"Cole eventually told me, Abegail. And I'm glad he did. I have no children. My wife was never able or willing to have them."Abegail was silent, confused, both hating and loving Cole for having passed her secret on."So, I've had a house here on the lake for several years," George continued. "I took every opportunity I could to come to the lake and to watch my son grow up from a distance. I didn't tell you because I didn't want to upset you or your life. I could see that you were happy with your husband. I didn't want to make claims on you. But I couldn't help myself; I had to see my son."Abegail could see the rightness of this and they spoke for several minutes in tones of mutual respect and support. But eventually, Vaughn got to the central point."I want to underwrite your expenses, Abegail. At least until you can get on your feet."Abegail flared up then in defensiveness and her strong sense of self-reliance. The couplings with Shaffer and Vaughn happened because she enjoyed them
"Whoo wee, it's getting hot out here," Pete said. Then he stripped off his shirt, and he was leaning his long, lithe body back on the hood of the sedan next to Abegail.She looked over at the young man who had made love to her under the stars throughout the night just a few nights ago, and she began to melt. She hadn't any intention of giving into this temptation again. She'd only done it then because the world had moved too fast for her. She was a widow at thirty-three, displaced from her home, and two of her children and her lover died in almost simultaneous events. Her life was suddenly over, but she felt entirely too young just to fade away. She had been loved frequently and well, and she had clung to the first young, hard male body that had come her way. That had been Pete. And now, when she looked at his muscled torso in the light of day, she could hardly hold herself back. She had fully intended on giving herself to Wally Hollands when she reached Colorado if he wanted her stil
Don't complain to me," Wally said, a big grin on his face. "I'm just doing what Martha tells me I have to do. If you want anything changed, go talk to her. She's a real bully."Abegail loved the cabin, which was more of a house than what she imagined a cabin would be out here in this wilderness. It was set in a little meadow in a depression lower than the road to its east. Two branches of Water Creek forked near the house, with one branch coming up from the south on the valley floor and the other cascading down the mountainside to the west from above Holland's sawmill up in the tall timber area.There was a wooden section on a rock foundation turned gable-ended towards the front of the house on the left, with a wide rock chimney running up the side of the house with a double-hung window to the left. The front door, under an overhang porch, was just to the right of the chimney in a pitched-roof section running towards the south. There was a window to the right of the door. And there wa
Abegail particularly loved to paint the stream that cascaded down the mountainside from the saw mill camp, and so she frequently rode up to a little glen beside the water in a grove hidden from the road about half way up to the saw mill. The stream gave a little twist here and went over a stone outcropping, and the little meadow area was rampant with colour in the spring, when the wildflowers were in bloom. It was a restful place for contemplation, and it was a perfect place to paint. It was also the perfect place to make love. And frequently, when Abegail went up to the hidden glen to paint, Pete sneaked out of the sawmill encampment and went down to the glen to fuck.Wally Holland was no dummy, however. He soon caught on to Pete's disappearances from the camp and followed him down the mountainside unobserved one beautiful spring day in 1919. He quickly regretted that he had done so. From a hidden spot at the verge of the grove of trees, he saw Abegail open her dress to Pete, and Pet
"There won't be snow scenes out here to paint then, Wally. And it's really peaceful here. Besides, I'm not really alone. I can see the smoke from the Water Creek Ranch from here. If I need anything, I'll just go up there." What Abegail didn't want to admit to Wally was that she had grown discontented with her life. The setting here was idyllic, but ever since Pete had disappeared, there was something very important missing in Abigail's life. And it had made her one frustrated and discontented woman."No, don't do that. I keep telling you to stay away from that lot, Abegail." Wally was really concerned now. "That Fernand Wolf is mean as rot, and his two sons are much worse. I'm more concerned about them coming down here and messing with you than I am with the snow, if truth be known."Abegail didn't focus on the catch in Wally's voice when he said this. He was cutting awfully close to the bedrock of what had been clawing at him about Abegail for years. He loved her; he'd loved her from
When the spring thaw settled in and Abegail came into Slater to retrieve her son, she left the post office and emporium permanently in the care of Martha and Thaddeus. And it was to the Water Creek Ranch on the hillock below Hahn's Peak that she returned, not to Bally House. That same spring, when Wally Holland left for Denver, he didn't return. He did, however, make good on his promise to take Abegail's paintings with him and they, indeed, did sell very well in Denver—and art dealers throughout the region started to take notice of this new talent hidden away in a remote Rocky Mountain valley. It wasn't long before George Vaughn had taken notice of Abegail's success and had both established her with an art broker in Chicago and featured her paintings in the upscale furniture department of Vaughn's department store. The arrangement was quite lucrative for both of them.Abegail had grown into a strong, independent woman, spurred by having lost nearly everything, including her husband an
