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From: " Dorsai" <dorsai@mail.com>
Subject: {ASSM} NEW STORY: Road Trip by Dorsai (MF MFF FF viol)
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Date: Wed, 23 Jun 2004 06:10:01 -0400
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Copyright (c) 2003 - Dorsai


LEGAL DISBLAMER This is a dirty, nasty, *filthy* story - or some people
would have you believe. If you're old enough to read it in your area,
make up your own mind. If you're not `of age', then you're not
_supposed_ to be reading this stuff. Don't get caught - I won't take the 
hit for it.

INFORMATION You can get a copy of this story in text and .pdf (Adobe
Acrobat) formats, and my other stories, at the alt.sex.stories text
repository at www.asstr-mirror.org under my Author name of Dorsai. Or, if you
prefer, you can read it as an HTML document on my web page at asstr. If
you do, *PLEASE* make a donation to them so they can continue to afford
to make erotica available on the net. The money they receive is used
ONLY to maintain the site (pay for bandwidth [faster downloads!],
servers, etc.), NOT to pay us authors. They will accept any donation,
and you can donate anonymously - see their donations page to learn how.

You can reach me directly at my public email account at:

dorsai@mail.com

This story is released for FREE public distribution provided the
copyright notice is retained. This story is NOT FOR SALE at any time, by
anyone. This story may NOT be included in any collections or posted on
any site for which ANY type of fee or other charge is required before
the user can read it. I *WILL* prosecute any violations of my copyright,
or the terms of distribution.

For those wishing to provide feedback to me, or any other author, there
are a number of anonymous remailers available from the site:

http://www.1netcentral.com/anonymous-email.html

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-==-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Road Trip

   This is yet _another_ in the Next Door Neighbor series;
reading those stories isn't strictly *necessary*, but would
probably be helpful.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

  When Robyn - Lucy's daughter by a previous marriage - graduated
High School, and went on to start college, Lucy and I decided
that it was time for us to have a little time off for ourselves.
When we told Robyn and Sandra - adopted by us when her parents
were killed - what we were thinking of doing, both girls were not
only accepting of the idea, but went on to encourage us. As Robyn
put it "Dad, you and Mom haven't had a vacation just for
yourselves since you got married; it's time the two of you took
the time to get away!", to which Sandra added "Don't worry, Uncle
Dan - we can take care of ourselves while you're gone."

  I suppose that most parents, on hearing something like that
with two girls in college and living at home, would worry that
their kids would be throwing parties every night and bringing
home all of the school's athletic teams for some 'horizontal
recreation' - but Lucy and I both knew, all too well, that OUR
two weren't like that. For starters, both had _already_ brought
home boyfriends for the purpose of staying the night - with our
knowledge and permission. You see, our family was a *lot* closer
than most: _I_ had been the one to deflower

   Robyn when she was just 13, and Sandra when she was 15; from
there both girls went on to make love with Lucy. Since that time,
all four of us had shared the tremendous love that we all felt
for each other innumerable times. We'd even had _others_ join us,
as well - including a number of FBI agents (Amy and friends) that
we'd come into contact with, as well as a woman and her daughter
that we'd provided 'protective custody' for.

    These are all closer than average relationships, the names
will help  emphasize that closeness and help link the other story
to this one.

  With the knowledge that the girls would be okay with our
absence, Lucy and I proceeded to make the necessary arrangements.

  Lucy was a Vice-President at the company where she worked, and
it took only a _little_ negotiation before they'd approve her
taking an unpaid leave of absence for as long as we wanted to
make our vacation: a full year. Me, I didn't have any problems: I
worked for myself, and only had to make sure that all the
projects I was working on for my customers would be done before
we left. Previously, I'd earned myself a nice chunk of money by
recovering over 300 million dollars for one of the clients of
Lucy's company; my paycheck had been 8% of the money that had
been recovered. Even after taxes and everything else, I still had
*more* than enough money to take care of Lucy and Robyn. I
continued working as a free-lance programmer mostly just so I'd
have something to do - much as Lucy had stayed at _her_ job.

  When everything was settled that we *could* go, we started   
making plans for the _how and when_. We finallysettled on renting
a large motor home; that we wanted to rent it for an entire year
made the company we got it from _more_ than willing to add a few
things to it, like a satellite Internet hookup, miniature TV
camera that looked out the back window with the monitor on the
dash so I could see what was behind me when I had to back the
monster up, an automatic leveling system so that all I had to do
was hit a switch and the beast would extend stabilizers until it
was level, and so on. When they were done, I took it to a friend
that was a hardware geek (as opposed to my being a software
geek), and he added a few more niceties: providing connections so
I could tie a GPS system into the laptop I planned to take along.
Finally, I took it to another friend that was kind enough to add
a few little hidden cubbyholes to it so that Lucy and I could
take along a few things without having to worry about them being
found and stolen if someon  e broke into it while we were
somewhere else.

  When all of that was done, Lucy and I spent a full week driving
the thing around (soon calling it 'the Monster' because it drove,
well, like a bus) just to make sure that we knew how, so that we
had a better 'feel' for where it was and what it would do. Once
we were satisfied we could do a decent job of driving it, we went
down to the Motor Vehicles office and took the tests, getting the
appropriate endorsements for our driver's licenses.

  Lucy and I had decided that what we wanted to do was to do a
'grand tour' of the United States while I took photos of whatever
caught my attention; Lucy and others continued to tell me that I
definitely had an 'eye' for good photos, and finally talked me
into devoting a little time to the subject. With that in mind,
Lucy and I planned to time our 'tour' so that we were in the
southern part of the country during the winter, and work our way
North as summer approached. Along the way, we would detour as
necessary to stop in and visit many of the friends that we'd
made.

  The last few nights before we were to leave, Robyn and Sandra
each let us know that we'd be missed...

 -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

 Lucy and I went up to go to bed a little late one night, only to
find Sandra waiting for us: stark naked and spread-eagled on our
bed!

 Lucy and I looked at each other before Lucy turned to ask Sandra
"And you've parked yourself in the middle of our bed.... why?"

 Sandra just grinned at us, and answered "Because I wanted to let
you know how much I'm going to miss you while you're gone, of
course!"

 I smiled back at her, as did Lucy, as I responded "Of course.
What was I thinking of?"

 As Sandra watched us, Lucy and I didn't dawdle getting
undressed, and into the bed with her. Lucy took position on one
side of her, and I, the other. Lucy and I reached out to place a
hand over one of her breasts, each of us feeling her nipple erect
into our palms.  With a silent communication, each of us lowered
our head to begin kissing her - not on the lips, as she clearly
expected us to, but on her shoulders - then moving on to include
her neck, then her ears. It was only a couple of minutes before
we could hear her begin to pant as our 'stereo' efforts at
arousing her took effect.

 Even as we continued to kiss and 'lip-nibble' her neck and
shoulders, Lucy was slowly touching and caressing her way down
Sandra's body. Lucy began to softly stroke the insides of
Sandra's spread thighs as she gently kissed the youngster's
smooth skin; I started playing with her delightful breasts:
Sandra had reached her full growth, and proudly sported a bust
that measured 34-C. Each of her pale mounds was capped with an
areola that was just a couple of shades darker than her skin. The
size of a quarter, they formed little cones that flowed
gracefully into pencil-diameter nipples that grew to a full
half-inch when erect - as they were, thanks to my most attentive
ministrations!

 I knew when Lucy's hand finally came into contact with Sandra's
mons and vaginal lips because of the deep moan of aroused
pleasure she released. Soon after, I detected the musky aroma of
an aroused young woman.

 A quick glance let me know that Lucy's mouth was approaching the
source of the wetness that glistened on her fingers before I
moved 'up' to start kissing Sandra's face and lips.

 I knew when Lucy got to her target when I felt Sandra's hips
arch off the bed as she released a low moan into my mouth.

 My hand continued to busy itself with Sandra's breasts as our
tongues danced and dueled in each others mouths, accompanied by
her steadily increasing moans and soft gasps as Lucy tenderly
ministered to our adopted daughter's sex.

 Several happy minutes later, Sandra broke her kiss with me to
pant "Please! I want Uncle Dan in me!"

 Lucy slowly ended her licking of Sandra's clitoris, and raised
her head, smiling as she asked "How would you like to do it,
dear?"

 Sandra told us "I... I want him to make love to me in my butt.
And I want to use my mouth on you, too, Aunt Lucy!"

 Lucy and I shared a look - it wasn't often that Sandra asked for
me to have anal sex with her; having her do so now, and wanting
to engage in some mutual frau-licking with Lucy, only told us
just how much she'd miss us while we were gone.

 It took only a moment for us to figure out the best way of
giving Sandra what she wanted. Lucy moved to lie on her back, and
Sandra quickly and happily moved to position herself in a '69'
over her. While the two of them got started with each other, I
went to the bathroom to retrieve a tube of lubricant. When I got
back, the room was already filled with the soft, liquid sounds of
two women giving each other pleasure - and the heady aromas of
TWO highly-aroused females.  I moved behind Sandra, and opened
the tube of lubricant before squirting a  healthy dollop into my
hand. As I began to apply it to Sandra's nether regions, Lucy
took the opportunity to take me into her mouth and start sucking
me to erection. Even as I was lengthening and hardening in Lucy's
mouth, Sandra began pressing herself back against my fingers as I
carefully made sure that her rectum was slippery enough for what
we were about to do.
 When I was fully erect, Lucy let me slip from between her lips
and returned to applying her considerable oral skills to Sandra's
labia and clitoris. For my part, I quickly applied another blob
of lube to my penis before moving to rest the head against the
rosette of Sandra's anus.

 Sandra lifted her head from between Lucy's thighs long enough to
tell me "Yes, Uncle Dan - that's what I want!"

 As Sandra's head lowered again, I started pressing myself
against her, feeling it as she consciously relaxed herself to
help make it easier for me. A little more pressure and it was
done: the head of my erect penis slipped through the tight ring
of her anus, accompanied by a deep moan.  From the tone of it, I
knew that it was a moan of pleasure, not complaint. I paused for
a bit - not only to give Sandra a chance to adjust to having me
in her ass, but to let ME 'settle down', too - before easing
myself even farther into her. A few moments later, and my pubic
hair was tight against her tailbone, my hardness fully inside
her.

 Again, I paused for a bit before slowly withdrawing myself from
her a bit, then sliding back in. Over the next few minutes, I
slowly increased the speed and length of my strokes into her most
personal opening. As I did, the sounds of Sandra's arousal and
pleasure quickly increased - along with her enthusiasm for what
she was doing to/for Lucy, judging from the sounds Lucy was
making.

 All three of us delighted in the pleasure we were giving and
receiving for the next several minutes, the sounds and scents of
lovemaking permeating the air. Along the way, Lucy's lips and
tongue - combined with my activities - brought Sandra to an
orgasm. It was followed a few minutes later by another, even
stronger.

 Finally finding her own release, Lucy let her head drop back
onto the bed as she cried out with the first spasm that overtook
her, then gasping and moaning as Sandra continued stimulating her
in time with each successive wave of pleasure. Only when Lucy
managed to croak "Sandra! Please!" did the youngster lift her
head again to let herself focus exclusively on what *I* was doing
to her.

 As I continued pistoning in and out of her nether opening, I
could feel Sandra's excitement building: periodically, a small
spasm would overtake her, causing her anus to tighten around me -
and increasing my own arousal in the process.

 A couple more minutes went by before Lucy was able to raise her
head again, and begin licking at Sandra's vaginal opening,
sucking on her labia and clitoris, and every so often detouring
to lick my balls as they swung forward. With both of us 'working'
on her, Sandra's arousal increased dramatically; it was only a
few more minutes before she threw her head back and released a
soft cry as she found her release.

 As spasms coursed through her body, Sandra's back opening would
tighten around me - nearly painfully so. But it _wasn't_ painful:
it was incredibly arousing, and even as the power of her orgasm
began to taper off, the sensations she was creating around my
penis were enough to trigger my own climax. As the first hot jet
of my semen washed her bowels, Sandra cried out again, nearly
screaming "I feel it! You're coming in me! It feels so *hot*!"

 Adding fuel to the fire of my climax, Lucy reached between my
legs and began dragging her fingernails across my scrotum,
causing the next spurt of my cum to erupt from me nearly as
powerfully as the first.

 As our respective climaxes tapered off, I felt Sandra start to
weaken underneath me, and I quickly got hold of her so that she
wouldn't collapse on top of Lucy. Lucy saw what was happening,
and quickly ended her attentions to Sandra's pelvis to eel out
from under the two of us. With the way clear, I gently lowered
Sandra to the bed, keeping my semi-erect penis still buried
between her cute buns.

 Once on the bed, I held myself over our adopted daughter,
covering her body with mine. The most capable of the three of us,
Lucy got out of bed and went into the bathroom; she returned a
short time later with an obviously damp washcloth and a towel.
When she was back in bed with us, Lucy waited until my penis had
shrunk enough to pull free of Sandra's intimate embrace before
going about cleaning the remains of the lubricant - and my semen
- from Sandra and me. Once she'd made sure that both of us were
reasonably clean and dried off, Lucy tossed the washcloth and
towel onto a nightstand before lying down on the opposite side of
Sandra from me, so that both of us could hold and cuddle her.

 A couple of minutes later and Sandra had recovered enough to
turn over so that she could turn her head and look at each of us
before telling us "I'm going to miss _both_ of you SO much - and
I'm going to miss being able to have fun with you like this even
more!"

 First Lucy, then I, tilted our heads forward to kiss her softly
on the lips before Lucy told her "We're going to miss you, too,
sweetheart. *And* having fun with you!"

 I followed Lucy's remark with my own "Sandra, what Lucy said is
true - we're going to miss you as much as you'll be missing us.
But we'll be back before long, and just think about the 'welcome
home' party we can have!", the last with a grin.

 Sandra managed a smile for me, but I - and Lucy - knew that her
heart really wasn't in it; both of us knew how much she loved us,
and how much we loved her.

 The three of us lie there holding each other until we quietly
drifted off to sleep. When we woke up the next morning, Lucy and
I discovered that Sandra had left us sometime during the night.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-   When Robyn showed up a couple nights
later, after Lucy and I had gone to bed, she didn't make any
bones about why she was there: she crawled onto the foot of the
bed between us and clearly announced "I'm here to try and get
enough love from both of you to hold me until you get back. Think
you can do it?"

  Lucy and I both laughed a little before I answered "I don't
know - but we can sure _try_!" - accompanied by Lucy's
enthusiastic nodding, something that made Robyn smile.

  Lucy and I threw the bedcovers back, and opened our arms to
her; when she was close enough, we both hugging and kissing her
as she moved to lie on her back between us.

  It wasn't but a few moments before we felt Robyn's soft hands
begin to explore our bodies, and only a moment after that before
we began to reciprocate. As always, I couldn't help but marvel at
the smooth softness of her skin, the firmness of her breasts, and
farther down, the tautness of her delightfully curved ass. Along
the way, my hand met Lucy's as she gently caressed Robyn's mons
and pubic thatch.

  In return, I could feel Robyn's fingertips re-memorizing the
scars I bore as a result of my service in the Army, then her cool
hand enveloping my manhood and slowly stroking it, and the gentle
touch of her lips on mine.

  After a bit, Robyn's lips left mine, and I was free to begin
kissing her neck and shoulder as I slowly eased my way down her
body, until I could begin kissing her breast and sucking on her
rapidly-erecting nipple. As I happily teased her nipple with my
lips, Robyn put her hand behind my head holding me in place as
she moaned low in her throat.

  As pleasant as it was to nurse at Robyn's delightful breasts, I
wanted to do more. Slowly, I began kissing my way down her body
again, until I finally reached my goal: the dark wedge of pubic
hair at the base of her belly - and more to the point, the hot,
wet channel that I knew lay between her smooth, firm thighs.

  When it became clear what my goal was, Robyn readily spread her
legs to make room for me. A few moments more, and I could see the
target of my desires: the glistening lips of Robyn's parted
vaginal lips.

  The first pass of my tongue between her labia earned me a full
taste of Robyn's light, sweet nectar as she arched her hips in
pleasure at what I was doing. Another pass of my tongue, then
another; Robyn's muffled moan caused me to look up and see that
Lucy was astraddle her daughter's face, receiving much the same
treatment that I was dispensing. I soon expanded my efforts to
include taking Robyn's labia between my lips and gently 'chewing'
on them, and sucking them - then moving on to begin softly
licking and sucking on her erect clitoris. My attentions served
to increase her arousal, and I happily made frequent side-trips
to lick up the overflow of Robyn's oils before returning to my
various ministrations. Things finally got to the point where I
was spending nearly as much time lapping up her nectar as I was
doing anything else; at that point, I formed a 'spear' with my
tongue and tried to see if I could reach her tonsils from her
crotch. The result   was a muffled shriek   from Robyn, followed
by her trying to spread her legs as far as they would go to
encourage me to try harder. I did, and soon had my hands full -
literally, since they were cupping her ass cheeks - trying to
hold her still so that I didn't get a whiplash as I repeatedly
penetrated her hot opening.

  This all went on for several minutes before I heard Lucy's
cries of pleasure as she tripped over into orgasm, thanks to
Robyn's talented tongue.

  When Lucy finally got her senses back, she nearly collapsed to
lie on the bed - opening the way for my participation to become
much more active. Lifting my head from between Robyn's thighs
(accompanied by a moan of disappointment from Robyn), I quickly
moved to a kneeling position. Robyn looked up at me, and with a
delighted look on her face, saw that I was erect. With a happy
"Let me get you ready!" she lifted up so that she could lean
forward and take me into her mouth, eagerly licking and sucking
on my manhood. When she was finally satisfied that I was properly
lubricated with her saliva, she pulled her lips from around me
with a soft 'pop', and lie down again in open invitation for me
to make love with her. I positioned myself between her legs, and
she reached down to take me in her hand so she could position the
head of my penis against her hot opening. I pressed forward, and
after only a little initial resistance, slipped through the tight
ring of her entrance and on  into the tight, wet channel of her
womanhood. I backed out a little, then pressed in again; another
cycle of that, and I was balls-deep into my adopted daughter's
sheath.     Securely embedded in her, I let my body tilt forward
so that I could lower my head and begin kissing her as I started
slowly sliding my penis out of her; when only the head was
inside, I reversed direction, filling her again, accompanied by
her deep groan of pleasure. Over the next couple of minutes, I
slowly increased the speed of my movement in her until the steady
rhythm of our union filled the room with the liquid noises of our
lovemaking.

  Between what I'd done to her, and what she'd done to Lucy, it
wasn't long before our lovemaking added enough to Robyn's arousal
to push her into an orgasm. The clenching of her hot, wet vagina
around my manhood felt wonderful - but I managed to keep control
of myself so that I could continue making love with her.

  As she came down from her release, her eyes suddenly flew open
when she realized that I was still making love with her. With a
moaned "Oh, Go-o-o-d-d-d!", she put her arms around me and pulled
me down so she could start planting kisses and soft bites on my
neck and shoulders even as her panting started ratcheting up
again. A few minutes later, she cried out as another climax
washed over her. Though it was a lot closer that time, I still
managed to keep from filling her with my cum; instead, I simply
stopped my motion over her, holding myself deep inside her as I
enjoyed the feeling of her vagina clenching around me.

  When she'd caught her breath again, she opened her eyes to look
up at me in joy before she realized that I was still fully erect,
and buried deep inside her. Her eyes grew to the size of saucers
as she asked "You didn't... You're still hard?!"

  I smiled down at her and answered "You said you wanted enough
to hold you while we're gone - have you changed you mind, now?"

  "Oh, god, no!" she replied before arching her hips to get me
moving in her again, her delight plain on her face.

  With her affirmation that she was ready for more, I started
making love with her again. Soon, I was sliding in and out of her
with a steady movement that I knew wouldn't end until I'd found
my own release. That came (pardon the pun) a few minutes later
when I felt her slip into her third climax since I'd entered her;
that time, the feeling of her spasming vagina milking my penis
was enough to let me find my own pleasure. Pressing myself as far
into her as I could, I fired jet after jet of my hot cum into
her.

  When both of us had recovered enough from the power of our
climaxes, I lowered my head so the two of us could share a number
of soft, gentle kisses before my penis shrank enough to pull free
of her intimate grasp.

  Lucy apparently recognized the expression on Robyn's face when
that happened, and told us "If you'll get out of the way, Dan,
I'll clean her up...", her intentions clear. I smiled and did as
I was told while Robyn looked pleased. A few moments later, and
Lucy was eagerly licking my cum out of her daughter's dripping
opening - accompanied by Robyn's moans of pleasure.

  Even after Lucy had vacuumed my semen from Robyn, she continued
licking and sucking on the girl's labia and clitoris. For my
part, I busied myself with kissing Robyn - and more importantly,
playing with and sucking on her breasts and nipples. Together,
Lucy and I managed to bring Robyn to another orgasm - clearly the
most powerful yet - within just a few minutes.

  When Robyn had recovered from her release, Lucy moved up so
that she and I were neatly bracketing her; together, we gently
caressed the youngster as we lovingly shared kisses with her for
a few minutes more.

  After a bit, things slowed down and we were content to simply
hold each other until we fell asleep. Robyn was still with us the
next morning, and happily shared a shower with me and Lucy.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

  The night before Lucy and I were to leave, we heard a soft
knocking at the door to our bedroom. We told whoever it was to
come in; it turned out to be Robyn and Sandra, both. We asked
what they wanted, and they told us that they simply wanted to
spend the night with us - making love if we (Lucy and I) wanted
to, but what they wanted most was to just *be* with us. Lucy and
I didn't even have to look at each other - both girls were _more_
than welcome to keep us company. The next morning's shower was a
bit crowded, but none of us minded in the slightest...

  When Lucy and I actually left, Sandra and Robyn were both
trying as best they could to keep up a happy front; but Lucy and
I both knew that they'd be crying as soon as we were out of sight
- mostly because I think both of us were expecting to do the same
damn thing.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

 Once we were on the road, it took Lucy and I a few days to get
into a routine of sorts; once that happened, things went along
pretty darn well. Once a week or so, we'd spend the night in a
motel instead of the motor home, using the opportunity to do
whatever laundry or shopping that needed to be done. We were
towing my car on the back of the motor home, so we didn't have to
drive the massive hunk of metal just to go get a loaf of bread or
a six-pack of sodas or beer.

 Along the way, we'd pause wherever and whenever the mood struck
- sometimes, I'd want to spend an extra day (or even two)
someplace; other times, it was Lucy that kept us still. Either
way, we were both happy, and enjoying the hell out of it.

 I took lots of photos with the high-end digital camera Lucy had
gotten me for my birthday one year; Lucy had a blast meeting
people and seeing the different places and things we came across
along the way.

 Each night, when we'd found a place to stop and settled in for
the evening, we'd send an email to the girls and let them know
where we were (they'd put a U.S. map on the wall in their room
and were marking it to keep track of our travels). We'd also tell
them a little bit about what we'd seen and done that day, and
hear from them how they were doing. Both missed us, of course,
just as we missed them; but they were always careful to make
their emails to us happy and cheerful - mostly to try and keep us
from worrying about them (which we did, anyway), we suspected.

 One of the first people we stopped in to visit was Amy and her
husband Tom, along with Erika Simpson, in Washington, D.C. All of
them were delighted to see us again, and we spent a full weekend
debauching with them before we continued our American Tour.

 We were amazed, delighted, fascinated, and overawed along the
way by all the people, places, and things that we saw - New York
simply overwhelmed us; Philadelphia drove home just how lucky we
were to have been born and raised where we were. New England
fascinated us. The Midwest - and particularly the Great Plains -
left us awed: that people had the guts to head across that vast
expanse with little more than a covered wagon and team of
horses/mules was all but inconceivable. Then we hit the mountain
states, and could only wonder at the stamina and fortitude of
those that had made it across the plains, only to take on the
Rocky Mountains - and *win*.

 We were nearly 8 months into our journey when we hit Idaho. We
were going through a small town in the northern part of the state
(we'd made a detour into Canada, just for the sake of saying we'd
been there, eh?) after just getting back on the road one morning
when we saw what looked like a young girl trying to hitchhike.

 Early on, Lucy and I had agreed that we weren't going to pick up
hitchhikers, and I eased the motor home to the edge of the lane
to make sure I left the hitchhiker plenty of room as we went by.
Even as the ass end of the motor home was just clearing the girl,
Lucy grabbed my arm and started telling me to stop - that we
needed to pick the girl up. I looked at her in surprise, and Lucy
told me "I know your eyes were on the road, Dan - but that girl
*needs* a ride - and maybe more. We _have_ to stop for her!"

 Nothing to do, of course, but slow the beast back down, and get
it over onto the side of the road so we didn't block traffic any
more than we had to. I looked behind us, and it didn't seem that
the girl had noticed we'd stopped; Lucy corrected that oversight
through the simple expedient of getting out and going to get her.

 When the two of them got back, and climbed in, I could see that
Lucy had been right. It wasn't real obvious at first look, but
the girl was in SOME kind of trouble: dressed in pretty worn
clothing, there was a scared look around her eyes, and all she
had was carrying a ragged backpack. At first look, I thought she
looked to be in her mid- to late-20's; a second, then third, look
dropped that number - I finally settled on late teens. She was
maybe five and half feet tall, and couldn't have weighed a
hundred pounds, sopping wet and with a brick in each hand. It had
obviously been a while since she'd last bathed: not only was she
dirty, but there was a faint aroma about her. Not that she
actually _stank_, mind you; only enough to let you know that her
last bath had been too long ago. Underneath the grime, it looked
like she was _probably_ blonde, her hair done in a ponytail that
hung past her shoulders; she had a pretty face, with regular
features, and a pair of the most beauti  ful green eyes I'd ever
seen. It was all but impossible to tell what her figure was like
underneath the (dirty) loose, baggy clothing she was wearing.

 As she stood there, I could see that she was trembling slightly;
Lucy told me "Dan, this is Lisa Hammarlund. She's looking for a
ride - to Seattle, you said?", the last directed at the girl who
nodded and answered "Um, yeah, if you're headed that way." in a
beautiful contralto voice.

 The road we were on was a state road that eventually linked up
with an interstate that would take us to Seattle, so the
destination wasn't too surprising. What DID surprise me, though,
was the way she trembled slightly. Lucy noticed it, too, and
asked "Lisa, what's the matter, dear? Is something wrong?"

 That seemed to sink in for her, and she answered "Um, yeah,
there is. There are some people after me, and I really need to
get out of here. Uh, maybe I shouldn't go with you - you look
like nice people, and you stopped to give me a ride and all, but
I don't want any of MY trouble to rub off on you. I'll just get
out, and try to catch another ride, okay?"

 On hearing that, I thought to myself "Oh, *shit*, here we go
again!", even as Lucy was giving me a Look before telling her
"That isn't necessary, Lisa. We'll be glad to help you out. Why
don't you tell us about it?"

 Lisa answered "I guess I can do that; but you'd better get this
thing moving. I don't know how far they are behind me, and they
could be here any time. You _really_ don't want to be on the
wrong side of them, you know?"

