The Perfect Pussy Ch. 08

Author Note: As always, I want to thank you for taking the time to read my story and hope you enjoy it. I know I am not the perfect writer, but if you find something that will help me improve or have good or bad comments, please, let me know. Thanks!)

Keni looked at the photos that Sheriff Jones showed her and swallowed back her urge to throw up. The unknown woman in them had been beaten black and blue and blood was everywhere. There was no clue how the hell she had survived for two days of Waylon's insanity, but she had and now she was under guard at a hospital in Oklahoma City.

"The Tulsa police found her wandering near the freeway and called in a helicopter. She was dehydrated and right now she keeps drifting in and out of consciousness. I've asked the state for help. And if we don't find him soon, we're considering calling the FBI." Sheriff Jones took the coffee her mom handed him gratefully. "We're thinking he might be headed to Canada. Henry was telling me about some hunting trips you all used to make up there back when you boys were young. Some cabins or such you all stayed at?"

Dean nodded. "Yeah, but we haven't been there in near fifteen years. I don't even remember the name. Dad might."

"He did. Showed me some pictures and where they are on the map. We're putting the word out to every department between here and the border. God, I never expected to ever have to handle something like this when I took over. And no offense Harley, this is something I would have expected from you or Dean more then I would have Waylon. He was always so quiet, so respectful. I shiver to remember he used to date my Colleen when they were in high school."

Keni could believe it; she wouldn't want him dating her daughter, when and if she had one. Harley looked at her and held out his hand. She was cold and he pulled her close as she sat beside him on the couch. His arm was propped up and he had taken a pain pill before coming down stairs. In another corner of the room Maggie was being comforted by her daughter Heather. Heather had been called home from school yesterday when they had gotten word about the woman up by Tulsa. Dean and Henry had driven up to pick her up and while there had been no sign of Waylon, it was understood that until her brother was arrested, she was staying home. Mike had come as well feeling he needed to add his support to the woman he had chose to marry. Keni admired him for that, and had to admit Heather had found a winner in the soft spoken cowboy.

It was a hard time for the Barnes family and while a part of her still felt like this would never have happened if she hadn't come here, no one would even think of hearing of her leaving. She had mentioned it to her mom and made the mistake of forgetting Maggie was sitting close by. "You will do no such thing; I refuse to believe that this is because you came here and chose Harley over Waylon. That boy was starting to be trouble long before you ever came here Keni, and while I hate to admit it, I knew that he was wrong somehow." She had begun to cry then and it had taken both Keni and her mom's reassurance that neither of them was going anywhere right now, to calm her down.

Henry and Dean had thrown in their words on the subject and Harley had spent almost an hour ranting and raving at her before finally telling her the matter was closed, pure and simple. He had pulled her close and hadn't let her talk for another hour before she finally took the hint and shut up about the matter.

Harley stroked her hair now and she nestled closer to him. She didn't feel well, if from the photos or just the knowledge of what was happening around her, she wasn't sure. She kept trying to wonder why this had all happened. What had sent Waylon over the edge and how could he do this to his family? Wrapping her arm around Harley's chest, she wished she could get warm. It was still warm outside, and the number of people in the house was filling the air with warmth, but she felt as if she were in a freezer.

She shivered harder and wondered if her teeth were actually chattering or if it was her imagination. "Keni, what's wrong honey?" Harley looked at her. "Hey Janie, Keni doesn't look very good."

Her mom came and ran a hand over her head. "Keni honey, you're burning up, come on honey, lets get you up to bed."

She went but she was still freezing and it wasn't until Harley came up and crawled into bed with her that she felt even a bit of warmth. As she fell into a restless sleep, she wondered what was wrong with her. She never got sick.

When she woke, it was raining outside, the water hitting the window and the wind howling. From what she could see, it was daylight, but the dark sky made her feel disoriented and out of sorts. She could hear people talking and Harley's body beside her. She reached for him and looked up at his face. He smiled down at her and bent his head to kiss her forehead.

"Oh yes, much cooler honey, how you feeling?"

Keni considered his question. "Better I guess; when did it start to rain?"

"Yesterday, you've been out for four days hon, the doctor said it was a cross between stress and exhaustion."

"Doctor, you mean an actual doctor who makes house calls...did I get transported to the 50's some how?" He to be teasing her, but somehow she knew he wasn't.

Harley laughed. "Doctor Hanes is long retired honey, but he came over as a friend and checked you out. Suggested we just keep an eye on you and gave us a list of things to watch out for. His son Jasper is the tall, good looking sucker you were making eyes at when he came in to sign my release papers..." His tone was teasing now.

