Slapped Upside the Head

Slapped Upside the Head

Part 1 - Starting over

Chase moved into shade under the table, put his head on my boot, and watched the traffic coming around the square. We were sitting at a sidewalk table in the sixty-seven-degree coolness with the late afternoon March sun providing just enough warmth. Watching the traffic intersecting at a four-way stop on our left, like old men will do.

Chase is my best bud, a two-year-old male Weimaraner I raised from a pup, and about the best companion a man can have. He weighs close to 150, has huge fangs, and can run like a deer, so he's hell on wheels in a fight, too. And we've had a few.

Instead of a red light, this tiny Texas Hill Country town had a four way stop at the intersection and convergence of two decent-sized highways and a busy FM road. As I had been every hunting season since I began coming here, I was impressed by acceptance of the procedure that required locals and travelers to cooperate. Truckers, kids in pickups and sports cars, impatient BMW/ Mercedes/ Lexus/ Accura drivers who frequently committed road rage on the expressway back home, and little old ladies in their Buick SUVs all yielded to the 'his turn - her turn - my turn' protocol for which the intersection called.

I wondered if this would work instead of the 'drive a block and stop' red lights that plagued traffic back home in Plano during the day, and stupidly ran all night, even with no traffic! Or was the patient and polite 'wait-for-their-turn' because they were in a clean and picturesque old town that evoked the politeness of our grandparents rather than the rudeness of hardened metropolitan-area dwellers.

Probably the setting, I decided. Kind of like on the way down this morning, when a rancher hauling a load of square bales pulled over on the shoulder to let me whiz me by. Good country folk, if a bit set in their ways and backward-looking, sometimes. His actions inspired me to pull onto the shoulder when a hotshot in an Escalade roared up behind me in a no-passing zone.

Might be the air, but I believe it's the granite hills and Highland Lakes you start seeing when you drive west from Burnet, and you realize you aren't in Kansas - or on I-35/45 - anymore.

The Llano Uplift I drove across is a remnant granite formation from ancient volcanic activity. Though the area as a whole is a geographic 'low spot,' the granite has maintained its height well.

You're driving along a winding road with granite below and on either side, and then you encounter and cross the Colorado River/ Inks Lake, which cut through the granite just below Buchanan Dam.

You proceed on past the dam a couple of miles, and begin to follow the Llano River valley, with granite hills to your right and the river on your left. Llano doesn't appear to have much granite in town, unless you drive down and look at the riverbed, but if you take any road out of town you are surrounded by the hard igneous extrusions.

Chase and I were headed for my 43' motorhome, which is set up on our hunting lease, but we stopped at this café on the square for one of their gigantic double-meat burgers with onion rings, and an order of chicken strips for Chase. I know, dogs aren't humans and shouldn't eat human food, but he eats high-end dog food twice a day - a little junk food won't hurt his long, sleek silver body, but it might slow him down enough that I can keep up on our daily run. Or not. Well, certainly not, but he does love fried food.

The pretty dark-haired waitress returned with our food and my beer. She looked 14 but was most likely a high school senior with an after-school job, given that she had to be 18 to serve beer. Or maybe they don't worry about such-like out here in the cedar breaks and hills.

After setting our heaping plates on the table, she delicately asked, "Can I pet your dog?" with a shy smile.

"He would love that!" I assured her and scooted my chair over a few inches to give her better access. Chase raised his head, looked at me for permission, and sat up so she could stroke him and say nice things to him, like all humans do. Well, almost all humans.

I almost let myself think a negative thought then, but quickly recovered; that part of our life is behind us - me and Chase. We had cashed out, packed up, and headed out! Fuck the rat race, and the predatory cunt I stupidly married three years ago!

Rapacious Rita was scheduled to return tomorrow from her two weeks stay in Oklahoma City, 'taking care of mom,' although she'd put her return off twice due to her sister 'not being available to help yet'. Sure, Rita! Three cheating, lying sluts, and I had the video and audio to prove it!

Sexually, she wouldn't much give a shit that I was gone; after all the cock she'd swallowed and had planted in her holes in OKC, she'd be just fine for several weeks without mine! What she might give a shit about is the process server and documents that would be delivered as soon as she arrived back in Plano. You'd think me setting her free to swallow/ride all the cock she wants in OKC, or wherever she wants whenever she wants, with whoever she wants, would be a good thing, but I suspect she will squawk and argue that it meant nothing and I should forgive her this one mistake - or some such shit!

A few seconds later, I chastised myself. 'Okay, dumbass cuck, clear your mind and look around! You didn't come down here to ruminate on your old life! You came to make a new one, so don't lose focus!'.

'A new life.' What would a new life look like? My old life looked like me working mostly twelve-hour days to grow a business while the housekeeper kept things clean, the landscaper kept the grass, flowers, and shrubbery nice, and the pool boy kept the landscaped pool and hot tub clean... and probably kept Rita's pipes clean. When she wasn't out spending my money or giving it to the charities she supported with her time and my money, or deciding we needed a bigger/ better car/ house/ pool/ whatever!

'No negative thoughts! Only positive thoughts, about life here in the Northwestern Hill Country! I had money - money she couldn't touch, though she would try. Bitch came from money: she had an eight figure trust fund, and yet I needed to work harder to make more money she could blow!'

'That's not positive, Danny! Dammit, look around - what do you see? What do you want to do now? Do any of these buildings look interesting? Or do you still want to take a few months to relax and unwind before you go back to work?'

What do I see? Wide, concrete sidewalks fronting the stores and offices along Main Street, all covered by roofs, and most with tin ceiling tiles as old as the buildings. Buildings made from sandy red sandstone quarried locally and hauled 9 miles on rocky paths by wagons more than 120 years ago. Some of the stones even came from the long-abandoned calvary fort situated on a high point on the southern edge of town, or the stables, situated along the spring-fed creek that ran through town in those days. It was dry most of the time now, but the towering pecan trees that attracted Comanche and Apache tribes remained.

A local project to restore the square led to removal of the ugly "modern" facades that had been added over the years, the restoration of the original storefronts, and the loud, glossy modern paint colors being painted over with more sedate colors from the proper eras. Those paints were usually mixed onsite, using pigment from organic materials and linseed oil or distemper. About the only bright colors around the square were posters of the high school extracurricular and athletic teams, and every storefront seemed to display several, including schedules of games and calendars of events.

The whole square was impressive, but two things stood out. One was the 1920s neon signage at the old movie theater - still operating after all these years, with seats going for $4 and popcorn for $1. During deer season in the fall and turkey season in the spring, my buddies and I always made a movie, or maybe one of the concerts, if we bought our tickets early enough - they always sold out.

The other sight dominated the downtown: the sandstone with limestone trim courthouse set in the middle of the square (actually rectangle, since it was two blocks long and one block wide, but the locals called it 'the square' so...). The three-story building with a large belltower atop is surrounded by towering pecan trees, and the grounds are covered in a thick layer of grass. There is a three-foot high, native rock fence along the boundaries. The courthouse was beyond impressive, standing as a grand sentinel of justice beside the junction of two highways.

My pickup and trailer were parked on the west side of the square, alongside that rock fence. That was designated truck and trailer parking, being a location where trucks with trailers didn't obstruct the view of the edifice, which drew photographers and gawkers all day, every day.

I wasn't here to obstruct; I was here to blend in. And me and Chase were doing a good job of it! Until a gaggle of giggling beauties left the wine bar to my left and began traipsing up the sidewalk toward the shops further west. Their giggles and laughter were music to Chase's ears, so he raised his head off my boot, draped his ears, and gave them his best Magnificent Male Weimaraner pose; alert, curious, with ears draped to backdrop his aristocratic face.

The first to reach us was a 5'2" brunette cutie. She spotted him and made a beeline to our table. Without asking or by your leave, she squatted down in her miniskirt and began baby-talking the showoff. He first gave her an imperious look, but relented when she continued baby-talking him in her high little voice, and gave her a slurpy lick on the lips that were only inches from his.

She was definitely a 'dog person' because she just laughed, offered him a cheek, and kept ruffling his fur, while sing songing what a pretty boy and good boy he is. The others gathered around watching and laughing at her, or leaning down to pet the good boy!

I was watching the cutie until one of the others, a statuesque sandy blonde with legs that went from the ground to my eye level, leaned over beside me. She patted Chase's muzzle and then looked into my eyes. The lightly freckled nose and cheeks, sparkling green eyes, and very kissable lips only inches away froze me for a few seconds, and then I saw the face frown in puzzlement and the lips ask "Danny, is that you?"

I leaned back to take her in, and as she straightened up, asked, "Gina? What the heck are you doing out here?"

She was obviously as surprised as I was, but recovered to merrily announce, "I'm on a spring break girls' trip to wine country! What the heck are you doing here? Don't you live north of Dallas somewhere?"

That question stung, though I thought I covered it well. Or maybe not; the faces of Gina, the cutie squatting at my feet, and the other four 20-somethings arrayed around Chase all developed either sympathetic or empathetic looks. The former included the cutie and Gina, who, the last time I heard, was a married teacher and coach living in College Station.

"Yeah, about that..." I began, but the cutie laid her hand on my leg, squeezed, and said, "Don't answer; Gina didn't mean to pry, and the rest of us don't know you, but we recognize that look. I'm Danielle, and your dog and I are falling for each other! You don't mind, do you?"

"I can't imagine him finding a lovelier female companion of the human kind, although you need to know he's as fickle as they come. One whiff, and he's off to the chase - thus his name: Chase."

"Oh no!" she exclaimed. "I just got rid of one of those! Chase, you need to be better!"

He read the expression in her voice and lowered his head, surprised and hurt by her sudden change of attitude. The women all laughed at his pouting response, and she squatted back down to apologize, giving me an even better look at the red panties that matched the red miniskirt. She was really cute, and her muscular legs looked like they were made to crush my head!

Gina laughed at my eyes focusing on her friend's panties, and exclaimed, "Hounds! You're all hounds! Now, mister Poonhound, are you going to be polite and invite us to sit, and insist on buying us one of those gargantuan burgers so we can enjoy this fresh air with you? We brought our own wine!"

I imperiously gestured at the two open tables next to mine with my right arm, and said, "Would you lovely ladies like to join us at our sidewalk tables this sunny afternoon? I would love to buy you burgers and rings, and share the fresh air, only slightly polluted by the highway traffic!"

Gina (Gin-a, not Geena) set her packages on the concrete and took the seat to my right, facing the roadway. The cutie stood up, frowned, and relocated the chair across from me to a spot on my left, where she could pet Chase and continue to distract me with her lovely bare legs. I didn't even know her last name, but I badly wanted to fuck her! Maybe marry her!

Gina too, of course, but I'd known her from fifth grade through high school and into college, although she was two grades younger. I dated her older sister during many of those years, before it finally sunk in that I was her boyfriend on a moment-to-moment, best-available-option basis, her excuses, sad eyes, and crocodile tears notwithstanding.

Gina was the skinny little sister, then the hot high school sophomore, and then the smoking-hot college freshman that would give you fantasies even while she was playing junior college basketball. I had eaten and fucked her so very many times in my dreams, but circumstances always prevented me from making my fantasies a reality.

She slapped me on the shoulder and jovially asked, "So, old buddy - whatcha been up to for the last eight years or so?"

"Just working and getting old, while you've been getting hotter and younger - how do you do that?" I replied.

