Blood Wild

"What if it's a boy?" Lee prompted.

"Hmm... that is a tough one. I mean... seeing as there is only one father between the two of us to draw names from..." Tom said solemnly.

"Does that bother you?" Lee asked timidly, pretty sure it didn't but she dared to ask all the same.

"Not in the least, really. It's bad enough that I'm stuck with the last name that I have, I wonder if I could change that even? I wouldn't want to burden any child of mine anymore than that by naming him after that bastard." Tom said with a dark calmness that belied his still deep-seated dislike or even hatred of the man who raised him.

They both sat lost in their own thoughts for a moment or two while Tom gently rocked the glider back and forth on the porch in the late afternoon. A light breeze caressing their bare skin almost lovingly. The sounds of their heartbeats accompanied by the singing of birds and the rhythmic squeak of the glider.

"Your full name is Thomas Lynne Branson... my daddy's name is Gerald Lee Simmons... So, we have Lynne Lee..." Lee giggled lightly rejecting that outright. "Or... Gerald Lynne... Oh! How about Thomas Lee Branson?" Lee perked up excitedly.

"I like that... I like that a lot actually. I mean Thomas from my name, Lee from your...OUR dad... and besides... Lee is your name too. I really like that! Thomas Lee Branson. A fine name. Maybe between he and I we can make that last name stand for something more than it has so far." Tom said smiling warmly as he looked into Lee's eyes.

"I'll write the name in my bible, that'll make it official." Lee said smiling back at Tom.

They kissed again, this time it stretched on for a little longer. They may have nearly worn each other out since Saturday evening, their wedding day, but the passion was still there, just bubbling under the surface. Even so, they were only human. Both needed a little time to rest and recover from so much marital activity. Despite both wanting more and more and more.

"You hungry?" Lee asked when they had finally broken the kiss to breathe.

"For you, yes. I'm starving!" Tom said with a lusty grin.

"Oh. Stop!" Lee giggled and poked Tom in the chest. "I'm serious, you want something to eat. We have to keep your strength up, you know." Lee added.

"Come to think of it, yeah, I could eat. You want we should go see what we can make for lunch?" Tom asked.

"Lunch? It's long past lunch time, baby. More like, we should be making something for dinner." Lee corrected.

"Ahh... Time flies when you're having fun." Tom said with a smile.

"Are you... having fun?" Lee asked coquettishly.

"Absolutely! This has been and is the best time of my entire life! Having you... as my wife..." Tom said smiling and looking into Lee's eyes with his own love filled gaze.

"I love you too, now and forever." Lee nearly whispered as she swooned in Tom's lap and his embrace.

***___***___

Deeny let herself into Yvonne's apartment once again, having just returned from the diner and working the late afternoon shift. Normally She would have been off on most Sundays but today she had covered for one of the other part time waitresses who had a family matter to attend to.

She turned on some lamps after closing the door behind her. Deeny thought that she would do some tidying up and housecleaning, to surprise Yvonne when she got home from Kansas City later this evening. Maybe even cook and have dinner waiting on her... then again, maybe not, it might be late when Y got home. Maybe some cookies or brownies even? She'd have to see what Yvonne had in the cupboards first.

Smiling, Deeny headed down the hall to the bedroom to change out of her waitress uniform and take a quick hot shower first. Maybe she could talk Y in to taking a hot shower when she got home too? That thought made Deeny tingle in all the best places as she walked naked from the bedroom to the bathroom.

An hour later, wearing only a thin bathrobe, Deeny was opening cabinet doors and the fridge taking an impromptu inventory on what Yvonne had in the way of food stores. Deeny settled on making some sugar cookies but then changed her mind when she spied a tin of ground cinnamon. She decided that snickerdoodles were the way to go. Smiling, she turned the oven on to preheat and began assembling the ingredients in a mixing bowl.

How many times had she and her mother and sister made cookies? Deeny's heart filled with warm thoughts and memories of times past. She smiled wondering how Lee was doing on her honeymoon with Tom. She had to admit, while she had not particularly cared for Tom early on, he had grown on her.

