense!

I threw on a pair of shorts, but decided to forego underwear, and didn't bother to put on a shirt. I decided I would take my cues from her state of dress. She obviously was wanting something, what she did not know, nor did I, so I decided to just bide my time and see where things were going. I for sure was going to enjoy the scenery while she was deciding. It really ought to be against the law for sisters to be good looking and have great bodies if brothers aren't supposed to look.

I waited about fifteen minutes, and then made my way down to the kitchen, prepared to be "surprised" by her state of dress. At the last second I threw on a tank top. No point in pushing the envelope to hard and fast. My shorts were snug, but loose enough my cock would not be uncomfortable when hard.

When I rounded the corner into the kitchen I stopped in my tracks and looked at Rosemary with raised eyebrows. "Mom and Dad aren't home again, and I guess you feel relieved and a little frisky, hmm?" 

Rosemary blushed only slightly, and glanced down at herself. "Yes, I guess you could say that. I just wanted to feel free and relieved. Besides, you seem to like this OK. To be honest, though, if you weren't here today I'd probably go naked." She did blush this time!

"Well, don't let me stop you," I said with a chuckle. 

"Yeah, right. Care to join me?"

That kind of threw the ball back into my court. As badly as I wanted to see her naked would I be willing to go along? Why not? She's already seen me on more than one occasion, twice when I knew about it and went along, but that was different. It was passive, or at least somewhat passive. This would be as an active participant. Could I do it? Would she?

"Maybe I will. What do you say? You first."

Rosemary turned a deep shade of scarlet. "I don't know that I can do that. Nobody has ever seen me naked before, at least no guys."

"You've seen me, but nobody else, to my knowledge." I was fudging on that, but she wasn't supposed to know I knew. Anyway, so much for being patient and not pushing. 

She looked down at her feet. "That wasn't on purpose, though. This is different."

"OK, your call." I went to the fridge and pulled out a couple of sodas and put them on the table, then grabbed some paper plates. No point in having to wash them if we were going to have to take care of dishes. I kept watch on Rosemary out of the corner of my eye. I knew she was wanting to do something "for" me, but didn't really know what. I was leaving this idea on the table.

As I was putting the plates onto the table Rosemary stepped behind me and wrapped both arms around my chest and gave me a hug. "I just wanted to say thank you, so much, for taking care of me last night, and this morning. I don't know what I would have done if you weren't there for me." Her breasts pressed against my back were divine. I didn't have to worry about whether I would be too soft or not!

I just nodded, not anxious to break this contact. "That's what I'm here for. Big brothers take care of their little sisters." I was a whole fifteen minutes older. I could feel her pressing her pelvis against my ass also. I wasn't sure where this was going, or how we were going to deal with it in the future, but for the moment it felt mighty fine!

Unfortunately, right then is when the timer decided to go off, and Rosemary let go to get the pizza. She slid it onto the table, and I cut it before sitting down. This time, Rosemary sat across from me, in Mom's seat, rather than beside me, where she normally sat. I'm not complaining, because that put her luscious breasts right in my line of sight, and I didn't have to try to sneak peeks. From the flush on Rosemary's cheeks I know it was intentional, but I didn't let on. 

Suddenly, just before we dove into the pizza she jumped up. "Don't pour the soda yet. She hurried over to the cooler and pulled out a nice bottle of Chianti. "This would be better with real pizza, but it will at least make this one better than it is by itself." She grabbed a couple of wine glasses and poured a healthy serving in each. She lifted her glass and said, "Here's to Grandma's good health, and to my 'BIG' brother who takes such good care of me." We touched glasses and took a sip before digging into the pizza. 

I've never had pizza with better scenery! I tried hard not to stare, but Rosemary's breasts bobbing and weaving as she ate her pizza and drank her wine kept catching my eye. I looked into her eyes as I talked with her as much as possible, and I think she was enjoying the effect she had on me. I kept catching a little smile in the corner of her eyes when she would catch my eyes wandering. 




Justin Thyme Ch. 03



Rosemary finished off her glass before I had half-finished mine. She poured herself another and topped mine off before taking a healthy sip from hers. Leaning back in her chair she stretched with a light groan. "I can't believe how uptight I was. I'm just now starting to relax and unwind. Thank you again for being there." Seeing her stretch was not designed to relax me! I know my eyes bugged out a little, try as I might to seem indifferent. Again, that little smile in the corner of her eyes.

"Don't mention it. That's what brothers are for. You were here for me as well."

"Oh, but you had everything under control, not like me."

"Not really. I just had to pretend to, to help you through,"

"Anyway, I think you are wonderful." She reached across the table to capture my hand in hers, and gave it a little squeeze. Then she looked into my eyes and smiled, and inside of me, something melted. 

We sat there for a while, just talking with my hand in hers, and the wonderful view before my eyes. Nothing important, it was just friendly little chatting. It felt almost like a date, but it was my sister! I wished I had had a date that felt this free and relaxed. Rosemary's foot found mine, and started sliding across it and up the ankle, then back. It was nice, almost like we were getting acquainted again, with nothing in the world going on to disturb us.

When we finished off the second glass of wine, Rosemary said, "I don't have any homework left. Do you?"

"No. I finished mine at school. It feels funny to have it all done, and not have to work either. I'm not used to having this much time free. Of course, I have equipment in my room to work on, but nothing pressing at all."

Rosemary looked down, suddenly pensive. She looked back up at me and said, "I feel like getting naked and enjoying the freedom, but I don't want to do it alone. Would you join me?"

I looked back at her thoughtfully. "Are you really serious?" She nodded. "Are you sure it's wise?"

"Probably not, but like I told you yesterday, I just feel so free when I'm naked, and right now I feel all wrapped up inside. I'm not talking about touching or doing anything, just feeling free. You can look. I don't care." She stepped over and laid a hand on my forearm, looking up into my eyes. "It may never happen again, together, that is, but I would like it today."

"Are you really sure? Once the genie is out of the bottle we can never put it back in. There is no undoing it."

"I know." Her hand stole to the bottom of her shirt as she looked for the OK from me. What else was I to do? After all, I've been trying to see her naked for several days now, but this was different. Slowly, I nodded, and with a soft smile, Rosemary slowly raised her shirt, her eyes never leaving mine. "I guess I have to go first. After all, I did walk in on you."

My mouth was suddenly as dry as the Sahara! I couldn't take my eyes off the hem of her shirt as it rose. This was supposed to be just about getting naked for the feeling of freedom, but that didn't stop her from making a production out of it. She knew all too well what her body does to me. At the bottom of her boobs, with the swells of each breast just starting to show she stopped. "Do you want me to go on, or should I stop?" I just licked my lips and nodded as my hands found the snap on my shorts.

More quickly then, Rosemary peeled the shirt up and off, revealing what I've been dreaming of for a long time now. Her piercing green eyes still were boring into mine, but mine could be nowhere else but looking at the wonderful view I had in front of me. "Rosemary, they are beautiful." Unconsciously, my hands flexed as if I was caressing them. "Please wake me up if I'm dreaming. I've never seen anything so beautiful in my life."

Tears welled in her eyes. "I was afraid you wouldn't think they were good enough, or something. I never thought they were all that nice." 

What is wrong with girls? Why do they constantly doubt themselves? If they had been not so nice I still would have loved them, I mean boobs are boobs, and when you've had such a dearth of them as I any would have looked good. However, Rosemary's weren't just good, or nice, or pretty. They were spectacular! The way they stood out from her chest, with the nipples poking straight out at me, and nice brown areolas about the size of an old fifty cent piece, what was there not to like?

Even though the tee shirt she was wearing was fairly snug on top, it didn't begin to show the way her belly curved in at her waist, before flaring out again at the hips. I have fairly large hands, and I really think I could almost reach around her waist with my two hands. I was flummoxed! "If the guys at school had any idea . . . ."

Rosemary's smile would have been bright enough to light the room without the sun. She stepped into me and put her arms around me and squeezed. "Thank you Justin," she whispered. "I've got the most wonderful brother in the world! You are always making me feel good, and taking care of me. I really love you."

The feeling of her skin on my skin was electrifying. I had no idea how wonderful it could be. Well, I had ideas, but I really had no concept. I could have held her to me for a lot longer, but with a giggle she stepped back. "I really don't think you are going to be little like you were the other night when I saw you, 'BIG' brother!"

I had been hard to one extent or another since before we started eating, but when she drew attention to it I felt a little embarrassment, and started to cover myself. "No, don't be bashful. I like it, and besides, I'm going to see it for real in just a couple of minutes." She leaned in and gave me a little peck on the lips, and stepped back. "Ready for the rest?" All I could do was nod as she wiggled her hips back and forth as she worked those skin tight shorts over her hips.

I had wondered how much she had trimmed her pubic hair, and I found out quickly as she pushed the shorts on down her legs, exposing her pussy to me for the very first time it had ever been seen by a male. Again, I was awestruck! Her pussy hair was red-gold, just like her head, but it had been trimmed into a landing pad, but she had trimmed out a small section, making the landing pad into an exclamation point with just a little tuft of hair right at the very top of her slit. My mouth was watering as I took it all in. She turned slowly, letting me see her ass as well, and I was spell-bound. "Rosemary, how did you get so beautiful? You are a vision."

I saw her lick her lips as she looked at the bulge in my shorts, and I knew it was my turn. Even though I knew she had been sneaking into my room when I was asleep, and had even stroked me off, and I had knowingly allowed her to take Susie and Stephanie into my room when I was "asleep", and that I had knowingly invited her into my room when she thought I was dressed, the very act of purposefully undressing before my sister was overwhelming. 

I popped the snap on my shorts and slowly unzipped, but hesitated before slipping them down my legs. I did it, and my cock popped out and stood out from my body at a forty-five degree angle, and bobbed up and down. Rosemary licked her lips and smiled. "I like it, 'big brother.'

Once again, she stepped up to me and embraced me, with my cock up against her belly, leaving a trail behind as he went, and again I felt the wonderful feeling of her skin against mine. She pressed tightly against me, and I could feel her pussy hairs tickling my balls. She laid her head on my shoulder and shuddered a time or two, and I felt a wet trail trickling down onto my chest.

"What's wrong, Rosemary? Are you sorry?"

She shook her head, "no" and just stood there, holding me tightly and the tears continued to flow. I held her and stroked her back, being careful where I put my hands. I didn't need to mess this up. She obviously needed solace, not molestation. No matter where I touched, though, the skin was soft and pliant, begging to be caressed and appreciated.

After several minutes she sniffled a couple of times and raised her head. Her tear streaked face was still beautiful to me as she gave a deep sigh and stepped back. Holding to my hand she stepped over to the counter and grabbed two towels, and then tugged me toward the family room, where she laid the towels out on the couch and pulled me down there with her. When we were seated she nestled herself into my arm and again laid her head on my shoulder, with those wonderful breasts snuggled delightful against my ribs. 

"Thank you, Justin. I needed that. I've just been wound up tight as a watch, and confused for a while now, but when Grandma got sick it brought it all to a head. I needed a release, and I didn't know any other way to get it." She tickled my sparse chest hairs with her fingers and continued. "I've been so jealous of Susie and Stephanie for weeks now. I was afraid they were going to get to be with you first, and I couldn't stand it. I didn't tell you the truth the other day when I told you about walking around the house nude. Yes, I made sure no one was home, but in my mind you were here with me, and you were nice to me. My dreams didn't begin to match what I feel right now. I love you, Justin."

I gave her a little squeeze. "I know. I love you, too, Rosemary."

"I know you do, but I love, love you. I don't know why, and I know it can't come to anything, which is why I hope you will get together with Steph. She will be good for you, and she's my friend. I can't have you, but I can have second best."

I leaned my head down and kissed the top of her head. "Little one, I'll always love you." I hadn't called her little one since we were really young, but it seemed appropriate somehow. "I always want you close, and I'll never do anything to hurt you, I promise."

"I know. That's one reason I'm looking forward to college." She looked up at me and smiled. "We will have our own house, and I can pretend it is 'ours.' Even if Stephie and Susie room with us. They want to. Would you have a problem with that?"

"We couldn't do this."

"Oh, well forget that, then!" and she laughed. "For now, though, would you just hold me?"



Justin Thyme Ch. 04



This is Part 4 of a multi-part story. If you have not read the previous three sections I suggest you do so, in order to follow along with the plot and not be confused by what is happening. As always, comments are welcomed, and appreciated. Enjoy! 

*

Rosemary leaned in and lightly hugged me and placed a light kiss on my cheek. Her breasts felt so soft and warm against the side of my chest, and although I never believed it when guys said they felt a girl's nipples, I really did! They weren't "poking holes in my skin", or "threatening to bruise me", or "hard as bullets pressing into my flesh", but they did feel nice. Very, very nice. My hands slowly stroked the soft skin on her back, caressing her gently. Not in a sexual manner, although one would think under the circumstances it would be, but that of one who loves the one he is with and is expressing his love and admiration. 

Rosemary's soft red-gold hair was splayed across my upper chest and shoulder, leaving a tender silky softness that one would think would tickle, but instead I found comforting and wonderful. I don't mean to sound superfluous in my description, but I have no other words to describe the feeling I had in my heart at the moment. Everything just seemed to come together between the two of us at one moment. How does one describe such a tender, intimate moment one would normally find sexual, that wasn't really sexual? Spiritual? That sounds sacrilegious, and I don't intend to be, but it was on that level. 

To be sure, my cock was as hard as it has ever been, and was aching for release, but that is not what this was about. Both of us knew that was going too far, and as much as we were attracted to each other physically, the feelings we had for each other far transcended sex.

Rosemary murmured into my ear, "I don't know why I ever allowed us to grow apart, like we have the last several years. We used to be so close when we were younger."

"It wasn't just you. We both kind of drifted because of other interests."

"I'm glad we are together now. It's a shame it took Grandma getting sick to bring it about. This is just so comfortable. I like the way you hold me."

I turned my head and nuzzled my nose in her hair luxuriating in its softness. I loved the way hers was so full and rich, unlike my straight and rather thin blah brown hair. Lustrous, I think is the word I was looking for. See? There goes that superfluity again!

The phone ringing interrupted our snuggle, and broke the mood. Did I ever mention I hate the telephone? I quickly disentangled myself, feeling the sudden chill where the warmth of her body had been and grabbed the phone. 

"Justin! Is everything OK? I've been trying to call you and Rosemary for quite a while, now, and all I got was voicemail!"

"Yeah, sure Mom. Everything is fine. I must have laid my phone down on my work bench. I don't know where Rosemary's is. We're both down here in the family room talking about Grandma and stuff."

"OK, good. You gave me a fright there for a moment. You two never are without your phones! I just called to let you know Grandma is doing fine. The Dr. was just in, and he wants to discharge her tomorrow morning. I'll be staying tonight and letting Grandpa get some rest, and then I'll go over there with them when the hospital releases her. I'll need one of you to stop by their house and pick me up after school. Dad took the car to the airport."

"OK. That will be no problem. We'll both drive and I'll have Rosemary stop by for you. I have to go to work tomorrow anyway."

"Good. I'll let you go then. Grandma said to send her love."

"Cool. Give her a hug for the two of us as well. Love ya, Mom. Sorry we scared you." 

When I turned after hanging up the phone Rosemary was giggling at me. "Did you know you cock bounces up and down when you run? I think it's cute!" With arms over her head, and her back arched Rosemary stretched, with her breasts pushed upward and her abdomen taut, her pussy was thrust forward. It was a beautiful sight my cock could not fail to appreciate. 

"Do you have any idea how beautiful you are?"

Rosemary fell back onto the couch, arms akimbo, making no effort to hide herself, but leaving her body fully open to my gaze. My eyes gazed in wonder from her hair splayed out around her head, and her green eyes looking trustingly at me, to her slightly parted red lips over white teeth and her smooth soft neck reaching down to her shoulders. Her breasts formed small mounds on her chest, and hardly flattened at all, with their nipples partially hardened sticking up. Her belly was smooth and soft with the navel accenting the smoothness of her skin by its very presence. It tapered down to a tiny waist, then her hips flared out enticingly, with those long, volleyball and soccer toned legs. Those legs had enticed me since I had first started noticing girls! The wonderful thing about her legs, though, was the way they went back up to where they parted at her pussy, with its appropriately trimmed landing strip in an exclamation mark. I was in awe!

Rosemary smiled up at me, unfazed by my staring at her body. "Do you really think so, Justin?" 

"I have always thought so, but now, wow! I'm literally overwhelmed!" I knelt down on the floor at her side and looked into her eyes. I carefully sat on my hands. I wanted to badly to touch.

Tears pooled in each of her eyes as she looked back at me. "You make me feel special. I like it that you like to look at me. Some of the guys at school make me feel creeped out when they stare at me, and that is with clothes on! Here I'm naked with you, and you make me feel loved and appreciated." She raised her head. "I need a hug. Would you please hug me?" I told you earlier we are a huggy family, but this was totally different. She wasn't looking for a "family" hug, but a hug from one she loved, and who loved her on a totally different plane.

I leaned in and gently wrapped my arms about her and pulled her into a tender embrace, nestling my face in her neck, feeling her hairs caressing my face and gently rocked her in my arms. The softness of her breasts pressing against my chest again was glorious. I know she felt it, too, for I heard and felt a soft "Ummmh." I gave the soft skin of her neck a soft kiss, and then a few more, causing her to breathe more heavily, and to grind her chest into mine. My lips slipped upward and nibbled on her earlobe, which caused her to giggle, and goosebumps to appear on her arm, and down her side. I started nibbling gently with my teeth, which caused her to writhe in my arms and moan interspersed with the giggles. The goosebumps were even more pronounced, and felt interesting to my hand, which had slipped out unbidden to stroke up and down her side, caressing her hip and upper leg, and on up her side until I felt just the side of her breast as it was pressed outward by the pressure from my chest.

Rosemary pressed me backwards until I fell back onto the floor, with her following me, to land on top of my body. The feeling was electric! I had full on frontal contact, but this time my cock was not pinned against her belly, but was up and between her legs, where the heat from her pussy felt exquisite. When Rosemary realized where it was she quickly squeezed her legs together, trapping me. She pulled her head back and looked into my eyes with a look of lust and desire that I know had to have been mirrored in mine. She rocked her pelvis up and down a few times, and then dove forward to lay a kiss on my like I've never been kissed before! Her tongue snaked out and pressed between my lips, where it met my tongue and started the lover's duel that both parties win. 

My hands both were stroking her sides and caressing her wonderfully smooth, curvy, skin. The wandered around to caress her ass cheeks and up to play with her hair on her neck, then back out to stroke down her ribcage, with the soft pliant flesh of her breasts stroked by fingertips as they made their way by. I couldn't get over the feeling of her hips, and the way they melded into her tiny waist. 

Rosemary continued writhing up and down and around on my cock, in time to rocking and thrusting on my part as well. Our actions were totally instinctual, with no conscious thought involved; else we would have stopped it. We neither one had intended for this to happen. Now, however, we had crossed the point of no return. Instinctively, I slid her upward slightly, giving me access to her breasts with my mouth, and I greedily sucked her right nipple into my mouth and laved the end of the nipple with my tongue. This brought a moan of pleasure from Rosemary that I felt reverberate throughout my whole person as she tensed her torso and increased her gyrations on my cock. 

My intensity level was greatly increased also as I kissed my way across the valley between her breasts and I attacked her left breast as I had the right. This time however, my left hand as it caressed her side slid inward and grasped and squeezed her breast. A cross between a gasp and a moan came from her throat, and a more violent thrusting of her hips came at just the same instant my cock was pulled back the furthest, lining it up at the entrance to her pussy. As she thrust I thrust, and I felt a wonderfully warm, moist tightness around my cock I had never even imagined. Rosemary moaned an "OHHHH!" as she pressed her pelvis tightly against mine and held it there. At the same moment, my fingers found and plucked at her nipple, and with a shudder throughout her entire body, and a squeeze of her pussy walls around my cock she came. Mine was right behind hers, as I tried valiantly to crawl inside of her, cock first.

Several minutes of heavy panting ensued as we each tried to get out breath. She didn't try to pull away, and neither did I, but I held her tightly to me and kissed her cheek gently as one hand stroked slowly up and down her side.

"Wow! I didn't mean to do that!" Rosemary pulled her head back from me and looked up at me with a questioning smile on her face. "You aren't mad at me are you?"

"Mad? Why would I be mad after the most wonderful thing ever has happened to me? It wasn't supposed to be you, and I know it is supposed to be wrong, but I'm glad it was you. I didn't hurt you too much did I? I know the first time is supposed to hurt."

"Oh, no. It didn't hurt. I broke my hymen playing soccer. It didn't hurt at all." She squeezed her pussy muscles on my cock. "I thought it felt wonderful, and I wished it could be you the first time. I don't care if it is wrong. It didn't feel like it." She gave a little wiggle on my cock, which was still somewhat hard. 

"Oh no! I came inside of you!" I started to pull out quickly, but Rosemary followed my body, keeping my cock buried inside her. 

"Don't worry about that, either, 'big brother'. I've been on the Pill because of bad periods for three years. We're safe." She leaned her face forward and planted a sweet kiss on my lips. "Thank you. I know neither of us wanted to do that, well, we might have wanted to, but neither of us intended to do that, but now, even if I have to let Steph or some other girl have you, I will have had you to myself, first." A single tear dropped from her eye, and she dropped her head to my shoulder and held me tightly against her.

Gently, I felt her pelvis rocking, and her pussy clutched at my half hard cock as she held me. "You know I told you when I walked around the house naked I imagined you were with me, too? Well, sometimes I would imagine having sex with you, too. I never intended to, but it was always you I thought about when I masturbated, but I never imagined how good it would actually be. Thank you for the most wonderful day of my life! I love you, Justin, and if I have to let Steph or some other girl have you I'll smile and be happy for you, and I'll be eternally jealous of her."

My cock had started to stir in response to her gentle rocking, and had gotten hard again. Rosemary lifted her head and looked at me with a grin. "Well, now that we've broken the rules we might as well enjoy it, hadn't we?" Swiveling her knees up by my hips she sat up on my cock and started rocking and raising and lowering herself on my cock. I stared up in awe at those marvelous breasts of hers once more, and my hands were pulled as if magnetically to caress and stroke them. When I grasped the nipples between my thumbs and the lower knuckle of my first finger and plucked them, while simultaneously caressing the slope of her breast with my other fingers she smiled, and squeezed my cock with her pussy walls as she pulled upward. She leaned her face downward, with her hair tumbling around my face, and gently placed a kiss on the tip of my nose.

"That feels so nice, Justin. Keep doing that. I feel it all the way down to my pussy." She bottomed out on my cock, and swiveled about for a moment, and then with a sigh, she raised herself up again, slowly, and this time planted a kiss on my lips. My arms snaked around her, pulling her back into me in a hug, while I returned the kiss, a bit more forcefully than hers. My hips were matching her strokes also as our intensities mounted. Rosemary pulled away from my embrace, and resumed lifting herself up and down on my cock, while my fingers returned to her nipples, which I began twisting and pulling, gently at first, and then harder and faster in time with her frenzied motions on my cock. Her hands had been planted on my chest, caressing my nipples, but with a moan, Rosemary moved her right hand back to her pussy and started stroking furiously at her clit, while pistoning herself up and down on my cock. 

Her moans were more frequent and louder, and I felt her pussy grasping at my cock until with a wail her orgasm overtook her again. She stiffened in place, and her pussy twitched, until suddenly she fell forward onto my chest. I continued slowly stroking in and out, allowing her time to recover, and to enjoy her orgasm. This may be my first time, but I've read enough porn to know to give her the chance to recover, and since it was my second time I was more in control. In just a couple of moments she lifted her head and whispered a quiet "Thank you." I began thrusting more vigorously, my climax approaching. 

Rosemary began kissing me fervently, and whispering in my ear, "Let me have it, Justin. Come for me." It was oh, so close, when she lifted up and said, "Do you like my tits, Justin?" That was all it took, one look at those lovely breasts I've been trying to see for so long. If I never see another pair I will still know I've seen the best. Why? Because they are Rosemary's. What more reason do I need? After I gasped out my last shot of cum, and relaxed for the last few dribbles to make their way out my cock and into Rosemary's lovely pussy, I pulled her face down to mine for a tender kiss. 

We lay there on the floor for the next few minutes, just enjoying the post orgasmic bliss, and enjoying each other's company. Rosemary's head was cuddled on my shoulder, and my hands stroked gently over her back and up and down her sides. I felt no guilt over what we had done. It had not been intentional, at least the first time. I know. You can say we set ourselves up for it by being naked together, but it all just flowed together, and now that it was done, I was not sorry. The love I felt for Rosemary was far beyond just a casual roll in the hay and loose sex. I know she is my sister, and she will always be my sister, and when she finds her man, and I find my woman that will be that, but in the meantime it was what it was, and what it was, was wonderful.

We had been lying there together for probably ten minutes, just talking together and cuddling, enjoying each other's company when the doorbell rang. Rosemary's head popped up, took a quick look at us and burst out laughing. "You've got to get it. I'm not dressed!" She quickly grabbed the towels from the couch, and putting them between her legs to catch the flow of semen that ran out as soon as she stood, she grabbed up her clothes and started up the stairs for her room as quickly as she could go in that condition. I pulled on my shorts, and took a quick look to be certain everything was presentable and walked to the front door.

Stephanie's concerned face was on the other side of the spyglass in the door when I looked to see who was there. I pulled open the door quickly, "Hi, Steph. What's up?"

I stepped back for her to enter and she said, "What's going on? I've been calling Rosemary's phone for a while now, and I only got voicemail. I tried yours, and the same thing! I was afraid something was wrong, so I came over. Are you guys OK?"

"Oh, sure, we're fine. We both just left our phones upstairs earlier, and didn't go get them. Mom wondered the same thing." I stuck my head around the corner and called up the stairs, "Rosemary, Steph's here!" and turned back to Stephanie. "Can I get you a drink or anything?" 

"Oh, I'm OK; thanks. I was worried it was something with your Grandmother or something."

"Oh. Thanks. She's going to be fine. I guess when we got home we had so much on our minds we forgot to call you and let you know. We've just been down here talking and stuff."

"All this time? Do you realize what time it is? What's going on around here?" 

I hadn't noticed the time, and now that I thought about it, it was getting dark outside when I let Stephie in. "Oh, wow, it is getting late," I said when I looked at my watch. "Time just got away from us! No wonder I'm getting hungry! I'm going to do some brats. Want on?"

"I think I'll just go up and see Rosemary a minute or two. I just ate a little bit ago." She shot me a puzzled look and turned for the stairs when Rosemary came bouncing down.

"Hey, Steph. What's up?

"You didn't answer your phone all afternoon, and neither did Justin; and I got worried! I thought something bad happened with your Grandmother."

"Oh, no. She's going to be fine. I forgot my phone when I changed after we got back about one o'clock. We fixed lunch and then Justin and I've been talking and stuff."

"Until 7:45 at night? I've never known you two to talk that long about anything, and what gives, girl? You are positively glowing." And she was. There was just a satisfied smile on her face, and a contented glow about her. Rosemary blushed, and looked down at the floor. "Come on, girl, spill it! You know the rules. No keeping secrets."

Rosemary looked over at me pleadingly. I really didn't know what I could say, and I kind of shrugged my shoulders a little. Stephanie caught it and turned on me. "You too, Justin. You looked like the cat that swallowed the canary when you opened the door." Suddenly, it dawned on her. "You two, you didn't?"

Rosemary just nodded slowly, and dropped her head. Steph stepped over and wrapped both arms around her. "Was it as good as I think it was?" Rosemary just nodded again, and looked up a little. "Please don't say anything to anyone!" she whispered. "We didn't mean to, it just happened."

"Girl, I wouldn't say anything, not even to Susie, but you won't be able to hide it from her. Your biggest problem is going to be your mom. Besides, I know how much you love him, and I don't blame you." She turned to me and said, "This girl has been going crazy over you for quite some time now, and I can understand why. You ARE pretty special. What you two do isn't any of my business. I'm just glad for you feeling about each other as you do; and I hope one day I can find someone to care for me as much. I'll get out of here and leave you two alone, but you'd better be calling Susie ASAP. I know she's been trying to reach you for a while, too."

Rosemary stopped her and said, "Please, you don't need to go. I'd really like it if you'd stay for a while. There's a lot . . . "She didn't get to finish, because the doorbell rang again. I went to the door, although I might as well have let Rosemary go. We both knew who it was before I even opened the door! 




Justin Thyme Ch. 04



Susie popped through the door just as soon as I had it open a little bit. "Hey girl! What's with not answering your phone? I've been calling you all afternoon! I was afraid something was wrong! Hey, Steph. You, too, huh?"

Rosemary quickly responded, "Hi Susie. I'm sorry, but I forgot and left my phone upstairs when I changed after getting home, and Justin did too. We didn't do it on purpose, but we had a lot on our minds. We've been down here talking and stuff after lunch."

"Girl, something's going on. You and Justin have been talking for how long? You two hardly have anything to say to each other! What gives?" She stopped and looked inquisitively at Rosemary. "Something's going on. You just look . . . 'satisfied.' What gives?" She glanced over at me as I turned away to go to the kitchen to broil some brats. "Justin. You're looking like the dog that caught the rabbit. What's going . . ." She glanced back at Rosemary and the light clicked on. "Don't tell me . . ."

Rosemary colored quickly and looked down.

"I hope it was as good as you look like it was," said Susie as she walked over and hugged Rosemary tightly. "I wouldn't think of saying anything. Most wouldn't understand, but knowing how much you love Justin, and how cool he is, I don't blame you. I just wish I could know what that is like."

"Thank you," Rosemary whispered. "We didn't mean for it to happen, but it just did, and it was wonderful." She glanced over at me, as I had not left the room when Susie guessed.

It looked like girl time to me, so I ducked into the kitchen to start broiling brats. "How many brats each, girls?" I called. 

I got back a "Just one," "One," and "Two, please," and did my best to ignore the subdued chatter from the other room. I didn't need to be in on this one. I knew if it was something I needed to know about Rosemary would tell me. I also thought Rosemary would need the affirmation, now that the post-orgasmic glow had worn off, and the thought of incest would weigh on her mind. As for myself, I being a horny eighteen year old guy shucked it off pretty easily. It helped that I genuinely loved Rosemary, and I knew she loved me too. Was it wrong? Yeah, it was, but was it any wronger than a lot of other things? I didn't think so.

I threw some buns on the table, after putting them in the microwave for thirty seconds to warm and soften, added some chips and salsa, condiments, four paper plates, and some Cokes with glasses and ice. The brats were just starting to blacken, like I liked them since I was the one cooking. I figured if Rosemary didn't want them that done she could do the cooking next time. I called the girls, telling them it was ready as I pulled the brats out of the broiler. 

All three came into the room together, with Stephanie on one side of Rosemary with an arm around her, and Susie on the other. All three of them had damp eyes, so I was glad I had vacated the premises when I did. Steph broke away from the others and came over to me and wrapped her arms about me and gave me a tender hug. "Justin, I want you to know that first of all, I'd never tell anyone, nor will Susie, but most important I want you to know I understand. I know how much Rosemary loves you, and I know you love her just as much, and you would never do anything to take advantage of her or to hurt her." As she laid her cheek against my chest the camera in that Koala popped into my mind, and I felt really badly. "I just hope I can find someone who will care for me like you do for her. It's a shame you are brother and sister, because you are just right for each other." Horn dog that I am, the feeling of her breasts against me sure felt good. 

Susie materialized on the other side, and I suddenly became the meat in a sandwich as she also put her arms about me and gave me a gently hug. "Justin, I want you to know I'm jealous. I think you and Rosemary are really sweet, and I think she is a lucky girl." I noticed as she hugged me that she was not wearing a bra, and her marshmallow soft breasts were squished and I could feel them almost rolling across my back as Susie swayed back and forth. My cock noticed, too, and started to swell. I hoped Stephanie wouldn't feel it pressing against her. Now was not the time for that.

It seemed like a very enjoyable forever, but in actuality was only a few moments, the girls broke free, but with a kiss on the cheek from Stephanie, and we all sat down at the table and knocked back the brats. For some reason, I was ravenous, and I noted Rosemary didn't hesitate in downing two brats with buns and more than one helping of chips. As she was helping herself to the last helping of chips her eye caught mine, and she grinned ruefully.

I sensed the need for some more girl time, so I made the excuse I needed to work on some equipment in my room and again vacated the premises for the girls. I closed my door, but didn't lock it, just in case one of them wanted something. I didn't want to appear to be hiding from them, but it didn't matter. A few minutes later I heard them chatting in the hallway as they ascended the stairs and went into Rosemary's room. I hadn't planned on it, but curiosity prevailed, and I turned on my monitor to see if anything interesting transpired across the hall. I fully intended to shut it down if I sensed I was eavesdropping on anything overtly personal, but I needn't have worried. The weepy-glees were over, and it was just back to regular girl-talk now, albeit at a slightly different level.

". . . and then he just looked at me, but it wasn't like some of the guys at school that try to undress you with their eyes. I had to ask him to give me a hug. I know he wanted to touch me, but he didn't. When I felt his skin against mine I nearly melted. Even then he was very good and didn't try anything, although I know he felt it too." Rosemary giggled, "We had been sitting on the couch, just talking and cuddling. Nothing was going on, it was almost like we were dressed, when the phone rang, and Justin hurried across the room to answer. You should have seen his cock bounce up and down! It was funny! Anyway, it was Mom, and she was upset we had forgotten our phones, too, but Grandma is going to be OK, and is going home tomorrow. I have to pick Mom up after school."

"I don't understand something," interrupted Stephanie. "What were the two of you doing naked anyway?"

"Oh, I guess I didn't tell you did I?" Rosemary's cheeks were a little pink as she went on. "After I walked in on Justin when we got the call about Grandma I told him I sometimes walk around the house nude when no one is home."

That brought a gasp from Steph, and a raised eyebrow from Susie.

"I don't know why I do it, maybe it is just the trill of being daring, but it feels so free and nice. It lets off stress somehow. Anyway, I was just wearing my volleyball shorts and a tee shirt when he came down for lunch, and he asked if I was feeling frisky with knowing Grandma was OK, or something. I said if he wasn't there I would probably be going naked if he wasn't there. 'Don't let me stop you,' he said, and I said, 'Yeah, right,' but I thought about it and said, 'Want to join me?' He said, 'you first', and I chickened out. I was just so uptight about all that was going on that I poured us a couple of glasses of wine with lunch, and then just decided, 'Why not?'

I told him I really felt like getting naked, 'cause I was so uptight, and asked if he wanted to join me. I really wasn't thinking about sex, as such, just being uptight and wanting to let off steam somehow. He said, 'Do you think that's wise?' I said, 'Probably not, but I wanted the feeling of being free, that it would probably never happen again, that I wasn't talking about touching or anything, just feeling free. I told him I didn't care if he looked, and I just got undressed, and he did too. It just felt good."

"I was really nervous at first, afraid he wouldn't think I looked good, but you should have seen his eyes. When he told me I was beautiful I about lost it."

As I was listening in it all came back and replayed in my mind. Seeing her slowly pulling her tee shirt off, and then those luscious breasts coming out, and then seeing her wonderful figure showed off for all of its beauty, and her pussy when it was first shown. The love I feel for my sister is incalculable, and her beauty only is a bonus that I don't deserve. 

"He just held me, and I cried on his shoulder for a few minutes, letting everything out. I've got the best brother I the world!"

"Anyway, that was when Mom called. Justin knelt down by the couch, where I was lying down. Grandma going home tomorrow kind of was the last straw. I was almost overcome with emotions, and I asked Justin to hug me. I needed the support."

"Anyway, Justin was holding me, still kneeling on the floor, and it felt so 'safe' like I was treasured and was being protected." Rosemary sniffled a time or two, and reached for a tissue to blow her nose. "I absolutely have the best brother in the world! What other guy would be in that position and not be trying to make it sexual? He didn't though. He just was taking care of me."

"He started nuzzling my neck and kissing it. He knows my neck is ticklish! I started squirming, so he did it some more, giving me goosebumps all down one side, and then he started on my earlobe! I had goosebumps on top of goosebumps it tickled so much, but do you know what?" She lowered her voice to just above a whisper. "It felt like it was a direct wire to my pussy! I was getting so turned on, even though he wasn't trying to do it." I had to remember this! "It was getting to be too much, so I pushed him backwards, but he was still holding me, and I went off the couch on top of him when he fell back. His cock was between my legs, so I trapped it there and just squeezed it. We started kissing, and I was wiggling on him teasing him until he slipped me up and grabbed my nipple in his mouth. I was higher, and when I squirmed I landed on his cock and it went in! Anyway, nature took over then, and I'm not sorry." She held her head down as if expecting rebuke and whispered, "It was wonderful, and I hope we do it again." 

Stephanie reached over and gave Rosemary a gentle hug. "I'm not criticizing, I'm jealous. I wish Justin would look at me like he looks at you. He wouldn't even have to ask. I don't think he even cares that I exist, and with these little tits of mine, I don't have anything to catch his attention."

Susie just laughed out loud. "Stephie, you are the one who isn't looking! Justin couldn't tear his eyes from your tits the other day when we came in from the pool! He's constantly watching you when you aren't looking. I think if Miss Rosie, here hadn't gotten in the way he would have been after you already. If you don't think so, just wear that little top without a bra next time and see if he can keep his eyes off of you. You did notice he didn't pull away from hugging you when I joined in the hug today, didn't you?"

Steph giggled a little. "I didn't notice that, but I noticed he started popping a stiffy. I hope you don't mind, Rosemary that I was rubbing against him."

"If he had been my boyfriend I would certainly, but he's my brother. I don't get to have him," she looked down at the bed for a moment and then looked back at Steph. "Someone is going to get a really special guy. It might as well be one of you! I know what. Next time you guys come over, we'll all go naked and see what happens!" Stephanie gasped at the idea, but Susie just laughed. 

"I still don't know how you do that, Rosemary. I about died when we were wearing our PJ's and didn't have bras on. If my PJ's had been like Susie's, which left nothing to the imagination I don't think I could have done it. It was hard enough as it was."

"And Justin's eyes hardly left you and Rosemary all night. All I ever got was a glance," pouted Susie. That's why I chose that gown; I was hoping to catch his attention.

Stephanie turned on the bed to where she was facing the Koala. "What do you think, Mr. Koala?" She cupped her hands on her breasts. "Do you think Justin could be interested in these? They aren't as big as Susie's."

"If you weren't wearing that bra, I know he would be interested."

"Hmm." Stephanie did that thing girls can do where she slipped her arms inside her shirt and took off her bra without removing the shirt, and then smoothed it over her boobs. As she was looking into the Koala's eyes I thought she was looking directly into mine. "At least they are small enough they don't sag any. I don't think I can wear it like this though! Look at the way my nips poke out! That's why I always wear a padded bra, 'cause otherwise they show, and when I'm cold they do anyway."

I had noticed they showed, and had she been able to see the front of my shorts I was showing, too! 

Stephanie hefted them in her hands, and rubbed across the nips a couple of times with her thumbs and shivered. "They are really sensitive, too. What do you think, Mr. Koala? Would he like these?"

Susie said, "How can Mr. Koala tell? You still have them covered! All Mr. Koala can see is your boobs are poking through your shirt."

Steph must have been really bothered by Susie's teasing, because all of a sudden she grabbed the bottom of her shirt and whipped it over her head!

I couldn't help myself. I groaned out loud! I had been waiting for this moment, planning on seeing Rosemary, but also hoping to see the other girls getting ready to swim, or something, but I had not expected what I saw now. Steph's breasts were gorgeous. I'd trade for them over any centerfold I've ever seen. Big? No. But oh the perfection in shape and form, with just the slightest upturn of the nipple that just begged me to worship them with offerings of kisses and caresses. Stephanie must really be exercised by all that was happening. I know Rosemary told me she was crushing on me, but for her to pop her top to the Koala as if she was doing it for me was mind-boggling. I had to be very careful how I reacted to her now, both not to hurt her, or to let her know I knew anything.

Susie smirked. "OK, OK, you showed a stuffed Koala. It isn't the same thing, but yes, Justin would be a fool not to like those." Before I knew what was happening Susie also pulled off her top, and sat there with her breasts on display as well. "You are worried yours aren't big enough, but look how firm they are compared to mine. I'm not as big as some, but it won't be long and I'll start sagging." She moved her shoulders back and forth a time or two, and her breasts swung from side to side. "See, yours don't do that. And with those nipples, you have it best, believe me. Do you see now why Justin keeps looking at you and barely notices I'm even there? You've got it girl, and you don't even know it."

Susie definitely had a point. I loved her boobs, but when they were next to Stephanie, there was no real comparison. I would love to bury my face between Susie's, and feel them against my cheeks, and yes, they would be wonderful to suck on and play with. I'd not push her out of my bed anytime, as if I would ever really get her in it!

Rosemary intervened. "Both of you have wonderful breasts that some guy is going to love. We can all compare and think the other has it better, but really I think they are wonderful. Different guys like different breasts, and," she giggled, "I think all guys like all breasts! Why do you think our dads like to look at porn, when they have a set available to play with anytime?" That got the girls giggling. "I really don't know for sure what Justin thinks about them. He hasn't said anything to me, but I've noticed him checking you both out." And I was going to have to be careful to do just that. They obviously both liked, and were not offended by, my attention. In the meantime, my cock was leaking all over the inside of my shorts.

Rosemary went on, "I haven't see the house Mom and Dad bought for us to use while in college, so I can't make an offer yet, but I've been thinking, . . . well, maybe it is far-fetched and it probably wouldn't work out, but . . . maybe there would be room for you two to room with us, too, if there are enough bedrooms, and that would give you an opportunity to see if he is interested in you, or maybe, well this is far-fetched for sure, but maybe if we could get him interested we . . ." she looked down at the duvet, which she was tugging with her fingers nervously, "maybe we could even share him, at least until we find someone of our own?"

You could have knocked me out with a feather! I totally lost what was going on in the other room as I sat in my chair dazed in thought. It sounded like my own little harem, but it also sounded way too good to be true. I couldn't imagine how that could possibly take place without feelings being hurt, or thoughts of favoritism, or the like. I'd have to tread very, very carefully for the next little while until I saw how this was going to transpire. I also had to be careful to leave all the ideas to Rosemary, and to be totally surprised whenever she mentioned them. Saturday morning would tell the tale, if it was even a possibility, and we had to get through the rest of this year and the summer first.

When I looked back at the screen it was just in time to see the girls slipping their shirts back over their heads, and getting ready to leave. I did not, though that Steph slipped her bra into her purse, rather than put it back on, and Rosemary had been right. If she wore that top braless I'd never be able to take my eyes off of it. My cock had subsided somewhat as I pondered Rosemary's idea, and it was a good thing, because the girls knocked on my door to say goodbye, and it would not have worked for me to open the door with my shorts bulging out with the erection I had moments before. It didn't matter long, though, because when I opened my door and saw Steph and Susie standing there with obviously excited nipples protruding I was hard again, instantly! I carefully paid Susie attention as well as Steph, and they both giggled before turning to go down the stairs. 

I looked at my watch and saw it was 11:30 already! That had been a fast evening! I had to get to bed if I was going to be in any condition for school in the morning, but first I had to do something about some relief.

"Justin?"

Rosemary was standing in her doorway, looking at me.

"I don't want to be alone tonight. Would you sleep with me?"



Justin Thyme Ch. 05



This is part 5 of a multi-part story. If you have not read the prior sections it is recommended you do so before reading this one. Otherwise you will miss out on parts of the storyline and enjoyment. If you are looking for a lot of gratuitous sex, please go elsewhere. As always, I appreciate your comments and any suggestions. Please enjoy.




I woke up totally disoriented early Monday morning. I wasn't alone, nor was I in my bed. The feeling of soft skin pressed up against my back was peaceful and relaxing. I had an erection, but that was normal for morning, and I felt long hairs over my shoulder and breathing on my neck, which was not. It took me a minute or two to determine I was in Rosemary's room, and it was she who snuggled so closely against my back. The pressure of her breasts against my shoulder blades, and her pelvis matched so closely around my ass, with her legs nestled within the bend of my legs gave me a sense of serenity I had never known before. So this is what it felt like to wake up with a woman! I recommend it highly, but after thinking on it for just a moment I realized it wasn't just waking up with a woman that was so comforting, but waking to a woman that you love with all your heart is what gives the sense of peace.

My mind raced as I recalled how I got there. Our snuggling session that ended up as a make-out session followed by my cock accidentally penetrating her pussy and then finishing what it thought it was there for, and the subsequent intentional love making we shared stirred my soul in an almost physical sense of satisfaction. Not the physical satisfaction brought about by our orgasms, but rather a mental, almost spiritual satisfaction of expressing our love so thoroughly and mutually. I couldn't help the smile and sigh I emitted, nor the reflexive reaching up with my right hand to grasp Rosemary's hand that dangled over my side and onto my belly.

Stephanie and Susie subsequently discovering our secret had brought a sense of concern. After all, a brother and sister aren't supposed to be running around, fucking like rabbits, just because they liked each other and it felt good. Societally, it was totally taboo, and if Mom or Dad caught on there would be hell to pay for sure. Neither of us had any regrets, hence my awakening in Rosemary's bed, with her nude form conforming to my nude form. 

The look on Rosemary's face when the other girls left late last night and she looked at me, as if fearing rejection as she quietly, almost like a little child said, "I don't want to be alone tonight. Would you please sleep with me?" tore at my heart. All that had transpired in the previous few days, capped off by our grandmother's stoke left her feeling vulnerable, which what stimulated the activities leading up to this, had been in that plea. 

Not that I hadn't already considered asking her if she would sleep with me. I had! My desire wasn't fueled by the trauma of Grandma's illness, or even just because we were alone, but my desire was driven by wanting to be with the one who had become the most important person in the world to me. I frankly didn't want to be separated from her if I didn't have to be. 

One might think we jumped in bed and fucked ourselves to sleep, and I was horny enough to have willingly done so, but rather we, by mutual, unspoken consent, disrobed and climbed into her king-sized bed and cuddled and talked. Of course, we talked about the events of the day, and how wonderful they had been. Plus we discussed Steph and Susie guessing what had happened, and how we had to be careful not to arouse anyone else's suspicions. I for one was going to have to be very careful about showing affection for her around other people, because that was not my normal habit, but I found now that I wanted to be touching her, talking to her, watching her, being with her, frankly, I didn't want to be apart from her! That is not the normal activities of a brother toward a sister, even a twin, especially since we had so little in common.

Finally falling asleep with her in my arms, and her breasts snuggled against my chest, and my cock trapped between her legs, nestled against her pussy left me with a sense of satisfaction that I feel was even higher than having sex would have been. This wasn't about sex; it was an expression of love and trust.

I am always an early riser, hence my awaking as I had, whereas Rosemary almost had to be pried out of bed in the mornings. It was not unusual for her to hit the snooze several times before arising and showering to start the day. Because it takes longer for her to get ready than it does me I always got my shower when she was done. She would knock on my door and wake me if I wasn't awake already, but frequently, by the time she finally got up and got moving I barely had time to get myself out the door without being late to school.

This morning however was totally different. Rosemary actually awoke fifteen minutes before her alarm was set. It took her only a moment to recognize the situation, and her response was immediate. "Ummmh. I could get used to waking up like this," she breathed into my ear as her body straightened out in a languorous stretch that pressed those luscious breasts even more firmly into my shoulder blades, and her pelvis against my ass. The arm she had around me tightened against me, and she gently squeezed my hand.

"Did I ever mention that I love you?" she murmured into my ear. "Thank you for everything." A soft kiss on the back of my neck sent shivers through me, and was like an electric shock to my cock. 

I gently rolled so that I was facing her, and wrapped my arms around her, pulling her to me. "I didn't know this could be so wonderful. My little bed is going to be so lonesome after tonight. Thank you for asking me to sleep with you."

"I was almost afraid to ask. I was afraid you might misunderstand, but you always seem to know just the right thing to do or say. I needed to be held, and to feel loved and secure, but I always feel that way when I'm with you anymore. I don't know how it happened, but it is wonderful."

I gave her a gentle kiss on the cheek, and squeezed her in my arms gently. She just seemed to fit there, like she was made for me. Rosemary gave me a quick peck back on my cheek, and then pulling her head back a little looked into my eyes. "Susie, Steph, and I used to talk about what it was going to be like to sleep with a man. Boy, did we ever have it wrong!" She squirmed her body closer to me, as if it was possible, but she tried. The feeling of her skin sliding against mine was delicious, and was not unappreciated by my cock. Her nipples had hardened slightly, just enough that when she leaned back and moved side to side I felt them distinctly on my chest. She nestled her head down onto my shoulder, with her nose right at the junction of my neck and collarbone and sighed, while pulling me tightly to her with her arms. I of course returned the hug, gladly.

One hand snaked around from behind my back and slipped between our bodies so she could gently grasp my cock, which was tight up against her belly, and leaking precum on her skin. "Is this for me?" she asked with an impish smile. Lifting her head she peeked over my shoulder at her alarm clock. "Oh, good. We have a few minutes before we have to get up and run. We can shower together and save time, too." That brought a wide grin to her face. "In the meantime," again she had that little girl look in her eyes from the night before when she asked me to stay with her. "Would you make love to me? Nothing wild, and I don't care if I get off or not. I just want to feel you in me. Please?" There were tears in her eyes as she looked at me. How could I possibly refuse? I would have had to be more than insane to turn down her request, something I had been trying to find a way to initiate.

Her hand that had hold of my cock slid it down to the junction of her legs, and I felt the head slide softly through her lovely exclamation mark of a landing strip, and then over her little nubbin of a clit, which made her gasp, and then I felt that wonderfully delicious feeling as the head of my cock slid through her very moist crease until it slipped into the opening of her vagina. She pressed forward, as did I and I felt my cock sliding home. How does one describe the awesome feeling of actually penetrating the one he loves in the act of making love? Yes, I know, it was there yesterday, also, but that was totally different, being unplanned, and accidentally accomplished. Yesterday, there was none of the slow gentle penetration that is basically an act of worship of the one he loves, with the gift of his organ. I looked into her eyes, which looked back at me with such an expression of love and trust as slowly I slid my cock in. 

There was no lack of lubrication, and I only had to pull back and push forward twice before I found myself fully invested in her pussy. Rosemary moaned, and grasping my buttocks with both hands pulled me tightly to herself and held me there. "I feel so full, so loved. Oh, Justin, thank you, thank you, thank you!" Instinctively, I held myself still, and just watched as her eyes pooled, and gazed back at me. With a contented sigh I felt her relax her grip on my buttocks, and her pelvis rocking backward a bit. I matched her movements, slowly withdrawing my cock before slowly and gently pushing it forward again. I knew I would never be able to recreate this first time for either of us, and I wanted it to be a memory she would treasure all her life as I slowly and gently made love. 

Even though I had just entered her I knew I was not going to last long at all. I could already feel my balls drawing up, and the tingling in my prostate that said an explosion was imminent. I tried to move as slowly and gently as I could to prolong the inevitable, but there wasn't much I could do to extend it. "I'm not going to be able to last long. I'm sorry." There was a sense of desperation in my voice as I whispered.

"Oh, don't worry about it. I just love the feeling of you being in me, the feeling of being full and loved. This is about loving my brother, my twin, who is so much more. This is about loving the one who loves me so much." She squeezed down on me with her pussy muscles as she rocked her pelvis along with my thrusts. She moaned lightly into my ear, and in a breathy whisper in my ear she said, "Did you feel that? Can you feel my breasts against your chest, and feel my nipples as they move back and forth with you? You just feel so wonderful, and I love your strong arms holding me, and your cock in me. It just feels so, so, ohhhhhhh." And with a gentle sigh I could feel a small orgasm overtake her, and felt her body pressing desperately against me trying to trap my cock deep inside, and although I was trying desperately to stave it off just a little longer, my release exploded from me, and I felt it pulsing and pulsing, as I tried so hard to crawl inside of her, cock first.

I know there were tears in my eyes as I hugged Rosemary tightly to me, with her cheek pressed tightly against my cheek. My senses were heightened, and I felt like I could feel every silky strand of her hair against me, the pressure of her breasts smashed against my ribs, the utter softness of her skin caressing mine, the exquisite gentleness of her hands stroking up and down, back and forth on my back. How does one describe the indescribable?

Rosemary pulled her head back to look at me with shining eyes. "Thank you! That was better than I ever dreamed it could be." She nestled her head back onto me as we lay there cuddling, secure in our love for each other. Society might not recognize it as such, but we knew what we had, and we treasured it very much.

Unfortunately, as with all good things, it had to come to an end. As I softened some of my semen started to leak out, and Rosemary had to grab a tee shirt to keep from puddling on the bed. She couldn't leave her bed unmade for Mom to find when she returned home! Regretfully, I pulled out, and with a final hug and kiss we both got out of the bed, and noting the time, hurried into the bathroom to shower. I'm not sure we really saved any time in the shower, but I will say it was the nicest shower I've ever taken, and the scenery was sublime! 

Since I was actually able to finish getting ready first for a change, and we were so close on time I took care of toasting a couple of pop tarts apiece, and made coffee. I fixed Rosemary's with a lot of cream and sugar the way she likes it and put it in a travel mug for her to take with her on the drive to school. She came hurrying down the stairs, and I just handed them to her, for which I was rewarded with a sweet hug and short kiss. "Thanks, Justin. You're the best, and I love you."

"I love you, too, Rosemary. Thanks for everything." With that we both had to hurry out the door, or we wouldn't make it to school on time. 

We ended up pulling into the parking lot with just five minutes to get into homeroom, and since we parked next to each other I waited a moment for Rosemary to get her stuff together and walked into the building with her. When she got out of her car she looked up at me and smiled which caused my stomach to flip-flop. You've heard of the "just fucked" look. Well, I saw it. The look of satisfaction and love on her face just cemented my own love for her more solidly, if possible. I wondered how we were going to get through the day without everyone noticing. The rest of the day was not to be any easier!

We didn't share any classes other than homeroom, which is of course the first period. When I sat down behind her I knew it was going to be a long, long day. Because we had gotten such a late start Rosemary did not have time to fix her hair like she normally did, so she just brushed it out and put it up in a ponytail, while still damp and ran out the door. Now she was sitting right in front of me with that beautiful red-gold hair swinging back and forth in front of me as she moved her head, and the alabaster skin of her neck accenting the luster of her hair. It was all I could do not to run my fingers through it. To top things off, some of the performers in the Senior Class play were using first hour homeroom as an opportunity to rehearse before a live audience. They are putting on Rogers and Hammerstein's Oklahoma this year, and the first number presented us was the duet "People Will Say We're In Love." How very apropos! I was struggling hard not to let on how I was feeling, with Rosemary's hair catching my eye continuously, and my memories of the morning already experienced I felt my cock beginning to stir. How was I going to get through this day? 

Each time I saw Rosemary in the hallways between classes her face lit up and a bright smile creased it. I know I returned some fatuous glances back her way. Once, Stephie was with her, and she actually giggled at me as she passed, "accidentally" bumping into my arm with her boob. At lunch, which I normally eat alone, Susie saw me and came over and sat down across the table. She had a smirk on her face, and at first I thought I was going to catch a bunch of garbage from her, but for a change she was actually really nice. Not that she isn't a nice girl, or isn't somebody I like to be around, but she is normally quite a tease. 

Today she just sat and talked with me about life in general, without trying to embarrass me, or flaunt her boobs or do any of the other things she normally does. I found I really enjoyed lunch, and told her so. When I said I wouldn't mind making it a regular occurrence she gave me a smile I had not seen from her before. In fact, the quiet "Thanks," and the little smile with upturned eyes was quite demure and uncharacteristic. I really think she enjoyed just being together, but without all of the normal pretense.

All in all, though, I was really happy to see the school day end, and to get to my car so I could go to work. I needed some time to think and get my head properly coordinated with life. 

Jim looked up at me just as soon as I walked in the back door at the shop. "Well, looks like you had a good weekend! How's your grandmother?"

"Yeah, thanks, and thanks for the time off. Grandma's going to be OK. They caught it quickly, and were able to treat it with that new treatment. There should be no lasting damage, and the Dr. says he thinks it was just a blood clot that moved to her brain. She shouldn't have any future problems from them."

"Good. Well, I'm glad to have you back. There isn't a lot going on, and with it being quiet I thought I'd bug out early this evening if you can stay and close up?"

"Yeah, sure. That shouldn't be a problem. I got most of my homework done at school, so I should have time to finish off my reading for History in between customers. If not, I can get it at home."

"Good. Thank you, and I don't know what you had going on last weekend, but it looks good on you! See you tomorrow."

Was it that obvious? If Jim picked up on it as soon as I walked in the door, how in the world were we going to get it past Mom and Dad? Maybe I ought to call Rosemary and pick a big fight or something. 

Before I could pick up the phone to talk with her the bell on the front door jangled, letting me know a customer had entered. It was characteristic of Jim that in the most progressive, and most complete, electronics store in the city, in fact the whole area, had not a buzzer, nor an electronic announcer for the front door, but an old fashioned brass bell mounted so that the door would strike the clapper as it opened. I liked his quirks and the way he did things that added contrast to normal expectations. The store's very layout was a juxtaposition of expectations, lending a very hands-on, service oriented, atmosphere. The store was laid out very much like an old grocery or hardware, with a counter around the circumference of the room, and all of the merchandise either on shelves or on hangers on the wall behind the counters. Most of the counters were at least glass fronted, also providing for more display area, and other than a couple of candy dispensers nothing in the store was self-serve. 

Jim had four very knowledgeable sales-clerks, with at least two of them on duty at all times, plus me. I didn't do a lot of behind the counter work, being for the most part behind the scenes, providing service support. Either Jim or I would be called out for any project type work that needed installation or special work involved to make quotes and schedule the work to be done. 

Jim's layout was not designed necessarily for theft deterrence, although it was effective in practice. He believed strongly in service, and in ascertaining the customer's real need in the product he (or she) was considering. Each counter was fully wired, and hard wired to a multitude of different speakers so the customer could play around with the different options, and could, with the clerk's expertise find the best possible choice for their particular desires. Every item we had for sale was available for the customer to try out and compare with competing models. 

We believed in providing the service necessary to have a happy customer. In fact, Jim's motto for the store is: "We don't want a satisfied customer!" There was a beautifully carved sign saying this above the door, right where the customer would see it when leaving. When this sign generated the hoped for questions we were able to tell them we wanted "happy" customers. Our goal was that each customer would leave happy, rather than merely satisfied. A satisfied customer got what he was looking for, but a happy customer was generally one who felt he had gotten more than expected, and with the care and attention provided to give what was best for him, rather than just a "get by" product.

Oh, we had plenty of "get by" products for those who really didn't need high quality or precision for their purposes, but even those customers left feeling they had enough knowledge and help to get the best "get by" product for the price spent. The old fashioned feel of the store was to set the idea of old fashioned service and its expectation in the customer's mind. The very cash register finalized conveying the concept. It was an antique brass National Cash Register mechanically operated register built onto a quarter sawn English Oak cabinet that was carefully cleaned and polished at least once a week. If you have not seen one of the old quarter sawn English Oak cabinets you have really missed out! The oak is cut on a bias instead of the normal way of cutting lumber, which brings out the wood grain and makes for a beautiful piece of furniture. I don't think anyone does this anymore, and I've heard English Oak is no longer available, but I don't know this for sure. Either way, it is a craft that one does not see in modern furniture.




Justin Thyme Ch. 05



I was surprised when the counter bell rang, indicating a need for either Jim or me to come to the front of the store. This didn't usually happen in the evening, as most specialty requests came in during the day, and to Jim. On Saturdays we would occasionally get such a call, usually someone for whom I had done some work wanting my services. I figured it was most likely someone with something that needed some service work, although the clerks were well able to handle writing up warrantee issues.

I walked into the showroom area to find Dave Hulvey grinning at me. He stuck out his hand, and said, "Hi there, Justin. I miss having you in class this year. I have to work a lot harder now!" He chuckled, and then went on, "Janelle said to say hello, by the way. You really made an impression on that girl!"

I smiled broadly I return. My crush on her was long over, but I did still remember her fondly. Now she was cutting quite a swath up at ASU in Phoenix, and I'm surprised she remembered me much at all. "Thanks, Mr. Hulvey. She is a sweet girl. I miss having her around the High School. What can I do for you today?"

"First of all, call me Dave. I'm not your teacher any more, and I'm coming to you as the expert. I feel funny having someone who knows more than I calling me Mr. I want to install an entertainment room in my basement, with a home theatre type setup. I can put one in, no problem, but Janelle insisted I talk with you and have you build one out for me custom. She was totally blown away with the setup you have in your room at home, and she insisted I enlist your help. I know Jim allows you to do custom work out of the shop here, and I'm not trying to cut him out. That's why I waited to come here rather than catch you at school."

"Sure. I'd be happy to work something up for you. I can't do anything on it this week, other than the very basics, because I won't be in this weekend. Dad and Mom are taking Rosemary and me up to Phoenix. They bought a house for us to use next year instead of paying for the dorms, and we have to go take a look at it. Would you like to stop by my place and take a look at what I've done? That would give us a starting point, and then I'd need to schedule a time to make some measurements and do some acoustic tests where you want it set up. If I'm going to do a custom setup, rather than using off the shelf, I like to design it to fit."

"That sounds good to me. When would be best for you?"

"I could meet you at the house right after school tomorrow. Jim will be in, and he can handle the store until I get here."

"That works for me. Would it be all right if I brought the wife along? She isn't real keen on spending the money to go custom, but Janelle insists we do it right."

"Of course! Now, we do have some excellent home theatre set ups here, with surround sound and all the bells and whistles. They can all be optimized for your space to a large degree. You don't have to go custom to get good sound. I hate to over sell you."

"Oh, yes, I know. I've been doing some research online before coming in. I'll never get Janelle off my back though if I don't at least explore the options. I'll see you at say 4:00 or 4:15? Just as soon as I can get home from the school and pick up the Mrs. Maybe when you get up to ASU next year you can get together with Janelle sometime. She could do a lot worse than a young man like you." He stuck out his hand and said "Goodbye," before turning and walking out the door. Now THAT was interesting! 

Focusing my attention on planning Mr. Hulvey's theater room (I couldn't bring myself to call him Dave) allowed me to have my emotions, and my face under control when I finally closed down the shop at 9:00 and went home. I fully expected Mom to be waiting for me when I got there, and she was. Fortunately, Rosemary was upstairs, so I didn't have to try to hide my feelings in front of Mom. She is pretty perceptive, so I needed every bit of luck I could get. I'm sure Rosemary had that in mind.

"Hi, Honey. Did everything go OK with Dad and me both gone?"

"Oh, sure, Mom." I hugged her as soon as I could set down my backpack. "We're big kids now. We handled it. How's Grandma? Grandpa doing OK?"

"Oh, they're both doing very well. In fact, they would like to ride along with us up to Scottsdale to see the house if she keeps doing this well."

"Good. They kind of had us worried there for a little bit." 

"The girls didn't tease you too much, did they?" Mom has seen some of the teasing I get from Susie, especially, although fortunately, not the blatant stuff! Rosemary and Steph, of course always chimed in, and Mom was sometimes concerned it went too far. Gotta love those protective moms!

"Oh, I don't let that stuff bother me. I usually just keep to my room and let them be." Usually, yes, but to call last weekend "usual" didn't fit the English definition of the word. I doubt it fit in any other language either! Changing the subject radically, I said, "I had an interesting visitor at the store this evening."

"Oh?"

"Yeah. You remember Mr. Hulvey, my Industrial Arts teacher?"

"Isn't he the one that had the daughter you were sweet on? Where is she, anyway? I haven't heard anything about her in a while."

"Yeah, that's him. She's up at ASU. Anyway, he came into the store looking for me. It seems he wants a home theatre installed, and Janelle insisted he talk to me about building it out custom."

"That's funny. Doesn't he teach electrical stuff? Why couldn't he do it himself?"

"That's just the thing. He could, and with some of the home theatre setups we have at the shop he would do fine, especially if he went with the Bose system, but you remember Janelle drove me home so I could get stuff to fix the sound system for the play." She nodded. "Well, she was surprised at the stuff in my room, so I played a couple of pieces for her. She told everybody as school about it, and I got a few orders for some small stuff. Mr. Hulvey told me she insisted he talk with me about building it out custom, so he and Mrs. Hulvey are coming over right after school to see what I have and how it is set up. This could be a very good project!"

"That sounds good." She followed me into the kitchen, where I raided the fridge to find something to eat. "I need to talk with you for a minute about your sister." 

Uh Oh. Here it comes. I carefully steeled my face before turning and closing the refrigerator door. I suddenly wasn't hungry any more. "Why, what's wrong? Is she OK?"

"Oh yes, she's fine. Nothing is wrong! She was just very happy when I got home and just bubbling in fact. I haven't seen her that happy in a long, long, time, so I asked her what was going on. She told me you two had been talking and got some things worked out between you this weekend. I guess Grandma getting sick kind of scared her, but she said you were there for her and really helped her get over it. I just wanted to say 'Thank you.' You've really grown up in the last few months. I feel a lot better about the two of you going off to school, now, especially since you will be living in a house together instead of living in the dorms, with all the partying and things that go on there."

Man, was I relieved! I guess Rosemary was able to sell it to Mom OK. "It wasn't anything big really. She just needed a shoulder and someone to talk with. We've kind of drifted apart a little bit the last few years, and I think it was good for both of us."

"Well, she hasn't had enough good things to say about you since you gave her that Koala. That was the most thoughtful gift I ever saw. You know, it really is almost too bad you two are brother and sister. I think she would really fall for you otherwise." Ouch! Did she step in it this time! Careful, Justin. Be very, very careful.

"Hey, it wasn't all that much. I had to hunt a little to find just the right animal, and I couldn't stand to hear that old clock radio any more. I didn't have to give much for that Wave Radio, 'cause it was our sample from last year. All I had to do was mount the bear and wire it through the inside. I did kind of tweak it a little bit." A little bit? That Koala was wired like a crooked pinball machine. 

"Well, I just wanted to say 'thank you.' It really means a lot to me to see my kids growing up." She reached over and grabbed me around the neck and pulled me into a hug. I'm pretty sure I saw moisture in her eyes for a minute. "It also tells me you are mature enough for what your father and I want to discuss with you two about the house up in Scottsdale. Initially we weren't really sure if you were mature enough for what we had in mind, but I really believe you will do well with it."

"Oh? What's that?"

"Let's just wait until Friday, and we can all discuss it together, and then Saturday, we will drive up there and walk through the property. We haven't actually closed on the deal yet, so if this isn't to your liking we will find something different."

"I thought you gave us the keys to the house?"

Mom laughed. "Oh, we did. The locks just aren't installed yet! You know you never leave the same locks on a property once it changes hands!" Duh. I never would have thought of that!

"You know, I think you and Dad are pretty good parents. Rosemary and I must have raised you two right!" I gave Mom a big hug to her laughter. She gave me a playful swat on the ass and said, "Go ahead and find yourself something to eat. I'm sorry to cut out on you, but I'm really tired. There hasn't been a lot of sleep the last couple of nights."

"Sure. No problem. I'll see you tomorrow evening. I'm closing again. In fact I'll be closing through Thursday since I have to take Friday night and Saturday off. We don't need to stay over Saturday evening do we? Jim said he could let me have Sunday off if needed, although I'm sure he would like to have a day off himself."

"We hadn't planned on it. I don't know why we would, but if we could hold Sunday as a possible it would give us options."

"OK, he said I can let him know as late as Friday night if need be. I'll tell him we're not sure. Thanks, Mom." I gave her another hug and kissed her cheek goodnight, and then I turned back to the fridge to rummage again. Suddenly I DID have an appetite. 

After digging out some leftovers and nuking them I cleaned up my mess and headed upstairs. I didn't know if Rosemary was still up or not, and didn't want to knock on her door if she was sleeping, but I needn't have worried. She heard me coming up the stairs, and I saw her door pop open just enough to peek her eye through. She saw it was I and with a big smile on her face she swung the door open all the way. It took only an instant for me to know why she peeked through first! 

She wasn't nude, which was my first thought when she only opened the door a crack, but rather, she had on a diaphanous gown that highlighted her already gorgeous body, with a tiny pair of lacy panties underneath. The bodice was open in the front all the way to the navel, with ties loosely holding it together. The bodice was made of a semi-opaque lace material that her nipples were threatening to puncture. 

Some clothing is made to hide the body, to be modest, or to conceal the figure or to hide one's beauty. Other clothing is designed to accentuate highlights, and to make one look as good as possible by overshadowing any perceived flaws. This gown, on the other hand, was designed to display the body in its best possible light, and where concealment was present it was concealment only to create an allure, to beguile and seduce the fortunate soul who was privileged to behold it. The emerald green bodice over a very pale green floor length gauzy gown was created solely for one of her hair color and complexion. The color of Rosemary's eyes was between the two greens of the gown, and was set aglow by the combination and the passion behind them. I stood transfixed at the beauty I beheld. I was so awed by what I saw that my mouth watered, but my cock did not get erect. Oh, it was stirred, alright, but this was beyond stirring lust, and bordered on reverence.

"Hurry up and come in here, silly, before Mom sees you staring in here like a calf at a new gate!" She reached out and grabbed my hand and gave me a quick pull, before quietly closing the door behind her. It was then I saw that she had also had her hair done, and it was in long ringlets and pulled back from her face, but in a soft fashion that framed her face. I still was stunned speechless by her radiance and beauty.

"I take it you like?" I could only nod, dumbly. "I think the lady at the shop thought I was buying it for my wedding night," she giggled. "You should have seen her trying to help me pick it out. It was a hoot!" 

My voice still was not working as I drank in the vision before me with my eyes. I held out my arms, and Rosemary stepped into my embrace with a sigh. "You don't know how long I've been waiting for that," she whispered softly in my ear. "I kept watching the clock and wanted to call you at the store to be sure you hurried home, but I didn't think it would be to smart." She snuggled her face more deeply into my neck and sighed again. "I wish you could stay with me again tonight, but I don't think it would be very wise. You have no idea how badly I want to feel you inside me again." Her arms pulled me even more tightly into the embrace. 

I wanted nothing more than to carefully disrobe her and worship the beauty my Rosemary had become. How can it be possible for a brother to be so smitten by his own sister? I know twins are supposed to be closer than other siblings, and I understand, but this went much deeper than sibling, or even twin, love. I knew that no matter what ever happened, Rosemary was mine, even when she found someone else and married, or if I married someone else, she was mine, and I was hers. Totally. Completely. 

Releasing my hold on her I slipped one arm down to her knees and gently lifted her and carried her over to her bed. I wanted so badly to lay her down and crawl up there with her, but I knew if I did that I would never leave tonight. Mom was not a snoop, nor did she check on us, but often she would come up to talk with us about something or on some errand. It was not a risk I dared take, and if Mom was to see me in here with Rosemary, and saw Rosemary dressed like this she would know instantly what the story was. In fact, if she was to see us together as we were she would read or faces and know, even if we were dressed in gunny sacks. 

I sat down gently on the edge of the mattress, holding Rosemary seated across my lap. I leaned in for a gentle kiss and whispered softly, "I love you." It was the first words I had managed to eke out, but they came from the depths of my soul. "You are so absolutely beautiful that I was stunned."

"I noticed," and she giggled. "I hoped you would like it."

"You have no idea!"

"Good. I like to make you happy." Rosemary snuggled more deeply into my arms. "I've wanted to be here all day long." She let out a deep contented sigh.

I held her close to me for a few minutes, savoring every second, yet with the conscious thought that we needed to be more careful than this. All it would take is a knock on the door and we would be busted. I knew Mom was tired and was going to bed, but that didn't mean she wouldn't think of something and want to talk with us about Grandma or something. It wouldn't be the first time. Mom was not the kind to get a thought or an idea and put it off until tomorrow, and it was not all that late. 

"I don't want to, but I have to go. Mom might come up. You know how she is, and we would be busted big time." I gently started to set Rosemary onto the bed, but she grabbed hold of my neck and squeezed. The pressure of her breasts was nearly enough to change my mind, but prudence won out. "Sweetheart, you know I have to." Slowly Rosemary released me, and I set her down. I leaned in for a quick peck on the lips and stood slowly. I knew it was going to be so lonely in my room tonight, but I had to go.

Rosemary, sitting on the bed, looked up at me wistfully, before grabbing my hands and pulling herself up, and into my arms once again. "Justin, I love you."

"I know, Sweetheart, I know. And I love you back, and always will. I will never forget last night, nor will I ever forget how you look tonight." Another quick peck on the lips and I stepped back. It was wrenching, but I did it.

Rosemary looked down at my crotch, suddenly, puzzled. "You aren't even hard?"

"Not on the outside, but I will be as I remember this time. At this moment I'm overwhelmed, and I love you so much it bypassed sex." I quickly stepped back for a quick, fervent embrace; then I grabbed my backpack and headed for the door.

I wasn't a moment too soon! I had no more than cleared the door when I saw Mom turn the corner at the bottom of the stairs and start up. She had her nightgown on, with a robe over the top, and obviously had been to bed. "Hi, Mom. What's up?" and I closed Rosemary's door behind me. I knew that would give Rosemary a warning, now I just had to stall Mom for a minute to give Rosemary time to get out of that beautiful gown and throw on one of my tee-shirts like normal.

"Justin, I was just coming up to talk with you for a minute. You and Rosemary talking? You have no idea how I like to see that. You two used to be so close. Anyway, I remembered after I went to bed that Grandpa asked if I could stay over tomorrow night, and help him get Grandma to the Dr. early in the morning Wednesday morning. You kids will be OK with that, won't you?"

"Oh, sure. That'll be no problem. Is she OK?"

"Sure. Grandpa just wanted a little support I think. All of this has hit kind of hard with him, too."

"I think that's a good idea. Don't worry about us. We'll get along just fine." I hoped Rosemary had finished changing by now, but I stepped in to give Mom a good one-armed man-hug, and held her tight for just a minute. "You know, I like the way you love and care for Grandpa and Grandma. Not all kids are that way with their parents, and it bothers me to see it. I love you, Mom."

Mom looked up with moisture in her eyes and said, "Thanks, Justin. That was really sweet to say."

"Well, I meant it." And I did. Fortunately, Rosemary popped her door open, wearing my tee-shirt as I had hoped.

"Hey, Mom, what's up?"

"I forgot to tell you Grandpa wants me to stay over tomorrow night and help get Grandma to the Dr. early in the morning. Justin said you two would get along OK."

Rosemary stepped into the hallway quickly, leaving her door open so that the still made bed could be seen. Quick thinker, that girl! "Mom, you don't worry about us. Justin and I are big kids now. We're going to be on our own in just a couple of months now, anyway."

"Don't remind me! Where's your robe? You shouldn't be running around like that in front of Justin!"

Rosemary looked down and said, "Oh, I was just changing for bed when I heard you talking and I forgot to grab the robe." She swept her hand over the front of herself indicating the tee-shirt, "Justin doesn't care, anyway."

"Well, I do. I hope you won't be running around in front of everybody like that when you get to school."

Rosemary dropped her head submissively, "Oh, I don't think so. Justin's my brother. He doesn't count." She looked at me out of the corner of her eye as she said this. "Goodnight, Mom. I love you. Goodnight, again, Justin," and she turned and walked back into her room and closed the door.

Mom just shook her head, watching the door close, and then turned back to the stairs. "Goodnight, son. I'll see you in the morning." I nodded and moved to my door and entered my room on shaky legs. 'Justin doesn't care, anyway'? Oh yeah? Then why is my cock so hard and quivering? 

Friday morning finally came. I was a nervous wreck, dodging through the minefield of my love for Rosemary, her love for me, and not letting Mom catch on. Since I didn't have to work Rosemary rode to school with me, which added stress to the day. I couldn't help myself. Every time I was around her I know it was obvious to anyone who knows us that something was happening. 




Justin Thyme Ch. 05



Somehow, I stumbled through the day, with lunch being the only time I felt like I could relax. As I had all week, I ate lunch with Susie, and since Susie already knew what was going on I could relax and not worry about slipping up. I know my grades were not what they should have been for the week, but I just could not concentrate. If I didn't straighten that out soon I knew Dad would be coming down on me hard. It isn't like any of the classes were even difficult! 

Three o'clock and the final bell rang at last! I was in a fog, with thoughts of our meeting with Dad and Mom tonight, plus seeing Rosemary by our lockers, with Susie and Stephanie in tow had everything jumbled up. I was beginning to wonder if I was cracking up. I made my way down the hall feeling dread in the pit of my stomach for some unknown reason. I just knew something was going on that was going to jump up and bite me.

Stephanie grabbed my arm, rubbing her boob on it in the process, and said, "We've got to hurry, Justin. Susie and I are going over to swim for a while before your mom gets home. I got a new bikini, and you've got to be sure to let me know what you think of it." I knew something had to happen!

We got home, and I made my way to my room as soon as possible. In my state of mind I just had to get away from females as quickly as possible. My mind was already in turmoil. It wasn't but a few minutes, and I heard them coming up the stairs, laughing and talking all the way. It was then I realized I had gone all week without even turning on the monitor and the camera in the Koala. I had the real thing, I didn't need to watch! Today though was an opportunity for my original purpose and I stepped over to my computer and quickly logged in just in time to hear Stephanie talking about her new bikini. ". . . like it." Her voice dropped conspiratorially, "I wouldn't dare wear it anywhere else. I just saw it, and I thought of Justin, and just knew I had to buy it for him." Her face was a study in crimson. "I almost chickened out, so I told him at school I wanted him to tell me what he thought of it. That way I have to wear it."

Stephanie opened her bag and pulled out a series of strings and small pieces of fabric that had more missing than was actually there. I could have imagined Susie wearing something of the sort, but Stephie? She certainly was crushing on me, which I already knew, but this was at a whole new level.

"How in the world do you wear that?" gasped Susie. "That is just barely legal!"

Rosemary looked crestfallen. She knew she was not going to be able to keep me to herself, and she had told me, as well as the girls she hoped I would end up with one of them, but she was obviously feeling impending loss. 

Susie opened her bag and pulled out her own suit, which I had seen last weekend, the one that was see-through when wet. Rosemary was wearing the one she had teased me with earlier as well. I was definitely in for seeing more skin, and in more provocative ways than I was accustomed to. 

Stephanie pulled her shirt over her head, quickly followed by the other two, who also quickly peeled off their pants, leaving them all in panties and bras. I licked my lips in anticipation, but true to form all three girls turned their backs to the Koala before removing their underwear and pulling on their bathing suits. I loved their asses, but was disappointed to once again miss out on watching from the front side. Stephanie giggled as she turned herself back around and worked at arranging her straps in front of the mirror. "Girl, how are you going to keep that on and in place?" asked Susie. 

"I've got to be really, really careful, that's for sure. Otherwise I'm going to give more of a show than I intended." She turned from the mirror to the Koala. "Mr. Koala, do you think Justin will like this one? I hope so." She turned back to Rosemary and giggled. "You know how silly this is? We won't change in front of a stuffed animal, but we ask its opinion of our outfits." She reached over and stroked the fur on its head. "Mr. Koala, you don't take us seriously, do you? Ooops!" When she bent over it loosened one of the straps of her bathing suit, which allowed a boob to pop free. I don't know if Mr. Koala liked it, but I surely did!

Her top was halter style, but the lower strings for the top didn't tie in the back. They were connected instead, after crossing the back, to the ties on the bottom. The entire outfit was held on by the tie at the back of the neck. When she bent and reached for the Koala it caused the straps to loosen, and the breast to pop free. It wasn't meant for swimming, but for looks, and/or sunning. I just might have to go down to the pool for a change! 

Stephanie's suit was not the normal bikini, in that the top, which was made up of two tiny triangles, consisted of a tie that tied behind the neck, and straps that crisscrossed across her lower back and connected to the bottoms. Keeping the tops in place required her to maintain good posture, whether standing, sitting, or bending. If she allowed tension to be released the tops would come loose, and if released too much would even allow the bottoms to sag. All in all, it was a very daring suit, designed more for what it showed than what it hid.

She turned back around after getting her boob back in place and covered her face in her hands. "I don't know if I can wear this out there after all. I told Justin I wanted his opinion, but I don't think I can really do it." She opened her bag back up, and looked inside, before wailing, "Oh no! I took it out! I don't have my other bikini!"

"Well then, I guess that answers it. You'll have to wear it, either that or skinny dip. I have an idea Justin would like that," Susie laughed. "You might be able to get Rosemary to join you if you do that."

Rosemary colored. "I don't think so! If we are going to get any time in the sun, though, we had better get going before Mom gets home. We only have an hour or so left."

I quickly shut off my monitor and hurried to be out of the room before they came out. I wanted to be sure not to miss this show! I made it down the stairs and to the kitchen before they came out of the room, and was busy drinking a Coke when I heard them coming down the stairs. I casually walked around the corner just in time to meet them at the bottom. Susie of course had to get the ball rolling and embarrass Steph.

"Hey Justin, what do you think of Steph's new suit?"

"Oh, good! She promised to show it to me to see if I liked it. Why don't you step out here where I can see it better?"

Steph blushed bright red and covered her face with her hands, but being caught as she was she stepped on out into the kitchen area, where there was more room.

"Wow! I like it! It's kind of risky, though isn't it? It looks like it might fall off. Turn around and let me see the back side." Her nipples were poking nicely through the thin fabric covering her breasts, and I could tell the embarrassment was also exciting her. If I was going to develop this I had to be careful not to overplay my hand, but to encourage her exhibitionism. I knew there was only one she was interested in exhibiting for, and that one was me. "It looks really good on you, Steph."

She had her head down somewhat, but looked up at me with a deer in the headlights look and said, "Thanks. I hoped you would like it." I noticed she took a quick look at my crotch, where I hope she was satisfied with the bulge she put there.

Yes, being a horny, red-blooded male, I liked it. On reflection, though I really liked it better when Steph was being Steph, instead of trying to outdo Susie or Rosemary. Being a little daring was one thing, but her self-confidence was so low she didn't think she could compete with others because of boob size. If only she could realize!

Working on a balky computer, clearing some nasty viruses, just because a customer didn't keep her anti-virus and anti-spyware protection up to date, kept me busy for the next fifty-five minutes before the girls came back into the house to change before Mom got home. I had purposely left my door ajar to be sure I wouldn't be surprised with the monitor on watching for them to return. As I expected, Susie stuck her head in the door and said, "Hi Justin," and stood there until I waved. I half noticed her top was still damp, and her nipples were still somewhat visible through the translucent material, but I made it a point not to "notice" them. I waited until I heard the talk and giggling in the hall way ceased, and I heard Rosemary's door close before turning the monitor back on. 

Susie was half pouting when she got into the room and complained, "I was hoping Justin would be downstairs again when we came in. He didn't even notice my top when I said 'Hi' to him just now. I don't know what I have to do to get him to notice me. I mean my top is still about half see-through, and he didn't even notice. I don't know if he would notice if I pulled a Rosemary and went naked!"

"Maybe you need to quit trying so hard, and just let it happen. Maybe you are just scaring him away." Rosemary is pretty smart! Anyway, Susie was standing right in front of the Koala while complaining about me not noticing, but she couldn't tell I was noticing at that very moment, and I liked what I saw very much.

Stephanie had her back turned, and pulled the strings on the tie at her neck. When she turned the strings loose her suit puddled at her feet, and she stepped out of it, and half turned to say something to Susie, leaving her right boob in profile. How I was wishing I could take a picture of that! "Hey Suze, what do you say we try going naked with Rosemary some day? This does feel free like she says. If your mom wasn't coming home, Rosemary, I might be tempted to try it today. What do you think?"

"I'm not too sure how Justin would react to that. He wouldn't know where to look first. Between you and Susie I'd probably be ignored." Rosemary seemed a bit despondent at the thought. How little she knows! 

Stephanie turned her back again, and started to dress, but then turned around and just sat on the edge of the bed and leaned back on her hands with her boobs up thrust in the air. Her pussy was neatly trimmed with a narrow landing strip. It had to be trimmed closely; else it would not have been hidden by her bikini, or whatever her suit is called. As tiny as it was there wasn't room for much hair!

Susie looked at her and said, "Why didn't you just shave it all?"

"I thought about it, but as little as I am anyway, I didn't want to look like a little girl. I thought I needed something here," and she plucked at her little tuft of hairs with her fingers. Oh how I wished I was there doing it for her. My shorts were pooled at my feet, and my rigid cock was in my hand. "You know, this really does feel free."

Susie, never one to be outdone, dropped her bikini also, and stood there in all her glory, but she still had her back to me. "I didn't trim mine down as far as you did. I just trimmed so I didn't show around my bikini. What do you think?"

"I always thought different stroke for different folks," opined Rosemary. "Everybody likes it different." Hers hit the floor about then, and I had a full frontal view of her from across the room, and if I had a choice, she was still it. I could look at her all day and not grow weary of the view. Stephanie turned on the bed to look back at her, and when she did her legs parted, allowing me to see into her pussy, which brought a major twitch and a groan from me. I waited for Susie to turn around, but Rosemary reminded them Mom would be home at any time, so they all quickly dressed, and left the room. 

I was left with a hard, dripping cock, but just a few strokes with my hand, and my knees buckled as I spurted into a handful of tissues before I pulled my shorts back up and I went downstairs. 

Mom came home in a great mood. She sold another house, and one that she had listed, so she earned the whole commission. Definitely, she felt like celebrating! Our original plans were to have dinner in, but Mom called Jorgensen's, a rather upscale steak house that specialized in private business lunches, and made reservations for four, but in a private room. The private rooms were heavily used for business at the lunch hour, but there were rumors about what went on at dinner. This way we could enjoy the celebration, but also have a quiet place we could talk about the house.

Dad came in the door, obviously tired from a long week working out of town, but was excited at Mom's sale, and more than happy to celebrate it out rather than eat in. As much as he ate out when traveling he really enjoyed a home cooked meal when he returned, but since his wife was quite busy with her real estate office, home cooked meals were not common. She is an excellent cook, but just not home enough to cook for the family very often.

The dinner was good, with a lot of talking and laughing, as was normal when we all got together. I, normally the serious one of the group thought about the differences in our family and those of other guys I knew. Almost all of them complained of their parents and didn't care to be around them any more than necessary, whereas Rosemary and I had a very close relationship with ours. In many ways it surpassed parent/child and became almost on a friendship basis. My brow furrowed a bit in thought as I pondered the situation. I couldn't call it 'friends', because there was a definite authority factor involved, but it went beyond the norm. 

"Justin, what's on your mind, dear? You haven't been with us for the last little bit?"

"Sorry, Mom. I was just thinking about us, and how we are so different than all the guys I know. None of them would want to be out with their parents like this, but to Rosemary and me, well, we love being with you guys. I was just trying to understand the difference."

"Thank you, honey. We love being with you kids as well. Unfortunately, many parents don't take the time to be with their children from an early age, and try to be friends instead of parents. If they would have acted more like parents earlier on they could act more like friends later. Your Dad and I have tried very hard to give you responsibility, and as you have taken on responsibility it has allowed us to relax the hard side of parenting and to enjoy just being us." She reached over and grabbed my hand affectionately. "You have both become very responsible young adults, and we have been able to treat you almost as adults for quite some time now. I think that is the difference in our relationships."

Dad chimed in, "If we spend time enjoying being with each other instead of constantly having to tell you what to do, or not do it changes attitudes. We don't have to corral you and police where you go and what you do. You both have been very good at following our guidelines, and we don't have to worry about you when we both have to be away. Actually, I'm glad you bring it up, Son, because that is in a large measure the reason for this dinner tonight." 

Dad took a quick glance at Mom, who gave a smile and slight nod.

"We have a proposition for you two, if you are interested. The house we have in mind is under contingency of "approval of partners," which means if you don't like the idea we will cancel the offer and find a different property. We have in mind an old Victorian mansion that was built by a railroad tycoon around the turn of the last century. It has been owned by an insurance company, and used as offices for several years now, but went into foreclosure when they went bankrupt. We can purchase it for a fraction of its value, but it will need some work to make it usable. It is in a mixed use neighborhood, so we have been able to clear any zoning issues, and it has ample parking."

"We propose purchasing the property, with you two as managing partners to oversee it. There were nine bedrooms originally. They have been converted to office space and must be converted back, but there is other space that can be converted into bedrooms as well, plus areas that can be set aside for study areas. Because they were converted for offices there is more than enough power to each room, plus each room is hardwired for data, which will be good for internet service. 

Our concept is for the two of you to manage the property, and we will rent out rooms to students at ASU, as well as a number of other schools in the area. This will be sufficient to cover your schooling and provide some pocket money, so that you won't have to go out and try to find minimum wage jobs. What are your thoughts on the concept?"

I looked at Rosemary, and she looked back at me, both of us wide-eyed at the idea! "Absolutely!" I managed to get out after a moment or two. Rosemary just nodded with a big smile on her face. Of course neither of us really knew what we were getting into, but the potential seemed too good to be true. If it was other than my parents I wouldn't have believed it for a minute.

"You said we would be 'managing partners?' Does that mean we would be part owners, too?"

"Yes. It will be purchased by an LLC, and each of us will be 25% owners. You two will be managing partners, but your mother and I will retain veto rights, just in case we think you are going crazy with it. I know that will not be an issue, but it is set up that way legally to protect us because we are putting up the money. You two will be providing sweat equity."

Rosemary asked, "What do we have to do?"

"Well, to start, the house is going to need some TLC to get it ready for occupants. Mostly, paint and light stuff. Justin will want to do some electrical and electronic upgrades, security items, and stuff. We'll talk about that more tomorrow when we look at the place. Unfortunately, you will have to start almost immediately after graduation to get it all done in time. It is livable while you are working on it, so you won't be commuting. We'll hire contractors for the heavy stuff, but there really won't be that much to be done. The house is in remarkably good condition. Then, you will be responsible for renting out rooms, and taking care of day to day issues. All applications will be reviewed by the four of us before accepting, and each renter will also have to be backed by a parent for security. Your mother will handle the legal paperwork and contracts."

Mom spoke up, "We will limit occupancy to females, with no boys allowed in the house other than on the main floor in the common areas. We don't want to open ourselves up to other issues more than we have to. Justin, do you think you can handle that? The turret room at the top of the house is the largest, and I think the nicest room, and it would be yours. For some reason it has a private stairway as well as through the other areas, so you would not have to be in the girls areas, other than when you are needed there for some purpose."

"I think I can handle that." Rosemary just smirked at me from across the table, and I felt her foot sliding up my calf, before she pulled her foot back. "I have one other question, though? What happens after we graduate?"

Dad handled this one. "We considered that, and what we are thinking is this; either we can retain the property and continue to operate it if we wish, or by that time the market should be improved enough to sell it for a substantial profit. However, if we maintain 80% occupancy, and I see no reason we should not, we will turn a nice profit if we sell the property for the same price as we purchased it, plus we will have paid for your schooling and allowed you to earn pocket money along the way. This is not going to be just a piece of cake. You two will earn everything you make, but I think it is the best way to go, and it will be educational for you."

"Let me add one other thing. This is not going to be a Sorority, nor will it be run like one! It will not be a party house, but a place for students to live without all of the ruckus that goes on in the dorms or the Sororities. I didn't say it won't be enjoyable, but it is not party central. Are we clear on that?"




Justin Thyme Ch. 05



Rosemary and I both nodded affirmatively. "You two have shown maturity around the house, and haven't been partiers, even when we were away and you could have tried it, which is why we thought you could handle this. Let's go home and get some rest tonight. We pick up your grandparents at 6:30 tomorrow, and it may turn out to be a long day, after a very long week."

"I'm so glad Grandma is feeling up to going with us! That will make the trip so much fun!" said Rosemary. "Grandpa too, of course!"

Mom laughed as she stood to leave. "Your grandmother said to tell you that if you don't behave up there she will move in and run the place right!" Now if we could have Grandpa and Grandma as "house parents," it WOULD be a fun place! Forget not being a party house!

When we arrived back at our house everyone split up for the night, and I headed for my room. I wanted to get a head start on a paper I had to write for Senior English. I plugged in Sibelius' symphonies, always good studying or thinking music, and started researching the web for my material when my door quietly opened and Rosemary slipped into my room, wearing only a thin, and well-worn, tee-shirt. She had never just walked in on me before.

"I didn't want to knock, just in case Mom or Dad heard it, although I think they are rather busy right now," she giggled and grinned. "I hoped you wouldn't mind, though. It's not like we have any secrets now, is it? I mean, what haven't you seen?" She laughed. "I might have caught you spanking the monkey or something like that, but I would have just had to help you."

I just shook my head resignedly. Her nipples were obviously excited about her being in my room as she was, and I found myself responding as well. 

"I just had to see you. We haven't been able to be together since we almost got caught the other night. Quick thinking, by the way. Thanks."

"No prob."

Rosemary walked over behind my desk chair and draped her arms across my shoulders, and let her hands slide back and forth across my abdomen while her breasts pillowed my shoulders. Her chin rested lightly on the top of my head. "I can't believe we get to go up there together this summer to work on the house." She sighed contentedly and gave me a little squeeze. "I had to laugh at Mom asking you if you could handle living in a house full of college girls! I mean, what if they all ran around dressed something like this? You would just hate it, I'm sure!"

I lifted my head up to where I could look into her eyes. "How will you handle it? Stephie seemed to be getting under your skin earlier this afternoon."

Tears welled up in her eyes. I swiveled my chair around and seated her on my lap and put my arms about her, protectively. She buried her head in my neck and said quietly, "I'll handle it. I don't say it will be easy, but I'll handle it. I know I can't keep you to myself, although I want to. I just hope it is someone like Steph or Susie that I like and will let me share you. Not in bed necessarily, but seeing you and being part of your life." There was a quiet sniffle, and she went on, "That's why it is important to me to spend as much time with you as I can right now."

"That goes for me as well. Whatever guy is lucky enough to get you had better be someone who will let me be a part of your life, as well. I'll always love you."

"I wish I could spend the night with you. It just feels so right, with you holding me in your arms like this." She sighed, and snuggled her nose even more deeply into the junction of my neck and shoulder. "I don't even care about the sex right now, just feeling loved and secure." She lifted her head and looked me in the eyes, and then leaned in for a very tender kiss. "Think of me tonight. I'll be thinking of you," and she stood and walked somewhat unsteadily to the door before turning back toward me. "Thank you, Justin. I love you," and with a stealthy peek into the hallway she was gone. Suddenly, my room felt 

so empty, and I was so alone.



Justin Thyme Ch. 06



This is part 6 of a multi-part story. If you have not read the prior chapters, this will not make much sense. I suggest you read them first. As always, your comments are welcomed.




My room felt lonely when the alarm finally went off Saturday morning. I had tossed and turned all night after Rosemary left my room to go to bed. I had never been lonesome in here before, but now it seemed I was lonely all the time if she wasn't around. Tired and edgy from lack of sleep, I wandered to the bathroom to grab a quick shower before Rosemary for a change. I knew it would take an act of Congress to get her moving this early, and thought I'd be ahead of the game to get mine while she was waking up. Imagine my surprise when the door opened and Rosemary slipped in as I was dropping my robe to the floor. Grouchy though I was, I couldn't help noticing how good that thin tee shirt looked on her, especially since it was all she had on! Mom's scolding obviously hadn't changed her dress habits in front of me, not that I would complain, mind you! "What are you doing in here?"

"I'm going to take a shower, what else?" She gave me a cheeky grin, and pulled the shirt over her head before placing a hand on her hip, striking a pose. "Mom and Dad are taking one together. I heard them talking when I walked past their door on the way to start the coffee. If we hurry we can take one together, too."

"Are you sure we're safe? I'm nervous about this."

"Relax. Mom promised Dad a . . . ," blushing furiously she paused. "I can't believe I'm telling you this, but then I can't believe I heard her saying it. She obviously didn't know I was at the door. She promised him a blow job. I can't believe our parents are doing that!"

"Well, I guess they get to have fun, too, don't they? And Dad was gone all week."

Rosemary stepped into my arms for a hug, and the feeling of her soft skin on mine did nothing to make my cock go back down. "If we hurry, we'll be OK, and if we hurry fast enough, who knows. I might be nice to you, too." She broke away from our embrace and quickly started the water, while I brushed my teeth. I figured I might as well save all the time possible. I certainly didn't want to get caught in the shower with my sister.

I must say, brushing my teeth while watching my sister getting into the shower was the most enjoyable time I've ever spent in personal hygiene. I quickly rinsed my teeth, and dropped my brush into the container and got into the shower with Rosemary. While she was shampooing her hair I grabbed a washcloth and liberally applied some body wash and started soaping her back, paying particular attention to her ass, and then I knelt and did homage to her legs. A little shampoo, and of course water kept getting into my eyes, but that was a very minor price to pay for the pleasure. Rosemary turned around to rinse her hair, and once again I was overwhelmed by her beauty. I knelt at her feet and just looked up at her body, disregarding the water as it cascaded into my face.

On impulse, I suddenly leaned forward and planted my face at the vee of her legs, feeling her tiny landing strip on the bridge of my nose as I placed a gentle kiss on the top outer edge of her pussy. Slowly I stood to my feet and pulled her into my arms and kissed her wet face. Rosemary's eyes twinkled as she looked at me. "That was nice, Justin. That was very nice." Quickly, remembering the time factor, I reloaded the washcloth with body wash and began washing the front of her body. I could get used to doing this every day for the rest of my life! The curling streaks of suds around her breasts, and the swirling lines they left across her belly, and the way they accented her awesome figure were stunning, and I had to step back to admire my handiwork!

Again, I knelt to wash her legs, but I paid particular attention to her landing strip and pussy before I regretfully rinsed out the cloth and began my own ablutions. I had shampoo suds in my hair and eyes when I suddenly felt soft hands returning the favor, with the feeling of the soft washcloth spreading body wash over me, and a soft hand caressing it into the skin. I personally never use body wash myself, just opting for the bar soap, but if it came with an applicator like this morning's I would be fully in favor! When I turned to rinse my hair I found a soft, warm, body caressing me from behind, and a pair of hands around on the front side gently stroking my rampant cock. Rosemary had sufficient body wash on her hands to provide lubrication as she quickly stroked me and caressed my balls. 

The stimuli from the night before, as well as all that happened this morning, plus her soft boobs rubbing against my back while she stroked my cock had me cumming in just a matter of a couple of minutes. I had to grab at the towel bar in the shower to keep from falling, the sensations were so great. When I was able to catch my breath I turned to see a big smile on Rosemary's face. "Did you like that, big brother?" All I could manage was a nod and a kiss.

"I didn't do anything like that for you," I said. "That wasn't fair."

"Oh, I didn't expect anything. I just did that because it was fun. Maybe another time I'll give you what Mom is giving Dad." She gave me a big grin, and then a little peck on the cheek. "Why don't you grab a towel and hurry to your room. You can come back and shave when I'm done in just a minute. We'll just tell them you came in first, but let me take care of my shower before you came back to shave, if anybody asks." I just nodded my head, grabbed a towel and slipped out the door and into my room.

We needn't have worried, because both of us were sitting at the table eating a bowl of cereal when Mom and Dad came from their room, ready to go, but with a very satisfied look on their faces. It looked like the day started off well all the way around!

We all got into the Denali, and headed off to pick up Grandpa and Grandma for the trip. Rosemary and I climbed into the back seats, leaving the middle ones for the G'parents. Actually, I was happy they were going along, because that left the two of us where we could talk and not be under the direct eye of Mom the whole time. Rosemary was wearing a tight pair of shorts and a snug tank top that, while not as tight as those old volleyball shorts and shirt she had been wearing to tease me, had garnered a disapproving eye from Mom, although she didn't tell her to go change. 

While Grandma and Grandpa were getting settled in the car, and a lot of confusion was going on, I put my hand on Rosemary's knee and slid it up her leg to the bottom of her shorts. She shivered from the contact, especially from my fingertips, which were on the inside of her leg. "You should have worn a gunny sack or something. You're going to have me hard all day," I whispered. "Thank you for this morning. That was dangerous, but I needed it."

Rosemary just smiled at me, and put her hand on top of mine, effectively trapping it at the very top of her thigh. The way the seats were configured, Grandma would have to really turn around to see my hand on her leg. Rosemary, feeling full of herself, just started up a conversation with Grandma as if I wasn't even in the car. Her fingers kept caressing my hand, though.

The house in Scottsdale was huge! There is no other way to describe it, and had it not been for my mother's real estate connections we never would have been able to find it at the price we did. The economy had driven the insurance company out of business, and business office space was a glut on the market. If my parents had not had the presence of mind to think outside the box and creatively about student housing the place would have remained empty for quite some time. To restore the house to its original glory for a single family would have taken a very special type of person who was into antiques. There would be potential for a Bed and Breakfast, except the community was trending more toward business, and would not have the draw other areas would have. It fit our purposes perfectly, though.

Rosemary squealed with delight as soon as she saw the place. The Victorian construction was different than the rest of the area, which of course has a very Southwestern/Mexican flavor in architectural styles. The size of the grounds was impressive, with plenty of parking for our needs. In fact we had more spaces available than would be needed on a regular basis. There was a large coach house that I looked at as having potential, but that would be down the road. How it would tie in I would find out quite a bit later, but that is for another time.

The local realtor, who had the listing for the bank drove up as we were looking over the grounds and exterior of the house. It needed paint, but the roof looked to be in good condition. Before the realtor could get out of her car I edged over to Rosemary and cocked an eyebrow at her questioningly. "It's ours, Justin. I just love it."

"Good. That was my thought exactly. It will be a lot of work, but if we do it right we will not only put ourselves through school, but this can be the beginning of building our wealth." I looked over at Dad, who was watching our responses. I just nodded, and he smiled and nodded back. Rosemary and I walked over by him and Mom and I just said quietly, "Unless there is something inside that nixes it, and I know you two have already looked it over, I'd say do it."

Dad smiled again and said, "I see a lot of potential here, potential beyond just getting you two through school."

"That's what I was just telling Rosemary. I see this as just a start, with a lot of potential for growth."

"Grandpa came walking over just then. "Is the inside as good as the outside, Pete?" Dad just nodded. "I'd like to get involved then. I've been looking for a place to put my 401k, and I would like to finance the purchase. I think it would be a good investment opportunity for me, and I'm not really happy about what my broker has been doing with my moneys the last few years. What do you say?"

Dad stuck out his hand. "Welcome aboard. We can work out the details later if you really want a part." 

"Hi, folks, I'm Donna Wilkinson, your realtor for this property. I'm sorry you beat me here!"

"Hello, Donna. That really is no problem. We got here early, and had an opportunity to look around the exterior. You aren't late." Mom was being every inch the realtor in return, acting almost as if she was selling the property to Donna, instead of vice-versa. I knew Donna had the authority to accept or reject the deal on behalf of the bank, and recognized right away what Mom was doing. Mom would never cheat anyone, but she was adept at maneuvering the situation to her vantage. "Just for the record, I am not acting in capacity as a realtor in this matter, as I am one of the principals."

"Right. I remember. Shall we go inside?"

Rosemary gasped when she saw the ceiling {   frieze  (check word)} in the foyer. Designs were inlaid into the plaster that looked like a ribbon that looped and curled around an intricately detailed rose. Whoever did the plasterwork was a real master of his craft. "Oh, Justin. I love it!" She squeezed my arm and snuggled close. I was afraid someone would wonder about us, but they seemed to mark it down to excitement and exuberance, since we would be both living there.

Donna, though, almost tumbled to it, saying, "Not bad for a starter home, right?" with a big smile at Rosemary. I felt things go cold inside, but it passed over and no one thought anything of it, but just laughed.

The lower floor had twelve foot ceilings, with dark walnut trim around the floorboards and windows that was milled in an ornate style not seen in a hundred years. The original owner had spared no expense in the house, but yet managed not to leave an overbearing impression. Dated opulence, but I found it to be beautiful. It didn't leave an impression of a museum, but had a warmth and comfort that felt like 'home'. So many times the balance is not struck when building such an edifice, but they managed it this time. I know Rosemary felt it as well, as she held to my arm and constantly squeezed it as each new feature was seen. 

I could go on and on about the features of the house, but that is beyond the bounds of this story. Suffice it to say the rest of the lower floor matched up, with a large dining room, a smaller cozy breakfast area, and a library/office, complete with floor to ceiling bookshelves and a rolling ladder encircling the room, giving access to the upper shelves. Tech geek that I am, I am also a voracious reader, and my mouth watered at the idea of the room filled with leather bound tomes. 

An antiques walnut desk, obviously built for the room, was the focal point of the far wall, centered between wide, nearly floor to ceiling windows that overlooked the back portion of the estate. When one looked at the desk it was obvious why it had been left with the property. It was massive, and quite heavy. It would be out of place in any room less magnificent than this. Looking at Rosemary, I said, "I claim the desk." She squeezed my arm and giggled excitedly. There was more than ample space in the room to set up several small study tables, and the room would lend itself, with the ambiance to encourage it, to a quiet room for doing homework. 

The kitchen was spacious, and could be adapted for multiple users with some work, but that was what we expected. Though it was not designed as an eat-in kitchen it looked to me like we could install a counter with seats to take some of the pressure off the breakfast area if everyone wanted to eat at once, which should not be a problem. There was a large pantry area, which would work well for segregating shelves, giving storage space for food stuffs for each of the tenants as well. Off the pantry was a stairway, which Mom told me was the private stairs to the turret room, which would allow me access to my room without having to go through the other areas. 

We made our way back to the foyer to the wide, curving stairs that led to the second floor. Ornate carved walnut bannisters rimmed the edge, with a large carved rearing horse forming the newel post. An antique oriental carpet runner marked the stair treads. The second floor was not as opulent as the lower, but the appointments, also all walnut, accented the hallways. The ceilings were all ten feet high, lower than the first floor, but gave a much more spacious feeling than in most modern homes. 

It was when we looked into the individual rooms, which had been converted to office space that we found things had been modernized significantly. The ceilings had all been lowered with drop ceiling, and florescent lighting installed. The electrical system had been upgraded, and each room had internet access hardwired, which would provide options, although wireless access was also in place. I was going to take a good look at it, but it looked to me like there wasn't a lot for me to do with it. 

Converting these rooms back to bedrooms would not be difficult, and they were all large enough to install twin beds and make double occupancy. Being of the age it was, the house did not have a lot of closet space, but armoires could easily be installed in the rooms to provide ample storage without interfering with the antique ambiance. Even with the drop ceilings the rooms still had the flavor of the era. 

Bathrooms were going to be a little difficult to make work. Each wing of the house had a bathroom; that I was glad to see the insurance company, in its upgrades, had not altered significantly. Each one had an antique claw tub with high sides. We were going to have to install surround shower curtains and some and held shower heads. At least, these were minor upgrades and would not take much work or expense. The only issue was they would be shared by four girls. At least they had double sinks and wide mirrors installed in each room.

When we went up to the third level we found smaller rooms that would lend themselves well to single occupancy, having been used either as servant's quarters or a nursery. There were also two extra rooms, giving a total of ten rooms available. Two of the rooms had not been counted as bedrooms in the write-up on the property because they did not have closet space, but as with the others we would install an armoire. At the end was a small stair that led to the turret room, above this floor, with access also to the attic. 

Immediately, I knew I was going to like this room due to its size. Unlike the rooms on the lower floors it did not have a hallway, but was the width of the house, less the roof incline. In England it would be called a garret, but I was more than satisfied as it was at least half larger than the rooms on the lower levels. The turret itself had a great view over the front and rear of the property, plus a great skyline view of Scottsdale. It had a bit of a strange configuration, with built in bookshelves blocking about half of the expected rear window area that projected into the turret. It was the only thing in the house that did not appear to be symmetrical, taking up nearly a fourth of the circumference of the area. One would normally expect such a thing to follow the rounded shape of the turret, but it wasn't a serious issue, but rather a curiosity. I puzzled over it for a few minutes, but then disregarded it as inconsequential and moved on.

Mom and Donna were in the library slash office going over the contract when we returned to the main floor. That we were going to purchase the property was a foregone conclusion, and Grandpa coming in with the financing made it a much quicker matter since we didn't have to go to the bank for a mortgage. Mom was able to negotiate a little lower price as a result, and we were able to move the closing up to the next week. Rosemary gave Dad a big hug and said "Thank you," followed by a hug for Grandpa and Grandma. Neither of them had felt up to climbing the stairs, so they had not seen the upstairs, but what they saw on the lower level was more than enough for them. Rosemary came back over to me and gave me a hug as well. "Can you really believe we got to live here instead of a dorm? This is beautiful, Justin. I just love it, and I can't wait to have it, and you, alone. It is better than I ever dreamed possible!" Everything was too good to be true.

Dad and I started discussing work that needed to be done. Of course, the interior needed to be painted throughout, and a good portion of the exterior as well. Security needed to be upgraded, and we discussed electronic locks with card readers for each of the tenants, as well as security cameras at the doors. Rosemary and I would try to do as much of this work as we could, hiring out some minor plumbing upgrades and renovating the kitchen to make it more user friendly for multiple users. Carpeting needed to be replaced in all of the bedrooms, the dining room and library. The hardwood floors in the rest of the first level would be left alone. We would see what we thought we could accomplish in the first couple of months, and then see if we needed to bring in outside help. One thing is for sure, we were going to have our hands full trying to get everything ready for occupancy before school started in the fall.

I needed to give Jim my notice Saturday for sure. I couldn't leave him until I completed Hulvey's theater room, but would have to have weekends free from then on, and would not be available during the summer at all. I really hated to leave him because he had been so good to me for so many years now, but life goes on. I knew he would not fault me for it and in fact I knew he would be happy for me, but it felt almost as bad as leaving home. As a sop to my conscience I would order all electronics through Jim. I owed him at least that much. Perhaps, if he was interested we could talk later about opening a second store in Scottsdale, with me running it for him, but that was miles down the road yet.




Justin Thyme Ch. 06



Mom and Donna came out of the library with big smiles on their faces. I knew the look in Mom's eyes said she had negotiated the price down quite a bit. I know Donna wanted a higher price, but she was very happy to have this property, that was going to be difficult to sell otherwise, off of the books. Mom had the contract in hand, and Dad, Rosemary, and I signed it. Grandpa was with them, and had made arrangements with Donna for the financial side of things. All that remained to be done was the closing, which was set up for the following Thursday. That was extremely fast, but with a cash deal a lot of red tape was cut out. I learned something from this. Always deal in cash when possible! It certainly simplified things, and negotiating was a lot easier!

Grandma, who owned an interior decorating company until five years ago had started sketching some ideas for the first floor, and based on our descriptions of the 2nd and 3rd floors was jotting notes for those areas as well. Honestly, I think the purchase of this property was giving her a whole new lease on life as well. She has been enjoying her retirement, but over the last several months has grown restless, needing a purpose in life. This gave her one, at least in the short term. She was keeping things simple, and inexpensive, but making them pretty, which would attract the sort of tenants we wanted for the residence. Rosemary, and a little later Mom, was involved in this with her. 

Dad, Grandpa and I sat down on the stairs and discussed some of the changes that needed to be made, and some of the financial requirements. Dad was a little concerned about Grandpa putting all his eggs in one basket with the property, but Grandpa waved them off. "Student housing is something that will always be needed. I've been reading on this for the last month, since we heard you were considering this for the kids, and I think you've struck a gold mine. We are buying the property right, far below actual value, so I'm not at risk there. If we decide it isn't working for us, there are companies who specialize in this very thing, so we can get out at any time. We will have a going concern, with an excellent, desirable, property so I don't see any reason for concern. I wouldn't do this elsewhere, but I have a vested interest in the success of this project whether I invest or not. It just makes sense to Grandma and me right now. If it all fell apart it would hurt, but it wouldn't destroy us."

The numbers Dad and Grandpa were tossing around for doing the renovations were staggering to me, so I just sat and listened. Electronics I know, but the other areas of discussion were like a foreign language to me. I could do a lot of the work, and had somewhat here and there, but when it came to planning and knowing pricing I was over my head. That's one thing I really appreciate about my Grandpa, though. He didn't just throw stuff around and leave me in the dark, but took the time to help me understand. "Justin, let this be a lesson to you. Anytime you get involved in any type of financial dealings don't go into it solely on the advice of someone else. If you don't understand, don't do it! That's one of the big issues I've had with my broker lately. He wants me to get into areas I don't understand, strictly on his advice. That is dangerous! I'm not saying he is trying to cheat me. I really don't believe he is. He has always been honest with me in the past, but there is just too much of an area of temptation that I won't put in front of anyone."

It was a quiet ride home, after we stopped for dinner. Grandpa and Grandma dozed in the middle seats, which left any conversation low voiced and confined to front and back. That suited Rosemary and me very well. We sat snuggled against each other and held hands the whole way home. Rosemary was almost giddy with excitement, while I was thrilled with the possibilities I was also concerned with some of the responsibilities I would be shouldering. Rosemary leaned in and gave me a gentle peck on the cheek. It was not sexual in nature, but simply an expression of her love that I fully understood, and I squeezed her hand in return. Nothing more was needed.

Fifteen minutes from Grandpa's house everything changed. Rosemary received a frantic call from Stephanie on her cell phone. "Hey, there Steph! The place is beautiful! Just wait until you see it!"

"Later, Rosemary. You've got to come quickly. We were in a terrible accident, and Susie may not live!"

"No! What happened?" That woke Grandpa, who turned around to see what was happening.

"We were at the mall to see a movie. We were driving home when a drunk driver blew a light and hit us right on Susie's door. They airlifted her to the hospital, and it looks bad. I'm OK, just banged up pretty badly, but they are releasing me. Can you come down here? I don't want to be alone, and my family isn't around."

"We'll be there as soon as we can make it. Hang on." Rosemary hanged up the call and turned and buried her face in my shoulder. Instinctively I put an arm around her and held her tight. I had heard the conversation, so I didn't need to ask questions. 

I saw Dad looking back at us in the mirror, so I told him what was going on. He just nodded and made a quick left turn at the next intersection and drove quickly. He turned to look into the middle seat and said, "Dad, you don't mind if I drop the kids off at the hospital before I take you home, do you?"

"By all means, no! Let's see what is going on there, first. I know Susie, and I want to see what's happening, too."

I'm not saying Dad sped, or anything, but we made excellent time to the hospital, and all of us hurried into the Emergency entrance. Of course, since we were not family they wouldn't let us in to see Steph, but promised to let her know we were there. A few minutes later, a nurse came back to where we were sitting and asked Rosemary and me to follow her. "She asked that you be allowed to come back to her room. This is unusual, but since her family is not available I will allow it. She is concerned about needing a ride home in just a few minutes." Grandpa pulled a business card from his wallet and handed it to me as we started to follow the nurse.

"Justin, she probably won't need this, but just in case, give it to her." I took the card and hurried off after the nurse.

When we got back to the cubical Steph where was being treated many tears were shed between the two girls. Steph kept saying it was her fault that Susie was hurt, but obviously it was not. A young police officer arrived shortly after we did, and had some paperwork that he wanted to finish. I didn't think Steph was in any condition to be talking with him at the moment, especially since she was talking about it being her fault. She was not talking legal fault, but I knew how such a thing could be twisted out of context by prosecutors and lawyers. Even though I had not given Grandpa's card to Steph yet I just interrupted the officer and extended the card to him. "Sir, I understand you need to finish up your report, but Stephanie is in no condition to do so at this time. Here is her attorney's card. He's in the waiting room if you would care to speak with him now."

"Wow. You ambulance chasers don't waste time, do you?"

"Sir, with all respect, I find that remark to be outside the bounds of professional conduct as well as quite offensive! My grandfather is not now, nor has he ever been an 'ambulance chaser' as you called him. Stephanie is our friend, and called us as we were returning from Scottsdale, asking us to come. Grandpa was with us, and offered his services as a friend, pro bono, because he knew how some of you can be. He is retired, but still a member in good standing of the bar, and he will be representing Steph, unless she chooses otherwise."

"I'm sorry. I misunderstood, and my comment was totally uncalled for. I apologize. I deal with lawyers all the time who hear accident reports on the scanner, and often reach the hospital before we do, trying to score clients. That does not excuse my conduct, though."

"I understand, and I assure you he would share your sentiments. I'm just a bit protective of his reputation I guess. No offense and your apology is accepted. Would you care to speak with him? I really don't think Steph is in any condition to deal with this at the moment."

"Thank you. I believe I will. At least I can get his contact info and things. It is a lot easier if I can complete things right away, but it usually doesn't happen." He noted Grandpa's name and info then said, "I'll just speak to him for a moment and then leave things in his hands." He handed Steph the police report she had to fill out, along with his report, and left.

"Thanks, Justin. That's why I wanted you to come back here. Besides not wanting to be alone, that is. I knew you would take care of me."

A young Dr. bustled into the room at that moment, looked at us warily, but Stephanie assured him it was OK to speak in front of us. "All right, young lady. We are going to let you go home now if you have anyone to care for you at home. Do you?"

Tears welled up in Steph's eyes. "My mom and her boyfriend went out of town for the weekend. I can't even reach them on her cellphone."

Rosemary spoke up quickly. "It's OK, Dr. Steph will be coming home with us. We'll care for her until her mother gets home at least."

"All right. I'm giving you some prescriptions for pain and to help you sleep. I want you to take them as prescribed. Please don't abuse them. They aren't for fun, but you will need the help to rest. Please follow up with your physician on Monday." He handed the scripts to her, and she promptly gave them to Rosemary.

"Please, Dr. I have to know how Susie is doing?"

"Susie?"

"Yes, the other girl who was hurt in the wreck. They airlifted her here, and I have to know how she is." Tears were rolling down her cheeks. "She and Rosemary are my best friends, and I don't know what I will do if she dies."

"She is in surgery right now. She's badly hurt, but I don't believe she is in danger of dying. I really can't say more than that at the moment, because I don't know any more."

"Thank you." He bustled back out of the room, obviously quite busy, and a nurse brought in some release forms for Steph to sign, along with a bag of her clothes, which were not wearable due to blood stains all over them. She also had a robe for Steph to wear.

"I'll have to ask you to leave, Sir, for just a moment so we can get Stephanie decent to go out. I know this isn't very pretty, hun, but it is all I have available, unless one of you brought her a change of clothes?"

Rosemary just shook her head, "Sorry, but we were just coming into town when Steph called. We just hurried over here, and I didn't even think about bringing her something to wear."

"Not a problem. Just return the robe in the next couple of days, and be sure they mark it down so you aren't billed for it. I hope you heal up quickly. You aren't badly hurt, and you are lucky. You could have been like a young lady we had airlifted in here earlier!"

"I know. Susie was with me."

"Oh, I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have said that!" Her face flamed with embarrassment. "She is going to be OK. But it was really touch and go for a little bit. I just saw her a minute ago when they brought her out of surgery."

"Oh! Can we see her?"

"I'm sorry, but that is not possible. She is in recovery now, and wouldn't know you are here. From there she will be going to ICU until at least Monday. Maybe then, but call first."

Stephanie was crestfallen, but nodded. "Thanks." I stepped into the hall, and waited just a moment until a CNA arrived with a wheelchair. We made our way to the waiting area, where our very concerned parents and grandparents sat talking quietly.

When Rosemary explained the situation to them Dad quickly jumped up and went out to get the SUV. He pulled up to the door and carefully helped Stephanie into the front seat while Mom got into the middle with Grandpa and Grandma and Rosemary and I crawled into the back. Grandpa leaned forward and talked with Steph for a few minutes, then said, "My offer to represent you stands. I'm retired, but I'm still a member of the bar. I don't want a cent from you, but I know you will be swarmed with 'ambulance chasers' before you have a chance to turn around. I'll bet there are messages on your answering machine at home now, and you'll be getting all kinds of mail advertising their services. Some of them are good, but some are jackleg lawyers who are merely scum in striped pants. I never practiced personal injury law, but I have had to deal with a number of them who will take on any case hoping to get a settlement rather than go to court, just so they get their cut of the money. I always thought that was distasteful. However, I also think drunk driving is distasteful, and I'll be happy to do all I can to help you deal with whoever it was that hit you."

"Thank you, sir. It is Susie I'm really worried about. Her parents just left on a cruise, and they won't be back for ten days. Can you do anything for her?"

"I planned to make her the same offer when I can. With her parents out of the country she is going to need help. She is eighteen isn't she?"

"Yes sir."

"Well that makes it a little easier all the way around. Her parents need to be notified, and possibly they can appoint me to represent them and her until she is able to make her own choices. I don't want someone to slip in there while she is not fully cogent and get her to sign something to represent her. It has happened before, more than once! Again, understand, I don't want a nickel out of this. You are my granddaughter's friends. That is all I want or need."

We dropped Grandpa and Grandma off at their house and made our way home. One thing I really love about Mom and Dad is the way they reach out to others who have needs, and are not the least bit selfish about what they have. There was never a question Stephanie would come to our house at least until her mom got home. Rosemary had known this; of course, when she said Steph would be cared for by us. Mom's only question was whether she would prefer a guest room, or if she would prefer to share Rosemary's king-size bed. 

Dad backed the Denali into the garage, rather than drive it in, so that Steph's door would be by the door into the house, and she wouldn't have to walk around the car to get into the house. By now, soreness had really set in, and muscles were stiff. I took one arm, and Rosemary took the other, and we got her into the house. Mom had her sit down at the kitchen table and fixed her a cup of hot tea to go with a little snack she prepared. Steph's meds really needed to be taken with food, and she and Susie had not eaten dinner yet before the accident. I know she was famished, but it was obvious she was quite uncomfortable. 

As soon as she had eaten a little, and drank the tea with her meds Rosemary started to help her to her room. It was immediately obvious, though that the stairs would be impossible for her tonight. She was just too sore and stiff to climb them. Mom suggested she possibly use the couch, but Rosemary suggested I carry her instead. Steph thought for a moment and then thanked Mom and said if I didn't mind, she thought she would be better in the bed. 

I know that being carried up the stairs by me wasn't the most comfortable thing Steph ever experienced, but I think being held in my arms more than made up for it in her mind. She wrapped her arms around my neck and managed to press at least one of her breasts against me the whole time I carried her. It was immediately obvious to me her bra had been removed along with her clothes at the hospital. She is such a little thing carrying her up the stairs was no great hardship, and holding her like this was more than enough compensation. Rosemary gave me a knowing smile and a little bit of a wink when she knew no one else was watching.

I got to the top of the stairs, and started to set Stephie down, but Rosemary piped up and said, "Go ahead and carry her down to my room. Don't make her walk it." I didn't mind, especially when Steph slid around a little in my arms so she could get both boobs against me at once. Hospital robes are made to protect one's privacy, but only the bare minimum is done with them, and the way she shifted caused it to gap open so that I was looking down into her robe and saw her left nipple poking out from the end of her breast. Quickly, I averted my eyes, but the picture in my mind was going to stay there for quite a long time! 

I think Rosemary has the perfect body, in my estimation, but that doesn't mean I don't like to look at others, too! I had certainly enjoyed seeing Stephie through the eyes of Mr. Koala, but that didn't compare to the real thing right there in my arms. I almost stumbled, but caught myself in time. Steph's arms tightened around my neck, pulling her breasts tightly against my chest again. I had allowed myself to be distracted and nearly fell. 

I nearly lost it again when Stephie snuggled her face into my neck and gave me a little kiss. "Thank you, Justin. I know I can always count on you when I need you." Again, another hug, and the feeling of her breasts smashed against my chest. My cock had been growing somewhat from just holding her, but when I saw her nipple, and then the way she kept rubbing her boobs against me and I couldn't help it. The last thing she needed right now was to have me perving on her, I thought, but she had other ideas. In her mind this was the best time to get me paying attention to her, and she was doing all she could to get my attention. The problem is: she had it!

Rosemary, the little minx, hadn't missed a bit of what was going on, and I know it was tearing her up to see it, but she was determined to encourage things between Stephie and me. She had told me she hoped I would fall for either of the two friends, knowing they would want her to be part of our lives. I saw her look at the bulge in my shorts and smirk at me. She went ahead of us into her room to turn down the bed, and dallied a bit, leaving Steph in my arms just that little bit longer. Stephanie leaned back a bit to see what she was doing, and again her robe opened, exposing her whole left boob to my gaze. Yes, I looked, and Rosemary smirked at me again.

She got the duvet pulled back and opened up the sheets for me to lay Stephie down, when of course the robe was opened up before my gaze. Steph glanced down as I set her down and saw the way it was gaping open, but instead of being upset and freaking out, looked up at me as she slowly closed it. "Oops. That wasn't supposed to happen!" She smiled up at me. "I know my tits don't match up to Rosemary's, but I hope you liked it."

What was I supposed to say to that? It seemed to me I couldn't say the right thing no matter how I tried. I certainly wasn't going to compare hers to Rosemary's, but how to say I liked it without being offensive, and I certainly couldn't say I didn't see it. It was right in front of my face! My face was beet red with embarrassment, although she didn't seem all that fazed by it. Maybe the pain killers were working on her more than I thought. "Stephie, I didn't mean to look at it, but it is beautiful. You have nothing to be ashamed of there."

"Thank you, Justin." She reached up and pulled my head down and gave me a little peck on the lips. "Thank you, too for carrying me up the stairs." She giggled, and said, "I know you liked it. Your truth meter is showing." She and Rosemary both laughed at me as I beat a hasty retreat for my room. 

I quickly turned on the monitor as soon as I got into my room and the door securely closed. I had an idea things would get interesting in a hurry, but I had no idea how interesting! Steph was sitting on the edge of the bed getting ready to put on a tee-shirt Rosemary tossed over to her. "I must be loopy from these meds. I can't believe I let Justin look at my tit and didn't even get upset or try to hide it! I really don't mind it with Justin, though. He's a really nice guy. Nothing like the jerk my mom is going out with! I really don't see what she likes about him. He's not like Justin at all! He keeps trying to peek in on me and tries to cop a feel whenever he thinks he can get away with it. If I had a place to go I'd leave home! You don't know how lucky you are to have your parents!"




Justin Thyme Ch. 06



She slipped the robe down and off her shoulders, exposing her back and what looked like would be some very nasty bruising on her left side, where she had bounced off the door rather hard. She slipped the tee-shirt over her head and lay back with a sigh, rolling her hips enough to free up the robe, and dropped it to the floor. "Ohhh, I hurt all over! I have a feeling tomorrow is going to be worse." 

Rosemary brushed her hair back a bit and said, "Just rest a bit. Try to sleep if you can. I've got to talk to Justin for a minute. I'll be back in just a few. Don't worry about waking me tonight if you need something, or if you pain gets bad. That's why you are here, K?" She walked around the bed and started for my room, then stopped and pulled her shirt over her head. I had almost switched off the monitor, but stopped with my hand on the switch when she pulled her shirt loose from her shorts. 

"What are you doing? You going in there naked?" Steph laughed as Rosemary tossed her shirt at her.

"No, I'm not going naked. I'm just getting ready for bed first, and getting comfortable. Mom doesn't like it when I am around Justin in just my nightshirt, but I like being out of this bra," and she popped it off, and then rubbed her breasts, as if trying to restore circulation. I groaned as she massaged them right in front of the Koala. This was the first time she had ever done so.

"What about Mr. Koala?"

Rosemary laughed. "Mr. Koala, I'm not embarrassing you, am I?" She turned back to Stephie and said, "I forgot he was even there. I know I've been silly about him, but he just seems so real. I still talk to him about things, but I had other things on my mind tonight." Rosemary stepped over to the Koala and stroked his fur softly, with those luscious boobs right in front of my eyes. Leaning forward, she rubbed the top of his head between her breasts and sighed, "His fur feels so nice on my skin! I'm almost tempted to sleep with him, but I know it wouldn't be too good on all the electrical stuff Justin did with him."

The camera came back into focus again as she pulled away. "Did you like that Mr. Koala? Was it as good for you as it was for me?" She and Stephanie both broke up laughing at the joke and Rosemary unbuttoned her shorts and dropped them to the floor. I was to be disappointed though, as she pulled a tee shirt over her head before slipping her panties to the floor. Quickly, I turned off the monitor and moved across the room before she could leave her room and walk across the hall to mine. 

I needn't have hurried. Just as I turned off the monitor and walked across the room I heard Mom knock on Rosemary's door and ask if everyone was settled OK. I should have known Mom would be up to check on Steph. She isn't one to leave people alone who needed help. I switched the monitor back on, not expecting a show, but so I could know what was going on. It wasn't eavesdropping per se, but keeping abreast of plans.

". . . now I want you to make yourself totally at home. If you need something don't hesitate, but ask me, OK?" Steph nodded. "We'll have to work something out about getting you some clothes tomorrow. . ."

"That's not a problem, Mom. I've got stuff she can wear."

"Oh, OK. Now don't feel like you have to get up in the morning or anything. You just get some rest. If you need anything, one of us will be happy to get it for you. Now I won't be around most of the day tomorrow, I have an open house, so I'll be gone by about 9:30, and probably won't be home before 3:30 or 4:00. Don't hesitate to call my cell, though, for anything. OK?"

"Thank you." Steph sounded sleepy. Her pain pills were starting to kick in already. 

"Rosemary, remember your Dad has that Kiwanis golf outing tomorrow as well, so he won't be around until tomorrow night. Justin can help out with anything you need. He's good about things."

"Yeah, I know. We'll get along fine." 

"Why don't you get out of here for a bit and let Stephanie go to sleep." Mom looked at Rosemary and cocked an eyebrow. "But, not like that! Put a robe on or something before you leave the room."

"OK, Mom. Steph, if you need something just buzz my cell. I want to talk with Justin about our house for a bit before I go to bed, if he hasn't gone to sleep already. I doubt he has yet. It is still early for him." Rosemary gave Mom a hug. "Thanks, Mom for being you. You're the greatest."

An almost drunken sounding Stephanie echoed her from the bed, "You got that right, Rosie. Thanks."

"That's not a problem, dear. You are almost like a daughter to me, as close as you are to Rosemary, and you are welcome in my home anytime." Mom laid her hand on Steph's cheek gently, then leaned down and kissed her on the forehead like she used to do with us when we were sick in bed. 

I turned off the monitor then, expecting Rosemary at any moment. I peeled down to my boxers and sat down at my work table as if I had been working on something. Mom knocked on my door, but fortunately didn't open it. "Goodnight, Justin. Thank you for helping with Stephanie tonight. I love you."

"Good night, Mom. Love you, too!"

It was a couple of minutes before I heard a light tap on my door, and Rosemary slipped into my room. She had on her robe, but when she had the door shut behind her and saw I was looking she slipped it off with a giggle. "Mom told me I had to wear it when I left the room, but she didn't say I had to leave it on."

She hanged the robe on my doorknob and then hurried across the room and into my arms. "Oh, Justin, can you really believe our house? It's beautiful!"

"Yeah, I know. Dad said he was going to move Mom down there and give us this one instead. He said it wasn't fair we get to live in a nicer house than they do. It's a tremendous opportunity they have given us, and that is for sure."

"I can't wait until we move down there and have the house to ourselves. You don't know how many times I wanted to rip your clothes off of you and attack your body today. I made notes of several places I want to make love to you, though!" She smiled her impish grin. 

I sat down in my desk chair, and Rosemary sat in my lap and snuggled. It was not overtly sexual, yet the close contact and the love shown by it were more sexual than the sex act by itself. Just the act of showing my love through holding her was gratifying. The more time I spent with Rosemary the more I was learning that love was about so much more than just the physical union, but the soul bond that transcended mere sex. Don't get me wrong, I loved sex with Rosemary, and it seemed to be on my mind continually, but for now sitting and holding her more than sufficed, especially since opportunity for more was not there. I just couldn't get enough of her presence.

We talked at length about the house, and what we wanted to do with it, how we would decide who to accept as tenants, and then the subject got serious quickly. We turned to talking about Susie, and how we could help her. We concluded I needed to call Grandpa first thing in the morning and pick his brain. Since we weren't family getting information would be hard, especially with her parents stuck on a cruise ship. 

Finally, Rosemary rose to go to bed. We had talked out everything we could on the house, and it was getting late. As she turned to go, Rosemary turned back around and just grazed the tips of her tee-shirt covered nipples across my chest and whispered, "Tomorrow, Mom has an open house, and Dad has the Kiwanis golf outing. Maybe we can find time for some fun, depending on how Steph is doing." She leaned in and gave me the lightest little peck on the lips, grabbed her robe from the doorknob, and slipped across the hall. It was to be another very lonely night in my bed.

Sunday morning I awoke early, as usual, and immediately I started thinking about Susie, and getting Grandpa involved in her situation if possible. I called the hospital, but could get no more information than she was in guarded condition, and that no visitors were allowed. I went down to the kitchen and made coffee, which always put Mom in a good mood if it was ready when she got up. It was still much too early to call Grandpa. I fixed myself some breakfast and began to get ready to go to work. Rosemary and I had forgotten about that when we were making plans for today. Another roadblock to our getting together! 

Dad came bustling through the kitchen and poured coffee into a large travel mug. "Thanks, Son. This hits the spot! I don't have time for breakfast, sorry, but I overslept a bit. I'm due to tee off in thirty minutes. I won't be home until after dinner, actually, probably late, but I'd like to talk with you about some ideas on the house if we could tonight."

"Yeah, sure. I'll be here. Have fun today."

"Uh huh. I can't wait until I can retire and quit doing all of these things! Seems like I never have a day or a weekend I can call my own! If it isn't this charity thing it's a ribbon cutting or something. I guess it's the price I have to pay to live like we do, but I'm not always sure it's worth it." He hurried out the door just as Mom came down the steps.

"Do I smell coffee ready?"

"Sure thing, Mom." I was pouring a cup for her as I spoke. I set it down at her place, and she settled into her chair and cradled the mug in her tiny hands. "Thanks, hon. I really appreciate this. I'm glad you are up. I really wanted to talk with you a few minutes before I have to hurry off. Sometimes I wish I could retire! It seems I'm always running off to do something instead of staying home like I would like. Sometimes I think the price to live like this is too high!"

"That's funny. Dad was saying the same thing as he went out the door."

Mom sighed deeply. "It seems like you two were just born, and you are getting ready to move out in just a few weeks. My babies are growing up, and I'm never around to enjoy it. By the way, son, I just want you to know how proud I am of the kind of young man you have become. I appreciate the way you cared for Stephanie last night. You didn't have to carry her up those stairs, but you knew she would be more comfortable than on the couch. You've also shown real maturity in taking on responsibilities lately. You have no idea how proud that makes a parent. The way you and Rosemary have started caring for each other again is special. You two used to be so close when you were little, and now to see you working together again is so sweet."

If she only knew, I know she wouldn't think it sweet!

"Thanks, Mom. Taking care of Steph was no problem. She and Rosemary are such good friends, and besides, she is a very sweet girl."

"She seems like it. Is she someone you are interested in?"

"Oh, I don't know. She's nice and all that, and she's Rosie's friend. We talk and stuff, but I haven't asked her out or anything. We're just friends at the moment. I'm really not all that worried about going out much yet. I'd rather wait until college. I'm going to have enough on my plate with the house and studying. I don't think I need to get tied down with a girl right now."

"I think that's wise. Be friends, and don't get too involved just yet. Making friends and keeping them friends is much more important for now. Like I said, you are growing up to fast." Mom stood up and put her cup in the dishwasher. She gave me a big hug and a kiss on the cheek. "We'll be having pastries and things at the open house, so I'll wait until I'm there to eat anything. Thank you for the coffee."

I sat at the table and finished my coffee while jotting a few notes on a napkin of things to be done on the house as they came to my mind. My brain works that way. Often after working on something and, then sleeping on it the ideas will just pop the next morning. I can't explain how it works, just that it does. Security was an area of concern to me. The house was not in a bad area, but to me a house full of girls was a potential issue. I wanted to be certain they were safe, and as protected as we could make them. Electronic locks with key cards had already been decided upon, and security cameras had been discussed. As I thought on things I decided I wanted more than just cameras at entrances, but I also wanted them over the parking area, and covering the back areas of the property. Safety was something I wanted to be able to use to market our property to parents of potential tenants. I tried to think as a father would think, and Rosemary came to my mind. How would I want the place secured if she was to live there?

As if thinking of Rosemary called to her, I heard her coming down the stairs, but I wasn't prepared to see her nude body round the corner as she entered the kitchen. Not that I minded! I could get used to that in the mornings without discomfort! 

"Good morning, Justin. Any coffee left?"

"Sure, I'll get you a cup." I stepped over to the coffee maker, but I dropped the cup I reached for while looking at Rosemary. It shattered all over the counter, into the sink, and on the floor. 

"What's the matter, 'big brother'? Something distracting you this morning?" Rosemary giggled. "Do I need to get my own to protect the crockery?" I shook my head in frustration. At least it wasn't one of Mom's good cups, but an advertising mug from Dad's company. Rosemary stepped over to me and wrapped her arms around my shoulders. "Don't worry about the coffee. I really need a hug worse. I really missed you last night, and with Stephie in the bed with me I couldn't even get myself off. After sitting on your lap and feeling your cock last night I was so horny! I knew today was going to be a nude day for sure! Join me?"

I was a little tentative with Stephie just up the stairs, but it was to enticing to pass up. I quickly pulled my shirt over my head as Rosemary swept up the broken cup, and my shorts dropped quickly to the floor after the shirt. I was at full erection immediately, and as soon as Rosemary set the broom down I gathered her into my arms to feel the glorious softness of her breasts against the skin of my chest. "Oh, I needed that," sighed Rosemary into my ear. "You have no idea how badly I missed you last night!"

The trouble was; I did know how badly I was missed, because I had spent a fitful, lonely night myself. I nuzzled her neck and planted light kisses behind her ear, which caused goose bumps to appear on her shoulder. I found it interesting the way she would get the goose bumps only on the side I was teasing. Stepping back, I released her to get her coffee, and I sat down on a chair. Rosemary walked over with her coffee a moment later, and instead of sitting in the chair next to me as I expected turned my chair enough that she could straddle my legs. She set her coffee down momentarily and slid herself forward until her pussy was in contact with my erect cock, and then leaned forward until her nipples grazed my chest, and kissed me lightly on the lips.

"I think this is the way I want to drink my morning coffee from now on." Her hips flexed enough for me to feel her pussy rubbing lightly against my cock, and then she leaned back enough to put the cup to her lips and sip the brew. My eyes roamed up and down her exquisite shape, and my hands stroked tenderly up and down her sides, from the curves of her hips to the swell of her breasts, tracing the feminine form in all its glory as my eyes drank in the luscious sight of her breasts and excited nipples. 

I couldn't help myself. I had to lean down and take the nipples in my mouth by turn and gently suckle and caress them with my tongue. Rosemary set her cup down with a sigh, and leaned backward allowing my questing mouth better access, and in the process pressed even more closely with her hips. My hands slid down, and grasping her ass cheeks I pulled forward, pressing her even more tightly against my cock. As I paid more attention to her nipples with my mouth and tongue her hips undulated, rubbing her pussy up and down just a little on my cock, and I could feel moisture collecting on the upper portion of my ball sack as well. Her head was thrust back, and her mouth was slack with a quiet moan emanating from it. As much as I was enjoying her breasts I couldn't resist moving my mouth up to her neck and kissing and nuzzling the alabaster skin, while crushing her breasts against my chest tightly. Another moan from her lips, and I felt a hand squeeze between our bodies to grasp my cock and stroke it a few times.

Rosemary whispered in my ear, "I just can't stand it anymore. I have to have you in me! She slipped back and rose up just enough to pull my cock to the entrance of her pussy and she slowly sat back down on me, easing my cock into her tight, very wet, and slippery pussy. She let out a quiet "Ohhhhhh" as she settled down on me and squeezed her breasts snugly to me with a bear hug that nearly expelled all of my breath. After sitting still for a few moments, other than a rhythmic squeeze and release of her pussy muscles on my cock, she slowly started rocking her hips and lifting herself up and lowering herself back down on my penis. My hips were rocking in time with her movements, thrusting in and out. 

I knew I wasn't going to last long, and I did my best to limit my strokes, trying to make it last for her, but I knew it was hopeless. My balls were tightening up, and my muscles quivered as I tried hard to hold out. Sweat was beading my forehead, and running into my eyes, when with a quiet wail Rosemary thrust down hard on my cock and quivered, with her pussy spasming around my cock. I lost it. I thrust into her as hard as I could as my cock and balls pulsed repeatedly. 

I guess the angle was just right for her clit to press against my cock as we moved against each other, and her heightened arousal was sufficient to bring her to orgasm so quickly. All I know is it was mind-blowing, and I loved her more than I knew was possible. I held her to me tightly, and kissed her neck repeatedly as we came down from our climax, and as our breathing slowed enough to whisper to her, "I love you." I felt her press her cheek tightly against my cheek adding to our hug, when I heard it.

"That was the most beautiful thing I've ever seen!" said Stephanie, who was standing with a hand under her tee-shirt, holding her pussy, and looking at us with big, wide eyes. 



Justin Thyme Ch. 07



PLEASE READ: I am deeply apologetic to my fans who have complained about the length of time between the last installment and this. For the ones I had a name for I attempted to respond to your queries, but a number were anonymous, and I had no way of responding. I am not critical of your anonymity, I'm just sorry I could not explain the circumstance. On the day the last segment was published I lost my father to a long battle with heart disease. He was 82, and it was expected, but needless to say, I have been quite busy and was not able to put much time into my writing. I'm sorry I did not have opportunity to communicate this, and I am quite gratified by the number of those who have asked how long it would be. Part 8 may be delayed a bit, also, although hopefully it will not be quite as long. I appreciate your continued patience and your readership. I certainly hope you enjoy my efforts. 

*

This is part seven of a multi-part story, and does not do well as a stand-alone. Please read the preceding sections first if you have not already. It will greatly enhance your enjoyment of the story. If you are looking for a lot of wild sex you will be disappointed. While sex is involved in the story it is a part of the story, not the story a part of the sex.

I have received valid criticism for some of the grammar issues with my story, but I plead artistic license for some of the sentence fragments, and/or run-ons as I have tried to write in a conversational style, and we rarely follow grammatical rules to the max when we speak. Mrs. Wadsworth would be scandalized if you knew I was in her English class, but actually I learned this style of writing from her Lit class. The only unfortunate part is that I am not as accomplished a writer as those I studied. I do value the criticisms as well as the praise I have received. Thank you, and please comment. 

Susie slowly opened her eyes to unfamiliar surroundings, with the light in her eyes so bright that it hurt. She moaned slightly with discomfort, and a face appeared over hers. Curly hair fringed the face, causing a halo effect of the light shining through the hair. "Are you an angel? Am I dead?"

"No. You are at St. Francis Hospital, and I'm Dave, your nurse. Nobody has ever called me an angel before, not even my mother." Dave smoothed back Susie's hair gently, only to be answered with a moan of pain. "I'm going to give you something to make you feel better in just a moment, and you can go back to sleep. I'll be here if you need me all night. OK?"

Susie wanted to ask him why she was there, but the thoughts wouldn't formulate in her mind due to the anaesthesia she still had in her system. She nodded slightly, and then felt coolness in her arm as he injected morphine into her IV port. With a sigh she closed her eyes and allowed sleep to overtake her once again. "Rest well little one. We almost lost you, but you're going to make it now."

Rosemary and I were both so startled by Stephanie speaking up, and standing there in the doorway, that neither of us moved for a moment. There wasn't any point in trying to hide, and we surely couldn't run with my cock still impaling Rosemary, although I must say it was wilting rather quickly! Rosemary was the cool, collect, one though. She just reached on the table for a napkin to catch the overflow as my cock began to slip out of her pussy.

"I thought you would sleep for quite a while yet, Steph. Are you feeling alright?"

"I hurt in places I didn't know I had, but it isn't as bad as last night was. I'm just so tight and sore. I just woke up and I was worrying about Susie. I really didn't mean to spy on you!"

"That's OK. I woke up, and just felt like this was going to be a 'nude day'. My emotions were all mixed up, and I find being nude relaxing, and when I asked Justin to join me, well, one thing led to another." 

Rosemary smiled at her friend. "I just find it so freeing and relaxing. You can join us if you like, but there is not pressure either way, nor does it mean Justin will do anything to you, unless you want him to." This was followed by a grin and a wink, and a deep blush from Steph. "Susie is in "guarded condition" in the ICU, but she isn't allowed any visitors before Monday. Justin will call Grandpa in just a few minutes and see what he thinks about things."

Rosemary stepped up off of me, and after wiping myself off a bit with a napkin I stepped to the coffee maker and poured Stephanie a cup. That got Rosemary giggling. "You should have seen Justin when I came down. He took one look at me and dropped a cup, and it shattered all over the place. Maybe it's a good thing you're dressed as long as he's handling the crockery." Steph giggled along with her, but stopped suddenly and held her side. "Steph, are you OK?"

"Yeah, I'm alright. It just hurt to laugh." She sat down at the table, and then looked at both Rosemary and me. "You weren't kidding about going nude, were you?'

"I'm not," said Rosemary. "I don't know if Justin will stay that way. It's his first time, and I don't think he was planning on you waking up early." She grinned up at me.

I just shrugged. "It's a little late now to be worrying about it. No, I wouldn't have done it if I knew you would get up early. I thought your meds would keep you asleep for hours yet. Right now I need to call Grandpa and see what he has to say. I've got to go to work in just a couple of hours, too."

Rosemary pouted. "I forgot about that. Can't you call in or something?" I just shook my head and walked out of the room to get my cellphone, very conscious of Stephanie's eyes fixed on my cock as I crossed the room.

Grandpa and I talked for a while about Susie's situation. Without either her, or her parent's, authorization he could not represent her interests, and since she was eighteen he said he would be on iffy ground if she said she didn't want him later. I assured him that would not be an issue, and he agreed to attempt to find them through Carnival Cruise Lines, although without knowing which cruise they were on it would be difficult. Good guy that he is he said he would cover the expense of the satellite calls to the ship, which can be quite expensive. 

I returned downstairs to find Steph and Rosemary huddled over the camera ooh'ing and ahh'ing over the house. Steph looked up at me with eyes shining, "We really get to live there, Justin? That's amazing!" Slowly she stood from her chair and walked over to me. She looked up at me with tears in her eyes and then wrapped her arms around me in a very nice hug. "Thank you for everything, Justin. Somehow, I just know you will be there for me when I need you." She nestled her head on my shoulder and sniffled. "You and Rosemary are there for me more than my own mother. She won't even answer my calls, but you two take me in, your Grandfather is going to represent me and Susie, and you are going to let me live in that beautiful mansion with you." 

I could feel tears on my shoulder as she hugged me tighter to her. I was trying to keep my cock back away from her, thinking she didn't need to feel me getting hard from her boobs smooshed against my chest, but she pulled even harder until the only thing between my cock and her was a very thin tee shirt and a light pair of panties, the only clothes of her own she had here. Without releasing her hold on me she pulled her head back enough to look me in the eyes. "I feel safe, and loved, in your arms, even like this. I can trust you. You aren't like Mom's boyfriend. There is no way I'd let him see me dressed like this. He tried to get in the bathroom while I was taking a shower the other day. I heard him trying to get the lock open on the door."

Rosemary gasped. "What did you do?"

"I had a little wedge with me, and had it under the door so it wouldn't open. It wasn't the first time he's tried to do something like that. I have to put it under my bedroom door, too."

I thought about Mr. Koala, and felt a little bit guilty. I knew it wasn't the same, but in a lot of ways, it was. I was invading their privacy. First opportunity I decided I'd remove the camera, and I'd try to leave the monitor off, also. 

Rosemary put an arm around Steph's shoulders, but pulled away quickly when she saw her wince. "Did you say anything to your mom?"

Steph's face suddenly grew bitter. "I've tried to talk with her about it, but she won't believe me. She says it's my imagination, that Paul is a really sweet guy who wouldn't do a thing like that."

"If you ever need to, you just come over here! We'll always have a place for you, right Justin?"

"Certainly. Anytime, and I know that would go for Mom and Dad, too."

"I really don't know what is going on with Mom any more. We used to be so close, but since Paul came around he's all she has time for. It I almost like he has cut off all contact with people she used to be friends with, too. I keep telling myself it is just that I don't like the guy, but there is more to it than that."

I looked up at the clock and jumped up quickly. "I'm sorry, but time has gotten away from me. I've got to run." After a very fast shower I skipped shaving and threw my clothes on and ran down the stairs. Steph had to make a comment about liking my other outfit better, but I didn't have time to jaw with her right then. Stopping to grab the camera from Rosemary I hustled out the door and made it just in time to unlock the doors and get the lights on before we opened. I had to give Jim my notice today, and really didn't want to do so under conditions of being late!

