The Burning Boat Ch. 02

"They said they're having some trouble with downed trees but would be here in a minute sir, as fast as they can get here."

He nodded to Miranda who gently peeled Laurie from John and pulled her into the kitchen.

"Let me see that sir." George was trying to get a good look at John's face and the ugly growing bruise. "We need to get some ice on that."

George sat John in the recliner keeping guard on the still unconscious Fred and returned with a plastic bag of ice. John grimaced as the ice contacted his cheek.

The police arrived moments before Fred regained consciousness. His mouth didn't close correctly and one puffy side of his face drooped slightly. After hearing John explain that he met this guy climbing in his window, the fact that he was an abusive husband coming to get revenge, and that, for once, the good guy won, the cops were not gentle as they removed the phone wire and replaced it with standard police cuffs. Each time they moved Fred he groaned in pain. The ambulance arrived and John held Laurie as they watched him, strapped to the gurney, being carried out of the house. John stopped the stretcher by putting a hand out and leaned over and whispered to the groaning semi-conscious man.

"Next time, I won't be as gentle. Go away, never come back."

Laurie couldn't hear what was being said, but she saw the fear in Fred's eyes, she knew she was finally free of him. Now, if they could survive the next 24 hours she might actually have a chance at happiness. She held John tightly and watched the last blinking light work down the driveway, turning left to the highway. She lay her head down on his shoulder.

"Laurie, you don't have to worry about him any more. I talked to the police supervisor and he told me they were going to charge him with attempted murder. By the time they get done with him, he's going to live in a very small room for a very long time."

"John, thank you..." a tear ran down her cheek. "I keep saying that, but you keep doing things for me."

"I love you Laurie..."

Laurie couldn't speak and held John closely as he closed the door against the wind and rain.

"I've gotta board up that window before everything gets soaked or the wind tears off the roof." But as he walked in the den he saw that George had already beaten him to it. He'd have to repair the screw holes but the wood was as secure as it could be made. He led Laurie up to bed. With the excitement of the evening wearing off, the adrenaline gone they both dropped off into a deep sleep, the rising wind going unheard.

John woke to the sound of the wind, a roaring he'd never heard before. He leaded over, hit the remote and nothing happened. He looked at the clock and it was also dark. He slid out of bed quietly and carefully trying not to wake Laurie.

"Where are you going?"

"I have to turn the power to generator. The electric's out."

"I hate waking up to an empty bed John..."

John chuckled and felt the bruise on his face as he grinned. It hurt. The bastard was stronger than John thought he'd be. He resolved never to let his opponent have more than one try again. The power soundlessly blinked over as the gas powered generator kicked in. When they first built the house John had trouble with the power going out all the time and had installed a generator that ran on natural gas. It was big enough to power the whole house and he had two weeks worth of fuel.

The lights blinked on and John wandered into the den. The smashed end table still lay beside the recliner, the wind still whistled in the gaps around the broken window. He walked up stairs and Laurie startled him.

"Oh my god! Look at your cheek!" She kissed him softly but it still made him wince. "We've got to get that looked at John, you need an exray, you might've broken a bone."

"I'll be fine Laurie... I've had worse."

"I'm a nurse. I know better, when the weather clears you're going to have that looked at."

John smiled. It really felt good to have someone that cared about him. It had been so long since he could recall the warmth of caring. "whatever you say sweets. I need to watch the TV and find out what's going on."

As the TV clicked on John was pleased to see that the cable still worked. He wondered why the cable always seemed to stay on but the power went out. Maybe they should talk to each other, or perhaps the power company should hire a couple of the cable guys to teach them how to do it.

"The storm is still moving towards the coastline and has decreased in strength as predicted" the weather guy announced, seemingly proud that he'd finally gotten one right. "the center of the storm is moving very slowly and is expected to come ashore early this afternoon and should accelerate once it's made landfall. The worst of it should be over by 11:00 tonight but between now and then, the coast will see storm surges of 8 to 12 feet, and winds exceeding 110 miles per hour. The strongest winds will be gusts in the rain bands..." He pointed to the bands of yellow and red that surrounded the concentric eye of the storm. It was a very impressive geometrical storm. John looked at the wind map and saw that the tropical force winds were already there, with hurricane force winds not too far away.

