Never Gonna Give You Up

Again, I'd like to thank kenjisato for great editing and my lunchtime friends for their input. If you find any mistakes, it's probably something I did after editing.

Active sexual activity only involves characters over the age of eighteen. Any similarities to persons, living or dead, are coincidental, I think.

For literary effect, I used the idea of hypnotic mind control, I don't know if it is real, but this is a fiction story, so I am using it. I know it could be a Loving Wives story, but I felt the renewing of the love they had and the kids deserved it being Romance. Instead of BTB, I wanted it to be a Burn the Interloper story.

NEVER GONNA GIVE YOU UP.

Reconciliation after mind control interferes.

My name is Daniel James Gray, Dan. I was the typical husband, nose to the grindstone, providing for my family's needs, but not attuned to my wife, Denise's, needs. A kiss, goodnight, and a hug when I fell into bed exhausted from working two jobs was not enough. The wife worked, and we had three children, two girls, Ruth and Hope, from her first marriage and one together, a son, James, Jimmy. I had been married before also, but no kids. We lived in Scottsdale, Arizona, at the time.

My mistake was not seeing to Denise's emotional needs, and Denise's mistake was sharing her frustration with a predator, Ralph Donnola, at work. The son-of-a-bitch began to chat Denise up; he knew all the lines to use. He convinced her he was a better man for her, and before I knew it, I was living with my widowed stepmother. I wondered just how he was able to do that.

I asked for marriage counseling; Ralph somehow 'talked' Denise out of it.

I lost my main job due to being accused of abusing my son! I was sure Ralph had somehow orchestrated the accusation.

I ended up having a mental breakdown and losing my job.

He had Denise liquidate all our accounts to cash, so I could not pay the mortgage on the house, it was foreclosed on. I had to buy a car; we only had a Honda Civic wagon and a motorcycle, I was riding the motorcycle, so I had to cash in some retirement funds to buy a car, just so I could visit with my three-year-old son.

About a year after the divorce, I thought I had found love again-- Julie, and was married for a short time, eight months! It was just a rebound marriage and a marriage of convenience. It did not last long; in fact, it started to be over after Jimmy's twelfth-weekend visit, at six months.

The new wife did not like the attention I gave my son when he was visiting. I was working, but getting underpaid for my experience, so I was treading water until a new job came along. Luckily, we had a 'boilerplate prenup'-- "What's yours is yours, and what's mine is mine." I moved back in with my mom (stepmom).

Mom died in her sleep about a month after divorce number three was final; it was after a wonderful visit she had with Jimmy, and I was so glad he got to see Grandma in such a happy state of mind. I inherited mom's big-ass, all-paid-for, five-bedroom house; it was in East Tempe, within biking distance of where Denise lived.

I got a new job in Yuma, where I was the Western Arizona sales manager. I was back to making a better wage than I did before I lost my previous job. I was living two hundred miles away, and I was renting mom's house out. With removable walls, I was able to rent it as a duplex.

When Jimmy was almost ten, Denise's marriage to the son of a bitch failed, BIG TIME! He was not the white knight he had told her he was when he was indoctrinating her. Believe it or not, HE was abusive to all three kids and my ex-wife. He pushed Denise down the stairs! When he got arrested for kiddie porn (child pornography), Denise pulled the plug on him.

Just before her divorce, Denise sent Jimmy to me. Jimmy told his mom that he wanted to stay with me. That helped because Ralph and Denise lost the house they had. Denise's oldest daughter, Ruth, had joined the Navy, and Denise's other daughter, Hope, was bouncing between her father and grandparents, so at least the kids did not have to witness the fights and court visits, cops at the door, etc. at the end of that marriage.

Denise moved into an apartment in West Mesa, she was now closer to my house.

My job required me to travel every other weekend (well, every other Friday) to the Phoenix metropolitan area, my former home area, so I would take Jimmy with me for his visit with his mother. With my new job, I was making good money and putting it away, then with no child support to pay.

Because Jimmy was smart, I was able to take him out of school every other Friday, and we would return Sunday night. I worked it out with his teachers that he would pick up his assignments on Thursday and do them in the truck as we drove the two hundred miles there and the two hundred miles back on Sunday. I would have three to four sales calls on Friday and, if needed, on Saturday, too. I would stay with my best friend Bill and his second wife; we had been friends for years and roommates during both our first divorces.

I had my truck set up as an office-away-from-my-office. I had captain chairs in the front, and the front passenger captain chair could fold down to form a desk. WIFI access was then a thing, so if I could find a signal to latch on to... I was on the World Wide Web! Sometimes, I would rent a hotel room just so I could use the WIFI. When Bill got WIFI, I paid for it. It was all expensed out. When I could, if I had to, I could sit outside a business (hotel, restaurant, etc.) and use their free WIFI; when I did, it cut my response time on orders and bids. When cell phones became hot spots, I became an internet "guru," "enthusiast" or "techie even." My sales increased yearly; in one year, my sales increased by thirty-five percent!

