Incest Justin Thyme by Callicious

[Ramesh_Rocky]

Sorry I couldn't catch your calls earlier. Paul and I married yest. Out of touch until Wed. Lv U

Steph dissolved into tears and sank into the couch. All I knew to do was stay there by her side and gently stroke her back as she continued to sob. Rosemary handed me a box of tissues that I set down next to Steph.

Finally, after several seemingly interminable minutes Steph's sobs slowed, and with a shaky hand she reached for the tissues. My knees ached from kneeling like this for so long, but I remained where I was, shifting only slightly to get the blood flow going to my feet again. Steph's skin felt like silk, so smooth and soft it was, but honestly that was far from the front of my thoughts. I was hurting for one for whom I cared deeply, how deeply I had not known before now. All of my thoughts were on providing comfort and taking away some of her pain. Perhaps that is where love really begins?

At St. Francis Hospital a young man entered the main door carrying a large display of two dozen roses. A simple card addressed to Susan Collins was on the trident card holder, but there was no florist card visible. Slowly, the young gentleman approached the reception/information desk.

"May I help you, Sir?"

He was hesitant, and obviously uncomfortable in this situation, but that did not mark him as unusual. Most people entering a hospital feel that way. "I hope so. These are for Miss Susan Collins. I understand she is in ICU and not able to receive visitors. Would it be possible to have these delivered to her?"

"You must be new. Didn't they tell you at the florist's shop to deliver at the delivery area around on Spencer?"

"Oh. I'm not from a florist's. I didn't know."

"No, no. It's my mistake. I just assumed, and I'm sorry. Certainly, I'll have one of the volunteers run them up to her. Shall I say whom they are from?"

"No, that won't be necessary. It's in the card. Can you please give me an update on her condition? All I could get earlier was 'guarded condition', but I really don't know what that means."

The volunteer behind the counter looked at her computer for a moment then back to the young gentleman. "Are you family, sir?"

"No. We just met, kind of by accident, recently, and I'm concerned about her."

His reply generated a knowing smile from the elderly volunteer. She sensed romance, which excited her, and he seemed like such a nice young man. "I'm really not supposed to say," she half whispered. "She's not really in 'critical' condition, but not entirely in 'satisfactory' condition either. They didn't think she would make it through surgery, but it looks like she will be OK. It's going to be a tough road for her. What they ought to do with these drunk drivers! We see too much of this in here." She reached up and patted the young man's hand. "I think they will be moving her to another room tomorrow, and you can probably visit then, but call first, OK?"

Wordlessly, he nodded his head, turned, and walked back out the door. The receptionist watched him walk away with tender eyes. "Young love," she thought. She did not see him sit behind the wheel of his car with his head on the wheel before finally starting the car and driving away.

At the stop sign he quickly programmed an address on his GPS and following its prompts pulled into the driveway of a modest home. He took a deep shuddering breath, opened the door and stepped out. It didn't look like anyone was home, but he had to try. From the rear seat he removed a vase with two dozen roses, identical to the one left for Susie, turned and walked to the front door. He rang the bell, but although he could hear it ring there was no response. What to do?

Quickly he walked back to his car and replaced the flowers in the holder and grabbed a notepad on which he wrote, "Stephanie Winters, I attempted to reach you this morning but found no one home. Please call me at Michael's Flowers, day or evening, and wrote down his cell number. Please let me know the best time and place to deliver your flowers."

He stood there and pondered the situation for a moment. There is not a 'Michael's Flowers'. The number was his own, but he really needed a chance to talk with her, and the sooner the better. If this didn't work he didn't know what he would do. He couldn't just leave the flowers. The sun would ruin them before the day was half gone. From his briefcase he removed a binder clip and carried the note back to the door. Using the binder clip he fastened the note to the outside of their mailbox, then made his way back to the car. There was nothing else he could do about things at the moment. Carefully he backed out of the drive and made his way home. All he could do is hope she would give him a call.

Stephie finally had her crying under control. The poor girl had really been through the wringer in the last twenty-four hours. She gave me a wan smile and said, "Thank you, Justin. I don't know what I would have done without you and Rosemary. I don't have anybody else." I smiled down at her and said, "You'll always have us, Sweetheart. We don't give up on those we love."

I started to rise, and pulled my hand from her back, where I had been mindlessly stroking her skin. "Oh, please. Don't stop. That feels so nice!" I started stroking softly again, sliding my hand over that silky soft skin, up to her shoulders, then down to her waist, and back and forth gently and randomly. Before it had been comforting, not sexual as I wasn't really conscious of what my hand was doing, but that rapidly changed now. She laid there on her belly, head turned toward me, and her eyes locked on mine. It wasn't but a couple of minutes and she started sighing with pleasure.