"Hey, you want to go look at the beach?"

"You think we're safe?"

"I don't think we will be an hour from now but I think it'll be ok now. Come on sweets. We'll take the pickup."

Laurie pulled a pair of shorts on under her night shirt and they rode over the grass in the pickup to the edge of the cliff. The cove was a boiling mass of angry water. The swells were well over 12 feet and crashed with a boom against the bottom of the cliff. John looked at the boats which bobbed at their places tied off to the dock. He was glad he had tied them up and put storm anchors out. The dock was coming apart under the attack of the storm. Several planks were already missing and the rest of it swayed under the force of the waves as they ran the full length of the dock crashing on the cliff. The boat house was slowly coming apart as well, the waves crashing against its sides, peeling the siding off, forcing its way into the house.

Laurie had to yell to be heard over the force of the wind. "we're going to lose the house honey!"

John actually smiled. It was the first time he'd ever heard her being possessive, as if she actually believed that she belonged here, was a part of this place.

"It's ok, we'll build a new one... together... It'll be fun!"

As if to punctuate his sentence they watched in segments through the windshield wipers, as a large wave hit the side of the house. John watched as it twisted slightly, raising a corner of the roof. The wind had been waiting for just such an opportunity, and John lept from the truck in frustration but could do nothing but watch as a small section lifted up and tore away, then with a firm foothold the wind attacked the rest. It lifted as a large sheet and sailed up away from the house shattering with a roar against the cliff. Pieces of wood flew up and over the cliff while the big parts sank slowly into the boiling caldron of the cove.

Laurie's arm slid under John's as she joined him and they stood on the top of the hill watching together. The next wave took away a portion of the wall and the whole house began to lean as if made out of cards. It began to slowly fall to the side when the next wave hit and knocked it off its foundation. John saw the bed room, the bed and a portion of the family room, including the couch where'd he'd first felt Laurie's touch, slide into the sea. He felt melancholy as he watched the old house die. In a few moments it was over, the house was gone.

He pulled Laurie back into the pickup truck and looked at her as she wiped her eyes, her lower chin trembling.

"Its so sad John... Just a couple of days ago we were there. We weren't there long but I will miss that house so much. What are we going to tell our children? We'll never be able to show them where we had our first kiss."

John just smiled as he drove back to the main house. He stopped several hundred yards from the house.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm looking for anything loose." The roof held tightly, the siding looked fine, everything was tight. He hoped it would stay that way.

The four of them sat in the woodshop listening to the wind grow and howl in its anger trying to get to them. The wind had become a living thing, screaming it's rage, the house creaking, rocking as they sat huddled in the basement. Laurie looked apprehensively at the concrete wall of the cellar, almost expecting it to give way. Although it stood defiantly against the wind Laurie felt she could see it move with the battering pressure. Hurricane force winds had been on them now for almost 6 hours and they expected it to reach it's peak as the eyewall came ashore right across their beach in the next few minutes. As Laurie huddled next to John, the wind slowed as if taking a breath before its next and mighty attack on the house, but it didn't come back, but died off quickly, and the silence was almost scarier than the roar.

John stood up and walked to the top of the stairs, putting his head against the door listening. He opened the door and Laurie, Miranda and George rose and followed him through the door. The inside of the house showed no effects of the storm, the wood in the window of the den still stood proudly. John walked to the front door of the house and looked out.

"George, we're going to be planting trees again."

As Laurie walked out the door, she saw a bright blue sky surrounded by an ugly gray swirling fog. She was startled by the silence, no chirping crickets, no singing birds, no noise of cars or planes, just the continued roar of the waves at the beach. John took her hand and pulled her over the long grassy slope down towards the beach. The large boats that were left were bobbing at the end of their tethers, all evidence that there had ever been a dock were gone, the boats secured by only their storm anchors.