Sunday's in the store ran the gamut from being crazy busy all day to a waste of time just being open. Today was one of those days. It was a beautiful spring day, and with a special kid's weekend at the Kitts Peak Observatory, that always drew a crowd and another celebration of something or other out on Mt. Lemon, and Old Tucson having a big wing-ding, there just weren't all that many people thinking about electronics. It was painfully obvious yesterday had been the same. There was absolutely nothing in the warrantee work area to be handled, the storeroom had been totally straightened and swept out, and there wasn't even any cleaning to do in the main showroom area. I tried not to feel sorry for myself, knowing what I was missing out on at home, but I wasn't real successful. I showed Sam and Joe the pictures on the camera, and they were suitably impressed, but you can only do that for so long. 

By the time Jim showed up at 12:30 we still had not had a single customer, and we had run out of ideas to keep ourselves occupied. Joe just grinned and locked the door. "Closed for Spring Fever" was what the sign he hanged in the window said. "You guys get out of here," he said to Sam and Joe. "Enjoy the rest of the day off, and it's with pay. You guy's always take care of me, so this is a freebie." He didn't have to argue with them!

Jim clapped me on the shoulder and said, "Tell me about that flea hotel you guys looked at. Is it going to work out?" 

I pulled out the camera and we scrolled through the pictures. "I know that property. There was talk about putting it on the National Landmark list a few years ago, before the insurance company bought it. I hope you realize you guy's got a real deal!"

"Oh, yeah, I know. I'm still blown away by it, but there is one problem. I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to give you my notice. I'll stick around 'till I get Hulvey's taken care of, and maybe I can help out after school during the week if you need help, but I'm going to have to jump on the house as soon as I can if we are going to be able to accept students this fall."

Jim just nodded. "Yeah, I knew this was going to happen. I'm sorry to see it so soon, but I fully understand. You just let me know any way I can help you. References, or whatever, all you have to do is ask, K?"

"Thanks. I really hate to quit, too, but this is an opportunity I won't see again. There are a couple of things I want your help with." I pulled the camera back out and we started going through the pictures again, but this time I was discussing my concerns about security. Over the next half hour together we worked up a list of cameras, sensors, locks, and other security devices. We even listed a gate for the parking area that worked with a remote like a garage door opener. By the time we were done I had given him a pretty large order.

"You're sure you don't want to get all this stuff locally? You really want me to get it and you have to schlep it up there?"

"Yeah, for sure. Dad and I both wanted to run the business through you. You've been awfully good to us through the years, all the way back to saving my life when I took the projection TV apart." We both got a good laugh out of that. "We also agreed this goes beyond the bounds of all the stuff you let me get at cost. This is to be run as a straight cash sale."

"Justin, you don't need to do that. I don't mind."

"Yeah, I know. You'd give me your shirt if I asked for it, but we both feel, and Grandpa concurs this is too much to ask a freebie for."

"I'll at least give you the 10% discount I give commercial customers, though."

"That's fine. In fact, the sale needs to be in the name of Thyme & Thyme Again Properties, LLC. We don't have the LLC in place yet, but it is just a matter of Grandpa getting it filed. The name is available."

"All right. Thank you. I assume you want this stuff right away, so I'll get the orders placed first thing tomorrow. Now you get out of here, and enjoy your day off." I walked out with a big grin on my face. That was one order from my boss I was most happy to oblige! Enjoy this day I would indeed!

I could have called Rosemary and let her know I was going home early, but couldn't think of a reason I needed to. If I had remembered Stephanie was at the house I might have done so, but I had our house in Scottsdale on my mind and I didn't think of her. When I popped open the door and walked in she was lying on the couch wearing only what she wore when she was born, except she had more hair. It was only on her head, though. Everywhere else she was a bald as a baby. She shrieked and tried to cover herself, but the vision was burned in my memory forever.

Quickly I turned around just as Rosemary scurried into the room to see what the problem was. 

"Justin, what are you doing here?"

"Jim closed the store early because we weren't doing anything, and he gave us the rest of the day off. I was thinking about the house, and forgot Stephie was here. Sorry, Steph! If I had remembered I would have called." 

"It's OK, Justin. You can turn around. I saw you this morning, and you didn't ty to hide from me, so I guess turnabout is fair play." 

"I don't promise not to stare, though," I said as I turned around. Steph giggled delightedly when she saw how my shorts were tented obscenely. "It looks to me like central casting had you made up to look like an accident victim. How are you feeling, Steph?"

"I'm really sore all over, but these pain meds have me feeling pretty good. I doubt I'd have to courage to do this, but Rosemary is right. It feels freeing. Of course, you already saw my little titties last night, and you seemed to like them."

"What's not to like, Stephanie? You have a lovely body!" 

"You don't think my titties are too little?"

"You are little. I think they are lovely."

Rosemary walked over and slipped her arm around my waist. "I told her you would say that. She is lovely, isn't she?" I just nodded. "Are you going to join us?"

I shrugged. "Why not? She seemed to like staring at me as much as I'm going to be staring at her. You know already I'll be staring at you, so if she doesn't mind it, I don't." Steph blushed cutely, but smiled at me. "On a serious note, Stephie, I don't want the medicine making you do something you'll be sorry for later. I'll go to my room if you prefer."

"Is he always this gallant, Rosemary? He's so different than Mom's boyfriend . . . ." I know her Mom's situation was really disturbing to Stephie. She looked so forlorn and abandoned at the moment. Rosemary sensed it, too, and hurried over to the couch and held her hand. I thought it wisest for me to vacate the room for the moment and went on up to my room to put my stuff away. Quickly I slipped off my clothes and noticed a large damp area in my undershorts. I shook my head ruefully and wondered what I was getting myself into as I walked back out my door and down the stairs. My half-hard cock led the way like the nose of a hunting dog sniffing the ground for his prey. Not that it reached the ground, but . . . .

I had just poured myself a glass of Coke when Rosemary called and asked me to join them in the living room for a minute. Well, if I must, I would sacrifice myself to the torture of their naked forms. The sacrifices we men make for the women in our lives!

I strolled in there, glass in hand, with my cock bobbing before me, much to Stephanie's enjoyment. "Justin, are you hard all the time?" I glanced down at myself and said, "Well, this isn't really hard, but with you two running around looking like that, how can I help it? I'm sorry, but you excite me. I'm not used to seeing one nude female yet, and here I have two! And beautiful ones at that!" Steph kvelled at the compliment, although she accepted what I said as flattery, rather than taking it as a true compliment.

I spread a towel on the seat of the recliner before sitting down in it and looked questioningly at Rosemary. "I just thought we ought to lay out some ground rules if we're going to be running around naked like this. I told Steph being naked didn't mean we would have sex. This morning just happened, not that I'm complaining mind you, but that doesn't mean it's the norm."

Steph broke in, "I really like you, Justin. Maybe I shouldn't say this, but I've had a crush on you since like in the seventh grade." She blushed and looked down. "Don't laugh at me, please. I can't help it. I really think a lot of you, and being naked with you and seeing you is a fantasy-come true for me, but I don't think I'm ready for sex yet."

I looked at her downcast eyes and over to Rosemary and back, then I got up and knelt next to the couch and took her hand in mine. "Sweetheart, you don't have to worry about me. I will never laugh at you, especially for saying something as sweet as that to me. I had no idea you felt that way about me. I guess I'm just oblivious, huh? I would never do anything to push you into something you don't want or to ever hurt you! I kind of think you are pretty special, myself." Gently I raised her hand to my lips and kissed it before setting it back on the couch. Stephie's eyes were no longer downcast, but were wide and shining as she looked at me.

"Did you really mean that?" I nodded, and she nearly launched herself at me, wrapping both arms around my neck and squeezing me tightly. I know it had to have hurt her, but she didn't let go for the longest time. Who was I to complain? Her bare tits felt absolutely wonderful against my chest, and the skin on her back was soft and smooth as I caressed it. After all, I did need to support her weight, since she was hanging half off of the couch to hug me. Over Steph's shoulder I could see a happy smile on Rosemary's face as she looked at the two of us.

Why is it that it always seems that when things are going really well and everything is just rosy, life has to raise its ugly head? I was really getting into holding Steph when her cell phone rang. If it had been mine I would have ignored it, knowing it was nothing important, but with her mom gone and Susie hurt, who knew what it could be. She withdrew from our embrace to grab her phone, and saw my now fully hard cock standing up and saluting her. A very cheeky grin split her face as she reached. That grin was quickly wiped away though as she saw the text message from her mom.




Justin Thyme Ch. 07



Sorry I couldn't catch your calls earlier. Paul and I married yest. Out of touch until Wed. Lv U

Steph dissolved into tears and sank into the couch. All I knew to do was stay there by her side and gently stroke her back as she continued to sob. Rosemary handed me a box of tissues that I set down next to Steph. 

Finally, after several seemingly interminable minutes Steph's sobs slowed, and with a shaky hand she reached for the tissues. My knees ached from kneeling like this for so long, but I remained where I was, shifting only slightly to get the blood flow going to my feet again. Steph's skin felt like silk, so smooth and soft it was, but honestly that was far from the front of my thoughts. I was hurting for one for whom I cared deeply, how deeply I had not known before now. All of my thoughts were on providing comfort and taking away some of her pain. Perhaps that is where love really begins?

At St. Francis Hospital a young man entered the main door carrying a large display of two dozen roses. A simple card addressed to Susan Collins was on the trident card holder, but there was no florist card visible. Slowly, the young gentleman approached the reception/information desk.

"May I help you, Sir?"

He was hesitant, and obviously uncomfortable in this situation, but that did not mark him as unusual. Most people entering a hospital feel that way. "I hope so. These are for Miss Susan Collins. I understand she is in ICU and not able to receive visitors. Would it be possible to have these delivered to her?"

"You must be new. Didn't they tell you at the florist's shop to deliver at the delivery area around on Spencer?"

"Oh. I'm not from a florist's. I didn't know."

"No, no. It's my mistake. I just assumed, and I'm sorry. Certainly, I'll have one of the volunteers run them up to her. Shall I say whom they are from?"

"No, that won't be necessary. It's in the card. Can you please give me an update on her condition? All I could get earlier was 'guarded condition', but I really don't know what that means."

The volunteer behind the counter looked at her computer for a moment then back to the young gentleman. "Are you family, sir?"

"No. We just met, kind of by accident, recently, and I'm concerned about her."

His reply generated a knowing smile from the elderly volunteer. She sensed romance, which excited her, and he seemed like such a nice young man. "I'm really not supposed to say," she half whispered. "She's not really in 'critical' condition, but not entirely in 'satisfactory' condition either. They didn't think she would make it through surgery, but it looks like she will be OK. It's going to be a tough road for her. What they ought to do with these drunk drivers! We see too much of this in here." She reached up and patted the young man's hand. "I think they will be moving her to another room tomorrow, and you can probably visit then, but call first, OK?"

Wordlessly, he nodded his head, turned, and walked back out the door. The receptionist watched him walk away with tender eyes. "Young love," she thought. She did not see him sit behind the wheel of his car with his head on the wheel before finally starting the car and driving away. 

At the stop sign he quickly programmed an address on his GPS and following its prompts pulled into the driveway of a modest home. He took a deep shuddering breath, opened the door and stepped out. It didn't look like anyone was home, but he had to try. From the rear seat he removed a vase with two dozen roses, identical to the one left for Susie, turned and walked to the front door. He rang the bell, but although he could hear it ring there was no response. What to do?

Quickly he walked back to his car and replaced the flowers in the holder and grabbed a notepad on which he wrote, "Stephanie Winters, I attempted to reach you this morning but found no one home. Please call me at Michael's Flowers, day or evening, and wrote down his cell number. Please let me know the best time and place to deliver your flowers." 

He stood there and pondered the situation for a moment. There is not a 'Michael's Flowers'. The number was his own, but he really needed a chance to talk with her, and the sooner the better. If this didn't work he didn't know what he would do. He couldn't just leave the flowers. The sun would ruin them before the day was half gone. From his briefcase he removed a binder clip and carried the note back to the door. Using the binder clip he fastened the note to the outside of their mailbox, then made his way back to the car. There was nothing else he could do about things at the moment. Carefully he backed out of the drive and made his way home. All he could do is hope she would give him a call.

Stephie finally had her crying under control. The poor girl had really been through the wringer in the last twenty-four hours. She gave me a wan smile and said, "Thank you, Justin. I don't know what I would have done without you and Rosemary. I don't have anybody else." I smiled down at her and said, "You'll always have us, Sweetheart. We don't give up on those we love."

I started to rise, and pulled my hand from her back, where I had been mindlessly stroking her skin. "Oh, please. Don't stop. That feels so nice!" I started stroking softly again, sliding my hand over that silky soft skin, up to her shoulders, then down to her waist, and back and forth gently and randomly. Before it had been comforting, not sexual as I wasn't really conscious of what my hand was doing, but that rapidly changed now. She laid there on her belly, head turned toward me, and her eyes locked on mine. It wasn't but a couple of minutes and she started sighing with pleasure.

Rosemary sat quietly on the other side of the room watching. I know it was tearing at her heartstrings to see me with my hands on another naked girl instead of her, but she had her mind set on it, so she encouraged things along. Without even considering the matter I had carefully kept my hand above her waist before, but now it strayed further south with a mind of its own. My hand stroked down her side and onto her hip, caressed that delightful little curve young women have, and then back up slightly and across the bottom side of her waist. I didn't slide my hand across that taut little ass I've been watching for years now, badly as I wanted to, but rather stayed in the safe zones. I couldn't push to fast. This was not for me anyway, but rather for her. She was still in a fragile state of mind, and needed building up. 

There was some very bad bruising showing up on her left hip and ribs from where she bounced off of the door in the impact. They were obviously tender, but I noted she seemed to appreciate the ministrations my hand provided as they were caressed. My hand trailed down her side, tracing her curves, onto her hip and to her thigh further than I had gone before, almost to her knee, causing a shiver to run throughout. This time I just trailed the fingertips back up the top of her thigh, rather than staying on the side until I reached that delightful little crease at the bottom of the ass. I let the palm of my hand rest on her ass cheek and trailed one fingertip back and forth a few times before sliding my hand higher and cupping her ass cheek and squeezing it gently. 

Steph's eyes were wide as she stared into mine, and the tip of her tongue crept from her mouth trying vainly to moisten her lips. Her breathing was much more rapid, almost a pant, and I felt her ass rise slightly into my hand. Slowly I slipped my hand across to the other cheek and caressed it gently in a circular fashion. Her ass is so tiny it was no problem to cup it in my hand. Steph moaned softly and slid closer to the edge of the couch. Her hand sought the back of my head and she gently pulled me toward her as her face moved toward mine until we met in a very tender, but toe curling kiss. It was not the intensity of the kiss, for it was not intense, but the emotion behind it. It wasn't as much laying claim to me as much as it was a declaration of possession. Her eyes never left mine the entire time.

My breath was shaky when our lips parted. My very soul was shaken by that kiss. It went far beyond any physical attraction, nor was it the result of anything physical. This was on the same level as the feelings I had for Rosemary, but yet on a different plane. Understand it? I confess I don't have a clue, but I know from that moment on I was Steph's. 

I heard a sniff from the other side of the room. Rosemary had been watching what was happening, and recognized it for what it was, and I know she felt left out and abandoned. What could I say to her to take away her pain? Stephanie was not supplanting my love for her, but yet it was going to be different. This is something she, herself, had encouraged, yet it left her with a hole in her psyche, a chasm of longing bordering on despair.

No one can say Stephanie is insensitive or uncaring. She heard the sniff, too, and knew what it was. "Rosie, (she was the only person who could get away with calling her that. Not even Susie!), come over here and join us," and she patted the edge of the couch next to where I was kneeling. When Rosemary hesitantly sat down there Stephanie released her hold on the back of my head and grasped Rosemary's hands. "I'm not going to come between you and Justin. I know you two love each other very much, but I hope there is room in there for me beside you. Watching you two make love this morning was the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. It wasn't just sex, but it was you two connecting. I can't break that, nor would I try. May I share it? Justin, I love you. I hope to be able to share the same kind of love you have for Rosemary. May I?" 

Steph rolled up onto her side so she was facing us, and believe it or not, I didn't even notice her nudity, or Rosemary's either for that matter. This was a moment beyond mere physical attraction. I just reached out both arms, putting one around Rosemary's waist and the other gently under Stephanie's head and pulled the two of them to me. Rosemary and Steph each slipped an arm around each other in one of the most improbable, yet most meaningful, group hugs ever. 

Why is it that at the most sublime moment, life itself has to intervene? We were in the midst of that wonderful group hug when the phone rang. Not one of our cells, we would have ignored them, but the house phone, which always must be answered. I quickly broke away and hurried to the kitchen to grab the wall phone by the third ring. "Hello? Thyme residence."

"Ah, hello, Justin. I thought you would be at work?" 

"Hi Grandpa. I was, but nothing was going on. No customers yet at 12:30, so Jim closed up and sent us home. He was really nice about taking my notice, and is going to work with us on stuff for the house, too."

"That's good. What I was calling about, I finally was able to get hold of Susie's parents. Needless to say, they are quite worried, and wanted to get off the boat and fly directly home, but I talked them out of it. I told them I will keep them abreast of developments and offered my services, which they were most grateful to receive. Now the thing I need to do is this. I need to sit down with Stephanie at the earliest chance. Is there any way we could get together for a while this evening?

"I'm sure we can do that. Do you want us to go over there?"

"That would be easiest on my part, but if possible it might be best to meet at her house. I know I will want to see her insurance policy, and I might need info on the vehicle. It could save trips and time."

"Let me check." I put down the phone and asked the girls if that were doable, then asked Grandpa "How about 5:30?"

"All right. I'll see you all there." And with that he hung the phone up. Grandpa was that way. When he was done talking, he was done talking. 'Goodbye' wasn't important to him.

Stephanie said she had to have a shower before meeting with Grandpa, and since it was upstairs would I be a dear and carry her again? She gave me a very coquettish smile and a wink but then didn't take her eyes off of my cock while I walked back over to where she was lying on the couch. Rosemary just smirked at us, and when I bent over and picked Steph up gave me a little pinch on the ass. She gave Steph a light swat on the ass as I lifted, although she was careful not to hit the bruised areas. This made Steph squeal and jump upwards in my arms, as she turned her body away from Rosemary and into mine, with her left nipple right at my mouth level. I wasn't going to let that opportunity by, so I held her to me and sucked that morsel into my mouth and sucked and licked it thoroughly before letting my arms down to carry her.

"Ohh, that was nice. You can do that anytime you want to, Justin! I felt that all the way down in my . . . ." Her face turned red as a beet.

"Thank you. That is an invitation I will be sure to follow up on." I smiled down at her. Tilting her upward one more time I latched on to her nipple and fluttered my tongue back and forth rapidly, bouncing the little nubbin and then sucked on it only to pull away with a 'POP'. Steph gasped and held to me tightly the rest of the way up the stairs. 

As I gently set Stephanie down on her feet at the top of the stairs Rosemary piped up. "We wouldn't want the invalid to fall down in the shower and hurt herself would we? Maybe you ought to volunteer, for safety sake of course, to assist Stephie in the shower, Justin." 

With a mock bow and the worst English accent ever I said, "Prithee, wouldest m'lady deign allow her most humble servant assist in the performance of her ablutions, simply for her own safety's sake, of course?" As I said safety I waggled my eyebrows as best I could in a Groucho Marx fashion, which broke her up laughing.

It ended up Rosemary needed a shower, too, so we all crowded into a not overlarge shower where we laughed and giggled and washed each other, being very careful certain areas were well cleaned. We were nearly done, just rinsing the last of the conditioner/shampoo/bodywash off when Rosemary grabbed my cock, which of course was hard as a rock, and said, "Stephanie, you missed a spot. It doesn't look clean enough to me. Give it a good shot of bodywash and make sure you get it all." 

Steph just giggled and looked up at me with eyes dancing. She put a line of bodywash down the length of my cock and then proceeded to 'scrub' it thoroughly from end to end, and for good measure also scrubbed my ball sack with her other hand. It was only moments before I could feel the ball sack tighten up and I started spurting my cum onto her tits and chest. Steph quickly pointed my cock at Rosemary, giving her the second shot, before pulling it back toward her and stepping into me so my cock was pressed tightly against her belly and she could feel the last pulses as they squirted out.

My knees were sagging, and I had to lean against the wall to keep from falling as she continued holding me tightly against her. "I wanted to feel you coming, and that was as close as I could do it without actually having sex. That was cool." She pulled my head down to hers and kissed me softly. "I love you, Justin. Nobody is ever going to love another as much as I'm going to love you."

We rinsed off my cum from each other and got out of the shower and had fun drying each other off. Quickly, I picked Stephie up and carried her from the room as if she couldn't walk, and carried her across the hall to Rosemary's room. Laying her down carefully on the bed I leaned over and took her nipple in my mouth, sucked it in, and hummed on it while fluttering my tongue across it. Steph started writhing on the bed and moaning. I grasped her other nipple with my thumb and forefinger and started plucking at it as if picking cherries. Her moans were getting frantic within just a few moments, and then I changed tactics and dropped to my knees beside the bed and buried my face between her legs.

"No, Justin. You don't want to do that!" Oh, but I did! Ignoring her protestations I continued on. This was no time for teasing and foreplay. We had that all day long. This was the time she needed me to go on the attack and bring her some release. Her hands were pushing ineffectively against my head, trying to ward me off, but with both hands now plucking at her nipples and twisting them gently she was so distracted and so sexually needy she didn't know whether to stop me or not. My mouth found her mons, which was nearly dripping with arousal, and extending my tongue I swept it up her crease, reveling in the taste of the one I was coming to love. My tongue flicked across her nubbin, which caused her to wail, and her hands instead of pushing me away grasped my hair and tugged me. 

I lapped at her pussy like a thirsty dog at a water bowl for a few more strokes before I latched my lips on her clitoris and started with the tip of my tongue laving it. She was bucking up and down on the bed alternatively moaning and wailing until for some reason I don't understand I gently blew on her little love nubbin like one blows on the belly of a baby. When I did she came unglued and nearly pulled the hairs from my head trying to pull me closer, while her legs held me in a scissors lock. With a loud "OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" she suddenly went limp and her arms dropped to the bed, nerveless and still.

"Wow! You never did that to me," said Rosemary from the other side of the bed.

"I haven't had opportunity, yet, but I will, I promise you. I'll never short-change you, Rosemary. You mean way too much to me for that."

"I know it, and I'm not jealous, really. It just sounds like it." She stepped around the bed and gave me a hug and a little peck on the lips. "Oh, so that's what pussy tastes like! Not quite what I'm looking for, but not bad. You'd better hurry and wash your face and brush your teeth. You don't want Grandpa smelling that on your breath!" She gave me a cheeky grin and a little swat on the ass.

"I want to wait for Stephie to wake up first." I sat down on the bed next to her and held her hand in mine. It was only a minute or so before her eyes fluttered open and she looked up at me dreamily.

"What happened? That was amazing!" I just lifted her hand to my lips and kissed it gently.

"I wanted to give back to you what you've been giving me. I'm glad you enjoyed it. I hate to break up the party, but we have to meet Grandpa in just thirty minutes, and we don't want to be late!"

"That's for sure!" said Rosemary, and she quickly pulled out some shorts and a tee shirt Steph could wear. "I don't have a bra that will fit you, so we had better get there early enough for you to put one on before Grandpa gets there. 

I hurried across to the bathroom and quickly washed my face as I swished mouthwash in my mouth, then I quickly threw on some shorts and a tank top before hurrying downstairs. I left Mom a note telling her what we were doing and poured myself a glass of Coke.

Moments later the girls came clattering down the steps and we hurried out to Rosemary's bug. I hated to be seen in the thing, but there was no way to put the three of us in my Mini, so I crawled into the back seat, not that it is much better than putting three in a Mini. No way was I going to be seen driving the thing!

We were none too soon, because Grandpa and Grandma pulled into the drive just a moment after Steph had scurried into the house to find a bra, but before Rosemary and I got in the door. I hurried over to open the door for Grandma and gave her a hug and kissed her cheek before walking around and shaking Grandpa's hand and hugging him. I saw something flapping on the outside of Steph's mailbox, so I wandered over to get it and the mail for her before going into the house behind the others. 

Steph said, "I never heard of a Michael's Flowers before, have you?"




Justin Thyme Ch. 07



None of us had, so she excused herself for a minute and called the number and spoke for just a few minutes before hanging up and joining us in the dining room, where we were seated around the table. She and Rosemary poured us each a drink, and then we sat down to discuss what steps to take legally to be certain she was taken care of, as well as Susie. Grandpa took a look at the police report and then asked some questions and took notes of what Steph said had happened. He also told us of calling the hospital in the guise of the family's legal counsel, and the report he got from them. 

Susie had multiple lacerations to the face and head, a concussion, a broken clavicle, her right arm was broken in two places, four broken ribs and a punctured lung, a broken hip and a broken femur. Her right ankle had been crushed and was pinned in the wreckage. The Fire Department had to cut it out with the 'Jaws of Life'. 

Besides that her spleen had been badly damaged, and had to be removed. She had been given several pints of blood because she had nearly bled out before they were able to stop the bleeding. There was no sign of brain trauma beyond the concussion, and no swelling of the brain, which was very good news. Stephanie and Rosemary were both in tears by the time Grandpa finished telling of the injuries.

"The hospital has upgraded her condition report to 'Satisfactory', although there is concern about the ankle. Reconstructive surgery cannot be attempted yet until swelling goes down and it can be assessed further. One surgeon wanted to amputate last night, but the other thought there was a chance to save it. All in all, she is one sick girl, but it looks like she will make it. She will be in a body cast for five to six weeks, and then will face months of therapy."

As Grandpa was finishing the report I saw a Cadillac Escalade pull into the drive. My first thought was an ambulance chaser was trying to make his pitch in person, but the young man got out of the driver's door and removed a large vase of roses from the second seat. As he made his way toward the front door I said, "Looks like the flower business must be pretty good!" Steph was in no condition to answer the door, so I made my way to the front entrance and opened it before he had a chance to ring the doorbell.

"Hi, I'm Michael. Is Stephanie Winters available?"

"She's kind of indisposed at the moment. She just received the report on a friend of hers who was very badly injured in an accident. I can take those for her."

"Thank you, but it is very important I speak with her for just a moment. I'm not a delivery driver, as such."

"I didn't really think so, driving an Escalade," I said dryly. "My grandfather is representing her, so if you are just another ambulance chaser trying a new way to get a foot in the door you may as well take your flowers and beat it."

"I'm sorry, Sir, but you misunderstand me. My name is Michael Borden, and I'm the one who hit her car, and I want to apologize and see what I need to do to make things right."

I stood and looked at him for a minute or two, restraining the urge to slug him and lay him out on the front sidewalk, but I managed to restrain myself sufficiently to say, "Please wait here, and I'll see if Stephanie wants to speak with you or not."

Leaving him on the front step I closed the door in his face and walked back to the dining room. When everyone looked up to see what it was I said, "Steph, a Michael Borden is at the door. He said he needs to speak with you, to apologize for hitting your car and to see what he can do to make things right. Do you wish to speak with him, or shall I send him away?"

Steph looked over at Grandpa, as if asking his advice. "I would say I don't think it would hurt for him to apologize. I don't see where that would put him at any advantage. It's very clear he is responsible, and the law will hold him so. I'd say it is up to you. If you would like me to I'll go to the door and see if I think he's being forthright. I must say I've never seen this happen before."

"Please." Stephanie huddled in her chair like a little girl. 

I walked back to the front door with Grandpa and opened the door. "Mr. Borden? How can I help you?"

"Yes, sir. As I told your grandson, is it? I need to speak with Stephanie and apologize for hitting her car and injuring her and her friend." I could see his eyes welling up, and started to get a sense this guy was for real. "May I have just a few minutes of her time, and then I will get out of your way. I assure you I am not trying to avoid responsibility for what happened. In fact I wanted to see what I can do to make things right as best I can."

Grandpa glanced at me and saw my small nod. "Come on ahead, then young man. I appreciate you coming by this way. In over forty years of legal practice I've never experienced this. I certainly hope you are legitimate, for otherwise I assure you, you will be digging a mighty deep hole for yourself."

"Thank you, Sir. I assure you I am." 

He followed us into the house, and it was obvious from the bruising on her face which girl was Stephanie. Carrying the flowers before him he walked directly to her chair and knelt before her and said, "I want to apologize for hitting you, and for being in the condition I was. I came personally because I owed you an apology and an explanation, not an excuse for what happened. I take full responsibility, and I've instructed both my insurance agent and my attorney to lay no obstacles in your way. Beyond that, I am prepared to cover anything insurance does not and to do whatever it takes to make things right. Why I am here is to ask for your forgiveness."

Stephanie looked at him, and at the two dozen roses, and just nodded. Grandpa took the flowers from him and set them on the table carefully. Steph finally managed to say, "The roses are beautiful. Thank you." Michael just nodded gravely at her.

Grandpa pulled another chair to the table and offered it to him, and said, "You said you had an explanation? What can we get you to drink? Coke, another soft drink?"

"A glass of water would be nice, thank you." Rosemary jumped up to get it for him as Michael sat down in the offered chair. "Please don't take this as an excuse, I make none. I was driving under the influence, and I will plead guilty to doing so and take the consequences although I was at a .07, which is under the legal limit, I was still under the influence. I don't drink. My religion does not permit stimulants of any kind, even caffeine, and no alcohol of any sort. I said I don't drink, so why did I blow a .07? I was invited to a party by a young lady I had a couple of classes with, and although there was beer there I had only a couple of glasses of what I was told was a fruit punch, but without my knowledge, or hers either I'm convinced, someone spiked the punch rather heavily. This is under investigation, and will be prosecuted if possible. I'm also only 19, so I'm underage, with which also I have been charged."

"I was feeling a little light headed, and my stomach was upset, so I made my excuses and was trying to get home, not understanding the problem. When I got to the intersection I was hurrying, and honestly didn't see the light until Just before I hit you, but then it was too late. I went by the hospital, but they told me Susan is in ICU and is not able to receive visitors. I have been praying almost without stopping since then that she will not die." By this time tears were streaming down his face and dripping onto his shirt. He pulled his wallet from his pocket and removed two business cards, one each of which he gave to Grandpa and to Stephanie. "Here are my numbers. Please feel free to call on me at any time. I want to make this right, and to know I have your forgiveness for my wrongdoing." 

I've never seen a grown man cry the way I saw Michael cry that evening. It was obvious it was real, and it was from the heart. Steph was crying as well, and Grandpa sat there looking totally perplexed. Finally he rose and walked around the table and extended a hand to Michael. "Son, I want you to know I've never seen another man do what you have done tonight. That took real guts, and you have laid yourself out in a very precarious position by doing this. I am not an unreasonable man, and I am doing this as a favor to friends of the family as I'm retired, so I have no financial stake in this." He handed Michael a couple of his own business cards. "Give one to your attorney. I know him well, and we can work together amicably. I cannot forgive you; that is up to Stephanie, but I want you to know you have my utmost respect for coming here tonight like this. I know the judge who will be handling your case, and if you would like, I would be most happy to appear in court on your behalf and tell him how you have handled yourself tonight. Obviously, there are legal issues here, and you will have to face them. I will do all for you that I can."

Michael stood to leave, and Stephanie stood with him. Grasping his arms she pulled him toward her and kissed him gently on the cheek. "I forgive you. Thank you for coming." Michael just nodded, afraid to trust his voice and made his way to the door, where I let him out. Impulsively, I reached out a hand and shook his. 

"What you just did took guts. I don't know that I could have done the same. Thank you."

"I couldn't have lived with myself if I hadn't. Besides, it was the right thing to do."

"When you go to the hospital to see Susie, don't call her Susan. She will never forgive you for that." A faint wry smile tugged at his lips. I was glad I could lighten a very small portion of the load he was under.

Grandma, who had remained silent during the entire conversation, looked at me and said, "You take a lesson from that young man, Justin. He not only has intestinal fortitude, but he also has strength from his convictions. He could easily have excused what happened by blaming someone else, and he would have been correct, but he accepted responsibility for his own actions. He will go far in life, Good Lord willing."



Monday morning I rode to school with Rosemary and Steph. Stephanie had a Technicolor face from the all of the bruising, and two black eyes caused by the air bag accented the yellows, greens and blues. Mom offered to let her stay home, but she insisted she couldn't afford to miss classes. She was already struggling in physics, one of my strongest subjects, although I took it last year as an honors class. I didn't know it gave her trouble, so I made an appointment with her for the evening to work on it together. Spend more time with Steph? I would force myself, although keeping our attentions focused on the coursework was going to be difficult. 

I made it a point to drop by and see Mr. Hulvey during one of my study halls, and set up an appointment to start fishing cables in the evenings, starting on Wednesday. That part of his order had come in early on last Friday, so it was going to work out nicely. I had been afraid I wouldn't get them for another two weeks, which would definitely put a damper on our plans for the house. Good guy that he is, he gave me the access code to his garage door opener so that I could go directly from school and would not have to wait until he or his wife could get home. Also, having access to the garage made it a lot easier to schlep my gear down to the basement without having to go through the house. Such trust was an honor to me, and something I was always careful to not abuse.

Just as soon as school was over, the three of us hurried over to Grandma's house. Although she had closed down her interior decorating business she still had accounts at several paint and decorating stores, and we were going to start picking out some of the necessary supplies and paint. We probably could have worked out a volume discount up in Scottsdale, but we knew we couldn't match what they would give Grandma, so we were going to go ahead and place the orders locally and because of the size order we knew they would be willing to deliver it for us. After all, we were going to be buying enough paint to paint a mid-sized hotel. It wasn't just your run of the mill house. Also, by combining carpet with the paint we could trim the price on flooring as well. 

Grandma's Cadillac was a lot more comfortable than Rosemary's Bug, and I was very happy to get out of that back seat. We had to hurry, because we were planning to visit Susie just as soon as we had our orders placed. Grandpa stopped us before we were able to get away with Grandma. He had just returned from seeing Susie, and getting her OK for him to represent her. It was a formality, but it had to be carried out. He quietly warned us not to react when we went into the room, because we would not recognize her at first glance. Her condition was still satisfactory, and they were slowly weaning her of some of the painkillers, but she was still on oxygen, and had a chest tube because of the collapsed lung.

We spent two hours at the paint and carpet shop. I had thought we would go to one of the big building supply houses, but not with Grandma! "Those stores are good for some things, like lumber and structural goods, but when you are doing something like what we are working on you are much better off buying quality. In the long run it is less expensive, because it will look good longer, and it will last better, especially in a high use environment like your house. We are not making a flop-house, but a high class alternative to dorms. We don't want to create a snobbish atmosphere, but at the same time we want it to be a cut above, to draw the better class tenants. That will accomplish two things. One, it will allow for a higher rental, and two, it will allow for a more affluent client so you don't have to chase the rent every month. If you are going to get involved in property management you have to think through these things."

Another thing I was to learn from this project, although it came about later, was the higher quality products are actually much easier to apply! Grandma taught me the biggest difference between the amateur and the professional, other than experience, is in the quality of their tools and materials. They make it as easy on themselves as possible.

When we arrived at the hospital, the three of us made our way quietly to Susie's room. I was surprised to find Michael sitting in a recliner. He held a finger to his lips and waved to step out of the room, and he followed us into the hallway. "Hi, guys. She's sleeping right now, and it would be better to not wake her if we can help it. She comes and goes, but it isn't anything wrong; it's the pain meds. Sometimes she's a little loopy from them, but others she can talk with you."

"How long have you been here?" I asked.

"Since eleven this morning. They had her in a double room this morning, but I had her moved to a private one. I didn't think she would be able to rest with all the commotion going on in there. Why don't we go get a cup of coffee or something? She just went to sleep, and I don't think she will awaken for half an hour or so."

He led the way toward the elevator, and we descended to the basement and the cafeteria. "This will be better, I think. She has been rather restless whenever activity is going on in the room. I think she needs to sleep as much as possible to let the body heal itself."

"Have you been able to talk with her? Is she lucid?" Steph asked, nearly crying.

"Some of the time. Like I said upstairs, she comes and goes, but that is because she is on some pretty heavy pain meds. We were able to talk for ten to fifteen minutes a couple of times, and then she would drift off, but yes, we were able to talk about the accident and stuff."

Rosemary piped in, "So why have you been here all day? Don't you have work or school, or something?"

Michael just gave her a little smile. "I don't work, so I have the time available. I just feel responsible, and with her family out of the country, she doesn't have anyone to be there with her. There isn't much worse than being alone in the hospital, especially when you are in pain. I just felt it was the least I could do." I just nodded my head. There was a lot more going with this guy than appeared on the surface. I was beginning to think I could really get to like him.

"I thought maybe I could fill you in on her situation a bit, and that it would be easier to do so down here. A lot of times people who are unconscious actually can hear what is going on. That's why you never talk about anything bad in their condition. I'm not sure if they can hear and understand when they are out from meds, but I know it's the case with coma. I just thought it would be better to be safe. Besides, I don't like being talked about if I can't defend myself." Stephanie was sitting quietly, almost as if she was trying to sink into the chair. Her eyes were scared and tear-filled. I reached over and took her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. Rosemary was being uncharacteristically quiet and withdrawn, but she had not been in the accident with Susie like Stephie had. 

"I spoke with your grandfather," he nodded at Rosemary and at me. "Did he give you any word on her condition?" All three of us nodded. "You know, I really like that gentleman. He has a lot of character, and principles. I'd hate to be opposing him in court! Anyway, he told me Susie's parents asked him to represent them, but there is going to be no need for any legal actions. I've already made arrangements with the hospital to send me all bills the insurance company doesn't cover, but I have premium insurance. Like I said, I had her moved to a private room. She will get the best care possible."

"Most of her injuries are not serious in the long run. I was a little concerned about the punctured lung, but it seems to be doing well today. They had to remove her spleen, but one can live without it. It's better to have, obviously, but not life threatening. None of the broken bones are serious except for the right ankle." His eyes clouded, and thought he was going to cry, but he blinked a couple of times and swallowed hard before continuing in a whisper. "They were going to amputate it last night, but one of the Dr's prevailed to try and save it. I asked them to consult with Dr. Hepburn from over at Mayo's in Scottsdale. He's one of the best Orthopedic Dr's in the country. They still aren't sure if it can be saved. It was crushed pretty badly, and pinned, in the wreck. It will be some time before they can even do surgery to put the bones together if it can be saved."

He sat with his head down for a couple of minutes, and we remained silent, allowing him to get control of his emotions. "I've been praying all day her foot can be saved," he whispered. His chin dropped to his chest as he clasped his hands together on top of the table. He squeezed his hands until they turned white, and I saw tears drop from his eyes. His anguish over the situation was plain to see. 

Stephanie slipped from her seat and put an arm around Michael's shoulders, then laid her head on top of his head. I couldn't hear what she said to him, but I saw his shoulders shudder as he fought to maintain his composure. Rosemary reached a hand across and covered Michael's hands and she began stroking gently until he finally lifted his head. I handed him a couple of napkins, and he wiped his eyes and blew his nose softly before looking at each of us. "Thanks. You who have every right to hate me have shown compassion. I don't deserve it, but I thank you."

Stephanie, bless her heart, hugged him to her and said softly, "It is you who came to us and asked our forgiveness. It was you, who had the character necessary to try to make things right. How can we hold something that was not your fault against you?" She kissed his cheek gently, then she sat back down to allow him to get himself back together. 




Justin Thyme Ch. 07



Michael drew in a shuddering breath and said, "Shall we go back upstairs and see if Susie is awake yet?" We all stood and made our way to the elevator. As we ascended I said to Michael, "If you think my grandfather is tough, you don't know my grandmother. She is quiet and gentle, but inside she is made of steel. You made an impression on her, and although she didn't say a word while you were there she did later. She told me to take note of you and learn character from you. That, my friend is high praise, and it is well deserved. None of us hold a thing against you for what happened. If you had not shown your character, yeah, we probably would have, but because of the way you have behaved, and who you have shown yourself to be, you have friends, and our appreciation. Throw away the guilt. It isn't yours, nor will we lay any on you." 

Wordlessly he stuck out his hand, and I grasped and shook it. His grip said "Thanks" as eloquently as if he had spoken, and in his eyes it showed also. Nothing more was ever said again about fault or responsibility, and a bond of friendship was cemented between the four of us.

Susie woke up when we trooped quietly into her room. I'm so glad Grandpa warned us about her appearance, because I would not have recognized her if I didn't know it was she. Much of her hair had been shaved off in order to stitch up cuts on her head, and her face was all swollen and bruised. Her body cast of course prevented her from moving about, other than her left arm, which was free. Michael stepped right up to the bed and softly asked if she wanted any water or ice chips. Very softly she murmured, "Ice", and he gently fished out and fed her a piece. Then he stepped back out of the way, so that we could step up close to her bed and talk.

Stephanie was holding her left hand tightly with tears running down both cheeks. "I'm so sorry, Susie. I almost lost you!" 

"Not . . . your fault." Susie obviously struggled for breath, and had trouble talking with the tubes and oxygen mask. "See my . . . flowers?" She half waved her hand toward Michael. "Michael . . . brought . . . them." Her eyes were heavy, and we could see she was struggling to stay awake. I caught Michael's eye and he nodded.

"Susie, you get some sleep. We'll come back. Just don't forget we love you." Susie's eyes closed as I finished, and we all made our way out of the room.

"Michael, is there anything we can get for you? You don't have to stay here, you know. Nobody is expecting it of you."

"Thanks, but I have all I need. I know I don't have to stay here. I'm doing it because I want to, 'cause I think it is the right thing to do. When her parents get home and can be here I probably won't be around as much, but in the meantime, I hate for her to be alone." I shook his hand goodbye, and both girls gave him a hug and a kiss on the cheek. "That makes it worthwhile staying right there!" He gave me a grin, the first I'd seen from him, and waved as he returned to his vigil.

Mom and Dad were both home by the time we returned, and Mom of course was adamant that Steph should stay at least until her Mom and Paul returned. "Steph, you don't even need to ask. I already told you, you are welcome any time. I'm glad to see you moving better this evening! Was school difficult today?"

"It was in the morning! I started to loosen up by the afternoon, but I got a pass that allowed me to be late to classes. I just couldn't walk fast enough to make it otherwise. Justin and Rosemary have been so sweet to help me out."

"So did you get to see Susie?"

"Um Hmm," said Rosemary. "She was sleeping most of the time, so we had a cup of coffee with Michael, and he filled us in on things and how she is doing. He's afraid she may lose her foot." Tears started flowing from both her and Steph then. "The Dr's almost amputated it last night." Mom gathered both girls into a hug, and let them cry it out. Dad just groaned and shook his head.

"Son, this Michael. Is that the same one as . . .?"

"Yes, Dad. Michael Borden. He feels responsible, and he said since her parents are out of the country and can't be there for her he doesn't want her to be alone. He's a good guy. I don't know how he's going to do it, but he said he will cover any costs insurance doesn't, and he had her moved from a double room to a single. Maybe they have money, I don't know, but he's not holding anything back. He's very gentle and good with her, too. I sure wish we could have gotten to know him another way. I think we are going to be friends."

Dad just nodded.

Mom said, "I didn't know for sure when you kids would get back, so I did a batch of spaghetti sauce. If you'd like to lay another place at the table for Stephanie, Justin, I'll cook the noodles and warm the garlic bread. Rosemary, I put a salad together. If you would toss it and serve it for us we can go ahead and start with it while the noodles are cooking. I don't know about you kids, but your Dad and I are hungry."

Mom could make spaghetti every night as far as I'm concerned. Her sauce is so good you chew on your tongue when you are done just to get out the last of the flavor! Mom says we exaggerate, so Dad and I chew on our tongues for her, just so she knows she did well. And, as always, sitting around the table together eating helped bring all of the day's triumphs and problems into perspective. Did I mention I love my parents? I am so glad I chose them!

After dinner I went up to my room to work on some of the custom speakers I was building for Hulvey's, and the girls went to Rosemary's room to do homework. My schedule was light enough that I can get my homework done in study hall most days, which allows me to work for Jim and do my own things in the evenings. I think it's a pretty nice setup, although Rosemary makes jealous comments. About nine o'clock Stephie tapped on my door for help with physics. I called for her to come on in, and cleared room on my desk for us to work. She had her hair pulled back in a ponytail, and had changed from her school clothes into a pair of short shorts and a light weight tank top without a bra. I felt myself stirring, and she hadn't even gotten into the room yet!

Steph gave me a little half-smile and blushed slightly when she observed my reaction to her shirt. The change in her in just the last three weeks was more than remarkable. If you would have told me Stephie would be coming into my room braless, let alone in such a shirt I would have laughed you out of the room. I was surprised she would wear it for me now. "You are a bad influence, Justin Thyme," she said to my unasked question. "The things a girl will do for the guy she loves! I wouldn't let any other guy see me like this, but you like my little titties, and I like to make you happy, so . . . ." She waved her hand across the front of her body. "Especially after what you did for me yesterday morning! I didn't know someone could make you feel like you did for me. I know, I was a little loopy from the meds, or I wouldn't have gone naked like I did, but you didn't take advantage of me, but made it all about me." Her eyes were shining as she looked up at me, just before taking my hand in hers. "I decided you can have all of me, anything you want. I love you, Justin."

Well, there it was. It had gone from a crush on me to this. Not that I minded, to be sure, as she stirred feelings I had for no one else, other than Rosemary. Was it love, or just infatuation? I was left in a position of having to make some serious choices. I didn't want to take advantage of Steph and hurt her if things didn't work out down the road, but at the same time she was stirring juices from deep inside of me. I wasn't sure I could do the right thing by her, and what about Rosemary? She was my real love. Could I share that kind of love between two girls? Even with two girls that I cared about as deeply as I did these two?

Steph loosed my hand and slipped her arm around behind my back and pulled me lightly to her. "I know you are thinking about Rosemary, and you don't want to hurt her. She and I have been talking. I don't want to hurt her either." Tears were half filling her eyes as she looked up at me from where she was pressing against my chest. "I love you both, and I don't want to come between you two. She knows she can't have you all to herself, and it is eating at her, and what she told me is she hopes it will be me who will catch you, because she know I understand how she feels about you, and how you feel about her. I'm willing to share. I think what you two have is beautiful. I would just like a chance to be part of it."

"Sweetheart, don't you think we are a little bit young to be thinking so seriously? What if you get to college and some other guy comes along and catches your fancy? I care too much for you to do anything that would hurt you."

"Justin, I love it when you call me sweetheart! It wasn't that many years ago people our age were already married and having children right here in this part of the world. They knew then, and made the choice. I know what I feel for you is real, and it won't change. I'm not trying to tie you down, but I'm telling you I'm yours if you want me." I wanted her, all right. My cock was trying to tear a hole in my shorts. I guess I'm just a romantic, and I had been raised right, to not hurt other people. Involuntarily my arms went around her and crushed her body to mine, and my lips descended on hers. I don't know what happened, but there was serious oxygen depletion in my room when the kiss was done. Neither of us could seem to get our breath.

I glanced over toward my door and noticed Steph had pushed it closed behind her when she came in. I stepped over and opened it a couple of inches before going back to my desk and seating Steph to work on Physics. "I don't want to make Mom suspicious with the door closed and you in here if she comes up to talk. She doesn't check up on us, but often she will come up to chat a bit before bed. If she does, just please don't turn around. She wouldn't like you wearing that shirt that way." I grinned over at her. "She's always giving Rosemary grief about coming over here just wearing a tee shirt like she does. Don't try to hide from her, just be nonchalant."

We started working on her Physics, and true to form Mom came up about fifteen minutes later and stuck her head in the door as I was trying to explain transfer of energy in such as way Steph would understand the concept. "Hey there. I'm glad you are getting some good out of Justin, there, Steph. Good for you!"

"Hey, Mom. It's not a problem. I didn't know she was having trouble with this stuff, or I'd have been working with her on it before now. She's no dummy. It's just a matter of getting the concept in your head where you understand what's really happening, and not just trying to memorize stuff. Mr. Anderson is not much of one for explaining so people really understand. That's the key to learning, but it's easier just to have them memorize facts and put them down on the test where they will never use it again. I like to understand."

"I know, hon, and I'm glad you are willing to share it. Don't forget I have that MLS meeting tomorrow night, so I won't be home until late, probably tenish. Dad is flying to St. Louis and won't be back until Friday. Stephanie, honey, now you be sure to make yourself right at home. If you want something to snack on or to drink or whatever, don't wait for someone to offer. You just help yourself, OK?"

Steph just turned her head around, holding a finger in the book to mark a place. "Thanks. I do. You have always made me feel like I belong, not like I'm just visiting."

"As far as I'm concerned, you do. You are a real good friend to Rosemary, and I like what you are doing for Justin. You are pulling him out of his shell, which is good. Yes, as far as I'm concerned, you belong, you're family." With that she gave a little half wave and stepped across the hall to Rosemary's room.

"Your mom is so cool! I really like her."

"Yeah. I feel like I've done a pretty good job raising her." Steph gave my leg a slap and giggled. "Don't forget she can come down like the 'wrath of God' if you get out of line, though. She's always so busy with work, but she doesn't let that keep her from being involved in our lives. She's taught us to be responsible and independent, but has never just left us on our own. She and Dad are both really good about that."

Steph had a wistful look on her face. "I wish I had that. Mom and I used to be so close, but since Paul came around it's like I'm just in the way, or something. Oh, I know she loves me, but I'm just not that important to her, but it wasn't that way right after Dad got killed in Iraq. Paul just pushes everybody else aside."

"Well, I'm happy to share my folks. They always have room to love one more." Steph laid her head on my shoulder. "Thanks, Justin. We had better get back to doing this Physics before I forget and do what I really want to do." She looked up at me through her lashes and then gave me a quick kiss on the cheek and turned back to the Physics book. I knew exactly what she was talking about. I wanted so badly just to take her in my arms and smother her with kisses, but . . . . 

A few minutes later, just as we were wrapping up the chapter on energy transfer, Rosemary slipped into the room, wearing only a thin tee shirt that reached to mid-thigh. Her nipples were tenting out nicely, and you could just make out the areola through the material. She slipped up behind me and trailed both arms over my shoulders and down my chest, nestling her chin on my head, tucked softly between her breasts. "Mom obviously didn't notice that shirt," she smirked at Steph. "Did Justin notice?"

My ears turned red, having her talking about me so, and both girls just giggled at my look. Rosemary squeezed her shoulders together, which caused her boobs to press against my ears. "You have to watch out for this guy. Next thing you know he will be trying to take liberties with you, like rubbing your boobs with his ears or something!" This made both girls laugh, so I turned my head to and fro a couple of times. It did feel good! Rosemary flattened her hands on my abs and rubbed them back and forth, dangerously close to the top of my shorts, and the end of my cock, which was trying desperately to get out through the waistband. 

"Mom and Dad aren't going to be here tomorrow evening. Perhaps we can find something to occupy the time?"

Tuesday was a long day at school. I don't know why, but it was just one of those days that drag on and on and nothing seemed to go right. Classes weren't a problem. I had all of my work done, so that wasn't an issue. Maybe it was Susie on my mind, but I was just in a funk. At lunch I ate alone again. I had gotten accustomed to Susie being there and lunch just seemed tasteless and boring, even more so than usual. I'm not a people person, and making friends has never been one of my strong suits. I'm not anti-social, but most people's interests don't match mine and vice versa. I just was aching for someone to talk to all day. It seemed there was a hole in my life that hadn't been there before. Perhaps it had, but I had never noticed. The only bright spots in the day were the three times I met either Rosemary or Stephanie in the hallway. That was just a smile and a "Hi," on the way by. 

It's funny, but I didn't even mind getting in the back seat of Rosemary's bug. I could hear Steph's voice, and a time or two she turned around and smiled at me. Funny how that works!

Susie was more alert when we got there, and we were able to talk for a few minutes before she started to get tired. Michael was there, sitting in the corner, attentive to her every need. I hoped he wasn't developing a martyr's complex, being bound to Susie like this, but he didn't seem to be down about it at all. When Susie started napping again we all made our way to the cafeteria and grabbed a cup of coffee. He filled us in on things a little bit. For one thing, they had removed the chest tube, and Susie was using a cannula instead of a mask for the oxygen. That was the high point. On the low side, her foot wasn't doing well, and he was a little discouraged about it. I was a little curious how he was able to be in the room when the Dr's were checking on her foot since he isn't family, but he just gave me a little half grin when I asked and said he had it worked out. 

I had noticed he had a much nicer chair this time, and he was working on a laptop quietly when we arrived. He exuded such a level of quiet confidence one didn't really think about him, and I was finding the more I was around him that I liked him more and more. For a guy who didn't make friends much I was finding him to be a good friend, and one I looked forward to seeing. I noticed with the girls he was very attentive and courteous without going beyond propriety as so many young guys do. He was just very comfortable in his own skin, and didn't seem to feel a need to impress. Both girls though were very impressed. I wondered if maybe something would develop between him and Rosemary, and tried to encourage it without being obvious.

We stopped back at Susie's room before leaving to see if she was awake or not, and found her just waking up. Stephie walked up by the bed to say goodbye. Susie grabbed her hand in her left hand and whispered up to her, "Don't be mad at Michael. It wasn't his fault."

"I know. He came over to my house and asked my forgiveness. He told us what happened."

"He said he did. He asked me to forgive him, too, and he's been so sweet to take care of me since Mom and Daddy are gone. He brought those roses, too. Aren't they beautiful?"

"Yes, they are. He gave me some, too." For a moment I thought a look of disappointment crossed Susie's face over the flowers, but it passed quickly. "He also got me moved in here to a private room, and he's having a specialist from Mayo come in about my foot." Her voice was getting weak, and I saw Michael's head pop up and caught his eye. He just shook his head a fraction, but I got the message.

"Steph, we need to get out of here and let Susie get some rest." We gathered around the bed for just a moment to say goodbye and promised to be back soon, and slipped out. Michael nodded goodbye as we left. When I looked back at Susie she was asleep already.

Once back in the car and headed home we discussed Susie for a minute or two, but there really wasn't anything new to say. Stephanie started squirming around in her seat for a couple of minutes before turning toward me and handed me her bra with a really cheeky grin. She had done that magic thing that girls can do, taking her bra off without removing her shirt. Rosemary looked over at her and said, "Not fair! Not fair at all! I have to drive!" Stephanie just laughed at her and my cock lurched in my pants. 

When we pulled in the driveway at the house I saw Rosemary squirming about in her seat before opening her door. I was wondering what was going on, but as I couldn't get out until they opened their doors, I was stuck. Suddenly, I was smacked in the face with her bra to the tune of maniacal giggling from both girls. I just shook my head and waited for them to open the doors. I did look, though, once I had the opportunity. I don't know how I deserved to be in love with two sexy girls like this, but I was enjoying it. Of course they both saw me checking them out and gave me grief about it, but they ate up the attention.

Rosemary bounded up the stairs to her room, but Steph was moving much slower. "What's wrong, Steph? You OK?"

"Oh, I'm fine, Justin. I just still a little sore and stiff. Stairs bother my hip."

"Well, if m'lady will give me just a moment to put down this backpack I will be most happy to carry her ladyship up the stairs!"

Steph giggled at my antics, and waited for me to pick her up. She didn't need to be carried, even though her hip was sore, but I wasn't waiting for a better opportunity to get her in my arms. I looked for any chance! Carefully I picked her up, mindful to keep her unbruised right side toward my body. Of course, I turned her just enough that her breasts pressed against my chest as I carried her, and her arms around my neck were much tighter than safety required. I gave her a quick kiss as I set her down outside Rosemary's door to go along with the hug and breast press I received from Steph. My jeans were definitely getting tight before I let her go.




Justin Thyme Ch. 07



I quickly threw on a pair of shorts and a tee shirt before going down to the kitchen to find something to eat. In just a few minutes I heard the girls descending the steps together, but I wasn't prepared for what came around the corner. I figured they would be braless, from their antics in the car, and I really didn't know if they would be naked or dressed, or how they would be. Both girls came around the corner with button shirts, but they weren't buttoned. They were tied off just below the bust line tight enough to keep their boobs in, but also tight enough to let the nipples poke out. I had figured they would probably have shorts on, but they went one up on that, and they each had short pleated skirts showing off their gorgeous legs. I love girls in short shorts, but skirts have always caught my eye. 

There is something about the idea that unfettered under that fabric that swayed as they walked was nirvana. You knew you weren't going to see anything, but you couldn't help looking. Every once in a while when they sat you might get a little flash, but mostly just a look at a little extra thigh. Nevertheless, a loose fitting skirt that moves when a woman walks, or a long dress with a slit that allows a flash of leg, is sexier to me than something more explicit. It's kind of like the old ketchup advertisement of "anticipation." Just like the little boy anticipating that thick red condiment finally coming out of the open bottle, the anticipation of what might be seen gets the heart rate up, and the adrenalin flowing. 

I swallowed hard as I looked at the girls, who preened at the attention I was bestowing. "You like, Justin?" Rosemary reached over and took my glass of Coke out of my hand and drank a big sip. She knew my liking for skirts very well, the minx. "I'm not going to tell you if we are wearing any underwear or not. It wouldn't be ladylike!" Both girls giggled and then stepped in to give me a hug, one on either side. 

Rosemary pulled a frozen pizza from the freezer and threw it into the oven to cook while Stephanie pulled some pre-cut broccoli and cauliflower, and some baby carrots from the crisper in the fridge. She bent over straight legged to get the veggies, and looked back at me to see if I was watching the way her skirt crept up to just below her ass cheeks. Of course, I was! Rosemary poured each of them a glass of Coke, and topped mine off as well, and we sat down at the table to nibble on the veggies while waiting for the pizza to cook. My eyes had a veritable feast set for them across the table from me. I didn't know where to look first, but I knew I loved what I saw. Both girls were different, but neither was better. I really wanted to reach across the table and untie those knots. 

As dry as it is down here in southern Arizona there wasn't any condensation on the glasses, but when Rosemary took her cold, ice-filled glass and rubbed it on her nipples through that white shirt it didn't leave much to the imagination. I was almost glad when the timer beeped and she got up to get the pizza from the oven. My cock was so hard it hurt, and my balls were begging for release. Rosemary, of course bent over without bending her knees either when she got the pizza from the oven. "Gorgeous, isn't she?" said Steph quietly from across the table. "I don't blame you for being in love with her. She's pretty special." 

I looked across the table to Stephanie and said quietly, "I think you both are very special, and I love you both very much. I really don't know how to handle this, but I can't help myself, I'm in love with two women, and one of them is my sister. By all that's right I should be locked up for it, but it is what it is." I reached across and captured her hand in mine and looked into her shining eyes. "Somehow, we will make it work out."

Rosemary put the pizza down on the table and mock swatted Stephanie on the shoulder. "You making time with my man, girl? That might start a catfight. I'll bet Justin would like to watch that!" I just shook my head and grabbed a slice of pizza. "You'd better be eating there, Justin. You never know, but what you might be needing your strength!" and Rosemary giggled. She leaned across the table and kissed me on the top of my head, leaving me looking down the valley between her boobs. We finished up the pizza and the girls retreated to Rosemary's room to do homework. As usual, I had all of my schoolwork done, so I made my way to my room to finish up the Hulvey's speakers. I only had two to finish, and then a few little tweaks on some of the off the shelf equipment I would be using. Since the cables came in early there was a chance I might even finish this weekend! 

As I entered my room my glance fell on my computer monitor, and I realized something. I had not even bothered checking to see what was going on in Rosemary's room in several days! When I put the camera in there, it seemed a long time ago, I had been all in a sweat just to see some naked skin, but now it was as if I had grown up and didn't need it any longer. Of course, now I was seeing the real thing in the flesh from two lovely young ladies, but the reality made what I had worked so hard for seem juvenile and minor. What was the saying, "When I was a child I thought as a child, but when I became a man I put away childish things?" Something like that anyway. Maybe I wasn't really a man yet, but it sure seemed like it compared to just a few weeks ago.

I thought about turning it on, just for grins and giggles, but then decided it wasn't worth the time and effort. I turned on my stereo instead, and plugged in Shostakovich's 'Gadfly' soundtrack. I don't really care for all of it all that much, but the "Romance" movement is hauntingly beautiful.

I started working on the speakers, with my mind focused on assembling and balancing them and the music saturating my thinking so much that I didn't even hear the knock on my door or Stephanie coming into my room. She was coming to ask for help on physics again, but came in just as the "romance" section started. She stood silently engulfed in the beauty of the music until the movement ended, then she scared me out of ten years of my life by saying, "That was beautiful!" I jumped, and nearly dropped the speaker I was working on, catching it just before it hit the floor. 

"I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to startle you!"

I carefully set the speaker down, my heart pounding in my chest. I, too, had been engulfed in the music, feeling the bow strokes of the violin across my soul. I'm not usually that entranced in the music that I'm not aware of what is going on around me, but in this case I was. Perhaps it was the situation with Rosemary, and now with Steph that had me thinking romantically and finding it in the music, I don't know. "Sweetheart, you nearly scared me to death! I didn't even hear you come in."

"I know, and I'm sorry. You were totally into the music, like I was. What was that piece? I've never heard anything like that in my life. It sounds so sad, yet so beautiful and romantic."

"It's by Shostakovich from the soundtrack to the Russian movie, 'The Gadfly.' Want to hear it again?"

Stephie nodded, and I stopped the CD and replayed that movement. When the solo violin started she stepped to me and embraced me with her head on my chest as she listened to the rise and fall of the song. I put an arm around her with my hand on her soft skin just below her shirt and just luxuriated in the bliss the combination of the music and holding her created. I really hadn't planned on touching skin, but who am I to complain? Gently I stroked her hair, allowing it to trail through my fingers and followed it across her shoulders and down her back. When the piece ended she drew in a ragged breath as she looked up into my eyes. "I don't know what the story is, but that music feels like us. You know, with all that is going on with the accident and Susie in the hospital, mixed in with the feelings I get when I'm with you like this. It makes me want to crawl into your arms where I feel safe and loved. Thank you!"

"I hadn't thought of it quite like that, but I like it. We can call it our song if you like, and you are welcome to crawl into my arms any time, where you will be as safe as I can make you, and you will be loved. Were you needing help with physics tonight?"

She nodded. "You make it so understandable. Last night really helped, but we have a test on Thursday that I'm not ready for. She sat down at my desk, just as the AC kicked on, which immediately brought her nipples to attention and little goosebumps across her bare belly. Her skirt was flared out over the tops of her legs, but fully half or a little more of her thighs were there for me to ogle. It was going to be very difficult for me to keep my attention focused on the schoolwork!

It really didn't take all that much to put her on the right track. A combination of her innate shyness and hesitation to ask questions in class, and a less than stellar teacher left her with an incomplete understanding of the concept. She was trying to make up for it with sheer memorization of facts and formulae, but at this level of the course without at least the rudiments of understanding how it all fit together, it was beyond her reach. Standing behind her, looking over her shoulder I couldn't help staring directly down her cleavage and at those thighs that moved tantalizingly before my eyes as she first crossed them one way and then the next and bounced her sandals on the tips of her toes. I was just aching to slide my hands up and down those delectable legs, and explore their upper reaches in the areas hidden by that short skirt. 

Some time or another she had applied just a light amount of fragrance that nearly drove me wild. I wanted to trail my nose all over her person to see if I could find the source of that scent. She didn't bathe in it like so many people do, thinking if a little is good a lot is better, but had on just enough to have a hint of fragrance waft out periodically. 

Rosemary knocked on the door and pushed it open. "Are you children behaving, in here?" I swear Rosemary had to have rolled the waist of her skirt a time or two, because it appeared to be shorter than it was earlier. I know she was teasing me, and it worked! My balls were aching constantly, and I was going to have to seek some relief very soon. These two didn't need to do extra stuff to turn me on, not that I minded to be sure, but this was getting serious. Rosemary was toying with the hemline, sliding a finger underneath and stroking her leg absentmindedly, or so it seemed. It was so short now that just the slighted gust of wind would have shown all of her secrets.

"I was just thinking about what to do for dinner. That little pizza isn't going to cut it much longer. Do you want to go out?"

"Not with you two dressed like this! You are killing me here. If I took you out you'd get me arrested!" 

Rosemary just laughed, then with just her fingertips lifted the middle of the vee of her shirt, nearly exposing her nipples, but just not quite. "Does all this skin bother little Justin?" With a little twirl that made her skirt flare out she said, "I wouldn't want to do anything that would bother little Justin!" I just shook my head. The transformation of these two girls the last couple of weeks was staggering. I enjoyed it thoroughly, especially knowing it was for my benefit only, that they wouldn't do anything of the sort outside of the house. 

"I'll tell you what. You two put on something so I can take you out in public and I'll take you to Al's." Al's Family Restaurant is a family style restaurant that is one of our favorites. It isn't fancy, and you don't go there for the ambience, but the food is superb and there is plenty of it. Nothing fancy, but just plain, wholesome, well prepared food. It has been a well-known establishment in our area for over fifty years, run by the same family, and basically unchanged the whole time. It isn't much to look at, and since the city has grown to surround the area some have tried to close it down, thinking it doesn't present the image they want for their town, but those of us who have frequented the place have stood up for it. It is very much European style seating. The tables are just folding tables, covered with oilcloth, and you sit where you can find a seat, and sometimes you don't find one and you eat standing, with your plate placed on a small counter that surrounds the room.

Rosemary untied her shirt and let it drop loose. "That sounds great! Come on, Stephie. Let's get changed and go before he changes he mind." With that she turned her back and started for the door, but pulled her shirt off on the way. She made sure I didn't see her tits as she did so, but the vision would stick in my mind for quite some time.

Steph stood and glanced at the bulge and damp spot on my shorts and smiled. She isn't as big of a tease as Rosemary, but she's learning. She grasped the knot in her shirt as she leaned in to give me a little peck on the lips. "Thank you so much for your help, Justin. I really appreciate it." As she was talking she also untied the knot, but unlike Rosemary, she opened up the shirt, showing me those delicious titties that I could have feasted on instead of going out. "I'm glad you like my little titties, Justin. They like you too," and she dropped the shirt allowing it to cover them again and turned and walked out the door. At the door, she turned and said, "You might want to put on a different pair of shorts. Those have a wet spot," and with a giggle she was gone.

I peeled off my shorts and rather wet underwear with a grimace. I had pre-cum all over the inside of my briefs, and my pubic hairs were soaked with it. I grasped my cock, and it only took a few strokes before I came explosively, more than filling the tissues I grabbed, and making a gooey mess all over my hand. 

I cleaned myself up quickly and grabbed some decent jeans and a nice polo before heading downstairs to wait for the girls. I needn't have hurried, silly me, because I waited over twenty minutes for them to make their way down the stairs. I will say, though, that the wait was worth it! They both were decidedly casual in their dress, but what those two can do with casual is a lot! "You two trying to get me killed? I go walking into Al's with a couple of hot chicks like you and someone is likely to try and take you from me."

Rosemary just swatted my arm and laughed, but Steph grabbed my other arm and hugged it to her and laid her head on my shoulder. "That was sweet, Justin, even though I know you were just teasing."

I wasn't about to ride in the back seat of the Bug to go to dinner with these two, so I grabbed Dad's keys from the hook and we all piled into the Denali. Rosemary smirked at me as I started to back out of the garage and asked, "Feeling better, Justin?" I just gave her a quizzical look. "I just noticed you were sporting a pretty big bulge when I last saw you upstairs, but you don't have it now." Her laugh was maniacal at best, and Stephie joined right in. "I hope you saved a little bit of it. We might want a little dessert when we get home." When I looked at her in the mirror she winked and licked her lips and then grinned. I swear the little minx is getting out of hand!

When I pulled into the parking lot at Al's and opened their door both girls managed to let their skirts slide up a bit, giving me a good view of their legs before they stepped out of the car. Fortunately, their skirts weren't quite as short as the ones they had worn earlier, but they were still designed to draw attention to their legs, which definitely were among their better assets. With one on each arm we approached the door. No one who didn't know us would have any idea Rosemary is my sister, and we certainly drew some eyes, and I got some jealous looks from some of the guys in the restaurant, as well as some very disapproving looks from some of the ladies. There was no one, though, that didn't recognize the girl's beauty. Love makes a difference in a girl, I know, and Stephie was positively glowing.

We had a very nice dinner laughing and talking about a variety of matters, including school, the house, and of course, Susie. Stephanie of course was planning to return home tomorrow, since her mother and Paul were expected to return that day. That was the only downer on the evening, as she really did not like the guy. "I can't help it," she said. "I'm not upset about Mom getting married again. She deserves to be happy, and Daddy has been dead now for almost ten years. She could have remarried a long time ago, but she didn't want to bring another 'daddy' into my life while I was young. I wanted her to go out and date a long time ago, but I didn't think she would find someone like Paul. All I think he is interested in is what he can get from her, and I hate the way he looks at me and how handsy he is." 

Our waitress was a bit of an anomaly for Al's. Most of them, in fitting with the 'family restaurant' image were middle aged or older, working there to supplement their incomes, but we had a college age girl who kept making eyes at me every time she came by the table to see if we needed anything. I know she was intrigued by my company, but was much too polite to say anything. Rosemary got a kick out of some of her antics, the way her skirts swished when she walked away, and the extra amount of attention she gave me. Steph on the other hand was at a slow boil. Personally, I found it humorous. Two months ago she would have paid me no attention at all, but because I was there with two very nice looking young ladies, who obviously were paying me more than usual attention, I became someone of interest and potential. That she had no chance I'm sure she knew, but one always takes one's best shot.

I gave her a nice tip, and a wink as we got up to leave, but a text on my phone stopped me in my tracks, and I sat back down suddenly, my knees jelly-like. It was from Michael, and only said, "Please call me ASAP. I need to talk with you. Troubles."

Quickly, I hit his speed-dial. "Hello."

"Michael, Justin. What's up?"

"I really need to talk. Any chance you could come by the hospital?"

"Yes, I expect so. The girls and I just finished dinner. I suppose we could head that way."

"I guess that would work. I had hoped to catch you by yourself, but they have to be told, too. Could you come right away? I really need someone to talk with."

"OK, we'll be there in about ten to fifteen. Are you in the room?"

"Meet me in the cafeteria. We can talk better there."

"OK, see you there as soon as we can get there."

Quickly I shepherded the girls out to the car and drove as quickly as I safely could to the hospital. Both girls had frightened looks on their faces and tears of fear in their eyes, especially since I was unable to tell them anything. We hurried into the hospital as soon as I was able to find a parking spot. The two girls on either arm, clutching me tightly was in marked contrast to the two girls on my arm going to Al's. The elevator seemed to take an interminable time to come down from the upper floors, but we finally spilled out the door on the lower level to find a distraught Michael waiting for us in the hallway.

"Thank you for coming. I didn't know who else to call, and I had to talk with someone." Michael sank down on a bench there in the hallway and buried his face in his hands. "My brother came to see Susie today, and said it is hopeless. Gangrene is starting to set in, and they have to take her foot tomorrow morning." Great wracking sobs shook his shoulders. Quickly I sat down next to him and hugged him around the shoulders, pulling him to me. Both girls were holding each other, sobbing. "I don't know what to do. I've ruined her life, and it is all my fault. How can I possibly face her now? It was bad enough before, but now she is going to be maimed because I drove under the influence. The judge ought to lock me up and throw away the key tomorrow, and I can't even be here for her." 




Justin Thyme Ch. 08



This is part eight of a multi-part story, and does not do well as a stand-alone. Please read the preceding sections first if you have not already. It will greatly enhance your enjoyment of the story. If you are looking for a lot of wild sex you will be disappointed. While sex is involved in the story it is a part of the story, not the story a part of the sex.




As Stephanie slipped her tee shirt the rest of the way off and then climbed on top of me I felt another hand grasp my cock and line it up with Stephie's very moist pussy. Surprised, I glanced over to see Rosemary's smile and little nod of encouragement. I let Steph set the pace as she slid slowly onto my cock. She was tight, hot, and very wet. Lubrication was no problem at all. She just slid slowly down until I felt her pubis brushing my pubic hairs. With a quiet moan she lay there for a moment or two, and I could feel drops of moisture dripping onto my collar bone from her eyes. 

"Steph, sweetheart, are you OK?"

I heard a sniff, and felt her nod as her arms tightened around my neck and her vaginal muscles tightened and released, though she did not move. "Oh, Justin, you have no idea how long I have wanted to do this, and it feels so wonderful. I feel so full, and it is you, not some plastic imitation I pretended was you." More sniffles, and the slightest of twitches as she wiggled her hips experimentally. "If I don't move can I feel this forever? You just feel so good!" I was struggling to remain still for her, but the urge to start my cock moving was almost overpowering, and I felt my balls drawing up already. I hoped I wasn't going to come too quickly!

With a small gasp Steph started rocking her hips, and I tried hard to match her tempo, but it wasn't long until she half sat up on me and started bouncing up and down on my cock as if she thought she would never get another opportunity, or that I was going to tell her to stop and get off. Her little boobies were bouncing around in front of my face, and I couldn't resist. I reached up with both hands and tweaked her nipples, which caused her to wail. Rosemary tried to shush her, for fear Mom would hear us. Steph slammed down on my cock one last time and groaned a guttural moan as her orgasm overtook her. She squeezed down on me so tightly I couldn't even continue moving in her, but the rippling effect of her vaginal muscles on my cock pushed me over the limit as well, and I filled her with my seed.

Steph's head dropped to my shoulder and she began to sob as I held her tenderly in place, and then Rosemary's arms enveloped both of us, as if making the three of us one. After a minute or two Steph released my neck with one arm and snaked it around Rosemary, and from underneath I did as well. "Thank you, Rosie," Steph whispered, and sobbed once more. Rosemary just nodded and stroked her hair softly, but her eyes were on mine. Somehow we communicated, and I knew everything was OK with her. Have I ever mentioned how much I love my sister? There is no more loving, giving person in this world. How could I, a little skinny dweeb of a guy, be so lucky as to be loved by two wonderful women, and they be willing to share that love?

"Stephie, I love you."

"I know. Nobody will ever be loved as much as I'm going to love you. Rosie, you know I love you too."

I crawled into the hated back seat of Rosemary's Bug and looked forward to see the radiant smile of love coming from Stephanie, as she turned in her seat to glance at me. Her hand reached back to grab mine and hold it all the way downtown to the courthouse.

We arrived and were on the sidewalk when I saw Michael's Escalade pull into the parking lot. He had risen early and had gone to his apartment to change clothes before going to court, not wanting to impose on us any more by wearing my suit. I stopped the girls, and we waited for him to park and start our way. I shook his hand, and both girls gave him a hug and we crossed the street. I rather doubt the courthouse ever witnessed such a sight before, that of the accused being hugged by and walking with the one who had been injured by his actions. Michael was rather somber, but I didn't try to buck up his spirits. He knew we were there for him, and anything else would have been only fluff.

When we were passed through the metal detectors of course it was I who forgot to remove my pen from my shirt pocket, to the amusement of the girls. Those detectors are sensitive, and the girls got a real kick out of seeing me get wanded with my feet spread and my hands on the counter. 

Grandpa was talking with the State's Attorney when we entered the courtroom, and he made no move to recognize our presence. Michael's attorney walked in and came over to chat with Michael, who promptly introduced us. He gave us a rather curious glance, and then taking Michael by the arm walked away to talk in private. I know he had never dealt with a case of this sort before either, and he really didn't hold out much hope. This judge was one known for throwing the book at DUI offenders, as one who had lost family members to a drunk driver. Some said she should not be allowed to adjudicate DUI cases because she could not be impartial, but she had always shown a very careful neutrality and waited for the jury to decide before coming down hard on the offender. To her surprise, Michael had foregone a jury trial, leaving it all to the arraignment, as he planned to plead guilty.

Grandpa finished his discussion with the State's Attorney and gave us just a very brief nod as he sat down at the prosecutor's table. Michael and his attorney proceeded to the defendant's table and sat down. I'll not bore you with all of the details of the hearing, but suffice it to say it was one unlike any the judge had ever presided over. After the Bailiff announced the judge and the charges were read Michael was asked for his plea. He pled guilty to all counts of driving under the influence, of underage drinking, of driving too fast for conditions, and of failing to stop for a traffic control device. Before the Judge could say anything, the State's Attorney stood and said, "The State asks for leniency in this case."

I thought the judge was going to fall off of her chair at that! She looked down and asked the State's Attorney to repeat herself, and then asked for reasoning. At this point the State's Attorney recognized Grandpa, who stood and told the story of Michael coming to the house, the way he had asked for forgiveness, his admission of his guilt, although Grandpa explained Michael had not known he had any alcohol, and Grandpa produced charges that were in the process of being filed against the fraternity for serving alcohol to minors. Grandpa also told of the way Michael had stayed at the hospital and cared for Susie, and then he asked for Stephanie, then me, and finally Rosemary to tell what we had experienced and what we thought and that we were there of our own free will, and not at Michael's request.

The judge sat and looked thoughtfully at each of us for a few minutes and then asked Michael to recount the story of the party. He told the judge he accepted full responsibility for his own actions, and that he was not trying to shift the blame to the party. He said he should have known he was not fit to drive, although he had never been under the influence of alcohol before. Obviously, the judge had never experienced someone of Michael's caliber, and she really didn't know what to do about it. She called for a five minute recess and conference with the attorneys and left the courtroom. We all sat waiting for fifteen minutes before they all trooped back into the room. I wanted to talk with Michael while we were waiting, but the bailiff wouldn't allow it. 

The judge looked perplexed when she sat down again. She called Michael to approach the bar and asked him point blank if he intended to accept responsibility, financial and otherwise, for the damages, to which he said yes, that he had already told us, his attorney, the hospital, and his insurance company that he would make good any expenses not covered. She told Michael to be seated and then sat with her fingers steepled, thinking. We all sat quietly, with bated breath awaiting her decision.

At last she lifted her head and told Michael to stand. He and his attorney stood quietly to hear her judgment. "Judgment on the charges of Driving under the Influence, and of Underage Drinking are hereby suspended pending adjudication of the charges against the fraternity. If they are indeed found guilty of spiking the punch unbeknownst to those partaking, and of serving this spiked punch to under-aged partiers, your charges will be dropped. If they are not these charges will be reopened and your guilty plea accepted. I cannot and will not drop the charges of driving too fast for conditions or of failing to stop for a traffic control device. This court finds you guilty of those two charges and fines you $225.00 and $200.00 in court costs. Based on your driving record, and the way you have conducted yourself, I am granting court supervision. If you have no traffic infractions in the next ninety days no points will be charged to your license. That is as lenient as I can be." With that she struck her gavel and said, "You may pay the court clerk on your way out, and let me say, I have never dealt with anyone of your character and quality before. I am honored to have made your acquaintance." She stood and left the courtroom.

We of course all swarmed him, hugging, handshaking, backslapping, ecstatic over the results. Even the State's Attorney joined us in congratulating Michael. Michael, though, was in a hurry. He wanted to get to the hospital in time to be there when Susie came out of recovery if possible. The only thing that puzzled me about the whole proceeding was everyone kept addressing him as Michael Thibodoux!

In the rush to get out and to get over to the hospital I didn't get to ask Michael about the name situation, but I knew he would tell us what was going on in good enough time. 

Our timing could not have been much better. We were at the hospital about fifteen minutes before Susie came out of surgery, and about ten minutes before Michael was able to get there. Michael definitely has some pull somewhere, because when the surgeon came out to make the report to the family, of course there was none there, but the Dr. talked with Michael, and since we were there he talked with us, too. "Surgery went well, as well as it can go in this type of circumstance. We were able to stay as low as six inches above the ankle, which will allow for a prosthesis that will give as near life-like motion as possible. You should be able to see her in about forty-five minutes, or so. Please limit your visit to just about ten minutes, if you will. She will need to recover more fully before she is able to converse with you. I would suggest this evening, or even better, tomorrow." With that he was gone.

I don't know why, but we all breathed a sigh of relief. The surgery really hadn't been anything difficult, but when one you love is in surgery even a hangnail is serious to you. "Let's go down to the cafeteria and grab something to drink. I know I need something. My mouth is as dry as the bottom of a box of cotton balls." We all laughed at Michael's joke, but I think we were much the same condition.

We all made our way down the elevator, and the girls and I each opted for a large Coke, while Michael got a large glass of orange juice. When we sat down Michael said, "We need to talk. His face was flushed, and he had trouble looking us in the eyes. "You have no idea how much I appreciate what you and your grandfather," he nodded at Rosemary and me, "did for me. I've never had anyone come to my aid like that before, and I want you to know I appreciate it from the bottom of my heart." He hanged his head again, and said, "My name, as you heard in court is not really Borden, it is Thibodeaux. My dad is Jeff Thibodeaux, who played in the NFL." The name was vaguely familiar to me, but I don't care for football, so it didn't mean anything special, but Stephie was looking at him with unabashed awe. "I'm not ashamed of him, by any means, but I've learned it is a lot easier if I use my middle name, which is my mother's maiden name, instead." I nodded my head understandingly.

"So, that is where the money comes from? Not that it really matters. You are trying to keep people from putting the bum on you all the time?"

He shook his head. "No, it is more people wanting to use me to get to my Dad, wanting autographs or free tickets, and that sort of thing. It gets tiresome with people not valuing you for yourself, but just as a means to get something. My money is my own. I've written some apps and some software that I've sold. They have allowed me a lot of freedom, and the ability to make sure you guys are properly taken care of. I'm really sorry I've deceived you. It wasn't anything malicious, I assure you of that, nor was it a matter of trying to evade anything."

"No problem on my end! To be honest, I really don't care for football, so it wouldn't have meant anything to me, but Stephie, on the other hand . . . "

"I can't believe Jeff Thibodeaux is your dad! I've got his autograph from when he was at ASU!" She then began to recount all of his major stats, both college and pro. Stephie might not look like it, being a girly girl, but she is a real football fanatic. "I would love to meet him, but knowing his son, and knowing what a sweetheart he is; is about the same." 

Michael just nodded his head. "I'll ask him to autograph a football and a picture for you when I talk with him this evening. I don't usually do that, and I know he will be happy to do it. In fact, they will be in town in a few weeks, and I'll see if I can arrange it for you to meet him. May I ask a big favor, though? Will you please keep my identity private? Otherwise, I get swarmed wherever I go, especially if I'm up around ASU."

We all agreed, fully appreciating his request. It only made sense. 

Stephie piped up. "You and Justin ought to get together on your stuff. Justin builds some really neat electronics and things. He builds his own computers, and he has a sound system to die for! You have to get him to show it to you." That got us discussing tech stuff until we realized Susie should be able to have visitors, and we hurried upstairs to see her. She was groggy, but knew who we were, and Michael in particular.

"I really missed you last night, Mikey. It didn't seem right without you over there in the corner." Michael was obviously uncomfortable being called Mikey, which got a grin from the other three of us. I guess it was like Rosemary with Rosie. Nobody but Steph could get away with that, and how she did I never understood. 

We all sat with Susie for a few minutes, but it was obvious she was struggling to stay awake, so we said our goodbyes and stepped into the hall. Rosemary and Steph really wanted to stay with her for a while, but that left me without wheels. I had also counted on Rosemary helping me pull wires at Hulvey's. I could do it by myself, but with two it was much more efficient. Michael needed to go home and change clothes. He really had thought he would be going to jail from the courthouse, so he didn't bring a change of clothing with him, but only had on his suit. "I'll tell you what. How about if Justin rides with me, and you girls stay here for the rest of the day? If Justin can spare the time to go to my place while I change I'll go help him pull wires, and then I'll take over here for the night."

I was more than happy to accept his offer, and the girls were happy to get to stay with Susie. Michael made a stop at the nurse's station and told them the girls would be staying, but that he would be back that night. I wondered how he was able to do all of this and asked him on the way to his car. "It's easy. My mom is on the board of directors here at the hospital. I don't have any clout, but she just asked a couple of favors for me, and I pretty much have carte blanche to do what I need to do on Susie's behalf. When her parents get home I'll probably step out of the picture."

"I really hope you don't do that. Susie has really grown to depend on you."

"I'm not talking about abandoning her! I'd never do that! I just figure her parents will want to be involved and won't need me underfoot. Don't worry, I'm going to be around and make sure she gets the very best care possible."

Because we had skipped school Michael and I got to Hulvey's well before school released, and had that much extra time for running wire, and actually had a chance to get started installing some of the equipment. He may not have all that strong on the hardware side of things, but his was a good hand, and more than pulled his weight. I was more than pleased with what we were able to accomplish. When Mr. Hulvey arrived home we had completed all of the wire pulling, and had part of the speakers installed. Of course, he was surprised at what we had accomplished and wanted to know how we had gotten that far already. When I told him I had skipped school he wasn't nearly as excited, but once I told him about Michael's situation and Susie's surgery he was more understanding. He got more excited when I started showing him the layout, and what it was going to accomplish. 

While Michael was connecting and mounting the third speaker I showed Mr. Hulvey the controller, which was custom, and how he could use it as more than just an equalizer, but could use it to adjust sound quality from focusing it on one listener to optimizing the sound for a room full of people. 

While most people might not notice the difference, not having a trained ear, I had it tweaked to an audiophile's wet-dream. I knew Mr. Hulvey would appreciate the difference, as Janelle had in my room, whereas Mrs. Hulvey was satisfied if she could hear someone talking on TV. I did warn him I had overbuilt the subwoofer, and not to crank the volume on it without warning anyone upstairs. If he watched a war movie it would sound like the bombs were going off under the theatre seats. I knew it was more than he really needed, but knowing Janelle, I figured she might have a party there sometime when her parents weren't home, and they might not be concerned about hearing loss by the time they were thirty. I mean it would really crank out some volume, and with it up only halfway you didn't need to hear the bass, because you could feel it.

I got his permission to work late on Thursday evening so I could finish up installation early, and then on Friday all I would have to do is equalize and optimize everything, and have it ready for demonstration Friday night. That would allow me to head to the house Saturday and Sunday and get a head start on that project. Things were going almost too well! 

I took Michael by the house on the way back to the hospital so he could hear my setup, and showed how I could optimize the sound for either at my desk or in my bed, and had him sit and listen to several selections showing a variety of sounds, and before we left he made me promise to build him a system for his place as well. I told him he would have to wait until we got the house ready to go, though. That was priority number one from this point forward. 

Susie was awake and alert by the time we returned to the hospital after stopping at Al's for a quick bite to eat. Michael wasn't as leery of the place this time, and even tried chicken livers and gizzards, something he had never eaten before. He was amazed at the size of the platter they brought him, but dug in with gusto. The livers took him a little getting used to, but by the time he was done he was licking his fingers with relish, rather than trying to chase them with a fork and a knife. I promised him I was going to spoil his manners yet, but he just grinned and said give it a good try. 




Justin Thyme Ch. 08



Susie was happy to see Michael when he walked in the door, and told him she missed him. He grinned and said, "You just missed having a manservant to tend to your every whim." 

Susie just grinned her saucy smile and said, "That too." I knew then she was going to be OK.

"How are you feeling, there, little one?"

"That's what I missed. No one else thinks I'm a 'little one!' I'm doing OK, I guess, except I have this horrible itch inside this cast, but I can't tell you where." She cocked one eyebrow at him and grinned. 

"Sounds to me like they must have given you a happy pill while I was gone."

"Maybe one or two. I'm glad you weren't any later, because I'm starting to get sleepy. They gave me a sleeping pill just a little while ago, and I've been fighting to stay awake until you got here."

Michael stepped up to the bed and grasped her hand gently and kissed it. "It's OK, 'little one.' You can go to sleep now. I'll be here when you need me. Rosemary, Steph, and I said our goodbyes and left, promising to look in on her tomorrow.

Stephanie just sat in the front seat of Rosemary's Bug for a moment when we pulled into her drive. "I really don't want to go in," she sighed. "I really don't like Paul, and I don't trust him. I don't know how he snowed Mom into going out with him, let alone marrying him. He gives me the creeps, but for Mom's sake I have to be nice to him. Since he came around it is like he has pushed away all of our friends, and it is just him. He can't keep me from you guys, but if he could I think he would try." She shook her head and sighed again. "You two have no idea how lucky you have it." 

On the contrary, we do, but we really couldn't say so in this situation. "You know you are welcome anytime, Steph. If he gives you too much trouble feel free to come over. I'm not trying to break things up between you and your Mom, but don't let him hurt you."

"Thanks, Rosie. And thanks to both of you for this week. It has been wonderful." She looked back at me, and I'm sure there were tears in her eyes as she got out of the car and slowly made her way to the door.

Rosemary looked over at me as I clambered into the front seat. "We've got to do something to get her out of that house just as soon as school gets out. What would you say about letting her work on the house with us this summer? She knows how to paint, I know, because she did her own room and her bathroom. They look nice."

"Sounds OK to me. We'll have to run it past Mom and Dad first though."

"I'll say something to Mom. She can talk with Dad about it. I don't feel right about talking with him about Paul and what he has been doing, and it is more than she told you about."

"I think you would be the better one to broach the subject anyway. Speaking of the house, want to go up Saturday and Sunday?"

"What about Hulvey's?"

"We got a lot done today, and I'm sure I can finish the installation tomorrow, and leave Friday for tweaking everything. That would leave us free Saturday and Sunday to get started on some of the tear out and cleanup work that has to be done." Fortunately, we were at a red light, because Rosemary reached over and tried to break my neck with a hug. I took it she was in favor!

"Are we taking sleeping bags and spending the night, or were you planning to drive home?"

I cocked an eyebrow and said, "I had thought sleeping bags would be best. That way we can work as late as we can and start early again Sunday morning."

"Hmmm. Just in case we get too dirty, I noticed a couple of those old clawfoot tubs look big enough for two."

"Well, we wouldn't want to go to bed dirty!" We both grinned at each other as Rosemary pulled into our driveway.

Six o'clock Saturday morning found Rosemary and me piling into the Denali and heading up to Scottsdale. We needed more space than my Mini afforded, so I swapped Dad for the day. I think he was actually looking forward to tooling around in the Mini for the weekend. It's kind of like a big boy toy. We hadn't turned the corner yet, leaving our street, when Rosemary started that magic thing girls do taking off their bras. "Wow! Not wasting any time, are you?" She just gave me a coquettish smile and wink before leaning her seat back and closing her eyes. 

Eight o'clock, and we pulled in to a McDonalds to grab a couple of breakfasts. Neither of us had felt like eating before leaving, and besides, my travel mug of coffee had run out a long time ago. "You OK with stopping like this without your bra on?"

"It's just the drive through, and besides, this is a college town. They're used to it."

"They're not used to your tits, and besides, I'm a guy, and it wouldn't matter if everyone went braless, I'd still notice." 

"Then try not to be jealous, and if I catch you looking at some other girl without her bra on I'll try and do the same." 

With our stomachs fortified, as it were, we quickly made our way to our new home. "Justin, I can't believe this is really ours! Tell me I'm not dreaming." She reached over and grabbed my hand and squeezed it. "How many eighteen year old kids are trusted with this much property, and are put in this kind of position? I guess we have to grow up a bit and prove we are worthy. It's really sobering when you look at it that way."

"Yeah, I know. However, just a hundred years ago we wouldn't be thinking of going to college, but we would have already been considered adults and have been expected to act like it. You would have already been married and had a kid or two by now, and a boy fourteen years would be riding herd on a ranch or even on a cattle drive. He would be expected to put in a man's work. We really have it easy, and have been spoiled. I'm glad Mom and Dad and Grandpa and Grandma thought we were mature enough to do this. I know I'm going to do my best to do it right. It doesn't mean we can't have some fun along the way, though!"

I opened up the back of the Denali and grabbed a load of stuff to carry in with me while Rosemary went and unlocked the door. "This is so cool! I'm unlocking the door to my own house for the very first time! I'm excited!" I set my stuff down in a corner of the foyer and we both went back for another load.

When we walked into the kitchen we found a small basket from Donna and a congratulatory note on our purchase. It had some crackers and cheeses with a bottle of sparkling grape juice and two wine flutes. Donna noted our age in the note and told us we would have to make do with the grape juice until we were old enough for Champaign.

Rosemary stepped into my arms for a big hug and then grabbed my hand. "Let's take another look at our house before we start work! I just can't get over it being our house!" Room by room we made our way through the downstairs before returning to the foyer and looking admiringly up the stairs, and at the frieze on the ceiling. "It's all just so beautiful. Kiss me!" I gathered her in my arms and gave her a soft kiss, relishing both the feelings of satisfaction of the house, but mostly Rosemary in my arms.

With an arm around her waist we ascended to the second floor and took a look in each room. "I think we ought to christen each room in the house before the summer is over! Make this house ours!" Rosemary grabbed me in a big hug, pulling my swelling cock firmly against her. With a grin she said, "I think somebody likes the idea! I really think we need to start with your room, up in the turret, though! How about tonight? With the lights off, but no window coverings yet we can see the lights of the city and look out at the view." I liked the way she was thinking!

Pulling her to me, I reached around from the back and grasped her breasts gently and tweaked the nipples. "What makes you think I want to wait until tonight?"

Rosemary swatted at my hand playfully and said, "You silly boy, you. We have work to do!" Indeed, we did. We went on up to the third floor and walked each of those rooms, reveling in the reality of our own property, until we arrived in my room. "You're sure you want to wait until tonight?"

Rosemary swatted my arm. "No, I don't want to wait, but we had better. If we start fooling around now we'll never get anything done." She leaned in for another kiss, and then said, "Where do we start?"

I sat down on one of the window sills in the turret and said, "I thought probably the best place to start is in the bedrooms, pulling the carpet. We're supposed to get a dumpster sometime today, so I thought we would see how much we can get down there before it gets here. Too bad we left our gloves and things downstairs. Let's go grab them and then start on the second floor."

It was a hard, dirty, sweaty job we had before us, but Rosemary skipped down the stairs like a little girl on her way to a party. Fortunately, each floor had a doorway that led to the back stairs that went to my room up in the garret. I hadn't used the stairs when we were there before, and hadn't noticed that access to the other floors either. I had wondered how we were going to be able to get things up and down three floors without destroying the lovely antique Persian rug runner going up the front stairs. The back stairs obviously were for servants use, and hence were not anything fancy, being plain wooden stairs without ornamentation. They were perfectly suitable for our needs.

I grabbed a super-bar and my gloves and made my way to the second floor, where I started pulling carpet loose from the edges of the first room. Rosemary stopped long enough to pull her tee shirt up and tie it off just below her boobs. "No fair! You are going to dress like that and expect me to keep my mind on working? It doesn't work that way!" Rosemary just giggled at me and lifted her boobs in her hands, pinching at the nipples with her thumbs in the process before turning her back to me and dropping to her knees to pull on carpet. Her ass sticking up in the air as it was wasn't much better! 

We had no more than rolled up the carpet and we realized there was no way the two of us were going to be able to wrestle it to the stairs, and then down them. I had Rosemary unroll it again while I went back downstairs and got a utility knife. There was a seam in the carpet at near the mid-room point, so I used it as a basic guide and cut the carpet into two pieces, which we rolled, duct taped to keep it from unrolling, and dragged it with much effort to the stairs, and then pulled it thumping and bumping down them to the bottom. Keeping from being run over was the hardest part of the job. Once at the bottom we walked it out the back door and tumbled it off the back stoop to await the dumpster. 

We trudged back up the stairs and rerolled the other half and repeated the process. When we had it at the bottom of the steps Rosemary sat down on a step and said, "Now I know why Dad is so dead-set on us going to college! There is nothing wrong with doing this kind of work, and I'm glad for the guys who do, but I don't want to do this all of my life!" I could only nod in agreement as I looked at the sweat soaked shirt sticking to her boobs. After a breather we dragged it the rest of the way out of the house and went to the kitchen for a drink of water. We hadn't thought to bring a cooler with us, and of course there was no refrigerator, but the water from the faucet was invigorating in our parched state.

Rosemary noted my eyes straying to her breasts and looked down. She had an amused look in her eyes as she looked back up at me. "Giving you quite a show, aren't I?" She tipped he cup and drizzled water down her chest. "I might as well cool off then since I'm showing everything anyhow." She gave me a wink and stood to go back up the stairs. I left Rosemary to roll and carry down the padding since it is so light, while I started cutting and rolling the carpet in the next room. 

As he had been for the last several days, Michael was ensconced in the recliner in the corner of Susie's room, working on something on his laptop while Susie dozed. His focus was so great he didn't hear the knock on the door or notice Stephanie walk in the room, nor did he hear her call his name softly, so as not to wake Susie. It wasn't until she touched his shoulder and startled him that he knew anyone was about. "You sure are concentrating. What's up?"

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't even notice you come in."

"Yeah, I noticed!" Steph said dryly. She sat down in a hard plastic chair set aside for visitors. "I notice you never miss it though if Susie stirs."

Michael colored a little bit before he said, "Yeah, well, I feel a certain responsibility there. That's why I'm here."

"I'll bet the nurses would like to put you on the payroll! You are doing all of their work for them."

"I wouldn't go quite that far. It really isn't a problem, and I don't mind it at all. I'm getting a lot of work done while she is sleeping, and I enjoy talking with her when she is awake. How are things going with you, anyway? Has the insurance company done anything for you about replacing the car yet?"

Steph shook her head. "They say they can't do anything about it until we settle everything, and we can't do that yet, and we didn't have a rental policy on our insurance, so we are doing without it for the moment. It's not real convenient, but we are getting by."

"That's not going to do at all! Let me call my agent and see what I can do." He quickly dialed a number on his phone and got his agent on the line. 

"Hey there, Michael. What can I do for you? You just barely caught me. I normally get out of here before now on Saturday."

"I'm sorry. I forgot it's Saturday. Quick question for you and I'll let you go. I'm talking to Stephanie, the girl whose car I hit, and she is telling me you guys won't do anything about replacing her car until you settle everything?"

"Yes. That's the way it works, and I can't do anything about it. I don't like the policy, but that's the way it works."

"That's unacceptable. She tells me she doesn't have rental coverage on her policy, so they are without wheels until you guys get your act together and settle up with her. That's not right!"

"You're preaching to the choir, Michael. I'm sorry, but I can't change it. I would if I could, but that is standard practice with all companies."

"OK, then I guess I'll have to go out and buy her a car myself, and you can settle it up with me later."

"I'm sorry, but we can't do it that way either. If you want to buy her a car you might get her to pay you back out of the settlement, but we can't do anything of the sort with you for it."

"I'm really sorry to hear you say that. Everything in this whole deal has been very smooth up to this point, and she and I are on an amicable level, but you are going to make this whole thing adversarial, I can see that already. I will be speaking with her attorney on Monday, and will relate our conversation. I will be telling him to do what is necessary, and that I will cooperate with him fully. You can also expect me to cancel my policy as soon as I find a replacement. Good day, Sir," and he hung up the phone before his agent could respond.

"Are you busy this afternoon, Stephanie? If not I will take you car shopping and we will get you a car today. I have to wait until after Susie wakes up though so she will know where I've gone."

"Oh, that isn't necessary. We can get by until the insurance company settles it. I wanted to see Susie, too, which is why I'm here."

"No, that isn't acceptable. If I had not hit your car you would not be doing without. We'll get you something whenever you have the time to do it."

"I can't ask you to do that! My car wasn't worth all that much, but still, I can't ask you to spend that much money, especially since you aren't working."

Michael gave her a crooked grin and said, "I don't have to work. I was working when you came in the room, but I don't have a job that requires me to be anyplace at a certain time. I'm not Bill Gates, but I've written some software and apps that have left me in pretty good shape. Please don't advertise it, because I get more people trying to 'help' me with my money than I can chase away. I can afford it. I would rather the insurance I pay a premium for would do it, but that doesn't really matter. We are going to get you a car. I wrecked yours, I am responsible to replace it, so if not today, when would be best for you?"

"Well, I guess I could go today, then, but I still hate to put you out to do it!"

"No problem at all. It looks like Susie is stirring."

Stephanie didn't notice anything, but sure enough, in just a couple of minutes Susie opened her eyes and looked first of all for Michael. "Hi, Mikey. Still hanging in there with me?"

"You've got it, Little One. What can I get for you? Water?" Susie nodded, and Michael got up from his chair and went to her table and poured some ice water in a cup for her. "Anything else I can do for you?" She shook her head as she sipped from the straw in the cup he held for her. "You've got a visitor."

"Oh, Hi, Steph. I didn't even notice you were there. I'm sorry."

"Oh, that's OK. If I had a cute nurse hanging around me like Michael I wouldn't notice anyone else either." Susie giggled, and Michael blushed as he sat down. Stephanie stepped up to the side of the bed to where she could grasp Susie's free hand and squeezed it. "How are you doing, there, girl? Are you hurting?"

"No, they keep me pretty well doped up, so I don't hurt much. The worst thing is I itch inside this cast, and I can't do anything about it! Michael has been taking good care of me, and I sleep a lot."

"I'm glad you aren't hurting. I was worried about that."

"No, that's OK. See my rose?"

Now that it was mentioned, Stephanie noticed a single rose in a vase on the bedside table. "Michael brought me another big bouquet of roses. He said the others weren't fresh enough, but I told him it was too much. He ought to share them, so do you know what that silly man did? He got the nurse to get him some tall cups, and he split up that two dozen roses and went from room to room, passing them out." She glanced over at Michael and smiled when she caught his eye. "I think he's pretty special. Do you know he will hardly leave the room, except when the Dr. or nurse is doing something with me, and I don't even have to use the call button? He takes care of everything for me."

"Yes, he is pretty special. We've been finding that out. He's going to take me out and buy me a car this afternoon, because the insurance company won't do anything until they settle the whole thing. He doesn't have to do that." Michael shook his head emphatically otherwise.

"Little One, I'm going to have to leave you for a couple of hours, but I'll be back just as soon as we find her something suitable, OK?" Susie just nodded.

"I'll be fine. I'll probably be asleep anyway. Those drugs just keep me sleeping it seems."

Steph squeezed her hand tenderly. "That helps you heal faster. Your body heals while it is sleeping. I don't want to tire you out, but I wanted to come by and see you for a few minutes. Rosemary and Justin said to say 'Hi'. They went up to work on the house today and tomorrow, but they promised they will be by on Monday." Susie nodded, and Steph noted her eyelids were drooping already. She glanced over at Michael, who nodded, and then leaned in to rest her head against Susie's in as much of a hug as she could give and said, "I'll let you sleep now, and I'll see you again, tomorrow. OK?" Susie nodded and closed her eyes.

"I'll be back in a little while, Little One. You sleep well, now." Susie opened her eyes and looked at Michael with a little smile, then she closed them again and in moments was asleep again.

Stephanie assumed Michael was thinking about a used car, since hers wasn't anywhere near new, so she was surprised when they pulled into a Chevrolet dealership. Even then she expected him to pull around to the 'Pre-owned' section, but instead he pulled into one of the customer parking spaces right by the door and stopped. "Chevy OK with you? That's what you were driving, isn't it?"




Justin Thyme Ch. 08



Steph nodded. "Chevy is fine. I wasn't expecting anything new!"

Michael just shrugged. "I don't know how to evaluate a used car, and I know they still have some of last year's models on clearance. I thought it would be as easy to get one of them as a used one. That way you get a newer car, and I get a better deal." He gave her a grin. "That work for you?"

"That's too much! I didn't expect anything like this!"

"No problem. I don't agree with the way insurance companies try to beat you down on replacing a car anyway. I feel like I ought to get you something better than I broke, rather than try to get by with a little less." He opened his door and hurried around to get hers, but she already had it open. He held it for her, though, as she stepped down and closed it behind her. A salesman walked up before he could start for the door.

"Good afternoon, Sir! Glad to see you, today. What can I help you find?"

"Hi, thanks, but is Tom in? I'm not trying to cut you out, but I need to deal with Tom, if you don't mind."

An obviously disappointed salesman said, "Yes sir, if you will come this way I'll get Tom for you." He led them through the showroom door and asked the receptionist at the desk to page Tom for a customer.

"How are you, Sheila?"

"Hi Michael. I'm doing well. What are you up to today?"

"Well, I owe this young lady a car, and I thought I'd see what Tom has in those rejects from last year, and see if he has anything I can afford." He winked at Stephanie. "Sheila is my cousin, and Tom is her husband, and the sales manager. They just keep her here out of nepotism, and because she has a pretty face." He quickly dodged the slap she aimed at his arm and laughed as she smiled and shook her head.

In just a minute or two Tom came from the service area and walked to the counter. "I thought you said I had a customer, Sheila? I don't see anyone worth doing business with around here, unless it is this young lady here."

"Now don't be getting your hopes up, there, Tom. I happen to know she has a young man eating out of her hand, and I wouldn't want him upset with me. Besides, you are stuck with Sheila, and you married up getting her. How you did it I don't know!" Tom laughed and stuck out a hand for a handshake that turned into a hug.

"I'm sorry for these two. You have to forgive them. I think they both were dropped on their heads when they were babies," Sheila stage whispered to Stephanie, to her smile.

"What can I help you with today, Michael?"

"I owe Stephanie a car, and I thought it was about as easy to go ahead and get her a new one as to try to pick out a used one. There won't be that much difference, and since I wrinkled hers I feel like I owe her. I thought maybe a Malibu if you have one of last year's rejects." Michael gave Steph a wink.

"Sure, I've got a couple, but they aren't rejects. They are special ones we saved, so instead of a deal we can charge extra."

"Lead on, Macduff, but you'd better have a pretty sharp pencil."

Tom led them outside again and across the lot. "Any particular color you'd like, Stephanie?"

"I don't really care. Maybe blue."

"Excellent choice. I say that because I only have one blue one left, and it is one that has all the fun stuff on it." He led them to a blue Malibu and opened the key case on the window, then unlocked and opened the door. "Give it just a minute to cool off before you get in, and then take it for a spin and see what you think."

Stephanie looked at the car, and then at Michael, then back at the car with her mouth open. "Are you for real? You really want to buy this for me?"

Michael just nodded.

"I don't know what to say! This is way more than mine was worth! I don't deserve this."

"Stephanie, sweetheart, I'm not buying it because you deserve or don't deserve it. I think it is the right thing to do, and if it will bring you any happiness I want to do it."

"You are too much! No wonder Susie is in love with you."

"Susie?"

"Um hmm. I saw the way she looks at you. I've never seen her look at Justin like that, and he's the one she's been after for the last year."

"I never said or did anything to try to get her!"

"You didn't have to. You just were you, and you've been there for her. Please don't hurt her."

"I wouldn't dream of hurting her. I just didn't think about her falling in love with me. She'll get over it as she gets better, and gets to know me. I've never had anyone even interested before now."

Steph just smiled at him. "She's more than interested. I've known her since kindergarten, and I've seen her chase guys, but I've never seen her look at any of them like she looks at you. If you are sure about it I don't even need to drive it, but you have to let me pay you back from what the insurance company gives me for my car."

"We'll talk about that when the time comes. Get your sharpest pencil out, Tom, and I'll give you a check for it right now."

Tom just nodded and said, "Let's go back to the office and let me write it up. I'll have it run through the car wash and have it vacuumed out. It looks like the last person to look at it didn't shake the sand off his shoes first." He lifted his push to talk phone and called for a porter to come take care of the car, and led them to his office.

When they had all the paperwork taken care of, and licenses ordered, Tom extended his hand to Stephanie. "Your friend has good taste. You won't find a better man around than Michael. I'm amazed no one has caught him yet. To be honest, if Sheila wasn't his cousin I'd be worried myself!" He gave Michael a big grin. "Really, we talk a bunch of junk about each other, but they don't come any better." Michael looked at the floor, blushing. "Now, since Michael is paying for it, I have given you free servicing for two years on the car, and anytime you want the car washed, you just bring it by here. No charge." At her horrified look toward Michael at the comment that Michael was paying for it Tom quickly broke into her thoughts. "I was just kidding about Michael paying for it. Well, actually he is, but that is something we give with every new car we sell. It's one reason over sixty-five percent of our sales are repeat customers."

Stephanie, obviously relieved, said, "Thanks. I'll remember that." 

Sheila came to the door and said the car was ready, and they all went out. Michael opened the door for Steph and waited until she was settled in the car before closing it. "I'll see you at the hospital tomorrow."

"Thank you, so much! I'll see you there."

By 12:30 we had removed the carpet in every second floor room but one. We still had to carry down the rolls of carpet from the last room, but I know I was beat. Rosemary had to have been exhausted. She wasn't fit to take anywhere. Her clothes were hopelessly dirty, her hair a straggly mess, and her tee shirt had torn somehow. She was covered, but just barely. Not that I minded, but I wasn't taking her out that way.

"I'll go grab us something to eat. Why don't you just kick back and rest for a few?" She just nodded at me. I know she was too pooped to pop. She slumped down on the floor and leaned back against one of the rolls of carpet. 

"I had no idea how hard this work is. I don't know how we can get the upstairs done, too!"

"It won't be today. I think we are done with this for today. There is a lot of other work we can do that isn't nearly as hard. We'll concentrate on some of those jobs this afternoon." I left her leaning back against the carpet roll and left. 

I drove back to the McDonald's where we got our breakfast and got a couple of meal deals and hurried back to the house. An intriguing sight met my eyes when I walked back in and carried the bags and drinks up the stairs. Rosemary was lying right where I had left her, mouth hanging open, dead to the world, asleep. Her tee shirt must have had the AC blowing on it, because the sweat had mostly evaporated, and her nipples were standing totally at attention. I wanted to play with them pretty badly, but thought better of it. Carefully setting the drinks down on the other carpet roll, but within reach I sat down on the floor next to Rosemary and then gently shook her awake.

"Did I go to sleep?"

"Is the Pope a Catholic priest?"

"I knew I was tired, but not that tired. Thanks." She dug into her fries, eating them three and four at a time, instead of daintily one at a time as she normally did, and then she wolfed down the sandwich like she hadn't eaten in weeks. To be honest, I was right behind her. We had both burnt a lot of energy in the morning.

In between bites I said, "I like your shirt."

Puzzled, she looked down at her shirt and started laughing. "I was feeling chilly! I would ask you to warm them for me, but we have a lot of work to do."

"I would volunteer to warm them for you, but I don't know if I have the energy or not." My meal gone I leaned back on the roll of carpet and laid my head down and let my muscles relax. Next thing I knew Rosemary was waking me. I had slept for thirty minutes, and I needed it! My muscle were stiff and sore when I tried to get up and get ready to go back to work.

"I thought you needed it as badly as I obviously did, so I set my alarm on my phone for half an hour. You didn't even hear it go off."

"I think this afternoon we had better take it a little easier. There are a lot of things we can be doing to prep the house for painting. For instance, we can start removing all of the switch plates and outlet plates. We'll put them in a box and be sure to keep the screws, too. That will take us most of the afternoon if we stop early enough to get a bath before we go out to eat. I passed a little diner that made me think of Al's, although it looks a lot nicer. I thought maybe we could try it this evening."

"OK. Sounds good. Shall we get one of these rolls downstairs when we go to get screwdrivers?"

"Who died and made you Simon Legree?" She just giggled at me and grabbed one end of the carpet roll. I picked up my end and we struggled our way to the stairs. "You know, there has to be a better way to do this. I think we'll cut it into more pieces next time. I know your arms have to be sore from the backing."

"Yeah, they are, but I try not to think about it. I'll know better next time and wear long sleeves. I have an idea most guys who install this stuff are bigger than we are, and can handle it better."

The rest of the afternoon was spent removing switch plates and outlet covers in prep for painting. I know, it doesn't sound like much, but in a house of this size there are a lot of them to be removed, and it does take time. We finished in my garret room at 4:30, and decided we had accomplished enough and decided to call it a day. 

One thing I noticed was Rosemary had carried several sections of carpet padding upstairs and laid them out on top of each other. "They are for padding for our sleeping bags. I thought it would be better than the floor." Smart girl, there. Makes me glad I chose her for a sister!

There was a lot of giggling and laughter as we made our way to the bathroom off of my bedroom. It was one of the two bathrooms that had an over-sized clawfoot tub, with room for two. We decided whoever built the house had a dirty mind, and we loved him for it! There had been a lot of hugs and touches throughout the day as we worked together, making the day and the work fun. It all led up to this time together as we slipped into a tub of hot steaming water and just relaxed together. It is a deep tub, and the back slopes at a comfortable angle for relaxing and soaking. I had thought there would be a lot of horseplay when we bathed together, but neither of us really felt like it. I just put my arm around Rosemary and she rested her head on my shoulder and we cuddled.

It's funny, but the sexual hijinks I had anticipated was more than made up for as we spent time just enjoying each other's presence. I could see her lovely body through the water, and her hand found a resting place on my cock, but not in an overtly sexual manner, but one of comfort and familiarity. Of course, I was hard, but not in an urgent manner. I was content.

When the water cooled we stood in the tub and washed each other, gently scrubbing and making patterns on each other's body with suds from the body wash. Again, it wasn't overtly sexual, but deep down inside it was. We seemed to be thinking of tonight, and built for it rather than playing around at the moment. When we both were covered with suds I gave Rosemary a big hug, and moved around using my body as a washcloth, as it were. 

When we stepped out of the tub we dried each other off, and then walked holding hands from the bathroom down the stairs to where we had left our bags when we arrived. Walking down the main stairway naked as the day we were born was a thrill. At first I was self-conscious, feeling like people were watching although I knew there was no way anyone could possibly see us. At the bottom of the stairs I pulled Rosemary to me in a hug and I gave her a kiss. "Welcome home, Rosemary. I love you."

Rosemary leaned back, but remained in my embrace and looked me in the eyes. "I know, Justin, and I love you, too. Thank you." She leaned forward again and hugged me tightly. "This place is so much more than I could have dreamed! I wish we had it furnished, and it was just for us. Nice dream, hmm? By the way," she whispered in my ear, "thank you for making love to Stephie. She really needed it, and it was beautiful to watch."

I just nodded and held her close to me. "I felt funny with you there until you grabbed me and lined me up for her. I knew it was good then, and I really loved you for it. The last thing I ever want to do is hurt either of you."

"I know. That's what makes you so wonderful. I know you will never hurt me."

"That reminds me. I owe you something. Come with me." I took her by the hand and led her to the library, with the desk, the only piece of furniture in the house. "Wait here!" Quickly I went back to the hallway and grabbed a sleeping bag, then took it in and spread it over the top of the desk.

"What are you doing?"

"Just trust me." I lifted her up on the edge of the desk, then knelt down between her legs and put her legs over my shoulders and leaned in to nuzzle her pussy with my nose. "I owe you this, remember?" I knew both of us were at a fairly high sexual pitch from being together all day, her without a bra, and much of the day with the tee shirt bunched up under her boobs. Then taking a bath together took things up another notch. Another time and I would go more slowly and tease her a bit, but this wasn't the time for that. I just grabbed her ass and pulled her toward me as I dove in and started licking her slit. She was already fairly puffy with arousal, and more than a little moist, which confirmed to me teasing was not needed. The first time my tongue flicked across her little love nubbin her breath hissed between her teeth and her pussy lifted to meet my face.

She leaned back on her hands and scooted herself closer to the edge, giving me a little better access, and her legs parted slightly wider, allowing me to get really up close and personal. "Justin, I never knew how good that could feel." Her voice was rather breathy, and she was trembling as I flattened my tongue and stroked over her clit firmly. She was having trouble sitting still as I alternated licking her clit and tongue fucking her vagina, but she really came unglued when I grasped her love button with my lips and sucked in on it while flicking it with just the tip of my tongue and I hummed. 

Rosemary's legs alternated between squeezing on my head and spreading widely giving me access, and her breath was coming now in gasps. She arched her pussy upwards and moaned before her arms collapsed and she fell backward on the desk. Her hands reached down and grabbed the back of my head and pulled me as if she was trying to pull my head inside. "Justin, I'm coming!" Her legs snapped shut, squeezing my head tightly, and she rocked her hips up and down on the edge of the desk. With a gasp for air she suddenly let go and just lay quietly on the desk, with her chest heaving trying to catch her breath. I just stayed there kneeling between her knees looking up at her face until she slowly sat up. When she grabbed my head and lifted it I knew she wanted me to stand, and did so. She pulled me in, and although I had her juices spread all over my face she kissed me and hugged me tightly to her. 

My cock, of course, was hard and probed at her pussy without either of us trying to do so. As badly as I wanted to slip it in and make love to her on the spot I somehow knew it would be better to wait, so I pulled back. "Shall we go get some dinner now, my love?"

Rosemary just pulled me to her again and nestled her head on my shoulder. The feeling of her breasts pressed against my chest is something I will never tire of, and I reveled in feeling her body as I stroked her back with my hands. She nuzzled my neck and gave me little kisses that sent shivers all the way down my leg. "You have no idea how badly I have wanted to attack your body all day. You have had me so horny I've been beside myself. Let's hurry and get some supper and go to bed."

I just nodded, not of a mind to argue with her thoughts. "I think I ought to wash my face first, hmm?" 

Rosemary giggled and said, "Somebody got me all messy, too." She released me and stepped down from the desk. "I think we might be able to find other uses for this desk, too. I wonder if it's ever been used this way before." Twining her arm around mine she grasped my hand and almost skipped out of the library to the stairs and we made our way back up to the third floor, where we had our towels and washcloths. 

Rosemary was on my arm when we walked into Bill's Family Restaurant. It wasn't Al's by any means, but it did look to have the same type of clientele, people who were there because of good food, not for a fancy ambiance or theme. 

It was certainly family friendly. We found a wide range of ages, with 'blue-hairs' seated in a booth next to a family with small children. One big difference was everyone was seated at individual tables or in booths, rather than at long folding tables, and there was no standup eating at a counter around the walls. There was a large waiting area just inside the door, and the seats all had a worn look as if to say waiting was frequently the situation. Indeed, as we entered the dining room we took the last table. 

As we neared our table I noticed a girl who looked familiar from behind. As I walked past she grabbed my arm and said, "Justin, it that really you?" I turned, surprised, to see Janelle Hulvey sitting there with another girl. "What brings you and Rosemary up here?"

"Hi Janelle! I didn't expect to see you here! I thought you lived on campus."

"Oh, I do, but this is the closest thing I can find to Al's, and I come over here when I get homesick. This is my roommate, Holly. Holly, this is Justin Thyme and Rosemary, his sister. He's the one I told you about that saved my Senior Class Play last year. Say, why don't you two join us, would that be OK, Ma'am?"

"Certainly, if they wish to."

I wasn't opposed. I was over my crush on Janelle, but I still thought she was an awfully cute and awesome girl. I looked over at Rosemary, who gave me a wry smile and nodded. I pulled out a chair for her, then I made my way around to the other side of the table.

"You didn't say what brings you up here."

Rosemary answered for me. "We've been working on our house."

"House? You have a house up here?"

I nodded. "Yes. We closed on it last Thursday. We're going to fix it up and rent out rooms to students next year, and live there while we go to ASU."

"I wish we could have done something like that! I hate the dorms. Guys and girls are running up and down the halls all times of day or night. Seems like there are parties every night, and it is almost impossible to study, and sometimes it's hard to sleep, too. So where is your house?"




Justin Thyme Ch. 08



"Do you know that big Victorian mansion that was used by an insurance company? It's just down the road about a mile."

"No way!"

"Way." 

"What's it going to cost, and do you still have room?"

"I don't know for sure yet. Probably just a little under what the dorms cost, but meals aren't included. Kitchen privileges, of course, but everyone is on their own. We haven't done anything yet about renting out rooms. We just got the place, and weren't expecting to be up here working on it for a few weeks yet, but had a chance this weekend."

Janelle looked over at Holly. "Want to move off campus?"

Holly nodded emphatically. "I'd move now, renovated or not, if I could!"

"When could we take a look at it? Is it mixed or just girls? Single rooms, or multiples?"

I laughed and turned to Rosemary. "What do you think, Rosemary? Should we show it to them as is, or wait until it looks better?"

"Oh, please. We don't care what it looks like now. I've always liked that building. I already know I want in if I can swing it by Daddy."

Rosemary nodded. "I suppose we could give you a quick tour tonight if you want. Tomorrow we will be working all day, and we won't be in any fit condition to show you around."

Our waitress came around for the third time, and Rosemary and I hadn't even opened our menus. I think she was getting frustrated and impatient. Rosemary just asked what Janelle and Holly were having, and then said bring it for us, too. That made it easier than taking the time to try to decide, and we weren't being fair to our waitress.

All in all, we had an enjoyable time at dinner. It wasn't quite the more romantic setting Rosemary and I had wanted, but we enjoyed getting acquainted with Holly, and she and Janelle told us a lot about what to expect on campus. Janell spent quite a bit of time telling Holly about how I saved her play, and my sound system in my room. Then she asked me about her Dad's system, and when I would be installing it.

"Oh, I finished that yesterday. That's why we are here today. I didn't think I'd get everything in for a couple of weeks. I'll be going back next week to do any tweaking your Dad wants after playing with it this weekend."

"Cool! I'm going home tomorrow! I'll check it out!"

It was well after 9:00 before Janelle and Holly left. Both of them loved the house, and put in a claim for which room they would like to have if they could swing their parents to the idea, and both thought they could. The idea of being in a secure, all girls house, away from the partying and stuff that happened on campus was a big plus. We weren't able to give them a firm price, but we had a range, and a high point we could tell them, which seemed more than fair to the girls. "If you are going to keep your prices that low I know you won't have a problem filling every room. I know I'll pass the word in the dorm, and I'll be careful who I mention it to," said Janelle. She looked over at me with a mischievous grin. "Think you can handle living in a house with that many girls around, Justin? Are you sure you'll be safe?" She and Holly both got a kick out of that, especially when I blushed. I'm just not used to being teased in that fashion!

Fortunately, we had not laid out our sleeping bags yet, with one still in the hallway with our gear, and the other in a pile by the desk in the library. I carried the sleeping bags upstairs to lay them out and get ready for bed, while Rosemary said she would be up momentarily. Since we had eaten with the girls, and then they had been at the house for two hours, I had not been able to spend any time with Rosemary alone, and I couldn't wait to have her in my arms again. I hurried to get myself ready for bed, spread the sleeping bags out and zipped them together, and waited. It seemed like forever, but actually was only about five or six minutes before I heard Rosemary ascending the stairs. When she stepped through the door my breath literally stopped. The vision before me was . . . .



Justin Thyme Ch. 09



This is part 9 of a multi-part story. It will not make sense without reading prior sections. Thank you for following my tale, and for the comments I've received. I appreciate your support, and all comments are appreciated. Enjoy.

The vision before me was exquisite. I literally was dumbfounded, unable to speak, and having trouble regaining my breath. How she did it so quickly I don't know, but somehow Rosemary had done up her hair, not really in a bun, but I don't know how to describe it. Tendrils of hair framed her face on either side, and she was a vision in that lovely negligee we had almost been caught with just a few days ago. 

Slowly, I rose from the sleeping bag where I was lying and I walked to meet her at the door. In all of the porn I have seen I have never seen a more beautiful sight than what was before me. There is something about love that transforms a woman when she is with her man. I'm sure there is also something that transforms that same man. Whether I had been transformed I know not, but as she stood there in the doorway with a gentle smile on her face she glowed. I approached with outstretched arms to embrace her.

"This is as close to a wedding night as I will ever come with you. I hope you like it."

My voice was still overwhelmed by the beauty of her trusting, loving smile; framed by her red-gold hair and her emerald green and light green peignoir. Finally, I croaked out, "You are so lovely!" OK, flunk me for originality, but for truthfulness I deserve an A+. Confident of her own desirability, Rosemary nearly floated into my arms. She nestled her head on my shoulder as I murmured inanities into her hair. For the longest time I just stood and held her, reveling in her complete love and devotion, knowing I returned every bit of it. What about Stephie? That was entirely on a different plane, very real, but also very different. This was my Rosemary, the one who made my life whole.

"I wish I could carry you over a threshold. This is as good as I can do." I lifted her in my arms and carried her over to our bed, gently knelt down, and laid her on the sleeping bags. I bent over her and kissed her gently. What it lacked in intensity and passion was made up for by the fervor and depth of emotion. I stepped around the bed quickly and then crawled in to embrace my darling Rosemary. I felt like my heart was going to tear a hole in my chest it was beating so hard. I love Rosemary so much it almost hurt.

"Justin, would you please undress me and make love to me? Lay claim to me and make me your woman?"

In a sense, it was a shame to undress her. The gown on her was so beautiful, and while she might wear it for me again, somehow I knew it would never be the same. I sat up and leaned away from her for a moment. "May I just look at your first? You have never been so beautiful before, and it isn't just the gown. It is everything about tonight. I love you, Rosemary, as I shall never love another. No one will ever take your place." She nodded, I think comprehending what I was saying. Finally, with hesitant fingers I gently began unbuttoning each of the buttons on the bodice. I didn't need to undo all of them, of course, but it was as if I was unwrapping the most exquisite present I have ever been given, which it was. I was unwrapping my Rosemary.

As each button was released another small section of her alabaster skin was exposed. When they were all undone I slowly pulled back the left side until her breast and nipple were exposed, then I leaned in and gently kissed it and carefully pulled it closed again. In no way did the material hide her breast. If anything, it enhanced its beauty. I repeated the action with the right breast before rising and offering my hand to help her stand. With her standing before me I slipped the gown slowly from her shoulders and let it fall to the floor in a slither of material, leaving her standing there wearing only a little string bikini type panty. 

The love and trust in her eyes as she looked at me was heart wrenching. I stepped forward and wrapped my arms around her, crushing those magnificent breasts to me. My cock was so hard it was nearly vertical when I hugged her, and it was now trapped between our bellies, with pre-cum leaking heavily. "Justin, please take my panties off and love me. I can't take it any more. I have to have you."

I let my hands fall to the strings on either side, and allowed my fingers to slip under them. Slowly, I slid them down her legs, kneeling as I went, but I took the time to kiss and suckle each nipple as I went by, which brought a moan from Rosemary. As the panties passed her knees I was down on my own knees, so I leaned in and planted a kiss on her very swollen and very moist pussy. Rosemary stepped from her panties and dropped quickly to the bed and pulled me atop of her. "Don't wait any longer! I need you now!" Her voice was nearly cracking with intensity and emotion. "Please, Justin." 

I didn't wait, but slipped my cock into her pussy slowly. She was so tight from arousal I didn't think I was going to be able to get it in at first, but it went, and then slid all the way in on the first stroke. When I was fully in place Rosemary grabbed my ass and held me tightly and burst into tears. I stayed still and just held her as she wept. Her arms slipped up around my chest and held me tightly to her. "I have wanted this all day, no, ever since I first wore that gown and we almost got caught. I love you, Justin. Make me your woman." 

Her hips started moving slightly, and I took the hint and slipped slowly back out almost all the way, and then slowly back in. I knew I had to take it slow, or I was not going to last but a few seconds. I had never been so sexually aroused in my life, but it was oh, so different this time. "I want you to come deep inside of me and plant your flag, claiming me for all time. Don't worry about waiting for me, I just want you," she whispered in my ear. "You feel so good inside of me. I want to feel you come, way down deep." Her lips left my ear and settled on my neck at the shoulder, and I could feel her teeth gently biting down on me as her hips rocked in time with my thrusts. She was doing something with her vaginal muscles that squeezed and caressed my cock, doing all they could to bring things to a climax. I was moving as slowly as I could, doing all I could do to prolong this exquisite feeling, but knowing it was about to end. I knew I could never recreate this time, and I wanted desperately to make it last.

Suddenly, with toe curling intensity it ended. I quivered and shook as I pressed into Rosemary as hard as I could, and my cock planted my seed deeply into her womb, claiming her as mine. Rosemary cried out, and I felt her vaginal muscles clamp down on me as her orgasm came over her as well. 

As our orgasms subsided we held each other tightly until I had to roll to keep from crushing her. I held closely to her to keep my cock from falling out, and we just cuddled and both quietly wept releasing our emotions. Yes, I wept along with Rosemary. We had not made any solemn vows to love and to cherish in a church, but we had just consummated that vow to each other. We both knew it could not be exclusive, that I would be sharing it with Stephanie, and one day hopefully Rosemary could find someone with whom to share the love also, but our first love would always be each other, and nothing could change that love.

Rosemary had thought ahead, and had a towel handy to keep us from leaking all over the sleeping bags, which was a good thing, and allowed us to remain in place and cuddle and snuggle. We kissed gently in little pecks and talked nonsense as we reveled in the love we shared with each other. I can only hope Rosemary felt as fulfilled and happy as did I.

Stephanie was shaking so hard she could hardly zip up her shorts. She pulled a tee shirt over her head as she ran to the door to wait outside for the police dept. She could hear sirens approaching, and walked out onto the lawn to flag them down. Tears streamed down her face as she cried uncontrollably. A squad car came to a screeching halt and the driver jumped from the car with his hand on his service weapon and a flashlight in Stephanie's eyes. She could hear others approaching as she walked toward the officer. "He's in there, officer. You'll be needing an ambulance if he's not dead," and she broke into fresh tears.

"Can you tell me what is going on? We got a call for a domestic disturbance. Have you and your boyfriend been fighting?"

"Oh, no sir. My mother's new husband tried to rape me, and I might have killed him. I don't know. I had to hit him in the head with a softball bat."

"Ok, hold on, please. I have to warn you that anything you say can be used against you in a court of law. Do you need an attorney? I'm not arresting you; understand, at least not at the present."

"I had to defend myself. He was trying to rape me!"

As another car pulled up, two more were approaching down the street. A female officer jumped out of the car and approached. "What do we have here, Johnson? Fight with a boyfriend?"

"This young lady says her mother's husband tried to rape her and she hit him with a softball bat. Why don't you talk to her and I'll check things out inside." He turned to walk toward the door, but stopped quickly when Stephanie called out, "Be careful, he's got a gun!"

The officer pulled his pistol, but waited for the next two officers to follow him before he entered the house. It was only moments before one of the officers was back outside talking rapidly on the radio as he came toward Stephanie. 

Stephanie's legs were shaking so hard she had trouble standing, so the female officer, who introduced herself as Officer Sanchez grasped her by the arm and led her toward her patrol car and let her sit on the bumper. "OK, can you tell me what happened?"

"I was taking a shower, and was going to bed early because I had a bad headache. Mom had to work late at the hospital, and Paul, her new husband broke into the bathroom just as I was getting out of the shower. He's been trying to do that for quite a while, and I used a wedge under the door so he couldn't push it open, but he used some kind of tool to push it free. I didn't have any clothes on, and when he tried to grab me, telling me he was going to make a woman out of me, I kicked him really hard in the privates and got loose. He fell to the floor and puked, but when I tried to get out the door he grabbed my ankle. I stomped on his hand and ran to my room and was going to lock him out, but he got there before I could get the door closed all the way. He was trying to pull a little gun out of his back pocket. My softball bat was behind the door, so I grabbed it and hit him in the head really hard and he fell down and didn't move. That's when I called you and grabbed these clothes and ran outside."

Officer Sanchez was taking notes in a little pocket notebook, but stopped as an ambulance with lights on and siren screaming came to a stop and backed into the driveway. Neighbors all around were out on their lawns gawking. The patrol sergeant pulled up right behind the ambulance and walked over to Officer Sanchez, who asked him to stay with Stephanie while she went and conferred with one of the officers who had entered the house. Stephanie could see them talking together a little distance away. She was still shaking uncontrollably; to the point she was having trouble staying on the bumper. The Sergeant asked her if she would be more comfortable sitting in the patrol car, and she nodded. "You aren't arresting me, are you, Sir?"

"Oh, no. At least not until we know what all happened. I do have to put handcuffs on you, though, if you are going to be in the car. That is for our protection, as well as yours." Stephanie started crying again, but stood and put her hands behind her back. The Sergeant helped her sit in the back seat of the patrol car, but left the door open.

Officer Sanchez walked back over to the patrol car and squatted down so she could look Stephanie in the face. "What is your mother's husband's name, Stephanie? And, I notice you call him that rather than your step-father. Is there a particular reason?" 

"His name is Paul van der Fleugal, and he just married my mother last weekend, although he's been staying here with her for the last month or so. I want nothing to do with him. This is not the first time he's tried to catch me in the shower, or get into my room when I was sleeping. Plus he's constantly trying to touch me. I don't know what Mom saw in him, but he's a creep!"

"Thank you. You did a good job on him. I wish all girls could do as well. If you'd like to step out of the car we'll take the cuffs off. Everything inside is exactly as you told me, so it is obviously a matter of self-defense, and as I said, a good job of it. You don't have to worry about him bothering you any more, either. He's a convicted felon, and as such is not allowed to carry a gun, so we have him on gun charges, plus attempted rape and aggravated assault. With his record I have an idea he is going away for quite a while, that is after he gets out of the hospital. You fractured his skull, plus did some major damage to his face. I'm not supposed to say this, and Sarge, you didn't hear me say it, but I wish every rapist got this." The Sergeant smiled and nodded. "I hear you, Sanchez."

Stephanie stepped out of the car and turned around so the Sergeant could remove the cuffs. "I'm really sorry I had to put them on you, but it's policy, and for our safety. 

"What do I have to do now? Will I have to go to court, and do I need a lawyer?"

"We will need you to come down to the station, tomorrow or Monday will be fine, to file a complaint. Whether you have a lawyer is up to you, but I would suggest it would be a good idea, especially for when this goes to trial. You will be called as a witness unless he pleads guilty or takes a plea deal. We will be adding enough charges to make it difficult for him to bargain it down very much."

The EMT's pushed the gurney out the front door at about this time, and loaded Paul into the ambulance. They didn't bother with the siren as they left, although the lights were still flashing. 

"When will your mother be home?"

"She should be getting here any time now. She had to work extra at the hospital because one of the other nurses called in sick."

"We will need to talk with her, since this is her house. It will be a while before forensics are done processing the scene. If you have someplace else you can go it would not be a bad idea."

Stephanie nodded. "Can I go back in the house and get my cell phone and some clothes?"

"Certainly. I'll go in with you."

Stephanie and Officer Sanchez made their way to the house and entered. Everything was fine until Steph made it down the hall to her room and saw the large blood stain on the floor from where Paul had bled through the nose and mouth after she hit him. She started shaking uncontrollably and crying. "It's OK, hon. You did the right thing, and you did it well. It wasn't you that was in the wrong."

"He's not going to die, is he? I didn't mean to kill him!" Steph was nearing hysteria.

"No, I don't think he's going to die, although I really don't think that would be a bad thing if he did, after what he did to you. I didn't say that. Don't worry about him. He brought it on himself. Just look past it and step around. Go ahead and grab your stuff and you can get out of here."

Steph grabbed some other shorts, a couple of shirts and threw them into a bag along with a hair brush. She grabbed her purse, and said, "I think that's all I need for tonight. Thank you."

Carefully looking away from the stained carpet they made their way back outside. 

That's when Steph called us.

Rosemary and I were still cuddling and enjoying the afterglow of our sex. I was gently toying with her nipples and giving her little kisses as we talked quietly and just enjoyed each other's company. When her phone rang it totally broke the mood.

"Who in the world could be calling at this time of the night?" Rosemary was rather cross as she reached for her phone. For a moment she thought about not answering, but if it was Mom, she would be curious why we didn't answer.

"It's Steph! Hello." She didn't sound really happy as she answered.

"Rosemary, I need your help! Can I stay at your house tonight?"

"I'm not there, Steph. I'm up at Scottsdale. What's up?"

I could hear Steph's voice break into half sobs as she answered. "Paul tried to rape me, and I might have killed him. I can't stay at home tonight, and I know Mom is going to be pissed."

Rosemary instantly was over her grouch and she reverted to a mothering role she adopts so well. "OK. We have two options. You can go to my house. Mom would be most happy to put you up, and she would be a good one if you need someone to talk to. I know she is home, or you could stop by the house and tell Mom you need to borrow a sleeping bag and you can head up here."

"Could . . . could I please go up there? I," she sniffed and sobbed a time or two, "I know you and Justin are 'honeymooning' this weekend, and I don't want to spoil that, but I need to be with someone who loves me, and I know you two do."

I nodded at Rosemary. Steph needed us, I could hear it in her voice, and I needed to protect her.

"Come ahead. I'll call Mom and tell her to grab a sleeping bag for you. I'll ask her for some towels and things, too. Look, I know you are upset, and we'll talk after you get here, so please drive carefully."

I heard a sniff, and a soft "Thanks. You guys are always there for me."

Rosemary quickly called Mom and told her a little of what was going on, what little she knew, knowing Mom wouldn't let Steph leave without a little reassurance and some mothering. Dad was home, too, and he would give her some good positive attention from a father figure, which she so desperately needed with her own Dad dead these ten years. Mom and Dad are great at getting you to talk about what is bothering you, and at giving you the love and support you need without prying or being judgmental. I knew they wouldn't let Steph drive up here if she wasn't up to it, bringing her up themselves if need be. Have I mentioned how great my parents are?

"Now, where were we?" Rosemary asked as she put her phone away. She rolled back into my arms and gave me a big kiss. "Did I ever tell you, Justin Thyme, how much I love you?" Her body fitted so nicely against my own. "We have at least two hours before she gets here. Whatever can we find to do to pass the time?"

I felt her hand slide slowly down across my belly until it reached and grabbed my cock. I wasn't hard, but neither was I fully soft either. She got a nice handful and squeezed it. "What have we here? Is there anything we could find to do with it?" She slipped her lips right next to my ear and whispered, "I want to drain it dry. I don't care if you can't do anything tomorrow. I want all it has tonight," and then she licked my ear. By now she was stroking my cock, rather than just squeezing it, and it was nearly up to full strength. I want to try lots of things with you. Anything but tying me up or in the ass. I don't think I'd like that. Anything else, let's try it and see if we like it." She leaned back and gave me a radiant smile, the smile of a loved one with her lover.

"You ate my pussy earlier and it felt so wonderful! One of these days I'm going to return the favor, but tonight I want to do things that I benefit from, too. OK?"

I could only nod approval. The idea of a good blowjob intrigued me, but it seemed to me it left her lacking, at least most of the time. The difference to me about eating her pussy is she can make love and even orgasm again afterwards, whereas if I blow my wad I can't go again for a while, and it seems to me rather selfish. Not all the time, mind you. Like I said, I'm intrigued by the idea, but I want to be sure she is satisfied as well. 




Justin Thyme Ch. 09



I leaned forward and sucked a nipple into my mouth and played with it with my tongue and lips while I slipped a hand down to explore her pussy. I found it swollen and quite moist already. Clearly the idea of what we were doing had Rosemary more than ready for action. There was no shy maiden here! I let my fingers do some exploring, something I had not done much of before, and Rosemary was obviously pleased at my ministrations. She would tell me what felt good, and what she really liked, and I would concentrate on those areas until it was time to move on. Her breath was coming in pants, and I saw a red flush spreading across her chest. Her hand was holding my head firmly against her breast, and my flattened tongue was licking roughly across her nipple.

Suddenly she sat up and said, "Quickly. I have to have you in me!" She got on her knees and said, "Try me from behind. I've always wanted to try that!"

I got on my knees behind her and slipped the head of my cock in her grasping pussy and pressed forward, then started pistoning in and out slowly. She pressed her ass up against me, taking me all the way in, but after a few strokes she stopped me. "That's not really comfortable. I like how far you get inside of me, but it isn't a comfortable angle. Let me be on top of you."

I reluctantly slipped out of the warm confines of her pussy and lay down on my back. Rosemary quickly straddled me and sat down quickly on my cock. Her eyes were wide and anxious as she started bouncing up and down. I reached up and grabbed her nipples and started gently pulling and twisting them, then I stroked her breasts and squeezed them, sliding down to the nipple and playing with it again. She used one hand on my chest to hold herself upright, and slipped the other back to play with her clit as she slipped up and down on my cock. Whenever she got to the bottom she would stop for a moment and grind herself against my pubis before slipping back upward again. 

My hips were flexing in time with her strokes, and I did all I could to penetrate as deeply as possible when she made the down stroke. I could feel my balls churning, but knew I could hold out for a while in this position. Rosemary couldn't, though, and with a gasp and a moan she fell forward and nearly smothered me between her breasts. I'm not complaining, mind you! I'm bragging! I could feel her pussy clenching at my cock, and I moved slowly in her enjoying her bliss. Soon she was moving with me again, and I increased the speed and intensity of my strokes. She was panting and saying my name over and over into my ear. 

It wasn't long, and I felt her stiffen again, and her vaginal walls clutching at my cock as she had another smaller orgasm. This time, her squeezing put me over the edge, and shortly after hers ended my orgasm erupted. 

When I was able to breathe again without sounding like I had just finished running a mile race, and I could hear more than my pulse roaring in my ears, I heard Rosemary whispering, "Thank you, Justin. I love you." I felt teardrops in my ear, and I gently hugged her to me. Words were superfluous at that point.

We lay there comfortably with me holding Rosemary on top for a while until my cock started to soften and fall out. Rosemary quickly grabbed the towel, and then rolled off of me onto it. She gazed softly into my eyes for a few minutes and then leaned in for a soft kiss. I hugged her to me and smiled back at her. Again, no words were needed. 

How does one explain love? I'm not talking about something light and ephemeral, but rather something that comes from deep down within your soul; something that takes two dissimilar persons and bonds them into one unbreakable whole? I'm not talking about sex. The wonderful sex we experience with each other was merely an expression of that love; a desire to bring pleasure and fulfillment to the other, while biologically expressing a desire to propagate. Already I was feeling a sense of jealousy toward whomever I would have to surrender Rosemary. I know she was struggling with the same feelings toward Stephanie, but had already come to grips with the necessity. Who would she find? I briefly thought of Michael, and as much as I admired and liked the guy I just didn't see them together.

Rosemary rested her head on my shoulder and snuggled her breasts against the side of my chest and closed her eyes. I was content. Involuntarily, my arm tightened about her, pulling her to me more tightly, and a small smile crossed her lips. I kissed the top of her head and then basked in the afterglow of our coupling and the recognition of our love.

We had been lying together so for about fifteen minutes, with Rosemary dozing on my shoulder while I lay there and pondered our future. I needed to be vigilant and look for the kind of man Rosemary needed. I knew they would flock to her once she got on campus, but I felt it necessary for me to help weed them out. I know, she's a big girl and can make her own choices, but she's also mine, the one I love, and one I have sworn myself to care for and protect. The responsibility that comes with love is important to me. 

My phone rang. Gently I disengaged myself from Rosemary. I was certain it would be Dad, and it was.

"Hey, Justin. I thought I ought to touch base with you. Stephanie and her mother are both here, and needless to say, there has been a lot to talk about. I'm in my office so I can talk with you privately. I'm not going to talk out of school. You need to know some of this. How much you pass along to Rosemary I will leave to your discretion." 

"When Stephanie came to the house your mother was expecting her, thanks to Rosemary's call, and it is a good thing she called. Stephanie was more than a little shook up, and I don't believe she had any business trying to drive up to Scottsdale by herself. Your mom sat her down and talked with her for a while, and was able to calm her somewhat until her mother called her."

"Stephanie thought her mother was holding her responsible for what she did to Paul, and things got rather heated quickly until your mother asked to speak to her. It was plain to your mother that Stephanie and her mother were talking at cross purposes. All Mary was concerned about was Stephanie's condition, so your mom invited her over here, since Stephanie didn't want to set foot in their house again tonight. I don't fault her for that. Anyway, Mary came over and was able to convince Stephanie all she was concerned about was Steph's well-being, and she apologized over and over for not listening to what Stephanie had to say about Paul being handsy and trying to get into the bathroom or her room." 

"Mary is really torn up as you can imagine, but she is planning to stay at home tonight. She called the hospital and told them she will not be able to be in to work for a day or two. She is going to contact a lawyer as soon as possible and file divorce papers immediately."

"Stephanie is determined she needs to go up there with you two tonight, so your mother and I are going to drive her up there. She said she doesn't mind sleeping on the floor, but your Mom and I aren't that young, so we are going to a motel, and then we will see you again in the morning."

"The reason I called is Stephanie is in a very vulnerable state right now. Be very careful with her. I know you two are sweet on each other, and I'm not opposed, but this is not a time for anything relational. Stephanie idolizes you, so just be careful. You have good sense. Just use it."

What was I to say? I know Dad didn't think I would try to take advantage of Steph or of the situation. He was just being careful, and trying to warn me of Steph's vulnerability I know. "I'll be careful, Dad. I'll not do anything to hurt her."

"I know, Son. I just wanted to warn you a bit about her mood and susceptibility right now. She's a bit fragile, as you can understand. We'll be there in a couple of hours, and we can talk a bit more in the morning."

"OK, Dad. We'll see you when you get here."

I didn't have to tell Rosemary anything of the conversation, for she was huddled up against my back, listening over my shoulder. If all of this is what being an adult is all about I want to go back to being a kid!

Rosemary wrapped her arms about my chest and put her head down on my shoulder. Normally I would have found it to be very sexy, but now I only found it comforting. Neither of us felt like fooling around anymore after that call, so we just lay down on the bed and cuddled and talked quietly about Steph and her situation. 

Rosemary and I went downstairs and got dressed at 12:30, although we didn't expect them to arrive before 1:00. We didn't want to get caught otherwise. We also carried Rosemary's sleeping bag and some of the padding to the only room on the second floor that still had carpet. We went back up to my room just for a place to be, and I mentioned my curiosity over the configuration of the bookcases. Rosemary also thought they looked uneven and dissimilar to the other side of the turret. We wiggled them and pulled on shelves, but everything seemed to be solid. We finally just marked it up to an oddity of the builder and made our way downstairs to be there when the folks drove in. 

It was just a few minutes before one when Dad pulled into the drive and stopped the car. It's just one more reason I love my folks so much. After all, how many parents would drive two hours out of the way at that time of the night for their own kids, let alone someone else? I know Dad had to cancel a golf match for Sunday morning, and Mom was skipping out on an open house. It wasn't her client, but it was one of her agency's, and she didn't like missing them. They have always been there for us when we needed them and I really appreciate them. I know Stephie did as well.

They all got out of the car and came in. I gave Mom a big hug and a kiss on the forehead. "Thanks, Mom. You guys are awesome." Mom just gave me a hug and a smile. Dad gave me a wink and a grin. I know he heard me. 

"I look at it this way, son. I'm just doing what I would hope someone would do for you if you were in a similar situation." 

Meanwhile, Rosemary and Stephanie were hugging and crying in the doorway, having not made it any further. 

Dad wandered over to me and gave me his famous one-armed hug and tousseled my hair. He knows how much I hate that, and does it just for fun, like he has since I was about 5. Maybe longer, but that's about as long as I can remember. "What do you say we meet you kids at McDonald's at about 9 for breakfast? Maybe your Mom and I can come back and give you kids a bit of a hand with some stuff for a couple of hours."

"Better yet, let's meet at Bill's Family Restaurant. It's not Al's, but it is as close as there is up here. We went there for dinner tonight and saw Janelle and her roommate, who by the way want a room. Janelle says they go there when she feels homesick."

"All right. I'll see if I can pry your mother away from the cry fest over there, and we'll go get some sleep. I doubt the girls get very much tonight, so don't count on to much from Rosemary tomorrow."

"Yeah, I figured on that. Thanks again. I want you to know you are my favorite Dad." He toussled my hair again, just for spite, and started for the door. 

"Come on, old woman. It's past working people's bedtime. We'll see them again in the morning." Mom just shook her head at him, but she gave Stephie a hug and broke away. Steph quickly moved over to Dad and gave him a big hug.

"Thank you for everything," she whispered through tears. "Sometimes I think about my Dad and wonder what he would have been like if he hadn't been killed in Iraq. I like to imagine he would have been just like you."

Dad bent over and kissed the top of her head. "Thank you, sweetheart. That is the nicest thing I've ever been told. For what it's worth, my wife and I think of you as the daughter we didn't have. As far as I'm concerned, you are one of us. You always have a place no matter what goes wrong. Understand?"

Steph nodded, then reached up and kissed him on the cheek. "Thanks, again. It's times like this that I realize what I've really missed." She squeezed him around the waist once more, and then stepped back.

I know Dad was really touched by the way he walked out the door with his arm around Mom's waist. I know I told you we are a huggy family, but there was just something extra in the way Dad held Mom as they walked out to the car.

Steph walked over to me and gave me a hug and a little peck on the lips. "I'm sorry to mess up your weekend like this, Justin. Is there any time you and your family don't put other people ahead of what you want?"

"Now don't go putting us on a pedestal, yet. We aren't anything special. We just try to do as Dad said and treat people the way we would want to be treated. When it is someone special like you that we love and care about it makes the choice easy."

"You really make me feel loved. Thank you. Now, where would you like me to put my sleeping bag? I'll leave you two to each other, and let you have the rest of the night."

"No," said Rosemary. "Not a chance!" I said. 

Rosemary slipped an arm around Steph's waist from the other side so she was in a hug sandwich between us. "We have already had a wonderful evening. So much better than I could have imagined. You don't need to be alone tonight. We are all going upstairs to Justin's room, and we'll share him. Family doesn't leave family alone when they are in need."

The tears spilled over from Steph again. "I'm sorry. I just can't seem to quit crying. I feel so worthless and dirty after what Paul did and said."

