Ace Ch. 01

Thank you incredimeters for all you have done to help me edit my stories.

Dedication: I would like to dedicate this story to all the members of the Women Air Force Service Pilots (Wasp) group. Thank you, ladies. Job well done.

***Authors note*** The first chapter of this story is a lot of world-building. The physical part of this story will not start until chapter two so if you don't care about who the people are or where they came from, I would suggest you skip ahead to chapter two.

Also, fair warning. I find hairy, older women with saggy breasts very attractive. If that is not for you this may not be a story you will enjoy.

Prologue: Lockbourne Army Air Field, Columbus Ohio May 5, 1943.

Lt. William Henry and Lt. George Evans were standing in front of their fuel truck watching a brand-new Boeing B-17 bomber coming in for a landing. It was something they had seen a hundred times, and so were not too impressed. Lockbourne was a stopover for planes headed to the coast and eventually overseas. The plane came right in with a perfect line, the right speed, and the correct glide path. The strange thing was it didn't land. At the last minute, the pilot decided to do a go-round.

As the plane flew around the field the problem became apparent to both men. The plane's landing gear was not down. The two men looked at each other and in unison said, "Rookies."

They watched a little more attentively as the pilot once again lined up perfectly and this time put the plane down like a pro. William tapped George on the shoulder and said, "Hey, let's go."

The two men pulled up to the B-17 they had watched land earlier and found the fly crew doing their post-flight walk-around. William got out of the truck and walked over to who he assumed was the pilot. George looked at the flight crew and noticed that none of them were wearing Captain's or Lieutenant's bars. "I know the Army Air Corp was promoting men with flight training, any flight training, as fast as they can," said George, "but can these guys be non-coms?"

"What was the problem?" William asked as he put his hand on the shoulder of the nearest member of the flight crew, "You boys forget which switch was for the landing gear?"

The figure turned and before George could believe it, William was flat on the tarmac, unconscious. The figure then turned and removed her pilot's cap and a waterfall of bright red hair spilled out down to her shoulders. She walked over to George who simply stared dumbfounded at the dirty, sweaty, angel that stood before him. "Hey, you," she said with a slight southern accent. "Is this joker, your friend?"

It took George a minute to respond and when he did his voice was shaky, to say the least, "Y-y-yeeeessss."

"Well, tell your friend," She looked down at William's motionless body, "When he wakes up. The reason we had to do a go-around was that the gear switch shorted out just as we lined up our approach. We had to put the wheels down manually. And since the maintenance on the manual gear release was done by the same moron that checked out the electrical systems on this bird, that wasn't really working either."

With that, the woman pilot moved over to the bomber's wing. The other flight crew members, having finished their portion of the checklists, joined her and together the four followed the redhead towards the nearest block house leaving William on the deck and George in awe. "What a woman." George thought out loud.

Chapter One: Kingwood VA. August 1, 1985

Jared Henry sat in Alison Evans' 1975 Ford F150. Jared was miserable and just wanted to get going. Could this day get any worse? Jared thought. He had been driving up to Ashland, Virginia to spend the summer with a long-time friend of the family, Alison C. Evans, when his unreliable 1977 MG midget broke down, again. He had gotten the car off the road but was then forced to walk, in the rain, to the nearest house to ask if he could call his mom for help.

The nearest house he discovered belonged to the Longstreet family. Mr. Longstreet had let him use the phone and then the two men went with Mr. Longstreet's tractor to pull Jared's prized British coupe into the family's barn. Mr. Longstreet was a bit of a self-taught mechanic. There was always something mechanical on the farm that needed fixing. He asked Jared's permission to take a look at the car. Jared, disgusted with the car and not expecting much, told Mr. Longstreet to, "have at it."

Jared went into the house where Mrs. Longstreet had insisted that he go upstairs, get out of his wet clothes, and dry off. Jared had forgotten to bring in any of his bags and so was headed back out the door when she said her older son Chris was about Jared's size 5' 11" 170 and Jared was more than welcome to borrow/have a change of clothes. The clothes fit OK. They were a bit big. Chris had a stereotypical farm-boy build, whereas Jared was a little on the skinny side. Jared combed his brown hair and tried to smile before heading downstairs.