Rosemary sat quietly on the other side of the room watching. I know it was tearing at her heartstrings to see me with my hands on another naked girl instead of her, but she had her mind set on it, so she encouraged things along. Without even considering the matter I had carefully kept my hand above her waist before, but now it strayed further south with a mind of its own. My hand stroked down her side and onto her hip, caressed that delightful little curve young women have, and then back up slightly and across the bottom side of her waist. I didn't slide my hand across that taut little ass I've been watching for years now, badly as I wanted to, but rather stayed in the safe zones. I couldn't push to fast. This was not for me anyway, but rather for her. She was still in a fragile state of mind, and needed building up.

There was some very bad bruising showing up on her left hip and ribs from where she bounced off of the door in the impact. They were obviously tender, but I noted she seemed to appreciate the ministrations my hand provided as they were caressed. My hand trailed down her side, tracing her curves, onto her hip and to her thigh further than I had gone before, almost to her knee, causing a shiver to run throughout. This time I just trailed the fingertips back up the top of her thigh, rather than staying on the side until I reached that delightful little crease at the bottom of the ass. I let the palm of my hand rest on her ass cheek and trailed one fingertip back and forth a few times before sliding my hand higher and cupping her ass cheek and squeezing it gently.

[Ramesh_Rocky]

Steph's eyes were wide as she stared into mine, and the tip of her tongue crept from her mouth trying vainly to moisten her lips. Her breathing was much more rapid, almost a pant, and I felt her ass rise slightly into my hand. Slowly I slipped my hand across to the other cheek and caressed it gently in a circular fashion. Her ass is so tiny it was no problem to cup it in my hand. Steph moaned softly and slid closer to the edge of the couch. Her hand sought the back of my head and she gently pulled me toward her as her face moved toward mine until we met in a very tender, but toe curling kiss. It was not the intensity of the kiss, for it was not intense, but the emotion behind it. It wasn't as much laying claim to me as much as it was a declaration of possession. Her eyes never left mine the entire time.

My breath was shaky when our lips parted. My very soul was shaken by that kiss. It went far beyond any physical attraction, nor was it the result of anything physical. This was on the same level as the feelings I had for Rosemary, but yet on a different plane. Understand it? I confess I don't have a clue, but I know from that moment on I was Steph's.

I heard a sniff from the other side of the room. Rosemary had been watching what was happening, and recognized it for what it was, and I know she felt left out and abandoned. What could I say to her to take away her pain? Stephanie was not supplanting my love for her, but yet it was going to be different. This is something she, herself, had encouraged, yet it left her with a hole in her psyche, a chasm of longing bordering on despair.

No one can say Stephanie is insensitive or uncaring. She heard the sniff, too, and knew what it was. "Rosie, (she was the only person who could get away with calling her that. Not even Susie!), come over here and join us," and she patted the edge of the couch next to where I was kneeling. When Rosemary hesitantly sat down there Stephanie released her hold on the back of my head and grasped Rosemary's hands. "I'm not going to come between you and Justin. I know you two love each other very much, but I hope there is room in there for me beside you. Watching you two make love this morning was the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. It wasn't just sex, but it was you two connecting. I can't break that, nor would I try. May I share it? Justin, I love you. I hope to be able to share the same kind of love you have for Rosemary. May I?"

Steph rolled up onto her side so she was facing us, and believe it or not, I didn't even notice her nudity, or Rosemary's either for that matter. This was a moment beyond mere physical attraction. I just reached out both arms, putting one around Rosemary's waist and the other gently under Stephanie's head and pulled the two of them to me. Rosemary and Steph each slipped an arm around each other in one of the most improbable, yet most meaningful, group hugs ever.

Why is it that at the most sublime moment, life itself has to intervene? We were in the midst of that wonderful group hug when the phone rang. Not one of our cells, we would have ignored them, but the house phone, which always must be answered. I quickly broke away and hurried to the kitchen to grab the wall phone by the third ring. "Hello? Thyme residence."

"Ah, hello, Justin. I thought you would be at work?"

"Hi Grandpa. I was, but nothing was going on. No customers yet at 12:30, so Jim closed up and sent us home. He was really nice about taking my notice, and is going to work with us on stuff for the house, too."

"That's good. What I was calling about, I finally was able to get hold of Susie's parents. Needless to say, they are quite worried, and wanted to get off the boat and fly directly home, but I talked them out of it. I told them I will keep them abreast of developments and offered my services, which they were most grateful to receive. Now the thing I need to do is this. I need to sit down with Stephanie at the earliest chance. Is there any way we could get together for a while this evening?

"I'm sure we can do that. Do you want us to go over there?"

"That would be easiest on my part, but if possible it might be best to meet at her house. I know I will want to see her insurance policy, and I might need info on the vehicle. It could save trips and time."

