Note: This story was dynamically reformatted for online reading convenience.
 
 Title: My Saving Grace


Summary: Sometimes family is the only thing you can trust...


Keywords: inc,fic



   I'd gone into the bathroom to cry; I don't mind admitting it.  I know it
isn't the manly thing to do, but at that point I didn't care.  My
girlfriend Kelly had just ended our relationship in one of the worst ways
possible.  She and I had been together all through high school, and the
past two years of college.  We had been talking about getting married after
we graduated.  Just 45 minutes ago I had proposed and handed her the ring
I'd scrimped and saved for.

   There I was, kneeling in front of her on the floor of our favorite
restaurant, waiting for her answer.  She looked down at me, her expression
one of sadness.  That hadn't been what I was expecting.

   "Kevin," she'd said softly, "Stand up.  Let's not have this talk here."

   "What?" I'd stammered back.  "Kelly...is that a no?"

   At that point, most of the other diners in the place turned away
(especially the guys).  I guess they wanted to give me a chance to rescue
the last shreds of my ego.  I stood back up and asked the waiter - who
appeared out of nowhere as if by magic - for the check.  We walked out to
my car in silence, neither one of us breaking it until we were inside with
the engine running.

   "Kevin, I-"

   "Don't you love me?" I asked.

   "I do, honey, but-"

   "Then why did you turn me down?  We've been talking about this, and I
thought you wanted to marry me as much as I want to marry you!"

   Kelly was quiet for a long moment.  Finally, she turned toward me with
sorrow all over her face.  "Kevin, I do love you.  A part of me always
will. But over the past few days, well...  I don't want to marry you.  The
truth is, I've met someone else, and we've...well, we've been intimate."

   "You've been cheating on me?" I asked, hardly able to believe it.

   "Yes," she said.  "I didn't mean for it to happen, I just-"

   "Don't even think of saying it was an accident.  You can't accidentally
cheat on someone.  You would have to be stupid beyond the ability of mere
words to describe in order to believe that.  Disrespecting me is bad
enough! Don't make it worse by insulting my intelligence on top of that!"

   "Why?" I asked.  "Why, Kelly?  What did I do to you that make you do
this?"

   "You didn't do anything, Kevin.  I just met this man.  The second I
looked into his eyes, something clicked.  I knew in that instant, he was
THE ONE.  I couldn't be with you anymore after that, but I couldn't see a
way to tell you without breaking your heart.  I know you'll never believe
me, but I truly didn't want to do that."

   "So instead, you let me prattle on about marriage, and let me make a
fool of myself.  In public, no less.  Fuck, I hate cheaters!"

   "You forced my hand tonight, Kevin!  If I'd realized you were going to
propose tonight, I would have stopped you.  I would have told you
everything, no matter how much it hurt you.  I wouldn't have made you go
through this, I wouldn't have let you find out like this -" Her voice cut
off with something that sounded almost like a sob.  Could that possibly be
regret on her part?  Somehow, I doubted it.

   I dropped the car into gear and took off.  I still remember the look on
Kelly's face as I sped through town, blowing through several red lights. 
No, it wasn't smart, but I didn't care.  I was full of rage, pain, and
humiliation.  I guess, in spite of what was happening at that moment, my
guardian angels were looking out for me.  I didn't hit anything (or
anyone), and I never saw any flashing lights in the rear view mirror.

   I made it to Kelly's apartment building without killing us both, and
brought the car to a screeching stop.  For the first time since the
restaurant, I turned and looked her straight in the eyes.  "So you're
giving me up, you're giving up six years of love, all the things we
shared...for what, exactly?  For some guy you've known 'a few days' and a
'look in his eyes?'"

   She didn't answer, and I really didn't expect her to.  After all, that
was exactly what she was doing.  She'd just said as much.  What more was
there to say?  Not a damn thing.  Fuck her!

   "Well Kelly, I guess I should say thanks for a lovely evening.  And
while I'm at it, thanks for delivering more hurt and pain than I've ever
felt!"

   I gestured for her to get out of the car.  "I never want to see your
worthless skank ass again, you fucking whore!"

   I drove off and left her standing there.  I didn't bother to make sure
that she made it indoors.  I didn't care anymore.  The bitch had broken my
heart, and I was officially done with her.  When I got back to the house I
went straight to the bathroom.

   I sighed, stood up and washed my face.  I'd had my emotional reaction.
Now it was time to face the world and move on.  It was one of my Dad's
rules.  He'd always taught me that men are human and deserve to have
emotional reactions, but afterward, they need to move on.  It was good
advice but sometimes it was hard to follow.

   I left the bathroom and headed to my room.  Fortunately, Grace wasn't
home at the moment.  At the moment, my older sister Grace and I were the
only ones living here.  When I'd graduated high school and elected to go to
college here locally, my Mom and Dad decided they were going to do some
traveling and sightseeing.  They bought a nice RV, Mom quit her job, and
off they went.

