Carefree Cove Ch. 05

"Nice to meet you, Ashley," Michelle said warmly, offering her hand. "I think I've seen your face before."

"Mr. Hayes had a painting of me. You probably saw it as his house."

"No, I haven't yet, but I'll look forward to it. I think I saw you at the grocery store."

"Oh, yeah, I work there, too."

"Are you going to college?"

"Not this year, tryin' to save some money."

"I know how it goes."

"Well, Ashley, I'll tell Samantha that you were asking about her," Mutt interjected. "I'm sure she'll be glad to hear from you."

"Yeah. Good night, Mr. Hayes, Good night, Ms. Hawkins."

Michelle gave her a genuine smile. "Good night, Ashley."

"Good night, my dear," Mutt said. He murmured under his breath for her to hear, "Don't let the door smack your ass as you go."

Ashley came back to the table, glancing over her shoulder, and slid in. "What did you do that for?" Tom asked.

"I'm evil. But not as bad as Mutt. Damn, that man thinks he's got Superman's balls hangin' between his legs. I don't care if his old lady is on the bottle, him takin' a classy lady out on Sunday night is ballsy. Bet he was in church this morning'. " Tom nodded in confirmation. "Goes to make himself look holy, and fucks every girl in the county. I think he'd even fuck somebody right on the altar if he could get away with it."

She looked at her watch, took a long, last drag and ground her cigarette in the ashtray. "I gotta run. You're sweet on that lady, I can tell it from your eyes."

He shook his head. "I can't deny it."

"I hope you win this little triangle. For your sake and hers." She sauntered out the door with a cheery wave to Mutt. In a few moments, Mutt and Michelle went to the bathroom at the same time, and Tom slipped out the door and home.

******

"Daddy, are you going to see more of my friend Shelley while I"m gone?" Amanda asked out of the blue as he drove her to her great-grandmother's trailer park.

"Yes, baby. I'll see her tonight." It took quite a bit of effort to keep his voice calm, with his anticipation at seeing her and his shock at seeing her with Mutt Hayes last night.

"Good. I hope you see a lot of her. A lot, a lot, a lot, a lot, a lot, a lot,"

Tom chuckled. "I'm glad I have your permission."

"Don't be silly, Daddy. You're a grown up, you can do what you want to." She watched out the window for a few minutes as they made the turn from the main road to the trailer park. "Do you think she's pretty?"

"Yes, but not as pretty as you."

"Thank you, Daddy. Maybe someday I can be your girlfriend."

"You're already my girlfriend, sweetheart, for the rest of your life. In the meantime, get ready, 'cause we're almost there." Pulling into the park next to Gracie's trailer, he shut off the engine and got out to unload his daughter and her bags. Grace Carter came out to greet them with a hug and a kiss.

"Hello, dearie," she said with arms outstretched to gather in her great-granddaughter. " You ready for some fun?"

"Yes, Grammie," she enthused.. "I'm ready to paint Branson red."

"Oh really? Well, let me see if I remembered the red paint, then." She took the bags from Tom and put them in her own trunk. Next to be transferred was Amanda's car seat. After she was buckled in, Tom and Gracie took a couple of steps out of earshot.

"You got enough money?" he asked the older woman.

"Yes, Tom. I've got enough, more than enough."

"And you've got my cell number?"

"As always, Tom, as always. You haven't changed it, have you?"

'No."

"Then stop worrying. We'll be all right. Smell my breath. How does it smell?" She breathed heavily in his direction.

His face gurned to its limit. "Awful, but clean."

"Well, you might be a little more considerate. . ." she replied, hitting him softly on the arm.

"Sorry, Gracie. A lot on my mind."

"That's all right, Tom. Don't worry about us. We'll see you Friday night, maybe Saturday."

"Either would be fine."

They looked around awkwardly for a moment, locating Amanda, who struggled to get her bags into Gracie's car. Tom helped her. When the task was done, Gracie turned to him and said simply: "Well, goodbye."

"Goodbye." Going over to Gracie's car, he opened the door and reached in to hug his daughter. "Bye, sweetheart. Have a good time."

She squeezed him hard. "Bye, Daddy. I love you."