"Let me check." I put down the phone and asked the girls if that were doable, then asked Grandpa "How about 5:30?"

"All right. I'll see you all there." And with that he hung the phone up. Grandpa was that way. When he was done talking, he was done talking. 'Goodbye' wasn't important to him.

Stephanie said she had to have a shower before meeting with Grandpa, and since it was upstairs would I be a dear and carry her again? She gave me a very coquettish smile and a wink but then didn't take her eyes off of my cock while I walked back over to where she was lying on the couch. Rosemary just smirked at us, and when I bent over and picked Steph up gave me a little pinch on the ass. She gave Steph a light swat on the ass as I lifted, although she was careful not to hit the bruised areas. This made Steph squeal and jump upwards in my arms, as she turned her body away from Rosemary and into mine, with her left nipple right at my mouth level. I wasn't going to let that opportunity by, so I held her to me and sucked that morsel into my mouth and sucked and licked it thoroughly before letting my arms down to carry her.

[Ramesh_Rocky]

"Ohh, that was nice. You can do that anytime you want to, Justin! I felt that all the way down in my . . . ." Her face turned red as a beet.

"Thank you. That is an invitation I will be sure to follow up on." I smiled down at her. Tilting her upward one more time I latched on to her nipple and fluttered my tongue back and forth rapidly, bouncing the little nubbin and then sucked on it only to pull away with a 'POP'. Steph gasped and held to me tightly the rest of the way up the stairs.

As I gently set Stephanie down on her feet at the top of the stairs Rosemary piped up. "We wouldn't want the invalid to fall down in the shower and hurt herself would we? Maybe you ought to volunteer, for safety sake of course, to assist Stephie in the shower, Justin."

With a mock bow and the worst English accent ever I said, "Prithee, wouldest m'lady deign allow her most humble servant assist in the performance of her ablutions, simply for her own safety's sake, of course?" As I said safety I waggled my eyebrows as best I could in a Groucho Marx fashion, which broke her up laughing.

It ended up Rosemary needed a shower, too, so we all crowded into a not overlarge shower where we laughed and giggled and washed each other, being very careful certain areas were well cleaned. We were nearly done, just rinsing the last of the conditioner/shampoo/bodywash off when Rosemary grabbed my cock, which of course was hard as a rock, and said, "Stephanie, you missed a spot. It doesn't look clean enough to me. Give it a good shot of bodywash and make sure you get it all."

Steph just giggled and looked up at me with eyes dancing. She put a line of bodywash down the length of my cock and then proceeded to 'scrub' it thoroughly from end to end, and for good measure also scrubbed my ball sack with her other hand. It was only moments before I could feel the ball sack tighten up and I started spurting my cum onto her tits and chest. Steph quickly pointed my cock at Rosemary, giving her the second shot, before pulling it back toward her and stepping into me so my cock was pressed tightly against her belly and she could feel the last pulses as they squirted out.

My knees were sagging, and I had to lean against the wall to keep from falling as she continued holding me tightly against her. "I wanted to feel you coming, and that was as close as I could do it without actually having sex. That was cool." She pulled my head down to hers and kissed me softly. "I love you, Justin. Nobody is ever going to love another as much as I'm going to love you."

We rinsed off my cum from each other and got out of the shower and had fun drying each other off. Quickly, I picked Stephie up and carried her from the room as if she couldn't walk, and carried her across the hall to Rosemary's room. Laying her down carefully on the bed I leaned over and took her nipple in my mouth, sucked it in, and hummed on it while fluttering my tongue across it. Steph started writhing on the bed and moaning. I grasped her other nipple with my thumb and forefinger and started plucking at it as if picking cherries. Her moans were getting frantic within just a few moments, and then I changed tactics and dropped to my knees beside the bed and buried my face between her legs.

"No, Justin. You don't want to do that!" Oh, but I did! Ignoring her protestations I continued on. This was no time for teasing and foreplay. We had that all day long. This was the time she needed me to go on the attack and bring her some release. Her hands were pushing ineffectively against my head, trying to ward me off, but with both hands now plucking at her nipples and twisting them gently she was so distracted and so sexually needy she didn't know whether to stop me or not. My mouth found her mons, which was nearly dripping with arousal, and extending my tongue I swept it up her crease, reveling in the taste of the one I was coming to love. My tongue flicked across her nubbin, which caused her to wail, and her hands instead of pushing me away grasped my hair and tugged me.

I lapped at her pussy like a thirsty dog at a water bowl for a few more strokes before I latched my lips on her clitoris and started with the tip of my tongue laving it. She was bucking up and down on the bed alternatively moaning and wailing until for some reason I don't understand I gently blew on her little love nubbin like one blows on the belly of a baby. When I did she came unglued and nearly pulled the hairs from my head trying to pull me closer, while her legs held me in a scissors lock. With a loud "OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" she suddenly went limp and her arms dropped to the bed, nerveless and still.