 Part of what I learned in the Army was the judgment of when the
time was right to 'argue' something. This wasn't that time. It
was blatantly obvious by then that the girl was scared out of her
wits. I told them "We're on the way, then" as I turned around and
got ready to get the Monster moving. When the traffic had thinned
enough, I hit the gas and got us going again - accompanied by an
audible sigh and visible relief from Lisa.
 Once we were up to speed, Lucy gently guided Lisa to the
passenger seat at the front of the bus, then folded down the jump
seat immediately behind it for herself. A minute or two went by
in silence before Lucy asked Lisa "Is there anything I can get
for you, Lisa? Something to eat or drink, perhaps?" Lisa turned
to look at Lucy, then me, then back to Lucy before answering "Uh,
if it isn't any bother, some food and water or maybe a soda would
be _really_ good."

 I looked over at her, and with her a bit closer, could see that
she appeared to be a few pounds UNDER weight. I asked her "When
was the last time you ate?"

 She looked down at her lap, and softly answered "Yesterday - I
think."

 Lucy just looked at me, and got up to head back to where the
little kitchen was. A minute later, I heard the microwave kick
on, and shortly after that, detected the aroma of the
meat-and-pastry snacks that we carried along for when we just
wanted a quick bite. A couple minutes later, I heard the
microwave go off, shortly followed by Lucy reappearing with a
couple of the snacks and a cold soda. She handed them to Lisa,
who didn't even wait for the food to cool: she just bit off a
chunk and sucked air as she gave it a couple of token chews
before washing it down with a swallow of soda. She repeated that
a couple more times as Lucy and I shared another look: yesterday,
hell - if she'd eaten in the last 2 days, Lucy and I would have
BOTH been surprised.

 After Lisa got through the first of the pastries, she slowed
down for the second - pausing in between to thank us, profusely.

 When she was done, she released a soft belch, blushed, and took
another swallow of the soda.

 When she settled back in the passenger seat, Lucy asked her
"Would you like to tell us about it, now, dear?"

 With that question, Lisa started looking scared again, but
started to slowly tell us her story.

 "I'm from a little town a bit south of here; neven as small as
it is, it's still the county capitol. There's some folks there
that pretty much run *everything* - the cops, the town
Councilman, the businesses, _everything_. Me and my boyfriend
Charlie, we saw some stuff happen that we weren't supposed to. We
kept quiet about it, but somehow, somebody found out. When they
found out it was us that saw them, we were _really_ in trouble.

 "At first, they just threatened us, and we did what they wanted
- that is, kept our mouths shut and didn't say _anything_. But
then they started telling us to do stuff, and the next thing we
new, both of us were in even MORE trouble. It kept going on like
that for a while, until a week, week and a half ago. That's when
Charlie disappeared. I looked all over for him, but couldn't find
him *anyplace*. I hung around for a couple of days, keeping out
of the way; then one of my friends told me that they were looking
for ME. That was when I put some stuff in my pack and headed out
- I didn't know what happened to Charlie, and *I* didn't want to
just disappear, too. I was SO scared, but I knew that if I didn't
get away, something bad was going to happen to me, so I tried to
sleep in the daytime and only move at night, but I was outside of
town and all, and it was pretty hard."

 "What did you see?", I asked.

 Lisa got a terrified look on her face and answered "Me and
Charlie, we saw a couple of people beat this girl to death, and
bury her."

 "Who did it?", asked Lucy.

 Several seconds went by before Lisa softly told us "Sheriff
Purdy and one of his deputies."

 Lucy and I looked at each other for a couple of seconds before I
could pull my eyes back around to watch the road, my mind going
about a thousand miles an hour as I mulled over Lisa's story.

 It was Lucy that asked "Do you know who the girl was, Lisa?"

 A couple of seconds went by before Lisa told us "That's the
thing - me and Charlie, we never saw her before. She didn't live
in town, or go to the same school we did, that's for sure!"

 I spared a glance over to Lisa before looking back at the road
again as I asked her "How old are you, Lisa?"

 "I'm nineteen. Me and Charlie, we graduated from high school in
June last year. Charlie, he was getting ready to join the Marines
next month, so he could get the money to go to college. He's
pretty good working with computers and such."

 It was Lucy that asked the really obvious question: "Are you
*sure* it was the sheriff, Lisa? And his deputy? It couldn't have
been someone else, or somebody that just LOOKED like them?"

 Somewhere, Lisa pulled up the nerve to give Lucy a withering
look before answering "I'm sure it was him - them. Ain't nobody
looks anything LIKE Sheriff Purdy 'cept him. And only one that
looks like Dep'ty Schoffield is Dep'ty Schoffield. No, it was
them, all right. Anyway, if it _wasn't_ them, how come they come
after Charlie and me so hard?"

 Good point. Lucy and I shared another look.

 About that time, I saw flashing lights in my driver's side
mirror; it was still too far away to tell who it was. Somehow, I
didn't think it was the Hall Patrol from my grade school coming
to get me for that time I made an unauthorized visit to the Boys
Room.    I waited a bit to see if I could be lucky enough that
whoever it was, they were after someone else, or headed somewhere
else. No such luck. Nothing to do but let Lucy and Lisa know, so
they could have a little time to get ready.

 "I don't want to worry anybody, but there's some kind of cop car
coming up on us from behind.", I told them.

 Lisa immediately started to panic; Lucy was made of sterner
stuff, and moved to the back of the Monster, picking up a pair of
binoculars along the way so she could get a good look at whatever
it was. A moment later, she called out to us "Lisa, are you from
Oak Tree County?"

 Lisa managed to croak out, loud enough for Lucy to hear, "Yes!"

 "Does Sheriff Purdy look a lot like a bulldog? And Deputy
Schoffield kind of like Lurch from the Addams family?"

 "That's them!" Lisa nearly screamed.

 "Screwed again!", I thought to myself before calling out "Lucy,
 get on the phone and call Ira. Tell him what's happening, what
Lisa told us, and where we are. If he doesn't hear from us within
the next six hours, to get in touch with Amy." Ira was my lawyer;
he was the guy that _other_ lawyers went to when they had
problems. On top of being damn good in dealing with the law, his
judgment on when to be circumspect - and when to be as subtle as
a bulldozer - was about as good as it could be. If there was any
real trouble, *somebody* besides us was going to be _real_ sorry.

 Lucy quickly answered "On it!" before moving to where we stowed
the cell phone while we were on the road.

 She'd just called out "Done!" when Sheriff Purdy hit the siren
to let us know that it was US he was after.

 Lucy quickly moved back to sit on the jump seat behind Lisa, and
started talking to her, trying to get her calmed down. I took as
much time as I dared slowing down and getting off to the
shoulder, trying to give her as much time to settle Lisa as
possible. Finally, though, there was nothing for me to do but
stop - particularly when Deputy Schoffield started gesturing for
me to do that very thing.

 By the time the Sheriff and Deputy got out of their car and
headed back to the Monster, Lucy had managed to settle Lisa down
somewhat. She was still obviously terrified, though.

 As the Sheriff and Deputy got close to us, the Sheriff indicated
that I should meet him at the door. I got up and did as told,
politely opening it up for them before they had to knock. Smiling
down at them, I asked "What can I do for you gentlemen, today?"

 Neither one looked particularly pleased, but Sheriff Purdy
managed to keep his cool as he told me "Well, sir, me and the
deputy, here, we're after a known criminal that escaped custody."

 "And who would that be, Sheriff?"

 "Why, that young girl sitting in the passenger seat up front
there. Her name's Lisa Hammarlund, no matter what she might have
told you it is."

 "Well, Sheriff, as a matter of fact, that IS the name she gave
us. Doesn't look too dangerous, though - half-starved and scared
out of her wits is more like it. What did she do?"

 It was the good deputy that responded to that by telling me
"What she done ain't no business of yours, mister. You just fetch
her on out here, and we'll take care of her real good!"

 "I don't know that I can do that just yet, Deputy. You *say* she
escaped custody, but she doesn't look like she could escape a wet
paper bag. How did she get away? And you still haven't told me
what she's wanted for."

 "That's nothin' for you to concern yourself about, mister. You
just hand her over, and you'll be on your way."

 "I'm sorry Deputy, but I can't do that. Until I get some
answers, I'm not willing to let her go anywhere with you."

 The sheriff spoke up then, telling me "Mister, if you're all
that damn anxious to know what's goin' on with her, then I reckon
we can do that. I'm takin'*all* of you into custody. Luther, you
get on up there and follow me back to town. If anybody gives you
any trouble, just cuff 'em to something where they'll be out of
your way. If I see you stop or pull over, I'll come back to give
you a hand. Okay?"

 "You got it, Sheriff!" Luther answered before stepping up into
the Monster.

 Once inside, he had the three of us move back and sit around the
little table in the kitchen area; he planted himself in the
driver's seat and got himself situated. A few moments later, the
Sheriffs car started off, with us following right behind.

 Once we were on the road going the other direction, Lucy started
to ask me something, but the Deputy interrupted her by shouting
"Y'all hush up, back there. I don't want anybody cookin' up no
stories or makin' any trouble, y'hear?"

 The rest of the drive to the teeming metropolis of Claude, Idaho
(population 3,802 according to the city limit sign) was quiet -
other than Luther muttering to himself.

 We pulled up next to a nondescript brick building that proudly
proclaimed itself to be the County Services Building. Sheriff
Purdy met us at the door to the Monster, and gestured for us all
to follow him through a heavy steel door set into the side of the
building. Inside, we saw a couple of old-fashioned jail cells -
the kind with the heavy iron bars from floor to ceiling - with a
desk and counter set off to the side. Opposite was a shower
stall, fingerprint setup, computer on a desk, and a couple of
straight chairs.

 The first thing Purdy told us was "Well, now that we got you,
Lisa, I reckon we're gonna have to lock you up for a while. But
before I can do that, I'm gonna have to make sure you're not
trying to smuggle in any kind of _contraband_ like drugs or guns
or suchlike."

 Having said that, he took Lisa by the arm and led her over to a
section of the wall that didn't have anything on, or in front of,
it. Looking closely, I could see that it was the 'designated'
frisking area because of the dark smudges on the wall, a bit over
head-high.

 Lisa started to protest, but the Sheriff just told her "No,
don't be fussin' now - you're already IN enough trouble. Just
grab yourself a piece of wall, there, and spread your feet."

 With a pleading look at me and Lucy, Lisa did as she was told -
and a few moments later, Sheriff Purdy took it upon himself to
frisk her - if you consider pressing his crotch against her
buttocks while he fondled her breasts and crotch 'frisking'. He'd
been at it for a minute or so when he announced "Damn, girl - you
stink! I reckon we're gonna have to clean you up some before I
can give you a proper friskin'!"

 That said, he got her standing up again, and pushed her over
toward where the shower stall was. It took her a few moments to
realize that he meant for her to shower right then, and right
there; when she did, she turned around and started to say
something to him. He just backhanded her across the face and said
"Go on, girl! Get them duds off, and get into that shower! I
ain't gonna have you stinking up my jail, now!"

 Hesitantly, Lisa started to do as she'd been told. First to go
was her blouse - and as she took it off, I could see that my
earlier estimation of her needing to add a little weight was
correct: her ribs were clearly visible. It was only a few moments
before the blouse was on the floor, revealing that she had on a
soft half-cup bra that left her half-dollar-sized dark pink
areolas and crayon-diameter nipples exposed. Next went the jeans
she was wearing, showing that she not only had the French-cut
panties to match the bra, but that she had a pair of strong, trim
legs. Openly crying, she reached between her breasts and
unfastened the bra, then let it drop to the floor so that her
half-grapefruit sized breasts swayed slightly. Reaching down, she
slipped her thumbs under the waistband of her panties before
giving a beseeching look to the Sheriff - who just leered at her
and gestured for her to get on with it. She did, and when she
stood up after setting her panties with the rest   of her
clothes, all of us could see that she sported a wedge of dark
pubic hair that appeared to have been trimmed. She tried to cover
herself as best she could, but there simply wasn't any way to
conceal her assets. Sheriff Purdy just grinned at her as he
reached over to where he could grab a bar of soap, then held it
out to her - but far enough away that she'd have to reach for it,
effectively exposing her even more even as he forced her into the
role of a beggar.

 Once she had the soap in her hand, Purdy told her "Okay, get in
there. And make sure you clean up GOOD! I'm going to be standing
here to make sure you do - and don't take too long about it,
either!"

 As she went about cleaning herself up, Purdy stood back from the
shower - it didn't have a shower curtain - and made no pretense
of not watching her.

  When she was done, she stepped out of the shower, and Purdy
repeated the soap trick with the towel he handed her. Once she
was dry, he let her dress again, then took her back over to be
'frisked' again.

 After a few minutes of such treatment, he stepped back and told
her she could stand up. When she did, he took her by the arm
again and guided her over to one of the cells. He pushed her in
roughly, and she fell onto the cot chained to the wall. As she
moved to turn around and sit on it, he stepped back and slammed
the cell door shut.

 Turning to me and Lucy, he said "Mister, you done stepped in it
when you picked that girl up. Then you made an even bigger
mistake: you didn't do like me and the deputy told you. Now
you're going to learn that *I'm* the law in these parts! Luther,
frisk him and put him in the other cell. _I'm_ gonna be the one
to frisk that fine-looking woman with him!"

 "Aw, Sheriff, you get all the fun!", Luther complained as he
started toward me.

 He told me to put my hands on top of my head, and held them
there with one hand as he started checking me for weapons - it
didn't take him long to discover the .45 I carried. As soon as he
touched it through my shirt, he called out "Sheriff! He's got a
gun on him!" as he put his hand on the revolver on his hip.

 "Well, now, why you packin' a gun, there, hotshot?" the sheriff
asked me.

 "Seems like a good idea, Sheriff - There's no telling what kind
of folks you might run into on the road, these days." I answered,
before adding "If I can get my wallet out, I can show you that
I've got a Federal permit to carry it."

 "Luther, you reach in there and pull his wallet out real
careful-like and hand it to him. Mister, you make any sudden
moves, and you're gonna start leakin' blood, you understand me?"

 "Loud and clear, Sheriff", I answered. With that, the deputy did
as he was told, using the hand that had been keeping mine on top
of my head to do it. I slowly moved my left hand down, and opened
up my wallet, then dug out the card that Clara Hawkes had given
me during my first pass at helping the FBI. I handed it to
Sheriff Purdy. He took it and looked it over carefully before
asking me "Now, why would you be packing around a Federal carry
permit, there, Mister Andrews? Specially one issued by the FBI?"

 "I did a little work for them some years ago, and that was part
of the deal", I answered. I went on to tell him "My wife has one,
too - and she's carrying a nine millimeter in her purse, just so
you know."

 The sheriff and deputy were giving me and Lucy BOTH some serious
attention by that time. After a minute or so, Purdy said "I think
maybe I'd better just lock you two up until I find out what's
going on here. Luther, get his gun, then lock both of them in the
other cell. I'm going to get him onto the wires and see what he's
all about - I ain't too sure he isn't funnin' us with this
Federal permit."

 "You've got it, Sheriff" Luther answered, lifting up the back of
my shirt and slipping my holstered pistol off my belt. Sheriff
Purdy kept an eye on us as the deputy went over to stow my pistol
in a locker before coming back to guide us to the other cell.
Once the door slammed behind us, the sheriff went over to the
computer and began tying on it - doubtless entering my name and
other data into the national crime database.

 When he was done, he looked up at us and said "You folks just
rest easy in there. Sometimes this takes a little while. If it
gets on toward lunch, we'll bring you something to eat from the
cafe across the street. You ain't been too much trouble so far,
and as long as you behave yourselves, you may get out of here by
this afternoon. If you don't, then you don't - get my drift?"

 Lucy and I both nodded at him. When I turned to look at her, I
could see that she was cycling between being utterly outraged at
what was happening, and scared by it, too.

 I asked the sheriff "Am I going to get a phone call somewhere
along the line?"

 "You don't need no phone call - you ain't even been arrested
yet!" Luther told me, laughing. Sheriff Purdy just smiled at us.

 Lucy and I sat down on the cot in our cell; I took her hand, and
when she looked at me told her "Don't forget that phone call you
made!" - something she'd forgotten about. If we didn't get in
contact with the Ira before that six hours timed out, something
close to the whole world was gong to fall in on Sheriff Purdy and
Deputy Sheffield. Lucy knew it, and gave me a nervous smile in
return.

 A few minutes later, Deputy Sheffield went outside, returning
some twenty minutes later with Lucy's pistol, which he put with
mine.

 When it got close to noon, the Sheriff told Luther "C'mon,
Luther - let's get us some lunch."

 The two of them got up from where they'd been sitting, and made
their way through a different door than we'd come in through -
apparently, one that led toward the front of the building and the
cafe across the street.

 When we were sure they were gone, I quickly moved over next to
where Lisa was lying on her cot, quietly crying into the pillow.
 "Lisa! Lisa! Get up, and talk to me!" I told her.

 She continued to cry for a minute, but eventually managed to sit
up. She looked over at me, and asked "What do you want? To blame
me for getting us here?"

 "Not even a little bit", I assured her, before going on to say
"No, I came over to tell you that I'm GLAD we picked you up!
*Nobody* should have to put up with the kind of crap he's
pulling. How the hell does he stay in office, anyway?

 Lisa gave me a wan smile and answered "His daddy owns damn near
everything in the county: the lumber mill, the best land, most of
the stores, and a lot of the property here in town - not to
mention the bank. If he don't get voted back into office every
three years, folks know they'll be sorry. I'm sorry I got you
into this, Mister Andrews - and you, too, Lucy."

 Lucy just smiled at her and said "I'm with Dan - I'm glad we
gave you a ride, too. And don't worry about us - we can take care
of ourselves. What I'm worried about is YOU! What's going to
happen to you now?"

 "I don't know. I suppose I'll just disappear, like Charlie did",
she replied, despondent.

 Lucy looked at me, and I could see that she wanted the two of us
to talk. I turned back to Lisa and said "try not to worry about
it too much, okay? Lucy's right - we can take care of ourselves
just fine; and we're going to see if there's anything we can do
for you, too."

 "You think you can do anything?" Lisa asked, with only a faint
trace of hope in her voice.

 "I don't know - but we're sure as hell going to try!" I assured
her. That seemed to comfort her a bit, and I went back to sit
next to Lucy. We got our heads together and started trying to
figure out what we could do.

 By the time the Sheriff and Deputy got back from lunch -
bringing something for me and Lucy, but not Lisa - I had a pretty
good idea of what to do.

 The sheriff came over to hand me and Lucy our lunches as the
deputy went over to see what had been printed out while they were
gone. He'd been reading for only a few seconds before he
exclaimed "Sheriff! You better have a look at this!"

 "What is it that got you so riled up, Luther?"

 "This Andrews fella! Seems he's got some kind of Army record -
bunch of medals and such, and some other stuff about if he's
arrested or anything, folks are supposed to notify the Army. And
there's some notice here about the FBI being interested in him,
too; that if he's accused of any kind of crime, it's to be
reported to them!"

 The sheriff hurried over to have a look at the paper in Luther's
hand; he read it over quickly, then again more slowly. When he
was done, he looked over at me speculatively and said "Looks like
you've got some kind of reputation there, Mister Andrews - and
some angels watching over you, too. If I'm reading this right,
just *asking* about you has let the FBI know we're interested in
you, and maybe even already have you. Looks to me like you're
gonna get out of here a little quicker and a little happier than
I'd planned." Turning to Luther, he said "Luther, you let Mister
Andrews out, and make sure him and his missus are okay. Then you
get them outside, and into that fancy motor home they got. Take
them to the gas station - you know which one - and fill 'em up so
they ain't out anything gas-wise. If they need or want anything
while they're on their way out of town, you try and help 'em. If
you ain't sure, you call me on the radio, and I'll tell you what
to do. You got it?"

 "You bet, Sheriff!" Luther answered as he hurried over to where
Lucy and I had stood up. Pulling a key off the wall, he quickly
unlocked our cell, and opened the door so we could leave before
going back over to stand next to the sheriff.

 "Now, Mister Andrews, I hope you can understand that this was
all a little mistake - I didn't know who you are, and when you
kinda got between me and Lisa, here, well, I just did what I
figured I had to do. There ain't no hard feelings on my part, you
understand?"

 "Sure, Sheriff, I understand just _fine_. And knowing how
concerned you are about the law and all that, I'm sure *you'll*
understand when I tell you that I'm taking a personal interest in
what happens to Miss Hammarlund, here. In fact, I'm so concerned
that I'm going to ask you _again_ what the charges are against
her - and then I'm going to see about getting her a good lawyer.
Maybe one from out of town, so that she doesn't have to worry
about him being... _influenced_ by any local conditions. And
since I don't have to be anyplace in particular, maybe I'll just
stay in the area, to see how things go for her. She sure seems
like a nice enough young lady, and I'd hate to see her get
railroaded by the legal system. You can understand that, can't
you?"

 Next to me, I could hear Lucy's almost-silent laughter - she
understood, as well as I did, that the LAST thing the sheriff
wanted was for anything even *approximating* real law enforcement
to happen in his happy little town. That point was made more than
obvious by the crestfallen, then nervous, and finally frightened
looks on the faces of both men.

 "Now, Mister Andrews, you don't have to go through all that
trouble just for Lisa, here. Shucks, she's been in all KINDS of
trouble with us before, and we already know how to handle her.
Why don't you just take it easy on yourself and go on about your
business?" the sheriff told me.

 "Oh, it's no trouble for me - I *like* helping folks out when I
can. So, what were you saying the charges against her are?"

 The sheriff and deputy looked at each other for a few moments
before the sheriff told me "Well, you know, now that you mention
it, I don't reckon that what she done is worth fussin' over. I
reckon we'll just let her go with a warning, and call it good
enough. How would that suit you?"

 "Why, that's right nice of you, Sheriff", I answered, agreeably.

 "Luther, you let Lisa out of that cell - right now, you hear?"
the sheriff told Luther - who didn't hesitate to do just that. In
just a minute or so, Lisa was standing next with us, Lucy's arm
holding her protectively.

 "I'm glad you're such a kind man, Sheriff", I told him before
asking "Now, could my wife and I get our weapons back, you
think?"

 It was the sheriff himself that went over to the locker where
Luther had put our pistols, unlocked it, and got them out so he
could bring them over to us. I quickly got mine repositioned on
my belt, under my shirt in the back. Lucy simply held hers by her
side, her grip on it making it clear that she knew how to handle
it.

 "If there ain't anything else, Mister Andrews?" the sheriff
asked.

 "No, I don't think there is" I replied. The three of us turned
toward the door where we'd been brought in, and Lisa whispered to
us "If you don't take me with you, as soon as you're out of town
I'll be right back here!"

 Lucy gave her a small hug and answered "Don't worry, dear. We're
going to be staying - ALL of us!" - something that had Lisa
looking at her as though Lucy had just levitated off the floor.

 The sheriff and deputy followed us outside, and after we'd
gotten into the Monster, I turned to them and said "You know,
Sheriff, I didn't realize what nice country this is until we got
off the highway. I may just stay around a few days to see the
sights."

 Purdy and Luther both looked a bit crestfallen at that, but
covered it quickly. The sheriff responded by telling me "Why
thank you, Mister Andrews" - as though he had _personally_ come
up with the landscaping design - followed by "We'd sure be glad
to have you as our guests. You pick out what motel you want to
stay at, and we'll take care of the charges just to show you how
sorry we are about this misunderstanding. Would that suit you?"

 "That real generous of you, Sheriff, but this rig is pretty well
fixed up. I expect we'll just find someplace we can park it where
it won't be in anybody's way, and stay here", I answered.

 The sheriff didn't look any too happy about that - which caused
alarms to start going off in my head - but didn't say anything.

 "Well, I guess we'll be on our way, then" I told him, before
closing the door and moving up to the driver's seat.
  Along the way, I saw that in the process of retrieving Lucy's
pistol from her purse, Luther had taken the opportunity to give
the Monster a good going over. He hadn't made a mess of things,
but it was patently clear that he'd gone through pretty much
everything in it.

 Lisa took station in the passenger seat, with Lucy in the jump
seat. I got the engine started, and we headed away from where the
sheriff and deputy were standing, still watching us.

 As soon as we got out of sight of them, I asked Lisa "Where do
you want to go, Lisa? Home? Family? A friend's house?"

 "I think I'd better go back to my Mom's place" she answered, "I
don't think I'd be any too welcome at any of my friend's houses,
and I just wouldn't be happy in mine and Charlie's place."

 "Your mom's house it is. How do we get there?" I asked.

 Over the next few minutes, Lisa carefully navigated us. Along
the way, Lucy called Ira and let him know that things seemed to
be back under control.

 We finally pulled up in front of an old - but well-cared-for -
two-story clapboard house. As we were getting out of the Monster,
a woman came out the front door; when she saw Lisa step out, she
got a delighted look on her face and came rushing toward us. When
she got to us, the first thing she did was throw her arms around
the girl, crying and sobbing. After a couple of minutes, she
finally let go, and stepped back to look at Lucy and me before
asking Lisa "Honey, who are these folks? Why are you with them,
and how come it's them bringing you home?"

 Lisa told her "Momma, this here is Mister Andrews, and his wife
Lucy. They were the ones that picked me up on the highway when I
left and tried to get to Seattle. They wouldn't let the Sheriff
have me, and got took in with me when he caught with me - I mean,
us. Mister Andrews is some kind of big shot, and when Purdy found
out who he was, turned him loose real quick. But Mister Andrews
wasn't going to leave unless I got let go, too. Then he brought
me back here; he's figuring on staying around for a few days - I
don't know why."

 I stuck my hand out, seeing where Lisa had gotten her eyes, and
said "I'm glad to meet you, Mrs. Hammarlund. My name is Dan
Andrews, but please just call me Dan. This is my wife, Lucy".
With the time and opportunity to give her a proper once-over, I
could see where Lisa had gotten her looks.

 "I'm Sarah. I honestly didn't think I'd ever see Lisa again - if
Purdy got her, she'd of just disappeared like some others have;
if she made it to Seattle, I hoped and prayed she'd have enough
sense to just *stay* there and not come back here, ever. I'm glad
to be able to see her again, and if you and your wife are
willing, you're more than welcome to join us for supper tonight.
Say, six o'clock?"

 "We'd be delighted to have supper with you, Sarah", Lucy
answered.

 With that, Sarah happily put her arm around Lisa and the two of
them started toward the house. Lucy and I stood and watched them
go, turning to get back into the Monster only when they reached
the front door.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

 A few minutes before supper, Lucy and I found ourselves standing
on the porch. I barely had time to get my finger off the button
for the doorbell before the door opened and we were being
greeting by a much different looking Lisa. Not only had she
changed into a dress that definitely flattered her figure, but
she'd apparently cleaned up again, and taken the time to brush
her hair out; it fairly gleamed as it framed her pretty face and
those beautiful eyes.

