Stormwatch - Chapter 03

© 2025 Duleigh Lawrence-Townshend. All rights reserved. The author asserts the right to be identified as the author of this story for all portions. All characters are original. Any resemblance to anyone living or dead is purely coincidental. This story or any part thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the expressed written permission of the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a review or commentary.

This is an all new addition to the Stormwatch series. If you haven't read Stormwatch Chapter 1 or Stormwatch Chapter 2, please do. Both chapters are updates to existing chapters with 50% new material in each, and a corrected timeline. Chapter 3 is all new and hopefully rekindles the joy of the series.

For comments, questions, or merchandise, please contact the author.

STORMWATCH Chapter 3

Springville in the Spring

"Where ya been Josh?" asked Terri McCarthy as she walked in through the back entrance of the Andalon Data Center and past Josh Gravely's office.

Josh Gravely was buried behind his four monitors as he reviewed the health of the server farm in the data center. "I took some time off," he said as he continued to type. He had been gone four business days and was expecting to see his precious servers in a smoldering heap. He was surprised to find that all were running fine and the new servers that he configured for the expansion of services to Bison Radiology, a chain of radiology clinics, were up and running.

"Hell, you've taken most of a week off," insisted Terri. Her constant sidekick, Jen Combs, nodded in agreement.

"I was in this building for one hundred hours straight," said Josh without looking up from his spreadsheet.

"I heard a rumor that Miss von Köster was here too," whispered Terri and she wagged her eyebrows. "Did she set you up with one of her friends?"

"No," which was true. "I saw Miss von Köster in her SUV ready to leave after Mister Friedman closed the building," which was also true. He didn't mention that he escorted Veronica back into the building an hour later.

"So what did you do the whole time you were in here?"

"Me? I spent the time wondering whose apartment you passed out in."

"Wouldn't you like to know," grinned Terri.

Josh merely pointed to two stacks of boxes in the corner. In one stack, each box had a bright yellow tag, and in the other stack, the boxes all had a bright green tag on them. "There's your equipment for Bison Radiology. The yellow tags go to North Tonawanda, the green tags are for the Bailey Avenue downtown office."

"How will we know which is which?" whined Terri. "How do we know where they go?" She was trying to get under Josh's skin and was doing an excellent job of it.

"By double checking the serial numbers before putting them in your car," said Josh, now understanding why Terri's boss Eli always complained of headaches. "Take Cole and Rasheed with you, and call when you're racked up and ready to power up." He handed Jen a couple of notebooks containing the entire set up plan. Anthony called them MOPs, Method of Procedure, but Josh called them checklists. "I want these checked off as you go and checked off in the on-line document so I know where you are at in the procedure."

"Why? Cause you don't trust us?" insisted Terri.

"It's for the betting pool," said Josh without looking up from his four monitors. "The programmers are betting that Jen beats you by an hour with zero errors, the sales team has her up by two hours." Actually, it was so he could do his part of the task back at the office without being on the phone constantly with the field technicians. "Cole! Rasheed! Toss a coin, loser goes with Terri, winner helps Jen."

"You're cold boss," mumbled Terri as she went to harass Cole and Rasheed. Jen just grinned and winked at Josh as she walked past his desk. Like Terri, Jen was incredibly cute. She was five foot four, about two inches shorter than Terri, and had shoulder length blondish hair and a darling little figure. She was also married with two children and she was far more knowledgeable than Terri. Jen had been in the business for over a decade and could do one of these big installs blindfolded.

"Jen, take Cole with you, please?" said Josh. "He hasn't been out on site much and needs to unlearn everything Terri taught him."

"No problem," said Jen and she went up to Cole, a fellow who looked like he was drafted by the Buffalo Bills to play linebacker. "Let's go, you're with me," said Jen as she inventoried the stack of boxes with green tags. "Ever been to the downtown office?" she asked.

Meanwhile, Terri was inspecting Rasheed like she won him in one of those 'married at first sight' TV shows. "You'll do, let's get this all in my car."

Josh chuckled and went back to working. In the lower left corner of his lower left monitor was a pop-up message from Anthony Friedman. It simply said, "See me." Josh hit control/alt/delete and locked his computer, then grabbed a clipboard and watched as Rasheed and Cole helped load Terri and Jen's cars, then went into Eli's office. "They're heading out Eli," said Josh.

"Outstanding, any problems?"

"Nah. Not yet. Let's see how far they get before they call for help," said Josh as he handed a copy of the MOP to Eli. Eli was in charge of the field technicians, and Josh was in charge of the server room and server room technicians, but these installs always worked best when one person was in charge and since Josh had the experience of running large diverse groups of people, Mark, Eli and Josh's mutual boss, asked Josh to run the entire install while Eli assisted when needed.

Then Josh went over to Mark's office. Mark, as usual, was glaring at his monitor and typing rapidly. "We have Bison Radiation rolling," said Josh.

"Uh huh," replied Mark without looking up from his work.

"Both the NT and Bailey avenue offices going in today."

"Uh huh."

"The West Seneca office is on hold because an elephant sat on the building."

"Uh huh."

Josh shook his head and stifled a chuckle. Mark probably heard the elephant remark. It just didn't register yet. "I'm headed over to Ant's office, the big guy wants to talk to me."

"Take this over with you please," said Mark and he handed Josh a stack of paper without looking away from his monitor.

"Will do, sir."

"Don't call me sir."

"Yes sir," said Josh as he headed out from the data center and maintenance side of the building, through the programmers' bullpen and into the unfamiliar land of sales. The programmers were mostly dressed like unruly teenagers, but the salesmen were dressed sharp. Suit coat, tie, perfectly styled hair. Each was on a cell phone talking to somebody. He nodded to Ira Goldstein, the only other USAF veteran in the building. Ira was an officer in the Air Force, but Josh wasn't sure what he did for Uncle Sam when he was on duty. Talking to Ira was like talking to a whirlwind. He was all over the place and only stayed on topic when he was discussing sales.

Finally, Josh made it to Executive Row. Brandon Mitchell, VP of Sales and Marketing, had his office door open, but he wasn't in there. Stan Dombrowski, VP of Financial and Emmit Katzman VP of Legal, had their doors closed, as did Veronica. The status board on her door glowed "Busy" in red, so Josh stayed away. Ant's door was open a little and Josh could see Brandon Mitchell in the office with Anthony. Brandon Mitchell looked slimy to Josh, but Ant said he was a great salesman, so Josh preferred to stay away from him.

Josh sat in the reception area, going through the documentation he had on an upcoming upgrade to the VMware his servers were using, when Ant leaned out of his office and called, "Mister Gravely, could you join us?"

"Yes sir." He gathered his clipboard and the documents that Mark gave him and headed to Ant's office. He walked in and found just Anthony and Brandon Mitchell. The door to Veronica's office was closed. "How can I help?" said Josh. He always said that when he walked into Ant's office and Ant loved to hear his people say that.

"Brandon wants to start pushing the new image and billing system you're rolling out to Bison Radiology. When do you think it will be ready for roll out to the public?"

Josh looked at his clipboard, tallied the work ahead, and finally said, "Twenty days."

Brandon chuckled and said, "Wrong answer sergeant, we want to start showing this off next week."

Josh looked at his clipboard again and said, "I apologize, I failed to count the burn-in period and connectivity testing. Twenty three days."

"You don't seem to understand, sergeant, it needs to be ready in five business days, I have a press conference scheduled."

"My name is Efraim, not sergeant." Now Josh was glaring at the smarmy bastard, silently daring him to say sergeant again.

"I'm sorry, I was paying homage to your rank. I only..."

"My RANK is Data Center Manager. In that capacity I provide the product you sell. As Sergeant I killed people." He took a step closer to Brandon and said softly, "Lots of people."

Brandon started to sweat; nobody ever spoke to him like that. He wasn't sure if that was a threat or insubordination, but Josh handed Brandon a copy of the punch list, a list of all major tasks involved with the setup, and continued. "We have over two weeks of work to do on these systems. It's not plug and play. Once it's physically in place, which will happen tomorrow afternoon at the soonest, there's a 48 hour burn-in followed by system security verification, network verification, virtual network configuration, sanity testing and when that's all done it needs to be inspected end to end for HIPA compliance. I cannot give Mister Friedman a system that fails HIPA compliance. I'm trying to provide you with the most reliable, most dependable system ever sold. If you don't want me to do that, I'll gladly step aside and let you finish the job, I have plenty of other work to do."

Brandon looked angry, but he tried to control his anger in front of Josh. He turned to Anthony and said, "Can we talk?"

Anthony looked at Brandon smugly and said, "Go ahead. Talk." Josh turned to leave, but Anthony gestured for him to stay. "You asked me to invite Mister Gravely in here so he could update you on the process, and he did, and you didn't like it. Get over it. Let the maintenance people perform miracles in the allotted time so you can perform miracles in the sales department. He's absolutely right, nothing gets sold until it's ready to sell."

"I told them one week, we're going to look like morons if I go back and tell them it's not ready," said Brandon with a nasal whine.

"I will not rush a job to meet a timetable that's not my own and risk a compliance failure or worse, allow network intrusion," said Josh. "This isn't just data; these are people's medical records. Tell them you had to reschedule because your system engineers are sticklers for perfection, they can't use the truth against you."

"Josh, could you wait in Miss von Köster's office please?" said Anthony. Ant was overjoyed that Josh said exactly what needed to be said without prompting.

"Yes sir," said Josh and he used the connecting door and stepped into Veronica's office. She was seated behind her desk when Josh entered and her smile lit up the room. "Busy?" he asked.

"Not at the moment," she said, and he hurried to her desk, leaned over and kissed her. She pushed back for a moment, but as their lips caressed each other and their tongues swirled together, her resistance faded and her arms curled around and held him tight.

As they kissed again and again, Josh heard a woman say, "I'm glad to see you two are getting along."

With a final sweet kiss, Josh stood and smiled. The voice belonged to Marjorie Friedman. "Missus Friedman, it's good to see you too."

"We were just going over the plans for the summer camp out. Veronica was just telling me how big your... property is." She wagged an eyebrow to let Josh know they were talking about more than his acreage.

"Things are bigger in Springville," said Josh with a grin and a wink. "I'm looking forward to having the kids. We have a couple of weeks work on the cabin and it should be ready. I have some windows lined up at Mister Seconds, I have the shingles to finish the roof and the shutters shouldn't be too hard. We just need wood for the floor and cots for the kids to sleep on."

"Give me a list of what you need to finish the cabin and we'll get it for you," said Marjorie as she got up to leave the office.

When she was gone, Veronica turned to Josh and said, "Honey, we need to talk."

Josh's blood turned to ice and a moment of panic set in. Usually the words that followed 'Honey, we need to talk,' were 'Go the fuck away and never come back.' Josh gulped and said, "sure," bracing himself for bad news.

She rose and pushed him onto a chair, then settled down in his lap. Her round, athletic ass was warm against him and she put her arms around his neck. She gave him a kiss, then said, "In about twenty minutes, I have to go. Anthony wants me at a conference in Manhattan. We'll be back Sunday afternoon."

"You and Anthony?" Josh asked. Her traveling with Anthony didn't bother him too much.

"And Brandon," sighed Veronica.

His heart sank. Brandon was a walking ball of testosterone, and not the good kind. The good kind is the man who uses that testosterone blast to protect the women around him, the guy who will take a bullet for his sister, then beat the crap out of the gunman, the guy who has short, but memorable discussions with the other kind of guy, insuring the safety of the women in his life. The other kind is a walking dick looking for a pussy to fuck and will break any rule, hurt any woman, to get what he wants. Josh lived that lifestyle for about six weeks after Yesenia cheated on him and still feels nauseous over what he did. "Can I have a word with Brandon?" Josh asked. Brandon was the other kind.

"I think you already had a word with him," said Veronica with a kiss. "Please, do not break your co-workers." Veronica gave Josh a kiss, then added, "he's a flaming asshole, but he has a tremendous sales reputation."

"He needs to know that if he does anything to make you uncomfortable, anything that would cause you not to perform the way you always perform, I will have a chat with him," said Josh.

"Anthony and Marjorie are going to be there. Besides, while I'm gone I have something very special that I want you to do.

"What is that?"

She handed him a key. It looked like a normal key, but this was gold. She probably had it made over at the Springville Farmers Union Hardware store. Josh had noticed different colors of house key blanks on their display rack where they cut keys. "Here," she said softly as she put the key in his hand. "While I'm in New York you can spend your time by moving your stuff into the house."

"Are you sure?" he asked.

She touched her forehead to his and said, "I know we have only been serious for a week, but for a year I've thought of no other man but you."

Josh sighed. "Nica, I've got enough baggage to fill a box car. Are you sure you want that kind of burden?"

Veronica placed her succulent lips next to his ear and whispered, "I have quite a burden to share too, but I will always be faithful to you."

"I suppose we should have a conversation about this?" asked Josh.

"It's going to end the same, we love each other, we just have to hammer out the details. I just want you to know that I want you for more than the firewood."

"I'm going to have that chimney of yours swept before you get back," said Josh as he kissed her.

"Mmmm... a fire in the bedroom fireplace?" whispered Veronica between kisses. "That's going to earn you extra goodies." She licked his ear, sending shivers through his body.

"This will be the first time we've been separated in ten days," said Josh sadly.

"No, there was this morning..."

"Darling, I don't think driving to work in separate cars counts."

Veronica frowned. He was right, of course. They had a video chat on their cell phones all the way in to work. It was probably dangerous to be having a video chat with your lover while driving on a snow covered Western New York highway. "What are you doing?" she asked as he tugged her diamond off of her finger.

"You and I both know what this represents, but to the world it looks like an engagement ring." He took a ring box out of his pocket and opened it and said, "Let me replace it for now with a ring that says you're in a committed relationship with a cheap bastard."

"What? No! It's beautiful," it was an exquisite promise in white gold, Veronica's favorite metal for jewelry. The diamond was tiny and set almost flush with the band, making it look like a jeweled wedding band.

"Veronica von Köster, I promise to be faithful to you with every breath I take, for so long as I live."

Veronica wanted to say, 'What if I release you from your vow?' but the look on his face showed her he meant what he said. "I will be yours as long as I live and will always wear your ring."

They kissed and Josh said, "You're stuck with me and I'm yours come hell or high water."

"And I'm yours too."

A rush of emotion passed through them, something important happened and a feeling of excitement, of newness yet unrealized, washed over them. There was a tap on the door, and Marjorie poked her nose in the door. "Ready? It's about time."

"Be right there," called Veronica, and she closed Josh's hand around the key to her house. "This is my vow to you. Live with me, love me as you promise, and you can place that diamond back on my finger when you are ready. This is my sign that I am ready. Ok?"

"Yes, Nica. I can't wait to prove myself worthy."

"You already have, sweet Ephie. Now you have to prove it to yourself. Marj is following me home, where I'll pack and make some room in the closet for you. Then she'll take me to the airport."

Josh pulled her close and gave her a deep, passionate kiss. Their tongues danced together and his fingers gently touched that spot on her neck that always sends thrills straight to her pussy. They stopped and panted, their eyes drinking in each other's gaze. "Do not worry about me," said Josh. "Concentrate on the job and save me for dessert, ok?"

"Ok my love," and they kissed one more time, then Veronica got up. "Bye Ephie. Can you pick me up at the airport at 5:00 PM on Sunday?"

"I'll be there. Be safe and come home soon Nica."

"Love you."

"I love you," and with that, she was gone. Josh sat at her desk and waited for a few minutes, then he took her small pad of post-it notes and on the fifth note down he wrote in a tiny script,

There once was a heart, brave and true,

That found its forever in you.

Through laughter and tears,

For all of our years,

I'll love you with skies gray or blue.

Then he put Veronica's house key on his key ring, straightened out the chairs, and closed Veronica's office, making sure the door was locked, then headed back to his office. He mastered the NCOs scowl years ago. You can hide a lot of pain behind that expression and terrify the young troops at the same time.

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The temperature dropped tremendously and was below zero by the time that Josh got his clothes loaded up in the back of his truck. He stopped at Fran's Sub Shop and got a ham & provolone sub (with lettuce, onion, extra tomato, banana pepper, oil & vinegar & more oil) a bag of salt and vinegar chips, and a liter of Pepsi. Nobody else knows how to make a sub like Fran and her husband Yano. He loaded his precious meal in the truck and drove home... Home! the thought made him smile. He realized the last time he had a place he could call home was just before he stepped into his apartment in base housing to find his pregnant wife blowing a stranger in his living room. She wasn't pregnant when he deployed over nine months previously.

Casting aside that memory, Josh pulled into the driveway of Veronica's house and began unloading his clothes. He came back downstairs after tossing an armload on the bed and there on the kitchen table was a cat sniffing at his wrapped sub. It must have followed him in when he carried an armload of clothes into the house. "Come on fella, you don't live here." He scooped up the short hair orange tabby and carried it outside and set it on the ground and watched it run off to the garage, then he grabbed the last of his load and carried it in the house. He kicked off his sneakers and went upstairs and stepped into Veronica's walk-in closet. Half of it was empty, so she did some re-arranging while she was home packing. There was a note that read, "Can you survive with the dresser in the closet?" On the empty side of the closet was a three-drawer dresser.