"Wow! You never did that to me," said Rosemary from the other side of the bed.

"I haven't had opportunity, yet, but I will, I promise you. I'll never short-change you, Rosemary. You mean way too much to me for that."

"I know it, and I'm not jealous, really. It just sounds like it." She stepped around the bed and gave me a hug and a little peck on the lips. "Oh, so that's what pussy tastes like! Not quite what I'm looking for, but not bad. You'd better hurry and wash your face and brush your teeth. You don't want Grandpa smelling that on your breath!" She gave me a cheeky grin and a little swat on the ass.

"I want to wait for Stephie to wake up first." I sat down on the bed next to her and held her hand in mine. It was only a minute or so before her eyes fluttered open and she looked up at me dreamily.

"What happened? That was amazing!" I just lifted her hand to my lips and kissed it gently.

"I wanted to give back to you what you've been giving me. I'm glad you enjoyed it. I hate to break up the party, but we have to meet Grandpa in just thirty minutes, and we don't want to be late!"

"That's for sure!" said Rosemary, and she quickly pulled out some shorts and a tee shirt Steph could wear. "I don't have a bra that will fit you, so we had better get there early enough for you to put one on before Grandpa gets there.

I hurried across to the bathroom and quickly washed my face as I swished mouthwash in my mouth, then I quickly threw on some shorts and a tank top before hurrying downstairs. I left Mom a note telling her what we were doing and poured myself a glass of Coke.

Moments later the girls came clattering down the steps and we hurried out to Rosemary's bug. I hated to be seen in the thing, but there was no way to put the three of us in my Mini, so I crawled into the back seat, not that it is much better than putting three in a Mini. No way was I going to be seen driving the thing!

We were none too soon, because Grandpa and Grandma pulled into the drive just a moment after Steph had scurried into the house to find a bra, but before Rosemary and I got in the door. I hurried over to open the door for Grandma and gave her a hug and kissed her cheek before walking around and shaking Grandpa's hand and hugging him. I saw something flapping on the outside of Steph's mailbox, so I wandered over to get it and the mail for her before going into the house behind the others.

Steph said, "I never heard of a Michael's Flowers before, have you?"

[Ramesh_Rocky]

None of us had, so she excused herself for a minute and called the number and spoke for just a few minutes before hanging up and joining us in the dining room, where we were seated around the table. She and Rosemary poured us each a drink, and then we sat down to discuss what steps to take legally to be certain she was taken care of, as well as Susie. Grandpa took a look at the security officer report and then asked some questions and took notes of what Steph said had happened. He also told us of calling the hospital in the guise of the family's legal counsel, and the report he got from them.

Susie had multiple lacerations to the face and head, a concussion, a broken clavicle, her right arm was broken in two places, four broken ribs and a punctured lung, a broken hip and a broken femur. Her right ankle had been crushed and was pinned in the wreckage. The Fire Department had to cut it out with the 'Jaws of Life'.

Besides that her spleen had been badly damaged, and had to be removed. She had been given several pints of blood because she had nearly bled out before they were able to stop the bleeding. There was no sign of brain trauma beyond the concussion, and no swelling of the brain, which was very good news. Stephanie and Rosemary were both in tears by the time Grandpa finished telling of the injuries.

"The hospital has upgraded her condition report to 'Satisfactory', although there is concern about the ankle. Reconstructive surgery cannot be attempted yet until swelling goes down and it can be assessed further. One surgeon wanted to amputate last night, but the other thought there was a chance to save it. All in all, she is one sick girl, but it looks like she will make it. She will be in a body cast for five to six weeks, and then will face months of therapy."

As Grandpa was finishing the report I saw a Cadillac Escalade pull into the drive. My first thought was an ambulance chaser was trying to make his pitch in person, but the young man got out of the driver's door and removed a large vase of roses from the second seat. As he made his way toward the front door I said, "Looks like the flower business must be pretty good!" Steph was in no condition to answer the door, so I made my way to the front entrance and opened it before he had a chance to ring the doorbell.

"Hi, I'm Michael. Is Stephanie Winters available?"

"She's kind of indisposed at the moment. She just received the report on a friend of hers who was very badly injured in an accident. I can take those for her."

"Thank you, but it is very important I speak with her for just a moment. I'm not a delivery driver, as such."

"I didn't really think so, driving an Escalade," I said dryly. "My grandfather is representing her, so if you are just another ambulance chaser trying a new way to get a foot in the door you may as well take your flowers and beat it."

