The Most Valuable Gift

"Zoe? ZOE!" Ed said trying to get her out of her daze.

Her large deep brown eyes framed by thick black lashes locked onto his pale blue eyes. The color of ice. She shivered. Those lashes of hers were wide apart as her eyes were trapped by his gaze.

"Are you ready?" he asked. She nodded jerkily, the gold loops in her ears swinging wildly and he reached a finger over to lift her chin to close her mouth. She swallowed and pulled her eyes away. She pulled on her gold, down filled winter jacket and pulled the hood up. The faux fur collar framed her beautiful face. Those lips. Large and sensual, he desperately wanted to kiss them. Her soft pink sweater, now hidden inside the jacket, clung to her surprisingly large tits which were definitely oversized for the small 5' 3" frame. There had been a lot of caramel colored cleavage on display. He tore his eyes away and headed back outside. She grabbed her gold purse and locked up behind herself.

It was definitely getting colder. He opened Zoe's door and helped her in. He reached between her legs and she jumped but he was just pulling a car blanket out from under her seat. He put it on her lap for her to unfold and moved to his own side of the truck. He got in and got them underway.

"Would you like the blanket on your legs?" Zoe asked.

"Yes, please," he replied. She tried to spread the blanket across but it was a little short. She removed her seatbelt and moved to the middle seat and fastened that belt around her. She looked up at him and he smiled at her. She smiled and pulled the blanket over their legs.

Ed could feel her softness pressing against his right side. It felt good but he was driving so he pulled his mind away from that. Soon he pulled onto the interstate. It was a forty five minute drive to get to the penitentiary. "We're probably going to get there close to 7:30PM. When do visiting hours end?" he asked.

Zoe's mind was reeling. Ed looked so dangerous! She was seriously getting turned on. Angie had told her that he had a new jacket but she'd failed to say how incredible he looked in it! He asked her something and was waiting for an answer. Visiting hours?

"Sorry! They have extended hours this week. Until 8:30PM," she said in a rush.

Ed looked at Zoe. She seemed out of breath for some reason. He pulled his attention back to the road. The truck's heater wasn't too good and he had to keep it on defrost to be able to see. He felt Zoe trembling. Maybe it was time to look into getting a new truck. He lifted his right arm over Zoe's head and pulled her tight against his body to share his body heat.

"Oh fuck yes!" Zoe thought. She felt his strength surrounding her and she basked in it. She rested her head against his thick chest muscle under his leather coat and put her left hand on his powerful right thigh. She felt herself drifting away on a cloud of tingly bliss.

Ed drove on, enjoying the feel of Zoe against his side. The time seemed to fly by and soon Ed was pulling off the highway to take them on the county road leading to the penitentiary. They pulled into the parking lot and found a spot someone just vacated by the sidewalk leading to the visitor's entrance. The parking lot was emptying out and Ed noticed there weren't that many visitors left. Maybe four cars. He looked at the line of cars heading out on the small country road and wondered if they knew something he didn't. He turned back to the forbidding looking building. He shut off the engine.

Zoe came out of her daze as Ed turned off the car. She was toasty warm under the blanket and didn't want to move unless it was to climb onto Ed's-

He opened the door and the wind almost yanked it from his hand. Cold air ripped into the cab and he jumped out slamming the door and hustled over to Zoe's side. He opened her door, scooped her into his arms and lifted her out of the cab. He kicked the truck's door closed and ran for the entrance doors with Zoe held against his chest to protect her from the cold winds. He bumped the handicap plate and carried her inside as the doors opened. Once they were inside he lowered her to her feet but she clung to his jacket so he slid her down his chest until her feet touched the floor.

Ed noticed she had her eyes closed and she was trembling. He guessed that she must have gotten a chill. He tucked his cap and gloves into his pocket then opened his jacket. He wrapped it around her, squeezing her tight against the warmth of his knit sweater encased chest.

Zoe moaned as Ed held her so tightly against his body. She was almost delirious from how good he felt.

Ed looked down at Zoe when he heard her make a sound. Her face was pressed against his sweater and she was taking deep breaths. He took her head between his hands and her silky hair ran between his fingers. His mind momentarily failed him as he let himself be carried off by the pure sensual experience of his hands in her hair. He tore himself back to the here and now and took her shoulders in his hands to push her back from his chest.

