The Long Story

[ticky]

Ok, I have an idea for a game. It's kind of weird, but it might be funny and fun to see where it takes us.
The Idea is to write an on-going story,, a saga if you will, using the titles and lyrics from Eagles songs and the names of our favorite boys (if some of us are really sneaky, they may be able to incorporate some of the OUR names in there as well!) I'll start..

On a dark desert highway, cool wind in my hair, the warm smell of a dead skunk by the side of the road some 18 wheeler had not missed wafted up through the air, I drove my ol 55 down the fast lane. I was a victim of love, a desperado, the girl from yesterday.. the bastard had left with nothing but waisted time....

[Prettymaid]

Ticky, did you by any chance get this idea from Maleah's shirt! lol

OK, to continue with Ticky's story...

My ole 55 broke down on a dark desert highway, and I felt all alone at the end of the evening. I went a few feet off the road and laid down to rest. Up ahead in the distance, I heard the sound of a big rig heading my way. As it approached I scurried onto the road.
The driver stopped and stuck his head out of the window. "How you doin"? he said. "I'm Joe! I almost didn't see you there!"
I said, "I've been waiting in the weeds. Where you headed? Can I have a lift?"
"Sure", he said. "I've got the long run. I'm taking this load to Vegas. Hop in!"
"How long?", I asked.
''Take it easy, we'll be there in no time."
As we drove off, he said,"Too bad about that skunk back there. Some drivers just aren't very cautious."
"Don't worry",I said, " I have already cast a voodoo spell on him"
"Ooh, Witchy Woman!" Joe replied has we headed off in the night...

[ticky]

(I have way too much time on my hands today,.. bare with me..)

continued from PM's story..

"My head grew heavey and my sight grew dim. "Whats that you're smoking?" I asked Joe.
"Something the locals call colitas. Not bad!" He handed me the hand rolled cigarette. I took it reluctantly and sniffed it. "uh, no thanks Im good." I said and handed it back.
"You sure?" he asked me "It gives me a Peaceful Easy Feeling".
"WELL, ok" I said and took a LONG drag.
"I like the way your sparkling earring lay against your skin so brown" he said. I handed him back his doobie and said "Take it easy there Doolin' Dalton" I said. "I cant tell you why I wont do the Hollywood Waltz with you, but where will you be After The Thrill is Gone?"
"Listen," he said "I've been drivin' down On The Border for the last year so Im The New Kid In Town. I can go All Night Long if you'll Learn to be Still."
"Im Already Gone" I said and jumped down from his truck. The sun was coming up. He was riding with lady luck and all the freeway cars and trucks. I was surprised at all the traffic out there on the desert highway, but when I looked around I saw I was at the intersection of The Dark Desert Highway (yes that WAS actually the name of it.. go figure) and Seven Bridges Road. There was a small diner called The Sad Cafe and a seedy looking motel called The Last Resort.
"Looks like its gonna be a Heartache Tonight" I said to myself as I headed for the diner imagining the chili I was about to ingest...

[Mrs Henley]

Continued at Ticky's story

At the diner we asked to ourselves "Is It True?", but we didn't know, so we decided to talk later about it.We even didn't know about what we would talk. Glenn walked in and Joe introduced him as the New Kid In Town, Don asked if we knew where Timothy would be, we couldn't tell him. Don started with the diner and he loved it, I asked if I was able to drove with Don back to California and he asked in which hotel I should stay in California and I said that it was the Hotel California in los angeles. Glenn draw on a piece of paper a smily and showed it to everyone, I Can't Tell You Why he did that but he wanted...

[ticky]

and picking up where Mrs. H left off....


I was surprised to see so many handsome men in the Sad Cafe. The One calling himself Glenn, suave, slick sophisticated, like a used car salesman with a guilty secret smoothly leaned against the jukebox doodling silly faces on an order pad.
"and what can I do for You, beautiful" he grinned menacingly at me like a King OF Hollywood. Despite my walking the wire of pain and desire, I found myself strongly drawn to this room full of noise and dangerous boys.
"Im looking for a room. Does anyone know where I might find the proprietor of the Last Resort next door?"
A hearty laugh came from the corner. Long legs followed by a shirt, half unbuttoned, a tangle of dark chest hair, a smoldering cigarette, wayfarers and a panama hat slowly grinned at me. "Scuse me little lady, you surely dont mean that rat hole establishment across the way now do you?"
"Get Over It, Henley." said smoothy by the Jukebox. "I'd be happy to help you Miss." My toes curled at his leering glance and the one called Henley's grin. Only a Certain Kind Of Fool would hang around here here on a Saturday Night which this was.
"Oh well, its been a good day in hell and tomorrow I'll be glory bound" I thought to myself. "Sure," I said "I'll take a room"
Glenn smiled like James Dean and laughed.
"So, who are you?" asked the one called Henley
I pulled out my card and handed it to him. He read it and I watched as the smoker passed it on, and I laughed as the Joker said lead on...
"Im not so sure about this now" I said as I suspiciously glared at this smooth talking inn proprietor. Could I trust him? or would he Take It To the Limit and Get Out Of Control in a New York Minute? and did I care? He wasnt just another man, and I couldnt keep from coming on.. it'd been so long!
A quiet "ahem" came from the counter behind the jukebox. I looked and saw what I hadnt before. A pair of jeans wearing some long legs stood up and turned around. His hair flowed around his shoulders like liquid chocolate and his eyes held a promise of One of These Nights. I gasped.
"Im sorry, I didnt see you there!" I stammered.
He sauntered over to me, took my hand in his and kissed it lightly. "How do Ma'am" and he grinned sweetly "My name is Tim"
"THERE you are you varmit!" bellowed Henley! "I've been lookin for you! We have unfinished business!"
Glenn pushed me down behind the Jukebox and dived under the table as Henley whipped out a pair of drum sticks and Tim produced a loaded guitar from behind his back.
"This is gonna get ugly, lady!" Glenn shouted towards me as he dived!
Suddenly a giant but gentle pair of hands grasped my sides and pulled me out the back door.
"This is no place for a sweet lady like yourself!" It was Joe! the trucker! I was never so happy to see someone in my life!
"Thank you!" I said as I collapsed into his arms....


this is going to go the way *I* want it to unless some of ya'll contribute *G*

[Glennsallnighter]

I had just come in to do my night shift in that sad cafe,and I immediately took in what was happening. But through it all my eyes caught those of the guy called Glenn. He winked at me. 'You can't hide them' he smiled at me, 'Those lyin eyes'. I smiled back shyly and he moved his body closer to me 'You're a very sexy girl' he whispered into my ear. He was calling ME sexy! He was HOT!! The Heat was definitely on that evening. We had moved slightly away from the others at that stage. 'We have to 'Do Something'' he whispered to me. 'When do you get off work?' 'Six in the morning' I replied. 'So its an allnighter then' he said. 'Its gonna be a long hot summer's evenin til you're done.'

Suddenly I thought to myself ' I'm tired of Living in Darkness - I've found Somebody, This is Love in the 21st Century, and I'm Already Gone'

To the shock of my boss, I pulled off my apron, changed those shoes I was working in into my cowboy boots, pulled my hair out of its net so it cascaded round my shoulders and leapt over the counter.
Glenn met me half way. He held onto me tight. I whispered 'We can catch the Midnight Flyer and we'll be In the City by the morning' I always said I'd had enough here and that One Of these Nights I'd just Walk Away.

'Its all been Wasted Time for you here' Glenn answered. 'You belong to the City with me. Come on, Lets go Home........'

[Mrs Henley]

Continued at GA story.

After a short break in the night, we went back to the hotel, Don said that we have to Take It To The Limit, everything happend there. I was wondering if Don knew at which time the Train Leaves Here This Morning and he said that he didn't know, but he didn't wanted me to let go. I agreed with Don and he said "Love Will Keep Us Alive" and he called the roomservice and orded something to drink. I Walked Away and grape a pillow and trow it to Don, he laughed and trow the pillow back.
We were having a pillow fight when the roomservice walked in, they gave us the drink and they went back to their own place.

After we finished the drink, Don found my shoes and he said " I like Those Shoes" and he grape them, walked to the balcony and trow them down. I looked at Don and he walked to me and take my hand and said "It's all an Inside Job, let's go to bed.." .............



*wishing it ever happened real :inlove: :heart:*
*Ok..actually are this 4 different stories now :lol:*

[Prettymaid]

My goodness, these are getting risque! lol

[Mrs Henley]

hahaha, the guys have to read this story, they will laugh :lol:

[ticky]

*G* lookin good! Hmm... poor Timothy is left holding his loaded guitar in Sad Cafe all alone. We may have to do something about that.. *G*
Pretty busy today so if anyone wants to claim Timmy, please feel free! I'll add to it all when I can *G*

I love it so far *G*

[TimothyBFan]

Poor Timmy--I would definitely claim him - but I have absolutely no talent at all for writing stories!!! Looks like poor Timmy will have to remain all alone in the Sad Cafe--Sorry Timmy!!!:worried:

[Mrs Henley]

Hmm..I also don't have anytime now, but I will write Timmy in my next part! Anyway I will try to do that, so please remind me to it! ;)

[ticky]

Ok, I have a stolen hour here so let me see what I can do with Timmy...


The dust cleared and a eerie quiet came over the Sad Cafe. Tim stood alone holding his loaded guitar firmly in both hands. He looked about him for the one called Henley. They had a score to settle that had nearly gotten Out OF Control. No one was there. Tim's guitar began to lower as a Peaceful Easy Feeling (i know I used it twice, so sue me) came over him. There would be no Heartache Tonight, no women crying because the story was sad, Just Tim, feeling cold and small, when the tell-tale squeek and ting a ling of the bell announced the arrivial of someone new. A beautiful woman walked through the front door and started at the sight of Tim's massive, erect loaded guitar poised in his hands and ready to go off at any moment!
"EEK!" cried out the beautiful woman!
Tim lowered his menacing guitar and smiled at the gorgeous creature before him.
"I mean you no harm, Ma'am. I Wish You Peace." he said quietly and with a broad grin.
"Oh my, it's alright, I'll Get Over It. I simply came in for a drink. Im so thirsty I could Chug All Night!" Said the raging beauty.
Tim reholstered his guitar and took her hand in his, placed a gentle kiss upon it and said "My name is Timothy, but you can call me... any time" and he grinned widely. "May I ask your name lovely lady?"
The gushing beauty said "You can call me Willie." batted her eye lashes and blushed attractively.
"Willie, what a lovely name, Welcome to the lonely crowd at the Sad Cafe."
Willie looked around, somewhat confused. "I, uh.. aren't we the ONLY one's here?"
Tim looked a little sheepish, then slightly confused himself. "You know, there were more people here a few minutes ago, but stuff happens fast here. I cant tell you why but you have to live life In The Fast Lane or you miss out!"
Tim jumped behind the counter and quickly, with little effort mixed up a beautiful orange and red drink for Willie. She sipped deeply and smiled!
"That's delicious! what is it?"
"Oh it's just another Tequila Sunrise. Im so glad you like it!" Tim said smoothly wiping his hands off on a dish rag. "You are Twenty One arent you?"
Willie giggled and said "Oh yes! I have been for some time now!"

(more to come, but I have to run for now...)

[ticky]

continued...

Tim smiled and said "Surely not for more then a year or two!"
Willie smiled and said "you'd be surprised! and my name is Willie, not Shirley."
"Where are you headed, Willie?" Tim asked, staring deeply into her eyes.
"Oh, somewhere out there on that horizon, Beyond those neon lights." she whispered wistfully staring out the window.
"You mean the ranch on the other side of The Last Resort sign?" Tim asked.
"Yes!" said Willie. "I'm their new hired hand. Im working on some dreams I plan to try."
"I see." said Tim, and he did! He saw her beautiful eyes sparkling in the neon sign's light. He saw her ample bosom heaving deeply at his nearness. He saw her moist lips parted sensually as she said "JEEZ is it HOT in here or is it just YOU?"
With that Tim grasped her in his arms, bent her backwards and laid one heck of a mighty lip loc on her!
"WOOOOO WEE!!!!" cried Willie! "HOT TAMALES!!" and she grabed him by his collar and just as she was about to smooch his socks off, the door swung open and in stepped the one they call Henley!...

[Mrs Henley]

Ok, just a 'crazy' continue story at Ticky's...

Don screamed and he woke up, I turned around and asked what happened. He said he dreamed about Timothy and I started to laugh, Don went down and he did his arm around me and we went to sleep.

The next morning we had a late breakfast (not jet a brunch), we walked downstairs to the lobby where the other where. It was Strange Weather outside, it was raining and we heard some Greeks yelling. "The Greeks Don't Want No Freaks" Don said and we walked to the breakfast room.
Glenn and Joe where having a huge breakfast and when we walked in Glenn started to talk about the New Kid In Town, he mention Don. Don smiled and we toke something to eat and we walked to Timothy who was sitting next to Irving. "I Can't Tell You Why Timothy, but I dreamed about you" said Don and Timothy started to laugh and Irving looked at Don as it was a Good Day In Hell.

After breakfast Don and I went back to Don his hotel-suite and I walked to the balcony to find out where my shoes could be. "Where are my shoes?" I asked Don and he answers "Which shoes...Oh, I remember!". He came standing next to me and he said that they were somewhere on the ground. I said that I was happy but I wasn't, I wanted my shoes back! "Honey, don't hide your Lyin' Eyes..We'll buy new shoes" Don said.

"Oh and please, promise me..don't tell this to somebody!" Don said and he looked at me with his beautiful blue eyes. "I won't" I said and Don walked to me and said "It's Nobody's Business" and he kissed me.........



:inlove: Don :iloveyou:

[TimothyBFan]

Ticky-you are a trip!! If I ever say Woooo Wee and Hot Tamales-someone will put me in a padded cell. Hired hand :whip: and "Don't call me Shirley" (you've watched to much Airplane).:hilarious: Too funny!!!

Have you guys ever considered doing fan fiction on line? Maybe if we look hard enough we will find some already online- huh?

[Mrs Henley]

Have you guys ever considered doing fan fiction on line? Maybe if we look hard enough we will find some already online- huh?

Actually I never thought about that, but it sounds nice..:)

[ticky]

Ticky-you are a trip!! If I ever say Woooo Wee and Hot Tamales-someone will put me in a padded cell. Hired hand :whip: and "Don't call me Shirley" (you've watched to much Airplane).:hilarious: Too funny!!!

Have you guys ever considered doing fan fiction on line? Maybe if we look hard enough we will find some already online- huh?

*G* Im just Having fun Willie *G* Im glad you like it and I hope I didnt offend. When my sister was alive, she and I used to do this or co-draw picture together and we'd get very silly. We'd be laughing so hard we couldnt breathe! I like to make silly ridiculous characters with outrageous situations and just have fun.
My sister was an artist and once we made an entire zoo. She drew a picture of a zebra for my niece and I cut it out and made it stand up. She was so impressed, she drew the rest of the animals and I cut them out and stood them up, then we made paper cages and big tops. It was beautiful! Unfortunately, it was destroyed when the girls played with it. It was only paper. I wish I'd kept some of the things we did just for fun tho.

[ticky]

Hmm.. I think I'll step backwards a little and address where I left off with Joe...

I awoke as I was being carried across a ever lightening parking lot towards The Last Resort. It's bright neon sign flashing like a beacon. I looked up into the face of Joe the trucker.
"Just a minute there Desperado. I'm not that kind of girl!"
Joe stopped and set me down on my feet, keeping a tight hold on me as I was still a little wobbly.
"Oh really? well, what kind of girl ARE you?" he asked me a little sardonically.
Tears filled my eyes remembering the pain that came from waiting for so long.
"I.. I'm just a restless spirit on an endless flight" as a tear escaped and ran down my face.
Joe stepped closer and tenderly wiped the tear from my cheek.
"you know, sometimes you gotta let it ride, or you'll always be The Girl From Yesterday." He said, a half smile changing his face from stoic to bright.
His smile made me smile.
I asked him "where've you been? Last I saw, you were driving down the desert highway."
"A man's gotta take a break evey now and then or the sound of his own wheels will drive him crazy!" Joe slipped his arm around my shoulders and ushered me towards The Last Resort.
"Wait!" I stopped dead in my tracks. "Im not going there with you!"
"Relax," he grinned "I sleep in the cab of my truck. I was going to help you get settled."
"Oh! well in any case, Im not sure I want to stay in THAT place!" I said with a look of disdain.
"you can always share my cab" Trucker Joe chided.
I allowed him to direct me into the office of The Last Resort.
Mirrors on the ceiling and pink champaign on ice.
"Wow, pretty nice reception!" I said lightly under my breath.
"Yeah," said Joe. "where do you think those voices are coming from?"
"I think they're down the corridor... what is it they're saying?" I strained to hear the muffled sounds...
Joe blushed... "I uhh.. dont think they're saying anything...I think they're umm.. moans.."
"OH! well... I see!" I said, and blushed furiously.
Joe rang the bell sitting on the desk and we waited... and waited....
Joe rang the bell again, a little louder this time.
The noises down the corridor stopped abruptly and Mr. Smoothy from the diner appeared in the doorway with a towel wrapped precariously around his waist, his hair disheveled and his face deeply flushed.
"Welcome! to The Last Resort.."
"such a lovely place..." came softly from the back room from where Glenn had just come.
"Is that the waitress??" Joe asked as I peered down the corridor towards the voice.
"Uhhh.... so what can I do for you two?" Glenn grinned like the cat who ate the canary.
"*I* would like a room, please... FOR ONE!" I glared at the Inn proprietor, daring him to make another comment.
"Of course!" he said still smiling that ironic smile, but his eyes glowed with an unspoken knowledge. "you can have the honeymoon suite! It's already made up, just for you." He grinned like the Cheshire Cat. "You can check out anytime you like, but you can never leave... until you pay your bill"
"of course." I said glaring at him as I handed him two twenties. "Will this cover it?"
"That should be just fine" again, that grin. It unnerved me.
I turned to find Joe standing very close behind me. His nearness made my neck hair stand on end and I caught my breath.
"Oh my, Im sorry! I didnt see you there!" I managed to say although I didnt seem to be able to get enough air.
He smiled a crossward smile, his eyes, a deep blue green, sparkled in the neon light and he stepped aside to let me pass.
"This way, my dear" and he grinned.
I felt like a fly being led into the spiders web, and yet no fly wanted to be caught as much as I wanted to be caught at that moment.....

[Mrs Henley]

Continued at Ticky's story (Maybe later on my own one :lol:)
And also my tribute to Ticky! :angel:

Timothy walked in and asked to the reception if they knew where Mr Joe Walsh stayed. "Room 123" and Timothy walked to the elevator. Don and I were waiting on Joe and Rhonda and we were talking about how we can check out and leave tomorrow.
"You can check out anytime you like, but you can never leave..it's just like the Hotel California" Don said and he started to laugh.
"The Last Resort isn't the Hotel California, so maybe it's a lot easier..Oh we just Take It Easy should we?" I asked and Don agreed.
Timothy passed us and he said "Hi" and walked trough.
"Where is he going?" Joe asked when he opened the door.
"Lifes been good to him so far" Rhonda said and she walked out of the doorway to let Joe out.
"Shall we go, I'm dying here! It's just a Long Run but I NEED food" Joe asked and he walked to the stairs. Don and I looked at each other and we were asking ourselves why Joe wanted to go downstairs with the stairs, but Joe wanted it.
"I'm stuck On The Border, so I need to take a walk" said Joe and walked away.
"Anyway, what was Timothy doing here?" Rhonda asked and we said that he was probable looking for Joe.
I walked to the stairs and suggest that we didn't had to lose something if we went with the stairs.
"I do" Don said and he was just a Desperado who didn't want to go back home.
"Desperado, why don't you come to your senses?" I asked Don and walked to him, toke his hand and take him with me to the stairs.
Rhonda were already somewhere with Joe halfway the stairs and they were singing "I'm guilty of...Guilty Of t
The Crime!!!".
"Don, listen..you have nothing to lose.." I said and walked downstairs.
"Hey, it's a Long Way Home, come on Danielle!" Don said and he walked to me.
"I still don't know why Timothy was here" I said to Don and walked away.
"Do you care? Can you care about him? this is The End Of The Innocence babe, and you're part of it." Don said and he walked again to me.
Don and I were almost downstairs, when Don remembered something he wanted to say.
"Danielle.." Don whispered.
"Hmm..what?" I asked.
"We still have to buy new shoes" Don said and he looked to my socks.
"Oh..yeah..well.." I said and looked also.
"I'm Workin' on It, Don" I said and looked at him...

[ticky]

*G* Danielle...

Ok.. stepping back a little here...

"HENLEY!" cried out Tim and with cat-like reflexes pulled Willy out of harms way and whipped out his emense guitar, loaded and ready for action and pointed it directly at the one they called Henley.
"WHOA there Buck-a-roo! Im not who ya'll think I am!" said the man behind the spiffy shades.
"Dont try and fool me, Henley! I know you've been gunnin' for me ever since I said you were flat on Waiting In the Weeds!" Tim's guitar was steady, poised and aimed directly between Henley's Wayfarers.
Henley gafawed loudly then snorted. "I bet he is!!! but Im not Don. I'm his twin brother, Almanzo."
Tim eyed him warily and said "you have a nasty reputation as a cruel dude..."
Almanzo sighed deeply and said "I know. My brother tells people I am ruthless, he tells them I'm crude." Almanzo limped across the cafe to a booth and sat heavily. He removed his dark glasses and his eyes shone brightly.
"My brother cant hide his lyin' eyes. You get him to take off those glasses and you'll see!"
Tim lowered his guitar and looked at Almanzo. "Why would Henley lie? He's a star and he's never mentioned a brother before."
Almonzo rubbed the bridge of his nose between his eyes. "It's the easy money and faithless women.. he's always gotten everything he's wanted. I found some peace with a beautiful woman. Every night I was lyin in bed, Holding her close.... Don got jealous, said he fell in love with her. She turned him down. He went Out OF Control! Blowin and Burnin and Blinded by thirst he ran down the dark desert highway and never looked back. Im just here lookin for some peace of mind."
Tim sighed and his guitar hung nearly to the ground. "Why do we give up our hearts to the past? and why must we grow up so fast.."
Just then the door swung wide and in stepped a wild looking woman, beautiful, sun-touched and wind blown. Armed to the teeth and wearing a badge.
"Sheriff Soda!!" Tim cried out. "You're back in town! I thought you were still In The City."
The Wild-eyed woman glared down the barrel of a 12 gage dual humbucker Fender American Stratocaster and said "put the bass back in your holster Schmit. I'm not gonna put up with any of you n Henley's personal conflicts, Ya hear?"
Tim slowly reholsterd his guitar and backed away from Almanzo. "Look here Sheriff, this aint what you think it is!"....

[eaglesvet]

MY goodness Ticky, you have got a real talent for this! I am hanging on your every word, laughing hysterically! (Instead of finishing writing up my poor animal patients' files...) Maybe you should take up writing as a second career (althought I have no idea what you currently do, other than hang on The Border!)

[ticky]

EV, thanks *G* I am having a lot of fun doing this. I'll be shopping or cooking dinner and I'll get an idea and start laughing to myself (people are really starting to wonder.. let em wonder *G*)
I have plans *G* I would really love to intergrate more people into the story (but I need to know if anyone has any objections. These guys could have ENDLESS twin brothers.. cousins.. SISTERS?.. oo could be interesting.... but LET ME KNOW! if you WANT to be in or DONT want to be in...)

I'll be leaving town tomorrow morning and I wont be back till sunday evening so I'll be thinking (Wild and I are going up to the cabin with Marjorie.. no not THAT marjorie... *G*) between the three of us, we should come up with some.. umm.. *G* fun ideas *G*

[eaglesvet]

I need to know what else happens at the Last Resort with the HSG proprietor and that lucky but recently unemployed waitress... Was he worth losing her dead-end job over? (Did I really just ask that?:rolleyes:)
BTW, I LOVE the part about Don being flat on WITW--how you subtlely slipped that in--very funny! (Althought that is my favorite part of my favorite song on that CD!)

[ticky]

I need to know what else happens at the Last Resort with the HSG proprietor and that lucky but recently unemployed waitress... Was he worth losing her dead-end job over? (Did I really just ask that?:rolleyes:)
BTW, I LOVE the part about Don being flat on WITW--how you subtlely slipped that in--very funny! (Althought that is my favorite part of my favorite song on that CD!)

I must just be on your wave length then EV cuz Waiting in the Weeds was the first song off the LROOE set that I could think of.

I think Im pretty well packed for tomorrow and I wont be able to go to bed tonight till the kids are settled SO I may have a few minutes to write another chapter. *G* I'll give it some thought *G*

[eaglesvet]

No rush, take your time. How old are your kids?

[ticky]

I have a big spread here. I have a 17 yr old (EGADS!!!) and a 5 yr old *G* the 17 yr old is getting ready for college (just kill me now..) and the 5 yr old just started kindergarten (what the hell was i thinking??) *G* No, she was my little miracle baby. The Dr. had told me I couldnt have any more children and a week later told me I was pregnant! SURPRISE!! *G*

OH and it turns out I FORGOT TO TURN ON THE WASHING MACHINE!!! so I'll be up for a while.. Im thinking on the story *G*

[eaglesvet]

:woah:!!

My boys are 9 and 12. The 12yr old (actually 12 1/2) has been giving me (and only me) grief for the past year:brickwall:. I'm still searching for a way to get along with him again. Thankfully, he is "a joy" to teachers and schoolmates, and an excellent student--so at least I don't have that aspect to worry about. It's just that I feel like wringing his neck when he storms around the house at me, or gives me the silent treatment, or any of a number of other passive-aggressive numbers he has taken to doing...Oh, you didn't just hear me say that, did you?? :scowl:

[eaglesvet]

Sorry, off topic of Long Story...

[ticky]

Jumping back to The Last Resort....

Joe unlocked my door and stepped aside. I walked into the gawdy room. Red satin covered the bed and chairs. Golden cherubs and angels glared intimidatingly down from the four poster bed. Enormous pillows that had once been heart shaped but had been pushed, pulled, tugged and rended out of any definable shape now flanked the head of the bed just below a floor to ceiling mirror at the head of the bed.
"This could be heaven.." Joe grinned menacingly as he tossed his long form across my bed.
"Or this could be hell.." I snarled as I wiped something greasey and sticky from the top of the dresser. I smelled it. BIG mistake. I went to the bathroom to wash my hands.
"So, How Long you in town for?" Joe streached luxuriously across the bed, tipping his Pape/Cat baseball cap down over his eyes.
"Not long," I said drying my hands on a semi-clean towel hanging in front of a semi-clean bathtub. "And dont get too comfortable there! You have a nice cozy truck cab waiting for you! remember?"
Joe let out a deep sigh and looked thoughtfully at me. You really gotta learn to relax! Learn To Be Still! Though the world is torn and shaken, even if your heart is breakin' It's waiting for you to awaken and someday you will."
I stared at Joe, lying there in my bed. Words of wisdom cutting deep into my broken heart. Suddenly the tears that had been hiding behind all my rage found their way out and I wept.
"I couldnt believe it was happening again! He left me and I was out on the street! trying to figure out how to start over!" the tears fell so hard I couldnt see. Joe jumped up from the bed and held me steady till I found the edge of the bed. He brought me a glass of water and held it to my lips as I sipped and sniffled. When I could talk again I said through gritted teeth "her name was Tiffany. CAN YOU BELIEVE IT?? TIFFANY!! thats not a name! thats a LAMP!" Joe laughed. I glared.
"Oh Im sorry, honey. But you're a funny lady!"
"Im not trying to be funny." I said. Having regained my rage I jumped from the bed and stalked to the bathroom to refill my glass. Joe returned to his possition on the bed.
"So who was Tiffany" He asked. Joe looked up casually as the glass flew through the air over his head and smashed against the picture of kittens wrestling painted on black velvet on the wall next to the bed.
"sorry my mind is a little Tiffany Twisted" (I bet you guys wont get this reference!! bwahahahahaahha!) I said and walked to the picture to pick up the broken pieces of glass. As I bent down to pick them up, Joe's huge gentle hands wrapped around my wrist and pulled me up.
"let me, You're pretty upset. I wouldnt want you to hurt yourself."
I didnt resist. The idea of hurting myself sounded too good to tempt.
"I could really use a drink. How 'bout you?" I was still shaking.
"dont drink, well not any more" Joe grinned that grin that melted my socks and I found myself making that dumb drool-sodden doofus face you get with too much novicane at the dentist.
Joe just kept grinning. "I used to drink way too much! lost a lot of time and a good friend or two that way." I was learning more and more about this apparent hillbilly trucker I'd made so many assumptions about. My respect and my lust for him was growing.
"WHEW! it's pretty warm in these rooms!!" I rushed to the window. I needed air. The window was stuck. Joe was there. He pushed, hit, and pulled the window open. He stood much too near to me and I could smell his gum, his hair, his breath.
"wow, uhh... is there anything you cant do?" I asked as I slowly turned to face him. His face was so close I could look directly into his blue green eyes. Blue green... like fresh sage.
"wow" I whispered.
"wow" he said, smiled then kissed me.

nya nya nya... (hehehe)

it's almost 11 and I STILL have laundry so I'll be back..

[ticky]

:woah:!!

My boys are 9 and 12. The 12yr old (actually 12 1/2) has been giving me (and only me) grief for the past year:brickwall:. I'm still searching for a way to get along with him again. Thankfully, he is "a joy" to teachers and schoolmates, and an excellent student--so at least I don't have that aspect to worry about. It's just that I feel like wringing his neck when he storms around the house at me, or gives me the silent treatment, or any of a number of other passive-aggressive numbers he has taken to doing...Oh, you didn't just hear me say that, did you?? :scowl:

He's 12, its just beginning! It WILL get better tho. MY Jenni was the worlds easiest kid. As a little one, you just had to tell her she needed to do something and it was done. Even now, you just tell her she might think about doing something differently and the difference will be noted in the future! BUT!... (big but..) she was a hellious teenager. She's bull headed and stubourn to a fault. She's scarey smart (She's getting invitations to apply at about 6 or 7 different private school all over the US) and she hasnt started applying for scholarships YET, but already some are courting her big time. BUT she's a slob and can be a real bully! She went through a horrible passive aggressive stage too but it passed!! Middle School kids are just all pissers!! (we live across the street from a middle school and the kids are foul mouthed!!) not all of em of course, but a LOT of em and they think they're indestructable! they get off on pushing each other in the street in front of cars! BUT like I said *G* thankfully, they grow out of it!!
Chin up and enjoy him when you can (middle school aged kids are also VERY funny!!!!) He'll be back to livable before you know it! :)

[eaglesvet]

Thanks, I'm waiting...:bye:

[ticky]

ahem....


I'm not sure How Long Joe and I spent next to the open window locked in that never ending kiss. Time kind of stopped and we were frozen for a bit. The the sound of tires squealing on the hot asphalt of the Dark Desert Highway then roaring into the gravel parking lot of The Last Resort woke us up.
Things were taking a turn for the worse!
"Listen baby, you can here the engine rev!" Joe broke our kiss with a worried look on his face. We both peered out the window just in time to see a girl my lord in a flat bed ford slam to a stop in front of the motel. The door of the ford said " Dr. Eve's Veterinary Medicine specializing in livestock"
"Uhoh, that's trouble!" Joe said frozen to the sight of the wild eyed woman grabbing a long handled hook from the back of her truck.
"Who is she?" I asked not able to remove my eyes from that hook and fearing she might be here for me!
"That's Dr. Eve, everyone here just calls her EV" Joe said absently, as if he wasnt really aware he was even talking. "she's Glenn's girlfriend"
I gulped. Glenn was next door making the corridor ring with noise with that waitress from The Sad Cafe.
"JUMPIN JELLYFISH" (i watch way too much sponge bob) "That poor waitress is about to be SHISHKEBOBBED! we gotta DO something!" I panicked! Joe grabbed my by the shoulders and said "Take It Easy, baby. Glenn is a Melody with out a cure.. but he always bounces back." with that Joe smiled and kissed me deeply. Then he let go of me and walked to the far wall and pounded 'shave and a haircut' on the wall just above the nasty sticky dresser.
The answering knock resounded and Joe said "EV'S HERE BUDDY!"
Suddenly the room nextdoor echoed with sounds and activities. The waitress came rushing into my room wrapped in only a sheet and scared to death.
"GLENNNNNNNNNNNNN!!!!!!!!!!!" screached a furious voice from the lobby.
A bottle of pink champaign came flying down the corridor and smashed on the far wall with such impact that the glass was crushed into sand.
"IM GONNA IMPALE THAT TINY LITTLE DI..." the tyrade was stopped mid insult
with a muffled sound. I peeked around the corner of my door to see EV wrapped in the arms of the suave Glenn, his dark hair mussed and wet. a towel falling from his naked body showing off his tight firm.. "oh my" I said as Joe pulled me back from the door. "If she sees you, she may assume YOU were the one in the room with him!" Joe whispered, his lips softly touching my ear. My knees went weak. The waitress, also wet, shivered in the corner weeping into her sheet.
Joe knelt beside her. "That was a close one Lisa. She almost caught you!" Joe pulled the blanket off the bed and wrapped it around the shivering sad woman.
"She'll never catch me." sniffed the woman "Im already gone, and she stood up and started to walk out the door.
Joe grabbed her arm and pulled her back "Hold on there, Earlybird, She's still out there! You may get a piercing you dont want!"
"I dont care! He was My Man first!" shouted the starkly clad woman.
"Shhhhhhh!!!" hushed Joe. "YOU may not care about how many holes you have in your body at the end of the day, but I do!" and Joe sent a warm glance my way "and im starting to really care about the holes in that lady's body too!" he grinned that cheshire cat grin. I wanted to be angry and insulted but that grin, those eyes. I made the drooly face again. Damn.

Argh.. tired... Im done for tonight

[Mrs Henley]

Jumping back to The Last Resort....

Joe unlocked my door and stepped aside. I walked into the gawdy room. Red satin covered the bed and chairs. Golden cherubs and angels glared intimidatingly down from the four poster bed. Enormous pillows that had once been heart shaped but had been pushed, pulled, tugged and rended out of any definable shape now flanked the head of the bed just below a floor to ceiling mirror at the head of the bed.
"This could be heaven.." Joe grinned menacingly as he tossed his long form across my bed.
"Or this could be hell.." I snarled as I wiped something greasey and sticky from the top of the dresser. I smelled it. BIG mistake. I went to the bathroom to wash my hands.
"So, How Long you in town for?" Joe streached luxuriously across the bed, tipping his Pape/Cat baseball cap down over his eyes.
"Not long," I said drying my hands on a semi-clean towel hanging in front of a semi-clean bathtub. "And dont get too comfortable there! You have a nice cozy truck cab waiting for you! remember?"
Joe let out a deep sigh and looked thoughtfully at me. You really gotta learn to relax! Learn To Be Still! Though the world is torn and shaken, even if your heart is breakin' It's waiting for you to awaken and someday you will."
I stared at Joe, lying there in my bed. Words of wisdom cutting deep into my broken heart. Suddenly the tears that had been hiding behind all my rage found their way out and I wept.
"I couldnt believe it was happening again! He left me and I was out on the street! trying to figure out how to start over!" the tears fell so hard I couldnt see. Joe jumped up from the bed and held me steady till I found the edge of the bed. He brought me a glass of water and held it to my lips as I sipped and sniffled. When I could talk again I said through gritted teeth "her name was Tiffany. CAN YOU BELIEVE IT?? TIFFANY!! thats not a name! thats a LAMP!" Joe laughed. I glared.
"Oh Im sorry, honey. But you're a funny lady!"
"Im not trying to be funny." I said. Having regained my rage I jumped from the bed and stalked to the bathroom to refill my glass. Joe returned to his possition on the bed.
"So who was Tiffany" He asked. Joe looked up casually as the glass flew through the air over his head and smashed against the picture of kittens wrestling painted on black velvet on the wall next to the bed.
"sorry my mind is a little Tiffany Twisted" (I bet you guys wont get this reference!! bwahahahahaahha!) I said and walked to the picture to pick up the broken pieces of glass. As I bent down to pick them up, Joe's huge gentle hands wrapped around my wrist and pulled me up.
"let me, You're pretty upset. I wouldnt want you to hurt yourself."
I didnt resist. The idea of hurting myself sounded too good to tempt.
"I could really use a drink. How 'bout you?" I was still shaking.
"dont drink, well not any more" Joe grinned that grin that melted my socks and I found myself making that dumb drool-sodden doofus face you get with too much novicane at the dentist.
Joe just kept grinning. "I used to drink way too much! lost a lot of time and a good friend or two that way." I was learning more and more about this apparent hillbilly trucker I'd made so many assumptions about. My respect and my lust for him was growing.
"WHEW! it's pretty warm in these rooms!!" I rushed to the window. I needed air. The window was stuck. Joe was there. He pushed, hit, and pulled the window open. He stood much too near to me and I could smell his gum, his hair, his breath.
"wow, uhh... is there anything you cant do?" I asked as I slowly turned to face him. His face was so close I could look directly into his blue green eyes. Blue green... like fresh sage.
"wow" I whispered.
"wow" he said, smiled then kissed me.

nya nya nya... (hehehe)

it's almost 11 and I STILL have laundry so I'll be back..


They kissing us! Yeeeh :lol:

[Mrs Henley]

OK, stepping back to my shoe searching..

I was still standing there on the stairs and I was figuring out where I could buy shoes, I mean we are in the desert. Suddenly the door swung open and Joe walked in. "Don is waiting for you, he found a shoes store somewhere in the desert" and I walked to the lobby. Willie and Timothy where also arrived, ok..Willie was arrived, Timothy was still searching for Joe. Don walked to me and he gave me a paper 'Midnight Flyer Shoes'. "Strange name for a shoes store." I said but actually I didn't care of it, I needed shoes. "Love you socks Danielle!" Willie said and she started to laugh. "Oh, I LOVE them too! Pinky socks!" I said and we started to make fun of my lovely pink socks. "Maybe Timothy wants them too" Willie said. "Sure, he can have mine" I answered her and on that moment Timothy walked in. "Ssstt..." said Willie. "I've been Waiting In The Weeds here, can we finally go?" Don asked me and I walked with him outside the Last Resort. Rhonda and Joe were outside having fun, there were a couple of strange tourist who acted a little strange. "Oooohhh man!" Rhonda screamed and she sat down on the grass. "Frail Grasp On The Big Picture?" I asked here when Don and I were walking to the car. "A very big picture" and Rhonda grape her photo camera and toke a photo. (I know the song means something else). I was still walking on my socks to the car, when I heard a scream, we turned around and we saw Joe standing in the middle of a corner and he looked at his telephone. "We are Random Victims Don!" Joe screamed and he looked at Don. Don agreed and he walked away.

We were driving through the desert, searching for that store.
"How Long is this gonna take?" I asked and I yawn.
"I don't know." Don answers. "I need to find that store, I need new shoes, else I gonna take yours!" I said and looked at Don. "Sure, it would be a lot easier if we where In The City" Don said. "Yeh, but we aren't in the city..." I said and I was Tryin' to recognize the road where we were driving. "Do you have any idea, where we are?" I asked Don and he shake "no". "We have to Chug All Night to come back or something" Don said and he turned the car around. "What are you doing?" I asked him, but he didn't replied.

"How Bad Do You Want It?" Don said after a hour, we were still somewhere in the desert. "Well, not too bad please." I said and I grape the roadmap. "It's a Long Road Out Of Eden, but I think the roadmap can't even tell us where we are.." I said and gave the map to Don. He looked at the map and he tried to figure out where we could be. "Try to call Glenn or Somebody else". I called Glenn, but he didn't answers the phone. "He and Lisa are having a Month Of Sundays, do you remember?" I said and hang up. "Oh, I believe I remember that" Don said and he started the car and drove back. "What do I smell?" I asked and actually I knew it was colitas. "Colitas" Don said. "Coli-tas?" I was joking and Don started to laugh. "No it's not coli-tas, but colitez" Don said and we were starting to have fun about the colitas. "Colitez? Never heard of that before, where does it come from?" I asked him. "From the island of Joe" Don answers and we both noticed a shopping mall in the middle of the desert. "Does Joe owns a island?" I asked when we drove to the mall. "I believe he still does, yes.. it's between England and The Netherlands" Don said and he was parking the car. "Ok..if you're saying it" I said and we walked inside the mall.

"Shoes, shoes COME ON! I NEED SHOES. ***** that store!" I started to become crazy when we didn't could found the store called 'Midnight Flyer Shoes'. "Woo, Witchy Woman, slow down!" Don said and he grape my arm and toke me to an other shopping street in that mall. "I'm Already Gone man!" I said and walked away. "Do Something, just do something! I need shoes" I said when I was standing on the other side of the street. "There is an other plaza over there, maybe we can find something there" Don said and he pointed to the other side of the shopping mall. "Uhm... I don't have a Peacefull Easy Feeling about that, but let's try!" I said and I walked to the stairs. "We're not going with the stairs!" Don said he walked to the moving staircase. "Excuse me James Dean!" I joke and walked to Don. "James Dean?" Don asked. "Yeah, Sorry, I saw a picture of him in a store" I said and looked innocent. "Sure..I'm giving you The Best Of My Love and you call me James Dean? Oh Girl!" Don said and he walked away from me. "Ahw Don, I'm sorry! Forgive me!" I said and walked to him. (oh just for the record it's was a very long stairs) "I had Visions last night, about us" Don said and he turned around. "Visions, or just a dream?" I asked. "Visions..." Don said and we walked of the stairs. "About what?" I asked him. "Us" he said. "Us? What about us?" I asked and I became a little shy. "Why are you shy?" Don asked me. "I don't know, I just messed it up between us." I said and looked at the ground. "You didn't, You're not The Girl From Yesterday, you never will be" Don said. "And after The Boys Of Summer has come?" I asked him and meanwhile we both were searching for the store. "I will love you still after the Boys Of Summer has come" Don said and he put his arm around my waist. "Let's search that fecking store and than buy shoes and go home" Don said. "Maybe there, at the Seven Bridge Road!" I said and we walked to that 'road'.

"Shoes...shoes....SHOES!!!!!!!!!" I yelled and I run to the store. "Oh Goodness, FINALLY!" I screamed and I was pretty fast finished with buying new shoes. "Wow, Try And Love Again girl!" Don chuckle and I 'stole' his credit card. "Oh I will, I will try and love you again after you payed my shoes" I said and walked to the cash desk. "Hey, you Earlybird!" Don said when I was walking back with my new shoes. "I'm not a bird, but hey thanks!" I said and gave Don a kiss on his cheeks. "Finally new shoes! Oh and You Never Cry Like A Lover again!" Don said and we were walking back to the car. "Why are you and Joe actually Random Victims?" I asked when we walked outside. "Joe ever said that something very strange happened we both where Random Victims of it" Don said. "I get the point.." I said and I searched the car. "I'm out to my Ol' 55 you know?" Don said. "No, I don't, why are you?" I asked him when we stepped in to the car. "New Years Night, I promised Glenn that this year would be a Funky New Year..but it never happened." Don said and he looked outside. "I got to say, this is a pretty funky new year.." I said slowly. "Is It True, you're not lying?" Don asked. (sorry for using that song twice!) "It is..and even After The Trill Is Gone, it stays a funky new year" I said. "I guess you're right" Don said. We where already driving on the highway, on our way back to 'The Last Resort'. "What Do I Do With My Heart?" Don asked when he parked the car at the parking place of the motel. "I don't know, it's your heart not mine" I said and stepped out of the car. Don locked the car and we were walking inside the motel when Don toke my hand and he said that if I would try and love again, he also wanted. "I'm not sure if I want it.." I said and looked away. "You won't?" Don asked and he went with his hand trough my hair. "You don't have Too Many Hands..just mine.." I knew Don was right, but I didn't knew it anymore. "I just.." I said and stopped with talking. "You just..what?" Don asked. "I just wanna love you..but You Don't Know Me At All" I said and there rolled a tear over my cheek. "I don't know you, I know that.." Don said and he swiped that tear away. "But, I want to know you, but you have to let me.. to know you" Don said again. "I'm a Disco Strangler, I'm a Victim Of Love" I said and I tried to walk away but Don didn't let me go. "I can't let you go.. Get Over It darling..just give me the chance to prove you that I want to know you.." Don said and he let my hand go. "When?" I asked him. "Tonight." he said. "But it's Saturday Night" I said. "Got a problem with that?" he asked me. "Shall we go down to the Sunset Grill?" I asked him and we started to have some fun. "This is The Last Worthless Evening, just believe me." Don said and we walked to our hotel suite.



Oh, I'm not suggesting anything with this! ;) :angel:

[Glennsallnighter]

Well girls in my absence you are well able to give 'The Waitress' :wink: a slice of the action. Now, she needs to continue!!

To answer EVs question, I wondered myself leaving that Sad Cafe would we go the distance, but decided we'd find out in the long run. I was sick of my job, sick of my life ,sick of my future as it stood and sick of the strife. Anyway there was always the Sunset Grill which would hire any hands that wanted as a last resort. We arrived at the station to hear that the Midnight Flyer had been cancelled but Glenn was able to pick up a flatbed Ford and we headed down the highway to Freedom. We came to the Last Resort motel where Glenn stopped and got some gas, but when he started it again it began to splutter. 'This darn thing is gonna chug all night' he commented. He looked suggestively at me, 'You wanna stay here for the night? Train leaves here in the morning'. With his eyes smouldering on me all I could think was 'I'd sleep on the sidewalk with you Glenn if I had to!!'
We entered and spoke to the girl on the desk. She showed us the way to our room. Again there were angels and cherubs in abundance. 'Pretty Maids all in a Row' Laughed Glenn. There were voices on the corridoor which Glenn immediately recognised as the trucker Joe and that girl Willie that he'd picked up!
'This night is gonna last forever' he grinned at me. 'Come on Baby!' he whispered suggestively, 'I wanna sleep with you in the Desert tonight.....but I guess here'll have to do!' Glenn gently brought his lips to mine, we turned out the light and.......well you can say that we got it right......

We were disturbed by an almighty scream a short while later, as a Witchy Woman came running down the corridoor! 'Who's Been Sleeping in my Bed' ahe roared as she soundly berated Glenn for being with me! Languidly Glenn responded 'Hey, I told you before, You'll always be the Girl From Yesterday, I heard some people talkin just the other day and they said you were gonna put me on a shelf. Well I've got some news for you.....you're Already Gone!!'

As she left with her head hanging Glenn looked at me and said 'Ever get the feeling Somebody's followin' you?'.
'Now I do' I smiled, as cradled in his arms, his warm body against mine, we fell asleep........

[eaglesvet]

ahem....


I'm not sure How Long Joe and I spent next to the open window locked in that never ending kiss. Time kind of stopped and we were frozen for a bit. The the sound of tires squealing on the hot asphalt of the Dark Desert Highway then roaring into the gravel parking lot of The Last Resort woke us up.
Things were taking a turn for the worse!
"Listen baby, you can here the engine rev!" Joe broke our kiss with a worried look on his face. We both peered out the window just in time to see a girl my lord in a flat bed ford slam to a stop in front of the motel. The door of the ford said " Dr. Eve's Veterinary Medicine specializing in livestock"
"Uhoh, that's trouble!" Joe said frozen to the sight of the wild eyed woman grabbing a long handled hook from the back of her truck.
"Who is she?" I asked not able to remove my eyes from that hook and fearing she might be here for me!
"That's Dr. Eve, everyone here just calls her EV" Joe said absently, as if he wasnt really aware he was even talking. "she's Glenn's girlfriend"
I gulped. Glenn was next door making the corridor ring with noise with that waitress from The Sad Cafe.
"JUMPIN JELLYFISH" (i watch way too much sponge bob) "That poor waitress is about to be SHISHKEBOBBED! we gotta DO something!" I panicked! Joe grabbed my by the shoulders and said "Take It Easy, baby. Glenn is a Melody with out a cure.. but he always bounces back." with that Joe smiled and kissed me deeply. Then he let go of me and walked to the far wall and pounded 'shave and a haircut' on the wall just above the nasty sticky dresser.
The answering knock resounded and Joe said "EV'S HERE BUDDY!"
Suddenly the room nextdoor echoed with sounds and activities. The waitress came rushing into my room wrapped in only a sheet and scared to death.
"GLENNNNNNNNNNNNN!!!!!!!!!!!" screached a furious voice from the lobby.
A bottle of pink champaign came flying down the corridor and smashed on the far wall with such impact that the glass was crushed into sand.
"IM GONNA IMPALE THAT TINY LITTLE DI..." the tyrade was stopped mid insult
with a muffled sound. I peeked around the corner of my door to see EV wrapped in the arms of the suave Glenn, his dark hair mussed and wet. a towel falling from his naked body showing off his tight firm.. "oh my" I said as Joe pulled me back from the door. "If she sees you, she may assume YOU were the one in the room with him!" Joe whispered, his lips softly touching my ear. My knees went weak. The waitress, also wet, shivered in the corner weeping into her sheet.
Joe knelt beside her. "That was a close one Lisa. She almost caught you!" Joe pulled the blanket off the bed and wrapped it around the shivering sad woman.
"She'll never catch me." sniffed the woman "Im already gone, and she stood up and started to walk out the door.
Joe grabbed her arm and pulled her back "Hold on there, Earlybird, She's still out there! You may get a piercing you dont want!"
"I dont care! He was My Man first!" shouted the starkly clad woman.
"Shhhhhhh!!!" hushed Joe. "YOU may not care about how many holes you have in your body at the end of the day, but I do!" and Joe sent a warm glance my way "and im starting to really care about the holes in that lady's body too!" he grinned that cheshire cat grin. I wanted to be angry and insulted but that grin, those eyes. I made the drooly face again. Damn.

Argh.. tired... Im done for tonight

Interesting development, Ticky, especially since my name really is Eva and and at work I go by Dr. E...how did you figure that one??

[Mrs Henley]

Well girls in my absence you are well able to give 'The Waitress' :wink: a slice of the action. Now, she needs to continue!!