   Dad was a day trader and did his business over the internet, so he could
work from literally anywhere, as long as he could get a wi-fi connection.
He did pretty well at it too.  Mom had worked as a secretary for a law
firm, but only because she wanted to, not because it was necessary.  They
let Grace and I live here, in the house we'd grown up in, rent free.  All
we had to do was pay the utility bills and keep the yard taken care of (and
they sent us enough money every month to take care of the utilities plus
buy groceries, so we were pretty much set).  I had a part time job just to
give me pocket money.

   Sighing, I undressed and flopped down on my bed in just my boxers.  I
didn't even bother to hang up my suit, which would've given Mom fits if
she'd been there to see it.  Before I realized how exhausted I was, I fell
asleep.  I was awakened by the feel of warm, soft lips pressing against my
cheek.

   "Good morning, Kev," came Grace's voice.

   I opened my eyes reluctantly, to see Grace hovering over me.  She was
smiling, but I could see the concern on her face.  Grace is 22, with a
glowing complexion.  Her eyes are hazel-colored, and her hair is a rich,
dark brown.  Grace has loved bicycles her whole life.  Her love of riding
has given her a lovely, well-shaped ass, calves and thighs.  Her waist is
trim, and her breasts, while not enormous, are perfectly suited to her 5'8"
frame.  Dad has said many times that Grace looks exactly like Mom did at
that age.  After having seen some photos of Mom in her 20's, I agree with
him completely.  She was going to graduate college in the spring.  I
wondered what it would be like, living in this house alone if she left
soon.

   "Morning, Gracie," I said, with a moan.  Even on normal days, I'm not a
morning person.  She stepped back as I dragged myself out of bed.  I
wandered into the bathroom and took care of my morning business, washing
and brushing my teeth.  I was mildly surprised to find that Grace was still
in my room when I came back in.  It wasn't uncommon for us to do something
together on Saturdays and Sundays, but she usually waited for me in her own
room, or in the kitchen.

   "What's up?" I asked her as I went about the task of getting dressed. 
It never occurred to me to be embarrassed about the fact that I was naked
in front of my sister.  Our family has never been bothered by being naked
around each other.  In fact, both my Mom and Grace have tanned topless on
our deck before.

   "I just wanted to see how you were, after last night," Grace said, her
sweet face still looking concerned.

   "How would you know anything about last

   night?" I asked, pausing to face her.

   My sister's expressive eyes, usually an open book, were difficult to
read now.  "I got a call late last night while I was out with Crystal.  It
was...from Kelly."

   "Really?" I said, my tone a clear warning that this was a subject she
might be best advised to leave alone.  But of course, Grace pressed on. 
She really was a lot like Mom, and not just physically.

   "She told me what happened, Kev," she said.  Her tone was full of
sympathy.

   "Gracie, please, you don't wanna go there," I started.

   "Kevin Micheal Richmond, you need to talk about this.  It's the only way
you'll get over it," she said, her tone becoming more determined now.

   "Get over it?" I said.  "Get over it, just like that?  I've loved that
girl since my freshman year of high school, Grace!  And I thought she loved
me back!  We'd been talking about getting married!  She was as excited as I
was!  We even talked about what we'd name our KIDS!" I stopped myself
before I started yelling.  Gracie didn't deserve that; she was trying to
help.

   "Gracie, I was...saving myself for her.  It was her idea that we would
do that!  Now I find out that she's been fucking some guy she just met a
few days ago, and she's leaving me!" I stalked around my room, not sure
what to do with myself.  I don't remember ever being so angry in my life.
If Kelly had been standing in front of me at just that moment, I'm not
completely certain she would have been safe.

   Grace didn't say anything, she just let me rage.  I turned to face her
yet again.  "Gracie, I might've been able to get over a break-up.  But the
cheating!  And, telling me she loved me that whole time...Gracie, I'll
never get over that.  That fucking Cunt!" I roared.

   "I let her know exactly what I thought of her, too, Kevin," she said,
calmly.  "You're right, there's no excuse for what she did, or the way she
did it.  But you might think about one thing."

   "What might that be?" I asked, sitting down on the edge of my bed, tired
again from my tirade.

   "She called me, I didn't call her.  She was worried about you.  She
didn't make up some bullshit story, either.  She told me the truth, even
though she had to know I was going to start in on her for what she did to
my little brother.  That says to me that she must still love you in some
way."

   "So it was cool for her to lie to ME, but she told YOU the truth?  Well,
that was mighty fine of her!  Wow, I can feel the warm gooey feeling of
forgiveness running all through me!  I feel so much better now!  The next
time I see her, I'll be sure and thank her for the depth of her caring
concern, and wish her and her new fuck buddy a happy life!"

