Storiesonline.net
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                              Glen Wiseman
                            by Lazlo Zalezac

Copyright© 2004 by Lazlo Zalezac


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Description: A man trying to live in isolation to escape all reminders of his past tragedies is forced to take in a young man and his twin sisters. This is a story of overcoming adversity, love in the light of social repercussions, and the ability of the human spirit to overcome tragedy. 

Codes: MF Mm Mult rom cons bi het group safe
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Copyright© 2003

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Chapter 1


The autumn colors of late October surrounded the cabin as Glen Wiseman paused in the removal of the last stump in his front yard. He looked at the evergreens nestled among the reds, oranges, and yellows of the oaks. Each time the breeze changed direction, the entire forest around him seemed to shiver; a subtle suggestion that winter was coming.

His cabin, nestled in the valley of the mountain, was surrounded by land that he had cleared himself. Each tree that had fallen was employed in the construction of the cabin. A windmill stood next to the cabin slowly turning in the breeze, generating electricity to power the house. Solar panels decorated the roof, useful in summer and useless in winter when they would be covered with snow. The contrast between the handmade cabin and the high-tech power equipment was almost jarring.

His eyes took in his surroundings with pleasure. He loved living here in wilderness. His nearest neighbor was five miles away. Town was fifteen miles, but the route there was closer to thirty. The isolation suited him fine since the last thing he wanted in his life was people. He had three hundred acres of land to isolate him. His land backed up against a state forest, so he'd never have anyone living behind him.

He knelt down and finished tying the heavy chain around the stump. Walking over to the truck, he climbed in slowly. Starting the truck, he put it into gear, and moved it forward slowly. The chain tightened and then forward progress halted in response to the resistance of the stump. He gave it a little gas and the truck inched forward pulling the stump with it. With a suddenness that always surprised him, the ground gave up ownership of the stump and the truck surged forward. He dragged the stump over to the others by the edge of the clearing. He backed up a little to provide some slack in the chain.

Exiting the still running truck, he removed the chain from around the stump. It only took him a moment to physically wrestle the stump to the pile of other stumps. He stepped back as he examined the pile of stumps. Perhaps in the spring it would become home to a family of foxes. He worked hard to provide habitats for the wild animals in the region.

He stepped back and examined the results of his summer's efforts. The outside work had been completed on his home. The land was cleared, the shell of the cabin was complete, and the power generators installed. He had several cords of wood stacked for use in the cold winter months. Over the winter, he would finish the inside of his cabin. For now, it was complete enough to live in. By this time next year, he would have a real home.

He undid the chain from the rear of the truck and threw it in the truck bed. Outside of the chain, the bed was empty and he knew it would slide around when the truck moved. Getting in the truck, he put it in gear and returned to the cabin. Parking it next to the cabin, he went inside. He looked at the framing for the interior walls and the stack of sheet-rock that was in the corner. The interior of his cabin was a mess and it would be months before it looked like a home. None-the-less, he was pleased with it. He had built it all from hand, cutting the trees, shaping them into rough logs, and placing them into the structure.

The first order of business would be to complete the bathroom. He was getting tired of going to the outhouse in the woods. The outhouse only had a roof and no walls. He had mounted a toilet seat on a wooden box set over a deep hole. Then when it had rained, he had built a roof. He kept the toilet paper in a coffee can with the plastic lid on it to keep it dry. Unfortunately, when the snow would come, the hike to the outhouse would be impractical and use of it impossible. The bathroom had to be completed before winter arrived.

He undressed and stepped out onto the back porch carrying a towel with him. There were no neighbors to be offended by his nakedness. He turned on the water spigot to give himself a shower by standing underneath the hose. He adjusted the spray by twisting the nozzle to where it produced a fine mist. Stepping into the cold water shocked his system and led him to react with a loud shout. His balls pulled up tight to his body and his cock shrank in response to the cold water. At least the air temperature was relatively warm. Stepping out from under the water in an effort to keep warm, he lathered himself up to wash away the day's accumulation of dirt and sweat. He stepped under the water to rinse himself. The shock the second time was not as bad as the first.

Turning off the water, he dried himself with the towel. Once his body was dry, although his hair remained wet, he reentered the house. He went to the wardrobe sitting in the middle of his future bedroom and got out a change of clothes. Simple jeans and a work shirt was his standard wardrobe. He dressed for a trip to town. He would get dinner there rather than fix his own, a practice that he had adopted early this summer since he didn't have a functional kitchen yet.

He stopped by his reclining EZ-Boy and looked at the magazine on the floor next to it. It reminded him that he needed some more hand cream. The hand cream kept his calluses from rubbing his cock raw when he masturbated. When he got home tonight, he'd read another of the sex letters in the magazine as a way of seeking the release he enjoyed when he masturbated. After that, he'd get in an hour or two of writing. It wasn't that he needed to work anymore, it was that it had become a habit that he didn't want to break.

He pulled out of the private drive onto the dirt road. His was the only house on this road and he was at the very end. He considered the road his own private driveway. He always drove slowly, not because he expected to encounter other traffic, but to allow the animals that frequently crossed the road a chance to leave. He had seen numerous deer, raccoons, possums, and snakes along side the road.

He was daydreaming a little as he drove, looking off to the sides to see what wildlife might be lurking. The only time he had ever seen another car on the road was when the postman dropped off his mail. As a result, it was natural to be surprised to spot a U-Haul truck parked a mile up the road. All he could make out at first was the bright orange back of the truck. Curiosity, as well as a suspicious nature, led him to slow his approach as he considered the oddness of the situation.

He slowed even more once he noticed a man standing over three blobs on the road. His sixth sense was on full alert and it was telling him that something was definitely wrong. He stopped about a hundred feet away and got out of his truck. He grabbed the shotgun from the gun rack and walked towards the man. He carried the gun in a relaxed natural fashion that suggested great experience with the weapon. When he was close enough to realize that the blobs on the ground were people, he shouted, "Hey, what's going on there?"

The man took one look at Glen carrying his gun and ran to the U- Haul truck. Glen seeing the man flee, broke into a run to catch up. Before he had a chance to reach the truck, it pulled away spinning its tires. Glen was left behind beating away the stray pieces of gravel that shot out from behind the truck. He would have fired at the tires, but his shotgun was unloaded and he knew it. He felt stupid letting the man escape.

He raced over to the prostrate forms on the road. It was a young man and two young women. All three were naked. Their hands and wrists were bound with duct tape across their mouths. They were all unconscious with scrapes and bruises all over their bodies. He looked at the wrists. It looked like they had been hung by their wrists. John looked over the three and swore, "Shit! I don't need this crap!"

He returned to his truck and drove up to the three people. This way, he wouldn't have to carry them too far. He fished his Swiss Army knife out of his jean pocket and used it to cut their bonds. They had been tied with a very tough rope. He had to work slowly to avoid cutting them rather than the rope. He pulled the tape off their mouths, expecting them to regain consciousness if only to scream in pain. He noted that they must be in very bad shape not to have reacted to that.

He looked around to see if there were any clothes, but there were none. He would have to load them in his truck naked. Carefully he picked each one up and carried them to the bed of the truck. He gently set each one in the bed. He didn't want to carry them back there, but his cab wasn't large enough to hold four adults. None of them was too heavy for him to carry. He had spent all summer lifting logs to build his cabin and was in very good physical shape.

Once all three had been settled in the bed of his truck, he turned the truck around and headed back to his home. There he quickly found a pair of the blankets. He wrapped his passengers in them while they were still in the truck. His movements were slow and deliberate with a gentleness that belied his rough exterior. He tucked the ends of the blankets under his passengers to make sure the blankets would not blow off as he drove. The chain was still in the truck, so he took a minute to remove it so that it wouldn't shift around and hurt them.

Once everything was ready, he drove as fast as was reasonable to town. He kept looking in the back to check on his passengers. He was afraid that one of them would wake and panic, maybe even jump out of the moving truck. It was an extremely tense trip of almost forty minutes along narrow country roads. The highway was closer, but it didn't lead to a town with a hospital for quite a distance.

The nearest hospital to his house was in town and he drove directly there knowing the staff would contact the sheriff. The kids, at his age they were still kids to him, would require medical attention before they could answer any questions as to how they got into that condition. He breathed a sigh of relief as he pulled into the emergency entrance. He stopped the truck and raced into the hospital. He shouted, "Hey!"

A nurse came out of a room looking irritated at the noise he was making. In a voice that conveyed her irritation, she asked, "What's the matter?"

Glen shouted, "I've got three people unconscious in the back of my truck."

His answer echoed down the halls and allowed everyone within fifty yards to know what he had announced. In seconds, a very active medical staff emerged from various rooms to take care of the situation. Glen headed towards the truck once he knew help was on its way. The nurse, pulling a pen and small notepad from her pocket, stopped him. "Hold on a second buddy. Now tell me exactly what happened."

Glen, not given to conversation, tersely explained how he had found them as he was coming into town. He used a minimum of words. He was not very forthcoming with details and that bothered the nurse. The nurse wrote down his story and then stated, "Okay. Stay right here while I call the Sheriff."

Glen nodded to indicate that he understood. When the nurse headed towards the admissions desk, he headed towards the door to move his truck out of the way. He wasn't very happy because he realized that he would have to stay around for at least another half an hour. The nurse stopped him and asked, "Where you going?"

His voice gruff, he answered, "To move my truck."

The nurse looked at Glen for a moment trying to decide if he would try to leave. She didn't like the dour looking man and decided he would leave given half a chance. She even entertained the idea that he was the one who had harmed the kids. She was required to keep him there until the Sheriff arrived. She countered, "No. You stay right here until the sheriff comes. You make one move to leave and I'll have a hospital guard on you before you get five steps. In fact, give me the keys to your car and I'll make sure it gets moved out of the way."

Glen handed over his truck keys as shrugged his shoulders. Having nothing better to do, he followed the nurse to the admitting desk. He sat at one of the chairs and waited. He watched as the three people were brought in on gurneys. In his haste to take care of them, he hadn't noticed that the women were identical twins.

They wheeled the young man into the first bed in the emergency room. He could easily hear the excited voices of the staff as they worked on the young man. He listened as the doctor discovered that he had been anally raped. Glen was shocked and wondered what kind of horrible situation he had stumbled into.

Deep in his own thoughts, Glen jumped when a hand grasped his shoulder. Startled, he looked up to see the Sheriff standing next to him. He was a portly man with thick glasses, nearly bald with the remaining hair gray, almost white. Glen shook his head wondering how it was that the Sheriff had never seemed to age. He looked the same the entire time that Glen had known him. Glen looked back at the floor, stating, "Oh, it's you."

The lack of enthusiasm was not lost on Sheriff Dale Brocker. He looked at Glen and shook his head. He couldn't believe that the vibrant young son of his best friend had grown into such a morose quiet man. He asked, "What in the hell happened?"

Glen answered, "I already told the nurse."

Dale frowned at the lack of cooperation. He stated a little more harshly than intended, "I'm asking you. What happened?"

Glen, unhappy at telling his story a second time, answered in a monotone. "I was coming into town. A mile from the cabin I saw a U-Haul truck parked in the road. A man was standing over those three. I got my gun and went over to find out what was going on. The man jumped in his truck and drove off. I put those three in the back of my truck. I went back to the cabin to get some blankets to keep them warm and then came here."

Dale looked at Glen. That was the most that Glen had said to him in the past year. He had been given all of the essential facts. Now it was a matter of grilling Glen for more details. "Can you describe the man?"

Glen shook his head and answered, "No."

"Why not?"

"Too far."

Dale asked, "Did you shoot at him?"

Glen shook his head and answered "Wasn't loaded."

Dale nodded realizing that he should have known that would be the answer. While many of the locals kept a loaded gun on their gun rack in case they came across a deer, Glen didn't. Glen was a real law and order type. He only hunted during hunting season and he did it in a legal fashion, meaning that he actually had a hunting license. He asked, "You still don't have a telephone?"

"Not getting one."

The Sheriff hiked up his pants. They slipped right down again and would do so until he gave up on belts and started wearing suspenders. The action of hiking up his pants was now habitual. He stated, "Glen, you're going to have to start talking to people again. You can't hide away up there in your cabin for the rest of your life. It's not healthy."

Glen shrugged his shoulders and didn't say a word. He looked around as though hoping he could escape from being the topic of conversation by finding something else to talk about. His tactic was successful as the nurse came over to them to inform the Sheriff about the situation. "They're coming around. Most of the injuries were minor, but painful. You should be able to question them shortly."

The Sheriff looked down at Glen and frowned as he considered what to do with him. He knew he wasn't going to get anymore out of him. He looked up at the nurse and answered, "I'll be over there in a minute."

Glen asked, "Done?"

The Sheriff shook his head. Glen looked healthy. He needed to shave and could use a haircut, but other than that was in as fine a shape as he'd ever seen him. He was about to send him on his way, but changed his mind. He answered, "Stay here until I have a talk with the doctors and the injured people."

Glen's irritation grew at the thought of staying in a hospital any longer than necessary. He had already wasted forty minutes sitting there. He had told them everything and was getting very hungry. He stated, "I'm hungry."

Dale knew Glen would head over to the diner to eat if he was released. Instead, he suggested, "Stay here and then come home with me for dinner."

"No."

"Damn it, Glen. Your dad was my best friend and it hurts me to see you this way." The man was frustrated. Glen deserved more than the lonely existence he had imposed on himself.

Glen, satisfied at how he was doing, asked, "What way?"

"All sullen and mad at the world."

"I'm not mad. I just want to be left alone."

The Sheriff glowered at Glen in true anger. He took a deep breath to get control over his emotions. Finally, he gave up and stated, "Go on. Get out of here. I know where to find you if I have any more questions."

Glen left the hospital in a sour mood. He understood why he had to stay there, but it would have been nice if he could have just dumped them at the hospital and not deal with anyone. Of course, he couldn't have done that. Still, he had wasted a lot of time doing nothing but sitting there.

Hungry and tired, he headed over to the diner. He entered the diner and went directly to his normal booth hidden in the corner of the room. It was a typical country diner. Little booths ran along the walls with tables set in the center of the room. There was the standard counter with swivel chairs. On the counter was the usual glass case of pies, cakes, and puddings. Glen didn't really take notice of his surroundings. If asked, he wouldn't have been able to tell you the color of the walls. The waitress, knowing it was useless to take a menu over to him, called over, "Usual?"

Glen nodded and looked out the window. The food would arrive in ten minutes. While waiting, he thought about the three people he had found. He shook his head as he considered what might have happened to them if he hadn't shown up when he had. Odds were, he would have found their bodies in the woods when he went to investigate what had attracted the buzzards. That sight would have made him sick to his stomach.

His thoughts were interrupted by the arrival of the waitress with his dinner. He nodded in her direction and took a sip of milk. She stood there a minute and then asked, "Everything alright?"

Glen nodded and, when she didn't leave, added, "Yes."

Deciding that he wasn't going to say anymore, she went back to her normal post behind the counter. Puzzled, she watched him eat. Every time he came in, he had the daily special. It didn't matter what it was that day. He never even asked what it was, just nodded when she asked him if he would have it. She had served him liver, fish, meatloaf, and spaghetti among other dishes. He never complained about anything she served. Conversely, he had never praised anything she had served him. He never said much of anything to her, but he tipped much better than most of the clients.

Glen slowly ate his meal. Today's special was pork roast and it was rather tasty. The sides were mashed potatoes and green beans. He knew that if he ordered the special, it would be a balanced meal. He added salt and pepper to the mashed potatoes, they never put enough of the seasonings on the potatoes here.

His meal was interrupted by the arrival of the Sheriff. Dale settled into the seat opposite of him and stated, "Lucky you found them."

Glen looked up at the Sheriff and shrugged his shoulders. As far as he was concerned, it wasn't lucky for him at all. He was about to say so when the waitress came over with a cup of coffee. She smiled at the Sheriff as she said, "Here's some coffee."

The Sheriff smiled and replied, "Thanks, darling. I always enjoy your smiling face when I come in here. If I weren't married or the wife wasn't such a good cook, I'd eat every meal here just to see you."

The waitress laughed at the harmless teasing. She knew the truth. She retorted, "Well, I don't think your friend here even realizes I exist."

"Don't judge him too harshly. He's not really a self-absorbed bastard. He just wants to be left alone. Of course, that doesn't explain why he comes here to eat every night. Must be that he misses human contact on occasion."

The waitress looked at the Sheriff in shock. She'd never heard him talk about anyone like that. People were either good folk or criminal as far as the Sheriff was concerned. Glen shook his head and countered, "No kitchen yet."

Dale barked, "Forget what I said earlier. He is a self-absorbed bastard."

Glen just looked up and stared at the Sheriff with a level gaze. He didn't react in any other fashion. He recognized that the Sheriff was trying to get him angry. He finally made a little dismissive hand gesture and went back to his food. The waitress just looked down at him confused more than ever. She looked over at the Sheriff. The Sheriff cleared his throat. Glen finally stated, "What?"

"Ah, the silent one talks," retorted the Sheriff. Not getting a response from Glen, the Sheriff stated, "Those kids are lucky you found them. The sick bastard that had them is a real piece of work. He raped the boy at least a three times. Didn't even use lubrication. The guy's rectum is all torn up. He was going to torture the twins to see which one would die first. Apparently, just to warm things up he had drug them behind the truck along your road. That was just to let them know what a little pain was like. He was going to really go to town on them."

Glen sat up and pushed his plate away, his appetite taken away by the topic of discussion. He turned and stared out the window, attempting to block out everyone else. He didn't want to hear this. He didn't want to be involved in this. Under his breath, he muttered, "shit, shit, shit."

The waitress, not knowing about the events of the evening, asked, "What happened?"

The Sheriff stated, "This here man is a hero. He rescued three kids from a sick pervert and took them to the hospital. Save their lives."

The waitress looked at Glen in surprise. She had wondered about this guy. To learn that he was a hero made him look a little more attractive. She said, "You must be proud of yourself."

"I'm not a hero," Glen spate out with considerable venom in his voice. He wasn't a hero; heroes did heroic things. He had done the only thing he could do.

He reached in his pocket and pulled out his wallet. From his wallet, he extracted a ten. It was more than enough for the special and his glass of milk. He set the bill on the table and returned the wallet to his pocket. Frowning he stood up. The waitress backed out of his way a little frightened of the gruff manner of her customer.

As Glen headed towards the door, the Sheriff called out, "Glen, the doctor said their wrists and ankles were bound and that tape was placed over their mouths. Where's the stuff at?"

Glen turned and looked at the Sheriff as he thought back to his actions when he had found the kids. He hadn't thought of saving any evidence to use in convicting the pervert. He answered, "On the road where I found them. Cut them off and left them there."

"I'll follow you home and you can show me where you found them. For now, why don't you wait until I finish my coffee."

Glen glared in the direction of the Sheriff, irritated at having his dinner ruined and his plans for the evening spoiled. He stated, "I'll wait in my truck."

The Sheriff watched him leave the diner. Glen walked like he was carrying a world of hurt on his shoulder. It almost hurt to watch him. He turned to the waitress and explained, "He lost everyone he loved, one after the other. Each death was harder on him then the one before. He hasn't recovered."

The waitress stared at the Sheriff as she processed the implications of his revelation. She suddenly understood her mystery patron a little better. She asked, "He suffered too much misery in life and doesn't want to experience life any more?"

The Sheriff nodded and replied, "That's right. He won't let anyone get close enough to him to care about."

"Sad."

The Sheriff finished his coffee and set a dollar on the table. He stood and answered, "Yes it is. He was really a nice guy at one time. I guess it's up to me to break through that shell and get the nice guy back again. See you later, CJ."

The Sheriff headed towards the door. The waitress smiled and called after him, "Good luck. See you later, Uncle Dale."

Glen drove the forty minutes towards his house. When he reached the point where he had found the three people, he pulled over and got out. The Sheriff pulled up right behind him. Glen knelt down where he had found the three people. When the Sheriff joined him, he stated, "This is where I found them. There is the binding and the duct tape. The tracks over there show where the truck parked after making a y-turn. I stopped a hundred feet down that way and walked up here. I was about fifty feet away when I called out. The man took off in the truck and I came over here."

The Sheriff looked at the tracks and nodded. He asked, "Why did you go back to the truck before helping the people here?"

"I didn't want to carry them that far. Figured it was faster to have the truck here and then treat them."

The Sheriff put on a pair of latex gloves and put the goods in a plastic bag as evidence for when they captured the suspect. He actually had a very good description of the man and was sure that they would capture him. He groaned as he stood up. He was feeling his age, particularly when the weather was cold.

Glen asked, "Anything more?"

Dale answered, "Nothing more."

Glen turned and walked over to his truck. He opened the door and climbed in. It didn't take him much more than a minute to get the truck started and on his way towards his cabin. The Sheriff watched him go and then walked over to his car and followed Glen.

Glen had just gotten out of his truck when Dale caught up to him. Parking his car next to the truck, the Sheriff got out. He stated, "You've done an incredible job here. It's hard to believe that you've built this yourself without any help."

Glen shrugged. He felt a lot of pride in his cabin, but he wasn't about to let anyone know that. His feelings were private and personal. To share them would make him vulnerable. He opened the front door and entered his cabin. He deliberately closed the door behind him thinking that it might chase Dale away.

The Sheriff, with just as much deliberation, followed him into the house. He stopped and looked at the disaster before him. He stated, "Looks to me like you're going to need some help finishing the inside."

Glen turned and looked at the Sheriff, irritated that he had entered the house. He realized that he wasn't going to get rid of him that easily. He stated, "No, I won't."

Dale walked around the house looking at the overall layout of the interior. He realized that it was going to be a very nice house when it was completed. There would be two bedrooms, a nice kitchen, a mud room, a huge living room and a dining area with a wonderful view through the window. The kitchen had all of the plumbing run into it. All that Glen needed to do was put up the sheet-rock and he'd be ready to make an operational kitchen.

He walked to what must be the utility closet and examined the electrical panel. Glen had really put in a lot of money into this cabin. He noticed the state of the art water purification system. Surprised, he stated, "You've really fixed it up so that you are independent as possible. You have your own water and electricity."

"I won't be in town for months at a time, once I have the bathroom and kitchen operational."

The Sheriff was losing his patience. He was trying to help and Glen wasn't accepting it. With as much sarcasm as he could muster, he said, "Well, I guess we'll miss your sunny disposition in town. I'm sure a lot of people will be depressed to learn that."

Glen went to the kerosene lantern and, after striking a large wooden safety match, lit it. It threw a nice warm light on that side of the cabin. The available light in the room doubled. He shrugged as though he didn't care about Dale's sarcastic comments. He stated, "If you don't like it, then leave."

One corner of the cabin had a bed, a recliner, and a desk with a roller chair. The only working light in the house was on the desk. This was clearly the corner of the house that Glen lived in. The Sheriff sat down in the recliner and looked around. He looked at the desk noticing a stack of book. He glanced at the titles. It took him a minute to figure out what kind of books they were. He laughed. He asked, "So when did you start reading romance novels?"

With a suddenness that shocked the Sheriff, Glen advanced on him shouting, "Get the hell out of my house!"

The Sheriff stood up and shouted back, "Glen, we can do this the easy way or the hard way. It is your choice. You can sit here and talk to me like a real person. If you don't care to do that, I can make it a lot harder on you."

Glen stood his ground in anger. He asked, "Are you telling me I'm a suspect?"

Dale answered, "No. I'm telling you that you have to rejoin the human race. This sitting out here all alone and talking to no one is sick. You need help boy."

"No I don't. I'm happy the way I am. The only thing wrong in my life is people thinking that they know better than I do as to what is good for me!"

Dale retorted, "You're dad was a good man. He enjoyed life to its fullest. Hell, he and I used go hunting every year. If you'd get out of this funk you've gotten into, I'd take you hunting myself. Shit, I miss him just as much as you do."

"Old man, you've got no idea what's going on here. Get out now and just leave me alone. I knew this day was going to suck the moment I found those kids. I should have left them there to die." Even saying it hurt. Glen knew the truth and that was that he couldn't have left those kids alone to die out there.

Dale exploded, "Sometimes you are really an asshole. You couldn't have done that to save your life."

Glen sat down on the chair at the desk. He looked tired and beaten. In an emotionless voice, he stated, "Dale, would you go, please? Enough is enough. You are not going to save me."

Dale frowned and shook his head. He stood and headed to the door. At the door, he turned and said, "I guess we are going to have to do this the hard way. Don't say I didn't warn you."

Glen watched as Dale left the house. He went to the window and watched until the Sheriff had left his property for good. He went to the door and after opening it, shouted out, "Leave me alone, God damn you!"

The night was going to be cold so he went and got a load of firewood. Stacking it carefully in the fireplace, he lit the papers under the kindling and small logs. He stayed next to the fire until he was sure that it was burning well. It would burn until he was ready for bed and be out by morning. He took a moment to appreciate the odor of burning wood.

He went to his chair and swore as he realized that he had forgotten to get some more hand cream. Well, that ruined tonight's entertainment. He went to his desk and started up the laptop. Once it had booted, he opened his document and looked at the last few pages of material that he had written. His mind churned in turmoil. He couldn't get the sight of those poor kids out of his mind. There was no way he was going to get any work done tonight. He shut off the laptop in disgust.



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Chapter 2


Five days had passed since he had discovered the three people on the road. Late October passed into early November. The colors of fall faded as the leaves fell to the ground and slowly turned brown. Even in five days time, the weather had turned colder. Glen had started working on the interior of the house.

Glen drilled the hole for the wiring to pass through the stud. He only had one more wall and the ceiling to finish drilling and then he would be ready to start running the wire through the house. He could hardly wait for that part of the job to get finished. As much as he enjoyed the soft light afforded by kerosene lamps, it would be nice to get rid of the odor they generated. Most evenings were spent with the single light over the desk and the dull light from the fireplace.

His work was interrupted by a loud knock on the door. He ignored it and drilled another hole in the next stud. The knock was repeated a second and a third time. Tired of it, he shouted, "Fuck off."

"It's the Sheriff. We'll break down your brand new door if you don't answer!"

Glen was going to ignore the Sheriff until he realized that the guy would probably carry out his threat. He set down the drill and stormed over to the door. He threw it open and challenged, "What in the hell do you want?"

The Sheriff smiled at Glen. Glen stood there in blue jeans and work boots. He wasn't wearing a shirt and he was covered in sawdust. He looked like the construction worker in the diet cola commercial; the rugged blue collar man that the white collar women went wild over. The Sheriff replied, "Well, I had a little talk with the judge about the Metchettes."

"What's that?"

"Not what, who. The Metchettes are the three people you rescued last week."

"I don't want to know their names. I don't want to know anything about them." Glen had done his bit and now it was over. All he wanted was for his life to return to its normal isolation. He would work on his house and everyone else would stay away. He liked it that way. He turned and went back to where he had been working.

Dale smiled as he considered the effect that his next statement would have. He stated, "You'll have to know their names. The judge has awarded you custody of them until they recover."

Glen stared at the Sheriff for a full minute as he tried to make sense of what he had just said. He finally blurted, "What the fuck are you talking about?"

Dale stated, "Well, you see it's like this. Those three kids have lost everything. They have no money, no car, no home, and no relatives. They are stuck here until their property is recovered. In the mean time, they need a place to stay while they recover from their wounds, so the judge has awarded you custody of them."

"What in the hell does that mean?" Glen was afraid that he understood very well. The idea that the kids were that down on their luck caused a twinge of guilt. Still, his cabin wasn't really the place for them.

"You have to take care of them until they recover."

"No, I don't," Glen might not be a lawyer, but he knew a judge didn't have that kind of power. A judge can't arbitrarily make another person responsible for someone else. He argued, "The judge can't do that."

"Well, I guess you'll have to take that up with the judge. He'll be back in ten days. Until then, you have to take care of them."

Glen couldn't believe that a judge would issue an order like that and then leave for ten days. There had to be some mechanism for him to contest this situation. This was ridiculous and he knew it wasn't true, but he took a look at the Sheriff and realized that arguing the legality of it wasn't going to work. Instead, he fell back on stubbornness as he replied, "I won't do it."

Dale was enjoying this. He had threatened to play rough and now he was going to deliver on that threat. He stated, "Yes you will. If you don't, I'll just have to put you in jail. They'll stay here anyway."

"I guess you'll be taking me to jail then. I don't want people out here."

Dale laughed gleefully and then said, "I was hoping you'd say that. I'm going to arrange for you to have visitors in the jail. People will be talking to you nonstop the whole time you are there."

Glen knew the Sheriff well enough to know that he would carry out that threat. He fumed at the invasion of his privacy that this represented. He was going to have to put up with strangers for ten days. He stated, "I can't do it. This place isn't fit for human occupation."

"That isn't stopping you from living here," countered the Sheriff.

"Shit," retorted Glen. He looked around his unfinished cabin and tried to imagine four people living in it. He added, "I don't even have beds for them. They'll have to sleep on the floor. They'd be more comfortable in your jail than here."

"Well, we thought about that," replied the Sheriff with a grin. He pointed to a truck and stated, "That truck has two mattresses from the hotel in town. They've been refurbishing the rooms and donated the beds. They also threw in sheets, blankets, and pillows. The church has contributed a bunch of clothes."

"Damn it Dale, why are you doing this to me?" Even as he complained, he felt guilty about it. The Sheriff might be doing this to him, but he was doing it to help out the three kids.

Dale looked around with a very self-satisfied smile. He hiked up his pants. He was proud of himself for having come up with this idea. He stated, "Well, you need to interact with people. Now you have to, whether you want to or not. The fact that the Metchettes are taken care of at the same time sounds real good to me."

"I guess I'll put them up at the hotel in town. Ten days shouldn't cost me that much."

"Nope, that won't do. They need to be watched in case there are unforeseen complications due to the treatment they received at the hands of that madman."

Glen fumed. He realized that there was nothing he could do. He said, "You aren't going to let me get out of this, are you?"

"Nope."

"I don't have a bathroom."

"You will soon. Until then, they can use your outhouse."

Glen grumbled, "It's more an out than a house."

The Sheriff laughed at the statement. He shook his head and turned to a couple of men in the truck. He shouted, "Bring that stuff into the house."

Glen watched in horror as two men climbed out of the truck and proceeded to carry a couple of mattresses into the house. When they got inside the cabin, one of them asked, "Where do you want it?"

Glen answered, "Anywhere else except here."

"That's funny. Seriously, where do you want us to set up the beds?"

Glen pointed to the far end of the cabin. It put the maximum distance between where he stayed and where they would stay. He answered, "Over there."

The men quickly set up two queen size beds in the areas he had framed in for bedrooms. While one of the men arranged the mattresses on the beds, the other went back to the truck and brought back a box of bedding material. He nodded at Glen and then stated, "It's sure good of you to do this for them folks. They really are down on their luck."

Glen just turned away. He wasn't doing this out of the goodness of his heart. The Sheriff had forced him into doing it. In a way, that made him feel even worse about himself. There was a time when he would have been the first to volunteer to help. Glen went over to his recliner and sat down, trying very hard, but unsuccessfully, to ignore the activity within his cabin.

The Sheriff leaned against the wall and watched Glen fidget. He knew that this was a tough time for the son of his friend. He waited to see what Glen would say or do next. He was surprised to see that he didn't do anything. The degree of submission Glen was demonstrating was very uncharacteristic.

After the men who had set up the bed left, another car pulled up in front of the cabin. The Sheriff let the woman and her teenage son into the cabin. They carried boxes of clothes that had been donated for the Metchettes. Glen numbly watched them come and go without comment. He wondered how many more people would end up trooping through the house.

After all of the activity died down, it was very quiet in the cabin. The only ones there were Glen and Dale. Dale stated, "Glen, snap out of out and talk to me. They'll be here soon."

Glen looked over at the Sheriff with an even gaze. He stated, "I will do as I must. Don't expect me to thank you or jump up and down in joy."

"Before they get here, you've got to understand some things. These kids have had a tough time. The boy was raped. Now rape is tough on everyone, but often worse when the victim is male. The twins are very fragile. They were treated brutally. They all suffer from nightmares. You are going to have to be very gentle around them." Dale stared at Glen.

"Look, I'm not the right person for this. I mean look at me."

"Glen, you are the only one around that can take care of them. You're here twenty-four hours a day. Hell, you're the only one that I know that doesn't have a real life to live." It wasn't a nice assessment of Glen's life, but it was accurate. He added, "Living here, they won't have to deal with other people until they are ready for them."

Glen thought about it. He stated, "Don't expect me to coddle them. I'm not a wet nurse."

"I don't expect you to coddle them." The Sheriff heard a noise outside and looked out the window. He said, "They are here. You might want to put on a shirt."

"Are you telling me that I'm not pretty enough?"

"Nah, I just don't want you exciting the women."

Glen actually laughed at that. He turned and put on a shirt. There was a knock on the door, which the Sheriff answered. Glen turned to watch a group of four enter the cabin. The deputy led the twins into the cabin. They were followed by the young man. It was the first time that Glen actually looked at the three of them. He put their ages in the late teens or early twenties. They all had sandy brown hair and you could tell that they were all related.

The Sheriff waved the trio over and stated, "Glen, this is Cliff, Sandra, and Wanda Metchette. Metchettes, this is Glen. You'll be staying with him for a couple of weeks until we can figure out what to do with you."

Cliff smiled uncertainly as he extended his hand. "Nice to meet you."

Glen looked at the hand and just nodded in Cliff's direction. Cliff didn't know how to react and stood there awkwardly. Finally, he put his hand back in his pants pocket and stared at Glen. He decided that he didn't really like this guy.

The twins, almost in harmony, stated, "Hello. Nice to meet you."

Glenn just stared at them wondering which girl was which. He frowned as he decided that he would never be able to tell them apart. He nodded in their direction and then went over to the wall of the cabin and leaned against it. He watched the three of them stand there nervously.

Sandra smiled uncertainly and nodded her head in Glen's direction. She was tired already and wanted to take a nap. She meekly asked, "When will we be going to your house?"

Glen actually smiled at the question while the Sheriff laughed. The Sheriff answered, "You're there. This is where he lives."

Wanda, the much more conservative and introverted of the two twins, burst out, "It isn't even a real house! We can't live here."

Cliff interrupted, "Girls, we're safe here."

That stopped all arguments. Glen had hoped they would argue a little more about staying here. He was all ready to use that to suggest they go somewhere else. He stated, "Your beds are over in the corner. They brought some clothes for you."

Dale stated, "Well, kids. I'll leave you to get settled in. Don't worry about Glen, he's gruff but has a good character. He's the one that found you."

All three of them started to thank him, but he held up his hand. He was about to say that he should have left them there, but a glance at the Sheriff he stopped himself. Instead, he said, "Don't ever mention it again."

The Sheriff slowly shook his head and opened the door. He stated, "I'll be seeing you tonight at the diner. My niece has arranged an account there for you to pay for your meals from donations. Now, I'll expect you kids to tell me how he's treating you. Okay?"

The trio all nodded, very nervous about being left with this strange man. With a quick glance in Glen's direction, Cliff answered, "I'm sure we'll be okay."

Glen walked over to his recliner and noticed the magazine on the floor next to it. He shoved it under the chair with his foot. The bottle of hand-lotion was still on the desk. That wasn't so telling of his normal nightly routine. He watched the Sheriff leave. He went over to where he had dropped his drill and went back to work.

The trio stood there in shock. They weren't use to being ignored so effectively. For several minutes they watched him drilling holes in the studs. Finally, Sandra went over to him and tapped him on the shoulder. He turned to look at her before asking, "What?"

"What are you doing?"

Glen looked at her for a moment and then answered, "I'm drilling holes in the studs."

"Why?"

He shook his head as though he had just bitten into something extremely sour. He replied, "I'm getting ready to run electricity through the house."

"Oh. Will you be done soon?"

"I plan to work for another couple of hours."

Sandra pouted and said, "We're really tired. Can you stop while we take a nap?"

Glen looked at the trio for a moment. "I guess I can stop drilling for a while. You have your choice. I can drill holes, I can use the power saw, or I can nail some electrical boxes onto the studs. Which would you prefer?"

Sandra frowned as she answered, "They are all noisy. Can't you do something quiet for a while?"

Wanda stated, "I need to go to the bathroom. Where is it?"

Glen stood there for a moment looking at the trio. "Building a house is a noisy activity. The bathroom is in the woods."

Wanda whined, "In the woods. I can't go to the bathroom in the woods. I'll get eaten by a bear."

Glen shrugged, "Well, you figure out where you want to go to the bathroom. This house doesn't have a bathroom right now and won't until after I get the walls wired, the sheet-rock put up, and the plumbing run. All of them are noisy activities."

Cliff listened to the discussion. After the ordeal, he was driven by his guilt over his failure to protect his sisters. He asked, "Can you let me borrow a gun so that I can stand guard over my sisters when they go to the bathroom?"

"Do you know how to use a gun?"

"They aren't that tough to figure out."

Glen looked at Cliff as if he was an idiot. He stated, "You'll shoot your foot off at best and kill someone at worst."

Cliff crossed his arms and glowered at the older man. Glen walked over to a stack of wood and picked out a four-foot length of two by four. He threw it over to Cliff. Cliff nearly tripped over himself catching it. Glen stated, "Use that. It's a low skill weapon."

Cliff hefted the board and realized that he could easily use that against anything except a gun. He answered, "You're probably right."

Glen walked over to the door and opened it. He turned to the other three with impatience. He stated, "Well, follow me if you want to find out where the outhouse is."

The three siblings looked at each other and then followed Glen as he strode off to the woods. They raced to catch up. As they approached the woods, Glen pointed to a white flag tied on a tree branch. He stated, "That flag shows where you enter the woods. It's easy to spot in the dark with a flashlight."

He entered the woods right under the flag. The trio looked at each other and whispered, "We are coming out here in the dark?"

Twenty steps into the woods, Glen stopped. The trio almost walked into him. He pointed to the seat mounted on the wood box. He stated, "There it is."

Wanda broke out crying while Sandra's lower lip quivered. Cliff stated, "There aren't any walls!"

"You have a roof and that will keep the rain off of you." Glen pointed to the sheet of plywood nailed to a couple of tree limbs. He added, "There's no one out here to see you except us. I sure as hell won't get sexually excited by the sight of you taking a shit."

Cliff reacted to the callous disregard for his sisters. The guy didn't have to be so disrespectful. He shouted, "Don't talk like that in front of my sisters!"

Glen ignored him and headed back to the house. It wasn't his idea to have these people stay with him. His living situation was the way it was and he was working to improve it. He didn't need anyone telling him that it wasn't good enough for them.

Cliff went to his sisters and tried to comfort them. He stated, "We won't be here for long. I know it's tough, but we can stick it out."

Wanda, covering her eyes with her hands, cried, "He's a horrible man. He hasn't said a nice thing to us once."

Sandra, trying hard to hold back her tears, added, "He's the rudest person I've ever met."

Cliff stated, "I'll talk to him and make him behave nicely with you."

Sobbing, Wanda said, "We should never have left home. First, we get attacked, robbed, and raped. Now this!"

Her words struck Cliff like arrows. He hugged her in an attempt to comfort her. He stated, "We had nothing at home. We had to move. I'm sorry everything has turned out this way."

Sandra put her arm around her sister. She said, "Cliff is right. We've got to make the best of this situation that we can."

Cliff added, "We're all tired. Let's go back and take a nap. We'll be better afterwards."

Wanda continued to weep. She sobbed, "He's going to make so much noise that we can't sleep."

Sandra stated, "I'll ask him not to do it. He hasn't been nice, but he hasn't acted as if he wants to hit us."

Cliff, deciding that they had been out here long enough, stated, "We had better get back to the house."

Wanda looked at the outhouse for a minute. With her voice trembling, she said, "I still have to go to the bathroom."

Cliff looked around at the surroundings. He stated, "I'll go out to the pasture. If you have a problem, yell and I'll come running."

Sandra, knowing that would only help calm her sister a little, added, "I'll stay here with you. Then I'll go."

The trio took turns using the outhouse. The experience was not as bad as they had expected. Of course, it was still the middle of the day. The thought of going out there in the dark scared all of them, even Cliff. They slowly returned to the house afraid of what they would find.

Glen was putting in the electrical boxes. He was actually making good progress in getting them all installed. He had just about caught up with where he planned to be for the day. He looked out the window and saw the trio returning to the cabin. He shook his head as he thought about how ill prepared they were for the rugged life living here would mean. Maybe they would settle into the rhythm of life here, but he doubted it.

The trio entered the cabin. Cliff looked at Glen in trepidation. The twins went over to the beds and started to make them. The twins worked together with practiced ease. Cliff went to Glen and stated, "Sir, we really need to get some rest. Can you find something quiet to do while we are taking a nap?"

Glen looked over at the twins, watching them make the bed. He grumbled, "I'll install this stuff until you get into bed. Then I'll do some wiring. That is relatively quiet."

Cliff smiled, "Thank you."

Glen went back to work on installing the outlet boxes. He had all but one of the outlet boxes installed by the time the girls had finished making the beds and separating the clothes. He glanced over at them and stated, "Last one. Then I'll start wiring."

Wanda and Sandra exchanged a look of surprise, incredulous that he was accommodating them at all. Sandra stated, "Thanks."

Glen installed the last box. He went over to the corner where his building supplies were stacked and picked up the box of wire. He carried it over to the electrical closet. He turned and looked at the trio. They were just standing there. He asked, "What's the matter now?"

Sandra stated, "We can't sleep in our clothes."

Glen exhaled loudly. He stated, "So get undressed and get into bed."

Wanda bit her lower lip and looked like she was going to cry again. Sandra's hands had gone to cover her eyes as her shoulders shook. Cliff looked at his sisters and then stated, "Glen, can I talk to you outside?"

Glen, realizing this was a ruse to give the women a chance to undress and get in bed, went outside with Cliff. Tersely, he asked, "What do you want?"

"Look, these are my sisters. They need some privacy."

Glen nodded, "I understand that. Privacy is in short supply here."

"You need to fix that problem."

Glen looked out over the front yard. In the spring, he would hire someone to plow it and level it. Then he'd plant grass so that it would be a nice lawn. For now, he'd live with the weeds. In the back yard, he was going to plant fruit trees. For now, it would have to remain empty. He stated, "Things have to be done in a specific order. When it is time to get more privacy, we'll get more privacy. Until then, we can only look in a different direction."

Cliff frowned as he thought about it. He could understand Glen's position. He replied, "Okay. The girls are probably in bed by now."

The men entered the cabin. The twins were in one of the queen- size beds with the sheet pulled up to their chins. Cliff asked, "Would you turn your heads so that I can get undressed?"

As one, the twins answered, "Okay."

They turned. Glen didn't bother to answer. He started running the wire through the holes had had just drilled. He worked quickly and confidently as he went through the process of running the wires. It wasn't going to take him too long to finish wiring the lower part of the cabin.

He finished working and turned to look at the trio as they slept in the bed. One of the twins had stolen the sheet from the other. He laughed as he looked at one twin wrapped up like a mummy and the other naked as the day she was born. He went over to the box of bedding and pulled out another sheet. He draped it over the one that was bare.

He looked around and realized there was nothing he could do while they were sleeping. He grabbed his fishing rod and headed out of the house. He would get in an hour or so of fishing. Maybe if he caught a fish he wouldn't need to go to town. Then he realized that he would have to catch four fish to feed everyone. He cast his line into the water and sat down by the stream. He slowly retrieved the lure.

After ten minutes, he had entered a mindless state where the motions were automatic. He took his time thinking about the trio that was in his cabin. He had no idea what he was going to do with them. For now, he was stuck with them despite his desire to be rid of them. He promised that he was going to get even with the Sheriff one of these days.

He was surprised to get a bite and reeled in a very nice looking Brook Trout. He removed the hook and returned it to the stream. It was a good-sized one, but not sufficient to feed four. Maybe it would grow up to be a monster fish that was smart and difficult to catch. That would not be a bad result of today's catch. Everyone needed to have that rascal giant fish that resisted all attempts to catch it. He laughed to himself as he set his pole down and leaned back against a tree. He took his time to watch the wildlife for a while. The time spent relaxed him significantly.

He stood and headed towards the cabin. It was time for the trio to wake or they would never sleep tonight. He noticed Cliff walking towards the outhouse. He wondered if the guy was going all that distance just to piss. He usually stepped out the back door and pissed on the first tree he came across. Thinking of that, he wondered what would be the reaction the first time he did it now. He shook his head as he debated the wisdom of doing that.

Entering the cabin, he noticed that the women were awake and dressed. He relaxed a little now that one more argument was avoided. As a result, he wasn't ready for the barrage that hit him on entry. Wanda started it by asking, "What's your last name?"

"Wiseman."

Sandra asked, "How old are you?"

"Ancient."

"Seriously, how old are you?" Wanda followed up her sister's question.

"Thirty-six."

Sandra continued by asking, "Why are you living out here like this? What do you do for fun? Are you happy like this? How come you're building your own house? Why aren't you at work?"

"None of your business," retorted Glen. He felt like he was a murder suspect getting grilled by the cops. He didn't like it at all and decided to turn it around, "How old are you?"

"I'm twenty. So's my sister, but she's ten minutes older than me. We're identical twins, but very different in terms of our personalities."

"She's the extrovert. I'm the shy one. Together we are one person."

Glen went to his wardrobe and pulled out two colored handkerchiefs. He threw the red one to one of the twins and the blue to the other. There was no way he was ever going to be able to tell them apart. He stated, "Wear these. From now on, you're red and you're blue."

The twins looked at each other and tied the handkerchiefs around their necks. While they were doing that, Glen moved the ladder into the center of one of the bedrooms. Once in place, Glen stated, "Red, hand me the drill. Blue, come here and hold the ladder while I drill some more holes."

Wanda moved over to the ladder. Sandra looked around for the drill. She asked, "What does it look like?"

"Women!" Glen snorted in disgust. He walked over to her and picked up the drill that was at her foot. He held it up and said, "This is a drill."

He went back to the ladder and climbed up. He had stopped drilling so that he could finish the lower half of the house while they were asleep. It took him just a few seconds to drill a hole. Wanda shouted, "You're getting sawdust all over me! Stop it!"

Glen snarled, "Blue, if you want privacy then you will hold the ladder. We won't have walls until I get the wiring run."

He leaned over and drilled another hole. He climbed down and moved the ladder. Climbing, he drilled two more holes. Those were enough for the bedroom. He went to the next room and repeated the process. Each room that was to have lights or fans installed was taken in turn. He continued to work, not realizing that Cliff, Wanda and Sandra were taking turns holding the ladder. He had installed the outlets when he had completed the rafters since they had been reinforced to support the weight of ceiling fans or major light fixtures. He then worked at running the wires from the switch boxes to the overhead outlets. By the time he was finished, he was hot, sweaty, and covered in sawdust.

He looked at his watch and turned to the trio. He stated, "It's getting late. Let's clean up and go into town to eat."

It was almost two hours later before they were able to leave the cabin. The twins had balked at taking a shower under the hose on the porch. Disgusted, he stripped in front of them, went outside, showered, dried himself, and then returned inside to dress. The twins were blushing furiously the entire time. He and Cliff had to wait out front while the twins took their showers. Glen knew they were going to do nothing for the whole drive to town except complain about the cold water. Not for the last time, he thought that he should have driven on past them that first day.



-------

Chapter 3


Glen finished sanding the walls. He wiped them down with a damp cloth to remove the dust. It was going to take a long time to get rid of all the dust. When he finished with that, the walls would be ready to be painted. He would have to wait for a day when the weather would be warm so that he could open the doors without freezing to death. Until then, he would start to work on installing the bathroom fixtures.

Cliff, on his knees, vacuumed the floor with the wet/dry vac. He worked slowly and methodically. He had discovered that he enjoyed this kind of repetitive work. It gave him a chance to escape into his own head. He had a lot to think about as he tried to come to grips with his rape. He also realized that he could earn a living doing this kind of work in a bigger town. He wouldn't become rich from it, but he could earn a descent living. That was getting tougher today for a person without an education to do.

The twins sat on the old used couch they had found on a curb one night when they had gone to the diner. They watched Glen work with mixed emotions. Most of the time he was not very nice. He growled at them, stomped around, and was just generally a bastard. He had actually yelled at them when he had found that all of the toilet paper was gone at the outhouse.

About the time they would decide that he hated them, they would catch him doing something nice for them. The other night Sandra had woken up screaming from a nightmare. He had held her, rocking gently and talking softly, until she returned to sleep. Wanda had been so groggy from a sleeping pill that she had been unable to help her sister. He denied that he had done that the next morning, but both of them remembered it.

Wanda broke the silence when she said, "I found a dirty magazine under the recliner this morning."

Sandra, sensing an opportunity to tease him, asked, "Grump, do you read that and masturbate?"

Glen snarled, "What I do is none of your business. What you do is none of mine. Let's keep it that way."

Wanda, feeling a little mean, stated, "It was open to a story about a threesome. Do you fantasize about that?"

Glen ignored the question and continued to work. Sandra took his silence as an admission of guilt. She answered, "I bet he does. I bet he sits over in that recliner at night rubbing his dick and thinking about two women just lusting after his body."

Wanda tittered and added, "Yeah, you have to wonder what women he thinks about. There are lots of pictures of nasty girls in that magazine. They pose with their legs spread open and tongue stretched out like they are trying to lick their own nipples. As if any woman would really sit there like that."

Glen hated it when they started speculating about what he liked and didn't like. Most of the time, they made him out to be some sort of monster. That was better than when they made him out to be a clown. He looked over his shoulder and growled, "Shut up, you two."

The discussion was interrupted by a knock on the door. His normal inclination would be to ignore it, but he took advantage of the distraction to change the subject of discussion. Glen answered the door to find the postman standing there with a box in his hands. He stated, "Glen, got you another box of books here."

"Thanks." Glen accepted the box from the postman. He set it on the floor by the door and then moved to close the door.

The postman looked at Glen for a moment and asked, "Every four months you get another box of books from the same publisher. I hope you don't mind, but Iím kind of curious why."

Glen didn't notice Sandra pick up the box and open it. She looked inside while he told the mailman, "I guess you'll just have to remain curious."

Wanda burst out laughing when she saw the contents of the box. In a delighted voice, she screamed, "Romance novels?"

Sandra, rummaging through the box, stated, "This is weird. The box is filled with the same novel. Must be twenty of them in here."

Glen spun around to face the twins. His face was red. He shouted, "Get out of that."

Sandra, reading the bill of lading included in the box, stated, "Hey, these are author copies."

The mailman looked at Glen in surprise and stated, "You write romance novels?"

Angrily, Glen stated, "Hey, it's a living. Okay? You have a problem with that?"

The mailman stepped back in surprise at Glen's anger. He replied, "Hell no. I've never met a real author before. Jeez, you must be pretty good to have gotten so many of them published."

Glen, embarrassed and angry, growled, "Don't tell anyone."

A light went off in the mailman's head as he added two and two together and got four. He stated, "You must be the person that's been sending books to the nursing home and the hospital."

Glen frowned as another of his secrets was about to be exposed. He stated, "It's not me."

The mailman nodded at the denial. He didn't believe a word of what Glen was saying. He stated, "No problem."

The twins were reading passages out of the book aloud and laughing. Wanda, giggling happily, asked, "What does a heaving bosom look like?"

Sandra laughed. She said, "I don't know. Sounds like something a sailor would say. Heave to with the bosom sail!"

They giggled together as each tried to do an impersonation of what a heaving bosom would look like. Glen looked over at them and stated, "Shut up or I won't install the toilet until after you two are gone."

Glen shut the door and picked up the box of books. He angrily set box on the desk. He pulled out books and formed three stacks. He went over to the twins and pulled the books from their hands. He added one to a stack and put one on the shelf next to the other books already there. He turned to the girls and stated, "Not one word out of you about this."

Glen stomped out of the house to take a walk in the woods. He realized he had been doing that a lot lately. He would get mad and then stomp out of his own house. The twins were driving him crazy. Every time he turned around, they were asking him personal questions. If they weren't asking personal questions, they were telling personal details about their life. He knew they were trying to get him to like them. Well, he had news for them, it wasn't going to work. He pictured himself as Ironman Glen, so tough that nobody could get close to him.

Inside, Cliff came out of the bedroom and sat down next to the twins. He looked from one to the other with a sad expression. He felt uncomfortable with what he was about to say. He stated, "I think you guys hurt his feelings."

Wanda frowned and asked, "Why?"

Cliff replied, "He's a big manly guy. He doesn't want people to know that he writes romance books. Still, he must take a certain amount of pride in his work. Then you laugh at the material he did write."

Wanda nodded in agreement, but argued, "He doesn't care about what we think."

Cliff laughed at that statement. He asked, "You know, he does care. He just won't show it. He's trying to act all tough and everything. Yet anytime something is really bothering you, he fixes it."

Wanda, unwilling to accept what Cliff was saying, stated, "He's a horrible man."

Cliff shook his head in contradiction. He had been watching Glen's actions more than what Glen said. He had realized that despite originally disliking the man, he had come to respect and even like him. He stated, "Right. We've all had nightmares since we were kidnapped. Who is it that comes to us and holds us until we have control of ourselves?"

Sandra countered, "He doesn't even know our names. You're kid, I'm red, and Wanda is blue."

"Right. And he's grump," replied Cliff making the point that they were just as bad at denying his existence. He was quiet for a moment and then asked, "Sandra, how would you feel if he asked you about your masturbation habits?"

"I'd tear his fucking head off." Sandra retorted with more anger than she could have explained.

"But it's okay for you to do it to him?" The silence that his question brought over the room was deafening.

Wanda shrugged to deny wrong doing. Glen didn't deserve to be treated nicely. She answered for her sister. "He's just so mean."

Cliff added, "And you just want to piss him off."

The twins were quiet for a minute at the truth of the statement. Wanda finally said, "I don't care. He hates us."

At that moment, Glen returned from his walk interrupting their discussion. He had calmed down significantly. He saw the three of them sitting together looking rather guilty. He asked, "What did you break?"

Cliff answered, "We didn't break anything."

Glen frowned and nodded his head. He glanced around the room as he tried to decide what to say next. He was curious why they looked upset at seeing him, but decided not to pursue it. He replied, "Okay."

Wanda took his moment of hesitation as a sign he didn't believe Cliff. She charged, "You don't believe us."

"Blue, I didn't say that!"

She countered, "You frowned like you didn't believe him!"

"Blue, believe what you want. I don't care"

Sandra stated, "You hate us."

"Never said that."

Wanda asked, "So you don't hate us?"

"I never said that either."

The twins looked in confusion at each other. Finally, Cliff asked, "So what do you think of us?"

Glen sighed. In a very tired voice, he answered, "I try not to think of you."

Sandra muttered, "That's ridiculous."

Wanda was curious how a person could answer like that. How could anyone try not to think of someone that lived with them? She asked, "Why?

"Because if I think about you in any way, then I'll have to care about you." The bitterness in Glen's voice was unmistakable. He turned and left the room. He had dropped a bombshell and then walked off. All three of them were dumbstruck. Wanda and Sandra stared at each other as they tried to figure out what he had meant. They were more confused than ever.

Glen went into the bathroom to figure out the next steps in getting it operational. He wanted to paint it before installing the floor tile and fixtures, but knew that he could install the floor tile first. He decided he would install the floor tile tomorrow unless the weather was nice, in which case he would paint. Today, he would install the bathtub.

He went to work wrestling the tub into place. It took him a lot longer than he thought it would take. The damn thing was very heavy. Once it was in place, he connected the plumbing. It always looked easier when a professional did it. He took his time and did the job correctly. Stepping back, he looked at his work with pride.

He returned to the living room and consulted his how-to book on installing a new bathroom. His next step was to install the backer board that would be used in tiling above the tub. He stacked it in the bathroom and then retrieved the tools necessary for installing it. He spent the next two hours installing the backer board. He took his time, following the golden rule of construction, "Measure twice and cut once."

When he had finished that chore, he went to check on his guests. They were taking a nap. They seemed to sleep fourteen hours a day. He decided the healing process made them sleep so much. Their extended sleeping hours made it tough for him to work, though. At least he had gotten the walls up. He was no longer exposed to the sight of the twins moving around naked. That had nearly driven him to distraction. They still left their doors open.

Sandra had taken all of the covers again, leaving a nude Wanda sleeping exposed. He looked at her body for a moment. He realized that all of the bruising had disappeared and her cuts had healed. He went in and put another sheet on her. He wondered if she ever thought about how they ended up with extra sheets on the bed almost every time they slept. Sandra shifted in her sleep as he left the room.

He went in the second bedroom where Cliff was asleep. He was tossing and turning, trapped in a nightmare. Glen watched for a moment, but left when Cliff settled down again. Of the three, the one that seemed to be in the worst shape was Cliff. Glen couldn't even imagine what he had gone through.

He went into the kitchen and opened the refrigerator. He pulled out some lunch meat and made himself a sandwich. He noticed that the trio had already eaten. Sitting at his desk he ate his sandwich and sipped on a coke. One of the twins passed behind him and went outside. He didn't even bother to look. She came back in after a few minutes. She stopped behind him. "What are you doing?"

"Eating my lunch."

"It is almost three."

"I was busy," he replied. He looked over his shoulder at her. She was standing there naked. He quickly looked back at his sandwich. His cock reacted to her presence and was causing him significant pain. It was trapped in a down position, when it clearly wanted to be in an up position. He didn't want to give her the satisfaction of adjusting himself, so he just endured it.

"That's nice what you've been doing for my sister."

Glen grunted, "I haven't been doing anything."

Sandra laughed, "Right. You come in and put a sheet on her after I take all of the covers. The last one who used to do that for her was our mother."

Glen shrugged it off. He replied, "She'll get sick. Don't want to have someone sick here."

Sandra laughed and returned to the bedroom. She had caught him being nice and he denied it. She wondered how many other little things he was doing that they had not noticed. She had reached the bedroom when she thought about the chamber pot he had set up on the porch so they wouldn't have to walk into the woods so often. He had even put it inside the cardboard box the refrigerator came in so they would have some privacy.

Glen finished his sandwich. He took one last drink of his coke. For a moment, he just sat there thinking about Sandra. He mentally chastised himself, thinking that he should be calling her red and not Sandra. If he thought about her as Sandra, he would start to care for her. Then a horrible thought came to him; he could tell the twins apart.

He was getting exceptionally horny, not having had a chance to jack-off since they had arrived. This morning he had woken with an erection that could have driven nails. Just the little glimpse of Sandra a minute ago had given him another erection which he now adjusted in his pants. He didn't want to get involved with them.

He had to work to get his mind off them. He returned to the bathroom and started drawing the layout for the tiles on the backer board. Once he had a layout, he then double checked it. The last thing that he wanted to do was to get the tiles crooked. He was about to start on the job of setting the tiles, but realized that the tile saw would wake up the trio. He swore as he realized that he would have to wait until tomorrow morning.

He returned to his desk and planned the tasks involved in finishing the bathroom. He tried to identify the ones that were noisy and those that could be performed quietly. It was going to take two extra days to complete, but he could do it without interfering with the trio's afternoon naps. He could hear rustles coming from the bedrooms and knew that meant they were waking. He searched through the papers on his desk and found the materials list. Tonight he would drop it off at the hardware store and have them deliver the materials tomorrow.

It was close to time for them to go to town. He wanted to stop by the grocery store and the hardware store before dinner. Stores closed early in the small town. He waited impatiently by the door while the twins finished getting ready to go. He looked at Cliff and shook his head. Cliff stated, "They're women. They take a lot of time to get ready."

Glen just grunted and then asked, "Who are they getting ready for?"

Cliff laughed and answered, "Mr. Right."

"Never met him," replied Glen. He turned towards the bedroom and shouted, "Hey, let's get a move on!"

Cliff shook his head and sat down to wait for the twins. He knew it would be ten minutes before they would be ready. Sandra came out of the bedroom in her underwear and stated, "Calm down, we have plenty of time."

Glen was about to answer and then saw her standing there. He turned away and stated, "Places close early around here. We've got a lot to do before they close."

Sandra adjusted her bra as she stated, "We're going to have to get some money. The bras that the store donated to us are a little small. Maybe I should go without. What do you think?"

Rather than answer, Glen opened the door and stepped out of the cabin. He got in the truck and waited for them to come out. He hoped that his erection would go down by then. It was close, but he had subsided by the time that the trio exited the cabin. He waited as the twins got into the cab and Cliff got into the back of the truck. He thought that if it got any colder, the kid was going to be very uncomfortable back there. Unfortunately, the cab of the truck could only hold three adults. He guessed he was going to have to do something about that.

Once everyone was settled, he took off. His first stop was the hardware store. It closed at five and he needed to get his order in before they closed. He checked his watch and realized that he would just make it. He grumbled, "If we're late, I'm going to be a very angry man."

Sandra asked, "Could you lend us twenty dollars?"

Glen frowned. He stated, "You have food, clothes, and shelter. What the hell else do you need?"

Wanda answered, "Tampons."

Glen's face wrinkled and he held up a hand in protest. He moaned, "Don't tell me about that? I don't want to know."

Sandra grinned, "It's just biology. You don't mean you're squeamish about women getting their period."

Glen frowned and made a pushing gesture with his right hand as though he could push the words away. "Stop it. You got the twenty bucks. Now shut up!"

He concentrated on the road and didn't look at the twins for the rest of the drive. They reached the hardware store in record time. He jumped out of the truck and walked rapidly to the store. The trio followed behind him at a much slower pace. He walked up to the sales clerk with whom he normally dealt and handed him the list without saying a word. The man glanced down at the list and nodded his head. He knew that trying to engage Glen in a conversation was hopeless. Glen followed the man around the store as he pulled the order.

Wanda walked over to the manager and started talking to him. She followed him into his office. Cliff and Sandra walked around the store checking out the different items for the house. They found several items that they thought would be great in the house and others that were totally ridiculous. They laughed as they discussed the use of the Disney wall paper in Glen's living room.

Glen had finished with filling the order. It would be delivered the next day, since his truck was too small to carry all of the purchases. He operated on a pay on delivery basis and would give them a check for the material when they delivered it. He went to the front of the store and was ready to leave when he realized that the trio was nowhere to be seen. He waited for five minutes and nobody showed up.

