Mother Road Ch. 05 - One For The Road

The look on the boy's face was not happy. I figured that whatever happened would only be made worse by my interrogating him, so I stayed silent. As we crossed the Oklahoma City limits, Eli finally opened up.

"He looked exactly like I remembered him, but he didn't recognize me. I had to tell him my name. He started asking me about myself, told me he was proud of me. Then he asked me about Ryan and Ellie, my half-brother and half-sister. He was confusing me with the kids from his other family. Before I could correct him, he asked about my mother. I told him she'd remarried, and he said he was happy for her, that she was a great wife, and he was sorry he'd deserted her. He said Teresa was the hottest and best fuck he'd ever had; she was the total opposite of his bitch ex-wife Laura with all her stupid fucking kids."

Eli was looking at me, tears in his eyes. "Dad, He thought Teresa was my mother. He called Mom a bitch and called all of us kids stupid. I fucking hate him. I'm sorry. I'm really sorry." He began to sob, "I take back what I said about you. I'm glad you're my father. I don't ever want to be a Palermo again - I want to stay a McFarland."

I wanted to take this poor hurting boy and hug him, but I was driving at the time. All I could do was pat him on the shoulder and say, "It's all right. You're my son. There may be times I want to kick your ass, but I'll never stop loving you."

Eli shook his head and was quiet for a while, then asked me, "Dad, I really made a mess of things with Natalie, didn't I?"

"Yes, Eli, you really did. Mom and I asked Natty to stay with us on the farm for now, until you can iron this out. You hurt her badly, just like your old man back there hurt your mother." I hoped that remark stung Elijah because I wanted it to. Eli needed sympathy, but he'd hurt that poor girl. No way was I letting him off the hook.

"Natty loves you, but she thinks you ran out on her because she's pregnant or dumb, or both. She cries a lot about it. Mom and I have gotten to know her, and we think she's a sweet and wonderful girl. Do you remember when you were about 9, how Brad had to come to the farm to apologize to Ollie that one time?"

"Yeah, kind of."

"She'd gotten pregnant with baby Archer, and Brad was the father. When she told him, he was really mean to her. Brad had to work his ass off to win her back, otherwise she would never agree to marry him. If you really love Natty, that's what you're going to have to do. You keep living in your buddy's apartment for now. Until this gets settled, you're banned from staying at the farmhouse."

"What if I can't get it settled with Natalie?" Time for some more tough love.

"Like I said, son, I'll never stop loving you, but if you can't do the right thing, you're on your own. Get a job, enlist in the military, it's your life, do whatever you have to do, but if you abandon your responsibilities, there will be consequences. You want to stay a McFarland? Well, abandoning their women is not what McFarland men do. Your Mom and I agree, if you leave that poor girl high and dry, you won't be living with us ever again."

Elijah thought about it. "That's pretty serious, Dad. You really mean that?" I couldn't believe this kid; I found myself fighting the urge to slap him upside his head. I was getting pissed now.

"Serious? Really, Eli? Getting a girl pregnant is what's serious, dude." By the look on his face I could see he wasn't deliberately being a dick, he was just in way over his 19-year-old head.

Then he asked, "What exactly am I supposed to do?" Good lord, this kid was really clueless. He needed some guidance, and as his father I had to give it to him. It was a rule in the parent handbook, apparently. Shit.

"Here's what's going to happen. I'll reactivate your cell phone and your ATM card for the family banking account. You can have an allowance of $100 a week, not a penny more. I'll be checking the account activity every damned day, so don't think I won't notice if you break the rules.

I'll loan you Laura's old Fury Wagon to get around until you graduate high school next month, then you can get a job and buy your own car and insurance, maybe find an apartment of your own. Crashing on a friend's sofa for too long can ruin a friendship."

Then he asked, "What about Natalie?" I guess I needed to paint this kid a picture.

"If I were you, son, the first thing I'd do is call her and apologize and tell her your feelings were confused after finding out about the baby, and you needed time to yourself. Then ask her out on a date to reconnect, and by a date I mean dress up and take her somewhere nice, not some cheap-ass pizza parlor. Hell, I'll even give you the money for it.

The bottom line is, you need to figure out pretty fucking fast if you really love this girl, Eli. If you do, you'd better romance the shit out of her, because she fucking deserves it."

"What if it turns out I don't love her?"