"As full of shit as ever, I see! And if you think I look younger than I did the last time you saw me - when I was 19 - you need glasses!

I squinted my eyes and looked her up and down. My gaze lingered on the yards of leanly muscled legs displayed below her shorts, on the three or four inches of flat belly I could see below her top and above her shorts, and at the freckled bare shoulders encumbered only by spaghetti straps. "Nope - twenty-twenty vision, and I stand by my contention; you look seventeen again!"

She rolled her eyes and then her head. She looked at the friends at the other table, and said, "I'll fill you in later, but this is Dana's high school boyfriend, of whom you've possibly heard, particularly if you've been around when she's drunk."

She said it as if that was all that needed to be said, which caused me to interject, "Wait just a minute! Ladies, I don't know what you've heard, but if Dana said it, I've learned it's best not to believe it without reliable substantiation, so give me a chance to correct any misapprehensions under which you might be laboring!"

An incredibly beautiful woman with highlighted brown hair was sitting at the last table. She stopped opening the wine bottle and said, "You mean that you aren't the perfect man who got away? In what ways would you like to correct that, Danny?"

"Well, she does tell the truth sometimes," I said in retreat. "But I have a problem hearing that coming out of her mouth. Are you sure I'm that one, or am I the one she ran off because I pissed her off multiple times per year?"

"Both actually," she replied, "and my name is Rebecca - Dana's BFF."

"Oops! Well, tell her I said hi, and I hope she and Harry are still ecstatically happy!"

Every woman at the table burst out laughing at that. I didn't know why, so I sat still, waiting expectantly.

The redhead with the big boobs said, "I don't know either would use the term 'ecstatically happy' to describe their relationship, but the dominant one seems happier than the submissive one."

I grimaced. "Ouch! I can guess how that turned out! And from personal experience, I can attest that If you're gonna marry a beautiful shrew, make sure you keep your nuts attached to your body."

Someone at another table murmured, "Harry got that memo too late, I'm afraid," and others quietly muttered their agreement.

I turned, spotted my waitress, and waved at her. She finished her order, turned it in, and hurried outside with a bunch of menus. "I'm so sorry! I didn't see you ladies sit down! Can I take your drink orders?"

The ladies wanted wine glasses, I wanted another cerveza fria, and Chase wanted water with lime. Actually, without lime, but that got a smile from the pretty young thing, and chuckles from the ladies, who probably ordered that when not drinking wine.

An attractive 5'6" woman with light brown hair leaned forward so she could see me, slapped the table, and said, "Okay, if Gina won't, I'll make the introductions! I'm Amy, the plain one. The lucky bitch with naturally enhanced boobs is Tricia; the Kardasian with blue streaked black hair is Wanda. Danielle and Rebecca already introduced themselves. We're employees of the A&M Consolidated ISD, and we're using our spring break to shop, drink wine, and possibly chase a few men, if the audacious nature of our pack doesn't scare them off."

I made a production out of blatantly looking each over, beginning with Dana's hot friend Rebecca, and ending with the cutie pie on my left. I nodded sagely, and opined, "Okay, I see where you're coming from. The good old boys out here probably don't see your combination of brains, personality, and physical assets very often, and certainly not in the variety and scope you offer. Hell, you six would stop gossip at Bent Tree Country Club! Especially if you came traipsing in wearing little tennis outfits, like their trophy wives do!"

"Oh, yeah," Amy interjected, "I get the connection: you, Dana, and Gina were all tennis players back home! That's why you glanced at her when you said that!"

"Perhaps, but I'll gladly buy the tennis dresses at the boutique down the street if the six of you will wear them to the 'Spring Fling' dance tonight."

"Spring Fling Dance?" Wanda asked with a big smile. "Is that a thing?"

"Poster's right behind you. Featuring a local band from six to eight-thirty, and a band from Angelo with local ties from nine 'til midnight. Big open slab down in the park, under the pecan trees, with beer stands and booths for local wineries, the craft brewery, and the local distillery. Spring Fling is new, but it's already a big deal here in Chance, Texas!"

Looks were exchanged around the table, and then Rebecca stated, "That sounds like fun, but we don't have rooms here. The B&Bs were all reserved when we checked online, and none of us is capable of driving to a hotel in another town after drinking wine all day!"

Without sufficient aforethought, I suggested, "The landowners where we hunt have a couple of upgraded cabins by their house, which is on a bluff overlooking the Llano River." I opened my phone, found a couple of photos, and handed the phone to Gina. "These are the cabins. They don't usually rent them out but might since they know me so well. If you think you'd be interested, I'll give Kay a call."

Knowing they would want to talk about plan changes in private, I offered, "I'm going inside to use the restroom and get another beer. Can I bring anyone anything?"

They declined, so I told Chase to stay with all the pretty girls and walked through the café to the bar in back. I knew the bartender and the feed store employees gathered around a table from previous visits, and a conversation ensued. When I returned ten minutes later, they had decided.

I queried the table: "Well?" I got smiles all around, and Rebecca said, "If you can find us a place to stay, we'll go to the dance with you but not wearing tennis skirts! Wouldn't boots and jeans be more appropriate?"

It looked like she was the ringleader, which was bad, considering that she was hardest to read and obviously way smarter than me. Of course Gina was too, and, well, they were all teachers, so...

"Boots and jeans are always appropriate, but these aren't C&W bands," I replied. "In fact, both write most of their own songs, and their playlist includes folk and blues, some country swing and country rock, interspersed with belly-rubbing ballads.

"This historic little town, the granite hills, and the nearby river attract artistic types of all kinds, including some well-known painters, sculptors, and musicians. There is even a recording studio in 'the artist colony' on the river southeast of town, and if you look around the square, you'll see a couple of Anasazi sculptures by a renowned artist with his own gallery in Santa Fe.

"So don't expect everyone you meet to be a cattle rancher or peanut farmer. There are fewer and fewer full-time farmers and ranchers, and a lot of acreage has been converted to grapes. This county isn't like Gillespie yet, with its 'wine country highway' to Stonewall, but there are twelve vintners and three times that many vineyards here.

"And I know it's hard to believe here in the heart of Texas, but there are nine wine bars around the square, one craft brewery, a craft distillery, two bars in cafes, and zero old-fashion beer joints! Plus, the vintners produce award winning wines, which attracts oenophiles who want to 'discover these wonderful new Western Hill Country wines' that keep winning awards, so it's very different from the cattle country town Gina and I come from!"

"Just how much time do you spend down here, hunting or whatever?" Gina asked. "You sound like a native!"

"This has been my escape from the Metroplex for the past five years," I answered. "I hired a Chance native who had an aunt and uncle with land for lease, to the right kind of responsible hunters. He and I came down to meet them. They figured Bode would keep us under control, so we agreed on a price, moved a barely used trailer house and my RV in, and hooked them up. At first, our wives loved to come with us, but I guess the new wore off, because last year I spent a lot of time here alone. Even my hunting buddies rarely showed."

"Between your work and your family, aren't you too busy to spend that much time here?" Rebecca asked.

"My business doesn't need me much anymore, except to approve checks and acquire new contracts, and my wife spends a week or two out of every month 'taking care of her mother' in Oklahoma City."

"But it isn't her mother being taken care of in Oklahoma City?" Dannielle inquired with a tilted head and look of concern.

"Actually, her mother was being well taken care of! As were her daughters; my wife and her sister, both of whom will encounter a process server when they return home.

"My friend and former brother-in-law will be down here in a day or two. After I sent him the proof, he said he needed to take all his guns and leave Edmund, or his kids would be orphans."

"What about your kids?" she asked.

"I don't have any, and I'm not going to prison because my wife is a round-heeled slut! This is one of those cases where you learn the hard way, teach her and the rest of them a hard lesson, and chalk it up to experience on your end.

"I might not look like much right now, but I'm still relatively young and have some money. When I find a woman I think I might want to spend the rest of my days with, I'm going to ask the questions about which I made assumptions the first time. Things like, 'What are your beliefs about fidelity, and are you willing to sign a draconian pre-nup that applies equally to both of us?

"Do you want to have a family? If so, how soon and how many kids? Do you want to be the queen of my four-bedroom rancher in a good school district, or will you want to move up to bigger and better places every time we get a little more money?'"

"So, you're saying you married a beautiful gold digger who didn't want kids, who cheated at least one-fourth of every month, and you didn't know any of that before you married her?" Amy asked. "Bingo!" I replied.

"You always were a fool for a pretty face and nice tush, old buddy," Gina teased in a loving voice. I dropped my head in shame and nodded in agreement.

"True. You'd think Dana would have taught me better, wouldn't you?"

That drew a laugh, and Rebecca directed, "Well, make your call so we can eat our burgers and onion rings and finish shopping around the square knowing whether we're staying or moving on to Fredericksburg."

I gave her a questioning look, but she responded with an innocent smile and raised eyebrows. Rebecca bore keeping an eye on... which would not be an unpleasant job!

Worst case scenario, I knew I could put them up in the two bedrooms with bunkhouse trailer, and at my place, but six classy ladies like these would probably prefer the plush guest cabins to the comparatively austere trailer house. Kay and Charlie built the cabins and a swimming pool so their two sons would bring their families to visit, and the cabins were just short of luxurious, to accommodate their upper-crust daughters-in-law.

Charlie, Kay, and I had a long conversation when I let them know I was headed down, so they are aware of my marital situation, and that I'm coming here to mope and plot revenge. Therefore, they were shocked when I asked if they would rent the cabins to six young women who are friends of mine.

Kay recovered first. "I want to know a lot more than that, Mister, but I suspect they are listening, so tell them yes, and then warn them I'll lay fresh linens on the beds, but they will have to make them up, and this ain't no B&B that provides breakfast! If they want food, bring it and stock the refrigerator."

"Thanks a million, Kay; I owe you another one! But I doubt they will bring much food; they're Fredericksburg bound after they finish shopping in Chance today and make the Spring Fling dance tonight."

I paid for the meal and sent Gina a pin so they could find my RV. I planned to show them our camp and then take them to the main house and cabins. I suspected they would roll their eyes at our camp but would at least be accepting. Or Gina would be - the others also seemed to have their feet on the ground. After all, they were teachers, not socialites, but you never know who's a snob.

Danielle wanted Chase to stay and go shopping with them, even offering the remaining half of her giant hamburger, but he was with me, so he gracefully declined. He did, however, insist on riding in the back of the pickup since we were going to the ranch. The girls got to see a different side of him when he loaded up and started running from side to side looking for... something. We waved, and they wandered two doors up to the By Chance Boutique while we headed south with Chase's ears flapping in the wind.

By the time the pickup and trailer were emptied and the trailer unhitched and parked, I needed another beer. It had been college since I had last moved myself, and I had acquired a few things in the interim. I don't know why I felt compelled to bring everything, but maybe I was afraid the bitch would burn anything I left. Yeah, it was her having the affairs, or, more accurately, fuckfests, but somehow, she would hold me responsible! That's the way every 'mistake' on her part went - she made it, but I was responsible!

The ladies must have shopped until they locked the doors on them, because I had finished moving, showered, shaved, changed, and was on my second beer when they pulled up. I gave them the penny tour of the trailer and my motor home. Danielle, Gina, and Rebecca didn't seem fazed by the possibility of sleeping in a single-wide, but Tricia wrinkled her nose and Wanda make a face, while Amy's body language said 'reluctant.' None seemed offended by my motorhome, and I got a very positive reaction to the bedroom with two slides, a big closet, and a king bed. There was even a positive reaction to the bathroom, with its large glass shower and decent-sized vanity with sink.