When the spring thaw settled in and Abegail came into Slater to retrieve her son, she left the post office and emporium permanently in the care of Martha and Thaddeus. And it was to the Water Creek Ranch on the hillock below Hahn's Peak that she returned, not to Bally House. That same spring, when Wally Holland left for Denver, he didn't return. He did, however, make good on his promise to take Abegail's paintings with him and they, indeed, did sell very well in Denver—and art dealers throughout the region started to take notice of this new talent hidden away in a remote Rocky Mountain valley. It wasn't long before George Vaughn had taken notice of Abegail's success and had both established her with an art broker in Chicago and featured her paintings in the upscale furniture department of Vaughn's department store. The arrangement was quite lucrative for both of them.Abegail had grown into a strong, independent woman, spurred by having lost nearly everything, including her husband an
And, indeed, when the two strapping sons had disappeared through the log arch leading out towards the road down into Slater, Fernand Wolf lowered the barrel of the shotgun and slowly sank to the floor of the porch. Abegail barely had the strength to drag the massive man back into the ranch house and onto his bed.She nursed him for two weeks before he was clear of whatever fever had attacked him. She had seen right away that it wasn't anything like the Spanish flu that had taken most of her family, and she reasoned that the ranch's well must have gone bad. She melted snow for drinking water, stripped him, sponged him off several times a day, wrapped him well in blankets, and applied all of the herbs she had learned to employ that might help make him well.Then on Christmas day, marked that year by Abegail only as a date on the calendar, Fernand Wolf showed that he was strong enough to rejoin the world by pulling Abegail down on his bed, rolling on top of her, and kissing and stroking
Our kisses continued. It was as if once we started, we couldn’t stop. I managed to unbutton several of the buttons on Lyca’s dress and, when I slipped my hand inside it, I made a delightful discovery. “You…you aren’t wearing a bra!” I whispered between kisses.“I know, I feel so naughty,” Lyca whispered in reply. Her hand slid up my leg and encountered my swollen organ, which was straining uncomfortably against my slacks. A smile formed on Lyca’s lips “What’s this?” she murmured. She gently moved her hand over it.“Uh!” I moaned softly. I knew we had to be careful because we certainly didn’t want the other passengers waking up and seeing what we were doing. “What...what do you think it is?” Delightful sensations were sweeping through me as a result of her gentle caresses and kisses.Lyca kept stroking me, making me even harder. At the same time, I was caressing her breasts and nipples, which had grown erect. I could feel her shudder when I flicked my thumb over one of them. I slipped m
It was a while before either of us had enough strength to move. Finally, Lyca put her arms around me and laid her head on my shoulder. “You are incredible!” she murmured. “I...I can’t get enough of you. The minute you touch me I want you!”“I feel the same way about you,” I told her.She looked at me and smiled. “You know, we should really get out of the shower before we wind up looking like a couple of pink prunes,” she giggled.We finished washing, then got out and playfully toweled each other dry. While Lyca finished doing what she needed to do in the bathroom, I went back to her bedroom and got dressed.Wearing the purple robe, Lyca walked into the bedroom a few minutes later. “After I get dressed, I’m going to call the travel agent,” she said.“All right,” I said. “I love you.”She smiled at me and said, “I love you, too.” Then she walked across the room and hugged me fiercely. “I didn’t ever think I’d say that to anyone,” she said softly. “You can’t imagine how wonderful it feel
We got up. Lyca began clearing the table while I rinsed off the dishes and put them in the dishwasher. After I put the last of the dishes in the machine I dried my hands on a dish towel, walked over to the table, which Lyca had just finished wiping. I put my arms around her, and kissed her. She returned the kiss avidly.After the kiss ended, I cupped Lyca’s delectable bottom in my hands and pulled her middle against mine. Then I turned her around, backed her to the kitchen table, lifted her up and sat her on it.“What on earth do you think you’re doing?” Lyca asked.My lips again covered hers and I untied the belt that held her robe closed. My hands slid inside the robe, onto her soft, warm skin, and I cupped her breasts and my thumbs tweaked her nipples to full, tingling erection.My penis grew erect and tented the front of my slacks as I worked on Lyca’s glorious breasts. I spread Lyca’s robe even farther apart, moved between her bare, silken legs, cupped her buttocks, and pressed a