Jared had walked into the kitchen to find Mrs. Longstreet making dinner and trying desperately to help her two daughters with their math homework. Jared, as it just so happened, had just received his teaching certificate and was about to start an assistant professorship at Randolph-Macon College this fall. His field of study had been algebra and geometry and he said helping the girls was the least he could do for all the help the family had given him.

Halfway through explaining the order of math functions, My Dear Aunt Sally, Alison C. Evans, known to most people as Ace, arrived. Ace was 5' 5" and weighed 160 pounds. Her extra pounds were distributed mostly to her chest, hips, and butt with only a little left over to go around her stomach. She was sixty-five with her hair in a shaggy pixie cut that was still mostly red with only a few strands surrendering to white. Her eyes were hazel and her smile was yellowed by years of drinking tea and coffee.

Mrs. Longstreet and Ace became fast friends, which came as no surprise to Jared as everyone seemed to instantly like or at least respect Ace. After talking with Ace for a few minutes, Mrs. Longstreet went back to preparing dinner, Jared went back to tutoring the girls and Ace went to the barn to see about Jared's car.

Ace and Mr. Longstreet walked in a half hour later looking very pleased with themselves. They had not only gotten the car running but loaded up on Ace's trailer. Ace and Jared were invited to dinner and after begging off twice they had no choice but to accept. An hour or so later with the MG ready for transport and their bellies full, they were finally able to head for Ace's house in Ashland, Virginia. Ace and Mrs. Longstreet exchanged addresses and Ace promised to write soon. Then she got into the truck next to Jared.

"Don't tell Evelynn," Ace patted Jared on the knee, "but that was the best chicken and dumplings I have ever had."

"Can we just go," asked Jared coldly. "Please?"

"OK," Ace said and started the truck, "Mr. Gloomy Gus."

Ace rolled down her window and waved one last time to the Longstreet family as the truck and trailer started down the rock driveway back to the main road. Ace turned right and started north. She switched the radio to a classic jazz station and prayed it would come in this far south. It did and Duke Ellington filled the cab. She knew Jared well enough to just let him sulk for a while. She gave him 30 minutes, roughly half the journey to Ashland before she decided to talk.

"So, you want the good news or the bad news about the MG?" Ace asked.

Jared sighed, "Good news please."

"The good news is that Bert," seeing the confusion on Jared's face in the rear view mirror Ace clarified, "Mr. Longstreet, is a wizard with baling wire and duct tape. He was able to jury-rig the throttle enough for us to get the MG loaded up under its own power. You know you could not have picked a better place to break down."

Jared smiled at the absurdity of that statement. "What can I say," Jared spread his arms wide and cocked his head to one side, "It's a gift."

"It is," Ace agreed. "God is always looking out for you."

"I know." A fifty-pound bag of gloom slipped off of Jared's back. "You got the Longstreet's address, right?" Jared asked.

"Yep."

"I will make sure to include an apology for my melancholy behavior with my thank you note to them," Jared said to the windshield.

"I think that would be a good idea," Ace confirmed.

"So, what's the bad news?" Jared asked and then steeled himself for the worst.

Ace took a deep breath and then asked a question of her own, "You want the truth?"

Jared started nodding yes then remembered that Ace was focused on the road, and so responded verbally, "Yes."

"The throttle body is completely shot. We're going to need a new one," reported Ace.

Jared cringed. Ace went on, "Your front suspension is also showing some major wear and your water pump seal is leaking."

"Anything else?" asked Jared through gritted teeth.

"I'm sorry, Jared," Ace said but kept both eyes on the road, "We discussed this when you bought that thing."

Ace risked a glance at Jared out of the corner of her eye. He seemed to be handling it better than she expected. She reached over and put her hand on his knee and rubbed it a little. "There are a couple of swap meets coming up in a few weeks. We might find what we need there, but I am not that optimistic. Parts are easier to find for these MG than most other British sports cars but what we need is not going to be easy to find or cheap."

"I know," Jared looked at his shoes. "So, what you're saying is that it may be time to shoot it."

"Well," Ace did her best impression of Samantha Stevens from Bewitched, "I happen to have a friend who might be willing to take her off your hands and then I can look for something else for you."

Resigned, Jared just said, "OK."