"Steph, honey, what someone else does doesn't make you dirty. What they say doesn't make something true. You are worthy, and you aren't dirty. Do you think Mom and Dad would have come up here with you if you were? Do you think Rosemary and I would want you with us? There is no one, absolutely no one, except Rosemary, that means as much to me as you do, and you already know about Rosemary. That is not worthless!"

She continued to sniffle, and I knew better than to say much more. She had to deal with the trauma, and overcome it on her own. All I could do is be there and provide the support and love she needed, and I couldn't ask for a better helper than Rosemary. "Now, young lady, are you going to walk up the stairs, or do I need to pick you up and carry you?"

"Now that sounds like fun. Maybe you ought to offer that to Rosie, here. After all, it is her weekend." Steph aimed a little grin at Rosemary, and I was glad to see that little spark of life from her. 

Rosemary grinned at me. "Maybe you could do that in lieu of over the threshold!" I just shook my head and groaned. 

"Before I do anything, I have to find a bathroom."

"The only one that is set up is by Justin's room. Let's go on up and you can use it." Rosemary stepped in front of me, obviously waiting for me to pick her up and carry her up the stairs. I grabbed her and tossed her up in the air as I picked her up, which brought a squeal of surprise, and then I led the way up the stairs. 

The first level wasn't too bad, and then from the second to the third floor was a bit more of a struggle, but by the time I managed to reach my garret room my knees were indeed getting wobbly, and I was puffing for sure. The feel of her boobs against my chest, sliding back and forth, as we climbed more than made it worth it, though. 

Rosemary looked over at Steph as I set her down and said, "I must have worn him out somehow or something. What do you think?" That generated a little giggle from Steph, and a sideways look out of the corner of her eye at me before she scampered off to the bathroom.

While Steph was in the bathroom I caught Rosemary's eye and said, "Maybe we ought to sleep dressed tonight. I don't know that Steph needs to feel pressured to get naked after what she's been through. What do you think?"

Rosemary nodded, but didn't say anything as Steph came out of the bathroom.

We laid out the sleeping bag for Steph on some pads next to mine, and then Rosemary and I lay down, still wearing our clothes. Steph looked at us funny and asked if we weren't getting ready for bed. Rosemary answered that we were, that we didn't think she needed to be faced with getting naked after all that had transpired. 

"Don't be silly. Justin isn't anything like Paul! I don't mind getting naked with Justin, or if he touches me. I know he loves me and wants to make things good for me, not to tear me down like Paul did. He told me what he was going to do to me, and it wasn't love. That's one reason I really wanted to come up here tonight, so I could share the love instead of remembering what Paul tried. Please, may I?" 

In answer, I pulled my shirt over my head, and Rosemary followed right behind me. In moments we were all naked and crawled into bed. I don't know if you've ever snuggled with two naked girls that love you unconditionally, and I don't know how I deserved it, but I can recommend it highly. It didn't take long for my cock to stand up like a flagpole to Stephanie's delight, nor did it take Steph long to insist that Rosemary be the one to take advantage of it. "This is your weekend together, and I'm just a third wheel. For me just to share in the love is more than enough." This time, when Rosemary climbed on top of me it was Steph's hand I felt on my cock, lining it up with Rosemary's pussy. Turnabout is fair play can be good as well as bad.

I've never been one who thought sex should be a spectator sport, and when I was making love to Rosemary, all of my focus was on her. Even though there was a naked girl beside us who was involved in our lovemaking, all of my attention was on making this a great experience for Rosemary. Stephie's turn would come. Neither did I think of myself as some sort of stud who was taking care of two women. All I was was a very fortunate young man who was in love with two wonderful women, who were also in love with me, and willing to share. The thought of a threesome never crossed my mind, as far as the three of us went. Sure, I'd read of them, and had even seen a couple of porn videos about a guy with two women, and if I had just been having sex I might have thought it fun. I wasn't just having sex, though. I was making love, and to make love one must have ones attention focused on the one he loves. 

"Don't wait for me, Justin. I don't think I'm going to get there this time, and I really don't care. I just wanted to feel you in me one more time. Come for me, my love. I want to feel it in me one more time tonight. I love you," Rosemary whispered in my ear. I didn't need any encouragement. I had been struggling to hold it back for some time, and although it wasn't a great earth-shattering climax, I mean after all, it was my fourth time tonight, but it was earth-shattering after all, because it was my Rosemary. 

"Thank you, Justin. I really needed that. That really felt good."

"But I didn't make you come, honey. I feel like I shortchanged you."

"I didn't need to come. I just needed you, tonight. It's different, but no less satisfying. It's all about love, not sex." I guess women are wired differently, but as long as she was happy, I couldn't ask for more.

Stephanie had been lying quietly on her sleeping bag, watching and participating vicariously without disturbing us in any way. She rubbed her pussy as I made love to Rosemary, and I vaguely remember hearing a quiet "Ohhhhh" from her right after my climax hit. She rolled over to us after the initial afterglow had worn off and put an arm around each of us, and then kissed Rosemary on the cheek, and then me on the cheek. "You two are so beautiful to watch together. Your love really shows."

Rosemary and I both slipped an arm around Stephie and pulled her into our embrace, making her a part of us. That is the way I woke up two hours later, with Rosemary still on top of me, and Stephanie tucked in at my side, except there was a cold puddle under my ass, and I had to pee very badly. I tried to roll Rosemary to the other side gently without waking her, but I managed to wake both girls in the process. "That was a very nice way to go to sleep," Rosemary murmured in my ear. "Thank you for a wonderful day and night." A very nice, soft kiss punctuated her comment, answered by a soft hug from me.




Justin Thyme Ch. 09



I made my way to the bathroom and back to find Rosemary trying to blot up as much of the moisture as she could. Both girls decided to use the bathroom as well since we were all awake and came back walking together with an arm around each other. Seeing the two of them walking toward me that way had a stiffening effect, which made them giggle.

We cuddled together on the bed, with the girls on either side, just enjoying each other's company, without any overt sexual action, readying ourselves to go back to sleep. Rosemary whispered in my ear, "Do you think maybe you could go one more time? I think it would be good for Stephie." I shrugged and nodded. 

A glance at Stephanie showed her looking hungrily at my cock, without noticing we saw her. I glanced back at Rosemary and nodded, but I didn't have any idea how to approach the issue. My cock twitched at the knowledge Stephie was staring at it so, and her tongue darted out to lick her lips. Rosemary half crawled on top of me to whisper in Steph's ear and then moved back to her side. Steph looked at her wide-eyed, and then at me. Tears welled in her eyes as she looked back at Rosemary. "Could I? Are you sure?"

Rosemary gave her a big smile and nodded. Steph looked up at me. "Justin, would you . . .?

"Of course, Sweetheart. You don't have to ask." I lifted up slightly with the arm I had around her shoulders and she quickly crawled on top of me and held to me tightly. This time it was Rosemary who grasped my cock, but instead of lining it directly at Stephie's vagina she rubbed it up and down her slit, which was more than a little moist. Every time Rosemary stroked it across Steph's little love button Steph would moan and press downward trying to get it inside.

"Please, don't tease me. I need him inside," Steph half cried. She moaned and sobbed as Rosemary slipped the head into her hole and I slowly thrust it in. I could feel her muscles clutching and squeezing me as I pressed forward. She was so wet I didn't need to pull out, but was able to go all the way in the first time. When I bottomed out and pressed against her pelvis Stephie cried out, and her body quaked. She pressed against me tightly with her pelvis, trying desperately to get me in further as she shook with a powerful orgasm. I really didn't know a woman could come that fast. I stayed still, allowing her to enjoy the sensation until her head dropped onto my shoulder, and her body shook with sobs. 

I wrapped my arms around her and just held her tightly and Rosemary gently stroked her hair. I made no moves at all, but just lay there and held her. Obviously, there was more going on that just an orgasm, and I could be patient. I was well enough drained sexually that I didn't have any overpowering urges, so I basked in the pleasure of her pussy holding me tightly with an occasional tremor from her orgasm. She felt so differently in my arms than did Rosemary. It was neither better, nor worse. It was just different and altogether wonderful. 

Steph sobbed on my shoulder for several minutes, releasing all of the stress and emotion from the day. Rosemary got up and grabbed the roll of TP and gave her several tissues so Steph could wipe her eyes and nose. She blew her nose, and oh the sensation that made on my cock!

With a huge sigh, Stephanie laid her head back onto my shoulder and squirmed a little getting comfortable. "Thank you, Justin and Rosemary. I really needed that, but I didn't want to ask because it was your weekend. I just needed to feel loved, and with you two, I do. This just feels so . . . , so . . . comfor . . ." and a soft snore followed. Rosemary and I just looked at each other and smiled. With a quick peck on my lips Rosemary snuggled closely into my side, her breasts pressed tightly against me.

"I love you, Justin," she whispered, and then closed her eyes. I was left to lie there enjoying the feeling of my cock buried deeply in Steph's pussy, and the comfort of her soft body on mine, and her hair caressing my cheek, while Rosemary snuggled on my right arm, with her head on that shoulder, and her hair caressing the other cheek. I thought to myself there could be much worse ways to live as everything went dark.

Mom and Dad were waiting for us when we drove in to Bill's at five minutes to nine for breakfast. Dad gave me a crooked grin and just shook his head as I walked in the door with a girl on either arm. "It's a good thing I know better, or I'd think you were starting your own harem there Justin." He laughed as Mom slapped his arm, and the girls squeezed my arms and giggled.

"Aye, it's a tough life, but I'm learning to bear up under it," I replied with a straight face, but then broke up laughing as Rosemary gouged me in the ribs. 

Stephanie broke away from me and walked over to Dad and gave him a hug and a kiss on the cheek, then embraced Mom and whispered, "Thank you, so much." Mom hugged her back and just nodded.

Dad put an arm around both women and said softly, "You are most welcome, my dear. We are here for you anytime."

We ate a leisurely breakfast, with a lot of laughing and talking together. I loved the way Mom and Dad included Steph just like she was one of us. Dad joshed our waitress, Debbie, as she kept coming back to the table to fill our coffee cups, telling her to just leave the pot and save shoe leather, but she said she couldn't do it. We found out she was a junior at ASU, and worked at Bill's on weekends, trying to pay for her education. As we talked with her some more we found out she was hoping to be able to afford an apartment off campus for her senior year because she said it was such a commotion all the time in the dorms she was afraid she wouldn't be able to handle her school load. The problem was apartments were so scarce and expensive, even if she had a roommate she didn't know if she could handle it.

Dad asked if she would be interested in a room in an all-girl's house with security for the price she was paying to live in the dorms.

"Would I ever! There isn't anything like that available, though. I've looked all over. There just isn't any affordable off campus housing."

"Are you familiar with the old Victorian mansion over on Carlyle? It used to be an insurance company."

"Sure. Everybody knows that house."

"Well, we just bought it from the bank for my son Justin, here, and my daughter Rosemary. We're fixing it up now, and will have rooms available for students to rent for about the same price as they are paying for dorms. Food is not included, so that would be extra. I don't know if you would be interested in that or not."

"Absolutely! When could I see it? And would you have room for my roommate?"

"Well, we just got the place, and it isn't ready yet for showing, but yes we would have room for your roommate. We haven't rented out rooms yet, although we do have a couple of them spoken for."

"Oh, I don't care what the place looks like now. I'd really like to see it! Could my roommate and I drop by this afternoon? Then I could call my parents and tell them what I found?" Her eyes were pleading, and she was almost dancing in anticipation as Dad looked over at Mom and then said, "OK."

"You're going to get me in trouble with my wife, though," he said with a grin. She's a realtor, and she's very big on having the place look right before we show it. She thinks we can get more for it that way." He dodged Mom's playful slap at his arm and chuckled.

"I have an idea it looks better now than the dorms do. I've got to get back to work, but Bitsy and I will be by there at 2'ish? Is that OK?"

Dad nodded, and she hurried off to take care of other customers. Dad said thoughtfully, "I think we've hit on a gold mine here." He glanced at Stephanie and said, "You see, what my wife and I were thinking is this. Justin, here, might not be able to catch a girl, so we thought we ought to try and bring them to him." He winked at Steph, and dodging another swat from Mom, while laughing. Stephanie grabbed my hand and stuck her tongue out at him, which made him laugh even harder. 

"You seem to be feeling a lot better this morning, my dear."

"Yes, I am thank you. And thank you again for bringing me up here. Rosemary and Justin and I talked a lot last night, and they really helped me. I just feel so loved when I'm with your family."

Dad reached across the table and rested his hand on hers. "You are loved, my dear. You've been like a sister to Rosemary for a long time now, and as far as my wife and I are concerned, you are one of us." Mom nodded.

Michael walked into Susie's room pushing a strange looking wheelchair. "Would you believe the hospital doesn't even own one of these contraptions? I actually had to go to a medical supply house and buy this one!"

"What is that thing?"

"It's a wheelchair for people in body casts, who can't sit in a normal chair. The hospital only has them in children's sizes. They told me body casts are hardly ever used any more. Anyway, I thought you might like to get out of the room for a while and get a little sun. That is, if you feel up to it."

"Oh, Mikey. You do the nicest things for me! I would love to get out of here for a while. These walls are starting to close in on me, and I hate TV. Now that they are cutting the pain meds back I don't sleep as much, either. Can we really go outside?"

"No, not yet. There is a nice solarium at the end of the hall where you can get some sun and fresh air, though. When it's nice they open the windows. I shanghaied a CNA to come down and help me get you into the chair in just a few minutes."

"I wondered where you were. You said you had to go home last night, but you'd be back first thing this morning. It didn't seem right waking up and not seeing you in your chair."

"I'm sorry. I planned on being back early, but when I found out the hospital didn't have the right kind of chair I thought I needed to get one. You are going to need it when you go home, anyway."

"Go home?"

"Sure. Don't you want to? I'm sure the hospital will let you stay if you insist." Michael gave her a big grin. "The Dr. told me he would have released you yesterday if you had anyone at home to care for you. They were going to send you to a nursing home, but I suggested they wait until today when your parents get back and see how they wanted to handle it. I believe they are due in this evening."

"Right. They have a 5:40 flight, so if they come directly here we should see them about 7:00."

A CNA came bustling into the room. "Hi, I'm Kelly. I understand you want to go to the solarium?" At Susie's nod she said, "I didn't realize you are in a body cast. I'm sorry, but I've been off the last couple of days, so I haven't been here. I really need to call another CNA to help me lift you."

Michael put his finger in front of his lips. "Shh. Don't call anyone. Show me how to help and I'll be your other set of hands."

"I'm not supposed to do that, sir. I'm supposed to have another CNA."

"Oh, I know, but I need to learn how to help her for when she goes home, don't I? You don't tell, and I won't either. OK?"

Kelly looked at Susie doubtfully, who just said, "They are all busy with others. There isn't any reason to pull them away from their jobs. Mikey is really good at taking care of me. He does a lot of things for me now so that I don't have to bother you."

Kelly, with an indecisive look on her face hesitated. "It'll be OK, Kelly. I already turn her most of the time so that we don't have to bother you. How much harder is it to put her in the chair?"

Kelly relented and showed Michael how best to lift, and Susie was transferred without issue. Kelly started to push the wheelchair, but Michael told her he could handle it, and she could see to her other patients with a big "Thanks."

Mom and Dad left at about noon, but the morning was productive. Mom and the girls worked in the kitchen, and made plans for its renovations. Dad and I meanwhile walked the property and discussed plans for it. Dad thought a pool off of the back patio would be a good idea, but I thought it would only end up as more work for me. I was right, but he won. A pool would be installed, and privacy fencing would be required. Dad said he would take care of contracting it, which would be one part of the load I didn't have to carry. Whether or not to hire out the maintenance we would discuss later, but I was pretty sure it would land in my lap, and I don't even swim.

The old carriage house showed a lot of promise. The lower floor had room to convert to house six vehicles, and the upstairs had at one time been servant's quarters. It would take a lot of work to update them, but in the future they might be profitable. One corner of the building puzzled us very much. The corner was walled off, but there was no sign of an entrance, and when we went outside the outside walls were whole, without even a window to provide access. That was a puzzle we would see about solving later, once we had the house finished. 

Dad and I spent a good bit of time talking about Steph's situation, too. He was encouraged by her attitude at breakfast and was very complimentary of what Rosemary and I had been able to accomplish, although he had no idea as to how we had done it. I just said we had talked a lot together, and I assured her she is loved. Then he told me Mary Winters was going to be at our house for dinner, so we weren't to work late. I guess she felt the need to try to reestablish her relationship with Stephanie on a neutral ground. I kind of think she needed some reaffirmation as well. She, too, had been through a very traumatic experience.

Once Mom and Dad were gone the three of us went out and grabbed some fast food before going back to the house to finish up some last minute things before showing the house at two and leaving at three. We rolled up our bedding and stashed it in the library, except for Rosemary's sleeping bag. She spilled some Coke on it so she would have to take it home and wash it. She couldn't think of any other way to explain a need to wash it that Mom would buy.

Debbie and Bitsie loved the house and asked to reserve a room. Bitsie also told us she knew a couple of other girls that would be interested. It looked like we were going to be nearing capacity well before we even had the house ready for occupancy. 

Just before we left the house Stephanie came to me and gave me a gentle hug. "I didn't get a chance to say thank you for last night. I'm really sorry I went to sleep on you."

I leaned down and kissed the top of her head. "Sweetheart, you are one of us, and you are mine. I'm going to do whatever is needed to take care of you. I really didn't mind you going to sleep. You needed it, and I'm glad I could help. Besides, I enjoyed it."

"Yeah, but I messed up your weekend with Rosemary. I know you two were really looking forward to it."

"Look, honey, we had a wonderful day together yesterday. You didn't mess that up. Did you hear Rosemary complain? I know you didn't. One thing I want you to keep in mind, and never forget it. Last night you were afraid to ask for what you needed, and I never want that to happen again. I'm glad Rosemary saw your need, because I probably wouldn't have. Guy's aren't wired to notice things like that. If you need something, or even if you want something, please tell us. Remember, Rosemary promised to share."

"I know. This is all new to me, and I never had anyone to love me before. I love you, Justin, and I always will." She hugged me to her tightly and buried her head on my shoulder. 

Rosemary came around the corner and joined our hug, embracing the two of us together. "I hope you were listening to him, Steph. We really mean it. You are part of us now, and we aren't going to let you get away."

I freed one arm and slipped it around Rosemary, holding my family in my arms. I really don't have a clue how I deserved to have these wonderful women loving me, but I was happy. We would face some difficult times ahead, I knew. Life is like that, but with these two I felt like I could face anything.

It was peaceful in the solarium. The sun was bright and hot, but shade cloth had been stretched overhead and muted the harshness of the sun's rays. Ceiling fans turned lazily moving the air enough to keep things comfortable. Susie's left hand stole away from her lap and grasped Michael's hand. She gave it a squeeze before lifting it to her lips and placing a kiss on it. "Why are you taking such good care of me, Michael? Don't feel like you have to do all of this out of guilt."

Michael drew her hand to his own lips and kissed it in return. "No, I don't feel I have to do this out of guilt. I'm doing all I'm doing because I think it is the right thing to do. Feelings have nothing to do with it on that level. I have a responsibility, and I will fulfill the responsibility. You however make it very easy to do. That is the only place feelings enter into my actions. You parents will return this evening, and how much I do beyond that point will remain to be seen. They may not want me hanging around, but I will be sure all of your needs are met."

"I stayed with you because they are gone, and I did not think you should be left all alone. Don't think I'm noble. I have also enjoyed very much being with you and getting to know you. You are different than anyone else I know. Most want to be around me because they think they can get something either from or through me. You have not been that way. Everything I have done for you and for Stephanie has been because either I felt I should, or because I wanted to, and I can tell you honestly it has been because I want to, even when it was something I felt I should do."

"I want you to hang around! As far as I'm concerned you are welcome any time, and Mommy and Daddy won't say different. But I don't want you to stay because you think you have to."

Michael gave her big grin. "You can count on that, Little One. Anyone who knows me well knows I don't do much I don't want to do. Now, do you want to go back to your room for lunch, or would you like me to have it brought out here for you?"

"You can get it brought out here?"

Michael gave her a crooked little grin. "If I just mention Mom's name I can do just about anything I want to do here. I don't abuse it, and I won't have to this time either. The nurses have been very helpful with things like that."

"Oh, then out here, if it doesn't cause trouble with other patients. This is so peaceful and nice. I have missed the sun."

Michael stepped away long enough to find her nurse and make arrangements. 

I was feeling rather tired when we pulled into our driveway. Rosemary uncharacteristically sat in the back so that Steph could ride up in the front with me. Somehow her hand found its way into mine for almost the entire trip. We didn't talk much, but looking over at her periodically as I drove I was reminded constantly that she and Rosemary had both shucked their bras as soon as Mom and Dad drove away. 

Shortly before we hit town, and during an uncharacteristically quiet area with no traffic Rosemary asked me to look back. I pulled the mirror down enough to see her, just in time to see her raise her shirt. "Say goodbye, Justin!" She laughed at me as she slowly put her bra over her boobs and pulling her arms from her sleeves worked them through the straps, hooked it in place, and lowered her shirt. All I could do is shake my head and replace the mirror. Steph squeezed my hand and laughed at me, and then with a quick look around for other vehicles did the same thing. Then she reached across and stroked my cock a couple of times.

"Poor Justin! I think we bother him when we do that, Rosie." Both girls laughed. "I wish I could do something with that right now. Knowing you were seeing my boobies poking out my shirt every time you looked had me has had me so turned on this whole trip." As for me, I knew I was going to have to take care of business just as soon as I got half a chance, or I'd be sporting wood at inopportune times with Steph's mom at the house!




Justin Thyme Ch. 09



When I hit the garage door opener as I pulled in the drive I was surprised to see my Mini was gone. Dad must have had to run an errand or something for Mom. We were right on time at least, and since I didn't see Mrs. Winter's car maybe I'd have time for a shower before we ate.

We all piled out of the Denali and grabbed our gear, or rather, I did. Rosemary took the sleeping bag and dropped it in the laundry room on the way through. There was a note on the kitchen table from Mom. "Kids, Dad and I are running over to Mary's to help her with a couple of things before we all come back over to eat. We should be back by seven or just a little after. Grab a snack if you want, and you will have time to catch a shower and clean up. See you shortly."

"I wish I had known," complained Rosemary. "I wouldn't have put my bra back on."

"No reason to leave it on is there?" asked Steph as she pulled her shirt over her head and quickly pulled off her bra. "You don't mind, do you, Justin?" Rosemary was right behind her, and dropped her shorts and panties, too.

I seemed to have unleashed a monster with Stephie. It seems she had a one track mind when it comes to me! She pulled my shirt from my shorts and raised it enough to press her breasts against my chest and hugged me to her. "Oh, that feels so nice. I've been wanting to do this the whole way home. Don't you want some of this, too, Rosemary?"

"Save me some. I'll be right there," called Rosemary from the laundry room, where she was putting the sleeping bag into the washer. I held Steph and stroked her soft skin on her back until Rosemary came back from the laundry room and lifted my shirt from the back and pressed her breasts against me.

"Oooh. You are so right. This does feel nice!"

Steph was rubbing against my cock, and sliding her boobs around on my chest. "You ought to slide around on this side. It feels even better!" and she slid around under my arm and around my side, without removing her boobs. Rosemary followed her lead and slid around to face me, and she too rubbed against my cock, but with her totally naked it felt different.

"I think you have something there, Steph, but it seems to me there is too much in the way. She dropped her hands to my belt and unfastened it, then unbuttoned and unzipped my shorts and dropped them and my boxers to the floor. When she pressed her pussy back against my cock again it was electric. Steph slipped her hands down from where they had been caressing my belly until she had my cock in hand. She pressed it downward pushing Rosemary out enough to pass it by her belly, and leaving a trail of pre-cum across her belly as it rubbed its way by. I felt it passing through her little landing strip exclamation mark, and then it slipped into the crease of her legs and rubbed against her pussy as it slid between her legs. From the moist feeling I had I knew Steph wasn't the only one who was turned on. Rosemary clenched her legs together and gyrated on my cock and moaned.

"Maybe we ought to all get a shower together while we have time," Rosemary moaned. "Who knows when we'll get another chance like this?" I felt Stephie pull away from me momentarily, and then felt her bare pussy press against my ass, and her short fall against my ankles. 

"I wish we had time to go to bed first," Steph said. "I didn't get to finish last night, although it felt wonderful." 

"Why not?" asked Rosemary. "You wouldn't have time for a lot, but maybe you could have a quickie."

"Oh, please, Justin, would you make love to me?" Duh! Let me think about this for a while. Think?

"Of course, Sweetheart. I would love to make love to you." I looked at Rosemary, who gave me a big grin of approval, and both girls let go of me and grabbed clothing from the floor and started up the stairs. Poor me, I had to follow them up the stairs and watch their asses move as they made their way. A thought crossed my mind, and I didn't know if I could make it work or not, but I was going to try my hardest.

We hurried to Rosemary's room and pulled the covers back carefully and Steph jumped on the bed. "Please Justin. Don't wait. I need you in me now! I've been so turned on all day." Now I like to play around a bit first, but time was of the essence, and she was obviously ready. I couldn't help myself, though. I had to suckle on her delectable nipples for a couple of minutes, which left her squirming and gasping. "Please, don't tease me! I need you." It came out almost as a wail as she flexed her pelvis up and down trying desperately for contact with my cock. 

I slipped it into her as slowly as I could, but she pressed downwards on me feverishly trying to get me inside. She was so tight I had to force my way in. When I bottomed out her nails dug into my back as she pulled me to her, and I could feel her pussy spasming around my cock. She surely couldn't be coming already, could she? I had read of women who could come quickly, but this fast? Her breath was coming in gasps, and I felt her pelvis rocking, trying to get me in further, but we had our pubic bones mashing on each other. There was no more to give. I began to thrust slowly, trying hard to hold mine off, hoping to be able to hold it and also give Rosemary the loving she craved. The way Steph's pussy was milking at my cock though I didn't have much hope of holding out for long. My arousal had been going on all day also.

Slow wasn't going to work with Steph as hyped up as she was. She started bucking against me, and in just a few minutes gasped and moaned softly as she pulled me into her tightly and her pussy tried to draw me in further. Her muscles clutching and grasping at me pulled me over the top, and I thrust against her again and again as my seed spurt as deeply into her womb as I could make it. The exertion left me trembling and weak as I covered her. I felt her kissing my neck and moisture from her eyes rubbed against my shoulder and neck. She sighed deeply as the last twitches of her orgasm rippled through her vaginal muscles. "Thank you. I really needed that. I don't know what I'm going to do when we aren't together all the time. I think you have made me addicted to you. I hate to hurry us, but if we are going to be able to shower we had better get going."

I nodded and reluctantly I started to withdraw my cock from her. Surprisingly, I, while not hard all the way, neither was I flaccid. Stephie looked at me, then at the clock and grinned. "Roll over, Justin. I want to try something." I glanced over at Rosemary, who sat with her hands tucked between her legs, and saw her rueful smile. I rolled onto my back. "I don't know how to do this, so tell me if you don't like it." Steph leaned forward and took my cockhead into her mouth and licked it. My eyes about popped out of my head! "Hmmm. That's interesting. I don't know if I'm tasting me or tasting you. I'll have to try it again sometime so I can tell the difference." She grinned down at me and took me in her mouth again. "Ummm," she hummed and licked under the head again and again. It didn't take much and I was back at full staff again.

"Rosie, here he is. It's your turn."

Rosemary gave her a very grateful smile and moved over next to me and whispered, "Can you do me too, Justin? I really need it." I just looked into her eyes and smiled as I crawled between her legs. Once again, I couldn't resist suckling her luscious breasts until she gasped, "Enough, please, Justin. I need you now."

Lunch was brought out to the Solarium for Susie, and Michael helped her with it. While they were waiting for it he slipped back into her room and carried her bedside table out and set it up over her wheelchair so he had a place to set the tray. She had nearly finished everything when a couple walked through the doorway. Michael glanced up, but not recognizing them turned his attention back to Susie and her lunch. It wasn't until the couple walked over close enough to see Susie's face, and she to see them that recognition was made. 

"Mom! Daddy! You're early!"

Michael quickly stood and stepped aside so the parents could reach their daughter. Her mom was crying unabashedly as she hugged Susie, and her dad had rather moist eyes as well as he grabbed and squeezed her free hand. Michael quickly pulled up another chair so the parents could sit down and talk with Susie. 

Mom, Dad, I want you to meet Michael Borden. He has been taking very good care of me."

Michael stretched out his hand to them, and said, "Mr. and Mrs. Collins, I'm honored to meet you." Although both parents shook his hand their response was rather icy, not to Michael's surprise. "I ask your forgiveness for what has happened to your daughter. I accept full responsibility, and I will do all in my power to set things right as best I can. What happened was wrong, and I should have recognized I was impaired, but I did not. The ones who spiked the punch have been charged with serving alcohol to minors, and have been expelled from the university. That does not diminish my responsibility, and I will do all I can to make things right."

Susie piped up. "Daddy, Mommy, Michael has been here almost all the time caring for me, sleeping overnight in a recliner to be sure I had whatever at any time. He was here for my surgeries, and brought in a specialist from Mayo trying to save my foot. He even bought this chair for me because the hospital didn't have one so that I could be out of bed. I hope you will give him a chance. He's been wonderful."

Tom Collins nodded. "We'll talk about that later. Right now we want to know about you. How are you?"

"The Dr. has been very happy with the way I'm progressing. He said I can go home as soon as someone can take care of me. He wanted to put me in a nursing home, but Mikey, don't call him that. He hates it except when I do it. He tolerates it then." She gave him a grin and he grimaced. "Anyway, Mikey convinced them to keep me here rather than to move me to a nursing home and then home. He said he will hire home care nurses to see to me if we can set up a room for me at the house. That's up to you."

"Let me step out for a bit and let you folks talk. I'll be back in half an hour or so and help you back to the room. OK, Susie?"

Susie looked disappointed that he was leaving, but nodded her assent, and Michael left the room.

Madge Collins looked disapprovingly at Susie as Michael left. "I'm not sure I like that young man hanging around after the way he had destroyed your life. It's just not seemly."

"Mommy, it's not that way at all. I wish you would give him a chance. Stephanie went to court when he was arraigned and spoke up for him, and so did Rosemary's Grandpa. He thinks a lot of Michael. He said he stood up before the judge and plead guilty to everything and told the judge he took full responsibility, that he should have known he was under the influence, but he just thought he was sick. He doesn't drink at all, not even coffee or soft drinks! Rosemary's Grandpa and the State's Attorney both asked the judge for leniency, and the judge threw out the charges of driving under the influence and underage drinking because he didn't know the punch was spiked. Michael also told the judge he was prepared to cover any expenses the insurance doesn't cover. He even bought a new car for Stephie to replace hers. The insurance company wouldn't replace hers until everything is settled, and that may be a long time. He didn't even buy a used one, even though hers was eight years old."

"How does he afford to do all of this? Is he from a rich family?"

"I'm not sure about his family. He doesn't talk about them a lot, although they seem to be close. He talks with them on the phone a lot. He has made his own money by writing some computer programs that are really technical, and he has written and sold a couple of apps. He said he doesn't have to worry about money, but he doesn't act spoiled."

Tom Collins broke in. "Well, it was nice of Mr. Thompson to volunteer to represent you girls, and to call us every day with a report about you. Especially since he did it at his expense! Is this Michael paying his charges too?"

"Oh, no. That wouldn't be proper! Mr. Thompson said Stephie and I are like sisters to Rosemary, and when Justin called him he said he would do it for nothing, that we are family. He really thinks a lot of Michael. You ought to talk with him about how Michael went over to the house when they were discussing what to do. He just went in with a big bouquet of roses and got on his knee before Steph and apologized and asked her forgiveness. He told Mr. Thompson there would be no need for legal action, that he was going to plead guilty to all charges and he would cover anything insurance didn't. When Michael went to court he expected to go directly from there to jail, but he didn't ask for mercy. Both Mr. Thompson and the States Attorney said they had never dealt with anyone else like him."

"Maybe we have been a little harsh in our judgment of him, but you have to understand how it is when we couldn't even get home to be with you how our imaginations worked."

"I know, and I'm really sorry I messed up your vacation. I know you have been looking forward to it for a long time."

"That's OK, honey. You are a lot more important than any vacation! We would have gotten off the boat and flown home if it was possible."

"I know, Daddy. I'll be OK. Michael already had a prosthesis maker in to take measurements and start designing what I'll need. The lady said I'll even be able to dance at my wedding."

"Are you planning that already?"

"Don't be silly, Mom. It was just an expression for how well the new foot will work. I'll be getting one of the spring kind too so I can run again."

"How much of this is insurance going to cover?"

"Michael said he doesn't know, but he isn't going to wait for them to decide. He wants me to be taken care of first and then let the insurance company take care of it. He said otherwise I would have to wait too long, and he wants to get me back to living normally as soon as possible."

Michael walked back into the solarium and said, "I hate to break this up, but Susie really needs to get back to bed. This is the first time she has been out of her room since she got here. I was getting ready to take her back when you folks arrived, but I don't think I should wait any longer. You will be more than welcome to visit in the room." With that he grabbed the wheelchair and started back up the hallway to the room where Kelly was waiting to help put Susie back into bed. 

"Are you sure you don't want to be a CNA, Michael? I think you would fit in well."

Michael just laughed. "No thanks. You girls have to work too hard. I avoid work if at all possible. I'm just here to help the 'Little One'. Once she's doing OK I'm foreswearing work again." He followed Kelly's directions and Susie was promptly back in her bed again.

Susie reached out her good hand and grabbed Michael's. "Thank you so much, Mikey. That was really nice."

"Good, I'm glad you liked it. I'll go away and let you folks talk. Call me if you need me, OK? I'm just going down to the cafeteria and grab a sandwich." He turned to the senior Collinses and said, "She will probably get sleepy soon. She's had a big day already today, and she hasn't had a nap. You can wait if she dozes off, or you can join me in the cafeteria if you'd like to talk." Tom nodded and Michael walked out the door. Madge noted with rather mixed emotions the look of dismay that crossed Susie's face as Michael left.

As I slipped into Rosemary's wet pussy she reached down and grabbed my ass and pulled me in quickly. We didn't waste time getting a rhythm going, and Rosemary, like Stephie, was very ready. It wasn't long before I felt her starting to clutch at me with her pussy and her breathing became labored. It was difficult, but I bent down far enough to catch her nipple in my mouth and I sucked on it and hummed while continuing to pleasure her pussy. That was enough to put her over the edge, and she called out my name as she came. I slowed down to allow her to enjoy her climax, and then resumed when her breathing returned to normal. I wasn't quite there yet, having just come less than fifteen minutes ago, but it was starting to build rapidly. Soon my orgasm overwhelmed me and I pumped my juices into her with a groan before collapsing on top of her, totally spent. 

Carefully we rolled so I wouldn't crush Rosemary, and I gave her a gentle kiss. I reached out an arm and drew Stephie in to cuddle with us as Rosemary and I enjoyed the afterglow. I was content.

The next thing I knew I heard the sound of the garage door opening! We had dozed off, and the folks were home! Mrs. Winters was probably with them! Quickly we jumped from the bed and I grabbed my clothes and ran for my room, while the girls quickly spread the covers back up, but left the bed slightly rumpled as if they had lain down on the covers and napped. The girls quickly grabbed some clothes and scurried into the bathroom and jumped into the shower. 

We were none too soon as I heard Mom knocking on the bathroom door asking who was in the shower. Rosemary said they were, that they had accidentally dozed off, and had jumped in when they heard the folks get home. They would be out in just a jiffy.

Mom knocked on my door. "Justin, the girls are just now getting a shower, so we are going to be late." I quickly slipped on a pair of shorts and opened the door. "Oh. At least you are up! We have another change of plans. We are meeting your grandparents for dinner at Al's. Just as soon as the girls get ready would you please drive them over there? You know how your Grandfather is about being late! I'm going to hurry on over there and placate him. Please hurry. Oh, bring Stephanie with you. Mary is joining us as well."

"Sure thing, mom. We'll be right over."

I waited until I heard the garage door close before I walked into the bathroom. "Hey there. You'd better shake a leg. We're supposed to meet Grandpa and Grandma at Al's in ten minutes, and you know how he is about being late." Even though I knew I didn't have time to join them in the shower I enjoyed the scenery as the girls hurriedly finished up. As soon as they got out I jumped in and rinsed off quickly. 

We hurried into Al's to Grandpa's frosty glare. Rosemary hurried over and gave him a hug and kiss on the cheek. "Sorry we're late, Grandpa. We didn't know we were meeting you for dinner until just a few minutes ago. We were really tired, and we just dozed off after we got home. I'm sorry we kept you waiting."

Stephanie reached out and shook his hand. "Hi Mr. Thompson. It's nice to see you. Thank you ever so much again for offering to represent me. I really, really appreciate it."

Grandpa actually blushed a little bit as he said, "Aw, shucks, girl. I'm happy to help out. You are like a sister to Rosemary, here, and I don't charge family. And, my name's Ben, not Mr."

I shook Grandpa's hand after giving Grandma a hug. "Thank you for standing up for Michael, too, Grandpa. I really think he's worth it."

"Oh, I know he is. Any young man with the character he has displayed needs someone to stand up for him. Besides, I think your Grandmother is crushing on him."

"Ben!" she said with a slap at his hand, which caused him to chuckle and a little smile from her.

"I followed up on the spiked punch and found out it was true. Charges have been pressed against the fraternity and the two young men who did it. They were hoping to 'encourage' some of the young ladies, and didn't think about what might happen. They were arrested, and have been expelled from the university, so Michael's charges have been officially dropped. I think that young man is going places."

Stephie gave her mom a big hug, and the two of them talked quietly together for a few minutes. Steph grabbed my hand and pulled me over to sit by her and her mother. Mrs. Winters squeezed my hand as we sat down. "Justin, I really appreciate what you have done for Stephanie. You and Rosemary have been very good for her. She hasn't been able to stop talking about you for the last few weeks. Thank you. I know you will take good care of her." Her eyes welled up. "In a lot of ways you remind me of her father. Pardon me," she said as she blotted at her eyes with a napkin. "I seem to have trouble keeping from crying the last few days."




Justin Thyme Ch. 09



I don't know why, but I instinctively stood and knelt by her chair and gave her a one-armed hug. "I understand. You've been through a lot lately. We're here for you."

She sniffed and nodded. "Thank you, I'm learning that."

Michael sat in the cafeteria nursing a large glass of milk. His sandwich was long gone, but he didn't want to interrupt family time in Susie's room. He did however need to talk with Mr. and Mrs. Collins about future plans. He would of course accede to their wishes, but he had some ideas he wanted to offer. He hoped they would not want him to stop spending time with Susie. He had really grown attached to her in the last few days, especially as the pain meds were lowered and she was more lucid. He was going to follow through on making sure she got the best care possible, but really hoped he could be a part of it. If they did not want him as part of her life he would bow out gracefully, but it was going to leave a bigger hole than he realized.

He had just about decided they weren't going to come down, and picked up his milk glass to kill it off when the door opened and the Collinses walked in. He stood, out of respect, and waited for them to acknowledge his presence. Mr. Collins gave him a perfunctory nod and they walked toward the order point. Michael sat, waiting to see if they would join him, or if he was being rebuffed. It was strange, but he felt almost as nervous as when he was sixteen and met the parents of his first date. The time seemed interminable, but finally they picked up their food and then came his way. It seemed he could breathe for the first time since they walked into the solarium.

Tom Collins asked, "May we join you?"

"Please." Michael pulled out a chair for Madge and they all sat down.

Tom Collins was ill at ease as he said, "I'm afraid we owe you an apology for the way we treated you upstairs. Please understand our feelings at finding our daughter so badly hurt."

"No sir, no apology is needed. Had I been in your shoes I doubt I would have been as polite as were you two. I really meant it when I asked your forgiveness for the wrong I did your daughter."

Madge spoke up for the first time since they met. "Susan has been singing your praises to the skies. I thank you for what you have done for her. You have behaved yourself admirably, and you have our forgiveness, not that it is needed. From what Susan says you were totally not at fault."

Michael hanged his head. "Perhaps not legally, but I still hold myself responsible for stupidity driving that way." He lifted his head. "Please understand, I had never partaken of alcohol before in my life, and I had no idea what was wrong with me. I just thought I was ill."

Tom put hand on his shoulder. "We do understand. Ben Thompson tried to tell us over the satellite phone, but it was hard for us to take in that far away." His eyes were moist and he had to stop and clear his throat. "Susie is our only child. She means everything to us, and to think of losing her, or having her maimed was more than we knew how to handle. Then when we found you with her and that you had been staying with her caring for her was a bit much for us to take."

"I didn't want her to be alone, and with you gone there was nobody else."

"You must be exhausted, sleeping in that terrible recliner every night!" Madge placed her hand on his and gave it a gentle squeeze. "Nobody would have expected that of you!"

"You mistake me. I didn't do it because I thought somebody expected it of me. I did it because I thought it was the right thing to do. I wouldn't have wanted to be alone, and with you unable to return, I thought it was the right thing. By the way, I'm really sorry about messing up your cruise."

"But what about your job? How could you get out of work to do this?"

Michael gave her a little grin, knowing this question would come up. "I don't work." He held up a hand to forestall the next question. "I designed and wrote some software and sold it, and I have written a couple of apps that have done well, so I don't really have to work. I do try to keep myself busy and productive, though, and I'm not a rich layabout or playboy. My time is pretty flexible."

Tom looked at him curiously. "What kind of software? A game or something?"

"Actually, no. It's a technical piece used by stockbrokers and some of their clients. It tracks stocks in their portfolios, following trends and margins and other technical data."

"Really? My broker just talked me into buying some software, but I'm having trouble understanding it well. What is your called?"

Michael named the piece to Tom's amazement. "That's the stuff I just bought! You look a little young to be doing that kind of work. How did you get into that sort of thing?"

"My dad had trouble keeping up with his investments, and was always frustrated with them. I got curious and started with the idea while I was in high school. After I showed it to his broker I ended up writing two forms of it, one for the professional and one for the end user. I sold the rights to the personal 'home' version and licensed the professional version. I'll be happy to help you with yours if you like. I'm actually working on a new version of it that will be a little more user friendly than the first version."

Tom shook his head in disbelief. "I can't believe a guy as young as you writing something like that, and all of the supposedly smart people in the industry not coming up with anything. How old are you, anyway, if you don't mind me asking?"

"That's not a problem, sir. I'm nineteen. I turn twenty in a week and a half."

Madge said, "Susan told me what you did with the roses. I think that was really sweet." Michael just shrugged. "I really think sending them around to all the rooms the second time, but putting Susan's name on them was extra sweet." Michael grinned. 

"Well, she wouldn't let me give them all to her, so I figured they came from her, not me."

"I'm really glad we get to know you. You are indeed a different kind of person than we had in mind all week. Susan thinks you can walk on water."

"Not really, although I try to follow the one who did."

"What about your parents? Are they around here?"

"No, they live up in Phoenix. I like it down here away from all of the hubbub, so I got my own place down here. I try to live quietly and without a lot of fanfare." He glanced at his watch. "Susie is probably awake and wondering if I've deserted her by now, although I may have let her stay out in the solarium to long. Shall we go see? And when we get a chance we need to discuss what the next step is for her."

"Oh, we definitely want her to come home! We'll make a room for her downstairs."

Michael nodded. "I was sure you would. I've already arranged for a hospital bed and all of the necessary equipment. All I have to do is tell them where and when. I've also arranged, per your approval, for home care nursing around the clock. I know you will want to do for her what you can, but I also recognize the needs of work and other responsibilities. If you would allow, I would also like to continue to be of service to her."

Tom broke in. "We appreciate all you have done, Michael, but it isn't necessary for you to go that far. The insurance will cover most of it, and we can take care of the rest."

"No, sir. With respect, the insurance won't cover 24hr. care, and I think she needs that, and I don't want to totally disrupt your lives for what I did to her. I promised her I will do all I can to get her back to full health and then to get her strength and mobility back. I've arranged for physical therapy by the folks who provide therapy for the Phoenix Cardinals, and for the ASU football team to step in when she is ready for them." He hanged his head again and half whispered, "I've ruined her life, and it is up to me to make it as good for her as I possibly can."

Madge, in a move totally uncharacteristic for her, leaned forward and cupped his face in her hands. She looked deeply into his eyes and said, "Michael, my dear, you have not ruined her life. It was an accident, and you have gone way above what you should have done in caring for her. You don't have to do any of this."

"Oh, but I do. I could not live with myself if I did not."

Tom said, "Shall we go see if she is awake yet? We can work out these details later. I'm curious, though. How did you arrange for the Cardinals' trainers? I didn't think they did work outside the team."

"Dad is associated with them. He pulled some strings for me." Michael left it there. He didn't think that was the time to go any further. 

The three of them walked into Susie's room quietly, but she awoke when she heard them anyway. "Mikey! They found you. I'm so glad."

Michael walked to the bed and squeezed her hand. "Hey there, Little One. Sure they found me, and we had a nice talk. We decided to put you in a nursing home in a group ward until you get a better attitude." He gave her a grin and she stuck her tongue out at him. 

"See what I have to put up with, Mommy?"

"Yes, dear. We've noticed. You have it so tough, Susan. It's amazing you can bear up under it."

Tom spoke up. "There is no way we can get a room sorted for you before tomorrow, sweetheart. Can you bear this place for one more night?"

"I get to go home tomorrow? That's wonderful!"

"It will be in the afternoon, probably. Michael said he has a hospital bed and all the equipment lined up, and nurses, too, but it will take us a little time to clear out the office and get it ready. I'll just have to move my stuff into the dining room for a while. Will that room be OK do you think?"

"Oh Daddy, I don't care where. I just want to go home!"

"Can I be of any help to you moving things in the morning, Sir?"

"That might be a good idea, if you can spare the time. I don't think Madge should try to help me move my desk. By the way, the name is Tom. I'm using your software. I don't need someone of your caliber calling me 'Sir'. Understood?"

"Yes, Sir!" Michael said with a grin. "I have nothing but time, if Susie can get along without me for a couple of hours."

"That goes for me, too. You can't call me 'Sir', either. I much prefer Madge."

Michael looked at the floor for a moment before replying. "I thank you," came out as a whisper. "I'll try." He looked up through moist eyes, and Susie could see the relief in them. "What time would be best for me to be there?"

"I think about 8:30 would be early enough, wouldn't you, Madge?" She nodded. 

"That should be early enough. Will that leave you time to get the equipment delivered tomorrow?"

"I have the medical supply place on standby. They have promised me priority delivery with two hours' notice. About 10:30 work for that?"

Tom nodded. He bent down and gave Susie a kiss on the cheek. "I think we had better get home and be sure it is still there. I don't know about your mother, but I'm pretty tired. You get plenty of rest tonight, and we'll come see about breaking you out of jail about noon. OK?"

"Thank you, Daddy. I love you."

"I know, Sweetheart. I love you too."

Madge leaned over the side rail the best she could and gave Susie as much of a hug as she could. "I love you, Susan. I can't wait to see you at home again."

"I know, Mommy. I love you, too, and thank you for understanding."

"What's not to undertand?" With a quick kiss to the forehead she turned to go, but stopped in front of Michael. Grasping both of his hands in hers she looked searchingly into his eyes and said, "Thank you for caring for my daughter. Until you have one of your own you have no idea what that means to me," and with tears running down both cheeks she hurried from the room.

"Wow, Michael. I don't know how you did it, but you have won Mommy over! I have never heard her tell anyone other than some very close friends to call her 'Madge!' She is always 'Mrs.', especially to someone younger!"

"I was just honest with her, and I think she recognized that I really care about you. She puts on a good front, but she's a warm and caring person underneath."

"That's sweet of you to say, and thank you. I really get to go home tomorrow?"

"You'll have to get along without me in the morning."

Susie suddenly looked sad. 

"What's the matter, Little One?"

"That means you won't be there with me all the time. I've really gotten to like having you around."

"Oh, I'll be in and out. I'm not abandoning you."

"I know, but it won't be the same. I miss you when you aren't here. That's going to be lonesome."

Dad got everyone's attention and then turned to Mary Winters. "Mary, please tell Ben what you found, and let's get his advice."

"Well, Bill and Cynthia," (that's Dad and Mom), "came over to help me clear Paul's stuff out so I could talk to a lawyer on Monday about a divorce. When I went into the closet he had been using to get a bag to put his stuff in I pulled out a large empty duffel, but it was heavy. I couldn't figure out why it weighed so much, and I found a false bottom that had five packages wrapped up in plastic in it. Bill said it looked like drugs. I also found some money, not a lot, but some money was stacked in there in between some of the packages. How do I handle this without getting myself arrested for drugs?"

"I don't think that will be a problem. You found it in his personal effects, and had no prior knowledge of it. As for the money, I don't think I'd say anything about it, and just use it for minor purchases here and there. I'd call it payback for everything he has put you through. I don't think I'd be putting it into an account, though, that might draw attention. How much was there?"

"I'm not really sure. I didn't count it, but I'd guess there was two to three thousand."

"I'd say when these charges get attached to the others you won't have to worry about seeing him for a long, long time. Good riddance to bad rubbish as my mother used to say."

Mary's shoulders sagged with relief. "Maybe the money will be enough to replace the carpet he decorated for me. Bill was kind enough to cut it out and take it out of the house for me. I hardly slept at all last night with it there."

"I would suggest you call the Police Dept. just as soon as you go home. You don't have to say when you found them, but I wouldn't wait any at all."

"Could I trouble you to come with me? I hate to ask it, but I don't have a lawyer of my own. I'll be happy to pay you for your time."

"I don't charge family, and it seems I've come out of retirement." He grinned at her. "I'll be happy to go with you. I'll take care of the divorce filing for you, too." 

"Thank you so much. I don't know what I'd do without your family." Steph leaned over and hugged her tightly. I was glad to see them restoring their relationship.

Moving Susie home was not as difficult as it might sound. The wheelchair Michael had bought for her moved her from her room in the hospital downstairs where she was loaded carefully into a wheelchair accessible van for the ride to the Collins home. Along with the hospital bed and indoor equipment Michael had arranged he had also ordered a portable wheelchair ramp that was set up at the front door. 

"I'm really sorry it has to go in the front. I know it isn't very pretty."

Madge laid a hand on Michael's arm and said softly, "Michael, I don't care what it looks like. I just want my little girl back in my home. She is what matters." He was starting to recognize that behind her rather formal and almost stiff manner was a very tender, caring person. 

"I wanted to set it up by the side entrance, but the inside doorways weren't wide enough to maneuver her extra-wide chair. Hopefully we won't need it for long."

The van carrying Susie backed slowly into the driveway to be greeted by her parents, with Michael standing back behind them. One of the home health care nurses awaited them in the remodeled office that would be Susie's room for the near future. The van driver wheeled Susie carefully up the ramp and into the house rolling her on in to her new room, where she was greeted by another two dozen rose bouquet. "Mikey, you shouldn't have!"

Michael just grinned at her. "There were no other patients to share them with, so you'll just have to endure the opulence. I did share, though. There is a matching bouquet on the dining room table." Susie just shook her head.

"You spoil me."

"It's no more than you deserve, Little One."

Michael helped the nurse move Susie from the wheelchair into the bed, where Susie settled in with a sigh. "I didn't realize how good it could feel to be back in a bed again. I'm pooped!" Madge leaned over her and kissed her forehead. 

"Welcome home, Susan. You just rest a bit, and then we'll have a bite to eat, OK?"

"Some of your chili, Mom? You have no idea how badly I want some food with flavor! That hospital food is just so bland!"

Madge laughed. "Not for lunch today, Susan, but maybe for tomorrow, OK? I don't know that I have the ingredients, but I'll go to the store for them this afternoon."

"Oh, goody! Michael, you haven't eaten until you've had Mom's chili. I promise you won't think it's bland!"

Michael stepped over to the bed. "I have to go run some errands and do some things. May I drop back in this evening?"

"May you drop in? May you? You'd better, Michael Borden!" Tom and Madge exchanged looks with each other at this exchange. Susie definitely was developing feelings for Michael. Tragedy usually was not a good beginning for relationships, and they had no idea of Michael's feelings, although he obviously cared for her.

Tom had remained mostly in the background quietly, but he stepped forward now and reached a hand out to Michael. "Here, take this. Feel free to drop in anytime, and don't bother ringing the doorbell. Just make yourself at home. You are welcome to work from here if you wish. I know Susie enjoys your company, if you aren't tired of hers."

"Thank you, Sir. That is more than kind. I certainly appreciate it, and I'll try not to wear out my welcome."

Madge laid a hand on his arm once again and said, "You cannot wear out your welcome after the way you have cared for Susan. You are welcome in my home any time."

Susie smiled up at Michael, but her eyes were obviously drooping.



Justin Thyme Ch. 10



This is part 10 of a multi-part story. If you have not read the preceding submissions you will be confused by the story. Please read them first.

I have been requested to denote changes in locations/characters/etc. and have decided to use a line of ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ as a demarcation. I hope it helps.

As always, comments are much appreciated, and thank you for following my tale. 

*

The past thirty day had proved to be busy. Michael engaged a tutor to keep Susie current on her school work, something she found both boring and frustrating. Boring in that she was by herself, and didn't have any interaction with her friends, but frustrating in that she was able to accomplish before noon what would take an entire day at school. If it had not been for regular visits by Justin, Rosemary, and Stephanie she would have been totally stir crazy. By the end of the month she had not only caught up with her work, but was actually ahead.

Today, however, was the day everyone had been waiting for since the accident. She was taking her last ride in the wheelchair van, with Michael and her parents following in Michael's Escalade. This was the day the cast was being removed and life would begin the process of returning to as close to normal as it would ever be. 

Physical therapy would begin in the afternoon, and Susie would have to learn to use crutches and to build up her strength, strengthening muscles that had atrophied for six long weeks of immobilization. The loss of her right foot, her dominant side, would take a bit of time of adjustment, and of course, the prostheses, and the use of them would take a lot of work. 

A portion of their basement had been retrofitted by Michael with a variety of physical therapy equipment based on a list of requirements given him by the therapists. The setup rivaled the best rehab facility in the city, and had cost a significant amount, but true to his promise, Michael was unstinting in whatever it took to bring Susie back to the best condition she could be in. Of course, he could have gotten her set up with any of the facilities in the city, but his commitment was to create the least amount of disruption to the family as possible. 

Fortunately, it was the off-season for the Cardinals, so a variety of trainers were available to make the two hour trip south on different days, allowing for maximum oversight and direction in her rehab.

Tom tried to remonstrate with him one day. "Michael, I'm not unappreciative, you know that, but you are going well beyond anything that could be asked of you. Insurance isn't going to cover more than a small percentage of this expense. There is no reason for you to hurt yourself over this."

"Thanks, Tom. I appreciate what you are saying, and I'm not doing this because I think I have to, but because of the commitment I made to Susie early on, that I will do whatever it takes to get her back to full strength. I'm doing it because I think it's the right thing to do. If I wasn't able to do so it would be one thing, but I can, so I shall."

Madge went into the Dr's office with Susie while Tom and Michael sat anxiously in the waiting room for the Orthopedist to remove the cast. Both jumped to their feet when the door finally opened and a wobbly Susie hobbled out on crutches, her stump bobbing and weaving as she tried to navigate. Michael stood back as Tom stepped forward eagerly to hug his daughter for the first time in nearly two months, and he was unprepared for the smiling Susie, who hobbled to him and threw both arms about him. "I've wanted to do this for so long! Thank you, Michael for everything."

Holding Susie in his arms stirred feelings lying dormant in his mind for some time. Michael, while not disinterested in girls had not been much of one for dating, primarily due to earlier experiences with girls who were interested in him only because of the notoriety that went along with his father, and the doors his father's notoriety opened. What he wanted more than anything was a girl that was interested in him for who he was, not what she could get from him. 

Susie still did not know who his parents were. Stephanie and Rosemary had kept it quiet. She knew, of course, he had money from his software and app sales, but really didn't have a clue how much he really had, nor had she ever shown any interest in it. She seemed to care about him for himself and was constantly fearful he was hurting himself to care for her. 

Michael gladly returned the hug, relishing the feelings her slim body stirred in him. He saw Madge out of the corner of his eye and noted the slight smile on her face as he gently disengaged himself, and carefully held Susie upright even as he bent over to pick up her dropped crutches. "Shall we get you home and see about getting you settled back into your own room?" Carefully he shepherded her to the entrance of the hospital and got her seated in a wheelchair for the time being while he hurried out to his Escalade.

As he drove into the portico he thought with dismay that an SUV was not going to be the easiest vehicle for her to enter and exit with one foot and crutches. He stopped at the door and hurried in to help her out to the car, but needn't have worried. Tom carefully supported his daughter as she struggled to stand up with crutches. The combination of awkwardness with unaccustomed crutches and weakness from being bedridden made it difficult. The sight of her struggling sent a pang through his heart, but her radiant smile at his approach warmed him.

Madge intercepted him in the doorway. "Michael, this is much like a butterfly leaving the cocoon. You are going to have to let her struggle a bit, or she will never redevelop her independence. Don't think me ungrateful for what you have done for her, but she is going to have to learn to do things on her own or she will be dependent all her life."

"Thanks. I know, and I'll try to be careful not to baby her too much."

By the time Susie made it to the car she was obviously tiring, and she looked at the height of the seat and was obviously wondering how she would be able to get into it. Michael stepped over and gently picked her up and set her down on the seat and carefully closed the door behind her. He held the door for Madge also and closed it behind her before walking around the car and getting in. "I'm sorry, Little One. I didn't think about you getting in and out of this thing. I'll have one you can get in and out of tomorrow."

Tom spoke up, "You don't need to go and get another car. Our Buick is available, and you are welcome to use it any time you need to."

"Thanks. We'll see," but it was obvious Michael had his mind made up.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Progress was being made on the house, with Rosemary, Stephanie, and me making the trip nearly every weekend, but it was slower than I wanted. I was careful to keep work time separate from fun times, although the girl's outfits were always something to keep my attention. 

Dad and I had come to the conclusion it would be better to hire a painting crew to take care of the outside of the house, which was in progress, as was the pool. The girls almost caused a problem when they had a day off from school and arrived at the house wearing shorts and cropped off tee shirts without their bras. Both outside work crews loudly appreciated the spectacle to my amusement and their embarrassment. Both girls admitted to being quite turned on by the attention later after nearly draining all of my energy that evening.

Word was getting around among the girls on campus about the possibility of renting off campus, and there were at least two girls stopping by to check the place out each weekend. At the current rate they were going to have the next year's complement of renters lined up before the end of the school year. Janelle and Debbie were both doing a good job of picking the kind of girls we wanted to rent to. We weren't looking for partiers, but rather for good students who put their education first. We felt like they would produce much more stability, and would be less likely to create troubles for us.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Susie made rapid progress with her rehab, quickly building her strength back to what it had been before the accident. She had stepped up to forearm crutches, and got around quite well with them. A part of her therapy was recommended for a pool, and we were more than happy to make ours available. Susie was disappointed Michael always found something else to do during that time, and she kept trying to convince him to join her and her therapist, but he would not do so. "If I was there in the pool with you it wouldn't be productive for the therapy. I notice when I'm downstairs with you and you are working out you tend to get distracted by me, and I don't want to do that to you. It isn't a good idea to mix work and pleasure."

Susie's prostheses were delivered and each prosthesis was fitted and tweaked for the best possible fit. Next came learning to use them. Walking on an artificial foot required practice and many tears were shed before it was accomplished well. Michael had insisted on state of the art limbs, but no matter how well they are made they just don't match up to the original equipment. Over a period of a few weeks Susie became fairly proficient on her artificial foot and Michael promised her that as soon as she was proficient enough to walk on the prosthesis without using a cane he would take her to McMahon's Prime Steakhouse for dinner, fancy dress and all.

Susie's goal for herself was to be able to walk across the platform at graduation without using a cane, and hopefully without limping. She was well on her way to making it.

It was the first week in April when Michael stopped by the basement to see the end of Susie's therapy session. With a huge smile on her face Susie walked across the floor, sans cane, to give him a huge hug and a kiss. The kiss was a surprise, although it was not unusual for her to hug him. "What's up, Little One?"

"Karen says I'm just about done with her! She really thinks I'm doing as well as I can do!"

"That's great! I stopped by just to let you know we have reservations at McMahon's on Saturday night; that is if you don't have a date or have to wash your hair or something." His grin gave him away. "My parents are coming down, and I want you to meet them, too."

"Dressy?"

"To the nines! I've told my folks a lot about you, and I want you to really shine."

"So," Susie looked up at him from the corner of her eye, "Is this like a date or something?"

"No, not really. I just want them to see what a great young lady you are. Besides, your parents are going, too, so that couldn't count as a date."

Susie deflated visibly. Michael had never treated her like a girlfriend, neither had he ever made any kind of advances, although he always acted as if he enjoyed being with her, and like he looked forward to being with her. She knew she had a bit of a crush on him, maybe because of the way he acted around her. He always treated her like a young lady, not like some casual girl to be taken advantage of and then tossed away. He just had class! All of her excitement from the good day of therapy evaporated.

"However, if you would like to, we could go dancing for a while after dinner? I guess you could call that a date."

Susie launched herself at him, throwing both arms about his neck. "That would be wonderful! Thank you!" 

"You may not think so after we have danced," he said drolly. "It is a good thing that foot is wood, so I won't hurt it when I step on it."

"I'll take my chances. Do Mommy and Daddy know about this?"

"Oh, sure. I asked them first. I find it safer to ask the father if I can take his daughter out than to risk his shotgun later." He grinned as she swatted his shoulder. 

Karen finished packing up the last of her gear just as Susie turned back around to her. "I'm so sorry, Karen! I didn't mean to leave all of that to you!"

"No problem. You were obviously pre-occupied." Karen gave her a grin as she blushed. "You have fun with the Tib's Saturday night." She stopped when she saw Michael frantically shaking his head behind Susie. Catching on quickly she said, "You'll find them to be great people."

"The Tib's?"

"Oh, that's just a nickname we have for Jeff, Michael's Dad. He's a big softie." Michael breathed a big sigh of relief behind Susie. 

"I'm looking forward to meeting them. Thank you so much for all you have done for me."

Karen stepped over and gave her a hug goodbye. "Actually, it was a pleasure working with someone smaller than me for a change! You ought to see me trying to make a 300 lb. defensive lineman do something he doesn't want to do!"

Michael grabbed three of the bags of equipment for Karen and carried them to the car. Once outside he said quietly to Karen, "Thanks so much for catching on and not spilling the beans about the folks. I'm kind of ashamed of them you know."

Karen laughed. "Right! And I'm the king of China, too. I understand, and I don't blame you for wanting to keep your life separated from all of the notoriety because of your Dad's career. Sorry I almost blew it."

"Not a problem. No harm was done, nor would it have been if you told her. I just want to break it to her and her parents when they meet the folks. When you get back up there, please tell all of the folks 'thank you' so much for what you've done for Susie. I think she is a very special young lady, whether or not things work out between us, and I want her life to not be ruined by what I did to her."

Karen bristled and snapped back. "Listen here, buster. I know better! You did not do that to her. I've known your family for how long now? I've known you since you were practically in diapers while I was at ASU and your Dad was on the team there. You were not at fault in any way, and if you don't get it out of your head you will live your life in regret for something you did not do." Karen got right up in his face. "Do you understand me, Michael Borden Thibodeaux? It was unfortunate, but it was not your fault!"

Michael held up both hands in surrender. "That's what everyone keeps telling me, but I still feel responsible."

Karen poked him in the chest with her forefinger and said, "Do you know who was responsible? It was those two yokels who spiked the punch trying to get in the pants of some girls because they got them drunk unknowingly. They are the ones responsible, and I hope they hang them! That happened to a friend of mine when I was in school, and she ended up killing herself over it. I have no pity for people who do things to people that way. If she wants to do it with a guy, that's one thing, but when they get them drunk, especially unknowingly . . . , well, you aren't that kind of a guy and I think you are really sweet for caring for the girls the way you have, but get it out of your head that you are responsible. Get me?"

"Yes, Ma'am," Michael responded with a bit of a grin. "If you weren't Mom's best friend and old roommate I wouldn't take that from you."

"'Old' roommate? I'll have you know I'm not old!" They laughed together before Michael gave her a hug goodbye. "Tell your Mom I said 'Hi' when you see her Saturday. . You know how much I love your folks, but I really think they did a great job raising you. They have a lot to be proud of." She got into her car and backed out of the drive and waved at Michael, and then up at Susie, who was standing in the open doorway.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Rosemary and I lay on our bed in my room at the house following a session of lovemaking. She was cuddled with her head on my chest toying with my chest hairs with a finger as I stroked her red-gold hair. Steph had not been able to make the trip with us this weekend, and while I missed her I was more than happy to have Rosemary to myself for a couple of days. I bent my head down and kissed the top of her head before murmuring, "Have I told you lately that I love you?"

"Not lately enough. I like this. I really like having Stephie here, but I'm enjoying being with you tonight."

"I was just thinking the same thing. What do you say we sell the house to Steph and you and I run away to a Pacific island someplace where we could be all alone?"

"Mmmm. Sounds nice. I thought about working topless today, but after last weekend and the way they all reacted to Stephie and me I didn't think it would be to wise. I don't know why the painters thought they had to work on Saturday."

"Probably because they knew you would be back up her today and they hoped for a repeat performance. Hey! Not nice!" She had pulled one of my chest hairs out.

"Don't forget we have to leave early tomorrow so we can meet Michael's folks. I know Stephanie is beside herself about meeting Jeff Thibodeaux."

"I know. I knew I had heard the name, but I had no idea who he was when Michael told us. I'm probably the only guy in Arizona who didn't know who he was. Do you think Susie knows about them yet? I nearly spilled it last week."

"Yes, she knows. She and her folks went to dinner with Michael and his folks last night. It was a celebration of her finishing her rehab. She texted me several times today about going dancing with Michael after dinner. I think she is falling for him. You don't mind, do you? I know you two had something going before the accident."

"No, I don't mind. I'm glad for her. She is the one who had something going with me before the accident. I like Susie, but she is a little too showy for me. I like the idea of winning a girl, not being swept away by her constantly showing off her body. I know some guys like it, and I don't mind looking, but there has to be more to it than that for me. Nope, you and Steph are it for me."

Rosemary's hand had crept lower and lower down my torso as we talked, and her finger now was combing through my pubic hair, occasionally creeping down to stroke one or the other of my balls. Of course, she had me stirring. She started circling the head of my cock with just her fingertip, teasing the underside, occasionally sliding her fingertip down the length of my cock underneath. It didn't take long for me to be hard again. Of course, I could feel the delicious softness of her breasts pressed against me, which only added to the pleasure. I slid my hand downward from her hair until I could cup and fondle one of her breasts. Her nipple rolled between my thumb and finger as I gently squeezed and stroked.

Rosemary turned her head to look at me. "I want to try something." She slipped down my body taking her boob from my hand, until her head was at the level of my cock. "I hope you like this," she whispered as she took the head of my cock into her mouth. 

Her eyes were locked on mine as I caught my breath. The feeling was exquisite, soft, warm, and oh so moist. As her tongue moved against the frenulum it felt like small pleasurable electric shocks straight to my balls. "Ummh," she moaned, and the vibrations went to my very core.

"Rosemary, I love it, but remember what we talked about the other day? If I cum, I won't have anything else for you." Her response was to suck harder and slip it more deeply into her mouth. It was heavenly, and I loved it. It didn't have the same sensations as her vagina, but maybe it was the position of worship she was in, the absolute trust and submission she was showing, but it was wonderful. She smiled up at me around my cock, and her eyes were smiling at me. Even though I had come in her pussy not too long ago I knew this would not last long.

My hands found her head and stroked gently through her hair, demonstrating my pleasure. I didn't pull on her head as I've read about other's doing. She was doing this for me, and as strong as the urge was to push the matter I let her have the control until I felt my balls churning and drawing up. I was nearly at the point of no return when I grabbed her under the arms and pulled her up onto me, then I quickly inserted my cock into her very wet pussy and began thrusting deeply into her. It was only a matter of moments before I was spurting my seed deep inside and holding my Rosemary tightly to my chest. Rosemary giggled as I lay gasping for breath. "I take it you liked it?"




Justin Thyme Ch. 10



"You have no idea!"

"I think I do. That day you ate my pussy on the desk downstairs I thought I would die of pleasure. I just had to return the favor."

I held her in my arms with her breasts pressed against my chest and my cock in her pussy as I faded into sleep. I could not have been more content. 

When I woke up early Sunday morning Rosemary was snuggled up against my side and her hair was splayed across my chest and shoulder. Every time I wake up with her I feel the same way. I am one lucky man to have a woman such as Rosemary who loves me. Carefully I eased myself out from under her and made my way down to the kitchen to make coffee. I threw a couple of pastries into the microwave to warm before carrying two cups and the pastries upstairs. When I walked into the room she stirred and stretched, causing my heart to lurch within my throat. I never get over her beauty and the lovely curves of her torso. Her breasts swelled from her chest, with her nipples poking out. I loved the way her red-gold hair contrasted so beautifully with her alabaster skin. Solomon raved about the beauty of his bride, but she could not have surpassed the beauty of my Rosemary when she awoke in the morning.

"Coffee? I knew there was a reason I love you!"

I carefully sat down and handed her her cup, with milk and sugar, and her pastry. "Have I ever told you how beautiful you are in the morning?"

"No, but I'm all ears." She gave me a big grin. "Sorry, but you are the second one to compliment me this morning."

"Second? Who was first?"

"Little Justin, there. He bobbed his head at me a couple of times as you came in the room just now. He stood up and took notice!" She stretched again, thrusting her breasts out, and Little Justin did another bob, causing her to giggle. "I know we have a lot to get done, but that looks awfully inviting to me. Please would you make love to me before we start today?"

How can a man resist such a request? I'm sure you can understand how torn I was between painting a room and making love to a goddess. I set my coffee aside and reached for her, but she jumped up and scampered for the bathroom. "Come with me. Let's shower first."

I followed, with Little Justin leading the way, and started the water in the tub as she did her morning business. As soon as she was ready I turned on the shower, one of the first modifications we made, and gave her a hand over the side of the old clawfoot tub. She slipped a shower cap over her head, which disappointed me, because I love shampooing her hair and running it through my fingers, but I knew we didn't have time to do her hair if we were going to get a room painted before we had to leave at twelve. Fortunately, she has other charms for me to play with. 

I gathered her into my arms, and we stepped under the shower spray. She slipped my cock between her legs and pressed up tightly against me. I leaned in and kissed her gently, and then more passionately as we began to tongue wrestle. We broke apart and I grabbed a washcloth and applied bodywash to it liberally and then began spreading it over her person, careful to miss none of her skin. The swirls of the suds only served to enhance and embellish her curves. I stepped back to admire my artwork, wishing I could take a picture, but knowing it was too much of a risk of someone else coming across it. "How did you get to be so beautiful lately? I wish I could have a picture to remember how you look right now."

Rosemary smiled softly and stepped into an embrace, obliterating all of my art, but it felt good enough I really didn't mind. I know I can never forget how she feels. She began undulating against my skin, spreading the bodywash from her body onto mine, which I have to admit is the most enjoyable way I've ever bathed. 

We knew we couldn't spend too much time in the shower, as much as we were enjoying it, so we rinsed and got out. I carefully dried her, giving her the kind of attention she deserved, and then quickly dried myself without taking my eyes from her. As I was hanging up my towel Rosemary hugged me from behind and whispered throatily, "I'm feeling really naughty today. Let's use that lovely desk down in the library. I've been wanting to try it ever since you ate my pussy down there."

I just grabbed her hand and lead the way down the stairs to the second floor, and then down the middle of the main stairway and through the foyer, just as naked as the day we were born. I stopped her and hugged and kissed her under the rose frieze on the ceiling. "It isn't mistletoe, but I think I like the rose better." Rosemary pulled my hand, in a hurry to get to the library. 

"Please, Justin. I've been wanting you ever since last night! That was such fun I've not been able to quit thinking about it all night. I even dreamed about you, and the way you felt when you were cumming in me. I need you so much!"

I grabbed and hugged her, squeezing her tightly as I nibbled on an earlobe, causing her to shiver with excitement and goosebumps to spread all down her right side. "Don't tease me. I need you now, Justin. Please." I lifted her onto the desk, where she promptly spread her legs to give me access. She was not exaggerating about being ready. Her pussy was red and swollen, and her juices had run halfway down the insides of her thighs. As badly as I wanted to just plow my cock into her and go after it I decided to make the morning one she would always remember, whether we got any painting done or not. We might not have another weekend alone together for a while, and this one was going to be hers. 

I dropped to my knees and began kissing my way up her legs, licking her juices off as I went. She was almost crying begging me to make love to her, but that is exactly what I was doing. I put her legs over my shoulders and held them there, allowing me access to continue working my way up her thighs, closer and closer to her pussy, but not yet giving her the release she desperately wanted. As I got close enough I slid my hands up across the curves of her hips and waist and on up to her breasts and began stroking and caressing them, circling the nipples, but not actually touching them, leaving her whimpering. She grabbed my ears and tried to pull me to her pussy, but I resisted, kissing around it, and licking the crease between it and her legs and blowing a cool stream of air across it, causing her to rock her pelvis upwards searching for any contact.

My fingers finally touched her nipples with just the tips of the forefingers, circling the nipple on the areola, which was puckered and shriveled up like a dried up raison. Her breath hissed between her teeth as she flexed her hips up and down. When I gently pinched her nipples she moaned in frustrated pleasure. It was then that I gently kissed her pussy, right on top of her clit. She cried out, "Justinnnn! Pleeeease!" I kissed her pussy once more, this time sucking her clit between my lips and flicking my tongue across it lightly a few times, and then once from bottom to top of her pussy with my tongue spread out flat and pressing firmly.

With a keening wail she squeezed her legs tightly against my head and flooded me with her juices and spasmed several times before with a quiet "Oh!" she went limp on the desk. I gave her pussy one more, gentle, kiss and slipped from between her legs. She lay there with her face slack and peaceful, breathing softly for several minutes as I sat on the edge of the desk and held her hand, stroking the back of it softly. Finally, she began to stir, opening her eyes, staring vacantly at me until awareness came to her. Shakily she sat up and gave me a big hug. 

"I really thought I was going to die, that was so intense! I didn't know it could be so good! I still need you. Please don't make me wait any more." She tried to stand on wobbly legs and leaned over the desk. "Take me from behind, and don't be gentle. Make this desk ours!"

Teasing was all over now. I stepped behind her and slipped my cock into her waiting pussy, sliding easily in to the hilt accompanied by a quiet moan. "Oh, Justin, you feel so good, and I feel so full! I like this way!" I started stroking in and out only to hear her begging me to do it harder and faster. 

"I won't be able to last if I do," I gasped.

"I don't care. I need you!" I stroked faster and harder, making her grunt with each stroke. "Oh, Justin, that feels so good! Don't stop, oh, please don't stop!"

My balls were churning as I held off as long as I could, and I nearly lost it before I heard her gasp, "Oh, Justin, I'm coming. I'm coming. Come with me," and as I let mine go I heard gentle sobs of relief. I collapsed atop her, holding myself up with my elbows to keep from crushing her. 

~~~~~~~~~~~

Susie woke up Sunday morning feeling tired. She was wide awake and feeling perky, but her legs felt heavy and ached with fatigue, but oh, they felt so good! Her stump was blistered, and was very tender, but she wouldn't let on at all, dancing every dance she could with Michael. For so long she had craved being in his arms and having his undivided attention, without therapists, nurses, parents, or anyone to interrupt. She wasn't about to relinquish a moment of it just because of a little discomfort. Several times during slow dances she had managed to feel his erection against her, and she felt a thrill go through her, even though he tried mightily to keep a distance between them.

She really liked his parents, although she felt somewhat like a fly under a microscope. She knew they were examining her as a potential prospect for their son. At first, she was a little taken aback that they were so protective of him. Normally, it is the girl's parents who are most protective of the girl, but given a little thought on the matter she came to understand their reasoning. They lived in such a glass bubble, with everyone's eyes on them, and all of the notoriety of being the local football star made good, who played his professional career before local people. Most people they came in contact with were looking for ways to improve themselves, not to establish friendship or relationships. That is why Michael went by his middle name rather than the family name. 

Because she had gotten acquainted with him under those auspices she really didn't care about any of the rest of it. Mothers being mothers though are always going to be protective of their children. It didn't take long for Susie and Joanne to strike up a very friendly relationship, and Tom and Madge became very comfortable with them as well. Tom, of course was a big football fan, and knew right away who Jeff was as he walked into the restaurant, and he looked at Michael with different eyes, and a greater appreciation for him and his character as one who knew the limelight, but had not allowed it to spoil him.

To look at Michael standing next to Jeff, one would never see any familial resemblance, but when Joanne stepped into the picture it was striking. Tom was very pleased to see no signs of disappointment in Jeff that Michael did not share his love of football, or have any desire to follow his father's footsteps. Instead, he was so proud of Michael's abilities, and supported him totally in his pursuits in technology. "When I get old and feeble, it is Michael who will be supporting me!" he liked to joke. He and Tom had a good time talking about the way Michael had upset Jeff's stockbroker with his program for tracking stocks when he was just a sophomore in high school. Michael was embarrassed and tried to change the subject, but it was to no avail, especially when Tom told Jeff how he used the same software now, and how Michael had taken the time to show him how to use it properly.

"Mark my words," Jeff said with very evident pride, "It won't be long and no one will remember Jeff Thibodeaux, but Michael's name will be used along with Bill Gates and Steve Jobs."

Michael broke in quickly, "I'm nothing like those guys's, Dad. Lots of people write code and programs. I'd rather people don't know who I am. I just want to live a quiet life."

Joanne laid her hand on Michael's reassuringly. "Michael, you have a gift, and those who have a gift have a responsibility for the way they use that gift. I'm proud of the way you are using your gifts, and that you don't want recognition, but recognition will come. It is important the way you accept that recognition without trying to flee it, or to seek it. It won't always be easy, but it is that recognition that allows you to use that gift to its fullest."

Michael hung his head in thought for a moment in thought. "I know, Mom. I won't flee, but I certainly won't do anything to attract notice. By the way, Karen said to say 'Hello' and she'll see you next week."

Joanne nodded and then turned to Susie. "Karen is one of my dearest and oldest friends."

Michael broke in, "She doesn't like to be called 'old', Mom. She got after me for that!"

Joanne laughed. "She was my roommate in college, and she's the one who introduced me to Jeff when he tore up his knee in college. She was studying Physical Therapy and was one of the interns who worked with Jeff. I still love her anyway," and she gave Jeff a smile.

"That's what she was talking about when she said I'd have fun with 'the Tib's'!"

Michael nodded. "I was afraid she was going to give my horrid secret away! I'm glad she caught on." 

Michael and Susie had slipped away as soon as it was polite to do so, and danced until Michael recognized Susie's exhaustion. He had seen it earlier, but she insisted on staying until she was obviously wobbling on her feet and he insisted on taking her home. He had no idea of the discomfort she was hiding, even when he dropped her off at her home. Her radiant smile as he gave her a gentle kiss goodbye gave no hint. Sunday morning, though told a different tale. 

Susie's stump was entirely too sore to put the prosthesis on, so she made her way down the stairs to breakfast using her crutches, something she had not done in weeks. Madge took one look at her hopping down the stairs and almost went ballistic! "What did Michael do to you? Did he keep you out to long so you hurt yourself?"

"Oh, no, Mommy. It wasn't Michael's fault! I'm just a little sore this morning, and tired. He didn't know I was getting sore, and I didn't tell him."

"Why ever not? You aren't supposed to be on that foot so much!"

"Oh, but it was so much fun, and it was the first time I had Michael to myself. I didn't want it to end!"

Madge looked at Susie with new eyes. She had known of the growing attachment, but had not realized how serious it really was. Susie had had boyfriends before, with Justin being her latest crush, but none had been anything of the sort of seriousness she saw before her now. "Does he really mean that much? Was it because of what we learned about him last night?"

"Oh, Mommy, yes. Michael is wonderful! He's so considerate and kind and . . . well, he's just different than anyone I've ever known before. And, no, I don't care who his parents are, although they are nice people. I like Michael because he is Michael. Could you say why you love Daddy?"

"Why yes, dear. He's, well, he's everything you said, and he loves me. That's all I need."

Susie nodded with a big grin. "That describes Michael. He's special, and I think I love him. All I know is when he is around I feel complete, but when he leaves the room goes dark. He's not like anyone else I've ever known, even Justin, as much as I like him. He's just . . . Michael."

~~~~~~~~~~~

Michael woke up Sunday morning humming the last song they danced to the night before. For the first time in his life he felt an empty space in his life he had not noticed before. His condo just seemed empty all of a sudden. He had dated quite a few girls here and there, but most of them had seemed shallow, leaving him feeling used, as if he was a meal ticket, or an admission to something special in life, but not as a person, a soul with whom to be attached. Susie on the other hand had never come across that way, even though she knew he was more than comfortable financially. She had never sought for anything from him, but had rather tried to keep him from doing special things for her. He had a rueful smile on his face as he thought of her reaction when he showed up at her house with a new car, a Cadillac CTS the day after he took her home from the Dr's office. She had gone ballistic at him for buying a new car just because the Escalade had been too high for her to climb in. He hadn't told her he kept the Escalade, or of his plans for the new car. That remained to be seen. 

He made his way to the kitchen, where he found his mother already up, with a cup of coffee in front of her. "Hi, Mom. Bad conscience or something, that you can't sleep?" He laughed at the face she made at him. It was a standing joke in their family the way Joanne was always awake early in the morning, no matter how late she had been out the night before. "Dad still asleep?"

"You know him! You know how he likes to get up at the crack of noon when he isn't working." They laughed together. "You came in a lot earlier than I expected you to last night."

"To be honest, I didn't want to come home at all, but I could tell Susie was totally exhausted. She kept up a good front, and didn't want to go home, but it was her first time out. Her leg didn't seem to bother her when she was dancing. I was really happy to see that. I was afraid it would bother her." He gave his mom a grin. "I have an idea she will be rather tired this morning though."

"You seem rather attached to this young lady. Anything we need to know?"

Michael sat down with a cup of coffee and cradled it in his hands as he thought what he wanted to say. "Susie is unlike any girl I've ever met. I don't know what her feelings are. I know she likes me, and she doesn't care anything about whether I have money, or who Dad is. In fact, she gets upset when I try to do things for her. I took a bouquet of roses to her hospital room the second week she was in there, and she said I was being extravagant, that they were too much, so I put one in her water cup and got some cups from the nurse's desk and took the rest of them around to all the rooms on her floor. I think she liked that better than having them for herself. The next week I took two dozen up to her room, but I had them all in bud vases, then I took them around to the other rooms, but with her name on them. She liked the idea of sharing them, but didn't like it that I used her name. She's just . . . different."

"We really enjoyed getting to know her parents. In fact, we stayed there at McMahon's for two hours after you kids left, just talking. They seem to be really down to earth people, and they think a lot of you."

"Well, that got off to a rather rocky start!"

"I can imagine! Your Dad and I are very proud of the way you've handled yourself, though." She reached a hand across the table and put it on his. "Parents try to raise their children right, but they never know how they will be when they get out on their own. Some try to hover over them and control them even when they are out of the home. We've tried very hard not to, and we could not be prouder of the way you have carried yourself."

"Thanks, Mom. I've made some wonderful friends as a result of that accident, and I can't wait for you to meet the others at dinner tonight. In the meantime, I'm getting hungry. If I can get 'his nibs' to shake out of the sack I want to take you to a little restaurant Justin introduced me to." He grinned. "I guarantee you've never seen anything like it!" Michael rose from the table and walked to the guest room door and pounded on it. "Rise and shine! We're burning daylight!" He lifted his hand to knock on the door again when it swung open in his face, surprising him.

"Good morning, Son. I'm glad to see you are able to be vertical so early in the morning after carousing all night last night."




Justin Thyme Ch. 10



Michael stepped into a bone-crushing hug from his Dad. "What has you up at such an ungodly hour? I didn't think I'd be able to shake you loose with less than dynamite?"

"Really I figured this morning would be the only real chance we'd get to talk, so much against my better judgment and wishes I'm up, but if I don't find some coffee I'll be going back to bed."

Michael laughed. "If I know Mom, yours is on the table already. You know how I am about cooking, so if you'll get it in you I want to take you and Mom to a place Justin introduced to me."

When Michael pulled the Escalade into the parking lot at Al's Family Restaurant he was tickled at the look of disdain on his mother's face. Jeff was a little more open, but neither was particularly thrilled by what they saw. "You don't come here for the ambiance, but for the food. Most of the people who eat here are blue-collar, and the portions reflect it. It isn't fancy, but it's clean and the food is good. It's Justin's family's favorite place, and you'll see why."

Joanne looked around the dining room in puzzled amazement. Row after row of folding tables with oilcloth table-coverings was nothing like she was used to seeing in a restaurant. "What in the world are those shelves around the walls for, Michael?"

"When things get busy in here people will stand and eat at them. The seats are all taken European style, too. If there is an open seat you take it. You ought to see it in here on Friday night!" Joanne shook her head in amazement. 

"You mean this place gets that full?"

"I came over her last Friday night, and I had to wait outside for almost thirty minutes."

"Must be good food, then," Jeff said. 

"Oh, it is. It isn't fancy, just good food, and plenty of it. Even you won't go away hungry."

Once they were seated and had coffee in front of them Jeff said to Michael, "Tell us about Susan, Michael. She seems rather taken by you."

"For goodness sake, don't let her hear you call her Susan!" Michael was silent for a moment, obviously in thought. "She's unlike any other girls I've ever known. She doesn't care about me having money, and isn't looking for me to do things for her. In fact, she was always getting after me for doing too much for her. She didn't complain about the first bouquet of roses I got her right after the accident, but when I brought in another one the next week she said it was too much, that I was spoiling her. She was really happy when I got some cups from the nurse's station and split up the roses and took one to each room on the wing." 

Jeff nodded his head appreciatively. "What are your intentions toward her?"

"I really don't know. At first I just stayed with her because I didn't want her to be alone since her parents were on a cruise and couldn't get home. The more I was with her, and she didn't complain about her injuries, even when she lost her foot, the more I wanted to be with her. Initially it was because I felt responsible, but then it became something I really wanted to do. Last night when we were dancing I know she was getting really tired, and her leg had to be hurting, but she never lost her smile, and didn't want to go home. When I'm not with her I find myself looking for her and missing her."

Jeff nodded again. "I kind of thought so. She is a very sweet young lady who has a bit of hero worship. You need to be careful to not hurt her if you aren't intending anything."

"I don't want to hurt her. I think she is really special. I know tragedy is not usually a good start to a relationship, but I really want to see where this may go." He grinned. "You should have seen her when I drove up in a new CTS after she couldn't get into the Escalade. She gave me 'what for' for spending the money, and she didn't care if I could afford it or not. Every other girl I dated wouldn't have thought a thing of it, nor would they have wanted me to split up two dozen roses." 

~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was ten minutes to twelve and I was busy washing out my roller while Rosemary washed out the brushes. We were going to be close on time for getting home to meet Michael's parents. The fun in the office had eaten into the time allotted for painting the dining room, although neither of us regretted it. I looked over at Rosemary, puzzled, when the doorbell rang. Dropping my roller into the sink to soak I wiped my hands on a junk towel and walked to the front door. None of the work crews were there on Sunday, and we didn't have any appointments to show rooms.

The taller of two girls at the door said, "Hi, I'm Jennifer George, and this is Stacy Peterson. Bitsy told us about your house here, and that you might have a couple of rooms left. I'm sorry we didn't have an appointment, but she just told us this morning, and we didn't want them to get filled before we had a chance. Is there any chance we could take a look and make a deposit today?

I tried manfully to look them in the eyes, but it was a struggle. Neither girl was wearing a bra, and their tits were wiggling enticingly as they stepped excitedly from foot to foot. "Well, we were just about to leave, but I guess I could give you a really quick tour if you wish. Come on inside and let me introduce you to Rosemary, who is the one who will be responsible for operating the house. Rosemary," I called. "You'll have to pardon our appearance," I said to Jennifer. We obviously have been painting."

"I just love the rose on the ceiling, don't you, Jennifer?" gushed Stacy. "And just look at that stairway! This place is beautiful! I love it already!"

Rosemary came to the foyer in answer to Justin's call. "Who is it, Justin? Oh, hi. I'm Rosemary."

"This is Jennifer and Stacy. Bitsy just told them about the house this morning, and told them there might be a couple of rooms left. I think all of the doubles are spoken for, aren't they?"

Rosemary nodded. "Yes, unless one of them falls through. We still have four of the singles left, if they don't mind the third floor."

"Would you like to show them around while I finish cleaning up?"

"Why don't you show them? I'll finish up and I've got a couple of other things to do." To the girls she said, "This is an all-girls house, with the exception of Justin, here, who has a separate room up in the garret, with a separate entrance. He's responsible for the house, while I'm responsible for our tenants. We aren't taking deposits at the moment, but we'll put your names down, and Mom will send a contract and the list of rules and expectations. We'll hold the rooms for you for thirty days to allow you and your parents to review them and get back to us. Understand, this is not a party house, or a Sorority, and no guys, other than Justin are allowed above the ground floor. Does that sound OK to you?"

Both girls nodded enthusiastically, and I noted their tits bobbing enthusiastically out of the corner of my eye.

I led the way through the living room area and showed them the dining room, library, kitchen and pantry areas, and then we went back to the foyer and I led them up the stairway. As we made our way up the stairs I heard one of them whisper, "Bitsy was right. He is cute. I hope he's not taken!"

With the double rooms taken I didn't take time but to show one room and then led them up the stairs to the third floor, where the single rooms were. I explained we were in the process of updating them and told the colors the rooms would be and the carpet and drapes, then I showed them the bathrooms and described those upgrades as well. Both girls were excited about the possibility of getting the rooms, and when I showed them the pool they both jumped up and down and squealed with delight. Of course, I had trouble ignoring what else went up and down, and had trouble keeping my cock down. I noticed Jennifer glancing at my crotch and smirking a couple of times. 

I must say I enjoyed the show the girls gave me, and while I liked them I was a little leery of renting to them. I hoped they weren't going to cause problems with Steph or Rosemary. As far as that was concerned, I wasn't sure about living in a house with that many girls, period!

The girls had a couple of questions for Rosemary, so we went back downstairs to talk with her, with me leading the way. Jennifer stopped me partway down, saying she had to tie her shoe. I turned to see her bending over with a foot up two steps, retying a shoe, and my eyes were drawn up her legs that went a long way up to where they went into her short shorts. Her tee shirt hung loosely enough that I could see all the way up it to see her breasts hanging loose inside, and a nipple poking. All the air seemed to evaporate from the stairwell, and my cock started tenting my shorts. I had to quickly turn and rearrange a bit to try to hide myself as best I could.

When we got back downstairs I handed them off as gracefully as I could to Rosemary and hurried back up to my room and into the bathroom to give myself some quick relief, and it was quick!

When they were gone and Rosemary and I got into my Mini for the trip home of course Rosemary had to give me all kinds of grief. "Did those girls give my brother a 'hard' time today? What did they do to you, anyway? I saw you hurrying upstairs and you were hard, but when you came back down you weren't. Did you have to give yourself some relief or something?" She was laughing and having a good time at my expense. I just shook my head. "I think Stephie and I are going to find living here beneficial if these girls are going to keep you going like that. We're going to have to make a rule you can't relieve yourself without us." She gave me a grin and a grope, nearly causing me to drive off of the road.

I tried to change the subject to something a bit safer. "It looks like we have all the rooms rented except for two. We hadn't even planned on showing any of them for a few months yet. I really think Dad was on to something."

"Maybe on the next one we can make it all guys, and I can run it. Do you think I could have as much fun as you seem to be having?" She ran her hand up and down my thigh as she spoke. "What did they do to you to get you so excited, anyway?" I just shook my head until she kept it up. I really think she was enjoying the whole situation too much.

I cleared my throat and finally said, "You saw their shirts. I tried not to stare, to keep eyes on theirs, but when we were going up the stairs I heard one tell the other Bitsy was right, that I'm cute, and she hoped I wasn't taken. After that they kept asking me questions, making me look at them. When we were coming back down the stairs Jennifer said she had to tie her shoe, and when I turned around and looked back up she was bent over, and those long legs went all the way up to those short shorts, and the way she was bent over her tee shirt gaped open all the way to showing her tit. What do you think?" Rosemary was now stroking my cock through my shorts, and when I glanced over at her she lifted her shirt up, exposing one of her boobs to me. All I could do was shake my head and look back at the road.

I had Rosemary call Mom and let her know we were running behind, and why, but then she started texting with Stephanie and giggling at the responses. Of course, I had no idea what she was saying, but from the looks she kept giving me I had a pretty good idea who the subject was. Then she showed me a picture Steph texted her. It was Steph with her tee-shirt pulled up and one breast exposed while she blew me a kiss.

When we pulled into the drive at home the Denali was not in the garage. We found a note on the counter from Mom, saying "We're picking up Mary. Try not to be late."

"Oh, good!" said Rosemary as she pulled her shirt over her head and quickly stripped off her bra. "I really need you. Can we have a quickie before we jump in the shower? I've been so horny ever since I saw you tenting your shorts back there at the house." By then her shorts had hit the floor, and she turned her ass toward me before bending over to pick them up. How could I turn that offer down? I quickly cupped her ass cheek in my hand and gave it a squeeze, then slipped my hand between her legs. She was indeed horny, hot and wet. 

Quickly we made our way to her room, where she jumped onto her bed. "Don't waste time. We have to hurry. Just get up here!" I crawled between her knees and she grabbed my cock and slipped it up and down her slit a couple of times to get it wet, and then without ceremony put it to her pussy and pushed herself onto the head, and I pushed into her. "Oh! That feels so good!" She pulled me tightly to her and held me for a moment, getting accustomed to the fullness, and then rocked her hips. "Don't wait for me. We don't have time, but I just had to have you in me once more. I really had a good time with you this weekend, Justin. Thank you. You really know how to make a girl feel loved."

"That's because you are loved, Rosemary. You mean everything to me."

"Do you think I'll be able to find someone else like you? I wish I could just keep you for me."

"Don't worry. We'll find you someone. I'll help, and I'll always be here for you." Even as much activity as I had already had last night and today it wasn't long and I felt my balls tightening up. I tried to hold it as long as I could, but I knew it wouldn't be long.

Rosemary could feel it, too. "Don't worry about me. I just had to feel you cum in me. I love you, Justin." I nodded and bent down to kiss her lightly on the lips. She giggled. "That was really fun on the desk, wasn't it? I'll bet that wasn't the first time it got used that way." The memory triggered me, and there was no way I could hold back. I could feel my toes curing from the intensity, and I collapsed on top of her.

"What happened on the desk?" came from a voice in the doorway, startling us both! Stephie was standing there grinning at us 'like a mule eating briars', as my Grandfather used to say. "You two block out everything else when you're together, don't you. You are so beautiful together."

"Stephie, you are going to scare me out of ten years of my life if you don't quit sneaking up on us when we're having sex like that!" Rosemary giggled as I rolled off, and started to get up to grab a shower. "You would have liked watching us in the library. Justin laid me on the desk and ate me out again, and then he bent me over the top of it and fucked me almost senseless! You have to try it sometime. I swear I could feel his cock all the way up into my throat, he went in so far."

Steph walked to me and gave me a hug and kiss. "I really missed you this weekend. I'm glad you two had a good time."

Rosemary looked over at the Koala clock and said, "We've really got to hurry!

Steph said, "Yes, do. I really want to meet Jeff Thibodeaux, but I had to come over and see you first. I especially liked seeing you, Justin!" She gave me a grin and winked as she grabbed my cock. Rosemary and I grabbed very fast showers and threw on some clothes, then ran out the door and got into Stephanie's new Malibu.

Jeff and Joanne Thibodeaux were waiting in the lobby for us when we walked into McMahon's, and we found them to be very gracious, friendly people who more than understood why we were delayed. Jeff had a signed jersey, plus a signed football for Stephanie, which made her day. Neither Rosemary nor I cared anything about football, so it really didn't mean anything to us. Stephanie however could quote all of his stats from the time he was at ASU, and all the way through his career with the Cardinals. 

Rosemary hit it off with Joanne right away, and I could see Michael in his mom, even down to the mannerisms. I really liked both of them, and looked forward to getting to know them better.

We made our way into the reserved dining room and found our parents, Michael and Susie, Mr. and Mrs. Collins, and Grandpa and Grandma. The "Tib's" as Jeff and Joanne referred to themselves, absolutely refusing to go by Mr. or Mrs. were most grateful to Grandpa and to us for standing up for Michael in court, and for our willingness to forgive him for the accident. We didn't feel we had done anything special, but they expressed their gratitude anyway. I think the fact that none of us, other than Stephanie, really caring anything about football really made things easier, because Jeff was able to relax and get to know us as people rather than playing the part of a celebrity. I'm sure that gets old quickly!

Susie was on her crutches without her prosthesis, for which Joanne scolded Michael roundly, apologizing to Madge for her son's lack of consideration keeping Susie out dancing for so long, and causing blisters on Susie's stump. Susie kept saying over and over that she had kept Michael out late, and had told him she was doing fine because she didn't want to quit, and I noticed she kept holding his hand whenever he wasn't trying to eat with it. I didn't notice him trying to pull it away either!

Everyone was excited for us that we had the house almost fully spoken for, and could focus our attention on finishing the work to be done. Rosemary of course had to give me grief about the two girls who saw the house in the morning, without telling the whole story. I know she was teasing Stephie in the background while giving me a hard time, suggesting maybe I needed Michael to help me handle the load of all the girls in the house. Michael smiled at Susie, who was staring daggers at Rosemary, and said he didn't think he could spare the time. Stephanie was busy staring at the napkin she kept folding over and over while everyone else laughed. Grandma brought the house down by asking if she needed to go up there as housemother to keep things in line. Grandpa said that would be like making an alcoholic night watchman in a brewery!

All in all, we had a great time together, laughing, talking, and getting acquainted. Jeff was very reluctant to talk about himself, but focused the attention on his wife and her work on the board of the hospital, and on us kids and our plans for college and beyond. He was very effusive in his praise of Michael's work, to which Tom Collins was in agreement, especially praising him for teaching him to use his investing software more effectively, and for its development.

Susie was uncharacteristically quiet and nervous when Michael took her home after the dinner. "What's the matter, Susie? Did Mom bother you by fussing at me for keeping you out so late and making your leg hurt? She was right, you know."

"Oh no. It isn't that at all, and you didn't keep me out. I didn't want to quit even when you insisted on it." She paused and took a deep breath. "Can I ask a big favor? Don't be afraid to say 'no' if you don't want to, but, well, would you be willing to go to my Senior Prom with me next month? I know you aren't in high school any more, and it probably would seem like kid's stuff to you, but . . ."

"Susie. Stop! I would love to take you to your Prom. Relax, girl! I like to do things with you, and I would be honored to be your escort. Don't be afraid to ask me for whatever I can do to make you happy."

Susie gave a big sigh of relief. "I'll be the luckiest girl there, with the best boyfriend in the place. Thank you. I was afraid you would think it beneath you, since you have been to college dances and all. I thought high school wouldn't be anything you would like."

"Little One, you need to understand something. I'm not going because of what it is, but because of who I'm going with. I could go to a Kindergarten dance with you and enjoy it, but I haven't gone to a college party that I enjoyed nearly as much as I will enjoy going with you. Now, as much as I would rather stay and talk with you all night I'd better let you get in and get off your legs and get some rest. You're going back to school, remember? I'll see you in the morning, OK?" He bent down and gave her a gentle kiss goodnight, and waited for her to go in the door, then turned and walked back to his car.




Justin Thyme Ch. 10



Monday morning was a big day for Susie. It was to be the first day back at school since the accident, and she was nervous as she prepared for the day. She was wearing her prosthesis, and the decision had been made for her to use her arm crutches, as much as she hated to do so, just to provide the extra stability since she would be walking much more than she had to this point. 

She has really matured over the last few weeks, and her relationship with Michael has done a lot to stabilize her. She no longer is the tease she once was, and I noted Michael's influence extended to the way she dressed as well. Her innate sexiness was muted. Not hidden by any means, but she was not as blatant as she had been. She exuded a confidence about herself she had not shown before. 

Of course, she was swarmed by friends as she walked through the door, and teachers made it a point to ask how they could make her transition back to classwork easier, and a number of them moved her seat to the front of the class nearest the door to make it easier to navigate the classroom. By the time lunchtime rolled around she was back into the swing of things, but was tired from all of the walking necessary, plus carrying her books on her back so she could use the crutches. She sat down across from me with a sigh and a groan. "I don't remember school being so much work before!"

I just laughed. "You also didn't have to walk on your arms like a lowland gorilla, either."

She made a face at me, and then smiled. "These things were supposed to make it easier to get about, but they don't. They do make it possible, though. I thought Mom was crazy when she insisted I use them, but my stump is getting really tired and sore." She smiled again. "Of course, the blisters from dancing so long with Michael the other night don't help! They are worth every bit of it, though."

"I have study halls for the rest of the day. I can meet you and carry your books for you if that would help. I know Mrs. Clancy would give me a hall pass so I can get there before your next class is out."

"Oh, that's no problem. I've been having all kinds of guys offering to carry my books all day. I actually had two of them get in a fight over it after first hour. I've just had to say I could do it myself. Guys are strange sometimes! That doesn't mean I don't appreciate your offer. By the way, thank you for all of the support you and Rosemary have been through all of this. I really appreciate it, and today kind of brings it into focus."

"We haven't done much. I feel like we have abandoned you for the most part going up to Scottsdale every weekend like we have been."

"I understand that. You've been there during the weeks and have always encouraged me when I was discouraged, and what you did for Michael means so much."

I shrugged. "What we did for Michael is only what we would have wanted someone to do for us in that position. He's a good guy and I think he's been good for you. You're different, more mature and settled."

Susie colored a bit. "He's done a lot to make me look at myself and appreciate myself for who I am, not who I thought I needed to be. I know I was an awful tease before." She reached across the table and held my hand. "I know I teased you a lot with the way I dressed and acted. I'm really sorry. I didn't think about how I made you feel, but I tried to get your attention to make me feel better, to feel attractive."

"Susie, you are attractive, and you've always been attractive. Anyone who doesn't think you are attractive isn't quite right upstairs. I think a lot of you girls just don't understand what really attracts a guy. Oh, sure, some guys are rather superficial in what they look for, but real beauty is much more than skin deep. I've always known you had that quality, but you didn't know it. Michael has been bringing it out of you."

"Thanks, Justin." She squeezed my hand, almost hurting it in her passion. "That means a lot. I always tried to turn you on, trying to get your attention."

"Oh, you got it all right! And, you managed to turn me on more times than you know. I enjoyed it, but at the same time, I wanted more than that. I wanted to be the one who was doing more of the pursuing. Do you understand what I'm saying? It isn't that I didn't, or don't like you, or that I didn't, or don't think you are a very attractive girl."

"I think I do, and thanks. And thanks again for what you have done for Michael. By the way, he's taking me to Prom. Are you going to take Steph?"

I grinned at her. "I'm going with two beautiful girls this year. I'm taking both Stephanie and Rosemary."

Susie was almost wistful as she nodded. "You know, I was really trying to get you to ask me. I'm not sorry, don't misunderstand, but for old time's sake, could I get one dance with you?"

"You have a date. In fact, I'm going to talk with Michael and we can all go as a group. The three of you girls have always been together. I think we ought to keep it that way."

The end of period bell interrupted us. I hadn't realized how late in the hour it was. I quickly gathered our trays and stood. Susie grabbed my hand and squeezed it. "You know something, Justin? I really love you, and I think I always have. It isn't the same as Steph or Rosemary, nor is it what I think I'm feeling for Michael, but I love you, and I always will." She leaned over the table and pulled me toward her enough to kiss me on the cheek. "Thank you for always being there for me," and she turned and started for the door. It's funny, but I felt that kiss on my cheek for the rest of the day, and it meant more to me than anything else she could ever have done.

Michael made arrangements to pick Susie up directly outside the door when school let out since he did not have a handicapped placard for his car. The arrangement earned Susie more than a few envious looks as she maneuvered her way into Michael's new CTS, and he closed the door for her. As he entered the car she said, "You make me feel like a princess being picked up rather than just a girl being picked up from school."

"Little One, you are a princess, and I expect to treat you as such, whether you like it or not!" He grinned over at her as he slipped the car into gear.

"Oh, I like it, all right! And I hope you keep on doing it, since you are my handsome prince." He made a face, but grinned again.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

I walked into the house at a little after seven in the evening to find no one around. I had gone over to the store right after school to pick up some of our electronics for the house and got to talking with Jim and the guys. Of course I had to take a lot of grief from the guys about the 'brothel' I was building before Jim and I were able to sit down and discuss some of the issues I was facing. I dearly wanted to run all of the necessary wiring without having to break into the walls or run it on the surface. We had discussed going wireless, but I really wasn't certain about changing batteries every thirty to forty-five days. Jim showed me some new photo-voltaic cells that were much more efficient and cost effective than any we had stocked before I left the store. I was still a bit dubious because some of the ones we had sold in the past were garbage, to be kind. I know Jim lost his shorts on some of them that he replaced, even after the warrantee expired, when they failed. 

I agreed to take some of them with me and use them for a test over the summer, leaving me time to change back to either batteries or wired before school started and the girls moved in. 

Right now, I was tired and in not a very good mood. I really couldn't tell you why, because I had a good time jawing with the guys at the store, and I always had a good time with Jim, but frankly I was in a funk. 

Dad flew out to Los Angeles for a trade show early this morning, and would be out of town until Wednesday of next week, and I got a call from Mom while I was at the store saying she had a dinner meeting that would be going late this evening, so Rosemary and I would have the house to ourselves. That should have put me in a good mood, but even that didn't shake me out of my funk. I laid a folder of technical data on the counter and went to the fridge to get a Coke when I heard the noise from the pool area and glanced outside. Then I remembered why I was in such a bad mood. Rachel Salazar, a cousin on Mom's side, was here for a couple of days during her college Spring Break. What she planned to do while Rosemary and I were in school I didn't know, but we had to entertain her in the evenings. 

Rachel and I did not get along at all. When we were little kids the three of us were practically inseperable, but when she started growing tits everything changed. We used to swim naked together until she started developing. I said something about her tits once, and she said I had a baby dick. That was the last time we swam naked, and about the last time she and I had a good word for each other.

She decided I was a nerd and a geek, and therefore I was beneath her. When she became a cheerleader at her school she was totally insufferable. Rosemary had to put up with her, but I would hide in my room whenever she was around. That didn't mean I didn't sneak peeks when she was wearing a bathing suit, though. I did mention she had grown tits didn't I?

Stephanie and Susie were both over as well, so I grabbed the technical data from the counter and hurried on up to my room, where I locked the door and settled down to read with some good music going. I had been missing my music while working on the house weekends, and had been so busy I had not really spent any time relaxing to it during the weeks either. Music can really help me get my mind right when in a bad mood, and by the time I had finished listening to Scheherazade I had mellowed out considerably. 

I heard the girls coming up the steps and remembered the Koala at the last moment. In the last several weeks I had not even bothered turning it on. After all, when you get the real thing, why bother with watching. I did mention Rachel had grown tits though didn't I? While not massive, they were larger than Rosemary's or Susie's, and I wouldn't mind getting a good look at them. I just didn't want to have to put up with her garbage to do it. I wouldn't mind a good look at Susie's either for that matter, and I always like to look at Rosemary and Steph. All four at once was just icing on the cake. 

Rachel has long black hair that will reach to her butt if she has it down, which she did tonight, in a long braid. She was wearing a little bikini that was nothing more than two little triangles held together with little pieces of string, and a tiny little thong that was nearly invisible from the back, except for the string across the top. A quick pull of the string and her bra popped loose, and Rachel lifted it over her head, freeing those boobs I have wanted to see for a long time now. She had amazing brown areolas that were about the size of the old half-dollars, and nipples that just begged to be sucked and played with. 

I felt myself hardening even before she reached down and untied the bottoms and let them fall to her feet. Her pussy was clean shaven, as it would have to be with that tiny little bikini. Her pussy lips were large and pronounced and were made to be fucked. She leaned her head back and swung her braid around over her shoulder, which of course also set her tits to swinging and bouncing on her chest. I watched as she untied the end of the braid and combed her hair loose with her fingers, then spread her hair over both boobs and combed through it, carefully untangling any snarls and tweaking her nipples with her finger tips as they went by.

The other girls had also undressed, and were in the process of drying off, giving me flashes of boobs and pussies as the towels covered and uncovered them. Of course, I was quite familiar with Rosemary and Steph's bodies, and had seen Susie's, although it had been some time. I was torn as to where to look, with Rachel's body being new to me it caught my eye, but as I saw the haughty look that never seemed to leave her face, and I listened to her catty comments I found myself appreciating the other three girls even more. I felt kind of guilty looking at Susie, feeling she belonged to Michael, but it didn't stop me from admiring her charms. I would never make a play for her, but it didn't mean I didn't appreciate her beauty. Rachel, on the other hand, really left me cold. Beauty may be only skin deep, but ugly goes to the bone. It was beauty on the outside, and that is where it ended. I was so glad she didn't go to ASU, and we didn't have to rent her a room!

I stroked myself to orgasm while watching the monitor, but I found it totally unsatisfactory. I really wanted to be with Stephanie tonight since I had missed her over the weekend, but that was obviously not going to happen. I settled for some physical relief, but was terribly disappointed by the lack of intimacy that I wanted, no, that I needed. I turned off the monitor before Rachel finished drying or dressing and tried hard to focus my attention on the data sheets I needed to familiarize myself with. The more I tried to read them the more they were just words that projected no meaning. I plugged in Canon in D and cranked the volume loud enough to immerse myself totally in it and let the sound waves wash over me.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Michael was sitting at the table in his condo with his parents, eating at home for the first time in a long time something other than fried eggs or cold cereal. He had not done the cooking, obviously, and he was enjoying his mother's cooking.

"What are your intentions with Susie, Son?" asked Jeff. "Your mother and I both like her, so don't take my question as a pejorative."

"I'm really not sure, Dad. I really, really like the girl, and her parents and I get along really great. They've been awesome, in fact, giving me a key to the house so I could be involved in her therapy. I wouldn't have done that for someone I knew so little, but I guess the trust I had built up with Susie swayed them. I have given it back, by the way." Michael sat there in thought for a few moments with neither of his parents breaking his reverie. "I'm going to take my time with her and see where it goes. Like I told you before, she is unlike anyone I've ever been with before, and is not impressed with my money, nor does she even have a clue how much I have, other than I've been able to do whatever was needed for her. She doesn't like me doing things for her. She thinks I'm spoiling her, or spending too much. It's a welcome change from Silvia, and that's for sure!"

Jeff snorted in agreement, while Joanne had a look of distaste as if she smelled something foul. 

"I had about given up hope of finding anyone like Mom, here, and had really quit even looking."

"Thank you. That was sweet."

"I mean it, Mom. I've been evaluating all of the girls by you since I grew up enough to understand." He paused again, obviously deep in thought. "There are two things that keep me from going after her, and I don't know what to think about them. First of all, I don't think tragedy is a good platform to build a relationship, and I'm afraid she looks at me like to much of a hero who can never fail her. That is a recipe for disappointment. Secondly, she hasn't been raised like I have and doesn't have the same belief system. It's not that she isn't a good person; she is, but sometimes she is not as modest as I would like her to be." 

Joanne reached around the table far enough to put a hand around his neck and pull him to her in a hug. "Son, you have really grown up in the last year. As much heartache as Silvia was to you, and to us, I really think that was a good experience. It didn't jade you, but it taught you to evaluate carefully. She can learn. Do you think it would be helpful for me to have a little 'girl time' with her?"

Michael nodded. "If you can find the time I would like it very much. I really like Susie, and there are some things I'm having trouble telling her. For one thing, I'm escorting her to her Senior Prom, and I know most of the girls will be wearing totally inappropriate dresses, and I'm afraid of what Susie would choose."

"Maybe I could recommend my dressmaker, and a custom dress, as my gift?"

"I wasn't expecting you to buy the dress!"

Joanne just waved a hand dismissively at him. "I'll give her a jingle right after dinner and set something up. We have to be in town for the hospital board meeting tomorrow and Wednesday anyway. Leave it to me."

~~~~~~~~~~~~

In Rosemary's room Michael was the subject of the conversation at the moment. 

"Susie, who was that cute guy in the Caddy that dropped you off here this afternoon? He's cute?"

"That's Michael Borden. He's the guy who ran into Stephie and me, but he's a really sweet guy who has been making sure I get taken care of properly."

"Yeah," said Stephanie. "He was at my house the next day with a big bouquet of roses to ask my forgiveness for hitting us. Even though my car was nine years old he bought me a brand new, well, last year's model, Malibu to replace it since the insurance company was dragging their feet about replacing the car. The wreck wasn't really his fault at all. He was at a party and drank some spiked punch and didn't know he was under the influence because he doesn't drink. He has been taking good care of both of us, and he and Justin have gotten to be good friends."

"He must be rich!" Rachel said. "Are you trying to catch him?"

"I don't know if he's rich or not. He sold a computer program my dad uses and likes, so he's doing OK. He doesn't seem to need anything. I'm not really trying to 'catch' him, although I really like him a lot. He's different than most of the other guys I know. He isn't trying to get into my pants all the time, or trying to cop a feel or sneak a peek. He acts like he likes me, but I really don't know. He's going to take me to the prom, and we had a really good time dancing the other night."

"Wow. Sounds like he's doing all right. I'd be trying to catch him for sure! Maybe I'll give it a whirl."

"Why? So what if he has money. It's just stuff. I want a guy who wants me, not his money."

Rachel shook her head as she pulled a low-cut tank top over her head. "I'll be happy with the 'stuff' as you call it. With enough money you can buy your own happiness."

~~~~~~~~~~~~

I gave up on trying to comprehend the data sheets in my state of mind and I threw on some old shorts and a tee shirt and made my way to the kitchen to scare up something to eat. I saw the girls had ordered in a pizza, but I didn't find any leftovers, so I broke out a packet of Ramen, to which I added some garlic powder, chili powder, oregano, onion, and a handful of browned ground beef to give it some flavor and made myself some soup. I was eating it when the girls made their way down the stairs.

"Hey, Justin. I didn't hear you come home. If I had known when you were coming I'd have ordered enough pizza for you, too."

"No problem, Rosemary. You were in the pool when I got home." I got a big smile from Susie, and Steph gave me a little hug, which garnered a barely veiled sneer from Rachel. She didn't even bother to speak, but then I guess it was even, because I didn't either. "How's the leg after school today, Susie?"

"It's sore and tired, but the pool helped. I think I'm going to have to leave the prosthesis off for tomorrow, though. I still have blisters from dancing Saturday night." She gave me a big grin. "It was worth it, and don't tell Michael! He's already trying to baby me too much. I have to toughen it up somehow, and I don't know a more enjoyable way. This weekend I get to try the spring and try running again if it heals up enough between now and then. I really miss running."

Her phone rang just then, and she excused herself to answer it, and hopped into the living room to get away from our talking. It was only moments before she hopped back in to the kitchen with a big smile on her face. "That was Joanne. She wants to pick me up from school tomorrow for some 'girl time' so we can get acquainted away from the guys. She's cool. I really like her!"