He hung up his clothes and found that he used less than half of the space she made for him. Most of his clothes were T-shirts, polo shirts, and flannel shirts. Not counting his dress blues, he only had two suits and has only worn one of them. He hung up the clothes that he had on hangers and then went back downstairs, ready to eat. When he entered the kitchen, he found the cat on the table, tugging at a corner of the sub wrapper. "Dude! Seriously?"

The cat looked at him and meowed as if to say, "Gimme." It was a pretty cat, orange with intense orange tiger stripes and a tiny white bib under his chin. Like all tabby cats, he had an M between his eyes. Some say that the M stands for the Virgin Mary. Others insist it stands for Mohammed. Those are people that clearly do not understand cats. The M on any cat stands for "Me." Cats are like that. "Me" embodies their entire philosophy of life.

"Ok, buddy," and Josh set out a bowl of water for the young cat, who lapped it up. With a sigh of resignation, Josh opened a can of sardines and forked out half the content onto a small dish and set it on the floor next to the bowl of water. As the hungry cat ate, he put his sub on top of the fridge so the cat wouldn't get it, then grabbed his coat, car keys, and left. After a quick trip to Bell's IGA, he returned with a litter box, litter, and a small sack of cat food for "Tigger." In his absence, Tigger had finished the sardines, then got up on top of the fridge and tugged his sub to the edge of the fridge. When Josh walked in, it was ready to fall. "You're killing me cat. You're probably one of those cats that have several homes," said Josh and he took the sub, leaving Tigger on top of the fridge and sat down to his dinner.

He set up his tablet on the kitchen table, poured a cold Pepsi, and sat down to dinner. On the tablet, the Buffalo Sabres played the Montreal Canadiens, live in Montreal. Both teams were fighting hard to hit the bottom of the Eastern Division. They were a combined fifty points out of first place and sinking fast. Games like this are interesting because it's close to the end of the season. There was no chance to win the Stanley Cup for either team and nobody wanted to get hurt, so it looked to Josh that a bunch of average Joes were playing.

After finishing half the sub, he wrapped the other half and stuck it in the fridge for lunch tomorrow. He retired to the pool room and turned the game on the wall mounted TV. While watching the game, he played a solo game of eight-ball on Veronica's red pool table. "God, I suck at this," muttered Josh. He hasn't played since he was stationed in Korea. In Korea, he was constantly in pain from his injuries in a plane crash landing, but he didn't complain to the doctors about it for fear of getting tossed out of the Air Force on a medical discharge. When they started the process of tossing him out on a medical discharge anyhow, then he talked about it. He talked long and hard, he bent every doctor's ear and in the end retired with a 165% disability rating. That's enough for a tax free retirement income. It's not enough for a comfortable life, but since he's working, that money goes straight to savings where his next major purchase awaits.

He was pondering whether to purchase a small tractor or an ATV, or a second snowmobile for Veronica. Then he realized maybe he should save for a baby. The idea that Veronica may want to have a baby with him startled him. He continued to play, wondering if it was possible that lonely old Josh could be a father as he played.

Tigger sat near a pocket on the edge of the pool table watching Josh play solitaire eight-ball. He took a shot at the corner that Tigger was sitting next to and the ball stopped short of sinking by less than an inch. Then, to Josh's amazement, Tigger swatted the ball in the hole. Josh took a picture of the cat sitting proudly on the edge of the pool table, then texted it to Veronica with the title, "I got a visitor." He didn't call because he did not know what Veronica's schedule in Manhattan would be like. He expected they were at dinner at some ritzy restaurant with someone who wanted to make Ant rich.

He woke up an hour later in the recliner with Tigger laying belly side up in his lap, all four feet in the air, sound asleep. A call from Veronica was what woke him. "Hey sweetie," said Josh softly.

"Why are you whispering honey?" asked Veronica.

"I just got the baby to sleep," and Josh took a picture of Tigger and sent it to her.

"Aww, you found some pussy to replace me," teased Veronica. "Is it good pussy?"

That set off alarm bells in Josh's head. She doesn't talk like that, she'll talk a little like that in the throes of passion, but she never accused him or teased him about 'getting pussy.' Calming his nerves Josh sighed and said, "He's fixed, which is a huge plus. I'm going to take him to a vet tomorrow if he's still here and see if he's chipped then reunite him with his family."

"Why's he in the house?" she was slurring her words. Josh tried to fight the horror that began to build in him.

"It's five below and going to get colder. I don't care if it's a racoon, I don't want the poor guy to freeze to death."

"Sss ok. Wha 'cha doin?" She was seriously slurring her words.

"Just thinking about my parents and my sister. You should ask Marj about them."

"I gotta get back to our table. Love yoooo!"

"I love you too, call me when you..." but she hung up. "Fuck."

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"Here you go honey, a grapefruit fizz," said Brandon and he set the pink drink in front of Veronica. It was the third grapefruit fizz of the evening, and she eyed it eagerly. According to Brandon, it was lemonade, grapefruit juice, and club soda and his daughter Audrey grew up on them. Veronica found them delicious and was close to chugging down the third one.

"What is Josh doing honey?" asked Marj.

"He's playing with his pussy," said Veronica, which caused her to laugh. Then she showed Marj the picture of Tigger laying happily in Josh's lap. "My boyfriend has a pussy!" She began giggling and said to Marj, "I'm not going to lick his pussy no matter how nice he asks." And she started giggling again.

"Are you ok honey?" asked Marj.

Veronica leaned over and put her phone in Anthony's face and said, "Josh has a pussy! It's a shame, he used to have a really nice dick."

Marj grabbed the drink that Brandon brought for Veronica and tasted it. It was mostly grapefruit flavored vodka. "Come on honey, let's go for a walk."

"Why?" asked a thoroughly confused Veronica.

"It's Manhattan! Why else? Come on Ronnie."

"Josh calls me Ronnie," said Veronica as Marjorie rose and led Veronica out of the restaurant.

Brandon Mitchell caught up with them and said, "Where ya going? The party's just getting started. Stay. The client is starting to get loosened up!"

"Mister Mitchell, I'm headed back to my room," snapped Marjorie. She wanted to say more to Brandon, but she was just a guest. She held no authority. But as Veronica's employer, she had some sway and she and Veronica headed out into a cold, rainy Manhattan night. The rain was just a mist and soon it turned to snow. All the while, Veronica chattered about Josh.

"He's got a pussy... silly cat. He had a cat named Sphinx that died last year and he has its picture on the wall. Do you think that's weird? I don't. I think it's kinda hot. Do you think a man taking in a stray cat is hot?"

"I think a man taking care of a helpless anything from a cat to a child is hot," said Marjorie. "Why do you think three of our babies are adopted."

"They are?" gushed Veronica, who knew damn well they were adopted. "Oh, that's right..."

"You don't drink, do you?" asked Marj.

"Two glasses of wine a day. No more! Josh isa same as me, two beers a day! Maybe three if it's really hot, thas what he says, thas why I was drinking fruit juice."

"Honey, that wasn't fruit juice, that was grapefruit flavored vodka and lemonade."

Veronica stopped and stared at Marjory. "Why?" then she gasped, "Brandon! Why would he do that?"

"Because he and his wife Emily always want what they can't have."

"AND Emily?" Veronica tried to look shocked, but she knew that Emily Mitchell was hot for her, and a couple of times, she almost gave her a try. But Emily insisted on inviting Brandon, and Veronica wanted nothing to do with Brandon or any other men at that time. "What Josh must think of me!" She was crying by the time Marj got her up to their suite. "He said he was thinking of his parents! He hates me!" she wept.

"What do you mean he hates you?"

"His parents were alcoholics and they drove him away, now I'm a drunk and I..."

"You just stop!" demanded Marj. Even though they're about the same age, raising seven children gives a woman an air of authority in all situations that arise. "Getting drunk once doesn't make you an alcoholic. Josh isn't going to drop you because Brandon was a jerk."

"He'll kill Brandon! I can't tell him what happened!"

"Just tell Josh the truth, tell him that someone gave you a grapefruit and lemonade and you didn't realize that it was grapefruit vodka until it was too late."

"That'll work," mumbled Veronica as she sat down on her bed, leaned over, and drifted off to sleep.

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Josh woke up to the yowling of Tigger. He wasn't loud, but he was insistent. Josh stumbled down the stairs trying to find out why Tigger was so loud and found the orange cat sitting by the kitchen door. There, next to the cat, were three mice... actually, three halves of mice. Just the heads and forward legs of the mice were left, Tigger had eaten the soft, chewy parts in the back.

"Good boy Tigger!" As a reward, Josh gave him the remaining sardines for a breakfast treat, and had finished serving Tigger and started making coffee when his morning alarm went off. "I get up at six thirty, Tigger," Josh scolded the cat. "Let's adjust your clock." Tigger merely finished the sardines and hopped up on the counter and watched Josh make his daily breakfast. Two microwave poached eggs on a split toasted English muffin with sausage links. Then he sat down at the kitchen table with his tablet to catch up on the news. He normally used a laptop, but Josh had experience with cats. They like to help type, but tablets are a mystery to cats and they ignore them.

The phone rang, and it was Veronica. "Good morning darling," said Josh.

"You're not mad at me?" she asked. She had sat staring at her phone in terror, afraid to dial home and receive the retribution she earned.

"No, that's the first time I've ever seen you drunk, I'm sure it was a rare occurrence."

"I was drinking grapefruit fizz," said Veronica sadly. "I thought it was grapefruit juice, but it was grapefruit vodka."

"Lesson learned," said Josh. "God I miss fresh squeezed grapefruit juice from fresh picked fruit. Our neighbor had a grapefruit tree and I'd help pick them every year. I love grapefruit."

"You said you couldn't have them because of your meds."

"Bah, doctors! What do they know? And it was a VA doctor, he was probably thinking of yams when he said grapefruit. If it was a well-made drink I would have done the same thing. How are the meetings with the client going?"

"He seems more interested in my boobs," groaned Veronica.

"He's clearly a man with distinguished tastes."

"You men are all alike!" Veronica nearly screeched.

"NO! That's silly. Personally, I like to look at your legs."

"You like my legs?"

"Yes!" said Josh. "They're flawless! Long and shapely, they're picture perfect. I love them most when they're wrapped around my waist or squeezing my ears."

"Squeezing your ears? I... oh, I get it." Josh could tell that Veronica was blushing. If he said, "I like to lick your pussy," she would get angry for his being crude. But she will get turned on to no end with a roundabout description like 'Squeezing my ears.' Then she realized what he was implying. "What's wrong with my boobs?" she demanded.

"Nothing, they're beautiful, I love them, but your legs are spectacular!"

"You're trolling me," said Veronica. "You're using reverse psychology trying to convince me to walk around the house with no shirt."

"Actually, I was hoping you'd walk around the house with no pants." His teasing had a point. As a dancer, she was proud of her legs and she loved it when somebody noticed. "All kidding aside, I miss you, dear Nica. I miss the entire package. Work is no longer a fun place to visit. It's just... work. Every moment without you feels like a chapter missing from our story."

Veronica could only gasp. Josh, the war hero, the man whose idea of exercise is heading into the woods with an axe. The macho man who wouldn't drive something that wasn't four wheel drive was a romantic poet! He continued, "The world moves on, but my heart lingers in the space where you should be. I miss you--not just in passing thoughts, but in every sigh, every stolen glance at the sky, wishing you were here beside me."

"Oh..." words caught in her throat. Where did this come from? He didn't learn it singing barbershop harmony (another utterly masculine thing.) "I miss you too darling, I can't wait for when I get home on Sunday. Think of something special for us to do."

"I've already got the plan laid out," said Josh and with just a few more murmurs of love, they parted until they could talk again. He turned to Tigger, who was watching him from the safety of his nest atop the fridge. "You behave. I'm going to work and when I get back, we're going to the vet." Tigger responded with a little squeak, which Josh took to mean the cat knew what a vet was.

Josh typed up a few thoughts that popped into his head onto his tablet, then rushed off to take his morning shower. "I should start working out in Paul's gym," he said to himself.

Later that day at work he took a break, copied those words he typed up and sent them to Veronica in the form of a text message. Veronica, Anthony, and Brandon were in a meeting room in a Manhattan skyscraper when the text message arrived. They had just broke for coffee and Veronica was chatting with her counterpart at the medical company they were 'romancing.' A lot of the talk centered around Andalon's location in Buffalo versus Manhattan. The head of MediSoft was short of promising Ant a position on the board if he'd sell and move to Manhattan.

During the break, Veronica pulled her phone out of her purse and read:

You are the sweet chaos in my perfectly ordinary life, and I wouldn't trade you for all the well-behaved moments in the world. I love you--wildly, ridiculously, and without a single ounce of regret.

How do you read that without showing emotion? Veronica tried but had to daub a tear of joy from her eye. "Something good?" asked Diana McCrey, the executive assistant to the CEO of MediSoft, the company they were trying to partner with.

She stumbled for words to describe Josh. Boyfriend? Sounds too immature for a war veteran in his 30s. Fiancé? Not yet. Lover? That implies that she only has use for him at night. Partner? Sounds too Gen X, It's the same with 'significant other,' too meaningless. "A note from my man."

"Your man? It sounds like he owns you," scoffed Diana.

"Well..." Veronica grinned to herself and said, "He does own my heart and a few other vital organs." She showed Diana the text that Josh sent.

"My god! Where did you find him?"

"In a blizzard. He rescued me."

"No kidding?" gasped Diana.

Veronica told her an edited version of her rescue then added, "My neighbor rescued a woman in a blizzard back in December, they were married on Christmas eve."

"I'm going to have to come for your next blizzard."

"I intend to spend every blizzard in a warm log cabin in front of an open fire, or in my Victorian house. Josh says that he's going to get the chimney cleaned and inspected so I can use the fireplace in the bedroom on those long winter nights." She showed Diana pictures of Josh's cabin and her house, followed by a picture of her and Josh in the snow in front of his snowmobile.

"So if Anthony sells to MediSoft, will you move to Manhattan?" asked Diana.

"If you had asked six months ago I would have said yes in a New York minute," said Veronica. "But now? No, there's still enough opportunity in Western New York. Josh and I may just open our own business."

"Buffalo? Why?" When Diana said Buffalo, she used the same tone of voice one would use when saying 'vomit.' "What does Buffalo have that New York doesn't have?"

"An NFL team. Let's get back to it..." and they trooped back into the conference room where Veronica read Josh's text message over and over.

<><><><><>

Work was... work. Josh never realized how much a peek at Veronica brightened up his day until she was gone. Before January, when she was on a trip, he wouldn't know she was gone, so he believed there was a chance to catch a glimpse of her, but now there's no chance, not until Sunday. "Pull your head outta your ass!" he ordered himself. "It's not like she's dead."

Josh buried himself in work. He strode into the chilly server room where Terri couldn't follow him, walked up to a rack of identical 4RU servers, grabbed a pull handle between two servers and yanked. A flat drawer slid out, which unfolded to a keyboard and monitor. He can remotely log into every computer in this server room from anywhere in the world, but there are certain things you can only do with a direct connection.

This time, it wasn't a server; it was the Cisco programmable 48 port switch at the top of the rack that was giving him problems. He placed his laptop on a stand next to him and opened a spreadsheet with the required configuration of the switch. He reviewed the entire configuration over and over until Eli came up to him and asked for a favor. "Hey, I've got an interview next week, can you watch my folks and keep an eye on business until I get back?"

"Yeah, no problem," said Josh. "Is anything going on?"

"Nothing programmed, just responding to any customer complaints and helping your folks build workstations."

"That's not a problem. Is this at RIT?" Josh knew that Eli dreamed of a teaching position at the Rochester Institute of Technology. It was his alma mater and his folks and in-laws all live in Rochester, he wants to go home.

"Yes it is," said Eli with an excited grin peering out from under his mustache.

"Good luck, I hope you get it," and he patted Eli on the back.

"Hey, I don't know exactly what is going on with you and Miss von Köster, but whatever it is, you're clearly doing it right. I've never seen the both of you so happy," said Eli.

"It's all just rumors," said Josh. "In fact, we moved in together so we can fight the rumors from one central location."

Eli chuckled and gave Josh a hug. "This is a fight you two earned. Have a good time, my friend." And he turned to leave.

"Hey Eli, shalom."

Eli grinned. He finally got Josh to use that word correctly. "Toda," he replied and was gone.

Josh sighed and went back to work. Changes kept coming. The next thing you know, Terri may give up her hard metal noise for the philharmonic and married life. Just as he was about to say that was impossible, he found his problem. A setting in the switch port that was giving him headaches was 88. It should have been 8. He corrected the issue, set a reboot for tonight at two AM, then went back to his desk to find a small cat carrier waiting for him. "Hey thanks Nick," said Josh.

"No problem," said Nick Taub, looking up from the workstation he was configuring for a client. "The wife says you can keep it, our cats have all outgrown it."

<><><><><>

Tigger was indeed chipped, and according to the vet, the chip was registered to a woman in Springville a few blocks away, so Josh sadly loaded Tigger up in a cat carrier. It was nice to have a cat again. Dogs are great. Josh loves dogs, but properly raising a dog takes a lot of time and energy. Cats are self-maintaining. Feed them, give them clean water and a clean litter box, and show some affection and the cat is your buddy. Maybe he'll get a cat of his own the next time the opportunity arises. Paul Jarecki has barn cats. Maybe he can get a kitten from the next litter.