"Zoe! Are you alright? Are you able to visit your daughter?" Ed asked with concern in his voice.

Sophia. Right. She was here to see her daughter. Zoe gave herself a shake. And gazed up into Ed's eyes. She nodded.

Zoe made her way over to the registration desk with Ed following. She spoke to the clerk as she had preregistered for a visit with her daughter. Ed wasn't recorded so he had to give his details to the clerk who was a little bit hard of hearing. It took three times for him to understand it was 'Edward Walters' not 'Edward Walker'. Finally he was registered for a visit. The clerk told them to sit down and they would be called to enter.

As he guided Zoe back to a chair a smartly dressed dark skinned woman holding a cell in her hand walked up to Ed.

"Excuse me. I couldn't help but overhear. Your name is Edward Walters? Are you acquainted with Victoria Rutledge?"

Ed blinked at the woman. "Uh, yes. I know Victoria."

"My name is Kendra Hill. I'm Victoria's attorney. She talks about you frequently. Are you here to visit someone inside?"

"No, I'm just here with my friend to see her daughter," he replied.

"Could you spare a moment to speak with Victoria? She's inside the meeting area waiting for me to finish this call. No one comes to see her except me. I think she'd love to speak with you."

Zoe was looking at him with concern but Ed nodded. "I'll see you when you come in," he said and she nodded.

The attorney led him over to the registration desk and made the arrangements. She went back to her call and Ed went inside. The guards went over his leather coat looking for contraband but he was clean. He went inside and saw a large brightly lit room with tables and bolted down chairs around them. At one of the tables was Victoria. She looked so lost.

Gone was the perfect, unlined skin and the perfectly styled hair. Gone was the almost doll like perfection and glamor of a Hollywood star from days gone by. Now she looked... human. Pretty. No, Ed thought she was beautiful because now she looked real.

He smiled as he walked up to her and saw her expression freeze. She covered her face with her hands and he could see she was beginning to cry. He sat down and took her hands in his. She looked down so he wouldn't see her face.

"Shhhh, please don't cry! Why are you hiding your face? You look so lovely!" he said quietly to calm her.

Her eyes came back up. He saw some faded bruises. She'd been in a fight. He looked at her smooth knuckles and more faded bruises on her forearms and realized she wasn't fighting, she'd been attacked. His heart went out to her. This was no environment for her. He was surprised she'd survived.

"I- I'm not lovely in here," she said quietly unable to look him in the eye. "You weren't supposed to see me like this. I'm going to be released on Christmas day. I was going to get all of this put right and then I would come see you. You shouldn't have seen me like this." Her tears were returning.

"This is real! This is true beauty! You have a deep beauty but you were hiding it before under a thin layer of false perfection. Now I can see how truly lovely you really are. Please don't hide yourself again. This is so much better! When you had them cover you so completely, it stole away the warmth of your humanity. Perfection is cold, untouchable."

Ed ran his thumbs gently over the soft skin on the back of her hands. "This is warm, approachable, and best of all it's real. This is a woman a man could speak to and want to get to know. I know women prefer to wear a little make-up and that's fine but please don't lose this!"

She was looking at him straight in the eye now. She was slack jawed with surprise and he grinned at her causing her to blush.

"There it is! I wouldn't have been able to see how pretty your blush is before." Ed was grinning ear to ear and she couldn't help smiling in return.

"I'm glad I came to the penitentiary tonight. It's great to hear you are getting to leave so soon. How did that happen?" he asked.

"My lawyer won our appeal. She found additional videos I hadn't destroyed of my husband abusing me and was able to prove I was a battered wife." She looked at Ed curiously. "Why- why are you here?"

"A friend of mine came up to visit her daughter. I drove her here. It's the last visit Zoe can have with her before Christmas," he explained.

A sad expression slipped across Victoria's face.

"Are you not able to see your daughters?" he asked gently.

"They aren't speaking with me right now. They are in England with my parents. Who are also not speaking with me," she said, her voice breaking.

"They don't understand what you went through with that man. He was not a nice man at all! They will come around. You just have to be strong for yourself. Your kids will have to grow up a little to understand. You may need to be patient with them. They're kids," Ed said nodding to himself.

He suddenly looked up at her. "Wait! You're being released on Christmas day and you have no family to go home to?" She nodded sadly.