Justin Thyme Ch. 10



~~~~~~~~~~~~

Somehow Rosemary and I managed to get through the evening and Tuesday evening with Rachel at the house. She managed to make her presence known to Michael when he came by to pick up Susie, and again on Tuesday when he came by to pick me up to spend some time with him and Jeff. Rachel and Rosemary had been in the pool, and she was wearing her barely there bikini again, which she promptly paraded in front of Michael and his Dad. I was proud of the way Michael and Jeff barely acknowledged their introduction and we got out of there. Michael was shaking his head disgustedly in the car as he asked, "Who is that girl that was at your house?"

"She's one of Mom's cousins, who is here for a couple of days during her spring break. She's supposed to leave tomorrow, and it cannot come soon enough!"

He gave a snort. "I thought she was going to throw herself at me yesterday; and then today . . . . Somebody ought to tell her to put some clothes on!" Jeff just laughed, and we went out and had a good time together. The more I was around Michael the more I liked the guy. I really hoped he and Susie would end up together. He was exactly what she needed, and I really felt like the opposite was true as well. He seemed like something, or someone, was missing from his life. 

Jeff, of course, was recognized wherever we went, and he handled the attention with grace and good humor, although I sensed it was trying at times. I asked him about it, and he said, "It is something you get used to over time. At first it is exciting and a real ego boost, but it gets old really fast. When I was playing football we couldn't even think about going out to eat because people would keep coming up to the table and asking for autographs and stuff. They didn't care that I couldn't eat or spend time with my family. It got to where we were basically recluses in our own home, or else we had friends over. At one point we even had to fence the property and put up a gate and hire body guards for each of us." He shook his head. "I don't regret the life I've led, and I loved the game, but it took a toll on my wife and son. That's why he won't even use my name."

Michael just nodded in agreement. "As far as anyone knows when they see us out together we are either just friends, or business associates. That's why I call him Jeff in public. It's also why I'm down here in Tucson instead of up in Phoenix. Down here I can have some anonymity. I miss being with the folks, though."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jeff and Joanna Thibodeaux were alone in their room at Michael's condo preparing for bed. As he had done each night he was home in the last twenty-three years of their marriage Jeff sat on the edge of the bed and watched as she undressed down to her panties. He loved watching her breasts as they were freed from her bra, and he never tired of watching her. Her medium sized breasts hardly sagged with her age, even though she had given birth and nursed a son. Her prominent nipples poked out from the chill of exposure to the cool air.

Jeff sat silently as she brushed out her hair and removed her makeup in front of the dresser mirror. When she completed her ablutions he rose and knelt behind the little stool upon which she sat. He wrapped his arms around her waist while snuggling his cheek to the back of her shoulder. 

"Why have I been so blessed?" he murmured quietly. His hands slid up to cup her breasts in his large hands, and he gently kneaded and caressed them. Joanna leaned back into his embrace, enjoying the nightly ritual as she always did. "You know you grow more beautiful to me every day? Thank you for loving me."

"I really do, you know," she whispered back. The nightly ritual never grew old to her either. It wasn't something done out of duty, but had become a habit over the years, bonding them together tightly. Joanna knew she loved Jeff Thibodeaux more now than she ever had as a student dating him, or as a young wife. Perhaps it was the way he worshipped her so that prevented the jealousy or suspicion many in such a public life with its plethora of groupies. She in turn would do anything for him, and without thought had merged her goals and desired into his. They had become a team, and lived as nearly as one as two people can.

After a few minutes of cuddling together Joanne rose and slipped off her panties and walked nude to the bed, where she retrieved her light, filmy, nightgown and slipped it over her head. Her husband's eyes never left her, watching each move with pleasure. Joanne folded back the covers and slipped into the bed with Jeff following closely behind her. He turned out the bedside lamp and they snuggle comfortably in the darkness.

"I really think Michael has found a good one in Susie. I'm looking forward to getting together with her tomorrow. She's a very sweet girl, and she thinks the sun rises and sets because Michael wants it to."

"She's got a lot to learn then."

"Well, I know how she feels, but it isn't Michael that directs things." She leaned over and kissed Jeff softly. "Seems funny it is our son in this position, doesn't it? Seems like just yesterday it was us."

"Yesterday, it was us, at least on my part. Today, too, for that matter."

Joanne giggled and snuggled even closer. "Good. Keep it that way."



Justin Thyme Ch. 11



This is part eleven of a long story. It will not work well as a stand-alone. For complete understanding one needs to read the preceding sections. I don't believe you will be bored. I have worked hard to keep it interesting. 

As always, comments are appreciated. I will be happy to respond to email comments if a return email is included. All comments are appreciated, whether I can respond of not.

I sincerely hope you enjoy my offering, and thank you to my loyal fans who have stayed with me so long. Without you I would have no one for whom to write!

It was the week before Prom, and the girls were all aflutter getting dresses taken in, let out, or whatever needed to be done at the last minute. I had decided to use that Saturday to install some of the security lighting and cameras, as that was something neither Rosemary nor Stephanie could be much help. I was pleasantly surprised to get a call from Michael on Friday.

"Hey, Justin, got a minute?"

"Sure, Michael. What's up?"

"Susie tells me I'm not wanted around here tomorrow. Are you headed up to the house?"

"Yeah. I thought I'd get some of the security stuff done that the girls are no help with. It'll probably be a long day, but I don't expect to stay over."

"Great. Susie has been wanting me to go up and take a look at the place. How about if I give you a bit of a hand and we shake Dad free to get some lunch?"

"That works for me! I like cheap labor. I'll even buy the lunch. We found a place almost like Al's, and I think you will like it. It is a little classier, but with the same sort of food. I plan to leave at six. Is that too early? With your help we can push it back a little."

"Even though six o'clock is earlier than honest people get up, I guess I can make it." Michael laughed at his own joke. "If we go that early we should be home in the early evening. Maybe I can see Susie for a while tonight."

"You've really got it badly for her, don't you?"

Michael paused for a minute, and I thought we had lost the call, and then he said, "Yeah, I guess I do. She is so different than anyone else I've ever known. At first I hung around because I didn't want her to be alone in the hospital, but then I just couldn't stay away. I really love the girl."

"I know. It shows all over you when you're around her. It's mutual. Rosemary says she can't talk with her without you being drawn into the conversation. And I don't know how you did it, but Mrs. Collins thinks you can do no wrong."

"Well, I've got her fooled, for sure! I'll see you in the morning, and thanks."

I don't know why he was thanking me. He was the one volunteering to work. 

At six o'clock I was busily trying to figure out how to fit one more box into the Mini, but with little success when Michael drove into the drive in his Escalade. 

He hopped out of the SUV and said, "Why don't you throw that stuff in the back of my car. I think I have a bit more room than you do. In fact, you can throw your car in, too, if you really want to take it with you!" He laughed at his own wit and I just shook my head. I really like my Mini, but it does have its detractions. I could have taken the materials I needed if Michael wasn't going along, but there was not room for both.

By the time we got everything transferred to his car, and no, we didn't put my car in, it was six-twenty, and we took off for Scottsdale. I had a large cup of coffee with me and Michael had a bottle of water.

I would have much preferred to stop at Bill's for a bite of breakfast, but decided it would be wiser to grab something quick, so we stopped at Burger King for a couple of croissants and made our way to the house. Michael had not seen the place as of yet, so I took him around with pleasure to see the place, and to give him an idea of what I wanted to accomplish today. He was quite interested in the property as a whole and even more interested in our plans for it. 

"You know, Justin, someone with your obvious skills and talents would have to be of very high character not to take advantage of the situation here. It would not be difficult for someone to install hidden cameras and invade the girl's privacy." He looked at me thoughtfully as he spoke. 

"I know, and don't think for a moment the thought has not crossed my mind, but I'm not interested in that kind of a thing." A quick guilty pang struck me about the Koala, but I rationalized it as different. That was someone I knew, not just random strangers. "I'm kind of glad I have you with me today when I'm installing the cameras, so if anyone has a question you can back me up. Besides, I'm pretty sold on Stephanie, and the others really don't interest me. I'll not tell you I don't like to look at a pretty girl, but not that way."

"Good. I thought that was the kind of guy you are, but I just wanted to be sure."

We walked around the grounds first, and he was intrigued by the carriage house, set back from the house a bit and asked our plans for that building. We detoured and walked into it and I told him Rosemary and I planned to use the lower level for a garage for our cars, and to use the extra bays as storage. He was rather contemplative as we walked through the upper floor and checked out the two apartments, former servant's quarters, that were long unused. 

"Dad and I talked a bit about possibly renovating this area for possible expansion later on. We don't have time this year because of all the work necessary on the main house, and we would have to run water and plumbing out here. There just isn't time without hiring it all done, and we didn't think we had the market to rent this out, too. Now we see we would have, but I don't think we want to put the money in to pay for all that right now. The time to payoff is just too long. Maybe next summer, when I'll have the time to do it myself, or at least most of it, we'll take another look."

We walked back around to the front of the house to enter because I wanted Michael to get the full impact of the beauty of the house as we entered. He was impacted by the beauty of the foyer, with its rose frieze in the ceiling and the sweeping staircase going up to the second floor, just as we had been. As we made our way around the first floor I carefully kept the library for last. His reaction to it was the same as mine had been. "This would be the room where I'd spend most of my time. Magnificent! That desk must have been built in this room. I don't know how one could get it in or out otherwise. It would be very imposing to treat with anyone from behind that desk."

We made our way up to the second and third floors, which to one who was not a prospective tenant was not all that exciting. He did get excited though when I took him on up to my room.

"Wow! You got the nicest room in the whole house! Lots of room and a view like none other. This is really a great room! Want a roommate? I could see myself living in a place like this. You have almost enough bookshelves for my library. Between these and the library downstairs . . ." He walked over to the bookcases on the right hand side of the turret and looked at them with puzzlement. "There's something funny about the way these shelves are built in here. They don't match the ones on the other side of the room."

"Yeah, I know. Dad and Rosemary and I were trying to figure out why they are built that way, but we don't have a clue.

"The guy that built this place was obviously wealthy, right?"

"Oh, yes. He was well known for being wealthy, and a bit eccentric, as a Victorian mansion in a community of Spanish style houses indicates."

"I'd bet there is a false wall here someplace. It might be a room with a safe or a vault, or it might even be a secret escape. The time period in which he built the place was not as settled out here as it is now. Keep your eyes open and you might find it."

With that we went back downstairs and got to work. By the time lunchtime came around we had made great progress, and I decided we would hit Bill's and take a break from things for a while. I had been hitting things at the house every weekend now for a while, and though I wanted to get everything done getting away from it for an hour really helped sometimes. Michael was a little nervous about seeing anyone he knew, not because of the company, but because he didn't want to get drawn back into any situations of people trying to use him for their own ends, but I assured him I didn't think he would see anyone he know where we were going. "It's as close to Al's as you will find up here." He nodded and followed my directions to the restaurant.

"Well, maybe it is a step or two above Al's, Justin, but I agree with you that this is not a place I would find any of the leeches I left home to get away from. By the way, I'm really sorry Dad couldn't shake free."

"No problem. The ambiance here is a little higher than Al's, and the food is nearly as good. Janelle told me she and her roommate come here when they are homesick. It reminds them of Al's and home."

I saw Debbie, our waitress from the last time we were here and waived at her. She waved us over and we got a seat in her area, and I introduced her to Michael. She was curious about the progress we were making on the house, and was very excited about living in it next year. She asked if we had any more openings and I hesitated before saying yes, that we still had two singles, but that would have us full. "Please, would you put my sister down for one of them? She doesn't even need to see it. She'll be a freshman next year, and I just found out she is coming to ASU. She was talking about going to USC, but I think she was just trying to get my goat. Her acceptance letter came just a couple of days ago, and I was hoping I'd see one of you in here since I couldn't get over to the house when you would be there."

"Sure. We'll be happy to. Same address for her?"

"Yes, the home address, that is. She's still with Mom and Dad."

"Excellent. I'll have Mom send an extra copy of the contract for her."

"Thank you so much! Mom called me last night and said she just got the package from your mother, and she and Dad are both really happy about the rules for the place. A couple of them, while I understand them I wish weren't there, but of course, they are the ones Mom and Dad like best!" We all got a chuckle from that, and she went off to get me a large Coke and an orange juice for Michael.

As soon as we had placed our orders Michael looked up at me with a serious look on his face. "I've been thinking about your carriage house ever since we saw it this morning. What would you think about fixing it up and renting it out to married couples?" 

"The thought really hadn't crossed my mind. Do you have someone in particular?"

"Possibly, if you are interested. It might be a long shot, but if they were interested what would you say?"

"Well, obviously I would have to talk with Dad and Grandpa. I don't think Grandpa was thinking about putting that much cash into the place this year, before we have a return anyway, and like I told you, it would cost more because we would have to hire it all out."

"I think might be a good idea for you, and if one couple I'm thinking of is available I will provide the funding at very good rates. I'll even provide sweat equity if you are interested."

I looked at him carefully before replying. "This couple you are talking about. You wouldn't be part of that couple would you?"

Michael reddened a bit and looked down at the table before nodding softly. "Please don't say anything to anyone about it at this time." He looked up and caught my eye before going on. "I've come to the conclusion that I really love Susie. Yes, I know it is awfully fast, but it is far beyond infatuation. I've been there, and believe me, I know the difference. I'm not sure about Susie. I know she really likes me, but I'm not sure yet if she is ready to take that step, and of course I've said nothing to either of her parents. I know they like and trust me, but I don't know if they would be willing to give away their daughter this quickly." He threw up his hands in frustration, just as Debbie came back with our food, then he blushed and apologized for almost hitting her tray.

When she set the food down and left he looked at me and said, "Maybe it is just a pipe dream. It's too fast, but I don't want to wait! We'd probably better put the idea on ice, but I've not been able to get the thought out of my head since we went up and saw those old servant's quarters."

****************** 

Susie and Joanne sat across the table from each other at the Dairy Queen, each with a Blizzard in front of them. Susie was really surprised how easy it was to talk with Joanne. While she had met her and even sat next to her at dinner twice this was the first time it was one on one. She had expected to be examined like a bug on a pin, but she found Joanne to be warm and genuine, not at all like she thought a celebrity's wife would be. Especially since that celebrity's wife was the mother of her boyfriend and the love of her life. 

"So tell me a little about yourself, Susie. Michael has tried to talk about you, but I know nobody is a perfect as he makes you sound." Joanne gave Susie a wink and a grin. "When I asked him about you he got so tongue-tied and bumble-footed he couldn't walk and talk at the same time."

Susie couldn't help but smile. Joanne's attitude came across as total interest in getting to know her as a person, and it didn't have any condescension as of an adult talking to a child. It was impossible not to like her. Susie told her a little about her interests and goals, what her family was like, and then she got to the accident. 

"When I woke up there was this big bouquet of roses on my table with a note saying he was sorry, and that he would be back later to talk to me and apologize in person. I was in ICU, so I couldn't have any visitors until the next Monday, but he came by then and knelt by the bed and asked my forgiveness. I never saw a grown man cry like that. Of course I forgave him. After all, it wasn't really his fault, although doped up like I was I didn't really understand. I just knew he was OK." Joanne just nodded.

"He sat in that crappy recliner they put in hospital rooms and stayed there. He said he didn't want me to be alone, and with my parents stuck on a cruise there was no one else. He didn't have to do that! Whenever I needed something he was there to take care of it, and he even called in his brother, oh, right, he's you son-in-law. Silly me. Anyway, he had him come in to try to save my foot. He cried harder than I did when they told me it had to come off. He had to go to court the next day, but you know all about that."

"No, not really. He just said the attorneys on both sides asked the judge for leniency based on mitigating circumstances."

"That is so like Mikey! Justin and Rosemary's Grandfather is a retired attorney, and he represented both Stephanie and me. He went and told the judge what happened and said Mikey shouldn't be held responsible for the DUI, and the prosecuting attorney agreed. Stephanie, Rosemary, and Justin were there to speak for him, too, but they weren't needed." Joanne shook her head in understanding, finally learning something of what had transpired to spare her son.

"We wanted to come down and be there with him, but he said not to come. He was afraid his father's fame would work against him. It was really hard not to be here!"

"I can imagine! Anyway, he got back from court about the time I got out of surgery. He thought he would be going to jail instead. He went with Justin and helped him with a project and Steph and Rosemary stayed with me in the afternoon, but then he stayed in that wretched recliner all night, and only left when he had to clean up or eat. When I had been in there for a week he came in with another big bouquet of two dozen roses. He said the others were starting to droop. I told him it was way too extravagant, and that he shouldn't spend so much on me, so do you know what your son did next?"

Joanne shook her head no. She had not heard about the flowers.

"He went down to the nurses station and asked for a bunch of water cups and he took a cart and some water pitchers and cups and took the flowers around to all the rooms around and left each of them a rose, and said I wanted to share, and he brought me one back. Don't tell him, but after Mommy and Daddy got back I sent it home with them and had Mommy press it for me."

Joanne nodded her head understandingly. "He's that way, always thinking of others, and he doesn't want anyone to notice."

Susie giggled. "You don't know what he did with flowers next then do you. After a few days he came in with a cart with twenty-four roses in bud vases and said, 'I thought you might want to look at your flowers before they are all gone.' Then he pushed the cart back out and took a rose to all the rooms around us, but this time they all had a card on them with my name on it saying they were from me, and I kept getting people coming in and saying 'Thank you.' He's always doing things like that for me."

"I suppose he didn't tell you about the wheelchair either, then did he?" Joanne shook her head "No." "The hospital didn't have a wheelchair made for adults in a body cast, so Michael went out and bought one so that I could get out of bed and go out in the solarium and go home. After I got the cast off he gave it to the hospital. He even helped Daddy get the office changed around so I could stay in it instead of a nursing home, and got the hospital bed and a ramp and all of that stuff for us. And, he also set up the basement for physical therapy so that I didn't have to go out for therapy."

"How did he get along with your parents? Are they OK with him?"

"Daddy was really angry at first, especially when they arrived early while Mikey was feeding me my lunch in the solarium. Mikey tried to apologize and ask their forgiveness, but they weren't really listening, so Mikey left to give me some time alone with them and I talked with them and told him all he's done for me, and that it wasn't his fault at all. When he came back to take me back to the room, (it was my first day out of the bed, and I was really getting tired), they were willing to listen and they forgave him, just as Stephie and I have. It really wasn't his fault!"

"After he helped set up a room for me in the house and Mommy got a chance to get to know him a little better she even told him to call her Madge! I've never heard her tell more than a handful of people to call her Madge, and never someone of our age! I knew then he had won her over. When Daddy found out Mikey is the one who wrote the new trading software he uses he was totally blown away. Mikey taught him how to use it better, and he's rewriting part of it because of what he learned were problems from Daddy. The two of them are thick as thieves, now." Joanne just nodded her understanding and sighed a huge sigh of relief. The last thing she wanted was for there to be trouble with the parents even before things went any further.

"I notice you call him 'Mikey'. You know he hates that name, don't you?"

Susie smiled an impish smile and said, "I know. He tolerates it from me, and I think he's starting to like it when I call him that, kind of like him calling me 'Little One.' Not that I dislike it, they are just sort of a nicknames that we use for each other. It started when I was coming out from the anesthesia after they took my foot. I called him 'Mikey' and he said, 'It's Michael,' but I said, 'You look like a Mikey to me,' and the name has kind of stuck since.'

Joanna was beginning to see a different side of her son than she had seen before. Michael had been known to get in fights or to castigate someone thoroughly for calling him that before. There was definitely something more than infatuation if he allowed her to call him by that hated name.




Justin Thyme Ch. 11



"Don't think I would call him that out in public. It's just a pet name for us among our friends and family. I wouldn't do anything to embarrass or belittle him for the world! He's just . . . well, he's just . . . he's just my Mikey, and there isn't another like him." She and Joanne smiled together in full understanding of the other's thoughts.

*****************

Michael and I finished installing the last of the lights and cameras, along with their solar panels just before three. I tested them with my laptop, and everything seemed to be online and good to go. I still needed to bring up the server and other paraphernalia I needed to make the system live, but that was for another day. On a whim we decided to run back up to my room and take a quick look at the bookcases and see if we could discover anything that would indicate a hidden doorway.

We wiggled shelves, felt along the tops for any possible latch, but found nothing. Just as we were giving up, deciding it was just an anomaly of design Michael looked at an old candle holding wall sconce next to the turret. There was another on the other side of the turret also; both with some very fancy metalworking.

"You could probably get a few bucks for these from an antiques dealer. They are certainly unique." Looking from one to the other he scratched his head, puzzled. "Why would you put sconces here? After total dark they would be helpful, but with any outside light they would be superfluous. They wouldn't really light the bookcases, either, although they are next to them. It's goofy when you think of it."

He put his hand back up to the nearest sconce, feeling it, and gave it a gentle twist, and it turned in his hand! A muted click from behind the bookcase was heard and when I pulled gently on the shelves they swung away from the wall revealing a small alcove with a small desk and a narrow vertical ladder going down a narrow shaft into the darkness. 

Neither of us had a flashlight, and although it was getting later than we had planned to leave, neither of us could walk away from this find! After confirming the latch mechanism we carefully closed the bookcase door, after marveling at the careful engineering that would allow it to swing freely, but smoothly enough even with a heavy load of books it would not spill them. Hurrying down to Michael's Escalade we went looking for a store where we could get a couple of flashlights.

********************

Rosemary and Stephanie were foot-weary, but happy after a day of fittings and shoe shopping. Both girls had fitting appointments to check out their dresses following alterations in the late morning and although they already had shoes for the Prom no girl ever thinks she has too many shoes! 

Rosemary sent a text to Susie telling her where they were shoe shopping to see if she wanted to join them, but she said she was busy and couldn't make it. Nothing was said as to why.

***************

The reason Susie couldn't join the other girls shoe shopping was that she was at the moment in the car with Joanne. They were on their way up to Phoenix to visit Joanne's dressmaker. 

Joanne had asked Susie at the Dairy Queen if she had been able to go dress shopping for Prom since it wasn't certain until very recently that she would be recovered well enough to go. "I decided I would just wear my dress from last year. Michael hasn't seen it, so it will be OK. There just wasn't time to do any real shopping, and I don't fit very well in off the rack and shopping online was out." She was obviously disappointed, but put the best face on it possible.

"If you would allow it, I would love to take you to my dressmaker and allow her to design one for you. She does all custom work, and beautiful stuff. It would be my gift to you."

"Oh, thank you, but there wouldn't be time, would there? Besides, you folks have already done so much for me, and that would be too expensive."

Joanne held up a hand and shook her head "No." "I happen to know she has the time right now to fit you in if we can get you up there and get you measured. As to the cost, I'm half owner of her shop, so it won't be as expensive as you think. She was a roommate of mine in college who majored in design, but she didn't have the money to open her own shop, so I went in on it with her, and it is the best decision I ever made business wise. She has done dresses for the Governor's wife, and both of our Senator's wives, plus a lot of other well-known folks. Besides, when people ask where you got your dress, and trust me, they will, it will be good advertising for her."

Susie was obviously torn between wanting a new dress and not wanting to feel beholden. Finally she said, "Let me call Mom and tell her. If she has no objection and you really want to drive all the way up there for it I guess it would be alright."

"Even better, ask your Mom to go up with us! I'd really like to get better acquainted with her, too. We really didn't get to talk much at the restaurant the other night. Let me take a quick picture of you and give her your basic measurements and she can be doing a couple of sketches for you while we are driving up."

"You mean it will be totally custom?"

"Of course, my dear. It's all she does, and she is famous for it locally."

"Wow! Oh, Hello, Mommy. Joanne just asked me if I would like to go up to Phoenix and see her dressmaker about a new dress for Prom since we haven't had time to shop, and it's her gift. What do you think? . . . Here, why don't you just talk to her?" Susie handed her phone over to Joanne, who gained Madge's assent. 

Picacho Peak was off to their left when Joanne looked over at Susie and paused before speaking. The three ladies had been enjoying each other's company, laughing and talking about a variety of subjects, of which Michael occupied most. "Susie, has Michael said anything about your dress for the Prom?"

"No, he hasn't. Why?"

"I rather thought so. He's that way. Will you accept some advice without taking it as criticism?"

"Sure. Have I done something wrong?" There was real concern in her voice.

"Oh, no! Not at all!" Joanne paused a moment. "This is nothing about anything you have done or are doing. We have not tried to push our religion on you, that is for you to decide, but if you and Michael are going to consider a life together there are some things you need to understand for it to work. Our religion teaches abstinence before marriage and modesty. Please understand, I'm not being critical, and I don't want to you feel like it is, but one reason I wanted to buy this dress for you, and have my dressmaker do it for you is to allow you to see a dress can be very beautiful and appealing without offending another's values."

"Have I been offending Michael? I didn't mean to!"

"Oh, no, dear. That isn't the case. He hasn't said anything of the sort at all. Everything he has said about you has been very positive! I'm just being a little pro-active. I know what a lot of Prom dresses are like and what I didn't want is for you to unknowingly get something that would tear you down in Michael's eyes. You see, I really think you are good for him, and I want to do all I can to help." Joanne gave Susie a big smile and a wink. "You have done a lot to bring him out of his shell. He isn't one who likes a lot of limelight and fuss. In fact, his father and I were beginning to think he would never find anyone that fit him, and we are so glad you to get a chance to get to know each other, although we would have liked it to be on different terms."

"Thank you. That was very sweet of you to say. I'm really glad I got to know him, too, and everything was worth it as far as I'm concerned. Having him there twenty-four hours a day for a week is a good way to get to know what a person is like, and I couldn't have done it any other way."

Madge leaned forward over the front seatback. "Susan, I hope you are paying attention to what Joanne is saying. We really like Michael, too, and we don't want to have something mess up your relationship just because we don't understand. Joanne, thank you for taking the time and trouble to help us understand."

*******************

The air in the alcove had the smell and feel of a long enclosed space when we reopened the hidden bookcase door. Michael and I both shined our flashlights down the ladder, but it went down far enough it was difficult to make out any real detail. It was obvious it went into a basement of sorts that no one even knew existed. 

Michael insisted I should go down first since it is my house, and that he would be right behind me. I shook the ladder to be certain it was solid, but it didn't even wiggle, so I stepped gingerly onto a rung and began my descent. Although there was not a lot of room in the shaft it didn't feel oppressive. The walls were unfinished, so it was easy to tell when we reached each level of the house. I passed the third floor and continued downward. I could see a small platform at the second floor level and stopped there. 

A door latch was obvious from this side, but without stopping to think it out I couldn't place exactly where it would come out on the other side. Michael stepped off at this level with me, and we discussed whether to explore this discovery now or later. We both decided it would make more sense to continue on down, since that was the obvious destination.

Another platform and door were on the first level as well, but we didn't even bother stopping as we continued downward. I could see careful stonework walls as I made my way to the lower level. My heart was beating quickly with anticipation and from the exertion of climbing down this vertical ladder as I paused and swung my flashlight around me. I was not prepared for . . . .

****************

Susie and Madge followed Joanne through the doors of Couture by Carole to be greeted by a tall, lissome woman with salt and pepper hair and tiny sewing glasses perched on the end of her nose. She quickly dropped the glasses, which were caught by a thin gold chain around her neck, and stepped forward to hug Joanne. Turning to the other ladies she said, "You have to be Susie. Much better in person than in the photo Joanne sent me! You are indeed lovely, and I think I have just what will make you the Belle of the Ball if you like it. And you must by Susie's mother. The eyes tell the tale! Please come in. Suzette will have tea for us in just a few moments."

Carole led them to a small office at the side of the shop between several manikins gowned with a variety of lovely dresses and evening gowns. Susie had to stop and finger the material on one in particular, a beautiful royal blue creation that shimmered in the lights of the store. "Isn't that a lovely piece?" Carole asked. "I made that for one of our Senator's wife for the President's Inaugural Ball. She is coming in for a final fitting later next week." Susie moved on toward the office just as Suzette came in carrying a silver tea set, which she set on a low tea table between two couches and some easy chairs. "Thank you so much Suzette. I want you to meet Mrs. Collins and Susie. Susie was just admiring the royal blue number we are doing for our esteemed Senator's wife. Don't you think she would look lovely in that color?"

"I think most certainly. I think it would bring out her blue eyes, and with that lovely blond hair . . . . "

Susie hanged her head at the mention of her hair. While it had grown out since the accident it was still quite short, and the scars could still be seen if you looked closely. 

Suzette saw Susie's look of despair and interjected, "Susie, I know you have not had time to grow your hair back out again, but just because it is short does not mean it cannot be made to look nice. Jacqui, a friend of mine, does hair for ladies who have undergone chemo and their hair is just growing back in, and it is amazing what she can do. Let me give her a call and see if she has any suggestions, no?"

"On a Saturday afternoon?"

"If I call her she will work you in after hours if need be. She's just that kind of a person." Madge leaned forward and said, "Would you please call? I've been worried about what to do with it. It's growing back in nicely, but I didn't have any ideas. I thought about buying a wig for her, but I didn't think it would look right."

"Absolutely not. No wig!" Carole was emphatic. "A wig will not look right, I don't care how good a wig it is. She will be conscious of it, as will Michael and all of her friends that have seen her with the short hair. I understand ladies who have lost their hair due to Chemo, but this is different. My design is based on her hair being short, anyway." With that she pulled out a sketch book and showed two different ideas she had drawn up. "I based these on the pictures Joanne sent me from her phone, but as I said earlier, those pictures don't do you justice at all. I drew one as a floor length, and the other in a shorter version. Either design can be done either way. I just did it that way for reference."

"I think I like the idea of a long dress better, because it hides my foot." Madge was very surprised to hear her say this. It was the first time she had ever said anything negative about her situation at all.

"I'm so sorry about the foot, Susie. It was a tragedy," said Joanne. 

"Oh, I'm not complaining. Please don't take it that way. Things happen, and if it hadn't I wouldn't have met Michael! I only said that because it disturbs other people, and they are always trying to feel sorry for me! So many others have it so much worse than do I. I have nothing to complain about!" Joanne reached over and squeezed Susie's hand while Madge nodded approvingly. 

Carole pulled the sketch book back toward her. "I need to think on this a bit. Neither of these designs will do! I didn't realize how mature a young lady you are, Susie. Why don't you go with Suzette and let her get your measurements for me while I ponder on this for a moment or two."

Suzette led Susie from the room back to a fitting area and Carole turned to Madge. "Mrs. Collins, your daughter is very mature for her age! I know very few adults who can adapt to such a terrible injury with such grace! She reminds me very much of a Marine I know who came back from Afghanistan terribly injured, but you never hear him complain. Instead, he laughs at himself and his injuries as a 'weight loss regimen.' Come with me." She led Madge and Joanne out onto the showroom floor.

"I noticed how she looked at this gown I did for our Senator's wife. She is very nearly the same size, and to be honest, I would rather see this on a young lady who has earned my respect, far more than on the arrogant wife of a second-rate political hack. I would refuse to make a gown for her if I could get away with it, but it will bring me too much business when the tabloids talk about what she is wearing. What do you think, Mrs. Collins?"

"Please, I would be honored if you would call me Madge, and I think this is an absolutely astonishing gown! Surely though, it is way too expensive!"

Carole just laughed softly. "Please, Madge, and thank you, I don't know if Joanne told you, but she is half owner of this shop, having put me into business right after we graduated from ASU, and she is responsible for a lot of the business that comes through here. We were already going to do it at cost, but I am very impressed by that young lady, and I would like to make it my gift to her as well. I've known Michael since he was born; in fact I was in the delivery room as Joanne's coach since Jeff had to be away for a road game. Please allow me? Besides, I know she will tell everyone where she got the gown, and it will drive more business my way, although that is not why I'm offering this."

Madge looked over at Joanne and saw her smile and nod gently. "Thank you very much. It is most gracious of you!"

Carole smiled back. "As smitten as Michael is with her, and I don't blame him, maybe I will get to make a wedding gown next." Madge uncharacteristically stepped forward and embraced Carole.

"I would have no one else do it! And, if it comes to that eventuality Tom and I will be thrilled."

Carole and Joanne carefully removed the gown from the manikin and carried it back to the fitting area, with Madge right behind them. "Susie, what would you think about this gown?"

"Are you kidding me? I thought that was for the Senator's wife!"

"I decided you were the more mature person, and it would look better on you. I noticed you looking at it as we came in the shop."

"It's beautiful! I never saw such a beautiful gown in my life!" Susie's eyes were shining, and she had trouble standing still in her excitement, causing Suzette to pause in her measurements. "Every girl in the school is going to hate me!"

Carole laughed. "I don't think it will be quite that bad, but you will stand out, as well you should." She turned to Suzette and asked, "Were you able to reach Jacqui?"

"Yes. She said if it is OK with you she will stop by here on her way out. She has an errand she has to run, and this is on the way."

"Excellent. What she will do with the hair might make a little difference in how we fit this." Carole had Suzette assist her as they slipped the gown over Susie's head, and had her stand on a small platform in front of a three panel mirror. Susie took one look at her reflection and burst into tears.

Suzette quickly grabbed some tissues and handed them to the sobbing girl before she could spot the gown as her mother rushed to her side. "Susan, darling, whatever is wrong?"

"It's too beautiful, Mommy. I can't wear this! I don't deserve such a thing."

Joanne quickly stepped up to the platform and helped Susie step down, and then led her over to a chair and carefully seated her. Susie was still sniffling and blotting at her eyes as her other hand absently stoked the satin and lace, noting the beadwork. "Susie, my dear, will you please look at me and listen for a moment?" She reached forward with a gentle hand and lifted Susie's chin with her fingers. "My dear, you are so wrong! You do deserve this gown. Do you understand why Carole pulled back the other two designs she had for you?"

Susie sniffled and shook her head "No."

"It is because after meeting you and talking with you for a few moments she recognized her designs were too juvenile for you, that you were more mature than she designed for. She isn't giving you an 'old lady' looking dress, it is far from it, but what she said is this, 'I would rather see this on a young lady, who has earned my respect, far more than on the arrogant wife of a second rate political hack,' and I whole-heartedly agree with her. This gown looks far better on you than it would on her, and I hope you will accept it with our appreciation."

The front door bell jangled as someone entered the store and Suzette stepped out quickly to see who it was as Susie hugged Joanne tightly and sobbed on her shoulder. "However can I thank you for such a wonderful gift? And for being so caring and kind? I really don't deserve any of this!"

"My dear, you don't know what we see in you. Yes, my dear, you deserve all of this and a lot more." 

Their talk was interrupted by Suzette reentering the room with another lady in tow. "Carole, what have you done? Making another young lady cry over your creation? Hi, I'm Jacqui, and you must be Susie, the one Michael won't quit talking about! I really ought to hate you for ruining my chances, but I think I'm going to like you anyway." Jacqui was an elfin dark-haired lady of about forty years of age who looked at life with a joyful eye. 

"Can I ask you to step back up on the platform for me? I really hate to rush you, but I have to be across town in just over an hour, so I don't have much time. Hmmm. Could you turn for me, slowly, slowly? Ah, yes. Now, if you will please step back down, and have a seat here." She extended a hand to Susie to assist as she stepped from the platform, being certain Susie didn't trip over the hem of the gown. Jacqui looked carefully at the scars on the right side of Susie's head and asked, "Are these sensitive? Are any of them painful?"




Justin Thyme Ch. 11



"Oh no. They are fine."

Jacqui rummaged in her bag briefly and came out with a small brush and a comb. Quickly brushing upward with the brush and then parting and sectioning the hair with her comb, she "Hmm'ed" and "Ah'ed" several times before turning to Carole. "Isn't this the dress you made for 'what's-her-name? The Senator's wife?" At Carole's nod she said, "I like it better on Susie! It works very well for her." 

Stepping around in front of Susie, Jacqui asked, "Can you make it back up here the day of Prom? I can fix your hair for you and make it look like you intended it to look this way, not because it had to be shaved and regrown. I can also hide all of the scars in your scalp to anyone other than the one you are dancing with, and knowing Michael, he won't care. He won't see the scars for the beautiful young woman in his arms."

"Thank you," Susie whispered softly. "I didn't think I would ever be able to fix my hair so they didn't show."

"Oh pshaw! I'll show you a couple of tricks next week, so that you may never want to grow it out again! Anyway, please excuse me, but I must rush," and with that she headed for the door with everyone's thanks following in her wake.

Joanne shook her head and laughed softly as she said, "That woman was born running, and when they bury her the undertaker will have to be quick! She is always on the go like her tail is on fire."

**************

Rosemary and Stephanie returned to the house from their shopping expedition tired and hungry. Both mothers were out until late in the evening with work, so there was nobody else to be expected before Justin and Michael returned.

"I really wish Justin was home," complained Stephanie. "I've really been missing him all week. I've hardly even seen him except passing in the halls at school. I wish he hadn't told Jim he would help out at the store during the week when needed."

"I know. I've hardly seen him more, even though we live in the same house. The first couple of days with Rachel here had him in a really bad mood. The two of them used to be so close when we were younger, but they aren't fit to be in the same house any more."

"Did you see her try to make a play for Michael? I though Susie was about to kill her! Michael shut her down in a hurry, though."

Rosemary laughed. "I know. It was rich. Justin told me later that Michael asked who she was, and said 'Somebody needs to tell her to put some clothes on.' "

Rosemary put a frozen pizza in the oven. "I'm hungry, but I'm too tired to cook something. You want to grab some veggies to munch on from the crisper?"

"Yeah, sure. I wish I knew when Justin was going to get home. He wasn't planning to stay long today. I wish I had thought to bring my bikini. I feel like a swim."

"I'll shoot him a text and see. After we eat we can go for a swim. Nobody's home, so you don't need a suit. You wouldn't care if Justin did show up anyway, would you."

Steph gave her a crooked grin. "I wish he would!"

The timer on the oven and my text back both went off at about the same time. Rosemary pulled the pizza from the oven and set it on the table before looking at the text. "Not sure how long. Found something big. Will tell you more when I get home. Lv U."

Rosemary answered me back, "K. Steph forgot her bikini, but we aren't going to let that stop us. (smiley) Hurry home! We miss you! Lv U more!"

******************

I had just stepped off of the bottom rung of the ladder when my phone vibrated. Irritated I tore my attention from the scene in front of me and grabbed for my phone, making Michael hang on the ladder while I checked it. I quickly sent back the cryptic response and stepped out of Michael's way just before looking at her response. Normally it would have gotten a reaction from me, but the sight before me had my full attention.

"Oh, my word!" was Michael's reaction when his head cleared the rafters and he could see into the basement room.

The stone-walled room was not overly large, about ten by twelve feet with a hard packed earth floor. There was an old electric light bulb in an old, old light socket on one of the rafters, but it was burnt out, probably having been left on when the room was last used, as evidenced by the tableau in front of us. "I think we just found Samuel Johnson, Michael."

"Samuel Johnson?"

"He was a railroad magnate that built a lot of the spur lines going to some of the copper mines and things in the area. He disappeared one night after a meeting with some big government people who wanted him to expand some of his operations. I believe that would be he sitting there at the desk."

Sitting in the desk chair, slumped over the desktop was a skeleton with one bony hand resting on a large revolver. Across the room, sprawled across the floor in the corner, lay another skeleton, but this one with an extra hole in the forehead between the eyes, and a large gaping hole in the back of the skull. A revolver lay on the floor where it had been dropped. 

Spread out on the desk was a map of the railroad lines south of the Southern Pacific Railroad, with the area between Tucson and Green Valley highlighted. The thing that caught my eye though was a small circle drawn a little ways away from a spur line with a route penciled in and the word 'oro' within the circle. A small leather bag containing loose gold and gold with a bit of quartz attached were in the bag.

"This is really rich stuff, Michael! I wonder if anyone else ever found his mine!"

'I wouldn't get too excited about it, Justin. There are lost mines all over here in the west. Unless you have more detail than what is on that map it could be anywhere within a fifty mile circle, and that isn't so easy to find in that area. More of that land is up and down than is spread out. You have a gold mine right here in this house, and developing more. My advice would be to stick with what you have."

"You're probably right. Right now we have to figure out what to do about these two. We had better close this place back up and head home and talk to Grandpa. Would you have time to sit down with him for a little while when we get back? I might not remember everything." 

"Yeah, sure. I'm not sure what time Susie and Mom are getting back anyway. I need to talk to Tom sometime before we go to the Prom, and thought I'd try to catch him this evening, but I can do it another time."

"Good. I'm going to take this bag along with us to show Grandpa, and since you were with me when we found it, half of it is yours."

"That isn't necessary."

"Yes it is. You were the one who found the door latch, and by the way, we are going to have to find the others, too, but that is for another day. If you hadn't had the idea of the hidden door I'd have never found it."

"I'll make you a better deal. I don't need the money. If you will use the money to fix up an apartment for me in the carriage house, if there is enough, and let me live in it at least until Susie is done with school I'll call it even."

"Fixing up an apartment for you is a good idea. I'd like having you living here, but we will talk with Grandpa and work out the money part later."

**************

It was a very excited, yet subdued, Susie that walked out of Couture by Carole ahead of Carole, Suzette, her mother, and Joanne. Madge insisted they all go get a bite to eat before she and Susie drove back down to Tucson. Joanne was going to remain behind and go home, where Jeff would meet her later in the evening.

Carole led the way to a small tea shop, known locally for its specialty sandwiches and homemade soups. "This isn't much of a 'dinner' place, but I really enjoy it. It has a great ambiance without being stuffy, or without being exceptionally expensive."

"I'm glad you thought of this place! I can't get Jeff to darken the door, but I love it. I just feel silly coming here by myself," said Joanne. "Jeff thinks you can't have dinner without it involving half a cow, but I like something lighter like this a lot better."

After all had been seated and their orders taken Carole leaned forward enough to look at Susie and asked, "Susie, how is it you are able to even think about dancing so soon after your surgery? I wouldn't think you would be up to it already."

Susie gave her a bright grin and said, "I got to go dancing with Michael the weekend I finished therapy, right after I met Joanne and Jeff." The way her eyes shone made her feelings for Michael quite evident. "I had trouble with some of the faster numbers, but slower numbers were fine. I was tired and sore the next day, but it was worth it!"

"Michael should have been spanked for keeping you out that late and dancing so much!" Joanne obviously had not forgiven him for allowing Susie to tire herself out so, and to blister her stump.

"Oh, don't blame Michael! He wanted to stop sooner, but I overruled him! He didn't know about the blisters, but they were worth it!" She grinned at Joanne, who just shook her head.

Madge interjected quietly, "When I saw her leg the next morning it had blisters on the stump, but she never complained. She couldn't wear the prosthesis for two days, but Susie, here, never lets anything stop her from what she really wants."

Suzette said, "You were still dancing even though you had blisters on your stump? And you kept on going?"

"Well, you have to understand, it was my first chance to be out and alone with Michael. I couldn't let a little thing like that interfere. I worked really, really hard in therapy to be ready in time for Prom, and I had to use that night to be sure. I'm really glad that I did." She stopped and looked at her mom and at Joanne for a moment. "I expect Prom to not be really comfortable all night, but it is my Senior Prom, and I expect to make the most of it, and neither of you had better say anything to Michael to try to get him to baby me. This is going to be a night like I've never had in my life, with a gown to die for," she smiled down at Carole and Suzette. "I expect to make the most of it, and while I may not be the most beautiful girl there, there will not be one who can match my dress, or my date."

**************

Grandpa met us at the door as soon as we got there. "What's this that has you so excited, Justin? You didn't get yourself into any trouble, did you?"

"Oh, no Sir! No trouble at all. We just need your advice and some help."

"Hello, there, Michael. I'm really glad to see you again, son, and especially not in the courthouse!"

"Hello, yourself, Sir, and I'm so happy to see you. I owe you a lot!"

"Pshaw. You owe me nothing! I'm just hoping you can be a good influence on my grandson, here. Come on in the house and have a seat. Coffee, Coke, or anything?"

"A glass of water would be great, if it's no trouble."

"I'm sorry. I should have remembered. Justin?"

"If coffee is made, please. Otherwise, a Coke would be fine."

Grandpa made a show of checking his pulse, and then he breathed on his hand. "Just had to check and be sure I'm still alive. Have you ever been to my house and coffee wasn't on?"

I just laughed, knowing what his reaction would be, and saw Michael's grin from the corner of my eye.

"I threw a batch of cookies in when you called. You guys help yourselves, and don't let Ben try to hide them from you." Grandma had slipped into the room behind Grandpa. I quickly stepped over and gave her a big hug. Michael held his hand out to shake her hand, but she brushed it aside and gave him a hug as well. "Family doesn't shake hands, young man. You are family now, and you can never get away from it! Old Ben here doesn't go to court for anyone but family now, so that makes you one of us, and I for one am so glad you are."

Michael just nodded, dumbly, as he hugged her in return. I noticed his eyes were moist, and he seemed to be having trouble clearing his throat, but of course I said nothing. 

"Now I'll just be off and leave it to you men-folks to talk. I'm really happy to see you, Michael. Don't be a stranger around here. You just drop in anytime. You hear me?"

"Yes, Ma'am. And thanks." Grandma hurried from the room, and we all sat down around the kitchen table with a couple of Grandma's oatmeal chocolate chip cookies in front of each of us.

"Now, Justin, what's on your mind?"

I didn't say anything, but I reached into a tool bag I had carried into the house with me to hide the gold. I pulled out the leather poke, which weighed well over two pounds, and set it in front of Grandpa. "This," I said, and waited for his reaction.

"Land sakes o' Goshen! Where on earth did you get this?"

"Michael and I found it at the house. Actually, Michael is responsible for us finding it. He's the one who found the door release." I then went on to describe the find up to the point of our returning home to talk with him. 

Grandpa sat and stared at the gold for a few minutes, obviously thinking. "Under Arizona law the and anything else down there belongs to you two. Samuel Johnson had no heirs to my recollection, and his estate went to the state. Anyway, it has been long enough that finding heirs would not be possible, so all rights go to the one who finds it."

"We are going to have to call the Sheriff and report your finding of the skeletal remains and leave it to him to deal with. This is going to be big on the news for a while, which is unfortunate. We can do without the publicity, but there is no way around that I know of, and concealing the bodies would be criminal. Is there another way in besides going through your room, Justin?"

"Yes, sir, there are, but we haven't found them yet. There is at least one entrance from each of the first and second floors, and there was a passageway leading out also, but we didn't explore any of them."

"OK. Well, after almost a hundred years I don't think waiting an extra day will be a problem. I would suggest you go back up there tomorrow and find the other entrances so we can take the Sheriff in the least obtrusive way. I would really prefer not to give away the means of access if we can help it. We definitely don't want to give away the door releases. In the meantime, let's keep word of your find, especially the gold, quiet. Would you like me to keep the gold in my safe?"

I looked at Michael, who simply shrugged, and agreed that would be the best place. "Your Dad doesn't get home until Wednesday, correct?"

"Yes, Sir."

"Well, I know he won't be excited about doing anything that night, but I think we had better have a meeting of the four of you, and Michael, this concerns you, so you would be most welcome also."

"Thank you, sir, but I don't think I need be involved in this. I already told Justin I don't need the money; that it was found in his house, so it belongs to him. I had been discussing converting one of the servant's quarters in the carriage house into an apartment for me to use, and suggested we do that in lieu of anything I might get out of the discovery, if that is acceptable to you."

"I really think you are short-changing yourself, young man. Do you have any idea of the value of this bag, let alone anything else in that room?"

Michael shrugged. "I'm rather simple, and my needs are simple. I have more than enough for what I need. I'm satisfied if you folks are."

Grandpa nodded. "I wish a lot more people understood what was needed to be happy instead of constantly searching for more and more. I'll discuss this with the principals Wednesday evening, but you are more than welcome to join us if you wish."

"Thanks. If I change my mind I'll let you know."

"Justin, I'm not sure how much you should let Rosemary, or your mother, know before Wednesday. I think I wouldn't say anything about the gold. They must know the necessity of keeping the passageway secret, at least until we discover what else is down there. If you don't mind, I think it might be a good idea if I went up with you tomorrow. Is that OK with you?"

"Yes, sir. I would be honored to have you along. Michael, would you like to go also?"

"I think I'll leave it to you, at least for the time being. Actually, there is one thing I would like from there if it would be OK with you. Would it be possible to have one of the pistols?"

"Absolutely! You may have your choice, and when we look through things later, you are welcome to come along and see if there is anything else you would like."

"Deal. Now if we are finished here, I would like a chance to try to talk with Tom before the women get back." And with that we broke up the meeting until later. 

******************

Although it was late afternoon, Rosemary and Stephanie were lying on chaise lounges near the pool, soaking up what was left of the sun. Neither of them were wearing bathing suits, getting an all-over tan and enjoying the feeling of freedom lying there nude gave them. Talking was desultory, with only the sounds of birds, a few crickets, and the occasional bee flitting about the flowers surrounding the pool area. Their skins glistened from a combination of tanning lotion and sweat from the sun's rays. 

"Rosemary."

"Hmmm?"

"Sometimes I get scared when I think about Justin and me. I think about 'what if we get married, and he gets tired of me', and things like that. What if he gets tired of me and my little boobies and starts looking at other girls?"

Rosemary lifted her head and looked at Stephie. "You haven't looked in a mirror in a while, have you? Justin isn't blind, nor is he stupid. He has always had eyes for you. Even Susie noticed it! Remember how she was always trying to catch his eye, and was always doing things to get his attention, like wearing that see through when wet top, and sitting under the vent in his room so he would look at her nipples poking through her bikini? Then that one day when we walked into the house and all of our nipples were poking out through our wet tops, and Justin couldn't keep his eyes off of you. I don't think you have a thing to worry about."

"Maybe I'm just being stupid, but I don't know what I'd do if I lost him. And the funny thing is we haven't even gone on a date with each other! The Prom will be the first time we have gone out."

"I never thought about that! It will be, won't it! Does it matter that I'm going with you, too? I never really thought about it that way."

"Oh, don't be silly! We promised to share, didn't we? Besides, I think it will be fun walking in there with one of us on each arm. You know what I wish? I wish we could go up to the house together after the Prom for an after party. Just the three of us!"

"Yeah, that would be fun. I know a few people who are getting hotel rooms afterward, but our parents wouldn't go for that!"

"We're going to have to behave in the limousine, too, with Michael and Susie in there with us."

"I know. Michael doesn't know about Justin and me. He wouldn't understand. I know his religion is really big on chastity, too, which I know is really cramping Susie's style! She was saying she wished Michael would do something with her! It's all she can do to get a hug and a kiss from him. She knows he wants more, but it isn't going to happen before they get married, if it goes that far, but she still has four years of college to go."

"I'm glad Justin isn't part of that religion! I wish he was here right now, 'cause I'm getting wet just thinking about him. I woke up the other night dreaming he was on top of me, but he wouldn't let me have it. He just kept teasing me, but when I woke up I just had my body pillow on top, and I was hugging it. Mom came in to the room to see if I was OK. I guess I was crying in frustration in my sleep. That was embarrassing!"

"You know, I really feel sorry for your Mom. She went so long after losing your Dad, and then she got involved with Paul, and now she has no one. I'm sure it gets very lonely at times."

Steph was quiet for a few minutes. "Sometimes when I'm with Justin I feel almost guilty, that I should be having so much fun and she is all alone. I think that's why she let Paul get to her. She sees me getting ready to leave home, and she will be all alone. I appreciate how she wouldn't get involved with another man up until this last year because she didn't want to have someone else competing with Daddy for my affections, but I wish she would have found someone good before now."




Justin Thyme Ch. 11



"I don't know about you, but I'm getting hungry. I think I've had enough sun for today. What about you, Steph."

"Yeah, I guess so. It's too bad Justin wasn't here today."

Both girls rose from their lounges, gathered their towels and lotion and started for the house. "Stephie."

"Um hmm?"

"It's a good thing I'm not into girls, or I'd jump you in a heartbeat. With that body I don't see where Justin could get tired of you!"

Stephanie blushed and stopped for Rosemary to catch up to her before slipping an arm around her waist and hugging her. "Thanks, Rosie. I guess I'm my own worst critic."

And that's the way I saw them when they opened the patio door and stepped into the kitchen, just before they both shrieked and tried uselessly to cover themselves with their towels.

"Justin! What are you doing home?" demanded Rosemary. "And how long have you been here?"

I stood from my seat at the table, from whence I'd been watching the girls for the last five minutes. "Oh, just a few minutes. Just long enough to enjoy the view for a bit."

Stephie started giggling. "I can see you were enjoying it!" She slowly lowered her towel, letting me see the crinkled little buds of her nipples contracting in the air conditioning. "You should have come out and joined us! You nearly frightened me to death! We didn't think anyone was home."

I just gave her a grin. "You two looked like you were talking about something serious, and I didn't want to disturb you. Besides, I had a perfect seat to enjoy the view."

Rosemary came over to me and gave me a hug. "You said you had something big to tell me about the house. What's up?"

"I'll have to tell you later. We're all getting together with Grandpa Wednesday night to discuss things. It's good, but I just can't say what right now until we work on it some more. Sorry."

Steph had move up behind me, and she lifted my tee shirt enough to place her breasts against my skin, and then wrapped her arms around me in a big hug. "I've really missed you, Justin. I'm glad you are home. Rosie and I were just getting ready to get a shower and get this suntan stuff off. I sense you could use one, too. Maybe you would like to join us?"

***************

A very nervous Michael drove into the Collinses' driveway and parked. Tom was working on an old Austin Healy "Bugeye" Sprite he was restoring in his garage. Tom looked up and saw it was Michael, and gave him a wave before ducking back beneath the bonnet to finish installing the new sparkplugs and wires. With a deep breath Michael got out of his Escalade and walked slowly into the garage.

"Hi, there, Michael. With the womenfolk gone today I actually had some peace and quiet for a change and got to work on my toy. How did things go up at the house in Scottsdale?"

"Actually, they went quite well. I really like the place and think it has a lot of promise. In fact, that is part of the reason I am here, and please pardon my appearance. I came directly here from Justin's house without going to clean up first. To be honest, I hoped to have a chance to talk with you before the women get home, if you have a few minutes."

Tom tightened the last plug with a grunt, connected the wire, then stepped back and looked at Michael thoughtfully. "Would you like to come in and have a seat? Glass of water, or juice?"

"Water would go really well right now. Thank you."

"Come on ahead, then." Tom closed the bonnet carefully. "We can fire this thing up a bit later and see how she runs." Michael followed him into the house, and to the mud room, where Tom cleaned the grease from his hands carefully before going on into the kitchen. "Made the mistake one time of washing my hands in the kitchen sink after working on the car. Won't make that mistake again!" Michael laughed at the expression on Tom's face and he sat down on a stool by the breakfast bar as Tom grabbed a couple of glasses and added ice and water.

"What's on your mind, Son? Do you need help with something?"

"No, everything is OK." Michael looked down at his hands, and then at the ring he was drawing on the countertop with his glass before taking a deep breath and looking back up at Tom. "Sir, I know this is soon, and it probably isn't the way you planned it, but I would like to ask your permission to ask Susie to marry me." Tom's eyebrows rose, and Michael hurried to add, "I don't ask this because we have to get married, it is nothing of the sort! I love your daughter. I have thought I was in love in the past, and learned better, but this is totally different. I'm in a position to care for her, and I will be sure she gets to go to college. She knows nothing of this, and will be as surprised as I am sure you were."

Tom sat and looked at Michael for a couple of minutes without expression on his face before speaking. "I can't say this is unexpected, although it is sooner than I expected. I've tried to prepare myself for it for the last several weeks, but until you are in my position you have no idea how I feel right now. I know you love my daughter, and I appreciate and admire the way you have cared for her and treated her. I also know she loves you. I have no doubts about this either. My question is, 'Is it too soon?', and I know that will be her mother's question, also. On the other hand, knowing the way the two of you feel toward each other to make you wait too long just leads to other problems, and I know what your religion says about that. How will you reconcile religion?"

"I know I will not be approved of in some circles, but I will not pressure her to change at all. I can respect her beliefs, just as I know she has respected mine. I believe we can work this out amicably between us, and I will not allow any from my church to pressure her either." Tom nodded thoughtfully.

"It is as I expected. Where would you live? She is planning to go to ASU, and was planning to live in the Thyme's house up there. Surely you don't want her to commute from here every day?"

"No, Sir. In fact, the answer to that came to me today while we were up there. I had not seriously considered the possibility of marrying her any time soon because of that, but when Justin showed me around the property today we looked at the old carriage house, which has servant's quarters in the loft that could be renovated very nicely into nice apartments, but separate from the house with all of the girls in it. I asked Justin about the possibility of doing so, and we have come to an agreement, based on your answer here, today."

Tom gave a great sigh, and then stuck his hand out to Michael. "You may ask, and I couldn't ask for a better man for her. It is a lot earlier than we had thought, and I'm going to catch flack from the Mrs., but I've been doing that for years."

Michael grasped his hand, and felt relief flooding his soul as he grinned back in understanding. Madge had never impressed him as a shrinking violet type.

"Maybe if I get kicked out of the house tonight I could go over and bunk with you?" Michael laughed along with him, both men feeling tensions leaving them, and both standing to their feet with very different emotions in their hearts. "Let's go see if we can get that old car to run, now." As they started for the garage Tom stopped and said, "Car! You had this in mind when you bought that other car, didn't you?" Michael just gave him a grin and nodded, while Tom shook his head.

***************

"Oh, Mommy, I'm so glad you came up here with us today! I didn't know what to think when Carole brought in that beautiful gown."

Madge smiled over at her daughter as she made her way back onto I-10. "That was indeed very generous of Carole and Joanne. Bringing Jacqui in was very thoughtful, too. Have you notice Joanne seems to be doing everything possible to bring you and Michael together?"

"Oh, Mommy. She's just being nice. She doesn't have to do anything to bring Michael and me together. I really think I'm in love with him. Whenever I'm not with him it seems something is missing, and I keep thinking of him. All day today, all I could think about was him. I really like Joanne, too. She is so thoughtful, knowing I wouldn't know what kind of a dress to get for going with Michael. If she hadn't offered I would have made a fool of myself, and instead, I get to wear the most beautiful gown! I really expected to be grilled when I went to DQ with her this morning, but instead, she was just so nice! All she wanted to do was to get to know me, as a person. If she is what a mother is like, I have no idea why people talk about them like they do! She's wonderful, and Jeff . . . for such a big guy, he's a big teddy bear." Susie lapsed into silence, her eyes looking far ahead, and her mind obviously far outside of the car in which they were riding.

Madge wisely remained silent, allowing Susie the time and space needed to get her thoughts under control. "Mommy, what was it like when you and Daddy fell in love? Did it feel like you had butterflies flying around in your tummy, and other times it felt like a ball of lead when you thought maybe he wasn't feeling what you were feeling?"

With her hand holding and squeezing that of her daughter's Madge glanced away from the road for a moment to look into her daughter's eyes. "My dear, yes, very often I felt just like that. In fact, there are times, even now, when he will look at me like he used to do, and the butterflies go to flying again. You are growing up, my dear, and I think you have found a very good man. I'm not ready to let you go yet, so I hope he will be patient, but your father and I both like him very much."

"Thanks, Mommy. You know I really love you?"

"I know, my dear. I know. How did you get so grown up all of a sudden? It seems you were just learning to ride a bicycle the other day, and now you are getting ready for your Senior Prom and are sparking a young man. Time flies!"

******************

Rosemary unbuckled my belt, and then my shorts as Stephie pulled my tee shirt over my head. These girls weren't wasting any time! My shorts dropped to the floor, and both girls grabbed my boxers and slid them down my legs, while making all manner of comments about me. We left my clothes where they fell, and with one on either hand they dragged me toward the bathroom. Well, dragged may not be the proper word as I went more than willingly, but it was nearly dragged as they started pulling before I even had my legs out of my boxers, nearly planting me on my face. I was able to catch my balance and get one foot out before they started pulling me again and I went up the stairs with my boxers hanging from one shoe. There was giggling and laughter the whole way up to the bathroom. 

When we got in the door Rosemary turned the water on to allow it to get warm while Stephie dropped to her knees to untie my shoes. She kept bumping into my cock with her head, rubbing it with her hair, which felt absolutely marvelous. I know I was leaking precum into her hair, but she didn't even slow down when I mentioned it to her. When she got the shoes untied she tilted her head back to look up at me, which put my cock at the level of her face. She nuzzled it with her nose a few times before turning her head enough to caress it with her cheek. 

"If you'll lift your feet I can get your sock off."

"It looks to me more like you are trying to get his rocks off!"

"Oh hush, Rosie. I'll get his sock off, or his rocks off if I want to!" She turned her head again and kissed the tip of my cock gently before standing, allowing my cock to slide down her body, between her breasts, and down to her belly. She wrapped her arms around me and whispered, "Oh Justin, I've missed you so badly this week!"

I hugged her back and kissed the top of her head, getting my own precum on my nose and lips as I did so. We all stepped into the shower, and being crowded was in no way a problem to us. Hands roamed hither and yon, and I had two very soft bodies vying to spread body wash all over me, and I turned around frequently to allow both of them equal time front to back. I enjoyed shampooing their hair, never tiring of the feeling of their long silky hair slipping through my fingers, especially when I pulled it down over their breasts and also managed to tweak their nipples while caressing their hair. Of course, I also paid plenty of attention to their lower hair, sparse though it was the way it was trimmed.

My cock, needless to say, was about to burst I was so turned on. Both girls stroked and played with it, trapping it between their legs as they rubbed body wash on me with their bodies. "I think we had better do something about this, or he won't last any time at all later." Rosemary was stroking it gently in her hand as she spoke. 

"I know what I want to do with it. May I?" Stephie was big-eyed as she looked at Rosemary, almost like a little girl begging. "You can have firsts later if I can."

"Help yourself," Rosemary said. "He's all yours."

Stephie dropped to her knees in front of me, mindless of the water falling in her eyes and grasped my cock and licked the tip of it like it was the curly-cue on the top of an ice-cream cone. My knees buckled, but I caught myself against the wall of the shower. My knees sagged again when she slowly slipped the head through her closed lips, licking the underside as it slid oh so slowly into the warmth of her mouth. I nearly lost it when she hummed her enjoyment while looking deeply into my eyes. When she cupped my balls and then started tracing her finger back and forth on my perineum I lost it.

"I'm coming!" I gasped quietly while fighting the urge to grasp her head and press my cock into her mouth. I expected her to pull away, but she didn't, instead moaning her pleasure as my first shot burst out into her mouth. I had to grab the towel rack to keep from falling onto her in my exertion, and I was totally surprised when Rosemary also dropped to her knees and asked to share. By the time they passed me back and forth a couple of times I was totally spent, and slipped to the floor, which caused them to sit straddling a leg each. 

The water was starting to cool, so the girls both stood and grabbing a hand each helped me back to my feet. I gathered them both into a group hug, kissed the tops of their heads and murmured, "Thanks." I was glad to see that I had not been the only lonely one all week.

We dried off together, and then I quickly ran back down to the kitchen and grabbed my clothes. I didn't expect Mom to be home any time soon, but just in case I didn't want to forget and have her find them scattered all over either.

I ran back up the stairs, pausing only long enough to throw my clothes into my room and to close the door before running back across the hallway to Rosemary's room. I grabbed Rosemary, picking her up and tossing her onto her bed, and then did the same with Stephie, making her giggle, then I jumped onto the bed between them and pulled them to me. I turned to Rosemary and gave her a big kiss, then broke it off and did the same with Steph. 

"Justin, don't tease us any more. We need you too badly. I'm so wet and horny I can't wait much longer, but I promised Rosemary she could have you first, but may I watch? You two are so beautiful together?" 

Rosemary stretched a hand across to Steph and grabbed her hand. "Of course you may. You are one of us, and share and share alike, remember?" Rosemary scooted herself over closer to me and said, "I'm ready, Justin. Please let me have your cock now."

I looked down at my beautiful Rosemary, with her still wet red-gold hair splayed out on the pillow beneath her head, and at her glorious nude body displayed before me, not cheaply, but as a lover for her beloved, offering me herself with a trusting smile and eyes that shone with love. As I thought before I thought again . . . , How did such a skinny little geek such as myself get such a beautiful girl, and not just one, but two that love him?

I moved between her legs, but I couldn't bring myself to just fuck her. She deserved so much more than that! I knelt over her and bent my head to her breast and sucked in her nipple, lashing it with my tongue, making he moan and writhe with desire. I trailed my tongue across her skin from one breast to the other, where I repeated my attack on her nipple, except this time I also slipped my hand up to the first breast and began tweaking the nipple with my fingers.

"Please, Justin! I need you in me; I need you in me now! Hurry, Justin! I'm coming!" I felt a hand grab my cock and press it into her pussy, and then I pressed it slowly home just as Rosemary's orgasm hit, feeling her pussy clutching at my cock even as it slid in. Rosemary moaned and cried my name out as she hugged me to her and shook and quivered for a while. As she came down from her peak her arms dropped to her side, spent. "Stephie, Stephie needs you . . . Steph . . . ." and she was asleep. I bent down and gave her a gentle kiss on the tip of her nose and slowly pulled my cock from her pussy.

I dropped onto my back, breathing hard from the excitement, but my still hard cock bounced and pulsed with my heartbeat. Stephanie was not to be denied any longer. She clambered on top of me and quickly grabbed my cock and without delaying at all slammed herself down on it fully with a moan. "Oh, Justin, I have needed you so badly! You have no idea!" She started pistoning up and down on me, grinding herself against me as she bottomed out. I could feel per pussy squeezing me with each stroke, and although I had just come a few minutes ago in the shower I felt it wouldn't be long. She was leaning on my shoulders with her hands, so I slipped my hands to her breasts and tweaked her nipples. Once was all it took and her whole body stiffened, with goosebumps popping out, and her legs straightened out fully, totally impaling herself on my cock. She wailed "Justiiiiiin!" and her head dropped to my shoulder, even as her pussy continued spasming around my cock.

Rosemary opened her eyes and looked over at me, in time to see Stephanie's body quivering lightly as her orgasmic spasms subsided. "I think she really needed you, Justin. What is it you do to us that makes us need you so badly?"

I reached out an arm and gathered her in to snuggle next to my body, even as Steph lay on top of me. I could feel a little bit of drool running down my shoulder, and although I had not come again I felt content . . . and at peace. My eyelids fluttered closed.

*****************

It was about thirty minutes later that I awoke, hearing the garage door opener, and knowing that Mom was home. Stephie was still atop me with my mostly deflated cock still barely in her pussy. Rosemary's eyes popped open the same time mine did. "Oh, no! Mom's home!" Her bed was a disheveled mess, with a bit of a puddle on the pillow where Steph had drooled on my shoulder. 

Steph gave me a quick kiss and a 'thank you' before she crawled off of me. She gave a languorous stretch that had my cock stirring, but there was no time for that. I had to get across the hall quickly, before Mom came up the stairs, and the girls had to get the bed straightened and dressed before Mom wanted to talk.

We made it with no time to spare! Mom called up the stairs, and then walked up when she didn't hear Rosemary answer her back. Rosemary had been frantically throwing on some clothes, and managed to get them on and open her door just as Mom was coming down the hallway. "Hey, Mom. What's up?"

"Oh nothing major. I just wanted to see how you guys were doing, and I didn't hear you answer me." 

"Sorry, I was on the other side of the room. You must not have heard me answer. I'm sorry." I know good and well she hadn't answered, and why, but Mom bought it. Stephanie stepped to the door for good measure and said 'Hi'.

"I didn't eat much at the dinner tonight, and I'm hungry. I thought I'd do some Ramen before hitting the bed. Would you girls like some? How about Justin? Is he home yet?"




Justin Thyme Ch. 11



"I think Ramen would be great. Stephanie and I got some sun this afternoon, and it must have worn us out, because we both showered and stretched out for a few minutes and went to sleep with our hair wet. Just look at this mess! Oh, and Justin, yes, he's home. He got home about the time we got out of the pool, and I think he may have taken a nap as well. He seemed pretty tired."

"OK, fine. I'll throw one in for him, too."

She stepped over to knock on my door, but I opened it just as she started to knock. "Hi, Mom. I thought I heard you out here." I stepped out and gave her a big hug. "Have a good day today?"

Mom just made a face and said, "Ugh. I will never understand the importance of some of these realtor meetings. They never cover anything new, and they don't even discuss things that are issues, but if I don't go I lose my license, so . . . . Anyway, I'm going to do Ramen, want some?"

"Yeah, sure. Thanks, Mom." I waited until Mom had turned and started down the stairs before looking over at Rosemary. We both said "Whew!" at the same time, and then laughed at each other.

The three of us trooped down the stairs behind Mom, with Stephanie lagging behind, and pulling me backwards with her. She waited until Mom turned the corner and then stopped suddenly and gave me a great big hug and a little kiss on the lips. "Thank you, Justin. I love you."

I gave her a little peck back, and then we hurried to catch up with Rosemary. I hurried into the kitchen to give Mom a hand with the Ramen. I know, I know, how hard is Ramen to make? Well, when I do it I add stuff to give it more flavor, but Mom doesn't like to be bothered, so I always try to help her before the water gets hot. I also added some ground beef, and threatened to add some sliced mushrooms, but Rosemary yelled "NO," so I didn't. 

I really knew Mom was stressed when she grabbed a bottle of wine and poured herself a glass. I've never seen Mom have more than a couple of glasses of wine with a meal, and I've never seen her drunk, but I've also noticed when she is really stressed about something she will have a single glass just to unwind with. Tonight was obviously one of those nights, because you surely couldn't call a glass of wine with Ramen the same as a glass of wine with dinner. 

Rosemary tried to talk her into a glass for us, too, but Mom shot that down really quickly. My challenge was that I had to keep Mom from going to bed until after Steph went home. I couldn't talk about the find at the house with Steph around. As far as I was concerned, no one outside the family, and of course Michael needed to know about it. As I had been thinking about things this afternoon though I became convinced I needed to take Rosemary with us tomorrow to help find other entrances. I thought it would be a lot easier with one in the secret passage and one on the other side of the wall. I thought with cell phones and tapping we would find them more easily.

Stephie got ready to leave as soon as we finished our Ramen, and for once I was trying to find a way to hurry her out the door. She made a point though of catching me around the corner from Mom long enough to give me a kiss goodbye, and as kisses go; it was a toe-curler. It was almost enough to make me try to find a way to get her to spend the night, but alas . . . . 

Steph and Rosemary were talking together in the living room for a few minutes, and Mom started to head up to bed. I had to catch her and get to wait, but without stirring up curiosity. Finally, I just asked her if she would please come back down, that Rosemary and I had something we needed to talk with her about, but I wouldn't give her any reason. She went on up the stairs rather grumpy at my refusal to give a reason, but I didn't take it to heart. I knew she was quite tired, and had had a rough day, plus Dad was still out of town, and would be until Wednesday.

Finally Stephie left, and before Rosemary could get up the stairs I caught her and told her Mom and I needed to talk with her before she went to bed. Of course, she was curious, but I would tell her nothing either. I poured Mom another glass of wine, albeit a small one, because I had a feeling she was going to need it, and I had it sitting at her place at the table when she came back down. Rosemary and I each had a glass of Coke in front of us as we sat for a few minutes and waited for her.

Although Rosemary wasn't happy that I wouldn't tell her what was up she got over it pretty quickly. Her foot found my leg and started sliding up and down my calf until she slipped it on up above my knee and slid her bare toes up and down my thigh, finally slipping them inside the leg of my shorts and tickled my balls. "What? No underwear?" I just shook my head 'No' and she grinned. I knew there was no way I would be able to stand up before Mom went back upstairs now with the wood I was sporting. "I had a lot of fun with you this afternoon, Justin. You really made me come hard!" We heard Mom starting back down the steps, so we quickly changed the subject and she withdrew her foot.

"Alright, son. What is so important that it can't wait until tomorrow?" Then she saw the glass of wine. "What's wrong? Did you hear something from your Dad?"

"No, Mom. Nothing is really wrong, but we have to discuss something about the house tonight, and I thought you might want a little taste. It's nothing bad, really, but we have to talk."

Rosemary was looking at me big-eyed, waiting for me to spill it. "OK, son. What's up? Do we need to include your Dad in a phone call?"

I shook my head 'No' but said, "We need to have a meeting of all of us and Grandpa Wednesday night after Dad gets home. And I need Rosemary to go up to the house with me and Grandpa in the morning." Looking at Rosemary I said, "Grandpa is picking us up at 6:30. Don't be late." Turning back to Mom I continued, "Michael and I got the security stuff installed today, and we had a little time left, so we decided to take a look at the bookcases up in my room. They struck him as odd also, and his first thought was the same as I had, that possibly there was a hidden room or something like an escape route or something. We couldn't find anything in the bookcases that gave any indication, and we were ready to give up when Michael got curious about the old sconces on the wall by the windows."

"He said they were in a strange place for sconces, that they wouldn't light much, but that we could probably get a good price from an antiques dealer. He was holding the one by the bookcase and it twisted in his hand, and the bookcase came loose. There is a small room there, with a small desk, but there is also a vertical ladder affixed to the wall. We didn't have any lights with us, so we ran to the store and bought a couple of flashlights and then went down the ladder. There are entrances to the 2nd and 1st floors, but it also goes down to a stone room basement."

Mom and Rosemary were both leaning forward in their chairs listening to my account. "The reason I need Grandpa to go with me is I believe we found Samuel Johnson, the original owner of the house. There was a skeleton of a man sitting slumped over in the chair behind a desk. He had a revolver in his hand, and across the room in the corner was the skeleton of another man with a gun. It looks like they shot each other." Mom's face blanched, and Rosemary gasped.

"So what do you need Rosemary to go with you for tomorrow?"

"Grandpa and I both think it would be better to find the first floor entrance, and not take the Sheriff through the upper entrance if we can help it. There are other entrances also in the basement, but Michael and I were already way late getting out of there, and we didn't take the time to check them out. I thought it would be better to have someone on the outside with a cell phone and someone on the inside knocking on the wall to make it easier to find. Besides, I really don't want Grandpa to have to climb to the garret and then down the ladder to the basement. If we don't find the entrance he would have to climb back out the same way."

Mom nodded her understanding. "I wish I could go with you, but I promised to help out with an open house tomorrow, and after I had a big deal fall through today because one of my people didn't do the paperwork right I'd better be there." At least that explained a big part of Mom's bad mood. She couldn't stand slipshod work!

Mom looked at me with a gimlet eye. "OK, there's more. Grandpa wouldn't call a meeting of all of us just for this. That could be handled with a phone call. What gives?"

I sighed. I knew I should have known I couldn't slip it past her. Mom is just too sharp for that. "I'm not trying to hide anything from you. We were going to talk about it Wednesday, and Grandpa didn't think I should say anything just yet if I didn't have to. This must be kept totally quiet. Not even Steph or Susie, Rosemary. Just the four of us, Grandpa, and probably Grandma, and Michael. There was a leather poke on the desk that had at least two pounds of raw gold in it, and a railroad map with a notation of 'oro' at a particular location. We didn't examine any of the paperwork or maps on the desk, but got out of there right away and hurried back to see Grandpa. I brought the gold back with me, and Grandpa has it in his safe."

"The law is clear on the gold and whatever we find down there. Michael and I, as finders own it. Michael said he doesn't want any of the gold or anything. He said he has all he needs and doesn't need anything more. What he did ask for is if we would fix up an apartment in the old servant's quarters in the carriage house for him." I didn't think it was my place to say why. I told him I could see no reason we wouldn't, but I would have to run it by you and Dad. He had broached the subject earlier, offering to pay for the renovations in lieu of rental for four years, which would have been a great deal, but now it would be using a portion of what would have been his share of the gold instead."

"I got to thinking also that it might be a good idea to fix up another smaller apartment or two up there and use it for parents of our tenants if they want to come visit their daughters. It's just something to think of."

"Anyway, that's what is going on. Grandpa thought you should at least know about the passageways, and I need Rosemary's help in finding entrances."

Mom sat in her seat with her wine glass half-way to her lips, but didn't move. Seeing she was thinking I didn't say anything, but waited for her. Slowly she let the glass back down to the table, a very pensive look on her face. "Wait here." She got up and walked over to the wall phone and dialed a number. "Cheryl? Look, I'm really sorry to call so late, but I have a family situation that just came up. Is there any chance you could help Amy with the open-house tomorrow? . . . That's right, one to six. . . . Thanks so much! I really hate to ask, but it's Amy's first, and I had promised I'd be there to help her out. She can handle it, but she feels nervous. . . . Great, I owe you a big one!"

Mom hanged the phone back on the receiver and came back over to the table and seated herself. "I am probably over-reacting, but I really think it would be better if I went along with Daddy tomorrow. Did you leave the lights you bought up there at the house?"

"Yes. They are up in my room. What are you thinking?"

"I'm thinking it would probably be a good idea if you and Rosemary went on up there tonight. It's only a quarter after nine, so you should be there just after eleven. If I know you two you wouldn't be going to bed before then anyway." Rosemary's foot found my leg again. "You could get a head start if you get up early in the morning so we don't waste your Grandfather's time waiting for you to find the entrances. I really think you are right that he should not climb a four story ladder in either direction. Like I said, I'm probably over-reacting, but I really think either your Dad or I need to be there for something as serious as this. You both have good heads on your shoulders, but I think a little more maturity and experience would be good. If nothing else, I haven't spent much time with Daddy lately, and it will do me good, too. And, I'll get to see what you two have accomplished." She gave us a smile and picked up her wine glass to polish off the remainder. "I feel almost like a kid playing hooky!"

"Good for you. You work far too hard. I really think you should cut back a bit and enjoy what you've accomplished."

"Thanks, but it isn't quite that simple. Anyway, if I'm going to be ready to meet Daddy at six-thirty I'd better be getting to bed tonight. I'm not as young as you two."

"Thanks, Mom. Love you."

"Yeah, Mom. Love you, too." Rosemary had been quiet the whole time and one wouldn't have known she was in the room had it not been for her foot sliding up and down my thigh and tickling my balls. I didn't know how I was going to get up and hug Mom goodnight.

Fortunately, Mom solved it for me, standing and stepping round to my side of the table and kissing the top of my head. She leaned her cheek down and rested it on my head and wrapped her arms around me. "I've got really good kids. You have no idea how happy you make me, nor how proud of you I am." She stood and shook her head. "That wine must be getting to me! I'm almost maudlin. You kids hustle up and get on out of here. I think I'll call Daddy in the morning and get him to leave a little later. You may need some extra time to find those entrances. I'll give you a call so you'll have an idea when to expect us." Rosemary had walked around the table by then and gave Mom a big hug and kiss on the cheek.

"I just want you to know you are my favorite Mom. Thanks."

Mom shook her head and kissed Rosemary's cheek while ruffling my hair, then turned and went up the stairs. 

Rosemary and I headed up the stairs quickly to grab a change of clothes for tomorrow, and I had just cleared Mom's door when it opened and she stuck her head out. "Justin, take the Denali, just in case I decide to come back with you or something," and her head popped back in. Rosemary got a nice chuckle at my expense as she stroked my hard cock and rubbed the wet spot on my shorts.

"I'm glad we get to go up tonight," she whispered. I thought I was going to have to sneak into your room later. This is going to be fun!"

Five minutes later and I was out my door with a change of clothes in my old gym bag. Rosemary hissed at me before I got down the steps, and I turned to see she had changed clothes. She had put on those old volleyball shorts and a spaghetti strap top that was nearly threadbare, and at least a size to small. All I could do is raise my eyebrows and shake my head. Somehow I had to find a little time to get some work done before Grandpa got there in the morning!

**************

Stephanie was sitting on the couch waiting when Mary Winters, who kept her old name when she divorced Paul, got home from work. Mary looked tired, as was to be expected after working a double shift nursing in the hospital. "Hi, Stephie. What has you up?"

"Hi Mom. It seems like forever since I've seen you. You've had to work a lot of doubles lately. I know you've got to be exhausted, but I wanted to talk with you for a few minutes if you can."

"Certainly, honey. What's on your mind?" Mary sat on the couch next to Stephanie, who immediately slid over next to her mom and gave her a big hug. Mary promptly hugged her back, surprised at the emotional response from her daughter. For the last several months things had been strained between them, ever since Paul came around, and Mary realized she had been missing the closeness with her daughter. "Mmmm. I haven't had a hug from you in a while. I've really been missing them."

"I know. I've really missed you, too, Mom." Steph paused for a moment before rushing on with what was on her mind. "Tell me about Daddy. I remember so little about him. How did you feel, and how did you know when you were falling in love with him?"

Mary loosened her hug enough to lean back and look into her daughter's face. "Tell me, honey, are you asking about your Dad, or about Justin?"

Stephanie dropped her hands into her lap and intertwined her fingers several times while studying them intently. "I guess it is really both. I miss Daddy. When I see Rosemary and Justin with their dad, and Michael with his, or Susie with her dad sometimes I feel so jealous. And then when I'm with Justin I think maybe I'm in love, but I don't know what love is. I'm so confused."

Mary clutched her daughter closely to her and rested her cheek on Stephanie's head. "I know, sweetheart. I know. Maybe I did you wrong by not remarrying a long time ago, but I wanted to protect you from the wrong kind of man, and then I bring one home when I think you are about gone, and he was what I feared. Your father was a wonderful man, a man of real integrity and honor, and we loved each other so much. Even when he was gone serving in the Marine Corps we were so close, and when he was killed I thought I was going to die, too. Real love is exquisitely wonderful, but can be exquisitely painful as well. Real love takes everything you have, but gives you everything in return." 

"Don't hurry it. Wait for the real thing. Study those who have what you want and learn from them so you can recognize the right man when he comes along. Also study those who don't have what you want so you can learn to recognize the wrong man when he comes along. I forgot to do that when Paul showed up because I was so lonely I thought I could make do, and I nearly ruined everything."

"Justin is a fine young man, and I'm glad you like him, but take your time until you know."

Stephanie sighed. "That's just the thing. He is everything I've always thought I wanted. He's smart, he's funny, he's kind, he's gentle but he can be firm. When I'm with him everything is all aflutter inside, and when we are apart I feel like something is missing. How do I know it's real?"

"Just be patient, honey. I know you are eighteen now, but you are still very young, and you have a lot of time ahead of you. You have college ahead, and you may find someone else there, you never know. Is he pressuring you? Is he trying to get you to do things you aren't ready for?"

"Oh, no! Not at all! He's just . . . just . . . , well, just wonderful. I'm all mixed up inside, and I don't know how I feel."

"Would you believe I know just exactly how you feel?"

"You do? How?"

"Because that is exactly how I felt about your dad before we got married, and I know he was the right one, because that was the way I felt up until the day I got the news. It was real, but don't get in a hurry, because sometimes our feelings get in the way of what is really real. But if you will give it time you will know."

"Thanks, Mom. You are the best." Stephanie grabbed her mom in another big hug. "You know, I almost didn't want to come home tonight, just because I knew that when I was in Rosemary's room he was just across the hall. Silly, huh?"

"No, honey. I don't think it is silly at all, but I'm glad you came home. You won't be home for that much longer anyway, and I don't want to hurry it. Hurry on to bed, now. I have the day off tomorrow. What do you say we go shopping right after lunch and maybe grab some dinner someplace? Just you and me?"

"Cool! That sounds like fun. Thanks, Mom for listening to me." With a quick kiss goodnight she was gone and Mary headed off to bed herself, dead on her feet.

******************

Rosemary waited until we had just cleared town and traffic had died down somewhat before she turned on her map light and smiled at me. The light was just sufficient to see her nipples jutting through the thin tank-top. "I got to thinking this evening that you got me off, and then you got Stephie off, but you didn't come either time, so I thought it was only fair to make it up to you. Of course, I get to benefit, too!" She giggled and reached over to run her fingertips up the inside of my thigh until she hit my shorts, giving me goosebumps and making my cock lurch.




Justin Thyme Ch. 12



Rosemary and I put our clothes back on and made our way up to my room in the garret. She of course wanted to see the secret door for herself. When I showed her the latch in the sconce she was amazed, but even more so as the door swung open. Time was of the essence, so we didn't take a lot of time looking, but after grabbing the flashlights made our way down the ladder to the basement level, so she could see for herself what Michael and I had found. Her initial reaction, as I expected was horror, but once she got over her reaction we got busy looking for other doors. There were two passages that opened off of the basement room, but we didn't concern ourselves with them just yet, thinking our time would be better served finding the two entrances we know of. 

We climbed the ladder to the first floor platform, but didn't find an obvious latch mechanism. I decided to climb back up the ladder, rather than make Rosemary do the climbing, and once at the top in order to save batteries on the flashlights I tied a halogen work light to a long extension cord and lowered it carefully down to Rosemary, who tied it to the ladder. When I plugged it in she would have all of the light she could use.

Hurrying down to the first floor I called Rosemary on the cell phone and went to the pantry, which I was certain, had to be the most logical, and closest place to the door. I left off all lights, hoping I could find some glimmer from the light on the other side that would indicate the door, but no luck. I knocked on the wall, but Rosemary did not hear me. I yelled, but again, no luck. I told her to pound on the wall on her side with a hammer. I could hear it, but only faintly. It didn't sound like it was here, so I told Rosemary to keep knocking while I checked out the kitchen and found nothing. I was really getting puzzled. 

It wasn't until I stepped into the library that I could hear the knocking more loudly, but as it was coming from behind the center set of bookshelves on the wall I wasn't really sure how to find a latch. My biggest concern was finding something changed in the room during the ownership by the insurance company, but these shelves looked to be original, with much the same style of construction as those in my room. The knocking though came from behind the center shelves, which made finding a latch more difficult. One thing was for certain, it would be creative.

I asked Rosemary to please climb the ladder and come back down to help me find the latch. In a quick perusal of the area I certainly didn't find anything that looked unusual or out of place. There were no sconces, or any other wall mountings for that matter, neither could I find a loose piece on the shelving or mouldings that would be a possible latch. By the time Rosemary got back down to the first floor it was pushing 1:30. We weren't going to be able to look much longer if we intended to be reasonably alert when Grandpa arrived in the morning. In fact, I was tired enough that I wasn't really sure how effective I was in my search.

"What about something in the desk?" I shrugged. 

"I don't think so. I think somebody would have found it accidentally in all of the years that desk has been used."

Rosemary sat down on the end of the desk and looked across the room trying to think of anything we had missed. "It has got to be something simple, Justin. Somebody wanting to use the door wouldn't be doing it in front of people, so it has to be something quick and simple that he could open it and get through it without getting caught."

I sat down next to her, really starting to feel the long day wearing on me. My brain was shutting down, and I kept finding myself looking at a closet door in an inset in the wall at the end of the book cases. Something about it bugged me, but what I couldn't say. My eyes kept returning to it. Finally I got up and walked over to the closet. "Rosemary, why do you think they would put a clothes closet here?"

"I suppose it was for hanging up their coats and things."

"Where is the closest door?"

"It's the front door, through the parlor and foyer."

"Exactly. Why would they put a coat closet in the library?" I opened the door, and found just a regular coat closet, with a couple of shelves for hats. There was nothing unusual about it at all. Four hooks on either side, shelves on either side and across the back, and a closet rod across two thirds of the way to the rear. "What am I missing? Everything is as it should be here."

"Maybe what you mean is everything looks like it should here."

I tugged on each of the coat hooks and tried to wiggle the shelves, but nothing budged. The coat hooks turned on their screws, just as normal. I shook the bar, but it was solid. I turned around to look at Rosemary, saying, "See, everything is normal here," but as I was turning around I twisted the bar in my hand and the back wall of the closet swung open. We had found the door, but it was on a different wall than expected. Whoever built this place definitely was a master craftsman and had a devious mind.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was ten o'clock Sunday morning when Dr. Thomas Meechum rang the doorbell. Stephanie looked at herself with disdain, but hurried to answer the door. She had thrown on some ratty shorts and an old tee-shirt when she got up just a few minutes ago, but then she had not expected anyone to stop by, and she planned to get a shower before going out with her mom. She had heard her mom stirring in her room, but had not seen her as of yet.

"Yes, can I help you?" she asked as she opened the door slightly.

"Hi, you must be Stephanie. I'm Tom Meechum. I work with your Mom at the hospital. Is she available?"

"Not right at the moment. May I give her a message or anything?"

"Yes, she forgot her pocket book last night when she left work. I tried to wait until I thought she would be up, but I know she was really tired after pulling a double twice in the last three days. Here, you can give it to her for me."

"Tom, is that you?" Mary called from the hallway. "Whatever brings you out this time of day? Steph, let him in. I'll be out in just a minute."

Stephanie stepped back and opened the door for him. "I'm sorry, but we try to be careful about opening the door to people."

"That's wise! You didn't know me, and anyone can claim to be someone, or to know your name or your mom's."

"I apologize for my condition, too. I wasn't expecting company."

Tom just laughed. "You should see how I am dressed around the house! It's usually an old pair of cutoff jeans and tee shirt, too, and only rarely, shoes. This is your house. Be comfortable." Stephanie started to feel more at ease and began to like the guy. As he stepped into the house he stopped just inside the door and stared at the picture on the wall above the piano, and at the folded flag in the holder on the piano beneath it.

He looked from the picture back to Stephanie's face, searchingly. "Don't tell me you are Staff Sargent Winter's daughter."

"Yes, sir. Did you know him?"

"Yes, yes I did." Tom's voice was faint and distant sounding and his face was drawn. "Please, may I sit?"

"Certainly, I'm sorry. Can I get you anything?"

"A glass of water, perhaps?" 

Stephanie hurried from the room to get his water and on her return found him sitting, hunched, on the couch with face in hands. A muffled sob came from him, and a tear trickled between his fingers.

"Tom, whatever is wrong?" Mary came hurrying into the room, to find him on the couch so.

Tom lifted an agonized, grief stricken face from his hands. "I didn't know you were Staff Sargent Winter's widow, Mary. I'm so sorry! I'm so sorry," and his face dropped into his hands again as he sobbed, broken hearted.

Mary sat down on the couch and laid a comforting arm across his shoulders, while Stephanie still stood in the middle of the floor holding a glass of water, with no idea what to do. "It's OK, Tom. It's been ten years now. We've moved on. Yes, we miss him, but it's OK."

Tom shook his head, "No", and struggled to get his breathing back under control. Finally he looked up at Mary and Steph with tear streaked cheeks. "No, it isn't OK. I was there, and I live with it every day. Winters was the bravest man I ever knew, and I owe him my life." Stephanie handed him the water and sat down on his other side on the couch, wanting to learn something, anything about the father she only vaguely remembered as a seven year old girl when he left home for the last time.

Mary removed her arm from his shoulders and took his hand in hers, much the same way as she did her patients. "What can you tell me, Tom? Maybe it will help?"

"We were going in to Fallujah trying to relieve a pinned down platoon when we ran into an ambush. There was a lot of commotion, and the Ell Tee stepped on an IED, and it blew off both of his legs. I was the medic and was trying to stabilize him for evacuation when Staff Sar'nt Winters saw a guy point and fire an RPG at us. He pushed me down onto the LT and covered both of us with his body. The RPG hit a Humvee by us, and shrapnel got him in the back. I tried to save him, I really tried, but I couldn't do it. I lost the Ell Tee, too. If it wasn't for Staff Sar'nt Winters I'd be dead. The last thing he said to me was, 'You're a hell of a Devil Doc. Why don't you go to school for the real thing?', and I did when I got out."

Tom took a couple of tissues from the box Mary offered him and wiped his eyes and blew his nose and drew in a ragged, shuddering breath. Mary squeezed his hand in gratitude and smiled up into his eyes. "Thank you, Tom. That means a lot to me. All I heard from the Marine Corps was that he had been killed in a firefight, but nothing about what happened."

"You mean there wasn't anything with his decoration?"

"No, all we got was the Purple Heart, and all it said was for 'wounds received in action near Fallujah."

"That's strange. I know he was put in for a decoration. I'll look into that." 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I awoke early, as I normally do; to the pleasure of Rosemary's red-gold hair tickling my cheek. After having made such passionate, animal sex in the library the mad urge was not present when we went to bed after finding the door. Rather, we just snuggled quietly and made love to each other in a tender, loving manner. I was able to bring Rosemary to two orgasms, neither of them huge, but I could tell she enjoyed them before I came. We both fell asleep with me still in her, but sometime during the night of course, I fell out, and we were now in a spooning position, with my hands cupping her luscious breasts. Without even thinking my thumbs started rotating around her nipples before my urge to pee, which had awakened me, overcame me with a sense of urgency. 

"Oh, that felt so nice. You don't have to stop," Rosemary whispered to me.

"Oh, yes, I do. You won't like the consequences if I don't."

Rosemary sighed and snuggled back against me for a moment. "I know, I've been fighting the urge to go for a while, now. What do you say we get a shower and go find some breakfast? I'm starving." 

"Works for me. You know, I could really get to enjoy waking up like this every morning. It's really too bad we can't share the room next year. When Mom and Dad first told us about the house I thought we would be able to work it out, even if we had Steph and Susie sharing the house, but that obviously went out the window."

"I know. Maybe if Steph and I share a room I could sneak up now and then, but then I don't know what we are going to do with Susie."

"I have an idea Michael is going to take care of that for us."

"I've never seen a girl so totally flipped over a guy, except for me, as Susie is over Michael, well, Stephanie, too." She giggled, "Dad nearly hit it calling us your harem, didn't he?"

"I wish I could partition this room into two rooms, and let you and Steph have the other one, then it wouldn't be an issue, but it would be too small, and would take too much time and work, probably. Of course, we could sell it as making room for two more girls downstairs."

"Nice pipe-dream, big brother, but I like the way your mind works." I couldn't wait any longer, but with a final tweak to each of her nipples and a quick peck 'good morning' on her lips I got up and hurried to the bathroom.

Rosemary was waiting for me to finish, so when I got done I started the water in the tub. One of these days, we just had to try the tub together, and do it right. I'm not much of one for taking baths, but I could envision a nice long hot soak in there with Rosemary; or Stephanie for that matter. My cock, which had been half hard already from snuggling with Rosemary, perked up at the thought of Steph with me in the tub. What was going on? Was I really falling for her? It surely looked like it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Michael woke up early feeling the happiest he had felt in a long, long time. He was really glad he had not seen Susie last night, because he was sure he could not have kept things secret from her. He knew his face would give him away. He grabbed a quick shower and drove over to Al's for breakfast. The more he ate there, the more he understood why it was so important in the community. Community seating was still a bit of a novelty, but he was acclimating to it, and besides, cold cereal didn't quite cut it this morning, and he was dangerous cooking.

While waiting for his food to be delivered he shot a quick text to his mother, telling her he was headed up that way, and if it was convenient he would like to take her and his dad out to lunch. 

He knew she wouldn't be happy about him skipping church again, but c'est la vie. He was an adult after all, and he didn't skip every week. It was just that this week other things were more important.

Michael made it to Phoenix before the stores he was interesting in were open, so he made his first stop at his parent's home. He knew they would not be there, so he just stopped in the driveway and entered the passcode to the garage door and entered through the kitchen. He had been to so many awards dinners and other society functions he had owned his own tux since he was sixteen. Of course, he had long outgrown that one, and the one he was picking up was custom tailored to fit him. Knowing Susie was going to be wearing one of Carole's gowns he knew an off the rack rental would not going to suffice for him! Michael ran a critical eye over the tux and decided it could use freshening up, but that could be taken care of in Tucson during the week.

Zeni's Jewelers was just opening their doors when Michael parked his Escalade in their small parking lot. Zeni's was not a high traffic store, catering to a much higher end clientele than mall jewelry stores, but Michael wanted only the best for Susie, and he could afford it. It would put a crimp in his disposable income for a while, but worth it in the long run in his estimation. Zeni herself was there to meet him when he walked in the door.

"Michael! I haven't seen you in a long time! Where have you been?"

"I've moved down to Tucson, trying to get out of the rat race and hoopla around here, Zeni. I'm able to keep a much lower profile down there, and that's the way I like it."

"I can't say as I blame you. It isn't your fault who your Dad is. Just because he has to live in a glass fishbowl doesn't mean you should have to."

"Yeah. It got to where I couldn't even go out on a date without pictures showing up in the papers. It scared off the kind of girls I really wanted and attracted all those I wanted to avoid. Anyway, I got away from all of that. I really need your help with something, though. I have met a very special young lady, and I need a ring for her."

Zeni looked at Michael carefully. "You mean a ring? Or do you mean a ring?" He just gave her a grin, which got a huge smile in return. "I'm so glad, Michael. I hope she is all you were looking for."

"Yeah, she really is, and a whole lot more. You will love her when you meet her, although I doubt I can get her in your store very often. She fussed at me for buying her two dozen roses when she was in the hospital!"

"You did find more than you were looking for, didn't you. Tell me, what is she like and how soon do you need the ring made?"

"I'm really going to put you to the test, Zeni, and see if you are as good as you say you are. I need it by Friday."

Zeni just shook her head at him. "Why such short notice, Michael? It isn't like you to be spur of the moment on things. Come on back to the office and tell me about her and I'll start thinking about what to make for you." She led him back to a very comfortable sitting room and offered him a bottle of water.

"Well, I'm sure you heard about the wreck I was in a while back?"

"Sure, your Mom told me about it."

"Well, she is one of the girls in the car I hit, the one who was hurt so badly." Michael went on to tell the story of the accident and the follow-up, of how he spent so much time with her in hospital and during rehab. "Anyway, I was up in Scottsdale with a friend, who is renovating an old mansion for student housing, and I saw the perfect place to live while she goes to college. I went immediately to talk with her father as soon as we got back to Tucson, and he gave his permission. They are really cool people."

As Michael continued to tell the story and describe Susie to Zeni she kept doodling on a pad of paper. When he was finished she just looked up at him silently for a moment. "You really do have it bad for her, don't you?" All he could do is nod. 

Zeni slid the pad across the desk. "This is what I suggest. It's simple, but I think elegant, and I don't think she would like a large stone, as she doesn't seem to like ostentation. I'm thinking about half a carat, with a pear shaped sapphire on either side, and I'm thinking white gold."

"Perfect! And that is why your exorbitant prices are accepted." He gave her a big grin. "And you can do this by Friday for me?"

"Only because you are my favorite nephew! Tell that big lunk of a brother of mine I said 'Hello'. I rarely see him anymore."

Michael laughed. "He says that's because every time he sees you it costs him too much money!" Zeni just laughed and stuck her tongue out at him. Michael stood up and gave her a big hug before walking out of the office to leave. 

"Did you want to take a look at the stones?"

He just shook his head. "I'll leave it to you. I wouldn't know one from the other, and you won't do me wrong." As he turned toward the door again suddenly he stopped in his tracks and looked at the display case. A small, simple gold chain with a small diamond pendant and matching earrings caught his eye. "Zeni, this is exquisite! May I take this over to Carole's Couture and be certain it will go with Susie's gown for prom? If it does, we will include it with the ring, although I'll give it to her separately."

Zeni unlocked the case and handed out the small box in which the ensemble rested. "I thought that was a beautiful set when I made it. You didn't even ask the price, Michael."

"If you have to ask the price you can't afford it in here," he joked. "It just says Susie all over it to me, and she doesn't need to know what it costs. I'll tell her I got it at Walgreen's or something." With a wink he moved toward the door, glancing at his watch as he did so. He was going to have to hurry if he would meet his parents in time.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"I don't know what those kids had to go up there last night for. I could have climbed the ladder just fine, and we could have found the doors afterwards."

"There is a big difference between 'could' and 'should', Daddy. Besides, there's something about that house that those kids want to go up there any time! When I suggested it, even as late as it was, I expected them to argue, but they seemed anxious to go. Besides, this way Mom gets to go along, too, right Mom?"




Justin Thyme Ch. 12



"I've wanted to get back up there, too, Ben. I really didn't feel like climbing stairs and things last time, and I want to take a good look at it. Rosemary said they have a couple of the rooms done, and I want to be certain the colors are going to look right before we get too far into the project."

"I still think it was foolish, taking two vehicles and all. Oh, well. Can't be helped now, can it. Is Michael going to be up there, too?"

"No, Daddy. He said he had to go to Phoenix today, but he will be available to meet the Sheriff tomorrow. I've OK'ed it for Justin to come up, too, although I hate him missing school. He's so far ahead of things though that I guess it's OK."

"Well, at least they managed to find the door on the first floor. I really like that better than having to take the Sheriff up to the top and back down. I'm not too keen on showing more of the house than we need to. Do you think we need to call them and wake them up before we get there?"

"No, Daddy. Justin texted me early this morning that they found the door, that they were going to go to Bill's for breakfast, and they would be back there well before we get there."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Rosemary put her hair up in a shower cap before getting into the tub with me, much to my disappointment. I really enjoy washing her hair, and love the feeling of it trailing through my fingers. I knew we didn't have the time for that though, so I made up for it by carefully washing the rest of her body, down to her feet and toes, with particular attention paid to certain regions. After all, one cannot go out in public with one's carefully trimmed exclamation point of pubic hair ungroomed. I might have paid extra attention to the areas around said hair, also, much to her arousal.

"Justin, that's not fair! You are getting me all turned on when we can't do anything about it!" I just gave her an evil leer and an extra stroke across her pussy with my hand before turning the hand held shower head on a slow pulse and rinsing it thoroughly. By the time I quit she was squirming anxiously and holding to the towel bar for support. I stopped just before her orgasm could take her, much to her dismay, but I had other plans!

We stepped out of the shower, with her complaining about leaving her hanging as I dried her carefully, paying particular attention to her distended nipples, which reacted beautifully to the nap of the towel brushing across them. Rosemary's pussy was visibly swollen and red with arousal as I grabbed her hand and led her from the bathroom back into my room, where I laid her gently back onto my sleeping bag and quickly knelt between her legs and began to address her pussy with my tongue. 

I didn't have the time to really tease her and build up her desire as I would have liked to do, but I wanted to give her one more good orgasm before Mom and Grandpa got there and we couldn't do anything more. When I put her legs up over my shoulders and reached upward to tweak her nipples with my fingers she was rocking and moaning her arousal. Her juices were freely flowing, and I think I got a taste of some of my own cum, but if she could take it why not I? As I slid my hands up and down her sides, paying particular attention to her hips, which she loves, before sliding my hands back to her breasts and fondling them, her breath was hissing between her teeth and her head was rocking back and forth almost violently. 

Suddenly, her hands, which had been splayed on the sheets, alternately grasping the cloth and spreading out to their utmost, swooped in and grabbed my head and pulled it almost violently into her pussy. Her back arched and she let out a wail, "Enough, Justin, enough! I can't take any more," and her juices poured from her pussy onto my lips and chin.

Of course, I was hard, but there wasn't any time to do anything about it right now, not if we wanted to get breakfast and be back before Grandpa got here. There was no way I wanted to face his wrath if we weren't here! There is nothing Grandpa hates worse than someone being late.

Rosemary lay there with her chest heaving, trying to regain her equilibrium while I went back into the bathroom to brush my teeth and use some mouthwash. I certainly didn't want Grandpa or Mom either for that matter, smelling pussy on my breath.

Rosemary sat up gingerly and took the hand I reached down to help her up from the floor. She stepped in to give me a big hug and whispered, "Thank you. You are always doing special things for me!" She glanced down at my erect cock. "Let me take care of that for you."

"We don't have time. I'm OK, I came several times yesterday. I just thought you needed it this morning."

"Stephanie is one lucky girl! I'm so glad she shares you with me." Rosemary hugged me once more, and slipped my cock between her legs and squeezed it. The heat from her pussy was nearly enough to make me change my mind, but there was just no way I would risk Grandpa's ire.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dr. Meechum stood up from the breakfast table after eating breakfast with the Winters women. They were both eager to hear anything he could tell them about their husband and father, and in a way he found talking about the time in Iraq cathartic. For all of these years he had kept it all bottled up inside, knowing he needed to get it out. 

First of all, the chaplain had talked with him, and a succession of therapists, all of whom he totally despised as they had never seen uniformed service, and exhibited a haughty attitude toward those who had served in harm's way. Only the Chaplain had merited his admiration, because even in the middle of the worst firefights, when he was supposed to be back at battalion headquarters, the Chaplain did his best to be present and provide comfort and care for the men, often running out with the medics to help pull wounded men out of the fire zone, and helping to care for them.

"Tom," the Chaplain told him, "You have to let it out. You can't carry the burden all alone. You did all you could do, and you saved lives that would have been lost without you. You are not at fault for what happened, and you have to talk with someone," but the horrors of what he had seen and experienced had been too great. He just couldn't bring himself to share any of it to anyone who had not been there, and he had lost contact with all in his company. 

"Thank you for the breakfast, and for listening to me cry. I am so glad to have met you at last. Winters told me he was from Arizona, but I had no idea where; or anything about your family. I'm so glad you forgot your purse last night. To think I've been working with you now for six months and didn't know."

"I'm so glad you came by, too," Mary said. "I have missed my husband desperately for ten years, but now you have given me some closure. And you have done a lot for Stephanie, letting her get to know her dad a little bit better. She is really the one who has lost so much. Please come back. You are welcome in our home anytime."

"Thank you and I shall. I shall also look into the decorations he should have been given. I don't know what happened."

"Oh, that really isn't important. They won't bring him back."

"No, they won't, but they do represent the price he paid and the character of the man. If not to you, who knew him longer as an adult; then it will to Stephanie, who didn't. And, it will mean a lot to me, who knew him when he earned them, and am alive because of it." He bowed his head, obviously fighting back emotions again. "Thank you so much. I feel a tremendous weight is off of my shoulders. I'll see you in the hospital Monday." Giving Stephanie a nod he turned and made his way to the door.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Rosemary and I got back from Bill's in plenty of time to meet Grandpa and Mom, but I knew better than to cut it to close. The first thing I did was to go to the kitchen and make a pot of coffee. Grandpa's second cardinal sin after being late was to be out of coffee. It would have made him really happy if I would have made 'cowboy coffee', but none of the rest of us could drink it that way. Grandma used to get upset when she found him making it, with one of her good pots. He would take a pot and fill it with water and then throw in a handful of coffee grounds and boil it until it was as dark as he liked it, "darker than the hinges of Hell," he'd say. Grandma said the way he knew it was done is if a spoon would float!

Rosemary called Mom and found out they were still about thirty minutes away, so we asked her to give us a call about five minutes out and Rosemary and I started looking for the second floor entrance to the passageway. I sent Rosemary upstairs while I ran up to my room and turned on the floodlight, then climbed down the ladder. I started knocking on the door, while also looking for some sort of latch. Whoever installed these doors had made the latches obscure on both sides, I guess in case someone found a way in from outside they would not be able to access the house easily.

Rosemary could hear me knocking, but had no idea of the door location. I climbed down to the first floor entrance and went back to the second floor and looked with her for possibilities, but we found nothing. 

Mom called, so we broke off looking and went out the front of the house to meet them as they pulled up. Seeing Grandma along with them was a pleasant surprise; and it would keep Rosemary occupied. I noted Grandma had a bag with fabric samples with her, so the three ladies would be occupied with decorating for a while. 

Grandpa came from the kitchen with his travel mug freshly topped off and said, "Alright, Justin, just where is this treasure trove of yours? I wish Michael was here with you. It would be easier if I could talk with him about this at the same time as you, but I guess it can't be helped. I'm going to need him to come up with us tomorrow, though. Can he do that?"

"I believe so. We both figured we would have to come back. I'd like to keep this out of the news as much as possible, and if at all possible, can we keep his name out of it? He doesn't need the publicity, especially if he's going to move back up here, and the Thibodeaux name will just make this place into a three-ring circus and might be bad for renting rooms."

"Leave that to me. There will have to be some publicity. After all, it isn't every day a celebrated murder/disappearance is solved after a hundred plus years, in a room with secret passages, no less. Samuel Johnson was a very important man in his day. I did some checking. There are some reward offers for finding him that are still active after all of these years. I rather doubt the State of Arizona, territory at that time, remembers anything about the rewards, but they were never rescinded. There are also rewards offered by the Southern Pacific Railway and the US government. All told, they are in excess of $10,000, which was a tremendous amount of money at that time. Now, let's go take a look."

I led Grandpa to the closet in the library and challenged him to find the latch. After ten minutes of pushing, pulling, twisting and prodding he gave up, and I twisted the hanger rod and the door popped open. "Well, I'll be hanged for a monkey if that isn't the most ingenious thing! How did you find it?"

"It was totally by accident. We thought it would be in the library, because the one upstairs was facing in that direction, plus it was in bookshelves, but we couldn't find anything at all. I was sitting on the desk when it came to me. The library was a very strange place to have a coat closet. We tried everything, much as you did, and I found the latch totally by accident. I was holding on to the rod, talking to Rosemary. I had tried lifting and pushing or pulling, and had given up. I had my hand on the rod while I was talking with Rosemary and I rotated it accidentally when I turned around."

"Hmmph. Shall we go on down? You lead the way."

I quickly climbed up to the second floor and retrieved the floodlight before descending the ladder to the basement level. "You'd better find something to block that door open, Grandpa. We haven't been able to find any of the latches from this side yet." 

Grandpa gingerly stepped onto the ladder and made his way down it. I'll give him this: For a man of his age he's still pretty spry! "Land's sakes, son! They sure enough shot each other, didn't they! Now show me exactly where you found the poke of gold, and if you moved anything else down here."

"It was right here, Grandpa, on the desk behind these books, and on top of this map."

"You didn't see any other gold lying around, did you? You know this place doesn't have much dust! It must be really tight. Anyway, you didn't see any other gold, like gold coins, did you?"

"No sir. We knew right away not to disturb anything, but I didn't want to leave that gold poke lying there on the desk to tempt anybody when the authorities come to check it out." 

"That was wise, son. Most enforcement are honorable men doing a tough job, but it's always a good idea to keep temptation from before anyone. Now, did you check the other guy for any identification or anything?"

"No sir. Again, we thought we ought to leave that for the authorities."

"Good, good. There are two things I want to do today, and then I'll call the sheriff's office and arrange an appointment for tomorrow. After a hundred years I don't think we need to have them out here like it's an emergency. First of all, I want to see if we can find a railroad chest or two. Then, I want to see if we can find an outside entrance or exit down that passageway, there. I'd rather not bring the Sheriff through the house if we can help it."

"What do we need to find railroad chests for?"

"One big reason they were looking for him was the Union Pacific had just merged with the Southern Pacific. The U.P. sent him fifty thousand in gold coins, as partial payment for him to disburse to shareholders, and it disappeared too. Some thought he absconded with the gold, although he had the reputation of being a very honorable man. One of his managers also disappeared that night, and a buckboard and team were found hitched and ready to go in the coach house, but no one knew why, or who had them. I think we will find out the other skeleton is that of Henry Murray, the manager I spoke of. I say, old Sam Johnson could shoot! He put that one right between the running lights, and that was after he had been shot in the left shoulder."

"How do you know he was shot first?"

"Because I've never seen a feller who could shoot back after a .44 went between his eyes."

"Well, duh! Silly me. I didn't even think about it."

"That's what God gave you a head for, son. Something besides just growing hair." He grinned at me and then turned back toward the room. "Let's take a look around a bit, and then we'll check the passageway. Be sure not to disturb anything. I know it isn't actionable, but still this is a crime scene and has to be processed as one. I'm sure they will bring a photographer down here to record it.

We found nothing in the room itself, although we did not disturb the desk. There was no way to hide fifty thousand dollars in gold in that desk, so we weren't too worried about it. It was Grandpa who found the two trunks when we checked the first of two passages. This one led forward under the house, and had a little alcove off to one side of it. Two small chests were stashed in there with a jumbled heap of tarpaulin covering them, obviously attempting to make it look like just a jumbled heap of tarpaulins stored there, but they didn't fit with the rest of the order Samuel Johnson lived. 

That passageway obviously didn't lead where we wanted to go, so we left it for further exploration at a later date and went back through the office room and down the other passage. I didn't have enough extension cord to reach beyond the very entrance to the passage, so I left the floodlight shining down the passage and Grandpa and I went on ahead with flashlights. It was a long passageway, a little over two hundred yards before we came to the end, and another ladder, although a much shorter one than in the house.

"If I don't miss my guess we are under the carriage house, and I'll wager you there is an opening on the first floor and another on the second. Now the thing for us to do is to find the way out, and we'll bring the Sheriff in through this way. I'll also wager you that we'll find a hoist on the second level, and that is how they brought the gold into the house. What I don't understand is how Johnson got the gold into the basement. Obviously no one else knew it was there."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Michael walked into Carole's Couture to the delight of Carole and Suzette. "Michael, what brings you here this morning?" Carole called out to him.

"I didn't know if I would find you here today or not, but I wanted to check something with you for Susie's gown."

"I'm not going to show it to you, or tell you what it looks like. You'll have to wait until the Prom to see it!"

"Oh, that's OK. I didn't come to spy, but I wanted your opinion on something before I buy it." He pulled the box from his pocket and opened it carefully. "Is this something that will look right with the dress?"

"Michael, that's beautiful! Let me guess, you got that from Zeni."

"Right. I got her to let me bring it over to be certain it would go with the dress. I saw it in the display case and it had Susie's name all over it. It will do OK with the gown?"

"Exquisitely. I couldn't have chosen anything better for her. You really think a lot of that girl?"

Michael stood silent for a moment or two, then nodded. "Yeah, I do. In fact, if I were you I'd start thinking about another dress you will be making for her, I'm sure."

Carole stepped up to him and gave him a big hug. "I'm really happy for you, Michael. She is a real gem, and I think she will be really good for you. Does she know?"

"No, so please don't say anything. I just talked with her father last night and got his blessing. I'm not sure about Madge, yet." He grinned as Carole and Suzette both laughed.

"I kind of got the feeling she could be difficult if she wanted to be."

"She is a very strong lady, but yet she's wonderful once you get to know her. The first day I met her she would have killed me if it was in her power, but once Susie told her what really happened in the wreck and told her I stayed in the hospital room with her so she wouldn't be alone with her parents gone, well, as far as she was concerned I was OK. When we got Susie moved home two days later they gave me a key to the house so that I could drop in and be with her during the day when they were at work, and so that I could help with her rehab. They made me feel like part of the family.

"What do your parents think about this?"

"They don't know yet, and now that you mention it, I have to go or I'm going to be late for lunch! Please hold onto the necklace and earrings for me, and give them to her with the dress. If I try to give them to her she will say they are too much and try to get me to return them. She is the most unpretentious girl I've ever met!"

"We noticed! That's one reason we are so thrilled for you. At last you found a girl who isn't out for what you have, but for who you really are. Hurry on to lunch. We'll take good care of her for you."

Michael waved as he almost ran out the door to his car.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mary and Stephanie Winters sat at the breakfast table in silence after Dr. Meechum left. Both of them were deep in thought, Mary with memories of her late husband, whom she still missed with an ache in her heart every day, and Stephanie who had never really had a chance to get to know her father. Her memories were those of a little girl, and those memories were sparse and few. 

"Mom, what was Daddy really like? Would I like him?"




Justin Thyme Ch. 12



"Oh, Sweetheart, your father was a wonderful man, and yes you would have liked him. Perfect? No, but none of us are. Do you remember him sitting with you on his lap reading you stories?"

"That's my favorite memory of him. I used to like to rub his head while he read because his hair was so short it felt bristly and funny. I know he did what was right by serving in the Corps, but sometimes I feel cheated, that I miss out on so much. But then on the other hand, hearing Dr. Meechum talking about Daddy, I'm so proud of him."

"Honey, you should be proud, and you have to pay the biggest price for him serving and defending our country. Not everybody will think he did the right thing, but he had no doubts. Not everybody will think we should have fought in that war, but he was a firm believer that the Iraqi's should be as free as we are. That's why he did what he did. I'm proud of what he did, too, although I miss him so much every day."

"I think about that sometimes when I think of Justin. What if we get married and something happens to him, if he was to go in the Marines or something and be killed. I don't think I could handle it."

"Honey, you can't let worries about what might happen get in the way of your happiness. The secret is to live your life to the fullest every day, and you take what comes. Sometimes it is hard, and you will have hard times, even if he doesn't get killed like your Daddy did. Other people have problems too; you just don't see theirs as clearly as your own. Live your life and make the most of every moment, because you don't know how many of them you have, and most of all, live with no regrets. I don't know who it was that said it, but a quote that I love and live by says 'It's not the number of breaths that you take that count. It is the number of things that take your breath that matter.' Don't let worries about what might happen keep you from enjoying to the full what can happen. I don't regret for a moment marrying your Daddy, and I cherish every memory I ever had with him."

"Thanks, Mom. Are you going to be OK with me being gone to school next year? I hate to go off and leave you all alone."

"I'll miss you, but I'll be fine. You won't be that far away, and you can come home on the weekends occasionally. Don't worry about me."

"But I will worry about you, Mom. You are the best mom I have!" Steph gave her mom a big grin and said, "Let's go do some serious shopping!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Grandpa climbed the ladder to the ground floor level and went to work trying to find a door latch and I went on up to the second floor level, where true to Grandpa's guess there was a hand crank winch set up. I don't know what else Sam Johnson hid in his cellar, but he was certainly prepared for it. What I couldn't figure out is why no one else knew about the hidden basement, or if they knew they didn't look for him down there when he went missing.

All I found were blank walls made up of vertical planks that were close set together. From the looks of them they were of tongue and groove construction, but I knew at least two of them had to be different. I looked for anything that could be out of the ordinary anywhere, but there were not even any light fixtures or anything on the walls. The light was a simple overhead pull chain light fixture, but it was too high to reach, so it obviously could not be the answer. Giving up I stepped back onto the ladder to return to Grandpa when I saw it. In the hatch in the floor for the ladder I saw a small section that looked like the end of a plank, but it had a small hand hold carved on the underside that was visible only from the correct angle underneath. When I grabbed the plank and pulled on it I heard a click over in the wall. I had the answer for all of the doors in the house from the hidden side. 

Quickly I climbed down to show Grandpa the answer and opened his hidden door, which opened into the only closed off bay in the entire carriage house. Why one bay was separated from the others had puzzled us when we first looked at the property, but now made perfect sense. One would not want to use the secret door unless he could first secure the outside doors and prevent anyone seeing it opened.

Once we had the door opened I left Grandpa there to rest for a few minutes while I hurried back down the corridor and retrieved the flood light and extension cord, which I brought back to the carriage house to begin looking for the hidden latch on the outside. Leaving Grandpa outside I reentered the secret passage and swung the door closed. This door, as the others, was ingenious in its design, pivoting in the middle rather than being hinged, which allowed for opening and closing it without having to have a handle to betray its existence. One had only to lean on it very lightly to move it, and after all of these years it had not sagged or moved, but still swung smoothly and silently. When it closed only the slightest "click" of the latch could be heard. 

So ingenious was its design however, even with the door open and the actual latch visible one could not discern the location of the actuator. With the door closed we hoped we could descry the outside latch. I called Grandpa on his cell phone so we could communicate our actions and I told him I was going to pull the latch. Carefully he watched and listened for any indication, but found none. I reclosed the door and tried again, and again, and again, and again, but all to no avail. Finally, we gave it up for the day, but left the door propped open, turned out the floodlight, locked the exterior door, and returned to the house. It had been a productive morning, and I was really surprised when I looked at my phone and saw it was nearly two-thirty in the afternoon! No wonder I was hungry!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tom and Susie Collins had been out tooling around town in the now complete Bug-Eye Sprite, gathering appreciative looks from car aficionados, and curious looks from those too young to remember when Austin-Healy built sports cars. Susie loved the feel of riding in the open air, something her mother loathed. Madge had gone to her garden club meeting, and Tom, who had not mentioned his meeting with Michael as of yet, craved the time with his daughter. He knew of course that she would be gone to college in the fall, but that did not have the permanence of marriage. Even though she would still be living in the area it was not going to be the same as having her in the house and seeing her every day. 

As they cruised slowly up Mt. Lemmon, carefully obeying the low speed limit and watching out for tourists walking in the roadway, Susie looked over at her dad with a grin. "So, do I get to take this to school in the fall?"

Tom gave her a snort and shook his head. "You'd just use it to cruise around campus and pick up guys."

Susie laughed, delightedly. "Not with Mikey sitting in this seat! There wouldn't be room for 'guys' in this car anyway. It would have to be limited to 'guy' and it would be."

"You really think a lot of Michael, don't you?"

Susie looked thoughtfully at him as she said, "Daddy, I love him. I know you probably think I'm too young to know, but I do. We haven't even 'dated' as such, except the night he took me dancing after we met his parents, and he's going to Prom with me. It's hard to believe that will be our second 'date', but he's the one I want to marry, if he ever asks me."

Tom quickly steered the car back onto the road and watched where he was going, although he found suddenly the view was misting up. He nodded his understanding. "Susie, honey, you are young, but you are very mature for your age. Your mother and I think a lot of Michael, too. He shows a lot of character and class. I really think you would have to look long and far to find another of his kind. I'm not saying he's going to ask you, but if he did I wouldn't stand in your way."

Tears spilled from Susie's eyes as she leaned her head onto her dad's shoulder, as near to hugging him as she dared on this road, and she murmured, "Thanks, Daddy. I was afraid you would be upset with me for telling you how I feel about him."

"Look, Kitten, a pet name he had not called her since she was a little girl, do you think I don't know my own daughter? I saw the way you looked at him when you were still in the hospital! I was ready to kill him for putting you there, and then I saw you look at him that way and I wanted to kill him twice over! I have grown to really admire him since. After all, it took a lot of guts for him to meet with us to apologize. Not many have that kind of character. Now don't misunderstand me, I'm not trying to hurry you along or get rid of you. I just wanted you to know I understand, and I want you to be happy."

"Thank you, Daddy. I love you, too, and Mikey will never get in the way of that."

"What do you say we get some fudge?" Tom pulled into the Mt. Lemmon General Store parking lot and stopped.

"I hoped you were going to say that! You can't drive up Mt Lemmon and not get some fudge!" Susie shivered as she got out of the car and hurried into the store. What had been a rather warm day for the beginning of May down in Tucson was much cooler at 9000 feet elevation. Tom laughed at her, but he didn't waste any time getting in doors either.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Hi, Mom, Dad," Michael said as he walked into the restaurant. "Sorry I'm late. I got tied up running a couple of errands this morning."

"I wish you would have gone to church with us this morning instead." Joanne wasn't really happy about his spotty church attendance, but recognized he was a grown up now and had to make his own decisions. 

"I know, but I had to do this this morning. I didn't have any other time I could get it done. I stopped by the house and picked up my tux for Prom." He stopped when the hostess called their names and waited until they were seated. Taking a deep breath he said, "Zeni and Carole said to say 'Hi'."

"Zeni?" Jeff asked. "My sister, Zeni?" Michael nodded. "What were you doing there? A little early Christmas shopping for your mother perhaps?"

All Michael could do was grin at him before saying, "I had to stop in today to be certain she had time to get a ring made for me before Friday." Joanne's eyebrows went up immediately. "I met with Tom yesterday evening and asked his permission to marry Susie. Now look, I know you are thinking it is too soon, that we are to young, that she has college, and all of that, but it all came to me yesterday morning when I was up at Justin's house helping him install security stuff, and I saw the carriage house, and the old servant's quarters in the loft. I plan, if Susie will have me, to renovate that area into a couple of apartments, and Susie and I can live there, close to the others, but in our own place, and she can go to school. Justin doesn't see anything wrong with the idea; in fact it will be good for them. He just has to run it by his parents and Rosemary. I know Rosemary will be in favor and I believe the Thymes will, too."

"Also, something else I can't tell you about right now, but you might want to watch the news tomorrow night." He gave his parents a big grin, but would say no more, picking up his menu and studying it, although he already knew what he would order. The waitress gave him a bit of respite, stopping by to take their orders, but then his parents began popping questions. He talked freely about his feelings for Susie, and his plans regarding her, but would say nothing about the discovery at the house, telling them he was not at liberty to tell them anything. "Watch the news. I am not allowed to say anything more. After that I can talk, and no, I have not done anything wrong, nor am I in trouble. Neither is anyone else."

When the dishes were cleared away, and just before they stood to leave Jeff cleared his throat and said, "Well, Son, you know we love you, and you know we think a lot of Susie. I really think you have made a wise choice in a wife, although I'm concerned you might be rushing it a little. She loves you, we know that, and I know you love her. Don't push her if she hesitates. Give her the time to know for herself. For what it is worth, your mother and I have talked about you two, knowing this was coming, but hoping it would be a little later. You have our blessing as well for what it is worth."

"Thank you, Sir. That's all I really wanted." The three of them stood to leave, and Michael gathered his parents both into a hug. "Thanks for understanding. I love you two!" 

They walked from the restaurant together and prepared to depart. Joanne stepped over to Michael's car and grasping him by the arms looked into his eyes. "My baby is growing up. You have picked a real gem. She is as unspoiled as she can be, and is a lovely girl. I will love her as my own daughter." Pulling his head down, she kissed him on the cheek before walking unsteadily back to her own car. Jeff gave him a nod and a wave, put his car into gear and backed out.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Rosemary, Mom, and Grandma spent the time double-checking carpet fabric samples against the walls and each other. Rosemary took paint from unopened cans and painted small areas of walls so that those colors could be checked as well. Grandma was more than happy with the amount of work we had accomplished, and could see the place taking shape in her mind's eye.

"I'm going to take these samples back, then, and get the curtains and drapes ordered. We should be ready to hang everything by the Fourth of July if you keep going the way you have been, and if they make them as fast as they say they can."

It was the kitchen that took up most of their time. Mom had brought her laptop with her, and appliances were discussed and rejected. The biggest issue was going to be storage space enough for all of the girls, yet the ability to segregate their goods so there wouldn't be confusion. It was Rosemary who finally came up with the solution. "Why don't we just get a dorm sized refrigerator for each double room and one for each two singles? I know it won't look very pretty, but it seems to me style loses out to substance in this case. We can ask Justin to look into the electrical outlets and be sure they can handle it." 

Commercial quality microwaves were chosen also, and Grandma sketched out a layout that seemed to work. It was fortunate indeed the kitchen had been built originally with entertaining large groups in mind, because there was ample room.

Grandma made her way up to my garret, although it was quite a climb for her, and approved of the way I had added a shower to the old clawfoot tub, although she wrinkled her nose in disdain at the plain white shower curtain I used. "This might work in a bachelor pad, but never in a girl's bath! It's a good thing Justin is going to be living up here alone!"

Before Grandpa and I made our way back into the house curtains, rods, drapes, and carpet had their final choices determined, and Grandma would order them the first part of the week. All of the appliances had been ordered online, and were scheduled for delivery in late July, two additional kitchen sinks had been laid out, as well as two more stoves. A plumber would be contracted to run the plumbing and gas lines, and to install the sinks. That was a real relief to me, as I didn't see how I would have time to work on that, nor did I really have the expertise.

Grandma and Mom discussed the possibilities for renovating the carriage house servant's quarters for Michael and another apartment or two, and Grandma really could see the possibilities. She also suggested the idea of setting one apartment aside for the use of visiting parents, whether we charged them for the use or not, echoing the suggestion I had made to Mom. I love it when great minds work alike!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mom rode over to Bill's with Rosemary and me, while Grandpa and Grandma followed in their car. I knew Mom had something on her mind that she didn't want to talk about in front of her parents. 

"Justin, do you really think it is wise to have Michael move into the carriage house? One of the selling points to the place is there would be no males other than you. I'm a little concerned, especially since he is seeing Susie. I'm not sure what Tom and Madge would think about it."

I was in a tough spot for sure! How was I to reassure Mom without giving away Michael's plans? I had promised not to tell anyone what he had in mind, but somehow Mom had to be mollified.

"Michael isn't sure about it yet either. At the moment it is just an idea that has been broached. He wants to move back up here, but on the other side of Phoenix and away from people who know him as his father's son. You know Michael isn't a partier, nor is he interested in any girl but Susie. He isn't going to do anything with her here that he wouldn't do in Tucson because he tries to live his religious beliefs. I would say give it a week or so and let's see what happens. We can come to a decision at that time, but I really think we should go ahead and plan the renovations and offer them to parents if we don't decide to let Michael have one. By the way, he is willing to pay for the renovations from his share of the gold we found in lieu of rental for four years, so we would come out ahead on the finances." 

We pulled into Bill's parking lot and parked. I looked over at Mom and said, "We can't make a decision until we talk with Dad about it anyway. I would suggest we table it until next week, and let us get Prom and everything else out of the way. I can't believe there are only three more weeks of school for us, then Senior Week and Graduation. It's really hard to believe it is happening so fast!"

Mom sighed. "Don't remind me. You kids are going to be gone and out of the house in no time. Look, I know you would like to have a friend move up there with you. I have an idea it might be a little lonely for you with no guys around. I remember the dorms and all of the drama that went on when I was in school. I really don't envy you living in a house with that many women!" She laughed and patted my shoulder. "Just don't make it your 'little harem' as your Dad called it." All I could do is shake my head at her as I got out of the car to see Grandpa waiting impatiently at the door.

With lunch over Mom rode back home with Grandpa and Grandma, but Rosemary and I decided to go back to the house and find the second floor door for certain, and to check out the other basement passageway to see where it led. Grandpa warned us again to be sure we didn't disturb anything in the main room, including the desk, but we had no plans to bother anything. We were only interested in where the passage led.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mary and Stephanie Winters returned home after spending the afternoon shopping footsore and weary, but pleased. It had been a fun afternoon with the two of them laughing and talking like old friends as they had not done in quite a while. 

"Thanks, Mom. That was really fun! We haven't done something like that in a long time, and I've missed it."

"I know, honey. I've really missed it, too. I sure messed up with Paul, didn't I?"

"Now Mom! Don't start on that again! You were lonely and he caught you with your guard down." A little impish grin slipped across Stephanie's lips as she looked at her mom out of the corner of her eye. "I don't think Dr. Meechum would be anything like that. I noticed he seems to think you are OK."

"Stephanie Anne Winters! Don't you be starting on any of that!" She threw a playful swat at Stephanie, who dodged it laughing. "Besides, he's a doctor, and I have to work with him. I don't think it would be proper."

"Yeah, right. Like Dr's and nurses never get together. It's OK. I like him, and I think he would be good for you."

"What are you now, a yenta, a busybody? Or are you trying to play matchmaker?"




Justin Thyme Ch. 12



Stephanie stepped over and slipped her arm around her Mom's waist and pulled her into half a hug. "I just want to see you happy, and I hate to see you alone or lonely, especially when I'm gone. You are still a very good looking woman, and there is no reason you should be alone."

"Pffft! As if I need love advice from a starry-eyed teenage girl! Speaking of which, what about you and Justin?"

"Mom, I love him. If he asked me I'd marry him."

Mary put two cups of water into the microwave to heat for tea, a sure sign she wanted to talk. Neither was hungry, having picked up a sandwich on the way home. "Are you sure it isn't just a crush? As I remember you have had a crush on him for forever." 

Stephanie sat down at one of the kitchen chairs and rested her arms on the table and thought for a moment before answering. "I know I used to have a crush on him, and I longed for any notice from him at all, and if he talked to me I was on cloud nine until he talked to another girl and then I was depressed, but now it's different. If anything it's stronger than before, except I don't worry if he talks to others, because I know he's mine, and he's mine because he wants to be. I knew I was falling for him before, but after the accident, when he showed me how much he really cared about me and took care of me, well, it just cemented things, and nothing can change it. Do you know he carried me up and down the stairs because I was sore? The first night I really needed it, but after that it was just nice not having to climb them when it hurt." 

"I saw the way he treated his sister, and I was almost jealous, but then I got to thinking he treats her that way because he loves her, and he will do the same thing for me. I love the way he and his Mom get along, too. I've heard it said the way to tell how a guy will treat you is to see how he treats his mother. If that is true I'll be in good shape, and she will be a good mother."

Mary set the tea cups on the table along with a fresh lemon and pitcher of milk before sitting down with her daughter. "So you're planning your marriage already? Does Justin know it?"

Stephie laughed, "No. I'm not planning anything yet, just looking ahead a little bit. I wouldn't mind, though."

"Don't get in a hurry. Puppy love can lead to a dog's life, you know."

"I know. Before the wreck, well, that was puppy love, but since then it's gotten so much stronger and closer. How did you and Daddy know?"

"Oh my! That seems like a long time ago, but really it wasn't all that long. At first we couldn't stand each other, but over a period of time something happened and we just meshed. Neither of us planned it or tried to make it happen, but we just ended up together at different functions with our friends and things, and we were seated next to each other in three classes our Senior year, so we couldn't get away from each other. The next thing you know we got to really know each other and found our preconceived notions were all wrong. We realized we had strong feelings for each other before we even started dating, and it didn't take us long before we knew. We loved each other so much it hurt to be apart."

"If you had it all to do over again, knowing what you know now, would you go through it?"

"Oh yes! Yes, yes, a thousand times yes! I thought I would die when he was killed, but I had you, and I poured myself into taking care of you, and I made it. Even now there isn't a single day I don't think of him and miss him terribly." 

"Mom, can I ask you something very personal?"

"Yes, my dear, you may. I think I know where you are going, but go ahead."

Steph looked down at her hands intertwined on the tabletop before looking up, blushing. "You and Daddy, did you wait until you were married?"

Mary blushed also, and also looked down at her hands before looking back up and looking her daughter in the eye. "No, honey, we didn't. I'm not saying it was right, or that you should give yourself away before you marry, but no, we didn't wait. We knew we were going to marry, and I never had anyone else but him, well before Paul, that is." Mary shook her head in disgust at that thought. "Is he pressing you for sex?"

"Oh no, Mom! Not at all. Justin is a gentleman, but I think about it all the time, and . . . . "

Mary reached across the table and placed her hand on her daughter's. "I'm not giving you permission, mind you, but I understand if you do. Just be very, very sure. It isn't something you can give away more than once, and you can be hurt very badly if it doesn't work out between you two."

Steph nodded solemnly. "Thanks, Mom. Thanks for being honest with me."

"Honey, I'll always be honest with you!"

"I know. That's what I really love about you. Some of the girls at school don't have a Mom as cool as you, and they don't have anyone to talk with about things. I'm lucky!" Steph lifted her mom's hand to her cheek and hugged it to her. "I really hope you and Dr. Meechum get together. I think he's cool!"

"Stephanie!" Steph just laughed at her mom and jumped up from the table and ran upstairs to her room giggling the whole way while Mary shook her head, but the thought of Tom Meechum was firmly planted in her mind.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Rosemary and I hurried into the house when we got back. Both of us were excited to find the missing door. I went through the first floor door and up the ladder to the second floor where I turned on the floodlight and began searching. Not only could I not identify the door itself, I had trouble finding the release! Whoever built this was indeed a master craftsman! I haven't seen this level of workmanship anywhere else. I examined all of the plank ends on the side of the hatch to no avail. Just as I was about to give up and decide the house was different than the carriage house I looked at the adjacent side, behind the ladder, and there it was. Once again, it was not where we expected it.

I called Rosemary on her cell and told her to switch rooms and waited for her to get into the right place before I pulled on the latch. Surprise of all surprises, the door was a wall that had built in changing table in a little alcove changing area in one of the bedrooms. The door pivoted smoothly and silently on its pivot and I stepped into the room.

"Stephanie and I just changed rooms! I wondered how we were going to be able to get together with you without causing comments. Steph could get away with it, but I wasn't sure how it would work for me. Now we can have you whenever we want you!" She gave me a devilish grin. "You'd better eat your Wheaties or whatever you need to keep you going, big brother. Between the two of us you're going to need it!" She stepped into me and gave me a hug and a kiss. I knew right away she hadn't wasted time while I was looking for the latch release on the other side. Her bra had come off, and oh, did it feel nice!

"As much as I'd like to make this room mine, we'd better get down stairs and check out that passage if we are going to get it done before we have to go back."

I nodded agreement, but took time to spin Rosemary around and hug her from the back so I could get a good feel of her breasts and tweak her nipples first. She broke away from me giggling and walked over to the changing table and started looking for something that could work as a latch. 

Each side wall had a wooden board with three pegs for hanging garments. I tried turning the pegs and pulling down on them, but nothing worked. The one on the left wall though released the door when I lifted upward on the pegs, pulling the bottom of the board up and out just a bit. I stepped through the door first and untied the floodlight and lowered it carefully to rest on the floor two levels below before climbing the ladder downward, with Rosemary right behind me. 

Once down the ladder I picked up the light and led the way through the lower office as I had taken to thinking of it. Rosemary grabbed my hand as we started down the other passageway. We stopped and I showed her the two Southern Pacific chests that we expected to contain the $50,000 in gold coins. 

I didn't think it would hurt to move the tarpaulins. This wasn't part of the crime scene as such, or so I told myself, but there was nothing else of interest in the alcove. We shone the light on down the passage, but all we could see was that it turned to the left in about ten feet. A heavy, very solid door faced us, with an iron bar across it padlocked securely in place.

Quickly, I pulled out my cell phone and punched in Grandpa's number. "Justin, what's up?"

"Hey Grandpa. Sorry to bug you right after you got home, but I wanted you to know what we found in the basement. Rosemary and I went down the other passageway, and found a heavy door with a big padlock on an iron bar holding it closed. I have an idea Sam Johnson has the key in his pocket or in the desk. Do we have to wait until tomorrow to check?"

"I'd like to know what's in there just as much as you would, but we have to follow procedure. We have an appointment with the Sheriff himself at 10:00 tomorrow. He'll have the photographer and a detective with him. I asked him to keep it quiet as possible, and to limit the number of people he brings, but he's a politician first, and a law officer second, so Lord only knows who all he'll bring! Any items in his pockets won't be needed, so we can get it then."

"OK, then. What time do you want me to pick you up in the morning?"

"You'd better be here no later than 6:00. Do you think you and Michael can make it that early?"

"Yes Sir," I said with a laugh. "That'll give us time to stop at Bill's for breakfast."

"You kids! All you think about is eating! Better make it 5:45, then. We want to be sure to have it set up the way we want before the Sheriff gets there. There's no point in letting anyone else know how to get in there."

"All right. We'll see you then." I turned to see Rosemary with a frown on her face.

"I want to be here, too. It's my house as well."

"Works for me. I don't know what Mom will say about it, though."

"I'll handle that part."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Michael called Susie when he was about half way back to Tucson just to touch base with her since he had not seen her all day, or Saturday either for that matter. "Hi there, Little One. What's going on with you today? I've missed you terribly!"

"Hi, Mikey! Daddy and I have just been out running around in the Sprite. I'm trying to talk him into letting me take it to school next year, but I don't have him convinced yet. He says I'd just use it to try to pick up guys, but I told him there is only room for you in it."

"Good. Keep it that way. I had to run some errands up in Phoenix and had lunch with the folks. Mom says 'Hi.' I also picked up my tux for Friday. Say 'Hi' to your Dad for me, and you two have fun."

"Oh, we are. I'm glad Mommy doesn't like riding in this car, cause then I get to. We picked up some fudge up on Mt. Lemmon, and if you come by the house I'll let you have a piece, but you'd better hurry before I have it all gone."

"I'll be there for that. I wouldn't come by if you didn't have fudge, but . . . ."

"Michael Borden Thibodeaux! You'd better come by!"

Michael laughed, "Sure, I'll come by, but you'd better save me a piece. I'll see you in a little bit. Love you!"

"I love you, too, Mikey, and I told Daddy I do. You'd better watch out for his shotgun."

"Will do. See ya."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

We had done about all we could do for the day other than find the outside entrance from the carriage house, but I was about ready for a break from things for a little while. After making certain everything was shipshape downstairs Rosemary and I started back up the ladder to go home. Rosemary was ahead of me, and as I looked up her ass certainly looked fine! She glanced down about the time I looked up and saw where I was looking and grinned at me as she wiggled it back and forth a bit.

"Like what you see, big brother?"

"You know that I do."

We carefully closed the door to what was now her room and made our way down the front stairs. Rosemary grabbed my hand as we descended. "You know I still like to pretend this is just our house, and that we live here together, just you and me." She sighed and leaned into me. "I know, I'm just a silly girl, but I'm a silly girl who happens to be in love with her brother, as awful as that sounds."

"I don't think it sounds awful at all. I love you, too. I wouldn't mind a bit living here with just you. You would grace a house like this very well!"

"Thank you. That was sweet." She stopped under the rose in the foyer and turned her face up to me for a kiss. "I still say this is better than mistletoe." Our kiss went from just a little peck on the lips to a deep tongue wrestling duel that left us panting and me hard in moments. She does that to me!

"Is this for me?" she asked as she stroked my cock. "I can think of several good things to do with it!"

"We don't have time. I would love to take you back upstairs and show you what you mean to me, but we have to get going."

Rosemary grabbed my hand and pulled me. "Come with me. It won't take long."

She led me into the library and over to the desk. "This time it's your turn!" Quickly she unsnapped my shorts and slipped them down. "Sit up on the desk." As soon as I sat on the edge she dropped to her knees in front of me and grabbed my cock. Her eyes were locked on mine as she slowly slipped the head of my cock between her lips and fluttered her tongue over the end. "I've been thinking about doing this all day, ever since you ate me out this morning," she said as she stroked the end of my shaft with her thumb, spreading around her saliva. 

Slowly she slipped my cock back into her velvety mouth and began humming on it as her tongue stroked across the bottom. I felt myself stirring within and knew this was not going to last long. Even though we had done nothing sexual to speak of all day after this morning's hi-jinks, the sexual tension between us and the arousal from waking up with her and then bathing together had me quite built up. 

I couldn't help myself. I just had to see her. I reached down and pulled up her tee shirt, causing her to pull off of me momentarily as I slipped it over her head. I'll never tire of looking at her magnificent breasts, especially when the nipples are all puckered up and poking out from arousal. I could just reach them to tweak and roll them in my fingers, which I did and generated a moan from her that went right to my core. It wasn't but a few minutes and I spewed my seed into her mouth, overflowing it just a little bit. As she gently sucked and licked the last little bit from my cock I ran my fingers through her red-gold hair that I loved so much, and caressed her head. 

There is no doubt I love my sister! Nor is there any doubt she loves me. It isn't all about the sex, either. The sex is just an expression of that love, and we each do all we can to make it best for the other. Maybe that sounds sappy, but that is the way it was, and is for that matter.

Mom called us as we were leaving, and I'm so glad it wasn't ten minutes before. "Justin? Your Dad called just a few minutes ago, and he would like me to fly out to LA tonight. I hate to run off and leave you kids again. Can you get along until Wednesday if I go?"

"No problem, Mom. You and Dad have fun. We'll be fine. I'll tell Rosemary it's my turn to have all of the girls over, since she had all the boys over last time."

Mom laughed, as I knew she would. "Thanks, Justin. Somehow or another, your Dad got tickets to a movie premier, and no I don't know which one, but I'd really like to go. I'll probably be gone by the time you get here. I've already called for a taxi to the airport. Love you kids!"

"We know, Mom. We love you, too."

Before I could even hang up the phone Rosemary was texting Steph.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Michael, Rosemary, and I were sitting in Grandpa's driveway at 5:30 in the morning. I knew he would see us out there, but I wanted to let him know I waited fifteen minutes for him to get moving this morning. It's not often I get to pull his leg, and I wanted to enjoy it today. Someone being late for an appointment or having to wait for anything was a real bugaboo to him, and I knew he would see the humor.

He wasn't going to have any of it this morning though. He opened the door and stuck his head out. "Well, since you are here on time for a change you have time for a cup of coffee before we go. Michael, I have a glass of orange juice poured for you." All I could do was shake my head. You have to get up really early to put one over on Grandpa.

Grandma was up, too, and she had made some of her delicious cinnamon rolls for us. We might have been a few minutes late leaving, but even Grandpa couldn't complain since he was the last one through eating his second one. I borrowed one of his travel mugs for the trip. He had coffee mugs that stayed with you for a while, holding 24 oz.'s. I decided right then and there, since we were going to have to make a pit stop on the way we'd stop at the Flying J Truckstop in Eloy. I was going to buy one of my own there. I have a really nice stainless steel travel mug, but it only holds 12 oz. It just runs out to fast.

Michael was driving his Escalade, so I jumped in the back seat with Rosemary and allowed Grandpa to sit in the front. He wasn't very excited about Rosemary cutting school to go with us today, but he acceded to her argument that it was her house too, and besides, she was with me when we found the locked room and she wanted a chance to see what was in it.

Grandpa waited until we were well outside of town and there was little traffic around us before he started discussing the day. "As you know, the Sheriff himself is meeting us at the house at ten o'clock this morning. I think that will probably take up a couple of hours, maybe more, but I really doubt it. It isn't like this is an active case they are dealing with, and it is pretty cut and dried what happened. I really want to keep things contained in the basement. I see no need for anyone to be traipsing about upstairs. Now that is the easy part."

"Last evening, I called a friend of mine who is also a friend of the Union Pacific CEO and managed to convince him I needed to speak to the CEO on urgent business beneficial to the railroad before this morning. I would not tell him what it was, but asked him to give the CEO a call on my behalf, telling him it had to do with the Samuel Johnson case. I said to check the company history if the name didn't ring a bell, and then to please give me a call."

"Well, it was about an hour later I received a call from the gentleman, who seemed rather hesitant to talk with me. I'm sure he was expecting a scam or a hoax was about to be played on him, but fortunately my friend was able to convince him I'm legit. I told him I believed we had found Samuel Johnson, and that we had found two Southern Pacific trunks that were still locked. I suggested he might want to come down personally, or at the very least send a senior official and the appropriate security detachment to recover their property. He himself is flying down here, but he can't get here before about one o'clock. Michael, could I presume upon you to meet him at the airport and bring him out here to the house?"

"Certainly. I'll be happy to be of help."

"Thank you. I knew I could count on you."

"Now, I have said nothing to the Sheriff about any of the Southern Pacific tie-in, neither did I make any representation to the CEO about what was in the chests. The last thing in the world I want is for word to get out about them until they are out of our hands. I really don't think anyone could put together a robbery that quickly, but I want to be safe, and I want as little publicity about all of this as we can get by with. I will do my best to keep everything as an 'undisclosed location' and 'clients who wish to remain anonymous' as much as I can, but I'm sure some of it will leak out. I really would not like to have a bunch of TV trucks lined up and down the street and reporters with microphones sticking them in our faces as we come and go. We may need to keep clear of the house for a few days until the furor dies down if it gets out."




Justin Thyme Ch. 12



Rosemary looked at him with great big eyes, almost wishing she had gone to school after all!

I saw the Eloy exit coming up and told Michael to pull off there for a quick stop at the "Flying Hook," as I've heard truckers call it. All of that coffee was really starting to hit.

After a very quick stop, and with my own new coffee mug in hand, we got back on the road north. I took a quick sip of my coffee and knew right away Grandpa was going to like it! That stuff was so strong you could drink it with a fork!

Grandpa waited again until we were back on the highway and rolling before he dropped another bombshell. "Michael, I know you said you didn't want any of the gold you guys picked up when you found the hidden room, but you are going to be a part of whatever I negotiate with the Southern Pacific today, whether you want to or not. By the way, I am in favor of building out the servant's quarters into apartments, but that is not my decision to make. I will make my thoughts known, though. Now, if those chests contain what I believe they contain, and what the CEO obviously believes they contain, seeing he is flying down here during his vacation up in Jackson's Hole, Wyoming, I expect there to be a very substantial reward. Now my fee for negotiating this is going to be a bit higher than my normal fee for representing my family. You guys have to buy my breakfast, and my coffee on the return trip. Thanks for turning me on to the Flying J, Justin. That is good coffee!"

"According to all I could find out about Sam Johnson's disappearance, he had $50,000 in gold coins as part of the merger of the Southern Pacific with the Union Pacific, for dispersal to shareholders, of which he was a major stakeholder. The value of that gold at present day value is in excess of three and a half million. That is melt value, and doesn't take into account any numismatic value of any of the individual coins. I'm sure there are some that are quite valuable. The S.P. had a reward offer of $5,000 for information locating Sam Johnson, which obviously includes the gold. If you increase the valuation of the reward offer by 70 times as the gold has increased in value that would come out to about $350,000. Now, I don't expect to be able to negotiate quite that much for you, but there is argument under Arizona law that you could be due as much as half of the find. I don't personally believe that is right for you to do, but if they don't want to reward you fairly we can always threaten to take it to court."

Michael spoke up first. Rosemary and I were totally flabbergasted. "I really don't care anything about a reward, Ben. I thank you, but to me returning what is rightfully theirs is the right thing to do."

"You are right of course, Michael, and I appreciate it. However, they are the ones who offered the reward, and I think it only fair and right you should receive your share of it. What you want to do with the money is entirely your choice. Give it away, or put it aside for retirement, or whatever. That money could go a long way toward buying a house for you and Susie; that is if you have the kind of ideas a smart young man like you should have toward her. Not trying to get in your business, and I apologize if I'm sticking my nose in too far." I smiled at Grandpa's comment, but quickly quashed it as Rosemary looked at me questioningly. It wouldn't do to give his plans away. Michael just nodded thoughtfully. 

We discussed the matter between us for the rest of the trip to Bill's, but quit talking when we pulled into the parking lot. "Not another word about any of this until after it is all said and done," Grandpa ordered. "We don't need to stir anything up until we are ready to deal with it. Understood?"

We all understood.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mary Winters stopped in the cafeteria for a cup of coffee at a quarter to nine. She needed the break. One of her patients, a child of nine had just died as the result of an auto accident two days before. She had hoped desperately the little girl would pull through, but it was not to happen. The little girl's mother had been killed instantly in the crash, and her father was in critical condition on the next floor up, but was expected to live. She had been in the room along with the Grandparents when Katie had breathed her last. Losing a patient was always hard, but it was part of her profession. Losing children though always hurt much worse. 

She looked up as a shadow fell across her table and saw Dr. Meechum standing on the other side of her table. "May I join you?" Mary nodded wordlessly and waved at the chair opposite. "Rough morning?"

Silently Mary nodded her head, and then sighed. "I don't know why I ever thought I wanted to be a nurse. We just lost Katie. I thought she was going to make it."

"Little blond girl? About 9, was in a car accident?"

"Um hmm. That's the one."

"That's tough. I worked on her when she came into ER. I thought she had a chance."

"How do you deal with it? Especially as an ER doctor? I really don't know how you can work back there."

Tom let out a bitter laugh of sorts. "I guess eight years as a Devil Doc hardened me pretty much. You learn to compartmentalize it after a while. It never goes away, but you just suppress it enough to keep going."

"That's the second time I've heard you call yourself a Devil Doc. What's that mean?"

"Oh, sorry. I thought you would know. It's a nickname the Marines give us Navy Corpsmen. Marines don't have their own medical staff. It's provided by the Navy. We aren't really Marines, but we lived with them and worked with them all the time. We wore Marine Utilities, but we don't wear the Eagle, Globe, and Anchor insignia on the collar points because we are not Marines. Also, the service tape says US Navy."

"I knew they called you 'Doc', but why Devil Doc?"

"That's a takeoff of Devil Dog, the nickname given them by the Germans in WWI, 'Teufel hunden' in German. They started calling the Marines that at Belleau Wood because of the way they fought, never knowing they were beaten, so they never were. The name Devil Dog stuck, and some of them call us Devil Doc's if we do the job in combat with them. I take it as a real compliment, as being as close to being an actual Marine as I can be."

"How do you deal with it? With losing people, I mean?"

Tom looked down at his hands and saw a slight tremor in them. "You don't. Sometimes in the night it all comes back to you. Some guys turn to alcohol or drugs, but I try to channel it all back into my work telling myself I'm making up for the ones I lost by the ones I save." Tom looked up at Mary and then quickly back down at his hands. "Some are harder to lose than others. Winters, your husband, was the hardest because he took it for me. That should have been me on the ground over there." A tear welled up in his eye before he angrily dashed it away with the back of his hand. 

"Tom, you can't take it that way. I know Brad would not be sorry for what he did. He would do it over again if it came to that. It's just the way he was."

"I know. The Chaplain tried to tell me. I even went and saw a shrink when I got out, while I was in Med School. They kept telling me I had to let it out, that I couldn't hold it all in, but that's what I've done. Talking with you and your daughter really helped a lot, and I was really happy to see you in here this morning. I didn't mean to dump on you. You have your own troubles to deal with right now."

"Really I think it helped. I feel better now. I know I can't save them all, but it hurts to lose the little ones. I have it a lot easier than you guys did, though, so I can't complain."

"There is no 'easier' about it when you are dealing with life and death, Mary. You just don't have to deal with all of the terror that goes along with it is all. I've got to get back to the floor. Thanks for listening."

"No, thank you. I needed that this morning."

"Maybe we both did." Tom reached across the table and squeezed her hand briefly before standing and walking away, and Mary rose and made her way back to her floor.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The meeting with the Sheriff went smoothly, and as expected. He was surprised and pleased that we had not disturbed either of the skeletons, nor checked pockets or the desk. He had a photographer along, as well as the Coroner who had to proclaim them dead. I know, it sounds silly, but it is procedure. The Sheriff did note with praise the accuracy of Sam Johnson's shot. "I don't know that I could have done as well, even if I had not been shot first! He took at the least a lung shot, and it probably also got an artery based on his position sitting here. He didn't even have the strength left to stand up."

A check of their pockets identified the other skeleton as that of Henry Murray, as Grandpa had presupposed, but his pocket contained nothing else of interest. Samuel Johnson's pockets on the other hand had a key ring, which we anticipated, but he also was wearing a money belt containing twenty-five twenty-dollar gold pieces. 

The Sheriff left us with each of the men's gunbelts and their pistols, Murray's a Colt .45, and Johnson's a Smith and Wesson 'Russian' .44, and once the photographer was finished with his photographs Michael and I assisted in removing the skeletons from the basement out to a waiting ambulance for removal to the morgue. Why they thought they needed to bring an ambulance I have no clue, but I guess that was also procedure. 

As the driver closed the ambulance doors I stopped the Sheriff before he could get into his car. "I know it is a little late to have a funeral service as such for Mr. Johnson, but I think it would only be proper for us to tend to his burial and a gravestone. I think we can provide the same for Henry Murray, but we would like to do so with as little fanfare as possible. Would that be possible?"

"I think that would be a very nice thing for you to do. I'll have someone from my office be in touch with you in the next day or so and we can arrange things."

With that he got into his car and prepared to leave. No mention of Union Pacific's interest in the case was made, much to our pleasure. The least it was known of the better all-around as far as we were concerned. Michael and I made our way back into the carriage house and carefully locked the outer door behind us. I also closed the secret door before going back down the ladder.

Grandpa and Rosemary were looking through the desk when we returned to the lower office. Grandpa looked up at us and held up what looked like a ledger. "Samuel Johnson was quite a diarist. I think this will provide some interesting reading and a better understanding of some of the things that went on during that time period in Arizona. The last couple of entries are in particular of interest, especially in regards to the house. Take a look."

I laid the book down on the desk so that Michael could also look at it as I read:

March 29: The arrival of General Sheridan and his party from the government to look into the railroad expansion plans in regards to how it will affect the military could not have come at a more inauspicious time. Two chests from Union Pacific as part of the merger with the Southern Pacific arrived today. Glad we get to keep operating S.P. separately. Murray seems to have gotten a sniff of what is going on. Caught him snooping around looking for a latch for the door from the carriage house. Should have just let him look since there isn't one on the outside out there. Not sure what to do about him. Seems untrustworthy lately. Mustn't be rash, but careful. 

