Storiesonline.net ------- Help! by Lazlong Copyright© 2005 by Lazlong ------- Description: Follow Ed Miller as he grows up on a farm and discovers courage, responsibility, love, and sex. Codes: mf ff rom 1st teen cons inc bro sis group oral ------- ------- Disclaimer: This is an unpublished work of fiction, copyright 2005 by Lazlong. Many people in this world have the same names. The names in this story was created by the author and do not refer to anyone having the same name. The situations and events in this story were also created by the author. Any resemblance to actual situations and events is purely coincidental. The author reserves all rights to this story. The story may be downloaded for your personal use, but it may not be posted to any free web site without the permission of the author. Permission will not be granted for posting to a commercial web site. This story has scenes that describe sexual situations or sexual acts. If you are under the legal age to read such stories or if it is illegal to read such stories in your area, then don't read it. If stories with sexual content offend you then don't read them. If such stories offend you and you read them anyway, then you must be pretty stupid. The opinions or actions of some of my characters reflect the author's own opinions. The opinions or actions of other characters reflect opinions the author has heard expressed by others. If you don't agree with the opinions of any of my characters, that is your right. There's a big world out there folks and everyone doesn't think alike. Thank God. ------- Chapter 1 Day 0 Thursday, October 21 "Help!" I wanted to scream it out, but I knew no one would help me. I wanted to run, but there was nowhere to run to. I wanted to shrink up in my seat and just disappear, yeah right. I wanted to be anywhere in the world except where I was now... but I was here. I wanted the sky to fall on this asshole who was tormenting me, but the sky remained where it always had been. Raymond Shepard was the guy who had just slapped me around the back of the head and had called me a tub of lard. He was an eighteen year old senior at Creston High. He'd be nineteen before he graduated... if he did. He wasn't a small guy either. He was around six foot two and weighed around 210 pounds. All of it was muscle. Hell, I weighed almost as much as he did and I was only five foot eight. I was just sixteen years old and hadn't developed physically as yet. Being the class nerd didn't help me either. Raymond and a few of his cronies had made my life miserable for the last two years. I knew he was going to kill me for what I was about to do, but I also knew that if I didn't do something, I'd regret it for the rest of my life. I didn't answer him. I just turned around in my seat on the school bus and hit him in his smirking face. All of the anger I had stored up over the last two years was behind the blow. His nose started spouting blood and I could see I had split his lip as well. Even if I died for it, I was glad I'd hit him. Before Raymond could respond, the school bus driver had pulled off the road and was coming back the aisle. He dragged me forward and made me sit in the front seat the rest of the way home. I tried to explain to him what had happened, but he wasn't listening. He informed me he'd be reporting me to the principal at school in the morning. Oh well, mom had always told me I was responsible for my own actions. I guess I'd find out now just what that meant. Day 1 Friday, October 22 I'm Ed, Ed Miller, by the way. As I said before, I was the class nerd and a junior at Creston. This morning I was afraid to go to school. Even more afraid than I was about facing my father's wrath when he found out what I had done yesterday. I knew that Raymond Shepard was going to kill me before the day was over. I knew that Mr. Adkins, the school principal, was going to have a piece of my butt. I also knew I didn't have a choice. I had to go. I just hoped my bowels didn't let loose when Shepard came after me. The school bus stopped in front of our house as usual and I got on. The driver made me sit in the front seat again, but I didn't mind since this would put off any confrontation with Shepard for a while. At the next stop my sister, Patty, got on with her best friend, Karen. Patty is one year younger them I am and she didn't usually sit with me, but this morning she did. "Ed, I didn't get a chance to talk with you last night, since I was over at Karen's. What happened with you and Raymond Shepard?" "I guess I lost my mind, Sis. He slapped me around the back of the head and called me a name. I decided I wasn't going to let him push me around any more so I hit him. The bus driver didn't see him slap me, but he sure did see me hit Shepard." "Oh, shit. Shepard is going to kill you." "Yeah, I figure he'll get me at lunch. I don't see any way to get around it though. I can't hide from him forever. I guess I'll just have to take a beating. I'm not going to let him bully me any more, even if I have to take a beating every time." Patty reached over and squeezed my hand. "I'm proud of you, Ed," she said. ------- We were about half way through second period when the PA system announced that I was wanted in the office. I knew I was in for it, big time, but I gathered up my books and made my way to the office. Mr. Adkins called me in immediately. "So, Mr. Miller, I hear you hit another student on the bus yesterday. Let's hear your side of it." I told him what had happened as he sat there frowning. When I finished, he just shook his head. "I had Mr. Shepard in earlier and his story isn't like yours at all. He says you hit him for no reason. Bob Salyers backs up Mr. Shepard's story." "Mr. Adkins, I told you just the way it happened, including my hitting Shepherd. You wouldn't expect him to admit being in the wrong, would you?" Adkins ignored my question, but said, "Fortunately for you, Karen Wellston came in and told me a story that was almost the same as yours." I didn't say anything. Since Karen was my sister's best friend. I didn't know if she'd actually seen what had happened, or if she was just saying what she did because of her friendship with Patty. "Normally, I'd expel you for starting a fight, but since Karen volunteered her story, I'm going to give you a week's after school detention. Mr. Shepard will be in detention as well. I'd advise the two of you to cool off. If I hear of you fighting again, you will be expelled, no matter who started it. Do I make myself clear?" "Yes, Sir," I said. "Okay, get back to class and keep out of trouble, Mr. Miller." I got out of there as fast as I could. Second period was almost over so I went to where my third period class would be held and waited for the bell. ------- Raymond Shepard was waiting for me when I came through the lunch line. "Meet me behind the gym after you've had your last meal," was all he said. I was almost shaking as I found an empty table and sat down. I was just sitting there staring at my food when Patty and Karen came and sat down with me. "What did Shepard want?" Patty asked. "He wants me to meet him behind the gym after I've eaten," I said, trying to control the quaver in my voice. "Are you going to do it?" Karen asked. "I have to, Karen. If I hide from him he'll just catch me some other time and beat me up. I'd just as soon get it over with." "You could talk to Mr. Adkins," Karen said. "Yeah, but then he'd just wait until he caught me away from school and he'd probably hurt me even worse." Karen reached across the table and squeezed my hand. "You're a very brave man, Ed," she said. If I hadn't been so scared I'd have been flying high. That's the first time anyone had ever called me brave and it was the first time anyone had called me a man. It was especially nice that it was Karen who had called me a brave man. Karen is so cute it almost hurts my eyes to look at her. She has honey blond hair and the deepest blue eyes I have ever seen. The fact that she was Patty's best friend was almost a torture for me. If you can't tell from what I'm saying, I had a tremendous crush on her. The only problem was, she was beautiful and I was a nerd. I had never even considered asking her out as I knew she was way out of my league. ------- I walked around behind the gym after I had finished eating and saw Shepard along with two of his buddies. I was shaking so badly inside I was afraid I couldn't even speak. "So, it's going to take three of you," I said, hoping to shame him into making it a one on one. "No, it's only going to take me, jerk off," Shepard said then he looked over at his buddies and they all laughed. "I'm going to beat the crap out of you, Miller." I sucker punched him. I hit him in the pit of his stomach with all of my strength. Shepard doubled over and his two buddies grabbed me and held my arms. Okay, so this wasn't fair, but I had expected it. Shepard coughed and sputtered for a while, then he came toward me, a look of pure hatred in his eye. When he was about three feet from me I kicked his left shin as hard as I could. I was aiming for his kneecap, but hit just a little low. I knew I was in big trouble when he didn't go down. He growled like an attack dog, then hit me in the stomach. I'll swear it felt like I'd been hit by a car. It was all I could do to keep from throwing up all over all of us. Maybe I'd have been better off if I had. He hit me again then said, "Listen up, pussy. You're going to get a beating for every day I'm in detention. Then, you're going to get another beating for every time you hit or kick me." He started hitting me heavily now. His fists felt like they were tearing me apart. I couldn't see and I thought I might be passing out when I heard him let out a sound of pure agony. Then the guy who was holding my right arm did the same. The guy who was holding my left arm dropped it and I could hear him running away. I fell to my knees and fought to see what was going on. Then I heard Patty's voice. "Okay, mother fucker. That was just a taste. If you touch my brother again, the three of us will kill you and dump your body in the gravel pit. If you threaten him or look cross eyed at him, we'll put you in the hospital. If you go to Mr. Adkins, we'll break your fucking kneecaps." Then I heard a thud and another moan from Shepard. I felt hands, feminine hands, helping me get up. Patty and Karen pulled my arms over their shoulders and helped me to a bench around in front of the gym. They sat me down and then took a seat on either side of me. "Are you okay, Ed," Karen asked. "I think so. God, I hurt. What did you guys do?" ""We borrowed a couple of baseball bats. I hit Shepard across the back and Karen hit his buddy, Bob Salyers. I hope we didn't break their backs, but I hope they have to go to the hospital." "I'm not a very good ball player," Karen said. "I hit mine lower than I wanted to." The pain was starting to ease down a little. I didn't think I could get up yet, but I did struggle to a more upright position with only a brief bout of nausea. "Thank you, both of you," I said. "I don't think he'd have killed me, but he could have done me some serious damage. I can understand you helping me out, Patty, but why did you help, Karen?" Karen just blushed and shook her head. I looked over at Patty and she winked at me then shook her head as well. I had no idea what was going on, but I decided to keep my mouth shut and talk to Patty later. By the time I was due in my next class, I was feeling well enough to walk. The girls sat with me the entire time and walked me to my classroom. Somehow I made it through the rest of the day. Since it was Friday, Mr. Adkins had said I would start my detention on Monday. I didn't see either Shepard or Salyers the rest of the day. When I got on the school bus, Karen sat beside me and Patty sat behind us. Patty leaned over the seat and asked, "Did you hear about Shepard and Salyers?" "No." "An ambulance came and took them off to the hospital. Jenny Walker said they'd told Mr. Adkins that they had been goofing around trying to walk along the railing behind the gym and that both of them had fallen." "Do you know how badly they were hurt?" I asked. "No, but we'll probably find out by Monday. Are you going to tell mom and dad about the detention?" Patty asked. "I guess I'll have to. I won't have any way home from school unless I take our car." Patty and I had bought a car together right after I'd turned sixteen. Patty had been babysitting since she was twelve, and I'd been working on our neighbors' farms. We'd managed to save up enough money to buy a five year old car. It wasn't a clunker and it wasn't a high performance sports car. It was just good, solid transportation. "I think it's time they let us start driving to school anyway," Patty said. "We paid for the damned car, we pay for the insurance, and we'll pay for the gasoline. It should be our decision if we want to drive it." "Mom would be okay with it," I said. "It's dad we'd have to worry about." "We always have to worry about the bastard," Patty said and Karen giggled. Our father wasn't a very nice person. He never hit mom or Patty, but if I did something he didn't like, I'd find myself lying on the ground. He didn't use a switch or a belt or a paddle. He used his fist. Dad was a construction worker and his temper and his penchant for fighting assured he didn't hold a job for long. We had a good sized farm and mom, Patty and I did most of the work to keep it up. Dad always seemed to have something else he needed to do, so most of it was never used. "Patty, I may get killed for my efforts, but I'm not going to let dad hit me again either. At least I'm going to try not to." "Ed, don't do anything to get hurt," Karen said, looking scared. "I'll try not to, Karen, but I'm tired of him hitting me and yelling at Patty," I said. Karen reached over and took my hand in hers. I expected a squeeze and release, but she held on to it. Damn that was nice. ------- Dad wasn't home when we got there, so Patty and I went in and told mom about what had happened the day before. We didn't mention Patty and Karen taking baseball bats to the two guys today. Mom looked at me sympathetically. "You know your dad is going to blow up about this, don't you?" "Yeah, Mom, I do. I'll just have to live with it. I do think it's time Patty and I start driving to school though. Would you have a problem with it if I can get it by dad?" Mom sighed then said, "No, I don't have a problem with it, other than the fact that my babies are growing up. I doubt you'll get your dad to agree though. Why don't you get your chores done before he gets home? It might put him in a better mood when you tell him about the detention." Patty and I changed clothes and she gathered the eggs while I got feed and water for the chickens. Then we moved into the barn. I went up into the loft and started forking down hay for the cattle. Normally Patty would get the grain for the cattle into the bins while I did this, but today she followed me into the loft. "Can I talk to you for a minute, Ed?" she asked. "Sure, Sis. What's up?" "You asked Karen earlier why she helped get those guys off of you. For being so smart in some ways, you certainly are clueless in others," she giggled. "Like right now, I don't have a clue as to what you mean, little Sis. Would you care to enlighten me?" "Karen likes you, you big dummy. She's had a crush on you for years." "You're kidding me, right?" "No, duffus. It was her idea to help you." "Well, I'll be damned. Patty, I think Karen is as cute as hell. I've had a crush on her too, big time, I just haven't done anything about it. She's your best friend and I didn't want to screw that up. Plus, I never thought I'd ever stand a chance with her." "Oh, you'd stand a chance with her. If she ever knew I told you this, I wouldn't be her best friend any more, but if you asked her to go steady tomorrow, she'd agree in a second." "Wow," was all I could say. Patty put her arms around me and hugged me. I returned the hug and kissed her on the forehead. "You know I love you, don't you, Sis?" "I love you too, Ed." "Thank you for stepping in today. I don't know, but I think Shepard had totally lost it. I might have been seriously hurt if the two of you hadn't shown up." "It was nothing. So, are you going to ask Karen out, or did I spill my guts to you in vain?" "I think I probably will. I've always..." Just then we heard dad yell from down below us. I put my finger to my lips to signal Patty to keep quiet then said, "Yes, Dad?" "Get down here right now, Ed. We need to talk," he yelled. I could feel my stomach start to tighten up again. I knew that his talk was going to include his fists. I didn't hesitate though. I knew that any hesitation on my part would just mean more fisticuffs. Dad was standing in the entry way of the barn when I got down there. I could tell he was angry before he even said a word. I walked until I was about six feet from him, then stopped. "I hear you have detention next week and have to drive to school," he said, his eyes flashing. "That's right, Sir," I said, then I went on to tell him about the fight with Shepard. Again I left out any mention about Patty or Karen. "You must think you're pretty damned tough, getting into fights." "No, Sir. I've decided I'm not going to let some bully push me around any more though." "You'd better not get into any more fights, Sonny. Next time I'm going to make you walk home from school. Do you hear me?" "Yes, Sir, I hear you, but I'm through with being pushed around. If that means I have detention or even get expelled then that's the way it's going to be." "Why you little..." he said, then he stepped forward and hit me. Over the years I'd learned to roll with the punches, so although I ended up on my butt on the ground, I really wasn't hurt. "Dad," I said while I was sitting there. "That's the last time you're ever going to hit me and get away with it. The next time you hit me, I'll kill you while you sleep." My voice was low and menacing as I said this and I could see surprise and maybe a touch of fear in his eyes. I had fully expected him to go into a rage, but he didn't. "Dad," Patty said from the loft. "If you hit him again, he won't have to kill you. I'll beat you to death with a ball bat. You have to sleep sometime and you'll never be safe if you hit him again." Dad just stood there staring at me, then looking up at Patty. He was totally dumbfounded. I don't know how long it took before he moved, but finally he turned and walked off. He was muttering something about finally getting a backbone as he left. Patty came down from the loft and we held each other. Both of us were shaking and Patty was crying silently. We held each other until we both calmed down, then I said, "Thank you again, Sis. He might have ignored me, but I think you scared him." "I meant what I said. I might not kill him, but I'll put him in the hospital." I squeezed her as tight as I could, then we went ahead and finished our chores. When we went in the house, mom gave us a very strange look, but she didn't say anything. Later, as we were eating dinner, I decided to push things a little further. "Mom," I said. "Since I'm going to be driving to school all next week, Patty and I have decided we're going to just keep it up. Driving to school from now on will keep us from having to put up with the bullies on the bus." Mom looked at me like I'd grown another head. She glanced over at dad and he had his head down, his eyes fixed on his plate. She looked at Patty and then at me. "I suppose that will be alright," she said, again looking at dad. He didn't say a word or even indicate that he had heard what was being said. Patty was smiling from ear to ear when I looked at her. She winked and went back to eating. ------- After dinner, I called Karen. Patty was leaning over my shoulder as I called. I had never called Karen before, but Patty called her all of the time. I was a little afraid of what her parents would think if they answered, but I was lucky and it was Karen who picked up the phone. "Wellston residence," she said. "Karen? This is Ed." "Oh, hi, Ed." She said. She sounded pleased I was calling, so I felt a little better as I continued. "I wanted to thank you for stepping in and saving me today," I said. "It wasn't anything, Ed, but you're welcome. Are you feeling better now?" "I'm okay. I have a little soreness in my stomach, but there was no serious damage, thanks to you and Patty." "I'm glad." "Look, the reason I called you, aside from thanking you was to ask if you'd like to go to a movie with me tomorrow?" She sounded almost giddy when she asked, "You mean like on a date?" "Well... Yeah. If you'd like to, that is." "I'd love to, Ed. What movie did you want to go to?" We talked for a few minutes more. I had always been very shy around girls, but I found that talking with Karen was easy. We ended up saying we'd decide what we wanted to see when we got to the theater. I would pick her up at seven. When we hung up, Patty gave me a big hug. "You just made her year," she said. "Do me one favor. Please don't break her heart." "I don't plan to, Sis," I said as I kissed her on the forehead. "You know, we haven't hugged so much since we were little kids. I kind of like it." "Yeah, I know. I like it too. It just seems like you and me are partners now. It's you and me against the world, or maybe you and me and Karen," she giggled. "Suits me," I said. Day 2 Saturday, October 23 Patty and I seemed to be especially close on Saturday. I mean, we had always been close, living out in the country the way we did, but this was like we had become a lot closer. Dad never said a word to us the entire day. When we went in to lunch, we found that dad had gone to town. "Okay, so what happened with you and your dad, Ed?" mom asked. "I think maybe you should ask him, Mom," I said. "I did, but he won't tell me. Come on guys. I need to know what's going on around here." I looked over at Patty and she nodded. "Okay, Mom," I said. "Dad hit me again when he came out to the barn. He knocked me on my butt. I told him that if he ever did that again I'd kill him in his sleep. I don't know whether he believed me or not, but then Patty told him the same thing." Mom gasped. She looked stunned when she asked, "You really wouldn't do that would you?" "We might not kill him, Mom," Patty said, "but we'd definitely put him in the hospital." Mom looked back and forth between Patty and me. Finally, she asked, "Has it been that bad?" "You have no idea, Mom. He has knocked me down with his fist at least ten times in the last year," I said. "Why didn't you tell me?" "I didn't want him to start taking it out on you, Mom. I've told Patty. She can verify what I'm telling you." "He's told me every time, Mom. I think that's over now though. I think we scared him." "You may think it's over, but I plan on doing something about this." "Please don't, Mom. He doesn't hit you or yell at you. Patty and I will both be out of here within three years. If the abuse doesn't stop, we'll tell you, then you can do something," I said. "I don't know, Ed. I'll have to think about this. He isn't much of a husband to me, or much of a father to you guys. I may let it ride for a while, but eventually I'm going to have to do something about him. Promise me you'll tell me if he hits you again." "We both promise, Mom." ------- We got our chores done early that day and I managed to finish all of my homework for the weekend. When we went in to dinner, dad still hadn't come home. We actually had a fun meal. Mom teased me about going out on a date, and Patty didn't help me any with her snide comments. I didn't mind being teased by two people who loved me though. I must have had a million butterflies fluttering around in my stomach when I got in our car to go pick up Karen. She only lived about half a mile from us, so it wasn't much of a drive. I knocked on her door and Karen's father answered it. He had a very serious look on his face when he invited me in. I followed him in to the living room and took a seat when he indicated I should. "So, Ed, you and Karen are going on a date," he said in a very stern voice. "I've always thought you were a good boy, and I know a lot of what you've been through. I want you to know though, if you hurt my daughter, I'll hunt you down to the ends of the earth and make you pay for it. Is that clear?" "If I hurt her then that's what I would deserve, Mr. Wellston. My sister would do the same thing and frankly I'm more afraid of her than I am of you." He laughed a huge belly laugh then said, "Please call me Claude, Ed. I see you've learned one lesson early on. Women are a lot more dangerous than men. All I'm asking is that you take care of my little girl. Years from now, when you have a daughter of your own, you'll know how I feel." "I think I know a little of what you mean right now, Claude. If anyone did anything to hurt my sister, I don't think I could control myself." "I knew there was a reason I liked you," Claude laughed again. "Actually there are several reasons. When you've worked for me on the farm, you've always put in a good day's work for the money you got. I've never seen you slacking off or taking short cuts." "Thank you, Claude." "I know you two are young, but I couldn't have picked a better young man to date my daughter." I was saved from answering by Karen coming in. She was dressed a little nicer than what she usually wore to school and I was spellbound. She smiled at me and asked if I was ready. When we got into the car, she slid over beside me. "Was dad giving you the third degree?" she asked. "Not really. He did say he'd hunt me down to the ends of the earth if I hurt you though." Karen's giggle was infectious as she grabbed my hand and held on. "Don't let him scare you. He's a big old softy. He's not like your dad at all." Karen suddenly realized what she'd said and got serious. I laughed and said, "I think you're right. I guess I should tell you about what happened last night." I went on to tell her about dad knocking me down and what Patty and I had told him afterwards. "Do you think it did any good?" she asked. "I think so. Bullies are really cowards. They pick on people who are smaller than them or who are afraid of them. We showed dad he should be afraid of us instead of us being afraid of him. He didn't say a word when I told mom in front of him that Patty and I will be driving to school from now on. He didn't even say anything when I told mom we were going out on a date tonight." Karen looked sad, but she said, "That's great. I'm going to miss you guys on the school bus though." I squeezed her hand and asked, "Why do you have to miss us? Why don't you ride with us?" Karen's smile would have lighted New York. "I'll have to ask my parents. Do you really mean I could ride with you?" "Absolutely. I don't think you'll have any trouble with your parents. Your dad seems to trust me." ------- We decided on a silly comedy film. It was a good one and it had us both in tears from laughing. We started out holding hands, but about half way through the movie, I put my arm around Karen and she snuggled in close. I don't know how she was feeling, but I was in heaven. We went for burgers after the show ended. We were still a little hyped from the movie, so we ended up throwing French fries at each other. We had quite a mess to clean up before we left. I had been having so much fun that I didn't want the date to end, but it was after ten already so I knew it had to. I drove Karen home and when I pulled into the lane that ran up to her house, I turned off the lights and stopped the car. She had been sitting close all of the way home and I had my arm around her. "Karen, I can't tell you how much fun I had tonight. I hope you'll go out with me again." "Oh yes, Ed, I'd love to go out with you again. I had a wonderful time too." I leaned down and kissed her softly. I really didn't know what I was doing, but Karen seemed to like it. She kissed me back as tenderly as I was kissing her. I was a goner. We broke off the kiss, both of us smiling from ear to ear. I turned on the lights; put the car in gear; and drove her up to her house. I opened her car door for her and walked her up on her porch. We exchanged another tender kiss, then Karen said, "Call me," and ran into her house. Day 3 Sunday, October 24 "So, how was your big date last night?" Patty teased as we were eating breakfast. "It couldn't have been any better," I said with a big grin. "Wow!" Patty said, the teasing gone from her voice. "What did you guys do?" "We went to a movie, then went for burgers afterwards. We had a lot of fun and I took her home just before eleven." "Did you kiss her?" Patty asked with a grin. "Patty, my love, that's private." "Awh, come on. Karen will tell me. I can get her to tell me anything. I even know how often she mast... Oops." I had to laugh. "That's more than I need to know, sister mine. Would you like it if asked her how often you... ?" Patty blushed redder than I'd ever seen her blush. "So, come on, did you kiss her?" I sighed. "We kissed twice and it was wonderful. I think I'm in love with your best friend, Sis." Patty jumped up and ran around the table. She gave me a big hug and yelled, "Yes!" I hugged her back then she went back to her seat. "I'm going to call her in a few minutes and get the scoop from her," Patty said. "Would you like to talk to her when I do?" "Sure," I said, blushing. Patty jumped up and ran into the living room. I just sat there sipping on a cup of coffee. It must have been half an hour later when I heard Patty yell, "Ed, your girlfriend is on the phone." I'm going to tickle her to death, I thought as I went into the living room. Patty held the phone out to me with a smirk. "Hello," I said. I know that wasn't very inventive, but Patty sat down across from me and it didn't look like she had any intention of leaving. "Hi, Ed. Is your sister still sitting there?" "Yes, I'm afraid so," I told her. Patty laughed. I know she knew we were talking about her. "I really had a good time last night, Ed. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did." "Very much so, Karen, I'd really like to talk to you, somewhere that this little pitcher with the big ears couldn't hear." "I'd like that too, Ed. Patty asked me to come over for the day. Would that be okay with you?" "It would make a good day great," I said. "I have a question for you, Ed. I don't want to embarrass you, but Patty told me something and I was wondering if it was the truth." "Okay, shoot." I had an idea what it was and my little sister was in serious danger of losing her life if I was right. "She said you told her that you've fallen in love with me. Is that true?" "My little sister has a big mouth and she is in serious danger of being attacked by the tickle monster," I said. "She didn't lie to you though." Karen giggled then said, "Good. I love you too." "That's fantastic," I said. "When are you coming over?" "Probably in just a few minutes. Why?" "Well... when two people say that to each other, there are certain protocols that should be initiated. Before you panic, I'm thinking about the way we ended the evening last night." Karen laughed. "I wouldn't have panicked, Ed. I know you and I trust you. I agree your sister is a busybody though. Maybe I should hold her down while you tickle her." "That'd work. Look, I'm going to run because I have a couple of things I need to do before you get here. Do you need a ride over?" "That would be nice. Don't bring your bratty sister along though. I do think we need to talk." "Okay. I'll pick you up in half an hour. Bye, Love." Patty was grinning from ear to ear when I hung up the phone. "So, we're going to go get her?" she asked. "No, I'm going to go get her. We have something we need to talk about in private." "About being in llloooovvvvveee?" she asked. "That's none of your business, Sis. I love you with all of my heart, but sometimes I'd like to spank you. Why did you tell her about me saying I was in love with her?" "Oh, is it going to be a bare bottom spanking?" she giggled, then she looked serious. "Look, you and Karen are both so shy you'd have probably taken months to say anything to each other. This way you know up front how you feel about each other." "Okay, I guess I can forgive you for that. You have to remember though, Sis, that there will be times Karen and I will want to be alone and there are things that will be private between us." "Okay, bro, I'll give you some time alone, but Karen is my best friend and you are my brother. Neither one of you is going to shut me out. That wouldn't be right." "You're right. It wouldn't be right to shut you out and I have no intention of doing so. Just remember, there will be times when we want a few minutes alone." "Not a problem, Ed. Remember, I love you both." I went over and gave her a soft kiss before running upstairs to take a quick shower. ------- Chapter 2 Karen was sitting on her front porch when I pulled up. She ran out and jumped in the car before it had hardly stopped. "Is anything the matter?" I asked. "Not a thing," she said with a big smile. "I'm just happy to see you." We took off and I drove us to a place Patty and I like to go fishing along the river. No one was there, so I pulled in and turned off the car. We looked into each other's eyes, then leaned in for a kiss. It wasn't hot. It wasn't passionate. It was very loving. "I do love you, Karen," I said, almost reverently. "I have for years." "I love you too," she told me. "Will you go steady with me, Karen." Her smile was a mile wide when she said, "Of course." We kissed again and afterwards, I said, "Maybe I won't kill Patty for telling you what I said. You may want to kill her when I tell you what she said about you though." "What did she say?" "She asked me if we had kissed last night and I told her it wasn't any of her business. She told me I might as well tell her because you told her everything. She said you even told her how often you masturbate." Karen blushed as red as a beet. "Oh, I'm going to kill her. As of right now, she is dead meat." I laughed and hugged her close. "She didn't tell me how often, Love, just that she knew." We exchanged a couple of kisses then I started the car and headed for home. We were about half way there when Karen said, "Sometimes as often as twice a day." It took it a minute for what she was talking about to sink in. When it did, I burst out laughing. "Me too," I said. "Sometimes more." Karen giggled and blushed, "Yeah, me too." We were still laughing when we pulled up in front of the house. Dad was sitting on the porch when we got out of the car. We walked on into the house and he didn't say a word to me. Karen said hello to him and he just grunted. Of course that's what he always did with her. ------- Patty was sitting in the back yard when we found her. She was just soaking up some sun. All of us knew there weren't going to be too many beautiful days like this left before winter hit us. Mom was pulling some weeds from one of her flower beds and talking with Patty. I sat down on the swing and Karen snuggled up beside me. "So, Patty, you know you're going to die, don't you?" Karen asked. "Whatever for?" Patty asked in her best Southern Belle voice. "You know very well what for," Karen giggled. "It couldn't possibly be because of some of the things I've told Ed about you, could it?" Patty asked. By now, mom was paying close attention to the conversation. "For that and for some of the things you told Karen about me," I said. "Of course I don't know if I should hug you or spank you for what you told her." "Why's that, Big Brother?" Patty asked. "Because Karen and I are now going steady," I said. I could see mom smiling and Patty giggled. "Congratulations, guys," mom said. Thanks, Mom," I said. "Yes, thank you, Mrs. Miller," Karen agreed. "Are you two going to get all lovey dovey now? Kissy face, kissy face all of the time?" Patty asked. "No, but we might get all spanky butt, spanky butt on Ed's little sister," Karen laughed. Mom was cracking up. She seemed totally relaxed. "Would you