You've Got to Be Kidding Me

"What about the man who disrespected her this morning?" Nicki nervously asked, looking at me for reassurance.

"That's right," I said, "I don't want that asshole back out on this job site."

"You'll never have to worry about him again," he said, smiling disarmingly, "I fired his ass as soon as I found out what happened."

"Alright then," I said, warning him, "But if your guys fall short, then your asses are out of here and I'll find another contractor, okay?"

You've got a deal and you won't regret this, ma'am," he smiled, "We'll be ready and waiting."

"Alright then," I said, "I'll leave you to get to it."

"Yes, ma'am," he boyishly grinned, "And thank you for giving Carlson Electric Company another chance."

"No problem," I smiled, "Oh, one more thing."

"What can I do for you?" he asked, as he was leaving.

"If you don't mind, Mister Carlson," I said, "Would you please move your truck out of my parking spot?"

"No problem," he grinned, "And the name is Jake. Mister Carlson was my father."

As soon as he left the trailer and the door had closed behind him, Nicki began to giggle, making me ask, "What?"

"You like him; don't you?" she smirked, "I can sure tell he likes you. Didn't you see how nice he was being to you?'"

"Don't even go there with me," I laughed, "Men will kiss ass to get what they want, especially when they stand to lose as much money as he will if he doesn't keep his up his of the deal."

"Speaking of his end," Nicki impishly giggled, "Did you get a look at that ass on his way out the door?"

"You are so bad," I laughed, not wanting her to know that I'd noticed everything about Jake Carlson the first moment I laid eyes on him. The rest of the afternoon was spent making sure that all the required materials and equipment would be where they needed to be, when they needed to be there.

~~~~~~

Chapter Two

I ate dinner in my hotel room that night, having stopped and picked something up on my way after work. After I'd eaten, I got on the phone to Mike to apprise him of today's events. "So, Jake Carlson came to see you, huh?" Mike laughed.

"I don't know what to think about some of these people, Mike," I told him, "I got verbally accosted twice today, once by some chauvinistic asshole at the job site, and the second time by some old crone assed woman who didn't approve of my work clothes."

"It's gonna be okay, Amber," laughed Mike, "Just keep on being you and everything will be fine, I promise.

"If you say so, Mike," I said uneasily, "This place sure is different from anywhere I've ever been before."

"You'll do great. The major preparations have already been made. All you have to do is make sure everyone is caught up when they pour the concrete," encouraged Mike, "Just trust your instincts and everything will work out like it's suppose to."

After I finished my conversation with Mike and hung up the phone, I decided to take a long hot soak in the tub to ease the tension of the day's events from my mind. I opened my suitcases and took out my toiletries and pajamas, which was on old San Diego Chargers jersey, and went into the bathroom. I then adjusted the water temperature in the tub and then turned to the sink to wash my face before I got into the tub.

Once I'd taken off all my clothes and washed my face, I slowly eased myself into the tub, the water slowly encompassing me like a warm hug. I was thankful that Mike had booked me into a suite, because it came with a spa sized tub, allowing me to lay back and stretch my naked body out fully, yet still be submerged in warm water. My hair is long enough and full enough that I can braid it into a tight braid for work, and now that it had been let loose; it floated all around my body, tickling my skin as it slowly danced in the water.

I thought about everything that had happened in the past weeks, and my first thoughts drifted back to Lance. I began to berate myself, wondering how I could have been so stupid as to let that asshole get away with what he did. And the more I thought about it, the deep and longing pain of loneliness began to set in. I wondered if I'd ever find love, the kind of love that all women dream of having, or at least I do.

I remember the dream I had when I was younger, the one all women secretly dream. I wanted someone who only wanted me, someone whom, after working all day long, can't wait to see me when he gets home, someone who would comfort me if I was afraid, someone who.... "Get a grip on yourself, Amber. It's not going to happen," I said aloud, my mind returning to the present, while I wiped the tears of regret that were stinging my eyes.

After I finished bathing and shaving my legs, I got out of the tub, dried off, then went into the bedroom and put lotion on my body. Once my hair had been combed out, dried and braided, I poured one of the bottles of Jack Daniels I'd bought aboard the plane over some ice in a cup; and then climbed under the covers to finish it while I watched TV. I began to get drowsy before long, and the last thing I remember was placing the empty cup on the nightstand while David Lettermen played on the television.