As both my ex, Denise, and I were single, I would politely ask Denise to dinner with Jimmy and me on Thursday evening. One time, Jimmy arranged to meet friends who drove up with their parents from Yuma to Mesa. So, it was just Denise and me; just two people having dinner together.

When I pulled up to her apartment after dinner, Denise said, "Can we just sit and talk out here." I had oldies playing softly (well, by today's standard) on my radio (oh, I had all the sound connections I needed in my truck).

Before Denise could speak, 'our' song came on-- Rick Astley's 'Never Gonna Give You Up'; that cheesy song from the 1980s that became 'rickroll', we loved it. Without thinking, I started to sing along with Rick Astley; I had my eyes closed, remembering what our lives were like when we were together. Without thinking, I belted out the 'rickroll' chorus!

... Never gonna give you up

Never gonna let you down

Never gonna run around and desert you

Never gonna make you cry

Never gonna say goodbye

Never gonna tell a lie and hurt you...

When the song ended, I looked at Denise, she was crying a full waterfall and snot was flowing; luckily, I had tissues in my truck.

Denise said, "What a perfect song for what I want to talk about with you.

"Daniel, I have been a fool. When we divorced, it was like I was under Ralph's spell. He said all the right things, I think? But he was all talk and no action. He was not even a good lover. All the stuff he did to woo me, he never followed through when we married. It became his way or no way. I was so embarrassed that I had lost you. Both Hope and Jimmy rebelled, and Ralph was so angered by the way Jimmy bragged about his time with you, that he would try to make every bruise and late pick-up or drop-off of Jimmy worse. When Jimmy broke his leg while he was at your house, Ralph went insane, trying to blame you. When the police cleared you and your babysitter, I thought he was going to have an aneurysm.

"Then the night he came home, all beat up, and again, the police cleared you."

I said, "I had nothing to do with it, but I might know who did it. And no, it wasn't any friends of mine per se... Since it is past the statute of limitations, I can tell you... it was your brother and a couple of his friends."

"I did enjoy being interviewed by the police; I got to hear about his injuries. It was all I could do to keep from laughing! Since I had an iron-clad alibi. I was with Jimmy at an open house at the brand-new police station. He wanted to see the police equipment so bad, he made me take him to the library before, so he could learn the right names. And the cops remembered Jimmy and me. Thank God, Jimmy asked so many questions!

"Daniel, is there any chance we could be at least friends again?"

"Denise, you hurt me deeply. I know we had problems, but what you did... it was like you were a different person.' It seemed to happen so quickly."

"Daniel, I am going to counseling, I would like you to come with me sometime. My counselor has interviewed most of my family and some of my friends, she wants to interview you."

My thoughts on seeing her counselor were that it would be a good thing to help Jimmy and my stepdaughters, Ruth and Hope if their mom and 'dad' were at least friendly.

* * *

Dr. Joyce explained to me that there might be a legal situation that would not involve me, other than a witness or petitioner, the interview was quite in-depth.

A week after that interview, Denise invited me to meet her in Dr Joyce's office again. I took two days off.

What I saw and heard shocked me. The 'why' Denise was ' a 'different person' came out-- HYPNOTIC MIND CONTROL! To be honest, my mind was thinking, Bullshit, but this could help my son and 'daughters' so I will play along.

Before we divorced, Denise had wanted to try hypnosis to help her lose weight.

It was Ralph, who gave her the number of a hypnotherapist. When Denise visited the hypnotherapist, Ralph posed as her 'friend from work,' and the therapist allowed Ralph to use post-hypnotic suggestions to supposedly help her with her weight loss since he would be seeing her at work five days a week. Ralph, instead, used this knowledge to slowly put hypnotic suggestions in her mind that caused her to become estranged from me and look to him for her emotional, which later became physical, support.

I was shocked. Remember, I thought it was, at first, 'Bullshit!'

Dr. Joyce showed me the medical papers supporting the studies on the mind-control method that Ralph had used.

Dr Joyce told us the police needed to be involved. (As we know, counselors are mandated reporters when it comes to many kinds of abuse.) We were interviewed the next day in Dr. Joyce's office by both the police and an Assistant District Attorney. The ADA moved the meeting to the District Attorney's office as soon as the ADA understood the severity and was able to draw up charges.

Things got real; the hypnotherapist was given full immunity for her testimony, our divorce attorneys were brought in, depositions were taken, my lawyer prepared lawsuits against Ralph, and so did Denise's. The District Attorney had several indictments to file against good ol' Ralph.