After getting a little positive feedback, mostly from Danielle, Gina, and Rebecca, I escorted them to meet my landlords and friends, Kay and Charlie. After introductions and conversation, Kay took them to see the cabins, so Charlie got to interrogate me while Kay and the girls interrogated each other.

"Nice selection of females, Danny; how did you hook up with them?"

I explained, and he chuckled. "Buy a lottery ticket when you get back to town, son; today is your lucky day!" And then he asked, "You cut one out yet?"

"Tell you what, Charlie - I'll take any one of them that will have me and be proud! Prime stock there."

"Indeed they are! And here comes my heifer, so prepare for the interrogation to commence!"

But it didn't. Kay had her questions about how I showed up accompanied by six women, while seeking a divorce, answered by the women. She knew I didn't want to tell her the details about Rita before I went dancing, so she just commented on what nice young ladies they were and told Charlie to get cleaned up because they were coming to the Spring Fling with me and the girls.

Charlie was what passed for a party animal back at A&M, while Kay was a serious student in the same department at the same university. As soon as they began dating he gave up the party life for one he called 'far more rewarding'. But he still liked to go out and about, talk to people, and dance up a storm, so for Kay to tell him they were going to a dance caused a smile, and a jig when she went inside. He grabbed a beer out of my truck and hurried back to get clean and ready.

Of course, the fact that Kay wasn't as introverted and inhibited after a couple of beers didn't lower his enthusiasm. He pretty much always got very lucky after a party or dance, and he even got to lead when they danced.

The six ladies were going in Rebecca's luxurious seven-person Jeep Wagoneer, and they had stated their intention to dance and drink to excess. That mean I would control my drinking in order to drive them to the dance and back safely. I rarely drank too much anyway, preferring to be in control of my faculties, especially when in a large group intent on partying. That was a lesson learned the hard way in college, and reinforced by my wayward wife, whom I had to watch like a hawk when she was drinking at parties, dances, or bars.

Tonight, I'm responsible for six very attractive women. Though none were mine, I persuaded them to stay and go to the dance, so I bear responsibility for their wellbeing. And then there are Kay and Charlie to keep an eye on. No, tonight's going to be the night I actually put a Koozie to work keeping my beer cool while I nurse it and play nursemaid for my charges.

They weren't dressed in tennis skirts, but they were definitely dressed to thrill, as was Kay! Hell, I had no idea she looked like that under the loose jeans and baggy blouses she wore around the ranch! Charlie looked proud as punch as he escorted her to their nicest pickup and helped her in, and I understood why when she flashed me while sitting and turning. The woman might be in her mid-fifties, but she was hot!

Rebecca tossed me the keys and got in on the passenger side, holding a red solo cup filled with wine. I opened doors and assisted the other passengers to get in, the reward for which was great butt and beaver shots, and an even higher level of appreciation for my lovely companions.

"Nice Jeep" I quipped as I got in. And then I looked at Rebecca: holy smoke show! My jaw dropped and I stared: she was movie star gorgeous, with what appeared to be a model's lean body and long legs you'd like to die between! That I knew, because she had carelessly let her hemline climb almost to her panties getting in! Or maybe it wasn't carelessly done - she grinned at my reaction and winked.

It's a scenic 14-minute drive from the ranch headquarters to the park, which is on the south side of town near where the FM road we are on joins the US highway. I enjoyed the happy chatter from the back, and the panty shot Rebecca afforded me when she pivoted in her seat to join in.

It used to sound like this when my hunting buddies and our wives were driving to town, or to Fredericksburg, Kerrville, Llano, Boerne, or another town that was hosting something to do or buy. We lost that comradery somewhere, or maybe everybody but me knew what Rita was up to, and that's why they stopped coming. If that's true, I need new friends! You don't let a buddy be an involuntary cuck, under any circumstances! Disturbed by the possibility, I resolved to find out and possibly clean my 'friends' pool.

I was currently the only one on the lease, at least until my former BIL, Bill, showed up, but I had good phone service, so I could pin the bastards down with threats about their own misconduct, if needed. Lyndon would be the easiest; I had stuff on him, and he was afraid of his wife. I decided to start with him next week, while he's at work.

Bill might know more, but I doubt it; he was clueless about his wife, and she was doing it right under his nose! Besides, his old-fashioned sense of propriety and honor would have required him to tell me if he knew about Rita. No, I was going to have to interrogate and potentially blackmail my other 'buddies' to learn what they and/or their wives knew about my slutty wife, and when they knew it.

Hell, for all I know, she might have been fucking all of them too, for pleasure or to keep them quiet!

Inevitably, the conversation among the gaggle turned to questions for the sole semi-native in the car, bringing me back from the future. "Yes, mam," I answered Wanda, "there will be beer, wine, and distilled drink booths, as well as a few craft tables and food trucks. Spring Fling is an attempt to get locals, guests, and travelers to stay here, spend a little money, and have some fun. Tomorrow, each merchant and any interested artists and craftsmen from the area will have displays and sales tables on the courthouse lawn, or on the sidewalks around the square.

"Since this is the 'second annual Spring Fling' I don't know how it will play out, but I've been here for their Independence Day celebrations, and these Germans and Scots put on a shindig then."

They raved about the Pecan tree studded park and community golf course, actually built and paid for by the community decades ago, and were excited by the size of the early-arriving crowd. The band was warming up as we walked over from our parking spot, which was beneath the branches of one of the largest trees. They tried to argue when I paid for all our tickets, and for Kay and Charlie, but I reminded them that I had lured them here and they were my guests; therefore I paid.

We entered the enclosed area as a large group of strangers, redeemed by Kay and Charlie, who moved from the back of the pack to the front, and led us to a big, old, wooden picnic table. The girls checked it for splinters that would ruin their clothing, but having been recently sanded and stained, it passed inspection.

Gina and Danielle showed them how to climb over the bench in their cute little dresses without flashing the entire crowd, which required sequential sitting and turning. When all were seated, I took drink orders and headed for the booths, with Gina and Danielle along to help carry. I don't know jack about wine and don't really care, but it didn't sound like leaded or unleaded Lone Star, Coors, or Millers: there were too many French accents.

My companions handled that part astutely, but they switched their own orders to beer after seeing my icy longneck. "Been a while since I sipped cold beer with you, Kirk. Can you still drink a dozen and be sober enough to drive?"

"More than that, Gina, but I don't. I know what gets me to the legal limit and I stay under that, and especially when I have precious cargo, like tonight." She smirked at the 'precious cargo' and gave me a light punch on the shoulder. "You can be cute, when you aren't obnoxious."

"I don't understand why we couldn't bring Chase," Danielle interjected. "There is plenty of room, and I know there aren't rules against it because I see other dogs here."

"And that's the key, Dani: other dogs. Chase will leave well enough alone as long as that is reciprocated, but if another male challenges him, look out! His is a slash and tear breed, and at his size, when he gets riled up, he's impossible to control!"

"Hmm, that sounds like somebody I know," Gina said with a chuckle. "Who was that? Oh, yeah, that was you! Is that why you have a male Weim; similar hormones, hard heads, and impossible to control?"

"Maybe. But I've calmed down since my teens and early twenties."

"Sure you have!" she laughed. "So if some guy wanders over, grabs Dani, throws her on the table, and says he gonna fuck her right here, you're just gonna sit and watch?"

Looking down at Dani's grin, I replied, "Well, for a while, yes. I'd like to get a good view of her shapely legs, panties, butt, and coochie, but I'd stop him before he slammed it home. Unless she looked happy about it."

Dani slapped me on the arm, but grinned and teased. "I see the way your mind works, Dirty Danny! I have a feeling you'd like to be the one throwing me on the table and pulling my panties off, but what would you do then?"

"Dive in headfirst," Gina stated with a giggle, "and then, much later, he would enthusiastically do his best to make your exhausted body cum again!"

Dani looked speculatively at Gina and then me. "Sounds like experience. When did you two..."

"We haven't," I quickly stated. "Not that I haven't wanted to since she was about twelve, but we haven't."

"He's right, we haven't, in spite of the fact that I've wanted him to since I was about twelve. But I have seen him in action. That's kind of a quick summary of what took place over a couple of hours."

"Uh, I'm not remembering you ever being around..."

"Austin Marriot downtown - my idiot sister - the suite we shared?" she replied.

"Oh. I thought your boyfriend de jour was keeping you busy. No?"

"For the first ten minutes, then I listened to you over his snores until I decided to watch."

I leaned toward her and conspiratorially asked, "So how many times did you get yourself off, watching from the shadows?"

"Not as many as Dana did," Gina replied with a grin that looked like an invitation.

Charlie drew us back to the conversation around the table by asking where each person was from, where they lived, and what they did, workwise. All were teachers (and sponsors or coaches) at A&M Consolidated, but they were from very different places. Gina grew up with me in Cowtown, played basketball at the juco level, transferred to Texas, and graduated there. She was two years younger and spent two years in JUCO before transferring to UT, so I was 'graduated and gone' when she got to Austin. Unfortunately.

Danielle is from La Grange, where she was Miss Everything. She graduated with high honors from Texas Tech, where she was a cheerleader as well. Wanda is from Tampa, Florida but went to college at SMU, thanks to rich parents. Amy is a San Antonio native who went to UTSA before marrying, moving to College Station, and divorcing her philandering husband, an associate professor at TAMU. Tricia was from The Rio Grande Valley: McAllen to be exact. She lived at home while attending UT Rio Grande Valley and had remained single while going through a ton of suitors, the others contributed.

There was something about Rebecca that intrigued me, and hearing her background only increased my interest. She was raised in Dallas Highland Park, attended Hockaday through grade four, and then entered the Highland Park system at McCullouch Intermediate/Highland Park Middle School, an integrated learning 5-8 campus. She was a tennis star at Highland Park High who also won best actress in one act play, and graduated in the top 3% of her class.

Rich and raised with high expectations, she graduated with highest honors from Tulane yet somehow avoided the entitlements common to kids of the top 3% in wealth and became a teacher. I was fascinated by that, because it just doesn't happen.

The band was going to start playing in five minutes, so I took drink and food orders and made another run, this time accompanied by Amy and Tricia. On the way back, I spotted a table of young men without dates. I knew one - he had done some welding on a hunting stand for us - so I circled over and asked, "Are the four of you gentlemen, like Luke here?"

They looked confused, until I pointed. "See that table of incredibly good-looking women? Yeah, well, I hope I can find five gentlemen who can help me keep all six on the dance floor all night! They are visiting teachers from College Station, they do love to dance, and I'm sure you want them to leave with a favorable impression of your little town.

"So, if you're gentlemen, and if y'all are willing to help, follow me over and introduce yourselves." They climbed out of that picnic table faster than if someone found a yellowjacket nest with their knee!

If my ladies ranged from 25-28ish, the young gentlemen were more 21-23ish, but what woman doesn't like to be hustled by younger men? Not counting Charlie, I was the old guy at the table, and I hadn't celebrated the big 3.0 yet.

Charlie and Kay knew all five young men, and insisted they join us. We squeezed a little closer and made it work while we were sitting, which wasn't that often. As advertised, the local band's playlist was an eclectic mix, about 80 percent of which you could dance to if you were adventurous, and all fourteen of us were. Other folks dropped by to visit Kay or Charlie, and some to ask the pretty ladies to dance.