Tired of waiting, he went over to the cashier. He asked, "Could you page red, blue, and the kid?"

The cashier looked at him like he was crazy, but Glen just stared back. Finally, she picked up the handset and stated, "Would red, blue, and the kid come to the front of the store?"

Sandra and Cliff came running up to the front of the store. Since Glen had turned to study the ladders along the wall, Cliff shouted to get his attention. "Here we are!"

The cashier looked at the two and shook her head amazed that the page had brought anybody. Glen frowned, "Where's blue?"

Sandra answered, "Oh, she's around."

Glen frowned, "I'm ready to go."

Sandra stated, "She's not."

Glen turned to the cashier and asked, "Could you page blue again?"

The cashier looked at him and asked, "Is this a joke?"

Glen shook his head in the negative. He stated, "No, page blue again."

The cashier picked up the handset and announced, "Could blue come to the front?"

The intercom buzzed and the cashier picked it up. There was a hushed discussion and then she hung it up again. She turned to Glen and said, "That was the manager. He said that blue would meet you at the diner."

Glen shrugged and turned away. Sandra and Cliff looked around for a moment and then followed him out. They walked next door to the grocery store. Glen got a cart and proceeded to do his shopping. He loaded up on basic quick breakfast and lunch foods that didn't require cooking. He remembered to get tampons. There were so many varieties that he didn't know what to get. He got a selection of them since Sandra wasn't around to pick out the right kind. It only took him about ten minutes to get everything that he needed.

He went to the checkout line and waited his turn. He had a longer wait than it had taken him to select his groceries. The woman in front of him kept trying to engage him in conversation, but he did his best to ignore her. He ended up reading one of the tabloids and had to laugh at the story about the alien Romeo that had been going around seducing unsuspecting earth women.

The checkout girl went through his groceries with typical efficiency. She looked up in dismay at the large selection of feminine napkins. She asked, "Are you running a boarding school for girls?"

"Didn't know what kind to get."

The checkout girl shook her head and removed all of the boxes except for one. She stated, "That's all you need."

Glen blushed and then said, "There are two women."

The checkout girl shook her head and replied, "There are enough there for two women."

Glen blushed even redder. He was very uncomfortable with the topic of this conversation and wondered why he had even bothered. He replied, "Okay. Thanks."

He paid the cashier and carried the groceries out to the truck. He loaded them in the back and got in the truck. He realized that he had left Sandra and Cliff in the store. He went back in. The cashier looked at him funny. He walked over to her. Pausing, he asked, "Could you page red and the kid?"

"Red and the kid?"

"Yeah, I lost them in the store somewhere."

The cashier raised her eyebrows and picked up the handset. She announced, "Would Red and the Kid come to the front?"

Glen waited and they never came. The cashier turned to him and said, "I guess they aren't here."

Glen frowned, irritated at the trio. He wondered what in the hell they were doing. Disgusted, he left the store and headed to the diner. If they were hungry, then they would show up there. If not, the Sheriff would stop by and he could put out an APB for them.

He drove over to the diner and parked in his regular space. He sat there for a moment wondering if the trio was alright, but no one had remarked on anything unusual in his presence. Entering, he walked over to his regular table. The Sheriff was already there with his normal cup of coffee. Glen sat down opposite the Sheriff. Dale asked, "Where are they?"

"Don't know."

Dale looked worried and asked, "What do you mean, you don't know?"

"I lost them."

Dale sat there for a moment considering what might have happened to them. The maniac that had hurt them was still on the loose. Finally, he asked, "Where did you lose them?"

"I lost blue at the hardware store. I lost the kid and red at the grocery store."

Dale couldn't believe that Glen was this unconcerned. He asked, "Aren't you worried?"

"Blue was probably with the manager of the grocery, anyway that's what the cashier said. I have no clue about red and the kid, maybe they went back to check on blue."

Dale frowned and looked at Glen in disgust. After more than two weeks and he still didn't admit to knowing their names. He asked, "Are you still calling them red and blue?"

"Yes. I'm not going to call them by name."

"That's right. If you learn their names you'll have to treat them like people. Fuck you, Glen." The Sheriff got up and headed out of the diner to look for the lost kids. When he reached for the door, it opened. Sandra and Cliff strolled in with smiles on their faces. Wanda came in right behind them with an equally large smile on her face. The relief on the Sheriff's face was quite evident.

Glen stood up and shouted, "Where in the hell were you guys?"

Everyone was surprised by the worry in Glen's voice. Even the waitress looked at him in shock. The Sheriff even raised an eyebrow as he turned to examine Glen. All of those who knew about his relationship with the trio, would have bet money that his reaction would have been little more than a grunt. No one was more surprised than Glen. Sandra was the first to recover. She answered, "We got jobs. Wanda works at the hardware store. I work at the grocery store as a checker. Cliff is now the stock boy at the grocery store."

Glen sat down and tried to return to his normal indifferent self. He knew that he was lying to himself. He had stopped being indifferent. Despite the fact that he was pleased that they were getting better, he muttered, "Now I'll charge them rent."

The trio came over to the booth and sat down. The Sheriff pulled up a chair. It was time for his evening update on how Glen was treating the trio. Sandra stated, "You won't believe what happened today, Sheriff."

Dale asked, "What?"

Sandra shot an amused look at Glen and then giggled. "When I was getting some feminine products, the checkout girl asked if I was with a rather rude man. When I told her I was, she told me not to worry about getting the tampons. He had come over with about twelve boxes of tampons. She pointed to a whole stack of them behind her and told me that she had talked him into buying only one box. She said that he blushed the whole time. Isn't that sweet?"

Glen, embarrassed by being the subject of discussion, growled, "Not sweet."

Wanda, seated next to him, grabbed an arm and cooed, "I think it's sweet."

Glen, with a forced smile on his face, asked, "Could you get up a moment?"

Wanda got out of the booth wondering what was going on. Glen followed her out and then moved to a different booth. He signaled the waitress. She called to him, "The usual?"

He nodded and stared out the window. He tried to figure out how his life had gotten so complicated. One day he is happily driving to get something to eat and just a few weeks later his life is torn apart. He wondered how long it would take him to get his life back. He wondered when he started caring about the trio.

At the other table, the twins were laughing. Cliff was embarrassed by their behavior towards Glen, realizing that he had tried to do something nice. The Sheriff got up and walked over to Glen's table. He sat down and stated, "I promised you it would be rough. You should have talked to me that night."

Glen glared at the Dale. He spat out, "Screw you."

Dale laughed and replied, "No, you're screwed."

The waitress came over with the daily special. Glen took a sip of the milk and started to eat. He very quickly consumed the meal, ignoring the Sheriff the whole time he ate. He finished eating before the other table had ordered. He looked around and pulled out a ten dollar bill. He set it on the table and walked out of the restaurant ignoring everyone else. The Sheriff watched him with amusement expecting him to sit in his truck and wait for them there. He usually did that when the recital of the days events took place.

Twenty minutes later, Glen returned to the restaurant with a particularly sour expression on his face. The trio was still eating while the Sheriff talked to them. Glen walked up to the table and threw some car keys at Cliff. He stated, "Drive yourself home."

Cliff looked at the keys in surprise and didn't know whether to thank Glen or explain that he didn't have his replacement drivers license yet. Glen didn't wait for him to make up his mind. He turned around and walked out of the restaurant. He got into his new pickup truck and drove home. For the first time in several days, he was alone.



-------

Chapter 4


The cold winter weather of December had settled full force over the night. Four inches of snow covered the ground. Glen woke up feeling great. He slipped his jeans on, not bothering to put on underwear. He stepped out onto the patio. He took a moment to appreciate the view from there. It was outstanding and if it hadn't been so cold, he would have stayed out there longer. He picked up an armload of firewood and went back into the house kicking the door shut with one foot. He dropped the wood on the fireplace and restarted the fire. The house was warm, but the fire gave it a nice atmosphere.

He squatted in front of the fireplace for a few minutes warming himself as the fire slowly grew. He went into his new kitchen and set the table for a bowl of cereal. He returned to open the refrigerator and take out a carton of milk. He carried it to the table. He went to the pantry and looked at all the different kinds of cereal in there. Four people and not two of them liked the same kind of cereal. He pulled out the box of Cornflakes and carried it to the table. He looked for the banana he had bought for his breakfast, but somebody already ate it. He really preferred his Cornflakes with a banana sliced in it. After fixing his bowl of cereal, he ate it while reading the back of the box.

He was half finished with his cereal when he heard the noises coming from the twin's bedroom. He dropped the spoon and put his head in his hands. A groan escaped from him. He didn't know if the twins were having sex with each other or were masturbating individually, but the noise was about to drive him crazy. He wondered if it was intentional. They had started doing that about a week ago.

He got up and went outside to cool off. When he couldn't take the cold anymore, he returned to the house. He breathed a sigh of relief when he found that the sounds had stopped. He sat down at the table to finish his soggy Cornflakes. He hated soggy Cornflakes. He really hated soggy Cornflakes without a sliced banana in them. He finished the bowl anyway.

Glen nearly choked on the last spoonful of cereal when Sandra walked into the kitchen naked. She got her cereal and a bowl and sat down across from Glen. She looked very alert and happy this morning. She smiled at Glen and said, "It's really pretty outside. I like the snow."

Glen stared at the back of the cereal box to avoid looking at Sandra. After a few minutes of that, he turned around and moved to the desk. At least there, he wasn't facing her directly. His cock was hard as iron and it pained him as it pressed against his tight jeans. He was going to have to take a shower this morning and jack-off in there. He had done that ever since the sex sounds had started originating from the bedroom.

He sat there wondering how come he was the only one without a bedroom. Somehow, it had worked out that the twins shared a bedroom and Cliff had the other. He was left sleeping in the living room of his own house. The only place that he had any privacy was the bathroom.

He heard footsteps behind him, recognizing them as Wanda's. He turned to ask her to tell her sister to put on some clothes, but froze when he saw that she was naked also. She broke the silence by saying, "Beautiful morning out there."

Glen turned back to face his desk. Resting his elbows on the desk he held his head in his hands. This day was not starting well. He stared at the row of romance novels on his book shelf. There were thirteen books in a row, all of them written by Dora Witaker. He had just sent in his latest manuscript and there would soon be a fourteenth book. None of his books had anything like this situation in them. His readers wouldn't believe it anyway.

He said, "I'm going to take a shower. Better use the bathroom now."

The twins answered in unison, "That's okay. Go ahead."

He stood up and went to his wardrobe and removed a change of clothes. He headed to the bathroom. As he reached it, he heard one of the twins say, "Poor man. He has to relieve some pressure. I wonder what he'll be thinking about."

Both women giggled as he closed the door behind him a little harder than he had intended. He took his time in the bathroom. He missed his evenings alone when he could masturbate in peace. Even with them working, he never knew when they would surprise him by arriving early. He had almost been caught the one time he had chanced it.

In the living room, the twins returned to their self-appointed mission of finding out all they could about their host. They went straight to his desk. They opened the bottom drawer and looked through the material in it. The past few days had been spent going through all of the other drawers. At the bottom of the drawer they came across a manila folder. Wanda pulled it out and opened it. Her mouth dropped open as she examined the contents. It was a series of newspaper articles and obituaries. She whispered to Sandra, "Listen to this. His father died of Lung cancer three years ago. His mother died three months later of a heart attack. Four months after that his wife died of breast cancer. They had a son. The son was killed three months after that. According to this article, his son was hit in the head with a baseball bat by another boy."

Sandra's eyes grew wide as she considered what her sister said. She asked, "What?"

"He lost his entire family in less than a year." Wanda looked at the last article. She put a hand over her mouth. She added, "This last article is about his sister. She and her whole family was killed by a drunk driver when they were returning from the funeral for his son."

"Christ. No wonder he's the way he is." Sandra looked in the direction of the bathroom and shook her head in dismay. She stated, "My God, we've been really nasty to him."

Wanda closed the manila folder and put it back in the bottom of the drawer. She closed the drawer. She stood up and went into the bedroom to get dressed. Teasing him had just lost its attraction. Sandra followed her into the room. She closed the door so that she could talk to her sister without being overheard. They talked for a long time.

Glen finished his shower and dressed. He returned to the living room relieved to find himself alone. Cliff came out and joined him ten minutes later. Cliff looked out the window for a minute and then turned to Glen. He said, "I can understand why you want to live out here. This is beautiful."

Glen nodded and continued to look through the remaining building supplies. He was looking for the tackless strips for laying the carpeting. He swore as he checked his materials list and realized that he had left them off. He was going to have to go to the hardware store. He put on his boots and coat. He told Cliff, "I've got to go into town. I'll be back in two hours."

He left before Cliff even had a chance to respond. He headed towards town in a leisurely fashion. He stopped occasionally to examine the tracks in the snow that happened to cross the road. Deer, raccoons, and even a fox had crossed the road since the snow had fallen.

Glen was exiting the hardware store when the Sheriff drove up. Getting out of his car, Dale called out, "Hey, Glen. I need to talk to you."

Glen turned and glared at the Sheriff. Ever since the Sheriff had taken an interest in his life, things had gone from bad to worse. He asked, "What?"

Dale walked up with a very serious look on his face. In a somber tone, he said, "Glen, this is serious. A man at the gas station reported that he had seen someone that matched the description of the guy that took the Metchettes. I want you to be careful. In fact, you might want to load that gun you carry in your truck."

Glen pushed the cart to his truck and unloaded his purchases. The Sheriff walked with him. Glen asked, "Just how dangerous is this guy?"

The Sheriff shrugged his shoulders. He answered, "Honestly, I don't know. He was pretty brutal to those kids."

Glen nodded and stated, "I'll take care of the Metchettes."

"I know you will. You really surprised me when you gave them your old truck."

Glen just grunted. He said, "Couldn't drive three hours back and forth every day taking them to work."

Laughing Dale retorted, "Yeah, right. Why are they still living with you?"

Glen shrugged his shoulders as he wondered that himself. Why hadn't he chased them out of his cabin already? He couldn't answer that question without admitting that he had begun to care for them. He snarled, "Too lazy to throw them out."

The older man just looked at Glen and shook his head. He was amazed at how energetically this guy resisted admitting that he had done anything nice. He just stated, "Well, keep an eye out for anything strange."

Glen's trip into town took almost two hours. Returning from the hardware store, Glen noticed something odd. There was an extra set of tire tracks headed towards his place. The words of the Sheriff rang in his ears. As he approached his drive, he slowed down and stopped. He got out and looked towards the house. There was a car parked there that he didn't recognize. He swore as he stood there considering what to do.

He walked towards the house along the wood line. He kept within the trees so that he wouldn't be spotted. As he approached the point where the woods were nearest to the house, he stopped and considered his approach. Not having any better idea, he marched directly towards the house. His path took him close to the scrap pile where he had thrown scrap lumber. He stopped to pick up a two by four that had split down the center. He pulled the two halves apart so that he was left with a piece about the size of a baseball bat. He swung it, glad that he was wearing leather gloves to protect his hands from splinters.

He strode up to the door and threw it open with a resounding crash. It swung open with sufficient strength for the door knob to make a hole in the wall. He spotted the trio tied up on the couch. They looked terrified at the man standing in front of them. The guy, about 5'8" tall, stood looking at Glen with a surprised look on his face. Glen didn't even pause. He swung his weapon and hit the guy in the side as hard as he could. The man collapsed with a shocked look on his face. Glen took a step forward and kicked him in the face. There was a loud crunch as the nose broke and blood rushed out in a gush. The man didn't move after that.

Glen looked around for something to use for tying the man up. He spotted some wire and grabbed it. It took Glen half a minute to tie the man. He bound him wrists to ankles. He stepped back to admire his work. The man wasn't going to go anywhere tied like that.

Glen stepped over to the Metchettes and untied them. Cliff stood up shakily and kicked the guy in the side. Glen stepped back and let him vent his frustration for a minute. He then moved forward and grabbed the kid. Cliff, with tears running down his face, held Glen in a hug as his entire body shook from the emotions he was undergoing.

Glen looked over at the twins. They were still sitting there staring at the man tied at their feet. It was as though they couldn't believe that he wasn't going to get up and hurt them some more. He stated, "Girls, listen to me."

Their eyes slowly turned in his direction. He watched as the nightmare of a moment ago began to get replaced by the awareness of the reality now. When he was sure they were paying attention, he stated, "You've got a minute to get your revenge. Kick away."

The pair rose and tentatively kicked the man's legs. After the first few kicks, their anger was finally unleashed and the kicks became harder. None of the kicks were hard enough to do any damage. Glen watched them vent their rage for a full minute and then finally shouted, "Okay, that's enough. Now get your coats. We're taking this scum into town."

Cliff finally released Glen and looked down at the man that had haunted his nights. He smiled at the sight of him laying there helpless at his feet and released one more kick. Satisfied, he went to the coat rack and joined the twins in putting on his coat.

Once they were all ready, Glen picked up the bloody man from the floor and threw him over his shoulder. He didn't bother to put a coat on the man. There was nothing gentle in his treatment of the man. He told the trio, "Get in your truck. I'll carry this one to my truck."

Glen walked resolutely to where he had left his truck. It was much further than he had remembered and carrying the man was more of a strain than he had thought it would be. He estimated the guy weighed 165 pounds. By the time he reached the truck, he was so tired that all he could do was dump the man in the back of the truck. He was not gentle in handling the man. In addition, the back of the truck was full of the tackless strips. The curved nails dug into the back of the attacker and turned his shirt from plain white to red spotted.

The trio pulled up in the other truck and Glen waved it down. He walked over to the truck and stated, "One of the twins will need to ride with me to watch him. Cliff, I want you to follow behind me. If he jumps out, run over him. If he stands up after that, back up and run over him again."

Cliff swallowed heavily and nodded his agreement. Sandra climbed out of the truck and got into Glen's truck. She sat there staring at the man in the truck bed. There was no pity for the broken man in her stare. Glen got in and started the truck. He turned it around and headed into town. He was followed by Cliff.

Once they were moving, with a shaky voice Sandra stated, "I've hated him ever since the first time he took us. I've had nightmares about him."

Glen assured her that it was normal. "I understand. He's a monster and hurt all of you very much."

Sandra continued, "He used a stun gun on us. That's how he got us the first time. This time, I didn't even know he was there until I woke up tied to the chair."

Glen just stated, "Go on."

"Cliff said that he knocked on the door. When Cliff answered, he was stunned almost as soon as he opened the door. We were in the bedroom and didn't even know anything had happened. He took me first and then Wanda. She was so scared she couldn't even scream."

Glen nodded and said, "I know the feeling."

Sandra was quiet and looked in the back of the truck. For the first time since she had entered the truck, she was calm and smiled. She said, "I couldn't believe how you burst into the house and took him out like that. He didn't stand a chance."

Glen shrugged as he replied, "I had the element of surprise."

Sandra shivered as though cold. She said, "Thank you for letting us hit him. I think that he has became much less threatening to us."

Glen looked over at her for a moment. He corrected her by saying, "Let's just say that he ran into your foot several times while struggling to get away."

Sandra laughed as she replied, "Okay, I'll tell the others that too."

He pulled up in front of the Sheriff's office and got out of the truck. He sent Sandra over to the other truck to tell them to go in there after he had been inside for ten minutes. He picked up the man out of the back of the truck and carried him into the Sheriff's office. One of the tackless strips was stuck to the man's back.

The deputy on duty stood up with a look of shock at the sight of the bloody mess Glen had carried. Glen dumped the man on the ground and stated, "This is the maniac that attempted to kill the Metchettes. Caught him in my house attempting to torture them again."

The deputy looked at the man and stated, "My God. We need to get him to the hospital. He's bleeding all over the place and shivering. What did you do?"

"After I subdued him, I threw him in the back of the truck and brought him here." Glen looked the deputy in the eye as though challenging him to call him a liar.

The deputy shook his head as he said, "You can't treat a prisoner that way."

"He's not a prisoner until you arrest him. I just transported him here for you to do your job."

The deputy looked confused for a minute as he tried to figure out what to do. He went to the radio and called the Sheriff. It was a few minutes before the Sheriff pulled up to the office in his car. He raced into his office and took one look at the prisoner. He said, "Deputy, take him over to the hospital and get him checked into the secure ward."

Dale turned to Glen and asked, "So what happened?"

"I got home and he was in the house. He had the Metchettes tied up. I hit him with a board and then kicked him to keep him from getting up again. Threw him in the back of the truck and came here."

Dale asked, "This is an important question. Did you do a citizens arrest?"

Glen thought for a moment before answering. He asked, "What if I had?"

Dale answered, "You would have violated his rights as a prisoner."

Glen answered, "Well, he's been unconscious since I subdued him. It was in his best interests to get him here as quick as possible."

Dale shook his head. He stated, "Well, I guess when he wakes we'll read him his rights as long as someone is willing to sign a complaint."

The Metchettes came into the office at that time. Glen stated, "They will sign a complaint. They were tied up the whole time that I subdued the creep. They didn't have a chance to touch him."

The Sheriff took the Metchettes into his office. Glen sat on one of the benches. He wondered if he had done the right thing by letting them vent some of the anger on the creep. He didn't care about the creep, but if they admitted to hitting him after he was tied up then they could perhaps be charged with a crime.

Wanda and Sandra came out of the office and joined him on the bench while the Sheriff questioned Cliff. Cliff was in there for almost an hour. During that hour, the twins talked animatedly about the first time they had been held by the man. It seemed that the events of this morning had released a floodgate of memories. Glen was surprised by some of the details they stated. Both girls had been raped repeatedly. He seemed to have taken a lot of pleasure in hitting them. Their ordeal had lasted for three days.

When Cliff came out of the Sheriff's office, Sandra went in to be interviewed. Cliff approached Glen with a certain amount of hesitation. Glen asked, "How are you feeling?"

Cliff answered, "Kind of embarrassed."

"What for?"

"Well, I'm afraid I wasn't veryÖ" Cliff stopped talking as he searched for the appropriate word to use.

Glen thought about what he was meaning to say. He stated, "What you did was perfectly normal. I've known men that have shit themselves when faced with certain death. To be faced with death by torture, well, not many people can come through that in as good a shape as you three."

Cliff sat up a little straighter. Wanda looked at Glen with a rather strange expression on her face. She asked, "Do you really mean that?"

"Sure, none of you need to worry about how you did in dealing with that creep. You did better than most people. You're still alive and still able to function. Don't let anyone tell you any different."

They all sat there for a while saying nothing. The time passed slowly while they waited for Sandra to finish. She finally came out and Wanda went in to give her statement. Glen looked at the two people sitting next to him. He wondered what they were thinking about. Then he suddenly realized that he was worried about them. He swore to himself as he realized that he had come to care about these kids.

Wanda broke the silence by stating, "Do you want to know what I've been thinking ever since you came in the house?"

Glen looked at her and gently answered, "Sure. Tell me."

"You haven't even painted the walls and you've already put a hole in the wall." She started laughing hysterically. Cliff joined in and quickly lost control. Glen didn't know what to make of their laughter.

It took some time, but they finally calmed down. Glen just stated, "Minor design flaw."

His statement just set them off again. He didn't know what to make of it. Finally, Wanda explained, "We've been so worried about breaking something in that cabin, we couldn't even relax. At least we can point to the hole in the wall."

Glen stated, "Now is the right time to break stuff. It's not hard to fix problems now."

"Yeah, but you broke the cabin first. Now we can relax." Wanda looked at Cliff and winked at him. She smiled with a great big grin. She said, "I feel great for the first time in a long time."

Sandra came out of the Sheriff's office and went to the three on the bench. She stated, "Your turn, Glen."

"Thanks, Sandra." Glen stood up and went in the Sheriff's office. Dale was seated behind his desk with two glasses on the table. He poured a little whiskey in each glass. He handed one to Glen and stated, "This will calm your nerves a bit."

Glen looked at it and replied, "I'm calm."

"Drink it anyway."

Glen picked up the glass and took a little sip. He asked, "So what do you want to know?"

Dale smiled, "Congratulations. You caught yourself a real bad bastard. The guy's name is Amos Orvin and he's a real nasty piece of work."

Glen shrugged as he replied, "I just did what had to be done. Any word about what happened to the Metchette's stuff?"

"Yeah. He burned the truck with everything in it. Fortunately, they had a certified check and will be able to get some of their money back. It will take some time."

Glen nodded. That was good. They would be able to get out on their own after they got the money. He was going to miss them. Even as he had that thought, he wanted to kick himself for caring. He stated, "I guess that means they'll be moving on again."

The Sheriff looked at Glen with a twinkle in his eye. He could tell that the idea bothered Glen a little, despite his attempt to make it sound like he would be relieved. He sang, "You're going to miss them. You're going to miss them."

Glen frowned and replied, "Not really. So what do you want to talk to me about?"

"You did a good job of protecting them. You fucked him up real good and they needed to see that. You destroyed the image of invincibility they had of him."

Glen didn't want to hear this. He had acted as necessity had dictated. He frowned and answered, "Look. Don't make this out to be any more than it was. Do you need any kind of statement?"

Dale, recognizing that Glen would never say that he did something good for someone else, answered, "No. Get out of here. Take my advice and take a day off. With that sour look on your face, you look like you need to get laid or something."

Glen grunted something that couldn't be heard. He finished the drink in one swallow and stormed out of the office. He attempted to slam the door, but it slipped out of his grasp. He grimaced as the whiskey settled in his empty stomach and caused it to burn. He was going to have to get something to eat to feel better.

The Sheriff laughed as Glen left. His plan to rock his world was working. If the kids stayed with him for another month, Glen's wall against the world would crumble. It would be the best thing that could happen to him.

Glen walked over to the trio and suggested, "Let's get lunch over at the diner."

Sandra, very hungry after the hectic morning, replied, "That's a great idea."

The four of them left the Sheriff's office and got into their respective trucks. Five minutes later they had pulled into the diner. Glen went in and headed towards his regular booth only to discover that someone was already seated there. He looked around for an empty booth and couldn't find one. There was one table in the middle of the room. He went over to it and sat down displeased at not having the privacy of a booth. A number of people looked at him with disgust. He looked at his coat when he removed it and was shocked at the amount of dried blood on it. He crumpled it up and set it on the floor under him.

The trio joined him. The twins sat on each side of him and Cliff sat across from him. Sandra, with a look of glee, said, "You'll have to look at the menu today. No dinner special at lunch time."

Wanda laughed, "Ah, we'll just have to get him a hero sandwich."

Cliff, getting into the spirit of things, shouted to the waitress, "We need a hero sandwich for the hero here!"

One of the patrons called out, "What did he do?"

Sandra answered, "He captured a sociopath today! This is the second time that he saved us from certain death."

The waitress looked over at Glen with a look of respect. She had been a little afraid when he had come in with blood all over him. Their statement changed the implications of his appearance. She had heard that the kids had been abducted by a sociopath. A number of the patrons congratulated him. Glen looked positively miserable, but he didn't say a word.

The waitress came over to the table with four menus and handed them out. Glen didn't even bother opening his. The waitress asked, "So what will the hero have?"

Glen smiled at the trio. He looked at Sandra as he answered, "I'll have the lunch special and a glass of milk."

The other three laughed when they looked at the menu. Sandra burst out laughing and could hardly get the words out. "Today's special is the hero sandwich!"

Glen grabbed the menu and stared at it. Sure enough, the lunch special today was the hero sandwich. He just shook his head and stated, "You can't win for losing."

The twins each grabbed an arm and leaned against him. Sandra asked, "So when are you going to claim your reward from the damsel you saved?"

Wanda cooed, "Make that damsels."

Glen looked at Cliff as though seeking salvation. Cliff replied, "Don't look at me. I'm not rewarding you that way!"

The waitress asked, "What will the rest of you have?"

All three answered, "The daily special and a glass of milk."

Glen just shook his head. Once the waitress had left, he attempted to change the subject. He asked, "So do you guys work today?"

All three of them looked at the clock. Sandra answered, "Yes, we have to be there in an hour."

Wanda cried, "We don't have enough time to get back to the house and change out of these clothes."

Glen reached into his wallet and pulled out two hundred dollars. He handed the money over to Cliff and stated, "Buy yourselves some clothes."

The trio looked at each other in shock. Wanda said, "That's too much. We'll just clean our clothes a little."

Sandra said, "That's too much."

Cliff stated, "We can't take it."

Glen grunted, "Yes you can. Besides, you need fresh clothes."

The trio continued to protest, but Glen ignored them. He wasn't worried about the money. He made twenty cents per book that was sold. He had sold almost a million of each of his books. Some had sold more than that. He had enough money in the bank that he didn't have to work They were still talking about the money when the sandwiches arrived. He stated, "Look, it's nothing. Let's drop the subject and enjoy your lunch."

The trio looked at him funny and then turned their attention to their lunches. The conversation then centered on their jobs. They all actually liked their jobs, but wished that the money was better. Glen was taking a drink of his milk when one of the other patrons patted him on the back while saying, "Good job in dealing with that bastard. You're a real hero."

Glen didn't have a chance to respond before the guy was gone. Over the course of his lunch, people stopped by the table and congratulated him. Glen was very uncomfortable at being the center of attention. He was quite glad when he finished his sandwich and was able to get out of the diner.

After buying a new coat, he headed home. He spent the drive thinking about the events of the morning. They were actually lucky that he hadn't been at home when the creep showed up. If he had answered the door and gotten stunned first, he would have been just as helpless as they.

He finally arrived at the cabin and took a look around the place. He had a lot of work ahead of him in terms of cleaning up the blood. He knew that it would upset the trio when they came home and saw it. He hadn't realized that there was so much blood. With a sigh, he put on his knee pads, got a bucket of water and a sponge, and the wet/dry vac. He got down on his knees and started scrubbing the blood stains. When he was left with a puddle of red stained water, he vacuumed it up. It took him a long time to clean it up.

He looked around when he had finished. He started a fire in the fireplace. Once it was going, he threw everything that was blood stained on it. That included his jeans and shirt. He slipped off his underwear and went into the bathroom to take a shower. He took a long hot shower. For a change, he didn't masturbate this time.

After his shower, he went to his bed and took a nap. He was still asleep when the trio returned from their jobs. They stood around his bed for a minute looking at his naked form and then quietly went into the twins bedroom to talk.



-------

Chapter 5


Glen sewed the turkey closed with great care. He set it in the roaster. Even though it was the smallest turkey they could find, it was still too large to put a lid over it. He struggled for a moment with the aluminum foil to make a tent over the turkey. It wasn't pretty looking, but it was functional. He put the bird in the oven and closed the door with satisfaction.

The trio was still asleep. They had slept through the night without nightmares. In fact, they hadn't suffered from nightmares since he had captured the creep. Last night, they had stayed up late, talking excitedly about Christmas. They reminisced about past Christmases telling stories about gag gifts, surprise gifts, and dinners with relatives. Glen had listened, but did not participate.

He reached under his bed and brought out the presents. He set them up under the tree that the trio had decorated. It had already fallen over twice, but that hadn't caused any damage to the décor. They had been surprised to learn that he didn't have Christmas bulbs for the tree and had settled for popcorn strung on thread. They would put it outside after Christmas for the birds to eat.

He went back and got out the three stockings that he had bought. He hung them over the fireplace and filled them with the small presents that he had purchased. They added a nice Christmas cheer to the entire cabin. He looked around at the room, surprised at the degree of pleasure he was taking in the day.

Glen sat down and waited for the them to wake. It wasn't that long of a wait. The twins came out wearing their bras and panties. At least they weren't parading around naked anymore. They knocked on Cliff's door and shouted, "Wake up, sleepy head. It's Christmas."

Cliff came out carrying a very large box. The twins went in the room and came out with two slightly smaller boxes. They carried the boxes over to the tree and set them down. They quickly ran back into their rooms and came out with more presents. They put them under the tree and turned around. The twins, as one, shouted, "Merry Christmas!"

Cliff shouted, "Merry Christmas."

Glen nodded and said, "Merry Christmas."

Cliff went to the tree and selected a gift. He looked at the name on it and then handed it to Sandra. He selected another gift. This one was for Wanda and he handed it to her. He picked up the large box and carried it over to Glen. He picked up a gift for himself from under the tree.

Wanda looked at the present and saw that it was from Glen. She wondered what he might get her. She opened the gift and let out a screech, "It's a blue bathrobe!"

Sandra opened hers and saw that she had a red bathrobe. She laughed and asked, "Why, Glen. Are you tired of seeing us undressed in the morning?"

Glen blushed and replied, "Well, I wouldn't use the word tired."

The twins giggled and tried on the bathrobes. Now that they were covered a little better, Glen was able to relax. He opened his gift and discovered that it was a small color television. He smiled as he knew that he couldn't receive a television signal out here to save his life. He thanked them, "This is great. I haven't had one of these in ages."

The twins glowed and Cliff smiled. Cliff opened his little present and discovered that it was a wallet filled with some ones. He hadn't had a wallet since his was stolen along with his clothes. He had been carrying his temporary drivers license in his shirt pocket. He grinned at Glen, "This is great."

Glen smiled, "I gave it to you with money in it because giving an empty wallet is bad luck."

Cliff nodded, "Yes, I've heard that."

Cliff went back to the tree and handed out presents to everyone again. He gave Glen two of them at the same time. Sandra saw that her second present was also from Glen. She smiled as she ripped the wrapping off it. She held up a light red flannel nightgown and laughed when she realized what it was. She stated, "Kinky. I live with a man that likes young women dressed in flannel nightgowns."

Wanda looked at her blue flannel nightgown. She snickered, "It's so sexy."

Sandra stated, "Thank you, Glen. I know that you thought about this a lot. It does get a little cold at night and these will keep us warm."

Cliff grinned in Glen's direction. He stated, "I think they were hoping you would get them something really sexy."

Glen shook his head and replied, "I don't think I can stand more sexy around the house."

The twins laughed. Glen opened his presents. Inside one box was a satellite dish receiver and in the other was the dish. He realized that with the dish and receiver he could use the television they had bought. He looked up at them and said, "Wow, this is great. Now we can watch the news."

Sandra and Wanda frowned at the idea of watching news. They were hoping for something a little more upbeat. Wanda stated, "The news? We got it so you could watch comedies."

Cliff said, "Or at least football games."

The twins threw some wrapping paper in Cliff's direction, shouting, "No football!"

Glen laughed at the antics of the three young people. He watched Cliff open his very heavy present. Cliff's eye's got very large as he looked inside the box. If was a tool set with three hundred different tools. He looked up at Glen and stated, "Wow, this is fantastic."

Cliff went back to the pile and pulled out presents for everyone except Glen. Wanda opened her present with childlike glee. She pulled out a very sexy and very transparent blue baby doll nightgown. She turned to Sandra, "Thank you. However did you know my size?"

Glen looked confused for a second. Of course, Sandra would know Wanda's size. They were twins. Then he realized that it was a joke, probably one they'd told each other ever since they were small. Sandra held up an exact copy of the nightgown except hers was blue. She grinned at her sister and said, "I see that we still think alike."

The twins chuckled as they stood up and disrobed. Each one put on their teddy doll nightgown. Glen looked in horror at the sight in front of him. If he had thought having them walking around naked was tough, having them sit in front of him in those nightgowns was even tougher. His cock immediately got erect.

Glen opened his present from Wanda and looked at it with a tear in his eye. She had gotten him a Swiss Army Knife, just like the one he had lost when abducted by Amos Orvin. He looked over at Wanda and said, "Thanks, sis. I have missed this a whole lot."

Cliff went back to the tree and handed out more presents. He was the first to open the package and looked inside in amazement. He looked over at Sandra and said, "Binoculars. I've always wanted binoculars."

Sandra answered, "Maybe now you can do a little bird watching."

The twins opened their presents from Cliff. They both smiled when they opened theirs. Both of them contained purses. The twins said in unison, "This is great. I've missed having a purse for so long."

Glen looked at the happy trio and smiled to himself. He stated, "There's one more present under the tree. It's for all three of you."

Cliff went over to the tree and picked up an envelope. He opened it and whistled. He turned excitedly to Wanda and Sandra and said, "It's the title to the truck."

Wanda and Sandra launched themselves at Glen and smothered him in kisses. If he had been uncomfortable before, he was in serious pain now. Having two nearly naked women crawling all over his body and covering him with kisses was clearly exciting. His feelings that he couldn't take advantage of the women only made it worse. He protested, "Ladies, enough. I feel thanked."

Sandra touched his cock through his jeans and giggled. She cooed, "Thanked? I think you feel hard."

Glen blushed and slowly extricated himself from their embrace. He asked, "Who's hungry?"

The question immediately changed the topic of discussion as everyone answered in the affirmative. Glen went into the kitchen and came out with a tray full of cinnamon buns. He smiled as he set them down and stated, "Homemade cinnamon buns."

He brought out coffee and four cups. After pouring everyone a cup, he said, "Merry Christmas."

Everyone dug into the cinnamon buns. They were still warm and the frosting was melted and sticky. They were great. Each person could only eat one before being filled. For the first time since his wife had died, Glen felt like this was a real Christmas. He looked around the room at the smiling faces and knew a pleasure that he had not felt in ages.

He looked at Cliff, who sat there with a smudge of frosting on his nose, laughing at a joke that his sister told. He examined the twins as they unconsciously posed in their transparent baby doll nightgowns. Each was enough to drive a celibate priest to commit a sin, together the both of them was a very dangerous combination that could tempt the Pope. They smiled as they tried to eat the cinnamon buns in a lady like fashion; tearing off little pieces and eating them with dainty gestures. Their efforts did not prevent them from developing little frosting mustaches.

He sat back and enjoyed the view of happy people as he ate his cinnamon bun. He realized his silence was taken as sadness when Sandra asked, "Why are you so silent all of a sudden?"

He laughed as he answered, "All of a sudden? I thought I've been the silent grumpy type the whole time you've been here."

Wanda elbowed Sandra and stated, "I do believe he's happy."

Glen changed the subject by asking, "Who's ready to open stockings?"

The trio looked at each other and then over at the fireplace. They had not noticed the stockings hung on the mantle. Sandra giggled, "Oh, cool! We haven't done stockings since we were little girls!"

Wanda raced over to the fireplace and picked up the stockings. They were very large stockings and each was quite packed with little presents. She handed them out based on the names written in glitter. She took hers and sat down. She giggled as she opened the first gift and saw that it was lipstick. The stockings for the twins contained lots of cosmetics. He had gone to a beauty consultant to find out the best kind of make up and colors for the twins. He was sure that they would like the result. Their comments as they held up the colors confirmed his belief.

The stocking for Cliff contained little items selected from the Sharper Image catalog. He received gifts like a mini-flashlight, credit-card size toolkit, pressure gauges, and other items that would be useful for a young man in charge of maintaining a truck. Glen watched as Cliff went through each item with the excitement of a little kid in a candy store.

Glen got up and checked on the turkey. It was time to baste it. He took his time pouring the juices over the bird. He covered it with the foil and pushed it back into the oven. The odor of cooking turkey spread over the house. In a while, the smell would work to make all of them hungry. The twins listened to the sounds coming from the kitchen and decided it was time for them to get dressed and start cooking. Glen had hardly pushed the bird back into the oven before they were beside him chasing him out of the kitchen.

Glen took the opportunity to return to the living room and examine his present. He opened the box containing the satellite receiver and dish to get to the assembly instructions. He smiled as he read all of the instructions. He had the perfect place to mount the dish. The wind mill in the back would allow him to mount it on a very secure platform. He could even install it now and be done by the time dinner was ready.

He looked over at Cliff and stated, "Hey, you want to help me install this?"

Cliff smiled and answered, "For a chance to watch football? You bet."

They bundled up in their coats and went out to the windmill. It took them about thirty minutes to mount it and another hour to get it aimed correctly. Glen ran the wire from the antenna to the house, allowing it to enter in the same spot where the electric lines entered the house. He did drill a separate hole that was about twelve inches from the power line. Cliff came in and helped him run a wire to a spot where the television would be set up. They put the television on a small table and put the receiver next to it. By the time the turkey was finished cooking, they had the television up and running.

Wanda came out of the kitchen and announced, "Dinner is ready. Get washed up and over to the table."

Glen and Cliff took turns washing their hands. While Cliff was washing his hands, Glen flipped through the channels until he found the movie, "It's a Wonderful Life", with Jimmy Stewart. They went to the table with the sounds of the movie in the background. He slipped outside and brought in a bottle of white wine to serve with dinner. He poured wine in the glasses set around the table.

The twins had done an amazing job on fixing a Christmas diner. The turkey looked perfect and there was a wonderful amount of dressing. The gravy was smooth. They had made corn and mashed potatoes. The meal was completed with hot buns, celery, olives, and cranberry sauce. It was a spread fit for a king.

The plate with the turkey was placed in front of Glen's seat. He stood and carved the turkey. It wasn't a great job, but he did manage to get one side sliced. As he sliced, he put the meat on a separate platter. When the platter was filled with more meat than four adults could eat, he sat down. He said, "Before we begin eating, I'd like to take a moment of silence."

Each of them took a moment of silence to thank the powers that be for the good things in their life. All of them had different things and it was fitting for them to take the moment on Christmas Day. This was a day to celebrate new beginnings and all of them had new beginnings this year.

After a minute, they all looked up with hunger in their bellies and eyes that saw lots of food. Plates started getting passed around as people loaded up on different foods. Glen and the twins smiled when Cliff grabbed the turkey leg. The twins loaded up on white meat while Glen loaded up on dark. Once their plates were loaded, they started to eat. For the first ten minutes, there wasn't any talk. Once the initial hunger had been satisfied, they all slowed down and started talking. Glen asked, "So what are your plans?"

Cliff answered, "Well, we are still waiting for the money to arrive. We haven't really given it much thought beyond that."

Sandra added, "We were going of going down to Atlanta so that Cliff could get a good paying job. We were thinking of going to school and learning how to use computers so that we could be secretaries or something."

Wanda nodded her agreement. She said, "It's funny. For a long time, we've only been thinking about getting through the day. It's only been the past week that we've been looking at having a future."

Glen thought about it for a moment and then said, "I guess I can understand that. You three have gone through some pretty tough times this year."

As the trio all nodded their agreement, Glen noticed that all of the wine glasses were empty and that there was no more wine in the bottle. He stepped outside and brought in another bottle. Popping the cork, he poured another round. The glasses were actually water glasses, so one bottle was consumed filling them. He smiled as he raised his glass and said, "Cheers!"

They all raised their glasses and answered the salute. Cliff remarked, "This is the first time we've had anything to drink since we were initially abducted."

Glen nodded and replied, "Damn straight. You never drink when you're down. That's how you really get into trouble with alcohol. You never allow yourself to be forced to drink socially. That also gets you into trouble. I only drink on special occasions such as holidays, birthdays, and anniversaries. That makes sure that you never get into trouble."

Wanda thought about it for a while and then asked, "What if you are an alcoholic?"

"Then you never drink. Anyone that tells you that you have to have a drink isn't a friend. People that insist you have a drink and won't take no for an answer are the ones with the problem."

Sandra stated, "It sounds to me like you are rather down on alcohol."

Glen laughed and replied, "Not at all. I just don't like when people let something like alcohol run their lives."

Cliff shrugged, "When we were in upstate New York, lots of us would go get drinks after work. I didn't see any problems with that."

Glen looked away for a second and then asked, "How many of your co-workers would stay in the bar after you left? How many had been arrested for drunk driving? How many of them had marriages that were in trouble?"

Cliff thought about it for a minute and then answered, "I guess a lot of them."

"That's what I mean by getting into trouble. It's a lot better to enjoy other aspects of life rather than spend your life in a bar or, even worse, behind bars."

Wanda frowned as she decided this was a rather depressing subject. She asked, "Why do you bring this up?"

Glen laughed as he answered, "Well, it might be the only occasion I have to pass on some valuable advice."

Sandra, sensing a chance to tease Glen a little, asked, "Does that mean that you care about us?"

Glen grumped, "No. It doesn't mean that."

Wanda giggled and said, "Sandra, look at that. You got him in grumpy old man mode."

Cliff said, "That's so easy it isn't even a challenge. You ought to try getting him out of that mode."

Sandra thought about it. Her and her sister had not been able to get him into good moods. All attempts to cheer him up ultimately failed. In a way it depressed her. He was such a lonely man and needed to have a woman in his life. She laughed, "Well, at least we can make him horny in the morning."

Glen shook his head as he recalled some of the antics of the twins in the morning. He asked, "Oh, is that what you were trying to do?"

Wanda blushed and answered, "We're not telling you that."

Glen laughed and shook his head. He took another helping of turkey and dressing. He poured gravy over the lot. He looked over at the bird and stated, "Well, it looks like we'll be having turkey sandwiches for the next week."

Cliff made a face as he looked at Sandra. He stated, "Yeah and Sandra's famous turkey soup."

Sandra put her hands on her hips and retorted, "Hey, it was only bad that one time!"

Wanda snickered, "But that one time was enough."

Glen listened with amusement as they told the story of her famous Turkey Soup. The whole family had tasted the soup and declared it unfit for human consumption. They ended up eating at a Chinese restaurant that night. None of them knew to this day what she had done wrong. The only thing that was clear was that it was a horrible greasy mess. Cliff suggested it was because she had left the tail on the bird when she boiled the bones. Wanda thought that maybe she had added the gravy to the soup. Sandra denied it all. However, even Sandra admitted that the soup was pretty bad.

By the time the story ended, everyone was full and the glasses were empty. Glen went out and got the last bottle of wine. He popped the cork and filled everyone's wine glass for the last time. They all took a sip of their drink. Glen turned to Cliff and stated, "Since the twins did all of the cooking, I guess that means you and I get to do all of the cleaning."

Cliff looked shocked at the idea of working in the kitchen. He noticed the wry expressions on his sisters' faces. Rather than give them the satisfaction of being right, he decided to help. Smiling at the twins, he answered, "Sure. No problem."

The twins giggled and went into the living room taking their glasses of wine with them. They would have stayed to watch, but knew that Glen would be able to handle the tough parts. They sat on the couch and flipped through channels on the television set. They hadn't realized how much they missed watching television over the past two months. It took them a long time to decide on what they should watch.

In the kitchen, Glen and Cliff wrapped the leftovers and put them in the refrigerator. Then they tackled the dishes. The twins had managed to get every pot and pan that Glen owned dirty. It didn't matter, he was feeling good from the food and the wine. As they worked, Cliff asked, "What is that?"

Glen asked, "What?"

"The noises coming from the living room. It sounds like people fucking."

Glen walked out into the living room and looked at the television. The twins had found a porno channel. They were watching the action with wide eyes. He noticed that they were shifting in their seats rather uncomfortably. Glen returned to the kitchen and stated, "Oh, the twins found a dirty movie. They're watching it right now."

After the dishes were done, Cliff went into the living room. A few minutes later, the sounds of a football game originated from the television. Glen understood. The poor guy was stuck here without a girlfriend and not much privacy. He didn't really want to get excited by a porno movie in the middle of the afternoon with the house full of people. The truth was that Glen wasn't too wild about the idea either.

He joined them in the living room as the football game blared on the television. He finished his wine and relaxed. In ten minutes he was asleep. He wasn't the only one that fell asleep. The turkey and the wine worked together to put them all asleep for two hours.

Glen was the first to wake. He turned down the television so that it wouldn't disturb the others. He went into the kitchen and put a frozen cherry pie in the oven. Making coffee, he felt that they would all appreciate a little desert when they woke. He set the timer according to the directions and went out on the patio. The fresh cold air helped clear his turkey induced stupor.

He didn't stand out there for too long. It was cold and the sun was starting to set. It set very early this time of year. He went back in the house and turned on some of the lights. He went back out and carried in some more wood. It only took him a few minutes to rebuild the fire. It gave the cabin a nice homey feel. The coffee finished and he went to pour himself a cup. He returned to the living room and watched the twins sleep. They looked so young and innocent that it was hard to believe that they had been brutally raped only two months ago.

The twins woke at the same time. It was amazing to watch how many things they did in a synchronized manner. Glen smiled and whispered, "I've started the pie. It will be done in a little while. The coffee is ready."

The twins looked at each other and rose at the same time. They went into the kitchen and prepared coffee for themselves. They remained in there for much longer than it took to prepare coffee for themselves. Glen didn't appear to notice as he was looking at the television.

The rest of the evening was quiet. They ate desert and then later had turkey sandwiches. They watched several Christmas movies, most old and few new. It was corny, but helped make Christmas feel like Christmas. Glen went to bed around ten that night while the trio watched a little more television.

Glen was woken up by a strange sensation. It took him several seconds to recognize that it was the sensation of his underwear being pulled down. His attempt to see what was going on was thwarted by feminine lips kissing him. He relaxed into the kiss and lay there enjoying the feelings. He was startled by lips closing around his cock. In his sleepy state, it took him a minute to realize that it was the twins. He pushed the one that was kissing him and said, "Stop it. Please stop it."

The twins pulled back from him in surprise. Wanda looked at him and burst out crying. She felt that he held her past rape against her. Her feelings overwhelmed her. Sandra began crying as well. Glen was confused by the two naked women and unsure of what he was supposed to do. He said, "Don't cry."

Wanda, in great pain, whimpered, "You think we're not good enough for you."

Sandra cried out, "You think because we've been raped that we are ruined."

Glen looked at them in surprise. He had no idea that is what they had been thinking. He had been terrified of taking advantage of them. He didn't want to escalate the living arrangements into a relationship. He had suffered too much in the past to go through that again. He grabbed them both and shouted, "Don't ever think that!"

Sandra asked, "Why don't you find us desirable?"

Glen frowned as he tried to come up with an answer. He finally stated, "I find you both very desirable. I'm an old man compared to you. I'm thirty-six compared to your twenty. You need a young man with the energy to keep up with you."

Wanda, desperate to feel sexy, cried, "We need a man to show us that we are desirable."

Glen answered, "I have refrained because I don't want to take advantage of you."

Sandra swore, "Damn it, you can't take advantage of us. We want you to take us to bed."

Glen lay there for a moment as he thought about it. Finally, he decided that he would give into the urge that had been building ever since they had moved in. He got up and held out his hands to them. They took his hands and followed as he led them to their bedroom.

When they reached the bed, he started the action by kissing Wanda. Sandra joined in the action by kissing her twin's breasts. Glen had been so horny and desired the twins so much that he didn't take the time and care that a first time deserved. He quickly moved down to a breast and sucked on it. He looked over and watched Sandra sucking on the other breast. It was almost too much for him.

He moved down to lick Wanda's pussy. She was ready for him as evidenced by the copious fluids seeping from her pussy. Glen lapped it up with great pleasure. As he worked, Sandra moved so that she was atop her sister. Glen sat up in surprise. Sandra took the opportunity to roll over carrying her sister with her. The twins were in a sixty-nine position with Wanda on the top and her pussy open wide and ready for Glen's cock. He slowly eased his cock into her hot hole. The sensation of Sandra's tongue at the junction of his cock and Wanda's cunt threw him into a frenzy. He quickly began pounding into Wanda.

His need for release was obvious to both women. Wanda, needing release as much as Glen, abandoned her efforts on Sandra's cunt. Sandra redoubled her efforts, paying attention to Wanda's clit. It didn't take long for Wanda to come. Glen followed immediately after.

Wanda climbed off Sandra and lay on the bed next to her sister. Sandra sighed as she realized that she would have her turn the next time. She wondered when the next time would occur. Until then she would have to remain contented with her own fingers and the occasional administration of Wanda.

Much to his surprise, Glen remained erect. He observed Sandra lying on her back and moved over her. She grinned up at him in pleased surprise. She spread her legs to accommodate him, not needing any additional foreplay. He understood her gesture and moved his cock into her inviting hole. With the frantic edges of his need sated, he proceeded to take his time with Sandra. With a far more reasonable pace, he repeatedly thrust into her. It didn't take long for her first orgasm to wash over her. It was a small one, but the ones that followed increased in intensity until Sandra was screaming almost nonstop. Glen was lost in the wonderful sensations, not bothering to count orgasms or keep score. It was as though his five years of abstinence had turned him into a mindless fucking machine. Sandra wasn't going to complain.

Wanda watched from next to the couple as Glen thrust into her sister. She was amazed at the stamina of Glen. She was worried that her sister wouldn't be able to survive the experience without loosing her mind. She envied her sister that she had the chance to find this out.

Glen continued his thrusting until suddenly, he experienced his second orgasm of the night. This was a full body orgasm that he felt from head to his toes. He screamed, loud and long as this orgasm washed over him. Sandra underneath came out of her orgasm induced haze and stared in awe at the man above her. Wanda had watched with an almost religious wonder at his experience. Between Sandra and Glen, she felt like she envied Glen his orgasm the most.

When he had finished his orgasm, Glen rolled off Sandra and almost immediately fell asleep. The twins watched him sleep with amused looks on their face. Sandra said, "Just like every other man. Wham, Bang, Bang, Bang, Sleep!"

Wanda laughed and said, "Yeah, but that was an amazing Bang!"

Sandra looked at her sister for a minute. If his actions hadn't demonstrated that they were still sexy, then nothing could demonstrate that. Sandra said, "We still have it."

Wanda smiled a secret little smile as she answered, "Yeah, we can still drive a man crazy."

Sandra just lay back and sighed. "Wow, that was intense."

Wanda laughed. "Mine was good. I can't imagine what your experience with him was like. I've never seen you have that many orgasms in a row."

Glen slept until the morning. In fact, he was the last to wake. As he lay awake in the bed, he stared at the ceiling wondering what would be the consequences. Finally, he shrugged and decided that he didn't really care.



-------

Chapter 6


Glen sat in his finished kitchen room eating a bowl of Wanda's favorite cereal. He was out of Cornflakes and couldn't keep a banana in the house to save his life. He had bought a bunch of them and the twins had used them last night in a fruit salad. He sighed and looked around the cabin. It was almost done, but had already become too small. It had never been designed to accommodate four adults.

Wanda came breezing out of the bedroom wearing the blue bathrobe he had given her as a Christmas present. She stopped by him and gave him a nice quick kiss. She smiled and said, "You were magnificent last night."

Sandra came out of the bathroom wearing her red bathrobe. She smiled at Glen as she said, "Tonight is my turn."

Glen laughed and asked, "When is it my turn?"

Wanda paused while walking to the kitchen and said, "Every night is your turn."

Sandra, with a smirk on her face, added, "And you've never missed your turn."

The twins went about their business of making their breakfast. They chatted with each other, half of the time finishing the sentences of the other. They had completed their healing from the episode with the maniac. Now it was a matter of coming to grips with their life in a small cabin. Despite the fact that they never tired of each others company, both Glen and Cliff were starting to get on their nerves.

Cliff came out his bedroom dressed in his jeans. The work that he had done around the house had actually developed a few muscles. He had only a few shirts that still fit him. He came into the kitchen with barely a nod at the other three. Glen smiled as it reminded him of himself a few months ago. Cliff opened the pantry and looked inside. There was nothing that he wanted to eat in there. He slammed the pantry door closed.

Sandra shouted at him, "Don't slam the doors!"

A lot of frustration in Cliff boiled over to the surface. He shouted back, "Don't go telling me what to do, little miss bitch!"

Wanda flew to her sisters defense and screamed, "You bastard. You owe her an apology for saying that."

Cliff turned on her and shouted, "Shut up."

Glen, tired of the increasing number of arguments between the siblings, said, "Come on you guys, cut it out."

Cliff stormed over to Glen and shouted, "I'm tired of you sitting here like some sort of king with his harem of women. Stop fucking my sisters."

Glen sat back as though he had been sucker punched. Hurt, he replied, "Hey, I'm sorry if that is a problem."

Cliff turned on all three of them. He shouted, "Don't you know that I have to lay there every night listening to all of that moaning and groaning and grunting and screaming? Jesus, I feel like I'm renting a room in a whorehouse."

Sandra shouted back, "I'm sorry that you aren't getting some, but don't take it out on us because we are!"

Glen, tired of the arguing, discreetly stood up and left the cabin. He put on his coat when he reached the back porch and looked out over the snow covered landscape. February is a short month that feels like it is the longest of them all. The weather is cold and the days too short. The novelty of the snow had worn off. The only holiday was Valentines Day and if you were alone, that was extremely depressing. February was really the wrong month for that holiday anyway. People didn't feel particularly romantic at that time of year. May would have been a better choice.

He shook his head as he considered the events over the past few weeks. The cabin had become too small. There was nothing to do inside the cabin except work and most of the work remaining was too small to keep everyone active. Something needed to be done before everyone would be at each other's throats.

He looked in the house and saw that the argument still raged. He had a lot of errands that needed to be done in town. Perhaps he could turn that into an all day activity for everyone. At least they would have a chance to get out of the house and maybe give them some new things to talk about. He took a deep breath and went back into the house. He purposely slammed the door behind him. The noise got the attention of the trio. He said, "I have a lot of errands to run today. Why don't we all go and make a day of it?"

The twins smiled at the thought of getting out of the house today. Neither of them had to work and the idea of staying in the cabin had been almost unbearable. Cliff smiled and replied, "I think that is a great idea. However, I have to work this afternoon. Why don't you three go and I'll see you tonight when I get home."

The twins nodded excitedly. Sandra, after sharing a quick glance at her sister, said, "We'll be ready to go in thirty minutes."

Glen nodded and looked around the house. He sat down across from Cliff and said, "Hey, I'm sorry if my sleeping with your sisters is bothering you. Believe me, I didn't intend for it to happen."

Cliff shrugged and answered, "That's okay. I knew they were planning to seduce you. I was amazed that you held out as long as you did."

Glen nodded as he realized that Cliff did understand that he had not been the one to put the moves on the twins. He replied, "Well, are you going to be okay with staying here today?"

Looking out the window, Cliff answered, "Yes. I need a day alone. While the twins never tire of each others company, I get tired of them."

That was understandable. The twins were almost like one person. If one twin saw something, it was like the other did too. Living with them was like living with someone that had eyes in the back of their head. Glen smiled and said, "Okay. We'll give you a day alone. Everyone needs that occasionally."

"Thanks."

After half an hour, the twins emerged from their room dressed in their best clothes. Glen whistled appreciatively and said, "Wow, you two look great."

The three of them headed out to the truck, turning to wave goodbye to Cliff. Cliff watched them drive off. Once they had turned out of the driveway, he went over to the television and turned it onto the porn channel. He smiled and went to the recliner. He took off his pants and underwear. Sitting down, he started stroking his cock while watching the movie. It didn't take long for him to get an erection. He stared at the television as he slowly rubbed himself. This was going to be a nice long session.

The action on the television was really heating up. The actress was very attractive and she really knew how to work a cock. He sat there imagining it was his cock. He timed his strokes to her action. He resisted the desire to shoot off when the actor on the screen came all over her face.

The next scene in the movie starred two guys and a woman. The men were in the bed together with one of them sucking on the cock of the first. Cliff continued to stroke his cock. The woman entered the action and sucked on the cock of the guy sucking a cock. Cliff smiled and sped up his stroking.

The door of the cabin opened and Glen stepped in to the living room. He couldn't help notice the Cliff's activity and the action of the screen. Cliff froze in horror. He had been so into the movie that he had not noticed that Glen had returned until he had entered the room. He had literally been caught with his pants down and was embarrassed as hell. Even worse was the action in the movie since it involved two men.

Glen strode over to the desk and picked up the box on it. He quickly went back to the door. At the door, he mumbled, "I'm sorry to disturb you. I forgot this and came back for it."

Glen left the cabin shutting the door behind him. Cliff's erection disappeared as a result of the embarrassment. Now he sat there trying to decide what were the ramifications of what Glen had seen. Would Glen kick him out of the house because he was bisexual? He didn't know. Then a horrible thought occurred to him and he swore out loud, "Oh, shit. The twins are going to learn about this. They are going to disown me."

Several hours later, Glen was seated in the mall drinking a cup of coffee. The twins were shopping and had agreed to meet him in this spot in two hours. He wondered what he was going to do for the next two hours. He looked around the mall and noticed a sporting goods store. Having nothing better to do, he went inside and browsed through it. He spent a little time in the camping section, but his days of camping were over. He was now living in the woods, so camping no longer held the same attraction. From there, he went to the fishing section. There were a lot of nice rods and reels. He had some perfectly good fishing gear. He walked down the isle a little ways and noticed the fly fishing gear. He had never tried it, but the idea really appealed to him. He had the stream by the cabin that was perfect for fly fishing. He could move up the stream into the property next to his without problem. He and the owner of the land had agreed to provide mutual fishing privileges along the stream.

He called over one of the sales clerks and pointed to the rods. The kid looked at the rods and shook his head. He called back, "Let me get Henry. He's the big fly fisherman."

Glen waited patiently. It was several minutes before an elderly man approached him. The man stopped by the first rod and stated, "So you need some fly fishing gear. What can I get for you?"

Glen liked the man immediately. He held his hands out in a gesture indicating his helplessness and said, "I've never done it before, but I have a stream next to my cabin with lots of brook trout."

The old man let loose with a long hum while nodding. He looked up at Glen, "So you know nothing about it?"

"Right. Complete beginner. I've only seen it on television."

For the next hour, Henry proceeded to teach Glen how to use a fly fishing rod. Glen enjoyed the experience tremendously. In fact, he enjoyed it so much that he invited Henry to come out to his place and fish what was basically a virgin stream. As far as Glen knew, no one had fished in that portion of the stream in at least twenty years, except for the three or four times that he had dropped a line in the stream.

Henry loaded him up with about three hundred dollars worth of fishing gear and took it up to the front of the store. Glen followed him, but stopped in front of the skiing area. He had a wonderful idea and called to Henry. Henry came back and Glen said, "You know. I have a young man that is staying at the cabin. Could you put together a set of fishing gear for him also?"

Henry looked very surprised at the request. This would give him one of his largest sales days ever. He grinned and answered, "With pleasure."

Glen added, "I also want to get some cross-country skiing equipment for my self and three other people. Can you help me with that?"

Henry asked, "Well, I need to know some information about the others. Do you know how tall they are and what size shoes they wear?"

Glen frowned as he answered, "I have no clue. However, two of them are here in the mall and could tell you. They are supposed to meet me over in the food court in half an hour."

Henry smiled and stated, "Well, why don't you go get them and we'll fix you up. You can maybe make a guestimate about the fourth one and we can try fitting him up also."