~~~~~~

I woke at 4:30 the next morning and couldn't go back to sleep. So, as opposed to lying in bed and watching infomercials, I decided to get up and get dressed, then go get some breakfast. And then after that was done, I went to the job site early so as to get a little work done while it was still dark outside. As I pulled up to my trailer, I saw that the back half of the site had been lit up like a Christmas tree. Needless to say, I got out of my car and headed that way to find out what was going on.

As I neared the area, I saw thirty, or so, men feverishly working, laying PVC electrical conduit. All of a sudden, "Good morning, Boss," rang out from behind me, almost making me jump through my skin. I turned around to see Jake Carlson standing there with his hands on his hips, wearing his tool belt, and grinning from ear to ear. Waving his arms at the men milling about and working, he grinned and said, "See? I promised you that we would be caught up with the other trades."

"You guys must have worked all night to get this much accomplished," I replied, amazed as I observed all the work that had been done.

"Well, yeah," he poignantly replied, "I gave you my word yesterday, and where I come from; that means something."

"Look, Mister Carlson," I said, realizing that I might've been a little too hard on him yesterday, "Maybe I was a little too hard on...."

"Don't worry about it, Boss," he interrupted smiling, "But I really do wish you'd call me Jake. Calling me Mister Carlson makes me feel like I'm back in Mrs. Boone's fourth grade class again."

"Okay, you've made your point, "I laughed, "But my name is Amber, and not Boss, alright?"

"Amber, yeah, that sounds right," he softly replied, more to himself than me, "Okay Amber, if you'll please excuse me, my men and I still have a lot of work left to do."

"Well, far be it from me to interrupt a man while he's working then," I smiled, "I'll get back to the office and leave you to it."

"Thanks a lot, Amber," he smiled, again disarmingly, "You're good people."

"Get out of here and get back to work, ya bum," I laughed, looking up at the pre-dawn sky, "You're burning daylight."

"Yes, Ma'am," he laughed, turning and walking away, then looking back every fourth or fifth step and boyishly grinning.

"God, he's gorgeous," I thought to myself as I turned to walk back to the trailer.

~~~~~~

Later that morning at 7:00, Nicki came walking into the office smiling brightly. "Good morning," I smiled, as she sat down at her desk.

"Good morning," she smiled, looking out the window of the office trailer, "It looks like Jake made good on his promise, huh?"

"Yeah, he did," I smiled approvingly, "They worked through the night, last night."

"Wow," Nicki replied with a knowing smile.

I didn't think anything about it at the time, because at that particular moment, and I couldn't quite figure out why; something inside of me told me that I was going to be alright, and that my heart was going recover from that which haunted me.

The morning went great and there were no problems whatsoever. Nicki and I went to lunch at a small family restaurant that was off the beaten path. Nicki drove us there, and I enjoyed the best meal I'd had in ages. "So, tell me," Nicki asked, as we had coffee, "What do you think of Jake Carlson now?"

"I think he's a nice guy," I smiled, "And he certainly keeps his word."

"Oh, come on, Amber," Nicki giggled, "Stop being such a hard ass, and tell me the truth."

Oh, alright," I laughed, relenting as I leaned back in my chair, "God, he's the most gorgeous man I've ever seen."

"I know," Nicki swooned, "Isn't he just?"

It's getting time to head back to work," I laughed, looking at my watch, "We'll talk about this later."

~~~~~~

We hadn't back at work for more than an hour when one of the laborers we'd hired came into the office, and out of breath, said, "Miss Amber, you'd better get out here quick, there's trouble."

I tore out of the office, following the laborer to the far side of the job site where two noticeably older gentlemen stood, one of them holding a clipboard. "Can I help you two gentlemen with something?" I asked.

"I'm Navarro County Commissioner, Ed Hammett," said the taller of the two, pointing to the man next to him, "And this is the Commissioner for the city of Corsicana, Marvin Brenner."

Handing me a manila envelope, Brenner looked down his nose at me and sneered, "The permits for this building are no longer valid and we're here with an order to cease all construction, starting right now."

"These permits were issued by the state of Texas," I firmly replied," You have no authority here.

"Oh, but we do have authority here, little girl," sneered Hammett, "You're in our city, which is in our county, and we'll do as we damn well please."