To answer EVs question, I wondered myself leaving that Sad Cafe would we go the distance, but decided we'd find out in the long run. I was sick of my job, sick of my life ,sick of my future as it stood and sick of the strife. Anyway there was always the Sunset Grill which would hire any hands that wanted as a last resort. We arrived at the station to hear that the Midnight Flyer had been cancelled but Glenn was able to pick up a flatbed Ford and we headed down the highway to Freedom. We came to the Last Resort motel where Glenn stopped and got some gas, but when he started it again it began to splutter. 'This darn thing is gonna chug all night' he commented. He looked suggestively at me, 'You wanna stay here for the night? Train leaves here in the morning'. With his eyes smouldering on me all I could think was 'I'd sleep on the sidewalk with you Glenn if I had to!!'
We entered and spoke to the girl on the desk. She showed us the way to our room. Again there were angels and cherubs in abundance. 'Pretty Maids all in a Row' Laughed Glenn. There were voices on the corridoor which Glenn immediately recognised as the trucker Joe and that girl Willie that he'd picked up!
'This night is gonna last forever' he grinned at me. 'Come on Baby!' he whispered suggestively, 'I wanna sleep with you in the Desert tonight.....but I guess here'll have to do!' Glenn gently brought his lips to mine, we turned out the light and.......well you can say that we got it right......

We were disturbed by an almighty scream a short while later, as a Witchy Woman came running down the corridoor! 'Who's Been Sleeping in my Bed' ahe roared as she soundly berated Glenn for being with me! Languidly Glenn responded 'Hey, I told you before, You'll always be the Girl From Yesterday, I heard some people talkin just the other day and they said you were gonna put me on a shelf. Well I've got some news for you.....you're Already Gone!!'

As she left with her head hanging Glenn looked at me and said 'Ever get the feeling Somebody's followin' you?'.
'Now I do' I smiled, as cradled in his arms, his warm body against mine, we fell asleep........


I love your last line GA! :angel:

[Mrs Henley]

A continued story at GA's and mine together :angel:


It's was a Long Hot Summer night and we were trying to get some sleep, but it was pretty too hot for any moment of sleep. "I'm dying here!" Don said and he trow off the quilt, only he didn't thought about the fact that it was one big quilt so I also didn't have any piece anymore. "It's pretty hot, true" I said sleepy and actually I wanted to try to get some sleep. "I'm gonna sleep, anyway I want to try it" I said and I turned around and closed my eyes. There was no wind, nothing..just the warmth. "Hmm..like that idea" Don said and he also closed his eyes. Suddenly we heard a noise from the other room. "What the heck?" Don said and he turn the light on. "Maybe Glenn is rolled out of his bed.." I joked and Don needed to agree with me. "No, I don't think so" Don said and he walked to the door. I walked also to the door and Don opened it, Glenn and Lisa were also standing on the corridor and we all four looked at each other. "We were just finally sleeping.." Lisa said to me. "Yeh, man, I need a break..but what is this for creepy noise?" Glenn asked and he looked to the other side of the corridor. "You ask us?" Don asked Glenn and he knew that was actually a stupid question. "Yes, I do" Glenn said and he laugh. "Ha-Ha Glenn" I said and I looked at Glenn. "Sleeping Girls..how sweet.."Glenn said and he walked to the room door of Joe and Rhonda. Don walked to Timothy and Willie and Glenn and Don knocked on the door. "I was just Talking To The Moon and now you have me take me out of mine concentration?" Timothy said when he opened the door. "Sorry Tim, but didn't you both hear that noise?" Don asked when he tried to avoid Timothy's hand who wanted to slap Don. "No I did not, did you?" Timothy asked Willie and she also said no. "Strange.." Don said and Timothy closed the door. "Woooo, crazy people walking around" Glenn said when Joe still didn't opened the door. "All She Wants To Do Is Dance, you think?" Don joke and Glenn started to dance. Lisa and I looked at each other and we started to laugh. Rhonda opened the door and she looked at Glenn. "Glenn?" she asked. "Oooooh hi! Did you and Joe heard that noise?" Glenn asked and his face turned red. "No, we didn't" Rhonda said and she looked also at us. "Ok, strange..but hey thanks! Sleep tight!" Glenn said and Rhonda closed the door. "Or we are just crazy, or this is creepy" Lisa said and I agreed with her. "I have to admit that this is indeed strange" Glenn said and when he was walking to his hotel room, we heard Irving. "Oh no, no no no no no!" Don and Glenn said and Don grape my arm and take me with him the room in and Glenn did that also with Lisa. "Nite!" Glenn said. "Night!"

A couple of hours later we still didn't sleep, I walked to the balcony and looked to the desert. "Why are we actually 'sleeping in the desert'?" I asked Don and he turned around in bed. "What do you mean?" he asked very sleepy. "I mean, we can stay somewhere in the city.." I said and walked back inside. "True, but hey it's pretty quiet here" Don said and he stepped out bed. "Yeah I know" I said and sat down on the couch. Don came sit next to me. "I'd would do anything to get one hour sleep, just one dang hour" Don said and he almost felt in sleep. "Sleep tight" I said and I started to laugh. "You're almost sleeping, so that hour will work for you" I said. "I'm a Man With A Mission" Don said and he lay his head on my shoulder. "And what is your mission?" I asked him and I started to fell in sleep. "To sleep..." Don said and he fell in sleep. I lay down on the couch and Don lay next to me on the couch (it's was a huge couch!) and we were sleeping, finally..

At 6 AM Glenn knocked on the door and asked if we were awake. "Yeh, now we are" Don said sleepy. "Goodmorning world, it's a beautiful day in the desert, maybe a good day to take a ride!" Glenn said and he knew that we knew what he means. "Sure, why not..it's was last night One Of These Nights that we didn't sleep and now you want that we wake up at 6 AM and take a ride?" Don asked and he became a little pissed off. "Uh, yes!" Glenn said and he knocked again. "I Hear You Knocking man!" Don said pissed off. "But, I can't come in?" Glenn asked. "GLENN!" Lisa said and we were saved by Lisa. "Thank you, thank you! LISA I LOVE YOU!" I shout. "Oh, I know you do!" Lisa said and she take Glenn with her to get some breakfast. "I wanna sleep..just sleeping..the whole day" I said and I put my pillow on my head. "The Unclouded Day is coming soon, so come on, get some cloths on and let's go" Don said pretty awake. "How can you be so awake?" I asked him when I tried to get of the couch. "If you life 37 years with Glenn, than you can" Don said and he pull me up from the couch. I searched my cloths and when we both were ready we also walked downstairs to get a breakfast.

"I'm Taking You Home.." Don said halfway the stairs. "Home?" I asked him and I looked at Don, because he walked with me downstairs. "Hey, you're with the stairs" I said before Don answers. "Am I good or not?" He asked. "The best, but what do you mean with 'I'm taking you home'?" I asked him. "Just like I said..I'm taking you home." Don said and he toke me downstairs. "Just 4 stairs to go!" He said. "Ok, today it's gonna be My Thanksgiving" I said and walked together with Don to the next stairs. "I like Thanksgiving" Don said.

We were finally downstairs in the lobby and we were walking to the breakfast room, when we noticed Timothy and Willie. "Oh My! I can't believe this! Timothy, you're wearing Pink socks!" I said when we walked to them. "I bought them yesterday, you like them?" Timothy asked. "I'm Out Of Control man!" I said and Willie started to laugh. "You brought me on a great idea, you're The Genie girl!" Willie said and we walked with our four to the room. Glenn and Lisa were already sitting somewhere and even Joe and Rhonda were on their way to sit down. "Goodmorning all" we said and we walked to the breakfast buffet. "Morning! Hey Danielle, what is Good morning in Dutch?" Joe asked and he wanted to learn that too. "Goedemorgen" I said when I walked back with some breakfast. "Great, great!" Joe said and he tried to say it also. "Goodemurgen" Joe said and Glenn started to laugh loud. "Haha, Joe..you can't speak Dutch man!" Glenn said and he was still laughing. "Oh the next gig in Europe..I will speak Dutch! I promise you Glenn!" Joe said. "We will see, first we have a break..don't talk about Europe now!" Don said and he toke some coffee. "Geeeeeessss, what a disgusting coffee!" somebody on a other table screamed and we looked at Don, he stood up and walked to the toilet. "You Got Any Gum?" Don asked when he came back. "Sure, always..it's In My Car" Glenn said and he started to laugh. "That works, oh never mind" Don said and he sat down. After breakfast we went outside to take some air. "What's the plan today?" Timothy asked when we all sat on the grass. "Well, I though that it would be cool if we all take a ride somewhere" Glenn said and he looked at us....

[Glennsallnighter]

Well, MH, looks like you have helped me through the night! Thank you! But what happened the next day..........

[ticky]

Eve, wow.. I think we MUST be on a wave length! but then EV.. EaglesVet.. see?? anyway.. Im back. WT and Marjorie and I came up with a LOT of fun new ideas *G* so get ready!! (I need to unpack and change, shower etc.. Ill be back tho...)

[eaglesvet]

I think that wavelength is because we are about the same age...when he was young, my son used to believe that people are kids until they are 50, and would tell people that--God love him! So we still have a few more years of childhood--yea!!
Are the friends you traveled with this weekend Border members, or just willing to indulge your addictions/devotions?

[ticky]

WildThyme is a border member and we *may* get Marjorie here too after this weekend. She's heard all about it LOL Im going to shower and get changed, start some laundry and settle in for the night, then I'll be back :)

[ticky]

Ok kids, Here's what we came up with so far....*G*

Back at the sad cafe...

Sheriff Soda held fast and firm to her siwft action guitar pointed directly at Tim, who's eyes held tight to it's deadly strato-action.
"I Know how to use this Schmitt so you gotta ask yourself, Do you feel fast? Do you feel lucky? or will you see the Hangin' Tree?"
Tim raised his hands and backed away from Sheriff Soda carefully. "Now Sheriff," Tim grinned a wide smile that would have charmed The Pretty Maids in a New York Minute "you know Im as Harmless as a Nightingale. Im a lover, not a fighter."
Sheriff Soda swung her Strat toward Almanzo and said "Henley!"
Almanzo sat up straight and looked nervously at the Sheriff. "Well now Sheriff, You're partially right. I am A Henley, but Im not Don. Im his twin brother Almanzo."
"HA!" Gafawed Sherriff Soda and aimed her Strat directly at his heart.
Almanzo stood, stepped carefully towards the Sheriff and swiflty removed his glasses. His bright blue eyes shining in the glint from the neon sign.
"Well I'll be a Witchy Woman! you aint got Lyin Eyes! You're not Henley!" The Sheriff declared.
"No ma'am. The Henley you're talking about is my brother, and he's Out Of Control." Almanzo said.
Just then the door burst open and a lovely young woman flew in the door "Oh Almanzo! My Love! you are hurt!" She rushed into Almanzo's arms and held him tight.
"Danielle! What are you doing here?" Almanzo held the beautiful young woman. "Don is dangerous! you're not safe!"
"Almanzo, you are limping! This is not good! Have you been injured?" Danielle fell to her knees to examine Almanzo's bad leg.
"No," Almanzo grinned sheepishly "It's these cowboy boots, they're giving me blisters."
"OH Those Shoes!" Danielle uttered disdainfully. "I told you not to buy them. I dont care HOW pretty they are!"
"But Honnneeyyyy....." whined the big man "They're red! and you know how good I look in red!"
Danielle caressed Almanzo's cheek and coo'd to him like a baby, "Yes I know darling, but they are hurting you! and that is bad!"
Almanzo sighed and leaned on Danielle. "You are right. Let's go change these things. Did you bring my nikes?" And the two of them limped out the door.
During the distraction, Tim pushed Willie towards the back door. She turned to him and whispered "Im not going anywhere! That crazy woman with the big guitar might hurt you!"
Tim pulled her close and whispered back "I can handle her. I know what she wants. Get us a room at the Last Resort and I'll meet you there as soon as Im finished here." He kisseed her deep and hard then pusheed her out the door and shut it tight.
"SCHMITT!" Sheriff Soda yells "Dont you try and sneak out the back door like Just another lonely boy in town. You know what I want." Sherriff Soda smiled a vicious smile and leered hungrily at Tim.
Tim's face went white, he backed away slowly and stammered. "I..I.. cant.. I dont... I dont do that anymore..."
...... *G*

[Mrs Henley]

Well, MH, looks like you have helped me through the night! Thank you! But what happened the next day..........

It's my pleasure GA!
I have no idea (I do have an idea but don;t know if that's been continued :lol:)

[Mrs Henley]

Ok kids, Here's what we came up with so far....*G*

Back at the sad cafe...

Sheriff Soda held fast and firm to her siwft action guitar pointed directly at Tim, who's eyes held tight to it's deadly strato-action.
"I Know how to use this Schmitt so you gotta ask yourself, Do you feel fast? Do you feel lucky? or will you see the Hangin' Tree?"
Tim raised his hands and backed away from Sheriff Soda carefully. "Now Sheriff," Tim grinned a wide smile that would have charmed The Pretty Maids in a New York Minute "you know Im as Harmless as a Nightingale. Im a lover, not a fighter."
Sheriff Soda swung her Strat toward Almanzo and said "Henley!"
Almanzo sat up straight and looked nervously at the Sheriff. "Well now Sheriff, You're partially right. I am A Henley, but Im not Don. Im his twin brother Almanzo."
"HA!" Gafawed Sherriff Soda and aimed her Strat directly at his heart.
Almanzo stood, stepped carefully towards the Sheriff and swiflty removed his glasses. His bright blue eyes shining in the glint from the neon sign.
"Well I'll be a Witchy Woman! you aint got Lyin Eyes! You're not Henley!" The Sheriff declared.
"No ma'am. The Henley you're talking about is my brother, and he's Out Of Control." Almanzo said.
Just then the door burst open and a lovely young woman flew in the door "Oh Almanzo! My Love! you are hurt!" She rushed into Almanzo's arms and held him tight.
"Danielle! What are you doing here?" Almanzo held the beautiful young woman. "Don is dangerous! you're not safe!"
"Almanzo, you are limping! This is not good! Have you been injured?" Danielle fell to her knees to examine Almanzo's bad leg.
"No," Almanzo grinned sheepishly "It's these cowboy boots, they're giving me blisters."
"OH Those Shoes!" Danielle uttered disdainfully. "I told you not to buy them. I dont care HOW pretty they are!"
"But Honnneeyyyy....." whined the big man "They're red! and you know how good I look in red!"
Danielle caressed Almanzo's cheek and coo'd to him like a baby, "Yes I know darling, but they are hurting you! and that is bad!"
Almanzo sighed and leaned on Danielle. "You are right. Let's go change these things. Did you bring my nikes?" And the two of them limped out the door.
During the distraction, Tim pushed Willie towards the back door. She turned to him and whispered "Im not going anywhere! That crazy woman with the big guitar might hurt you!"
Tim pulled her close and whispered back "I can handle her. I know what she wants. Get us a room at the Last Resort and I'll meet you there as soon as Im finished here." He kisseed her deep and hard then pusheed her out the door and shut it tight.
"SCHMITT!" Sheriff Soda yells "Dont you try and sneak out the back door like Just another lonely boy in town. You know what I want." Sherriff Soda smiled a vicious smile and leered hungrily at Tim.
Tim's face went white, he backed away slowly and stammered. "I..I.. cant.. I dont... I dont do that anymore..."
...... *G*



*sigh* Rhondaaaaaaaaaaa :heart:

[Mrs Henley]

A Continued story on mine, (just to help GA :angel:) And a little part on Ticky's :) (will continue on yours this afternoon, Ticky! :))

Lisa looked at Glenn as he was a crazy man. "What do you mean with taking a ride?" she asked and she didn't want to take a long ride, because she needed to work out that afternoon together with Glenn on 'The Heat Is On' (I know you love it Lisa!). "Just a little ride." Glenn said and he also looked at Don, "You're idea or mine?" Glenn said. Don didn't answer his question, but he turned around and walked away. "Don, what's wrong?" I asked him when we stood alone on a corner of The Last Resort. "It's..just.." Don said and he looked away from me. "It's just what?" I asked him and I lay my hand on his cheek. "Hey, come on. Tell me what's wrong" I whispered. "You can Help Me Thru The Night, but I can't help you.." Don said. "That's the whole story? You can help me thru the night, we had the night of our lives!" I said to him and I looked at him. His deep blue eyes became wet and there rolled a tear over his cheek. "No, it's Almanzo.." Don said and he stopped talking. "Almanzo.. is he here?" I stammer. "Yes, why you ask?" Don ask me and he saw the fear in my eyes. "What did he do to you? Did he hurt you?" he asked and he pull my body against him. "No..thing.." I said slowly but I did know that Don didn't want to believe me. "What is he, your man?" Don asked me. "No, he's not My Man" I said and I started to cry. "You're My Man Don! I want you not Almanzo!" I said, but I knew I couldn't choice. "He is my twin brother, but he's strange" Don said and he rushed his hand through my hair. "It's just like Doolin-Dalton" I said and we started to laugh a little. "Hey, it's your decision..me or Almanzo" Don said and he gave me a kiss in my hair.

"Done?" Glenn asked when we walked back to the others. "Hmm..kind of" Don said. "Ok, I'm suggesting that we are driving to the other side of the valley and take some nice pictures and that we're continuing to the Sad Cafe for some food and than we're going back to the Last Resort and take at 5 PM diner together and than we're having a fun evening with a lot of drinks and than we're heading to bed." Glenn said that fast. "Wait, I have to work that through my brains" Joe said and he smiled. "Oh Joe" Rhonda said. "Haha, Joe just Take It Easy man we have time enough" Don said and Joe sat down on the ground and he closed his eyes. "Ok, I'm in! Let's go!" Joe said and he run to the car. "Who's driving in the front?" Willie asked and she prayed that she and Timothy didn't have to drive in the front. "You?" Lisa smiled and she laugh. "No, not us" Willie said and she looked to me and Don. "OHNO Noway!" we both said the same time. "It's a Long Run, I'm not going to drive in the front! We're losing on the highway" Don said. "And payed heavily bills?" Glenn joke. "Too many!" I said and smiled a little. "Well, let's go!" Rhonda shout and we walked to our cars, up to the valley.

Somewhere on the desert highway Glenn stopped (he and Lisa were in the front). "Wo man, why do you stop what did you see?" Joe asked. Glenn and Lisa were in the front, than Joe and Rhonda, Willie and Timothy and we ended up after in the line. "This is a Journey Of The Sorcerer" Glenn said and he walked to us. "Any idea?" he asked Don. "Don't you have a GPS System?" Don said and he looked at Glenn's car. "No, do you?" Glenn asked and Don said yes. "Ok, guys Don and Danielle in the front!" Glenn shout and I looked at Don and I did that I killed him. "You bastard!" I said when we were driving to the front of the line. "Hey, we're driving in the front, let's get wild!" Don said and he accelerate. "How fast are we going?" I asked him when we were somewhere racing over the highway. "Uh,...fast" Don said and he smiled. "Fast..fast..OH MAN!" I said.

After 2 hours Don stopped the car and he looked to the GPS System. "Are we lose on the damn highway?" I asked him and laugh. "No, but I have no idea where Glenn should be" Don said and he stepped out of the car, I also did and we walked to the others. "Where are Glenn and Lisa?" Timothy asked when we stood next to them. "I have no idea" Joe said and Rhonda grape Joe's phone and called to Lisa. "They don't answer" Rhonda said and he looked afraid. "They'll be alright" we heard somewhere out of the valley. "Who said that?" Willie said and she screamed. "Hahahaha, lol!" we heard again. "Oh my..LISA!" Rhonda, Willie and I shout. "Hi ladies" Glenn said from behind a rock. "Isn't it fun?" Lisa asked and she walked to us. "Haha, Woow, that's crazy!" Willie said and she started to laugh. "Glenn, how did you come here?" Don asked him. "He, you're an Outlaw Man, you're turning the car up to 150 KM, we saw at the last exit a sign with the valley, and you guys just drive through so we thought "let's make some fun with them!"" Glenn said and he shook Don's hand. "Next time, just call" Joe said and he had a big smile on his face. "Yes, we will" Lisa said.

We had a lot of fun at the valley and we toke a lot of pictures.
"SMILE BABY SMILE!" Glenn shout from a rock. "Where are you?" Lisa shout and she laugh. "Somewhere, my darling, somewhere" Glenn said and suddenly she felt a hand on her waist. "Hi there, gorgeous beauty" Glenn whispered and he toke Lisa with him.
"Everybody Knows what they're going to do!" Rhonda joked and I had to admit with her. Don and Joe were sitting on a rock and they talked about the trip. "Joe?" Don asked. "Don?" Joe asked. They both started to laugh. "You're not gonna tell me that you want to propose Danielle" Joe joked and he lay down on the ground of laughing. "No, not really I guess" Don said and he looked at Joe. "Come Rain Or Come Shine?" Timothy asked and he came sit down with them. "I hope shine" Don said and he had a sigh. "What's up, not going good between you and her?" Timothy asked. "Not really" Don said. "Willie? Give a minute, make it yourself comfortable!" Timothy said to Willie and she sat down. "Ok, Don, you have to show her how much you love her." Timothy said and he excused and walked with Willie to a rock to make some photos. "Yeh, and what happens after that?" Don asked. "Just rock her in the night, you can do that" Joe said. "Talk to her, say how much you love her, just CRY MAN!" Joe said. "It's just like The Garden Of Allah" Joe said and Don knew he was right, he stood up and walked to me. "Danielle, I want to talk" Don said and he waited till I stood up, we walked to a lonely place and we sat down. "What do you want to say?" I asked him. "I've got the feeling that there's something going on between us" Don said. "Like what?" i asked again. "I don't know..that's the problem" Don said. "I'm Part Of You, you're Part Of Me" I said to Don and he looked at me. "You know..Everything Is Different Now after that night." Don said and he toke my hand. "I will love till I die, and longer.. but you have to love me too" Don said and he put his arm around me. "I will, I will promise you that" I said to him and lay my head on his chest. "I know you will, you know..I Can't Stand Still if I see you with Almanzo" Don said slowly. "Why not, he's a nice guy" I said but I knew Don didn't like him. "I can't stand him!" Don said. "I know you don't, but he has something what's mine" I said and I stopped. "What does he has?" Don ask me and I didn't say anything. I closed my eyes and tried to hide my tears. "He proposed me..and I said yes..but I don't want to marry with him, I want to marry you!" I said a little to loud and the other could hear it. "You want what?" Don asked. "Don, I don't want to marry Almanzo.." I said and I cried a little. "We got to do something to that!" Don said and he thought about a little revenge. "Danielle?" he asked. "Yes?" I asked him. "Will you marry me, instead of Almanzo?" Don asked and he toke my hand. "I do!" I shout and I hugged Don. "True Love" Glenn said when he and Lisa looked at us from above a rock.

"We've got to goooooooo" Joe shouted from the cars. Don and I walked to the car and Lisa and Glenn came from the rock also to the car. "Girl, how sweet of Don" Lisa said and she smiled. "I wanna be your witness!" she joked. "Sure, why not?" I said and Lisa smiled.
"Honey, we've got to go." Don said and he toke my hand. "See you at the Sad Cafe folks!" we all said and we drove away...



:inlove:

[Mrs Henley]

Ticky's story continue:

Timothy tried to get away from Sheriff Soda, but he didn't came far.. Sheriff Soda was too fast for Timothy, so she cached him... "I don't, no I don't! Nooooooo" Timothy screamed and suddenly he heard his name, Almanzo and Joe were standing above Timothy and looked down to him. "You're ok?" Almanzo asked him, when Timothy opened his eyes. "What happened?" Timothy asked him. "You were out On The Border last night and you ended up here" Joe said and he and Almanzo pulled him up. Willie sat on a table and Lisa and I stood at the bar. "Honey, you're ok?" Willie said and she stood up and hugged Timothy. "Yeh, I guess" said Timothy. "It's was a heavy night" I said and looked at Lisa. "Oh yes, it was" she replied. "I thought it was something with a Smugglers Blues" Glenn said and he came also standing next to Timothy. "How Long girls?" Timothy asked us and he received a glass of water. "All Night Long" Willie, Lisa and I said together. "You know? If it didn't ended up like this, I should say that you were too Busy Being Fabulous" Joe said and he tried make Timothy smile, and it worked Timothy smiled. "Thanks Joe" he said. Almanzo walked to me and he put his arm around my waiste. "So, it was a night, wasn't it?" he said and we all agreed. "I need sleep" I said and yawned. "Yeh, I think we all do, and Tim at special" Glenn said and he walked to Lisa. "We going back to the Last Resort, don't know what you guys going to do" Lisa said and she and Glenn walked away.

"Oh, please Almanzo, promise me one thing" I said when we walked to the car. "And that would be, my darling?" he said and he laughed. "NEVER where Those Shoes again!" I said and also started to laugh. "Why not? I like my shoes, they only hurt my feet a little, but hey!" he said and he started the car. "Yes, maybe you do, but I don't!" I said. "You've got gorgeous blue eyes and you wear RED Cowboy boots... and I can't stand you in red, you know that" I said softly and turned out a little red. "I do know that, but that's why I wear them, because you can give me whatever I want" he said. "I'm not Don, as you know.. and I don't want the same things you gave him.. but please will you promise me one thing?, don't go to him or talk to him again.. he's dangerous and you have a history with him" Almanzo said. "It was a pretty hot history" I replied. "Oh believe me, I know that" Almanzo said and he looked at me. "I was there when Don toke you home for the first time, I was there when you guys did some things, and I was there when he hurt you" Almanzo said again. I knew that he was right, but was I still feeling something for Don?

"Hey, are that Rhonda and Joe?" I asked and looked outside the window. There stood a car besides the dark desert highway and there stood somebody at the other side of the road. "Just stop over there Almanzo" I said and he stopped. I stepped out of the car and walked to Rhonda. "What happened?" I asked her and she looked at me. "Joe didn't put some gasoline in the car and now we're stuck." Rhonda said. "Hey, I'm just an Ordinary Average Guy! I can forget things" Joe said and he walked to Almanzo. "Danielle?" Almanzo asked. "Hmm?" I asked him. "Should we take them with us?" Almanzo asked me and he walked together with Joe to Rhonda and me. "Do we have a choice?" I asked them, and Joe and Rhonda looked at each other. "Well, you guys don't have to take us if you won't." Joe said and he smiled softly. "Oh Joe, why do I love you?" I joked. "Because you're a Victim Of Love?" he said and he smiled. "I am a victim of love.." I said slowly. Almanzo looked down to the ground. "Oh, sorry..didn't know that" Joe said and he hugged me. "Rhonda, let's go, before we're going to fight here about the song on the radio" I said and we run to the car. "Hey, the Radio Song isn't going to play! REMEMBER THAT!" Almanzo joked and Joe started to laugh. "We will pick up your car tomorrow, first we get some gasoline" Almanzo said and he and Joe walked also the car...


Amen :angel:

[ticky]

*sigh* I cant believe this but an entire chapter of the story was lost. I *thought* I posted it this afternoon, but now it's GONE! so.... I'll rewrite it. In my own defense, I think I was running a fever and just forgot to hit submit.

[Mrs Henley]

*sigh* I cant believe this but an entire chapter of the story was lost. I *thought* I posted it this afternoon, but now it's GONE! so.... I'll rewrite it. In my own defense, I think I was running a fever and just forgot to hit submit.

Awwwhhh! :( Hope you remembered the story!

[TimothyBFan]

*sigh* I cant believe this but an entire chapter of the story was lost. I *thought* I posted it this afternoon, but now it's GONE! so.... I'll rewrite it. In my own defense, I think I was running a fever and just forgot to hit submit.

Good because I'm dying to know what sheriff Soda was going to do to Timothy!!! :sword: And what doesn't Timothy do anymore? hhmm?

[ticky]

Ok, before I address Tim and Soda, lets see what happened BEHIND the Sad Cafe hmmmm........


Willie stood at the closed back door of the Sad Cafe with a blank expression pondering her situation. What just happened? Where'd Tim go? What did that crazy woman want him to do? What do I do with my Heart?, How Long?, Who's this hot guy walking towards her? IF a train leaves it's station traveling north at 75 miles an hour at 3pm....
"'scuse me miss?" a very attractive man dressed in a blue plaid shirt, jean and work boots was talking to her. Willie managed to shake off her reverie and look at him. He had deep blue eyes and his dark brown hair was tousled and hung down to his ears.
"Howdy, My name is Frank, Frank Frey, but most people 'round here call me Farmer Frank." He smiled and her knees went a little weak. He had perfect white teeth and a smile that would melt steel.
Willie extended her hand and Farmer Frank shook it with gusto which shook Willie a little too!
"I was just wondering if you had seen a stranger 'round? I was expecting my new ranch hand to arrive here today and so far I havent seen hide nor hair! His name is Willie." Farmer Frank was speaking to her but looking around for his lost ranch hand.
Willie smiled a bright confident smile. She was used to this, she was also used to people underestimating her abilities as a ranch hand.
"That would be me Mr. Frey! I am Willie!"
Farmer Frank stared at her with his jaw hanging open and stuttered a bit "uh..yyou? bbut I thought.. I mean.. you're a.. a..what I mean is.. you're not a b.b..b.. "
Willie laughed.
"It's alright Mr. Frey. I'm a woman, but Im used to hard work, Ranch work. I know what needs to be done."
Farmer Frank grinned and said "First of all, Im Frank, or Farmer Frank, Mr. Frey gets a little formal for my tastes and it gets a little confusing as my identical twin cousin is Mr.Frey too. We may look the same, but we're nothing a like."
Farmer Frank looked long at Willie and scratched his head.
"I wish I'd known you were a g.. uhh woman. See, I need a ranch hand. The work I have is hard, back breaking work. It's roping and riding and hauling. Caring for livestock and mending fences. I need a cowboy!"
Willie turned on her charm. Farmer Frey visibly melted a little. Willie's 100 watt smile always had that effect on men.
"Mr. F.. uhh I mean Frank. When I was 13 my father was struck down by a weak heart. He didnt die, but he could no longer work the ranch. It was just he and I there, but I had nothing else. *I* ran that ranch till my father passed away last year and the bank took it" Willies eyes moistened and she looked away.
"I'm an excellent worker and can do anything a man can do twice as fast and twice as much"
Farmer Frank was taken aback by Willies sheer determination and her story had touched him.
"Well, alright Willie. I'll give you a try and we'll see how it works out. I cant guarantee anything though. I wont pull any punches. The work is hard!"
Willie grinned. "A chance is all I ask." She held out her hand and Farmer Frank shook it.
Just then the back door swung open and out stepped Tim looking flushed and tired. He looked at the two of them and smiled at Willie.
"I see you two have come to an agreement. So you got a new hand, Frank?" Tim smiled broadly at the Farmer.
"Sure do!" said Farmer Frank. "A pretty one too! You can never have Too Many Hands"
Tim pulled Willie close and kissed her cheek.
"Im glad you got the job, Baby."
Farmer Frank watched Willie's glowing face and bright smile as she looked at her Hero, Tim. Frank looked a little sad and disappointed.
A slamming door, the sound of angry foot steps in the gravel and not so quiet cursing floated across the parking lot to the small group standing behind the cafe. Lisa, the waitress was stomping towards the group. Her hair was disheveled and she had no shoes on and she was cursing like a sailor!
"Lisa! Awe honey! Did Glenn get you again?" Tim asked with concern.
Lisa glared daggers at Tim. "HE diidnt get me. I LET him get me. The Bastard! When will I ever learn?" and Lisa broke down crying.
Farmer Frank cradled her in his arms as she cried.
"That damn cousin of mine. He has no idea how good he has it." Frank looked into Lisa's eyes and said "Oh, Weeping woman try to smile, like the coming dawn, most of us are sad it's true, still we must go on"
Lisa sniffled a little and looked deep into Frank's eyes and saw the truth for the first time. "It was YOU! the whole time!"
Frank blushed deeply and let go of Lisa.
"I.. I uhh dont know what you mean." Frank laughed nervously.
"YOU! you wrote those letters! you left me the wild flowers! YOU were singing beneath my bedroom window! OF COURSE! How could I have been so dumb! I thought it was Glenn! but he would NEVER do those things! It was YOU!" with that Lisa threw her arms around Franks neck and kissed him deeply.
"I uhh, we'll go get Willie all settled at the ranch" Tim said as he ushered Willie off down the road.
Frank had no idea what to do at first, then gave in to his deep and hidden emotions and held Lisa close to him as he kissed her back....

More later :)

[ticky]

I'm sure Sheriff Soda won't abuse poor Timothy. ;)

heheheheehehee... abuse?? nooo... not abuse *G* use like a kleenex and toss away?? perhaps *G*

[Mrs Henley]

Soda, Timmy never would be hurt :)

Ticky, I love your story! Yeah! Frank Frey, great name!

[ticky]

Ok kids, Sheriff Soda says Play nice, so lets keep this A list only. No working blue.. (no naughty stuff) so with a little bit of revision... here's some more...



Tim stared at Sheriff Soda's big shiny strat and quivered. It'd been years. The last time he'd nearly killed a man. He'd been a Desperado then. He'd lived in Bitter Creek and his twisted fate had found him out. And now, here was the Sheriff, calling him out one more time.
She was cool water, Her Momma taught her, she was the best. Tim knew he didnt stand a chance, but she wasnt going to back down... and he couldnt.
Sheriff Soda's hands twitched across the E string. Tim whipped his ax around and aimed it right at the Sheriff. The next few minutes were a blurr of fingers, strings and sounds. Hendrix, King, Walsh, Clapton, Page, Beck, even Ravel and Bach. Riffs flew through the air like bullets! When it all ended and the smoke cleared, Tim was on his hands and knees, panting, his head down, sweat dripping from him like tears. Sheriff Soda stood over him holding her Strat bent backwards, panting and sweating as well, but still standing. She stood straight and grinned.
"you know the rules Schmit, the one left standing..." Sheriff Soda holstered her Strat and put on her raybans. She started to walk to the door then stopped.
"I'll give you this much though. You give great guitar!" the Sheriff laughed and walked out the door. She mounted her Harley and rode off into the sunset down Seven Bridges Road.
Tim sat on the floor heavily. He spent a moment catching his breath then smiled to himself. He'd given that to her. He hadnt had to loose. It would have been easy. One Joe Satriani or Stevie Ray Vaughan and she'd been his. But now it was over. Word would get out and he'd be free. No more fights, and now he had a reason to live, and she was waiting for him at the Last Resort. Tim stood, dusted himself off, holstered his ax and headed for the back door.

[TimothyBFan]

Ticky you are so good at this. I never see what's coming!!

[ticky]

me either!! *G* and thanks :)

[Mrs Henley]

Ticky, you're great girl! :)

[Glennsallnighter]

Ticky! Wow! This is getting better and better!

[ticky]

Ok, Joe and I need a little attention.... *G* The PG 13 version...

I stepped out of the shower and dried my hair with a towel. The I quicky grabbed a comb and tamed the wild afro. Once I looked more human then Meg Ryan-esque (I mean Meg Ryan in "When A Man Loves A Woman" not the quaffed Meg Ryan) I wrapped a towel around myself and walked quietly into the room. Joe lay asleep on his stomache on the bed. A sheet lay across his hips and his skin was a deep tan contrast to the white sheets. It made my heart skip a beat. His tousled blond hair swept across the pillow hiding his face in a curtain of soft blond waves. His back lifted and fell with deep breaths.
"Gosh he's purdy" I thought to myself and grinned.
I leaned against the door jam. What the heck was I thinking? Thinking had had nothing to do with it. What now? After The Thrill Is Gone. Not quite lovers, not quite friends. Panic started to set in. I started to look for the exit thinking only of escape, then he stirred. His bright, shiny green eyes opened and looked at me. He smiled. I drooled. Damn. I have GOT to learn to control that. I wiped my face and smiled back. He held up his hand and beckoned to me. I had no control over my knees and they took me to the bed. Somewhere along the way I lost my towel. Uhoh. Fortunately, Joe had a sheet he was willing to share with me, and he did.
It took me a few hours to get out of that sheet and into my clothes. Well, mostly my clothes. Joe lent me a t-shirt as I was in dire need to sing the All Night Laundromat Blues. He said I looked better in it then he did anyway. I really needed to wash everything I owned but my shoes, and even those looked a bit grubby, but I wasnt too concerned.
Joe stepped out of the bathroom looking showered and clean and completely edible.
"I must be hungry" I thought to myself.
"You must be hungry!" Joe said. "Im starved, let's head over to the Sad Cafe. If Lisa's feeling up to it, she makes a mean Denver Omlet!" He leaned over and kissed my cheek then took my hand and we headed for the greasy spoon for some much needed sustainence.


more later :)

[eaglesvet]

Has Lisa managed to get her job back after her fling?

[ticky]

The Sad Cafe is pretty loose and easy going about their hiring/firing policies. It's possible Lisa is owner or partial owner of The Sad Cafe or could be she just has close ties to the owner. I dunno... it's all yet to come! it COULD be that the Sad Cafe is mearly a metaphore kind of like the cafe in Bus Stop! Hmm.....

Also, Lisa's fling with Mr.Smoothy is an on-going situation that's known by the town (how embarassing for her!) but now that Farmer Frank is involved things may change!

[TimothyBFan]

Who needs the daytime soaps when we have Ticky?

[ticky]

The Sad Cafe looked abandon and disheveled. Salt shakers lay on their sides and cups were tipped over, coffee dribbled off the end of one of the tables and into a puddle on the floor.
Joe looked around confused. I grabbed a napkin and begin to mop up the coffee puddle.
"Something's happened here. I mean the Sad Cafe has never been a becon of cleanliness but this is even worse then usual." Joe crossed to the counter and leaned over towards the kitchen.
"Hello?" no answer.
"Lisa? you there?" .....no answer.
"Well, we cant just let it sit like this! Lisa will loose her job!" I picked up a few glasses and headed towards the kitchen.
Joe smiled. "I doubt that. She owns the place"
I cringed. "Lucky girl."
"Her mother left it to her. It's her only means of support but it does keep her tied to Eaglesville." Joe said as he picked up a few over turned salt shakers and wiped off a table.
"Eaglesville?" I said skeptically.
"Yep! Thats the name of our quaint little burg here" Joe smiled at me. My knees quaked a little and I nearly dropped the coffee cups I was carrying.
"I see, are there Eagles here?" I asked as I turned away and looked for a washer.
"OH yeah! everywhere you look!" Joe smiled to himself. "you'd be surprised how close they are."
"I'll have to keep my eyes open then." I said as I piled the dishes in the sink. No washer. OH fun. I picked up a dish rag and headed towards the front to wipe down some of the tables.
"It looks like someone had a battle in here!" Joe stood up and looked around him.
"You mean like a gun fight?" I said. My eyes wide with disbelief.
"Well, kind of. Things work a little differently in Eaglesville. It was probably Sheriff Soda and Tim. She's been gunnin' for him for a long time."
"Do you think she hurt him?" I asked worried for the poor man. He'd seemed like such a gentle soul and the thought of some gun slinger sheriff aiming her loaded pistol at him had me deeply concerned for his safety.
Joe laughed softly. "Maybe just his ego. See, we do our fightin' with our ax's"
"AXES????? DEAR GOD!!!!" I was horrified. I dropped a cup. It broke.
Joe Laughed loud and deeply. "OH no, no no no.. not THAT kind of ax." He grinned at me. drool, damn. Joe walked over and picked up the broken pieces. He stood much too close to me, reached behind me and dropped the broken pieces into the trash.
I sighed. "I thought you were going to...."
He kissed me.
A woman came in the front door. She was dressed in biking shorts and a tank top. She was covered in sweat and looked like she might drop on the spot. Joe rushed over to her and helped her to a booth.
"Are you alright?" He asked the poor, frazzled woman.
She nodded, unable to talk just yet. I brought her a glass of water and a towel. She sipped the water and took some deep breaths, mopped her head with the towel.
"Thank you" she whispered. "I dont know what happened. I went for a Long Run down Seven Bridges Road and got lost! I usually turn around at Bitter Creek but I wanted to out run The Midnight Flyer. Silly I know, it being a train, but it's always blocking my way when I get to the crossroads and I wanted to Take The Devil this time. So I decided to run to the next crossroads. But then I was lost." she gulped some air, sipped some water and mopped her brow. "I've been Running On Empty~ (Ok I cheated... sue me.)~ for hours. This is the first place I saw."
Joe looked at me then at her. "The next crossroads down Seven Bridges Road is 23 miles away. You've been running a marathon."
"23 miles? then add 7 miles from the crossroads to my house. Thats 30 miles!"
She was stunned. She looked up at Joe, then at me and smiled. "OH Im Brooke by the way." and she held out her hand for each of us to shake.
"It's very nice to meet you, Brooke" I said and returned her smile.
Joe took her hand and kissed it softly " Very nice indeed!" he said. I kicked him.
"OOF," he grinned sheepishly up at me. "Sorry, honey"
I glared.

[Glennsallnighter]

Has Lisa managed to get her job back after her fling?

Lisa realised that there was far more to life than serving omelets in a greasy diner. However things worked out for her and Glenn, he had opened her eyes to having a good time. She would never darken the door of the Sad cafe again.....................except perhaps to buy it!

However, she would not let her friends down either. So she rustled the ingredients for the Denver omelet together, bought a fr(e!)ypan and a camp stove and headed off to the desert.........with Glenn......and Frank......and their friends...........

[Glennsallnighter]

What the others didn't know was that Lisa had actually lost her ownership of the Sad cafe to a ramblin gamblin man who had passed in the night.....and conned her out of everything. His only concession to her was to allow her to work there to his exacting standards under the eagle eye of his brother, for a meagre salary!

[ticky]

OO Lisa! we're thinking on the same wave length! I just had an idea for a city slicker coming to town.. hmm...

[Prettymaid]

my identical twin cousin is Mr.Frey too.


:hilarious: Is that even genetically possible?

[ticky]

No idea, but what a nice concept huh?

[Mrs Henley]

Very nice :mrgreen:


and what's gonna happen with Danielle, Don and Almanzo? :lol:

[Glennsallnighter]

OO Lisa! we're thinking on the same wave length! I just had an idea for a city slicker coming to town.. hmm...


His name was Don......F*****

[ticky]

Mean while, back at the Ranch... *G*


Willie wasnt quite sure where to settle her few things. The Bunkhouse was full of noise and dangerous boys, the other Ranch Hands and they were thrilled to see her coming! Thankfully for Willie's sake, Tim was with her. One mean glare from him and the sight of his still warm ax strapped to his back and the surly ranch hands mellowed out quickly. Tim and Willie explored the ranch house till they found a small bedroom off the back with a separate entrance so Willie would have a little privacy.
"Im pretty sure this is where Frank would want you to stay." Tim looked around the small but comfortable room.
Willie settled her few things in their places. Her clothes in the drawers, a picture of her father on the dresser and a small bottle of perfume on the dresser top.
She smiled at Tim. "I dont wear it often, but it was a gift from my father the year before he died. It's the same thing my mother used to wear. I dont remember a lot about Mom, but I do remember how she smelled and, when I feel sad or lonely, I put a little of this on and it feels like she's here with me."
Tim picked up the small bottle. "Well, as long as you dont wear it when you're working with that rowdy bunch of Desperados out there. You'd never get away untouched!" Tim took the lid off the bottle and sniffed it warily. He smiled. "thats nice.."
"Chanel number 5. It's kind of expensive. I was surprised my Dad bought it. We never had much money but he said I was a beautiful lady and beautiful ladies should all smell like this."
Tim walked to Willie. He touched his finger to the top of the bottle and trailed his finger tip down Willie's neck just behind her ear. He leaned in close and smelled her. She felt his hair brush against her cheek. She could smell him, her perfume, the wind in his hair. She felt just a little dizzy.
"He was right." Tim trailed tiny kisses down her neck. She gasped and held on to him to keep from falling over.
He returned the cap to the bottle and replaced it on the dresser. He opened the bottom dresser drawer and pulled out some fresh sheets and blankets.
"Come on, I'll help you make the bed." Tim grinned at Willie, and they made the bed.


I dont know how much time I'll have today to write. I PROMISE Almanzo and Danielle will be back as will Don and Glenn and Lisa and Sheriff Soda.. *G* And who knows who else might show up (I think there may be a nuclear waist dump somewhere near Eaglesville as there seems to be no END to the twins, triplets, quadruplets etc.. happening here *G* and ALL Identical!! (or are they?))

[ticky]

I've got some plans for the story, but Im gonna be kind of busy for the next few days *G* I'll try and add some chapters but they may be short. (but very exciting!! changes are comin to Eaglesville!) Anyhow, I'll see what I can do later :)

[TimothyBFan]

Tim walked to Willie. He touched his finger to the top of the bottle and trailed his finger tip down Willie's neck just behind her ear. He leaned in close and smelled her. She felt his hair brush against her cheek. She could smell him,


OMG--:smitten:

[ticky]

Hmm.. ok.. lets shake things up a bit.

Brooke caught her breath and finished her water. She was obviously to exhausted to make her way back to her home on her own.
"why dont I give you a ride back to your place?" Joe grinned that grin at Brooke. Funny how much that grin did NOT effect me the same when it was aimed at someone else. In fact, it had nearly the opposite effect.
"Ahem. In what? you 18 wheeler?" I sniped.
Joe blinked back at me. "Oh right!" he smiled apologetically. Stood and put his arm around me. I glared. He hugged me and kissed my cheek. Ok, Im a sucker. I fell for it.
Brooke didnt seem to notice too much. She looked like she could use a nap. "You look like you could use a nap!" I said "and maybe some freshening up?" I told her she was welcome to use my room at the Last Resort. She smiled thankfully, and I took her across the parking lot to the Last Resort.
EV's car was gone and Glenn was behind the front desk. He was clean and fresh and smelled of Paco Raban. The broken Champaign bottle was cleaned up and the only tell-tale sign of the earlier torrent was a large darkening stain against the wall at the end of the corridor. A fresh bottle of pink champaign chilled in the lobby and the mirrors on the ceiling looked clean and shiny.
"how's he do that?" I wondered to myself.
I showed Brooke to my room and let her shower and freshen up. The bed had been made and the sheets were fresh and clean. Even the sticky gunk that had coated the top of the dresser was gone and the bathtub was spotless.
"Wow! what happened in here?" I wondered allowed.
"Excuse me?" Brooke looked questioningly at me.
"Oh, uh, well, before, when I checked in, this place was filthy! now it looks as if a cleaning crew had been through here!" I was looking for dust above the kitten picture. nothing.
Brooke shrugged her shoulders and said "Maybe he hired a new housekeeper?"
"must have.." I half stated as Brooke made her way into the now spotless bathroom.
I went into the corridore to find a phone. I thought I might call over to the Sad Cafe and see how Joe was doing holding down the place on his own. The truth was, I missed him. I hated that about myself. I hadnt known the man for a full 24 hrs. I had just been kicked to the curb by my ex and already I had slept with him and was missing him after just a few minutes apart! Black clouds descended down over my aspect and my mood went dark.
Glenn was in the lobby and I asked to use the phone. he pointed to one on the wall. Pay phone, of course. I grumbled.
The number for the Sad Cafe was written on the wall next to the phone. I called and Joe's voice echo'd through the line. Immediately my mood lightened, then I mentally kicked myself for being a rock of jello.
"Hey," I said. "So, how's it going over there?"
I could hear him grin. My knees weakened a little. Mental slap.
"You just left 5 minutes ago. Did you miss me?" There's that audible grin again.
"No... I just thought maybe you'd.. I dunno.. NEED something..." I closed my eyes tight. HOW did he read me so well?
"Oh I DO need something." Audible grin.
I rolled my eyes. Somehow he heard that.
"Dont roll your eyes. You know what I mean." grin grin
"Look, Brooke is getting cleaned up and we'll be.." A scream came from the corridor. Just then Dr. EV's truck came rolling to a stop in front of the Lobby.
"jusasec..." I mumbled into the phone and dropped the receiver and ran down the corridor to my room. Glenn was leaning against the open door and grinning that thousand watt smile at Brooke who stood hidden behind the bathroom door wrapped in nothing but a towel.
"Well Hell-OO there Gorgeous!" Glenn coo'd and smiled
"Uhh, Glenn? I think Dr. EV's truck just pulled up." I rushed in.
Glenn flinched and whirrled around to face me, suddenly ashen and rushed out of the room.
"WHO was that??" Brooke eyes were huge and frightened.
I laughed. "you look like Bambi in the headlights! Glenn is the owner or manager of this place as best I can gage. He's all Bark and a little bite, but Dr. EV has him pretty well under control , at least today she does."
Brooke eased a little and smiled. "Well it IS a little unnerving knowing he has keys to the rooms! but.." she smiled and bit her lip. "he's not without some charm!"
I grinned back. "I know! right? what IS it about that guy?"
"I dont know," smiled Brooke, "but he's got it in spades!" I laughed then remembered I'd left Joe dangling, literally. "OOPS! be right back" and I ran back down the corridor.
I scooped up the phone receiver and gasped "hello? Hello? Joe? you still there?"
A deep sigh, an audible eye roll (so THATS how he'd heard it) then "yeah... Im still here... thought you'd forgot me." his voice was very bored and low.
"sorry.." i said as sincerely as I could muster, "We had a near incident here."
Joe stifled a laugh. "Glenn?" he asked.
"Yeah," I said, realizing just how much I missed him. Mental slap. "fortunately Dr.EV has uncanny timing!"
Joe laughed audibly "Practice make perfect" he grinned. "When are you coming back over here? I miss you."
I grinned. "as soon as I find some clean clothes for Brooke. She's in the shower and her running clothes are pretty damp."
"Okay," Joe sighed deeply."I'll just be here... waiting..."
I smiled. "How handy are you with tools?" I could hear that ironic grin "I was thinking maybe you could take a look at the broken stool! the one at the end of the counter?"
silence.
"Joe?.. are you there?" I caught my breath.
"....yeah.. Im here... Im just, well not so handy with tools. Now give me a guitar..."
"give you a guitar the the stool would still be broken." I quipped.
"Yeah, but we wouldnt notice so much." Joe bragged just a little.
A young woman in a maids uniform opened a door down the corridor and walked in.
"I think I see someone who might be able to help me with Brooke's clothing problem. I'll call you back." I said to Joe and hung up the phone. I trotted down the hall and poked my head into the open room.
What I saw amazed me. This attractive young woman was pure kinetic energy. She moved at the speed of light and the room was fresh and spotless witn in a few minutes.
"Wow!" i said. "That was incredible!"
"Oh Im sorry! Is this your room?" she shied away.
"Oh no, IM sorry, Im staying down the hall and I saw you come in here. I wondered what had happened. My room was transformed from an ugly box to paradise in no time at all!" I said, admiring how clean and fresh she'd made the room.
She laughed and offered me her hand. "Im Shirley. Im the housekeeper here..sometimes. Glenn keeps firing and then hiring me. I wont put up with his BS. He grabs me, pinches, pats or pokes me and I slap him. He fires me. The next week, he hires me. No one can do, or WANTS to do what I do"
I shook the proffered hand and smiled at the friendly girl. Smart too! I thought.
"Well, It's a pleasure to meet you, Shirley." I told her the problem we were having and and she walked to her cart, opened a drawer and pulled out a fresh clean t-shirt. and a pair of sweats.
"you'd be surprised how often things like this happen. I was a girl scout. Im always prepared" She smiled a bright, cheerful smile. I liked this girl!
I thanked her and took the clothes too Brooke, who was just getting out of the shower. She thanked me and went to get dressed. I went back into the lobby to call Joe.
He sounded concerned.
"Uh, you'd better hurry back over here. This does not look good..."