Sadly, Josh rang the doorbell and a young woman answered the door. "Yes?"

Josh raised the carrier, and Tigger made some unfriendly noises. Josh said, "I have your cat, he kind of moved in and..."

"We don't have a cat," said the woman. "I'm allergic."

"Is this 202 Oak Leaf Drive? He's chipped for Anna Greenwald at this address."

"We bought this house from the Greenwald's, they moved. Hang on a second." She disappeared into the house, then returned and handed Josh a slip of paper. "Here is where you can reach them." The paper had a phone number with a 716 area code.

He called a few times but there was no answer. He even called during his Friday fish fry dinner at Worzils. "Is everything all right hon?" asked Julissa as she placed the meal in front of him while he sat at the bar.

"Yeah, why do you ask?"

"You usually sit with Paul and his family in the back."

"Oh, I had some calls to make."

"Is everything all right with Veronica?" asked Julissa's husband Ayato from his station, washing the glassware. "Did you get everything moved in?"

"Wait!" demanded Josh. "We told nobody! How would you know?"

"We didn't hon," said Julissa with a grin. "You just told us."

"We put two and two together," said Ayato.

"Two and two what?" demanded Josh.

"Miss Veronica went to Archie over at the feed store and agonized for ten minutes on the perfect key to have him cut and settled for the one that looked like solid gold," said Julissa.

"Yeah, Archie would talk about something like that," groaned Josh.

"And nobody who lives in Orchard Park would run into the Bells IGA in their slippers to buy cat litter, cat food, and a litter box," said Ayato, without looking up from his task at washing the glassware.

"Martha! That's the last time I buy something from Martha Lane."

"Not to mention the change of address card you filed at the post office yesterday," said Julissa.

"Wait a minute, that's classified, that's post office proprietary information!"

"No it's not," said Ayato. "They let all the businesses on main street know when a new person moves into town."

Josh groaned. It was like being back in tiny St. Mary's, Georgia again. Small towns are small towns no matter where you plant them. He wasn't going to argue with Julissa over this anymore. She was an OSI agent in the Air Force and after that she was a detective in the town of Concord PD until she was relieved of her badge. She could figure these things out. "Do you know where Anna Greenwald moved to?" Josh asked, doubting that they would know.

"Oberlin Kansas," said Ayato.

"Her boy teaches at the college there and Anna moved to be near the grandkids," said Julissa. Then she saw the look of utter surprise on Josh's face. "Here ya go hon, welcome to Springville," and she placed a beer in front of him.

<><><><><>֍<><><><><>

Veronica flew into Josh's arms at the Buffalo airport. "Did you miss me?" she asked as their lips finally parted. Her lips would burn with that reunion kiss for a long, long time.

"What would give you that idea?" asked Josh as he grabbed her bag from the carousel and they headed to the door.

They walked out to the short-term parking, where Josh's truck waited for them. "How did everything go?"

"I didn't get out to the cabin; we had a chimney sweep come in and inspect the chimney. It's clean, in perfect condition and I put a screen over the bedroom fireplace and put an andiron inside."

"A who?" asked Veronica.

"Andiron, the metal bars that hold the firewood up off the floor of the fireplace," said Josh as he hoisted her bag into the back seat of his truck, then helped her into the cab. His jeep had a five-inch lift and was a challenge at times to get in and out of. "Hungry?"

"Starving!" gasped Veronica. "We left the hotel as soon as we could, then sat in LaGuardia for hours waiting for the plane to load."

"I don't believe sweet, romantic dinners work after travel," said Josh. "You're too tired and your brain is spinning. I suggest a warm, friendly meal with laughter and just a little wine chosen by a professional sommelier to compliment the meal."

"That sounds perfect!" Soon they turned into the parking lot of a small Italian restaurant that Veronica had passed dozens of times but never entered. "I've never been here before." The sign read Giardinos Family Italian Restaurant.

"Oh, you're missing out," said Josh. "I can testify from personal experience that every restaurant on Genesee avenue from Transit road to Harlem road is incredible." Genesee street was covered with restaurants serving food from all nationalities represented in Western New York, Italian, Greek, Mexican, Irish, Asian, it was all there. "I love this place, it's like eating with family," said Josh as he led his beautiful lover to the front door.

"Joshie!" called a big Italian fellow as they stepped into the restaurant. "How ya doin' Josh?" and they shook hands

"Veronica, this is Danny Giardino, owner, manager, and good friend. Danny, this is Veronica von Köster, my dearest..."

Josh was interrupted by a woman's cry of excitement. "IS THIS THE ONE?" a short round woman in her seventies appeared as if out of the ether. "Is this the one?"

"Momma, this is Veronica von Köster. Veronica, this is Anna Maria Gia..."

"Call me Momma, deary, everyone does. Oh, how my Josh waited for you! He waited years for you!"

Veronica chuckled as Momma led her off to the table. "We just started..."

"Momma knows! Momma knows the pain of an empty heart," said Momma as they left Josh behind. Josh and Danny just looked at each other and shrugged. He caught up with Momma and Veronica as they were seated at a huge family table in a side room. A large group was there waiting for them: Paul and Andi Jarecki along with their twins, Sandy and Madeline, John and Macy Jarecki was there too, as were Gus Didomissio, with a slim, plain woman that Josh and Veronica saw at Paul and Andi's wedding and Christmas party.

"Everyone is so happy! You've finally caught up with my Johnny and Macy and you all found your mate!" gushed Momma as she sat down next to the twins.

"Momma, Lucy and I just met!" insisted Gus. Gus was a mutual friend of Veronica and Josh, although neither knew it. He was Paul Jarecki's best friend and the top carpenter in Springville. He's helped Josh with the cabins he's rebuilding and he built the sunporch on the back of Veronica's house.

"Is something going on here?" asked Paul as Josh sat down next to Veronica and gave her a kiss.

"Yeah!" demanded five-year-old Sandy, who considered Veronica her mentor and best friend.

"Yeah!" added Madeline, because she had a crush on Josh. She had decided that he was So Cool.

"Veronica and I are in a committed relationship..."

"How committed?" asked John.

Josh didn't want to do this. He liked John a lot, but he was terrified that the preacher would come down on him like thunder and lightning when he said he was living with Veronica before getting married. Before he said anything, Veronica took Josh's hand and said, "About as committed as we can emotionally get at this point. We've pledged our faith and love to each other. We've been through some rough times so we're both seeking counseling before we have the ceremony."

"Good for you!" said Macy cheerfully. "I'm tired of seeing that grumpy old lumberjack of yours moping around like a bear in the woods." She teased Josh by saying, "I didn't know you knew how to smile."

"Veronica, I don't think I ever got to introduce you to my best friend Lucy Kocis," said Andi. "She's the reason I'm here in the first place. The girls and I came to visit and ended up in Paul's cabin. She's a thoracic surgeon at Erie County Medical Center, and a board certified pulmonologist. Lucy, this is my neighbor Veronica von Köster, she's the executive assistant to the CEO at Andalon Data Systems."

As Andi, Macy, Lucy and Veronica chatted, Josh said to Gus, "I finally got that creosote swept from Veronica's chimney, we're going to use the upstairs fireplace tonight."

"You know, if she ever does something with that huge basement, she could plumb a wood stove into that huge chimney and use that to heat the basement." Gus knew every nail and screw in Veronica's house and often told her that the basement, which opened up to the back yard, would make a perfect guest suite.

"So... what's with Lucy?" asked Josh. He knew Gus was a widower with four daughters who were about Lucy's age.

Gus shrugged, "I found someone that isn't scared off by this ugly mug of mine... oof!" He was hit in the ribs by a well-directed elbow from Lucy.

"I warned you Master Carpenter Didomissio!" Doctor Lucy snapped.

"Good for you Lucy!" said Veronica cheerfully. "I have to slap this one out of self-loathing often enough, I'm glad to see I'm not alone." Neither Lucy nor Veronica realized it, but that started a deep friendship and soon the four women, Andi, Lucy, Macy, and Veronica, were bonded through the ties of sisterhood.

Dinner conversation was lively, and the gang laughed cheerfully as they had a wonderful dinner served family style by people that befriended John and Paul Jarecki thirty years ago. Before the food came out, Danny Giardino stood at the table and said, "Since none of you chose the mother church, who shall lead us in grace?"

That brought quite a bit of laughter from the Jareckis and Veronica whispered, "What's so funny?"

"John and Paul were raised catholic, and John went off to seminary to become a priest. Instead, he went to Divinity school and came home with Macy as his wife," whispered Josh.

"Danny, I was raised Catholic," said Veronica.

"That's-a good," said Danny with a mock Italian accent. "For your honesty you may lead us all in grace."

"Bless us oh Lord, and these thy gifts which we are about to receive, from thy bounty, through Christ our Lord, Amen."

"Very good," said Danny. "That's a proper Roman Catholic grace," and he poured more wine as the servers began to set out the food.

"You said it wrong," said Sandy with a pout while Paul tied a bib on her.

"How should I say it?" asked Veronica.

The twins looked at each other, then picking up a fork, they waved their forks above their head and shouted, "Rub-a-dub, dub! Thanks for the grub! YAY GOD!"

Laughing, Veronica asked, "Where did you learn that?"

The twins both pointed their forks toward Pastor Macy Jarecki, and the beautiful black theologian laughed cheerfully. "She sure did," said Andi, who was laughing with her sister-in-law.

"It's a proper prayer of grace," said Macy. "They said thank you for the food and gave the glory to God."

It was a wonderful meal, one of the best that Veronica can remember. She normally avoids Italian food, but she ate very little on the trip to Manhattan, so she ate with gusto. Antipasti, bruschetta, lasagna, bowtie Alfredo, veal parmesan, chicken fontina, and for dessert, tiramisu. She had tiny nibbles of some offerings, huge servings of others, and everyone went home with full doggy bags, full tummies, and cheeks aching from smiling and laughing so much.

All the way home Veronica spoke very little about the trip to Manhattan, instead she talked about her conversations with Lucy. "She's an athlete!" Veronica gushed. "I may finally have a running partner. She was almost in the Olympics."

"Really?"

"Yeah, bicycle. Which reminds me, could I ride my mountain bike in the woods out at the cabin?"

"Sure, and you could probably ride over at Gus Didomissio's house, he's got an enormous lot there with a lot of ATV trails."

When Josh and Veronica got home, they ended up kissing in the driveway for what seemed like hours. They kissed until the cold got to them, so they picked up their leftovers and headed into the house. In the kitchen Veronica found cat toys scattered around the linoleum floor, but no cat. "Tigger! Come meet momma!" Josh called, but Tigger remained hidden. "He's probably in the basement; he likes it down there."

As Veronica put the leftovers in the fridge, Josh went outside to get her carry-on and her overnight bag when he heard a scream from the house. Reentering the kitchen, he found Tigger with a dead mouse in his mouth, proudly showing off his newest catch, which Veronica didn't want any part of. "I forgot to mention, we have mice."

"Very nice Tigger, now go outside and eat your snack." She held the back door open and Tigger darted outside into the cold and Josh tossed the mouse out after him. "I didn't know we had mice," she said.

"Yeah, the cold weather drives them indoors. The chimney sweep found a nest of them in the old furnace. Tigger ate well last night."

"Well, he's earning his keep," said Veronica as she molded her body to Josh. "Did you set up that dinner?"

"Kind of, it was supposed to be at John and Macy's house, but the twins demanded Giardinos."

"Come on baby," whispered Veronica. "Light my fire." She took a quick shower and when she stepped out of the shower, she found Josh had turned her bedroom into the love nest she had always dreamed of. A cheery fire crackling in the fireplace and candlelight from candles in sconces backed by mirrors gave a golden, flickering glow to their love. "It's beautiful!" she gasped, looking around the room. "Even the cat!" Tigger was curled up in front of the fire, sleeping.

"I let him back in before he woke the neighbors," said Josh as Veronica climbed into bed with him.

Veronica leaned over Josh and began kissing his nipples. "Is it ok if I think of you as my fiancé?" she asked.

"If you want, but I want you to get to know me better before we make it official, because my proposal is going to be public so there is no question of our commitment."

"I like the way you think," she said, and she kissed her way down his chest to his cock, which she gave a long, loving lick. "God I love this dick!" she began suckling on his balls, something he passionately loved. As she suckled his balls, she stroked his cock, causing Josh to growl and gently tangle his fingers in her hair.

"So good!" he groaned as he writhed in ecstasy. "God, Nica, you're going to make me cum."

She stopped immediately. "Not until I get some," she said, and she scrambled onto his lap. She raised up and lined his cock up with her seeping vagina, then lowered herself onto his throbbing pole. She groaned with delight as his cock pressed into her depths, pushing her organs aside. With her back to him, it was completely new and different. Josh had a perfect view of her shapely naked back. Her impossibly tiny waist and perfectly rounded ass reminded him of a cello. His fingers traced where the f shaped holes on a cello would be, causing her to giggle.

"What?" she panted between shivers of pleasure. She was rising and falling on his cock with a steady rhythm, enjoying the feeling of his thick cock re-arranging her internal organs.

"Your back... it's so sexy," he gasped.

"You've seen my back a thousand times," she gasped.

"Never naked, you always have a bra or panties or shorts..." He groaned. They were getting close and Veronica's actions were becoming jerky.

"Oh Ephie," she gasped as she felt the pleasure overtake her.

Josh reached up and pulled her back on top of himself. He planted his feet on the mattress and began ram fucking her from below. Veronica shrieked in pleasure as Josh had his way with her body. One of his hands was squeezing and twisting her nipple, the other was between her legs, gently stroking her clit to the most powerful orgasm she ever had in her life. Veronica shrieked at the top of her lungs and she trembled all over. Her voice sang out in a cry of ecstasy as she shuddered and shook while wave after wave of explosive pleasure crashed over her and she rolled off Josh, pushed him away, and curled up into a ball.

Josh couldn't stop. He was so near, but he wasn't a rapist, so he knelt over her and began stroking his cock. He wouldn't last long as his hand stroked up and down over his pussy slicked flesh. Veronica's eyes finally focused on his cock as Josh roared. Spurt after spurt of hot semen flew from his cock and splattered on her perfect breasts.

An exhausted Veronica smiled and said, "that feels nice coming from your lover." She was asleep by the time Josh had her cleaned up. She woke a while later and found Josh sitting in an easy chair that was turned to face the fire. She curled up in his lap and pulled a blanket over the both of them and sighed. "You wore me out!"

"Well, you did all the work," said Josh.

They both watched the fire crackle as the wind picked up outside. The wind blew the swirling snow, making it questionable if they would make it to work tomorrow, but in their bedroom, they were safe and warm. "I think this is going to work out between us," said Veronica.

"I think so too."

<><><><><>֍<><><><><>

Over the months, Josh and Veronica's love grew. Long days at work throughout the week, followed by romantic weekends in the cabin. The winter was harsh, and spring in Western New York has its own misery. Warm days melted snow, which created mud everywhere, so when they ventured out to Cabin #8 to take measurements and plan their work activities for later in the spring, they both wore hip waders to keep the mud splattering on their clothes to a minimum.

Several times Gus and Lucy came over to the house for dinner and to shoot pool while Tigger had to watch from his kennel. No feline helping was allowed. The Jareckis were frequent visitors, and the twins insisted on stopping by to visit their friend Tigger whenever their governess Yi took them for a walk. Veronica continued to practice dancing at Paul and Andi's house in the huge empty room known as the library. Her coach, Mitch, also helped Josh and he learned the basics of ballroom dancing.

For several weeks, Andi and Paul Jarecki were out of town, and they took Macy, the twins, and their governess Yi with them to Denver to close out Andi's apartment. Josh and Veronica were taking care of the house and making sure that Pastor John was fed and they even had him over for Eight Ball nights with Gus and Lucy. Paul's service dog, a chocolate lab named Wonka, was lonely, so Josh and Veronica moved in and spent a lot of time in the Jarecki's gym and amazing shower room. Several times they made love in a gentle warm rain shower that the shower/steam room was able to provide.

On the day the Jareckis were scheduled to return, Josh was working on plans for an upcoming expansion for a client when Veronica poked her nose in Josh's office. "We have to go."

Josh looked at the clock. It was four thirty on Friday and the building was empty. It was about a half hour past quitting time, but it was still early for either of them to leave the building. They usually arrived before any of Josh's workers arrived and they left after everyone else did. "What's up?" asked Josh. "It's not like you to leave before five."

"I don't know," said Veronica. "Lucy called and said everyone needs to get to Worzils, as soon as possible. She was pretty excited about it."

"Paul, Andi and Macy were supposed to be home by now, maybe Lucy is throwing a welcome home party for our world travelers." Paul sighed. That meant that Wonka, who became his buddy, was going back to Paul.

"I can't believe they drove all the way home," said Veronica. Their friends flew out to Minot, North Dakota, for a ceremony on the nearby Air Force base. A friend of Paul's was assuming command of the missile wing up there. From there they drove to Bismark ND to visit Andi's grandparents, then drove to the black hills to see Mount Rushmore, then drove to Denver, where they closed out Andi's apartment. After that, they drove all the way back to Western New York.

