Maddy Was Different Pt. 03

I took a piece of paper and wrote on it, "Elena Gonzales, Chief, Public Affairs and Media Relations, Redwood Ventures, LLC."

"Matthew, what does this mean?"

I smiled at her and said, "Ask Chris when she wakes up. Then come talk to me about equipment you will need."

She showed it to Jeremy, who grinned at me. "She is very good at public affairs."

He got a hard swat and a "Jeremy, you are awful, take that back."

"When we were dating, we had a fight and broke up. The next thing I know, some guy from Eureka with money is romancing the heck out of her. I had to get on my knees and ask her to marry me to get her back. We call it her affair."

She sniffed. "Not much of an affair. He never even got in me." The smile was brilliant and they had a hot kiss. I said, "How about a little siesta? I'll look after Jeff."

She disappeared up the stairs, dangling over Jeremy's shoulder and giving me a sultry look.

I was sitting at the dining table with a drawing of the tree and the four stages when a tongue licked the back of my neck and arms wrapped around.

"Hmm. We are going to do it, aren't we?"

Her warmth flowed through me. I thought of the different personalities of Madelaine McCarthy. Brilliant, hard working pre-med student. Fearless rock climber. Sexual aggressor with a temper. Friend, lover, confidant...

She leaned over my head and filled my face with her hair. "I was wondering if you wanted..."

"Jeremy and Elena are up there. They might hear us."

"We might hear them. Does listening to couples having sex turn you on?"

She kissed and bit my ear as I carried her up the stairs. There were noises coming from the third floor but we were too busy shedding clothes and falling into bed to pay attention. I was just fully inside a giggling Maddy when Chris trailed in. "You could wait for me."

"I thought you said we could have private sex if we wanted?"

"You can. I'll leave." She sounded sad. Maddy reached out a hand and said, "Don't you dare leave, come here and help."

Chris smothered Maddy with her pregnant tits and I plunged forcefully into her cunt. "Hmm. Better. Very better. Harder."

I flipped us over so I could kiss Chris and said, "I told Jeremy I would watch Jeff so they could have a siesta."

Maddy clenched and said, "I'm almost there. Finish me and I will go find him."

Chris waited for Maddy's climax and kissed her to cut off the wail. The body under me twisted and shook and sank back with eyes closed.

Rising, she whispered to Chris, "He still knows how to please his women."

Chris lay on me, coupled up and squeezing. I asked, "Happy to be home?"

"Yes. Especially with you and Maddy and Jeremy and Elena here. The house feels better with people to fill all these rooms. My grandfather would be pleased." I had the sheet up, working my fingers in her back muscles. Gentle squeezes were keeping me hard.

"Matthew, I can feel energy pulsing out of you. Your body seems to like me, and like this place."

"It does. This was all a lark until I discovered I had impregnated one of my lovers, and the other one was whispering in my ear about maybe she needed a baby too. Now, I have to get everyone safely up and down the tree, including twins currently enjoying special packaging. Did you see my sketch on the table?

A long kiss and several squeezes were required before she said, "I did. Tell me what remains to be done."

"I am to talk while you work on me?"

"If you don't mind. The twins and I enjoy you being in there."

"Ok. The biggest job is for Jeremy and me to get the hoist and its generator installed and tested, including all the emergency stop mechanisms. After that, we can get some experience using it by raising the third and fourth platform materials to the big second platform we built the last time."

The excitement of my talk was getting to her, and just as Jeremy and Elena were creeping by, she let out a loud wail and shouted, "Yes!"

She was shaking on me and telling them, "Get in here."

They didn't look as though there had been much napping on the third floor. Chris laughed and gestured at me. "He had to do double duty, making me come and answering questions about the climb."

Elena smiled and hugged Chris. "We do need these menfolk, don't we?"

I told them, "We will clean up and be down for a conference. Perhaps some tea would be good?"

Darkness was coming early on this late fall day, with heavy clouds ready to open on us. Jeremy and I agreed the generator had to have a shed cover over it, and several heavy duty tarps to keep supplies and equipment out of the wet. Even so, we weren't going to be able to move up in the tree in serious rain.