Since there was no statute of limitations for rape or sexual assault in Arizona, the DA was going to charge Ralph's actions as sexual assault, the same as using a roofie. Right, I was not a legal scholar, but it seemed to me, it would be an uphill battle since she had married him. The District Attorney had a battle plan. I could not believe all of the witnesses (psychologists, psychiatrists) who backed up the charges. What the DA also found out-- good ol' Ralph was involved in the 'sex trade'.

He was part owner in a network of massage parlors, some legitimate, but most were not. Basically, a customer paid a 'membership fee', which was really an ownership buy-in. It was a way to keep 'members' quiet. The network kept the women moving from one parlor to another, all over the state, from the Mexican border to the truck stops on Interstate 40. Many of the owners were basically men who bought a membership, used the services for a short time, and then became inactive. Ralph was an active member of the network. When Denise found out, she went straight to her gynecologist and had a full STD scan. It turned out Ralph had brought an STD home, luckily for Denise, it was caught very early, and she was given treatment to stamp it out!

The last hearing on Ralph's child pornography case was coming up soon; it had been a little over three years since he had been arrested, there was no statute of limitations for child pornography either, and he had a plea deal in the works.

Both Denise and I attended the hearing. When Ralph entered the courtroom, he immediately talked to his attorney. The attorney looked at me; I had a big-ass smile. We did find out the plea deal was nothing more than community service since it was a first-time offense. One thing was that Ralph had to swear that he had not committed any other crimes in the last ten years.

Funny thing, our divorce was about seven years before, one reason why I was wearing my big-ass smile.

The judge gaveled the court into session. The Assistant District Attorney asked if the District Attorney himself could address the court. Ralph's Attorney stood up to object, and the Judge told him to sit down, saying, "Overruled."

"Your Honor, I have the defendant's sworn statement that he has not committed any other crimes than what was revealed during the plea deal negotiations. Your Honor, we have found several alleged crimes he has committed on his now ex-wife and stepchildren during and before their marriage, all within the plea deal's time parameters, the last ten years!"

My big-ass smile got bigger.

The District Attorney somehow convinced Ralph and his attorney to settle the civil lawsuits that Denise and I filed against him. Ralph's plea deal was rescinded, and a new one was then reached-- Ralph would serve some time.

Ralph lost his retirement savings (which couldn't happen to a nicer guy).

Denise and I started to go to counseling together. It did not mean we would get back together; I was doing it so Denise could become whole again and for the kids.

We seemed to have a standing 'date' on Thursday evenings. I would drive the two hundred miles to drop Jimmy off with his sister, then Denise and I would go to the counseling appointment, and get something to eat after. It was during these impromptu meals that we talked. We discussed many things that we never discussed while married. From Denise's counseling sessions, we found out a lot about each other we hadn't known, even after six years of marriage!

Denise had grown up in several mobile homes, and she was always afraid that the mobile home would be towed away someday. She had a fear of being homeless; those issues led to a form of PTSD, which was why she picked the wrong men. Denise said I was not one of her wrong men, she just hadn't realized it.

I was a house without wheels! She was not used to it, pure and simple. Ralph was a house with wheels.

I also found out I had a form of PTSD. Having lost my mother at birth, I had abandonment issues, and my dad had never stopped grieving for her. I was always exposed to it, and losing any family member, any friend, or whenever I broke up with a girlfriend, exacerbated it. It was no wonder I lost it when Denise and I divorced!

It also led to my unnatural fear of hospitals.

What a pair we were.

Denise and I decided to do what we didn't do those years ago-- we started marriage counseling with Dr. Joyce.

At our first appointment with Dr. Joyce, she set down rules if we should meet outside the office, other than picking up and dropping off Jimmy.

We could only call each other once every two days unless there was an emergency; we were allowed one dinner meeting a week; we could write to each other all we wanted; no sex! And no romantic kissing.

Dr. Joyce told us we had to make lists-- one for our happy things, and one for our saddest things.

My Happy Things list:

When I met Denise, The first time Denise and I made love, When she said yes, When we married, When Denise was hired at her job, Becoming a stepfather, Being told, I would be a father, When Jimmy was born, When I was hired at my current job, Camping with the family, When I saw Ralph's picture in the paper in the story about his child pornography case.

My Sad things list:

The fear I felt when Denise told me she was pregnant (since my mother died in my birth), Jimmy's first birthday when I was in the hospital, and Denise still had the party, When I was thrown out of the house, When the divorce was final. The day my dad died, On the day after my dad died, When I had to tell Jimmy his grandpa was in heaven, Being treated as a second-class parent at Jimmy's birthday parties after the divorce, When I was accused of abusing Jimmy, When I lost my job because of being accused of child abuse (of Jimmy), Not being able to see my stepdaughters, Seeing Denise with Ralph, The divorce from my first wife, The divorce from my third wife,

Denise's Happy Things List:

When I met Daniel, Daniel pulled me out of the life I was living at the time., When Daniel asked the girls and me to move into his house, When Daniel asked me to marry him, Our wedding, When we got married and went to the college football game as a reception, Jimmy's birth, Seeing the love Daniel had for my girls, Being able to give Daniel a son, Doing things with Daniel as a family, Sending Jimmy to live with Daniel when Ralph and I were divorcing, When I was free of Ralph.