guys like some iced tea?" mom asked. We all agreed that would be nice and I volunteered to help her. Once we were in the kitchen I asked her about her relaxed mood. "I took a page out of yours and Patty's book last night," she told me. "I told John he could either lighten up on you and Patty and try to be a better husband and provider, or he could pack up his shit and get out. He's been pouting ever since, but I feel like I've been let out of prison." I kissed her on the cheek and said, "Good for you, Mom. You know that Patty and I love you, don't you?" "Yes, I know that, Ed. I love both of you too. I also told your dad that he has two weeks to find a job and that if he isn't on it until the job finishes, he can start packing. I'm tired of him getting into fights and getting fired." "I can understand that. What did he say?" "He wouldn't talk to me about it. He knows I'm serious though." "Good. What do you think about me and Karen?" "I think it's great. I know you've liked Karen for a long time and Patty tells me that Karen has liked you even longer. Just try not to hurt her or to let her hurt you." "Karen nor I either one are the kind of people who would intentionally hurt anyone. It might happen, but if it does it will be unintentional. Any time you open yourself up to someone else, you also open yourself up to being hurt." "When did you become so mature, Ed? I'm amazed." I laughed. "I guess you just tend to grow up fast when things are bad. Someday I'll be able to look back at the last few years and laugh. It'd be hard to do right now. Things certainly seem to be getting better though." "So, when are you going to tell me about what happened at school on Friday?" mom asked. "I don't know what you mean, Mom. I told you about being put on detention." "Yes, but you didn't tell me about two guys ending up in the hospital. Since one of them was Raymond Shepard, I'm sure you had something to do with it. I'm not angry, but I do need to know in case something comes up." I sighed. Mom wasn't a dummy. I had been afraid we couldn't keep it from her, but I hadn't wanted to tell her either. "Mom, I wasn't the only one involved, so I didn't feel I could tell you about it. Why don't we go out and drink our tea and I think I can satisfy your curiosity." We went back outside and mom took a seat close to the rest of us. "Mom heard that two guys ended up in the hospital on Friday. She suspects that I had something to do with that. She feels like she needs to know what happened in case something comes up about it. I think she's probably right," I said. Karen squeezed my arm and nodded. Patty looked a little afraid, but she nodded too. "Raymond Shepard said he wanted me to meet him behind the gym at lunch. I knew I couldn't run from him forever, so I met him. When I got there, there were two more guys with him. He started telling me how he was going to beat me up, so I hit him. I managed to kick him once too." "That doesn't sound like it would cause the damage Maude Richards was telling me about last night," mom said. "Mom," Patty said, "Karen and I decided we should help Ed. We took a couple of baseball bats and went around to see what was going on. Two guys were holding Ed and Shepard was beating the crap out of him. I sneaked up behind Shepard and hit him across the back with the ball bat." "I got behind one of the guys who was holding Ed and hit him with a bat too," Karen said. "You guys did a lot of damage," mom said. "Shepard has two broken ribs and he's bleeding from one of his kidneys. Bob Salyers has a broken tail bone." "Mom, if I had to do it again, I'd do the same thing," Patty said. "I thought they were going to kill Ed. Take off your shirt and show mom your bruises, Ed." I stood up and pulled off my shirt. I'd noticed this morning that I had a fine crop of bruises and I had shown Patty. Mom looked at me and gasped. "They were still hitting you when Patty and Karen hit them?" mom asked. "I don't know, Mom. I had passed out." "They were still hitting him, Mrs. Miller," Karen said. "I thought they were going to kill him." "Karen, I have to talk to your mother about this. Your parents need to know what's going on in case these kids' parents sue or something. I probably shouldn't say this, but I'm proud of you kids. I'll back you up on this to the end." Mom left and went into the house to call Karen's mom. I asked Karen how her parents were going to react to this. "I think they'll be okay with it. They may be a little mad that I didn't tell them about it right away, but they won't be mad that I hit the guy. At least dad won't. Mom hates violence in any form, so she may be a little upset." I hadn't put my shirt back on and Karen sat there running her hand back and forth across my chest until Patty started teasing her about it. I was really enjoying the feeling. I put my shirt back on just before mom came back out. Mom looked at Karen and said, "Girl, you are in trouble." Karen's mouth fell open and I hugged her tight. Then, mom started laughing. "I guess that was mean, Karen. I'm sorry. Actually, I think your mother is okay with it. She does want you to be home for dinner though, and she'd like for Ed and Patty to have dinner with you guys as well." ------- Nothing was said about the incident until after we had finished eating. Claude and I went into the living room while the girls helped clear the table, then everyone joined us. Mrs. Wellston was the first to speak. "I think I'd like to hear about what happened from you guys. Why don't each of you tell us about your part in this." I started off and told them about what happened on Thursday, then continued on until I had passed out on Friday. Patty picked up and told them about her part, then Karen finished off the story. Neither of Karen's parents said anything during the narration. Finally, Mrs. Wellston said, "You know, Ed, violence is not the way to handle any situation. If you hadn't lost your temper and hit Shepard on Thursday, none of the rest of this would have happened." "I realize that, Mrs. Wellston. I've been in the same school with Raymond Shepard for two years. During those two years he has slapped me on numerous occasions. He has hit me on the shoulder or the arm hard enough to leave bruises countless times. He has shamed me and humiliated me daily. Why does he do it? Because I'm smart and because I'm overweight. I didn't lose my temper on Thursday. What I did was thought out and I knew the consequences. I knew he was going to beat me up for what I did, but I figured I'd at least gain a little respect and that he might lessen his torment if he knew I was going to fight back, even if it was ineffectual." "In some ways that is even worse..." Mrs. Wellston started to say. "Martha, what Ed did is very commendable," Claude said. "He had to be scared to death, but he had the courage to stand up for himself. I think we should be praising him instead of trying to show him the error of his ways." "Perhaps you're right, Claude. You know how I abhor violence though. What ever made you think of using baseball bats on the boys, Patty?" "Patty didn't think of using the baseball bats, Mom," Karen said. "I thought of the baseball bats. These aren't boys, Mom. Raymond Shepard is almost nineteen. He's had his full growth and strength for at least three years. He matured early and his physical strength, along with an IQ that matches his waist size, has turned him into a bully." "Why couldn't you have just let it go, Karen? Ed said he knew he was going to be beaten and he accepted it. Why couldn't you?" "Partially because I don't believe anyone should have to be beaten up by a bully. Mostly because I love Ed and have for a long time. When Patty and I saw what they were doing to him, I was ready to kill all three of them. Ed, take your shirt off and show mom your bruises." I didn't say anything. I did get up and took off my shirt. Mrs. Wellston gasped and Claude said, "Oh, shit, Son." "They had beaten him until he passed out. That didn't even slow them down. Shepard was acting like Ed was a punching bag. When Patty and I saw what they were doing, I think I'd have used the ball bat even if it had been someone I hated being beaten." I put my shirt back on and sat down. "Mrs. Wellston, what would you have done if it had been Claude who was being beaten?" Patty asked. Mrs. Wellston just sat there for a couple of minutes. Her head was down and it looked like she was going through a lot of internal conflict. Finally she raised her head and said, "I'd have done the same thing." "Do you know what kind of story Shepard and Salyers gave the police?" Claude asked. "I heard they told Mr. Adkins they were trying to walk along the railing behind the gym and that they'd fallen on the rail. That was before they knew how serious their injuries were though," Patty said. "I don't think they wanted anyone to know they'd been hurt by two girls," Karen added. "Well, I guess we'll just have to wait and see what happens," Claude said. "This happened on Friday and it's now Sunday. I'd have thought the police would have already been around if Salyers and Shepard had told them what really happened. In the mean time, let's just try to put it behind us." "Mr. and Mrs. Wellston, I would like your permission to continue dating Karen. We would like to go steady if you'll permit it," I said. Karen squeezed my hand and smiled at me. Claude looked over at me and winked. "What do you think, Martha?" he asked. "I think fifteen is a little young for a girl to be going steady," Mrs. Wellston said. "I'll agree that fifteen is a little young," Claude said, "but don't you think she's shown a lot of maturity for her age?" "Yes, I guess she has. Okay, kids. It's hard to see your children growing up. Just promise me you won't go too far, too fast." "We promise, Mom," Karen said. "Ed and Patty are going to be driving to school from now on. Would it be okay for me to ride with them?" "I think that would be fine," Claude said with a grin. "It might even keep you out of trouble, Girl. How did you get your dad to agree to that, Ed?" "Well, I guess you could say that dad and I have come to an understanding. He's not going to hit me any more or be as strict and I'm not going to beat him up when he's asleep." I thought Claude was going to choke on the iced tea he had been sipping. "You know, Ed, my father was a lot like yours. He used his fists a lot as I was growing up. I had pretty much the same conversation with him when I was about your age." I was amazed. "Did it do any good?" I asked. "Yes, it did. I hope it works as well for you. Sometimes a man has to stand up to a bully, even if the bully is your father." Day 4 Monday, October 25 Driving to school was really nice, even if it did mean I was going to be in after school detention. Patty, Karen and I were all in the front seat for the trip, with Karen in the middle. "Are you girls going to take the bus this afternoon?" I asked them. "No, we're going to wait for you," Karen informed me. "I talked it over with mom and dad and they agreed it would be safer for me to wait for you. I'll just get my homework done while I'm waiting." "Same here," Patty said. "Well. It's only an hour. Maybe they'll even let you study in the detention study hall." "We'll ask Mr. Adkins today," Karen decided. "That would make it a lot nicer." Patty gave me a big hug and Karen gave me a hug and a kiss before we went inside and headed for our respective home rooms. Rumors were flying about Shepard and Salyers. No one had a clue as to what really happened, thank God. It was just after noon when Mr. Adkins came on the PA system with an announcement. "Most of you have probably heard by now that we had two students injured when they were playing around on the railing behind the gymnasium on Friday. Tomorrow morning during second period there will be a safety presentation in the gymnasium. All students must attend." There was a collective groan from everyone. "The two students were seriously injured. Mr. Salyers has a broken tail bone and Mr. Shepard has two broken ribs and his left kidney was injured to the point it had to be removed." "This happened because the students ignored the rules that were set up for your protection. If any student is caught violating any of the school safety rules, they will be suspended for three days. A second offense will cause the student to be expelled. Copies of the school safety regulations are available in the front office." "So, they haven't changed their stories," I thought. I hadn't wanted Shepard to lose a kidney because of what happened, but I couldn't feel too sorry for him either. ------- When I went into the detention hall, Jerry Bostwick, the third guy who had been holding me on Friday, was there waiting for me. "Miller, I have a message for you from Raymond and Bob. They say when they get out of the hospital they are going to kill you, your sister, and the other girl. This isn't me talking. I don't want any part of it. I think they're serious and I don't want to risk spending the rest of my life in jail." I thanked him and he was gone before the detention supervisor arrived. I was in a daze during the detention period. I was vaguely aware that Patty and Karen had come in, but I really didn't look at them. When the detention period was over, both girls asked me what was wrong. "Shepard and Salyers sent threats today, threats that they are going to kill all three of us. I don't know how serious they are, but I think we should talk to your dad about this, Karen." Karen agreed, and we were a quiet bunch driving home. When we got to Karen's place, we saw Claude working in the barn. I kissed Karen and told her and Patty to go on into the house and that I'd talk to Claude about the threats. Claude had a big smile as we said hello. That really made me feel good. "Claude, I have a problem I need to talk to you about," I told him. "Another one?" "Actually, it's a continuation of the old one. The guy who ran away Friday stopped me today. He said that Shepard and Salyers wanted him to tell me that they are going to kill Patty, Karen, and me when they get back on their feet. He said he thinks they're serious and that he doesn't want any part of it because he doesn't want to mess up his whole life." "Well it sounds like he has at least part of a brain. What do you think? Do you feel like the three of you are in danger?" "I really don't know, Sir. If it was just me, I'd probably just try to be cautious, but I don't want to take a chance of Karen or Patty being hurt or killed." "Let's go in the house and talk to Martha. Have you told your mother yet?" "No, Sir. I wanted to talk to you first." Claude put his arm on my shoulders as we walked toward the house. I had never had a man show me any affection and this almost had me in tears. "Don't blame yourself for this, Ed. It was my daughter who decided to use a baseball bat on those two morons. I can't even blame her. She was right in what she did. We'll figure something out on this." "Thanks, Claude," I managed to mumble. Claude pulled his wife off to the side and told her what was going on, then he asked her to call mom and have her come over. When she had called mom, Mrs. Wellston got us all some iced tea and we sat around the table drinking it until mom arrived. I told mom what was going on and she looked so scared I moved over to her and put my arm around her. "What are we going to do?" she asked. "Well, I have a couple of ideas on that," Claude said. "First off, I have a friend who is a deputy sheriff. I'm going to have him check on Shepard and Salyers and see if they have any type of police record. If they do, it'll be a strike against them when we report all of this to the police. The next thing I think we should do is go to Mr. Adkins and tell him the whole thing." "If we do that, he'll expel us," I said. "Oh, I don't think it will come to that," Claude said with a big smile. "I called my lawyer today and we had a nice long talk. It is Mr. Adkins' responsibility to provide you with a safe environment for learning. Allowing Shepard, who is an adult, to beat up on you, a minor, is not providing you with a safe environment. We'll just have to convince him he should report an adult for beating up on a minor to the sheriff. In exchange for that, we'll agree not to sue his ass for allowing it to happen in the first place." "Is that going to work, Daddy?" Karen asked. "I think we can make it work. Karen, would you get out the camera and take some pictures of the bruises on Ed's stomach? I think we'll need them in case this is still going on after the bruises have gone away." "That still doesn't do anything to stop Shepard and Salyers," I said. "We're going to see that assault charges are filed against them," Claude said. "We'll also get a restraining order against them. That way if they come within a hundred feet of any of you, they'll be arrested." Karen managed, with a lot of giggling from her and Patty, to take some pictures of my bruises. We all talked for a few more minutes, then we had to get home and get our chores done. Dinner was a little late that evening, partly because mom had been over to the Wellstons and partly because Patty and I were late getting our chores done. Dad was there, but he didn't say a thing to anyone. Of course none of us said anything to him either. ------- Day 5 Tuesday, October 26 When Patty and I went to pick Karen up the next morning, she came to the door and motioned for us to come in. I did so, reluctantly, because I didn't want to be late for school. Claude was sitting at the kitchen table, drinking coffee when we went in. "Guys, I just got off the phone with your mom," Claude informed us. "We've decided you aren't going to school today. At least not until after we've talked to my lawyer and to Mr. Adkins. I can't call the lawyer until 9:00 so why don't you guys get yourselves a cup of coffee and relax for a while." I did just that and sat down across the table from him. Patty sat down at the end of the table and Karen pulled her chair over so close to mine that they were touching. Karen and I stared into each other's eyes for a minute, grinning like a couple of idiots. "I'll turn my head if you want to give my daughter a good morning kiss, Son," Claude laughed. "You don't have to turn your head, Claude," I said, then I leaned over and gave Karen a gentle, loving kiss. Claude just laughed, so I put my arm around Karen and she snuggled in close. I saw that even Mrs. Wellston was smiling at us. Karen and I were still snuggled up when mom got there. We all listened as Claude made the call to his attorney. We couldn't follow the conversation very well, but from the smile on his face, we could tell things were going the way Claude wanted them to go. When he hung up the phone, he was still secretive about what was going on. All he would tell us was that we would be meeting his attorney at Mr. Adkins' office at 11:00 AM. He told Patty, Karen and me to get lost and to meet him at the school at that time. We went outside and talked for a couple of minutes, trying to decide what to do with our unaccustomed freedom. Finally, we just decided to take a drive. Karen seemed a little surprised when I drove us out to mine and Patty's fishing spot. I parked the car and got a blanket out of the trunk. We spread the blanket out where we'd have a nice view of the river and then we all laid down to soak up some sun. I was in the middle and Karen and I were holding hands. I was a little surprised when Patty held my other hand. We just laid there for about an hour. We didn't say much, but we did enjoy just being close. I think we were all a little apprehensive about the upcoming meeting with Mr. Adkins. When we saw it was getting close to the time we'd have to leave, Patty and Karen folded the blanket up and Karen and I shared a big hug and kiss. ------- We met the adults in the school parking lot and Claude introduced us to his attorney, a Miss Leeana Grimes. "Okay, guys," Leeana said. "This is how it has to work. Don't say anything unless you are asked a question. Don't volunteer any information. When you are asked something, hesitate a second before you answer. That gives me a chance to object if it's something we shouldn't be talking about. If I don't say anything, answer the question honestly and completely. Is that understood?" We all assured her we understood. When we got to the office, Leeana walked in like she owned the place. She told the lady at the counter that we had an appointment with Mr. Adkins and the woman led us off to a small conference room. We seated ourselves around the table and waited for Adkins. Mr. Adkins didn't keep us waiting long. He came into the room, looked at Claude and asked, "What's this all about?" Leeana introduced herself, mom, and Karen's parents. Then, she said, "Mr. Adkins, we have a serious problem here and I know you're not aware of it. Part of it is not your fault because the two primary causes of the problem lied to you before they went into the hospital." "If you're talking about Salyers and Shepard, how did they lie to me?" Leeana told Adkins what had happened on Friday just the way it went down. She didn't try to lessen our part in it, but she did make sure to get it across that the altercation had been started by Shepard and Salyers. When she finished, she waited for Adkins to reply. Adkins looked directly at me then asked, "Is that the way it happened?" Leeana didn't say anything so I answered, "Yes, Sir." "You hit Mr. Shepard first?" Again, Leeana was quiet. "Yes, Sir, but only after he had told me in detail how he was going to beat me up." "Mr. Miller," Adkins said. "This is very serious. By your own admission, you struck Mr. Shepard first. Then, when he was retaliating, these two young women attacked him and another boy with ball bats. At the very least, the three of you are going to be expelled. At the worst, you will be charged with assault and the girls will be charged with assault with a deadly weapon." I didn't say anything, but just looked over at Leeana. She smiled and winked at me then she turned toward Adkins. You are right. This is very serious, but I don't think you are seeing it from the proper perspective. The two young men who are in the hospital are both over eighteen. Mr. Shepard is almost nineteen. Both of them are adults. Ed is a sixteen year old minor. Karen and Patty are both fifteen." "That doesn't really make any difference in this case Miss Grimes." "I beg to differ with you, Mr. Adkins. I talked with the district attorney this morning. After explaining the situation to him, he agrees that the minor children are not at fault. He will not bring charges against them. He IS amenable to bringing charges against Shepard and Salyers." "Be that as it may, since these children were fighting on school property, they will have to be expelled." "May I use a phone, Mr. Adkins?" "I suppose so. Why?" "I need to call my associate and have him file a lawsuit we have prepared. It is against you, the school, the school board, the county, and the state." "What the hell are you talking about?" "It is your responsibility to provide a safe environment for these students to attend school. You have failed to do so by allowing an adult to beat up on a minor. The suit is for ten million dollars, by the way." "Now, wait a minute. You can't hold me responsible for what one student does to another." "I can, because you were negligent in performing your duties, Mr. Adkins. Minors have to be protected from being attacked by adults. I will have to talk with the DA again, but I feel you may have even been criminally negligent. If the DA agrees, you may be facing criminal charges as well. Unless..." "Unless what, Miss Grimes?" "Unless, you see the problem and do something to correct it immediately. My suggestion would be for you to drop all thoughts of expelling the three people who are here. I do think that Mr. Shepard and Mr. Salyers should be permanently expelled. Since it was an adult beating up on a minor, you need to file a report with the police. I also feel that the detention that Ed is serving should be dropped immediately." "I'm not sure I can do all of that, Miss Grimes. I will need to talk to the superintendent of schools and maybe the school board before I can give you an answer." "Okay... I suppose we can hold off filing the suit until tomorrow morning. If I receive a positive answer from you by 9:00 AM tomorrow, we will withhold the suit until the matter is cleared up. Ed, Patty, and Karen will not be here the rest of the day. They will be meeting with the police to give them their story so that criminal charges can be filed against Shepard and Salyers. They will not be here tomorrow either, since we don't know for sure a safe environment is going to be provided for them." ------- Out in the parking lot, Leeana asked for all of us to follow her to the Sheriff's office to give a statement about what happened on Thursday and Friday. Patty, Karen and I followed her in our car and Claude, Mrs. Wellston, and mom followed in Claude's car. The deputy who took our statements wanted to speak to each of us separately, so the other two were left sitting out in the hall alone as our parents demanded they be present for the interviews. We ended up spending nearly three hours at the Sherif's office. It wasn't all bad because I got to spend an hour of that time sitting and holding Karen's hand. I spent another hour holding Patty's hand. ------- It was almost three o'clock when we dropped Karen off at her house and picked mom up. We drove on over to the house and Patty and I decided to go ahead and change clothes and get our chores done. When we came back down stairs, mom had made us a cup of hot chocolate to "fortify us for the weather", which had been turning cold. Mom told us how proud of us she was as we drank the wonderful brew. We had gotten everything done and I was finishing putting down the last of the hay when Patty climbed into the loft. She went over and laid down on a stack of loose hay then asked, "Could I talk to you for a minute, Ed?" "Sure thing, Sis. I'm finished anyway." I went over and laid down on the hay beside her. Patty turned over and laid her head on my shoulder. I put my arm around her and gave her a hug. "I'm sorry everything got so crazy because we used the ball bats," she said. "Karen and I didn't know what else to do." "It's okay, Honey. If you hadn't have stepped in, it might be me in the hospital, or even worse." "Yeah, I know. It's just that everything seems to have gone to hell because of it." "Not everything, Sis. I have a girlfriend because of it." Patty giggled and squeezed me. "Did you tell her that I told you I know how often she masturbates?" "I certainly did." "What did she say?" "She told me how often." "Oh my God! What did you do?" "I told her how often I do it." "Oh my God! Oh my God! Did she tell you anything about me?" "No, Sis. She didn't tell me how often you masturbate," I laughed. Patty's face was as red as a ripe tomato. She was quiet for a few minutes, then she said, "I can't help it, Ed. Sometimes I just have to do it. Sometimes I don't even want to, I just find myself doing it and I don't even remember starting it." "Patty, it's nothing to be ashamed of. We're going through puberty. Our bodies are being pumped full of hormones. Most people our age, hell any age for that matter, won't admit masturbating, but everyone does." "You think so? Even prissy little Sally Simmons?" "I'll bet Sally has her fingers up her... Sorry. I'll bet Sally does it more often than you do." Patty giggled. "What were you going to say before you stopped yourself?" I had to laugh too. "I was just going to say where Sally had her fingers." We were giggling like six year olds, so I put my arm back around Patty and hugged her tight. "You know, Sis, another good thing that has come out of this is that we've gotten a lot closer. I like that. I hope you know I've always loved you. Now it seems that I love you a whole lot more." Patty snuggled in closer and said, "I think I love you a lot more too. I'm glad you and Karen have gotten together, but I'll admit I'm a little jealous of her." I didn't know how to answer that, so I just held her. We laid there for some time, then I kissed her on the forehead. "We'd better be getting inside, Sweety. Mom will be wondering what happened to us." Patty pushed herself up and then gave me a sweet, soft kiss on the lips. "Come on, Big Brother. Let's see if we can help mom." ------- Mom didn't need any help with dinner, but she did tell us to sit down. "I need to talk to you guys," she said. "I don't know how to tell you this, so I'll just come right out with it. Your dad has left us. At least I think he's left us for good. When we got back today I found a note from him. It said he was going to California to look for work. He didn't say anything about sending us money, or calling us, or about coming back." Patty and I just sat there, stunned. I don't know how she felt, but I felt like the floor had fallen out from under me. "I can get a job to help out, Mom. I don't think dad contributed much anyway." Mom hugged me and said, "No, your dad never did contribute much. You won't have to get a job, Ed. I've never told you this, but I have a fairly good sized trust fund. My grandparents set it up for me when they died. I've had to pull money out of it to run the house ever since the fund was set up. It's still earned more than I've taken out." "Did dad know about the trust fund?" Patty asked. Mom laughed. "Oh, he knew about it alright. He was constantly after me to pull out a large chunk for some damned fool thing or other. I never would though, so that always just made him mad." "I didn't notice when we came in, Mom, did he take the car or the pickup?" I asked. "He took the car. I guess we'll have to get another car sometime, but for now I can drive the pickup. I checked his closet and it looks like he took all of his clothes. His chest of drawers is empty. His family pictures and his birth certificate and things like that are gone too." "You can use our car any time you want to, Mom. Patty and I can take the pickup to school if we need to." "I may take you up on that," mom said. "We can afford a new car though, so I just might get me one." We talked about how dad being gone was going to change our lives while mom finished preparing dinner and while we ate. We helped her clean up the kitchen afterwards and then I asked, "Mom, would it be okay if Patty and I went over to Karen's for a while. I have some things I'd like to talk to Claude about." "You can do anything you'd like, Son. I consider you the man of the house now and I'm not going to put any restrictions on you. Just let me know if you're going somewhere." "What about me, Mom?" Patty asked. "As long as you're with Ed, I won't worry about you. If you want to go somewhere without Ed, then ask me or Ed. Is that fair?" "Yep," Patty said with a big grin. ------- Chapter 3 Karen came running out of her house when we pulled up. She threw her arms around me so I kissed her gently. "Is your dad around, Honey?" I asked her. "Yeah, he's out in the barn smoking one of his stinky cigars." "Okay, I need to talk to him for a bit. Patty will fill you in on everything that's going on." Claud was indeed smoking one of his big cigars and whittling on a piece of wood. "Howdy, Ed," he said as I walked up. "Howdy, Claude. So, you're banished to the barn when you want to smoke a cigar?" He laughed. "No, I can smoke in the house if I want, but the misses makes such a big production out of opening windows and turning on fans that it's just a lot less hassle to smoke out here." I got a chuckle out of that. "I have something I need to talk to you about... Dad has taken off. Evidently mom told him he had to have a job by a certain date or she was going to kick him out. He left a note saying he was going to California to look for work. He took all of his clothes and all of his personal possessions, so we don't think he's going to be coming back." "I hate to say it, but you all might be better off if he didn't" I just nodded. "Are you guys okay for money?" "Yeah, we're fine, Claude. What I wanted to talk to you about was the farm. We haven't been making use of it. Mom raises a big garden, but I can't ever remember dad planting any crops. We have a lot of equipment, but most of it hasn't been run in years. I'd like to plant some crops this summer, but I don't know where to start." Claude had a big grin when he said, "Well, if you're serious about planting crops, I might be able to be of some help. I'll be happy to look over your equipment with you, sometime before spring. I'll even help you fix anything that needs fixing. I'd suggest that you start out very small though. Maybe just one field with one crop the first year unless you need the money." "No, mom says we're okay on money for the foreseeable future. I think one crop would be a smart way to start." We talked for a few minutes more about what crop would be the best to start off with then Claude stamped out his cigar and we walked back up to the house. It was dark and we couldn't see Patty and Karen sitting on the porch, but we could hear them giggling. As we got closer we could see them sitting on the swing. When they saw us they moved apart, leaving me room to sit between them. "Would you guys like some iced tea?" Claude asked. We all agreed we'd like some. Karen started to get up and go help, but Claude told her to stay where she was. He and Martha came back out in a few minutes with drinks for everyone. They sat in a couple of chairs and we all talked for a while. I had my arm around Karen and Patty was leaning heavily against the other side of me. I was in heaven. When we finished our tea, Patty and I said we should be getting home to check on mom. We all agreed Patty and I would be over the next morning at the regular time and we'd wait for a call from Claude's attorney there. ------- Mom was still up when we got home, so we went into the living room to talk with her for a while. "So, what did you need to talk to Claude about, if I'm not being too nosey?" she asked. "I wanted to get his advice about planting some crops next spring," I told her. "What did he have to say" she asked. I'll swear she was beaming. "He said we should start small with only one crop next year and only one field of it." "I'd be very pleased if we could start growing crops again. You did know this was my grandparents' farm, didn't you?" "No, I don't think I knew that, Mom. They were dead not long after I was born. I know someone was farming it until about four years ago, but I don't think dad ever did anything with it." "You weren't a baby when they died. You were around five years old. Your father never did do any farming. Your Uncle Jack farmed this place until he had his heart attack. Since then it's just lain fallow. I'd always thought that with your brain you'd want to be off doing something else, so I never had any hopes of it ever being productive again." "I love this place, Mom. I always have and I always will. I just may end up staying here the rest of my life." ------- I had been in bed about a half an hour, thinking about all that was going on when Patty came in. She slapped me on the hip and told me to move over. She laid down beside me, me under the covers and her on top. "So, are you really thinking about being a farmer?" she asked. "I'm thinking about it, Sis. I've always enjoyed the work when I worked for the other farmers in the area. I know it's not high-tech or anything, but there's something about living on a farm that I really like." "I like living on a farm too. I don't even mind doing the chores. We've been kind of isolated growing up, but I've never really minded that either. Karen is my best 'girl' friend, but I've always thought of you as my best friend." "I know what you mean. I know we could have always gone to mom if anything was bothering us, but I've always talked to you instead. I was always afraid that if I talked to mom, it might get back to dad. I knew if I talked to you that no one else would ever