A Tutor for Samuel Pt. 02

It has taken me a long while to write this sequel, and I apologize to those who felt the first installment left too many plot threads hanging. I always intended to follow up but Covid-19 turned my work life upside down and I simply have not been able to find the time to get back to it.

Belatedly, here it is. I hope you find it was worth the wait. I also hope you and yours are staying safe and healthy during these trying times. As always, thank you for taking the time to read my work.

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The wind whipped through Linda's hair as she drove, and she brushed the offending strands out of her face with an irritated gesture. Normally, she would have had the windows up and the air conditioning on in her car, but that feature was on the fritz, and she hadn't been able to afford to get it fixed, not with the cost of moving back to her old hometown. That fact left her with windows down as her only means of making the late summer heat bearable.

"Just another reason I didn't want to come back here," she mumbled under her breath.

It was a thought she voiced and quickly regretted. Linda knew she had an excellent reason for returning after all these years, and his name was Sam.

An image of her young lover lept into her mind, blond hair swept back out of his handsome face as he stared down at where she lay naked and pinned beneath his powerful, muscular body, his cock poised...

"Shit!" snapped Linda, yanking the wheel to avoid a branch that had fallen across her side of the narrow two-lane road.

"Get your head out of your ass!" she thought.

It would be beyond humiliating to get in an accident because her attention had been distracted by thoughts of sex.

Then again, it wasn't like she didn't have a good reason for them. A drought of nine years would get to anyone, and Linda's self-imposed exile from love had left her far more wanting than she had ever realized. Sam had changed all that. He had brought her out of her shell and made her feel beautiful again for the first time since walking into the bedroom she shared with her husband all those years ago to find him in bed with her sister. A memory whose pain seemed to be fading away now, making her wonder why she had clung to it for so long.

Sam was her miracle, and she would have moved heaven and earth for him, or at least moved across the country.

"Home...never thought I would see this place again."

Linda turned off the highway and aimed her car up the private drive that led to her parent's residence. The sprawling ancestral home of the Siler's had been in her family for many generations. Linda had grown up here surrounded by the trappings of old family wealth. It was a life she had turned her back on. In some ways, her sister driving her away had been a blessing, making her realize that she could get by on her own without the crutch of her family's money to fall back on.

The house looked out of place if not out of time as well, more like a Georgian plantation house than a typical New England mansion. Linda pulled her car to a stop, shutting off the engine and listening to the ticking sound of it cooling while her eyes took in the hanging ivy that wrapped the pillars of the wide front porch. She gave a mighty sigh, opening the car door and shutting it behind her, steeling herself for what lay ahead.

The old brass knocker gave off a hollow sound that echoed deep into the ancient structure. Linda waited patiently and was thrilled when the first face she saw was a friendly one.

"Ms. Linda! We didn't know you were coming! Get on up here, Child! Give me a hug!"

Lizzie Jones had been her parent's housekeeper for as long as Linda could recall. When she had been just a child, Linda had often found herself following along behind Lizzie's wide thighs while the large African woman worked with the rest of the staff to keep the house tidy.

The years were starting to show in the larger woman's face. The wrinkles of time etching deep grooves in her dark skin. When Linda had last seen her, Lizzie's hair had still been mostly dark black curls, but now those ebony ringlets were shot through with gray. Still, her hug was like that of a momma bear, filled with love and protectiveness that age had not diminished in the slightest.

"You should have called. I would have had the chef put on something special for you. One of your favorites."

"That's okay. I didn't want to make a fuss."

"Or...Were you worried you would find out Gina was here and lose your nerve?"

Linda winced. Lizzie had always been able to see right through her. There was no hiding anything from her watchful eyes.

"Don't you worry. Gina is out for tonight with some young stud from your daddies gun club. Arthur or Avery or something...who can keep track?"

"Are my parents at home?"

"Your mother is here. She's out by the pool reading. Your dad is in town at some meeting, but he promised to be back in time for dinner."

Linda stepped inside, looking up at the gargantuan chandelier that dominated the entryway.

"You should know. Your brother is here as well."

She turned at this news, eyes reflecting the surprise that she felt.

"Trevor? I thought he was still in rehab out in Colorado?"

"Just got back."