Glen smiled and said, "well, lets get me fitted up and then I'll get them. While I'm gone you can get the gear for the young man at the cabin. Does that sound all right to you?"

Henry answered by asking, "So what size shoe do you wear?"

"Ten."

Henry pulled out a pair of ski boots and said, "Have a seat and try these on. Let me know if they are too tight or too loose."

Glen went through the process of trying all of the ski equipment for cross-country skiing. It wasn't all that much equipment unless you got all of the frills. He decided that he could probably do with his own coat rather than the ski jacket. The purpose of this activity was to give people a reason to get out of the cabin so that tensions wouldn't run so high.

When he was fully outfitted he nodded at Henry in satisfaction. He said, "Let me get the girls and I'll be right back."

Henry smiled and answered, "I'll get that other set of fly fishing gear together."

Glen replied, "Great. I'll be right back."

He was excitedly pacing in the food court waiting for the twins. He spotted them as soon as they came around a corner. He started to wave to get their attention and walked over to them. As soon as he was within speaking distance, he said, "Come on with me. I have to show you something."

He turned and walked excitedly to the sporting goods store. The twins followed him astonished at his behavior. They had never seen him this excited about anything. They looked at each other in dismay when he led them into the sporting goods store. Wanda whispered to Sandra, "Like we are going to find anything in here that we like."

Both of them were surprised when Glen waved them over to the skiing section of the store. Henry came over to Glen and waited for their arrival. Glen called over to them, "Come here and give Henry your shoe sizes."

Wanda's eyes grew big when she realized that he was getting them skiing equipment. She said, "Wow, I've never skied."

Sandra laughed and added, "Guess what sis. We are about to become snow bunnies! Boys, you had better watch out!"

Glen laughed and answered, "Hey, this is cross country skiing. We can step out the back door and ski! You have close to five acres of cleared land to ski in and three hundred acres of wooded area."

Wanda whistled and then said, "Cool. I never would have thought of this."

It didn't take long for the twins to get outfitted. They also knew Cliff's shoe size, so they were able to get him appropriate sized gear as well. They had spent a lot more time in the mall than Glen had intended. It was actually a very good day. Glen had to drive his truck around to the back of the mall to load all of his purchases into the truck.

Their shopping excursion over, they headed back to town. The twins were supposed to meet with the Sheriff for his weekly update on the irritable and irritating Glen Wiseman. They arrived before the Sheriff and went to their normal booth. The waitress stopped at the table to chat. It was a slow night and she had some time to kill. She greeted them, "So how's it going out in the boonies?"

Wanda shrugged while Sandra answered, "Well, the cabin has been getting a lot smaller lately."

Wanda added, "Glen bought us all cross country skiing equipment so maybe we won't be stuck in the cabin all day."

As the waitress smiled at Glen, he shrugged and answered, "Well, I also got some fishing gear for Cliff."

Sandra and Wanda looked at each other in surprise. They had not realized Glen had done that. It also the first time that they had noticed that he was calling them by name rather than by color. Wanda giggled and said, "He's not going to be able to catch a girl standing out in a cold stream with a fishing pole."

Sandra grinned and retorted, "Well, if he stands in the cold long enough, he might not feel the need to catch a girl."

Glen shook his head at them and said, "Sandra, Wanda, he's stuck there all alone without a girlfriend. Give the poor guy a break."

The waitress noticed that Glen had actually used their names. She was so used to him calling them red and blue, that at times she called them that as well. She commented, "Hey, you know their names."

Glen sat there not knowing exactly how he was supposed to respond. He chose to comment in the most consistent fashion available by grumbling. "Of course I know their names."

The waitress smiled at the admission. She took a wild guess and stated, "I take it you care about them."

Glen slowly nodded his head and fidgeted in his seat. He didn't like talking about how he felt. He didn't feel like he could deny his feelings, particularly since he was sleeping with the twins on a regular basis.

The waitress smiled and said, "You like 'em a lot! Don't you."

The twins watched Glen squirm with amusement. Of course, both of them felt that if he denied it that last night was probably the last time he would ever get to sleep with either one of them. Glen mumbled, "yeah."

"Pardon me, I didn't hear that."

Glen looked up at her and stated very loudly and clearly, "Yes, I care for them a lot. Satisfied?"

Wanda and Sandra giggled. Wanda turned to her sister and said, "See, I told you. He cares about us. I bet if we really worked him over, we could get him to admit that he loves us."

Sandra laughed as she answered, "Yes, but we'll have to give him a little time for that. We don't want him to die from emotional overload tonight."

The waitress looked at Glen with surprise as he just shrugged off the teasing. He blew her whole perception of him when he turned to the twins and said, "Okay. I care about all of you very much. You might even say it borders on love. Now, I'm not going to admit to more than that for a long time. Understand? So don't go fishing."

Sandra and Wanda stared at each other in shock. He had just admitted that he cared about them a lot. In his own round about manner, he had even hinted that he loved them. Both of them were speechless.

He turned to the waitress and said, "I'll take the special, a glass of milk, and some apple pie today."

She was going to have a long talk with her uncle tonight about Glen. She turned to the twins and asked, "So what can I get you girls tonight?"

Sandra was the first to snap out her state of shock and just stated, "Oh, I'll take the Lasagna Dinner and iced tea."

Wanda snapped out about the time she heard the word Lasagna. She grinned at the waitress and stated, "Same here."

The three of them sat at the booth not talking much. Glen was particularly quiet, but he was the one that broke the silence by stating, "I want to go fishing with Cliff tomorrow. He needs to get out of the cabin alone for a while. Besides, you two have to work tomorrow and he has a day off. Makes sense for me to spend the time with him."

Sandra and Wanda wanted to try out the skis, but were smart enough to not to argue. Sandra asked, "So the day after tomorrow, we all try out the skis?"

Glen smiled and answered, "You bet. I'm looking forward to it."

The waitress brought their food and they all started eating. The Sheriff hadn't made his normal stop. Glen assumed that he was tired of watching them eat. They would stick around until he showed. When Glen had finished his meal, the waitress brought over his pie. He stopped her, "Excuse me, could you bring over some coffee to go with the pie?"

She smiled at the unusual display of manners. She said, "Sure thing."

She returned in a minute with the coffee. The Sheriff arrived at that time and made his way over to the booth. Glen frowned and stated, "You're late."

The Sheriff was about to argue and then realized that this was the first time that Glen had ever started a conversation. He laughed as his plan was finally bearing fruit. He answered, "Don't you know us hick cops can't tell time?"

The waitress who had brought over a cup of coffee for the Sheriff laughed. Setting the coffee on the table she walked away laughing. Glen watched her leave and commented, "She's in a funny mood today."

The Sheriff nodded and didn't say anything. He had just noticed the apple pie Glen had in front of him. Glen noticed the look and made a production of eating a slice. He could tell that it was really getting to the Sheriff. He swallowed and then took a sip of coffee. Looking at the Sheriff, he said, "This pie is great. Oh my, I should order this every time I come here."

The Sheriff looked over at the pie case. He waved to get the waitresses attention. She came over and asked, "What do you want?"

"Some of that pie would really be nice."

The waitress laughed and said, "Only if Helena says it is okay. You want me to call her?"

The Sheriff frowned as he replied, "You don't have to let my wife know. It'll be our little secret."

Glen interrupted, "This pie is really great. I bet the Cherry pie is even better."

The Sheriff glared at him. The waitress laughed and answered, "Now, Uncle Dale, you know you aren't allowed to eat sweets. Aunt Helena will kill me if I give you some and your diabetes acts up."

Glen was surprised to learn that the waitress and the Sheriff were related. Dale replied, "Come on, just half a slice?"

"Nope, Uncle Dale."

Glen asked, "So you two are related?"

Wanda shook her head and said, "Of course, we've known that since the second time we ate here."

Glen got a nasty look on his face and made a production of taking another bite of the pie. He moaned as if in ecstasy as he chewed. The Sheriff looked pissed, knowing that he was doing that just to get him mad. Glen said, "You wouldn't believe how good this pie tastes."

"Aw, shut up."

Glen smiled and said, "Payback is a bitch."

The twins laughed as they realized what Glen was doing. Even the Sheriff chuckled. He finally stated, "Well, I just might have to arrest you for interfering with an officer of the law in the performance of his duties."

Glen laughed and retorted, "Yeah, right. I would like to see a jury convict me for eating a piece of pie. I figured out a long time ago about your trick with that legal document you said required me to take care of the Menchettes. After I untangled all of that legalize, the whole document boiled down to a thank you for volunteering to take care of them."

The Sheriff laughed as he realized that his trick had been discovered. He asked, "When did you figure it out?"

"The day after you dropped them off at my place."

The twins looked at each other in surprise. They hadn't known that the Sheriff had threatened legal action to get Glen to take them in. It was even more surprising that he hadn't thrown them out after he found out that it was an empty threat. The first month of living with him had been rough.

Glen sat back as the twins filled the Sheriff in on the past week of activities. They were slowly saving money and starting to make plans for the future. Their duplicate drivers licenses had arrived so now all three of them were legal drivers. The bank had finally reissued the certified check so they were now set with funds. Glen wondered how long it would be before they left. He hoped they would stay for another couple of months.

The Sheriff sat back pleased with the situation. When they were done talking to him, he said, "I guess I don't have to worry about you three anymore."

Wanda answered, "Well, we are still living with mister mean."

Sandra, acting like one of the victims in a horror movie, said, "Oh please, Mr. Sheriff. Save us from this mean man."

Even Glen laughed at that. He said, "The only one that needs rescuing around here is me. You two are enough to drive Frankenstein's monster out of the village."

The Sheriff quipped, "You are Frankenstein's monster."

The discussion quickly escalated into an insult session, with each insult slowly getting increasing more ridiculous. The least creative was the final one from Glen aimed at the Sheriff. He stated, "You are... aÖ Sheriff."

The twins threw their napkins at him. Even the Sheriff laughed and stated, "That reminds me. I have to give you a parking ticket one of these day."

The group broke up. Glen took the twins home in the truck. They helped him unload all of his purchases. They put the ski equipment in the mud room. Glen put the fishing gear he had bought as a present in Cliff's room. The rest went in the mud room with the rest of his gear.

The three of them had their evening fun before Cliff came home from work. They took the opportunity to have sex in front of the fireplace on a blanket that Wanda had put on the floor. Tonight's activities were rather tame, particularly when compared so some in the past.

Wanda straddled his face while Sandra rode his cock. He could look up from his position and see Sandra's hands rubbing Wanda's breasts. He licked Wanda with considerable attention to detail, making sure that she came. Sandra spent all of her time riding his cock. She came several times before Glen finally shot off into her. She wasn't about to stop, but his cock quickly became too sensitive and wilted. She looked down in disappointment. Of course, she couldn't complain about the number or quality of orgasms. Most women would kill to have one. She felt that she was spoiled by him. Anything less than four orgasms in a single night was a bad performance.

Afterwards, Glen stayed in the living room and waited for Cliff to get home. When the twins went to bed, he turned off all of the lights in the living and dining rooms. A small light was on in the kitchen. The light from the fire in the fireplace created a pleasant atmosphere. His earlier activities threatened to send him to sleep, but he stepped outside a couple of times while waiting for Cliff to wake up. The cold air was enough to wake one up.

Cliff entered the cabin quietly, trying not to wake anyone. He had closed up the store and worked a little late in the hope that everyone would be asleep before he returned home. He looked around and saw that Glen was watching him from the couch. Cliff realized that Glen had waited up for him. He sat down at the other end of the couch.

Glen said, "I bought you fly fishing gear. Are you interested in trying it out tomorrow on the stream?"

Cliff, expecting a very different conversation, was floored. He said, "Uh, sure. I guess."

Glen noticed the discomfort of Cliff. He thought back to how he had interrupted Cliff earlier this morning. He said, "Hey, I'm really sorry about this morning."

Cliff shrugged and replied, "Hey, it's your house. I didn't mean for you to find out that I was bisexual."

Glen was surprised by the revelation. He hadn't really looked at the movie in sufficient detail to even make out what was going on in it. He said, "Sorry, I didn't know. I didn't even think that until you told me now. I just figured you were relieving yourself."

Cliff was mortified by Glen's statement as it meant that he had just come out of the closet for no real reason. He said, "Oh, I thought you had realized that from what I was watching."

Glen said, "Well, no big deal. So are you interested in going fishing tomorrow?"

Cliff was shocked that Glen wasn't disgusted. He answered, "Sure."

Cliff went to bed shortly after that. Glen sat up thinking about Cliff's revelation. He wondered how long it would be before Cliff suggested a tryst. He then wondered how he would react to such a suggestion.



-------

Chapter 7


For some people, the first of May is just another day of the year. For communists, it was a day to show off their weapons to the world. For pagans, it is a religious holiday celebrating spring and a renewal of life. For Glen, it was his birthday and he always made a big deal out of birthdays. His thought on the matter was that it was one of the two most important days of a persons life. The other being the day of their death and one didn't get a chance to celebrate that. One might almost say that it was the one day that one didn't want to celebrate.

Glen planned to spend the whole day relaxing. The trio had to work early shifts, but that meant they would have the evening off. They had told him this morning not to make any plans for the evening. He had no idea what they had planned, but he was sure that it would be fun.

There was a knock on the door and he went to answer it. It was the postman and he had another large box of books. The postman nodded at Glen and said, "Here's another box from your publisher. So how many does that make?"

Glen glanced over at the bookcase and stated, "This is number fifteen. I've got one more just about ready to submit."

The postman asked, "So how did you get started writing?"

A melancholy expression came over Glen. He stated, "My wife loved romance novels. When she was ill in the hospital, I read them to her all of the time. One day, I didn't have a new one to read to her so I made it up. She told me it was the best romance story she had heard. Well, we spent the next couple of days typing it up and embellishing it here and there. It was probably the most fun we had during the entire time of her illness. Then I read the finished product to her. She convinced me to send it into a publisher. I did and they published it. The money from the book really helped to pay for her hospital bills. I just kept on writing them after she died."

The postman looked at Glen in awe. He said, "That's an amazing story. Wow, I don't even know what to say."

Glen just nodded. He accepted the box of books from the postman and set them on the floor. He said, "Well, I think my days as an author are almost over."

The postman frowned and asked, "Why? Don't you realize that what you write gives a lot of people great pleasure?"

Glen answered, "My stories are starting to get stale. It is time for me to move onto something else I think."

"I guess if you don't have the story in you, then it makes it tough to write one."

"That's true." Glen realized that the reason he was having a difficult time writing was that he was happy. All of his books reflected how he would have liked things to have been in his life, but that was when he had been unhappy. Satisfied with his situation, his inspiration was gone.

The postman left while Glen removed a single copy from the box and put the other copies into three stacks. He would send them to the hospital and the old folks home. There were many women in both of those places that needed the escape that his books would provide. The last stack was for the hospital where his wife had stayed. He remembered how much his wife had needed them.

It was slowly moving towards noon and Glen was getting hungry for lunch. He went in the kitchen and made a quick sandwich. It didn't take him long to consume it. Now he was left with about six hours with nothing to do. He smiled and went to the mud room to retrieve his fishing gear. He decided that today would be a good day to try fly fishing.

He went to the stream and waded into it. He started casting the fly using the simple ten o'clock to two o'clock movement Henry had taught him. It always took him a few minutes to find the right rhythm, but once he found it he settled right into it. Having placed the fly in approximately the place that he had intended, he let it float on the water for a few seconds. He was about to move it when a beautiful trout broke the surface and took the fly. He smiled as he worked the fish in closer and then captured it in the net.

He held up the fish and removed the hook from its mouth. This was a very nice sized Brook Trout. He put it in his creel and went back to fishing. The time progressed nicely with him catching four of the lovely fish before three in the afternoon. He stopped at that point and took the fish up to a little cleaning table that he had set up. He cleaned the fish and then took them up to the house.

In the house, he wrapped and froze the four fish. One evening, he and the others would have a nice trout dinner. Until then, they would keep in the freezer. As much as Glen enjoyed fishing, it was nothing compared to Cliff. The kid was a fishing maniac and had progressed to very advanced methods of fly casting. Cliff did not keep many of the fish that he caught. He kept only the largest of the fish. Many of them were several pounds.

He went to the living room and glanced at the clock. He saw that it was close to four and he only had two more hours to wait. He decided to watch a movie on the porno channel. Much to his surprise, it was a movie with a strong bisexual theme. He watched and wondered why Cliff had not yet approached him. He guessed that Cliff was afraid of outright rejection or that others might learn his secret. Well, at least he hadn't been faced with having to react to such a request.

He watched the movie with interest. It wasn't half bad and the sex was pretty hot. Glen realized that part of it was that all of the scenes in the movie included women and that the men not only were with each other, but also with the women. He continued to watch the movie and making mental comments about the action. A few times he actually thought he could do some of the things that were shown.

He shrugged and changed the channel to the news. The world was still in a rotten shape. The Middle East was still a powder keg waiting to blow. The politicians of both parties remained shallow. European nations were attempting to form the European Union, but couldn't agree on monetary issues. It looked to him like Great Britain wasn't going to adopt the Euro. It was funny, but you could watch the news about once every year and see the same kinds of stories. The individuals involved differed, but the scandals were all similar.

Looking at the clock, he realized that it was time for him to get ready for the trio to come home from work. He stripped and took a shower, enjoying the feeling of warm water cascading over his body. He started to get erect trying to imagine what the twins might have in store for him tonight. They had hinted at something special, but he couldn't imagine them doing anything with him that he hadn't already done before.

He got out of the shower without taking care of his erection. It would go down in a minute on its own. It was more fun to masturbate, but he wanted to stay a little on the horny side for the evening. Who knew what he might miss if he couldn't get it up enough times tonight. He quickly toweled himself dry and hung the towel on the towel rack. That had been one of the last things that he had installed in the house and he still forgot at times that it was there.

He went into the living room and went through his wardrobe looking for the appropriate attire. He finally found a pair of dress pants that still fit. He also found a shirt that wasn't too small. It was amazing how much his body had changed over the past year as a result of his work on the cabin. Lifting the logs had really developed his upper body. Today he was thirty-seven and he had wash-board abs. He wondered how many men his age could say that.

He had just sat down when the trio drove up in their truck. The twins ran into the house without even bothering to say hello. They went into their room and emerged naked. As they ran into the bathroom, Sandra shouted, "We'll be done very quickly."

Cliff entered the house with a little slower pace. He stopped and looked at the expression on Glen's face. He laughed and said, "They wanted to take a shower before getting dressed. I do too, but it doesn't take me as long to get dressed."

Glen laughed and replied, "That's okay. They looked like they were moving pretty fast for a change. I bet they'll be done in less than an hour."

Cliff laughed as he answered, "They promised me that they would take less than thirty minutes to get ready."

Glen shook his head at the news. He didn't believe that they could accomplish that to save their lives. Cliff went into his room and undressed. He was actually in there for a very short time before two wet women ran out of the bathroom and into their room. Cliff came out of his room naked. Glen just watched the comings and goings with amusement. He was trying to think of the comedy that had a similar feel. It came to him in a flash, the Keystone Cops. He chuckled at the image and wondered who would be chasing who.

Cliff wasn't in the shower long before he came out. He was significantly drier than the twins had been. He walked confidently to his room. Glen watched him walk and realized that Cliff had filled out some over the course of the winter. His upper body was a little more developed as a result of working on the house, but his lower body showed the benefits of many hours spent cross-country skiing. All in all, Cliff was not a bad looking man.

Glen was very surprised when the twins emerged from their room all dressed and with make up on their face. He was about to comment when Wanda said, "I told you we could put on our makeup without a mirror."

Sandra laughed as she answered, "Who needs a mirror when you can watch your twin sister?"

Glen was confused by the exchange and asked, "Pardon? Did I miss something?"

Sandra said, "We decided to try an experiment. We sat across from each other and put on our make-up as though the other twin was our reflection in the mirror. It was so much faster this way since we didn't have to share the mirror."

Glen tried to picture how they could do that and gave up. Sometimes the twins were just spooky. Cliff came out of his bedroom dressed and was shocked to find that the twins had been ready before him. He asked, "Has the world stopped spinning?"

Wanda playfully hit him on the shoulder and said, "No, it hasn't stopped spinning."

Sandra looked anxiously at the clock and said, "We need to get going if we are going to be there on time."

The twins dashed out the door leaving the two men behind. Glen followed them out in time to see them pile into their truck and start it up. Cliff came up behind Glen. He said, "They wanted to talk on the way there."

Glen, puzzled by their behavior, only shrugged. He said, "Well, I guess we had better follow them."

The two men got into the truck and headed out. The twins were long gone. Glen had no idea where they were headed and had to rely on Cliff providing directions. It was a pretty long way to their destination and it was almost 7:30 before they arrived. Glen got out, not recognizing the place. He followed Cliff into the restaurant. The twins were already seated at a table and waved to them when they came in. When the men were close enough, the twins called out, "Hello."

Glen seated himself at the table and looked around. It was a very nice restaurant. The staff, all black, was dressed in civil war era servant garb. The attire surprised Glen more than anything about the restaurant. Once seated, a very attractive black woman in a dress with petticoats and apron came to the table carrying a basket of hot buns. She curtsied and then proceeded to put a bun on each side plate. She left after giving everyone a bun.

A young black man in equally fine dress came to the table with a pitcher of water. He filled the water glasses and then left. He returned a moment later with a pitcher of iced tea. Glen watched in amazement as the staff, in a very professional manner went about their business without intruding in the least bit.

Wanda and Sandra were smiling at Glen. Finally, Wanda said, "Isn't this place amazing?"

Glen nodded. He said, "I have a hard time believing that the staff agrees to the costuming."

Cliff smiled and answered, "They are all a family. They got the idea from an uncle who used to work in a really fancy restaurant in Savannah. He was always complaining about how the place had changed in the late sixties to a more modern and politically acceptable attire. When that happened, tips went to hell and he had to quit to take a different job to make enough money to support his family."

Glen was amazed that Cliff knew so much about this place. He asked, "How did you find out all of that?"

Cliff smiled and answered, "Well, the owner came into the grocery store. We started talking and he told me all about this place. They've only been open for a month, but business is great. He said they were making more here than they had made in all of their other jobs combined."

Glen hadn't even noticed when one of the servants set four plates of food in the center of the table. There was a plate of crab piled high with a spoon next to it. Next to it was a plate with boiled shrimp, already peeled. The third plate of food contained raw oysters on the half shell. He glanced down at his setting. He saw that a small stand with a lit candle held a pot of melted clarified butter was situated just to the left of his plate. There was also a container of cocktail sauce. There was a fourth plate with a pile of lemons and horse radish. He was very impressed. He looked around before saying, "The service here is outstanding."

Sandra and Wanda were pleased that they had been able to arrange an evening that impressed Glen. They had been at their wits end trying to come up with some appropriate way to celebrate his birthday. When Cliff had mentioned this place, the three of them had driven down and talked with the owner. This was everything that had been promised and more.

Everyone took a little of everything off the plates in the middle of the table. They started to eat. Somehow, the atmosphere seemed to scream out that they were not to rush. It was easy falling into a nice slow pace. When Glen had taken the last boiled shrimp off the plate, he turned his attention to the oysters. When he looked back, the plate for shrimp was full again. He was really impressed.

After a while, the plates were finally emptied and not refilled. A moment later they were all removed from the table by the same person that had delivered them. Everything was smoothly done.

Glen wasn't full and wondered what was going to happen next. He was about to say something, when a plate of salad was set in front of him. He looked over at Wanda in time to see one of the men setting a plate in front of her. He stood behind and to the left so that he could set the plate without disturbing her. Glen watched in amazement at the grace. The costume was really outstanding. He could actually imagine plantation house slaves dressed in that fashion.

He was actually surprised when an elderly black man said, "What salad dressing does the master desire tonight?"

Glen looked over at the man and saw that he was carrying a caddy with five different dressings on it. He said, "The thousand island looks great."

The older man started to dish out the dressing onto the salad. Glen watched and then said, "That's enough. Thank you very much."

The black man bowed his head and stated, "It's a pleasure, sir."

The exchange was repeated around the table. Glen watched the service with an appreciation. He had not told anyone that he had once managed a restaurant. With a practiced eye, he took in the entire room. The staff moved slowly and stately around the room. Each one performing only one or two services. The young man with the water pitcher hardly ever stopped moving as he went from table to table refilling the glasses as they emptied. Iced tea glasses were refilled every other circuit he took through the room. In fact, no glass ever managed to get more than half empty.

Cliff was watching Glen. He commented, "It is almost like a dance isn't it? They each move to their own rhythm, yet everything comes together."

Glen looked at Cliff and answered, "This is the art of service at its highest form."

The same man that had delivered the salads removed the empty plates, replacing them with clean plates. He waited until each person either finished or set their utensils down to clear the plate. Glen looked from one twin to the next seeing the happy expressions on their faces. He said, "You three did a wonderful job in picking out this place."

Additional plates of food appeared in the center of the table. There were plates of deviled crab, fried sea scallops, fried shrimp, fried fish, and fried chicken. Standing almost by itself was a plate of beautiful golden brown onion rings, each ring was huge. There were also plates with celery sticks, radishes, pickles, olives, and baby carrots.

While Glen was eyeing the food, a baked potato appeared on his plate. He noticed that the twins and Cliff had French Fries. The look of confusion must have been written all over his face as Sandra answered his unspoken question, "We ordered the sides before you got here. We know how much you like baked potatoes."

The black man that had provided the salad dressings appeared by Glen's side. He asked, "What would you like on your potato sir?"

The man held a caddy filled with all kinds of toppings for the potato. There was cheese, butter, sour cream, chives, and bacon bits. Glen answered, "I'll take butter."

"Yes, sir," answered the man. He slowly dished out a nice dollop of butter into the center of the potato. He asked, "Would you something else, sir?"

Glen smiled and replied, "No, thank you."

They began to dig into the food on the table. Everything was outstanding. They took their time and sampled everything. The things they liked the best, they took seconds. The plates never emptied completely. Before they had a chance to take seconds, several more plates of food were delivered. This included hush puppies, biscuits, and cinnamon twists. Everything was perfect. Glen could hardly believe how much he ate.

Appetite sated, he sat back and noticed that the trio was watching him with grins on their faces. He shrugged as he explained, "Hey, I really liked this place."

Wanda countered, "From how much you ate, I would say that you really like the food."

Glen laughed and said, "I really like this place. I have never been so impressed in my life by the service, the atmosphere, and the quality of food. This is amazing."

When Glen glanced down all of the plates and silver ware had been removed. Crumbs on the table cloth had been removed and new service had been set. A young girl, maybe sixteen or so, came to the table with two coffeepots. She asked, "Would you care for regular or decaf, sir?"

Glen answered, "Regular, please."

The girl quickly filled the coffee cup and went to Wanda. She continued around the table filling each cup. On the table were a cut-glass sugar bowl and a cut-glass pitcher of milk. Glen nodded appreciatively. A young black man, about twenty seven, came to the table. He extended his hand to Cliff and said, "Welcome Cliff. I hope that everything was satisfactory."

Cliff grinned and shook the extended hand. He replied, "This was wonderful Oliver."

Oliver turned to Glen and said, "You must be Glen. Happy Birthday."

Glen extended his hand and said, "This is an amazing place. You guys have done a great job here. You must be very proud of this place."

Oliver answered, "Thank you. We were worried when we opened, but business has been terrific. Much better than we had planned."

Glen nodded appreciatively. Oliver turned to the twins and smiled, "If it isn't twiddle dee and twiddle dum. You are both as beautiful as ever."

Sandra laughed and said, "You're never going to let us live that down."

Wanda nudged Glen and said, "When we first came over here, he asked our names. We were in a rather funny mood so we answered twiddle dee and twiddle dum. Then we got into an argument about which one of us was twiddle dum."

Oliver laughed and said, "Your young friends here are quite a bundle of energy. It must be fun having them around the cabin."

Glen nodded and said, "Fun is a one word you might use to describe it."

Oliver said, "Cliff said that you had a wonderful creek filled with trout. He invited me over some morning for a try at them. Is that all right with you?"

Glen smiled and said, "That's great. I caught four nice ones this afternoon. It's always great to have someone around to whom you can show off the fish you catch. Cliff over there only goes after the big ones."

Oliver answered, "Well, I guess that leaves you and me going after quantity."

Glen laughed. He liked Oliver and his easy way of dealing with people. He knew that they could be fast friends given the time and correct circumstances. Glen said, "You can come over any time. Just give Cliff a call at the grocery store and we'll take you down to the stream. Once you know where it is, you can come out anytime you want."

Oliver looked at Glen in surprise. He replied, "That's most generous of you."

"Don't mention it."

Oliver stepped out of the way as a woman came in carrying a small cake. He smiled and said, "Here's the desert. Happy Birthday, Glen. Come back anytime."

When the cake had been set on the table, Glen turned to thank Oliver, but the man was gone. The four of them ate the cake with great delight. The coffee flowed and everything was perfect. It was funny, but they didn't feel comfortable singing happy birthday in the restaurant. All four of them agreed that it didn't fit the environment.

When they were finished with their desert, the four of them sat back. It was almost ten and Glen realized they had been eating for almost two and a half hours. A young girl of about twelve came to the table. She was adorable in her outfit. She set a small tray of mints on the table and, with a curtsy, said, "Thank you for coming here. We hope you will come back again some time."

Glen was floored. He said, "Thank you, ma'am. We'll come back again just to see you."

The girl blushed and then left the table. They ate the dinner mints appreciating the cool flavor of the mint and the taste of quality chocolate. As they were leaving, Cliff reached into a pocket and pulled out two bills. He set them on the tray that had held the mints. Glen noticed that the bills were both fifties. Cliff had told him that they had already paid for the meal. He did a mental calculation and realized that a tip that size indicated a very expensive meal.

The drive home was a quiet affair as full stomachs tended to make them lethargic. Sandra rode home with him. It was a little after eleven when they pulled into his driveway. The whole area was lit with the flashing red and blue lights of a police car parked in front of the house. Glen and Sandra exchanged a look. Glen said, "I wonder what is going on?"

They pulled up to the house and got out. Cliff and Wanda pulled up right next to them and got out as well. A deputy came over to the group. He didn't look like he had come bearing good news. He stated, "The Sheriff sent me over here to wait for you. We've been worried about you."

Glen asked, "Why have you been worried?"

The deputy paused and then answered, "Well, it seems that Amos Orvin escaped earlier today. We were afraid that he had taken you."

The Menchettes paled at the thought of that maniac. Glen found himself becoming angry. He snarled, "How in the hell did that happen?"

"Over full jails. They transferred him to a local jail in another town. He killed a policeman and escaped. Ripped the guys throat out with his teeth." The deputy shuddered as he stated the facts. He knew that Amos had been viewed as harmless except when free. Amos had used that misperception to his advantage.

Everyone paled at the image of Amos tearing someone's throat out with his teeth. They could all imagine him doing that to them. Cliff summarized everyone's feelings about the news in one word. He simply said, "Fuck."

The deputy asked, "Will you guys be staying here?"

Glen looked at the Metchettes and answered, "Yes. I think that we would rather meet him on our terms than on his. There are some simple preparations that we can make that will significantly increase our chances against him."

The trio stared at Glen, but he didn't give them a chance to ask the logical questions. The deputy looked at the four people and didn't know what else to say. Finally, he said, "Well, I'll get back into town and let the Sheriff know that you are okay for now."

Glen nodded and replied, "Thanks for coming out here and telling us. Forewarned is forearmed."

The deputy got in his car and drove away. Glen turned to the other three and gestured for them to follow him. When they got in the house, Glen turned to them and stated, "Look, it is not as bad as it sounds. We can take some very simple steps now and be prepared for him. When he comes, we will take care of him once and for all."

Wanda, near tears, asked, "How can we do that?"

Glen smiled and answered, "Would the three of you please sit on the couch in the same positions that he had you when I interrupted him last time?"

The three of them sat on the couch. Glen looked at them and stated, "You had your hands behind you."

The three shifted to where their hands were behind them. Glen smiled and asked, "Where are your hands?"

Sandra frowned and answered, "In the crack of the couch."

"Exactly. What would have happened last time if there had been knives in the crack?"

Wanda grinned and answered, "We could have gotten our hands free."

"Exactly. You would have gotten your hands free and you would have a weapon in your hands."

Cliff nodded thoughtfully. He added, "You know, if we had some sort of signal, we could all attack at the same time."

Sandra looked at her sister and brother. The twins didn't need a signal to act like one person, but that would have left Cliff out. She asked, "We were bound and gagged last time. Our feet were tied. How can we pass a signal?"

"Sandra and Wanda close your eyes for a minute." Glen watched as they followed his directions. Glen made a gesture for Cliff to bounce on the couch. When Cliff bounced, the twins both turned and stared at him. Glen stated, "Exactly. If the middle person bounces then the person on each side knows it. So that person bounces, you each count to three and then attack. It will be coordinated."

Wanda laughed, "That's smart."

Sandra got up and went over to Glen. She leaned against him and cooed, "I'd rather have the hero here come rescue us."

Glen shook his head. He decided to be brutally honest so that there weren't any surprises. He said, "Amos is not stupid. He's going to try taking me out first. He's also not strong enough to carry me over to the couch, so I'll be on the floor. Odds are, I'll be bound and he's going to take a lot of frustration out on me."

Cliff frowned and asked, "So what are you going to do?"

"I'm going to play possum for as long as I can. When I'm sure that all of you have cut your bonds, then I'm going to curl up in a ball. I imagine that he's going to try to kick the shit out of me. His attention will not be on you and that is your chance to make your move."

The group continued to debate the plan for the next hour. There were revisions and extensions in case he didn't do the same as before. Little weapons were stashed around the house. They even practiced cutting duct tape off their wrists with the hidden knives. By the time the Metchettes went to bed, they were convinced that they could deal with Amos.

Glen watched them all go to bed. None of them were in the mood for sex tonight. The news of Amos' escape had significantly upset them. Glen understood and was very angry himself. He went to the recliner and thought about other steps that could be taken to protect the kids. He knew that by the time Amos had them tied up, they would all be naked. From what he knew about Amos, he liked to take a bit of time to boast about what he was going to do next. That could be used against him also.

Glen got up and made some other preparations. He would keep those to himself rather than scare the twins. He hid some first aid supplies under the couch in case someone got hurt. He put some spare clothes in the trucks in case they had to flee naked. When he was satisfied that he had done all that he could for them, he went to bed. No one slept well that night, but there weren't the kinds of nightmares that they used to have.



-------

Chapter 8


Glen returned to the cabin after taking a short hike around the property. They had been waiting three days for Amos and there had been no sign. Everyone's nerves were getting frazzled as they waited. Glen, tired of staying in the house, had finally taken a walk. The trio said they would watch from the window in case something happened to him.

He opened the door and stepped in, shouting that he was back. He glanced at the couch and saw the Metchettes looking at him in fear and with duct-tape covering their mouths. He had barely processed that information when Amos stepped out from behind the door with the stun gun. Glen went down.

Glen woke on the floor and waited to get control before opening his eyes. Opening his eyes just a slit, he saw Amos standing above him about to kick him in the stomach. Glen curled into as tight a ball as he could. The foot slammed into his shins. Amos screamed in rage and went to kick his face. He tucked his face behind his knees. The kick glanced off the knees and smashed into his forehead. Glen felt like someone had just tried to scalp him.

He remained on the floor curled up to the best of his ability. Amos landed as many kicks as he could, but none of them seriously injured Glen. Finally tired from all of his efforts, Amos stepped away and stood in front of the Metchettes. He stated, "I'm going to cut off his balls and make him watch what I do to you. He's going to suffer knowing that you are counting on him to save you and he can't do a damned thing."

Glen looked over at the trio and winked to let them know that he wasn't really hurt. All three gave the barest of nods. They all had their hands free, but were sitting there as though they were helpless.

He looked over at Amos and almost laughed aloud. Gathering all of his strength, he extended his legs as fast and hard as he could. His left foot made direct contact with the side of Amos' knee. There was a huge crack and Amos toppled like a tree cut down in the forest. Screaming in pain, Amos leaned forward to grab his knee. The Metchettes sprang forward with their knives extended. Each was trying to hit Amos in the stomach. The knives went into him with ease.

The three pulled out their knives as pools of blood swelled and discolored his shirt. They sat back and cut the tape around their legs. The twins stood up and ran outside. Cliff paused to cut the tape around Glen's wrists. He handed his knife to Glen. Glen ripped the tape off his mouth. It took off half his facial hair in the processes. He shouted to Cliff, "Get the girls out of here! There are clothes behind the seat in your truck."

Cliff ran out to the truck and joined the girls in it. The girls had just retrieved the key for the truck from the place they had hidden it. They handed the key to Cliff. In seconds they were pulling out. Four minutes later they were at the end of the road. Cliff stopped the truck and turned to the girls. He said, "Pull the seat back forward. Glen said he had put some clothes in there."

Inside the cabin, Glen finished getting the tape off his ankles. Amos was rolling around on the floor in considerable pain. He was holding his stomach as blood continued to pour out of the cuts. Glen took stock of the situation trying to decide what to do next. Amos was screaming, "I'm going to kill those bitches. They're mine and I'm going to kill them."

Glen moved over to Amos and said, "No, they are mine and you are never going to see them again."

"I'm going to kill all three of those bitches and I'm going to make you watch."

Glen knelt down and rolled Amos over onto his stomach. Pressing a knee in his back, he grabbed the head of the man under him. He twisted it as hard as he could. The neck made a sickening popping sound as vertebra gave way to the forces placed upon them. Amos thrashed and stopped moving. Glen waited a second and then checked to make sure that Amos was dead. There was no pulse. He said, "You are never going to see them again."

Glen got up and went to his truck. His shins hurt from where he had been kicked. Amos had hurt him a little and, as he walked to the truck, he wondered if he should head to the hospital. He decided that he would follow the Metchettes. If they went to the Sheriff, then so would he.

The twins did as suggested and found the cache of clothes. It was all simple one size fits all t-shirts and sweat pants. There was also a note. Cliff dressed while the Sandra read the note aloud, "If you are reading this note, that means that you have escaped Amos. If any of you are hurt, go directly to the hospital. Do not stop at the Sheriff. I will do the best I can to keep him from escaping. Glen."

Wanda had finished slipping a T-shirt on and said, "That man. He really does take care of us."

Cliff, glancing in the rear-view mirror, stated, "Well, I think he's behind us in the truck. Let's head to the Sheriff's."

Glen, seeing the truck ahead of him, gave him the emergency light signal they had agreed upon so they would know that it was him driving. He didn't want them to end up fleeing him and possibly getting into an accident. He had cautioned them to take their time and not speed. They were going to be nervous and that wasn't the best circumstances in which to be driving.

They had reached the main road when Cliff pulled the truck over to the side of the road. Glen slowed down as he approached them and stopped behind them. He was in time to see one of the twins scramble out of the truck. She got about five steps from the truck and doubled over, vomiting along side the road. He headed over to her to help. The other twin exited at the same time and started vomiting as well. Cliff and Glen reached the twins about the same time. Cliff helped one while Glen helped the other.

After a few minutes, both of them stopped. Sandra, with tears in her eyes, looked up at Glen. Her lips quivered and she had to take several deep breaths to get control of herself. Finally, she said, "I'm sorry. I just realized that my hands were covered in his blood and that it was all over my shirt."

Wanda was sitting next to the truck softly crying. Cliff was trying to comfort her. She cried out, "I killed someone."

Glen came over and sat beside her. Crushing her in a hug and rocking her like a child, he said, "No you didn't. He was very much alive when you three left."

Wanda sniffled and then asked, "He's going to come after us again?"

Glen continued to rock her as he answered, "No. He and I had a little altercation after you left. He's not going to bother you ever again."

"He's not?"

"Never again will he bother you."

Wanda relaxed. Sandra joined her twin and they hugged each other. A huge torrent of emotions flooded through them. They didn't know what to feel. They were free of a monster. Should they be happy that he was dead? Should they fear Glen who had killed him? Should they be ashamed for stabbing the monster? Did they have murderous tendencies? The mix of emotions was overwhelming. They finally stood up and returned to the pickup truck.

Cliff closed the door behind them with a solid thud. The smell of vomit hung thick in the air and it promised to make him sick as well. He swallowed heavily before he turned to Glen and asked, "You killed him where he was, didn't you?"

"Yes. He's dead." Glen answered. Glen looked Cliff in the eye for a minute. Cliff nodded and went back to the truck. Glen went back to his and followed Cliff as the young man drove off. They headed directly to the Sheriff's office.

As they drove, Glen couldn't help but consider himself a murderer. He hadn't acted in self defense, but he wasn't sure that the normal definition of that concept applied when dealing with an individual like Amos. As long as Amos lived, he would be a threat. Glen was convinced that the only way to defend oneself from Amos was to kill him. He had done that, but it didn't prevent him from feeling horrible.

When they reached the Sheriffs office all four of them gathered together and went into the building. The deputy took one look at the blood and called out for the Sheriff. The Sheriff came out of his office and took a look at the four people standing there. He took a deep breath and asked, "Where is the body?"

Glen answered, "He's in my cabin."

The Sheriff turned to the deputy and ordered, "Get out to the Wiseman place and check it out. Get on the radio as you are going there and get two cars to meet you there. I'll call the state police and send them out there as well. I'll call the coroner as well."

The deputy looked over at Glen and nodded in respect. As he passed by Glen, he whispered, "Don't worry about a thing. I'm pretty clumsy when it comes to collecting evidence."

Glen laughed and nodded back. The Sheriff went back to the desk and made several calls. The first one was to the coroner and the second was to the State Police. Glen, standing near the door, could hear sirens start up from several different places. The Sheriff made a third call to his wife, asking her to stop by a store and get four new sets of sweat pants and t-shirts. He hung up the phone and came out from behind the counter. He walked over to the door and locked it.

He turned to face the four people in his office. He cleared his throat and said, "Listen up everyone."

Glen and the Metchettes turned to face the Sheriff. The Sheriff, sure that he had their attention, said, "Here is what we are going to do. I am going to interview each of you individually and without any record. I will then turn on a recorder and interview you officially. When we are done, it will be a clear case of self-defense. Are there any questions?"

Cliff's face scrunched up as he asked, "Why the pretense?"

"I want to make sure that all of your answers do not lead to more questions. We want to get this behind you so that you can start living your lives free of any fear." The Sheriff had a very good idea what had happened and he just wanted these people to get on with their lives. He didn't really care to know if Glen had overstepped a few legal boundaries.

Glen nodded and said, "Thanks Sheriff."

The Sheriff pulled Wanda into the office and closed the door. While they were in there, Helena knocked on the door. Glen opened it and let her in. She winked at Glen as she came in and then went to the back of the building carrying a rather large sack with her. After about twenty minutes the door of the office opened and the Sheriff led Wanda out.

Glen said, "Helena arrived."

The Sheriff smiled and replied, "Good."

He led Wanda to the back of the building and opened the door that his wife had entered. The two of them went inside. After just a few minutes, he came out and led Sandra to his office. Glen asked, "So how did he get in?"

Cliff said, "I think he was waiting for you to go out. He came in almost as soon as you hit the back of the property. He took us down with the stun gun. I came too in time to see him position himself to be able to jump you when you came in. He had the stun gun and some pepper spray. I was really afraid that he was going to use the pepper spray on you."

Glen sat there for a minute thinking about that. Things wouldn't have turned out differently either way, but he had been lucky. He was sure that the pepper spray was in case he had come in the wrong door. It was better at a distance than up close.

After about twenty minutes, the Sheriff brought Sandra out and led her to the same room. He knocked on the door and then left when it opened and Sandra went in. Glen watched the proceedings curiously, wondering what was going on in the other room. The Sheriff came back and took Cliff into his office. Glen was left there alone. A woman came into the building, took one look at him, and left. The expression on her face was priceless. He smiled as he wondered what she had thought of finding him there. Most likely, she assumed that he was a criminal and didn't want to risk getting attacked by him.

He waited patiently. After about twenty minutes the Sheriff led Cliff out of his office. He knocked on the door and then said something to Cliff that Glen couldn't hear. The Sheriff left him standing in front of the door and came over the Glen. He said, "Come with me."

They went into the office. The Sheriff seated himself behind his desk and looked at Glen. Glen didn't wait for an invitation before seating himself in a chair. He looked over at the Sheriff and asked, "You want to tell me what is going on here?"

The Sheriff said, "You killed him didn't you?"

"Yes, I did. The Metchettes had already left the house when he died. They didn't have any role in his death."

The Sheriff was proud of Glen in his continued protection of the Metchettes. He would go to the electric chair maintaining their innocence. He had done well in selecting Glen to watch over them. He stated, "You were concerned that he was going to come back and carry out his threats against them."

"Yes, I was."

The Sheriff took a deep breath. This was the question that he didn't really want the answer, but he had to understand for his own sake what had happened there. He asked, "How did you do it?"

"I grabbed his head and twisted until his neck broke."

The Sheriff asked, "Did he resist or attack you in any way?"

"No. I didn't give him a chance to resist or attack," answered Glen truthfully. He was convinced that he was putting his head in a noose.

The Sheriff interviewed him on tape. It was a pretty simple interview that didn't ask any probing questions. The questions could be answered with either a yes or no without much room for doubt. Each question was intended to support the view that the death was the result of self-defense. When they were done, the Sheriff turned off the recorder and stated, "Well, that's that. A clear case of self-defense. The investigation is done."

Glen, surprised at how many details were glossed over, asked, "You know that I killed him in cold blood. Why are you doing this?"

The Sheriff was quiet for a moment before answering. He said, "You protected the Metchettes like I asked you. You saved them three times. I don't know of anyone else who could have done that for them."

"You know that he didn't have to die for them to have been protected from him."

"Suppose we had arrested him and he escaped again. Who knows if there would have been a fourth time. You saved them from that possible future. You did the right thing."

Glen was quiet for a moment and then, in a very soft voice, asked, "Why do I feel like shit?"

"Because you have a conscience. You killed a man and you feel bad. It's good that you feel bad. I would have arrested you if you didn't, but don't beat yourself up over it. Just remember, he would have died in the chair anyway."

"Why the superficial investigation?"

"You did us all a favor. We had to do one for you. The state police can read your statement and look at the evidence. They'll leave you alone, particularly after I talk to them."

Glen nodded and thought about what the Sheriff had said. He was going to have to think about it for a long time before he could accept everything that had happened today. He finally asked, "What now?"

The Sheriff laughed and replied, "Oh, you are going to hate this part."

"Why?"

The Sheriff looked at Glen with a twinkle in his eye. He answered, "You have to go over to the diner and be treated like a hero."

Glen groaned as he shouted, "No!"

"Yes, now follow me and we'll get you cleaned up and in some fresh clothes. You've got a bit of blood on yours. I'll have to keep your old clothes as evidence."

Glen followed the Sheriff down to the mystery room. He entered and found it was a shower and changing room. The Sheriff said, "Empty your pockets. Strip and then hand me your clothes."

Glen did as he was asked. He adjusted the water in the shower to a slightly hotter temperature than he normally used. He got out the bar of soap and started scrubbing. He wondered if he could ever wash his actions away. He spent a lot of time in the shower washing himself. His skin had wrinkled by the time he turned the water off and stepped out, a bright pink from the hot water. He slowly dried himself off. He went over his body with the towel a second time and then a third. He stopped when he realized that he had been scrubbing himself with the towel. He looked at it and then put it in the pile with the other towels.

He went into the changing room and found a pair of sweatpants and a T-shirt. He put them on and found himself holding his keys, wallet, and pocket knife. He searched the sweat pants looking for a pocket and couldn't find one. He stepped out of the room and met the Sheriff waiting for him.

Dale looked at Glen holding his personal items in his hand and laughed. He disappeared for a moment and returned with a plastic baggy. He handed the baggy over and said, "Put your stuff in this. It looks more masculine than the purse we have in lost and found."

Glen did as he was told. He looked around and sighed, "Let's get to it."

The Sheriff took Glen over to the diner. As soon as they entered, a number of people started clapping. Glen looked around confused. The twins came over to him and hugged him. Wanda said, "You saved us again. I couldn't believe how you took him on all by yourself."

Glen glanced over at Cliff and stated, "Hey, Cliff gets a lot of the credit too. He got you guys out of there."

There was an uncomfortable moment of silence and then Cliff laughed. He shouted, "So modest. Come over here, Glen. Let us buy you lunch."

The Sheriff, putting a hand on Glen's shoulder, interrupted, "Nope. Lunch is on me."

Glen looked at the daily special and groaned. The Metchettes looked at the menu and burst out laughing. The Sheriff asked, "What's so funny?"

"The lunch special is a hero sandwich." Wanda answered with a giggle.

Sandra added, "The last time he saved us, the lunch special was a hero sandwich."

The Sheriff had to laugh at the irony and ordered five lunch specials. The five of them ate lunch together. When the Sheriff noticed Glen's eyes get a little twinkle in them he said, "Oh no you don't. No deserts at this table."

After lunch, the Sheriff insisted that they all go to the local clothing store and buy some new clothes. Glen wondered what was going on, but he went with the flow. They walked over to the clothing store and bought new outfits. Since Glen was the only one with a wallet, he paid for all of the clothes. It actually felt good to be back in jeans and work shirt.

When they exited the store, the Sheriff met them on the sidewalk. He pulled Glen aside and said, "You need to replace the carpet in the cabin. I suggest you go over to the carpet place and get a new one. We had to pull the old one out."

Glen smiled as he realized what the Sheriff had done. He had used the time to get all of the blood out of the house. That had included ripping out the old carpet out. They would get home and everything would be in disarray, but at least it would be free of any reminders of what had gone on. He thought to himself that he was actually pretty lucky to live in a small town.

He took the other three to the carpet store and had them help pick out a new carpet. He ordered it and was told that it would be delivered the next morning. That was actually a good thing, as there was much that they would have to do before they could install the carpet.

They all headed home with Glen and Wanda leading the way in his truck. Wanda was quiet for most of the trip. About halfway there, she asked, "Why did you do it?"

Glen didn't need her to clarify her question. He answered, "I couldn't bear the thought of him ever hurting you guys again. After you left, that's all he was talking about. I couldn't take a chance that he would ever see you again."

Wanda was quiet for another five minutes and then whispered, "That's what Cliff said you would say. He says you love us."

"He's right."

Wanda looked out the back window of the truck at Cliff following behind them. She said, "Cliff doesn't know that we know, but he likes men too."

Glen didn't say anything for a long time. He decided that an answer was required and said, "That doesn't surprise me."

"Would you help him out?"

Glen was quiet for a minute as he tried to puzzle out what she had meant. He wasn't sure if she was asking him to talk him out of liking men or if she was asking him to have sex with him. Unable to decide, he asked, "How do you mean?"

Wanda saw that they were almost home by now and her chance to ask was limited. She blurted out, "Could you let him sleep with you sometime?"

Glen put off making a decision by giving a non-committal answered, "We'll have to see what happens. You never know."

Wanda looked at him out of the corner of her eye and whispered, "Do you hate us for asking you to do that?"

"I already said that I love you. That includes all three of you. However, anything that happens with Cliff is between him and I. Unless, that is, you join in."

Wanda sat back with a sigh of relief. At least she hadn't alienated Glen from Cliff. She knew that Sandra was having a similar chat with Cliff in the other truck. She looked at him carefully and asked, "Would you like that?"

"Like what?"

"For us to join in?"

Glen laughed and nodded his head as a mental image went through his head. He answered, "It sounds like fun, but Cliff needs to agree."

They arrived at the cabin before Wanda had a chance to respond. A state trooper was standing by his car. Glen got out of the truck and went over to the state trooper. He said, "Hello. I'm Glen Wiseman."

The trooper looked at him for a minute and extended his hand. He answered, "Glen, I'm Jim James. It's a pleasure to meet you."

Glen was surprised by the greeting. He said, "Um, thanks."

Jim looked at Glen and realized the confusion. He clarified his introduction by saying, "The policeman that Amos killed was my brother in law. You saved me a lot of trouble. Since I didn't kill him, I won't have to explain why he died."

Glen understood the troopers feelings. Investigations of law enforcement personnel involved in killings tended to be very public and very hostile to the officer. He said, "Well, I think I'd sleep better at night if I hadn't been the one."

The trooper nodded his agreement. He said, "I understand how you feel. It just proves that you are human and not a monster. Don't worry. We've recommended to the prosecutor that this was an open and shut case of self defense against a known sociopath. The prosecutor agreed and the case is closed. You won't hear about this again."

Glen, more relieved that he could rationalize, said, "Thanks. It takes a major worry away from me."

The trooper opened the door to his car and said, "Well, I just wanted to thank you personally. I'm sure that you have some things to do around the cabin. I'm afraid we left it a mess."

"Thank you for staying here."

The trooper looked around and said, "You have a real nice place here. It is like a little piece of heaven."

The trooper got into his car and drove off. Glen watched him go. The Metchettes had stood back and watched the exchange. Cliff was bothered by the fact that Glen had set himself up to take all of the blame. He couldn't believe that Glen was willing to do that. Of course, now it looked like he was taking all of the credit, but it was clear that Glen wasn't happy about that.

Entering the cabin was a tense experience for everyone. The living room was a shambles. The furniture had been moved and the carpet pulled up. However, it was going to be a simple matter to set things right. They moved the furniture out of the living room. In the morning the carpet would be delivered then they would move the furniture back. Once things had been straightened up, Glen turned to the Metchettes and suggested, "It's a lovely day outside. Let's go by the stream for a chat. I think that we all have a lot to talk about and it's a shame to spend the day in the cabin."

Cliff seconded the motion by saying, "I'm all for that. Let's take some cokes and snacks with us. We'll turn it into a mid-afternoon picnic."

Wanda and Sandra shared one of their looks. Wanda moved to the kitchen to prepare some snacks. Sandra said, "We'll be done in a minute."

It was a little more than a minute later before everyone assembled in the living room. The twins had a sack of food and cokes. Cliff had filled his pockets with his normal stuff, wallet, keys, and pocket knife. Glen hadn't had much to do, but he surveyed the cabin looking for signs of damage that he might have missed. He picked up an old blanket for them to sit upon while on their picnic.

The four of them headed to the stream. It was a beautiful afternoon. The air was warm, the sun was bright, and the area by the stream had newly emergent grass coming up. They spread the blanket and set the bag of food upon it. Once everyone was settled, Glen said, "Listen everyone, you did everything just like we planned. I'm so proud of you. You weren't victims today. You took charge of the situation and did everything that was necessary."

Sandra answered for the twins. She said, "I'm surprised at how well it all went. It was just like we had talked about. I feel really bad now that I know that I could kill someone without thinking about it."

Wanda nodded her agreement. Cliff added, "I feel the same. I really wanted to hurt him when I stabbed him."

Glen looked at all three of the Metchettes. He understood their feelings. His feelings about the matter were much more intense. He hadn't just thought about hurting Amos, he had killed him in cold blood. He said, "I know exactly how you feel."

Cliff looked at Glen and said, "You were willing to take the fall for us in case this went to trial, weren't you?"

"Yes," replied Glen. He added, "You didn't do anything wrong. You protected yourselves."

Sandra stated, "You took care of Amos so that we wouldn't have to. You set everything up so that you would be the last one here and could do what ever was necessary. You protected us from having any blame."

"It worked out that way. It was an accident." Glen didn't want to admit that the reason he wanted them to get out was so that he could kill Amos.

"Right." Wanda didn't believe him for a minute. They spent the rest of the afternoon talking about how they felt. Glen didn't say much, he knew that the experience had been intense for everyone in different ways. The twins had discovered that they had the capacity to kill. Cliff had learned that he didn't have to be a victim and could take charge of his own life just by making some plans. Glen, well, he didn't like to dwell on what he learned about himself.



-------

Chapter 9


Time marched on as May was followed by June. The temperature was warmer and everyone spent more time outdoors. Glen, carrying his fishing pole, went to the stream. He was surprised to discover the trio lying on a blanket getting some sun. All three of them were nude. All three bodies were very similar; Cliff a masculine version of the twins. The light brown hair, blue eyes, and slender bodies were very attractive. The girls had beautiful breasts that didn't turn into pancakes as they lay on their backs. Their pale bodies were clear of blemish. Glen couldn't help but be reminded of their youth.

Glen watched them talk amongst themselves for several minutes. He didn't feel right about eaves dropping, but he was more interested in the view. He couldn't help but hear a few words about leaving. He came over to the blanket announcing his presence by saying, "Now if this isn't a sight to behold, I don't know what is."

Wanda laughed and patted the blanket. She cooed, "Come join us. The sun is glorious today. The warmth on the skin and the soft breeze is just an amazing feeling."

Glen undressed and joined them on the blanket. He had never just lain out in the sun naked like this. He tended to think of outdoor nudity in much the same way as he had viewed nudist clubs as a young man. As a younger man, he didn't exactly know what went on there, but if people were naked then he knew they must be having all kinds of sex. Several years ago he had learned that his view was incorrect. Most clubs frowned on public expressions of sex.

His plans to fish were temporarily forgotten as he lay down. It only took him a minute before he was enjoying the feeling of the sun on his skin. The sensations surprised him. A cool breeze blew across him, it was like getting touched by a hundred soft hands. He moaned, "Oh, that feels great."

Cliff laughed and answered, "I know. It makes me horny as hell."

Sandra looked over at Wanda and winked. The twins never missed an opportunity to tease someone. She teased, "So why don't you do something about it?"

Cliff, rather tense about the subject of his sexuality, bristled and retorted, "Look, you two are my sisters. So that leaves you out. I'm not into incest."

Wanda answered, "Neither are we."

Cliff snorted, "What do you mean? You two are always at it with each other."

Sandra reacted by saying, "Hey, it's masturbation. We aren't into incest or bisexuality. We are one person even though we have two bodies."

Glen found the discussion fascinating. He had wondered how the twins viewed their sexual relationship with each other. They really did consider themselves to be one person. The synchronicity of their movements was often very subtle and the casual observer could easily miss it. He said, "Well, I'm not family."

Sandra squealed in delight. The twins had been hoping that Cliff would get a chance to get some relief. They had tried to set the two men up several times, but nothing had come of it. She said, "That's true. You can have sex with Cliff."

Glen shook his head at the transparent attempt. He snorted, "So you expect us to start going at it for your entertainment?"

Wanda frowned and replied, "No. We want Cliff to be happy. He isn't happy right now."

Glen came to a sudden decision. For some reason the idea of being with a man just wasn't that big of a deal. He knew he could do it just this once. He turned to Sandra and said, "Go up to the house and get some suntan lotion. We're going to burn if we stay our here too long."

Sandra started to pout at being sent away. Glen added, "Wanda, why don't you go with her in case she can't find it?"

The twins stood up and headed towards the cabin. As soon as they were out of sight, Glen turned to Cliff and stated, "If you want to do it, I'm ready."

Cliff smiled in relief as he reached over and gently stroked Glen's cock. When Glen became erect, Cliff moved over and took it in his mouth. Glen was surprised by how much pressure he put on his cock while fondling his balls with a gentle tantalizing touch. In the past, women tended to do it the opposite. Not enough pressure on the cock and too much on the balls.

It didn't take Glen too long to get into the blow job. Cliff automatically adopted Glen's natural pace by timing his motions to the movements of Glen's hips. Cliff didn't go for a deep throat. He kept only the head in his mouth and his tongue touched all of the sensitive spots of the cock. His hand was grasped tightly around the base of the cock, jacking in rhythm with his mouth.

The sensations were phenomenally good. This was the best blowjob that he had ever received. Cliff knew how to do things that most women had no clue. The problem was that it was hard to resist. It didn't take him long before he was on the verge of coming. Wanting to warn Cliff, he shouted, "Oh, God! I'm going to come."

Cliff redoubled his efforts with the effect of causing Glen to come before he expected. Cliff stayed on the cock and sucked down the come as it was ejected. He didn't stop immediately, but significantly reduced the pressure on the head of Glen's cock. The soft lips around his cock felt good to Glen, rather than irritating or painful. Too often women either leapt off the cock as soon as he came or they sucked with just as much pressure. In one case, it was like the orgasm was terminated early and in the other the pleasure quickly changed to pain. He moaned, "That was the best blow job I've ever gotten."

Cliff eased off his cock and smiled. He didn't expect Glen to do anything, but he had gotten tremendous satisfaction out of giving the blow job. He said, "Thank you."

Glen sat up and pushed Cliff on his back. Cliff was surprised and pleased. His cock was already erect. Glen, hesitant in making such a huge leap in his sexuality, slowly lowered his head down to Cliff's cock. Taking a deep breath to steel himself, he opened his mouth and went down on Cliff. He ignored his own reactions to having a cock in his mouth.

He tried not to think about what he was doing said about himself. Instead, he just concentrated on getting Cliff off as fast as possible. He sucked on the cock and started bobbing his head up and down along its length. He used one hand to stroke the base of Cliff's cock. He tightened the pressure on that hand. When Cliff's hips started thrusting, he timed his movements to the movements of the young man's hips. It wasn't long before Cliff shouted, "I'm going to come."

Glen chickened out at the last moment and used his hand to bring Cliff off. Even as he did that, he couldn't help recall how disappointed he always had been with women that did that to him. However, he wasn't ready to deal with having a man shoot off in his mouth. His action didn't seem to affect Cliff's excitement as his semen sprayed all over Cliff's chest and stomach. The last two spurts dribbled all over Glen's hand.

Glen was fascinated by watching another man orgasm. The perspective when he came was totally different. He was looking down at the cock and the power of the ejaculation seemed less apparent. Watching it fly across Cliff's torso clearly demonstrated the force by which the come left the body. He could almost appreciate why the few women that really enjoyed oral sex, enjoyed it. One had a certain power over the man when they were coming, but the ejaculation suggested hidden power.

Cliff looked down at his stomach and over at Glen's hand. The trail of come was rather difficult to ignore. If they were still like that when the twins came back, there would be no doubts about what they had done. One of the advantages of swallowing was that there was nothing to clean up afterwards. He laughed, "Well, we made quite a mess didn't we?"

Glen nodded and replied, "Yes we did. I guess we might want to take a dip in the stream and wash up before the twins get back."