Denise's Sad things list:

Divorcing and running from first husband, When her dad died, When Daniel seemed to be too busy to be at home, When Daniel did not understand I needed more of him, Having strange feelings that Daniel did not love me enough to stay home, The look Daniel had whenever he saw Ralph and I together, The hate that Ralph showed toward Daniel, The fights that Ralph and I had were worse than the arguments Daniel and I had, Letting Ralph dishonor Daniel to Jimmy, Feeling trapped before I met Daniel, the man I was seeing before Daniel was later arrested for sex trafficking. I could have been one of his 'women.'

We exchanged lists.

Denise did not realize how hurt I was over her holding Jimmy's birthday party while I was in the hospital. First birthdays are for the parents; the kid doesn't know it is his birthday.

I did not realize how I hurt Denise was that I worked too much; I was oblivious.

*************

Six months after Denise and I started counseling, I received a promotion with a big pay raise, and I was the regional sales manager. I was now managing all the 'Four Corners' states-- Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, and Colorado-- plus Nevada and west Texas.

Both my tenants moved, so I removed the walls and moved back into my house. My office would be located near my house. With less travel!

Denise and I began to have a scheduled dinner whenever I dropped Jimmy off.

Because the house was paid for, I had extra cash; no mortgage, no rent. With the pay raise, I got myself a hot tub for my home and I bought a Winnebago motorhome that could sleep six for vacations. Why six? Because I could!

One night, Denise and I were finishing up dinner at her home, and Jimmy had taken off to allegedly see a friend.

My oldest stepdaughter, Ruth, showed up with a young man in a Navy uniform; she shoved her left hand in our faces-- she had an engagement ring on. She looked at me, and said, "Good, this saves me a trip to your house, Dad, will you walk me down the aisle and give me away?"

She had not called me dad in years. I was ready to cry.

Just then, Robert, her fiancé, turned to me, and said, "Mr. Gray, sir... Ruth said our engagement would not be official until I asked your permission."

"Robert, I have not been Ruth's stepdad, much less her dad, for years."

With a twinkle in her eye, Ruth said, "Look, through the process of elimination, you are my dad, birth dad was an idiot and Ralph was just a plain asshole. You are, in my heart, MY DAD!"

I dried my eyes. What the hell was I supposed to do? I WAS THE FATHER OF THE BRIDE!

I had my laptop with me, and I said, "Okay, I have questions to ask you, Robert." I put on a solemn face. Ruth did not see my wink at Denise.

Ruth did do an eye roll when I brought up a page titled "Questions to ask your daughter's fiancé."

There were over sixty questions! Ruth did another eye roll and swallowed hard.

I asked, "Robert, do you love Ruth?"

"Yes, sir!"

"Will you respect your mother-in-law?"

"Yes, sir!"

"Will you respect your father-in-law? Looks like that might be me through the process of elimination!"

"Yes, sir!"

Will you respect your sister-in-law and brother-in-law?"

"Yes, sir!"

"Do you drink?"

"Very rarely, sir."

"Ah, I like the truth,

Do you do drugs?"

"Never, sir!"

"Okay, that's all my questions..."

I got a loving hit on my shoulder by Ruth.

"Oh, Ruth, by the way, I WILL give you away."

Ruth hugged both Denise and me; I shook Robert's hand.

The subject changes.

Ruth then got serious. "Are you guys getting back together?"

Both mine and Denise's faces blushed. We did not answer.

Ruth got her phone out and called both her siblings, all she said was, "Time for Operation Parent Harmony!"

Denise and I looked at each other.

In less than twenty minutes, the rest of the family was there. Ruth sent Robert out to the garage to get a whiteboard.

Ruth started, "Dad, Mom, YOU need to sit down and listen to us."

Okay, I was one of the best presenters in my company. But the kids... they had their shit together. I think they had planned and practiced this presentation for weeks. Each child had their part, and they were good.

Jimmy's main point: He put up a picture of Ralph with horns and a general 'prohibition sign' over him, the red circle with the red slash, on the board. "Here is the reason we are not a family anymore! He is now in jail, out of the picture! Both of you have been hurt, AND we kids have been hurt."

Ruth then took over. "We, your children, have seen the love you had and still do have for each other, we want you together!"

Hope said, "Dad, I love you! Before Ralph was arrested, you let me come live with you guys that summer. No hesitation, it was, 'Yes, I will drive up now!' You drove two hundred miles up and back, it took you eight and a half hours, and you still went to work the next morning after we got in so late. That said 'I LOVE YOU' very loudly to me."