"I love you. Bye." With a roar, Gracie's car pulled out of the lot and toward excitement. Tom followed shortly and made the turn to Carefree Cove.

********

"So Tom, how do you like the salad?"

"It's all right." They ate on the deck, savoring the Tuesday evening Lake breeze, the fading sky and the green trees. They were minimally dressed: Tom in a white shirt and shorts; Michelle in a green halter top, matching shorts and sandals. He had a white Sauvignon blanc that went well with the baby Spinach and tangerine salad she brought.

She looked at him, probing with her wide brown eyes. "You're upset about something."

He pondered for a moment, and accessed the second biggest concern on his mind. She was gone the entire day before, and he spent his time working on the canvas of her as Mother Nature. "Well, it's Amanda. It's the first time she's been away from me for very long since she was a baby. Even though she's with Gracie, and I trust Gracie completely, the fact I'm not going to see her until Friday is bugging me. Rationally, I know it's all right, or else I wouldn't have sent them, but my irrational side is screaming in frustration."

A soft hand landed on the side of Tom's face. "That's all right, Irrational Tom," Michelle cooed sardonically, "your little girl's going to be all right. She's growing up and you're going to have to let her go."

Tom broke out with a snort. "She's only four years old. She may be going on 25 and acting like she's my mother, but she's only 4."

She stroked his face. Her eyes were magnetic: he felt an unstoppable momentum forward, to meet those eyes, the button nose, the full lips. He resisted for a moment, then advanced to plant his lips fully on hers, kissing her hard as the breeze rustled the greenery in prophecy of an approaching rain. Eagerly, she returned his kisses, opening her mouth slightly, probing with her tongue in search of his.

Standing there for fifteen minutes, their tongues danced and their soft hands caressed each other's neck and shoulders. Their torsos ground together, almost dry humping in their desire, his shorts displaying his passion while her musk wafted up to compete with the flowers. Distant flashes played across the Northern horizon, the other side of the Lake, but the brunt of the storm was going to pass them at a distance.

Her left leg wrapped around his waist to caress his buttocks. Fumbling, he undid her halter top and pulled it from between them. His t-shirt came over his head, and their chests pressed together skin to skin as their lips devoured each other's. Her sandal came off, her leg stroked his up and down.

Breaking, he undid her shorts and ripped them down, then her pink lace panties. His own came off next, his pecker leaping proudly to life. She embraced him again, smothering his lips with hers, her heel seeking his asscrack, her hand pumping his piston.

He moved his knee up and her legs parted. His thigh felt wetness coming down; the rain wasn't there yet. Their bodies gave off heat, their lips were inseparable, their hands roamed freely, stroking each other, their legs eager for the next move.

Picking her up, he lifted her to the lounger sitting on his deck. A few splatters in the leaves announced the coming shower; the water hit their skin and failed to slake their thirst for each other. She leaned back willingly, luxuriously, her legs parting in welcome. Her hand went down to guide him in, and her gradually introduced his yin to her yang.

As he hit bottom, he came back down to kiss her, his hand on her breast, as they began the slow tango of love. A few more drops hit them, the distant thunder crackled and the reflection of the setting sun peeking under the clouds turned the area a strange and mystic shade of green tinged red. Suddenly, the clouds covered the dying sun, turning everything unnaturally grey as the rain pelted down on the lovers, oblivious to everything except each other, as they made love in the rain.

Ten minutes the deluge came down around them as they poured their love into each other. Their pace almost outstripped the storm, back and forth as the rain drenched them, but they paid no attention to the rain as they made love. Finally, they orgasmed together to a cascade of thunder and lightning, falling limp into each other's arms as the rain let up.

They clung damply to each other, shivering. He finally looked around. "The rain's stopped."

She looked up at him with fuzzy eyes. "I know. This was a heck of a way to cash in a rain check"

They snickered at that, and kissed. Tom looked down at her and said: "We need a hot shower."

"Mmm. A very good idea. Then some coffee and Amaretto, perhaps?"

"Perhaps."

They luxuriated in the hot water, washing away the chill and muck from the cold rain. Soaping each other, their passion returned, and they quelled it in the hot water together. Drying off, they forgot the coffee and the amaretto and went straight to a warm bed with clean sheets, whose fresh smell did not last half the night.

To be continued...