 Seeing us, she immediately got a happy expression on her face
and quickly invited us inside. Once the door closed behind us,
she guided us into the living room that was obviously the room
where 'company' was entertained: it didn't have the 'lived in'
look of an area that the family used routinely.

 When we were seated, Lisa told us "Momma will be be right here;
there's just a couple things she's still got to do."

 Lucy and I both smiled at her before I told her "That's fine,
Lisa. Thank you."

 She hesitated a moment before telling us "Things were so busy
and confusing before, I don't recall if I remembered to thank you
for what you did, or not - so I'd like to make sure by saying it
now: *thank you*. You tried to help me when you gave me a ride,
and you _did_ help me when he came to get me, and even more by
getting me out of there. There ain't enough words to tell you how
much it means to me or how grateful I am; but I want you to know
that I'll never forget it. If there's anything I can do to try
and repay you or make it up to you, I'll be more than happy to do
it." - then looking directly at both of us, she added
"*Anything.*"

 Having said her piece, she excused herself to go and check on
her mother; after she'd left, Lucy looked at me and with a smile
on her face asked "Did we just get offered a bed partner, if we
wanted one?"

 I grinned back and answered "Yeah, I think we did."

 Both of us released a small laugh before turning to where we
could hear Lisa and Sarah coming. A few moments later, and they
came into the room. Sarah had 'dressed up' for the occasion, as
well. Gone were the man's shirt and jeans she'd been wearing
earlier. In their place, she'd put on her own dress that did as
much to flatter her nice figure as Lisa's did. It also revealed
that she had a smooth pair of trim, tanned legs, a nice curve to
her hips, and revealed enough cleavage to make it abundantly
clear that she was female without making her look 'top-heavy'.
She wasn't 'beautiful' in the classic sense of the word, but she
was what I would call 'handsome' - a simple attractiveness that
she would keep well into old age.

 Visibly nervous, she gestured for me and Lucy to sit down, and
told us "Is there anything you folks would like to drink? A pop?
A mixed drink? A beer? Supper is roast beef and all the fixing's,
if that matters any."

 I thought it over for a second and to try and put her at ease
and let her know that Lucy and I were 'just people', answered "A
beer would be just fine, Misses Hammarlund". Next to me, Lucy
nodded to indicate she'd have the same.

 "After what you did for Lisa, please just call me Sarah," she
told us.
 "And we're Lucy and Dan - both of you, please", Lucy replied.

 Both nodded, and Lisa left us to get us the drinks while Sarah
found her own seat.

 "And what was it that brought you and Lucy to Idaho, anyway,
Dan?"

 "It's been some time since Lucy and I have had time to ourselves
- we've got a couple of daughters in college, now - so we decided
we'd both take some time off and take a little 'road trip' to see
the country." I answered.

 "When is your vacation up?"

 "Oh, we've still got a few months left", Lucy answered, "We both
took a year off from our jobs so we could travel and see as much
as possible."

 An obviously surprised Sarah asked "And what kinds of jobs do
you have where you can take a year off and still have them when
you get back?"

 "Lucy is a vice-president with a financial company, and I'm an
independent computer programmer", I answered.

 "Yes, sometimes he's _very_ independent!" Lucy joked - making
Sarah laugh. About then, Lisa returned, carrying a small tray
with four bottles of beer and glasses on it. She carefully set
them down before taking a seat near her mother. All of us reached
out to select one of the bottles - "Moose Drool" was the brand,
of all things. From the corner of my eye, I could see that Sarah
and Lisa were waiting to see if Lucy and I were going to use the
glasses; again, to try and put them at ease, I went the 'just
folks' route, and sat back with the bottle in my hand. A moment
later, Lucy picked up a glass and carefully poured her beer into
it. Lisa and Sarah both opted to skip the glasses.

 "How is it that you wound up here in *Idaho*, though?" Sarah
asked us.

 "Well, we've been traveling around seeing different places. We
were over

  in Montana after going through Wyoming to see the Devil's Tower
and Yellowstone, and figured we were so close, we might as well
hit Canada while we were at it. We were on our way to Seattle so
we could start heading down the coast when we saw Lisa." Lucy
answered.

 Sarah gave a small shudder before telling us "If you folks
hadn't done just _exactly_ what you did, Lisa wouldn't be here
tonight - with me, or anywhere, for that matter."

 Hearing that, Lisa only gave me and Lucy a Significant Look,
emphasizing her previous offer.

 In another part of the house, we heard something make a small
'ding', and Sarah sat up, telling us "That's the timer for the
dinner rolls. If you'll follow me, I think I can fix you up with
some decent food - I expect you might be some tired of fast food
and restaurants."

 "That we are!" Lucy told her, laughing as we all stood up.

 As we got close, I could start to smell the food - and from the
way my mouth started watering, figured that Sarah's cooking was
going to be a more than pleasant diversion from the fare we'd
sampled along the way.

 During supper, we kept the talk light; by unspoken agreement, we
stayed away from how it came about that Lucy and I were there
with them.

 After supper, and after Lucy and I had helped Lisa and Sarah
clear the table over Sarah's protests, we were sitting in the
living room again when Sarah decided to 'get down to business'
again.

 "Dan, Lucy - You seem like real decent folks, and it isn't like
I'm not grateful for what you did for Lisa, and me. I am, more
than I can say. But just who are you that you can not only get
picked up by Sheriff Purdy, and get out scott-free, but bring
Lisa out with you? And why are you figuring to stay here when you
could be on your way to Seattle so you can enjoy the rest of your
vacation? And most of all, what is it that makes you think
there's anything you _can_ do about what's going on here? There's
been plenty of folks before you that have tried to get us clear
of him, and ain't one of them done it yet."

 Lucy and I looked at each other for several moments; I don't
think either one of us was really surprised by Sarah's questions.
Lucy and Sarah had seemed to connect with each other a bit, I
told Lucy "You can tell her, if you want."

 Lucy nodded, and turned back to face Sarah before saying "When
we first got here, I heard Lisa tell you that we're some kind of
big shots. Actually, we're not - I mean, we're not politicians or
movie people, or anything like that. Dan, here, was in the Army;
he got a lot of training and ended up in an outfit that
eventually turned into the Delta Force - he did things like go
into some pretty scary places and rescue people and do other
things. Along the way, he earned a Silver Star and two Bronze
Stars - those are medals given to soldiers when they're
_particularly_ brave. I've heard _about_ some of it - but none of
the real details. A lot of what he did was classified, and he
can't talk about it. Take my word on this: he is very, _very_
good at protecting himself and the people around him. From what
I've heard" - and here I got something of a Look - "there are two
FBI agents that owe their lives to him, and how good he is.

 "After he got out of the Army, he went to college and ended up
with THREE college degrees: he has a Masters degree in computer
science, and Bachelors degrees in Mathematics and Philosophy.
From what I just told you, you can tell that he's not only strong
and brave, but he's smart, too. If you get to know him, I don't
think it will take you long to figure out that he's a LOT smarter
than almost anyone you're ever likely to meet.

 "After I met him, and got an *idea* of what kind of man he is -
I didn't really _know_ until later - I asked him to help me with
a problem I was having with my work. Do you remember several
years ago there was a story about a company that had been taken
over by the Mafia? And that the company was being embezzled so
the executives could run drugs and guns?"

 Sarah though for a moment, then nodded. Lucy went on "That was
us - well, Dan, actually. I was the one that figured out that
something was going on there; but it was Dan that actually
figured out what it was. You know that story a few years ago
where the FBI arrested all those drug dealers all over the
country? They didn't give his name because we've got two
daughters - one of them adopted because the dealers killed her
parents - but the man that made that case for them was Dan. The
dealers tried to kill him *twice* while he was doing it; that was
when he saved those two FBI agents."

 "As for why we're planning to stay, the reason is actually
pretty simple: we've seen what Sheriff Purdy and the deputy are
like for ourselves. Lisa told us why she was trying to get away.
Neither Dan, nor me, thinks those two should be able to do the
things they are. Dan and I both know several different people
that are in law enforcement - a few policemen, and several FBI
agents. We *know* that all of them would want to do something
about what's going on here, if they knew about it, and could.
They aren't here, but Dan and I _are_. You see, Dan told me
during some 'pillow talk' one night why he went into the Army,
and why he's been willing to help the FBi as much as he has:
because he - and me, too, now - believes that there are too many
people being hurt, killed, and abused by THINGS that look like
people, but don't have anything you could call a 'soul' - they
look human enough on the outside, but on the inside, there's
nothing to make them _alive_. All they know is what they want,
and they'll do anything to anybody they have to to get it."

 "Dan and I have already talked about it, and we know that we -
by ourselves - can't do anything to change what's happening here.
But what we - well, mostly Dan - CAN do is enough to get _other_
people involved. Enough of them that we think things not only
can, but *will* change."

 Sarah and Lisa sat there looking at us - well, mostly me - for a
minute or so before Sarah said "That all sounds pretty
impressive. But why should I believe any of it?"

 Lucy didn't bat an eye; she just answered "You SHOULD believe it
because it's true. Whether you DO believe it is up to you. I
can't force you to believe in, or trust, us - and I wouldn't,
even if I could."

 I cleared my throat, and Lisa and Sarah both looked over at me
as I told them "I can appreciate that all of what Lucy just said
might sound too good to be true. So what I'm going to do is ask
you to make a phone call tomorrow."

 "And who would I be calling, Dan?", Sarah asked.

 "You'll be calling any one of four of the people at FBI
headquarters in Washington that can verify some of what Lucy told
you tonight. Their names are" - I waited while Sarah grabbed a
piece of paper and a pencil - "either Amy or Tom Gallery, Clara
Hawkes, and Erika Simpson. I could give you their telephone
numbers, but for all you know, I could just be giving you the
phone numbers of someone else that's just pretending to be one of
these people. If you get the Washington number for the FBI and
THEN talk to them, you'll know that they are who we say they
are."

 I saw Sarah nod at that, and went on to tell her "We haven't
seen a Mister Hammarlund, and you haven't said anything about
where he might be; so I'm going to guess that he's not around any
more for some reason. If that's the case, then I'd expect that
you might not have a lot of money to be making long-distance
phone calls to Washington, D.C. during peak hours. So I'm going
to offer you twenty dollars to cover the cost of the call;
there's no reason it should cost you money to make sure
somebody's being honest with you."

 Sarah gave me an appraising look, and answered "No, there's no
Mister Hammarlund. Bill was his name, and he wasn't real popular
with the Sheriff because he wasn't afraid to talk about things
the Sheriff didn't want mentioned; some years ago, there was an
'accident' out at the lumber mill where he worked, and he got
killed. As for paying for the phone call, that won't be
necessary. I ain't rich, not by a long shot - but Bill, he was
careful to think ahead about his family's future. He had an extra
insurance policy, and he put some of our money into savings and
the stock market and such. He was a pretty sharp man, and did
pretty good, so I've got enough money to keep me comfortable. I
*own* this house, free and clear; otherwise, I'd be as easy
pickin's for Sheriff Purdy and all them as anyone else is. As for
the rest, if you're willing to have me call folks at the FBI,
then I'm thinking that you're telling me the truth; but something
I learned from my hus  band was that there's no such thing as
being TOO careful. I'll be making that call tomorrow, Dan and
Lucy, and talking to you again after I hear what they have to
say."

 Lucy took that as an opportunity to call an end to the evening
for all of us by saying "We'll be looking forward to that, Sarah.
Until then, it's been a long day, and I think Dan and I would
like to get some rest. Would it be okay if we just stayed out
front in the street, tonight?"

 "If you do, there's a chance somebody _might_ take objection,
and bother you about it. You're more than welcome to pull your
rig along side the house, here, and park it. There's plenty of
room for you, and once you're on private property, there ain't
nobody can say anything about it."

 "Thank you, Sarah." Lucy answered.  "No need to thank me. After
what you did for Lisa, I'm just sorry there isn't more I can do.
If you'll go most of the way around the block, so you come to the
west end of the alley, you can come down it and pull up next to
the house. It'll be a little close, but you can make it - before
Bill died, we used to keep our boat next to the house, and did
the same thing to get it parked."

 Lucy and I both stood up, followed by Sarah and Lisa. I told
them "Thank you for the supper - it was delicious."

 "I'm glad you liked it - it's been some time since I've cooked
like that, and had folks enjoy it as much as you and Lucy did",
Sarah replied.

 We made our way to the front door, and wished each other a good
evening before Lucy and I went out to the Monster. Following
Sarah's instructions, we were soon parked and leveled close to
her house; as she'd said, it was a bit close, but we made it.

  -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

 The next morning, Lucy and I unhooked my car from the back of
the Monster and went out for breakfast. The people we met were
friendly enough, and the food at the little cafe we ate at was
pretty good. If somebody didn't know better, they'd think it was
just a happy little town.

 The morning went by quietly as Lucy and I took care of a few
things - some laundry, a little grocery shopping, and so on. We'd
just gotten out of the Monster to go out for lunch when Sarah
appeared from behind her house, saying "I was just coming out to
see you. I called one of those folks you told me about last night
- Amy. When she found out that I was calling about you, and doing
it long distance, she called me back so that I wouldn't have to
pay the long distance bill. I'm glad she did - we were on the
phone for the better part of two hours!"

 Lucy and I smiled, and Sarah went on "Anyway, she told me plenty
about you, Dan - and you, too, Lucy. She wanted to know if there
was any trouble, but I remembered you said you were going to be
the ones that did this, so I told her no. I said that I was just
calling because we'd met and you'd mentioned her, and I just
wanted to get an idea of what kind of people you are. And boy,
did she tell me!"

 Sarah gave me another speculative look, and went on to say "The
way she tells it, you must be some special man, Dan Andrews.
Anyway, there ain't no doubt in my mind, now, that what you told
me about yourselves last night is the truth. I figured it was,
but..."

 Lucy assured her "No, that's okay, Sarah; we understand. As for
Dan, I think you'll find out for yourself just how special he is
- like you said last night, there aren't the words."

 "Well, me and Lisa sat down last night, and she told me what all
this is about - and I've got to admit that I'm more than a little
afraid. Not just for her and me, but for _everybody_ that lives
here. If that bastard Purdy is killing folks now, then ALL of us
have a long row to hoe in front of us if he stays around."

 I spoke up next, telling Sarah "We were just getting ready to go
out for some lunch. Would you and Lisa like to join us?"

 Sarah looked pleased, and answered "I would, and after seeing
Lisa eat last night, I don't expect she'd turn you down, either.
Where were you planning on going?"

 "We had breakfast at a place called the Sidesaddle Cafe this
morning, and we thought we'd see how they were for lunch, too",
Lucy answered.

 Sarah laughed, and said "Yeah, they're good at breakfast, and
sometimes supper's okay there; but for lunch, I think you'll like
the Roundup Grill better. Let me get Lisa; we'll be right back."

 As promised, both of them were ready to go in just a couple of
minutes. We got into my car, and Sarah provided directions to
where we were going. When we got there, I think my Volvo felt
lonely among all the beat-up pickup trucks in their parking lot.

 Once we got inside, it was clear that the Roundup Grill was a
popular place for lunch. We had to wait nearly ten minutes before
a booth opened up; even then, we were seated before the waitress
could get over to wipe the table off for us, then handing us our
menus.

 As Lucy and I were looking it over, Sarah told us "Pretty much
anything they've got here for lunch is good; but if you're hungry
enough, you might want to try the chicken-fried steak."

 Lucy and I casually looked around, and it didn't take us long to
see why Sarah's warning: it looked to me like the cut of meat
they used was approximately the same size as Nebraska.

 Lucy told her "I don't think I'm quite THAT hungry, thank you! I
think I'll just go with one of their cheeseburgers."

 Sarah laughed, and answered "Oh, I don't expect you'll be
disappointed by it, at all" before turning to me to see what I
wanted. I thought it over, and told her "I decided that I might
be hungry enough to do some damage to one of those chicken-fried
steaks", getting another laugh from Sarah.

 It was a couple of minutes before the waitress came over to take
our order; Lisa and Sarah opted for some barbequed brisket. It
wasn't a minute after the waitress left before she was back with
the iced tea that all of us had ordered to drink.

 The four of us sat there quietly for a couple of minutes before
I asked Sarah "Is it just my imagination, or are a lot of the
folks in here giving us the eye when they think we're not
looking?"

 Sarah looked a little perturbed, but answered "No, I don't think
you're imagining it. Me, I'm kind of a pariah around these parts
- what with me not having to answer up to Sheriff Purdy as much
as the rest. I've still got a few friends, and I've got to be a
careful about what I say, and who I say it to, though. That, and
I expect that it's gotten around town that Purdy pulled some
folks in yesterday, and then had to let them go real quick. I
wouldn't be surprised if most of them didn't already figure that
you're the ones; us being seen together, it might make things
some interesting around here for a while."

 "Interesting how", Lucy asked.

 Sarah's look got a little worse, and she said "Oh, I wouldn't
expect any real direct trouble, mind you - but you, and
'specially me and Lisa, might find things not going for us as
good as you might hope they would."

 "How's that?", I asked.

 Sarah hesitated a few moments, then answered "A body might go to
the grocery store, and come out to find somebody done dinged your
car door with theirs pretty bad. Or there might be somebody come
along in the middle of the night and dump your garbage can all
over your yard - just a kid's prank, right? You might find that
the spot where you park your car regular suddenly has a handful
of nails to puncture your tires. That kind of thing."

 Sarah started to tell us more, but the waitress showed up with
our orders. She quickly relieved herself of the burden of my
chicken-fried steak, then Lucy's cheeseburger - which appeared to
consist of about a pound-and-a-half worth of ground beef AFTER
they'd cooked it. What with the bun and fixings, it must have
been a good six inches thick. When she saw what she'd ordered,
Lucy's eyes widened considerably, causing Sarah and Lisa to both
laugh before Sarah told her "I can see I should have warned you
about the burgers, too!"

 Lisa and Sarah's orders of brisket _probably_ weren't more than
a half- to three-quarters of a pound of beef, each. Even from
across the table, it was clear that it was
fall-apart-if-you-breathe-on-it tender, too. And of course, all
of us had a small mountain of home-made French fries.  With my
work cut out for me, I picked up my knife and fork and tucked
into the steak - and a minute later, put the knife back down: the
steak was tender enough that I could cut it with just the fork.

 As we ate, we continued to chat with each other - Lisa and Sarah
told us what it had been like growing up in a Purdy-controlled
county, and Lucy and I told them about our life at home. At one
point, Lisa asked us "So what do you think about the food here?"

 Without even thinking about it, I answered "Beats grubs!" - and
answer that Lucy took pains to explain after seeing the
expressions on their faces. When she was done, both of them were
laughing.

 Along the way, I had a bite of Lucy's burger, and she got a bit
of my steak so that each of us could get an idea of how good the
other's meal was. When we got down to the end of the meal, I'd
managed to put away about three quarters of my steak and perhaps
half the French fries. Lucy got through half of her burger and a
third of her fries. Lisa finished her brisket, nearly all of her
fries, and the few ounces of brisket her mother hadn't finished.
As I sat there trying to decide if I'd ever need to eat again,
Sarah told us "If you want, they'll put what you didn't finish in
a box so you can take it back with you, for later. Don't feel
bad; there's plenty of folks here in town that have to do the
same thing."

 "How in the world can they serve so much food for such small
prices?" Lucy asked.

 Sarah grinned, and answered "Lucy, you're in cattle country;
when the cow you're eating was raised not five miles from here,
and the folks that butchered it have their place a couple blocks
down the street, beef isn't expensive. And this is Idaho - we
GROW those potatoes here."

 By the time we'd finished eating, the place had pretty much
cleared out; there wasn't any pressure or need for us to hurry
about vacating the booth we were in, so we all sat around sipping
our iced tea and quietly talking about what Sheriff Purdy might
be up to - and what might be done about it. Sarah and Lisa were
able to give us some tips on what kinds of things we might look
for, and where to look for them.

 By the time we were ready to leave, I had a pretty fair idea of
what needed to be done - the only question I still had was how
much time I had to do it in.

 -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

 The next couple of days were spent getting things organized, and
getting started trying to collect whatever information we could
on the good Sheriff Purdy and his sidekick. Lucy happily accepted
Lisa's offer to help, and the two of them spent a lot of time in
the County courthouse, going through records. Me, I spent a fair
amount of time in the Monster, using the computer to do much the
same thing Lucy was: gathering information. I also got in touch
with some of the people that I knew had gone into law enforcement
and security to see if any of them could find out anything that
might help.

 Each evening, Lucy and I would have supper with Sarah and Lisa,
then spend a little time with them chatting about different
things.

 After a week had gone by, I wanted to check a few things with
Sarah while verifying what Lucy and Lisa had brought in. I also
wanted to get 'out' a bit, and suggested that the four of us go
out for dinner the next night; all three of the ladies were
agreeable to the idea.

 Sarah and Lisa surprised me by suggesting a restaurant nearly
fifty miles away; when I asked why they wanted to go there, both
admitted that it was a place that Sarah's deceased husband Bill
had taken them for special events.

 The next day, all three of them went 'into town' (a larger city
in a neighboring county) to get 'fixed up'; I happily stayed
behind.

 Lucy and I had gone 'out' a number of times on our trip, and I
had a pretty good idea of what she would be wearing. As I'd
expected, she went with a nice silk suit that showed off her
figure; I wore one of the two suits that I'd brought along. It
was when Lisa and Sarah turned up that I got surprised. Both had
apparently opted for their best dresses, and were made up,
coiffed, and generally loaded for bear. Lisa was wearing a simple
black dress that only came down to about mid-thigh on her,
leaving a nice expanse of attractive leg exposed. Sleeveless, it
was also cut a bit low in the front, showing off a nice amount of
cleavage. For her part, Sarah was wearing something a little
longer that showed her nicely turned calves to good effect. It
was sleeveless, too; though not as low-cut as Lisa's, Sarah had a
bit more bust to compensate. When the Hammarlunds and Lucy saw
each other, there were a few minutes of mutual ooh-ing and ah-ing
before we could get in the car and be on  our way.

 The place that Sarah and Lisa guided us to was pretty well known
in the area, and what we were wearing blended in just fine.
Dinner was a quiet, pleasant time, and I was able to get the
information I was after without messing up the evening's mood.

 That was taken care of for me by the two goobers we found
planted on my car when we left the place.

 "This your car, Mister?" the taller of the two of them
yelled/asked as we got close.

 "Matter of fact, it is", I answered.

 "Ain't Volvo one of those doctor words for a _pussy_?" he
demanded, accompanied by the laughter of his partner.

 "Nope. The word *you're* thinking of is 'peckerhead',
peckerhead."

 That got his, and his partner's, attention. He slid off the hood
of my car and turned to face me. After taking a long swallow from
the oversized bottle of beer in his hand, he said "You know, I
reckon I might just have to whoop your ass, Mister!"

 I looked over to where his partner had slid off the trunk and
was moving over to stand next to him before answering "Well, you
might, I suppose - but I can promise you that you'll EARN it."

 That seemed to give him something to think about for a few
moments before he announced "Yup, I'm gonna ENJOY kicking your
ass all over this parking lot, smartass!"

 I sighed, and told him "Well, don't let the long walk over here
stop you from _trying_".

 He got an indignant look on his face, and the two of them walked
over to where the four of us were standing. Stopping in front of
me, he took another long swallow of beer - then dropped the
bottle and tried to hit me.

 I blocked his swing, then slid my hand down to grab the back of
his; pivoting, I turned him around as I bent his hand forward as
though trying to introduce his fingertips to his elbow. As I
heard his wrist break, I heard the other one release a
sick-sounding 'oooof!'. My dance partner yelled, and drew back
his other arm as though to try and use it to hit me. I slid my
other hand down his arm, and with a sudden sharp push, bent his
elbow the wrong way, accompanied by the sound of bones breaking.
He screamed, and fell to his knees, so I finished up by kicking
him in the pit of the arm I still had hold of, dislocating his
shoulder. When I released him, he fell over onto his side,
moaning.

 I turned to see how Lucy had done, and saw that she'd apparently
kicked HER new friend where his brains were: both hands were
holding his crotch as he tried to throw up between gasps for air.

 All told, the whole 'fight' couldn't have taken five seconds;
behind us, I heard an engine start before somebody yelled "You
sumbitch!" - and the click of a revolver's hammer being pulled
back. Lucy was looking in my direction, and I saw her eyes go
wide as she moved toward where Lisa and Sarah were standing. She
was knocking them to the ground when we heard the parallel sounds
of a pistol being fired and a vehicle accelerating.

 I heard one round impact something; the other didn't seem to hit
anything; I stood back up and drew my pistol. I saw a pickup
truck heading away from us with the driver's pistol-laden hand
still outside the window.

 I emptied one magazine into the fleeing vehicle, replaced it,
and got off a couple more shots before the truck swerved to the
side and ran - without slowing down in the slightest - straight
into a tree some twenty feet farther on.

 Turning back around, I headed for Lucy. She saw me coming, and
began to stand up, telling me "I'm fine, Dan - and so are they",
gesturing to where Lisa and Sarah were just raising their heads.

 My next move was toward the couple that had been behind us as we
left; both of them were still standing; unhurt, but shaken and
stunned.

 A couple minutes more, and the restaurant had emptied as people
came out to see what all the fuss had been about. The manager of
the place saw me with my pistol in my hand, and quickly nodded in
agreement when I said "You'll be wanting to call the law about
this."

 Some twenty minutes later, a Deputy Sheriff's car pulled into
the parking lot, followed a few minutes later by a State Trooper
vehicle. The deputy accepted my pistol with a little bit of
nervousness and secured it in his car. From there, he went over
to have a look at the pickup truck, then came back so he and the
trooper could begin clearing the area; they'd just about gotten
everyone back inside when the Sheriff's vehicle pulled in.

 The Sheriff - John Babcock, according to his nametag - came over
to where we were standing and asked the question of the night:
"So what the Sam Hill is goin' on here?"

 I explained to him what had happened - he looked over to where
the trooper was standing next to the two goobers, calling in an
ambulance for them - and then back to where the pickup truck was
hugging the tree after the engine died.

 "Deputy, go over there and see who's in that truck!" he called
out; the deputy called back "Already did, Sheriff. It's Purdy's
boy, Leroy, deader'n shit. One bullet hole in the back of his
head; back window's gone, and there's more bullet holes in the
windshield, too. Leroy had him a six-gun; prob'ly stole, knowin'
Leroy."

 The sheriff looked at me, and asked "Where you learn to shoot?"

 "Army Special Forces", I answered.

 He got a thoughtful look, and asked "You got a permit to be
packin' that thing around?"

 "Yup. Federal, here in my wallet, if I can pull it out."

 He gestured for me to go ahead, and looked it over carefully
when I handed it to him.

 He finally gave it back, and told me "You just stand there like
you been doing while I check this out..."

 I told him I would, and he left to go talk to the couple that
had been out in the parking lot when everything started. A few
minutes later, he went inside, and I saw him talking to the
restaurant manager and some of the other people that had been
inside.

 After a while, he came back out and went over to talk to the
deputy. I watched as they talked for several minutes before he
came back over toward me.