All three kids turned to Denise, and Ruth started, "Mom, we know you were an abused and battered wife by Ralph and COERCED by Ralph. We remember the fights; it is funny the few arguments you had with dad were so minor in comparison.

"Mom, we are here, we will help you, both of you."

Denise was in full tear mode. "I don't know if Daniel could or would ever forgive me."

Then, all the kids' eyes were on me. I swallowed hard. "Kids, we still have a lot to work out. If we ever get back together."

Ruth said, "Dad, what did you ask Robert before? 'Do you love Ruth?'"

"Well, Dad, let us ask the same question to you and Mom."

"Mom, do you love dad?"

"Dad, do you love mom?"

Denise and I looked at each other. Denise had tears running down her face, I wrapped my arms around her and told the kids, "That's enough for now."

Denise and I walked outside and sat by the pool.

"Denise, what do you think? Where are we now?"

"Oh, Daniel, I love you, and I have always loved you. I was blinded by something Ralph did to me, will you ever forgive me?"

"Will you forgive me?" I asked. "I didn't take care of your needs."

I bent down and kissed Denise. I hadn't kissed Denise in years. Her mouth was just as warm as the last time I kissed her. We both had a little gray in our hair. I had just turned forty-three, and she was thirty-seven.

A New life

We began our second life together; we had a lot of hurt to get rid of.

I found out that the kids had a 'war room' in Denise's place dedicated to Denise and me getting back together, it was in the kids 'TV room.' Denise never went in there, and I did one time, looking for something Jimmy had left behind. It was quite involved, it had a message board where the kids would leave messages for each other. They had a Plan A, a Plan B, and a Plan Omega! (Plan Omega had side-by-side gravesites, they really wanted us to be together forever.)

We both used our health insurance and were able to meet Dr. Joyce twice a week. My insurance paid for 'my' appointment on Mondays, and Denise's insurance paid for 'Denise's' appointment on Thursdays.

We met twice a week for three months. We discovered a lot about ourselves and each other. When Denise shared things about Ralph, I had to leave the room a couple of times.

With Joyce's permission, Denise and I started to MEET (instead of date) twice a week, yes, Monday and Thursday nights, after counseling; we talked about our good times. As we spent time with Joyce, she started the long process of deprogramming Denise. We did many trust exercises to tune me in. I had to work on being attuned to Denise's needs as a woman, as a wife, and as a mother. Sometimes, I had to tune myself into all her needs all at once. Denise had to acknowledge my needs, too. By the time we hit six months, we knew more about each other than we had when we were married.

Denise did not know my great fear of hospitals; it was a strong feeling of anxiety and dread. She came to understand why I did not spend much time in a hospital when visiting anyone there; even when Jimmy was born, my visits to the hospital were short.

I lost my birth mother in my birth at a hospital; my dad never let me forget that fact. Then, when I was two, my cousin, a neighbor kid, and I went to the hospital to get our tonsils out; my cousin and I got to come home, but the neighbor kid died, and my family never let my cousin and me forget the fact that it could have been one of us. From then on, until Jimmy's birth, I never went to a hospital without someone dying! I lost my Grandma at the hospital a week after I graduated from high school. A couple of high school friends were killed in war; coworkers' accidents, and neighbors' backyard accidents-- so when I was in the hospital on Jimmy's birthday, I was scared, and I needed Denise, but she was not there.

One Monday night, right after, I made a gut-wrenching apology for not paying attention to her needs. Denise got down on her knees, buried her face in my chest, and gave me her heart-breaking apology for hurting me also. She explained that counseling helped her to see that she had not been the wife she thought she had been to me. Then Denise asked me, with all sincerity, to give her a second chance.

A second chance?

"Denise, I need to have assurance that you are in it, TO STAY IN It! I am not going to open my heart to be hurt again. I had a mental breakdown and was fired from my job! I had to get a job two hundred miles away. I became a part-time father. While you were nothing but a concubine to that bastard, he treated you so disrespectfully!

"Did you become a part-time mom? Did you miss any Mother's Days while I had custody of Jimmy? Did you ever drive Jimmy to me for Father's Day like I did for you on Mother's Day? No, you signed him up for church camp on Father's Day weekend." I was on a roll.

Denise cried and said, "I am sorry, please forgive me."

"Denise, you must show me, not just say it."

Denise looked at Dr. Joyce.

Dr. Joyce said, "We do not need to assign blame, but we need to take ownership of our actions. Dan has admitted he worked too much and did not give you the support you needed."

"Denise, was I a good dad to the girls? I have to ask, was Ralph a good dad to our girls and Jimmy? I'll tell you from what Jimmy has told me, Ralph was a terrible father, and he was not nice to the girls, and he pushed you down the stairs!"