While Jeremy built up the fire, I added some brandy to the tea, except for Chris, who was being good about no alcohol for her babies. She began making a large salad while Maddy browned stew meat and put the casserole in the oven. Elena got chilled dough from the refrigerator and made small rolls to go in the oven at the last moment.

I said to Jeremy, "With support like this, we are going to have to earn our keep tomorrow with the carpenter tools."

Jeff said, "Daddy, can I help tomorrow? I'm good with tools."

Jeremy smiled at his son and said, "Yes, you are getting to be a very good helper. If it is not raining in the morning, you may help Matthew and me."

The weather report was not encouraging in the morning, but it was dry for the moment. We picked the locations for the winch and the generator, and set to work constructing solid foundations for them. The top sleepers were extra long, so that they could support the uprights that would have a roof attached. Jeremy had forks on the loader, and we carefully moved the heavy equipment into place.

I had backed the pickup near the house, and Jeff was installed in the bed, where he could watch and be safe from our working with large, heavy objects. In late morning, the sun broke through, and we took a break for coffee and tea on the porch. Chris and Maddy leaned on me from each side, making teasing comments about woodsmen and their ways. Elena was kissing Jeremy's face and Jeff was complaining, "Mom, stop that kissy stuff."

Jeremy cleared a place under one of the trees for his table saw and other equipment, and asked the women if they would put a tarp above to provide rain protection. By the time the sun disappeared and another black cloud approached, both the winch and the generator had plywood roofs overhead, and we went in for lunch.

Chris delivered grilled ham and cheese sandwiches, along with a question. "Is there anything we can be doing if it rains this afternoon?"

"We need to sort and package gear for the top platforms. Clear as big a space as you can in the living room and bring the boxes in."

The next day, we got an early start with sunshine and blue sky. I didn't want to test the hoist with a live body, so Chris, with a sharp look at her daughter, was up the fixed line using the jumars in no time. We sent up three loads on the hoist, each one heavier than the last.

I grabbed Maddie in a bearhug and said, "Go up there and keep going to the second platform. Then move the hoist pulley and line to the limb above that platform, so we can raise some of the load higher and send more to the first."

She hit me hard before she clipped into the hoist line and took the first ride, pumping her arm and shouting.

By sundown, all the packaged gear was on platforms one and two and we were ready to carefully make our way to platform three and think about the last one near the top. The women were visibly beat and I asked if they wanted to go out for a real shower and a soak in the hot tub.

They hugged each other and shook their heads no. "We have to use this good weather. Let's get everything set for the final ascent and then go out."

With dinner in the oven, we were sitting on the sofa with hot toddies. Jeremy and Elena were in front of the fire, playing with Jeff. I said, "I've been thinking about the top. Don't you think there is something sacred about the very top of a tallest redwood? An achievement of mother nature not duplicated elsewhere?"

Maddy looked at her mom and said, "Doesn't he have the nicest ideas?" She scrunched down and put her head on my thigh.

Chris said, "I think I know where you are going. We should leave the top untouched?"

"It's on your property and you get to decide."

She put an arm around my neck and kissed. "Yes, we should stop short of the top. Maybe there can be pictures and a video with the top waving a couple of feet higher."

Elena was looking at us and mouthing, "Wonderful." She had been out today learning how to use the new video camera. Her eyes had a look which suggested even that close to the top was going to be a big test for her fortitude in high places.

I said to Jeremy, "Tell her she is going to be tied in tighter than a drum and you are going to be close."

He did, and added a long, wet kiss that made Jeff say, "Eew."

After dinner, we spent almost two hours making checklists of packages to be hoisted to platforms three and four. I asked if the mother-daughter team was still planning on spending New Year's eve on platform four, which was going to be as minimal as we could make it.

I said, "You could pretend you are protesters and I could lash you to the trunk. It would be best if you were topless." I glanced over at Elena, who had just finished putting Jeff to bed. "She could capture the impressive chests on video. What cause are you promoting?"

Jeremy and I were chuckling at the thought, but the women were not amused. "You look out. Guys can get lashed to trees too."

We all went to bed laughing. My equipment got abused. "Bare tits indeed. Just wait."

It was still dark and they were squirming. I volunteered to start the fire and the coffee if I could come back. They pushed me out anyway and said, "No sex today."