The fact that he was also her own half-brother might have something to do with that however. Still though, he was nothing like she had imagined him to be because of his father...or the man everyone thought was his father. Deeny shuddered at the memory of J.D. Branson, both her own personal encounter with him and then with her mother and father the night of the Wilding. She would never wish anyone dead, but maybe the world is a better place without him all the same.

There is enough ugliness and cruelty in this word as it is... far too much... Deeny thought. So, when you find people who are opposite of that, people who are kind and loving and good, you should hold onto them... treasure them. Deeny smiled again, thinking of Yvonne. A treasure indeed. The woman had gone through so much ugliness and hate in her own life but Deeny knew Yvonne had a heart of gold.

Deeny felt in her heart of hearts that she wanted to be part of Yvonne's life and she part of hers forever. What they shared was unconventional at best, to be sure, and unacceptable to many. Sadly, people... most... wouldn't understand the love they shared, so marriage was not something that would happen. At least not the way most people think of it anyway.

That's not to say that they, she and Yvonne, could not make vows to one another and honor them as would anyone in a normal marriage. It just wouldn't be recognized by law or the church or those unwilling to accept them for who they are. But those who did, would know. Seeing the ring that her father had made for Lee to give to Tom as a wedding band had given Deeny an idea for herself.

When she was younger, Deeny had collected coins for a while, until she had lost interest in it. That's not to say that she got rid of the coins that she had collected. No, they sat, neglected in an old cigar box tucked away in the closet that she shared with her younger sister... nearly forgotten for many years. That is, until the day of Tom and Lee's wedding.

Deeny had asked her father, quietly, the day of the wedding after the wedded couple, and later Yvonne had left the church to go their separate ways. She explained to him what she had in mind and he said that he could indeed fashion two rings for her from a couple of silver coins from her collection. Deeny had hugged and kissed him enthusiastically that afternoon with a promise to get the coins to him sometime this coming week.

Official or not, Deeny would show her love and affection as well as her devotion to Yvonne with those rings when they were ready. Until then, however, she would have to just bite her tongue and keep it a secret with herself. Deeny smiled at the thought and prepared another batch of cookies for the oven.

***___***___

Annie was standing on the balcony leaning against the railing looking out at the ocean as the surf rolled in, wave after wave, almost sounding as if the planet were breathing. She closed her eyes and tilted her face up towards the setting sun feeling the ocean breeze blow back her hair. Feeling the big warm arms encircle her waist from behind and a chin nuzzling at the nape of her neck completed the feeling of contentment during that moment. She couldn't help but to sigh even as her own heart fluttered like the sea birds circling near the beach below.

"How are you doing miss Annie?" Gerald asked in a low soft voice near her ear as she leaned back into his embrace.

"Oh Ger... It feels so peaceful here... it's almost like being on a different planet. So different from everything I've lived for so long." Annie responded in a low contented voice, her eyes closed and savoring all the sensations she was experiencing.

"I wonder how the kids are doing." Gerald said with a slight chuckle.

"I imagine they are working themselves raw by this point. I know I did back when I got married..." Annie quipped before lapsing into a regretful silence for having brought up the memories of J.D. even if they were by far the most pleasant memories she had of her late husband.

Sensing this, Gerald remained quiet and simply hugged her a little tighter letting Annie know that he understood but that he wasn't going to try to change her memories. Good or bad, they were her own to keep. Hopefully though, even with this late a start in their lives, he would make better memories together with her moving forward. He hadn't asked her to marry him, yet, but he was thinking along those lines.

Gerald had been married once before as well. A short-lived marriage thanks to a drunk driver on a rainy night and the accident that took his young bride's life. Even two decades later he could feel himself choke up with emotion at his loss. He still loved Margaret with all his heart and always would, he suspected.

He had met Margaret about the same time that Annie herself had fallen in love with the late J.D. Branson. It had been love at first sight, and a whirlwind affair. They were engaged and then married in short order. Gerald had truly felt he had found his soul mate in that little slip of a woman.

They were six months into their marriage when Margaret informed him that she was pregnant and they were going to be a family. Three months later, the tragic wreck during a rainstorm snuffed out three lives that fateful night... the drunk driver, Margaret, and their unborn child.