I tried all six on for size, and it was just like I told Charlie - any that would have me, could. I also danced with Kay a couple of times. She could rock better than anyone and was light on her feet on the slow stuff. The only problem was her ability to insinuate herself against me during a slow song, causing an embarrassment below - until she winked and told me she was glad a young man still found her attractive, at her advanced age. I quietly assured her 55 was young, and she was very attractive, for any age, if she hadn't figured that out from all the men obviously lusting for her. That got me a lovely couple of seconds where her body was totally against mine, before she broke away with a giggle and thanked me for the dance.

Gina kept me at 6th grade dance distance the first time we slow-danced, but after watching the others, she loosened up the rest of the dances. Feeling that tight big body against me made me want to fuck her more than ever, and yet she was only one of three I'd give my left nut to spend a weekend in bed with, Danielle and Rebecca being the other two.

I mean, if Amy, Tricia, or Wanda asked, I'd definitely do them and be proud of it, but the other three...

Having gone without my normal ration for months, being newly single and royally pissed off at my ex, was going to take some self-discipline. You can't lust after and try to fuck anything that walks, but right now my default decision when I saw a woman was 'I'd fuck that!' or 'Nah,' and the former was winning 5 or 6 to 1. Which should give you an idea of my condition.

The local band closed it out to loud applause, and we took an alcohol break while the San Angelenos set up. Amy, Wanda, and Tricia were having quite the time with the young gentlemen they seemed to have settled on; Gina, Rebecca, and Danielle were having a good time with the others, but keeping things cordial, as they were with me when not slow dancing. But on the dance floor with a 3/4 or 4/4 beat, they sent a different message, and between the four of them, including Kay, I was going to have blue balls before the dance ended!

Dancing every dance with a different chick, as he called it, reawakened Charlie's party boy persona, and he kept us and a few other tables entertained between dances and during breaks by the band. He could make any story hilarious and must know a thousand jokes. It was a part of him I'd never seen before, and I loved it.

His wife rolled her eyes, but she was enlivened as well. Once other men knew she was open to dancing, she rarely got a chance to sit down while music was playing. As to the ladies, I shouldn't have worried about having to watch over vulnerable drunks - they weren't off the dance slab long enough to drink a beer before it got hot, and they spent breaks either laughing at Charlie or at the crafts tables.

We were among the last to leave, and no more than got in the SUV before I was getting chastised about not telling them about tomorrow's festivities around the square. "We've already talked to Kay," Rebecca warned me, "and we're staying until Sunday. You and Charlie are taking us to town at ten in the morning! They have vendors from everywhere in central and west Texas, and Kay says the handmade and custom jewelry, the clothing, and the art are just fantastic! Plus, all the local wines are displayed and on sale! You made it sound like a little town thing, but it's a big deal!"

I defended myself. "I'm not from here either, so all I know is what it said on the poster behind your head on the sidewalk, remember? Y'all are a demanding group and kind of a pain the ass, but I wasn't trying to run you off. Besides, don't y'all have to make an annual pilgrimage to Fredericksburg?"

"Pains in the ass, huh?" came from the back seat, and I got my hair pulled and a wet willie before I swerved sharply to remind them that I was driving. "We came to the Hill Country to shop, drink wine, and hopefully get to meet some guys and dance. We have the guys and the dancing out of the way, so now we focus on the wine and shopping.

"We hope to rent a U-Haul tomorrow to carry all the loot home!"

"Better reserve it online before 2, when they close," I replied. "Or, if they're one of the businesses having a sidewalk sale, so you could kill two birds with one stone."

Kay insisted we all come inside to unwind and chat a little. They clustered around the big dining table with a local wine Kay wanted them to try, and she sent the men into the living room. Instead of turning the TV on as Kay expected, we huddled side-by-side on the couch, just out of their sight, and had a secret conversation of our own.

Charlie came up with the idea to bug Kay, but we actually were discussing the women in the other room, other women at the dance, especially the Geistweidt and Lehmberg girls, and speculating about Wanda, Tricia, and Amy hooking up with Will, Gene, and Jeremy again in the future.

He probed me again about the other three, and I again told him I'd gladly have any that would have me. He agreed. "Can't go wrong with any of the three, though I suspect the rich gal would be higher maintenance. Still, she's teaching school, so she can't be too snooty.

"Which is true for all of them. I'm just glad I didn't have them for teachers back then. I'd have had a hardon all the way through class."

"What if you had one each period all day, Charlie?" I teased. "Then I'd of been in a closed stall in the restroom every period!" he replied, and we laughed, knowing that was true for both of us.

Of course, laughing in unison was more than Kay and her girls could stand, so they came in and started questioning us. "What are you two whispering and laughing about?" Kay demanded, hands on hips. Arrayed behind her, the others were trying to back her up, but their grins meant they thought it was funny.

Charlie was holding his hands up defensively while grinning like a Cheshire cat, so I laid it out. "Well, we started, as men will do, by grading all the ladies we saw tonight on a 1-10 scale, physical assets and beauty only. Just before you came in, we discussed how difficult it would having be to have one of you as our teacher each period and Kay as our principal, and how we would have gone about relieving the stress.

"I think that's about it. What were y'all whispering and giggling about?"

Danielle innocently asked, "So how would you 'relieve the stress'?" But Gina put her hand on her shoulder and assured her she didn't want to know, or at least didn't want me to say it aloud.

"Well, Honey," Charlie began, before Kay laughingly warned him to shut up, and her chorus broke down in laughter. His grin stretched from ear to ear, causing Kay to jump in his lap and put her finger over his lips, whispering 'No, no, no!'

I looked at Danielle and offered, "I'll tell you how, Dani, if you'll sit in my lap like Kay is sitting on Charlie's."

She started toward me, but Rebecca grabbed her by the shoulders and whispered, "Remember our agreement!" just loud enough for me to hear.

"So you have an agreement not to sit on my lap, or what?"

"You, Mister Kirk, are a married man, and we don't sit on the laps of married men," she replied.

"And if I weren't a married man?"

"Things might be different," she replied with a smile.

"So, after she gets served tomorrow?"

"Still married."

"Maybe, but she crapped on our vows and used the license for toilet paper over the past year, and I no longer feel bound by something she crapped on and flushed! My brother-in-law from OK City will be here tomorrow, and us two clueless cucks are probably going to come out here and get falling down, dick-in-the-dirt drunk tomorrow night. Hell, we'll probably review the photos and videos my PI's took of the sisters, their mother, and a few dozen guys, if some of you would like to watch with us!"

Kay reached over and petted me while Rebecca backpedaled. "I'm sorry, Danny. I didn't mean to trigger you; I was just making the point that none of us are homewreckers... Although the fact that you have video evidence that your home is already wrecked does change things, maybe. We'll have to huddle about that.

"Obviously, I don't know your wife, but I do know the girls in this group, and none of us - not a single one - ended their marriage or serious relationship like that!

"I don't know you very well either, but from what I've seen so far, she'd have to be crazy to treat you that way!"

"Unless I'm the worst lay in the world, right? Or maybe I secretly beat her? Or fucked her best friend? You're wondering, aren't you?" I kept a harsh tone, but I wasn't fooling Gina, who was smiling while the others were shaking their heads.

"Things flow through your mind when you hear something like that, yes, but even being around you a little while, my mind immediately dismissed all of them," Rebecca said, trying to calm me.

Having cowed her enough, I innocently said, "Well, you could prove or disprove that first possibility by spending the night in my trailer and then sharing your findings with the others. Or, all six of you could do your own fact finding, although you'd have to stay a few days for me to do it right."

Gina started laughing; Rebecca stepped forward to hit me on the shoulder for embarrassing her, but I caught her hand and pulled her into my lap. She struggled, but I was far too strong, so she was soon held tightly against me, while she wriggled and half-ass tried to get loose, while giggling.

The movement brought O'Henry alive, and her efforts to escape turned into what seemed an effort to determine the length and breadth of what she was sitting on. Finally, she stopped struggling and sat still. "Turn me loose, you beast!" she demanded. I pressed my engorged cock against her bottom once more and released her. She sat there a moment longer, and then hopped up as if outraged, but the look she gave me wasn't one of outrage.

Gina saw the bulge and laughed. "My, my, Rebecca, what happened while you were wiggling all over his lap?"

She should have had a ready answer, but the sudden flush gave her away before she could reply, inviting the others to join in the harassment. She huffed away, but no one was buying it, and the laughter continued until she left the main house with a backward "Good night!"

I knew she would be grilled before she got to go to sleep. I also knew she doth protest too much; I'm going to get a piece of that classy lady, someday - hopefully soon!

While they were watching Rebecca's retreat, I snuck up behind Gina and did what we used to do to bedevil her as a girl: tickle her! I got a good start before she shrieked and violently broke away, and I went after her. She fought well, but when the others realized how ticklish she is, they joined me, and it's hard to keep your hands on the ribs when she's writhing like a snake.

She still doesn't have big boobs like her mom, but they are more than a mouthful - just the way I like them!

With several girls shrieking and trying to tickle each other, Danielle joined Gina in trying to tickle me. Their problem was trying to tickle someone who isn't ticklish, while being very ticklish themselves, and I'm not sure their writhing was entirely innocent; my hands ended up on private parts entirely too often, as did theirs.

Things calmed down over time, goodbye hugs were given, and we all went home for the night. Rita tried to sneak into my mind on the short drive back to my RV, but giggling, writhing girls fought her off and provided fodder for the need to relieve my balls. I'm absolutely certain Kay provided that service for Charlie, and if one snuck into my trailer, I'm sure I could use a second draining. And a third and fourth, if it came to that.

It did, in my dreams, and I had to choke the chicken again before getting out of bed and facing them this morning. Not that it helped. Today's predicted high was 88, and they were arrayed in sandals, skimpy rompers, or short shorts and tops that allowed maximum sun exposure. O'Henry groaned, facing a full day of torture without prospect of relief.

Tricia and Wanda chose tube tops to attempt to control their huge boobs. Both had to keep pulling them up after moving around, and their spandex bicycling shorts left no doubt about their outlandish lower physiques. Amy, 'the plain one,' really was a workout queen and her skimpy white romper and high heeled sandals showed off the effects of her hard work.

Danielle wore black short shorts, jeweled black shoes, and a bejeweled black and white top that stopped just above her shorts. She was so cute and sexy I wanted to take her directly to my trailer. And then I saw Gina.

Holy guacamole! Those long athlete's legs, muscular round ass, narrow waist, and plumb-sized titties were perfectly presented in a navy romper with a wide zipper down the front that ended just above her mons. She and the zipper captured my eyes, and I so wanted to grab the ring and pull it to the bottom to see what lingerie she was wearing, if any. The smirk on her face said she was reading my mind, but the crown of golden curls told me she did it on purpose.

Gina typically wore her hair in a 'functional' style. Not that her styles didn't look good on her, but ponytails and brushed straight hair didn't convey the message the curled do did. Said message being, 'look at me - I'm not the girl next door - I'm a hottie!'

Same with her clothes, which were usually more comfortable than eye-catching. Oh, she always looked good, and nothing she wore could disguise that body anyway. But the combination of the navy romper, its oversized silver zipper, and the long curls proclaimed that Coach was calling plays from a different book today.