Maddy sipped her coffee and leaned in to me. "You've worked hard, shouldn't you be part of the summit team?"

I whispered back, "This is the McCarthy women claiming their well earned peak. Or something close to that."

"Promise me you will come up to three and give us advice if we run into trouble."

"What if I am support for Elena in addition to Jeremy?"

Her lips were close to my head, looking for trouble. "You watch where you put your support hands. She is hot and she is taken!"

By the time sunlight was in the tops of our redwoods, the team was out and raising materials for platform three. Chris and Maddie and I made short work of arranging the panels, which needed to be only a few square feet. The tree was bending in the wind, giving us nervous moments, even though the trunk was still over two feet thick. I hugged them and asked, "Still ok?"

The answers came back timidly, "Yes, let's get this finished."

The branches were smaller and thicker, and some of them had to be cleared to allow upward progress. It was difficult to see how much more tree there was, and I was curious how high we were. By ten o'clock, we were less than twenty feet from the top, and the bending in the wind was several inches at a time. I fixed a pulley with a sling around the trunk, and we descended for a tea break. My measurements on the way down added up to three hundred and ten feet.

Jeremy and Elena wanted news, and even Jeff asked, "What is it like?"

Chris and Maddie hugged each other. "It is wild and beautiful and scary. There are old scars where the wind broke branches years ago. We think we saw the ocean."

Elena wanted to know, "Does it sway?"

They spoke together, "Yes! You have to hang on tight!"

Very hot tea worked the shakes out of my women. I asked, carefully, "Still want the sleeping platform at the top?" I had acquired one of the canvas rigs used on the big Yosemite walls and was ready to tie it off if they were brave enough to spend a night in the dark swaying back and forth. I could tell Elena wasn't going anywhere near the top, and I would have to be the official photographer for the summit effort. I had climbed mountains with pointy tops before, but this was a different experience. At least on rock, when you were tied in, things didn't move around.

I said to them, "You are a little psyched, but New Year's is three days off. Let's go out and relax. If it is not raining cats and dogs, we can come back and rig your place in the sky on New Year's Eve."

Back in the big redwood house, we soaked in the hot tub, listening to cats and dogs fall out of the sky. They were on either side, clutching me a little too tightly.

I whispered in Chris's ear, "Yes, this is scary and more than you bargained on. But the McCarthy women are tough. Your twins are tough. They want to go to the top. The almost top which preserves the wildness of the forest."

Maddy's fingers were tangled with mine, flexing back and forth. Her tongue worked on me. She said, "He has gotten us up the darn thing, we have to go back. We have to spend a night up there." Her voice was husky, full of climber girl and anxiety at the same time.

Chris climbed over me and into Maddy's arms. "Daughter, this is hard." They rocked in the steaming water. I got out and left them while I made hot wine.

Jeff and I were starting Monopoly when they appeared, dressed and bright. We exchanged glances. It was going to be ok.

The climb didn't need any more conversation, and we avoided it for the next two days. The rain let up and the forecast for New Year's was dry. In a moment when Jeremy and family were out shopping, Maddy dropped on me and asked, "Are we still going to do what we said on New Year's? The pills are worn off, I think."

"Did you tell Chris?"

"Yes. She is excited."

"I'm supposed to get almost to the top of a three hundred foot redwood, swaying in the breeze, and perform?"

She rolled us around on the floor, giggling furiously and biting me. "Yes, and in front of an audience too!"

I hugged her breathlessly tight and said, "You know, if this was sex for hire, it would cost a lot of money to get the job done."

She hissed in my ear, "Yes, I talked to Chris about it. You want to hear what she said?"

"Probably not, but tell me anyway."

She led me to the sofa and climbed on top with the blanket. Her voice was incredibly soft and loving. "Matthew, she said that you were my strong tough lover and husband to be. That if I wanted your sperm planted at the top of that tree, nothing could keep you from it."

She cried and I had a few tears myself. This was what bonding was about, not a piece of paper.

After a while, Chris was shaking our shoulders. "Is it ok if we go over the details for tomorrow?"

If they went ahead with staying the night, I had already decided I was going to sleep on platform two. Just to be around if something happened. When we got to the end of several sheets of paper, I said, "Would you mind if I sacked out on platform two while you are in the top? Just in case?"