Gerald had remained a widower ever since. He had been fixed up with dates from friends and family members from time to time trying to lure him out of his self-imposed reclusiveness. While he humored those do-gooders by playing along, they, the attempts, never seemed to work out. Gerald had seen Annie many times over the years, at church and sometimes in town. He remembered dating her briefly before J.D. and always liked her.

Seeing her slowly go from carefree and buoyantly full of life and happiness to weary and subdued over the years troubled him. He had felt sorry for her but as she was married, it was not his place to intervene. Yet... it seems that the fates had swung in his or her favor recently. He felt as though maybe he had a second chance for a better life... even this late in his life. He would, if she allowed it, shower her with love and affection that he so longed to give.

This trip, the vacation, was both a means to get Annie out of the house as a gift to Tom and Lee for their honeymoon, and... To show Annie that there was still life worth living. He would spoil her if it was any way within his means to do so. This two-room hotel suite overlooking the beach was just the start of hopefully a fun and relaxing week for her, and himself.

He got the two-room suite out of respect for her, not wanting her to feel pressured into anything intimate if she weren't ready for that yet. He would gladly cater to her desires but would do so at her pace. In his mind and heart, she was worth any wait that he might have to endure. Just seeing her smile and hearing her laugh warmed his heart like only Margaret had ever been able to do. He knew he had fallen for Annie. Fallen hard... and he smiled about it when he thought about it all. And... especially in moments like this, on the balcony overlooking the beach at sunset. The birds were not the only things soaring.

***___***___

"So, what do you think about our oldest and this Yvonne?" Caroline asked quietly as she idly flicked at the bubbles floating atop the bath water with her left hand.

Duke was also in the tub. He was on the opposite end of the big ball and claw tub currently massaging one of Caroline's feet as she studied him from the other end of the tub and flicked at the bubbles. She had a dreamy, if somewhat pensive look on her very relaxed face as she watched her husband's reaction to the question she had just asked.

"What's to think about? I mean, if they make each other happy and they are in love, what difference does it make what I think?" Duke answered in a low relaxed rumble as he gave a slight shrug.

"Then the fact that they are both women doesn't bother you?" Caroline teased a bit more.

"No, not really. I mean, all I ever wanted was for my girls to be happy. If Yvonne makes Deeny happy, I'm happy. What about you?" Duke asked, turning the question back on Caroline.

"Well, to be honest, I had hoped I would get a grand child or two from both my girls, but... I'm of the same mind. If she's happy and it's Yvonne, that's making her happy, then it's fine with me." Caroline stated with a smile.

Duke smiled to his wife in return and set her foot down and picked up the other to begin massaging it as well. Caroline smiled contentedly and closed her eyes as the pleasure from his manipulations swept through her. She was very relaxed at the moment. They both needed the hot bath to soak in after going at it like newlyweds themselves last night and most of today. To be honest, Caroline was feeling quite tender and perhaps a little sore. The hot bath water was doing wonders for that, as was her husbands strong gentle massaging hands.

"Did I tell you what Deeny asked me after Tom and Lee's wedding?" Duke hazarded, causing Caroline to reopen her eyes and focus on him again.

"No, I don't believe you did. What did she ask you?" Caroline asked.

"She told me that she loved the ring I made for Lee to give to Tom... and she asked if I would make her two more silver rings out of two old silver coins from her coin collection." Duke informed Caroline.

"She wants rings? I'm guessing for her and Yvonne." Caroline supposed.

"That'd be my guess too." Duke agreed with a warm smile and a shrug.

"She said that she'd dig them out when she got home from the diner tomorrow." He added.

Caroline smiled a contented and relaxed smile that verged on a sly grin as thoughts of utilizing their time alone. She let out a tiny little moan as Duke continued to work his strong hands on her delicate feet. The sly grin was growing because she had eased her own hand down into the tub beneath the bubbles to find his semi-rigid cock growing to attention. Apparently, Duke had similar thoughts as she.

She opened and gave Duke a smokey wanton look through half-lidded eyes and drew her bottom lip into her teeth. It was a look that meant exactly what she intended and exactly what Duke perceived it to be. This bath was over, it was time to get out and get dirty all over again.

"We DO have the house to ourselves... until tomorrow evening..." Caroline purred.