"I'm sorry, Sir, but you misunderstand me. My name is Michael Borden, and I'm the one who hit her car, and I want to apologize and see what I need to do to make things right."

I stood and looked at him for a minute or two, restraining the urge to slug him and lay him out on the front sidewalk, but I managed to restrain myself sufficiently to say, "Please wait here, and I'll see if Stephanie wants to speak with you or not."

Leaving him on the front step I closed the door in his face and walked back to the dining room. When everyone looked up to see what it was I said, "Steph, a Michael Borden is at the door. He said he needs to speak with you, to apologize for hitting your car and to see what he can do to make things right. Do you wish to speak with him, or shall I send him away?"

Steph looked over at Grandpa, as if asking his advice. "I would say I don't think it would hurt for him to apologize. I don't see where that would put him at any advantage. It's very clear he is responsible, and the law will hold him so. I'd say it is up to you. If you would like me to I'll go to the door and see if I think he's being forthright. I must say I've never seen this happen before."

"Please." Stephanie huddled in her chair like a little girl.

I walked back to the front door with Grandpa and opened the door. "Mr. Borden? How can I help you?"

"Yes, sir. As I told your grandson, is it? I need to speak with Stephanie and apologize for hitting her car and injuring her and her friend." I could see his eyes welling up, and started to get a sense this guy was for real. "May I have just a few minutes of her time, and then I will get out of your way. I assure you I am not trying to avoid responsibility for what happened. In fact I wanted to see what I can do to make things right as best I can."

Grandpa glanced at me and saw my small nod. "Come on ahead, then young man. I appreciate you coming by this way. In over forty years of legal practice I've never experienced this. I certainly hope you are legitimate, for otherwise I assure you, you will be digging a mighty deep hole for yourself."

"Thank you, Sir. I assure you I am."

He followed us into the house, and it was obvious from the bruising on her face which girl was Stephanie. Carrying the flowers before him he walked directly to her chair and knelt before her and said, "I want to apologize for hitting you, and for being in the condition I was. I came personally because I owed you an apology and an explanation, not an excuse for what happened. I take full responsibility, and I've instructed both my insurance agent and my attorney to lay no obstacles in your way. Beyond that, I am prepared to cover anything insurance does not and to do whatever it takes to make things right. Why I am here is to ask for your forgiveness."

[Ramesh_Rocky]

Stephanie looked at him, and at the two dozen roses, and just nodded. Grandpa took the flowers from him and set them on the table carefully. Steph finally managed to say, "The roses are beautiful. Thank you." Michael just nodded gravely at her.

Grandpa pulled another chair to the table and offered it to him, and said, "You said you had an explanation? What can we get you to drink? Coke, another soft drink?"

"A glass of water would be nice, thank you." Rosemary jumped up to get it for him as Michael sat down in the offered chair. "Please don't take this as an excuse, I make none. I was driving under the influence, and I will plead guilty to doing so and take the consequences although I was at a .07, which is under the legal limit, I was still under the influence. I don't drink. My religion does not permit stimulants of any kind, even caffeine, and no alcohol of any sort. I said I don't drink, so why did I blow a .07? I was invited to a party by a young lady I had a couple of classes with, and although there was beer there I had only a couple of glasses of what I was told was a fruit punch, but without my knowledge, or hers either I'm convinced, someone spiked the punch rather heavily. This is under investigation, and will be prosecuted if possible. I'm also only 19, so I'm underage, with which also I have been charged."

"I was feeling a little light headed, and my stomach was upset, so I made my excuses and was trying to get home, not understanding the problem. When I got to the intersection I was hurrying, and honestly didn't see the light until Just before I hit you, but then it was too late. I went by the hospital, but they told me Susan is in ICU and is not able to receive visitors. I have been praying almost without stopping since then that she will not die." By this time tears were streaming down his face and dripping onto his shirt. He pulled his wallet from his pocket and removed two business cards, one each of which he gave to Grandpa and to Stephanie. "Here are my numbers. Please feel free to call on me at any time. I want to make this right, and to know I have your forgiveness for my wrongdoing."

I've never seen a grown man cry the way I saw Michael cry that evening. It was obvious it was real, and it was from the heart. Steph was crying as well, and Grandpa sat there looking totally perplexed. Finally he rose and walked around the table and extended a hand to Michael. "Son, I want you to know I've never seen another man do what you have done tonight. That took real guts, and you have laid yourself out in a very precarious position by doing this. I am not an unreasonable man, and I am doing this as a favor to friends of the family as I'm retired, so I have no financial stake in this." He handed Michael a couple of his own business cards. "Give one to your attorney. I know him well, and we can work together amicably. I cannot forgive you; that is up to Stephanie, but I want you to know you have my utmost respect for coming here tonight like this. I know the judge who will be handling your case, and if you would like, I would be most happy to appear in court on your behalf and tell him how you have handled yourself tonight. Obviously, there are legal issues here, and you will have to face them. I will do all for you that I can."