March 30: Meeting with Sheridan, et.al. went smoothly and well. Very tired after long day squiring them around. Hope Murray gets here with the ore samples soon. All indicators are the new discovery is going to be rich. Must remember not to let Murray know of location at least until he shows he's trustworthy. Meet with Tohono O'odham chief, Carlos Rios, tomorrow about access on their lands. They have been good to work with in the past. Must arrange a suitable gift. Swenson over at the S Bar has some good Morgan horse stock. Perhaps a stallion and a 

"Interesting," I said. "It looks like he got interrupted and put the diary away without finishing."

Grandpa nodded. "The dates match. I'm thinking Murray arrived then, and we have already seen what transpired."

I carefully closed the diary, cognizant of its age and brittle condition, and handed it back to Grandpa, who put it into the drawer. "We don't have much time before the U.P. guys get here if we want to grab some lunch. What do you say we check out the other room quickly and go grab a bite?"

Rosemary, who was holding the key ring agreed, obviously excited at the possibilities. The four of us trooped down the corridor and Rosemary tried the keys until she found the one that fit the padlock. Surprisingly for its age and how long it had remained untouched it opened easily. Michael removed the iron bar for her, and the long unopened door swung open quietly and smoothly under her hand.



Justin Thyme Ch. 13



This is a work of fiction. The use of names is also fictional, and do not represent any real persons, although the positions referred are real, as is the Union Pacific and are the other railroads mentioned. Fictionalizing a railroad did not work.

Also, please note the change in Railroad names. The original source I used in my research had the wrong date down for the merger of the Southern Pacific and the Union Pacific, which I used in Chapter 12. I have gone back and revised the names of the railroads that actually did merge at the time of this story, and later became part of Southern Pacific, and ultimately the Union Pacific. Unfortunately, I would have to resubmit part 12 to get the corrections in Lit., and that would cause more confusion than it would help. 

Note to self: next time use at least two sources! Sorry for the goof up. I try very hard to get my bases factual and try hard to research before writing.

Comments are welcomed, and emails will be answered if it includes an address. 

Acrid smoke poured from the air conditioning vents moments before the fire alarms began blaring, causing near panic throughout the high school. Everyone knew this was no fire drill as the students poured out through the doors and into the open air, with some students and teachers choking and gasping from the smoke. Sirens from all directions screamed as every available fire truck, ambulance, and police car hurried to the site.

Susie could see Stephanie across the parking lot, and waved, but they could not leave their class groups. Both girls had their phones out texting, first to each other, and then to their parents to let them know everything was OK.

Mass pandemonium was the order of the day as teachers tried desperately to account for all of their charges. For the most part the students cooperated, but of course there always are a few that screw things up for everyone else. As each class was able to account for all of their personnel they were directed to the football stadium, where they were directed to sit in the bleachers. At least there they were free to sit wherever, and most of the students found boyfriend, girlfriend, or at least a friend to sit with. 

Stephanie was able at long last to find Susie, but she wished Justin and Rosemary hadn't had to go up to Scottsdale today. It seemed like forever since she had a chance to spend any time with Justin, and after her talk last night with her Mom she felt a little on the horny order; at least to the point of needing a good hug and a kiss. She hadn't seen much of Susie either for that matter. 

"Hey, Steph! What's up?"

"Not much. Glad to be out of class, though!"

"I heard that! Haven't seen you in what seems like ages. Anything new?"

"Yeah, as a matter of fact, there is. I met this really cool guy yesterday and . . . ." She knew it would set Susie off.

"What about you and Justin?"

"Oh, him. He won't mind." Steph continued playing with Susie's mind. "This guy is older and so much more mature!"

"Come on, girl. What gives? You aren't dumping Justin, are you? You're crazy!"

"Oh, he's not for me. I'm trying to get Mom interested."

Susie slapped her friend on the shoulder and shook her head in frustration. "You had me going, there, girl. Don't do that to me! What's with this guy?"

"He's a new ER doc at the hospital. He's been there about six months or so. Really neat guy."

"OK, so how did you get involved?"

"Well, Mom left her purse in the cafeteria Saturday night, and Tom found it. He brought it by the house yesterday morning just after I had gotten up, but Mom wasn't up yet. He saw Daddy's picture in the living room. He knew Daddy in Iraq, and was there when he was killed." Stephanie went on to relate the rest of the story to Susie's rapt attention.

"How cool is that? Do you think your mom is interested?"

"I don't know. She says she can't be because he's a Dr. and she has to work with him, but I think maybe she is. He's really neat, and I hope so. She's been awfully lonely for a long time now with Daddy gone. That's why she fell for Paul." An involuntary shudder shook her at the thought.

"Mom and I had a really good talk last night about her, and about Justin and me and things. You know, I'm really lucky to have the Mom I have! She lets me ask anything and is honest with me." Steph looked around to be sure no one could overhear her, but lowered her voice anyway and leaned in toward Susie, who leaned closer too. "I asked her about her and Daddy, you know, whether they waited until they got married or not. Was I ever embarrassed, and I know she was a little bit, too, but she told me that no, they weren't, but that there had been no one else. She said she knew they were going to be together before they did anything."

"She asked me if Justin was pressuring me, and I said, that he was too much of a gentleman, but that I love him and I was wondering. I didn't tell her we already have had sex! She said she couldn't tell me not to, but to be very careful that I don't get hurt, that I can only give it away once. I mean, how cool is that? How many girls can talk with their Mom's that way?"

"You are so lucky. I know Mommy loves me and all that, but I can't talk with her that way. Oh, we talk and stuff, but I couldn't ask her that! She really likes Mikey, though, and she is very encouraging toward our relationship. She had "the talk" with me a couple of years ago of course, and she was open to answering questions. Don't get me wrong, but she just would freak if I asked about having sex with Mikey!"

"Daddy, on the other hand, I can talk with him about just about everything. Of course there is no way I'm going to ask him anything like that!" Both girls giggled and the look on Susie's face was priceless. "Daddy finally got the 'Bugeye' finished, and he and I spent a good bit of the day tooling around in it. Mommy doesn't like riding in it. She can't stand having her hair blown around that way, but I love it! I asked Daddy if I could have it to take to school next year and he just laughed at me and told me I'd just try to pick up boys in it. I said I could only pick up one at a time, and it would be Mikey!"

Susie stopped for a moment and looked down. "I think something is going on, but I don't know what. Daddy asked me what I thought about Mikey, but there was something funny about the way he asked. Maybe I'm reading too much into it, he might just be trying to play Daddy with his little girl, protecting me or something, but, oh, I don't know. Anyway, I told him I love Mikey, that I would marry him if he asked. He actually dropped a wheel off the edge of the road for a minute. We were going up Mt. Lemmon, and he quickly got the car back under control. I really thought he was going to cry for a minute, but he didn't. He just said he thought I was pretty young to be thinking that way, but that I'm very mature for my age. He said if Mikey asked they wouldn't stand in my way."

Stephanie squealed with delight and hugged her friend. "Susie, that is so cool! Do you think Michael is going to ask you?"

Susie shrugged. "Not that I know of! He hasn't said anything to me. Like I told Daddy, we haven't even 'dated'", she used finger quotes. "The only thing you could call a date was when we went dancing after having dinner with his parents. And speaking of parents! His mother is so cool! She knew I wouldn't know how to dress for going out with Michael, especially for the Prom, so she took Mommy and me up to see her own dressmaker; and you should see the dress! Carole had drawn up a couple of sketches of ideas for me, but she threw them away after meeting me and getting acquainted. She does everything custom, design and everything, but she went out into the showroom while I was being measured and came in with the most beautiful gown! She had made it for the Senator's wife for an Inaugural Ball for the President, and she is giving it to me! She said she would rather see me wear it than her." Susie's eyes were shining with delight as she described the dress. 

"I feel almost like Cinderella, except I don't have to worry about Midnight! Joanna, Mikey's mom, is so cool to talk to. I didn't feel like a little girl talking to a grownup, or that she was checking the girl who was wanting to date her son. They made me feel wanted and loved for who I am, with or without Mikey."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Joanne Thibodeaux stretched, drawing the approving look of her husband who lay on the chaise longue next to her. For a fifty year old woman she had kept her figure very nicely. Her breasts sagged a little, but not nearly as badly as many women her age. Crow's-feet marked the corners of her eyes, but Jeff always said they were 'smile lines' and that they showed character, not age. He was always good at bolstering her confidence when she looked in the mirror and bewailed the march of time. 

Just enough of a breeze was blowing to dry and cool her bathing suit and bring her nipples to a point. Jeff's approving gaze noted them with pleasure. Thirty years of marriage, in August, had not dampened his love for his wife, nor did it dampen his admiration for her sleek body. In all of his years playing football at ASU, and then for the Cardinals in the NFL, he had never been tempted to stray, even though the opportunity had been thrown in his face time and time again. Once he had drawn sharp criticism from the team owner when one of the cheerleaders complained about him. She had made some rather plain overtures, but he had rebuffed them all. What really ticked her off, and the basis for her sexual harassment complaint had been when he asked her, "Why should I go out with you for a hot dog when I have fillet mignon waiting for me at home?" Jason Wilson, the offensive right guard, and his roommate when on the road, overheard the exchange. When they returned home from that particular road trip Jason had walked from the training facility out to the parking lot with Jeff and saw Joanne waiting by the car to pick Jeff up. 

"Mighty nice fillet, Jeff!" Joanne was upset at the remark, especially when Jason walked away with only a wave. It took Jeff a few minutes to calm her down, and he finally had to explain the comment. Since then it had been a bit of a joke between the two of them in private. Jeff and Jason talked on the phone on a regular basis still, and Jason was frequently known to say goodbye with a "Tell the fillet I said 'Hi.'"

"I'd say that fillet looks done to perfection," Jeff said to his wife as he sat up on his lounger.

"Oh, you think so, do you? Are you sure it doesn't need a little more time in the broiler?"

Jeff reached over and poked and prodded her body a few times in different places, making Joanne writhe and giggle. "Yep, it's just right!" He stepped to the end of her lounger and straddled it easily with his six foot six inch frame. Then he bent over and slipped his arms between her legs so that her knees landed on his shoulders and sliding his arms further up her body grasped her by the back of the shoulders stood up lifting her nearly effortlessly and causing her legs to slide further onto his shoulders until her bathing suit covered pussy was against his face. He curled lips over his teeth and began nibbling and gnawing while growling, causing Joanne to squirm and wiggle in his grasp while laughing at him. 

"Just perfect! Couldn't be better done!"

Joanne hooked her feet around the front of his chest under his arms and leaned back allowing him better access. "Are you sure it doesn't need some sauce or something?"

"Nope. When it's good quality and done right, just like this, it is juicy and doesn't need a thing!"

Her back tiring from holding herself stretched out Joanne leaned forward again. She was always amazed at Jeff's strength. Even though he had been retired from playing football for so many years he still kept himself in great shape and never seemed to tire holding her, even in such an awkward position. "Perhaps you should take it in from the grill where it can be better enjoyed," she said softly.

Tossing her into the air and catching and then cradling her in his arms Jeff carried her toward the bedroom. Joanne cuddled against him kvelling in his strength and love. She felt moisture gathering in her pussy in anticipation of what was to come.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Grandpa looked over Rosemary's shoulder as the door swung slowly open. The room of course was dark, and nothing could be seen until the door was fully opened. "Justin, go grab that light, son. We can't see anything."

I hurried down the corridor and dragging the cord behind me carried the light toward the door. 

Rosemary gasped, and Grandpa muttered "Land sakes o' Goshen!"

When I could see in the door after they stepped in I saw a set of shelves on the far wall lined with dated ledgers, but that was not what had our attention. In the corner, at the end of the shelf was a double stack of gold bars shining in the light. Each bar was about half an inch thick by about two inches wide and four inches long. Each stack was five bars high, and there were three rows. Thirty bars of gold! On the floor were two wooden crates that looked to be full of more bars.

Grandpa regained his equilibrium first and said, "I think at this moment we had better close this room back up and go get some lunch. We can decide what to do about it later, but for the moment nothing needs be said to anyone outside the four of us! We will call a family meeting for Wednesday evening when your folks get home, and Michael, that includes you."

Michael shook his head. "No sir, I don't need to be there. None of this is mine, nor do I covet any of it. You all are the ones who own the house. It belongs to you."

Grandpa stood and looked at Michael carefully, and I could see his 'lawyer' face setting in. "Now you listen to me, young man, and you listen good. I only want to say this once, and I don't want to hear you arguing the point. You are the one who found the entrance to this room. Might Justin have found it later? Possibly, but based on what happened so far probably not. No one else found it in a hundred years. You have been involved in this from the beginning, and you can consider this a bonus for being the kind of person you are. What you choose to do with the gold is your decision, just like I told you on the reward I intend to negotiate with the railroad. I am going to do all I can to keep your name out of the public eye, but I am not going to keep you from benefitting from what you made possible. Are we clear on this?"

"I feel funny taking it. I have all I need, and more, from what I've already done. If I don't want to, I don't have to work another day in my life. This would just add on to what I already have."

"Son, I appreciate what you are saying, and I wish a lot more people had your attitude. Trust me; you can do a lot more good with the money than you ever can without it. Like I said, what you do with it is your choice, but you will accept it. Understood? Your answer is 'Yes Sir.'"

Michael shrugged and said, "Yes Sir." We all grinned and trooped back out the door. Michael lifted the iron bar back into place and Rosemary carefully locked the padlock, then she handed the keys to Grandpa for safe-keeping. Lunch was going to be a festive occasion.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Steph and Susie sat in the sun of the stadium for nearly an hour before an administrator turned on the PA system and announced school was closed, and they were free to go home. He also announced it would be closed the following day for replacement of the air conditioning unit, that an email would be sent to all concerning the following day, whether or not the school would be in session. A ragged cheer erupted from all of the kids and they poured from the stands and headed for their cars. Those who didn't drive wandered around aimlessly trying to find a way to go home.

"I wish Rosie and Justin didn't go up to the house today. I could use a good swim and some sun," Steph said as the two girls walked out to her car. 

"You know we can use their pool anyway. Mikey isn't here today either. I hope they don't stay up there too long. I haven't seen him since Friday."

"Oh, you poor baby!" Steph teased and dodged a swat. "I know we can go over there. I just always feel a little funny wandering through their house when they aren't home."

"Yeah, I know, but you know they have said to make ourselves home anyway. I could use some sun. Let's go."

After quick stops at home to grab swimwear and a towel the girls drove to the Thyme home and let themselves in through the garage. The code had been given them a long time ago. They quickly pealed down to their bikinis and dove into the pool for a few laps before getting out to lie in the sun for a while.

"Hey, Susie, I haven't seen you wear that suit in a long time. What's the matter? No guys around?"

Susie just shook her head. "Since I've been with Michael I've learned I don't really need to flaunt it. As far as I'm concerned, I'm his, and I don't need to show off to other guys anymore." She gave Steph a saucy grin. "Don't worry, when the time is right he will get a lot more than just a sexy bikini!"

"I know. Isn't it funny how that works? Remember that suit I got that was mostly string? I got it to try to catch Justin, but I don't need it anymore either." She shrugged her shoulders. "As far as I'm concerned, when he's around I'd rather wear nothing at all, but I don't feel like showing off to any others. Not that I ever did that as much as you did!"

"Hey! Don't make me out to be that bad! I never did all that much!"

"Yeah, I know. It was mostly for Justin. Isn't it funny how that worked out for both of us? Rosemary, too."

"Tell me, what's it really like having sex with Justin? Sometimes when I'm around Michael I just want to drag him to bed with me, but he won't even consider it. I can't even get him to make out with me!"

Stephanie paused for a couple of minutes before replying, making Susie wonder if she had gone too far in asking. "Honestly, it is the most wonderful thing I have ever done." Unconsciously her hand started stroking her upper leg as she gazed unseeing into the sky. "I can see where it could be bad if you didn't have someone you really cared about, or someone who didn't care about you, but when I'm with him, well . . . he just makes it so wonderful." Her nipples were beginning to push out through her bra as she thought of Justin. "You know how Justin is, always thinking of others, well he's the same in bed. It isn't about him getting off, but he will leave himself hanging just to make sure it is good for me, and I know he does the same for Rosemary."

"Of course, we both try to make it really good for him, too. It's a two way street, and I'm really wishing he was here with me now." Now her hand had crept up to caress her belly, and to toy with the top of her bikini panty. "If I know Michael as well as I think I do I think he will be the same way, but don't push him. It is worth waiting until both of you are ready."

Susie's hands were wandering across her own body also as Stephanie was talking. "Sometimes I don't think I can wait! I've about worn out "Fred", and some nights it just isn't enough. How did you know when it was the right time?"

Stephie sighed as she remembered. "Well, you remember when we caught Justin and Rosemary after the fact." 

Susie giggled. "The look on their faces was priceless!" 

"Well, you remember how Rosie told us she liked to go naked around the house when she was under stress." Susie nodded. "It all started the night of the accident. Since Mom was gone the Thymes took me in. I couldn't climb the stairs that first night, so Justin picked me up and carried me. I was half loopy from the pain meds, or it might not have happened. I know I wouldn't have had the courage, but I was hugging him and holding him tightly. I had on a hospital robe because my clothes were ruined, and I didn't have on a bra, so I kind of rubbed my boobs on his chest, and the robe opened up a little bit and Justin could see one of my tits. He looked away really quickly, and I was embarrassed, but really turned on by it, too."




Justin Thyme Ch. 13



"He would have set me down at the top of the stairs, but Rosie told him to carry me on into her bedroom and set me down on the bed. I know she saw what was going on, and it hurt her, but she was trying to get the two of us together. When Justin laid me down on the bed the robe popped open again, and he could see both of them. His eyes were really big, and I closed the robe, but I didn't get in a hurry to do so. I blame that on the meds, but I'm really not sorry! His cock was so hard I thought it would poke a hole in his shorts!"

"The next morning he got up early and made coffee, and his parents both left for work stuff. Rosemary snuck downstairs, trying not to wake me, but I woke up anyway, and I got to thinking about you and couldn't go back to sleep. I know she was really stressed, too, because she snuck out of the room naked, with her clothes in her hand. After a few minutes I gave up sleeping and decided to get up and get another pain pill and some coffee. I was able to make it down the stairs slowly, and they didn't hear me coming. When I got to the bottom of the stairs I saw Rosemary naked, but Justin had his clothes on. It's funny, I didn't see it, but I heard it when Justin reached into the cabinet to get a coffee cup for Rosemary he was looking at her and dropped the cup and broke it all over the place." Susie giggled at the thought.

"Anyway, Rosemary told Justin the day was going to be a 'nude day' and asked if he wanted to join her. I really wasn't trying to snoop, but I had sat down on the step to rest and they still had not heard or seen me. Justin stripped off his clothes quickly, and then Rosemary hugged him, with his cock up against her belly. Then he sat down again to drink his coffee, but Rosie turned his chair and straddled his lap instead of sitting in another chair. She scooted up against him really close and started kissing him, while he started kissing her back and caressed her body all over with his hands. She started rocking against his cock, and it was only a few minutes before she stood up enough to get it inside of her and sat down on him. I watched the two of them making love, and it was the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. It wasn't just two people having sex, but they were sharing love. When they were done, I said, 'That's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen.' I thought they might jump up and try to hide, but they didn't."

"Rosemary told me she had decided it was going to be a nude day, and that Justin had decided to join her, but she didn't know if he would stay that way with me awake, but he did for a few minutes before he had to go to work."

Susie was rubbing herself through her bathing suit without even realizing what she was doing. "That's the hottest thing I've ever heard."

"Justin's boss closed the store early that day because they hadn't had a customer, and he let the guys go home. Justin forgot I was at the house, so he didn't call to say he was coming. I had decided to try going naked, too, since Justin was gone, and Rosemary is right. It does feel really good and free. I've started doing it at home when Mom isn't there, too. Anyway, I was lying on the couch when Justin walked in the door, and I screamed. He really quickly turned around, but he had obviously seen me! 

Rosie came running in to see what was wrong, and was going to get my clothes for me, and Justin was going to go to his room, but I decided I had seen him that morning, and he had already seen my tits, so I said he could turn around, that I didn't care. He was a real gentleman about it. He said he didn't want me doing something because of the pain meds that I would be sorry for later. How many guys would do that? Anyway, Rosie asked if he was going to get naked too, and he said as long as I didn't mind him staring at me he would, that he knew I liked staring at him, and he liked staring at Rosemary. Then he got really serious and said, 'Just because we are naked doesn't mean I'll do anything to you,' and Rosie said that just because we were naked didn't mean sex necessarily, that the morning had been different." 

Anyway, we all sat around and talked for a little while, and the three of us cuddled on the couch until the phone rang. It was their Grandpa wanting to meet with us about the accident. I said I had to get a shower first, so Rosie told Justin to carry me up the stairs. I could have made it, but I wasn't about to turn that down! I made sure to rub my tits on his chest while he carried me and it felt really, really good. Rosie pinched his ass once when he was picking me up, and he jumped and lifted me a little higher so my tits were in front of his face, and he grabbed one in his mouth and sucked on it for just a moment and then kissed it. I told him, 'You can do that anytime!' and he said I plan to, and did it again. I swear I felt it all the way down in my pussy! 

He set me down at the top of the stairs, and Rosemary told him she thought for 'safety' sake he should help me take a shower, and since she needed one too we all got in there together. We all washed each other, and just had fun together. We were getting ready to get out when Rosemary told me I missed a spot and put some body wash on his cock. She told me I needed to scrub it really good." Steph got a big grin on her face as she said, "So I did! It was only a couple of minutes and he was spurting all over me, on my tits and belly, so I pointed him at Rosemary and got her too. We rinsed off after that and got out, and he dried the two of us off, and we dried him."

"I thought that would be the end of it and we'd go get ready, but he picked me up and carried me in to Rosemary's bed and laid me down and then started kissing me and sucking and plucking at my nipples, then he got on his knees and put his head between my legs. I tried to stop him, but he started eating out my pussy. I have never felt anything like it! It was just a very few minutes and I had an orgasm like I never had before! It was so strong I passed out for a few minutes. I knew then he could have anything he wanted from me any time. He wasn't looking for anything for himself, but just made it wonderful for me."

Susie's hand was inside her bathing suit now, furiously rubbing her pussy while the other hand had pushed her bra aside and was feverishly plucking and pulling at her nipples. She moaned with arousal.

"It was a couple of nights later, the last night before Mom came home with Paul, that I was staying over at their house. Justin and Rosemary had just been down to see the house, and Rosemary asked Justin to come into her room so we could talk about it together. He was concerned about getting caught, but Rosie said their mom was gone for the night, and it would be OK. She told him to just strip down to his boxers and we were going to get ready for bed. Justin watched her as she undressed, and his cock was really hard. I already had a tee shirt on and was ready. We all got in the bed with Justin in the middle and snuggled while we talked about the house and other things. I had already pulled my shirt up so I could snuggle my boobies against his chest, and somehow his boxers had come off. Rosie was naked on her side of the bed, and I couldn't take it any longer." 

"I asked him if he would please make love to me, and I pulled off my shirt and climbed on top of him. Rosie held his cock up for me so I could get it in, and I just slid down all the way and just laid there with his cock in me and just felt 'full' and complete. It was the most wonderful thing ever, and I will never give him up for anything. I almost got us in trouble, because it felt so good I got a little bit noisy when he made me come, and he made sure I came before he did."

All Steph heard from Susie was a guttural "Uuuunnnnh," and saw her body quivering in the other chaise longue.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Rosemary and I sat in the back seat of Michael's Escalade as we drove to lunch. Her arm was through mine, with her hand in mine and she was leaning her shoulder against me. Her excitement was obvious. I know she wanted to talk about things, but Grandpa had said to hold it until later, and she was doing so. I was a little uncomfortable that Grandpa or Michael would think the way we sat was funny, but thought they would just chalk it up to brother and sister, with sister excited about the gold. 

Grandpa finished talking on the phone and put it in his pocket. "Wednesday evening at seven thirty OK? I got hold of Pete, and that will work for them." He glanced back at me and said, "I'm sorry I can't do better for you, but your Grandmother insisted on doing a lasagna."

If Grandma was doing lasagna I'd crawl if I had to, to get there! "Michael, you are in for a treat! Grandma makes an awesome lasagna! You had better come hungry!"

Grandpa drawled, "Well, I don't know about awesome, but no one has ever broken a molar on one either." He grinned back at me. "My grandkids seem to enjoy it though, and I make it a point not to be late for dinner." 

Bill's Restaurant was quite busy when we pulled into the parking lot. Grandpa was worried we wouldn't be seated in time to eat and get back to the house in time, but a phone call changed that. Grandpa answered and said, "Yes, Sir," three times and hung up. "That was the CEO. He made a quick stop in Provo to pick up the Corporate Counsel, which doesn't surprise me at all, and he'll be half an hour to forty-five minutes late. He apologized for the delay, and it can't be helped. In the long run it will probably make it easier all around. His attorney and I can hash things out and be certain they are done right so we don't have to go back and redo them later. That being the case, we can have a relaxed lunch and not have to worry about time." We all got out of the car and made our way to the door.

Debbie, our waitress from an earlier visit to Bill's and one of our prospective tenants, hurried by with a large tray of food as we walked in. "Hey, Justin, Rosemary. How are you guys? Let me see if I can get a table for you in my area, K?

I nodded, and Grandpa gave me a look. "I'm amazed she even noticed Rosemary was here. She sure has eyes for you!"

"Come on, Grandpa. Nothing of the sort. Besides, she's going to be a senior." Grandpa just snorted and grinned when Rosemary dug her elbow into my ribs. 

We waited for about fifteen minutes while three other couples and a group of four were seated before a harried hostess offered to seat us. Rosemary quickly asked if it was in Debbie's area, and said we would wait if not. It wasn't, so another group of four right behind us was seated next. We could see a group standing in Debbie's area, and knew we wouldn't have to wait long anyway. 

Debbie hurried over to our table right after we were seated and took our drink orders. "I'm sorry I don't have time to talk right now. As you can see, we are buried today! Mom sent back the contract and my deposit Saturday. I can't wait to get out of those dorms! Be right back," and she hurried away. 

Grandpa ordered a Reuben sandwich, and looked at me in horror when I ordered a Feta Cheese omelet and asked for extra feta cheese to be sprinkled on my hashbrowns. Michael said, "That sounds good," and changed his order to match mine. Rosemary just got a hamburger and fries. Grandpa said, "At least I have one grandchild with taste!" Grandpa hates feta. 

"I've been thinking," Grandpa said after Debbie left with our orders. "When the railroad people come today I'm thinking it might be a good idea to bring them in through the front door rather than through the carriage house. We'll need to use the carriage house exit for removing the cases, but it might set things up a little better to bring them in the front way. What do you guys think?"

Rosemary spoke up first. "I really think you are right, Grandpa. Coming in through the carriage house is kind of depressing, and I think it would make a lot better impression if we let them see a bit of the house."

Michael agreed. "These are corporate types, white-collar office people. They aren't going to be accustomed to seeing things from the back side like most of their blue-collar employees. I think bringing them through the front door will set the stage best for your negotiations with them." I just nodded.

Grandpa nodded, and no more was said about the subject. Instead, Grandpa asked Michael what his thoughts were on the development of the carriage house apartments, and we all discussed them for the remainder of lunch. Clearly in Grandpa's mind they were a done deal, regardless of Mom's reservations.

Michael dropped us off at the house after lunch and then left to be on hand when the railroad people arrived. They were landing at the Deer Park airport on the north side of town rather than using Sky Harbor and having to deal with all of the passenger jets. It was just much simpler to get in and out, plus much lower landing fees.

Since we hadn't stripped the carpet from the library yet, and it was a nice soft pile Grandpa decided to lie down and take a short nap while we waited. Rosemary and I decided to take the opportunity to run up to my room and take a 'nap' of our own. All day long Rosemary had taken every opportunity to brush against me or to lean against me when she didn't think anyone would think anything of it. Once, when we were down in the basement and Grandpa and Michael were busy she even flashed me. This was of necessity going to have to be a quickie, but I wasn't about to turn it down!

We hadn't any more than cleared the top of the stairs on the second floor when she stopped suddenly and making sure I was watching quickly stripped, and then with me closely behind ran on up the stairs to the third floor and on up to my garret. Of course, I watched her ass as it swayed all the way up the stairs. She stopped at the top step suddenly, and I almost ran her over, then she bent over spread legged and looked at me between her legs. "See anything you like, Justin?"

I licked my lips and nodded. "Good." She grinned at me and winked, then made her way to my bedroll and quickly unrolled it. "Hurry. I really need you today! I don't know why, but I've been horny all day."

Even though we slept together last night, and had sex twice she was acting as if it had been much longer. I quickly dropped my clothes to the floor and crawled onto the sleeping bag next to her, but she wasn't having that. "We don't have time for foreplay. You know Grandpa. He's liable to think of something and come looking for us. I just need you." 

I crawled between her legs, which were open and waiting for me, but looking at her sexy body I was overcome once again with her beauty, and how fortunate I was to be able to make love to her. Sister or not, I love Rosemary totally and I'm overwhelmed every time I have a chance to be with her. First of all I bent down and placed a kiss right on her clit, causing her to jump and hiss as she sucked her breath in between her teeth. I knew I didn't have the time to eat her pussy the way I wanted to, but I did take the time to stick out my tongue and trail it slowly up her crease until I got to the clit, which I sucked in between my lips and I fluttered my tongue across it. She was already wet and ready for me, and although time was of the essence I had to make one more stop. I slid forward and took each of her nipples in my mouth and treated them as I had her clit. 

She reached down and grabbed my cock while I was teasing her nipples and rubbed it up and down her pussy, coating the head with her juices, and then she lined it up with her opening and scooted herself down on the sleeping bag forcing me inside. I didn't need any more urging, but began stroking in and out, enjoying the moist warmth that enveloped my cock. "That feels so good, Justin. Just like that! Oh, you are going in so deep! Oh, oh, that feels soooo good! Can you hold just a little longer? I think I may come. It feels so good . . . , so good." 

She was moving with me, rocking her pelvis trying to get me as deep as she could. I looked down at her, which was a mistake if I wanted to hold out much longer. I saw her breasts pointed up at me, with her excited nipples extended out like pointers showing the way. I bent myself down as far as I could and still be able to give her full penetration and grabbed her right nipple in my mouth and sucked it in, then I nipped it lightly with my teeth and dragged them down to the end and let her nipple pop out of my mouth, but I followed it up with a flattened tongue that stroked it firmly across the very end, which I knew drove her crazy, and that was all it took. Her eyes rolled up in her head and she arched her back and groaned her release. I kept holding back as long as I could, but to be honest, that wasn't very long and I plunged in as far as I could and released. I could feel my toes curling from the intensity, and I collapsed on top of her, gasping for breath. 

I could feel her boobs smashed against my chest as she struggled to regain her breath also, and I quickly raised up on my elbows to keep from crushing her. I looked down to see her smiling up at me, a contented, satisfied look on her face and was overwhelmed that I had put it there. I suddenly realized I had not even thought of Stephie once! My mind went into a turmoil. How was I able to do this? To love two women as completely as I did? Did that mean there was something wrong with me, or was it something better than most. I bent down and kissed her lips gently and said, "Thank you. You mean the world to me."

"I know, and you are the same. I love you." I kissed her once again, but the spell was quickly broken.

"Justin!" It was Grandpa calling from the second floor. 

"Be right there!" I called back and quickly scrambled into my clothes, using my underwear to quickly wipe myself off, and then pulling on my shorts without them, and grabbed my shirt and hurried down the stairs before Grandpa could come up. Rosemary grabbed her clothes and scurried to the bathroom to wash quickly and then to follow in a few minutes.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Aren't we a couple of silly birds?! Here we are like a couple of love-sick birds moaning about our boyfriends being up at the house. There is nothing to keep us from going up there, is there?"

Susie lay there still trying to get her breath after her powerful orgasm. "They have a meeting with somebody about something really important, but I don't know what it is."

"Well, is there any reason we can't let them have their meeting and then be there when they are done? You haven't seen the house, yet. I really want to show it to you. You aren't going to believe where we are going to live next year! Let's get some clothes on and go!"

"Works for me. I'll get to see Mikey, too. I've really missed him, but I can't tell him about the dress or anything. I really can't wait to see his face Friday night!"

The girls got up, grabbed their towels and other paraphernalia, and headed for the house, although Susie walked on rather wobbly legs. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jeff and Joanne lay in their king-sized bed cuddling and enjoying their post-coital glow. Joanne's ample breasts were soft against Jeff's chest as she nestled her head on his shoulder.

"I'm really glad you decided to take the day off today. The team can get by without you for a day."

Jeff chuckled and gave her a squeeze enjoying the way it pressed the softness of her breasts against him. "Well, since spring practice ended yesterday I have a couple of days before I have to get working with some of the kids again. That means I get to spend the day with my favorite wife."

Joanne jabbed a finger in his ribs, making him jump. "You keep it that way, Buster!" She sighed and tried to nestle even closer. "I keep thinking about Michael and Susie. I really like that girl! The only concern I have is how they are going to handle religion. Michael promised her he would not pressure her to change, and he hasn't been as faithful to services as I would like to see."




Justin Thyme Ch. 13



"I know, honey, but we can't live his life for him. He has to make those choices for himself. She's a good girl, and you know she loves Michael completely. She'll be good for him, and I think we can let the religion side of things take care of themselves."

"She's a lot different than all of the girls that chased him up here! I really miss having him around the house, but I think his moving down to Tucson was a wise decision on his part. You should have seen her eyes when Carole laid the gown in her lap. You could see she wanted it desperately, it is a beautiful gown, but she thought it was too much. She isn't one who likes a lot of fuss made over her. Remember Connie, and the way she was after Michael?"

Jeff groaned. "She was a piece of work! It didn't take Michael long to figure her out, though." Jeff laughed. "Remember Michael telling us how Susie gave him fits because he bought that CTS to transport her because she couldn't get into the Escalade? Just wait until she finds out he really bought it for her!"

Joanne giggled at the thought. "She is going to be spoiled, whether she likes it or not! That girl has him wrapped so tightly around her finger it isn't funny, but she doesn't take advantage of it. She has very special parents. Speaking of Michael, I wonder what he is up to today. Why couldn't he tell us what was going on? And what is he doing that we will see it on the news?"

Jeff just shrugged. "Whatever it is, he seemed to think it funny we would find out on the news. For one who is publicity shy as he is, he's enjoying it." His massive hand slid up from where it had been caressing her side and cupped her breast and began stroking it, which brought a purr of contentment from Joanne. 

"You think you're twenty again, or something?" Jeff grinned and kissed the top of her head.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Hey, Grandpa, what do you need?" I was a little breathless from running down the stairs to keep him from coming up.

"I just got to thinking. Sam Johnson was a major stakeholder in several of the railroads out here, but we haven't found anything to indicate it. I think it would be wise if we were to go back to the lower office and go through some of his paperwork. There is likely a collection of stock certificates or such that we might want to discuss with the railroad people today." He looked at me searchingly for a moment before continuing. "I don't know if you've thought about this, but you are likely to be a rather wealthy young man before all of this is through. And by the way, I'm not trying to leave Michael out of this. I just thought about it after he left."

"I know you aren't trying to short Michael, Grandpa, and yes, I've given a good bit of consideration to how to handle all of the money that seems to be coming my way. I wasn't looking for it when we found it, and I've never had any real aspirations to being rich. I'm not sure how I'm going to handle it, but I'm not going out and doing anything rash, I promise you."

"OK, good. Money can be destructive, as well as being a blessing, and sudden money, particularly when you are young can be especially destructive. You don't have to look far to see examples of that in Hollywood or professional sports. You have a good head on your shoulders, and you've been raised right. Just think long term consequences before you make any decisions, and it would be good for you to find a good counsellor to work with you."

"I thought I'd depend on you a lot."

"Well, I'll be happy to help you all I can, you know that, but you will need more than I can give you. I'll be happy to recommend some people if you like."

"I'd be grateful."

"OK, now, if your sister decides to come down we can go on down to the cellar and see what we can find."

"Do you want to use the ladder, or would you rather go down the stairs to the first floor?"

"Oh, the ladder will be fine. I'm kind of curious to see the doors, anyway."

I texted Rosemary to come down the ladder from upstairs and then led Grandpa to what was now her room and showed him the door. I told him the latch was one of the peg boards for clothes and he started tugging and twisting both, but didn't find it. I showed him how you lift the pegs on the left side and the door opens, leaving him shaking his head. "I'd like to meet the guy who designed all of these doors! I should have thought to lift the pegs, because if you hang clothes on them that would pull down, which would accidentally open the door if you weren't careful. One doesn't think about lifting them intuitively, though."

We stepped through the door and closed it behind us before descending the ladder into the lower office.

The three of us went first to the desk and started looking through drawers and checking files, but we found nothing there. There were a number of files dealing with day to day operations, with mines mentioned a couple of times, but nothing of any real significance to us. Grandpa scratched his head as he looked at the desk. "Does anything about this desk look strange to you kids?"

"It looks like a desk to me. I don't see anything unusual. It isn't ornate or compartmentalized like the one upstairs is." Rosemary nodded her head in agreement. 

"We've already seen Sam was secretive and careful, even creative in the way he hid things. It wouldn't be unlike him at all to have someplace hidden on these desks." We carefully pulled out drawers, checking for false bottoms or other compartments, but we didn't find anything. "There's a possibility he kept them in the other room, but I didn't see anything that looked like a file down there, but it won't hurt to take another look."

Grandpa pulled the keys from his pocket as we walked down the passageway, but just as he was ready to unlock the padlock his cell phone rang. "Hello."

"Michael here. We're about ten minutes out. They got in early."

"Thanks. We'll meet you upstairs." "Well, kids, I guess we'll have to do our looking another time. What do you say we meet in the library? Justin, could you grab a few clean five gallon paint buckets for us to sit on? I should have thought about bringing some folding chairs."

I climbed the ladder to the second floor while Grandpa and Rosemary made their way to the front door to meet our guests. First of all, I grabbed all of the empty fives we had and carried them downstairs. No point in dragging more full ones than were needed. I had just gotten back downstairs with two full ones when I heard Grandpa open the front door and call out, "Welcome."

Three gentlemen carrying briefcases got out of the car and started for the door. Michael followed along behind. "Good afternoon, sir. I presume you are Ben Thompson?"

"Yes, sir. Thank you for taking my call and then for coming."

"Well, if what you have to show us is what I'm hoping it is I'd have been crazy not to come. By the way, I'm Ben Jorgenson, and this is Pete Fleming, our Corporate President, and Charles Weigle, our Counsel.

Grandpa shook hands with each of the men before saying, "You've already met Michael Borden, one of the discoverers, and this is my grandson, Justin Thyme, the other discoverer, and part owner of this house. Rosemary Thyme, here, is my granddaughter, and also partial owner of the house. Unfortunately, my son and daughter, the other owners of the house are not able to be present, but they are not a part of the discovery. Would you please come in?"

We all made our way to the library, where Rosemary brought a tray with coffee and cups. Michael followed behind her with some sodas and bottles of water. "What a magnificent desk!" said Ben Jorgenson. "That is phenomenal! Would you be interested in selling it? I would love to have such a desk in my office!"

"Thank you, sir, but no. For one thing, you cannot remove it from the room without breaking it apart or tearing out the doorway," I answered. "Besides, I kind of like it myself." I gave him a smile to soften the words.

"I've never seen the likes of it, have you, Charlie?"

"No, I haven't, Ben. It is exquisite. Even the "Resolute" desk in the White House doesn't match it. I don't have a room in my house that it wouldn't overpower. Would you mind if I take a look at it, Justin?"

"Charlie is our antiquarian. I doubt he has a stick of furniture in his house that isn't a hundred years old."

I just nodded and held my hand out toward the desk in invitation as Charlie said, "Not quite. My wife insisted we sleep on something a bit more modern." He grinned at me, "For the rest it's probably close to true. I just love the workmanship one finds in some pieces, and like I said, this one is exquisite."

As he approached the desk, Grandpa said, "Please excuse the Spartan accommodations. The kids are in process of restoring the old house, and I didn't think about bringing any chairs up with us today. They've been sleeping on the floor and I don't know how else they get by, but it's nice to be young."

Pete Fleming, who had up to this point remained quiet said, "I've sat on a lot worse when I was on the track laying team back during college." He responded to our surprised looks by saying, "My dad made me get a 'real' job while I was in school. He said too many people get into management who have no idea what they are managing. The experiences I had then have paid off very well since I moved into the offices. In fact, when we have interns come to work with us I make the ones that have potential to stay around spend at least a summer on a rail job of some sort. Something besides sitting at a desk." Ben was not quite as happy to sit on a bucket, but did so without complaint.

Charlie ooohed and aaaahhed over the desk even as Grandpa turned the meeting to its original purpose. "Well, gentlemen, the reason I interrupted your vacation and everything else you were doing was because of the find my grandson and Michael made. Samuel Johnson disappeared on the very night he had a meeting with some government people investigating the railroad, and some of the military, who were looking into using the railroad in support of our troops. That very day he had received shipment of $50,000 in gold coin for dispersal to Southwestern Railroad of Arizona shareholders for the merger. Is this your understanding?"

Ben agreed.

Charlie interrupted. "Sorry, Ben, and Ben, but Justin, you need to take a look at this!" I walked over to the desk and saw where he had pulled on what looked like a support column for some cubbyholes. It was a hidden drawer that was filled with old papers and forms! "A lot of these old desks have such drawers. You just have to know where to look for them."

"Thank you, sir! We'll check those out later. In fact, we had just been looking for something of the sort when Michael called."

Grandpa nodded at Charlie and me, and then he continued where he had left off. "There was some thought that Johnson perhaps absconded with the funds, although much of the money was coming to him anyway; and one of his managers, a Henry Murray, also disappeared that night. Something that mitigated against that theory is an empty buckboard and team was found in the carriage house, and no horses were missing. Well, gentlemen, we have found Mr. Johnson, as well as Mr. Murray, and it is pretty clear Mr. Johnson gave his life defending those trunks. It appears Mr. Murray found out about them somehow and tried to hold up Johnson in a secret room under the house that no one knew about, other than Johnson and Murray. Murray, it appeared, was working with Johnson on some mining properties that he would have tried to take over as well. Shall we go have a look, and then we will check out those two cases and see if they hold what I believe they do."

Grandpa led the way to the closet and called me. "Justin, would you please open the door. I've forgotten already how to do it." I slipped past him and quickly twisted the rod before anyone else could see it. Grandpa, that sly fox, had forgotten nothing, but he didn't want to give away our secret either.

Grandpa stopped them before they descended though. "Gentlemen, can we have a gentleman's agreement between us? I didn't bother drawing up a non-disclosure document before the meeting because I really didn't think it necessary. May I have your word you will not reveal where and under what circumstances this was found? A 'secret room at an undisclosed location' would be quite adequate, I believe." All three of the railroad men nodded in agreement. "The Sheriff was here this morning, and removed the skeletons of the two men. I'm sure some of it will leak out, but we would like as little publicity as possible, especially as the kids, here, are renovating the house and will be providing student housing for girls here. We don't want to scare any of them away."

That brought grins to the men's faces, and Grandpa followed me down the ladder.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Stephanie and Susie were making good time up I-10 with little traffic until shortly before they reached the Metro Phoenix area. They were held up for a while by an accident by Sky Harbor Airport, but not for long. 

"I still think we ought to give them a call and let them know we are coming," Susie said. "We don't know how long the meeting is going to last, and I know Michael wouldn't be happy if we interrupted."

"Oh, don't be silly. If we see another car at the house we won't stop. We'll go by Bill's and get some lunch and come back."

"I guess, but I'd feel a lot better if we called." 

From the airport on traffic was smooth and they made good time, and turned onto our street. Susie sat open-mouthed. "Tell me that's it! Holy Cow! That place is huge, and beautiful!"

"That's it! That's home for the next four years, girl. Now, is it everything I told you it would be?"

"That's what you said, and more! If the inside is anything like the exterior it is a palace!"

"Well, I'd not quite call it a palace, but mansion fits the bill nicely. They must be done. I don't see another vehicle. I'm glad we aren't too late. It would really bite it to get here and they are gone already!" Stephanie parked next to the Escalade and the girls jumped out of the car excitedly and hurried up to the front door, where Stephanie rang the doorbell.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mary Winters sat in the cafeteria for lunch, and caught herself looking around for Tom, but he wasn't in the room. She scolded herself for even looking, but Stephanie's comments had struck home, and she did find herself somewhat interested in the man. It had been a long, long dry spell, with nobody in the long ten years since her husband's death other than Paul. Her experience with Paul had not been particularly good, but it had been just enough to reawaken the hunger.

She picked disinterestedly at the tuna salad on her plate, and pushed it around as if trying to find something good about it. Actually, she didn't dislike the tuna salad as prepared by the cafeteria; it was more of a dissatisfaction with life in general. She had taken a good look at herself in the mirror before getting ready for work in the morning, and wasn't unhappy with what she saw. For a forty-eight year old woman she thought she had maintained her figure quite well, and her breasts, while not large, had not sagged appreciably. She ate carefully, partly because of her medical knowledge, but also because she wanted to keep herself looking good. A part of it was Brad. She never left the house without saying goodbye to his picture, and she wanted to be certain she would please him if he could see her. She recognized it was foolishness, but it was what it was, and she didn't plan to change. 

The biggest fight she had with Paul was when he wanted to take down the picture and the flag when he moved in. She acquiesced, but felt guilty as she did so, and the first thing she did when Paul was taken away, even before starting to clean up the mess, was to replace Brad's picture, and apologize to it. She solemnly promised never to let it happen again. At last, finished with her tuna, and needing to get back on duty she rose from the table and turned for the door just in time to see Tom coming in. He gave her a great big grin, which made her heart lurch, and then he waved across the room. She smiled back and waited for a moment by the tray return line until he had passed through the serving line. "Hi, Tom. Say, would you like to come over and have dinner with Stephanie and me this evening? Nothing fancy. You have to take whatever I can find." Now where in the world did that come from?!

His face brightened considerably. "I'd love to. Thank you! My cooking is not worth mentioning, and I get tired of talking to myself. You two are a welcome change. Can I bring anything?"

"Oh, no. That's not necessary. I just thought it would be nice to have someone else in the house, too, and I know Stephanie really wanted to talk with you some more."

"Fine. It will be six or so before I can get there, would that be OK?"

"Perfect. See you then." And with that Mary walked from the cafeteria with a bounce in her step that had not been there when she trudged in.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I heard the doorbell ring as I got to the bottom of the ladder, and Grandpa stopped, irritated at the interruption. Rosemary called out, "I'll get it. Go ahead," and Grandpa stepped off of the ladder. Ben followed, with Pete and Charlie right behind. Michael started down the ladder when Rosemary called to him. He called down the stairs to say he would be right down and returned to the front room.

"Susie! What are you doing here?"

"We thought we'd sneak up and see you and Justin. They had a fire in the air conditioner at school, and school is out tomorrow, too. You guys are through with your meeting aren't you?"

"Actually, no. We're just getting started."

"Oh. I'm sorry! We didn't see another car, so we thought they were already gone."

Rosemary spoke up quickly. "Why don't you go on to the meeting and Steph and I'll show Susie the house. I don't have to be in it anyway. Just tell Justin to let me know what happens." 

Michael nodded and gave Susie a little hug and kiss. "That will have to do you until later, Little One. Love you," and he turned and hurried away. He carefully closed the secret door and scurried down the ladder to find Grandpa waiting impatiently for him to arrive.

"What's the problem, Michael?"

"Oh, no problem. Susie and Stephanie decided to drive up since school was released because of a fire in the A/C. Rosemary is going to show them around the house, and we can proceed."

Grandpa nodded. "Thank you." "Now gentlemen, I'll turn this over to Justin and Michael to tell you what they found."

Michael waved at me to go ahead, so I cleared my throat and began. "Well, it's like this. We had been trying to figure out why one set of bookshelves looked a little funny up in my room up in the turret room up on top. Michael suggested Sam Johnson had an escape route, or perhaps a safe room with a secret entrance. We looked all over for a latch and were about to give up when Michael found it. My room is at the top end of the ladder we climbed down. When we climbed down here we found Sam Johnson sitting here at the desk, with a revolver in his hand. He had been shot through the left shoulder, upper chest area. Over there, in the corner, Murray was sprawled on the floor with a revolver in his hand. He had been shot through the head, right between the eyes. Am I leaving anything out, Michael?"

"No, you pretty well have it. We left right away and called Ben Thompson, here, knowing we needed some advice." He gestured at Grandpa. "I was not able to return with them when Justin brought Ben, but that is when they found the two chests I believe you gentlemen are interested in. Is there anything you'd like to add, Ben?"

"Nope, I think that takes care of it. If you gentlemen will step around here with me I'll show you what we found, and where, and then we will see about checking it for contents, which we did not attempt before calling you." Grandpa led them into the corridor and showed them the loosely piled tarpaulins, and told them the tarps were what had tipped him off in the first place, as Johnson was very particular about everything in the place, from what we could see in the cellar, and from the layout and design of the house itself. When Grandpa pulled the tarps aside you could have cut the silence with a knife. "These, gentlemen, are I believe what Mr. Johnson gave his life to protect, and unfortunately, his good name also, as no one knew where he was. Justin, Michael, you guys are a lot younger than are we. How about the two of you grabbing one of these and set it out on the desk for me."




Justin Thyme Ch. 13



When we went to pick one up I understood why he suggested both of us pick it up. The case weighed nearly a hundred pounds!

Between us we got it up on the desk and Grandpa pulled the key ring out of his pocket. "I don't know if there is a key on this ring that will fit the chests or not, gentlemen. Sam Johnson had this ring in his pocket when he was killed." He picked out a couple of smaller keys and tried the first one, but it would not fit. Everyone held their breath when he tried the other key, which slipped into the slot and turned with a soft 'click'. Grandpa stepped back from the chest and gestured to Ben. "Would you like to do the honors, sir?"

Ben Jorgenson's hand was trembling as he reached for the lid. Fifty thousand dollars doesn't sound like all that much money these days, but at the first of the twentieth century it was quite a lot! Ben opened the lid and we all could see short rolls of $20 gold coins, quite a lot of them, in fact. Ben Jorgenson pulled one roll of coins from the case and hefted it in his hand before passing it along to the other two gentlemen, who each looked at it reverently, before looking up at Grandpa, and then over at Michael and me. Ben's voice was hushed as he said, "Thank you very much, gentlemen. Your honesty speaks well for you."

Michael shrugged and said, "It's the right thing to do. I always try to do what's right, although at times I fail." I nodded in agreement.

Grandpa interjected, "The reason we called you and are returning this is not for the reward offered by the El Paso and Southwestern Railroad, but because we think it is the right thing to do. Actually, under Arizona law the kids are entitled to half, as treasure trove, but none of us believe that to be the right way to go about things. The reward offer however was never rescinded, so it was carried over to the Southern Pacific, and then to the U.P. in the merger."

Ben Jorgenson nodded his head. "I see nothing wrong with that at all! In fact, we were discussing what should be done on the way down here. None of us knew about the reward offer, but then we didn't really have a lot of time to research things. Do you know how much the reward offer was?"

"Yes sir. It was for $5,000, and that brings up a little different matter. The value of the gold has increased by over 70 times since 1901. Now please understand, neither of these young men are asking for that kind of an increase, but I as one's Grandfather, and as the other's attorney, am asking a reasonable consideration. By my best calculations from the spot prices on gold today, the $50,000 in these chests are now worth in excess of three and a half million, without even taking into account any numismatic values on the individual coins. Of course, we had not opened the chests before you just did, so I have no idea what is in there."

Charles Weigle, the legal counsel for the railroad spoke up. "I think what you are asking is entirely reasonable, and to be honest, if you had just melted down the coins, or had sold them off as treasure trove no one would have been the wiser." He looked over at Ben Jorgenson and Pete Fleming. "I'm thinking since the reward was for $5,000, if we were to pay them the $5,000 in gold coin, they would also reap the difference in value, plus if they get lucky and find a valuable coin they would have that as well. Even at that the railroad is going to come out very well." Both men nodded their agreement. 

"Would you be willing to sign a receipt and a quit claim agreement on any treasure trove claim?" Charlie asked.

I nodded, as did Michael. Grandpa spoke up. "If you will draw something up we will be most happy to oblige. I know we lawyers like to make things complicated, but it need not be. Just a simple document will more than suffice. Michael didn't even want to take a reward, feeling it was only right to return your property, and Justin didn't ask about one. I had to talk to Michael like a Dutch uncle to get him to agree to what was his fair share."

Ben Jorgenson looked over at Michael, then at me, before saying, "Your attitudes are indeed commendable, and not something I run across every day. Michael, tell me, what do you do that you don't need the money? Are you in school, or what?"

Michael actually colored a little bit. "My needs are simple. I don't need more than I have. I wrote a computer business program and a couple of apps that I've sold, and I'm quite comfortable from them. I just try to do the right thing and don't worry about the rest of it."

Ben nodded. "What kind of program did you write, if I may ask?"

"It's a bit of software for tracking stocks and plotting trends. I actually wrote it for my Dad because he didn't understand what his broker was trying to get him to do with his investments. Dad showed it to his broker, and it stirred up some interest and I ended up getting a very nice offer from a software company, plus royalties for it." He told them the name of the program.

Pet started in his seat. "You wrote that? How old are you anyway, if I may ask?"

"I'm twenty-two, sir. I actually wrote it when I was in high school. Like I said, I just did it for Dad, and some people got interested."

"I use that program. I bought the Beta version when it first came out, and I've upgraded every time you have put out an upgrade. That software is marvelous! Are you interested in a job? The UP could use your talent, and you can pretty much name your price. We've had programmers trying to do something with some of our scheduling software, but they can't seem to get it done. Your concept for investing seems to be along the lines I think they should look."

Michael shrugged. "I'm not really looking for a job, thank you. I piddle around with projects when I find something that interests me. I'm not an idle lay-about, but I don't have to work to support my lifestyle, so I don't have a job as such. I might be willing to take a look at what you need and see if I see a solution. Oh, and by the way, my future, I hope, father was having some troubles navigating my program. He isn't very tech savvy, so I've made some modifications that simplify some of the steps. I'll be happy to give you a copy."

"May I have your card? I'll have our head of IT get in touch with you ASAP. I really would like to have you at least take a look and get back to us if you are interested. If you would, please copy me on whatever you send him. I'm not always sure I'm getting the information I need from them, or if I'm just getting what they think I ought to see."

"Yes sir. I'll be happy to do so, and I'll send you a disk with my changes. I'd appreciate any feedback you wish to give on it as well."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Susie was blown away by the house, absolutely loving the dark wood mouldings and the wide staircase. Rosemary showed her the kitchen and described what we planned to do with it. They took just a brief look at the library, Rosemary saying they would come back and look at it more later, but she didn't want to be in the way if the meeting moved back into there.

Both Susie and Stephanie were puzzled about where the men had all gone, but Rosemary kept it quiet. She led the way up to the second floor and showed them a couple of rooms that had been painted and then led them down to the end of the hall and entered the room she planned to move into. "This room is going to be mine for reasons I can't tell you right now. Originally I was supposed to have one of the singles on the next floor, and we were going to have you two rooming together, but I've changed my mind. I really need a room on this floor, this one in particular. What I'm thinking is; this room is actually large enough for three. It might not be quite as much room as the other rooms with two, but I think we could make it work and it could be a lot of fun. What do you two think?"

Susie and Stephie looked at each other, and then over at Rosemary and they all joined in a group hug. "I would love to share a room with both of you," said Susie. "You two are as close to me as if we were sisters." 

"I agree," said Steph. "Besides, I hope to spend a good many nights up on the top floor with Justin, and I know Rosemary want's to, too. So actually, it won't be all that crowded most of the time." Rosemary just smiled a quiet knowing smile, but knowing she couldn't say anything just yet remained silent.

They trooped through the third floor, and then on up to my room, which Susie really loved. "I could fill those bookcases all by myself! It's not fair for him to have his own private library in his room! And the view! He can see for about forever from here! There isn't another building this high for a couple of miles!" She stepped over into the turret and looked down at the carriage house, and then across the back expanse of the property before looking down and seeing the pool just below.

"Ha! I see why he likes this room! I just thought he had a good view until I saw where the pool is! I'll bet he has a good view, all right. Is that why he chose this room?"

Rosemary laughed. "Actually, Justin didn't want to put in the pool. He thinks it is going to be more trouble than it's worth, but Dad thought it would help with rentals. Really though, renting this place out has been a piece of cake! We only have one single room left, well, with me moving down to the second floor we have two, and we haven't even begun advertising! Everything has been word of mouth. Girls in the dorms really want out, and we can afford to be picky."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Pete and Charlotte Thyme had spent the day lazing around the pool and enjoying each other's company. It had been in the early hours of morning before they returned from the movie premier. The only remaining work duties Pete had for this trip was a dinner to attend in the evening so he was taking the day off completely, leaving his cell phone, his laptop, and all work related materials locked in their hotel room. Today was for him and Charlotte, one of very few it seemed they were able to spend so. 

Both, being early risers by habit, were awake early on, feeling rather worn out from the late night the night before. Pete looked at the clock, and then turned it around so he couldn't see it, removed his wristwatch, and turned toward his wife and enveloped her in his arms. "Tell me, why do we work so hard? It seems we never have time for each other. Today there is nothing we have to do until that dinner tonight at 7:00. We are going to just spend the day together and forget work, responsibility, or anything else that might spoil the day. Maybe we can even try to remember what married people use a bed for, besides collapsing at night just so they can get up to go to work in the morning. Remember what we did when we were young and first married?"

Charlotte's eyes shone as she looked at her husband. "Do you think you can remember how to do it?"

"I've been told it is like riding a bike. Once you learn you never forget. Maybe I should take a look and see if anything looks familiar." With that he swept the sheet back, exposing her body. "It seems to be coming back. Seems somewhat familiar." He let the fingers of his right hand wander down her side, caressing her curves, and giving goosebumps from the tickling sensations. His hand slowly swept back up, but upon reaching the top circled her left breast, remaining low and not actually touching the breast, and continuing in a figure eight around the right breast also. Charlotte's nipples began hardening from the stimulation, and she shivered as his fingers slowly and lightly made their way down and across her belly to her navel, circling it before his forefinger reached in and tickled lightly. Her legs drew together and her knees lifted slightly at this contact. 

Next his fingers continued their journey a short distance to the top of her pubic hairs, which were trimmed, but still mostly there. She considered trimming them more completely, but Pete liked to play with them, and on the rare occasions they had opportunity he liked to nuzzle them with his nose in the process of eating her pussy. His fingers didn't actually touch the hairs, but rather trailed around them, causing Charlotte's breath to hiss between her teeth as his fingers traced the very sensitive area at the junction of her leg and pelvis.

Since her legs had drawn together tightly when he tickled her navel his fingers trailed along over the top of her thigh until it descended into the valley formed by her legs and then slowly, oh so slowly, it ascended up the other leg and repeated the process in reverse, again causing the hissing intake of breath as he tickled the junction of the leg. Once again at the top of her pubis he changed direction and brought his hand to the near side and trailed his fingers backwards up and over her hip, in the curve to her waist, and then upward, his nails trailing and tickling the whole way. He didn't stop at her breasts this time, but continued upward to the top of her shoulder, where he trailed his fingernails across the shoulder to her neck and up to her ear, where he tickled the earlobe, then down and across the neck under the chin and up to the other ear.

With a sudden lunge Charlotte rolled over on top of him and said, "Enough of that for now! Right now I need you!" She reached down and aligned his hard cock with her pussy and slid herself down onto him in one slow motion. "Now, see if you can remember what to do!"

Pete could feel her soft breasts pressing against his chest as he began the time-honored movements, and he knew it wouldn't last long. It had been over a week, and Charlotte was obviously as needy as was he. In just a few minutes he reached the point of no return and came in her, holding her tightly to him, reveling in the love he felt for his wife. Sated he fell asleep with his wife atop of him, and they both slept for another hour before ordering room service for breakfast, just so they didn't have to get up and dress.

"You know," Pete said as they were breakfasting nude. "I really could get used to eating breakfast like this with you. I can hardly believe in two years it will be twenty-five years! When we get back we have to do something about the pace we are living. I didn't get married just to live in a big house, when I get to be home. I married you to be with you!"

Charlotte reached across the table and grasped his hand. Her smile was all the answer Pete needed.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Grandpa and Charlie sat over at Sam Johnson's desk and dickered for a few minutes on the wording of the document Michael and I would sign as a release for the gold, but it didn't take much. In the end it read as a simple agreement between two parties, Michael and me on the one hand, and the Union Pacific on the other agreeing to accept $5000 in gold coin in reward for the return of lost railroad property, and that we released them of any claim to a treasure trove claim. Very unusually for our times, the document was hand written, and then copied by hand with lines for each of us to sign with our names hand printed over each signature. 

Grandpa called Michael over to one side for a moment and they whispered together for a moment before Michael shook his head in agreement, but his shoulders slumped a mite. Grandpa went back to the desk where Charlie was finishing the copy, and Grandpa had him add one word to each document, much to Charlie's surprise.

When Charlie finished copying the document he called us all over to the desk where we each signed on the appropriate line. I immediately saw what Grandpa called Michael for. His line was signed Michael Borden Thibodeaux. Pete and Ben both saw it as well, and looked up with questioning glances before signing, but Charlie just motioned for them to go ahead and sign. Grandpa waited until everyone had signed before saying, "Gentlemen, we had no intention of deceiving you, and I could have let it go. Michael is not the kind of man who goes back on his word, but I thought we ought to do it right. Michael is the son of the former standout player for the Phoenix Cardinals, and before that the ASU Sun Devils. He has found it much easier all around if he goes by his middle name, Borden, rather than face all the notoriety of the Thibodeaux name. Please understand no deception was intended."

Nods were exchanged all around at the explanation and Ben asked just one question: "Is that why you don't need the money? Other than your computer program? You live off of your Dad's money?"

"No, Sir. My money is my own. I don't get anything from my parents, but it was growing up in that household that taught me I don't need to live the kind of lifestyle so many with money do. Mom and Dad taught me to live within my means, to do so simply, yet comfortably, and that all of the glitz and glamor is rather fleeting. Don't get me wrong. My parents and I are very close, and we love each other dearly. If I needed it they would be most happy to help out, but actually, I make more than he does. Down here in Tucson it isn't quite as bad, but up around Phoenix the name Thibodeaux is so well known I can't have a minute's peace when out in public. That's why I moved down here last year, and then fell in with this family, but that's a different story."

Ben stuck out a hand. "Thanks, son. I hope you didn't misinterpret my questions."

"Oh, no sir, not at all. Other than legal matters I just find it much easier all around to leave the Thibodeaux name in my back pocket."

Charlie, meanwhile, had reopened the case on the desk. "You know, we never counted this, or even looked into the other case. We don't know for sure it's all here."

Ben waved a hand. "Charlie, for the first time in my life I've met people I don't think I need to count behind. You can count it if you want, but I can tell you you would waste your time." Pete nodded agreement and Charlie flushed a little as he looked up at Grandpa. "Please, no offense was intended!"

Grandpa just laughed. "Charlie, I took none. I was wondering how long it would take a lawyer to think of that! I'm just glad you didn't bring your Comptroller!" 

Charlie grinned and pulled out ten $500 rolls of gold coins and set them out on the table. "I'd suggest you secure these carefully. We are of course going to have to release the news of this recovery, but we will try to keep you out of it as much as possible, using an 'undisclosed' location, but I can assure you the Sheriff will have your house in the news tonight. In fact, it would probably be wise if we were all to get out of here right away. I wouldn't be too surprised to see News trucks on the street outside with cameras aimed at the house."

Ben Jorgenson nodded his head. "I think that would be wise. I'd really like to take a tour of the house, but I think we had better get on out." Michael and I went into the passageway and grabbed the other case and carried it out while Grandpa put the gold into one of the desk drawers. Michael and I carried it on down the other passageway to the carriage house, while Pete and Charlie struggled to carry the other case behind us. Believe me, I know they struggled, because by the time Michael and I got there we were huffing and puffing!

"Could you give them a hand, Michael, while I get the door open?" I asked when we finally set our case down. We looked back and saw the other two with their case on the floor two thirds of the way back. Michael grinned at me and nodded. I scurried up the ladder, released the door, and then climbed up to the second level and dropped the rope from the winch. There was no way I was going to try to carry that load up a vertical ladder!

By the time I had the winch set up, and the rope dropped to the lower level Michael and Pete had arrived with the case. "Could you back the Escalade into this first section, Michael? It might be a good idea to close the doors after you back in."




Justin Thyme Ch. 13



"Sure thing." He hurried up the ladder and I watched as Pete tied a good knot on one case, then I waited for him to climb up to the first level before I began cranking the winch. It didn't take long to get the box to the top, where Pete swung it over the ground and I let it settle. He tossed the loosened rope back into the hatch and I lowered it down for Grandpa to tie off the second case. Michael had the Escalade in the carriage house and the doors closed by the time I had the second case up to the first level. Pete swung it over and I let it down gently. Ben was climbing up the ladder as Pete untied the rope, with Charlie right behind. 

"I would suggest we hurry, Michael called to us as he pulled the door closed. I saw a TV truck headed this way. He might not be coming here, but I wouldn't bet on it. He's only a couple of minutes away." I called Grandpa quickly and he hurried up the ladder as soon as Charlie got out of the way.

While I waited for the ladder to clear I called Rosemary on her cell. "Rosemary, I don't have time to talk. Get the girls in the car and get out of here right now! Otherwise you'll be all over the news. Meet us at Bill's, but be sure you aren't followed." I thumbed off the phone and scrambled down the ladder as if my tail was on fire!

Grandpa quickly got the men into the car, and Michael and I manhandled the cases into the luggage compartment. Michael started the car as I hurried to close the secret door, then to run and open the carriage house doors. Michael pulled out, and I closed the doors behind them and hurried into the car. Sure enough, there was a TV truck across the street extending its mast with the satellite dish. I saw Rosemary walking out the front door, trying to hurry the girls, who did not know the situation, nor could she tell them. We pulled out of the drive as a cameraman was hurriedly trying to get a camera operational, but we were away before he could get a shot of us. The girls weren't quite as quick getting away, and he was able to get a shot of their car as it left, but I don't believe he had enough of a shot to get their faces. 

It's not like we had done anything wrong, or anything, but we didn't need the publicity, and we certainly didn't want anyone getting the idea gold was on the premises. That could only invite trouble.

Grandpa let out a big "Whew!" once we were clear. "I'm really sorry, gentlemen, to have to hurry you out like that!" 

Ben sat in the middle seat and laughed. "I haven't had to run like that since I about got caught by my now father! At least these people didn't have a shotgun loaded with rock salt waiting for us!" We all got a chuckle out of that.

"Tell me, did you gentlemen get a chance to eat on your way down here? I know you were hurrying to get here."

"No," Ben said. "We thought we needed to get here, and we can get by for a little bit."

"I told the girls to go to Bill's and wait for us there," I said to Grandpa. "I didn't want them to be stopped and interviewed or see their pictures on the news." 

"Good thinking. I'd suggest we go over there. I know we have the gold in the back, but no one other than the six of us, and Rosemary know about it. I know she wouldn't say anything to the others, not that they would be a problem. Michael has dibs on one of them, and Justin is mighty sweet on the other. I'd rather they not know more than necessary, but they can be trusted. Anyway, long story short, how about if we get a parking spot where we can keep a good eye on the car and grab some lunch? As late as it is we should be able to get a good spot."

We left it to the three railroad men, who agreed with the plan. Michael carefully backed the Escalade into a parking space where we could have a good view of the luggage area of the car and we all got out and went in, happy to be away from the house without being filmed.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Charlotte Thyme filled out the bikini she wore very nicely. To be sure, it was a bit more age appropriate than the ones her daughter wore, but it was eye catching anyway. The maturity she exhibited and the way she carried herself did as much for the appeal as the suit. She still looked good, and her confidence in her looks said much. Pete enjoyed being with her, and he never tired of watching her. Today, however, another man was lying out across the pool on a lounger, and Pete noticed the guy's eyes on his wife a lot more than he liked. At first he started getting angry, but over time he found himself getting aroused that another man thought his wife was appealing. 

It was an unusually cool day for LA, but it wasn't cold. As they lay there though a cloud came over and a breeze kicked up. As Pete watched he saw a few goosebumps pop up, and Charlotte's nipples, which were large, started to become obvious. He doubted the man across the pool could see them but he certainly could. 

"What do you think you are looking at?" Charlotte gave him a smile. 

Pete licked his lips suggestively. "What do you think? By the way, there is a guy across the way who can't quit looking at you either. Poor guy, he can't see what I can."

"You mean you like it that he's looking at me?" Charlotte was a little miffed.

"At first I was a bit upset, but then it made me realize how lucky I am to have you. You are a sexy woman, and I never tire of looking at you. Why would I expect other men to not notice?"

"What are you trying to do, show me off?"

"No, I didn't do anything to draw attention. I didn't have to. You do that on your own."

"Well, if you like it so much maybe I should do something to really get him going?" She had a sexy glint in her eye as she playfully kissed a finger-tip and pressed it to his lips. "What do you think he would think if I did this?" and she slipped a finger from each hand under the leg opening of her bikini and ran it down, as if to rearrange the suit to be more comfortable. Pete felt his own suit suddenly becoming tight, and he noticed the guy across the way shifting in his seat.

"What did you do? Flash him?"

"Oh, no. I wouldn't do that! All I did was rearrange a bit. You seemed to like it." She gave him a cheeky grin as he nodded. "You men are all alike. You're too easy to predict." She slipped a finger under a bra cup and tugged it down a bit, and grinned at Pete's reaction. "Do you think maybe if we went in now we could have time for a little fun before dinner?"

Pete quickly agreed, and got up. "You'd better wrap a towel around yourself, there, big boy. You'll get yourself arrested for a concealed weapon otherwise, except it isn't very concealed." Charlotte giggled as she stood, and then nonchalantly ran a finger down the inside of her bikini leg in the back, just for the man across the way's benefit, then she grabbed Pete's arm and pressed her ample cleavage against it as they walked away. "That'll give him something to think about while we are doing something about it," she laughed and leaned even harder against her husband.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"What was that all about?" Susie asked excitedly as soon as they were in the car. She saw the cameraman pointing his TV camera at her as they pulled out of the drive.

"I'm sorry, but I really can't tell you right now." Rosemary said from the back seat. "Hurry, Steph. Make sure nobody is following us, would you?"

Steph looked into her rearview mirror. "I don't see anyone back there. What's going on, anyway? You'd think we were in a spy movie or something. Either that or a big robbery! No keeping secrets, now."

"I'm sorry, but I really can't say anything yet. You'll know soon enough, but I can't say. It isn't my secret, and it's really important. Nobody has done anything bad! Don't worry about that. We just don't need any publicity. You'll see some of it on the news tonight, but we didn't need to be in the middle of it. I can't say anything more until Grandpa says I can."

"Is something wrong with the house?"

"No. I told you I can't say anything. Don't ask any questions."

"I'll ask Mikey. He'll tell me anything."

"I doubt it. At least until Grandpa says he can. You'll know soon enough. Quit worrying about it." 

Stephanie pulled into Bill's parking lot just in time to see Michael carefully backing into a parking spot by a window. The way he parked was unusual, and she commented to Rosemary about it. Rosemary of course didn't know why he parked the way he did, but could hazard a guess, which she kept to herself. As they got out of the car Rosemary quickly spoke up. "Remember, don't ask questions!"

"OK, OK," said Susie crossly. 

Ben Jorgenson introduced himself to the girls as they neared the door, and introduced Pete Fleming and Charlie Weigle as well. "I'm really sorry we messed up your day with your boyfriends, girls, but they will explain what is going on later, I'm sure. Right now, let's go get something to eat. I think I could eat a cow if someone would drag it over by the tail."

I led the way in the door, and was not surprised to see Susie quickly clutch Michael's arm and follow him to the table. "Bill's is a family restaurant that caters to a middle class blue collar clientele for the most part, but it has been here long enough to be a local institution that draws a wide range of people. They are known for large portions of good food, but reasonably priced. Had we come at noon we would have waited as much as thirty minutes to get in. On Friday nights an hour is not unusual," I told them. "It is also popular with the college crowd, especially those from Tucson, because this is as close to Al's as we have found up here."

Charlie asked me, "What is Al's?"

I laughed. "Tell them, Michael."

Michael grinned and said, "The first time I ever was there was right after the accident I had with Susie and Stephanie. I had been staying at the hospital with Susie because her parents were out of town and could not return for a week. Justin decided I needed some real food, so he kidnapped me and took me to Al's. I had never seen a place like it in my life!" He shook his head. "From the outside it looks a bit rundown, but Justin assured me the food was good, and the place was clean. The first thing I saw when I walked in the door was a counter that ran all around the outside walls. The tables were long folding tables covered with oilcloth, and they just had cheap kitchen chairs to sit on. Nobody got their own table, but sat wherever they could find a chair. The counter around the walls was for times there were no seats. People stood and ate at the counter!"

"You're kidding, right?" asked Charley. Ben and Pete were looking on with big eyes, too.

"I kid you not! We were there on a Friday night, but it was nine o'clock and the place was nearly full. I went back there on Sunday, and I had to stand, but that was after I waited outside for twenty minutes. I'll tell you, I ate food I didn't know people ate a couple of times, and it was good!" I took Mom and Dad once when they were in town, and you should have seen Mom's face, but Dad was right at home. I've almost made a believer out of Mom, too."

We all placed our orders, and sat talking amongst ourselves quietly, but when the food came out Pete took one look and said, "I feel like I'm back on a track laying crew again! I'm going to have to hit the gym hard after this! I don't work like that anymore."

Charlie and Grandpa got to talking shop, and Pete was picking Michael's brain on writing code. Ben and I talked for a while about the railroad, and the direction he believed transportation was going in this country. "If Michael can do something for us to coordinate our scheduling it will be very helpful. That is our biggest downfall right now. If we could find a way to make a schedule work so we could tell a shipper exactly how long it is going to take their product to get to a destination we would have so much business we couldn't handle it. As it is, we have to give them a three to four week window, and often we don't hit that." 

"By the way, young man, I don't know what your plans are, but I like the way you operate. I'm offering you an internship each summer you are in school, and if you are interested we'll make a place for you at the UP afterwards. I'm not offering a general internship, but a personal one, working with me. You would have a chance to learn the railroad from the top down, rather than the normal way. You see, usually with interns what we are doing is teaching them how to work. You already know that, and I would like a chance to train you in how business really works. If you don't want to stay with the UP it will give you a big leg up wherever you go."

"Wow! Thank you. I never even thought of such an opportunity! Please let me give it some thought and discuss it with my parents."

"You do that, son. That speaks well for you that you can discuss such an opportunity with them." He handed me his business card, but wrote down his cell phone number first. "Feel free to give me a call at any time. That goes for whether you come to work with us or not."

"Thank you, sir. I will consider this carefully, and you will hear from me, I promise." With that lunch broke up

Ben looked at his watch before turning to Pete. "Pete, if we can wind those rubber bands up really tight we might even get back in time for me to make a late dinner with my wife. I'm already in hot enough water for leaving her as it is. I hope she didn't try to assuage her distress by buying out every store in Jackson's Hole."

Grandpa said, "I think I'll ride out to the airport with you, if you don't mind, Michael. Why don't we take Susie along with us? I know she is wanting to see you, and I'm sure you, her. I have a couple of things I'd like to discuss with you on the return trip, and I won't even make Susie plug her ears." She smiled at him nicely and squeezed Michael's arm possessively. "Justin, I know it will be a burden, but do you think you could handle riding back with Stephanie and Rosemary?" He gave me a cock-eyed grin and a wink.

"I shall lay down, if need be, even my life for the cause, Sir," I retorted, which brought chuckles all around. I shook hands with the railroad men and the girls and I made our way to the car. We went a block from the house, just to see if anything was going on there, and sure enough, there were four TV trucks lined up across the street with their satellite masts raised to the sky. There being no reason to stay around we headed back south for Tucson. The girls were sitting in the front, and I was sprawled across the back seat until about a mile after leaving the area of the house, when Stephie suddenly pulled into a shopping center. 

"Rosie, I haven't seen Justin in days. Would you please drive and let me sit with him?" Her pleading tone was such that Rosemary really couldn't refuse, nor do I believe she would anyway. She got out and walked round to the driver's side of the car while Stephanie bounced out and practically dove into the back with me and wrapped her arms about my neck and laid a kiss on me that took my breath away.

"Stephie, my dear, I do believe you've missed me!"

"You don't know the half of it," she whispered. "Especially since Mom and I talked about you last night." 

I was half lying across the seat, with Stephanie atop me when something white hit me in the face and covered my eyes. "Rosie!" Steph said, to Rosemary's cackle of laughter, and I felt the car begin to move. I reached up and removed what turned out to be Rosemary's bra from my face. Rosemary pointedly turned the inside mirror up to the ceiling.

"I don't want my impressionable eyes to be contaminated by anything I shouldn't see." Stephanie swatted her on the shoulder as Rosemary continued to laugh.

I struggled to a sitting position while I watched with fascination as Stephanie did that trick of removing her bra without taking off her shirt. I'll never reach the point that it will not fascinate me. The anticipation of what is coming is just too rich! And then, when the bra was fully removed and the shirt settled back into place with the soft jiggle of her breasts and the nipples protruding deliciously through the soft cotton of the tee shirt. Steph, not expecting to meet the railroad men, was wearing a very short, tight pair of shorts that seemed like her legs went on forever. 

Was I hard? I did say I watched didn't I? Of course, to be perfectly honest, if Steph had been wearing a burlap bag I would have been hard after that kiss she laid on me.

Steph and I started hugging and kissing, and we may not have had our seatbelts on, due to the circumstances as we were making up for, what was it, two days apart? It seemed much longer than that, though. Before long, Steph untucked my shirt, and was running her hand across my belly and chest. I took it as liberty for my hands to begin wandering also, and I slipped my hands under her shirt and caressed her soft skin, holding myself to her sides and across her belly for the longest time before allowing my fingertips to graze across the bottom of her breasts, which brought a small gasp and a moan from Steph. "I have missed you, so! Don't stop there, please!"

I allowed my hands to stroke across her breasts fully, her nipples rolling and bumping across my palms to further gasps. It was only a couple of minutes before she tore her hands from within my shirt and pulled hers up over her breasts allowing me to feast my eyes on them. "Suck on them, please, Justin. I need you!" I quickly looked around to be certain we wouldn't be seen, but she was having none of it. "I don't care if someone sees. I need it." Who was I to refuse such a request?

I sucked a nipple into my mouth and and used my tongue to toy with the nipple while I sucked on the morsel. My hand stroked up and down her side and across her back while the other hand was ministering to the neglected boob. She was moaning and half crying with desire as I continued sucking and toying with her. Her hands came out from within my shirt and started fumbling with my belt buckle and the button on my pants. She was finally able to get them free and slowly lowered the zipper amid quaking and shivering with her rising passion. She tugged my boxers down enough to free my cock and grasped it in her hand, with her thumb rubbing the pre-cum across the head. As if that was enough to take her over the edge she began shuddering and gasping for breath as a powerful orgasm overcame her. 

Letting her nipple slip out of my mouth I replaced it with my hand and gently stroked and caressed her breasts as she leaned against me and tried to get control of her breathing again. "Thank you. You have no idea how much I needed that, especially after this weekend! I have so much to tell you." She leaned in and gave me a gentle kiss and then looked down at my cock in her hand. "I can't leave you like this!" She slid back across the seat a ways and leaning down, took my cock in her mouth.



Justin Thyme Ch. 14



A note to my readers:

First of all, thank you for your loyal support! I certainly appreciate the way you have stayed with my tale as it has grown far beyond my original intent. I most certainly appreciate the comments and emails I've received. If you leave an address on emails I try to respond to them right away.

Secondly, a correction: Michael is only 19 years of age, not 22. I experienced a bit of brain flatulence and totally messed up. I apologize, and I thank you who pointed it out. I appreciate your paying attention to what I've written!

A note about the characters and locations: Yes, Al's Restaurant does exist. However, it is in South Carolina, not in Tucson. Sorry! It is a great place to eat, and I try to get by there every time I get an opportunity to be back in SC. Bill's Restaurant is also real, but in IL. Unfortunately, it closed two years ago upon Bill's death, and it is greatly missed in the community.

I have had a few comments from anonymous readers about Michael and Justin, wishing for conflict. Sorry, but it won't happen. As with the restaurants, I based my characters on people I know or have known well during my lifetime. "Michael" is a devoutly religious person, albeit not Mormon in real life, and he would not like to be portrayed in an erotic story, but I can assure you his temperament, religious convictions, and personal conduct is very like the Michael in the story. In nearly 50 years I've known him I've never heard him raise his voice in anger. Justin is much the same, although not actively religious. He does have a twin sister, although I really don't believe they are involved in an incestuous relationship. If he knew I wrote about him I know I would lose a valued friend, so I have made his character much different than is he, although each character's real character shows through. I cannot change their character and remain true to the person, and I don't have a good enough imagination to make up characters to that extent out of whole cloth. Grandpa and Grandma Thompson are real people also, although not of the same family as Justin in real life. They are wonderful people, and Ben is a retired attorney. Jeff and Joanne Thibodeaux also are real, are not really related to Michael, and they are actually Mormon, coincidentally. That was not intended when I began the story, but they fit the narrative when it was time to develop Michael further.

For those who wish to see more conflict as is the norm in fiction, I'm sorry, but as I said, I write about characters I know, and I cannot change them that much and remain true to their character. 

I have been asked if I am quitting this story. No, I will not quit until it is completed, and I don't at this time know for sure where it will end. Please be patient! It takes significant time to write segments of the length I have been writing, and I have a life and a family. I assure you I am putting them out as quickly as I possibly can. I realize 4, 5, or 6 pages on here don't look like much, but if put in a paperback format, each segment is longer than some paperbacks on the news rack. Mind you, I'm not complaining, just 'splainin'. 

Thanks so much for your continued encouragement and for reading!

Jc

*****

Everything seemed rather anti-climactic by the time we reached home. After all of the excitement, and the discoveries of the day I felt quite let down, and actually rather tired. I guess all of the anticipation, the number of trips up to the house, and the excitement of trying to get out before the TV people caught us burned more energy than I had thought. Even though I was with the two loves of my life all I wanted was a nap; a nap and some music. I had been missing my music lately. There just hadn't been time! 

Steph had her shirt pulled back down, and my pants were zipped again, but we still snuggled together in the back seat as Rosemary drove. She had the mirror back down in proper position, and I caught her looking back at me with a little grin on her face a number of times. 

When Rosemary pulled into our drive Stephanie leaned into me with a nice hug and a contented sigh. "Justin," she said looking up at me, "would you make love to me? Only this time, could we do it in your bed, and would you play some of that music for me? Especially that last song you played, you know; the Russian one?"

"I would love to, Sweetheart. I was just thinking I've been missing my music." She hugged me to her again with almost a childish jealousy, as if she didn't want to share me with anyone else. It was kind of cute.

"Afterward, would you please tell me what is going on up at the house?" I nodded. "But first things first. I've really missed you." 

We no more than had the door to the house closed and Steph started pulling her shirt over her head, and dropped her shorts to the floor. "At last! I've wanted to get out of those clothes all day!" Rosemary laughed at her, but I notice she was right behind in shucking her clothes. "Don't laugh at me! You're the one who corrupted me, remember? Now I have to be careful that I don't forget and surprise Mom!" I have to say she definitely looks better without clothes, but then, I'm a guy, so you have to expect my mind to work that way. Her curves flow so nicely, and the way her pussy nestles in between her legs is beauty in and of itself. Seeing Rosemary next to her did nothing to diminish the view either! 

Both girls decided I was to slow, so while I was pulling my shirt over my head they attacked my pants. "No underwear! I like!" crowed Steph as my cock popped out, already standing at attention. "Come on, Rosie. Let's go have some fun."

"You'll have to ask him why no underwear!" Rosemary gave me a wink and blew me a kiss.

Rosemary surprised me with her thoughtfulness. She pulled Steph and me into a hug. "You two go and have some alone time. I get him when you aren't around, and I had him last night and this morning. You two need some time without me around, although I love it when we are all together. I'm going to go get some sun." She gave me a nice kiss and a swat on the ass. "You take real good care of her, Big Brother," and with another three-way hug she was gone.

Stephanie stepped into another hug as soon as Rosemary walked out the patio door. "Rosie is really sweet isn't she? I know why you love her so much. I do, too. I've never really had you all to myself before. Do you mind?" That childlike jealousy was back in her eyes, and a possessiveness that was uncharacteristic of Steph. "Maybe I'm just being a baby, but I don't feel like sharing right now. I love you, Justin, with all I have. It grows more every day till it almost hurts. Do you understand?" The funny thing is, I really understood.

I picked her up suddenly and started for the stairs, but I made sure I rolled her up in my arms high enough to nibble on a nipple a little bit to her delight. Once in my room I set up Shostakovich's Romance from 'The Gadfly', then I picked a new one to Stephanie, a more modern piece, 'Ballade pour Adeline', made famous by Richard Claydermann. I chose the Andre Rieu version though, because I like the orchestration with the piano better. I thought it a bit more romantic, and I felt from Stephanie the need for romance today. Those two pieces I followed with Pacelbel's 'Canon', Bach's 'Air on a G String', and then Barber's 'Adagio for Strings.'

When I had them all sequenced I turned to see Steph closing the door, and then walking toward me, with a huge smile and shining eyes. "I love the feeling of being alone with the man that I love," she whispered as she took my hand. The look of total trust and love on her face will stay with me the rest of my life, and I never want to do anything to take it away. As the violin began its haunting melody I led her to my bed and we continued with our lovemaking. A lot of people call sex 'making love', but I never quit making love to Stephanie in the way I look at her, hold her, kiss her, think of her, and sex is just the ultimate expression of that love. 

I'm not going to tell what all we did. The door was closed, and it was just us, and it was tender, passionate, and wonderful. If you love someone you know what happened, and if you don't, you wouldn't understand anyway. 

Afterward as we cuddled closely on my twin-sized bed, with Stephie's hair tickling my nose as I nuzzled her, and the final few measures of Barber's Adagio playing, Stephie whispered, "I never understood your music before, but then I never really listened to it. It isn't just that it is beautiful, but it tells a story, doesn't it. Thank you, Justin. I love you." I'll never hear words or music that sound sweeter, and with them in mind I drifted off to sleep.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Due to the nature of their cargo nobody wanted to use a handtruck or any other such device to move the chests from the parking area to the aircraft, so Ben Jorgenson called ahead and made arrangements for a "follow me" truck to meet them at the ramp gate and escort them to the airplane. 

Michael and the Union Pacific's pilot loaded and secured the two crates of gold as Grandpa and Charlie Weigle continued talking with each other. Ben and Pete watched carefully to be certain the chests would not come loose in flight in case of turbulence, and then they shook Michael's hand warmly before walking over to Grandpa and shaking his hand as well. Charlie turned to Michael and also shook hands with the admonition to be certain to talk with their IT chief as soon as possible. Ben Jorgenson said, "I don't know how to thank you people for what you've done. Your integrity speaks for you. Thank you very much," and with that he turned and boarded the plane, closely followed by the other two company officers. 

Susie had been standing off to the side, next to the car silently watching what transpired. As much as she wanted to ask, she knew Michael would tell her as soon as they got going. Her curiosity was piqued by the obviously heavy chests, as was the driver of the "follow me" truck. 

Michael and Grandpa turned to walk back to the Escalade, but Grandpa paused long enough to reach out an arm and pull Michael to him in a one-armed hug. "Well done, Son. I want you to know I couldn't be prouder of you! Your parents have every right to be proud, and I'll be happy to tell them so, next time I get to see them."

"Thank you, sir, but I just did what was right."

"So what did you do, Michael? Can you tell me now?"

Grandpa just laughed and pushed Michael toward the driver's side. "Load up, Son, and let's get this thing on the road before curiosity eats this young lady alive. Lord only knows how Justin is faring!"

Michael got in the car and made a production of putting on his seatbelt, and then very carefully following the "follow me" truck off the ramp. His eyes twinkled and a smile spread across his face as he saw Susie trying valiantly to contain her curiosity. Just as soon as he had the car out onto the road though, she could wait no longer. "All right, Michael Thibodeaux. Stop teasing me. What is going on?"

Michael laughed out loud at her explosion, and Grandpa gave him a big grin. "You'd better watch out there, son. You don't want to get her mad at you."

Susie turned around. "I'm not really mad." She gave him a grin. "Mikey is just teasing me. He knows I'm curious."

Michael glanced over at Susie and was struck by the look of her legs as she was turned in the seat looking back at Grandpa. As careful as he was about keeping himself chaste he couldn't help the stir of excitement within himself, and he tore his eyes away from her even as he felt himself hardening. He needed to ask her to marry him for sure this weekend, and hope it could be sometime in the summer. He didn't know how much more temptation he could withstand. What made it even more frustrating is after talking with his Mom Susie had taken to dressing much more conservatively, but contrary to what one would think, it actually was making things more difficult! He could feel his cock lengthening within his pants even after looking away.

"OK, Little One. Try to keep your britches on. I'll tell you." Even that old saying brought a throb to his cock and a tightening in his belly. Just the thought of her taking off those shorts! He would need a very cold shower as soon as he could get home. 

Michael looked into the back seat and said, "Ben, if I leave anything out please speak up." Michael went on to tell Susie in general terms of finding the latch for the first secret door, and the ensuing discovery of the two skeletons, to her horrified shiver. He went on to tell of the discovery of the gold in the locked storeroom, and of Ben Thompson and Justin's discovery of the railroad gold. Michael shook his head almost disgustedly as he told her of their insistence that he share in the reward and the discovered gold. 

"I know you were curious as to why you had to leave so suddenly, but the Sheriff released the news of the discovery of the two skeletons and the secret room. We don't know if he said anything about any of the gold or anything else. We tried hard to play that down when he was at the house, but I'm sure he could put two and two together. That's why the TV truck was setting up when we left. I'm hoping he didn't get a picture of you girls leaving in the car." Michael shook his head. "I've tried so hard to get out of the limelight, and now it looks like I've ended up right back in the middle of it all over again, because I had to tell the Sheriff my last name. I just want to live like a regular person. Is that too much to ask?"

"But you aren't a regular person, Michael. You're my hero, whether you like it or not, and I don't care if you have a nickel to your name or all of the gold in Arizona." She squeezed the hand she held and then lifted it to her lips and kissed it. "So there!"

Grandpa laughed out loud as Michael rolled his eyes.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I was rudely awakened after about fifteen minutes by the doorbell ringing. Whoever it was wasn't satisfied with just ringing the bell, but thought it would work better if he pressed it three times. I quickly threw on some shorts and a tee-shirt and ran down the stairs to see who was at the door. I knew Rosemary couldn't possibly answer it, nor could she come back inside the house without being seen if someone was looking in the window in the door or from the porch.

I had no more than opened the door and I knew my life as I knew it was over, at least for the foreseeable future. A reporter was standing there and a cameraman right behind him with a mini-cam pointed at me, and I could see a TV truck across the street with a camera on a tripod pointed at the house. Two other TV trucks were coming down the street as well. 

The reporter stuck a microphone in my face as soon as the door was open more than a crack and said, "Are you Justin Thyme, by any chance? What is your comment on the events that have transpired at your property in Scottsdale, of the finding of Samuel Johnson and Henry Murray and the discovery of the missing gold from the railroad merger?"

I was stunned! I know I had a deer in the headlights look on my face as all I could think of was to say, "No comment!" and quickly try to shut the door. The reporter though was quicker, and he stuck his foot in the door before I could get it closed. 

"The Sheriff tells us it was in a secret room beneath the house, and that you have entrances in the house as well as through the carriage house. What can you tell us about them?"

"Sir, I have no comment, and I must ask you to leave now."

"But what about the reports that . . . " I threw my shoulder against the door, smashing his foot and making him pull it back with a howl of pain, and I was able to close and lock the door before he could finish his question. Before I could even turn away from the door the phone started ringing. I knew what it was before I even got there to answer it. While answering the phone, saying "No comment," and hanging it back up to hear the doorbell ring again I texted Stephie and asked her to bring a robe down for Rosemary, and to be sure to be dressed when she came down, then I called Grandpa.

While I waited for Grandpa to answer the phone I started making my way around the house closing blinds on all of the windows on the first floor. By now I could see four TV trucks across the street, each with the requisite camera pointed at the house, and of course neighbors out gathering on their lawns gawking, wondering what was happening. I saw at least three reporters and cameramen making their way from person to person interviewing them, asking their opinions of a situation they knew nothing of at all. My opinion of reporters, never very high, really plummeted.

"Hey Justin. What's on your mind?"

"I just thought you ought to know we have four TV trucks across the street from the house, and I had to slam the door on a reporter's foot when he wouldn't take 'No comment,' as an answer."

I could hear a groan in the background, so I knew Michael had heard at least part of the exchange.

The house phone rang again, and I gave my "No comment," answer and hung up even as I could hear Grandpa saying, "I'm not surprised. You just became a celebrity. What all did he ask you?"

"Well, that's the thing. The Sheriff must have said a lot more than he said he would, because the second question was about us finding the gold, plus about all of the secret entrances throughout the house."

"Uhm hmm. I'm not terribly surprised. I didn't think the Sheriff was missing much, even though he didn't ask a lot of questions to things we didn't volunteer information. He saw the ladder and put two and two together, plus he had time to look into the history of Johnson's disappearance, and it didn't take much of a leap of imagination to guess the gold was on the premises. You kids stay put there in the house, and let me come over and take care of the press for you as your attorney. I'll give your folks a call and suggest they stay away an extra night as well. There is no point in them walking into the middle of this. You kids will be OK there by yourselves, won't you?"

"Oh, sure. We'll be fine. Stephanie is here, and it looks like she's going to have to stay the night. There's no way I'm sending her out to face the wolves." The house phone rang again, and I answered, said "No comment," and hung it up. I could think of no one I needed to talk with that didn't have my cell number anyway, and if Mom missed a call about real estate it would not be the end of the world, at least to my mind.

Grandpa chuckled. "I'm sure you and Stephanie will behave, and I'd unplug that phone if I were you." The doorbell rang again, but I ignored it. "You might want to disconnect that doorbell as well. I'll give the reporters a bit of a statement when I arrive, but that will be a little bit as we aren't quite back to Tucson yet. I'll talk with you later."

Rosemary walked in the patio door wrapped in a robe with Stephie right behind. "I'm sure glad you had Steph bring me my robe! I no more than had it on and some guy with a TV camera half climbed over the fence! What is going on here?"

"Give me a minute and I'll try to tell you." I stopped to answer the phone, but then thought better of it and let it go to the answering machine. "Steph, you'd better call your Mom and tell her you are spending the night here. I don't think you want to try to get through that bunch out there."

Stephanie pulled out her cell phone and texted her mother telling her she needed to stay over with Rosemary, and asked her to please give her a call at her earliest chance for an explanation. That done she looked at me for the explanation, as did Rosemary. Motioning for them to follow me I walked into the kitchen and grabbed a Coke from the fridge, cocking an eyebrow to ask if they wanted one as well. I grabbed one for Steph and then sat down at the table. Hardly had I begun explaining all that transpired up at the house and Steph's phone rang. I paused for her to answer her mother.




Justin Thyme Ch. 14



"Hi, Mom."

"Stephanie, I need you home this evening. Besides that, it's a school night. Why would you be staying over at Rosemary's anyway?"

"It's a long story, Mom, and I don't know all the details yet, and there is no school because of the fire. Justin was just beginning to tell me what is going on, but there are TV trucks all over the street out there, and I can't get out without being hounded by reporters. Their grandfather thinks it would be better if I didn't try to leave and get stuck with the media. . . . No, I don't know much more than that right now. Justin was just beginning to tell us. It has something to do with something he found up at the house. . . . No, it isn't anything bad, and no one is in trouble. It's good news, actually. . . . No, I haven't seen anything on the news yet. We've been rather busy. . . . Tom's coming over for dinner? Great! You don't need me there for that! . . . Well, just tell him I couldn't get away. He'll understand, especially if you watch the news. . . . Mom, I really can't leave. I'm looking out through the blinds right now. There are four TV trucks plus a bunch of radio stations have cars out there. If I walked out the door I'd be on TV myself. . . . Thanks Mom. I love you, too, and I'll try to let you know what is going on just as soon as I can, OK? Say 'Hi' to Tom for me, and you two have fun."

Stephanie grinned at us. "Tom is coming to the house for dinner, supposedly with the two of us. Mom's going to have to entertain him by herself, and she's really not happy with me for that! I think it's good, though."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dr. Thomas Meechum walked out of the hospital totally upset with himself. Dinner with Mary and Stephanie was on his mind and he wasn't paying attention to where he was walking as he looked at his cellphone to dial Mary's number. He hadn't asked what she would be serving, and he wanted to provide the appropriate wine, but while looking at the phone instead of where he was walking he stepped on the edge of the curb and twisted his ankle. It wasn't bad, but in trying to catch his balance and keep from falling he dropped the phone and watched the screen splinter just before the phone itself fell through the grating of the storm sewer. He muffled a curse as he saw it land in a small puddle, and knew it was ruined.

Shaking his head and muttering to himself he walked across the street to the parking lot, got in his car, and drove to the local supermarket that he knew had a good wine selection. With his phone broken he had no way of receiving Mary's calls asking to postpone their dinner. He thought about making a quick stop at his cell provider's store, but knew he didn't have time if he was going to make it to the Winters' home on time. On a whim he picked up a nice bouquet of flowers from the in-store floral shop to take along.

Stopping at his apartment briefly he grabbed a quick shower and shaved. Flipping on the TV while dressing he heard the tail end of a teaser about an upcoming news report about a local youth's solving of a mystery from over a hundred years ago, and the discovery of a large amount of gold. "Lucky kid!" was his thought as he ran a brush through his hair, flipped off the TV, and made his way out the door.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Michael dropped Grandpa off at his house to pick up his own car so he could come over to our place and make a statement for the family, mainly me. Susie grabbed his hand again just as soon as he backed into the street and started for her home. "I love you, Mikey. Can you stay for a while when you get me home? It seems like I haven't seen you in ages."

"Sure. I don't have anything pressing going on tonight. I've missed you, too." He looked over at her and smiled. Susie leaned across the console and put her head against his shoulder, which caused her top to gap open just enough for Michael to see the top of her bra and down her cleavage. He could feel his cock stiffening again. He wanted so badly to take her in his arms and properly make love to her. Waiting for marriage was getting to be so hard! At times he was jealous of Justin and Stephanie. They loved each other, but they weren't limited by religion to wait for marriage to share that love. Was it really that bad? "Shake it off, Michael," he told himself. "You know you have to wait," but his eyes trailed back down the top of her blouse once again and he licked suddenly dry lips. 

Susie didn't know what was going on, but sensed Michael's sudden arousal. She couldn't see anything, but sensed a sudden tenseness in him that had not been there a moment before. She glanced downward and noticed the way her top pooched open and smiled to herself. So that's what it was! Without even thinking about it she hunched her shoulders just a bit, making the gap just a little wider and felt her nipples begin to contract as she heard a sudden hiss of breath through Michael's teeth. After all, she was in love with him, and she knew he loved her. She felt a rush of excitement and even joy that he found her body to be attractive and stimulating. So much she wished she could show him everything and allow him to make her his. She sighed with frustration and squeezed his hand tightly.

Michael was fighting a war within himself. Vainly he tried to keep all of his attention on the road and driving, but furtively he kept sneaking peaks down her top. He was seeing nothing he had not seen before in girls wearing bathing suits, but somehow this was different. This was his Susie. He had taught himself over the years to overlook other women and how they were dressed, but with Susie that was just not possible! It was as if the soft skin showing above the edges of her bra was crying out to him, "Caress me!" Surely it couldn't be that bad to look, could it? After all, he planned to ask her to marry him in just five days. Hopefully they would be married in just three months if he could talk her mother into allowing it before school began in the fall. Certainly a little look was OK, wasn't it?

As Michael turned a corner Susie shifted a little bit, and her arm pressed inward just a little more, causing the bra cup to loosen up just enough to almost show the nipple. Sweat broke out on his upper lip. Fortunately, her house was just at the end of this block. Now the problem was, how was he going to be able to walk into the house without his erection giving him away?

Susie leaned back into her seat, but in doing so managed a peek down at Michael's pants. Sure enough, she could see a bulge there, and a rather substantial one at that. A shiver of excitement shook her and she could feel her nipples pressing against the bra cup. She glanced down at herself and smoothed her top, pulling it more tightly across her breasts and showing her nipples poking before releasing the shirt and letting it loosen again. She could see from the corner of her eye where Michael was looking and smiled. She leaned back in her seat, and with arms stretched out overhead she stretched, arching her boobs forward teasing him just a little bit more. She wished he would propose and they could get married before school started! She wanted him so badly.

Susie decided, and grinned at the thought, she was going to go into full tease mode with Michael. It had to be done differently than with Justin, but she was going to work on it. Her brain started racing trying to come up with plausible ideas that would keep his attention, not that she had to worry about that, but would not scare him away. Michael saw the sudden smile and asked, "What's up?"

"Oh, nothing special. I'm just happy. Let's go on in. I don't know if Mommy is home yet or not, but we can get comfortable."

Michael hurried around the Escalade to open the door for Susie only to find her leaning forward and rubbing her leg above the prosthesis. "What's wrong, Little One? Leg hurt?"

"Yeah. I've been doing a lot of walking, and it's kind of cramping up a little. I'll be OK."

Michael moved to help her from the car, but his eyes were caught by her hand rubbing her lower leg, and then trailing on up her thigh a ways. "Do you want me to get your crutches for you?" Concern was evident in his voice. "I hadn't noticed you were having troubles earlier. I'm sorry, I should have been paying more attention."

"Oh, it's nothing. It just started aching, and no, you don't need to get my crutches. I think I'll use them later though and rest the leg a bit."

Michael turned around and backed up to the door. "Jump on my back and I'll carry you piggy-back then."

"Oh goody! I used to love it when Daddy carried me piggy-back! I haven't done that in years!" She grinned to herself. This wasn't going to be as hard as she had thought. Her leg really did ache. At least that wasn't being faked. As she leaned forward to climb onto his back Susie managed to brush her boobs across the upper half of his back before settling them around his neck. His hands felt really nice on the backs of her thighs as she hugged him tightly and shifted to and fro a couple of times, as if to get more comfortable. 

Michael felt her breasts sliding up his back and then settle around his neck and wished they could be there forever. However, when Susie picked her legs up and her soft thighs settled in his hands he felt as if an electric shock ran through his cock. Her skin was so soft and warm. Without consciously thinking about it his hands slid up and down a few inches as he shifted her into place and she squeezed him tightly around his neck and shoulders. He could feel her breath tickling his ear and then she nibbled on the top just a little, sending goosebumps down his side. "Mikey, I love you," Susie whispered into his ear and followed it with a little kiss where she had just nibbled moments before. Her short hair was softening as it grew in, and it felt good against his head. 

Susie wrapped her legs around Michael and made sure to let her good foot slide down over his crotch 'accidentally' as she hitched herself up, as if she was sliding off. She smiled at Michael's obvious boner as he had to quickly shift his hands to keep her from falling. His strong hands felt so good on the skin of her legs. 

Michael's mind was in turmoil as he carried Susie toward the house. It seemed everything that happened was going straight to his cock. The feel of her body pressed against his back, the softness of her skin, her breath on his ear, and the feeling of her hair brushing up against the side of his face all conspired against his wavering resolve. His mind said one thing, but his body was screaming something else.

Once inside the house Susie asked him to set her down on the couch, but as he started to lower himself to let her down she leaned backward and pulled him onto the couch with her.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mary Winters was flustered at best as she scurried about the house preparing for Tom's arrival. She didn't understand why he wasn't answering his phone. Numerous times she had tried to reach him to cancel plans for the evening. She just wasn't sure that having him there in her home alone was quite the thing for this early in their relationship, such as it was. At least she didn't have to worry about a special dinner. She had told him it would be pot-luck, but she didn't want to look bad either. She always kept her house neatly, but with a man coming over she was more conscious of it than ever and fluttered around fixing this and that, things that she knew he would never notice, but she would. 

Mary looked at the clock and realized she had just enough time for a quick shower if she hurried, and she scurried down the hallway to the bathroom, stripping off her clothes as she went, and dropping them into the hamper. She paused in front of the full length mirror and took a quick look at herself. She lightly hefted her medium sized breasts, and was pleased that they sagged little yet. Her belly was still pretty flat, with only a little bit of a middle age pooch. In fact, she was not self-conscious about wearing a bikini. A quick tug at her pubic hairs and she thought that she really ought to trim them, and then she shook her head. Tom wasn't about to see them anyway, so what was the worry. "Mary, what are you thinking, anyway. You're letting Stephanie get in your head about trying to catch this man. There is nothing like that going on. This was about getting Stephanie a chance to get to know more about her father." Yet she was very careful to fix her hair and makeup as nicely as she could. 

Stepping into her bedroom she selected a nice pair of bikini underwear. Thongs were not for her. "Butt floss" was her thought of them, and she thought they looked totally uncomfortable, although she had never really given them a try. Her matching bra next, but to her total dismay, one hook on the clasp broke loose as she hooked it, and while it would have held with only one hook she could see that it would definitely leave a lump on the back of her sundress. A quick look at the clock and she saw she was running late. If she was to finish the salad before Tom got there she had to hurry. Her breasts were still firm enough to stand up on their own without support, and the sundress she planned to wear wasn't tight enough to show off her nipples, so she decided just to go without the bra as she didn't have another nice one clean. Not that she was going to let Tom see it, but she just wasn't about to wear one of her less nice ones. She just wouldn't feel dressed up. No, it would be better just to go without.

A pair of comfortable sandals completed the ensemble and she scurried to the kitchen to finish up her preparations. Not a moment too soon, either for she heard the doorbell ring as she put the shredded carrots in with the lettuce. She wiped her hands on a towel and walked to open the door to Tom.

"Wow, you look nice! Scrubs just don't do you justice."

"Thanks, Tom. That was nice of you to say."

"I meant it! I'm sorry, but I dropped my phone and broke it just before it fell into a puddle in a storm sewer, so I wasn't able to call and see what you were serving. Since I didn't know I just went ahead and got a couple of bottles each of a red and a white wine. I hope that isn't a problem with Stephanie. I really didn't even think of her." He handed a bag with four bottles of wine over, and then presented the bouquet of flowers. "I hope these will go with your table decorations as well."

"Oh, Tom! You didn't need to do that! Those are beautiful. Would you like to bring them to the kitchen and I'll find a vase? Oh, the wine will be fine, because I was trying to call you. Stephanie can't be here tonight." She colored a little. "I hope you don't think I tried to trap you. She was supposed to be home, but something happened and she can't be here. She said something about it being on the news, but it wasn't bad." A quick look at the clock and she said, "The news comes on in ten minutes. Do you mind if we watch it to see what is going on?"

"By all means! I'm curious now, too." The swish of her skirt around her legs caught his eye as she turned and led the way to the kitchen.

"I really wanted Stephanie to have a chance to talk with you some more about her father, if it isn't too painful for you. She was so young when he left, and her memories of him are so few."

Tom stopped for a moment to look at Staff Sergeant Winter's picture and gave it a brief nod of acknowledgement, almost as if to him in person. "I would be honored to talk with her about him any time. She can ask anything she wants. If it gets too painful I won't answer. In fact, I was thinking about going out to visit his grave, now that I know he's buried in Phoenix. Would you two like to go along?"

Mary nodded. "Thank you. We try to go up on Memorial Day and Veteran's Day. We would love to go along with you, too." Tom nodded, and they turned toward the kitchen. Mary opened a bottle of red to breathe and noted the white was already chilled. "Would you like a glass of white while we watch the news?"

Tom looked up from trimming the flower stems and said, "That would be good. Thanks. Supper smells good. Pot roast?"

"Um hmm. It was the quickest thing I could think of, and it's easy to do."

"Good. One of my favorites." Out of the corner of his eye he noted the way her skirt flared out as she turned and noted how nice her figure looked. Scrubs do nothing to compliment a woman's figure. How long had it been since he had looked at a woman as a woman? It had been a long time. Since returning from Iraq he had been so busy with medical school, internship, and then residency, plus dealing with a bit of PTSD that being with a woman had taken a back seat in the bus for him. Sure, there had been a few nice looking girls in his classes, and he worked with several as he made his way through training, but they were all a good bit younger than him, and didn't find much of interest in an older, often morose, guy. 

Mary poured two glasses of wine and led the way into the living room, where she sat on the sofa. Tom also sat down, but left a polite space between them. Mary picked up the TV remote and turned on Fox 11 in time to watch the News lead-in, followed by a commercial. "I can't for the life of me figure out what is going on with those kids. What does the news have to do with Stephanie not being able to come home?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jeff and Joanne Thibodeaux turned on their TV in time to watch a picture of a large Victorian mansion flash across the screen as the news anchor's voice said, "A cold case over one hundred years old has been solved the Sheriff's department revealed today. While renovating the old Samuel Johnson mansion, recently owned by a now defunct insurance company, two young men found a secret entrance to an heretofore unknown room beneath the house. They found the skeletons of Samuel Johnson and Henry Murray, whom it appeared, had shot each other. According to the Sheriff, Murray tried to hold up Johnson for $50,000 in gold coin that had been shipped to him for a railroad merger. Johnson was heavily involved with a number of local spur lines, some of which are now a part of the Union Pacific. 

Neither Justin Thyme, of Thyme and Thyme Again Properties, nor Michael Thibodeaux, son of ASU and Phoenix Cardinals standout Jeff Thibodeaux, were available for interview. We go now to our local affiliate in Tucson for a further report from reporter Jose Garcia."

"Thank you, Julie. We are standing here in front of the Thyme home here in Tucson. When I rang the doorbell earlier this afternoon a young man opened the door and in answer to my questions would only answer 'No comment.' before closing the door firmly in my face. Repeated phone calls were answered only with a 'No comment,' and then only the answering machine picked up. Some time later Ben Thompson, a retired attorney from here in Tucson, showed up and identified himself as a spokesman for the family. All he would say is that they young men indeed found Samuel Johnson and Murray in the cellar and that they had been able to recover the gold, which has been returned to the Union Pacific this afternoon. By the way, that $50,000 in gold coin is now worth over three and a half million dollars! From Tucson, this is Jose Garcia, standing by at the Thyme residence, where we will update you as new details emerge."

Jeff clicked off the TV. "My word. That's what Michael was talking about! I don't blame him for being tight mouthed!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Grandpa and Grandma both sat with us and watched the news and Grandpa grunted once or twice when he didn't like the way they said something, but of course there was nothing we could do about it. We certainly weren't going outside and arguing with them over the details. Dad called my cell right after the news segment was over. It even made the news out in LA, although they didn't have as many details there as at home. I handed the phone over to Grandpa after a few minutes to let the two of them decide what steps needed to be taken in the near future. 




Justin Thyme Ch. 14



I was thinking about the rolls of coins still in the cellar, plus all the gold in the locked room, and all of the documents in the hidden drawer in the desk upstairs. I didn't think anyone could find them, but the last thing we needed was someone breaking into the house and trying to find anything. I determined right away I was going to call Jim in the morning, no; I was going to call him this evening, just as soon as Dad and Grandpa got off my phone. I'd offer to work the store for him if he would take a couple of guys up to the house and get the gate installed at the end of the drive. He could turn on the security system for me, too. I had everything else installed, but had not been using it. I didn't really think I'd need it until we actually had tenants, or at least had some of the furniture and things in the house. At the moment there really wasn't anything else there to steal, but a lot of damage could be done in a hurry.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Michael and Susie untangled themselves on the couch and Susie launched herself into Michael's arms and kissed him. She played at Michael's lips with her tongue until he at last parted them enough for her to slip it in to find his tongue. With a groan of resignation Michael found himself tongue wrestling with her as he felt her press her breasts into his chest and writhe against him. At last she pulled away from him enough to look into his eyes and say, "I love you, Michael. All I have is yours." She took one of his hands and placed it on her breast, where it involuntarily squeezed hungrily, before Michael quickly jerked his hand away, eyes wide.

"Susie, I can't! You have no idea how badly I want you, but I can't! It wouldn't be right before God, to your father, or to you. We have to wait." Sweat had broken out all over his face, and he was physically trembling with desire. "Acushla, you have no idea how badly I desire you, but I cannot until we are married!"

"What did you call me? Acush what?"

"Ah, something I got from my mother's father. He was Irish. Acushla. It's Gaelic for darling. It fits you."

"So why can't we just get married then?"

"It's not quite that easy little one. You still have to finish school. I don't think your mother would be real happy with either of us if we ran away. We can wait. Just think how sweet it will be when the time is right."

"So you do want to marry me, then?"

"Yes, my dear, I do, and when the time is right I'll be asking, but in the meantime we must behave."

"Do you love me? Really love me?"

"More than you have any idea, my Little One. I have ever since when you were still in the hospital."

"That long?"

"Um humh."

"Cool. Me too. Can we at least still kiss and hug?" Tears were in Susie's eyes as she looked up at Michael.

"I don't plan to stop. We just have to keep ourselves under control."

"I'll try. Is it OK if we look? I noticed you like the looks of my boobs. I don't care if you look. I kind of like it when you do. I like to look at you too," and she nodded down to his very erect cock pressing against his pants. Michael groaned in frustration.

"It isn't good for me to look and lust over you, Little One."

"I don't mind. I know you love me, and I'm yours whenever you get around to asking me, and even before if you change your mind. You can just take a little peek now and then to remind you of what's coming." Her saucy grin lit up her face as she leaned backward and allowed her breasts to press firmly against her shirt and show her excited nipples poking through the fabric. Michael swallowed hard and his hands twitched with desire before he looked away.

"What was that you called me again? That Irish thingy?"

"Acushla."

"I like it. It sounds special."

"You are special."

Susie leaned back into his chest and nestled her head on his shoulder. "Good. Keep it that way. Now I know something for sure. I never have to worry about you. If you won't go against your beliefs with me you won't every do it with anyone else, either. Neither will I, and I'll try not to tempt you too much. I love you."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

"That's Stephie's car!" Mary nearly leaped off the sofa when Steph's car was shown driving quickly away from the Scottsdale house. "And that's Rosemary in the front seat with her! I can't really see her, but that hair has to be hers!"

When the feed was sent to the local reporter and the scene was the Thyme house Mary sagged back into the couch. "No wonder she said she couldn't come home. I wouldn't want to have to run the gauntlet of all of those reporters."

Tom nodded his head. "They can be difficult. Of course they are doing their job, but sometimes they get a little bit over the top, and some of their questions can be rather out of line. I've been there! More than once I've had to deal with some of their questions when I've treated patients after a particularly bad wreck or something. I recognize they are doing their job, but where does a person's privacy concerns come into play?"

Mary swallowed the rest of her wine and stood at the conclusion of the segment. "Well, I guess we may as well eat the pot roast. It's plain to see Steph won't be home tonight!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Grandma, Rosemary and Steph were rattling pots and pans around in the kitchen by the time Grandpa and Dad finished talking and I knew we didn't have to worry about eating tonight. With Grandma in the house food is never an issue. I got my phone back from Grandpa and quickly called Jim at home.

"Hi Jim, Justin. Look, I need a big favor. . . . Yes, that was me they were talking about. . . . I'll tell you about it later, OK? . . . . Well, I need some help with the house up in Scottsdale. I can't go back up there for the next day or two until all of this stuff dies down, and I really think I need that security gate installed right away. . . . Yes, and I have all of the other things hooked up in the house, they just aren't turned on. . . . Well, here is what I'm thinking. Is there any way you could take a couple of guys up there and install that gate and turn on the system for me. I'll run the store for you while you are gone, and of course we'll pay for it. . . . I was hoping for tomorrow. . . . Let's just say I don't want to leave any temptation for anyone. . . . Thank you so much! I knew I could count on you. . . . OK. See you in the morning.

"What was that, Justin?" Grandpa was looking at me curiously. 

"I got to thinking while we watched the news that we left all the gold in the house, plus all of those papers hidden in the desk, whatever they are. We didn't turn on the security system, and I'm really not comfortable without the gate in place now. I know Jim will do us right, and I can trust him. There's no way I can go up there for a day or two."

Grandpa nodded. "It's probably not a bad idea."

"What's really nice about it is that I don't have to go in to the store. He hired two guys to take my place, and he said they could cover it for a day." 

Rosemary walked into the room and called us to supper. Grandma was fussing over the stove as Grandpa and I went in there. "If I'd have known I was coming over to fix food for you I would have planned it better. You've got to settle for biscuits and gravy. I'm sorry, but with what I had to work with and the time of day I didn't want to try to get anything else going. It would have been bedtime before we could have eaten."

I gave Grandma a hug and said, "Thank you. You know I love your biscuits and gravy!" I really do! Most people use black pepper with their sausage to make the gravy, but Grandma always throws in a healthy pinch of cayenne pepper too, so it is nice and hot, just the way I like it! She also make hand squeezed, she calls them 'hand squozed', buttermilk biscuits that you have to put a towel over the bowl to keep them from floating away. They are that light and fluffy! Mom tries, but she has never learned to cook them the way Grandma does, nor can Grandma write down the recipe because she mixes it until it 'looks right'. 

Grandma looked over at Grandpa and said, "Now Ben, two biscuits with gravy is all you get, and don't you try sneaking another. You know what Dr. Bowden said last week." Grandpa just shook his head at me and shrugged his shoulders.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tom and Madge Collins sat down with Michael and Susie to watch the news report, and then Michael had to tell them in rather plain detail what all had transpired, and about the railroad people. Susie made sure her Dad knew about the open ended job offer Ben Jorgenson and Pete Fleming gave him, and that he would be at least taking a look at their programming needs for a more reliable schedule. She knew her Dad held Michael in high esteem, but what girl doesn't like to make her man look good to her father?

Madge was more interested in the gold, not from an avaricious standpoint, but what mother doesn't want to be certain her daughter is going to be well taken care of? Michael told her of the railroad money discovery, but said nothing of the other gold. He really didn't care about it all that much, and he saw no reason to push it in their faces. 

By the time they were through talking after the news it was too late to start dinner, so Michael suggested they all go to Al's and celebrate there, but to please not talk about it to anyone. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mary's pot roast was a big success with Tom Meechum. After his third helping he looked sheepishly across the table. "I'm afraid I've made a bit of a pig of myself tonight. I'm a very poor cook, and I get tired of hospital food, which is mostly what I eat, just so I don't have to go out and eat by myself."

Mary was pleased to see him enjoy her cooking, especially since it was something so simple and ordinary. If she had planned on asking him over she would have put a lot more effort into making something fancy, but it was plain good home cooking and was more than enough to please him. "Thank you. I told you it would be pot luck, and tonight we both got lucky." What she said hit her all of a sudden and she blushed and looked down. 

Tom caught the double entendre, but knew it was not intended as such. Reaching across the table he took her hand and said, "I thank you. I indeed feel I have been more than lucky in meeting you." He paused for a moment before continuing. "I feel a little funny being in Winters' house eating with his wife. I almost feel like I'm cheating him somehow, although I know I'm not."

"Please don't feel that way, Tom. He would not feel that way at all. Brad obviously thought highly of you, or he wouldn't have told you to go to Med School."

"Yeah, we were pretty good friends. Winters was one of the good ones."

Mary squeezed his hand gently, seeing the look of pain that crossed his face. Gently she asked, "I notice you refer to him by his last name. Why is that?"

"It's a military thing. Everyone goes by the last name. Less confusion that way. I didn't even know his first name until I heard you use it. There's nothing disrespectful about it. I'm sorry if I offended you."

"Oh, not at all! I was just curious is all. Let's go into the living room where we can be a bit more comfortable."

"Let me help you clear away these dishes first."

"Leave them. There isn't that much, and I'll have Steph help me with them later." Mary stood and picked up her wine glass. "Would you mind bringing the bottle? This is excellent. I really hardly ever drink wine since I'm by myself and Steph isn't old enough. I'm enjoying it this evening."

Tom rose and taking the bottle with him carried his glass as they went into the living room. Tom walked first over to the piano and looked up at Staff Sergeant Winters' photo hanging on the wall. "I'm really glad to see you keep his picture up. He was a good man, and a great friend." Mary stepped over and stood next to Tom as she looked up at her husband's photo. 

"Yes, he was, and I miss him still. Stephanie is the one though that really missed out on having a father in her life. She was so young when he went away. That's really why I wanted you to come over tonight, not that I haven't enjoyed having you here. You know, I really made a mistake a while back and got involved with another man, even married him before I found out some things about him. That marriage lasted a whole four days." Mary gave Tom a rueful smile. "He was insistent I take Brad's picture down, and I had to put it away in a closet for a while. The first thing I did once he was out of the house, even before I cleaned up the mess was to hang the picture back up and put his flag back in place. It will never come down again. Brad is gone, but he is still a very big part of me, and of Stephanie as well. If others can't understand that it's too bad."

Tom noticed tears forming in Mary's eyes and without even thinking slipped an arm about her shoulders and drew her to himself. "Nobody should ever try to make you do such a thing. He is a part of your life, even though he is gone, and anyone who cannot recognize that doesn't deserve to be a part of your life either."

Mary leaned into Tom, comforted by his thoughtfulness and the strength of his arm around her. It was not a sexual hug, but yet it stirred her as she had not been stirred in years. Paul's touches had always seemed to have an ulterior motive, and while he had given her some sexual satisfaction it was always missing something. This felt real, like Tom really cared about her, not himself. All too soon the hug ended and they drifted back to sit on the couch; but the warmth of the hug remained. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Grandpa and Grandma left very shortly after dinner was over, and I saw through one of the blinds their car being swarmed by reporters, but Grandpa just waved at them and didn't stop. I thought one of them was going to get run over as he started to step in front of the car to stop them, but Grandpa made no effort to stop and he had to jump back out of the way. I know Grandpa wouldn't have hit him, but he sure didn't give that idea to the reporter!

Even though it was still early in the evening I was quite tired. All of the stress of the past few days was catching up to me quickly. There was still plenty of light outside, but with the reporters still swarming the house the girls didn't want to go outside to try to swim. The girls decided to watch a DVD, but I begged out of it. It would have been nice and fun to sit with the girls, especially since they were both pealing clothes as fast as they could get them off. I begged off though, and after giving both of them a good kiss and a hug I made my way upstairs, stripping my shirt over my head as I went and headed to my room. I decided I wanted something different to listen to, so I pulled up YouTube on my computer and found a playlist of Johan Hummel. I started with his Mass in B flat major and followed it with his Der Durchzug durghs Rote Meer. I really didn't think I'd get that far, and I was right. I stripped off my shorts and stretched out on my bed and let the music wash over me. I know the Mass is a religious piece, but I don't understand it, so to me it is just a piece of beautiful music with some wonderful harmony. By the time they got around to the Sanctus I could feel the stress melt away and I allowed my mind to drift. 

Rosemary and Stephanie, and my love for the two of them was centerpoint in my thoughts, and the memory of the morning with Rosemary followed by the afternoon with Steph played across my mind like a movie. Most would probably find fault with my being in love with two women and making love to them both, but as long as they were OK with it and willing to share I was more than happy. If I had to make a choice it would be very difficult. The last thought that crossed my mind as I drifted off was the exquisiteness of Stephanie cradled in my arms after we had made love with each other earlier.

I was dreaming, but it was at the level where I knew I was dreaming. The dream was so real I could feel her soft skin on mine and feel her hair against my cheek. The warmth of her pussy as it enveloped my cock was so real, so moist and soft, yet tight, as it slipped all the way down all the way to bottom out against my pelvic bone. I could hear her moan with pleasure as she wiggled and rocked back and forth on me. What didn't make sense in my dream was the feeling of a hand caressing my balls, fondling them and rolling them gently. I could feel my balls drawing up and felt my impending orgasm as I awakened to hear her gasping in my ear as she came. Feeling her pussy pulsing on my cock was enough to take me over the edge, and I exploded deep within her, even as the hand continued to caress my balls. 

I quickly wrapped my arms around Steph and held her tightly to me, her boobs flattened against my chest, and her cheek firmly against mine, and I heard her sigh into my ear. "I hope you don't mind, Justin, but your cock was pointing straight up into the air, and I just couldn't resist." She lifted her head and looked toward the foot of the bed. "You were right, Rosie. He really is a deep sleeper!" At least that explained the hand caressing my balls.

Rosemary giggled. "I really thought he was going to sleep through it, but he was surely enjoying the dream!" Her head popped up next to Stephanie and I saw her smiling at me. "I don't know how you did it, but even asleep you knew it was Stephie. I think it's cute."

As for me, I was trying to get my breath back under control and my heart rate down. I couldn't argue with it as a way of waking up, though!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Michael and the Collinses returned to the Collins' home after dinner. Having the senior Collinses in the back seat did a lot to temper Susie's teasing, but she still managed to make her femininity obvious, leaving Michael on edge. He was able to walk into the house without showing an erection, but he had a serious case of blue balls from all of the teasing throughout the afternoon. He had every intention of saying his goodbyes and returning to his condo, but Madge insisted he come in for a while before leaving. Susie managed to grab his arm for the walk into the house and to rub a boob against it several times. 

Once inside Susie snuggled up against Michael on the couch as Tom settled in his LazyBoy and Madge went into the kitchen. Tom and Michael were making small talk together quietly until Madge walked back into the living room carrying a tray with two bottles and four wine glasses. "I think we ought to celebrate Michael's good fortune!"

"What to do now?" ran through his mind feverishly. "She knows I don't drink, but maybe she forgot. I don't want to embarrass her, but I can't drink it."

"Tom would you open them please and pour?" She turned to Michael, "I haven't forgotten, Michael. I called your church this morning and asked. You can drink this. It is not alcoholic. It is just sparkling grape juice. I got tired of you being left out!"

Relief flooded him as he thought of her kindness. "Thank you. That was very thoughtful of you."

"Not a problem. To be honest, I think we would all be better off if we followed some of your example."

Susie squeezed his arm and looked up at him adoringly before putting her head on his shoulder. When Michael glanced over at her he saw her top pooched open and he had a good look down her cleavage. He quickly averted his gaze, afraid Tom would notice where his eyes were looking.

Susie did know where his eyes were, and she felt a shiver of excitement, but let his arm loose from her hug as her mother turned back toward them. The last thing she wanted was for her mother to guess what she was doing. Susie really loved her mom, but Madge could be a little uptight at times. 

Michael excused himself as soon thereafter as he could politely and hurried home. He didn't know how much more of Susie's teasing he could take. Seeing the swell of Susie's breasts, and the edge of her lacy bra was indelibly imprinted on his mind. How was he to withstand that kind of temptation? After dealing with temptation from so many other girls, some even more blatant than Susie, successfully was he to succumb to the very one he loved? 




Justin Thyme Ch. 14



As soon as he walked through his condo door he began stripping and made his way to the shower for as cold a shower as he could get. His cock, once freed from his briefs, had a mind of its own and stood out proudly from his body, unfazed by the cold. His balls felt swollen, and were very tender to the touch. Michael gasped for breath in the cold water, and mindful of not wasting time he started soaping himself, preparing for bed. His sexual stimulus was so great that passing the soap across his cock and stroking it one time was all it took. With a massive groan of release, and of frustration at his weakness, Michael spewed a tremendous amount of ejaculate on the shower wall even as his knees gave way, and he dropped to his knees in the shower. Great shuddering gasps of breath shook his frame even as he prayed and asked forgiveness for his weakness.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mary, with a two of glasses of wine in her, was very conscious of the movement of her sundress's fabric across the tips of her nipples, causing her to regret her choice to go braless. Tom had made no sexual advances of any kind. In fact, he had been more than a gentleman, talking with her about Brad, and about Stephanie. His very proper behavior was quite unsettling. For years she had pushed away men who had been less circumspect, and Tom's very correct behavior stirred her interest. She found herself looking at him, measuring him in her mind as a potential, even as she told herself it was preposterous. 

Mary considered the wine they had been drinking, and about Tom driving home and didn't think it would be wise, and was severely tempted to invite him to spend the night. After all, Stephanie was not going to be home, and in fact would probably be sleeping with Justin if she gauged her questions correctly from the other day. She felt herself stirring with need. Paul had been the only one since her Brad died in Iraq, and while Paul had not been caring for her needs, he had reawakened the drive within her. She really did not want to be alone tonight, but knew it was foolish to think of Tom this way. She blamed it on the wine.

Tom, a lifelong bachelor, found in himself a craving for the environment in which he found himself. Never among the women he had known in his life had he found one with whom he could feel so comfortable as he did Mary. He sensed a similar sentiment from her, although neither made any such comment. He knew he had to see more of her, and if involving Stephanie was the key, so be it. Stephanie was a sweet girl anyway, and he enjoyed meeting her before. She would have made things a lot easier tonight, but at the same time her absence had opened up an intimacy that could not have been there if she had been present. 

Reluctantly, Tom knew it was time for him to make his goodnights and go. That last glass of wine had not been a good idea. While sure he wouldn't be over the limit, but he saw enough drunk drivers, or their passengers, go through his emergency room that he was not willing to take the risk of impaired driving. "Mary, I have really enjoyed the evening. Thank you so much. You must let me return the favor and take you and Stephanie out to dinner soon. You won't want my cooking, I assure you!"

"Thank you, Tom. I know we would enjoy that. Stephanie would really like to talk with you about her dad." She didn't say "And I would love to be with you and be held in your arms," although she thought it and looked down, blushing, afraid she had given herself away.

"My problem tonight is that I should not have had that last glass of wine. I'm really embarrassed. I'm not drunk, but I see too many people come through the ER who thought they weren't either, and I won't take that risk. Would it cause you embarrassment if I left my car in your drive and took a cab home?"

Mary's face flushed at the implication, yet her heart was strangely warmed at Tom's thoughtfulness for her feelings. "That was very nice of you to ask, Tom. Thank you. I didn't even think of the neighbors! I don't have many men leave their cars here overnight." She smiled at him. "Would you like me to drive it to work tomorrow, and then you could drop me off on the way home?"

"Now that's an idea. Would it be terribly out of your way to stop by my apartment on the way in in the morning?"

"I would be happy to." "Good, that means I get to see him tomorrow, too," ran through her mind. 

Tom pulled out his cellphone and looked up a cab company and called for a ride. "They said it would be about twenty minutes. May I stay that much longer?"

Never had Mary experienced someone so concerned with her feelings. How had this man gone all this long without a woman snatching him up? "That would be great. It will give us time for another glass since you won't be driving." She quickly picked up the bottle and started to pour. "It will be a short glass. There isn't much left."

Tom picked his glass up and held it toward Mary. "To a wonderful cook, and a good friend. Thank you for a great evening, Mary. I haven't enjoyed an evening as much as this in a long, long time."

Mary touched her glass to his. "Thank you, Tom. Neither have I. I feel like we have known each other for years, rather than weeks. I do hope you will come again. Anytime you want a home cooked meal just let me know. No flowers or wine is necessary. You are welcome in our home."

"I may just take you up on that." He gave her a crooked smile. "I'll try to limit myself to no more than eight days a week though. If I ate like that all the time I'd weight four hundred pounds." He reached across the couch and squeezed Mary's hand. He glanced over his shoulder at Brad's picture above the piano. "You know, one would think it would be intimidating sitting with a lady with her husband's picture looking down at us, but here it feels comfortable and right. You are an amazing woman, Mary." A horn sounded outside and he stood, tossed off the last swallow of wine, and extended a hand to Mary to help her stand. "Thank you again for a wonderful evening."

Tom wondered if a kiss goodnight would be appropriate, but decided it would not. He would save it for another time, hopefully, but he pulled Mary to him in a half-hug. "Good night. I'll see you in the morning," and quickly he released her and opened the door. With a quick wave to the driver to let him know he was coming he turned and took her hand in both of his. Tenderly he squeezed it and said, "Please tell Stephanie I'm sorry I missed her, and I'll see you tomorrow," and with that he was gone. As he walked away he remembered the soft feeling of Mary in his arm and the extra softness of her breast against him. He wondered if she was braless, and if that meant anything.

Mary watched with moist eyes as the cab drove away and closed the door softly as she felt for the first time the utter emptiness of her house without a man in it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Scoot over on the bed a little bit, Justin, so Rosemary can get in here with us. You know, I hope you are going to get a bigger bed for your room up at 'the house.' A twin just isn't going to cut it."

I shuffled myself over carefully, trying not to allow myself to fall out of her pussy as I moved. I slipped my arm out for Rosemary and hugged her to us. Once again I was reminded just how lucky I am to be loved by two such wonderful women. As I pulled Rosemary close to us her red gold hair mixed in with Stephanie's brown hair and created a lovely blend on my chest and shoulder. I've always heard how jealous women are and how the claws come out, as it were, whenever another pretty woman comes around their men, but with these two it was just the opposite. They both spent their time trying to make certain the other was satisfied, and they enjoyed seeing me pleasuring the other. I certainly had nothing to complain about! 

It was interesting to me also how they had no interest in each other sexually, as is so often the case when two women are with one man. They had no problem being nude around each other, and hugs were commonplace, but neither showed any interest in the other sexually. I had no complaints about that at all. Girl on girl stuff never did anything for me. Whatever floats your boat, but for me it just wasn't there. That isn't to say I don't enjoy seeing more than one woman, but just not together, as it were.

It was only a little while before I started to wilt and slip out of Stephanie, and my bed was just not wide enough for the three of us to cuddle side to side, so we had to make a change. I looked at my clock and saw it was only nine forty-five, so going to bed for the night was a little too soon. With no school tomorrow there was no reason to go to bed early anyway, but a quick look out the blinds showed me we didn't want to be going anywhere, either. There were still three TV trucks parked across the street, obviously waiting for the eleven o'clock news to have one more "on location report."

Rosemary came up with the idea of going down to the den to watch a movie on the big screen TV. I'm not much of a movie kind of guy except for Sci Fi or techy kinds of things, and I definitely wasn't in to chick flicks, but I agreed to go with them anyway just to spend time with them. Sometimes a guy has to give a little to keep them happy, and if they were happy it made everything better. 

Rosemary started looking through Netflix to see what was playing and started looking in the 'Horror' genre for some reason. Horror movies have never made sense to me. Why do you want to watch something to get scared? I'd rather watch something I can learn from, or at the least be entertained by something funny, but girls seem to like something scary, especially if they are with other girls, or with a guy to reassure them. I really can't tell you what the movie was, but it was one of those slasher movies in a Sorority house, with a lot of partially clothed girls running around and a plot as vapid as most of the actresses. "Hey, Stephie. I'll bet Justin will like this one! He'll see plenty of skin in this!"

Plenty of skin I can do without. Oh, don't get me wrong. I like to look at naked girls, and I have watched my share of porn, but now that I have Rosemary and Stephanie I have found I really don't need it any more and the real thing is so much better. I much prefer what I have, but Rosemary started it and while the credits (as if anyone would want their names attached to it) were running she popped some corn in the microwave and came running back in to join Stephie and me in the love seat. 

Now as you know, if you've ever sat in a love seat, they are made for two, and two sitting closely together. That's why they are called 'love seats'. Three of us sitting together naked in a love seat definitely had a lot of skin to skin contact, and I had no place for my arms other than around their shoulders. Not that I minded, mind you! The way they cuddled up against me, especially after the first big scare to start out the show, more huddled than cuddled, my hands dangled at just the right height to cup a breast in each hand. Movie watching suddenly wasn't quite as onerous as I had thought it might be.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Susie was very pleased with herself after giving Michael a gentle kiss goodnight. She really wanted much more, with a strong hug so she could feel him against her, but she had to settle for just a light hug, although she managed to brush her boobs up against him in the process. She knew she had really gotten to him and was pleased that she could excite him so easily. Had she known the turmoil she put in his mind she would have been much less happy with herself, but she really didn't understand where Michael came from and his religious convictions. 

She was not a cock-tease as such. She was not one of those girls that liked to tease, but not put out. Rather, she was trying to please the one she loved, trying to show him what was in store for him, what he could have just for the asking, and that she was more than willing, in fact longing to give him. Had she known what her teasing was doing to Michael she would have been aghast. 

Both of her parents were very happy for Michael's good fortune in the gold find, not understanding how little he really cared about it. Neither of them were greedy people who looked on him jealously, nor was their pleasure based on what it might mean for their daughter. They were genuinely pleased for the young man they had come to love and appreciate. Madge in particular was so pleased at the way he treated her daughter, and the way he had tempered her teasing ways and the way she dressed. If she only knew what Susie was really doing to him! All Madge saw was the difference in the way Susie behaved around all of the other young men.

Susie decided to call it a night earlier than normal. She was so aroused she wanted nothing more than to go to her room, close and lock the door, and get herself off. Well, she really wanted to take Michael to her room, close and lock the door, and . . . but that was not possible. She really thought for a while he was going to weaken this afternoon, but alas, he didn't. 

Her panties were soaked, smearing down her legs as she slid them off, and her labia were swollen and wet with arousal, even as long as it had been since Michael left and she had to talk with her folks about his good fortune. She laid back on her bed and caressed her nipples for only a few moments before she couldn't stand teasing herself. One hand crept to her pussy and with only a few moments attention to her clit she had to cover her face with her pillow to muffle her cries as she came harder than she had ever done before. She drifted off to sleep naked, dreaming happily of Michael and what it would be like if he was in her bed with her.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The movie was so horrible that after a few minutes the girls quit huddling quite so closely to me, although they still snuggled up tight. They started mocking the movie, and as one sorority sister after the other, each in some sort of nightgown or other, was attacked, ending up at least partially naked, with all sorts of enhanced tits being shown, and one or two pussies for good measure, the girls started trying to pick out the ones they thought I would like best. Of course, my cock was standing at attention through all of this; much to the girl's delight, but the poor acting and the agonizingly fake attempts to look sexy was more of a turn-off than an enticement. The girls just didn't understand my cock was at attention because of them far more than what I saw on the screen. 

As I let my hands wander up and down Rosemary and Steph's sides and I caressed their boobs and tweaked their nipples I had more than enough to excite me! I could look down and see Rosemary's little exclamation point of a landing strip with its red hue, or look over to see Steph's rather puffy, but now bald slit at the junction of her legs. Rosemary's breasts were a bit more than a handful, while I could fit Steph's nicely in my hand, but I found either of them to be so much more exciting than what looked like a grapefruit stuck on an actress's chest. I never did understand the thinking behind something that looks so unnatural. Steph's nipples stuck out so far they tickled the palm of my hand as I caressed her boob and cupped it in my hand.

"Does this give you ideas for our house, Justin? All of those girls running around and getting naked?" Rosemary leaned in and gave me a wet sloppy kiss as she fondled my cock. "I'll bet that thought excites you, doesn't it? We don't need a madman running around with a knife or a chainsaw though."

Stephie threw herself on the floor and sprawled out across the carpet in a grotesque position with her boobs thrust into the air. "Something like this all through the house, maybe? All of those girls, just waiting for you to impale them, but not with a knife. Maybe you could think of something better to use, hmm?"

Rosemary giggled and pulled on my cock. "Whatever could you find to impale them with, Justin? Can you think of anything you could use?" She dropped down onto the floor and lay there, legs spread, "Maybe you should practice with us, just in case? We wouldn't want you to be unprepared."

I found it interesting the idea was exciting to the girls, but I sure couldn't pass up the offer, so I dove onto the floor and 'impaled' Rosemary right where she was. I didn't wait to fondle or tease her, but just drove my cock in with one thrust and buried it to the hilt. She was quite wet and excited from all of the playing around and the movie, so I slid in easily. I pulled back out and rammed it back in hard, which brought a gasp from her. "Oh, yes! Impale me, Justin. Harder! Harder!" and she wrapped her legs around my hips with her feet on my ass and pulled me into her again and again. Her hips were bucking up into me as I thrust, and in just a few minutes she cried out with an orgasm.

It hadn't been all that long since Stephie woke me by riding my cock, so I did not come yet. I slowed my attack to allow her to come down from her excitement and started to thrust again when she looked up into my eyes. "That was fun! I think Stephie need to be impaled, too. Give it to her."

Steph was lying next to us watching with rapt attention as I 'impaled' Rosemary, but she quickly flopped onto her back, legs spread and arms akimbo, but with her pelvis thrust upward with her swollen pussy waiting for my attack. I pulled reluctantly from Rosemary, but excitedly moved over to repeat my attack on Steph. Her pussy was tight and hot on my cock as I drove it fast and hard all the way in, bringing a wail of pleasure from her. Her arms and legs wrapped tightly around me as she cried out, "Yes, Justin. Yes! Just like that!" and suddenly she moaned and gave out a long sigh as I felt her pussy squeeze my cock and her body shiver and she passed out with a smile on her face. She seems to be one who is prone to la petite mort. 

I stopped thrusting and just lay there on top of her holding her tenderly to me. I felt other arms go around me as Rosemary nestled in next to us. "Thank you, Justin. That was fun." I just turned and gave her a gentle kiss, even as I could feel Steph's pussy continue to spasm around my cock, and felt my cock pulse in return. 

It was only a little bit and Steph woke up to look up into my eyes adoringly. "I don't know how you do it, Justin, but wow!" She reached a hand to grasp one of Rosemary's. "Thank you, Rosie. You didn't have to do that. It was your turn, remember?"

Rosemary gave her a smile. "I got my turn. I've never come that quickly before. There wasn't any reason not to share. Now I get to have him next." She gave Steph a wink. 

Stephie squeezed me with her pussy. "Are you still hard? Didn't you come, too?"

I shook my head. "It's OK. I came upstairs earlier, remember? It was fun, and it still is fun. I love being in you. You girls still don't understand just how sexy you are, do you? I'd rather have you than a hundred of those bimbos from that stupid movie!"

"But I thought guys liked girls with big boobs. That didn't excite you?"

"Not really. Those tits aren't real. I like yours a lot better." I leaned down and took one of Stephie's nipples between my lips and licked it. I felt her pussy respond. "See, this is real, and I like it a lot better. Oh, yes, seeing them getting their clothes ripped off was titillating, but what really got me going was holding you two and feeling your skin, looking at your boobs and your pussies, feeling your legs against me, knowing you love me, and I love you. Call me a romantic, but that means a lot more to me."

Stephanie started rocking her hips, moving herself a little bit on my cock, and I started moving in rhythm with her. Rosemary reached over and fondled my balls, then slid up on the bed and pushed a boob into the side of my face. "I'm glad you like our boobs, Justin. They like you, too." My cock jumped a little bit making Steph giggle as I suckled Rosemary's nipple into my mouth. "How are you going to handle it up at the house next year with girls like Jennifer and Stacy running around? Their boobs are real, too. I remember you liked them." She winked at Stephie. "Remember the rules, now. No relieving yourself. You have to save all of it for us."




Justin Thyme Ch. 14



I know Stephanie was a little sensitive about the idea of the other girls getting to me. The movie was one thing, because it wasn't real, but Jennifer, Stacy, Bitsy, Janelle, and all of the others were real, and they all seemed to be quite comfortable in their own skin, and some of them seemed to be real teases. "I know they will try to catch you, Justin. I just hope I can hold my own with them. I know I don't have big boobs like some of them do."

This was getting weird! Here I was with my cock in her pussy, and Rosemary's nipple in my mouth, while Rosemary is teasing me about the other girls that will be living in my house, and the one I really love, and with I think the most beautiful breasts, is worried I won't love her. "Stephie, Stephie, Stephie! Do you think I've never seen another girl before? Can't you understand it is you two that I love? Remember Susie trying to show hers off to me? Who did I choose?"

Stephie nodded her head as tears filled her eyes. "I'm sorry, Justin. You've always been there for me. I'm sorry I'm so insecure about my little boobies, but I see all of these other girls and I get jealous sometimes." That brought a snort from Rosemary.

"Get some eyes in your head, girl. Didn't you even notice Justin was looking at your boobs while he was fucking me? He can't keep his eyes off of you when you are around. You don't have a thing to worry about, even when other girls try to catch him. He might like to look once in a while, most guys do, but he will always come right back to you, and you get the benefits." I hadn't even realized I had been looking at Steph while I was having sex with Rosemary. I felt ashamed of myself. "Don't worry about it, Justin," Rosemary was reading my mind. "If I were you I'd be doing the same thing. I know you love me and my boobs, too, but I don't have Steph's nipples." I glanced down and saw Stephie's nipples poking up at me and I lost it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mary's alarm went off thirty minutes early, and she started to turn it off and roll over, but she remembered why it was early. She had just a bit of a headache and remembered the wine she had drunk the night before. It wasn't really a hangover, but just a bit of a reminder of the wonderful evening she had shared with Tom. She got out of bed with a languorous stretch, feeling the cool morning air on her skin and suddenly realized and remembered with a wide smile that she had gone to bed nude. After all, Stephanie was not home, and after the evening with Tom she had felt daring and womanly for the first time in many years. Momentarily she felt the familiar pang of missing Brad, but it was replaced by a surge of feeling for Tom. She scolded herself for acting like a fifteen year old girl with a crush even as she examined herself once again in the full length mirror. Overall, she was pleased with what she saw. Maybe she needed a little trim . . . . 

A quick shower after a large glass of water and a couple of aspirin for the headache had her feeling really perky and alive. The most alive she had felt since Brad died. She wrapped the towel around her hair and walked nude to the kitchen to heat a cup of water for tea in the microwave. The air on her skin seemed to stimulate every nerve, and after all, the blinds were all closed, and no one else was around, so what difference did it make? Without even realizing what it was doing her left hand teased her nipple and breast as she stood and waited for the water. It was only a minute and a half, but felt exquisite.

Mary carried the cup of tea back down the hallway to her bedroom and opened her closet to pick out . . . scrubs. The first downer of the day! Normally she was more than happy to be wearing scrubs. She loved nursing, caring for people and helping them heal, but today she felt sexy for the first time in a long, long time, and there was no way to make scrubs sexy. With a sigh of disappointment she pulled out a set that she normally wore when working in pediatrics. If she couldn't be sexy at least she would dress in something more fun. She opened her lingerie drawer and selected a lacy bikini and bra set normally not worn for work. No one would see, but she would know it was there, then she used just the tiniest bit of fragrance between her breasts, and a dab at the top of her pubis. Again, it would not be where anyone would notice, but it made her feel sexy, but it wouldn't be enough to cause a problem for any of her patients.

Enjoying the freedom nudity gave her, she blow-dried and brushed out her hair, which she normally would have done after dressing. She watched herself in the mirror as she did so, then dressed and bounced out the door smiling to get in Tom's car and go pick him up on her way to work. She noticed she was singing along with the radio and was surprised. She rarely listened to the radio in the car and she never sang!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tom showered and dressed for work quickly and made a cup of coffee, blessing himself for spending the money on a Keurig. It was so much better than instant, and he didn't have a whole pot to throw out later. He wasn't much for flavored coffee, but Irish Crème seemed to hit the spot this morning. He was ready early, so he busied himself with straightening up his apartment. It was obviously a bachelor pad, but he was neat about his place, so there really wasn't much to do. 

His cell phone buzzed in his pocket and he looked at it quickly. "Good morning, Mary! I'll be right out." He grabbed his coffee cup and hurried out the door to see Mary pulling into his parking spot. He gave her a cheerful wave and walked to the car, and as she opened the driver's door and stepped out he stepped forward and grasping her gently by the shoulders leaned in and gave her a light peck on the lips without even thinking about it. Horrified he quickly stepped back. "Mary, I'm so sorry! I don't know what came over me!"

Mary was surprised, but found herself pleased nonetheless. She gave him a beaming smile. "I don't mind. I kind of liked it." She slipped her hand into his as he walked her around to the other door and opened it for her. She found herself feeling like a teenaged girl again and felt butterflies in her stomach. When Tom got into his side she sniffed lightly. "That smells good. What are you drinking?"

"Oh, just coffee. I thought Irish Crème sounded good this morning. Would you like one?" Without waiting for an answer he jumped back out of the car and hurried in his apartment and quickly made her a cup. He didn't know if she drank it straight or sweet, so he grabbed a packet of sugar left over from a previous take out. He just couldn't bring himself to throw the things away. Quickly he made his way out the door, carrying her coffee, and handed it to her as he got back into the car.

"Thank you. I really didn't expect you to go make me a cup."

"My pleasure. I want to thank you again for a wonderful evening last night. I can't remember how long it's been since I enjoyed myself so much. What do you say we grab Stephanie and get a bite to eat this evening? I have to take you home anyway."

"Thank you. I know she would enjoy that, and I would, too."

"What am I thinking. You won't want to go out in your scrubs. Nothing fancy, but how about if I pick you back up at about six? Or would six-thirty be better?"

"Let's say six-thirty just to be on the safe side. I never know what I'm going to get into during the day."

"Done," Tom said as he pulled into the hospital lot. "We're early, so I think I'll grab a bowl of oatmeal in the cafeteria before we start rather than wait until I get a break. Care to join me?"

"Sure. I normally wait until break also, but I'd like to join you. I'm really not ready to start this morning. Thanks." She gave him a brilliant smile as he jumped out of the car and scurried around to open her door. She nearly grabbed his hand on the way in, but resisted the urge. People gossiped enough around here. No point in giving them anything extra to talk about.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I woke up late for me, but since there was no school it was no problem. Once again I was fortunate enough to have Stephie snuggled up against me on one side, and Rosemary was cuddled on the other. I really don't think I even rolled over all night, and after the night of fun the three of us had we needed to air the room out before Mom and Dad came home. Rosemary was going to have to wash her sheets and put them back on, too. That is probably one reason I didn't even roll over. I was totally drained before we were through, and I certainly hope Stephanie was reassured of my love for her before the night was over. 

I glanced at the Koala and saw it was a few minutes past eight o'clock, and as badly as I needed to go to the bathroom I didn't want to break up what we had going. Rosemary's hair was spread across my chest, and I will never tire of seeing that red-gold display spread out on me. It is almost as if she has alternating hairs, one red, and the next golden, but when they are spread out as they were and the sunlight through the window strikes it just right it is nearly breathtaking for beauty. I hope she never cuts it short. It would be a tragedy to me. 

Stephanie's brown hair was spread more across my shoulder as she had her head on my arm rather than my upper chest and shoulder like Rosemary, but it was soft against my cheek when I leaned my face over to rest on her head. Her hand was holding mine against her boob, as it was when I went to sleep. She is so self-conscious about her breasts it seems she always goes to sleep with me holding one when we get to spend the night together. Rosemary on the other hand was cuddled close against my side with her breasts pressed against the side of my chest, and she had one leg across my leg with her pussy pressed up against it. Our combined juices had leaked out and dried on my leg, and we were somewhat stuck together. 

Don't get the idea I'm complaining! I'm bragging! Very few men are afforded the privilege of waking up with one woman with whom he is in love as much as I love these two, and I, a skinny little dweeb of a tech head gets two such as this! There are so many things about this situation that society would frown on, but I didn't go looking for it, and I'm certainly not going to kick either of them out. I would literally lay down my life for either and count myself lucky to be accounted worthy. Melodramatic? Maybe, but it's true.

My reverie was to be short-lived though. On the one hand I was relieved because I needed the bathroom badly, but on the other hand, what is a little discomfort when it is overbalanced by the opportunity to hold these two beauties? Rosemary's phone went off, causing her to jump and pull away from my leg. I found out that yes, we were stuck together. It woke Stephie, too, but rather than jump for a phone she just pulled my hand more tightly to her breast and leaned in to me and kissed me on the cheek. "Good morning, Justin. I really love you."

I pulled her to me in a one armed hug and turned my face to kiss her back. "Good morning, Sweetheart. I love you, too. I'm the luckiest guy in the world." I know she thinks I'm exaggerating, but I meant it.

On my other side I heard a voice say "H'lo," that sounded like a crow with a sore throat.

I could hear faintly a voice that sounded like Susie. "Did I wake you up? I'm sorry!" She giggled. "Must have been a fun night last night, maybe? You'll have to tell me about it."

Rosemary cleared her throat and I saw her peering blearily at the Koala to see what the time was. "What on earth are you calling for at eight-fifteen in the morning?" I've never heard her sounding so grouchy, but then she had not slept long. Rosemary reached over and picked up the koala and stroked its fur as she looked into its eyes intently. 

"I'm sorry, Rosemary. I didn't mean to wake you. I just assumed you would be up. I woke up the normal time and couldn't go back to sleep. I just wanted to see if you wanted to hang out today. Michael is going to be busy with the railroad people, and I didn't want to sit at home alone today."

Rosemary nuzzled her nose in the Koala's fur before rubbing noses with it and stroking down its back. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to snap at you. I didn't get much sleep last night. Why don't you come over about ten or so and we can swim and get some sun. That work?"

"Sounds like a plan. See you then."

Rosemary sighed and laid her phone down on the table before carefully brushing the fur from the Koala's face and brushing it gently. "Justin, thank you," she said quietly. If it had not been for you and Mr. Koala I don't know what would have happened, but I know it wouldn't have been this." She set Mr. Koala down, brushed his hair down once again and bent to kiss the top of its head. "You know, I still have the feeling he sees me. Something about him is just so real, like he's really looking at me." She leaned in and kissed me too. "Good morning, lover. I love you."

What do you say when the most beautiful creature in all of the world tells you she loves you? "I love you, too, Rosemary. All I can say is he likes what he sees!"

I crawled out of the bed and made my way to the bathroom, and then made my way downstairs to start some coffee. This day was going to need some help to get it going. Walking around the house nude still feels a bit strange but liberating. Once the coffee pot was brewing I made my way back to the bathroom and started the shower to get it warm and stepped in. In just a few minutes the girls straggled in and stepped into the shower with me. There was no energy for fooling around. All of that was burnt out last night. Instead, we just carefully washed each other and enjoyed the other's presence. A lot of hugging and rubbing together and plenty of caressing of each other's bodies served as a dessert for the feast we had enjoyed. 

I shampooed the girl's hair, relishing the feeling of their hairs slipping through my fingers. I enjoyed massaging their scalps as well. I don't know what it is about it, but I find spending time washing their hair to be cathartic. It's as if the process also washes out all stress and tensions in me. 