know." "That is a very nice compliment, Ed. I've always trusted you more than anyone else too. There were some things I talked to mom about rather than you because it would have embarrassed me to ask you about them, but for the most part it was always you." I had to laugh. "I guess there are some things a girl wouldn't want to talk to her brother about." Patty blushed, but she said, "I don't think it would bother me too much now." Patty sat up then leaned over and kissed me goodnight. "Sleep tight, Ed," she said as she left the room. ------- Day 6 Wednesday, October 27 Mom had breakfast ready for us when we got downstairs. Mom was really opening up since dad wasn't around and we had a great time laughing and joking over breakfast. Patty and I got our chores done and got ready for school. I asked mom if she'd like to ride over to Claude's with us, but she said she'd be over a little later. Karen ran out to meet us when we pulled into their driveway. She blushed, but came into my arms when I held them out. "Good morning, Love," I said, then I gave her a gentle kiss. Karen took my hand then we walked into the house. Claude and Martha were both smiling at us as we sat side by side at the table. The call from Claude's attorney came in just after 9:00 AM. She said that everything had been taken care of and that we should go back to school. The three of us loaded into the car and took off. I was really kind of happy to be going back. Our second period classes were nearly over when we got there so we just waited and went to our third period classes. I ran into Jerry Bostwick in the hall and he stopped me. "So, you went to the police," he said. I couldn't tell if he was angry or not, so I just nodded. "Well, I suppose you had to. I wanted to thank you for putting in a good word for me. They came to my house and questioned me last night, but they said you told them I didn't have much to do with it and that you thought I had learned my lesson. They gave me a warning and told me I'd have to testify against Shepard." "I'm glad you're getting off with a warning," I told him. "I appreciate you giving me a heads up about what Shepard was planning." "Not a problem, Ed. Are we straight then?" I nodded so he stuck out his hand. We shook and he left smiling. So was I. ------- Karen and Patty sat with me at lunch. I told them about Jerry. Both of them were pleased and Karen was ecstatic. She hugged my arm and told me I'd get a big kiss later. We talked as we ate and the subject of farming came up. "Patty tells me you're thinking of living on your farm after you get out of school," Karen said. "I'm thinking about it. I like living on a farm and I like the work. Do you like farm life?" "Yes, I do. Dad has kind of spoiled me and hasn't let me help much in the fields. I do have my chores though and I don't mind them. Everyone says being a farm wife is a hard life, but mom doesn't seem to mind it. I don't think I would mind it either." I was a little startled by the farm wife comment, but I got over it quickly. Hell, if Karen wanted to be my wife, I was all for it. ------- As we were eating dinner that evening, I asked mom, "Have you heard anything from dad?" "No, and I'm really glad I haven't. I've been doing a lot of thinking the last couple of days and I've reached some decisions. I guess now is as good of a time as any to tell you and Patty about them." I looked over at Patty and she gave me a little smile. "Okay, Mom," I said. "First off, I'm not going to let your dad come back. I've supported us for seventeen years and I think that is enough." "I agree, Mom," Patty said. "Secondly, I'm going to file for divorce. I talked to Claude's attorney while you were in school today and she says she'll file the suit for me." I took mom's hand and gave it a squeeze. "I think you're doing the right thing, but I hope it isn't because of me." "I'll admit it is partially because of you, but it is mainly because of me. Your dad hasn't physically abused me, but the mental abuse has been getting worse over the years. He has been accusing me of running around on him and has threatened me a few times." "You've never had a chance to run around on him, Mom," Patty said. "You're always home." "I know, Patty, but that didn't stop him from accusing me. I think a lot of it is jealousy over money. My grandparents were very wealthy. They never liked or trusted John, but they loved me. Before they died, they signed this farm over to me. They set it up in such a way that I could never sell it or mortgage it. It goes to you kids when I die. They set the trust fund up so that I could only take out so much a month until I reached the age of thirty. John knew all of this and it bothered him." "In a way I could see why it bothered him. That could even be the reason he turned out the way he did," I said. "No, Honey, he turned out the way he did because of himself. You were five years old when my grandparents died. Until then we had no idea about the farm or the trust. During those five years we practically starved. Your father would get a job and hold it for a couple of weeks, then he'd get fired for fighting. Some years he didn't even work enough to get unemployment insurance. When mom or my grandparents knew we were hurting, they'd slip me a little money for food." "He wasn't a drunk or anything was he, Mom?" I asked. "No. Just mean. He spent six months in jail one time when you were two years old. He hit a man with a shovel on one of the jobs he was on. Mom wanted me to divorce him then, but I kept hoping that someday he'd grow up. It just never happened." I looked over at Patty then we both got up and hugged mom from either side. I was a little surprised that she wasn't a little more upset, but then I thought of everything dad had done to her. ------- After I had gone to bed, Patty came in and visited with me again. "So, what do you think about what mom said?" she asked after she had laid down on top of the covers again. I turned over and put my arms around her. "The only thing I regret is that she didn't do this a long time ago," I said. "Yeah. I feel sorry for mom. She's wasted her life on a loser. I guess she's still young enough to enjoy life though." "She's only thirty-five. She has a lot of life left ahead of her. Maybe she'll even find another man." "You don't think thirty-five is too old to have sex?" Patty asked. "Honey, people have sex up into their eighty's or ninety's." "Eewh, that sounds gross." "It probably won't sound gross when you're eighty or ninety." "I doubt that I'll ever have sex." "Why's that, Sweety?" "It would have to be just the perfect man. I know there is a perfect man for me, but I doubt he'd ever want to have sex with me." "If he didn't there'd have to be something wrong with him," I told her. "You are a lovely young lady, Patty. Any man would want to make love to you." She laid her head on my shoulder and we snuggled for a few minutes. Then she kissed me on the cheek and went off to bed. ------- Day 7 Thursday, October 28 Mom was in the best mood I'd ever seen her in the next morning. I gave her a hug and a kiss on the cheek when I got myself a cup of coffee. "What's up, Mom. You seem happy." "I am happy. I've agonized for years over filing for divorce. I always thought I'd feel so lonesome. Now that I've done it, it's like I have a new chance at life." "Good for you, Mom." "Ed, you have no idea how happy you've made me by wanting to try your hand at farming." "Well, Mom," I said as Patty came in and poured herself some coffee. "I don't know if I'll be able to make a go of it, but I certainly want to try." "That's all anyone can do. Have you told Karen what you're planning to do?" Patty giggled. "Karen said she wouldn't mind being a farm wife." "Are you two that serious, Ed?" mom asked. "Heck, we've only had one date, so I can't say we're that serious yet. We do see each other every day though and I do love her. Who knows. She may decide she doesn't like me in a month or two." "That isn't going to happen," Patty said seriously. "Karen has been in love with you for years. If anything, it'll be you falling out of love with her." I had to laugh. More from a feeling of contentment than because I thought anything was funny. "Little Sis, there's no way in the world I'm going to fall out of love with Karen. She's beautiful and smart. She's loving and caring and she even likes my bratty sister." Mom had a big smile as she asked, "So can I plan on a wedding within the next two or three years?" "I think that's a very good possibility, if she'll have me," I told her. ------- My sister really is a brat. She repeated the entire conversation to Karen as we were driving to school. I just sat there trying to think up some punishment that would be sufficiently bad to repay her for this. When Patty finished, Karen hugged my arm and whispered in my ear, "I'll have you." I know I was blushing, but I also felt ten feet tall. When I stopped the car at school, Karen and I kissed before we got out. It was a very loving kiss with a lot of promise. "I'm going to hold you to that," I said. "I hope you do." ------- A couple of weird things happened that morning that almost blew my mind. The first was that Jill Benton stopped me in the hall and asked me if I was going to the Fall Festival. I told her I hadn't really thought about it. She was all smiles as she told me I really should think about going. She even touched me on the arm a few times as we were talking. The second thing happened in English class. I had gotten there early and I was looking through my notes from last week. As she was walking by, Tiffany Sellars laid her hand on my right shoulder and trailed it across my back to my left shoulder. She stopped for a moment with her hand still on my shoulder and said, "Good morning, Ed." I told her good morning, then she walked on up the aisle. Her butt looked like two cats fighting in a paper sack as she sauntered away. I told Patty and Karen about them at lunch. "They were coming on to you, Big Brother," Patty said. "I'm going to scratch their eyes out," Karen said. "Karen, my love, you don't have a thing to worry about. I love you and I'm going steady with you. There's no one else I'm interested in." "Awh, ain't that sweet," Patty said. "Shut up, Patty. It is sweet," Karen said. "I just can't see why they'd be coming on to me," I said. "You punched Raymond Shepard in the nose on the school bus. There had to be at least twenty people who saw it," Patty said. "Anyway, enough of that. Karen would you like to go bowling with me tomorrow night?" I asked. "That sounds like fun," she said as she squeezed my hand. "Can I go with you?" Patty asked. "You want to go on a date with us?" I asked incredulously. "This is to a bowling alley, Ed. There are going to be people all around you." Karen looked at me and I shrugged. "Okay, Patty," Karen said, "but, he takes you home first." Patty giggled then winked at me. ------- I didn't have anything as blatant as this morning happen to me in the afternoon, but I did notice a lot more people speaking to me. Some boys, but mostly girls. I decided not to mention it on the way home because I didn't want to upset Karen. We stopped at Karen's and I went out and talked with Claude for a while. Claude is the first man I'd ever been able to talk to. I enjoyed our conversations, even if they were just about the weather. When we got to the house, mom was in as good of a mood as she had been this morning. Patty and I changed clothes to get ready to do our chores, but mom stopped us before we went out. "I just wanted to let you know that I signed the papers to file for divorce today," she said. "I also got a restraining order against your father. If he shows up here, we are to call the sheriff immediately. They'll come out and serve him with the order." "Okay, Mom," I said. "The two of you need to try to avoid him until the sheriff gets here. The best thing you could do would be to get in your car and leave." "If you're here, Mom, I'm not going to leave without you," I said. ------- It wasn't five minutes after I had gone to bed when my nocturnal visitor showed up. This time she lifted the covers and slid in beside me. She was shivering, so I put my arms around her and let her snuggle up. "This is nice," Patty said. "Yeah, it is nice," I agreed. "Do you think dad is going to give mom any trouble about the divorce?" Patty asked. "No... No, I don't. I don't know if I should tell you this or not, but we don't have any secrets from each other, so I will. I'm afraid dad is going to end up dead." Patty didn't seem upset, but she asked, "Why do you say that?" "Dad thinks he's bad, but there are a lot of people out there who are badder than he is. If he picks a fight with the wrong person, they'll leave him on the sidewalk." "Oh... Ed, please don't think badly of me, but that might be the best thing for mom." "I don't think badly of you. In fact I think very highly of you. It MIGHT be the best thing for mom. I don't see how she could blame herself for it, because he left on his own." "I was thinking of that." "Is it going to have an effect on you?" "I don't think so. I've pretty much come to hate him over the years because of how he treated you and the way he's yelled at mom and me." "Yeah, I'm pretty much the same way. Sometimes I feel guilty about it." "You shouldn't. He chose how he was going to be, not you." "I know, Sis. Sometimes I beat myself up when I shouldn't." "We could always get Shepard to come in and beat you up," Patty giggled. I couldn't possibly get angry with her. I hugged her close and kissed her on the end of the nose, then we laughed together. After a while, Patty said, "You know, I really hate to have to get up and go to my bed. It's really nice laying here with you." "Yes, it is nice," I said. "We don't want to give mom any more worries than she already has though." "I know," she said, then she kissed me as tenderly as Karen kisses me and scurried off to her room. Day 8 Friday, October 29 Patty and I went over to pick up Karen right after dinner on Friday evening. We went in to say hello to Karen's parents while we waited for Karen to finish getting ready. Claude and Martha seemed happy to see us. I think Martha was especially happy to see that Patty was going to be with us. For some reason I didn't think Martha quite trusted me with her daughter as yet. We got to the bowling alley fairly early and there were lanes available. We got a lane, rented shoes, and found balls that would work for us. We had an absolutely wonderful time. I was glad that Patty went with us. I think Karen and I would have been more self conscious about other people seeing us screw up if Patty hadn't been there. We did drop Patty off first and I drove Karen and I out to the fishing hole. We spent a few minutes necking. Our kisses were getting a lot more passionate every time we saw each other. I was springing a boner on every kiss and I could tell Karen was excited too. I wasn't in any hurry to escalate the physical side of our relationship, but for some reason I couldn't seem to control my left hand. As we were kissing, my hand slid up and cupped Karen's right breast. Karen gasped and stiffened momentarily, then she just seemed to melt in my arms. Her tongue entered my mouth and the intensity of the kiss seemed to double. After a few minutes we broke apart. "I'm sorry, Karen. I don't know what came over me." "Don't you dare be sorry," she said. "That felt wonderful." We kissed again then I looked at my watch. It was time to take her home, damn it. ------- Interlude ------- There is one thing about farm life that is both satisfying and frustrating. That is the sameness of the days that go by. Every morning we would get out of bed, take our showers and get dressed in our work clothes. We would do our chores while mom made breakfast and then wash up when we came back in and then we would eat. After eating we would get dressed for school (on school days) then get in the car and drive to school. In the evenings we would come home from school, change into our work clothes, then do our chores. We'd wash up and change out of our work clothes. Later we would have dinner. Then we had the evenings free. To some this is a boring life. To others, it gives a sense of stability that they need. I guess I fall somewhere in between. Most of the time I didn't even think about it. Patty and I did our chores and went through our routine without even realizing we were doing it. After I started dating Karen, things changed a lot. Oh, we still did our routine, but instead of reading or watching TV in the evenings, I spent most of them with Karen. I'll swear, Claude started treating me like I was his son and Martha was getting there. Over the next few weeks, Karen and I would go out on Friday and Saturday nights. If we were going bowling or something like that, we'd usually take Patty with us. I asked Patty on several occasions if she'd like for me to fix her up with a date, but she always declined. We all three started studying together almost every night after dinner. Then we'd play games or I'd sit and talk with Claude while the girls gossiped. A lot of the time we could talk Martha into playing games with us, but Claude would usually just watch. Karen and I always tried to get a few minutes alone, but we weren't desperate about it. It seemed like we knew we were always going to be together and we didn't feel like we had to be in a hurry. Dad never contacted us during this time, and we didn't see any more of Shepard. We did have to go into the DA's office and make a sworn statement as to what had happened. Since we were minors, we didn't have to appear in court. Karen had her sixteenth birthday during that time and I gave her a nice heart shaped locket with our pictures in it. She was ecstatic over it and I don't think she ever took it off. Claude and Martha invited our family over for Thanksgiving dinner. Mom was a little hesitant about not having Thanksgiving at home, but then she decided that Claude and Martha's place was nearly home anyway, at least to Patty and me. Day 34 Wednesday, November 24 I picked Karen up for school by myself today. We were only having a half day and Patty decided to blow it off so she could help mom with baking. At least that's what she told mom and me. Karen slid over beside me and kissed me, even though Martha was watching from the porch. I imagine that it was our being so close that was helping both of us get over our shyness. "Good morning, Stud," Karen giggled. She was referring to the fact that I had lost about 10 pounds and was an inch taller than I had been a couple of months ago. "Good morning, Love," I told her. "What are your plans for this afternoon?" she asked. "I really don't have any, other than staying out of mom's way. She gets manic during the holidays." "How would you like to get naked with Patty and me in a hot tub?" I sprung an immediate boner. "Uh... I don't know about that, Karen. With you, definitely. With Patty? Gee, I don't know." "Come on, Ed. It won't hurt you and it won't hurt Patty. I really want to do this, but I'd feel better if Patty was along the first time." "How are you going to manage to get into a hot tub? I imagine you're talking about that new place in town and I hear you have to be eighteen to get in there..." "Yep, and it's not a problem getting in. My cousin works there and she says she'll let me in any time I want. She'll even give me a discount. She reserved a tub for us at 2:00 PM." I sighed. I still had the boner. I couldn't help it. "What if I get an erection?" "Gee, I'd be disappointed if you didn't." "What about Patty?" "I think she'd be disappointed too," she giggled. I thought for a minute, then said, "What the hell. Let's do it." "I didn't say we were going to do it. We're just going to go in the hot tub. I'm not quite ready to do it yet," Karen giggled as she hugged my arm. ------- On the way home from school, I brought up something I had been thinking about for a while. I didn't want to scare Karen off, but I did want to get it out in the open. "Karen, we've kind of hinted around about us getting married when you get out of school. Are you serious about that?" "Gee, I don't know, Ed. You've never asked me," she said with a coy little smile. "Karen, will you marry me?" "Yes! Yes! Yes!" she said. I pulled over to the side of the road and we kissed. Then I started out again. "Well, I was wondering. If Claude and Martha would agree, would you consider marrying me when I got out of school instead of waiting until you do? I'd still want you to finish school, but I just don't see waiting any longer than we have to." "I'd marry you tomorrow if we could. I think mom and dad will be okay with it as long as we promise them I'll finish school." "I love you, Karen," I said. "I love you too," ------- We stopped at Karen's place for a while. Claude was out in the barn smoking a cigar, so I went out to talk with him. "Howdy, Ed," Claud said and pointed to a bale of hay for me to sit on. "Howdy, Claude. It sure is a nice day for it being the end of November isn't it?" "Yeah. That's one of the good things about this part of the country. Are you guys all ready for tomorrow?" "I sure am. Mom and Patty were baking pies this morning. I know of six they were talking about baking." Claude laughed. "They may have to use a wheelbarrow to haul me away from the table. Martha has the biggest turkey I've ever seen ready to go in the oven. I named it Turkeyzilla. She's making dressing, mashed potatoes, gravy, candied yams, and cranberry sauce along with green beans and corn." "My God! Even with six of us, I don't see how we could put a dent in that." "So, what have you guys got planned for this afternoon?" Claude asked. "I don't really know. I'm supposed to take Karen and Patty into town. I imagine they have something planned." "You're going to have to stop letting that daughter of mine lead you around by the nose, Son." "I suppose so. Look, Claude, there's something I wanted to talk to you about. This is just talk and we're not even sure about it ourselves yet, so don't panic." Claude nodded. "Karen and I have been talking about getting married. In fact we know we're going to get married when Karen gets out of school at the latest." "I kind of figured that, Son." "Well, we were kind of wondering how you and Martha would feel about us getting married when I get out of school. Karen would still finish high school, even though she was married." Claude studied the ash on his cigar for a few minutes. I could tell he was a little troubled about what I had asked him, but I knew him well enough that I knew he wouldn't fly off the handle. "I don't know how far you two have gone physically, and I don't want to know," Claude said. "I do believe you love each other and young people in love are going to get physical. I can remember when Martha and I were dating how hard it was to keep our hands off of each other." I nodded and Claude went on. "When Martha and I were dating I didn't realize how hard it is on a father to think about his daughter getting physical with a young man. I can look back now and appreciate the fact that Martha's dad didn't just kill me and bury me in the gravel pit." I laughed, then said, "I hope you're not planning that for me." Claude smiled. "No. I think I told you early on that I couldn't have picked a better suitor for my daughter. Since then I like to think that you and I have grown a lot closer. I feel I know you and I like what I see in you." "Thank you, Claude. I feel the same way." "If you tell me that Karen is going to finish high school, then I'll believe you. I want you to make that promise to me, though. We never know what is going to happen to us, Ed. Harold Coulter lost his arm last summer in a combine. If his son hadn't been helping him that day, he'd have bled to death before anyone found him. It could happen to you. If it did I'd want Karen to have at least a high school diploma so she could go on and do something with her life." "I do make you that promise, Claude. In fact, Karen and I have been talking about both of us taking some college courses maybe even getting degrees. She says she wants to take some management and accounting courses so she can help run the farm." "She's never told me that. I'm glad you guys are thinking ahead." "We are thinking ahead. I don't know if we can make a go of the farm or not. I hope we can, because both of us really like farm life. If not, I'll go on and go to college. Mom's grandparents left a trust fund that will pay mine and Patty's way through college. Karen and I could still make it if I had to go back to school full time." Claude was nodding. "I don't think you should mention this to Martha as yet, but you have my blessing. I'll work on Martha over the next few months. She'll eventually come around." I stuck out my hand to Claude and he smiled and shook it. "I think we should go up to the house," he said. "That daughter of mine is probably having withdrawal symptoms with her up there and you down here." ------- We had lunch with Claude and Martha, then went over to pick Patty up. When we got into the car I saw a gym bag laying in the back seat. I raised my eyebrows at Karen and she said, "Towels." We went in and I gave mom a big hug and a kiss on the cheek. I told her how great the kitchen smelled and she reminded me that everything she had baked was for tomorrow. Patty came in and asked if we were ready to go. Karen assured her we were, so we told mom we were going into town and took off. To be continued ------- Chapter 4 The hot tub place didn't seem to be very crowded. Karen told Patty and me to stay in the car and she'd take care of everything. As she went into the office, Patty and I looked around. The place had once been a single story motel. They had converted it this past summer and they had done a nice job of it. Karen came out a few minutes later and waved a key at us. She got in the car and told me to pull around back, where she had me drive clear down to the end. We were in room 28, which was the last one on the end in the back. "Cara charged me for an hour, but she said to stay as long as we want. Since tomorrow is Thanksgiving, they aren't very busy." The room was divided into two rooms. There was a changing room just inside the door, then you went on into the tub room. The changing room had a bench on each side and a little curtained alcove. There was a bar with coat hangers and some hooks for hanging your clothes. We peeked in at the tub, which was huge, then we just stood looking at each other for a minute. Finally, Karen giggled and asked, "Are we going to get naked?" Patty answered her giggle and said, "Gee, I think that's what we came here for." "You mean we didn't come to relax our tired muscles in the soothing water?" Karen asked. "I thought we came here so we could see each other naked," Patty said. "What do you think, Ed?" Karen asked. "I think you're both crazy," I said. "Crazy but sexy," Patty laughed. I had to admit to myself that she was right. Patty and Karen started removing their clothes, then Karen looked at me and said, "There are no free shows here, Honey. You have to get undressed too." Reluctantly I started undressing. I stalled as much as I could, but finally I was standing there in my boxers. Karen and Patty were in bra and panties. God! Both of them were beautiful. Finally, Karen said, "The moment of truth." She reached up and unhooked her bra. She laid it on one of the benches and turned facing me. By now, I had touched her breasts many times. Sometimes I had even touched her bare breasts. I had never seen them though. They were gorgeous. Her breasts were a "C" cup, she told me later, and nicely rounded. I could tell she was excited because her nipples had to be standing out at least a half an inch. I just stood there for a minute, then I said, "You are absolutely beautiful, Karen." Karen smiled and nudged Patty. Patty swallowed and unhooked her own bra. When she let it fall, I was amazed. Her breasts weren't as large as Karen's but they were puffies. Her nipples and areolas were on little mounds on the ends of her breasts. She looked at me with what might have been fear in her eyes. I said, "Gorgeous!" Patty started smiling and Karen giggled. "Your turn, Love," Karen said. "No," I said. "All together." Karen and Patty both nodded. "On three," I said. "One... Two... Three." All three of us dropped our final article of clothing. Patty and Karen stared wide eyed at my painful erection for a few seconds, then they giggled and ran in to the tub. I followed them and as I came into the room, Karen said, "Turn on the bubbles." I looked around and found the switch. I turned it to the maximum time and followed the girls into the water. Karen motioned for me to sit beside her, so I did. She leaned against me and I put my arm around her. We all just sat there for about five minutes. Finally, Karen said, "Ed, we need to talk to you about something." "Karen, just shut up!" Patty said. "No, Patty, you shut up. Ed has to hear about this. Bring your sorry butt over here and sit by Ed." Patty didn't look happy, but she did as Karen asked. I raised my arm up and looked at her quizzically. She leaned against me. So I let my arm fall around her shoulders. "For the last couple of weeks Patty has been having trouble with a guy at school," Karen said. "At first he just asked her out. She wasn't interested, so she declined. He seemed okay with being turned down, so she didn't think any more of it. The next day, he asked her again. She turned him down again." I'm sure I had a perplexed look on my face as I looked back and forth between my sister and my girlfriend. I was going to ask a question, but Karen continued. "This went on for about a week. Patty was starting to get a little worried about it, but he hadn't really done anything wrong. Patty, tell Ed what happened last Friday and again on Tuesday." "Just a minute," I said. "Who are we talking about?" "Tiny Henderson." Patty said in a small voice. Shit! Tiny is the left tackle on the football team. He's over six feet tall and weighs close to three hundred pounds. "On Friday, Tiny was more insistent. He put his hand on my shoulder and told me that I might as well get it through my head that I WAS going to date him. He scared me, so I told him I'd think about it." "Tell him about yesterday, Patty," Karen said forcefully. "Yesterday, he stopped me in the hall again. He put his hand on my shoulder again and asked me when we were going out. I told him I was still thinking about it. He squeezed my shoulder and said the time for thinking was over. He said he'd pick me up Friday and we'd go over to Jose's for a while, then we'd 'find something more interesting to do'." Jose's is a bar that is known for selling alcohol to minors. It's a real dive. "I told him my mother wouldn't let me go to Jose's and he said what my mother didn't know wouldn't hurt her. I told him there was no way I was going there and he started squeezing my shoulder. It was really hurting, so I said okay." "Ed, she has bruises on her shoulder. Show him, Patty." Patty leaned forward and I could see the imprint of four fingers on her back. My ears were roaring. There is no one in the world going to get away with doing that to my sister. "Why didn't you tell me about this, Patty?" I asked as calmly as I could. "The guy is a tank. I don't want you getting hurt because of me. Maybe he'll be okay on a date." "You won't be going on a date with him on Friday, Love, or any other day. If we have to, you'll be at Karen's when he comes. I'd like to see anyone, even Tiny, get to you if Claude is protecting you." "But he'll still be after me at school, Ed. I really am afraid of him." "Don't worry any more, Love," I said as I hugged her close. Patty laid her head on my shoulder and sighed. "Just don't get hurt, Ed." "Let's just forget about this idiot for a while," I said. "I'm in a hot tub with two beautiful naked women. I want to enjoy that." Both girls giggled then Karen said, "Just don't kill him, Ed." "I would never do that, Sweetheart. I love you with all of my heart. I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I don't intend to spend my life in jail while you're out here. Patty, did Karen tell you I asked her to marry me when I get out of school?" "No, she didn't. What did she say?" "She said yes. I talked to Claude about it and he doesn't have a problem with it as long as Karen finishes school." Patty leaned across me and kissed Karen softly on the lips. "Congratulations, Sis," she said. Patty's beautiful little breast brushed across my chest as she kissed Karen. Ed junior sprung to attention when it did. When Patty resumed her seat, Karen pulled me in to a kiss that said she wanted to start making babies immediately. When we broke apart, she whispered. "Kiss Patty like we just kissed." I don't know if she was testing how she would feel about me giving Patty that kind of kiss or if she wanted to see how I would feel about it. I decided to let her find out. I pulled Patty to me and kissed her soundly. I let my tongue stroke her lips and hers came out to play. We kissed for nearly as long as Karen and I had. We didn't talk a lot more before we finally got out of the tub. We did do a lot of snuggling. Patty had been kind of subdued since Karen had let out her secret, but when we got out of the tub and went to shower off before getting dressed, she looked down at my cock and asked, "Doesn't that thing ever go down?" Both girls giggled and I blushed. "Not when there are two beautiful young ladies around," I said. Karen gave me a full bodied naked hug and whispered, "Thank you from both of us." ------- Patty came and visited me after I had gone to bed. She slid in under the covers so I put my arm around her. Neither of us said anything for a few minutes. "Thank you for not blowing your stack today when we told you about Tiny," Patty said. "I didn't blow my top, but you know we have to do something about this, don't you? If you go out with him, he'll rape you before the date is over. I'm not going to let that happen." "I'd rather he'd rape me than for him to hurt you. I love you, Ed. I shouldn't tell you this, but I love you more than just as a brother." "Patty, I feel the same way about you. I'm not going to let him hurt you." "What are you going to do?" "I'm not sure, but I'll think of something." We laid there for a while, not talking. I don't know about Patty, but I was drawing courage from just holding her. I decided to change the subject and see if I could get her mind off of Tiny. "So, how do you feel about the three of us getting naked today?" I asked her. Patty looked me directly in the eyes and said, "I liked it. I'd like to do it again." "So would I. You and Karen are both absolutely beautiful. I thought I'd be embarrassed to see you naked or for you to see me naked, but I wasn't. I really enjoyed it." "Good," she smiled. "I guess, after today, I don't have to worry about being seen naked going to or from the bathroom, do I?" "You never did, as far as I'm concerned," I teased. "Haven't you ever caught me trying to sneak a peek of you?" "No," she giggled. "All you would have had to have done was ask." "I didn't know that though." "You do now." "Be careful. I might take advantage of that." "Ed, do you think my breasts are okay?" "They're beautiful. Why do you ask?" "Because they're not shaped like most girls' breasts. I've always worried that they look funny." "Patty, my love, I sometimes perv on the Internet. I like to look at pictures of naked women. The kind of breasts you have are called puffies. A lot of men think they're sexy. I know I do." "Really? I didn't know they had a name. Do you really think they're sexy? I know you like Karen's breasts." "Yes, I do think they're sexy. I think Karen's are nice and rounded and she has big nipples that really stick out when she's excited. I think hers are sexy too. What are your two favorite kinds of ice cream?" "Chocolate Almond and Maple Walnut." "You like them both, right?" "Yes." "It's the same with breasts. It's possible to like more than one