Denise was crying, and saying, "Please take me back, I'll do anything to get you back."

"Even with all this pain, I still care for you, Denise. You are the mother of my son and my stepdaughters."

Denise stated, "I care about you, Daniel."

Dr. Joyce said, "We have covered a lot today. Think about it. Don't push anything, and we will talk about it next time."

As we left Dr Joyce's office, Denise asked that we go to her apartment, instead of going out. Denise's apartment was empty, Jimmy was with Hope at Ruth's house. Denise turned on the radio and tuned it to an oldies station.

When we sat down on the couch, I thought this was the first time we had sat down together in almost seven years.

The radio station played, well, all I could call it was 'our' playlist...

REO Speedwagon's 'Keep on Loving You'; Kool & The Gang's 'Cherish'; Foreigner's 'Waiting for a Girl Like You' and 'I Want To Know What Love Is'; Air Supply's 'All Out Of Love'; Berin's 'Take My Breath Away'.

About thirty minutes later, we were in one hell of an embrace, our lips met, and we enjoyed the feeling of a kiss after such a long time. As the kissing continued, our hands started to get reacquainted with each other's bodies. I remembered where she liked to be kissed-- her neck, behind her ear, down her neck to her collarbone.

I could feel her hands move over my body; she was gently stroking my shoulders, back, and then my thighs.

As Denise's hand started to rub my cock through my jeans. I began to fondle her small C-cup breasts.

Denise whispered, "Daniel, you have always made me feel loved."

We pulled each other's shirts off; I unhooked Denise's bra, I then had her nipples at my mercy, and as I kissed and sucked one I pinched the other one.

"Oh, Daniel, please... Love me again."

I slipped her jeans down her legs, hooked the waistband of her bikini underwear, and pulled them down. I stood up and dropped my jeans and boxers. I was surprised at how big and hard my erection was.

"Take me, Daniel, make me yours again."

I started to finger her pussy, and she was wet, just like she was years ago when we first made love.

I placed my cock at her labia, lucky she was very wet because, with one hard push, I plunged into her. I began to fuck the hell out of her, and she was moaning with every down stroke. I pounded her. It was years of lust, passion, and reclaiming what was mine, that was fueling my power thrusting. She had a loud orgasm, but I did not let up, I was being pushed by love, lust, anger, reclamation, and male pride.

She came again, saying, "I have missed this."

As I felt the twinge from my balls, I pulled out and moved up to her face, and shoved my cock into her mouth. I drove into her mouth 'til she gagged, and I then began to fuck her mouth. After about a dozen thrusts, my full balls emptied into her.

Denise swallowed it all. As she licked her lips, she said, "I deserved that. I will take your cum every day if we get back together." She then took my cock back into her mouth and sucked me back to hardness within minutes.

I turned her over, grabbed her hips, and drove deeply into her, doggy style. Her moans just gave me more power, and I slammed into her harder and harder.

We both orgasmed one more time. We then collapsed into the bed.

We both fell asleep. We woke up at 5:36 am, in time, so we could get dressed and drive over to my house, where Denise's car was.

As we dressed, Denise exclaimed, "Oh my god, we need to get to your place, what are we going to say to the kids?"

"Calm down, go freshen up, the kids won't be up 'til, I bet, eight o'clock or so."

Denise went into her bathroom and 'got the smell of sex off her.' Dressing, Denise almost put on different clothes; the kids would then know, we made Denise's bed and drove back to my house. As we rode, we discussed cover-up stories for the kids, with Hope being sixteen and Jimmy being eleven, it had to be good.

I said, "Simple is the key. I will sleep in my recliner, and you will be in my bed. We will tell them, 'We just got home very late and just slept at my house.' Don't over-explain."

We snuck into the house, and so we could pretend we had been home earlier, we went to our pre-agreed sleeping spots; I got a blanket for myself. I lay down on the recliner in the den, and Denise went to my bedroom.

As sure as God made little green apples, at 8:07 am, Hope was shaking my shoulder with Jimmy at her side. "Why are Mom and I still here, Dad?"

"Well, we got in real late, and I told your mom to just stay here."

Hope rolled her eyes as only a sixteen-year-old could.

Jimmy asked, "I saw Mom was in your bedroom."

With a sarcastic, grumpy grin, I asked, "Why didn't you wake your mom then...?"

"She was still asleep."

"And I wasn't?"

Jimmy asked, "Dad, why are you sleeping in your recliner? You could have just slept in your bed."

"Well, we aren't married anymore."

Out of the mouths of babes, Jimmy then said, "So what, you are MY mom and dad, it is okay for you to sleep together!"

I replied, "It is not that easy."

"Well, get married. It SHOULD be easy, you've done it before, and you haven't forgotten how, have you? I mean getting married, not sleeping together. Ew." What a smart-ass eleven-year-old.