   "Kevin-" she began, then faltered.  She didn't know what to say. 
Truthfully there was nothing she could say or do.  Nothing was going to
make this better, unless she had a time machine I could use to go back and
stop her from betraying me.  Or, failing that, if she'd give me a nice
sharp machete and the fuck buddy's name and address, I'd settle for that.
Yes, I've got a temper, no I wouldn't really hack him up with a machete.

   I stood up again and went to her.  Grace tenderly pulled me close and
held me tight, stroking my back gently.  I put my arms around her, laid my
face against her neck, and let her hold me, accepting the love and comfort
she offered.  After a moment, she pushed me back a little and took my chin
in her hand and kissed me on the lips.  That was new!  We kissed all the
time, but always on the cheek, or on the forehead.  Don't get me wrong, she
didn't try to slip me the tongue or anything.  It just caught me a little
off guard.  That didn't stop me from kissing her back, though, which I did.
I matched her tenderness with some of my own, using this as a way to repay
her for her love and compassion.

   "I just feel so lost, Gracie," I said softly, after our kiss ended. 
"Six years Kelly and I have been together.  I love her so much, and she
forgot all about me in a couple of days!"

   "She didn't completely forget about you, Kevin," Grace said.  "She had
to know what I'd say to her.  She had to know that I would hate her for
what she did to you, but she called me anyway.  I honestly do believe she
is worried about you.  I don't know if it's any comfort to you or not, but
she must really care about you in some way, if she would willingly subject
herself to the verbal assault I gave her."

   I shrugged.  "It doesn't really matter anymore, Gracie.  As far as I'm
concerned, from this point on she's just a dumb slut who means nothing to
me.  If there's any justice in this world, I'll never have to deal with
that hell-cunt ever again." I pulled my sister more tightly against me and
affectionately nuzzled her neck.

   "Thanks, sis.  As bad as I feel, you've made things a little less dark
for me." I gave her another tender kiss on the lips before releasing her so
I could get some clothes on.

   "Tell you what, how about we do something fun today, just the two of
us?"

   "Like what?" I asked, as I pulled on my favorite pair of jeans.  This
was a rare Saturday; I didn't have to work, and my classwork was caught up,
leaving me free to do whatever.

   "How about we hit the trail and see how out of shape you are?" she
teased.  I pretended to be outraged and shook my fist at her.

   "I'll show you who's out of shape, wench!  Get thee to ye garage, pull
forth thy bicycle, and prepare thyself for thou comeuppance!" I said, in my
best Shakespearean performance.  Ok, so I wasn't a drama major.  My future
clearly lay outside the realm of theatre.

   "Besides," I continued, as I pulled on a shirt, "just because I'm not in
your league when it comes to bicycling, that doesn't mean I'm out of
shape."

   I could see her eyes in the mirror over my dresser.  I'd never seen her
look at me that way before.  If I didn't know better, I'd think she was
checking me out!

   "No," she said, drawing the word out.  "You're not out of shape,
actually." Since I haven't described myself yet, I might as well do so,
briefly.  I'm 20 years old.  Like Grace, I've got dark brown hair that I
keep trimmed short.  My eyes are a dark green.  I stand just a hair over
six feet tall and I weigh 190 pounds.

   I'm not bragging when I say that a lot of that is muscle.  My part time
job is with a landscaping contractor; Landscaping in the spring, summer,
and fall, combined with snow and ice removal in the winter contributed to
my physique.  A desire to compete with Grace took care of the rest.  If I
let myself get fat, she would never let me live it down!  I'm no Mr. 
Universe, but I get my fair share of appreciation from the female
population.  Kelly certainly never complained.  In fact she loved to run
her hands up and down myI firmly squelched that line of thought before it
could go any further.  The last thing I needed was more tears.  "We won't
spend all day on the trails, though.  What about after lunch?" I asked.

   "We'll eat on the trail, then we can come home, clean up, and go out,"
Grace replied.

   "Sounds good!" I said.  "I think some trail time is a good idea.  Maybe
afterward we can see that new horror movie.  I kind of wanted to see that
one about Ed and Lorraine Warren."

   "Sure!" she agreed, watching me as I stripped my jeans and casual shirt
back off and put on my biking shorts and a tee shirt instead.

   ###

   As far as the weather went, you couldn't ask for better.  The sky was
clear and the sun was shining.  The temperature was nice too; not too hot,
not too cold.  Early fall is one of my favorite times of the year.

   The bike trails in Highland Park were sparsely populated today; Grace
and I nearly had the place to ourselves as we peddled through the most
difficult of the four trails.  This one was graded 4 out of 4 for being
physically challenging.  There were many fairly steep climbs with equally
steep descents.  It included several sharp hairpin turns and switchbacks
that could challenge even an experienced rider.  In several places, riders
had to ride single file because the path was so narrow.  It was definitely
not the kind of trail you wanted to race on!