Ace was so surprised by his response that she nearly drove off the road, "Really?"

"Really." Jared slumped on the bench seat and looked over at Ace, "I love her, but if someone else can take better care of her, then she should be with them."

At the next straight away she risked giving him a quick peck on the cheek. "Wow. Look at you, being all noble and selfless." Ace beamed with parental pride, "Don't you worry, I'll make sure she goes to a good home and I'll take good care of you."

The fact was, that Ace had always taken good care of Jared. For as far back as he could remember, she had been like a second mom to him. She had encouraged him to follow his dreams, even with stiff opposition from practically everyone else in his family. There was no one in the world he liked being with more. She was in many ways his ideal woman.

Jared looked over at Ace and said, "You always do Ace. You always do."

"Thanks for putting me up tonight and of course for putting me up this summer," Jared said and moved closer to Ace. He laid his head on her shoulder. A wave of emotion washed over Ace. Everything from fear to lust. She had known Jared all of his life and had to admit he had grown from a cute boy into a very handsome man over the last decade. She did a mental check and a little arithmetic in her head. He was born in 1960 so that would make him 25. Which was not even half as old as she was.

Lord above why did I invite him to come and stay with me, she thought. How am I going to keep my hands off of him? You invited him because your lonely, horny and he's hot, she answered herself in her mind. George has been gone for two years. But you don't have to worry. Jared is not interested in you and besides, he's dating Karen and they are getting pretty serious.

"The guest room is all yours." Ace tried to think of anything other than Jared sleeping less than 20 feet from her bedroom. "But only for a little while. My grandniece Judy is considering the University of Richmond. If they accept her, she's in and I'll have to put you in either the attic or the basement."

Or my bedroom, Ace thought. She had to change the subject quickly before she thought any more of Jared's body. "Will Karen be coming up to see you?" Ace blurted out as images of kissing Jared filled her head.

Jared let out a Charlie Brown "augh."

"That good huh," asked Ace, ever the smartass.

"That's the other disaster I've been dealing with this week." Jared said, "We are so over."

Half of Ace's brain did a happy dance. The other half of her brain stamped its feet and cursed shit, shit, shit.

"Oh, no." Ace feigned disappointment. "That's too bad."

Jared harumphed, "I'm not sure which of you is a worse actress, you or grandma Evelynn."

"Whatever do you mean?" Ace tried again but it came out just as wooden.

"Neither of you liked her," Jared accused.

"I did so," Ace lied, then admitted, "OK, I didn't." thinking for a minute before going on, Ace finally said, "I can still be sorry for you."

"Well, I'm not." Jared said, "I finally saw her for the stuck-up, short-sighted..."

"Spoiled," Ace couldn't resist anymore and just had to help.

"Yes. Spoiled," Jared agreed. "Thank you, debutante."

"You know if you keep repressing like this, we are never going to get to the heart of your true feelings on the matter," Ace commented.

Jared gave Ace a sidelong look, "Where did you hear that?"

"Donahue," Ace answered with a smile.

"Karen and I were talking about whether or not she would be joining me at Randolph-Macon next year and she told me she had decided not to finish her coursework as she will be busy with other things next fall," Jared explained. "She is only three classes away from getting her teaching certificate and she decided to just up and quit."

"Wow." Ace had a pretty good idea of what was coming next but figured she would stick with the supportive listener role.

"Naturally," Jared went on, "I asked her what could be so important that she would be willing to throw away all that work for and you know what she said?"

Ace knew exactly what she probably said but once again wanted to hear it from Jared, "what?"

"Our wedding and babies," Jared answered. "Turns out the only reason she went to school was to meet a man, get married, and then have a family."

"That is how a lot of families start," Ace remarked, playing devil's advocate and trying not to enjoy Jared's discomfort and the fact the Karen was now out of the picture for good. Ding, Dong! The Witch is Dead started going through her mind.

"Yes, but what a waste," Jared argued. "What if you had stayed home and not flown B-17s and P-40s across America? We would have lost the war."

"Oh sweety," Ace moved her arm around Jared's back and gave him a big sideways hug. "You are giving me way too much credit. I didn't do all that much."

"You did so." Jared went on, "I mean think of all the crap you had to deal with, and then to add insult to injury you never even got any recognition."