I didn't know whether all that was aimed at me or the male population of the town, but if it was me, my decision was made for me!

Or was it? Rebecca was a fucking stone fox! She also had a head full of long, sexy curls, and an off-the-shoulder yellow sun dress that stopped midway down her thighs. Her curves were more modest than some, but were perfectly proportioned, and the dress reinforced what the afternoon and evening had suggested. As good as the rest was, it was her beautiful face that took your breath away.

"I should've chocked my chicken at least once more!' I lamented. Why? Because I could tell their goal was to tempt and torture me, not ride O'Henry to that elusive pot of gold at the end of the rainbow they presented!

"Thanks for driving down. We're all going in my Waggoneer again because we were warned you'd sneak off if you had your truck in town." She tossed him the keys, tossed her hair, and opened the passenger door. I caught the keys and scrambled to the door to watch her get seated in that little dress. She took her time, and I waited with bated breath as she put one leg inside and slid her cute little butt across the seat.

That exposed the near leg to her buttock, which I discovered was uncovered! I moaned appreciatively, and heard giggles and chuckles from the back doors. I looked back, and saw all five women were grinning at me. In synchrony, they tossed their hair and began climbing inside, making sure I got good looks at their legs, butts, and boobs as each made their way to the third or second row seats.

Gina was nearest, and she waited until I'd ogled the others before placing a foot on the floorboard of the second row, pulled the zipper down until it was just below the line of her breasts, leaned forward, and slid her magnificent butt onto the seat.

What the hell? She wasn't wearing a bra, and I got a great view of her unfettered tits, which pointed straight ahead with proud, hard nipples poking the material of her romper. Frozen in place, I gawked until the chorus of laughter awoke me.

I wasn't really embarrassed - I mean hell, what red-blooded boy wouldn't gawp at their displays? But my neck might have been a little more red than normal, and the laughter reached a new crescendo. "I told you!" Gina proclaimed, "He's as easy as they get!"

From the back I heard Danielle's accusation, "Are we really supposed to believe you were keeping it in your pants while your wife dropped hers?"

"Believe what you like," I replied defensively. "But FYI, it's a long ways from appreciating beautiful women who are taunting me, and fucking one! Not saying there is one of you I'd kick out of bed for eating crackers, but you're going to have to do a lot more than flash me a bare ass, firm titties, and shapely legs to get ME in a bed when I'm happily married! I have moral standards, even if my eyes and another part can't help themselves!"

"Blame it on your old buddy," Rebecca said after she petted my leg and grinned at me. "For some reason, she loves to tease you, so she recruited us. Not that we were hard to convince, because, like she says, you're easy!"

"Know what happens to prick teasers out here in the cedar breaks?" I asked as I slid as close to the center console as I could, reached across, and pulled her dress up to her waist. "Ha! Just as I expected you aren't commando; you're wearing a thong!"

Rebecca looked into my challenging eyes and called: she reached under the dress, raised her ass off the seat, and took the yellow thong off. She held it up; her friends gasped, and I reached over with palm up. She looked me in the eye, dropped it in my hand, and laughed as I hung it over the rearview mirror.

"Very nice - a decoration and air freshener! That should get us noticed when we park in downtown Chance during the Arts and Crafts Fair and Spring Fling Festival. Bet every one of you gets asked if it's yours!"

"I won't!" Wanda replied. "One look at my ass and they'll know the elastic in that little thing would explode if it tried to be pulled over my big booty!"

Gina zipped her romper up before opening her door, and Rebecca tried to grab her thong. I grabbed her wrist and shook my head, "Oh no, Little Girl - I warned you about prick teasing the driver! Be careful when you lean over or sit down, and don't think I won't be locked in every time you do!"

She made a face and stuck out her tongue, which added an element of cuteness to her graceful beauty. As scary as she was, she was definitely growing on me.

They looked like pretty pirates or vandals looting the booths; Ken and I watched over them from a distance, until one pm, at which point we insisted we carry their loot to the cars and go eat. While the arts, crafts, clothing, and sundry foods (fresh honey, popcorns, jerky and dried meats, batch sausage, locally sourced beef, etc.) and items (metalworks, woodworks, leatherworks) were on the sidewalks around the square and the side streets, the food booths were clustered around the historic courthouse.

A bandstand had been erected, and people were setting up their lawn chairs around the band, getting their food (hamburgers, hot dogs, beef or pork tacos, or sandwiches on homemade bread) and condiments, and soft drinks, craft beer, or wine.

Ken and I stowed the sacks in the Waggoneer, grabbed the chair caddy out of Ken's pickup, and set the chairs up while the ladies gathered food, compliments, and admirers before proceeding to their seats.

It was fortunate that we brought extra chairs, because they brought extra men. Ken and I placed our chairs, folded them up, and warned Kay they better be unoccupied when we returned. She grinned and warned, "Depends on who sits in them. There are some mighty fine men out today."

Ken looked out across the lawn and said, "Might fine womenfolk, too." Kay laughed and told us they would be there when we got back.

Ken and I were 'hongry' from watching all the shopping, so we tried one of each meat offering, with condiments, and a wide variety of homemade desserts. After all, each sale benefited a good cause, and we had an ice chest for leftovers, so why not?

Kay had protected our chairs, but she had as many hard dicks around her as the others did. Ken looked them over before setting his food on the ground and sitting with his legs on either side of his food. He already had a hot dog eaten before I got settled between him and Danielle.

Due to the three men keeping her attention, it took her several minutes to notice me and my fare. She laughed and said something to Amy, who broke away from her suitor to stand, look at the plates between my legs, and ask if I was going to share.

I winked, asked what she wanted, and what it was worth to her. She loved that enough to get out of her chair, walk over, and stand looking down at my food.

"See something you like?" I questioned, given that she was staring at my crotch, which was making my cock thicken.

"Yes, I do, she replied, before stepping carefully through my plates, bending down, and reaching for my cock! That was a surprise: I didn't think she had it in her, but I would gladly put it in her if that was her choice.

Her hand stopped just short of my crotch and picked up a plate with a slice of Texas sheet cake with chocolate pecan icing. Only the fact that I could see her bald coochie kept me from grabbing it back. She remained squatting, cooch exposed, and asked, "How much for this one?"

"That's my favorite, but I'm willing to share if you'll join me here on the ground and chat."

She looked surprised; after all, we had spoken little, and she considered herself 'the plain one.' She searched in my eyes, looking for some hidden meaning or meanness. She didn't find it, so she sat down and spread her legs, as I was sitting. Yes, her coochie was still showing in certain circumstances, but I kept my eyes on hers and initiated a conversation about her. She was reluctant at first, but soon opened up. I continued probing, she continued answering, and before long we were on the way to being friends. Even if I did want to eat her bald, wet coochie as my replacement dessert.

My lengthy conversation with Amy ended when the others tired of toying with their boys, and returned to the shopping expedition. By way of warning, I told them "The back of the Wagoneer is half-full, so you either need to be more selective, or plan on carrying your bags on your laps, since the shops are open until 6:00 tonight.

"And don't forget, the James River Winery, Willow Creek Road Distillery, and the Granite Brewing Company are sponsoring a street dance in front of their building from seven until midnight. Might get a mite chilly after dark, so if you want to meet up with your admirers and toy boys, we probably need to make a run to the ranch so you can clean up and change clothes somewhere in your busy afternoon."

Everyone except Kay ignored me as they stormed off to the two streets they hadn't already looted. Kay said, "I'll have them here at five; don't be too drunk to drive."

How she knew we were meeting up with the pretty owner of the craft brewery to taste-test some products we didn't know, but it didn't keep us from making our appointment. I had brewed a few homebrews in my lifetime, but Kayla quickly shut me down; the girl sounded like an old German brewmaster, but looked like a lovely young fraulein. Her actual age was indeterminate, but, given that she is a successful businesswoman who had been married before, was probably closer to mine than the teenager she appeared to be.

Regardless, she made good brew. I wasn't fond of the 'blonde,' but her richer, darker beers and the ale were all delicious, and the conversation was stimulating. We were the only ones there for an hour, and we got to meet and talk to the real Kayla before the increased number of patrons had her scurrying around too much. I noticed she donned her armor as soon as a big group of men arrived and started flirting with her.

Oh, she was wise enough to flirt back to keep the beer flowing, but she took no delight in it, and the bubbling personality we had enjoyed was tightly leashed. Interesting: I need to come back next week when she is open again (Wednesday - Saturday) and see what personality greets me.

Neither of us needed more beer, so we bid her adieu and walked around the corner and down the street to find our charges. They had a nice group of followers this afternoon too, several of whom were cajoling them to come to tonight's dance and festival even as they were entering the western wear and hats store.

We remained a discrete distance from them, and fell prey to a metal craftsman from nearby Menard. I bought a set of wind chimes and an elaborate rain gauge on a stand of tottering horseshoes. He would replicate and affix my livestock brand and have it brought back to town next week. It had been years since I owned cattle and horses, but maybe it was time to buy some land and raise something. I would need a tractor too, and a cattle trailer, and - or maybe I could work something out with Ken on the trailer, since I would rarely need it, just as Ken did and would.

I asked, "Know of anyone with some land for sale? I was raised on a south Texas ranch and I'm getting a hankering."

A puzzled look on his face, he replied, "I might. How much do you want, and where?"

"Enough to raise a few head of cattle. In a perfect world, near you, somewhere along this stretch of river."

"How about a section, on my western fence line?" he asked, shocking me into silence. "My uncle is the last of his generation to hold the land he inherited, but he's getting old, he has no children, and he could use the money to help with his wife's health issues. He wants to sell as is, and it needs some work. Roads are overgrown, fences need work, the stock tanks need cleaning out, and the old family homestead... well, it needs to be rebuilt, or torn down."

My heart was racing, but I played it cool. "I don't mind grubbing brush, but this sounds like I'd need a bulldozer and a Bobcat, maybe more."

"Sounds about right. Plenty of people around here who do that work, and put in good roads and fences. So, you're interested?"

I nodded and replied, "Yeah, sure."

He smiled. "We'll fire up the ATVs and take a look at it tomorrow afternoon, after church and our noon meal. Want to ride along with us? The meal is interior-style Mexican food, and it's the best I've ever eaten."

"Of course! What religion, and why don't I know about this eatery?"

"We're Methodists, so strangers of any faith are welcome. The 'eatery' is a food trailer parked at "The Misty Moon," a little beer joint overlooking the confluence of the James and Llano rivers not far from our house. You'll love it!"

Even though we were across the street sitting on the steps of the courthouse, Kay knew where we were. She came out of the western store, waved for us to come over, and disappeared back inside after we waved back and stood up.

"I sure hope they don't want us to sit and watch them model clothes," Ken said laconically. "Watching them gals gives me a condition that makes it hard to walk."

I chuckled and nodded my agreement, then wondered what they had in mind. After all, it's a western store - how sexy can the clothes be?

As it turned out, very. Denim jumpsuits, denim rompers, denim miniskirts, denim wrap skirt, and a denim halter sundress that left Gina's freckled shoulders bare. "We all want that dress, but she's the only one who can wear the size available," Amy groused after she saw the look on my face.

Turing my attention to her, I replied, "And I bet she'd love to have that little romper you're wearing so well! Turn around for me - I didn't get a good look at your little apple ass when you were modeling it."