"Paul told me they were trailering Andi's car back," said Josh, still not looking up from his computer monitor.

"Ah-Hem!"

Josh looked up and saw that Veronica had her coat on and was carrying her laptop in a messenger bag, a briefcase, and her purse. "Oh, you want to go now. I get it." He signed off, closed up his laptop, then pulled on his coat. They went out the back door, making sure they had everything before letting the door close and lock. "We haven't done fish fry in a long time," said Josh.

"I gain a pound every time we have it," complained Veronica as she climbed into Josh's truck.

"So? Get the smaller portion.

"Would you be satisfied with the smaller portion?" demanded Veronica. Worzil's fish fry was one of the best in Erie County, and if Veronica got a smaller portion, she would end up eating half of Josh's dinner.

"I'm sure you'll run it off when the weather gets nicer," said Josh.

Veronica spent a lot of time jogging on Andi's tread mill and was making plans to make a running path in Josh's woods. "Why don't you like running?" she asked.

"Oh, I think it's a great hobby if you have somebody behind you with a knife."

"You're silly." She set up a mobile Wi-Fi hotspot on her phone, pulled out her laptop and got twenty minutes of work in as Josh drove up to Springville. The snow was mostly gone except for large piles of snow that were left by snowplows. Those piles were hard to identify as snow piles. They were covered with black dirt and melting quickly. All the ditches on the side of the road were quick running rivulets, the kind Josh would play in as a boy or as a grownup if nobody was watching.

Josh avoided the fast road, the 219 Expressway, and if asked why, he would say that the engineers who planned that road took special care to avoid any and all scenery. Josh took the roads that wound through valleys and crossed over large hills. Josh could see the change come over western New York, the farmers planning for spring planting, the calves the dairy farmers were producing, the foals the horse breeders at the Cole Hill Ranch turned out to kick up their young hooves.

"Where to? Home or Worzils?" asked Josh as they eased into town.

"Worzils, Lucy says everyone is there."

"They sure are! Holy crap," said Josh as he saw the parking lot. It was packed. Of course, it wasn't a very large parking lot to begin with. In the end they went home, dropped off their laptops and stuff, then walked hand in hand the four blocks to Worzil's Bar and Grille.

Worzil's was a Springville fixture. It was opened in the 1920s as Worzil's Pub and changed hands in the decades that followed. Occasionally a new owner would name it something trendy, but everyone continued to call it Worzil's, so following owners named it Worzil's and occasionally changed the spelling of Grill in the Bar and Grill portion of the name. Sometimes 'and' was replaced with an ampersand, and the spelling of Grill often became Grille.

Entering Worzils, they found a crowd of folks from church. The crowd parted and there were Andi and Macy, seated at the head of a table like two queens of old. The Women of Springville were clustered around Andi and Macy, chatting excitedly while their husbands, Paul and John, stood behind them looking happy but dazed. Veronica's pal Lucy crouched between Andi and Macy, whispering to them. "What's going on?" whispered Josh to Veronica. "I know they were gone for weeks but this..."

"Being gone had nothing to do with it," said the bartender, Ayato, from a good ten feet away. Ayato was a short, slim man of Japanese descent. His parents were born in an American prison camp (the term at the time was internment camp). He had comically thick glasses because his eyesight was so bad, but his hearing was spectacular. It was said that he can identify the different species of hummingbirds by the sounds of their farts from a hundred yards away. "Go talk to John, he's having a hard time processing this."

"No problem," said Josh, and he and Veronica headed over to where the crowd was thickest. Lucy saw them approaching and cried out in excitement. She moved through the crowd, grabbed Veronica's wrist and pulled her over to where Andi and Macy were sitting while Josh made his way over to Paul and John. A squeal of excitement from Veronica told Josh that she found out what was going on. "What's the hubbub, bub?" he asked.

"We just found out that Macy and Andi are pregnant," said Paul.

Paul didn't look happy to Josh, but John looked miserable. "Both? Y'all should be celebrating! Babies are fun! They're a bit slow on the uptake at first, but they're fun to tease," said Josh. His words were meant to entertain, but John looked even sadder. "Ok preacher man, let's go. You, me, hockey!" he pulled two quarters out of his pocket.

"I don't want to..." mumbled John.

"Oh, you can beat two little girls, but you're afraid to let a grown man kick your butt on the field of battle?" taunted Josh.

"Come on Unka John!" taunted Sandy.

"Play!" insisted Madeline. The twins loved air hockey. They are terrible at playing, they can barely hit the puck, but they could watch it all night long.

"Go on, beat him and shut him up," said Paul.

"Come on, preacher man," and Josh led the way into the empty back room where the air hockey table sat empty. He put the quarters in the machine and the fans under the table came to life. With a clink! the puck dropped into a slot and Josh put the puck on the table and he took the striker and bounced the puck against the side while he waited for John to pick up a striker. "Rock, paper, scissors for faceoff?"

"Just play," said John softly.

"Your funeral," said Josh and he slammed a blazing shot at John's net, which John blocked at the very last second. The puck came back to Josh, and he slammed a vicious shot that hit the side right at the center line and rocketed toward John's net. Again, John blocked the puck and Josh recovered and fired a blazing volley of five lightning fast shots at John that John blocked. On the last shot, John slammed his striker down on the puck, stopping it with a loud clank, and returned a murderous shot at Josh, who blocked it.

They volleyed back and forth faster and faster; the twins had pushed chairs up next to the table and watched the game in fascination as the puck zipped back and forth, the sound of the puck as it clinked against the boards filled the room until finally with a ringing clink it flew into John's net and Josh's net lit up in victory marking the score. The table dropped the puck into the little drawer and Madeline placed it on the table and pushed it toward John. "Come on Unka John! Beat him!"

A second later, John tied up the game with a flash of lightning that Josh didn't have a chance to block. The game was back on. They volleyed, shot, blocked. They were both in the zone, playing hard. The sound of striker hitting puck with a pink!, puck hitting side boards with a chink! and striker slamming down on the puck with a bang! filled the air. The twins were bouncing up and down on their chairs as they watched in excitement. This was air hockey at its finest and the best game they had ever seen! Eventually, the internal timer on the table called an end to the game. With a flashing of lights indicating a tie, the fans shut down, and the puck slowed to a stop and John stuffed it in his goal.

They met at the center line of the table and shook hands but Josh wouldn't let go of John's hand. "What's the problem? Why are you treating my little singing partner like a leper?"

"What do you mean?" asked John, trying to keep his temper.

"I've been watching you two since I got here. There is no 'you two.' You're avoiding her. She's carrying your baby! You should be back here slow dancing and kissing. Same with you, Stretch." Josh's 'little singing partner' was John's six foot three wife Macy, and stretch was his nickname for six foot four Paul Jarecki.

"I... I don't know what to do. We've lost three already... Now she's forty years old and I may lose her," said John softly.

"So?" demanded Josh.

"What do you mean 'so'?" Now John was angry.

Josh stepped up to John and whispered softly, "I would cut my leg off to be in your position right now, a loving wife carrying my little boy or my baby girl. But that blessing was stolen from me by a whore. My boy or girl would be seven or eight right now, we'd be going out for a catch or maybe some fishing after I get off work, but all I got is an empty cradle and a bunch of questions that begin and end with 'why me?' Yeah, I got Veronica now, but we're both so fucked in the head by the cards we were dealt we don't dare have a kid until we get our heads screwed on straight. Damnit John, you've been blessed with another chance, did you see how happy Macy is? Imagine how sweet she's going to sound singing your baby to sleep."

"I am so scared," John finally admitted.

Josh pulled him close and recited something he remembered from his "ol' school fire and brimstone Baptist" upbringing, and something that helped him through several very hairy missions over dangerous territory. "Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go."

John glared at Josh. "That's Joshua." He said that referring to Joshua 1 verse 9 from the old testament.

"Yes it is," said Josh with a wink and a grin. "Would I steer you wrong?" John finally started chuckling and Josh continued. "I'm going to take my little lady for a twirl around the dance floor. Y'all are invited to join us." With that, Josh went up to the ancient juke box and selected a few songs that he knew Veronica loved to dance to, then bowed to his lady as the music started.

As Frank Sinatra sang "Fly Me to the Moon" Veronica melted into Josh's arms and they danced in the open area of the back room. "Isn't it exciting?" asked Veronica. "Andi and Macy were kidding around and they challenged each other to a baby race and it happened!"

"It's amazing," said Josh. "When are they due?"

"Halloween, sometime around there."

"Valentines Day babies," said Josh with a grin.

As they danced, they were joined by Paul and Andi and John and Macy on the dance floor. Veronica was impressed. Josh's dancing was slowly coming along. She tries to teach him some basic dance steps after her practice sessions with her dancing coach, Mitch. How can someone who plays guitar and sings so well be so bad at dancing? She intended to fix that.

As they danced, John and Macy drew near and Macy leaned close to Josh and whispered, "Thank you."

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"Just calling to remind you that we're taking a personal day today," said Veronica to her boss on the phone.

"Ok, Miss von Köster," said Anthony Friedman. "I'm sure it's a doctor's appointment or something like that, right?"

"You know I can't say that. You can't even ask that."

"Ok, I just wanted you to know that several of our company tickets are missing." Andalon Data Systems had season tickets they used as rewards for hard work and to entertain clients.

"I will look into that when I get back, sir. You know those guys in sales," Veronica said as she made sure their tickets were in her purse.

"I'm sure you will. Have a good afternoon."

She and Josh prepared for another exciting date. Last week it was the opera, La Traviata. Josh even rented a tux for the event and he looked so good in that tux they almost didn't make it out of the house. To her surprise, Josh loved the opera and Veronica was shocked to hear him softly singing along with the aria "De' miei bollenti spiriti" (Of my hot spirits) "You know this aria?" she asked in a soft whisper.

"Shhh! Doesn't everybody?"

Over the weeks, they found each other was filled with surprises, and it was a joy for Veronica and Josh to discover the surprises their lover had hidden within. Veronica thrilled Josh by showing her tomboy side. While she wasn't crazy about hockey, she adored baseball and football. She loved fishing and Paul Jarecki confirmed that and even said that he took her to his secret fishing spot on Cattaraugus Creek. She hasn't hunted yet, but she claims she wants to try. As for Josh, he loves to go to the movies with Veronica, and loves dramas, especially the classics; Casablanca, African Queen, Gone with the Wind, and How Green Was My Valley. He was the perfect escort for her to high end business dinners and he looked incredible in suit and tie. And he loved opera, was passionate about classical music, and would go to the philharmonic at the drop of a hat. He even tolerated ballet and was slowly coming along with ballroom dancing.

Today was a big day! They both had a larger than usual breakfast because they were going to be busy. They grabbed their jackets and hats, Josh in Atlanta Braves and Veronica in Pittsburgh Pirates, collected their backpack, mitts and a few balls and headed out. "I love this day," said Veronica as they headed north on the 219. "My daddy used to take me to the Erie Sea Wolves all the time. Even after I was in the pageants and college we would go to the games."

"What team did you see in Ohio?" asked Josh.

"The Columbus Clippers. They're the farm team for the Indians."

"Guardians," said Josh.

"Fuck that..." Veronica covered her mouth and was about to say, 'sorry' but caught herself. "Indians!" she repeated. "Ok, Big Chief Wahoo was rude, but if they can't think of something better than Guardians, the fans should insist on Indians."

"The space force calls themselves Guardians," laughed Josh. "I wish I was still in the Air Force just so I could give the Space Force 'Guardians' some grief."

"How would you do that?" said Veronica, prodding him on.

"First, greet them with 'Hey Spaceman' and when they say, 'GUARDIAN' I'd ask, 'Oh? You're playing for Cleveland?' and if that's not enough I'd ask, 'What do we call a female Guardian?... a Governess?' The possibilities are endless."

"You're so cruel," said Veronica with a laugh.

"It's a military thing. We taunt and tease. Really give each other grief, but it's all in fun." Josh chuckled and continued. "I went into the American Legion and some of the Army boys were giving me grief. They heard I was Air Force and started saying I was part of the Chairborne Infantry and crap like that. They were bragging on jumping out of airplanes and shooting cannons. Then they asked me what I did in the Air Force. I told them that half of my time was spent loading nuclear bombs and cruise missiles on B-52s in forty below weather in North Dakota. Instant respect! Nobody else on earth would want to do that."

"Did they ever ask about the second half of your career?" asked Veronica.

"Yeah, I told 'em I was a gunner on an AC-130 and that always gets me a few beers from the infantry. They love having air cover that considers a one oh five millimeter howitzer a sniper rifle."

Veronica smiled as they exited the expressway onto Main Street and headed west on Main Street toward Buffalo. "I once had a boyfriend that was a submarine commander. He was so anal about everything, it drove me crazy! You were never like that, were you?"

"A submariner and a bomb loader can be compared to each other," said Josh. "It took me quite a while after I got out to understand that if I did something wrong, nobody was going to die. It's a hard lesson to learn sometimes."

"Was that what it was with Sid?" asked Veronica.

"Could be, but he may have just been a jerk to start with. Both jobs teach you over and over, one wrong move and people die. Lots of people. It's a hard mindset to break in the civilian world and it drives employers nuts."

"So you would be in a brotherhood with submariners?"

"Oh Hell No!" said Josh. "I mean, manning a submarine is a tough job... one hundred sixty men head out to sea, not knowing if they'd ever return..."

"True," sighed Veronica.

"And eighty couples return," said Josh with a grin and he put on his aviator sunglasses.

"You're horrible!" Veronica gushed, and she punched Josh in the arm.

They pulled into the University at Buffalo south campus and found a parking spot in a vast parking lot. Their spot was far from the campus buildings but close to a small building that had enormous wall mounted vending machines and two sets of double doors. Josh stuck his bank card in a vending machine, selected two, and two tickets were vended. They entered the building, which was merely a cover for the escalators and stairs that led deep underground. The escalators were incredibly steep, but eventually they reached the Niagara Frontier Transit Authority subway. The subway comprised seven miles of track, from this terminus all the way to the shore of Lake Erie in a straight line.

Josh and Veronica have taken this trip several times already this year. The subway goes straight to Buffalo's theater district where it becomes a street level trolly. They've been to concerts and plays that were mere yards from the trolly stop where they can get off. It makes parking easy and abundant, and because the trolly stops running before midnight it prevents accidentally detouring to a hopping nightclub especially on a work night.

They were in a crowded car, and the riders were excited. Everyone was heading to the same location. As soon as they got above ground, Veronica made a quick call on her cell phone then said to Josh, "They were on the train ahead of us and are waiting for us." It was hard to hear her because everyone in the car was singing.

... buy me some peanuts and Crackerjack, I don't care if I never get back...

They got off the trolley at Sahlen Field. "God, it's so perfect!" gushed Josh as he admired the architecture. "This field looks like it was built for a 1920's crowd and baseball team but with modern conveniences."

"And it's named for a hotdog," added Ayato Tanaka, as Josh and Veronica met up with Ayato and Julissa.

"Best dog ah ever et," said Josh, his accent in full bloom. He handed a pair of tickets to Ayato, who thanked them profusely.

"I've never been able to go to Opening Day," said Ayato.

"The best day for the greatest game on earth," added Julissa.

Soon loaded down with enormous cups of Flying Bison Beer and foot long Sahlen's hotdogs, they entered the stadium and found their seats. In the row ahead of them sat Paul, Andi, John and Macy Jarecki. Next to them were Gus Didomissio and Lucy Kosis.

The Jarecki's didn't notice yet that their neighbors were behind them and Josh was going to kick Paul's seat to let him know they were there when the stadium announcer called out, "Ladies and gentlemen, would you please rise for the national anthem and a special tribute for our veterans who gave their all for this country."

A large marching band had marched out to second base, turned to face the crowded stands, and raised their instruments. With true Buffalo pride the men and women of Western New York began singing with the band as loud as they could, all except for the veterans like Paul, Gus, Ayato, Julissa, Josh, and Kenny who stood stock still at attention, their hands not on their hearts, but held at a sharp salute.

As the final notes played and the crowd sang "AND THE HOME OF THE BRAVES!" (It's a Buffalo thing) Four huge C-130 cargo aircraft came roaring over the stadium from behind home plate and roared out over the infield, their massive propellers beating the air into submission. As they passed over the outfield and roared out over Lake Erie, one of the C-130s pulled up in a stunning steep climb, a missing man formation to honor those lost in service. The remaining three remained in formation, the entire formation cocked to the right in a thirty degree bank and roared off to the north and their home at Niagara Falls Air National Guard base.

Veronica noticed Josh was shuddering and had sunk down to a crouch as the planes roared overhead. He tightened up, battling inner demons as Ayato crouched next to him and whispered, "It's over, you're home, you're on the ground."

"I'm sorry Craig..." muttered Josh as the hell of his past roared up to him. The memory of the roar of the engines and wind bellowing through the hole in the plane's side, the smoke and smell of burning circuits, the feel of Craig's warm blood on his hands as his teammate and best friend died in agony... "Oh God, Craig, forgive me..." he groaned softly.