kind." "Do you just like all breasts or do you just like specific kinds?" "Well, I don't like the little pointy ones that look like the nose cone on a missile. And I don't like the humongous ones that are going to hang down to a woman's knees after she passes thirty." "I've looked at pictures on the Internet too. Why do a lot of women shave their pubic hair?" "Some men think that is sexy. I'm not one of them. You and Karen have such cute little pussy patches I'd never want to see them shaved off." Patty giggled. "You call them pussy patches? That's cute. I always figured the women shaved because of like... oral sex." "That might be part of the reason, but if that was all of it, they'd only have to shave down along the lips." We laid quietly for several minutes then Patty said, "It's kind of strange talking to you about things like this, but I like it." "Yeah, me too. Maybe some day I'll get up the courage to ask you some questions." "Any time, Big brother." I hugged Patty close, then she asked, "Could I sleep in here with you tonight?" "I'm not sure if that's a good idea, Sweety. What if mom came in to check on us?" "I don't think mom would have a problem with it. If she did, I'd just tell her I came in here after you were asleep because I was feeling lonely." "Do you snore?" "NO!" "Okay, then I guess you can sleep here. We have to tell Karen about it though and if she gets mad we can't do it again." Patty reached over and turned off the light. "It's a deal," she said. Day 35 Thursday - Thanksgiving I hadn't slept with anyone since I was a little kid. I figured I'd be fighting Patty for space all night, but that wasn't the case at all. I don't think either of us even moved. I was still holding her when I awoke. I let her sleep a couple of more minutes then I kissed her on the forehead, then on each eyelid. When her eyes fluttered open, I kissed her tenderly, lovingly on the lips. "Good morning, Sweetheart," I said. Patty stretched and told me good morning. "We'd better get up and get our chores done," I told her. "We don't have to be at Claude and Martha's until one, but I'd like to go over and see Karen for a while before we have to socialize with the adults." "That sounds good," Patty said as she threw the covers back and climbed out of bed. "Maybe we could take some of the pies over." We put on our work clothes and went down stairs. Mom was up and puttering around the kitchen. We told her we were going to get the chores done and she said she'd have breakfast ready when we got back. Mom made French Toast and sausages for breakfast. This has always been one of my favorites. I ate enough I was glad we weren't going to be eating again until two. Patty and I told mom we were going over to see Karen for a while and that we'd take some of the pies with us. She gave us four of them and we lined them up across the back seat. I guess we were earlier than we thought when we got to Claude's place. We carried the pies inside and Martha helped us find a place for them. Claude was sitting at the table drinking coffee. "Karen isn't up yet," Martha said. "Why don't you go up and wake her up, Ed?" Claude said. "Claude!" Martha said indignantly. "Martha, do you remember the first time I woke you up with a kiss?" Claude asked. Martha blushed and looked down at the floor. She looked back up at me and said, "Go wake her up, Ed." I could hear Patty giggling as I headed for the stairs. ------- I found Karen's room with no trouble. I slipped inside and softly closed the door behind me. She was laying on her back, which made things a lot easier. I got on my knees beside the bed and leaned over her. I gently touched my lips to hers and continued to kiss her as she awakened. When she realized who it was and what was happening, Karen put her arms around my neck. "Good morning, Love," I said when we pulled apart. "Good morning, Sweetheart. You know mom is going to kill you if she finds you in my room, don't you?" "No, she's not. She told me to come up and wake you up with a kiss." "No way!" "Way." "In that case, would you lay down beside me for a minute?" I kicked off my loafers and got in beside her. We put our arms around each other and kissed again. "I can't believe mom said that." "Well, your dad said it first and your mom protested. Your dad asked her if she remembered the first time he had awakened her with a kiss. She blushed then told me to awaken you with a kiss." "Dad is so cool!" "Yes he is." "I hope I didn't mess anything up between you and Patty by what I told you yesterday." "No. In fact, we had a nice long talk last night. I'll tell you what we talked about when she's with us." "Okay, I guess I'd better get dressed. I still have to do my chores." "Can I stay and watch?" Karen hit me on the chest and said, "Pervert!" Then she kissed me and said, "Yes, you can stay and watch." Karen got out of bed and pulled her nightgown up over her head and off. She stood, looking at me as I gazed at her beautiful body. Then she pulled her panties off and threw them to me. Karen walked around the room for several minutes. First, she took out a pair of panties and a bra and laid them on her dresser. Then she found a blouse to wear and put it with the panties and bra. She found a pair of slacks and put them with the rest of her clothes. She was really putting on a show and she knew it. She went to her closet and leaned over to get a pair of shoes. Her butt was pointed right at me and it was a lovely display. She was just about to straighten up when there was a knock on the door. "Who is it?" Karen yelled. "It's me," Patty said. "You can come on in." Patty came in and saw me laying on the bed. Then she looked at the closet and saw Karen's butt. "Oh my God!" she said. Karen straightened up and turned around. "I was just giving Ed a little show," she giggled. "I can see that," Patty said. "A minute ago I could see everything." We all cracked up, then Karen started getting dressed. ------- We sat down and had coffee with Claude and Martha. "I have to get my chores done," Karen said. "I already did them, Princess," Claude said. "I wanted to give you a chance to sleep late." "Thank you daddy. Mom, do you need me to help for a while?" "No, Karen. There's nothing that needs to be done for a couple of hours." "I think we're going to take a drive then," Karen said. "We can pick up the rest of mom's pies while we're out," Patty said. Claude just looked over at me and winked. Karen kissed me again when we got in the car. When we broke apart, I started off down their lane. "I slept with your fiancé last night," Patty said. "You bitch," Karen giggled. "Sleeping is all we did," I said. "I know that," Karen said. "We did talk for a long time before we went to sleep," Patty said. "What did you talk about?" "Boobs and pussys." "What!" "We talked about boobs and pussys. I found out what kind of boobs Ed likes." "What kind is that?" "Two kinds actually. He said he likes yours because they are so nicely rounded and you have big nipples. He says mine are called puffies and that he thinks they're sexy too. You know I've always worried about how mine look. He made me feel better about them." "Okay, I'm glad." "He says he doesn't like those little pointy ones or the huge ones that hang down to a woman's knees." Karen giggled. "Did you find out what kind of pussys he likes too?" "He says you and I have cute little pussy patches. He doesn't like for women to shave their pussy patches off." Karen giggled again. "You did find out a lot about what he likes and doesn't like, didn't you." "Karen, my love," I said. "I'd love you if you had a bald pussy and you could throw your tits over your shoulders if they got in the way. It's not what a person looks like that makes someone love them. It's what they're like inside. Both you and Patty are beautiful inside." Both girls told me they love me too. We drove around for a while, then went home and picked up the rest of mom's pies. As we were driving back to Karen's place, I asked her, "Do you mind that Patty slept with me last night?" "Not really. I trust you, Ed, and I know you're not going to cheat on me, even with your sister. I just wish it had been me." "Someday, my love," I said. "Unless you do something stupid and Tiny kills you," Patty said. I could hear Karen gasp. "I'm not going to do anything stupid. I do have to talk with him before he plans to pick you up tomorrow." "What are you going to tell him?" Karen asked. "I'm going to tell him that Claude and I will be there waiting for him when he comes to pick Patty up. I'm going to tell him that the first threatening thing he says to us or the first threatening thing he does, that Claude or I one will shoot him. I'm going to tell him he bruised Patty and that we have reported it to the police. I'll tell him that the police will be watching him." "What if he starts something while you're talking to him?" Patty asked. "I don't think he will, Sis. I'll try to keep everything as calm as possible. If he does start something I'll leave and get the sheriff." "I'm going with you," Karen said. "You need a witness." "I'm going too," Patty said. I didn't argue with them. I knew it wouldn't do any good. ------- Thanksgiving dinner was wonderful. Mom arrived around noon and she and Martha bustled around the kitchen like there was no tomorrow. I went in to talk with Claude and Patty and Karen disappeared to stay out of their mothers' way. At precisely 2:00 PM they called us in to eat. It was fantastic. Martha was a great cook and mom's pies were to die for. Claude and I managed to walk down to the barn after we ate so he could have a cigar, but it took all of the energy that I had. We stayed around until time to do the chores, then after we thanked Martha profusely, we went home. Patty and I changed and did the chores immediately. I was afraid if I sat down, I'd never get up. Afterwards, mom asked if we wanted anything for dinner. Patty and I just laughed at her. We did all sit down together and talk for a while. It was nice having a conversation with mom. We'd been so busy the last few weeks we hadn't talked much. "Mom, if this is a touchy subject, just tell me and I'll shut up. I was just wondering if you'd heard anything from dad?" "First off," mom said, "You and Patty have a right to know what's going on. Secondly, it isn't a touchy subject. Thirdly, I haven't heard a thing from the bastard in over a month." "Do you have any idea when the divorce is going to be final?" "It'll be about two more months. Leeana says it would usually take sixty days if the papers could have been served on your dad. Since we don't know where he is, we had to advertise it in the newspaper for thirty days." ------- I wasn't really surprised when Patty came in to visit again. After we had snuggled up, I asked her, "How much money do you have stashed away, Sis?" "I don't know for sure. I think there's a little over five hundred. Why?" "If I tell you this, you have to promise you won't tell anyone about it." "Okay." "I'm serious, Sis. If you tell anyone I will be really upset with you. I'm not saying that I'll be upset, but that I'll get over it in a few minutes. I'll be seriously upset." "Okay, I promise." "I want to buy Karen an engagement ring." Patty hugged me and kissed me, then she said, "I think Karen is hoping you'll get her one. She's mentioned it a time or two. When are you going to give it to her?" "I was thinking of Christmas eve. I'd like to give it to her around Christmas, but I don't want to give it to her on Christmas day. It's not a Christmas present." "Yeah, that makes sense. Have you looked at rings yet? Do you know her ring size?" "No to both. I have around seven hundred saved, but I have no idea what a ring costs. Do you know her ring size?" "Yes, and I'll tell you for a price. I'm not sure we'd have enough for a nice ring even if we put my money with yours. I'll bet mom would loan you the money for a ring though." "She probably would. Maybe she'd even have some idea what a good ring would cost." "Let's go down and ask her." "I don't know, Patty. I haven't talked to her about this at all. Do you think she'd flip out?" "I don't think so, but there's only one way to find out. Ask her." "Will you go with me?" Patty jumped out of bed and started tugging on my hand. I got up more slowly and pulled on a pair of jeans before I'd go with her. Mom was sitting on the sofa reading a book when we went down. I sat down with her and asked, "Mom, can I talk to you for a minute?" "Sure, Ed, what's up?" "First off, I should tell you that I've asked Karen to marry me when I graduate. Karen will go on and finish high school, but we don't see any reason we should wait until she graduates." Mom had a big smile when she said, "Well, I could have seen that coming from a mile away. Congratulations, Ed. I'm happy for you." "Are you okay with us getting married while Karen is still in school?" "I'm okay with it. What about Claude and Martha?" "Claude is fine with it. He asked me not to tell Martha when we plan to get married until he's had time to talk with her." "I can understand that. If she asks me, I'll just tell her I don't know the date." "Thanks, Mom. Do you have any idea what an engagement ring would cost?" Mom laughed. "Son. You can buy one that looks like it came out of a Cracker Jack box for a hundred dollars. Or, you can spend six million on a really big one." "What about for one that you would be proud to wear?" Mom hesitated for a minute, then said, "Well, around here, you don't want to go too big, or everyone is going to start saying you're just showing off. I'd say a half to three-quarter caret would cost around two thousand." I know my face had to fall. "I don't have nearly that much, even if I borrow what Patty has." "Ed, I'll loan you the money for the ring if you promise me that Karen will finish school." "I've already made that promise to Claude, Mom." "Then Saturday, why don't we go ring shopping?" I hugged her and kissed her cheek. Patty did the same. Day 36 Friday, November 26 Patty had gone to her room when we had come back up stairs last night, but when I awakened, she was sleeping beside me. I sneaked out of bed and went to the bathroom. When I came back, she was sitting up against the headboard of the bed. "Good morning," she said with a smile that melted my heart. "Good morning, Sis." "Are you coming back to bed?" "No, I think I'll get dressed and get the chores done." "Okay," she said and just sat there. "Aren't you going to go and get dressed?" "No. I thought I'd watch you first." "The tickle monster is going to attack if you don't get out of here." Patty just stuck her tongue out at me. I raised my hands for a monster attack. Patty jumped off the bed and ran giggling to her room. I got dressed and started down stairs. Patty's door was open and when I glanced in, I saw her walking around her room, naked, much as Karen had done yesterday. Patty looked up at me and winked. I stood there and watched her for a while. I went on down and poured myself a cup of coffee. Mom came back in from her room, so I gave her a big hug. We drank coffee until Patty came down then Patty and I went out to do the chores. Breakfast was ready when we got back in, so we ate. Mom is really a lot of fun, now that dad is gone. We talked and teased while we ate. Mainly, it was the women teasing me about getting married. After we finished eating, I took a walk down to the barn. I knew I had to go and talk to Tiny this morning and I wanted something to use as a weapon if he didn't listen to reason and attacked me. I had almost given up on finding anything when I saw a 3/4 inch garden hose hanging on the wall. It was soft and flexible, so I cut off a two foot length of it. I whittled a wooden plug for each end of it, and plugged one end. I wrapped a piece of wire around the plugged end and twisted the wire until it was very tight. Dad had been into bird hunting for a while. When he was into it the most, he had started reloading his own shotgun shells. I found his bag of lead shot and filled the hose with it, then I plugged and secured the other end of it, then taped both ends. The hose had a very satisfying heft to it when I swung it around. I took the hose over to the car and put it beside the driver's seat, then I went into the house to call Karen. I asked Karen if she was ready to go visit Tiny. She said she wasn't, but that we should probably get it over with. Patty and I picked Karen up and we drove to Tiny's house. My stomach was in a knot as we pulled up in his driveway. Although it was cold, Tiny was in the driveway, washing his car. I'll swear to God, he looked like a bear. I rolled down my window and told the girls to stay in the car, but to listen to everything that was said. As I got out, I picked up the piece of weighted hose. I held it in my right hand and hooked the thumbs of both hands in my back pockets. I walked up his driveway with my hands behind me. I figured this was about the least threatening posture I could take. Tiny looked up as I approached him. "Tiny, I'm Ed Miller," I said. "Yeah, I know who you are." "We need to talk about my sister." "You mean about the fact that we're going out tonight?" Tiny asked. "No. I mean about the fact that you're not going out with my sister tonight or any other night. She's afraid of you, Tiny, and she doesn't want to go out with you." Tiny laughed and turned toward me. "She'll get over being afraid of me," Tiny said. "No, she won't. You hurt her on Tuesday. She has bruises on her shoulder from where you gripped her." "Look, dick weed, what your sister and I do together is none of your fucking business. Butt out before you get hurt." "I'm not going to do that, Tiny. If you show up at our place tonight, or any other time, you will be arrested. If you bother Patty at school again, you will be arrested. I've already talked to the sheriff about this. He's aware of the situation and he'll have a deputy there tonight, waiting for you." "You cock sucker," he said as he started toward me. ------- Chapter 5 "You cock sucker," he said as he started toward me. I just stood there and waited for him. Most big men use their size to intimidate people. Tiny was no exception. A smaller man would have approached me cautiously. Tiny just bulled ahead. When he was about four feet from me, he started drawing back his right fist to pulverize me. I grasped the hose tightly and swung it from behind me. I don't think he even saw it coming. It made contact with the side of his face with a satisfying thunk. I expected him to go down, but he just stood there kind of stunned. "Now what?" I thought. I didn't know what else to do, so I kicked him in the nuts. Tiny made a retching sound and grabbed his gonads. He still wasn't down. But at least I was making some progress. I hit him one more time in the head with the hose and he hit the ground. I stepped close to him and asked, "Tiny, can you hear me?" "Yeah." "I could really fuck you up right now, but I'm not going to do it. If you ever come within five feet of my sister again, the sheriff won't have to arrest you. I'll catch you alone and I'll fuck you up so bad you'll never play football again. Do I make myself clear?" "Yeah." I walked back to the car and got in. I put the hose beside the seat and drove off. I pulled off about half a mile down the road and threw up my breakfast. I had two very proud young women holding me as I vomited. When we got back in the car, Karen made me get in the middle and she drove. She didn't take us home, but pulled in at the fishing hole. Patty and Karen both threw their arms around me and held me until I quit shaking. "I guess I have to tell mom and Claude about this," I said, finally. "I think that is a good idea," Karen said. "We won't say anything to mom about it unless dad decides to tell her." "Okay, Sweety, let's get it done." Karen drove us to her place and I found Claude in the barn. Karen and Patty went in the house while I talked to him. I told Claude what Tiny had been doing to Patty and what I had told Tiny when we went to his place. Then I told him about the fight. "Claude, I didn't want to fight him. I fully intended to let the sheriff handle it. I took along the hose because I didn't know how he would react." Claude sighed. "Okay, Ed. I can see why you had to do it. What you did was very dangerous. I just wish you had told me before you went over there. I don't think we need to tell Martha about this." I thanked him and went to get Karen and Patty. They had decided they were going to spend the day over at our place, so we headed home. "What did dad have to say?" Karen asked on the way over. "He said he understood, but that he didn't think we should tell Martha." "Okay. I agree. Mom hates violence. Even though you were in the right, she would be upset with you about it." Mom was upset too. She wasn't as upset with me as she was with Patty for not telling her about what was happening. Karen and I spent most of the day cuddled up in the recliner with my arm around her. At one point she pulled my arm down and pulled my head over on her chest just above her breasts. The side of my cheek was resting against one of her beautiful orbs. After a while I raised my head and whispered in her ear, "You know I could almost bite your nipple from that position." Karen giggled and said, "I know. I was thinking about that." I put my head back down and snuggled in. When mom left the room a few minutes later, I gently bit Karen's boob. She and Patty were both giggling when mom came back in. ------- Patty and I didn't talk much that evening. She did thank me profusely for taking care of Tiny. We did do some snuggling and cuddling. You'd think that after cuddling all day with Karen, I'd have been cuddled out. That definitely wasn't the case. ------- Interlude Winter is the slowest time of the year for farmers. Claude and I did a lot of talking between Thanksgiving and Christmas about crops. We talked about rotating crops, fallow years and the like. We also talked some about the advantages and disadvantages of a dairy farm or whether to raise beef for sale. Karen and I spent that time becoming even closer to each other. We were both still virgins, but we did advance to the point where we would masturbate each other. I'm sure we'd have tried oral sex if we had a place to experiment, but a barn loft is a very cold place in the winter and the back seat of a car just seemed too cheap. We went to the hot tub twice more during that time, but on both occasions we took Patty with us. Mom was still in a great mood. We still hadn't heard anything from dad and none of us missed him. Mom told us that she and dad hadn't been close for years. I could believe that because it would have been hard for anyone to be close to dad. Tiny never bothered Patty again. Every time I'd see him he gave me a look of pure hatred, but I could live with that. It looked like it was my time to grow. I grew another inch in height during that time. I was now five foot ten and I weighed in at 200 pounds. Karen was thrilled. Day 64 Friday Christmas Eve Patty still slept with me frequently and this morning was one of those mornings when I awoke with a beautiful girl in my arms. I kissed her on the nose and when that didn't wake her, I tickled her gently until she started to move. She opened her eyes and smiled at me. We exchanged a soft kiss, then she said, "So, today is the day. When are you going to give it to her?" "I was hoping I could get your assistance on that," I told her. "How?" "Could you invite her over this morning? I don't want to give it to her in the car or anything like that. I think it would be much nicer if I could give it to her in the living room." "I can do that. Do you want me to disappear when you give it to her?" "No, I'd like for you to stay and be a witness." Patty threw her arms around me and kissed me. "Thank you, Ed. I'd like that." "When she gets over here, I'll say I have something I have to do in the barn. I'll leave and come back in a couple of minutes with the ring." Patty giggled and said, "Let's get the chores done, Bro." She bounced out of bed and headed for the bathroom. ------- Karen came over around nine thirty. We hugged and kissed hello, then I told her there was something I had to take care of and that I'd be back in a few minutes. Karen was sitting in an easy chair when I came back in and Patty was on the sofa. I went over in front of Karen and got down on one knee. Karen looked a little confused when I held her left hand. "Karen Wellston, will you marry me?" I asked. She was looking at me with wide eyes when she said, "Yes." I took the ring out of my pocket and slipped it on her left hand. "Will you wear this ring to show the world you are engaged to me?" I asked. Karen looked at the ring and her mouth fell open. It wasn't the biggest ring in the world, at 5/8 carets, but it was a very good quality stone and the setting was exquisite. "Yes! Oh God yes!" Karen yelled and threw her arms around my neck. I glanced over at Patty and she had tears running down from her eyes. I motioned for her to come over and we included her in the hug. Mom came in while we were still dripping tears. Karen held the ring up for her to see. Of course mom had already seen it, but she came over and kissed Karen on the forehead. "Welcome to the family," mom said. Of course the ring was the main topic of conversation. "It is the most beautiful ring I've ever seen," Karen said. "I love you so much, Ed." I assured her I loved her too. "We have to go over so I can show mom and dad," Karen said. Patty agreed it was something that couldn't be put off another second, so we loaded in the car and went over. Claude was in the barn, so we went in to see him first. Karen held the ring up to him and burst out crying. Claude wrapped his daughter in his arms and comforted her. When she had finally calmed down, Claude extended his hand to me and we shook. I could see tears in his eyes as he held Karen. I don't know if they were tears of happiness for his daughter or tears of sadness that she would be leaving the nest. I followed Karen up to the house so she could show the ring to her mother. I was a little concerned about how Martha would react, but she seemed genuinely pleased. Martha, Karen, and Patty shared a lot of tears. Finally, Martha came over to me and hugged me. She kissed me on the cheek and said in almost a whisper, "I was a little worried when Karen said she was in love with you. Claude assured me you were a fine young man, but all I could see was someone who was trying to take my little girl away. Over the last couple of months, I've come to love you almost as much as my daughter does. I'm proud that you're going to be my son, Ed." I couldn't help myself. I broke up. I hugged her and cried on her shoulder until Karen and Patty came over and hugged us both. After I had myself under control, I kissed her on both cheeks and said, "Thank you. I'll try to never make you sorry you accepted me into your family." Day 65 Saturday - Christmas To say that this was my best Christmas ever would have been a vast understatement. I awoke with Patty in my arms again. I had both arms around her and was just enjoying the feel of her now familiar body against me when mom came into the room. I expected her to hit the roof, but she just came over to my side of the bed and sat down beside me. She put her hand on my shoulder and leaned over to look at Patty. "She's beautiful when she's asleep, isn't she?" mom asked. "Mom, she's beautiful 24/7. There's only one girl in the world that I think is as beautiful as Patty and that is Karen." "I've known for a long time that she's been coming in here at night. I'm not upset about it or anything, so don't worry." "Mom, there's nothing going on between Patty and me. I think she just gets lonely. I will admit that Patty and I are a lot closer than most brothers and sisters are at our ages. I think our love is different than most siblings have. If I'm being honest, if Patty wasn't my sister, I'd have probably fallen into romantic love with her before I even met Karen." "Thank you, big brother," Patty said as she rolled over in my arms and kissed me. "Merry Christmas, Mom." "Merry Christmas, Baby Girl. You guys slept late, so I thought I'd better wake you up." "Oh, Christmas presents!" Patty said as she sat up. "I've got dibs on the bathroom." She bounced out of bed and ran for the bathroom. Mom smiled, then laid down beside me. I put my arm around her and she laid her head on my shoulder. "Does Karen know that Patty sleeps in here a lot?" "Yes, she knows. It doesn't upset her nearly as much as it does me. I've tried to talk Patty out of coming in here so much, but it doesn't do any good. She just waits until I go to sleep then comes in anyway." Mom laid there for a minute, thinking, then she said, "I hate to tell you this, Ed, but I think Patty is in romantic love with you." "Awh, Mom. I've been afraid of that. What should I do?" "I don't know, Honey. A lot depends on how you feel about Patty and about how Karen feels about what you and Patty feel about each other. You have to be very careful. You don't want to hurt Karen and you don't want to hurt Patty." "God, I know that." Mom kissed me on the cheek and got up. As she headed for the door she said, "I have a lot of confidence in you, Ed. I know you'll do what you think is right." ------- Patty and I did our chores and then we had breakfast. That was always the routine before opening presents on Christmas. Mom was beaming as we took our seats around the tree. "Santa" brought us our normal underwear, socks, shirts, and slacks. Then mom handed each of us a small box that couldn't have weighed over an ounce. "This is from me," she said with a smile. We opened our boxes and found they both contained a key ring with a miniature computer on it. I looked up at mom and said, "Thank you, Mom." Mom smiled and said, "The real computers these represent are in the barn. I'll let you guys carry them in." Patty and I both tackled her and smothered her in hugs and kisses. Both of us had old computers we had bought used. Heck, they were still using the Windows 95 operating system. Patty and I had gone together and bought mom a complete new outfit. It consisted of a coat, purse, skirt, blouse, bra and panties. They were of far better quality than mom was used to wearing. She was thrilled. We told her to wear that outfit when she started dating again. I had gotten Patty a locket similar to the one I had gotten Karen for her birthday and she had gotten me a couple of books I had been wanting. Claude, Martha, and Karen were going to be having Christmas dinner with us, but Patty and I decided we wanted to go over and exchange our gifts with them now. We changed into our good clothes and drove over. Karen came running out on the porch when we got there. She was barefoot and was wearing a short nightgown. As I got onto the porch I laid my packages down in a chair. Karen threw her arms around my neck and her legs around my waist, then she kissed me until my toes curled. "What was that all about?" I asked. "Aren't people who are engaged supposed to be making love?" she asked in a whisper. "I hope so," I whispered back. I put Karen down and she helped me carry my packages in so we could each keep an arm around the other. Karen's family had already exchanged gifts and they were just sitting around enjoying each other when we came in. Martha asked if we'd like some hot chocolate and she went off to get it when Patty and I agreed. I sat down in a comfortable arm chair and Karen snuggled up on my lap. I looked over at Claude and he just shook his head and smiled. When Martha came back in, we sipped our chocolate for a minute, then Patty started handing out presents. I had gotten Claude a box of good cigars. When he opened them he was all smiles. Martha looked over at me and said, "Edward, you are just perpetuating a nasty habit. I'm ashamed of you." Then, she smiled at me and winked. Martha liked the perfume I had gotten her and the blouse that Patty had gotten her. Patty gave Claude a new pocket knife and he told her he thought it would be great for whittling. Claude and Martha gave me some books on farming and had bought Patty a new outfit. Patty and Karen exchanged their gifts and found they had gotten each other almost identical bracelets. Then it was time to exchange gifts with Karen. Karen handed me a card and a box and whispered that I wasn't to open the card until later. I slid it in my pocket and opened the box. Inside was a photo album. It had pictures of Karen in it from the time she was a tiny baby until the present. I was so choked up I thought I was going to bawl like a baby. I pulled Karen into a kiss. The kiss seemed to linger and finally, Patty said, "Get a room!" Karen and I were both blushing when we reluctantly pulled apart. I handed Karen a small box that was about the size of a ring box. She looked at me strangely, then opened the box. Karen let out a squeal I'm sure mom could have heard. She held the box out to Martha and asked if she'd help put them on. It was a set of diamond earrings that exactly matched her engagement ring. Claude gave me a big smile and a wink as the women fussed over getting her earrings put in and secured. Then Karen came over and gave me another toe curling kiss. I was broke. I had spent everything I had on Christmas. I was one happy young man though. Patty and Karen took off so Karen could get dressed. After they had left, Martha said, "You have made my daughter very happy, Ed." "She's made me very happy too, Martha. I know it has to be hard on you guys, seeing your daughter grow up, but you should be very proud as well. She is intelligent, loving, caring, and beautiful. I just hope we can have a long life together." "So do I, Son," Martha said. ------- While we were driving back over to our place, I asked Patty if she'd mind if we dropped her off for a while. "I have something I'd like to talk with my fiancé about," I told her. "That's fine," she said. "I'll just help mom with the cooking while you're gone." We dropped her off and drove out to the fishing hole. As soon as I stopped the car, Karen said, "Open the card, Sweetheart." I pulled the card out of my pocket and opened it. ------- My Virginity This is a claim to my virginity. Said virginity can be claimed any time within the next two weeks at your convenience. Karen Wellston ------- I looked at Karen with my heart in my throat. "Do you really mean that?" I asked. Karen nodded. She had a little smile when she said, "I've been ready for a long time, Ed. I think you are too." I nodded. "Patty says she'll help us when we're ready. She'll get your mom to take her to town and she'll keep her there long enough to give us all of the time we need." "The way she's been acting lately, I'm not sure mom wouldn't just turn her head if we told her what we were going to do," I said. "Yeah, mom too," Karen giggled. "Sweety, there's something I need to talk to you about. You know Patty has been climbing in bed with me a lot." Karen sighed and nodded. "Mom says she thinks Patty is in love with me. Romantic love, not sibling love." Karen nodded again. "I think your mom might be right, Love. What are we going to do about it?" "I don't know. I asked mom the same question and she said we'd figure out what is right. To be honest with you, I don't have a clue as to what is right. I don't want to hurt Patty, but I'm certainly not going to hurt you." Karen sighed again. "I guess I should talk to her. We've always been open and honest with each other. Maybe we can talk it out." "I hope so, Honey. It's not like she's trying to come between us or anything. It's more like she'd like to join us. I hope we can get through this without hurting her too badly." "Me too. I've loved Patty even longer than I've loved you. It's not the same kind of love, at least I don't think it is, but it's not like the love I have for mom and dad either." Now, it was my turn to sigh, "Yeah, I know what you mean. I love Patty. I always have and always will." We kissed and cuddled for a while then went back to the