The two men went to the stream. Cliff walked in and sat down with a loud scream. The water was very cold. Glen tried the slow approach, but a minor slip caused him to fall back into the water. Cliff laughed at the shocked expression on Glen's face. The frigid water quickly eliminated all trace of excitement as their cocks shrank in response to the cold. Glen climbed out and shook himself off. He looked down at his cock and said, "It turtled on me."

Cliff looked confused and asked, "What?"

"The cold made it act like a turtle. The head retracted."

Cliff laughed and said, "I'm going to have to remember that."

Cliff quickly joined Glen on the bank. Together, they walked back to the blanket and lay down. A few minutes later, Sandra returned with the sun block. She came over to the blanket waving the bottle of sunscreen. She looked at their wet bodies and laughing said, "Wow, it looks like you two worked up quite a sweat while we were gone."

Glen corrected her by saying, "We went swimming. Take our advice and don't try it. It is very cold."

Wanda sat down and giggled as she looked at Glen's cock. She asked, "What happened to your cock? It shrank!"

Glen replied, "The cold water affected it."

She nudged her brother and asked, "So you took a cold swim. Are you feeling better?"

Cliff replied, "I'm feeling cold."

The twins giggled. They had watched the entire thing from behind some trees. Both of them had been shocked when Glen had reciprocated the blowjob. They had just expected him to agree to get one. They had always looked down a little at Cliff because he liked both men and women. Having Glen, who they had come to look up at, exhibit similar behaviors rocked their world.

The four of them lay in the sun. After a short while the men dried off. Glen sat up and said, "Better spread some sun block before our private parts get burned."

Everyone cringed at the thought of sunburns on their private parts. Taking the bottle, Glen started to rub sun block on Wanda. Sandra lay there and watched. Cliff took the sun block and started spreading it on Sandra. He was careful in how he treated all of the naughty parts. In fact, he stopped to allow Sandra to do them for herself. The full body application of sunscreen was very sexy and intimate.

When the men were finished with the women, the women started in on the men. Everything was tame until Wanda started putting the lotion on Glen's cock. Cliff watching the action immediately became excited and his cock rose up signaling its interest in receiving the same treatment... Sandra, looking at Glen, continued putting lotion on Cliff. She continued applying it everywhere, continuing even when she reached his cock. Her rubbing, in time with Wanda's on Glen's cock, quickly brought a groan to Cliff. Glen didn't notice since his attention was on his cock and the excellent treatment it was being given by Wanda.

Sandra realized what she was doing about the time that Cliff ejaculated all over her hand. This was followed by Glen's ejaculation all over Wanda's hand. The twins stared at each other in shock. Glen, having come, was not going to argue about how it happened. The twins, clearly upset, stood and ran back to the cabin.

Cliff, after recovering from his orgasm, turned to Glen and said, "I'm afraid that something very bad just happened."

Glen thought about it for a moment as he realized what had happened. He stated, "Why don't you stay here for a little bit? Let me talk to them and I'll come back. We can then talk for a while."

Cliff, quite upset himself, replied, "Okay."

Glen washed off and then went back to the cabin. The trip took longer than expected since he was walking naked and barefoot. Entering the cabin, he found Wanda and Sandra on the couch crying. He sat down in the recliner across from them and waited for them to notice his presence. When they finally looked at him, he said, "You are upset that you just gave Cliff a little sexual pleasure."

Sandra, shuddering in self disgust, stated, "It's incest."

Wanda, just as ashamed despite the fact that her hand was on Glen the entire time, cried, "We're going to go to hell."

Glen interrupted them, "You were putting sun block on him. His body reacted to it. You didn't mean for it to happen and he didn't mean for it to happen. It was an accident, so don't beat yourself up over it. You didn't commit incest and you aren't going to hell. If you want, I'll find a priest that will tell you so."

Wanda and Sandra looked at him for a moment. Wanda looked at Sandra who returned a nod. The look they exchange was not a happy one. Wanda, clearly unhappy, said, "We liked it."

Glen, shocked by the revelation, didn't respond immediately. They were feeling guilty about something they enjoyed and were now in a moral dilemma. He didn't really know what to say to them. Finally, he stated, "You do not have to repeat it. If you choose to do so, then you need to think about how you will feel about it. It is often tough to redefine your sexual boundaries. You have to choose what is right for you. Believe me, having done so today, I know what I'm talking about."

The twins nodded their understanding. Even as they nodded their understanding, a revelation burst in his mind. Glen added, "Wait a minute. You two are always saying that you are one person. Tell me Sandra, were you jacking me off?"

Sandra smiled and answered, "I think so. I was so into what Wanda was doing to you, that I didn't even think about whose cock my hand was around."

"See? You two were in sync in pleasuring me. Cliff was just a temporary extension of my cock that you could get your hand around at the same time Wanda had hers on me."

The twins smiled and looked at each other. A communication took place that Glen could only guess at. He watched, fascinated as always, as they worked through the issue. After a while, Wanda said, "You're right."

Glen stood and added, "Now, I need to talk to Cliff. He's a little disturbed by how much he enjoyed today as well."

Glen returned to the stream. Cliff was lying there enjoying the sun and thinking about what had happened. He was a little upset about how he had felt when he came. Now he felt dirty. Glen sat down next to him and said, "Well, they are upset because they enjoyed it."

Cliff looked at Glen blankly, as though he didn't understand English. The sentence slowly made its way through his thought processes and registered. He exclaimed, "They enjoyed it?"

Glen nodded. "Yeah. They did. So did you."

Cliff tried to deny it to both Glen and himself. He said, "No I didn't."

Glen snorted in derision. He stated, "I've never met a man who got off from a hand job and could honestly say that he didn't enjoy it."

Cliff replied, "Okay, I enjoyed it. While it was happening, I didn't even think about who was doing it, only that it was being done to me."

"That's basically what happened with your sisters."

"My sisters? It was Sandra that did it."

Glen shook his head in disagreement. He stated, "They view themselves as though they are one person. The experiences of one apply to both of them. They were both thinking they were jacking me off. Sandra didn't realize her hand was on your cock."

Cliff thought about it for five minutes. Glen, wisely, didn't say a word. Cliff finally came to a decision and realized that Glen was right. Sandra probably didn't even realize that it was his cock she was rubbing. He stood and said, "I'm going up to the cabin. We have some stuff to talk about. Would you mind staying out here for a while before coming back to the house?"

"No problem at all. I was thinking of actually taking a nap. I came twice this morning and that tends to make me sleepy." Glen stretched the truth more than a little. He wanted to be alone and that gave him an excuse.

Glen lay in the sun enjoying the peace and quiet for a change. He considered his situation in very basic non-judgmental terms. He was thirty-seven years old. He was retired and had sufficient money that he never needed to work again. He lived in an isolated location, yet he had three roommates with whom he was having sex and one of them was male. He had become a killer a month ago. As he lay there, he realized he had also become a nudist. He wondered if he was going to undergo additional transformations.

He considered the trio and their situation. He knew there was no way that it could remain the way it was. They were going move on and get on with their lives. It was inevitable. The only real question concerned when it would happen. He glanced in the direction of the cabin and realized that is was likely to happen soon. Had today's original activities been intended as a way to say goodbye? As he thought about it, he came to the conclusion that was a correct interpretation of the events. They had been talking about leaving when he had come upon them earlier.

He sat up and grabbed his fly rod. He waded out into the water. It was cold and took a few minutes for his lower legs to get used to the temperature. After attaching a fly, he started fishing. The repetitive action helped him focus his thoughts. He worked through what he could expect to happen to him once they left. Now that he had become more dependent on being around people, it was going to be very tough being a loner again. God, he was going to be lonely. He thought about cussing out the Sheriff, but knew that it wouldn't do any good.

After a while, he tired of fishing. He returned to the shore relieved in a way that he had not had any luck. There were times when the act of fishing was more important that actually catching fish. Today had been one of those days. He gathered up his gear and stood on the bank for a minute waiting for his legs to warm up. He had forgotten how cold the water was.

He dressed and gathered the stuff that the others had left behind. He headed up to the cabin trying to carry everything. About halfway there, he started to wonder if he should have made two trips. Nothing was heavy, it was just a lot of different items of varying sizes. He decided that he needed to get some sort of caddy so that he could carry this stuff back and forth.

He entered the house and dropped his stuff in the mud room. It took him a minute to put up his fishing gear, stash the blanket where it would be handy, and find a reasonable place to keep the sun block. Entering the living room, he found the trio sitting on the couch. They looked much happier and more relaxed. He dropped into the recliner and said, "Well, what's up?"

Cliff looked at the other two. At nods from them he turned to Glen and stated, "We wanted to let you know that we are leaving next week."

Glen nodded. His earlier guesses had been correct. He said, "I had expected that anytime now. What are your plans?"

Sandra stated, "Well, we are going to Atlanta. We are going to get some training on computers. Cliff is going to look for a job in construction. While being a checker here is a nice job, there just isn't much of a future in it for us. We need to find some way to earn a real living so that we can support ourselves."

Wanda continued, "We've felt guilty living here. It seems like we haven't contributed much to the household. You've been paying our way for much too long."

Cliff added, "We hope that you understand. We've been really happy here, but we've lost almost nine months of our lives. We have not made much progress in establishing ourselves."

Glen listened to them and finally said, "You guys are young and this is the time to set yourself up for the future."

Sandra leaned forward to add emphasis to her next statement. She said, "We would love to be able to come back and visit you. We've grown to love you a lot since we moved in with you. You saved us, helped us heal, and even taught us important life lessons."

Wanda, with a slightly wanton look of desire in her eye, added, "Besides, you are a good lover and everyone can use one of those in their life."

Glen laughed at Wanda's statement. He countered, "Hey, I've had two great lovers living here with me. I'm going to miss you guys a lot more than you'll miss me."

They discussed things for a long time. Finally, the twins got up to make dinner. Cliff went into his room. They had a quiet evening at home. In a way, they had all said all that they needed to say to each other.

Four days later, the Metchettes stood around their truck, each one shifting their weight from one leg to the other nervously. The bed of the truck was loaded with all of their clothes. Glen stood there putting on a good face. He kissed both twins and said, "You are going to set the computer industry on its head."

He hugged Cliff and said, "I expect that you will have your own construction company a year from now."

Sandra said, "Goodbye Glen."

Wanda continued, "We're going to miss you."

Cliff said, "Thanks for all of your help. One day we will make it up to you."

Glen nodded and smiled even though he felt like screaming out in frustrated anger at being left behind. He said, "Don't worry about this old war-horse. I'll be okay. You take care of yourselves."

The twins were crying and Cliff looked misty eyed as they climbed into the truck. Bravely waving, they drove off. Glen watched the truck as it went down the driveway to the road. He watched for a long time after they were gone. An emptiness settled over the house.

Glen went out to the back porch and sat in the chair swing he had installed. As he slowly swung back and forth, he looked around his property. The cabin had been finished back in March and had been the occasion of a minor party. All of the last little details in and around the cabin had been taken care of.

He had bought a tractor in April and prepared the ground for seeding. Now the whole area had a wonderful growth of green grass. He used the tractor to mow it every week, giving the front of his house a nice pastoral view. Five acres sounded like a lot of land to mow, but with the tractor it only took about an hour.

He had taken that month to plant an orchard with peaches, apples, pears, and cherries. There were four trees of each. It wasn't a large orchard, but he didn't expect to make any money from it. He wanted it for its appearance and to have some fresh fruit for making preserves. The orchard ran across the side of the pasture behind the house opposite of the stream. It would be a couple of years before it produced fruit of any quantity, but he was patient. He had left plenty of room between trees to drive his truck through it.

May had been spent grating the driveway and spreading stone on it. No longer would he be driving his truck up a muddy path to get to the house. He had also constructed a metal outbuilding in which to store the tractor and various tools he had. Cliff had been a lot of help in doing the work. The outbuilding had cleared a lot of room inside the cabin. In front of the outbuilding was the parking area. It was large and allowed him to make a complete turn while pulling a trailer.

He sighed when he realized that there were no more major tasks to be performed on the place. He decided that he could start to put a cross-country ski path through the woods and set up a picnic area near the stream. It was also a good idea to cut some trails to various spots along the stream. He looked around and realized that would keep him busy for another month.

Even those activities seemed like a waste without someone around who was willing to share it. He could ski the path, but he would be alone. He could have picnics, but what fun was there in eating all by yourself in the middle of the woods.

It was still early in the morning and there was nothing special that he had to do. So here he was, sitting on his back porch depressed and alone. He decided that he could fix up the house for single living again. He would move his bed out of the small area between the living room and dining room.

Having a task to perform energized him as a means to escape his depression. He went in the house and went to work. He took his time and rearranged the furniture. Items that he didn't need anymore he carried out to the outbuilding. Inside, he looked at his furnishings. Most of them were used, purchased because building a house was messy work and he didn't want to ruin good furniture. He decided that he would have to get some new furniture.

He still had an hour before lunch. He went to his desk and got out his financial papers. He went over his accounts. He was puzzled by the figures. He had been spending money at a significant rate, but his balances were all increasing. When he looked at the bottom line, he was shocked. He hadn't been paying attention to the last few royalty checks from sales of his romance novels. Then he realized, that with fifteen books selling over a million copies each, he was making some pretty substantial money.

He laughed when he thought of sending a nice check to the trio when they found a place in Atlanta. He'd give them a couple of months to settle in and then he'd surprise them with a gift. They'd appreciate the helping hand. They were basically orphans and he was the closest thing to family that they had.

He went to work on balancing his checkbook. When he finished reconciling his checks and the bank statement, he was pleased to see that he had a good balance. He wouldn't have to go to the bank before buying furniture. He glanced at his watch and saw that it was lunch time.

He went in the kitchen to make a sandwich. While in the pantry, he was shocked to find how many boxes of cereal there were in there. The pantry was fully stocked. He realized that he had bought for four and now there was just one. It would be a couple of months before he was needed to shop. He put together a sandwich and went to the dining room table to eat it. His eyes fell upon a note from Cliff. He read it and tears welled up in his eyes. It was thanking him for being so understanding of his sexual nature.

Glen ate his sandwich and looked around the house. He turned on the television just to have some background noise. He faced the two bedrooms trying to decide which one he would take for his own. He went into the room Cliff had used. It was spotless and the bed was made with fresh sheets. He could tell because the laundry hopper was filled with the sheets that had been on it.

He went over to the twins room. It too was spotless and the bed was made. However, on the bed were two pairs of panties and a note. He picked up the note and read it. He laughed as he read that the panties had been worn yesterday and were left for him to have something to remind him of them. They wrote that they expected him to spend many an evening masturbating while smelling the panties. As he lifted a pair to his nose, he wondered who could ask for a better going away present than that.

Later he left the house to look at furniture. He had expected to be able to walk into a store and pick out the furniture that he wanted. He visited every furniture store within fifty miles, but none of them had what he wanted. Frustrated, he headed back to town. He didn't think his desires were that outrageous, all he wanted was some very simple maple wood furniture. Oak would be overwhelming within the log cabin. He needed a contrasting wood.

He realized he was getting hungry. Rather than head home to eat alone, he headed over to the dinner. The food would be good and he would have a chance to talk to someone. He pulled into the parking lot and stopped the truck. Entering the restaurant, he was surprised to see someone sitting in his normal booth. He took a second look and realized it was Dale.

He slid into the seat across from Dale. Dale smiled at him and said, "Funny, I was expecting you to show up here tonight."

Glen shrugged his shoulders attempting to affect an attitude of indifference. He answered, "I was out shopping for furniture and it got late."

The Sheriff didn't believe Glen and asked, "So did you end up getting furniture?"

Glen looked irritated and answered, "No, I didn't. I looked at every store within fifty miles and all I could find was oak. I'm looking for something like Maple. I need the lighter color wood to offset all of the oak walls."

Dale realized that Glen was telling the truth. He shook his head and suggested, "Well, if you can't buy it, maybe you'll have to build it."

A huge smile spread across Glen's face. Dale had just solved two of his problems for him. He now had a project that could take a long time and he was going to get furniture exactly as he wanted. At least he would be able to keep busy and that would help fight off the loneliness. He said, "Damn, I would have never thought of that. Thanks Dale. That's a real good idea."

Dale looked at the man sitting across from him in surprise. Glen had undergone major changes in the last few months. No longer was he the sullen withdrawn man that kept the world at arms length. His plan had worked, but he felt bad in a way. Glen was now unhappy in his isolation. Dale sated, "I doubt that you will be able to make the furniture you desire immediately. You might want to make some trial stuff and donate it to charity while you are learning some of the tricks of the trade."

Glen frowned and thought about it. He asked, "What charities are there that need furniture?"

The Sheriff laughed at the question. There were always charities that needed things. He suggested, "Well, there's the home for battered women. There's the orphanage, they can always use some small things for holidays and birthdays. Don't forget the hospitals, they can always some help. Even if they don't use it themselves, they can always use it in a fundraising activity."

Glen nodded as he thought about it. This project was getting better all of the time. He could work on furniture until he honed his skills. A lot of people could benefit from his learning experience. He broke the silence by saying, "Thanks a lot."



-------

Chapter 10


Glen was surprised by the change of seasons. September seemed to come so fast and now it was almost over. Every afternoon was spent in the outbuilding that he had turned into a woodshop. He was now producing very nice quality furniture. He laughed as he recalled his early attempts. He kept the first one in a corner of the workshop. A number had ended up in the fireplace.

He went over to his wood pile to see how he was holding up on his supply of wood. The supply had significantly dwindled over the past two months and it was time to get some more wood. He shut down his shop and locked it up. Returning to the cabin, he cleaned up and changed his clothes to be presentable to the people there.

Ready to leave, he got into his truck and headed out. About a half mile up the road from his place, workmen were finishing setting a mobile home on the site they had cleared a three weeks ago. Glen stopped and watched them work on the mobile home. The men did excellent work setting it up with a minimum of effort. He watched as they leveled it and tied it down. There were men running the wires to the trailer and another pair of men hooking up the water and sewerage. It was about ready to move into.

He wondered who his new neighbors were and if he would like them. He wasn't that happy about having a mobile home next door. He was afraid that he would have trailer trash as neighbors. There were some upsides to their moving in, they had managed to get electric and telephone service run a ways down the road.

He drove past the place and headed into town. When he reached town, he pulled into the parking lot of the lumber store. Entering, he waved to the manager. The man came over with a large smile. Glen was his primary customer for the high quality woods. He called out, "Hello, Glen. How is it going?"

"Going good, Fred. I need some more ash and oak."

Fred stood there for a minute as he considered his stock. He was a little low on ash. He led Glen over to the section of the store where he kept his furniture quality woods. Glen noticed the lack of ash. Fred said, "As you can see, I'm low on ash. I can get some more in a couple of days. I've got as much oak as you could possibly need."

Glen nodded as he said, "Okay, I'll take half your stock of oak. Leave word at the diner for me when you get the ash."

Fred laughed and asked, "You still don't have a phone?"

"Nope. They've just started running a line down the street. Might get one if I can justify it."

Fred shook his head in amazement. This guy was able to drop ten grand on wood in an afternoon and wouldn't spend the money to get a phone. He dropped the subject by saying, "I've gotten some very nice walnut in stock."

Glen smiled and then said, "Um, not ready for that yet. Maybe next time. Do you have any cedar?"

Fred pointed to the very end of the row and stated, "Lots."

Glen went over to the area that had been pointed out to him. He pulled out about twenty good sized boards. He said, "Add these. The orphanage said they needed some cedar chests for storing winter clothes."

Fred stated, "Use a cheaper wood for the chest and inlay the cedar in the top. That will be a lot cheaper and look nicer."

Glen said, "Good idea. I may make them a number of chests so that each child can get one."

"If you want my advice, use particle board or something like that for the main body of the chest. Paint them a basic white and then let each kid decorate their own chest."

Glen laughed and agreed, "Good idea. For a salesman, you sure are trying to save me money. Are you feeling okay?"

"Sure, I'm feeling fine. I just don't like to see good quality wood wasted on furniture that is going to get rough treatment. It's too hard to get good wood."

Glen nodded as he thought about it. He realized that he had been taking the wood for granted. He replied, "You're right. Could you put together enough wood for about fifty chests?"

Fred nodded and said, "I'll deliver it tomorrow afternoon if that is alright with you."

"Sure."

Glen left the lumber store feeling good about his shopping experience. He had gone to Fred when he started his furniture making project. Fred had taught him a lot about the various woods and how to work with them. He trusted Fred to get him good quality wood and get him a good price on it. Fred bought about four times as much wood as he needed and resold most of it to hardware stores in the area. He went through each board and kept only the best. When Glen was starting out, Fred invited him to help him sort the lumber. He had learned so much from the experience.

He glanced down at his watch. It was almost dinner time. Rather than drive home and reheat some leftovers, he decided to eat in the restaurant in town. He drove there and parked in his regular parking spot.

Entering the restaurant, the waitress came over to him. She said, "Hello, Glen."

Glen, having learned her name only after the twins left, said, "Hello CJ. How's business tonight?"

"Good. I'm afraid you'll have to share your regular booth tonight."

Glen looked around the restaurant and noticed three heads with sandy brown hair sitting at his table. He looked closer and then looked at CJ. He asked, "Is it?"

She just smiled at him and winked. He picked her up and spun in a circle holding her up in the air. She shrieked in surprise. He set her down and raced over to the table. Amazingly, it was the Metchettes. He said, "Hello! How? What? Uh!"

As he left, CJ looked a little sad. That was the closest that she had ever gotten to Glen. No man had ever just lifted her and spun her around like that. The fact that he could do that excited her and stimulated her in ways she never thought about. She went into the kitchen to recover her normal demeanor. She didn't want to spoil his reunion with the Metchettes.

At the table, Sandy looked over at Glen and pretended to be afraid. She grabbed her sister and said, "Who is this stranger? He can't be Glen. Glen was dour and unfriendly."

Wanda, with a look of mock horror, answered, "You're right. This guy looks happy to see us. It can't be Glen. Is it a pod person that looks like him?"

Cliff laughed at the antics of his sisters and patted the seat next to him. He said, "Sit down, Glen. Don't mind those two."

Glen sat down smiling happily. He asked, "So what you are doing here?"

Cliff looked at his two sisters and realized that he had become their spokesman. He answered, "Well, we are moving here. Sandra and Wanda finished their courses in record time. We started a little business and it is going well. We decided that we would settle in a nice low cost of living area where we knew people. So after a long discussion, we decided to come here."

Glen was confused and asked, "If you started a business how could you move away from there?"

Wanda answered, "We started it on the Internet. We can run it from anywhere."

Glen nodded as he thought about it. He wasn't all that familiar with the Internet. It had been in the news about the time that his tragic year started and he had never paid any attention to it since. He smiled at the twins and said, "I knew you'd rock the world."

They smiled, happy to see him. Sandra said, "We are so happy to see you."

Glen wanted to know all of the details about their plans and couldn't decide what to ask first. Finally, he settled on the most mundane question and asked, "So where are you going to live?"

The trio all looked at each other like people holding a great secret. Wanda finally replied, "We're not going to tell you. You're going to have to find us."

Her answer really surprised him, but he decided that it meant they hadn't found a place. He asked, "Well, do you want to stay at my place until you find yourself a home?"

Cliff answered, "We already have a home, but we'll spend the night with you if you would like us to stay."

Glen was excited at the prospect of them staying with him, but tried to look disinterested and shrugged his shoulders. In a bored tone of voice, he said, "Well, if you want, you can."

Sandra's smile evaporated for a few seconds. She looked at Wanda seeing her own face mirrored there. Then they realized that he was teasing them back. She said, "Okay. However, with that level of enthusiasm I guess we'll just have to act all prim and proper and virginal. We won't be able to accept any welcome back kisses or hugs or anything like that."

In reality, all Glen wanted to do was reach out and hug all three of them, only the table was in the way. He laughed as he said, "Oh God, it is great to have you back. You have no idea how much I've missed you."

Wanda smiled back and said, "Oh, we had a little idea when this truly huge check arrived at our place a month ago."

CJ arrived at the table with a bittersweet smile on her face. It was good to see Glen so happy for a change. He had become a lot friendlier over the past few months, but it was easy to tell that he was very lonely. She had entertained hopes of being the one that relieved that loneliness. However, the twins clearly had him wrapped around their little fingers. She couldn't be too upset, they had all been through a lot together. He had saved them from a madman three times.

Wanda looked at CJ and said, "Well CJ, what has he been like while we've been gone?"

CJ replied, "Well, he was real sad for a long time after you left, but then he really cheered up. I think he found someone that he really likes. You wouldn't believe the change that he underwent."

Sandra's eyebrows raised as her lips pursed. She wondered if Glen had found a new woman in his life. She asked, "And when did that change take place?"

CJ smiled and said, "Oh, about ten minutes ago."

Wanda tittered at the revelation. She realized that Glen had really missed them. She leaned across the table and coyly asked, "Did you happen to use our going away present like we suggested?"

Glen blushed a bright red and didn't answer. That was enough of an answer for Sandra. She laughed aloud and then laughed even harder when she noticed the confused look on CJ's face. Wanda winked at CJ and said, "We left him some panties so he wouldn't miss us too much."

CJ laughed aloud at that. No wonder the twins had him wrapped around their little fingers. She would never have thought of doing that herself, but realized just what an effect it would have on a man. She looked at Glen with a twinkle in her eye and asked, "So what did you do with them?"

Glen blushed even harder. Cliff came to his rescue by saying, "CJ, you beautiful lady, if you give me a pair of yours I'll show you what I would have done!"

She looked at Cliff in surprise. It only took her a minute to assess the young man. She realized that Cliff had always been in the background. The twins easily attracted attention just through their novelty. Glen was a powerful presence whether he was dour, sad, lonely, or happy. Cliff was just there, but now he seemed much more confident than ever before. She laughed as she said, "I may take you up on that."

The twins turned on Cliff as Sandra said, "Oh my. Cliff is going to make a conquest."

Wanda smiled at CJ and said, "He must really like you. That's his best pickup line yet."

Cliff waved a hand and said, "Come on you two. Leave her alone."

Sandra giggled and said, "Oh, the white knight rides to the damsels rescue."

Wanda looked at Cliff for a second and then nodded as if she just realized something. She said, "You know what? I think you really do like her."

Cliff glanced over at CJ and saw her little smile. Rather than having to make any embarrassing denials or acknowledgements, he decided to have a little fun with it. He said to CJ, "Well, it looks like our secret is out. They'll discover sooner or later that we've been secretly dating for a year. I came back to propose marriage to you."

CJ laughed and held out a hand as though to accept a wedding ring. Glen, not realizing the joke, said, "Wow, that's great. Congratulations you two."

At the shocked expressions on everyone's faces, Glen realized that Cliff was joking. He burst out laughing and said, "God, I'm an idiot. They aren't back fifteen minutes and I'm already making a fool out of myself."

CJ looked at Cliff for a minute as though trying to make up her mind. The young man had changed a lot and it was all for the better. She decided that she liked him. She put a hand on Glen's shoulder and said, "Don't feel bad. It's not all that unlikely, you know."

Cliff and CJ shared a look. It did not go unnoticed by the group around the table. The look was significant enough that no one wanted to make a joke about it. There were bounds on what was proper and joking would have crossed them. The silence was shattered by a loud growl originating from the proximity of Glen's stomach. Everyone broke into laughter as Glen blushed. He said, "I did come here for dinner, okay?"

CJ asked, "So what will you have tonight?"

Glen asked, "What's the dinner special?"

Cliff, surprised by Glen's question, asked, "Why do you want to know? You always order it anyway."

CJ laughed and answered, "After you guys left, he was so lonely he even started to talk to me. Can you imagine? He'd ask what the dinner special was and then order it no matter what I answered."

Glen smiled and asked, "So what is the dinner special?"

"Fried Fish."

Glen paused as he thought about the lovely trout back at home. He said, "Okay, I'll take a burger and fries."

His announcement was greeted by silence. CJ was shocked. The Metchettes turned as one and stared at Glen. The silence was finally broken by Sandra, "My God, it is a pod person."

Glen grinned wickedly and leaned across the table. In a spooky voice he said, "You're next, my lovely."

Cliff reached over to CJ and grasped her hand in both of his. He said, "Protect me!"

CJ laughed and pulled him tight to her breast. She said, "Master, you take care of the twins while I give this one to the pod."

Cliff didn't jerk back like she expected. He just said, "Anytime."

Another loud growl from Glen's stomach brought everyone back to the business at hand. Cliff missed his formerly comfortable position. The rest of the table ordered diner. CJ had to double check Glen's order and asked, "Glen, you're sure you want a hamburger and fries?"

"Yes. I had trout last night."

CJ smiled and left the table looking at the order. She seriously thought about framing it. The Metchettes turned to Cliff as one. Wanda asked, "So what you have been doing to keep yourself busy?"

"I've been making furniture. Soon, I'll be good enough to redecorate my house with homemade furnishings."

Cliff whistled and said, "That's amazing. I worked in a couple of buildings over the summer and saw how much work it is to do handmade cabinets. You must really be getting good if you can do furniture."

Glen said, "Well, I didn't have three distractions around me all the time."

"Distractions? You are calling us distractions?" Wanda looked like she was upset.

Glen smiled and said, "I didn't say they were unpleasant distractions!"

Wanda laughed and said, "You didn't say they were pleasant."

"That was to be understood."

Cliff patted Glen on the shoulder and said, "Good recovery."

Their food arrived and they all got down to the business of eating. Glen took his time and looked at the three others at the table. He couldn't believe how happy he was to see them again. He didn't know if the relations would pick up from where they had been, but he didn't care. It was good enough to have them back.

He ate his hamburger and French Fries. Of course, he smothered the French Fries in catsup like he did when he was a teenager. It was about that time that he realized he actually felt young again. He looked around the diner for the first time and really saw it. He finished eating and watched Sandra and Wanda. There were times when they ate that their actions were perfectly in sync. They cut their food at the same time, speared it at the same time, put it in their mouths at the same time, and chewed at the same time. It was phenomenal to watch.

When everyone had finished eating, Glen paid for dinner and invited them all to his place. Wanda got into the truck with him while Cliff and Sandra went to theirs. The drive to his cabin didn't seem to take as long as normal. Wanda kept looking over at him and giggling. Glen smiled as he drove.

When they reached the road to his house, he slowed down and pointed out the trailer. He said, "They finished setting it up this morning. It looks like it is ready to move into, so I guess I'll have neighbors soon."

Wanda asked, "Any idea what they are like?"

Glen frowned and answered, "I don't know anything about them. Nothing."

"Who knows, maybe you'll like them."

Glen shrugged and replied, "Maybe."

He went on and checked his mirror to see how Cliff was doing. Cliff pulled off the road to where the trailer was parked. He commented, "Looks like Cliff is checking things out. I hope the neighbors won't get upset."

Wanda replied, "I doubt it."

Glen looked at her puzzled by her attitude. He asked, "Why?"

"Because, he's just stopping by to get some wine."

Glen scoffed, "Why would they give him some wine?"

Wanda looked at Glen with a wide smile on her face. She suggested, "Because it might be our wine that he's picking up?"

Glen stopped the truck and stared at Wanda in shock. He stuttered, "You don't meanÖ"

Wanda slid over and kissed him. Her hand happened to wander downwards and rubbed his rapidly erecting cock. It was nice to know that he was still attracted to them. She giggled and said, "Howdy neighbor."

Glen was shocked. He slowly drove home. He parked the truck in the driveway and looked around. He suddenly laughed and said, "I've got some pretty neighbors. Oops, I mean some pretty nice neighbors."

Wanda joked, "Cliff said that you would be by our place all the time trying to borrow a cup of cunt. Sandra corrected him by saying we'd be over here all the time trying to borrow a cup of come."

Glen laughed and said, "They were both probably right."

They slowly got of the car in time to watch Cliff and Sandra pull up. They looked around at the place they had lived in for a year, although it was dark and they couldn't see much. Cliff carried a bottle of wine and held it out to Glen. Glen led them all to the house and let them in. They all moved to their old locations. Cliff said, "It seems strange without the bed over there."

Sandra asked, "So which room did you end up moving into?"

Glen smiled as he answered, "Your old room."

Wanda, looking at him out of the corner of her eye with a small smile, asked, "Why did you choose our old room?"

Glen laughed and answered, "Because it reminded me of you two."

Cliff sat at the couch and looked around the room. He asked, "So why didn't you move the desk into my old room?"

Glen opened his mouth in surprise. He had never considered doing that. He had built that room to be an office, but nine months of using it as a bedroom had made him quit thinking of it that way. He said, "Well, to be honest, I didn't think of that."

Sandra, tired of talking, said, "Glen why don't we open the wine? It is a special occasion after all."

Glen went in the kitchen and opened the wine. He poured it into four glasses and brought them out. It was a little awkward passing them out, but not a drop was spilled. He raised his glass and said, "To the return of three very special people in my life."

Wanda, a little misty eyed, replied, "Cheers."

They all took a sip of their drink. Glen appreciated the slightly fruity German wine they had brought over. For a while, they discussed the wine. The discussion then moved to the mobile home and their long term plans. The mobile home was just a short-term solution to their housing plans. They wanted to have a place to live while they had a house built on the property. Their house was going to be a little closer to Glen.

When everyone finished their wine, an awkward silence settled on the room. Sandra eased over to the side of Glen after exchanging a look with Wanda. She took his left arm and said, "We've been planning this for a week."

Glen wondered what she was talking about as Wanda came over to his other side and took his right arm. She added, "Now we want you to relax and just enjoy."

Glen replied, "I'm having a great time."

"Not yet." Cliff replied with a smile. He watched as his sisters steered Glen into the bedroom. He waited a minute and then got up to follow them. He arrived in the bedroom in time to see the twins undo Glen's jeans. His shirt was already off and lying on the floor. Once the jeans were down around his knees, they pushed him back onto the bed and went to work removing his shoes. When the shoes had come off, the last impediment to removing the pants was gone. The pants and underwear quickly followed. The last items to come off were the socks.

Glen lay back on the bed watching as the twins undressed each other. Cliff went out in the living room and started to undress himself. He removed a small bottle of lube from his pants pocket. He finished undressing and stood there with a very hard erection. He waited in the living room for one of the twins to come get him.

It was only a few minutes later that a hand appeared in the door waving him in. He entered to find Glen on the bed with the blindfold over his eyes. He was sporting a very erect cock that was already gleaming with pre-come. Wanda was gently kissing him as Sandra joined her on the bed. Glen was soon sandwiched between the twins who were kissing his upper body.

Glen went to the edge of the bed and set the bottle of lube on the corner. He settled between Glen's legs and bent down to gently lick his balls. Glen groaned in response and his cock twitched as more pre-come coated the head. Cliff smiled as he realized the twins were right. Glen wasn't going to last long before he came.

Cliff took Glen's cock in his mouth and started to suck it forcefully. The action felt wonderful to Glen. Glen's senses were in overload and his body was reacting to each and every sensation. He had not had sex since the twins had left and now both twins were licking his nipples while Cliff sucked his cock with great skill. It was too much for Glen. He groaned and shouted, "I'm going to come."

His words were quickly followed by an explosion of come in Cliff's mouth. Cliff swallowed the gift without pause. He lightened the pressure on the cock to prevent the sensations from becoming painful. When the last drops had been removed, the twins reached up and removed the blindfold.

Sandra whispered in his ear, "We thought you might want to watch this."

The twins moved into a sixty-nine position with Sandra on the bottom. As the twins worked on each other, Cliff slowly rubbed Glen's balls and cock to return him to an excited state as quickly as possible. Glen quickly responded to the sight of the twins licking each other and the light feathery touch on his cock and balls. His erection returned much faster than ever.

Wanda was very busy working on Sandra's pussy. Her tongue was rapidly flicking over the clit beneath her. Her efforts were rewarded by increased upward thrusts of Sandra's hips as she started moaning nonstop. It was only a few minutes before Sandra came, flooding her pussy with her sweet juices. Wanda turned her attention to licking up the juices. By now, Glen was getting extremely excited and wanted nothing more than to join in the action between the twins.

Wanda slowed her efforts and gave Sandra a chance to recover. Sandra returned the favor by starting to flick her tongue over Wanda's clit. Wanda shouted out, "Fuck me. Glen, fuck me now."

More than happy to oblige, Glen moved to where he could enter Wanda's hot moist pussy. He lined himself up and slowly entered just a little. He started nice little thrusts that slowly took him deeper and deeper into her. Sandra's tongue now spent half its time licking Glen and the other half working on Wanda's clit. When Glen finally bottomed out in Wanda, she let loose a loud moan.

He started thrusting into her with long slow strokes. He lost his rhythm when he felt a cold sensation on his ass hole. He smiled as he realized that Cliff was about to take him in the ass while he was making it with Wanda. That had been a fantasy of his ever since his first experience with Cliff. He stopped thrusting allowing Cliff to enter him. Cliff pushed more lube into his ass with a finger.

When the finger was removed from his asshole, it was replaced by the blunt pressure of Cliff's cock. The hard force on his ass hole was initially unpleasant, but when the head slipped in, Cliff stopped and the unpleasantness of the sensation stopped. Cliff started to slowly thrust into Glen. The action drove Glen into Wanda.

Glen relaxed and let Cliff's thrusts drive him into Wanda. The double sensations of being filled by Cliff's cock and the envelopment of his cock by the warm cunt were mind blowing. It had exceeded the imaginings of his fantasy. By now, Wanda was screaming non-stop as she rode what felt like a never ending series of mini-orgasms. Sandra's attentions were now turned exclusively to Glen's balls.

Cliff's thrusts sped up as he neared his climax. This entire experience was almost more than he could comprehend. Suddenly, his hips thrust forward in one savage move as his cock exploded sending his come deep into Glen's ass. He drove in even harder on the second spurt and then the third. Glen was driven deeper into Wanda than he had ever been. His ass clenched as he came inside her. The sudden change in motion led to an enormous orgasm for Wanda. She screamed her pleasure as her muscles tightened in uncontrolled spasms around Glen's cock.

For a minute everything was frozen as all three experienced orgasms that defied description. Glen was seeing stars. Cliff's cock was beginning to get so sensitive that holding it where it was almost too intense. Wanda's internal spasms slowly died. Sandra, trapped beneath Wanda had a close up view of the cocks twitching and Wanda's pussy as her spasms tried to draw Glen deeper into her. She was amazed and excited by the sight in front of her. When Wanda suddenly touched her clit, she exploded in orgasm as well.

It took a little time for everyone to untangle themselves. Cliff slowly pulled out of Glen and then headed to the bathroom to clean up. Glen stayed where he was, feeling suddenly empty, before pulling out of Wanda. His withdrawal was followed by a slow seep of his come from the pussy that he had just been filling. He felt a similar sensation at his ass and walked, with some difficulty, to the bathroom to clean up. Sandra watched the flow of the mixed juices from her twin's pussy and smiled. She leaned leaned and started cleaning the pussy, savoring the mixed sweetness of her twin's juices and the saltiness of his come.

Cliff returned to the room and sat on the floor watching the action on the bed. There were times when he was sorry that he was related to the twins and now was one of those times. He wondered if he would ever be so lucky to find a pair of women that had such an enthusiasm for sex. On that thought, his mind returned to CJ at the restaurant.

Glen returned to the bedroom and lay down on the bed next to the twins. They finally separated and lay back exhausted. Glen could tell that they were totally satisfied, but he felt that he had not done his fair share in bringing them to this state. They had done all of the work and he had just enjoyed himself. The sight of the pair of them laying in satisfied stupor made his cock twitch, but he knew it would have no chance of getting erect for at least another hour or maybe two. He moved between the twins and put his arm around them both. They snuggled close to him with sighs of satisfaction.

They stayed like that for half an hour. Finally, Cliff stood and went to the living room and dressed. He didn't know if the twins wanted to go home, but he did. When he went into the bedroom to see what they wanted to do, but his question was answered unasked as both twins were dressing. Glen was watching with a slightly disappointed look upon his face.

Wanda looked over at Glen as she put on her bra. She smiled and said, "Don't look so sad. We'll be back to borrow a cup or two of come."

Everyone laughed at the joke and Glen relaxed. He decided that he was going to like his new neighbors very much. He rose and dressed as well. Once everyone was dressed, he kissed Sandra and Wanda, hugged Cliff, and then watched as they left his house. The house didn't feel as empty any more.



-------

Chapter 11


Sitting in his new office, Glen looked over the material that Wanda had brought over for him edit. It was the next edition of their e- zine and what he had read so far was actually quite good. He couldn't believe what the trio had done in just a couple of months. They had actually arranged to have family councilors contribute articles on alternative marriages, readers to contribute letters describing their experiences, and a large number of advertisers.

He had just finished an article by a well known psychologist who wrote about five basic alternative marriage schemes that he had studied. This particular article described the most common alternative; the marriage that included swinging. The author had described how these were often fraught with political desires with one member of the couple pushing for it more than the other. Glen was intrigued by what the author had to say. He hadn't realized that there were so many varieties of swinging lifestyles. In his opinion, it was an extremely balanced presentation of the pros and cons of such a life style. After reading it, he looked forward to the next installment which was to cover the one man and two women type of marriage.

He went through the articles one at a time, making minor edits to the language but not changing the meaning. Most of them were well written and he didn't have to make too many changes. Some of the authors employed technical terms, so he added footnotes that would explain them. Sandra had explained to him that they would change his footnotes to links that would popup a small window with his comments.

As he read the articles, he also jotted down some notes that could serve as subjects for future articles. While reading the article on swinging for example, he jotted down a note that a good future article would be on how to start a swinging relationship.

He started on the letters and realized that he now had his work cut out for him. Most of the letters were poorly organized and had significant grammatical problems. Cliff had stressed that all submitters had acknowledged that their submissions would be edited for language and other technical problems.

Some of the letters were so bad that he had to basically rewrite the entire thing. However, most of them were so heartfelt that he had to basically leave them alone, correcting only the grammar and spelling. None of them were pornographic, but dealt with the truly trying issues of living in an alternative marriage. There was one, rather large letter than was not so well written, but the topic was interesting and the subject matter was treated with significant delicacy. He set the letter aside to recommend that they invite the person to expand it into an article and get paid for it.

Everything was going okay until Glen started to read Cliff's editorial. It was titled, "Is HE Watching?" It was a very balanced presentation about alternative marriages and religion. He hadn't realized that Cliff was such a good writer. Cliff's conclusion was that if God was watching, then as long as love was involved then God would be happy. Glen's stomach felt uneasy as he read the article. He was tempted to ask Cliff to delay publishing this particular article. He wasn't worried about the reaction of people who believed in a loving God. He was more concerned with those who viewed God as a vengeful deity that would just love to catch humans in the smallest sin.

Glen finished his first pass at editing. He would take another pass tomorrow and then give the material back to them. It was a nice little part-time job for him. He basically took two days a month to edit their journal and make recommendations. They did most of the work and kept most of the money. However, they paid for all of the lead articles and gave subscriptions to folks that submitted letters that were published.

He went to the page that presented information about the e-zine staff. He crossed out his name as editor and decided to change it to a pseudonym. He thought about a name, considering several until he decided on 'Mark Strawman.' It was as good a name as any. He read the other names presented there. Cliff was the president, Wanda was listed as the webmistress, Sandra was in charge of advertising, Edward Long was the photographer, and Lesley Wright was the art director. He had no idea who the last two people were, but he assumed they were people that the Metchettes knew from Atlanta. Whoever they were, they were very good. The photographs complemented the articles very well.

There was a knock on the front door and he got up to answer it. Before he got out of his office, he heard Sandra shout, "It's me."

He shouted back, "Come in, Sandra."

She came in the cabin and headed to the kitchen. He came out of the office and heard her rattling around in the kitchen. There was another knock on the back door and Glen went to it. He opened the door and was surprised to see Oliver standing there with a couple of very nice trout. Oliver had been coming over about every other week to fish since his first visit before the Metchettes left. Glen had enjoyed his visits tremendously.

Oliver said, "Hello, Glen. I've got a couple of fish here. You need any?"

Glen smiled and answered, "No, take them to your uncle. I know how much he enjoys a nice trout."

Oliver shrugged and set his creel down on the porch. Straightening, he said, "Well, I thought I would offer just in case. I really appreciate you letting me come out here so often."

Glen stepped aside as he said, "Come on in. There's someone here that you might want to see."

Oliver came in the house and looked around. He spotted Sandra in the kitchen and burst out in a smile. He called to her, "Hey lovely lady. I'm glad to see that you came back to keep Glen happy."

Sandra heard him and came out of the kitchen beaming. She came over to him and gave him a big hug. Stepping back, she said, "Oliver! What are you doing here?"

"I've been fishing. Glen lets me come over and fish. Even though we own a restaurant that serves fish, you just can't beat the taste of a fresh trout. "

Sandra grinned and asked, "Well, it's nice to know that you have been coming by to take care of this old grump while we were gone."

"It's been my pleasure. It's a lot of fun to have a fishing buddy and a private stream where you aren't fighting off a dozen other fishermen."

Glen led his guest to the dining room table and pulled out a chair for him. They all sat down. Glen asked, "So how is business going?"

Oliver beamed, "Amazing. We keep one or two tables free all the time, but the wait for reservations is almost ten days now. We make more off of tips than we ever did working on our old jobs. The restaurant is making a great profit and we are putting that right back into the business. We went out and bought real crystal glasses and serving glassware. We are upgrading the tables and chairs next."

Glen appreciated the level of work that Oliver and his family were putting into this enterprise. He asked the question that he had always wondered about, "How did you ever decide on the old south theme with the slavery era costumes?"

Oliver laughed aloud at the question. He answered, "You know, being black we considered what we could do that no one else would even consider. We realized that no business would ask its black employees to dress up like antebellum house slaves. When we researched it, we realized that the costumes that we had picked out were not the outfits worn by slaves, but the kind of garb that freemen wore."

Glen nodded at the reasoning. Sandra looked puzzled and asked, "So why the theme?"

Oliver laughed and answered, "While that time was not very good for blacks, it was a time of great grace and beauty. In a funny way, it was a romantic time and very few people can resist the charm of it. Having it as a theme probably accounts for half of our business."

Glen knew that Oliver was far smarter than most people would credit him. He was glad to know that his impression had not been mistaken. He asked, "So do you get much negative talk from your customers?"

"Not really. I think that the antebellum theme has a tendency to make people a little more aware. We also try very hard to provide service without being noticed. You see us moving around the room and going from table to table, but you don't really notice us at your table. We don't hear much that is negative. The very few times that someone is really loud and says obviously obnoxious things, other customers have complained to them directly."

Glen stated, "Well, I was amazed at the quality of service you provide. I was in the business when my wife was still alive. I've never seen such care taken in providing good service and excellent food."

Oliver basked in the complement. He liked Glen and his down to earth honest ways. He said, "I'm really pleased that you said that. We try very hard."

Wanda listened in surprise as Glen stated, "Well, at the end of the month the next issue of the Metchettes Internet magazine is getting published. I would like to take them out to dinner that night. Could we make reservations for that night?"

Oliver answered, "Glen, you never have to make reservations. All you have to do is show up and we'll find a place for you to sit."

Glen shook his head and stated emphatically, "No need to do that. We are just regular customers that you happen to know. I would hate for something unfortunate to happen to your business because you were making an exception for us."

Oliver laughed and said, "Nonsense. You four are our best friends. Cliff helped me at the grocery store and made sure that we got the best items for the restaurant. He also talked the manager into extending us credit at a time when we really needed it."

He turned to Sandra and said, "You and your sister are delightful at worst and a credit to womankind everywhere. Without a doubt, seeing you and her always cheer us up. My sisters will be so happy to know that you are back."

Sandra laughed and replied, "Flattery will get you everywhere."

Glen returned to the original request and said, "We will need reservations for five."

Sandra looked at Glen in puzzlement and asked, "Five?"

Glen smiled and nodded his head. He repeated, "Five."

Oliver answered, "I'll add it to the books. What time?"

"Can we make it eight?"

Oliver laughed and replied, "Sure, party of five at eight. I'll let my sister know to put you down for a table. End of the month."

Glen looked over at Sandra and could see that she was still trying to figure out who would be the fifth person. He winked at her and turned back to Oliver and said, "Right."

Oliver looked at the two of them and stated, "Well, I better get back to the house and put the fish up. I have a restaurant to run."

Glen took him to the door and let him out. Oliver turned and waved as he left with his creel of fish. Glen waved back and watched him go. He had hoped to talk with Oliver a little more, but he understood that the man had to go to work. He turned to Sandra and asked, "Tell me about you and them."

Sandra asked, "What? Are you jealous?"

Glen laughed and answered, "Jealous? No. I'm just curious when you could have met them. You were around here all of the time."

Sandra laughed and said, "Silly, they used to get their stuff from the grocery store where I worked."

Glen sat there and looked flustered for a moment. Then said, "Isn't it a long way from the restaurant?"

Sandra laughed, "They don't live that far from here. They would stop at the store on their way to the restaurant. Cliff would set aside the freshest vegetables for them."

Glen understood that Cliff was a very generous individual that had a good heart, but he had not realized the extent to which the young man had gone to help out another. Oliver was a good man and Cliff had seen fit to help him. He still had to wonder how Cliff had talked the manager of the store into extending credit to Oliver. He would ask Cliff about that some time. Undoubtedly, Cliff had promised to cover the debt.

Sandra returned to the kitchen and started preparing dinner. She was cooking for four tonight. Wanda and Cliff would be over in just a little while, but would return home after dinner. She would spend the night with Glen. He didn't know it yet, but he was going to have company from now on.

Glen went out the backdoor to the porch and looked at his place. The paths for cross-country skiing had been cut and marked for their winter use. Glen was rather proud of them. There were four trails now and each had a different nature to it. One trail was nice and level. Another went up and down a few little hills. The third trail went around the hills making in curved. The last one was the longest and went around the property. They were going to have a lot of fun this winter.

There were two cords of wood stacked by the back of the house. He had acquired it by cutting down a few trees to make the cross- country skiing paths. The trio did not know about the trails yet. Of course, the fact that their property abutted his meant that they could expand the trials over both pieces of property. He was looking forward to that.

He heard the truck enter his driveway and walked around the house to greet Cliff and Wanda. Wanda got out and ran over to him smiling. She said, "Hey big fella. How are you doing with the manuscript?"

Glen laughed and answered, "So now that you've been my boss for half a day, you're checking up on me already?"

Wanda started to react and then noticed the smile he was giving her. She stamped her foot and said, "With that kind of attitude you probably won't last the rest of the day!"

Cliff smiled and said, "I'm sure he'll appeal to upper management."

The three of them went into the cabin. Sandra had been busy cooking. The scent of spaghetti sauce filled the air. It was her recipe and was made from scratch. It would be another couple of hours before it would be ready. Sandra smiled at her sister and brother. She said, "You won't believe what this guy did today."

Wanda looked at Glen and said, "What ever it was, I bet it was nice."

Sandra laughed and said, "He made reservations at the Southern Kitchen."

Cliff thought about his friend Oliver. He had been planning on stopping by one day just to say hello, but hadn't quite made it over there yet. He asked, "That's great. I would like to see Oliver again."

Glen laughed and said, "Well, I don't know if you'll see him or not."

Sandra looked at Glen with a funny expression. She told Cliff, "He made reservations for five."

"Five?"

"Yes, five."

Cliff looked blank and then turned to Glen. He asked, "Did you forget how to count?"

With a very serious look on his face, Glen acted like he was thinking really hard. Finally, he answered, "No. I counted correctly."

"So who is number five?"

Glen went over and put an arm around Cliff. He answered, "Well, there is this certain young lady that has that night off. She's coming with us. I happen to know for a fact that she's infatuated with a certain young man by the name of Cliff."

"Who?"

Glen turned to the twins and asked, "Should I put him out of his misery by answering or should I keep it a secret?"

"Keep it a secret," replied Wanda. In what was a real surprise to both twins, Sandra said, "Answer him."

They looked at each other and then burst out in laughter. Cliff stared at the two of them. Glen laughed and said, "Well, I already invited her."

Cliff's curiosity got the best of him. Frustrated he asked, "Who in the hell is it?"

"CJ."

Cliff blushed as he thought about CJ. As far as he was concerned, CJ was the prettiest woman he had ever seen. Despite the fact that the infatuation ran both ways, there was so much that she didn't know about him and that worried him. He wondered how she would react when she learned about his bisexuality. Glen noticed the worried expression on Cliff's face and said, "Hey, don't worry. I bet she'll understand things a whole lot better than you can imagine."

Cliff stepped away from Glen and angrily said, "How would you know? Have you ever had a woman walk out of your life because she found that you liked men?"

Glen answered, "No, I never have had that happen to me. However, I happen to know CJ's uncle."

Sandra stated, "So what. We all know the Sheriff."

Glen answered, "You might not know that his son is gay. CJ was the one that defended him to his family."

The trio all relaxed at the revelation. Each realized that they should have trusted Glen a little more. He might have been grumpy and silent when they first moved in with him, but he had never really done anything bad to them. Glen sat down in his recliner and watched the trio as they were lost in their thoughts.

Cliff came out of his moment of introspection first. He asked, "Well, what did you think of the magazine?"

Glen smiled and answered, "Well, I went through the whole thing and made some editorial changes. Nothing too significant for most of them."

Wanda looked surprised. She asked, "So are you done already?"

Glen shook his head and answered, "No. That was just the first pass. I'll look over it again tomorrow and give it back to you tomorrow night."

"Wow, that was fast."

"Not really. You forget that I have lots of experience about editing the written word. I can easily do a hundred pages a day when I get into the swing of things. With my own work, I usually do it four times before I send it in. It is a lot easier to review other peoples writing. I'm not married to the words."

Sandra was impressed and said, "I sometimes forget that you made your living writing books."

"Well, romance novels aren't exactly high fiction. They tend to be easy to write if you've figured out the basic structure and pattern the reader expects."

Wanda looked over at Glen and asked the question they all had about his occupation. "So how did you become a romance novelists?"

Sandra added, "It is a rather unlikely career for such a manly man as yourself."

Glen's eyes misted as the pain of those early days came back to him. He said, "Well, it started when my wife was diagnosed with breast cancer. After she had the mastectomy and was in the hospital, she asked me to read her a book. She loved romance novels, so I went out and bought one. I read it to her. I read book after book to her. Sometimes I read two of them a day. I didn't really care for the books, but I recognized a pattern to them. I continued to read them to her."

Sandra got misty eyed and said, "That's so sweet."

Wanda, with a tremor in her voice, said, "I bet she loved that."

Glen nodded and continued, "Well, after a while it was getting harder to find new books. One day, I couldn't find one. Rather than read one to her, I made it up. She liked that story more than any of the ones that I had bought. For the next few days, I continued to make them up."

"Wow, that's amazing. You just started to make them up, just like that?"

Glen got a far off look in his eye. He continued his story. "Well, one day she said that I should write down my story. She was getting pretty weak by this time, so she couldn't listen to the whole story in one sitting. So we started to work on it. I started typing it up and reading the chapters as I finished them. I finally finished it and sent it in to a publisher of romance novels. In the mean time, we started another one. She was really weak by then. It broke my heart, but every time she came round she wanted to hear about the story. "

"It was a way for us to avoid talking about our pains. We could express our feelings through the story. I would write something and she would say that I had captured the way that she had felt about me. Sometimes I would say that this passage described how I felt about her. It was the easiest way we could express our feelings."

"After she died, I found out that the first manuscript had been accepted for publication. The contract that I signed for it was pretty bad. The first book sold over a million copies and I didn't get much for it. However, I was able to renegotiate a pretty good contract for the rest. Every time I wrote a book though, I was telling my wife that I loved her."

The twins were crying by the time that Glen finished his story. He had never really told the whole tale to anyone before. He was near tears himself. Cliff sat to the side thinking about how Glen must have gone through hell. He had never read one of Glen's books and didn't think he could now. It would be too depressing to read it in light of the story. Every time a character told another that they loved them, he would picture Glen and his sick wife talking.

He stood up from the couch and went into the kitchen. He came back with cokes for everyone. It provided everyone a chance to break out of their down mood. He sat back on the couch and asked, "What did you think of my editorial?"

Glen, with a sudden tightening of his stomach, answered, "I wanted to talk to you about that."

Cliff sat up concerned and ready to be hurt. "Break it too me gently."

Glen, noticing the look on Cliff's face, said, "Don't worry. I thought it was great. However, I thought that you might not want to publish it yet."

Cliff asked, "Why not?"

Glen answered, "There are some folks that might not be too happy about what you say in the article."

"I didn't say anything bad about God. I said that he was loving and would appreciate people loving each other, regardless of the circumstances."

Sandra and Wanda looked just as puzzled as Cliff. They had both read the article and found it very comforting to think of God that way. Wanda asked, "He didn't say anything bad."

Glen frowned and bit his tongue to keep from saying his initial reaction. He didn't know how to express his concerns. Finally, he said, "There are some people that can't stand the idea of a loving God. They may read the article."

Cliff laughed at the idea of some religious nut reading their magazine and said, "Well, there are a lot more things in the magazine that one of those folks would react negatively too. The editorial is probably the least of our worries."

Glen shook his head and answered, "I don't know. I'll leave it to your best judgement."

Sandra went into the kitchen to check on her sauce. She tasted it and declared it ready to eat. Turning to call her sister, Wanda showed up before she had a chance to say a word and got out the large pot to boil the pasta. They went into their normal routine where each one's action complemented the other's actions.

Glen and Cliff talked a little more about the magazine and plans for the future. Glen decided that he was going to have the telephone line run out to his place and see what he could do about getting Internet access. He decided that if he was going to be in the business, that he should at least know something about it. Cliff continued to amaze Glen with his knowledge of running the business. Finally, he had to ask, "How did you learn so much about this stuff?"

Cliff laughed and answered, "Well, being bisexual is not easy. While I was in Atlanta we discovered the Internet. We spent hours looking at all kinds of sites. When the girls went to bed, I started looking at some of the sites dealing with bisexuality. I came across a number of sites that dealt with polymory, swinging, and open marriages. I got the idea for Sexual Liberation In Marriage. I put together a free issue with the help of Wanda and Sandra."

Glen asked, "How did you know it was successful?"

"Two ways. We were able to get a count of the number of times that my site was visited. It had over two thousand hits that first month. We also got e-mail feedback from people that had read it. It was overwhelmingly positive."

"When was that?"

Cliff thought about it and answered, "Well my first one went out at the end of the month in June. The second issue came out in July. Wanda had really studied up on creating web pages. This time, it was really a work of beauty. We had so many visitors that our provider threatened to close us down. Instead, he upped our fee."

"For the third issue, which came out at the end of August, we charged a membership fee. We were shocked. We signed up almost three thousand people. We were only charging a dollar a month, but that was three thousand dollars."

Glen was really impressed. That wasn't a bad income for one month's worth of work. He asked, "Where there any problems?"

Cliff answered, "We found out that we could have gotten in trouble with the first two issues. We didn't put all of the proper disclaimers about minors and other legal disclaimers. Of course, there wasn't any sex in it, so the IP provider didn't press the issue."

"So what happened next?"

Cliff laughed as he considered his answer. He said, "Well, Sandra decided to get some advertisers. Next thing we knew, we had all kinds of groups advertising in the fourth issue. The advertising money exceeded the subscriber money. In fact, now the advertising comprises almost the majority of our income."

"I quit my job in construction and went to work on the next issue full time. This time, I contacted real professionals to write articles. We contacted a photographer to take pictures to illustrate the articles. A student in the classes that the twins were taking was an art major. She went over the site and suggested all kinds of artistic changes. We hired her as well."

"That issue came out at the end of September. We've gotten lots of feedback about that issue. We've even found that a number of family councilors are recommending our web site to married couples. People really like it. We got the issue ready for publication at the end of October and moved here. The only thing that you are editing that will go in that issue is my article."

Glen was surprised by that news. He had thought they were under a strict deadline to meet before the end of the month. He asked, "So what is going to happen with the material that I edited?"

"That material is for the issue after that. It will come out at the end of November."

Glen laughed and stated, "I thought I was under a strict deadline."

Cliff shook his head. He said, "You are. We need to get that issue put to rest as soon as possible so that we can start on the issue after that. It takes an amazing amount of time to get the authors to deliver their articles. Then the artist reads the articles and gets an artistic vision that she communicates to the photographer. He has to line up legal models for the pictures and then send them to us. We plan to have a very professional publication that is the best on the web."

Glen shook his head in amazement. Cliff had really matured a lot over the past few months.



-------

Chapter 12


The article that Glen was reading for the December issue of the magazine was really good. It described the sexual options that existed in a marriage of two men and two women. Although the language was not explicit, the variety of options that were discussed was very exciting. He had a taste of it when the trio returned home and the memory of that evening was enough to get him hard in a flash.

He set the article aside and went into the bedroom. Wanda was in the shower. He removed his bathrobe and got into the bed. He heard the shower stop and grinned in anticipation. She entered the room wrapped in a towel, her hair still wet. She stopped and eyed Glen with a hungry look. She said, "Reading this stuff makes me horny. I bet it has the same effect on you."

"You bet. Now get over here before I climb out of this bed and ravage you where you stand."

Wanda slowly removed her towel. She dropped it on the floor and stated, "You have to catch me first."

Glen jumped up as she ran out of the room. The chase was on. He followed her into the living room. She shrieked and ran outside. He followed after her, noticing that she stopped before stepping into the cold snow. The chill December air was very cold on their naked skin. Wanda was freezing as she was still wet from her shower. Her escape outdoors was very short lived as she immediately ran back into the house. Glen followed her back in the house laughing. He threatened, "I'm going to chase you outdoors again. You'll have to let me catch you there or you'll freeze to death."

She giggled and moved like she was going to try to slip past him. He lunged in that direction, but she escaped in the other direction and ran into the bedroom. He recovered and followed her giggles. He caught up with her and they ended up on the bed.

Glen smiled and stated, "I'm going to have to punish you for running away little girl."

"Little girl? Me?"

Glen started tickling her. She thrashed around and laughed as she tried to escape his touch. She finally grabbed his cock and threatened, "If you keep that up, I'll bite the head off next time I put little Glen in my mouth!"