 When he was standing in front of me again, he gave me an
appraising look before telling me "That fella you shot was Leroy
Schultz. The law around these parts know him pretty good; he's
been some some trouble to us until he did a few years in prison
for burglary and assault before Purdy put him to work. Those
other two are Purdy's boys, too. Now, I don't take kindly to
folks gettin' killed - 'specially not when it's in front of the
place me and my wife used to like to go to eat. But those other
folks over there, they were real plain that those two you hurt
started all this, and that you didn't pull your weapon until
AFTER ol' Leroy got off a couple rounds. And my Deputy, he tells
me that you were real careful not to be doing anything sudden,
and that you were real polite about handing over your weapon. He
also tells me that he's been hearin' that there's somebody
lookin' to see what they can find out about what Purdy's been up
to down there in Claude. That be you, Mister?" be  fore pulling a
pouch of chewing tobacco from his pocket and 'loading up'.

 I nodded, and told him "Me and my wife - she's the one in the
suit - got taken in after Purdy pulled us over while we were
helping the girl over there; that's her mother next to her. I
know a few cops and some FBI agents, and the way he operated
wasn't what I'd call 'law enforcement'. I decided I'd hang around
a bit and see what made him act like a cat trying to cover up on
a linoleum floor."

 The sheriff smiled at my description of Purdy's actions, spit,
and told me "Well, there ain't many of us in these parts that
care for how 'Sheriff' Purdy operates, our own selves. If you can
figure out what he's up to good enough for the *law* to take care
of him, I don't reckon there's many that would complain about it.
I want to make sure we understand each other, Mister Andrews: I
don't like folks getting killed in my county. But it sure sounds
like you only did what you had to, and I can't fault you for
that. I'm goin' to give you your gun back, and not press any
charges. But I don't want any more trouble in this county,
either. Do we understand each other?"

 "We understand each other just fine, Sheriff", I answered.

 "That's good, Mister Andrews. I'll ask you to come up here
tomorrow so we can take a sworn statement from you. Once you've
done that, you and your missus can be on your way any time you
want. Those other ladies with you _might_ have to come up here to
testify when we take those other two to trial, but likely not -
we know those boys pretty fair, too."

 Having had his say, he went over to the deputy's car, got my
pistol, and brought it back to me. He looked on in approval when
I checked to make sure it was 'safe' before putting it back in
the holster.

 Satisfied, he started walking away, turned back toward me, spit,
and said "Now, any ruckus you stir up down there for Purdy, THAT
ain't in my jurisdiction." before giving me a half-grin and
heading back for his car, where he got in and drove off. I think
it would have been a fair statement to say that Sheriff Babcock
might get a little enjoyment out of seeing Purdy get his
comeuppance. One of the few constants I'd seen in my life was the
fact that GOOD cops didn't like BAD cops - *at all*.

 When he was gone, Lucy, Sarah, and Lisa all came over to me, and
the four of us shared a group hug that ended only when Lisa saw
that one of Leroy's bullets had flattened one of the tires on my
car. It was a few minutes work to change it; by the time I was
done, enough emergency vehicles had left that I could back out of
my parking space and head us back to Sarah's place. As we went by
the pickup truck, all of us could see that I'd shot out the back
window, and that there were a number of holes in the windshield,
just as the deputy had said - all of them clustered around where
the driver's head would have been.

 The quiet on the ride home lasted until we got inside Sarah's
house and had all taken a seat around the dining room table. Only
then did Sarah tell us "If I hadn't seen it, I likely wouldn't
have believed it - that two people would be *that* willing to
help folks that were in trouble" - giving me and Lucy a look of
wonder. She looked over at Lisa, then back at us before saying "I
knew you two were trying to help us, and you were trying to watch
out for us - I knew why you were trying to keep you and Lisa
together, Lucy! - but I really didn't _understand_ what it meant
when you told us you couldn't stand to see folks being done wrong
by bad people. Now I do."

 She took a deep breath, and added "Lucy, you told me that I'd
find out for myself just what kind of man Dan is - and I have.
And don't think that I didn't notice that you were the one that
got us down onto the ground where we'd be safe, either - or that
you put yourself between us and that gun."

 With that said, Sarah started quietly crying as she looked from
Lisa to Lucy to me and back again. It was only a few moments
before Lisa joined her, the two of them sitting there looking at
us, tears streaming down their faces.

 Lucy got up and went over to give each of them a hug, and after
she gave me a look that made it clear *I* was expected to help
out, I got up and joined her; both of us trying to console and/or
reassure Lisa and Sarah that everything was going to work out.

 After a while, both of them managed to pull themselves back
together, and the waterworks dried up. Lucy and I went back to
where we'd been sitting, and Lisa told us "Even after you got me
out of the jail and away from the sheriff, I've still been afraid
that he was going to do something. I mean, me and Charlie, we saw
him _kill_ somebody! But you two have been so *nice* and all, I
didn't realize just what it meant, all that stuff you told Momma
that night, about you bein' in the Army and all. But now I really
do *understand* it. I just don't know how Dan can be that good to
Momma and me, and be so strong and tough, at the same time."

 Sarah spoke up, adding "I'm not understanding that part of it,
myself. I mean, Bill was a strong man, and he loved me and Lisa
with all his heart, but there were still times that his bein'
strong got in the way of being lovin', too."

 Lucy laughed softly before telling them "I can understand what
both of you are saying - believe me, I do! When I first met Dan,
I thought he was actually kind of wimpy, and wondered if he might
even be gay! But then a few things happened, and the two of us
actually _talked_ to each other one night, and I started to get
an idea of just how much there is inside him. One of the things
that he told me was that after being in the Army, and doing the
things he did, he didn't figure that he had to 'prove' anything -
that he'd been and done what he needed to. Since then, I've
figured out for myself that a *real* man doesn't have to be
rough-and-tough all the time - that he IS strong and brave where
it really matters: in his heart and in his mind. Most men, they
only get 'macho' or turn into hardasses when they're insecure
about themselves, or they're afraid of something and feel like
they have to make like they aren't. Dan isn't like that - at
_all_. Like I told you that first night  , I've heard *about* a
few of the things that Dan did while he was in the Army, and I
have a pretty good idea of what he did in general. Knowing what
he's already been through, I don't think that he actually gets
SCARED like most of us do." - she held up a hand when Lisa and
Sarah started to say something - "Not that I'm saying he isn't
careful, or that he doesn't think things through, or that he
doesn't worry about things. What I'm saying is that he's already
been through enough OTHER troubles - a lot worse than we saw
tonight! - that the kind of fear and insecurity that makes most
men act up simply doesn't happen with him."_

 Sarah looked at me and asked "What kind of things HAVE you done,
Dan Andrews?"

 "I can't talk about the specifics of where I went and what I did
in the Army", I answered, adding "Let me just say that on almost
every mission I went on, we were either outnumbered and outgunned
by a LONG shot, or in places and doing things where we had to
keep our heads out of our asses if we wanted to have any hope of
getting out in one piece."

 Sarah didn't look very reassured by that, and Lucy told her
"You've got to understand, Sarah, that the unit Dan was in was
what _turned into_ the Delta Force. What they had Dan doing was a
lot of classified stuff in places where he wasn't OFFICIALLY
there. Like I told you, even *I* don't know the details of any of
it; I've only heard some of the stories - without the specifics -
from people that Dan knew, and I've met. Dan is a real stickler
for keeping his word, and unless somebody from the government
tells him it's okay to talk more about what he did, he simply
isn't going to tell _anyone_. I know that it makes ME a little
crazy, sometimes, too!" - that last getting a smile from Sarah.

 Sarah, and Lisa, looked at me in wonder for a little bit before
Sarah gave a little shake of her head and said "I knew that my
Bill was a good man, and I treasured him every day we were
together. But that man sitting there - he's some kind of
_special_. But I reckon you know that."

 Lucy smiled and answered "Yeah, I know it - and sometimes I
wonder what incredible thing I might have done that brought him
into my life."

 I added my own two cents worth by saying "And *I* know just how
lucky I am to have met Lucy, and have her as my wife."

 Sarah and Lisa saw how Lucy and I looked at each other, and both
of them got wistful looks on their faces, realizing just how much
Lucy and I loved each other.

 Sarah sighed, and Lucy and I turned back to look at her looking
at us as she said "Me and Bill, we used to look at each other
like that, too - but nothin' like what you two just were". Lisa
was looking at us, too, and nodded before saying "Me and Charlie,
too."

 Sarah looked at me and asked "Didn't I hear the sheriff tell you
that you had to go back up there tomorrow to give some kind of
statement?" I nodded, and she said "That being the case, I reckon
we'd all best be getting some sleep, tonight, then - here it is,
after midnight."

 Lucy and I nodded, and the four of us stood up; to my surprise,
Sarah came around to where I was and put her arms around me,
giving me a solid hug and kiss on the cheek before telling me
"There ain't words for thanking you, Dan, but I won't be
forgetting what you did tonight, either."

 Lisa followed her mother's example by giving me a hug and kiss,
too, before saying "I won't be forgetting, either, Dan!"

 Both of them looked at Lucy, a little nervous and embarrassed by
what they'd done, and she just told them "Don't worry about it -
I'd want to do the same thing, if I were you."

 Relieved, both of them escorted us to the door.

 Back out in the Monster, Lucy wrapped her arms around me and
gave me a massive hug before telling me "Oh, Dan, I love you so
much, and I'm so proud of you!"

 I hugged her back, of course, and answered "And me, you."

 Lucy released me and stepped back before looking down at herself
and saying "Well, so much for THIS suit!" - it was torn in a
couple of places, dirty, and most definitely ruined.

 I laughed, and told her "Well, I guess if we watch our nickels
and dimes for a little while, you can afford to get another
one..."

 Lucy laughed, too, and said "Well, it was worth it - what this
suit cost is _nothing_ compared to how I'd feel if we didn't help
them."

 That said, the two of us undressed and went to bed - and made
love.

 It started after the two of us got snuggled next to each other,
Lucy 'spooning' in front of me. My hand was cupping her breast
(as usual) when she wriggled her cute fanny against me - rubbing
her ass cheeks against my penis. Naturally, I started to react,
and that only encouraged her to keep at it. Before long, I was
fully erect; when that happened she lifted her leg slightly and
wriggled around some more until I slid between her thighs, to top
of my penis along the cleft of her sex.

 I could feel that she was already a little wet, and as she
started rocking back and forth to slide her labia along my
erection, I could feel her nipple stiffen where it was pressing
against my palm.

 I lifted my head and gently nibbled her earlobe for a little bit
before whispering "Sheesh. Some women. A little gunplay, and they
turn into such _nymphomaniacs_!"

 I could FEEL her smile before she turned her head to tell me
"I'll have you know, sir, that I was *already* a nymphomaniac!
But only for you..."

 I grinned at her, and went back to nibbling on her earlobe as I
started playing with her breast - caressing it, gently squeezing
it, and softly pulling on her nipple. She moaned deep in her
throat, and I could feel her getting even wetter as she continued
to slide herself along my penis.

 As she continued to spread her woman's oils along my manhood, I
extended my attentions to include the back of her neck (something
that *always* got her going), and shoulder. It wasn't long before
I could feel how wet and aroused she'd become, accompanied by her
almost constant moans of excitement. It wasn't much longer before
I heard her gasp "As nice as this feels" - "Damn right!" I
interjected - "I want you IN me! Roll over, and I'll be on
top..."

 That was all the encouragement I needed, and was just a few
moments before she was astraddle my hips, my erect and glistening
penis in her hand as she positioned the head against her opening.
Holding me steady, she slowly impaled herself on me as she
groaned with pleasure. Her pleasure was matched by my own as I
felt myself being enveloped by her hot, wet channel.

 I moved my hands up to cover her breasts, delighting again at
how perfectly they seemed to fit my hands, and how her puckered
areolas and erect nipples pressed into my palms. A few seconds
later, I started moving my hands on them, cupping them to feel
their heft. I gently squeezed them before running my thumbs
across her nipples to make them stand out even more.

 Together, we spend a bit of time enjoying the pleasure we were
giving each other before Lucy slowly raised herself up a ways,
then slowly lowered herself onto me again. A second later, she
did it again as she looked into my eyes and told me "Dear god,
how I love making love with you!"

 She leaned forward, and I cupped her face in my hands before
telling her "I love you, so much more than I could ever say."

 She turned her head to kiss the palm of my hand, and I moved my
hands to cup her smooth, firm ass as I lifted my head to begin
licking and sucking on her nipples. Holding her torso steady so I
could continue nursing at her breasts, she started arching her
hips to slide herself up and down my penis. It wasn't long before
her actions sped up slightly as she got more and more aroused.

 For my part, I was enjoying the hell out of what she was doing,
too - the feeling of the tight ring of her opening slipping along
my manhood, and the way her snug sheath wrapped so tightly around
me when she had me fully inside her. She was amazingly wet
inside, and I could feel the overflow of her juices begin to
saturate my pubic hair, and even trickle down between my thighs;
the scent of her arousal filled my nose and increased my own
desire.

 We continued to make love like that for a long time - slowly,
gently, and most of all _lovingly_.

 It was when I noticed that she was starting to tire a bit that I
reached up and gently pulled her into my arms to tell her "Let
me, now..."

 She nodded, and the two of us kissed, deeply and passionately,
before I rolled us over. I little adjustment, and she was on her
back, her legs spread wide and pulled up to let me enter her as
deeply as possible.

 Supporting myself over her on my elbows, we were able to
continue kissing each other's lips and faces and I started to
move myself in her. Pressing myself into her as far as I could,
I'd hold myself there for a second before sliding back out of her
until only the head of my penis was inside before easing my
erection back into her. A couple minutes of such slow-motion
lovemaking went by before she groaned to me "Oh, god, that feels
so good - but I want *more*!"

 I was more than happy to do as she asked; it wasn't long before
I was sliding in and out of her at a pace that I knew - from the
way she responded - pleased her.

 I don't know how long we made love like that - I only know that
there finally came the time when I felt her tighten around me as
she softly cried out her pleasure and release. The feeling of her
hot womanhood clenching around me as she orgasmed was enough to
stimulate me into my own climax; pushing myself into her as far
as I could, I felt myself washing her womb with my seed. As I
did, I saw her eyes fly open as she called out "Yes! Give it to
me!"

 For a brief moment, I thought I heard a noise outside the motor
home, but it was so soft and so brief that I wasn't sure; then
the passion of the moment reclaimed my attention.

 Lucy and I continued to hold and kiss, each of us satisfied and
happy that we'd been able to give each other such pleasure, and
shared the love we felt for each other.

 Finally, though, my penis softened and shrank enough to pull
free of her; Lucy looked up at me and smiled before saying "That
was *so* nice - but if you don't let me up so I can clean up,
we're going to be sleeping in a wet spot, tonight!"

 "I think it would be worth it; but I know you wouldn't be
comfortable", I answered before raising off of her. She grinned
up at me, and I told her "You stay here - I'll take care of it."

 I went to the small bathroom the Monster had, and dampened a
washcloth with some warm water before grabbing a towel and
heading back. I found Lucy lying there with one hand cupping her
mons, obviously holding our combined juices inside until I
returned. She lifted her hips, and I quickly slid one end of the
towel under her so that it would catch the drainage as I went
about wiping her pelvis and the area between her thighs clean.
Done with that, I dried her off, then took the washcloth and
towel and put them in the hamper we kept dirty laundry in after
cleaning myself off, too.

 Once I was back in bed with her, we reassumed the positions we'd
been in to start with, and soon fell asleep.

 -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

   As had become routine, the next morning Lucy and I went inside
the house to have breakfast with Lisa and Sarah - but to our
surprise, only Sarah was up and moving. She told us "Lisa got to
sleep even later than I did, last night - I think both of us kept
remembering what happened. I don't think she got to sleep before
late; so she's still up there in bed. So it looks like it's just
the three of us for breakfast, this morning..."

   Following Sarah's instructions, Lucy and I took our seats as
Sarah brought out a big stack of waffles, bacon, sausage, and
eggs. As we ate, I noticed that Sarah seemed a bit 'distant' from
us. Apparently, Lucy noticed it, too, because after we'd put the
dishes in the kitchen (something Sarah had tried to object to,
but finally gave up on: Lucy and I helping clear the table) Lucy
asked "Sarah? Did we do something wrong? You seem kind of, well,
standoffish this morning."

   Sarah finished topping off everyone's coffee, then set the
coffeepot aside before answering "No, you didn't do anything
wrong. If anything, *I* did. I ain't going to lie to you, not
after all you've done for me and Lisa. I came down to your motor
home last night to talk to you. I was going to tell you that me
and Lisa had a little bit of a talk after you left last night,
and from what she said, and how she said it, I think she might
have it in her head to try and, well, go to bed with you" - and
with a look at Lucy, added "BOTH of you."

   Puzzled, Lucy asked "So what happened, then?"

   Sarah flushed slightly, and answered "When I got down there, I
started to knock on your door when I heard a noise. I waited a
second, and heard another - then I realized you two were...
busy."

   Lucy nodded her understanding, and asked "Okay, I understand
that. But why are you acting strange this morning? I mean, that
can't be the first time something like that has happened in your
life..."

   Sarah smiled briefly and answered "No, that's not the first
time. What WAS the first for me, though, was that I didn't leave
like I should have. I could hear you two making love in there,
and it sounded like you were enjoying it so much, Lucy, that I
just _couldn't_ leave. It's been so long since I've got any kind
of pleasure like that - at least, not just with myself" - that
last followed by a blush as she realized that she'd just admitted
to masturbating.

   She went on to say "I just stayed there and listened to you,
and kept getting more and more excited; when you finally, uh,
finished, Lucy, I had my own, uh, pleasure just from thinking
about doing that, without even doing anything." - the last part
accompanied by another small blush.

   "Oh, pooh. Don't be ashamed that you make yourself feel good -
ALL of us have done it, and still do it, whether folks admit to
it, or not", Lucy told her before adding "As for the rest of it,
I suppose I could be upset that you listened, but I'm not. You
just told us that it's been a long time since you were with Bill;
if you were able to find some pleasure from it, then I'm just
glad for you, is all."

   Seeing Sarah's continued look of discomfort, Lucy asked
"There's more?"

   Sarah looked at her lap and fidgeted for a few moments before
quietly telling her "Yes, there's more. It wasn't Bill that I was
thinking of - it was Dan!" before looking up to see Lucy's
reaction.

   Lucy reached out and took Sarah's hand before replying "Don't
be embarrassed, Sarah. And you don't have to be afraid that I'm
going to be upset with you. I know that Dan's a pretty special
guy. You aren't the first woman that's wanted to share yourself
with him, and I don't think you'll be the last. I'm only sorry
that you thought you had to be afraid of what I would say. The
only thing I want to know is _why_ you would want to be with
him."

   Sarah was speechless for a few moments, then asked "You're not
upset? That I would think about taking your man to bed?"

   Lucy smiled, and shook her head, before Sarah asked "What
difference would it make why I wanted him, anyway?"

   Lucy answered "Let's just say I'm curious, for now."

   Sarah just looked at her for a few seconds, then said "He's
what I expect any woman thinks of when she thinks about what a
man should be - he's strong, not just in his body, but in his
heart, and spirit. But at the same time, he's so gentle and
patient and _caring_. It took me a little bit to realize it, but
he's so damn *smart*, too - we were talking one afternoon, and he
started telling me about what he was trying to do, and I suddenly
realized that he was thinking about things that *I* should have
thought about, too. He ain't handsome - not like some movie star
or anything - but you look at his face and you can see that he's
going to keep looking the way he does for a long time; and when
you look, you know that there's a _person_ in there, and what
kind. I guess the short explanation is that being who and what he
is, I reckon I've done fallen in love with him", that last
followed by a nervous look at Lucy - then me.

   Lucy just smiled, and said "That's what I wanted to hear.
Sarah, if you love him - and I believe you do - then I wouldn't
mind if you wanted to make love with him."

   Sarah could only sit there, stunned, as Lucy went on to
explain "Sarah, I told you: you're not the first woman to fall in
love with him - for the very reasons that you just told me. And
you're not the first woman that's wanted to make love with him.
He *has* made love with some of those women - I not only know
about them, but _encouraged_ them to do it, too!"

   "How... How can you do that? Let him.. be with other women
like that? Aren't you jealous, or worried that he might leave you
for one of them?"

   Lucy laughed before answering "I can share him like that
*because* I know how he affects women - it's the same way he does
ME. I'm not jealous or worried because I _know_ how much he loves
me, and our girls. Yes, some of the women he's been with have
been younger than I am, and prettier, too - but I know how much
he loves ME, and it's more than I thought anyone COULD be loved.
And I love him, too, just as much. I don't only love him, I TRUST
him. I know that if he's willing to make love with a woman, she's
got to be a good person: honest and trustworthy and all the
things people should be. And I know that if she's that good of a
good person, she'll understand that she's only getting to
'borrow' him for a little while - that after he's made her as
happy as she's ever been, he'll still come home to ME."

   Sarah just stared at her, and Lucy went on "There's something
you have to understand about us, me and Dan: we have a way of
thinking about - and dealing with - people that's a LOT different
than anyone else. There's something I'd like you to do, Sarah -
that's sit there a minute, and think about how you've _seen_ me
and Dan treat other people: waitresses, you and Lisa, and so on.
Then think about WHY we'd treat people that way."

   Lucy and I sat there sipping our coffee as we watched Sarah do
as Lucy had asked. After a few minutes, she gave a small start,
and looked at us before saying "You all treat folks the way they
show you they *deserve*. When you're dealing with a waitress, you
treat her good if she IS good at what she does, and you don't if
she isn't. I think me and Lisa are decent folks, and you treat us
that way. When we left the restaurant last night, Dan dealt with
those two the way they deserved. But you're FAIR about it, too -
the other day, the girl serving us at the Roundup was pretty
busy, so you was more patient with her. Last night, it sounded
like Dan was willing to give those two fellas a chance until that
one said what he did; after that, Dan wasn't cutting them *any*
slack."

   "That's it, exactly", Lucy told her. "We're *absolutely* fair
with people, and treat them the way they SHOW us they _deserve_.
Have you ever helped anybody, just because you didn't think they
were getting a fair deal, or because you thought they deserved
it?"

   "I have. But that's a far piece from what you and Dan are
doing, Lucy!"

   "Is it? Do you _really_ think it's different?"

   Sarah stared at Lucy for a few moments, then said "Okay, it's
not different, as far as taking the time to help someone. But how
MUCH you're doing to help! You gotta admit, THAT'S different!"

   "Of course it is. But when you helped someone, did you ever go
a little out of your way to do it? Did it ever cost you anything
- even if that cost was something you were willing to pay?"

   Sarah started to speak again, stopped, then said "Yes, to both
questions."

   "The difference between what you were doing, and what WE'RE
doing, is that we HAVE more, and can DO more, wouldn't you
agree?"

   That shut Sarah down for a few seconds before she grudgingly
admitted "There ain't no doubt that you got more, or that you can
*do* more." - then, a moment later, with wonder in her voice
asked "What kind of people are you, that you're willing to do
things like helping the FBI like you did, and even folks like me
and Lisa?"

   Lucy smiled, and said "If you'll think about it, you already
_know_ what kind of people we are. And NOW we're to the point
where I can tell you that if YOU want to make love with Dan, too,
you're welcome to, with my permission and encouragement, if he's
willing."

   Sarah sat there and blinked a few times as she thought about
what Lucy said about her already knowing what kind of people we
were; Lucy and I both knew when she got to the part about being
welcome to make love with me when she suddenly gasped, and looked
back and forth between us for several seconds. She finally pulled
herself together (again) and asked Lucy "You... You'd let me be
with him? Just like that?"

   "It's not _quite_ 'just like that', if you'll remember how
we've been talking, but yes. You said something yourself last
night about how Dan and I look at each other, and how much we
love each other. Do you really think that I'm afraid he's going
to drop me for another woman? Any woman?"

   After mulling that one over for a few seconds, Sarah admitted
"No, I don't think he'd EVER do anything like that, no how, no
way." Then, a second later, Sarah turned to me and asked "What do
YOU think about all this, Dan?"

   I smiled, and told her "When I look at you, I see a woman
that's had some pretty hard times and is still standing up for
herself and fighting for what's hers. I see a woman that's got
nerve and courage and compassion. I see a woman that has enough
sense to know what she knows, and isn't afraid to listen, and
learn what she _doesn't_ know. If you wanted to make love with
me, I'd be delighted by the opportunity."

   As Sarah sat there looking at me, obviously stunned; we could
hear Lucy laugh at the expression on her face, followed by Lucy
telling her "Sarah, what Dan just told you is *exactly* how he
sees you - and I can promise you that he finds you physically
attractive, too, even if he didn't say it."

   Sarah turned to Lucy again, and asked "Why wouldn't he say
so?"

   "Because how a woman looks isn't the important thing to him.
What matters - to him, and to me - is what another person is like
on the _inside_, not the outside."

   "But how can you know that he thinks I'm pretty?" Sarah asked.

   "Because Dan and I both think the same way about women, and
*I* think you're pretty, too."

   It took a few seconds for that to sink in before a re-stunned
Sarah asked "You... you've been with women, too?"

   Lucy answered "Yes, I've been with women, too. When you were
growing up, didn't you and another girl ever experiment with each
other? Practicing kissing boys, and such?"

   Sarah replied "Of course we done some of _that_ - but it ain't
the same."

   "No, it's not the same. But didn't you get 'feelings' when you
were doing it? Didn't it feel good, whether it was another girl,
or not?"

   Hesitantly, reluctantly, Sarah answered "Yeah, I had some
'feelings', as you put it. And yeah, it felt good, even though it
was another girl. But still..."

   "But still, it's feeling good and having pleasure. If you and
the other person are both doing it because you WANT to, and it
feels good, is anyone being hurt? And if no one is being hurt,
and it feels good, can it _really_ be all *that* wrong?" Lucy
responded.

   Thinking it over, Sarah finally answered "You put it that way,
I reckon it can't. But I don't know if I could ever do anything
like that, though - I never done it, and I wouldn't know what to
do, and I'd be too dang nervous about the whole thing to get any
pleasure out of it, I expect."

   Lucy just smiled, and said "You'd be surprised how easy it is,
when it gets down to it. But you still haven't said whether or
not you'd like to be with Dan."

   Reminded of what track the conversation had been on before it
was derailed, Sarah gave both of us a surprisingly shy look
before answering "It being okay with you, Lucy, and Dan being
willing, I reckon I *would* like to be finding some pleasure with
him."

   "That's fine, Sarah. I've got some research to do at the
library, and I can use Lisa's help; I don't expect we'd be back
before suppertime, anyway, but I'll make we stay out that long
just to be sure. Dan still has to go make his statement, and I
wouldn't be surprised if that took most of the morning, so how
about if Lisa and I leave after she's had some breakfast? Then
you can have some time to get ready before Dan gets back?"

   Sarah smiled and said "I can't believe I'm getting help from a
married woman about how I can take her man to bed, but that
sounds just fine."

   Lucy smiled, too, as I did, before she replied "Good. That's
what we'll do, then."