[ticky]

Hmm... something new!!

Frank and Lisa pulled into the all night Wedding Chapel of the Blessed Church of Elvis in Las Vegas, Nevada. They'd driven all night, well Almost all night and were finally there. Frank turned off the keys to the truck took a deep breath, let it out slowly and stared down at the steering wheel.
Lisa looked anxiously at Frank. Was he changing his mind? After everything she'd gone through with that scoundrel Glenn, was Frank going to turn on her too? She bit her lip and tears filled her eyes.
"Frank? are you alright?" she asked quietly, hoping he wouldnt answer. She didnt really want to hear what she was afraid he would say.
Frank looked up at her. He was surprised to see the tears in her eyes and the quaver in her voice. He laughed then hugged her close.
"Im fine, sweetheart. We're fine. I love you, but I have to tell you something and I only hope it wont change your mind about how you feel. I've done something, something in my past, but something Im not proud of. I can only hope you will be able to find it in your heart to forgive me. You see, I've lied."
........


Back at the ranch....
Willie walked out of her room at the Ranch and into the kitchen. She'd been calling and calling for Frank, but there was no answer and Willie had no idea where to look. Then she saw the note. There on the kitchen table was a half piece of paper with some quick writing on it.
"Gone to Vegas to get married, Back later, Frank and Lisa" there was a little heart over the "i" in Lisa's name. Willie let out a long, slow whistle, replaced the note and went out to the bunk house to find the crew boss and see what needed to be done.
The Bunk house was full of loud noise and dangerous boys. Willie was in heaven, or was it hell? She loved the excitement of all that testosterone but it made her nervous too, Like the only slab of beef left on the buffet table at an Atkins convention.
She quickly found the crew boss. He was the most dangerous looking one in the bunch. His long blond hair was loosely tied back in a ponytail and a cowboy hat tipped down over his face, blocking any view she might have had of his eyes. He had a cleft chin, strong arms and a long lean body that wore his jeans very well. black cowboy boots fitted over.. ENORMOUS feet! wow! He reached up to light a cigarette and his hands were also abnormally large. Willie smiled to herself remembering what she and her friends had always joked about in school, looking at the hands and feet of all the boys.
Willie walked up to the man and offered him her hand.
"Hello Mr. uhh...." she stammered waiting for the man to offer her his name.
He looked up at her. He had amazing eyes. Blue green like the color of the rocks in the creek bed.
"They call me Fiddler, 'cause I Fiddle" he slurred between clenched teeth that held the smoldering cigarette. He shook out the burning match and tossed it on the floor. "What can I do for you, Lady?"
The noise of the room had subsided and all eyes were on her.
"I'm uhh... Willie" Willie said glancing around her at all the men. "I'm the new ranch hand."
The laughter burst out from the small bunk house like a hurricane flood. Fiddler lifted a hand and it stopped. "We're a real working ranch here Miss. We got real hard work to do. If you want to work in the kitchen or make beds, well, we aint stoppin ya, but you'd best stay clear outta the way when we're doing our work! You might get hurt!" Sniggers and gafaws came from the boys.
Willie stiffened her back and glared directly at the smug, unyielding gaze of the crew boss. "Mr. Fiddler. I can do ANYthing any of these , uhh.. Gentleman can do and I am willing to prove it! *I* was hired by Mr. Frey to do THIS work. Not scullery maid work and I fully expect to be treated with respect as an Equal!"
At this Fiddler glared at her. "Ma'am, around here respect and equality is earned, not granted."
Willie glared right back. "Then let me earn it."
Fiddler never broke their locked gaze. He smiled. "All right, Stewart!" a long lean man with short curly blond hair stood from the table and slowly walked towards Fiddler. The contempt in his eyes was palpable and the room hushed at the respect for the man's disdain of his boss.
He stood before Fiddler and waited. Fiddler finally broke the locked gaze he had held with Willie and looked at the man. His smug smile turned to a contemptuous frown. "Take this Lady out to the Paddock and get her settled on a horse."
"I got things to do" Stewart said with a sneer.
"You got to do what I tell you to do!" Fiddler leered at the man, daring him to defy him.
"Im gettin mighty sick of playing second fiddle to you, old man. One of These Nights you're gonna slip up and I'll step right in." Stewart was nose to nose with Fiddler. Fiddler placed both hands on his chest and pushed him. Stewart stumbled backwards
"Back off Stewart. You'll always be second to me." Fiddler grinned down at the man.
Stewart stood up and stomped to the door. He stopped and, without turning around said "You comin?"
Willie realized he was talking to her and jumped a little, then followed close behind as the angry man stalked quickly towards the barn.

ooOOoooo.. fun!

[Mrs Henley]

Ok, back at the The Last Resort.

Glenn was talking with Joe and Timothy about the trip of the week before, when Rhonda, Willie, Lisa and I walked in. "Ladies, into a little drink with us?" Joe asked when we passed them. "No not now!" Rhonda said and she pushed us to the stairs. "Not again that dang stairs" Willie said and she knew that we had to go upstairs again. Rhonda walked in the front of us and she hold a bag. "Ooh man, I'm so nervous now, what do you think? Do they like it?" Lisa asked us and Willie and I looked at each other and looked at Lisa. "They will love it" I said. We walked pretty fast upstairs and we walked to Rhonda's hotel room. "Ok, Joe is a strawberry" Rhonda said and she grape a strawberry cuddle toy out of the bag. "A strawberry?" Lisa asked and she started to laugh. "What did you actually buy?" Willie asked Rhonda but she didn't want to say anything. "Timmy is a peach" Rhonda said and she gave Willie a peach cuddle toy. "Awh, you little Timothy" Willie said and she hugged the toy. "Hahaha, that looks strange!" I said and Rhonda gave me an apple cuddle toy. "Don is an apple?" I said and started to laugh out loud. "Apple Don, Strawberry Joe, Peach Timothy..but what is Glenn?" Lisa asked and Rhonda gave her a coconut cuddle toy. "A coconut?" Lisa asked and she laugh. "Yeah, well he lives at Hawaii" Willie joked and she started to dance with her peach cuddle toy. "What's the meaning with this?" Willie asked Rhonda and Rhonda started to explain.
(I don't know yet what it means, haha!)

Don came and he joined Glenn, Joe and Timothy with a drink. Suddenly they started to talk about fruit and all those stuff. "Did you ever tasted a coconut?" Glenn asked the others. "How could we? We don't have a house at Hawaii" Joe said and he ordered a (read this good) strawberry drink. "Strawberry .. Joe, you're ok?" Timothy asked and Joe acted crazy when Timothy asked. "Hey, Rhonda wants that I'm going to be healthy" Joe said. "Yes, well do you want it too?" Don asked him. "Of course I do!" Joe replied and he received his drink. "Hmmmzzzz" Glenn said he looked at Don and Timothy. "You're strange man!" Timothy said to Joe and Joe smiled. "Hey, what can I say? I Dreamed There Was No War" Joe said and he toke a drink. "War? Do we have war?" Glenn asked and he saw that the girls walked in. "I said, I dreamed!" Joe said and he waved to the girls. "Hi there, the girls from yesterday and today and tomorrow and next week" Glenn joked and he smiled. "Hi there, you Ordinary Average Guys" Rhonda, Willie, Lisa and I said together and we sat down. "Ha, we are O . A . G" Glenn said. "We're what?" Timothy asked him. "Ordinary average guys" Don answers Timothy. "Well, about ordinary.. I have to think about that" I said and I smiled to Don. "Yeh, sure! Of course you do!" Don said and he gave me punch. "Oh, you think that's funny?" I joked. "Actually yes I do" Don replied to me and we started to punch each other. "Hey guys...hey!" Glenn shout and everybody looked at Glenn. "What? He started!" I said and I stood up and walked away. "I don't care who started, Danielle come here!" Glenn shouted through the lobby of the Last Resort. "Or else?" I said with a laugh. "I got to Do Something to get you here!" Glenn said and he walked to Lisa, whispered something in her ear and she walked to me. "Glenn said, that if you don't come, you have to do tomorrow the weekly shopping, together with him" Lisa said to me. "Oh No Way! I'm not going to do that together with you Frey!" I said to Glenn and I had a sweet but innocent smile on my face. "Well, than come here!" Glenn said and I walked to him, because it was a Good Day In Hell if you had to do the weekly shopping with Glenn. "It's just my Heartache Tonight." Glenn joked and he walked next to Lisa. "Why, because nobody wants to go with you?" I said. "Lisa would" Glenn said and he looked at Lisa. "Sure, why not?" Lisa said and when we walked to our table for the diner we wished Lisa good luck.

"I'm hungry!" Joe said and he looked at Rhonda. "I'm not your food" she said and she grape Joe's cutlery. "Uhm.." I said but Rhonda answered me already before I could asked something. "Else he will prick everybody here at this table" she said and I looked at Joe. "I'm just a big eater" Joe said and he laugh. "Yeh, well, as long you don't eat me" Don joked. "Ah that's sad, I just wanted to start with you Don" Joe said and we started to laugh. "It's takes pretty long, not?" Rhonda said after a half an hour. "I think they have to find the colitas." I said and Rhonda started to laugh "Yes. I', thinking that too".
"Colitas? What about colitas?" Don asked me. "What about? Nothing about colitas, just the great warm smell" I said to him. "Oh man.. I can't image me that the King Of Hollywood have the same time to wait for his diner" Joe said and he lay his head on his plate. "Joe!" we said. "Sorry" he said and he smiled.


Oh and just for the record: that punching of me and Don doesn't mean anything, just for the fun. :)

[ticky]

Joe sat in the Sad Cafe at the counter looking at a tall slender man who's back was to the front door. From that angel I could see he was a very well dressed, well groomed man with an Armani suit that looked fitted and Bruno Magli shoes. His hair was long but neatly combed and slicked with a good amount of hair product and tied back in a pony tail down his back. It was dark brown and very long. Joe was obviously keeping Fast Company.
The tell-tale bell jingled as I opened the front door and walked in. Joe looked relieved when he saw me then concerned. The tall slender man turned around.
"Tim? what are you doing dressed like that? You look ridiculous!" I said.
Joe was shaking his head emphatically and making the "you're out" hand gestures behind the man's back, but it was obviously too little too late.
The tall man smiled but only with his mouth. His eyes remained black and empty. He stared directly at me and through me and I could feel an icy arrow slice through my head. He looked like could have escaped from Teenage Jail with his perfected look of disdain.
"Hi. I'm not sure who you think I am, but I believe we have not been introduced. I am Thomas Palmero." The man grinned showing all his teeth, but without his eyes sharing that humor, it looked more like a wolf baring his fangs. Threatening and evil. I reluctantly took his hand.
"There you are, Sweetheart. I was wondering what was taking you so long." Joe's words were dripping with love and concern but his eyes said "Where the hell have you been?" He walked around Thomas Palmero and came to stand by my side. He slid an arm around me, protectively or for his own support I was not sure. Mr. Palmero was indeed intimidating. I looked at Joe, he looked back at me just as confused and frightened.
"Um, Mr. Palmero. I was just wondering what is it that brings you to our small oasis out here in the middle of the desert?" I tried to smile my best smile but Im afraid, much like Mr. Palmero, my eyes did not reflect my cheerful voice.
I could feel Joe's surprise at referring to Eaglesville as "our small Oasis". I was nearly as new to Eaglesville as Mr. Palmero, yet, somehow I felt a kinship to the people here and the idea of the people or places here being in danger sent a stirring of protective urge through me as strong as a mother's for her babies. I wrapped an arm around Joe and held tight to his hand as if trying to tie myself to this place and these people. This man, this Tim look a like meant business and not in a good way.
Mr. Palmero's ceaseless smile did not waver as he said "Please call me Thomas. Mr. Plamero has so many.... implications" only then did Thomas's eyes flicker. He obviously thought this was a very humorous comment. Joe and I did not.
"I have been sent here by my.. employer. He had some, shall we say, dealings with the previous owner and it seems that this establishment is now a part of his holdings. I am here to look everything over and establish contact with the locals." Thomas looked us up and down like he was examining some particularly distasteful graffiti. "Which I assume you are."
Joe and I looked at each other. We weren't wearing Those Shoes or a Rollex watch, but we were clean and neatly dressed. Ok I was wearing a man's t-shirt and hadn't washed my jeans in a few days, but I wasn't a slob either!
"Im afraid you've just Waisted Time, Thomas. This establishment belongs to Lisa, the waitress, and she isnt here right now. Im affraid you'll have to come back at another time. We were just helping her out till she returns." I said.
Thomas turned his perma-smile on me and raised his eyebrows. I did not think this was a good sign.
"I see. Im afraid you have a Frail Grasp on the Big Picture. You see, I happen to have this small piece of paper here that says on the top DEED, I do believe this says that my Employer is the owner of this establishment. For all that that means..." The perma-smile wavered briefly as he swiped a finger across the top of the jukebox and examined the layers of dust left exposed.
I looked desperately at Joe. Lisa's Diner! her whole existence was gone? What would she do? Joe pulled me closer and patted my arm assuringly.
Thomas suddenly stood straight and looked seriously at us.
"Where might one find luxury accomodations in this area?"
"There's the Last Resort across the way there." Joe pointed out the window as I stifled a laugh. Luxury accomodations it was not. But it was a bed and thats a bout as luxurious as it got in Eaglesville I was learning.
Thomas nodded his thanks to us and headed towards the door. He stopped with his hand on the door and turned to us. "Im sure I will be seeing you around soon." perma-smile.
and he left.
Joe and I both let out a long slow breath and I started to shake. Joe pulled me close.
"It's ok, honey, he's gone. We're safe."
"I wasnt worried about us, Joe. We can take care of ourselves. But what about Lisa? where is she? and what about the Cafe?"
Joe looked out the door after the frightening man walking away and knit his brow.
"I dont know, baby. I just dont know. BUT lets find out"
We walked out the door and headed past the Last Resort and towards the Bitter Creek Ranch

[Mrs Henley]

We all were outside when Rhonda and Joe walked to us, everyone looked at each other and they looked at Rhonda and Joe and we prayed that they knew where Lisa was.
"Does anyone knows where Lisa is?" Rhonda asked us and we looked afraid at her. "What do you mean, does anyone knows?" Timothy asked and Willie looked at Rhonda. "Yes, Lisa was with you guys, right?" she asked Rhonda. Rhonda and Joe looked at each other and they looked at us and to the ground. "Oh no, you're not saying.." I said slowly. "We have no idea, where she is.." Joe said. There was a scary silence. "Maybe she is taking a Sea Cruise" Joe said and he wish that we all could laugh about that, but we couldn't.. Lisa was gone. "Joe, no time for jokes" Don said and he looked straight to Joe. Joe looked to the ground and apologized. "We have to find her!" Rhonda said and we agreed. "Let's go to the Sad Cafe and make a plan to find her." Glenn suggest and we all went to the Sad Cafe.

When we arrived at the Sad Cafe, Don and Glenn noticed that there was nobody, the doors were closed and the light were turn off.
"What is this?" Joe asked us and he looked through a window inside. "I don't know, but it's strange" Willie said and she and Timothy walked to the backdoor of the Sad Cafe. "Call it weird, Willie" I said and walked to her and Timothy. "Found something?" Willie asked me. "No nothing, nothing what makes any connection with Lisa" I said and I lean against the wall. "Mirrors on the ceiling, since when?" Timothy asked Willie and she looked at him and me. "Mirrors?" she asked. "On the ceiling?" I asked. "Timothy, Willie, Danielle!" Joe shouted before Timothy could give us any answer. We walked to Joe and the others. "What's up?" Timothy asked. "Did you saw those mirrors on the ceiling?" Joe asked and we said yes. Don and Glenn were trying to make any connection to the Sad Cafe, the mirrors and Lisa lose. "Get something?" I asked Don when I walked to him. "Yeh, I can think so fast honey!" Don said to me with a laugh. "Well, Glenn can think in 2 minutes about this, or not?" I said and I walked to Glenn who was standing near a cactus. "Hmm? What?" Glenn asked me. "Sure, Danielle..Glenn can think so fast" Rhonda joked and she looked at Glenn with a huge smile on her face. "Actually this is nothing to smile or joke or laugh about...I want Lisa back and now!" Glenn said and he walked to the door, kicked the door in and prayed for no security alarm. "Ping! We're in" Glenn said and he walked in. "I think.." Don stammer. "You think what Henley?!" Glenn shouted from behind the bar in the Sad Cafe. "That you really thought about this!" Don replied. "Don, be honest you know I didn't!" Glenn said and he invited us to come inside..

[ticky]

Lets see what Frank has to say...


Lisa sat looking wide eyed at Frank. All the color had drained from her face and she was shivering. Not again. Not another man who had lied to her, taken her for a ride, used her and disappointed her. She wouldnt survive this one.
She stared horrified at Frank awaiting the emotional pounding she knew was coming.
Frank looked down. He couldnt bare to see the horror in her face. He loved her so much, he never wanted to hurt her. He'd loved her from the moment he'd first saw her. She was working at the cafe. Obviously she'd never waitressed before and her hair was falling in her face. She was frazzled, she was harried, she was a mess, she was beautiful. Frank hated lying to her. He hated himself for it.
"I'm not who you think I am" he said.
He glanced up at her. Tears were running down her face. He reached for her hand and she pulled it away. He bowed his head again. She'd stop loving him once she knew the truth. She'd hate him and maybe that was for the best.
"I was only trying to help my cousin. I should have known better. He's an idiot. He got himself in to some hot water In The City with some very bad people. They wanted him Already Gone. He came running home to Eaglesville In A New York Minute and begged me to help him. What could I do? I said yes. It was life or death. We traded lives. I became him, he became me. I was a simple farmer! No one would be looking for me no matter what I called myself and with my name and and background, he was safe as long as he didnt leave Eaglesville."
Lisa's brow furrowed and she looked confused.
"What are you saying, Frank?"
Frank looked up at her with pleading eyes.
"Thats just it, baby. Im not Frank. My name is Glenn. Frank is my cousin and he's a whole mess of trouble. Somehow his trouble rubbed off on me, like it does for anyone who gets close to him."
Lisa's jaw dropped and her eyes went wide.
"You mean that Rat Bastard Glenn is really Frank?"
Glenn smiled and laughed to himself.
"yeah."
Lisa looked astounded
"Is it true?"
Lisa turned towards Frank/Glenn and said "So that means YOU are Glenn,"
Glenn looked at Lisa, took her hand and kissed it.
"yes"
"and you're a good guy. You havent hurt anyone, killed anyone, stolen anything, broken the law."
Glenn winced.
"I tore the tags off my mattress. Does that count?"
Lisa let out a deep breath and looked down and closed her eyes.
Glenn watched her closely. He closed his eyes.
"Do you... I mean could you.... do you think you could still love me? I've loved you for so long. I don't want to loose you now."
Lisa smiled silently, she slowly looked up. "I thought you were going to tell me you'd killed someone or you were married, or on the run from the police. I couldnt have taken that. I couldnt because there is no way I could live without you now and those things would mean a life on the run, always hiding. All I want with you is a home, maybe a family, but mostly just you."
Lisa looked at Glenn. Tears filled his eyes. He smiled at her.
She fell into his arms and they held each other for a long time. He pressed his face into her hair kissing her temple, pressing her into him and cradling her head with one hand.
Finally, they got out of the truck and went into the chapel. Elvis wasnt available for the ceremony, but the organist played Love Me Tender and Glenn told Lisa that "for better or worse, Love Will Keep Us Alive"

short but sweet... more later.. its late, Im tired

[Glennsallnighter]

Aw TICKY.......... That was so sweet!! :hug:

:inlove::inlove::inlove::inlove::inlove::inlove::i nlove::inlove:

[ticky]

ok.. on with the next plot line...

Tim stepped out on the front porch of the Bitter Creek Ranch and stood in the early morning air. The light from the sunrise made his skin glow. He stretched and yawned and smiled into the rising sun. He was happier then he'd ever been. He'd spent the night with the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen, a woman he could really love. His old life on the run, always looking around corners and waiting for the next fool to try and challenge him was over. He'd given it up to Sheriff Soda and he was free of it. He'd even left his ax, Old reliable lying on the floor under Willie's bed to gather dust. He wouldnt be needing it any more.
Tim stepped down off the porch and started to stride towards the barn. He stopped, dead in his tracks. Leaning against the barn was a man. Tall, lean, one leg bent with his foot against the barn door. His flat top cowboy hat was pulled down over his eyes and he had on his signature mirrored wayfarer sunglasses. Don. Yet another loose end.
Tim raised his hands passively. "Don, what are you doing here?"
Don smiled. "I've been Waiting in the Weeds All Night Long for you and your little girl friend to finish. We've got unfinished business you and I."
Tim smiled his best and most genuine smile. He didnt want any trouble with Don. He never had.
"Now Don, you and Me, we've got no beef! I dont even fight any more. Im a lover, not a fighter" Tim smiled. Someday someone was going to believe that. So far only Willie knew what he meant and he'd spent all night showing her.
Don grinned at Tim. "So I heard last night!"
Tim blushed. Don had been out side their window all night. That was not good. Don Stood tall and wobbled slightly. He was drunk. He started to walk towards Tim, his deadly drumsticks obvious in their holsters under his black duster.
"Now, Don. Im not armed, man." Tim backed up.
"You've got your girl, you got a life. I've got NOTHIN!" Don stopped. he was unsteady on his feet.
"It's just another lonely Tequila Sunrise for me." Don looked down at the ground and his face softened slightly. Then he looked back up at Tim and his face turned to granite. "She doesnt love me, she loves that fool brother of mine." Don started to reach for his sticks
"Who? Danielle? You dont really love Danielle. You never did! maybe the idea of her, but she's always been Almanzo's girl."
Don stopped in mid reach and smiled. "Thats right, 'cause who's gonna love me?" Don sneered.
"What about Jessica?" Tim asked.
Don froze. his face went blank and his jaw dropped. "Jess..." Don fell to his knees as if he's been punched in the stomach. Tim rushed to him and helped him to the porch. He also took Don's sticks and set them on the railing.
Don sat heavily in the rocking chair. "Jessica doesnt want me. Why would she want anything to do with a freak like me" Don sagged in the chair.
Tim knelt beside Don. It had been too long the old friends had been at odds and it was time to mend old fences.
"Jessica loves you, Don."
Don glared at Tim. "Thats a bold faced lie. Jess walked out on me the minute she found out."
"Found out what?"
Don laughed and looked out at the rising sun. "Do you remember or little experiment with lasers during the last tour? well I caught one right in face. It left me a freak!" Don whipped off his glasses. His eyes were perfectly round. His pupils were dialated and ringed by a golden yellow iris.
"Oh my God! You have Lion Eyes!" Tim was dumbfounded.
Don laughed bitterly. "They all think it's Lyin Eyes. I've never told a lie in my life." He looked at Tim. The effect was unnerving.
Tim couldnt look away. "Still Don, Jess's been looking for you all over town. She's scared to death you've left her."
Don Stood up suddenly and unsteadily. "SHE left ME!" Tim caught his friend before his fell and helped him back to the chair.
"You need some sleep, Don. You get some rest and we'll talk when you feel better."
Don stood again and started to walk towards the ranch house. Maybe you're right. I'll just get some re..." Don tripped and fell against Tim, his arms falling across Tims shoulders and his hand grabbing at Tim's neck for support.
Just at this moment, Willie followed Stewart out of the barn. She saw Don attacking Tim, trying to strangle him, his hands around the throat of the man she loved. She screamed. Stewart saw what was happening and whipped out his own sharp, bright red Les Paul Standard and dropped Don in one chord into Tims arms. Willie came running to Tim.
"Are you alright?" She held onto Tim looking for wounds.
Tim Stared in horror at Stewart. "Why..?" He held his sagging friend by the shoulders.
Stewart looked at the wounded man and smiled. "I stopped him from killin you!"
"He wasnt hurting me. He tripped"
Willie covered her mouth and all the color drained from her face. "Oh my God! Tim! is he alright?"
"No, he's hurt bad. Lets get him inside. Stewart, run and find the Doc." Tim Lifted Don to his shoulder and carried him inside. There was a leather covered sofa in the living room in front of a large rock fireplace. Tim laid his friend gently on the sofa and covered him with a blanket.
Don's eyes cracked open. "wha.."
Tim said "Dont talk, you've been riffed. Stewart thought you were attacking me. He's gone for the Doctor. Just lay still."
Don looked at Tim, creased his brow and said "Jessica...."
Tim looked away from his friend as tears filled his eyes. "I'll find her, man. Just lay still. Willie will help you."
Tim looked at Willie and begged her help with his eyes. She nodded and stayed by Don's side as Tim went to find Jessica.

[Mrs Henley]

Nice Nice Nice Rhonda! :)

I'm going back to the Sad Cafe!
What's been really happened to Lisa.. why she has to disappeared ..?

Timothy and Willie stood in the front of the door inside when we passed them. "What's the prob?" Rhonda asked Willie as she looked at the door. "I don't know, I've got the feeling that Somebody is following us here." Willie answers Rhonda."Nobody is following us, come on girl!" Glenn said and he walked to the bar. "Maybe are her working clothes still here" Glenn prayed to himself and he started to search, nothing. "It's too quiet here" I said and walked to the door in the back of the room. "Why so?" Rhonda asked and she saw me walking away. "I don't know, it's just too quiet" I said. "Ok, why should Lisa go away and don't tell me anything?" Glenn asked and he sat down on a chair. "I don't know.." Don said and he tried to comfort Glenn a little. "Hey! I found something" I shouted from an other room, what used to be warehouse. The other walked to me and looked to find out what I founded. "Ok, what did you found?" Joe asked and he looked up to Glenn who had tears in his eyes. "This is Lisa's purse, she'll never leave without her purse." I said and I looked at them. "So, it's no walking away, but kipnapping?" Don asked me and looked at me with fear in his eyes. "No, it's never kipnapping!" Glenn shouted. "I don't think either it's kipnapping..I think she has to run quickly and forget her purse.." Rhonda said. "Yeh, well I don't think both of those suggestions" I said and we all tried to think about it. "Where are Willie and Timothy?" Don asked after a couple of minutes. "Oh, outside" Rhonda replied. "Ooh..." Don said again. "Hey, focus!" Glenn shouted down to Rhonda and Don. "Hmpf!" Rhonda said and she walked away. "I Can't Tell You Why Lisa leaved us, maybe she's coming back" Joe tried to make a statement. "Maybe.. I hate maybe!" Glenn said and he stood up and walked outside. "He's just missing her" Don said and he walked to me. "We all are missing her, but do we react like that?" I asked Don and looked at him and Joe. "No, but..she and he..are really close" Don said. "Did you react like that, when Danielle walked away with Almanzo?" Joe asked Don. Don turned around and looked at Joe with the devil in his eyes. "Joe, never say that again!" I said to Joe and walked to Don and tried to calm him down. "Joe, will you never..never..never..never say that again, or I will do you something!" Don shouted and he walked away..pissed off. "He is Building The Perfect Beast inside of him" Joe said a little afraid and he walked also away. "Lisa..why did you left us behind?" I asked the Sad Cafe and walked outside.

"Hey, can we just go?" Timothy asked when we stood 5 minutes outside. "Why?" Don asked Timothy. "Well, I think you don't want to see him.." Timothy said and pointed to somebody who was walking by. "Almanzo?" I asked and looked at him. "Hi there babe" Almanzo said and walked to me, anyway he tried. "Hey, little bro!" Don said and Almanzo turned around. "Don, nice to see you!" Almanzo said and he walked to Don. "Don't try to steal her again" Don whispered when they shaked their hands. "She choose for me after that party at the Hotel California, so Get Over It Don!" Almanzo said and he walked to me. "So, how's My Girl doing?" he asked and I felt his arms around me. "Uh..fine" I said and looked at the ground. "Fine?" Almanzo asked and he looked at me. "Yeh, just fine" I said and I smiled at little. "Ok, well if you say" he said and gave me a kiss. Timothy, Willie, Joe, Rhonda and Glenn walked away to the cars, Don sayed, right in the front of me and Almanzo. "You have to make you choice" Almanzo said. "Me or Don". I looked at Don and at Almanzo, and I didn't had any choice.. "Danielle, please.." Don begged me. "Just choose baby!" Almanzo said. I was thinking by myself, that this could be heaven or this could be hell, but I had to choice to right one. "Don?" I asked him. "Yes?" he asked me. "I'm sorry, but we have to go." I said and walked to Don and grape his arm and toke him with me. "Bye" I said when we walked by Almanzo. He stood there with no words, and actually I couldn't choose between him and Don, but I prayed that I choose the good one. "Can't be closer" Glenn said when we walked to them. "Good decission" Rhonda said. We all staped in the car and we drove away, away from the Sad Cafe.

[eaglesvet]

:laugh: Lion eyes...clever! But who's Dana:?:

[ticky]

Dana is now Jessica! *G* and I'll let her reveal herself *G* *IF* she wants..

(and I loved the Lion eyes idea.. giggled myself silly in the shower)

[ticky]

Ok,.. back to poor Don and his serious problem. Looks like Viagra isnt going to cut it this time!

(I apologize in advance. Im in a really silly mood tonight. Im watching Young Frankenstein)

Dr. EV came rushing in with Stewart close on her heels. She fell to her knees besides the wounded man.
"This Horse has been Riffed!" she said. She looked again. "This is not a horse! this is a man! What am I doing here?" She looked at Stewart.
"She's the best we got! The only people Doc is in Fleetwood. Thats a good 50 miles away!"
Willie knelt beside Dr. EV and took her hand. "He's hurt Doc. He's been riffed by accident, and he needs your help. Is there anything you can do?"
Dr. EV looked at the man before her.
"Don. Well we all knew it would come to this." Dr. EV looked at the man. His face was in pain and he seemed to be asking for help. "well I can examine him and maybe clean the wounds, but he really needs a doctor."
Dr. EV began by removing his glasses. "Well! I have heard of this before, but I've never seen it! This man as an advanced case of RAT! Reverse Anthropomorphic Transmogriphication. He has Lion Eyes!" Dr. EV Looked down at Don. "Have you been exposed to radiation lately?"
"Doc!" Willie tried to gain the doctors wrapped attention. "Please, Don needs your help!"
Dr. EV looked at Willie and shook her head. "Of course, Im sorry. I've just never seen such a blatant case of RAT Syndrom before. Help me remove all his clothes and we'll tend to his injuries."
Willie and Dr. EV stripped Don of all his clothes. They stood over him and looked down.
"Now, where was he wounded?" Dr. EV asked.
"He was wounded?" Willie replied. "OH right! his wounds! Sorry" Willie smiled apologetically. "I guess I got distracted."
Dr. EV examined Don completely, from head to toe.
"Actually, Willie, I cant find a wound on him." Willie looked as well.
She sighed deeply. "Nope, not a single wound, not a scratch or a.... ahem scar.. " Willie smiled.
Tim came rushing in and stopped short at the sight of the woman he loved looking over the naked, prone, unconscious Don.
"Tim! Darling!" Willie rushed to his side. "Don seems to be unhurt! we havent been able to find a wound!"
"So what made him collapse and made you all run for the doctor?" Dr. EV inquired.
Behind Tim, Jessica stood. She was paralyzed at what she saw. Her beloved lay naked on the sofa, so pale, so still. She rushed to his side and knelt beside him.
"Don, sweetheart, are you alright?" Her hands brushed his hair back from his eyes. He looked at her, his freakish deformity glaring her in the face. She winced then saw past the wide golden animalian eyes and saw the man she loved begging for her to love him. She threw her arms around him and held him close. His wobbly arms grasped her desperately.
"Oh Jess, sweet Jess, please dont leave me." he wept into her shoulder.
Jessica Held him close.
"Uhmmm, I'd be careful if I were you, Jess" Tim grimaced as Jessica rocked Don in her arms.
"This is the man I love, Tim. He would never hu..."
Don pulled back from Jessica, leaned over the back of the sofa and threw up.
"I just meant he's had a lot to drink.." Tim grimaced.
"So I see." Jess said as she watched the love of her life bent over the sofa tossing up his socks.
"So, why is he naked" Jess seemed to have just noticed this.
"OH wow Stewart, shouldnt we get back to work?" Willie was suddenly ready to move on, now that Don was safe, Tim was safe and Jessica was asking embarassing and unpleasant questions. She grabbed Stewart's arm and began to drag him out the door.
"you mean, I missed?" Stewart had been standing in the corner with his mouth open since the women had discovered Don was uninjured.
"Yes, and I'd better get back to the office. Im sure there must be a bovine emergency that I need to tend to." Dr. EV made a hasty retreat as well.
Jessica looked curiously after both the women and used a blanket at the end of the sofa to cover poor, pale, greenish hued Don.
"Well, I guess I'd better go do, uhh,, whatever it was I was doing, umm before all this stuff.. happened.." Tim stammered as he back out towards to door. Jessica found a wet cloth and began mopping up after Don. She didnt seem to hear or care about what Tim was saying so he headed quickly towards the door....
It was just then Joe and Rhonda came running up.
"Has anyone seen Lisa?" Joe asked, winded and worried.


more to come! (isnt this fun?*G*)

[eaglesvet]

Luv it!

[ticky]

Ok, on with the story.. there have been some last minute replacements per request *G* The newest victo.. uhh player is a willing one! SO on with the show.



Tim smiled at Joe and Rhonda. Obviously they had been to the cafe and seen it closed up tight. Lisa was no where to be seen and they were worried about her.
"Oh now, there's nothing to be concerned with here. Lisa and Frank ran off to Vegas to get hitched!" Tim was thrilled for his old friends.
Joe and Rhonda looked at each other. Joe sat in the chair on the front porch and sagged.
"Oh boy.. this is NOT good"
Tim's smile faded. Rhonda moved next to Joe and rubbed his shoulder. He took her hand and held it.
"What's wrong? Is something wrong with Frank? Is Lisa ok?" Tim's concern was palatable.
Joe looked up at Tim. "There's a guy at The Last Resort that could be your twin! Except he's a throw back from GoodFella's"
"Goodfella's?" Tim looked quizically at Joe.
"Yeah, that movie with Joe Pesci and Ray Liotta? The Mafia guys?"
"I Loved that movie!! remember the scene where De Niro goes to the..."
Joe interrupted Tim's recounting of the film. "Tim! He's here to take the Sad Cafe! He has the Deed!"
Tim's face fell. "but he cant, it's Lisa's."
"But he is!" Rhonda tried to make Tim understand.
Tim looked blankly at her. "We need to find Lisa."
Rhonda and Joe looked at each other. Joe shook his head slowly and Rhonda rolled her eyes.
Tim, finally getting it, walked quickly back in the house stopped looked at Jessica and Don, grimaced at the smell in the house then turned towards the door. "You'd better wait out there. I'll get the note." Tim hurried into the kitchen where he'd seen the note that morning. He picked it up off the table and hurried back out onto the porch. He took a few deep breaths and started to feel slightly less queezy. He handed the note to Rhonda. "I found this on the kitchen table this morning."
Rhonda read the note and passed it to Joe. "Not much to go on. You sure they were going to Vegas?"
"Thats what the note says." It was Tim's turn to give Rhonda the "DUH" look.
"Right." Rhonda said and half smiled sheepishly.
"Right!" said Joe. "Looks like we're going on a road trip, babe. You game?"
Rhonda shrugged. "I didnt have any plans. Never been to Vegas. Let's go!"
Joe smiled at her. This was his kind of woman. Willing to jump in the cab of an 18 wheeler and take off for Las Vegas at a moments notice. He could really fall for a girl like that.
Rhonda was wondering if Joe'd stop and let her pee or if she'd have to hold it the whole way. Why was it guys hated stopping? She'd take an empty coke bottle just in case. This was going to be an interesting trip.

Fiddler was wondering what had happened to the two hands he'd sent out earlier. That little girlie was just bound to get herself hurt or killed tryin to do a mans days work and that Stewart, well he wouldnt put it past him to have that little filly out behind the barn tryin to score. Stewart was just trouble from the get go. Fiddler hadnt wanted to hire him, but Frank had insisted. Stewart was damn good at what he did. A little too good for Fiddler's comfort. Fiddler had always been the top gun at the Ranch and having Stewart that close made him uncomfortable. Still not having him close made him even less comfortable. There weren't many people Fiddler felt comfortable with, except maybe that pretty milk maid who came every morning to milk the cows. He guessed technically she wasnt called a milk maid, although thats what she did, he supposed that today she'd be called a bovine lactal extraction technician or some fancy title that made the person feel better but it all boiled down to the same thing. She was a milk maid, but a real pretty one. He'd never talked to her, but he'd often been in the barn while she milked the cows working on the tack and once he'd helped her bring the cattle in for milking and she'd smiled at him. It'd made his day, hell, it'd made his week!
He'd discussed getting one of those milking machines with Frank. Frank was a pretty down to earth guy and practical, but he was no expert when it came to anything mechanical. He was much better with people then machines. When he told Fiddler he was hiring milk maids, Fiddler had imagined 4 or 5 of them all these Pretty Maids All In A Row milking away. He was sure he'd never get the ranch hands away from the barn. Frank had only hired one, but she sure was pretty and Fiddler was the only one having a hard time getting away from the barn. Thats one of the reasons he was so hot over having to try and track those two no good half brained laze-a-bouts down and make sure that girly knew her place once and for all! Maybe Frank could hire her on as a milk maid too.
Fiddler had been stalking across the front yard of the ranch and noticed his awol two all but running from the house.
"Where the Hell have you two been?" Fiddler was furious.
Willie blushed. "Sorry sir, there was a.. umm.. an accident and we thought a man had been seriously wounded and..."
"Look here little lady, if you're gonna make it here on a man's ranch doin a man's work you'd better get ready to see a little blood shed and hurt!"
Willie was steaming at this scolding. "If your Git-crazed looney helper here hadnt just whipped out his ax and started riffing in every direction, there wouldnt have BEEN any accidents!" Willie was all but screaming at the crew boss.
Fiddler seethed at the outburst from this female and glared at her from slitted eyes. Willie didnt flinch. In Fiddlers eyes this earned her a small pittance of respect. There werent many men who could hold up under his stare, and the fact that this little lady was standing tall and giving just as good as she was getting meant a lot. Fiddler shifted his glare to Stewart. Stewart flinched. This is why he'll always play second base to Fiddler.
"Who's ya kill, boy?" Fiddler stared down Stewart till Stewart was staring at his feet. His voice was quiet and mumbled
"didnt kill nobody."
"Who got hurt?"
Willie piped up and said "Well, see no one really even got hurt! It was all a mistake." Stewart looked at Willie wide eyed and hissed "Shhhhhhhh.."
Willie looks questioningly and annoyed at Stewart and continued "Stewart riffed at Don, but he missed."
Stewart threw his arms up in the air and spun around in stunned horror.
Fiddler laughed. He gawfawed loudly slapping his knees and doubled over clutching his belly.
Stewart stood with his head down, covering his eyes with one hand while holding his hat on with the other.
When Fiddler's laughter slowed and finally died off, he stood up and wiped the tears from his face with the back of his huge hand.
"y..y.,.you missed?" Fiddler started to giggle and laugh again.
Stewart finally put his hands down and looked incredulously at the laughing man. "Alright, Yeah, I missed but you should be thanking me! If I hadnt you're good buddy Don would be a dead man!"
"W..well then Thank God yer such a lousey shot!" again Fiddler laughed like he'd burst wide open.
Stewart glared at Fiddler. "You just wait old man. You're time is comin'" Stewart said nearly inaudibly.
Fiddler stood straight. Still smiling but a coldness had taken over his eyes. "Just try it kid, if you wanna get riffed between the eyes."
Stewart's eyes widened slightly then narrowed again and he backed away just an inch.
Just then very attractive young woman came out of the back door of the ranch house. Fiddler's attention was immediately drawn to her. A smile took over his face, his eyes widened and sun made their blue green hue glow. His surprisingly white teeth glistened. He removed his black weather-worn stetson. His soft blond hair drifted slightly in the breeze wafting across his forehead.
"Hey there, Miss Cathy."
The young woman stopped and looked in his direction.
"Well Hey there Fiddler! How are you this morning?" She smiled back at him. Her dimples made her whole face smile and her eyes really did twinkle.
Fiddler was not immune to the effect. He blushed.
"Well, Im just fine. How are you?"
"Oh it's such a beautiful morning Fiddler! I am afraid I took too long getting ready this morning. The poor cows are probably hurtin! I could use some help this morning if you have some time!"
Fiddler had a full schedule with Frank gone and short one hand not including the little girl who thought it'd be fun to play ranch hand, but none of that was important to him as long as Miss Cathy needed him.
Fiddler's smile widened. "I'd be more then happy to help you out today." and off Fiddler ran like a puppy chasing a kitten.

[ticky]

Ok, lets move on..

Brooke used the pay phone in the lobby to call her husband. She had a bit of a hard time explaining what had happened but he just laughed and asked where to pick her up.
"Well, Im at a kind old sleazy little motel on the intersection of Dark Desert Highway and Seven Bridges Road and honey? Could you please hurry? this place is giving me the creeps! There are the strangest people here and the weird thing is they all look so familiar!"
Her husband just chuckled and told her he'd be there in 5 minutes. Brooke felt much better and hung up the phone.
An extremely well dressed but oddly familiar man came out of one of the rooms and nodded a hello to her. His smile made her shiver. He was so handsome and yet a little frightening. He watched her. His eyes never left her till he walked out the front door. She wasnt sure if she wanted to follow him or go take another shower. She sat in a large, red wing back chair that sat in the lobby. She couldnt quite place the decor of this place. It was so strange! Almost like an old time bordello, but well worn and out of place in this modern looking motel. She toyed with the idea of a glass of pink champaign but then decided one, it was too early and two it was probably flat! She looked up at the mirrors above her and wondered WHY would anyone put mirrors on the ceiling in a motel lobby? This place was just too weird! She decided to wait outside for her husband. First she peeked out the door carefully to make sure the strange man had left. He was nowhere in sight so she cautiously stepped out the front door. There was a bench by the door and no cars in the parking lot so she sat on the bench and stretched out her sore legs. She set the small bag full of her sweaty running clothes on the bench beside her and waited for her husband to arrive. She watched as an attractive young woman pushing a very well loaded cart down the walkway next to the rooms infront of the far El of the Last Resort. The room she had used, Rhonda's room, had been an indoor room in the main building. The el rooms were all exposed to the Dark Desert Highway and Brooke was sure the noise would have been awful. She was glad Rhonda had been lucky enough to have a quieter, more private room. Rhonda had been very kind letting her use her room to freshen up and rest as well as finding her the clean clothes.
Brooke watched the young woman push the cart in front of the first room and unlock the door. She was amazed as she watched the young woman enter the room, pull the cart in after her and then WHOOSH! clouds of dust billowed out the windows and door. and the young woman appeared again coughing and sputtering through the dust. Brooke thought at first that there had been some kind of accident or explosion in the room till she saw the young woman was unharmed and moved on to the next room. Again, she unlocked the door, pulled in the cart and WHOOSH! dust clouds and coughing. Brook tiptoed up to the window of the next room and watched as the young woman moved with the speed of light and cleaned the entire room in seconds! A large cloud of dust whooshed out the window taking Brooke by surprise! She was covered in dust. The young woman came out the door and started in surprise at seeing Brooke standing there looking like she'd been on a long trail ride.
"OH Im so sorry!! I had no idea anyone was here!" Shirley handed Brooke a clean cloth and a moist towelette. "The dust builds up here so fast! and it can really fly when I get going." Shirley smiled apologetically at Brooke and held out her hand. "I'm Shirley. Are you a guest here?"
Brooke took the cloth and the towelette and began removing the dust and grime that had been kicked up by Shirley's cleaning.
"No, I just borrowed a shower and some clothes. My name's Brooke. Nice to meet you." Brooke shook Shirley's hand and smiled through the dust.
"OH! you're the one who got lost! Right! Rhonda told me all about it. Im the one who had the spare clothes." Shirley smiled at Brooke.
"Oh, well thank you so much! I really appreciate the loan. I promise I'll return them after I wash them." Brooke was happy to meet this pleasant and surprising young woman.
"Oh, no hurry." Shirley grinned. "I have several pairs. You'd be surprised how often people loose their clothes here. It's kind of weird!" Shirley had never been sure about the strange things that happened at The Last Resort.
Brooke smiled back at the young woman when a honk sounded from behind her making her jump. Her husband was in the car grinning at her. She glared at him. He loved to play jokes on her like that.
She said good bye to Shirley and walked to the car.
"Sorry honey. Did I startle you?" Her husband grinned at her mischieviously. She glared at him and smiled.
"Just a little. Lets get out of here. This place gives me the creeps."
Her husband looked at her concerned. "Did something bad happen?"
"Oh no, everyone was very kind and helpful! I just get this feeling. There's something not quite right about this place. It's just... weird.." Brooke smiled thinking about Joe and Rhonda and Shirley and the strange but very attractive man in the motel.
"Everyone here is very attractive too.. and strangely familiar. I just cant quite place them though." Brooke mulled this over in her head and finally said "Lets just get out of here." and they drove home.

Shirley watched as the pretty lady and her handsome husband looked quizically at her and then drove off. "you meet all kinds..." she thought out loud and went back to her cleaning. No one had stayed in this section of the motel for months and Shirley liked to keep it tidy by doing a complete cleaning at least once a week. You never knew when someone might need one of these rooms and Dark Desert Highway seemed to raise and bring in more dust then a tornado! WHOOSH! Shirley finished another room. This was taking her forever! She needed to concentrate and she'd finish faster. The new man had her mind occupied. Yeah he'd been obnoxious, yeah he was a slick willie but there had been something about him that made her gut melt like veleeta in a microwave. She couldnt stop thinking about him and was tempted to go clean his room even thought he'd JUST checked in and she'd cleaned it first thing this morning! She hadnt seen him bring any luggage in, but a man that well dressed surely wouldnt wear the same suit every day. WHOOSH! another room finshed. It was all this thinking about a man that was slowing her down. Wasnt that always the way? Men tended to slow things down and make more work for women. WHOOSH, another room done. Still, there was something about that one. Those deep brown eyes, a girl could loose herself in those eyes. She thought that if she took that pony tail out his hair would look like spun silk. She wondered how it would feel against her skin. WHOOSH. Ok,, that was it. That room took her almost twice the time the others had. She HAD to stop thinking about that man! Shirley got a determined look on her face, narrowed her eyes and pushed her cart forward with newed determination. WHOOSH WHOOSH WHOOSH! three rooms finished in seconds. THERE! that was much better! Men were just a waist of time and energy! and she could spend some serious fantasy time after she was done. She'd finish up here and change then walk down to the river side where she had her secret hammock under the willow and lay there and imagine his eyes, his hair, his arms and how they'd all feel there next to her. OH CHEESE N PICKLES! there she goes again.. CONCENTRATE Shirley!!! WHOOSH WHOOSH WHOOSH! three more rooms. She was nearly done. Glenn appeared around the end of the El.
"Shirl! there you are! I need you to watch the desk for me today. I uhh.. need to be out of town.. I mean I need to GO out of town for a few days." Glenn glanced nervously around. "You havent seen that new guy around have you?"
"WAIT! a few days? Boss, I had plans for this afternoon, let alone a few days! I just cant do it!" She was furious at his assumption that she'd just cow to his wants and desires, but then, most women did!

Glenn flashed those big blue eyes at her. Opened wide and his lips slightly parted his dark brown hair falling across his forehead and over his eyes, he WAS indeed irresistible to women. Shirley was mesmerized. Glenn took her hand and stared deeply into her eyes. "Please Shirl. I need you!"
She drooled slightly. She shook her head. Angry with herself for falling for his tricks again she said "OH Fine! but you'd BETTER find someone else for the rest of the time! 'cause there's no way I'm working the desk after today!"
Glenn hugged her and smiled that thousand watt smile at her. She melted a little again. UGH! Men!
Glenn dashed off back around the corner of the el like he was afraid someone had seen him. He peeked back at Shirley and mouthed "Thanks!", blew her a kiss and was gone. Well, damn...