Michael stood to leave, and Stephanie stood with him. Grasping his arms she pulled him toward her and kissed him gently on the cheek. "I forgive you. Thank you for coming." Michael just nodded, afraid to trust his voice and made his way to the door, where I let him out. Impulsively, I reached out a hand and shook his.

"What you just did took guts. I don't know that I could have done the same. Thank you."

"I couldn't have lived with myself if I hadn't. Besides, it was the right thing to do."

"When you go to the hospital to see Susie, don't call her Susan. She will never forgive you for that." A faint wry smile tugged at his lips. I was glad I could lighten a very small portion of the load he was under.

Grandma, who had remained silent during the entire conversation, looked at me and said, "You take a lesson from that young man, Justin. He not only has intestinal fortitude, but he also has strength from his convictions. He could easily have excused what happened by blaming someone else, and he would have been correct, but he accepted responsibility for his own actions. He will go far in life, Good Lord willing."



Monday morning I rode to school with Rosemary and Steph. Stephanie had a Technicolor face from the all of the bruising, and two black eyes caused by the air bag accented the yellows, greens and blues. Mom offered to let her stay home, but she insisted she couldn't afford to miss classes. She was already struggling in physics, one of my strongest subjects, although I took it last year as an honors class. I didn't know it gave her trouble, so I made an appointment with her for the evening to work on it together. Spend more time with Steph? I would force myself, although keeping our attentions focused on the coursework was going to be difficult.

[Ramesh_Rocky]

I made it a point to drop by and see Mr. Hulvey during one of my study halls, and set up an appointment to start fishing cables in the evenings, starting on Wednesday. That part of his order had come in early on last Friday, so it was going to work out nicely. I had been afraid I wouldn't get them for another two weeks, which would definitely put a damper on our plans for the house. Good guy that he is, he gave me the access code to his garage door opener so that I could go directly from school and would not have to wait until he or his wife could get home. Also, having access to the garage made it a lot easier to schlep my gear down to the basement without having to go through the house. Such trust was an honor to me, and something I was always careful to not abuse.

Just as soon as school was over, the three of us hurried over to Grandma's house. Although she had closed down her interior decorating business she still had accounts at several paint and decorating stores, and we were going to start picking out some of the necessary supplies and paint. We probably could have worked out a volume discount up in Scottsdale, but we knew we couldn't match what they would give Grandma, so we were going to go ahead and place the orders locally and because of the size order we knew they would be willing to deliver it for us. After all, we were going to be buying enough paint to paint a mid-sized hotel. It wasn't just your run of the mill house. Also, by combining carpet with the paint we could trim the price on flooring as well.

Grandma's Cadillac was a lot more comfortable than Rosemary's Bug, and I was very happy to get out of that back seat. We had to hurry, because we were planning to visit Susie just as soon as we had our orders placed. Grandpa stopped us before we were able to get away with Grandma. He had just returned from seeing Susie, and getting her OK for him to represent her. It was a formality, but it had to be carried out. He quietly warned us not to react when we went into the room, because we would not recognize her at first glance. Her condition was still satisfactory, and they were slowly weaning her of some of the painkillers, but she was still on oxygen, and had a chest tube because of the collapsed lung.

We spent two hours at the paint and carpet shop. I had thought we would go to one of the big building supply houses, but not with Grandma! "Those stores are good for some things, like lumber and structural goods, but when you are doing something like what we are working on you are much better off buying quality. In the long run it is less expensive, because it will look good longer, and it will last better, especially in a high use environment like your house. We are not making a flop-house, but a high class alternative to dorms. We don't want to create a snobbish atmosphere, but at the same time we want it to be a cut above, to draw the better class tenants. That will accomplish two things. One, it will allow for a higher rental, and two, it will allow for a more affluent client so you don't have to chase the rent every month. If you are going to get involved in property management you have to think through these things."

Another thing I was to learn from this project, although it came about later, was the higher quality products are actually much easier to apply! Grandma taught me the biggest difference between the amateur and the professional, other than experience, is in the quality of their tools and materials. They make it as easy on themselves as possible.

When we arrived at the hospital, the three of us made our way quietly to Susie's room. I was surprised to find Michael sitting in a recliner. He held a finger to his lips and waved to step out of the room, and he followed us into the hallway. "Hi, guys. She's sleeping right now, and it would be better to not wake her if we can help it. She comes and goes, but it isn't anything wrong; it's the pain meds. Sometimes she's a little loopy from them, but others she can talk with you."

"How long have you been here?" I asked.