When we stepped out of the shower I dried off the girls carefully, kneeling down before them to dry their legs and feet and finished everything off by nuzzling their pussies and planting a kiss on their clits. It wasn't really sexual as much as a means of showing the esteem in which I hold them. The girls went back into the bedroom to strip down the bed and throw the sheets into the wash while I went to the kitchen and poured and fixed coffee for each of us. I also found some pastries in the pantry and popped them into the microwave to warm a bit before they came into the kitchen. Once again, I was overwhelmed at my good fortune as they walked nude and unashamed into the kitchen to join me. And, as beautiful as Rosemary is, it was Steph's nipples that kept attracting my eyes.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Michael Borden?" The question was abrupt as soon as Michael answered his cell phone. 

"This is he. Who is calling, please?" Michael struggled to be polite, feeling slightly offended by the abruptness of the caller. Surely it wasn't a telemarketer with that kind of an attitude, and at eight oh five in the morning. He was just barely awake. 

"I'm IT chief for the UP. Pete Fleming called me at home last night and told me you are the greatest programmer in the history of computing, and that I was to call you first thing this morning before I even had my first cup of coffee because you are going to be the salvation of the UP all by yourself and make my department obsolete. Is that you?"

Michael, knowing how parochial some IT people were about their turf, had expected at least some reluctance on their part to talk with him, particularly given his age and experience, but he had not expected such outright hostility. He hesitated a moment to be certain he didn't allow his temper or his pride to get in the way before responding. "Sir, I don't know that I am all of that, and I have no intention of taking over your department, nor do I have any desire to do so. Mr. Fleming uses a program I developed, as does Mr. Jorgenson, and they asked me to talk with you about some issues the Union Pacific has with scheduling with the idea I may have a fresh perspective. At their request I have agreed to take a look at what you are doing and to make any suggestions I feel may be warranted."

"Well, I don't know what any snot nosed kid without any real world experience, especially in transportation, can tell me, but I have been instructed to ask you to fly up here and to meet with you. I don't suppose it would be possible for you to catch a two forty five from Tucson to Midway in Chicago today, would it?"

"No, Sir. It would not be possible at all. To be frank, Sir, I had expected some reluctance on your part, but I don't believe I can do a thing for you in such an adversarial situation. Good day, Sir," and with that Michael thumbed off the phone. 

Michael sat quietly for a few minutes and thought about the situation. He felt he owed an explanation to Pete for not looking into their situation, but he didn't feel right running to him tattling on the IT chief either. Finally he decided a brief email saying that after a conversation with the IT chief he had determined he would not be able to be of any assistance and leave it at that.

Quickly he typed out a brief note thanking Pete and Ben for their confidence in him, but expressed his doubts at his ability to be of any service after speaking with the IT chief. He didn't name the individual, as he had not bothered to introduce himself in the phone call other than by position.

After sending the email he got up and made his way to the kitchen to fix himself some breakfast. Since he obviously was not going to be doing anything for the railroad today, perhaps he could call Susie a little later and see if she would like to go up Mt. Lemmon. She did say something about the fudge up there, and it looked like it was going to be a beautiful day. That sounded a lot more fun than flying to Chicago anyway!

Once he got to his kitchen and looked at the cereal boxes on the counter, then at the options in his fridge, he wrinkled his nose in disgust. After getting his senses riled up already this morning cereal just wasn't going to cut it, and he wanted more than what he could do to a couple of eggs. He pulled out his cell phone and dialed a number.

"Hey, Michael, what's up?"

"Hey, Justin. I hope I didn't call to early."

"Not at all. I'm just warming a couple of pastries for the girls and me. I didn't feel like cooking breakfast this morning."

"Oh. Well, I was going to see if you wanted to run over to Al's for breakfast. I don't feel like cold cereal, and I can't bear the thought of what I do to eggs either."

I cocked an eyebrow at Rosemary, who was standing near enough to hear the conversation and she nodded. "Mind if I bring the girls along?"

"Cool. That would be great. Maybe I'll see if Susie is up yet. Maybe she can join us." 

Rosemary said she was up, that they were going to get together later, so we could swing by and pick her up, too. I passed that along to Michael, and we agreed to meet at Al's in forty minutes. "Sorry, girls. I guess you'll have to get dressed. If you two walked into Al's like that he would get in trouble with the fire marshal for having too many people in his restaurant." Rosemary swatted me on the arm as I grinned at them. Stephanie slowly brushed her nipples across my chest as she walked by to go upstairs and dress. I grabbed her and gave her a quick kiss before she got away, but then picked her up as she squealed and carried her up the stairs with my hand covering her pussy and a nipple in my mouth.

She gasped as I set her down. "That's not fair, Justin! You get me all excited and then leave me like that."




Justin Thyme Ch. 15



A note to my readers:

Once again, a number of you have caught my goofs! Thank you for paying attention. Tom should have used the land-line to call for a cab, but my brain was running much faster than my fingers can type and I goofed. It was in my plans, but how often our plans go awry. The same is true with him using the phone the next morning. I planned to say he activated an old phone after returning home and used it the next morning, but alas, again I was hurrying to much, and I didn't catch either goof when I proof-read. If I had an emoticon to insert here it would be bright red! Corrections have been made in the text in case I ever decide to do anything with the story at a later date. Thank you for being here for me! I promise to not rush to publish in the future, no matter how many are asking when it will come out. I guess I shall have to plagiarize the old wine commercial and I shall "publish no story before its time." 

*****

The girls and I were sitting at a table over in the corner of the room. As late in the morning as it was on a normal work/school day the place was pretty quiet and we were able to get an area all to ourselves. Each of us had a cup of coffee in front of us, me with Steph and Rosemary on either side of me. On the other side Susie sat with a glass of orange juice in front of the empty chair next to her. Michael came in with a big grin on his face and sat down next to Susie, who promptly turned her face for a kiss. Michael is not the demonstrative type, but he leaned in and gave a quick peck, although you could tell he was somewhat uncomfortable doing so. 

Our waitress walked over just then to take our orders and it embarrassed Michael to be caught kissing, much to Susie's amusement. Michael was the only one who needed to look at the menu, but after a moment he closed it and asked me, "What was it you had me order the first time we were here?"

"My favorite. The three cheese omelet with chili."

"Right! That's what I'll have, please." Our waitress collected our menus and made her way to the kitchen to place the orders and Michael turned to Susie. "Sorry, Little One, but I've had a change of plans for the day." He paused for a moment as his eyes took in something he hadn't noticed earlier. The knit shirt she was wearing was a little snug, and while she had on a bra it was a thin one and allowed her nipples to make an impression on the front of her shirt. Michael swallowed quickly and averted his eyes before going on to say, "That was Pete Fleming on the phone. He is coming down to pick me up, and we will be flying to Chicago sometime today. I told him I have to be back no later than Thursday evening."

Susie was obviously disappointed. "When do you have to leave? Can we still go up Mt. Lemmon?"

"I'm afraid not, Honey. Pete is in a real hurry about this for some reason or other. I would have preferred to wait until next week, but he had his IT guy call me the very first thing this morning. I told him I didn't think I would be able to be of help to them, and I accidentally said part of what the IT guy said to me, and Pete decided he needed to go out there, too. He's taking one of his vacation days and coming anyway. I don't know what's going on, but he's serious about it. I'll know in just a little bit what time he'll get here."

"You can still come over and hang out with us, Susie," Rosemary offered. "We're going to try to get a little sun, and maybe swim a little."

"Thanks. You'll have to run me by the house first, though. I didn't bring my suit."

Stephanie grinned at her and glanced at me out of the corner of her eye as she said, "We could all just go without. No tan lines, you know."

Susie's eyes got big and Michael blushed at the thought, and he was furious with himself as he felt a stirring in his groin at the very thought of Susie naked. "Get control of yourself, Michael! You shouldn't be thinking like that!" His mind paid no attention to him though, and the thought was firmly planted in his mind."

"Only if Mikey could join me," Susie responded while grasping his upper arm with both hands, and looking up at him. Fortunately for Michael he was spared further embarrassment by the return of their waitress with their orders. Everyone paid attention to their breakfasts as the waitress refilled coffee cups and withdrew.

"Hey, Rosemary, you looked good on TV last night," Susie said with a wink. "I recognized your hair in the front seat of Steph's car as we were leaving the house!"

Rosemary just shook her head. "I'm just glad he didn't have a chance to get closer before we got out of there! Poor Justin had to close the door on one reporter's foot to keep him out of the house, and I had a cameraman nearly climb the fence around the pool. Fortunately, he didn't have the camera turned on!"

Michael grinned at them all. "I'm really glad nobody knows my last name down here! I've been able to act like a total stranger to the situation when people talk about it. I'll bet you get swarmed when you go back to school, there, buddy. You'll get just a little taste of fame, but don't worry; it'll wear off in a little while. I wish I could say the same for me."

I just shook my head resignedly. I had already thought about it. Unfortunately, I couldn't ditch school for the next three weeks. Anonymity had never been a problem for me, and I really didn't care to change, but it was what it was.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mary walked onto her floor at the hospital, only to be stopped by the charge nurse before she was able to check in. "Mary, ER is short-handed today, and we have some empty beds. Would you mind terribly working down there today?"

"I can do that. Anything I need to know before going?"

"No. Three of your patients went home, so you are the easiest one to release. Thanks, I really appreciate it."

"Not a problem at all. It gives a little variety." Inside her heart was racing. She was going to work with Tom! "Settle down, Mary!" she told herself. "You are acting more like a kid than Stephanie!" The supervisor noted with a raised eyebrow the quickness and bounce in her step as she hurried off toward the elevator. It looked like Mary had something good happening in her life. She couldn't be happier for her.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dr. Meechum looked up from behind the triage counter when Mary walked through the door. "Don't tell me you are coming down to help! I need to go out and buy a lotto ticket somewhere! My luck has definitely been looking up!"

Mary blushed and just nodded, while one of the other nurses on duty gave her a knowing smile. She glanced over at Tom and then back at Mary and knew at once why Dr. Meechum was in such a wonderful mood today.

Everything moved along steadily, with the two of them crossing paths infrequently, but with a quick smile at each other at every passing, until just a little after nine o'clock. The radio in triage suddenly sounded as an ambulance driver called in saying he was on the way with a badly injured little girl. He warned there would be multiple children coming in, some with very severe injuries, following a school bus/truck collision. The bus was carrying a Kindergarten class on a field trip. The number of injuries was unknown, but there was a large number.

Tom heard the radio and stepped into the hall. "Mary, let someone else take over what you are doing. I need you with me for this."

Mary was puzzled that he would ask her. "Why do you want me, Doctor? ER isn't my specialty."

"I know that, but the nurse I normally count on for this type of thing is one that is out today, and unless you don't think you can handle it I really need you today. I like your calming influence with children."

"Yes, Doctor." Professionalism is always reverted to in times of crisis. Swiftly those who were able to be moved from the department were relocated and the area prepared for the coming influx of patients. 

First in the door, although sirens from other ambulances could be heard approaching, was a little blond girl who had been right at the point of impact where the truck had slammed into the side of the bus, spinning it around before the bus fell over on its side. The bus driver had missed a stop sign and drove through the intersection. The truck driver did all he could, but he clipped the bus right behind the rear wheels, impacting the last three rows of seats and spun the bus around before it turned onto its side.

An urgent call for pediatricians was sent out, but Tom and Mary both knew they would have to handle most of it themselves for the first little while before others could arrive. Mary was not a religious person, but she still breathed a short prayer for strength to handle the load.

Tom saw her white face, and saw her close her eyes in prayer. Quickly he stepped over to her and took her shoulders in his hands, focusing her attention on him as he said, "Stay with me. You can do this. Don't think, just do it. This is as close as you will ever come to what I did in Iraq, and some of it will not be pretty, nor will we have the time to follow all of the normal niceties of medicine as it is practiced here in the States. What we are going to do, though, is to save lives. Remember that. We are saving lives that can be saved."

Mary took a deep breath and nodded her head, and then moved beside the gurney that carried the unconscious little girl into a curtained off cubicle. Gently she started to remove the compress covering the side of the little girl's face when Tom stepped over. He took over, and quickly and not gently stripped off the bandage to see what lay beneath. 

"We don't have time to be gentle. I hate it, but we are going to be covered up in moments here. What we have to do is stabilize them as quickly as we can, so they will still be with us later for further treatment. Understand? She can't feel it now anyway." Quickly he noted what the EMT's had done and with quick clipped words gave instructions for her care, and with a quick wave of his hand for Mary to follow moved out of the area to the next one where a screaming little boy with a compound fracture of the femur was waiting for him.

The rest of the morning was a blur as the two of them, working as a team, tended to some very badly hurt children. The morning coffee break was ignored, as was lunch. It was not until two o'clock things were settled down enough for them to catch their breath and even think about eating. Mary sagged wearily into a chair and picked up a cup of Coke that she felt almost too tired to drink. Looking at her scrubs she knew she could not go to the cafeteria and she settled for a pack of crackers from a vending machine that one of the CNA's got for her. 

Tom plopped into a chair next to her and said, "Thanks. You did a great job today. I think you should consider a career in nursing." He gave her a wan smile. "Not funny, I know, but it was the best I could come up with. Now we get to go do what most people think the ER is for and cure a couple of colds and remove some splinters and stuff." He grimaced. "I can hear someone already who is here because they don't have insurance, so they don't have a regular doctor. They are going to be complaining because they have had to wait so long. You'd better change into a spare set of scrubs before going back out on the floor."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

We had nearly finished eating, and were just enjoying talking together when Michael's cell went off. He took a quick look at it and excused himself before answering. "Hi Pete. What's the good word? . . . One o'clock, same airport. Very good, Sir. I'll see you there." He thumbed off the phone and looked at Susie's sad face. "Sorry, Little One. I'm not leaving for good."

"I know. I just don't like the idea of you leaving at all. You've spoiled me." She stuck out her lower lip like a spoiled child teasingly. "Now, look what you've done! You've made my lip stick out, and you'll have to kiss it to make it go back in." She knew full well Michael did not like public displays, and it was just one more way of teasing him. The rest of us snickered at the look on Michael's face as he leaned in and gave her a little peck on the lips. "That's not good enough. It needs a real kiss to make it better. I think a hug would help, too."

Michael turned red, but he put his arms around Susie and leaned in to give her a short kiss, and Susie used the chance to press her breasts firmly against his chest, which of course inflamed his cock. His embarrassment only deepened as he released Susie to see our waitress standing next to him with the check.

Michael handed her his debit card as we all said, "Thanks," Michael looked at Susie and said, "If we hurry we could run up Mt. Lemmon and get some fudge before I go. Would you enjoy that?"

Susie leaned into him and hugged his arm, squishing one of her boobs against it in the process. "Could we really? I just want to be with you!"

Michael quickly signed the ticket after adding a nice tip and nodded. "I'll buy one piece of fudge for each day until Prom so you'll have something to remember me by." Susie's breast against his arm felt so soft, and then when she laid her head on his shoulder and he could feel her short blond hairs tickling his cheek, he felt just a little foretaste of what being married was all about. If they weren't in a restaurant, and others weren't around he would have put his arm around her and pulled her to him for fair, but . . . .

Steph, Rosemary, and I piled into Steph's car and pulled out of the parking lot just in front of Michael and Susie. We all rolled our windows down and waved back at them as we left to go home. Steph had asked me to drive, and I found out why just as soon as we were on the street and there was no one next to us. She did that bra thing, while looking at me out of the corner of her eye. "Keep your eyes on the road, Justin." The next thing I knew, another bra flew into the front from the back seat. 

Susie was really glad Michael's Escalade had dual controls for the heat and AC. When Michael was busy watching traffic she turned her side down as cold as it would go, and then pointed the vents on her torso rather than her face, causing her nipples to contract and press against the fabric of her thin shirt. She had purposefully worn her thinnest bra, one that was more for show than anything, knowing she would not be showing it off, but because it was so thin it wouldn't hide her nipples. She knew they excited Michael, and she wanted to tease him as much as she could. If he wouldn't have sex with her before they married at least she was going to remind him of what he was missing. 

She was cold, but she didn't let it stop her, but leaned toward him as they talked in such a way as to draw his eyes, but not seeming to be purposely doing so. Carefully she looked at him out of the corners of her eyes, not letting him know she knew he was looking at her breasts. He was so easy to tease, and she was especially pleased that she drew his eyes. So many times she had seen him look away or ignore other girls who were provocatively attired, but he couldn't keep his eyes off of her. In a way she felt badly about teasing him so, but at the same time it gave her such a thrill to know he found her not only attractive, but sexually exciting as well.

By the time they arrived at the base of the mountain and Michael started up the drive to the top he wasn't hard, but a significant bulge was showing in the front of his shorts. Susie couldn't help but smile, knowing she was getting to him, but at the same time it was getting to her. Her panties were moist between her legs, and she kept rubbing her thighs together. The winding road going up the mountain was not the place for distracted driving, so Susie toned down the teasing for the time being, even turning up the temperature on the AC for the rest of the trip up. She had accomplished what she set out for, and she knew it was going to be chilly up on top, which was one reason she wore the outfit she did.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I dropped the girls off at the house after breakfast and drove Steph's car over to Jim's store. I had a couple of ideas running around in my head and I wanted to see what Jim had available, or that he could order, for me to use. Without even thinking about it I pulled into an employee parking spot and started for the back door before reminding myself I don't work there any more. I walked around to the front of the building and entered through the front door. I was accosted, albeit all in fun, immediately as I stepped in the door. Harry and Tom were on duty in the showroom, and we went way back to before I was even in high school. 

"Who do you think you are, coming in the front door like that?" Harry bellowed at me before the door had even closed behind me. 

"Yeah," Tom called out. "Your kind come in the back door. What do you think you are, the gentry? Just because you find a veritable gold mine doesn't raise you up in society!" Tom grabbed my hand, but it devolved into a hug. "I'm proud for you, son. I don't know anyone that deserves it more than you."

Harry grabbed me in a big hug too. "The only thing that disappointed me is I didn't see your ugly mug on the TV. What were you doing hiding in your house, anyway?" He gave me a big slap on the back that about knocked me off my feet. "So what are you going to do with all of that ill-gained loot?"

"Well, knowing the way you run that adding machine over there I'll probably end up overpaying enough in here to have very little left." Tom cracked up laughing at Harry.

"Tell us what happened," Tom urged, and I knew he was interested because they really cared about me, not just looking for gossip. I also knew they would keep it to themselves, and being as good friends as they have been to me over the years I went ahead and told them the basics of the story. They already had most of it from the news, but I figured if I told them at least they would get it from the front end of the horst this time. That reporter sticking his foot in the door and harassing me still had me a little peeved. I hoped he was limping still from slamming the door on his foot.

Since there was no one else in the store at the moment I sat down with them and told them about finding the door, and then the skeletons, and then how Grandpa and I had found the chests. No mention was made of the other room, and of course we didn't even know yet what all was in there. I told them how I had asked Grandpa to call the railroad people so we could give them the gold back.

"You would do that." Harry interjected. "Your parents raised you right. Trust me, when you are my age you will look back and be glad you did it. That money might have been nice to have, but a good conscience sleeps a lot nicer. You are smart enough you'll never do without anyway."

I didn't want to be dishonest with them, but I didn't want to tell them everything either, so I just said, "Well, the railroad people were good about it, and they gave us a nice reward for turning the money back over to them. I also have an offer of an internship with the CEO each summer while I'm in school if I want it. I don't want you to think we didn't get anything."

Tom reached out and squeezed my shoulder and said, "By rights you ought to get something out of it. Legally you could have claimed half, but knowing you, and the way you were raised, I know you would never do that. That offer he gave you shows that the railroad guy recognized character. You can always teach smarts, but you can't teach character, except the way your folks did from the time you were young. I'm proud to have worked with you, Justin."

I was getting pretty embarrassed. It didn't seem to me like we had done anything unusual. I just tried to do what was right and to think of the other person. That Golden Rule has been around a long time now, and it always seemed a good way to live to me. The bell over the door clanged, breaking up our conversation, and I told Tom I was going to snoop around in the back for a bit and see if I could figure out what I needed. I knew what I had in mind, of course, but I also knew it didn't exist in the form I needed it, so it was going to take a little improvisation to make it work, if I was able to do so at all. 




Justin Thyme Ch. 15



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Stephanie and Rosemary were going to lay out and get some sun, but we had a rare cloudy day, so they went for a brief swim before going in the house to hang out. The humidity was hovering at about sixty-five percent, which to us is very oppressive, so they went indoors rather soon. Neither had bothered with a bathing suit since it was just them, nor did they bother dressing again once they were back in the house. 

"Hey, Rosemary," Steph called from the den, where she was surfing the net on her laptop. 

"Yeah, Steph?" Rosemary stuck her head around the corner. She had a little flour smudged on her forehead where she had brushed back her hair. She was in the process of baking some cookies. 

"You ever think about going to a nudist resort?"

"Can't say as I have. I've never been excited about someone seeing me nor me seeing anyone else. I really don't care about you or even Susie. I didn't even like getting changed in the locker room for P.E. I just started doing this because of Justin, and I like it, but I don't think I'd be comfortable around other men."

"Yeah, I know what you mean. The first time Justin saw me, other than seeing my boobs when I was high on pain killers, was terrifying, but it was a real rush, too. Of course, knowing that he loves me made a big difference. It would be a real rush . . ."

"What brought that up, anyway?"

"Oh, I just saw an article about a big shindig at a resort that got busted for drugs, and it got me thinking. I wonder what Justin would think."

Rosemary snorted. "He's a guy, what do you think he would think?"

"It might be fun to try it sometime. It could be really fun for us if it gets him all turned on. I don't think I could do it, though."

"I have an idea all the girls at the house next fall will do that for us anyway, although I don't plan to make a nudist house out of it! The way a couple of them were teasing him when they came to look at the house I have an idea he will stay turned on most of the time."

Stephie got a worried look on her face. "I know. That is kind of what I was thinking about with a resort, to see how he would react. I'm afraid of losing him to some of the other girls that are built better than me."

"Stephanie Winters! Don't start on that again! You know Justin can't keep his eyes off of you when you are around! You can't call Susie ugly, and you saw how he didn't pay any attention to her. Sure, he liked looking at her nipples through her shirt and stuff, but it was always you he watched."

"I guess so. I hope he doesn't get tired of me." Rosemary just shook her head in frustration and went back into the kitchen to finish her cookies.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Michael and Susie took their time going up the mountain, stopping at several lookout points to look over the city and the country side. At one point they climbed out on the rocks where they could climb. Michael helped Susie up several times, and the feeling of the soft skin on her thighs as he lifted stirred him, as did the sight of her nipples poking out from the chilly air. They weren't to the top yet, but were at about 5000 feet elevation, and the breeze was chilly. Susie noticed Michael's eyes on her, and she liked the feeling of his hands on her legs, so she asked for help a lot more times than was really needed, even with her prosthesis.

A couple of times she got up on a rock and asked Michael to lift her down, which put his face right at her breast level, where he couldn't avoid seeing her protruding nipples. She made it a point to press against him as he lowered her down. Once, she managed to feign losing her balance so that she was pressed entirely against him, and she could feel his hard cock pressed against her. He tried pulling back quickly, but she clung to him as she "struggled" to get her footing. Michael's face was red with embarrassment, but Susie was smiling with pleasure. 

The walked back to the car, and drove the rest of the way up the mountain to get some fudge. Of course, fudge can be purchased any number of places, but the fudge on Mt. Lemmon has a cachet of its own, and to many, a trip up Mt. Lemmon is not complete without stopping at the general store for a pound or more of fudge.

When Michael stopped the car and they got out the air was significantly cooler than it had been even halfway to the top. Susie's nipples immediately started poking out. She crossed her arms under her breasts and hugged herself, squeezing her boobs together in the process, being certain Michael noticed, but acted as if it was totally incidental. "Brrr. It's nippy up here!" The double entendre was not lost on Michael as he could not avoid seeing those fascinating and stimulating knobs on the front of her breasts. Quickly, he shepherded Susie into the store, hoping to get her warmed up and allow her nipples to recede. He was afraid of himself, and what he would do. Temptation was just getting to be to strong!

In no hurry to go back outside and allow her magnificent breasts and protruding nipples to tempt him further, Michael wandered about the general store with Susie looking at dream catchers, post cards, and other souvenirs. Finally noticing the time he asked Susie, "Would you be willing to run by my apartment with me, and then take me to the airport? Otherwise, I'm afraid I may be late to meet Pete, and I don't want to do that. It will give us a little more time together, also."

"I would love to, Michael. I'm already feeling lonely with you getting ready to go. Do you realize we have hardly spent any time apart since the accident? Other than at night since I went home, and then sometimes you were there way late when I needed you." She slipped an arm around his waist and snuggled up against him, this time with her thoughts on him leaving she didn't even think to tease him, but just gave him a gentle hug that got his heart to pounding. 

For the longest time Michael had given up finding a girl to whom he thought he could give his life. So many of them had been interested in him only because of his name and the chance to parlay that into money or an expansive lifestyle. Here though he found a girl that not only didn't care about his closeness to notoriety or money, but cared for him as a person, and although she didn't share his religious convictions, as evidenced by her teasing, she wanted to please him, not the other way around. 

Finally, the two of them went up to the counter and ordered some fudge. As promised, Michael bought her half a pound of three different kinds, one for each day he might not see her. She picked out the 'Rocky Road', 'Chocolate Raspberry', and 'Cappuccino', but she cheated and quickly ate a piece of the Cappuccino after it was weighed, but before he paid for it. "That is so good it needs a kiss to follow it!" Quickly she leaned into Michael with lips upturned until he bent down and gave her a quick peck on the lips because he knew he would never get her out of there without it. It was a red faced Michael that faced the lady behind the counter, but a grinning Susie that clutched his arm.

The one thing Michael had not counted on was the weather! They went to the front door of the store to look out on a solid rain. Normally rains consisted of localized showers or thunderstorms that blew over quickly, but it was obvious by looking at the sky this was no shower. Michael took a quick look at his watch, and groaned. Knowing how traffic slowed almost to a standstill when it rained he knew he had no time to spare at all. "Sorry, Little One, but we're going to have to run for it."

Susie grinned. "I love running in the rain! I always have! Let's go," and with that she darted out the door to the car and stopped by the door and looked up into the rain, allowing it to run down her face as she waited for Michael to unlock the door. He had totally forgotten it was locked! Finally he found the remote in his pocket and unlocked her door, just in time to jump in the car and look over to see her shirt had turned translucent, as did her bra also! Susie looked down at herself when she saw his eyes go wide and she giggled. "I guess this isn't the outfit to go running in the rain with, is it?" and she wiped down her shirt as if to try to brush the water away, but actually was rubbing it in and tightening her shirt across her boobs, leaving nothing to the imagination.

Michael was in a real quandary. What to do? He had nothing in the car to dry off with, nor to cover up with either. He caught himself staring, totally transfixed by the sight before him. As much as he had tried to avoid it, he had of course seen pictures of nude women in his past, but never had he ever seen anything as marvelous as what was before his eyes right now. Her nipples poking out through her shirt had been one thing, but this was several orders of magnitude beyond pokies. It took an effort of will for him to tear his eyes away, but Susie saw in them what she had longed for. Proof positive he found her attractive, actually, beyond attractive; captivating even.

With shuddering breath Michael stared straight ahead. His cock was at full mast and hurt badly. Never in his life had anything prepared him for what he would find in the one he loved. How he longed to take her in his arms and ravish her boldly, even though he knew he would not have to force her, but instead he had to find a way to control himself. 

Susie, for once in her life, had the maturity to understand his turmoil, and to remain silent, even to turn away somewhat. She had accomplished what she had desired and to push the envelope any more would surely backfire. She had not intentionally gotten wet, but when the opportunity arose she took advantage of it. Now to find a way to settle things down and not destroy Michael's self-control and with it the bedrock of his faith. Quietly she reached a hand over and placed it on his trembling hand on his knee. "Honey, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you."

Never before had she ever called him "Honey." Michael noticed a more mature tone of voice coming from her. Gone was the teasing, playful, tone that always seemed to be in the background if not out in the open. He sensed she realized finally what a strain she placed on him. "I didn't do it on purpose, but I'm not sorry you saw me. Like I told you before, I'm yours whenever you want, but I'm also willing to wait as long as it takes. I've been an awful tease. I know it, but I see now how I've hurt you. I promise I'll quit teasing you. In the meantime, if you want to look, I don't care, but I won't try to flaunt it in front of you."

Michael was unable to speak. He didn't trust himself not to beg her to let him make her his own, for he knew what he answer would be. He just couldn't. Instead he squeezed her fingers, nearly crushing them in his emotion, and she made no complaint, even though it hurt. Finally he found his voice and said, "Would you mind terribly to slip into the back seat, behind me? I'm afraid to look at you. I won't be able to control myself if I do."

Wordlessly, Susie climbed out the front door and into the back one and slid over behind Michael's seat, but before she buckled her seat belt she leaned forward and caressed his cheek with her hand and then kissed him on his ear. Michael's hand was trembling as he turned the key and started the car. A quick look at the clock and he knew he was going to really have to hurry if he was going to make it. 

Susie, for her part squeezed out her shirt as best she could and made a valid effort at drying in in the time it took to drive to Michael's apartment. Once there Michael ran in to throw some clothes together for the trip, leaving Susie to follow along behind. It was totally unlike him to be so impolite, but Susie knew he really had to hurry. She had been able to dry the shirt enough that it was not totally translucent, but her bra and the outline of her nipples were still visible. Michael quickly turned his head away and said, "Grab a shirt out of my closet there, OK? You can change in the bathroom."

Susie picked out a nice dress shirt with a long tailored tail and took it into the bathroom. As wet as her bra was she didn't want to leave it on, so she took it off too. Surely his shirt would be loose enough her nipples wouldn't show too badly. Yesterday she would have found a way to pull it tightly enough to show off, but now she knew she didn't need to, and was careful to not try to arouse Michael any more. Instead, she just let it hang loose over her shorts, without knowing the shirt covered them and looked much like a short skirt. After rolling her bra up inside her wet shirt she walked into Michael's bedroom only to hear him suck in his breath between his teeth while looking at her longingly.

"I'm sorry, Honey. I took my bra off because it is so wet. I'm not trying to tease you, honestly."

Michael shook his head. "It's not that, I didn't even notice. Tell me, you do have your shorts on under the shirt, don't you? That is the sexiest thing!" He stepped over to her and enveloped her in a massive hug, crushing her to himself. "Have I ever told you how beautiful I think you are, and how much you turn me on?" His head came down and he started nuzzling her neck, sending goose pimples all over her body and leaving her weak in the knees. "You have no idea how badly I want you, how hard it is for me to resist. I have been fighting for control now for quite some time, and I'm sorry for the way I reacted when I saw you earlier."

"Michael, Honey, you didn't offend me. You didn't look at me with lust as a piece of meat like a lot of guys do when I'm in a bathing suit. All I saw was love and admiration, and you can look at me any time. I'm yours, and I'll never be another's, but I promise I'll never tease you again until you can follow through." She gave him a big grin, "You'd better watch out then, 'cause all bets are off! Right now though, we had better get going or your new boss will be waiting for you at the airport."

Michael stepped back and looked at her with new appreciation. This time he was able to take in her beauty, even knowing she was braless, and while it stirred him deeply it was on a different plane, and he knew he was going to be able to wait. It wouldn't be easy, but he would make it. Friday night couldn't come quickly enough!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I looked through the back room at the store, checking out actuators, motors, switches, and a whole array of various parts I might need for my purpose. I was considering an electric remote entry for the carriage house. We could access the passage only from the house side as it was, and that was not always convenient, or it didn't seem to be to me. The problem was how to install and activate the device, and did we really need it badly enough to allow for a possible means of entry? I sat down at the workbench and made a few sketches of what I thought might be possible and noted a parts list. Before purchasing them I wanted to go back up there and look it over carefully. 

First of all I had to determine how the hidden latches even worked before I would know how to set up an electric opener. I knew Jim would let me return anything I didn't need, but I really didn't see any sense in doing it that way. 

I know Jim would have let me just take what I thought I needed and bring back any excess and pay for it when I was through. I had the money, or would as soon as we did something with the gold, and I would rather just pay for it as I went rather than making Jim bankroll me. I really needed to discuss things with Dad, and probably Grandpa before doing it, too. Grandpa didn't really have any say in the matter, but I really respected his opinions. As it says in the good Book, "in the multitude of counselors is wisdom." Maybe not in so many words, but something like that. At least, that is my interpretation.

It felt good sitting there at the workbench. It seems crazy, but I really missed the place. I need a place to park some money, and I know Jim has a money-maker here. I also know he would like to expand up toward Phoenix. There's no way I would have time to run such a store, but maybe he would like a silent partner. It is something to think about anyway.

I walked back out through the front sales room and said goodbye to the guys on the way out. I really owe a lot to them, and to the other guys and Jim. They took a kid that knew nothing, but had an insatiable curiosity about anything electronic and taught me everything I know. How few businessmen would do that? Note to self: Talk to Jim and see if he knows anybody who could run a store up in Phoenix. Maybe I could find a little time to help out. . . .

I made my way home, ready for a late lunch, and was greeted by the smell of fresh baked cookies. I'm glad it rained and the girls couldn't lay out in the sun! Mom hasn't had time to bake in a while now, and I really love those chocolate chip/oatmeal cookies I could smell! They're made with a bunch of real butter and a lot of brown sugar so that when they are put on the cookie sheet in a ball and then smashed flat with the bottom of a glass that has been dipped in sugar, they melt into a chewy, gooey, glazed bit of sweetness that had me nearly drooling just from the smell.

Steph came around the corner to greet me in all of her glory, followed by Rosemary, who was also nude. "Ummh. I don't know what I want first! You two or those cookies I smell." I didn't really see Rosemary because she was behind Steph until she stepped around her.

"What about both at the same time?" She had taken some of the cookie batter and smeared it on each of her nipples, and stuck a chocolate chip on the end of the nipple. "Would this be interesting to you?"

I didn't even bother answering. I just dropped my notepad on the floor and stepped forward and put my arms around her waist and started licking and sucking the batter from her nipples. I want you to know that was the best cookie dough I ever ate! I had her giggling as I went after it, and I didn't quit just because the dough ran out, either.

After a few minutes of teasing her I felt a tap on my shoulder and turned to see Steph. "I seem to have had a little accident with the dough, too, Justin. Could you help me clean it up?"

I looked at her and she had it smeared all over her pussy, with a cluster of chocolate chips right on top of her clit. Her pussy is sweet enough I'm happy to eat it any time, and this was not something I could refuse! "Rosie said I could have you this afternoon since I have to go out with Mom and Dr. Meechum tonight. Do you mind?"

Rosemary gave me a wink, even though her face was flushed with arousal, and she pushed me toward Stephanie. "Take care of her, big brother. I'll get my turn later." I couldn't refuse, and I'm constantly amazed at how the two of them constantly are looking out for the other one. I thought girls were always rivals when it came to a guy!

I picked Stephanie up and laid her across the table. Mom would have a royal hissy fit if she knew about it, on more than one account, but it seemed to be the best place, and it was just the right height. I pulled up a stool, because it was just a little higher than a chair, and I started licking the batter off, a little at the time. I know it tickled, and I had her squirming all over, especially when I used just the very tip of my tongue in the crease between the leg and the pelvis. I had to put her legs over my shoulders and hold her tightly to keep her from wiggling off the edge of the table. I don't know what she was up to between breakfast and when I came back home, but she was getting very excited very quickly, and I hadn't even touched her pussy proper yet. 

Her nipples were poked out as far as I have seen them poke, and her pussy lips were swollen and juices started flowing right away. Her musky scent is all the aphrodisiac I'll ever need! I was still dressed, and my cock was all bound up and getting cramped, but I didn't want to stop with her. She is small enough that I was able to reach up and pluck at her nipples while still holding her legs pinned against my head, so I plucked at them gently, but firmly as I started licking the batter from her swollen labia. I was careful to stay on the outer edges and not get to the inside area or to touch the chocolate chips yet, although she was doing all she could to get me to. 




Justin Thyme Ch. 15



After cleaning up the outside of her outer lips I moved to the top of her mons, where her hair used to be and carefully licked off the dough she had smeared there. It was still teasing her, but let her calm down a little bit from what I had been doing. Once it was as clean as my tongue could make it I tweaked her nipples rapidly, which caused an intake of breath, and then I broadened my tongue and made a fast swipe up her pussy, but stopped just before I got to the chocolate chips. She thrust her pelvis up and wailed, but I still wasn't giving her any release. 

Quickly I thrust my tongue in and out of her vagina while plucking at her nipples. When she wasn't watching me because she was rolling her head back and forth I pounced on those chocolate chips and sucked them into my mouth and rapidly but firmly stroked my tongue across her clit. Her hands, which had been pressed flat against the table on either side of her, flew to the back of my head and she crushed my head to her as she nearly screamed, "Justinnnnn!" She bucked up and down and squeezed my head between her legs began shuddering and then began to cry.

As soon as I could get my head free from her leg's grasp I stood and leaned over her and took her into my arms. "What's wrong, Sweetheart? Did I do something wrong?"

She shook her head almost violently while still crying. I glanced over at Rosemary, who was watching, while still putting cookies into and taking them out of the oven. She just shrugged a little and shook her head. All I could do was to rock her in my arms and hold her until she got her cry out and could talk. Finally, after a few minutes, she started to settle down and drew in a few shuddering breaths and whispered, "Tissue?"

I released her enough to reach over and grab a couple of napkins, which she used to wipe her eyes and blow her nose.

"I'm sorry, Justin. I'm such a baby. I was feeling sorry for myself earlier because I don't have a figure like a lot of girls do, and I hardly have any boobs. Then you came home, and Rosemary, who is beautiful and has such nice breasts gives you cookie dough on them, but you left her for me when I put it on my pussy. I was afraid to put it on my nipples, 'cause you might not want them. Then what did you do? You just gave me an awesome orgasm!" She threw her arms around my neck and hugged me to her as tightly as she could. "I love you, Justin. No one can ever love you more than I do and will," she murmured softly in my ear. "I'm sorry I'm such an insecure baby."

"Stephie, Sweetheart, there will never be anyone else. It is you and Rosemary, and as long as you can share with her I'm the luckiest guy in the world! I love you both, equally, but differently, and there will be no room for anyone else. I love your nipples! And I love your boobs, too! If you had big boobs you would look funny. Yours are perfect on you, and you never have to worry about them sagging. When we celebrate our fiftieth anniversary they will still be as perky as they are now, and I will still love them just as much."

Stephie pulled her head back and looked at me with shining eyes. "Are you saying you want to marry me?"

"Well, I'm not in a position to ask just yet, but yes, I want to marry you."

Again the arms wrapped around my head. I felt my face turning red, and I saw a little red because her arm was pinching off my carotid or something, but it was all OK as she whispered in my ear, "The answer is yes when you get around to asking." She loosed her grip on my neck and gave me a sweet and tender kiss. She then leaned in with her forehead against mine and whispered, "Will you please take me to your room and make love to me? I don't have long before I have to go, and I don't want to waste any of it." 

Rosemary has such a sense about her. She stayed away while Stephie was getting things out of her system, but she stepped over to the table right then and hugged the two of us. "Justin, why don't you take her up to your room now? I'll clean up the table for you." She gave me a sweet kiss on the lips and then kissed Steph on the cheek. "Have fun, Steph. I'll get my turn later."

Steph nearly lunged out of my arms to wrap her arms around Rosemary's neck. "Thank you, Rosie. You're going to be the best sister in all the world, and I'll always share with you." Rosemary just looked over at me with a raised eyebrow and then smiled as I gave her a little nod.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Michael hugged Susie tightly to himself, feeling her unfettered breasts press up against his chest. The feeling was beyond anything he had ever imagined. He knew Susie could feel his cock pressed up against her, and for the first time he didn't try to pull it away. They had come to an understanding, and he would wait, but the genie was out of the bottle to the point that he could enjoy the contact, and the knowledge of her beautiful body. He would wait to see more, but he also knew he would never forget seeing her as he had seen her up on the mountain. 

The temptation had been so strong, and so nearly had he given in to the temptation. Susie felt so good in his arms and he murmured, "I love you, Little One," in her ear as he pressed her to himself. "Thank you for understanding."

Susie looked up at him with tear filled eyes. "I'm sorry for teasing you, Honey. It wasn't until today that I realized what I was really doing to you, to us. I could have ruined everything. I don't know how I could live without you."

"You aren't going to get that chance, my darling. But you are going to have to let me go now. We are going to be late as it is." He gave her a little kiss on the cheek, but his head swam and all the air seemed to be sucked out of the room as Susie kissed him back fervently on the lips.

"Maybe you'd better tuck that shirt into your shorts, Darling. You don't know how good that looks that way." He shuddered a little as he looked at her, and then turned around so he couldn't see her while she tucked the shirt in.

"It's safe now, but I have to have another kiss like that before we go. I felt that last one all the way through me." Michael didn't hesitate for a second, but took her into his arms and pulled her close again, and again felt her braless breasts flatten against him, and felt her pressing closely against his hard cock.

"We'd better go," he said with a rather shaky voice and taking her hand led her through the door. 

For once traffic flowed quickly going north on I-17, and they arrived at Deer Valley Airport just minutes before the UP aircraft arrived. Michael parked as near the terminal as he could and waited in the car holding hands with Susie until he heard from Pete. Susie would have liked to have had more, but the console was in the way, so she settled for hand holding. 

Once Pete was heard from Michael got out of the car and started for the terminal with Susie holding to his arm possessively. "Now don't you forget to come back to me, Michael."

"Now how can I forget my acushla? I'll call you tonight and let you know when I'll be in if you will come and get me. If you are in school I'll just get a cab."

"You'll do no such thing, Michael! I'll be here!"

Michael gave her a grin. "Maybe you'd better keep the car then. There's no point in taking it to my place and having to have your mother pick you up. You can even drive it to school if you want, or any place else you want to go for that matter. It won't do any good just sitting in the driveway."

"Thanks, but I can't see me driving such a nice car to school! Everybody would think I won the lottery or something."

"You didn't. I did, and you were the prize."

"You're silly, but I like it."

Pete Fleming walked into the terminal just a minute or two after Michael and Susie arrived. He looked a bit harried and pressed for time, but his smile lit up his face as he saw Michael. "Michael, I'm really glad to see you. Sorry for the rush, but given the circumstances I thought I needed to deal with this situation now rather than later, but I'll get into more of that on the plane." He turned to Susie and put his hand out. "It's Susan, isn't it? I hope I remembered right."

Susie smiled and nodded, even as badly as she hated the name. "Yes, Sir. Thank you for remembering, even if you are taking Michael from me." She noted Michael's smirk and squeezed his arm warningly. She had also seen Pete's glance at her prosthesis as they had walked to meet him, and decided to put the question to rest right away. "Do you like my foot?" She held it up for him to see and saw him blush in embarrassment. "Oh, don't feel badly about it! Mikey got it for me, and it's the best thing that ever happened, 'cause that's how I got him! I'll never be sorry."

Susie turned to Michael and turned her face up to him for a kiss. "I'll see you when you get back, honey. Don't forget me."

Michael blushed to kiss her goodbye in front of Pete, but bent for a quick peck goodbye. "I'll call you tonight, Little One. I love you."

"I know. I love you, too." Michael wanted desperately to give her a long hug goodbye, but couldn't bring himself to do so in front of Pete, so he just squeezed her hand before letting go and turning to leave. His eyes caught the movement of her breasts though, and he felt himself stirring involuntarily. It was so different now that she wasn't trying to tease him, and he found himself enjoying the view that soon would be his to enjoy forever.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It felt a little funny walking hand in hand with Steph up the stairs to my room since she was nude, but I was still fully clothed. We got to the top of the stairs and Steph looked at me and giggled. "One of us has too many clothes on, and it isn't me!" She stepped away from me and struck a provocative pose. "Like what you see, Mister?"

I paused, one step down, and looked at her speculatively. "Hmm. Now let me see. Your feet are big enough to hold you up, but not big enough to get in the way. Your legs reach all the way to the top. That's a good thing. Turn around slowly, hmm, we might need to get your ass fixed. It has a crack in it." I waited for her to turn the rest of the way around and saw the pleased blush on her face as I studied her nude form. "Your arms are on the right sides, and they reach all the way down to your hands that each have the correct number of digits. Your face is on the right side of your head. Of course, I haven't checked the teeth yet to determine your age, but, yes overall, I think I like what I see." I gave her a grin and held my arms open to her, gathering her to me when she stepped in, catching her nipple in my mouth and sucking and licking it as I hummed.

"You are absolutely silly, and I love you so much. Thank you. Ohhh, that feels so good! It makes my pussy tingle when you do that." I slipped my hands down her back to cup her ass and pull her closely to me. I kneaded her ass cheeks as I held her there and she started squirming in my grasp. "That feels so nice, but I've got to have you, and we don't have much time. Ohhh! What are you doing to my nipple?"

I turned her without letting her nipple slide from my mouth and slipped one arm down to her knees and the other up her back and picked her up, still sucking and licking, plus I hummed and caused her to moan. Carefully I held her as I got my door opened and turning sideways I carried her in and laid her down on my bed.

I started to pull my clothes off, but Steph stopped me. "Please, Justin, let me do it. You have been so good to me, and I want to serve you, as I will serve you all of my life."

"Stephie, you don't need to serve me! I'm not looking for a servant!"

She was kneeling at my feet by now, untying my shoes and paused only long enough to look up at my face. "There is a difference in how one serves another, Justin. There is service out of duty, and there is service out of love. There is no shame in serving the one you love, nor is there any duty, for it is done because I want to, not because I have to." She wrapped her arms around my legs and hugged me tightly, with her cheek planted against my very hard cock. "I love you, Justin, and I'm learning more and more every day just how much I love you. It isn't the sex, although that is fun!" 

She pulled her head away so she could look up at me, and then leaned back in to hold me to her. "It's all about the way we care for each other, and the way you accept me the way I am, not the way I wish I was. You love me anyway. How can I help but love you? Because of that, I'm yours, and all I have is yours, and I will serve you all of my life." That goes against a lot of the feminist movement, but it made a lot of sense to me. 

I hadn't really thought of it in so many terms, but I was starting to see how I also had been giving myself to serve her and Rosemary, putting their needs ahead of my own, not out of coercion, for I found I really wanted to. Maybe the definition of love is really giving, giving of oneself unselfishly for the other? This was going to need some reflection, but not right now, as I was overwhelmed by the sensation of my cock being pulled from by briefs only to be engulfed by her mouth.

"Easy, there, Sweetheart. I'm not going to last long if you do that! Not after all we've been doing!"

Steph just giggled and fondled my balls and started humming as she licked the underside of the head and sucked. My pants were around my ankles, leaving me immobile, and it was only a couple of minutes until I groaned and warned her it was coming. She didn't slack off a bit, but looked up into my eyes with almost a worshipful expression as she cupped my balls and lifted them against my body gently, reverently, as if they were a gift she was offering. I totally lost it, and with my feet encompassed as they were by my pants I nearly fell when my knees buckled, but Steph wrapped her arms around my legs and held me up, never letting my cock slip from her mouth.

Steph reached around with one hand, once she was certain I would not fall, and stroked my cock, milking all of my semen from it, sticking her tongue out to catch the last few drops as she squeezed it out. Her eyes were fixed on mine to see my reaction as I saw the last few drops on her tongue. She licked the tip of my cock lovingly, swallowed, and asked, "Does my service please you?" I couldn't speak. I nodded and lifted her up to embrace her and give her a kiss.

She insisted on kneeling again to remove my pants from my feet, and then stood to pull my tee shirt over my head, then stepped in and pressed her naked body against my now naked body. "I love you, Justin."

I carried her to my bed, and we cuddled together and stroked each other's body as we enjoyed our love for each other. It took a little while for me to recover and get hard again. I don't claim to have gotten fully hard, but it was enough for me to crawl between her legs and slip it into her very willing pussy to once more demonstrate my love to her. I fell asleep in her arms after our lovemaking, holding her tightly to me, and the last thing that crossed my mind as I drifted off was how glad I was for that crazy Koala, and how something designed for one purpose turned out to be so much better than ever I had intended.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Pete led Michael out to the company plane, a Cessna Citation, where a flight attendant met them at the door. "Welcome aboard, Sir. I'm Mandy, and I'll be taking care of anything you need on this flight."

"Thank you. I'm Michael, not Sir." He gave her a grin and followed Pete to the rear, where he buckled in to a plush leather seat. "This is a lot nicer than I get on Southwest!"

Pete just laughed. "You will probably have to settle for that on the way back. I don't usually get to use this either, but it does come in handy when we need to go someplace and don't have the time to worry about commercial. I want you to meet Dave Drugan, one of my assistants, and the one you will coordinate with for the most part. I tend to be hard to get hold of, so I'll leave you in Dave's capable hands. I'm not sloughing you off, don't think that, but I have to do more than just oversee IT. This situation is one that I have to take a hand in, and immediately."

"I owe you an apology about this. I popped off the mouth, and I had no right to do that. I'm really sorry."

Pete gave Michael a long hard look. "Look, Michael, I want you to understand something, and understand it from the very start. You are young, but smart. You need to understand when the boss says he wants something done that is the way it is to be done. The directive may be disagreed with, and the one directed can argue it up to a point, but then the directive has to be carried out. If it is wrong it falls back on the boss, not the employee. The boss is the boss, and if the employee doesn't agree or like it, he can always quit. What we have here isn't just a matter of what the boss wants, but who is the boss. I have to nip this in the bud."

Michael nodded. He still felt badly about the way he had responded. He should have been more professional, but to be honest he had been insulted by the IT guy, and he allowed it to color his judgment.

"Dave, Michael is the one who developed the program I use for my investing when he was only sixteen. He may be young, but he obviously knows what he's doing with code."

"You wrote that? I use it as well to handle my own 401k. I would have thought you were a lot older than you are!"

"Thank you, Sir. I just did an update. I brought a CD along with me for Pete. I'll have to send you a copy as well. Understand, it is one I did myself, so it doesn't have a lot of fancy packaging. We will be putting out an update also, but I'll be glad to give it to you. My future father was having trouble with his because he isn't very tech savvy, so I simplified a few steps."

The conversation was paused as the aircraft rolled onto the active runway and immediately accelerated, pushing Michael deep into his seat, and then rotated in what seemed to him an impossibly short time and started its climb out.

Once the plane reached altitude and leveled out, Mandy stepped back from her seat in front. "What can I get you to drink, Sir? I have water or an assortment of juices for your choice."

"Grape juice by any chance?"

"Certainly, Sir." She turned and went back to the galley. Michael looked questioningly at Pete.

"She already knows what we drink, and I told her you don't drink any stimulants. We try hard to take care of our people. Now, I want you to tell Dave exactly what David Abernathy said to you. He needs to be aware of what we are walking into."

Michael nodded. "I still feel somewhat like a little boy tattling, but here it is. Please understand; I expected some resistance. IT people tend to be rather parochial about our turf, and we don't tend to like others pushing in to our areas of expertise without asking for it." Pete raised a hand, stopping him.

"That's all well and good, but remember our conversation about the boss?"

"Yessir, I remember. The gist of it is he called me at about eight oh five and said he was the IT chief. He never mentioned his name. He said you," he nodded at Pete, "had called him at home the night before and instructed him he was to call me before he even had his first cup of coffee, and said something about I was supposed to be the greatest computer programmer of all time, that I was to be the salvation of the company and would make his department obsolete."

Pete's face was totally white with anger. "You didn't say anything about that! He didn't even introduce himself?" I shook my head "No." "I can't imagine anything more rude! Go on and tell Dave what you told me earlier. He needs to know."

"Well, the gist of it was that he 'didn't know what a snot-nosed kid without any real world experience, especially in the field of transportation could tell him.' I just told him I had expected resistance to my participation, but that I could not work with him under an adversarial situation, and that I would not be going up to meet with him."




Justin Thyme Ch. 15



Dave sat there and just shook his head, but remained quiet. Pete was obviously furious, but he was making a valiant effort to keep his temper under control. "Dave, do you see any way to fix the situation?"

"No, Sir. I'm sorry, but I don't."

"OK, Michael, here is what we are going to do. I'm going to introduce you as Mike Thibodeaux so he won't know who you are. Dave, he is the son of Jeff Thibodeaux, but he gets tired of all the hoopla surrounding his Dad, and I can't say I blame him, so he goes by his middle name Borden. He doesn't like to be called Mike, either, although I just heard a young lady call him 'Mikey', but I wouldn't think of doing that." He grinned as Michael's face flushed. "I don't think I need to tell you to keep this to yourself?"

"I understand. Sorry, but I can't say much nice about your old man, Michael. I'm a Broncos fan myself, and he has ruined too many Sundays for me." He gave Michael a smile to rob his words of any offense.

"Anyway, Michael," Pete went on, "I'll introduce you as an intern in my office, so keep your mouth shut unless I bring you in on it, OK? Even if he says something you know is not right just let me handle it."

"Yes Sir."

Mandy walked back just then with another bottle of grape juice and coffee for Pete and Dave.

"Mandy, would it be too much trouble to get a bottle of water, too?"

"Not a problem. Would you like ice with it?"

"No, thank you. As it is will be fine."

Pete turned back to Michael. "I hope you will excuse me the rest of the flight. I have other matters I have to deal with since I am working instead of on vacation as I was supposed to be, and I really didn't need this today."

"Not a problem, Sir. I'll get some work done, myself." With that they each pulled out laptops and started to work.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Rosemary came into my room and woke us about thirty minutes after Stephanie and I fell asleep. "Hey, lovebirds. You'd better rise and shine. Mom and Dad are due home in about half an hour or so, and you've got to be home just after that, Steph."

Stephanie smiled up at her and then stretched with a long groan of pleasure. "Thank you, Rosie. I don't know who got the idea two women can't share a house with a man. If one of them is like you it would work easy." She bounced up quickly and embraced Rosemary and kissed her on the cheek. There was nothing sexual about the contact, and girl on girl stuff leaves me cold, but seeing those two naked and together had little Justin stirring. The contrasts between the two bodies would have made an interesting photo that I'd never tire of studying.

"You'd better give Justin a little time to recuperate, and then I hope he will give you as good of a time as he did me! Thank you, Justin." She crawled back onto the bed and on top of me to give me a big kiss. I followed the kiss by lifting her up higher so that I could latch on to her nipples and gave them each a big suck and a tongue-lashing. "No fair! Don't start something you can't finish!" I didn't bother mentioning that she and Rosemary had already started it, though I know she felt my stiffening cock pressing against her. She writhed atop me until she could get my cock between her legs and reached down quickly and slipped it into her pussy opening, then quickly slid herself down onto it. "I'm sorry, Rosie. I know it's your turn, but I've got to go, and I just need it."

Rosemary just reached over and slapped her bare ass and said, "Go for it, girl. You don't need to ask me."

"Thank you, Rosie. Give it to me hard and fast, Justin. I don't need romantic and loving. I just need you!" She started bouncing up and down on me while I still had her nipple in my mouth. Quickly I rolled her over so I was on top and I started driving into her hard, deep, and fast, causing her to grunt for breath each time I bottomed out in her. Always before when I made love to the girls I took my time and showed my love for them, making certain I met their needs before mine, but this time this is what Stephie was looking for. 

Even though I had already come I knew I wouldn't last very long going at it this way, and I was doing all I could to control myself, but with Rosemary standing watching and plucking at her own nipples and her beautiful pussy with the red-gold exclamation mark landing strip right in front of my eyes I knew I didn't have a chance. We didn't have much time either, and Stephie knew it too. "Don't try to wait for me, Justin. I want to feel it in me one more time before I have to go. Give it to me hard!" 

Her hips kept rising to meet mine, causing our pelvises to slam together and my balls to slap her on the ass. She was pulling my ass each time, making me drive into her even harder, but then she let go and reached up to pull on her nipples and wailed. "Now, Justin. Please! I'm coming! Come with me!" She pulled her nipples hard and thrust her hips upward and held them there while her pussy squeezed on my cock. I held tightly to her, knowing what was happening, but I wasn't quite there yet. Suddenly she collapsed with a smile on her face and just lay there. 

I slowed down my strokes to allow her to come back around again before I climaxed. After a couple of minutes she opened her eyes and smiled up at me. "That was nice! Thank you. I really didn't think I would come, but you made me." I sped up my strokes again, although not quite to the same intensity, and it was only a minute or so before my climax hit me and I drove into her as deeply as I could and shot my load.

Rosie was sitting in my desk chair, leaning back as far as she could lean, and one hand plucked at her nipples while the other was furiously rubbing her pussy. It was only moments after my orgasm that she stiffened and moaned as her orgasm racked her body. I could see the muscles rippling in her belly as it overcame her, her body glistening from a sheen of sweat all over her. She lay back in the chair, legs splayed out, with one hand resting on her pussy, and the other now resting motionless on one boob and the other boob sticking straight up in the air, as her chest heaving for breath.

"Two months ago, if you would have told me I would watch my brother and my best friend having sex and being turned on by it I would have told you that you were mad, but I just did, and it was such a turn-on! I love you two." 

I glanced at my clock and quickly got up off of Steph. "We've got to move. Mom and Dad could get here almost any time. Rosemary and Steph jumped up and hurried out of the room. I needed a shower, but I knew the girls did even more so, but they could grab one under the guise of having been swimming more readily than I could. I ran into the bathroom and got the water going and jumped in with it still cold. I just needed to rinse off well, and I was nearly done before the girls came in. It would have been fun to stay and help them, but I got out quickly and dried off as they got in. I did watch though while I dried. No point in wasting such a beautiful sight! 

We all quickly got dressed and made our way downstairs. Stephanie gave me a big hug and kiss, of course, I was a willing participant, then she hurried out the door to go home and prepare for dinner with her Mom and Tom. She really looked forward to talking more with him about her Dad. Rosemary had prepared spaghetti sauce after finishing with the cookies so that Mom wouldn't have to do anything about supper once they got home, which I thought was really thoughtful of her. I had been satisfying myself and she was busy taking care of the family. Some guy is really going to hit the jackpot when he wins her! 

I went into the kitchen with Rosemary and helped her set the table and prepared a salad. As soon as Mom and Dad arrived Rosemary could cook the spaghetti and everything would be ready. I was cutting tomato wedges when Rosemary slipped her arms around me from behind and gave me a gentle hug. "Thank you for loving Stephie, Justin. That girl worships the ground you walk on. I'm so happy it is her and not somebody else."

Something in her tone of voice told me all was not well. Carefully I set down the knife and tomato, then wiped my hands before turning in her hug to hug back. "What's wrong, Rosemary? Does my being with Stephanie hurt you? I'll break things off with her if it does."

Rosemary put her head down on my shoulder and sighed. I could feel a couple of tears tickle my neck and a little shudder went through her shoulders. "No, I don't want you to do anything like that. You know I love Stephie like a sister that I don't have, and I'm really glad you two are together. It was beautiful watching you two together today. It was just that I was wishing so badly it was me in the bed with you. I know I will get my share of you, too. Stephie and I are in full agreement on that, at least until I find someone, and I will always love you. If I have to share you I don't know anyone I'd rather have with you. I guess I'm just all mixed up inside. I love you, Justin. It isn't supposed to happen this way, but I can't help it."

I knew exactly what she felt. When I was with Steph there was something in me that longed for Rosemary, and when with Rosemary the same for Steph. The difference was I was the one getting all of the benefits of the relationship!

"I love you, Rosie." Never before had I called her that! She hated the name and allowed no one but Steph to call her that, but at the moment it fit. "You mean the world to me, and I never want to hurt you. You come first in my life, and as important as Stephanie is to me, you are first. The only reason I have allowed Stephanie in at all is that I know I can't have you. Don't get me wrong. I love her with all I have, but I also love you with all I have. That isn't supposed to happen either, but it did, and I can't change it, nor do I want to."

Rosemary lifted her head and looked me in the eyes and hugged me tightly. "I know. I'm just mixed up. Part of me is so happy for you and the other is jealous because it isn't me. While I was watching you I couldn't help remembering how you felt inside of me, and I got off too. I didn't really feel left out or unloved. I guess I just needed a hug. Thank you." She gave me a gentle kiss and put her head back on my shoulder for just a minute. "This feels really nice and secure. Thank you for loving me." 

Her eyes were shining as she stepped back. "We'd better get supper finished."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was an exhausted Mary Winters that walked in the door of her home just minutes after Stephanie returned. An elated Stephanie gave her mother a big hug and nearly danced her around the kitchen. "Hi, Mom! Sorry I couldn't come home last night and I had to leave you and Dr. Meechum alone. Did you have a good time?"

Mary freed herself from the hug and looked at her daughter and knew. Young love was written all over her face as well as a look of satisfaction and fulfillment. Her baby was grown up. A part of her was saddened, but on the other hand she was happy for Steph. To see the joy on her face brought back pangs of memories of her and Brad so many years ago, memories that had been cut short so suddenly and cruelly, and she hoped desperately that Steph would never know that pain.

"Yes, honey, we did. We missed you, but when we saw the news we understood why you didn't want to leave. Did you have a good time with Rosemary and Justin?"

"Umm hmm. Justin is so thoughtful! He really makes me feel good about myself, and I love the way he takes care of Rosemary, too. So, did you have a good day today?"

Mary groaned. "Ugh. Today was rough. Three of my patients had gone home, and ER was short-handed, so Helen, my charge nurse, asked if I would be willing to go down there and help out. I didn't mind, but then a school bus with Kindergarteners got hit by a truck and knocked on its side. Things got really hairy there for quite a while. Tom and I worked together that whole time, and I didn't even have time for lunch. I'm really beat."

"Do you want me to fix something to eat? Dr. Meechum will understand if you don't feel up to going out I'm sure."

"I thought about that, but I don't want to take away your chance to talk with him about your Dad. I know you really wanted to."

"Let me borrow your phone, and I'll call him. He can come here instead of having to go out. You go lie down for a few minutes and I'll do some grilled cheese and fix some soup."

"I can't have you do that!"

"It's too late. I just called him. Hi, Dr. Meechum? This is Stephanie, not Mom. Look, I know you were planning to take us out to dinner, but Mom is really shot. I know she was looking forward to going out tonight, but I think it would be better if we stayed in. Would you mind terribly if I fixed some grilled cheese and soup?. . . Great! We'll see you then. Goodbye."

Tom Meechum stood staring into his bathroom mirror. He had that 'thousand yard stare' in his eyes. His hands trembled as he tried to shave. Dealing with trauma every day in the ER he could deal with. Accident victims did not normally cause issues, but this morning handling all of those children was just too much. He was so thankful Stephanie called. Going out in public tonight was just more than he could handle, but he didn't feel right about calling Mary and cancelling. As long as he was working he was OK, but when they got off and he got home to his quiet apartment was when the old memories, fueled by the horror of all of those children this morning, hit. 

Winters. He remembered Winters, and now he was going to see his widow, for whom he was developing feelings, and his orphaned daughter. All too clearly he could see Winters in his mind's eye, throwing his body atop of Tom's and the Ell Tee, giving his own life for theirs. What was it about Marines that made them do such things, sacrificing themselves for someone else? So many times he had seen such heroism, always shrugged off by the ones who survived as only doing their duty. They didn't even see their heroism for what it was. What he didn't recognize either was the way the Marines looked at their "Docs" as heroes for rushing into firezones to rescue wounded Marines, often at the sacrifice of their own bodies or lives. The tears began to flow as they had so many times before as the memories overwhelmed him.

He did not see the face in the mirror as he shaved. Stumbling blindly back into his bedroom he dressed numbly, preparing himself to tear the scabs off of old wounds as he knew he would have to do telling Winters' daughter about her father. Not that he was unwilling, he owed Winters much more than that, but would he be able? Suddenly he stood to his feet and pulled out his phone. It took only a moment to find the number and he called Marine Barracks at Eighth and I streets in Washington. Normal duty hours were over for the day, but he was able to get the OIC, or Officer In Charge, and start the ball rolling to get the decoration Winters was so deserving. He knew the little ribbon and piece of tin would not do anything to replace him, but Stephanie at least needed to know what kind of man her father really was.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mom and Dad came walking in the door nearly an hour later than expected. The was a bad accident with a fatality on the highway leaving the airport, confirming what I've always said, "You are safer flying than getting to or from the airport." This of course tied up traffic and they sat there without even the option of turning around. Of course I had to take some good natured teasing from Dad about my nascent TV career, but he was also very interested in all that transpired at the house with the railroad people and the Sheriff. 

Mom was very pleased with Rosemary for preparing supper, and I could tell she was quite tired from the trip and all that went on in LA. When Rosemary asked about the movie premier Mom gushed on and on about the women's gowns, and how handsome the actors were in their tuxes. Dad rolled his eyes, but I could tell he really enjoyed taking her. 

Supper was an enjoyable meal as we all caught up with each other and what was going on. As I know I told you before, Mom and Dad both worked very hard, and often long hours, but they never stinted of their time for us when they were home, and did all they could to be a part of our lives. On the other hand, they never tried to smother us either, giving us as much freedom and liberty as they thought we could handle. They always encouraged us to go after our interests and supported us all they could. 

Rosemary had chosen to not play soccer her senior year. She was a good, but not great player, and while she enjoyed the game she decided she wanted more freedom in her senior year, for which I was grateful, because it gave me a lot more time with her. Mom and Dad always made it a point to be there for her games unless in Dad's case he was out of town. Since I was in track and cross-country there wasn't a whole lot for them to come and see. More often than not though, I would see one or even both of them at the finish area when I ran. 

Because of my job at Jim's I didn't run competitively my senior year. I came to the conclusion I would never make a living running track, and that I could learn so much more working as much as I could with Jim, and it has paid off many times over. Mom and Dad were supportive of our decisions either way, just encouraging us to weigh our decisions carefully to be certain there would be no regrets later. 

We had a rule that we didn't take phone calls while we were eating dinner, but when Jim called from Scottsdale I asked permission to take the call. Dad nodded, and I put it on speaker thinking the others needed to know what was going on.

"Hey, Sport. We got your gate installed and working for you, and I turned on your alarm system."

"Thanks, much, Jim. I owe you a big one."

"I know, and I'll collect." I heard him and Joe laughing. "Joe and I took a look around your little harem while we were turning on the alarms system. I like the way you spotted your cameras. I think you have it laid out pretty well. There was one thing I got to thinking about before coming up here, and I knew you had plenty going on there, so I didn't bother you about it. If you don't want it you don't have to pay me for it, but I added a keypad on the card slot at the gate. I got to thinking you will probably have parents and other visitors that won't have a pass card allowing them entry, so I put in a key pad that will go to your cell phone, or to Rosemary's, or if you aren't around anyone you want can monitor it. It will save people from having to park on the street and walk up to gain entrance."

I looked at Dad and he nodded. "Good idea, Jim. Thank you. Anything else?"

"No, that's about got it. It is a beautiful house you have here. I'm really pleased for you."

"Thank you so much! I'll be in to settle up with you tomorrow, and I want to pick your brain about another possible project on the house. I've got to run it past Dad first."

"There's no rush to pay me. It isn't that much, and I know you are good for it, especially if the news had it right." I could hear Joe snort in the background. "You can pay me in twenty dollar gold pieces." He laughed and I chuckled along with him. I knew I was going to take a good bit of razzing from him before it was all over anyway. 

"Thanks so much, Jim. You didn't get bugged by any newsies, did you?"

"Naw. Had a couple stop by, but I just told them I was there to put up a gate to keep riff-raff out, and made sure they got the point."

"Very good. I'll see you in the morning. Have a great evening." 

I hung up the phone and Dad said, "I think that was a smart move, having Jim go up there and activate everything. That keypad on the gate is good idea, too. Smart thinking there, Son."

I nodded, pleased that he thought I was doing well. Dad is always free with his praise when he thinks it is deserved, but he can also lower the boom when he isn't happy. I'm always happy to hear he likes what I did!




Justin Thyme Ch. 15



With that interruption out of the way we carried on with our supper and catching up with each other. 

Mom was normally off on Wednesdays, and since Rosemary and I didn't have to go to school because of the fire Dad decided to call in "well" and take the day off too. He and I would swing by Jim's in the morning and then we all would go up to the house and check it out. Mom had not seen the cellar, nor any of the secret doors yet, so we decided to take Grandpa and Grandma along too. We were going to need Grandpa's advice before the day was over I was sure.

After supper was over I sat down with Dad in his office and filled him in on more of the details of our discoveries and then I broached the idea I had been mulling over about backing Jim in opening a new store in the Phoenix area. He thought it would be a good idea, at least to look into and discuss with Jim. The biggest issue was going to be finding the right person to run the operation. He didn't feel I would have the time to do much more than occasionally working on some of the electronics that needed warrantee repair, or possibly building out some custom equipment, but he suggested I not try to do any installations. 

"Son, you will have the rest of your life to make money. Your purpose in going to ASU is to get an education. I have an idea you will have your hands full with the house. Don't be trying to bite off much more, at least until you have your feet solidly on the ground and know what you are looking at." 

It was good advice, and I'm grateful for it. I also ran the idea of a remote release for the carriage house door, giving access to the secret room, and he sat and mulled it over in his mind for a few minutes.

"I'm inclined to say leave it as it is, Son. Sam Johnson obviously left it alone for a reason, and I think he was probably right. If there is no access there is no way anyone can break in from the outside. You did say there is a way in from the upstairs, right?"

"Yeah, from one of the apartments up there. It gives access to the winch."

"I think I'd leave well enough alone. We can take a look at it tomorrow if you'd like." 

Our business taken care of, we walked out to the den and joined Mom and Rosemary. Since there was no school tomorrow and Mom and Dad weren't working we were going to watch a movie together. I'm not much of a movie kind of guy, but I knew at least it would be much better than the one I watched with Rosemary and Steph, although it wouldn't be nearly as much fun!

Mom and Dad kicked back in their double LazyBoy recliner and I flopped into the love seat. I expected Rosemary to sit in the other recliner, but she surprised me and sat down next to me and cuddled up to watch. Not that I'm complaining! Before long her hand sought out mine, and we sat and held hands between us where it wouldn't be obvious if Mom looked over our way, and Rosemary rested her head on my shoulder. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tom, feeling a little self-conscious, walked from his car to the Winters' front door. He felt awkward because he had nothing to contribute. He had planned to take the ladies out, and didn't have time to stop by the store and pick up any wine, and he had just given Mary flowers. Stephanie opened the door for him right away.

"Hi Dr. Meechum. I'm so glad you could change plans for us tonight."

"Hi, yourself, Stephanie, and please, it's Tom. I'm Dr. at the hospital, not in your home."

"Thank you, Tom. I'll try to remember that. Please come on in. Mom will be out in just a minute or two. I hope you like tomato soup?"

"I do, thank you."

"Good, 'cause tonight is going to be anything but formal. Mom was pretty beat when she got home, and she thought you would be rather tired as well, so I thought there was no reason to go out if you didn't mind something simple at home."

"Hi, Tom. I'm glad you could come over again, and Stephanie could be here this time."

"Hi again, Mary. I'm sorry, but I came empty handed tonight. Since I was planning on going out I didn't have anything to bring, and I didn't have time to stop. I didn't know if wine would be appropriate anyway for Stephanie."

"Nonsense! We aren't formal around here. You don't need to bring anything but yourself when you come to our house. I'm just glad you would change your plans for us. I really hope I didn't disappoint you, but today was kind of tough for me. I'm not used to all of that."

Tom reached out and took Mary's hand and cradled it between both of his hands. "Mary, you did a tremendous job today. I don't think I could have made it through all of that had you not been there. Deborah does a great job, but since she wasn't there I didn't have anyone else on the staff I could work with as I did with you. Unfortunately, they are just there because it is a job. They don't really care about what they are doing as do you. You have a very calming effect on the youngsters, and on me as well." He shuddered just a bit. "I nearly lost it when they brought in Danny. I really thought we were going to lose him, and it is still touch and go, but we got him stabilized for surgery. That was as bad as anything I've seen since Iraq."

Stephanie was half listening from the kitchen, but she pricked her ears when she heard him talk about Iraq, and she looked through the doorway to see the look that passed between her mother and Tom. She fought back a smile. It was not the look of a Doctor to a Nurse, but much deeper. A profound respect was obvious along with a deep liking. Steph knew it wasn't love by any chance. It was still much too soon, but she sincerely hoped it would grow, and quickly. Her mother needed someone in her life; someone who could make her happy and complete again. She had given up so much of her life for Stephanie's sake and it was time now for her to live her life for her own sake for a change.

Stephanie served the soup and grilled cheese as Tom and Mary sat down at the table. "You will have to come back another time when Mom can cook, Tom. She can really cook when she sets her mind to it!"

"Stephanie!"

"Well, it's true, Mom. It's just that you don't usually have anyone to cook for but me."

Tom broke in to stop any squabble, "I know, Stephanie. She did a pot roast last night that was fabulous! I haven't eaten that well in a long, long time."

Mary colored at his compliments and Stephanie saw the look that passed between them. "You'll have to get her to do her lasagna for you some time! And her beef stroganoff is to die for!"

"Stephanie! She exaggerates, Tom." It was plain though that Mary was pleased Stephanie thought her cooking was good. She did so little of it for just the two of them. Between working as many hours as she did and Stephanie's busy schedule with school it seemed she didn't cook as much any more. Most things went into the microwave and that was it. The thought of having someone special to cook for stirred her thoughts and desires.

Stephanie turned to Tom. "What can you tell me about my Daddy? I really remember so little about him. I remember sitting on his lap and having him read me bed time stories. I think I miss that the most."

"Well, he didn't read me any bed time stories." Tom gave her a crooked grin, but his eyes clouded over as he remembered the past.

"Tom, you don't have to talk about it if it hurts too much. We will understand."

Tom looked across the table at Mary and his voice hardened. "Understand? I don't think so. You saw what it was like in the ER this morning, and there wasn't anyone shooting at you. You have no way of understanding!"

Mary was taken aback by his outburst, and Stephanie looked at him wide-eyed in shock.

Tom was contrite and ashamed of his own outburst. "I'm sorry. Look, I didn't mean to go off on you. It isn't you, it's me. I'm so glad you don't understand." Tom's head dropped and he struggled to hold back tears. He looked at Stephanie and took her hand in his. "I'm sorry, Stephanie. Your Dad would be really proud of you. This morning was hard for me." He glanced at Mary. "It brought back too many memories, but your mother was right there with me all through it. I couldn't have handled it if she hadn't been there, and I've been struggling since then. I know I promised, but I can't really talk about it tonight. Would you please allow me another time?"

Stephanie jumped to her feet and threw her arms about his neck. "Don't even talk about it if it hurts too much. I'll understand as best I can. Thank you for being there."

Stephanie sat back down, but kept hold of Tom's hand, feeling his need of support. Tom dashed tears from his eyes with the back of his hand and sniffled once before looking at the two women with him. "I'll say this much, and I would like to take the time another time to talk with you about him." He looked over at Mary. "I called Eighth and Eye this afternoon."

"Eighth and Eye?"

That brought a slight smile to Tom's face. "Marine Headquarters at the corner of Eighth and I streets in Washington DC. I went as high up the chain as I could since it was after duty hours, and I talked with the OIC about your husband's missing decoration."

"OIC?"

"Officer in Charge. I'm sorry. I forget you don't speak military. It's almost a different language sometimes. Your husband was put in for the Medal of Honor, but it was demoted to the Navy Cross because there was no officer who witnessed his actions." He turned to Stephanie. "I want you to know the story. I don't know any other way for you to understand the kind of man your father was. I know I told you he was killed by an RPG protecting me and the Ell Tee. We were pinned down by the enemy ambush, and when the Ell Tee went down it was your father that took over the squad and got everyone situated so we could defend ourselves. He was all over the place, constantly putting himself under fire. Oh, he wasn't being stupid or 'Brave'. He was just being a good Marine non-com taking over for his officer. By rights he should have been an officer himself. What he was doing was making certain the squad was able to do its job. He had no reason to expose himself like he did when he saw the insurgent with the RPG, but he saw the Ell Tee and I were exposed and he ran to cover us. If he had stayed where he was he would have been safe, but I would be dead. He gave his life for me. I don't know how he did it, as badly hurt as he was, but he was able to shoot the RPG guy after he was hit, and that broke the attack."

"Some days I look at myself in the mirror and wonder why it was him instead of me, and I feel guilty for being alive. That is the reason I went into medicine, because he told me I ought to, and that's the reason I chose ER medicine, to be able to do what I can to save lives. Now, if you will excuse me, I think it's time I left." He paid no attention to the tears that streamed down both cheeks and dripped onto his shirt.

Mary got up from her chair and stepped over to Tom and embraced him, holding his head to her breast, comforting him. There was nothing sexual in the gesture, nor did Tom take it as such, but rather it was a gesture of comfort to another, even as Dr. Meechum himself had held Brad Winters in his arms as he lay dying in Iraq. The comfort had now come full circle as the love of one fighting man for another was requited by the man's widow. Stephanie for her part knelt on the floor next to Tom, with her head nestled on his leg, hugging it to her, as she cried for her long dead father.

"Tom, you can't go. You aren't in any shape to be alone tonight. I have a guest room you can have. I can't let you be alone tonight. We are here for you."

Tears, long held in, were shed, soaking Mary's blouse, even as she shed her own on Tom's head as she held him tight, and on the leg of Tom's pants as Stephanie mourned the father she had hardly known. A bond was formed that night that could never be broken.



Justin Thyme Ch. 16



Tom struggled mightily to get control of his emotions, finally realizing where Mary cradled his head, and he lifted it slowly, dazed and exhausted from the release of long pent-up emotions. Tom's voice was shaky as he said, "I'm sorry for breaking down like that. You must think terribly of me."

Mary wiped tears from her own face as she looked tenderly down at Tom. "It seems to me you've held it in far too long already, Tom. I'm glad I was here for you, and thank you for what you did for Brad."

"I had better be going. It has been a trying day for both of us. Thank you for being there for me today, and here for me this evening. Stephanie, we will make a time to get together and just talk, OK?" She nodded her response, her puffy eyes expressing her appreciation. 

"Are you sure you will be OK, Tom? I'm not too sure about you being alone tonight."

"Thank you, but I'll be fine. Besides, what would your neighbors think if they saw my car in your driveway two nights in a row?"

Stephanie cast a wan smile up at Tom and said, "They would probably say 'It's about time!'"

"Stephanie Marie Winters!"

"Sorry, Mom."

Tom looked between the two of them, the one unrepentant and the other embarrassed, but not backing away. He knew he needed to get out before a battle broke out between them, and he didn't want to do anything more to embarrass Mary. He stood shakily to his feet to go, with Stephanie quickly grabbing his hand with both of hers as she stood. She stepped in to give him a hug, laying her head against his chest as she murmured softly, "Thank you for being there for my Daddy," and then she stepped back with moist eyes. 

Mary gave him a soft kiss on the cheek. "Thank you, Tom. My guest room is yours if you would like."

"I know, and I really appreciate it more than you know, but I'll be OK. I'll see you in the morning?" Mary nodded and Tom turned for the door with Mary right behind him. She stood in the door and watched him back out of the driveway and then drive up the street. She stood there in the doorway, eyes unseeing, long after he was out of sight.

Finally with a sigh she turned back into the house to see Stephanie watching her silently. "Stephanie, how could you say such a thing?"

"I'm sorry it embarrassed you, Mom, but I was right, and it is about time you found someone. I don't think you could do a bit better than Tom. He obviously likes you, and I know you like him. He's no Paul!" Steph turned and walked to her room where she quickly texted me. "Can you come over for a little bit? I need you!" Stephanie sat on the edge of her bed and held the last picture she had of her father, one that was taken of him holding and kissing her goodbye. Her mother had taken that last day just before he climbed on the bus to deploy. 

I got there as quickly as I could, sensing something was wrong. As soon as her mother let me in the door Stephanie came running down the hallway and launched herself into my arms weeping. Mary watched me hold her daughter and knew Steph was now mine, and she felt so alone. Who was there to hold her?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mom looked at Rosemary with a cocked eyebrow when I got up and left before the movie was over.

"Stephanie texted him and asked him to go over. She said she needed him."

"At this time of night?" It really wasn't that late, but I guess it was a little later than normal for a guy to go running off to his girl's home.

"Steph was having dinner with her Mom and Dr. Meechum. Dr. Meechum was in Iraq with Steph's Dad when he was killed. It must have been too much for her, so she called Justin."

"They seem to be getting pretty serious. Do we need to be concerned?"

Rosemary just smiled at Mom. "It's a little late to be getting concerned. She would say 'Yes' in a heartbeat if Justin asked. Don't worry though. They both know they have college ahead of them."

Mom looked over at Dad who just shrugged his shoulders and restarted the movie. "He's a big boy now, Honey. He's got a good head on his shoulders, and I think Stephanie is a pretty sharp young lady. I know she worships the ground he walks on."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Susie was on the phone with Michael. "So tell me what happened, Honey. I want to know all about it."

Michael was lying back in a king-sized bed with extra pillows piled up behind him. "Nothing yet, Little One. We just got in a little while ago and had dinner. They are on Daylight Savings Time here, so they are two hours ahead of us instead of just one. Because of that we didn't get in until a little after six, and then by the time we got to the motel it was way too late to catch him at work, so we'll be there at eight in the morning. That's six our time, so it may be interesting. I might even wish for a cup of coffee or two before it's all over."

"Pete was pretty mad when I told him about getting called the way I did. He didn't say anything, but I'm glad it isn't me he's coming out to visit. He's going to introduce me as Mike Thibodeaux, an intern, so we'll see where it goes from there."

"Are you coming back tomorrow night? I sure hope so!"

"It's possible, but it looks like it will be Thursday sometime. I don't think we can get everything done in time tomorrow unless I catch a red-eye tomorrow evening. We'll have to see how it goes in the morning, but I wouldn't plan on it. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if I stay and work until about noon on Thursday. Pete knows I have to be home Thursday evening though."

"My lower lip is sticking out! You'd better hurry home and fix it!" Susie laughed, but disappointment was evident in her voice. "You have me totally spoiled, and it is all your fault. I didn't used to be this way until you came around."

"Oh? Do you want me to go away so you can go back to the way you used to be?"

"Nooooo! I like being this way! I just don't like missing you!" She made a kissing sound into the phone.

"Good. I've got to go now, Little One. Four in the morning is coming soon, and I have to meet Pete and Dave Drugan for breakfast at four forty-five our time. Good night, Little One. Don't forget I love you." He kissed the phone and waited for her goodnight before hanging it up regretfully. She wasn't the only one spoiled by the other.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I walked into the house to find both Mom and Rosemary waiting up for me. Mom looked at me carefully before asking if everything was OK with Stephanie, and I could see Rosemary's concern as well.

"She's OK. Dr. Meechum and Mrs. Winters," I couldn't bring myself to call her Mary, at least to Mom, "both had to handle a bunch of kids from that bus wreck this morning, and they were both pretty shaken. Dr. Meechum was supposed to take them out to eat, but Mrs. Winters didn't feel up to it, and I think Dr. Meechum was pretty stressed, too, so Steph made grilled cheese and soup. She and Dr. Meechum were supposed to talk about her Dad, but all of the trauma of the day triggered his PTSD, and the evening was pretty rugged. No, he isn't violent or anything." I caught her concerned look. 

"It was all emotional. He told Steph about how her father saved his life, and that he should have been given the Medal of Honor, but no officer was there to recommend him, because the Lieutenant Dr. Meechum was working on died. Steph's Dad was put in for the Navy Cross instead of the Medal of Honor, but the paperwork got lost and the medal was never awarded. Dr. Meechum said he called Marine Headquarters to see about getting the medal awarded, and then he broke down."

"Stephanie called me when he left. She really needed someone to be there for her." I looked up at Mom. "Could you give Mrs. Winters a call? I think she needs someone to talk to. She has nobody."

"This late?"

"Yeah, I think it would be a good idea. She really looked torn up when I left. I gave her a little hug, and I thought she was going to break down on me, too." Mom just nodded and went to the phone. 

Rosemary walked over and gave me a hug and we could hear Mom on the phone with Mrs. Winters. "Mary, Sorry to call so late, but Justin just suggested you had a rather tough day today and you might need someone to talk with... . Yes, he is pretty caring, isn't he." I blushed. "Yes, he told me about the bus wreck, and he said Dr. Meechum was there and told Stephanie about your husband's death. I know it had to be hard... . Absolutely! It's no problem at all! Would you like to come over here, or would you rather I went there?... No, I don't mind a bit. I'll be right over."

Mom walked back into the living room and looked at me thoughtfully before she came over and gave me a big hug. "I don't know who you are, or what you've done with my son Justin, but you are pretty special. I'm going over and be with Mary for a little while. You were right. She really does need someone right now, and as much as she appreciated you and the way you were there for Stephanie, you just aren't old enough." Mom stepped back, then leaned in and gave me a big kiss on the forehead. "You have really grown up lately, Son. I'm really proud of you!"

Mom is always free with her praise, but this was way above and beyond anything she has ever said before. I couldn't help feeling a warm glow inside as Mom walked out the front door. "I'll call Dad on the way over there and tell him what's going on. I don't know how long I'll be, so let's plan on not leaving before ten or ten-thirty in the morning, OK?" I just waved goodbye as she closed the door, then Rosemary and I hugged each other before walking up the stairs together to go to bed.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tom Meechum walked into his empty apartment and went to the refrigerator for a beer. He pulled one out, popped the top off and started to take a drink, but at the smell stopped, looked at the bottle, and poured it out in the sink. He was not an alcoholic, but he recognized tonight was not a night he needed to crawl into a bottle. The empty feeling within came simply from the emptiness of his apartment and the loneliness he felt after leaving Mary and Stephanie. 

Since returning from Iraq and finishing college, going through Medical School, then interning and residency, he had not taken the time to develop relationships with anyone. The nightmares, times of despondency, the aching sense of loss and horror from the war had not been something he felt he could share with another person who had not been there. He visited a number of therapists who encouraged him to find someone with whom he could talk, and beyond talking develop a close relationship, but he had never felt it possible to bare his soul, or to get close. Everyone with whom he had been close in the Corps either didn't come home, or they came home broken and scarred, and he had been the one to care for them, saving those he could save. Getting close to anyone frightened him, for he was afraid of losing them, too.

Tonight had been different. Tonight he had broken down and had allowed Mary and Stephanie within the horror he lived with for over ten years. Of course, Mary had been with him through today's horror with the little Kindergarten kids, and she had been what held him together on more than one occasion during the ordeal.

To be honest with himself, that first morning in their home, meeting Stephanie and seeing SSgt. Weathers' picture on the wall was the first chink in the wall of armor he had built around himself. Stephanie and Mary had done so much to assuage his pain when he saw the picture of the man to whom he owed his life. Then dinner with Mary, when Stephanie was prevented from coming home had widened the chink, causing him to take stock of his life, but it was tonight that the shell of the armor had fallen away, leaving him denuded as it were before them. Oh how he wished he could have accepted Mary's invitation, but to share her bed, rather than her guest room. He didn't want sex. What he really wanted, nay craved, was the companionship of a soul-mate that knew him fully and yet loved him. 

He reached for the telephone on the wall just as Mom walked into the Weathers' home. "Mary? Look, I'm really sorry to call so late, and especially after this evening, but I just had to say 'Thanks.'"

Mary waved Mom to a seat at her kitchen table and poured her a glass of white wine to go with the one she herself had been sipping. "Not a problem, Tom. I'm glad we could be here for you." Mom signed she could leave and give Mary some privacy, but Mary shook her head 'No', waving her to the seat. "I know it was really hard for you, but it meant a lot to Stephanie to hear about her Daddy, and it meant a lot to me, too. That was Brad all the way."

"I really don't know what came over me. I normally can keep my emotions in check, but tonight I just lost it. I apologize for ruining your evening by dumping my load on you."

Mary sat down quickly, nearly overcome with emotion and the need to nurture and comfort a hurting person. Her nurse persona came out, but along with it a maternal and an almost spousal need to allay and assuage the obvious pain Tom suffered. "Tom, I think it was past time you let it out. You can't keep all of that inside. I'm here for you any time you need someone with whom to talk. It was a hard day for both of us, and I can't imagine what it was for you. I am grateful you were the one who was there though, because I don't know anyone else that could have handled the trauma the way you did."

"I couldn't have done it without you, Mary. Every time I looked up you were there, and your compassion for those kids was so calming, but not just to them. I just want you to know it meant a lot to me, also. And not only that, but you are beginning to mean a lot to me. I hope I'm not presuming on anything or rushing things, but I would like to explore a relationship with you if you would be interested."

Mary felt widely conflicting emotions. On the one hand she was afraid. Afraid of allowing another man into her life after what she just went through with Paul, and especially a man as terribly scarred as was Tom, but on the other hand she felt such a bond with Tom already. Holding his head on her breast as he wept had also broken through some barriers she had erected in her own heart, and as she had looked at Brad's picture when Tom left she felt as if Brad was bringing them together.

"Tom, I think I would like that, and I know Stephanie would be in favor. She has already said so."

Tom felt his legs begin to tremble and weaken. Quickly he fumbled for a chair and sank into it. "Thank you so much Mary. I'll see you in the morning. Good night."

"Good night, Tom." She didn't say it, but felt; "I love you," but it was entirely too soon to think of love. Love, real love, didn't come that fast. It couldn't, could it?

Mom stood and gave Mary a hug after she put the phone back on the hook. "It sounds to me like things are working out."

Mary sat back down at the table and looked at her wine glass, suddenly feeling almost giddy with relief. "Better than I could have imagined, Charlotte. Thank you so much for coming over! I don't know that I need to talk now, but I want to, if you have time."

Mom reached a hand across the table and rested it on Mary's. "Any time, Mary. I don't know how you have carried the load all these years like you have. I think it is about time something really good happened for you."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I had been in bed for maybe fifteen minutes or so with the "Humming Chorus" from Puccini's Madame Butterfly playing softly. The pathos of this opera has always gripped me, this piece in particular. I found the melody at once peaceful, yet stirring. It really fit my mood after being with Stephanie and her mother this evening. A light tap on my door sounded, which I knew wasn't Mom, so it had to be Rosemary.

"Come in," I called out softly, so as not to be loud enough for Dad to hear. The door opened enough for Rosemary to slip through, and then she closed it carefully, using her fingers to prevent making any sound. She wore a long tee shirt, and nothing else as she padded over to my bed. The "Humming Chorus" ended as she sat and Maria Callas's rendition of "Un Bel Di" from the same opera followed. Obviously as you can tell from my choice of music, my mood was rather somber as I lay there.

"I couldn't settle down enough to sleep. May I lie down with you for a while, Justin?"

I slid over to give her room on my little twin bed and held my arm out to rest her head on my shoulder. She snuggled in close and murmured in my ear, "Thank you for taking care of Stephie tonight, and her Mom, too. You are pretty special, you know it?"

"I don't think I'm anything special," I said as Verdi's "Va Pensiero" from Nabucco started. If there is a song that carries more pathos in it than this one I don't know what it is. Don't get me wrong. I was not melancholy, just thoughtful, after sharing the pain of the one I loved and the pain of her mother. 

"I think you are, and I love you for it. Thank you." She kissed my cheek and placing her arm around my chest pulled me to herself. I rolled to face her and hugged her back enjoying the comfort of the other woman that I love. What a messed up world! I'm not sorry, not at all. I'm just in fear that I will not meet the needs of these two lovely women I've been blessed with. I never ever want to do anything to hurt either of them, and I'm constantly afraid I will prove to be inadequate to meet their needs. "Do you ever think of yourself and what your needs or wants are?"

"Now don't be putting me on a pedestal an making a saint out of me or something. I can't help it that I love you two. I'm afraid you are the one getting the short end of things."

"Oh, I'm OK. I'm just glad you and Stephanie are hitting it off. I know you love me, and that's enough for now. Besides, you give me great sex, and I don't mind sharing."

"I haven't been able to do anything for you in quite a while. I'm sorry."

"Don't be. I'll get my turn. I thought Stephie really needed you the last few days. Watching you two was really special! I've never been able to get myself off like I did this afternoon! I kind of wish we could try it now, but there is no way with Dad home. At this moment I'm content just being held in your arms, but we'd better not fall asleep this way. I'm really looking forward to getting back up to the house so we can sleep together, Stephie too, sometimes. I know it sounds weird, but I like to wake up on your shoulder and look across and see Steph snuggled up on the other side. I'm so lucky to be included in your love."

"You will always be my first, and as much as I love Steph she will never take that away, though I feel like a real cad sometimes."

"I don't mind, even if you do like Stephie's nipples better than mine." She gave me a big smile followed by a kiss to show what she really meant and we just snuggled together, wrapped totally in our love for the other, and I felt peaceful as I lay there with her in my arms.

As hard as we tried not to, we both fell asleep with Rosemary wrapped protectively in my arms. The garage door opener is what awakened me, and for a bit I was confused. I knew I had Rosemary in my arms, but we weren't up at the house, and the garage door opener... . I sat up with a start, waking Rosemary. "Shhhhh! Mom just got home, and we were asleep!" I whispered. "Don't move. I don't think she will come check on us. If she does we were just talking and we dozed off." Quickly I pulled on a pair of shorts, just in case, but I had trouble getting them zipped over my hard cock. Rosemary does that to me!

It's a good thing I dressed, because I heard Mom knock on Rosemary's door softly, and then I heard her call out to her and check the bathroom. Next there was a knock on my door, which I answered as if I was asleep. "Justin, do you know where Rosemary is?"

"Yeah, Mom. Come on in. She's in here with me." Mom came through the door with her eyebrows raised. "We were talking about Steph and Mrs. Winters and stuff and we both dozed off." Fortunately, I had also thrown a sheet over myself, and Rosemary wasn't under it. "Is Mrs. Winters OK?"




Justin Thyme Ch. 16



"Yes, Tom called her just after I got there, and they talked out a couple of things on the phone. Thank you for sending me over there. I really think it helped her. Now, Rosemary, you know better than to be in your brother's room dressed like that. Where's your robe?"

"I was hot, Mom, and I couldn't sleep, so I came over to talk to Justin about stuff. He doesn't care about this."

"Young lady, he is still male, even if you are his sister, and yes he does care. I'm not saying you two are doing anything wrong, but you shouldn't be dressed like that in front of him."

"Yes, Mom." Rosemary got up and started for her room before turning back to me. "Thanks for talking with me, Justin. I needed that," and with that she and Mom were gone. She was gone, and I was stuck with a hard cock that didn't want to go down!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was a bleary eyed Michael that stumbled out of his room to meet Pete and Dave for breakfast at six-thirty Chicago time. Pete led them to a Denny's next door to the motel, and said to Michael, "It's not Coco's, which is where I usually try to go when in the Phoenix area, but it will do. I've done a lot worse, and at least you know what you are going to get."

"It's definitely not Bill's, either. I like Coco's, and it is one of my Mom's favorites, but since I found Bill's I haven't been back there."

"Oh, yeah. I've got to remember that place when I go back to Phoenix, too. You need to check it out next time you are down that way, Dave. Good stuff! Not fancy, just good food, and a lot of it." 

Dave looked over at Michael when the waitress came for their order, "Michael, does it bother you if we drink coffee in front of you?"

"Oh no. Not at all! I don't tell others how to live their lives. It's a personal decision, and I don't have any say over what others do or don't, nor do I look down on anyone for anything they do that I might not." 

Dave nodded and said to the waitress, "The biggest cup of coffee you can give me, and you can leave the pot if you'd like!"

Pete laughed at him, and then said to the waitress, "If you can put it in an IV it would be even better. Last time he was at the Dr's they found too much blood in his caffeine system." 

Once the orders were placed, Pete called their attention to the upcoming visit to the IT department head. "I'll admit I was quite angry when Michael told me of Abernathy's phone call, and I'm still pissed. My first thought was to walk into his office this morning and fire him on the spot, but after thinking on it overnight, and sleeping on it, I decided that would not be the best route to take." 

With an apologetic nod at Michael he said, "I have to admit if I was told a 'snot nosed kid with no real world experience in transportation' was coming in to help my department I wouldn't be really happy about it either. However, that does not mean I'm going to take his insubordination lying down. I am going to go in there and try my best to give him a fair shot at explaining himself. Perhaps he was just having a bad morning and popped off without taking real thought for what he had to say. We'll see." 

"Michael, you are going to have to be very careful of what you say and how you react to things. I want you to take a look at what we are doing, and what is more important is Ben wants you to take a look. You will take a good look at our programming, and I want your honest evaluation. Your job is not to pick it apart and find fault. Your job is to evaluate it and if there are areas we can improve I want to know about them. These evaluations are to be delivered to Dave's attention here, not to David Abernathy. If you don't see any material areas in which we can improve our performance I will not in the least be disappointed to hear you say so. Understood"

"Yes, Sir." Michael grinned, "Maybe you should have let him have his first cup of coffee before he called me."

Pete chuckled slightly. "Maybe so, and I'm going to give him enough rope to hang himself this morning. I'm not taking rope for the hanging with me. As far as you are concerned this morning, you know nothing about this whole kerfluffle, and you will be just a very junior intern along for the ride."

With breakfast over the three men rose, walked back to the motel, and got in their rental car for the short drive over to the offices.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mom looked rather tired when she got up to join us for breakfast. When Mom came in, Dad, Rosemary and I were at the table eating omelets Rosemary had made us. I jumped up and grabbed her a cup of coffee and Rosemary quickly heated the skillet to make Mom an omelet.

"Thanks, kids. I've got the best kids in the world, and I want you to know how thankful I am for you." She gave Rosemary a big hug and a kiss on the forehead before stepping over to me and giving me the same. "I've hardly slept all night thinking about Mary Weathers and all she has been through. I've been so blessed! She hugged Dad from behind as he sat in his chair. "You know we hear about the guys in our military giving their lives, but we don't often think about the families they left behind. We have our freedoms because of people like them, and I think we ought to do more for the families. I think I'll get together with Mary and Tom and discuss setting up some sort of foundation or something for their families. We obviously couldn't fund it ourselves, but what do you think of the idea?"

"Something like a Big Brothers/Big Sisters for military orphans?" Rosemary asked. "I like the idea. Stephanie has really missed her Dad, and I know she always looks up to you, Daddy, when she is over here. She asks about you all the time."

"Oh really? I didn't know. I don't know what I can do for her, but all she has to do is ask."

"She was really appreciative of what you did for her when Paul attacked her a while back. She has talked about it several times, but now Justin has kind of taken that role." Rosemary giggled at me. "A little different than a 'father figure', but a male role-model perhaps."

As for myself, I certainly hoped it was more than a Daddy fixation. It sure seemed to me to be different than that. Rosemary's comment sure got Mom's gimlet eye on me though.

"Now Justin, you be sure to treat her right. I wouldn't want you taking advantage of her vulnerability."

Rosemary popped to my defense quickly, "Oh, no worries there, Mom. Stephie loves him, though I don't know why, and Justin has been very good to her. She's my friend, and I'll be sure to let you know if he gets out of line." Rosemary winked at me over a lop-sided grin and set Mom's omelet on the table in front of her. 

When I finished my breakfast I got up to go over the Jim's and settle up with him for the work he did at the house for me, but Dad said, "Hold on a moment, Son. I'd like to ride over with you, if you don't mind."

"Cool! I'd love to have you go along!" I never get to spend as much time with Dad as I would like. He knows the line between being a parent and being a friend, but yet he has always been my best friend. I know I'm a bit of an introvert, and I just don't make friends that easily, and Dad has always been there for me. 

"Do you mind driving? And using your Mini?"

"No problem! You can drive it if you want." I knew what he really wanted! He was grinning like a little boy being tossed a bag of candy when I tossed him the keys.

We were just a few minutes early, before the store opened, but I knew it was OK to go in the back door, and I knew the code for the keypad, so Dad and I went in that way. Harry and Tom were both there, so of course Harry had to yell something about riff-raff using the front door. I just thumbed my nose at him and walked to the office, with Dad right behind me. 

"Justin! You didn't have to run over here this early in the morning to pay me! I know you are good for it. Hi, Pete, haven't seen you in ages."

I pulled out a checkbook and asked him what the charges were as I started writing out a check. He rummaged about on the desk for a minute muttering to himself about "where did I leave that paperwork," before he found it and handed me the invoice. Without even looking to see what all he had charged me for I wrote out the check and handed it over. 

"Not much of a business man there, Justin. I might have put anything on that invoice."

"The day I have to check your bills will be the day after they bury you, and you know it. There is only one other person I don't check his bills, and that is Grandpa. But of course, he doesn't charge me." I gave him a grin to say "Thanks," and said, "I've got something else I'd like to run past you and see if you are interested. In the past you've talked about how the Phoenix area would be a great place to expand. Do you have anyone in mind that could run a store up there, and would you be interested in a silent partner? I am going to need a place to stash some cash, and I don't know anyone I'd rather do business with than you."

Jim looked at me silently for a few minutes before asking Dad, "Is this the kid I saved the life of when he took apart a brand new projection TV?" That got a grin out of Dad. "Did you know he had this in mind?"

"Yes, I did, Jim. He and I talked about it last night, but I told him it was strictly an investment option. He doesn't have the time to work like I know he would like to and do well in school. I told him he will be working for a living all his life, not to be in a hurry to get started."

"Yeah, and I have an idea after looking at that harem setup you'll be plenty busy keeping that house going. That many girls are going to keep you hopping keeping the drains open from all their hair." He leaned back in his chair and steepled his fingers while looking over them at me. "What are you looking for?"

"I really don't know. I'd like a working partnership, but that is out of the question. I like the way you do business and I think that would be a good market for one of your stores, and with the surrounding communities I could see three or four stores doing well if you could find the right people. I really don't know what is fair, so I thought if you were interested you and Grandpa and I could sit down, Dad, too if he's interested and figure it out. I'm not lawyering up with Grandpa. I just like his advice on doing it fairly for both of us."

Jim stood up and stuck out a hand. "I'd love to do business with you, Justin. Let's get together sometime after graduation when you have half a day or so and work something out. I've been looking at that market for some time now, but haven't had the capital, nor did I want to go to the bank for it. I have a young man in mind that I've been trying to find a place to put him, but he's worth more than I can afford as just a salesman or tech. Let me see if he's interested in the possibility." He looked over at Dad. "You know, I'm really glad I saved his life when I did!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Susie texted Michael, "I'm eating my first piece of fudge, but I don't know whether to eat it slowly to think of you, or if I eat it quickly will you be home sooner? Miss and love you!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tom Meechum awoke with the alarm and began his morning preparations for work, but it wasn't until he was nearly done with his shower that he realized he was humming. He did not remember being as happy as this since returning from Iraq. The heaviness and the shadow were still on his mind, but they seemed to be lighter and less frightening than most days. His thoughts returned to the evening before and the way he broke down with Mary and Stephanie. Perhaps the therapists he saw had been correct, that he needed to get it off of his chest and talk to somebody he could trust. 

Last night was some of the hardest times he faced since returning home, exacerbated by the experiences of the day. He always felt as if he had to hide from everyone because they didn't understand, they couldn't understand, and to break down and to bare one's soul showed weakness and made him less of a man. Last night he couldn't help it, yet they didn't revile him or push him away. Instead, they drew him closer and held him, trying to comfort his grief even in the midst of their own. Stephanie, bless her heart, trying to connect with her Daddy through the last man with him when he died, and Mary, who held him to her breast even as she wept, her tears dripping on his head. 

Tom knew he didn't understand women. Since he returned home he had done all he could to shut himself off from women, afraid they would think any contact with him to be dirty because of all the things he had done and experienced. His contact with nurses was very proper and professional, and while he was friendly he did all he could to discourage any contact that didn't revolve around work. Why he had even bothered to pick up Mary's pocketbook in the cafeteria puzzled him, especially when he took it by her home rather than just to turn it in to lost and found. Was that an omen that he was supposed to meet her and through her resolve his grief over Winters' death?

Even as these thoughts coursed his mind he couldn't help the feeling of lightness and... could he really call it joy that flooded his soul? And besides all of that, Mary said she wanted to pursue a relationship with him, and said that Stephanie wanted them to. Winters had every right to be proud of his girl. Mary had obviously done a great job with Stephanie, but there was good stock there to work with. Suddenly, Tom interrupted his preparations for work to dig in his closet and pull out an old Eagle, Globe, and Anchor insignia one of the men in K Company gave him the last day before Tom rotated home. Corporal Ramirez shook his hand and took the EGA from his collar point and pressed it into his hand. "Doc, you can't wear this, but I just want you to know I think you ought to have it. You've earned it in my book. You would make one hell of a Marine!" Ramirez then turned and walked away. 

Tom remembered sadly he had heard Ramirez was killed the next week in a firefight, dragging a wounded buddy to safety, and he wondered if he had been there if he could have saved him. He slipped the EGA into his pocket where he would feel it throughout the day, but he would give it to Stephanie this evening. It wouldn't be from her Dad, but it would be from one of his comrades, and maybe that would be something she would treasure. Looking at his watch he hurriedly got dressed and rushed out the door without even taking time for his Keurig to make a cup of coffee. He hated being late!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Michael carried his laptop case in his left hand as they entered the UP office building, hoping he looked the part of a seriously intent intern trying to learn his position in life and the pecking order of a large company. Having never had a job, other than cutting grass and a short one delivering newspapers before they started using drivers in cars to deliver them, he wasn't really sure how he was supposed to act. Basically he just followed where Pete led and tried to keep his eyes open.

Pete and Dave both had corporate ID badges, but Michael obviously didn't, so they had to stop at the Security desk and he had to sign in as a visitor. "Don't worry about it, Mike," Pete said just before he signed the register. Was he trying to remind him he was Mike Thibodeaux for the day? "We'll get your badge taken care of just as soon as we get back to the office." 'Mike' signed in and clipped the 'visitor' pass to his collar. 

The security guard looked up at Pete and said, "This isn't good for everywhere in the building, Mr. Fleming. If you plan to take him with you inside he will have to stay with you, or else you will need to call us and get him an escort."

"I forgot that. Is there any way we can work around this? I have a couple of meetings lined up that I don't need him for, but I was going to have him working on a project that will need some flexibility."

"Just give us a call, and we will be happy to send someone along with him. It doesn't keep him from doing whatever you want, but it will have to be spelled out to the guard. I'm sorry, Sir. I don't make the rules, but I'll lose my job if I don't follow them."

"I understand. We are the ones that make the rules, but then we gripe when our own rules inconvenience us, don't we?"

"Thank you for understanding, Sir. Not everybody from headquarters is so understanding."

Pete reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a card wallet and removed his business card, which he handed to the guard. "I don't want you passing this around, but if you get any grief from anyone from headquarters call me. Understand?

"Yes Sir! Thank you, Sir!" 

"Tell me, do you know which office David Abernathy is using this trip?"

"Mister Abernathy is using 113 this time, Sir. Would you like me to have him come out to meet you?"

"No, that won't be necessary. Thanks. Would I be correct in guessing Abernathy is one who gives you grief?"

"Sorry, Sir. I shouldn't have let on."

Pete nodded and led the way into the office area. When they arrived at 113 he opened the door without bothering to knock and found a rather harried looking secretary behind a desk typing furiously at a computer terminal.

"Can I help you, Sir?"

"I'm looking for David Abernathy."

"I'm sorry, Sir, but Mr. Abernathy went to the Elk Grove Village office to meet with the GE Electromotive reps. He will probably be gone all day. Is there anything I can assist you with?"

"I thought that meeting was scheduled for one o'clock this afternoon?"

"Yes, Sir, it is, but Mr. Abernathy said he needed to go over early. I'm trying to get the paperwork finalized for the meeting now." 

"Thank you. We will get out of your way and not detain you any longer. I'll find him over there. If you speak with him, please don't mention I was here."

"Yes, Sir."

A thoughtful look was on Pete's face as he led Dave and Michael from the room and out to the Security desk.

"Go ahead and sign out, Mike. I don't know if we'll be back or not." He turned to the guard. "Can you tell me if David Abernathy signed out of the building and where he went?"

"No sir, he didn't sign out, although I saw him leave a little bit ago. Sometimes he steps across the street to get coffee and something to eat in the mornings and comes right back."

"Do you know which car he is driving, and is it here?"

The guard walked to the door and looked out across the lot. "No, sir, it isn't here."

"Thank you very much. We won't detain you longer. Oh, yes, one more thing. What car is he driving, and do you by any chance have the plate number?"

"Certainly. We had to give him a temporary pass since he is here for a week." He walked back to his kiosk and looked in his records. "By the way, nice wheels you Execs get. He's driving a silver Lincoln Towncar with a Colorado license plate."

"Towncar?"

"Yeah, I asked him that and he told me it was an Executive upgrade, and that it was none of my business."

"Interesting. Thank you. By the way, take a look at my Executive upgrade. It's a Nissan Versa. I know we get frequent user upgrades to mid-size, but I've never been offered a Continental. Thank you very much for your assistance."

Pete's temper was building rapidly, although he tried his best to control it as they got back into the car. Michael spoke up from the back seat, "Pete, in fairness to Mr. Abernathy, Dad once rented a mid-size car that had a bad tire, and they didn't have anything smaller than a Towncar on the lot to give us. He may have had the same experience."

Pete took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Alright, Mike. I'll give him the chance to explain, but a lot of things are stacking up against him right now. He may have an explanation, and I'll give him that chance. Dave, you'd better be prepared for meeting with the Electromotive people if this goes down badly."




Justin Thyme Ch. 16



"Yes, Sir."

"By the way, Michael, I'm not trying to rub you wrong. If I don't call you Mike I'll end up blowing it when we finally see Abernathy. OK?"

"No problem, Sir."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mary was up and getting ready for work, but thoughts of last night kept crowding her mind. She thought Tom was a good man, but doubts kept cropping up. Her experience with Paul clouded her thought process, but Tom was nothing like Paul, was he? Stephanie liked Tom, and she hated Paul, and Tom treated both of them with respect, not trying to take advantage in any way. If anything he seemed to try to keep a distance. Her offer of her guest room jumped into her mind, embarrassing her, but there was nothing to be embarrassed about there, was there? Sure, the neighbors might raise an eyebrow, but as Stephanie so crudely had said, they would probably say it was about time. The certainly had done enough to try and hook her up with people over the last eight or nine years.

Strangely, she found herself getting ready for work before she got dressed. Normally she showered and dressed before drying her hair or doing anything with her make-up, but this morning she did everything in the nude, looking at her reflection in the full length mirror on the back of the door. "Get a grip, Mary," she told herself, but she had to admit her feelings were stirred by Tom. She decided she would not "set her cap" for him, as her grandmother had called it, but she would see what transpired and take one day at a time. Every time she thought of Tom her heart fluttered though. The last thing she did before pulling on her robe to go back to her room to dress was to pluck at both nipples and then smooth her hands down her sides as if to reassure herself she still had curves.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dad and I went back to the house and got Mom and Rosemary. I know Dad would have liked to drive the Mini to Scottsdale, but of course it wouldn't work. Rosemary and I clambered into the back seat to leave room for Grandpa and Grandma in the middle, which suited us nicely, as we could at least hold hands together and talk quietly.

Grandpa was waiting for us at the door, even though we were three minutes before time, and he was looking impatiently at his watch when Dad drove into the driveway. For as even tempered a man as Grandpa is, he sure does hate to wait for anybody! Grandma came out the door just ahead of Grandpa carrying an ice cream bucket, and it didn't take a rocket scientist to know she had some homemade cookies in there for us. 

As soon as we had the car on the highway headed north and all of the pleasantries were taken care of, including a couple of Grandma's still warm snickerdoodles in hand, Dad said, "As President of the Thyme and Thyme Again Properties, I hereby call this meeting of the Board of Directors to order." Mom had her tablet on her lap to take notes of our discussion, and we began kicking around our purpose for the trip to Scottsdale. First of all, Mom and Grandma wanted to see the lower office, as we had taken to calling it, and we needed to inventory the contents of the locked room, plus anything of interest in the desk. Next, we had to look at the documents in the hidden drawer in the old desk in the library. I had a feeling that was going to prove very interesting for sure.

I shot off a quick text to Michael telling him what we were doing. I know he said he wasn't concerned about getting anything from what we found in the house, but we were determined to be fair and above board, even though it would cost me significantly. I, at the same time, planned on at least a four way split with the other owners of the house, that is Mom, Dad, and Rosemary. I didn't see why I should be the sole beneficiary for what I found in our house.

Once we had decided on our plan for the day Dad brought up my idea of adding an electronic opener for the hidden door in the carriage house for discussion. Mom and Grandma were both non-committal on the idea, but Rosemary quickly objected. "I don't like the idea. If somebody somehow found the switch they would have access to the whole house from the inside, and we wouldn't even know they were there. I wouldn't feel safe with it."

I wasn't as worried about someone finding the switch since the outside doors would remain closed other than when in use, and we would never use it if anyone else was in the bay, but I could understand her fears. Grandpa concurred with her on the idea, not so much from the fear standpoint, but simply that it gave another means of access that was now denied. As it was one had to either go through the house and through a hidden door, or one had to go upstairs to the old servant's quarters to find the hidden door there.

I had no problem conceding. After all, security was my biggest worry about the house. I felt responsible for all the young ladies in the house, and if another entry made Rosemary nervous I would not put one in. 

Dad swiped his keycard at the gate, and it opened promptly and smoothly, exactly as I expected it to do. Rosemary and I let go of each other's hands as we entered the property, but the little minx leaned across me to watch the gate go up, rubbing her boobs across my arm in the process, and 'catching' herself by grabbing my far thigh with her thumb right next to my cock. She managed to rub back and forth on me a couple of times, pretending to see how high the gate went, or some sort of thing. It was not what I needed right then. I was already struggling with a hyper-charged sex drive after the last couple of weeks with her and Stephanie, and this was the longest I had gone without any activity since we started. 

Mom hadn't seen the house since we had the exterior painted, and she was quite excited to see the results. She wanted to walk all about the house to see it from every angle, so we waited while she and Dad walked around. Rosemary managed to stand slightly behind me, and brushed a boob across my upper arm several times when Grandpa and Grandma were looking away, plus she pointed out several things for them to look at. I had to step away from her, just to look at the taunting look she gave me. My cock was heading toward hard, and I didn't need to be sporting a bulge around my family.

Finally, Mom was through looking at the exterior. I guess once a realtor it is in your blood, and you have to check every place out. We all trouped into the house and made our way to the library, where I wanted to stop and check out the desk, but the lower office was first on the list of priorities. Rosemary and I stood back and let Mom look in the closet to see if she could find the door latch, but after a few minutes of tugging and pushing she gave up and had us show her the hanging rod release. She was just too impatient to see the sights themselves that she really didn't care about the mechanics of the door.

Dad went down the ladder first, just in case Mom or Grandma slipped, then we all promptly followed and I made sure the door latched before descending. Grandpa pointed out where we found the skeletons, and how they were holding the guns, and watched Mom and Grandma shudder. I think he got more fun out of telling that tale than anything else about the house! He and Dad took a cursory glance through the desk, but found nothing of any real significance. We would come back to it later and go through the papers more carefully. Several maps were folded carefully and put away, but we didn't take the time to look at them.

Grandpa picked up the key ring from the desk drawer and led us all down the short hallway to the storeroom, or whatever it was, and I felt a growing surge of excitement in my chest. After all, it isn't every day one finds out how much gold he owns! Of course, we knew about the rolls of coins, and we planned to take half of them home with us so I could look up dates and values. Some of them probably had some numismatic values beyond the melt value of the gold. Michael's share we would leave locked in the room until the next time he was up here with us.

Mom shuddered a little bit when she saw the door. "It looks like a dungeon or something," she whispered. 

"We will keep that for those who fall behind in their rent," I joked, but Mom wasn't in a joking mood.

I really have to hand it to whomever it was that built this house. After over a hundred years the door swung open smoothly and silently. I turned on the work light we left in the room the last time, and Mom gasped as she saw the golden glow that filled the room from the light reflected off of the bars on the shelves. "I've never seen gold like this, nor that much at one time, either!"

It was a tight fit into the room for all of us at one time, and Rosemary used it as an excuse to rub her ass against me as I stood in the doorway. She even reached back and grabbed my cock and stroked it a time or two for good measure before looking back at me with those puppy dog eyes and grinning. Nobody was overly excited about looking at the ledgers lined up on the shelves, but there was a very good chance they would hold as much value as the gold in the room. Maybe not, but I had a hunch there would be info in them that we could make use of down the road.

Mom and Grandma both handled some of the obviously hand-made and homemade gold bars. They were all marked 10oz, but none of them were certified, and they weren't the normal shape for a gold bar. It appeared Sam Johnson had smelted ore down and weighed them out himself secretly, which explained the forge tucked away in the back corner of the far end of the carriage house. Normally one would expect to see a forge for blacksmithing out in the open where it would be cooler, especially down here in southern Arizona, but this one was set up for other than blacksmithing, while made to look like a blacksmith or farrier's workplace. That old boy never missed a trick that I could see. 

Even gold loses its appeal after a while, so Mom, Grandma, and Rosemary drifted out of the room and went back upstairs to look at what Rosemary and I had accomplished while Grandpa, Dad and I stayed behind to sort out what we had and to evaluate it. Of course there were the thirty bars on the shelves, but on the floor were two crates that had gold bars stacked in them. I bent over to pick up one crate, but I struggled to budge it. This find was exceptional to say the least. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

The ER was unusually quiet, even for this time of the morning. Dr. Meechum decided to take his break early and run down to the cafeteria for a quick bowl of oatmeal and what passed for coffee. The coffee in the waiting room was far superior, but it was supposed to be for family members of patients, so staff was supposed to limit themselves to what the cafeteria provided. 

Raisins and cinnamon added to the oatmeal gave it some flavor, and apple slices alongside added some fruit to his diet, but Tom couldn't get excited about his breakfast this morning. It might be a healthy breakfast, but it didn't taste like a couple of over easy eggs, fried in bacon grease, and a large bowl of grits with a large pat of butter and three or four slices of bacon like he grew up with as a kid. Sometimes he thought he knew too much about medicine for his own enjoyment. He stirred the oatmeal moodily and stared into the bowl without lifting the spoon to his mouth.

Tom was surprised with himself. He had started the morning out in such a great mood, but found himself moping and down in the dumps all of a sudden. Perhaps it was because he had time to think instead of being busy in the ER as normal. As he stirred his unappetizing breakfast he slowly came to the realization the problem was he was lonely. It was Mary's fault. She was the one who cracked open the shell he had built so carefully around himself, and the light shining in the crack made him see himself differently and he did not like what he saw. The thought of Mary though did brighten his thoughts for a bit as he contemplated what he could do to begin developing the relationship he mentioned to her. His total preoccupation with medicine and becoming a doctor along with his isolating himself from people left him wondering how to go about such a task. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Stephanie awoke late in the morning and stretched hugely, enjoying the quiet and peace of having no school again today. She slipped from her bed and padded into the bathroom and started the shower water. As she stepped in she thought of the last shower she took with Rosemary and Justin and felt her nipples tighten and a flutter in her lower belly. It was a shame they had to go to Scottsdale today. She really wished they could be together again.

After her shower Stephanie toweled off and wrapped her hair in the towel before walking naked to the kitchen to fix breakfast. The breeze from the air conditioner vent chilled her still slightly damp skin causing her nipples to tighten again, and when she got to the kitchen itself she saw her mother had left the blinds open on the side window that overlooked the neighbors. At first she started to duck back out of sight, but then she thought, "They are at work. Nobody can really see me anyway," and she walked on into the room tingling with anticipation of "What if... ." 

A real flutter of anticipation stirred inside and she fought to keep from looking out the window continuously just to be sure she wasn't seen. It became a real rush thinking that just maybe the neighbors were home, and they were watching her. What would they be thinking about her body? Would they find it sexy or not. Would they even care? Gradually she became more daring, not ostentatiously, but just in her normal activities as she ate her breakfast, then cleaned up the table and straightened the kitchen.

Stephanie thought about what she was doing, and realized it wasn't so much that she wanted to be seen as that she just really didn't care. Just feeling the cool air conditioning directly on her skin felt exquisite. As she walked into her bedroom to get her computer she thought about her feelings, and finally decided she felt free. Free and unencumbered. Not sexy as such, although she was somewhat turned on by the experience, but she just felt so wondrously free.

Turning on her computer she waited impatiently for it to boot up, and then did a quick search for nude life and started browsing various sites, seeing pictures of both male and female in non-sexual situations enjoying life in the nude. Could she bring herself to do such a thing? "Only if I can get Justin to go along," she thought. Her cell phone rang, interrupting her reverie, and she picked it up to see it was Susie.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

My phone rang while I was still in the storeroom with Grandpa and Dad. I was irritated at the interruption, and I didn't recognize the number, but I answered it anyway. "Hello."

"Hello, Justin? This is Brian Stevens. I just got off the phone with Jim over at the electronics store, and he suggested I give you a call and that we get together sometime in the near future when you have the time to do so. He said something about working with you to set up a store in the Phoenix area. Would you have any time available to get together?"

"What kind of time frame do you have in mind?"

"Whatever works for you. I'm finishing up at ASU, so my time is limited until the end of May, but I can work my schedule to meet yours pretty much if you are going to be in the area."

"Tell you what. I'm really tied up right at this moment, and I need to take a look at my schedule. I'm presently up here in Scottsdale, but I don't know how long I will be here today, nor for sure when I'll be back up here. Let's do this, give me a call back at around four o'clock and I'll try to have a handle on what I have going on. Will that work?"

"Certainly. Thanks, and I'll speak with you at four," and the line went dead. I seems like he's from the same school as Grandpa when it comes to talking on the phone.

Dad was looking at me with a raised eyebrow. "Sounds like Jim didn't waste any time, did he? What happened to after graduation?"

"He probably wants to get this guy sewed up before he takes another job."

Grandpa grunted. "Here you are with both hands full and your pants to hold up, and you want to grab another armload. Better be careful, or you'll find your britches down around your ankles, boy." I know Grandpa really cares and isn't just trying to be a busybody, but I didn't see where I was taking on that much more. I was just going to be a silent partner, and I didn't blame Jim for running Brian past me for my approval before he made him an offer.

Gold is heavy. Most people understand the concept intellectually, but they don't really understand it until they try to handle and move the stuff. How Sam Johnson was able to get all of it down here without anyone finding out about it I have no idea. Obviously, Murray knew something, and probably suspected more, especially as he appeared to be the go-between for Johnson and a prospector, but it was equally clear he didn't know all of it. Gold and lead are very close in weights, and while I know a pound of gold and a pound of feathers weigh exactly the same amount they take up much different amounts of space! 

One does not realize the density and the mass of an object until he tries to pick it up. The box was only a foot tall and a foot by two feet, but weighed over fifty pounds! Grandpa laughed at me. "You'd better try unloading that and seeing how much is in there before you bust something. One reason most people can't hide gold when they find it is because it is so heavy that it draws attention."

Dad knelt down on the floor with me and we started unloading bar after bar of gold and counting them. Seventy two bars of gold, and there was another crate just like it. My head swam with the thought of what we had here as Dad and I carefully replaced the bars in their crate. Sitting next to them were two leather bags that were quite heavy also. Grandpa opened one of them up and said, "I thought so." He reached inside and pulled out a chunk of ore and tossed it to me. It weighed at least half a pound, and had only a little quartz imbedded on the edges. He hefted one of the bags and guessed it was about forty pounds or so.

Grandpa looked over at Dad and said, "I'd suggest we call it a day down here. I don't think we can do much more damage here today. We have some talking to do." My head was spinning. Mentally I tried to figure out what we had found, but I couldn't get the numbers to compute in my head. Seventy two bars in each crate, plus another thirty on the shelf made for one hundred seventy four bars of gold, at ten ounces each, and I was sure they were troy ounces, and gold was going for about thirteen hundred dollars an ounce. That was one thousand seven hundred and forty ounces! Just that number was staggering, but when multiplied by thirteen hundred my brain refused to operate. Finally I pulled out my phone and used the calculator.

We were sitting on over two and a quarter million dollars, and that didn't even count the three hundred plus thousand dollars in gold coins from the railroad! I walked dazed from the room and watched as Grandpa and Dad put the bar in place and locked the door. Then it struck me. I hadn't counted the two bags either! There was no way of knowing how much was in them, but based on the piece Grandpa threw to me, it was quite a bit! Even if we discounted a fourth for waste, and Grandpa was right in his guess of forty pounds we were looking at another sixty pounds of gold. 

I pulled out my phone again and did a quick calculation based on 13 troy ounces per pound just for rough numbers. Sixty divided by thirteen is only about four point two. Obviously I did something wrong. Sixty pounds and thirteen ounces per pound, oh! Silly me, I should have multiplied. My brain is really frazzled now. Sixty times thirteen is another seven hundred eighty ounces! That is over another million dollars. By now I didn't even count the extra fourteen thousand, but just rounded it. All told, we had over a four million dollar find. I'm just a high-school senior! I don't have a clue what to do with four million dollars!




Justin Thyme Ch. 16



Again I pulled out my phone and texted Michael, "We need to talk! When will you be home?" I had no idea if he was busy or not, but I knew he would get back to me as soon as he could.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Pete Fleming tried mightily not to let his frustrations show to Dave and Michael, but he was not succeeding. As soon as the trio returned to the car he tried calling David Abernathy on his cell phone, only to receive a voice mail message saying he was involved in meetings throughout the day and was unable to answer his phone. "The only meeting he has on his schedule is with the electronics guy from Electromotive. That is all we sent him out here for. Dave, I want you to touch base with somebody in IT and see if there is something else happening out here that I don't know about. It is possible something came up yesterday."

Dave quickly pulled out his laptop, connected an aircard, and shot off a couple of emails while Pete drove toward Elk Grove Village. It took only a couple of minutes before he received two replies, one from Abernathy's secretary back in Omaha and the other from Abernathy's assistant in Omaha. Neither professed to know of anything pressing other than the Electromotive meeting. 

"Dave," Pete said, "Please give a call back to the office in Northbrook, office 113, and see what that secretary was working on that had her so frazzled. I'm beginning to smell something that doesn't smell just right. I'd rather not call while driving in this Chicagoland traffic."

Dave was on the phone only for a couple of minutes before hanging up and saying, "Abernathy has her typing up the requirement for those engines we have on order. I don't know what's going on. He was supposed to have them done before coming out here, and it is his job, not hers. She is afraid she won't be able to complete them in time, and he has already written her up for poor performance yesterday."

Pete just nodded and continued his drive in silence. Michael thought it wise to stay out of the situation totally, and said nothing. Pete's mood was not enhanced by the backed up traffic on the Tri-State Expressway, which as so frequently happens around Chicago was totally backed up from construction.

Finally after an hour of crawling up the expressway instead of the normal thirty minute drive Pete pulled the car into the Elk Grove Village offices of the UP. There was no sign of a Lincoln Continental in the parking lot. Pete glanced at the clock on the car radio and grunted. "It's ten thirty already. Bear with me. I'm going to make a quick run and check something, and then we'll come back." He pulled back onto Pratt Ave. and drove east just a couple of blocks to the end of the street and turned left on Elmhurst Road, paralleling the end of O'Hare Airport and drove less than a mile to Heavenly Bodies, a well-known strip joint, and turned in. "They aren't open yet for another twenty minutes or so, and I hope I'm wrong, but... dammit, I'm not. There's his car, hiding out of sight from the road. He won't be expecting to see us, but don't look over there, Dave. Michael, he doesn't know you, so see if you see him in the car."

"There is someone in the driver's seat, slumped down so as to be inconspicuous. He's not looking at us, though."

Pete drove on through the parking lot and pulled back out onto Touhy Drive east to the corner and turned back south on Elmhurst Rd for half a mile or so, and then turned right onto Pratt Ave. again and drove slowly to the offices. "This is not going to be pretty. Dave, you have the meeting this afternoon with the Electromotive people. Michael, I'm sorry, but you won't be going home this evening. You and I will be going to Omaha and talking with the IT department there. I probably should have just had you go there next week, but I wanted to nip things in the bud with Abernathy. On the other hand, had we not come out here we wouldn't have found out what is going on. I really didn't understand what was so important about this meeting that he needed to take half the week for it, but now I can see why he wanted the extra time. I'm afraid there won't be a lot for you to do this afternoon, although I want you with me when I confront Abernathy. What he is doing at this moment is secondary to his insubordination, and it will be the insubordination we will be dealing with, and this will be just an add-on."

"Pete, when you are through with Michael, do you think I could have him in the meeting with me? IT isn't my strong suit, and he could provide me with some backup if I need it."

"Michael, would you mind? It isn't what I brought you out here for, but it falls within the consulting category we are paying you for."

"No, Sir. I don't mind at all. Actually, I think it might be good for me as well. I have absolutely no experience in business at all, and Mr. Abernathy was right about that. I'd like to see how things work in that regard."

"OK, thanks. By the way, if you can call me Pete and call Dave, Dave, I see no reason you should call Abernathy 'Mister'. Just because he is a horse's ass doesn't mean you have to treat him better than anyone else. Our CEO goes by Ben, so I don't see where the head of the IT department needs to be afforded any greater respect. We don't tend to be all that punctilious about things. When we meet with him I don't want you calling him Mister. Let's burst that balloon first. His name is David, so use it. If he gets huffy I'll take care of him. Got it?"

Michael grinned and said, "Yes, Sir, Mr. Fleming, Sir! Right away, Sir!"

"Impertinent whelp, aren't you?" but he laughed as he glanced back in the mirror. "I've got to get back to calling you Mike before I forget and blow our little charade, right, Mike?" Michael just wrinkled his nose and Dave and Pete both laughed.

"Excuse me, please, Pete. I've got to respond to this text since we aren't going to be meeting just yet. Give me a minute, please?"

"Sure. Then let's get you signed in and see what we can do about getting ready for both meetings."

He wrote,"I don't know when yet for certain. It will be tomorrow night sometime."

"K. Let me know, and I'll pick you up at the airport. We need to meet with you by yourself. Sorry, but it is quite important."

"K U can tell Susie. I don't have the guts. ;-) J/K I'll call tonight. Must run."

"Thank you, sir. That was Justin, and something important has come up that I needed to know about, but we will handle it tomorrow night. I'm all yours."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Rosemary was busy showing Mom all we had accomplished so far, to her pleasure. If I say so myself, I think we have done a good job for a couple of kids. Sure, Dad taught us pretty well, but this was a lot bigger project than painting our rooms at home and painting the bathroom. 

Rosemary's phone buzzed with a text from Steph. 

"I'm bored and Susie is too. Would we be in the way if we came up? Overnight? You and Justin can ride back with me tomorrow afternoon."

Rosemary showed the phone to Mom, who thought about it for a minute or two. I guess it would be OK with me, but you'd better check with your Dad. We are going to have to have a family meeting, though, and I don't think they belong in that. What we have found today doesn't need to be discussed with anyone else, even them. I want it held among the six, well seven of us, understand?"

"What do you understand?" asked Dad as we came up the ladder and into the library closet.

"I understand that I'm not to say anything about what we found to anyone, including Steph and Susie."

"Absolutely! What brought that up anyway?"

"They wanted to know if they could come up and stay overnight. Justin and I could ride back with them tomorrow."

"I don't know. We six have to sit down and discuss some things. I really don't want them in on any of that."

"That wouldn't be a problem. I'll just tell them to bring their bathing suits and some towels, and they can stop by the house and get mine. They won't mind staying away from our meeting."

Dad looked over at Mom. "What do you think?"

"I don't really see a problem with it. The school won't be open all week, so why not? You kids will behave yourselves, won't you?"

"We always do."

Mom nodded. "Yes, I guess you do. Don't be giving Justin any grief like you usually do."

"We won't." Rosemary quickly texted Steph telling her to come on up, but to stop by the house first. She also reminded them Mom and Dad would be here, so bring the right bathing suits, and to bring an extra sleeping bag for Susie.

Grandpa kind of harrumphed, and said, "Let's get back to business. We need to check out those documents in the desk and then discuss what steps we need to take with this bordello."

"Benjamin!"

"Well, with what you are doing with it, it's starting to look like one, although I must say Justin wouldn't make a very good Madam."

Grandma gave Grandpa a hard swat across the seat of his britches and made him jump. "I'll be wanting to know how you know what a bordello looks like, and how this looks like one?"

"Just from the movies, my dear. Just from the movies," and the twinkle in his eye and the grin on Grandma's face told the tale. I certainly hope Stephanie and I can have that kind of open and fun of a relationship when we've been married that long. See, I was already thinking of Stephanie as my wife. It is amazing what the last few weeks have accomplished!

"Justin, suppose you open that compartment in the desk and show us what you and the railroad men found?" Grandpa was trying to get us back on track. I walked over and looked where I knew the compartment to be and played around with it. At first I couldn't find the release Pete had pressed, but I found it after a few minutes of feeling around in the compartment I had seen him touching, and I was able to slide out the drawer. 

When the drawer was closed it looked like nothing more than an upright ornamentation around a central compartment door, but with the button pressed the whole column slid out revealing a vertical drawer about the size of a file folder, and inside it was a number of legal documents and certificates. I pulled out the entire drawer and handed the drawer over to Grandpa, and then I looked at the column on the other side to see if it was the same. It was. It, too, was full of certificates. 

After pulling out the second drawer and giving it to Dad I watched Grandpa rifling through the documents glancing at them and moving along quickly before looking up and saying, "Let's move this to the kitchen. I need a bit more space than this desk for a few minutes. Justin, grab those paint buckets, and if you've got a couple more you might want to grab them, too. We need to sit down and talk about this." 

We all made our way to the kitchen and watched quietly as Grandpa sorted the papers across the counter-top. Finally he took a deep breath and looked at me. "Justin, this is going to include Michael, too, but you are a very wealthy young man. You have some serious decisions to make in the very near future, and I'm not qualified to advise you. In fact, you are going to need a team of advisers, and quickly. This must not, I repeat must not get out to the public. I'm going to have to do some real research on this, but if I'm anywhere close to correct, what you found in the basement is only a pittance of what is here on this counter. What we have here are stock certificates, some of which are for defunct railway lines, and some are for lines that have been taken over by the Southern Pacific, and then by the UP. I have no way of evaluating them without researching the sales and mergers to see what the exchange was. From just a cursory glance I would say you have enough stock to guarantee you a seat on the UP board, or at least enough to decide who sits there." 

"The other portion, in this stack, is bearer bonds, which are redeemable by the bearer. If word got out about these you would be setting yourself up as a mighty big target for anyone who might steal them. Again, I have to do some research to determine which ones still have value, and which ones are for defunct lines and have no value. Some of them I know are still good, and if only those are good you are still a very wealthy young man."

Grandpa sat down heavily on a paint bucket and looked me in the eyes. "Let me take off my Corporate Counsel hat for a moment and put on my Grandfather hat. I know you have been raised right, and you are a bright young man, but other bright young men who have been raised right have ended up ruining their lives because they were given too much too soon. Lottery winners fall into this category, with the majority of them going bankrupt very soon after winning their windfalls, but to be fair, most of them are from people in a lower economic class than you have been raised in, who have no understanding of money." 

"If I could, I would withhold a majority of your findings at least until you complete college, but I cannot do so. You are an adult now, legally if not in fact, and it is not mine to withhold. I beg of you, please don't let this go to your head and squander it. I'm not saying don't enjoy it, but use moderation."

"I don't have any idea what to do," I said. "You are far better as an advisor to me than any stranger who doesn't necessarily have my best interests at heart. I'm going to have to lean on you for counsel, you, too, Dad and Mom. I don't know what to do with a bunch of money. I wasn't looking for anything like this!"

"Let's all think on this. We have to sit down with Michael, at least Justin and I do, just as soon as we can get him tomorrow night. He has to be in on all of this from the beginning. I don't want to give him the impression we are trying to work around him, or cut him out of anything, even though he has said he doesn't want it. Legally, even if he was to sign papers saying he didn't want his share, I don't believe we could cut him out, and I want everything up front and above board. Pete and Charlotte, Rosemary, you too, it is up to you whether you sit in on the meeting or not."

"They are in on it. This is not just my house. It's theirs as well, and I think they need to be represented. Mom, Dad, please?"

Dad nodded. I didn't have to ask Rosemary. She would be there if I had to drag her by the hair. She is my twin, after all.

Grandpa drew in a ragged breath and said, "In all my years I've represented a lot of wealthy business people and companies, but I've never tried to tackle anything of this magnitude. I think I need to retire again! What do you say we put these papers back where you found them and go find something to eat. It's long past lunchtime." 

I already knew the first thing I was going to do with the money, but I needed to wait until Grandpa could research things and give me an idea of the scope of what I was doing.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Pete led the way into the UP offices, and again Michael signed in as Mike Thibodeaux. Pete spoke with the security guard and asked to have a guard or preferably two available in case they were needed. "Don't send them in unless I call for them, but please have them right around here on standby for me. Also, I need a separate office other than the conference room. Tell me, have you heard anything from David Abernathy?"

"Yes, Sir. Mr. Abernathy called to say he was tied up in some negotiations, and if the Electromotive people get here before him to please have them taken to the conference room, that he would be here shortly. He was very specific in his orders, Sir."

"I see. Well, when Abernathy shows up, kindly send him to, where are you putting us?"

"204 is a small conference room with full communications and internet access and a projector. Will that do for you?"

"Admirably. Don't tell Abernathy why he is being sent up there. Just tell him his meeting has been moved, and ignore any complaints or threats. Would it be possible to have someone make a food run for the three of us? We really don't have time to go out if we are going to be ready for our meetings."

"Certainly, Sir. There is a Portillo's about three blocks up on Busse. Will that do?"

"Finally things are looking better! I'll have their Polish Sausage/Italian Beef combo, with hot peppers. Make it the meal, with Coke." Dave and Michael also placed their orders and Pete handed over a company credit card. "Have whoever makes the run get something for himself, but he is not to eat any of it until he gets it back here." He grinned and said, "I'm sure to have it still hot when it gets here that way!"

The security guard grinned back. "I'll go myself, just to be sure it gets back hot."

"Your altruism speaks marvelously for you! Thanks." Pete led the way up stairs while the guard called another guard to relieve him at the desk.

"I know it's not my job, Smitty, but when the President of the railroad tells me to make a food run, what can I do?" Pete could hear him and grinned really big.

"OK, guys. Here is what we are going to do. When the guard gets back with the food I'll tell him to call up here the minute our guests get here, and Dave I want you to go meet them at the desk and escort them to the conference room where you will go ahead and begin the meeting. Tell them you had to fill in unexpectedly for Abernathy and see what you can do. Hopefully, that poor secretary up in Northbrook was able to get things finalized. If she does, we have to remember to do something special for her. I believe in recognizing people for doing extra, and she certainly is doing so. While you are eating see what you can get from Omaha about the meeting so you have an idea what you are running into. I will get Mike back down to you as soon as I can. By then hopefully he will be Michael again. Stay here where you won't attract any attention from anyone that might tip Abernathy off before he sees us."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Stephanie and Susie were making good time up the highway with the radio cranked up loud and singing along with the music. It was a bright sunny day, but not as hot as sometimes, and they were totally enjoying their freedom from school. The song ended and the news came on, so Steph clicked off the radio. "It's too nice a day to have anyone spoil it with bad news! Can you believe Prom is day after tomorrow, and then only two more weeks of school and we graduate? I can't wait!"

"Yeah! The only thing that could make this day better is if Mikey was here with us!"

"I know. I was just wishing I had Justin with me, too. I really missed him last night."

"At least he wasn't all the way up in Chicago. He was just down the street a little ways from you."

"He might as well have been on Mars for all that it did. You know, I really don't know how Mom does it. It's been ten years since Daddy was killed, and she hasn't had anybody. I know she still misses him a lot."

"What about that doctor guy you were telling me about? Any chance with him?"

"I don't know. I really like him, and I think Mom does, too. He seems to be interested in her. He even asked her to assist him when they had that big bus wreck the other day. Those kids really shook them both up." Stephanie paused a moment. "Mom was pretty wrung out when she came home, so I fixed soup and sandwiches instead of going out with Tom. When he came over I could see he was shook up too. It all reminded him of Iraq and Daddy, plus a bunch of other guys that got killed, and he started crying. I've never seen anyone cry like that before. All I can say is, war must be terrible to make a man like Tom cry that way."

"Mom and I were crying too when he told us about Daddy. You know, I really hope things work out for the two of them. They both need somebody, and they seem to be good for each other. I'm not sure about the PTSD stuff, though. I mean, he's not violent or anything, but you can see he's really hurting inside. I just don't know how to help him when he's hurting. It isn't like a cut or something you can see, but it's like a cut on his heart or something. I mean, he really hurts."




Justin Thyme Ch. 16



Steph changed the subject, "What's Michael doing, anyway?"

"The railroad guys asked him to look at some of their schedule programming to see if he could help them, but the head of their IT department told Michael he didn't want him. Pete Fleming, the President, got really hot about what the IT guy said, and he grabbed the company plane and flew down to pick up Michael and to take him to Chicago to meet with the guy. I guess the President and the CEO both use Mikey's software and think he could do something similar for the railroad. Mikey thinks it is going to be a rough trip, but interesting."

"I'm getting hungry. Want to stop at Bill's on the way to the house?"

"Sounds good to me. Maybe they will be done with their meeting by the time we get there. What's going on there anyway?"

"I think it has to do with all of the gold they found, but there is something else. Justin won't tell me anything about it, and Rosemary won't either."

"Sounds exciting! Maybe they found more gold or something."

Stephanie just shrugged. "I don't really care. I mean, I hope it is something good for them, but it doesn't matter to me. I just wish I was living there with Justin and Rosemary."

"I know what you mean. Sometimes when I'm with Mikey I just ache for him to do something with me." Susie looked down at her hands. "I was teasing Michael, and I really thought he was going to break down and do something, but he wouldn't, and I'm really glad. It would have changed who he is, and I don't want that to happen. I went too far, and I know I really hurt him, but we understand each other now. I know he wants to marry me, but I sure hope we don't have to wait until I graduate from college! I don't know how I can wait that long!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Grandpa stood up with a groan. "These buckets aren't made for me. Justin, this old desk has stood the test of people finding those drawers for a long time, but I would be a lot more comfortable if these papers were locked up more securely. I don't have time to do any research on them before we meet with Michael tomorrow, whenever he can get here. Let me suggest you lock them in that basement room, but please hide them in one of those ledgers or something. Maybe I'm being a worry wart, but I've never held that much money in my hands in my life, and I want those papers secured."

"After you lock them up, I suggest we do something about finding some lunch, and I think you are the one who can afford to buy!"

That was fine with me. I was hungry, but to be honest, my mind was in such a whirl I wasn't sure if I could eat or not. "Bill's?"

"Why not. We'll save the fancy stuff until we actually cash in some of that money of yours. By the way, why don't you ask Michael to fly in here to Phoenix rather than Tucson, and we can go over the stuff here, and then we can figure out what to do about evaluating things."

"Yes, Sir. I'll text him right now and ask him to call me when he can."

I put all of the paperwork into a plastic bag very carefully because some of the papers were rather brittle and carried them down the ladder to the basement. After unlocking the storeroom I spread out the documents between several of the journals, because they were too thick to put into just one. Carefully, I locked the door and then put the key back into the drawer in the desk and made my way up the ladder to head out for lunch.

Rosemary gave me a big hug when I came back out of the coat closet in the library. "I'm so happy for you, Justin! Just think what this can do for you!"

"I'm not so sure. I almost wish I hadn't found it. I liked things the way they were, and I'm afraid this is just going to complicate things a lot." Already I was working in my mind what to do with all of the money and how best to handle it. How did Samuel Johnson deal with all of his wealth? This house obviously was part of it, but how did he deal with all of the day to day things? I really wish I could sit down with him and ask. Obviously, it had its downside, as two skeletons in the basement testified. I wished I could go back to the days of trying to sneak peeks at Rosemary, Steph, and Susie's nipples through their bikinis, or even through the eyes of Mr. Koala. For sure nothing will ever be that simple again.

Mom and Dad had little to say as we drove over to Bill's, and Grandma said nothing, but that was not totally unusual. She was not much of one for talking unless she had something to say. I really couldn't read what Mom and Dad were thinking, either. Usually I had some sort of idea what was going on in their minds. I couldn't tell if they were happy about things or worried about them. As far as being worried about things, I was!

Debbie was working when we walked in, and she pulled strings to get us into her section. "I saw the story on TV the other night! I hope that doesn't mean you won't be renting rooms next year like you planned."

Dad gave her a smile, albeit a bit forced. "No changes in our plans. We're still going on with things, and hopefully all of that will pass over quickly. The publicity is unfortunate, but it can't be helped."

"You could sell tickets and give tours! I'll bet you couldn't get people through there as fast as they lined up."

I just shook my head. "No. All we want to do is have a place to live while we go to school. I'd rather just be as anonymous as possible. I'm just a guy, not a celebrity."

"It must be exciting to be friends with Jeff Thibodeaux's son, though!"

"Yeah, he's a cool guy, and he's like me. He likes to stay in obscurity."

"Any chance I could get to meet him?"

"You never know. You may run in to him one day or another, and you probably won't even know it. He lives pretty simply."

She took our orders finally and left to get them filled. 

"I'm afraid you are in for quite a bit of this, Justin. You'd better be prepared for it. Fame, though often fleeting, is not without its pleasures and its pitfalls. You might want to talk with your friend Michael about how to handle it. He seems to have weathered it pretty well." Grandpa has a pretty good head on his shoulders, and he has dealt with quite a few famous people in his career, so I know he has seen both side of the issue. I would value Michael's input, but I'm definitely going to listen to Grandpa's sagacity. I just wish Dad would open up a little bit. 

Rosemary spoke up. "Here come Stephanie and Susie!"

"Oh no. That we did not need right now! Not a word about anything. Clear?" Dad definitely was not in a good mood at the moment. We all shook our heads and agreed. To be honest, as much as I love Steph I didn't feel like seeing her right now. I had too much on my mind, and while she will be a major beneficiary, as will Susie, neither of them can be told anything yet. I wasn't sure just how I was going to be able to hide things from them though, and I was afraid Rosemary might spill the beans, too.  

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dr. Meechum was preoccupied when he stepped off of the elevator at the cafeteria level. The entire morning had been slow and boring, allowing for introspection and thought. Paperwork he normally did as a matter of course proved to be difficult to concentrate on and he found himself making errors and having to go back and correct them. He was able to focus on his patients, but only because they were a challenge to him. Paperwork on the other hand was mundane and stultifying. Stonyfaced, he walked into the cafeteria and picked up a tray, selected a salad, but walked off without any dressing. 

Without thought he walked past the rest of the serving line to the checkout, and was only snapped out of his reverie when the lady running the register asked if he was having 'honeymoon salad' for lunch.

"Excuse me?"

"Honeymoon Salad. You know, 'lettuce alone'?"

Embarrassed he stepped back from the register with his tray. "I'm sorry. I've got a lot on my mind today." When he turned around he literally ran into Mary, who was right behind him. "Mary! I didn't see you in here!"

She smiled. "I noticed! I walked in right behind you and spoke to you a couple of times, but you didn't even hear me. I was hoping you were OK."

"Wait right here, and let me get some food. I was thinking about you, to be honest."

He quickly made his way back toward the end of the line, but one of the other nurses, having seen his interchange with Mary insisted he cut in front of her. It was about time Mary got a break, she thought. Tom grabbed some dressing, he didn't even notice what kind, and selected some baked chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy, and green beans, then made his way to check out. The lady at the register gave him a big smile when he returned, especially when he also paid for Mary's lunch. 

"Would you do me the honor of joining me?" He led the way to a table in the corner away from everyone else and pulled out a chair for Mary. "My mind has been out of it all day, and it is your fault."

"Oh? What did I do?"

"I had managed to wall people off pretty well, and was getting along OK until I met you and Stephanie. You have broken through my shell and made me look at myself, and frankly I don't like what I've seen. I want to thank you both. May I take you two ladies out to dinner tonight, and maybe I can hold things together long enough to talk with Stephanie about her Dad like I promised?"

"She will be disappointed! She and a friend of hers went up to Scottsdale for the night. Since school is out tomorrow I let her go."

"Oh. That's too bad. Would you like to go with me alone?"

"I would love to, Tom. It seems you have broken through my shell, too."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Michael had nearly finished his polish sausage/Italian beef combo sandwich when Dave Drugan spoke up. "Pete, two things. First, whatever Abernathy is talking with the people from Electromotive about, shouldn't that have all been determined in Omaha before he came out? If so, why does the secretary have to redo it? And second, if she is getting it to Abernathy how do I see it before I meet with the engine people?"

Pete stopped chewing mid-bite, only to swallow it whole suddenly and wipe at his watering eyes. "Wow that pepper is hot! Maybe I've outsmarted myself. Good thinking there, Dave. Call over there and see if she is still in the office and find out how she is getting it to Abernathy, and have her send you a copy here without telling him. Then I want you to call Omaha and have them send you whatever they have, or at least a good précis of it. I smell something in the wood-pile, and it doesn't smell very good at all."

Moments later Dave said, "She's faxing it over here in just a few minutes. She said she has it nearly done, and will have it all before it's time for the meeting. I asked her to send a separate copy to me at this extension."

"Excellent. Did you get her name?"

"Joan Esposito." 

"Very good. I'll be sure to send down an attagirl as soon as this is all over." 

It wasn't five minutes later the laser printer in the corner started printing out a number of sheets of paper that Dave took off of the rack as soon as they came out. "From Omaha. It's some of the specs on the engines having to do with the onboard electronics. Seems to be pretty much cut and dried stuff. I really don't even see what we needed to have a meeting with them over this anyway."

"Let Mike take a look at them and see if he is conversant with any of this stuff."

"Yessir," and he handed them off to Mike as he perused them. 

"It looks like operating IT for the engines, with some telemetry for remote oversight to me. I'm not all that strong on some of this stuff, but it's pretty basic from what I see."

"That's what I thought," Dave said. "Like I said, I really don't see what we needed to have a meeting with them for. This could all be handled over the phone, if it even needed that."

Moments later the printer started spitting out pages again, and Dave started scanning them quickly as they came out, and then handed them off to Michael. "It looks to me as if it is the same thing. I really don't understand what is going on here."

Michael looked over each page quickly, focusing his attention only on any IT materials and paused mid-page on the fifth page. He picked up the corresponding page from Omaha and compared it quickly. "Here is a difference, Dave. The new document leaves out some of the telemetry and some other functionality in the onboard computers. Perhaps it was decided not all of the bells and whistles were needed?"

"Let me see that! I know nothing has been deleted from these engines by the company. All of the telemetry is necessary to keep track of performance on each engine. We pay a premium for this, but it saves us many dollars in maintenance costs because we can track performance on each engine. It's much less expensive than paying mechanics to inspect everything visually, and it shows problems before they cause breakdowns."

Pete picked up the phone and called the security kiosk. "Who is this?... Ah, Jason. Thanks for the hot sandwiches. Could you step up here for just a couple of minutes please?... Right. As soon as possible... . Thanks."

They only had to wait a couple of minutes until Jason walked in the door. "Thanks for hurrying up here, Jason. Please close the door behind you. Thanks. Now, tell me, can I record this meeting in this room, and if I do so, can I do so without the other party knowing I am doing so?"

"No sir. You can record the meeting, but that little red light on the console will be on while you are doing it."

"I was afraid of that." Pete stood and walked over to a door on the wall, but when he opened it he found it was only over a large flat-screen TV set up for video conferencing. "I hoped I could hide you in here and let you listen, but that isn't going to work."

Michael spoke up. "I can use my iPhone if you like. It has a record app on it, and it doesn't show it's recording if I leave it face down."

"Thanks, Mike. Jason, here's what I want you to do. When you send Mr. Abernathy up, will you please follow him up here, as if you are just doing rounds, but stay just outside the door once he is inside and the door is closed. I may need you quickly. Do you have arrest powers?"

"No sir, but I can detain him until I can get the PD here."

"That will have to work then. It would be easier if we didn't have to involve them, but if it comes to that we will do what we have to do. Please don't contact them yet. I'm hoping it doesn't come to that, but have someone on standby at the kiosk so you can be free when he gets here."

Jason nodded and left.

Dave and Michael had been huddled at the end of the table going over the spec sheets carefully, noting several changes and marking them on the new sheets. They were going over the last page together when Dave was called away to meet with the Electromotive reps. 

"Mike, I'm really glad I brought you up here. You have more than earned your fee today!"

"I'm glad I could be of service, Pete, but I'm not really concerned about a fee. Let's see if I can do anything for you on your programming before we worry about that." He continued checking over the last sheet and then carried them over to where Pete was sitting at the other end of the table. "Here's what we have found, sir. There may be more, but these are the obvious changes."

"How about faxing the new spec sheets back to the number from which you got the originals, and I'll call and have someone look it over more carefully. Thanks, Mike."

Michael quickly loaded them in the feed tray and carefully entered the phone number from the original set and pressed send. As each sheet passed through he pulled them out and collated them carefully before handing them back over to Pete, who thumbed through them quickly.

"This is not my area of expertise, nor Dave's either. Had you not caught it we probably would have been on the hook for these changes. It looks to me like a fairly substantial difference in pricing, but I'm seeing nothing about a diminishment in our payout. Ah, there he is."

The door opened and a graying and disheveled man in his mid-forties walked in. "What's going on here? Oh. Hi, Pete." 

"Good afternoon, Abernathy. There has been a change in plans, and I needed to see you before you had your meeting with the Electromotive group. Dave Drugan is entertaining them for the moment. Have a seat."

David Abernathy looked suspiciously at Pete, and then at Michael before pulling out a chair, and Michael sat down on the other side of the table and laid his iPhone face down in front of him. 

"This is Mike Thibodeaux, a new intern I have with me on this trip. Mike, David Abernathy, the head of our IT department. He is out here for negotiations with Electromotive on some new locomotives we have on order. We'll be certain you get a chance to meet them as well, as you will need to familiarize yourself with that order if you are going to be the intermediary."

"David, were you able to get ahold of Michael Borden like I asked you to, and when are you two going to get together? Ben and I are really excited about the possibilities for a scheduling program."

"Yeah, I called him. After talking a few minutes we both came to the conclusion he wouldn't be of any help to us. As he said, he has no real-world experience in transportation. To be frank, he sounded a little wet behind the ears to me. I don't know what you two saw in him, but I wasn't impressed, and when he begged off I agreed."

"I see. Tell me, how are things going with Electromotive?"

"We are working on some things, but they are trying to hold us up on price increases on the onboard computing, so I'm negotiating them down."

"I see. Were you doing your negotiations at Heavenly Bodies over lunch?"

"Heavenly Bodies? What's that?" 

"Don't try to play smart with my, Abernathy. Mike, is this the man you saw?"

"Yes, Sir."

"What are you talking about? I never saw you before in my life."