   By the time we had completed the circuit twice, I had worked up a good
sweat.  After finishing a third, I was starting to tire.  By the fourth, I
had fallen some distance behind Grace, and was only hanging on because I
refused to quit before her.  Judging from the sweat stains on her tank top,
Grace was feeling some strain too.  What can I say, siblings are
competitive!  Finally, after traversing the path a fifth time, I sighed
with relief as I followed Grace off of the path.  The ride back to the
parking lot provided a decent cool-off for us.

   There was some good-natured ribbing back and forth between us as I
loaded our bikes onto the rack of Grace's Jeep Liberty.  As I secured them
in place, Grace got the cooler out of the back seat and spread a blanket in
the grass at the edge of the lot under an old sycamore tree.

   She handed me a ham and swiss sandwich as I joined her on the blanket,
and we ate in silence for a few minutes, just enjoying the fine day and the
warm glow from the exercise.  After finishing, I stood and stretched out
some while Grace took care of the trash.  I was a little startled when she
goosed me.

   "Hey!" I shouted.

   Grace giggled girlishly, giving me an impish smile.  "Come on, let's go
to the creek!" she said, taking off at a run.  Sighing, I followed her as
she ran.  The creek she was talking about wasn't much to write home about,
especially after the dry summer just past.

   This part of it lay in a ravine with thick groves of trees and brush on
each bank.  The branches formed a thick canopy overhead that dappled the
sunlight.  This early in the fall, the leaves were still thick on the
boughs, and had only just begun to change color.  Our parents had brought
us here many times when we were younger, and we'd come here on our own many
times since.

   After pushing our way through the ground cover, we stood on the east
bank, staring down into the ravine.  The creek below was little more than a
trickle.  There was just enough for minnows to swim.  Not dissuaded in the
least by this, Grace started down the side towards it.  I followed at a
slower pace.  My leg muscles were still feeling a little rubbery from the
abuse they'd taken on the bike trail, and I didn't want to take a nasty
header down the bank.

   Grace stepped out of her shoes and socks and started wading into the
shallow stream before I'd even reached the bottom.  I shed my own footwear
and followed her to the center on the creek.  She was staring down in
fascination, watching minnows swim lazily with the current as they did
whatever it is minnows do.

   "This has always been one of my favorite spots," she said, softly.  "I
still remember the first time Mom and Dad brought us here." She looked up
and smiled tenderly at me.  "I think you might have been two, or maybe
three.  The creek seemed a lot deeper, then."

   "I'm sure it was, from the perspective of a little kid!" I said with a
chuckle.  She laughed too.

   Grace looked around at the beautiful place, and then without a word
started stripping off her clothes.  Even though I'm her brother, I couldn't
stop myself from admiring her body.  Her legs, as I said earlier, are
sculpted and toned.  Her belly is well toned, with just a hint of feminine
roundness.  Her hips and ass are rounded and firm, tapering to nice waist.
Her breasts, while not large, are firm and perfectly formed.  They sat high
on her chest, the dark pink of her aureola and nipples providing a lovely
contrast to her tanned skin.  As she moved, her breasts bounced just enough
to be enticing.

   I wasn't surprised to see that she didn't have any tan lines on top;
like I said, I've seen her and Mom tan bare-breasted on our deck before.  I
was a little surprised, though, to see that she'd shaved her mound
completely bare.  I had never seen Grace with a shaved pussy before; she
usually kept it trimmed into a neat triangle.  Grace must have noted my
surprise, and followed my gaze to her nether regions.

   "Oh, I did this the day before yesterday," she said.  "Matt said he
wanted to see it shaved, and since I'd never tried it, I figured I'd do
that for him.  Do you like it?" She looked up at me shyly, seeking my
approval.

   Matt was Matthew Segan, a casual acquaintance of mine and Grace's
current boyfriend.  As for her question: I don't usually care for the bald
pussy look, honestly.  I prefer it when a woman has a bush.  It's nice when
she keeps it trimmed and neat, but I just don't like it shaved bare.  Kelly
had alwaysSTOP IT!  I roared to myself.  Stop thinking about her!  Snapping
back to reality, I smiled at Grace, shrugged, and started pulling my own
clothes off.

   "It's different, Gracie, that's for sure," I said, as I tossed my
clothes to the bank next to hers.  "As long as you and Matt like it, that's
what matters.  If you really want my opinion, though, I'd have to say I
prefer a woman to have at least some hair down there." I wouldn't lie to
Grace.  It would ruin the absolute trust we have in each other.

   "Yeah, I don't really care for it either," she said, running her hand
casually over her lower lips.  "But," she continued, "I promised I'd try it
for him, and a promise is a promise!"