house. ------- Mom did a ham this year for Christmas dinner, since we had turkey for Thanksgiving. Of course she did all of the trimmings to go with it. Martha brought desert, which turned out to be two types of pies, Christmas cookies, bread pudding, and a fruit cake. A farmer's life can be hard, but farm cooking is the best in the world. We spent the afternoon basking in love and friendship. Day 66 Sunday, December 26 Karen came over just after noon and after hugs and kisses she asked Patty to take a ride with her. I figured I knew what it was about, so I didn't kick up a fuss about it. They were gone for almost three hours. Neither of them seemed to be in a bad mood when they got back, so I was relieved. Karen claimed my lap and I was happy to cuddle with her. During one time when Karen and I were alone in the living room, she whispered, "Patty and I had a good talk. It would be a little weird for us to take a drive so I could tell you about it." "Is it okay if I talk to Patty this evening?" "Sure. Go ahead and talk to her. No matter what she says and no matter how you feel about it, promise me you'll be gentle with her." "Of course. I don't want to hurt Patty." Karen smiled and kissed me. "No matter what Patty tells you I've said and no matter how you feel about that, remember that I love you." I hugged her and kissed her back. "Patty is going to ask your mom to take her shopping in the morning. Would it be okay if I came over?" I didn't answer verbally. I did answer orally though. ------- Patty came in shortly after I had gone to bed and crawled under the covers with me. I put my arms around her and said, "Hi, Sweety." Patty cuddled close, but didn't say anything. I thought she might be embarrassed, so I didn't push her to talk. It must have been five minutes later when she asked, "Did Karen tell you what we talked about while we were out today?" "No. I have a pretty good idea what she was going to ask you though." I rolled onto my back, pulling her with me so that her head was laying on my shoulder. "So, she asked you. What did you tell her?" Patty sighed and put her arm across my chest. "I told her I love you more than a sister is supposed to love a brother. I told her it's not a sibling kind of love, but an 'I want to spend the rest of my life with you' kind of love." "Okay." Her head popped up and she looked me directly in the eye. "You knew that, didn't you?" "I sort of suspected it. It is very much like what I feel for you." Her head came back down on my chest. "Really?" "Yep. How did Karen react to that?" "She was a lot nicer about it than I thought she'd be. I told her I knew I could never be with you sexually, but that I'd like to be a part of yours and her lives." "What did she say about that?" "We talked a lot about what that would mean. She asked if I'd want to live with the two of you and I told her I would. She said that if you were going to live on the farm it definitely wouldn't be a problem as I was already living here. She said I should ask you though." "Patty, wouldn't it be awfully hard on you, living in the house with us, feeling the way you do?" "Yes, but it would be even harder living somewhere else and wishing I was living with you guys." I gave her a hug and kissed her on the forehead. "Yeah, I guess that would be hard. Did you guys come up with any solutions?" "We did, but you would have to agree with them too." "Let's hear them." "Well, Karen said it would be okay for me to live with you guys, even if you move away from the farm." "I think I'd like that a lot. What else did you guys decide?" "We didn't make any real decisions, but we did talk about a lot. You know, like what would I do while the two of you were having sex. I told her I'd probably wear my fingers out." I had to laugh and Patty looked up at me and grinned. "Karen also said that maybe someday the two of you would decide you wanted me to be a part of your marriage in every way." I was dumbfounded. I couldn't imagine Karen saying that. We just lay there for a few minutes before I said, "If it were just up to me, that's what I would want." We held on to each other like our lives depended on it. It must have been a half an hour later when we heard a soft knock on the door. Mom came in without waiting for an answer. "Are you guys awake?" she asked. We assured her we were. "Can I turn the light on?" "Sure, Mom," I said. When I could see again, after the sudden onslaught of light, I saw that mom had tears running down her face. "What's wrong, Mom?" "It's your dad... He's dead." "Come here, Mom," I said. She came around to my side of the bed and I indicated she should lie down. When she did, I put my arm around her. "What happened?" I just got a call from a San Diego policeman. He said your father was killed in a bar fight, Thursday night." "Did he say how it happened?" "He said your dad and another guy came into the bar around seven in the evening. The bartender said that the two of them had sat at the bar and had started drinking. Your dad and the other guy had their heads together, talking in low tones." "Okay," I said. Patty hadn't said anything, but the arm she had around me tightened. "About nine o'clock your dad ordered a hamburger. They went on talking, then around eleven-thirty they started yelling at each other. They were getting louder so the bartender was going to throw them out. He'd just started toward them when they got up. Your dad hit the other guy on the jaw. The other guy pulled a knife and stabbed your dad as your dad tried to hit him again." "Did they arrest the guy who stabbed him?" "No. The guy ran. They've got a description, but the detective said it would fit several thousand people in San Diego alone. Your dad didn't have any identification on him, so they had to find out who he was from his fingerprints. They didn't find out until today." Mom was crying quietly on my shoulder, so I hugged her. "Try not to be upset, Mom. We knew there was a good chance something like this would happen." "I know, Ed. I wanted to be rid of him, but I didn't want him dead." "I didn't want him dead either, Mom. I didn't love him because of the way he treated us. When you've been telling me this, it's almost like you're talking about a stranger." "That's the way I feel too, Mom. It's like you're describing what happened to someone I barely knew," Patty said. We talked for a few minutes then I told mom to get under the covers and asked Patty to turn the light out. Eventually, all of us went to sleep. Day 67 Monday, December 27 Mom was gone when I awoke, but Patty was still sleeping. I kissed her awake then we got dressed and went downstairs. We were a subdued lot. I think Patty and I were more upset for mom than for the loss of our father. Patty and I did the chores and then we had breakfast. "Mom," I said after we had finished eating. "Nothing is going to be open on the west coast until noon here. I'm going to run over to Karen's and let them know what happened." "Okay, Ed. Actually, I feel a lot better this morning." "Mom, would it be okay if I went with Ed? If you want I'll stay with you." "No, go ahead with Ed. Just try to be back before noon." We agreed we would, then we took off. Karen looked puzzled as she came out to meet us. I kissed her hello then said, "Mom got a call last night. Dad was killed in a bar fight in San Diego." "Oh, Ed!" "Don't worry, love. It doesn't bother Patty or me that much and mom is doing a lot better this morning." "Mom and dad are in the house drinking coffee. We should go in and tell them." We went in to the kitchen and were greeted by Claude and Martha. Patty and I sat down at the table and I said, "Mom got a call last night from a police detective in San Diego. Evidently dad was killed in a bar fight last Thursday." Martha came over and put her arms around Patty and me. "I'm sorry to hear that, Ed," Claude said. "Why did they wait so long to call you?" Martha asked. "Evidently dad didn't have any identification on him. They had to identify him by fingerprints." "Do you know what happened?" Karen asked as she set coffee down in front of Patty and me. She looked at her mom and dad, then sat on my lap. "We don't know a lot, but I don't think the San Diego police do either. The bartender said that dad and this other guy spent over four hours there before they got into a fight. Dad hit the other guy first, then the other guy stabbed him. The guy got away." "Do they have any idea who the man is?" Claude asked. "Mom said that no one the police interviewed had seen the guy before. None of them had seen dad before either." I had my arms around Karen and she had one of her arms around my neck. Every little bit, she'd run her other hand up across my face and smooth it back through my hair. She leaned in close and whispered, "Put your arm around Patty." I was ashamed I'd almost forgotten about her. I put my arm around her. Patty looked up at me and smiled, then she laid her head on my shoulder. "I had kind of expected something like this would happen. Patty and I had even talked about it. I imagine I should feel guilty that it's not bothering us that much, but I don't." "No, Ed, you shouldn't feel guilty," Claude said. "If he had been a father to you, you would feel more of a loss." "Ed and I were telling mom that it was like they were telling us about what had happened to someone we barely knew and didn't particularly like," Patty said. "Claude's right," Martha said. "Neither of you have anything to feel guilty about. I don't imagine either of you really knew him, did you?" "All I really knew about him was that he had a bad temper," Patty said. "He'd yell at me and he'd hit Ed. Mom said he never could hold a job long enough to contribute to the family income." "That's a shame, Patty," Martha said. "It must have been hard on you and Ed. That's probably why the two of you are so close now though." We agreed that it probably was. We talked for a few minutes more about dad and about growing up. Finally, I said that I thought we should get back over so we could be with mom. Karen told us to go ahead and that she'd be over in a few minutes. Claude and I shook hands and Martha gave Patty and me a big hug before we left. Mom was in a much better mood when we got home. She gave us a big smile when we came in and fixed us some hot chocolate. "What is making you feel so much better, Mom?" Patty asked. "I've been doing a lot of thinking, Patty. I didn't want to see John dead, but I didn't want to see him again either. If he had been killed while he was being robbed, or in a traffic accident, I'd feel a lot worse for him. As it is, he was killed while fighting, which has been what held us down and kept us apart during our entire married life." "When you filed for divorce, you were happy because he couldn't hold us all down any more," I said. "You had already put him behind you." "That's right. All three of us had already put him behind us." I gave mom a big hug, then Patty joined me in hugging her. We both told her we loved her. ------- Karen came over a little later and we all sat around and waited until mom could start calling to the west coast. She started calling the Coroner's office in San Diego at eleven. She was a little surprised when she got right through. She talked for a while with one of the deputies and when she hung up she told us what had been said. "I've arranged for them to send us a half a dozen death certificates," she said. "I asked them what I needed to do about his body. The man I talked to said we'd need to find a funeral home out there and have them pick up the body. He said a funeral home here would have an affiliate out there and that all of the arrangements could be made here." "Well, that's a help," I said. "I need to call the San Diego police and see if I can find out what happened to the car. Detective Corrales was very nice last night. Calling the next of kin has to be a very hard thing to do." Mom called Detective Corrales and talked with him for a few minutes. "Well," mom said when she had gotten off of the phone, "I gave them a description of the car and its license number. The detective says they'll look for it. He said they'd found where John had been staying and had gone in and searched the place. He said the place was empty except for a few old clothes. He thinks the guy who killed him ransacked the place." "Don't worry about it, Mom. There's not a thing he had that we'd want anyway," I said. "I know. I do worry about the car though. It was only three years old and it had a lot of good miles left in it." "Mom, why did you want so many death certificates?" Karen asked. "I don't know if I'll need more than one or two, but the guy at the Coroner's office said that's about how many people usually needed." "Who are you going to see about funeral arrangements?" I asked. "I thought I'd go in and see the people at the Cox Funeral Home. They took care of mom and they did a good job." "You know we don't need any big fancy funeral for him, mom," Patty said. "I'm not planning on it. I'm going to ask them what the cheapest way to do this is." "When are you going to do it?" I asked. "The guy at the Coroner's office said I should do it as soon as possible. I should probably run in there today." Karen pinched me, then smiled. Patty said, "I'd like to go with you, Mom. I need to pick up a couple of things at the drug store." "Get ready then, Girl. We'll take off as soon as we're ready." ------- Chapter 6 As soon as mom and Patty had pulled out, Karen gave me a five alarm kiss. It certainly got my attention. It got little Ed's attention as well. "You know we don't have to do this today," Karen said. "If you're upset about your dad, we can wait until another time." I gave her a kiss that was just as hot as the one she had given me. "Does that seem like I want to wait?" I asked. Karen giggled, then wiggled her butt on my erection. "No, and neither does that." We kissed and caressed for a few minutes then, as if by a silent agreement, we headed up to my bedroom. We undressed each other then laid down facing each other. I put my arms around her and we kissed while I caressed her back and butt. We had only had a couple of full bodied naked kisses before and this one was by far the most erotic, since we were in bed. Karen's nipples were boring holes in my chest and my cock was pressing into her thigh. Karen pulled back and said, "Please accept the gift of my virginity, Ed. I've known for several years I wanted to give it to you." "Are you sure, Love? We can wait if you have any doubts." "No. I want you inside me. I want to feel like you are a part of me." I was totally without any practical experience when it came to making love, but I had read a lot. I knew that women liked to be caressed gently and softly. I knew that they liked to have their nipples and pussys teased. I moved my head down to her breasts and kissed around them. I avoided her nipples for a couple of minutes then treated them like the precious jewels they are when I finally started giving them attention. I played with them for a while then moved down to her pubic area. I knew I wanted to taste Karen's pussy, but I wasn't sure how to give her the most pleasure. I started licking her like an ice cream cone, with long slow strokes from the bottom to the top. I noticed that every time I reached the top, Karen would jump. When I investigated, I found her clit. I knew what it was as soon as I found it, so I started giving it some special attention. Karen seemed to like that, so I kept playing with her little nubbin. Within a couple of minutes, Karen's body was flailing all over the bed. I held on and continued until she went into a screaming climax. I crawled back up beside her and held her while her body shook. When she finally had control of herself again, Karen said, "My God, Ed. Masturbating never felt like that." "I'm glad it was good, Sweetheart." "Now, I want you in me." "Honey, are you on birth control?" "Yes. I had mom get me on the pill right after we started dating. We're safe." "Okay, Love. I'm as new to this as you are. I've read though that it is easier if the girl gets on top for her first time. That way she can decide how fast she allows the man to enter her and she can stop if there is any discomfort." "I don't think there will be any pain. I broke my hymen a few years ago. I was visiting my aunt in town and slipped on the ice. I ended up doing a split. The next thing I knew, I had blood seeping through my pants. She took me to the doctor and he said I had broken my hymen." We kissed, then Karen straddled me. She was sitting on my hips with an angelic expression. She was the prettiest creature I had ever seen. She just sat there for a minute, then she raised up and positioned my cock at her entrance. She started lowering herself slowly onto me. I watched her eyes as she lowered herself. There was no sign of pain. I don't know how I expected it to feel, but this was better than I had ever thought possible. When our pubic hair came together, Karen had a smile that would have lighted New York City. She sat there for a minute while we grinned at each other, then she started to move. She went slowly at first, but gradually picked up speed. I knew I couldn't last long because of the wonderful feelings surrounding me. I didn't want to leave Karen behind, so I started gently massaging her clit as she rode me. Karen went off first and the convulsions of her wonderful pussy pulled me with her. Karen collapsed on top of me and I held her as we both came down. After an eon, Karen raised up. She had a big smile as she said, "We did it." "We sure did! I hope we can do it a lot more!" Karen giggled and said, "So do I." She collapsed back down onto me and we snuggled together. ------- Okay, so Karen and I screwed up. We went to sleep. In fact, we went to sleep with me still inside her. That wouldn't have been so bad, in fact it would have been damned good, if we had woke up before mom and Patty came home. I woke up to Patty shaking us and saying in a loud whisper, "Wake up guys. We're home." I awoke with a start and so did Karen. We looked at each other and looked at Patty, then we started giggling. Patty looked at us like we'd gone nuts, then she started giggling too. I was still inside Karen and as that realization came to me, I started growing inside of her. When Karen felt it she sat straight up. She looked down at where we were joined then looked at Patty and said, "He's getting a hardon." Patty giggled again and said, "I would have thought he would have had to have a hardon to get in there." All three of us cracked up again. "He did, silly. It got soft after we'd cum." "Patty, would you get us a damp wash cloth please? I think we need to clean up before mom sees us." Patty was back inside a minute with the wash cloth. Karen pulled off of me and I gently cleaned her pussy with the cloth. I wiped myself off as Karen started getting dressed. We finished dressing and started for the stairs. "Karen, we're engaged to be married. We have nothing to be embarrassed about." Patty giggled. "Oh, yeah? Tell mom that," she said. ------- Mom gave me a little smirk when I told her Karen and I had been talking and had fallen asleep on my bed. She didn't say anything though. "So, what did you learn at Cox's?" I asked. "I did want to talk to you about that. They said the cheapest way to go would be to have him cremated out there. Then, they'd just have to have the ashes shipped to us. Is that okay with you?" "That's fine with me. They can just keep the ashes though." "I said the same thing, but it actually costs more to have them dispose of the ashes than to have them shipped to us." "Okay, we can always find somewhere to dump them." "Or flush them," Patty said. I walked Karen out to her car when she said she should be getting home. When we were out of earshot, I asked, "Patty is going to want to know what went on. Should I talk to her about it?" Karen laughed and said, "Honey, she saw your cock up inside my pussy. She knows what went on. I don't see any reason you can't talk to her about it." "I really wanted to talk to you about what Patty and I had talked about last night, but..." "Why don't you come over in the morning and we'll go for a drive or something. We can talk about it then." We kissed goodbye and my beautiful fiancé went home. ------- When I got back inside, mom asked, "You guys are using protection aren't you?" "Yes, Mom. Karen is on the pill." "My mother used to tell me that it was hard watching me grow up. I never understood what she meant until now. Watching your babies become adults is a very traumatic time for a mother." "That usually means your kids are going to be leaving home. I'm not leaving. At least I'm not leaving if I can get the farm running." I looked around to see if Patty was anywhere close. She wasn't, so I said, "I don't think Patty is going to be leaving either." Mom just looked at me for several minutes. I think she was trying to get up the courage to ask what I meant, but eventually, she decided she didn't want to know. ------- When Patty came in to my bed that night, she had a big smile on her face. She snuggled in then said, "I don't have to ask what you did this afternoon. Did you both enjoy it?" "We both enjoyed it." "Good. I've heard that the first time is usually bad. Was it painful for Karen?" "No. She said she slipped on the ice a few years ago and broke her hymen. She didn't have any pain at all." Patty giggled. "I probably shouldn't tell you this, but I broke mine with the handle of a hair brush last year. It scared the pee out of me and it hurt like hell." "Patty!" "Well, if a girl doesn't have a boyfriend, she has to do something," she said indignantly. We both got a laugh out of that. Day 68 Tuesday, December 28 After breakfast and our chores, I went over to Karen's. I had a cup of coffee with Claude and Martha and then Karen told her parents we were going on a drive. We shared a kiss when we got in the car, then I took off. I didn't want to be driving while we were talking, so I just drove us down to the fishing hole. We cuddled and kissed for a few minutes, then I asked, "Do you have any regrets about yesterday?" "Not really," Karen said. She was very serious. "I guess my only regret was that we went to sleep. If we had stayed awake we could have enjoyed ourselves more." For that, she got a big kiss. "Did it bother you that Patty caught us?" "No. Patty is cool. She won't tell anyone what she saw." "She doesn't have a great track record with us. She told me she knew how often you masturbate and she told you that I was in love with you." "Yeah," Karen giggled. "I still owe her for that masturbation thing." "I think that just slipped out. She said she told you I love you because we were both so shy we'd have been dating for a year before we told each other." "She's probably right. We've both changed a lot. Neither of us are nearly as shy as we were." "It's amazing how much self confidence it gives you when you know someone loves you." "I'm really glad she told me when she did." "By the way, mom knew what we had been up to yesterday. She asked if we were protected." "Oh my God!" "She seems okay with it. Maybe it's better she does know." "Maybe. It's embarrassing though." "You were going to tell me what you and Patty talked about the other day." "Yeah... Okay, you were right when you said she didn't want to break us up. She would like to join us though." "I thought so." "Ed, she loves you just as much as I do and in the same way." "Okay." "Her ideal situation would be for us to get married and for her to live with us and share our bed." "I wouldn't have any problem with her living with us. She and I talked about that. She says it would be easier on her to live with us than to live somewhere else and wish she was living with us." "Ed, being completely honest, how do you feel about her?" I let out a big sigh. I knew that question was coming and I had been thinking about it a lot. "I love Patty. I don't love her more than I love you, but I love her nearly as much. That doesn't in any way change how I feel about you. My love for you has grown every day since I realized what I felt for you wasn't just a school boy crush. I don't doubt that I'll love you more every day until the day that I die." Karen kissed me lovingly and tenderly. "I think my love for you has grown every day too," she said. "We've been told all of our lives that you fall in love with one person. We know that's not entirely true. I've known since we started dating that you love Patty more than a brother is supposed to love his sister." "So, what do we do about it?" "Take it slow. The three of us seem to be developing an intimacy that is a lot closer than three people normally have. When she caught us, still coupled, yesterday, it really didn't bother me. If anyone else had seen us like that we'd have both freaked out." Karen kissed me again, then continued. "I don't know how I'd feel if I saw you and Patty coupled like that. I've tried to picture it and it didn't freak me out." "That's probably because you know, deep in your heart, that Patty and I both love you." "Probably. The main thing is, we've got time to see how this develops. If you came to me tomorrow and said that you and Patty had gone all the way, I might be upset or I might not. If you said you'd touched each other, I don't think I'd mind at all." "I see what you mean. I just don't know if Patty and I should do anything at all." "Think about it for a minute, Ed. You tell me that Patty comes into your bed almost every night. You've told me you put your arms around her and hold her. Neither of these things bother me. Would you have thought two months ago that you and Patty would be this close?" "No." "Then who's to say what you'll be doing two months from now?" "Okay, I see what you mean." We just sat quietly for a couple of minutes, then I asked, "Have you ever thought about making love to another woman?" "I've wondered what it would be like, but I've never actually considered doing it. I've never been attracted to another woman except Patty and I didn't want to jeopardize our friendship." "I think Patty loves you as much as she does me. What would you do if she wanted to make love to you?" "I don't know. I guess a lot would depend on how you felt about it. It would also depend on the circumstances." "So, you're not saying you wouldn't even consider it." "No. Right now, I'd probably say no. Six months from now? We'd all have to see how we felt about things then. How would you feel about it?" "Like you, I'm not sure. I think I would probably find it incredibly sexy, as long as I wasn't left out. I think you're right about taking things slowly though." ------- We stopped by the house and had lunch with mom and Patty. I think Patty must have known what we had been up to because she kept giving Karen and me looks that told me she was concerned. We took Patty with us when we left and Karen told me to stop at the fishing hole. I pulled up, then Patty asked, "So, is the prisoner going to live or die?" Karen laughed. "Whether you live or die is still debatable. I still owe you for telling Ed you know how often I masturbate." We all got a chuckle out of that. "The main thing we decided, Sis, is that we have to go slowly. None of us know how far this is going to go. We'll just have to wait and see." "I can live with that," Patty said seriously. "We have realized that the three of us are developing an intimacy that is very different. We both love you and we don't want to exclude you," I said. "Karen, can I kiss your fiancé?" Patty asked. Karen grinned and said, "Yes, you can kiss my fiancé." Patty and leaned across Karen, who was in the middle, and shared a very loving kiss, while Karen put her arms around both of us. Day 71 Friday New Years Eve Patty, Karen and I did a lot of talking that week. All of us were becoming more comfortable with our relationship. Now, here it was, New Years Eve, and just one week from mine and Patty's birthday. That's right, we share a birthday. I lack just four hours and thirty-three minutes being a year older than her. I awoke again this morning with Patty in my arms. Karen is right, two months ago and I'd have freaked out. Now, I'd miss her if she wasn't there. I held her until she stirred; then stretched; then opened her eyes and gave me a big smile. "Happy New Years Eve," she said. "Same to you, Sis. You know you're going to be sixteen in a week?" "Yeah, sweet sixteen." "Sweet sixteen and never been kissed, except by your brother?" "No. I kissed Jimmy Fredericks once. It was kind of yucky. He tried to stick his tongue in my mouth and I freaked." I had to laugh and then Patty started giggling. "You don't seem to think it's yucky when we French Kiss," I said. "It's not, but that's because I love you." "I love you too." "I hope mom has fun at her party tonight," Patty said. "Yeah, it was nice of Claude and Martha to ask her to go with them." "I think Karen may have encouraged them to ask her. I know she wants to get you alone again." We got dressed and did our chores. When we came back in, mom had breakfast ready. I pitched in like I hadn't eaten in a month. I had to be eating twice what I had a couple of months ago and I was still losing weight. "Are you ready to party the night away, Mom?" I asked between bites. Mom laughed. "I suppose. I am excited about it. Would you believe I've never been to a New Years party?" "You're kidding, right?" Patty asked. "No. Honey, I got pregnant with your brother when I was just a little older than you are now. After John and I got married he never wanted to go to parties. He always wanted to have a few of his friends come in and I was just a waitress." "That's awfully young for you to get pregnant, Mom," I said. Mom blushed. She wasn't used to talking about anything sexual, at least where it concerned her. "Yes, it was. Maybe someday I'll tell you about it." "I'm not prying, Mom, and I'm not condemning. Patty and I both love you." "Mom," Patty asked, changing the subject, "Do you know what time you'll be getting home tonight?" "Oh... I meant to tell you about that. The party is going to be going on until at least one. It is an hour's drive to get home and we'll all have been drinking, so Martha and I decided we'd get hotel rooms for the night. We won't be home until tomorrow afternoon." "Not a problem, Mom. Do you mind if we invite Claude and Martha over for dinner tomorrow? Karen and I can make a nice corned beef and cabbage dinner." Mom smiled, "I think that is a fine idea. Why don't you guys go over and invite them?" "Gee, Mom, I was kind of planning to go over there anyway," I said. "I'll just bet you were," Mom laughed. ------- Karen was excited to see us as usual. She came running out to the car when we pulled up. She gave me a kiss that left no doubt about how she felt about me, then she whispered, "Did you know our parents are going to spend the night in a hotel?" "We just found out this morning." Karen smiled and put one arm around me and the other around Patty as we walked in. Claude said, "Howdy, Ed. Howdy, Patty." We both told him hello and Martha came over and hugged us. We sat down at the table and Martha brought us some coffee without even asking. We talked about the weather and about farming for a few minutes then I brought up the party. "I hear you guys are going to be spending the night in a hotel," I said. "Yeah, I don't like to drive after I've had anything to drink," Claude said. "I lost a friend when I was about your age because he got drunk and then ran into a tree." "That's a shame. It seems like every year there's at least one person from our school does the same thing." "Kids think they're immortal, Ed. They think they're going to live forever and that nothing could possibly hurt them." "Well, I think you're right about the drinking then driving thing. We asked mom if we could invite you guys over for dinner tomorrow night. Patty says she and Karen will make a nice corned beef and cabbage dinner." Claude looked over at Martha and when she nodded he said, "That would be great. We always have had a cabbage for New Years tradition." Karen was sitting on my lap and she gave me a big hug before she said, "Mom, don't try to call me here tonight. I'm going to be staying with Ed and Patty." You've heard the old saying about hearing a pin drop. You sure could have in that house for about the next fifteen seconds. Claude was studying his coffee cup and Martha was just standing by the sink, looking like someone had hit her in the stomach. Finally, Martha said, "Okay, Honey, we'll call over there if we need you." Patty said, "Karen, we need to run into town and pick up a corned beef brisket this morning. Nothing will be open tomorrow." Karen agreed and she and Patty took off so she could get dressed. So, here I was, left with a mother and father who had just been told by their daughter that she was going to spend the night with me. Martha came over and sat in the chair beside me. She put her arm around my shoulder and said, "Ed, please be good to my little girl." I had tears running out of my eyes when I said, "Martha, I'd rather cut off my right arm than to do anything that would hurt Karen. I love her with all of my heart." Martha pulled me over so my head was resting on her shoulder. "I know that and I know Karen is a very mature young lady. It's just hard for a parent when you realize your daughter is an adult." "That girl of ours has been leading Ed around by the nose since their first date," Claude said. "I'm sure that anything that has happened between them has been instigated by Karen. I can't fault her choice in men though." "I know that. Claude tells me that you and Karen want to get married when you graduate. He says you plan for her to finish high school and take at least some college courses." "That's what we'd like to do. It depends on how you and Claude feel about it though." "Well, as long as she finishes high school, we won't object to it. I would expect she's going to want to move in with you before that." I didn't say anything. I was dumbfounded. I'd never even thought of that. "Hell, I figured that was going to be her New Years resolution," Claude laughed. I still didn't say anything. After a while, Claude asked, "What's the matter, Ed? Cat got your tongue?" "No, Sir, I said. "I'd just never thought of that." "Well, you can bet our daughter has been thinking about it. Karen is almost as crafty as her mother." "Claude, you're going to pay for that," Martha laughed. "I always do," Claude said, shaking his head in mock despair. ------- After we were in the car, headed for town, Karen said, "So, my parents didn't slaughter you. You don't seem to be in any pain, so I don't think they castrated you. Don't tell me you got off Scott free." "No thanks to you," I said and squeezed her to me. "They blame it on you." Karen giggled and Patty joined her. "Me? Sweet little innocent me?" "Yep, Claude said you lead me around by my nose. He said anything that happened between us was instigated by you." "Claude is right," Patty said. "It was you that gave Ed a card so he could claim your virginity." Karen blushed at that. "He was thinking about it." "Of course he was thinking about it," Patty said. "He's got a dick." All three of us cracked up about that one. "Martha said we have their blessing to get married when I graduate," I told them. Karen was quiet, but she had a very nice smile. "I thought she'd give us a rough time about it," she said after a while. "No, she was very understanding about it. She does want you to finish high school though." "So do I," Karen said. "I want to be a good wife to you, Ed, and I can't do that if I'm a dummy who didn't even finish high school." "You're not a dummy," I said. "You and Patty are the two smartest young women I've ever met." "You get a big hug for that one when we get to town, Bro," Patty said. "Martha is smart too, so I can see where you got it from," I said. "She says your next step is going to be to try to get them to let you move in with me before we're married." Karen's mouth fell open and her eyes got big. "How did she know that? I