Julissa had come around behind him and whispered in his ear, "It's ok, you're home now," and he nodded and relaxed. She patted him on the shoulder and said, "I'm sorry, if I knew they were going to do that I wouldn't have insisted on coming."

"No, it's ok, I got it tied back down," said Josh.

"What's the matter?" asked Veronica as she sat down and took Josh's hand in hers.

"Just an old demon took a bite outta my ass," mumbled Josh.

"That's the kind of plane he was in when he got..." a glare from Josh caused Julissa to change course and say, "got hurt," instead of saying 'got shot down.' Both are true, one sounds less frightening.

Veronica whispered in his ear, "Lean on me, anytime you need support." They settled back in their seats and the Bison's players were posing for shots with little leaguers before the game started, giving Josh time to recover. Just then, Andi Jarecki turned around and gasped in surprise. "Hey kid!" said Veronica.

"You're in on this too?" asked Andi, who was stunned that so many friends were sitting in the same area.

"It's Opening Day!" said Veronica. "And I never miss a Friday night game. You and Macy have to come with me. We'll have a girls' night out."

"At a baseball game?" The idea caused Andi to grin. "Yeah, let's do it!" she said as she tugged at her sister-in-law. Back in Denver, Andi and Lucy played women's softball on the University Hospital team, and Lucy was the top pitcher in the league. Andi played shortstop and loved the game. Veronica played too. She was on the Ohio State woman's JV team and usually played first base.

As they took their seats, Kenny Johnson and Yi Carlson sat down in front of Andi and Paul and with them were Andi's twins, Sandy and Madeline. Yi was babysitting them, and Veronica talked her and Kenny into bringing them to the game. "Hi mommy," said Madeline as they sat down. Then the twins began chanting, "Base Ball! Base Ball! Base Ball!"

"I don't believe this!" laughed Andi.

"It's Triple A Baseball, the girls will love it," said Paul.

"We wanted to come!" insisted Sandy.

"Yeah, we used to play with Mommy and Auntie Lucy!" insisted Madeline. Both twins were wearing Colorado Rockies hats and jerseys.

"You used to play softball with your mommy?" asked Veronica.

"Yeah!" said Sandy brightly.

"You might say they did," said Andi.

"We were in mommy's tummy!" said Madeline brightly.

Finally, the teams took the field, and the crowd went absolutely wild. It's been said that Buffalo is a drinking city with a sports problem, and that pretty much sums up Buffalo. They love their teams, their support for the Buffalo Bills is legendary and their Triple A baseball team, the Buffalo Bisons, were always at the top of the league and they filled the stadium selling out every Friday night game for nearly a decade.

"Andi? Aren't you supposed to be working at the VA today?" asked Veronica.

"The staff cardiologist told me I needed time off," said Andi, as she hugged her husband's arm. "Something about draft NA beer being good for the baby." That staff cardiologist was her husband.

"This is the life," sighed Josh. "A cold beer, a hot ball game and the best woman on earth." He put his arm around Veronica.

"Feeling better?" she whispered.

"Yeah, the sound of those engines caught me off guard and stirred up some memories."

"You can tell me about them anytime you want," said Veronica.

Josh thought for a long moment, then said, "I will. Not today. Not on a beautiful day like today."

It truly was a beautiful day. The sun was warm, the breeze off of Lake Erie was cool and refreshing, and the game was incredible. The Buffalo Bisons were slamming great hits but the Toledo Mudhens were top in the league last year at fielding. The best thing about sitting next to Veronica during a baseball game was that she knew the game and loved it. Being raised a southern boy, baseball was in Josh's blood. Baseball season started on New Year's day down in South Georgia because it gets so hot during the summer, but they'd play all year long. Veronica's dad, Mike von Köster, was a ball player that once had a chance to go pro, but gave it up for a wife and two daughters, so he taught Magda and Veronica everything he knew and loved about the game.

Andi and Veronica had a lot of fun explaining the game to Macy, who never seemed to care about baseball before, but by the halfway point, she was able to identify good plays versus errors and poor plays. "This is triple A ball," Veronica said to Macy. "These guys are trying to get into major league ball where the salaries are huge. Some were sent down to the minors to workout whatever problems they were having and are now trying to get back to the majors."

"So it's not good baseball?" asked Macy.

"No, it's the best baseball, these guys are playing their hearts out for a spot in the big leagues."

"So big league is better," said Macy.

"No, actually it's boring," said Josh, and Veronica nodded in agreement.

"Unless it's a playoff game they're nothing like today's game," said Veronica. Josh happily sealed her sentiment with a kiss. He had to kiss around the twins, who had climbed into his lap to help themselves to Ayato's nachos.

"Why is everyone standing?" asked a confused Macy.

"Seventh inning stretch!" said Veronica.

"You guys weigh a ton!" said Josh. "Miss Yi must be a good cook," he groaned. The twins were sitting on his lap eating nachos when the seventh inning stretch started, so he stood holding the twins and began singing with the other ten thousand rabid fans.

Take me out to the ball game

Take me out to the crowd

Buy me some peanuts and crackerjack

I don't care if I never get back

Let me root, root, root for the home team

If they don't win, it's a shame

For it's one, two, three strikes

You're out at the old ballgame

Playing hooky from work to watch a baseball game! An all-American tradition on Opening Day, and a guarantee of a great season for the home team. A couple of rows behind the friends who were loving the game sat Anthony and Marjorie Friedman. They were watching the game with a couple of clients and they were watching Josh and Veronica. At least they figured out where the company's season tickets went.

<><><><><>֍<><><><><>

Josh sipped his coffee and read his emails on a tablet as they drove into work on a Monday morning. They had spent the week finishing up a big upgrade to a long-time customer who was ecstatic with the new service. They were looking forward to the weekend where they could get some work done on cabin #8 for Marjorie's orphans. "I got a thank you from Parker Avenue Medical Center," said Josh. "They're crazy about the new record storage server we set up for them."

"The storage server that you set up for them," corrected Veronica. "That was 100% you. Make sure that Anthony gets a copy of that email."

"Really? I don't go around blowing my own horn. I leave that to other people."

"I love blowing your horn darling, but Anthony hired you against advice from others. Let him know he did right by hiring you."

Josh actually blushed. He knew exactly what she meant by saying she loved to blow his horn because she gave his 'package' a loving squeeze. Josh marked that email to forward to Anthony, then said, "Who advised him against hiring me?"

"Besides Steve McDaniels?"

"Yeah, him." Steve McDaniels was Josh's supervisor at XCom who told Anthony that Josh was not worth hiring. Steve was a poor manager and like most management at XCom he believed in crushing his employees egos so they wouldn't be tempted to ask for more money and they wouldn't be so disappointed when they were tossed aside like a used condom when they were laid off like XCom did with all employees at some point.

"Preston Wells."

Preston was Josh's technical instructor at Buffalo State where Josh learned all his computer skills. "Preston wanted me on his staff as a teacher."

"He still wants you and Anthony guessed as much. Why else would Preston say a graduate with a 3.98 GPA wasn't hiring material? Preston never badmouths a top graduate," said Veronica. "And keep your eye on Terri."

"Why? What is Terri up to?"

"You!" said Veronica with a laugh. "Are you blind?"

"That's silly, I'm her supervisor, she..."

"No you're not," said Veronica. "Eli is her supervisor. She's hot for you."

"She probably wants to go to a concert or something and is looking for time off," muttered Josh.

"I don't know what it is. Women seem to know when a man in their lives becomes interested in another woman and they suddenly want that man they've been ignoring and take steps to 'correct' that issue."

"Terri? She's just a horney emo kid."

"The most dangerous kind." Veronica gave him a kiss and dropped him off at the back door, then drove around the front to park in the executive parking lot. They both settled in and started their work. On Veronica's desk was a package. In it was a heart-shaped acrylic desk plaque. The edges were frosted, and it was laser etched with a poem.

To My Dearest Nica

My love for you is a love, bold and bright.

A flame that burns throughout the night.

With faith ever true,

And passion for you,

You truly are my deepest delight.

Your loving Ephie

Another love limerick! Tears of joy blurred her vision, and she found a place on her desk for the plaque, then sat looking at it. The note that came with it thanked her for putting up with his 'meltdown' at the ballpark back on Opening Day. She took the post-it note with a poem that she found after her Manhattan trip and placed it under her new plaque. Veronica sighed and wondered what his reaction will be like when he discovered the skeletons in her closet. She needs to talk to Rhianon, but she doesn't dare. Every time she sees Rhianon, the same thing happens...

Over on Josh's side of the building, he was finishing up a spreadsheet that showed the entire inventory of the server room. "Hey boss, where's your truck?" asked Terri McCarthy.

'Shit,' thought Josh. He knew she would eventually notice that his truck wasn't in its usual parking spot. His arrangement with Veronica wasn't a secret, but it wasn't public knowledge either, and he was terrified of what would pop out of Terri's fertile yet bizarre imagination should she find out. "I found a place in Springville where the rent was better. Miss von Köster lives nearby so we carpool."

"Don't be getting any ideas," said Terri. "You're swinging for the fences with a wiffle ball bat."

"I was told something similar once before," said Josh. He finally looked up from his spreadsheet at Terri and saw that she was wearing a skintight top. It was a light blue halter top that molded itself to her breasts and told Josh that the air conditioning was working perfectly. Her nipples were erect, and he could see the outline of her areola and the circle of little bumps around each nipple. It was a short halter showing off her flat stomach and a diamond in her naval. Keeping his cool, he said, "Is your partner in crime in yet?"

"Jen? Yeah, why?"

"I have work for you, go round her up."

"Ok..." and the cute Emo Canadian girl wandered off, her firm breasts bobbing with each step. While she was gone, Josh tried to type, but his hands were shaking. When they returned, Jen Combs was as happy as usual. Customers loved Jen. She was smart, pretty, and always happy. And she could keep Terri under control in the face of a customer. "Here we are boss," said Terry, pulling her shoulders back and forcing her breasts out. Her nipples were even more pronounced.

Josh handed Jen a clipboard with several documents and a work order. "I need you in Lackawanna Imaging today. I need the following drops continuity checked. We have a data loss somewhere between the local image server and the switch. I've checked every bit of the VPN and we're good on the backhaul."

"Ok," said Jen cheerfully.

As they turned to leave, Josh said, "Jen, stop by Terri's house and let her change, have a chat about physical presentation."

"What's wrong with what I have on?" demanded Terri.

"It's very nice for a dance club or maybe the beach, but not the office. Am I right Jen?" Jen Combs just nodded and grinned.

"So could I wear this to your cabin?"

"If you want. Don't forget the work party on a cabin back in the woods for Marj Friedman this weekend. Be early, and we'll be having a barbeque around two.

"Dale and the boys can't wait," said Jen happily. Dale was her husband of six years.

"Ok, git to work. Take the cable tracer and the wire map, and call me when you get to Lackawanna. Now y'all git!"

As they headed out the door, Terri said to Jen, "What's wrong with what I got on?"

Jen turned back to Josh and said, "I'll have a talk with her."

"Thanks." As soon as they were gone, Josh leaned back in his chair and groaned in relief. It was over! He heard laughing and his boss, Mark Post, was chuckling from the doorway to his office.

"King Solomon! My hat is off to you!" said Mark. "An oversexed emo chick, every supervisors worse nightmare."

"Eli owes me!" Josh demanded. Eli was Terri's immediate supervisor. In situations like that, it was Eli's job to straighten out the problem children.

"Come on," said Mark. "Anthony wants to talk to us."

Mark and Josh walked over to Anthony's office and in there they were met by Jen and Terri's boss, Eli, who greeted them with a sad smile. Veronica was there with a notebook and pen in hand, so that signaled to Josh that she was there in a professional capacity. She generally keeps notes in meetings for Anthony. Brandon Mitchell, the VP of Sales and Marketing, was there as well.

"Elijah, Ephraim, Markus, we don't get together as often as we should," said Anthony. "Please sit."

Josh tried to keep his eyes off of Veronica, but she was stunning in a simple silk blouse and gray skirt. For her it was comfortable work clothing, to Josh it was an invitation to undress her. However, Josh noticed that VP Mitchell seemed to have the same idea. He was undressing Veronica with his eyes and practically drooling over the prospect. The three of them sat, and Anthony started again. "Eli has received a fellowship at the Rochester Institute of Technology and will leave us to teach at RIT."

"Congratulations!" said Mark, and he clapped Eli on the back.

"Way to go brother!" said Josh. "When do you start?"

"Two weeks," Eli said softly. "I have to start getting ready for the summer semester."

"Mark and I have some work ahead of us breaking in a new replacement."

"That probably won't be much of a problem," said Anthony.

"How's that?" asked Josh.

Anthony smiled at Josh and said, "I had a talk with Mark and Eli and they both think that you would be the perfect fit for Eli's position."

Josh looked around the room and said, "Cool, and who is going to take my position?"

Anthony smiled, "I think with a little adjustment here and there, you can fill it also."

"Take over the entire data center? I could do it," said Josh. "I'll fold the two shops into one, get the server fellows out in the field with the field techs, get the field techs in the server room, slap a little responsibility on two or three of them. Not easy, but doable. I will have the power to run the show my way, won't I sir?"

"Of course, we'll keep an eye on you and offer a guiding nudge when needed," said Anthony. "But it's your show to run."

Josh nodded. "With added power comes added responsibility," he said. Then he leaned back and continued, "with added responsibility comes added compensation. Right?"

Anthony nodded, "absolutely." He pointed to Brandon Mitchell, who handed Josh a folded piece of paper. Josh unfolded the piece of paper and it simply said, $500. He's never played this game before. Usually, management came straight out and said exactly what the amount was in real words. Five hundred dollars... is this weekly? That would be incredible, but it would never happen. Monthly? That's six thousand a year. For doubling his responsibilities and the number of people he needs to deal with, it's slim but doable. Five hundred annually? That's a joke. No, it's an insult.

Josh looked at Brandon with a bit of a smile. "And this is...?"

Brandon Mitchell looked at Josh like he was stupid. "Your salary increase." Josh stared at Brandon, silently daring him to say it. And he finally did. "Annually."

Josh looked back and forth from Anthony and Brandon. "That's your final offer?"

Brandon smiled and nodded.

Josh looked again, making sure he didn't miss a zero here or there, then leaned forward and placed the piece of paper in front of Anthony. "Gee sir, double my workload, triple my responsibilities for a buck ninety a day? No sir, I'd feel guilty taking that kind of money from you. I don't want to bankrupt the company with a cascade of money like that." He got up and left.

"Josh!" called Anthony, but he was gone. Ant opened up the piece of paper and it wasn't what they had agreed to pay Josh. Not by a long shot. He turned to Brandon and wanted to shout at him, but Mark, Eli, and Veronica were still in his office. He glared at Brandon and said, "Go get him back. Explain the error."

Brandon walked over to Josh's office and he realized that he's never been in that area of the building. He's shown off the server room to clients and potential clients a hundred times, but he's never been in the working offices. He stepped into a large open area and it reminded him of a science lab from high school. There were two long, narrow black topped work benches with stools around them and computers in various stages of disassembly on the benches. Rasheed Davis looked up from the computer he was working on. He recognized Brandon, and he didn't like him at all.

"Is Mister Gravely here?" called out Brandon.

Everyone in the shop stopped what they were doing and looked at Brandon. Rasheed walked up to Brandon and stood, towering over him, looking down at him with hate-filled eyes. "Who wants to know?" said Rasheed in a stern voice.

"Mister Friedman wants to speak with him," said Brandon, trying to keep the fear out of his voice and failing miserably at it. Rasheed was huge, and he looked terrifying.

"He's out back smoking," said Rasheed's co-worker Nick Taube. "Don't hit him Rasheed, he's doing his job."

"Mister Gravely smokes?" asked Brandon, while Rasheed glared at him silently. Rasheed was easily six foot six of solid muscle.

"He does when he's angry," said Cole Reagan, going back to the server he was working on.

"Th-thank you," said Brandon, and he slipped out, escaping Rasheed's glare.

As soon as Brandon was out of the room, Rasheed moved. He went back to the laptop he had opened and started laughing. "You white boys are so easy."

"I thought he was going to shit himself when Nick said, 'Don't hit him Rasheed!'" said Cole, laughing along with Rasheed.

"Rasheed's right, you white boys are so easy," said lily white Nick Taube. The three muchachos laughed as they returned to work and were slowly settling down to silence when Nick said, "You don't think he's going to interrupt Josh, do you?" The three guys looked at each other in shock, then they all grinned and dashed to the window to watch. When Josh is that angry, you let him puff on his cigarette and walk it off. Taking that away from him just turns his wrath on you.

"What do ya want?" snapped Josh.

"Mister Friedman would like to speak with you."

"Thank you Jeeves, you may finish polishing the silver." Josh said that to see if he could piss off Brandon.

"I'm doing this as a favor to Anthony," said Brandon. "You could at least be polite."

"I will be polite to Mister Friedman."

Then, in a snotty tone of voice, Brandon added, "I think I will take Miss von Köster to lunch."

"Great, we like the Mile Strip Grill. I could go for one of their cheeseburgers."

"You're not invited," said Brandon in a snotty tone of voice.