   I didn't allow myself to dwell on that comment.  Instead, I concentrated
on admiring my beautiful sister as she knelt naked in the middle of the
stream, letting the minnows swim lazily between her fingers.

   "Has he seen it yet?"

   "No," she said.  "He'll have his chance tomorrow afternoon.  He's
working overnights this week." She glanced up at me, a question in her eyes
that she'd never actually give voice to.

   "I'll see what Tony is up to tomorrow.  He's been wanting to head out to
the rifle range before the weather turns cold, so maybe we'll go squeeze
off a few rounds," I said in answer to her silent request.  I'd been in the
house when Grace was having sex in the past.  It didn't bother her in the
least (or me) but it bugged the shit out of Matt.  It wouldn't kill me to
get lost for a few hours.  Grace's happiness was worth it.  The smile that
lit up her face was all the thanks I needed.

   I stood next to her in the stream, letting the cool water wash over my
feet and ankles.  It was cool enough to be a bit of shock, but it wasn't
uncomfortable.  Grace stood up after a few more minutes and washed the mud
from the creek bed off her knees.  She playfully slapped my ass before
walking over to the pile of clothes and got her phone.  She frowned at the
screen.

   "We'd better take off in 15 minutes or so.  We're both going to need a
shower before we hit the theater," she said.

   "Yeah," I said, conscious of the stickiness of dried sweat all over me.
I stepped out of the creek and grabbed my clothes.  I looked curiously at
Grace when she giggled again.

   "You might also like some time to take care of that," she said, looking
at my crotch.  I didn't get it at first, but then I quickly realized my
cock was standing at full attention.  I was a little embarrassed, but it
wasn't too horrible.  It would hardly be the first time she had seen me
hard.

   "Did I do that?" she asked coyly, giving me a sweet smile.

   "Yeah," I admitted, grinning sheepishly in return.  "What can I say,
Gracie, you are really beautiful, and I am a guy after all."

   "Yes you are, Kevin, and a damn good guy, at that!" she said.  She
leaned over and kissed me lightly on the lips.  "You really think I'm
beautiful?" she asked.  Her tone was light, but the look in her eye told me
she was having a rare moment of insecurity.

   "Grace, you are one of the most beautiful women I know, and I'm not just
saying that because I love you.  But as nice as your body is, your heart is
still your best feature."

   "Aww," she crooned, leaning her body into mine for a moment.  "You have
a talent for saying just the right thing, brother dear." She kissed me
again, much more firmly this time, letting me know my words had touched
her. "Come on, let's get moving!"

   The drive back to the house was quiet, but not somber.  Grace quietly
sang along with the song on the radio as she drove.  One of the things I
love about her is that she's one of those people who are almost always in a
positive frame of mind.  As bad as I felt, watching and listening to her
made me feel a little better.  Her good mood was almost contagious; it was
hard to stay sullen and bitter when I was around her.  As if she could hear
my thoughts, Grace glanced over at me, smiled, and stroked my hair back.

   "Love you, Kev," she said.

   "I love you too, Gracie."

   "You probably won't believe this right now, but trust me, it'll get
better." I had no answer to that, so I just accepted her gentle caress and
sat in companionable silence for the rest of the drive.

   The movie was good: scary, good special effects (of course), but best of
all, there was actually a plot!  Gracie jumped frequently, and even
squeaked a couple of times.  I had almost as much fun watching her
reactions as I did watching the movie.  By the time the show ended and we'd
had a bite to eat, it was well after midnight.  Gracie tended to bed down
early, especially when she had plans or classes the next day, so she said
goodnight as soon as we made it home.

   Now I was once again alone with my thoughts.  Thinking of Kelly was
normal; we'd been together exclusively (or so I thought) for the last six
years, and it had been only 24 hours since the meltdown of our
relationship. I think it was natural for me to still be dwelling on it,
even though I knew it wasn't healthy and wouldn't accomplish anything.  I
finally managed to get to sleep, but it wasn't very restful.

   The next morning, I showered early and ate a quick breakfast.  I made a
call to my friend Tony, grabbed my AR-15 carbine and some ammo, and it was
off to the range.  I made it point to go a couple times a month.  I'd never
be an Army Ranger, but I wasn't too bad at it.  Shooting is fun, and a
great stress reliever.  I made it about halfway to the Northview Gun Club
when I had a blowout!  I was only going 55, thankfully, and this stretch of
highway is straight and four lanes wide.

   I managed to keep my 2010 Subaru Outlander from spinning out, and pulled
off onto the shoulder of the highway.  I looked my tires over carefully,
but there was too much debris from my blowout to tell what had caused it.
Sighing, I pulled my phone out to call Tony and tell him what happened. 
Then I got down to the task of getting it changed.