She thought I was bullshitting her, but damn! Strapless, it molded over her substantial breasts, and left her shoulders and half her back uncovered. The thin red belt called attention to her wasp-waist, and the sweet ass it covered tightly. Her trim, fit, and shapely legs were displayed to the max, and she looked entirely edible.

In fact, after closer examination, they all did. Since they admitted inviting all their admirers from the shopping trip to come dance with them, I knew tonight could get interesting.

And it did. After witnessing the crowd grow unruly - six girls plus Kay, and 16 guys who though they had a special relationship with one girl or another after some mild flirting - I asked Rebecca, "So did y'all invite every hard dick you came upon, and promise sexual favors if they came to the dance? These guys are awfully possessive for a first hookup."

She leaned over by my ear and replied, "Several are from last night's dance, and yes, they are a bit possessive, in an 'I found her first' way. There are several others that Dani, Wanda, and Tricia might have gone overboard with taunting while trying on clothes. Looking back, some of the clothes we modeled for them were probably a bit risqué, but no promises were made."

She looked thoughtful for a moment. "Other than the promise we made to each other to come as a group, stay with our group, and go home with our group."

"Were Wanda and Tricia signatories to your agreement? They are drinking too fast, dancing too slow, rubbing their bodies on every partner, and entertaining offers to go for a walk too seriously. Ken doesn't know the five guys they are hanging with, but they need to remember that not everybody in town for his dance and festival is a good ole' boy."

"Dance with them and tell them yourself, then dance with the rest of us. Gina calls you a bump on a stump."

"I don't have a wife or girlfriend among the bunch, but somehow I feel like I'm responsible for keeping all of you safe. Hard to drink and have fun when you're on guard duty."

"Hmm. Well, there's a handsome dark eyed man with a mournful expression standing patiently behind you. Expecting help?"

I looked over my shoulder, got up smiling, and embraced Bill as guys will do. I wasn't small, but he was large - over 6'5" tall and 250 pounds of working man muscle. "Damn, it's good to see you, man! The reason sucks, but we've let the sluts keep us apart too long!"

"Yeah, probably because they didn't want us comparing notes. Now that we know, though, you and I need to talk and plan. I'm not going to take this bent over!" Bill replied.

"And so we will! But tonight, let me introduce you to some friends, and induce you to dance and drink a few beers. I'm not promising anything, but a few of these boys are getting rowdy and possessive of girls they just met, so we might have to teach them some manners!"

Bill's frown turned into a smile. There isn't much he enjoys more than a good fight, and I'm sure he has some frustrations to take out. I need to trot him out so these boys get on their good behavior!

I introduced him to those who were at the table: Rebecca and Amy, and as they returned, Ken and Kay, and the other girls. Some female eyes lit up when I made introductions, and some male eyes turned dark at him being fawned on. As I predicted earlier, tonight was going to be interesting!

With Wanda fawning, I captured Tricia for a dance, and gave her my warning. She was sober enough to listen, maybe, but barely. She bore watching, as did Wanda, who looked more drunk, and Dani, who was unquestionably drunk or drugged. I walked directly to them, snarled at the bearded dude who was pawing her while holding her up, and carried her to our table. I sat down, pulled her onto my lap, and started talking into her ear.

She replied 'mmm,' snuggled her head against my chest, and went to sleep, or, more likely, passed out. "How much has she had to drink?" I asked the mass around the table in an accusing manner. Amy replied, "Not that much. She's a lightweight so I've been keeping an eye on her, but she's got a crush on you, so she may be acting."

"No, she's out of it. Anyone know the jackass that was all over her?"

Ken and Kay shook their heads, but Amy said, "We met him and his buddy after the dance started. He's Rance, or something like that, and his friend is Vic, I think. They were acting like they were good guys, but there was something about them... I should have stayed and protect Dani - she's so naïve!"

"There are a couple of EMTs here. Find them and bring them over here; she needs to be drug screened!" I ordered, and the local men scurried away to find them.

I picked her up and laid her on the table, and one of the girls covered her legs with something cloth. "Bill, you ready?" I asked without looking for him. "Born ready - where are they?"

"Trying to slip away through the crowd, but there is only one way in and out. You head over there, and I'll heard them to you. Incapacitation is fine, but they need to be able to talk to the cops." He grunted as he slipped away, and I kept my eyes on the suspects."

"We've got Dani; go catch those bastards!" Kay exclaimed. I looked over my shoulder, and saw Ken hurrying toward the entrance too.

Like a good cowdog, I made my way through the crowd without them seeing me, and got behind them. This was a six-foot board fence, but I've shinnied over taller, and figured they could too. Fuckers weren't drugging one of my friends and getting away unscathed!

They were almost to the entrance when they saw Ken and Big Bill. My BIL rarely spoke of his Cherokee heritage, but it was on full display as he stood with arms crossed and legs spread, in the middle of the exit. They quickly turned and started back, and then saw me.

I pointed at them and warned, "Stay right there and wait for the cops. If you try to escape, we won't be gentle. By this time the local boys had spotted us, and they approached spread out in a line. If Bill looked like an Indian Chief, they looked like an old west posse.

As they closed in, Will spoke up. "This is your second time, Rancid; there won't be a third. Let's go outside and have a talk!"

The local boys must have known them well, because several veered off to the exit in a hurry. Sure enough, Rance and Vic grabbed the top of the fence, hoisted themselves up, threw a leg over, and fell off the fence into the darkness.

Bill and Ken sprinted off into the darkness, joining the local boys whose names I didn't know. I didn't even make it to the opening before I heard the thuds, moans, and screams. I couldn't see anything, but I yelled, "Remember they need to be able to talk to the cops!"

"Don't worry about it," a young man near me said with a smile. "Gary is an off-duty deputy. He's see to it they are able to confess, after they get a piece of what they have coming! His baby sister was drugged and raped, so he has very little compassion.

"And we might want to go back inside" he added. "Too many people have seen us, and we don't want to muddy the water when it comes to witnesses."

Knowing Bill and Ken, and having seen the look on the faces of the posse members, I felt going back to check on Dani was the right move.

I found her with the EMTs, who had placed her on a stretcher. Before they hoisted her, I asked, "What's going on? Is it that bad?"

"We're transporting her to the nearest ER, in Llano. Until we know what they gave her, we don't know how to treat her, so we'll give her an IV to stay hydrated."

"Rohypnol! They roofied her!" a young man exclaimed.

"Are you sure? How do you know?" the EMT asked.

"They admitted it! Sheriff Jackson is with them now - he can tell you, or a bunch of us heard them tell the big Indian!"

The big Indian appeared and told them that was what the culprits admitted. They thanked him, and took her to the ambulance, which was parked just outside the exit.

"Are they still alive?" I asked Bill quietly.

"Yes, but only because we pulled Gary and Will off them! The sheriff didn't seem too concerned about their health; he told Gary to lock their asses up in the deepest recesses of the jail, and he'd check on them tomorrow.

"I like it here, Bro; frontier justice, like on the Rez!"

We loaded into the Waggoneer and headed for the ER, which was thirty miles and about 25 minutes away. Kay, Ken, and Bill were behind us, even though the girls suggested they go home and get some rest. We didn't know how long we'd be there, but based on my prior experiences in Austin and Plano, it might be tomorrow before she was seen.

Nope! Not in the Hill Country. She had been seen by a doctor and was in diagnostics by the time we got there. That took a while, but once her friends gave him and the nurse their story, he was quite forthcoming with information as it became available.

"The blood tests will take a while, but I was an ER doctor in Dallas before I came here to get some relief, and I'll venture that she has trace amounts of flunitrazepam (Rohypnol) and MDMA (Ecstasy) in her system." He pointed at Bill and said, "If he had those amounts, he might have a flush and a hardon, but she weighs 111, so it put her down. We think she's going to be alright, but we need to keep an eye on her tonight.

"If there aren't any problems, we'll release her at 8. We don't allow non-family members to sleep in her room, so you need to go get as much rest as you can between now and eight. I'll call one of you if things change, but I don't expect them to."

We walked outside, and had our first disagreement. Some needed to go to the ranch, but everyone wanted to stay, so we found an old motel with two double rooms, and a single. I left it up to the others to work out sleeping arrangements; I went directly into the bathroom of a double room, shut the door, and took a quick shower. I was out in five minutes, and walked back in wearing boxers, where I found Gina, Wanda, and Amy waiting. I walked around the bed further from the bathroom, pulled the covers down, and lay down. The girls looked at me for a moment, and then I saw Gina box the other two out as she took the second shower.

When she came back out, Wanda and Amy were laying on the other bed. Gina looked at them, and said, "Oh, no I'm not!" "Shouldn't have hogged the shower!" Wanda replied. "Besides, aren't y'all old buddies?"

Gina snarled at them, but climbed into the bed next to me, keeping as close to the edge as she could. I feigned sleep, but was greatly enjoying her discomfort. Once everyone was settled and the lights were off, I rolled and raised up on one elbow, kissed her on the edge of her mouth, and said, "Good night, Honey. Sweet dreams, y'all, and don't let the bedbugs bite."

I really did go to sleep, and I really did sleep soundly all night, even with one of the lusts of my life lying beside me in panties and a camisole. How I woke up with my hand on her breast and my cock nuzzled between her cheeks I have no idea, but when I moved my hand, she moved it back and pushed back against my cock. I sleepily cuddled her tighter, and returned to my erotic dreams.

The giggling woke us up simultaneously. Gina flung my hand away and wiggled away from O'Henry at almost the same time, a feat of some dexterity. "Too late now!" Amy exclaimed, as both held their phones up. "It's recorded for posterity in the cloud! Just wait until we show Dana what little sister has been up to!"

"And how about your promises to the group, G? Not only sex with a married man, but with DANNY! Rebecca is going to rip you a new one!"

Gina's reaction and chain of denials led me to deduce she was much more concerned about Rebecca than Dana, so I joined in the fun. "Cut her some slack, girls. She couldn't help herself. I rolled over and cuddled up to her, got a grip on a boob, and then my dragonfish slipped out of my boxers and past her panties, and, well, like I said, she couldn't help herself!"

Gina was screaming denials and trying to hit me while holding a hand in front of the phones while Amy and Wanda dodged and laughed. Finally, she ran into the bathroom, and emerged ten minutes later dressed and with her hair brushed.

I spent the ten minutes trying to entice Amy or Wanda into my bed for a quickie, since Gina already dissolved the agreement. Had she not been in the bathroom I might have succeeded, and if Wanda had taken more than five minutes I'm confident Amy would have been riding my cock - if I really meant it, which I didn't. She got dressed in five, I got dressed in four, and we were waiting in the SUV when the others came outside at 7:30.

Teasing Gina, then Wanda and Amy had been fun, but going to see Danielle was serious business. The doc had not called, but still - what if she took a turn for the worse? I knew at some point Wanda and Amy would have to harass Gina, but now wasn't the time. Even so, Rebecca almost started something with a catty question: "Well, did everyone sleep well in the other room?"

All she got in reply was 'yes' and 'yeah' as we crossed the bridge toward the hospital.

Danni was dressed, had her discharge papers, and was ready to go when we got there. I spotted Dr. Jones and walked over to him while the women crowded around their friend, and the other two men stood back giving them room. "Nothing new to report, thankfully. The drug tests should be ready for the sheriff and Miss Pietsch by Tuesday, but she can return to normal activities, as long as she feels okay. If she relapses, she needs to go to her doctor immediately. But she has all those instructions in her discharge papers, and she assures me her friends will keep any eye on her."