[Mrs Henley]

:)
Rhonda, you're tooooo good! :)




I'm wondering what happened with Danielle and Almanzo :lol:

[ticky]

was just thinking bout that Danielle... they are long over due *G*

[Mrs Henley]

Haha, I was just wondering :lol:

[ticky]

Almanzo and Danielle pushed through the front doors of The Sad Cafe looking at each other and laughing. Thats most likely why they didnt, at first, notice the emptiness and abandoned feeling in the old dive. Almanzo looked up from the face of his beloved Danielle and glanced around. His brow furrowed and a slight look of confusion came over his face.
"Where is everyone?"
Danielle stopped laughing and tore her eyes away from Don's face. She looked around the cafe and noticed the empty booths, dusty tables and lack of brewing coffee pots behind the counters.
"OH Pooh! I was so much wanting a good hot cup of coffee. Where is that waitress?"
Almanzo smiled at the lovely young woman holding his arm. "I do believe, sweetheart, we are the only ones here!.. Hello?" He called out.
There was no answer. Almanzo glanced around the cafe thoroughly and saw no one. He peeked out the door to see if anyone was coming.
"Well, I dont see the harm in just brewing a pot of coffee. I'm sure someone will be back shortly."
Almanzo hopped behind the counter and started searching for the coffee brewing equipment. Danielle laughed
"Oh Almanzo, Men are as useless in the kitchen as a bicycle to a fish! Oh let me.." Danielle scooted behind the counter and immediately found all the supplies she needed.
"You see? It takes a woman to know a woman's ways!"
Almanzo looked skeptically at Danielle.
"You think a man cant make his way around a woman kitchen?" Almanzo smiled broadly showing all his white teeth. His face was transformed when he did this from a stoic grumpy looking old man, to handsome, charming and suave. Danielle caressed his face and looked lovingly into his eyes.
"Darling, you are so handsome. You should smile more!"
Almanzo took her hand, turned it palm up and kissed it softly.
"You give me reason to smile" he grinned. "Now, you just sit down here at the counter and I will explore the kitchen! If we're lucky..." He rifled through the refrigerator, "We Are!, .. We will have the best omelettes you have ever tasted!"
Almanzo made himself at home in the small but efficient kitchen. He soon had eggs cracked and onions chopped, milk poured and a pan heating.
Danielle was impressed by his skill and abilities in the kitchen. Of course she was already well acquainted with his skills in other areas. The thought of this made her smile.
The smell of the fresh brewed coffee filled the air and soon the smell of onions and peppers frying in butter joined the coffee to make a mix that made Danielle's stomach growl.
The front door bell tinkled and in stepped Sheriff Soda.
Almanzo started but then noticed the Sheriff's deadly git was harnessed and safe away from any harm it might bring. He smiled
"Well Hello Sheriff! Im sorry if we're trespassing. No one was in here at the cafe and Danielle and I were starving! Have you people ever heard of McDonalds out here?"
The Sheriff sniffed the wonderful smells floating by and said
"Henley. I'll forget all about that trespassing thing if I can talk ya'll out of a cup of that coffee."
Danielle hopped up and got a cup of coffee for the sheriff. She set it down on a coaster in front of where the sheriff had sat at the counter.
"Whatever it is you are cookin up back there sure smells spectacular!"
Almanzo smiled again and shook his head. He was in trouble. He just became the new fry cook for Lisa's cafe.
"I'll double the order Sheriff."
"Oh no, dont go to any trouble! After all, it's not like this is your cafe." Sheriff Soda grinned at him. She knew she had him on the hook and was going to milk it for all it was worth.
Almanzo smiled, looked down and shook his head. He was hooked like a fish on the line.
"No problem at all Sheriff" More eggs, more cheese, more onions and peppers.
The door opened again and in stepped Joe and Rhonda. They were sniffing the air like a couple of bloodhounds.
"What is that amazing smell! Is Lisa Back?" Rhonda asked anxiously.
Sheriff Soda smiled and shook her head.
"Nope, that would be Mr. Henley back there."
Almanzo looked up through the service hole and waved hello to the couple at the door.
"Hey there! Names Almanzo, Im Don's brother, and this is my beautiful parnter in crime, Danielle."
Danielle greeted the two with a friendly hand shake and asked them to sit. She poured them each a steaming fresh cup of hot coffee.
Joe and Rhonda looked at each other and shrugged.
"Gift Horse.." Joe said to Rhonda.
"Riiight.." Rhonda said back.
They sat and sipped the coffee.
"Do you two want some of this Omelette action we've got going back here?" Almanzo asked.
"Absolutely!" Joe said without question. Rhonda agreed whole-heartedly. they were both starving.
"Umm.. Almanzo?" Joe began. "Did you say you were Don's brother?" Almanzo, laughed to himself and looked up at the blond man at the counter. He came out from the kitchen where Joe and Rhonda could get a good look at him.
"That I am" Almanzo smiled at the two's reaction. Joe whistled low and slow like a tea kettle cooling down. Rhonda's jaw dropped.
"Just how many dopplegangers are running around this place anyway?" she asked to no one in particular.
Almanzo grinned. He was used to this reaction. Even for identical twins, he and his brother were uncannily alike, except for now, except for the eyes.
Joe cleared his throat.
"Uh, we just left your brother. He's over at the Bitter Creek Ranch. nearly got himself riffed to death! Turns out he's not hurt, just drunk as a skunk."
Almanzo's smile faded and he dropped his spatula.
"Is he alright?"
"Oh yeah! he's fine. Better then before in fact! Jessica was so worried about him, she came running. She's looking after him now!"
"Riffed?" Sheriff Soda looked at Joe. She was disgusted. "Was it Tim?"
Joe smiled. He was aware of Tim's past with the Sheriff.
"Oh no Sheriff. It was that hot shot ax slinger they got over there. Not Fiddler, Stewart I think his name is."
Sheriff Soda set her coffee cup down heavily and sighed.
"Ill go have a talk with him this afternoon."
Almanzo started to clean himself up and walk out when Sheriff Soda stopped him
"Whoa there, Doolin Dalton where do you think you're goin?"
Almanzo had lost all sense of humor and looked more serious and pensive then Danielle had ever seen him.
"My brother needs me. He needs his family around him right now." He started towards the door.
Danielle grasped his arm.
"But darling, He's fine! He's drunk! you know how your brother gets when he's been drinking! Besides, Jessica is with him. He will be alright!"
Joe piped in
"besides, it's not pleasant there right now. Don Chugged All Night and was suffering a Tequila Sunrise this morning. Danielle had her hands full cleaning him up! I think I'd give Bitter Creek Ranch plenty of space for a while."
Almanzo looked down. He scowled at his nikes. They sure were comfortable! He smiled. He looked up into the face of Danielle. She smiled back at him.
"You're right." Almanzo smiled. It was safer for Danielle, if Don was drunk, that he and she stay here.
"Besides," said Sheriff Soda, "Im starvin. I'd hate to run you in for makin a huge mess in Lisa's kitchen without her permission." Sheriff Soda grinned.
Almanzo laughed to himself and shook his head.
"You win, sheriff!" He headed back behind the counter to the kitchen, picking up his dropped spatual and tossing it into the sink.
The bell on the door rang again and Tim sauntered in. His eyes grew wide at the sight of Sheriff Soda. Tim smiled tentatively at the Sheriff.
"Oh come on in Schmit, Im not gonna riff ANYbody till I get my omelett!" The Sheriff grinned at Tim, who shot her a wan smile back.
"umm.. Omelette? is Lisa back?" Tim glanced behind the counter at Almanzo. "Oh hey Almanzo! What are you doing back there?"
"A strange twist of fate, my man!" Almanzo grinned. "Omelette?"
"Uh sure! that'd be great!" Tim smiled back at the friendly man behind the grill.
Danielle jumped up and poured Tim a cup of coffee and set about making another pot.
"Uhh.. So Rhonda and I are headed for Las Vegas to find Lisa and Frank. There's a real scary guy who's got his hands on the Deed to this place staying at The Last Resort. We're going to find Lisa and find out if she knows whats going on." Joe was looking at Sheriff Soda.
Sheriff Soda stopped drinking her coffee and looked at Joe. "exactly what does this scary guy look like?"
Joe discribed him to the Sheriff glancing occasionally at Tim.
"this is bad." The Sheriff said looking deep into her coffee. Danielle hopped up and offered the Sheriff another cup of coffee "It's fresh! it will not be bad!"
The Sheriff looked at her as if she had corn growing out of her ears.
"What? Oh no.. I meant the stranger in town.. not the coffee, this is fine." Sheriff covered her cup with her hand.
The Sheriff tore her gaze away from Danielle and looked at Joe. "You said this guy was at The Last Resort? Maybe I'll go have a chat with him."
"Well, I still think we'll head for Vegas and see if we cant hunt down Frank and Lisa. They need to know whats going on here." Joe nodded at Rhonda.
"Can we eat first?" Rhonda had been starving since they had woke up this morning and the smell of Almanzo's omelettes were eating her up from the inside out. Joe smiled at her then sniffed the air. His eyes closed and his stomache growled.
"Oh yeah, after we eat!" Joe licked his lips.
Almanzo came out of the kitchen carrying two plates and set one in front of Sheriff Soda and one in front of Joe. Rhonda looked hungrily at Joe's plate as Joe dug in. He looked up and saw Rhonda looking at his dish the same way she was looking at him the night before. He scooped up a particularly juicy piece of omelette dripping with cheese and fed it to her. She smiled, gratefully took the piece. Savored it briefly then kissed Joe.
"Thanks" she smiled. He smiled back at her and filled him own mouth with the delicious eggs.
"Well Damn Henely! This is fantastic!" Sheriff Soda spoke through a mouthfull of eggs and cheese.
Almanzo continued to bring out plate after plate of omelettes and serve all the friends. Danielle filled coffee cups and the cafe was filled with the sounds of happy hungry people enjoying their meals. Something it hadnt experienced in a very long time.

[Mrs Henley]

:rofl: Rhonda *smile*

We have to find Lisa and Frank!

[Mrs Henley]

Want an omelett Nancy? :lol:

[ticky]

I'll call Almanzo..

[Mrs Henley]

Can you give me his number Rhonda? lol.
Who wants some coffee?, it's fresh

[ticky]

Sheriff Soda sauntered across the parking lot of The Last Resort on her way to The Bitter Creek Ranch. She was in no hurry. She didnt really want to talk to Stewart about the riffing, but this was her job. No one had been hurt and she was sure that, just from that fact, he'd taken a real ribbing from all the other guys. Stewart was, after all supposed to be a big shot with his git. A miss on an easy shot like that would put him up for ridicule from the other guys for months! Maybe he'd learned his lesson.. and maybe not. It could be he's now out to earn his title back and that made everyone a target. Especially Fiddler, who was the one thing standing between Stewart and what he saw as his rightful place as crew boss. Yeah, no doubt about it. Stewart needed to be considered a danger to the publics health. That public being Fiddler. Sheriff Soda walked a bit faster towards the ranch. She liked Fiddler. He was a tough cookie but smart and knew how to deal with his men. She'd hate to see anything happen to him.
She walked up the long drive to the ranch and beneath the archway sign signifying the entrance to Bitter Creek Ranch. She heard the old car before she saw it. An old Ford Mercury rumbled up the drive towards her and stopped beside her. The window on the passenger side rolled down and there, leaning across the seat was a man who could have been Frank's twin brother (or Glenn's for that matter) but for an extra 10 years. His dark brown hair was shorter then Franks and his eyes were, if possible a deeper, darker blue. There was just a hint of graying at his temples but the same amazing smile and dimples marked this man when he smiled out the window at Sheriff Soda.
"Well hey there Nancy! What brings you out this way? Did my little brother get into some nasty scrape?" My God but that man was handsome and charming.
Sheriff Soda smiled wide. She couldnt help it. This man had that effect on her
"James! It's good to see you. Im actually coming to see Fiddler about one of the guys." Sheriff Soda grinned haplessly back at the stunning smile of the sexy man in the car. Her feet began to sweat.
James looked concerned. "Is everyone alright?"
Nancy smiled. "Oh yeah, everyone is fine. No one got hurt. Thats why Im here just to talk!"
James looked visibly relieved. He was part owner of this ranch with his little brothers and any "accidents" here, purposeful or not, could break them and they'd loose everything.
"Well, hop on in here girl and I'll give you a lift!" James smiled that "you know you cant resist me" smile at Nancy, and she couldn't. Even though she only had a few yards left to walk to the Ranch House, she sat happily next to James. He smiled at her and her palms began to sweat too. She was going to need a shower after this ride! The old Mercury roared up the gravel drive and stopped in front of the ranch house. Nancy started to open the door but James gave her an "Ahh!" and she waited. He jumped out, ran to the other side of the car and opened the door for her.
For no other man, would she have put up with this kind of behavior, but this was James Frey. Little birds seemed to sing at the mention of his name, flowers bloomed and rainbows arched across the sky.
"GOOD GOD Nancy! Get a hold of yourself!" she said silently and shook her head. She smiled sweetly at James as she stepped out of the car. He took her hand as she got out. The electricity between the two was undeniable and obvious. They were and always had been obviously attracted to each other. Why they had never consummated this attraction, no one knew. They had both had other relationships that had failed miserably but never with each other. Nancy stood by the car, James held her hands and stood so close the heat of his body warmed her and his breath stirred her hair. He lifted her hand and kissed her knuckles. She watched as her hand rose and his lips brushed the skin and he smiled at her. It was like watching a movie. One that made your heart beat fast and your breath come short. One that you'd rent over and over and over just for that one scene. The spell was finally broken when the door of the ranch house opened. Nancy looked up in time to see Jessica walking down the steps towards them. James never took his eyes off Nancy till Jessica was standing right in front of them.

I have to make dinner for the roaring hoards.. More to come!!

[ticky]

Ok, get ready... JUMP....

Dr. EV was in her office. It was office hours and she was up to her elbows in a goat named Barney who had a bowel obstruction. We wont go into further details. We'll just say Barney is fine and recovering. During Barney's surgery, Glenn came rushing in to the office and stopped short when he saw where Dr. EV's hands, arms and elbows were and cringed.
"Damn it Glenn! Im a little busy here! Do you think you can wait in my office while I finish up?" Dr. EV upset. She wasnt used to having delicate procedures like this disturbed. She was a doctor and was trying to help an animal that needed her and deserved a little respect as well. She took her job seriously and resented it when others didnt.
Glenn looked away but didnt leave the procedure room.
"Im sorry baby, but I cant wait, I need to tell you something and I have to do it now." Glenn was sweating and breathing hard. He'd been running, that much was obvious, but his linen pants and white cotton button up shirt were soaked. His shirt was unbuttoned to his belly and his dark chest hair was matted with sweat. His dark hair fell over his forehead soaked with sweat as well giving him the look of a little boy with those long dark eye lashes and blue eyes. Dr. EV took one look at him and forgot about Barney, even though he was attached to her in a most uncomfortable way. Glenn had the look of fear on his face, like a man who'd been running for his life.
"Glenn?" Dr. EV had lost the edge to her voice. "Honey? are you alright?"
Glenn leaned hard against the wall of the procedure room and threw his head back.
"No baby, no Im not." Glenn held his head with both hands, then ran his hands through his hair and looked right at Dr.EV ignoring where her hands were and what they were doing. Dr. EV turned her attention to Barney and said over her shoulder,
"Talk to me sweetheart, I'll finish this up and we'll go in my office"
Glenn looked down at his feet and shook his head.
"Im sorry babe, there's no time. I have to leave town." Dr. EV's head popped up and whipped around to look wide eyed at Glenn.
"What do you mean? What are you running from Glenn?"
Glenn looked like he was about to cry. He'd never been so vulnerable or scared. Not that Dr.EV had ever seen.
"Evey, baby, they've found me and unless I leave town Im a dead man." Glenn dropped his head in his hands and Eve was sure he was indeed crying now.
Eve twisted her arm first right, then left then pushed. Barney let out a loud complaint.
"Got it!" She pulled out her arm, gave her assistant some last instructions on Barney's recovery and went to the sink to wash up. As she scrubbed her arms and hands she looked back over at Glenn who was sitting on the floor by the Procedure room door with his head in his hands.
Eve finished washing and walked over to Glenn. She knelt in front of him and put her arms around him. He looked up and put his arms around her. She stood and he came with her. She put her arm around his waist and lead him into her office. She closed the door and no more then turned around when he slipped his arms around her and cried into her shoulder.
"Im sorry baby, Im so so sorry. You have to believe me. I would never had done anything like this if I had had a choice. They wanted me dead so I hid, and now they've found me."
Eve pulled Glenn back a few inches and held his chin up so she could see into his tear blurred eyes.
Very gently and softly Eve looked Glenn right in the eye. "Glenn, I want you to tell me what you're talking about. Start at the beginning, baby. Im here and Im not going anywhere."
Glenn looked at Eve. His big blue eyes were filled with tears and his brow was wrinkled in fear and sadness.
"Im not Glenn." His eyes never left hers.
"What?" Eve was understandably confused.
"Im not Glenn. Im Frank and Frank is Glenn." Glenn looked up into Eve's face.
Eve's eyes were wide and her brow furrowed in confusion and shock.
"Explain please?"
Glenn laughed and wiped his eyes.
"When I lived in Chicago, back a long time ago, I got into, well some difficulties. I owed some really bad people some.. well.. favors. They wanted to collect. They wanted me to kill a man. I tried! ..but I couldnt. They were going to kill ME instead. I ran. I came here, to Eaglesville, to the only family I had, my Cousins. Glenn is my cousin but we're nearly identical. The only real difference is our eyes."
Frank/Glenn reached up and poked at his eye. Out popped a contact, then the other. Eve looked at Frank/Glenn's eyes. They were brown!
"You have brown eyes!" Eve said softly almost to herself.
Frank sniffed and smiled. "Yeah, that was the hardest part of stepping into my cousin's life. Otherwise it was easy! we traded names and I stayed here in town. The guys who were after me werent after a blue eyed farmer. They wanted a brown eyed sleezoid. I just took over The Last Resort. It really belongs to my cousin."
"Fran.. I mean Glenn?" Eve was still trying to rejuggle all the names and identities in her head.
Frank smiled at Eve. He understood her confusion. He was still a little confused. He felt safe here with her in her office, though. It was easy to talk to her.
"No, my other cousin, James, Glenn's older brother. I could have switched identities with him except I refused to cut my hair or dye it gray." Frank grinned. Eve was well aware of his vanity.
Eve sat heavily in the chair behind her desk and looked blankly into space. How was she going to process all of this? Frank was Glenn, Glenn was Frank, she loved Glenn. No, she loved Frank. Didnt she? Suddenly she looked up at Frank.
"Who's trying to kill you?"
Frank looked down at his shoes again.
"The guys from Chicago. I dont know how they found me, but they did. One of em, the adopted son, he's the meanest son of a Bi.. anyway, he's here. He even checked into MY motel!.. well Jame's motel."
Frank had fallen a long way from that suave slick Mr. Smoothy in the cafe. He was a mess physically and emotionally. Eve just watched him, trying to decide what she was feeling. She had to save him. She did love him. Damn it. It would be so easy if she didnt.
"Alright Gle.. Frank." Eve closed her eyes and counted to ten. "I have a place. I havent used it in years, but its there and being cared for. We can go there. No one knows about it. We'll stay there till the coast is clear." Eve had been talking to Frank but looking at her hands. Now she looked up. He was staring at her in disbelief.
"You DO want my help, dont you?" Eve was astonished at his reaction.
Frank slowly smiled at her. He dashed behind the desk and wrapped his arms around her and picked her up. He spun her around and kissed her deep and hard.
"I love you, babe! YES! of course I want your help!" Eve relaxed a little. She thought maybe Frank was going to use this as an excuse to leave her. She exhaled and wrapped her arms around Franks neck and held him close.
"Dont leave me, okay?" Eve was shaking.
Frank held her close and whispered in her ear, "never.."
They stayed in this long embrace for a while. Then Frank pulled away.
"We need to get out of town as soon as possible. The longer we stay, the more chance he has of finding me."
Eve knew this was true. She also knew that any car of truck leaving town would be suspicious during the day, but a vets truck headed out of town at dawn wouldnt get a second glance.
"We'll leave at dawn. I'm always being called up to some out of town farm at dawn. No one will notice anything different. Once we're gone, no one will be able to find us." She held Frank's face and looked directly into his eyes.
"I dont know how long we'll have to stay away. You'd better clean up any messes you dont want to leave behind."
Frank took her hands and kissed them. He smiled.
"Already done."
"Then lets go to my apartment and wait till dawn." Eve grinned at Frank and bit her lower lip. Frank knew what that meant. He picked Eve up and tossed her over his shoulder. He dodged out of the office and up the back stairs to Eve's apartment over the clinic.

Bed time.. more later *G*

[eaglesvet]

Excellent visuals...I can just picture what Frank/Glenn looked liked in this scene...like something I recently viewed on "Frey Fever," perhaps?:smitten::heart::wink:
(In case anyone is wondering, we do have shoulder-length plastic gloves for 'delicate' procedures like Barney's, thank goodness!)

[Mrs Henley]

Oh Oh, the true guys are coming up!

Great story again Rhonda!

[ticky]

MY TURN! I might let some of ya'll in on the fun.. if yer good *G*



Rhonda had packed up the few belongings she'd had with her in the Last Resort and turned off the light as she left. She wasnt sure when or if she'd be back, She and Joe were headed to Las Vegas to find Lisa and Frank. Was she crazy? How much did she know about this trucker? I mean, yeah, she'd slept with him, and yeah, he had those dreamy green eyes, and ok, his smile could melt steel and.... Rhonda found herself staring blindly into space and smiling at just the thought of him. She shook her head and rubbed her eyes. She HAD to be smart here! This was her life she was talking about, more then that, this was her heart! hadnt she just been through this? Hadnt he kicked her to the curb? How was Joe any different?
"Babe?" that familiar voice rang down the corridor. A face, a smile and those green, green eyes peered around the corner of her door. "You about ready? The truck is all gassed up and ready to roll!"
Rhonda just stared at him for a moment. He recognized that look on her face. He hadnt known her for long, but he recognized pain and sadness. He walked over to her and wrapped his arms around her.
"Im just waiting for my beautiful girl." He kissed her forehead and held her close. "Are you sure about this?" He looked into her eyes. " You dont have to go if you dont want to. I can go alone."
She looked at him for a long time. She knew she'd be more miserable without him then afraid with him, in fact, looking at him, all the fear was gone. She smiled back and held him close.
"Im fine. I just had a weak moment."
He tilted her chin up and kissed her very softly "'at's my girl" He grinned.
Joe picked up the small duffle and wrapped his arm around Rhonda lest she change her mind and ushed her out the doors.
The truck was beautiful. Rhonda hadnt really seen it before, it having been pretty much dark out when Joe picked her up. That seemed like so long ago. What ever happened to saturday night? It was a life time ago. The truck was huge and black and very shiny with a large golden eagle painted on the doors and across the hood.
Rhonda let out a long slow whistle. Joe grinned proudly. "Beauty isnt she?" Rhonda nodded slowly in agreement. Maybe this trip wouldn't be so bad! Joe opened the door for her and helped her up into the cab with a curt pat on the backside on her way up, that made her gasp. She looked back down at him through slitted eyes and smiled. He grinned back. Joe was obviously very happy. When Rhonda got turned around and looked around the cab, something struck her. There was no sleeping space here. HE had LIED! HE had planned on sleeping with her the WHOLE time! Rhonda was livid. She thought about jumping down out of that truck and leaving right then. Tears stung her eyes and she couldnt get a deep breath. She'd wait till he got in the truck, slap his face THEN leave! MEN WERE WORTHLESS! Her rage was boiling over.
Joe opened the door on the other side of the truck and lifted himself up to see Rhonda's tear filled eyes staring daggers at him.
"whats the matter, baby?"
"DONT you DARE Call me baby!!!! There is NO sleeping quarters in this cab Joe, YOU LIED TO ME! YOU TRICKED ME!"
Joe smiled and pulled himself into the cab. Rhonda hauled her hand back and slapped him hard across the face. The sound of the slap resounded in the cab and Joe's face flew across the seat and he hit his head on the window. It wasnt hard, but it was all Rhonda could do to not jump over the seat to see if he was all right.
"ow.... " Joe touched his quickly reddening face and looked at Rhonda. His brow was furrowed and his mouth was tight. He reached back and unlatched a door behind his seat. The entire back of the cab opened to the cargo area. Rhonda looked, blinked, rubbed her eyes and looked again. Behind her was a fully furnished apartment. Not just a sleeping space, but a queen sized bed, a nice one! dressers, a tv, stereo and sofa! She pulled herself up from the seat dumbfounded and moved slowly to the back of the cab and into the apartment. It was like an RV, she thought, then no, this was much MORE then any RV she'd ever seen. It was more like a bachelor pad on wheels! She opened a small door at the back of the room and there was a REAL bathroom! with a SHOWER! and a TOILET! HURRAH! no coke bottles! WHEW!
Then she remembered what she'd done to Joe. He was standing in the doorway looking hurt and stricken. She walked to him and slid her arms around his neck, she buried her face in his shoulder and held him close.
"Im so sorry" she wept into his shoulder. He melted. He held her close and kissed her hair.
"Listen, I dont know who he was, or what he did, but Im not him. I dont want to hurt you,.. ever.." He held her tight. She looked up at him. Her eyes were over flowing and her nose was running. Great! Swollen eyes and a red nose. She looked like a muppet. She gently touched his red swelling face and cringed. She softly kissed it. She softly kissed his lips. He returned her kiss and they stayed there for a long time. He brushed her hair from her face. His breath was short and ragged.
"We cant right now" he grinned at her.
she nodded and grinned back.
"We need to get going" He let her loose and watched her climb back into the cab, admiring the view on her way out. Joe took a moment to shake his head and his hands. He took a few deep breaths and climbed in after her. This was going to be an interesting trip!
Joe sat in the drivers seat. He leaned over and kissed Rhonda. It took a little longer then he thought it would, but eventually they pulled apart.
"not now, not now, not now..."Joe repeated to himself quietly. Rhonda grinned at him, took his hand and kissed it.
"later.." she said quietly to him.
Joe started the truck. He never took his eyes off of her. The truck roared to life. He looked briefly out the front windshield so he wouldnt flatten any passer-bys, dogs, small compacts, then he looked back at her and smiled.
"later.." The truck pulled out onto The Dark Desert Highway and headed out of town.


*G* yeah....

I gotta put the squirt to bed. I'll write more in a bit and give someone else a chance *G*

[ticky]

back at the Inn.. *G*

Shirley leaned against the old desk in the lobby of The Last Resort and fumed. Glenn had done it to her again. He couldnt keep treating people like this and get away with it! That boyish charm and deep blue eyes of his werent going to carry him long! Someday someone would see through all that charm and see what a snake and scoundrel he really was!
Shirley placed the eraser end of her pencil on the next card in the deck and flicked it across the desk top towards the old fedora that lay upside down on the floor a few feet away. Ten of hearts.
Missed.
She had seen Joe's truck pulling away earlier heading out of town. Rhonda was riding shotgun. She wondered when they'd be back, if they'd be back. Lucky ducks!
flick! Two of spades
Missed.
It was hot and muggy today. It'd be perfect down by the creek. She'd be in her hammock right about now with a cold coke and a hot day dream about that guy. She smiled.
flick! The card sailed across the desk and floated on down and landed on a shoe. A very shiny mens shoe. A hand reached down and picked it up. A hand with a diamond pinkie ring on it. Shirley watched the hand rise up past a pair of slender dark gray slacks, well pleated, a white button down shirt that clung to a slender but well muscled stomach, chest and a long slender neck, chisled chin and white grinning teeth. Shirley caught her breath. It was him! That guy! The one who had checked in earlier. The one who was kind of scary and yet Shirley couldnt stop thinking about him!
He held the card up and looked at it.
"Queen of hearts! You know, the queen of Diamonds, she'll beat you every time, but the queen of hearts..." he kissed the card and put it in his chest pocket. That chest, his shirt was clinging to him in all the right places.
"The Queen of hearts is always your best bet."
Shirley recovered her wits and stood tall. Men, they always made trouble.
She cleared her throat.
"Uhh, could I have my card back please?" Shirley held out her hand defiantly.
He smiled at her. He pulled the card from his pocket. He held her hand with one hand and placed the card in it with the other. Then he placed his palm over the card. His hands were warm and dry and very gentle. She was surprised at this. She had him pegged as a cruel dude, she thought he was ruthless, she thought he was crude. But his hands told her another story, one with an ending she'd like to have a say in.
"Be very careful with her." He looked deep into her eyes. "You're holding my heart!" He lifted her hand and turned it over. He kissed her knuckles, brushing his lips ever so gently over the skin, his eyes never leaving her face. He grinned mischieviously at her. "But then, I wouldnt want to leave you with less then a full deck." He stepped back and began to walk backwards towards his room. He turned and then stopped. He looked at her.
"Im Thomas, by the way." He smiled. "and you are?"
"Shirley.." she nearly whispered. She was mezmerized.
"Shirley." He grinned. "It is a pleasure to meet you. I hope we will have many, many more such meetings. I look forward to it."
"yeah..." she whispered.
With that, he turned and went down the corridor to his room. He unlocked his door. Glanced back, winked and went inside. It wasnt till Shirley heard the tumblers on the lock click into place that she regained her voice.
"Be sure and let us know if you need any towels!" she shouted down the corridor too late.
She turned and knocked herself in the head with the heel of her hand. "DOH!"
She sat heavily in the old chair in the lobby. He was amazing! He had the deepest darkest eyes she'd ever seen! They were bottomless. His hair was long and tied back. It gave him an air of distinction like royalty. He was the nicest dresser she'd ever seen outside those fashion magazines they got down at the Cut n Curl. She was smitten! She wondered if he really was dangerous, and did she care? she sat sprawled in the old stuffed chair looking at herself in the mirrored ceiling. Thats when the weirdness started....
It's late, Im tired.. you're going to have to wait to find out what the weirdness is *G*

[ticky]

Ok, I love the weirdness, so Im going to run with it..

Shirley sat sprawled in the stuffed chair in the lobby of The Last Resort and stared into the mirrored ceiling. She was thinking of that man, Thomas he'd said his name was. Thomas with the brilliant smile, Thomas with the rippled belly and firm chest. Shirley grinned to herself as she stared into the mirrors and imagined what he was doing right at that moment behind the closed door. She could see him walking across the room and tossing his jacket he'd had slung over his arm across the bottom of the bed. He reached up and took the band off his hair and let his pony tail loose. His hair was long and wild. He looked like a lion! He started to unbutton his shirt, one button, then another and another and then he pulled his arm out of one sleeve, letting the white shirt fall off his shoulder, the the other arm, other shoulder and he stood before the dresser and the mirror shirtless with his wild mane of hair loose and beautiful. His chest and belly were the color of perfect toast. Not too dark, not too light. Just tanned and warm. Shirley was starting to really get into this fantasy and laughed to herself for being so silly. She looked away from the mirror and shook her head. At least she had a really great imagination! Everything she'd imagined had been so real! She started to stand up and glanced back up at the mirrors. He was still there! She blinked. She rubbed her eyes. She looked back up. He was there. He was taking off his watch and he looked up into the mirror above the dresser. He saw something and leaned in close, leaning with both hands on the dresser, staring intently at the mirror image. Shirley put her hands over her eyes and counted to ten. She looked up again and there he was! This time however, she saw his whole face looking right at her! She jumped! Then she saw him stalking across the room towards the door. Shirley jumped up and ran to the desk. She took an innocent pose behind the desk, same as when he'd come in, with her pencil in one hand, her head leaning in the other, looking bored and flicking cards at the old hat on the floor. Flick. three of diamonds, missed.
Thomas came roaring out of his room and stopped short at the sight of her flicking cards. She casually looked up at him.
"Anything wrong? Do you need something." She didnt even lift her head from her hand. She added acting to her list of abilities. He looked confused. He narrowed his eyes and looked at her closely, then smiled.
"No, Im fine. I just thought .. never mind. you just go back to your.. uhh... game." He grinned at her and walked back into his room.
She heard the tumblers of his doors lock click into place and she ran back to the mirrors and stood just beyond their reflection. She gazed up into them but didnt see anything but the reflection of the old chair, the worn out old rug and a side table that had a copy of the Examiner from last July sitting on it. She shook her head and blinked several times. All that cleaning and dust must have made her eyes tired and he had her rattled for sure!
She sighed, smiled to herself and walked back to the desk. At least she'd have the memory of that beautiful body and that hair! She stopped. That hair, that body. When he'd run out of his room, he'd been shirtless and his hair was loose! Shirley's jaw dropped open. She ran back to the mirrors and stood right below then. She gazed up but saw nothing but her own open-mouthed stare. She plopped down into the big chair and gazed up. It took a moment but there he was! In the shower! NAKED! His hair was wet and the water ran in rivulets down his chest, stomach, hips, bottom. Shirley blushed furiously but could not look away. He was beautiful!
The bell on the front door hadnt worked for a long time, but there was a tell-tale creak to the hinges that alerted Shirley that she was about to be discovered watching a naked man in the shower. Not only that, but a naked guest! in a seemingly magic mirror! They'd toss her in a nut house and throw away the key. She jumped up when the door opened and stood trying to look casual next to the big chair, with her arms folded tightly in front of her.
It was Sheriff Soda. OH GREAT! That was just perfect! The law!
"What?.. I mean Hey Sheriff. what can I do for you?" Shirley didnt look at the Sheriff again but walked quickly over to the desk.
"Hey Shirley." The Sheriff's brow was wrinkled and the confused grin on her face told Shirley her act just then had been somewhat less successful then the previous one with Thomas. She'd need to work on her guilt disguises a little more she thought. Still she went back behind the desk and began writing diligently in an old ledger. She had no idea what she was writing, she was just trying hard not to look at the Sheriff.
"Where's Glenn?" The Sheriff didnt take her eyes off of Shirley. There was something strange going on here but she had no idea what it could be. Shirley's color was as red as the old once velvet curtains that hung in the front window.
Shirley glanced up at the Sheriff. A distraction. perfect.
"Oh you know Glenn. He railroaded me into standing her watching the curtains rot this afternoon while he took off for a nice little vacation with the Doc." Shirley rolled her eyes and tried hard to remember how upset with Glenn she was. It was better then letting the Sheriff see how bothered the images she'd been watching made her. She leaned again on the desk and started flicking the cards once more. Flick! Four of clubs. Missed.
The Sheriff watched the card fly through the air and land close to the hat.
"Close!" she grinned at Shirley. Shirley smiled back.
"So, I heard you have a new guest here. I hear he's kind of scary!"
Flick! Ace of spades. Missed.
"Well, I wouldnt call him scary." Shirley mused.
"Oh? What would you call him?" Sheriff had never seen Shirley rattled before. There must be something to this guy.
"I dont know. Smart, sophisticated, .." ..HOT!! Shirley thought to herself.
"I see. So you dont think he's any threat? Has he mentioned the Sad Cafe or Lisa at all to you?" The Sheriff was in investigation mode. It would be very hard to hide anything from her now. Shirley had to distract her.
"No, nothing at all. Say, Sheriff, didnt I see James drive up to the ranch just a little while ago? I thought you were going to go up there to talk to Fiddler. Did you run in to him? I havent seen him for a while. Where's he been?"
It was the Sheriff's turn to blush. She looked away from Shirley. It had worked!
"Uhh, yeah I saw James. He hadnt mentioned where he'd been but he looked great! I mean, he seems to be well." The Sheriff was rattled.
"So umm.. back to this mystery man." damn...Shirley's ploy had backfired. The Sheriff was so anxious to change the subject it just bounced back to her.
"I dont know anything about him Sheriff." Shirley looked back to her useless writing in the old ledger as if it were important.
"Well, what room is he in? Maybe I'll just pop in to say hello and see if theres anything to be worried about." The Sheriff was trying to see what Shirley was writing. Shirley moved her arm up over the ledger to cover the nonsense she was scribbling.
"OH, I think he's in the shower right now." Shirley volunteered. The Sheriff raised her eyebrows and tilted her head at the now blushing young woman.
She smiled back at the Sheriff's glance.
"I heard the shower go on down the hall. Since Rhonda checked out this morning, he's our only guest in the main building. Well, in any of the rooms for that matter!" Shirley rolled her eyes. She was still bitter about having to watch the desk.
Sheriff Soda smiled disingenuously at her."Of course. Well, tell him I'd like to talk to him." She turned to leave the stopped and turned back to Shirley. "That is, if you happen to see to him again." She smiled again and nodded her good bye and walked out the door.
Shirley watched her walk out the door. She walked to the door and watched the Sheriff walk across the parking lot towards the Ranch. It wasnt till she was out of sight that she was able to breath again. She walked to the big chair and collapsed. She did NOT look up. She didnt dare. She closed her eyes tight and wished it all away. If only it had been that simple.
I love weirdness... *G*

[Prettymaid]

He looked like a lion!

Ooh does he have lion eyes too?

[ticky]

OOO Not yet! but thanks for the idea!! heheehe just kidding.. Only one set of Lion eyes per uhh.. town? *G* whatever..

[eaglesvet]

The weirdness is great...sounds like quite the mirror!

[Troubadour]

Still brilliant Ticky - I am loving this! Always great fun to visit after a long day at work :wink: Keep it comin'!

[Glennsallnighter]

Ticky, this just goes on and on!! The twists and turns are brilliant!! keep going! Attagirl!!:thumbsup::thumbsup:

[ticky]

:-(:whip::eyebrow::headshake::brickwall::-xI havent put any of these guys in any of the stories. they looked lonely and sad... :):thumbsup::angel::partytime::nahnah: that's better..

Cathy had gotten all ready to heard the cows into the barn to set up for milking. Frank had about 2 dozen milk cows and it was Cathy's turn all alone to get them milked in the morning. She never had a problem rounding them up. Milk cows were in a lot of pain by morning and looked forward to being milked. Cathy smiled at the idea. She'd look forward to a nice warm breast massage first thing in the morning too, from the right hands. Cathy grinned.
Just then Fiddler came loping into the barn anxious and ready to help Cathy out... with the cows. Cathy was wearing overalls. They werent terribly flattering but they were practical. Cows werent careful and they were usually dirty and covered in mud and dung. Cathy pulled on her hip waders too a large straw hat that hung down over her face. It kept the flies at bay and her hair was fairly clean when she finished.
Fiddler could only think of making a good impression on Cathy. He admired this woman so much, how could he make her happy?
"You look real pretty this morning Miss Cathy." Women liked compliments. Fiddler looked up at Cathy to reap his rewards in a big smile. He saw what she was wearing. The overalls, the hat, the hip waders and the look of incredulous disbelief on Cathy's face. Fiddlers face went white and he stammered.
"I..I..I meant earlier, you know, this morning. NOT that you arent pretty nuff now!.." Fiddler couldnt win. Cathy just stared at him open mouthed. He blushed so furiously it was almost painful to watch. He looked down at his boots and he was sure she'd never talk to him again.
Cathy began to laugh. She laughed hard. Fiddler looked up surprised and stricken. She was laughing at him! It took Cathy a few minutes to catch her breath. She saw the look of sadness and embarassment on Fiddler face and took some pity on him.
"Oh Fiddler, I know what you mean and thank you so much." She walked over to Fiddler and gave him a friendly hug. She wasnt sure how well this would go over. Fiddler never struck her as a very physical man. That was a shame. He was very well built! Just the friendly hug gave her ideas about those strong arms and broad shoulders. His hair smelled like the out doors, straw and something else, she wasnt quite sure what, she couldnt place it. Something spicy. His hands were warm and large, but gentle and strong. Her hug was well received and Fiddler beamed. His face changed when he smiled. He was a different man, so handsome. Cathy had never known Fiddler like this. This out fit and this place was not right for these feelings. She'd save them for later. She needed to take a close look at her feelings, and at this man. She smiled and patted Fiddler on the shoulder.
"Let's round us up some doggies!" She grinned at Fiddler.
"Yes Ma'am!" He mocked back at her and grinned. A tingle shot through her from her toes to her head. Yeah, she really needed to take a closer look at this man.


UGH.. I was going to write more but Im so tried I cant stay awake. More tomorrow.. (Im just glad I got to talk about breast massages here! *G*)

[TimothyBFan]

Ticky-just an idea---but I think after this is all over, you need to print it into a book and sell it. I can think of at least a dozen or two you will sell easily:razz:.

[Prettymaid]

We-e-e-e-e! I've never played a fiddle before! ;)

[ticky]

Im just glad you guys like it *G* I cant tell you how much fun I have writing it. I'll be doing some every day chore and start giggling over something I've thought of for the story. It can be pretty embarassing if Im at the grocery store of talking on the phone. *G*


PM, it's not so much the fiddle as it is the Fiddler *G* (I love the image of you as a milk maid *G* I almost gave you one of those outfits with the little dutch girl cap and wooden shoes, but I thought, nahhh *G* this is better.. LOL)

[ticky]

Ok Jess, sorry this has taken so long, Lets give you and Don some attention...

James pulled his attention from Sheriff Soda and looked at Jessica. "Hey Jess. What are you doing here?" James smiled genuinely at the pretty woman.
Jessica looked tired, but smiled back. "Seems Don tied one on last night, and from what I hear, early this morning!"
Sheriff Soda turned her attention to Jessica. "So everyone's alright, though, right?"
"Oh yeah, no harm done, well except by Don, and only to himself. The big dope." Jessica said this with love and frustration.
Sheriff Soda smiled "Well good. I think I will, however, go have a little talk with Stewart and maybe Fiddler too. Those to worry me sometimes."
"I think Fiddler is helping Cathy in the barn. I saw him run off that way earlier. Im not sure where Stewart is. He was showing the new ranch hand around."
Jessica directed Sheriff Soda to the barn.
"Oh good! Frank hired a new guy!" James seemed genuinely pleased. He knew the ranch was a lot of work and Frank always seemed to take it all on his own shoulders. It was good he was starting to hire some dependable men.
Jessica grinned at James. "Well, I dont know about a new hired MAN, but he hired a new hand. She's pretty smart and seems to be a hard worker."
"She??" James was shocked.
Jessica laughed. "yeah, I thought you might feel that way. She said Frank told her he'd give her a chance. I think Fiddler sent Stewart to break her in because he knew Stewart wouldnt pull any punches with her. They may not like each other much, but I think Fiddler respects Stewart's abilities."
James looked down at his boots and laughed to himself. He knew to trust Fiddler and he knew he was right about Stewart. If Fiddler wanted to give a girl a chance to be a hired hand, James wasnt going to interfere.
"I just hope Stewart has the same respect for Fiddler. I really dont want to see a war break out between those two." Sheriff Soda was still thinking about the job that brought her here.
"If you two will excuse me, I need to go talk to Fiddler. I'll hunt down Stewart later. Jess, it's good to see you." The Sheriff smiled at the young woman. "James," Nancy's eyes glowed and her smile revealed her fondness for this man. "Will you be around later? I sure would like to catch up with you."
James' mouth turned up and he looked at her. His smile was so real and honest, it made her heart skip a beat.
"I'd like that Nancy." Again he kissed her hand, keeping his eyes on hers."I think I'll be keeping pretty close to home for a while." He grinned at her. She let out a long deep breath she hadnt realized she'd been keeping.
"Okay then, I'll see you later." She nodded to the two and headed off towards the barn with only one or two glances behind her.
James watched the Sheriff walk all the way to the barn, never once looking away till she entered the barn and was out of sight. Jessica kept her eyes on James, watching him till he looked away from the now deserted yard. She shook her head and smiled.
"I will never understand you two."
James gave Jess a confused, questioning look. "What do you mean?" Jess stared at the older man for a few seconds, rolled her eyes and shook her head. She turned away and walked up the steps to the front porch. She found the rocking chair nearest the front door and sat down as if she'd been on her feet for hours and let out a deep sigh.
"men."
James looked down at his boots and grinned to himself. He didnt know why he and Nancy had been playing these games so long. It seemed like just so much Waisted Time any more. Maybe that would have to change. He turned and followed Jessica up the steps and sat slowly in the rocking chair next to her. The two friends sat companionably in silence rocking and looking out at the late morning.
"How's Don, by the way." James turned towards Jessica.
Jess smiled more to herself then for reassurance to her friend. She'd been through a lot with Don. This was just a part of the ride.
"Oh, he'll be fine. He's got one nasty hangover, but I've got the cure brewing on the stove top."
James cringed. He was familiar with Jessica's hangover cure. Her grandmother had invented it for her grandfather who'd had a penchant for home brewed grain alcohol that came out of a neighbors still. Grandma would brew up a batch of her hangover cure which looked, smelled and had suspiciously similar characteristics to roofing tar. Grandpa would wander home in the early hours and pass out on their front porch. Grandma would come out in the morning, roll him over and pour some of this stuff down his throat. Grandpa would scream, vomit and let out a string of expletives then he'd be fine. Jessica had learned how to deal with drunks from the best. Don would be right as rain soon enough.
There was the sound of a small explosion from the kitchen.
"Oh good, it's done!" Jessica hopped up from the rocking chair and headed towards the kitchen.
James smiled and waited. Time past. James looked out over the yard. A chicken came scuttling by pecking at the gravel. The horrible sound of wretching and a sting of expletives that would make a sailor blush came wafting out the front door. The screen door flew open banging hard against the clapboards. Don stood leaning with both hands on the door frame. He was wearing levi's and his sunglasses and nothing else. His pallor was still a little green, but he looked nearly human.
"Don.." James said without looking at the man. "how ya doin?"
Don stood uneasily in the door swaying slightly. He took a moment to make sense of the words coming out of James' mouth.
"James..Uh, Im ok I think. yeah, better, thanks." Don made his way hand over hand to the rocking chair Jessica had vacated. He sat down gingerly and let out a deep breath. James smiled. He'd been there.
Jessica came out the door and handed a large glass to Don. He turned his head away and cringed. She picked up his hand and put the glass in it.
"Its just orange juice! Drink it!"
Don made a face and sipped at the thick orange liquid. It was cold and sweet and cut through the God awful taste that seemed to be growing in his mouth. He sipped again. He picked up Jessica's hand and kissed it.
"Thanks baby, I'd give you a proper kiss, but I think something's taken up residence in my mouth."
James grinned out at the yard and the three friends sat and rocked and the world was quiet except for the creak of the rockers and the cluck of the chickens.

[eaglesvet]

Ticky-just an idea---but I think after this is all over, you need to print it into a book and sell it. I can think of at least a dozen or two you will sell easily:razz:.
:nod:

[Prettymaid]

Cathy was wearing overalls. They werent terribly flattering but they were practical. Cathy pulled on her hip waders too a large straw hat that hung down over her face.

What a coincidence! That's what I'm wearing right now! :heybaby:

[ticky]

PM, I know! :jealous: can i borrow the hip waders when you're done? I have an idea...:twisted:

[eaglesvet]

Ticky-just an idea---but I think after this is all over, you need to print it into a book and sell it. I can think of at least a dozen or two you will sell easily:razz:.
A thought just crossed my mind as I was driving home from some late-night errands listening to LROOE...this book had better be packaged in a plain brown wrapper, or else there'll be a lot of 'xplaining to do if it gets picked up and read by the wrong parties...if you get my drift!:stunned::fingerwag:

[ticky]

Whadaya mean? I just sent copies to Glenn, Don, Tim and Joe with all the addresses and phone numbers of everyone I could find *G* I thought you all might appreciate it *G* I KNOW they're going to LOVE it! *G*

[TimothyBFan]

Whadaya mean? I just sent copies to Glenn, Don, Tim and Joe with all the addresses and phone numbers of everyone I could find *G* I thought you all might appreciate it *G* I KNOW they're going to LOVE it! *G*

:yay::yay: Timmy---Please call before 4:30 in the afternoon when Larry walks thru the door!:thumbsup:

[eaglesvet]

Whadaya mean? I just sent copies to Glenn, Don, Tim and Joe with all the addresses and phone numbers of everyone I could find *G* I thought you all might appreciate it *G* I KNOW they're going to LOVE it! *G*
No problem there! I'm thinking of the inquiring minds on the home front!

[ticky]

The Hubbies, BF's and SO's? *G* How about I add a town full of Dipsy Chicks... I mean Dixie Chicks and they can all live there? *G* What's good for the goose.. ya know.. *G*

[ticky]

Okay Willie, Time to tote that barge and lift that bail *G* Flex those muscles girl! You're a hired hand!

Stewart had a smug look on his face. He'd put Willie on the back of Ol' Hank, those slowest, dumbest, ugliest gelding in the stables. They liked to use Hank for the grunt work around the ranch, but no one wanted to ride him. He was safe and strong and that was about the best thing that could be said about him. He also had a mean streak and Willie found herself booting Hank in the head several times to keep from being bitten. Every time Hanks head swang around to take a nip out of Willie's calf, Stewart grinned and looked sideways. Luckily for Willie, this was Stewart's tell. Every time she saw Stewart look her way out the side of his eyes, she knew to raise her boot up and push Hanks head back forward. Evidently Stewart and Hank had something in common in the brains department. Willie smiled to herself at what Stewart must be thinking. Maybe this "test" wouldnt be quite so challenging. There were advantages to being under estimated.
They rode out the fence line for a mile or so. Bitter Creek Ranch's spread was further reaching then most people realized. They finally came to a break in the fence line. The equipment was all there. Posts, a post hole digger and barbed wire. So it was going to be fencing. Easy enough Willie thought. Stewart jumped down off his mount, a pretty chestnut filly with a lot of spirit. Willie didnt think she bit much. If she were a horse, she'd bite Stewart.
"Well, here ya go." Stewart swaggerd and grinned at her. He was just sure she was going to take one look at the work to be done and break down.
Willie hopped down and walked confidently over to the last post planted and looked down the line.
"Who's been working on this?" she asked gazing down the line.
Stewart grinned. She was going to ask for help, he was sure of it.
"I was, but I have bigger fish to fry. Its all yours now." He was so cocky.
"Well, it's pretty shoddy work. My fence wont line up very well with yours. Yours is off line." Willie walked away from the last post and paced off to the marker for the next post. "And if I start from where's you've marked, it'll be even more off line."
She walked back to the set post. She pulled a tape measure from her back pocket and pulled out several inches. She held the measure up and sighted it against the last straight post, about 500 yards back, and measured out to a spot about 3 yards to the side of Stewart's last post. She walked to that spot, and paced out 4 yards and she was a good 6 yards off the last marker Stewart had set.
"See? this is the true line. You're about 6 yards off! Do you want me to pull the off set posts and remeasure, set the rest of the posts off or reset the line and just have a jagged line?" Willie stared at Stewart waiting for a response.
Stewart fumed. If this had been a cartoon, steam would be coming out of his ear, but instead his face was red and his jaw was clenched. His eyes narrowed and his pursed lips turned up into an disturbing smile.
"Yeah, if you *think* my work is shoddy and uneven, why dont you just pull it all and start over" Stewart thought he was being so clever. Willie was a little confused at this. It had been her idea. A job worth doing, was worth doing right and if that meant pulling up some half-assed missed placed posts, then she'd do it.
"Great! now if you're not going to help, you'd better get out of the way. I wouldnt want you to get hurt." Willie grinned back at Stewart. He glared at her. She'd probably made an enemy, but Stewart wasnt her problem, not yet anyway.
Willie picked up the post hole digger and tied it to Hanks back. She mounted him and looked down at Stewart.
"Im going down to the last straight post. Thats about 500 yards back. I'll start there." She grinned at Stewart and rode down the fence line.
Willie got to the straight section of fence and tied off Hank, swatted him away from her shoulder as he was going in for a nice juicy bite and untied the post hole digger. She was just headed towards the crooked post when Stewart went flying by on his pretty little chestnut mare. Poor horse would be winded and sore by the time he got back to the stable the way he was riding her. Willie just shook her head. Some people had no business riding horses.