I could see the wheels turning as they stared at me. Did the support staff, the one with all the testosterone, need to be that close?

"Hmmm. Can we think about that?"

"Sure, right up to the last moment."

We didn't go to the cabin until after lunch on New Year's Eve. It was a bright chilly day with a strong breeze from the north that was supposed to diminish. The three women had fussed about food, finally deciding there would be an early hot dinner two hours before sunset, with sandwiches and plenty of hot cocoa in the summit pack. Jeremy and I, along with Jeff, went for a stroll to give them a chance to pull themselves together before going to the tree. We tried starting the generator for the winch, and it roared to life.

Early dinner was very quiet. The two McCarthy women looked very determined, although the smiles were forced. It was their event and the rest of us were as subdued as they were.

Just before four, we set out. Elena was walking on several sides of the group, video camera running. Jeremy had the winch going before we got there, ready to hoist people and gear. I asked Elena if she wanted to go as far as platform two. She shook her head and handed me the camera with a hug and a kiss.

Chris and Maddy argued about who went first and Maddy won. There was a shaft of sunlight on her mother as the wire rope hoisted her up into the tree. Then Maddy and then me. The three of us stood on platform two and waved to Jeremy and his family. Their faces tried to smile but mostly looked anxious.

There wasn't any hurry and our climb to the third platform was slow and meticulous. My stuff stayed on platform two and I carried their provisions and water sack, along with the canvas and aluminum summit platform. They tied off and took the provisions. I worked my way up to a natural opening, and constructed a firm anchorage for the canvas, which obligingly unfolded into place without a fuss.

I sat on the edge, testing it, and feeling very exposed. The feathery top of the tree was a few feet higher. The trunk at the anchorage was about a foot. Even my stomach was nervous. The view was incredible.

I went down to three and hugged them. The bodies were trembling. "It's ok. Go on up. Remember to clip in as soon as you get there. I'll bring the rest after you are settled."

Chris nipped at my ear and asked, "Aren't you forgetting something?"

Maddy stared at her mom and mouthed, "Really?"

Chris smiled and said, "The twins want a sister."

With a devilish look, Chris reached under my harness and undid my jeans. Unbelievably, her fingers brought him to hardness in seconds. Maddy looked down and sucked in her breath. "Oh god. Why did I agree to this?"

Chris said, "Kiss her," while her hands got Maddy's trousers and briefs out of the way.

The kiss was hot. Very hot. My woman was shaking and her mother's hands were on our bare behinds, forcing them into position. Something snapped in Maddy and she jerked forward. "Yes. Yes. Now."

Our chests were banging on each other with climbing gear in the way. Chris was doing her midwife thing, making sure the parts were coupled properly. I wasn't fully in place, but far enough to feel Maddy's wet cunt pulsing on me. Her lips found mine. Between kisses, she said, "Yes, this is it. Make me a mommy."

To my surprise, everything in me drove hard into Maddy, with a great spurt of come and a strangled, "Maddy, I love you."

Chris laughed and swatted at us. "That's good. More. Give her all you have, Matthew."

Maddy smiled and said, "Shit, I'm not forgetting this for a long time." She was breathing hard and giving me little kisses. Chris went to work getting the lovers decent again. Finally, they turned and made their way up. The sun was about to set and I wanted a summit video with sun on them.

Snuggled together on the canvas, heads together facing the ocean, the mother-daughter pictures were terrific. I went back down and waited for words from above. The wind was thankfully dying.

"Matthew?"

I looked up to see two heads peering over the edge of the platform, "Yes?"

"How long does it take you to get up here from the ground?"

"If I start the generator, about ten minutes."

They whispered to each other, determined smiles on their faces. "Ok, you should go all the way and sleep on the boardwalk. We will holler if we need you."

I made my way down in the gathering darkness, marveling at the toughness of two Irish women. I wasn't sure I would spend the night up there myself.

There wasn't much sleep. The tree shed little twigs constantly and each woke me. It still dark when I decided on a stealth ascent without the hoist. The exercise worked the nervousness out of me. I was breathing hard when I reached the third platform to find four eyes looking down.

"Do you have permission to be here?"

"I'm going to tie you both to the trunk and have my way with you."