Josh flicked his cigarette butt straight at Brandon and it hit his lapel in a small shower of sparks and ashes. "I don't need an invitation. Walk with me Brandon," as the VP frantically brushed off his lapel. Josh put his arm around Brandon's shoulders buddy-buddy style, but there was no friendship offered or implied. He led Brandon to the rear Maintenance Section door and escorted him into the building and through the work areas. He held Brandon's upper arm like he was leading him to a jail cell.

"I'm a disabled combat veteran, a southern gentleman, I believe in God, Country, and the sanctity of family. Uncle Sam asked me to give him a hand in killing assholes in East Africa, Southwest Asia, and a dozen places you never heard of, and I did. I killed a lot of folks that was asking for it until I nearly got my own ass killed. Now I'm home and nobody gets between me and the woman that loves me because sometimes old habits are hard to break. Am I making sense to you?" He squeezed Brandon's arm painfully.

Brandon Mitchell realized that Josh Gravely had just threatened his life. "What are you implying?" said Brandon.

"Ah'm jest sayin', if you think ah'm jes some backwater hick what don't know yer big city ways, you may want to rethink your position." Josh's accent was as thick as a bowl of cheesy grits. But then he went ice cold. "I have a feeling you're here to apologize for insulting me with that bullshit lowball offer. I don't want your bullshit apology. I want you to get off your ass and start selling this company's product. I can build the fuck out of a network, but I can't do it without money. Do you see all these computers we have stripped down? They're all used. I bought them from a bankrupt data center and we're tearing them down for the spare parts because my budget got slashed again."

"When money's tight we all must do our part," said Brandon, who was worrying for his life.

Josh leaned over and said into Brandon's ear, "If the money is thin it's your fucking fault. Git the fuck off your ass and start making money and stop giving away my hard work."

"I'm not giving anything away..."

"Don't bullshit yourself," said Josh. "I talk to existing customers. It seems there were promises made and they want to know how long those promises last. My people have standing instructions, when they hear those questions, bring them to me, then you and me and Anthony can formulate an answer. Capiche?" He squeezed Brandon's arm painfully, and Brandon asked him several times what he knew, but Josh was done talking.

Back in Anthony's office, Josh stood at parade rest in front of Anthony's desk. Anthony handed him another offer that was fifteen times what Brandon gave him. "This is what you were supposed to receive," said Anthony.

"That's quite generous sir," said Josh. $7,500 was a thousand more than he would have asked for.

"We're sure you will earn it," said Anthony. "Mark, Eli, go show our new Implementation Engineer what we expect from him."

"Yes sir," and the three friends left Anthony's office. As they left, Anthony turned to glare at Brandon. He was trying to get Brandon to understand the company more so his salesmen could do a better job explaining to the customer what Andalon Data Systems was all about, but for some reason Brandon played the hardass jerk.

"We need to talk," said Anthony. "Miss von Köster, could you excuse us?"

<><><><><>֍<><><><><>

Terri McCarthy rode out to Springville with Jen Combs and her husband Dale, and her boys five-year-old Ethan and three-year-old Chip (Charles). They pulled into the driveway and found several cars parked by pulling off the driveway to the left, so they followed suit. The right side of the driveway was protected by a wall of trees. They got out of the van and heard music playing in the distance, along with the sound of hammering. "Sounds like someone's putting on a roof," chuckled Dale Combs.

They walked up to the garage, and there was an ancient sign that looked like an arrowhead. It pointed to their right and said, "Office." They followed the curving driveway through the line of pine trees to a land that campers dream of. A lake with a dock and a sand beach was directly in front of them. There were two row boats tied off to the dock and a pontoon boat was slowly making its way to the north end of the lake. It was carrying lumber to what appeared to be a dock that was under construction in front of a small cabin. The road they were following led to a large cabin and then curved around the south end of the lake and disappeared into the woods.

Near the cabin there were picnic tables set up, coolers and grills were placed here and there, and there was an animal roasting on a spit over an open fire. It was being tended to by a tall man with jet black hair. "We're having a pig roast?" asked Terri.

"No, I don't think Mister Friedman would appreciate that," chuckled the fellow. "He's our host, so we'll roast the fatted calf and have a pig for next time." The man wiped his hands and shook their hands. "I'm a neighbor from across the road, Paul Jarecki."

"I'm Don, this is my wife Jen and our boys Ethan and Chip, and our friend Terri."

"Jen and I have to be here," groused Terri. "My boss called it a team building exercise."

"You must work for Josh," said Paul. "They're back in the woods."

Just then, an Asian woman stepped out of the cabin. "Break time is over, get your hands off my roast!" she shouted and Paul backed off, hands up in surrender.

"This is our chef Yi. I let her think she's in charge. Follow me." Paul led them down the road into the forest, where they found several cabins in different states of repair. "Cabin seven is where Mister Friedman and his family stays, we're working on cabin eight." Cabin eight was a madhouse. Several ladders were leaning up against the cabin and fellows were hauling shingles up. Up on the roof were two shirtless men that were nailing down shingles as fast as Cole Reagan and Nick Taube from Josh's team could carry them up the ladder. Rasheed was at the peak of the roof, cutting shingles to do the ridge cap when they got up there.

"Jen, Terri, help us inside!" called Anthony.

"What should I do?" asked Jen's husband Dale.

"The hayride will be by in a few minutes, hop on," said Marj as she helped hold a window in place for a carpenter to screw it into position.

"Is that Josh up there nailing the shingles down?" said Terri. Her boss was up there shirtless, bathed in sweat. His muscles rippled as he hammered shingle after shingle down. His hair was hanging in ringlets and when he raised up to drink water, she saw the scars on his side that his service left him with and, for some reason, that was the hottest thing that Terri had ever seen.

"It is," said Jen, and she led Terri into the cabin.

"Wait a minute, for the first time he's hot and you're dragging me away?" demanded Terri. Inside the cabin there were all kinds of people in there, many were from Marj Friedman's adoption advocacy group that were sponsoring the camp out. They were painting the interior walls and assembling metal bunk beds, installing windows, and Dave Johnson and Larry Clark from Terri and Jen's team were installing a used refrigerator in the kitchen area.

"Is Veronica here?" asked Terri.

"She's on a special mission," said Marjorie.

Outside, a small green tractor pulled up, it was towing a large wagon that was filled with children and a few parents. Veronica stopped and hopped off the tractor and said, "Do you fellows want a ride? There's a bunch of kids in the wagon to play with." Jen's boys just nodded at the pretty lady, so she turned to their dad and shook his hand. "Veronica von Köster."

"Dale Combs."

"Jen's husband, right? I hope you know a few camping songs."

"A couple from my old scouting days," said Dale.

"Good, because we're getting tired of Bunny Foo-Foo."

"HEY!" shouted Sandy from her nest in the straw. That was her favorite camp song.

Dale and Veronica hoisted Dale's boys into the hay and children filled trailer, then he climbed aboard. Veronica climbed up on the tractor's driver seat and opened the throttle, and soon they were off, heading back into the woods. "Give us a song Dale," she called.

Kookaburra sits in the old gum tree

Merry merry king of the bush is he

Laugh, Kookaburra, laugh, Kookaburra

Gay, your life must be...

Veronica took them on a hayride that would go deep into the woods, circle around and cross over to Jarecki's side of the road and venture around Paul Jarecki's woods. Meanwhile, up on the roof, Josh and John Jarecki raced to the peak. "Did you guys do this entire roof?" asked Rasheed.

"We had help with the flashing but this is the first roof either of us did," said Josh.

"The one side is a little wobbly, but the side you're finishing up on looks good."

"Rasheed, have you done roofing?"

"Oh yes," said Rasheed, nodding his head. "I did a lot of roofs. It's how I paid for college."

"Beer me!" called John.

"Coming up!" called Nick, and he carried up two ice cold beers from the cooler.

"Root beer," corrected Josh.

"He said 'beer me,'" shrugged Nick.

"John is new at this," chuckled Josh. "He didn't know what 'beer me' means. We're drinking root beer up here."

Nick brought up a couple of ice cold root beers and John and Josh drank back the sweet, effervescent liquid. "I thought you guys knew I don't drink but two beers a day max," said Josh as he tossed his empty down to the recycle bin. "I'm savin' my beer ration for vittles later."

"You don't?" said Cole. "There's got to be some explanation."

"Y'all ain't gonna figure it out," said Josh as he and John got back to nailing shingles. It wasn't long before they were finished and they climbed down from the roof. Both were soaked with sweat.

"How cold is the pond?" asked John.

"Real cold," said Josh as they walked to the pond. "Frigid."

"Perfect," said John, and both men fell face first into the cold water. For the hard-working men, it felt so good.

Master Carpenter Gus Didomissio double checked everything that was going on inside the cabin and the cabin came together nicely. Terri made sure to 'nap test' every cot she built. The woman assembled metal army style cots while the guys put in the windows and assembled two picnic tables. Even the Friedman's oldest daughters Billie and Linda helped Terri assemble the cots. For some reason, the young teens saw Terri as a role model.

"We camped here last year in the other big cabin," said Billie.

"In August we stayed for an entire week," said Linda. Linda and Billie were inseparable. Billie looked like her mom, Marj. Tall and slender, with long black hair, brown eyes, and a distinct nose. Linda was adopted. She was black and as tall as Billie. She was adopted at the same age as Billie not long after Billie was born, so they were raised as twins. They followed Terri around like adoring fans.

As they worked by the light from the open windows and camp lanterns, they suddenly noticed that the electric lights and ceiling fans came on and everyone cheered. Their master carpenter, Gus, working with the neighbor Paul, found a broken wire outside the cabin and repaired it, then turned the circuit back on.

Soon all the tasks were done for most of the people. John and Gus were hanging the shutters over the windows, but other than that, cabin eight was ready for over a dozen campers. "What's next boss?"

"Ok, we have almost an hour before lunch is ready," said Josh who was now wearing a T-shirt that said, 'Trust Me, I'm an Engineer.' "I need two team leaders, how about Jen and Rasheed." He handed Rasheed a broom and Jen a garden rake. "Rasheed, grab a few people and sweep out cabins ten and twelve. They're small, half the size of this one. Jen, grab everyone else and follow me." Armed with rakes and shovels and a heavy sod roller, Josh led Jen's team to a small pile of gravel that was just off the side of the road in the woods.

"This is going to be a spot where you can park an RV, there's another one over there. Jen, break into two teams and level out the gravel. Use shovels, rakes, and your people to spread out the gravel then compress it with the sod roller."

"Ok!" said Jen cheerfully, and they got to work. Josh headed over to the cabins where Rasheed was working. "What's up?" asked Anthony, who came along beside him.

"I will probably be requesting promotions for two people, nothing major, not like shop chief, is there an intermediary level?" asked Josh.

"What do you have in mind?" asked Anthony.

"I want to blur the lines between field tech and server room tech," said Josh. "Right now, only Terry, Jenn, Dave Johnson, and Larry Clark can respond to a problem in a customer's location and only Cole, Rasheed, and Nick work in the server room. I want to keep those teams intact, but allow people to move from role to role to fill in where more manpower is needed."

"We could come up with something. Do these tasks you have your folks doing right now have anything to do with your plans at work?"

"Everything to do with it," said Josh. "Rasheed is in charge of sweeping out the little cabins. He should be finished at any minute. Jen has a lot of work to do. I want to see what Rasheed does when he's finished."

In about five minutes, Rasheed led his small team over to where Jen was working with her teammates and, after a few words with Jen, Rasheed and his guys joined the task of spreading out the gravel and rolling it flat. "You could have done that in five minutes with that tractor," said Ant.

"That's not the point," said Josh. "They're sharing the workload without being told or cajoled." He and Anthony began walking around the large circular path around the campground. The sun filtered down through the new leaves and danced on the ground as they walked. This was looking more and more like an actual campground. Now and then, Josh would pause and look at the edge of the forest and say, "this would make a great tent or pop-up camp site," or "where could I get steel rings for fire pits?"

"You need to clear out the brush behind the cabins and campsites in the center of the circle," said Anthony.

"Yeah," said Josh. "Now that I have something that will haul a brush hog I can get that done, I just have to go through the middle and pick up trash."

"The brush hog will chew up any trash that previous trespassers left," remarked Anthony.

"Sure will," said Josh. "But there's lots of beer cans and bottles worth a nickel each in that long grass."

Anthony chuckled, then asked, "Can we have a company picnic here?"

"Sure, we'll have to check with the landlady first, and I'm not going to provide an actual lifeguard so it's swim and boat at your own risk."

"That works for me," said Anthony as they came around the east end of the loop where the odd pavilion was situated. There were lines of stumps under a peaked roof that was held up by six pillars. It wasn't the roof that was confusing, it was the stumps. They were round log sections buried end up and cut off at two and a half feet. It was like an odd stone henge under the cover of a roof.

As they walked around the circle, they could hear the scraping and raking of the gravel, the chatter and laughter of the men and women as they worked together, then the grunts and complaints that the roller was heavy and hard to move at first. When Anthony and Josh got to the work site, the guys were just finishing up and Veronica pulled up on the tractor; the trailer was empty of children. "Awesome work guys!" shouted Josh as he looked at the future RV sites. "Load up your tools in the trailer and head back to the picnic and let's tap a keg and get lunch!"

In a few moments, all the tools were loaded, including the ladders and power tools used on the cabins, and the gang walked behind Veronica as she drove back to the main cabin where the lunch was being readied.

To the cheers of everyone around, the beer keg was tapped and two gallon dispensers of lemonade and iced tea were set out, along with iced down cans of pop. Yi was carving the roast calf and bowls of salads were set out buffet style. Tables and folding chairs were set up for the hungry workers and folks sat down to eat. "Before we dig in," said Anthony on a loudspeaker, "lets pause for grace. Pastor could you lead us?"

John Jarecki turned to Macy, and they did rock-paper-scissors. Macy's scissors sliced up John's paper, and she rose and said a quick grace, saying thanks for the food and for the volunteers who helped with such a wonderful charitable endeavor. "She's a pastor?" whispered Terri to Jen.

"She taught my pastor at university," said Veronica, who was sitting at the table behind them. "Then she married him." Veronica was sitting with the volunteers from Marjorie's adoption advocacy team while Josh sat with many of the folks from across the road, Pastor John and Pastor Macy among them.

"Hey, is that Eli? I haven't seen him all day," said Terri, spotting her boss for the first time in a couple of days.

"We could have used him with that roller," whispered Jenn.

Finally, nearing the end of dinner, Anthony stood and picked up his microphone and said, "On behalf of Adoption Advocates and their network of men and women that work so hard to provide homes for children and children for homes I'd like to thank you all for the hard work you put in preparing for our summer camp for their older kids. Please raise a glass to yourselves."

After their toast Anthony said, "A big thank you goes out to Josh who again volunteered his land for our campout and for the company summer picnic..." As a big cheer went up, Josh and Veronica's eyes met and he could only shrug helplessly. As the cheering settled down, Anthony handed his prized bird watching binoculars to Josh and said, "As a thank you, please look over to your retirement home, cabin number five."

Josh looked, then raised the glasses and gasped. "The dock! There's a dock there!"

"We also redid the floor on the porch and built a walkway from the porch to the dock while you were shingling the roof of Cabin number eight."

"I'm going to row over there and check it out as soon as we're done," said Josh, sitting down again. His eyes met with Veronica's and he winked at her. She responded with a saucy waggle of her eyebrow.

"This is more than a work party," Anthony continued. "Wednesday will be Eli's last day with Andalon. He was one of our first but he's received a position befitting his education and will be moving on. Eli?" He handed the microphone to Eli, who didn't want to say anything, but he rose and stumbled his way through heartfelt thankyous to everyone he worked with.

"So, who's my new boss going to be?" asked Terri.

"I still sign your paycheck, what more could you want?" replied Anthony.

"I wanna know who's going to be breathing down my neck," insisted Terri. She was clearly on her fourth beer.

"Josh has been doing such a great job running the server room and the hardware shop, that I asked him to run the field support shop also. His top priority is still maintaining the finest server room and data center in New York, he'll be holding a team meeting for everyone on the data side of the house on Monday."

"I gotta work for him?" groaned Terri. Then she grabbed her cup and went back to the keg. "Buncha light weights, it's not even floating yet..."

The party went on all afternoon. Games of corn hole were played and Paul Jarecki and Josh taught a few folks how to pitch horseshoes in the horseshoe pits next to Josh's cabin. Veronica gave the kids rides around the pond on the pontoon boat. The pontoon boat was an old thing that came with the property. It had an aluminum roof for shade, a fishing deck out front, and room for a dozen kids if they behaved. It had a 25 horsepower motor which was more than enough for boating on the pond, and a small electric trolling motor which pushed the pontoon boat around nicely.

Other than day care back in Denver, this was the twins' first real exposure to kids their age and older. They latched on to Jen's little boy Chip and led him around all day. The twins were tiny for their age of five, making three-year-old Chip the same size as them. They wandered around the party all afternoon and invited themselves on every boat ride, even showing him how to use the "Blue plastic potties" that Josh rented for the event.