"That's OK, Abernathy. You may not have seen him, but we saw you. You were sitting behind the club in a silver Lincoln Continental with Colorado plates. By the way, who authorized Continentals on company rentals? We will come back to that in a minute, Abernathy. A moment ago you told me Michael Borden impressed you as 'wet behind the ears.' Would you not say a 'snot nosed kid with no real world experience in transportation' would be a better description, even though I describe him to you as 'the greatest computer programmer in history who would make your job and department obsolete' or words to that effect?"

Abernathy's face turned white. "I never said anything of the sort! I called him first thing, just like you said to do, but... "

Pete cut him off. "Michael, would you like to introduce yourself to Mister Abernathy, as the guards tell me he prefers to be called?"

Michael looked down at the table a moment before looking up and into Abernathy's eyes. "My name is Michael Borden Thibodeaux. Borden is my mother's maiden name, and I have adopted it for use to keep out of the limelight my father's fame stirs up."

Abernathy jumped to his feet, and for a moment looked like he was going to swing at Michael. "You son of a bitch! You set me up!"

"Jason!" Pete called out loudly and waited for the door to open. "Will you come in please? Sit down, Abernathy. Michael didn't set you up, I did, and he does not like to be called Mike, either. You are fired. You are fired for insubordination, for gross misconduct, and as soon as we can discover what your deal is with the Electromotive group you may be arrested for what unauthorized changes you have made in the purchase contract with them. Your personal effects will be boxed up and at the guard desk when you return to Omaha. How you get there is your problem as your company cards will be closed out before you leave this building today. Give Jason your badge, your car keys, we'll get you a cab, and your company credit cards."




Justin Thyme Ch. 17



Thank you so much for staying with my story for so long! I really appreciate the great feedback I'm receiving from so many of you, and the emails. I respond to every email that has a return address. 

I am particularly gratified by those of you who know areas I write about and comment accordingly. One gentleman was even able to identify two of the restaurants mentioned, which made me homesick, since I've not been there in years! Thanks also to the ones who have commented on the choice of music I have mentioned various times in the story. Much of it is music I am listening to as I write, or particular mood music to fit a scene. I am blown away by how deeply some have identified with my tale, and am gratified. Thank you!

*****

Rosemary stirred, and then murmured, "I'm drooling on you. I'm sorry."

"I don't know anyone else I'd rather have drool on me."

She lifted her head and looked at me. "I love you, even if you are a big goof. Wow! I really needed that, and it still feels good! Didn't you come?"

I shook my head. "It was close, but I wanted to save it for you."

"You're sweet." She started rocking her pelvis gently. "Justin, you feel so good in me. I don't know what it is about you, but you just feel so wonderful."

"I doubt I'm anything special, but thank you for noticing. I think you feel wonderful, and you are special." I started rocking my pelvis along with hers, feeling my cock sliding in and out in very small strokes. "Did I ever tell you that you are my favorite sister? I love you." I hugged her to me tightly, enjoying the feeling of her boobs squashing against my chest, even if I did still have my tee shirt on.

"I'm really glad. It's a good thing you are my brother, because otherwise I'd lose a very good friend fighting her to marry you."

I released my hug just enough to lift her up to where I could get my mouth on one of her nipples and I sucked it in deeply into my mouth and then began swirling my tongue around it and stroking it flatly across the end of the nipple. Her pelvis pulled up against me tightly and she moaned and then gasped. "Don't stop doing that! Oh, but it feels so good! When your tongue rubs across the tip of my nipple like, ohhhh, that, it vibrates in my pussy." The next time I stroked my tongue across her nipple I also hummed a low guttural hum, and she came again with a quiet shudder, and goosebumps popped up all over her arms. 

She nearly put me over the edge, but I managed to focus on her enough to keep mine in check. I was determined to make this time really special for her. Rosemary has been so sweet to share me with Stephanie, and always puts Stephanie's needs ahead of her own. I know Stephanie is my girlfriend, and I plan to marry her one day, but they have agreed to share and share alike. Rosemary is constantly telling me to take care of Stephanie, even though it is her own turn. This time was going to be all Rosemary's, and it was going to be a time she would not soon forget if I could do anything about it. 

Rosemary nuzzled her face against the side of my neck, giving me little kisses, alternating with gentle nips with her lips where the neck meets the shoulder, although being careful not to leave a mark. "What is it about you, Justin? It isn't the sex, although that is wonderful, but just having you that is special?"

"I don't know that I am."

"Oh, but you are. I just feel more complete when you are around. Holding your hand in the car on the way up here was just so . . . so . . . satisfying. You probably think that sounds stupid, but that's what I feel. When I snuggled with you the other night and Mom about caught us; there wasn't any sex, but I just felt whole being in your arms. Sometimes I just look across the room at you and my heart flutters and my pussy tingles. Just seeing you is enough for me to feel a part of you." She lifted her head and looked into my eyes before lowering her face to rub my nose with hers. "And then I get to be with you and feel you in me, and you raise me to a totally different level. You always make sure I get off before you do, even if we just have a quickie and I tell you not to worry about me. Somehow you make it happen."

"And just a little bit ago. . . that was the most exhilarating feeling I have ever known in my life. And then you did it again!"

I had stopped moving in her when she came the second time. I was so close it wouldn't take much of anything to put me over the edge, but I really wanted this to be extra special. I know Rosemary is my sister, my twin, and I've always loved her, but I have not always been in love with her. Now I am in love with my sister, and I know society doesn't approve. Mom and Dad would not approve, but I didn't choose for it to happen. When it did happen it hit hard, harder even than it did with Stephanie.

With Steph, it just grew on me and kept growing until I was overwhelmed, but with Rosemary it was instantaneous. I would gladly lay my life down for either of them with no questions asked, and I don't love one more than the other, but it is different. I'm very glad the two of them are OK with the situation, in fact they encourage each other. My biggest fear is that I will prove unworthy of them, and that I will let them down and not be able to give them what they need.

Rosemary held my face in her hands tenderly and brought me out of my reverie when she leaned in and gave me a gentle kiss that grew in intensity and passion. It wasn't a sexual kiss with tongue wrestling. It was a soul kiss that expressed our deep love for each other and shivered me all the way down to my toes. My cock twitched within her, causing Rosemary to moan into my mouth and she pressed even more tightly against me. She squeezed me with her pussy and rocked her pelvis just the least little bit, but by squeezing my cock with her vaginal muscles while rocking her pelvis she had my balls churning.

"Oh, Justin, that feels so good when I do that. Do you like it?"

I really couldn't speak. I was that much on edge, but I nodded my head, my cheek nestled tightly against her cheek.

"I want to try something I read about in a magazine. It said guys really love it." She started rhythmically squeezing her vaginal muscles, and how she did it I don't know, but it was like a rippling effect, starting at the head of my cock and working its way down, and then back up. "Ooooh, I hope you like that! I really do. In fact, I think I'm going to come again in a minute." Her hips started flexing on me as she did the contraction thing. "Don't even move. Let me do it all for you." She was panting in my ear, even though she was moving very little. "Oh, Justin! Oh, Justin! Oh, Justin! 

She was a little louder and a little more intense with each time she said my name. "Oh, Justiiin!" She nearly wailed my name the last time, and with one more muscle contraction she also slammed her pussy all the way onto me, crushing her pubis against mine and grinding against it with a wail of "OHHHHHHhhhh!" and her whole body spasmed and her pussy clutched at my cock, squeezing and pulsing, and she put me over the edge. I had been careful not to move as she had asked, but it was involuntary as my hips lunged back and then forward again to grind against her as well, and my seed pulsed strongly into the one I love.

My arms went round her and I held her gently to me as she lay with her head on my shoulder, her breath coming in shuddering gasps, while my chest pounded and heaved as I tried to get my heart and lungs back to equilibrium. "Thank you," she whispered in my ear. "I really needed that."

"Don't thank me. You did all the work."

That earned a giggle from her as she raised her head and rubbed noses with me again. Her red gold hair hanging down from her head framed my face, and I don't believe I've ever seen a more beautiful sight than my sister's face smiling down at me, with her gorgeous hair all around. "Did I ever mention how beautiful I think you are?"

"Thank you," she whispered. "I'm really glad you think so." She laid her head back onto my shoulder and we snuggled together for a few minutes as my cock slowly shriveled and shrank. I was careful not to move, not wanting to spoil the moment. We lay there for several minutes enjoying each other's presence until life interrupted, and my cell phone rang.

I would have just let it ring, but I glanced at the clock and saw it was four o'clock already! It was Brian calling, and I had set the appointment, so I had to take the call. 

Gently I rolled Rosemary to the side, and she quickly grabbed a towel to keep from making a bigger puddle on the bed while I grabbed my phone. "Hello, this is Justin."

"Hi, Justin. Brian here, calling you back as you asked. Do you have a time that would be convenient for us to get together?"

I glanced over and saw Rosemary smile at me and between the beauty of her loving smile and the beauty of her body I nearly forgot what I was doing. "Oh, yes. Time. I'm sorry, but I'm a bit distracted at the moment. Actually, we have had a change in plans, and I am staying over here in Scottsdale tonight. I could get together with you this evening, or tomorrow morning early, if either works for you."

"This evening would be better for me if we could do it soon. Where would you like to meet?

"If you don't mind a work in progress, could you come by the house? Getting away would be a little difficult for me right now."

"Cool. Jim told me about your house, and I'd like to see it anyway. I know where it is, and I can be there in about fifteen minutes if that works for you."

"Excellent. I'll look for you. Punch 123 on the keypad. We haven't gotten around to programming it yet. It will open for you."

"See you in fifteen," and the phone went dead.

Rosemary snuggled her breasts up against my arm and wrapped her arms around me. "May I sleep with you tonight? Susie knows about us, and she won't care." She reached down and petted my shriveled member. "I don't know if that would be my little big brother, or my big little brother," and she giggled. "Thank you for making this afternoon so wonderful and good for me. I really do love you."

"I know, and I love you, too."

"You know, you really look kind of funny like that!" My shorts and boxers were still below my knees, and I still had on my tee shirt.

"Maybe I do, but you look absolutely beautiful like that. Whoever gets to wake up to that in the morning is one lucky guy."

Grasping my shorts by the belt loop I sort of waddled into the bathroom to wash off a bit before Brian got here, and looked in the mirror to see Rosemary leaning against the doorjamb holding her bikini in her hand. I am such a lucky guy!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Michael thought for sure that David Abernathy was going to attack Pete, but the click of Jason's Asp when he flipped it open changed his mind. "I would suggest, Sir, that you have a seat and wait quietly for the Police to arrive. They will be happy to read you your rights before they take you to jail."

"You can't keep me here!"

"Wrong, Sir. I cannot arrest you. That would be correct, however I can detain you until legal authority arrives." When Abernathy seemed ready to attack him, Jason said, "Be advised, Sir, I am authorized to use force if necessary. I would strongly suggest you have a seat. It is not my desire to use force, but I am prepared to do so if needed."

David Abernathy finally sat down, but he trembled with rage while he waited, and stared balefully in turn at Pete and at Michael. 

It took about fifteen minutes for an officer to arrive, and Abernathy jumped to his feet yelling for the officer to arrest Pete, Michael, and Jason for kidnapping and for holding him against his will. It required another fifteen minutes to quiet Abernathy down enough for the officer to determine the issues and then to place Abernathy under arrest. Finally, with Abernathy out of the room quiet settled in.

Pete spoke to Jason as he started to leave. "Jason, I just want you to know I will be writing a commendation for you and for what you did for us today."

"Not a problem, Sir. That's my job. No thanks are necessary."

"I wasn't talking about with Abernathy. I was talking about lunch!" It wasn't all that funny, but as tensions bled off it seemed hilarious. Jason gave him a mock salute and left the room.

"Dave, call the airport and find out if the company jet has left yet, or if we have to get commercial tickets back to Omaha. I think we need to get Michael out there as soon as possible so he can at least talk to some people before he has to get home tomorrow."

"Michael, can I presume on you to stay at least to the end of the day? It will put you home late in the evening, but it would be very helpful to us."

"I believe so, Sir, but I will have to check. I have a couple of pressing issues that I have to address. I'll stay as late as I possibly can for you. Is that good enough?"

"At this point, I'll take what I can get and be thankful. You have already saved the railroad a tremendous amount of money today, plus made certain we don't have deficient locomotives. I'm very grateful for what you did. If we have to we can reschedule with the IT people at a later date. I really felt the need to strike while the iron was hot with Abernathy, and that certainly paid off!"

"Let me make a couple of calls and I'll have an answer for you very shortly."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Brian rang the doorbell closer to ten minutes than fifteen after we spoke. I said something about him being prompt.

"I hate being late! My pet peeve is waiting for someone to show up after a time they told me they will be somewhere."

"You are sounding more and more like my Grandfather. Come on in the house. Can I offer you something to drink before we sit down and talk? Soft drink, water, coffee, tea?"

"Coke would be great if you have it. Thank you."

I led him in to the kitchen and grabbed us each a Coke. "I told you this place is primitive at the present. Grab a paint bucket, and we'll go back to the library and talk a bit."

We each grabbed a bucket and made our way toward the library, but as we went I pointed out some of the features of the house, those that could be seen from the first floor. I really didn't want to be taking a guy on a tour of the place until I knew him better. I really didn't think Brian would be a problem, or Jim wouldn't have sent him over, but one doesn't take chances, especially with twenty plus girl's safety.

I led him into the library, and while Brian was not particularly interested in the architecture he was fascinated by the desk and all of the bookshelves. "I'd love to have a room like this in my home, especially if it was full! I wouldn't leave it except to eat and sleep! The only thing it really needs is a good stereo system in here, especially if you optimize it for the room."

Unless this guy really stepped on his crank sometime in the next few minutes I knew I was going to approve of him. I hadn't seen or heard anything I didn't like yet. We just sat down when the doorbell rang again. "If you need to get that, go ahead. I'm in no hurry."

I shrugged. "It's not a problem. We have a girl coming to see the last room available, and a couple of our new tenants are coming over to use the pool. It's probably them, and Rosemary can take care of them OK."

"So tell me a little bit about yourself and how you know Jim."

That got a bit of a grin out of him. "Well, we used to live in Tucson when I was little, and when my Dad bought a new TV for the house, and it was a really nice one, I was curious about how it worked, so I took it apart. I must have been about eight or so." I sat there bug-eyed staring at him. "Anyway, Dad came home from work to find the TV spread out on the living room floor and he about killed me! He called Jim, who came and put everything back together. I really think I could have put it together myself, because I laid everything out in order, but Jim did it. 

He recognized my curiosity, and he gave me some old electronics that didn't work and let me learn by taking them apart and putting them together. I used to ride my bike over there after school and sit and watch him or one of the other guys working on things in the back room. I must have driven them crazy asking questions, but they taught me. Unfortunately, we moved to Flagstaff when I was twelve, but Jim and I have kept in touch ever since. 

Anyway, I'll be graduating in a couple of weeks with a double major in electrical engineering and business management. My goal is to have a store like Jim's, and this sounds to me like a great place to start."

I sat there and shook my head. It's no wonder Jim wanted us to get together! "When can you start?"

Brian looked at me like I'd grown another head. "You mean you want to hire me? I haven't even filled out an app or anything, or given you any references."

I just laughed. "You gave me all the references I need! Want to know how I got to know Jim?"

I didn't get to tell him right then, because Rosemary walked in the room with Debbie, Bitsie, and another girl I didn't know. Rosemary was wearing her bikini, and it was all I could do not to pop a boner! That emerald green bikini with her green eyes and her red-gold hair was striking, to say the least. 

"Justin," she said, "I want you to meet Helen. She's the one who is interested in the last room."

"Helen, it is a pleasure. Please excuse me for being unavailable at the moment, but if you have any questions Rosemary can't answer, please feel free to stop me before you leave. Bitsy, Debbie, it's nice to see you again, and Debbie, thank you from bringing Helen over."

They all waved their greetings and Rosemary led them back out of the room promptly. She could explain our plans for the library outside and not interrupt us any longer.

Brian looked at me with big eyes and a face that had nearly gone white. "Please tell me she isn't your girlfriend."

I looked at him, puzzled. "Who?"

"That beautiful red-head. She is without doubt the most beautiful woman I've ever seen!"

"Thank you. I'll be certain to tell her you said so. I think she is beautiful, too, but she isn't my girlfriend. She's my twin sister. Obviously, when she got done in the looks department the looks locker was empty! She looks like Mom, and I look like Dad. If you have time after she gets done giving the tour I'll be happy to introduce you."

"I'll make the time! For once in my life I don't care if I'm late to something. Thank you."

Other guys have asked me to introduce them, and I have declined, but something about Brian I really liked from the start. Maybe, in fact probably, the fact that Jim sent him influenced things, but we had so many similarities I felt more than comfortable with Brian, and I really wanted to be sure Rosemary had an opportunity with a good man. Giving her up was going to be very hard, though.

Brian shook his head as if trying to get his bearings, but I noticed he kept looking toward the door hoping to see her again. "Anyway, you started to tell me how you got to know Jim."

I laughed. "Tell your story, but use my name and you've got it! Except mine was one of the first projection TV's. I spent hours and hours in that back room tinkering on things, and learning to build things, like my sound system at home, and my computer. When I was old enough I started working for him after school and on weekends. I really hated having to quit when we bought this house, but there was no way to continue, and with school starting in the fall I wasn't going to be able to work there during the school year anyway."

Doubt clouded Brian's eyes for a moment. "So I understand you and Jim are doing this together up here. What do you need me for? I really don't want to be just a tech or a tech and clerk. I'm looking for an opportunity to run my own store."




Justin Thyme Ch. 17



"That's what you will be doing. I will not be an active partner, even as much as I want to. That doesn't mean I won't be hanging around and getting in your way, but I'm not going to try to run the store, nor will I tell you how to run it. I'll leave all of that to Jim. All I'll do in the store is play around a little bit and keep up with stuff. If I have some time to spare I may do some warrantee work or something like that, but I promise you that's it."

"OK. Good. I can deal with that. It looks to me like you will have your hands full here, plus school. Running a house of this size is not easy, and I can't imagine having to keep a place like this up with a bunch of girls living in it! Better you than me! People might think you have it easy with a bunch of eye candy like what we just saw running around, but they can be the hardest to deal with!"

"You sound like you have experience?"

"Yeah. My Mom was a group home leader for girls with problems. You couldn't pay me enough to do what you're doing!"

"So what is your relationship with Jim on this new store going to be anyway? Or is that none of my business?"

"That's a good question. I'm putting up the money for the store." I held up my hand to forestall questions. "Let me tell you how it is, but I require you to keep it strictly between us. At present time there are four other people who know about this, and three of them are in my family. Understood?" Brian nodded.

"You heard the news reports, highly glamorized by our Sheriff I'm sure, about what we found in this house, right? Well, I'm going to give you the Reader's Digest version of the story. We did find the monies sent to Samuel Johnson by the railroad for the merger, and although we could have kept half of it legally, neither Michael, you'll meet him another time, nor I, or my family for that matter, thought that was the right thing to do. A reward had been offered by the railroad for finding Samuel Johnson, and by inference for finding the gold, so we called the railroad and told them we had found it." 

"Their CEO, President, and Legal Counsel all flew down here to pick up the gold. My Grandfather, who is a retired lawyer, represented us to them, and he suggested the reward offer ought be increased somewhat due to the gold being worth better than seventy times what it was worth at the time of Johnson's disappearance. Grandpa said we weren't necessarily asking for that much of an increase, but that we would leave it up to them to make a reasonable reward, especially in light that we could legally claim half as treasure trove. The CEO said he could see no reason the reward could not be paid out in the gold coin at the rate offered, and we would indeed have the seventy times value the gold has increased."

"Anyway, while it is a substantial sum, I'm not rolling in it from the reward, but I wanted a place to invest that I was certain of a good return, and I can have fun playing with it, too." Brian nodded his understanding.

My cell phone rang. I wouldn't have answered it with Brian there, but I was expecting to hear from Michael. I excused myself and took Michael's call.

"Hey, Justin. Sorry I couldn't get back to you earlier. Look, the earliest I can get in to Tucson tomorrow is six thirty-five. It is either that or eight twenty. I really have to go back to Omaha with Pete right now, and I need to take care of business there. It's a long story, but I'll tell you about it later."

"What can you do if you come to Phoenix? I really need to see you at the house."

"Oh, that would work out better, but how would I get back home? Ugh. That adds a complication. I have to be in Phoenix Friday morning too." There was a brief pause. "That would work a lot better on this end. I can catch a nonstop at four thirty-five. Like that better, Pete?" he said away from the phone. "Yeah, that puts me in at five ten. Will that work OK for you, Justin?"

"It might make for a late night. Mom, Dad, Grandpa and Grandma, and of course Rosemary and I have to meet with you. There have been some complications that need to be taken care of quickly. I really can't say more right now. Could you stay over at your parents, or if you don't mind roughing it a little bit you could stay here at the house. You might rent a car if you need wheels, and the company will pay for it. Either that or we'll work something else out."

"OK. I'll try and catch that flight and you won't have to pick me up. I'll rent a car. Meet you at the house, then?"

"That will be best. I'll have some pizzas here for us. I don't want to take time to go to Bill's."

"Good enough. Look, I've got to run. Pete wants to get wheels up right away. I'll see you there sixish, depending on the flight and how long it takes me to get a car."

"See ya."

"Sorry, Brian. I've been waiting for that call since this morning."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Stephanie and Susie were baking in the sun, as they had been for a while. It was late enough in the day to not be totally oppressive, yet provided for a good tan. Susie had removed her prosthesis for swimming, and had mastered hopping on one foot well enough to make it from the pool to the lounger, where she was stretched out.

She saw Steph looking at the stump with a sorrowful look on her face. "Now don't you be getting all weepy about my foot, Stephie. It's OK."

"I know, and I'm glad you are able to accept it so well. I don't believe I could have, and I'm really sorry I got you into that situation."

"Stephanie Winters. We have been over this before. It was not your fault in any way, and I don't want to hear you saying anything of the sort. It wasn't Mikey's fault either! It was those two guys who were trying to take advantage of the girls at that party. Besides, if it hadn't of been for that wreck I never would have met Mikey. I'd trade both feet for him, and gladly!"

"You love him that much?"

"Oh, but I do! I just wish we could get married. He's just so proper I could scream sometimes!" She lowered her voice to a near whisper, although there was no one else at the pool yet. "I was teasing him, like I used to try to do with Justin, and it really was getting to him! He tried his best to hide it, but he kept getting hard. He never wanted to hug me tight, trying to keep me from feeling his erection, but I felt it a few times." She shivered at the memory and her nipples started to protrude through her bra.

"I took it too far though, and I really hurt him." Susie's voice was somber as she told it. "I wanted Mikey to go further than he was willing to go, so I tried teasing him and getting him really riled up to get him to take it further. The other day when we went up Mt. Lemmon I had on my thinnest bra, and just a light shirt. My nipples got to poking because it got chilly as we were going up the mountain, especially when we climbed out on the rocks. I acted like I had trouble climbing down a couple of places so he would stand below me and catch me if I needed it, but I just pretended where it would put him at eye level with my boobs. I know he liked it, and I rubbed against his arm when we walked, but I also knew it frustrated him."

"I told him I didn't care if he looked, that I am his whenever he wants, and he just shook his head. Anyway, I caught him off guard and grabbed him around the waist and hugged him to me once, and he felt nice and big! Anyway, when we went into the general store it had gotten cloudy and the breeze picked up, so my nipples were really hard. I saw him looking a couple of times when he didn't think I'd see it, and then his eyes would squint up and he'd turn his head away. I knew it wasn't because he didn't like them, but it was really getting to him."

"When we left it had started raining, but we couldn't wait because he had to meet Pete Fleming at the airport. I told him I like to play in the rain, so I ran on out to the car and stood there letting the rain soak my shirt, because I knew it would get see-through. It was even better than my other bikini when it gets wet, and he just stared at me when he got into the car. I really thought he was going to reach for me, but he closed his eyes and just sat there and shook."

"He asked me to sit in the back behind him, and said that he wanted me so badly, but that he couldn't, that it would be a sin against me, against my parents, and against God."

Susie sat there quietly for a moment before she went on in a soft voice. "I knew then I had really hurt him. I didn't mean to! I was just having fun with him and teasing him, trying to get him to make love to me, and I just about ruined everything. I apologized and told him I hadn't realized what I was doing to him, that I had not meant to hurt him, that I am his and nobody else's, and that I will not tease him any more, although if we get married all bets are off!" She had a big grin on her face when she said that.

We didn't have time to drop me at my house, so I had to go with him to his apartment, and he had me get a shirt of his to wear because I was so wet. I had to take off my bra because it was soaking wet. You know the really funny thing? His shirt came down to just below my shorts, and it looked like a short dress. I thought his eyes were going to bug out when I walked out of the bathroom! His voice was really shaky when he said, 'Please tell me you have your shorts on under there! That is the sexiest thing I've ever seen!' I thought he was talking about me not having on a bra, and I apologized for taking it off, but that wasn't it. It was the shirt!" 

"He actually hugged me, and tight! I could really feel him against me, and my boobs were smashed against him. He gave me the biggest kiss he has ever given me. And do you know what is really special? I don't ever have to worry about another woman! If he wouldn't give in to temptation from me I know he won't with anyone else either." 

Stephanie nodded. She had listened with rapt attention to Susie's story with wonder. "I'm glad Justin and I don't have to wait like that. I don't know. Maybe it's better, but if I had to wait four years for him I'd just burst. Sometimes it seems like I'll never get to be with him again, and it's only been a day or two."

"Maybe that's why I'm so maudlin today. I really miss Mikey when he's gone. It feels like part of me is missing."

Stephanie giggled. "I just had a bad thought! Those two losers that got Mikey messed up wouldn't know what to do with a house like this!"

Susie laughed out loud. "I know! Sometimes I feel sorry for Justin! I mean, he's a good guy and all, and I know he would never take advantage, but Rosemary told me about those two that came by to look at the house that one afternoon, and the way they were teasing him! She said you two made a rule that he can't take care of things himself; that he has to save everything for you! I'll bet you are busy this year!"

"I know. I just hope I can keep his interest."

"Don't be ridiculous!"

"I know. I just can't help myself. Sometimes I see other girls with bigger boobs and all and I feel inadequate."

"You have nothing to worry about, trust me. I tried, and I couldn't even get him to pay me any attention at all if you were around. Once he saw your nipples pushing out through your bikini I was history!" Stephanie blushed at the memory, yet was pleased.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Pete Thyme sighed when the Thompsons entered their home. "I'm almost sorry Justin and Michael found that gold. The first batch from the railroad was bad enough, but it was just enough that if they were careful it could give them a very good life. This on the other hand . . . I'm just not sure they can handle it. Michael I'm not so worried about. He won't even want any, but I'm not so sure about Justin."

"Look, honey, we raised him right, at least to the best of our ability. He has shown remarkable maturity so far, and you know he isn't selfish or a spendthrift. I think he will do all right."

"I certainly hope so. At least he is asking your Dad for advice, even when your Dad told him it was beyond his expertise. I think your Dad is worried, too."

"I know he is, but we have an ace in the hole. Mom. You know how Justin is about his grandmother. She can't give him financial advice on a professional level, but you know she has handled the books for Daddy all these years. She's no dummy."

"I guess we really don't have any options, do we? I was just wondering on the way up here, should we involve the Tib's?"

"I don't think so. If we called them in it would be telling Michael we don't trust him to handle things. Michael grew up around that world, although I have no idea what kind of money is involved with all of those stocks and bonds. Daddy seemed pretty shook by them. You notice he didn't have much to say on the way home."

"Umh hmmh. Your Mom said more than he did, and normally he is the one who does the talking for the family." 

"Well, at least there is one bright side. If the house doesn't work out for some reason at least Justin doesn't have to worry about affording college."

Pete Thyme just snorted as he pulled into their home driveway.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Brian and I talked for a bit more, but now it was very much on a casual level. We kicked around ideas for what we would like in the store, subject of course to Jim's approval and we talked about ASU and school. I couldn't let on to him, but my mind was befuddled as to what to do with my college career. I had intended to do straight electrical engineering, but that was no longer going to be my focus. It couldn't be. I had to do some serious learning about how to handle my fortune and handle it well. I didn't want to end up like so many who come into sudden wealth only to have it dribble through their fingers and they end up penniless. I seriously questioned if ASU was even the right place for me. Much of what I needed I could actually learn online, and I really didn't need a degree to get a job, did I? 

After a while Brian and I got up and I led the way upstairs to show him my room and what I had going for security up to this point. I really wanted to show him my sound system, but unfortunately it was at home, not here. 

We went up the main stairway. During the year I would go the other route, and if for any reason he came to visit me at the house he would also, but nobody was living here yet, and he was curious about the house itself. I didn't even think about the girls who were looking at the house, and we certainly didn't try sneaking up the stairs, but just as we popped onto the second level the door was open into the first room, and the girls were all in there getting ready to swim. Rosemary of course was already in her emerald green bikini, but Debbie had her back turned to us, bent over picking up her bikini bottoms from the floor totally bare assed, with her boobs hanging in front of her. 

Bitsy faced the door with her bottoms on, but her boobs were on full display, and a very lovely display they were. They were probably a full B cup, I don't know, I'm no expert, but they were a very large handful with a little left over and nice brown nipples and areolas. She looked up at us and smiled, totally unembarrassed, but I made up for it for her!

Helen, fortunately, had already changed, but had her fingers in both sides of her bikini bottoms, straightening them out. She blushed a bit, but didn't seem overly fazed. 

I quickly apologized as I turned away, promising this would never happen when they were living here, that I had forgotten they were even in the house.

"Relax, Justin. I doubt you saw anything you haven't seen before, and you never know, but I might tan topless sometime, and I couldn't expect you not to look then. I'll bet you didn't know Debbie has such a cute ass, though, did you?" She started laughing as Debbie tried to hush her.

Debbie spoke up. "It's safe. You can turn around now. I know you didn't try to catch us, and it will probably happen again sometime. It can't help it around a house with this many girls. Besides, it looks like you liked what you saw!" She laughed as I turned red again. "Helen, this is going to be delicious this year. All of us girls in the house, and he's the only guy. He's taken, but I'll bet we have a lot of fun with him anyway."

Helen was not as irrepressible as the other two, but she gave me a nice smile, and I noticed she filled out her bikini exactly the way a bikini was supposed to be filled out.

"You are Brian, or something like that, aren't you?" asked Bitsy. You were in my accounting class last year."

He nodded. "Brian. That's where I saw you before. You looked a little different then!"

"I hope so! What brings you around here? You aren't trying to get a room are you? That could be fun."

He shook his head. "No, I'm graduating. Justin and I are just talking about opening an electronics store with a friend of ours. I'm just visiting, and I doubt I'm around much."

"To bad."

I noticed that even though Brian was talking to Bitsy his eyes kept straying over to Rosemary. I really didn't think that was the time to introduce them, so we made our way on up to my room.

"Wow! You've got quite the place here! I love the bookshelves. You can never have enough bookshelves to suit me." I don't know if he noticed the odd configuration of the shelves or not. He didn't say anything about them. "What are you going to do with all of this room? You could house six people in here if you wanted to."

"But then I wouldn't have a place to sleep. I intend to build in a work bench on that side, and use this side for my bed and most of my library. I still want to be able to tinker around with things, maybe do little odd bits of warrantee work if I have the time for it. You ought to see my room at home! All I have room for is a twin bed because the rest of the room is taken up with a couple of work benches, my computer and my library. I have room to spread out here."

We took a look at the monitor showing the views from all of the cameras and he laughed when he saw the pool picture come up. "You probably won't even see the other views with this one on here!" I just shook my head. 

"What are you going to do with that old carriage house out there?" he asked as he glanced out the window.

"It has some servants quarters upstairs that we may renovate and make into an apartment for a friend who is considering marrying one of Rosemary's friends. Keep it quiet, though. She doesn't know yet. She thinks she's going to room with Rosemary and another girl downstairs. The other apartments we may renovate and use them for when parents visit campus." 

"Good idea. Wow, you really have a nice view of the skyline around here." He stepped into the turret and looked down out the windows. "Is this where you are going to set up your desk? Talk about having 'eye candy!' I may have been wrong. This might not be such a bad deal for you after all. For one thing, you will have a different class of girls than my mother deals with, and if they all look like the ones here today. . . . "

"Well, I'm pretty serious about one girl already, so I'm not that interested, although I admit I don't mind looking at a pretty girl now and then."

Rosemary walked out the back door with Bitsy, Debbie, and Helen. I heard Brian draw in his breath. "Justin, you've just got to introduce me to your sister. I'll treat her right, I swear! She is absolutely the most beautiful girl I've ever seen! I'm not in her league, but at least I can dream, can't I?"

"Come on, then. No time like the present." Like I said before, I've often been asked to introduce guys but I blew them off. Brian I was comfortable with. It was as close to introducing myself to her as I could come. Something about him really resonated with me. Rosemary needed a chance to make a life for herself and be able to marry and have a family. As much as we love each other, there just was no possibility for a sustained healthy relationship that would leave her fulfilled. 




Justin Thyme Ch. 17



We made our way down the back stairs this time so Brian would know where to go if he ever needed to come over to meet with me. I couldn't see that happening, but one never knows. I led him out the back door, where I got a big smile from Stephanie and a little wave. "Rosemary? Could I speak with you for a moment?" Brian tried very hard not to stare as she made her way around the pool and over to us. 

"I want you to meet Brian Stevens. He's the one Jim sent over to talk with me."

"Hi, Brian. I'm Rosemary, and it's a pleasure to meet you."

Brian bowed his head and took her pro-offered hand, but instead of shaking it lifted it to his lips and kissed the back of it gently. I know, it sounds hokey, but when it actually happened it was really sweet, and made Rosemary's eyes go wide for a moment and a big smile crossed her face.

"Brian told me he just had to meet you; that you're 'the most beautiful girl he's ever seen.' His words not mine."

Brian gave me a dirty look, but Rosemary just laughed and gave Brian's hand a gentle squeeze. It was then I noticed he had not let go. "Justin, behave. Don't pay any attention to him, Brian."

"How do you think he and Jim got acquainted, Rosemary? I'll give you one guess."

Rosemary took one look at Brian's sheepish face and said, "Don't tell me you took a TV apart!" Brian's blush told all. "That's a hoot! You two ought to get along like peas in a pod then. You are hiring him, aren't you, Justin?"

"Absolutely! Just as soon as we can get things going. I'll call Jim tonight. Now, if you two will excuse me, I have to give Dad a call and let him know when Michael will get in." I noticed as I turned away that Brian still had her hand held gently in his own. 

My cell went off before I made it back to the library to call Dad. "Hey, Michael. What's the word?"

"Sorry to bother you, Justin, but I have a big favor to ask."

"If I can, you have it."

"Thanks. Tomorrow night when we all get together, I have a feeling I'm going to need some counsel. I don't know what's going on, but from the sound of things it isn't just the railroad stuff. May I invite Dad to sit in on the meeting with me? Mom, too, if you don't mind. If it isn't OK, say so, but I feel like I'm getting in over my head and I always value my Dad's, and Mom's, opinions."

"I don't think it would be a problem. I'll have to run it past Dad or Grandpa, but I'm sure they will say yes. I'm calling Dad in just a minute. I'll call you right back, OK?"

"Thanks."

Dad wasn't excited about the time of the meeting, but I think he was really relieved to hear Michael wanted his parents involved. "Son," he said, "Never feel shame to admit you need advice, or hesitate to ask for it. Always be careful of the source of your advice, but never hesitate to ask. This says a lot about Michael and demonstrates why he has gotten as far as he has in life. Oh, and before we have this meeting go to a store someplace and buy some of those PVC lawn chairs or something to sit on. I don't want to sit on another paint bucket!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Over dinner, Joanne Thibodeaux asked Jeff, "What is this with a meeting between Michael and Justin's family. Michael didn't do something wrong, did he? I mean, they've been doing stuff on that old house that Michael has been rather reluctant to discuss. Surely there wasn't a problem with the railroad?"

"Now dear, you know better than to try to second-guess Michael. No, I don't believe he is in any trouble. He would have said so if he was. Obviously, it wasn't something he wanted to discuss over the phone. He told me he didn't know what it was all about, either, but he said he wanted my advice, and he would welcome your thoughts as well, plus he thought it would be good for us to spend a little time with Justin's family. I really don't know why, but I'm sure if you can hold your horses for another day you will find out. I told him we would pick him up at the airport."

"I know. It just isn't like him to be secretive. First we have to find out about the railroad gold from the news media, and now this." She shook her head. "It doesn't sound like the meeting in Illinois went very well, either. He had to fly back to Omaha with them."

"Actually, Pete Fleming is very happy with him. Michael told me they caught the IT chief red-handed trying to extort the company, besides other things. So even though they didn't accomplish what Pete wanted out of the trip they ended up doing better. He's going to have a busy day tomorrow."

"Friday, too! Susie isn't involved in this meeting tomorrow night, is she? It isn't about her, is it?"

"No, dear. Quit worrying. Susie isn't involved at all. It is something business, but we'll have to wait and see. Uselessly speculating won't accomplish anything."

"Yes, dear!" Joanne didn't like being told to quit worrying.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Hi, Jim. Justin. I just hired Brian. . . . Yeah, he seems an OK guy, and I couldn't believe it when he told me how he met you. . . . Yeah, that's what he said. He was really afraid he was going to end up just being a tech and a clerk, but I was able to reassure him I don't have time to interfere. All he has to do is keep you happy. . . . Yeah. We talked about how he wants to run the store. I like his ideas, and he is like you, he thinks the key is in service more than just being low priced. He doesn't want to gouge on pricing, though." 

"Look, I think we have a winner here, and he is like me in thinking there is a market for more than one store in the metro area. . . . No, I don't want to get too big too fast either, but I think it would be a good idea to watch for good people to grow with. . . . Yes, I think Harry would be an excellent choice if he wants to move up here. He would be a great one to head up sales, of course, I would have to tell him to be more respectful when I come in the store!" We both laughed. 

"I'll drop in first of the week sometime and we can kick it around a bit and make some plans. I don't have time to do any real looking for properties right now, but I'll talk with Mom tonight and have her shake the bushes. She'll come up with something for us right away. Maybe she can talk with Donna, the gal that sold us the house, and see if the bank has any really good deals in good locations. I think location is the key thing for the first store at least. . . . Right, I'll have her give you a call tomorrow morning."

"Oh, one last thing and I'll let you go. Brian is already trying to steal my sister!" . . . "Yeah, I know. He has very good taste. See ya."

I glanced out my window when I closed out the call, and Brian was right. I do have a very nice view! And Brian was still talking with Rosemary, and still holding her hand.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Tom and Mary sat and talked long after they were through eating, everything around them blotted out by their conversation. It wasn't until a gentleman stood by their table and cleared his throat that they even looked around. "I'm sorry to disturb your conversation, and I sincerely hope you enjoyed your dinner, but it is almost ten o'clock, and we are closing."

"Oh! I am so sorry!" Mary was embarrassed, but the manager waved it off. 

"No need to apologize! We are honored to have you with us, and I hope you will return soon! Come early and stay longer." He bowed slightly, and there was a twinkle in his eye.

Tom smiled down at Mary as he helped her to her feet. "I thank you, sir for your hospitality. The food was superb, especially the 'Special Soup.' I've never had anything like it. I really did pay attention to what I was eating, before Mary here captivated my attention."

A small bow again, and, "Thank you sir. It is a recipe developed by my father, and it is very popular here."

"I can understand why. Tonight is my first time in your establishment, but I can assure you it will not be my last. Forgive us for taking up your evening." Tom led Mary out into the lobby where he stopped to pay for their meal and added a generous tip. "That is for booth rent. I know I kept the young lady from serving other customers, which was thoughtless of me. Perhaps this will make up for it a little bit."

"Ah, thank you, Sir. Very few people consider the server when they linger over their meals. Not that we object! We wish you to feel comfortable and not rushed. I will tell Mae Ling of your generosity."

Mary's skirt slid up her thigh a bit as she settled into the car, showing a bit of lace from her slip along with more of her leg than normal, and Tom felt a tightening in his crotch. Carefully he closed the door for her as she tugged the skirt back down a bit, but he noticed she didn't pull it all the way down.

He walked around the back of the car rather than the front so he could readjust himself just a bit without being in Mary's view, and then got back into the car. When he stopped in Mary's driveway Tom squeezed her hand gently and said, "Thank you so much for a wonderful evening. I really enjoyed myself!"

"Thank you, Tom. Would you like to come in for a glass of wine, or another beer? You won't have to worry about driving home tonight."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I walked outside and called out to the girls, "I have to run to the store and pick up some stuff. I'm going to grab some pizzas while I'm out. How many of you would like to stay? Brian, you are welcome, too."

He gave me a slight nod, a bedazzled look on his face, and the other's all agreed to stay, too. Steph, can I borrow your car? I don't have any wheels."

"Sure. What do you have to pick up?"

"I'm going to get some of those plastic lawn chairs so we don't have to sit on paint buckets."

Brian reached in his pocket and pulled out some keys. "Take my pickup. You won't be able to get those chairs in her car."

"Thanks. I appreciate it."

"I'll go with you if you want," Steph said. "Give me just a minute to throw something on."

Bitsy just laughed and said, "Go as you are, girl. Give the people in WalMart a thrill!" That got everyone laughing, and I thought for a minute she was going to do it, but she ran in the house and grabbed a long tee shirt.

I had Steph call and order the pizzas while I drove us to the store. Knowing what we needed, we parked by the Garden Center entrance and ran in quickly and grabbed a dozen of the chairs. That was more than needed, but I was sure they would come in handy during the school year somewhere or another. Michael called me while we were driving from the store over to the pizza place, and between talking with him and looking over at Steph, who had the tee shirt pulled up, showing off her bikini bottoms I had trouble focusing on my driving. Stephanie lightly running her nails up and down the inside of her thigh did nothing for my concentration at all!

"Hey, Justin. I went ahead and asked Mom and Dad to sit in on the meeting with me. I hope that's OK. I know you said you'd run it past your Dad, but I didn't think he would mind."

"No, that's cool. In fact Dad was pleased you would include them in on the discussion. Sorry, but I didn't get back to you yet."

"So what's going on, anyway? Not a problem, I hope. There isn't trouble with the railroad stuff, is there? I can straighten that out with Pete if there is."

"Oh no. It's nothing like that, in fact, it isn't anything bad at all. Look, I really can't talk about it right now. Don't worry, Grandpa will fill you in on everything tomorrow evening." Stephie looked at me questioningly, but I couldn't say anything more. She would learn soon enough.

"OK, I'll wait. Dad said they will pick me up at the airport, so you won't have to go out there. I'm going to stay over for the night, and then I'll steal a car from them for the day Friday. See you then. I've got to go grab something to eat with Pete, and I think he's going to grab a couple of IT guys so we can get a head start on tomorrow. You wouldn't believe that guy in Chicago! Later."

I put my phone away, and saw Stephanie looking at me, just bursting to know what was going on. "I can't say anything right now, Sweetheart. You'll know all about it soon, but right now I can't say anything. Grandpa said to keep it quiet until the family has a chance to discuss matters. All I can say is it has to do with what Michael and I found, and that nothing is wrong. Trust me?"

"I'll always trust you, Justin. I'm just curious."

"I promise you I'll tell you everything just as soon as Grandpa says things are taken care of so that I can. Remember how the newsies were hounding us the other day? Well, this will start it all over again, but we want to control things as best we can. K?"

"I guess, but you be sure to tell me first, please?"

"You will always be first. Always." She leaned her head across the console and leaned it on my shoulder just before we stopped at the pizza place.

Before going into the store with me she pulled the tee shirt up and tied it off just below her boobs, leaving just a couple of inches of skin showing on her belly, and of course her bikini bottoms. With a wink at me she hopped out the door of the truck and started for the door, with me right behind her. Needless to say, we had guys falling all over themselves to wait on us when we walked in the door.

"Justin," I said, and one of the guys pulled several pizzas from the warming rack and slid them across the counter. I also got several two liters of Coke and other soft drinks and we were out the door, but not before one of the employees ran out from behind the counter to open the door. It's funny, but I've never had anyone bother to open the door for me before, or carry a bag of two liters bottles for me either like he did for Stephanie.

"Works every time!" Stephanie smirked at me as she closed her door. "You guys are just so predictable." All I could do is shake my head in agreement. I'd have done the same if I worked there. The only thing that surprised me was there wasn't a fight over who carried the bottles and opened the door for her!

Brian came around to the drive, with Rosemary close behind, to help me carry the chairs into the house. Rosemary and Steph carried in the pizzas and sodas, and the other girls all followed us in. Even though there was plenty of room in the kitchen and around the counter Bitsy, Debbie, and even Helen managed to rub their boobs across the top of my arms at least once as they grabbed pizza, or when I handed them sodas. Rosemary smirked at me once when Debbie took the opportunity to rub her boobs across my back while slipping between me and someone behind me, but Stephanie didn't think it was quite as funny. 

Steph stripped the tee shirt off quickly and found an excuse to take my arm and hold it against her boob as she was saying something to me, and I must say the sight of six girls sitting around eating pizza while sprawled out in those plastic lawn chairs was the nicest view I've ever had while eating pizza. I was struggling to keep from getting a boner, but not very successfully. I didn't get fully hard, but my shorts were sporting a bit of a bulge.

Suddenly I realized the time. "Brian, didn't you have something going tonight? I hope you didn't forget."

He just gave me a big smile. "I called and cancelled. It wasn't that important anyway."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Are you serious?" Tom asked incredulously.

Mary nodded, and reached a hand over to rest on his. "You've come to mean a lot to me, Tom, and I don't want to be alone tonight. If you aren't comfortable with it I understand."

"I don't know anything I've ever wanted more, and have wanted ever since the day I brought your purse to you. I'm afraid I'll mess this up."

"Don't be afraid. Just be yourself, the Tom Meechum I think I'm falling for."

Tom lifted her hand to his lips and kissed it tenderly before stepping out of the car to walk around and open Mary's door. He held her hand all the way to her door, only letting her hand go so she could find her keys and unlock the door. Once inside he stopped and looked at Brad's picture on the wall and nodded in respect before turning to Mary. "You know, I've never even kissed you?"

"There's no time like the present." Several minutes later Mary leaned her head on Tom's shoulder. "This is what I've missed for so long. Where have you been?"

"Looking for you, but I didn't know it. You fit my arms very nicely, but why me? And why now?"

Mary led him over to the couch, where they sat cuddled together. "It started for me the first day, the love and respect you showed for the one I loved, and the way you have honored him each time you come in the house. He isn't a threat to you, but he is to you as he is to me, one you love and remember. And then that day in the ER when I saw you working on those little children. Your compassion and tenderness showed through even though I know it hurt you deeply."

"That day in the ER is what finished it for me, too. That, and the other night when you held me as I broke down. I've never done that before, and you didn't back away." Tom drew back from Mary a little bit so he could look into her eyes. "Mary, I know it's awfully soon, and we hardly know each other, but I know enough for me. Will you marry me?"

"I know enough for me, too, and I would be honored. I love you, Tom. This only happens in the story books and movies, but it's real." Mary leaned in to Tom for a kiss and then nestled her head back onto his shoulder and sighed.

"I can't ask your father or the Staff Sergeant for permission. Should I maybe ask your daughter?" Tom murmured in her ear.

"I know what her answer will be, but I think it would be good."

Tom pulled his new phone from his pocket and stopped. "You know, I don't even have her number." 

Mary got her phone from her purse and handed it to him. "She wouldn't know your number either and probably wouldn't answer it this time of night. Use mine."

Tom's hands were shaking as he tried to push the buttons.

"Hi, Mom. What's up?"

"Stephanie, this is Tom."

"Oh no! What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong. I just need to ask you something."

"Oh. Good. You scared me for a minute. What's up?"

He paused and took a deep breath before saying, "I just asked your mother to marry me, and I want your permission." He had to pull the phone from his ear because of her scream of joy.

"Oh yes, yes, yes! I'm so happy! I told Mom the day I met you that you would be a good one for her! And, I think you will be a wonderful Daddy!"

"Thanks," Tom whispered. 

It was a very excited Stephanie that danced all through the house hugging everyone and telling them the good news, holding me tightly, while I held her so she could cry tears of joy into my neck. It was only moments before I had Rosemary on one side of us and Susie on the other joining in on the hug and tears. I'm not saying I cried too, but my cheeks were awfully wet when we broke apart, and I needed a tissue. 

Tom lifted Mary and set her across his lap and hugged her tightly to himself. Somehow the wine and beer were forgotten.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Debbie, Bitsy, and Helen left shortly after we finished off the pizzas, but Brian stayed around for a while. We all moved into the library, and were sitting in the lawn chairs in front of the desk. Something about the room just made it the gathering spot. Maybe it was the dark wood of the shelves that just made it more comforting than bare walls in the kitchen. When Stephanie got the call we had been talking about school, and what we could expect in the fall, places to get good deals on books, professors to avoid, and things like that. 

Stephanie jumped to her feet and started screaming, and kicked her chair across the room as she jumped. She danced around and around laughing, crying, hugging us all, even Brian who was as puzzled as he could be, but she ended up in my arms trying to drown me in her tears, as it were. What a difference from the girl who cried in my arms after Paul attacked her and tried to rape her. What a difference in men!




Justin Thyme Ch. 17



I was really happy for Mrs. Winters. She deserved a good man. I thought about calling Mom, but on second thought I decided it would be better to let Mary tell her the good news herself, as I was sure she would. I might just drop her a hint tomorrow night to give Mrs. Winters a call if she hadn't heard by then. I didn't want to spoil the news, though.

Brian left us shortly afterwards, promising to keep me in the loop on whatever transpired in the search for a suitable property. He planned to drive down to Tucson to meet with Jim at the end of next week, as soon as he finished with his exams. I didn't find out until later that he also planned to drive down to Tucson Saturday evening to take Rosemary out to dinner. That young man didn't wait for the grass to grow under his feet!

Rosemary walked out to his truck with him and came to me as soon as he was gone to nearly smother me with a great big hug and kiss. "Thank you so much for introducing me to Brian, Justin! He is so much like you I felt like I was talking to you much of the time. If this goes anyplace I'm going to be really conflicted." She gave me another kiss and then hugged me tightly with her head on my shoulder. I heard a sigh, but there were no tears thankfully. I was already well watered.

"I didn't think there was anybody like you out there. I don't know how I deserve it."

"Hey, I told you I would watch out for you, didn't I? And why would you not think you deserve it? Stick with me, Babe. The best is yet to come." Another sigh came as she settled into my shoulder and hummed. I couldn't pick up the tune, but it was happy, and that is all I cared about.

"I don't know about you guys, but I'm rather tired. I think I'm going to hit the rack. Somehow I think tomorrow is going to be a rather tough day all around, and then we have the Prom on Friday." I headed on up the stairs, expecting the girls would shut off all of the lights on their way up. I planned on sleeping alone tonight since Susie was here. Of course she knew all about the three of us, but I didn't want to rub it in her face, and Rosemary and I had discussed it earlier. My sleeping bag was the only one up stairs now.

I pulled up YouTube and loaded up Joachim Raff's symphonies in a playlist and started it for some background music as I tried to sleep. I had so much on my mind there was no way I could drift off without something to calm my thinking. Why Raff isn't better appreciated outside his own country I don't understand. Finding recordings of his works is difficult at best, and some of his stuff hasn't been recorded. Of course, I can't evaluate those, but judging from what I've heard I can't imagine them being worthless. Just to take my mind off of my own situation I pondered his for a while.

Thankfully, I was able to start to drift off in very short order, but just before I was gone beyond that half-dream, half-wake state I heard a muffled "Justin. Are you still awake?" It was Rosemary, and she was carrying her sleeping bag with her. "May I join you?"

"Of course. What about Susie?"

"She said for me to come. I think she recognized how badly I wanted to be with you tonight."

"And how is the 'most beautiful girl in the world' tonight?"

"Justin!"

Her reproof was quiet, but intense. I gathered she wasn't in the mood for teasing.

"Thank you for introducing me to Brian."

"I really didn't have a choice. He saw you when you came to introduce Helen to me, and I thought he had seen a ghost. He was totally pale, and begged me to tell him you aren't my girlfriend. He said I had to introduce you; that you were the most beautiful girl he had ever seen. I didn't make that up."

"That was sweet. You didn't tell him about us, did you?"

"Of course! I told him that not only are you the most beautiful girl in the world, but that I'm madly in love with you, although you are my twin, and I sleep with you whenever possible, besides using the desk on occasion."

"You're silly! I can't believe he took a TV apart, too. That was just too much!"

"Yeah. He's four years older than us, and Jim let him hang around the shop like he did me, but they moved away about the same time I did took our TV apart, so we didn't cross paths then."

"There is so much about him that is just like you that I'm trying not to fall for him as a brother substitute. I want to be sure it is real before I do anything stupid with him."

"I wouldn't worry if I were you. You have four years of school before you even need to think about settling down, and he's going to be running at least one store right here in the area. I plan to make sure he has a good enough deal he doesn't want to leave, so you will have plenty of access to him."

"Make love to me, Justin. I know you love me, and I need to feel loved tonight."

"Will you be thinking of me, or of him?"

"I never even considered it. You, of course. Do you always think of me, or does Steph come into it sometimes?"

"Ah, the old turn around the question ploy. Good point. Sometimes I think of Steph, but usually because you bring her up, but I'm also in love with her as well as you. You aren't in love with Brian, at least not yet."

She snuggled up close to me, sensing I wasn't playing jealous. "If I think of him a little bit, wondering about him, would that be a problem?"

"Not to me. I just want to be sure you know where you stand, that you aren't building sky castles just yet. I don't want you hurt if it doesn't work out."

"I will be, of course, but it won't be because I make love to my brother, with whom I'm also in love. Oh dear, that does leave us in a bit of a situation, doesn't it? We can't tell him, but I don't want to give you up either."

I hugged her to me closely. "We'll cross that bridge when we come to it, and we'll cross it together. If it works out with him, or with somebody else we will have to end it with us, but that won't mean we don't still love each other. It will just mean that you have found your mate, just as I have with Stephie, except Steph knows about us and is willing to share. Face it. You won't be happy just settling for what you can have with me. You will want your own home and family, which I can't give you."

"How did you get so smart?"

"It's in my genes, I guess."

"In the meantime, please make love to me." I didn't have to be asked again.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As always, I woke early, and as always when Rosemary slept with me I was delighted to find her wonderful red gold hair splayed all over my chest as she cuddled her head on my shoulder. Last night's discussion hit home to me, and I felt a knot in the pit of my stomach. 

Brian, or whomever she ended up marrying, would be the one waking to this wonderous sight every morning. Between her lustrous hair and her skin which wouldn't tan much no matter how much she tried, with its light smattering of pale freckles , plus her luscious, soft breasts, which were pressed so delightfully against my side, how could a man not enjoy waking up in the morning? Especially if they were fortunate enough to have a room with turret windows high enough for no one to see in except for the sun, which bathed her in the early morning light.

It is said in ancient mythology that Paris gave the golden apple to Aphrodite for the hand of Helen of Sparta, the most beautiful woman in the world, but he obviously never saw Rosemary lying with the morning sun for her covering. Last night I had been almost cavalier about giving her up to another man, and I will when the time comes, but it will hurt, and it will leave a tremendous hole in my heart to do so.

As I watched Rosemary, memorizing every detail for the time I would no longer have her, she stirred and stretched, causing my heart to lurch, and my cock to lurch as well. She opened her eyes and purred as she leaned into me and held me to her. "Good morning, lover. I want you to know that I thought about Brian a couple of times, but he faded out quickly when I thought about how much I love you. Thank you for loving me." She gave me the most gentle kiss, but it was done with such love that it meant more than the most passionate intense kiss she ever gave. Oh how I was going to miss her!

Rosemary felt my cock, which I hadn't even noticed had hardened, and smiled happily as she reached down to gently take it in her hand and press it to her pussy. I couldn't believe it! She was quite moist, and was able to slip the head inside easily, and it didn't take much to get it the rest of the way in. "Last night when we were making love, like I said, I thought of Brian a couple of times, but it was all you, but I just woke up with the most wonderful dream. You and Brian were taking turns loving me, and you were sharing. It was wonderful. I know it was a dream and doesn't mean anything. It came because we were talking about things, but it was nice. Then when I woke up to see you looking at me like that I just got wet all of a sudden. I really don't feel all that horny. I just want you deep inside of me, and I want to feel you squirt your seed deeply into me, and I want to dream it is making your baby. That is just a dream, too, but I wish it could be true."

She moved herself against me, matching my motions to the tee, and then offered up a nipple for me to suckle on. "Oh, yes, Justin. That feels so nice. Just keep doing that. I want to feel you come in me again before I have to get up, and before I have to let you have Stephanie's nipples to suck on like this." It really wasn't fair. I had not thought of Stephanie at all, but only of my Rosemary, until she brought Stephanie's nipples into my mind, and it wasn't but a minute or two before I was coming, and as deeply inside her as she wanted."

Not until my heart slowed, along with my labored breathing, did Rosemary giggle and hug me to her with her head on my chest. "That wasn't fair, was it, to bring Stephie's nipples into it? I know you had your mind on me until I mentioned them, and I love it, but I really wanted you to come. I didn't want to wait for you to try to get me off this morning. I just wanted you, and I got what I wanted." She kissed my chest, which had finally settled down to at least near normal before looking up into my eyes. "Thank you for loving me, Justin, and I know you really do. I'm the luckiest girl in all of the world."

There was so much I wanted to accomplish today before everybody got here in the evening, but there was no way I was going to get up and leave this behind for a while. Again, I was storing up memories.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dad called Grandpa early in the morning. "Justin said Michael would like to invite his parents to sit in on the meeting with us this evening. What do you think about inviting them to dinner before they pick up Michael?"

"I knew that young man had good sense! He knows he's going to need help, and he has the sense to involve his parents. I don't know about bringing them in on things beforehand, though. If we do he may get the idea we are going behind his back and don't trust him."

"Hmm. I never thought of it that way. Still, he has some knowledge of what is going on. Should they walk into it totally cold?"

"I really think it would be better for me to give a bit of a preview, as it were, before we get into details. Unless we get into specifics with them I think we will just stir up more curiosity and questions."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"You seem lost in thought. What are you thinking?"

I hadn't realized I was so transparent. "I'm just storing up memories. If you start seeing Brian I won't be able to do this anymore, and I'll miss it." The sun had risen enough that it didn't have quite as red a hue as earlier, although it was still lovely on her skin and hair. 

"Then I won't start seeing Brian, or anybody else for that matter."

"Yes you will. I love you, and I love being with you, but you need more. I can't give you children, can't marry you and make you mine. You will tire of sharing me before long. It doesn't mean I'll stop loving you. That will never happen."

"But I don't want to lose you."

"You won't lose me. It will just be different. Brian knows we are twins, and twins are different than others. He will expect us to be close, just not this close."

Rosemary nestled herself closely against me and sighed. I relished the feeling of her skin against mine until I noticed moisture seeping down my chest. Instinctively my arms tightened about her. "That feels so nice. I love it when you hold me. I've been storing up memories, too, although I haven't been honest with myself what I'm doing. I wish Susie wasn't here! Today would be a nude day for sure!"

"I'm sure Stephanie would join you, and I won't mind."

"I'm sure you wouldn't, but I like to look at you. I know Stephanie wouldn't mind. Would you believe she asked me about a nudist resort?"

"Stephanie?"

"Umm hmm. I think we've corrupted her. She told me she doesn't really want to see others. She just likes the feeling of being nude and free."

"Uh oh. I don't think I'm interested in doing anything like that! I hope she doesn't try starting something like that in the house next year!"

Rosemary giggled. "I don't think Bitsy or Helen would be all that hard to convince if you were involved. I noticed they were checking out your bulge after you caught Bitsy and Debbie changing, and Bitsy wasn't in any hurry to hide from you either."

Just then a naked Stephanie walked into the room. "What was Bitsy trying to hide?"

"You mean your boyfriend didn't tell you about sneaking a peak at the girls changing yesterday? I said Bitsy wasn't in any hurry to hide from him. Justin did turn his head quickly, though. He was a gentleman. Bitsy told him she might tan topless sometimes, and she won't expect him to turn away, and Debbie told Helen it might be a 'delicious' year."

Stephanie just smirked at Rosemary. "I hope that made it a fun night for you, at least. Remember, Justin. You have to save it for us. Ohhh. I'm getting wet just thinking about it!" Rosemary gave me a crooked grin and winked at me.

"Really, I was kind of hoping to catch you two this morning." She blushed and looked down. "That wasn't the way I meant it. I'm not into being a voyeur, but you two are so beautiful together. Your love for each other is so special."

"Thanks, Steph. You should have been here earlier then, but it was you that finished him off."

"Me?"

"Um hm. I told him not to wait for me, I just wanted to feel him, but he acted like he wanted me to come too, so I just mentioned your nipples, and that was all it took."

Steph's eyes got big. "My nipples did it? Really?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tom woke up totally disoriented and confused. He wasn't in his bed, and someone was in the bed with him. It took him only moments to realize it was Mary, and he felt his heart lurch within his chest as he looked over at her nude form and the look of peace on her face as she snuggled tightly against his side. How this could possibly have happened to him he could not imagine, and he felt his new found love pouring all throughout his person. Although he knew it was totally unprofessional of him to do so he picked up his cellphone from the bedside table and dialed the hospital. 

He was due quite a bit of time off, and a couple of residents were scheduled a rotation in the ER, with their attending physicians, so the ER was more than amply covered. It would have been a boring day anyway. "Dr. Meechum here," he said quietly, trying not to waken Mary. "I'm sorry, but I will not be able to make it in to work today. Dr's Smith and Warren are serving their rotations in ER with their attendings, so you won't need to call in a sub. . . . Thank you. Oh, just put me down for a personal day. . . . Thanks again."

Mary's eyes flew open as he finished the call, and she too was at first disoriented to have a man in her bed before she remembered. "Good morning, Tom. Last night was wonderful. Thank you." She was amazed at herself that she was not the least self-conscious at being nude in bed with him. For the first time in the almost eleven years since Brad deployed the last time she felt complete and satisfied, and tears filled her eyes as she recognized this was what she had looked for, but lacked, from Paul. 

"I just called in and told them I would not be able to make it in today. Why don't you do the same?"

"I couldn't do that."

"Sure you can. You've been pulling a lot of doubles lately, and I know for a fact your floor is rather light on patients today. You are due the time off, and I would love to spend it with you."

Mary glanced down and saw the tent in the sheets as she felt Tom's eyes on her breasts, and she giggled. "What ever would we find to do? You are corrupting me, Dr. Meechum." She reached under the sheets to find his hard cock and squeezed it gently as she reached for her cellphone with the other hand. Her thumb hit the speed dial setting and she looked into his eyes with a guilty smile on her face. "Hi, Mary here. I'm sorry, but I can't make it in today. Do you have enough to cover for me? . . . Excellent. I should be able to be in tomorrow. Thanks."

"You are so bad, Tom, and I love you!" Flipping the sheets back she crawled atop him, and found she was wet and ready for penetration. She didn't need foreplay, but just wanted the fullness of having him inside her again. It was a long pent up moan that she released as she sank down onto his shaft and she felt his fingers plucking at her nipples. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Stephanie crawled onto my sleeping bag so that I had Rosemary on one side and her on the other. I put both arms out and pulled them to me, holding them closely. I gently kissed Steph on the nose, and then turned and did the same for Rosemary. "You know, I really love you two. I don't know why I'm so lucky, but I couldn't be happier." Little Justin started to stir a bit from the sensation of their boobs pressing against me, and Stephanie giggled as she reached down and felt him.

"It's too bad Susie is here today. I really feel like a nude day. Rosemary has totally corrupted me."

"You can go nude if you like. I won't mind!"

"I'll bet you wouldn't!"

"Susie won't care if you are naked, and I'll wear my shorts."

"It's not the same, but I guess it's better than nothing. You gonna join me, Rosie?"

"It does sound interesting, but what about Susie? I don't want to hurt her feelings."

"From the way she was talking last night she would only be wishing Michael was here and they could join us. That poor girl has it bad! She kept asking questions about what sex is like with Justin, and how it feels. She tried to keep quiet and not let me know she was doing it, but she got herself off in her sleeping bag a couple of times while we talked."

Little Justin perked up a bit more when Stephie told about Susie and her questions.

"I don't know if we should do it, then. I really don't want to hurt her."

"What if you and I go down to fix some breakfast without Justin? If it seems to bother her we can put our clothes on, but if she's OK with it we don't have to?"

Rosemary leaned over me and gave me a big kiss. "What do you think, Justin? Would you like it if we were running around painting in the nude? I mean, what if we were bending over painting around the baseboard or something? Would that bother you to see us bending over like that?"

Little Justin popped up to full attention quickly, which got a good giggle out of Steph. 

"Don't let it go to waste, there Stephie. Climb on for a quickie before we go down." 

I'll never understand Rosemary. It was Rosemary's turn with me, and she was sharing me again.

Steph didn't waste any time, either. She jumped up on me in a flash and settled herself down on my cock. It took a couple of tries before she got it all the way in, but then she really went to town bouncing up and down on me, grinding against me hard each time she hit bottom. I reached up and plucked at her nipples the way she likes, and it was only a few minutes before she came with a quiet moan and then sank down to lie on my chest. She reached an arm out and pulled Rosemary into us and kissed her on the cheek. 




Justin Thyme Ch. 17



"Thank you, Rosie. How did you know I needed that?"

Rosemary just giggled back, "Because I know how I feel when I've been away from him, and I didn't even have Susie asking me about it, poor girl!"

Stephanie slipped off of me, and my cock, which was still hard since I didn't come popped out. Rosemary saw it and grinned. "I guess I must have drained you pretty well, didn't I? Do you have anything left in there?" She crawled on top and quickly slipped my cock into her very wet pussy and started riding me again. 

I knew I wouldn't last very long, and she was pretty excited from our earlier coupling and then watching Stephie. It didn't take long before she started coming. Quickly she gasped, "Come with me, Justin. Look at Stephie's nipples, and come with me."

I looked over at Stephanie, and as Rosemary bottomed out on me and quivered through her orgasm mine quickly coursed up through my cock and into her pussy. It wasn't a big one, as orgasms go, but it was very pleasant. I had just made love to both of my women, with their eager compliance. Rosemary pulled Stephanie to us, and again I had two women pressed up against me, sharing my love. I gently kissed Stephanie, and then Rosemary, and my eyes fluttered closed.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Michael woke early and took advantage of the hotel's breakfast buffet before going back to his room to gather his belongings. He checked out and was waiting outside the front doors for his ride fifteen minutes before Pete was due. He didn't want to make Pete wait, and he was anxious to get the day going to be certain he would be done in time to make the flight home. Several times during the night he woke up thinking about Justin's calls and texts. Curiosity was building, now that the experiences of the day in Illinois were over. 

Realizing he was wool-gathering, Michael pulled his thoughts back to his task at hand. He really had no idea of the kind of reception he was facing once he got to UP headquarters. He had to meet with the number two person in IT and develop enough of a working relationship to ascertain if he could actually be of service to the railroad or not. 

He was seated on a small bench outside the doors enjoying the morning breeze. He glanced up to see a car pull under the porte-cochere, but it was not Pete's, and he looked down again, perusing the screen on his iPhone. In the back of his mind he heard his name called and glanced up, to see Ben Jorgenson standing by the car. 

"I'm so sorry, Ben! I didn't see Pete's car, so I didn't pay attention to you. My apologies!"

Ben just laughed. "None are needed. When you concentrate you really concentrate, don't you. I called you three times."

Michael turned red with embarrassment. "I guess I do. Mom is always getting after me for it."

"I told Pete I would pick you up this morning. I need to pick your brain a bit before we get to the office. Pete and I discussed matters at length last night, trying to determine our best way forward at this point, and we would like your assistance."

"I'll do anything within my power for you. That's why I'm here."

"I thank you for that. Actually, you are here to take a look at our programming and to make recommendations on it. To this point you haven't even had opportunity to look at it, but today I would also like your evaluation of two people from your side of things, if you will. We have two people that Pete and I are discussing for promotion to head IT, but I'm not really qualified to evaluate them as well as I would like. If you could keep them in mind as you also look at our IT needs it would be helpful."

"I'm not certain I'm qualified to make that sort of evaluation, but I'll be happy to give you my thoughts. You will have to make the decision, though."

"Absolutely. We have two people, as I said. Phil Timmons has been with us longer, and has served us well in IT, but never in an upper management position. He has over twenty years of experience in the department. He's a Nebraska grad.

Connie Lord started with us at about the same time, but she had to leave us for two years during the illness and death of her child from cancer about ten years ago. You will probably relate well with her as she is from a rather conservative religious background, although different than yours. 

She is a graduate of Bob Jones University, and like you she lives her religion, although she does not wear it on her sleeve, but we aren't evaluating religious beliefs. I really shouldn't have said that, and please don't take it as a pejorative. I actually find her beliefs drive her work ethic. We have several BJU grads, and find their work ethic to be top-knotch, and it is Connie's work ethic that has put her into contention for the job.

Phil obviously has seniority, but I'm not much of one for putting a lot of stock in seniority for seniority's sake. A person can have twenty years of experience, or he can have one year's experience twenty times. Both Phil and Connie are top drawer people or we wouldn't consider them, and they are close enough I would like someone from your background to help evaluate them."

"I'll do what I can for you."

"Good. Thanks." They continued the drive for a short ways before driving up to the new UP headquarters building and parking in Ben's reserved spot. Ben ushered Michael up to his office on the top floor. Pete was already there, sitting in a wing chair across a coffee table from a man and a woman Michael assumed were Pete and Connie.

"Morning, 'Mike'." Pete gave Michael a crooked grin as he stood to shake hands. "Phil, Connie, please let me introduce you to Michael Borden. He does not like to be called 'Mike'. That was a private joke between the two of us."

Ben took over the meeting quickly. "Michael, please have a seat. Help yourself to juice or water if you like. Those are fresh pastries, too." Turning to Phil and Connie, he said, "Thank you both for coming in early this morning. I don't know how much Pete told you about what happened yesterday, but after an incredibly rude response to Michael by David Abernathy, Pete and I both knew something had to be done. I pulled Pete off of vacation and flew him to Tucson to pick up Michael and they flew to one of the Chicago area offices to meet with Abernathy, only to find out Abernathy was changing our orders for new locomotives and pocketing a significant amount of cash. He has been arrested, and further arrests will be made at Electromotive and some of their suppliers. I'm not implicating Electromotive! This was done without corporate knowledge."

"You two obviously are in the running to replace Abernathy, but that is not the purpose of this meeting. I would like to discuss IT operations with each of you at a later date, and discuss what needs to be done with your department. It may be Abernathy will not be replaced, but his duties will be split between the two of you. Phil, you have seniority due to Connie taking leave a few years ago, but at this level I don't look at seniority as the final determinate. Both of you have done a tremendous job for the railroad, and I want this transaction to be as smooth and as amicable as possible."

"Back to the purpose of today's meeting. Michael is one of two young men responsible for the discovery of all of the gold you heard about in the news a few days ago. That is not why he is here, and please don't let his age fool you. Michael is a very astute young man who wrote a program for his father while in high school that Pete and I, as well as millions of other investors, use to help track and plan our investing. Pete and I both thought it might be possible he could do something similar to help us with our scheduling difficulties. He has been asked as a consultant to take a look at what we have, and to make recommendations, and/or develop a new program that will make us more efficient and better able to serve our customers."

"Please don't look at him as a threat, but as an assist to your operations that can possibly make your lives easier. Michael is to be given full access to anything he asks for and I expect full cooperation from everyone in the IT department."

"Just to be clear, Michael is not a 'snot nosed kid with no real world experience in transportation', neither is he "the world's greatest programmer who is going to get rid of your jobs and make your department obsolete' as your former boss said to him. He is here at Pete's request, with my full concurrence, to see if there is something else we can be doing. He is looking at our programming from an outside perspective. Sometimes I think we are so ingrained in our own little worlds we can't step back and take a look at things from the outside. Our customers see us and our foibles from the outside everyday, and frankly, we frequently let them down. I want to change as much of this as we possibly can."

"Michael is not looking for a job, let alone yours. He really doesn't need one. He is here at our request, albeit somewhat reluctantly as he has other things ongoing. He is here to assist you, and not as a threat."

Phil nodded his head and scooted forward in his chair before speaking. "Just two questions, if I may. Michael, you look rather young. Just how old are you?"

"I'm nineteen, sir. I'll be twenty this summer."

"I see. I'd like to talk with you about your program and how you did it if I may. I think I might learn quite a bit from you. Just how old were you when you wrote it?"

"About sixteen. My Dad was having trouble understanding a program his broker gave him to use. He was so frustrated he about quit trying to track his stocks and just put his investments in CD's. I just played around with what Dad needed and came up with a little thing for him to track his stuff. He showed it to his broker, and the rest is history. I've had to improve it a good bit before it could go commercial, of course."

"I see. My second question. I thought the guy who found the gold was named Thibodeaux. How do you fit in there?"

"My name is Thibodeaux. Dad is Jeff Thibodeaux. My mother's maiden name, and my middle name is Borden. I got tired of all of the hoopla that went around about Dad and started going by Michael Borden. Mom and Dad are fully in favor of me doing so, and understand. I'd really appreciate if you kept this between us. I've had more than enough of the limelight to suit me."

"I'd change my name, too, but then I'm a 49's fan." 

Pete stood, bringing the meeting to a close. "Shall we get this show on the road? Time is of the essence as I have to be sure Michael is on a plane to Phoenix about four-thirty. Do what you can today, send home whatever you need to with Michael. He has signed all of the necessary documentation. Most importantly, introduce him to your staffs and make sure they know it is in their best interest to work with him fully. That's all. Thanks, 'Mike'." He laughed as Michael made a face at him and slapped Michael on the back as he turned toward the door.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

With three girls cutting in the walls I was able to focus on rolling. Susie didn't care if the girls painted in the nude. "I just wish I could join you! It looks like it's fun, and if Michael was here I might try to talk him into it. Of course, I know how that would go. Justin, I'm sorry I spoil it for you. Of course, I wouldn't care if you stripped too." She gave me a wink. "Michael wouldn't understand, though, and I appreciate you understanding."

Stephanie painted around the baseboard, while Susie did the vertical corners and around windows and doors. Rosemary cut across the ceiling. Don't think watching her climb up and down stepladders wearing only a ragged old pair of sneakers wasn't distracting! Stephanie made it a point to bend over straight legged frequently whenever she had her ass pointed toward me. A couple of times either she or Rosemary would get a little paint on one of their nipples and come to me to get it cleaned off, much to Susie's delight. 

Of course, I was hard a good bit of the morning, and I saw Susie sneak a peek a few times, but I was really surprised at the way she didn't make a big deal about it, or ogle me, as she would have before Michael. 

Just before we quit for lunch Rosemary's phone rang. "Hello. . . . Oh, hi, Helen. . . . I don't think that will be a problem. I'm glad you like it. . . . Hang on for just a minute. Let me get Justin on here with me and you can run it past him, too."

"Justin, this is Helen, with a couple of questions. A faxed signature from her parents is sufficient isn't it?" I nodded. "OK, she has a couple of other questions, too. Let's go to the library so I can put her on speaker and talk together."

"Helen, hang on a couple of minutes. Justin and I are going down to the library and put you on speaker."

Just as soon as we were out of the room Rosemary rubbed my hard cock and giggled while we hurried down the stairs. We ended up stopping in the kitchen though since we used the back stairs, and all we really needed was quiet and privacy.

"Hi, Helen," I said just as soon as Rosemary put her on speaker. "What's up?"

"Hey, Justin. I hate to bother you already, but I just love the house, and Mom and Dad are really excited about it, too. They like the rules, and that it is all girls. There have just been too many assaults and things in the dorms. They signed and faxed the contract back to me, and I have the deposit for you." 

"Anyway, I have a really big favor to ask. Say 'no' if it isn't doable, but I'm taking a couple of big classes during Summer School, trying to get a head start on Med School. Like I told you, my roommate is getting married in June, so I can't keep my room in the dorm for the summer. Would it be possible to move into the house during Summer School? I know you are working on the house and everything. I really don't care about that, and I'm more than happy to pay full rent for the three months, even though I'll only be there for two."

I looked at Rosemary, and she looked back at me. "I don't know what to say, Helen. None of the rooms are furnished, we don't have carpet installed yet, the kitchen and bathrooms aren't even going to be started until mid-summer."

"Yeah, I know all of that. I really don't care about all of that stuff. We bought our house from the bank when I was in High School, and it was in a lot worse shape than yours. We redid it all ourselves, so I know what that is like. I can use an air-mattress and share your bathroom until the others are done. Even paying for all three months it is cheaper than getting the room here by myself, and it would be a lot better for studying than the dorm with all that goes on over here."

I glanced at Rosemary, who shrugged her shoulders and then nodded. "I think we can work something out, maybe. I have a meeting with Mom and Dad this evening. Let me run it past them and either Rosemary or I will give you a call back tonight or first thing in the morning."

"Oh thank you, so very much! I hope we can make it work. Could you give me a call tonight? Time is getting really short, and I have to do something by the weekend."

"Certainly." We said our goodbye's and Rosemary killed the phone. 

"You're so sweet!" She wrapped both arms around me and gave me a big hug. "I knew you would come through for her." Rosemary looked over her shoulder as if she thought the other girls might be listening. "I'm of half a mind to rip those shorts off of you and fuck you silly right here!" She leaned in, rubbing her breasts on my chest in the process, and nipped on my earlobe. "You have no idea how hot it makes me running around naked with you watching me when you can't do anything about it with Susie watching! I really need you to use the desk with me."

She looked over her shoulder again, then grabbed my hand and pulled it to her pussy. "See how swollen and hot and wet I am for you?"

I grabbed her and quickly set her up on the island, then dove in and started eating her pussy fast and hard. We didn't have much time, and she certainly didn't need any foreplay. I needed some relief, too, but mine could wait. I put two fingers into her pussy and attacked her clit, sucking it, pummeling it with my tongue, all the while growling and humming on it. I really don't know how long it took, but it wasn't much before she clamped down on my head with her thighs and started to scream. Rosemary isn't a screamer, but this was so intense that she quickly stifled her scream by biting down on her hand. 

I had to help her down from the counter top, and then hold her up for a few minutes, so spent was she from the orgasm, and after looking at her hand I quickly grabbed an ice cube and put in on her bite. "Silly girl! That's going to leave a mark!"

"I don't care," she whispered in my ear. "I needed that, and I have an idea Steph and Susie are in the same boat. It's too bad you can't do something for Susie."

That's my Rosemary for you. Even when someone does something for her, her first thought is for the needs of someone else. How can you not love her?"



Justin Thyme Ch. 18



My deepest, humblest apologies for being so long between submissions! I do appreciate all of the emails and notes from my readers, and as before, I promise not to leave the story unfinished.

Three major things happened since my last submission which prevented my writing. First, my youngest daughter graduated High School with the attendant parties, etc. Second, a young adult book I wrote came back to me from my editor, and I needed to promptly submit my rewrite, which took a couple of weeks, and third, I had a major health issue that put me out of commission for a week, but that is now past, and the prognosis is good. I'm writing feverishly because I want to know how the story ends, too! 

I love my readers, and as always, I am most happy to respond to all emails that leave a return address! 

*****

Mom and Dad, along with Grandpa and Grandma arrived shortly after five o'clock, just a few minutes after Susie and Steph left for home. Rosemary and I made sure the place was straightened up, just in case. When I shook Grandpa's hand he held it tightly and looked hard into my eyes as if looking for something from me. He gave me a hug then and walked into the house without saying a word. Grandma gave me a big hug and a kiss on the cheek and smiled at me. "Don't let your Grandfather get to you, Justin. He has a lot on his mind right now. Everything is good."

Mom hugged me tightly and then said she had heard back from Donna, and that there were three properties we should check out. Donna emailed the info to Jim and to me. I've had so much going on I haven't even checked email for several days.

Dad gave me a big hug and a firm handshake, much like Grandpa did, except after looking me in the eye for a couple of minutes he asked, "Well, are you ready for this?"

"I'm not sure what 'this' is, but I guess I'm ready. We just need to wait for Michael to get here." Dad grunted and gave me a nod. I really wasn't sure what was up. Both Dad and Grandpa acted like this was something terrible, not something good.

We all made our way into the library, and Dad complimented me on getting the chairs. "I'm too old to be sitting on buckets anymore! In an emergency they are fine, but I'm not young like you two any longer."

"Speaking of chairs reminds me," I said. "Helen called earlier and said her parents faxed their signed contract and agreement, plus she has the deposit for us. That has us full for next year." Dad nodded his approval. "She had one request that I said I would run past you. She will be attending summer school, trying to get a head start on med school, but since her roommate is getting married in June she will be losing her room. She offered to pay three month's rent for the use of a room for two months rather than have to stay in the dorm as a single. She said it would be less expensive, plus a lot quieter for studying and safer. Rosemary and I don't have a problem with it. What do you think?"

"But the house isn't ready yet." Mom, the realtor, thinks first of the property.

"I'm not sure it will be all that much quieter with you guys working on the house, will it?" Dad was trying to be practical. "Will you be able to do your work with someone else living in the house?"

"The house won't be furnished until August at the earliest," said Mom.

"You don't have any of the bathrooms ready except the one in your room," was Dad's next response.

I held up my hand to stop them. "I told her all of that. She said when they bought their house it was a foreclosure that needed a lot of work, so she is familiar with living in those circumstances. She said she is willing to bring in an air mattress and sleep on the floor for no longer than she will be here, and she said she could share the bathroom with us. She knows how Rosemary and I have been living here, and said she is willing to do the same, and she said her parents are more than on board with the idea."

Dad looked at Mom and shrugged while Mom looked thoughtful. It was Grandma who interjected the answer. Grandma hardly speaks, so when she does we pay attention. "I'd say let the girl stay, but I wouldn't charge her full rent, let alone three months. If it was up to me I'd charge her for one and a half month's rent. You already have the house full for next year, and this is just extra money. Don't be greedy, especially since she isn't getting what she will be paying for."

"Thanks, Grandma. That's what Rosemary and I talked about when she called. Dad, Mom, is that OK with you?"

"I think that would be fair," said Mom. "You already have cable access for the internet, and you are running the AC anyway. The additional cost for just one would be negligible. I don't see a problem as long as she is OK with how she will have to live." Dad just nodded.

"I'll give her a call right now then and let her know. She needs to have a place lined up by the weekend. I know she'll be relieved."

Mom spoke up quickly. "One other thing to consider, Son. What about Stephanie? What will she think about Helen living in the house with you and Rosemary for the summer?"

I grinned at her. "Thanks, Mom. I appreciate you thinking of us. I talked with Steph just as soon as I got off the phone with Helen. She's OK with it. She trusts me, and she plans to be up here a good bit this summer anyway." I walked out of the library so I could call without all the noise of everyone talking in the background.

"Helen? Justin. I just spoke with Mom and Dad about you staying here at the house for the summer, and everything is good to go except for the rent."

"Oh no. Do you need more?"

I laughed. "No. We won't take that much. It wouldn't be fair to you, and you wouldn't get what you would be paying for. We independently came up with one and a half month's rent and all agreed it is fair, and you can have access all summer if you need it." I heard a squeal of happiness on the other end of the line.

"Oh, good! When can I move in?"

"Whenever you like. We just have to get together and get you a key card. Rosemary and I won't be around for a week or so, so we'll have to make arrangements on getting it to you."

"That's great. We'll work out a time next week. Right now I have to focus on finals, so I'm not in a hurry. I'll call you next week sometime. Thank you so much, and tell your parents I said 'Thanks!'"

"Will do. Talk with you later." And with that we had our first tenant lined up.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tom and Mary ended their day as they had the previous day, at Ming Yat. The proprietor greeted them as they walked in the door with a half bow and said, "Welcome back. It is nice to see you again!"

Tom smiled and held out a hand to shake and said, "We thought it would be best to come back again tonight and share with you what you helped to bring to pass. Mary has agreed to marry me," and he held up Mary's hand to show off the new diamond ring they had chosen earlier in the afternoon. "We would like to have one of Mae Ling's tables again this evening if that is possible?"

"Ah, most certainly, Sir. And my I offer my congratulations, Madam? We are honored you would grace our humble house with your good fortune! Please, this way," and he led them to a quiet corner booth away from several families with small children. "I will send Mae Ling to you right away. Thank you, Sir." And with another half bow he hurried away.

Mary reached across the table and captured Tom's hand in her own and smiled up at him. "I can't seem to quit smiling today. You have made me so very happy!"

"Thank you, my dear. I'm afraid you don't know what you are getting into, but you have made me very happy as well. I never thought I'd find someone to love, but you've made it so easy. What time did Stephanie say she would be home?"

Mary looked at her watch. "She said about seven-thirty, depending on traffic."

"Good. We have time, but I really think we should be there when she arrives home. I know she is going to need some Mom time tonight."

Mae Ling came up to the table with two glasses of wine on her tray. "Congratulations to you two! I am so honored to have served you last evening." She made a small bow to Tom and said, "You were to kind and generous last evening. I am very grateful to you."

Tom just nodded. "It was the least I could do since we tied up your table all evening and kept you from waiting on others."

"That was not a problem. You are very thoughtful to think of me. Most do not think about the servers when they remain long at the table. We do not mind you staying, please don't misunderstand."

Tom nodded. "I used to wait tables when I was in college. I remember what it was like, and besides that, you gave us good service. Thank you."

Mae Ling set the wine in front of each of them and said, "Please enjoy the wine as a blessing on your coming marriage. It is on the house with our wishes for your every happiness."

"Thank you," whispered Mary. "That is so kind."

"Do you know what you would like this evening?"

"Yes, thank you. We both have been talking about your 'Special Soup' all day. We would each like a large bowl and a serving of your excellent egg rolls to go with it."

"Very good, sir. And to drink?"

"I think we had better settle for this one glass of wine. We have to drive yet this evening."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Michael spent most of the time on the flight back to Phoenix looking through a part of the programming the railroad wanted updated. He had pages and pages of documentation to go through. His thoughts kept drifting back to the day try as he might to keep them on the subject. Most of the day had been spent talking with the programmers that made it work, plus talking with Phil and Connie about what they saw as the needs within the IT department. 

The last thing he did before catching a limousine to the airport was to meet with Ben and Pete for a quick debriefing.

"Ben, I've spent most of the day with both Phil and Connie, and to be frank I really don't see a nickel's worth of difference between them. Either one of them could handle the department; and from what I saw it looks to me like the two of them have both been propping Abernathy up for a long time."

Ben nodded. "I think you are probably right. Unfortunately, I inherited Abernathy when I took over my position, and I never had reason to get rid of him. They did a good job of covering his ass for several years. Just off the top of your head, what would you do if in my position?"

Michael sat and thought for a minute or two. "I'd promote them both." Both Ben and Pete's heads popped up. "Let me tell you what I'm thinking, and this is just off the top of my head as you asked. I know nothing about their work history other than what little you've told me, but both are obviously very savvy, they both know what they are doing, and they work well together. I know either of them would be disappointed not to get the promotion, but I don't believe it would be a game changer to either not to get it."

"From what I saw I think Phil is a little stronger on programming, but Connie is the stronger of the two on the DB side. If you promote both you have everything covered, and you have the benefit of two minds working together as equals rather than one being subservient to the other and possibly not fully utilized."

"Told you he was smart!" Pete said to Ben. "And he's only been here for a day!" Pete turned to Michael. "Are you sure you don't want to come to work for us? Within five years the department would be yours, without a doubt."

"Thank you, but no. I'm not looking for a job. I like playing around with things, and I'm happy to do some developing, but I'd rather stay on my own."

"OK, I had to ask. Be sure to let me know as soon as you have an answer for us on the programming. We really would like to improve things if we can."

"I'll do that. Whenever you guys are down in Phoenix or Tucson give me a call, and I'll introduce you to Al's, or we'll hit Bill's again."

Ben groaned. "I don't know if I could eat like that again! It was good though!" He stood and offered his hand to Michael. "Thank you again for all you have done for us! We are in your debt. I wish I could take the time to drive you to the airport, but I'm way behind and have people outside waiting for me. Safe travels, and when you are up this way please give us a yell and let us buy you dinner or something."

Pete walked with Michael to the door and saw him into the airport limo before shaking his hand and wishing him the best.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Jeff and Joanne Thibodeaux sat in their car in the cell phone waiting lot at Sky Harbor International waiting for Michael's flight to arrive. Joanne couldn't help worrying about the upcoming meeting with the Thymes. She just couldn't get her mind around what was so important that they had to be involved. No matter how much Jeff tried to reassure her that Michael was not in any kind of trouble she worried. After all, it was her baby they were talking about. It didn't matter he was nineteen and already out of the house and on his own, besides consulting with a major corporation, she still felt like she needed to care for her baby.

At last Jeff's cell phone went off with a text from Michael and they started for the airport to pick him up.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Grandpa sat behind the old desk as still and silent as the sphinx, his expressions nearly as hard. I really didn't understand what was going on, but he was not forthcoming at all. When I asked what was wrong he just said, "Nothing. Just wait until Michael gets here and we can talk about it then."

Dad was nearly as bad, sitting quietly, only breaking his silence to ask if I had ordered pizzas. When I assured him I had, that they were to be delivered at six o'clock he just nodded. Mom, Rosemary, and Grandma were sitting over in the corner talking away about the house, and especially the idea of Helen moving in for the summer. Grandma is funny. She can go all day without saying a word and is happy as can be, but start a conversation about decorating and it's like a switch is thrown! She gets downright animated. I didn't fit into that conversation, and there was none coming from Dad or Grandpa, so I just sat there and wondered.

Finally, the doorbell rang at six o'clock on the dot. I got up and opened the door to find the pizza guy there with a stack of pizzas for us. I let him in and led him to the kitchen, where he pulled them from their protective warmers and stacked them on the counter. Once he was gone I started gathering glasses and ice and set out a stack of paper plates and a roll of paper towels to use as napkins. Fancy this dinner would not be!

My cell went off and I quickly answered Michael. "Hey, Michael, what's up?"

"We're on the way. Got held up by an accident leaving the airport. I swear that road in and out is more dangerous than flying could ever be! We should be there in about fifteen or so."

"No problem. The pizzas just got here, so I'll put them in the oven to stay warm until you arrive."

"Good enough. See you." 

I walked back into the library, where except for the women it was silent until we heard the front door open and the Tib's walked in. Once the hugs and handshakes were out of the way Joanne said, "This place is beautiful! Michael didn't exaggerate at all." 

Grandpa, who was unusually grumpy for some reason, said "We may as well get the tour out of the way first, and then we can sit down and talk."

Grandma gave him a look that would sour cream and said, "We have pizzas waiting on us. I think we should have something to eat first, and just maybe you'll get a civil spirit back in you! This is not a time of troubles, but of good fortune, but you act like you have the devil flogging you ahead of time." 

"I'm sorry. I've a lot on my mind, and as Grandma says, this is a time of celebration, not a time of troubles. Please don't let my bad mood sour things. I'm not always this grumpy. Sometimes it gets worse!" 

Everyone chuckled a little bit and we all headed for the kitchen. 

"Just wait 'till I tell you about Illinois!" said Michael around a bite of pizza. "It's more than we have time for this evening, but you wouldn't believe what that guy tried to do!"

I nodded. "I can't wait to hear it. Things are popping here, too. If you know a good contractor you would like to put on the carriage house renovation I'd suggest you get him moving on things. There's no way I'm going to have time to touch it the way things are going now. We've rented the last room, and she's moving in in just a couple of weeks, even though the house isn't really ready for anybody. She said she doesn't care, that it is so much better than the dorm even the way it is, plus a lot cheaper since her roommate is getting married and she would have to be a single over there."

"I'll ask Dad if he knows anyone. I probably ought to get an architect working on plans, too. We'll have to pull permits for that job. It isn't going to be just light renovations like you guys are doing."

I groaned. "Yeah, I guess so. That's all I need. Inspectors crawling all over the place!"

"What you guys are doing you don't need them, but what I have in mind is more than what you are doing. Besides, we're going to be doing the job right, so it shouldn't be a problem."

"Shouldn't is right, but we're talking government. They generally can make a problem if they can't find one. That's my experience anyway."

Grandpa spoke up. "Justin, you want to take the Tib's around and show them the place? Bring them back to the library when you're done, and we'll go downstairs to start things off. I suppose you'd better show them the carriage house, too, although I'd rather not make this a later night than we have to."

I nodded and said, "Let's take a look at the carriage house first, then," and I led the way out the back door, pointing out the pool as we went by. 

Jeff and Joanne were both pleased with what Michael had in mind for an apartment, and Jeff had a contractor who also did design work he could recommend for the job, so that was one problem out of the way. We made our way back around to the front of the house so that we could use the 'grand staircase' as Rosemary had started calling it. Joanne and Grandma had a great time talking about the colors in the rooms and wanted to spend time looking at fabric samples and things, but Jeff hurried Joanne along.

"We have a meeting to take care of tonight. I'm sure they will allow us to come back when the house is finished and see it properly. Right now I'm more interested in seeing what Michael has gotten himself into!" Joanne made a face at Jeff, but moved along. 

When we made it back to the library Grandpa made a show of looking at his watch. "I'm amazed! I figured Martha would still be talking about the decorating for another hour or so!" Something had a burr up his backside, but I couldn't for the life of me figure out what it was.

"Justin," Grandpa said. "Please open the door and lead the way to the basement. We'll start in the lower office, although there aren't any chairs down there."

I led the way down, and stood at the bottom of the ladder to assist the ladies if they needed it, but even Grandma got down without much difficulty. Grandpa came last.

"All right, Justin, Michael, how about show the Tib's what you found, and where."

I let Michael point out where we found the skeletons and how - much to Jeff's interest -, but Joanne's horror. I think Michael might have played it up a little bit just for her. I showed them where we found the railroad cases, and pulled one of the rolls of coins from the desk to let them see the coins. 

Jeff and Joanne were suitably impressed, especially when Grandpa drily gave them the value of the gold in the poke on the desk, plus the value of the coins, and the five thousand dollars in gold coins in Sam Johnson's money belt. Grandpa took over the meeting at that point.




Justin Thyme Ch. 18



"I admit to being in a rather bad mood tonight, and I'm really sorry. We didn't bring you down here for just this. This is enough to make these two young men's life very comfortable for life if they use good sense, but it is not all." Grandpa sighed. "Michael has shown himself to be very level headed and he knows how to be content, which is a good thing. Justin has yet to learn this trait. I don't say this as a pejorative on Justin. It is just that he has not yet been in a position to need to know it. That has changed. What has me in such a bad mood tonight, and Pete, too, although he has been quiet about it, is I fear putting sudden wealth on these young men at their ages can be very detrimental to them. It is much like lottery winners who get sudden wealth without the background to handle it and end up bankrupt and ruined within a very short time."

"Michael, has Justin told you what we found in the other room?"

"No, Sir. He said you would tell us about it this evening."

Grandpa nodded. "Good. We weren't trying to keep secrets from you, but we felt it better to be able to develop a plan of action together, which is why we have this meeting this evening. By the way, I'm really glad you brought your parents along. A young man recognizing the need for counsel is rare, and especially rare to have a relationship with his parents in which he can, and will, go to them."

"Justin, did you lock the doors when you came back in the house?"

"I believe so."

"Would you please check? I don't anticipate any trouble, and that is one reason we wanted to maintain secrecy. We'll wait for you."

I hustled up the ladder and checked the doors. I also set the alarm, just in case. Grandpa nodded when I returned.

"Thank you, Justin." He pulled the key to the storeroom from the drawer and led the way down the hallway. "Jeff, Joanne, Michael, why don't you and Justin come with me? The others already know what is here." Grandpa unlocked the padlock, but allowed me to remove the heavy bar from the door. He pushed the door open and turned on the worklight so everyone could see inside.

Joanne was stunned by the golden glow that flooded the walls from the reflection on the bars. "Is this really gold? For real?"

"Um hmm." Grandpa was being rather quiet. "Those are homemade bars, one hundred seventy-four of them, and aren't certified, but they are all about ten troy ounces, and at the going rate of twelve hundred seventy-two dollars an ounce, which is down a little bit, between the bars there - go ahead feel free to pick them up - anyway, between those bars and the bags of raw ore on the floor our best guess is a little over four million dollars."

Michael spoke up. "This really isn't mine. I'll take the railroad money, but this isn't my find."

Grandpa drew himself up in his best lawyer pose and said, "Michael, we have been over this once already. You were involved in the find, including this room, although we didn't evaluate it at that time. Legally you are entitled to half of the find, and you will not be cut out of it. I don't care what you do with the money. You can go out on the street and just give it away if you wish, but you will take it. Do I make myself clear?"

Michael just shrugged. "I really don't need it. I have all I need and then some, and if I need more I can do some more consulting like I just did."

Grandpa softened his voice. "I know, Son, and I'm proud of your attitude, but you cannot walk away from this. Even if you were to sign a paper saying you didn't want it I don't think I could legally cut you out of your share, and I don't want to."

Michael shrugged again, but didn't say anything. Mom, Dad, Rosemary and Grandma had come down the hall and were standing just outside the door. 

Grandma spoke up, "I didn't get to see your find. I've never seen that kind of gold. Mind if I take a look?"

I waved her in and squeezed back into the corner so she could get in.

"My goodness. It is kind of pretty, isn't it. Looks kind of cold and hard, though."

Grandma put into words what I had thought the first time I saw the gold.

Grandpa reached into one of the sacks on the floor and pulled out a couple of nice sized chunks of the raw gold with some quartz still attached and handed them to Jeff and Joanne. "That's raw gold. I really don't think Justin or Michael mind. There's plenty left for them."

"That's too much!" said Jeff. "You don't need to give us any of it!"

"Please." I said. "Do something nice with it. Make it into jewelry or put it on your mantle to look at or something. Enjoy it. You don't get many opportunities to have raw gold like that." I squeezed past Grandma and reached into the bag and pulled out a pretty chunk and handed it to Grandma. "Here. You get one, too. Start a rock collection or something."

Grandpa got us back on track quickly. "As nice as all of this is, what you see here is just pocket change. Justin, you want to find those certificates you hid? We can go back upstairs to the library where we can sit down now."

I squeezed back into the corner and let them slip out the door, then I pulled the stock certificates and bearer bonds from the various ledgers I'd hidden them in and made my way back upstairs.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Stephanie walked into her house to find her mother and Tom sitting on the couch. "Mom!" she called out and ran to grab her mother and nearly smother her with a hug. "I'm so happy for you! You just don't know!" 

Tom stood and looked on with a smile on his face. Seeing Steph's reaction was the confirmation he had awaited. Of course, he had heard her reaction when he called, but this was more tangible and real. Stephanie released her mother and launched herself at him, taking him by surprise.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you. You have been so good for Mom. I couldn't be happier," Steph whispered through her hug into his ear. "I know you will love her and take care of her. I saw that the first day." Stephanie placed a kiss on Tom's cheek and disengaged just enough to gather her mother into the hug with them. 

Tom whispered with an emotion choked voice, "I'm so glad you approve. I couldn't marry her if you didn't. Your father gave his life for me, leaving you without a Dad and your mom without a husband. I want to do my best to repay him by taking care of you both."

Stephanie squeezed his neck and laid her head on his shoulder comfortably. "I think Daddy would be really happy if he knew. I couldn't be happier."

Steph broke the hug and stepped back and then sat in the stuffed chair while Tom and Mary sat back on the couch, Tom with his arm around Mary. 

"So when is the wedding?"

Mary looked at Tom and then said, "Well, we would like it to be right away, but tomorrow is Prom, and then next weekend is Graduation. What about the weekend after that?"

"Cool!" Steph looked at Tom. "Can I call you Dad? I have really missed having a Dad. I called Daddy, Daddy, but I was a little girl then. Would you mind?"

Tom opened his mouth, but found he couldn't speak. With tear-filled eyes he nodded his head. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Susie walked into her house to find her parents out for the evening, leaving her all alone. Normally solitude did not bother her, but the knowledge that Michael was up at 'the house', where she had just been left her feeling desolate. This was the longest they had been apart since the accident. She was amazed at how quickly he had come to mean so very much to her, that just seeing him and hearing his voice was enough to make her feel valued, loved, and important; feelings she had longed for before he came around. 

Her parents loved her and made sure she knew it, but she had felt a longing and emptiness within her soul for a couple of years now. She tried filling it by chasing Justin and a couple of others, but they just didn't fit the need. Michael did. It was that simple. Now tonight she felt her aloneness and didn't like it at all.

Talking with Stephanie last night about her relationship with Justin helped. Her questions about their sex experiences had not been salacious, but from a real longing to know, to experience actually, but since that was not possible yet at least to have an idea what lay ahead for her. She had managed to get herself off a couple of times under cover of the sleeping bag while Steph talked about all she and Justin did. Susie was sure Steph knew she got herself off, but she really didn't care. She just needed it so badly.

Today had been sheer torment! Good torment, but torment just the same. Seeing Rosemary and Steph walking around in the nude and wishing she could join them, but Justin was there, and it just would not have been right. Of course, he didn't get naked either. If he had Susie probably would have joined in, right or not. 

Of course, Susie saw Justin's bulge in his shorts a number of times, but as much of a thrill as it provided she was careful not to look at it very much. Susie's face flushed as she remembered how a small wet spot had appeared on Justin's shorts once when Steph was bent over straight-legged with her ass toward Justin and Rosemary was standing on top of the ladder with one foot stretched over to a window, leaving her pussy wide open to Justin's view. 

When Rosemary dropped her brush once and got paint all over her left boob she climbed down the ladder and picked up the brush, but then walked over to Justin and insisted he clean off the paint. By the time Justin finished wiping and washing to paint from her boob and nipple Rosemary had been quite flushed and breathing hard. Although she had tried to hide it, Susie was too.

Suddenly Susie got up from the couch where she was lounging - looking for something on the TV to capture her attention - and started whipping off her clothes. She laid her tee shirt out on the couch and sat down on it and her fingers made their way to her swollen and quite wet pussy and began stroking, but try as she would she just could not get off. Her frustration mounted by the minute. "Mikey, I need you," she whined before the tears of self-pity overwhelmed her.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

We all gathered back in the library with either a soft drink or water, Grandpa behind the desk, and I laid the stack of certificates in front of him. Grandpa picked them up, almost distastefully, and then sighed.

"I've been in an horrible mood all day, and I'm sorry for the way I've been acting all evening, but this is why." He sighed again. "I know I said downstairs sudden wealth can be detrimental to young people. This has been weighing on my mind since we made the discovery yesterday." Grandpa's face looked gray, almost ashen as he continued. "Four million dollars is a lot of money to drop on two young men suddenly, but everything you saw downstairs is just a drop in the bucket to what I have here in front of me."

Michael broke in. "Excuse me, but I don't remember seeing any of that. What is it?"

"You remember when the railroad men were here to get the gold?"

"Of course."

"Well, when Charlie was looking at the desk he found a secret compartment in the desk. There was also another one, which Justin found yesterday. These certificates were in those two compartments."

"I see. Look, I have enough. More than! I didn't find those, whatever they are. They belong to Justin, or to the family, not me. I want no part of them."

"Now see here, Michael. . . ."

"No! Look, after being around professional athletes all of my life, I've seen what too much money too fast does to people, and I want none of it. I have what I need, and somewhat more, besides what you've given me this evening. I did not find any of those stocks, nor was I part of their discovery. I really don't want them!"

"OK, ease off there, Son. Have you considered Susie in this picture?"

"Of course. She has not been interested in what I have now, always thinking I'm extravagant when I try to do things for her. I don't think adding more to a pile that I already won't spend all of will make a difference to her. I have enough to take care of her very comfortably for the rest of her life and more. Thank you very much. I certainly appreciate your concerns and your honesty in sharing this with me, but no more."

Out of the corner of my eye I saw the look of pride on Joanne's face, which only served to confirm my judgment from when I first met Michael; that he was worth making a very good friend.

Grandpa nodded slowly. "Very well, if you insist. I really think you deserve a part in this, but as it was a separate discovery I will accept your reasoning and choice. However, I'd like you to sleep on it before turning this down."

"Thanks, but I already have. Since this portion of the meeting does not involve me, would you like us to be excused?"

I spoke up for the first time since the beginning of the meeting. "Michael, I really feel badly about you not being included in this. As far as I'm concerned, you're more than welcome to stay, whatever your decision."

Michael stood to his feet. "With your permission, I think we'll leave this to your family. Justin, Rosemary, I'll see you tomorrow night, OK? And Rosemary, save at least one dance for me?"

Jeff and Joanne stood as well and shook hands and gave hugs all around. Michael gave me a big hug and whispered in my ear. "I'm glad for you, but be careful. You have good support in your grandparents and folks. Lean on them. Call me if I can help."

Grandma waited until the door closed behind the Tib's before looking over at me and saying, "I told you that young man had character, and would be a good one to emulate when we first met him. You take heed, young man." All I could do is nod in agreement. 

Grandpa sat back down and held his head in his hands and sighed deeply. "I need a drink!" Now Grandpa was not much of a drinking man. A little wine with meals, or an occasional beer with friends, but I've never seen him drunk.

Dad didn't say a word, but reached into his back pocket and pulled out a flask. He handed the flask across the desk to Grandpa, who unstopped it and drank a large swallow. He squeezed his eyes shut and shook his head as the fiery liquid went down. "Thanks, Pete."

Dad did the same before carefully stopping the flask and slipping it back into his pocket. "I thought we might be needing that before the night was over."

Wordlessly I looked from one to the other. If they thought they needed a drink, what about me? I'm the one who had to deal with whatever it is was on those certificates!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Joanne hugged her son to her as they walked to the car. "I'm really proud of you, Son."

"Thanks, Mom. I just don't need the added complications in my life right now."

Jeff spoke up as he opened the driver's door on their car. "I think it is more that you have learned the values and differences between greed and need. There's nothing wrong with having a lot of money. The problem comes when a lot of money has you. I think you made a wise decision, Son. You are showing very disturbing signs that you are growing up."

"So, tell us, Son, how was your trip?"

"Dad, you just wouldn't believe it."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

With the Tib's gone we all got up and refreshed our soft drinks and scooted our chairs closer to the desk. Rosemary sat down next to me and reached for my hand as Grandpa started talking again.

"Justin, I have not yet done the research I need to do on these certificates, and much of it I'm going to need to refer to someone in the financial community. Now that Michael has taken himself out of the picture it will be a little easier, and we won't need to take as long with this meeting as I had anticipated. Let me just lay out a little bit of what you have here."

"The UP and Southern Pacific have had an inter-related existence for years and years, with the UP owning part of the Espee, as it was frequently called, and then having to divest it because of the ICC regulations. That is where I'm going to need some financial help, because your shares of stock predate all of that activity." 

"In '85 the Denver and Rio Grande bought the Espee, and then in '96 the Espee and UP merged. Now, I'm not exactly sure how your shares fared in the Rio Grande purchase, but I know they were diluted two to one when the UP took over."

"Now to add to all of that confusion, Sam Johnson also owned quite a few shares of small branch line railroads that fed the SP, or served other areas. Several of these are defunct and worth nothing, other than whatever a collector might pay for the paper. On the other hand, a few of them were bought out by the SP, and I have to find out what those values are."

"Now, Samuel Johnson was not quite in the same class as J.P. Morgan, or of Hill, but he was no slouch either. You have five hundred thousand shares of the original SP, plus large numbers of shares of the small lines. Exactly how much you own I don't know yet, but it is enough that next time you see Ben Jorgenson or Pete Fleming, they will call you 'Sir'." 

"Another thing. You will have compiled dividends and there will have been stock splits since 1901 that have occurred. In fact, the UP stocks split just a few years ago two for one, and again just a couple of weeks ago and shares were quoted at just a fuzz over one hundred dollars at close of business today."

My head was swimming. 

"Now, along with all of the railroad stock you also have a handful of bearer bonds. These are all over one hundred years old. Some of them are from defunct railroads, and will be worthless. Some are from lines that were taken over and will still be good. Some have specific dates on them and will have a cap on interest paid, but others are open ended, meaning you have had interest compounding on them for over a hundred years, which is going to be very significant. Before we are done here I fully expect your net worth to be in the lower to mid nine figure range. Of course, taxes are going to eat into that very heavily, but you are going to be an extremely wealthy young man."

I sat there for a little bit trying to get my head around all he had told me. Nine figures? Then it hit me. He was talking over a hundred million dollars! I thought four million in gold was a lot of money, and it is, but what was I to do with a hundred million dollars?

"Now I see why you were worried," I said to Grandpa. "Well, to start off, this isn't just my problem, because as far as I'm concerned this is Thyme and Thyme Again Properties problem. I can deal with the gold, but you were here when Charlie showed me the compartment, so you are in on the find as well as I."

Grandpa nodded. "Leaving it in the company might be helpful as far as taxes are concerned, but I'm not so sure you should split it up. It's yours."

"No. To be honest, I'm kind of numb to it right now, but I don't believe it would be right for me to claim it all, especially since Michael took himself out of any part of things. Leave it all in the company name." I thought Grandpa looked relieved, and I saw Dad visibly relax. 

"I would suggest we keep this as quiet as possible for as long as possible. Once word gets out on this you will find we have more relatives and friends than we ever knew about, and they will all be needing loans."

"If we leave everything in the company name we don't have to let people know what kind of money we have, either, which will make going to school a lot easier."

"I'd suggest we call it a night," Grandpa said. "I'll take these certificates with me and try to get some research done on them within the next week to ten days. Pete, you did bring your gun with you, didn't you?"

"It's in the car."

Grandpa nodded. "I really don't think we'll need it. Nobody knows what we have, but with this kind of money I don't want to take chances. The gold is going to have to sit there for a bit until we decide what to do with it. I don't know about you folks, but I'm worn out. This has been a tough day."




Justin Thyme Ch. 18



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

On the way out to the car for the trip home Grandma slipped up to me and gave me a big hug. "I never doubted you for a minute, young man. I know the kind of young man your Mom and Dad raised, even if those two knuckleheads worried!"

What Grandma said meant more to me than all of the gold!

Rosemary held my hand and snuggled with her head on my shoulder for the trip home. I laid my head on hers and before I knew it I dozed off for the trip home.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Michael woke up early Friday morning, disoriented by his surroundings. He was in the room in which he grew up, the room his mother kept just as he left it when he moved out of the home. His bookcase still had all of the Hardy Boys books from his younger years, and his desk on the other side of the room still had notebooks filled with printouts from his now very profitable program. Of course, team pictures of the Cardinals still graced the walls. 

Finally he awoke enough to remember what the day was, and why he was in his old room. That realization guaranteed he could not go back to sleep. This day would be pivotal in changing his life forever, and for the good he was sure. Arising, Michael made his way to the bathroom where he took a quick shower and brushed his teeth. He still had some clothes in his dresser drawers that fit, so he threw on a pair of shorts and a polo and made his way to the kitchen, where he found his mother sitting at the table drinking orange juice and reading the paper.

"Morning, Mom. Anything good in the paper today, or is it the normal shootings, cuttings, and wrecks?"

Joanne stuck her tongue out at her son. "I'm sure you could find something good in here if you would just read it once in a while." Michael followed his father's lead when it came to the news. Leave it alone! He figured if it was bad enough somebody would tell him, and there was enough bad going on in the world he preferred to fill his mind with positive material.

"What has you up so early, Son? Troubled conscience?"

Michael grinned at her just before engulfing his mother in a bear hug that left her gasping for breath. "I just woke up and thought I'd been caught in a time warp or something, and then I remembered what today is, and that got me wide awake." He moved around the room with almost a dance step as he poured himself some juice and dropped an English muffin into the toaster. "I wish Zeni opened before ten o'clock in the morning! I can't wait to see what she created for Susie."

"You know it will be nice. This is a momentous day, and I couldn't be happier for you. I know how much you love Susie, and your father and I do, too. It's really hard to believe my baby has grown up so fast! I know you are already on your own, but this makes it seem much more permanent somehow."

Michael pulled his muffins from the toaster and grabbed the jam from the fridge before sitting down next to his mother. "Mom, you know you'll always be my favorite mother, and I wouldn't be where I am if it wasn't for you."

"I'm really glad you paid attention in Biology, Son," Joanne quipped drily. "That's about like the scientist conducting a study to determine that if your parents don't have children you won't either."

Both of them laughed together before Michael put down his muffin and reached a hand over to capture his Mom's hand. "Seriously, Mom, thank you for all you've done for me. I really wouldn't be what I am today without what you and Dad have taught me. I hope I'm able to do as well for my children as you two have done. I'm so grateful for what you've done for Susie, too. I'm glad we won't have 'mother troubles' on either side."

"You know your Dad and I really love Susie. She has been very good for you. We were getting worried about you there for a while. After your experience with 'she who's name I will not mention' I was afraid you were going to be totally jaded on women in general."

"I nearly was. In fact, I had decided not to even look for a girlfriend. I guess things work out for the best if you let them." He got up from the table and rinsed out his glass before putting it and his plate into the dishwasher. "I know Zeni won't be open for a while, but I have a couple of other errands to run. I think I'm going to go ahead and hit the road. Thanks for letting me use the car. Justin and I'll get it back up to you over the weekend sometime. Tell 'his nibs' I said I love him whenever he decides to roll out, today." 

Michael bent down over his mother and kissed the top of her head. Joanne quickly got to her feet and embraced Michael before he could walk away. "You can't get away without a good hug. This might be my last chance to hold my baby before he officially belongs to someone else, even if it isn't finalized yet."

Michael hugged his mother back and then turned and walked to the garage with misty eyes, and left his mother with tear streaked cheeks. Michael would always be her son, and her baby, but after today it was just going to be different. Good, but different. How fast time flew!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Susie and Madge were on the road north at six o'clock in the morning. It was earlier than necessary, but Susie, the frustrations of last night already forgotten, was so excited for the day she couldn't sleep. She felt like she woke up every fifteen minutes and looked at the clock to see what time it was. Finally she arose at five o'clock and got her shower. 

Madge, always a light sleeper, heard her go into the bathroom and decided to go ahead and get up also. She made her way to the kitchen and made coffee and started frying bacon before tapping on the bathroom door. "Breakfast will be ready when you get out. Don't be long."

"Thanks, Mommy!"

Madge wasn't sure how she felt about her daughter and Michael. For sure, she loved him like a son she didn't have, and if he wanted to marry Susan when she got out of college she would be more than happy, but she was afraid it wasn't going to work that way. Though many people thought she was stiff and proper and overly formal in her mannerisms she was a quietly passionate woman who loved her husband dearly. She nearly burned the bacon as she stood at the stove looking unseeingly into the skillet while her mind's eye saw herself and Tom as they were back when they were dating. 

Madge did not go to college, but got a job right after high school as assistant bookkeeper for a large lumber yard. This was of course pre-computers when all ledgers were kept in actual ledgers, and written out by hand. Tom, who started his own small construction and remodeling business right after school came in to the office when there was an error on his account. She was so glad it had not been her error, but she was the one he saw to correct matters. He asked her out to dinner, and things went from there. Their romance had been very carefully controlled due to Madge's parent's rules, and she knew her upbringing prevented a more openness in her expressions of love.

All restrictions and efforts to curtail their budding romance notwithstanding it wasn't long before Madge was head-over-heels in love with Tom, and when he popped the question she immediately said, "Yes!" even before asking her parents. Fortunately, her father had looked at Tom much more favorably than did her mother, and six months later they married. Was this the way things would be for her daughter?

As much as she tried to stop it, a tear trickled down Madge's cheek as she thought back on hers and Tom's romance. The last several years seemed to be so busy they had grown somewhat apart. That was the biggest reason for the cruise they were on, and it had done a lot to restore their relationship, and the accident with its attendant uncertainties and lack of knowledge for nine interminable days had driven her into Tom's arms for comfort. She wished she didn't have to go to Phoenix today! She wanted to get back into bed with Tom and show him how much she really loved him. That had slipped away over the years too, and she was really sorry.

Susie came into the kitchen just as Madge fished the last of the very well done bacon from the frying pan. She hugged Madge from behind and said, "I didn't expect you to be up already. I just couldn't sleep."

Madge quickly dried her tear before turning and hugging her daughter. "I heard you get up, and thought I'd fix breakfast for us before we have to go today. I can't believe my little girl is going to her Senior Prom tonight, and just has one more week before she graduates and gets ready to go off to college." 

Madge wrapped her arms around Susie, totally surprising her by her show of emotion. She always knew her mother loved her, but she was just not the demonstrative type. 

"Would you mind terribly scrambling the eggs? I didn't get that far, and I have something I need to do really quickly. I'll be right back."

Susie looked at her mother wonderingly as Madge hurried down the hall. She didn't see her enter her bedroom and close the door quietly behind her before crawling onto the bed. Tom was sleeping quietly on his back, with just a hint of morning wood pressing against his pyjama pants. Madge smiled softly at him before she made a move she hardly ever did any more. She really didn't care for oral sex. 

She was raised to believe sex was for procreation, and although she enjoyed sex with her husband, she still had the stigma that oral sex was somehow dirty. Today was going to be different. Without waking Tom she carefully slipped his pyjamas down far enough and engulfed his cock in her mouth. The very act was an act of love, and stirred her feelings, causing her to moan as she sucked firmly as she slipped her mouth up to the carona and licked it before popping it from her mouth. Quickly she sucked the now hard organ back into her throat as Tom awoke and sat up quickly in the bed, totally bewildered. Madge looked up into his eyes and smiled as she moaned her own arousal again.

Remembering Tom's surprised face, and how quickly he had nearly exploded into her mouth, brought another smile to Madge's face as she drove Susie north. Susie looked over at her questioningly, but Madge wouldn't say anything. She just smiled at Susie and drove to have her daughter's hair fixed, and the final fitting for a gown that would be the envy of every girl - and of all the woman teachers - at the Prom tonight. She knew she would soon lose her daughter, but also knew she would regain the relationship she once had and missed with her husband.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I didn't set my alarm for this morning. For the first day in quite a while I didn't have to work or do anything of substance. Sometime after noon I needed to pick up flowers for the girls, and get my tux from the men's wear store. I needed to stop by Jim's store and talk with him about Brian and our plans, but for all practical purposes today was a day off. 

I woke up just long enough to hear Mom back her car from the garage and to hear the door go closed again and I rolled over to catch just a few more zzz's when my door opened and Rosemary came in, naked as the day she was born. I watched with great interest as she strolled across the room to my bed and crawled in with me.

"I just wanted to come in and say, 'good morning' and 'I love you.' This is going to be a big day." She reached down and stroked my cock, which of course stood at attention as soon as she walked in the door. "You really have no idea how badly I wanted to sleep with you last night. Snuggling in the car was great, but I didn't want it to end."

I pulled her to me for a deep kiss feeling the softness of her breasts against my chest and her silky tresses against my cheek.

"Ummmh. I'd like to stay here and enjoy this all day, but you might want to get up and grab a shower and brush your teeth. Steph is coming over just as soon as her mom leaves for work, right about now, actually. As much as I would love to take advantage of this . . ." as she stroked my cock, "I promised Steph I'd save it for her. I wouldn't mind helping you take a shower, though!" She leaned in and gave me a peck on the lips before resting her head on my chest. Her sigh of contentment mirrored my own feelings.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dr. Tom Meechum sat at the head of the breakfast table in the Winters's house, still a bit uneasy about being there. Amazingly, it was Stephanie who insisted he stay. "Mom," she had said, "You've waited ten years I don't think you should wait any longer." What surprised and gratified him even more was the way Stephanie made it a point to give him a good morning hug each morning before he and Mary left for work. Her unqualified acceptance of him was just so gratifying, especially as he found himself - for the first times since his childhood - as a part of family. 

Stephanie set a glass of orange juice down by his plate before placing a kiss on the top of his head and then wrapping her arms around his neck and resting her cheek on his head. "Thank you again for loving my mom," she whispered. "I can't remember seeing her so happy."

Mary walked down the hallway from her bedroom wearing scrubs, but with a happy contented smile on her face such as Stephanie could never remember seeing. "Morning, Mom. You look happy this morning!"

Mary colored slightly, but said, "Thank you. I am happy this morning." She hugged Steph before sitting down at the table. "What has you up and going already today? I didn't think you would be up before noon."

"Rosie and I have a few things to do this morning. I'm heading over there right after breakfast, but I'll be home in plenty of time to get ready."

"OK, you have fun, and thank you for fixing breakfast."

"No problem. It just seemed like the right thing to do. Don't worry about your dishes. I'll take care of them for you." Steph gave them a little wave and went down the hall to her room. She couldn't wait for them to go so that she could go see Justin. Steph slipped off her bra and waited until the coast was clear. 

Tom stood from the table when he finished his breakfast and gave Mary a hand to lift her to her feet. Together they walked to the front door where Tom stopped and faced Brad Winters' picture, and as he always did coming or going, nodded and said, "Thank you."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Madge pulled their Buick into a parking spot in front of Jacqui's Salon at eight-fifteen, a little early for their eight-thirty appointment. Jacqui, who was just unlocking the doors saw them and waved for them to go on in. Susie suddenly was nervous about the appointment, for what reason she had no idea. For weeks now she had been going to school with a partially shaved head and scars in view and suffered through it fatalistically, but now that there was a chance for her to look normal again she was afraid.

Jacqui met them at the door with hugs and asked Susie, "Are you ready for your big day?"

"I guess," was the almost listless reply.

Jacqui took her hand between her own and caressed it softly. "Afraid?"

Tears sprang up in Susie's eyes as she nodded.

"I understand. Let's sit down and have a cup of tea and talk for a few minutes before we do anything with your hair. This is Jennifer, one of my stylists, and a cancer survivor, whom I've asked to sit in on this with us this morning."

Jennifer set down a tray loaded with a tea pot and the attendant condiments and small pastries. She set about pouring each of them a cup of tea and passed them around as Jacqui led them to a small table in the waiting area.

"I do a lot of work with cancer survivors, Susie," Jacqui said. "They all have the same reaction when they first walk into my shop, and I think I can tell you what is on your mind. Please tell me if I'm wrong." Susie nodded as Madge watched her, concerned. "You are thinking, 'I've gone weeks with my hair gone and have gotten used to it. Do I dare hope to look normal again? Is that about it?"

Susie nodded, still mute, and Jacqui nodded to Jennifer to speak.

"Susie, I know exactly how you feel. I've been there. When I had chemo for breast cancer five years ago I lost all of my hair, including my eyebrows. Jacqui, who had cancer herself twenty years ago knows how we feel, and she spends a lot of her time in the cancer wards of the hospitals encouraging women who are undergoing treatment."

Jennifer paused to look Susie in the eyes briefly before continuing. "I don't think there is much more humiliating and discouraging to a woman than to have her hair gone, or growing in patchy so she can't make it look nice." Susie nodded.

"I wish my hair had been like yours when I first came in to see Jacqui. When hair grows back in after Chemo it is like baby hair. It's really fine and hard to work with, kind of like the little feathers on a baby chick or else it is stiff and scraggly. Jacqui taught herself how to work with that fine hair and make it look natural and good. Still, it is often terrifying to women to make the attempt. Your hair on the other hand is mature. It's just short. Sure, she has to work around the scars, but she often has to do that with women who have had a brain tumor, and it is amazing what she can do. I promise you that you'll walk out of here feeling like the beautiful young lady you are."

"It is all a matter of mind-set. Maxwell Maltz wrote a book in the early seventies, I think, called Psychocybernetics for his plastic surgery practice because they had trouble believing they could be beautiful after what they had undergone. This is not as serious an issue as that, but that is the reason Jacqui has me talk with new clients dealing with something as traumatic as what you or cancer patients have undergone. You are a beautiful young lady, and when Jacqui is through you may wonder why you didn't wear your hair short all your life."

Jennifer pulled out a folio of pictures of her own head during and after chemotherapy, and then again after Jacqui styled her hair. Susie could feel the fear dissipate as they looked through the photos. 

"I'm just a baby, I know. I just don't want Michael to be ashamed of me, or to think I don't look nice enough for him."

Jacqui laid a hand on Susie's. "My dear, that is the absolute least of your worries. I've known Michael since he was in diapers, and I've never seen a young man as smitten by a young lady as he is by you. You could walk out of here with your hair all standing on end and frightful and he would still think you beautiful, but we will do much better for you than that."

"You can really fix it so that I look human again when I go back to school Monday?" Susie whispered.

"If you fix it the way I will show you I'll bet you ten dollars you have at least one guy ask you for a date on Monday."

"It won't do them any good," Susie giggled. Jacqui was pleased at how quickly her spirits perked up. Often she and Jennifer spent an hour or more with a client before they were even in a position to start working on their hair.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

At nine-thirty Michael couldn't wait any longer. He sat in front of Zeni's Jewelry waiting for her to open. He knew of course he was being foolish, but he really had nothing else to do with his time, other than to look at the materials for the UP, and there was no way he could keep his focus on something that for today was so mundane. 

Just to find a way to pass the time he started making a list of things to do for the day. The first thing that came to his mind was to call the contractor his father recommended and make an appointment to take a look at the apartment in the old servant's quarters. Changing screens on his phone he quickly did a search for Richardson's Contractors and placed the call.

"Richardson's," was the terse answer on the second ring. 

"Good morning. You were recommended to me for doing a remodel. When would be the soonest we could get together and take a look at the place?"




Justin Thyme Ch. 18



"Where is it located?"

Michael gave the address.

"Isn't that the old mansion I saw on the news?"

"It's on the property. We're talking about the servant's quarters in the old carriage house. I don't own the property, but plan to rent one of the apartments subject to renovating it."

"I see. Well, I have an estimator in the area who should be free at say eleven or eleven-thirty. Would that work for you?"

"Excellent. I have to be in Tuscon by four-thirty, so that should fit. Thank you, sir."

Michael looked up to see Zeni unlocking the doors and exited his car.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Stephanie came in the house just as Rosemary and I got into the shower. Quickly she stripped off her clothes and jumped into the shower with us and wrapped her arms around me while laying a big kiss on my lips. Of course, it was not all one sided.

"I've missed you," she said over-top of my "I do believe you've missed me." She pressed her body tightly against mine as I in turn held her close. I could feel her nipples pressing into my as they hardened, and then Rosemary joined in the hug. I'm a lucky guy!

We finished our shower and dried each other's bodies, paying particular attention to certain areas. After all, we wouldn't want them to rust or something! Rosemary gave us each a swat on the ass and said, "I'm going to go fix some breakfast for us. Come on down when you are ready."

Stephanie wrapped her arm around my waist as we walked from the bathroom to my room. "Please, Justin. We won't get a chance to do anything after the prom like some others are going to. Would you make love to me this morning? And could you put on some music? I can't believe how I've started to miss your music! A year ago I wouldn't be caught dead listening to it, but now it really means something and it's so beautiful."

"Sure, Sweetheart. Anything in particular?"

"Could you play that Russian piece again? And the one from the Arabian Nights?"

"Do you mean the Romance from the The Gadfly and Scheherazade?"

"Um hmm. I can never remember the names."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jacqui started Susie off with a shampoo, taking the time to include a good scalp massage along with the shampoo, carefully looking for any tender areas around the scarring. Fortunately, there were none, allowing her the freedom to do whatever was necessary without causing discomfort. 

"That feels really nice, Jacqui. You may have no more than thirty minutes to finish." 

"I've never had a complaint yet." Jacqui smiled down at Susie. "Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end. She wrapped a towel around Susie's head and led her over to a chair in an enclosed area. "We aren't trying to keep you hidden, but we've learned when doing restorations for ladies they prefer not to be in the general area where people are looking for them. Your mother is welcome to join us if you would like." Susie nodded. "Now, I want you just to lie back and relax. I need to examine your scars and plan exactly how to go about your new hairdo." 

Jacqui held up an iPad and took a quick picture of the right side of Susie's head, and then started with a brush and a comb to part her hair in various manners, mapping carefully in her mind what needed to be done. Looking over at Madge she said, "It is as I remembered. There is some damage here, and here, and significant scarring, but she was very fortunate." Jacqui brushed her hair in various directions and continued, "See. We can do this, and then this and it will cover everything very nicely. I'm showing you, because Susie may need a little help until she gets the hang of the new style, especially as it will be hard for her to see what she is covering."

Madge stepped in and looked more closely. She was amazed at how the normally rushing, hurrying, Jacqui was as calm and methodical as the most phlegmatic person she had ever known. When she looked quizzically at Jacqui, Jacqui immediately knew what was on her mind. 

"One cannot rush something such as this. I must take my time and be certain I get it right, and most importantly that the lady knows I am getting it right. One must recreate the self-esteem even more so than recreating the look. This takes a little more time, but time is not important. What is important is that Susie will walk out of here today looking as beautiful on the outside as she is on the inside.

Meantime, Jennifer had rolled a small stool up near Susie's feet. She sat down and took Susie's left hand and started giving her a manicure. Everything suddenly was overwhelming to Susie and tears began streaming from her eyes. Jacqui smiled down at her and nodded. "This is why we like a private area," she said to Madge. "It always happens. They don't realize how badly they felt about their looks, but have just dealt with it. The opportunity to now look like a normal person again overwhelms them."

Jennifer rose from her stool and leaned in close to Susie's ear. "Go ahead and cry, Susie. Let it out," she whispered. "Jacqui and I both know exactly how you feel. We've been there, and we know how it is. Don't be afraid of crying. This part of your life is over." She handed Susie a tissue and then place the box in her lap.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Michael was so anxious to pick up Susie's ring that he nearly ran into Zeni's shop. It didn't matter that he would not see Susie for several hours, let alone have the opportunity to give it to her. He just had to have it in his hand!

By the time he reached the door Michael had himself back under control. "Morning, Zeni. How's it look?"

"I think it is beautiful, Michael. You'll have to bring her in and let me see it on her finger."

"I'll do that. You'll be at the wedding of course."

"I wouldn't miss it." 

Zeni opened a drawer beneath one of the display cases and removed a small black box. She held it out to Michael, and then gently opened the lid.

"Gorgeous, Zeni! Thank you so much. No wonder you are Dad's favorite sister."

"It really helps that I'm his only sister."

Michael gave her a big hug and a kiss on the cheek. "Here's my card. I've got to get running. I promised Mom I'd show her the ring before I go back to Tucson for the Prom, and I have an appointment with a contractor to start work on our apartment at eleven or so."

Zeni rang up the sale and handed Michael the receipt. "I know you didn't say anything about it, but I went ahead and made up a set of wedding bands to go with this ring. If you don't like them I'll just put them in the display case."

"I don't have to see them to know I'll like them, but I'd better let Susie approve before I buy them. Thanks so much!"

"You didn't even look at the price!"

"Like I told you before, when you come in here if you have to ask the price you can't afford it. I know you did me right. Love ya. Gotta run." With that he was out the door and headed for the house.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Steph and I made our way downstairs and found Rosemary had indeed fixed a very nice breakfast indeed. "I knew I had plenty of time." She smiled at us. "Did you two have fun?"

Steph just stuck her tongue out at her before walking around the table to give her a hug. "Thanks," she whispered.

"Stephanie and I are getting ready over at her house today, Justin. We want to surprise you. We both have hair appointments, so we'll be out of the house the rest of the day."

"OK. That works for me. I'll be over there a little before six. The limo is supposed to pick us up at six-fifteen, and you know our parents will want pictures."

"They are all meeting us over at Susie's house. I can't wait to see Susie's dress! I wish I could be there when Michael sees it!" I really didn't care all that much about the dress. I just want to be there when Michael pops the question!

We sat down to eat, and eat well we did. Rosemary baked a blueberry coffeecake and scrambled some eggs just as soon as Steph and I came down the stairs. For some reason I had quite an appetite.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jacqui removed the last curler from Susie's hair and began brushing it out carefully, shaping it as she went. She had done Susie's hair in small curls of varying lengths creating a curtain, as it were, that hid her scars to any but the closest inspection. She then carefully sprayed it before taking the tablet and snapping a photo from both the side and the back, which she then showed to Susie.

Jennifer was standing by with the box of tissues, for she knew what was coming. Susie totally lost it. For so long she had been brave and had put the best face on things. She had resigned herself to never again being really pretty, telling herself that as long as Michael was happy that was all that really mattered, but now she could be as pretty as ever. Months of carefully hidden sorrow flowed from her eyes.

Madge moved to comfort her daughter, but Jacqui stopped her. "Not yet," she whispered. "She needs to get it out on her own. Give her a couple more minutes. I have an idea this is going to be a very emotional day for her before it is all over, and then she gets to go to Prom!"

After a few more minutes Susie finally started to lift her head and draw in deeper breaths. "Now. Go to her now," Jacqui urged Madge. "Now she needs her mother."

Madge stepped over to the chair and put her hand on Susie's back. "It's OK, Susan. It's really OK."

Susie turned in the chair to embrace her mother and burst into tears all over again on her mother's shoulder.

"Oh, Mommy! I don't have to be ugly anymore!" 

Madge saw Jacqui with her finger over her lips behind Susie and just held her silently, agonizing with her daughter as Susie released all of the pent-up pain and despair. When she could finally catch her breath again Susie stood shakily to her feet and embraced her mother fully, then with face streaked with tears and makeup she embraced Jacqui, and then Jennifer. "Thank you so much. I never thought I could be pretty again."

"Susie, my dear, you have always been beautiful. The only difference is you were looking at the flaws, while everyone else was looking at your beautiful spirit and smile. "Your new hairdo did nothing to change you. All it does is to rearrange what people see on the surface. Those who know and love you look beneath the surface to see the real you. I know you won't understand that fully now, but as you think on it in future years I hope you will understand."

Madge embraced Jacqui and then Jennifer as well. "I can't thank you enough for what you did for my daughter." She pulled out a credit card and offered it to Jacqui.

"There's no charge. I never charge for a reconstruction visit. When I see the reaction to the picture I take and show my clients, their reaction is all the payment I need. To see them walk out the door with their heads held up high is sufficient. I've been there and was helped. Now I try to pay it forward, as does Jennifer. In fact, she doesn't even work here. She only comes in when I have a first time post treatment appointment. Now, if I remember correctly, you have a final fitting of a beautiful gown for a beautiful young lady."

Jacqui reached out an arm around Susie's waist and pulled her to herself, and did the same with the other arm around Madge. "You two ladies go out and have a wonderful day. Last thing before you leave town stop by here and let me touch things up for you. I'm sure Susie's hair will be mussed with the fitting and all."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Michael called his mother's cell phone as he started his car. "Hi Mom. I just picked it up. Are you still at home?"

"Actually, I just left the house and am headed to Carole's. That probably would not be a very good place to meet though. What if I meet you at the shopping center down the street, you know the one with the Circle K?"

"OK. I'll meet you behind the station in the parking lot in about ten minutes."

Michael felt like his heart was about to burst as he drove. He could not be happier with life at the moment as things were finally coming together for him. He pulled his Dad's Escalade into the parking lot and found a place to park in the shade of the back of the convenience store and settled in to wait for his mom to arrive.

He wanted to pull the box out and look at the ring again, but thought better of it. This was not a bad area, as areas go, but it wasn't exactly the best either. He could wait until his mom saw it to look again.

Joanne drove in off of the street and pulled up next to Michael and rolled her window down. Michael exited his car, pulling the box from his pocket as he did so and handed it in for her to see. He was leaned down with his head almost in the window watching to see her reaction as she opened the box when the silence of the morning was broken by sirens and screeching tires, followed by a loud voice yelling, "Let me see your hands! Let me see your hands!"

A body slammed into Michael, forcing his face into the roof of the car and he felt hands grabbing him, pulling his arms behind his back. The first thing that came to his mind was this was a robbery. From the corner of his eye he saw a gun pointed in his face, and another pointed at his mother, but what didn't make sense was they were being held by men in uniform!

"You there in the car. Put your hands out the window! Open the door from the outside and get out!" Michael felt a hand grasp the back of his collar and another his wrists, which were cuffed behind his back and the was pushed rather forcibly face down on the trunk of her car, smashing his nose and causing it to start bleeding.

From the corner of his eye he could see Joanne was being treated a little bit more civilly, with her hands spread on the roof of her car and her legs spread as a female office patted her down.

"Do you have anything in your pockets I need to know about? Any needles or anything with which I might be stuck? ID?"

"No, Sir. ID is in my wallet in the console of my car, as is my gun. May I ask what this is all about?"

"No, you may not."

"Am I under arrest, and if so on what charge?"

There was no answer.

Moments later another officer returned with Michael's wallet and his gun, a 9mm Berretta in an evidence baggy. The wallet was tossed onto the trunk of the car, where the officer holding Michael flipped it open and extracted his license. "Michael Thibodeaux? I suppose you're going to tell me next you are related to Jeff Thibodeaux, right?"

"I'm his son, and that is my mother you have over there. Now, will you please tell me what is going on?"

"My how the mighty have fallen! You are selling drugs to your mother? Or is that what you are trying to tell me?"

"Drugs? I have no drugs, nor do I use any."

"Are you telling me that when I search your car I will find nothing illegal?"

"I do not give you permission to search my car, but there is nothing illegal in it."

"I don't need your permission to search your car, Michael Thibodeaux! I have you on probable cause. You met the other vehicle in a known drug area, and we saw you pass a small package through the window to the woman. That is all the reason I need."

"Officer, if you will check my wallet again you will find a receipt from Zeni's Jewelers for a diamond and sapphire engagement ring, and in my mother's car you will find a small black box that says Zeni's Jewelers on it. In that box you will find the engagement ring I just purchased and was trying to show to my mother before I give it to my girlfriend tonight."

The officer re-opened Michael's wallet and pulled out the receipt and then called over to another officer. "Hey, Javier. Check that car and see if you find a small black box. Ask the lady what she did with it."

Moments later Michael heard a call back over. "Got it, Sarge. It's a diamond ring. What did we do, bust a fence operation instead of drugs?"

"Release the lady. She is this gentleman's mother. He was showing her the ring."

"I'm sorry, Sir," the Sargent said as he unlocked the handcuffs. "We were on a stakeout for a drug deal that was supposed to go down here this morning, and the description we had was of an Escalade."

"Michael, what's wrong with your nose? You're bleeding all over the place?" Joanne was almost panicky.

"I think it's broken, Mom," Michael said as he felt it gingerly. "You weren't just a little excessive there were you, Officer?"

The Sargent keyed his lapel mike and asked for an ambulance to be sent right away. "I'm really sorry, Sir. Frankly I expected more resistance. Normally guys put up more of a fight, and you just went down too easily." He grabbed a couple of napkins from his patrol car and handed them to Michael. "I'm afraid the blood may have ruined your shirt. If you will put in a claim with the department we will replace it for you."

An ambulance came screaming into the parking lot and pulled up next to the patrol car. "What's the matter, Sarge?" asked the paramedic as he jumped out of the vehicle. "He try to fight you or something?"

"Naw, Smitty. That was the problem. He didn't fight and I put his face down on the car too hard. I think I may have broken his nose."

By now Michael's eyes were starting to swell and blacken. Smitty took one look at it and said, "Yeah, you busted it, all right. You'd better come with me, Sir, and well get you to the hospital and get it checked out."

"Oh no!" Joanne exclaimed. "What about Prom?"

Michael groaned. "I have an appointment in twenty minutes at the house with the contractor, too."

"You're going to a Prom?"

"Yes, Sir. My girlfriend is a senior down in Tucson, where I now live."

"I'm really sorry, Sir. I don't know what else to say."

"No hard feelings, Sir. You were just trying to do your job. I understand."

"Thank you. Most don't. I'll put your gun back in your car and lock it up for you. I'll also send an officer to the hospital with you. He will need to do some paperwork concerning the incident and he will drive you back over here when you are through at the hospital. We'll keep an eye on the car for you here also while you are gone. You might want your mom to keep your ring for you though. I don't know that I'd want to leave something like that in your car here, nor would I carry it in my pocket to the hospital."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Stephanie and Rosemary left for their hair appointments right after we cleaned up from breakfast, which left me with nothing to do for the day, and the house empty. I decided to run over and bounce ideas off of Jim early and then just come back to the house and chill for a while with some good music. It seems I've been on the run constantly for weeks now, and a chance to relax a bit sounded good.

When I walked in the back door at the electronics store of course the guys had to give me a rough time about it. Harry in particular wanted to know what I was doing coming in the back instead of the front door with the rest of the gentry, so I told him I expected when I walked in from now on to be hearing "Yes, Sir, Right away, Sir!" from him, which of course brought out a laugh.

"Really I want to say 'Thank you' for the opportunity. I appreciate your confidence in me."

"Look, Harry, I'm not doing you a favor. You've earned the opportunity, and I knew you wanted to go back up toward Phoenix. I think you and Brian will work well together. I'm not going to be getting in your hair up there. I may drop in from time to time, but I'm not going to be actively involved except for maybe doing some warrantee work or something. If you do the kind of job for us I know you can do there may be other opportunities in the near future up there. A lot will depend on how the first store goes."

"First store?"

"Hopefully. We'll see how things go. Brian and I both think the Phoenix area could easily handle four or five stores like this one, but we don't want to be in a rush. We want to keep the same philosophy Jim has developed here. Remember Jim is the one you have to keep happy, not me. He's the head honcho." I shook his hand and walked on up to Jim's office, where he waved me in and I grabbed a chair until he finished a phone call.




Justin Thyme Ch. 18



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Madge and Susie walked in the door of Carole's Couture right on time at ten-thirty to see Suzette waiting for them. "Carole is running a little late this morning, but we don't need her for what we have to do at the moment. Come on back to the fitting room with me and let's see how the gown looks." 

Suzette made a quick stop in the break room and fixed a tea tray and carried it back with her. "Please have a seat and a cup of tea while I gather things together. Carole had to go over to the Senator's house with the Senator's wife's dress because she was unhappy Carole gave you hers and made her a different one. I swear that woman thinks just because her husband is a Senator it makes her royalty or something. As far as Carole is concerned she really wouldn't care if she lost the business except that it brings in others."

Suzette swept out and returned a few minutes later bearing Susie's gown. "Here you go, Susie. Let's get this on you and see how it looks. Nice hair, by the way! Doesn't Jacqui do a nice job?"

"I can't thank you enough for suggesting her! She and Jennifer are amazing! Jennifer even matched my nail polish with the gown."

Carole came in the door as Susie finished putting on the gown with Madge's help. "I love your hair, Susie! It really looks great!"

"Thank you. I really feel like I'm being spoiled this weekend. Do I need to be home before midnight?"

"No, my dear. Your magic is good for life because you make it yourself. Jennifer did a nice job matching your nail polish, didn't she? Suzette, do you see anything we need to touch up?"

"I don't think so, Carole. Susie, why don't you step up here on the platform in front of the mirrors and see what you think?"

"Has Joanne not arrived yet?"

"I haven't seen her."

"That's funny. She was planning to be here for the fitting. I'd better give her a call. See if you find anything we need to fix, Suzette. I'll be back in a moment."

Carole walked into her office, where she pulled the box with Michael's necklace and earing gift from her safe, and placed a quick call to Joanne, who was just finishing things with the police.

"Hello?"

"Joanne, Carol here. Are you still planning to come to the shop? Susie is here."

"I'm sorry. I was detained. I'll explain later. I'll be about ten minutes."

"Fine. I'll wait for you to arrive before I give Susie Michael's gift."

"His gift?"

"Oh, so you didn't know either? I'll still wait. I think you'll want to see it."

"I'll hurry."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Michael called Richardson's Contracting from the ambulance on the way to the hospital and cancelled his appointment, promising to reschedule sometime the first of the week. All he told them was he had a minor accident and was on the way to the hospital, that he would not have time to make it before he had to be in Tucson.

Once the ambulance arrived at the hospital he was escorted in by the paramedics and the police officer. It was the officer who made arrangements for his care, asking expedition due to the circumstances. 

Because many who seek care in the Emergency Room do not need 'emergency' care Michael was bumped up in the order, allowing for prompt treatment. Officer Sanchez, who was his escort, said drily, "If I hadn't pulled strings you'd be her for about four hours or so based on the looks of the waiting room. I don't like to push ahead of people who really need care, but I don't see why you should have to wait for someone to be seen for a cold, just because they don't have insurance and a regular doctor."

By now Michael's eyes were swollen nearly shut, and the pain was intensifying. He sat waiting in a treatment room for nearly half an hour before a young intern walked in to check on him. "What do we have here, Officer? Someone who wanted to fight when you made an arrest?"

"No, Doctor. He is a young man who was injured in an accident, and he needs your best care promptly."

"I see." The young Dr. prodded Michael's nose gently, only to have Michael jerk his head away. "It appears to be broken. From the swelling it appears there may be fractures to the maxilla as well, which would explain some of the eye swelling. This may cause problems with the sinuses. We'd better get him down to radiology for an MRI, and I'll page an ENT."

"Doctor, I have to be in Tucson by four-thirty. How long is this going to take?"

"How do you expect to get to Tucson? You won't be driving."

Michael put his face in his hands, carefully. How was he going to handle this?

"Doctor," Officer Sanchez interjected. "This young man is going to the Prom this evening. It is important he be there."

"I'm afraid that is going to be impossible."

Michael spoke up quickly, disliking intensely the self-important attitude of the young doctor. "Just get me taken care of quickly and I'll take care of whether it is impossible or not."

"Now see here. You don't give the orders here. I'm the doctor, and if I choose to admit you I will do so." 

"Wait one." Michael pulled his cell phone from his pocket and dialed a number. "Get me Doctor Hannedy, please. Tell him it's Michael Thibodeaux." 

The young doctor's face paled when Michael made the call.

"Doctor Hannedy, I'm really sorry to trouble you, but I'm down in your ER, and I have a young doctor here who has yet to learn that M.D. does not confer deity. I hate to trouble you, but I'm really in a spot here, and I could use your good services.". . . "Thank you very much, Sir."

"If you would be good enough to wait for about five minutes Doctor Hannedy will be down and we'll get this straightened out." Michael turned to Officer Sanchez and spoke with him while waiting, pointedly ignoring the intern until the curtain swept open and Doctor Hannedy, the hospital administrator walked in.

"Hi, Michael. What brings you here, and what seems to be the problem?" He stuck out a hand and Michael shook it.

"I have to be in Tucson by four-thirty this afternoon. I'm escorting a young lady to the Prom this evening, and it is imperative I be there, but this young doctor here thinks it is impossible, without even looking at alternatives."

"I see. What have you ordered, Doctor?"

"I was going to send them down to radiology for an MRI, Sir. Then I was going to have an ENT examine him. I believe there may be secondary fractures to the maxilla, and I told this young man it would be impossible for him to attend the Prom."

"Nonsense. It will not be fun, but there is no reason for it to be impossible. Here are your orders, and they will be followed to the letter. You are to personally escort this young man to radiology where he will receive an MRI STAT, which you will be certain is read by a Radiologist STAT, and you will have an ENT standing by here in this room when you return this young man to this room STAT. Following this treatment and release you are to report to my office where I will require a full report. Do you understand?"

"No, Sir. I do not."

"It's simple, you self-important little twerp. First off, we give prompt, courteous service in this hospital without throwing around our own self-importance. Secondly, this young man's mother is a member of the board of directors of this hospital, and furthermore, the MRI rooms you will be escorting this young man to were donated to this hospital by this young man's parents. Am I clear?"

"Yes, Sir."

"Move! STAT!" He shook hands with Michael quickly and said, "Please say hello to your Mom for me, will you?" And with that he was out through the curtain and on his way back to his office where he had broken away from a staff meeting.

Officer Sanchez was on his cell phone as soon as the doctor with an orderly helping pushed Michael's gurney quickly from the treatment room. "Sarge, we have an issue. This Thibodeaux kid isn't going to be able to drive himself to Tucson this afternoon. Considering the circumstances I'd suggest we find someone to get him down there. He has some pull. He just got a stuffed shirt intern reamed out for his attitude here." . . . "Yeah, he seems to be a nice kid. He hasn't given me any grief, but he's determined to be there at the Prom for some reason. Must have a really hot date or something." . . . "Oh, yeah! I forgot about that ring! We'd better do something about getting him down there. We don't need a lawsuit."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When I finished with talking with Jim I headed back to the house determined to unwind a bit before getting ready for the night ahead. I got to thinking as I walked up the stairs to my room how my life had changed so drastically in just a short time. The more I thought about things I recognized they all hinged on our eighteenth birthday. Rosemary had been sending some mixed signals that I was not smart, or experienced, enough to decipher, and they didn't all come together until I gave her the Koala, totally not for altruistic reasons, but as a means of spying on her and her friends. 

It was funny how that had worked. As much as I had wanted to see them changing clothes and get a chance to see them naked I had been to realistic with my gift, making it to lifelike and they had the feeling Mr. Koala, as they took to calling it, was watching them, hence they would not undress in front of it. Funny enough, Rosemary had no problems being naked in front of me, but for the longest time would not change in front of the Koala, nor would the other girls. 

Mr. Koala in a convoluted sort of way worked out much better for me than my original intention, so I decided to remove the camera and be sure there could be no accidental discovery. I slipped into Rosemary's room and unplugged the radio so I could carry it into my room and made my way over. As I looked into its eyes I had to agree with the girls. It did look like it could see me!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Joanne hurried into Carole's Couture nearly breathless. She had to park half a block away, and being late already had practically run to the store. Joanne had no idea what gift Michael could possibly be giving Susie, especially since she herself had the ring.

Carole saw her hurrying through the door and waved across the room. "Hi Joanne. Come on back to the fitting room. Suzette is just finishing up a couple of last minute touch-ups. You are going to love the way she looks!"

"Hi, everybody. Sorry I'm late," Joanne half panted as she walked into the fitting room. "Suzie, you look stunning!"

"Thank you." Susie was fighting back tears again as she saw Joanne's reaction to her in the gown. She felt like she had to get hold of herself, or she was going to be an emotional wreck all day.

"Jacqui did a beautiful job with your hair, too. I really like the way it shows off the shape of your face. You are really going to stun Michael tonight!"

"Thank you." This time it came out as only a whisper, for Susie found she could not trust her voice.

Carole stepped up onto the platform with Susie just as soon as Suzette finished putting the last pin in her hem. "I have one last surprise for you. This is from Michael. He came by the other day and wanted to know if this would go well with your dress, and no, I didn't show him the dress. I thought it would look exquisite."

Carole handed Susie the box with Zeni's Jewelers embossed in gold on the cover. Susie opened it with trembling fingers and saw the diamond pendant and the matching earrings. With wide eyes and trembling lips she said, "Are these real?"

"Honey, Zeni doesn't do anything that isn't real."

Susie broke into tears for real and would have fell to the floor had Carole not caught her. Joanne and Madge both jumped onto the platform as well and helped hold her up. "It's too much! It's just too beautiful! I can't do this!"

"Honey, try them on. Michael doesn't think it's too much, and his father and I don't either. I didn't know anything about this, but I can't think of anyone they would look better on. After all the girls who have thrown themselves at Michael all of his life you are indeed a diamond, and you deserve them. He knows what he's doing."

Madge just held her daughter closely to her and allowed Susie to cry herself out on her shoulder. As Susie finally started to get control again Madge whispered in her ear. "It's OK, Little One, unconsciously picking up on Michael's pet name for her. Let him spoil you. He loves you very much."

Carole handed Susie some tissues as she started to get control of herself again. "I don't know what's wrong with me today. It seems all I do is cry. Look at me! I'm a sight!" Her mascara had run down her face and her makeup was smeared and smudged.

"Just wipe it off, Susie. You don't really need much anyway." Carole handed her a couple more tissues, and then said. "Go ahead and try them on. See how you look."

Susie handed the necklace to her mother. "Mommy, can you fasten this for me, please?" When it was in place she removed her earrings and replaced them with the ones Michael picked for her. The effect was stunning.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When the ENT was finished with Michael's nose he had a a protective plastic cover over the nose to protect it against bumps and tape across his forehead and both cheeks. 

"I can't tell you that you can't go to the Prom this evening, but I can tell you it isn't going to be fun." The shot of Demerol Michael was given earlier had the discomfort level down to a low level, but it wouldn't be good for all night. "I'm giving you a prescription for some Vicodin, but I want you to go easy with it. It is nothing to play around with, and I don't want you abusing it."

"Don't worry, Doctor. I don't play around with drugs."

"This girl must be pretty special for you to go through all of this for her."

"Yes Sir, she is. I plan to ask her to be my wife, but that is not the only reason I have to be there. She doesn't even know the rest of it. I promise I'll be careful, and we are using a limo, so I don't have to drive."

"All right. You do what you feel you have to do, but for goodness sake, take it easy, and definitely no alcohol while using Vicodin."

"I don't drink, so that won't be a problem."

"All right. Here's your situation. You have a broken nose. No surprise there. You also have small fractures of the maxilla under both eyes, which is going to cause issues with your sinuses. I cannot do anything for them without surgery, and you've already said you won't do that today. You must see your doctor tomorrow, Monday at the very latest and arrange for surgery to properly set those fractures and to be certain the sinuses are properly drained. It will not be comfortable, but I guess you are young and can take it."

"Is it OK if I have one of the team doctors from the Cardinals take care of it for me?"

"Certainly. I don't have a problem with that." 

"OK. I'll call Dad and have him set that up for me for tomorrow. Thank you, Doctor. Now, how do I get out of here?"

Officer Sanchez, who had been sitting quietly over in the corner spoke up. "We'll take care of that for you, Michael. The Sargent already arranged to have you driven down to Tucson."

"OK, thank you, Officer. Am I good to go, Doc?"

"Get on out of here, and I hope she says 'yes.' Anyone who is willing to go through what you will suffer tonight deserves that much."

An orderly produced a wheelchair for Michael to make the trip to the Emergency Room door, where he found the police Sargent waiting for him with an unmarked car. "How is it, Sir? Is it broken?"

"Oh yeah, it's broken all right."

Officer Sanchez gave the Sargent the rundown which brought about a whistle.

"I'm really sorry, Sir! I certainly didn't mean to do this to you! Like I said, I expected resistance."

"It's OK, Sargent. I understand. You guys are covering all of the expenses, and as long as you can get me to Tucson in time we'll be all right. Officer Sanchez said you had arranged transportation for me."

"If you don't mind, I'll drive you myself. It's the least I can do."

"What about Dad's car? I have to get it home to him, plus I have to get my stuff out of it and get the ring from Mom."

"I've already arranged to have a flatbed truck pick it up and deliver it to your father's house, and we'll run by there and get your gear. I'll take you to wherever your mother is to get the ring, also."

Michael nodded. Let me give Mom a call and see where to meet her. He pulled out his phone and called. "Mom, where can I meet you? The police are going to have the car delivered to the house, but I have to get my gear from it. Can I just meet you there?"

"I guess so. I'm at Carole's right now. Can you give me a few minutes?"

"Sure. You might want to tell Susie I had a little accident so she isn't surprised at how I look this evening. I plan to still go, and I'm not going to miss it. The Sargent is going to drive me to Tucson, and I'll have Justin meet me at my place in case I need any help."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I had the Koala opened up, and the camera removed when Michael called me. 

"Justin, I need a little help. I had a little accident this morning and broke my nose. I may need some help getting ready. Any chance I can get you to meet me at my place? You can dress there if you want."

"Uh oh! That's going to be a little tight, but yeah, I'll make it happen. The only problem is I have to go pick up the girl's flowers, and I have to get my tux, and both are the other direction from your condo."

The Sargent could hear my comment and said, "Tell him I'll stop by and pick them up for him if he will call and tell them to let me get them. Just get me the addresses."

I gave Michael the address and then realized I was really screwed! I had the Koala torn apart, but didn't have time to put it back together and get over to Michael's in time to get ready. Now what was I going to do? I really had my tail caught in a crack!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~



Justin Thyme Ch. 19