Keni moved to sit up and felt dizzy as she did. "I was not making eyes at him; I was listening to him as he told you what you could and couldn't do. Why do I feel so damn weak Harley...?"

"Well, considering you've been drifting in and out for the last few days and haven't eaten anything besides what soup me and your mom could get down you..." She got the impression he was enjoying seeing her in the same situation he was in.

That might explain why she felt so hungry. "What time is it?"

"Time for you to eat..." Her mom entered the room carrying a tray with juice, toast and a poached egg on it. "Let's see how much of this you can get down and keep down, before we start anything heavier. It's no wonder your body shut down for a while honey, you've had so much to deal with."

Keni began to eat slowly. Her stomach rebelled at first, and then accepted the meager breakfast willingly. "I never get sick..."

"Sometimes your body just does it to you. You needed the rest; you've been going strong since you got here." Harley looked at her. "Doc says you should take it easy for a few days, just let yourself build back up slow."

The idea of taking things easy was something that made Keni frown. She was a typical teenager; she didn't know the meaning of the word easy, like the bull in the china shop, she went ahead slowing down. Before she could protest though, Kate appeared in the door way, "hey, how you doing kid?"

Keni was glad to see her sister looking better then she had in days. "I'm here."

"So are the things you asked dad to ship out, they just arrived. Should I have them bring the stuff up or do you want to have them stack it down stairs. It looks like half your bedroom is on my porch."

The Fed X guys brought them up and stacked the five large boxes in front of the closet. Each one was clearly labeled in her aunt's bold handwriting and there was a letter from her cousin in the top one.

"Hey girl,

I'm sending this with your bedroom because Uncle John wasn't sure if it would get there before the things mom and I packed up for you. So I don't need to ask how your summer vacation went. Is he all you expected him to be? Better, worse? Uncle John said you two are talking about getting married, why didn't you write and tell me, some cousin you are...A bunch of the kids have been asking about you, and I told them you were shacked up with some bad boy Oaky. That set some mouths to dropping let me tell you. I think you broke poor Danny's heart though; he has been bugging me all summer about when you were coming home.

Reggie and I broke up; he decided that with him enlisting in the Marines that it was better if we didn't plan too far ahead, what with things being the way they are. I told him it was cool, I'm not ready to settle down just yet anyway. Not like you who have had one goal in mind as long as I've known you almost, and after seeing the picture of you two together, I can see why you were so hot to see him this summer. Damn cousin, are there anymore like him back there, I may just come for a visit next summer if there are. He is so hot, I am just totally jealous. I snatched the picture to show our friends, and Candy Hawes was drooling so bad over him that I had to slap her a few times to get her to give it back. I swear he will have my class heading for Oklahoma as soon as we graduate in June. Send me more, so I can drool and hate you forever.

Not that I could. You always been there for me, and I love you dearly Keni, I am so glad things are working out for you. Write me soon and let me know when the wedding is and if you need a stand in, I will be glad to fill the job...

Love ya

Pami"

Keni smiled and shook her head. "I don't know about her."

Harley looked over her shoulder at the writing, "I don't remember her, which cousin is she?"

She would have considered him a miracle worker if he was able to keep track of her family, both her mom and dad had four sister and brothers each. "Little brunette, she was the flower girl at Dean and Kate's wedding."

He shrugged. "Okay, if you say so. So, is she cute?" He grinned as he asked. "I mean she is offering to stand in for you, and it never hurts to have a back up plan just in case."

"Actually, she's a knock out..." She saw no reason to lie. "Small, slender, brunette, green eyes, nice boobs and ass, she's also jail bait for another year. I can introduce you if ya want." The sarcasm in her voice was thick. Seldom did her jealous nature show, but for some reason he had triggered it today.

"No, I like what I got." He wrapped his arms around her. "Would you really give me up so easy Keni?"

"If that was what you wanted." Resting her head on his shoulder, she sighed. "No, I wouldn't want to, but if you really wanted to be with someone else that bad, then yeah, I would let you go."

Harley ran his fingers up over her face. "The only one I want to be with is you, and don't you ever even think of letting me go. You know I was just teasing you..."

She nodded. "I guess I just feel a little out of sorts, I don't like being sick and to think I just get it when things are rough, it's annoying to me." She looked at the window. "The rain does look nice though, it feels good too, and you can taste the moisture in the air for a change."

Her mom was helping her unpack and she paused as she followed her daughter's line of sight. "Almost makes me feel like we're home a little doesn't it Keni; all those tears of the angels falling down."