"Since eleven this morning. They had her in a double room this morning, but I had her moved to a private one. I didn't think she would be able to rest with all the commotion going on in there. Why don't we go get a cup of coffee or something? She just went to sleep, and I don't think she will awaken for half an hour or so."

He led the way toward the elevator, and we descended to the basement and the cafeteria. "This will be better, I think. She has been rather restless whenever activity is going on in the room. I think she needs to sleep as much as possible to let the body heal itself."

"Have you been able to talk with her? Is she lucid?" Steph asked, nearly crying.

"Some of the time. Like I said upstairs, she comes and goes, but that is because she is on some pretty heavy pain meds. We were able to talk for ten to fifteen minutes a couple of times, and then she would drift off, but yes, we were able to talk about the accident and stuff."

Rosemary piped in, "So why have you been here all day? Don't you have work or school, or something?"

Michael just gave her a little smile. "I don't work, so I have the time available. I just feel responsible, and with her family out of the country, she doesn't have anyone to be there with her. There isn't much worse than being alone in the hospital, especially when you are in pain. I just felt it was the least I could do." I just nodded my head. There was a lot more going with this guy than appeared on the surface. I was beginning to think I could really get to like him.

"I thought maybe I could fill you in on her situation a bit, and that it would be easier to do so down here. A lot of times people who are unconscious actually can hear what is going on. That's why you never talk about anything bad in their condition. I'm not sure if they can hear and understand when they are out from meds, but I know it's the case with coma. I just thought it would be better to be safe. Besides, I don't like being talked about if I can't defend myself." Stephanie was sitting quietly, almost as if she was trying to sink into the chair. Her eyes were scared and tear-filled. I reached over and took her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. Rosemary was being uncharacteristically quiet and withdrawn, but she had not been in the accident with Susie like Stephie had.

"I spoke with your grandfather," he nodded at Rosemary and at me. "Did he give you any word on her condition?" All three of us nodded. "You know, I really like that gentleman. He has a lot of character, and principles. I'd hate to be opposing him in court! Anyway, he told me Susie's parents asked him to represent them, but there is going to be no need for any legal actions. I've already made arrangements with the hospital to send me all bills the insurance company doesn't cover, but I have premium insurance. Like I said, I had her moved to a private room. She will get the best care possible."

"Most of her injuries are not serious in the long run. I was a little concerned about the punctured lung, but it seems to be doing well today. They had to remove her spleen, but one can live without it. It's better to have, obviously, but not life threatening. None of the broken bones are serious except for the right ankle." His eyes clouded, and thought he was going to cry, but he blinked a couple of times and swallowed hard before continuing in a whisper. "They were going to amputate it last night, but one of the Dr's prevailed to try and save it. I asked them to consult with Dr. Hepburn from over at Mayo's in Scottsdale. He's one of the best Orthopedic Dr's in the country. They still aren't sure if it can be saved. It was crushed pretty badly, and pinned, in the wreck. It will be some time before they can even do surgery to put the bones together if it can be saved."

He sat with his head down for a couple of minutes, and we remained silent, allowing him to get control of his emotions. "I've been praying all day her foot can be saved," he whispered. His chin dropped to his chest as he clasped his hands together on top of the table. He squeezed his hands until they turned white, and I saw tears drop from his eyes. His anguish over the situation was plain to see.

Stephanie slipped from her seat and put an arm around Michael's shoulders, then laid her head on top of his head. I couldn't hear what she said to him, but I saw his shoulders shudder as he fought to maintain his composure. Rosemary reached a hand across and covered Michael's hands and she began stroking gently until he finally lifted his head. I handed him a couple of napkins, and he wiped his eyes and blew his nose softly before looking at each of us. "Thanks. You who have every right to hate me have shown compassion. I don't deserve it, but I thank you."

Stephanie, bless her heart, hugged him to her and said softly, "It is you who came to us and asked our forgiveness. It was you, who had the character necessary to try to make things right. How can we hold something that was not your fault against you?" She kissed his cheek gently, then she sat back down to allow him to get himself back together.

[Ramesh_Rocky]

Michael drew in a shuddering breath and said, "Shall we go back upstairs and see if Susie is awake yet?" We all stood and made our way to the elevator. As we ascended I said to Michael, "If you think my grandfather is tough, you don't know my grandmother. She is quiet and gentle, but inside she is made of steel. You made an impression on her, and although she didn't say a word while you were there she did later. She told me to take note of you and learn character from you. That, my friend is high praise, and it is well deserved. None of us hold a thing against you for what happened. If you had not shown your character, yeah, we probably would have, but because of the way you have behaved, and who you have shown yourself to be, you have friends, and our appreciation. Throw away the guilt. It isn't yours, nor will we lay any on you."