They were soon in an embrace. Glen latched onto her breasts with his lips and suckled as he flicked his tongue over the nipple. His other hand moved over to the other breast and squeezed lightly. Wanda liked rough touches most of the time, unlike her sister who preferred it a little gentler. Wanda cried out in delight. She grabbed his head and pulled him up to kiss him. The kiss was long and passionate. His hands ran over her body throughout the kiss. His hand traced the valley between her buttocks. She shivered under his touch. When they broke, she said, "I want you to take me in the bottom."

Glen was surprised by the request. If he even touched Sandra there, she freaked and would stop everything. Wanda repeated, "Please, take me in the bottom."

Glen answered, "Okay. I will. Let me warm you up a little bit before I do that."

He moved down her body and started licking the lips of her pussy. She responded quickly with hips that moved under his touch. He ran a finger down the crack of her ass. When it reached her asshole, he paused just a second. Wanda tried to scoot down to get more pressure against her asshole.

Glen flicked his tongue against her clit. He rubbed his finger around her asshole. Her legs locked around his head as she screamed out her orgasm. It surprised her with how suddenly it had come upon her.

He had to wait for her legs to relax before he could get up to get the lube. He kept some in the nightstand by the table. For now, he was held tight. He looked up at her from his position between her legs. Her hands were on her breasts squeezing the nipples. It looked so painful that Glen winced. She seemed unaware of her actions. He rubbed her asshole again with the result that her legs tightened even more.

He stuck his tongue in her pussy working it in and out. She slowly relaxed her legs and then started shifting around on the bed. He looked up to see what was the matter. She pulled her hand out of the nightstand and looked at the tube of lube. He extracted himself from between her legs. She spread them wide for him to have better access. Glen took the lube and put some on his finger. He started smearing it around her asshole. She reacted immediately. He put more lube on his finger and slowly inserted it into her asshole. With his other hand, he put a liberal amount of lube on his cock.

She grabbed her ankles and pulled her butt off the bed giving him excellent access. He pressed his cock against her. It slipped in very easily. He started to thrust into her very slowly. She moaned and he stopped. She begged, "Oh God that feels great. More, I need more of you in me."

Glen slowly pushed into her. She screamed and begged for more. He had finally entered her fully. He started to pull out and she tightened her muscles trying to keep him in her. He thrust into her slowly allowing her to get used to having him in her. She screamed, "Fuck me. Faster. Harder. Fuck me hard."

Glen started thrusting faster into her. She continued to beg for it harder and faster. He obliged until he was thrusting into her as fast and hard as he could. He reached down with a hand and touched her clit. She screamed in pleasure and her ass tightened in an inescapable grip. Glen couldn't move. The earlier tightness of her ass was more than enough to bring him off, but after she had tightened her muscles, it was so tight that he couldn't ejaculate.

She finally came down from her orgasm and Glen started thrusting into her again. He set a fast and furious pace. The entire time, she was screaming, "Oh yeah. Just like that."

In minutes he was ready to come. He waited until he started coming before touching her clit again. This time, her orgasm totally overwhelmed her. Glen watched her face as it twisted and contorted in ecstasy. Her lips were twisted like she was snarling and her face was scrunched up as though in pain. Her orgasmic blush had spread down from her neck to almost below her breasts. Her nipples were so swollen and erect they seemed to have doubled in size. He had never seen her so excited.

The effect of her orgasmic appearance was like an electric shock through his system. He was proud that he could bring that much pleasure to another human being. He was awed by the sheer power and intensity of her orgasm. It made his orgasm seem insignificant in comparison. Glen ran his hand across her body in the hope of extending her pleasure. His actions seemed to have the desire effect.

He kept caressing her body for ten minutes. His cock had shrunk and slipped out of her ass. His come dribbled out. He slowly ran his hands over her breasts. He was rewarded by her deep gasp. He ran a hand down to her pussy. He brushed one finger over the lips with a light teasing touch. She screamed out another orgasm as her entire body shook.

Glen was amazed at the sensitivity of her body. He ran his hands back up to her breasts. She continued to softly shudder under his touch. He wondered how long he could keep this up. He had never heard of this happening to a woman before. He lay down beside her and put an arm around her. She snuggled closer and sighed as her orgasms subsided.

Glen held her gently for a long time. She was soon softly breathing as she fell asleep. Glen slowly extracted himself from her and went into the bathroom. He took a shower, but hardly noticed what he did as his mind was on Wanda in the other room.

After the shower, he took a warm damp washcloth and returned to the bedroom. He cleaned her up the best he could without waking her. He then lay down and put his arm around her, quickly falling asleep.

Wanda woke before Glen. She looked at him for a minute; happy and comfortable in having his arm around her. She turned so that they spooned. She moved his hand so that it cupped her breast. She couldn't believe how good she felt around him. She was totally relaxed in his presence and wanted to do anything to make him happy.

Glen slowly woke up. He felt a breast under his hand and could tell by her breathing that she was awake. He asked, "What are you thinking about?"

In her comfortable state, she replied, "We love you so much."

Coming from anyone other than one of the twins, her statement might have been presumptuous. However, he recognized that she was speaking for both of them. He answered, "I love you both very much too. I can't believe that you are in my life."

Wanda turned and looked at him. She immediately missed the feeling of his hand on her breast. She asked, "You love us?"

Glen looked her in the eye and said, "I love you with my whole heart."

Wanda, took a deep breath, and then asked, "If you had to pick between us, which one of use would you pick?"

Glen shook his head and answered, "Impossible. That's like having to pick between having the top half or the bottom half of a body. You take the whole package. Neither one of you would be happy without the other close by."

Wanda, pleased with his answer, hugged him tightly with tears running down her cheek. She couldn't believe how well he understood them. She cooed, "You have us."

Glen smiled and caressed her cheek. He leaned over and kissed her nose and said, "You had me from the start."

Her reaction was to push him on his back and climb on top of him. She started kissing him passionately. She moved down his body kissing him as she went. She stopped and kissed his nipples and gave them a little nip. Glen was always amazed by the sensation. He hadn't realized that his nipples were that sensitive. She spent a little time working on his nipples. His cock started to erect. She rubbed her pussy against it bringing it to full attention in seconds.

Once he was erect, she lowered herself onto his cock. She went slowly and enjoyed the sensations of being filled by him. Glen felt like a hot warm moist glove was enveloping his cock. She slowly raised and lowered herself on his cock, enjoying the sensation and closeness. She leaned forward until she was lying on his chest. They stayed in the position, with Glen slowly lifting his hips thrusting gently into her, for at least twenty minutes.

Their coupling was interrupted by the arrival of Sandra. She had come in the cabin and stripped as she made her way to the bedroom. Glen looked over in time to see her climb into the bed next to him. Tears of happiness were running down her face as she said, "He loves us."

Wanda sat up and started moving on Glens cock. Her motions were not only up and down, but also in tiny circles. The sensation was too much for him and he started to rapidly approach an orgasm. Sandra reached over and started to rub her sister's clit. Wanda's efforts became even more energetic as she approached her climax. Glen grunted and said, "Oh, God! I'm coming."

He started coming. Sandra pinched Wanda's breasts and helped drive her over the edge. The ending, despite the pleasure to the body, was almost anti-climatic. It was the emotional closeness they were sharing that had been more important than the sexual aspect. Glen sighed and pulled Wanda down to hug her. Sandra cuddled up to the pair, embracing them both.

Wanda slowly removed herself from his wilting cock. Her cunt was quickly replaced by Sandra's mouth as she cleaned him with her tongue. When she had finished him, she went to her sister and cleaned her by sucking the come from her pussy. Her actions were gentle, intended to clean and not to excite.

Glen lay back enjoying being with the two of them. He found himself with an arm around each twin and each one with her head snuggled onto his chest. He asked, "So Sandra, what brought you over."

Sandra smiled and answered, "I was sitting in the house and all of a sudden this very warm feeling of being loved came over me. I knew that you had just told Wanda that you loved us."

Glen looked at her in disbelief and asked, "You actually felt that?"

"Oh yes."

Wanda smiled and added, "I knew she was coming over here as soon as you said it to me."

Glen shook his head astounded at the closeness of these two. It was like they were born connected in the mind. He just continued to hold onto them and consider how lucky he was to have them both. This was perhaps the least likely male fantasy to come true; to share two twins that actually had sex with each other. He wondered how he could have been so lucky to find himself in this position.

They lay there for a long time until they were interrupted by the arrival of Cliff and CJ. CJ looked at the threesome on the bed with interest. She had known they would all be naked from the trail of clothes they had followed to the bedroom. It was the first time she had really encountered the three of them together in any overt sexual situation. The closeness of the three touched her and she looked back at Cliff. Cliff was smiling and shaking his head.

Glen looked over at them and asked, "What's up?"

Cliff looked a little nervous as he answered, "I got a call from our IP provider. We've gotten close to a thousand emails this morning."

Wanda started and looked up at him in surprise, "A thousand in one morning?"

CJ looked at Cliff and then stated, "Yes, a thousand threats. All but one or two legitimate mails were threats."

Glen looked at Cliff who looked away in embarrassment. It was clear from his reaction that the source of the problem was Cliff's editorial. Glen stated, "Let me guess. The emails basically state that the people involved are all sinners and that God is going to punish them. Everyone is going to burn in hell."

CJ nodded her head. "Exactly. It appears that they all originate from some group that calls itself the Last True Church of Christ."

Glen was worried. He wondered if this group was going to escalate the threats. He wondered how people who claimed to represent God could possibly act so counter to God's wishes. He stated, "Well, print up a representative sample of the threats and take them to the Sheriff. You have to let him know that there may be some problems. In the mean time, don't respond to them in anyway. There is nothing that you can say that will stop them except closing down the magazine."

Sandra sat up and looked at Glen. She asked, "Do you think we should do that?"

CJ answered for Glen. "No. You can't do that. You are helping a lot of people who feel isolated and alone. Your magazine is meeting a real need."

Cliff looked at CJ in surprise and said, "You sound like you really approve of our magazine."

CJ blushed and then said, "Well, let's say that after reading it I realized that there were some things in life that I really wanted that I was afraid to consider."

Glen watched the exchange and realized that there was a need for the two of them to have a little chat. He stated, "Why don't the two of you get over to the Sheriff and have a nice long talk while you are going there?"

Cliff nodded and said, "That's a good idea."

Cliff and CJ left the room together holding hands. It was nice to see them together. Glen had worried that Cliff was going to end up as a life long bachelor, occasionally coming over to his place to get a little relief when the sexual pressures got too much for him. A small town was a tough place to have a strange sexuality.

Glen got up after they left and suggested, "Let's make breakfast."

Sandra looked at him in surprise and stated, "It's almost noon. You haven't eaten breakfast yet?"

Wanda giggled, "You came over here in time to catch the end of round two this morning. We had a short nap in between rounds."

Sandra laughed looking at Glen and said, "Wow. You must have been good this morning."

Glen looked embarrassed and left the room while the twins talked. He went into the kitchen and realized that it was close to noon. He went to work frying up some bacon for bacon and eggs. While the bacon was cooking, he got the bread out and butter to prepare making the toast. He wouldn't start the toast until he was cooking the eggs, but now was the time to get everything together.

The twins came in and pushed him out of the kitchen. They were still naked, but then covered themselves with aprons. The covered fronts and bare backs presented a pleasant sight. He stood, watching them cook; amazed that such modern women held so tightly to certain traditional roles. It really bothered them when he cooked or washed dishes when they were around.

He went over to the dining room table. He could watch them work from there and continued to appreciate their bodies. Identical firm butts, framed by the apron, grabbed his attention. They definitely had fine butts. He glanced at the clock and realized that he was going to have to get busy after breakfast. Christmas was in three days and he hadn't finished his presents for the trio.

It wasn't long before breakfast was ready. The twins in their normal efficient fashion had buttered the toast, finished the bacon, and scrambled the eggs. He looked in delight at his dining companions as breasts tried to peek around the loose bounds of the aprons. Sandra asked, "What are you smiling about?"

Glen laughed and said, "Oh, I was just appreciating the beauty of my dining companions. I love you so much and just can't believe my luck in having found you."

The twins glowed in the light of his praise. They exchanged a glance and Sandra said, "Well, the feelings are mutual."

The group finished eating. Glen's experiences with his wife had made him a little more comfortable in expressing his feelings. His male nature would occasionally overtake him and he would find himself unable to say what he was thinking. He hoped the twins understood. It had been easy to say that he loved them. He found it nearly impossible to say how much he cared about them. Finally, he stated, "The two of you make me feel complete. There has been a hole in my spirit that you have touched and healed."

The twins looked at him in awe. That was the nicest thing that anyone had ever said to them. Their eyes misted as they looked across the table in adoration. Glen shifted nervously and stood up. He said, "I have to get to work in the woodshop. I'll be back in here in a couple of hours."

He left the room and quickly dressed. In less than five minutes he was out the door heading towards the woodshop. Entering, he took pleasure in the sight before him. The odor of fresh cut wood tantalized his nostrils. The individual machines, so cold in their metallic brutality and strength, were capable of producing work of great delicacy. There were different kinds of large saws - band saw, table saw, jig saw, and a miter saw. Other pieces of equipment included a router, planer, and several sanders. Mounted along the wall were his hand tools.

He went to his current projects and looked at them. There were three jewelry boxes missing their lids and a gun rack waiting for its last coat of varnish. He sat down on the chair at his work bench and started on the lids for the jewelry boxes. Last night he had finished gluing the pieces together. Now he would sand them and put the first coat of varnish on them. He took a small piece of sandpaper and started working. Sanding calmed him. The repetitive motion was soothing and freed his mind to think of other things.

He took his time. Even though he only had three days until Christmas, he would be done tomorrow with the boxes. He took a moment occasionally to look at the various bags on the counter that contained the jewelry he was going to put inside the boxes when he had completed them. In the corner, still in their boxes were three guns. A small.22 caliber rifle, a.306 caliber rifle with a scope, and a 20 gauge shotgun. He would probably have to train Cliff on how to use them, but it would be nice to have a hunting partner next year.

Time passed quickly as he worked diligently. Before long, all of the boxes had been sanded. The sanding had brought out all of the wonderful grain of the apple wood. The gun rack had been smoothed with steel wool. He closed his eyes and ran his fingers across the surface. That was how one truly measured the quality of their work. Imperfections that the eye missed stood out like mountains under a light touch.

He put on some gloves and opened the small container of varnish. The odor of the oils that comprised it assaulted his nose. He took a deep breath through his nose, enjoying the smell. It was the smell of impending completion as it marked the last major step in the production of furniture. He applied it with the smooth strokes that Fred, the manager of the wood store, had taught him.

It didn't take long to have a nice even coat of varnish on all of the presents. He stepped back appreciating his work. There was something nice about having created something of beauty that would last for years. He had worked hard to make sure that his work could last forever, the wood was too precious to waste by creating junk.

He went to the other area of his workshop and grinned at the stack of chests. Each was painted white. Inside of each one, was a little paint set that the kids could use to personalize each one. Two days from now, he would put on an Elf costume and deliver them to the orphanage. A number of organizations had come together to make this a good Christmas for the kids. They had arranged for the toys for tots collected by the marines to be put inside the chests. The marine in charge would come as Santa Clause. The Elks had put together a nice spread of cookies and punch for the kids. The choir from the local church had agreed to sing Christmas Carols. The mayor was going to read the Night before Christmas. He was looking forward to it.

He eased out of the workshop closing the door behind him. He smelled the fresh air. The time spent in the workshop with the varnish had dulled his sense of smell. However, he could make out the scent of burning wood from the fireplace. Another great smell that contrasted sharply and pleasantly with the crisp winter air. The smoky smell promised warmth against the cold.

He entered the house through the mud room. He stomped his feet removing the snow from his boots. He sat down on the chair and removed his boots, preferring not the track the wet of melting snow through the house. He entered the house proper and looked around. The twins had decorated the tree while he had been working in the wood shop.

They came out from the kitchen. He looked over at them, appreciating the view. They were wearing his shirts. He couldn't believe how sexy his shirts looked on them. When he wore them, they looked like shirts. On them, their panties just peeked out the bottom along the sides. The top two buttons were unbuttoned giving very suggestive hints at the breasts underneath. Four hours ago, both had been naked, but he caught himself trying to sneak peeks down the open front. Even as he did it, he realized how ridiculous male behavior was at times.

Glen and CJ returned from town in a quiet mood. Their meeting with the Sheriff had been a little rougher than they had predicted. The Sheriff's initial response had been concern. When he learned about the magazine, his tone had changed to one that was more hostile. The Sheriff believed strongly in family values despite the fact that his son was gay. There was many a night that he laid awake at night wondering how that had happened. Dale had said, "Well, they have a right to be offended by the filth that you are promoting."

"Filth? You have no idea what you are talking about. Cliff is writing a magazine for people that love each other. It is a great thing he has done. You might want to read an issue or two." CJ's eyes had narrowed as she told her uncle off. She had continued, "And Cliff is a fine young man that you should be proud to know."

Dale was surprised at how much CJ defended Cliff. In fact, Cliff had been just as surprised. Cliff had blurted, "God, I love you."

Outside of a blush that spread over CJ and a raised eyebrow from Dale, no one reacted to his statement. Dale had sat there for a minute and then said, "Show me this magazine."

Cliff and CJ had left shortly after logging him onto the web site. CJ knew that Dale would do his job regardless of how felt about Cliff. CJ was secretly happy though; Cliff had said that he loved her.

At the house, they joined the others around the table. The twins had cooked some of the trout that Glen and Cliff had caught earlier. The fish were served on a wonderful bed of rice with mixed vegetables. Glen went to take his normal place at the table, but Sandra stopped him. She said, "You sit at the head of the table and Cliff sits at the other end."

Wanda continued, "We sit on each side of you. CJ sits beside Cliff."

Glen stated, "That leaves us with an empty chair."

Sandra smiled, "Oh, that is for the man they find."

"Huh?"

Wanda grinned, "Can't you tell? They are in love. Cliff needs a man in his life to be complete and CJ needs two men."

CJ stared at Wanda and Sandra in a state of shock. She stuttered, "How did you know?"

"Oh, come on. It's so obvious. You love Cliff and Cliff loves you. Yet when you see Cliff standing next to another man, your eyes dart from one to the other and a secret little smile crosses your face."

Sandra added, "Oh yeah. You can almost see the excitement as kinky little ideas cross your mind."

Cliff blushed and asked, "Uh, why haven't I noticed that?"

Wanda chuckled and said, "Because when you look at her, the only thing she sees is you."

CJ and Cliff shared a look. They both turned to the others and blushed. Sandra noticed and said, "That's okay. Don't feel embarrassed. Tonight you can borrow Glen. Remember, though, he's ours!"

Glen finally asked, "Don't I have a say in the matter?"

The twins giggled and Wanda answered, "No."

By the time dinner ended, the topic of conversation had shifted to less embarrassing subjects. They had decided that tomorrow they would all go cross-country skiing along some of the trails that Glen had cut through the woods. Everyone agreed to come over to his house in the morning so that they could get an early start. He still needed to finish the presents in the woodshop and needed the afternoon for that purpose. CJ needed to work tomorrow night, so the morning was the best time.

After the women had finished the dishes and Glen had carried in wood for the fire, the group sat around drinking coffee. Everyone was quiet as they thought about their schedules over the next few days. With a suddenness that startled everyone, the twins jumped up and carried their cups to the kitchen. They passed through the living room as they went to the bedroom. A few minutes later they emerged fully dressed.

Glen stood up when Sandra went over to him. She wrapped her arms around him and said, "Have a good night. Don't let them wear you out too much."

She kissed him and then stepped back. Her sister took her place. She kissed him passionately and said, "Show CJ what you can do, sweety."

The twins turned to leave the cabin. As they approached the mud room, Sandra turned back and said, "You two have fun with him."

Wanda just winked at the pair frozen on the couch. Glen walked to the door of the mud room and, as they pulled on their boots, said, "I love you."

"We love you," the twins answered in unison. Then they were gone.

Glen returned to the living room and sat down in his recliner. He said, "Sometimes you have to forgive them. They have this exuberance for life and forget that others aren't always willing to go along with their plans."

Cliff laughed and said, "Hey, those are my sisters you are talking about."

"So you know exactly what I mean."

"Yeah, I guess I do." Cliff knew that Glen wasn't going to go along with the suggestion of his sisters.

Glen got serious and looked at the two of them. He asked, "Did you find anything out about the group that's sending all the hate mail?"

CJ nodded and glanced at Cliff before answering, "Yes. They are a very serious group that is very conservative in their beliefs. They are led by a guy that says he is a descendant of one of the judges from the Salem witch trials."

Glen winced and asked, "What is his name?"

"Reverend Jonathan Corwin."



-------

Chapter 13


Cliff sat on the couch and said, "We have to do something."

Glen shook his head and stated, "There's nothing we can do. They haven't broken any laws."

Cliff said, "They are interfering with our ability to do business."

"This is a normal tactic. They first start to protest the business they don't like. If that doesn't work, then they try to get the sources of income to back away from them. In our case, that means they try to get our advertisers to back out."

Cliff fumed and didn't reply. He angrily stood up and started pacing. Glen watched his as he tried to work off some of his frustration. The Last True Church of Christ had selected their magazine as their primary target of their righteous wrath. The hate mail had gotten even worse and now they were threatening to harm them. Cliff finally burst out, "If I ever get my hands that that creep, I'd strangle him."

Glen shook his head and calmly said, "Hold on. You're just frustrated because you have to deal with them. None of the advertisers have backed out. They just called to let you know what was going on. Do you really think that a company that sells sex toys on the web is going to back out because a weird Christian group threatens to protest them?"

"No, you're right." Cliff looked back at him and added, "I just need to get rid of some of this excess energy."

Glen looked a Cliff and suggested, "Go skiing. I know the sun sets early this time of year, but you've still got about three hours of light."

Cliff shook his head after considering the idea. He paused and said, "I've got to get a Valentines Day present for CJ. Tomorrow is the big day."

"Tomorrow isn't Valentines Day."

Cliff nodded in agreement and replied, "Yes, but she has to work Valentines Day."

"Oh, that makes sense. You are going to surprise her with a present at work anyway, aren't you."

"Of course."

Glen finally said, "Yes, that is far more important. We must keep our priorities in line. Following love over exercise is always the best policy. Taking care of your girlfriend should be your first concern."

Cliff's eyes twinkled as he said, "I've always found the pursuit of love is a great exercise, with most of the exercise coming after the catch!"

Glen laughed. It was a rolling laugh that came from deep within his body as he considered the humor of the situation. At least Cliff only had to worry about exercise from one woman. He was tired half of the time, each one wanted to do it at night and then in the morning. Then both of them wanted a nooner. The result was that he was exhausted most of the time.

Their conversation was interrupted when Sandra came staggering out of the bedroom. She collapsed on the floor in front of Glen. Glen shot out of his chair and raced over to her. He was not in time to catch her before she hit the floor. She was pale and shaking as though in shock. He asked, "what's the matter, Sandra?"

She whispered, "Something is wrong with Wanda."

Glen picked up Sandra while Cliff got her coat. They wrapped her in it while Cliff threw Glen's coat over his shoulders. Cliff then went and got his coat. Glen carried Sandra to the truck. Cliff opened the door so that he could set her inside. Cliff got in while Glen went around to the drivers side and entered. They peeled out of the driveway and headed towards town.

Sandra slowly woke up and stated, "She's near the grocery store."

Glen took note and went down the turns that would lead them there the quickest. He actually cut across a field to make the trip quicker. It wasn't long before they were in front of the grocery store. Glen slowed down and drove around the area looking for an alley. Sandra cried out, "Here! Glen, I'm over here."

Glen stopped the truck and looked around. He spotted an ally about fifty feet away and drove over to it. Cliff leapt out of the truck before he even stopped it completely. He ran to a bundle on the ground. Glen was next to him half a second later. His stomach turned as he looked at her, her face was swollen so that one eye was closed, her lip was split and she was breathing with a raspy sound. He gently lifted her and carried her over to the truck. He set her next to her sister while Cliff climbed in the back.

They reached the hospital in record time. Their passing was not unnoticed by the Sheriff's deputy, who reached the hospital almost three minutes later. The Deputy was unwilling to cut across the school yard. He came charging over to the truck ready to arrest everyone until he got look at Wanda. The Deputy shouted towards the hospital, "We have an injured person here."

Glen carried her into the hospital before the staff had a chance to react. He set her upon a gurney and started pushing it to the emergency rooms. He was immediately surrounded by doctors and nurses wanting to know what happened. Glen frowned and said, "I don't know. Sandra started crying something was wrong with her sister. We came into town to find her. We left the cabin about forty five minutes ago."

The Deputy was standing behind him and heard every word. He got on his radio and called in the Sheriff. Glen turned and said, "She looks like she was beaten. You had better find the guy that did this before me."

The Deputy shivered as chills ran down his spine when he saw the look on Glen's face. Glen's words were not idle threats. He thought about what Glen had done to Amos when he caught him in his house. That made him even more nervous. He answered, "We'll find him."

Glen stood and watched the hospital staff work on Wanda. He was careful to stay out of their way, but he didn't let her out of his sight for a moment. His presence made the staff nervous, but none of them dared say a word. His watch was interrupted by Cliff as he shouted, "Damn it, Glen. Help me with Sandra."

Glen wheeled about as though shot and strode over to Cliff. Cliff was having trouble carrying her in. Glen lifted her easily out of his arms and carried her to the other bed. A nurse and a doctor went over to find out what was the matter with her. Glen said, "They are connected. What one feels, so does the other."

The nurse looked at him with a funny expression, but then decided that it was better to leave the subject alone. The weird thing was that her face started swelling in exactly the same way as her sister. The doctor looked over both sisters and watched in amazement as the one sister slowly transformed to where she had similar injuries as the other.

Glen interrupted the doctor and said, "Treat them, don't watch them."

The doctor looked at him in irritation and then turned back to Wanda. He started to work on her, providing fluids and pain killers. A sigh of relief escaped from Sandra. Glen watched and realized that the two were much closer than he had ever thought. He pictured Wanda laying in the alleyway, kept warm by her sister's body heat even though they were miles away.

After half an hour, the doctor finished working on Wanda and turned to Glen. He stated, "She'll be okay. We'll move them both to a room, now."

Glen followed them to the room and sat down on a chair where he could watch both of them. He moved the chair so that he was sitting between them. He held a hand in each of his hands. He didn't move or speak as the nurses came and went. The entire time, he pictured his strength flowing into them, helping them heal.

Cliff sat in the other chair and watched the three of them. He envied his sisters that they had someone like Glen to watch over them. He wondered if CJ would do that for him. After sitting there for a couple of hours, he got up and went to the floor next to Sandra. He lay down and went to sleep. Glen acted like he didn't notice, his attention remained on the twins.

The Sheriff entered the room later that afternoon. He sat in the other chair in the room and looked at Glen. He stated, "You scared the shit out of my Deputy."

Glen, his voice flat and dangerous, asked, "She was out there for over forty minutes after some asshole beat her. Did anyone see anything?"

Dale shook his head and answered, "No. No one saw anything. However, some folks told me that there were some men in town asking about the Metchettes this morning."

Glen sat there for a minute considering his options. He had to protect the twins, even if it meant his life. He finally asked, "What did they look like?"

Dale, knowing how Glen would react, answered, "Let's find out what happened before we go chasing after folks that just might be innocent."

Glen stated, "Don't forget that Cliff is still out there all alone. He could be next and I doubt they'll leave him alive. He's the one they really want."

Dale stated, "Don't tell me that you support them in this magazine effort of theirs."

Glen considered his answer carefully. His tone brooked no argument as he said, "Yes, I do. Look at them. They had nothing a year ago. Now they have their own business and are making more money than most folks. They describe lifestyles that are based on love and respect. No one is harmed by what the write."

Dale stated, "What they are saying is a sin in my book."

Glen chuckled and replied, "You're a good man Dale. We all have a thing or two wrong in our books when it comes to defining what is and isn't a sin."

Dale was about to respond when he realized that Glen was right. We all had things that we thought were wrong that others accepted as normal. Someone had to be wrong. He changed the topic and stated, "I'll look for them. I'll warn Cliff not to be alone."

Glen stated, "You don't have to do that. He's taking a nap on the floor next to Sandra. He hasn't left since they got here."

Sandra groaned in her sleep. Glen moved over to Wanda and watched her for signs of waking. He pressed the nurses call button. The nurse arrived and looked at Wanda. She said, "There's no change."

Glen stated, "Sandra is groaning. Wanda must be in some pain for that to happen."

The nurse looked at him in disbelief. About that time, Wanda and Sandra both whimpered. The nurse quickly left the room and came back with a vial and a needle. She did her job and in seconds the twins calmed down. She looked over at Glen and stated, "I would never have believed it if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes."

Glen answered, "They truly believe they are one person in two bodies."

Cliff got off the floor looking concerned. He asked, "Is everything alright?"

Glen nodded. Dale looked over at Cliff and said, "I want you to take care of yourself. You aren't to be alone from now on."

Cliff nodded and stated, "The only time we'll leave here is to eat."

"Good," answered the Sheriff. He stood up and walked over to Glen. He handed a stack of papers to Glen as he added, "By the way, here are some tickets. You'll have to go before the judge and plead extenuating circumstances."

Glen looked at the stack of tickets as he flipped through them. He frowned as he read aloud, "Speeding. Reckless Driving. Failure to Stop at a Stop Sign. Reckless Endangerment. Speeding through a School Zone."

Cliff swore, "Sheriff, that's not fair. He was trying to save my sister's life."

Glen interrupted Cliff before he could get into a tirade. He held up a hand as he said, "Hey, the Deputy is just doing his job. We drove across a school yard, for Christ's sake."

Dale shot a glance at Glen realizing that he was relived that Glen understood the Deputy's position. He had really scared his deputy earlier. Dale said, "As I suggested, tell the judge that there were extenuating circumstances. He's still likely to throw the book at you, but at least he won't be aiming for your head or balls."

There was a very weak laugh from Wanda. She said, "He better not aim at his balls."

Glen turned to Wanda and touched her gently. He avoided her face. It was hard to tell that it was her with the number of bandages that covered her. He smiled down at her and said, "Don't you know that I have balls of steel?"

She started to laugh, but the effort was too much. She went back to sleep with her hand grasping his firmly. He looked up and smiled, "She's going to be alright."

Cliff nodded and then stated, "We should go eat now. She'll sleep for another two hours or so."

Glen nodded and kissed her hand tenderly. Her grip tightened and then relaxed as she fell into a much deeper and more restful sleep. He let go of her hand and stepped back from the bed. He turned and repeated the same action for Sandra. She was in just as much pain as her sister.

The three men left the hospital together and went to the diner. When they entered, CJ came running up to them. She had heard the news and was concerned for everyone involved. She hugged Cliff as she said, "Is she okay?"

Glen answered, "They are fine."

"I'm so glad to hear that. Uncle Dale, do you have any idea who did this?"

Dale looked over at Glen and answered, "We have some ideas, but nothing definite yet."

They went to their normal booth. The three men were in a subdued mood and didn't talk much. Glen was worried for both of the twins. Dale was worried about what Glen would do when he caught up to the men that had attacked Wanda. Cliff was wondering if he was really the intended target. He was also worried about CJ getting hurt because of her proximity to him.

When CJ delivered their meals, Cliff cleared his throat and said, "Uh, CJ. I have been thinkingÖ"

"What is it honey?"

This was harder than Cliff imagined. He said, "You might want to keep your distance from me until the guys that did this to Wanda are caught."

Dale nodded, pleased that Cliff had been the one to bring up the subject. He said, "CJ, that sounds like a real good idea."

CJ stood up straight with her mouth set in a tense line. In a tone of voice that suggested that any argument would be wasted, she said, "No. I'm not going to run away from him. I'm going to be by his side every chance I get."

Cliff smiled at her spirit, but said, "CJ. I worry too much about you. If something were to happen, I'd be so concerned for you that I wouldn't be able to think straight. One of the few lessons I've learned in my short life is that you can't face some people without being ready for them."

Glen smiled and nodded as he realized that Cliff was thinking rather than reacting. He added, "CJ, Cliff is right. You don't want to be a target. If you don't believe us, go over to the hospital and look at Wanda. Not one of us at the table want to see you in that state."

Dale sat back and considered the two men sitting across from him. He realized that they would do the right thing no matter the consequences to themselves so long as the people they loved were safe. Despite the fact that he felt Cliff was wrong in pursuing his business, he couldn't help but like the kid. He said, "CJ. You know how I feel about what he is doing, but that has nothing to do with my advice. Listen to him. He's right. You need to stay away from him for a while."

Cliff smiled at the Sheriff realizing that no matter what he said, the Sheriff was never going to accept the idea of alternative marriages. He might treat his gay son with correctness, but he would never really accept his homosexuality.

CJ replied, "I'll go over to the hospital and talk to the twins. You'll see that they will agree with me."

Glen laughed at the statement. He knew there was no way that the twins would tell her that she was right. He said, "Well, there's nothing to worry about then."

CJ shot him a dirty look and then thought about it. Maybe she was just acting brave, but would regret her actions when the going got tough. She returned to the kitchen thinking about what the three men had said. She would talk to the twins. They would let her know what she should do. She couldn't believe how much she loved Cliff.

After they ate, the Sheriff went on to handle the business of policing a town. He had a lot of work to do as a result of the attack. He had already collected a little evidence at the scene of the crime. He had Wanda's clothes in an evidence bag.

For now, he had to follow up on the descriptions of the two strangers that had been asking around town about the Menchettes. One was a tall thin man, with a thin mustache, short black hair, and a hawk like nose. His clothes were basic black pants, white shirt, and black coat. The other man was a medium size man, clean shaven, slightly balding, and a baby face. Slightly overweight, he wore suspenders on his black pants. His clothes were basic pants, white shirt, and black coat of the same style as the other man. Both were wearing a long black winter coat with a black hat.

Glen and Cliff returned to the hospital. Glen took up his position between the twins. Cliff sat down in the chair. The twins were quiet and slept through the night. The comings and goings of the nurses was watched by the two men. Both of them assumed that her assailants were far away, but neither was willing to trust that assumption.

Later CJ came in the room. She was very quiet and looked at the twins. She paled as she saw their condition. Wanda was the one with the split lip and other cuts, but they both looked just about the same. She put her hand to her mouth as though to smother a scream.

She looked at Cliff seeking comfort. He stood and went to her. He put his arm around her and led her out in the hall to have a quiet talk. He was only gone for about five minutes before he returned alone. He nodded at Glen to let him know that everything was all right.

The two men, despite their discomfort, fell asleep near morning. Glen woke up with a start. His neck and back were stiff. His legs tingled as blood returned to them. Someone had put a thin blanket over him while he had slept. He stretched and looked over at Wanda. She was awake and looking at him. She whispered, "I dreamed that you had steel balls last night."

Glen laughed and looked at her lovingly. She was so beautiful, even with her face beaten and swollen. God, he loved her like life itself. He said, "I never tell you enough how much I love you."

He looked over at Sandra. She was looking at him with the same expression as Wanda. Glen asked her, "Did you dream that I had steel balls?"

In the same whispered voice, Sandra answered, "I dreamed that you had a steel cock."

Glen laughed and said, "I love you so much. I guess between the two of you, I'm superman. The man with privates made of steel."

The twins squeezed his hands with a grasp that was much stronger than last night. Wanda said, "We sorry to have worried you."

He squeezed their hands back and said, "Never be sorry that I worry about you. I love you and when you are hurt, I have to worry. I want you both to be the best that you can be."

Wanda managed a very slight smile that was immediately replaced by a grimace as the pull of the stitch in her lip hurt her. Glen glanced over at Cliff, still asleep in his chair. He told her, "Your brother has been here all night. He cares about his sisters a lot."

Sandra whispered, "We know. We've always known."

Glen sat there looking from one to the other. He sighed and said, "I love you two so much that it hurts to see you like this."

Sandra, with a fragile smile, whispered, "It hurts to be like this."

Several hours later the Sheriff came into the room. He looked at Glen and Cliff for a moment before saying, "Would you two mind getting out of here for a while? You might want to get a bite to eat."

Glen and Cliff looked at each other knowing that the Sheriff was going to ask questions about the incident. They wanted to stay in order to find out who had done this to her. They could tell by the look on his face that now wasn't going to be the time. Cliff, with narrowed eyes and a tight mouth, nodded his head at Glen. Glen understood and bent down to Wanda. He whispered, "If it gets too much for you, just buzz the nurse. She'll chase him out of here so fast he'll leave his shadow behind."

She whispered back, "Yes, my man of steel."

He turned to Sandra and whispered, "If either of you get tired, just buzz the nurse."

She whispered back, "We've already answered you."

Glen laughed and stood up. He and Cliff headed towards the door. Glen turned to Dale and said, "Don't upset them."

Dale nodded and turned to face the twins. He looked over Sandra and started by talking to her. The story he had gotten from the Glen said that she had known when her sister had been attacked. He wanted to find out for himself what she knew.

Glen and Cliff left the hospital. Rather than going to the diner, they both stopped by the jewelry store to get presents for their lovers. Cliff got a very nice necklace with a heart shaped pendent for CJ. Glen got a pair of rings, each with a very small diamond. Both men had the presents gift wrapped.

Glen then led Cliff on a very surprising shopping expedition. First they went to a woman's clothing store. There, Glen bought two silk scarves. After that, it was to the hardware store where he bought several heavy washers. That was followed by a short trip to the bank where he got two rolls of quarters. Cliff followed along confused as they went to a men's clothing store and bought two turtleneck sweaters.

After Glen was finished with his shopping, they went to lunch. It was a quiet meal, neither man talking about much. When they had finished eating and were drinking their coffees, Glen said, "Here's a roll of quarters. Carry it with you. If you are attacked, put it in your fist. It will add a bunch of hurt to whoever you hit."

Cliff looked at the roll of quarters and put them in his pocket. Glen was busy tying several of the washers to a corner of the silk scarf that he bought. He tied a large double knot in the middle of the scarf. He handed it over to Cliff and said, "This is a Thag Scarf. I'll show you how to use it. You don't have to go for the kill, just to get their mind off you while they try to get it off them. Its primary value is surprise, since most people wouldn't recognize it as a weapon until its too late."

Glen then made one for himself with the other scarf and the last set of washers. Cliff was looking at the scarf with curiosity. He didn't think the scarf was much of a weapon. Glen finished his and then stuffed it in a pocket with a bit of one end of the scarf sticking out. He reached down and touched it, satisfied that he didn't even to look down to find it. Glen looked up at Cliff noticing the disbelief on his face. He smiled, "Remember, an ounce of prevention is worth a month out of the hospital."

Cliff asked, "What about the sweaters?"

Glen answered, "Easy. They are baggy and you can hide a bit of protection under them. If a guy hits you where you are protected, you can spend your time hitting him back and not worrying about getting hit. Remember the Clint Eastwood movie where he had a metal plate over his heart. He wasn't worried about getting shot, he could have returned fire any time."

Cliff shook his head in amazement. Glen really did think these things through when he had warning. When he had hid the knives in the couch, he had saved all four of them. That thought made him wonder what other precautions Glen had taken that he hadn't known about. He decided that he was about to get a real education.

They paid for their meal and left the diner. Cliff said, "I have to see that scarf in action."

Glen looked around and then led them to a tree out of sight of the people inside the diner. He walked over to a small tree and said, "Mark an area about the height of a neck at any reasonable height on this tree."

Cliff marked a location at about the same height at his neck. He stepped back and looked at Glen. Glen smiled and reached down to the scarf. In one smooth movement he pulled the scarf out of his pocket and swung it in an arc. The weighted end of the scarf swung around the tree right into his waiting hand. With a deft movement, he had pulled the scarf tight around the tree with a knot holding it here. He looked at Cliff and said, "At this point in time, your attacker is more worried about getting that off his neck then he is concerned about what you are going to do next."

Cliff stared at the scarf in amazement. He had hardly followed its movement and would never have expected that in a fight. He uttered, "Whoa."

Glen added, "If you were to do that from the rear, the knot in the middle of the scarf would have crushed the windpipe."

"You don't fight fair."

"I disagree," replied Glen. In his opinion, they were dealing with raw and unfettered evil. In a very serious tone of voice, he added, "If you want to hurt me, you had better be willing to die in the attempt. If you try to hurt someone I love, then you had better expect to die."

Glen stepped over to the tree and struggled to remove the scarf. It wasn't easy, which was the whole idea. He returned the scarf to his pocket, with the end just sticking out of it. He reached down and found it without looking. Satisfied, he looked over at Cliff. Cliff was still staring at him. He said, "Shall we go to the hospital?"

Cliff nodded and followed behind Glen. He thought about what Glen had said. Glen was right. When things got rough, you had to have your priorities straight. The last person you should be concerned about for their welfare is your attacker. Finally, he asked, "Were you ever in the military?"

Glen glanced over at him and nodded. He didn't say anything to provide further details. If he had told Cliff the full story, the kid would never believe him. He didn't have any battlefield experience. In fact, he was a cook and spent most of his time in the kitchen. Of course, that had made him pretty handy with a knife. He knew many a vegetable that quivered when he approached it.

However, the group he was feeding was Special Forces. You couldn't be around those guys for long without picking up their attitude and some of their tricks. If you were the poor guy who had to explain why their steaks were burned, you had better have enough of their attitude to escape with your life. He remembered the first time that had happened. The poor slob who had been responsible had tried to explain. He ended up sitting in the trash can through the entire meal. When it was Glen's turn to explain, he had walked up to one of them and stated that he liked his steak that way just fine. He went on to state that if the guy had a problem with that for him to take his best shot. The others had just laughed at him, but he was able to walk back into the kitchen with dignity. Of course, he had cheated and chose a guy who liked his steaks that way. Just the memory of that occasion brought a chuckle.

Cliff noticed and asked, "What were you thinking about?"

Glen smiled and answered, "Oh, I was just thinking about a run-in that I had with some special services guys once upon a time."

Cliff walked along behind him no more informed than before. However, he did feel a little safer. They entered the room of the twins. Glen smiled at the pair and went over to them. He kissed Wanda on her forehead, one of the few places on her face that didn't hurt. She smiled up at him weakly. He said, "Hello, my loves."

He turned and winked at Sandra. She understood and smiled back. He took Wanda's hand and held it gently. She quickly fell asleep. He turned to look at Sandra and saw that she was awake. He went over to her and asked her in a whisper, "Can you disconnect a little from Wanda long enough to answer some questions?"

Sandra shivered and then whispered, "Okay, ask away."

"Who did this to her?"

Sandra whispered, "She said she had never seen them before. There were two of them, both of them wearing similar black pants and coats. She said one was a skinny tall guy with a thin mustache. She said he had a long narrow nose and never smiled. He kept this real rigid expression on his face the whole time he beat her. The other was medium height and much fatter. He had a baby face and grinned happily every time he hit her."

Glen whispered back, "American Gothic types?"

Sandra smiled and answered, "Exactly. She said that they would have to remove the corncobs to shit."

Glen nodded as he considered what that meant. He said, "Thanks, Sandra. Now connect with your sister and get some rest."

Glen signaled to Cliff for him to go out in the hall. When Cliff got out there, Glen turned to him and said, "These guys mean business. They are the kind that blow up abortion clinics, kill doctors because they think they are murderers, and abuse their wives and children all for God. They aren't going to stop with this. This was nothing as far as they are concerned. They probably do just as brutal a job on their wives for not having dinner on the table when they come home from humping the Bible."

Cliff wanted to laugh at the humping the Bible part, but the rest of the message scared the hell out of him. He asked, "Is there anyway to stop this?"

Glen stated, "They are probably a small group, maybe twenty to thirty of them. They won't stop until their leaders decide to go after a different target or are brought down by the law. Of course, the leaders won't really do anything that can get them in trouble."



-------

Chapter 14


All three of the Metchettes were waiting for Glen outside the grocery store. Glen had been in the line behind them and was now dealing with the slow checkout girl. Actually, she wasn't a girl. She was an elderly woman that had coke bottles for glasses. Even though the store had optical scanners at the checkout line, you still had to present the barcode to the reader. Unfortunately, this woman just couldn't seem to find the barcode. She would pick up an item, examine it for the barcode, present it to the machine facing the wrong way, and then go through the process again. You had to wait for her to make a mistake before she got it right.

He watched with incredulity as she tried nine times to scan a simple can of beans. The woman in line behind him had a young child that was in a cranky mood. Glen knelt down to the kid and said, "I'll bet you a penny that it takes her more than ten attempts to ring up the next item."

The kid frowned and looked at his mother, worried about talking to strangers. Seeing an opportunity to keep the kid busy for while, she handed him a fistful of pennies and said, "Take his bet."

For the next twenty items, Glen and the kid counted attempts to scan in items. Half the time the kid won; a fact that kept him very entertained. The mother smiled appreciatively at Glen while she took the moment of peace to read the National Inquisitor. After about twenty items, the kid said to Glen in a very solemn voice, "She's kind of slow."

Glen laughed aloud as he glanced at the woman examining another of his items. At least she didn't have her hearing aid turned up. He answered, "you're so right."

For the next few items, they changed the bet. Glen bet that the woman would require at least fifteen attempts on one of the next five items. Together they kept score. Glen lost the bet by one attempt. He gave the boy a stack of coins. The kid's eyes lit up as he eyed the candy machine. Finally, the manager came over and sent the woman on a break. He took three minutes to ring up the rest of Glen's purchases. As he worked, he asked, "Is there any chance of getting Sandra back here? I'm losing customers."

Glen laughed and answered, "None, I'm afraid to say."

"Damn. It's quicker to drive thirty minutes to the store in the next town over than to stand in line here. I know, I did it the other day."

Glen frowned and asked, "Can't find anyone else?"

"Nope."

The manager rang up the total. Glen paid it and picked up his two bags of groceries. He turned to the kid and said, "Next time!"

The kid looked at the handful of pennies, smiled back and answered, "Sure thing."

The mother smiled and watched as the manager quickly rang up her groceries. She said, "Thanks a lot. I really appreciate it."

"No problem. It was my pleasure." Glen left the store carrying his two sacks. He always took paper rather than plastic. When you have to burn your trash and start fires in the fireplace, paper was a much better choice.

He stepped beside Sandra and said, "Your old boss really wants you back."

Wanda laughed and asked, "Where did he find her? Turtles R Us?"

Sandra grabbed his arm and said, "I saw what you did for that lady. She would have had a real headache if you hadn't entertained the kid. You're going to make a great father."

Glen laughed and answered, "I was doing it for me. I was about to have a headache watching her work."

The trio laughed. Sandra went with Cliff to his truck. They got in and headed to the house. Wanda and Glen headed to his truck. An old brown van was parked next to it, which was odd since half the parking lot was empty. He was walking past the van when he noticed the bumper stickers. The whole bumper was filled with right to life and Jesus Saves bumper stickers. His first thought was that someone around here was really religious and then he got a sinking feeling in his stomach. He shouted, "Run back into the store, Wanda!"

She didn't even ask why, but did as she was told. Four men climbed out of the van to follow her. One of them was carrying a board. Glen backed up, keeping himself between Wanda and the men. One of them shouted, "get out of the way."

Glen, looking at them with anger in his eyes, answered, "I suggest that you leave here, right now."

The men quickly realized that Glen was going to be a problem and turned their attention to him. As they charged him, he threw both bags of groceries at them. It slowed two of them down for half a second. The one with the board dropped the board and caught a bag of groceries. He dropped the bag and bent down to retrieve the board. The other man had just swatted at the groceries. Cans ended up rolling all over the ground. The new hazard slowed his attackers.

Glen realized at that moment that he was going to die if these guys had their way and committed himself to getting really mean. He kicked one of them in the balls hard enough to lift the guy off the ground. One of the men did the same in return to him. Glen didn't even flinch as the kick connected with the cup he was wearing. Instead, he whipped the silk scarf from his pocket and had it wrapped around the throat of one of the attackers in two seconds. The knot was tied so tight, that the man went down struggling for his breath. It was now two on one.

The man with the stick swung it at Glen. He blocked it with his forearm. Glen swung his other arm in a backhand motion catching the other man in the head with his forearm. Despite the padding of the sweater, the metal plate that Glen wore under the sweater made a resounding crack when it connected. His forearms had absorbed the force of the blows, distributing the force across his whole forearm. Still they stung.

Glen was now facing one attacker and that guy wasn't so anxious to attack. He had just broken a board on the guys arm and it didn't even phase him. The guy he had kicked in the balls was starting to rise, so Glen kicked him in the face. The steel toed work boot that he was wearing inflicted considerable damage on the guy. Glen knew he wouldn't be getting up for quite a while. The fourth guy decided that escape was the better part of valor and ran.

Glen stood over the remaining three waiting for one of them to make a move. It wasn't long before the deputy arrived. He surveyed the scene and put cuffs on Glen. He was using the new style plastic cuffs and had pulled them very tight. The deputy grunted, "You're under arrest."

Glen hadn't even been placed in the back of the car when Wanda raced over and began raising hell with the deputy. She screamed, "Why are you arresting him? You're letting one of the attackers get away."

The Deputy shouted back, "Shut up bitch or I'll cuff you and put you in the back with him."

Wanda spread her legs and put her hands on her hips. She glared at the deputy and snarled, "You and what army."

She was quickly cuffed and put in the back of the car with Glen. She was very angry and wanted to kick out the door of the car. This was the same Deputy that had given Glen all of the tickets when he had taken her to the hospital. Glen grabbed her and turned her around. He cut the cuffs off her with his knife as he told her, "Calm down. You did everything like you were supposed to. You were magnificent. Everything is okay. I expected this. Deputy Dog out there doesn't like me. Wait until the Sheriff or the other Deputy gets here."

Glen watched as the Deputy got on the radio and called in the Sheriff. He stood there like a proud peacock talking loudly into the radio. He talked with the dispatcher long enough, that before he even had replaced the radio in his belt, two other cars pulled up. The Sheriff got out of one and surveyed the area. He went over to the three men on the ground and asked, "Did you request an ambulance?"

"No."

"You should have requested one when you were on the radio with the dispatcher. Did you check them out?"

"No. I was busy arresting the person that did that to them."

The Sheriff groaned and examined the men. He stopped at the one of the men and swore when he realized that he wasn't breathing. He used his knife to cut off the silk scarf and proceeded to attempt CPR. The other deputy called in an ambulance. Once he was done, he took over for the Sheriff. The Sheriff searched the body and pulled out his wallet. Glancing inside, he pulled out the drivers license and saw that the man was Jed Randolf. There was another card that indicated his membership in the Last True Church of Jesus Christ. The death threats that had originated from that outfit gave Glen a very good self defense argument. The man fit the description of one of Wanda's attackers.

The Sheriff looked up at the first deputy and said, "Well, while you were busy arresting him and talking on the radio, this guy died. Maybe we can save him yet, but I doubt it. He's already turning cold."

The Deputy looked stunned and answered, "I didn't know. I didn't want that bastard getting away."

"Was he running away or attacking them on the ground?" At the shake of the Deputies head, the Sheriff turned to the look at the other two on the ground in disgust. They were a bloody mess. The faces were caved in where Glen had hit them. He had broken the bones. He stated, "He fucked them up real good. They're going to be in the hospital for a long time."

"Well, he's a murderer now," replied the Deputy in self-righteous anger.

Not willing to leap to conclusions, the Sheriff asked, "So did you find out what happened?"

"Not yet. I arrested him and the woman. Then I called you."

The Sheriff swore as he realized what had happened. The Deputy had talked for at least three minutes with the dispatcher and hadn't done anything else except stand there. He walked over to the car where Glen and Wanda were being held. He opened the door and asked, "What in the hell happened here, Glen?"

Glen looked at the Sheriff and saw the anger in his eyes. He took a deep breath and stated, "Those guys tried to get to Wanda and finish the job they started the first time. Unfortunately for them, I was between them and her. When they attacked me, I responded with appropriate force."

"You killed one of them. His name was Jed Randolf," stated the Sheriff in a tone that suggested that he would be more than happy to have Glen arrested and convicted of murder. It seemed to him that Glen was too eager to kill and that was something he didnít want in his town.

Wanda had looked at the man on the ground and recognized him. She remembered the minutes after Glen had subdued Amos. She realized that she wanted to kick the shit out of the dead guy. She pushed down the desire as she stated, "He was one of the bastards that attacked me last month."

Glen looked at the Deputy who had been attempting to revive the man. The Deputy had stood up and shook his head. He turned his attention back to the Sheriff and replied, "In a fight of four on one, lethal force by the one is appropriate as self-defense."

"Four?"

"Yes, four. One of them ran away after seeing the first three go down." Glen pointed his nose in the direction the man had run.

"Do you have an impartial witness?"

Glen laughed and answered, "I haven't yet canvassed the neighborhood to see if anyone saw it. Deputy Dog saw to that."

The Sheriff barked a short laugh and then said, "That's a good description."

The woman that had been standing in line behind Glen in the store was trying to tell the first deputy that she had seen everything. He was ignoring her and staring hatefully at Glen. The Deputy shouted, "Shut up bitch. I'll get to you in a minute."

The Sheriff heard what was going on. He exploded and shouted, "Anderson, you're fired. Get out of here before I have you arrested for disturbing the peace and interfering with a crime scene investigation."

The other Deputy had gone over to the woman and started talking to her. It was tough because she was very upset by the treatment she had been given by the other man. She shot a hopeless look at Glen and turned to face the Deputy. The conversation between the two was long and animated. The Sheriff got on his radio. He requested the coroner and a state trooper. He was informed that the other deputy had already requested a coroner.

The little boy from the grocery store came over to Glen. He looked at him with wide eyes at the sight of him sitting in the police car. He asked, "Are you in trouble for fighting?"

"Yes, fighting is not a good thing to do. Always try talking first, do you understand me?"

The boy nodded and wondered if was a good idea to be around the man that was in trouble. Glen noticed and said, "Why don't you join your mother? She's probably very worried about you being around so many bad people."

"Are you a bad person?"

"I try not to be. Sometimes, though, things just kind of happen. It's sort of like spilling your milk. You don't want to do that, but whoops there it goes. Today, I spilled the milk."

The boy looked at Glen and the Sheriff. The Sheriff smiled down at the boy. He told the Sheriff, "He just spilled the milk. Does he have to go to jail?"

The Sheriff, touched by the fact that Glen had let the kid understand the seriousness of the situation without scaring him, answered, "I have to learn if he spilled the milk by accident or on purpose. If it was an accident, he won't have to go to jail."

The boy smiled and said, "I saw them try to hurt you. If you hurt them, it must have been by accident. Don't worry, you won't have to go to jail."

Glen smiled and answered, "Thank you. I've been real worried and you've cheered me up. I think the Sheriff wants to talk to me some more. He's a good man, so don't worry about me. Now, get back to your mother and cheer her up."

The boy went back to his mother as the ambulance arrived. It was fortuitous, since it gave the boy something else to be interested in while his mother talked to the Deputy. The Sheriff went over to the EMS. While the EMS personnel were busy with the two living men, the Sheriff warned them that they were suspects in an assault and needed to be secured to prevent their escape.

Cliff and Sandra showed up in the truck driving too fast. Sandra had started screaming that Wanda was in trouble, so Cliff had returned to the store. However, they had been on a road on which it was not safe to turn around and had to continue on a while before they could return. Cliff got out and walked over to the Sheriff. The Sheriff glanced at Cliff and noticed that he was dressed the same as Glen. He swore when he saw the silk scarf sticking slightly out of a pocket. He said, "Give me the scarf."

Cliff smiled and slowly pulled the scarf out of his pocket. He handed it over to the Sheriff. The Sheriff examined it and asked, "What in the hell is this?"

Cliff said, "You'll have to ask Glen. He showed me how to use it, but I can't remember what he called it."

The Sheriff led the siblings over to the car with Glen and Wanda. The door was wide open and Glen was sitting there happily with an arm around Wanda comforting her. The Sheriff asked, "Didn't he cuff you?"

"Yes, but it was rather uncomfortable, so I removed them. Did the same for Wanda. You will notice that neither one of us has attempted to escape." Glen smiled up at the Sheriff.

"How did you get it off?"

"I cut it off."

The Sheriff was getting frustrated and asked, "He didn't search you?"

"Nope."

"Get out of the car."

Glen slowly got out of the car. As he stood up, he held out his knife to the Sheriff. He held it by the blade, offering the handle to the Sheriff. The Sheriff grasped the handle and using proper knife etiquette, stated, "Thank you."

Glen released the blade, giving control of the knife to the Sheriff. The Sheriff's hand shook as he accepted the blade. He hadn't even seen it until Glen had offered it to him. If Glen had meant to hurt him, he could easily have done it. He decided to approach this in a less confrontational manner. He said, "Would you mind disarming completely? Empty your pockets, placing the items on the hood of the car."

Glen walked over to the front of the car. He removed the sheath for the knife. Then emptied his pockets. The roll of quarters made a dull clunk when he set it down on the hood. He emptied his back pockets. When he removed the garrote, the Sheriff raised his eyebrows in surprise.

Glen adjusted the bulky neck of the turtleneck sweater and removed an iron collar. He set that on the hood with a more gentle motion. He then rolled up the sleeves on the sweater and removed the leather armbands that held the metal bars to his forearms. He lifted his sweater and removed a small metal plate that protected his stomach.

The Sheriff watched wide eyed. The Deputy had finished talking to the woman and had joined him at the car. The two men exchanged glances as they watched Glen fish around in his shirt pocket before pulling out a small pocket knife. He stepped back and said, "Well, outside of the steel toes in the boots, I'm disarmed."

The Sheriff turned to Cliff and stated, "Your turn."

Cliff went through the same process. His weapons were identical except he didn't have a garrote. He did have a small container of pepper spray. After finishing, he stepped back from the car and stated, "Well, that's all except for the steel toes in my boots."

The Sheriff was about to stop there, but he had a second thought and turned to the Sandra. He stated, "Your turn."

Sandra pulled a small can of pepper spray from her pocket and a large knife from her purse. Thinking twice, she set the purse on the hood, explaining, "Glen sewed a metal bar in the bottom of the purse. I'm done."

The Sheriff turned to Wanda and said, "Your turn."

Wanda got out of the car and walked to the front. She set her purse on the hood. The Sheriff exploded, "He let you keep your purse?"

"I threw it in the open door of the car when he came after me. It has a stun gun in it and a metal bar sewn into the bottom."

"That dumb fuck."

The other deputy shook his head. He exclaimed, "Shit, they could have killed us while we were driving them to the jail eight different ways each. I told you Anderson was a Barney."

Wanda pulled a small container of pepper spray from her pocket. She added a small knife to the pile. She stepped back for a moment and then remembered one more item. She removed a garrote from around her waist. The garrote was a really nasty piece of work, with large nails for handles. The ends of the nails were tipped with cork, but the cork was easily removed. She could stab or strangle with that. She turned to the Sheriff and stated, "That's it."

The Sheriff went over to the pile and examined it. The four of them had been walking around armed to the teeth and not one of the weapons was illegal. He stated, "You really came ready for a fight."

Glen stated, "If you are constantly receiving death threats and you've been attacked once, then you are an idiot if you aren't prepared for a fight."

The Sheriff stated, "Now, I want you to tell exactly what happened."

Glen stated, "By the way, Deputy Dog did not read us our rights. You may want to do that before I start talking."

The Sheriff swore and walked over to the Deputy. He didn't want to hear anything Glen said at the moment. He asked, "What did the woman say?"

The Deputy stated, "She said that she had just come out of the store when Wanda ran back towards the store. Glen was backing up carrying two bags of groceries. When the men charged him, he threw the groceries at them. She said that the fight got real serious after that. She was shocked when Glen got kicked in the balls and didn't even slow down."

The Sheriff shouted over to Glen, "How did you get kicked in the balls and keep fighting?"

"Metal Cup!" answered Glen.

The Sheriff turned back to the Deputy and said, "Go on."

"She said that he was struck with a board. By the way, it's lying over there in two pieces. She said that Glen just fought back and fought better. She couldn't tell everything that went on because she was worried about her kid getting in the way. Apparently Glen had entertained the kid in the store while they were waiting in line and the kid was worried about him."

The Sheriff asked, "Was it self defense?"

"That's the way she told it."

The Sheriff stood straight and hiked up his pants as he considered what to do next. His pants sagged as soon as he let go of them. He said, "Go get the prosecutor. We need to talk to him before we do anything else. I'm afraid that everything is all screwed up. We'll wait here for you to return."

The driver of the ambulance came over and said, "We're taking them to the hospital now. One of you is supposed to ride over there with us. The meat wagon is on the way for the third guy."

The Sheriff turned to the Deputy and said, "Change of plans. Go to the hospital with those two. I'll get the prosecutor over here. I'll stay here with the four horsemen of the annoyance."

The Deputy laughed and said, "That's a good one. The four horsemen of the annoyance."

The Deputy left with the ambulance. The Sheriff was left with a dead body and four individuals who had just proved themselves to be very dangerous. He pulled out his radio and called the dispatcher. Talking into the radio, he said, "Can you get the Prosecutor over to the grocery store parking lot? We have a problem here that requires his presence."

The manager of the store came out to see what was going on. He walked over to the Sheriff and asked, "Are you going to be here long? That guy lying over there is scaring some of the customers away."

Sandra went over to the manager and said, "Hello. Sorry to be causing so much excitement."

The manager remembered when he first met her. He was interviewing her and her brother when the checker had paged Red and the Kid. Sandra had gotten excited and insisted that he let the checker know that she was busy. He hadn't taken it seriously, but he had puzzled over how she got the nickname red for two weeks before he had learned the reason. He answered, "It's not your fault, Red."

She laughed and said, "You are the only one that calls me Red any more. I love you for it."

"What, the grump doesn't call you that anymore?"

"No, he doesn't. He calls me all kinds of sickening terms of endearment and I love each one. However, everything piece of clothing that he buys me is Red, my sister gets Blue."

The manager laughed and then looked at Glen speculatively as he imagined the kind of relationship the guy could have with twins. He envied him. The Sheriff had finally gotten off his radio and could turn his attention to the manager. He said, "The coroner is on his way. He should be here soon."

A state trooper pulled up in his car and parked next to the Sheriff's car. He got out and looked at Glen. He smiled, "Hello Glen. Hello Sheriff."

The Sheriff looked at the trooper and then at Glen. He asked, "Do you two know each other?"

The trooper answered, "He killed the guy that killed my brother in law. My sister in law is still grieving."