Keni nodded and Harley looked at her. "Tears of the Angels; that sounds like some rock band or something, so which is it?" He sounded interested as he looked at her mom.

Janie paused in what she was doing. "It's an old story my mom used to tell me when I was little. I hated thunder storms. Mom said that the thunder was the battle of good and evil, and that every time there was a flash of lightening that it was an evil angel being destroyed. The rain was the tears of the angels crying for the lost soul. From the way it's coming down outside, there must be a lot of lost soul's out there."

Harley nodded. "I got to admit, I always loved thunder storms, and mom and dad told that when I was real little, they would always have to yell at me to come in from one because I would be out running in the rain and cheering every time I heard thunder."

Keni smiled. "I've seen pictures of you when you were little. I bet you always rooted for the bad guy in the westerns too."

"Oh hell yes, I kept wishing one of them would get the girl in the end too. I told you honey, you are hooked up with one bad boy." He reached over and kissed her and she had to admit that she liked it when he went into that mode.

Her mom laughed and shook her head. "Hey now, none of that, you two need to take it easy, how long before you get that cast off Harley?"

"Another four weeks..." He frowned as he said it. "I am going to be crazy by the time I get it off. Why you had to raise such a hot, sexy daughter Janie is beyond me."

"Don't you know that we do it on purpose? We make daughters to remind husbands what they were like as boys and make them crazy at the same time. I haven't met a man yet that doesn't dread the day his daughter reaches puberty, John asked me over and over if there was anyway we could keep Kate and Keni little girls forever."

Listening her mom and Harley talk, Keni smiled and went through the pile of CD's before her. It was funny, she had heard her folks talk to Dean that same way and felt glad that her sister had met a man who her parents liked so well. She had honestly expected her folks to rant and rage all over the place when she wrote and told them that she and Harley had become lovers. Harley had wondered about her thinking at the time, but it was like she had told him.

"I would rather be upfront and honest with them, then have them show up and we have to pretend that it isn't happening. I know they will accept it in time, they may protest, but it will be more out of the age difference then anything else. Dad's a little old fashioned that way."

Since they were so open and up front with his parents, he had agreed that it made sense. It was better to live with the truth and not with a lie. Now she knew that she had done the right thing, and he agreed with her. That was one of the things she liked about Harley, he might disagree with you, but if you had a good argument and were willing to explain your thinking, he usually saw the sense in it.

When the clothes were sorted and put away her mom went to check on Kate and the twins. The CD's had been sorted and now they lay together holding each other and listening to the rain. Keni felt safe and secure and she wished this moment would never end. Not that they could stay like this forever, it wasn't feasible, but if she could pick a moment in time later on in life that could never end, this would be it.

* * *

When she woke the next morning, she found the rain had stopped and the air smelled fresh and clean. Her body was able to move better, the aching feeling was gone, and she ventured into the bathroom for a hot shower and time to enjoy the lack of chill in her bones. When she came out, she noticed that Harley was still asleep; his face at peace and relaxed. As always, when she saw him like this, she was filled an hundred different emotions that rolled over her as powerfully as a climax. The strongest was the love she felt for him. How could she not love a man so perfect? Good boy, bad, that didn't matter to her, all that mattered was how he made her feel, how good the two of them were together.

Her cousin was right, she had been lucky, and she thanked the gods every day for it. Harley was talking about when they could find a place of their own, of when he was able to call her his wife and her call him her husband, she knew he was holding back for her, but in her heart they were already there. That he wasn't just her man or her lover. He was her husband in every bit of the word. She didn't need a preacher, priest, or Buddhist monk to say the words to make it happen.

"You have the oddest looking your eyes honey, it's one I've seen glimmers of, but today it's there stronger then ever." He gave her a curious look.

Keni sat on the edge of the bed and ran her fingers over the unshaven cheek that held a soft bush of beard. He hadn't been able to shave or really shower since his cast had been put on, but she found the feel of his face and the scent of his body wasn't important. "I was just thinking how much I love you Harley, how important you are in my life and how I think how miserable my life would be if you weren't in it. I know you want us to be married in the eyes of the law Harley, but right now, looking at you, I don't need the license for you to already be the man I am married to in my heart."

She felt almost ready to cry, but his smile made her smile instead. "I feel the same way Keni, or should I say Mrs. Barnes? Because you are my wife in my heart and it only feels better knowing that you feel that way too." He reached out for her and she moved closer to feel his finger tips in her hair. "Come to me love, I need to kiss my wife good morning."

Keni did as he asked and as he kissed her with a soft loving touch, she knew that it would not be easy but they would survive what ever the future held in store for them.

To Be Continued