   Sarah stood up, and told us "Dan, you'd best be on your way,
if you're going to be going. I'll go upstairs and get Lisa up so
you can get your work done, too, Lucy", before turning and
leaving us.

   Lucy and I shared a smile and laugh, knowing that we were
probably going to change Sarah's definition of what a friend was.

   Lucy and I were heading for the front door when we saw Lisa
and Sarah coming down the stairs; Lisa gave us a smile - but
nothing like the one Sarah shared with us.

 -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

   It was after lunch when I got back from giving my deposition
to Sheriff Babcock. I went into the house to find that Sarah had
obviously taken the time to prepare herself by changing into a
blouse and skirt, doing something with her hair, and unless my
nose deceived me, adding a little perfume. It was equally obvious
that she was very nervous, too.

   She'd gotten up from the chair she'd been in when I came in,
and was standing there fidgeting slightly as I walked over to
her. Her head only came up to my chin, and I looked down at her
and said "It's okay, Sarah. You don't have to be nervous or
afraid; everything's going to be fine."

   She smiled up at me, nervously, and said "That's easy enough
for you to say, Dan Andrews. I've never done this before, though
- not making love with a man that wasn't my husband, and in broad
daylight, too."

   I put my hand under her chin to steady her before tilting my
head down to kiss her - on the forehead, to her surprise. Looking
into her eyes, I told her "See? There's nothing to it."

   Shyly, she told me "Okay, you made your point - you ain't
gonna just jump on me and have at it. But I'm still nervous about
all this."

   "Sarah, there's nothing to be nervous about. No, I'm not going
to just jump on you and have at it. You have to understand that
what we're going to do is make _love_. No, I don't mean that I
love you the way I do Lucy - you know it, I know it, and Lucy
knows it. But I *do* love you - for the very things I told you I
see in you, this morning. You're what, 35 years old?"

   She gave me a playful slap on the arm, and said "Oh, go on,
you. Lisa's nineteen years old, and I didn't have her until after
Bill and I had been married some years. I'm coming up on my 40th
birthday."

   I grinned, and told her "Whatever age you are, you've still
been in this town a lot longer than I have, and as much as I've
taken a dislike to Purdy, I'm sure you must want to be rid of him
even more. But you've stayed here and put up with his nonsense,
fighting him when you could, and standing up to him, a whole lot
longer than I've had to. That takes guts - and courage like that
is something I admire in _anybody_. On top of that, you haven't
let what's happened here get you down, or tear you up. You're
still on your feet, and still fighting. If you were a man, I'd
*still* love you - but I wouldn't be able to show it to you the
way I can with you as a woman."

   Sarah listened to that, and had settle down considerably when
I lowered my head to kiss her again - this time on the lips;
softly and gently and chastely. When I lifted my head again, I
could see in her eyes that she accepted that I DID love her, and
was willing to love me back, to the same degree.

   I put my arms around her, and after only a brief hesitation,
she reciprocated.

    She tilted her head up, letting me know that she was ready to
be kissed again.

    We did, and after a bit, I felt her lips part, followed by
her tongue hesitantly touching mine. I opened my mouth to her,
and our tongues introduced themselves to each other. Before long,
they were dancing in each other's mouths, their activity speeding
up as our respective passions were kindled.

   When we finally pulled apart again, Sarah was slightly
flushed, and told me "I don't know what it is about you, Dan, but
you're getting me going like I haven't done for some years!"

   I smiled at her and answered "It isn't me doing it - it's YOU.
All I'm doing is giving back to you what you're willing to share
with me."

   She looked at me, surprised, and asked "It's ME doing this?"

   "Yes, it's you. I'm just helping out, is all" I replied.

   "Then show me just how much you can help!" she commanded,
reaching up to pull my head down for another kiss.

   As our tongues began to dance again, I moved my arms from
around her to let my hands rest on her hips; from there, I began
caressing her body: sides and back, gradually expanding my touch
until it included her buttocks and breasts - something that
caused her to moan softly into my mouth.

   When our lips parted, she looked up at me with her desire
clear on her face as she softly panted.

   "I sure hope you can finish what you started, Dan!" she
whispered to me.

   "I think I can", I reassured her, smiling.

   She searched my face, and finally said "Yeah, I expect you can
- and I want to find out!" before taking me by the hand and
leading us to the stairs, and then on up to her bedroom. Inside,
she released me to close the door behind us. When she turned to
face me again, I could see that she was a little afraid, and more
than a little shy. I walked over to her and kissed her on the
forehead again; she responded by pulling my head down for another
kiss that soon ended as the last one had - leaving her panting
softly and flushed with desire.

   Looking up at me, she said "I ain't never done this before -
making love in the daylight, and all. It's been some time since I
was Lisa's age, and I know that I'm not as pretty as I used to
be. And there's never been any man that's seen and known my body
except my husband, so I'm some scared by all this."

   I told her "Don't be afraid. Be happy and proud knowing that
you ARE loved, and that men DO find you attractive and
desirable."

   With that, I lowered my head to kiss her; when we were done, I
cupped her face in my hands and told her "Sarah, I know that
you're a loving woman, and I'm honored that you would share some
of that love with _me_. If you're willing, and you'll let me, I
can help you find happiness and pleasure."

   Looking at me steadily, she answered "I AM willing, and I DO
want you to."

   With that, she reached for the buttons on her blouse; I
quickly covered her hands with mine, telling her "Let me do that
- I *like* unwrapping presents!" - getting a smile from her as
she let her hands drop to her sides.

   Carefully, I began undoing the buttons, and as each bit of her
skin came into view, I would place a small, soft kiss on it
before moving on. By the time I had all the buttons undone, she
was panting softly and holding my head in her hands. I slowly
opened her blouse to find that she was wearing a bra much like
the one Lisa had revealed in the Sheriff's office - half-cups
that did nothing to cover her half-dollar size areolas, and
small, pink nipples. I moved behind her and slid the blouse of
her shoulders, then laid it across the back of a chair before
turning back to put my arms around her and cup her breasts in my
hands. She pressed her breasts into my hands, and I let my
fingertips begin playing with her nipples, feeling them erect
under my touch. After a minute or so, I reached between her
breasts to unfasten the bra, then slid it down her arms so it
could keep the blouse company. When I was behind her again, I
could see that her breasts were full and rounded, only fai  ntly
sagging because of her age and childbirth. I happily cupped them
in my hands again, softly caressing and squeezing them as I began
kissing her neck and shoulders.

   It took only a coupe of minutes before she was panting again,
her hands over mine as she guided my attentions on her breasts.
   I finally began expanding my exploration of her body,
extending the touch of my hands to include her belly and waist
and hips and sides; eventually, I moved to where her skirt was
fastened. When she felt me touching there, I felt her tense
slightly for a moment, then accept what I was going to do.

   It was only a few moments before I was slowly sliding her
skirt across her hips and down her legs - and discovering that
she was wearing a thong instead of panties, and that the only
thing holding up the stockings she was wearing was their
understandable attraction to her legs. In front of me, I saw the
delightful globes of her ass - rounded and obviously firm.

   After she'd stepped out of the skirt, I tossed it over on top
of her blouse and bra, then leaned forward to give each of her
wonderful ass cheeks a soft kiss, surprising her. Putting my
hands on her hips, I gently guided her to turn around before
slipping my fingers under the waistband of the thong. Looking up
into her eyes, I could see that she was apprehensive - but
willing. Smiling at her first, I lowered my head again as I
started easing the thong down her body - and revealing the small,
dark wedge of pubic hair that covered her mons. From the look of
it, she didn't trim it; it appeared to be naturally short and
dense, coming only a short distance onto her lower belly. When
the thong had joined the rest of her clothes, I leaned forward
again to place another soft kiss on her - at the very edge of her
pubic thatch. Placing my hands at her ankles, I slowly and softly
drew my hands up one of her legs until I was at the top of her
stocking. Moving carefully, I gently rolle  d it down her leg
until I was able to slip it off her foot; then I went back and
did the same thing for its mate. By the time I was done, the
faint scent of her arousal let me know that my actions were
having the desired effect.

   Standing up again, I deliberately let her see me looking at
her nude body; in reply to the slightly nervous questioning look
on her face, I told her "You're beautiful." - which visibly
relieved her.

   Stepping back, I reached up to undo my own shirt buttons
before she asked me "Can... can I do that?"

   I smiled and lowered my hands to my sides in answer.

   Without hesitation, she stepped close to me and began undoing
the buttons on my shirt. When she'd gotten them all, she opened
it up, revealing my torso - and some of the scars that I'd earned
while in the Army. She looked up at me in sympathy for what she
knew I must have felt, then reached out to trace each one before
leaning forward to give it a soft kiss. That done, she went on to
caress my body - chest, shoulders, and waist before slipping my
shirt off and putting it with her things.

   When she was finally ready to continue, her hands were
trembling slightly as she reached for the buckle of my belt; but
she took a deep breath and settled down, and soon had it
unfastened. She then fumbled a bit when trying to undo my pants.
I sucked my gut in a little to help her, and she looked up to
smile at me before getting them undone, too. She carefully took
hold of the tab of my zipper, and resolutely pulled it down.
Slipping her thumbs under the my waistband, she began to slide my
pants off, kneeling as she did. When the waistband cleared my
under shorts, I heard her gasp softly when she saw the bulge in
them. When they were clear of my feet, she set my pants on the
seat of the chair where I'd put her clothes; otherwise, the
weight of my pistol would have pulled them onto the floor.

   She knelt there, looking at my shorts, for several seconds
before gathering up the nerve to reach out and slide her hands
inside the waistband. Another deep breath, and she began sliding
them off - gasping loudly and hesitating as my penis and balls
slipped free. A moment later, she finished sliding them down my
legs, and I stepped out of them. My shorts joined my pants, and
she turned back to look at my flaccid manhood. After a bit she
looked up at me, then back down to my penis, before leaning
forward to kiss the edge of my pubic hair - just as I'd done to
her - before standing up again.

   Taking her into my arms, I gave her a hug and kiss before
saying "There, now, that wasn't so hard, was it?" with a smile.

   She grinned back and replied "No, not as tough I was afraid it
would be."

   Taking her hand, I gestured that she should take the lead in
getting us over to her bed; once there, she released her hold on
me long enough to pull the covers down before turning back to me.

   Taking her hands in mine, I kissed each of them then guided
her to lay down on the bed, and lie down on my side next to her.

   I reached out and put my hand on her belly as I looked into
her eyes, and told her "If you're really afraid, or if you think
you're too nervous, we can stop this. The _last_ thing I want to
do is hurt you, or make you afraid, or do anything that would
cause a problem for you."

   She smiled at me, and confidently told me "No, I'm not afraid
or too nervous. The way you've been, I know you're not going to
do anything to hurt me, or rush me. The only problem I'm going to
have is if we *don't* finish this!"

   I smiled back and said "You said you've never done anything
like this before" - she interrupted me to say "Me and Bill, I
guess you could say we were 'old-fashioned' - maybe even boring.
There's a lot of things that I've heard about, that we never
did."

   I went on to tell her "If you want, we can try some of those
things - _together_. I'm not going to be upset with you even a
*little* bit if there's ANYTHING that you don't want to do. We're
here to make LOVE, and if one of us is doing something we don't
WANT to do, then what's happing isn't love. If I start to do
something you don't want me to do, tell me, and I'll stop - no
problem, and no hurt feelings. The same way, if there's something
you DO want me to do - or do yourself - then don't be afraid to
say so, or do it. Okay?"

   She smiled again, and happily nodded her understanding and
agreement.

   With that out of the way, I lowered my head to kiss her - and
was surprised when I felt her take my hand and move it up to her
breast. Thus encouraged, I gladly started caressing it, and
toying with her nipple for a little bit, before moving my hand to
tend to the other as we continued kissing.

   After a bit, I diversified my kisses to include her throat and
shoulders and next and ears - and it wasn't long before she was
panting and flushed with arousal. When I saw that, I began easing
my way down her body, kissing along the way, until I got to her
breasts. Taking a nipple between my lips, I gently pulled on it
as I flickered my tongue across it's tip before releasing it to
'snap' back into place. Placing my mouth over the end of her
breast, I softly 'inhaled' it, sucking on her puckered areola and
'chewing' on her nipple - actions that had her hands in my hair
as she held my head in place so I didn't stop too soon...

   I went back and forth, from one breast to the other and back
again, delightfully doing whatever I could to bring her dark pink
nipples to attention as my hand caressed its way down her body to
the dark thicket covering her mons. When my hand first slid
between her legs, I heard her gasp before she readily opened her
legs to give me access to her mound, and the treasure between her
thighs.

   My mouth was filled with her breast when I slowly traced a
finger between her wet and engorged labia; she lifted her hips in
response to my probing, letting me know that continued contact
was MORE than welcome.

   My next touch was a little deeper, eliciting a groan from her,
and a little longer - long enough that I was able to feel the
nubbin of her clitoris, something that stimulated her into crying
out in pleasure.

   In short order, she was moaning almost constantly, her pelvis
lifted completely off the bed as I let my fingers explore her
womanly charms.

   When I had both of her nipples at full erectness, I raised up
to share a long, deep kiss with her before kissing my way down
her body again - and surprising her, I think, when I didn't stop
at her breasts.  When I got past her navel, she asked "What are
you fixin' to do, Dan?", her tone of voice letting me know that
she pretty much knew the answer.  "I was hoping that you would
let me show you another way that a man and woman can enjoy each
other's bodies", I replied  Looking doubtful, she told me "I... I
heard of it, but me and Bill, we never did anything like that. I
don't know that I want you doing that - I always thought it
sounded kind of... dirty, or wrong. And I've never had anyone see
me, down there."
 I smiled to her, and said "Sarah, I promise: it's not dirty. And
it's not wrong, if I do it because I _want_ to - and I do! - and
you're willing. Before you say 'no', how about if you let me do
it for a little, and THEN decide if its really dirty or wrong?"
 Talking to herself, I heard her say "Lord knows, I been wrong
before." before answering "You'll stop if I say to?"
 I assured her I would, and after a small nod from her, I
continued where I left off.
   Eventually, my lips found their way to her pubic fleece, and
beyond. AsI started to move between her legs, she spread them for
me, opening herself to my perhaps dubious mercies.       When I
had a clear view of her pubis, I stopped for a few moments to
look at her - the way her cleft was visible underneath the dark
soft mat of her pubic hair; how her short, slightly-thick labia
were glistening with the moisture that had escaped her; how her
clitoris was making an appearance under its cloak of flesh. I
lifted my eyes to look at her, and saw that she was a trifle
apprehensive; I quickly told her "Thank you for sharing this with
me - a woman's flower in full bloom" - something that obviously
surprised - and delighted - her.

   Lowering my head again, I extended my tongue and drew it up
through her cleft, between her labia - accompanied by her gasped
"Oh, god, that feels so good!"

   I happily licked up the overflow of her oils - light and
musky, but somehow sweet, too - before applying myself to finding
out just how deep her previously-hidden sensuality ran: using my
lips to gently 'nibble' on her labia; putting my whole mouth over
her opening and softly sucking; fluttering my tongue across her
rapidly-erecting clitoris; pressing my stiffened tongue into her
opening and though making love to her with it; taking her
clitoris and softly sucking on it. It seemed that everything I
did had a positive effect on her - I was softly circling her
clitoris with my tongue when her legs suddenly tightened around
my head as she cried out in orgasmic release.

   Even as massive waves of pleasure were coursing through her
body, I continued to stimulate her - not just her clitoris, but
her labia and vaginal opening, too. Only when her legs fell away
from my head did I raise my head to look at her and see that she
was still deep in a post-orgasmic bliss.

   I moved up to lie next to her again, taking her into my arms
and gently caressing her as she slowly recovered from what had
obviously been a powerful climax. Eventually, her began to stir,
and a bit later, her eyes flew open. Seeing me lying there
holding her, she threw her arms around me and pulled me down for
a kiss before she realized that the wetness on my face was
_hers_. Only after our kiss ended did she seem to realize that
she'd gotten a sample of her own juices. Blushing, she licked her
lips, and asked "That's what I taste like? Down there?"

   I grinned and answered "Yes. From the expression on your face,
I think maybe you know why I like to do that, now" - earning
myself another blush before she said "It... It's not what I
thought it would taste like."

   "If you think you want to try, I know that Lucy would be
willing to help you decide if you really like it, or not."

   Sarah looked at me doubtfully as she said "I don't know if I
could do that. I've never done anything like that before - being
with another woman, I mean. I wouldn't know what to do!"

   I took her hand and kissed it before answering "From what Lucy
has told me, it's actually pretty easy - whatever feels good to
you, do it to the other woman."

   Sarah's look told me she wasn't too sure about that idea, and
I let the matter drop to ask her "So, do you think that's
something you might like to try again, sometime?"

   She gave me a positively radiant smile before answering "Yeah,
I think I'd like that!"

   I grinned at her, making her blush again.

   We lay there together for several minutes as she got herself
together   again. I knew she was ready to start up again when I
saw her hesitantly reach toward my penis, then stop. I told her
"Sarah, it's okay. If you want to touch me there, you can. I
don't mind, really!"

   She gave me a shy grin, and said "I don't reckon you would,
either!" -

    then a moment later asking "I... I never really got to *look*
at a man before. Me and Bill, well, like I told you, we were a
bit old-fashioned that way. Is it okay?"

   "Of course it is. Look, touch - do whatever you want to. This
is YOUR time. If you do anything that doesn't feel good - which I
know would be by accident - I'll let you know. Go ahead, take
your time, and enjoy yourself."

   Looking like a kid that had just been told she could have ice
cream before supper, Sarah didn't delay moving around to where
she could not only touch me, but get a good look at me, too.

   For the next several minutes, I waited patiently as she first
took a good look at all my workings, then used her hands to start
moving things around. She was gentle and careful, and never did
anything that was deven the slightest bit uncomfortable.

   Of course, once she started touching, it wasn't all that long
before I started to respond. When she was satisfied, she wrapped
her hand around my erect penis before telling me "You feel like
you're about the same size as Bill. Are all men this big?"

   I laughed, and she started to look hurt until I told her
"Honestly, Sarah - I'm about average in size. There are some men
that are smaller, and some that are bigger. It's kind of like a
woman and her breasts - there are a very few that are really
small, and a very few that are really big; all the rest kind of
fall in between somewhere, with most pretty close to the middle."

   She nodded her understanding, and began softly stroking me.

   After a little bit of that, she gave me a devilish look and
tilted her head down to kiss the head of my penis before looking
to see what my reaction was. I just smiled, and reminded her
"Remember, I said you could do what you wanted to, and I wouldn't
be upset with you. Now I'll tell you that you won't surprise me,
or offend me, either."

   Content that I wasn't going to be grossed out or think badly
of her, she turned back to where she had my erection in her hand,
and tentatively stuck her tongue out to taste it. Satisfied that
it wasn't as bad as she'd likely been afraid it would be, she
didn't hesitate to open her mouth and take the head inside.

   "That will feel better for me, and be easier on you, if you'll
use some of your saliva to keep things slippery", I told her. She
gave me a small nod of her head, and I felt her using her tongue
to do as I'd suggested.

   She was hesitant, at first - not knowing what to expect. But
as she continued, I gave her plenty of feedback on how different
things she was doing felt to me. After a bit, she let me slip
from her mouth and continued to use her hand, eventually
resulting in a drop of pre-cum on the end of my penis. She paused
and looked at it for a few moments before asking me what it was.
I told her, then went on to explain that if she kept doing what
she was, then I would climax.

   "That's when you squirt your juice, right?" she asked.

   I agreed that that was what happened, and said that if she
wanted that to happen, she could either continue using her hand
on me, or if she wanted, she could go back to using her mouth.
She looked a bit doubtful at that, asking "Wouldn't you squirt in
my mouth, then?"

   I said that that was one possibility, and she said "I don't
think I'm quite ready for THAT to happen, yet", apologetically. I
assured her that was fine, and said that if she wanted to get an
idea of what it tasted like, then she could find out from the
little sample she could see. She thought it over for a few
moments, then touched her finger to it before slowly putting it
in her mouth. She got a thoughtful look on her face and said "I
guess it's not so bad. A little salty, but okay", blushing
slightly.

   I smiled and told her she was doing just fine, which seemed to
reassure her.

   Then she gave me a Look, and said "If you're going to squirt
someplace, I want it to be in ME!"

   I smiled and told her "I think I'd like that better, too!" -
making her smile.

   She suddenly sobered, and told me "The first time I was with
Bill, it hurt me some, inside. I know that was because I was a
virgin when we married; but I also know that it was because I'd
never had a man inside me before, and I was a lot smaller inside
than Bill was on the outside."

   I nodded my understanding, and she went on "I'm thinking I'm
kind of in that situation again - its been over five years since
Bill died, if you know what I mean."

   "I DO understand, Sarah - and the last thing I want to do is
hurt you. But we can do things so that you don't have to be hurt,
now. If you want to move over on top of me, we can use our mouths
on each other; then when you think you're ready, YOU can be on
top, so that you're in control of how fast I'm inside you."

   She thought that over for a second, then nodded, saying "I
understand what you're saying. Yeah, I think I'd want to do it
that way." Putting words into action, she moved around so that
she could lift one leg and settle herself over me, leaving us in
the classic '69' position - something she asked and I verified
before she lowered her head to take me into her mouth again.

   Over the next few minutes, she slowly applied herself to
keeping me erect as I delighted in being able to again sample her
nectar and bring her to arousal - and beyond, as I tongued her
through another climax; when she'd recovered from it somewhat,
she eagerly resumed where she'd left off. She finally released me
from between her lips again to tell me that she was ready, I
greeted her announcement with mixed emotions - regret that I had
to stop what I was doing, and anticipation of what we'd be doing
next!

   Sarah remembered what I'd told her about using her saliva to
keep things slippery; she left a coating of it on my penis when
she moved to turn around and position herself straddling my
waist.

   Looking down at me, she asked "What do I do now?"

   "Get hold of me, and move yourself into the right position.
When you're ready, just start sitting down on me. If it hurts or
feels uncomfortable, you can stop and wait. Once I'm inside you,
if you'll lift up a little every now and then, it will help
spread your wetness around and keep you comfortable."

   She nodded her understanding, and reached down to take hold of
my penis, lifting it up to position it. She realized she needed
to adjust her position a trifle, and did. Lifting up slightly,
she slid the head of my penis between the folds of her labia and
lowered herself again so that I was pressing against her opening.
Tentatively at first, then with more confidence, she began to
press herself down on me. After a few tries, I could feel myself
starting to slip into her; she could feel it, too, and let a
little more of her weight press down on me. A couple seconds
later, I slipped through the incredibly tight ring of her opening
accompanied by a small gasp from her as she quickly stopped her
descent to hold herself steady over me.

   I reached up to put my hands on her hips, applying just enough
pressure for her to know that I was only trying to steady her.
She gave me a smile, and started to press herself down - gaining
perhaps an inch before stopping again.

   "Are you okay? You're not hurt or anything are you?" I asked.

   "Oh, no, I'm just *fine*. You feel so BIG in me, but it
doesn't hurt, or anything", she replied.       She waited a few
more moments before lifting herself up, then settling back down -
and settling a full two inches farther onto me. I could feel how
amazingly tight she was - it was almost as though she were a
virgin, she was so small inside.        But she was also
incredibly wet, which must have been what made it possible for
her to slide onto me so easily. I knew she was being stretched
inside, but she didn't show any signs of pain or discomfort, so I
just let her continue at whatever pace she set for herself.

   A minute or so later, she repeated the cycle, ending with
another inch of my manhood buried in her tight, wet sheath. This
time, she waited a bit longer before raising up a bit and
settling down - stopping only when her ass was firmly planted on
my thighs: as she settled down, I heard her say "Dear Lord, how
I've missed this!"

   With my penis firmly embedded in her, there wasn't any need
for me to hold her hips any more, and I gladly moved my hands up
to cover her breasts - something she appreciated, too, since she
covered my hands with hers and squeezed, letting me know that she
wanted me to play with them.

   So I did, grateful for the opportunity to distract myself from
the incredible sensations that her every motion and movement
generated around my manhood.

   As I cheerfully played with her breasts, Sarah was going about
the process of getting used to having me inside her, and
(re?)discovering how to control and use her vaginal muscles.

   Finally, though, she was ready to become a more active
participant in our love-making: raising herself up until only the
head of my penis was inside her, she then slowly lowered herself
back down, moaning softly as I again filled her. A pause of a few
moments, and she did it again - her head thrown back in pleasure
as she impaled herself on me. Over the next several minutes, her
actions over me slowly increased in speed as the lengths of her
movements grew shorter; it wasn't long before she was in almost
constant motion as she slid herself up and down nearly half my
length, groaning and gasping in pleasure and arousal as the
liquid sounds of our coupling filled the room.

   Her face and shoulders were flushed with her excitement when
she finally settled down on me again; looking at her, I could see
from the fine sheen of perspiration on her that she was tired
from her efforts. I managed to get her attention, and asked
"Would you like to try something else now, so that you're not the
one doing all the work?"

   She managed to grin at me before gasping out "This can't be
work - it feels too good!"

   I grinned back, and said "That's true - so would you like to
take a rest and let ME be the active one, then?"

   She nodded, and asked "What do you want to do now? Or should I
ask HOW do you want to do now?" - the last with a bawdy smile.

   "How about if you get on your hands and knees, and I get
behind you?" I asked.

   She considered it for a moment, then said "That's the one they
call 'doggie style'?" - I nodded, and she went on "I always
thought that looked kind of... sexy. I'd like to try it!"

   Reluctantly, she lifted herself up again - far enough that my
penis pulled free of her with a soft popping noise. She blushed,
but didn't let it slow her down from moving more to the middle of
the bed and leaning forward until she could support her torso
with her arms. I quickly sat up, then kneeled and moved behind
her; the sight she presented me with her nicely curved ass
sticking out and the glistening petals of her vaginal lips
readily visible amid her pubic hair. I paused for a moment to try
and memorize the sight of her before moving forward again.

   Once in position behind her, I levered my penis down, sliding
it between the folds of her labia and eliciting a gasp from her
at the contact. She pressed back a little, and it was only a
moment before I was pressing against the entrance to her vagina.
Holding her by the hips, I pressed forward, burying myself in her
in a single slow stroke as she groaned in response.

   Leaning forward, I was able to cup her breasts in my hands as
I began arching my back to ease myself out of her as slowly as I
could - accompanied by her moan of disappointment. When nearly my
entire length was outside her, I reversed direction, making my
in-stroke just as slow and deliberate.

   Over the next couple of minutes, I steadily increased the
speed and force of my thrusts into her - and listened as she
voiced her increasing arousal and pleasure as I found a
combination of tempo and 'enthusiasm' that was enough to continue
increasing her pleasure while keeping myself from climaxing too
soon: I knew that I wanted to give her more than just one orgasm
as we made love.