The waves in the cove were monstrous and angry. As they rolled in to the cliff they exploded with a deep booming sound similar to hitting the side of an empty 55 gallon drum. The water was gray and deep, all vegetation at the edge of the cliff had been stripped away, even the small trees. John and Laurie stood in rapt fascination watching the anger of the storm beating itself against the firm unmoving force of the cliff as if in a battle that all knew the water would eventually win, but appearing as if the cliff was the short term victor.

John looked out to sea and the far side of the eyewall was a visible wall coming closer at an alarming rate, the sky's were dark, the sun low in the sky now obscured by the approaching clouds, and John realized that the storm moved faster than anyone expected, it was here early, four hours early. John turned and grabbed Laurie's hand, pulling her in almost a trot as the feeling of overwhelming dread came over him. He felt as if someone had a gun aimed at his back and was afraid to turn around and look at the approaching downside of the storm. He knew the worst was coming in that visible wall of death.

He looked up at the house as they ran across the front lawn and everything was surprisingly in order, until he noticed that the awning he had so carefully secured had come loose and now was nothing but a couple of anchoring bolts keeping nothing attached to the wall. John felt the first puff of wind as he entered the door, pulling a breathless Laurie in behind him.

"George! Miranda?! It's about to start again, let's get downstairs!"

George had prepared a resting area downstairs, a double mattress for John and Laurie, made up like a bed in one corner and two single mattresses, one for him and one for Miranda, in the opposite corner of the room. They sat quietly, listening, waiting for the wind to start. It started as a slight rumble, then, built with the speed of an oncoming train. They huddled in the dim light and sat in silence as they listened to the wind and the creaking of the house, each of them waiting for the first signs that the house was giving in to the force of the wind.

John and Laurie lay down in the spoon position, on the double bed, with Miranda and George finally resting on the opposite side of the room. George finally succumbed to the exhaustion and his snores were barely heard over the roar of the wind. John drifted off with his nose buried in Laurie's hair smelling the alluring feminine smells of shampoo and perfumed soap.

Miranda looked longingly at John, comfortable snuggled up to Laurie. She listened to the wind, different than the sound of wind she was used to, not a high pitched whistle as the wind blew through the trees, but a loud roar, lower, like a train but decreasing as the storm wore itself out. She wished John's arms were tightly wrapped around her keeping her safe. She ran her hand down her 21 year old body, feeling the firm breasts, the flat stomach, firm thighs. She wondered why John had never wanted to feel them. Her hand traveled up to feel the silkiness of her panties, the wisps of hair, her enlarging clit under the wispy fabric.

She'd had a thing for John since she was a little girl, since her father had passed away. He was "uncle John" but she had always had a crush on him. When she moved in here she thought she had a chance, but finally came to understand that John had a different kind of affection for her.

She watched John closely, and noticed some slight movement as he nuzzled Laurie's hair. She looked down and saw his arm draped over her, his hand sitting on her stomach just beneath her breast, tightening as he pulled Laurie closer. She longed to feel that grip, to feel his hand move up over her breast, down between her legs where her hand presently was, massaging gentle circles on her clit. She looked at Laurie and saw a small smile beginning at the corners of her mouth. Laurie was so beautiful, and she and John fit so well together, Miranda could understand John's attraction, and her admiration for Laurie grew.

Miranda watched as Laurie's head went back and when she once again looked, John's hand had now cupped her breast. Miranda could see the hardened nipple as it was being rolled through the fabric by John's fingers. Laurie's leg rose slightly as if... Miranda was shocked to find that John was fingering Laurie.

It seemed strange until she realized that she too was feeling a sense of euphoria as the winds had calmed significantly. They were still audible but the urgent angry roar had decreased to something she understood, a steady stiff wind, the whistling kind. She lay there mesmerized by the expressed pleasure she read on Laurie's face, her eyes closed, her head leaning back, her long neck tense.