haven't even mentioned that to Patty." "I don't know, Love. I expect it's because she's your mother." ------- Luckily the butcher shop was open. We looked around for a bit, then Patty asked the butcher if he had any whole corned beef briskets. When he brought it out, it was huge, but Patty reminded me there were six of us. "Besides," she said. "The leftovers will make great sandwiches." As the butcher was wrapping it up, I noticed they had barbecued briskets. My mouth started watering when I smelled them. I asked him about them and he said, "Yeah, we barbecue them ourselves. We slow cook them over an open flame and slather the sauce on thick while we do it." "Could we get you to do a whole brisket for us and have it ready so we could pick it up on the sixth?" I asked him. He assured us they could and would. I asked if he needed a deposit and he said, "No, I know your mom. I was sorry to hear about what happened to your dad." I thanked him and we left. "Does a barbecued brisket sound good for our birthday dinner?" I asked Patty. "It's a little late to be asking now," She laughed. "You know I love barbecue though. Of course it's okay." ------- Since it was so far to where the party was and since they had to check into their hotel first, our parents decided to leave at 5:00 PM. Patty and I took mom over to Karen's. When they were ready to leave, mom kissed all three of us who were staying behind. Then Martha did the same. Claude kissed Karen and Patty then said, "I'll be damned if I'll kiss you, Ed." He did shake my hand and gave me a hug. We waved at our parents as they pulled out, then the three of us loaded up and went over home. "Dad already did the chores here," Karen told us. We quickly did the chores at home, then decided on hotdogs for dinner. It only took a few minutes to get things fixed up. After we had finished eating, Karen asked, "So what does everyone want to do now?" ------- Chapter 7 I just grinned at her, so she said, "Besides that." Patty cracked up and I had to too. The girls decided they should teach me to dance. I had never danced, so I fought it a little. Patty put on a rock music station and they dragged me out in the middle of the living room. I found that if I just moved my body and flung my arms around, the girls thought I was dancing. They played several fast songs, then a slow one. Karen showed me how to put my arms and how to move my feet. I liked this a lot better, since Karen's body was pressed to mine. When the next slow song came on, Patty said it was her turn. I'll swear she glued her body even closer to me than Karen had. After a while I claimed fatigue and flopped down on the sofa. Karen and Patty joined me on the sofa and we sat cuddled for a while. Patty looked up at the clock and said, "It' 9:00 PM. Three hours until the new year. What do you guys want to do until then?" I knew what I wanted to do, but I didn't think it would polite to go off and leave Patty while Karen and I made love, so I just kept quiet. "Let's play strip poker," Karen said. Patty had an evil grin when she said, "You just want to get naked with your boyfriend." "Yep," Karen said. "I'm game," I said. "Let's do it," Patty laughed. "It's not like we haven't all seen each other before." Yes, we had seen each other naked before, but other than mine and Karen's one time together and the times Karen and Patty had walked around their rooms nude, it had always been in the hot tub. In the hot tub our bodies had been hidden most of the time. I don't know how the girls cheated me, but I'm sure they did. I was naked and out of the game while Patty and Karen still had all of their interesting parts covered. I sat on the sofa and watched as they continued to play. Karen was down to her panties when Patty finally lost hers. Karen looked over at me and grinned as she slipped her panties off as well. Then, they came over and bracketed me on the sofa. We sat for a few minutes, my arms around both of them. Karen pulled me into a steaming kiss. I was a little hesitant at first to be naked, kissing my naked fiancé, with Patty watching, but Karen didn't allow me to hesitate long. "I think we should go up to the bedroom for a while," Karen said. Patty's face fell, but she didn't say anything. "What about Patty?" I asked. "She can come too. She's seen us together before." Patty smiled and nodded. All three of us got up and went upstairs, holding hands. When we went into the bedroom, Patty asked, "Where do you want me?" "Anywhere you want to be, except between us," Karen giggled. Karen laid on the bed and I got in beside her. I started stroking her chest and she said, "Tonight, I just want you inside me." Obviously, she knew what she wanted, so I obliged her. I think Karen must have a little bit of an exhibitionistic streak, because she looked over at Patty and smiled. She opened her legs as far as she could and I crawled between them. Karen grabbed my dick and lined it up with her opening. I started putting on a gentle pressure and the head of my dick popped through immediately. I looked at Karen and she was smiling. Patty crawled onto the bed and sat with her back against the headboard. Her hand moved down to her pussy. I didn't want to hurt Karen or cause her any discomfort, so I moved slowly. I started pushing in and pulling out, each time I'd go in a little farther than I pulled out. When my pubic bone bumped against Karen's clit, she gasped and said, "You're all the way in." I held steady for a minute, just enjoying the feel of her and letting her enjoy the feel of me. I started moving in short, slow strokes. As she became used to me, I started increasing the length of the strokes, until only the head of my dick was still inside her on the out stroke. Patty's eyes were as wide as all outdoors as she watched us. Eventually, I could feel the tension in Karen build and I started increasing the speed of the strokes as well. Finally, she screamed, "Oh God, Ed!" and I felt her stiffen under me. Her pussy started quivering and this was enough to bring me to my own climax. Karen held on to me for a while afterwards, but after a while I rolled off to the side and pulled her into my arms. We laid there, holding each other and basking in the closeness two people share who have just made love. In a few minutes Karen whispered, "Get Patty between us and bring her off with your hand." "Are you sure?" I asked. Karen smiled and nodded. Patty was still sitting with her back against the headboard. Her hand was still on her pussy, but she wasn't moving it. I reached over and touched her hand. She jumped, startled. "Move over between us, Sweety," I said. Patty didn't know what was going on, but she complied. I laid on my left side, facing her and I slid my left hand behind her neck. Karen rolled until she was facing Patty as well. I leaned in and kissed Patty as if our lives depended on it. She kissed me back with as much passion as I showed her. I cupped one of her breasts and started massaging it as we kissed. I saw that Karen was gently stroking Patty's stomach. I broke the kiss and moved my mouth down to capture Patty's nipple. She gasped as my lips made contact with her little bud, and again when my hand cupped her other breast. I started nibbling and sucking on he nipple and Patty's hips started moving. I looked at Karen and she smiled and nodded again. I started sliding my hand down Patty's body and my hand made contact with Karen's. We clasped hands for a few seconds, then Karen started my hand moving in a southerly direction again. I had never touched Patty's pussy, and when my hand made contact the first time, she moaned. Even Karen hadn't been as wet as my little sister was. I started gently rubbing up and down her cleft and Patty's moans grew louder. I kept glancing at Karen from time to time and she always smiled to reassure me. Patty spread her legs wide apart and I took this as an invitation for my finger to enter her. I started with one finger, but quickly added another. I then started using my thumb to stimulate her clit. Patty went off like a canon in just a few seconds. She screamed and her legs clamped around my hand, holding it in place. Her whole body was trembling violently. When she finally relaxed enough for me to remove my hand, I moved back up so I could kiss her. I put my arms around Patty and pulled her close. Karen did the same from the other side. We collapsed in a pile of satisfied teenagers. We laid like that for quite some time, then I looked at the clock. It was still an hour before midnight. "Would anyone else like some hot chocolate?" I asked. Karen and Patty started laughing. "Just like a man," Karen said. "Yeah," Patty said. "All they think about are their dicks and their stomachs." Both girls got a good giggle at my expense. Finally, Patty said, "Hot chocolate does sound good." Karen started getting up and said, "Come on." We all got out of bed and Karen and I shared a wonderful, loving kiss. "Thank you," she whispered. "Patty, why don't you get it started. I need to talk to Karen for a minute." Patty smiled at us and left the room. "Are you okay with what happened?" I asked. "Yes... It was just a spur of the moment thing for me to tell you to do that. I figured if it bothered me we wouldn't have gone so far that we couldn't say we wouldn't repeat it. It didn't bother me at all though. I guess it was because I could tell it was making Patty feel so good." "She certainly did react. I thought she was going to break my hand off there at the last." "Did it bother you, touching your sister like that?" "No... Actually, it just felt natural and loving." "Good. Now, let's go get some hot chocolate." ------- We had all finished our chocolate when midnight rolled around. None of us had discussed what had happened, but none of us seemed to be uncomfortable about it. We turned on the TV just before midnight and we exchanged kisses when the ball dropped. When we went up to bed, I was in the middle with a beautiful naked girl cuddled to each side of me. Day 72 New Years Day Saturday We slept a little late, but we had chores to do and we couldn't ignore them. We had to go downstairs and gather up our clothes from last night, then we got dressed in our work clothes. We did the chores at our place then Karen and I went over to do the chores at her place while Patty fixed breakfast. When we got back we ate breakfast, then we straightened up the house. Patty and Karen cut the corned beef brisket into manageable pieces and put them in a large soup pot to cook. They started it around 11:00 AM. I asked if that wasn't a little too early, but they assured me they were going to cook it slowly and that it would be very tender when they finished. Our parents got home a little after three. Evidently all of them had a great time. We talked with them for a while, then Patty, Karen and I went to do our chores. ------- Karen and Patty were right. The corned beef was great. We had a nice dinner then Karen and her family went home. "So, Mom, did you have a good time," I asked after we had settled in for the evening. Mom was all smiles as she said, "Yes I did. I even danced quite a few times. I hadn't danced since high school." "Claude and Martha are good people." Yes they are. They're the reason I had such a good time." She started telling us about the meal they had and about the party. She described the food and the drinks she had tried. Then she told us about her and Martha taking turns dancing with Claude. "Between the two of us, we practically wore the poor man out, she laughed." We were so glad she had had fun that we gladly listened to everything she had to say. We were all quiet for a minute then mom asked with a twinkle in her eye, "Did you have a good time?" I didn't intend to let mom get my goat, so I said as calmly as I could, "Yes, we did, Mom. We played some cards and did some dancing too. We toasted the new year with hot chocolate." "Martha said that she had been a little upset when Karen told her that she was going to spend the night here last night. I guess she just didn't want to acknowledge that her little girl is growing up." "Yeah, I got that impression too, Mom. Karen has matured a lot over the last couple of months. She'd have never thought of staying over here a couple of months ago and she'd have been too embarrassed to tell her mom she was going to." "Well, I think Martha is okay with it now. She asked if it would bother me if Karen stayed over once in a while. I told her it wouldn't bother me. Of course we're both pretending that Karen is staying with Patty." "She is, Mom. Karen slept with me last night," Patty said. "Are you going to try to tell me that Ed wasn't sleeping in the same bed?" mom asked. Patty didn't say anything, so mom said with a laugh, "That's what I thought. Day 76 Wednesday Patty had gone to bed in her own bed last night, but when I awoke, she was in mine, and she was topless. I held her until she awoke then I asked, "so, what are you doing in my bed topless?" "I talked to Karen about it yesterday and she said it was okay," she informed me. "Did anyone bother to inform me?" "No," Patty giggled. "What would you and Karen think if I just reached over and grabbed one of your beautiful boobies?" "That's the whole point, Silly. You're supposed to play with my boobies." "I think I'd better hear that from Karen before I act on it," I said. "That's okay. You can ask her tonight. She's going to sleep over. She wants to wish you happy birthday in a very special way." "Is she going to wish you happy birthday too?" "I don't think so. I'm not sure how I would feel about that." "Did it bother you when she rubbed your tummy on New Years Eve?" I asked. "No. That felt nice." "Did it bother you when we all hugged together? I know your breasts must have been against Karen and hers had to be against you." "No. You guys made me feel like I was welcome to be with you. I felt like I belonged." "Good. That's the way we wanted you to feel." ------- Patty and I finished our chores then went in to breakfast. Mom was practically bubbling. She seemed as excited that I was turning seventeen and Patty was turning sixteen as we were. Then she started talking about farming and about putting in crops. When she finally started to run down, Patty said, "Mom, Karen is going to spend the night over here tonight if that is okay with you." "Ah, so she wants to give Ed a special birthday present," mom said with a big smile. "Mom!" I said. "Get real, Ed. We all know what's going on," mom said. I just blushed and wanted to sink under the table. ------- Patty and I went over to pick Karen up for school and she came running out as we pulled up. Patty got out and let Karen slide into the middle. Karen kissed me soundly then snuggled up against me as we took off. "You know," Karen said. "I don't think anyone even noticed my ring on Monday, but yesterday I must have had twenty people ask me about it." "I can understand that," I said. "On Monday, people were too wrapped up in what they had gotten for Christmas and in getting to see their friends again. Yesterday, they had calmed down and were beginning to see the world around them again." "What did they ask about it?" Patty wanted to know. "Is it real? Am I really engaged? Who am I engaged to? Wasn't I awfully young to be engaged? And one I particularly liked, were my boyfriend and I having sex?" We all cracked up over that, then Patty said, "If they want an eyewitness account, I'd be happy to fill them in on the details." That sent us into a fit of giggles that caused me to pull off the side of the road so that I didn't crash. When we got to school I got a big hug and a kiss from Karen and a hug and a promise from Patty. ------- After school, Karen was laughing as she got into the car. "What's so funny?" I asked. "Do you want to hear the latest question I had about the ring?" "Sure," Patty said. "They wanted to know why I was engaged to a nerd. They wanted to know if Ed had a twelve inch cock or something." "Oh, shit!," Patty giggled. "What did you tell them?" "I said it is ten inches long and three inches in diameter." I had to pull off the road again. I'll swear that girl is trying to kill us all. We all had tears running out of our eyes when we finally calmed down. "He's a legend in his own time," Patty said, solemnly. Of course that set us all off again. "I want you girls to shut up until we get home. I can't handle this," I said. "I couldn't handle ten inches long and three inches in diameter," Karen said. "Oh, shit," I thought, "We'll never get home at this rate." ------- As we turned into Karen's lane I asked, "Did you tell your parents you plan to sleep over at our house tonight?" "Yes. They're okay with it. I also told them none of us will be going to school tomorrow." "What do you mean, we're not going to school?" "Patty and I told Mr. Adkins today that we will not be in tomorrow." "What reason did you give him?" "We didn't give him a reason," Patty said. "We just said we won't be there. I think he's afraid of Leeana. He didn't even ask why." "Can I ask why?" I asked. "Because it's our birthday, Silly." How could I argue with that? We'd never taken our birthday off before, but evidently Patty was trying to establish a new tradition. We stopped at Karen's and did her chores, then I talked with Claude for a while as the girls were getting together what Karen was going to take over for the night. We quickly disposed of our chores as soon as we got home and then we were free for the evening. Mom said it would be a couple of hours before dinner, so the three of us decided to just hang out in the living room. Mom finally called us to eat. As usual she had a wonderful farm meal for us. She served fried chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy, along with green beans and cole slaw. After dinner we watched television with mom for a while and then we told her we were going to go upstairs and play cards. Mom gave me a big grin and a wink as we left. As soon as we got upstairs, Karen said, "Let's get naked." The words were hardly out of her mouth when Patty started stripping. Karen wasn't far behind. I was a little more reluctant. I was worried that mom might come upstairs, but then I rationalized that she knew what was going on and she wouldn't think of embarrassing herself or us by bursting in on us. Our lovemaking went much the same as it had on New Years Eve, except that Karen allowed me to worship her breasts for a while, then I ate her to two orgasms before I entered her. Another difference was that during the time Karen and I were making love, Patty was stroking Karen's body. She started stroking her arms, then moved to her tummy. Finally, Patty started stroking Karen's legs, mostly on her thighs. It was a lot more intimate than it had been before. While I was bringing Patty off, Karen stroked her and even kissed her a few times. Afterwards, I asked about the kissing. "Patty and I used to practice kissing on each other back when we were eleven or twelve. We were afraid we wouldn't know how to kiss a boy if we ever got a date." Karen was looking a little embarrassed when she said this, so I told her I thought it was incredibly sexy. Day 77 Thursday - Our Birthday Waking up between two beautiful, naked, sixteen year old girls has to be the most wonderful feeling in the world. I was lying on my back with Karen's head on my left shoulder and Patty's head on my right. Each of them had an arm thrown over me and a boob pressed into my side. When I felt Patty stirring, I watched her as she awoke. When her eyes came open, I said, "Happy Birthday, Sweetheart." Patty wished me a Happy Birthday too, then she raised up and kissed me like there was no tomorrow. We laid there afterwards, each thinking our own thoughts. We didn't want to say anything, because we didn't want to awaken Karen. When Karen finally opened her eyes, the first thing she said was, "Happy Birthday, Ed. Happy Birthday, Patty." We thanked her, then Patty said, "I've gotta pee!" She jumped out of bed and I watched her cute butt as she went off to the bathroom. I rolled onto my side and put my arms around Karen. We shared a wonderful, loving kiss as I stroked her back and butt. When Patty came back we all got up, got dressed, and went to do our chores. Mom had fixed a huge breakfast with sausage, eggs, biscuits, and sausage gravy. Karen and Patty teased me about how much I ate. ------- After dinner that evening Claude and Martha came over for a while. Mom said it was time to open presents, so we all gathered in the living room. Karen gave Patty and me two new outfits each. "Your wardrobe needs a little spicing up," she told me. Patty gave me a new wallet and I gave her a personal organizer. Claude and Martha gave Patty and me very nice sheep skin coats. "My present to you guys is over at Claude and Martha's," mom said. "You'll have to drive me over there so you can get it." "What is it, Mom?" Patty asked. "You'll see when you get there," she told Patty. The adults teased us for a bit and pretended they were going to delay letting us see what we had gotten. Finally, all of us piled into vehicles and drove over. Sitting in front of Claude and Martha's was a Dodge Dakota pickup. Patty and I freaked. We looked it over carefully and mom told us about all of the features. It had a regular cab with a bench front seat. It had four wheel drive and a good sized V-6 engine. Mom said she had gotten a great deal, because it was two model years old and hadn't sold. There were only 54 miles on the odometer. Of course we wanted to try it out, so I gave my keys to mom and Patty, Karen and I piled in and took off. It was wonderful. Karen decided she was going to stay with us again that night, so we stopped and she told her parents before we headed home. Day 107 Saturday, February 5 It was just thirty days later on Saturday, February 5th when the lives of two families changed forever. Mom came in my room and awakened Patty and me about half an hour earlier than we would have normally gotten up. When we were both awake, she said, "You need to get your chores done as soon as possible. Claude and Martha want us to come over. They said they have something important to tell us." "Do you know what it is, Mom?" Patty asked. "No, but from the sound of Martha's voice, I'm afraid it might be something bad." ------- Chapter 8 We were up and through our chores in record time. We didn't bother with breakfast, but piled in the pickup and drove over. Claude, Martha and Karen were in the living room when we got there. Karen had been crying, so Patty and I sat on either side of her and put our arms around her. "What's wrong, Honey?" I asked. "Mom will tell you," was all she would say. Martha brought coffee for all of us, then she said, "Over the last few months, I've started noticing that I was losing weight. It wasn't a rapid loss or anything so I didn't think much about it. Then, I started having some pain in my upper back. Our mattress is almost fifteen years old, so I blamed the pain on that. It was just last week that I started noticing that my urine was almost brown. When I looked closely at myself in the mirror, I thought I could see that my skin color was rather yellow." She stopped and took a sip of coffee. "I was afraid there was something wrong with my liver, so I went to the doctor on Monday. He gave me an exam and drew some blood for tests. He called me on Wednesday and said they wanted to do a CAT scan and that he wanted to see Claude and me on Friday. I had the CAT scan done and we went back in yesterday." Martha got all choked up and couldn't go on. Claude looked like someone had been pounding him in the stomach, but he said, "Martha has cancer of the pancreas. Our doctor told us a lot about it, and none of it is good. If they can catch it early, there is a surgical procedure they can do and they're having good results with it. Unfortunately Martha's wasn't detected early." "The doctor said that basically my entire pancreas is eaten up by cancer," Martha said after regaining her composure. "He said there isn't any treatment for pancreatic cancer when it is this far advanced." "Can't they just remove the pancreas?" Patty asked. "No, Honey," Martha said. "You can't live without a pancreas. He also said the cancer has metastasized. It's in other organs as well." "What does that mean?" Patty asked again. I knew exactly what it meant. "Honey, it means I'm going to die, very soon." "But..." Patty started, but I squeezed her shoulder and when she looked at me I shook my head. Karen was sobbing quietly while Martha had been talking. All I could do was hold her. Mom had been quiet, but now, she asked, "Did he give you any idea how long?" "He said it could be today or a month from now, but probably not more than a month." I could see tears streaming down Claude's face. Martha was silently crying too. I squeezed Patty's shoulder again, then nodded toward Martha. Patty got the idea immediately and went to Martha and put her arms around her. Martha buried her head on Patty's shoulder and sobbed. I caught mom's attention and indicated with my head that she should go to Claude. Mom glanced at Martha and then she went over and hugged Claude. There wasn't a dry eye in the room. I was feeling totally useless. I wanted to comfort Karen; I wanted to comfort Martha; and I wanted to comfort Claude. I had come to love this family. Not just Karen, but Claude and Martha as well. In just a few short months, Claude had become like a father to me. Martha hadn't approved of me at first, but as we had been around each other, we had grown very close. I loved her and I was going to miss her. In some ways it would be easier for her than it would be for Claude and Karen. Martha's pain and her apprehension about dying would be over soon. Claude's and Karen's grief would go on for the rest of their lives. As I held Karen in my arms, she finally cried herself out. I kissed her on the forehead and rubbed her back. Finally, after what might have been hours, she looked up at me and said, "Thank you." I didn't answer her. I couldn't. I just nodded and held on. It was Martha who got herself under control first. She got up and said she was going to get us all some coffee. I don't think any of us had touched the last one. "Help her," I whispered to Karen. "She needs your support." Karen nodded and went to help her mother. I got up and said, "Claude, let's take a walk." Claude nodded and got up. We went out towards his pasture and went through the gate. We walked for quite a while without saying anything. Finally, I laid my hand on his shoulder and said, "Claude, there's not a damned thing I can say to you that will make it any easier. I do want you to know that we'll do anything we can to help out." Claude nodded. "After I fell in love with Karen, I came to love you and Martha too. I had no idea I was going to fall in love with a whole family, but it happened. I'm going to miss Martha something terrible, but I know it couldn't hold a candle to what you and Karen have to be feeling." We walked on for a while then Claude said, "I've been worried about her for a while. I noticed she was losing weight and I asked her about it. She just gave me some kind of flip answer, so I just let it go. She started complaining about the mattress and that should have clued me in that something was wrong, because the mattress seemed fine to me. I should have realized something was wrong and made her go to the doctor sooner." "You know that's a pretty stupid thing to say." Claude's head popped up and he looked like I'd slapped him. "Do you really think you could have made Martha do anything?" "No... No, but I could have at least tried." "If you had tried to make her go to the doctor and she had refused, would you feel better now? Or, would you just feel like you should have tried harder?" Claude put his arm around my shoulder. "I don't know, Ed. I just wish this wasn't happening." ------- Claude and I walked for quite some time. We didn't say much, but I think I might have been of some help. I know it helped me. We spent most of the day with the Wellstons. I hope we helped. Day 108 Sunday, February 5 After we had done our chores and had eaten breakfast, Patty and I went over to Karen's. Things were a little more normal and Karen greeted me with a hug and a very loving kiss. We sat and talked with Claude and Martha for a few minutes, then I surprised everyone by asking Martha to go on a drive with me. Martha readily agreed, and we took off, leaving some puzzled people behind. "I just wanted the chance to talk with you for a few minutes," I told her. "Yes, I wanted the same thing." I pulled in at the fishing hole and Martha asked, "Is this where you take my daughter when you go on a drive?" "We've stopped here a few times," I told her. "It's hard for me to drive and concentrate on what I'm saying." Martha just smiled and nodded. "I was telling Claude yesterday that after I fell in love with Karen, I fell in love with your entire family. That most definitely includes you, Martha. I'm truly going to miss you." "That's going to be the hardest on everyone. It's going to be harder on Claude than on anyone else," Martha said. "Karen has been gearing herself up to leaving home for a while now. Every young person does that as they grow up. Claude and I had planned to spend the rest of our lives together. Now, he's going to have a big hole in his life." I nodded, understanding where she was coming from. I took her hand in mine and held on. "We'll all have a hole in our lives, but I can see where Claude's will be the biggest." "I don't have any worries about you and Karen any more. I think you were made for each other. I do worry about Claude though." "Yeah, I worry about him too. I'll swear he's like a father to me. Like the father I never had." "Well, that brings up one of the things I wanted to talk to you about, Ed. When I'm gone, I want Claude to go on with his life. Claude is still a young man. He has a young man's needs, if you know what I mean. I want him to find another woman." "I think Claude is going to be reluctant to do that, at least for a long while," I told her. "I know. He can be hard headed when he feels like it. I have a suggestion, but I don't know how you're going to feel about it. Claude is losing his wife. Your mom lost her husband. You said you feel like Claude is your father. Wouldn't it make sense if he was actually your step-father?" It took a minute for what she was suggesting to sink in. "Are you suggesting I try to get Claude and mom together?" "It's a thought." "It wouldn't bother you?" "No. I'll be gone and I want Claude to be happy." "Wow!" I said. "Does it bother you?" "No, Patty and I have wanted mom to start dating, but she's been reluctant so far. Trying to get them to date won't work. Probably the best thing to do would be to just make sure they have contact with each other, frequently." "That would probably be best. Claude wouldn't admit it, but I'm sure he was attracted to your mom when they danced together at New Years." "That didn't bother you?" "No, because I knew nothing would come of it." "I would certainly support a match between mom and Claude now that I know how you feel about it. I'm sure that Patty and Karen will too. Did you know that Karen calls my mother, Mom?" "Yes. When she started doing that is when I realized how serious the two of you are." We sat for a couple of minutes while I held Martha's hand. Then Martha asked, "Are you aware that your sister is in love with you?" "Yes, I am. Karen is aware of it too. It's a weird situation, Martha." "I'm not going to ask you about it and I'm not going to try to give any of you advice on it. The three of you are going to have to work it out for yourselves. I'm sure you will come up with something that works for all of you. I've never seen three more intelligent or mature teenagers in my life." "Thank you. Sometimes I wish I could be a little kid again. I wish I could just let someone take care of me and that I didn't have to worry about anything or decide anything." Martha squeezed my hand and said, "Unfortunately, you are going to have to help Karen and Claude get through this. I'm going to ask your mom to try to help Claude. He thinks of you like a son though, so I'm sure he's going to be leaning on you as well." I just nodded. "Karen is a lot like me. In years to come, she's going to be a rock for you. She loves you and she'll fight for you like a lioness protecting her cubs. You and Patty need to try to help her. You need to try to take her mind off of what is happening to me. When I'm gone, the two of you need to be there for her emotionally. I wish you were married right now. It would be easier on her." "Yes, I wish we had been married before we found out what was happening to you. It would have been easier on her. Patty and I will take care of her though. Try not to worry too much about her." "I'll try, Ed. I feel a lot better knowing you are there for her." We sat a while longer, then I started the pickup and I drove her home. When we pulled into the driveway, I said, "I love you, Martha." "I love you too, Ed." ------- How do you console a man who knows his wife is going to die within the month? How do you console a teenage girl who knows she is going to be losing her mother? Patty. Mom and I talked about it a lot that evening. All of us realized that words weren't going to be of much help. "Be there when they need to talk to someone and listen to them," mom said. "They really don't want our advice. They want our understanding. They're both going to need lots of hugs. They're going to need a shoulder to cry on." "Okay, Mom. Dad's death didn't bother us all that much. Partially because he was already out of our lives and partially because I don't think he ever loved us anyway. Claude and Karen are going to lose a big part of their lives." Day 130 Monday, February 28 The next couple of weeks were pure hell for all of us, but especially for Claude and Karen. We tried to be there for them as much as we could. Karen seemed to try to pull away from us, but Patty and I wouldn't let her. Martha encouraged her to go out with us or spend the night at our place until she had to go into the hospital six days ago. There isn't a word to describe the pain we all went through since Martha went into the hospital. Martha was doped up much of the time and was continuously on Morphine the last three days. The doctor told me the dosage she was on would knock out a large man. For Martha, it just reduced the pain to a point where she could stand it. I don't think Karen or Claude would have even eaten if mom hadn't taken them something twice a day and stayed to make sure they ate. Over the last couple of days, as Martha got worse, Karen seemed to improve. She wasn't cheerful or anything, but she seemed to have resigned herself as to the inevitability of what was going on. She spent a lot of time talking with her mother. Their whispered conversations were a mystery to all of us. This morning Patty and I got up and did our chores, then mom ate breakfast with us. "Patty and I aren't going to school today, Mom," I said. "We may not go all week." "Not a problem, Ed. I'll call the school." Patty looked at me with a puzzled expression, so I said, "It's going to be within the next day or two. We need to be there for Claude and Karen." Patty and I went over to Karen's to help with the chores and mom came over a little later with food. We made Claude and Karen sit down and eat, then I offered to drive them to the hospital. Patty had gotten her license, so she took mom home and said she'd meet us there. I knew things were bad as soon as we got there. Martha was unconscious and when I talked with the nurse, she said Martha hadn't been awake since yesterday afternoon. I asked the nurse if she'd have Dr. Richmond come in and she told me she'd have him paged. Mom and Patty got there before the doctor did. ------- When Dr. Richmond came in, he asked for all of us to leave so he could talk to Claude alone. Claude said that we were all family and that he wanted us there. Richmond hesitated for a second, then nodded. "The