"When you get home get your Christmas party clothes on and come to Angie Spencer's house. The party starts from 4PM on. That's where you will find us. You can celebrate with us!" Ed exclaimed.

"I wouldn't want to intrude-"

"No one should be alone at Christmas! Promise me you will come by!" he insisted, looking her right in the eye.

She smiled and nodded. Her eyes flicked over his shoulder and she nodded to Zoe who was entering the room. Ed smiled at her as well and Zoe nodded back with a gentle smile. She walked away as Sophia was entering the room through another door.

Kendra Hill arrived to stand by the table.

"Hello again, Mr. Walters. I need to speak with my client now if you don't mind. I have to make arrangements to get her out of this place by Christmas."

"Yes, she's coming to our Christmas party that day. Don't let me prevent you from making that happen.

Ed kissed the knuckles on Victoria's left hand and nodded his goodbyes to her. He walked over to see Zoe and noticed Sophia was watching him approach with real fear in her eye. He saw it was only Zoe's grip on her hand that kept the young woman from fleeing.

Ed sat down across from her and saw she was trembling.

He wondered what had brought her to this level of fear. It couldn't be him.

"Hello Sophia," he said.

"Hello Mr. Walters." Sophia squeaked.

Ed looked at her cautiously. "You can call me Ed. Are you ok?"

"Please don't hurt me," she whined.

"I would never hurt you!" he gasped.

Sophia looked at Ed like she didn't believe him.

"Why would you think I would do that?" he said incredulously.

"Don't play with me!" she growled and the guards looked over at them with a scowl.

"I swear I'm not! I hold no grudge against you. I'm not mad at you. I forgive you." Ed said as bluntly as he could.

"What?" the young woman gasped, staring at him, clearly shaken.

"I don't hold grudges. That behavior never really made sense to me. It's over. It happened and we all move on. There is already too much other stuff happening in life to waste time on stuff that happened in the past. I forgive you. You should forgive yourself maybe and think of things you can do to ease your conscience. It makes you feel so much better," he said with a smile.

Sophia began to cry. Zoe looked at Ed and mouthed 'thank you' to him. He felt embarrassed to see the young woman falling apart. He stood and pointed to the exit. Zoe nodded.

As he left he noticed that Victoria and her lawyer were no longer there and it looked like Zoe was the last visitor. According to the clock on the wall there was just fifteen minutes left anyway. The guards let him out and he walked back to the front doors. Looking out the window he noticed the snow was coming down really hard. He walked back to the registration desk.

"You weren't planning to drive back to the city were ya?" the man behind the counter called out.

"That was the plan, yes," Ed admitted.

"Interstate is closed. County roads are almost impassible as well. You'll have to wait until the plows come by in the morning.

Ed felt fatigue settle on his bones. An ache began in his head. He needed to eat. "Is there a hotel nearby? Food?"

"Just the Cloverleaf Roadhouse and Inn about a mile east of here. Clean rooms and a good restaurant but the bar there can get pretty rowdy. Being so close to the penitentiary it gets more than its fair share of the rougher element. You be careful if you go there."

Ed nodded. It didn't look like they had an alternative. "Where did the lawyer go?"

"Kendra? She has family nearby," the clerk explained.

"Ah."

Ed found himself a chair and waited for Zoe. It wouldn't be long as visitor's hours were almost up. He watched the storm outside the window and its ferocity seemed to be increasing. This was what the other visitors had been fleeing. He rubbed his temples as the ache grew.

Zoe showed up at exactly 8:30PM and rushed over to hug Ed.

"Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" she cried into his chest.

"What? What did I do?"

"For the first time in years I got through to my baby. After she broke down I spoke with her and we really connected. I could finally see my little Sophia behind the poison her father filled her head with. She sees it too now! Oh Ed, this is too wonderful!"

Ed smiled down at Zoe and hugged her tight. When he pulled back his expression was concerned. "Listen, we have a bit of a problem." He pointed outside. "The road back to the city is closed due to the storm. There's an inn a mile away we might be able to get some rooms in but we'd better go now."

Zoe looked up at him and just nodded. They zipped and buttoned up and pushed out into the storm. Ed got Zoe back into the truck and went around to get in his side. A large snow drift was blocking his door but he managed to get in finally. He got the truck started and clear of the drift and got them back out onto the county road heading east. Even with the wipers going full speed visibility sucked so they drove very slowly. The drifts across the road made the driving all the more treacherous.