We all climbed into the Jeep, with Dannielle riding shotgun and Rebecca in the second row with Gina and Amy. She was quiet for a few minutes, before turning and apologizing for screwing everything up like she did. She got five minutes of 'not your fault' before being given a description of what happened to the guys who drugged her.

Danni looked at me. "I didn't hear your name mentioned; I'd have thought a hothead like you would have gotten involved."

It was good to hear her tease, but I replied, "I never got a chance. Them local boys you charmed for two nights formed themselves a posse, and they took care of the bad guys. Bill called it 'frontier justice,' but from what I heard it was just a good ol' ass kicking!"

She grinned, but I cut if off cold. "Honestly, though, little one, you need to be more careful. Doc Jones said you weigh 111 pounds, which is about my right leg. That means you need to highly restrict your alcohol intake, remember that old high school warning about never leaving your drinks unattended, and about taking an open drink from anyone you don't know and trust.

You scared the fuck out of us, and while it was the two outlaws fault, your cavalier attitude made it possible."

She cried a little, and the others fussed at me a little, but before we got back to Chance and turned off, she looked at me and said, "I know, Danny. It was my fault for not using the good sense God gave me! I got caught up in the party atmosphere, the local boys had been wonderful, and I let my guard down. I'm sorry I caused all of you so much trouble. Thank you for intervening and taking care of me until the ambulance arrived.

"I'm glad they got beat up, but someone should probably do the same to me for being such a lame brain!"

After more reassurances that it wasn't her fault, it was the two assholes' fault, and a few questions and answers, we arrived at the ranch. I told her to wait, opened the doors on each side, and then let Danni out. I took her hand, led her to a bench under a shade tree, and set her on my lap. We had a quiet conversation in which I better expressed my concern and told her she was brave for enduring what she did. She cried on my shoulder, and then my chest, and then gave me a kiss after telling me how much she appreciated me taking charge, as everyone had assured her I had.

I gave her a quick kiss in return, and helped her hop off my lap. She rejoined her crew, and they all went inside, except Amy. She grinned and said, "That crush just got blown up double its size. Don't you dare hurt her when she comes to visit!"

"What about you? Can I hurt you when you come to visit?" "Ha!" she replied, "I'll hurt you! I may be small and plain, but I'm powerful, like Mighty Mouse!" Thirty minutes later she came out wearing a Mighty Mouse tee shirt, held the picture out, and laughed. I laughed back, and wondered if she was right. About Danni coming back, about her coming back, and about whether she could hurt me.

I gave my number to the group en masse, and asked them to call if they came to Fredericksburg or somewhere close. I got six acknowledgements so I would have their numbers, and they started loading up. "Wait! Don't I even get a kiss for buying you burgers, squiring you around all weekend, and keeping you in dancing partners?"

Danni went first, and she left me breathless and hard; it only got worse from there, and by the time I faced Gina and Rebecca, I already had what must be the quickest case of blue balls in history! Those two only made them worse, their writhing bodies and twisting tongues and grasping hands leaving me stunned, stiff, and on the edge of forcing intercourse!

Then I wondered if Gina used this 'safe space' in front of everybody to do what she always wanted to do, or if she was just trying to outdo the others. And Rebecca? No, she wasn't teasing or trying to outdo; she was delivering a message! Was Gina? Danni? Amy? Damn! Hard to read between the lips when all your blood is in your cock!

Wanda and Trish were more controlled, and more in the vein of teasing me, but the other four? Fuck, I don't know, but I'd like to! Sure hope some or all of them call my number and come back to visit.

Bill moved his stuff into the trailer, and then came over to join me on the couch to check out "that new miniseries you have available to stream." He brought a case of Shiner Bock he bought when he reached Texas, and I set out a 750ml bottle of Garrison Brothers Cowboy Bourbon, just in case. Chase grunted, got off the couch, gave us a disapproving look, and went to lay in his oversized dog bed. He doesn't tolerate drunks well.

I inserted the USB, and we watched a truly gut-wrenching performance starring my wife, his wife, and their mother. The uninhibited sex was beyond heart breaking, but it paled in comparison to the conversations, and Mommy Dearest was the worst of all. About five beers in, we made a highlight reel and sent it to Daddy Dearest, who is a renowned asshole in his own right!

Odds are he's doing worse, but maybe he'll be offended by the things his loving wife had to say about him. I was, and Bill was, about what all three said about us.

By the time we tossed the last bottle and opened the bourbon, we were in the maudlin stage. "I can't believe she fooled me for so long!" Bill mourned drunkenly. "I must be the dumbest fucking Indian in the whole state of Oklahoma!"

"Well, you're in Texas now, so there's more competition, and you're no better than second! I completely trusted the bitch! Until I didn't, and hired the PI! And looking back, she left me a trail of crumbs a drunk man on a blind mule could have followed, but oh no - I just keep on buying her expensive shit and swallowing the stories that a simple phone call could have verified were false!

"Naw, Brah, you're a poor second to yours truly!" I concluded.

"So what gave you a clue, finally?" Bill asked drunkenly.

"Working my ass off trying to get the long-term contracts with two of the big developers, I was barely home. When I was, she was nice enough, but the hot kisses when I walked in turned into pecks, and the homemade meal became delivery. I was too tired to need sex every night, or even most nights, but when I did she either turned me down with some lame excuse or gave a half-hearted effort. As far as the bedroom work goes, I could still get her off, but it took a long time and tremendous effort, and the result was more Roman candle then the artillery shell burst it used to be.

"After I got both contracts, my staff and I had a blowout at the bar in celebration. We drank it dry before it closed, but somewhere in there my PA asked where Rita was, and then casually commented that she wasn't around much anymore, compared to the way she used to be.

"I was too drunk then to pick up on her words and inflection, but the next day I kept thinking it over. I went into her office, closed the door, and asked what she meant by the way she said that. She shrugged and said she was just making conversation, but her eyes were on her desk, avoiding mine. That told me she knew something I didn't, and I opened my eyes and ears.

"That weekend is when I finally noticed Rita had been gone more and more, providing care for some unnamed but deadly disease her nasty mom had contacted. I became more observant, and sure enough, a week in OKC extended by a call telling me she had to stay longer because your wife couldn't clear her schedule, and my suspicion level jumped from oblivious to Def Con 4.

"I gave her the week, and I might have let it go, except I found a hickey at the junction of her leg and ass when she returned. That dropped me to Def Con 2, and my firm's investigator set me up with someone in Oklahoma City. He followed them for four days, sent me the USB with an invoice and a note saying no need to keep surveilling them; this is what happens every day.

"I don't know about you, but my tolerance for adultery isn't that great. Maybe drunk on a trip, or some dude at work for a time or two... but over a dozen in four days? And I don't mean 12 different times, I mean 12 different men!

"And not to be crude, Bill Standing Bear Hammond, but she's in third place. Claudia is two ahead, and Mommie Estelle is up by three, maybe more; I don't know her full count because she spent some nights in a different room!"

"I didn't want to believe you, Danny, but the little clip you sent put me on my ass crying like a little bitch, and I don't mind admitting it. After I went through the initial stages of grief, I started looking back, like you did, and there were clues all over the place, including several times I caught her in lies and let her lie her way out! How was it you put it - blind man on a drunk mule, or vice-versa?

"Anyway, I could hear my Cherokee ancestors gnashing their teeth and calling me names for failing to see what was going on around me. Some tried to talk me into getting the display tomahawk from the casino and scalping all of them alive, but an Indian in a prison doesn't have a gang to join, like whites and blacks and Latinos do!"

"Speaking of the casino, what about your job?"

"I talked to Uncle Onacona about it. He told me to take 4 weeks of paid leave, and then let him know. He also said he hopes I use the junior college education and trade he paid for, and doesn't come back to the Rez, or anywhere near it."

"Before you start looking for jobs, let me talk to Charlie about something we've got going on. It would be cool if we could work together and plan together too, because I really, really want them to pay for what they did!"

Danny sighed, slapped Bill on the massive slab he called an arm, and said "I don't know about you, but I'm drunk as fuck and burnt out too. Let's take a break and talk about it again tomorrow. I have plenty of food for now, but as I remember, you're a pretty good eater, so we may have to make a run in a few days. See you early tomorrow - about ten or so!"

Hungover, they still didn't make it past seven before Danny brewed the coffee, and Bill magically appeared on his doorstep with an empty cup. "Did you make any kind of an inventory of the pantry over there? I know the refrigerator is empty and turned off, but how about staples? No use doubling up."

Together, they had more than enough for the week, if they were creative, so Danny called Charlie.

"Does your lovely wife have your schedule for the day filled, or do you have time for a cup of coffee and a discussion?"

"There is a big pot of coffee and cups with y'all's names on 'em setting out. Be here in ten, and you'll get biscuits and sausage gravy and farm fresh scrambled eggs too."

Maybe he was bored with his bed, or maybe he heard biscuits, gravy, and egg, but Chase jumped over the tailgate before I could lower it.

Five minutes later the luscious Kay was inviting us in, wearing white shorts and a yellow top with daisies. I had seen her scores of times over the past few years, but never dressed and fixed up like she had been the last four days. I couldn't let it pass. "Dang, Woman - Charlie ain't gonna get any work done with you looking like that! I'm surprised we got an invite for breakfast!"

She crooked her head to the side, gave him a devilish smile, and replied, "I think he needed the break. He ain't as young and virile as he used to be!"

Charlie just laughed. "That ain't what she was saying about 2 last night, talking to me about needing some rest!"

We all laughed, she ruffled his grey-streaked brown hair, and he popped her on the remarkably round and fit butt the shorts were showing off. "Alright, don't get started again! You're supposed to be caffeinating and feeding us!" I warned, and Kay replied, "You see the cups - fill 'em up and take a seat, and I'll bring the food."

Twenty minutes later Bill was still eating, and I was considering letting my buckle out a notch, when Kay casually asked, "So how were the movies last night?"

We both grimaced, and I replied, "We'll give you a cast of characters and let you watch them if you want. Might learn something, or at least Bill and I did. They made the Kuma Sutra look PG 13."

Both looked interested, so I went to the pickup, returned, and gave them one of my USBs.

"I never cared much for Rita. Too full of herself, too judgmental, and too high-falutin for me," Kay opined. "But I can't believe she gave you up - she always talked about what a catch you were and how great a father you would be."

"I don't think she intended to 'give me up'. I think she thought she'd use me for some jobs, and her coterie of lovers for others. Almost wish I'd kept my old phone; I'd like to know what she and sis are saying and plotting after getting served."

I reached over and put my hand on Bill's shoulder. "You do know that it's all my fault, right? I was gone too much, not 'present in our marriage' enough, didn't cater to and spoil her enough, and who knows what other faults I had as a husband. But she'll want me back, and will have a plan by which we'll live happily ever after, if I'll just allow her a little leeway when it comes to other men."

"There's a vigilante group on the Rez," Bill informed me. "One phone call from me, and our problems will disappear, including their lovers. Sure would uncomplicate things."

Charlie laughed and Kay rolled her eyes.

I said, "Changing subjects, let us give you our new phone numbers. We changed phones and carriers. That won't confuse them for long, given the resources they'll hire, but maybe we'll have another few days of peace and quiet before they come storming in!"