Miranda's fingers pressed against her clit, rubbing circles she fantasized were being painted by John as she watched him pleasure Laurie. She watched Laurie's leg raise, looping back over John's and she saw the moment he entered Laurie clearly expressed on Laurie's face, the slight grimace as the pleasure overcame her ability to hide it. Her hips moved slightly as she bumped forward slightly with each thrust.

Laurie's eyes opened as John gently thrust into her. Laurie loved the fact that John wanted her, needed her and she reveled in the pleasure of feeling his length slide gently inside of her. She felt the fullness and the challenge of staying quiet, across the room from Miranda and George increased her pleasure, the sheer naughtiness of it. She adjusted her hips to give John a clear path for his thrusts, shuddering at the tingles generated as John's hard cock pulled her clit down to rub along his well lubricated length with each in thrust, and the anticipation as John pulled his length almost all the way out preparatory for the next thrust.

Laurie opened her eyes and looked directly into Miranda's as Miranda watched. Miranda's face was also a mask of pleasure as she fingered herself. Laurie stiffened, then relaxed making the conscious decision to let John have his pleasure, and watched the smile cross Miranda's face as Miranda understood as well. Miranda watched as Laurie bit down on her lower lip trying to stifle the moans, breaking eye contact to look briefly at Laurie's breasts, still gripped by John's hands, his forearm rippling as he continued ot fondle her nipple.

The two girls, one older than the other watched each other climb the hills of pleasure. Miranda's nipples rubbed against the fabric of her shirt as she watched each thrust transferred to Laurie's face, watched her body move forward as John thrust deeply into her, watched Laurie try to hold back her orgasm. John's hand squeezed Laurie's breast as he approached his orgasm.

Laurie watched as Miranda began to cum, her eyes closing to slits but still focused on the pair fucking across the room. Miranda squeezed her breast as she came and the act put Laurie over the top. Miranda watched as Laurie's eyes rolled back and her mouth came open. Miranda just barely heard Laurie's groan as she crested and watched her body shake with each thrust, getting lost in the shudders of orgasm. The sight put Miranda over the top again and she lost herself to her second orgasm watching Laurie cum.

As her eyes opened she watched as Laurie lurched once, then again and she could almost feel John cumming deeply inside Laurie. Each thrust timed with a spurt of his white seed deep within her, coating her cervix, her walls, getting lost in her juices. She was amazed at how erotic it was to watch the final throes of the act of sex, as the woman gave herself to his pleasure. Miranda watched but didn't hear as Laurie whispered quietly to John, the lips clearly said "I love you too..." and Miranda was happy for John. Miranda smiled at Laurie who smiled shyly back, a womanly pact between two women, an acceptance of approval and a promise of love. A bond was struck between the two, knowing that the core of that bond was their mutual love for John.

Epilogue

The storm eventually burned itself out, and had decreased enough by the time that it hit land that the only real loss John suffered was the loss of the dock and the boat house. Laurie helped John clean up, it took three days before power was restored. When everything had settled from the storm life began a steady course. Laurie found herself happier than she had ever been with John and they led a full and happy relationship. They were married in the months to follow the 500 year storm.

Laurie found a part time job nursing at the local doctor's office and introduced John to many of the locals. She ended up having two children sired by John, both boys, and he threw himself into their lives, spending many days on the baseball and soccer fields, coaching, grooming fields and generally being a part of their lives. He was always there for the community, becoming fast friends with many of the locals, hosting community parties, and yes, fixing boats at no cost save a blouse or a woman's swim suit. He became a treasured member of the community.

Miranda stayed at the house through her college years and then after, for a couple of years until she too found her life mate. Her relationship with Laurie was always close and they became the closest of friends. The big test that Miranda's future husband had to pass was acceptance by Laurie. Miranda was given a modest beach house not far from John and Laurie's house as a wedding present, but she was often found at the big house in the wee hours of the night laughing, chatting and cooking with Laurie and John.

Fred ended up with a large cell mate with which he tried to settle his differences in the same manner he had always settled them. He died, gasping for breath with a shank punctured lung, alone on a prison shower floor, watching his life blood leak down the shower stall drain. A fitting end to a wasted life.