   Naturally, as so often happens, my spare tire was low.  It wasn't flat,
but it was low enough that I didn't trust it.  Damn, this weekend had the
highest suck factor of any I'd had so far!  Not having any other option, I
put on the spare and drove as slowly and carefully as I could to the first
exit ramp.  I finally made it to one of those big-box supercenter stores
and bought a new tire.  I made damn sure they aired up my spare, too!

   By now, it was almost 1 in the afternoon, and I was starving.  I called
Tony and begged off.  I might as well go home, put my stuff back in the
safe, and find something to do in town.  When I pulled onto our street, I
noticed Matt's Charger parked in our driveway (in my spot, of course.) What
surprised me was that there was another car parked on the street in front
of our next door neighbor.

   The neighbor in question, Mrs.  Bertha Coombs, was a crusty old lady. 
She was short, pushing 80, and was one of the toughest people I knew!  Her
biggest pet peeve was people parking in front of her house.  She didn't
even let her own visiting family members park there, so seeing a car there
was odd to say the least.

   Annoyed at the necessity, I parked my Subaru at the curb in front of our
house, grabbed my gun case and range bag, and started inside.  Things took
another turn as I reached the front door and found it to be unlocked.  The
hairs on the back of my neck stood straight up!  Grace, for all of her good
qualities, had a strong distrust of the general population.  She would
never - repeat, NEVER - leave the door unlocked!  We're all human and we
all make mistakes, but she would never make that one!

   My annoyance forgotten, I stripped the case off of my AR-15 carbine and
loaded it with a 30-round MagPul P-mag.  I pulled the adjustable stock out
to the first position to keep it tight, and stepped carefully into the
house.  Almost as an afterthought, I slipped my electronic ear protectors
on.  They were a handy thing to have; the amplified soft sounds, left
normal ones alone, and greatly diminished loud sounds to protect you
hearing.  If the worst happened and I had to take a shot, at least I
wouldn't deafen myself.

   The first floor of our house is designed on an open plan.  It took
almost no time at all to see that was unoccupied.  I could hear noises from
upstairs.  Grace didn't sound like she was in trouble; she actually sounded
like she was having a good time.  The muzzle of my AR-15 dropped slightly
as I considered whether I was overreacting.  Then I heard a soft creaking
sound from the upstairs hall.  Grace's bedroom was directly overhead from
where I was standing.  If she and Matt were in there (and clearly they had
to be) who was in the hallway?

   Plus, there was the whole business with the front door being unsecured.

   I snapped my weapon back to the threat-response position and made my way
to the stairs.  The first turn and the landing were clear, as was the
second flight.  I approached the top very slowly.  I grew up here, so I
know where all the creaky spots are.  It wasn't hard to avoid them as long
as I took it slow.

   The second floor is more traditionally laid out than the ground floor.
There's a hallway running from the front of the house to the back, off of
which opens my room, Gracie's room, a bathroom, and the master suite which
we left alone.

   As I poked my head cautiously over the lip of the stairs, I could see a
figure crouching at the door to Gracie's room.  In the darkness (there are
no windows in the hallway and all the doors were closed), I couldn't make
out any details, not even whether it was a male or a female.  Focusing
harder, I could see that there was some light.  There was a faint outline
of light from Grace's door, indicating that it wasn't completely closed. 
There was also a faint light coming from the figure's hand.  What the fuck?

   Making my decision, I softly adjusted the brightness setting on my Aim
Point sight.  Rising to stand at my full height, I hit the switch for the
hallway lights, screaming, "FREEZE, MOTHERFUCKER!" Alright, so I don't have
any original lines of my own.  At least I didn't say something like 'Reach
for the sky!,' or 'in about ten seconds, you're gonna be cloud dancing!' It
was a tense moment, cut me some slack.

   Through the narrow window of my Aim Point sight, the light revealed the
kneeling figure to be a man.  It was hard to tell with him kneeling, but he
looked to be about my height and age range.

   But he was built a lot bigger.  His muscles had muscles.  Now here was a
guy who clearly spent some time at the weight bench!  His right hand, still
raised against the crack in Grace's door, held a phone of some kind with a
pretty large screen.  Maybe one of the high-end Galaxy models, or a Note?
Whatever, it didn't matter.  His left hand was invisible between his
splayed legs, but it didn't take a lot of imagination to guess what he was
doing with it.  I now had a pretty good idea what the bastard was up to,
and my temper was starting to flare.

   The noise from Gracie's room had changed from moans and cries of
pleasure to confused voices.  "Kevin?" I heard her call.

   "Gracie, stay in your room!  There's a man in the hallway right by your
door!  I have him at gunpoint!  Call the cops right fucking now!" I roared,
not letting the muzzle of my carbine move even a fraction off target.  This
fucker was so big, he'd literally rip me apart if he got his massive bear
paws on me.  I might be able to outrun him, but then Gracie and Matt would
be defenseless!  If the big bastard was smart, he'd stay right where he was
until the cops got here.  If he was really stupid, he'd come at me and make
me shoot him.  If he was really evil, he'd charge into Gracie's room and
put her - and maybe Matt - between himself and me.  Please, God, let him be
smart!