"If you got Natalie pregnant but don't love her, then I feel sorry for you son. Your mother and I will take care of her, but as far as the family goes, you'll be a dead man walking. I guarantee every woman and daughter-in-law in our family will be lining up to kick your ass, and I imagine your brothers Liam and James will be standing in line for a turn as well.

And don't even think about pulling a Chris Palermo move and try run away. As long as you stay in America, there's no place you can hide. I promise, son, I'll fucking find you."

It was about 3:30pm when we rolled up the driveway. I gave Eli the keys to the Fury and he promptly left, not bothering to go into the house. Between meeting his piece of shit biological father and my scolding, he'd had a rough day; I didn't judge him this time, but if he kept avoiding Natty, I was going to come down on him hard.

I went in the front door, and Natalie immediately ran up to me and hugged me. It was just like how the little ones used to do when I returned from a business trip, except Natty was six feet tall, so she was hugging my chest instead of my knees.

She started talking a mile a minute. "Papa, Mama's upstairs, she didn't want to be in the cabin without you here and I made her some soup for lunch and then she was tired, so I brought her a pillow and did some laundry and did you see Eli today?" Laura was right, Natalie was an emotionally lost little girl in an adult woman's body. My heart ached for her, even now.

"Thank you for all your help around the house, Natty, Laura and I appreciate it. Yes, I did see Eli. I think he's a lot less confused, and he should be calling you soon." Natty's face lit up. I had to measure my words carefully now.

"Natty, I need you to listen to me. Eli understands that he hurt you. If he apologizes though, don't forgive him right away just because you miss him. Words are cheap, they roll off a man's tongue and fall right into the dirt."

Saying this, I was specifically thinking of Eli's father, Chris. I carried on, "Don't be satisfied merely by what Eli says. He has to show you, do you understand?" Wordlessly, she nodded.

I grasped her upper arms, kissed her forehead and looked into her eyes. "Listen to me. You're a wonderful woman, Natty. You deserve love and respect. Don't accept anything less, ever. I love my son, but if he can't give you what you deserve..." I drew in my breath, this was tough to say, "... he can just go fuck himself. You're part of our family now, Natalie, and anybody that treats one of my girls like shit will live to regret it, no matter who they are. I promise."

Natty's eyes welled up, and she threw her arms around my neck hugging me so tightly I couldn't breathe. "Thank you, Papa," she whispered, and kissed my cheek. Then like a super-sized ethereal nymph, she ran upstairs to her room, making no noise on the stairs at all.

I'd made a promise like this to our oldest daughter Olivia 16 years ago, vowing I'd be her father and protector and whatever else a dad was. What I felt for Natalie now was nearly as strong as what I felt for Olivia then. I was deliberately being tough on Eli. First and foremost, he deserved it, but also by making the farmhouse and Natty forbidden territory, I was hoping he'd realize what he was missing.

I hoped being banned would get him off his dead ass and romance that girl like she deserved. The alpha wolf in me had awakened. I now had two pregnant females to take care of, and I'd keep them safe and secure, or die trying.

Now I went upstairs to the other pregnant momma. Elijah's visit to the State Prison had stirred up raw emotions in me, emotions only Laura could sooth. I needed her. I found her asleep in a flannel nightgown on top of the bed. Any other day I'd let her sleep, but today I was tortured inside. Sitting next to her on the side of the bed, I woke her up with kisses.

Eyes still closed, she smiled, "I like when you wake me up like that," she giggled. Hearing he laugh lifted my spirits; I started to feel better. "How did it go with Eli and Christopher?"

"Not well, as we expected. I won't get into the details, I'll let Eli share them when the time is right, but it was very upsetting to him, and to me." I kissed her again, my hands roaming the curves of her body.

"Laura, I want to tell you something." Her kisses were becoming more passionate, and my cock was responding. I needed to say this quickly, "There is no man I hate in the world right now more than your worthless ex-husband. What he did to you, and to your children, is unforgivable." I reached under the hem of her nightgown and stroked her soft thigh, and she began to unbutton my shirt.

"I promise you this, my love, just one word from you, I'll call Quiet Sal, and Chris Palermo will disappear from this world like a fart in a tornado. I hate him that much." My hand moved up the inside of her thigh, and I could feel the heat from her crotch. "Just," I kissed her, "one", I kissed her again, "word."