   Several minutes went by before I felt Sarah's wonderfully
tight vagina begin clenching around me as she threw her head back
and cried out with the start of her release. I continued to
piston in and out of her - greatly aided by her ample wetness -
as spasm after spasm of pleasure coursed through her body. As
they were happening, I could feel her hot channel tightening
around me and adding to my own pleasure; it would have been
entirely too easy to let the sensations she was creating around
me to push me into my own climax.

   Gradually, the power and duration of the forces running
through her body began to slacken. When they'd weakened enough, I
could see that the power of her release had left Sarah
considerably weakened. I put my hands on her hips again to steady
her, but she'd been affected more than I realized.

    She struggled not to let it happen, but her weakened arms
slowly folded until her upper body was lying on the bed. I
stopped my thrusts into her and leaned forward to ask "Sarah - do
I need to stop?"

   She managed to move her head so she could look at me in
something akin to awe as she softly asked "Want you to stop?! I
thought you were *finished*!"

   "No, I haven't finished yet - unless you want me to", I
answered.

   She found the energy to emphatically tell me "Don't you dare!"
- then added "I just need to rest a second, and get some energy
back."

   "How about if we make things a little easier on you, and we
just get you turned over so I can be on top?" I asked.

   She thought that over for a second, and admitted "That might
be better", reluctantly.

   I carefully eased myself out of her, and then helped ease her
the rest of the way onto the bed. From there, she was able to
roll onto her back. She'd spread her legs for me and I'd moved
between them when she looked up at me and said "I sometimes had
orgasms with Bill; but *never* _anything_ like THAT!"

   I smiled, and answered "I'm glad you enjoyed it."

   She gave me a lopsided grin and answered "Enjoyed ain't quite
the word for it!" before looking down to where my erection was
waving in the air, twitching in time with my heartbeat. Looking
up at me with lust on her face, Sarah told me "I'm ready - I can
see you are, too..."

   I responded by simply leaning over to support myself on my
arms over her as she lifted her legs to tilt her pelvis up toward
me. A little minor adjustment, and I could feel the head of my
penis wedged between her labia. Arching her hips, Sarah managed
to lift herself off the bed enough to slip the entrance of her
vagina onto me so that my glans was inside her. My hips followed
hers down; when hers got to the bed, mine kept going, pressing my
penis deep inside her wet channel. As I re-entered her, her eyes
widened, and I could hear it as she released a deep moan of
pleasure.

   Holding myself over her, I started moving in her again -
slowly withdrawing my manhood before arching my hips to re-enter
her, accompanied by her moans of pleasure and arousal. I looked
down to where we were joined and watched as her vaginal lips
would all but disappear as I entered her, then reappear and look
as though they were trying to hold me inside when I withdrew.
Sarah saw where I was looking, and lifted her upper body far
enough to see what was happening - and watched, almost mystified,
as it happened the next half-dozen times or more before
whispering "I never knew it could look so sexy!" before lying
back again.

   Sarah soon recovered from the intensity of her previous
orgasm, and began arching her pelvis up to welcome each of my
thrusts into her; such encouragement only served to make me
increase the pace of my actions.

   I was beginning to feel the pressure in my balls when I
started to feel a 'fluttering' around my penis. It took only a
few more strokes in her before it became clear that Sarah was on
the verge of her second orgasm since we'd started making love;
knowing that she was close, I decided that the time was right for
me to find my own release as well. In response to the increased
pace and force of my penetrations, Sarah responded by arching her
hips off the bed again and trying to spread her legs even more,
making it possible for me to enter her as deeply and easily as
possible. It was only a couple more minutes, and I felt her start
tightening around me again - something that increased the liquid
noises of our coupling. A bit more, and she once more fell into
what was an obviously deep abyss of orgasmic release.

   The delightful sensation of her tight, wet womanhood clasping
at my erection was soon more than I could withstand. With a deep
groan of my own, I pressed myself into her as far as I could just
as the first hot pulse of my semen erupted from the end of my
penis. Even as the first spurt of my cum washed over her womb,
Sarah's eyes flew open and she nearly screamed "I can feel it!
Oh, god, it's so good!" as her hot vagina grasped me even
tighter.

   I held myself inside her as I unloaed my balls in her,
accompanied by the sounds of her moans and gasps as she
experienced her own orgasmic bliss.

   After I felt the last twitch of my penis in her, I moved to
support myself on my elbows over her, feeling her hard nipples
pressing into my chest. I softly kissed her several times before
I realized that she was so far gone into the aftershocks of her
own pleasure that she simply wasn't able to respond. Only when I
felt my shrunken penis pull free of her intimate grasp did I move
off of her. Thinking that if she was anything like any of the
other women I knew, she wouldn't be comfortable leaking our
combined fluids, I got up and found the bathroom where I quickly
dampened a washcloth and grabbed a hand towel before heading back
to her.

   When I sat on the bed again, I could see that she still wasn't
quite   recovered, so I gently and carefully went about cleaning
her, then myself.     When I was done, I put the washcloth and
hand towel in the laundry hamper I'd seen in the bathroom,
returning to find that she was nearly coherent again. I moved to
lie next to her, then took her in my arms and held her.

   When she had fully recovered, she turned her head and looked
up at me in open admiration as she said "I used to have orgasms
with Bill - at least, I *thought* they were orgasms, until I
learned better from you! Dear Lord, I didn't know it could _be_
like that!"

   I gave her a hug, and she went on "I was really surprised at
how easy you went in; I guess what we done together before got me
a lot wetter inside than I knew."

   I grinned at her, and asked "So you enjoyed it, then?"

   She gave me a Look, and answered "I reckon you know I did."

   She suddenly gave a small start, and shyly told me "I think I
need to get up - I don't want to be staining these sheets..."

   I continued to hold her, and replied "It's already taken care
of. Just lie here and relax and get yourself back together."

   Her hand quickly stole to her pelvis, and after a moment, she
blushed and looked up at me before asking "You... You cleaned me
up?"

   "I did."

   She blushed even harder and asked "Why? Why would you do
something like that? I didn't figure men cared much about a woman
AFTER they found their pleasure."

   I told her "First, I'm not most men" - "I'll vouch for that!"
she interjected - "Second, I didn't figure you would want to be
feeling messy or sticky, afterwards. And finally, you're somebody
that I love and care about, and I just wanted you to be able to
enjoy yourself after we made love, without having to worry about
anything. So yes, I did it. Is that a problem?"

   "No, it ain't a problem - far from it. It's just some
surprising, is all. But I guess you being the kind of man you
are, I shouldn't be _too_ surprised that you'd think like that."
she told me, taking my arm from where it was resting across her
belly and moving it up so that my hand covered her breast.

   We lay there like that for several minutes before she turned
to look up at me again, and said "I don't know if you really
heard something I said to you and Lucy, this morning."

   "You mean about how you think Lisa is going to want to go to
bed with me and Lucy?"

   She grinned, and I told her "Yes, we heard you - BOTH of us."

   "So what are you figuring to do about it?"

   "Nothing."

   Mystified, she asked "What do you mean 'nothing'?"

   "Just what I said: nothing. Until or unless she actually says
or does something, there isn't much Lucy or I CAN do. If she does
do or say something, THEN we can find out why, and respond
accordingly."

   Still curious, Sarah asked "Why would it make any difference
_why_ she wanted to go to bed with you? She's only nineteen, and
even *I* know she's right pretty!"

   I answered "Do you remember when Lucy was talking to you this
morning about making love with me? And she asked you WHY you
wanted to before she said it was okay with her?"

   Sarah nodded, and I went on "If you had said that you wanted
to show me how grateful you were for bringing Lisa back, or
getting her out of Purdy's jail, or because of what happened last
night, she would have told you 'no'."

   Baffled, Sarah asked me "So why did she say YES, then?"

   "Because the _reasons_ you wanted to make love with me were
right: you wanted to share yourself with me because of the kind
of man you think I am, because you love me, right?"

   She nodded, and I continued "If a woman lets a man have sex
with her for money, we both know what kind of people they are,
don't we?" - she nodded - "Now, what kind of people are they if
she lets him have sex with her after he takes her out for an
expensive dinner and a movie, and maybe some dancing afterwards?
Same kind of people, even though it's a nice time he's showing
her, instead of cash?"

   She thought for a couple of seconds before telling me "I
'spect so."

   "So is it really any different, then, if she lets him have sex
with her because he did something maybe a little bigger or more
important than taking her out for a good time? Is either one of
them any different, or has the price just gone up?"

   "Same thing, I reckon."

   My next question _really_ got her attention: "Now, when Lucy
and I first got here with Lisa, would you have let me into your
bed, if I'd asked?"

   "Hell, no, I wouldn't have!"

   I gently hugged her to calm her down before asking "Now, what
was the difference between then, and this morning?"

   Only slightly mollified, she sat back again and considered my
question. After a bit, she answered "If I'd gone to bed with you
then, I'd have been selling myself, just like if it was for
money. This morning, I wanted you because I love you; because of
what kind of man you are." - and on the heels of that, looked up
at me again to say "You're saying that if Lisa only wanted to go
to bed with you because she was grateful for all you've done,
you'd turn her down?"

   "That's exactly what I'm saying."

   "But *why*?"

   "I'll answer your question with my own: would you have any
respect for yourself if you were willing to sell yourself to men,
whether it was for money or anything else? If you didn't, do you
think any man that respected HIMSELF would respect you? Or want
to make *love* with you, when he knew that anybody that could
meet your price could have you?"

   A few seconds went by before she asked "Does loving folks
really make that much of a difference, to you?"

   I answered "To me, and to Lucy, too. Do you think you would
have enjoyed your time in bed with Bill as much if you _hadn't_
loved him? If it's just the physical part of it, why haven't you
been as happy taking care of yourself as when it was you and Bill
being together?"

   She only lay there, dumbfounded, as she considered what I'd
just told her.

   Finally, she looked at me in amazement as she said "Lordy,
Lordy, Lordy. What kind of folks you and Lucy must be, that
you've got the strength inside you to live like that! You've got
two girls, too - they think that way?"

   "Robyn and Sandra; yes, both of them think that way, too."

   I smiled at her, and suggested "There's more to it, too. Think
about what Lucy told you that first night, and what she said this
morning, and see if you can figure it out."

   Sarah snuggled back into my arms to do just as I'd said;
several minutes went by before I heard her say "You can be like
that because you're so strong inside; and because you ARE so
strong - inside, the only place where it really counts - you
aren't willing to just watch when you see other folks being done
wrong. You don't do it for any reason other than how it makes you
feel inside, knowing you done the *right* thing, for decent
folks, for the right reasons."

   I gave her a gentle hug, and asked "Now, what does that tell
you about what kind of people we are - and more importantly, how
we think?"

   She glanced up at me, and with a smile told me "I haven't had
to study like this since I left High school - and that was some
time ago!" before settling into my arms again.

   When she spoke to me again, it was to say "It tells me that
you trust yourselves - that you aren't afraid to make decisions.
And that to make decisions and be confident about them, you must
be getting it right a whole lot more than you get wrong. To do
that, you must have figured out a way of looking at things that's
a whole lot more steady than most folks have."

   Saying that, she eased herself out of my arms, and moved over
a bit before telling me "Sit up, against the headboard, there.
This is some talk we're havin' and I want us to be able to look
at each other, and be comfortable doin' it."

   I did as she said, and wasn't particularly surprised when she
moved to sit astraddle my lap before telling me "I expect you got
some more to say - so spit it out."

   "Who are your best friends? Not just now, but when you were
growing up? WHY are - or were - they your *best* friends? What is
it about them that you like? And why do you think they like YOU?"

   She 'zoned out' on me for a bit before telling me "Go on."

   I asked her "Is it maybe that you liked them because of what
they meant to you? And they meant something to you because of how
the two of you treated each other? And that you treated each
other the way you did because each of you was getting back from
the other as much as you were putting in to the relationship?"

   I had her full attention as she commanded "Keep talking."

   I continued "What you've been doing has been surprisingly
simple, even if you didn't realize you were doing it: deciding
for yourself what kind of people you wanted around, and then
treating them according to how well they matched what you wanted.
The difference between what you've done, and what Lucy, I, our
kids, and OUR best friends, is that *we've* chosen to do that _on
purpose_. We have _consciously_ chosen what kind of people we'd
like to have around us. I'll bet that sometimes you started to be
good friends with someone, then they said or did something that
caused you to stop being friends with them, right?"

   Sarah nodded slowly, and I went on "I, and Lucy, and the rest
of our family and friends, we don't have that problem. The reason
why is that we _consciously_ and *deliberately* think about what
people are doing, and comparing it to what WE want and expect our
friends to be like. We're _always_ paying attention to how people
behave, and compare it against the things they SAY; and when
those two things aren't the same, we go by someone's ACTIONS -
you've heard that actions speak louder than words, right?"

   "Sure, it sometimes happens that what someone does isn't the
same as what they said - but if the difference is too big, or it
happens too often, then it doesn't take long before you know how
much you can trust them about different things, does it? So like
I said, what we do is just keep paying attention, and watching
how well someone matches up with the kind of people we like - and
if they don't match up very well, we can either try to teach them
how they can be better if they don't know how; or if they don't
want to know, we just stop dealing with them."

   Sarah asked "But how can you do what you do so good, then?"

   "The whole 'trick' is that you have to be as honest and
consistent with yourself as you are with other people. The
steadier you are about being true to and with yourself, the
steadier you are dealing with other people; and the steadier your
relationships with them will be.

   She looked at me in curiosity before asking "Don't you ever
get tempted to give in a little, just to get something you want?"

   I laughed, and said "Oh, I don't deny that there's
temptations, sometimes - but again, the higher your standards and
the more consistently you apply them, the better the results are.
Have you ever been on a diet?"

   "One or two", she laughed.

   I laughed with her, and said "Which ones did you do better on:
the ones where you cheated, or the ones where you kept to them?"

   The look she gave me was answer enough, and I went on "Now,
don't you suppose that if you're the same way about picking what
kind of people you want as friends, and who you want close to
you, you're going to get the same kind of results? And which is
more important, really: losing a few pounds, or the kind of
people you have in your life?"

   "It's the people, of course", she answered, then asked "Are
you telling me that it's really *that* simple?"

   I smiled and answered "Yes, it's really that simple; the idea
is, anyway. Of course, sometimes the actual _doing_ of it isn't
so easy - but then, nothing worthwhile ever is, is it?"

   She smiled back at me before answering me "No, when it gets
down to it, nothing really worthwhile is ever _easy_."

   I looked into her eyes as I told her "But I can promise you
this much: the longer and steadier you do it, the easier it gets;
and the results you get make it all worthwhile."

   "Looking at you and Lucy, I reckon it IS worthwhile. But I'm
still going to have to think on it some before I expect I'll be
able to start doing it."

   I reached forward, and Sarah willingly let herself be pulled
into my arms for a hug before sitting up again and saying "What
we done before felt real good, and this talking with you has
given me something to think about - but I've still got a
nineteen-year-old daughter coming home before long, and I don't
think I'm quite ready to have her find me laying in bed with a
man that isn't her daddy. As nice as it feels to be here like
this with you, I still think we need to get up and get ourselves
ready for when Lucy and Lisa get home."

   "Would you like us to clean up together, or take turns?"

   Sara hesitated a moment at the question, the grinned and
answered "I already found out there's a lot of pleasure me and
Bill missed out on, being the way we were. I reckon it's time I
found out what else I might have let get by me, too!" - the last
with a grin.

   When Lisa and Lucy got back a little after 5 o'clock, they
found the two of us sitting on the couch, watching the afternoon
news. Lisa greeted her mother, and hurried upstairs to change
clothes - Lucy had suggested supper 'out' - Lucy stayed behind,
taking a chair near us. Sarah noticed Lucy looking at her, and
nervously asked "What is it?"

   Lucy just asked "Did you have a nice time this afternoon?"

   Sarah didn't even hesitate before answering "Dang right!"
before blushing slightly.

   Lucy just smiled and answered "Good! I expected you would!" -
making Sarah's blush darken a bit before she laughed and said
"Yeah, I guess you would, at that, wouldn't you?"

   A couple of minutes later, Lisa was back downstairs, and the
four of us went out to eat at the Sidesaddle. While we were
enjoying our brisket, Lucy said "Looks to me like we're getting a
fair amount of attention. Is something wrong?"

   Sarah gave us a half-smile and answered "I don't think so. I
expect that by now, half the county knows what happened last
night; and those that don't know yet likely will before they go
to bed tonight. It's been some time since Sheriff Purdy has had
the kind of trouble YOU two handed him last night, and I wouldn't
doubt that there's folks thinking he might have picked the wrong
folks to start something with when he run across you two."

   We were nearly finished with our meals when a woman stopped by
the table to chat a few moments with Sarah - and get introduced
to all of us. After she was gone, Sarah looked bemused as she
told us "Tillie Howards, there, she's one of the biggest gossips
in the county. Her and me, we never got along much. If she's
willing to come over to jaw like that, you can bet cash money
that she figures the winds are fixing to start blowing from a
different direction, what with you all being here. That, and she
just had to see for herself the folks that have been giving Purdy
such fits!"

   All of us laughed briefly before going back to finish our
meals - then going on to order hot fudge sundaes for dessert.

   We were on our way back to Sarah's house when a car pulled in
behind us, followed by the police lights on top of it lighting up
a few seconds later. I dutifully pulled over, and was only mildly
surprised when Sheriff Purdy was the one to walk up to talk to
me. I rolled the window down, and he told me "I heard you was in
some trouble up at the Conestoga last night, Mister Andrews."

   "I'm sorry to say that's true, Sheriff."

   "You wouldn't be looking to start anything down here, now,
would you?"

   "I wasn't looking to start anything up there, Sheriff. It's
just that some people that didn't seem to understand that it just
isn't _right_ to bullying people around, I guess, and they had to
learn different." - behind me, I heard Sarah's soft snicker as
Lisa gasped.

   Sheriff Purdy got a little red in the face, but kept his
composure and said "Well, I sure hope there isn't any trouble
like that down here; if there was, I'd have to go putting people
in jail, and all."

   "Sheriff, I don't go looking for trouble. But if it comes
looking for

    me, I'm not afraid of it. I've seen too many people that
thought they were King Shit of Turd Mountain, and only turned out
to be sorry little piss ants that got too big for their britches.
When that kind of trouble comes my way, well, let's just say that
I can generally see to it that it doesn't go looking for anyone
else."

   Purdy spluttered for a moment before telling me "Well, I just
don't want no trouble in this county, Mister Andrews."

   "I can appreciate that, Sheriff - and I guess being in law
enforcement and all, you can appreciate that what's trouble for
some folks might just look like justice to others."

   Purdy got red again, and I could hear the anger in his voice
when he told me "I done said what I had to say, Mister Andrews. I
reckon you folks can go on about your business, now" before
turning and heading back to his vehicle.

   When he was gone, Sarah asked me "Was that a good idea, Dan?
Egging him on and all, like that?"

   I turned around a bit to look at her and grinned as I answered
"MAYBE not - but it sure was fun, though!" - making her and the
other two laugh.

   Other than that, the rest of the evening went by pretty much
as usual.

   The next morning, Lucy and the others decided that it was time
to go Shopping. Not _necessarily_ to buy anything, but all of
them conceded the likelihood that they Might Get Something. I'd
been around Lucy long enough that I knew the signs: they were
more interested in looking at as many things as possible than
after anything in particular. None of them seemed surprised - or
disappointed - when I indicated that I'd pass on accompanying
them in favor of going over the information that had been
collected up to that point.

   While they were gone, I added the data that Lucy and Lisa had
brought back the previous day, then started looking at it. There
was something about it that started niggling at the back of my
mind, but I couldn't get it to come out where I could look at it.
I spent most of the day slowly getting frustrated, until I
realized what was happening and put it all aside. I was sitting
on the front porch of Sarah's house drinking a beer when the
three of them got back from their excursion - and having
apparently decided that there WAS something worth buying, after
all: each of them had a least a couple of packages, with Lucy
giving me a lopsided grin as she tried to handle the _several_
bags she dug out of the trunk of the car.

   When they got close, Sarah asked "So how did it go today,
Dan?"

   "Not as good as I'd hoped", I admitted. That got their
attention, and they all hurried to put their things away before
getting their own beers and joining me on the porch so I could
tell them what I'd been going through before they went on to tell
me how much fun they'd had.

   When they were done, Lucy told me "While we were shopping,
Sarah and Lisa invited me to go horseback riding with them
tomorrow. Would you like to join us, and kind of get your mind
off things for a while?"

   Lisa and Sarah both hastened to assure me that I'd be MORE
than welcome, and actually looked a little disappointed when I
said that I thought I'd pass - that I thought after a night's
sleeping on it, I would be able to find the answer the next day.

   Sarah then spoke up to tell us "If you're feeling agreeable,
I've got some nice steaks that I think you'd enjoy. I've kind of
been hankering to grill something, and this seems like as good a
time as any."

   Lucy and I assured her that we were all for grilled steaks;
smiling, she got up and went inside after telling us "If you'll
excuse me for a minute, I'll get things started, then."

   After she'd been gone a couple of minutes, Lisa cleared her
throat, and when Lucy and I were looking at her, told us "I ain't
thanked you proper for what all you've done - not just for me,
but for Momma, too. If you'll have me, I'd like to let you know
how much I appreciate it by... by keeping you company tonight. I
don't want to worry Momma none, so I'd come down to join you
after we all went to bed; and I'd have to leave again before
Momma gets up in the morning. But I'd be right willing to spend
as much time in between as I could with you. And so you don't
think I'm just tryin' to get your man into bed, Lucy, I'll let
you know that I'd be right glad to be with you, too, if you folks
don't mind. Me and one of my friends, well, we done some fooling
around with each other, so I've got some idea of how to make you
happy, too. I might not be as good at it as some, but I'll do my
best, and I'm willin' to learn if you'll tell me."

   The look I got from Lucy let me know that she was going to let
me handle this one.

   "Lisa, you're a friendly, intelligent, attractive girl, and if
I wasn't who I am, I'd jump at the chance to accept what I think
you're offering me - us, I mean." Lisa quickly told me "I am
offering you what you think - ME." - before I went on to tell her
"But it's not my way to be able to accept."

   I could see the disappointment and hurt on her face, and
hastened to tell her "It's not that I don't think you're pretty -
goodness knows, it's not that! You *are* pretty, very much so.
Before you start thinking it, it's not because I think you and
Charlie have already been together; that is, because I don't
think you're a virgin. Honestly, whether you're a virgin or not
doesn't really matter to me. And so you don't have to worry about
it, it's not that you've offered to be with Lucy, too - if you've
been with another girl and the two of you were doing it because
you cared for each other, and you enjoyed yourselves, then all I
can say is good for you! What _does_ matter is WHY you said you
wanted to be with me: because of what I - and Lucy - have done
here. We aren't doing any of this because we want or expect
anybody to go to bed with us, or try to find ways to 'repay' us
for what we're doing. We're staying here and trying to find a way
to deal with Sheriff Purdy because  of what kind of person he is,
and because he's hurting people that don't deserve it. That's the
ONLY reason. I'm flattered - and Lucy is, too, I think - that you
would think enough of us that you'd be willing to share yourself
with us. Where I - *we* - have a problem is with WHY you're doing
it. Both of us care for you - and your mom - very much, now. We
cared what happened to you after that first night we were here;
and it's even more, now. We care so much, in fact, that we
*can't* accept your offer, because both of us know that as much
as you think it's right, now, you'd realize that it _wasn't_
right, later."

   Lisa had settled down a little, and Lucy told her "Lisa, I
agree with what Dan just said. He's right - you _are_ friendly
and intelligent and most definitely pretty. But *I* wouldn't feel
right about having you join us for the reasons you gave us. I
don't doubt for a moment that you're sincere and honest about
wanting to be with us; that just makes me love you all the more.
But it's BECAUSE I love you that I can't accept. I know it
probably hurts to hear this right now, but I think it would hurt
you a lot more if you thought about why you went to bed with us
later. Please, stop and think about what you're doing, and most
important, WHY."

   Lisa sniffled a little bit, but managed to not start crying,
and told us "Yes, Lucy, it DOES hurt. But I *am* going to think
about it - I don't understand how or why you would say no to
something that I would have thought would be so easy for you."

   I took Lisa's hand and held it as I told her "But that's the
problem, Lisa. Because of who and what we are, it *wouldn't* be
easy for us to do that."

   Looking at me as though I'd just spoken Swahili to her, Lisa
held her peace for a bit before asking us "Would you be kind
enough to do me the favor of not telling Momma about this?
There's no need to embarrass her."

   I'd already told Lucy that Sarah had warned me this might
happen, so it wasn't any problem for both of us to assure her
that we wouldn't say a word. Her relief was clear on her face
when she stood up and asked us to excuse her for a bit.

   She'd only been gone a few minutes when Sarah came back out on
the porch, announcing that she'd started the potatoes cooking,
and had gotten the grill started. Noticing that Lisa was gone,
Sarah asked where she'd gotten off to. Lucy and I just told her
that Lisa had said she needed to go upstairs for a bit before
supper. Sarah looked a little mystified, but let it go so she
could start telling Lucy what she could expect the next day: Lucy
had never ridden a horse before in her life, and had absolutely
*no* idea of what was going to happen.

   Several minutes later, Lisa rejoined us looking none the
worse, and quickly joined in with her mother to prepare Lucy for
her first ever adventure in horseback riding.

   A while later, it was time for supper - during which Lisa and
Sarah took turns teasing Lucy by telling her about all the
various 'adventures' they'd had while riding horses.

   After they'd left the next morning - Lucy looking delightful
in the Western wear they'd helped her select - I was back out in
the Monster trying to see if I couldn't figure out what was going
on with Sheriff Purdy. It was after I'd microwaved a little bit
of late lunch and was sitting on the porch eating it and washing
it down with cold beer that I finally got hold of one edge of
what had been hiding in the back of my mind since the previous
day. I quickly finished my 'meal', and went back to the computer
to start checking things. I was nearly finished when I heard the
car pull into the driveway.

    Lucy came in to see how I was doing, and when she saw the
look of concentration on my face, beat a hasty retreat. I'd
never, *ever* gotten upset with her or the girls when they'd
accidentally broken a train of thought - but all of them loved me
so much that they would sometimes go to extremes to avoid the
risk of doing so. I'd once been working to meet a changed
deadline when Robyn had sprained an ankle during Gym class at
school. They'd brought her home, and she'd waited in her bedroom
for me, rather than come out and interrupt what I was doing. I'd
had to explain to her that she was _infinitely_ more important to
me than the relatively small amount of money I got from
programming - that if she was EVER hurt or needed to talk to me
about ANYTHING, I fully expected to hear from her, no matter
what.

   When I went inside, Sarah took one look at me and said "I'll
get you something to drink..." as Lucy got up to guide me over to
a chair. When I was sitting down, she moved behind me and was
massaging my shoulders when Sarah reappeared with a glass of dark
liquid, which she handed to me. I cautiously took a sip, and
discovered that she'd made me a rum-and-coke - a *strong* one.

   Sarah sat down again before asking me "How did it go today,
Dan?"