"Where's your mommy?" Jen asked the twins as they sat down on the grass next with Chip and Ethan and munched on fire roasted corn on the cob and explained what living with chickens was all about. "She's busy making a baby," said Sandy, which caused Veronica to whoop with laughter.

"She's making a baby?" asked Jen, praying that she didn't hear a euphemism that was taught to the twins. With all their talk of chickens and tractors and planting, they were probably from one of the local farms and then it's anyone's guess what 'making a baby' really meant.

"Madeline, where is your mother?" asked Veronica, and Madeline pointed toward Josh's cabin with her gnawed ear of corn.

"She's making a baby on Unka Josh's porch."

Now Veronica was laughing so hard she could barely talk. She finally said, "Madeline!"

"It's true!" said Sandy. "She's making a baby with Aunt Macy."

"What?" asked Jen as Josh sat down next to Veronica for the first time since breakfast that day.

"What are you up to runt butt?" asked Josh as he scooped a giggling Madeline onto his lap. "Y'all causing trouble again?"

"Uh uh," said Madeline, shaking her head from side to side while chewing on her ear of corn.

"Mommy's making a baby!" said Sandy even louder now.

"Their mom is expecting," said Josh. "You didn't see much of their mom today. She and Pastor Macy are both pregnant and are taking this pregnancy as easy as possible. Their husbands are Paul and John Jarecki, John is the fellow that helped me on the roof. He's our pastor and Paul owns Jarecki motors. Paul has the farm across the street from me and in the village they have a house two blocks from us."

"Is there any chance we could camp up here some weekend?" asked Dale Combs. "We have a pop-up and we're aching to get out but we don't know where to go yet."

"You know where to find me. We go down to Erie to visit Ronnie's dad sometimes, but we're always here on the weekend. Just ask a couple of weeks in advance so we can be ready for you."

Jen leaned over to Josh and whispered, "Are you and Veronica a... a thing now?"

Veronica showed her promise ring and said, "Do us a favor, don't tell Terri. We have a wager on how long it takes her to figure out by herself."

<><><><><>֍<><><><><>

That night, by the light of the stars, two figures walked down to the dock where Josh's boats were tied up. It was a warm, starlit night, and the fireflies were out in force. From far across the fields, they could hear the twins calling out how cool it was. They must be seeing the fireflies, too. Veronica placed a cooler into the rowboat and climbed into the stern. Josh placed a bundle of blankets and pillows in the bow and sat down in the center and together they untied the lines holding the boat steady and with the oar, Josh pushed off.

Pulling easily and quietly at the oars, Josh propelled the rowboat out to the center of the pond. As he rowed, the sky began to lighten as the moon rose in the east. The silvery light filtered through the trees on the edge of the pond, and Veronica smiled as she eased her shirt off. Her nipples hardened in the cool evening air as they slid across the glassy black surface of the pond. As they neared the northern shore, Veronica could see to the west where the pond extends into the forest. Over there you can drift among the trees in your rowboat and fish for the huge brown trout that lurk among the fallen branches under the surface.

Fireflies fluttered over the edges of the pond back in the trees, and behind Veronica the full moon rose above the trees, bathing the land in a silver light so bright she swore it was a massive floodlight. She looked and saw that Josh had pulled off his shirt, mimicking her. In the bright moonlight she could see the scar that ran along his side, a scar he never talks about except to say, "It's the part you can see." She understands what he meant. Some scars go straight to the soul.

She didn't want to think of that right now; she didn't want to think of her dad in a retirement home, alone. Her mom doing god knows what, and her sister having run off with her faithless fiancé having the children that should have been Veronica's.

But this is a magical moment. It was no time for past pain for either of them. They eased across the pond in near silence, bull frogs croaking, crickets chirping, the occasional hoot of an owl. Only the gentle dipping and pulling of the oars added to the natural symphony. Veronica basked in the magical sounds of the night.

Finally, they reached the new dock. Josh rotated the boat, so the bow was pointing away from the shore, putting the left side against the dock. Then he shipped the oars and pulled the boat up close to the dock. They tied it off fore and aft to the cleats that the build team installed, then he helped Veronica onto the dock and they kissed tenderly in the moonlight. "Tell me it will always be like this," Veronica whimpered. "Tell me you will always love me."

"Darling, I have waited my entire life for you. I have so much love stored up for you that it will never fade."

They kissed passionately in the moonlight, flesh pressed against warm flesh. "Sometimes I'm terrified that this is a dream and that I will wake up and it will be all over," said Veronica.

Josh knew dreams. His dreams were out to kill him. Reality is his escape from the nightmares of his past that haunt his sleep and cause him to wake in a cold sweat and a panic. Little did he know the same could be said for Veronica. "This is no dream," said Josh. "For so long I was so lonely I begged God for a lover who would be my friend, my partner, and now here you are."

"I begged for you too," said Veronica as they caressed. "My friends all asked for doctors, lawyers, rich guys who would buy them a big house."

"What did you ask for?" asked Josh, as they were now showered by the moonlight.

"I asked for a man with a big heart who would love me until the day I die," she said. Then she firmly grabbed his crotch and said, "with a huge cock that would fuck me senseless."

Josh chuckled at her remark, but Veronica tugged down his shorts and his cock sprang free. It leapt up and as she studied it in the silvery moonlight, an owl hooted his appreciation. Veronica slid her shorts down and stepped out of them, then knelt and took the head of Josh's cock in her mouth and swirled her tongue around it before taking a little more of his length. Her tongue laved along the underside of his cock, causing him to groan in passion.

She used to hate giving a man a blowjob, utterly and passionately hate it. She could do it, and if the mood was right, she was damn good at it, but at best, she'd give him a handjob with a little bit of mouth action. She earned the reputation for 'giving lousy head' in the modeling world, so she knew that when some uninteresting banker invited her to dinner, it was for a chance to be seen with the model, and not for what wouldn't be seen. But Josh was so sweet about it, he aches to return the favor, and he thanks her!

It's got to be the combination of the love included with his honest appreciation of her. Somehow, in the matter of a few months, she became a true fellatrix, ready to swallow her man whenever the whim struck. She almost blew him at the opening day game. If the twins weren't there, she would have tried. When Josh got that big promotion from Anthony on Monday, she was so proud of him she dragged him into her office and took his cock, the full length, into her throat. Then, as she eased his cock in and out of her warm, wet mouth, she did something she never dared do before, but she was told by a friend that men love it. She wormed a finger deep into his ass. Josh loved it! Her friend told her about finding his prostate and when she found it, he exploded in her mouth.

Here on the dock in the shimmering moonlight with the stars above, she wanted more. She slid her lips and tongue over his sensitive cock, one hand cupping his balls, tugging at them gently, the other hand around his ass, holding him to her ravenous mouth. "You're driving me crazy," he growled.

That was what she was waiting for. She pulled back and spun around and landed on her hands and knees. "Now!" she demanded.

Josh was taken aback. She doesn't seem to go for doggy style, but ever since she rode him 'reverse cowgirl' she's been getting looser about what she wants to try. He knelt down and touched her, and she was soaked. She had been thinking about this since they showered together in the main cabin earlier. A fuck under the stars on the new dock. "Please!" she moaned, and she lowered her head to her crossed arms.

Then she felt the invasion, his long, thick cock pushing into her from behind. Spreading her out and stretching her tender tissues. He eased in as far as he could, his groin pressing firm against her stretched out labia that held his cock prisoner. He paused to see what she would do. "Fuck me!" she demanded.

"Yes ma'am," he said and grabbed her hips and followed her orders. He pulled back and drove into her. Her body shook as he slammed into her with a wet smack. He held her tight, possessing her, taking her as he pleased, fucking relentlessly, and she loved every plunging stroke of his cock. Over and over, he plunged into her sodden pussy, and she grunted with each thrust. Each grunt growing louder and wilder. She stared at the reflection of the moon, their fucking causing ripples in the water. It was so exhilarating to be fucking under the cloudless night, the moon watching down on them, sanctifying their carnal union. Anyone could walk out on the dock by the main cabin and see what they were doing! Veronica kept her eyes locked on the other dock, hoping, praying that someone would step out onto the dock and see her, skewered on Josh's meaty cudgel.

The thought of being seen set Veronica off. She was out of her mind with pleasure, driving back at Josh as he pounded into her. Her eyes glued to the other side of the huge pond, hoping that the shadow she saw was Macy watching the couple fuck. Veronica cried out as the pressure suddenly released and wave after wave of sexual relief washed over her. "Come in me Ephie!" she howled as her release crashed over her.

As she came, Josh began fucking her like a madman, spearing her guts with savage fury until he, too, cried out and came with explosive release. "I'm cumming Nica!" He slammed into her hard with each spurt of his cum, daring to impregnate her.

They slumped to the surface of the new dock, sighing happily. "Mmmm what got into you tonight?" Josh asked.

"Raimy did," she said, squeezing his damp cock.

"Raimy?"

"It's a nickname for little Ephraim."

They panted and kissed and slowly returned to Earth under the mirthful gaze of the moon. Soon, the air cooled, and they gathered their clothes and headed over to the cabin. They opened the outside shutters and entered the cabin, where they washed off with the gallon of spring water they brought for that purpose. "Mission accomplished," said Veronica as she put some frozen beef stew in a pot to warm for a late supper. Josh had the stew in the freezer at the main cabin.

Josh was in the fireplace, starting a small fire to warm the chill of the evening off. "Our mission was to christen the cabin. We missed our target by about fifteen feet."

"Oh stop," said Veronica as she studied the camp stove with a flashlight. She was wondering how to connect the propane bottle to the stove. "We still have all night."

"Bring that pot and a spoon over here," said Josh. "We have a pot hook here."

Veronica carried the pot over and Josh hung it over the fire and they curled up in a nest of blankets and waited for the stew to heat up. "That owl is sure noisy. Is he starting a fight?"

"It's spring, the eggs are hatching. Mama owl is giving dad a grocery list. She wants milk, bread, and a dead mouse for the kids."

"No more dead mice," moaned Veronica. "Tigger gave me another one yesterday before we left." She rubbed her hand over Josh's flat stomach. "Poor Terri, she was getting so thirsty watching you and John up on the roof..."

"Give her a drink."

"Thirsty means horny, you silly old man," said Veronica with a chuckle. "Then she realized it was you up there and freaked out. But when she found out that John was a pastor I thought she was going to cry." Veronica chuckled, remembering Terri's frustration, but then it reminded her of her own frustration. Man after man, photographers, producers, bankers, businessmen... all boring, none thrilling, and each one had a family to return to. Eventually she turned to women, but can she tell Josh about that?

"This is so nice," said Josh as he and Veronica snuggled together and ate their stew. The time in the freezer added to the flavor of the meal.

Veronica listened to the symphony of the hooting owl, the cooing of the doves, the singing of the frogs, the gurgle of the outflow spilling over the dam. "Can we live here?"

"It's tempting, I don't want to go back to work on Monday."

Veronica thought about that as well. One more leering look from Brandon Mitchell and she'll beat him with her office chair. "Me too." They cleaned up their dishes and snuggled together in the bed under their blankets and were asleep before the fire burned down.

<><><><><>֍<><><><><>

Waking up with the birds singing and the warm sunshine peering through the branches was such a blessing. Veronica stretched and smiled and looked around the small cabin. The fire in the fireplace from last night was out, and the ashes swept, but she smelled fragrant wood smoke. She sat up, feeling fulfilled and utterly satisfied, but a little sticky from last night's sweet lovemaking. "Ephie?"

"I'm outside, Nica."

She got up and pulled on a pair of shorts and Josh's North Face vest and joined him outside on the porch overlooking the lake. A small fire burned in the fire pit next to the patio. On the fire, a blue enamelware coffee percolator steamed. "Coffee?" asked Josh.

"Please," she said and Josh poured her a blue enamelware mug of coffee, topped his mug of Java off, then sat back in a wooden Adirondack chair and Veronica curled up on his lap. She sipped her coffee and smiled, then said, "Mmmm, hot, strong, and overpowering... just like I like my men."

"Am I overpowering?" asked Josh. "I try to be polite."

"You are when I get you hot enough. Like on the dock last night... and in front of the fireplace about two hours later."

"Well, I didn't bring any popcorn so I had to come up with something."

Veronica giggled and nipped at his earlobe. "You goof." Then they kissed and snuggled closer. "What are we doing?"

"Just watching the day start."

"And after?"

"I figured we'd head over to the main cabin, make some breakfast, get washed up and head into town for church."

"And after?"

"I was thinking I'd come back here and try to get the ol' jeep started, then maybe, if it's warm, run down to Ashford Hollow for some ice cream."

"Can I play too?" asked Veronica.

"Always," said Josh and they kissed.

"Shh, look!" gasped Veronica, and she slowly pointed to a doe and a fawn on the far bank of the pond. The fawn gently lowered its mouth to the pond. As the fawn drank, the doe looked around warily, then after her baby had its fill, the doe drank, then led the fawn back into the woods. "So beautiful," Veronica whispered.

"Look over there," said Josh and he pointed to a spot on the shore of the pond closer to the cabin. There stood another deer. "There's daddy, watching over his girls," he whispered.

"He doesn't have antlers..." then Veronica realized. It was late spring. He hadn't had antlers for months. "So beautiful!" she gushed, then she began to giggle as Josh began to sing.

Almost heaven, western New York

Snowbelt blizzard, Allegheny River.

Life is sweet there, Sabers, Bisons, Bills!

Beef on weck with Genny,

Friday fish fry thrills

Country roads take me home,

to the place I belong!

Western New York, snowstorm mama

Take me home, country road!

When he was done singing and Veronica stopped laughing, she said, "Something your quartet is working on?"

"Yeah, we have a show in July and the Christmas show in December." Josh sang in a barbershop quartet. He started it to help with his anger and it helped a lot and it let him express himself in singing. He also learned how to play the guitar from one of the guys.

"Can I go backstage and help you dress?"

"Do you want to hang out with a bunch of housewives and help us dress like backstage at an elementary school recital?"

Veronica thought about it. At one time, helping a five-year-old into an angel costume for the church nativity was one of the most distasteful things she could have imagined doing. But as the years went by and her friends had children and Veronica watched them grow and head off to school, she realized she was missing something. She wasn't sure if she wanted to have children, but helping Marj find homes for children and children for homes touched that something. "Yeah, I want to help."

"With your runway experience we could use your help," said Josh. "We don't know how to put on makeup, but we have to wear something because of the lights."

"Why didn't you ask?"

"I didn't want to impose."

"You are so... different!" said Veronica. "Any other guy would have demanded it."

"You're not my employee or my slave," said Josh. "I won't assume anything and I won't give you orders, not unless we're playing that kind of game," he said with a grin.

"You mean like with the fuzzy handcuffs?" she said with a smile.

"Exactly."

She hugged Josh as tight as she dared and whimpered, "where were you ten years ago when I needed you?"

"I was looking for you," he said softly.

<><><><><>

Josh and Veronica sat in the third row from the front at the Springville Congregational Church. Normally they sat far in the back, but today Macy had convinced Josh to sing a duet with her during the worship portion of the service. It was a very up-tempo version of "I'll Fly Away" and they weren't finished with the first refrain when Josh let his "old school back woods Baptist upbringing" take over and he had the normally staid congregation clapping in time and singing along with gusto. John and Paul Jarecki played along with their guitars and the pianist Melissa Kraft all had fun playing along and trying to keep up. Macy looked like she couldn't decide if she was shocked or if she wanted to dance. It's obvious that this kind of thing doesn't happen in Montreal, where she spent most of her life, but she raised her violin to her chin and followed along.

"Charlie Daniels would be proud," whispered Veronica, as Josh sat down with her.

"Aww, thank ya ma'am but ah can't fiddle worth a lick."

"Well, that was different," said Pastor John as he stepped up to the podium.

"Make a joyful noise unto the lord!" called out Josh, which caused the entire congregation to chuckle.

"We did, didn't we?" said John happily. He was still tingling from excitement at hearing that sweet old hymn sung with such fervor. "It has to be right. We are told to do just that over and over. Psalm 98 and Psalm 100..."

When they first met, he and Josh got off to a rocky start. John saw Josh as a beer drinking old vet but he put up with him because he was friends with Paul. When Josh moved in with beautiful Veronica without marrying her, it caused some friction with John, but Macy adored them, so John forgave and put up with the situation. John didn't know it, but spending a full day on the roof of a cabin, hand nailing shingle after shingle, was a plot to cement their friendship. Josh could have rented a nail gun and did the roof in a quarter of the time, but he believed that working with a man was the best way to make friends with him, and it worked every time he tried it.

That's exactly why Josh had his people spread the gravel by hand. Veronica could have done it with Little John in a matter of minutes, but the idea was to get them working together and to look for the natural leaders. Jen and Rasheed had natural leadership qualities, but he wanted to see if they could work together to get a job done. They both surpassed his expectations, and the two separate units came together as one. How long would that last? He asked Rasheed and Jen to come in early Monday morning, and they'll sit down and chat with Anthony.

John called all the kids in the church to come forward and sit on the stairs leading up to the podium. He gave them a little sermon, then sent them off to Children's Church. Macy got up and led the children back to the classroom, and Veronica went with her as the assistant teacher. She watched as Macy worked with the children and said a silent prayer, asking that Macy carry this baby to term. She's over three months along and three times in the past she had made it to this point, only to end in heartbreak from a miscarriage.