"Yes... yes we do." Duke responded, lifting her dainty little foot up to his lips to kiss her sole.

***___***___

The drive from the motel in Kansas City to Helton was both interminably long and surprisingly short. It was short in that Yvonne's mind had been anywhere but on the actual driving. Thoughts of her wicked abusive mother and the memories that she had in abundance would flash through her mind only to clash with the pitiable shell of a human she was now. While had it been anyone else, Yvonne would have felt sorry for them, but she was hard pressed to give any shit at all for her mother. Still though... it nagged at her conscience all the same.

Getting off the interstate and driving past the diner, Yvonne noted that it didn't seem very busy this evening. A few minutes later she pulled up to her little bungalow and noticed that Deeny's old blue Chevy was parked out on the front curb. A very warm smile spread on Yvonne's face and a warm glow grew in her heart as she parked her car in the driveway.

Yvonne got out of her car and grabbed her one bag that she had taken with her then headed for the front door. She was just about to insert her key into the door lock when the front door opened up. Standing there in front of her, smiling and wearing what only appeared to be an apron was Deeny. Oh My God! Yvonne thought as a bolt of excitement raced through her. "I'm home!"

She had barely gotten inside and closed the door, dropping her bag before Deeny all but jumped into her arms and smothered her with a passionate kiss that stole her breath away. Yvonne responded in kind, wrapping her long arms around the smaller woman and finding that indeed, the apron was all that she had on. Somewhere in the back of her mind, Yvonne registered a smell... it smelled for all the world like fresh baked cookies. Was she hallucinating?

An hour later they both lay entangled limb for limb breast to breast as they tried to catch their breath. Yvonne was on her back with the biggest goofiest contented smile on her face. Her eyes were closed but they were seeing stars and fireworks all the same. Deeny had shown her just how much she had missed her. Of course, Yvonne had given just as good as she had got and Deeny was also breathless and exceedingly contented, for the moment as they held hands with interlocked fingers.

"I... don't know... if I could... survive coming... home like... that every day! But I'd sure... give it a... try!" Yvonne spoke between panting breaths.

"Right? Maybe not... every day... but often... enough." Deeny replied just as breathlessly.

"I... missed you." Yvonne said, squeezing Deeny's hand a little tighter.

"You were... missed too." Deeny replied, snuggling a little closer to Yvonne, her head resting on the older woman's collarbone.

"It might be... a good thing... that we have to... work tomorrow." Yvonne said in a slightly calmer voice as she was beginning to catch her breath.

Deeny just nodded. Work was a necessary obligation of course, but it was only prolonging the time between getting home and finding the coins she wanted to give to her dad to make rings from and... of course, giving those rings or at least one of them, to Yvonne. Deeny smiled inwardly as she thought of presenting it to Yvonne and making their own vows.

As they lay there in the bed recovering and catching their breath, that persistent lingering smell tickled at their noses. Well... lots of smells were demanding attention, but this was far more innocent and beguiling at the same time. A stomach growled and attention was paid more to that wonderful aroma wafting through the door from down the hall... from the kitchen. Yvonne's brows furrowed and her nostrils flared as she sniffed at the air.

"Did... did you bake... cookies?" Yvonne asked, sounding a little uncertain.

Deeny's giggle was answer enough, and when she rolled off the side of the bed to stand and extend a hand to Yvonne to bring her along too, Yvonne actually giggled as well. Together they walked from the bedroom and down the hall, stepping on or around discarded clothing articles from the earlier heated rush to the bedroom.

Naked as jaybirds, the two walked hand in hand into the kitchen whereover two dozen snickerdoodle cookies rested on a cooling rack on the counter. The oven was still on but there were no cookies inside being baked. There was some remaining cookie dough in a bowl in the fridge though, next to the carton of milk that Yvonne grabbed to accompany the cookies.

Yvonne took a bite of her first cookie and nearly swooned, her eyes rolled up and she slumped against the counter moaning around the mouthful. Deeny giggled more and then nibbled a cookie for herself as she watched Yvonne's obvious delight at her efforts.

"I think I'm in heaven." Yvonne commented after swallowing her first bite of Deeny's cookies.