   I took another sip of the drink she'd made and opened my eyes
and looked over at her before answering "I've got it - at least,
part of it. Sheriff Purdy is _definitely_ up to something."

   Lisa exclaimed "Hell, we *knew* that!" before Sarah shushed
her.

   I turned my head to look at her before saying "There's a
difference between knowing something in your mind, and being able
to PROVE it. I'm starting to get the proof together - the kind of
proof that *real* law enforcement can use" - causing her to blush
furiously before quietly telling me "I'm sorry, Dan."

   Sarah asked me what I'd found, and I went on to explain it to
her: that I'd finally found what looked like a pattern to Purdy's
activities, and that it was clear that he was up to _something_.
I went on to add "I don't know, YET, exactly what it is. But I
know there's SOMETHING there. Now it's just a question of finding
out WHAT. Oh, and by the way, I've also figured out - with proof"
- the last directed toward Lisa; she HAD annoyed me with her
outburst - "that Old Man Purdy pulled some real fast ones in the
process of buying up and owning this county. I'm not sure if it's
all *strictly* legal - you'd have to see a lawyer about that, but
you'd likely want to see a lawyer anyway; it looks to me like a
lot of what he's done would open him up to civil suits, if the
law doesn't go after him."

   Sarah got a look of amazement on her face as she told me "You
did that? You got PROOF?"

   "Yeah. It's out there on the computer."

   "Do you have any idea how many people have tried to get
something on him? How many people have tried to even FIND what he
did, never mind be able to do anything with it?" Sarah demanded.

   I just gave her a wicked grin before answering "I don't doubt
that they did - but I had a couple of advantages that they likely
didn't."

   Sarah couldn't help but ask "And what are those?"

   I laughed and said "First was Lucy - anybody that can make
sense out of some of the financial statements and records that
I've seen her deal with can chase down a fact that doesn't want
to be found. The other is that I wasn't limited to just the
records here in the county; I got some friends I know to do a
little digging, too, and the information they came up with filled
in the missing pieces." Lucy leaned over to give me an
upside-down kiss in return for the praise I'd given her; she
already knew that I respected what she did, and how she did it.

   Lisa asked "So we can call the law in, now?"

   I told her "No, not yet. All that's happened so far as that
I've taken a bunch of small pieces to a puzzle and fit them
together to make a bigger piece. Now that I've got that bigger
piece, I can start looking for more pieces until I have enough to
figure out what the picture is. THEN it can go to the law.
Basically, we've peeled back one layer, and discovered we've got
an onion. What we do now is start peeling the rest of the layers
off until we get to what's inside."

   Sarah and Lucy both nodded their understanding before Sarah
said "I don't know about the 'we' part of that, though. I kinda
suspect that _you're_ the one going to be doing most of the work
on this!"

   I hastened to assure her "Okay, I'm the one doing the computer
work, and fitting some of this together. But I'm not doing it
alone - ALL of you are helping, in one way or another."

   "How so?" Lisa asked.

   "When you go with Lucy and help her, what do you do?" I asked
her.

   "Mostly, I've just gone and found papers and such that she's
asked for. Not all of them have been easy to find, though."

   "So what you've done is saved Lucy the time of doing that
herself. Do you think she could have found those things by
herself?"

   "Of course she could."

   "With it being your library and county courthouse and all, you
think you maybe found things faster than she could have?"

   "Probably."

   "So you saved her some time, then. Time she used doing what
SHE's best at: figuring out what else she needed to look at,
instead of hunting down exactly where a particular piece of paper
was. You figure that helped her, and made all of this happen a
little faster?"

   Lisa nodded her understanding, looking a little pleased to
realize that she HAD been more of a help than she'd apparently
thought.

   I turned my attention to Sarah next and said "And you've
helped, too. You've given Lucy and me information that Lisa
obviously couldn't know because she hasn't lived here as long as
you have. Some of what you've told us has given us hints and
ideas and suggestions about what kinds of things to look for, and
where to start looking for them. And if you think about it,
you've given us even more direct support by giving us a place to
stay, feeding us, and just showing us the reason WHY we're doing
what we are."

   I went on to tell them "I read a book by a man that had been
in the military, and he'd written that when he was commanding a
base up in Greenland, he'd started a policy of emphasizing that
*everyone* contributed to whatever missions they had by showing
that all the people there added something to it - from the people
that actually performed the final work, through the men that did
the maintenance on all the equipment, and all the way down to the
lowest enlisted man that cleaned the bathrooms."

   Sarah smiled and said "I've got to know - how did a clean
bathroom help?"

   I grinned and asked "If you were about to go out on a mission
where you might get hurt, wouldn't you appreciate it if the
bathroom you used before you left was clean and orderly?" -
followed by her soft laugh, and a nod.

   "So what happens now?" I heard Lucy ask above/behind me.

   I answered "Now we start looking for the rest of the pieces to
the puzzle. Tomorrow, I go see Sheriff Babcock, and see if I
can't get some of them from him."

   "You really think he'd help, after what happened the other
night?" Sarah asked.

   "I think he might, after he hears what I've got to tell him. I
got the distinct impression that it wouldn't hurt his feelings
any if Purdy finally got nailed for whatever it is that he's up
to."

   Sarah smiled, then told us "I hope so." before saying "I trust
you'll excuse me if supper is a bit late; I was waiting until all
of us were here before I started. Lucy told me you were real busy
out there, and I didn't know when you'd be done, so I just waited
after Lucy and Lisa told me they weren't in any hurry, either."

   I grinned and said "Well, since I was the reason supper's
late, how about if I spring for pizza so you don't have to cook
at ALL?"

   Sarah laughed and said "I reckon I could live with that!"

   They only had one pizza place in town, so there wasn't any
need for a lot of discussion about where to get it from; the
toppings were settled on in short order, and Lisa went to call in
the order after Lucy said she'd go get it. When the time came,
Lucy followed Sarah's careful directions, and was soon back with
it; the four of us enjoyed it as we watched some comedies on TV
before we went to bed.

 -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

   The next morning, I called Sheriff Babcock's office, and soon
had an appointment to see him that afternoon. When I got there, I
was surprised when he stood up after I went into his office and
offered me his hand to shake.

   Seeing the surprise on my face, he explained "After what
happened the other night, I took the time to find out a little
about you, Mister Andrews, and I was some surprised at what I
learned. I'm right glad, now, that I didn't haul you in like I
was first tempted to. Not because of all the information that
come back when I put your name on the wire, but what I found out
about you through some friends in Boise. The little bit they
could tell me about your Army record was right impressive. I was
in the Marines, myself, so I got some idea of what it took to get
the medals you did. Now, what is it that brings you up here for a
visit?"

   "I was hoping that I could ask for a little help, Sheriff."

   He looked at me for a couple of seconds, then said "You
couldn't have known that I'd asked about you before now, so what
is it that made you think you could ask me for a favor, after the
other night?"

   I told him "I've finally been able to put together some
information that *proves* Sheriff Purdy is up to no good. I was
hoping that after I'd had a chance to tell you what it was, you'd
be agreeable to hearing what I'm after."

   "Okay, you've got my attention. What's this proof you say you
have about Purdy being up to something?"

   I spent the next several minutes explaining to him what we'd
found, and how I thought it all fit together. I'd brought along
some printouts of some of it, and showed them to him, as well.
When I was done, he sat back in his chair and thought about what
I'd just been telling him. After a bit, he sat up again, and told
me "It sure looks like you're right about there being something
there, but you admit that you don't know *what* that something
is."

   "That's why I'm here, Sheriff. I'm positive that the
information I need is in official records - but they're the kind
of records that a civilian ordinarily couldn't get to. What I
came up here to ask is if you would be willing to get me copies
of those records so I can try to find what I'm after."

   He looked at me appraisingly before saying "What is it you're
after, and what are you going to do with it?"

   "What I'm after is records of criminal activity - not WHO did
something, just that they did it. What I'm going to do is go
through it and see if there's any of it that fits in with what I
already know. If it's any help, I'll be more than happy to either
return the information or destroy it, when I'm done."

   He sighed, and said "That could be a pretty fair number of
records. Just what is it you're looking for?"

   "That's the problem, Sheriff: if I knew what I was looking
for, I wouldn't have to ask for so much."

   He nodded, then asked "And if what you're hoping to find isn't
there?"

   "I'm positive it has to be. Whatever Purdy is up to, it can't
be legal; and if it isn't legal, then it's GOT to show up in the
records of ILLEGAL activity. It's just a question of my finding
it."

   Sheriff Babcock snorted and said "'Just' a matter of finding
it!" before thinking for a few seconds and telling me "Okay,
you've convinced me you know what you're doing. And what you're
asking isn't really all *that* much - not if you're right, and I
think you are. Would a year's worth of records for the whole
state, down to city level, be enough?"

   Amazed, I told him "It would be great, Sheriff. That's a lot
more than I'd have hoped for."

   He picked up his phone, punched a button, and a few seconds
later said "Paula? I need you to make copies of those disks we
get from Boise each month, the last year's worth. You got enough
disks? You do? Good. I'll get you another package on the way
home, tonight, so you don't run out. It's kind of important, so
sooner is better. How soon can you have them done? That fast?
You're my girl, Paula! Okay, Dan Andrews - yeah, him - will be in
to pick them up. Yeah, it looks like he's on to whatever the hell
it is that Purdy's been doing - but you never heard that, right?
Thatta girl. Listen, I've got one for you -" followed by an
improbable off-color joke, ending in a loud laugh, then "Anyway,
thanks, Paula" before he hung up again.

   Looking at me again, he said "If you'll come back right after
lunch tomorrow, Paula will have copies of the statistics we get
each month from Boise. It's the whole state, broken up by
geographic area and type of crime. It's funny how the amount of
crime follows how the economy is doing; and how the types of
crimes kind of bunch up according to how big a town is, and where
they are. For example, when things are tight, we see a lot more
cattle rustling than when things are good; the bigger cities,
they don't have that problem - they get more robberies, which are
kind of rare around here. That, and there's kind of a time lag
between when a big city starts having some kind of problem, and
when it shows up in smaller towns; you could almost set your
watch by it according to how many people you've got. Anyway,
there's two CD's for each month; so make sure you've got a box or
something to carry them in."

   I could only sit there, stunned, for a few seconds before
telling him "I can't thank you enough, Sheriff. I know that blank
CDs aren't cheap; can I at least pay for them, or buy you some
replacements?"

   He thought it over for a bit, then answered "No, I reckon not
- you go doing that, and there's all KINDS of paperwork involved
in me getting something from a civilian. Way I figure it, what
you did the other night, taking ol' Leroy out and giving us those
other two; well, you saved me and my deputies a fair amount of
time and trouble, answering calls those boys would have caused
us, and the expense of chasing them around until we caught them.
I got a little 'play' in my budget, so we'll just call it good
and be done with it." A moment later, he smiled and said "Now,
Paula, there - you might want to be letting her know you
appreciate it, though; she's the one doing the work."

   I grinned and said "I'd be doing that anyway, Sheriff."

   He laughed, and said "I figured. There anything else I can do
for you today, Mister Andrews?"

   "Sheriff, you've done MORE than enough, and I surely do
appreciate it. I don't know how I can begin to thank you."

   "If this helps you find out what's going on down there and
you're able to make _law_ enforcement mean something, that'll be
thanks enough, I reckon." he told me.

   Telling him I didn't want to take up too much of his day, I
thanked him again for his time and help before standing up and
making my way out.

   Back at Sarah's house, Lucy and the others were as amazed as
I'd been when I told them how it had gone.

   The next day, as instructed, I was walking into the Sheriff's
office right after lunch. Paula had the disks ready for me, and
was delighted with the single rose in a crystal vase I'd brought
her - and nearly swooned when I took her hand and kissed it in
front of the other ladies she worked with, before thanking her as
sincerely as I could.

   When I was back in the Monster and loading the data into my
laptop, I was impressed with the breadth and depth of the
information that was collected and distributed - and doubly
grateful to Sheriff Babcock for sharing it with me.

   -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

   For the next three days, I went over that data with a
fine-toothed comb, looking for something - anything! - the bore
some kind of relationship to what I already 'knew' about Sheriff
Purdy. I went through it forward, backward, upside-down, and
sideways. Even then, I damn near missed it.

   It was after Lucy and I had gone to bed one night, and I was
lying there sound asleep when I suddenly woke up _knowing_ that
I'd seen something in some of the data I'd looked at that day -
but not what, or where. I scribbled a note to myself without
waking Lucy up, and eventually managed to get back to sleep. The
next morning, everyone 'understood' when I was in a little bit of
a hurry to get back to it. It was mid-afternoon when I finally
recognized what it was that had brought me awake the previous
night; it took little more than an hour to confirm it and get it
all straightened out once I was on the right track. Following
that, I sent emails off to a few people that I knew from my days
at college, explaining what I was after, and why. With that done,
there wasn't anything left for me to do until I heard back from
them. That night, after we'd gone back out to the Monster, I told
Lucy what I'd found; I deliberately avoided telling Sarah or Lisa
because I was afraid of wha  t they'd do if they knew.    Another
full day passed before I heard back from the people I'd emailed;
each of them provided a bit of the information I'd asked for -
and together, it not only confirmed what I'd expected, but gave
me the proof I needed to be able to hand the whole thing off to
the proper authorities.

   The morning following that, I again called Sheriff Babcock's
office and made an appointment to see him - this time for as soon
as it could be arranged.

    Ten thirty found me sitting in his office as he looked at me
with considerable curiosity and interest.

   "I appreciate you seeing me again, Sheriff - particularly so
quickly, and on such short notice." I told him.

   "And what is it that I'm seeing you _about_, Mister Andrews?"

   Taking a deep breath, I answered "You're seeing me about what
needs to happen to catch and prosecute Sheriff Purdy and his
deputy for kidnapping runaway girls, breaking them emotionally
and mentally, and selling them to people."

   Babcock suddenly sat up in his chair and demanded "What did
you just say?!"

   "I said that Purdy and Luther have been kidnapping girls,
breaking them down - think of it as brainwashing - and selling
them."

   "That's a pretty serious charge, Mister Anderson. I hoping
you've got some kind of proof?"

   I nodded, and told him "It took some doing, but yes, I do."

   "Lay it out for me, then."

   So I did: how I'd damn near missed the statistic that had
haunted me, finally recognized it, and gotten some friends to do
a little digging for me - only to find out that there WAS a
close, but extremely lucrative, underground trade in young girls
for the purpose of becoming domestic and sexual slaves.

    To that I added that it hadn't taken long for those same
friends to verify that 'somebody' had appeared on the scene a few
years prior, and started providing high-quality, well-trained,
and extremely compliant girls. Then I went on to show him that
the even though the rate of runaway girls had remained fairly
constant over that period, there had been a slight - but
measurable - *decrease* in the number of such girls around the
state for the same period. Finally, I was able to show him that
Sheriff Purdy had been making large deposits into a bank account
in a Caribbean country; deposits that well exceeded his known
salary and other income; to that, I showed proof that Luther had
been living well above his means as Deputy: on an income of some
thirty thousand dollars a year, he had built a
quarter-million-dollar home, owned not one but TWO boats that
each cost more than his annual salary, and three luxury cars -
despite having no demonstrable outside investments or other in 
come. As I covered each point, I showed him evidence of what I
was talking about by putting hardcopies of the evidence I had on
his desk.

   I finished up by telling him "As near as I can figure, Purdy
has been going to the different larger cities and towns and using
his patrol vehicle to 'pull in' just one or two girls a month.
Then he apparently takes them back to HIS county and tucks them
away someplace he's set up so that he and Luther can go about
breaking them down and getting them ready to be sold. I don't
doubt that every so often, he gets one that simply won't break;
instead of fussing with her, he and the deputy just kill her - as
an example to the others, and to save the bother of fussing with
her too much - and go get another one. It was when they were
killing one of them by beating her to death that a couple of kids
- a boy and his girlfriend - saw them. Purdy didn't want to have
to shut down his operation because he was making too much money
with it, so he tried to just intimidate the kids that saw him,
when he learned what they'd seen and who they were. It was when
he thought one of them might ge  t out of his range that he
grabbed the young man. I don't know if Purdy killed him, or is
breaking him down for sale - there is some call for boys, by the
way - but the kid hasn't been seen for weeks. The girl tried to
hide from him by taking off for points west when he caught up
with her. If my wife and I hadn't been the ones that picked her
up hitchhiking, she likely would have disappeared, too."

   Sheriff Babcock could only sit there in amazement as he said
"I'll be God-damn. Any town of any size, ain't _nobody_ going to
take notice if there's one runaway girl missing; hell, they'd
like as not figure she just decided to move on after being
hassled too much, or something!"

   "Now, Sheriff, MY question is: who does this information go
to, and how does it get to them? I want to see Purdy go to jail,
but I don't want to step on anyone's toes getting him there."

   Babcock didn't even hesitate; he just picked up his phone,
punched a button, and told the person that answered "Dorothy? Get
me Colonel Wilson at the State Police, would you? I need to talk
to him *right now*."

   He held the phone to his ear as he looked at me and muttered
"God-damn Purdy! _I_ got daughters, that son of a bitch! I get my
hands on him and Luther, I'll..."

   He was interrupted by what must have been the Colonel on the
phone, because he promptly switched over to telling them "Bob?
Sheriff Babcock here, over in Raintree County. I got a fella
sitting here in my office that's just showed me some things that
are right interesting. He's done proved to me that Sheriff Purdy
- yeah, that ass-hat - has been kidnapping girls and selling them
as slaves. I know, I didn't hardly believe it, either - but he's
got the evidence; it's right here on my desk. No, it ain't just a
bunch of stories strung together to sound good; he's got *hard
evidence*, and the explanation he give me makes perfect sense.
You will? I'm damn glad to hear that, Bob - this ain't something
I'd want to take on by my lonesome. I expect this is going to be
involving the FBI, too, so you might want to give them a
heads-up, too. Yeah, I will. He'll be here when you get here.
Thanks, Bob - I'll see you soon."

   Turning back to me, Sheriff Babcock told me "That was the head
of the State Police barracks, next county over. He'll be here in
'bout twenty minutes; he's going to want to have a look at all
this before he does anything big - but he's already put out a
call for some state troopers to start heading this way."
Embarrassed, Babcock told me "He told me to make sure you didn't
go anywhere - said he wanted to see it for himself, and make sure
you weren't some nutcase."

   I grinned, and said "I'm not denying that I might be a nutcase
- but whether or not I am, Purdy's still selling girls as
slaves." - something that both amused and angered Babcock.

   As promised, it wasn't twenty minutes later before what could
only have been Colonel Wilson came into the Sheriff's office. He
took one look at me and asked "You the fella that started all
this?"

   I looked him in the eye and answered "No, that would have been
Sheriff Purdy. I'm the guy that found the evidence to prove it."

   The Colonel started to get upset before Sheriff Babcock
interrupted to tell him "Before you go saying anything you might
regret, Bob, you might want to hear a little about Mister
Andrews, here -", and proceeded to relay some of the information
he'd gotten about me, including my military service, and that I'd
already helped the FBI on a couple of occasions.

   Finding out that I wasn't a 'nutcase', the Colonel seemed a
lot more willing to hear the story - and by the time Babcock and
I were done telling it, and showing him the evidence, he was
convinced, too. He pulled out the microphone for his
walkie-talkie, and said "This is Colonel Wilson. I want those
cars I alerted, and twelve more, to meet me at the Oak Tree
county courthouse. I'll be there in *fifteen minutes*. Get them
rolling."

   Turning to me, Wilson said "You're riding with me", then told
Sheriff Babcock "Think that crate you got can keep up, George?"

   Babcock simply told him "Don't flinch, Bob, or you'll be
lookin' at MY taillights!"

   Out in the parking lot, Wilson indicated that I should take a
seat up front, with him; it wasn't a minute later that we, and
Sheriff Babcock, were passing through sixty miles an hour on the
way out of town.

   By my watch, we pulled up in front of the county courthouse
_twelve_ minutes later - next to two other State Police cars.

   Inside, the secretary was explaining to one of the troopers
that she didn't know where Sheriff Purdy had gone off to - only
that he and the deputy had left in a hurry a good ten minutes
ago.

   A sense of dread took me over, and I told Wilson and Babcock
"We need to check on my wife and a couple of other people - the
girl that saw Purdy kill that girl, and her mother."

   Babcock told Colonel Wilson "I'll take him so you can stay
here and get things going."; Wilson nodded, and Sheriff Babcock
and I hurried out to his car. It wasn't two minutes before we
were pulling up in front of Sarah's house - and could see that
there had been trouble: there were tire tracks on her lawn, and
the front door was wide open. We got out of the car, and I ran
into the house calling for Lucy, knowing deep inside that I
wasn't going to get a reply, and terrified at the thought.

   It took us only a minute to verify that there wasn't anyone
inside the house; my next stop was the Monster. Opening the door,
I could see that no one was in it, but I called out just in case
- and was surprised to hear a muffled cry as someone called out
my name. I headed toward the back of the Monster where the
bedroom was, and was surprised to see Lisa crawling out from
under the bed, where she'd obviously been hiding in one of the
little spaces my friend had added. Disheveled and obviously
frightened, Lisa still managed to pull herself together long
enough to tell us what had happened.

   No more than five minutes earlier, Sheriff Purdy and Luther
had pulled up in their patrol vehicles; Luther had parked at the
curb, but Purdy had come clear onto the lawn. Sarah and Lucy had
both seen them arrive, and it had been Lucy that had told Lisa to
go out the back and wait at the side of the house until she could
get into the Monster without being seen. Lucy had also told her
where to hide, and how to open up the little compartment that was
all but undetectable. As she was moving toward the back of the
house, Lisa had heard Lucy and Sarah agreeing on what to tell
Purdy about why she wasn't there.

   No more than a minute after she'd pulled the opening to her
hideaway shut, Lisa had heard someone - Luther, she though - come
inside and quickly search for her. He'd knocked on the base of
the bed, but apparently been convinced that it didn't offer
anyplace someone could hide, and left. She'd been been afraid to
do or say anything, and had stayed hidden until she heard me call
out.

   I told her "Lisa, we need to know where it was that you and
Charlie saw them beat that girl."

   She started to tell us, and Babcock interrupted to tell her "I
don't think either one of us knows where you're talking about.
Come with us, and show us on a map."

   Lisa nodded, and I put my arm around her as the three of us
headed back for Sheriff Babcock's vehicle. I stayed in the back
seat with her, trying to get her settled down as we headed back
for the county courthouse. Once there, Babcock quickly let us
out, and led the way over to where Colonel Wilson was directing
the activities of his troopers, a map spread out on the hood of
his car. Seeing us, he asked "Where're the others? And who's
she?"

   Babcock quickly filled him in, and Wilson's face got visibly
taut as he muttered something about Purdy's parentage before he
asked Lisa "Can you show us on the map where it was you saw
Purdy?"

   Lisa went over to it, and looked it over for a minute or so
before pointing to a spot and saying "Right about there - where
Lame Deer Creek makes that sudden turn south. Might be a little
north, but not but about fifty yards, or so."

   Babcock looked at the map, too, and said "Okay, I know that
spot - used to do a bit of fishing there, when I was younger."

   "Let's go, then", I told him.

   He turned to look at me, and asked "What do you mean 'let's'
go?"

   I just looked him in the eye and levelly told him "That's my
wife he's got. And that girl's mother. If you think you're going
after that assmunch without me, you're full of shit."    "And
what makes you think there's anything you can do?"

   "A Silver Star, two Bronze Stars, and some other jewelry Uncle
Sugar gave me back in my Army days" I answered.

   "You think you can still do it?" he asked.

   "After what happened at the Conestoga, YOU tell ME. If I
can't, leave me behind."

   He blinked at me a couple times, then said "Okay, let's go."

   We'd just gotten into his car when I told him "We need to stop
off at the house, again."

   "Why?"

   "I ain't dressed for playing in the woods."

   "Gonna cost us some time" he warned me as he made the turn
toward Sarah's house.

   "Not enough to matter" I replied, adding "If I'm not out in
ninety seconds, leave me."

   He looked at me, but nodded as he pulled up in front of
Sarah's. I was out the door and moving before the vehicle stopped
rocking. Inside, I changed clothes, and got something out of
another of the hidden cubbyholes; I was on the way back to the
Sheriff's car in less than a minute twenty. When he saw what I
was carrying, Sheriff Babcock asked me "What the hell is that
for?" as he put it in drive and hit the gas.

   "What the hell you THINK it's for? It's in case I gotta shoot
somebody", I answered.

   He gave me a sideways glance before asking "And if they're too
close?"

   His question was answered when I pulled out my .45 and checked
it. He didn't have any more questions after that.

   Several minutes later, we pulled into a small parking area
where we saw two Oak County patrol vehicles - the Sheriff's, and
one Deputy. We just looked at each other before heading over to
where a small path headed into the woods.

   We'd been following it for just a couple of minutes when I
suddenly told him to stop; the tone of my voice told him to do it
RIGHT NOW. I moved up next to him, and pointed at the trail; it
took him a couple of seconds to see the thin monofilament fishing
line strung across the trail. He took and released a deep breath
before telling me "Thanks. I don't know what that's hooked to,
but I don't think it's good."

   I knelt down, and carefully followed it to one end, where it
was fastened to a tree. Following it the other way, I saw that it
was hooked to the detonator for a jury-rigged Claymore: a couple
sticks of dynamite held in place by a bag of shotgun shot. I
carefully disarmed it, then cut the line; when he saw it go
slack, Babcock came over to where I was and looked at what I'd
found. Shaking his head, he just muttered "Nope, not good, at
*all*."

   I stood up, and the two of us headed up the trail again. Maybe
a half hour later, we came on a clearing; looking around, we
could see a number of primitive huts. We were looking things over
when we heard a gunshot from one of them; both of us quickly, but
quietly, made our way to it. Using hand signals we worked out
what we were going to do next; I got ready, and when he signaled,
opened the door for him. Sheriff Babcock swung around to aim his
weapon at whoever was armed inside. I heard him yell "Freeze,
Luther!", and watched as he took a step in and to the side. I
quickly moved to join him, and saw that Luther had already killed
the three 'regular' occupants of the hut, and was apparently
getting ready to kill Sarah. When he saw me come in, he paled,
and suddenly moved to aim his pistol at her head before telling
us "I ain't going to prison. I know what cons do to cops, inside.
Either you let me go, or I kill the bitch."

   Babcock started to say something, but I beat him to it,
telling Luther "Luther, you're fucking up. You shoot her, you've
got no hostages left - you've done killed the others. Now here's
how this is going to play out: either you put the gun down and
give up, or I'm going to put a bullet in you. I'm rated Expert in
the Army Special Forces, so I can hit you anyplace I want to -
even your tiny little dick." Having said that, I let him see me
lower my aim to somewhere south of his belt buckle; Babcock held
steady on his body. Then I told him "Luther, I got better things
to do than stand here fucking around with you; both of us know
that Purdy's got my wife, and I want to move on so I can scrag
his worthless ass. So I'm going to give you a five count before I
just shoot you and be on my way; if I don't kill you, maybe the
Sheriff here can keep you from bleeding to death."