"What is the process for getting married here?" asked Veronica.

"Did Yashua ask?" said Macy excitedly. She pronounced Joshua exactly like Anthony and Marj pronounced it.

"Not yet, but we have promised each other." She showed Macy the diamond promise ring.

"When he asks and you want to marry here, you would have to separate from Josh first," said Macy sadly. "You must live apart during the pre-marriage class."

"I know... but what if we were already married?" asked Veronica hopefully.

"Oh? You wish to sanctify an existing marriage?" said Macy with a sly grin. "Maybe a civil marriage? We should talk."

<><><><><>

"You're awful happy," said Josh. "Did you have fun in children's church?"

"I was making wedding plans. Does it bother you when I say that?" asked Veronica as she nibbled at his ear.

Josh frowned. It's time to confess one of his deepest, darkest secrets. "You may want to go back to Macy and say, 'I changed my mind.'"

"Why Ephie?" she asked as they changed out of their church clothes.

"I have a lot of issues, but I think worst is... I can't fly."

"What?" for some reason she pictured Josh jumping off the cabin roof, flapping his arms and chastising himself for hitting the ground.

"I can't fly. I freak out, when we get off the ground and I hear the landing gear come up, I hear the flaps extending or retracting I get nervous, but when I see the ground coming up I panic. It's coming up to hit me and..." Just talking about it was freaking him out. "You like to travel and go places; I can't go with you unless we drive or take a train. That's ok, someone has to stay home and watch Tigger and Pancho." Pancho was a goldfish that they had in a small aquarium filled with live aquatic plants.

"When did this start?" she asked.

He took off his shirt and pointed to the large scar on his side that ran from his waist to nearly his armpit. "The moment I got this." She knows he was bounced around on a very rough landing of an AC-130 and got hurt bad, but he had that gash before they landed.

"Honey, it's ok. We'll work on it. We'll talk to Doctor Lennox. You've flown since the accident. How did you get to and from Korea?"

"That's something I'm not proud of. I got snot hanging drunk and passed out on the flight. When I woke up I was so hung over that psychosis was a relief."

"And coming back?"

He frowned. "I told the doc I couldn't sleep so he gave me a prescription for sleeping pills. I saved them all for the flight home."

"You could have died!" she gasped.

"I made it back ok," he lied.

"Oh Ephie, we can fix this." She put her arms around Josh and hugged him tight. She truly believed that her love could fix this with a little help from a psychologist. "You need to be honest with Doctor Lennox."

"She... she won't understand."

"Give her a chance," Veronica said firmly.

They were back at the cabin. They wanted to spend a quiet day on the property, just Josh and Veronica and a keg of beer that's still quite full. Inside the cabin, they changed. Josh hung his Sunday suit up in the closet and Veronica changed into a t-shirt and shorts. If someone was paying attention, they could tell when Josh came to church from the cabin because he always wore the suit that he had hung up in the closet. When they finished changing, Josh drained the water from the bucket the keg was sitting in and moved the bucket and keg up onto the porch. He then refilled the bucket with ice and covered the keg with a canvas tarp. He pumped up the keg and poured a small beer and handed it to Veronica, then poured one for himself. Veronica had made sandwiches from left over roast calf. They sat on the porch drinking their beer, eating their sandwiches, and gazing at their baby.

Little John was a John Deere 1025 compact tractor. They got it with a three-point hitch, front-end loader, backhoe, utility wagon, and a brush hog/lawn mower. They were proud of Little John because it was the first major purchase they made together. It was a used tractor, and the implements were all used, but everything was in great shape. Josh loved it for the four-wheel drive, the accessories, and the price. They got a 4 year old tractor with several very pricy accessories for the price of a new bare-bones compact tractor.

Veronica liked Little John because it was green. She loved the country song, John Deere Green. It was sweet and romantic; it sang of everlasting love between a man and a woman and she hummed and sang it every time she drove Little John. The nice thing about it was that they could easily trailer it between the cabin and their house.

Their house! It felt so good to say that. She turned to Josh and said, "I was just thinking about the tractor and in my mind I said, 'our house' and it felt so good! Do you think of the house as 'our house?'"

Josh looked at her and smiled and said, "No. I still think of it as your house. You bought it with the sweat off your back, scrimping and saving for years. I may think of it as ours after the wedding and papers are signed and everything." She looked sad, but he continued, "Now this," he said with a sweeping gesture, "I think of this as our land. A place for us to hunt and fish and camp on together. Maybe turn it into a private campground or even plant a victory garden."

"I could never take this from you," she said.

"And I could never take your house from you," said Josh.

"Why don't we share them with each other forever?" Veronica said brightly.

"Deal!" grinned Josh. He drained his beer and said, "Let's go get the jeep running."

She looked at him confused, "what's wrong with it? We took it to church."

"Not that jeep. Grandpa. He's snoozing in the garage."

"Grandpa!" she gasped and followed him to the garage. Grandpa was a 1951 Willys CJ3A Jeep painted a flat brown (so you can't see the rust). Grandpa was Josh's toy that he had owned for decades. He bought it as a young airman and has kept it ever since.

"Go get the tractor and we'll pull this out into the sun," said Josh as he pulled the protective tarp off of Grandpa.

Veronica dashed for Little John. She loved driving that thing and would fight with Josh over whose turn it was to cut the lawn. It was the same thing at home where she had a zero turn lawn mower that was, of course, a John Deere. She eased into position in front of the garage and backed up slowly until Josh signaled her to stop and he connected the cable from the jeep's bumper winch to the pintle hook hitch on the back of Little John. He then ducked into the garage and climbed into the driver's seat of the Jeep and yelled, "take her out!"

Veronica slowly eased the jeep out of the garage, then Josh disconnected the jeep from the tractor and reeled in the winch cable. Opening the hood, he surveyed the tiny engine. "Isn't much, is it," said Veronica as she looked at the motor.

"It's sixty horsepower, it will take you anywhere you want to go, it just won't do it fast." He checked the oil level and water levels in the radiator and the battery. "The only modifications I made were upgrading from six volt system to twelve volt alternator driven system and I changed the oil bath air filter to a dry element air filter." He took a spray can of ether and shot a snort into the air cleaner, then climbed into the driver's seat, pumped the gas, pulled the choke and hit the starter.

The jeep coughed and sputtered. Then, one by one, each cylinder came to life. As the engine smoothed out, he pushed the choke in slowly and soon the little four-cylinder was purring. As it purred, Josh took the canvas top off and tied it off in the back. "Wanna go for a ride in the woods?"

"Yeah, let me change out of this blouse," and she parked the tractor next to the cabin and went inside. When she stepped out, she was wearing a North Face vest and Josh assumed she was wearing a tube top underneath. "I didn't want to mess up that nice blouse," she said.

"You wanna drive?" he asked as he lowered the windshield down flat on the hood.

"I can't drive a standard," she said and, she got in the passenger seat.

With a slight grind of gears, Josh slipped it in gear and off they went, around the south end of the pond and into the woods. They followed the loop where four cabins were now standing and RV spots were planned. "I think if we use a one bottom plow, we can bury electric cable to the RV spots," said Josh as they rounded the far end of the loop by the pavilion and headed back toward the pond.

"Is there electricity out here?"

"Not a lot. There were lights in the cabins. It's thirty amp service so we can only power the smaller trailers and pop-ups. If they want air conditioning they'll have to bring their own generator." They reached the T intersection and headed right, across the creek, then around the north end of the pond, past cabin number five where they christened the cabin with their love making last night.

"This is so beautiful back here, and this is the perfect vehicle, it's so neat!" gushed Veronica as she unzipped her vest. Josh immediately realized that he was wrong. She wasn't wearing a tube top underneath. It was a Herculean effort of will to keep his eyes on the forest path in front of him. The speckled sunlight peering through the leaves danced on those perfect breasts.

"Look at the sunlight on the pond!" she gushed. "It will be warm enough for swimming soon." Josh turned, grateful to be able to turn away from her luscious breasts. The sunlight glared off the surface of the pond and blinded him, but turning away from the glaring sunlight, put those breasts in his view again. Beautiful, firm, fleshy half softballs capped with raspberry red nipples and quarter size areola. "Only one thing would make this ride perfect," she sighed, leaning back and stretching, forcing those two marvels of nature upward.

It was more than a man could take. He stopped the jeep, set the brake, hopped out of the jeep, scooped her out and laid her down in the soft pine needle cushion of the forest floor. "Honey, what? What are... oh Ephie!" she moaned as he pulled her shorts off and lowered his mouth to her pussy. "Oh God Ephie!" she moaned as he gently massaged her clit with his tongue.

His tongue flickered and danced over her clit while two fingers sawed in and out of her pussy. She groaned and with one hand she held his head in position, twining her fingers in his hair. Her other hand cupped her breast, squeezing it, her thumb and forefinger twisted and pulled her nipple. "Oh Josshhhh," she hissed. He would not let up. He kept at the sweet, gentle, loving of her pussy, bringing her closer and closer to the precipice. Veronica's body began shuddering as the feelings grew more intense. It was getting hard to breathe properly.

"Don't stop... don't stop... don't stop" she gasped softly, over and over as he drove her crazy with pleasure. Her head lolled from side to side, eyes nearly closed. The sunlight filtering down through the branches helped Josh drive her to a peak of ecstasy she had only been able to reach with Josh. "I'm cumming!" she sighed as the dam finally burst. Her feet planted on the forest floor and her hips thrust up of their own accord, shuddering and shaking as waves of pleasure crashed on her.

She didn't even notice that Josh had changed position. He continued to saw his fingers in and out of her pussy, but he worked his way up between her shuddering legs, lined his cock up and slid into her spasming pussy. "EPHIE!" she shrieked as his thick cock spread her open. She felt like she was being impaled by a velvet covered iron bar. It was like her orgasm was put into overdrive as her lover pounded his cock into her with powerful thrusts.

Her hips pushed up even harder, trying to get every bit of him inside. He grinned down at her and continued to pummel her pussy. Finally, her legs gave out, and they collapsed to the forest floor and she wrapped herself around Josh, holding on for dear life as he continued to drive in and out of her pussy. "NICA!" he cried as he came shooting streams of cum into her pussy.

They shuddered and kissed passionately, celebrating their love. "God that was good," she gasped as Josh rolled off and they lay side by side in the pine needles, looking up at the sun.

He took her hand and kissed it gently. "You were right," he said.

"Right about what."

"You said only one thing would make this ride perfect." Josh kissed her hand again and held it to his chest.

"Honey," started Veronica. "I was talking about ice cream."

He looked at her, and she was smiling sweetly. "Ice cream?" he asked.

"Uh huh. Cherry chocolate chip. In a waffle cone. With sprinkles."

"Oh." He kissed her hand again. "That's very different."

"I warned you about trying to figure me out," said Veronica as they got up and started looking for their clothes.

"Let's do it," said Josh. "We gotta get gas anyhow. Let's cruise down to Ashford Hollow and get ice cream at Sweet Jennies."

"You are such a wise man," she said as she kissed him.

They drove back to the cabin and once there he attached two empty five gallon jerry cans to the back sides of the jeep and folded up the windscreen. While he did that, Veronica backed Little John into the garage where the snowmobile normally sat. The snowmobile was moved off to the side for the summer.

"Should I put up the roof?" Josh asked as Veronica emerged from the garage.

"No, it's a glorious day."

"Ok then, seat belts on," he said as he fired up the engine. Veronica clipped her seatbelt on and they were off. They headed east on Trevett Road, heading away from the main highway. They breezed past Brad and Dianna Clemmons' hog farm and Josh hit the horn, which sounded like the cartoon roadrunner.

"The hill! I forgot about the hill!" cried Veronica as the road descended into Zoar valley. She laughed cheerfully as they went down the steep incline, one of the steepest roads she ever rode on. They wound down the steep incline, passing driveways that led off into the woods, but the gradient of the road was still steep.

Finally, the road straightened up and leveled out. They were down in Zoar valley. They passed a farm on their right and soon were at the intersection of Zoar Valley Road and turned left. They crossed over Spooner's Creek and, with a curve to the left; the road climbed back out of Zoar Valley. Somehow, this stretch of road was steeper than the descent into the valley and Veronica was sure they were going to flip over backwards. The little four-cylinder engine roared as they climbed the steep hill and soon they were tooling along on a flat and level road. Enormous trees on each side marked a farm that had been there since the early eighteenth century. Rows of corn plants were pushing skyward on one side of the road. On the other side of the road, Holstein cows munched on sweet grass.

Veronica laughed happily and called out, "this makes that ride so much fun!"

"I could take the doors off my Gladiator," Josh offered. It was possible, but they were a pain in the ass to put them back on. They stopped at the Sunoco station and topped off the jeep and the two five-gallon cans then headed south on Dutch Hill road, a narrow, winding country road that seemed to find every gully and ravine in the south end of the county to dive into and climb back out of.

Josh glanced over and Veronica had her vest open, exposing her breasts to the sun and the wind. She looked so happy as they cruised along, passing farms, cows, and horses. "Terri was right," said Veronica.

"Right about what?"

"This is the best way to cruise around the country, roof off and tits out." The warm sunlight, the refreshing breeze on her breasts were completely alien but delightful experiences that she was falling in love with. Even better was the added thrill of waving to farmers on their tractors as they drove by with her breasts completely exposed.

Josh chuckled and held her hand whenever possible as they cruised along the beautiful country road. "I want to remember this moment forever!" cried Veronica as they passed a horse farm and a filly paced them as they drove next to the white board fence. The ditches were full of fragrant, brightly colored wildflowers, blue chicory and bright blue Swamp Verbena, purple Bee Balm and Creeping Charlie and clouds of purple Dame's Rocket. Bright red Columbine, Indian Paint Brush and Cardinal Flower, yellow buttercups by the thousand and coneflowers everywhere. She made Josh stop several times, and she soon had a large wildflower bouquet.

Finally, Josh nudged her and said, "zip up, we're coming into town." They soon rolled into Ashford Hollow, a tiny hamlet and it seemed that the only business in town was Sweet Jenny's, a small ice cream stand built out of an old B&O railroad caboose. Next to the caboose was a small picnic grove with picnic tables and benches where the locals like to sit and eat their ice cream and watch the hummingbirds vie for their place on one of the dozens of hummingbird feeders hanging from the trees.

"We'll have a cherry chocolate chip and a devil mint in waffle cones," said Josh to the lady in the caboose.

"Devil mint?" asked a small voice below him. Josh looked down and there were the twins, Sandy and Madeline. Both were wearing bright pink and yellow bathing suits with frilly skirts and neon green crocks. "We don't like devil," said Madeline.

"What are you doing here?"

"We test the ice cream," said Sandy as she waited patiently for Josh to get his ice cream.

"Does your mama know you're here?"

"Uh huh. She's right over there," and Sandy pointed to a picnic table where the entire Jarecki family was sitting, along with Veronica.

Josh got his cones from the vendor, but the twins blocked his way to the table. They stood in front of him with their tongues out. "Ok, here you go inspector," Josh said with a sigh and he held the cones down so they could reach them. After each had a lick, he switched hands, and the girls were able to lick the other cone. "Well?" demanded Josh.

"Devil mint is yucky." Insisted Madeline.

Josh looked at the cone. It was dark chocolate ice cream with stripes of neon green mint ice cream. "It's delicious. This is the flavor that made Sealtest ice cream famous."

"It's yucky," said Sandy. "Cherry is better." With that, the twins walked off, chins high. Their work was done.

Josh followed them to the table where John and Paul were strumming their guitars. He handed Veronica her cone, and she said, "I told them about our trip over here."

"Oh? You told them everything?"

Veronica nodded and smiled, then gave her cone a long, suggestive lick, followed by a saucy wink.

"Can we, uh, borrow your jeep?" asked John, which caused everyone to laugh.

It was a perfect afternoon. Warm and sunny, it was the last Sunday afternoon of spring. It will be summer soon and the year will be half over. John and Paul started strumming a familiar tune, and the families at the picnic grove stopped whatever they were doing to listen. Josh and Macy both began singing the familiar song but with the lyrics that Josh invented.

Almost heaven, Western New York...

Veronica watched her man singing along with Macy, one of the finest musical talents in Springville. Veronica wondered what it was that kept her and Josh apart until they couldn't hold back any longer and the love crashed over them like a tsunami.

All my memories gather round her

Irish ladies, Niagara's thundrin' water

Empty steel mills 'neath a big blue sky

People screaming GO BILLS, teardrops in my eye...

Veronica tried to smile but Macy had warned her that Josh had baggage to unload before he could seriously settle down with somebody, and the psychologist that he was seeing, Dr. Lennox, was convinced he was deep in denial about it. But then, Veronica had baggage to unload, too. What is Josh going to say when she unpacks her baggage on him? He gestured for her to join him. She stood, and Josh put his arm around her as he and Macy led the entire picnic grove in song.

Country roads take me home,

to the place I belong!

Western New York, snowstorm mama

Take me home, country road!

As everyone sang, Veronica said to herself, we are home; we made a home together and no matter how bad it gets, I know he'll be there for me. What more could anyone want?