   Through the crack in the door, I could hear Matt and Grace talking. 
Grace sounded terrified (only natural, I thought).  Matt sounded pretty
scared too, but there was something off.  I couldn't make out what he was
saying, because I didn't dare give it much thought.  Mr.  Grizzly Bear in
the hallway deserved my undivided attention at the moment.

   The pale-skinned hulk knelt there glaring at me for moment, then he
stood up.  My estimate of his height was way off...he was taller than me by
several inches at least.  He must outweigh me by a good 50 pounds, or more!
It occurred to me once more that if he got a hold of me, I was finished. 
He could turn me into raw hamburger without breaking a sweat.

   In the quiet of the hallway, the safety selector made a loud clicking
sound as I pushed it to the "fire" position with my thumb.  "Relax and stay
right where you are, Frankenstein.  You're one big motherfucker, but
nobody's bullet proof."

   He was still looking right at me, but now he seemed unsure of himself.
"Who the hell are you?" he said, in a deep, gravelly voice.

   I couldn't believe what I'd just heard.  "Who am I?  I fucking LIVE
here! Who are you, and what the fuck are doing in my house, besides jerking
off while recording my sister having sex?" And the evidence that he was
doing exactly that couldn't be more clear.  The phone was still in his
hand, and his rather impressive manhood was still hanging out of his fly.
His facial expression was confused, now, like he couldn't process what he'd
just heard.

   "Matt," he said, without taking his eyes off of me, "You forgot to
mention a few details to me!" I had an even worse feeling now than I did
before, but things were starting to click into place.  I had an ugly theory
that happened to fit the facts.  If I was right, my beloved sister was
about to join the nasty break-up club.  Maybe we could order T-shirts?

   I heard another flurry of conversation from Grace's room, again too
distorted for me to understand.  Then, her bedroom door opened and Matt
stepped out, holding his hands skyward.

   "Kevin," he said, "Take it easy.  There's no need for anyone to get
hurt."

   "Matt, what the fuck?" I said, as he stepped deliberately between me and
Andre the Giant.  Instantly I brought the carbine's muzzle higher, resting
the red dot of my Aim Point sight on Mr.  Grizzly's head, and hoped Matt
wouldn't get fragged in the process.  Matt couldn't miss the motion and
stopped dead.

   "Not a good - or a smart - place to be, Matt," I said, way more calmly
than I felt.  "Clear my line of fire.  My sister likes you a lot, but that
fact won't stop me from dropping the hammer if the Grape Ape behind you
wants to play rough!"

   "Kevin, this isn't what you think," Matt said, taking another step
towards me.  All of a sudden, my suspicions seemed to be confirmed.

   "Grace!" I yelled.  "Are the cops on the way yet?"

   "YES!" she shouted.  "I'm staying on the line with the 911 dispatcher
until they get here!"

   I took a careful step back, making sure I could cover both of them now.
"Both of you just stay where you are, and keep cool, nobody needs to get
hurt, okay?  Just wait for the cops, and we'll all walk away from this with
a pulse."

   Matt didn't miss the fact that I was keeping him covered with my weapon
as well.  "Kevin, please, put the gun down, okay?  We were-"

   "I know exactly what you were about to do, you sick fuck!" I interrupted
him, barely in control of my rage.  "You let the Son of Kong here into the
house, or maybe even found a way to get him a key, right?  The plan was
that you would keep Grace occupied while he came in and recorded the two of
you going at it.  Then you'd give him the sign, he'd come in, and you'd get
a little threeway action!  And if my sister didn't like that idea, well too
bad!  You had naked video of her you could post online and blackmail her
into it!  Or maybe old Colossus there would just overpower her and take her
by force!"

   Obviously I couldn't see my own expression, but it must have looked
pretty bad to Matt.  He visibly paled beneath his pretty-boy tan.  "Kevin,
wait, please, let's just all calm down-"

   "Oh shut the fuck up, you stupid ass-clown!" I shouted.  "If I can
figure out what's going on, you can bet Grace has too!  You're fucking
finished, so quit your whining and wait for the damn cops!"

   "He doesn't have the balls to do it," the gorilla said.  "I'm gonna take
that thing away from you and shove it so far up your ass, you'll fire a
shot every time you belch!  Then I'm gonna do whatever I feel like to that
delicious bitch, and I'll make it last all damn night-"

   As he spoke, Mighty Joe Young made a critical error in his tactical
planning.  He reached forward and took two huge strides towards me.  He
covered half the distance between us in just those two steps, and I had to
make my choice.  The AR-15 nudged my shoulder gently, and the sound of the
shot was, in a word, deafening.  The muzzle blast was worse; there was no
space for it to dissipate.  The bullet slammed into the floor less than 6
inches from the toes of Kong's left foot, and he came to an almost instant
halt.