Glen said, "I'm sorry to hear that. Is there anything I can do for her?"

Jim James answered, "No. She's struggling to get by. It's tough for her. Two kids and no real job. The insurance money is about gone."

Glen waved to the manager of the store and to Cliff. He turned to Jim James and said, "Both of these people are looking to hire someone. I'm sure that a smart negotiator could probably play one against the other to work out a good deal for your sister. Actually, the Sheriff here just lost a deputy. He may need someone too."

The Sheriff was about to explode. He had lost complete control of the situation. He interrupted, "You can talk about that later. Is there any word on the coroner?"

Jim was about to answer, when the prosecutor arrived on the scene with a screeching of tires. He got out and looked at the body on the ground. A disinterested observer could see the wheels turning as the idea of prosecuting a murder case when through his head. He walked over to the Sheriff and asked, "What's up?"

The Sheriff turned to Glen and Cliff. He said, "Why don't you go over there with the trooper and see what you can do about his sister while I talk to the prosecutor here?"

The four of them walked away to the car where Wanda and Sandra were sitting on the hood. They were well within reach of all of the weapons. Glen shook his head and suggested, "Why don't you two sit in the car? I'm sure it is warmer in there than out here."

The twins smiled and Wanda asked, "You don't need us to rescue you?"

Glen shook his head and answered, "Not now. Don't forget, I'm arrested and so is your sister."

Jim looked at Glen in surprise. Glen wasn't acting like a prisoner. He looked over to the Sheriff, but he was busy talking to the prosecutor. Glen noticed the look and said, "They are deciding my fate. So tell us about your sister. The manager of this store is looking for a checker. Cliff is looking for a research assistant."

Cliff and the manager looked at each other with wary expressions on their faces. It was clear that they were going to have to deal with the other. Jim said, "Well, the real problem is that she has two kids, four and six. The oldest is in kindergarten, but the youngest is around the house all of the time. She is folding envelopes and other stuff trying to get a little money, but she can't really leave the house."

The manager sighed and said, "Well, I guess that keeps me out of the game."

Cliff stated, "Well, that's no problem. In fact, she would have to work at home if she worked for me. She'd have to attend our weekly staff meetings, but I'm sure that Glen could look after the kids."

Jim looked excited and said, "That sounds perfect."

Cliff frowned and answered, "Well, nothing's perfect."

"What do you mean?"

Cliff looked over at the body on the ground. The coroner had arrived and was talking with the Sheriff and the Prosecutor. He pointed at the body as he said, "Well, that happened because some religious nuts are trying to shut us down. They don't appreciate our Internet Magazine that we publish."

Jim sighed, "Don't tell me. You are a religious group?"

"No. Even worse."

Glen stated, "They run a magazine that deals with alternative forms of marriage. They publish articles about swingers, group marriages, and other forms. This religious group thinks this magazine is an offence to God and must be shut down."

Jim had been listening carefully. He didn't know how his sister in law would react to this. Even worse, he didn't know how his wife to react to it. He turned to Glen and asked, "In your honest opinion, is this a sex magazine?"

The question gave Glen pause. He wondered if it could be considered a sex magazine. He knew that he always ended up horny after reading it, but that was only because of the ideas it gave him. There were artistic nude pictures in it, but even then nothing was really shown that didn't appear on television. He answered, "It deals with relationships between individuals within a marriage that includes more than just a husband and a wife. A lot of the discussion is about sex, but it isn't the kind of stuff a kid would use to masturbate to while reading. There are pictures, but they are very tasteful. Nothing that couldn't appear on the cover of Cosmo, for example."

The answer made Jim feel a little better about it, but he still had his doubts. He would have to investigate more before coming to a decision. Cliff noted the hesitation and stated, "Just to let you know that I understand how it might be viewed, the Sheriff has read a couple of issues and thinks the ideas in it are wrong and sinful. For a lot of people, that is probably a true statement."

"So what kind of research would she do?"

Cliff said, "Well, in two months we want to start running a series of articles on legal ways to establish these kinds of marriages. Lots of the people involved in them have very difficult times with insurance, wills, and taxes. We want to identify lawyers who can give legal opinions on how to set up a legal alternative form of marriage."

Jim thought about it. That kind of research didn't sound too difficult. He asked, "Until this problem with the religious group is cleared up, is there anyway to protect my sister in law?"

Glen answered, "Well, they haven't known until now that I'm involved because I use a pen name. We can give her a pen name so that her identity is not readily available. Maybe she doesn't ever have to come over and can just teleconference into the staff meeting."

Cliff said, "Look, here's a card. Go home and look at the magazine. I have put a guest account on the back. See what you think and then make the offer. We'll talk money if you and her decide it is worth pursuing."

Jim looked at Cliff and decided that he liked the guy. He not only told the positive about the job, but was also very clear in stating the negatives. He didn't put any pressure on trying to sell him on the job. He answered, "That's a good idea. I'll do that."

The Prosecutor came over to the group and asked, "Which of you is Glen Wiseman?"

Glen turned and answered, "I am."

"After talking with the Sheriff, it looks like a clear case of self- defense. I have two questions for you before I make a final decision."

Glen shrugged and said, "Ask away."

The Prosecutor asked, "What in the hell is the weapon that you used on the guy?"

"It is a Thag Scarf."

Jim looked puzzled and asked, "What in the hell is that?"

Glen stated, "The Thags, sometimes called Thuggees, was a group of people that worshiped Kali the Destroyer in India. They practiced ritualistic murder and robbery. They are the basis for the English word Thug. Anyway, they killed by throwing a silk scarf with an end weighted by a coin around the neck of their intended victim. The scarf had a knot tied in the center. They would pull the scarf tight and strangle their victims. It was very effective. In one night, a few Thuggees could kill everyone in a caravan without making a noise."

The Prosecutor listened to the history lesson and asked, "Where did you learn about this?"

"I saw it in a movie."

Everyone, except Glen, laughed at that. The Prosecutor said, "My second question is, did you intend for him to die?"

Glen stated, "The Sheriff cut the scarf off the guy, but if you had seen it you would have noticed that the killing knot was in the back. I used it because I figured while the guy I used it on was struggling to get it off, I wouldn't have to worry about him. I'll admit that in my excited state, I may have used more force than was necessary but I had three other guys attacking me at the time."

"Well, your description of the events matches that of the witness. She was an impartial observer who only knew you fifteen minutes standing in line in the grocery store. If anyone gets arrested it will be the other three attackers. They'll be charged with assault."

Glen nodded and then asked, "Does that mean that Wanda and I are un-arrested?"

"What was her role in this?"

Glen stated, "She asked Deputy Dog why he was arresting me when I was doing nothing except defending myself."

"Who's Deputy Dog?"

Glen answered, "The guy the Sheriff fired for yelling at the witness. The guy deserved to be fired. He didn't search us for weapons and we had tons of them. He failed to read us our rights and didn't tell the Sheriff of that fact. He didn't check on the guys on the ground and arrange for first aide."

Jim shook his head. He asked, "Did you make any threatening moves?"

"No, I just was standing there watching the three on the ground in case one of them got up to attack again. Hell, for all I knew they had guns."

The Prosecutor stated, "Well, consider your selfÖ how did you state it? Oh yes, un-arrested."

Jim asked, "Out of curiosity. How did you know they were going to attack you?"

Glen stated, "They had parked their van next to our truck. According to all of the movies, they wait until you have your back turned to them and then they open the door and jump you."

"Still, how did you know they had ill intent?"

"Oh, I know what you are getting at," answered Glen. He stated, "Wanda had been attacked by a couple of men last month, just before Valentine's day. We've been getting death threats from this religious group and we believe this group was responsible for the attack. When I saw the van with all kinds of religious bumper stickers, I knew it was trouble. I told her to run to the store and I backed away. If it had just been a regular religious type, they would have eventually gotten into the van and drove off. Instead, those creeps poured out of the van and came after us."

Jim nodded and then said, "You protect the people you love. That's a good thing to do."



-------

Chapter 15


Glen parked his truck in front of city hall to attend the proceedings in the court room inside. The two guys that had attacked him at the grocery store were here for their arraignment hearing. A month had passed since the attack and only now had the two guys recovered from their injuries sufficiently for the hearing to be held. He had cracked the skull of one of the men and caved in the sinus cavity of the other. They had been in very bad medical shape for a long time.

Throughout the two men's stay in the hospital, members of the Last True Church of Jesus Christ had held vigils outside the hospital. At times, it was hard to tell what they were praying to have happen. Sometimes it was the speedy recovery of the patients. At other times, it was the death and destruction of the sinners. Most of the time though, it was for the death of the demon that had injured those good Christian fellows in the hospital. The activity outside the hospital had everyone nervous, but there wasn't too much that anyone could do about it.

Glen exited his truck and removed the weapons that he carried. He had given up on anything too fancy and now carried two double shot derringers in his pockets. He would be arrested as soon as he entered the city hall if he carried them with him in there. However, that left him disarmed and faced with a large number of very hostile protesters. He stepped towards the city hall in which the court room was located.

All of a sudden there was a loud cry. A very gaunt man stood up and pointed at Glen. Glen recognized him as the Reverend. He shouted, "Behold, there is the demon! He who interferes with the work of the Lord serves Satan and that man is such a servant. He must be cast out and sent to hell where he can live with his Master!"

Glen stopped and looked at the crowd of people. He looked from face to face memorizing their features. A common trait was the lack of smile lines around the eyes. The women looked old before their time. All of them looked as if the life had been beaten out of them. Too many children, too many beatings, and not enough love took its toll on the face and body. None of the women wore makeup and their hair was pulled back in simple braids. The clothes were drab colorless sacks that hung lifeless off their bodies, hiding all traces of femininity. The men were dressed in black pants, white shirts, and black suit coats. Their eyes were hateful, the mouths twisted into frowns, and their manner rigid.

Just looking at them gave Glen shivers down his spine. He had never seen such a collection of miserable people. If they were truly God's servants, then he didn't want anything to do with that kind of God. As he studied them, their anger increased. One woman wailed, "He killed my husband! He's a murderer!"

Glen looked at her and thought about what she said. Her husband had gone with four other men to beat a young woman. They would have killed her; of that he was sure. He guessed that the commandment not to kill applied only to him and not them. He turned towards the city hall and started walking.

The Reverend Jonathan Corwin, the most disgusting figure of them all, shouted, "Hear my words, demon spawn. You shall pay for your sins. I, the Reverend Jonathan Corwin, have spoken."

Glen stopped and looked at the man. His eyes narrowed as he answered, "The Lord God Almighty and his son, Jesus Christ, know there is only one demon here and that his name is Reverend Jonathan Corwin!"

A number of the crowd started throwing stones at Glen. He walked quickly into the building, getting hit by only a few of them. The Sheriff looked at Glen and noticed the welts raised on the arm. He asked, "What happened to you?"

"Oh, the crowd outside started throwing stones at the vile demon spawn, namely yours truly." Glen answered. He looked through the glass at the crowd outside. They started coming into the city hall. Glen said, "You're probably going to have to give me an escort out of here. I'm unarmed."

The Sheriff smiled as the Deputy waved a metal detector over Glen's body. It rang on the coins in his pocket, his belt buckle, and his wallet. He opened his wallet and showed the credit card sized tool kit within it. The Deputy shrugged and passed Glen on into the court room.

Glen sat down along the bench that ran behind the prosecutors desk. The prosecutor turned to Glen and said, "It seems pretty open and shut. I'm thinking about requesting that no bail be set. I believe they are a flight risk."

Glen nodded and answered, "If they get out, they'll come after me with guns next time."

"Good argument, but it wouldn't fly in a court of law."

Glen smiled and said, "Oh, they just might admit it in front of the judge. They aren't the smartest turnips on the truck."

The Prosecutor smiled at the characterization. His dealings with the defendants had always degenerated into them calling him names. He shook his head as he looked across the room to his good friend sitting at the other table. They had accepted a court appointed attorney to defend them and his friend had gotten the job. Without discussing the details, his friend had let him know that he would have declined the assignment if there had been any way of doing it.

There was a disturbance at the door as several members of the church entered the room. They took positions behind the desk where the defendants would be seated. They all turned towards Glen and started chanting, "Return to hell Demon Spawn."

Disgust was the only feeling that Glen had towards them. If they had even the least bit of human kindness, he would have pitied them. As it was, they were disgusting. He looked at the women and wondered if the relations between husband and wife were more like between rapist and victim than between members of a loving couple. He even wondered if they understood the concept of love.

As more of the church members entered the courtroom, the chanting got louder. When Reverend Jonathan Corwin entered, the whole group stood up and waited for him to seat himself on the bench directly behind the defendants table. He glared at Glen and then said, "return to hell Demon Spawn."

The rest of his group returned to the chant, only now it was getting louder. The Deputy lead in the dependants. They were able to walk, but their faces were still heavily bandaged. Glen noted with satisfaction that they had handcuffs and ankle restraints. The crowd became even angrier as a result of looking at the pair. The chants starting changing tone. Now it was, "Death to the murderer."

Glen tapped the Prosecutor on the shoulder. When he turned, Glen asked, "Would the judge consider that a death threat?"

"Hard to say. They aren't saying they'll kill you."

Glen nodded and looked to the back of the room. His timing was perfect, Cliff and the twins entered the room and moved over to him. All three of them sat so that Glen was between them and the religious zealots. The twins were terrified to be in the room with them and felt safer sandwiched between Glen and Cliff.

The Bailiff announced, "All rise for the judge."

The Judge entered the room and looked over the crowd. He didn't like the looks of it. The Sheriff was standing by the front door and the deputy off to the side while the bailiff stood over by his door. All three of them had their guns in the holsters with the flaps unhooked as if expecting trouble. The judge went to his seat and paused a moment before he slowly sat down.

Everyone else sat down and faced the judge. Everything progressed normally until it was time for the defendants to plead guilty or not guilty. As the lawyer was about to say something, the Reverend Jonathan Corwin stood up and shouted, "There is no guilt when a person does the work of the Lord."

The rest of his followers all solemnly answered, "Amen."

Rapping his gavel in an authoritative manner, the Judge said, "One more word from you and I'll find you in contempt of court."

The Reverend Jonathan Corwin answered, "You have to stop these proceedings. These men are the servants of the Lord. You have no right to judge their actions. You should be prosecuting that Demon Spawn over there. He has murdered a good Christian man in cold blood."

The Judge leaned forward and said, "You are in contempt."

The Reverend shouted, "I am a descendant of Judge Jonathan Corwin who sat in judgement on the witches in Salem. You disgrace the bench by having sold your soul to Satan."

The Judge told the Sheriff, "Get this man out of my court right now. Set his bail at $1000."

The Sheriff went over the Reverend and motioned for him to get out. The Reverend shouted, "Devils! They all serve Satan here!"

Rallying around the Reverend, his followers jumped up and started pushing the Sheriff away from him. The Judge banged his gavel in a futile attempt to restore order. Looking at the faces on the followers of the Reverend, the Bailiff was terrified that a riot was about to break out. Glen looked over at Cliff and nodded. Standing, the four of them moved over to the wall. In a well planned display of protecting the twins, Glen and Cliff placed themselves in front of them.

Calmly, as though taking a stroll through the park, the Deputy walked over to the defendants chair and pulled his gun. Staring intently in the eyes of the Reverend, he pushed the barrel of the bun to the center of the Reverends forehead. In a low threatening voice, he said, "Tell your people to shut up and sit down."

The followers of the Reverend quickly sat down. Looking over at the Deputy in thanks, the Sheriff put the Reverend in handcuffs and led him out of the courtroom. Once order had been restored, he Judge looked around the room and noticed the position of Glen and Cliff. He rapped his gavel and said, "You four. What are you doing?"

Glen stated, "Your honor, we were just trying to stay out of the way. We respect the court."

"Will you please sit down now."

Giving the judge a short nod of his head, Glen answered, "Yes your honor."

Glen moved to his former seat and sat down. Sandra and Wanda both joined him with Cliff following behind. The Judge, not a stupid man, realized that the two men were moving as one to protect the twins. Having two girls himself, he was pleased to see the men take such good care of the women. He turned his attention back to the defense and asked the question again, "How do your clients plead?"

The lawyer looked nervously around and stated, "Not Guilty."

The Judge stated, "So noted."

The Prosecutor looked over at his friend in pity. The Judge turned to the Prosecutor and asked, "Does the state have any recommendations for bail?"

The Prosecutor stood and answered, "Yes, your honor. We wish that bail be denied. We believe that there is a significant risk of flight."

The Judge turned to the defender and asked, "Does the defense have any comments?"

The defense attorney, with a look on his face like he was swallowing a lemon, answered, "The two men a good Christians."

Giggling, Wanda whispered to Cliff, "God, it must have hurt him to say that."

The Judge waited for the public defender to say something else, but the poor man just stood there. The Judge stated, "Bail denied."

All of the followers of the Reverend reacted negatively to the announcement. They moved forward as though to help the two men get away. The Judge rapped his gavel and stated, "I find you in contempt of court. I'll set bail at $1000 each."

The entire group rushed the Deputy and Sheriff. Glen and Cliff quickly got the girls against the wall and stood between them and the members of the church. This time, they also included the Prosecutor who ended up standing behind the two men and in front of the twins. One of the members ran towards them screaming. The Judge observed the action. He noticed that Glen looked to him and waited until the Judge nodded. Cliff dropped down and went for the knees. Glen went for the head. Between the two of them, the Church member landed flat on the floor unconscious.

Immediately, Glen and Cliff moved back to their original positions. While they had been busy protecting the twins, the Sheriff and the Deputy had been quickly overrun and half of the congregation managed to escape. The other half were spread out on the floor with the Sheriff and the Deputy holding guns on them. The Bailiff was cuffing each of them, one at a time. One of the people on the floor tried to get up and run out. The Sheriff shot him in the leg, deciding that he wasn't going to waste time any more with these folks.

When order had been restored, the Judge said, "Sheriff, I want all of these people arrested and charged with assault on the person of a law enforcement officer."

The Sheriff smiled and replied, "With pleasure your honor."

The judge further said, "The one that tried to escape shall be charged with attempted escape in addition to the assault charges."

The Deputy went over to the man on the floor and started rendering first aid. The Judge looked around and spotted the man on the floor. He pointed to the man and said, "Charge that man with five counts of assault."

The Sheriff hadn't even noted the man there on the ground. He went over to him and examined the man on the ground. Shaking his head when he looked up at the Judge, he said, "We'll have to take this one to the hospital."

The Judge rapped his gavel and said, "I would like to commend the two men over there for their quick thinking and calm actions in a most distressing circumstance. They moved to protect officers of the court as well as others in the room. When attacked, they first sought my permission to defend themselves, despite the fact that they were fully justified in taking any action that was reasonable."

The Bailiff returned to the room and said something to the Judge. Nodding at the news, the Judge announced, "The State Police have been called to take possession of the prisoners."

As the Judge stood, the Bailiff looked like he was about to tell everyone to stand, but the Judge just waved his hand. Glen and the Metchettes stood as the Judge left the room. He noticed the gesture and smiled.

The foursome left the court room and went directly to their trucks. They watched their surroundings, making sure that no one was trying to attack them or follow them. Both Glen and Cliff picked up their derringers. The girls got into separate trucks and took the shotguns down from the gun racks. Opening the glove compartments, both girls took out a box of 00 buckshot. The two men drove off with Cliff leading the way and Glen following.

It was a tense drive, but they all arrived at cabin safe and sound. Walking into the cabin, they all sat down while taking a deep breath. They were quiet for a long time. Glen finally said, "Well, that went much better than I expected."

Wanda burst out laughing. If that was good, then she really had to update her dictionary. The noise brought CJ out of the bedroom looking like she had just woken up. Cliff jumped up and went to her. He hugged her and said, "I'm so glad to see you."

They went back into the bedroom, as Glen looked over at the twins. Smiling, he asked, "Who's up for a shower?"

Smiling at the thoughts of what would happen in the shower, they followed him to the bathroom slowly removing their clothes as they walked. The shirts were the first to go. Then they wiggled out of their jeans. Glen smiled as he watched them struggle to get out of their jeans. Tight jeans looked great, but it was hell trying to get out of them sexily. The bras came off after the jeans. They were in the bathroom before removing their panties.

Glen took off his shirt and pants. Dropping his boxers, he freed a cock that was ready for action. Wanda and Sandra looked at his cock with significant pleasure, amazed to see how quickly he responded to their bodies. Wanda turned on the shower and adjusted the temperature before they climbed into the shower. Glen started washing Wanda while Sandra washed him. When Sandra's hand finally started soaping Glen's cock, he decided enough was enough. He was horny and wanted it now. He asked, "Who's first?"

Sandra said, "I am."

Glen turned as she spread her legs, and slowly entered her. His thrusts were frantic, as though he was coupling for reasons beyond his understanding. He lifted her off the floor. Sandra held onto him tightly. As Wanda ran a finger along his asshole, his thrusts became even more intense. Sandra wrapped her legs around his waist. He was now supporting most of her weight although her back was pressed against the wall of the shower. She was grunting with each thrust into her, amazed at the sheer strength and need that he was exhibiting.

Wanda watched in amazement as Glen fucked her sister. That word, fucked, was the only word that described his actions. Sandra was not complaining as that kind of raw animalistic need ran through her veins as well. Her body reacted with a series of orgasms that felt bestial in nature. After what seemed like forever, Glen grunted and roared as an orgasm tore through his body. Sandra, hugged him as his passion spilled into her.

Slowly letting Sandra down, Glen turned to Wanda. She didn't even wait for him to express his need. She grabbed him and pulled him down in the tub. Water sprayed over his back and into her face as he mounted her. She didn't care, as all she wanted was the hot strength of his cock in her.

He started to thrust into her with the savagery that must have been commonplace before man left the caves. This was the coupling of a man and woman that came after the man risked his life for her. Sandra, noticing the water landing in Wanda's face, turned off the tap. In the sudden absence of the noise from the shower, the grunts and groans of the couple pair echoed off the walls of the shower. They responded to the noise with increased fervor.

Sandra watched her sister sliding with the bathtub as thrusts pushed her forward. Her face was twisted into a furious expression, a raw animal need echoed with the desires that had raged within Sandra. Glen's back was corded as muscles tensed in a full display of masculine strength and instinct. He roared as he came a second time. The women swore that the roar told a story of primitive man claiming woman and declaring to the world that he would protect her.

Glen slowly rose off of Wanda and then helped her off the floor of the bathtub. The twins pressed against him feeling secure and desired. Some primitive doors within all three had been thrown open, the rooms hidden within explored, and now the doors were closing. The result was an exhaustion of body and emotions. All three slowly moved out of the shower and dried off.

They retired to living room and sat on the couch. The twins wrapped themselves within his strong arms and fell asleep. Glen looked over the pair and quickly followed them into a deep sleep. None of them heard the noises of passion emerging from the bedroom where Cliff was laying claim to CJ as his woman.

A very loud knock on the door finally woke Glen. He looked out the window and noticed the Sheriff standing on the front porch. He sighed and stepped outside. The April weather was warmer than the previous few months, but it was still too cold to stand nude for long. The Sheriff didn't look comfortable standing next to a naked man. Noticing the discomfort of the man, Glen said, "Give me a few minutes to get things straightened up inside."

The Sheriff answered, "Okay. I'll wait out here."

Glen returned to the house and gently placed a blanket over the twins. He went to the bedroom and made sure the door was closed. Finally, he went into the bathroom and put on his clothes. He gathered up the twin's clothes and carried them to the couch. He looked around and satisfied that all was acceptable, opened the door. He said, "Come in and follow me to my study."

The Sheriff entered and closed the door behind him. Taking in the surroundings, he followed Glen into his study and sat on one of the chairs in the room. Glen sat down facing him and asked, "So what brought you all of the way out here?"

The Sheriff sighed and replied, "Well, the press has descended upon the town. Nothing like having to shoot someone in a courthouse to bring out all of the news vultures."

Glen smiled and asked, "So you came here to hide out?"

Dale laughed. He said, "Something like that. I also wanted to warn you that the Reverend has made bail and is telling them all about the bunch of demons that infest this town. Your name and Cliff's came up several times."

Glen sat there as he considered the implications of that. He finally laughed and asked, "Are we talking local or national news?"

"National."

Glen shook his head and chuckled. He said, "You aren't going to like this, but it will get us a lot of coverage Our magazine sales are likely to go through the roof and we'll get more groups mad at us."

Frowning, the Sheriff frowned realized that Glen was having a little fun at his expense. He said, "Well, I guess we'll just have to put up road signs to demon alley."

At the idea that his driveway had just been given a new name, Glen laughed aloud. He asked, "So what is it that you are really worried about?"

Dale was quiet for several minutes. Finally, he said, "You know, I've been a law man for a long time. I've never had to shoot anyone before. I've never encountered anything like that group."

"Scary bunch of people, aren't they?"

"Very. My Deputy has a black eye and I've got bruises on my arms and chest from them beating on me."

Pleased that the Sheriff was finally catching onto the seriousness of the situation, Glen said, "You can't fool around with them."

The Sheriff nodded as if he had come to the same conclusion. He said, "I was kind of angry at you for your lack of restraint in dealing with them. I've now come to the conclusion that we would have been scraping your body off the parking lot if you hadn't responded the way you had."

"Thanks, I appreciate that."

"I thought you would. By the way, you showed great restraint in the court house. I'm the one who lost it and started shooting."

Glen shook his head and answered, "No. Cliff and I were prepared for it. We had practiced that maneuver that we used in the courthouse. We were actually pretty pleased that we only had to deal with one of them."

An awkward silenced descended on the room before Dale stated, "You guys need to be real careful. I suggest that you go into town and talk to the press before they track you down here. You don't want them broadcasting where you live on television. Those creeps will be out here before you know it."

"How's the feelings in the town running?" asked Glen. He wasn't sure if the town was going to support him and Cliff or if they were on their own.

"It's divided. The Reverend is telling some mighty tall tales about the contents of the web site. Now I've seen what you guys are doing and I don't like it much. He's clearly exaggerating, but most folks don't know that. So those folks are pretty much on his side. Anderson has gone over to his side big time. Some folks know you and the Metchettes. They don't think that you would do anything as bad as he is saying."

Glen leaned forwards and rested his elbows on his knees. He laced his fingers and rested his head on them. After thinking for a while he said, "I suppose that printing up versions of the latest issue and handing them out in town wouldn't help."

"Honestly," replied the Sheriff, "I wouldn't think so. Most of the people in this area are very conservative about marriage and sex."

Glen sat back and thought about it some more. His thoughts were interrupted by a female shouting, "More. Oh, God Cliff. That's so good."

At the noise, Dale looked up at Glen with more than a little concern. He asked, "Is that CJ?"

Glen was about to answer when CJ screamed out, "Oh, Yes! Fuck me, Stud."

"Yes, it is."

Dale sat there for a minute trying to decide what to do. Finally, he shouted, "CJ!"

Glen frowned and waited to hear the reaction. It was not exactly what he had expected. He cringed as he heard, "Oh, God. I'm coming again!"

He turned to the Sheriff and stated, "Sorry about that. Thin walls. The house wasn't built for that kind of noise. I expected to be living here alone."

"Don't worry. She's an adult and I guess she can do as she wishes."

Sandra and Wanda came into the office. Apparently, Dale's shout had woke them and alerted them to the possible situation developing. They had taken the time to dress. Wanda smiled at Dale and said, "So nice to see you again."

Sandra added, "How are you doing?"

The Sheriff stated, "Oh, it's been a bad day all around. Work was a little tough today. Now I'm sitting here listening to my niece have sex in the next room."

Sandra giggled, much to Dale's dismay, and said, "That is terrible. Your niece is in love with a demon spawn. You know, that will really ruin your day."

Dale shook his head and laughed. He had to agree that it sounded like love coming from the next room. He said, "Somehow you just put everything in perspective."

His remark was punctuated by a loud growl and a high pitched scream. Wanda tittered and said, "They're done. I bet if you were to make a loud noise now they'd be here in a minute."

Dale shook his head and stated, "Well, I just might head home myself. It's been a long tough day."

Sandra, with an gleam in her eye, replied, "You might want to spend a little time with Helena tonight. Really does help make a bad day much nicer. A little bit of the old bouncy-bouncy on the bed and you'll be as good as new."

Dale looked shocked. No one had ever suggested that he go home and make love to his wife like that. He didn't know how to respond and just looked at Sandra in total surprise. Wanda added, "Believe me, she'll like what you do to her. Glen was an animal when we got back. I'm still feeling little shivers of excitement."

As Dale stared at Wanda, CJ opened the door to the room. She stood in the doorway dressed in Cliff's shirt and nothing else. She hadn't come into the room enough to notice her uncle was there. She sighed and said, "You guys need to get in a fight more often. He was an animal. God, that was great."

Dale stated, "I can arrange that."

CJ realized who was talking and her eyes got very large. She screamed and ran off to the bedroom, slamming the door behind her. They could hear her shout, "Oh, God. You better get out of here. My uncle is here and he'll kill you!"

Glen laughed as he heard Cliff shout, "Oh Shit!"

Dale shook his head and finally said, "I'm going home. I don't know what else can go wrong today."

He stood and looked around the room. Wanda came up to him and hugged him. She said, "Seriously, spend a little time with the wife."

Sandra gave him a big hug and kissed him on the cheek. She added, "She'll love you for it."

Glen shrugged his shoulders and said, "Hey, listen to them."

The Sheriff made his way out of the room. As the Sheriff walked towards the door, Cliff came out and nodded to the Sheriff. He said, "I didn't know you were here, sir."

Dale looked at Cliff for a moment and then said, "One of these days, you and I will have to have a long talk."

CJ came out of the bedroom looking very embarrassed. She shyly hid behind Cliff and said, "I'm sorry Uncle Dale. We didn't know you were here."

Dale just shook his head and headed towards the door. Maybe they were right he decided. He was going to take the twin's advice and go home to his wife. He said, "We'll talk about it some other time. For now I'm going home."

Wanda and Sandra made little kissy-face noises in each others direction. Sandra turned to Dale and said, "Give her our regards and..."

"... a little of that love..."

"... that you're packing..."

"... in those pants." They both burst out giggling and went back into the study. CJ and Cliff stared at them as they left.

The Sheriff, who hadn't blushed in more than thirty years, couldn't believe how quickly his face heated up. He turned to Glen and stated, "I have no idea how you managed to live with them as long as you did."

"Hey, it was your idea."

"Don't remind me." The Sheriff opened the door to leave.

CJ peeked out around Cliff and said, "Good night, Uncle Dale. Have fun."

The Sheriff slammed the door behind him when he left. Glen burst out laughing and said, "I couldn't have arranged that any better if I had planned it."



-------

Chapter 16


The Metchettes' mobile home was nice as far as mobile homes went. It was a small mobile home, but the Metchettes had picked it up for almost nothing. It had been repossessed and they had paid only the balance due. Their permanent house was being built a little ways down the street. In fact, the work crew was down there working on it right now.

Glen sat in one of the cheap chairs that came with the mobile home and looked around at the living room. It was very small, but he recognized the cleverness with which Cliff had set up his situation. When his house was completed, Cliff could either sell the mobile home or rent it out. Either way, he would probably make a profit.

The telephone rang and Glen turned to stare at it. Cliff had warned him not to answer it until after the answering machine had come on. This would allow him to screen the call and make sure that he wasn't going to be subjected to insults. Glen was expecting a call from the Sheriff and almost decided to answer, but felt like he should wait.

The answering machine finally kicked in. The voice on the other end immediately said, "Sinners, you are going to burn! Burn, do you hear me? The flames of earth will send you to the flames of hell. Sinners! Demon Spawn! First, we'll take care of you and then your slut sisters shall join you in hell!"

Glen was half tempted to pick up the phone. He wanted to tell the caller that he was talking to the switchboard in hell and if the caller would only give the name of the specific demon he would make the appropriate connection. He resisted the urge as he realized that they had no sense of humor and it would only anger them. He listened as the caller continued to rant and rave. Only about a third of what the caller said was even legible. It was one threat after another, although most of them were simply absurd. He wondered if this call had anything to do with the fact that the Reverend's hearing was today.

After five minutes the caller hung up. Glen went into the kitchen and got a soft drink out of the refrigerator. It really was a small place and he wondered how the three of them could live here. He was curious about the twin's bedroom, but chose not to investigate. He knew that if the circumstances were reversed that they would be through everything in the room in a minute. "Oh well," he thought to himself, "that's the nature of women." Even as he thought it, he realized how sexist that was. It wasn't a woman's nature at work, it was the twin's nature at work.

He returned to the living room as the phone rang again. He waited for the answering machine to pick up the call. A different voice started talking, "Sinners, repent. The day of judgement is upon you. You are an abomination in the eyes of the Lord and you shall soon feel his wrath. The servants of the Lord shall do his bidding!"

Glen answered out loud, "Yeah, yeah, yeah. Blah, blah, blah. Me good, you bad. Bad people die. Rah, rah, rah!"

The voice continued to prattle on for several minutes. Glen just watched the answering machine record the message. He shook his head as he realized just how stupid these people really were. There was nothing like leaving recorded messages of threats to help bring a case against you if something ever happened.

The person quit talking and hung up after about five minutes. Glen wondered if they were being timed by someone. It was definitely bizarre. The telephone almost immediately rang again. He waited for the answering machine to pick up the call. This time, the voice that spoke was very calm. "The next Witch's Sabbath, you shall burn like all witches should burn!"

The caller hung up almost immediately. The other calls were nuisance, but this one was scary. Glen didn't recognize the voice, but that didn't mean the Sheriff wouldn't. He decided that Cliff would have to take this tape to the Sheriff. Such definite threats could not go undocumented.

The phone rang again. Glenn waited for the answering machine to pick it up and took a sip of the soft drink while he waited. He picked up the phone when he heard the voice of the Sheriff. He said, "Hey, Sheriff. This is Glen."

Dale replied testily, "I've been trying to call for the past half an hour. The phone has been busy the entire time."

Glen replied, "Oh just getting a series of death threats here. One of them even said what they would do and when they would act. You know, the normal kind of thing you have to expect when you're evil."

The Sheriff didn't laugh. He said, "Glen, this is very serious. The Reverend didn't show up for his court appearance."

"Oh, shit."

"Right, oh, shit." the Sheriff replied. He said, "These guys are definitely upping the ante. Look, they don't care about the law. They think they are the law. Reverend Jonathan Corwin thinks he is judge, jury, and executioner."

This was not a good situation and it would be easy to blame Cliff. In fact, Glen had given Cliff a lot of grief about publishing that editorial about God. Now, he realized that this was the kind of guy that was just looking for an excuse to be hateful. If it hadn't been Cliff, it would have been someone else. This guy was as sick as Amos Orvin. He said, "Dale, I'm going to ask you for a piece of advice and I want you to think about it before you answer."

"What?"

Glen asked, "What should I do if they show up here?"

There was a long silence on the phone. Dale knew exactly what Glen was asking. He said, "Use appropriate force to stop them."

Glen didn't reply for a moment and then said, "That doesn't answer my question."

"Damn it, Glen. Don't make me say it."

Glen said, "I'll never tell anyone what you said."

The Sheriff was quiet for a long time and then he said, "If you are outnumbered, use lethal force. Don't stop until you have superior numbers."

Glen was silent for a moment and then said, "Thank you, Dale. That's a bit more than I was expecting."

"I never said it."

"I never heard it."

After the Sheriff hung up the phone, Glen set the handset back on the phone. He went back to the chair to wait for the Metchettes. All three of them were at the house checking out the progress on the new building. They would be home soon and he could hardly wait. They didn't want him to see it until it was completed.

He picked up his pistol and stepped out the front of the mobile home. The view wasn't very good, but it was their temporary home. They hadn't spent much time trying to make it fancy. They were spending their money on their real home. He walked around the mobile home checking out the surroundings. A buck had passed right beneath the window recently. It was possibly less than five minutes ago, since the dirt was still moving into the track left behind.

He heard the truck of the Metchettes pull up in front of the house. He came around and greeted them by calling out, "Hello. Have fun at the new house?"

Wanda smiled and said, "Oh, yes. It is really looking quite nice."

Sandra winked and added, "We can't wait to get you there when it is done."

Glen wasn't sure what they were promising, but he knew that when they got into this mood it suggested that he would enjoy it. He turned to Cliff and, in a very serious tone of voice, said, "I hate to be a downer, but I need to talk to you for a minute."

The twins glanced at each other and then went into the house. They knew that tone of voice and what it meant when Glen used it. It always meant that he was going to give Cliff some bad news. Cliff watched the twins as the closed the door behind themselves. He turned to Glen and said, "Okay. What's up?"

"I talked to the Sheriff while you were gone. We need to prepare for war. I want you to take the twins to town. Give the Sheriff the tape to your answering machine. They made some definite threats and identified a probable time when they would attack."

Cliff looked worried and asked, "What kind of threats?"

"They threatened to burn you like a witch."

Looking at Glen, Cliff paled as he thought about the threat. Taking a deep breath to calm down and to find courage to face the situation, he said, "Forewarned is forearmed."

"Exactly. We have a lot of work to do." Glen looked around at the mobile home. It wasn't going to be easy to protect it. The woods were too close to the trailer. He looked at the road and wondered what could be done to help secure it.

Cliff thought about it for a minute and then asked, "Where will you be while I'm in town?"

In a deadly tone of voice, Glen answered, "I've got a little shopping to do."

It wasn't long before Cliff and Wanda headed into town to see the Sheriff. Refusing to go with them stating that someone had to go with Glen, she stayed behind to cover his back. Glen didn't feel like fighting her over it since she was just doing what he had told them to do.

They drove to the mall and went into the sporting goods store. Glen looked around before spotting Henry. It didn't take Henry a minute before he noticed Glen waving at him. His last sale to Glen had gotten him a good bonus. There was no telling what was going to happen today. He greeted Glen, "Hello, Glen. Is there something that I can do for you?"

Glen smiled and nodded as he said, "I need some guns."

Henry smiled as he realized this was going to be another big sale. He gestured for Glen to follow him to the Gun section. When they arrived, Glen's eyes looked over the weapons there. He smiled as he considered the firepower represented there. He said, "I'll take two of those.22 caliber rifles. Outfit them with 4X scopes. I'll take two of those.30-06 rifles. Outfit them with 12X scopes. I'll take two of those 20 gauge pump shotguns."

Henry's eyes lit up at the money that sale represented. Glen moved over to the ammo section and looked over what they had. He stated, "Give me four of those boxes of.22 caliber long rifle bullets. The 500 round boxes. That will last them about ten days. Give me ten boxes of the 20 gauge number 4 buckshot. Let's see, that's 50 rounds. That's not enough, double it. Give me 100 rounds of the.30-06."

Henry put all of the stuff on the counter. He stated, "You'll have to mount the scopes yourself."

"Okay, add the mounting gear as well."

As Henry looked at the pile of guns and ammo, he asked, "You going to war?"

Glen frowned and answered, "Not yet. This is just to train the twins on how to shoot."

"Really?"

"Yes, really. They are going to fire fifty rounds in the morning and another fifty rounds in the afternoon with the.22 caliber. Then I'll move them up to the.30-06," replied Glen. He had learned to shoot the same way. His father had taken him out with his old.22 caliber rifle every day for a month. A hundred rounds a day. By the end of the month, he had no trouble hitting the target with a very good grouping. He didn't have any trouble moving up to the larger caliber rifles.

Henry asked, "Anything else?"

Glen nodded and pointed to the paper targets. He said, "I'll take a hundred of the small targets and ten of the large."

Henry rang it all up on the register and whistled. This was a nine hundred dollar sale. He was going to be salesmen of the month again. He handed Glen a form to fill out. Glen looked it over and sighed. He filled out the form indicating that he wasn't a convicted felon and hadn't been in a mental institution in the past five years. He handed over his drivers license and let Henry fill out the identification part. When they were done, Henry looked up and said, "Well, I can give you the guns in 72 hours."

Glen snorted, "What?"

Henry nodded his head and said, "New law. Have to have a 72 hour cooling down period. I can let you have everything else to take home now though."

Understanding that arguing was useless, Glen accepted Henry's statement. He said, "No problem. I'll take all you'll let me leave with now and come back for the guns."

Breathing a sigh of relief, Henry realized that he had been worried that Glen would change his mind. If Glen went to a private individual, he could get the guns right now. He said, "I'll take it to the loading dock and you can drive up. No sense carrying all of this stuff through the mall."

Sandra had watched the whole exchange with a mounting sense of dread. She wondered if he actually expected her to learn how to shoot all of those weapons. Practicing with his shotgun had been a painful experience, the damn thing hurt her shoulder every time she had fired it. She could barely hit the broad side of a barn with it, even though it was loaded with buckshot.

She followed Glen back to the truck. He pulled it around the mall and drove up to the loading dock. Henry was standing on the dock waving to him. Glen parked the truck and went to the loading dock. As Henry handed down the bags, Glen carried them over to the truck and put them in the cab. The last few bags were much lighter since they had the targets and the scopes.

Henry waved goodbye to Glen and closed the door of the loading dock. As Glen drove off, Sandra looked at the pile of packages around her. She asked, "Were you serious about us learning how to shoot?"

Glen answered, "You bet your sweet ass, I'm serious. Nobody is going to lay a hand on that body of yours except me and Wanda."

Appreciating the concern for her, Sandra smiled. She tried to reduce the seriousness of the discussion by asking, "Aren't you afraid that I'll get religion and run off?"

Glen chuckled and replied, "Not really."

"So we have to wait three days to start learning?"

"Nope, you start this afternoon. Cliff and I both have.22 caliber rifles. We'll put the scopes on them and get you started."

Sandra was very quiet and then stated, "I hate the shotgun. These are going to be worse."

Glen said, "No, actually you'll be surprised. The.22 caliber rifles hardly kick at all. Compared to them, the shotguns kick like mules."

"You're not lying to me are, are you?"

Glen smiled at her fear and said, "No. I don't know of many people that can shoot five rounds of buckshot out of a twenty gauge shotgun. Fifty rounds out of a.22 caliber is not that bad."

It wasn't long before they arrived at the mobile home. There was no sign of Cliff and Wanda. They went into the trailer and waited for them.

In town, Cliff and Wanda arrived at the Sheriff's office. They went in and waited, but no one was around. Cliff was curious and knocked on the Sheriff's door. There was no answer. He turned to Wanda, "This is weird. Someone should be here."

Wanda nodded as she looked around. She went over to the dispatcher station and picked up the radio. Pushing the button, she said, "Hello. Is anyone one out there?"

The Deputy got on the radio and asked, "Who is this?"

Wanda answered, "This is Wanda Metchette. We are at the Sheriff station and everything is wide open, but there isn't anyone here."

The Deputy said, "The Sheriff is there."

Cliff tapped Wanda on the shoulder and said, "He's not in the bathroom."

Wanda replied, "We've looked everywhere. We knocked on his door and checked the bathrooms. There's no one here."

Suddenly concerned, the Deputy asked, "What about the prisoners?"

Wanda said, "Wait. Cliff is going to check that out. Can you come here? I'm getting scared. This isn't right."

Cliff came running back shouting, "There aren't any prisoners."

Wanda relayed the message. The Deputy responded quickly, "I'm on my way."

Cliff went over to the Sheriff's door and opened it. The Sheriff was on the floor unconscious. Cliff checked for a pulse and found one. The Sheriff was breathing okay. There weren't any signs of bruises or anything like that. He didn't know what to do, but decided that professional help was required. He called out to Wanda, "The Sheriff is in here and he's unconscious. Call the hospital and request an ambulance."

He stayed with the Sheriff until the Deputy arrived. Frowning in concern, the Deputy looked around the office. A bottle of insulin was on the desk. He said, "This doesn't look right. He took his insulin, but it looks like he's in shock."

Glen asked, "How do you think all of the prisoners got away?"

The Deputy looked around and swore, "I bet it was that fucking Barney."

The sound of the ambulance could be heard as it pulled up to the building. It was only a matter of minutes before the EMS personnel were in the room. Cliff and the Deputy left the room to give them some space to work in.

The Deputy went to the dispatcher station and relieved Wanda. He got on the phone and called the State Troopers. This was too much for him to handle. The EMS driver came out and walked over to the Deputy. He stated, "Someone gave him the wrong kind of insulin. He'll be okay. We're taking him to the hospital."

The man went out and got a gurney. Three minutes later, the Sheriff was on the gurney and headed to the ambulance. Cliff looked around nervously and said, "Glen sent me down here. We have gotten a number of death threats, some of them pretty specific. I have the answering machine tape here."

The Deputy looked at it and said, "Wait until the State Troopers get here. I'm turning the case over to them. This has turned into attempted murder and a mass jail break. This is a bit much for us."

Cliff and Wanda went over to the bench to wait for the State Troopers to arrive. The pair looked at each other and withdrew into their own thoughts. Finally, Cliff went over to the deputy and asked, "What is required to get a concealed weapon permit?"

The Deputy stopped what he was doing and looked over at Cliff. He said, "I understand your concern. I don't know if we can manage that for you, but I'll look into it. You've got some pretty nasty folks after you, but the Sheriff and I don't want this to turn into a Wild West show."

Cliff said, "I understand your position. You've got to understand ours. They are trying to kill us."

The Deputy said, "I'll see what we can do. It's a long process as they don't like to give them out."

Cliff nodded understanding despite the fact that he didn't understand at all. He had thought that the whole reason for the concealed weapon permit was for people in his situation. He went back to Wanda and sat down. Worried, she asked, "What's going to happen to us?"

Laughing, in part to convince himself that everything was okay, Cliff answered, "Nothing. Glen is going to take care of you. He's very good at that."

Wanda smiled as she thought of the number of times that he had saved them. He had always come through for them. She said, "You're probably right."

Jim James and three other troopers arrived at the office together. He went over to the deputy and talked with him for several minutes. Worried frowns appeared on the faces of the troopers as they listened to the details that had motivated the Deputy to call them. Jim went over to the Metchettes and said, "Hello. I hear you are being threatened and have a tape with their threats."

"Yes, Jim. That's what brought us here. We found the place deserted and it scared the hell out of us."

Jim looked around uncomfortably for a moment. He said, "Well, give me the tape and we'll add it to your file. I'm going to be stationed here for a while."

Relief at getting rid of it spread over Cliff as he handed the tape over to Jim. He had listened to it before coming here and it had scared the hell out of him. Those religious fanatics really thought they were above the law. He wanted to change the subject. He replied, "That's great. By the way, Sue is working out great. She's doing a first class job."

Jim relaxed, happy to be talking about his sister in law. He said, "She loves the work. Says it fits into her schedule perfectly and is bringing in good money. My wife and I have been reading the magazine online. We're really impressed with the quality."

Grinning, Cliff asked, "How about the subject matter?"

"Not quite our thing, I'm afraid. Still, I'm amazed at the balanced picture you present. You don't dwell on either the negatives or the positives."

Cliff replied, "We try very hard to be balanced. We feel that false pictures of reality do more harm than the truth. Alternative marriages are not for everyone and work out for only a few people. We just wanted to tap into a market that had been under exploited."

Jim nodded his agreement. He said, "Well, you've done wonders for Sue. She's getting by now."

"I'm glad to hear that."

Jim said, "Well, you can go now."

"I think we are going to go over to the hospital and check on the Sheriff. I don't think he likes me, but I like him."

With a very serious expression on his face, Jim replied, "Well, he's lucky you like him. If you hadn't found him, he would probably be dead about now. Someone out there doesn't like him and made the opportunity to free all of the prisoners."

"For a bunch of religious fanatics, they sure don't take the Ten Commandments very seriously. It seems to me that they sure like the idea of killing way too much."

Jim nodded, "Between a bunch of sex perverts and religious fanatics, I'll take the perverts every time."

Cliff burst out laughing and quipped, "You got us."

Shaking his head, Jim went back to the office carrying the tape with him. He wanted to listen to the threats and get a feel for the seriousness of the situation. His skin was crawling by the time he reached the end of the tape. It was clear to him that Cliff was not a match for these guys.

Cliff and Wanda went to the hospital to visit the Sheriff. He was in an emergency room bed, conscious at last. It was very clear that he didn't look very happy at being there. He looked up in surprise to see Cliff and Wanda step into the area. He grunted, "You aren't supposed to be here."

Wanda bent over and kissed him on the cheek. She smiled down at him and said, "We are so glad that you are alive. We were so worried when we found you."

The Sheriff looked at her and Cliff in surprise. He asked, "You two found me?"

Cliff answered, "Yeah, we did. We thought about leaving you there, turning you into a swinger, or calling for help. Decided on the last."

The thought of being turned into a swinger made the Sheriff laugh. If anyone could do that, he believed that Cliff could. He shook his head and said, "You are incorrigible."

Wanda held the Sheriff's hand as she whispered in his ear, "You're lucky you didn't grow up with him as an older brother."

The Sheriff laughed. The nurse came around the corner and said, "Well, I guess by all of the noise coming out of this room that you're feeling better."

"Nah, these two are torturing me. However, they're so ineffective at it, that I have to laugh." The Sheriff couldn't help but like the Metchettes. They were very nice people that did care about those around them. Victims of a madman, they had come out a lot stronger than most people would. Pursued by fanatics that were willing to kill him, they didn't let fear rule their lives.

The nurse chuckled as she took his vitals and noted them on his chart. She glanced up at the Sheriff and stated, "I'm going to have to give them lessons. We can't have the victims of torture laughing about it."

The Sheriff shot the nurse a dirty look and then realized that she was teasing him. He said, "We all know that you are a licensed torturer. Sister of mercy, my ass."

Laughing the nurse said, "That reminds me. Time for me to give you a shot in your ass. I'll be sure to make it hurt."

The Sheriff groaned and pulled the cover over his head. Laughing at the Sheriff, she left the room. Cliff laughed and said, "Well, we just wanted to check on you. You know, make sure that you're feeling okay."

The Sheriff pulled the cover down and asked, "By the way, what brought you to the office?"

Cliff was about to answer, but a look from Wanda made him change his mind. He said, "Just came in to gaze upon your lovely face. Don't worry about that. Just get better."

The Sheriff looked at Cliff with a very serious expression. He said, "Someone switched my insulin. In my book, that means that someone tried to kill me. All those bastards escaped while I was lying helpless on the floor of my office. I'm pissed. They tried to kill me and that is something that I'm not going to forget. You and Glen, you do what is necessary to protect yourselves. Do you understand me?"

Cliff swallowed heavily and answered, "Yes, sir."

"I've thought long and hard about this while I was lying here in this bed. Your magazine isn't hurting anyone. As far as I can tell, you are helping some folks face serious problems. I may not agree that it is right to have a bunch of people living together and screwing each other all of the time. However, you've never done anything to harm anyone." The Sheriff suddenly got very quiet.

Cliff put a hand on his shoulder and said, "Get better. The world needs people like you watching out and protecting us from the bad guys."

The pair left shortly after that and headed towards the house. It was forty minutes later that they arrived at home. They found Glen standing in front of the mobile home waiting for them. Glen looked worried while Sandra didn't appear concerned. Cliff got out for the truck and explained, "The Sheriff was nearly killed in town. Someone switched insulin on him."

Glen softly swore, "Damn, this is really getting nasty. Is he okay?"

"Yeah, we found him and called for the ambulance before he was too bad. All of the prisoners escaped though."

"Shit," exclaimed Glen. He was not happy about this turn of events. He wondered if all the calls this morning were intended to bring Cliff to the Sheriff's office earlier. They may have intended to take him then. He said, "You guys are coming over to my place. We have some training to do."

For the next two hours, Glen taught the Metchettes the basics of gun use. He had them all lie on the ground. He told them, "Don't expect to be shooting while you are standing. When all hell breaks loose, get down on the ground just like you are right now. Think small and try to blend in."

Wanda asked, "What about bugs and snakes?"

Glen laughed as though she had just told the greatest joke ever. He said, "The only bugs around here are mosquitoes. They'll get you if you are standing or on the ground. The bastards that are attacking you are the only snakes you need to worry about."

Sandra blushed in tune with Wanda. He was amazed once again at the closeness between the pair of twins. Cliff said, "I know you don't want to hurt anyone, but they seriously want to hurt you. We are going to have to get mean. You two are my little sisters. I've done the best I can to watch over you both. You're going to have to help yourselves on this one."

Glen nodded his agreement. He said, "There are about thirty of them. The next time we face them, I expect we'll be facing all thirty. Cliff and I can only do so much. We need your help."

The twins, eyes wide as the enormity of the situation dawned on them, nodded. Sandra said, "We'll be there."

Glen squatted and looked at them. He said, "There are some things that you are going to have to learn. First, when you jump to the ground, you have to be careful not the get the end of your gun filled with dirt. Second, when you are on the ground, you want to check to see if there is any dirt in your gun. If there is, throw the gun away. It will kill you if you fire it."

Sandra said, "Why?"

Glen answered, "Blow back. If the end of the gun is blocked, then the pressure of the shot will cause the gun to explode. You don't want that to happen to you."

The twins went on to fire fifty shots at the target. Both of them were pleased to learn that firing the small caliber rifle was a lot easier on their shoulders than the shotgun. However, they were still going to have sore shoulders in the morning. Glen grinned at the thought of giving the twins massages that night.



-------

Chapter 17


The Southern Kitchen was packed that night as every table was taken and each table was filled. Glen was happy to see that business was good. He liked Oliver and was pleased to see that he was doing well with his business. Oliver greeted them at the door. The twins kissed him on the cheek and Cliff gave him a handshake with a manly hug.

CJ looked around the restaurant with wide eyes. This was only her second time here and she was very impressed. Intimidated by the class of the place, she whispered, "This is amazing. Real crystal service on the tables."

Oliver smiled at the twins and said, "So it is your birthday today? Twins born under the sign of Gemini. I don't know what it means, but it must be significant."

Grinning and winking at the twins, Glen answered, "It means they are actually one person with two bodies. Very nice bodies if I may say."

Sandra, nudging him with her hip, answered, "You may say that all the time."

Wanda, on his other side, ran her hand across his back as she said, "However, we may ask you to prove it later."

Cliff put an arm around CJ and said, "I don't know about that. I'm rather partial to CJ here. Now that is a body!"

As CJ nuzzled him, she said, "He knows just the right thing to say."

Oliver laughed at their antics. He knew it was not right, but he actually envied the five of them for their relationships. He hadn't seen a couple as close as CJ and Cliff. He was amazed at how Glen was able to keep up with the twins. All three women were beautiful and acted totally unaware of the effect they had on others. Looking around the restaurant, he realized that spending seven nights a week here had really affected his chances of finding love. He wondered if it was worth it.

The five were taken to a nice table in the special dining room. Oliver had realized that having a private room where business executives could talk business over their meal without fear of being overheard would improve business. He had been correct, that room had been the most demanded of them all. Glen looked around and whistled, "Wow, this is nice."

Oliver, smiling at his good friends, answered, "Only the best for you guys. This is a very special day for the twins."

The twins were jumping up and down excitedly. Wanda giggled as she cooed, "Oh my. Glen could spend the whole evening under the table and no one would know."

Sandra corrected her, "except for us, of course."

Cliff groaned and turned to Oliver saying, "Don't mind them. Their hormones always act up on their birthday. Actually, their hormones are set on high every day."

Oliver shook his head and said, "Take a seat. I'll get things started. I have a special bottle of wine that I set aside for you."

The meal was delightful and came after a long period of tension in their lives. The threats against them had doubled in frequency. The chance to relax and unwind in an environment in which they felt safe was just as much fun as the meal. Oliver brought in some dishes that they wanted to add to the menu. While the twins didn't like the fried oysters, Glen and CJ raved about them. Cliff was indifferent to them. The fried alligator tail was a big loser at the table. It tasted so much like Chicken, that the consensus was that it was more bother than it was worth. The corn fritters disappeared as fast as they could appear. Oliver smiled as he realized that he had just found another dish to add to the meal.

The diner was great and the twins enjoyed themselves tremendously. Glen reached into his pocket and pulled out two little envelopes. He handed one to each of the twins. Wanda opened hers with hands that trembled from anticipation. Wanda looked inside hers and cried out, "Tickets to the Broadway play that I wanted! They told me they were sold out for that day."

In her excitement over the gift, she practically climbed over the table to hug Glen. She plastered his whole face with kisses. CJ and Cliff laughed at the expression on Cliff's face. He looked like he was in serious pain as she was pulling him in an unnatural direction. She finally stopped and sat back in her chair.

Sandra had watched with a grin. She was tempted to climb over the table to kiss him as well. She opened her envelope and peeked inside. A huge grin spread over her face as she launched herself over the table. Glen was subjected to another bout of kisses. Wanda was dying of curiosity about what was in the envelope.

Finally Sandra sat back and pulled out a sheaf of papers. She flipped through them one by one as she said, "We have gift certificates to the Russian Tea Room, tickets to a boat tour around the city, and gift certificates to the spa at the hotel we're staying at."

CJ was impressed. She said, "Wow, you guys are going to have a great time in New York."

Cliff joked, "Makes me wish I had decided to cover that conference on marriage studies."

Glen smiled and said, "Hey, they are going to the big city. They should be able to have a little fun while they are there."

CJ felt a little embarrassed by her little gift to the twins, but she pulled out two boxes. She handed one to each of the twins. The twins grinned as they ripped the wrapping off the boxes. Opening the boxes they squealed in tune. Wanda pulled out the dress and smiled. It was a shirt dress with lots of buttons. The great thing about the dress was that a woman could control just how much she showed of herself. Button it up to the top and all they way to the bottom and she could look prim and prude. Unbutton the top and up from the bottom and she could be sexier than a Las Vegas showgirl. She looked across the table to Sandra's present. It was the same dress, but in a different color. Wanda said, "Oh, this is lovely. Poor Glen."

Sandra seconded that statement, "Yes, poor Glen."

CJ asked, "Why poor Glen?"

Wanda giggled while Sandra answered, "he's not going to get any rest when we wear these dresses."

CJ burst out in laughter. She said, "I know the effect. Cliff can hardly keep his hands off me when I wear mine."

Cliff grinned and retorted, "I can hardly keep my hands off you regardless of what you are wearing."

"You are just a sex fiend."

Glen laughed as he said, "The hardest times to resist are when they are wearing nothing."

Cliff disagreed and said, "No, the hardest time is when she's wearing my shirt and nothing else."

"Oh yeah. That's definitely tough to resist. I'm at the point where I don't even try resisting anymore."

The twins exchanged a glance and then looked over at CJ. CJ winked back at them. The women knew how they were going to dress around the house from now on. The men didn't have a chance. Cliff and Glen exchanged a look as they realized they had said too much.

Cliff brought out two boxes for the twins. They each reached for a box, surprised by the weight. Faces showing their confusion, they held up the box. Wanda laughed and said, "Do you remember when he put a brick in the box with our present?"

Sandra answered, "Yes. Remember what we did those bricks?"

Cliff groaned and replied, "Yes. I didn't put bricks in the present this time! I wouldn't ever do that again."

Sensing a good story here, CJ asked, "So what happened with the bricks?"

Cliff answered, "I was a good little Boy Scout at the time. Every year our troop made a rather long hike with an overnight stay in the woods. Well, I spent all day of their birthday packing my backpack and getting ready for the trip. The next morning I get up and head out to meet my fellow scouts."

Wanda and Sandra giggled. Sandra said, "He was so cute in his little costume."

Cliff grimaced and said, "It's a uniform. Anyway, I'm hiking and my backpack is just getting heavier and heavier. We stop for lunch. I open my pack and look through it. I don't see anything inside it. After lunch, I'm walking along and my back is killing me. I couldn't believe it."

The twins were smiling at each other. Cliff continued, "We get to the camp site and I start to unpack my pack. There at the very bottom of the pack were two bricks. The entire troop enjoyed the joke."

Wanda and Sandra turned their attention to their presents. Ripping off the wrapping paper to see what was inside, their mouths dropped at the sight. They had both received laptop computers. Cliff smiled across the table at them, happy that he had surprised them. He said, "Well, you two are in the business and I felt that it was necessary you have all of the proper equipment."

Wanda and Sandra both got up and hugged their brother, very pleased with their presents. Each person had given them a present that would mean the most coming from them. Glen wanted to make sure that they would have fun, CJ had wanted them to look sexy for their men, and Cliff had wanted to make it possible for them to get through their work.

Oliver came back to visit before they left. He smiled and said, "I'll be over this week for some fishing. I'll call Cliff and let him know when."

Cliff smiled and said, "I'll be sure to leave a morning open for fishing."

Oliver said, "great. I'm looking forward to it."

Glen paid for the meal. The wine had been on the house as the restaurant's gift to the twins. He took the twins out to his truck carrying the two laptops while the twins carried the rest of the presents. Cliff and CJ went to Cliff's truck.

It was night, but the drive home under the full moon was outstanding. Glen asked the twins if maybe they should park somewhere and let nature take its course. They giggled at the idea, but wanted to spend the night in a nice comfortable bed. Glen gave in and took the route that would take them straight home.

He sped up to catch up with Cliff when he saw Cliff stop and back up. Cliff got out of his truck and removed his gun. Glen stopped next to the truck and got out as well. He took out one of his guns and then joined Cliff. When he reached Cliff, he asked, "What's up?"

Cliff made a gesture like he was wanting silence. He pointed down the road and made a motion suggesting that Glen follow him. When they got to the bend in the road, Glen understood what had stopped Cliff. The place where their mobile home was located glowed. The men moved back to the trucks. Glen went to his and told the twins, "Drive straight to the Sheriff's office. Don't come back without a police escort. We are going to make our way towards my place."

After CJ got into the truck with the twins, he and Cliff headed back towards the mobile home. There was no one around when they reached it. Cliff sighed as he watched his home burn. Once again he was left with nothing. At least he had a business and accounts with money. He turned to Glen and said, "We better get down the road and check out the other house and your place."

Glen nodded. He hated the idea of his home getting burnt down as well. They walked slowly up the road, watching the woods around them for movement. The eyes of animals shining from the light of the full moon gave the trip an eeriness that set both men on edge. Several times, the movement of a raccoon or possum nearly caused one of them to fire a shot into the dark.

They approached the new house. It was hidden from the road by a curved driveway. Unless you knew where it was, it would be very easy to miss in the dark. The two men approached and found nothing out of place. Glen whispered, "It's going to be very nice when it's done."

