Note: This story was dynamically reformatted for online reading convenience.
 
 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 accept the blame.

   INFORMATION You can get a copy of this story in text and .pdf (Adobe
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   -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-==-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

   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 someone 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 beautiful 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; even 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
going 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?" before 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 faintly 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 rolled 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 even
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 unloaded 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 what 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 income.  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 get 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
and 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.