"Yes, we did," Ace corrected him.

"Yeah." Jared sat arms crossed like a very cute little boy, "Like 30 years later. This country is so messed up."

"First of all," Ace's tone switched to her listen here young man tone. "I did my part like everyone else, no more, no less. Second, there is nothing wrong with wanting to be a mom. That sure is one tough job. So tough in fact, I was never cut out for," said Ace. Or at least my body never was according to the doctor, thought Ace but didn't say it. "And finally, I had a lot of opportunities and privileges that many women didn't and still don't have."

"Like what?" Jared asked far more aggressively than he had meant to. He hoped he hadn't overplayed his hand. She was almost his.

"Being white for one. Coming from a wealthy family didn't hurt either." Ace took a deep breath, "But by far my biggest break for me was having a daddy that was open-minded enough to let me try and do anything..."

"As long as I didn't sit around and do nothing." Jared finished the quote that he had heard her repeat so many times over the years.

Ace and fallen right into his trap and she knew it. Jared's smile said I rest my case. "Fine, I surrender. I'm glad you got rid of her." Then something fired in her brain and sent a random message to her mouth which then spoke the message before the judgment center of her brain had a chance to stop it, "now I can have you all to myself."

Ace's heart missed a beat. Her throat went dry and she felt like she was about to throw up. What the hell was she saying? Why in the world did she think for a second that she could have anything more than a platonic friendship with Jared? He was her best friend's grandson for crying out loud.

Jared was not sure if Ace was kidding or not but he hoped she wasn't. She had been his hero growing up and as he had reached puberty, hero worship had become a huge crush. That crush had grown into a real desire over the last year. He had hoped that Karen Kaplan was going to be somewhat if not just like Ace, but she had turned out to be a huge disappointment. Of course, he knew that he was judging her too harshly for not measuring up to his expectations but right now he didn't care. The wound was still too fresh.

Jared grew bold. He snuggled in closer to Ace. He put his arm around her neck and his head on her shoulder. "That sounds like a good idea to me."

The rest of the drive to Ace's house on the outskirts of Ashland was uneventful save for the fact that for the first time since her beloved George had passed away, Ace was having romantic thoughts about a man. When they arrived at Ace's house, Jared backed the MG off the trailer and into the last stall of Ace's four-stall garage. Then Ace backed her trailer expertly onto the concrete pad just beside the garage. He unhooked the trailer and Ace parked her truck in the garage in the number two stall. In the first stall sat her late husband's 1964 Lincoln Continental.

Ace pushed the button to bring down the doors on both stalls and walked over to Jared who was just standing next to the trunk of his MG, laughing. "What's so funny?" Ace asked.

Jared opened the MG's trunk to show Ace that his bags were completely soaked and there were dozens of small pools of water everywhere inside. "Oh, Jared..." was all Ace got out before she started laughing too.

"I guess she is going to need new weather stripping for the trunk too," Jared said between giggles.

"I would say so," Ace doubled over laughing. She put one hand on Jared's shoulder to steady herself.

When she stopped laughing, she straightened up and looked directly into Jared's eyes. Time seemed to slow like in the movies. Does she want me to kiss her? Jared thought. No way. I'm nothing and she's a war hero. Jared's heart was beating faster. It looked like her eyes were begging him to kiss her, but unfortunately, he wasn't sure and didn't dare to risk it.

Ace removed her hand from his shoulder. She was crushed inside. Why hadn't he kissed me? She thought. I gave him the look. At least I think I did. It's been a while. See, you got your hopes up for nothing. What could such a handsome man like him ever see in an old biddy like you?

Jared started looking anywhere but at her. "I don't have the strength to deal with this tonight," he said closing the trunk of his car. "Do you have any extra clothes I can borrow?"

You could just walk around naked Ace thought. Then said, "I still have some of George's stuff I am, sure I can find you something."

With that, they walked to the side door of the garage. Ace turned on her flashlight and led the way to the house. Jared watched her ass sway in the moonlight the whole way to the house. Once they were both in the kitchen, Ace took over and laid out her plan. Jared would stay in the guest room just down the landing from her room. He was to shave and clean up and she would set out some clothes for him and then take a shower herself.