Lyca rolled over and was kissing me, hugging me, and babbling excitedly. "I love you! Oh, God, I love you!" she gushed. "That was fantastic! I never knew making love could feel that wonderful! God! I love you! I love you!""I love you, too," I told her, returning her kisses. "What just happened was the best it's ever been for me."Lyca gazed down at me, her eyes wide and filled with adoration. "Was it really?" she asked, looking surprised. "Not even with your wife?""It never came close to that with Natalie," I told her. "I never knew making love could be that wonderful." I kissed her again."I'm glad you came back into my life," she whispered. "You can't imagine how glad." Her hands were traveling over me and her face took on a serious expression when she touched the bandage on my shoulder. "How is your shoulder?" she asked."It's getting better all the time," I replied."It terrifies me to think you could have been killed," she said as her hands continued moving over me."It kinda s
My emotions were in turmoil. From dreading what she was going to say I'd gone to a state of near-euphoria. "I...love you, too," I stammered. I took another sip of my coffee, another deep breath, then said, "I'm in love with you."Lyca gazed at me, her expression unreadable. My heart thudded like a jackhammer. What was her response going to be?She squeezed my arm, smiled, and said, "I'm in love with you, too. I knew it the minute you walked back into my life the other day."I couldn't breathe. Lyca had just told me she was in love with me! I couldn't believe it! My fondest dream had become reality!Then, for some reason, things seemed to get strained between us. For some reason, having admitted our love for each other left us not knowing what to do or say next. We at there on the sofa, looking at each other.It was clear to me nothing was going to happen unless one of us did something, so I slid closer to Lyca. She kept staring at me.When I put my arm around her shoulder, she sighed
“No, and I’m not sure I want to again,” I replied. “I’ve never seen anyone as wild as Gleason was.” My ribs still hurt like mad. I winced when I opened the door of my car.Harkins shook his head. “You ought to get those ribs looked at,” he said. “He coulda broke one, kicking you like that.”“Probably did,” I said. “Maybe I will stop at the hospital and have them checked.”“You take care,” he said. “I’m not sure I’d have done it the way you did, but you got two prime assholes out of our hair this week. I’d say that’s enough for anyone. Take it easy for a while, OK?”“You have my word on it, Lieutenant,” I said.The doctor in the emergency room told me my ribs were seriously bruised, but not broken. “Take it easy for a while and you’ll be just fine,” he said. “And I’d stay away from strenuous exercise for a week or so.”“Doc, I plan to sleep for a week or so,” I told him.I left the hospital and drove home. I wanted to see Lyca, but I needed rest, too, and she probably could stand some
I dropped the binoculars, stood up and, standing in the combat position, aimed my pistol at him. He fired another shot. Before he could work the bolt action on his rifle, I yelled, “Freeze, Gleason! Drop the gun!”He stiffened, turned, and continued working the action on the rifle. I fired at him, aiming for the middle of his body. The rifle flew out of his hands and he went over backward.Moving carefully, I approached him, holding my gun on him. I was pretty sure I’d hit him. I seldom miss what I’m shooting at. He laid there on his back, very still, with his eyes closed. I peered at him, trying to see where the wound was. I couldn’t, so I stepped closer. Too close.Gleason suddenly came to life. His leg came up quickly, too quickly for me to avoid it, and he kicked the gun out of my hand. The next thing I knew, roaring like a wild man, he was on me, his weight carrying me back, taking me off my feet. When we hit the ground, the wind was knocked out of me and, before I could get to m
“Noticed that he checked the brakes,” Moose said. “You’d think he’d trust a couple of trustworthy-looking guys like us.”I handed Moose a hundred dollars.“What’s this?” he asked.“A bonus for doing a good job today,” I said.“What do you think he’s going to do when he hears that tape you put in the car?” Moose asked.The only thing I did to Gleason’s car was put a tape I made up in the tape deck. It was set to run quietly for a while before the message kicked in, so he’d be well away from the building before he heard it. The message said, “We could have gotten you again today, but we didn’t. This is your last warning. Leave Mrs. Wilkins alone or we’ll get serious. We’ve already proved we can get to you any time we want. By the way, have you gotten your place cleaned up yet?”“I hope he cans this shit he’s been pulling on our client, but I don’t think he will,” I said.“So that shit you planned for tonight is still on?” Moose asked as he wheeled the van through traffic.I nodded. “I t
“You want me to call the police, Mr. Gleason?” the security guard asked.Gleason looked at the guard, then at me. I tried to look impatient. Moose shuffled around, looking as if he wanted to go, too.“They’re not going to find anything, any more than they did yesterday, the incompetent fools,” Gleason said finally. He looked at the car, then at me. “You sure you can have it done and back here by three?” he asked.“No problem, Mr. Gleason,” I said. “Me and Moose, we’ll do the job ourselfs, won’t we, Moose. We’ll tell the boss it’s one ‘a them priority jobs, right?”“Yeah, we’ll do that,” Moose said.Gleason looked at the security guard. “File a report on this with the police, but tell them I sent the car to be repaired and they don’t have to come over,” he said. He turned to me. “Go ahead and fix it. If I have the damn lease company fix it, they’ll just charge me extra and they probably wouldn’t get it fixed today.”“Where do you want me to bring it at, what, three?” I asked.“Be out f