"That's right," Brenner hissed, "You're not in California anymore. This is Texas, a man's country, and we don't much cotton to women who think they're like us."

"Just who in hell do you think you are," I asked, now thoroughly pissed off.

Before anyone else could reply, Jake suddenly appeared from out of nowhere, and putting himself between me and the two men, he smiled and said, "Ed, Marvin, what seems to be the trouble here, fellas?"

"This doesn't concern you, Jake," said Hammett, "This so called lady here, is in violation of her building permits."

"That's right," Brenner chimed in, "She had neither county, nor city approval."

"First all, gentlemen, if it concerns this job, then it does concern me, because I'm one of the contractors here," he firmly replied, "Secondly, she has a state approved permit, which supercedes all county and city statutes. Thirdly, you and I both know that this is a shakedown because you two assholes are a couple of slimy crooks to begin with."

"That's slander, Jake Carlson," shouted Hammett, "You'll hear from my attorney."

"Fuck you and your attorney, Ed Hammett," Jake laughed, "Why don't you and your little ass kissing buddy here get the hell off the job site, before I personally throw the both of you off."

"You haven't heard the last of us, Jake Carlson," shouted Brenner, as he and Hammett walked away."

"Oh, I don't doubt that one bit," Jake laughed, and then turning to me, he gently smiled and asked, "Are you alright, Amber?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," I said, still a little pissed off, "Who the hell were those two anyway, and just exactly what was this all about?"

"Money," he disgustedly replied, "And those two assholes have been trying to manipulate the people of this town for years, ever since I was a little boy growing up here."

"I don't understand," I said, "What's that got to do with the job we're trying to do here?"

"It goes back to a long time ago," Jake pained, "Back to when my father was still alive."

Although it was only slight, and I'm quite sure that he hadn't meant for me to see, I perceived a slight sadness in his beautiful dark eyes. And while still standing fairly strong inside me, the wall I'd built around my heart felt a slight tremble just then, giving me just an ever so slight but pleasant taste of something that I'd never known before. But still, I smiled and said, "I'm not trying to be rude Jake, I swear I'm not. But I'm starting to get the feeling that something is going on here, and that it has something to do with the job that I've been sent down here to make sure gets done."

With the now familiar smile coming back to his face, Jake looked me in the eyes and gently replied, "I'll tell you all about it, I promise, just not right now, or right here, okay?"

"When?" I asked.

"Soon," he smiled, "Real soon, I promise."

~~~~~~

I called Mike and told what had been happening and about Jake when he cut me off and laughed, "I've known Jake Carlson for seventeen years. Why else do you think I let you go down there alone? It's not that I didn't have faith in you, Amber, because I do. I just felt better knowing that there was someone down there I trusted, who could help you out if the shit got too deep. And after hearing what you just told me, it looks like I was right. You trust Jake and everything will be fine, I promise."

I slept uneasily that night. All kinds of things went through my head, as the earlier events of that day had left me a little unsettled. However, sometime throughout the night, I managed to drop off to a modest state of slumber. And in that slumber, I saw Jake's face above me while I began to experience new and unknown feelings that slowly started to burn deep within me. "Jake," I cried, "Oh, yes, Jake," and when I opened my eyes, I was in my bed, in the hotel, my nipples on fire, and wetter than I had ever been.

~~~~~~

The next morning, the sun had barely been in the sky for an hour when the concrete trucks showed up at the job site. The weeks of preparation before I arrived would be put to the test, and I was nervous, having not been present when those preparations were made. Still though, I trusted Mike implicitly and I knew he knew what he was doing.

As soon as the concrete began to pour from the trucks, I took a small satisfaction in knowing that the job was going well. I was also grateful for all of the hours I'd spent working with my father, as my experience was now paying off for me.

~~~~~~

By the time all the concrete had been poured, I looked at my watch to find that it was nearing two o'clock in the afternoon. My stomach was growling, telling me that I was hungry so, I left the concrete people to do their jobs and headed toward the office trailer.

"Hey, Amber," smiled Nicki, as soon as I walked in the door, "Are they finished pouring all the concrete?"

"Yes, finally," I said, "I'm starving so, why don't we go get something to eat. Besides, I know that you worked through lunch and I'm sure you must be hungry too."

"Famished," grinned Nicki, "Where do you wanna go eat?"