"Hope said she'd make pancakes for me." His smile was so telling; he was telling a fib.

The last time Hope cooked at my house, it took me three days to clean up the kitchen, and I told her I'd DO ALL THE COOKING FROM THEN ON WHEN SHE WAS VISITING!

Denise then walked in. I could tell she had heard the previous three-way conversation. "I am making pancakes, who's going to help?" With a glance to Hope, "I mean, help clean up, Hope?"

Jimmy had an eleven-year-old's smile.

Denise told the kids to get everything out, and SHE would fix them. And they skipped into the kitchen.

After breakfast, as Hope and Jimmy cleaned the kitchen and put the dishes in the dishwasher, Denise spoke, "We need to talk."

I did not feel the foreboding that those words usually carry.

"Daniel, can we try to be a family again?"

"Is that a proposal?" I inquired.

"Well, you did it the first time, so it is my turn." Her smile hid her fear.

"We have a lot to work through. I have to feel that this is for keeps, this time."

"Daniel, believe me, I want this, I need this, our family needs this."

"We need three other opinions. Ruth, Hope, Jimmy! When will Ruth be here?"

"She said she'd be here this afternoon."

"Okay, let's go to dinner. You, me, Ruth and Robert, Hope and Jimmy."

Hope said, "I need to learn to cook, so I don't get stuck cleaning again."

Jimmy said with pleasure, "Dad has taught me to cook AND I clean as I go."

If a look could kill, Hope would have been found guilty.

Denise and Hope left at about eleven o'clock.

Jimmy sat down with me in the den. "Dad, I know I am only a kid, but I think I know you, after all, I have known you all my life and you have only known me a little over eleven years." His smile was as big as a house.

"Dad, I know you love Mom and always have, even when you were married to Julie. I knew you still loved Mom. Mom has been pining for you almost as long as she was married to the son of a bit--bum, Ralph."

"Jimmy, you know what pining means?"

"I learned it years ago, Dad."

"Jimmy, what do you really want?"

"Dad, with all my heart, I want my mom and dad back together. Talking with Hope and Ruth has helped me remember things we used to do as a family, we could still do it.

"I think I understand what happened with Mom when Ralph interfered. I hated him, he was so mean, and I think he hated Ruth, Hope, and me; his girls got almost anything they wanted. I know that Ruth and Hope are your stepdaughters, but I never felt you didn't love them as much as you did me."

"Okay, Jimmy, we will talk about this tonight."

Denise parked her car in my driveway. Denise, Hope, Ruth and Robert emerged from the car like a queen and her court.

The girls looked beautiful, and Denise looked gorgeous! Robert just looked confused.

We had a great dinner, I left a nice tip. We drove back to my house. We all sat down in the den-- I got in my recliner, Denise got the second recliner, the girls sat on the loveseat, and Jimmy just pulled up the floor along with Robert.

I started, "Guys, your mom and I are thinking of getting back together, it won't be today, but we are going to work on our relationship. We want to know how you feel about your mom and me getting back together.

"Jimmy, you first:"

"Mom, Dad, I love you both. I have seen both of you change once you kicked Ralph out of our lives, Mom. I want you guys together!"

"Hope?"

"Dad, Mom, I love the both of you, my heart is beating so fast at the thought that we can become a family again! I say yes, let's be a full, complete family again."

"Ruth, your turn."

Ruth had vitriol in her voice, we were going to catch hell. "Dad, Mom, I am happy you have included us in this life-changing decision. But mom, in the long run, will Dad take care of your emotional and physical needs?" Her eyebrows punctuated the word physical. "Mom, will you honor Dad in his pursuit of providing for his family? I remember Dad working a lot, I also remember when he was home, he loved both Hope and me, and when Jimmy was born, we did not lose any of his love. I know he loved you physically and from his heart, I had ears! I have been in college now for one year, and I have seen what some of my friends have gone through.

"Mom, you have a good man here. I know I am biased, you need to keep him this time."

I spoke up, "Ruth, that is enough. Be nice to your mother."

"See, Mom, he is defending you," the kids all said together. "You'd better keep him."

With a laugh, the kids added, "Besides, we all will get our own rooms here and Dad has a hot tub."

"Well, Denise, we have some answers. Kids, you guys need to give us some privacy."

As they left, Jimmy said, "Don't *fuck* it up, dad!"

We closed the door.

Denise spoke first, "Daniel, I love you, think about what last night was like, I promise to love you like that for the rest of our lives."

"Denise, let's just move in together for now, I have this home, it is paid for, we can entertain grandchildren for years here."

"Daniel, I want a prenup to show you I am staying! I'll put no claim on this house or money you have. Because I have my own money thanks to the divorce from Ralph," she had a wicked smile.