I took my shirt completely off and slipped out of my khakis and underwear. My erection was rock hard now; I pushed the hem of her nightgown up, found the top of her panties and gently removed them. She rolled onto her left side, and I slid in behind her, elevating her left leg so I could slide into that wonderful pregnant pussy. She gasped with pleasure. Very slowly, I began moving in and out.

As we gently coupled, she whispered, "Tom, do you mean that? One word?"

"In almost 16 years of marriage have you ever known me to make a false promise to you, my love?" Laura moaned as I increased my pace just a little bit. "You're my beautiful trophy wife, I would never deny you anything." Caressing her hair with my right hand, I moved my left hand down and rubbed her ass as I moved in her.

"I love your hair, and I love your ass," I whispered, as I kissed her shoulder blades and moved my left hand up to rub her breasts, "I love your tits, and your nipples. You're perfect." Then I moved my left hand down to her belly, "On top of that, you're a perfect mother and now you've giving me another baby. There's nothing I won't do for you." I felt Laura stiffen, her climax approaching. I leaned down and kissed her neck, then pulled her in tightly as I felt an orgasm building. "Nothing."

"Oh TOM, I love you, YES, UH, PLEASE TOM! AHHHH!" Laura shuddered, and I held her close as I erupted as well. This was a quieter two-Tom orgasm, but given her state of health, I'd settle for that. Holding her close, kissing her back, feeling her body heat, and breathing in her feminine scents, I couldn't be happier.

She rolled over to face me, and we kissed, a nice long soft one. Finally, she whispered, "You know I'd never ask you to hurt Christopher, right? As awful as he is, he's still the biological father of 3 of our children. I couldn't do that to them."

"Yes, I know. I was so angry after the things he said to Eli, I wanted to give you the option though. The guy is lower than a cockroach."

She whispered, "Even though it's something I would never do, it feels good knowing I can." I felt her hand rubbing my stomach, then moving down to my flaccid member. "I want you in me, husband." She ran her tongue teasingly around my lips. "Once wasn't enough, I want you again. I want to see you holding yourself over me, your cock in my wet pussy, your lips kissing me and sucking on my tits. Take me, please!"

Wow. Under ordinary circumstances, my recovery time was at least 20 minutes. These were not ordinary circumstances. Supporting my weight with my arms, I was instantly hard and entered her again, fucking her gently but leaving behind multiple love bite marks as I kissed, sucked and nibbled every part of her body my mouth could reach.

Afterwards as we cuddled, she began to quietly weep. After experiencing two pregnancies with Laura, I knew the best thing to do was not to ask why, just hold and console her, and I did. God, how I loved this woman.

+++++++++++++++++++

June - The Past Is Merely Prologue (Laura 3 months/Natalie 2)

My phone rang, a number I didn't recognize, but it was my business phone, so I answered it, "McFarland Consulting, Tom speaking."

"Hello, Mr. McFarland. I hope I'm not catching you at a bad time." The voice that came out of the speaker definitely rattled me. It had been 8 years since I'd last seen Walter Connor at Olivia's wedding, but there was no mistaking his voice - it sounded like vocal cords being drug through a gravel pit.

Walter worked as an enforcer for Salvatore "Quiet Sal" Bartolo, an alleged underboss with the Kansas City syndicate. When Olivia became pregnant by Brad Maddox and he threw her out, Mr. Bartolo had loaned me Walter and another guy to get Brad's attention. The fact that Brad and Olivia were now happily married spoke to Walter's effectiveness. At 6'4" and weighing north of 250 pounds, when he stepped into a room in his black suit and black sunglasses, Walter was exceptionally good at getting people's attention.

(Of course, Brad's 1994 Corvette going up in flames didn't hurt either, but I want to state emphatically again, for the record, Walter and I had nothing to do with that, it was mere coincidence.)

I managed to get my wits back in time to respond, "Walter! Great to hear from you! No, this is a good time!" I really was happy to hear from him, I was just shaken because it was just so unexpected. "How're things with Mr. Bartolo?"

"Umm, yeah, that's kind of why I'm calling. I don't work for him no more. Once I turned 50, he said I was too old to do the stuff like I was doing. He says younger guys are faster and can do more, so he offered me a job as a bartender. I told him that wasn't for me, I wasn't no bartender."

Mulling that over, I had to agree. Walter was really good at intimidation, but who wants to go to a bar to be intimidated? "Well, that really sucks, Walter. I'm sorry. What are you going to do now?"