   I waited a moment, then started counting: "Five... Four...
Three..." when Luther suddenly said "Okay, I give up!" before
letting his pistol drop. It was good thing; I was going to shoot
him at 'two'...

   Sheriff Babcock quickly moved forward to turn Luther around
and face him toward the wall before pushing him into a leaning
position and saying "I reckon you know how this goes, Luther-"

   Sarah nearly collapsed, but got herself back together and come
over to tell me "You're right - Purdy has Lucy, and they went on
up the trail on the other side of the clearing. Luther told me
that the other buildings have girls in them, too."

   "Is Lucy okay?"

   "She still was last time I saw her."

   Babcock had cuffed Luther by that time, and pushed him out the
door with Sarah and I following. Leading Luther over to a tree at
the edge of the clearing, Babcock got Luther seated at the base
of it through the simple expedient of kicking his feet out from
under him before using another pair of cuffs to handcuff him to a
large branch. Then he reached into his pocket and pulled out a
snub-nosed revolver which he handed it to Sarah, telling her "I'm
going with Mister Andrews. You watch Luther here, and if he gets
too frisky, just shoot him in the leg or something. Try not to
kill him, though, okay? There's too much paperwork in this job,
already."

   Sarah just gave Luther an evil grin and answered "Okay, I'll
*try* not to kill him. What about the other girls?"

   Babcock thought that one over, and finally said "Okay, we'll
watch Luther while you get one free; then let her get the others
loose while you keep an eye on him."

   I managed to control myself while Sarah got a ring of keys
from Luther's belt and went into one of the buildings and
unshackled one of the people inside. She was out a few moments
later, and hurried over to where Sheriff Babcock and I were
waiting. The revolver in her hand again, and definitely aimed at
Luther, she told us "Charlie was in that building I was just in -
it looks like he's been drugged, so I don't know what to do with
him. Otherwise, things are going okay. Now, you two go on and get
Lucy back from that bastard!"

   She didn't have to tell me twice; I was fifty feet ahead of
Babcock before we even got to the trail. Ten minutes later, I
stopped again; when Babcock moved next to me, I pointed at the
trail again; it didn't take him as long to spot the tripwire that
time. I looked around, and saw what Purdy had rigged up. Using my
finger to point, I showed Babcock the tree that was bent nearly
in half, with a cluster of shrubbery hiding it's branches.
Looking closely, you could see that they were hiding a large
number of sharpened stakes that had obviously been fastened to
the tree; anyone that broke the tripline was going to be turned
into multiple orders of shish-kebab.

   Sheriff Babcock shuddered, and told me "Okay, I'm convinced -
you have _most definitely_ still got it."

   I checked the tripwire, and saw that it could be cut without
activating the trap. A couple of seconds later, we were on the
trail again.

   Another half hour, and we started to come up on another
clearing - where we could hear voices. Carefully, we moved off
the trail and to the edge of the open area. There I could see
Purdy and Lucy; I watched as he backhanded her before hearing him
tell her that if she didn't quite fucking around, he was going to
shoot her in the tit and leave her behind. Lucy just reared back
and spit in his face; when he brought his gun up, I yelled out
"Don't do it, asshole!"

   Purdy turned toward me, and I saw him start to swing his arm
around to shoot at me; I took aim with the M-1 Garand I'd brought
along, and somehow managed to shoot him in the leg, instead of in
the guts as I wanted to. He went down screaming, and Sheriff
Babcock was the first one to him, kicking Purdy's pistol out of
reach before rolling him over and cuffing his hands behind his
back. I was busy with Lucy, of course, and I'd finished checking
to make sure she was all right - other than it being obvious that
that hadn't been the first time Purdy had hit her - before the
two of us turned to watch Babcock start treating the wound I'd
put in Purdy's leg. Once he'd gotten the bleeding stopped, he
pulled a small radio from his belt and was soon talking to
Colonel Wilson, telling him where we were - and where Luther and
the camp was. Lucy and I both listened as Wilson promised a dozen
troopers would be with us in less than an hour.

   -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

   In the days that followed, Lucy and I learned that Purdy had
been monitoring the State Police radio frequencies with a scanner
- and when he heard the Colonel call for all the cars to show up
at the courthouse, he'd known the deal was finished. Angry - and
most of all, scared - he and Luther had decided to grab Sarah and
Lucy (and Lisa, if they'd been able) as 'insurance' in case they
were caught. Purdy had wanted them to just get away; it had been
Luther that had decided not to leave any witnesses behind;
delaying in their 'training facility' to kill the girls that they
had 'in stock'.

     Purdy had known to monitor the State Police radio because
his father - well into his eighties - had been keeping track of
the documents that Lucy had been researching, and knew that his
little empire was in trouble. He hadn't known about his sons
slave operation, though, and had grossly misjudged how hard and
how fast the law would respond. All of the girls that they'd
found alive had been identified, and nearly all had cheerfully
gone home - many of them had become disillusioned with life on
the streets well before Purdy and Luther got hold of them. The
few that didn't want to go home - invariably for good reason, as
it turned out - were to be given extensive counseling and
rehabilitation so they could find regular jobs and become legally
self-supporting.

     It was nearly a week later and nearly all of the state and
local people were done with us when Sarah came out onto her front
porch where Lucy and I were sitting one morning. Taking a seat
next to us, she told us "Lucy, Dan - I know I've said this
before, but I want to say it again: thank you. There aren't words
enough to express it, but me and Lisa and even Charlie, we all
know how much you've done for us, and how much it's cost you. Not
just in money, but in time and trouble and missing out on the fun
you'd likely have had if you hadn't interrupted your vacation to
help us out."

   She hesitated a bit, then went on to say "Dan, I've been
thinking a lot about what you and I talked about that afternoon -
when you showed me what loving somebody really means. Lisa told
me that she told you she wanted to share your bed, and that you
told her no, and why. When she told me about it, I really began
to understand what you meant about having principles, and living
up to them so you'd be able to keep the good people you found
around you. What I'm trying to say, and not doing it very good,
is say that I'd like to be one of those people, too. And if
you're still agreeable, Lucy, I reckon I'm willing to have a try
at seeing if I can find love with another woman, too. Of course,
you're welcome, too, Dan, if that's what Lucy wants."

   Lucy leaned over to take Sarah's hand and said "Thank you,
Sarah."

   Confused, Sarah asked "What on earth are you thanking ME for?"

   Lucy smiled at her and said "I'm thanking you for all the good
things you found inside yourself when you started thinking about
what Dan told you. The courage, the loving, and all the rest. I
know that you're probably still a bit nervous about making love
with me - but you're showing me your courage by telling me that
you're at least willing to TRY it. And you're telling me that you
love me by being willing to share yourself, and your love, with
me."

   Sarah sat there a little stunned for a few moments before she
answered "I reckon I should have known you'd understand what I
was doing, and why. Yes, I'm still nervous - more than just a
bit! - but I *do* love you - both of you! - and I _want_ to find
out if I can share my love with another woman. Lisa told me this
morning that Charlie's done asked her to marry him, and she's
said yes. From tonight on, she's going to be staying over at his
place, so we don't have to be worrying about being interrupted."

   Lucy looked at me, silently asking if I wanted to join them; I
gave her a miniscule shake of my head to let her know that the
time they had together was for the two of them alone. She smiled
to tell me 'thank you'.

   Looking at Sarah again, Lucy said "You had time to get
yourself ready before you were with Dan. Would you like to get
ready for me, too?"

   Visibly nervous then, Sarah answered "If you don't mind."

   "Of course not!" Lucy answered, before asking "Is there any
particular time that you'd like?"

   Marginally more confident, Sarah answered "How about after
lunch? That way, you and me, we've got as much time as Dan and I
did."

   "I think that would be perfect," Lucy assured her.

   Sarah continued to stay with us, letting Lucy and I draw her
into conversation until I said "I'm starting to feel a little
hungry. Sarah, would you mind if Lucy and I went out to eat by
ourselves today?"

   Visibly relieved, Sarah assured us that she didn't mind at
all; a few minutes later, Lucy and I excused ourselves to head
for the Roundup for lunch. Lucy ordered the brisket, but ate only
a quarter of it before asking them for a box to take it home in.
I went with the burger, and managed to finish it AND my fries.
Back at the Monster, Lucy and I shared a kiss before she went
into the little bathroom and took a quick shower. When she was
done, I did my part by helping her dry off, and making sure her
clothing fit - checking the cups of her bra, for example, and
smoothing the material across the ass of her panties. When she
was ready, Lucy calmly left to help Sarah learn that it IS
possible for two women to love each other, and show it. Only
after we'd gotten home did Lucy tell me how it had gone, both
from what she'd experienced herself, and what Sarah had told her
after the fact:

   -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

   When she went inside the house, Lucy saw that Sarah had
showered and changed clothing, too. Looking nervous, Sarah told
Lucy that she looked nice. Lucy responded by returning the
compliment before going over and giving Sarah a hug - then a
kiss, soft and gentle, full on the mouth. When it was over, Lucy
told her "Sarah, you don't have to be afraid or nervous. I know
you've never done this before, and I'm *not* going to be upset
with you about _anything_. I had a first time, too, and I know
EXACTLY what you're going through. So I'm going to tell you what
I think about all this."

   Sarah paid close attention as Lucy told her "What I think is
that you're a very lovely person. Not just on the outside, which
you are; but more importantly, on the inside. I think that I love
you, and that you love me. I think that you're a very brave, very
honest person because you told me and Dan what you wanted to do,
and why you wanted to do it. I think that if you'll let yourself,
you'll find out that two women CAN love each other, and show it,
the same way that a man and woman can love each other and show
it. I think that you're nervous when you don't have to be: what I
hope we'll do together is make LOVE. I think that *I'm* nervous,
because I so VERY much want this to be a happy-making thing for
you. I think you're afraid that you're going to do something
wrong, or maybe find out that you don't like making love with
another woman. I think that's okay - because if you make a
mistake, _I'm_ the one to make it with because I'm not going to b
 e upset with you. I think that if you decide you don't like
this, then that's okay - at least you TRIED, and you'll be
deciding on something you KNOW about, instead of just what you've
heard. I think you've been unhappy for a long time, and I think I
would like to be the person who helps you find out just how happy
you CAN be."

   By the time she was finished, Lucy could see that she had
gotten through - Sarah didn't look anywhere near as nervous as
she had before; if anything, she looked confident about what she
expected to happen that afternoon.

   Looking into Sarah's eyes, Lucy asked "Would you like to go to
your room, now, or would you like to stay down here for a while?"

   Confidently, Sarah answered "I'm ready to go upstairs, now -
with YOU."

   Smiling, Lucy leaned in to give Sarah another kiss - and while
their lips were together, gently cupped Sarah's breast in her
hand - and a moment later, felt Sarah return the gesture.

   When their lips parted, Lucy could see the love - and trust -
in Sarah's eyes. Sarah took her by the hand, and let the way to
her bedroom. Inside, Sarah didn't bother closing the door behind
them, saying "I know that there's no one going to bother us - Dan
wouldn't, and he wouldn't let anyone else, either."

   Lucy smiled, and said "You're absolutely right."

   Sarah smiled back, and moved to stand in front of Lucy; this
time, it was Sarah that initiated the kiss - and was the first to
touch the other woman's breast. Lucy responded in kind - happily,
when Sarah's lips parted so the two of them could start dueling
with their tongues. It was a short time before both women were
softly panting as each felt the other's nipples hardening under
their fingers, and felt her own nipples erect in response.

   After their kiss broke, Lucy took a step back and began taking
her clothes off after telling Sarah "I want to do this, for you.
I _want_ you to see me as I am, and know that I'm sharing myself
with you because I *want* to."

   Sarah was content to stand and watch as Lucy slowly removed
her clothing - first her blouse, then her bra. Standing topless
before Sarah, Lucy went on to take off her skirt, then her
panties, and finally her stockings. When she was done, she calmly
and casually stood naked before our friend; leaving herself open
to - if not actually inviting - Sarah's inspection, from head to
toe.

   And Sarah did that very thing - openly looking at Lucy, seeing
the firm, round breasts capped with dark pink areolas and
obviously erect nipples. Further down, she could see Lucy's trim
waist and flat belly; below that, the small vee of Lucy's dark
blonde pubic thatch set at the junction of a pair of trim,
slender legs.

   For her part, Lucy could feel herself getting more excited as
Sarah looked at her - knowing that the woman standing opposite
her could see her erect nipples, and the cleft of her sex - if
not her achingly erect clitoris and surely-dripping labia!

   When she was done examining Lucy, Sarah followed her example:
slowly extricating herself from the clothing that had felt so
nice when she put it on, and now felt as though it were
smothering her. In short order, she'd discarded her blouse and
bra, feeling her own nipples hardening even more in the soft
breeze - and from the knowledge that Lucy could see them getting
harder, the truth be told.

   Next to go was Sarah's skirt, quickly followed by her panties
- she'd shaved her legs in the shower, and didn't feel the need
to put stockings on. Standing in front of Lucy, Sarah stood - if
not so calmly, at least as patiently - as Lucy did, for the same
reasons.

   Lucy saw the same sight I had: a pair of medium-sized breasts
with half-dollar size areolas, and small, pink nipples at their
peaks. Sarah's body was a trifle heavier than her own, but still
trim and fit; at the apex of her firm thighs, the small dark
wedge of Sarah's pubic mound. And unless she was mistaken, she
could see that Sarah's arousal was as strong as her own.

   Lucy was the first to move - stepping close to Sarah, and
leaning forward to place a soft, gentle kiss on each of Sarah's
nipples before standing up again and saying "You have such
beautiful breasts, and your nipples just *begged* me to do that!"

   Sarah responded by doing much the same to Lucy - only adding
to it by briefly sucking on each of Lucy's nipples. When she was
facing Lucy again, Sarah told her "And I think yours are
beautiful, too. I... I just couldn't resist doing that."

   Lucy smiled, and told her "I'm glad you did - it felt very
nice."

   Lucy stepped forward again, and took Sarah into her arms,
hugging her and getting hugged in return - delighting in the way
her breasts and nipples rubbed against Sarah's body, and how
Sarah's felt against her. After a few moments of enjoying how
their bodies felt against each other, Lucy carefully eased the
two of them toward the bed, then guided them down onto it. When
both were seated, they released each other, and sat there for a
few seconds just looking at each other.

   It was Sarah that moved next, looking deep into Lucy's eyes as
she raised her hands to place them over Lucy's breasts - quietly
thrilled to be touching another woman that way.

   Lucy responded by simply sitting there, telling Sarah "I like
it when you touch me like that. Just so you know, you're welcome
to touch me any how and any where you want to. I know you've
never touched another woman like this, and I *want* you to get,
and be, comfortable doing it."

   Sarah nodded her understanding, not trusting herself to speak,
she was so excited at the possibilities Lucy had just opened up
to her.

   As Lucy sat there, she loved the feel of Sarah's hands on her
breasts; when Sarah began softly squeezing her breasts, and
gently pulling on her erect nipples - making them even harder and
longer. Lucy couldn't help pressing her chest forward, increasing
the contact between her tight breasts and Sarah's hands.

   Sarah realized that Lucy was pressing her breasts into her
hands, and knowing that Lucy was doing it because she LIKED what
was happening, felt herself become even more aroused and excited.
With the encouragement Lucy was giving her, Sarah finally felt
ready to begin exploring Lucy's body even more.

   Lucy sat there, barely able to control herself when she felt
Sarah's hand leave her breast and begin tracing its way down her
body - first across her waist, then on to her hips, and finally
felt a grazing touch on her pubic mound. Without hesitation, she
opened her legs, inviting Sarah's soft hand to continue its
journey. After only a moment's hesitation, it did - and Lucy felt
Sarah's first, tentative touches on her mons.

   Sarah could hardly believe that she'd had the nerve to touch
Lucy in such an intimate and personal area - and was nearly
overwhelmed when she felt Lucy spread her thighs to make room for
her hand. It took her a second to summon the courage to continue,
but Sarah finally got her hand moving again. She found herself
surprised at the feel of Lucy's pubic hair; and even more so at
how differently Lucy's pubic mound felt from her own. Without
even realizing she was doing it, Sarah moved her hand even lower,
seeking to find out how else Lucy's body differed from her own.

   When Lucy felt Sarah's gentle touch between her thighs - then
on her vaginal lips - she thought she was going to climax right
on the spot, it felt so good. But she managed to control herself,
afraid that if she said or did anything _too_ 'extreme', she'd
frighten Sarah away and ruin *everything* for her. All she did
was arch her back a little, tilting herself forward so that Sarah
could touch as much of her as she desired.

   Sarah felt Lucy move, and was briefly afraid that she'd gone
too far - until she realized that Lucy was opening herself up to
her touch _even more_.

    With that, it finally sank in to the deepest part of Sarah's
mind that not only was Lucy ACCEPTING her touch, but actually
*encouraging* it; that was all Sarah needed to understand that
another woman was actually finding her _desirable._ It was only a
few moments before Sarah freed her hand to truly explore Lucy's
anatomy, happily discovering for herself how they were the same
and how they were different - and rejoicing in the learning.

   Lucy continued to hold herself still, even though Sarah's
touch on her body - and between her legs! - was arousing her
tremendously. She loved Sarah, and wanted to be able to share
with her the pleasure that only two women could know with each
other. Lucy loved me so much that at times she wondered why it
didn't kill her, and I made her happier than she'd known was
possible - but there simply wasn't any way I could ever make her
feel the same way another woman did when they made love with each
other. She knew that _I_ knew I didn't understand, and that I
accepted that fact - and loved me even more because I not only
didn't mind, but encouraged her to find and enjoy the pleasure
she got with another woman.

   As Sarah's hand continued to explore Lucy's sex - she was
pleased and excited when she discovered that Lucy was as wet
inside as SHE felt - Sarah lowered her head and began sucking on
Lucy's nipples again: delighted at how they felt and tasted in
her mouth, how they seemed to get even harder rand longer as she
sucked on them, and pleased when she heard Lucy's soft moans of
arousal.

   They stayed like that for several minutes, Lucy's arousal
increasing almost by the second as Sarah's hands softly and
deftly reconnoitered the area between her thighs. She felt
Sarah's fingers slip between her labia as the woman next to her
gently and carefully familiarized herself with her body. Finally,
Sarah let Lucy's nipple pull free from her lips and with only a
trace of hesitation asked "I've never seen another woman, there -
between her legs. I hardly know what *I* look like, there. Would
you mind laying down, and letting me see?"

   Lucy could only smile and answer "Of course not, Sarah.
Please, look and touch all you want, for as long as you want."

   Lucy willingly - happily - moved to lie on her back on the
bed, spreading her legs and drawing her knees up so that she open
herself to Sarah's inspection.
   For her part, despite all that had happened that afternoon,
Sarah was still amazed that Lucy would so willingly, even
eagerly, open herself to another woman - to be *looked* at,
there, in her most intimate place! Still, that didn't stop her
from moving onto the bed with Lucy, and positioning herself so
that she had easy viewing and access to the area that interested
her so much.

   Sarah's first look at Lucy's aroused vaginal opening and labia
nearly left her speechless. Only after she'd gotten her wits back
did she look up at Lucy and say "What Dan told me was right: it
DOES look like a flower blooming!"

   Lucy couldn't help but reply "Yes, its a flower - and its
blooming for YOU."

   Sarah felt herself give a little shiver at what Lucy had just
said - her meaning being entirely too clear! Still, she wasn't
going to pass up this chance to really _see_ what a woman looked
like, any more than she'd wanted to pass up looking at me.
Lowering her head, she quickly got a noseful of the scent of
Lucy's arousal - and was surprised to discover that it was making
her mouth water slightly. She smelled so GOOD!

   Still, Sarah wanted to _look_ - and that she did. Lowering her
head a little more, she found herself mesmerized by the sight of
Lucy's womanhood.

    There, at the top of the cleft was what could only be her
clitoris - the same little nubbin that SHE found stimulated her
so much. Reaching out, Sarah carefully pulled back the little
hood over it, and looked at it - fascinated that such a small bit
of flesh could make a woman feel so *good*. Next, she extended
her hand a little farther, fascinated by how sparse, yet full,
Lucy's pubic hair was. From there, it was down to where she could
see Lucy's labia - glistening with what could only be the same
wetness that she, herself, produced. She carefully examined them,
then reached to touch them, marveling at how delicate they
looked. As she continued manipulating Lucy's vaginal lips, Sarah
couldn't help but notice that they got a bit longer, and darker,
as she moved them around. And when she looked between them, she
could easily see that Lucy was very wet inside - so much so that
there was a small trickle of her moisture slowly making its way
out. Sarah had always felt mildly embarrassed at how wet she
sometimes got inside; seeing how amply Lucy produced the same
kinds of fluids, she realized that she wasn't as peculiar as
she'd once thought she was. Besides, it was SO sexy, now that she
had a chance to really *look* at it!

   Remembering how SHE had tasted when she kissed me after I used
my mouth on her, Sarah couldn't resist finding out if Lucy tasted
anything like that. She reached forward and gently ran a
fingertip between Lucy's parted labia, collecting a goodly sample
of her juice. She briefly ran it between a couple of fingers,
amazed at how slippery it felt, before sliding the finger with
the greater amount on her finger in her mouth. It took a second
before she got the full taste of it; it was only a moment later
that she decided that she *liked* the way another woman - or
Lucy, at least - tasted!

   Almost without realizing she was doing it, Sarah lowered her
head to let her tongue collect the next sample - and was
surprised when Lucy moaned softly, and lifted her hips slightly
in response. Shucks, here she was giving pleasure to another
woman, and she wasn't even _trying_ to yet - this wasn't anything
at ALL like she'd thought it was going to be! Not only was it
pretty easy so far, but it was *fun*!

   Lucy tried to stay calm and still while Sarah was busy
investigating the area between her thighs; but what the other
woman was doing - without even realizing it, apparently - was
only turning her on more and more. When Sarah finally licked her,
Lucy couldn't help but respond. It didn't seem to bother Sarah
any - if anything, it only seemed to encourage her, because a few
moments later, she did it again; then again, and again...

   Sarah was quite happy licking the ample fluids that Lucy was
producing; when she heard Lucy say "That feels SO good. Will you
let me do it to you, too, now?"

   It took Sarah only the briefest moment to decide that that
sounded like a *fine* idea, and started moving her body around.
When she was close, she felt Lucy touching her leg, and
understood that Lucy wanted to help guide her into position. She
willingly cooperated, and it was only a moment later when she
felt Lucy's tongue start moving between her own vaginal lips -
and just as it had when I'd done it, Lucy's actions made her feel
_wonderful_. She could only hold herself there for a few seconds,
enjoying Lucy's attentions, before she realized that there *was*
a difference between the way I had used my mouth on her, and the
way Lucy was doing it. Both felt great, but somehow, Lucy's way
of doing it felt... right, somehow. Not that I'd done anything
wrong; it was just that Lucy's way of doing it was more in tune
with how she, Sarah, felt as a woman.

   Beneath Sarah, Lucy was overjoyed to finally be able to begin
showing Sarah how good it could feel to make love with another
woman. Sarah had been doing just fine getting Lucy going, and
Lucy was determined to return the favor!

   Over the course of the next half hour, the two of them took
considerable delight in being able to please each other; Sarah
happily took her cue of what to do to Lucy from what Lucy was
doing to her - going from just using her tongue on Lucy's vaginal
lips and entrance to including the use of her mouth and lips, and
including Lucy's clitoris. It wasn't long before Sarah felt
herself getting close to an orgasm, thanks to Lucy's dancing,
probing, EVER so talented tongue. She tried to hold off so that
she could return the favor, but Lucy was simply too good and too
enthusiastic - a little longer, and Sarah felt herself trip over
into one of the strongest orgasms she'd ever experienced. It was
further intensified by Lucy's knowledgeable and skillful mouth
and lips: with every spasm that wracked her body, Lucy was softly
sucking on her clitoris.

   Finally, Sarah couldn't stand it any more and reluctantly
pulled herself off of Lucy, nearly collapsing next to her as she
tried to get her breath and senses back. A few moments later, she
felt Lucy move, then settle next to her - followed by Lucy's arms
wrapping around her. For the next couple of minutes, they lay
like that, Sarah enfolded in Lucy's arms as Lucy provided comfort
and emotional support after Sarah's first woman-on-woman orgasm.

   When she was fully recovered, Sarah turned in Lucy's arms and
gave her a kiss - not only not minding, but _welcoming_ the fact
that she would get a taste of her own essence. When their tongues
had finished playing with each other, Sarah pulled her head back
slightly, and in an amazed voice told Lucy "I was so scared, at
first - but then I got started, and it turned out to be so
*wonderful*!"

   Lucy smiled, and said "I noticed."

   Sarah didn't even blush - she just moved in to collect another
kiss before asking "Is it like that every time?"

   "That depends. If you love each other, and want to make each
other feel good and happy, then yes, it can be."

   Sarah looked at her for a second, then said "And if you don't
love each other, then there really isn't any point to it, is
there?"

   Lucy caressed Sarah's face before answering "No, not really."

   Sarah looked distracted for a few moments, then said "I
understand, now, why you and Dan didn't want to have Lisa in your
bed just because she wanted to show you how grateful she was for
all you've done, and to thank you. You might have felt good,
physically, but it really wouldn't have _meant_ anything to you,
would it - not like what we just did?

   Lucy smiled and answered "No, it wouldn't."

   Sarah thought that over for a few seconds, then told her "Then
I'm glad you told her no. It wouldn't have been _right_ for her
to have been in your bed without doing it because she loved you,
and you loved her."

   "That's what we thought, too."

   "Now I really _understand_ how much it can change a body, what
Dan told me about being honest with yourself, and all the rest of
it. If I hadn't come around to your way of thinking, I don't
think - no, I KNOW I wouldn't - have appreciated this as much as
I do, now."

   After a bit, Sarah was eager and willing to let Lucy start
discovering HER body; the two of them spent the rest of the
afternoon giving and receiving pleasure - and love.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

   When we were cleared to continue our vacation, Lucy and I had
a delightful going-away 'party' with Sarah - involving just the
three of us.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

   We got home a few weeks later than we'd planned on - but that
only served to make it all the more sweet for us. Robyn and
Sandra showed us how much they'd missed us with a three-day
debauch during which they pampered Lucy and me mercilessly.

   Several months later, we got a letter from Sarah. She told us
that Sheriff Babcock had been courting her - his wife having died
years before from an illness contracted during childhood. He'd
finally gotten around to asking her to marry him; she'd decided
that he was the kind of man she wanted in her life, and had
decided to accept. Lucy and I called to congratulate them, and
learned that Lisa and Charlie had already gotten married, and
that the Marines had decided to send Charlie to college and make
him an officer. He and Lisa were happy as they could be together,
and were expecting their first child - a boy, according to
ultrasound; and to be named Daniel, interestingly enough.

--
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-- 
Pursuant to the Berne Convention, this work is copyright with all rights
reserved by its author unless explicitly indicated.
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