"Denise, move in here and let us see if we can live together again. If we can reconcile, we can get married and throw a big party!"

"Daniel, I'd like to see you when the kids are gone and then meet you in your bedroom and start the reconciliation!"

Denise received a text from Ruth. "Looks like the kids are playing Cupid, they are staying at my sister's place tonight, and are not coming home 'til late tomorrow afternoon. How did they get her involved?"

"Denise, the hot tub is calling us."

Without thinking Denise said, "I don't have a suit here..."

Before she could continue, I exclaimed, "We don't need them!" I got up and herded Denise out to the tub.

As we walked up to the tub, I turned Denise around and planted a kiss, heavily on her lips, I then kissed her neck. I grabbed her ass and pulled her pelvis to mine. I pulled her blouse over her head without waiting, I unsnapped her jeans and pulled them down. Before I could stand back up, Denise pulled my shirt up and off. I reached to unhook her bra, she unsnapped my jeans and pulled the zipper down.

We were both standing in only our underwear. We broke and slipped our underwear down and stepped into the hot tub. Our hands invaded each other's body. Our lips began kissing each other all over. Denise straddled my lap and impaled herself on my hard cock. We were splashing water out of the tub. I was sucking her breasts and pinching her nipples. We both were moaning in unison. I reached down and started to rub her clit. Denise threw her head back and howled as she reached her climax, I had to hold Denise while she came back to reality.

"Denise, let us go in. I don't want you drowning just as we are falling back in love with each other."

With a deep breath, Denise said, "Shower."

I helped Denise out of the hot tub. And we entered the shower. We washed each other's fronts. Sudsing Denise's wonderful breasts put me in la-la land. I never found anything that I could do that excited me like making love to Denise, because she responded like I was in a dream.

After I rinsed Denise off, she erotically lathered my cock and balls, then she rinsed me off and took my cock into her mouth. She stroked and sucked me to another great erection. Within a few minutes, the message from my balls was, "Here we cum." I tapped Denise on the shoulder to let her know I was there! She looked up at me and gave her head a gentle shake; within a minute, I painted her mouth with my cum. With a loud gulp, she swallowed it all.

When I regained my equilibrium, we stepped out of the shower and dried ourselves off, and as our towels dropped to the floor, our lips connected again. As if in a dance, we waltzed to the bed, never breaking the kiss. When we lay down on the bed, we fell into the sixty-nine position. We hadn't done sixty-nine since before Jimmy was born.

I had missed doing it; Julie and I never did it. Denise said Ralph was a pig and never was 'clean' enough for her to consider having oral sex with him, and he had the nerve to say she was dirty! Denise always made sure she was very clean when it came to oral sex. I thought what a fool! Denise could suck the chrome off the bullet bumpers of a '55 Cadillac Eldorado. Playing Denise's clit like a guitar string gave me such a feeling of loving prowess. By morning, we had reclaimed each other sexually, mentally, and spiritually! Denise told me she would fuck me 'til the end of the world!

We put Denise's house up for sale, but it did not sell, so we rented it out. We moved the whole family into my house. We fit together like adjacent jigsaw puzzle pieces.

It took us six more months before we decided to get remarried. We did put together a simple prenup. It was not a nuclear prenup, but a simple one-- what is yours is yours, and what is mine is mine.

Our wedding was a surprise, our extended families went all out. They took up a collection to fund our honeymoon.

We took the motorhome and honeymooned in the Rockies.

We returned home and settled down to remarried life. We made time every week to just talk; it was suggested by Dr. Joyce, whom we still met with once a month.

One thing Dr. Joyce told us was to temper our saying 'I'm sorry', to let our actions say 'I'm sorry'.

As we continued our remarried life, we both felt our love growing back.

It was funny, sometimes, Denise and I would sneak out to the motorhome and make love unencumbered by our kids.

The tribe increases

Ruth married Robert, and I walked her down the aisle. They moved in with us. When they had their two kids, we gave them Denise's old house. Robert and Jimmy helped me with yard work and home improvements. And the girls helped with housekeeping and cooking.

I walked Hope down the aisle. She married a wonderful young man, a Deputy Sheriff, and they gave us two grandchildren.

When Ralph was released from prison, he was caught by the husband of a woman he wanted to 'seduce' and was almost beaten to death; the funny thing, the husband had an alibi. We later heard Ralph had died under suspicious circumstances, alone and penniless.

Jim married my part-time college student secretary. They fell hopelessly in love at my office Christmas party. They married a week after graduating from college. Yep, another two grandchildren.

Epilogue

We now have six grandchildren, if you ask them they will tell you they have the best grandparents in the whole world! Summer vacations with the grandkids are great.

We still meet occasionally with a counselor, Dr. Joyce's daughter, Dr. Mary, who is just as good as her mom.

Love the second time around... is not too bad.