Willie spent the rest of the day relining the fence posts, digging the post holes and kicking, pushing and pulling the posts loose. She'd gotten to the last of the miss-set posts when she saw Fiddler on the back of a very handsome Arabian stallion. His horse was young and a bit jumpy but beautiful! He still had his gray muzzle and feet but the rest of him was white except for a little dappling on his hind quarters. He was something right out of a fairy tale.
Willie watched Fiddler ride up. Now this was a man who knew how to ride. He handled his mount like a loving parent of an anxious child, and his horse, in return, followed every movement of Fiddler's long lean body like a conductor of a symphony. They were beautiful to watch. Willie found herself leaning on the unset post and watching when Fiddler finally reached her.
"You've been out here a long time. Thought you'd be further then this. Aint this where Stewart left off?" Fiddler was talking to her but staring off into the distance. His way of keeping her in her place, she supposed.
"Had to reset his posts." Willie said half to the ground and half to Fiddler's feet. The sun was directly behind him and it was hard to look at his silhouette. "They were off line."
Fiddler's head snapped around. Willie assumed he was looking at her, but it was hard to tell in the sunset. He rode off down the line and stopped at the first post Willie'd reset. He walked his horse around the area till he found the filled hole she'd emptied when she pulled the post and reset it. Fiddler rode to the next missed place post hole now refilled with soil and then the next and next. He sat on his horse at the last missed place post hole a good 6 yards from where Willie now stood with the post and the new hole and looked down the line. Fiddler pursed his lips and looked down. A quiet but audible string of expletives came drifting away from him. Willie turned her head away and smiled.
Fiddler finally looked up at Willie. "Well, I think you've bout proved yourself out here, young lady."
"Willie, my names Willie." She said directly to him. She didnt look away. She'd earned that much respect and she would have it.
"Willie." Fiddler grinned at her. "Alright Willie. We'll see how you do with the other chores tomorrow." He glanced over at Hank who was sleeping tied to the fence. "I see you have some horse skills. You're riding Hank and you dont seem to be hurt!"
Willie grinned. "Hank isnt so bad. Kind of like a man I used to date. Just keep an eye on him and kick him in the head when he tries to bite."
Fiddler threw his head back and laughed at this.
"Well maybe so, but I think we can do you better." Fiddler grinned at Willie. He was starting to like this lady. She might just be able to hold her own out here. "Come to the stable when you get back and we'll see what we can round up for you."
"Right!" Willie grinned back and began to align the post she'd been leaning against.
Fiddler watched her. "You comin?"
"Right after I finish setting this last post." Willie grunted as she pushed and pulled the post straight and started to pack the dirt around the base.
Fiddler jumped down off the little Arabian and looped his reins around the a pile of posts. He helped Willie set the post and fill it in. They worked well together and finished fast. Then they both mounted up and rode off down the new and straight fence line towards the barn.

Yea Willie!! you go girl!!

[eaglesvet]

Nice Job, Willie!

[ticky]

*G* time for someone new!

Cami had been driving for hours. She'd actually been on the road for days. She was heading east, but to where, she wasn't sure. All she knew was that the rural country side of Southern Oregon just didnt hold anything for her anymore. She was moving east, somewhere and it was her car that had made her decision for her. She'd just past a sign saying EAGLESVILLE 3 MILES when her '93 Honda Civic started bucking and making noises. she drove another 100 yards and it made a huge gasp and rolled to a stop. Steam or smoke was rolling out from under the hood and she didnt think it would be a very good idea to pop the hood and take a look. She picked up a small back pack off the back seat. It was her emergency over night bag. A tooth brush, change of underthings, fresh shirt, a few dollars and some condoms. You never knew what you might need. Cami headed out down the road.
What fantastic timing ,she thought sarcastically. The temperature on the road had to be about 110 degrees and it was mid day. She walked about 200 yards before she started to look for a place to wait out the midday heat. Of course there were no cars coming in either direction, no buildings of any kind in sight, no horses, no cows, no signs of life anywhere. Just the promise of some Po-dunk little burg in the middle of no-where called Eaglesville. She thought maybe it should have been called Vulturesville from the looks of her surroundings, or maybe Deathvalley if she didnt get out of the heat soon.
She scanned the horizon. The Dark Dessert Highway meandered off into the distance without an end in sight. It was tumbleweeds and scrub brush as far as the eye could see in one direction but on the other side of the road and down a ways was a small recessed valley. It was so far below the Highway, Cami hadnt seen it at first glance. It was filled with scrub brush and and scrub oaks. All of it was green and shady. Cami knew this meant two things, water and relief from the heat. She headed off the road to the cool of the small glen. The path that did not exist was rough as she made it. There were two large inclines to traverse and several rocks and small boulders to hop, walk or trip over. Her nikes held up well under the rough terrain but her feet were hot and tired by the time she hit the small twisted scrub oaks that lined the charming rocky stream that flowed beneath them. Her shoes were off and her feet were deep in the water with in minutes of having spotted the perfect sitting rock. Cami sat on the rock and leaned back on her hands. The water felt fantastic, almost like it was healing her whole body as she sat there soaking. She could feel her elevated temperature returning to normal, her sore muscles and bruised feet sooth and heal. Even her bruised ego and torn spirit seemed to heal in the magic waters of this stream. After what seemed like a short time she picked up her shoes and stood in the stream. She took a good long look all around her. The wind was scant there in this hidden valley, but it blew through the tops of the scraggly trees swaying them back and forth. Cami felt herself swaying with the trees as the wind rocked them. She watched them for a while, and thats when she noticed the tower through the branches of one solitary oak that sat up farther on the far bank then the others. This was no scrub oak either. It was a grand and majestic old tree. Its branches leaned way out over the creek bed lending to the shade in the gully. A tower seemed odd to Cami. It wasnt like a castle tower though, it was more like a Heathcliff and Kathy tower that belonged on the moors of England.
She couldnt tell much from her vantage point, so she walked down the creek a few yards till she came to a genlter slope on the creekside. It just happened to be directly below the majestic oak tree, so Cami pulled herself up the slope and stood beneath the century old tree. She looked at it in awe. It was enormous and far too wide around to put your arms. She walked around it and gazed. On one side there were carvings that started high on the trees trunk and worked their way down. They were all the same, well mostly. they were all hearts with initials carved in them. The only thing that changed were the initials! Cami gingerly touched the lowest carving which was still far above her head. She couldnt make out the initials except for the distinct "F" that seemed to be inside each heart, all the other initials varied. Finally Cami turned her attention to the old run down mansion that sat on the grounds behind the big tree. It had once been a show place. It was grand. It had enormous circular tiered verandas and large bay windows, now without their glass. Large broken cement pots flanked what had once been the doorways onto the balcony's that now hung by a hope and a prayer from the back of the once magnificent structure, and over all two towers loomed. Both looking worse for the wear of the passing years and both about to fall. Cami desperately wanted to see inside the old place, but it was just not safe. She walked around the outside taking it all in, making a mental movie to recall another day. This place was amazing. Alfred Hitchcock would have loved it! Maybe he did! Cami laughed and shook her head. She was in the middle of no-where, The Twilight Zone! Alfred Hitchcock probably never heard of Eaglesbuge or Vulturesville or whatever this place was called. The Sun was starting to go down behind the trees. Down in the little gultch it would get dark fast and getting back out in the dark would be next to impossible. She scuttled down the banks and across the creek to her satchel. She scooped it up and hurried up the other side of the gultch to the heat infested dessert. UGH! the temperature had to be a good 40 degrees hotter in this last 3 yards! She began to think about the old house. Why had the heat there been so temperate? This had her wondering a lot about the things she'd seen. She walked slowly looking down as she made her way back to her car. Thats why she didnt see him leaning against her car grinning at her.

OOOO who could he be?? *G*

[TimothyBFan]

I will own this d*mn ranch before it's all over!!!:whip:

[Prettymaid]

Willie, don't you be stealin' my Fiddler! :fight:

[ticky]

wink wink, nudge nudge


Cami looked up at the silhouette in the sunset and walked slowly to the edge of the incline. He squatted down and reached out his hand to her. She hesitated. She had no idea who this man was and she'd heard stories about stranded women and strangers. When Cami just stood looking up at him, he dropped his hand.
"Is this your car?" the shadow asked.
"Yeah," she wasnt offing any unsolicited information till she knew who this guy was.
"I drove by earlier and saw it here. I kind of figured who ever was driving it must be down by the creek. Thats where I'd be on a hot nasty day like this."
"Uh huh." Cami kept her eyes on him.
He looked down at his boots for a moment and then back up at Cami.
"I'm Jessie by the way." and he held out his hand for her to shake. She looked warily up at him and held out her hand .
"Cami." She still wasnt smiling
"Cami, it's very nice to meet you." Cami knew that if she'd been able to see him, he'd be smiling, just from the sound of his voice.
He clasped her hand firmly and shook it gently. He had strong hands that were warm and dry.
"Now before I let go, do you want a hand up?' Jessie voice was warm and courteous. Cami's leg were tired from hurrying up the other two embankments. She thought she really could use a hand or she might end up falling on her face.
"sure." Cami grasped Jessie's hand more firmly and he pulled as she stepped up and up. Soon she was standing on the side of the road with Jessie still holding her hand. She paused for a moment to take in the young man who'd come to her rescue. He was beautiful. His long legs were jeans clad, he was wearing a black t-shirt that must have been at least two sizes too small but seemed to fit him as if it were painted on. He was all ripples and bumps and all in the right places His neck was long and his chin was square with a small cleft and covered with a days worth of stubble. Cami figured this was one of those guys who wore stubble as a fashion statement. For him it worked. His smile showed white straight teeth like that of a movie star but Cami was pretty sure they were from years of a good farm boy diet and a Momma who was diligent about her little boys dental hygiene. His eye, wow, were dark blue, like the Mediterranean ocean and his hair was dark brown like rich chocolate. It hung down across his forehead and was obviously in need of a cut because it kept falling in his eyes and hung down over his t-shirt collar. It was beautiful. Cami felt an obsessive need to run her fingers through over and over and over.
"H..h..h.hi." She said then she shook her head and realized she was still holding this man's hand and dropped it quickly. "Oh, and thanks."
Jessie grinned at her. She was pretty! She had long dark reddish brown hair and dark eyes. Her olive complexion gave her an exotic look.
"Oh that was no problem. All a part of the service."
"service?" Cami's mind was obviously in a very different place around this devastatingly handsome man. She just kept thinking of all the services she had for him to do. She nearly smiled, but thought maybe she should keep those thoughts to herself for the mean time.
Jessie turned around and looked back behind Cami's dead car to a large red tow truck parked directly behind her back to back, bumper to bumper. He waved his hand towards the truck and glanced back at Cami, a cross ways smile cracked his chiseled cheeks.
"Jessie's tow service. Thats me, Im Jessie."
"Well Jessie," Cami was going to take charge,. This guy was great looking, but he was probably ten years younger then she was. She didnt have the time of the patients to play kid's games. "Im pretty sure there is a town just up the road. A sign back there said Eagles gultch or Vulture City or something like that."
Jessie laughed. It was like music, deep and chesty. It made Cami's knees a little weak.
"That'd be Eaglesville. Thats where I'm from, well, kind of. Thats where I was from but Im coming home I guess you'd call it." Jessie's eyes rolled and he turned and walked towards the back of the car. Cami was taken a little by surprise and followed quickly making up for her pause to take in the implications of his home-coming.
"Lets get you hooked up" Jessie went right to work and in a few moments had Cami's car's back end dangling from the tow truck. It looked terribly undignified and she felt for the poor car's humiliation. It reminded her of a visit to her gynecologist's office. She patted her car's fender.
"I know how you feel" she said quietly to the car. Jessie must have heard her because his magical laugh came floating across her ears again. She glanced back at him. He was standing by the passenger door to his truck with one hand on his hip watching her. A tell-tale grin on his face. He had heard her. She blushed.
"The Truck's not a luxury vehicle, but it will get us to the garage and it does have air conditioning." He smiled at her. She wasnt sure if it was the idea of air conditioning or his smile that made her feet move without her consent, but suddenly she was at his side. Being somewhat confused at how she'd gotten there, she looked down at her feet and cursed them silently for being so easy.
"Shall we?" Jessie held the door open for her and offered his hand for her for ballast to get in the truck. It was a good couple of steps off the ground. Maybe it was all the climbing she'd already done that day or maybe it was the heat but her knee buckled and she fell back. Jessie caught her in both arms and swung her around in a circle.
"WHOA!" he steadied himself agaist the truck still holding her like a babe in arms. "You okay?" He was genuinely concerned. It had been a scary fall and she'd just been lucky he'd been there to catch her. Her arms clutched around his neck tightly. He was strong! and warm and felt very safe and good. She breathed deeply and waited to answer till she could speak.
"Yeah, I think so, but maybe we should get out of here. I could use a drink." Jessie grinned at her.
"You got it!" He carried her back to the door of the truck and lifted her inside. She hated to let go of him, but she felt safe inside the truck when she finally did have to let go. He shut her door and scuttled around to the other side of the truck to get in the driver side. Cami took that time to regain some of her composure and fix her hair. She looked in the visor mirror. YIKES! Had something made a nest in it? She tried without success to smooth down the ratty areas and pulled out a twig. OH GREAT! trees are in her hair. How attractive is that?
Jessie got in the drivers side and smiled at her. "Off we go. I think you're going to like Eaglesville, I know they're going to LOVE you!"

Ok.. I'll write more, maybe tonight.. but I need to post this now. *G*

[ticky]

ok, this is going to be short. Im tired and I need sleep *G* but I gotta get to the weirdness!!


Cami stared out the window of the truck. She knew if she turned and looked at Jessie she wouldnt be able to look away, and that could be awkward. She remembered the old house she'd seen on the other side of the creek and she looked at Jessie quickly.
"When I was down by the creek I saw an old house on the other side. Do you know anything about that place?"
Jessie smiled.
"Sure! its the haunted house! Every neighborhood has one. An old run down place that the kids like to dare each other to go in. A make out place for the teenagers. A place to go and drink beer or ... do other things." Jessie blushed and grinned.
Cami had been right. Once she started looking at him, she had a hard time looking away.
"You didnt go inside did you?" Jessie was really concerned.
"Oh no. that place is falling down! besides, there was just something about it. I dont know. It didnt seem to want visitors." Cami's skin crawled at the thought of going in the big old mansion.
"It didnt. Others have said the same thing. It's definitely haunted but by what or who or why, I have no idea. I dont think anyone does." Jessie was paying more attention to his driving. It was nearly dark now and they were turning off the Dark Desert Highway on to a road called Seven Bridges Road. There was a nasty looking diner called The Sad Cafe and a nastier looking motel called The Last Resort. Cami thought they were very aptly named places. Right behind The Sad Cafe was a garage called "The Last Good Tire In Town".
"Cute name." Cami watched the sign swing precariously on the rusty chains that held it up over the front door. There was only one bay, but then how many would a small town like this need? So far she wasnt overly thrilled with Eaglesville. She looked at Jessie. But then again...


OK, bed time...

[TimothyBFan]

"The Last Good Tire In Town" :hilarious::hilarious::hilarious: Ticky---you are so funny!!!

[ticky]

Willie laid on her bed on her back as straight as she could without moving. EVERYTHING hurt and she did mean EVERYTHING! She'd set out determined to prove herself. She'd proven herself alright. She'd proven that it was indeed possible to sprain your entire body. Her hair ached, her toenails ached. She could feel her blood coursing through her veins. It hurt. There was a soft knock on her bedroom door.
"come in" she whispered. It hurt too much to open her mouth too far.
Tim opened the door. He was holding a beautiful orange and yellow striped pumpkin about the size of his head.
"Hey baby! Happy Halloween!" His brows furrowed and his eyes flashed. "you okay? you dont look so good." He set the pumpkin down on her dresser.
Willie smiled. It hurt.
"Im okay, ow.. or I will be. I just WAY over did it yesterday. I wanted to prove I could do this job, and I did. Fiddler was really impressed with my work! But now, I cant seem to move." Willie was still wearing what she'd slept in, an old t-shirt and some boxer-type shorts. They werent attractive, but they were comfortable.
Tim watched her and smiled.
"I think I can help. Can you turn over on your stomach?"
Willie cringed at the thought. She tried to sit up and groaned. Tim smiled. She knew he was laughing at her misery but he had such a nice smile, it actually made her feel better. He walked to her side and sat next to her on the bed. He leaned down to her and wrapped his arms around her.
"umm.. I love the Idea Timmy, but I dont think..."
Tim laughed out loud this time and said "Just work with me here, okay?"
He wrapped her in his arms then he sat up and she came with him.
"OOOFF" Willie groaned.
"now turn over" Tim cued her.
She gently turned on her side cringing and scowling the whole time, till she was on her stomach and she let out a long deep sigh.
Tim began massaging her shoulders. Willie sighed again and groaned but this time out of sheer pleasure. Tim had amazing hands. His fingers were long and strong.
"Its too hard to work over this shirt." Next thing she knew, Willie's t-shirt was on the floor. She wasnt sure how he'd done that but she was still on her tummy sans shirt! He reached for a bottle of lotion on her dresser. Nothing fancy, just regular hand lotion. Tim pour a little into his palm and began working it into her muscles. Willie groaned and melted. He worked her back, neck, shoulders even her arms and legs.
"Hey, James has arranged some fun for tonight. He's called a psychic from Fleetwood to come down. We're going to go take a look at that old house up the creek!"
"Uh huh.." Willie would have agreed to anything at that precise moment.
"Want to go?"
"Uh huh... wait.. what?" Some of what he was saying was sinking in. The pain must be subsiding.
Tim smiled. "You know, that old house up the creek. The one that's falling down. It should be interesting if not fun."
Willie turned her head to look at Tim to see if he was serious.
"Are you nuts? I saw that place coming into town. It's falling down. Somebody's going to get killed!"
Tim shrugged. "I doubt it. We wont go in the towers and besides, James owns it. He wants a closer look. He's been talking about tearing it down for years but no one will take the job. They all say it's haunted. He called this psychic and she chose Halloween. James just thought it'd be a kick so he asked us and a few others to go along!"
Tim was working down her thighs now and Willie's eyes had rolled back into her head. He could have said "Gee Willie, lets drink nuclear waist and dance naked on a mountain top" and she'd have agreed.
"okay..." she mumbled and he worked down her calves.
"great.." Tim's voice had grown deep and husky. Willie's eyes opened wide. She knew that sound. He'd moved up to her lower back and was moving his hands up her sides. She felt his hair brush her back then his lips on her spine.
"So, are you feeling better?" She could feel the hot breath and his lips moving on her skin. She gulped.
"Yeah, much" She was grinning so wide her cheeks hurt.
""good.." Tim stood up and locked the door.


Sheriff Soda had finished talking to Fiddler. He wasnt too concerned about Stewart. Stewart was very good at what he did, but he was a screw up! They had been thinking about letting him go, but that would have to wait till Frank got back from his honeymoon. The Sheriff knew Fiddler could hold his own so she didnt pursue the matter further. She was walking back up to the Ranch house when James met her half way. She saw him coming and started grinning like an idiot. How was she going to deal with this? She put her hand to her eyes as if the sun was in them. She could pretend the glare from the sun was making her squint. That may account for the stupid grin she got every time she saw James, or at least it would this time.
James started Jogging towards her. He was so fit. He had an amazing body. Trim and firm and .. she had to stop thinking this way. She shook her head and looked away at the Ranch house. Don was sitting on one of the rocking chairs looking better if not healthy.
She nodded towards the porch as James came up to her. "Jessica's magic voodoo?"
James smiled. He'd been on the receiving end of that voodoo a few times and Soda knew it.
"Yeah, its pretty potent stuff."
"I know! I've seen it in action." Now she smiled and looked right at his face.
He grinned and blushed. "So you have. Listen I've made some pretty exciting plans for tonight. You know that Psychic out of Fleetwood?"
"Stevie? yeah I know her. She's terrific! Some people say she's a witch."
James grinned. "Well, I dont know about that, but she's going to come over tonight and take a look at the Old Hotel up the river."
"Hotel? OH the old mansion! That place is falling apart! Will that be safe?" the Sheriff wrinkled her brow.
"Yeah, it'll be fine. We wont go near the towers and I need her to tell me if there's anything to the whole haunted thing. I'm thinking about having it torn down but I cant get anyone out there to do the job. They're all afraid of it." James chuckled at this idea. Grown men being afraid of a haunted house was ridiculous, let alone construction guys. He shook his head.
The Sheriff smiled. She loved the idea of being in that old place on Halloween night with a psychic and mostly, with James.
"So who's going?"
James grinned. He had her. She wanted to go. "Well, me, and you, if you'll go. Tim's asking Willie now and my little brother's in town! He'll be there and, knowing him, he'll have a date. Probably Don and Jesssica, if Don's up to it. Almanzo and Danielle and I'll see if Fiddler wants to go. Maybe he'll ask Cathy. I think he's smitten." They both smiled at that. Fiddler had been such a tough guy all his life, it was nice to see him soften a little. He was a good man, and Cathy was a sweet, funny, pretty lady. They'd make a great couple.
"Count me in then!" The Sheriff grinned. It did sound like fun. "I need to go have a talk with that new guy at the inn. He's up to some no good. I need to find out what." She smiled at him. "Ill see you tonight then?"
James scowled as she started to walk away. He glanced away, then back at her retreating form.
"Nancy?" He said after her. He walked purposefully up to her quietly talking to himself' "..waisted too much time already.."
She turned to look at him. He grabbed her by the shoulders and kissed her, softly at first then deeper, wrapping her in his embrace. She was stunned. Her eyes flew open and she just stood there with her ams sticking out from under his. Then she melted. His lips were so warm and soft and gentle, and they seemed to know exactly what to do. She pulled her arms loose and slipped them over his shoulders and around his neck. She returned his kisses. They stood locked in this passion for an unknown length of time. He was right. They had waisted way too much time already. This was right. This was supposed to be.

[TimothyBFan]

Ok-:shock:Now I need a cold shower in the middle of the day--WOW:drool:- Tim's hair touching my back, ... but really-"Tim's voice had grown deep and husky"? I doubt it!! :hilarious:

[Troubadour]

LOL Willie!

Ticky, I am blown away, yet again! This last add was fantastic. Love the whole Halloween vibe. And Willie & Soda are very lucky girls ;)

[ticky]

This is Halloween, you never know whats going to happen next. *G* Tim's voice could be deep and husky.. maybe he's possessed by Barry White? *G* Im going to be gone this evening and wont be back till later tonight so I'm going to write the rest of the halloween epi in a few.. just gotta get the squirt off to school.


look for more surprises!

[Wildthyme]

Yes, it just keeps getting better and better.. I can't wait for the rest of the Halloween fun!

[TimothyBFan]

Honestly--I was just sitting here giving my niece a bottle thinking about the story, my husband came in from outside and looked at me and said "what are you thinking about that put that grin on your face?" No, I didn't tell him but I bet he wondered why I started blushing! :heybaby:

[ticky]

Cami waited in what she guessed Jessie would call the office of the garage. There was a desk, but there was some dirty, greasy car part, she assumed it was a car part, sitting on it. It didnt matter to much because there were so many papers covering the desk top she couldnt see it anyway. There was a calender from 1968 hanging on the wall. Fortunately it did not bare the typical pin up girl on the top, but it showed an old car of some kind. She really wasnt up on vintage cars. Jessie came in through a back door that lead directly into the garage. Cami had come in the front door from the parking lot where Jessie had dropped her off. HE'd been very much a gentleman about it. He'd stopped the truck, got out, ran to her side and opened her door for her. He'd opened the office door for her as well and offered her a cup of coffee. She'd taken it. She'd been sorry afterwards. It kind of tasted like something he might have drained out of that car part sitting on his desk, but it was wet, and at this point, that was all that mattered. He'd excused himself to go unhook her car and get it up on the rack. Now he was back and his face looked grim.
"How attached are you to that car?" Jessie was watching his hands as he wiped them on a stained rag.
Cami let out a long breath and sat heavily in the chair. This was going to be ugly. She wasnt in love with her car, but it was her mode of transportation which had been, until now, very important.
Jessie watched her, and he softened a little. "well, I CAN fix it, it's just going to take some time." He cocked his head and looked at her.
She had been looking down at the floor and she now looked up at him.
"How long?"
Jessie smiled. He'd heard that question a lot. He figured most mechanics heard it a lot. But people here in Eaglesville seemed to like that question a lot.
"A week, maybe two."
Cami sighed. Two weeks in hicksville USA. This was going to be exciting. She looked at Jesse and smiled. Maybe this wouldnt be so bad after all!
"So, where would I find a room in Eaglesville?" She was hoping that there would be someplace other then the seedy looking inn they'd passed on the way in to town.
Jessie grinned big and happy at her. "That'd be the Last Resort!" Did he get that grin from Tom Cruise? It sure looked like the same grin. That sardonic, way too happy, Im-on-prosac kind of grin. Cami realized he was being sarcastic. She smiled. She could like this guy!
"It sure would! but seriously, isnt there any place else?"
Jessie smiled more casually at her and held his hand out to help her up. "Oh come on, its not that bad. I'll go over with you and make sure you get a good room." He put a friendly arm around her shoulders and gave her a reassuring squeeze. Hey! anything that got his arms around her was okay with her.
Thet walked acoss the parkinglot towards The Last Resort, Jessie keeping his arm around her shoulders.
"So, since you're going to be in town for a while, and my brothers have planned a little halloween fun for tonight, maybe you'd like to go with me?"
Cami's mind reeled at what "a little halloween fun" might include out here in the boondocks.
"Uh, just what exactly is planned?" She looked sideways at him. She wasnt interested in apple bobbing or cow tipping. Maybe in a hay ride. She grinned to herself.
"remember that old house you saw across the creek?"
Cami stopped in her tracks and stared open eyed at him. "Are you kidding? You arent going there are you? What are you? a bunch of teenagers?"
Jessie laughed and squeezed her shoulders again.
"It's okay, My brother owns the place and we're not going anywhere near the towers. They're the most dangerous part and James, my oldest brother, invited a psychic from the next town! Everybody says she's a witch!"
Jessie was so excited. Cami smiled to herself. How could she disappoint him. He was like a kid. He WAS a kid. She had to keep reminding herself of that.
"Well, sure, what the heck. I'll go." Jessie was so excited he hugged her and kissed her on the cheek. Maybe this would be even better then she expected! Hay rides be damned!


more coming.. I need a latte.. (this is like a marathon..) and dont even ASK about my *%$#^* cat... he's outside now. (grumble grumble)

[ticky]

Ok.. here.. we.. go...

They all met in front of the old mansion at dusk. The road there had been a long dusty dirt road that followed the creek from town then veered off to the north away from the creek. Suddenly there was a path to the west. They turned sharply and went under a rot-iron gate that arched above the path. It said "H..e...f..n.."
"whats that stand for?" Cami turned and asked Jessie. His truck was relatively comfortable on this bumpy road. Her little car would have felt like mid-evil torture.
"no idea." Jessie said. It's been there so many year. I guess there were more letters when James was younger, but kids have taken 'em or just knocked 'em down for kicks. I think I remember an "a" and maybe an "l" a long time ago."
They drove down the long drive till they reached the front of the house.
It was huge! There was a long veranda that spanned the entire front of the building with a circular entry lined by four shallow steps. The wood on the front porch was splintered and warped but looked fairly solid. Cami noticed the others were already there. Jessie parked and jumped out. He ran around to her side of the truck and opened the door. She was going to have to talk to him about that. It made her feel like an old lady when he did that, Of course it was kind of sweet, in a farm boy kind of way.
James stood in front of the steps with his arm securely around Sheriff Soda. Well! thought Jessie, this was new. About damn time! He grinned at his big brother who blushed and narrowed his eyes at him.
"Shut up squirt." James grinned back at his baby brother, and pulled Nancy closer.
Jesse took Cami's hand and lead her up to the small group.
"Where's Frank? or Glenn?"
Tim stepped forward. "Hey Jess! good to see you, man!" they high-fived each other.
"Give me a break" Cami thought to herself and rolled her eyes.
"Frank ran off to Vegas with Lisa to get hitched!" Tim was grinning like the cat that ate the canary.
"No Kidding!" Jessie's mouth hung open and his eyes stared at Tim in disbelief.
"Nope, he finally found a pair and used em!" Tim and Jess laughed.
James looked disapprovingly at the two but the corners of his mouth twitched.
"Now, Frank is just fine you two. He's been a hard worker and devoted his life to that Ranch. He deserves a little happiness."
"Oh, that reminds me, Jess, I want you to meet the love of my life, Willie" Tim Wrapped an arm around Willie's shoulders pulling her close to him and kissing her temple. Willie grinned and held out a hand. "It's very nice to meet you Jessie."
Jessie smiled, looked back and forth at the two and shook his head. "It's VERY nice to meet you too Willie. Im glad Tim's found somebody willing to put up with him. Looks like Love's been in the air since I've been gone."


Ok.. I have to go.. but I'll work on this some more at M&D's house.. I will finish this!! it's just growing and GROWING and GROWING!! AHHH!!!!!!!!!

[ticky]

Okay, here's the deal. The last Halloween entry sucked. It was written under high stress (Ie my Mom peering over my shoulder saying "Arent you finished yet?" and Cliffy critiquing) SO.. I started rewriting it. I lost the first rewrite when the electricity here went out. THEN I lost the second rewrite when I.. well I did something dumb. BUT! the third times a charm, heres the first part of the third rewrite. Hope you like it.


Willie smiled to herself. She'd had the same thoughts about Tim.
"It's time. Time moves differently here. I had the same thoughts as you, but after a day or two, I just learned to enjoy what I have."
"Yeah, maybe." Cami was still skeptical. Jessie looked at her and grinned. Her insides melted a little and she sighed. "Yeah, I guess so." She had a smile on her face she hadnt seen for a long time. It felt good to be genuinely happy again. Maybe it was time to let go of her suspicious and hardened shell.
While the four had been talking, a few more cars pulled up the dirt drive. Fiddler and Cathy had joined the group. Fiddler was beaming with Cathy looking beautiful on his arm. Willie smiled at the idea of Cathy going from the over-alls and hip waders to the pretty form fitting spring dress she now wore. Obviously Fiddler was pleased as well. He looked as if he were about to burst with pride!
Don and Jessica had arrived as well and Danielle and Almanzo with them. Evidently old wounds had been healed between the two brothers with Jessica's return. Don still looking a little pale but much improved, Jessica was always stunning. Her dark hair was gently pulled back and her big brown eyes flashed at the dangerous looking house. She looked somewhat trepidations about entering a place that looked as if it might be held up with duct tape and super glue.
"Are we sure this place is safe?" she asked James. James shrugged ands grinned at her.
"I guess we'll find out!"
Danielle's eyes grew huge with fear and concern. Almanzo grinned and hugged her.
"He's just playing, honey. There's no danger."
James laughed. "Hey it's Halloween! Im just kidding. The front interior of the house has been enforced enough to let people enter. Just dont try going up the stairs or in the ballroom. It's at the back of the house. I could not get anyone to enter the damn ballroom! You'd think a bunch of grown construction workers ,fer cripes sake, wouldnt be so scared of an old house!" James was obviously frustrated by the entire process.
Fiddler looked down and away from James when he'd said this. He'd tried to get a few of the men from the ranch out here to help James reenforce the building, but they'd all chickened out. Fiddler had been ashamed and had offered to come out himself and do the job. James had told him no, it was too much for one or even two men. Still Fiddler felt as if he'd let James down. James smiled at Fiddler.
"I know at least one man who isnt afraid of ghosts." James grinned. Fiddler colored a little but the corners of his mouth turned up. "Thanks again for your help, Fiddler"
"No problem James, but are we going to go in this place? Or just sit out here and talk?"
"We're waiting for our psychic!" James raised his eye brows. He looked at his watch and furrowed his brow. The sun had set and it was getting very dark out in front of the old, broken down building.
"Anybody got a flashlight?" Tim asked in general.
"yeah I have a couple in the truck" Jessie jogged back to the tow truck to grab the two high powered flash lights he kept for night tows.
"I have several in the back of my truck too. Fiddler, would you mind grabbing those?"
Fiddler ran back to Jame's truck and pulled out a khaki colored pack and ran it back to James.
James and Jessie handed out the flashlights. There were enough for each couple to have one with one extra.
"Stevie will be here soon. She'll need a flashlight for herself." James was thinking out loud.
"Do you really think we'll find anything out here tonight, James?" Almanzo, as the rest, was skeptical about this whole process, but it being Halloween, this sounded like a lot more fun then candy.
"I dont know, Almanzo. All I know is I have been through every construction crew, demolition crew and general handyman in the area and none of them will touch this place. I've had a few come out and one was actually able to reenforce the front interior, like I said, but they all backed out of the distruction or the possibility of restoring the old place. Something needs to be done. This was the only thing I could think of."
"On Halloween night?" Jessie grinned playfully at James who smirked back.
"THAT, was her idea."
"Who's idea?" Nancy asked James.
"Mine." The response had come from behind the crowd who had had their wrapt attention on James and the front of the house. They all turned as if on cue to look at the tall, wild looking blond woman who stood behind them.
She stood there with her long legs, black jeans, high heels black boots and a billowing white mens shirt over a tight form fitting white tank top. Her hair was wild and moving independently in the small breeze. The flash lights that had swung around to shine on her probably should have blinded her, but she was wearing dark sunglasses. Weird, thought Cami. She walked confidently up to the steps of the old house.


Remember,.. more is coming...

[sodascouts]

Watch out, it's Stevie the psychic witch!

http://www.buckinghamnicks.net/sn/images/SNicksSOTM02.jpg

[ticky]

OK, here's a little more..Im still working here *G*

"Those boots aren't very practical for here." Willie commented more over concern for her tripping and breaking her neck then cattiness.
She stopped and looked at Willie then down at her boots and shrugged. "Yeah, I know but they make my legs look great, right?" She smiled.
"Right.." James was looking at her legs. Nancy elbowed his ribs. James oofed. "Sorry" He grinned apologetically at Nancy who was giving him the stink eye.
The wild looking woman grinned at both of them and held out here hand to James.
"I'm Stevie, we talked on the phone? You're James, right?"
James colored a little and furrowed his brow. "Uh, yeah, but how..."
Stevie sighed and removed her glasses. She folded then and slipped them into the breast pocket of the large white shirt.
"look, you called me because I'm a psychic. If you try and remember that, we can make this happen a lot quicker. I know shit. Thats it. Deal."
"deal?" Willie mouthed at Tim. Tim shrugged back.
"Uh, can I ask you, Why Halloween night?" Willie wasn't sure how she felt about this odd woman. She liked her directness but she seemed a little too cocky and kind of obnoxious to her.
Stevie grinned. "For effect!" she laughed a little to herself. "No, really its the time when the psychic energies are strongest."
Jessie snickered. James shot him a warning look. Stevie looked at him.
"I know, it sounds all Woowoo and hocus pokus but really its true. It doesn't have anything to do with the date really. It's just the mind set of all the people around us. Everybody is open to the idea of ghosts and weird stuff, so their psychic energy is more open. Otherwise, its not them," she pointed her thumb over her shoulder towards the house. "its you." and she pointed one long red fingernail at Jessie. She grinned and walked towards the house.
The warning glare from James was enough to remind Jessie that he was supposed to behave himself.
Stevie stopped on the top stair. "Whoa.."
"What?" James was right next to her.
"it's just... strong.." Stevie looked at James. She furrowed her brow.
"Are you... you're the owner right?"
"Yeah, It came with a real estate purchase a few years back. I haven't been able to do anything with the property since then." James grimaced.
Stevie laughed. "Yeah, I don't doubt that. There are people living here. Dead people, yeah, but still.."
She looked closely at James for a moment. "You'll be fine, you're the legal owner."
James grinned. "..and the ghosts know that?"
Stevie rolled her eyes. "They WERE people. They knew the law and they'll understand it and respect it."
James looked a little confused. "but how will they know I'm the owner."
Stevie looked a little annoyed at all the interruptions but she was used to having to explain all this stuff.
"The best I can tell you is that when you own something, it becomes a part of your consciousness and that relates to your psychic energies."
James looked skeptical
"yeah, I know I know, but thats how it goes. You'll see" Stevie started towards the door and stopped again. She cocked her head like a dog listening to a distant whistle. She looked around and her eyes fell on Cami.
"and you." she paused. She looked at Cami, but her mind was a long ways away. "water.." she said. "why do I feel water. It's important water. Where you in water today?" She looked right at Cami.
"Uh... I took a shower this morn... OH wait.. I was! I went in the creek! When my car broke down I walked down to the creek and soaked my feet."
"Here?" Stevie pointed to the ground and raised her eye brows.
Cami grinned. "Well, no, in the creek behind the house."
"But on the house grounds?" Stevie was very serious. Cami started to worry.
"Yeah, I guess so. I walked up the creek to the big oak tree out back and walked up the back yard to look at the house."
Stevie nodded. "Okay, that explains it. I keep hearing water and 'its in her, its in her' don't worry about it too much. But you'll be fine here." She paused and looked around at the rest of the group. "I cant promise the rest of you that. This place is like a psychic torrent. There are either a lot of energies in there, or a few really strong ones. Either way, it's going to get messy."
No one backed away.
"Okay then, lets do this."Stevie slipped her glasses on and started forward.
"Um Stevie? may I ask you a question?" Nancy had positioned herself between the psychic and her man. The whole boots thing had her rattled.
Stevie let out a deep sigh. "What?"
"Well, I just wanted to know, what's with the glasses."
Stevie removed them and stared at them like she hadn't noticed them before.
"Oh, well, for me anyway, psychic energy can be like really bright sunlight. It gives me a headache unless I protect my eyes." Stevie slipped her glasses back on. "Now, any more questions?" She scanned the crowd like a stern teacher disciplining a classroom. "No? so can we move on?"
No one wanted to say anything. A few just nodded their heads.
"Great! " Stevie turned and walked to the door.

[ticky]

The whole group headed up the steps. As the porch creaked and moaned under the added weight, some of them decided to wait till the rest of the group moved on.
Cami stood on the ground below the porch with Jessie at her side. Tim and Willie had chosen to wait with them and bring up the rear.
Stevie stopped at the door and looked around. She motioned James to stand next to her then looked around till she saw Cami. She waved for her to join them on the porch. Cami looked trepidatious. Stevie was emphatic . Cami moved slowly past the others towards the front. Jessie followed her. Stevie held out her hand and stopped him. "you will have to stay back."
"No way, I go where she goes." Stevie stepped closer to Jessie and put her hand on his chest firmly. "Look, Cutie. This is serious. You are not welcome in this house. These two are. You could get me, US killed!. If you want to risk your life going in there, thats your business, but I'm flanking myself with safety here. YOU are not it!" Stevie gave him a gentle but firm shove back. "That goes for all of you. You want to come in, fine. Just stay back!"
Stevie reached for the door handle and stopped. It was large brass handle. It was brilliant and shiny as if it had been lovingly polished every day for the last 40 years. The rest of the house was falling down. The floor boards were buckled and splintered. The door itself was hanging on hinges ready to disintegrate with rust. It was warped and the paint was only a memory. But that door handle looked new.
"Did you replace this?" Stevie pointed at the handle and directed her question at James.
"No. We added some timbers to the entry way and reinforced some of the foundation to make it safe to enter, but we didn't bother to make it secure." James was studying the door handle carefully. "I don't think they even make these anymore. It takes this old skeleton key." James reached into his pocket and brought out an old fashioned skeleton key that shone as brightly as the door handle. "Weird! " James stared at the key. "I never even thought about the way it looked. It was just a key!"
Stevie stared at James. "You never noticed the shiny brass skeleton key before?" She was being facetious. James blushed "Well I, uh,.. no I guess not."
Stevie stared at him. "Uh huh. Well something funky is happening here. I guess we'll find out what."
She reached for the door handle again but pulled her hand away quickly as if she'd been burned.
"OW! .. well I cant open this. You'll have to." She turned again to James.
"Me?"
Stevie rolled her eyes again. "Yeah you. You ARE the owner right? Call it a psychic alarm system. I cant touch it, only the owner can."
James stepped forward and held out the key. It slipped easily into the key hole and the handle clicked and the door swung open. It was very dark inside but Stevie held her hand up to shield her eyes.
"Sheesh, damn, HEY, "she called into the house "Psychic here, could you turn it down a little?" She ducked her head and shielded her eyes, the stood straight and put her hand down. "That's better. THANK YOU!" She walked into the house holding onto James and Cami as if they were life preservers. The rest of the group looked at each other, shrugged and followed.
Stevie walked into the entry way and looked around. "Hmm... not much here. They aren't thrilled with your reinforcements." Stevie was looking at the raw wood beams and slats that had been added to keep the house from falling on them, then she looked at the rest of the group. Keeping a death grip on James and Cami, she pulled them into the dining area.
"OH now this is interesting..." She briefly loosened her grip on her two body guards and took a good look around. She stood very still and closed her eyes "Uh huh... uh huh..... yes... " It was like she was talking on a phone. "There are many of them here..." .
Everyone was very quiet, watching and listening. Stevie opened one eye and looked at James. "Did you hear me?"
James startled. "OH me? yeah.. I heard. How many?"
Stevie closed her eyes again. "um... I don't know, lots. It's like a crowded train station here. They are ignoring you. You're the owner, umm.. kind of like another passenger on the train. They don't care you're here." She turned her head towards Cami. "You they like. They're thrilled you are here." Stevie opened her eyes and looked at Cami. Her brow furrowed. "Have you been here before?"
"Me? no. I've never heard of Eaglesville till my car broke down on the highway. I've only been here for a few hours."
Stevie grinned. "They're good! You are supposed to be here. They say you belong to them."
Cami's jaw dropped and she turned a little white. "What? I.. I'm not.. I've never... What are you talking about?"
Stevie was still smiling. "Really they are brilliant! GOOD ONE!" she shouted into the air. "Did you plan on driving this way when you left where ever you came from?"
"Uh, no.. I just got in the car and drove.."
"and your car, where did it break down?" Stevie was leading Cami's thoughts.
"right out on the highway.." Cami gestured halfheartedly towards the Dark Desert Highway. She was beginning to understand where Stevie was leading with this line and she really did not want to believe it. She shook her head disbelievingly.
"No, no thats not possible. Its all just a coincidence"
Stevie shrugged.
"Believe what you want. But, you're here. They wanted you here. " She closed her eyes again and turned the two who flanked her in circles slowly till she faced a door at the far end of the room James held up his flash light to illuminate the door. It was a swinging entry into what James assumed was the kitchen. Stevie Stopped turning and faced the door. Her brow wrinkled and she cocked her head again. She took an unsure step towards the door then another. They were standing directly in front of the door. The rest of the crowd stood at the entryway to the dining room, afraid to come in. Willie stood by the corner of the archway peeking in. Her arms were curled around herself. It had been in the 80's outside the house, it was probably about 45 degrees inside. She shivered. Tim wrapped his arms around her for warmth and security. Don held Jessica similarly but they stood directly in the archway and watched with interest as Stevie, James and Cami explored the room. Nancy and Jessie were the only two who stood in the room directly but didn't move far from the archway. Danielle and Almanzo manned the other side of the archway. She kept her face buried in his chest as he petted her hair comfortingly. None of the group was able to move further into the room. None of them really wanted to.
Stevie moved very close to the door and turned her head as if she were going to put her ear to the door. She moved very close and listened at the door without touching it.
"Push the door open slightly." She turned her head directing her request at James. He raised his hand slowly and put it on the door. It felt cold and hard, like any old door. He pushed gently. The door opened a crack.



more coming...

[Glennsallnighter]

Good work Ticky!! Sounds like Eaglesville is the type of town you can check out of but never leave!

[Troubadour]

Love it! Can't wait to see what comes next.

Has anyone seen the film U-Turn? I watched it the other day and couldn't help thinking of Eaglesville. Although the latter is MUCH cooler!

[TimothyBFan]

Excuse me Ticky--Where are you? It's been almost 20 hours without an entry here!!! You shouldn't leave us hanging like that-of course you left me in Timothy's arms so I guess I can wait awhile longer...:)

[ticky]

Ok ok ok! cheeeez woman! IM not a machine! heheehe I think I have enough for the next post. Here ya go...



Stevie held up her hand to shield her eyes as if a bright light was bursting from the room. She turned her head towards the others by the arch way.
"You guys get out of here right now! Its not safe!"
Suddenly, it was as if there was explosion that only hit Stevie. It threw her back across the dining room and she landed on her back beneath a set of broken bay windows.
Jessie and James ran to Stevie. Nancy stood frozen in shock by the arch way. Don started towards Stevie "Take the rest out please, Don"
Don gathered Jessica, Almanzo and Danielle and pulled on Nancy's arm.
"NO, Im going to help" Nancy went to Cami and led her stunned away from the door. It had slammed shut, as much as a swinging door could, and hadnt moved since.
Stevie sat up cursing a blue streak.
"WELL THAT WAS TOTALLY UNNECESSARY!" She shouted at the door. "...bastards....slam me against the floor.." she was mumbling as she stood. Don and Jessie were trying to help her but she shook them off. "IM fine... Lets get out of here. Our 'HOSTS' are somewhat LESS then poilte!" she directed her words towards the offending door. Nancy and Cami were already heading for the front entry and Jessie, seeing that Stevie didnt need his help, ran to catch up with Cami.
Stevie was obviously rattled and stocked out the front door mumbling about the abuses thrown upon her by the rude arrogant spirits. James followed her out and locked the door behind him. He wasnt sure it would make any differnce but better safe then sorry. He joined the group who was garthered in front of the house. Every one was safe, but scared. "Lets meet at the cafe. We need to get away from here." Everyone agreed and hopped in to cars and trucks Stevie had headed for her car, an old Volkswagon bug in need of a paintjob, but she was having a hard time with her keys. James and Nancy looked at eachother. James made an apologetic face and shrugged, Nancy rolled her eyes and nodded her head.
"Uh Stevie?, would you like to Join us at the cafe? We really need to talk about what happened tonight."
"Is there coffee at the cafe? I need coffee." Stevie was indeed rattled.
James smiled. "Oh yeah, if there is one thing the cafe has, it's coffee."
"Good." She kept trying to put her key in the door lock, then she'd look at it and switch to a different key.
"Well, maybe you'd like to go with us? In my truck? then after, I'll bring you back here for your car." James was being as gentle and diplomatic as he could.
"Yeah, whatever.." Stevie stocked over to James truck. James looked at Nancy and shrugged. Nancy returned his shrug and turned to Stevie.
"Are you alright?" Nancy's concern was genuine. She may not have been thrilled with James attraction to her, but Stevie was a remarkable lady and had been through a lot in that one night.
Stevie looked at Nancy as if she hadnt realized she had been there. "Yeah, im fine, who are you?" Nancy smiled and held out her hand. "Im Nancy, Im with James."
"Nice to meet you Nancy, Im sorry I cant shake your hand. I need to bathe in warm salt water first. Once you've been charged by negative ions via psychic energies, you have to realine with saline or I could give oyu one HELL of a shock."
Nancy closed her hand and pulled it away. "I see, Im sorry. Did it hurt?"
James Opened the door for them and Stevie slid into the truck.
"Hell Yeah it hurt! I mean if you call 65 volts of electricity coursing through your body and out your head hurting!" Stevie moved gingerly in the truck. She was sore, there was no question. James helped Nancy into the truck giving her hand a squeeze before shutting the door. Nancy sat awkwardly next to Stevie who was holding her ribs as if she'd been punched in the stomach.
"Gonna have a nasty bruise tomorrow. Damn it. I just get healed and.."
James opened the drivers side door and hopped in the truck. It was a cozy fit. "..shoulda drove the Mercury.." James mumbled and they drove down the dirty drive away from the old mansion.


More coming..