Linda's younger brother had led a troubled life. Drinking, drugs, and depression, the big three had dogged his steps like loyal beasts of burden doing their best to drag him down. Many folks assumed that his overindulgence and constant erratic behavior were the natural fall out from a life of privilege that he hadn't acquired the strength of character to handle, but Linda knew otherwise. Trevor's demons had been birthed by one fact that their overbearing father had never been able to accept.

The simple truth that his only son was a homosexual.

"Where is he?"

"Upstairs in the library last time I saw him. He's only been back for a few days and spends most of his time avoiding your father."

"How is he doing?"

Lizzie shrugged, "Seems clean to me, at least for now. How long will it last this time? That's anyone's guess."

Linda nodded and headed toward the stairs deciding that seeing her wayward brother might be a better place to start this family reunion than with her sometimes judgmental mother.

"Do you want me to tell your mother you're here?"

"God, no! I'll get to her soon enough..." groaned Linda.

Lizzie shook her head as the younger Siler vanished from her sight.

It looked to be an interesting evening ahead.

The smell of old leather that Linda had come to equate with her parent's library assaulted her nose as soon as she walked through the big oak doors. Floor to ceiling bookcases lined the walls covered in massive volumes, many of them antique or even original printings. As a child, this place had been special to Linda. She had been the only one of the children to take much of an interest in it. Even now, her eyes drifted over to the far corner where several astronomy texts sat gathering dust in the late evening sunlight that slanted in through the windows. They had remained untouched in the years since she had fled these hallowed halls.

One thing that wasn't untouched was the massive oak desk that sat roughly in the middle of the room. It had belonged, originally, to Linda's great-grandfather and, at the moment, was the landing place for her brother Trevor's size 11 feet.

"Dad would skin you alive if he saw you with your feet on Great-Grandpa's desk," she said with a smile.

Trevor's feet separated into a "V," revealing his handsome face. He and Linda shared a similar look, both with light brown hair and sea-green eyes though Trevor's were deeper set and seemed possessed of a profound sadness, old eyes in a young face.

"Holy Shit! Linda!"

The youngest Siler shot up from where he had been sitting, covering the distance between them in a few long strides and lifting his sister into an unrestrained hug that made her ribs creak.

"Easy...Trevor! You're going to make my stuffing come out!" she warned, laughing.

He put her back on her feet but stayed close, touching her face.

"My...my...makeup? When did you start painting your face again, Sis?"

"It's a recent thing," she admitted.

"Oh! My God! This can only mean one thing. Who is he?" asked Trevor, eyes opening wide with excitement.

"Why do you assume it's a boy?" she teased.

"I wouldn't care either way, but if we both flip to the dark side, it might finally put dad in an early grave. So, give me details, Girl! I want to know everything right down to the size of his..."

"You can stop right there! I don't kiss and tell."

"So...there's been kissing?" asked Trevor with a smirk and a raised brow.

Linda gave her brother a playful shove, stepping away toward the window.

"His name is Sam."

"Sam? I like it. Strong, simple, a good, solid, manly name! Tell me the rest of him fits that profile."

"It does, but don't get any ideas..."

"I leave the stealing of peoples significant others to Gina," joked Trevor and immediately regretted it when Linda's face fell.

"Sorry, Sweetie. That was insensitive of me."

"Not untrue, though."

Trevor nodded, "When do I get to meet this new interest that has brightened my favorite sister's life and pulled her from her funk?"

"Soon. I wanted to lay the groundwork first. Sam's great, but..."

"I sense impending drama," remarked Trevor when Linda didn't finish her sentence.

"Sam's wonderful, smart, funny, handsome, and we get along so well, but he is kind of on the young side."

"Young? How young, exactly?"

"Uh...college age...early...college age."

"As in just started? Wow, I thought my coming home from rehab would be the talk of the house. I never imagined you would upstage me."

"I wasn't trying to court controversy. It just sort of happened."

"Mom and dad are going to shit! This is awesome!"

"You're not making me feel better about this, Trevor. I was nervous enough about coming back here already."

Her brother came over to her, putting an arm around her shoulder.

"It's been long enough. I know you had good reasons for leaving. What Gina did to you...it was just plain wrong. There's no excuse, and we both know it wasn't the first time, but we've missed you."