"Mommy, I have to have a picture of this, with Carole and Suzette, and one with Joanne in it, too. Please take it for me? I know I'm going to look hideous the way I've been crying, but this dress is so beautiful, and I couldn't have it, or feel pretty tonight without these ladies."

Carole and Suzette stepped up onto the platform with Susie and each stood with an arm around her waist as she hugged each of them to her. Tears in her eyes made them luminous and the smile on her face more than made up for any tear damage or puffiness around her eyes. As much as she looked forward to Prom at the same time she had dreaded it, feeling she didn't look good enough for someone like Michael, nor would she have had a clue what to wear had it not been for Joanne. She would have messed things up for sure, but now she was confident. No matter how badly her stump hurt tonight she was not going to pass up on a dance with Michael!

Joanne stepped up and joined the picture, standing next to Carole, and then she asked if she could have a picture for herself with Susie. She held Susie closely to herself for the picture, knowing what Susie did not, and feeling deeply within how fortunate Michael was to have found this young woman who brought out the very best in him.

After the pic was snapped Joanne said to Susie, "Susie, my dear, you look absolutely wonderful! You are really going to blow Michael's mind when he sees you tonight! I'm afraid, though that he is going to do the same to you." Susie drew back and looked up suddenly afraid.

"What's wrong?" It was a gasp.

"Oh, nothing really bad. I just wanted to warn you before you saw him, because he had a little accident this morning, and he broke his nose. He'll be wearing a bandage, and he'll probably have black eyes if he looks anything like Jeff did when he broke his in a game once."

"Is he OK?"

"Oh, I think so. He's having someone drive him to Tucson. He said there is no way he is going to miss this night with you. He just didn't want you to be startled when you see him. Now I have to run. I've got to meet him down the street for a minute before he gets out of town." With that Joanne stepped down from the platform, gave Madge a quick hug, and made her way to the door waving before Susie could ask any questions.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I quickly jumped in the shower and started getting ready for the night. As I showered I pondered what I was going to do with the Koala. There just was no way I had time to finish putting the stuffing back into it, plus add stuffing to replace the small camera and transmitter, and then sew it back up and make it look right. Putting it together took quite some time the last time, and time was something I just didn't have! I could have done it easily if I didn't have to go across town to help Michael. There had to be something I could do to improve the Koala somehow to give an excuse for having taken it apart. Rosemary would buy my excuse that I was working on it and had to go help Michael, but not without coming up with a reason. I was stumped!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Michael lay back as well as he could in the seat with a large icebag balanced precariously over his eyes. He hoped desperately the ice would shrink the swelling enough that he could at least see Susie tonight. He was anxious to see the gown, knowing how beautifully Carole produced them, but he also wanted to see the necklace and earrings. Besides that, he hadn't seen Susie in a couple of days and was anxious to be with her again. For sure kissing was going to be severely proscribed for the night! Maybe he would be able to manage a small peck on the lips when he proposed. Eating was also going to be an impossibility. The very thought of trying to chew anything brought pain.

"Sargent, if you could do me a favor."

"Sure. Anything I can I'll be happy to do."

"When we get down there most people know me as Michael Borden. It's my mother's maiden name, and my middle name. I'm not ashamed of my Dad or the name, but it brings notoriety and a lot of attention I prefer to stay away from."

"Gotcha."

"Everybody seems to think getting to know the kid gets an in to know the old man, if you know what I mean. Then too, the girls don't seem to care about who I am, but are just out for what they think they can get out of me."

"What about your girlfriend? How does she handle all of this?"

"That's why I love her! She doesn't care! She loves Mom and Dad, but didn't even recognize his name when she heard it. She doesn't care about football, and she didn't know who I am when we met. Susie is the most unassuming person you'll ever meet. In fact, unlike others who just wanted what they thought I could get them, she gets upset when I do things for her." 

He went on to tell about the accident, and how they got together. Before he was through Sargent Jimmerson realized just how wrong he had been about the kid when he tried to arrest him for drugs. Besides that, how many kids had the sense to understand police officers had a tough job to do, had little time to make judgments, and that officers often develop jaded attitudes toward the people they were around? After all, it wasn't the good people they dealt with on most occasions. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Stephanie and Rosemary had a fun day. Because they had a couple of hours to kill before their hair appointments the stopped at the mall for a little retail therapy and then went to have their hair done. A long line of girls was waiting at the salon, making Rosemary especially glad she had made an appointment! By the time they finished with their hair and had facials both decided they were hungry and dropped by Al's for lunch. 

A leisurely afternoon lying out in Stephanie's backyard getting some sun finished off the afternoon before they had to get ready for the evening.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Madge and Susie walked back into Jacqui's salon to see her flying all about the place, taking care of customers, talking on the phone, and cutting hair, all at the same time. Susie giggled. "Did you ever see anyone move about like that? She is amazing! I don't know how she keeps going so fast."

Jacqui looked up in the mirror as she cut a lady's hair and saw them. "Ah, you've returned! And so soon! All is well?"

"Better than you have any idea!"

"Good, good. I'll be with you in just a few minutes. Jennifer is back there if you'd like to go on back."

Susie led the way back to the private salon where they saw Jennifer sitting reading a magazine. "You're back already? Good. That will give me a little more time than I thought I'd have. Have a seat."

Susie looked at her quizzically. 

"Oh, don't worry! I'm not going to touch your hair! I'm a Mary Kay consultant, and I always try to give a lady a facial when Jacqui fixes their hair. I know what it meant to me after I finished with chemotherapy and Jacqui fixed my hair. That's why I started coming and giving manicures, but I also always give a facial to go with the hair. I knew it would be pointless before you went over to Carole's though." 

Jennifer gave Susie a big smile. "I know this has been an emotional day for you, and I'm not going to let you go meet Michael not feeling like you look your very best! You, young lady, are going to knock his socks off! You really don't need much. You are such a pretty girl already, but a little bit to bring out your highlights and emphasize your beautiful eyes will do wonders."

Susie watched in the mirror in wonder as Jennifer first cleansed her face, removing all traces of her earlier makeup and then began the process of applying fresh makeup, bringing out as promised Susie's blue eyes, and then bringing just enough color to her cheeks and lips. "Always remember this when putting on makeup. Dressing too, for that matter. The eyes are the windows of the soul. Draw his attention to your eyes and you will always have him where you want him. Don't overdo it. Highlight, don't dominate. You don't want your eyes to look like it has been so humid they have mildewed, but you want just enough color there to catch his attention."

Jacqui swept in. "Finished already? I'm disappointed." She looked into Susie's face. "Beautiful! I always like to watch her do her magic! I can fix hair, but I cannot do a masterpiece like Jennifer."

Suddenly the slow, phlegmatic, Jacqui was back, taking the time to carefully and gently touch up Susie's hair to just the right fullness and look. "See this Madge? This is what you will want to do for Susie until she gets the hang of it. It isn't always easy from the front, especially when there is scarring to deal with, but she will learn." 

A light mist of spray over the top and she was done. "It is important one does not overdo the hair spray! Too much and it weighs the hair down to where it can't do its job. Just enough to keep it from being flighty. If the wind blows it, that is why you carry a brush." 

Madge impulsively, and totally out of character for herself, engulfed Jacqui in a bearhug. She had managed all day to keep the tears from her own eyes, but now seeing how her daughter had been restored to her beauty was too much. 

Susie, on the other hand, had finally come to terms with her situation and she glowed. Not with pride, but rather a confidence born of suffering. She was confident she could now face anything and looked forward to her future. 

"I have to have a picture with these two wonderful ladies, too, Mommy. Please?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I was still wracking my brain for an answer as I drove over to Michael's condo. By now my nerves were quite on edge. I love my sister, I mean I really love my sister, and I can't imagine how I did something so stupid that could jeapordize our relationship. To see her naked with her consent and participation is one thing, but to invade her privacy the way I did was over the top. 

I saw a dark sedan pull into Michael's drive as I sat in the street in front. When I saw Michael get out of the car, though I was quite surprised and concerned. He lowered the ice bag and waved me over. Both eyes were quite black, and the bandage over his nose took up half of his face. One thing was for sure: His prom pictures weren't going to be anything special! Another thing; he wasn't going to be taking any engagement pics for the society pages tonight!

"Hey, Justin. Thanks for coming over. I want you to meet Sargent Jimmerson from the Phoenix PD. He's a good guy, my looks notwithstanding." He gave me a crooked grin, and then winced in pain.

Sargent Jimmerson stuck out a hand. "I'm pleased to meet you, Justin. Michael told me all about you on the way down. He said you would be able to take care of what he needs tonight?"

"Certainly. What's up?"

Michael started to say something, but the Sargent waved him silent. "We had a drug stakeout going today, looking for a guy in an Escalade when your friend here pulled up in an Escalade. When his mother showed up so that he could show her the engagement ring we thought it was a drug deal and went to make a bust. Unfortunately, Michael didn't resist like most druggies do, and when I went to put his face down on the trunk I broke his nose. I also got the bones under his eyes, but he insisted he had to be here tonight, and since he couldn't drive and it was my fault, I drove him down." Turning to Michael, "now are you sure you'll be OK, Sir? You sure you don't need me to hang around?"

"Thank you, but no, Sir. Justin is a good babysitter. He's been with me before. We have a limo for the night, so I don't have to drive. I'll work something out for getting back up to the Cardinals training facility tomorrow."

"OK, Sir. If you are sure. You have my number. If you can't find a ride for tomorrow give me a call, you hear me?"

"I'll do that. Thank you for taking it on yourself to drive me down here, and for telling me about your job. Remember, I'd really like to do a ride-along with you one day once this is taken care of. I'd really like to see what you guys go through in a day."

"I'll look forward to it." Sargent Jimmerson stuck out a hand and then turned and got back into his car. "Hey, wait a minute. We forgot the flowers and tux! Wouldn't do for me to take them back north!" He quickly pulled them from the back seat and handed them to me, then got back in his car and drove off.

I looked into Michael's eyes and saw the pain that was there, but he waved it off when I said something. "I have some Vicodin if I have to have something, but I'm going to try to get by without it. I don't like having my mind clouded, and I have to be sharp tonight."

I didn't know how he could be sharp in the pain I could see he suffered, but his mind was made up. We went into his condo, and I helped him get his tux laid out, with the shirt and cuff-links while he grabbed a shower. "I'm going to have to have something in my stomach, Justin, and there is no way I can eat anything. Could I trouble you to hit McDonalds and get me a couple of Vanilla milkshakes? The cold will feel good, and I won't have to chew or open my mouth much."

I scurried out the door and drove to Mickey D's as quickly as I could and got him two vanilla shakes and hurried back with them. Michael quickly drank them down and sighed. "Thanks. I was getting pretty hungry there."

We dressed, with Michael needing less help than he had thought, although I could certainly tell he was in considerable pain. The shot of Demerol he was given at the hospital had worn off long since, but he was a determined guy. I did manage to convince him to take a couple of Ibuprophens, with a couple of acetaminophen to be taken in a couple of hours. I remembered once my doctor had allowed me to double up on them in alternating doses at the mid points because he didn't want to use a narcotic on me. Michael didn't know it, but I slipped the bottles in my pocket to have with me, and I was going to keep track of the times, too. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Madge and Susie made the trip back south in very good time, and arrived in time for Susie to catch a quick shower, being very careful not to wet her hair, before getting dressed for the night. 

Tom Collins found he was pacing about the house like a caged cat. He knew what Michael had planned for the night, at least in part, and while he had given his permission he wasn't sure he was really happy with his decision. The fact was he wasn't ready to give up his little girl yet. While he wanted her to be happy, and he knew she loved Michael with all she had it was hard to see this time come. He really regretted taking the afternoon off of work so he would be there for the guys to come pick up the girls. He needed something to do with himself. Finally, he threw up his hands in frustration and went out to the garage and raised the bonnet on the old 'Bug-Eye' and unnecessarily pulled the spark plugs, cleaned and regapped the leads, and cursing heartily when he didn't get the wrench on properly, banging his knuckles, all just because tears in his eyes kept him from seeing.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Doctor Tom Meechum and Mary returned home from work to find two very excited girls touching up hair and makeup prior to putting on their dresses. Mary insisted they sit down and eat something, but both girls were so keyed up they weren't able to eat. Tom hid out in the room they used as an office, totally unused to all of the carryings on among the female gender. He really didn't see what all of the fuss was about. He'd been to quite a number of Marine Corps Balls, and even when he had a full set of the Mess Dress uniform it was just a matter of putting it on and making sure everything was shipshape. 

Charlotte Thyme rang the doorbell while the girls were still sitting at table. She and Mary had agreed to both help the girls get ready at the Winters' home because Rosemary wanted to surprise Justin with her dress, just as if she was really a date instead of just his sister. Mary thought it was 'cute' and happily agreed. 

"Pete said he'd come over later, in time for pictures. He didn't see any need to be underfoot now." Tom overheard Charlotte and wished desperately that he could go over to the Thyme house for a bit.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

At last Michael and I were ready to go. I really have to say there is a big difference between a tux tailored specifically for you, and a rental that is quickly altered for you. Michael looked very sharp and crisp, while I felt like a little boy wearing his father's suit!

At last the limousine came to pick us up, and Michael and I went out to it. We had a Lincoln Navigator that was stretched one hundred twenty inches, more than we needed, but with the girls dresses being what they are we thought the extra little bit of a stretch would be nicer than trying to squeeze into a shorter car. Michael double-checked when we got in, but the driver had removed all of the alcohol since we are under-aged. "That would be the last thing I need tonight of all nights. If they did a car check and found alcohol in here I'd be really cooked!"

I gave Rosemary a quick text to let her know we were on the way, and to remind her about Michael's accident so they wouldn't react badly when they saw his bandage. Texting Rosemary reminded me. What was I going to do about that Koala?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Dad arrived at the Winters' house at about the same time we did, so he waited for Michael an me to get out of the limo before we walked to the door. "Shall we see what your mother and sister have spent my money on together? By the way, I really appreciate you taking your sister to Prom along with Stephanie. That isn't normal for a guy your age."

Of course I couldn't really tell him how badly I wanted to take her, so I played it off by saying, "It isn't normal to be a twin, either. I guess that makes us closer than most. I think she's special, and she doesn't look badly on my arm either."

Dad nodded. "Well, I'm appreciative anyway. I just don't understand the guys in your generation. I would have thought all the guys would have been falling all over themselves to ask her out."

"She intimidates them." Dad looked at me incredulously, and I just nodded. He shook his head in disbelief.

"We really have emasculated this generation!" Dad took one look at Michael before exploding, "Good Lord! What happened to you?"

Michael gave him a wry smile. "I had a little accident this morning and broke my nose. I'll be all right."

Dad shook his head. "You look great other than that, but you don't look like you have any business going to this tonight."

He just shrugged. "It's not an option. I have to be there," and he headed for the door, obviously wanting to forestall any further conversation.

We opened the door to find the girls actually ready on time. Rosemary was wearing a gorgeous green dress, the same color as the peignoir she surprised me with some time ago. Her hair was piled on top of her head with little ringlets strategically placed here and there. Please don't ask me to describe it! I'm a guy for Pete's sake! The skirt of her dress was puffy and came to just above the knee, but the thing that caught my eye and stopped my breath was her plunging neckline! Actually, it wasn't all that revealing, with only a narrow vee that ran down from her collarbone to nearly her navel. Obviously she wasn't wearing a bra, and I couldn't see what was holding the two sides over her breasts.

When I thought I could catch my breath again Stephanie stepped out from behind her. I had seen a splash of yellow, but when she stepped out my eyes bugged! She was wearing an off the shoulder, strapless yellow (I learned later it was called Saffron) dress that started at the tops of her boobs, but cut down and away to just above her waist in the back, leaving her with a lot of skin without tan lines showing. I learned later also that her top was held in place with what they call boning, which in the old days would have been made of whalebone, hence the name. At the waist the dress flared out into a wide hooped skirt covered by some sort of gauzy fabric. 




Justin Thyme Ch. 19



"If I don't return home tonight it will be because I've been killed by jealous guys when I walk in with these two on my arms!" Dad just snorted, but Mary gave me a big smile, and behind me Tom Meechum grinned and nodded at me. 

Michael had hesitated at the door, not wanting to draw attention from the girls, but he stepped forward and gave them as big of a smile as he could. "You two girls look very nice tonight. You were already beautiful, but this is special."

Dr. Meechum took one look at Michael and said, "Young man, you sit down. Right now!" He stepped over to Michael and guided him to a chair. "Rosemary told me you had an accident, but I had no idea it was this bad! What doctor in his right mind let you out of the hospital?"

"I had to pull some strings with the Hospital Administrator. It helps having your Mom on the Board of Directors. I just absolutely refused to stay. Don't worry, I'm going to see one of the team Ortho's tomorrow."

Mary had taken one look at Michael and hurried down the hall to get her medical bag. She rarely got too far from it. Quickly she produced a thermometer and checked Michael's temperature, which as was to be expected was a bit elevated.

"What have you taken for this?" Dr. Meechum demanded.

"Oh, I had a shot of Demerol at the hospital. Right now I have about six hundred milligrams of Ibuprofen in me. I have some Acetaminophen to take a little later if I need a little help."

"Weren't you even prescribed anything for the pain?"

"Yes Sir, but I chose not to take it. I have to have a clear head tonight. I can't afford to be under the influence."

"Nonsense!"

"No Sir. I have some Vicodin, and I'll take one later, but I have to get through Prom first. I owe it to Susie, and I owe it to everybody else."

"You can't take the Vicodin if you take the Acetaminophen. Vicodin contains Acetaminophen. I have half a mind to call an ambulance and have you admitted. You have no business going to this dance. Yes, it is a special time, but your health is much more important than just a dance."

"I'll be OK, sir. I have a broken nose, and two fractures to the maxilla, and I'll have surgery to take care of them tomorrow. It is very important I do this tonight. Trust me, I'm not masochistic, and I don't get off on pain. I have to do this."

Dr. Meechum looked at his watch. "It's now six-thirty. I will give you until ten o'clock, and then I will be at the Prom with an injection of Demerol, and you will allow me to give it to you, and then to see to it you are properly cared for in a bed. I cannot professionally allow you to do any more than that to yourself. Is that clear?"

"Yes sir. That should be sufficient. Justin already promised he'd babysit me tonight and drive me back up to the training camp tomorrow."

The others stood looking on in stunned silence. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tom Collins drew in a shuddering breath and wiped his eyes on a paper towel. All he had managed to do other than bark his knuckles three times was to remove the four plugs and lay them out on top of the air cleaner. Try as he might he couldn't see well enough to check the plug gaps. He now understood the feeling others had expressed comparing giving away their daughters to giving a prized Stradivarius to a gorilla. As much as he loved and respected Michael he felt the same. He didn't care that the gorilla had been trained by Paganini himself!

Tom stumbled once as he made his way from the garage to the den, carefully wiping grease from his hands as he went. He poured himself a stiff Scotch and drank it down neat before going to check on his daughter and see how she was coming along with getting ready.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Look, guys." Michael leaned forward from the front bulkhead seat where he was sitting with an icebag on his forehead. "Tonight is Susie's night. Don't let her worry about me, OK? I know I won't be able to do a lot of dancing and stuff, but I want it to be a very special night for her. Can you help me out?"

We all agreed. "I still get to dance with both of you! You don't get out of that! By the way, I meant what I said earlier. You are both beautiful young ladies, but tonight you look fantastic! I know I have to leave early, and I'll be OK on my own for a while, so I don't want you feeling you have to take off when I do, so that means you, too, Justin. You guys have a great evening, and if I can get Susie to stay will you let her hang with you?"

"Let her? Don't forget, she's one of us, as are you, now. You can't get her away from us," Rosemary said. "I'm just so sorry you had the accident. What happened anyway?"

"I'll tell you after the Prom." He held up a hand when Rosemary tried to pump him. "You'll just have to wait. I can't tell you yet."

The limo pulled up in front of the Collins' home, and we all got out. Michael did his best to mask the pain in his face as we walked toward the front door. Tom Collins looked rather morose when he opened the door for us and invited us in. "She'll be just a moment, Michael. Susie told my you broke your nose. I'm sorry! What happened?"

"I'll have to tell you about it later." Tom looked at him inquisitively, but Michael was not deterred. "Sorry. I have to wait. It's nothing bad, but it has to wait." 

He was saved from any further questioning as we heard a rustling of fabric and all of us looked to the top of the stairs to see a stunning vision coming down the stairs.

I really think Michael forgot his pain for a moment or two as he looked entranced at the beautiful young woman descending the steps. Quickly he stepped to the stairs and extended his hand to assist Susie, but she stopped with her hand to her mouth. "Oh, Michael! Your Mom said you got hurt, but not so badly! We don't have to go! You're hurt too badly!"

"Now, Little One, it isn't that bad. I wouldn't miss this night for anything! I'm just sorry I'm going to mess up the pictures, although it won't be that much of a loss." How he managed to try to joke I don't know, but Michael has a lot of depth to him.

Michael took Susie's hand and lifted it to his lips and kissed it gently. "May I say you look exquisite tonight? Carole really did herself proud! And I love your hair!"

Susie stepped on down the steps. "Thank you. And thank you for the necklace and earrings. They are beautiful." 

The way she looked up into Michael's eyes as she stood holding his hand caused the lump that had never gone away in Tom's throat to grow. He turned quickly and walked into the kitchen and drew a glass of water, desperate to find a way to calm himself and to keep from crying in front of everyone. If it was this hard tonight, how in the world would he be able to walk her down an aisle?

Madge paused halfway down the stairs and looked at Michael and Susie with rapt admiration. She saw the look that passed between their eyes and was able to overlook Michael's bandaged face. She knew she was losing her daughter, too, but was buoyed by the hope of rekindling with Tom the relationship they had once had.

The next thirty minutes was spent taking photographs of all of us. Michael sat in a chair in the house for much of it, with Dr. Meechum close at hand, and Mary kept a close eye on him as well. Several times I saw her step over to Michael and lay a hand gently on his forehead checking for fever. At least if something happened we had excellent medical care at our call.

Finally, we were finished with the pictures and got ready to go out to the limo when Stephanie called for everyone's attention. "Mom has something she needs to tell you about before we go. Everybody, listen up!"

Mary blushed and looked down at the floor from the sudden shift of attention, but then lifted her head, eyes shining as she reached over for Tom's hand. "Tom and I are getting married!" 

Of course that got the women all chattering together and the men all shook Tom's hand and congratulated him. Stephanie waited until she could get through us guys and stepped up to give Tom a big hug and kiss on the cheek. "I can't wait until I can call you 'Dad'."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

During the dinner Michael sipped slowly at ice water as the others ate. As many 'rubber chicken' dinners as he had eaten with his father when at awards banquets and the sort he really didn't miss the dinner all that much, other than he was getting rather hungry. Those two milkshakes he drank earlier had worn off. In the long run though, his growling belly was drowned out by his hurting head. 

Susie kept watching him with concern, which he did his best to allay, but he was no more successful than she had been during her rehab and their night of dancing. He was determined that if she could stand to dance with him as long as she did, when her stump was hurting as it was, there was no way he was going to short her on her special night. He had to at least make the intermission. That was a given!

Susie drew attention wherever she went between her natural beauty enhanced by love and the gown Carole gave her. She didn't know it, but Carole had made a small adjustment to the neck line to enhance the diamond necklace, and she had quite a number of girls she didn't even know ask her where she had found such a beautiful dress. Even the principal stopped her in the lobby to compliment her on the dress and request information. Carole didn't know she had done so, but Susie picked up a number of her business cards and gave them out to all who asked. It was her hope business would flow to Carole as a result of her gift.

Stephanie and Rosemary drew eyes as well, including a few guys who thought they were unattended and had hopes of connecting. I thought it funny, especially when the girls said they were both with me, and liked it that way. More than one guy walked away with a red face. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tom Collins walked back into his den just as soon as the limo left, fully intending to make another drink. Madge was all excited about Susie's gown, jewelry, the night, and everything about the experience other than Michael's injury, but she didn't know what Tom knew. If she had known she would be excited about that as well, although she thought they were too young to marry. The problem was the kids didn't think they were too young, and he had already given his OK. The last thing he needed to hear at this moment was his wife prattling on and on about all of the details. Yes, he was happy for his daughter to have found what appeared to be real love, but now was not the time!

Propped up on his liquor cabinet Tom found an envelope with his name carefully and neatly penned. It hadn't been there when he fixed himself a drink before the kids arrived. Puzzled he picked it up and opened it to find inside vouchers for a nine to fourteen day cruise of their choice, with a balcony stateroom, and from any port of call in the US or Europe plus round trip airline passes to take them to and from the ship. An enclosed 'Thank You' card read, "Dear Tom and Madge, Please accept this as a token of my thanks for your love and acceptance of me, and for the honor of allowing me to love your daughter. 

Please enjoy this cruise with my compliments. Michael" 

Wordlessly, for he couldn't find his voice, Tom took the envelope and gave it to Madge. Obviously, Michael had smelled the Scotch on Tom's breath and recognized his feelings and so had known where to leave the card.  

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As promised, I danced with Susie, and since Michael wasn't feeling all that much like dancing I actually danced with her a couple of times, but the promised slow dance came. Initially I was a little concerned about it, knowing Susie's propensity for teasing, but she was the model of decorum. Sure we danced close together, but it wasn't sexy as much as two very good friends enjoying being together. "Thank you for everything, Justin," she murmured in my ear. "If it was not for you I wouldn't know what love really is. I want you to know I love you and count you as a very dear friend."

"No thanks are necessary, Susie. The feeling is mutual."

"I guess things work out for the best. I know I couldn't be happier, and I'm so glad for you and Stephanie."

"Thanks. I really think she is special."

"Do you know what happened to Michael?"

"No. He wouldn't say. He said he'd tell us about it after Prom."

"He's really hurting."

"I know. He wouldn't take a Vicodin. He said he had to keep his mind clear tonight, that he'd take one later, but Dr. Meechum told him he's going to give him Demerol later."

"Um hmm. I tried to get him to go home, but he won't."

I leaned back enough to smile down at her. "Did you go home when he tried to get you to when you two went dancing that first night?"

"No, but that was different."

"Not so much. He really loves you, you know."

"Um hmm. It's mutual." The song drew to a close and Susie quickly kissed me on the cheek before we left the floor. "Thank you. I had to have at least one for old time's sake."

"Save me one for the wedding." That brought a big smile.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was nine-thirty when Susie and I came off of the dance floor. Michael was sitting back against the wall trying very hard not to show how badly he was in pain, but it didn't work. 

"Look, man. Nobody will hold it against you if you call it a night. You're a lot better man than I am to have lasted this long. Susie is worried about you."

"I know, but I can't go yet. I promise I'll go at ten, when Doc comes over and gives me the shot." 

He was obviously in no shape to dance, and he couldn't even really talk with us. His sinuses were so swollen and packed you could hardly understand what he had to say, but he kept a bit of a smile on his face, encouraging Susie to dance with me and a swarm of other guys that came around and asked. "Look, Honey, this is your last Prom. This is your night. Go have fun. I'm not worried about you."

She wouldn't do it, though. I danced several times with Rosemary and Steph, mostly alternating, but saving the slow dances for Steph. Rosemary and I had decided beforehand it would look wrong for a brother and sister to be slow dancing the way we would really want too if it was up to us.

Finally, at nine forty-five the lead singer of the band stepped to the microphone and said, "Folks, we need to take a break, but during the break time we have a very special guest to introduce. Michael Thibodeaux, Jeff Thibodeaux's son is here tonight. Michael, come on up here!"

That brought out a round of cheering, mostly from the guys, but everyone was excited to see who Michael was. Michael rose slowly and grabbed Susie by the hand. "Come with me, would you, Honey? I'd like to have you with me."

Susie looked at him in surprise, but got up and followed as Michael made his way slowly to the dais. When he stepped up to the microphone a new wave of cheers swept the room, especially when Susie was recognized with him. Michael raised a hand and waited for the noise to settle down, the cheers being overwhelmed by whispers and questions of what happened to him?

"Good evening! I ask you to please pardon my appearance this evening. I had a little accident, not of my own causing this morning and broke my nose. I'm afraid I spoiled Susie's evening, but it couldn't be helped. Anyway, that is not why I'm here. Last week I called on Dr. Robinson, your principal and requested permission to speak with you all for just a couple of minutes. I promise I won't be long."

Michael paused and took a deep breath. "I know many of you don't know my date, Susie Collins, but I'm sure you heard about the accident in which she was hit by a driver under the influence a few months ago, and how she lost a foot as a result."

Murmuring and muttering swept the room.

Michael held up a hand again and gradually the room quieted down. "Susie didn't know I was going to do this tonight, and I'm sorry if I'm embarrassing her." He turned to Susie and pled with his eyes for her understanding. She just gave him a sweet smile and nodded, trusting he would do what was right. She knew it was really important to him since he had used his family name.

"Stephanie Winters was driving the car." He pointed back to where we were sitting. "There was nothing she could do as the other driver blew a red light and T-boned her car in the passenger door, pinning Susie's foot, requiring it to be cut from the wreckage. Susie also had serious internal injuries and some head trauma, which fortunately was not long lasting. She underwent several surgeries, and it was really touch and go whether she would survive. One of the top Orthopaedic surgeons in the country was called in from Mayo's trying to save her foot, but it was not possible, and it had to be removed a couple of days later. All of this because a guy had a couple of drinks and then tried to drive."

Michael paused once again, his face ashen. "I know what happened, because I was there for all of it. You see, I was the other driver."

At this admission an angry murmur broke out, and for a minute I thought people were going to rush him, but Susie stepped up next to him and grabbed his hand. Michael waited for the grumbling to die down before continuing. "Lest you think I have to do this tonight as part of some sort of court sentence or something, I don't. I am here because I requested to be, and of my own free will, without anyone asking me to do so. Before you crucify me, please let me tell you what happened. I don't drink. Because of my religion I have never touched alcohol before that night. I attended a party with a girl from a class I was taking, and a couple of guys spiked the punch without anyone's knowledge. They were a couple of losers who were hoping to make the girls more amenable to persuasion, if you will. Most of us at the party were underage, and no alcohol was supposed to be present."

"Because I do not drink, and had never before had a drink I didn't realize what was happening to me when after a couple of glasses of punch I was not feeling well. I thought I was sick and made my apologies and left the party and was trying to go home. I was not legally drunk, only blowing a point oh seven, but I was under the influence, and I did not see the red light until it was too late. As a consequence of my actions a lovely young lady lost her foot and several months of her life that were spent either in the hospital or in a hospital bed in her home."

"Her parents were out of town on a cruise and couldn't get back for nine days. I didn't want her to be alone, so I took it on myself to stay with her and to make sure she received the best of care. I asked her forgiveness as soon as she was able to talk with me and she was gracious enough to give me her forgiveness. I also went to Stephanie Winters to ask her forgiveness, and there I met Justin and Rosemary Thyme, and their grandfather, who is an attorney representing Stephanie. When I explained what happened and asked Stephanie for her forgiveness she also was gracious and gave it. As a consequence I gained some very precious friends."

Michael nodded back our direction and then paused before continuing. 

"I am not pushing for you to join my religion. That is a personal choice for each of us to make, but I do ask you not to drink and drive, even a little bit. None of you are legal to drink, but I recognize that will not stop many of you. I hope what I have to say this evening and the witness before you the consequences of just a momentary slip of judgment will be enough to make you think about things. If you attend a party where you don't have control of what you eat or drink, please be careful. If it doesn't feel right, don't do it. It is not worth the risk or the pain it brings."

"You see Susie here before you tonight, and with that beautiful gown I know you haven't missed her. You've seen her dancing and having fun, but you don't see her prosthesis, nor will you see the blisters on her stump tomorrow because she is on it longer than she ought be. Neither will you see or hear her complain. She never has to my knowledge and it is one thing that has made me come to love her as a friend, and then beyond that."




Justin Thyme Ch. 19



Michael slipped his hands in his pockets and stood for a moment before turning to Susie. "Susie Collins, I love you." He dropped suddenly to one knee and pulled a box from his pocket. "Will you marry me?" and he opened the box so she could see that fateful ring that was the cause of all of his pain tonight.

Susie stood there wide-eyed and open mouthed as tears sprang from her eyes. "Oh, yes, Michael. Oh, yes!" Her voice was soft and low, but she was just close enough to the microphone that everyone in the room could hear her. A roar swept the room with cheering and clapping as Michael slipped the ring onto her finger and then stood and led her from the platform after a brief hug and the lightest peck of a kiss that hurt so badly, but yet felt so good.

It took them a few minutes to make it from the podium to our table, and I could see Michael was really struggling. He kept having to stop and shake hands with all of the guys in the area, while Susie was mobbed by all of the girls, who wanted to see the ring. Susie maintained a death grip on Michael's arm as if she was afraid someone would take him from her, but she also had a smile on her face that totally belied the tears on her cheeks. 

I quickly made my way to him, seeing he was at the end of his string. "Excuse us, please." I kept saying over and over to the guys surrounding him. "Michael has to have a seat." Finally I got him back to our table where he grabbed his glass of water and drank it down as quickly as he could. I saw Dr. Meechum enter the room and stood and waved for his attention and he, with Mary closely following, made his way over.

"All right, Doc. I'll take your shot now," Michael said weakly. "Mission accomplished," and he held up Susie's hand for them to see the ring. Mary immediately had to embrace Susie and kiss her on the cheek.

"I'm so happy for you two! I wondered how long it was going to take, but I thought you would probably wait to get some school out of the way first."

"I had no idea," Susie whispered. She turned to Michael suddenly. "You talked to Daddy a few days ago, didn't you? That's what was wrong with him when we went up Mt. Lemmon!" Michael's smile was all the answer she needed. "Does Mommy know?" 

Michael shook his head "No".

"Is that what was wrong with Daddy tonight? Did he know you were going to ask me tonight?"

"I think so. I didn't say just when, but I think he got the idea." Susie laid her head on Michael's shoulder and hugged his arm. "I can't believe I didn't even guess. You have made me so happy."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

We all decided we had had enough of the Prom. With Michael leaving it would leave me with the three girls, not that that would have been a hardship, but everything would have been a letdown had we stayed, so we decided to move the party to the Collins' house. Dr. Meechum agreed to wait until we got there to give Michael the shot so he could ride back with us in the limo. Our driver was surprised when I called him and asked to be picked up, but he wasn't disappointed at all to get to go home a lot earlier than he expected, especially when I paid him the full fare for the evening charter. After all, we had booked the time. I didn't think it would be right to him to cut him short of what we had asked for.

I thought Madge was going to come unglued when Susie shyly held out her hand to show her mother the ring. She started crying and laughing and hugged Susie to her, then reached out and grabbed Michael and gave him a hug, crying on his shoulder the whole while. I really thought he looked relieved at her reaction. I know Michael was worried about what her reaction would be. Tom stuck out a hand and gripped Michael's hand hard and looked him in the eye. I could tell he was happy, but it was easy to see how hard it was to give his daughter away. After a minute of gripping hands Tom let go and embraced Michael firmly. "I couldn't ask for a better man for my daughter, but you will have to wait a few years to give your own daughter away to understand how I feel." It wasn't intended for me to hear, but I did, and believe it or not, I think I understood.

Michael waited to tell us about his injury until we got back to the house so that he would only have to tell it once. Everyone got a laugh the way he described the "drug bust" trying to picture Michael as a drug dealer, and Joanne as a druggie. At first both Toms were ready to go up to Phoenix and have it out with the PD up there, but Michael finally got them to understand the obvious misunderstanding, especially when he told how Sargent Jimmerson took his own time to drive Michael down to Tucson. 

"I bear him no ill will. He was doing his job the best he knew to do it, and with the circumstances what they were, he did it right. He just didn't expect me to cooperate so readily. We actually got along very well on the way down here, and as soon as I get this taken care of I plan to do a ride along with him one day so I can understand his job a little better. After talking with him and getting to know him a little bit I kind of think it would be good for a lot of people to see their job from their perspective." 

I didn't have to babysit him after all. Madge insisted he was going to stay with them, and that she would be certain he was taken care of. She also insisted that she and Tom drive him up to the training camp to see the doctor, and of course Susie would go along. 

Steph got permission from her Mom to spend the night with Rosemary, so the three of us rode home together in Steph's car. I noticed Stephanie looking at me funny a number of times as she held my hand while driving, but I wasn't ready to ask the question yet, although I know she is the one. Who knows? It might be soon. It would make things a lot simpler with all of the girls around the house if I had something official in place. 

I also solved the problem with the Koala. It was the limo driver who gave me the idea. He had a WiFi hotspot set up in the back of the limo for anyone who wanted internet access, and it allowed Pandora to be played over the stereo. I just have to make a quick trip to Jim's to make the 'upgrade' I was working on when I had to leave to help Michael. 

It got me a big hug and kiss with the declaration I was the best brother in the world, so why did it leave me feeling like a heel?

A note to my wonderful readers: Thank you so very much for the wonderful support, for the offers of help, and the very valued comments and criticisms. 99.9% were constructive and have been beneficial, and only a very few have been from trolls. I count myself blessed!

I made the determination to end Justin Thyme at this point. I know there are threads that are not completed, but that is the way life often works. There are so many things we wonder how they will work out in life, and we often don't get to find out. 

Who knows, I may decide to revisit Justin at a later date, but it will have to be as book two if I do so. Otherwise, I'm afraid I will end up with a tome the size of War and Peace. If it was of that quality it wouldn't be a bad thing. 




I recognize there was not a lot of sex in the last two segments, but that too, is the way life works sometimes. I will leave it to your imagination what may have happened overnight.

With profound gratitude for allowing me to hone my craft and try to learn to write, I remain

Callicious

As always I respond to all emails that have a return address. Occasionally I respond to comments as well, so check PM's. Anonymous emails are hard to answer! (I won't spam you, nor will I make them public.)



Justin Thyme Ch. 20



After reading and answering most of the comments made on my first attempt I did some editing. This is a revised edition of my first attempt of writhing Chapter 20 of Justin Thyme.

This is a continuation of the story Justin Thyme created by Callicious you should read his stories of which there are 19, before you read mine. Who passed in October 2014at the age of 60. I was given permission from the family under these terms. "As long as you acknowledge what Dad wrote as his, and what you write as yours I have no problem with it. I would ask, and this is the sticky point from Dad's viewpoint, that the sex remain supportive to the story line, and not the other way around. Dad was very emphatic with me that he hated the stories that started out mild and then got more extreme. He also was totally against any parental incest. Is that too much to ask?" To which I happily agreed.

I first said I would have a continuation posted around the first of February. I am sorry I just couldn't wait that long. I hope you all like my first attempt at continuing another Writers story. I have done my best to keep true to his characters and true to his story line. I hope everyone enjoys what I have written.

Comments and suggestions are welcome, though I believe if you want to commit you should do it under your account name and not anonymously, Thank You. REGG60

*

Michael had a rough night, and didn't get much sleep due to the pain from his broken nose and pressure in his sinuses. Susie stayed with him throughout the night, sitting in a chair next to his bed. The first time Michael woke up and to see her there "Little one what are you doing here, you should be in bed."

"Mikey, I am watching over you like you do for me and you need to get used to it, this ring says we will be looking out for each other for a long time."

"Little one, that ring isn't the one that means that that is just the prelude to the one that does." he smiles

She sticks her tongue out at him, "Mikey the ring doesn't matter to me, as far as I am concerned the moment you proposed in my mind I was your wife. I know your belief's don't agree, but in my mind that is how it is." She smiles "is there anything you need right now, something to drink a new ice bag, one of the pills the doctor gave you?"

"All the above except make it half a pill, please and little one in everything except sex I consider myself your husband as well, the sex will have to wait till after our vows on our wedding day."

Susie bends over him, gives him a hug and a gentle kiss on the lips, and in a low voice that only he can hear says "Mikey, I love you so much, I am the luckiest girl in the world."

"No little one I am the lucky one, I had given up on meeting a girl, till I met and got to know you, no matter how unfortunate our meeting was, I am lucky to have found someone I could love that loved me for who I am and not who my parents are or what they could get from me for their own selfish reasons."

"Who could not love you for yourself, I will be right back with what you need to make you feel better."

"I already feel better my love, those other things will just help ease the pain, you are the one that makes me feel better." He smiles at her

Susie gives him a quick kiss and leaves the room. A few minutes later she comes back and sees Michael has fallen into a fitful slumber so she sets the water, ice bag and half a pill on the night stand and settles down in her chair until he awakens once more. Later that night Michael wakes, to see Susie asleep in the chair, smiles, spotting the items on the night stand, he takes the pill with a drink of water and lays back with the ice bag on his face.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 I wake up early my mind reeling with ideas for the house and questions that need answers that need to be written down before they slip my mind. I am is the first one up the house is quiet, as much as I missed the company of the girls last night with my parents home there wasn't a chance. I grab my robe and rush to the bathroom alone to quickly get ready for the day. Returning to my room I get dressed in cargo shorts and T-shirt. Grabbing a pad of paper and a pen on my way to the kitchen, to start a pot of coffee. While the coffee is brewing I start writing down my ideas. Grabbing a cup of coffee and back to writing. I flip the page and do a rough drawing of the house, coach house and pool showing ideas for the exterior.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 Mom smiles and gives me a hug, "Thanks for making coffee. How long have you been up? And why?" as she gets a cup and sits down.

"I woke up with my head spinning with ideas for the house and had to write them down and things I need to talk to you, Dad and Rosemary about." tearing off the first two sheets of the pad I hand them to my mom.

As mom drinks her coffee, she smiles and reviews what I have handed her.

"Mom, I have also been thinking of what you and dad said a few weeks back about wishing you could retire and have more time to do things, I think you should both give that idea more consideration now that Thyme & Thyme Again Properties, is going to have around $400 million in its account or soon will have. I think that you and dad's share should be enough to retire on." I smile at her and laugh.

Mom says, "That would be nice, but it isn't that easy."

"Mom, why isn't it, it can't be about the money now. If you need something to keep you active, both of you could do something you enjoyed. You could open a small Real Estate office of your own and just look for properties for Thyme & Thyme Again Properties, LLC to invest in. Dad could find something he wants to. No bosses for either of you work as you want, travel as you want. Talk it over with him."

Mom with a little annoyance states, "Your father and I will talk it over more seriously now that it is possible."

"We have the house in Scottsdale and have been working on getting it ready, have you checked on what's required for licensing, it's not a single family home anymore."

Mom says, "I see that is one of the items on this list, I'll have to call the city and check as to what kind of license we need to get a license. We should have checked all of that first and need to get started on that before we go any further. Not that I foresee much of a problem, but dealing with the city they can make problems if they feel like it."

As mom and I are talking dad comes in getting a coffee and joins us.

Dad smiling, "Morning you two, why up so early."

Mom explains, "Justin was up before I came in, he had coffee ready when I came in. He handed me this and has been asking me all kinds of question that we need to find the answers to. " Mom gets up to get another cup of coffee and starts making breakfast."

"Morning Dad, I will be right back, going to roust the girls so they can get ready for breakfast."

I knock loudly on Rosemary's door. "Wake up in there, mom is burning breakfast."

Mom yells up "Just for that comment I will make sure yours is burned." I hear her laughing.

I knock again, "Hey sis, Steph time to get up get those arses moving. It is turning into a busy day, no rest for the wicked." I hear rumbles of discontent come from her room.

Rosemary half asleep, "Alright, enough already we are awake."

Steph "He just wants to see our arses moving." She giggles.

"Only if they jiggle as you wiggle." I laugh and head back to the kitchen.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 Dad looking at the list, "Justin when did you come up with these ideas? They're really good ones here that I think should be done."

Mom smiling, but thoughtful, "Yes, I think so too, but we will wait for Rosemary and Steph to get here, then all four partners will be able to voice opinions and ask questions, we can also get a fifth none voting opinion from Steph."

"Dad, I woke up with them, just had to write them down before I forgot."

Dad looks concerned, "Where is the money coming from for these ideas. Shouldn't we wait and do some of them next year or the year after."

We hear the shower running upstairs, so we know the girls won't be down for a few more minutes.

"According to Grandpa our LLC will have around four hundred million added to its account when the paper chase is finished, but that will take time at least a few months. So I thought I would sell off a few gold bars enough to fund these ideas, along with enough to give me some spending money, for new clothing and minor items nothing too extravagant. New furnishings for my room, a workshop in the coach house next to the closed in area. I don't want to sell off to many of the gold bars, because gold is a sound investment."

Dad nods in agreement, "Why not sell the coins too?"

"I have to talk to Michael about the coins I have another idea that is not on that list because I need to talk it over with him first. Also, I would like to bury the remains of Samuel Johnson in a corner of the ground, providing we can get permission to do so, I think it would be only right to bury him on the estate, he built it and it has been his resting ground for so many years."

Mom smiles, "I like that idea and if we post a plaque telling the story near the grave it also adds to the history of the place."

Dad thoughtfully, "I think that is a great idea to honor him like that. I am proud of you Son"

"Now the remains of Henry Murray, I think we should see if he has any living relatives that might want to handle his remains. If not we bury him near Samuel to make the history complete. I wish we had photos of the house as it was when it was first built."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 Madge wakes up and nudges her husband "Tom, time to get up, " she gets up and gets ready, then goes to see if Susie and Michael are awake, she quietly knocks and looks in. She see's Susie sleeping in the chair next to the bed and Michael laying on the bed with an ice bag on his face. Quietly entering the room, touching her daughter on the shoulder and wakes her up, "Time to get up and get ready, you can wake up Michael OK."

Michael quietly say, "I am already awake," he says with a smile, "I didn't want to wake up, my love, I don't think she got much sleep watching over me."

Yawning Susie says "Mikey, you have done the same for me for weeks, now it's my turn to do it for you now, my love." she leans over and embraces him and gives him a tender kiss.

"OK, you two it's time to get ready, How about we go to McDonald's for breakfast at least Michael can drink milkshakes without much pain."

Michael sadly replies, "Nothing for me this morning, nothing till after I have the surgery except water, even though a few milkshakes would be wonderful I will have to wait."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 After the table is clear "OK, I think everyone awake enough now for a meeting, " I look at Rosemary and Steph and l chuckle, " to go over plans for the house in Scottsdale. I have some ideas for the house, if anyone else has ideas they want to propose they can be presented also and some unanswered questions that I think need to be resolved."

Dad raises and eyebrow "What unanswered questions?"

Mom explains to everyone the questions I had asked her, "Checking on those and dealing with local bureaucrats there could be more issues involved the longer we wait", she frowns, "so we should get started getting answers as soon as possible, I will give Dad a call and see what he has to say about it."

Rosemary wonders, "What ideas?"

Dad hurriedly, "I'll be right back going to make copies." and heads for the office and returns a few minutes later and hands everyone a copy. "Got to love PCs and scanner, printers"

"Yes, they are good for small copy jobs if the ink cartridge doesn't run out."

Everyone takes a few minutes to go over the list, I get another cup of coffee.

Rosemary thoughtfully asks, "I like most of these ideas they are all good, but do we need them all?"

Mom says, "Let's start at the Top and go through them one at a time, Steph your input from the tenant is welcome and will help us decide on some of these."

"Extending the back patio the length of the house to the and around the pool." Mom reads from the List, "Not that I object, can you expand on your reason for this?"

I smile and say "We have ten rooms not counting my room in the turret, plus we will have eventually, an apartment possibly two and at least one guest room over the coach house, now that Michael is engaged to Susie I think he will be working on their apartment at least, as soon as he can. So that is four double rooms, providing temporary housing for nine girls, then there are six singles which bring the total up to fifteen girls, and with the coach house unfinished the real total is unknown, but adding me and Michael it will be at least seventeen people."

I conclude, "That is seventeen people having use of the pool possibly more in the future, the privacy fence hasn't been installed yet before it is I would like to add a pool house, an outside shower, changing area and a washing machine area at the back of the house between the house and the pool with four washing machines and four dryers at least. Also, I think as long as we have the pool a large hot tub would be nice. The shower, changing area and clothes washing area would help to keep the traffic down in the house and a towel closet for the pool area."

Dad, thinks, then smiles, "Hmmm, keep most of the mess outside to make the cleaning inside easier and cut down the wear and tear on the floors and carpets. Good thinking Son."

"As long as we are putting in all this work and money renovating the house and we want to keep it looking good for as long as possible and now I have the money to help we might as well go beyond the ordinary to keep it looking that way for as long as possible. It is supposed to be our home Rosemary's and mine, I'd like it to be as comfortable as possible." I smile

Mom knowingly, "Why expand the patio all the way around the pool though," she smiles like she knows what I am thinking.

"I want to connect the main house, coach house and pool house with the patio, the side of the pool across from the coach house should be as wide as the coach house side to make the patio uniform for future expansion on that side. With seventeen plus people living there, plus guest they may have there is no way all would fit on the patio we have now."

Dad raise an eyebrow questioningly, "They all wouldn't be using the pool at the same time."

Steph grins "You don't know much about girls sun bathing do you inviting girlfriends from school over not to mention boyfriends."she laughs "but personally I don't think boyfriends should not be permitted to use the pool, the only men I think that should be able to use the pool are Justin, Michael, Mr. Thyme Grandpa Thompson and fathers that are visiting the girls, other than that its just for us girls."

We all laugh and agree with Steph.

Rosemary thoughtfully, "The ideas for the pool and patio are good, but I suggest we should add to the rule on men, that they only be permitted in the foyer and dining room no need for them to have access to the entire first floor."

Mom verifies the vote, "Everyone agrees with the first idea and the change to the Male access rule, so we move on to the next idea, the kitchen, Justin wants to completely redo the kitchen which previously thought was not an eat in kitchen why do you think this?"

"I think the breakfast area was originally the servants' dining area, the servants did not eat with their employers, they either ate in the kitchen at a common table or in a small dining area for themselves. The changes I would like to make if possible would be to remove the breakfast area and have direct access to the dining room from the kitchen. Set up as a rooming house we don't really need a breakfast area, we can set up a number of small tables of two and four sittings and maybe a small counter halfway across the opening to the kitchen that would serve our purpose better, we most likely won't be having any formal dinners." I laugh.

I continue, "As for the kitchen itself, I would like to go with as much stainless steel as possible, it is easier to clean, commercial stove, dishwasher, like a restaurant kitchen. Buy everything from a restaurant supply company. Instead of a number of individual refrigerators, a large stainless and glass front one with multiple doors, same but not so large for the freezer, we can assign shelves for individuals and I think they would be more cost effective in the long run."

Mom agrees "As long as we have the money why not, and I agree with the dining area, we don't need a separate breakfast area, and formal dinners are not in the works, most students will probably go home for Thanksgiving and Christmas."

Rosemary smiles "I think Justin's idea for the refrigerator and freezer is good, I came up with the multiple units at the time as a quick and easy fix."

"If we are doing this I want to do it right and make it a showplace for off campus living, it may not bring in a profit for a while, but now we are not hurting for money, and due to the unanswered questions we may run out of time, so I think this is more than Rosemary and I can handle with our sweat equity before the girls move in I think we need to get contractors to finish this project."

Mom calling for a vote, "Anyone opposed to the kitchen and dining room changes."

Dad cautiously, "Hmmmm I would have been before Justin and Michael made their discoveries, and I think Justin is making good use of the some of the gold, he is making an investment in what is to be his and Rosemary's home for a number of years. As it stands they won't have to worry about pocket money or money for college. So if they can agree on the changes and don't tear the place to the ground, I think we should let them go with their plans. Justin, Rosemary come to us first before you make any major structural changes." he laughs

The other shoe drops.

Steph in surprise asks, "What discoveries? What gold?"

We all look at Dad.

Dad shrugs "I guess I let the cat out of the bag and caught foot in mouth disease at the same time. Steph, I already said too much, but when Michael and Justin found the remains, they also recovered two chests of gold coins, which they turned over to the railroad and were given five thousand dollars in gold coins as a reward."

Steph frowns, "That's not much of a reward, not for two chests, five thousand dollars won't go far."

"Steph that is five thousand dollars in gold coins from the chest."

A light goes on in Steph's eyes.

Mom frowns, "Now that Pete managed to pull his foot out of his mouth we can continue, I agree with your father on approving anything both agree on, but I want to see things as they are completed."

"Michael is going to be meeting a contractor Jeff recommended on Monday to look at the coach house, I will let him know I will meet him there. I plan on going up tonight after I take care of a few things here and come back Monday evening. Graduation is next Friday, so there is not much for seniors to do between now and then so I can afford to miss another day they already pretty much know which seniors have passed. Rosemary and Steph can go with me, if they want to and don't have any other plans."

Rosemary says adamantly, "If you are going of course I am its going to be my house and home as well."

Steph adds, "I am free why don't we take my car instead of that toy you drive."

"I am going to have to take my Mini at some point. Why don't you girls get packed for the trip, you might even consider starting to pack things for after Graduation to prepare to move up there, we are going to be busy extremely busy this summer, don't worry about moving furniture unless it is something you can't live without as we will be buying new furniture for my room and the one you two and Susie plan on using" I laugh as their eyes light up at the thought of shopping for furniture.




Justin Thyme Ch. 20



Steph laughs, "I don't think Susie will live with us long, now she is engaged I bet she and Michael will be married before school starts. So next Friday is Graduation, then there is my mom's wedding the week after so I will have a busy week I imagine, helping her get things ready."

"That is right," Mom says, "Looks like we will all have a busy two weeks, it seems something comes up every week since you all turned eighteen and it looks like it isn't going to stop for a while. I just hope it is all for the better from now on out, we don't need anymore hospital calls or police visits in the middle of the night."

"One last thing, if you ladies don't mind and you can get Grandma in on this as well, the desk in the library at the house doesn't have a desk chair, and I don't want to match that desk with a modern desk chair, so could you ladies look for a chair to match it?" I laugh

Dad thinks, "I can help look for one something wooden, and padded massively built imposing I think would fit the bill."

"Yes, that sounds about like what I want a wood and leather desk chair that matches about the same time period as the desk. Oh, and I need to figure out a way to get the furniture into the turret room the small staircases going up just won't handle some of the things I want."

Rosemary says "I have an idea, why not build balconies on the turret and hoist the furniture up to the balcony turn the windows into double french doors."

Mom smiles, "I like that idea. Then you can go out on the balconies and look over either the front or the back yards."

"One of the reasons for meeting Michael there on Monday, is also to meet the contractor to see if he has time to go over some of my ideas and see if he can do the job on the house for us as well as on the coach house for Michael."

Mom "Everyone I think we are done here." She laughs, "now its time to get other things done."

I call Grandpa to see if he has any plans for the day or if he has a few minutes to spare for me to talk to him. Grandpa says he wanted to talk with me as well. So I head over to the G'parents house.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 Michael grins, "I think we should take Susie's car to the doctor's appointment." her dad grins at him knowingly.

Susie, in puzzlement says, "I don't have a car."

Tom chuckles, "Yes, you do the Cadillac CTS it right there in the drive way."

Susie glares at Michael then laughs, "If you weren't hurting so much I would have to spank you for spending so much on me." she giggles "Daddy, Michael and I will ride in the back you and mommy can decide who drives."

They head for Michael's appointment. Traffic is light being fairly early on a Saturday and they make good time to the team clinic. They are greeted by Karen, "Michael, what have you been doing to yourself? Hi Susie nice to see you again, I see you are doing well. Hi Mr. and Mrs. Collins."

Michael "Karen I bet you know what happened to me if you talked to mom and I bet you did, but did she tell you I asked Susie to marry me and after some self debate she said yes, which is to me the most important news."

Susie "Karen he is fibbing to you I said yes immediately, I had been hoping for so long now he would ask. Now I have to get him to set a date for the wedding the sooner the better as far as I am concerned." she beams at Mikey.

"There is no need to rush is there, weddings take time to plan and you start college soon, I am not letting us get married get in the way of you going to college."

Madge and Tom in a duet, "NO rush, no need to rush at all, on our part."

Susie "Mom and Dad of course you are in no rush your are already married."

Karen "OK Micheal, let's get you in to see the doctor and prepped for surgery,. This is going to take a couple hours so why don't the rest of you go get something to eat and come back around 2pm he should be ready to go by then.

"I want to stay." Susie pouts.

"Little one, there is nothing you can do sitting and waiting just makes the time go slower, take your parents out to eat, use my card to pay for the meal."

Madge, takes her daughter's arm, "Susie lets do as Michael says OK."

Susie hugs Michael and gives him a long gentle kiss, "I don't want to go, but I will as long as you promise everything is going to be alright and you will be going home with us when it is over."

"I promise little one I love you and you can't be rid of me that easy."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 Grandpa meets me at the door, "What took you so long?" he laughs

"Well, since we don't have teleportation devices yet I had to drive, hence time usage is involved." I counter.

Grandpa, looks at me, "Smart ass, lets go into the kitchen, coffee is on and fresh molasses cookies."

"Hey, what do you see when you look down a mole hole, mole asses."

Grandpa makes a sour expression and groans, "People were telling that joke before I was born smart ass." he laughs.

We get a plate of cookies and a cup of coffee Grandpa "We got a call from your mother a few minutes ago about the meeting you held at breakfast and I approve of all she told me."

Watching Grandpa as I say, "I know you told me to be careful and not let the money change me and I know you are still researching the stocks and bearer bonds to see what we have. Gold is a good investment and we already have the gold and no one knows we have it, or how much. I would like to keep it that way as much as possible, but want to sell a few bars, to raise the cash for some of the improvements I would like to make on the house, also to make a few personal purchases, nothing major, but a few things I would like to have or do. Just the bars, though I want to hold on to the coins"

Looking at Grandpa, before I continue "The coins have more value than just their weight, they have historical value and collectible value on top of that. The coins Michael and I got for a reward, can be tied into the history of the country and the railroads, Samuel dealt with and his death. The coins recovered from the remains possibly the same ties, but not as direct. So who knows what the true worth is to the right collector. If push comes to shove, we can give them as birthday and Christmas presents." I chuckle.

Grandpa laughs, "Let's hope not, but I agree on all points about the gold coins and bars, how much money do you need or think you need for now."

"I think one hundred thousand or as close as we can get to it without being too obvious, that should keep me busy for a while with the plans I have, but might need more before the house is finished. I also want to buy a new full sized pickup which we are going to need to transport things, cars are not made to haul appliances and building materials, though a lot of those can be ordered and delivered on site but a pickup would be handy for parts runs and such."

Grandpa, smiles "I think you might need twice as much as you asked for but it will take time to sell that much gold without drawing attention to it, so what I will do is sell a little at a time and add it to your account as I sell it till I have sold two hundred thousand worth. Then see how your improvements stand."

"Sounds good to me at least until you take figure out the stocks and bearer bonds" I smile

Grandpa says, "I have feelers out for some people I can trust to help handle the research and transactions on those and you still want the proceeds to go into the LLC account."

I say earnestly, "Yes, as I said as far as I am concerned that money belongs to business."

Grandpa nods, "That is going to make things easier and any money you spend on improving the business should help to offset some of the taxes involved, so the spending won't be at as much of a loss as we can claim the expenditure against the taxable income. If you can bring me a few bars the next time you come back from the house I can start selling it, I can put out a few feelers to interested parties and let you know how many bars to bring."

"I am going up there tonight with Steph and Rosemary and coming back Monday night so I can drop the bars off on Tuesday after school."

Grandpa lifts an eyebrow, "Oh your mom told your Grandma about the desk chair you are looking for, I think anything less to go with that desk would be like hooking a pony to a beer wagon when you need a team of Clydesdale's. I am also going to look into the legalities required for setting up the house for off campus housing"

"OK Grandpa, will see you Tuesday afternoon, will call you before if there is anything urgent and you call me or Rosemary if you need anything sooner."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Rosemary says, "Justin was in a strange mood this morning, more take charge, getting things done and all those ideas."

Steph wonders, "You think he means it, saying we should start packing what we mean to take for school. Do you think he plans on staying there after graduation."

Rosemary smiles "I hope so we can have a lot of fun and not worry as much about interruptions, just think we can wake up every day in bed with him." a dreamy look on her face.

Steph says with smile, "I know what you mean, when I stay home my bed is so lonely now."

Rosemary nods, "My bed gets lonely when he is not in it and has to stay in his room."

Steph nods understandingly, "Having him just across the hall and not being able to stay with him. I don't know if I could do that. I know you love him as much as I do, but when Michael proposed to Susie, I couldn't help but look at Justin and hope that he would ask me." a tear runs down her cheek.

Rosemary gently smiles, "I know I wished for the same thing, at least you have a chance at it, for me all it can ever be is a dream." tears start down her face.

Steph sighs, "Let's not get all maudlin here, he loves us both it must be hard on his emotions as well trying to keep up with ours." she laughs.

Rosemary sadly,"I know, but it is still heartbreaking to deal with at times, falling in love with my own brother."

Steph hugs her "I understand, but it is also so beautiful seeing you together with him and knowing the truth." she smiles.

Rosemary says softly, "I see the same when he is with you, he loves us both so much."

Steph kisses her cheek, "I hope the three of us are always together, sharing with you is a beautiful thing in itself."

Rosemary sadly "But you can have his children and I can't." more tears.

Steph says, "Let cross that bridge when we come to it, we might figure out something, but we should both agree to wait on that step until after we graduate ASU." she laughs.

Rosemary "Agreed" and laughs.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After lunch, Susie shows her parents the house the Thymes are making into off campus housing, using the card key Rosemary gave her.

Madge in admiration says, " This looks amazing, I hope Justin can manage here with all you ladies." she laughs.

Susie, "I think Justin will do just fine, he has his sister and Steph to keep him in line. Justin has the best room and it has a public and private staircase, he can use the private staircase to avoid going through the lady's only territory." she giggles.

Madge "Yes his room is amazing and he has quite the views front and back looking at the swimming pool." she laughs.

Susie,"Now Mom, Justin 's dad decided to add the pool after Justin already had that room, so blame his dad for the view of the ladies at the pool. Rosemary told me Justin was against having a pool, thought it would be too much work, but his dad insisted on it." she chuckles.

Tom asks, "So is it serious between Steph and Justin?"

"Daddy, I think it is as serious between them as it is between me and Michael. Justin just doesn't realize it yet, or if he does, he is hiding it well with everything else going on."

Madge smiles, "Some men like to put on they don't know so they can keep putting things off until they can say 'I was trapped'." her mom laughs.

Tom grins, "Most women make it look like they are running from the guy until she catches him. I don't care what they say it is a woman's world and always has been, men don't stand a chance unless they are gay or complete idiots. If they are gay they still have to answer to their mothers in most cases, and idiots think it's a man's world and live in that delusion." Step and her mom give him strange looks.

Madge does a turn out of left field without a signal, "So Steph's mom is getting married a week after you guys graduate."

Susie giggle, "Yes and Steph can't wait till they are married so she can start calling him dad she really likes Tom. He served with her real dad in Iraq, her real dad died, he shielded Tom with his body, Tom was the teams medic and was working on the company's lieutenant when an enemy soldier with an RPG attacked them. The last thing her dad said to Tom was become a doctor or words to that effect"

Tom laughs, "I hope you don't change lanes like that when you drive." he laughs, "Susie now both you and Steph will have dad's named Tom."

Susie says, "You are right, but that is not what we call you, so all girls have fathers they call dad, daddy, father, papa so not much different, both of you being named Tom."

Tom grins, "I can't complain it is better than being called the old man or things much worse." he smiles "remember you will always be my little girl, even after you marry Michael, he is a good man, if I have to give you up to someone you couldn't have picked anyone better."

Susie nods, "I know I love him so much, it is like he is the sun and when he leaves the room the light and warmth go with him, I feel so cold and alone without him and miss him so much. When he is hurting, I am hurting. When he is gone its like my insides have been torn out and half of me is gone it seems."Her mom and dad hug her.

Tom, "We should get going, and see if my future son is ready to go."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I send a text to Michael asking him to call me when he can that I need to talk to him privately and in person when he is able. I make a quick stop to check in with Jim and head home. I text Rosemary and Steph to give them a quick heads up I should be home in about forty five minutes I only have one more stop to make. I make a quick stop at Walmart to get a king sized and a couple queen sized air-mattresses along with some pillows, I check out at the electronics department to avoid the lines at the front, and head home.

As I pull into the Driveway I see Rosemary loading stuff into her Beetle "What's going on? Where is Steph?

Rosemary looks at me and laughs, "We took you at your word and went one better, and started packing to move to our house. We decided to take most of our casual clothing, a few dress up items and whatever else we thought we would need, sort of split things in our closets between both places, so we would have things to use here and there. Steph and I packed some of your clothing as well and tried to do the same thing for you, after we finished your packing Steph went to her house to pack her stuff."

"It looks like we will be taking all three of our cars this trip, then" I laugh "next trip I will get a Uhaul for your non essentials. Have to ask Mom and Dad what they want to do with our rooms when we really move out. I picked up some air-mattresses for us to use, till we get some real beds and a few pillows, so we can get rid of that old carpet padding"

Rosemary smiles "Smart guy, your stuff is packed and in your room, so you better get busy loading what you can in the Mini, what we can't get in our cars Steph should have room in hers."

"I don't see the Denali, Mom and Dad go someplace?"

"Mom went over to talk to Steph's mom. I think they are trying to help each other through our abandoning them."

"Is that what Mom thinks, that we are abandoning her." looking concerned.

Rosemary frowns "I don't think so now really after all it was her and Dad's idea that we are working on they got it started, but I think she is getting a little of the 'my babies are leaving the nest' syndrome and needs to share it with Steph's mom."

I walk over to Rosemary and in a low voice, "Rosemary I just thought of something, how about this Thanks Giving when most of the girls will probably go home for the holidays, we invite all our parents, ours, Steph's, Susie's and Michael's to our house for dinner and any of the girls that aren't going home, same for Christmas I think we can get a good sized tree in the foyer."

Rosemary stares at me in astonishment, "Justin you never fail to amaze me those are wonderful ideas." she gives me a big hug and whispers "a hug is about all we can do right now." she grins and gives my cock a slight caress.

"A hug is always good I hope you never get tired of hugging me or me hugging you. Let's go in and tell Dad our idea, I also want to give Mom and Dad cruise tickets for Christmas."

We run in and let dad know our plans for the holidays, even though they are months away.

Dad asks, "Planning a bit ahead aren't you its barely June the two of you aren't out of high school yet" he laughs.

"Don't you think it is better to start planning now than to spring it on people at the last minute. I have a feeling we are going to be so busy getting the house ready that we will run out of time for much else." I laugh.

Dad nods at me, "I have the same feeling."

"Dad, I want to get a few things for the house while we are up there this weekend. I won't have money from the gold till I bring Grandpa back a few bars to sell. I would like to get at least one washer and dryer for our use to start with, no sense in hauling dirty clothing back to wash or dragging it to a Laundromat."

Dad hands me and Rosemary each a credit card "I meant to give those to you two before this, each of those cards has a fifty thousand dollar line of credit, be sure and keep all receipts on stuff you buy for the house, hopefully your Grandpa will have the money for selling the gold so we can pay off the cards before we get hit with interest." he laughs.

I jokingly ask, "I got three air-mattresses and pillows from Walmart so we wouldn't have to sleep on the floor while we work on the house, do they count?"

Dad, "Yes, those count as purchases for the house, and meals count as well they can be classified as a business expense just don't go overboard with the meals." he laughs.

"Thanks Dad, we need to get going on loading the cars."

Steph is trying to get packed to go to Scottsdale, it seems she is under siege from crying mothers, "Mommy, Mrs. Thyme we aren't trying to abandon you, we are just splitting things up between the two houses so we can change clothes when we need to at either house."

Mrs. Thyme tries to smile, "We understand, but it seems so soon, for you and my children to start packing you aren't even out of High School yet."

Mary sobbing, "We still have to plan your graduation and my wedding you haven't got to really know Tom yet and you are packing."

"Mommy, I know Tom well enough to see you are both good for each other, you make each other happy, and I will be back Monday night. Mrs. Thyme you know how much has to be done to get the house ready before you can open it to rent rooms. Justin and Rosemary said it was you and Mr. Thymes idea to begin with and they need to get it ready and I am helping them."

Mrs, Thyme forces a smile, "I know, I know and so much is happening with everyone that is involved. I truly understand logically, but it is hard for us mothers to deal with emotionally, our babies are leaving us."

"Mommy, Mrs. thyme I understand, but I still need to get packed and load my car."

Steph packs a bag and carries it to her car. Then quickly sends a text to Rosemary "Help, under siege from my mom and yours, making it hard for me to pack with them crying."

Rosemary looks at Justin after getting the text from Steph, "Justin Steph just gave me a yell for help are you almost done."




Justin Thyme Ch. 20



"I think I have more than enough for this weekend can always bring more at a later date, or buy a few things in Scottsdale or Phoenix, I have a feeling we are going to do a lot of shopping before we start at ASU. We really need to choose what we are going to study and stock the library with some of the text books we will need."

Rosemary smiles at the thought of shopping "Do you have enough room in your car so we can take Dad with you over to Steph's, maybe he can take the Moms out to eat and we can escape with Steph while they are gone."

"Sure, I can make room, I can put a few things in the garage and come back and finish loading while you help Steph make her escape, see if you can talk him into it." I laugh.

Rosemary smiles "I am sure I can, be right back."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Michael is waiting for them when they get back. He teases Susie, "I thought you forgot about me little one." he teases her.

Susie looks at Michael then smiles, "Mikey, you goof, don't tease like that. I could never forget about you if I tried when you aren't near me it feels like something is missing. You told us to go get something to eat, and I showed them the house. How are you doing?"

Michael smiles and hugs Susie, "I am doing better now you are here. They did the surgery, wired me for sound and drained my sinuses, at least for a while and gave me time to recover from the anesthetic. So now I am not as loopy as I was when I came out of surgery, ready for some milkshakes and home."

Tom chuckles "Well lets get the man some milkshakes and get him home."

"Make that four vanilla milkshakes I am starving."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Joanne looks over at Jeff "I just got a call from Karen, she says Michael is out of surgery and Susie and her folks are there to pick him up. She was laughing, at Michael saying the surgery was a success they wired him for sound and drained his sinuses at least temporarily, but he was starving and wanted four vanilla milkshakes for the trip back."

Jeff laughs "I know the feeling well, but I would have asked for eight, maybe ten shakes it will hurt for him to chew for a few days, though tomorrow he should be able to eat grits or oatmeal, maybe you should call Susie and have her ask him if he could eat some grits or oatmeal."

Joanne grins "I think I will call our future daughter and do just that."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Rosemary comes back out and gives me a hug "Dad is going to do it. I don't think he is entirely happy with the situation, heard him mutter something about foolish females or something like that and that he would do what he could to get them out of the house for a while, said we will owe him for this and laughed. He will be out as soon as he grabs a quick shower and a change of clothes. I am going over to help Steph make ready to escape, please bring Dad as soon as you can, so he can get the moms out of the house and we can finish packing."

"OK as soon as I can, I will bring him after I drop him off I am coming back here to finishing loading what I can in the Mini, so when you and Steph manage your escape give me a call and you two hit the road for Scottsdale, I will head out myself as soon as I am ready and meet up at the house to unload and then head for Bill's for something to eat and then a little shopping."

Rosemary grins, "That sounds like a plan, I am out of here will meet up at the house."

"Good luck with the crying moms." I laugh.

After rosemary leaves I get a call from Michael, "Hey Justin didn't check my text until a few minutes ago, out of surgery and on our way back."

"Michael are you still meeting the contractor at the house on Monday?"

Michael answers, "Yes, those are still my plans, though Susie will most likely be with me."

"No problem, Steph, Rosemary and I are going up tonight and coming back Monday night, I'd like to meet the contractor and have him look over a few ideas I have for the house if he has time, then later after he is done I would like to talk privately with you about things."

Michael, "I think we can work that out I will let Susie know you guys are going to be there as well, she might want to hang at the pool with her friends instead of going over boring man stuff with me as long as you are there to babysit me." he laughs.

"Tell her to bring a bathing suit and a change of clothes we will probably stop at Bills for a bite to eat on the way back to Tucson. OK catch you later."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Michael "I just talked to Justin, he Rosemary and Steph are going to the house this weekend, they are heading up tonight and coming back Monday night, he said tell Susie to bring a bathing suit and a change of clothes as they plan on eating a Bills on their way back to Tucson. He said we could do the boring man stuff and you ladies could lay around the pool or whatever it is that girls do at the pools." he laughs.

Tom jokes, "I think they lay out and bake or roast their buns in what they call bathing suits these days."

Susie blushes.

Madge,"Now Tom, I don't think Michael wants to hear about roasted buns."

Susie grins, "The only baked goods he is going to get are mine and after we are married." she sighs

Michael blushes, smiles and thinks about being married to Susie, hoping he can get the work done on the coach house and surprise her with it "I was thinking about a marriage date" a sudden hush fills the car.

Susie excitedly hugs Michael, "When, when soon I hope!"

Madge in a calm voice, "Not too soon I hope."

Tom frowning, "How about after she finishes college."

Susie exasperatedly, "Daddy, that is too long to wait, I was thinking two weeks."

"I was thinking about three months from now about a two weeks before she starts college, to give us time for a weeks honeymoon, before I have to kick her out the door to get to class on time, because she is going to go to college. How does that plan work for everyone, depending on how big a wedding and I am hoping for a nice wedding, smallish, just family and friends and of course formal, Wedding gown from Carols and men in Tux. That is what I would like, but little one it is also your wedding what would you like." smiling.

Susie all smiles, "I think that would be wonderful, I will ask Rosemary and Justin if we can have an outside wedding at the house and use the dining room for the reception."

"If that is what you want why don't you talk with Rosemary and I will talk with Justin on Monday and see what can be done."

Madge smiles, "Three months is better than two weeks and it does sound lovely, I can go with you on Monday and all us girls can go to Carole's and talk gowns, Michael do you think your mother would like to meet us there."

"I think I need to call them, let them know how I am doing after surgery and drop the bomb on them with the wedding date. He sighs and then laughs and makes the call to his parents explaining everything.

Joanne answers her phone, "Of course I will meet them, how about I come to the house and we can take one car I will let Carole know we will be in to see her. I am surprised you two can wait for three months. Tell everyone Hi." she laughs.

"OK, Mom is going to meet us at the house Monday morning and take all the ladies to Carole's"

Tom "I still think after college is best, but I am only the Dad here out voted by the women as usual." he sighs and laughs "Michael as I have said before just wait till you have a daughter. I hope not to soon on that I am not sure I could stand being a Grandpa too soon."

Susie teases, "Daddy, I think we can wait till after college for me to be a mommy. I am in no in a hurry for that, are you Mikey?"

"I can wait until you think you are ready on that score, I am happy as long as you are happy I am just happy to have found you lets enjoy our life together and not rush things any more than we need to. I need to be at the house by ten AM on Monday, so we will need to leave before eight, so how about we start at seven grab breakfast at Al's and head out. I think I will stay at my place tonight so I can take a shower and change into some clean clothes and go to church in the morning, Mom would like to see me attending church more, but doesn't trouble me about it as long as I at least attend every couple of weeks if possible. After Church I will take you all out for Sunday brunch."

Tom "Ever been to Shoney's they have one of the best breakfast buffet's going."

"I am certainly learning new places to eat since I met your daughter." Michael laughs,"But almost anything beats hospital food."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dad grumpily, "OK Justin I am ready might as well get this dog and pony show on the road."

"K Dad, I am dropping you off at Steph's and coming back here to finish loading, Good Luck with the crying mom brigade." I grin.

My plans for the trip to Scottsdale were getting off like a turd of hertles, even starting out a couple hours later than expected we should all arrive at the house around 8 pm time enough for a quick unload to the foyer out for some dinner and stop at a local Walmart for a few things we would need, that would have do until we had the cable and internet turned on, memo to self set up a date with the local cable company to turn on the cable and internet, check into getting a T1 line installed that might be even better but cable internet would do for now.

We can get the king sized air-mattress set up to night and finish unpacking in the morning and then go do some shopping and relax for a change.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Collins drop Michael off at his condo and after Susie gets a long hug and kiss, they head home.

Michael, takes a shower and goes to bed and thinks about his future with Susie and slowly drifts off to sleep. Susie does the same as Mikey drifting of to sleep with a big smile.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Getting to the house about eight PM, I arrive before Steph and Rosemary. Giving Rosemary a call "I am here, how far out are you?"

"We are about an hour from the house, I had a flat and had to stop Steph was behind me and pulled over when I did. The car was so full we couldn't get to the spare, had to call Triple A and wait till they got here to get the tire changed."

"How did things go with the crying mom brigade, did it get any better after I Dropped off Dad?"

"We will tell you after we get there, too much to tell from the side of the road."

"OK going to finish unpacking just dumping stuff in the foyer, then running out to buy a few things, will pick up something for us to eat on my way back, you two just take it easy be safe love you both will see you soon."

"We love you too, you are the best, we will be heading out in a couple of minutes."

I unpack just enough to get to the pillows and air-mattresses and dump them in the foyer. Search the web on my phone for the closest Lowe's. At Lowe's I quickly purchase a LG 4.3-Cu ft Ventless Combination Washer and Dryer, and a LG 26.8-Cu ft 4-Door French Door Refrigerator and arrange for them to be delivered and installed tomorrow afternoon.

I hit Walmart, get fitted sheets, pillow cases and blankets for the air-mattresses, a stack of beach towels, I like big towels you can wrap them around easier. I stop in their grocery section pick up a few essentials, along with a couple of cases of cokes, a bag of ice, paper plates and plastic utensils and head out. I spot a KFC and get a big bucket of chicken with all the extras to make it a meal.

When I get to the house the girls are there unloading the stuff they brought this trip, "Ladies I have dinner" I take it to the library and sit the KFC bags on the desk, "I have more stuff in the car, but first" I reach out and grab them both in a three way hug, with my hands firmly holding their asses and them pressing their breast against me heads tucked against my chest. I kiss them both, "How in the world does a guy get as lucky as me" smiling at both of them.

Rosemary looks at Steph and grins, "My bestest brother thinks he is the lucky one."

Steph "We are the lucky ones guys like Justin are hard to find." she giggles

"OK, so we are all lucky including Susie and Michael, have you noticed how Susie has changed since they met."

Steph "She has changed a lot, but some of the old Susie is still there just not the teasing, that is all for Michael now, though she is keeping it cool until after the wedding." she giggles

Rosemary says, "Michael has changed a little himself, like our Justin here, he has come out of his shell, but he is still quiet."

"Michael is a good guy and I just realized my only male friend my age, I guess I am not much for male bonding, I like female bonding better." I laugh give their asses another squeeze. "But I need to let you go and get more things out of the Mini before our food gets any colder, I think we need to get a microwave when we shop tomorrow. Oh, I bought a washer dryer combo and a refrigerator, I could use a hand unloading"

Rosemary and Steph stare at me and say "There is no way you got those in your Mini!" I laugh.

"No those are being delivered and installed tomorrow afternoon, but I could use a hand with some of the other stuff I bought tonight."

We make quick work of what needed to be brought in tonight, have dinner, clean up, load the cooler with what needs to be kept cool. We make sure everything is locked up and I grab the air-mattresses.

"Girls would you grab the bags with the bedding and follow me."

First stop is 'Steph, Susie and Rosemary's room'." Pretty much just camouflage at least for Steph and Rosemary, Susie might live there till she is married to Michael, but the other two would be sneaking up to my room as often as they could.

Next stop, my room. I open up the box with the air-mattress, good thing a pump was included in the package as I had not given a thought to how long it would take to inflate and I would have more than likely busted a lung trying. The girls strip down and head for the bathroom, leaving me hard watching as their jiggly bits bounce out of sight. I get the air-mattress inflated and the girls come out to dry themselves.

Rosemary giggles, "OK, your turn to get ready for bed, while we will make it."

Steph smiles at the thought of sharing the bed.

"Any dry towels left never mind." I run down and get the bag with the beach towels and take my shower.

I come out to find both girls in bed, the bed is against a wall so the pillows don't fall off, the girls are asleep. I turn off the lights and quietly crawl in bed between them, it has been a long day for us all.

I wake up a few hours later, the bedding tangled around my feet and the girls giggling and playing with my cock, I reach down and grab Rosemary pull her on top of me, kiss her then lick and suck on her nipples. I slide down the bed a little pulling Rosemary down with me. Steph grabs my cock and licks it a few times, then rubs it up and own Rosemary's pussy pulls it back and licks it again, before lining it up at Rosemary's entrance. Rosemary sits up puts her hands on my chest and pushes down and back, burying my cock in her pussy.

"Oh my god I needed that needed to feel you inside me."

"You know where it is at anytime you want it."

Rosemary sadly says, "The trouble is I want it all the time and with Mom and Dad there I can't get it."

"I know, but we will always have to be careful, even when we are living here." sadly

Steph slides up beside us to watch. I wrap my arms around her and we kiss, with a sudden flash of brilliance, I pull her up over my face so I can lick her pussy. OK, so it might not have been brilliant, it might have been inspired by porno I have watched it doesn't matter, I just wanted to include her this time.

Rosemary "Steph turn around so we can watch each other." as she slowly rocks on my cock, Steph repositions herself so she can watch my cock slide in and out of Rosemary and Rosemary can watch me lick her pussy."

Steph "You look so beautiful, your clit is poking out hitting on him."

"I know I can feel it and it feels so good, I can see your clit sticking and rubbing on his chin, your nipples are amazing, no wonder Justin loves them, nice perky breast with nipples pointing up."

On my back with my sister sitting on my cock and my girlfriend rubbing her pussy over my face, I can't talk, can't more than Steph's ass and not even that most the time as she slides back and forth. I can't even hear most of what is being said, when Steph clamps her thighs around my head. I lay back and enjoy giving them both pleasure, hoping I don't drown in the process.

Rosemary suddenly bends down and gives Steph's nipple a quick lick and a suck, setting off Steph's orgasm and a flood of juices. "Sorry I couldn't help myself, it looked almost like a cherry on top of an ice cream sundae and I just got the urge to taste it." Rosemary blushes

Steph catches her breath and blushes "I didn't mind, when you did that I felt it in my pussy and feeling Justin's tongue there at the same time was just too much and set me off." she grins bends down and returns the favor stayed slightly longer setting off Rosemary's orgasm "Hope it was as nice for you as it was for me" she giggles.

Rosemary catches her breath, "It was you naughty girl." and laughs.

Steph "Yes, I was feeling naughty, earlier when I was rubbing his cock on your pussy I stopped and licked his cock and tasted you on it before I lined him up for you." she blushes.

Rosemary giggles, "I have tasted you on his cock before." she giggles "we share without washing up between so it happens."

Steph giggles, "Yes, I for one am not going to say in the middle of sex Justin you just got off inside Rosemary please go wash first before I lick your cock." she laughs.

Rosemary laughs and I feel her pussy grabbing me as she laughs, "Steph that's too funny."

Steph "Almost as funny as us talking while Justin is making love to us both." As she slides back on my face so my tongue hits her clit.

Rosemary, smiles as she rides me, saying "In a way it's funny and in a way it is wonderful, so relaxing and just going slow, taking our time mmmmmmm to enjoy it no rush, no one to catch us, sometimes that adds a little thrill but more often it adds worry. This feels so good."

Steph smiles "Flees good on this end as well, I am pretty sure my mom knows about me and Justin about us having sex, because I asked her if she and my real dad waited till they were married, she said no but he was her only guy till Paul and she knows how I feel about Justin and only said make sure once you give it away you can never give it again, meaning my virginity so she has a good idea about me and Justin."

Rosemary "I never want to hear you worrying about whether your breasts are good enough again, Justin is in love with them and to be honest, I am not into girls, but your breast and nipples are enough to give a straight woman, thoughts otherwise so never worry about them again."

Steph nods in agreement, "To be honest, I am not into girls either, but sharing Justin as we do, I don't think I would mind sharing more with you if the occasion arouse but just with you and Justin you are both a part of me now. I love you both."

Rosemary smiles, "I love you too, and you are a part of me as is Justin. Who knows what the future has in store for us, so let us enjoy the present while we can." She reaches out and pulls Steph close and they both hug each other in a non sexual way.

They end the hug and lie down beside me.

Rosemary holds me tight saying, "Justin you didn't cum."

"No, but I didn't need to I enjoyed it all without cumming very relaxing and comfortable time just being close to both of you was what I needed after all we did yesterday, now lets cuddle and get some sleep," I smile at them both, "no real work tomorrow, finish unpacking the cars get the stuff out of the foyer relax. Wait for the deliveries, then go window shopping for furniture ideas and then some real shopping need to fill the new refrigerator and we need something to cook with I think a big barbecue to use until we get the kitchen set up."




Justin Thyme Ch. 20



Rosemary yawns "That sounds good so we are really going to live here full time after graduation."

"Yes, except for the wedding, there is no sense in running back and forth all the time too much to do."

Snuggled up together we fall asleep.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Michael wakes up, in time to make services. After the church service, Michael hangs back, letting everyone else go out before him so he can talk with his minister.

Michael smiles and says, "Pastor McLeod a very inspirational message today, I am Glad I was able to make today's service."

Pastor McLeod smiles, "Michael, just doing the Lord's work. What have you done to your face?"

Michael gives a small smile, "Had a small misunderstanding and mistaken identity, with some police officers in Phoenix Friday. I was showing my mother an engagement ring, the police thought I was making a drug drop. Mom and I had met in a parking lot, not in the best part of town, the police had been told, that a drug dealer with the same type of car as mine, was using that parking lot, for deliveries. The police were prepared for resistance, I didn't resist, they weren't prepared for that."

Pastor McLeod "Thank God, you weren't hurt worse. Did you say something about an engagement ring?"

Michael grins the best he can, "Yes, that's the main reason I waited to talk to you. Friday night I asked Susie Collins to marry me and she said yes. We are getting married two weeks before school starts in the fall at ASU. I was wondering if you could perform the ceremony?"

Pastor McLeod smiles "Not wasting time are you son, Susie Collins, isn't she the girl, from the accident, the one who lost a foot?"

Michael "Yes, she is."

Pastor McLeod lifts an eyebrow and asks, "Michael, I hope you aren't doing this out of guilt?"

Michael smiles "No Pastor, she forgave me right after she woke up from the accident. We spent a lot of time together, getting to know each other and fell in love, I think I was the last one to realize it. Our friends said they could see we were in love before I realized it."

Pastor McLeod gently smiles, "I can see a change in you myself. Before I agree to do the ceremony, I will need to talk to her alone first, then talk with you both as a couple."

Michael says "I will let her know. When would be a good day and time for you. Monday we will both be in Scottsdale and Phoenix, next Saturday we are attending the wedding of a friend's Mother, other than that nothing planned so far, that I know of."

Pastor McLeod looks thoughtful, pulls out a small notebook, checks his schedule and says "How about this Wednesday i can see her at three, then both of you right after that."

Michael says, "That should be fine, I am going to Shoney's with her and her parents, after I leave here. If there is a problem with that date and time I will find out then and let you know. For now I will plan on being there."

Pastor McLeod nods, "Unless I hear otherwise from you, we will meet on Wednesday."

Michael smiles "Thank you Pastor." and shakes the Pastor's hand.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I wake up almost smothered in the bodies of two sleeping female forms all twisted around me, Rosemary's breast in my face on one side Steph's head on my shoulder with her hand resting on my cock and one of her breasts pressed into my hand. I smile, what to do, I have an urgent need the bathroom is calling. So I take one of Rosemary's nipples in my mouth and find her clit with one hand and find Steph's nipple with my other hand. I Hold Rosemary's nipple in my teeth and twirl my tongue around it and roll it between my teeth, teasing her clit with my fingers and roll Steph's nipple between my fingers gently tugging it. The girls slowly start responding and moaning to wakefulness.

I stop what I am doing to them "OK ladies as much as I am enjoying teasing you like this my body has other needs that must be met." I laugh as they give me room to get up. I make my way to the bathroom to take care of business and clean up and head down to the foyer wrapped in a towel.

Finding one of my bags I locate a change of clothing get dressed. Go to the kitchen and start a pot of coffee. I carry a couple bags of my stuff up to the turret. I hear water running in the bathroom, "When you two are ready how about Bill's for breakfast. While I am waiting I am going to finish unloading my car." I go downstairs to do just that.

I finish hauling stuff out of my car and into the foyer just as the girls come down to grab some of their clothing and running up the stairs to their room with arms full and asses wiggling giving me quick glimpses of their pussies, "You two look so good from this angle." I chuckle as they both stop near the top of the stairs spread their feet and bend over and laugh, "Isn't this a better view from this angle." they say.

"Looking good enough to eat." they run upstairs laughing.

To be continued.....................

Appendix

Characters

Justin Thyme - high school student, works at Jim's Electronics, does side work as

Just-in-Thyme Custom Electronics. ¼ Partner in Thyme & Thyme Again Properties,

LLC, 5'6" tall, weight 128 lbs of wiry muscle, lean and fit, brown hair flat, dull, and

straight

Rosemary Thyme -- Justin's fraternal twin sister, naturally curly red-gold hair, piercing green eyes

Pete Thyme -- Justin & Rosemary's dad is an electrical engineer

Charlotte Thyme -- Justin & Rosemary's mom is a Realtor

Jim -- Owner of Jim's Electronics, Justin's boss and friend

Grandpa Thompson -- Ben Thompson Mom's Dad

Grandma Thompson - Florence Thompson Mom's mom

Stephanie Winters -- Brown hair. Steph Rosemary's friend the only person that can call her Rosie,

Justin's girlfriend

Mary Winters -- Steph's mom, nurse, 1st husband Brad Winter, 2nd Husband Paul van der Fleugal, soon

to be married to Thomas Meechum

Staff Sargent Brad Winter - Steph's dad, KIA in Fallujah, Iraq, when Steph was seven, Marine

Paul van der Fleugal - married to Mary Winters for a couple weeks, ex-con arrested for attempted

rape of Steph, then divorced and sent back to prison

Dr. Thomas Meechum -- Works with Steph's Mom, served with her dad, ER doc, ex naval corpsman

assigned to marines

Zeni -- Michael's aunt, Jeff's sister owner of Zeni's Jewelers

Susan 'Susie' Collins -- blue eyes, don't call her Susan, Rosemary's friend, right foot amputated,

Micheal's future bride the only one that can call him Mikey

Tom Collins -- Susie's dad

Madge Collins -- Susie's mom

Michael Borden Thibodeaux -- Do not call him Mike or Mikey, 19 years old, writes software, Susie's

future husband, goes by his mother's maiden name Borden to avoid the

notoriety of his dad's name. Striking resemblance to his mother

Jeff Thibodeaux -- Michael's dad, professional football player

Joanne Thibodeaux -- Michael's mom, on the board of St. Francis Hospital

Janice Hepburn - Michael's sister

Dr. Bruce Hepburn -- married to Michael's sister Janice

Sheila & Tom -- Sheila is Michael's cousin, Tom her husband owns a Chevy dealership

Dave Hulvey -- Electronics/Electrical teacher

Janelle Hulvey -- Dave's daughter, She and her roommate, Holly interested in getting a room in the

house, Freshman at ASU

Holly Benson -- Janelle's roommate, Freshman at ASU

Debbie Enman - works at Bill's Family Restaurant, junior at ASU

Bitsie White -- Debbie's roommate, junior at ASU

Jennifer George - student at ASU

Stacy Peterson - student at ASU

Donna Wilkinson - Realtor for the property in Scottsdale

Rachel Salazar - cousin on Charlotte Thyme's side of the family, was here for a couple of days during

her college Spring Break, friendly with Justin when they were kids, became a bitch

when she grew breasts

Suzette

Carole

Jacqui

Samuel Johnson - First owner of the house in Scottsdale, he had the house built, was a railroad

magnate that built a lot of the spur lines going to some of the copper mines and

things in the area. He disappeared one night after a meeting with some big

government people who wanted him to expand some of his operations. The remains

of Samuel Johnson and Henry Murray were found in a secret room under the

mansion by Justin Thyme and Michael Borden solving a 100 year mystery along with

recovering $50,000.00 in gold coin. Henry Murray shot Samuel with a Colt .45,

Samuel returned fire with a Smith and Wesson 'Russian' .44 hitting him between the

eyes.

Henry Murray -- One of Samuel Johnson managers who tried to rob Johnson and both men ended up

dead in the attempt. See Samuel Johnson Ben Jorgenson -- CEO of Union Pacific Railroad

Pete Fleming - Corporate President of Union Pacific Railroad

Charles Weigle -- Counsel for Union Pacific Railroad

David Abernathy -- Former head of IT for Union Pacific Railroad, fired and arrested almost in the

same sentence for embezzling Union Pacific Railroad

Helen Nyles - friend of Debbie and Bitsie, Medical Student

Pastor McLeod -- Minister at Michael's church, asked to preform the wedding ceremony

Businesses

Jim's Electronics -- Tucson

Just-in-Thyme Custom Electronics -- Tucson, Scottsdale

Thyme & Thyme Again Properties, LLC - Tucson, Scottsdale

Al's Family Restaurant -- Tucson

Bill's Family Restaurant - Scottsdale

McMahon's Prime Steakhouse -- Tucson

Tucson Symphony Orchestra -- Tucson

St. Francis Hospital

Couture by Carole

Zeni's Jewelers

Flying J Truck stop in Eloy

Story Locations

Arizona, Tucson, Scottsdale, Phoenix, Mt. Lemmon, Eloy

House Bedrooms

2nd floor 4 double rooms

Room with secret passage to Justin's room, Rosemary, Steph and Susie

Room 1 Janelle Hulvey and Holly Benson Sophomores

Room 2 Debbie Enman and Bitsie White Seniors ASU

Room 3 Jennifer George and Stacy Peterson

3rd floor 6 singles

Room 1 Helen Nyles, friend of Debbie and Bitsie, Medical Student

Room 2 Dianne Enman Debbie's Sister going to be a freshman ASU

Room 3

Room 4

Room 5

Room 6

Coach House needs to be renovated first

Vehicles

Denali

Mini Cooper

Volkswagen Beetle, new generation

Cadillac CTS

Austin Healey "Bugeye" Sprite

Cadillac Escalade



Justin Thyme



I ruled out doing something with her mirror, although the thought was appealing. It was to easily detected, and there would be no doubt as to the source. The only other thing in her room was her stuffed animals. Most girls outgrew them long before now, but she still liked having them around as decoration. But what could one do with a stuffed animal. I was stumped.

I clicked on Facebook and found a link for a techy friend of mine about security and I found the answer! Nanny cams! Several were designed as stuffed animals for surveillance in your children's rooms, but the animals were obviously designed for little children. I needed something much better than that, and I needed a way to be certain the camera would remain in a place with good visibility. Some of the new cameras are quite small and still have high resolution. The camera itself was not going to be the issue, the vehicle was. Quickly I took a look outside to be certain the girls would not be returning soon and surprise me and scurried back across the hall to Rosemary's room. 

There was a wide variety of creatures represented, with bears predominating. Some were obviously well loved, and worn, but those were older ones, from when she was much younger. Several were fairly recent, though, and these were of a much higher quality, with near lifelike fur. Now all I had to do was find one that would fit in, and a way to keep it in a predominate place. I hurried back to my room, grabbed my keys, and took off for the mall. Normally, you cannot pay me to go to the mall, but today I had a mission. 

It took some looking, trying to find something that one: would catch her eye and she would like, and two: would be adaptable, to allow me to insert a miniature camera. I wandered about in toy stores, specialty shops, import stores, department stores and any place else I thought I might find something. I didn't find a thing that fit either of my criteria, let alone both. Finally in the last store I talked with a cute young lady, who tried hard to find me what I needed. I didn't tell her about the camera, just that I wanted something beyond the average. It was she who suggested I try the gift shop at the zoo. Bingo!

I hurried over to the zoo and as soon as I walked into the door I saw it! I found a koala bear made from rabbit fur, so it had a lifelike look and feel to it. In fact, I almost didn't want to put it in the bag. To go along with the lifelike fur it had glass eyes. I was sure I could make them work for the camera. It was pricey, but I didn't worry about the price. I was buying myself a present as well as my sister. In fact, I felt badly that she really wasn't getting anything that benefitted her at all. I needed to think on this a bit also.

I walked in the door from the garage, hoping to make it to my room without Rosemary seeing the bag from the zoo, but the girls were just coming in from the pool. They had obviously gone for a swim after sun-baking, because they were wet, and the air conditioning chilled them instantly after being in the sun. I was immediately faced with three girls with nipples protruding beautifully in their bikinis. Of course, they all saw the bag in my hand and wanted to know what was in it. I would not say, of course, but it caused them to stand in front of me for longer than they would have otherwise. I don't think they realized the tantalizing show they were giving me, but I had to regretfully break off the encounter before they saw something poking from my shorts.

I was hurrying up the stairs, when Rosemary helped solve my dilemma. "Justin, I forgot to ask you earlier, but my iPod isn't working right. Could you look at it for me?"

"Sure. Give it to me at supper and I'll see what's up." I hurried on to my room, feeling a great need to relieve some pressure, and then to work on Rosemary's present. I had only an hour until I had to go to Jim's Electronics to work until 9. I know, great way for a high school senior to spend Friday nights, but like I said, I'm a late bloomer, and I loved what I was doing there. First, after being sure my door was locked I carefully opened up the back of the koala bear's head and removed the stuffing sufficiently to see the back of the eyes. As I had thought they would do well for installing the camera, and as an added bonus, the nose was a perforated leather to feel lifelike, and it would work very well to install a microphone, so I could hear what was going on as well.

I had no more than closed my door before Susie started giggling. "Did you see Justin's eyes? When he saw our nipples start poking from the AC I thought he was going to lose it." Stephanie gasped and instinctively covered her breasts with her hands, even though I was already gone. She blushed a bright red. Susie just gave her a smirk. "You should have seen him when I was listening to his sound system. Don't get me wrong, I really liked it, and could sit there and listen a lot longer, but his chair is right under the AC, and when it came on I felt myself start poking. He tried hard to hide it, but he couldn't quit looking. He told me to relax and close my eyes while the music was playing, so I pretended to. I don't think he took his eyes off my boobs for a second, and he was popping a pretty good stiffy that I enjoyed looking at."

"I don't know how you can do that, Susie! I'd die of embarrassment!"

"Actually, it kind of turns me on to know I'm bothering him. I like teasing guys without them knowing that's what I'm doing." 

Jim was really good to work for, and we had established a very good rapport. Due to all of the business I had brought him he paid me very well, plus I could purchase anything I wanted at his cost. Also, any electronics that came in for repair that were replaced under warrantee out he allowed me to take after the manufacturer had Ok'd disposal. This is where I had started my collection, and where I was able to scavenge parts to either upgrade or to replace defective components. He had also learned he could trust me to pay him for whatever I got, and a couple of times had allowed me to pay him over time for some rather expensive toys. Tonight, I was going to be putting together a little shopping list again. This time, though I had to tell him a little bit of a fib about the camera. I was going to tell him it was for a drone I was building. I really wasn't, but it was on my "to-do" list, and we had talked about it in the past. I knew it would go over OK.

I found a Bose Wave system with a multiple CD changer and a docking station for her iPod. It was last year's model, so Bose gave us an extra discount on it. I know Jim wanted to move it, and Rosemary wouldn't know the difference between this year's model and last's. Actually, unless you are really into this stuff you wouldn't either. I planned to attach the koala to the Bose system, and use the koala's pouch to hold the iPod docking station. I had checked, and it would fit just right. 

The camera system was a different matter. The one I had wanted was out of stock, and there was no way I could get a used one. They just didn't seem to break. In the long run, it worked out just fine. I found another unit by a different manufacturer that I could make function nearly as well, and it was a bit less expensive. I'd see how this worked, and then if I ever had need to do something like this again I could upgrade if I thought it worthwhile. The camera was slightly larger than the one I had wanted, but it also allowed for real time WiFi capability, so I could actually watch it live, rather than using a DVR setup that I would have to access when Rosemary was out of the room. Hi-Def was an added plus.

At 9 I closed the store and hurried home, anxious to work on the project. I only had three days to put this together and test it before our birthday. Saturday I would be working a full shift, so I didn't have any time to spare. When I walked in the door carrying a box full of assorted gear Rosemary came bouncing down the stairs wearing an old pair of volleyball shorts. You know the kind. Really short, and tight fitting. She also had on a tight tee shirt with no bra. "Here's my iPod, Justin. You forgot you weren't going to be here for dinner didn't you. Was something distracting you?"

I stammered something, I really don't know what, as I tried to look her in the eyes. "Mom and Dad must be out again tonight?"

"Yeah. They won't be in until late. Why?"

"You don't dress like that when they are around is all."

"Oh, this?" She swept her hand up and down in front of her like a model displaying something on TV. I didn't understand what was getting in to her. The bikini she wore this afternoon, and now this, and almost flaunting it in front of me. She often went without a bra if the 'rents weren't home, but tended to stay off to herself when she did. "I just felt like being comfortable. You don't mind do you?" I'm not sure, but it seemed she arched her back just a little jutting her breasts out toward me. It might be my imagination, I'm really not sure.

"Tell me," she said quietly. "Did my bikini look alright on me this afternoon? Do you think any of the guys will notice if I wear it to the lake on Memorial Day?"

"Ok, they'll notice alright. Are you really sure you want to do that?"

Doubt came across her face as she asked plaintively, "Does that mean you don't think I looked good in it?"

"If anything, you looked to good. It was hard to remember you are my sister when I saw you in it."

"Oh, goody! Thank you!" She gave me a big hug and bounced back up the stairs to her room, and I swear I saw a wiggle I don't normally notice from my sister. And, sister or not, that hug felt pretty nice. I didn't even have to play any music for her! As soon as she closed her door I rearranged my pants, and then I walked up to my room and went to work.

Tuesday came around at last, and Mom and Dad took us out to dinner to celebrate our eighteenth birthdays. When desert came, with the requisite off key singing by the wait staff and individual cakes with a candle in the middle, each of our cakes had a key imbedded in the icing next to the candle. We both looked at Mom and Dad, puzzled. Dad said, "You two have grown into very responsible young adults. Your mother and I bought a house near the university so you don't have to live in the dorms next year. Those are your keys." (That leads in to a different story for a different time.) He then reached in to his suit coat pocket and pulled out two sets of car keys. "Now these aren't new, but we thought you might like to have some wheels for getting about, and for going to school."

Rosemary squealed, and attracted the attention of everyone in the restaurant, as she jumped up and ran around the table to hug Dad, and then Mom. I being the more mature one just sat there with my mouth hanging open.

We had to make a detour on the way home to pick up our new cars. Rosemary got a Volkswagon Beetle, new generation, and I got a Mini Cooper. Both of us were as excited as we could be! As we drove home I reflected on my folks. Both of them make a pretty good buck. Dad is an electrical engineer, and Mom is a Realtor. Even so, this had to have hit their pockets pretty hard. Both of them worked long hours, and I often begrudged them working, but they were not stingy. They didn't try to buy our affection or assuage guilt for their absence by giving us things. They were, and are, very loving, caring, and generous people. 

When we got back to the house, Dad asked us to go to the family room, where he opened a bottle of wine. "We couldn't toast your majority at the restaurant, because you aren't 21 yet." He poured four generous portions of an excellent vintage and handed them round. "Here's to two wonderful young people on their eighteenth birthday who make their mother and me very proud. Here's to a long, happy, and prosperous adulthood." We all clinked glasses and sipped our wine. Mom's eyes developed a bit of a leak. Did I mention I love my parents?

When we had drunk our wine I asked them to stay there for a moment, that I had something for Rosemary, and I hurried up to my room. She hurried out of the room right behind me. I grabbed her present and carried it gently back down the stairs to the family room, where she joined us just a moment later.

You know it is funny, that I who can repair the most intricate electronic device, can disassemble and reassemble a computer without looking at any instructions, can design and build my own computers, cannot gift wrap a simple present. No matter how hard I try it always looks a mess. Rosemary giggled at it when I handed it to her, as she always did. I flushed a little bit, embarrassed at the way it looked, but she just laughed at me and said "thanks."

"Don't thank me yet. You don't know but what it is an empty box."

Rosemary quickly opened it, and her eyes went wide as she looked inside to see the koala sitting on the stub of a tree branch fastened to a base, with the Bose Wave radio/cd player. She reached in gently and stroked the fur before removing it from the box to my Mother's "Ohhh!"

"Justin, is it real?"

"No. It looks like it, though, doesn't it? It is rabbit fur."

"It's beautiful! I love it! And you gave me a new radio, too?"

"That's a Bose sound system. I couldn't stand that cheap clock radio you use any more! It has a CD changer as well, and if you look in the pocket on the Koala you will find your iPod docking station built in. I really didn't need this long to fix your iPod, but I needed to keep it so I could give it to you all put together."

Rosemary scooted over on the couch and wrapped her arms around my neck and gave me a big kiss on the cheek. "That had to of cost you a lot of money!"

"It wasn't that bad. I pulled a couple of favors from Jim, and I got a good deal on the stuff. Enjoy it, but please be careful to keep it all together. I have everything built in and wired though the bear."

"I didn't get you anything like what you got me." She handed me a card. "All I got you was some tickets to the Tucson Symphony Orchestra for the Fourth of July concert."

I was flabbergasted at her gift! She knows how I love music. All kinds, but especially symphonic, and those tickets were for third row, center! It was nearly impossible to get those seats as they were for subscribers! "Thank you," I whispered. I didn't trust my voice. 

"You don't have to, by any means, but I have an idea Susie would enjoy going with you. She wouldn't shut up talking about the music you played for her. I think she would enjoy it if you were to explain what is going on in the music." I nodded. I'd definitely keep that in mind.

"Tell her next time she is over I'll play Barber's 'Adagio for Strings' for her, then. If she liked Canon she will love Barber's Adagio."

"Cool. She and Steph are coming over Saturday to swim again. You can play it for her then."

Saturday! I couldn't wait! "When Saturday? I've got to do some errands, but I'll make sure to be here then." Act cool, Justin. Act cool.

"Right after lunch probably."

"OK. Cool. I might find some other stuff she would like, then also." I really didn't have anything I had to do, but I wanted to be certain I wasn't out of the house when they got there! It was like getting two birthdays in one week.

I rose from the couch and walked over to Mom and gave her a big hug and a thank you for the dinner, the car and the house for college. Then I gave Dad a big man-hug and hand shake and told him thanks, as well. I think I did a great job choosing parents. I turned back as I was leaving the room and said, "Thank you Rosemary, for the awesome tickets! That's going to be beyond belief!" then I continued on upstairs to my room. 

I logged on to my computer, and entered the password for the Wi-Fi in the Koala and settled in to wait. Of course, I had my music going! For tonight Beethoven's Fifth Symphony with its awesome intro, followed by Orff's 'Carmina Burana' seemed appropriate. As Beethoven's powerful chords resonated around my chair I felt the thrill and anticipation building along with the score.

After what seemed like forever, but was actually about the end of the intro my screen came to life with a wildly moving video of the interior of her room. She obviously plugged in the radio before setting the koala down. It finally settled with a mottled cream colored view that seemed to get closer and then further away. Finally, I determined what it was. She was holding the bear on her lap, and was stroking the fur. The view I had was of the front of her shirt, at belly level. Suddenly, I jumped as an eye ball appeared in the picture. I thought for sure I had been busted, but all she was doing was holding the soft fur against her face and caressing it. My heart was pounding in my chest so hard I almost missed the call.

Rosemary clutched the bear to her chest as she grabbed her iPhone and called Susie. I know she had to be excited since she didn't text. It was for only important things she actually used the phone. As the bear moved about in her lap I saw her holding the phone to her ear, and then as she got an answer she put it on speaker and dropped the phone into her lap and resumed stroking the bear's fur. "Susie, you won't believe this night tonight! First of all we went out to dinner, and when they did the birthday cake thing our cakes both had keys in the icing."

"Car keys? Cool!"

"No. House keys! Mom and Dad bought a house near campus so Justin and I don't have to live in the dorm. How cool is that?"

"Neat. How big is the house? Can I be your room-mate?"

"I don't know. We haven't seen it yet. We're all going up during spring break to take a look at it. I already plan to ask about it, though. That isn't the really cool part, though." The view of her shirt kept going up and down as she stroked the fur. I think she really liked it. "After we blew out the candles and everything, Daddy pulled two sets of keys out of his coat pocket and handed me one, and Justin the other. We got cars!"

"Oooh! Must be nice!"

"They aren't new, or anything like that, but I got a VW Bug, and Justin got a Mini Cooper." Then her voice dropped a tone. "When we got home Justin gave me the sweetest thing! Remember when he came home last Friday with the bag from the zoo?"

"Oh, yeah. That's when we could have poked his eyes out with our nipples." She could hardly finish her sentence for the giggles. "Was Stephie ever embarrassed when I told her!"

"You're such an exhibitionist and tease!" Rosemary giggled back. "Well, this is the coolest thing. Justin got me a stuffed Koala Bear made with real rabbit fur so it feels real, and built in a Bose radio, and my iPod docks in the Koala's pouch. It is just the coolest thing I've ever been given." The view was really distorted suddenly as she hugged it to her. "You know, I've got the coolest, most thoughtful brother a girl could ask for."

"Yeah, that is neat. When do I get to see it?"

"Why don't you and Steph come over Saturday and swim again? I told Justin how much you enjoyed his music, and that you would probably like to go to the Fourth of July concert I gave him tickets for. He said he might even play some different music for you here, if you wanted. He has another piece he says you will like even better than the one he played for you. You know I don't know one from the other."

"That might be fun." I could almost hear the grin in her voice. "I wonder what suit I ought to wear Saturday. Maybe the new yellow one?"

I heard a gasp. "You mean the one that turns see-through when it gets wet? I don't think so! Mom and Dad are going to be here Saturday. I can't wear my new one, you know, the one Justin liked, either." My cock lurched at their giggles.

"Oh, that spoils the fun! Oh well, we can have a good time anyway."

"I've gotta run. I haven't done a bit of homework yet. I'd better get ready for bed and study for that Vocab quiz. I can get the rest in study hall. See ya tomorrow."




Justin Thyme



"K, enjoy that bear."

"Oh, but I am! I just wish I could sleep with it. It's so soft!" Rosemary hanged up the phone and the movements grew violent again as she placed the bear/radio on her bedside table, and lucky me, she turned it to face the bed. As she set it in place she leaned forward and her shirt's scoop neck open until I could just almost see down it. "I don't know what to call you, you adorable thing. You look so real, I almost feel like you can see me." She reached out a hand and caressed the top of the head, then kicked off her shoes and rose to her feet. After walking over to her closet, which was just outside the edge of my view, she came back to the foot of the bed with a couple of outfits, which she laid out on the duvet and examined critically. She stuck a fingernail between her teeth and bit down on it gently as she compared the outfits, then she laid one across the back of her chair and carried the other toward the closet. I could just barely hear her mumbling, "Justin seemed to like this one the last time I wore it. Maybe I'll leave an extra button undone and see if he notices."

Justin? What was going on here? Was I missing something?

Rosemary walked out her room door, and the room was quiet for about five minutes. She flipped the light switch off as she reentered the room to my great disappointment. There was just enough residual light to see movement as she undressed and then pulled an oversized tee shirt from under her pillow and slip it her head. I could hear the bed creak slightly as she crawled in and the rustle of her sheet. What was she doing? She said she had to study. Oh, well. Maybe I could catch her in the morning. 

Things brightened up suddenly when she turned on the bedside lamp, and then turned on her new radio. I couldn't stand her choice of music, though! I don't know if it was Madonna, Lady GaGa, or who. One of those types. That stuff didn't need quality sound. I could see why she thought the old clock radio was sufficient. I guessed I just had to put up with it if I wanted the view. Rosemary settled back into her bed and opened up her vocab book and started reviewing. One hand crept up to her breasts and rubbed and tweaked her nipples as she read, which looked like it might get interesting, but after thirty minutes or so she closed her book and turned out the light. Disappointed, I took my hand off my cock, turned off the computer, turned out my light and went to bed.

My alarm went off early Wednesday morning, and at first I couldn't understand why, but then I remembered. Rosemary was an early riser. I jumped out of bed and turned on my computer, entered the password for the WiFi and settled back to see what happened. There was enough morning light filtering through the shades to see her red-gold hair splayed out over her pillow and see her face relaxed in sleep. If I ever married I hoped I would wake to something like that in the mornings.

It was only a few minutes later that her alarm went off. I saw a hand snake out from the sheets and reach across to hit the snooze. Instead, it hit the fur of the Koala, and with a violent start Rosemary jumped and jerked her arm back. Wide-eyed she looked over at the bedside table to see her new koala bear. "Oh, you poor thing! You gave me quite a fright! I hope I didn't frighten you." She stroked the fur gently a few times. "You'll have to be my confidant and help me with things. You really look like you see me. It really seems like you are watching me."

Rosemary stood, and her tee shirt, one of mine actually, fell to not quite mid-thigh, and settled in the valley between her breasts. Oh, but I could stand to wake up to something like that in the morning! I felt my cock stirring, and gave it a stroke. Rosemary stretched, and the hem of the shirt crept up to just below her pussy. Grabbing her robe from the foot of the bed she quickly put it on and hurried out of the room to get her shower. I gathered my things together quickly so I would have time to watch when she came back.

It seemed like forever before I heard the knock on my door and Rosemary telling me it was time to wake up and get moving. I looked at the time, and with a muffled oath I knew I didn't have time to watch this morning. She had taken entirely too long! I had to hurry just to make it. I took one last look at the monitor as I shut it down and saw the robe dropping down her back. The screen went black just as it reached the top of her ass.

I hurried into the kitchen with just enough time to throw a couple of Pop Tarts in the toaster and to pour a cup of coffee to go with me. Rosemary breezed into the room, and sure enough, I had not imagined it last night. She had left an extra button undone. That released the tension on the shirt just enough to allow it to settle all the way into her cleavage. Yes, I certainly liked it! I had to be careful, though not to tip my hand, so I just said, "Morning. You look nice today. I like that outfit, but something seems different about it."

Rosemary gave me a wide smile. "Thanks, I've worn this one a bunch before, but I appreciate you noticing." She bounced from the room, obviously happy. I grabbed my coffee and hurried along behind her. Seemed like her skirt had a little extra swish to it today. 

The rest of the week went about the same. I didn't have time enough in the mornings to watch, although I did get to see her drop her robe once and see her lovely ass. I was getting frustrated, to say the least. About the only bright spot was the way Rosemary had taken to talking to the koala. He seemed to be taking the place of a diary of sorts, except she talked to it as if she expected answers. For instance she would ask its opinion of her outfits as she chose them for the next day. Interestingly, my name popped up more than once. 

Saturday, though was still ahead. The chance to see all three of the girls changing into their bikinis was something I anticipated. I went out Saturday morning, as I had intimated I needed to do, but I made sure to be home by 11:30 with a box of electronics that needed repair. At 12:00 we all gathered in the kitchen for lunch, as we normally tried to do when everyone was home. 

That's one thing I really like about my parents. They aren't overbearing, but try to stay involved in our lives. Both of them work so hard, and have to be gone so much for work that when we have opportunity to be together we try to. Dad grilled some burgers, and Mom made her spinach salad. Dad opened a bottle of wine, which was unusual, to say the least. Mom looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "I just thought we could continue the celebration of the kid's majority. I think a little wine now and again at home is not a bad idea for them. I'd rather that than to have them out sneaking it when we aren't around." Mom just shrugged her shoulders and we sat down to eat. Dad did limit us to one glass, though.

"I hope you kids don't mind too much, but your mother and I have to run up to Phoenix this afternoon. I hate to run off on you again. Larry called me just a little bit ago, and he has the flu. Capitol Holdings is holding a big gala tonight, celebrating completion of the new mall. The ribbon cutting and grand opening is tomorrow, and the firm has to be represented. It was Larry's turn, but he can't go. We have to go up this afternoon so your mother can see if she can find something to wear. Obviously, we've had a break in, because your mother tells me she has absolutely nothing to wear." Mom swatted his hand across the table as he smirked at her. "We really didn't want to have to run out on you this weekend, but I really have to."

"That's OK, Dad. You guys have fun. When will you get home?"

"Probably not until after dinner tomorrow night. We can't just run off after the ribbon cutting. That is time we really can make some good contacts for future work."

"OK. The only thing is I wanted to ask Stephanie and Susie to stay the night tonight. Could I still ask them to stay?"

Dad looked over at Mom questioningly. Mom thought a moment and then said, "I guess it would be OK. You guys will be on your own soon anyway. Might as well get started now. Just don't be asking any boys over too. We want to have a house, still, when we get home."

"Cool. You guys are the greatest! I'd better text them now, before they head over here." She quickly sent out a text to the two girls, and we finished our lunch. I tried hard not to get excited and give the idea I had anything planned.

Rosemary waited until Mom and Dad were gone before texting the girls to come over. I didn't know what she had planned for sure, but was pretty sure that was so the folks wouldn't see what the girls were, or were not wearing. I know they hadn't any more than gotten out of the driveway before Rosemary hurried up to her room and changed clothes. I wished I had known what she was doing, because I surely missed an opportunity! She came bouncing back down the stairs wearing those too small shorts and a tight tee shirt without a bra again. I know I looked startled. "What's the matter, Justin?"

"What's with the change in clothes? You girls are going swimming, aren't you?"

"Oh, this. I just wanted to get comfortable before the girls get here. They aren't coming until about 3, so I just decided to change. You don't mind do you? I mean, does this bother you?" She arched an eyebrow, and again did the model thing.

"Rosemary, you are my sister, for goodness sake!"

"I don't care. Do you mean you don't like it, that I'm not attractive?"

"Of course, you are attractive." I was rather exasperated at the questioning. "You are my sister, though. I'm not supposed to be attracted." By this time I was starting to get hard, and with both hands full I couldn't do much to hide it.

"Oh good. I was beginning to think guys didn't think I was good looking or worth bothering. I never get asked out. I don't care if you notice, after all, you are my brother, and I know you love me."

"You'll have plenty of opportunity in college. High school guys don't know what they want for the most part."

"Thank you, Justin. Maybe I'm just a little unsure of myself for some reason. Something tells me you like it, though." She giggled and bounced past me into the family room. Some of the things I'd been overhearing her say kept popping into my mind as I walked up to my room with my equipment.

I had just gotten started well on laying out the new equipment on my work table when there was a tap on my door, which was open. Rosemary was standing in the door looking pensive. "Justin, I just wanted to say thank you for my koala. That was the sweetest thing anyone has ever done for me. I just love him! He looks so real, and it seems he is really looking at me. It's almost unnerving, like I'm afraid to be undressed in front of him or something, but I can talk to him and tell him anything."

I was trying desperately to keep my eyes on her eyes, but with her breasts almost on display for me it was hard, as was my cock almost. 

"I know we haven't been really close like I hear about a lot of twins, but I want you to know I love you." Rosemary walked into my room and around the bed and wrapped her arms around my neck. She looked into my eyes and whispered, "Thank you. For everything. I feel so accepted by you, no matter how weird I may be."

"You aren't weird. We just seem to travel different paths, and they don't cross all that much. Of course, I love you. You're my sister. Even if you weren't I'd still love you."

Tears popped into her eyes. "Really? You would love me anyway?" The arms about my neck squeezed in an embrace that made me think of an anaconda's prey just before dinner. Her lusciously soft breasts made up for it though! Those breasts I've been dying to see all week. I know she felt my cock against her belly, but she didn't shy away, but pressed closely against me as I felt moisture dripping on my neck. Rosemary didn't let go of me, but just leaned back enough to look me in the eyes. "I've been so mixed up lately. I don't know why, but I want you to know I really love you." She suddenly leaned in and gave me a kiss on the cheek. "Thank you."

With that she turned suddenly and walked somewhat unsteadily to the door. At the door she stopped and looked back, leaning into the doorpost as if for support as she did. One boob was pressed delightfully against the post, while the other leaned against the inside moulding. "By the way, Susie likes teasing you, and don't let her know I said so, or that you notice, but Stephanie is crushing on you for some reason."

"Steph?"

"Uh huh. Don't make fun of her for it, or let her know you know."

"I wouldn't make fun of her! Steph, me? Who would have thought of it? She's sweet."

Rosemary made her way out the door and went back downstairs to wait for the girls to arrive. I quickly logged in to her WiFi channel and then minimized it so no one would notice, but I wanted to be able to access it the moment the girls got there. Rosemary must have texted them to come on over, because it wasn't ten minutes before they drove up together in Steph's car. I looked at my clock. Only 2:17. I knew something was up. They were chattering like magpies as they came up the stairs, and I could hear Susie giving Rosemary grief for her outfit, but I couldn't hear quite what Rosemary said back, but it made Steph gasp and then giggle.

"Hi, Justin!" called out Susie as they rounded the top of the stairs. "Rosemary says you have another piece of music for me. Let me get changed and I'll be right over, OK?"

"Sure. I'll have it ready for you."

I quickly plugged in the CD and had it ready to start as soon as she came back over to my room. This was going to make it tricky, as I had no reason to close my door with her expected to return. I would have to shut down the video at the first sign someone was going to the door.

It was the conversation in the room that really got things going as soon as Susie closed the door behind her. She squealed with delight when she saw the koala. "Rosemary, that is beautiful. What an awesome brother you have to have the imagination to do something like that! He didn't just give you the stuffed animal, which is wonderful, but to build it into such a cool radio, and a dock for your iPod!"

"It feels real, and it looks like it is looking right back at you," said Steph as she stroked its fur. She put her face down against the bear and nuzzled the fur with her nose. "I wish I had a brother that was half as cool as Justin. Mine doesn't notice if I'm alive or not. I could probably go naked around the house and he wouldn't even know."

"I wouldn't suggest you do that here," Rosemary said dryly. "Justin would notice, all right! You should have seen his eyes when I bounced down the stairs like this while ago. I made sure to get the 'girls' moving when I did."

"I can't believe you did that with your own brother!" That was Steph again.

"I know. I did it first the other day, and I got such a rush from seeing him trying not to look at me. He couldn't do it. Besides, he is a good brother. It doesn't hurt to give him a treat every now and then. I get plenty from him."

"Oh, do tell!" said Susie. "What does he do for you?"

"I can't tell everything. This koala bear, though shows his thoughtfulness." I started feeling a little guilty over what I was doing. "Although there are other things he doesn't even know about." Rosemary had a grin on her face as she said this. 

"Spill it, girl! What gives."

"Maybe later. That's why I wanted you to stay over tonight, but don't let on anything, or it won't work."

Now I was puzzled. What did Rosemary have going on? Had she set up something in my room? I didn't see how, as everything in the room I knew well, and none of it had come from her. She wasn't tech savvy enough to program the DVD player.

Stephanie continued stroking the koala, caressing its fur softly. I saw her face most prominently in the monitor, but had a good view of the other two in the background as well. She took a finger and smoothed the hair back away from the eyes. "These eyes are so life-like. I feel like I'm being watched."

"If it is watching you, it likes what it sees, and what you are doing," said Susie. She leaned over Steph's shoulder to stroke the fur. Her top gaped open from the top, and I could see down it to see her bikini bra, already on. What a let-down! The good thing was it was yellow. Did that mean it was the see-through one? My cock twitched at the thought.

"If we are going to get any sun we'd better get moving," said Rosemary. "We'd better get changed."

"Oh, we put our bikinis on before coming over. When you said to not come until you texted we just went ahead and got ready. What was that all about anyway?"

"This," and I saw Rosemary do the model thing with her hand again. "I needed a little time by myself to do this. I needed to know. . . ."

"Maybe we can all do that later, do you think he would like that?" Susie pulled her top over her head as she asked.

"You are kidding, right?" gasped Steph. "I don't know how you can be that way."

"I don't think so," said Rosemary. "By myself is one thing, but with others, I don't know that I could do it. I have trouble getting undressed in front of the koala! I just have this feeling it is watching me." She turned her back to it and slipped the tee shirt over her head with her back to the camera. So that explains the shyness and why I've not seen anything yet.

"I think I'll go over and let him play his music for me. You two come over in a few minutes and see if I've gotten a rise out of him or not." With a cheeky grin Susie dropped her shorts and walked toward the door.

I quickly minimized the camera and picked up a GPS unit I was 'working' on, and waited for Susie to come across the hall. When she did I nearly dropped my eyes from my head! She was wearing a yellow bikini, all right, but it was hardly there! The bottoms, what there were of them looked to be lace, with a solid panel backing it right over the pussy. The rest was mostly missing. The top was just two small triangles of cloth with what looked like heavy fishing line for the strings. She didn't have to worry about tan lines with this outfit!

"You like?" Mutely, I nodded my head. What there is of it looked nice, and it was definitely well filled.

She sashayed into my room and sat down in my chair, leaning it back as she asked, "What do you have for me today?"

I struggled mightily to meet her eyes as she arched a bit in the chair. "I thought I'd play Barber's Adagio for Strings'," I croaked. It is a different type of piece than Pachelbel's Canon. For one thing, it is fairly modern, although written in a Romantic vein."

"Ohhh. I like romance."

"Not quite that type of romance, although it is used in romantic settings. Romanticism refers to a type of music, mostly 19th century. Listen to the way the strings carry the mood." With that I started the CD and watched her listen to it for the next 10 minutes and 27 seconds. The AC didn't turn on during this time, to my relief, as I was struggling enough without having her nipples poking through what obviously was a very thin piece of cloth.

"That was beautiful. Do you have anything else like it?"

"Well, about thirty years after he wrote this he rewrote it for voices in part of a Mass, called, 'Agnus Dei'. I really like it, because it gives voice to the emotion the strings carried." I quickly switched CD's and the voices and the strains of the music filled the room, just at the same time as the AC kicked on. 

"Oooh. That's pretty," and Susie leaned her head back, arching her back as she did so, and closed her eyes. I couldn't help myself. I watched as those nipples quickly hardened and stood up like soldiers in a parade. Little goosebumps appeared across her belly. Unfortunately, her nipples weren't the only things standing at attention! As the song ended Steph and Rosemary made their presence known from the doorway, and Susie stood from my chair with a very satisfied smile on her face and thanked me as she walked out the door. 




Justin Thyme



Rosemary hesitated a moment before following and stepped into my room. Looking knowingly at my cock straining the front of my shorts she said, "Remember what I said about being a tease? It looks like you enjoyed it! Don't worry about it; girls like to look, too." She laughed as she turned and walked out my door. She was wearing that same almost non-existent bikini she had been wearing the other day, and I swear she wiggled her ass at me as she left.

When I was certain all three girls were in the pool I brought the camera back up, and backed up the feed. (I record everything.) I got another good look at my sister's ass, but true to what she said earlier she was shy about undressing in front of the koala. Hopefully, this would wear off soon, or I wasted a lot of time and effort, other than making my sister very happy with a nice gift. One very interesting development occurred though. As Steph took off her outer clothes she faced the koala sheepishly and pealed them slowly, as if showing herself deliberately to a lover. She spoke to Rosemary so softly I didn't catch everything, but I caught "wish" and "Justin." Rosemary just smiled at her and said, "I always ask him if he thinks Justin will like what I'm wearing." Then she colored as Steph looked at her questioningly.

Steph turned back to the koala and posed provocatively, turning this way and that showing off her new bikini to the stuffed animal. "Koala, do you think Justin will like this bikini? Oh, I hope so! I just can't show myself off the way Susie does!"

"You don't really have to. Justin has eyes. I noticed he was looking at you more than at Susie last time when we came in from the pool." Steph blushed a deep red, and covered her boobs with her hands.

"Do you really think so? I should be embarrassed, and I am, but I'm turned on by the idea as well."

"I'm sure of it. You saw how he got hard all of a sudden."

Steph hung her head. "I've never even seen a boy's penis. Have you?"

Rosemary nodded, and looking around as if to see if anyone was looking almost whispered, "Yes. I've seen Justin's." Steph gasped. 

"You've seen your brother's? Is that what's going on with you two?"

Rosemary shook her head. "No. I got up to use the bathroom the other night, and when I was coming back to bed I noticed his door was ajar. He normally keeps it closed up, but I just pushed it open a little bit and he was laying there on his back. He sleeps nude," Steph giggled at the thought, "and he was dreaming something, because it was sticking straight up, and wiggling. He squirmed a little and moaned, and it twitched some more. I know I shouldn't have, but I stood there and watched it for a while."

"Cool. I wish I could have seen it. I might even be willing to let him see me if I could, but don't tell him that!"

"Oh, I wouldn't. We'd better get going, before Susie is showing!" With that they walked out of the room, and crossed the hall. I was surprised to say the least, and intrigued. Did this explain some of her actions over the last few days? This could have some interesting payoffs.

I don't swim, so for me to go down to the pool would have been obvious, but I did go down to the kitchen and get a drink, which happened to be right at the window, where I looked out. Sure enough, there were brown spots showing through Susie's bra. I couldn't see them very well from where I was standing, but they were sure enough nipples. I also made it a point to check out Steph's new bikini. It was the least I could do, seeing as she had bought it with me in mind. Steph isn't as big as either Susie or Rosemary, but with her petite frame she had what she needed in the right places, and enough to make me salivate. She is usually overshadowed by Susie's showiness, but now that I looked at her and looked carefully I really liked what I saw. I think Susie intimidates her to the point she is self-conscious and doesn't think she measures up, but I for one would be happy to let her take my measure any time.

I noticed one other thing. My sister had gotten into Dad's wine! Each of the girls had a glass of wine sitting beside them as they baked in the sun. From the looks of the bottle, it wasn't the first glass either, and since it was quite a while since anyone had anything to eat I was concerned about them, but there wasn't much I could do. I just had to be sure they didn't get into any problems or get rowdy.

I stayed back in the shadows enough that they would have difficulty seeing me. With the sunlight in their eyes it would have been very difficult to see in the window at all, and unless I moved suddenly I knew I was safe watching them. I couldn't hear what they were saying, but Rosemary and Susie were obviously trying to convince Stephanie to do something. From the way she was reacting, I'm sure it had something to do with me. She kept squirming on the chaise lounge, and opening and closing her thighs. I was getting a bit hard just watching those legs. Susie's top had dried, and I couldn't see her nipples any more when Rosemary drained the last of her wine, and the other two followed suit and the stood. I quickly stole around the corner and hurried upstairs to my room.

The camera was already on and minimized, just in case one of the girls came in, and I was anticipating a show as they changed out of their swimwear. I could hear them coming up the stairs, and heard them arguing amongst themselves, in what they thought were whispers. "Go ahead. Ask him." "I can't." "Sure you can." "You'll love it. He'll be so close you'll get a good look at it." "I don't think I can, besides, I don't have tits like you two." "That doesn't matter. You have tits. Did you ever know a guy to not look at a girl's tits." "But I'd be embarrassed." "But think of looking at his cock." A deep breath. "I couldn't do it without the wine, but OK. I'll give it a try." "Good girl. You'll love it."

I heard Rosemary's door close, and then a timid tap on my door. Opening it I saw an almost frightened Stephanie standing there. She wasn't drunk, but it didn't take much detective work to tell she had been at the wine. Her eyes almost brimmed with tears as she stammered out, "J-Justin, could I listen to the m-music you p-played for S-Susie earlier? She s-said it was beautiful and ro-romantical."

"Certainly, Steph. Are you sure this is your idea, or did they put you up to it?"

"Oh, no, they put me, I mean it's their, my idea. I'd like to l-listen to it. I d-don't know much about Classic-al music."

I smiled down into her wide eyes and gently took an arm and led her into the room. I was afraid she would bolt otherwise. I might never have another chance like this, and I'm scoundrel enough to not want to miss it. I seated her in my desk chair and told her to just relax and let the music absorb her. Little did I know Rosemary had stolen downstairs and turned the AC down several degrees to be certain it would turn on. The coolness of the house after being in the sun already had nice little bumps in her bra cups, but Rosemary didn't want to do it by halves.

Quietly I told her a little about the music and what to expect, and then I plugged in the 'Agnus Dei', which I believe is more emotionally powerful than is the 'Adagio for Strings' version. I wanted to make this as emotionally satisfactory for her as I could. As the first soft notes opened up the AC kicked on, and I saw Stephanie shiver once. She closed her eyes, but her motor skills were compromised enough that when she opened them a slit I saw it, and knew what the game was. At first I was embarrassed, but I remembered what Rosemary said about her, and I decided I would let her enjoy as much as I did. I had closed the door behind us, so I knew we didn't have an audience. I leaned back against my desk, so that my lower body was projected forward a bit, and she would have an unimpeded view of the bulge in my shorts, and I in turn looked, without hiding it, at her body. 

She might not have had large boobs, but she more than made up for it with her nipples! They were long. I couldn't tell how long, but they definitely were poking through her top. At first she colored and tensed up, but as she saw my cock spring to attention she relaxed again and licked her lips as she stared at it. Her legs were parted a little bit, and I noted a damp spot appear on her bikini. On the other hand, there was a bit of a damp spot at the end of my cock as well. As the music drew to a close Steph opened her eyes all the way and looked into mine. She drew in a shuddering breath and said, "That was beautiful. Could you play another one?"

I nodded. I didn't trust my voice for the moment. "Would you like something a little different?"

"I don't care. Whatever you want to play."

I pulled out Pachelbel and put it in. Out of the corner of my eye I noticed her hand snake to her pussy and rub it a time of two, before stealing back to her side. I explained a little bit about Pachelbel and the difference in the style of music as it started. Halfway through the music she looked up into my eyes. "Justin, do you think I'm pretty?"

"Absolutely. You have nothing to worry about there!"

"Do you like my bikini? Does it attract you?"

"Steph, I don't know where this is coming from, or why, but a man would have to be blind not to be attracted to you." Normally, I wouldn't have dreamed of saying something so forward, but the day had gotten to me as well. It is probably a good thing I didn't have any wine!

"I didn't think you would care about me with Susie around, or even your sister."

"Well, first of all, Rosemary is my sister, and Susie is just showy. I think you are very lovely."

"Thank you. Now I know why Rosemary thinks so much of you. You're really sweet. Thanks for the music, and for being kind to me."

"Kind?" I think I've been anything but kind. 

"Steph?" She looked up at me. "Don't ever change. Don't try to be a Susie. Just be Stephanie, and you will be all right. Trust me."

Stephanie stood shakily to her feet, with tears rolling over her eyelids. "Thank you. Thank you so much," and she stepped into my arms and gave me the sweetest hug yet. The score is music 3, no music 1, but this hug was the best yet. Stephanie walked out of the room, and I heard the door close on the other side, but I didn't even bother turning on the computer. That could wait for later. I had to savor this. 

I waited about thirty minutes before going downstairs to the kitchen. I didn't know about the girls, but I was getting hungry, so I decided to order pizzas. I knocked on Rosemary's door and called out that pizza was on the way if they wanted any. It was only a few more minutes and they came bouncing down the stairs just as the pizza delivery guy was ringing the doorbell. I had not missed anything by not turning the computer back on, because the girls were still dressed in their bikinis. "Why don't you girls give the guy a thrill and answer the door," I challenged.

"I'm OK with that," said Susie, to Rosemary and Stephanie's chorus of No's. I handed Susie the credit card and let her go answer the door, but I made sure I could see what was happening. The young guy with the pizzas nearly dropped them in surprise when the door opened and Susie was standing there in her little bit of a bikini. "Oh, my, that is more than I can carry. Why don't you bring them into the kitchen for me?" 

I almost fell on the floor laughing at the deer in the headlights look I received from Steph and Rosemary. The look was repeated by the pizza guy when he stepped around the corner and saw two more girls in bikinis, and a very brief one at that on Rosemary. I don't know who was more embarrassed, but I thought it funny. The poor pizza guy was trying very unsuccessfully to hide his boner as he beat a retreat for the door as soon as he got paid. Rosemary opened another bottle of wine to go with our pizza, but we limited it to one. Mom and Dad probably wouldn't care too much, but we didn't want to push it too hard.

Following dinner we sat around the table talking for a little bit, but I got bored quickly and left to return to my room and work on some of the electronics I had picked up. I locked my door, just to be on the safe side and turned on my computer when I heard the girls climbing the stairs to go to Rosemary's room. They had started to act a little frisky when we were still at the table, and from their giggling and laughter as they came up the stairs I thought things might get more interesting in their room. 

All three of the girls went to the koala first thing and petted it and played with it for a few minutes. Things started getting interesting though when Steph stood in front of it and started talking to it, much like I had heard Rosemary do, but this got even more interesting quickly. She was not drunk now, but again the wine had affected her more than it did the rest of us. She started caressing her boobs and saying, "Mr. Koala, Justin likes my boobs. He doesn't think they are too small, and I think he really likes my nipples, because he stared at them when he thought my eyes were closed." I knew they were open, but she didn't know that. "His cock sure got big, and I never felt like anyone thought I was pretty before that, but Justin likes me." She started pulling on her nipples through her bikini. "I wonder how he would like it if he could see me without the bikini, but I'm not ready for that yet."

Rosemary turned on the radio to what she calls music, and the three girls started dancing and gyrating to the sound. Susie danced over in front of the koala and said, "Hey, Mr. Koala, what do you think Justin would think about this?" and she started some rather graphic moves. I can tell you what Justin thought! He thought they were hot! 

Rosemary was next, "Mr. Koala, what would Justin think about his sister? Would he think she was sexy?" and she went into some rather sexy moves. Yes, Justin thought his sister was sexy, but then he always has.

Stephanie moved back over in front of the koala and said as she gyrated to the beat, "Mr. Koala, this is what I've always wished I had the courage to do with a boy, but I chicken out. You won't tell on me will you?" and she started moving her body in a sinuous rhythm that had me licking my lips. Whereas the other two had done the regular dance type moves where they thrust with their pelvises or pushed out their asses, Steph moved as if she didn't have a joint in her body and her hands stroked and caressed her breasts, belly, sides, face, and finally pussy before collapsing in a heap on the floor.

Rosemary and Susie looked at her like they had never seen her before. "Where did you ever learn to move like that? That was the sexiest thing I ever saw!" said Susie. "I'll bet if you did that for Justin he would cream his pants." She wasn't far wrong, and if it had been in person, knowing she was dancing for me I probably would have.

After this the girls just sat on Rosemary's king-size bed and talked quietly. I just left it as background noise while I worked on finding the bug in that GPS unit.

It was getting rather late in the evening, and I had about run out of patience with working on the electronics. Jim had been good enough to let me have the weekend off, when I told him I would work on repairs at home, but I wasn't accomplishing much. Too many other things were vying for my attention. I decided I was going to hang it up and go to bed early for a change, when I heard the girls say something along the same lines. I was surprised by this. I figured they would be up all night. As they were getting their things out to change for bed, yes I was watching avidly, Steph stopped and turned to Susie.

"Susie, have you ever seen a boy's penis, for real?"

"No, I haven't. No boy has ever seen me either. Today was as close as anyone has, and Justin didn't even come outside when my top was wet. I kind of hoped he would."

"Rosemary has. She has seen Justin's."

"Steph! You weren't supposed to tell anyone!"

"I thought you meant anyone else. Susie is one of us. She won't tell."

"When did you see Justin, Rosemary? Did he see you?"

"No. He's never seen me. I've thought about letting him, kind of to even things up a little, but it hasn't happened."

"How did you see him, then? Were you spying?"

"Well, the first time was by accident."

"First time? You didn't tell me there was more than one time!" Stephanie was leaning forward listening intently. "Spill it. When else did you see him and how?"

"I didn't mean to let that slip. The first time I was coming back from using the bathroom at night, and his door wasn't closed all the way. I don't know why, but I pushed it open just a little and peeked in. He had kicked the sheets off, and there it was sticking straight up in the air. He was dreaming about something, because it kept bouncing and twitching. I backed out right away."

"What about the other times?"

"I shouldn't have said anything about that. You mustn't tell anyone, or let Justin guess!" The girls shook their heads no. "I was curious about it, so I snuck over there the next night. He's such a deep sleeper that I don't think dynamite would wake him. The next time I got right next to his bed and watched it for about ten minutes. This time it wasn't hard when I went in, but then it stiffened and stood up and started twitching again. I got scared and left."

"Did you touch it?"

I saw Rosemary hang her head for a moment, and then she went on, "I snuck back in there again the next night, it was our birthday. After he had given me this koala I was so keyed up I couldn't sleep. I've got the best brother in the world, and he is so thoughtful. I snuck back into his room again, knowing now how deeply he sleeps that I thought I'd be safe, and there he lay again. He was soft, and breathing deeply and softly, so I knew he was out. I reached over and touched it; then I kind of picked it up and held it in my hand. Don't ever let him know! I'd die of embarrassment." Again the other girls shook their heads, but they were entranced by her story. 

"It just felt so soft, but when I stroked it gently with my thumb it started to grow. I just let it grow in my hand and watched it. I kind of stroked the bulb on the end of it, and I could tell it liked it, because it just kept growing. His breathing changed a little bit, but he didn't seem to be waking up, so I kept rubbing it with my thumb across the end and down under it. He started twitching whenever I rubbed underneath, and a little clear liquid came out of the hole, . . ."

"Was he peeing?" interrupted Stephanie, breathlessly.

"No, it was something different. It was kind of slick and a little thicker than pee. I used it to rub underneath the bulb, and his legs started twitching and moving together, and his hips started rocking. Suddenly he groaned, and a bunch of stuff squirted out all over him. I got a little on my hand, and it started going soft again. He sighed a time or two, and I thought he was waking up, but he didn't, and I snuck back out of there. That's one reason I've been dressing like I have for him. I may burn for this, but really, I've been hoping we would have a chance to do more, but when he is awake, and he can see me, too."

The others were quiet, and I had some answers. I had thought I had a wet dream the other night, and I guess I did, but I also had help. I hadn't had a wet dream since I learned to jack off when I was in the eighth grade! Suddenly it hit me. She wanted to do more!

Steph broke the silence. "Do you think maybe we could see it, too? Pictures and porn just don't do it for me. I think they are boring. I really want to see the real thing."

"I don't know. I don't know if we could all get in there without waking him up. He doesn't usually go to bed early, either."

"Maybe we could get him to come out and do something with us, a game or something with some sort of penalties. Not strip poker, or anything like that. I'm no good at that sort of thing," Susie thought out loud.




Justin Thyme



"He's not much of a games type of person," said Rosemary. "He's more into tech stuff. Why don't we get ready for bed, then maybe we can think of something." 

Rosemary turned out the light. There was still enough ambient light from the radio and an automatic night light, because Rosemary didn't like the dark, for me to see their shapes. "I still don't like getting undressed in front of 'Mr. Koala'. I know it's silly, but it still seems like he is watching me." She turned her back to the bear and untied her top, then slid her bottoms down her legs, before slipping on another of my over-sized tee-shirts. 

To say I was frustrated with the situation should be a given, but it was what it was, and there wasn't anything I could do to change matters. My big hopes for the weekend were a bust. I did notice though that Rosemary was wearing nothing under my tee-shirt. I had to keep that in mind for future possibilities. 

The other two girls followed suit, each of them turning away. I could see their asses, and Stephie looked like she had a nice one, but nothing else. Susie slipped a long nightgown that looked like it had possibilities. I hoped Rosemary turned the light back on before they went to bed. Stephanie, in keeping with her more modest personality, put on a baby doll with fluffy, frilly panties.

Rosemary turned the lights on again, and I was right. Susie's nightgown was worth a closer look! It wasn't see-through or anything, but it was satiny, or something filmy that really hugged her breasts. I wished I could think of a reason for us all to be together. Steph's baby doll was not the sexy type you think of in lingerie, but more along the idea of what a young girl would wear, and although it covered far more than did her bikini, it drew my eye for some reason. 

I watched and listened for a few minutes longer as the girls tried to come up with a plausible excuse to get me to come out of the room and then find a way to see me naked. They discussed 'Spin the Bottle', 'Truth or Dare', and a whole host of other ideas Rosemary knew I wouldn't be caught dead participating in. She finally decided just to call me and tell me they were going to pop some popcorn and ask if I wanted to join them. I smiled to myself as I thought about her stratagem, and almost agreed, because I knew how they were dressed, but decided to leave the play on my court rather than leaving myself vulnerable to them. When Rosemary called I quickly muted the computer and acted sleepy when I answered. "Hey, what do you need."

"Hey, Justin, we don't really need anything. We were just going to pop some corn and wanted to invite you to join us."

"I'm already undressed for the night." I heard a muted giggle in the background, and could see Stephanie covering her mouth. Rosemary had already told them I sleep naked.

"That's OK. You can come down that way. We don't care, 'cause we're ready for bed, too." To be honest, I was tempted, because I knew what she was wearing, and I liked the idea of checking out Susie's gown. I really liked the way it hugged her tits. Stephanie looked good enough to eat, but I just didn't want to put myself in the wrong position. I'd rather make them come to me.

"It sounds good, but I think I'm going to read myself to sleep. I was just drifting off when you called." Right! I couldn't tell her what I was doing though. "I'll see you guys in the morning." If I knew Susie, I was sure she would be pushing Rosemary to sneak into my room later when I was asleep, and I would use that to my advantage. I turned the volume back up after ending the call, and watched to see if they were going to go on down for popcorn or not. They decided to do so, since they had to kill some time before I went to sleep, and in a moment the lights went out as they left the room.

I turned off the monitor, because I didn't know how long they would be gone, and I didn't want to have Rosemary peeking in on me and see her room in the monitor. I settled back on my bed to pass the time with a book, but I couldn't keep my mind on it. I kept thinking about three girls down in the kitchen in night clothes. Finally, the temptation was too great, so I slipped on a pair of sweat pants and walked down on the pretext of getting a glass of milk to help me go to sleep.

In our house the stairs run from side to side, rather than front to back as in most houses, and they are between the kitchen and the living room, with the dining room ahead and somewhat to the left at the bottom of the stairs. The kitchen had a breakfast nook off to the left of the stairs, and that is where the girls were sitting with the popcorn. As I padded down the stairs, not even trying to be sneaky, I could hear them talking and laughing. Susie was telling about finding her brother's porn stash of magazines, and how funny some of the poses were of the girls. 

I happened to have a copy of that particular rag, and I have to agree with her assessment of the poses. Mind you, I like to look at pics of naked girls, but how and why they pose like they do is far beyond me! I guess they think guys will get tired of looking at them if they don't change the posing, and the facial expressions! Good grief! Some of them look like they are in agony trying to look "sexy". To me it's a turn-off, but I guess some people like it that way. I'd rather just look at a beautiful girl and enjoy her sexy body for what it is, not for what gyration she can get into.

What really checked me in place though was when Susie started telling about one segment that showed a girl giving a guy a blow-job. I stopped in place, ready to move as if just walking down if discovered, but I didn't want to miss this! Susie didn't know whether to be intrigued or disgusted by the idea. Stephanie, though said, "I don't know. I might do it for the right guy if things worked out." She paused a moment, "In fact, if I thought Justin would pay any attention to me I'd probably do it for him."

Susie said, "Really? Justin?"

Rosemary piped up, "Why not?" She lowered her voice conspiratorially, "If he weren't my brother I probably would. In fact the other night when he orgasmed in my hand I was tempted. I even tasted his sperm a little from what was on my hand."

That brought squeals and giggles from the other two. "I don't know," said Susie. "I might consider it if things were right. I just haven't really thought about really doing it with someone. I always thought it would be gross."

I heard bowls clinking and worried they might be done and I would be caught there in the hall listening, so I decided to forgo having a look. Besides, I glanced down, and my cock was standing at full attention. There was no way I could go in there looking like that! Quickly and quietly I hurried back up the stairs and to my room. I was none too soon, because I heard them laughing and talking as they made their way back up. Quickly I lay back on my bed, with a book that I let lie open on my chest as if I had gone to sleep reading it. My reading light showed just enough light to make seeing me easy.

The idea of girls coming into my room and looking at me was unnerving, but at the same time quite exciting. Had Rosemary not already been in there more than once I wouldn't have even considered it, but that took some of the strangeness from it somehow, buy my heart was still beating hard with trepidation. My eyes were slits as I heard the door across the hall close, but then I sensed my door easing open a crack. I feigned heavy breathing, but then the door closed again, silently and I heard Rosemary's door open and close. By listening intently I could hear talking going on in the other room. 

I was torn as to what to do. I wanted a little warning before they snuck over, if indeed they worked up the courage to do so, but I didn't want to get caught out of bed and "awake." After a few minutes I decided it would be safe to turn on the monitor quickly and see what was happening. Susie was talking, "How will you know when he's asleep enough, though? How could we explain it if he wakes up and we get caught?"

"He mutters in his sleep when he's in really deep sleep. Sometimes you can even get him to respond if you talk to him. We used to do it all the time when we were younger. It was really funny! It's almost impossible to wake him when he gets to that level. I didn't really look in when I cracked his door. I just listened. He was breathing hard, so it won't be long. We have to be very quiet, though. I don't want to have to answer to Mom as to why the three of us were in his room looking at his cock!"

"Do you think we could touch it, too?" Stephanie seemed to really have the urge.

"I don't know if we should risk it. I'm afraid with three of us stirring around in there we might wake him."

"You said you touched him, and he didn't wake up then."

"We'll see. We have to be really quiet, though. Not even whispering. Let's give it ten more minutes and I'll check him again."

I decided I was going to play along on the "talking in my sleep" idea, and see what would happen. If nothing else, maybe I'd get a good handjob, although I couldn't "know about" it. I clicked off the monitor and got back into my bed and put the book back onto my chest, as if I'd gone to sleep with it, then I half rolled and let it slip off, before settling back onto my back. Being erect was not going to be a problem. At first I was concerned I'd be too self-conscious to get it up, but the idea of what was about to happen over-rode my nervousness. Most of all, I couldn't show any sign of nervousness when they came in. Rosemary would pick up on that right away. Carefully I planned out my actions before they opened the door, so I could control the action without seeming to.

I heard the slightest sound from my door as the doorknob stealthily turned. I made my breathing deep and slow; then muttered a little bit unintelligibly, trying to be careful not to overplay my hand. I heard a muffled giggle in the hallway, followed by a shushing sound, and a slight thump as the door pulled shut. In my mind I could see what was happening, and the door stayed closed for a couple of minutes before it stealthily swung open a few inches. Through the slits in my eyelids I saw Rosemary's eye peeking through the crack in the door. I know my reading light showed everything, more so than my nightlight had done on previous nights I had not been awake for. 

"He must have been really tired. He went to sleep with his light on," was whispered. The door swung open the rest of the way, and with a hand motion to wait, Rosemary slipped into my room and over to my work table. At first I was puzzled, but then realized she was giving herself deniability if I woke. She could pretend to be coming to borrow a CD, something I had never known her to do before. I stirred just a little and muttered under my breath, and saw her relax visibly. In the doorway I could see the other two girls peeking in out of the corner of my eye.

Rosemary put a finger in front of her lips, and then made a "come on in" motion with her hand. My cock was standing with anticipation as Susie crept in first, with Steph looking around her shoulder, trying to get a good look as they tip-toed silently in. I heard a muffled "Ooooh" from one of them, I'm not sure which, to which there was a quick, quiet "SHHH". I stretched out my legs and half rolled, while murmuring softly. I made it a point to roll onto my book, trying to increase the illusion I was out. It also allowed me to see the girls a little better without straining my eyes to the side.

Purposely, I twitched my cock twice, which brought a quiet gasp from Stephanie. Rosemary waved her hand at her insistently to hush her. I twitched my cock again, and again muttered a little under my breath indistinctly, but included "Steph" in what I said. Her head perked up, and she looked carefully in my face, trying to see if I was really asleep. As she looked intently I twitched my cock again and groaned softly, the thrust my hips forward just a little. 

Susie looked a little disappointed when I said Steph's name, but Steph looked over at Rosemary and mouthed "Can you get him to talk?" She just shrugged her shoulders and leaned forward. I had to listen carefully to hear her voice, just above a whisper, saying my name and asking "Justin, what do you see? Do you like it?"

I mumbled something unintelligible, and waited. I couldn't make it too easy on them.

Rosemary leaned in again. "What do you see, Justin? Do you like it?"

I kind of shuffled my feet again, and twitched my cock a time or two. I noticed all three girls watching it intently, with Stephanie, twitching her hands. She obviously wanted to touch it so badly. "Nipples," I mumbled, nearly unintelligibly, and softly enough she leaned toward me to hear it. Speaking of nipples, hers looked good in my tee shirt. I licked my lips lightly.

"Did you say 'nipples,' Justin? Whose nipples?"

"Umm. Nipples. . . Steph. . . bikin. . . " I squirmed a little more, causing my cock to bounce up and down. Steph's eyes got wide, and her hands instinctively reached up to cover her boobs.

"Did you like Steph's nipples, Justin?" I just shifted my hips back and forth and twitched my hands. "Did you see anybody else's nipples, Justin?" I just mumbled something unintelligible. Pre-cum appeared on my cock, which caused Susie to gasp and point. Rosemary shushed her urgently, but nodded. Susie leaned in to get a closer look. Her nightgown gapped open at the top, allowing a good view down her cleavage, and my cock twitched on its own, and pre-cum started to run down my cock. 

"Did you see anyone else's nipples, Justin?" 

"Sus. . . Ros. . . pokies. Nice. . . " I mumbled along with more unintelligible sounds. Susie reached out a finger and wiped off some of the pre-cum and rubbed it between her thumb and forefinger. My cock bobbed up and down, both from the pressure of her finger, and from the sensation of being touched. When she held her fingers to her nose and sniffed I twitched again. Steph had her left hand under her Baby Doll top, and down her panties, and was sucking her lower lip between her teeth. She moaned quietly, then reached out with a tentative right hand and grasped the head of my cock between her thumb and fingers and gently squeezed it. A shiver ran through her body, and she let out another moan. 

My cock twitched in her hand several times, and more pre-cum ran out onto her fingers. My hips flexed involuntarily, and I let out a little bit of a gasp. To cover up my reaction I rolled my head from side to side and mumbled more unintelligible noises. Stephanie pulled her hand back and sniffed the pre-cum and tentatively stuck out her tongue and tasted it. "Not bad," she whispered. "It doesn't taste bad at all." Of course, that set off more twitching and more pre-cum. I hoped she would hold it again.

"Can we see him orgasm?" whispered Susie. 

"I don't know," whispered Rosemary. "We don't want him to wake up." She leaned down and whispered into my ear again, "Justin, would you like to see our nipples? Would you like to see us topless? Maybe we could do that for you. Would you like it?" All I could do was moan in reply. I couldn't think of a way to reply without giving myself away. "Maybe you would like to feel them?"

Pre-cum was running down my cock copiously now; and even dripped from the head into my navel. Susie giggled when it dripped and Rosemary shot her a dark look. Rosemary took my carefully limp hand and lifted it up to her breast and placed the palm of my hand over her nipple. She sucked in her breath between her teeth at the contact, and I moaned aloud. My cock bounced up and down and dripped some more. I had to be careful not to give myself away, but I think they were so in to what was happening they wouldn't have noticed if I opened my eyes. I also had to figure out a way to get some of this action for real, without pretending to be asleep!

Susie slipped around to the other side of my twin bed, and placed my other hand on her boob, and rubbed it around. She tried to get me to pluck at her nipples with my fingers, but I played possum and didn't go along. It did feel very nice, though. Steph had one hand down her panties, and the other hand up inside her top, squeezing her tits and plucking feverishly at her nipples. Finally, with a groan she pulled her hand from inside her top and grabbed my cock, and none to gently, for one who wanted me to stay asleep. I moaned and rolled my head back and forth a couple of times. I thought I had given myself away, but when I muttered "nipples, see nipples," a couple of times Rosemary relaxed. 

Steph started sliding her hand up and down my cock, moaning continuously. There was plenty of lube from all the pre-cum. I was so turned on and fired up it only took a few strokes, and my eyes flew open, but rolled up in my head as I started cumming, and cumming. Steph let me shoot a couple of times, and then really surprised me when she bent over and took the head of my cock into her mouth and took the next shot. She pulled me back out, and let the rest shoot out onto my chest and belly, while she let out a loud moan, clutched her pussy with her left hand, and sank to the floor.

I let out a groan and let my eyes go closed again as Rosemary motioned quickly for Susie to come back around the bed and she shooed them from the room. I heard a faint click as the door closed. I was totally spent, but I had to see what happened in the other room. Grabbing some tissues I quickly wiped my cum off my chest with my left hand while I was logging in to the WiFi with my right. 

The screen came to life just in time to see Steph with a very satisfied look on her face standing in front of the koala. "Mr. Koala, you won't believe what I just did!" 

Susie interjected, "I couldn't believe you put his cock in your mouth! Wasn't it gross?"

"Hmm Umm. I liked it. I never came so hard in my life! Thanks, Rosemary!"

Rosemary just nodded, and fidgeted on the far side of the bed. "I don't know about you two, but I'm so horny right now if Justin came in here I'd let him jump me." She was openly rubbing her breast and pulling at her nipple. A guilty look came over her face. "I feel king of badly, though. What we did wasn't right or fair to Justin. I wish we could think of a way to make it up to him."

Susie had pulled her nightgown up high enough to reach her hand in under it and was rubbing furiously at her pussy, mindless of the other two. "Maybe we could, unh, maybe, unh, we could go down, unhhh, to breakfast in our, unh, pajamas, and see what, unhhh, happens, OHHHHHHH!" She fell backward onto the bed, breathing hard, but with a very satisfied smile. "Wow, that was good!"

Rosemary slipped a hand under her tee shirt and started rubbing herself. "You know something, I almost wish Justin could see us now," and with a quiet wail her orgasm overtook her. 

Stephanie turned to the other two girls. "You know what? I'm so turned on I can't stay dressed. I've never slept naked before, but after what we just did, I'm going to tonight. I was glued to the screen as she reached down and grasped the hem of her top and pulled . . .