cancer has spread into the nerves in the tissue surrounding the pancreas. That's where the pain is coming from. The pancreas is no longer functioning at all. It's just a matter of time before her other organs start shutting down as well." "Is there anything that can be done to make it easier for her, Doctor?" Claude asked. "She's on the highest dosage of morphine I've ever given," the doctor said. "The only thing I could do is to give her more morphine." "What..." Claude started to ask what that would do, but I stopped him. I leaned close to Claude and whispered, "You don't want to make the doctor say what more morphine would do to her, Claude. He's offering her an easy way out. You have to decide if you want her death to be quick and easy, or if you want her to linger a few more days." Claude hugged me then asked, "Is there any chance she's going to wake up again?" "I won't say there's no chance at all of her waking up briefly, but it is very unlikely." Claude nodded. "Make it easy for her, Doctor." Dr. Richmond shook Claude's hand then moved to each of us in turn. Finally, he said, "I'll leave orders to increase her dosage of morphine. I'm sorry things had to be this way, Folks." The doctor quickly left the room and Claude went over and stood by Martha's bed. He held her hand and I could see the tears running down his cheeks. Mom went over and stood by Claude. She said something very softly to him and then she put her arm around him. Mom reached over and held Martha's other hand. I put an arm around my sister and my fiancé and led them out of the room. We walked down to a waiting room and found a quiet corner. "What was all that about with the doctor?" Karen asked. "Honey, the doctor don't think she's ever going to wake up again. Even with the large dosage of morphine she's on, she is still in pain. Your dad wanted to know if there was any way the doctor could make it easier for her to pass on." "Is giving her more morphine going to take away the pain?" "Giving her more morphine is probably going to let her body go ahead and die. I know that sounds cruel, but it is better than for her to keep suffering." "It is better, Ed. What did you whisper to dad?" "He was going to ask the doctor what the additional drug would do. If he had asked, the doctor might have backed out on doing it. I told your dad what it would do." "Thank you. I don't want her to die, but I don't want her to suffer." There were tears running out of Karen's eyes, so Patty and I drew her into a group hug. As we were standing there, I saw a nurse go into Martha's room. She came out again just a few minutes later. We all took a seat and waited for mom or Claude. It couldn't have been more than ten minutes later when mom came down to the waiting room. She knelt on the floor in front of Karen and said, "She's gone, Honey." Karen burst into tears and mom put her arms around her and held her. She smoothed Karen's back and murmured soft comforting sounds to her until she calmed down. Day 133 Thursday The next three days were a blur. Claude and Karen managed to get their chores done with mine and Patty's help. Mom said we shouldn't just do the chores for them because the routine would do them good. Karen improved greatly during this time, but I was worried about Claude. For the most part, he just walked around the farm. He didn't say much, and if we came upon him unexpectedly, we'd find him crying. Then came the funeral. Before this, I had never really thought about funerals. I can only remember going to one in my life. In some ways I can understand why people think that funerals are necessary. It's a time for saying goodbye. In other ways I feel they are totally barbaric. Ghoulish even. All of us had quietly held Martha's hand in the hospital after she had died and we had said goodbye to her in our own way. Now, we had scores of people come in to witness our grief. Karen had been doing well. Now she came apart. Patty and I managed to calm her down, but she was angry as well as sad. "Where the fuck were all of these people when mom was alive?" she asked in a whisper that could have been heard six pews away. "I'm sixteen years old and I've never even seen most of these ghouls in my life. I had some bitch come up to me and tell me she was my Great Aunt Thelma. Where the fuck was Great Aunt Thelma when dad broke his leg three years ago? Why didn't she come by and see if mom needed any help then?" Patty and I tried to calm her down, but we weren't having much success. "Then there's that smarmy slut back there who tried to tell me she had been mom's best friend. I remember her. She used to come around. She was trying to make a play for dad, so mom ran her off. I'm sure the whore is just here to try to get her meat hooks into dad again." "Easy, Honey," I said as I held her to me. "People can hear you." "People are going to hear me," she said. She pulled away from me and went up to the preacher. She said a few words to him and then came back to our pew with a little smile on her face. "What's going on?" I asked. "I hope I don't embarrass you, Sweetheart, but I just have to say a few things. I asked the preacher to let me say a few things about mom before the sermon." "This should be interesting," Patty said with a shit eating grin. I pulled Karen close and said, "You couldn't possible embarrass me, Love. Just remember, whatever you say and whatever you do, Patty and I are on your side." ------- After the first hymn, the preacher got up and said a few words about Martha, then he said that Martha's daughter wanted to say a few words. Karen got up and went to the front of the room. She looked out over the crowd and started speaking. "Mom was a loving, caring person. She had a lot of good friends. I see most of them here today. There's Mr. Babson from the butcher store. Mom always said you were one of the nicest men in town. She always spoke highly of you, Mrs. Waters. Hattie McDaniels was a true friend. Hattie was always there when mom needed help with something. "All of you who were true friends know who you are, and I thank you for coming. I'm wondering though, who are the rest of you people? Why did you come here today? I've never even seen most of you before today. Are you here to gloat over the fact that my mother is dead and you are alive? Are you here to be seen by other people so they'll think you are a good person? "My father broke his leg a few years ago. Mom really needed help. I don't remember seeing any of you come by then except for Ed and Patty Miller and their mother. I had a stranger come up to me a while ago and tell me she's my Great Aunt Thelma. I'm sixteen years old and I'd never seen her before. If she's my great aunt, where has she been all of my life? "Alice Lambert came to me and said she used to be my mom's best friend. I remember Alice coming to our place. Mom ran her off when she tried to get my father to go to bed with her. Why are you here now, Alice? Do you still want to go to bed with my father? "George Anderson, back there in the back pew, was just the opposite. He knew mom was married, but he tried to get her to go out with him anyway. I'm surprised you showed up today, George, since dad told you he was going to beat the crap out of you if he ever saw you again. "I'm sure I've made a lot of people here angry, but that's okay. I'm angry myself. Mom abhorred violence. The only reason I don't come back there and scratch some of your eyes out right now is because I respect how she felt. I would like to ask all of you who claim to be mom's friends, but aren't, and all of the relatives who I have never seen to get up and leave now. I don't want you here. My father doesn't want you here. My mother wouldn't have wanted you here." Karen came back and sat between Patty and me. Claude leaned across me and kissed her on the cheek. "Thank you, Honey. I love you." he said. Karen looked at him and smiled. There was a stirring in the church and I saw most of the people there leaving. I nodded toward the back and said, "I think you got your point across, Love." Day 137 Monday, March 7 I was still a little worried about Claude. He and I did a lot of talking since the funeral. At first, we'd just sit together. Then he started talking about how he and Martha met and about their life together. I knew it was a catharsis for him and it seemed to be doing him good. Mom had been doing a lot of talking with him too. She had convinced him that he and Karen should just come over and have breakfast with us every morning. They showed up this morning before Patty and I had even finished our chores. Over breakfast, I asked Claude when the best time would be to plant corn. "I usually try to get it planted during the first two weeks of April," he said. "If it is a late spring, I might wait another week or two. Did you decide on corn as your first crop?" "I think so. I have been looking over the equipment we have and the corn picker seems to be in pretty good shape." "I think this Saturday would be a good time to get your tractor running. Would that work for you?" I assured him it would, so he said to plan on it. ------- It seemed strange, going back to school after being out for a week. It seemed like Patty, Karen and I had all become more popular over the last few months. Karen said my popularity was because I was now a hunk. I'm now over six foot tall and weigh 190 pounds. I told her it was because I hang out with the two most beautiful girls in school. We were having lunch when Karen said she'd been getting a lot of comments about what she'd said at Martha's funeral. "I don't know how people heard about it, but people are talking about what I said," she told us. "Good or bad?" Patty asked. "Mostly good. I think most people agree with me. I did hear one nasty comment though." "I wouldn't worry too much about nasty comments," I said. "There are too many people out there who think no one should 'rock the boat'." Karen still had people asking about her ring. It's amazing how long it takes some people to realize something is different. Day 142 Saturday, March 12 We made it through the week. Karen seemed to be almost back to normal. She was talking more and had returned to her loving self. Claude was even doing better. He and I had done a lot of talking and I had noticed him and mom talking a lot too. When Claude and Karen came over for breakfast, he reminded me that today was the day we were going to work on the tractor. After breakfast, Claude and I started walking out to the barn and Claude laid his hand on my shoulder as we walked. I took that as another sign that he was doing better. We looked at the tractor first and Claude asked, "How long has it been since this has been run?" "Well, dad ran it for a couple of hours last summer. He put the BrushHog on and ran it down both sides of our driveway." We spent some time getting the tractor running, then Claude and I made a trip into town to get the company that supplied fuel to his farm to start supplying it to ours as well. ------- When we got back to the farm, Karen and Patty came out and told us it was time for lunch. Claude's face lit up when he saw his daughter. He grabbed her and hugged her and planted a big kiss on her forehead. "How is my little princess this morning?" he asked as if he hadn't seen her this morning. "I'm just great, Daddy," Karen said as she hugged him back. Karen and Claude walked hand in hand up to the house. It seemed like working on the tractor was good therapy. Mom, Karen and Patty had gone all out for lunch. They had fixed a pot roast with all of the trimmings. Patty sat beside me while we ate. Karen did most of the serving. When we had all stuffed ourselves, Patty jumped up and gave me a toe curling kiss, then went to get coffee for Claude and me. We sat back to sip our coffee while the women cleared the table, then Karen came over and sat on my lap. I put my arms around her and she snuggled in. After a while, Karen said, "Daddy, you know how much I love you and how much I loved mom. I've always considered myself one of the lucky kids who had a great home life." "I'm glad you feel that way, Princess, and I'm sure your mom would have been too." "I'm kind of mixed up now, Daddy. I want to spend more time over here with Ed, but I want to spend time with you too. Mom and I talked about it some, but we never really came up with a good solution." "I'm really doing much better, Karen," Claude said. "Talking with Ed and with Jenny has been a big help. You don't have to worry about leaving me alone." "I'm not worried about leaving you alone. I just like being with my handsome daddy." Claude smiled and blushed. "Daddy, if it's okay with you, I think I'm going to spend the night over here." "That's fine, Princess," Claude told her. Karen gave her dad a hug. Claude smiled and then said he thought it was time we went back to work, so we thanked the women for the meal and went back to the barn. Claude said it was really time for a cigar, so we sat and talked for a few minutes. Patty, Karen, and even mom made several trips to the barn during the afternoon with coffee. They tried not to interrupt our work, but they usually lingered long enough for a kiss or a hug. Karen came out right after Claude had lighted his cigar. She wrinkled up her nose and said, "Dad, you know those things really do stink. I hope you're not trying to get Ed hooked on them." Claude grinned at her. "No, Sweety, I think Ed would be far better off without them. Sometimes I think the only reason I smoke them is because it gave your mother something to complain about." Karen giggled and told him she had always suspected that. Claude went over all of the rest of the equipment with me and told me what I should do with each piece. Karen was with me, listening intently as he explained things. It was nearly time to do our chores when Claude finally left. Karen and I went in the house and I told Patty we might as well get our chores done. She agreed and when we took off to do them, Karen pitched in and helped like she had always been doing them with us. Karen, Patty and I had leftovers for dinner. Mom put a couple of steaks, some potatoes, and some lettuce in bags and said she was going to make Claude a steak dinner for helping us. She took off and she didn't get home until after nine. ------- It seems we developed a kind of pattern over the next few weeks. Karen would stay at our place several nights a week. On the nights that Karen stayed with us, mom would take dinner over to Claude. Some nights she didn't get back until almost midnight. During this time, mine and Karen's lovemaking improved as we learned more about what felt good for each other. Patty watched us most of the time and I almost always brought her to at least one climax with my hand. ------- Chapter 9 Day 143 Sunday, March 13 I awoke between two beautiful naked girls again. We snuggled for quite some time before we finally decided we needed to get up and get the chores done. Afterwards, while we were eating breakfast, I asked, "Mom, why don't we have a milk cow?" "I'd love to have one," mom said. "There's nothing like the fresh milk you get from your own cow. There's also the butter and cream and cottage cheese. Your father never wanted to bother with the milking though, so we never had one. I volunteered to do the milking, but he said no wife of his was going to waste her time doing that when milk was so cheap in the store." "If we'd get a cow, would you teach Patty and me how to milk her?" "Me too," Karen said. Mom smiled a thousand watt smile. "I sure will. I'll also teach Patty and Karen how to make butter and cottage cheese." "Cottage cheese is okay and I'll learn to make it, but it isn't one of my favorite foods," Patty said. "Daughter, you've never had cottage cheese until you've had some that was freshly made." "We have three beef cattle, Mom. What did you plan to do with them?" I asked. "Two of them are fairly old," mom said. "I doubt they'd be much good for anything any more. The one steer is less than two years old and he'd make some good meat. We should probably have him butchered." "That sounds good. Why are we feeding the other two when they're of no use to us? Why don't we take them to the auction?" "I had tried to get your dad to do that for the last three years," mom said. "Dad is going to be taking a load of steers to the auction in a couple of weeks," Karen said. "Maybe he'd take your two along with his." I thought that sounded like it was worth asking about and I told her so. Everything felt so good this morning. It felt like Karen was where she belonged. ------- Claude had told me I'd need to BrushHog the field I was going to plant first before I started plowing it. Dad had used the BrushHog last and it was a mess. I told everyone that was what I was going to work on today and Karen and Patty said they wanted to help. Mom said she was going to take Claude some breakfast over while we worked on it. We went down to the barn and I fired the tractor up. With the help of the girls, I hooked the BrushHog on to the tractor and brought it out. We hooked up a garden hose and the girls hosed it down. There was a lot of mud and such and we ended up having to use a scrub brush on it. Afterwards, I backed it into the equipment shed and we got a chain hoist on it and flipped it over. The underside was even worse. I left the girls working on the BrushHog and went and hooked up to the plow. Although it had been setting a lot longer, it was in far better shape. My uncle had cleaned it up well before he had put it away. I hosed all of the dust off of it and then greased it. I had put it away again before Karen and Patty had finished with the BrushHog. I greased it and then I inspected all of the parts I knew anything about. The blades seemed to turn freely, so I knew they weren't a problem. I remembered from what Claude had told me that the shaft in the driveline was supposed to extend and retract to adjust for different heights. This one didn't. We took it off so I could talk with Claude about it. "When do you have to have all of this ready?" Karen asked. "Well, today is March 13th. I should start planting on April 9th, which is a Saturday. That's less than four weeks. The field I'm going to plant is almost a hundred acres. I have to BrushHog it, then plow it, then disk it before I can plant it." "We've got a lot to do then." Patty said. "When will you start BrushHogging?" "If we can get this shaft freed up by tomorrow, I'll start on Tuesday, if it isn't raining." "How long will it take?" Karen asked. "I don't know for sure. It's a six foot BrushHog and I think the tractor is around 80 horsepower so it is powerful enough, that I should be able to go at a pretty good clip. It'll take through the weekend though." "Can we help in any way?" "If you guys could do my chores in the evenings until the corn is planted, it would be a big help. After I get out of school next year, I'll have a lot more time, but we'll also be putting in a lot more crops." ------- We decided to go over and talk with Claude for a while after lunch. Mom never had come back and we found her sitting at the table talking with Claude. We told Claude what we had gotten accomplished and I could see a small smile curling his lips. "He's getting better." I thought. He agreed with me as to how long it was going to take to BrushHog the field. "Plowing is going to take quite a while too, even with a five bottom plow like you have. You've got a 14 foot disk, so that won't be too bad." Claude said freeing up the shaft wasn't a problem and that he'd have it done by the time we got home from school tomorrow. This pleased me no end as it would give me an extra day if I put it on as soon as I got in and got to mowing. We talked about herbicides and insecticides and about fertilizer for a while. Claude said he'd stop by tomorrow and take a soil sample so he could get it tested. "That way we'll know how much of what kind of fertilizer you'll need," he said. Karen decided she was going to stay at home that night, but warned her father that she might be staying with us most of the week. Day 144 Monday, March 14 When we got home from school, Claude had the shaft fixed and had already installed it on the BrushHog. I changed clothes and got to work. The field we were going to plant was mostly level. It had been farmed until four years ago, but there had been a lot of tall weeds grow up and fall over. There had also been a few small trees start to grow, but nothing the BrushHog couldn't handle. I put in almost four hours on the tractor before I finally called it quits for the night. I wasn't setting the world afire, but I had made a dent in what I had to do. Karen had me just wash up before she and Patty fed me. After I ate (the girls had eaten while I was working), Karen and Patty led me upstairs and stripped me. I was so tired I could hardly wiggle, so they stripped and took me into the shower. Okay, so I was tired, but I wasn't dead. I sprung a woody in the shower. The girls helped me dry off and led me in to the bed. I could tell that Karen had some kind of nefarious plans for me, but I figured my body was too tired to be of much use to her. When we got into the bed, the girls laid down on either side of me. Karen and I started kissing, but she soon broke it off and started kissing down my body. As she moved away from my mouth, Patty moved in and took over the kissing. Karen started licking, sucking, and kissing on the tip of my cock. Karen had given me a blowjob a couple of times before, but it was new enough it was very exciting. Patty moved up and teased my lips with one of her nipples. I latched on to it and gave it as good as Karen was giving me. After a couple of minutes, I heard Karen say, "Patty, would you give me a hand with this please?" Patty said, "Oh goody." The next thing I knew I had two mouths on my cock. They would move down with a mouth on either side of me and then move back to the tip. When they reached the tip, they'd take turns sucking it into their mouths and running their tongues around the head. It wasn't long until I was as hard as I'd ever been in my life. Karen moved away and Patty concentrated on working on the head of my cock. I felt Karen straddle me, then Patty moved away so Karen could impale herself. As Karen was sinking down on me, she said, "Patty, sit on his face." Patty gasped and then looked at me. "Is that okay?" she asked. I nodded and Patty moved into position. God! What a feeling! As I started licking Patty's pussy, I could feel Karen fluttering around me. She came almost instantly, but she didn't let it slow her down. Patty had never had oral sex before, so she followed Karen into orgasm quickly. This was the first time we'd really had a threesome, so we were all on a hair trigger. I think I'd have been even quicker than the girls if I hadn't been so tired. As it was I could feel myself building quickly toward a climax, so I sucked Patty's clit between my lips and started drumming it with my tongue. This time, Patty came first. Patty's orgasm caused me to start thrusting up into Karen like I was trying to lift her off the bed. As I started shooting my stuff inside her, Karen went into her second screaming orgasm. All three of us collapsed like we didn't have a bone in our bodies. ------- Some time later, when I had a lovely head on each of my shoulders, I managed to find enough energy to speak. "That was different," I said. Karen and Patty both giggled. "I just thought it was about time we stopped shortchanging Patty," Karen said. "I sure don't feel shortchanged tonight," Patty giggled. "Did it bother you for Patty and me to have oral sex, Sweety?" I asked Karen. "No. It didn't bother me. When I saw you licking Patty's pussy, it really turned me on." "You guys know this was a big step, don't you? A little touching is one thing, but oral sex is a giant step beyond that." "Yes, I know," Karen said, "but I'm glad we did it." "Oh, I'm very glad we did it," Patty said. "Yeah, me too," I said. Karen kissed me and then asked, "How would you feel if Patty and I changed places tomorrow night?" I was stunned. "Of course I want to make love to Patty," I said. "I'll never do it unless we are all comfortable with it though." "We've been going together for almost five months now. During that time, the three of us have become so close we're almost like one person. Part of that is because of all of the things we've been through, but mainly it's because of the love we share with each other. I don't have a problem with you and Patty making love." "Karen, you know I want to make love to Ed very badly. Since you don't live with us as yet, I don't think it would be fair for Ed and me to make love when you're not here." "Yeah, I might be jealous over that. How about we say that neither of us will make love to Ed unless we're all together? Unless one of us is out of town or something when we're older." They both agreed to that and I wasn't about to argue with them. Day 145 Tuesday, March 15 I talked for a while with Claude before school and I asked him about how much time it would take to finish brushing the field. "With the condition your field is in, the size of your tractor, and the size of the BrushHog, I'd say you can average about four acres per hour. That means about 25 hours for the field," he said. "How about plowing?" I asked. "That's going to take a little longer. I'd guess you're going to take about 25 minutes per acre. For ease of figuring, let's say 30 minutes. That means it would take fifty hours for your plowing. It'll take a little less than half that long for the discing." "So I've got about 90 hours before I start planting. There are 24 days before I want to start planting. I've got three weekends during that time, so I should be able to get between fifty and sixty hours in on the weekends. So, that leaves 18 days of after school work. That means I'll have to average around two hours a day after school." "Yeah, that's not too bad, but you have to remember you're going to lose some time to rain." My head was filled with numbers as we headed to school. We talked it over on the way to school and we decided that if I worked three hours every evening, I could cover any school nights when it might be raining or any nights that we wanted to do something else. If it rained and I had to lose a day on a weekend, I'd have to make it up by taking a day off from school. ------- At lunch, Patty, Karen and I were eating together as usual when a fairly quiet kid named Alex Walters came over and asked if he could join us. I didn't know him very well although he was in the same grade as I was. I glanced at the girls and they nodded, so I agreed. He sat beside Patty and I could tell immediately that it was her he was interested in. I looked over at her and she just winked. We all talked for a while about the current school gossip. It suddenly hit me just how far removed I was from everything that was going on, and how little it meant to me. Just before it was time to go back to class, Alex hoisted up his courage and asked Patty to go to the movies with him on Saturday. Patty was as gentle as the proverbial lamb as she turned him down. "Alex, you're a very nice guy, but I'm going steady with someone." "I'm sorry, I didn't know that," Alex said. "Who is the lucky guy?" "He lives over in Emersonville," Patty said. "He's a senior this year." "Well, if you ever dump the Bozo," Alex said, "Remember the offer is always open." Patty smiled at him and assured him she would. ------- On the way home, I was feeling a little guilty for tying Patty down, so I said, "Patty, you know you could have gone out with Alex, don't you?" "I know I could have, but I didn't want to. Karen and I have done a lot of talking over the last couple of months. As you can tell from what happened last night, we've come a long way. I love you and I love Karen. I don't want or need anyone else in my life." "Have either of you ladies noticed any difference in how we relate to people at school?" I asked. "How do you mean?" Karen asked. "Well, I've noticed two things. Number one, we all seem to be a lot more popular then we were at the beginning of the year." "I've noticed that," Patty said. "Yeah, me too." "The other thing is that I don't really feel like I'm a part of the school any more. I mean like when Alex was telling us all of the school gossip today, I wasn't really even interested. Can either of you think of anyone here at school that you really enjoy talking with any more?" "I think I know what you mean," Karen said. "It's like we've grown or matured beyond that kind of thing; that we've grown beyond the people. Jeez, that kind of sucks since Patty and I are only sophomores." "You know, next year won't be so bad because all three of us will still be here together. Our senior year is just going to be you and me, Sis," Patty said. -- While I was getting changed into my work clothes, Karen and Patty fixed me a sandwich and a glass of iced tea. As I ate my sandwich, Karen filled up the tractor so I was ready to go when I finished eating. I didn't even know she could drive the damned thing. I put in three hours that evening and I wasn't nearly as tired as the night before. I don't know if it was because of the shorter time, or if it was because of the sandwich I had before I got started. The girls fed me another great meal and then gave me a shower. I was a little apprehensive and very excited, thinking tonight was going to be the first time Patty and I would make love. As soon as we had dried off after our shower, Patty pulled on a pair of panties. I raised my eyebrows at her and she said, "I started my period." Day 151 Monday, March 21 Well, the BrushHogging was done and I had made a good dent in the plowing over the weekend. Karen had stayed at home last night, so when I woke up, I only had one lovely young lady to cuddle to. Patty was laying with her head on my shoulder and one leg brought up over mine. I stroked her back for a few minutes, then her butt. When she didn't awake, I slid my hand through the leg hole of her panties and started caressing her bare butt cheeks. I allowed my fingers to find and slide into the crack between her cheeks and moved them up and down. Patty's eyes flickered open and she smiled at me. "Um, that feels good," she said. I kissed her good morning and told her we should get up and get our chores done. "Share a shower?" she asked. I smiled and nodded. "You know, I don't think I've been in the shower by myself in a week. I find I like sharing." Patty giggled. "So do I." As we were washing each other I noticed the little string hanging down from her pussy, so I gave it a gentle tug. Patty gasped so I asked, "When is that thing going to come out?" Patty put her arms around my neck and kissed me, then she said, "I think it could have been left out last night, but since Karen wasn't going to be here, I decided to leave it in one more night." We kissed and cuddled a bit before we got out and dried each other off. ------- After we had picked Karen up and had headed for school, Patty didn't wait long to fill Karen in on our shower. "Your fiancé pulled on my Tampax string this morning in the shower," Patty said in a whining voice. "He was just wanting to get a head start on tonight," Karen giggled. "Either that or he's kinkier than we thought," Patty said. "Now, wait a minute," I said. "I was just curious." Both girls giggled, but thankfully they dropped it. ------- Karen stayed over and we went to bed early. I think we were all anticipating the next step in our relationship. Karen and Patty went off to Patty's bedroom and told me to go ahead and get undressed and into bed. I know it was only a few minutes later, but it seemed like hours when they came into the bedroom. Karen was naked, but Patty was wearing a white semi-transparent neglige that left little to the imagination, but enhanced everything that it covered. She was so stunningly beautiful, it almost made my heart stop. I was speechless as they walked over beside the bed. Patty did a slow turn then stopped when she was facing me again. "So, what do you think?" she asked. "I think you are one of the two most beautiful women in the entire world," I said reverently. "Well, I'm not a woman yet, but we hope to fix that tonight," she said. Karen moved behind Patty and Patty raised her arms above her head. Karen lifted the neglige over Patty's head and laid it on a chair. Patty kept her arms raised and did another turn. She was smiling as she dropped her arms and crawled onto the bed beside me. I put my arms around her and we laid face to face. Karen got in behind Patty and we made a sandwich. Karen stroked Patty's side and legs as we kissed. I moved away and rolled Patty on to her back. I lowered my lips to her puffy nipple, and drew the whole thing into my mouth. I was a little surprised when I saw Karen start stroking and pinching Patty's other nipple. I looked at her and raised my eyebrows. "I've always thought Patty's puffed out areolas were so cute," Karen said. "I've always wanted to touch them to see what they felt like. I've never had the courage to do it until now." "Oh God! Please don't stop, Karen. That feels wonderful," Patty said. I licked and sucked while Karen massaged and pinched for a while, then I started moving down my sister's body. When I got to her navel, I licked around it then tested it's depth with my tongue. Patty gasped as I sucked on it and tried to make her innie into an outie. I had been practicing oral sex on Karen for some time now, so I knew a little of what to do to make Patty feel good. I looked up at her face as I positioned myself between her legs. Her eyes were wide, but she wasn't looking at me. Karen had latched onto one of Patty's nipples with her lips. I think Patty and I were both stunned. I started licking on and around Patty's pussy. Each time I made a pass with my tongue, I let it go deeper into her pussy. Soon, I found the opening of her vagina and I started playing with it with my tongue. By now, Patty's hips were moving rapidly. I cupped each of her butt cheeks with my hands so I could hold on. I eventually worked my way up to her clit. I applied a gentle suction to it and started softly rubbing it with my tongue. Patty came unglued. I moved up beside her and held her until she came down. Karen was holding her from the other side. Finally I asked, "Are we all ready for the next step?" Karen smiled at me and winked. "I think we're all ready for the next step, Ed." "I for damned sure am," Patty giggled. I kissed Patty lightly then moved between her legs again. She was smiling like the cat that had just eaten the canary when my cock touched her pussy for the first time. Karen grabbed my cock and positioned it. When she thought she had it just right, she nodded at me. I pushed forward slightly and I could feel myself start to enter her. Patty's eyes got wide, so I stopped. "Don't stop," she said almost desperately. She was hot and wet and tight. It took a while for me to fully enter her, but when I had she said, "God that feels good." Karen giggled and I had to smile. It felt awfully good to me too. I hooked my arms around each of her legs and raised them up until they were against her chest. I started moving in and out, slowly. She started moaning almost immediately. I don't know if it was the position we were in, or the fact that I was making love to my beautiful sister, or the fact that Karen was tweaking Patty's nipples and rubbing her butt, or what, but I knew I wasn't going to last more than seconds. "Play with her butt," I told Karen. Karen smiled and I felt her hand move along Patty's butt. Her fingers traced Patty's ass crack, then I felt them move forward until I could feel them playing around the spot where Patty and I were joined. Patty started making a loud keening noise and I could feel the walls of her vagina start to spasm around me. That was all it took. Within seconds I was emptying myself into her. We all collapsed afterwards and just laid there for several minutes. I wiggled my way in between my lovely ladies and put an arm around each of them. After a while I asked