"Thanks. We only have two more months before it is supposed to be completed."

Glen nodded. He stated, "Let's get back to the road. We've got to get those bastards."

The two returned to the road. Rather than walk down the open middle, they kept to the side where they could duck into cover if necessary. They moved forward slowly and were almost blinded by a van driving down the road from Glen's house. Both men raised their rifles at the same time, but neither fired. They walked quickly towards Glen's house to see what was going on there. There was no glow from the area where his cabin to indicate that it was burning. They arrived to find everything was alright except for the front door. They had burned a cross into it and left a note.

Glen and Cliff looked at the note without touching it. It was simple and to the point, "You are next." Glen looked at Cliff and stated, "I bet they think that you guys were in the mobile home when it went up in flames."

Cliff swallowed heavily and wondered if that were true. The two men scouted around the place making sure that no one was around. They went together, in part, to keep from shooting each other, and, in part, because they were afraid of having to face the fanatics alone. Returning to the porch of the house, the two men waited for the sheriff to arrive. Neither man wanted to go inside the house.

They waited outside for more than an hour before they heard the sirens of the cars stop at the mobile home. They didn't move from their position. It was about ten minutes later before a troopers car came up the drive to the house. Glen and Cliff moved to intercept the car. When Jim James got out of the car, he walked over to them. He asked, "Did you see anything?"

Glen nodded and answered, "We saw a van leaving my place. We came up here and found a cross burned in the door and a note. We haven't touched anything, but it says that I am next. We think that they may have thought that the Metchettes were in the house when they burned it."

In disgust, Jim shook his head. He stated, "The Sheriff is up at the mobile home. He's livid with rage. I think that he's mad he's a lawman and can't just kill them."

Glen snorted and stated, "I can think of four law abiding citizens that wish they could start hunting them down and I'm one of them."

"Don't talk that way."

Glen glanced at the trooper and nodded. He answered, "You're right. Not too much I can do about it."

The deputy took the note off the door and put it into an evidence bag. Finished collecting evidence, he motioned with his head that they were to get in the car with him. Glen sat in the front seat while Cliff sat in the back as they rode to the mobile home. There were half a dozen troopers gathered around it, waiting for the fire trucks to arrive. The trailer was totaled. The only thing the fire trucks could do now was to keep the fire from spreading into the woods.

It was quite a while before the fire trucks showed up. The volunteer firemen got out and started wetting down the trees around the mobile home. Having recovered from the shock, the twins bounced over to where Glen and Cliff sat. Cliff's eyes showed his anger and everyone was afraid to talk to him. Fists clenched, he turned to face Wanda and Sandra. With bitterness in his voice, he said, "Everything we had was in there. Hell, even the next issue of the magazine was on our computer in there."

Glen interrupted, "Cliff, we have copies of everything on my computer. Wanda and Sandra, always bring over a copy when they come to spend the night."

Breathing a sigh of relief, he said, "Thank God for horny women with brains."

Wanda and Sandra slapped him playfully from each side. As Cliff slowly relaxed, Glen smiled at him and said, "Yes, thank God for beautiful, smart, witty, and loving horny women."

Wanda and Sandra turned to Glen smiling. Wanda said, "FlatteryÖ"

"will get you everywhere," continued Sandra.

The Sheriff came over and sat down on the hood of his car. His weight caused the car to tilt to the side. He cleared his throat and said, "It looks like they tied ropes around the trailer doors to keep anyone from getting out. They clearly wanted to kill anyone that was inside."

Cliff jumped up and shouted down the road, "You bastards! I'll hunt you down and kill you!"

Glen put a hand on Cliff's shoulder saying, "Calm down. If you had been here, they'd all be dead."

Sandra and Wanda looked at each other. With her eyes flashing fire, Wanda said, "If I ever see one of them, they'll be dead."

The Sheriff groaned and said, "Look, at least don't do it where there are witnesses."

Glen looked at the Sheriff in surprise. That was the last thing that he had expected to hear. The Sheriff noted the look on Glen's face said, "Hell, man. They tried to kill me. That idiot Anderson joined them and he was the one that swapped my insulin. Do you think I'm going to worry too much about what happens to them?"

Glen thought about and answered, "No, I guess not. They are an evil bunch."

They were quiet for a long time, doing nothing but watching the firemen keep the forest from burning down. The roof of the mobile home collapsed into it with a suddenness that surprised everyone. Resigned with the current state of affairs, Cliff turned to the Sheriff and stated, "I guess I'll need the info for my insurance agent."

The Sheriff laughed and pointed to one of the men hosing down a tree. He said, "Not much need, he's your insurance agent, isn't he?"

Cliff looked carefully and said, "Yes, he is."

The Sheriff nodded, "Of course, he is. He's the only one around here. He'll be putting in the paperwork for you in the morning. Don't worry about that."

Cliff was silent again. As a van rumbled down the street, the Sheriff swore, "Damn, here's the television crew."

Everyone looked in the direction the Sheriff was watching. A news van was threading its way around the parked cars. The reporter and the cameraman exited the van and walked over to the Sheriff. The Sheriff whispered to the Metchettes, "Keep your temper under control. Play victim in front of the camera."

Glen smiled at the smart advice and motioned for CJ to come stand by him as he edged away from the scene. The Metchettes stood up to meet the reporter. Standing in front of the camera, the reporter gave his standard introductory spiel. He went up to the Sheriff and asked, "What happened here?"

The Sheriff hitched up his pants and answered, "Well, it looks like we've had an attempted murder here."

The reporter nearly dropped his microphone in surprise. He took a second to recover and asked, "Any suspects?"

The Sheriff nodded and answered, "Yes We suspect the members of the so-called Last True Church of Jesus Christ. This group is led by the most despicable man to ever call himself Reverend. His name is Jonathan Corwin and he is wanted in conjunction with several major crimes in this area."

The reporter now was getting into the interview. He asked, "Who were the intended the victims?"

"The Metchettes here. You may recall about a year ago some kids were kidnapped by the sociopath, Amos Orvin. He tried several times to kill them. Well, these same kids are the intended victims of this cult."

The reporter turned the microphone over to Cliff and the twins. He asked, "Why are they after you?"

Cliff, rose to the occasion, and answered, "I wrote a nice editorial about how God is a loving deity. I said that he smiles upon people who love each other. He doesn't care what people look like, we are all made in his image. That God looks at men and women to see what is in their heart. If there is love, then they are lovely in his eyes. If there is hate, then he sees ugliness."

The reporter stated, "That seems reasonable. Why is this church group after you?"

Cliff answered with a sigh. "It appears that some people don't like the idea of a loving God. They want one that is just waiting for us to sin so that he cast us into hell. My words were viewed as blasphemy by them and because I wrote them in a public forum, then I must be a servant of Satan."

The reporter asked, "So you believe in God?"

Cliff was quiet for a moment before answering. He finally said, "When Amos Orvin raped me, I prayed to God for salvation from that madman. He answered that prayer, not once, not twice, but three times. Yes, I believe in God. I pray every night for the safety of my family, my friends, and my community."

The reporter asked, "Do you hate the people that did this to you?"

"No, I don't hate them. I pity them for their warped world view. I fear them because I know they will kill me and kill me in the most painful way possible," Cliff paused for a second and then added, "Fear is to mild of a word. I'm terrified of them. They are sick individuals and are willing to do sick things."

The reporter turned to the twins. He asked, "You lovely ladies are the sisters of Cliff?"

Wanda answered, "YesÖ"

Sandra answered, "we are."

The way the twins finished each others sentences threw the news reporter off for a second. He asked, "What do you think of the people that set the fire?"

"We are..."

"afraid of them. They'reÖ"

"animals. Not animals Ö"

"monsters. They're Ö"

"monsters."

The reporter was trying to keep the microphone moving fast enough to keep up with the sudden switches in speaker. Unable to keep up with them, the reporter turned back to the Sheriff. He asked, "What proof do you have that it was actually an attempted murder?"

The Sheriff was rather surprised to find himself back in the spotlight. He answered, "Someone had tied ropes around the mobile home to keep anyone inside from getting out. We know this because we found the rope burning with part of it tied to the door handles."

The reporter asked, "Why are you tell us this?"

"Because I want them caught. After we leave here, I'll be happy to give you photographs to show along with this story."

The reporter looked excited. This was the kind of story that could go national. He asked a few more questions and interviewed a few of the firemen. Finally, he noticed Glen and went to Glen. He asked, "What is your role in this matter?"

Glen answered, "I saved the Metchettes from Amos Orvin. I shall save them from the cultists that are trying to kill them now."

The reporter asked the best question of the evening, "Do you have anything you would like to tell the cultists?"

Glen looked at the camera with a direct stare. His voice was calm and clear as he stated, "Reverend Jonathan Corwin, you came after the wrong ones tonight. You should have come after me. They fear you, I don't."

The reporter looked at Glen and said, "Aren't you afraid that they'll burn you out next?"

Glen laughed and said, "Those cowards? No, they prefer to go after people that can't protect themselves. They prey on the weak and innocent. Those young kids over there trust people and see the good in everyone. They still believe that world peace is possible. I don't. I've been around a little longer and I recognize evil when I see it. When I look at the cultists, I see evil. They are cowards and won't approach anyone that sees them for what they are."

The reporter stated, "That's a challenge if I've ever heard one."

"No, it's a true assessment of them."

The reporter thanked everyone for their comments and raced to the van. Excited, he wanted to get this to the station as quickly as possible to forward copies of the story to the parent company in Pittsburgh. Tomorrow there would be press from all over the country here, but he would get credit for the story.

Cliff turned to the Sheriff and asked, "Sheriff, could you please take CJ home for me. I don't want any pictures of the two of us together."

Understanding the request as a way of protecting CJ, Dale looked at Cliff with pride as he nodded. He said, "I'm going now anyway. I've got to get the pictures ready for the news teams. We are going to put so much pressure on those bastards that they won't be able stay still for more than five minutes."

Cliff smiled and said, "Great."

Glen took the Metchettes to his home. When they entered the house, Cliff said, "I'll sleep on the couch."

Glen nodded and took the twins to his bedroom. The twins stopped on entering the room and looked at each other. As one, they stripped naked and stood facing Glen. Wanda commanded, "Get undressed."

Sandra added, "Quickly."

Glen started to undo his shirt. His actions were too slow, so Sandra stepped up and ripped his shirt off his body. While she did that, Wanda undid the belt. In seconds, she was pulling his pants down around his knees. He was already erect, although it wasn't as hard as it had been in the past.

Sandra pushed him back against the bed and he went down on the bed with a major thud. The twins didn't even slow down as Wanda climbed up and lowered her cunt to his lips. She didn't say anything as she started rubbing her cunt across his lips. Finally, she shouted, "Eat me, damn it."

As Glen started licking, her actions became even more frantic. While Glen's attention had been on Wanda, Sandra had been positioning herself over his cock. She lowered herself onto him in one smooth movement. She felt his flesh brush against the hair around her cunt and started fucking him with an intensity that was born of fear. Both women were marking him as theirs, attempting to seal his affections to help motivate him to protect them. This was not a conscious motivation, it was primal and instinctive that had its origins in biology.

Glen needed the emotional outlet just as much as they. His hips rose to meet her violence with a violence of his own while his tongue went to work on Wanda. He thrust his tongue into her with as much energy as she wanted. Actually, it was with as much force as she needed. Their fevered coupling resulted in a large orgasm for Sandra. She moved off his cock. As soon as the cock was free, Wanda moved down and took her place. Sandra replaced Wanda on Glen's face. Her motions were just as fevered as Sandra's.

When Wanda came, she screamed out her release. When she climbed off his cock, Sandra moved back down to it for her turn. Glen rolled her over so that he was now above her. Buttocks straining and back tense, he began to pound into her. His motions were frantic, seeking release of his inner most feelings. He wanted so show the strength and fury of his masculine need for them. He roared as he thrust. Sweat dripped from his nose as his body tried to rid itself of the heat that he was generating. Sandra screamed as orgasm after orgasm washed through her. Her body was soaked with sweat, the sheet under her was wet with her feminine juices.

When Sandra stopped being responsive, he moved to Wanda. Wanda was waiting for him with her legs spread. Her cunt wet from her earlier orgasm now seeped her juices continuously. He entered her in one smooth thrust. In response, she wrapped her legs around his hips, trying to pull him deeper into her. He started humping her.

He resumed the frantic pace he had taken with her sister. The strokes were long and hard, his cock nearly leaving the tight confines of her cunt. He would then slam forward with enough force to rock the bed. Wanda grunted with each thrust while Glen roared out his passion. Their bodies had become mere expressions of the animal nature that was so often buried. Given free reign, their minds floated on a sea of emotion and raw lust.

Wanda entered into a state of continual orgasm. She screamed almost continually. Even the best of things could become too much and she was nearing that point where she felt that another orgasm would kill her.

Glen finally reached the point of no return. He grunted and groaned as his balls drew up tight to his body in preparation of launching his come. Face twisted as though in pain, the orgasm built from his toes and moved upward. He arched his back, driving his cock into her as deep as was possible. At the moment of his release, he shouted, "I love you!"

He continued to move until his orgasm died and further thrusts had become painful. He pulled out of her and collapsed on the bed. The twins wrapped themselves around him, satisfied that he loved them. Sated in his demonstration of it, they fell asleep. The twins felt safe and protected while he felt strong and protective.



-------

Chapter 18


The new house was finished three weeks late. It was supposed to have been completed near the end of August and it was completed in the middle of September. Today was moving day, but it was rather a subdued event. The majority of their possessions had been destroyed in the June fire.

They had replaced most of their clothes and their weapons. In fact, they had purchased replacement weapons before they had shopped for clothes. The general consensus among the Metchettes was that they would rather fight in the nude with guns, than stand defenseless while fully clothed. This was a sentiment that Glen fully supported.

Cliff was upset that the gun rack that Glen had made for him had been destroyed in the fire. Their stay at the cabin was short, but Glen had spent most of the time working in his woodshop. It kept him out of their way while they worked on the magazine and them out of his way while he worked on furniture.

He helped them carry the last box of their stuff to the new house from their truck. He walked into the house and looked around. It was a beautiful house that was basically divided into two halves. The front half contained a huge living room which had a high cathedral ceiling. The rest of the rooms were on the back half of the house. The four bedrooms were upstairs and opened onto a hallway that over looked the living room with stairs coming down on each end. One of the bedrooms had been converted into a study. The kitchen and dining room were off the living room under the bedrooms. There were two bathrooms, one upstairs and one downstairs. The one downstairs was next to a spa room that held a giant Jacuzzi made for six.

The trio showed him around the house, proud of its design and size. It was basically bare of any furniture except for the two queen size beds in the bedrooms. Those were the beds that had been brought to the cabin when they had first arrived. Glen had taken his small twin bed into his bedroom.

After the tour, Glen went to the front door as though he was going to leave. Wanda and Sandra watched him with puzzlement. Cliff asked, "What's up?"

Glen answered, "I have to go to the house and pick up something."

Wanda asked, "Will you be back before the party?"

Glen answered, "Of course, I just need to pick up something."

With definite relief in her voice, Sandra said, "Oh, that's good. We wanted to break in the house in the proper manner."

Laughing, Glen said, "We have to do everything in the proper manner."

"I wonder what's keeping CJ? She's supposed to be here by now."

Glen shrugged his shoulders and said, "Maybe she stopped by the cabin before coming here."

Cliff nodded and said, "Well, we'll start to get things ready for when you and her get here."

Glen smiled and left the house. He got in his truck and drove over to his cabin. It wasn't a long drive. In fact, it wasn't even a long walk since their house was very close to the border of his property. He pulled up next to the U-Haul truck and parked. Smiling at the attractive woman standing by the U-Haul, he got out and greeted CJ. "Hi, CJ. He's wondering where you are."

She laughed and said, "I guess I'll have to go over there now."

"Not until you help me load this truck," replied Glen as he opened the door to his workshop. She followed him into the shop and looked around in surprise. Glen pulled the sheets off the table and chairs revealing the quality craftsmanship that distinguished them from store bought goods.

"Wow, that is beautiful. Look at the color of the wood. They are going to love this. Where did you buy it?"

Glen, proud of his work, polished his fingernails on his shirt and answered, "I made it."

CJ was very impressed and could hardly believe her eyes. She stated, "Oh, my. You really do care about them to put so much love into these housewarming presents."

Together they carried the furniture to the moving truck where it joined the desk that CJ had bought as a present. He had made a dinner table and chairs for the dining room. There was a beautiful gun case that he had built for the living room. In addition, there were several other chairs that could be used in the living room and moved to the bedrooms when they got real living room furniture. He made one last trip to the woodshop to pick up the pillows for the living room chairs. A lady in town made them for him since his skills at sewing were pretty poor.

He put the box in the back of the truck and asked, "So which do you want to drive, my truck or the U-Haul?"

Pursing her lips, CJ said, "Well, I'll let you drive the U-Haul and I'll ride with you."

Glen laughed and bowed in mock servitude. He responded, "Your wish is my command."

They got into the U-Haul and Glen drove it the short distance to the Metchette's new house. Glen backed it up in the driveway as Cliff, Wanda, and Sandra came out to see what was going on. With the help of a few hand signals from Cliff, he parked the truck right in front of the door to the house. He and CJ got out of the truck and walked around to the rear.

Wanda asked, "What's this?"

CJ answered, "Oh, a little housewarming present from Glen and me."

Glen opened the back of the truck as the trio stared at the contents. Wanda and Sandra moved together and started crying tears of happiness as they realized the magnitude of the gift. Cliff stood open mouthed as he examined the furniture in the room. While the Metchettes were staring in amazement, Glen climbed up into the truck and lowered down the box of pillows to CJ. Taking the box from him, she carried them into the living room. He then slid one of the chairs to edge of the truck. He climbed down and said to Cliff, "Give me a hand with this."

Coming out of his trance, Cliff helped lift it out of the truck. They carried it into the living room and set it down. Glen opened the box and put the pillows on the chair. He tied the strings sewn into the pillows to the furniture. He sat down, appreciating the feel. It wasn't the same as a full couch, but they could get that later.

Cliff and Glen made several more trips bringing in the rest of the furniture that Glen had made. Wanda and Sandra were crying tears of happiness, with CJ hugging each in turn. Finally, the two men went into the truck and wrestled out the desk that CJ had bought. It was solid wood and massive as hell. They managed to bring it into the house and set it along a wall where a plug for their Internet connection was mounted into the wall.

Cliff stepped back and said, "I'm overwhelmed. This furniture is absolutely magnificent. You built all of this."

Glen shook his head and answered, "I built all of it except for the desk and the desk chair. CJ got that for you."

Wanda and Sandra came up to Glen. They practically wrapped themselves around him. Wanda said, "We were worried that you didn't like us anymore with all of the time you spent in the workshop. Now we know why you were out there all of the time. My God, it is beautiful."

Sandra said, "I'm afraid to use it."

Glen laughed and put his arms around the twins pulling them even closer. He said, "I built it to last. You don't have to worry about ruining it. Heck, you both could participate in some pretty nasty activities on that table and it will stand up to it."

Sandra was tempted to climb up on the table and pose, but she heard other cars pull up outside the house. The twins looked at each other in horror and ran to the kitchen. With guests arriving, they still had a ton of food to get ready. CJ laughed and followed them. For CJ, entertaining was always a challenge. To move in and to have an open house the same day had seemed like insanity to her. The twins had just treated it like an everyday event.

Glen and Cliff went outside so that Glen could move the U-Haul and Cliff could greet the guests. Glen got into the truck and moved it to the side of the house where it would be out of the way. Since he had forgotten to close the back door, it made a horrible clanging sound as it closed and then opened again. He parked it and got out. Walking around to the back of the truck, he looked inside the truck and made sure that it was empty. He climbed up the bumper and pulled the door down. He swung the latch and locked it closed.

Turning around, he was startled to find the Sheriff standing right behind him. He screamed, "Shit, you scared me."

The Sheriff laughed and said, "You didn't look around once. I was wondering what was on your mind."

"Oh, I was just thinking about how much my life has changed since they came into my life."

Dale patted Glen on the shoulder and gestured towards the house with his head. The two men walked up to the house talking about the nature of changes that Glen had experienced. More people were arriving, including various owners of businesses that they frequented. The head of the orphanage was going to come later. The priest of their church was already there. He had come to bless the house at the request of Cliff and the twins.

Glen went inside the house and was immediately met by Oliver. Oliver looked him in the eye in a way that made little alarms go off in his head. Oliver, in a very friendly tone of voice, said, "Hey, I saw the furniture. It looks great!"

Glen laughed and asked, "Let me guess. You want me to make the furniture for your restaurant?"

"Hell, no. There's no way we could afford stuff of this quality." Oliver ran a finger across one of the arms of a chair. His eyes were closed and there was a small smile on his face. He said, "You did very nice work on this. Very nice."

Glen studied Oliver for a moment and then said, "Would you be willing to take a short walk with me?"

Oliver looked at Glen surprised at the request, but answered, "Okay."

The two men went outside and walked around the property. Glen, worried about how it was going to sound, finally asked, "You like men and women, don't you?"

Heart beating madly, Oliver stopped in his tracks and looked at Glen. He didn't know what Glen was getting at, but he had touched upon a very private subject. He asked, "Why do you want to know?"

Glen knew by the answer that he had hit upon the truth. He answered, "I have a vested interest in your answer."

Oliver frowned and tried to decide what that meant. Finally, he said, "Yeah, I do. Do you want to make something out of it?"

Glen smiled and said, "Yes, in a way I do."

Oliver stepped away from Glen. He was getting nervous that Glen didn't mean anything good by his line of questioning. He stopped and faced Glen ready to fight. He asked, "What are you planning?"

Glen turned to return to the house. He said over his shoulder, "You and Cliff. So much alike. Both of you need something that the other has and neither one of you realizes it. Tell Cliff about yourself."

Glen walked back to the house leaving a very confused Oliver behind. Oliver stood there for several minutes thinking about what Glen had said. Was he hinting the Cliff shared his particular problem? He wasn't sure, but realized that Glen had something in mind.

Glen returned to the house and found that it was loud as people talked in groups of three and four. Moving through the crowd, he found the twins by the food as they were still putting things out for people to snack upon. He moved to a corner of the room and watched with amusement as they scurried about trying to make a good impression. He couldn't believe how much he loved them.

His attention was distracted by a woman that he had never met. She had come up and grabbed his arm. She said, "A penny for your thoughts."

Glen smiled and said, "I can't believe how much I love them."

She smiled and said, "I though you were Glen. I'm Mary Goodwin, the art director for the magazine."

Happy to be able to put a face to the name, Glen turned to face her. He said, "Oh, it is so nice to finally meet you. I've really appreciated your work on the magazine."

Mary answered, "You have no idea how long I've waited to meet you. From the way that Wanda and Sandra talked about you in Atlanta, I was sure that you were ten foot tall and strong as five men put together."

Glen shook his head and answered, "As you can see, I'm normal sized and only as strong as half a man."

She laughed with a reserved mirth. She was one of those women that cover their mouth with a hand when they laugh. Distracted by the gestured, Glen wondered why some women did that. She said, "Well, if they are subject to overstatement, I would have to say that you are subject to understatement."

"What ever you say."

"You saved their life three times from a serial killer. From what Wanda told me, you saved her twice from the church creeps."

He sighed and said, "Only once from the church creeps. They had beat her up once and I was nowhere to be found."

Mary didn't know what to make of him. He didn't act like most men that she knew. Most of the guys she knew would have boasted about their exploits. She decided to change the topic and said, "Did you know that we had a record month last July?

Glen hadn't been paying attention to the business. He just edited the papers put in front of him. He had spent most of his time creating the furniture. He replied, "No, I didn't know that."

"It looks like the numbers for August may be even better."

Glen stated, "Shouldn't you know that by now? It's the middle of September."

"It's not that easy. We have to take out of the statistics the effects of the guest accounts and temporary accounts. All of those accounts shutdown on the fifth of the month. We have to subtract out those accounts and the guest accounts from the previous month."

Puzzlement showed on his face as he asked, "It sounds complicated. Why is it done that way?"

The hand went over her mouth as she started laughing again. She said, "We made a mistake when we set things up. We've never been able to recover from it."

"Oh, by the way. Is the photographer here?"

Mary shook her head and answered, "No. He's out on a shoot. He likes to find these really nasty ladies and take lots of pictures of them."

"Sounds like fun."

She slapped his arm playfully and said, "Oh, you men are all alike."

After a little more small talk, she left him standing there. He stopped by the table and fixed a small plate of food. The rest of the house was crowded, so he headed towards the back door to get a little peace and quiet. He found himself on the back porch alone with CJ. She was nibbling from a plate filled with vegetables and other healthy foods. He looked down at his plate filled with wings, egg rolls, and other fried appetizers. He laughed at the comparison. CJ looked over at him and asked, "What's so funny?"

"Well, I was just comparing the food on our plates. You might say that yours was the feminine version and mine was the masculine."

She glanced over at his plate and laughed. She said, "I guess you're right."

They both ate quietly for a while. Glen looked over at her and then said, "You really love Cliff, don't you?"

"Yes, I do."

Cliff was a puzzlement to Glen at times. He stated, "But you are afraid that you'll loose him."

Shock spread across CJ's face. She asked, "How did you know?"

"You are concerned about the fact that he's bisexual and will find a guy that he likes better than you."

"Yes, I am." The fact was that Cliff had been looking at a lot of men lately and she was concerned that he was tired of her. She was sure that he was trying to replace her with a man.

"Don't you read his magazine?"

She looked at him like he was crazy and wondered what he was getting at. She knew that he and Cliff had sex together on at least one occasion. Being around the twins didn't allow for any questions about that. They had even tried to set up a night between her, Cliff, and Glen. The three of them hadn't done anything that night and there had been no further mention of the possibility. "Of course I read his magazine."

Glen smiled at the look on her face. It was clear that she didn't understand it. He stated, "Don't you realize that he is writing about the kind of marriage that he wants? He wants a wife and a husband."

"So?"

"So, he's already found the woman he wants for his wife. Now he's looking for a husband."

If Glen had told her that she was eight months pregnant, she wouldn't have been more surprised. She stared at him and thought about what he had said. She asked, "What is your point?"

Glen answered, "Well, if you want any say in who your second husband is, then you'll join him in his search."

The conversation seemed to border on the surreal for CJ. Glen was bringing up ideas that she had never thought about. Was it possible that Cliff really wanted her to help him find a husband for the two of them? She had often entertained the fantasy, but she was scared to death of the idea. She ate another carrot while she thought about it.

Glen watched her thinking and finally he asked, "What do you like about Cliff?"

"He's one of the smartest men that I know. I mean, he may not have gone to college, but he's smart as a whip. You know that he basically put the whole idea for the magazine together all by himself."

Glen nodded and said, "You like smart men?"

"Well, they have to be kind and gentle, too."

Glen took a bite out of one of the egg rolls and chewed it slowly as he thought. He nodded and then said, "There aren't very many men that are smart, kind, gentle, and loving. I can only think of a handful."

"Are you suggesting yourself?" CJ wondered if Glen was really putting the move on her. She didn't appreciate that at all.

Glen burst out laughing and almost spilled his plate. He answered, "God, no. I've got more than I can handle with the twins."

"So what are you getting at?"

"Let's see. I'm trying to help find a husband for you and Cliff. So the criteria that we have are, smart, kind, gentle, loving, and bisexual. Does that about cover it?"

CJ thought about it and realized that was the criteria that she would have come up with herself. She hesitantly answered, "Sure."

"How about race?"

CJ laughed and answered, "You sure are getting specific. Race isn't a problem."

Cliff stood up and popped the rest of the egg roll in his mouth. He chewed for a second wishing that he had thought of getting some hot mustard for the egg roll. Finally, he said, "Well, I'm all out of ideas. Maybe you might want to talk to Oliver and see if he can think of someone."

The suggestion really surprised CJ. Oliver was the one person that she felt like she could trust in a matter like this. She wondered why Glen picked him and decided to find out. She asked, "Why Oliver?"

Glen smiled and said, "Simple. You both know him. He knows both of you. He might have an idea as to who would be perfect for you both. I think you trust him a lot more than you trust me."

CJ was embarrassed by that assessment of her feelings towards Glen. She said, "I don't think that."

Glen took a minute to consume one of the chicken wings on his plate. Fingers greasy, he looked up at her and contradicted her. "Well, you think that I'm after your body. Plus, I wasn't all that nice in the beginning of our relationship. No, you like me well enough, but you don't trust me."

She was silent for a while and then said, "You know, I would agree with you on your assessment, but that's not the problem."

"Oh?"

"Yes, when it comes to the Metchettes you are totally trustworthy. I'll tell you the truth. I fear that if it came to a choice between them and me, you'd pick them."

Glen looked at the last appetizer on his plate. It appeared to be a chicken liver wrapped in bacon. He took a bite and found that he was right. He looked up and said, "In a choice between me and the rest of you, I'd choose the rest of you. I would never accept any other choice."

She stared at him for a minute and realized that he had told her the truth. He included her in the group that he was to protect. "You mean that don't you."

Glen nodded as he ate the rest of the liver wrapped in bacon. He decided that was the best appetizer that he had taken. He looked up at her and said, "Yes, I do. Now run along and talk to Oliver."

He watched CJ go back into the house. He waited a minute and started laughing. Sometimes people were so close to their problems that they couldn't see the answers. CJ came back out and hugged him. She said, "Thank you for talking to me."

"You're quite welcome."

After she went back into the house, Glen waited a moment before following her. He was going to get some more of the appetizers. He went to the table and started grazing on the various vegetables and sliced lunch meats. A pair of hands covered his eyes right after he had just stuffed a sweet pickle in his mouth. He didn't recognize the voice that said, "guess who?"

"Wanda? Sandra?" guessed Glen.

"No."

Glen stood there for several seconds trying to figure out who it could be. He finally said, "I'm totally clueless."

The elderly woman laughed and released her hands from around his eyes. He turned and laughed when he recognized the Sheriff's wife. He asked, "Helena, how are you?"

"I'm fine. You are definitely making my life interesting."

Glen was surprised by that. He asked, "What have I done?"

Helena answered, "Oh the past couple of times that he's been over to your place, he's come home feeling a little frisky."

Glen laughed and suggested, "It isn't me. It must be the twins. They tend to do things that make men feel a little frisky."

She smiled at Glen and stated, "You know, I met them right after you rescued them. They weren't in any kind of mental shape to act in a way to make men feel frisky."

"Really, they did everything they could to drive me crazy."

She asked, "Do you know what I do for a living?"

"No."

"I'm a crisis councilor."

"Okay."

She looked at Glen with affection before saying, "The first few months with you were exactly what they needed."

"Why? I wasn't very friendly."

She said, "They had all been raped. They were scared to death of men. You didn't give any sign that you cared about them sexually. They were around you in various states of undress and you just grumped. Do you realize how calming that is for someone that would view any attention to their body as a threat?"

Glen shrugged his shoulders. He answered, "Never really thought about it."

"When they upped the stakes and started walking around naked, explicitly teasing you, and trying to make situations sexual, you just turned and told them to stop it. You gave them back control of their sexuality. Of course, you took it too far and made them feel like you weren't interested at all."

Glen said, "I didn't want to take advantage of them."

"So they took advantage of you. It was good for them. I wouldn't recommend that kind of treatment for all victims that went through their ordeal, but it was the perfect one for them." Helena looked at Glen with a twinkle in her eye. She added, "It must have been tough for you, though."

Glen grunted and ignored the final comment. He said, "I wouldn't know anything about that. I was dealing with my own problems."

Helena put a hand on his shoulder in a comforting gesture. She said, "I know and I wish that you had come to me to talk about them. I could have helped you."

Glen said, "Men don't talk, they act."

"Bullshit!"

He had the grace to blush. Helena noticed and said, "Look, you've done alright for yourself. You three have a healthy relationship. I'll admit that there are things about it that I'm not sure that I'm comfortable about, but that is for the twins to decide."

Glen knew that she was talking about the incest component of the relationship between the twins. There were times that it bothered him as well, but he agreed with Helena that it was for the twins to decide. He nodded and said, "I agree with you on that, but it is not up to me."

Helena was about to reply when Dale came up to them. He slapped Glen on the back in a friendly fashion and asked, "Trying to add my wife to your harem?"

Glen laughed and answered, "Nah. She doesn't like studs like myself. She prefers portly elderly guys that are half bald."

Helena chuckled and the Sheriff stuttered at that characterization of himself. The Sheriff hitched up his pants in his habitual manner and replied, "Us old roosters have tricks you young squirts have never dreamed of."

Helena glanced at her husband and asked, "so are you going to show me some of those tricks tonight?"

Dale grunted, "Damn woman is going to kill me."

Glen laughed at the exchange. He decided to go for the kill and said, "We just might have to feature you two as an example of an alternative marriage in our magazine. A May-December marriage. We've never addressed the issues associated with a young wife like Helena married to an old goat like yourself."

Helena laughed and said, "Flatterer."

Dale looked at Glen and said, "I'm not that old. I'd say that it is a May-June marriage."

Glen and Helena laughed at that. Helena excused herself and went to talk to Cliff. Dale turned to Glen and in a much more serious tone of voice said, "I just wanted to give you a warning. The fanatics have taken an even more aggressive stance. When they missed the Metchettes, they seem to have gotten even more frantic at getting them."

Glen's stomach twisted. He had hoped to have a day without worry about that. He knew that the fanatics wouldn't make a move with so many people here, so he had actually pushed his worries to the back of his mind. This reminder was not appreciated to the degree that it should have been. He grunted, "Okay, I'll take that into advisement. The twins will be going to New York for a conference in two weeks. I'll keep an eye on Cliff while they are gone."

The Sheriff nodded and asked, "What about until then?"

Glen smiled and answered, "We have contingency plan on top of contingency plan. None of us stay alone"

The Sheriff said, "You sound pretty confident."

Glen replied, "You should see the twins with the rifles. They are shooting 450 plus on the target range."

The Sheriff whistled understanding exactly what Glen meant. The twins were shooting a nine or better on a ten point target on fifty consecutive shots. That was very good shooting. He said, "That's pretty damn good."

Glen nodded and added, "We have weapons caches in the woods in case they are caught unarmed away from the house."

The Sheriff stated, "Good planning. The only flaw in this house that I've spotted is the Sauna. They have a large sliding glass door in there."

Glen replied, "I noticed that. I suggested that they board it up for now, but all three of them refused that option."



-------

Chapter 19


For the first time in ages, Glen had spent an entire week at home alone. The twins were in New York attending the conference. They had called last night excited about the Broadway play they had seen earlier. Their excitement had pleased him, since he had given them the tickets for the play on their birthday as a present. They were taking the moonlight tour around the city on a boat tonight. He figured it would be another couple of hours before they called.

For the past year he had been having sex two and three times a day. He should have appreciated the break, but found himself more horny than ever before. It didn't seem like it had been that long ago that he had gone for several years without a woman in his life. Things had changed so much in his life, that he didn't feel like the same person any more.

For the moment, he was rather perturbed that Cliff had chosen to stay at the other house. He had wanted to stay there with him, but Cliff had said that he was going to entertain CJ and that this was the last chance they would have alone. Glen understood, but he felt like Cliff was taking undue risk. In fact, he felt that Cliff had placed him in undue danger. He paced the house trying to decide what to do.

He looked outside, trying to see if there was anyone out there. There was a full moon tonight, but the sparse clouds were hiding the moon as much as not. He decided to turn on the flood lights he had mounted them several months ago. They lit up the entire five acres around his cabin. Flipping the switch, he looked outside and saw movement at the edge of his property. A deer, white tail flashing in the dark, bounded into the woods. He smiled and wondered what else he had scared away from the orchard. The trees had bore very few fruit, but lots of animals had come by waiting for them to ripen. There was no way he was going to be able to beat them to the fruit.

Entering his office, he sat at his desk adjusting his holster so that it didn't dig into his hip. He turned on his computer and connected to the Internet. After checking out a few web sites, he decided to download a couple of Appleton stories from the Books Online site. He had always enjoyed the Tom Swift stories as a young boy and had been shocked to learn that they were now available online. The stories were corny by today's standards, but they reminded him of a time in his life when a young boy, armed with a tool set, could go on wonderful adventures.

He had downloaded three stories when he suddenly lost his connection to the Internet. That wasn't anything to worry about that, he was so far from the telephone switching station that his line was usually pretty unreliable. He pulled up the first story and started reading. Chuckling at the use of the word, 'chum', he realized he hadn't read that word in ages. He wondered if anyone even used that word anymore. Reading the story, he realized how much the language had changed in a hundred years.

He was about a third of the way through the third chapter of the story when he heard a noise outside the cabin. Standing, his hand moved to the holstered pistol automatically. As he left the office, he picked up the pump shotgun by the door. The lights in the house were off with the exception of a few night lights. They produced enough light that he could move easily through the house yet didn't give individuals outside a target to shoot at.

He looked through the front window and saw CJ running towards the house screaming. She was naked and he could see long red scratches where she had run into branches in her dash through the woods. He opened the front door and shouted, "The door is open. Get in."

She ran into the house and collapsed upon entering the house. She was sobbing and crying so much that it was hard for him to understand what she was saying. She finally calmed down enough to say, "They got him."

Glen had already figured that out. He handed her the shotgun and shook her to get her attention. When she was looking at him, he said, "I'm going over there in a minute. I want you to stay here. Lock the doors. Shoot anything that moves outside. You'll have to shoot through the glass of the window, so stand back from it. I'll come here with the Sheriff. You'll see his lights flashing. Until then, shoot anything that moves. That includes me. Do you understand?"

She shivered and answered, "Yes."

He said, "I'm going to turn off the lights outside. I want you to turn them back on in five minutes, okay?"

She answered, "Yes."

"Good. Get some clothes out of my room and put them on. That should take you about five minutes. Once you're dressed turn on the lights."

CJ looked blankly down at her naked body and then up at him. She said, "Okay."

He was now giving her explicit things to do and that gave her something to concentrate on. Returning to the front door, he closed and locked it. He moved to the back door and flipped all of the switches off. The lights outside went out throwing everything into darkness. He grabbed the shotgun by the back door and picked up some extra shells. Heart racing a hundred miles an hour, he stepped onto the back porch while closing and locking the door behind him. He crouched down and ran directly to the woods, entering them near the white flag he had set there for that purpose.

He found the rope that they had strung through the woods. The lights came on behind him, early, but not early enough for him to have been spotted getting out here. He took a deep breath as he stood next to the rope, happy to have found it. It marked a cleared path with no fallen branches or major impediments. Moving in a fast walk he held his right hand out and letting it brush against the rope. His pace was fast since he didn't have to look where he was going. He was at the midway point when he heard a horrible scream cut through the night with chilling effect.

He picked up his pace, afraid that he was too late. He couldn't run too fast because there was always the chance of tripping or falling in the dark. After five minutes, he reached the end of the rope. Looking around, he found that he was exactly where he expected to be - behind and to the side of the house. Two trees in front of him hung a white scarf on one of the branches.

He knelt down and examined the situation. The sliding glass doors to the sauna room had been smashed. Glen swore as he stared at them, the damage had confirmed his fears that would be how they would enter the house. Based on the way that CJ was dressed, they had actually been in the sauna when the fanatics broke in.

He crept towards the front of the house, keeping cover by keeping close to the woods. Moving slowly and carefully, he inched forward since he didn't want to rush in and possibly jeopardize Cliff. Despite the scream he had heard in the woods, he still hoped they hadn't done anything too serious yet.

When the front yard came into view, his stomach heaved, but he fought to keep its contents down. Without regard to his safety, he charged the two men that he saw standing there. He fired the shotgun, knowing even as he pulled the trigger that they were too far away for it to do much good. The men fled and he followed, firing at them the entire time. He could hear others running away from the scene as well.

He followed them to the road, hearing them start up a number of vehicles. He fired the last round in his shotgun at the fleeing cars. He pulled his pistol and emptied it in the direction of the cars. He screamed as the last car disappeared behind a bend in the road, "I'm going to fucking kill each and every one of you bastards! You are dead meat! Do you hear me? I'm going to kill you as fucking slow as I can!"

Glen collapsed on the road, losing the contents of his stomach. Tears blinded him as he retched. He stayed there for at least ten minutes, on his hands and knees, filled with rage at the fanatics and anger at his own impotence at preventing this. Beaten, he finally picked up his shotgun and pistol. The empty pistol was returned to its holster. He reloaded the shotgun after checking the barrel.

He walked back to Cliff's house like a beaten man. When he saw Cliff tied to the stake, he bent over again and threw up. The bonfire at his feet continued to consume the lifeless flesh. Glen went to the front of the house looking for a hose to put out the fire, but there was nothing. He kicked in the front door and went to the phone. The line was dead. He realized they must have cut the line before attacking. That was when he had lost his Internet connection.

Glen searched the house and found the car keys. Numbly, he carried them to Cliff's truck, struggling to make it work. He headed towards town to get the Sheriff and then thought better of it. He stopped at the first house that he saw and pulled into their driveway. Honking the horn several times to get the owners attention, he got out and was approaching the house when the owner stepped out onto the porch with a shotgun. The two armed men looked at each other for a minute. Glen finally broke the silence by shouting, "Call the Sheriff. There's been a murder at the Metchette place."

The man stared at Glen for a moment and then croaked, "Murder?"

Glen snapped, "Yes, a murder. Get the Sheriff."

The man shouted into the house, "Honey, call the Sheriff. Tell them there's been a murder at the Ö"

Glen finished it for him. He shouted, "Metchette place. Tell him this is Glen Wiseman!"

The man on the porch asked, "That you, Glen?"

"Yes."

The man lowered the shotgun with relief. He knew Glen only slightly, but Glen had a good reputation. Word had gotten out about all of the charity work he had done in the area. He had met Glen at the Orphanage as a member of the Elks that had catered the Christmas Eve Party there. He remembered the wooden chests that Glen had created for each child and the happiness that Glen had delivered. He called over, "Damn, I didn't recognize you. All I could see was the shotgun in your hand."

Glen looked down and realized for the first time that he was carrying the shotgun. He set it down and collapsed on the driveway. He couldn't move or talk, his shoulders shook as he cried like a baby. The man on the porch came over to him awkwardly, not used to dealing with an emotional outburst from another man. He shifted nervously from foot to foot trying to decide what to do.

Glen realizing that the man was watching him, slowly pulled himself together. He looked up and said, "They burned him at the stake."

The man came to a decision and called to the house, "Honey, I'm taking Glen over to his place to wait for the Sheriff there. I'll be home late."

His wife came to the front porch and shouted back, "I've called them and they are on their way. Don't go doing anything crazy out there, you hear me?"

The man groaned and shouted back, "You know me better than that, woman!"

The man helped Glen to the passenger side of the truck. Once Glen was inside, he went around and got in the drivers seat. He started up the truck and backed out of his drive. It didn't take him long to get to the driveway of Cliff's house. Glen said, "Stop here."

The man said, "I'll take you to your house. You need to recover."

Glen shook his head and said, "CJ is over there. I told her to shoot anyone and anything until the law arrives. That included me."

The man parked the car along the road. Glen said, "You may want to grab a gun from the gun rack. No telling if they'll come back."

The man pointed to his shotgun next to him and said, "Brought my own."

Glen nodded and said, "Let's get out of the truck. Too easy of a target."

They exited the vehicle and could hear the siren cutting through the silent country air. It was almost impossible to tell how far away there were. Glen positioned himself behind a tree facing the road and waited. His hands were shaking so hard that he could hardly hold the gun.

He had no idea what happened to him, but the next thing he knew was the powerful smell of ammonia salts assaulted his nose. Looking up, he saw the Sheriff looking down at him. Glen groaned and said, "Those fucking monsters killed him."

The Sheriff had already seen what remained of the body. He was more concerned about CJ and asked, "Where's CJ?"

Glen answered, "She's at my place. If you go over there, you better be in a car with flashing lights. I told her to shoot anyone except the law."

Relieved, the Sheriff turned away for a second and said, "Jim, get Glen in your car. Go over to his place and get CJ. Keep your cherries on. Once you have them both, take them to the hospital. Don't bother stopping once you are on your way."

Glen found himself stumbling towards a car door being directed by an arm around his back and a hip against his side. He fell into the car and sat there numbly. It seemed like he had just gotten in the car when he was joined by CJ. He looked out the window as the scenery flashed by. He knew, even as the highway signs flashed by, that he wouldn't remember the drive in the morning.

He was led from the car by a helpful nurse. In the emergency room, he remembered crying some more and then a needle. There was nothing until morning when he woke in a hospital bed. CJ was in the bed next to his. He looked around in panic as the events of the night before returned. The Sheriff was in the room and a state trooper was in the hallway outside the door.

Glen, in an empty tone of voice, said, "They got him."

Dale answered, "Yes they did."

"I tried to kill them, but they got away."

"You were lucky. It looks like you actually hit a couple of them. We found blood trails from several points to the road. They were waiting to ambush you, but didn't expect you to come from the woods like you did."

Glen listened to what the Sheriff said and tried to make sense of it. He had been shooting wildly in the dark. He asked, "How do you know what they were trying to do?"

"We caught one of them before he died. He was only too happy to answer my questions."

Glen got out of the bed. His legs felt weak, but he was basically okay. He said, "Excuse me a minute."

The Sheriff glanced at the bathroom and chuckled. He said, "I predict that if I don't excuse you, then you'll piss on me rather than in the bathroom."

Glen chuckled as he walked to the bathroom. He closed the door behind himself and splashed some water on his face. He cupped his hands and took a mouthful of water out of them. He rinsed his mouth and then spat out the water. The taste of hours old vomit in his mouth threatened to make him sick again. He stepped up to the toilet and released a strong stream of urine. The act of pissing brought him back in touch with reality. No matter what human and emotional concerns you have, biology is still the king.

He returned to the room feeling much better. He actually noticed that he was walking around with his bare ass hanging out the back of the hospital gown. He climbed back into the bed and asked, "What time is it?"

"It's ten. We let you sleep."

Glen thought about his plans for the day and said, "I have to leave here soon to pick up the twins at the airport."

Dale shook his head and replied, "No. We already have that in hand. A trooper is going to meet them there with my wife."

"That's going to scare the hell out of them."

Well aware of what would happen at the airport, he said, "My wife will be there. She's good at that kind of thing."

CJ stirred in the other bed. She woke up and looked around. Looking over at her, Glen could see the fear etched in her face and understood its source. Cliff must have put a pretty good fight for her to escape. If they were lucky, she had no idea what would have happened to her if she had been caught. She looked at Glen and tears formed in her eyes. She said, "They got him."

Solemnly, Glen nodded and said, "Yes, CJ. They got him."

"You couldn't save him?"

He sighed and then answered, "I was too late."

CJ cried for a minute while the two men watched her. The Sheriff held her hand to comfort her. When she had recovered a little, she said, "He fought like a maniac so that I could get away. It was four against him, but I think he killed one. I ran and ran as fast as I could. I got lost and couldn't find the weapons or the horn. I finally saw your lights and headed towards them."

Glen wondered if he had been given a little more time that maybe things would have worked out better. He said, "You did what you were supposed to do. It was night and you did the best you could. I don't know if I or the Sheriff could have done any better."

"Thank you."

"You're welcome," replied Glen. He looked over at the Sheriff and asked, "So how many of them did we get?"

The Sheriff looked at CJ and then at Glen. He decided they needed to know the truth. He said, "Well, it looks like Cliff got two of them, but we haven't found their bodies. You killed one and wounded at least three others. One of the wounded ones was found in the woods and was killed trying to escape after being questioned."

Glen understood exactly what the Sheriff meant. He nodded and said, "The questioning. What did you find out?"

The Sheriff licked his lips and said, "It was hinted that they would come back for you and the twins after the funeral."

Glen was quiet for a long time. Now that he had recovered from the shock of the events of the previous night, he was angry. It wasn't the kind of anger that led a man to slam doors and kick things. This was the kind of slow burning anger that made a man the most dangerous. He was going to go hunting and his prey this time would be human.

CJ looked at Glen and saw the set of his jaw and the narrowing of his eyes. She said, "Include me in your plans. I need it as much as you do."

Glen looked at her and nodded. The Sheriff licked his lips and said, "Include us in a way that we can protect ourselves in case of an investigation."

Glen nodded as he realized that he had two days to get ready for them. He could count on Wanda and Sandra to help; they would want the chance to even the score. Oliver would help as well. He wasn't sure what he could have CJ do, but he would think of something. They could get three, maybe four, guns against how ever many of them there were. He looked around and said, "I'll make plans. Everyone will have something they can do that won't get them in trouble. I would assume that a group that has shown the kind of disregard for life this group has shown, have established a good enough case for self defense?"

The Sheriff answered, "Well, I think it's time for me to get a cup of coffee. I know that any plans you might make for self-defense against such a heinous group won't represent a premeditated plan for a massacre."

Glen smiled as he watched the Sheriff leave the room. At a gesture from Dale, the Deputy outside the door moved so that he couldn't hear the discussion inside the room. Glen turned to CJ and said, "I know that you feel like grieving. I would like to ask you to concentrate on protecting yourself for now. There will be plenty of time for grieving later."

CJ sighed. The sigh carried with it an emptiness that would not be filled for a long time. It hurt Glen to hear it. She said, "Call Oliver. He will want to help. The three of us have been dating."

Glen nodded and answered, "I thought that would be the case. I'll talk to him and include him in our plans."

He looked over at her and saw that she barely had control of her emotions. He got out of the bed and walked over to CJ holding out his arms for her. Sitting up, she hugged him. He let her cry for several minutes, rocking her gently in his arms. The tension slowly leaked from her, but she never relaxed. He let her cry until she was cried out. He continued to hug her until she released him. Easing her back into to the bed, he ran a hand along her chin and said, "Get some more rest. I'll be back in a little while."

She nodded and closed her eyes while he watched her until she fell asleep. Knowing she was safe for the moment, he went to the hanger and found his clothes. After dressing, he stepped into the hall where the deputy moved over to him. The Deputy asked, "Glen, planning on going somewhere?"

Glen answered, "I'm going to the nurses station and get checked out of here. Then I'm going to get something to eat. After that, I'm going to make some calls. I'll be back here to watch over CJ."

The Deputy had a problem - he was supposed to watch over the two of them and that wasn't possible if they split up. Knowing that Glen could take care of himself, he decided that the Sheriff's niece was the one that he would watch over. He said, "The nurses station is over there."

Glen went to the nurses station and talked quietly to the nurse on duty. Surprisingly, they had not been officially checked into the hospital and he was free to leave when ever he desired. Glen smiled as he thought about how small towns really did take care of their own.

Initially, Glen headed to the diner, but made a detour to Oliver's house. Pulling up in the driveway, he received a number of looks from the neighbors. It was seldom that houses in the black area of town had white visitors. Glen looked around and noted that segregation still had a hold of rural America in subtle ways. Knocking on the door, he waited patiently for Oliver to come to the door. On opening it, he saw Glen and said, "Shit, I heard news this morning. Christ man, did they really burn him alive?"

Looking at Oliver, Glen realized that redness in his eyes indicated that the man had been crying. Glen bit his lower lip to drive away any emotional responses and said, "Yes, they did."

Now that he was coming to grips with his grief, Oliver began to get very angry about the situation. He felt helpless to do anything. He had started to love Cliff and CJ and now he felt a like a widower. He asked, "You are going after them, aren't you?"

"Yes."

Oliver stepped out into the front yard of his house. Putting his fingers in his mouth, he gave out a loud whistle. Before he had even ended his whistle, men were coming out of the houses and headed towards them. Most of them looked at Glen with distrust and an undercurrent of anger. Glen watched, impressed with the way they looked out for each other. When everyone had arrived, Oliver said, "Everyone, this is Glen. He's a friend of mine. A mutual friend of ours was murdered last night by a mob."

The men gathered there shifted uneasily, but Oliver had their attention. The looks they gave Glen changed slightly in tone. Oliver said, "I'm going to hunt them bastards down."

A couple of the men shook their heads and walked away saying, "Not our place."

The remainder stayed and nodded their agreement. One of them asked, "What do you need us to do?"

Glen looked at each man in the eye before he answered, "They are coming to my place the night of the funeral to finish the job. I need lookouts and folks that can shoot."

One of the other men asked, "How many men have you already got?"

"Myself, his girlfriend, and his two sisters."

"Shit! Three women?"

Glen laughed and answered, "Two of them can hit a quarter at a hundred yards, 49 out of 50 shots. I'd like to see how many men can do that."

Even Oliver looked skeptical at that. Glen said, "They've been out shooting fifty rounds of.22's and five rounds of.30-06 every morning and evening for the past four months. They are good."

One of the men asked, "What about the law?"

Glen looked at the ground unwilling to implicate the Sheriff in his willingness to look away. He answered, "Some folks may not realize that these people tried to kill the Sheriff not too long ago. He's a little pissed at them right now. I doubt he's going to work too hard on stopping me in teaching them a lesson."

Five of the men agreed to participate. Glen reached out with his hand in friendship and thanks. He shook hands with everyone there, even those that refused to participate. He said, "Any friend of Oliver is a friend of mine. You are all invited to come out with him to fish in my trout stream."

The men all looked at each other with the kind of smile that comes from having discovered a secret and then at Oliver. His embarrassed grin spoke volumes. He said, "Damn, you've just given away my secret fishing hole. They've been after me for months to tell them where it is."

"Sorry to do that to you Oliver, but I appreciate the fact that they are willing to help. Those that chose not to help, at least gave me a fair and reasonable chance to put forth my case. They are good men and I'm proud to have met them."

Oliver smiled and looked over the men that were gathered there. They were looking at Glen with earned respect. The man had come and talked to them as equals, stated the facts and accepted their decisions. He said, "They are all kin of mine."

"I knew you came from good family. This proves it." Glen nodded to everyone and said, "It'll take me a day to figure out a good plan. I'll let Oliver know as soon as I've come up with one."

Glen got in his truck and left, heading directly to the diner. He entered and half the people in the diner turned to look at him. The owner came out and asked, "How's CJ?"

Glen answered, "She's very upset about the loss of her boyfriend. They were actually thinking about getting married."

The manager swore and asked, "Is there anything that I can do to help?"

Loudly, he answered, "Anyone that wants to help can come to me after the funeral service for Cliff. I'll have a better idea what's going to happen then."

One of the other patrons shouted, "You need someone that can use a gun?"

Glen looked at the man who spoke and nodded. He said, "Yes, guns might be very useful if they should come back to my place."

Glen noticed a number of patrons looking around nervously at that. He didn't really want to make a public announcement that he was setting the fanatics up for a turkey shoot. He added, "Of course, a friendly call when not so friendly folks are on the way is just as useful."

A number of the patrons that had looked nervous, suddenly grinned as they saw a way of helping that wouldn't place them or theirs in harms way. Glen had gotten a lot more help than even he realized. He hadn't known that during the vigil at the hospital, numerous people in town had problems with the fanatics. The fanatics had tried to shut down several businesses because they catered to the evil in people. They included cosmetics, dress stores with colorful clothes, and even fast food as subversive pleasures.

He sat down and ordered the lunch special. People stopped by his table to talk quietly about how they could possibly help. Glen was overwhelmed by the support from the community. Although no one explicitly mentioned it, every knew that this was war. Glen hadn't declared it, but he was going to be standing when it was over.

After lunch, he returned to the hospital. CJ was up and moving. She had dressed in some clothes that the Sheriff had brought for her. She smiled up at Cliff and asked, "So, have you gathered a cavalry?"

Glen sat down in the chair and answered, "Yes, I did. We've got a number of folks offering to provide arms. There are others wanting to be advanced lookouts. Still others will do what ever is necessary to help us."

CJ asked, "What can I do?"

Glen was quiet for a moment and then stated, "I'm going to place you in the hunting stand at the back of the property. You're going to be our lookout. We are not going to do anything until you tell us to."

CJ smiled and replied, "That's good. I know how to shoot, but I'm not that good. I was sitting here wondering what I could really do. I realize I panicked last night and you don't need that when they come for you."

They left the hospital shortly after that. Last night he hadn't been able to remember the name of the man that had helped him. This morning it came back to him. The guy was George Davis. He decided to stop by the Davis place and thank them for helping him out last night.

Pulling into their driveway, he got out of the truck and looked back at CJ. She stayed in the truck, she wasn't up to dealing with too many people yet. This time, he made sure that he wasn't armed when he approached the house. He knocked on the door. The wife answered the door and looked at Glen. She said, "Oh, hello Glen. Are you doing all right now? You were pretty upset last night."

Glen nodded and said, "I wanted to stop by and thank you and your husband for all of your help last night."

She said, "Hey, all I did was call the Sheriff. It must have been a bad scene last night."

Glen asked, "Why did you say that?"

She frowned and then said, "George came home afterwards. He sat in the living room for about three hours. He was crying. I've never seen him do that."

Glen nodded and said, "It was pretty bad. I'm sorry to have involved you in it."

She got a misty look in her eye and said, "I knew Cliff from the grocery store. He was always helpful. He used to hand out little cards to the kids that were in the store and tell them they had to be good. If they were good, they would get a tootsie pop at the counter. If they were real good, they could fill in the card to have a chance win the chance to fill a bag with candy. Those of us who had to shop with cranky kids really appreciated that."

Glen hadn't ever heard that before. It was the kind of thing that Cliff would do. He probably paid for it out of his paycheck, too. He realized that you could know someone very well, live with them for months at a time, and there were still lots of things that you didn't know.

When Glen returned to his truck, CJ smiled at him and asked, "We are going to your place?"

"Yes, we are. Wanda and Sandra will be there soon. I want to have the place ready for them."

At the house, CJ and Glen worked hard to straighten it up. CJ worked around the house cleaning things two and three times as a way to keep her mind off the events of the previous night. The telephone was working now and he called the Sheriff learning that the twins were to be home anytime soon. The state trooper and his wife knew better than to take them by their house, but to bring them to his. He made several other calls, including one to make the funeral arrangements. He was careful not to talk loud enough for CJ to overhear. Tomorrow, he would go in and pay for the arrangements.

The coffee finished brewing before the state trooper pulled up. Wanda and Sandra got out of the car and ran to the house. Glen went to them and hugged them tightly. They were both red eyed from crying. They had cried the entire drive from the airport. Glen held them and whispered little terms of endearments to them both. They held him tightly as if they were afraid that if they were to let go, then they would loose him too.

He slowly got them into the house. Helena followed, a discrete distance, behind them. She looked tired and drawn. When she saw CJ, she ran to her niece and hugged her tightly. The two women cried softly; CJ at her loss and Helena as a caring relative.

Glen got coffee for the twins after getting them situated on the couch. He joined them on the couch holding them against him. They snuggled up and slowly the tension eased out of them. It took a while, but they fell asleep. Glen stayed there for a long time.

The trooper carried in their luggage and then whispered, "The Sheriff will be here in a while to pick up Helena."



-------

Chapter 20


In the dark, the cold sucked the warmth from Glen as he lay on the ground near the edge of the woods. The ground had begun to give up its heat at the end of September as nights cooled down. By the end of October, the ground was cold. Lying upon it, the ground felt like ice. The night air was chill, the faint breeze cut through his clothes making him even more miserable. He shivered, but did his best not to make noise.

The past two days had been more exhausting than a human being should have to experience. He had made the funeral arrangements for Cliff. Spaces for parking twenty cars behind Cliff's house had taken him hours to clear. He had taken care of the twins and CJ, none of whom wanted to leave his side. Last night, he had written an editorial for the next edition of the magazine that explained what happened when narrow minded people decided that you were evil. The hardest thing to deal with had been the press. Gathering in town like vultures circling a dead cow, they wouldn't leave him alone.

The funeral had lasted longer than expected and was very well attended. Even the twins were surprised by how many people knew Cliff and liked him. Oliver and his whole family had shown up. Just about every customer that he had ever helped in the store was there. After a request from the pastor of the church, they had decided to give people a chance to get up and tell a story about Cliff. The number of stories about how he had helped this person or that person was overwhelming. The twins cried through most of it; CJ was inconsolable.

Glen's recollections of the funeral were interrupted when the radio ear-piece crackled. George announced, "A caravan of cars has just gone by our place. They'll be there soon."

A minute later another voice said, "The bastards just turned onto the road."

Glen pressed the button that would allow him to talk. He said, "Okay everyone, get comfortable and stay still. You won't be cold much longer. It's show time."

Glen took his own advice and shifted to where he would be more comfortable. The change in position was necessary. He could hear others shifting around him as a sudden need to piss flooded over him. Another crackle followed. Sue, their researcher, said, "They've stopped in front of the other house. Someone has gotten out and they are checking out the place."

Glen waited for the next update. He had placed people at key points along the road to make sure that they didn't end up with them coming through the woods behind them. He was glad that he had done that now. There were people in the woods around the Metchette home. He had been afraid that they would attack there thinking that the twins were in the house. To convince them otherwise, the door was still open from when he had kicked it in the other night.

Another crackle on the radio and then Sue announced, "The man went into the house. He didn't find anyone and is on his way back to the cars."

Glen smiled, happy that his ploy had worked. Everything was going exactly like he had planned. All of the people helping had park in the woods in the area he had cleared earlier. Their cars would not be visible unless someone went behind the house and followed the path there for a good distance. He had put it there for that reason and one other. Everyone that volunteered had to drive past the spot where Cliff had been staked and burned. It was a very visible reminder of the type of people with whom they were dealing. He didn't want anyone to feel guilty for their actions tonight and a reminder that they were dealing with a pack of murderers would help assure that... He hoped that no one would feel bad for anything they did tonight.

The ear-piece crackled again. Oliver said, "They've stopped in front of the drive and are getting out. They are all armed."

Glen didn't say anything and wouldn't say anything until he gave the order to fire. In the darkness, he couldn't make out much other than a few human figures moving across the field. The moon, a little past full was hidden behind clouds. CJ said over the radio, "They are at quarter field. Get ready with the lights. Front and left only."

He glanced at the hunting stand in the corner of his property where CJ, with night vision glasses, watched the religious fanatics move towards his house. Her position allowed her to spot anyone trying to sneak around the edges of the woods.