"All of you?"

"Gina loves you in her own screwed up way, but if you want to sock her in the nose, I'll hold her arms for you."

Linda laughed, "I'm over it. Sam made me realize how much of my life I had wasted on hating her and Greg."

"This Sam sounds special."

"You have no idea. I never imagined when I first met him how much he would change my life."

"Well, all I can say is that any man, however young, that could put a smile back on your face deserves respect in my book."

"I hope Mom and Dad feel the same way."

"Mom will be an easy hurdle. She only ever wanted all of us to be happy. Though I wish she had less tolerance for Gina's antics. It gets a little tiresome listening to her make excuses for our bitchy older sister. Dad, on the other hand, we've all seen how welcoming he is when it comes to accepting the unconventional."

"Have you spoken to him since you got back?"

Trevor pulled his arm away, moving off to look out the back window at the wide expanse of the estates seemingly endless landscape.

"No. I've only been home a few days, but we've been scrupulously avoiding one another. It's probably better that way. He doesn't mind covering up my mistakes, but it's easier to write a check than to face the problem head-on."

"How are you feeling?"

"Are you asking me how bad I want a drink right now?"

Linda tilted her head and frowned, and expression of sad empathy on her features.

"I'm okay, Linda. The doctors say my head has never been screwed on so straight."

"Trevor..."

"I know you've heard that before, but trust me, I'm done staring at sterile white walls. Whether Dad accepts me or not, I think I'm ready to move past it."

She came in for another hug, and he clung to his sister tightly, kissing the top of her head.

"Ready to go see, Mom?"

"I'm never ready, but let's go anyway."

They found their mother together. She was sitting in the sun at a marble-topped table, flipping through a fashion magazine.

"Linda! What a pleasant surprise!"

Marion Siler was a miniature version of her two youngest children though her light-brown hair was streaked with gray and cut short, dropping just below her neckline. She hugged Linda close but hesitated as she pulled back, eying her critically.

"Oh! You look so pretty, Dear. I see you found a use for my Christmas gift finally. Just look at you, makeup, clothes that fit...somethings changed?"

"Someone has a boyfriend," said Trevor in a teasing voice, and Linda abruptly smacked him on the shoulder.

"I wasn't going to lead with that!" she said in exasperation while Trevor gave her a wink.

"What's this about a boyfriend?"

"It's good to see you, Mother."

Marion raised an eyebrow at the way her daughter ignored the question.

"You have been away far too long, Sweetie. Why don't we sit in the sun, it's such a nice day. I'll have Lizzie send out some lemonade."

The three of them assembled around the table with Trevor trying to put his feet on the marble and his mother swatting them aside.

"Didn't I teach you any better than that? I don't know what your obsession is with putting your filthy feet on everything!"

"Just getting comfortable, Mom."

She frowned at Trevor but quickly turned her attention back to Linda.

"You should have let us know you were coming for a visit. We would have had a nice party or something."

"It's more than a visit. I...Uh...I'm moving back."

"You want to move back home?"

"Well, back to town. I just signed a lease on an apartment."

"What brought this on? I mean, certainly, we're thrilled that you're back, but after all these years, why now?"

"Boyfriend..." mumbled Trevor under his breath.

Linda shot him a dirty look.

"Is that right? Does this mysterious boyfriend have something to do with your return?"

"I was going to get to that part," said Linda, annoyed that her brother had maneuvered the conversation for his amusement.

"His name is Sam and, yes, he's the reason I came back here. He's over at Whitmore and..."

"You're dating a professor at Whitmore? How did you two even meet?"

"He's not part of the faculty, Mom. He's...um...A student, actually..."

"Working on his doctorate?" asked Marion hopefully.

"No, he isn't quite that far along."

"Robbing the cradle," whispered Trevor and Linda kicked him under the table, but her mother didn't appear to hear him.

Lizzie interrupted the conversation with a tray of freshly squeezed lemonade in tall, frosted glasses.

"Oh! It does my heart good to see the family together again like this...You and Trevor have been gone too long."

"Not just back for a visit either. Back to stay, apparently," cut in Marion.