   The two of them, Matt and Mr.  Bear, saw the little splinters of carpet
and plywood dusting his shoes and realized that I was perfectly willing to
pull the trigger.  While Matt whimpered in terror, the giant just stood and
scowled at me...but he shut up and kept his distance.  There was going to
be hell to pay later, when Mom saw the hole I'd just made in her floor. 
That was a pain in the ass that could wait for later, though.

   "I believe," I said in a casual tone, "that should cover any questions
about my balls, don't you, Apocalypse?" Shifting the muzzle upwards again,
I kept it trained on them.  "Just so you know, the next time I'll shoot to
kill."

   I knew they couldn't hear anything I'd said through the ringing in their
ears, but they obviously got the point.  They stayed put until the police
finally arrived.  I didn't even let the big bastard zip himself up.  As far
as I was concerned, he could let it all hang out for a little while longer.


   ###

   What followed was a real nightmare.  The cops arrested the gorilla, who
it turned out was named Lance Forster.  Lance, really?  No, I'll let that
one go.  After some discussion (and a moment listening to audio recorded on
my phone) they also arrested Matt.  The idiot actually admitted to them
that he'd told Lance where the emergency hide-a-key was kept.  (That
admission startled me.  I couldn't believe Grace would let that information
slip, but there you go.) A criminology student at the University once
remarked to me that many criminals literally talk themselves right into a
cell.  I

   guess Matt was proof of that.  My new buddy Lance was at least somewhat
smarter: he kept his mouth shut.
As soon as Tweedle-Dee and Tweedle-Dum were in custody, I called our
parents.  As it turned out, they were only a couple hours away at the
riverboat casino south of us.  They said they'd be home, ASAP.  Grace was a
total wreck.  She clung tightly to me most of the time, and when she had no
choice but to let go of me, she made sure I was always within her line of

sight.

   Finally, after they finished taking statements from the two of us, the
police left.  I folded Grace tightly into my arms and caressed her,
whispering soft reassurances in her ear.

   "I'm never gonna get any sleep tonight.  You know that, right?" Her eyes
brimmed with tears, but these tears were angry.  "That fucking bastard!  I
can hardly believe what he was going to do to me!  My God, Kevin, if you
hadn't had that problem on the way to the gun club..." Her voice faded; she
couldn't make herself finish the thought and I couldn't blame her.  My mind
wouldn't let me go there, either.

   "Dear Gracie," I whispered in her ear, "You can sleep easy tonight. 
I'll watch over you, you know that!  I've already locked the doors and set
the alarm.  I made sure the cops took the hide-a-key away from Lance, but
Dad will probably change the locks tomorrow anyway.  For now, I'll stay up
until Mom and Dad get here."

   She offered me a small, but genuine smile.  Without a second thought, I
leaned into her and kissed her, passionately.  There was no disguising this
kiss with a mask of sibling affection.  I can say, truthfully, that I
wasn't trying to bed her.  I was just so overwhelmed with emotion at all
that had happened.

   For her part, Grace didn't hesitate.  She was kissing me back with equal
fervor, her soft tongue dueling playfully with mine.  Her hands stroked up
and down my back in gentle motions of encouragement.  I cupped the back of
her head in one hand, deepening our kiss.  Gracie moaned in pleasure as my
other arm crushed her tighter against me.

   Finally, the kiss ended.  We stared into each other's eyes, and we knew
what had just happened was more than a knee-jerk reaction to the emotional
trauma of the day.  There was something real there that we both urgently
wanted to explore.

   But, not tonight.  Mom and Dad were on their way home, for one.  More
importantly though, was that I refused to hurt my loving Grace.  She'd been
through something horrible: Matt's planned betrayal was worse by an order
of magnitude than what had happened to me.  I still shook with rage when I
thought about what he and Lance planned to do to her.  How could you look
at someone and say "I love you" to someone and plan to do something like
that?

   Grace almost seemed to be reading my mind in that moment.  Caressing my
cheek, she smiled at me.  "My dear, sweet Kevin...tonight isn't the night."
I nodded my head and released her from my arms.

   "You're right, Gracie," I said.

   "Hey!" she said, capturing my arm before I moved too far away.  "I want
you to show me what real love is like, Kevin.  I know you can, and you
will. Just not tonight...my love."

   I smiled and kissed her again, more lightly this time.  "Only if you'll
do the same for me...my love!" That said, I held her close for a few more
precious minutes before we separated again.  As much as I hated to let go
of her, I consoled myself with the knowledge that very soon I'd be doing so
much more than just holding her.  I knew somehow that I'd found it: My
Saving Grace.

   To be continued....


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