Karen, "So, how do you feel about what happened?" "I'm okay with it," she answered seriously. "It was awesome really. I got to watch two people that I love making each other feel good." "I sort of liked it," Patty said, then she giggled. I kissed her lightly and said, "Yeah, me too." "Did you know your fiancé is a pervert, Ed?" Karen reached across me and pinched Patty. "Yeah, she sucked on my nipples, then she played with my ass hole and my pussy." I looked at Karen and she was smiling, but she was also blushing. "I thought it was pretty sexy," I said. "So did I," Patty said. "Ditto," Karen said. "Sweet sister, would you think I was weird if I wanted to try something?" Patty asked Karen. "It depends on what it is, I guess," Karen answered. "I'd like to try to get you off with my hand," Patty said in a small, soft voice. "Oh God. I think that would be very sexy," Karen said. I had to agree, so we traded places until Karen was in the middle. Patty started gently caressing Karen's body and I tried to mirror her actions. She caressed Karen's breasts and then leaned in and began to nurse on one of her nipples. I followed her with the nipple on the other side. While we were both nursing away, Patty's right hand moved down and cupped Karen's pussy. I didn't want to interfere, but I wanted the dual stimulation to continue, so I moved my left hand down and slid it beside Patty's hand, so our hands were touching and we were both cupping my fiancé's womanhood. Patty looked at me and winked, so I moved my hand to the side just enough so Patty had free access. Patty started stroking her and then I saw two of her fingers enter into Karen's vagina. By now, Karen was bouncing all over the bed. I watch Patty play for a few minutes, then when I thought my love was approaching a climax. I gathered some of her juices on my middle finger and started tickling her asshole with it. That was all it took to bring her over the edge. We all collapsed again and Patty and I cuddled Karen until she had recovered. ------- Chapter 10 Day 176 Friday, April 14 The next three and a half weeks were the best in my life so far. I put in a lot of hours on the farm, but the crop was in and I had a real feeling of accomplishment. The fertilizer was on and the next thing I'd have to do to it was to apply an herbicide. Karen was spending almost every night at our place now. Patty, Karen and I were becoming closer every day. No one had said anything, but I think Claude and mom were becoming closer too. Claude spent at least two or three evenings a week at our place. The five of us would sit around and talk for hours. Claude took our two older beef cattle off to market during that time and he sold us a Guernsey milk cow that had recently come fresh. Mom taught us how to milk and Patty, Karen and I took care of it from then on. Claude also helped me haul our steer in to the butcher. Karen, Patty and I celebrated the crop being in by going out to dinner and then a movie. Neither mom nor Claude questioned Patty going with us on a date. We went to a Chinese restaurant for dinner. I dearly love Chinese food. Then we went to a movie and the girls wanted to see the latest horror flick. The movie was a lot of fun because both girls had one of my arms pulled around them and I managed to get in quite a bit of friendly groping. Day 177 Saturday, April 15 Claude was over for breakfast and after we'd finished eating I told him I'd like to talk to him for a while if he had time. He agreed and we walked out to the barn and found seats on bales of hay. "Claude, do you think there's any future in farming?" "I don't know, Son. I'd like to think there is, but it seems like the cost of everything goes up every year and the money we get from our crops goes down. It's a way of life that I love though." "Yeah, I know what you mean. Our farm has a little over five hundred acres. About half of that is tillable and the rest is mostly pasture land. I've been thinking about raising cattle. Maybe start off with a good Charlais or Simmental bull. We could sell the offsprings for beef and maybe we could breed and sell choice bulls." Claude thought for a while then said, "I've been doing a little thinking along those lines myself. Not to go completely to beef production, but as a supplement to my regular farming. My biggest problem and it would be yours too, is that I just don't have enough land to support a herd big enough to support the farm." "It sounds like an awful lot of work. Could one man handle working the crops and taking care of that many cattle?" "Probably not, but then there are other things you can do. For years I've hired people on a temporary basis to help out when they're needed." "Yeah, I've benefitted from your needing help a few times myself," I grinned. "I've had something else cooking in my brain for a while, but I'm just not ready to talk about it yet. We'll talk more in a month or so. Maybe by then I'll have it all figured out." It was so nice to have some free time, now that the corn was planted that I wanted to enjoy it to the max. As Claude and I were walking back to the house I decided I'd enjoy it the most if I spent it with Karen and Patty. Mom said she had a fresh pot of coffee when we got there, so Claude and I sat down to have a cup. I motioned for Karen to come over and she claimed a spot on my lap. "Do you know if your cousin is working today?" I whispered. Karen's smile would have lighted Montana when she said, "No, but I can find out." Karen excused herself and she went into the living room. She was back in a few minutes and she whispered, "Two-thirty." Patty was looking puzzled, so Karen said, "Come on, Patty, let's clean up the upstairs. You live like a pig." Patty threw a dish cloth at her, then Karen chased my sister out of the room. Claude and I just looked at each other and shook our heads. ------- Karen, Patty and I had pretty much established our behavior in the hot tub over the winter months. Although we were now a lot more intimate than we had been in the past, it just didn't seem right to change our behavior here. We did enjoy cuddling, caressing, and kissing as we relaxed in the hot bubbling water, but we didn't go much farther than that. We also enjoyed talking as we soaked. Many of our most interesting discoveries about each other came while we were soaking. "You know, we should put one of these in at home, when we can afford it," Patty said. "I don't know if I'd ever get any work done if we did," I said. "Wouldn't it be nice to sink into a hot tub after a long day?" Patty asked. "Yeah, I guess it would. I'd be afraid I'd come in from the fields every day and find two girls who looked like white raisins from soaking too long though." Both girls got a giggle out of that. "At some point I know we're going to have more than one tractor. When that time comes, I plan to be in the field with you," Karen said. "Yeah, don't get all macho on us, Big Bro. Karen and I have talked it over and we plan to help as much as possible." "I appreciate that, Patty cake. God, I haven't called you Patty cake in years. Anyway, I will appreciate your help, but I don't want either of you doing anything that is going to hurt you. Driving a tractor isn't bad if it's got power steering, but I don't want either of you doing any heavy lifting." "Don't you want us looking like Mrs. Wiseman?" Karen asked. "No, I don't. I feel sorry for her. She looks like she's had a hard life. She's a nice lady too." "Yeah, she is nice," Karen said. "She does look bad though. I think you're right about lifting heavy things. I don't think George does much of anything around their farm. I don't know how many times I've seen her grab a hundred pound sack of feed, throw it up on her shoulder, and carry it from their truck to the barn." "That kind of life ages a woman fast. She's no older than mom, but she looks fifty." We all sat quietly for a while, thinking about hard working women and worthless men. It's hard on a woman if she has a job in the city to support a man who just doesn't want to pull his share. On a farm, it's a woman killer. "You know," Karen said. "We've got just a little over a month of school left. How much time are you going to have to put in on the corn crop during the summer, Ed?" "It's not going to be bad with just one field of one crop. Why do you ask?" "I was just wondering. I heard you talking to dad about raising beef cattle and I wondered if you'd thought about fences?" "Yeah," I said with a sigh. "Our fences are a mess. The one around the little pasture where our milk cow is isn't bad, but the rest of the pasture fences are almost at a point where it would be better to tear them down and start over." "We should start working on them this summer then. Patty and I can help with that." "I guess you could. We'll have to talk with mom and find out how much we can afford to spend on fencing materials." We all snuggled together for a few minutes then I asked, "What are we going to do about the Prom this year?" "What would you like to do for the Prom?" Karen asked with a sly little smile. "Well, I'd like to take my fiancé, but I was wondering if that would be fair to Patty." "I have a solution if you guys would go for it," Patty said. "What's that, Sis?" "Alex Walters invited me to go with him. I reminded him that I have a boyfriend and that if I went with him, it would be as 'just a friend'. He said he could live with that, so I told him I'd let him know by the end of next week," Patty said. I looked at Karen and she nodded. "We could always hang out together," Karen said. "I'm sure your bratty little sister would give you a dance or two." Day 192 Sunday, May 1 Patty, Karen, and mom decided they were going into the city today to look at Prom dresses. After they left, I decided to go over and visit with Claude for a while. Claude and I had grown even closer since Martha's death. At first I thought of him as Karen's dad. Then I started thinking of him as someone I wished had been my father. Now I thought of him as a father/friend. Claude was sitting on the porch swing when I got there. I went up and took a seat myself. "When Jenny told me she was taking the girls to look for Prom dresses, I wondered if you might come over," Claude said. "Yeah, I guess I just needed a little company. I'm not disturbing you am I?" "No... I was just sitting here thinking about how some things change and others stay the same. It's either five or six generations of my family that have been on this farm. I can remember when I was just a little boy, sitting here on this porch listening to my great grandfather telling about farming when he was a young man." "It had to be very different back then," I said. "Oh, it was. They didn't have all of the equipment we have now. He plowed his fields behind a team of horses. Then he used a harrow to break up the soil. What we can do in a day took him a week or more. It was a hard life, but I think it must have been an interesting one too." "That would have been, what, the early 1900's?" "About then. My great grandmother was a full blooded Cherokee Indian. My grandfather used to tell everyone he was a half-breed. A hundred years ago calling someone a half-breed was as bad as calling them a nigger. My grandmother never let that bother her though. When granddad would tell anyone about his ancestry, she'd just smile and shake her head. She used to tell people that granddad was all man and that he wasn't half anything." "It sounds like they were good people." "They were, but they were hillbillies. A lot of people look down on hillbillies, but they are the most honest, generous people I've ever come across. If they're your friend, they're your friend for life. They'd work themselves to death to help you out if you're in trouble. If you're their enemy, you're their enemy until death." We sat there in silence for a while. Finally, Claude started talking again. "Martha and I wanted a son, so we could turn this place over to him when we passed on. We were blessed with Karen, but then Martha couldn't have any more children. It bothered us for a while, but about a month before she died, Martha told me we should be proud to turn this place over to Karen and you. She was right." "Thank you, Claude. You couldn't have paid me a better compliment. I loved Martha, you know." "I know that, Son. She told me she had a nice long talk with you right after we found out about her cancer." I nodded, too choked up to say anything. "She said she told you about what she'd like for me to do about going on with my life and finding another woman." "Yes. She even told me who she'd like for the other woman to be." "How did you feel about that?" "I told her you were already more of a father to me than my dad had ever been. I told her I wouldn't try to push you into anything, but if it worked out the way she wanted it to I'd be very happy." "Thank you, Ed. I loved Martha more than life itself. If I could have taken her cancer away, I'd have gladly died in her place. When she told me that, I thought she was totally nuts. I never thought I'd ever love anyone in that way again." I just nodded. "Jenny and I have spent time together nearly every day since Martha died. She's been a big help, letting me talk through things. We've grown very close. We haven't been physical, but we have become intimate. I've told her things I'd have never told anyone except Martha." "She's a good woman, Claude, and a very caring person. I think that if she was with the right man that she'd be a very loving person." "We haven't talked about marriage or anything like that, but I was wondering what you'd think if someday we did get married." "I'd think you were both very lucky to have found each other. I'd think Patty and I were lucky to finally have a father who actually cared about us and I'd think that Karen was lucky in who you'd found to be a second mother to her." "Thank you, Ed." He sat there for a few minutes then he asked, "So, when is my daughter going to ask to move in with you?" I had to laugh. I suspected she was thinking of that very thing. "I don't know, Claude. I expect she will though. She sure has changed over the last few months. Do you remember how shy she was last fall?" "Yeah, I expect she owes a lot of her self confidence to you. It's been interesting watching her come out of her shell. When she asks, I'll agree. I might tease her a while before I do though." "Tease her all you want, Claude. Between her and Patty I hardly have a minute that I'm not being teased." "Can I ask you a very personal question, Ed? If it's too personal, just tell me and I'll butt out." "Ask away," I said. "Is Patty going to be a part of yours and Karen's marriage?" I thought for a moment about telling him it was none of his business, but in a way, it was. I thought about lying to him, but that wasn't right either. Finally I sighed and said, "From the looks of things right now, that may be what happens. None of us can see any way around it." "You know, Ed, this kind of thing is not without precedent. We're not too far north of an area that has a lot of clans. In some of these clans it is the clan leader's right and even duty to have sex with all of the female members of the clan." "I've read about that. That was all a long time ago wasn't it?" "Not at all. Lots of clans still have the same traditions. This isn't exactly the same, but it's close." "What do you think about all of this, Claude?" "Well, I'm not thrilled about it, but I'm not going to let it upset me either. Karen and Patty definitely care a lot for each other. I know Karen is in love with you. The only thing I don't know is whether Patty is just going along with Karen because she doesn't want to lose her as a friend, or if she feels the same way Karen does about you." "I wondered about that too, but Patty and I have had some pretty serious conversations over the last few months and now I don't think that's the case." "I'm sure you'd know better than anyone, Ed. Just don't hurt them." Day 197 Friday, May 6 Prom Night!!! I knew from the moment I awoke it was going to be stellar day. Karen spent last night at home, but Patty woke me with a kiss and a cuddle. I think she was as excited about the Prom as I was. We got up; got our chores done; had breakfast; and went to pick up Karen. Karen gave me a big kiss when she got into the truck, then she started teasing Patty. "So, big date tonight, huh, Sis?" "Yeah, right," Patty said. "Do you have big plans for this guy?" "What do you mean?" "Well, it's Prom night. A lot of girls lose their virginity on Prom night." "Oops. Too late for that," Patty giggled. Karen had to giggle too. "So, are you going to let him get to third base?" Patty just gave her a goober look. "Second base?" "No, but if you don't watch out, I'll tell him you're hot for him and that you put out." "Girls! Enough of that. Neither one of you are going to put out for friend Alex," I said, laughing. "Well, I plan on putting out tonight, but not to friend Alex," Karen giggled. "Ditto," Patty concurred. I just smiled. ------- School would have been boring, except that everyone was so fired up over the Prom. That was the main topic of conversation. Our school does it a little different than most. We have a combined Junior/Senior Prom. Unless you are a junior or a senior, you don't go, unless you are the date of a junior or a senior. Fortunately, Karen and Patty both had dates with juniors. Another thing that is different about our Prom is the absence of limos. Our school is located far enough out in the country that hiring a limo is impossible. Karen and Patty met me for lunch and we kidded around a while before Alex joined us. I wasn't sure what his plans had been for transportation to the dance, but Patty told him they were riding with Karen and me. Mom had gotten herself a new car and she told us we could use it for going to the Prom. Alex seemed a little disappointed, but he soon got over it. He said he'd be at our place at seven and we told him we'd all be waiting for him. ------- School let two hours early. This is farm country and almost everyone has chores. I thought it was a nice gesture to give us a little more time for getting ready for the big event. On the way home from school, Patty said, "I really don't want to spoil Alex's evening, but I explained to him I already have a boyfriend and that I went with him to the Prom it would be as just a friend." "Yeah, at lunch, I got the feeling he didn't really like the idea of all of us riding together," I said. "He talked to me in the hall this morning and asked me what I'd like to do after the Prom tonight. I told him I had to go straight home as Karen and I are having a sleep over at our place. That's why I brought it up that we would be riding with you guys," Patty said. ------- Karen and Patty spent more time primping and dressing for the Prom than I had ever seen either of them spend getting ready for anything before. Of course they ran me out when they started and I ended up sitting in the living room for what seemed like forever talking with mom. Then, Alex showed up and he got to spend quite some time sitting uncomfortably in his unaccustomed finery before they came down. The wait was worth it. Both of my beauties were wearing gowns that looked like they had been made for them alone. Each dress emphasized its wearer's body without being too revealing. I think Alex was as bowled over by their looks as I was. I pulled Karen in and gave her a big kiss. With Alex there I was unable to do that with Patty and I know we were both a little disappointed. When mom bought a car, she went all out. She got a new Infinity QX56. It is a dream to drive and is the height of luxury. The only thing I didn't like about it is that it had bucket seats in the front. That meant Karen and I couldn't snuggle on the way to the Prom. We went in and found a table where the four of us could sit together. Alex and I got punch for all of us and we waited for the dancing to start. Some of the kids, the ones who wanted to be seen, walked around from table to table, usually in couples, but sometimes singly. There must have been twenty people who walked by and said hello before Tiffany Sellars and Mark Baker showed up. "Hi, Ed," Tiffany said, completely ignoring Karen and Patty. "I was hoping I'd run into you here. You have to promise to save me a dance or two later." "I'm sorry, Tiffany," Karen said before I could even open my mouth. "Ed's dance card is completely filled." "Well, if it isn't Karen Wellston," Tiffany said. "What are you doing here? Aren't you just a sophomore?" She held up her hand with her ring and went on, "I'm Ed's date, Tiffany, and his fiance. You see, this hunk and I are getting married at the end of next school year." "He could still dance with me, couldn't he?" Tiffany asked. "Actually, Ed can dance with whomever he wants to. The problem is, when he's had the best, why bother with the rest?" I couldn't help myself. I burst out laughing right in front of her. Patty's eyes were flashing. She had been angry, but Karen's comment set her off laughing too. Alex looked embarrassed and Tiffany looked like she was going to pop a blood vessel. Luckily Mark took her by the elbow and led her away. "Why did you have to say that, Karen?" Alex asked. "That was about the rudest thing I've ever heard." Before Karen could answer, I said, "Alex, what my fiancé says or does is none of your business." Alex looked like he was going to say something else, then he thought better of it. I was determined he wasn't going to spoil our evening, so as soon as they started playing a slow song, I asked Karen to dance. As Karen and I snuggled close and moved to the music, we watched the other couples around us. You could tell who were couples and who were just Prom dates by how close they were dancing. When Patty and Alex came onto the floor about half way through the song, you could have driven a Mack truck between them. I danced several dances with Patty during the evening and Karen even danced with Alex once. Tiffany didn't bother us again. Jill Benton did come around and ask if I'd dance with her. I looked at Karen and she nodded, so I did. Once we were on the dance floor, Jill said, "Well, I guess I missed my chance. I've been watching you and Karen all evening. You look happy." "We are happy, Jill. I love Karen so much it hurts. If you want to make Karen happy, ask to see her ring when we go back." "So, you guys are really going to get married when she graduates?" "No, we're going to get married when I graduate. Karen will finish her last year of school as my wife. We just couldn't see waiting until she gets out of school." Jill sighed and said, "I wish I could find a good guy. Most of the guys at our school are losers. I think there are only three types of guys who go to school here. There are the bullies like Raymond Shepard who have an IQ less than their age. There are the jocks, whose IQ is only slightly higher and who think they're God's gift. Then there are the shy guys who are afraid to ask a girl out." "Jill, I was one of the shy guys. I had been in love with Karen for years, but I was afraid to ask her out until Patty told me that Karen liked me too." "I know you were shy," Jill laughed. "I've watched you grow both physically and emotionally over the last six months. The change is amazing." "Maybe what you need to do is find one of the shy guys you're attracted to and ask him out. You might find that he'll change as much as I have." "Maybe I'll do that," Jill said thoughtfully. When we went back to my table, Jill asked Karen to see her ring. They oohed and aahed over it for a few minutes, then Jill asked Karen if she could call her to talk about boys and dating. Karen looked a little puzzled, but she agreed. After Jill had left, Karen said, "I wonder what that's all about." "She thinks you caught a good one and she wants to know what you used for bait," I said with a straight face. People from several tables away turned to look when Patty burst out laughing. ------- Later, when the three of us were snuggled in bed, Karen asked, "So, what was that really all about with Jill?" "Sweety, I think Jill may have had a crush on me, but didn't do anything about it until it was too late. She's not attracted to the bullies or the jocks, so I told her she should find one of the shy guys she's attracted to and ask him out." "Okay." "I told her I'd have probably never gotten the courage to ask you out if Patty hadn't told me you liked me too." "She did?" Karen asked incredulously. "I'd never heard about that." "Oops," Patty said. "Do you remember when all that was going on with Shepard? Ed asked you why you helped him, but you wouldn't answer." Karen nodded. "Later that evening, I told Ed you did it because you had a crush on him." "I guess I should be mad about that, but I'm not," Karen said. "It's hard to be mad when a guy you love is rubbing your butt, isn't it?" Patty asked. We all got a laugh out of that. ------- Chapter 11 Day 198 Saturday, May 7 One of the bad things about living on a farm, especially when you're living with your mother, is that you can't put off your morning chores while you make love in the morning. We knew mom would be waiting for us, so we got dressed and went to do our chores right after we woke up. When we got downstairs, mom wasn't waiting for us. We went ahead and did our chores and mom still wasn't up when we went back in. Patty said she'd wake her and took off to mom's room. Mom wasn't there. Karen and Patty went ahead and fixed breakfast. We were eating when mom came in. "I hope you made enough for me," she said as she went over and started dishing out a plate of food. "I'm as hungry as a bear." When mom came over to the table and started eating, Patty said, "You sure must have gotten up early." "Uh... Not really," mom said. "Where were you then?" Patty asked. I suspected I knew, but I hadn't talked to Karen or Patty about what Martha or Claude and I had talked about. "Well... Uh... I spent the night at Claude's. I guess now is as good a time as any to tell you all about this. Claude asked me to marry him. I said, yes." Karen and Patty both lit up like candles. Both of them jumped up and hugged mom. I just sat there and smiled. "You don't look surprised, Ed," mom said. "I'm not. I had a long talk with Martha just before she died. She told me she hoped the two of you would get together and asked me my opinion. Then a while back, Claude told me you guys were getting close and asked how I'd feel if the two of you got married. I told them both I'd be thrilled." "And you didn't tell us!" Karen exploded. "No, I didn't, Love. Neither one of the said it was something they wanted spread around." "So, how do you feel about Claude and me, Karen?" mom asked. "I'm tickled to death," Karen said. "I love you almost as much as I loved my mom. I think you and dad will make each other happy." "How about you, Patty?" "Mom, Claude is much more of a father to me than dad was. I'm happy for both of you." ------- Claude came over a little later and we all sat down with some coffee. Mom told Claude right away that she had told us they were getting married and what our reactions had been. Claude just sat back and smiled. "So, Mom, did you guys set Claude's mattress on fire last night?" Patty teased. "That's none of your business, girl. Would you like it if I asked you if you had sex with your brother last night?" "Actually, I wouldn't mind if you asked," Patty said. "Just to get everything out in the open, the three of us consider ourselves married to each other." Claude laughed and so did mom. "Did you think you were going to shock us, Patty?" Claude asked. "We've known about you guys for a long time. Even Martha knew. We're not shocked by it, but we don't think you should let anyone outside the five of us know." Patty went over and hugged Claude. "We're not totally stupid, Dad," she said. "We did think you and mom should be aware of it though." "Well we're aware of it. Just so you won't worry unnecessarily, I have a fire extinguisher in my bedroom." We all got a giggle out of that, then Claude got serious. "Jenny and I have been doing a lot of talking. We've been discussing some of the things Ed and I have been talking about over the last few months and we have a proposition for you." "Okay, what's that?" I asked. "My farm has almost six hundred acres in it. Yours has a little over five hundred. The only farm between ours is Clem Ferguson's place. He has around eight hundred acres." I nodded and he went on. "Clem is only fifty-one, but he had a stroke last fall and he's not going to be able to farm any more. His kids have all moved away and he told me last month he was planning to sell his place. I think we should buy it." "If we bought Ferguson's place, and we included all three farms together, we'd have around 1900 acres to play with. Figuring even $150 per head profit and raising 450 head per year, we'd be able to clear $67,500 per year on beef cattle alone. We should be able to clear at least that much on bulls and heifers as well. Add to that the crops we'd sell and we would have a pretty good income for the five of us." "Are you suggesting a partnership?" I asked. "Yep. It just makes sense. You and Patty are going to inherit this place anyway. Karen is going to inherit my place, so the three of you are going to end up with both of these places anyway." "Dad, if we did this, we should form a corporation. That way it'd protect us against any liability. If we owned the farms individually and leased them to the corporation for enough to pay the taxes, they wouldn't be an asset of the corporation, so we wouldn't be in jeopardy of losing them if one of our hired hands had an accident or something. You should talk to Leeana about that, but I think I have it right," Karen said. "Girl, how did you get so smart?" mom asked. "Just pure natural talent," Karen said as she stood up and bowed. After we quit laughing, I asked, "Do you know how much Ferguson wants for his place?" "No, but I'll ask him on Monday. His house is almost falling down, but he has some nice, almost new, equipment." "Where are we going to live after you guys get married?" Karen asked. "We've been talking about that too," mom said. "Would you three prefer we all live together after you are married, or would you want a house of your own?" Patty, Karen and I all looked at each other, then Karen spoke for all of us. "I think we'd just as soon all of us lived together." Patty and I nodded. "All of us have lost a family member in the last year. We'd like to be as close to the rest of our family as we can." "We were hoping you'd say that," Claude said. ""We could all live here, or we could all live in my house, or..." "Or what?" Patty asked. "Or we could tear down the old Ferguson house and build a new house made especially to house two families," mom said. "Ooh, that sounds interesting," Karen said. "We were thinking of two huge master bedrooms and a couple of guest bedrooms," mom said. "Each of the huge bedrooms would have to have a huge attached bathroom," Patty said. "And a huge walk-in closet," Karen added. "And they'd have to be on opposite ends of the house," Claude said. "Us old folks need our peace and quiet." "Is that spelled P-I-E-C-E?" Patty asked. "Patty, if you don't get your mind out of the gutter, I'm going to spank your butt," mom said. "Oh, could you let Ed do the spanking?" Patty asked. "No, you'd enjoy that too much," mom laughed. We talked for a while about what we'd want in a house, then I asked, "Do we have enough to put a down payment on the Ferguson place and build a house?" "Ed, depending on what Ferguson wants for his place, we may have enough to pay cash for it and to build a house. Martha and I had quite a bit saved. Then about a year before she died, Martha and I took out some pretty good sized insurance policies. Your mom had a good sized insurance policy on your dad, and she also has her trust fund." "If we had all three places and didn't owe anything on them, it wouldn't take a lot for us to live on. We could bank a lot and when it came time we needed new equipment, we might be able to pay cash for it. It'd be nice if we could stay our of debt," I said. "Ed, have you thought about taking your GED and going on to college in the fall instead of spending another year in high school?" mom asked. I was stunned. I hadn't even thought about anything like that. "I guess I could get into the AG College over in Waterville with a GED," I said. "I'd never thought about it, but it would make sense. I could schedule my classes so I could help out more on the farm." Mom was nodding. "I called the AG college and they wouldn't have any problem accepting you with a GED. Claude and I have even been talking about home schooling these two," she said, as she pointed at the girls. "Neither one of us like what happened with you and Shepard last fall or with the football player." The gears were really turning in my head now. "In that case, can we have permission from both of you for Karen and me to get married when school is out?" I asked. Claude pulled out his wallet and handed mom five dollars. I looked at them quizzically and mom said, "I bet him it would be you that asked and he said it would be Karen. You have our permission." Karen squealed then hugged mom. She then hugged her dad and came over and sat on my lap. "We might as well make it legal," Claude said. Patty joined Karen and me in a group hug. ------- "Okay, it's two weeks until school is out," I said. "What kind of wedding do you want, Karen, and how long will it take to plan and arrange?" "Ed, all I want is to be married. I don't care a thing about a big wedding. We could get a judge to marry us if you'd like." "Are you sure, Honey? A judge would be fine with me, but a wedding is usually a big thing for a woman. For me, it's the marriage that counts, not the ceremony." "Me too. I also don't like the fact that I can only marry you and not you and Patty. I'd say let's just get it done so it's legal and maybe sometime we can figure out how to include Patty in a ceremony." "You mean like a ceremony we'd make up ourselves?" "Yeah, something like that. Something where we'd commit to each other. Maybe Patty would feel more like she was married to us then." "I like that idea," Patty said. Day 199, Sunday May 8 Claude was sipping coffee and mom was fixing breakfast when we came in from doing our chores. "We're going to run over and take care of the chores at your place," I told Claude. "It's already taken care of," he told us. "I went over right after I got up and did them. It'd make it a lot easier if we were all living in the same house and only had to do chores one place." "Yeah, I was thinking about that. There'd be a little more work than on either place now, but not nearly as much as both places together." ------- Well, Ferguson wanted a lot less for his place than we thought he would. We ended up buying the place for cash and had it put in all five of our names. Claude and mom got married about fifteen minutes before Karen and I did. We wanted to get started on our new house as soon as possible, so mom sketched what we wanted and took it to an architect. They drew up the plans for us and we got a local builder to build it for us. The house was ready before fall and we all moved in. I didn't go to college that fall, but helped Claude get in his crops and took in our corn crop. Patty and Karen took their GEDs before school would have been out the next spring, so all three of us started college together. It takes a long time to get a beef operation going, but I'm sure that within the next five years it's going to be our main source of income. Claude and mom are as happy as clams. I know they're having a great sex life since even at the distance there is between our bedrooms, we can still hear mom going off at times. Karen, Patty, and me? We couldn't be happier. It seems like every day we're together, we grow closer. I expect we will until the day we die. ------- The End ------- Posted: 2005-08-05 Last Modified: 2005-09-08 / 11:13:36 am ------- http://storiesonline.net/ -------