"Is that right? This calls for a party! Why everyone is going to be so excited to see you're back! Don't you think so, Miss Marion?"

"Absolutely! We should call that caterer we used for Cybil Westfield's homeless fund raiser. What was their name? Caulfelds...Caulfields..."

"Caldwell's, if I remember right," offered Lizzie.

"That's it! Oh...so much to do...We need the caterer and flowers, music..."

Trevor and Linda looked on in amusement as their mother darted up from the table and grabbed Lizzie by the arm, pulling her back toward the house while spouting a long list of instructions for this sudden party. They had grown used to this kind of behavior from their mother growing up, focus was not her strong suit.

"Oh! Linda! Bring that boyfriend of yours to dinner tonight. Your father and I would love to meet him. Seven o'clock sharp!" shouted Marion before she vanished inside.

Then again, she never missed as much as they thought.

"Shit..." said Linda.

"Maybe this will go down better as a surprise?"

Linda shot Trevor a dirty look, "The only thing Dad hates worse than something being unconventional is a surprise. If we combine the two, he might just shoot Sam and I both on the spot."

"You could still go in and talk to her about it."

"Are you kidding? You know how Mom gets when she's in planning mode. I would never get her attention now. No, we will just have to face things head-on tonight. Maybe it is for the best, just get it over with like ripping off a Band-Aid. Hell, I'm a grown woman now, and I can date who I want!"

"So you're not afraid of Dad? I'm impressed. I hope Sam feels the same way."

"He'll be fine," she answered, but her voice lacked conviction.

"Should be a memorable dinner, I can hardly wait."

"Yeah, memorable..."

Linda's apartment was nothing like the massive edifice where her parents lived. A modest two-bedroom in a decent neighborhood near Whitmore college, it at least had the advantage of being conveniently located near her boyfriend.

The very same boyfriend who was currently wearing a groove in her carpet as he paced back and forth.

"I thought you didn't want me to meet your family right away?"

"I know. This isn't how I had planned it, but with my family, that's par for the course," said Linda from the other side of her bedroom door where she was changing.

"Well, it's no big deal. Parents love me. I'm very charming, you know?"

"I've heard that rumor," laughed Linda, opening the door.

"Whew! Are you trying to distract me? We'll be late for dinner," said Sam, eying his girlfriend appreciatively.

She had changed into a tasteful, but still somewhat revealing cocktail-dress of pale-green fabric with dangling gold earrings that contrasted nicely with it. Her hair fell around her face in graceful layers, and her lips shined invitingly in the dying light coming through the window. Sam moved in immediately, sliding his arms around her waist.

"We don't have time..." said Linda, though she made no move to extricate herself from him.

"Then you, Sweetie, shouldn't be so damn beautiful..." whispered Sam.

"You'll mess up my makeup," she warned him as he leaned toward her.

"That's a chance we'll just have to take."

His powerful kiss made her knees shake, and instinctively she slid her arms up around his neck. Their warm lips slid perfectly together, Linda sighing gently in the back of her throat. Sam's tongue began to work it's magic, joining hers in a soft embrace. Linda could feel her willpower fading, body readying itself with a surge of blood flooding into her chest, tightening her nipples into hard, erect cherries. She would have loved nothing more than to have her young lover carry her to the bedroom and rip her clothes from her body, but she had been right, this wasn't the time.

"Sam...Baby...We need to go," she said, breaking their hungry kiss.

"Are you sure? We couldn't be just a little late?"

The thought was tempting, but she knew how well that would go over with her father.

"I'm sorry, Sweetie. You'll just have to try and keep your libido in check. I promise I will make it up to you later."

"You'd better," he said with a lascivious grin.

A short time later, they were in the car and approaching her parent's home when Linda sighed heavily, knowing she needed to prepare Sam for what was about to come.

"Everything okay? You seem tense. I told you I could handle your family. There's no need to worry."

"Sam...I should have been more upfront with you about exactly what my family is like. I don't think anyone can be entirely prepared to meet them."

"I don't understand."

"The thing is, Sam, I come from money, old family money."

"What...like you're rich?"

"Well, not me, personally. I turned my back on that when I graduated from school and moved out. I wanted to make my way and not be leaning on the family wealth."

"So how much money are we talking about exactly?"