[ticky]

Considering the Sad Cafe was closed, it was doing a bang-up business. The parking lot was filled with cars and inside, the booths, tables and counter were filled with patrons. Everyone was quiet. The experience they had just shared had shaken them all. Tim was the first to speak.
"There's no such thing as ghosts, right?" He wasn't speaking to any one in particular. It was more like he was talking allowed to himself.
"Right.." Willie was sitting with him in a booth. Tim was turning a packet of sweet n low around and around in his finger tips.
"So what was that?" He turned and looked at her.
Don shook his head and grinned. "I don't know about the rest of ya'll, but I'm just coming down off a 24 hour binge! As far as I'm concerned, that was a hallucination."
Jessica smiled. "I saw to Don. Are we sharing hallucinations now too?" She raised her eye brows. Don't grinned back at her.
"It couldn't have been a hallucination. I saw it too and I've been sober for years." Almanzo had taken Don's comment seriously, trying to consider all possibilities. "Unless we were all drugged! Maybe there was something in the air!"
Just then Stevie, James and Nancy came in the door. Stevie let out a sarcastic laugh and pulled up her shirt to reveal a large star shaped bruise starting to appear on her abdomen. "Is this a hallucination? You think drugs did this? I don't think so." The group gasped. Jessica jumped up and ran to the back for an ice pack.
Nope, what you've got up there is a whole bunch of psychic entities being held captive, if you will, by one really nasty and down right rude little piss ant. Well not so little." Jessica handed Stevie the ice pack. She placed it carefully on the bruise cringing and gasping a few time.
"Thanks.."
Jessica smiled warmly.
"I'm a nurse, I could look at that if you'd like."
Stevie cringed at the cold ice on her belly.
"nah It's ok, I get this more often then I'd like to admit. Although, this one is a really nasty son of a bi.."
"So how do we get rid of it? Don't the rest of those poor.. uh entities need to be released?" James had interrupted another assault on his ears.
Stevie looked up at James, then over at Cami. "She's the key. I don't know how or why, but they were really happy to see her. Well, most of them were. That's why She's not where I am right now. They protected her, ..and you," Nodding towards James. "Being the owner of the property, you have a free pass, well, for now anyway."
"Wh..what do you mean for now?" James was working hard at keeping his cool, but he was shaken. Nancy took hold of his hand and held it tight. HE took it in both his hands. Obviously both were in need of some comfort and support.
"Well," Stevie eased into a chair by a table in the middle of the room. This had already been a long night and it looked like it might get longer.
Danielle jumped up to make coffee. She was familiar with it now, why not, she figured.
"Ghosts, or entities or whatever you want to call them, were, once, just people like us. Some are good, some not so good and some are just evil." She readjusted her ice pack, cringed and started again. "They new our world, or the world the way it was when they died. Most of these spirits are from about the same era. I'd say somewhere around the 1920s or so. They understand deeds and ownership. Once you own something, you leave an imprint on it psychically and it on you! So James, your ownership of that place is a part of who you are, whether you like it or not. They recognize that and respect that. However, this big guy, he's strong and he's bad! Now I say HE because I don't know, it could as easily been a she. But he or she may not recognize the law or things like titled ownership, just like there are people alive who don't recognize the law or ownership or just don't care."
Danielle came by with coffee cups and fresh coffee for anyone who wanted it. She poured a large steaming cup and placed it before Stevie.
Stevie opened three sugar packets and two creamers and dumped them in her cup. "Oh, I need to wash up." She stood up slowly holding the ice pack to her belly. "Is there a large sink and some salt in the back?"
"Yes, of course, I will show you." Danielle lead Stevie to the back of the cafe.
James let out a deep sigh and leaned heavily against the counter.
"You dont believe all this bull shit do you?" Jessie was watching his big brother. The weight of the world had just landed on his shoulders, like it had many time before.
"Jessie, I don't know what to believe, but I saw that with my own two eyes. I felt her being thrown across the room, and I've seen the bruise. How do you just explain all that away? It'd be one thing if it had been on TV or a show put on for our benefit, but we saw it! We felt it!" Nancy wrapped her arms around James waist. He hugged her to him. All the couples seemed to pull close seeking some comfort away from that growing cold feeling. Even Jessie and Cami found some comfort in holding each other. The amount of time that had passed between them didn't seem to matter as much as the experiences they had shared.

[Troubadour]

Awww! That was fantastic. Lovely last couple of lines :grouphug:

[ticky]

Stevie came out from the back room and surveyed the room full of couples hugging. She sighed and shook her head. "Look, it's not as bad as you think. All you need to do is find out this ones," she pointed to Cami " connection to that old place. Once you find that out, it should be obvious what needs to be done. Do it and it will all go away."
Stevie picked up her coffee mug, drained it and walked to the door. She stared over at James and Nancy who were Holding each other tightly. "I hate to break this all up, but do you think you could give me a ride to my car?"
James kissed Nancy's forehead and whispered, "Ill be right back. You want to wait here? or meet me at the ranch?"
Nancy smiled up at him. "I think I'd better wait here and try and get everyone calmed down a little."
James looked at her with a concerned brow. "You okay?"
Nancy hugged him. "Yeah I'm fine. You go. I'll be here when you get back"
He held her tight for a moment more. Stevie cleared her throat. James kissed Nancy's temple and let go. James and Stevie walked out the door to his truck and pulled out of the drive.
After James and Stevie left, the entire room seemed to turn to Cami. Jessie held on to her as if to protect her from the burning stares.
"I have no idea." Cami was shaking her head. She held on to Jessie. He was her life line here. "I don't know much about my family, but my own life has been down right dull! I was born and lived in the same town all my life! I worked at the college there from the time I was 18 till just a few days ago!"
"Why did you leave?" Almanzo spoke up.
She looked at him. She was frightened. "Look Almanzo, Cami doesn't have to answer to us. She's an victim here as much as any of us."
"No, It's ok Jessie. I don't mind." Cami looked up into his eyes. He searched her face and touched her hair. "You don't have to."
She smiled. "I know." Cami turned to Almanzo, Danielle and all the rest of the group gathered there. "Academia sounds like a wonderful place. If you've been to college and lived on campus, you know what I mean. But if you work there, you'll discover its a cut throat, dog eat dog world. It takes a very competitive person to thrive there. I just got stabbed in the back once too often and I walked out. I got in my car and drove. I don't know what brought me here. Maybe she was right." Jessie put his hands on her shoulders rubbing them gently. Cami leaned back into him and closed her eyes. It felt good to have someone on her side. She hadnt had that for a long time.
Fiddler was the first to stand. He'd been quiet till now. He wasn't the type to believe any of this ghost and gobblin garbage, but there had been no denying what he'd seen. "Look. I don't know what happened tonight, and I don't really see as how it's much of our business. I do know, however," He turned and smiled down at Cathy. "I promised this beautiful lady I'd see her home before too late," He held out his hand and Cathy took it. She stood next to Fiddler and looked at all the others around her. "Good night everyone. It's been an interesting night." Cathy smiled and walked out the door with Fiddler.
"I think they had the right idea. It's late and we're all exhausted. Let's call it a night." Don took Jessica's elbow and led her to the door. Almanzo jumped up. "That's my ride. Good night Jess, Cami, it's been nice to meet you." Danielle trotted over to Cami and gave her a small hug. "I am so glad you are here. Please stay a while." She smiled sweetly and ran after Almanzo.
Nancy looked around the diner.
"Let's get this mess cleaned up a little."
Jessie kept his eyes one Cami. She was'nt looking too strong. He wanted some time to talk to her and let her know she wasnt alone in all this.
"That's okay Sheriff. We can get it." Jessie grinned. "My brother should be back any minute."
Nancy colored a little and smiled. "Right. Okay then, I'll see you two tomorrow. G'night." She walked to the door, looked back at Jessie and Cami, smiled and left.
Jessie and Cami were left alone in the diner. Cami began to collect coffee mugs and walk behind the counter. Jessie followed her and helped clean and put them away.
"I'll walk you to the Last Resort. It's not the Hilton, but it's the best we got, and it's not that bad." Jessie grinned. Cami looked at him skeptically and smiled wanly.
"Look, Cami. Don't put a whole lot of meaning in what they say." Jessie nodded his head towards the door where everyone had departed. "It was a strange night all around and they're just trying to make sense of it all."
"Me too." Cami said quietly. She looked down at her feet and wrapped her arms around her shoulders. She suddenly felt very cold inside. Jessie stepped forward and wrapped her in his arms. she was stunned at first. Her spine tightened and her head pulled back, but he didn't let go. Soon she found her head laying on his shoulder and her arms slipped around his waist. It felt so good to have someone who cared about her. Someone who would comfort her and make her feel human again. She'd been hard and cold too long. As her heart melted, silent tears eased from her eyes and seeped into Jessie's shirt. He lifted her chin and looked into her face. His large, warm strong hands touched her cheek and one calloused thumb wiped away the tears. He smiled softly and pulled her forward. His lips were soft on hers as they brushed by like a breeze. He brushed her lips again and then pressed them gently spreading them and kissing her deeply. She melted in his arms giving in to him. His body molded to hers and they stood pressed together in the empty cafe.



Let's get back to the fun stuff *G*

[Peekaboo]

Well, i've finally gotten all caught up on the Long Story and i gotta say that i'm completely hooked. Ticky, you have quite a talent. I look forward to seeing what you come up with next.

[Troubadour]

Fab add, Ticky!

Off-topic, but Soda, your current av is GORGEOUS.

[ticky]

I dont think you'll have too much to worry about Soda, Stevie may have great legs, but she's a nut case LOL James is much too down to earth for Stevie.
Stevie will be making a come back tho.. I like her character...

[Prettymaid]

Stevie will be making a come back tho.. I like her character...

:applause:

[ticky]

The sun was up the next morning, but just barely. It had been a long and eventful night. Cathy was headed for the barn. The cows were already lowing by the meadow door. Cathy wasn't late, but the cows were sore and impatient. She had her milking clothes on and was headed for the hip waders she kept in the barn. She yawned and stretched as her pace slowed walking towards the barn. She just didn't have the desire to be here today.
"Cathy!" She heard her name shouted and turned around.
There he was, his long lean form in an open flannel shirt, tight fitting white T-shirt and jeans that fit just OH so well, his blond hair flopping about his head as he ran towards her. His smile made his eyes light up and his dimples show. A grin spread across Cathy's face that there was no way of getting rid of. She was hooked. He was beautiful. She walked backwards towards the barn, slowly watching him run to catch up. She could have watched him move like that forever. Soon she found her back against the barn door. He walked up to her. He stood very close.
"I just wanted to thank you for last night. I had a great time." Cathy blushed. She'd had a great time too, but not till they'd left the cafe. Fiddler had taken her home and they'd spent probably more time then was appropriate saying goodnight at her front porch. He'd kissed her goodnight. She'd kissed him back. This had gone on for quite a while. She HAD had a very good time.
"I had a great time too Fiddler. Thanks." She smiled. She couldnt look him in the eye. She'd have attacked him right here in the barn yard. Fiddler leaned a hand over her shoulder against the barn door leaning very close to her and talking very quietly.
"I'd like to spend more time with you Cathy. Do you think we might see each other again soon?"
Finally she looked up into his green eyes. Her face softened and her eyes warmed.
"I'd love to Fiddler," He leaned in close and kissed her softly. His big hands curled around the back of her neck and his kiss deepened. Her hands rested on his chest, then grabbed handfuls of his T-shirt and pulled him into her.
They hadn't heard the truck pull up or the door slam or the foot steps coming closer. But they did hear "Hi Cathy! Fiddler! How's it goin'?"
Both started and broke apart with a jump. Lou was standing there with a huge grin on her face. She was a cute girl, young but not so young as to not know what was what. She'd been keeping her fingers crossed for Fiddler and Cathy and this was like Christmas morning.
"So, what did you guys do last night?" She still had that huge grin plastered on her perky little face.
Cathy colored deeply and Fiddler scowled. "I , uh, I need to go get those cow milked! Or you wont have anything to make that delicious cheese with!" Cathy smiled big at Lou and turned towards the barn. She stopped and reached up to touch Fiddler's face.
"I'll see you tonight?"
Fiddler grinned. "Sure, 8:00?"
Cathy grinned back "kay.. see you then." She gave him a quick kiss on the lips. He was irresistible.
Fiddler watched her go, his eyes glued to her, his smile undisturbable, till she was gone. He turned to look at Lou and scowled. "If you weren't my little sister, I'd pop you in the jaw!" He wrapped an arm around her neck and held her in a head lock as he walked to the ranch house.
"OW OW OW HEY!" finally Fiddler let go and Lou rubbed her neck.
"I am 22 years old Mister and way to old for that." She kicked him playfully in the shins. "So when did THAT happen?" She nodded her head back towards the barn. Fiddler grinned wide again at the though of the beautiful Cathy and the kisses they'd shared in the last 24 hours.
"That's none of your business little girl." Fiddler shook a long finger at her.
"Fine, Ill ask Cathy. She'll tell me everything." Lou was nonchalant. Shrugged her shoulders and headed for the barn.
"Don't you dare!" And he began to run after her. Lou took off running. She could easily outrun him, she always had. Fiddler slowed and stopped and she zipped down to the barn. He knew it was useless. She was right. She and Cathy had always been close and Cathy would tell her everything. He laughed and shook his head. Why fight it. He headed back to the ranch house. He had important ranch business to discuss with James.

[Prettymaid]

:yay::inlove::blush: Finally! And Lou, I'm glad it turned out that you're Fiddler's sister. I've seen your picture...you're beautiful...you could have stolen him away from me! But I have a feeling the nearby toxic waste dump is going to produce yet another Don lookalike...

[ticky]

As Lou entered the barn, Cathy shouted "Shut the doors will ya? I'm lettin the girls in!" Lou quickly shut and barred the big doors then hopped up on the nearest stall gate and perched like a rooster. Cathy, seeing Lou was out of harms way opened the field doors and the cattle were waiting like rich ladies for a Bergdorf Goodman shoe sale. Lou smiled at the thought. She'd love to try on a pair of those Menolo's. Of course she didn't have anywhere to wear them or anyone to wear them for. They wouldn't be practical for the cheese making room. Well, maybe someday. She leaned her head on her hand as she watched Cathy direct the cows into the stalls, 3 or 4 per stall with plenty of hay and a little oats. They were well contented cows and they gave good fresh milk rich in fats. That's why Lou loved the milk from this ranch. It made the richest, creamiest cheese. Lou's cheeses were the best. She had won awards locally for her Brie's and Blue's. She was always experimenting with something new. Once all the girls were in their stalls and munching on hay and oats, they quieted a little. They were a noisy bunch! Cathy always took the noisiest one first. She may miss out on some of the hay and oats, but she'd be the first to relieve her aching utters. Cathy was amazing with the cows. She had them tied and ready to milk within a minute. She would talk to them and they seemed to understand her. She'd always been uncanny with animals. She just always seemed to know what they were saying to her, like they talked to her and she'd talk back. Cathy got more milk and better quality from the cows then any other farm or ranch within a hundred mile radius and she claimed it was because she told them what to eat. As long as they were happy and healthy, they gave superior milk.
"The girls have been munching on a large patch of clover they found on the low end of the field down by the creek. This milk should be terrific!" Cathy's enthusiasm for her "girls" milk boiled over to Lou. This batch was ear marked for new variety of a creamy Swiss similar to neufatchel that Lou 'd been dying to try.
"Great! If it comes out good, I'll send over a wheel of the cheese!"
Cathy smiled. She'd share it with Fiddler. That and maybe a bottle of Merlot, a cozy fire and large sheep skin rug, perfect.
Lou had been watching Cathy's face carefully. She saw the flush and the accompanying grin.
"So, what exactly is going on between you and my big brother that would cause him to nearly break my neck a few minutes ago?" Lou was loving every second of the torture she was putting these two through. Fiddler had been in love with Cathy for years. She was a good 7 years his junior and his baby sister's best friend, but even back in high school you could see his admiration for the young Cathy. Of course back then it was just creepy in Lou's opinion. She was thrilled for both of them now, but she had to torture them both just a little. It was kind of her job as the little sister/best friend.
Cathy blushed. "We, uh, are dating.."
Lou's eye brows rose. "Dating? really? because I remember back in high school we called that something else."
Cathy, without missing a beat squirted Lou with fresh warm milk straight from the cow. Lou caught it right in the face. She didn't even blink, except to get it out of her eyes. she licked her lips.
"Mm.. that is good, nice and sweet."
Cathy kept milking, but giggled.
"It's in your hair."
Lou wiped away the residue with her denim shirt sleeve.
"That's okay, it's good for your hair. Makes it shiny!"
"yeah and in a few hours under that hot sun you're going to smell like rotten milk! That'll be attractive."
Lou grinned. "I'm not too worried. I'm around cheese al day! How good can I smell?" Both the ladies laughed.
Cathy had been milking, switching out cows and releasing the finished cows to the pasture, whispering in their ears as she went.
"What are you telling them anyway?" Lou watched Cathy whisper in a large heifer's brown soft ear.
"I tell them they're loved and where to find more clover. That's all they really need to hear."
Lou rolled her eyes. "you're weird." She hopped down and wandered to the door.
"Yeah, well maybe, but so are you." Cathy grinned at her friend.
"OH hey, I wanted to ask you. I was thinking about trying my hand at making goat cheese. Any idea where I might find a supplier?"
"Um, I might. There's a new guy who just bought a farm down the road a ways. I think he's got goats. I'll ask Fiddler." At the mention of his name, Cathy grinned and blushed.
Lou watched her friend's peaches and cream complexion go to apple red and the silly grin that covered her whole face making her dimple up all over.
she shook her head. "Sheesh, you got it bad." She grinned back at her friend and left the barn, being sure to close the door behind her.

[Troubadour]

Oh yeah! I make the best cheese in the land! :nod: Love it, ticky.

But Cathy... Now I can think up a million annoying ways of interrupting your romantic encounters. Muah hah hah.

[TimothyBFan]

I am bored so I started reading Ticky's story again. I'm trying to be quiet because the kids are sleeping but I keep cracking up--Just got as far as page 9 and it had me crying because I was laughing so hard about Don's "lion eyes" and his being "riffed" by Stewart. Just too funny. I still think this silly thing needs to somehow be published. I read a lot of trashy romance novels and this is just as good as most of them with a lot of humor thrown in also!

Keep up the good work Rhonda!

[ticky]

Here ya go Willie, some fresh stuff *G*

The reception area in the Last Resort was empty and Shirley didn't see anyone coming in. She walked to the door and peeked around the corner. No one. It was dark and the strange man, Thomas, had come in for the night a few minutes ago. She ached to see what he was doing. The coast outside was clear and he was the only person in the hotel besides her. She turned around and looked back at the desk. She looked around the reception area nonchalantly, she ran a finger over the back of the big, red, velvet chair on the old Persian rug, she walked to the small table next to the chair and straightened the magazines there, She stood straight and stretched and casually glanced up at the mirror. Nothing but her own casual image glancing back. She cocked her mouth and wrinkled her brow. She looked around her again and slowly sat in the big red chair. She was stiff as a board. Something about being there, in that chair just didn't feel right. She slowly sat back and slowly looked up. She saw herself looking like a frightened little girl staring back. She giggled to herself and relaxed a little. What a silly idea it had all been. This was just a chair, that was just a mirror and he was just a man. A sexy man. A man she could see herself with. A dangerous man, and there he was, in the mirror, but in his room. She sat up and stared. It WAS him! She could see him! He was getting undressed again. This time she would not look away. He was perfect. He removed his watch and placed it on the dresser. He took the band out of his pony tale and shook his long hair free. He unbuttoned his shirt and pulled the cuffs over his hands then the sleeves off his shoulders and finally he tossed the shirt onto the bed. His chest was bare and his pants rode low on his narrow hips. His skin was bronze and his body rippled when he moved with tensed muscles. She was absolutely mesmerized and could not look away. He looked up into the mirror that hung over his dresser. She watched him. He paused and watched the mirror and once again Shirley saw his face. The same face that was peering into the mirror in the other room was now peering out of the mirrors that hung over Shirley's head and was staring down at her. She watched intently as he moved to stand directly before the mirror and stared back at her. A smirk crossed his face and he leaned both hands on the dresser top. He moved his face very close to the mirror and smiled directly at her. He moved his finger up to the mirror and traced what must have been the outline of her body in the mirror. She could nearly feel his touch and she gasped. The he mouthed something. She couldn't hear him, but there was no mistaking what he was saying to her. "I want you" His fingers trailed down the length of her body in the mirror. She smiled. This couldn't be real, there was just no way. With that thought, she couldn't resist teasing him. She tossed her head and arched her back causing her T-shirt to ride up, exposing her tight, firm tummy. She curled her legs up beneath her and looked directly into the mirrored ceiling and licked her lips. His eyes had narrowed, his nostrils flared, and his lips parted. He was ready for her. He wanted her. She wanted him too, but since there was no way any of this could be real she just grinned at the mirrors, blew him a kiss and stood up. She walked to the desk grinning at herself and how cool and clever she'd been. His door flew open and he came flying out. With one smooth fast movement he grabbed her swung her against the wall and pinned her with his body. His bare chest pressed her into the wall and he moved his lips brushed hers as her spoke. A smile teased at his lips as he spoke.
"Dont tease little girl, unless you're ready to play the game." while his body was holding tight to the wall, his hands were gentle on her wrists and his lips were warm and soft. He smelled spicy and sweet and the muscles in his chest moved against her as he spoke. She didn't struggle to get away. She didn't want to get away. She looked him directly in the eyes and moved her head so her own lips brushed his.
"I dont play games." There was no hint of humor in her voice.
He kissed her softly at first then deepening. When she thought he would devour her, he pulled away and smiled broadly at her.
"Another time."
He bent his head and brushed his lips along her neck and pulled away. He let go of her wrists and backed away, the smile never fading. The cell phone in his pants pocket played the theme from "A Summers Place" and he picked it up, looked at it and turned back to his room as he said "Yes Papa," into the phone. He walked into his room and shut the door.
Shirley Wanted to collapse but she didn't dare go anywhere near that big red chair. She felt her way back to the desk and perched on the stool behind it. She rested her head on her forearms on the desk.
"Im gonna KILL Glenn."

[TimothyBFan]

Where can I get one of these mirrors?

[ticky]

Eve's cabin was up in the mountains to the east of town about 150 miles. It was very remote and there was no phone service. There was a small lake a short walk from the cabin, but there wasn't a lot of draw there. Frank and Eve spent the first few days in and out of bed. They built fires in the fire place at night and stayed in bed till late in the morning when the sun had warmed the cabin up enough to make it inhabitable. Frank tried his hand at fishing a few times and had actually caught a few. Fresh fish fried with bread crumbs and herbs was a real treat. They took long walks, they made love in the grassy meadow filled with daisies and they talked. Frank opened up. It was like a padlock had been removed from his personality. Now that Eve knew the truth, now that she had accepted him for who he really was, he was free. Eve found that a lot of their conversations were so one sided, all she had to do was nod and smile. Frank's life had been very different from Glenn's. He'd grown up in the city. It'd been rough being a kid in Chicago on the streets. His father had taken off when he was about 12 and he'd been left to fend for his mom, his little sister and himself. He'd done okay. He'd worked for the news paper, first delivering it to houses and apartments, then distributing it to businesses and offices. His big mistake had been trying to find the easy way out. School had never been his thing, too organized and strict. He worked outside the box.
His little sister was NOT going to work the way he did. She was smart. She was pretty. She was going to go to school, then college, then have a great life and marry a lawyer and move to the country. Frank had it all planned out for her. For him though, life had it's own ideas. One day while he was dropping off a load of news papers at a news stand, a man in a suit with a silver chain and a matching pinkie ring walked up to him.
"Hey kid," The man smiled at Frank. He seemed okay but Frank wasn't dumb, he knew you just couldn't trust people in this city.
"yeah?" Frank looked at the man but didn't stop working. Whatever he had to say wasn't worth loosing his job.
"You wanna make some cash?"
Frank paused and looked the man over. He was well dressed, clean and had expensive shoes. He probably had the cash. Frank went back to work.
"For what? How much?"
The man grinned. The kid wasn't dumb.
"Just for droppin off a package at your next stop. You're goin there anyway."
"I'm not drug dealer. No thanks." Frank didn't miss a beat. He'd finished unloading his papers. He was closing the back of the truck and heading for the cab.
"Hold on, hold on there kid. This aint no drugs. It's just a simple letter. That's all, no drugs. Nothin illegal." Frank eyed the man suspiciously.
"Let me see."
The man grinned wide. He had him. This kid was smart and he'd be good at this job. He went to all the right places every day and no one would ever suspect him. He handed Frank an envelope.
"Give this to Ed at your next stop. I'll be waiting at the following stop with $500.00."
Frank knew something wasn't right. $500.00 just for delivering a letter? He knew Ed. Ed wasn't Einstein but he wasn't a bad guy either. And this smooth guy knew his route! They must have been watching him. Still, $500.00 would do a lot of good for his mom and sister. Frank took the letter, looked around and nodded once. He hopped into the truck and pulled away from the curb.
At the next stop a short, round balding man was standing on the curb scratching himself as the city traffic passed by honking and braking and yelling out their windows. Frank pulled to the curb, hopped out of the cab and walked around the back to open the truck. The short round man walked to the back of the truck.
"Hey Frankee!! whatcha got for me today?"
Frank hated being called Frankee, but Ed wasn't worth wasting a lot of time on.
"Just the same ol' same ol', Ed. OH and here." Frank handed Ed the envelope. All the color drained out of Ed's face and his eyes grew wide with fear.
"Oh, I..I didn't know." Ed stammered staring at the envelope.
Frank's brow furrowed and he looked a little confused. Ed didn't look so good. He was starting to sweat.
"Know what, Ed?"
"N..nothing.. sir.." Ed smiled feebly and went around to the news stand and disappeared inside.
Frank shrugged and unloaded the rest of the news papers. He did his job. It would be up to Ed to move them in to the news stand and unpack them.
Frank closed the truck doors and walked back round to the cab, hopped in and drove off to his next stop. Something bad had been in that envelope, something Frank didn't want to know about. He sighed and shook his head and tried to think only about the $500.00 he'd be getting at his next stop. He did try, but he couldn't get Ed's pale sweaty face out of his head. Frank decided to tell swifty at the next stop that he wasn't going to do any more mail deliveries for him..AFTER he got the $500.00. That, at least, would take care of Christmas for Mom and Stephanie. They deserved something nice. Something the whole family could enjoy together.
Swifty was waiting at the next stop sure enough. Frank hopped out of the truck and walked around the back to open it up.
"Ya did good kid." The man was leaning against the side of the truck.
"You were watching me?" Frank worked as he talked with the man.
"Well, not me. I had business here, but my associates were very interested in you. They called me." The man handed Frank another envelope. "This one's for you!" Frank could feel the stack of bills inside. He slipped it into his pocket.
"Thanks, now look. I Don't think I can do any more deliveries for you. That last one, Ed nearly had a heart attack. He's no rocket scientist, but he's not a bad guy."
Swifty laughed and shook his head.
"That's a real shame, kid. See, me and my associates were so happy with your work, we were gonna offer you a full time position. We'd want you to drop off similar envelopes at each of your stops on Delaney Street once a week and occasionally pick up some envelopes too. We'd pay you $1000.00 an envelope."
Frank stopped working and stared at the man. He had eight stops on Delaney. That meant at least $8000.00 a week! and more if he was picking up envelopes as well.
"I, uh, I'll have to think about it."
Of course Frank had thought about it, and the idea of being able to send his sister to college, any college she wanted, pay off his mom's mortgage, get out of debt and maybe get a new car, well it was more then he could turn down. He worked for them for 3 years. He made a fortune and saw three of the news stands on Delaney burned to the ground. His route had expanded to take in three other streets and at the end of three years he had been making $12000,00 a week. It wasn't until he saw a man killed that Frank's conscience got the best of him and he wanted out. He wasn't supposed to see it, he'd been running a little early. He'd got to the fifth stop and Charley, that was Swifty's name, was there. He had a gun to Dave's head inside the news stand. Frank was standing in the doorway too stunned to say anything and when the gun went off, He jumped. Charley turned and saw Frank standing there.
"Oh Frank, this is not good!" Charley was still holding the gun. A dead Dave laid on the floor. "I'm afraid Papa will want to see you. I think maybe you'd better come with us."
Frank started to balk but Charley was still holding the gun. Frank slowly backed out of the news stand with Charley right behind him. Charley stopped at the door and tossed his lit cigarette onto a stack of news papers that had obviously been doused with something because they immediately went up in flames. Charley directed Frank to his truck and told him to get behind the wheel. Charley took the passenger side and told Frank to drive. Frank thought about crashing the truck and trying to run, but he knew that was dumb. They'd find him or worse, they'd find his mom and sister. No, Frank had to see this through one way or another. Charley guided them up in the hills, to a large house, a colonial with a long winding drive that looped around a fountain with grass all around it. Everything was very well maintained. The shrubs, the trees, the grass was all well trimmed and dark healthy green. There were steps leading up to double doors with a huge brass knocker. Frank sat in the drivers seat and stared at the doors. He'd never in his life been so scared. Charley opened the door and hopped out. He walked around the truck and headed for the door but stopped when he realized Frank was not moving. He waved his gun hand at Frank and towards the door.
"Common Frank. He aint gonna bite ya." Charley laughed. Frank opened the door of the truck and slowly got out. He walked up to the front doors with Charley who knocked. A very large man with a crew cut and tan polyester pants answered the door. He had a gun holster around his shoulder and the handle of a large gun protruded from the holster under his arm.
"Wha.. Oh hey Charley." The man's voice sounded like he'd had a six pack a day habit since he was about 6. He grinned at Frank. "Who's your little friend? It looks like he's about to puke." the man chuckled a deep unholy chuckle.
"Suddup Mac. Where's Papa? I need to talk to him. We had a small ..incident today. He'll want to see Frank here."
Mac looked Frank up and down. "Frank huh? Is that like wiener?" Mac chuckled again. Frank was to terrified to say anything or even smile. He just stared straight ahead. When Mac saw that he wasn't going to get a rise out of Frank he turned to Charley. "Papa's in the solarium. He aint gonna be pleased about no incident with Weiner here.' Mac grinned. He thought he was pretty funny. Charley rolled his eyes and pushed past the big man. He beckoned Frank to follow and they walked down a long marble hall to the doors leading into a sun room at the back of the house. Charley held up both hands to Frank and motioned for him to sit on a bench outside the room and stay very quiet. Frank sat and held his breath. Charley nodded, took a deep breath and entered the room. from what Frank could see there were several men gathered around a large wicker chair and table at the far end of the sun room. Frank could hear Charley's voice before the door closed "Papa!, it's good to see you..." the voices became mumbles as the door closed after him.
Frank leaned forward on the bench and placed his head in his hands. He would die here, he was sure of it. He heard raised voices and a lot of movement coming from behind the closed doors. The glass windows flanking the large doors did little for easing his fears as he saw hurried movements and flashes of light on steel. He was pretty sure those were guns being pulled out of holsters. They must be getting ready for him. The action quieted, the voices lowered. Frank waited. It wasn't long, but it felt like hours, they came for him. He stood and slowly walked in the sun room. Plants, trees, ferns and flowers hung from the ceiling and grew from enormous pots all around the room. Light shown in from the glass ceiling and glass walls. it was a veritable jungle all around him. At the far end of the room a set of wicker furniture supported a very large older man in white slacks and a white button down shirt open down to his chest.


More to come, Im just too tried to write any more tonight.

[ticky]

Where can I get one of these mirrors?



The Eaglesville Gift shop. $12.50, batteries not included. :)

[eaglesvet]

The Eaglesville Gift shop. $12.50, batteries not included. :)
Bargain!!!

[eaglesvet]

Ticky, just trying to keep the identities straight, so correct me if I am wrong. Prior to this mountain cabin scene, Eve never was "with" the real Glenn, she had always been "with" the real Frank, right? I'm trying to determine if I am a floozy or not!;)

[ticky]

*G* right, Eve was with Frank who was pretending to be Glenn and Glenn was Frank... umm.. Pretending to be Frank *G*

[Glennsallnighter]

*G* right, Eve was with Frank who was pretending to be Glenn and Glenn was Frank... umm.. Pretending to be Frank *G*


Which means of course I was with the 'real' Glenn :heart: I can live with that!

So where were we........................??

[ticky]

Please forgive the profanity, they're Goodfella's. You cant have Goodfella's without a little profanity.


He was surrounded by 3 men. One was Charley, who was looking nervous and sweaty, the other two, were similar in build to Mac, but they both had more hair and both wore similar gun holsters with similar guns. They flanked the man in the white shirt while Charley stood in front but off to one side of the man.
"Hey Kid, come meet Papa Palmero. Papa, this is Frank, he's a good kid!"
Papa held up one hand effectively silencing Charley. He looked Frank up and down. His face was a blank canvas. Frank could not read any expression. HE was praying that his years of service to this man meant something.
Papa looked Frank directly in the eye and smiled.
"So Frank, relax. We're just here to have a nice little chat. You been working for me for..."
"Three years," Charley chimed in. Papa held up a finger in warning to Charley. Charley shut up and stepped backwards a few feet.
Papa looked at Frank.
"Uh, Three years I think, Sir."
Papa grinned.
"Sir,. isn't that nice.. He shows respect. I like that. You can call me Papa, Frank." Papa's smile faded into a look of concern.
"I like you, Frank. You show me respect, you do a good job, you're a smart boy." Papa rubbed his chin. "But we have a problem. Charley tells me you saw some stuff you shouldn't have. Now I have to make a choice, Frank. I don't like to be put in these positions. See, I could kill you. I don't like killing. It's messy and it's so final. You're a smart kid and I can always use a smart kid. I'm so often surrounded with not so smart people." Papa paused and looked around him at the three men standing at his flanks. None of them flinched or even seemed to hear what Papa was saying. Papa rolled his eyes.
"So that leaves me with only one other choice, I could make you a part of my family. You come work for me and let me be your Papa."
A huge wave of relief flowed over Frank as he realized he may not be about to die. The idea of being in Papa's family was sickening, but much better then the alternative. Frank exhaled. He seemed to have been holding his breath since he walked into this house.
"Yes, of course Sir, I mean Papa."
Papa smiled. "That's a good boy. Now I have a job for you, Frank. It's an easy job, 'cause I like you. Charley will get you all set up." Papa nodded at Charley who nodded back and jogged out of the room and down the long marble hall. Frank watched Charley go as if he was watching his new best friend. Papa stood and walked around the coffee table and put his arm around Frank. They began walking towards the doors to the hall way.
"Now, you do your job. Do good, don't mess it up. You will make me proud. You make Papa proud, you will go far. You fuck it up, well..." Papa had stopped walking Frank towards the door. He reached up and grabbed his face with one large hand pinching his cheeks and chin hard enough to leave a red mark. "don't fuck it up, Frank." Papa opened the door and motioned for Frank to walk ahead. Frank exited the sun room and turned expecting Papa to see him all the way to the door. He was met with a glimpse of Papa's scowl and the door slamming shut. Frank had a feeling that Papa was not proud of him just yet. He turned and headed quickly towards the door.
"Hey, wait a second, kid" Frank turned back to look down the hallway and see Charley hurrying towards him carrying a manila envelope.
"Here, Papa wanted you to have this." Charley handed Frank the envelope. "OH and I almost forgot, here." Charley reached into his jacket and pulled out a snubbed nosed revolver. He picked up Franks hand and placed the gun securely in it. Frank looked down at his hand horrified.
"What the... What is this?"
Charley's eye brows flew up and his eyes widened. He smiled disbelievingly and shook his head.
"It's a gun, stupid."
Franks pursed his lips and narrowed his eyes at Charley. After Papa, Charley wasn't nearly as frightening. "I know that, Why?"
"Why is it a gun?" Charley wasn't the smartest guy Frank knew.
Frank stared blankly at Charley. "Why do I have it?" Frank decided the best way to deal with these guys was to treat them like 4 year olds.
"Everybody's got one. You'll need it. Papa insists."
"What if I don't want it." Frank was holding the offending thing in the palm of his hand, afraid to wrap his fingers around it, afraid to get his finger prints all over it.
"Papa insists." Charley reached over to Franks hand and curled Franks fingers around the gun. Frank seemed to own it now. There would be no turning back after this. Frank held up the envelope.
"What's this?"
Charley grinned at Frank. "You're just full of questions. Well question boy, That is your job!"
Frank furrowed his brow and looked questioningly at Charley. He opened the envelope. There was a Polaroid picture of a man in a hat walking down a familiar looking street and a woman walking with him. She was laughing. There was a slip of paper with an address and a smaller white envelope. Frank looked inside it. There was an inch thick stack of thousand dollar bills. Frank looked up at Charley. The color had drained from Frank's face and his eyes were as big as silver dollars.
"What is this?" Charley peered into the envelope.
"I'd say that's about 2 hundred grand." Charley smiled. "Papa must like you!"
"No, I mean all of this. What is it?"
Charley gestured towards the manila envelope. "That's your mark! Your job! What? You stupid or somethin?"
Frank stared at Charley. This couldn't be happening. He couldn't mean that Frank was afraid he'd meant. "What am I supposed to do, Charley?"
Frank waited to hear, praying to God he wasn't going to hear what he was afraid to hear.
Charley just grinned. He held up his index finger and thumb and pointed them towards Frank. "Bang" He cocked his thumb.
Frank froze in his tracks. Charley grinned. He wrapped his arm around Frank's shoulders just like Papa had. Charley walked Frank to the front door.
"You're a smart kid, I knew that from the very beginning. You'll do the right thing." They'd reached the door and Charley opened it. He motioned for him to walk out the door. Frank half expected Charley to slam the door behind him as Papa had, but Charley followed Frank out and they walked down the steps to the waiting truck, exactly where they had left it what seemed like days ago.
Frank opened the drivers side door and got in. He'd forgotten all about making his deliveries. He'd have some things to explain to his boss. He slid in behind the wheel. Charley closed the door. Frank had almost forgotten about him, almost.
"Do good kid, Don't fuck up." Charley patted the door. Turned around and walked back in to the house.

[ticky]

The Long Story ~ A brief synopses to date with illustrations: Part 1


Ok, Lets take this in order of appearance:
Joe
http://www.tickypages.com/picturebin/joe.jpg
Rhonda and Joe ~ Jilted by her ex-lover and tossed to the curb, Rhonda gets in her car and drives. It breaks down on the dark desert highway. She gets a ride from a friendly trucker, Joe, who trys to get a little too friendly and she hops out at the cross roads. She enters the Sad Cafe where she meets several people. A fight breaks out and she is rescued by Joe who mysteriously appears. He gains her trust and helps her check in to The Last Resort Hotel. While there, they meet a young woman, Lisa who works at The Sad Cafe. She's being jilted over by her lover for another woman. Rhonda and Joe help her escape the new woman's wrath. Rhonda falls for Joe and spends the night with him. In the morning they meet at the sad cafe and find it disshevled and abandon. They're cleaning up when a woman in need appears. She's gotten lost and has been running. Rhonda takes her to her room at the last resort. She cleans up and calls her husband to take her home, but not before she meets and sees some very strange people and things. Rhonda calls Joe at the Sad Cafe and discovers a stranger who seems dangerous is looking for Lisa. Rhonda and Joe go looking for Lisa and find she's gone to Las Vegas to get married. They decide to go find her as the future of the Sad Cafe is in peril.

Frank
http://www.tickypages.com/picturebin/frank.jpg
Glenn/Frank and Eve ~ At the Sad Cafe a smooth sexy man hangs out by the Juke box when Rhonda comes in.He introduces himself as Glenn and offers her a room at The Last Resort, where he is the proprietor. A fight breaks out at the Sad Cafe and he high tails it out the door. Later he is discovered in a room at the Last Resort with Lisa by his Girlfriend Eve. Eve is a brilliant veterinarian. She threatens to castrate him until he seduces her. Lisa, heartbroken again by Glenn, sneaks away. Eve is called to help a wounded man at Bitter Creek Ranch but discovers he's only drunk but he has a rare disorder causing him to have Lion Eyes. Glenn later discovers that a mysterious and dangerous stranger has checked into his motel and he sneaks away to Eve's office. He tells Eve he's not really Glenn. He traded identities with his cousin who is the Real Glenn and his real name is Frank. He's in trouble with this mysterious dangerous stranger and has to leave. Eve tells him about a secret place she owns up in the mountains. They make plans to go there.

Don
http://www.tickypages.com/picturebin/don.jpg
Don and Jessica ~ Don sits stewing at the Sad Cafe. He's been looking for Tim . He believes he has a score to settle with him. He discovers Tim is in the Cafe and Starts a fight. The Sheriff comes in and breaks it up. She tells him to leave. He does. He goes to the Bitter Creek Ranch to wait for Tim. He spends the night waiting out side the ranch house drinking tequila till he's so drunk by morning he can barely Stand. Tim talks him into thinking things through and tells him the woman he loves is looking for him. Don reveals he had Lion Eyes due to a horrible laser light show mishap. Don trips and falls against Tim. A couple of ranch hands walking out of the barn mistake it for an attack. One of them shots at Don but misses. However no one knows that and Don collapses. They call for a doctor but the only one available it the vet. She discovers he's alright but has Lion Eyes. Jessica, the woman Don loves, comes to his aide. She nurses him back to health with an amazing cure for hangovers that has been passed down through her family for decades. Don and Jessica witness some amazing events that take place on halloween at a large supposedly haunted mansion outside of town.


Tim
http://www.tickypages.com/picturebin/tim.jpg
Tim and Willie ~ Tim speaks up in the Sad Cafe to introduce himself to Willie.She's just arrived and has found herself in the Sad Cafe. Tim falls for her almost immeadiately. The Sheriff comes in and wants to fight Tim. Tim sneaks Willie out the back door. Tim's a professional Ax slinger and the Sheriff is looking to make her mark. Tim throws the fight and runs out the back door to find Willie. She's met her new boss and convinced him to give her a chance as a ranch hand even though shes a girl. Lisa, angry and hurt comes storming up to the cafe. She discovers that it wasnt Glenn she had initially fallen in love with, it was Frank. Tim takes Willie to the ranch to settle in. Lisa and Frank fall in love and run away to Las Vegas to get married. Tim and Willie spend the night together. Willie meets her crew boss who is a tough man. She's walking with another ranch hand when she thinks she sees a man get hurt. He's okay. She spends a day working incredibly hard and gets a massage from Tim for her reward. Tim and Willie witness some amazing events that take place on halloween at a large supposedly haunted mansion outside of town.

[eaglesvet]

Thanks for the summary. I only remember agreeing to castrate your politician in Oregon, though. I could never speak those words to Glenn:heart:, even in fiction!

[ticky]

The Long Story ~ A Brief Synopses to Date with illustrations: Part 2


Almanzo
http://www.tickypages.com/picturebin/almanzo.jpg
Almanzo and Danielle~ Almanzo is Don's twin brother. When Don had his accident, he became bitter and jealous and Jessica left him. He turned his affections on Danielle. She turned him down and Don ran away. Almanzo has come looking for Don to reconcile. Almanzo and Danielle attend the events at the haunted mansion.



Glenn
http://www.tickypages.com/picturebin/glenn.jpg
Frank/Glenn and Lisa~ Lisa meets Glenn at the Sad Cafe. He seduces her and tells her he'll take her off to the city, she goes with him to the Last Resort where they are discovered by his girlfriend. Lisa escapes her wrath with the help of Joe and Rhonda. She is hurt and angry. She returns to the Sad Cafe in tears. She meets Glenn's cousin Frank outside the Sad Cafe. He says some beautiful things to her and she realizes the man she'd fallen in love with hadnt been Glenn, but his identical cousin Frank. Frank finally admits his love for her, they run away to be married in Las Vegas. Just before they get married Frank confesses to Lisa that he is not really Frank, but Glenn. He'd traded places with his cousin Frank in order to save his life from some bad people who were trying to kill him. They marry.

Fiddler
http://www.tickypages.com/picturebin/fiddler.jpg
Fiddler and Cathy~ Fiddler is the Ranch boss at Bitter Creek Ranch. Cathy is a milk maid but has the ability to talk to and listen to the cows. (She's a cow whisperer) Because of this inherent ability, the cows produce superior quality milk. Fiddler has had a crush on Cathy for a while. He helps her milk the cows. Cathy likes Fiddler. They both attend the events at the Haunted Mansion and afterwards spend an evening saying goodnight at Cathy's door.

Jessie
http://www.tickypages.com/picturebin/Jessie.jpg
Jessie and Cami~ Cami is driving down the Dark Desert Highway when her car dies. She spends some time in the creek out of the midday heat and discovers the mansion. She investigates a little bit but hurrys back to her car for fear of being caught out there in the dark. She finds Jessie waiting for her. He drives a tow truck and saw her car by the road. He takes her back to his garage and asks her to go to the haunted mansion with him that night for Halloween. She agrees. She discovers that she has a tie to the mansion from being in the creek and from something unknown in her past. She's afraid, Jessie comforts her.

James
http://www.tickypages.com/picturebin/James.jpg
James and Nancy~ James is the older brother of Frank/Glenn and partner in the ranch with his brothers. Nancy is Sheriff Soda. James is the only man who's truly turned her head, ever. James has been absent from Eaglesville for quite a long time. His return has shaken Nancy. James is tired of playing games and when he sees Nancy again decides to give in to his desires. He and Nancy finally spend some romantic encounters together. Nancy investigates the alleged riffing of Don by Stewart and warns Fiddler that Stewart may be gunning for him next. Sheriff Soda is also investigating the mysterious dangerous stranger now staying at the Last Resort. Shirley, who works there, is hiding something about the stranger. What, Sheriff Soda isnt sure. James is considering rebuilding or tearing down the Haunted Mansion on the creek and holds a Halloween night psychic reading there.

Ok, I think thats all the couples for now, not to say thats ALLL of the couples *G* Im sure there will be more

[ticky]

Thanks for the summary. I only remember agreeing to castrate your politician in Oregon, though. I could never speak those words to Glenn:heart:, even in fiction!

*G* EV! you're so speedy! The castration thingy I just drew from your threat with the big hook out of the back of your truck *G* and it think it was a pretty empty threat as Dr. EV is pretty attached to all of Glenn/Frank's parts *G*

[eaglesvet]

LOL! You betcha! ;)
I have to tell you that the first thread I look at to see if there's been a new post is The Long Story. BTW, very HSG photos of Almanzo, Fiddler, and especially Jesse. Somehow in my reading I missed the fact that Fiddler was the spittin' image of Joe...I'm glad you set me straight on that. Does Stewart look like Steuart the guitarist, or is that a figment of my imagination:?: And the stranger in the Erised mirror looks like Timothy, right:?:

[ticky]

Stewart is indeed the same Stewart Smith the guitarist, and Thomas.. well there will be more on Thomas coming soon. *G* but you can pretty much guarantee he and Tim will more then closely resemble each other.*G*

[ticky]

JAMES !!! I forgot James!! you guys gotta keep me honest here *G* jus a sec Soda.. Ill get James and Nancy up *G*

[eaglesvet]

You didn't comment on my comment, "Erised" mirror; you know, from HP. I wasn't sure if that's where you were going with that...

[Peekaboo]

Jessica, the woman Don loves,




Now i like the way that sounds. :inlove:

[ticky]

I think you'll find that later on the mirror and the chair in the lobby of The Last Resort have their very own Karma *G*

[Prettymaid]

Here's another picture of Fiddler (just imagine the guitar is a pitchfork)! And doesn't he clean up nice!

http://www.tickypages.com/JoeWalsh/joeanthem3.jpg

[TimothyBFan]

Tim before he gave up the axe~ Kinda bitter, look at the stern look on the face~
http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e136/williehoo/Timothy%20B%20Schmit/timothybschmit37.jpg

Tim after he gave up the axe~
http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e136/williehoo/Timothy%20B%20Schmit/TimothyBSchmit71-1.jpg

He's free to love Willie now!!! AAHHHH!!!!!

[ticky]

Ok, here's the last of Frank's back story *G*

Frank drove blindly. He was autopilot. He took the truck back to the paper's lot but he couldn't return it yet. He had no idea what to do. He drove to a Dunkin Donuts and sat in the parking lot. Once he was parked and the truck was off, Frank just sat and stared straight ahead. He had to think. He looked down at the manila envelope on the seat next to him. this was like a bad dream. He picked it up and removed the picture. This man he was supposed to... He had to... This man, who was he? Frank looked at the man's face. He tried to convince himself that this was a bad man. Maybe he'd murdered people! Maybe he beat that woman he was walking with. Perhaps she was living in hell because of this man. Frank looked at her. She was laughing and looked very happy and holding his arm. No, he hadn't hurt her. Frank tried to tell himself this man was a killer and that killing him would be a benefit to society. Then he remembered Dave. Dave had never killed anyone. Why had Charley killed Dave? Frank was pretty sure it had more to do with money then anything Dave had ever done. And what about Ed? He'd disappeared shortly after Frank had given him that envelope that day when this had all started. Frank' head fell against the steering wheel. The horn beeped. Frank flew upright and smacked his head against the back of the truck cab. He had to get a grip. He had to return this truck, grab his car and get away. What about Mom? and Stephanie? Frank needed to think clear. His brain was whirling around inside his head like a hamster on a wheel. Frank got out of the truck and trotted into the Dunkin Donuts. He bought a coffee and sat in a booth to think. The coffee helped clear his head and he made some fast decisions. He'd leave the truck here. It was close to the paper's office and they'd find it. They probably already had spotted it and were waiting for Frank to bring it in with an explanation. He could sneak into the employee parking lot and get his car. He'd go home and tell his Mom to pack up and go visit her friend in Virginia. Stephanie was in school at GW and near there. Mom would like that, she could be close to Steph and see her old friend. Frank had been unofficially adopted by his "Mom" when he was about 3. His real mother had died from a heart attack. "Mom" was his babysitter and a neighbor. She took him in temporarily and children's services had just kind of forgotten about him. Mom had raised him and loved him just like her own child. All this meant was that Mom and Stephanie's last names were different from his, they'd be safe. Papa couldn't find them. Frank had kept in touch with his real mothers brother's family. He had cousins out west. One of them was supposed to look a lot like him! He'd go find them. Out in the middle of no where, Papa wouldn't be able to find him.
Frank snuck out the back of the Dunkin Donuts and walked a block up and two blocks over to the back of the employee parking lot of the paper. His car was parked by the exit. He always parked there so he could get out fast and because most everyone else parked towards the front to get closer to the building. No one was likely to scratch his car parked way over here. He'd been pretty cocky about that. He drove a 1966 ford Mustang convertible he'd bought for $300 and restored to showroom condition. It was candy apple red with white tuck-n-roll. He loved that car. It was like waving a red flag. He'd have to get rid of it. He looked at it and tears filled his eyes. He'd tae it to a used car place outside of town. If Charley saw it in a Used car lot here in town, he'd know Frank had flown. Frank drove it home first. Mom was reluctant about leaving Frank alone in town till Frank said he'd be going to visit some of his mothers family out west. The less she knew about his plans the better. Mom thought it was all such a wonderful idea, he had her on the train to Virginia the next morning. Frank left everything and drove. He went to a car lot just north of town and traded his beautiful Mustang for a Toyota pick-up and $2000. He headed west and hadn't stopped till he got to Eaglesville. The rest was history.
Eve laid in bed and stared at Frank. She was processing all this information he'd been feeding her. It was hard to reconcile the Glenn she'd fallen in love with the Frank that now laid beside her. His eyes pleaded with her for understanding and she was trying.
"okay, bare with me Gle.. uhh Frank. I really am trying to understand all of this. It's just so much." Frank's head dropped and his face creased. Eve lifted his chin so he was looking at her.She smiled.
"Hey, it's alright. I love you. That doesn't change no matter what your name is, and I am committed to you. A little trouble isn't going to scare me away."
Tears had filled Frank's eyes. Eve wiped them away and kissed him. He smiled and laughed in relief. Eve brushed his hair from his face and waited till Frank was relaxed.
She grinned at him. "So exactly what is your full name?"
Frank sighed a deep exhausted sigh, fell back on the pillow and closed his eyes. He cringed and covered his face with one hand. "Okay, but I have to give you a little explanation first. I hate my name but my mother, well, she wasn't a scholar. She was a good woman and she had big dreams but she didn't always concern herself with the way the world worked." Frank sighed again and turned to look at Eve. This was hard for him. Eve gave him her full attention being sure to be very serious and understanding.
"Her Grandfather, my Great Grandfather, was from France. He was some kind of Holy man there. A priest or .. Oh, what do you call them? OH a Friar.'
"WAIT.... your Great Grandfather was FRIAR FREY?" Eve's face cracked with a smile, then a grin.
Frank pursed his lips and narrowed his eyes at her. "Yes"
A small giggle escaped her serious exterior. She turned her head and buried it in the pillow and laughed. Eventually she stopped and looked up at Frank.
He was staring stoically at her.
"Oh baby, I'm sorry.. go ahead. I'm listening" Eve wiped her tears away and stifled the rest of her giggles.
"No, go ahead and get it all out. I'll wait." Frank was not amused. Eve sobered up quickly.
"Really, honey. I'm sorry. I'm done." Eve picked up his hand and kissed it.
"Go ahead." She smiled at him.
He looked at her and narrowed his eyes."it gets worse, so try and control yourself."
Eve raised her eye brows at him, but didn't say a word.
Frank sighed. "Okay, so my Great Grandfather fell in love. That was kind of frowned upon with the Holy men in his sect. So he and the woman ran away to America."
Eve nodded as Frank looked at her.
"Go on.." she was waiting for the rest of the story.
Frank sighed again and laid his head back on the pillow and closed his eyes.
"My mother always wanted to return to France. She was kind of obsessed with the idea. So, when I was born..." Frank grabbed a pillow and put it over his head. He mumbled something into the pillow. Eve didn't understand a word of what he'd said. She lifted the edge of the pillow and peeked beneath it.
"What?"
Frank cringed under the pillow and closed his eyes tight. "She named me French." Eve dropped the pillow. She bit her lip so hard it hurt. She was hoping the pain would keep her from laughing. No use.
"So, your name is French Frey?" Eve buried her face in her pillow deep. Frank couldn't hear a sound but her body was wracked with convulsions.
Again, he sighed deeply and laid back down on the bed. He waited for her to come up for air. She didn't so he lifted her shoulder so he could see her face. He didn't want her to suffocate. He was sorry he'd saved her. Her face was red from laughing and she was wracked with laughing. He dropped her. She hit the pillow hard but never stopped laughing. He laid back down on the pillow, put his arm behind his head and waited patiently.
Eve saw how patient he was being and tried very hard to stop. She turned onto her side and put a hand on his chest. HE didn't react to her touch at all.
"Oh baby, I'm so sorry. I know you hate your name and I am so glad you trust me enough to tell me. I'll try to be more thoughtful it's just..." She had been stroking his chest and running a finger around his chin stubble. She pulled herself very close to him and nuzzled his neck. She knew things that he couldn't resist. She stifled her giggles as best she could and nibbled his earlobe.
Frank's granite face cracked a little. Slowly a grin crossed his lips.
I know how to shut you up..." A large grin crossed his face and he rolled over and kissed her hard and deep. Soon all her giggles were replaced with gasps.