~~~~~~

Nicki and I had lunch at a restaurant named, 'The Courtyard Bar & Grill'. The reason for the name was not in reference to the now well known franchise, but it was named because it was located directly across the street from the county courthouse. Corsicana is the county seat for Navarro County in Texas. Still though, it was a city that had a population of roughly fifteen-thousand people at the time, but was definitely on the rise.

After we finished eating, I gave Nicki the rest of the afternoon off, to which she replied, "How about we get out of here and go lay out at the pool at my parent's house, Amber? Besides, it's not even three o'clock yet."

"That sounds like a lot of fun," I said regretfully, "But I didn't bring a bathing suit."

"That's no big deal. You can borrow a pair of bikini bottoms from me." Nicki giggled, "As far as tops go, hell, I haven't worn one for years."

"But what about your parents," I asked uncertainly, "Won't they be upset at us for lying out topless in their backyard?"

"My Dad passed away a little over five years ago," Nicki informed me, "It's just Mom, my sister Patty and me now."

"I'm very sorry, Nicki" I said, my heart hurting for her, "Are you guys doing okay?"

"Yeah, we're doing real good," she smiled, "Daddy made sure that we were very well taken care of. Patty and I don't have to work if we don't want to, but Daddy raised us better than that."

"Girl," I smiled, "My Daddy is the same way."

"So," Nicki grinned devilishly, "You coming to the pool with me or not?"

~~~~~~

"This is so nice," I said, as we lay near naked in the sun, "Thanks Nicki, I really needed this."

"Your welcome, girl," she giggled, "It's good to see you relax for a change."

Let me take a moment to describe Nicki. Although she was only twenty-four at the time, she was as smart and as wise as she was beautiful, all of which were way beyond her years. Nicki was tall and sleek, with blonde hair the same length as mine, and bright green eyes. Her now exposed breasts were about a B cup, but they were still nice and round, with small dime-sized aureoles and tiny little buds for nipples. I'm not into girls, nor am I judging the women that are, but a beautiful woman is a beautiful woman, and Nicki is most certainly that.

"I'm not trying to sound like I'm coming on to you, Amber," giggled Nicki, "But I can see why Jake Carlson likes you."

"Girl," I laughed, knowing she was right, but still trying to deny it to myself, "What on earth are you talking about?"

"Hell, Amber, you're so pretty. Just look at you, look at your body," Nicki replied smiling, "Damn girl, if I had tits like yours, I'd be rounding up every man this side of the Mississippi River with em."

"You're so bad," I laughed, "Besides, Jake Carlson lives here and I live in California, and even if we did start dating, which we won't, it just wouldn't work out." To her credit, Nicki said no more about Jake that day, but she still went....Damn, I'm getting ahead of myself again.

Twenty minutes later, we heard a distinctly more mature female voice behind us ask, "You girls don't mind if I join you; do you?"

I turned around to see an older woman, in her late fifties to early sixties, standing just outside the back patio door of the house wearing a white terry-cloth bathrobe and sandals. And then looking at me with a gentle smile on her face, she said, "You must be Amber. Hi, sweetie, my name is Joyce Marks, and it's good to finally meet you."

"It's nice to meet you, ma'am," I replied, as she shed her robe to reveal that she was naked, and sat down in the empty lounger next to mine. She was in extremely good shape and did not look age. Nicki most definitely got her body from her mother, and she and Joyce could've passed for sisters as opposed to being mother and daughter. Their bodies were almost identical save for Nicki's smaller breasts, as Joyce's were bigger, fuller, and beautifully shaped by motherhood.

"Oh, honey," she smiled; "Just call me Joyce like everyone else does."

"Damn, Mom," said Nicki, surprised, "When did you start lying out naked?"

"You and your sister were too young to remember this," she nostalgically replied, "But your father and I used to do this all the time when you two were very little."

"Really," Nicki asked, "So, did you shave your pussy back then, too?"

Nicki and I began to giggle as Joyce laughed and said, "Evelyn Nicole, such language, what would your father say?"

"He would just laugh at me, like he always did," laughed Nicki.

"Uh-Huh," Joyce smiled, "That's what's wrong with you now. Besides, you young gals aren't the only ones that like to shave your pussies ya know."

"Well, Mom, if you're going to be naked," said Nicki, shedding her bikini bottoms, "Then, so am I."

"Why not," I grinned, shedding mine as well, "When in Rome, huh?"