After we shared, Charlie said, "Changing the subject again, you boys ready to mount up and ride over to the Homeplace?"

I nodded, but Bill said, with a red face, "Yes, I'm 75% Cherokee, but I'm not exactly a horseman. Can I follow in my 4x4 pickup?"

"Maybe," Charlie replied with a twinkle in his eyes, "but you don't think you can stay mounted on a 4x4 ATV? That's what we're riding."

Bill the Bear's dark complexion turned a shade darker when Kay laughed at him, but he chuckled and stood up. "Probably, if it don't buck, like the one horse I tried to ride."

Chase was fired up about getting to go do something, but after seeing the ATVs, he went back to the shade tree with the water tub in it.

On the way out to the barn, Charlie called the horses up and fed them. With a straight face, Kay asked, "Isn't that a pretty paint horse, Bill? I can see you in your warpaint, with bow and spear, charging across the plains on that horse.!"

He didn't blink. "My people are farmers from North Carolina. I don't have any of that Plains Indian blood in my body, but we did walk the Trail of Tears, thanks to our good friend Andrew Jackson, whose ass we saved during the Battle of New Orleans. He repaid us by stealing our beautiful land in the mountains of North Carolina, and making us walk to Oklahoma! In the winter!"

Kay flinched and apologized. "Don't worry about it," he interjected. "People know the name Cherokee, but they don't realize we lived in houses, raised crops, operated businesses, went to Church on Sunday, and intermarried with the Scottish and Irish settlers of the region. My family is among those, and I was taught to fiddle and dance the jig before I was five by my great grandpa. I can plow with a horse, but no one taught me to ride one.

"My only mistake was marrying a rich white girl; if I'd have stuck with a nice squaw, I wouldn't be in this mess!"

Charlie was right about needing ATVs; the roads on 'the Homeplace' were a mess! Most showed no sign of having been used in recent times, and brush was growing so close we had to keep our knees and arms tucked carefully inside the brush guards to keep from getting thorns in them. We did ride most of the interior roads and a few of the fence roads, including as far as we could go on the one that ran down to the river.

"See the willows just to the right?" Charlie asked as we stood on a bluff above the Llano River. "That was our swimming hole. I don't know if it silted in or is still there, but it was a good one. In fact, this near bank was from 4 to 8 feet deep, with a gravel bottom, and there were caves back in the limestone bank where the big catfish would hide. We'd bait 'em and noodle 'em out, and some were over 15 pounds! Those big ones were strong, too!"

Despite Charlie's enthusiasm, reaching into a dark cave to grab whatever was inside wasn't a real selling point for me. However, my Indian guide spotted a game trail leading down to the river, and the three men started down. Kay, with her uncovered legs, wasn't sure about following through the brush, rocks, and needle grass, but Charlie pulled a couple of machete's out of the saddlebags on his ATV, and she fell in behind us.

It was nice. The river was bubbling along a mostly flat limestone bottom, with blue water on our side indicating deeper water. There was one larger pool that Charlie said used to be about ten feet deep, and the remnants of a tree swing dangled in the breeze above it. Kids maybe, but my big body would find the bottom too quickly off a tree swing, I surmised.

When we turned to go, I saw a what appeared to be zig zag along the face of the bluff that might have been an old switchback road. If so, it was overgrown and had suffered rockslides, but it might provide a way down if we could resurrect it.

As we approached on the ATVs from behind and to the east, there was an implement shed made of rusty tin with an old tractor, shredder, plow, disc, disc harrow, and seeder stored under it. The tractor was a big ol boy, more for plowing than shredding, but it would be ideal for resurrecting this road.

I'd need to utilize my mechanical skills, which were as rusty as the implements, before trying to use any of them, but at least they were there and of possible use. The cost of roadwork, brushwork, and fencing contracts was already up in five digits in my informed estimation, so whatever I could do myself would help hold costs down, and add to my feeling of ownership.

Beside the shed was an old barn made of rock, with a tin roof that looked bad but kept the contents dry. We looked inside, using a flashlight Kay brought, but the strong smell of bats immediately returned us to the outside. Yes, I know they are harmless, but Bats!

We finally made it to what Charlie had called 'the homestead,' and I almost choked. Yes, it was rundown. Yes it needed a new roof, new porches, new outdoor stairs, and new windows, before you even mentioned the plumbing and electrical work!

But damn - it was an authentic mid-1800s German rock home, two stories with a cellar or basement! The cornerstones were impressive slabs of cut sandstone, and the arched doorways were more than a foot thick. The house was constructed of dark red sandstone that had weathered little over the 160 years or so it had stood. The front door was wider and taller than normal for that era, recessed in a tall arched doorway that was about eighteen inches thick and decoratively carved! All of the exterior and some of the interior walls were similarly thick, having been the outside walls of the original homestead.

Hadn't been much attention paid to it for several years, or more likely decades, but they did keep the window glass intact and the roof patched, so the original shiplap wood floors and doors were dirty but in decent shape. The wraparound porches and the stairs to them, however, were rotted, as were the wooden posts supporting the porch roof.

The original construction remained, with a thick rock wall behind which the kitchen was to the right, and what must have been the master suite to the left. Beyond the interior wall, there was a dining room to the right, and the rest of the first floor was a 'great room' where meetings might have been held, before it became the living room.

I was trying to keep both my enthusiasm and dismay under control, given that I had seller's representatives along, but I'm afraid I was unsuccessful. The enthusiasm was that I'd found this historic treasure; the dismay was that I couldn't afford it, and Charlie and Kay read both!

"Danny, come look at the freestanding fireplace in middle of the living room," Kay cajoled, like a real estate broker. "Look at this fireplace; isn't that a magnificent mantle, hand carved from an oak tree? See the chimney rising up the wall? There are smaller fireplaces on the second floor, and, like this one, they have a hearth on both sides. That smoke rises up from the first floor and is joined by smoke from the second is kind of an engineering marvel, don't you think, for 1860?

"There is a larger fireplace in the kitchen: it used to serve as the oven, and it has an expansive hearth so the cook could pull coals out to make mounds over which Dutch oven and skillet dishes could be cooked, water boiled, and meats seared. You'll see the stains when we go in there.

"These thick rock walls and the oversized, heavy curtains help insulate the house once you get it warm or cool, and the ceiling fans move the air to help maintain the temperature you want. The fireplace upstairs serves both bedrooms, so even if we have a long electrical outage like we had in 2020, you have heat and a place to cook! Get yourself a generator so you can keep the food cold, and you're good to go in any weather!"

The more I looked, the more I fell in love, and the more my dismay increased: it was the project of a lifetime, and a dream place for me, but I couldn't afford it!

You know how when you go car shopping you never let them know which one you like until they've made all the offers in writing, or the price will go up? Yeah, I was the teenager swooning over the red mustang the salesman was re-pricing upwards while I gushed.

To top it all off, there were antiques galore, covered with old sheets and blankets. Some wouldn't serve well in this day and age, but many would. To me, all were treasures, like the handmade rocking chair near the fireplace. Of course, some of the furniture, like the sofa and loveseat from the 1950s, would have to be reupholstered and repaired, or replaced.

We walked up the surprisingly steady interior stairs and looked over the spacious bedroom, which had much larger closets than expected, and found that both bedrooms had reasonably sized bathrooms with claw bathtubs, but the other furnishings were modern, or at least were modern a couple of decades ago.

I hated to crush my soul by asking the cost, but I did anyway. Charlie hemmed and hawed, and finally said, "Well, given how bad you want it, I think I'll tell you the total cost, including our commission, and see how you react. If you want it bad enough but it costs too much, my uncle might finance."

The look on my face made Kay giggle, and then Charlie said, "With the good friend discount, this little 620 acre jewel with authentic German stone house and barn, furniture and vehicles included, is only - wait for it - $6.2 million!"

I stared at him for a minute, waiting for the punch line. Hell, as expensive as riverfront land is around here, the land alone was worth closer to $12 million, and the house was priceless to the right people!

Charlie put his hands up as if to fend my indignation off and said, "Don't blame me! My uncle set the price, and told me it's not negotiable!"

I looked at him a moment longer, and replied, "How do you feel about handshake deals? We can shake now, I'll get the money and sales contracts ready, and we can sign the documents say, Thursday?"

He grinned and held out his hand; we shook, and then I said, "I feel like I need to ask you a question, and we can renegotiate if I get the answer I expect. Is your uncle suffering from some form of dementia? Because I don't want to take advantage of him if he is."

Charlie and Kay laughed, Bill grinned, and Charlie said, "I knew you were a softie, Danny-boy! Feeling guilty about ripping the old man off, aren't you? Don't worry about that - he's got a mind like a steel trap! He offered the Home Place to every surviving family member, and all declined, including me.

"I'd love to have it, but Kay and I are already land poor - we don't need more, much less a bunch of rundown buildings to fix up.

"So Uncle Joseph told me to find a good man who would fix it up and treasure it, not tear it all down and put up a holiday house! I think you fit the bill, and with your construction background, you can fix the old place up - maybe even restore it to the grandeur of the 1860s, when it hosted meetings, parties, balls, and church, before a church was built down the road a couple of miles in the 1880s!"

Turning to Bill I said, "See why I asked you to wait before looking for jobs? I didn't know what I was getting into, or whether I could afford it, but a skilled carpenter and cabinetmaker would be a godsend in restoring this place. I'll have a crew here, of course, so you'll have help, but I'd like to see you lead the restoration. There are so many carved and decorative wooden and stone treasures within the house, and I want to keep all we can."

Bill was smiling; given his choice, this is the kind of work he'd do all the time, but the demand in OKC wasn't there, so he worked security in the casino and did carpentry on the side. But he was a craftsman at heart, and a damn good one. Plus, he liked this country and the people he'd met - other than the would-be rapists, but every barrel has a few bad apples, and they weren't even out of the Chance barrel.

If a man was going to start over, this would be a good place. Danny had reached that conclusion when he learned about their cheating wives, and was relocating everything of his from Plano to here. They had filed for divorce and their wives had been served; he couldn't see ever returning to Oklahoma without a wife and family to come home to, so all that was left to commit to moving, as Danny had done full tilt!

There was a remaining task that had to be done, but he wasn't in any more of a hurry to have the talk with his wife than Danny was. He really had nothing to say, and couldn't conceive of anything she could say that would affect his decision, so why have it?

Because the sisters, their mother, even their cuckold father, would demand it, of course. First, to see if he and Danny could be conned into withdrawing the petitions for divorce. Second, to see if they could be tricked or threatened into tossing out the pre-nuptial agreements Daddy Warbucks had demanded and under which they had filed. He was the wage earner in their family, but she had an eight-figure inheritance, so no judge was likely to award alimony. Other than that, they had their vehicles, a house she would keep because daddy bought it, and their personal belongings. So, in Bill's case, quarreling over the pre-nup or possessions was just plain stupid.

It made more sense with Danny, because he'd built a major construction business out of a crew, but the business was specifically exempted by the pre-nup, so what the hell? In fact, why would two women who fucked strangers more times per month than their husbands want to reconcile with their husbands? Again, what the hell?

And yet, he and Danny knew it was coming, like an F5 tornado for a trailer park.

****

Chapter 2 is written, awaiting edit, and I've got a couple of other short stories to be submitted. For fans of Hot Rod, Chapter 8 has been submitted, and Chapter 9 is mostly written.