[Prettymaid]

French Frey?

And I suppose Fiddler's last name is Ondaroof? :partytime:

[TimothyBFan]

:hilarious::rofl::hilarious: OMG!!

[ticky]

French Frey?

And I suppose Fiddler's last name is Ondaroof? :partytime:

I hadn't thought of that, but I like it! thanks! hehehehe

[eaglesvet]

LOL as I was reading about me LOL!!

[Glennsallnighter]

Th just gets better and better and better!! I loved the synopses, and as for the names........:hilarious::hilarious::hilarious:

[ticky]

Ok, heres a small snippet of info to lead the story a long a little...

Rhonda Yawned and stretched as she emerged from the big black cab of Joe's truck. She woken up a few minutes ago and felt the need to move. Joe was still asleep and she hadn't wanted to wake him. The whole night had been wonderful, perfect and this morning was even better. Now all she needed to make the dream a reality was a cup of good coffee. She could smell it. It was near by. They had found an RV park just outside of Las Vegas last night that was near a small town. They'd need to rent a car, the truck was just too big to maneuver through traffic. They needed to find Lisa and Frank, if they were still here. But first, coffee. Rhonda was a blood hound when it came to fresh brewed coffee, she followed her nose and found a small cafe just outside the park, near the road. She wasn't really dressed for public viewing wearing Joe's T-shirt and some sweats. She was still barefoot but fortunatly had had the presence of mind to grab the twenty dollar bill off the dash board of the truck when she'd emerged. Coffee had been her mission from the begining.
She wandered into the diner barefoot and dressed like a hobo, her hair still a mess. The waitress looked her up and down, nodded towards the counter and said "coffee." She pulled out a mug and the fresh pot behind the counter and filled the mug with the rich black liquid.
Rhonda picked up the mug with both hands like the treasured Holy Grail and sipped long and slow.
"You homeless, honey?" They waitress had been watching her carefully, sizing her up, making assumptions.
Rhonda looked up, a little shocked by this assumption. Then she remembered how she was dressed and laughed. "Oh no,'" she grinned at the waitress. "My boyfriend and I just rolled into the RV park late last night. He was still sleeping and I didn't want to wake him. I smelled your coffee and .. well.. followed. I'm sorry about the way I look. I guess I just didn't even think about it." They waitress laughed
"Don't worry about it. It happens more often then you'd think."
Joe awoke and looked around. Rhonda was gone. Her shoes were on the floor. She couldn't have gone to far. "Rhonda?" he said allowed. There was no answer. He got up and slipped on his jeans. He looked for his T-shirt. It was gone. He pulled a fresh one from a drawer and slipped on his sneakers. He emerged from the truck and stretched and looked around. He didn't see Rhonda, but he smelled the coffee. He smiled. He knew exactly where she was and what she was wearing, barefoot and wearing his T-shirt. He grinned. The cafe was just a short walk outside the RV Park and sure enough, she was sitting at the counter cradling a cup of coffee and laughing with the waitress. He opened the door and the jingle of the bells made her look up. Her face brightened and her smiled widened. He loved her. He smiled back and walked up to her carrying her shoes.
"I think you forgot something." He bent over and kissed her cheek.
"Oh thanks! My feet are freezing!" He gently picked up her foot and slipped her shoe over it. Then the other.
"This the boyfriend, I hope?" The waitress eyed Joe with a broad smile.
Rhonda's goofy grin gave it all away. "Yeah,"
Joe goofy grinned back as the waitress poured him a cup of coffee from the fresh pot too.
She leaned in close as to confide in Joe. "We save the other pot for the customers we don't like." She winked at Joe, who's eye brows raised at the sight of the other pot sitting on top of the coffee maker looking a little like sludge.
"Um, thanks!" Joe sipped from the mug. It was good.
"Joe, baby, this is Stella. She says some high roller came in here last night and said a couple of newly weds hit the jack pot on a big stakes slot machine at the Nugget last night. Evidently they were staying there for their honeymoon. The casino gave them a complimentary token as part of the honeymoon package. The woman, a pretty blond, stuck it in the slot machine just for kicks and they hit it! They won a trip for four to Mexico!" Rhonda was excited and the words were spilling from her mouth. "Joe, they weren't gamblers. They'd never won anything before. They'd come to Vegas to get married! It's got to be them Joe!"
Joe's eyes widened. He smiled. Rhonda was so sure, but thousands of couples came to Las Vegas to get married every year. "We'll go check it out, honey. But don't get your hopes up. It probably wont be that easy."
Rhonda grinned at him. "You'll see. It's them."

[Glennsallnighter]

Yeoow!!!! Mexico here we come!!

[Peekaboo]

FRENCH FREY??? :rofl:

All i could think when i read this was if you were to introduce him to your family. "I'd like you all to meet my husband, French Frey."

[ticky]

Hmm.. odd. I thought I'd posted this, but then it was gone! must have been those mushrooms I did back in college *G* (those shitake's are wild, man)

Here ya go Lou, finally, as promised *G*



The sign by the dirt drive said "Dairy Goats: LaMancha's, Alpines and Saanens".
"Perfect" Lou thought and drove her pick up up the road to a small barn and yard area. The barn, she supposed that's what it was, was falling down. The fence surrounding it looked as if whoever had made it had just used whatever was lying around and the smell, OH cheeeeze, the SMELL! It made Lou's eyes water. There was a lot of braying and naying and baying. Those had to be the goats but she couldn't see them. Lou parked the truck near the barn and got out. She looked around but didn't see anyone. There was a small rusted trailer leaning slightly on one end of the field and some old tires stacked in a loose pile by the side of the barn. Lou walked around the end of the barn. The land sloped here and a fence followed the slope down about 200 yards then took a right angle to the road where it took another right angel and followed the road to the dirt drive she's just drove up. At the corner of this fence, at the bottom of the slope, there was a large crowd of maybe 60 or 70 goats and standing in the middle was a man. He had a wild mop of curly light brown hair and one of those moustaches that reach all the way to his chin. He was wearing overalls and rubber boots and what seemed to be nothing else. He was talking loudly to the goats, but Lou couldn't figure out what it was he was saying. No, not saying, singing! Lou's mouth hung open in surprise and she let out a small laugh. She started to walk down the slope towards the goats and man, but the smell was so overwhelming she stayed back and blinked her eyes a few times to get the tears out. Lou found a small mound near by and stood on top of it and waved her arms and shouted. The man stopped singing and looked up. He saw Lou and waved back and smiled. He had a nice smile. Lou waited by her truck till the man came up from the field. He was filthy and smelled like his goats. He wiped off his hand on his grungy overalls and held it out to Lou.
"Hey, I'm C.J., C.J. Henley" He smiled. He did have a very nice smile and he had the bluest eyes she'd ever seen.
"Hey CJ, I'm Lou, Lou Von Daruf." it was a shame he smelled so bad, he was kind of cute!
"Oh right! I think I talked to your brother, uh, Fiddler right?" He cocked his index finger at her like a gun.
She smiled. Fiddler had been busy. "Yeah, that's him. He works down at Bitter Creek Ranch. Did he mention what I was looking for?"
CJ grinned at her. "Yeah, he said you were a cheese maker and were interested in branching out into goat cheeses?"
Lou smiled. This was a very nice man, although she couldn't stand to be too close
"Yes, exactly." she said trying to take a discrete step backwards.
C.J. laughed. "You'll have to excuse the way I look.. and uh, smell" He cringed a little. "The goats don't seem to mind it and I tend to spend more time with them then any human beings these days." He grinned and all the filth on his face seemed to disappear. He did have an incredible smile. Lou found herself drawn closer just to be pushed back again by ode du goat.
"Why don't I go get cleaned up and then we'll talk business."
Lou looked around. She wasn't exactly sure what he was intending on doing. There were no visible buildings other then the barn. For a moment a sickening feeling that he might pick up the hose and turn it on himself came over her, but she started a bit when she saw CJ walk behind a tree and disappear. Lou gaped at the tree where CJ had been and walked towards it. She noticed a rise directly behind the tree and a small set of steps leading down to a cellar like door. CJ Stood in the door way waiting for her. Lou was shocked to see the door, the steps and him standing there.
CJ Laughed. "Yeah, I know it's kind of weird, but it's home. Come on in, I'll show you around.
Lou began to descend the steps.
"So you live in a hole in the ground?" She was incredulous.
CJ let out a hearty laugh.
"You could say that." He grinned at her. She felt a little weak kneed. "I try to stay as green as possible. You know, live with nature instead of on top of it?. In this case I guess I'm living under it."
Lou looked around the well lit and very cozy living space.
"Well... I'm impressed! It's beautiful!"
"..for a hole in the ground.." CJ grinned at her again. She blushed a little.
"Yeah, sorry." She smiled shyly.
"Nahh, it's okay. You're right! That's exactly what it is. But I never have to worry about heating costs, or cooling and if I want to add on, I just dig!" CJ patted a wall. It was covered with some kind of adobe plaster, but was obviously dug straight out of the ground. You could still see shovel marks! Lou could also see what good all that digging had done for CJ's arms and chest. The muscles in his arms and upper body moved like waves under his bronzed skin which accented the soft dark hair on his chest. At that moment Lou was lucky CJ smelled as bad as his goats. Lou took a deep breath and turned to admire some southwestern art work on the wall and attempted to catch her breath.
"Well, I'll go get cleaned up. OH! can I offer you a drink? I make my own wine and I'd love for you to try it." CJ headed towards the kitchen area. A small room added on to the living area just beside the front door.
Lou looked at her watch, 10am.
"It's a little early for me and wine, but maybe a glass of water?"
CJ Mockingly hit himself in the head with the butt of his hand.
"Of course! I'm sorry." He laughed at himself."I'm up with the dawn and in bed at sunset. To me, this is midday!" He smiled and went to the kitchen. He came out with a large glass of ice water and handed it to Lou. She sipped from the frosty glass. It was the most delicious water she'd ever tried. She took a big drink of it.
"This is wonderful! Is this just tap water?" Lou admired the water in her glass holding it up to the light to see if anything had been added.
CJ grinned. "Yep. It's my tap water anyway. I was luck enough to find a fresh spring just back in those trees. That's probably why there is a wooded area out here in the desert." CJ was obviously very proud of his home and everything he'd done here.
"It's really delicious. You could bottle this and sell it!" Lou was still examining the water and taking large sips of it.
CJ smiled but looked down at his bare feet. "Nah, this place is my sanctuary. The goats are enough."
Lou was beginning to understand this man a little better. He didn't need much to be happy, but he cared deeply about the life around him. It made her heart jump and she smiled at him.
"Oh, I better go get cleaned up. I smell like a goat!" He grinned and jogged into what Lou thought must be the bedroom area. She stared after him for a long while and imagined all this delicious water running in rivulets down his naked body. She shivered involuntarily. "Now, why am I here?" she thought to herself, "Oh yeah, the goats." She grinned to herself, "and maybe a little more."




C.J.
http://www.tickypages.com/picturebin/cj.jpg

[Troubadour]

"You could say that." He grinned at her. She felt a little weak kneed. "I try to stay as green as possible. You know, live with nature instead of on top of it?"

Sigh :heart:

Cathy, you don't have to worry about me interrupting you and Fiddler any more. Goat poo or not, I'm shackin' up with this guy!

[ticky]

Sorry this took so long *G*


CJ emerged from the bedroom area a short 15 minutes later clean and fresh and smelling like rain and fresh cut grass. His hair was still damp and droplets of water clung to his moustache. In short, Lou thought he looked delicious. She stood next to a shelve of books in the living room area, thumbing though an old copy of Walden by Henry David Thoreau.
"This is one of my favorite books." Lou turned to look at him as he came in the room. He had slipped a pair of clean jeans on and an old flannel shirt. The kind of jeans and shirt every man has in the back of his closet. Old and worn and washed till they were thread bare in some very important areas but soft like a baby blanket. Lou thought back to when stone washed jeans were popular, this must have been their true inspiration. The jeans and shirt were so soft looking she longed to touch them. The man inside them looked warm and fresh and just as touchable. Lou knew that if she wanted to escape this 'hole in the ground" with her own dignity and self respect in tact, she'd have to escape soon.
"Thoreau! Yes, he's one of my favorites too. He had the right idea. The whole less is more idea. Here.." C.J. gently lifted the book from Lou's hands. He was standing very close to her. The heat from his body radiated across her neck, and face. She flushed and inhaled deeply, breathing in his moist sweetness.
C.J. opened the book and thumbed to the end. He nodded his head and smiled.
"listen to this. 'I learned this, at least, by my experiment;
that if one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams,
and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined,
he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours.'"
C.J. looked up. Lou had been watching him read. His crystal blue eyes scanned the pages and his lips twitched, hinting at a smile when he crossed over a passage he liked. Lou was lucky she was fairly familiar with Thoreau because she hadn't really been listening to a thing he'd said. She was much too busy with watching a small bead of moisture slip down the side of his face, down his neck, linger a moment at his nape and slowly ease down his bared chest. She couldn't help but feel envious of that little drop of water, wanting to take that same tour herself.
"Uh, yes. One of my favorite passages." Lou smiled at him. She could only hope that all her feelings were not being displayed on her face. C.J. had an odd look on his face, then smiled.
"Do you read a lot?" He was standing very close and she could feel his breath on her face as he spoke. Lou looked up into his eyes.
"Not as much as I'd like to." It was almost a whisper but she had no doubt he could hear her. He slipped an arm around and behind her shoulder and replaced the book on the shelf. Lou froze still. He was poised just over her face. He smiled. "Excuse me." Lou smiled back and stepped to one side. She knew she had to step away from this man or make the next move and she barely knew him. She turned and looked once more at the books. She fingered the bindings as she walked the length of the book case.
"So, are goats a good business?" She'd changed the subject and she was trying to change the mood. He watched her unblinking. A small smirk across his lips.
"They can be." C.J. moved towards the kitchen and busied himself there. Lou exhaled a deep breath. That had been too close.
"what about your goats? Do you make a good living from goats milk?" Lou stayed in the living area and raised her voice slightly.
"Not just from the goats milk. I also sell their fleece and manure." C.J. emerged from the kitchen with a bottle of wine and some fruits, cheeses and crackers on an earthen-ware dish. He placed the wine on a round pedestal table on the other end of the living space. He walked to a cabinet built into the wall and pulled out two long stemmed wine glasses.
"You sell the manure? Who would buy such a thing? I mean we have no shortage of cows around here. Is goat manure better then cow manure?" Lou was teasing and there was a grin in her voice.
C.J. Laughed. "I wouldn't know that. I know goat manure smells much worse. Does that make a difference? I guess every form of refuse has it's price."
He pulled out a chair and motioned for Lou to join him. When she hesitated he smiled innocently. "Please. I know it's early, but we'll think of it as brunch and I really would like you to try my wine. I'm quite proud of it."
Lou smiled. How could she say no to him? He was so sincere and gentle. She walked across the room and sat at the table at his proffered chair. C.J. picked up the lableless bottle and plunged the corkscrew into the cork, twisted and popped it out.
"No label?" Lou looked up inquisitively at him. He smiled back down at her.
"I figured why bother? I know what they are and when they were bottled. If anyone else was going to drink this stuff, I might add a label." He grinned down at her. Did she sense some sort of promise in his face?
"This is a white. I guess you might call it a Chablis, but I used a real mixture of grapes. It's a little too dry around here for Chablis grapes so I improvised. You will have to tell me what you think."
He poured a half of a glass for Lou and sniffed it before he handed it to her. "I always check when I open a new bottle. You never know for sure. I've opened many a bottle of fine vinegar! Makes great salad dressing, not so great to drink." C.J. grinned and poured himself a large glass. "This one smells good."
Lou held the glass up to her nose and inhaled the moist essence hanging above the pale amberish liquid in her glass. It was fresh and tangy with a little sweetness, kind of like fresh mown grass. Kind of like C.J. himself.
Lou sipped the wine. It was almost effervescent, it sparkled on her tongue. It was tangy and sweet and cool and warm all at once. Lou closed her eyes and let the wine slip down her throat. She must have smiled or made some approving sound or something.
"So you like it then?"
She opened her eyes and C.J. was watching her intently. Lou blinked, a little surprised. She'd nearly forgotten where she was.
"OH yes. It's wonderful!"
C.J. grinned and sat at the table. His actions were very animated.
"I think it's the water here. Like I said before, I have to use a real conglomeration of different types of grapes. I grow a few out back, but the soil and the weather isn't too conducive to vineyards here." He was talking quickly and spreading cheese on a cracker. He handed the cracker to Lou. She took it and thanked him. She looked at the cheese on the cracker.
"Is this yours as well?" She touched a finger tip to the cheese and tasted it. She didn't know a lot about wine, but cheese she knew. It was smooth and tangy but had a store bought flavor to it. No, this was that funny cow stuff. The one sold in little triangles in a card board box. C.J. laughed.
"No, I'm afraid my talent ends with the wine. I may raise the goats, but as for their produce, well, I leave that up to much more talented folks like yourself." C.J. grinned sheepishly and looked down at the cheese and crackers. "This is good for cleansing the palate though. take a small bite after you take a drink and the wine will have more flavor with your next sip."
Lou grinned back at him and sipped at her wine again. She closed her eyes. She couldn't help it. There was something about the wine that almost transported her to a dreamlike state.
"Mmmmm... it's almost mystic." She hadn't meant to say that out loud.
C.J. grinned. "That would be a good name for it. Mystic White"
Lou nodded her head and agreed.
The two sat at the table drinking the wine and talking about goats and cheese and wine and other things for a long time. At one point C.J. picked up the bottle of wine and his glass and ushered her to the sofa in the living area. The chairs had become hard and uncomfortable. He continued to fill and refill her glass till the wine bottle was empty. Lou looked at the bottle a little surprised.
"Wow. I had no idea we'd drank that much. I really should go." She began to stand and felt her legs wobble a little.
"whoa there." C.J. stood quickly and helped steady her as she sat heavily back on the sofa.
"Oh my! I guess I'd had more then I realized! I'm feeling a little light headed." She leaned her head on her hands.
"Let me get us some coffee. I think you could use it." C.J. was seemingly unaffected by wine. He jumped up and trotted into the kitchen. Lou listened to the rattle and bang in the kitchen area.
"I have to apologize. I'm used to drinking a lot of wine since I make it. I forget sometimes that others may have a lower tolerance then I do." He reappeared in the kitchen doorway with two steaming mugs and grinned at her."I really didn't mean to get you drunk, and I promise I wont take advantage."
Lou grinned back. "I'm afraid I cant make the same promise." Drinking always made her bolder then she would be normally.
C.J. raised his eye brows at her. She grinned mischievously back.
"You'd better drink this before we both get ourselves into trouble." That familiar smirk was back as he handed her the mug of hot coffee. "Do you take cream or sugar?"
"I think I'd better just take it black." The impact of her previous statement was beginning to sink in and she was blushing furiously. Fortunately she could blame it on the wine. Lou knew she had to sober up quickly or she would definitely do something to embarrass herself. She sipped at the hot steaming brew. She examined the mug. It was very unusual. Earthenware that matched the plate the cheese and crackers had been on. They were hand made, that much was plane to see, reddish brown in hue with a muted blue green stripe outlined with a yellowish gold thin lines. The colors weren't garish although they all contrasted. The effect was beautiful.
"These dishes are really something. Did you get them locally?"
C.J. grinned and looked down at the mug in his own hands. "Yeah, in fact, very locally. Out of my shed in the back yard. I made them."
Lou stared at him and blinked.
"So, besides cheese. Is there anything you cant do?"
C.J. laughed quietly. "Yeah, a lot! I'm not so good at cooking or cleaning."
Lou looked around curiously. The house, at least the living area, was spotless. C.J. noticed her looking around and followed her eyes.
"Oh yeah, it looks great now! I have someone who comes in a couple of times a week. She's amazing! She'll clean the whole place in a few seconds!"
Lou grinned at him. "Must be Shirley."
"Oh! you know her?" C.J. put his coffee mug down on the table and turned towards Lou.
Lou smiled. "Yeah, I know her. All the locals around here kind of know each other."
He looked down. "I used to be a local. My brothers have lived around here nearly their whole lives. I took off when I was pretty young."
Lou sipped her coffee. She'd heard about Don and Almanzo's little brother. His exploits were more legend then truth she was sure, but sitting here looking at him, his face had gone suddenly serious, maybe the stories were true. Some of those stories hadn't been so nice. She suddenly felt a pang of sorrow and regret for this handsome man sitting next to her. Maybe it was the wine, maybe the sadness in his eyes. She reached out and brushed a lock of hair from his forehead. He looked up at her. She smiled at him. He took her hand and pulled her near. He leaned forward and placed a light kiss on her lips. He pulled away a little.
"I'm.. I'm sorry. I don't know what..."
She reached behind his head and pulled him to her. She kissed him a little stronger and longer this time. His arms slipped around her waist and pulled her to him. They were pressed and locked together on the sofa. He pulled his mouth away from hers. His forehead pressed against hers keeping their lips apart.
"I.. this.. the wine and .." He smiled and swallowed hard. His breathing was short and rapid. He took a deep breath, closed his eyes, sat back and looked at her.
"I want to get to know you better. I really like you, Lou and I want more then friendship, but I need to go a little slower, for both of us."
Lou caressed his face and smiled. She knew he was right but everything he said, every thing he did every look he gave her made her want him that much more. She looked at him and nodded. He ran a finger across her lips.
"This isn't going to be easy, going slow I mean." He grinned. She blushed and grinned back. That was exactly what she'd been thinking.
He walked her out to her truck. She was surprised to see it was dark out. It'd still been morning when she'd arrived. She looked at her watch. It was 6:30! She'd spent the last 8 hours with this man drinking wine and talking. The evening air helped clear her head. He opened the door for her and she stood in the open door looking up at him. He cradled her face in his hand and kissed her softly, pausing just long enough for their breath to mingle. He pulled away and cleared his throat.
"I'll call you."
She smiled and traced his lips with her finger tips.
"Yeah, please do." She grinned at him, got in her truck and drove down the long dirt drive as she looked in her rearview mirror. He was watching her truck drive away with that same sideways smirk and he gave her a little wave.
Her mind reeled as she turned onto the road. He was too good to be true, and still there were all those stories about him. Everything was such a contrast. His crystal blue eyes, the wine, the goats... She slammed on her breaks and stared out the windshield. She'd spent 8 hours with the man and had forgotten to talk about the goats and the milk. Lou leaned her head on the steering wheel. This wasn't going to be easy at all.

[Troubadour]

Aaaahhh! :inlove: I think you should do a deal with a doctor's surgery and issue these stories on prescription - it's made me feel a thousand times better!

A special mention to "every form of refuse has its price" - BRILLIANT.

[Glennsallnighter]

Yes! I LOVED that phrase as well!

I just hope Lou being done for DWI isn't on the cards!!

[Prettymaid]

"So you live in a hole in the ground?" She was incredulous.
CJ let out a hearty laugh.
"You could say that." He grinned at her. She felt a little weak kneed. "I try to stay as green as possible. You know, live with nature instead of on top of it?. In this case I guess I'm living under it."
Lou looked around the well lit and very cozy living space.
"Well... I'm impressed! It's beautiful!"
"..for a hole in the ground.." CJ grinned at her again. She blushed a little.
"Yeah, sorry." She smiled shyly.
"Nahh, it's okay. You're right! That's exactly what it is.

:singer: There's a hole in the world tonight!

[Troubadour]

LOL PM, that crossed my mind too!


I just hope Lou being done for DWI isn't on the cards!!

Sshhh, Lisa. Hopefully Sheriff Soda is being kept occupied tonight...

[Glennsallnighter]

LOL PM, that crossed my mind too!



Sshhh, Lisa. Hopefully Sheriff Soda is being kept occupied tonight...

Yep! Hopefully she is!!

[ticky]

La la la.. *G* have fun Cami!! *G*


Cami blinked at the bright sunlight. What day was this anyway? She'd lost complete track of time. She stepped down the two steps from Jessie's trailer behind the garage and into the bright sunlight. It was November, but the sun was already getting hot. She wasn't used to this weather. Oregon would be wet and windy right about now. She turned her face into the sun and soaked up the sunlight. It'd given her a nice healthy glow in the few days she'd been here and she hadn't seen much of it in the last couple of days. She and Jessie had been hold up inside the tiny trailer finding things to occupy themselves. She'd awakened about an hour ago. Jessie had been sound asleep and snoring softly. She didn't want to wake him so she quietly got up. She was wearing the tank top and boxer shorts she'd slept in but there was a slight chill in the air. Cami looked around for a jacket or sweatshirt and her eyes had landed on an old blue flannel shirt Jessie had tossed over the back of a chair. She picked it up and sniffed it experimentally. It was wonderful. It was warm and soft and smelled like Jessie. She inhaled deeply and smiled as she slipped it on. She turned to make sure Jessie was still asleep He was. She watched him as he took deep long breaths. His lips were slightly parted and the bottom of his moustache fluttered as he exhaled. Cami was about to giggle so she left the room and went to the tiny kitchen to make a cup of tea. Everything in the trailer was tiny. The kitchen consisted of a tiny stainless steel sink flanked by a tiny refrigerator and a tiny stove. A tiny microwave hung above the sink. The bell chimed on the microwave indicating that Cami's water was ready. She plopped in a tea bag and headed out the door and now she found herself sitting on top of an old picnic table out in front of Jessie's trailer. She'd laughed when she'd first seen the trailer. It looked as if Paul Bunyon had dropped a beer can and someone had moved in! It was old, but Jessie had maintained it beautifully. He seemed to be a miracle worker when it came to anything mechanical and the trailer looked almost new. She sipped her tea and watched the sun grow higher in the sky. By the time it hit the trailer, she could hear stirring inside. Jessie was awake and looking for her. The curtains in the bedroom window pulled open and Jessie smiled out at her. IN a short moment he was sitting next to her. He'd managed to pull on his jeans, but he was bare everywhere else. Cami didn't mind. He sat very close and wrapped her in his arms and they watched the shadow's recede. Jessie leaned over and kissed Cami's cheek lingering a few moments. He nuzzled her shoulder.
"So, what's the plan today?
A silly grin that had been plastered to Cami's face for the last few days crept up on her and she turned her face into his hair. He smelled warm and woodsy and musky, like his shirt. She spoke into his hair.
"Oh, I don't know. Don't you think we should leave the trailer? Maybe see someone? Do something?"
Jessie lifted his head and looked at her. A sly, wicked grin crossed his face as he tossed his hair out of his eyes.
"Oh I want to do something alright." He moved forward, placing a hand on the table on either side of her. He stared her straight in the eyes with that same menacing grin and moved closer. Cami's eyes grew huge but the silly grin never left her face. She quickly placed the mug on the table next to her before it spilled. Jessie moved quickly and pinned her to the table top, holding her wrists down as he buried his face in the nape of her neck. She squealed and laughed and finally pleaded between the giggles for him to let her up. Jessie lifted himself up to look at her mock seriously.
"Well, I don't know. You're talking all goofy 'bout leaving the trailer and "seeing" other people. I'm not sure it's safe to let you up just yet."
Cami gave him her best sad puppy look and stuck out her lower lip. Jessie grinned. "Nope, that aint gonna work"
Cami smirked, then smiled then grinned. She wrapped her legs around him. Jessie's eyes widened and he smiled showing all his teeth. "Now THAT'S more like i..." he never finished his sentence. Cami whipped him over and around till she was sitting on top of him pinning his wrists to the table.
Jessie stared in stunned silence. Cami beamed down at him.
"Women's all state wrestling champ, Sophomore, Junior and Senior year!"
She bent down and kissed his gaping mouth.
"Now close your mouth, sweetheart. You're attracting flies" Cami hopped up off Jessie and flounced into the trailer.

[Prettymaid]

Way to go Cami! (I knew you could take him)

[TimothyBFan]

Cami--you fool--why would you want to leave the trailer?:xoxo:Stay put girl!!!

[eaglesvet]

Has Ticky's pen run dry? or are all the couples tied up for the time being?

[ticky]

sorry, ticky's been preoccupied *G* I promise I havent forgotten ya'll *G*

[Peekaboo]

I eagerly await to see what you come up with next Rhonda

[TimothyBFan]

I've tried to be very patient (since if I remember right, I was in Timothy's arms last time we were in the story) but I think we could all use a fix. Rhonda, I'm sure you can't possibly be that busy with the holidays and family and all-right? Could you maybe find some time for the rest of us here? :hilarious:

[ticky]

OK guys, here ya go.. *G* There's more to come ..

**********************************
Jessie had promised Cami he'd find her a washer and dryer, he hadn't told her where.
"Unfortunately, Eaglesville doesn't seem to be large enough to merit a laundromat, so we have to make due."
Cami looked at Jessie in the drivers seat of the tow truck and raised her eye brows. "Please tell me we're not going to pound our clothes on rocks in the creek."
Jessie laughed and grinned. "Nah, I promised you a washer/dryer and we'll find 'em."
Cami was skeptical but Jessie seemed to know where they were going so she sat in the seat next to him and watched the scenery go by. Eaglesville wasn't all that small population wise. She'd met quite a few people and she knew there were more. It rated a motel and a diner, albeit not the most glamorous of establishments, but they were there and supported themselves. Cami thought about what wasn't here and what would be beneficial to the town. Definitely a laundromat, and a store! Were the people here having to drive to the next town to buy groceries?
"Does Eaglesville have a store?" Cami turned her head to Jessie. He grinned. "Yeah, we do. It's just a small general store run by Don, well it's supposed to be run by Don, but his little sister's been minding it for some time now. She's just 18, but a smart kid!"
Cami cocked her head at Jessie.
"Where is it?" All she had known about Eaglesville was the hotel, the diner and Jessie's garage.
"It's on Seven Bridges Road just past the second bridge." Jessie had just pulled up the drive of the Bitter Creek Ranch. Cami had seen the gate and the drive, but hadn't been here yet. She knew Jessie's brother's ran the ranch and Jessie was a partner in it. She hadn't known how big it was.
"..if you want, we can go there when we're finished with laundry." Jessie was grinning like Christmas morning.
Cami looked at him and smirked. "You're enjoying all this, aren't you?"
Jessie grinned at her.
"Well, yeah! I mean I usually don't like doing chores like this. It's boring and time consuming. But doing them with you, well, it's kind of nice. Like being a real couple just living our everyday life." He was thrilled with the concept. Funny, it'd been the everyday life stuff that had made Cami run away from her last life, and now here she was looking at this beautiful man thrilled to live this simple, uncomplicated life. It was starting to look very appealing to her too. She smiled back at him.
Jessie pulled the truck up in front of the ranch house. He leaned over and pulled her close pressing his warm lips softly to hers.
"It's doing these things with you that makes then special."
Cami blushed and smiled. Jessie grinned at her as she turned away. Raw, real and honest emotion was something that was still hard for her to accept openly.
Jessie hopped out of the truck and pulled the bag of dirty laundry from behind the seat. Cami slipped from the truck and stood looking at the ranch house. It was big with a covered front porch that wrapped all the way around the house as far as she could tell from the front. There were a set of steps that lead up the porch to the front door. An elaborate old fashioned screen door covered the large solid front door. Big picture windows flanked either side of the house and rocking chairs, three of them, sat in front of the window on the left side, while a what was once white wicker settee, table and chair sat in front of the other. Jessie walked around to Cami's side with the laundry bag slung over his shoulder.
"Wow! this place is amazing! It's like a scene from a movie or a TV show!" Cami was gazing at the gable windows above the porch. Three of them protruded from the upper floor.
Jessie looked up and grimaced. "Yeah, my big brothers like to live that straight and narrow cowboy code kind of life." Jessie escorted Cami up the steps and into the house. There was a type of stand in the entryway, Cami was pretty sure it was called a hall tree. It had hooks on the top for coats and hats, a stand below for shoes, boots and umbrellas and a large mirror in the middle. Cami caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror. Her hair was wild and completely out of control.
"YIKES! Oh wow! I didn't realize how bad my hair had gotten." Cami was primping and pressing her hair in the mirror to no avail. Jessie stood behind her and looked in the mirror over her shoulder.
"Whadaya mean? I think you look great." Jessie grinned at her and kissed her neck. He walked into the living room and dropped the laundry bag on the faded Persian style rug.
"I don't suppose you have a hair dresser in town?" Cami was still grimacing in front of the mirror. Jessie let out a short laugh.
Just then Willie pushed through the swinging half door from the kitchen. She smiled at Jessie and looked over and saw Cami. She looked back to Jessie.
"Well hey you two! What's so funny?"
Jessie hefted the laundry bag again and grinned at Willie.
"Hey Willie, good ta see ya. Cami thinks she needs a hair dresser. Mind if I borrow the washer for a bit?"
Willie looked at Cami who was distressing in front of the hall mirror.
"Sure Jess, No problem. I just finished doing some myself." Willie walked over to Cami. "I'm afraid there isn't anything like a hair dresser in Eaglesville, but I used to cut hair back home in the off season. I worked at the "Curl up and Dye" salon from October through March. I can cut your hair if you'd like."
Cami spun and looked at Willie. "Really? I just hate it when it's like this. The dry weather here gives me such bad split ends and my hair looks like a whirlwind nightmare!"
Willie grinned. "Sure. Looks like your guy has the laundry under control. Why don't you go get your hair wet and Ill get my scissors. Meet me in the dining area."
Cami grinned back at Willie. "Thanks, I really appreciate this." Willie pointed Cami in the direction of the bathroom and trotted off to her bedroom to find her scissors. She came back and found a chair in the dining room with a low back and a fresh garbage bag which she cut a hole in to fit over Cami's head. Cami came out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around her head. She saw Willie waiting for her at the dining room table and sat down in the chair offered to her. Willie opened the garbage bag and started to put it over Cami's head.
"WHOA! What's this?" Cami ducked. Willie laughed.
"it's okay, it's clean, brand new! I just didn't want stray hairs getting down your back."
"OH! right! good thinking!" Cami grinned and then grimaced as Willie slipped on the garbage bag and fit the hole over her head. Willie began combing out Cami's long dark hair and she shook her head.
"This climate is not doing your hair any favors. You know, there is a shampoo you can get down at the general store that would help you. It's made for horses, but it's great for long hair that's prone to get dry."
"Horse shampoo? you want me to use Horse shampoo?" Cami was agasp.
Willie laughed. "I know it sounds weird, but it really works. Just try it. I'll lend you mine.."
Cami looked at Willie's hair. It was all tied back now in a long blond braid, but it was thick and shiny and beautiful.
"Well, if it will manage my hair like it does yours.."
Willie grinned."It will! I promise!"
Willie began to snip away when Jessie came in and took a seat by the table near Cami.
"I still don't see what the fuss was about. You look beautiful to me." Jessie grinned at her. Cami smirked and looked at Willie. Willie smirked and looked back. Both women rolled their eyes with a shared "men.."
Cami grinned at Jessie. "Thanks, Honey. My hair is just uncontrollable when it gets too long and dry."
Jessie raised his eye brows and shrugged.
James came down the stairway on the far side of the living room tucking in his denim shirt. He looked up and saw the threesome in the dining room area and blushed.
"Oh hey. I didn't know we had company. Hey Jess, hey Cami. Now Willie, What's going on? You opening a salon here?" James grinned at her teasingly.
Willie smiled but didn't look away from her work.
"A girl's gotta make a living." She grinned.
James paused at the kitchen door. "Well, if you put it that way, I'm next! any coffee left?"
Willie sighed. "Sure, why not?" She said under her breath. "Yeah, fresh pot!"
James walked out of the kitchen with a steaming mug and looked up at Jessie as if he'd just noticed him.
"Hey little brother, what are you doing here?"
Jessie grinned at James. "Been here the whole time, James. Something got you preoccupied?" Jessie raised an eye brow just as Sheriff Soda came down the stairs in an over sized t-shirt and nothing else. She looked at the group sitting around the table, turned around and ran back up the stairs.
James blushed and grinned.
"I was just wondering what brought you out this way, Jess."
Jessie stifled a snicker as he turned away from the stairway. "Just wanted to borrow the facilities. You know, this town really should have a laundromat."
"And a salon!" Cami piped up. Willie brushed the hair trimmings from the garbage bag and pulled it over Cami's head.
"All done, who's next?" Willie looked at James with an 'I dare you' look in her eye.
James grinned. "Guess that'd be me."
Cami brushed her lap off and hurried off to the bathroom to have a good look in the mirror.
"Hey Cami? why don't you go ahead and use my shower and try the Mane and Tail shampoo. I promise. It'll make a world of difference!" Willie was fitting the garbage bag over James' head. He was looking slightly trepidatious.
"It's CALLED Mane and Tail? You want me to use something called Mane and Tail?" Cami looked incredulously at Willie. Willie laughed.
"Yeah, it's great stuff for your hair!" Willie held up the end of her own braid. It was, indeed shiny and strong.
Cami shrugged." As long as I don't grow a tail and start whinnying" She trudged off through the kitchen towards Willie's room.
Cami pushed Willie's bedroom door open slowly. It felt strange walking into someone elses room when they werent there, like you were invading their privacy. Willie's room was small but very tidy, except her bed was unmade. Cami was staring at it as she walked towards the bathroom. It seemed odd and out of place that her clothes would be picked up and her dresser so tidy and yet she'd left her bed torn up. She pushed on the bathroom door and it pushed back swinging wide open as Cami bumped full force into Tim. She screamed a small shreik and jumped back a few feet. Tim stood in the bathroom door in just his jeans grinning. His hair was damp and loose.
"OH my God you scared me to death." Cami was standing half bent over in Willie's room trying to catch her breath.
Tim laughed. "Sorry, I didnt mean to startle you. I thought you were Willie."
Cami grinned. "No Im sorry. I should have known you'd be close by. Willie is in the dining room cutting hair."
Tim raised his eye brows. "Really? that lady of mine seems to have many talents." He grinned wide as if he were reliving a not too distant memory.
Cami smirked. "Well, yeah, she did a great job on my hair, but she wanted me to wash it with her horse shampoo.Tim laughed.
"It's good stuff. I use it."
"That's what I hear." cami said trying hard not to look at Tim's bare chest. "..uhh. I mean that it's good stuff, not that you use it, although your hair loks great." Cami blushed.
Tim laughed. "Thanks, Im gonna go get dressed now and find Willie."
"Good idea!" Cami paused thinking about what she'd said. She took a breath as if to say something else but just said "..right." and closed the door to the bathroom.
Willie was just finishing up with James when Tim came in the room.
"Hey baby, I heard you were in here giving out free haircuts." Tim sauntered up to Willie, pulled her close and kissed her neck.
James ran a hand through his hair and looked into the hall mirror.
"She does a damn fine job too! Thank Willie." James grinned in the mirror admiring his new hair style. The longer bangs and top made him look 10 years younger. Willie had shortened the sides a little and the back but left a little longer on the front and top. His dark hair drifted across his forehead giving him a boyish quality but the slight graying on his temples made him look sexy and distinguished like a rakish James Bond.
Tim looked at Willie and grinned. "Yeah, she's a woman of many many talents." Willie blushed and hushed Tim with a grin.
James grinned at Tim and winked at Willie as he trotted into the kitchen. He came out with another steaming mug of coffee and headed up the stairs. A buzzer sounded from the kitchen and Jessie jumped up.
"That'd be my first load." and trotted off into the kitchen. A few seconds later a stream of expletives came wafting out the door. Jessie appeared in the kitchen door.
"The damn washer's busted! everything is still soaked! anybody know anything about washers?"
"I do." It was Cami's voice from behind Jessie. He turned around. Her hair was damp but pulled back and she was wearing one of Jessie's old t-shirts and her last pair of clean jeans.
"You do?" Jessie wasn't sure weather to be impressed or drag her back in to Willie's room and lock the door.
Cami grimaced. "Yeah, the washer I had back in Oregon was always breaking down and I couldn't afford to get a new one. It was 20 years old and still going strong when I left. Let me see what I can do with this. Sounds like the belt." She unplugged the washer and pulled it out from the wall. She used a butter knife to unscrew the back and poked her damp head in. She twisted, grunted, pulled and kicked. Jessie turned to Tim.
"Is it wrong for me to be turned on right now?" He grinned and Tim laughed.
"Yes." came resounding from inside the washer. Cami pulled herself out of the washer. She had a grease smear across her cheek and her damp hair was falling in her face. She pushed the washer back in to the wall, plugged it back in and closed the lid. She rest the dial to spin and WHOOSH, it took off spinning.
"That was incredible!" Jessie pulled her close and wiped the grease smear off with his thumb before kissing the same spot. Tim patted her shoulder.
"Good job."
Willie grinned at her. "Seems all of us ladies have hidden talents, you lucky men!"
Jessie reloaded the washer when the spin cycle finished and loaded the wet clothes in the dryer.
Willie and Tim headed back into the dining room. Willie began to clean up the hair on the floor but groaned and sat heavily in the chair.
Tim looked at her and furrowed his brow.
"You okay, sweetheart?"
Willie smiled at him. "Yeah, I just way over did the other day." She shook her head and sighed. "Tim, I don't think I can keep up that pace. I'm just not as young as I used to be. I can still work hard, but that's young peoples work," she sighed again, "young man's work."
Tim stood behind her rubbing her shoulders. She moaned and leaned back into him. He bent down and placed his lips against her ear. "You are a woman of many great talents. You can do anything you set your mind to. If this isn't what you want to do, we will find something else." he kissed her ear and she sighed happily.
Sheriff Soda appeared at the top of the stairs again. She was still dressed in one of James' old t-shirts but now had on a pair of socks. She ran down the stairs and stood in front of Willie. She grabbed her by the shoulders.
"Did you cut James hair?" Her eyes were wild. Willie feared for her safety.
"ye..yeah, is something wrong?"
She hugged Willie tight. "Wrong? no! I wanted to say thank you! It's perfect. He looks younger.." Sheriff Soda whispered into Willie's ear, "He's acting younger too, if you know what I mean." She grinned at Willie and winked. She giggled and ran back up the stairs.

[eaglesvet]

Curl Up 'N Dye...lol! I bet you have one of those in Oregon, don't you!

[ticky]

You'd think, right? *G* nahh I think it was in Chicago. It was the salon where Carrie Fisher worked in The Blues Brothers but it's a classic name isnt it?

[eaglesvet]

Boy, I had forgotten that. You have quite a memory...

[TimothyBFan]

Curl Up N Dye--To good!!!! I also need to get me some Mane & Tail--I have the long blond hair but I also have split ends! Actually my son really did use to use that shampoo when his hair was long a few years ago. It really does work!

Great to have the story back! Thanks Ticky!!!

[Glennsallnighter]

Curl Up 'N Dye...lol! I bet you have one of those in Oregon, don't you!


We have one in Ireland

[ticky]

Ok, here's a little more. If I dont completely loose it and go after my beloved family with a hatchet, there may be more *G* it's STILL SNOWING!!!


*********************************************
Willie, Tim, Cami and Jessie looked after Sheriff Soda who ran giggling back up the stairs.
"Wow," Willie looked at Tim. "What was that about"
Tim raised his eye brows and shrugged.
"She seemed really happy. What was it she said to you?" Cami had pulled her eyes away from the stairs and looked at Willie.
"She just said that James was acting younger."
Tim and Jessie attempted to stifle a laugh but didn't succeed. Cami raised her eye brows at Willie who furrowed her brow at the three. Slowly her eye brows relaxed and a smile spread almost as fast as a blush did across her face.
"Ohhh... I understand."
Tim grinned at her. "and I was going to offer to demonstrate for you." He leaned down and placed a firm slow kiss on her head.
Tim stood in front of Willie and held out his hands. She took them and he pulled her up out of the chair. He spun her around and sat in her chair. He lifted his hair over the back of the chair and sighed.
"My turn!"
Jessie, Cami and Willie stood staring at him dumbfounded.
"Tim! No! I couldn't! I would never!" Willie was stuttering and near tears. Tim laughed and took her hand.
"I just want a trim! Just clean it up a little."
Willie bit her lip. She ran her fingers through his hair and down his back. He leaned his head back and smiled up at her.
"You can do it. I trust you."
Willie smiled. Tim had such beautiful hair, long and wavy, thick and silky. It felt almost liquid under her fingers. She watched her hands running through his hair and suddenly had an urge to snip off the dead ends. She ran her hands through his hair a few more times and picked up her scissors. Her hands moved almost automatically snipping off the ends and trimming the bottom. She added some shape and texture to his hair and when she was finished, Tim stood.
Willie stared at him with her mouth agape. He looked wonderful, he looked younger, sexy and a glow.
"wow" she whispered under her breath.
Tim touched his hair. "What? too much?"
Willie grinned. "I'll say! Umm.. unless anyone else wants a cut, I think I'm done." Willie grabbed Tim's hand and pulled him towards the bedroom. "Come look in my mirror." Willie grinned mischievously.
"Dang woman! you're insatiable!" Tim was grinning big and not putting up any fight.
Jessie laughed and sat down. Cami walked up to him and he pulled her into his lap. Her dark hair was shorter and tapered around her face. It fell around her shoulders softly. It was nearly dry now and the horse shampoo had done miracles for it. It was shiny and soft and hung in deep chestnut waves across her shoulder blades. Jessie ran his fingers thorough it pulling it off her neck and burying his face in it.
"mmm, you smell delicious." He nibbled her neck. "You taste pretty good too!"
Cami giggled and pushed away from him a little. She looked at him and smiled.
"I know there is sex happening all around us right now, but you'll have to control yourself a little while longer! At least till we finish the laundry!"
Jessie sighed. "Well maybe I can make myself useful." He gave Cami a big wet kiss, patted her backside and stood up. He headed for the kitchen and started pulling things out of the refrigerator.
"Cami had followed him into the kitchen and stood leaning on the doorframe watching him.
"So... what exactly are you doing?"
Jessie grinned back at her over the refrigerator door. "I'm gonna make a mess of my kick-ass killer chili!"
Cami raised her eye brows at him. "Killer?" she grinned. "Sounds dangerous."
Jessie grinned a mischievous grin back. "OH, it is! but its sooo damn good!"
Cami's eyes narrowed and she smirked. She slowly sauntered over to the refrigerator and stood behind him. He looked amazingly good in those jeans, his T-shirt riding up just enough to show the smooth tanned skin underneath as he bent over. his dark hair swung across his face and neck as he stood. Cami placed her hands on his hips and pressed against him. She whipsered in his ear. "That sounds like you, Dangerous, but Ohh... Sooo... gooood." her lips brushed his skin as she spoke and she punctuated each of the last three words with a small soft kiss to his neck. Jessie stood up straight in the refrigerator door and grinned with a package of meat in one hand and three peppers in the other.
"Oh Now you get all warm and fuzzy on me when I got my hands full of meat and peppers!" He held up his produce.
"Like that's going to stop you?" Cami grinned at him, a definite challenge in her voice. Jessie paused, a slow grin crossed his face then a laugh.
"That sounds like a challenge."
Cami raised her eye brows and smirked. "Oh did it? Well, I understand if you cant manage to do more then one thing at a time. I mean MEN just aren't good at multitasking." Cami lifted her hands and turned to walk away.
Jessie's arm flew around her and pinned her against him.
"WAIT a second there, little girl." Jessie's voice was a little ragged against the back of her neck and his hands were still filled with a package of raw meat and the peppers, but his arms held her fast. "I know when I'm being baited." His lips brushed her skin as he spoke. Without letting go of her he tossed the meat and peppers into the sink on the other side of the kitchen and his now empty hands slid neatly around her waist and spun her around to look at him. His eyes were warm and glazed, his hands slid under her shirt to caress the bare skin of her lower back. His lips brushed hers as he spoke.
"You are a very naughty girl. I like naughty girls. They have good ideas." Jessie's voice was rough and deep. Cami smiled and whispered some of her best ideas in his ear. The chili would have to wait.