The fanatics moved directly toward the house, spreading out as they went. The lights in the house were on and a dummy was placed by the window. CJ said over the radio, "They are at midfield. Trio, your target is in the back. Your call now."

Glen took a deep breath before pressing the talk button. With a calmness that he didn't feel, he said, "Lights and Fire at will."

The lights of the house came on illuminating two dozen men spread out across the field. Most of the fanatics raised their rifles and fired blindly at the house. Glen had expected that. With the lights shining in the eyes of the fanatics and his people in the dark, they had a great advantage.

Glen looked through the sight of his rifle at Anderson and taking a deep breath let half of it out. Holding his breath, he put the crosshairs in the center of Anderson's chest and squeezed the trigger. He could hear the twins fire together a split second later. Anderson flew back at least six feet. The distance covered by Anderson when he was hit, suggested to Glen that the twins had aimed at him also. His was the first shot from the people in the woods, but it was immediately followed by a thunderous roar from each side of him.

He worked the bolt on his gun to put another round in the chamber and took aim. He finally had a clear shot at the Reverend Jonathan Corwin. Rather than aiming at his chest, he lowered the scope until it was aimed at his stomach. He squeezed the trigger and watched the Reverend collapse to the ground holding his stomach. The Reverend stayed on his knees for a second and then fell forward.

By now, the majority of the men that had been sneaking toward the cabin were on the ground. The others, realizing they were exposed and without cover turned to ran back towards their cars. Glen watched as they fell to the hail of bullets around them. He fired a round at one of the men and watched him drop. He put another round in the rifle by working the bolt and aimed at a fourth man. The man dropped before he had a chance to fire. He looked around for another target, but didn't find one.

A pair of men who had been well behind the rest actually made it to the road. Shotguns wielded by Oliver and his uncles sounded. In the field, no one was left standing. Without targets, everyone stopped shooting. The sudden silence was as deafening as the shooting had been.

Glen remembered that one of the Special Forces guys had told him that most fire fights last for less than two minutes. He wondered how long this one had lasted. It felt like forever, but he only had enough time to get off four shots and had only fired three times. He imagined that less than two minutes had passed between the first and last shot.

He took a minute to scan the field for movement. There wasn't any. Glen stood up and touched the button on his radio. He spoke into the microphone, "Okay folks. It's time for most of you to go home. The Sheriff will be here in about thirty minutes and there's no need for him to know who was here. Follow the ropes back to your cars. Let Sue know that you have left. If anyone is hurt or missing, we don't want to find out to late to help them. I personally want to thank everyone that came tonight."

He could hear calls from along the woods as people shouted, "You're welcome."

Wanda and Sandra came over to Glen. They had their arms around each other, spiritually supporting one another. Leaning over to them, he kissed them both. Worried about their safety, he said, "You had better get in the house. CJ will join you there."

They looked towards the house and didn't move. Hugging them both, he said, "I love you so much. I just want to know you're safe."

They smiled at him and then walked over to the cabin while he watched them go. They stayed in the dark and approached the rear of the house. The door opened well before they reached the cabin as CJ entered it. He watched the field checking for any movement and checked their progress to make sure that they reached the door safely. The door opened, but he didn't move until they had entered the cabin.

He turned and strode out into the field carrying his rifle at the ready. If he spotted any movement, he was going to fire. He was a solitary figure moving in the open space and looked small. His shadow stretched across the length of the field, a silhouette painted on the trees at the far end. He walked with a purposeful stride until he reached the first body. He knelt down and checked it for signs of life. There were none.

He went from body to body checking each one. He had not realized just how bad a bullet from a hunting rifle could tear someone up. Of course, almost everyone was using rifles that could bring down a charging Bull Moose. He came across Anderson's body. Three shots, all of them within an inch of each other were centered on the front of his chest. There was nothing left of his back where the bullets had exited.

Glen didn't feel remorse for the damage done to Anderson. Anderson had seen the evil that the Reverend Jonathan Corwin had spread before joining his group. He had seen Wanda battered and bruised by that cowardly attack. The fact that he had joined, signified to Glen that the man was basically evil. The attack on the Sheriff was a cowardly move. He had no pity to spare for a man that would utilize a man's medicine as a weapon against him.

Glen continued checking bodies, looking for any that may have survived. He found himself checking the same people twice and realized that he had been walking in circles. He needed some way of marking who he had checked so that he didn't walk over to them again.

He stopped his search when he reached the Reverend Jonathan Corwin. The man was still moving and groaning. Glen knelt down next to him after making sure there wasn't a gun within reach of the man. The Reverend Jonathan Corwin, voice weak from his injuries, said, "Demon, you've killed a lot of good Christians. I know your master in hell is happy."

Glen was quiet for a moment and then said, "We didn't hunt you down. We didn't threaten your people. We didn't jump your wives and beat the hell out of them. We didn't grab one of your people and burn them at the stake. You did all of that and yet you see us as evil?"

"You are a Satanist. You killed Christians working for the glory of God."

"All injuries your people received were delivered in self defense."

The Reverend was livid. His rage gave his voice strength as he said, "My people have fought witchcraft for centuries. My children shall continue the work of the Lord and see that you are sent to hell."

"Give it up already. The only ones you are sending to hell are your followers."

"Never. Evil must be stopped." The Reverend twisted on the ground from the pain in his abdomen.

Glen answered, "Today, good triumphed over evil. I know you won't believe that, but it did."

Glen looked up as Oliver strolled over to him. He could tell that Oliver had been pushed almost to his limits. There was a tension in the way he moved that Glen had never seen in him before now. Oliver had gone from car to car along the street checking to make sure that no one was in them. They had not seen anyone stay with the cars, but he had to check. He had never been so scared in his life as when he went from car to car expecting to get shot at any second.

Oliver stopped and examined a couple of the bodies as he came driven by the fear that one of them would sit up and shoot him. Taking his time to reach Glen, he knelt down on the other side of Reverend Corwin. Looking at the man on the ground, he asked, "Are you the Reverend Jonathan Corwin?"

The Reverend's eyes grew large at the sight of the black man., convinced he was the master of lies come to gloat over his victory. He shouted, "Satan! Be gone!"

Oliver laughed at the comment with a chilling effect on the Reverend. Of course, it only made sense that Satan was a black man. The man's lack of imagination was staggering. There was no way that Oliver could convince the Reverend that he was a devoutly religious man. He had actually stopped by his church on the way here to get blessed by the preacher - asking that a prayer be said over him to protect him from evil.

All goodness aside, he couldn't resist the temptation the Reverend presented. He looked up to heaven for forgiveness and said, "I came here to send your soul to hell. You were a most perfect vessel for evil, but failed your mission."

The Reverend screamed in terror as he believed the statement. With a weak gesture he pointed to Glen and shouted, "He's the evil one."

Resisting the temptation to look at Oliver, Glen said, "May God have mercy on your soul. You were corrupted by pride, that most insidious of mortal sins, and committed murder in your desire for power over your followers."

The Reverend didn't appear to hear a word Glen stated. His eyes, wide with fright, were fixed on Oliver. His forehead broke out in a cold sweat, fed by fear. Oliver said, "He's a good man and is protected by God. He fought evil this night and won. You are the evil one here."

Glen almost laughed aloud at that, but kept control of himself. He could see the realization cross the Reverend's face as he considered his life. Over the last few minutes he had begun to see the evil that he had done in the Lord's name. The terror felt by the Reverend as he imagined the hell he was facing was plainly written across his face.

Oliver reached out for the Reverend. The Reverend let loose a loud scream of terror and died before Oliver had a chance to touch him. Checking for a pulse and not finding one, he stood up and said, "I'm probably going to go to hell for that, but I just couldn't resist. It wasn't right for him to die thinking he was the good guy."

Glen realized that the Reverend had died of fright. He didn't think it was possible, even though he had grown up his entire life hearing that phrase. He said, "I understand why you might feel guilt. However, you also gave him one last chance to repent before he died. That was something that his pride wouldn't have allowed him to admit unless faced with the devil himself."

"Perhaps you're right. Maybe it was for the good after all."

Glen stood up as the sound of a siren broke the quiet of the night. Saddened, he looked around at the scene of death arrayed on his beautiful front lawn. He knew that he would never be able to look upon it the same way as he had in the past. Aloud, he said, "They ruined this place of beauty for me."

Putting a hand on Glen's shoulder, Oliver said, "The seasons shall wash the land clean."

Glen looked down at himself and asked, "What can wash my soul clean?"

The sight of Glen standing there with filled with self-doubt hurt Oliver. He had seen how Glen had tried to protect Cliff and the twins. He said, "The only sin that I've seen here tonight was the misbegotten pride that those people had. They placed themselves above man, law, and country. They thought they were the right- hand of God. What is that? Pride."

Glen sighed and said, "You're right. Still, I feel dirty."

"That's because you're a good man," replied Oliver.

Glen led Oliver to the house to wait for the Sheriff. The sirens slowly moved closer, but were still quite distant. The Sheriff had promised to take his time responding to the call unless he had been told that all hell had broken loose. Since the call to the office had been a normal sounding emergency call, he took his time.

At the house, the twins, CJ, and, Harvey, the owner of the restaurant, were drinking coffee. Everyone's hands were shaking slightly as they held the cups. A danger induced Adrenaline rush had that effect on the body. Glen looked around the room and then examined the women more carefully, seeking any sign of harm. Everyone, despite the expected after effects of the excitement, looked calm. He didn't trust it. He asked, "Is everyone alright?"

Wanda answered, "No, butÖ"

"Ö it's better nowÖ"

"Ö that we don't haveÖ"

"Ö to be afraid." Sandra finished the sentence. Glen noticed that the more dangerous the situation, the more the twins thought and acted alike. Those kinds of situations seemed to make them fuse closer together. It would be hours before they stopped completing each other's sentences.

He said, "They are all gone. There's no one left to worry about."

The twins answered in one voice, "Thank God."

Glen turned to CJ and asked, "How are you doing?"

CJ frowned as she said, "I hate to say this, but that felt good and horrible both. I feel guilty about my actions, but satisfied knowing that they've paid for Cliff's death and that I was part of taking them down."

Glen put a hand on CJ's shoulder. He said, "What you are feeling is completely normal. I don't know what to tell you to make you feel better. Perhaps you might want to talk to Helena about what you are feeling. You are going to have mixed emotions about this for a long time. I still have nightmares about Amos Orvin and what I did to him. I've never regretted it, but I have a hard time accepting my role in his death at times."

Smiling up at him, grateful at the knowledge that what she was feeling was normal, CJ said, "Thanks. That helps."

He went back to the twins and joined them on the couch. The radio crackled in his voice as Sue reported, "everyone that came here has left. I'm on my way out now. Have a nice one folks."

Glen touched the radio button and said, "You too, Sue. Thanks a bunch."

Oliver went to CJ and hugged her. The two of them moved to the dining room and sat together at the table holding hands. Watching them, Glen was glad that Oliver was here for CJ as she needed someone for her and her alone. He knew that she always felt like the third wheel when Glen was with the twins. She needed comfort right now and the full attention of someone.

Harvey waited patiently out of the way, sipping his coffee from the cup held in trembling hands. Glen turned to him and stated, "You helped out significantly. I hope that none of their shots came close to you."

Harvey sat back in the recliner with eyes wide. He looked around for a second and then asked, "They shot at me?"

Glen pointed to the window behind him. "Check out the window."

The man looked at the glass and noticed the bullet holes for the first time. Somewhat ashamed of himself, he said, "I'll tell you the truth, I was so scared that I huddled up to the wall after I turned on the lights. I didn't notice anything until it got quiet."

"You did exactly what you were supposed to do. There wasn't a person here that wasn't scared enough to piss in their pants. That goes for me too. In fact, when I said that it was show time, I suddenly got this urge to go to the bathroom."

Wanda and Sandra giggled at that. Wanda said, "We thought we were the only ones that felt that way."

Sandra shook her head and said, "We had a hard time staying still because of our bladders."

Harvey laughed, feeling reassured that he hadn't been the only one scared. He said, "Well, it's nice to know that I was in good company."

There was a knock on the door. Glen started in surprise but realized that it was probably safe since the front of the house was lit up with police lights. After checking that everyone was okay, Glen carefully opened the door. Dale stepped into the cabin and looked around. He said, "Let's see. I count six of you. So you six took care of all of those people out there?"

Glen answered, "Well, Harvey stayed in here and turned on the lights so that we could see them. He doesn't like guns."

The Sheriff nodded and said, "So the five of you did all that damage out there?"

Glen took a look at the others gathered there, and said, "I'll take full responsibility."

Dale said, "You know that there are wanted posters on half the men out there. You forget that some of them were escaped prisoners. Are you taking the credit and hence the reward?"

Glen looked at the Sheriff in surprise, but chose to continue as the sole focal point. Looking out the window, he said, "If there were such a set of rewards, then I would donate all of that money to the town. Perhaps to be used for an extension to the library or new uniforms for the high school band."

Dale, recognizing that Glen was willing to take all of the blame, motioned for him to come outside. Outside, Dale pointed to the front of the house. Glen turned and looked at it. The fanatics had been carrying semi-automatic weapons and now the whole front of his cabin was riddled with bullet holes. He stared at it in awe and said, "Shit! I had no idea."

Dale laughed and said, "You're lucky you didn't try to fight them from inside the cabin."

Glen said, "Thick wood walls. Not one bullet made it through. The windows are shot up, though."

"Come with me." Dale led Glen back out into the field. There were about twenty state troopers walking across the pasture. They were marking bodies with little flags as they found them. There were bodies spread all over the field.

Glen almost tripped over one of the bodies and shouted, "There's one here."

One of the troopers came over and marked it with a flag. Glen looked at the gun lying next to the body and realized that it was a semi-automatic. For all he knew, it could have been converted to fully automatic. He asked the trooper, "How many guns like that have you guys found?"

The trooper looked down at the gun and said, "Everyone of them that I've seen was carrying one of those. It looks to me like it has been converted for auto fire. They came here meaning business."

Glen nodded as his suspicion that they would come ready to kill without compunction was proven correct. He was lucky they had found the backup. If it had only been the four of them, they would have surely died. The fact that the fanatics were surprised and wiped out before they could figure out where Glen and his people were hidden had been significant in determining who won and who lost. The lights blinding them had worked very much in his favor.

As the trooper went back to looking for bodies in the field, the Sheriff stated, "Your plan, whatever it was, worked well."

"I was lucky."

The Sheriff said, "Would you like to know something really funny?"

"Sure, I could use a good joke about now," replied Glen as he looked across the field.

"The guy wasn't born Jonathon Corwin, he changed his name to that about ten years ago. He isn't even related to Jonathon Corwin of the witch trials," said the Sheriff. Seeing the look of disbelief on Glen's face, he added, "The Reverend was a lousy historian. The actual Judge Jonathon Corwin disbelieved most of the charges of witchcraft."

Snorting, Glen said, "Our lives would have been a lot better if he had been a better historian."

The Sheriff replied, "I doubt it. He would have said that he was a descendant of the prosecutor or someone else."

Glen was about to answer when there was a shout from across the field. They went over to the excited trooper. He was kneeling over someone that was still moving. Glen squatted next to him and asked, "Who is he?"

The trooper answered, "He says his name is Kurt Carleton."

Glen looked carefully at the man and said, "He's the baby faced guy that attacked Wanda and put her in the hospital."

The Sheriff had noticed the same thing. This guy fit her description of the attacker exactly. He asked, "Have you arrested him?"

"Of course. I also read him his rights. You can ask away."

Glen didn't want to ask questions. Instead, he wanted to poke a finger in the man's wound and stir it around causing as much pain as possible. Restraining himself from his urge, he said, "Tell me about the burning."

Kurt spat out, "We burned that demon spawn and sent him back to hell like he belonged. We tied him up and doused him with gasoline. You should have heard him scream when we lit the fire."

Glen really wanted to his finger in the man's wound. He wished that he could cause as much pain as he could. With a snarl, he responded, "I heard him scream, you sick fuck."

"I would have danced to watch you burn."

Glen growled as he asked, "So, were you the one that tied him up?"

"No, I lit the fire."

Glen lurched forward intending to strangle the guy, but Dale held him back. It took him several minutes, but Glen finally calmed down. He said, "You're an evil bastard. There's nothing in your heart but hate."

"I'm a servant of God. You're the evil one that stood in the way of our work! That demon spawn committed heresy. He had to die for his sins. The harlots should have died for their sins tonight."

Glen frowned and looked away. This man was clearly sick. He asked, "What God do you serve? It clearly isn't the one that told us to Forgive Those Who Trespass Against Us, Let He Who Is Without Sin Cast The First Stone, and Judge Not Least Ye Be Judged."

The man spat, "You twist the words of the Lord so that you can get away with sinning. He detests demons like you."

Glen looked at the Sheriff as he said, "I've always wondered if truly evil people saw themselves as evil. I can't imagine someone good taking such pleasure in the misery of others. Yet, this guy is convinced he's not evil."

The man on the ground started raving about how he would have loved to watch the twins roast. He would have made Glen watch. Not much of what he said was even coherent. The words reminded him of Amos Orvin's last threats to Glen. Glen had killed Amos for those threats. Glen looked up at the Sheriff and asked, "I assume the EMS people will treat him."

Dale nodded and replied, "Of course."

"You should let him die."

Dale said, "You can't mean that."

"You didn't see Cliff burning. You have no idea the horror that was frozen on his face from the moment of his death. It sickens me that this man appears to have enjoyed that. He needs to die." Glen glared at the man on the ground with murder in his eyes.

Dale looked at Glen in horror, wondering if Glen had become such a cold hearted killer. He asked, "Why do you say that?"

"It's the only way the twins or I will be safe. He's never going to give up on killing us."

In a way, Dale understood the position Glen was taking. He wondered how he would feel knowing that someone out there was so dedicated to his death. He grabbed Glen and led him back towards the house. Just outside the cabin, he stopped and looked at Glen noticing the anger on his face. He shouted, "Snap out of it Glen. You got them all and he's going nowhere for a long time."

Saddened, Glen looked at the Sheriff and asked, "You think we got them all? No, we only got the heads of the family. There are kids out there that have been brainwashed to that same kind of thinking. Their wives have been beaten into submission and acceptance of that twisted world view. They will honestly believe that we are demons and should be killed for murdering their husbands and fathers. Do you really think we got them all?"

Dale sighed and asked, "Are you saying that you have to kill all of their families?"

Glen shook his head as he knew that he could never do anything like that. His shoulders slumped like a man defeated. He said, "There's no way I can do that. I'm not like them. We're not like them. It's just that we can't be stupid. We aren't safe and won't ever be safe again."

To say that he was worried about Glen's mental health would have been an understatement. He understood Glen's reasoning, but he couldn't accept that people would hold a grudge against them like that. Then he thought back to the ravings of that madman out in the field. He asked, "What were you thinking when Kurt was making those threats against you?"

"I was remembering Amos. He and Kurt talked exactly alike. They made the same kinds of threats. They were going to kill the twins and make me watch. Then I was going to die a horrible death."

Dale was quiet and looked back at the EMS personnel working on Kurt. Perhaps Glen was right. Amos had tried three times to kill the Metchettes. It was odd that the Metchettes had been targeted so many times. In a soft voice, the Sheriff asked, "Why do you think the Metchettes have been the targets so many times?"

Glen laughed and looked at the Sheriff as if he had asked if the sky was really blue. He said, "You and I are just normal people, with our individual passions. We are jaded. We've seen a lot of the ugliness of life and it has made us hard inside. The Metchettes saw ugliness and responded with fear rather than anger. In spite of everything that has happened to them and even after what they've done today, they are still innocents. Evil feeds on that."

"You don't think they've lost their innocence?"

Glen looked at the Sheriff and pointed at the twins in the house. They could watch them through the window. The twins were serving coffee to Harvey, treating him like a guest. He asked, "Do those two look like jaded people to you?"

The twins brought out some cake and sat there talking to Harvey, finding out more about him and his wife. CJ and Oliver had joined them in the living room. Despite the traces of fear and anger remaining on most faces, the twin's faces were shining, announcing an eagerness for life. Less than an hour after a major gun battle, they were already reaching out to other people with genuine interest. The Sheriff sighed as he said, "You're right."

Glen said, "The reason these madman threatened me with making me watch the Metchettes get tortured was that they wanted to crack that thick shell that I've built against the world. They wanted to drain the last bit of innocence from me. They wanted to suck that residue of marrow from my bones."

"What will you do now?"

Glen sighed and watched the twins move around in the cabin playing hostess. He finally answered, "I'm going to continue to protect them. They are a gift to the world and must be protected."

"What about you?"

"Me? I'm an old embittered man that has lost too much and seen too much evil. My role now in life is as guardian. I'll watch over them and make sure that no one harms them. I'll keep my thoughts to myself so that I don't hurt them. I'll love them the best that I can. In the grand scheme of things, I really don't matter much." Glen knew that by the morning, they would be ready to make love to him. They would snuggle up to him to enjoy the comfort of his arms and the safety he represented. It wasn't a bad future for a man like him.

Dale and Glen went to the pickup truck and lowered the tailgate. The cold metal chilled their asses when they sat on it. Dale asked, "Do you envy them?"

"No, I don't. You can't envy fire for giving off heat and light. You can't envy the twins for giving off love and delight of life."



-------

Chapter 21


Thanksgiving was in a week and the November weather was cold and damp. It threatened to snow, but wasn't cold enough to deliver on that threat. Instead, it rained with a savagery that made one huddle in the house with a feeling of thanks for having a house. Glen walked quickly from the woodshop to the house, trying to keep from getting overly wet.

The twins greeted him with open arms. Both were wearing his shirts and nothing underneath. He couldn't help himself as he tried to peak down the front at the breasts barely covered. They laughed when they noticed where his eyes had drifted. Wanda said, "If you want to see themÖ"

"Ö you should ask us to take off the shirts."

Glen laughed and answered, "Trying to peak is half the fun."

"What's the other half?"

Laughing, Glen suddenly reached out and grabbed both of the twins around their waists. Lifting them in the air, he carried them into the bedroom. As he went, he said, "Unwrapping and playing with them, of course."

Amidst lots of giggling, the twins tried to fight for their release. Glen set them upon the bed and started undressing. The twins, in playful fright, hugged each other and complained that the mean old grump was going to take advantage of them. Their protests were offset by the fact that they were slowly unbuttoning the last remaining buttons on their shirts. Glen after kicking off his boots, nearly fell over trying to get out of his pants. Finally, he freed himself from his blue jeans and leapt on the bed with the twins. The twins removed his briefs, enjoying the sight of his manhood standing at attention and saluting them.

Glen grabbed Sandra and wrestled her to the bed. He tore the shirt off her and began sucking on a breast. His left hand rubbed the nipple of her other breast. Both nipples were erect with excitement. Grabbing his head, she held it to her breast as she winked at Wanda. Sandra whispered in his ear, "I can't wait to have your hot cock in my wet cunt."

Glen moaned in excitement at the sexy talk. He sucked her nipple into his mouth and played with it using his tongue. She took a deep breath from the excitement and said, "Oh, that's so good. I know in a few minutes your cock is going to be pounding into me."

Glen's erection started leaking pre-come. The whole idea of being atop her and pounding away excited him. He took a little nip at her nipple. The suddenness of the sensation drove her to a higher level of excitement. He could feel her spreading her legs beneath him in an invitation to mount her. She whispered, "Oh, you're going to fuck me so hard and strong and long. God, I can't wait to have your cock in me."

Glen had wanted to get down and eat her, but her words were driving him crazy. It was very seldom that she talked dirty, but when she did, she wanted him in her hard and fast. He started to position himself between her spread legs. As he rubbed his cock over her swollen lips, she wiggled down trying to get his cock in her.

He was about to enter her when he felt a finger with lubrication on his ass. The finger pushed a glob of lube into his ass. The force of the action drove his cock into Sandra's waiting cunt. A hand gently kneaded his balls as a blunt object forced itself against his asshole. He thrust into Sandra in one hard push. She screamed and shouted, "Yes, fuck me! Make me scream my pleasure!"

Wanda, standing behind Glen, wore a strap-on dildo. It was a small one, but larger than anything Glen had ever experienced. She pushed against his asshole, watching as it resisted the penetration for a second and then accepted it. The motion drove him into Sandra even more. He slowly pulled his cock back until it almost left her cunt. Wanda slammed into him with the dildo driving him into Sandra. Sandra screamed out, "Yes, that's it. Fuck me. Both of you, fuck me."

Wanda began thrusting awkwardly into Glen. He timed his actions so that his thrusts into Sandra co-incited with the thrusts into him. Grunting and moaning as the sensation of having his cock enveloped by a hot and wet cunt competed with the feeling of fullness in his ass. A rhythm emerged that allowed Wanda to rapidly fuck his ass with the strap-on while rubbing her clit in a most delicious manner.

Sandra, underneath Glen and her sister, was getting pounded double. She could feel Glen's thrusts and the thrusts of the dildo into him. She had started a low keening instinctual scream. Glen gave up all control and began thrusting as hard and fast as he could, emitting a roar like a lion mounting a lioness.

Wanda, approaching orgasm, was hardly withdrawing the dildo at all. She was pushing hard against his ass constantly as her clit responded to very slight changes in pressure. The impending orgasm destroyed all of her control over the dildo. She was shaking and thrusting without thought as her orgasm overtook her by surprise. The strength and power of it was overwhelming. She fell across Glen's back.

Sandra, feeling the effects, began to come. She screamed her pleasure to the ceiling as the muscles in her cunt tried to milk Glen. Her orgasm, once it began, didn't seem to end. She used her legs to entrap both Glen and Wanda in a tight embrace.

Glen, roaring and shouting, started to come. He found himself getting hammered in the ass by Wanda as she recovered while he had come. The sensations stretched out his orgasm. Even with the dildo in his ass, he felt manlier than ever before. He continued to thrust even as he ejaculated into Sandra. His cock was hard as steel and didn't wilt; he just continued to thrust.

Wanda, delighted at seeing him orgasm, had started to pull out of him. When she saw that he was continuing, she started slamming the dildo into him harder than before. The increased action returned her to an orgasmic level very quickly. After that, it was a roller coaster of intense orgasms followed by little reprieves that shortened until she was experiencing orgasms continuously.

Glen had become an animal. His hands had moved under Sandra and were now grasping her by the shoulders. Thrusting into her and pulling her onto him simultaneously, he quit making noises that were even remotely human as he approached his second orgasm.

Sandra had been experiencing orgasms for almost thirty minutes solid. She was trembling and shaking. Her legs fell to the bed, no longer holding Glen and Wanda to her. Her perception of the world had narrowed to her experience of orgasm.

Wanda, in awe at the sight of Glen's animal nature emerging, had tired from thrusting the dildo into him and shaking as a result of her orgasms. She fell off Glen and climbed onto the bed next to him. The dildo, held by the harness, pointed to the ceiling.

The sudden absence of the dildo in his ass drove Glen over the edge. He thrust into Sandra one final time as he came. He roared and shook as the come pulsed through his cock. He collapsed onto Sandra and held her tightly.

It was much later that he was able to roll off her. The cold air on the skin that had been held against her hot body was shocking. His breath still trembled as he regained control over his body. He finally looked over at Sandra and Wanda. Both looked as worn out as he felt.

They lay on the bed, not speaking or moving. Come ran from Sandra's cunt and pooled to form a wet spot on the bed. The dildo, in an obscene parody of male anatomy, stood waving with each breath that Wanda took. Glen lay there as his asshole slowly returned to normal size and the juices of his activities with Sandra dried on his cock into a crusty mess.

They slowly roused themselves. Sandra turned to Glen and said, "Wow, you were amazing."

Glen answered, "Me? You two nearly killed me. I've never come like that."

Wanda said, "That was amazing."

Sandra added, "Our last fuck in this houseÖ"

"Ö had to be special," said Wanda as she finished her sister's sentence. The twins had just lived out their favorite fantasy, knowing that Glen would enjoy it as much as they.

Glen sighed as he said, "Yes, our last fuck here."

Wanda stood up and removed the harness. She held the dildo gently by the base for a moment and then said, "Let me get cleaned up and I'll finish packing."

Sandra said, "I'll strip the beds, wash the sheets and then get cleaned up."

Glen just lay there staring at the ceiling. He looked at the rough wood wall of the cabin with a sigh. He remembered setting those logs just a couple of years ago. That had been a much different phase of his life than now. He turned and kissed Sandra saying, "I love you so much, I don't know how to tell you."

Tears formed in her eyes as she felt the depth of emotion that motivated his statement. He got up and gently kissed Wanda. He looked deep in her eyes as he said, "You complete me and make me a man. I love you from the depths of my heart."

Tears formed in her eyes as his words touched her with a tenderness that she had never experienced. The twins moved together, arms around each other, and as one person answered, "You are my guardian and my lover. I love you with both my bodies and entire soul."

From anyone else, that would have seemed strange, but Glen recognized the depth of unity that existed between the twins. He smiled and answered, "I know."

The twins split, with each going to her tasks as Glen left the bedroom and went to the kitchen. Grabbing a soft drink, he replaced the water that he had sweat out during that amazing session of love. There were only a few things left to move out to the truck and the packing would be complete. He looked around the empty cabin realizing that it was the first time that it had ever been without furniture. It looked so spacious empty.

He waited his turn for the shower. When Sandra came out, he went in and took his shower. Everything he touched reminded him of how much work it had been to build. The bathroom had been the first room in the house that he had completed. He had done it so that the twins wouldn't have to go to the outhouse in the woods. He finished his shower and dried off. He used the towel to clean the shower one last time. He carried the towels out with him and added them to the washer.

He dressed and then disassembled the bed in the bedroom. He carried the parts to the truck with ease. The mattress, though bulky, was not too heavy. He wrestled it through the house and added it to the truck. He closed the door on the truck to prevent things from getting wet. Returning to the house, he made another sweep through each room. All of them were empty. The only things left were a few soft drinks in the refrigerator.

He joined the twins on the floor. They were waiting for the dryer to ring so that they could pack the last few towels and bedding. A single box stood in the corner of the room waiting to be filled with the laundry. He broke the silence by saying, "I never realized how big the cabin was."

Sandra grinned and said, "It's big for one, but four people kind of pushed it to its limits."

Wanda laughed in agreement. She said, "We did have a lot of fun times here even though it was kind of crowded."

Glen reached over and tickled Wanda. She jerked around trying to get out of his reach. He laughed and said, "Don't worry. We're going to have plenty of good times yet."

They laughed and talked about their plans. The Internet magazine was going to continue for as long as it made money. After that, they weren't worried. Glen still had lots of money and the twins had saved almost everything they had earned from the magazine. The three of them didn't really need to work for the rest of their lives. They weren't rich, but the interest off the money they did have was a nice $75,000 a year. They could spend a hundred thousand on a new house and still have a pretty good annual income.

The dryer finally announced that the laundry was dry with its characteristic ding. The twins got up to take care of that. Glen went out to the back porch and looked at the orchard. Next year it would produce enough fruit that a person might actually get a chance to eat some. It was a shame that he wouldn't be here. He was going to miss that and the trout stream.

He went back in the house just as the twins sealed the box of laundry. He picked it up and carried it outside to the truck. As he finished closing the door, the twins came out of the cabin rushing into the front seat to wait for him to join them. He returned to the house and took one more look around. Tears came to his eyes as he looked over the work that he had done and was now abandoning. To say it didn't hurt would be a lie, but he recognized the necessity.

He returned to the truck and got in the drivers seat. He started the truck and drove off without looking back. He sniffed as he turned out of the drive onto the road. The twins looked in his direction rather than at their old house. It hurt them every time they drove by it. Glen just stared straight ahead.

They reached the diner in time for lunch and joined Oliver and CJ in the corner booth. The three of them squeezed into the seat on the opposite side of the booth from them. A chair was in place at the end of the table for the Sheriff, but he hadn't arrived.

Oliver greeted them, "Hello. I'm glad we got a chance to see you before you left."

Glen smiled as the twins giggled. He said, "We couldn't leave without saying goodbye to you guys. You have been an important part of our lives. We ate at your place for special occasions, we shared good times fishing, and you joined our circle of love."

Wanda and Sandra hugged Glen's arms and leaned their heads against his shoulders. The day waitress came over and said, "Hello, CJ. Can't believe you're eating in this dump."

"Hey, that's not nice."

The waitress laughed and said, "You work here and know what the food is like."

The whole table laughed at the good natured teasing. Glen asked, "What's the daily special?"

The waitress winked at CJ and answered, "Hero sandwiches."

Glen groaned at the special. He said, "Six daily specials and five slices of cherry pie."

Laughing, CJ shook her head and said, "You are not a very nice man sometimes."

Glen laughed and replied, "Hey, it's my last chance at getting back at him. By the way, did you recommend that they have hero sandwiches today?"

"Guilty as charged!"

The twins giggled as they said in one voice, "Our hero."

The general laugher continued until the Sheriff came in the restaurant. He strolled over to the table and hitched up his pants. They immediately fell down again. He said, "There's entirely too much laughing here."

Glen and Oliver shouted him down. Dale sat down in the chair with a smile and a laugh. He said, "It's good that I've had a chance to see you before you leave. I have a little business to conclude before lunch and then we can enjoy ourselves."

Glen looked surprised and asked, "What business?"

Dale winked at CJ and said, "Well, the Cliff Metchette wing of the library is going to be opening soon."

Wanda and Sandra sat there open mouthed at the news. Sandra responded, "The town named a wing of the library after my brother?"

"Yes, it did. We voted last night to use the reward money that Glen donated to the town to build a new wing for the children."

Glen looked very puzzled and said, "I didn't realize there was enough reward money to build a whole new wing."

Dale smiled and answered, "Well, we found that they were also involved with drugs, Marihuana in particular. We've confiscated a lot of property from them."

Oliver glanced in Glen's direction and winked. Glen didn't understand the gesture. Dale noticed and interrupted, "And it wasn't the paltry bit that you put in their cars that night."

Oliver had the grace to look embarrassed as Glen looked at him with a smile. He hadn't known Oliver had done that, but he understood. It would be even harder for the fanatics to get popular opinion behind them if they were also accused of drug use. Oliver finally asked, "So what was it?"

Dale answered, "they were using their properties to raise Marihuana for sale. They didn't work and that's how they were funding themselves. Under the law, we got their cars, their property, and the old church they had the stuff stored in. As a result, we have enough money out of this to build a whole wing and dedicate it to Cliff."

Glen smiled as he thought about the legacy for his friend. He asked, "Can I make a request?"

Dale looked puzzled for a moment and then shrugged his shoulders. "What is it?"

Glen got serious and said, "Can you stock it with good books? Books that have a message of hope for the future. I mean books like Tom Sawyer, Treasure Island, Robinson Crusoe, and A Wrinkle In Time. Nice books like Tom Swift, Nancy Drew, and Harry Potter. I'd like to see the children of this town grow up with a sense of adventure."

Everyone was watching Glen intently. He continued, "Can you get science books with neat projects? Books about light, magnetism, dinosaurs, and chemistry. Things that teach them how nature works. I'd like to see the children grow up with a sense of wonder about the world around them."

"Can you put pictures of man stepping on the moon or climbing Mount Everest? Pictures of Madam Curie, Albert Einstein riding his bicycle, and Presidents. I want pictures of famous people when they are old and when they were young. I want our young to believe that they can grow up here and become famous because others have grown up in similar circumstances and become famous."

Wanda said, "Cliff would have liked that."

CJ looked at Glen with respect. She said, "Yes, Cliff would have liked that."

Dale answered, "I'll do what I can. I think it is an admirable vision that you have."

"Thanks."

The conversation fell silent, but not the kind that feels awkward. The food arrived and everyone ate the hero sandwiches. Even though Glen had not ordered it, she had brought milk for everyone. It was well known that he enjoyed milk with his meal. He drank his milk and smiled at everyone around the table. He grinned at Dale thinking about desert.

It didn't take long for the six hungry people to finish their sandwiches. The waitress brought over the five pieces of pie. Glen looked over at Dale with a smile and said, "This really looks good."

Dale smiled back and said, "It sure does."

Glen was rather surprised by the smile on Dale's face. He made a big production of cutting off a little piece of the pie. He kept glancing at Dale to see the effect, but Dale just sat back with his hands folded over his stomach smiling from ear to ear. Glen slowly brought the piece of pie to his mouth. With slow deliberateness, he put the piece of pie in his mouth. Half a second later he was spitting it out. He asked, "What in the hell is this?"

Dale broke out laughing at Glen. He could hardly talk for laughing, but he managed to get out, "It's sugar free pie!"

Glen fumed, sad that his little revenge had been undermined. He said, "How could you?"

The Sheriff waved to the waitress. She brought over two more slices of pie. She set one down in front of Glen and another in front of the Sheriff. Dale said, "Hey, you didn't think I knew you would try that?"

Wanda and Sandra giggled. Wanda said, "Glen, we all knew he was going to trick you."

The laughter around the table was contagious. Even Glen laughed as he ate his pie. There was a lot of good natured teasing around the table. Most of it was aimed at Glen, but Dale received his fair share.

When the coffee and pie had been finished, Glen held up a hand to get everyone's attention. Wanda and Sandra sat up as well. Glen said, "Before we go, there are a few pieces of important business that I have to finish."

Oliver looked puzzled and asked, "Like what?"

Glen handed him the deed to his cabin along with the keys. He said, "The cabin is yours. I know how much you enjoy the trout stream and the cross country ski trails. I know you will take care of it and cherish it as much as I."

Oliver stared at Glen in shock while CJ sat there stunned as well. The entire table was silent as the magnitude of the gift overwhelmed them. Oliver protested, "It's too much. I can't take it from you."

Glen smiled and answered, "You can take it from me even if it is too much. Like I said, you entered our circle of love. It is yours."

The Sheriff looked at Glen with an expression that was bittersweet. He had worked so hard to bring Glen out of his isolation. Now that he had been successful, Glen was leaving. There wouldn't be any late fall hunting trips with the son of his best friend.

Wanda and Sandra turned to Dale. After a quick glance between them, Wanda said, "This is for you, Dale."

Sandra added, "It is the title and keys to our place."

Dale reached out with shaking hands and accepted the envelope. He said, "I don't know what to say. Most of the time, your brother and I disagreed about his business. Why would you do this?"

Wanda said, "That was nothing. You gave Glen to him and us. You put us with a great protector. He knew that and despite anything elseÖ"

"Ö he loved you for it. You also let Glen act as he had to on several occasions. Cliff's death was properly avenged." Sandra finished and looked at Dale.

Dale was shocked. Tears formed in the corners of his eyes. He wiped them and tried to look gruff, but wasn't very successful. Finally, with more emotion than anyone thought possible, he said, "Thank you. I'm overwhelmed and don't know what to say."

Dale sat there for a second and then left the table. Watching him leave, Glen and Oliver understood the reason. The twins were confused and looked to CJ. They asked, "Did we upset him?"

CJ shook her head and answered, "I've never seen him so overcome with emotion. I think you made him very happy and very humble at the same time."

Wanda said, "We just wanted to thank him."

Sandra added, "He's done so much for us."

"We are alive because of his help," said Wanda. She looked towards the rest room where the Sheriff had disappeared.

"We have love because of his help," added Sandra as she looked at CJ in concern.

Glen explained, "You've made him very happy. Do you know how much that means to him? He's seen himself as your father the whole time you've been here. He and Helena didn't have children. He kind of adopted you. Do you think that he would have had weekly checkups on your state of mind if he hadn't cared for you?"

The twins looked at each other. They looked like they were on the verge of tears, realizing they hadn't realized that Dale cared that much about them. Glen knew at that moment, that he was between them when they needed to be together. He leaned back and put his arms around them in a group hug. Reaching out to each other, the twins touched hands as tears streamed down their faces.

Sandra recovered first and said, "Oh, look at us."

"We're a mess," finished Wanda.

All three of them got out of the booth so that the twins could go to the ladies room. Typical of women everywhere, CJ joined them. It was just Oliver and Glen at the table. Oliver reached out a hand and said, "Friend, if you ever need me call me and I'll be there."

Glen shook his hand and replied, "I know that. I know you'll take care of CJ. We care about her a lot. Cliff loved her. He never said it to me, but I think he loved you too."

Oliver looked around uncomfortable and then leaned forward. He said, "I loved him. I really did. I don't know why it took us so long to get together, but once it happened the magic was there."

Glen nodded as the statement confirmed his expectations. He said, "Well, I'm sorry that it ended the way it did."

The Sheriff returned to the table and noticed that all of the women were gone. He said, "Did I scare them off?"

"No, they went to do their makeup."

Dale looked at Glen and Oliver as though he had come to a great decision. He sat down and turned to Oliver. He said, "I know about you and CJ. I want you to know that I accept your relationship. The race thing isn't a problem."

In a state of total shock, Oliver stared at Dale for a moment and then said, "Really? I guess I misjudged you. I really have to apologize for that."

Dale answered, "A year ago, I would have been all over your ass. Today, I know that it is what is in your heart that is important. Just be careful and protect her, not everyone in town is going to be so understanding."

Oliver nodded and said, "We seldom even sit next to each other in public."

Dale said, "Well, you'll be safe at Glen's place for now. I don't know what the future will hold. All that I do know is that once a bunch of people decide someone is doing something they think is wrong that all hell can break loose."

Oliver glanced at Glen noticing the look on his face. He nodded and said, "Yes, I know that now too."

Dale extended a hand and said, "Welcome to the family."

Oliver, still in a state of shock, took the hand. He answered, "Thank you very much, sir."

Glen smiled as he considered that everything was working out well. Looking much better, the women returned from their trip to the restroom. The twins squeezed onto the chair, pushing Glen against the window. Dale turned to the twins and said, "Thank you very much for your gift. I will keep it in trust for you. When you need it, it will still be there for you."

The twins glanced at Glen and then Wanda replied, "I'm afraid that we can never return there."

Dale nodded his understanding. He stood up and gruffly said, "I've got to get back to work."

The twins, as one, said, "Goodbye Uncle Dale."

Dale smiled down at them. He answered, "Goodbye, girls. Keep me informed of what is going on in your lives. I'm going to miss you."

The twins smiled and watched as the Sheriff walked away. They were going to miss him too. Smiling at them, CJ said, "He really cares about you."

Oliver said, "CJ, before you came back from the bathroom, he welcomed me to your family."

CJ looked stunned at the news. One of her greatest fears was that Uncle Dale would run Oliver out of town if he were to find out about the relationship between the two. She asked, "Are you serious?"

Glen answered, "Yes. He told Oliver that he knew and said that you'd be safe at the Cabin. He shook Oliver's hand and welcomed him to the family."

"Wow. I can't believe that," answered CJ. She said, "I guess I really underestimated him."

Glen said, "We had better hit the road. Good luck you two. If you need a safe house, let me know and I'll hide you out for a while."

Oliver said, "Thanks Glen. I'm going to miss you guys. I've come to view you as family."

The twins, smiles faltering, looked over at CJ and Oliver. Sandra said, "I hope that you are as happy as we are."

The women got out of the booth and hugged. Glen and Oliver slid their way out of the booth and shook hands. Glen hugged CJ and whispered in her ear, "Remember, I'll protect you as much as I can if you ever need help."

She looked at him with misty eyes knowing that he meant it. She recovered and said, "Look at me, I'm going to cry and I promised myself that I wouldn't."

The trio went out to the truck and pulled out of the parking lot. Glen drove slowly, allowing himself to get his emotions under control before getting serious about driving. Looking in his mirror, he noticed a state trooper behind him with his lights on. He pulled over to the side swearing, "What in the hell was I doing wrong?"

He rolled down his window and fished out his driver's license. He looked up in time to see Jim James standing next to the truck. Jim said, "You didn't think you could get away without saying goodbye to me, did you?"

Glen got out of the truck and shook the trooper's hand. He laughed and asked, "How did you know?"

Jim answered, "Sue told me you were leaving today. I came by as soon as she told me."

Glen laughed, "Thanks. I appreciate it."

"Well, you've done a lot for my family. You revenged the death of my brother in law. You gave Sue a job when she really needed one. She's a lot happier now that she can pay her bills, watch the kids, and get out of the house on occasion. There's no way I would have been able to help her out that way."

Glen answered, "I'm glad to hear that."

Jim said, "If you ever need help, let me know. You'll have the every state trooper willing to help you."

Glen answered, "Thanks. Does that mean I can speed?"

Jim laughed and replied, "No. We still have our quotas to meet."

Glen laughed and shook his head. There were some things that were constant no matter what happened. He said, "I'll remember that."

The men talked for a few minutes and then Jim left. Glen got into the truck and headed out. He hadn't realized how many friends he was leaving behind. He glanced over at the twins. They were holding onto each other, fighting back tears.



-------

Chapter 22


A sprawling ranch style house stood at the end of a cul-de-sac in a suburb of a large southern city. The house had been built by the owner over a one year period. It was the best built house in the entire development. Outside, it was plain in style. Simple lines across the front and back. Inside, it was splendid and very well organized.

The house abutted against a wooded area. It spanned two lots and was adjacent to an empty lot. The empty lot had been converted into a large playground. The owner of the house owned the lot as well and had built the playground for his children as well as the neighborhood children.

The road ended in a large circle. Nets were set up on opposite ends of the circle, giving the children in the neighborhood a place to play street hockey. Since the only cars that ever touched the road belonged to the owner of the house, it was a safe place for kids to play.

A large sign stood near the road stating the rules of play. Most of the rules were designed to protect the owners from lawsuits. The rules stated that children were to be supervised by an adult, that they took responsibility for injuries, and there was to be no fighting. The rules were signed by the Smith Family.

Glen was in the safe room, an extension that ran off the basement separated from it by a very heavy steel door. The other end of the safe room was sealed by a steel door that lead to an escape tunnel that ran to a small shed in the woods. Inside the shed, there was the hidden exit and several ATVs.

Glen edited the last article for the magazine. He was pleased with how the magazine had evolved. It now had a regular readership of over ten thousand subscribers. The advertising revenue was steady and production costs had been minimized. They could look at their administration web site and see exactly how many people had visited.

Sue continued to work on the magazine and now had a regular editorial. Sandra continued to sell advertising and Wanda remained the web mistress. The business was good and money was no problem. It wasn't the kind of money that would make a person rich, but it covered the bills and allowed them to save for a rainy day. They knew that rainy days could arrive without warning, announcing its presence with thunder and lightening.

His work for the day had finally been completed. Satisfied, he looked up at the clock and realized that the kids were going to be home from school soon. A little more than seven years ago, on the very same afternoon, the twins have given birth to twins. They had gone from having no children to having four in one day, two boys and two girls. Wanda, formerly known as blue, had given birth to the boys. Sandra, formerly known as red, had given birth to the girls. The irony of that had been the subject of many jokes.

He smiled to himself as he remembered that day. It was as if it was yesterday. He had been so excited and the twins had breezed through the birth. It was as though they were protected by God. He had nearly burst with pride when he had been shown the children for the first time. From the first moment, he could tell them apart. Jake was more outgoing that his brother Jack. Susan was more extroverted than her sister Louise. Even as infants, when Jack and Susan put their heads together, you could be sure that the result would be exciting.

He had enjoyed watching the mothers with their babies. Each would recline on a sofa and hold a pair of children to their breasts as they feed them. They didn't always feed their own. He had watched many times as a look of bliss settled upon the faces of the mothers as the children would suckle contentedly. He couldn't get enough of watching the loving moments between mother and children.

He had become a much better father than he had thought possible. As a man in his forties, he wasn't embarrassed to be seen playing hide and seek with the kids. Anyone that had the gall to make a comment was severely rebuked. He had been quoted as having said on many occasions that there was nothing more important than raising children to be loving and compassionate.

Most people didn't understand his insistence on being loving. His boys would cry when hurt. Rather than telling them that big boys don't cry, he would comfort him and let them know that the pain would pass. When asked if he was worried that his boys would grow up to be sissies, he would reply that it was impossible; they came from tough stock.

The children had started taking self-defense lessons this year. He had resisted starting them earlier stating that their bones were still too soft. He had insisted they take them because he realized that they all possessed that same innocence that marked their mothers. They might have to defend themselves one day and he wanted them prepared.

The children were amazing in the same way as their mothers. Each pair of twins seemed to share a common mind. Even the boys and girls acted in concert at times in very spooky demonstrations. The teachers at school often suggested that they cheated on tests. All four of them would get the same problem wrong in exactly the same way. Of course, the teachers had separated them to different corners of the room to stop it, but that hadn't stopped them.

He glanced up at the clock and realized he had better get upstairs. The kids would be home in ten minutes and he still had his surprise to set up. The school year was almost over and the weather had turned warm. He had decided that it was time for a major afternoon of play.

Glen joined his wives outside on his driveway smiling at them. All of the children in the neighborhood were due to come home from school any time now. Other mothers had gathered around them smiling as they waited for their children. All of the kids would gather at the playground. Wanda noted the look on Glen's face asked, "What are you up to now?"

Rather than answer, Glen opened the garage door and started carrying out small containers filled with water balloons. The twins looked at him in surprise. The other mothers started laughing. He then brought out a bunch of super water guns, each loaded with water. He set all of the stuff around the circle.

All of the mothers moved over and picked up the water pistols. This included his wives. As one, they all turned the weapons on Glen and started spraying him. He was taken by surprise, having expected a parent versus kid water war. He ran over and picked up a water pistol himself and returned fire.

The children came around the corner in mass and saw the activity. They all ran to the circle, shouting in glee. The huge number of water balloons brought them to an immediate halt, their eyes wide with delight. As one, kids picked up water balloons and started throwing them in the direction of their mothers.

His children, from different areas around the circle, simultaneously lobbed water balloons at Glen. He didn't stand a chance and was immediately drenched. The kids took turns, first soaking Wanda and then Sandra. There was lots of running and laughing as adults and children played in the circle. By the time the water pistols were empty, the water balloons had all been thrown.

Half of the mothers were laying on the grass lawn laughing uncontrollably. No one cared for the moment if Jack or Jill had gotten in trouble at school or received a bad grade on a test. For now, the kids were being kids and their mothers were young again. The kids, with their limitless energy, had all run over to the playground. Soon, swings were swinging and lines had formed behind the slides.

Glen looked around at the women around him. It hadn't been his intention when he thought of this water war, but he was happy with the results. By accident, he had created his own wet tee-shirt contest and was now enjoying the sight that the wet clothes provided. Wanda and Sandra knew what he was doing and smiled at each other as they silently planned their evening. Glen would definitely be ready for sex by the time the kids went to bed.

Mothers slowly collected themselves and thanked Glen for his creative ideas on entertaining the kids. They moved over to the benches and watched the kids play. The standard topics of conversation raged at the benches. Mothers discussed the kids, their problems, and worries about the future.

Glen watched as the twins joined in the talk, happy at how they had integrated into the neighborhood. Going into the street, he started picking up the broken balloons. He cleaned, happy to have created such a wonderful play time for the kids. Occasionally, he would stop and watch the kids while they played. A smile played across his face, as he considered how healthy and balanced they were.

One of the neighbor kids, came over to Glen and started helping him clean up the drive. Glen looked down at the boy with a smile and asked, "How's it going, Steve?"

The boy looked up at Glen and said, "Much better. The kids at school are being nicer to me now."

Glen nodded as he listened with a serious expression on his face. The boy was an only child and hadn't known how to deal with other kids. He had pushed his way into groups that didn't want anything to do with him. His first three months at school had been miserable. Glen had talked with him one afternoon when he noticed the boy sitting on a bench crying. Glen answered, "I'm glad. I was sure that if you followed your own interests that the other kids would come to you."

Steve smiled as he continued picking up the broken balloons. He answered, "Thank you."

"You're quite welcome," replied Glen. He wanted to make sure that this neighborhood was free of drugs. It was his desire to be the guy that kids came to when they had problems. He wanted them to feel free to tell him about other kids that were doing wrong.

Steve picked up a couple of more balloons and then ran back to the play ground. He helped one of the smaller kids into the swing and helped get them started. Glen watched with interest, pleased to see the boy reach out to help others.

One of the mothers, a particularly lovely woman, came over to him. Despite the fact that her white cotton shirt was soaked and she wasn't wearing a bra, she didn't seem embarrassed by the clear view of her breasts that it provided him. He struggled, mostly successfully, to look her in the face. When she was convinced that she had his full attention she said, "You are so good with the kids. I wanted to thank you for your help with little Steve."

"Oh, it is my pleasure," replied Glen. He looked over at the playground and added, "These kids are not going to have problems with drugs or peer pressure. None of them will join a cult. They'll all grow up to be good citizens and leaders in anything that they choose to pursue."

She looked at him for a moment. This wasn't the first time that he had expressed that sentiment. She asked, "That's important to you isn't it?"

Glen nodded with a sad expression on his face thinking back to the bad citizens he had known. He said, "It's the most important thing in the world."

She didn't know what prompted that and knew that she would never know. She changed the subject by saying, "We are throwing a swim party for the kids on the last day of school. I want to make sure that the fearsome foursome are there."

Glen laughed at the common reference to his kids. He answered, "They'll be there. I'm bringing a little something to help entertain the kids."

She couldn't imagine what he would bring, but knew that it would be great fun and safe. Knowing him, it could even be a clown or a magician. She asked, "Are you still going to run the bicycle safety course this weekend?"

"Of course, summer is coming and the kids will be out riding their bikes. I just want to make sure that they all know how to do it safely. I've arranged for a policemen to set up a training course and to register their bikes."

There was nothing that excited her as quickly as a man that was so protective of children. Every instinct cried out to her, screaming here's a man that will take care of a mother and her child. She found herself getting turned on by Glen and her nipples hardened in response. The wet shirt did little to hide her excitement.

Glen glanced down and saw her stiffened nipples. Searching for some way to get a little distance between her and him, he looked over at the playground. He said, "I think that some of the kids are starting to wind down."

Getting control of herself, she thanked him and returned to one of the benches. Glen watched her leave, happy that he hadn't had to adjust his rising cock. He looked around at the yard and realized that it needed to be mowed. That would be a good task for him to do later that evening.

His attempt to distract himself worked until he noticed his wives. When he looked over at the twins, they winked at him. They had known the effect Steve's mother would have on him and planned on exploiting it later that night. Giggling, the twins went over to her to chat about things. Glen could only imagine what they would say and realized that was the whole idea.

The balloons were picked up and the tubs that he had used to bring them out were all put away. He looked around, satisfied that his little corner of suburbia was safe, clean, and peaceful. He stood there, legs spread shoulder wide and hands on his hips as he watched the area. The twins called it his guardian pose; he would stand there for hours making sure that all was good.

The crowd at the playground slowly dissipated as mothers took their kids home to do homework while they prepared supper for their families. This happened every day after school and the consistency of it soothed Glen. The twins took the fearsome foursome into the house and started on dinner. Remaining outside, Glen continued to watch until the last child had left the playground.

He came into the house to be greeted by Wanda. She wrapped herself around him with a smug little smile on her face and asked, "Did you plan on all of those pretty young mothers ending up with transparent shirts?"

Glen chuckled as he answered, "No, but it was a nice surprise."

Sandra shouted from the kitchen, "You're going to pay for that later!"

He laughed, amazed how one twin knew what the other was saying in the other room. He shouted back, "Gladly, but do I have to wait for later?"

Wanda said, "Of course, you have to help the kids with their homework now."

Glen pretended to get all grumpy, but went into the library finding the kids gathered around the table. For the next hour he helped them with their homework. He didn't answer a single question they had been assigned, but worked similar problems until they understood the basic principles. He enjoyed this time spent with the kids, even when one of them was pretending to be stupid and not understanding. Pretence was easy to handle as he would tell them to get in mental sync with one of the others that understood and learn it that way. Usually, that stopped the little rebellions.

The kids were practicing making their letters, making extremely large versions of each letter on the ruled paper. As he watched them work, four tongues were stuck out in identical expressions of concentration with each hand moving in unison. It was fascinating to watch them. All four of them looked up at the same time and complained simultaneously, "Stop staring. You're making us nervous."

Glen laughed and looked away for a second. When he saw out of the corner of his eye that they had all returned to work, he turned back and watched. All four shot a glare at him, but smiled at his grin back. They knew it was hopeless to get him to stop watching them.

Their lesson was interrupted by a knock on the door. All four kids stood up to get it, but Glen said, "Down. I'll get it. You have some writing to finish."

Taking his time, Glen went to the door and checked the eyehole before he opened it. He relaxed when he saw that it was one of the neighborhood fathers. He wasn't sure which one it was, but he opened the door. The man said, "Hello, I'm George, Steve's father."

"Oh, hello George. I'm Glen. It's nice to meet you at last." Glen extended his hand and George took it in a strong grip. It was a good solid handshake that was friendly in nature. Glen asked, "Would you like to come in?"

George followed Glen into the living room. When Glen entered the living room, he noticed four heads poking around the door of the library. He smiled over at them and called out, "You four have homework to finish. Best one gets to tell the worst one what to do for an hour!"

Jack groaned in fear that he would lose and Louise giggled in anticipating the win. The four returned with renewed energy to their work. George had watched the exchange with fascination. Glen winked at him and said, "They don't know that it's Jack's turn to be the best. Poor Susan, she's going to have to clean his room later."

George laughed and wondered if they needed to get another kid in their house. He sat down on one of the chairs at a gesture from Glen. Glen asked, "What can I do for you?"

George looked a little nervous and then said, "Well, Thursday is our wedding anniversary and I was wondering if you could watch Steve for a couple of hours that night. It's a school night so we'll be home no later than nine."

Understanding how difficult it was for parents to get away for celebrations of that nature, Glen smiled and answered, "Sure, no problem. How about we take him out for pizza and then to a movie? I'm sure that all of the kids would enjoy that."

Relieved, George answered, "Oh, that would be great. I don't want my wife to know, this is going to be a little surprise for her."

"When would you like us to pick him up?"

"About six would be perfect."

"Six it will be, then," replied Glen.

Glen and George talked a little while before George excused himself to head home. At the door, Glen asked, "By the way, I'm very honored that you decided to ask us."

"I have heard nothing but positive comments about you guys. Steve thinks you're the greatest thing since sliced bread. My wife trusts you completely. Everyone in the neighborhood says that you're a standup guy," replied George. He had heard a story that the twins had played a trick on Glen, taking turns sleeping with him one night. They had only meant to have a little fun, but both had gotten pregnant. The story was that Glen had taken responsibility to raise the kids and to support both of the twins. He didn't know if the story was true or not, but it was commonly believed in the neighborhood.

Glen looked surprised to hear that. Several stories were being told about how it was that he came to be living with the twins and had children by them both, he couldn't help but wonder which story George had decided to believe. He replied, "Wow, thanks."

He watched as George walked down the street and then shut the door. He had just turned away from it when Wanda shouted, "Dinner time."

The kids came pouring out of the library, excited by the chance to have a break in doing their homework and hungry from their activities of the afternoon. Following them into the dining room, he smiled at their energy. He sat down at the head of the table with his wives on each side of him and the kids on down the table.

Once everyone was settled, Glen said, "A moment of silence for prayer, please."

Everyone bowed their heads and spent a moment privately saying their prayers. It had become normal practice for them to take a moment for prayer before dinner. A couple of years ago, they decided that it should be a silent moment so that each could give thanks for that which was important to them. After a minute passed, he said, "Dig in folks."

There was no conversation as they started to eat their meal. Everyone enjoyed spaghetti and meatballs. The conversation picked up again once the immediate hunger was satisfied. Wanda smiled over at Glen as an errant noodle splattered sauce on his shirt. She said, "Just another normal day at the Smith residence."

Jack added, "That water fight was great! You've got to be the best parents in the world to arrange something like that!"

Susan giggled and said, "You should have seen your face when we got you with the water balloons."

The kids proceeded to tease him about how he had ducked and sputtered when hit with four balloons at once. Glen took the ribbing with good natured laughter. The chance to play with the kids in a fun fashion was the kind of thing for which he lived. He had enjoyed the water fight as much as anyone.

When dinner ended, the boys helped his wives in the kitchen wash the dishes while the girls took out the trash. It had taken him a long time, but he had talked the twins into letting the boys learn typical kitchen tasks. He suggested that they might have to cook for themselves one day and that the twins wouldn't want them to get sick from their own cooking. The girls were learning to help with some of the yard work and maintenance activities.

Glen went outside and mowed the front lawn for the second time of the year. It was a very normal middleclass sight as he walked the mower around the house. Other men in the neighborhood were out doing the same thing. When he finished with mowing, he put the lawn mower back in the garage.

Grabbing a rake out of the garage, he evened out the gravel in the play ground. He had followed recommended practices in setting up the playground. At the time, he was told that it was better to have small gravel instead of hard dirt or sand as the surface of the playground. The argument was that gravel gave better than sand or dirt when kids fell or slid across it. He returned the rake to the garage.

He stood on the front lawn and watched a couple of the older kids skateboarding on the street. They waved to him and went on their way, performing stunts that were meaningful only to them. He watched them go with a smile, as he realized that he had finally gotten all of them to wear the appropriate safety equipment. At least they wouldn't crack their skulls when one of them failed to execute a stunt.

Returning to his house, he relaxed in the family room counting his blessings. The kids were getting ready for bed and the twins were busy with them. Baths for four every night was quite a major undertaking. Once that was done, he would take over and read the boys another chapter out of Huckleberry Finn. They were enjoying it as much as he had when he was young. He wasn't sure whose turn it was to read to the girls, but one of the twins would read a chapter out of Nancy Drew to them.

He sat there watching the television despite the fact there wasn't much on, but he enjoyed the background noise. Sandra came out and sat next to him on the couch. She snuggled against him and said, "Have I ever told you how happy I am living here?"

"Every morning and every night," he replied. Every morning and evening, one or both of the twins would make love to him.

"I still think we should have changed our last name to Phoenix. We rose out of the ashes to a life that was better than before."

Glen laughed and replied, "I told you I didn't want to be named after a city."

"Yes, yes. I know all that. It just seems like a miracle to me, that's all. The magazine is better than ever. I love being a mother so much. You take such good care of us."

Glen sat back satisfied with his life as he put his arm around Sandra. Wanda would be down in a minute and then he would go upstairs to read to his kids. After that, the twins were going to rock his world. Life as a guardian was good and he was happy that he had discovered how to enjoy it.


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The End
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Posted:  2004-07-20
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