"Well, see, Mr. Bartolo and I come to an agreement. He give me some money to retire on, on the condition that I disappear and become a civilian. He said he wished me well, but I wasn't allowed in Kansas City ever again."

"Where will you go?"

"That's what I need help on, Mr. McFarland. Since Lenny left town -- he was the guy you knew as Mr. Orange -- I don't really have any friends left. I was hoping I could come talk to you."

"Walter, we're friends. Call me Tom. Of course you can come by; Laura would love to see you! You have the address, why don't you plan on swinging by tomorrow, about early afternoon."

Laura had been overjoyed when Brad and Olivia had reconciled; Walter being a part of that meant she considered him a friend forever. His delivering a minivan from Mr. Bartolo to Brad and Olivia at their wedding reception pretty much sealed the deal.

The next day I was working in my cabin office, and Laura was sitting up in the cabin bed reading a magazine. We heard the driveway gravel crunch. Looking out the window, I saw a classic drive up: a ruby red 2002 Cadillac El Dorado. It came to a halt, and out stepped Walter Connor, in the flesh.

He'd switched out his black suit and black patent leather shoes for a pair of tan khakis, brown loafers, a light blue golf shirt, and a gray camel-haired sport coat. Laura got out of the cabin bed and brushed her hair, and we both went outside to greet him.

He was still a big man, but the new color combination gave him a softer look. His dark hair now had a few threads of silver, but it only made him look more distinguished. Handsome, even!

Laura walked out to him and gave him a warm embrace, at least as far as her short arms could reach around him, anyway. "Walter, so good to see you again," she gushed, "we're so glad you could come out! You look wonderful!"

Walter reddened at Laura's compliments. "It's very nice to see you again, Mrs. McFarland," he murmured. In the time I'd known him, Walter had shown himself to be a professional who got the job done. I hadn't realized until now, but on a personal level, Walter seemed to be quite shy.

Laura piped up, "How about if you boys come sit at the dining room table, and I'll make some lemonade?"

I knew Laura was being hospitable, it was her nature, but I stopped her. "Let me make the lemonade dear."

"Of course, darling," she said, "you're right of course, I need my rest." Even though she was agreeing, I could tell she wanted to stay. I turned to Walter.

"I know you want to talk business, but would it be OK if Laura sat with us? She's getting tired of just seeing my face day after day; I know she's been a little hungry for company lately."

Laura took Walter's hand. It looked like a child taking hold of an extra-large catcher's mitt. "I'll be as quiet as a mouse, I promise," she teased him. Walter blushed ever redder than before.

"Sure, Mrs. McFarland," he said, "whatever you want."

"Walter, you can call me Laura, you know," she chided, "I'm Tom's wife, not his mother."

Walter blushed again. It was amazing the effect my little wife had on this shy giant.

As my wife made small talk, I made the lemonade and served it up, and my two recipients pronounced it fit for consumption. Then we got down to business.

I started. "Walter I've been thinking about you a lot since you called yesterday. I have an idea I'd like to run by you. When I started my consulting business, most of my jobs involved architecture, construction code, mechanical systems and fire/life safety systems. More and more these days, I'm being asked about security systems as well. Now, I know some basics, but I'm no expert. Let me ask you, are security systems something you have experience in? Frankly, I could use a little help."

Walter's eyes got wide. "Well, I have experience, yeah, but it usually involved getting into places, not keeping people out." He glanced at me, then at Laura, as if expecting some kind of judgment.

"That's exactly the point, Walter. I can design a system, but I don't have the practical knowledge you do that will tell me where the weak points are." I could see Walter digesting this.

"What I'm proposing is that you come to work for me. I can't pay you a salary, but to start I'll give you at least fifty percent of the revenue on any contract involving security systems. As you learn more about system design and grow in the role, I'll up that percentage. When you get to the point of designing and installing systems on your own, I'll make you a partner in the business, with the title 'Vice President of Security Design'."

I glanced over at Laura; she'd never gotten involved with my business, but this was a pretty big step. She was beaming, so it looked like she definitely approved. Whew!

Walter thought it over for a few minutes as we sipped our lemonade, then stood up and extended his hand. "I like it," he intoned in his gravelly voice, "I've never had a title, other than 'Hey you'." We shook hands.