Finally they saw the glow of a sign on the north side of the road up ahead and pulled off into a parking lot. Ed saw the lot was pretty full and was worried about their being able to get some rooms. Exhaustion weighed his shoulders down, hunger gnawed at his stomach and concentrating so hard on the road had turned the ache in his head into a thumping pain. They had to stop. Besides, there was nowhere else to go.

He carried Zoe across the snowy parking lot to the front door and they went inside. The noise was deafening from the bar and restaurant down the hall to the right. The reception was straight ahead so they shook off the snow and walked up to the desk.

A grizzled old man with the nastiest beard Ed had ever seen watched them approach, keeping an eye on the large brute dressed in black. His eyes turned to the shorter beauty when she pushed her hood back.

"Good evening. We'd like to get two rooms for the night," Zoe said.

"All I got is one left. A double bed, at the far end of the hall, ground floor. Everyone is stuck in the storm. Bad for driving. Good for business." He cackled and Ed thought his voice sounded like dry fall leaves crunching underfoot. It rattled his nerves and he scowled. The man's smile slipped away as he eyed Ed nervously.

"We'll take it." Zoe said glancing at Ed with a frown.

"I need to eat." Ed grunted to Zoe and she nodded. She wondered at his gruffness. Maybe it was his hunger? She saw him yawn.

Zoe exchanged information with the clerk and they got their room key.

"Restaurant is pretty full. You may need to eat in the bar," the old man offered and Ed's scowl returned. Zoe thanked the man and they moved towards the restaurant.

"Why are you upset?" Zoe asked Ed quietly.

"Sorry, I'm just tired and hungry. It's been a really hectic week and it's only Tuesday. The drive did me in," Ed apologized. They reached the entrance and a harried looking hostess shook her head.

"Maybe there's a table in the bar?" the woman suggested.

Ed recalled the warning from the clerk but he was beyond caring at this point. He was hungry and he wanted to eat! He stalked into the bar and looked around. It was pretty full as well and noisy. He walked slowly down the aisle peering into the dimly lit room for an empty table. There were booths for four along the wall and most of them only had two people in them.

Ed stopped and growled in frustration. Two men in the booth next to him stood up and made their way to the bar so Ed sat down at the booth they'd vacated rather quickly. Zoe slid into the other side of the booth with a surprised look on her face.

She was staring at him wondering where this behavior was coming from. He'd growled and frightened off the customers! Kind sweet Ed was intimidating! She felt a thrill run through her.

A few minutes later a waitress stopped at the table. "What can I get ya?"

"Food. Burger?" Ed asked and she nodded. "Two burgers and an order of fries." His head ached. "Scotch. Make it a double."

The waitress turned to Zoe. "A burger with salad please. Oil and vinegar dressing. Beer. Whatever's on tap that goes well with the burger." The waitress smiled at her and hustled away.

Ed undid the top two buttons on his coat but kept it on as the room was a little cool even with all the bodies in it. He looked up and saw a ceiling vent. He held up his hand and felt cool air pouring down from it. He scowled again.

"Who runs air conditioning in a snow storm?" he muttered.

"Ed! What's wrong? You're so... angry!" Zoe asked.

He glanced over at her. "Sorry, I get irritable when I have a headache and this one is a doozy."

"Why didn't you say anything? We could have gotten some pain killers at the penitentiary."

Ed shrugged and rubbed his temple. "I rarely get headaches."

She reached across the table and placed a hand on his and stroked it sympathetically.

Ed looked down and marveled at how small her hands looked against his. Then he recalled just how strong her small hands were. In their very first meeting she'd taken him for a ride and she'd clung to him with incredible tenacity.

A familiar pressure began to build in his pants as he remembered that day. Ed turned his hand over and held her fingers in his. She smiled at him and he raised her hand to his lips. When he began to sensually kiss each knuckle she gasped and squirmed at the feel of his lips caressing the soft skin. The sensation was shooting directly to her pussy and she couldn't get her hand back from his grip. His eyes were on hers and the heat in them made her feel like she was naked to his gaze.

"Ed! Oh fuck ED! Please, oh fuck!" she panted.

He caught motion in the corner of his eye and looked to see the waitress standing beside the table frozen by the display. He released Zoe's hand.