[TimothyBFan]

""Tim! No! I couldn't! I would never!" Willie was stuttering and near tears. Tim laughed and took her hand.":

Darn right I would be in tears!!! You had me scared there for a minute! I thought I was going to be made responsible for the loss of those beautiful locks! Yikes!! Glad I just got to run my hands thru it and make it all pretty again!:-P

[Troubadour]

Fab add, as always. Lots of fun to read!

[ticky]

See? it's right here *G* I've been crazy busy with other stuff, but I'll try and add to it today *G* okay?

[ticky]

Here's a little bit. Im on a writing jag right now and if I dont fall asleep to early tonight, There'll be more!! *G*

*********************************

James wandered down the stairs and through the dining area. He noted the hair cutting remnants still littering the floor and table. He wasn’t too worried about any messes he saw, he knew it'd get cleaned up. He pushed the door to the kitchen wide and shuffled to the cupboard. He pulled out a glass, shuffled to the refrigerator and took out an earthenware pitcher. He poured himself a glass of Orange Juice, returned the pitcher to the refrigerator and walked past the laundry room door. It was shut and he could hear the muffled giggles and low voices coming from inside. He smiled and shook his head. He didn’t want to know what was going on in there. He continued down the hall that led to the small apartment where Willie was staying. He could hear voices and giggles coming from there as well. He smirked and walked on by. There seemed to be a lot of that happening around here lately.
The covered porch that ran the length of the side of the ranch house was cool from the shade it provided and the slight breeze that blew past. Somehow, when the ranch house had been laid out, the builder had had the presence of mind to put the porch on the breezy side of the house. Not that there was much of a breezy side, but it managed to keep this area a good 5 degrees cooler then the rest of the house. James took a long pull off his OJ and sat on the back steps. From this angel he was looking out over the driveway and the tall sign that rose over it and announced the ranch. Beyond that were the reddish hued hills of the desert country that surrounded them. James sighed and listened to the quiet. He heard the front screen door slam shut and a lone voice echo through the empty house.
"Out here!" James shouted towards the open door. Foot steps, The echo of cowboy boots on the hardwood floors and the familiar gate. Fiddler's head peeked around the door frame and his long legs followed.
"Hey boss man. What'r you hidin' from out here?" Fiddler clapped James on the back and sat on the step next to him.
James grinned and looked down into his glass.
“Just thinkin’, old friend. Do you think Grandpa had the presence of mind when he built this place to actually think about the cool side of the house and where to put this porch? Or was it just dumb luck?” James leaned back on his elbows and stretched out his legs and let the light breeze brush over him.
Fiddler grinned. James’ Grandfather and his own Grandfather had been good friends and had actually both built this old ranch. As much of Fiddler’s history was here as was James.
“Oh I dunno. I kinna like ta think the Ol’ Man had ‘nuff sense in him to know where a good coolin’ porch would go.”
James smiled and shook his head. “Ya know, by the time he was my age, he’d had a family, built this ranch and was successful member of this community. Makes me feel like I’ve lived a very small life.”
Fiddler eyed his friend. “You’ve been all over the world. You’ve built this place back up to where it shoulda been under your Dad, and I hear tell that you did the same for another place out on the coast! Doesn’t sound like a small life, Man. Sounds like more then most men do in a life time.” Fiddler kicked a hole in the dirt at the foot of the steps.
James chewed on his words for a moment. “Maybe, but I’ve wasted a lot of time. Too much time, time on what I thought I wanted and time on what I thought I should want.” James stood and stretched. He picked up his now empty glass and looked again out at the vast empty landscape. “I’m done wasting time. There are some things I need to live up to now. Things I need to face that I’ve been putting off too long.” He looked down at Fiddler and smiled. “It’s time for me to grow up.” James walked into the house.
Fiddler sat on the steps and watched the shadows shortening under the morning sun and sighed deeply.
“Funny,” he mumbled to himself. “I thought you’d done that way too early.” He stood up feeling very old suddenly and turned towards the barn. Cathy was just finishing up at the barn and closing the door. Fiddler smiled. If there was anyone in this world who could make him feel like a teenager, it was Cathy. He started to walk towards the barn and broke into a trot. Cathy was getting into her truck so Fiddler whistled to get her attention. She looked around till her eyes fell on him and a grin spread across her face. She leaned against the door of her truck and waited as he slowed to a walk as he approached her.
“Hey, beautiful.” He slipped his hands around her waist and leaned in for a kiss.
“I was just thinking about you!” Cathy smiled and returned his slow enthusiastic kiss.
Fiddler leaned back and furrowed his brow at her. “Hmm… You’ve been talking to cows and thinking about me? I’m not sure I approve!”
Cathy grinned and raised her eye brows. “You don’t know what those cows have to say! After all, they hang out with the bulls.” She wiggled her eye brows at him.
He cringed and took a quick breath through his teeth. “Ooh, those are some big shoes to fill!”
Cathy giggled. “It’s not his shoes I’m worried about”
Fiddler groaned and chuckled. He leaned in close and whispered into her ear. “Are you doing anything tonight?”
She fingered the button on his shirt. “Why? You have plans?”
“Sure do. I wanted to show you the size of my shoes.” His face was buried in her hair so his words were muffled. Cathy understood every word.
She smirked and pushed him away. She climbed into her truck, shut the door and started the engine. She reached through the car window and grabbed him by the collar. She pulled him close till his mouth was less then an inch from hers.
“Come by tonight, 6pm. I’ll cook dinner.” She kissed him long and slow, pulled back slightly and grinned at the shocked expression on his face. “Bring a tooth brush.” She could have sworn she heard him groan and she did see him smile, but the growl of her engine masked any noises coming from him.

[Prettymaid]

Ooooh, sounds like I'm having Fiddler for dinner - and dessert!

[Peekaboo]

Another wonderful add, Rhonda. Can't wait to see what happens next.

[ticky]

Okay, I know I'm a little long between posts here, but I've been working on this one a while.. I'll get around to everyone eventually *G* anyway, here's a little Thomas and Shirley for ya'll :)

******************************

Shirley had finished cleaning the second story early and she was contemplating taking on the El wing just to get away from the lobby and temptation. It really didn’t matter anyway. She’d noticed he’d covered his mirror with a towel. She’d been avoiding him like the plague, trying to stay out of his way, trying to keep her mind off his lips, his chest, his long legs. Men equaled trouble. She’d learned that a long time ago and she wasn’t about to forget it. She wasn’t afraid of him, no. There really wasn’t anything to be afraid of. He acted a big story, but she could tell his heart wasn’t in the tough stuff. There was something else there, something gentler, creative and well hidden under years of a forced tough exterior. Well, it didn’t matter anyway. She wasn’t going to be a part of all that, ever. She’d waffled long enough and was heading towards the El to start cleaning when his door opened. Shirley took a deep breath and held it. Oh please, please don’t let him see her; don’t let him talk to her. He looked out and spotted her. A slow grin covered his face and his eyes narrowed.
“Hello beautiful lady. Might I have a word?” He beckoned her to him. She had to follow. Not only was it her job to keep the guests happy, her feet seemed to have a mind of their own. Something seemed to be pushing her. He smiled at her, evidently pleased with her willingness to indulge him. He smiled and leaned against the door frame with his hands in his pockets.
“Good.” Though Shirley. If his hands were in his pockets, she’d be relatively safe.
“What can I do for you, Mr. Palmero?” She refused to look into his smug, self satisfied, deep, dark sexy eyes. She’d concentrate on his chest, oops! No, not good. Okay, his neck, long slender, well defined, UGH... no... Uh, the wall behind him. Good! That worked, the wall with the mirror. The mirror that had shown her... OH God, no, nothing was working. She just closed her eyes.
Thomas smirked at her uncomfortable fidgeting. “Well I can think of a lot of things you can do for me.” The corners of his mouth twitched and his eyes softened a little. How could she know all that if she had her eyes closed? Oh, she didn’t. DAMN, she was staring directly into those dark eyes.
“But for now, the bed side light in my room seems to need a new bulb. Do you have one?”
Shirley looked into his room. The lamp by the bed was one of those small lamps, oddly sized she supposed to fit well on a bed side table, but she thought they looks like they belonged in a child’s room. The bulb that went into it was an odd one too. Forty watt and shaped like a candle flame. RIGHT! As if anyone was going to be fooled by that. She sighed. She knew exactly where to find those but it was kind of a pain. She nodded and hurried down the hall to the supply closet. It was a walk-in style but just barely and way over filled with supplies. She unlocked the door, swung it open and stepped inside. She barely fit. It was a tiny space. She stepped on a small stool and lifted her arms over her head and stood on her tip toes. As she stood and reached for a box over her head she felt a pair of hands on her hips and flinched. He had followed her!! He was standing behind her holding her waist. She started to spin and stack of toilet paper came down on their heads and at the same time the door flew closed. The rolls of toilet paper wedged itself around her body effectively freezing her in place. Thomas started at the slammed door.
“WHAT THE..??” He tried to turn but he was stuck. He reached around his back and tried to open the door but it was locked fast.
“IT’S LOCKED!! GET ME OUT!! HELP! I NEED OUT!!” He was shouting which wasn’t doing anything to help the situation.
“HEY!! Stop shouting. The key is in my pocket, just reach in and slip it out. My hands are stuck.”
Thomas’s breathing was rapid and shallow. He was panicking and Shirley knew she had to get him under control or he was going to pass out. The only control she had on him was an obvious attraction. Why did it always come back to sex? MEN!
“Thomas? She nearly whispered, deepening her voice and making it as sensual as she could manage, being covered in toilet paper and her arms stuck up over her head. “Thomas, listen to my voice. Are you listening?”
He was pressed up against her. She leaned back into him. She needed to get his attention on her and not on the locked door. It must have worked; she could feel his hands slide up her waist and around her rib cage. Uh oh, maybe it worked a little too well. She needed his attention, not his groping.
“Thomas, I want you to listen to what I’m going to say. I need you to slip your hand into my pocket and find the key. You can unlock the door and we’ll get out. Alright? Can you do that for me Thomas?” Her arms were starting to tire.
Thomas slipped his hands around to her belly and worked his way down to her jeans pockets. Her body was reacting to this whether she wanted it to or not. She sighed and rolled her eyes at the tingles working their way down her body. “OH geeeeeszzz…” she thought. Betrayed by her own body. Thomas’s hand found her pocket and slipped inside. She thought he was spending more time then was necessary searching her pocket for the key. She was sure he’d found it and was just playing now. She’d say something but she didn’t want to scare him into panic again. That’s what she was telling herself anyway.
“Got it.” He pulled the key out of her pocket. She could hear the smile in his voice. Relief? Conquest? His chance to feel her up? She wasn’t sure what drove that smile this time, but she was relieved he had the key. Her arms were starting to cramp. She heard him fiddling with the lock, metal on metal and then a gasp and tink tink tink…
“Uh oh...”
Shirley hung her head and sighed. He’d dropped it. Thomas’s breathing was getting faster and he was starting to sweat. Not a pleasant thing in these small quarters. She had to regain control. UGH!
“Thomas? It’s all right. We can still get out. Don’t panic.” She shifted a little. If he leaned hard against the door she might have room to turn around. If she could turn around she might be able to put her feet on the door and push it open. If Thomas helped push, they might break the old wood around the door frame.
“Thomas. I am going to turn around and face you. I think we might be able to break the door frame together. I need you to lean back as far as you can against the door so I can turn around. Do you understand me?”
Thomas’s body became slightly slacker against her body in answer. Shirley slowly began to turn; Thomas gasped and let out“Oof” as her hip pushed into his abdomen.
“heh, sorry.” Shirley was trying to figure out how she was supposed to suck in her butt; instead she leaned in close to the shelves. It wasn’t too bad as the fallen toilet paper shifted and cushioned her a little. Soon she was turned back around and face to chest with Thomas. She could feel the flush of embarrassment start from her toes and gradually work its way up to her neck. Thank goodness the light was very dim in the small closet. Maybe he wouldn’t notice.
“Well, helloooo…” There was an all too familiar and somewhat unpleasant humor in his voice. Damn, he noticed.
“Look, let’s just concentrate on getting out of here, Okay?” Shirley was starting to sweat too. A small space completely filled with two bodies forced together, Why the friction alone… “Shirley shook her head. She had to stop thinking about those things.
“First thing’s first. I have to put my arms down” Shirley was examining the situation as to where the best place to put her hands would be. She could pull them into her own chest which would put them in Thomas’s face. While this would solve some issues for her, she was pretty sure he’d complain. The only other option was to put them around Thomas’s neck. This was not a good idea. This would be trouble, but she was in control, not her body. She could manage this situation rationally and with dignity, she thought. She lowered her arms around Thomas’s neck. He looked up at her. He was tall, she hadn’t noticed how tall he was before, but now his face was just inches from hers, his lips were so close, his eyes were so deep and intense. She closed her eyes and silently counted to 20. She thought about emergency medical training and open sores, Old nuns and how cheese was made. Anything that might take her mind off its current course.
She took a deep breath.
“Okay. Look, here’s what we’re going to do. I’m going to put my feet on the door on either side of you and push. As I do that, you’re going to push back as hard as you can and maybe we can break the door jam. Got it?”
Thomas thought about it for a moment and a sly smile slipped across his face, then a chuckle.
“Awe Baby, you didn’t need to go to all this trouble to get me in that position. You should have just asked.”
Shirley thought about slapping him but, considering the circumstances, it was probably better that he was making bad sexual innuendos then panicking… and she couldn’t reach his face right now, well not with her hand. Deep breath.
“Yeah, right, Romeo. Let’s just get out of here, Alright?”
Shirley leaned back as far as she could and slipped her knee up and placed her foot under Thomas’s right arm and firmly against the door. Then she lifted her other knee and slipped her foot under Thomas’s left arm. She supported herself by pushing against the shelves behind her.
“Okay, push!” She felt Thomas lean back and press firmly against the door as she pushed with all her might. Nothing happened.
“Damn, I have to put my legs down.” Shirley pulled one leg down then the other. She was out of ideas, but she had to keep him calm.
“Okay Thomas. I’m out of ideas but I’m sure someone will be along soon, so we just have to keep ourselves entertained for a few hours.”
Once again that sly grin crept over Thomas’s face and his tongue slipped across his lower lip.
“Well, I can think of some pretty entertaining things we could do.”
Shirley must have been tired or maybe oxygen deprived because she actually considered his idea for a moment. She shook her head and took a deep breath.
“Think again, Casanova. I’ve no interest in you that way. You are a guest here and that’s all. I was thinking we might chat a bit.”
Thomas must have caught on to her pause. He wasn’t buying it.
“I think maybe you’re lying. I think maybe you do have some interest in me.” His hands were still wrapped around her waist. His thumbs were now caressing her back and sending shivers all over her.
“you..you really need to stop that.” Shirley hated that her body was betraying her. Her breath was short and skin tingled where he was stroking it.
“Really? You want me to stop?” His lips were less then an inch from hers and his breath stirred the hairs around her ears.
“No,… I…I mean yes. Yes, stop.” Was she leaning closer to him? NO! She couldn’t be! But then, she was.
“Yes? No? No? Yes? You sound confused. Maybe you should think about it a while.” His lips brushed her.
She’d lean back, or better yet, step back a little. She was sure there was a little room on that little stool for a half a step. She shifted her foot back and… The stool slipped and she fell forward. He caught her lips first, then his arms and body cushioning her fall against him. It was an accidental kiss that lasted a good 15 seconds. The second kiss was less accidental, lasted a little longer and her hands slipped into his hair all on their own. That’s when the door swung open and they fell into the hall, along with all the toilet paper, a stack of clean sheets and the box holding the oddly shaped 40watt light bulbs.
Shirley separated herself from the toilet paper and Thomas and looked around for whoever had opened the door. No one was there except her and Thomas. She stood and reached into the box, pulled out a light bulb and handed it to Thomas. She smiled at him.
“Here ya go. Have a nice day!” and hurried off down the hall.

[eaglesvet]

:yay:

[ticky]

Just for fun....


Lisa heard the familiar voices in the room from behind the closed bathroom door. It didn’t seem to be room service and they didn’t sound as if they were going to leave anytime soon. She pulled a pair of khaki shorts and a lace trimmed camisole from her bag and walked out of the bathroom and looked up at Joe and Rhonda.
“Well, hey you two! What are you doing here?” She leaned forward into a warm if not confused hug from the couple.
“Congratulations Lisa and Frank. We were so happy for you when we heard!” Rhonda placed a light kiss on Lisa’s cheek.
Lisa chuckled. “So you drove all the way here to say congratulations?”
Rhonda looked at Joe and his brow furrowed slightly.
“Not exactly. Some strange things are happening at the café, We needed to find you to talk about it.” Joe was glancing back and forth between the other couple.
“At the café? Is everyone alright?” Glenn had moved to stand beside Lisa who was still looking confused.
Rhonda smiled half heartedly. “No, everyone’s fine. It’s just that…” She looked to Joe.
“Well there’s a stranger in town and he’s saying the Café belongs to him.” Joe was talking to Lisa but looking at Rhonda.
“What? Who is this guy?” Lisa was indignant with her fists on her hips.
Rhonda looked back at Lisa. “He says his name is Thomas Palmero. He says his father Papa Palmero is the rightful owner of the cafe”
Lisa’s face went ashen and her eyes went wide. She grasped the side of the sofa and sunk dead weight into it.
“Baby? You okay?” When Glenn saw how pale she was and her knees began to buckle, he jumped to her side.
“I’m… I’ll be alright. I… it’s just… I know that name.” She turned a panicked face to Glenn. His brow furrowed and he pursed his lips.
“Yeah, I do to. That’s the bastard who’s out to kill Frank.”
Joe and Rhonda looked at each other confused.
“But you’re…” Joe started.
Lisa broke down crying and covered her face with her hands.
Glenn cradled her. “It’s okay, baby. He wont find us here.”
Lisa shook her head emphatically.
“You don’t understand.” She looked up into Glenn’s face. “Papa Palmero is my father.”

Lou watched the white, cream-ladened milk pour into the 50 gallon stainless steel vat. A 50 gallon vat was pretty small for cheese making but she’d gotten a great deal on it on Ebay and it was someplace to start. She was about ready to graduate up to a bigger vat and she had her eyes on a 300 gallon vat she’d seen in “Cheese Making Illustrated”, but she didn’t have the $30,000.00 they were asking for it new. She hoped that one would show up on Ebay or Craiglist, but it didn’t seem likely.
She stirred the white frothy milk and watched the last of it drip from the tanks Cathy had brought over that morning. This was a beautiful batch. The milk was heavy with cream and the color was pearlish. It was so fresh it was still warm, perfect for adding the rennet, if one added rennet to their cream to make cheese. That’s not how Lou did it though. When the milk had settled and was a still white pond, Lou walked across the room and washed her hands. She’d been so lucky to buy this small farm on the creek. She even had a fresh water spring. The water was icy cold but smelled sweet. She washed her hands up to her elbows and dried them on a paper towel.
She stood over the small vat and looked down at the still white pool then slipped one finger into the creamy froth, stirring then one finger from the other hand, stirring in the opposite direction. Slowly she slipped her hands into the warm milk and stirred. As she did she could feel the cream gathering and firming. This part of the process was becoming rote and her mind wandered. CJ… she couldn’t stop thinking about him. Those eyes, that smile, that body! She shook her head but the smile that came with those thoughts lingered.
Lou was aware that her feelings came through in the cheese she was making. For instance, once, after a fight with Fiddler, she’d made a batch of the sharpest white cheddar she’d ever tasted, almost inedible, but in the cheese world, things like that were highly prized and she ended up selling it all to a cheese shoppe in Paris for $150.00 a pound! The camembert she’d made after her mother passed away was so soft and creamy, it nearly didn’t set up. It was one of her first purposeful attempts at making cheese. She wondered now, what would come of this batch with such thoughts of CJ running through her mind.
“Brie.” Lou grinned. “This batch will have to be Brie.” It was the perfect blend of sensuousness and bite. A very lustful cheese and fit very well with CJ’s wine! She couldn’t wait to try the two together. They’d compliment each other perfectly and together would create a sensuous, seductive event and she would most definitely be there, and the cheese would be good too!
Brie wouldn’t take much coagulation so she pulled her hands from the already stiffening milk and washed them again in the icy water.

Cathy had just walked into her small but charming cottage. She’d been so lucky to find such a great deal. James had sold it to her for a more then reasonable rate. It was only a few miles from the ranch and town and had a beautiful view of the creek. There was plenty of room for a garden and a beautiful tiny pink rose grew in a massive heaping vine up and over her front stoop. The entry consisted of a small front porch with a white bentwood rocking chair and a fat yellow cat named Henry. She scratched his head as she opened the door. He looked up, purred and smiled at her. Cathy knew he ate, she always put food out for him and it was gone by the time she got home, but she didn’t often see him off his chair. She stepped through the door and the phone rang.
“Hello?”
“Hey beautiful.” It was Fiddler.
“Hey yourself. Didn’t I just talk to you about 5 minutes ago?” She couldn’t keep the smile out of her voice.
“Yeah, but I missed you, besides, I forgot to ask you if you were doing anything tonight?”
Cathy felt herself blush from head to toe. He missed her. She grinned.
“Well, actually I did have plans to see my boyfriend tonight.”
There was a pause and a sigh on the other side.
“Why does that always happen to me? The good ones always have boyfriends. I suppose he’s some big dumb jock type with lots of muscles and little or no brains?”
Cathy laughed “No, he’s the sweet, sensitive type who cries at sad movies and picks flowers.”
There was a verbal cringe on the other line “Awe cheeeezzz, I thought we were talking about me, but now…”
Cathy laughed. “We were, are. What exactly was it you had in mind?”
“Well, I WAS thinking about dinner and a movie, but now I think I need to redeem my manhood. Pro wrestling? A rodeo? John Wayne and tobacco chewing?”
She laughed again. “I think your manhood is safe and in tact. Dinner and a movie sound great.”
Fiddler chuckled. “Great, I’ll pick you up in 15 minutes?”
“Well, I know you’re a cowboy and you’re used to the smell, but if we’re going out in public, I’d rather smell like something other then cow poo. Give me at least 30 minutes for a shower and getting dressed.”
“Well okay, but we’ll miss the coming attraction previews.”
“I don’t mind if you don’t.”
He didn’t.
The smile never left her face as Cathy thumbed through her mail. Bills, bills, advertisements, and a legal sized, windowed envelope from Los Angeles. Hmm..
Thirty minutes later Fiddler softly knocked at Cathy’s door. It was open and she was sitting on the floor staring blindly into space with her mouth hanging open. In her hand she held a legal sized envelope and a sheet of stationary paper. At the top of the stationary were embossed letters spelling out “Whee, Cheatum and Howe: Civic Law Attorneys”
Fiddler gently kneeled beside Cathy and she slowly turned her head to look at him and handed him the letter.
“Whatcha got there sweetheart?” He took the letter and read. “Holey crap.” Fiddler fell hard on his backside next to Cathy, still holding the letter.

[Prettymaid]

Ticky!!! :yay: It's been so long I can't remember the whole long story! This edition (featuring me) was great! But something tells me anything from the law firm of Whee Cheatum & Howe can't be good!

Oh, and , btw, Cheese Making Illustrated? :hilarious:

[Troubadour]

Oh, and , btw, Cheese Making Illustrated? :hilarious:

Hey! That's where I get all my inspiration! ;)

This was such a lovely surprise, Rhonda. Thanks for resurrecting it - lots of fun!

[eaglesvet]

Ok, Ticky,I just need a bit of a refresher. I know that Lisa is really with Glenn, but Joe and Rhonda think he is Frank, right? And more importantly, does Thomas think he is Frank? (Or, do any of them know that Frank is holed up with me in the mountain cabin, under the alias of Glenn?)

[eaglesvet]

I pity anyone who is just trying to enter the story now...

[ticky]

Okay, as best as I can remember (and I AM doing this all on memory as I do not have a primer for this story) the only people who know Frank is Glenn and Glenn is Frank are Glenn, Frank, Lisa, Eve, James and Fiddler (seeing as how they are important parts of the ranch and would recognize the switch there for would be in on it)Thomas still doesnt know the difference but then he's not even aware there IS a Glenn and not yet aware that Frank is even a part of The Last Resort since he's there strictly for The Sad Cafe. ALL of these things will eventually tie together.. i think.. well thats the plan anyway.



newbies, start from page one or you'll be hopelessly lost.. even then... good luck

[melrose]

I've been reading up on this every spare chance I get! It is captivating (and confusing at times :hilarious:) Ticky, you are such a great story teller!

[Prettymaid]

Yeah Ticky, you're the best!

[TimothyBFan]

:yay: Another entry--it's been so long! I was chomping at the bit yesterday after you told us on Facebook that you had posted another installment and then I couldn't get to it! Glad to see you writing again!!! Keep it up please!

[Glennsallnighter]

Lol I! I love this! It has more twists than Desperate Housewives!

[Peekaboo]

I'm sooooo glad to see that The Long Story is up and running again. It's been too long. Ticky is truely a master at the story telling!!

[Koala]

Now I have read the whole Long Story! Wow she is really very long!!! I am confused a little bit. It is a little bit difficultly for me , I don´t know some words exactly what they mean. I am not sure whether I really everything has properly understood!However the the Long Story is cool, I had a lot of fun to read the Story!

[ticky]

lil bit more...


Glenn sat on the sofa next to Lisa and cradled her in his arms.
“What do you mean sweetheart? Who’s Papa Palmero?”
Lisa’s face was still ashen and she clung to Glenn like a life preserver.
“My mother was just 17 when she came to America from Ireland. Her mother had died of some mysterious illness and her father was a drunk. She came her looking for a better life but found nothing but more poverty and crime. She finally took a job for very little pay working as a cleaning girl in a huge mansion for Papa Palmero. It was alright at first, she worked mostly nights, cleaning floors and scrubbing out the ovens and fireplaces. Then one day one of the day maids didn’t show up for work and she was promoted.” Lisa’s face wrinkled in disgust at the word. “She began serving Papa his meals and cleaning up after him. He was pig! She never worked harder in her life and all she got for her trouble was constant groping. She was okay as long as someone else was around, but that wasn’t always possible. Eventually he caught her alone and he raped her. After that she was his favorite and it happened often till one day he came to her and told her to get out. No explanation, no good bye, just $100,000.00 cash to shut her up and a ride to the middle of no where. He never even knew she was pregnant, or at least I thought he didn’t, but now…” She turned a worried face to Glenn. His face was sullen and serious as he stared blankly into the carpet. He turned to her and smiled softly. “It’s okay, we’ll figure this out together.” He caressed her cheek and kissed her softly.
Joe sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “In the mean time I think it’s safer if you two stay away from Eaglesville for a while. Maybe this Thomas is just after the café, maybe he’s looking for Lisa, either way, you’re safer here.”
Glenn looked sternly up at Joe. “There is one more possibility. The Palmero’s may be after me.” Glenn turned his face to Lisa. She was stricken. Glenn smiled softly again. “Don’t worry. We’re safe as long as we stay away from Eaglesville.”
Joe was looking confused. “Uh, Frank? Care to elaborate?”
Glenn smiled and chuckled. “First of all, I'm Glenn, not Frank. The guy you know as Glenn back in Eaglesville, that’s Frank. We traded places when the Palmeros threatened to kill Frank because he refused to kill another man. He ran to Eaglesville looking for someplace to hide out and we figured they’d be less likely to be looking for a guy named Glenn who runs a hotel. We traded identities and it didn’t take long for everyone to forget who was who. Only my brothers and Frank and I know the truth.” Glenn grinned at Lisa, “Well and now my wife,” He paused, “Oh, and you. The Palmeros are bad people and not to be messed with. It’s too dangerous for you to go back to Eaglesville. Besides,”

Cathy leaned forward and put her face in her hands then suddenly looked up.
“I think I’m going to throw up… or pass out…”
“WHOA there sweetheart!” Fiddler jumped forward on his knees and placed his hand on her back forcing her to lean forward and put her head between her knees. “now take deep breaths, slow, good, in through the nose, out through the mouth… good girl.” Cathy began to relax as Fiddler rubbed her back.
“Does it say how much?” Her voice was kind of muffled from her head being between her knees. She heard Fiddler rattle the paper in his hands.
“Uh, yeah, here it is. Three point five billion.”
Cathy began to hyper ventilate. Fiddler sat her up and cupped her hands over her mouth. “Slow down there sugar, it’s alright.”
Cathy shot a worried glance at him over her cupped hands. She tried to say something but her hands muffled the sound.
“Just a second, baby. Breath deep, slow.”
Slowly her color was returning and she was starting to relax. Soon she was able to lower her hands and speak clearly.
“I didn’t even know the man! I’d heard about him, tales my Mother told me but we’ve never met. I knew he was rich but…”
Fiddler smiled and shrugged. “Well, family is family and if you’re the only family he’s got, know him or not, it’s all yours. How’d he make all that money?”
He helped Cathy to her feet and slipped a supporting arm around her waist till she was sitting safely on the small settee in the living room. “let me get us some tea and you can tell me about it. We’ll figure this all out, don’t you worry.”
Cathy sat looking a little stunned on the settee. “My Mom said he’d invented CheezeWhiz but I always thought she was joking.” She could hear the clinking of the tea pot and running water as Fiddler worked with the delicate tea service. He really was a surprising man. He was the roughest toughest cowboy you’d even want to meet who could whip up one hell of a pot of Darjeeling and scones. Fiddler peeked around the door. “Cheez Whiz? You mean that spray can cheese stuff? I LOVE that stuff!”
Cathy looked at him astonished then shrugged. “I’ll buy you a case.”
He chuckled as he set the tray with the teapot, two cups and a plate of scones on the small coffee table. “Nahh, my sister’s is better.” He poured a cup of tea, poured in a little honey and added lemon. Exactly how Cathy liked her tea. It made her happy to know he’d remembered.
“Your sister makes Cheez Whiz?” Cathy was only half aware at what she was saying. She was feeling sleepy now and comfortable with Fiddler.
He laughed and looked at her surprised. “No cheese. Her cheese is better.”
She smiled. “Right, it is.” She leaned back into the crook of his arm and he cradled her. She yawned “I'm sorry about spoiling your plans for tonight. I’m just so tired.”
He leaned over and kissed her forehead. “No worries, sweetheart. I’d much rather spend a quiet evening at home snuggling with a multibillion dollar heiress then going out on the town. Let’s just pretend we’re on vacation. I like the way that sounds.”
Cathy snuggled in closer and wrapped her arms around his waist. “Yeah, me too.”

[eaglesvet]

OK, Cath, goin' from milkmaid to multibillionaire...what gives??:shock:

[Peekaboo]

This story just keeps getting more and more interesting. I love it!!:thumbsup:

[Prettymaid]

Cheez Whiz!!! 3.5 billion!!! I like the way that sounds!!!

(BTW Ticky, nice reference to Last Good Time there at the end...) :grin:

[TimothyBFan]

Cheez Whiz :hilarious:

[Glennsallnighter]

Gosh Rhonda. I can see why I draw to a complicated life! It seems to be hereditary! Great sequel!

[ticky]

Okay, I got inspired. Here's something new for ya'll! Happy uhh.. Monday *G*

**************************************

Shirley had just finished the rooms on the bottom floor of the main building and was headed up the stairs to the second floor when she heard the shouting. It was Thomas’s voice. She had almost turned around and headed for the old chair and mirror… just to check on him, make sure everything was alright… she told herself. But she stopped and listened. He was arguing with someone on his phone. She felt kind of bad for him. He’d been here a while all alone and certainly not popular with the locals. Everyone knew Lisa and her situation. Everyone was protective of her, but no one really knew who Thomas was or why he was here. She figured that out of all the others in the town, she knew him best. Maybe that was why she felt so drawn to him and why she now wanted to protect him. Lord knows he was definitely a man who could look after himself, but still there was something about him, something fragile and vulnerable. She shook her head to clear it. Vulnerable indeed! He was a gangster who was here for some kind of unsavory business with her dear childhood friend! Why in the world was she having these feelings? Hormones, she thought. It’s got to be hormones. She was just turning around to go back to her work when the fighting stopped and it was very quiet.
She heard his door open quietly and close, but she didn’t hear the familiar tinkle of the front door bell. She waited, but nothing. She came out of the back to check. He was sitting in the old chair with his head in his hands. Right now he truly did looks small and vulnerable. Something twisted in Shirley’s heart and she couldn’t stop herself from setting down her cleaning supplies and going to him. She sat on the settee across from him.
“Are you okay?”
He exhaled and his voice was deep and gravely. “Yeah, I'm fine… just… fine.”
She sat with him for a moment quietly.
“Well, alright. Let me know if you need anything.” She began to stand.
“It’s just that…”
She sat back down and leaned forward to listen.
“I mean, what do you do when you find yourself stuck in a life you hate, you’re surrounded by evil and hate and the people who are supposed to love and understand you are cruel bad people?”
Shirley was pretty sure he was being rhetorical but the pleading in his eyes and the desperation in his voice urged her to answer.
“You father?”
Thomas laughed a bitter chuckle.
“He’s not my father. He’s the devil. He wants me to… well what he wants me to do is bad, evil and I cant do it.” He pounded his fist on his thigh to emphasize this last statement.
She began to notice now how pale and thin he looked. Now that she thought about it, the café was closed, he didn’t know anyone in town and he rarely went out.
“When was the last time you ate a decent meal?”
He looked up at her and met her eyes for the first time since they began to talk.
“I don’t need food.”
Shirley sighed. Men were so stupid when it came to taking care of themselves. Did they all think they were superman?
“Look, I don’t know what it is you’re supposed to do or what you want to do, but you’re shaking so bad right now I would guess you couldn’t hold a pen, gun or knife. So let’s get you some food and at least steady those hands so you can do what ever it is you decide to do.”
He sat there for a while just looking at her then shook his head and chuckled.
“Right. Lead on.”
Shirley stood and held out her hand for him. He looked at it as if she were handing him a gun then took it. He stood and looked at her.
“Who are you? I mean, do you know who I am?”
Shirley released his hand when he was standing.
“No idea, but you are a guest in my hotel and you obviously need some help. That’s why I’m here. The café across the street has good burgers. I’m buyin’”
“Isnt that place closed?”
Shirley grinned. “Yeah, but I know the owner. She and I kind of have a deal.”
They walked out the door and towards the road and Thomas stopped. He was looking at a small tree near the parking lot laden with fruit.
“no way. Cant be.”
He walked towards it grinning like a Cheshire cat. He untucked his shirt and began to pick the wrinkled greenish brown fruits cradling them in his shirt like rare gems. Shirley walked to him and looked at his bounty. His shirttail was filled with the plump little fruits and he was smiling widely.
“I don’t know why I hadn’t noticed these before. These are wonderful.”
Shirley wrinkled her brow.
“What are they?”
“You’ll see.”
He nearly ran to the café, excited like a small child at Christmas. Shirley chuckled and shook her head. He was full of surprises today. She followed him to the door of the café, produced a key and opened the door.
“Does everyone in town have their own key?”
Shirley paused for a moment and thought.
“As a matter of fact, I think they do. See, Lisa, she’s the owner, she’s late a lot and most everyone who comes here needs to be somewhere early. So, since Lisa knew everyone and everyone knew Lisa, we just all got our own keys. It’s all on kind of a honor basis.”
Thomas gently deposited his load on the counter. Shirley walked in and flicked on the lights.
“We’ll probably be having company soon. Just so you know.”
Thomas started at this reaching for his hip. Shirley suspected he had a gun there under his jacket. She smiled.
“Relax there cowboy, I mean as soon as anyone turns on the lights here, it’s kind of a call for social hour. People show up to visit and have a cup of coffee.” She stopped and turned. “Speaking of which…” Shirley stepped behind the counter and started the large industrial pot brewing. She sighed. “I'm not much in the kitchen, but I can fry up a mean burger, does that sound okay?”
Thomas had been watching her and now he smiled widely.
“Would you mind terribly if I had a go at it in the kitchen?”
Shirley shrugged. “Go for it, Hot shot.”
Thomas grinned at her. He slipped behind the counter and into the kitchen. He found a colander and lifted his fruits into it treating each piece tenderly and taking them to the sink. He rinsed them, then carried them to the cutting board. He seemed completely at home and instinctively knew where everything was. Within a few minutes he produced a plate filled with the small fruits quartered and shining with some kind of glaze. They were a rich pink inside and smelled sweet and fresh. Shirley hesitantly picked up a piece. The juice and glaze dripped down her hand and she tasted it. Sweet and tart and fruity. It was like nothing she’d ever tried before. She bit into the fruit and all of her senses came alive. It was soft yet firm, sweet yet sour. Small seed like spots popped in her mouth releasing an almost bitter taste that made the sweet tartness come to life.
“OH my God, what ARE these?”
Thomas grinned at her through the pass through.
“Pink figs, fresh and very ripe. I drizzled them with warm honey. Do you like them?”
Shirley’s eyes rolled back in her head and she moaned. Through a half full mouth she said “How did I not know these were out there?”
Thomas was still grinning but had found a white apron and was busy chopping and slicing and mixing. Something was sizzling and the smells coming from the back made Shirley’s stomach growl in anticipation.
“Not many people realize what they have when they’ve got a fig tree, and the pink ones are even more rare.”
Shirley was watching him with curiosity. He’d found his element and was happier them she’d ever seen him in his short time here. Watching him was a show. He flipped things and tossed knives and when he told her to, Shirley would open her mouth and he’d flip a tiny morsel of heaven into her mouth.
The café had started to fill up much to Shirley’s surprise. She hadn’t heard the bell ring on the door. James and Sheriff Soda were the first two through the door sniffing the air and looking confused when they saw Shirley mesmerized at the counter and Thomas in the kitchen. James poured he and the Sheriff a cup of coffee. The Sheriff leaned towards Shirley and asked,
“What’s he making?”
Shirley looked at her startled. “Oh hey Sheriff. I have no idea but it smells wonderful. OH! Try these.”
She held out the plate of figs to the Sheriff and James. They each took one and looked at them skeptically. With the first taste they also were hooked.
“Where’d you find these?” James asked through a full mouth.
“He picked them in the parking lot of the Hotel! That old tree that’s always dropping fruit and making a mess. The one Frank wanted to have cut down.”
James had another slice of fig in his hand.
“Well, it’s not going anywhere. I’d forgotten how wonderful fresh figs are.”
Sheriff was licking her fingers. “What’s on them?”
Shirley smiled. “Warmed honey.”
Sheriff’s eyes went wide. “Wow.” She leaned close to Shirley and whispered, “Why do these remind me of sex?”
Shirley giggled. “I know what you mean. I don’t know why, but…” She smiled
The bell on the door rang again and Cami and Jessie walked in.
“OH man! What is cookin’ on the grill!?” Jessie looked a little like a hound dog on the scent.
Cami cried out in surprise. “Fresh figs! I love these! Where’d you find them?”
“Evidently the tree out in front of the parking lot is filled with them.” The Sheriff said taking another bite.
Cami slipped a piece in her mouth and relished the flavor. Jessie was watching her and practically drooling himself.
“Oh man…”
James leaned over and whispered in his ear. “I know… what is it about these things?”
Jessie grinned at him and chuckled.
“Heads up!” Thomas shouted from the kitchen and three plates slipped through. Shirley jumped up and caught them faster then anyone could see. She picked them up and distributed them among the friends. Thomas produced three more and all were served. The smell of garlic and caramelized onion were the first things to hit, then the beautiful whitish sauce with flecks of red pepper and green herbs topped a golden brown breast of chicken sliced thinly beside a mixture of steamed vegetables. Groans of pleasure and the sounds of cutlery on china were the only sounds heard for the next 30 minutes.
James finished first and leaned back in his seat.
“Thomas? That’s your name, right?”
Thomas’s mouth was full but he was relaxed and smiling. This was a different man from the one who’d come in to the café days before full of unspoken threats and violence. He nodded and swallowed his food.
“Yeah, I'm sorry.” He reached out his hand and took James’ hand in a firm handshake. “Thomas Palmero. Nice to meet you.”
James shook his hand.
“you too Thomas, I'm James Frey. I can tell you, I'm more then a little surprised at all of this. We were under the assumption that you meant harm to some of our citizens and the café here.”
“Oh, I do… uhh… did.” He set down his fork and wiped his mouth on a napkin. “My father had plans for this place. Evidently he knew the former owner. When he’d heard she’d passed, he had plans to claim the property.”
“But this property belongs to Lisa now.” The Sheriff had put on her official demeanor and was ready for a fight if the need came.
Thomas’s face went sullen and serious. “I know. I hadn’t known about Lisa. My father hadn’t known about Lisa. I need to talk to her. If I’m right, she’s my sister.”
Shirley stopped in midfork and looked at him a gasp as did the rest of the group.
Thomas shook his head as if to clear it. “It’s a long ugly story as are most of them that involve my father. Needless to say, He wanted me to… well do something I couldn’t do. I told him to go to Hell.” Thomas looked up at the small group and smiled shyly. “That may have been a mistake.”
Sheriff Soda sighed deeply and leaned back in her chair and looked at James. “I’ve heard of the Palmero’s. Telling Papa Palmero to go to Hell is definitely a mistake.”
James furrowed his brow and firmed his upper lip. Then he turned to Thomas.
“What I don’t get is, how does an amazing talent like you, end up as a flunkey for your father?”
Thomas grinned down at his plate.
“You try telling Papa you don’t want to go into the family business. Especially if you’re the adopted son he never wanted.”
James grimaced and nodded. He turned to the Sheriff. “So, what do we do now?”
Sheriff Soda grimaced and looked into her coffee cup. “We prepare for war.”

[TimothyBFan]

Hmmmm, and the plot thickens!!! Just don't leave us hanging for long please!

[Peekaboo]

I'm so glad to see The Long Story up and running again. This story is just so interesting. I can't wait to read the next addition.

[eaglesvet]

I know...I love this thread. I'm forgetting how we came to know that Thomas and Lisa are siblings? Was that a recent revelation?

[ticky]

I know...I love this thread. I'm forgetting how we came to know that Thomas and Lisa are siblings? Was that a recent revelation?

yeah, that was the last installment, before this one...



Lisa’s face was still ashen and she clung to Glenn like a life preserver.
“My mother was just 17 when she came to America from Ireland. Her mother had died of some mysterious illness and her father was a drunk. She came her looking for a better life but found nothing but more poverty and crime. She finally took a job for very little pay working as a cleaning girl in a huge mansion for Papa Palmero. It was alright at first, she worked mostly nights, cleaning floors and scrubbing out the ovens and fireplaces. Then one day one of the day maids didn’t show up for work and she was promoted.” Lisa’s face wrinkled in disgust at the word. “She began serving Papa his meals and cleaning up after him. He was pig! She never worked harder in her life and all she got for her trouble was constant groping. She was okay as long as someone else was around, but that wasn’t always possible. Eventually he caught her alone and he raped her. After that she was his favorite and it happened often till one day he came to her and told her to get out. No explanation, no good bye, just $100,000.00 cash to shut her up and a ride to the middle of no where. He never even knew she was pregnant, or at least I thought he didn’t, but now…”

and I promise *G* I'll try and write some more a little quicker. My tomatoes aren't ripening as quickly as I was hoping, so I should have some time for writing :)

[sodascouts]

Yeah ticky, this is called the LOOOOOOOOOONG story after all!

[eaglesvet]

yeah, that was the last installment, before this one...



and I promise *G* I'll try and write some more a little quicker. My tomatoes aren't ripening as quickly as I was hoping, so I should have some time for writing :)
Thanks, I remember now.

Oh, and I see...ya spend time in Oregon watchin' the t'maters ripen rather than the grass grow, huh? :wink:

[ticky]

LOL.. weellllll... when my tomatoes ripen Ill be canning again. I usually bring in about 12 to 15 lbs of tomatoes a day when they start. My sauce is a roasted tomato sauce so it takes time and work BUT, Cami is coming up for a few days before Labor Day and we'll be little canning fairies for a few days working our little fairy butts off! Till then, I'll try and keep writing:angel:

[Prettymaid]

we'll be little canning fairies for a few days working our little fairy butts off!

I always wondered where the fairy dust came from...;)

[ticky]

Okay, Willie, this one's for you. Feel better soon!!

*********************************************

Tim stood squinting at the back of the box. When did they start making the writing so small? It never used to be this hard to read, but now he seemed to need his reading glasses for about everything. He poured the box contents into a pot and added what looked like enough water. He put it on the stove top and turned on the heat. The box said medium high, but he didn’t have all day to wait, Willie would be awake soon and he didn’t want her to have to wait. He set the dial to high and went to find some orange juice in the refrigerator. James kept it well stocked and sure enough, there was a fresh pitcher of juice right up front. He pulled down a glass from the cabinet and filled it with cold orange juice. On the window pane he spotted a pretty crystal bud vase. Perfect! He filled it with water and ran out in the front of the ranch house where the pink rose bush was just starting to put on buds and found one, round and fresh looking. He poked his finger and then his thumb on the thorns, but he managed to break it free without too much damage to the new bud and proudly took it back into the kitchen. The whole house smelled like chicken noodle soup now and Tim was sure that meant his soup would be done. It was, indeed, boiling over. Tim ran to the stove and turned off the burner. The stove top was a mess, but he’d deal with that later. He slipped the bud into the vase and placed it and the juice on a small wooden tray. He found one of the deep chili bowls in the cabinet next to the glasses, placed it on the tray and poured the chicken soup in to it. The noodles floated on the top, but it had boiled so it must be done and it smelled good. He found a few crackers in the pantry and placed them, a spoon and a folded napkin on the tray. Tim looked down at his creation and smiled. It looked just like something out of a magazine. Willie would love it. He carefully picked it up and backed through the hall door and down to her bedroom door. Balancing the tray he tapped gently on the door and turned the knob. The door quietly swung open. Willie opened her eyes as he walked through the door. She started to sit up.
“Oh hey, you’re awake.” He set the tray on the table by the bed and sat next to her helping her sit up and fluffing a pillow behind her.
Willie sniffled and blinked her eyes. The light coming in from the hall was bright to her redden eyes and her head was throbbing. She thought she might be able to smell the soup Tim had brought her, but she wasn’t sure. This cold had really played havoc with her senses and she couldn’t tell the difference between the beautiful rose on the tray and an onion. The idea made her want to cry.
“I brought you some lunch, honey. How are you feeling?”
He’d brought her lunch. Obviously he’d made it himself and it was the sweetest thing he’d ever done for her, that made her want to cry too. Everything made her want to cry today. She started to cry.
“Awe, baby. What’s wrong? Don’t you like soup? Maybe you’re not hungry. I should have asked. I'm sorry. I’ll take it back in the kitchen.”
Willie reached out her hand and put it on Tim’s strong arm. It was warm and soft under her cold fingers.
“No, I love it. It looks beautiful.” She gently touched the delicate pink rose bud.
“It’s just, well, I feel so bad and I look awful and you’re so sweet…” Willie’s tears drown out the rest of her words.
Tim chuckled and Sat up next to her pulling her into his arms tenderly.
“I just want to help you feel better, honey. I worry about you when you’re sick.”
She laid her head on his shoulder and dabbed her eyes and nose with a kleenex.
“You’re too good for me.”
He smiled. “Nahh, I'm a worthless wreck without you. That’s why I want to take care of you. See? I'm actually very selfish.”
She laughed.
“That’s better.” He reached over and gingerly picked up the tray and placed it on her lap. “Do you think you might be ready for a little bite to eat?”
She looked down at the uncooked noodles floating in the yellow broth. It did smell good and the broth probably wouldn’t be too bad. She couldn’t taste anything anyway.
Tim had picked up a spoon and dipped it into the steaming soup. He blew on it gently and held it to her mouth. She closed her eyes, sipped and gasped.
“what’s wrong? Too hot?”
Willie nodded while sucking in air. Tim held up the orange juice for her to sip.
“Better? Willie smiled and nodded.
“Yeah, much. I’m not really hungry right now anyway.” Tim moved the tray back to the table. Willie looked at it.
“The rose is beautiful. Thank you.” She smiled up at him from her pillow as she sank back down. He smiled down at her.
“It made me think of you when I saw them this morning.”
She sighed. She just loved it when he talked all mushy. He picked up the book by the bed.
“Would you like me to read to you?”
Willie loved this part. The book they were reading was a trashy romance novel she’d bought at Walmart last time they’d driven into town. Tim had teased her about it, but then they’d had great fun reading it together and acting out some of the steamer scenes. Tim even did all the voices for all the different characters. Willie snuggled into Tim’s side. He smiled, cleared his throat and opened the book. Willie wasn’t up to reenacting the hot scenes yet, but she’d be sure to dog ear those parts for later. She laid her head against his chest as his voice resonated through her as he read.

[sodascouts]

ooh! Another installment! Yay!!!

[TimothyBFan]

Ooooh MY!!!!! http://bestsmileys.com/signs14/2.gif

Now I'm really feeling better!! So good to see The Long Story back!!

BTW--for the record--I don't care how sick I am--if Timothy wants to act out the "steamy scenes" ---http://bestsmileys.com/love2/15.gif

[sodascouts]

Well, that's my fault. I told ticky a while back that although they could be implied, no explicit sex scenes were allowed on the board. Sorry for disappointing you guys but there are young'uns about. ;)

[TimothyBFan]

I was only joking and actually meant that if in my own little dream world (or Ticky's Long Story) no matter how sick I am, if Timothy suggested acting out those scenes, I would gladly oblige! :hilarious: Besides, it's so much fun just leaving a bit to the imagination. ;-)