Wordlessly he stuck out his hand, and I grasped and shook it. His grip said "Thanks" as eloquently as if he had spoken, and in his eyes it showed also. Nothing more was ever said again about fault or responsibility, and a bond of friendship was cemented between the four of us.

Susie woke up when we trooped quietly into her room. I'm so glad Grandpa warned us about her appearance, because I would not have recognized her if I didn't know it was she. Much of her hair had been shaved off in order to stitch up cuts on her head, and her face was all swollen and bruised. Her body cast of course prevented her from moving about, other than her left arm, which was free. Michael stepped right up to the bed and softly asked if she wanted any water or ice chips. Very softly she murmured, "Ice", and he gently fished out and fed her a piece. Then he stepped back out of the way, so that we could step up close to her bed and talk.

Stephanie was holding her left hand tightly with tears running down both cheeks. "I'm so sorry, Susie. I almost lost you!"

"Not . . . your fault." Susie obviously struggled for breath, and had trouble talking with the tubes and oxygen mask. "See my . . . flowers?" She half waved her hand toward Michael. "Michael . . . brought . . . them." Her eyes were heavy, and we could see she was struggling to stay awake. I caught Michael's eye and he nodded.

"Susie, you get some sleep. We'll come back. Just don't forget we love you." Susie's eyes closed as I finished, and we all made our way out of the room.

"Michael, is there anything we can get for you? You don't have to stay here, you know. Nobody is expecting it of you."

"Thanks, but I have all I need. I know I don't have to stay here. I'm doing it because I want to, 'cause I think it is the right thing to do. When her parents get home and can be here I probably won't be around as much, but in the meantime, I hate for her to be alone." I shook his hand goodbye, and both girls gave him a hug and a kiss on the cheek. "That makes it worthwhile staying right there!" He gave me a grin, the first I'd seen from him, and waved as he returned to his vigil.

Mom and Dad were both home by the time we returned, and Mom of course was adamant that Steph should stay at least until her Mom and Paul returned. "Steph, you don't even need to ask. I already told you, you are welcome any time. I'm glad to see you moving better this evening! Was school difficult today?"

"It was in the morning! I started to loosen up by the afternoon, but I got a pass that allowed me to be late to classes. I just couldn't walk fast enough to make it otherwise. Justin and Rosemary have been so sweet to help me out."

"So did you get to see Susie?"

"Um Hmm," said Rosemary. "She was sleeping most of the time, so we had a cup of coffee with Michael, and he filled us in on things and how she is doing. He's afraid she may lose her foot." Tears started flowing from both her and Steph then. "The Dr's almost amputated it last night." Mom gathered both girls into a hug, and let them cry it out. Dad just groaned and shook his head.

"Son, this Michael. Is that the same one as . . .?"

"Yes, Dad. Michael Borden. He feels responsible, and he said since her parents are out of the country and can't be there for her he doesn't want her to be alone. He's a good guy. I don't know how he's going to do it, but he said he will cover any costs insurance doesn't, and he had her moved from a double room to a single. Maybe they have money, I don't know, but he's not holding anything back. He's very gentle and good with her, too. I sure wish we could have gotten to know him another way. I think we are going to be friends."

Dad just nodded.

Mom said, "I didn't know for sure when you kids would get back, so I did a batch of spaghetti sauce. If you'd like to lay another place at the table for Stephanie, Justin, I'll cook the noodles and warm the garlic bread. Rosemary, I put a salad together. If you would toss it and serve it for us we can go ahead and start with it while the noodles are cooking. I don't know about you kids, but your Dad and I are hungry."

Mom could make spaghetti every night as far as I'm concerned. Her sauce is so good you chew on your tongue when you are done just to get out the last of the flavor! Mom says we exaggerate, so Dad and I chew on our tongues for her, just so she knows she did well. And, as always, sitting around the table together eating helped bring all of the day's triumphs and problems into perspective. Did I mention I love my parents? I am so glad I chose them!

After dinner I went up to my room to work on some of the custom speakers I was building for Hulvey's, and the girls went to Rosemary's room to do homework. My schedule was light enough that I can get my homework done in study hall most days, which allows me to work for Jim and do my own things in the evenings. I think it's a pretty nice setup, although Rosemary makes jealous comments. About nine o'clock Stephie tapped on my door for help with physics. I called for her to come on in, and cleared room on my desk for us to work. She had her hair pulled back in a ponytail, and had changed from her school clothes into a pair of short shorts and a light weight tank top without a bra. I felt myself stirring, and she hadn't even gotten into the room yet!

Steph gave me a little half-smile and blushed slightly when she observed my reaction to her shirt. The change in her in just the last three weeks was more than remarkable. If you would have told me Stephie would be coming into my room braless, let alone in such a shirt I would have laughed you out of the room. I was surprised she would wear it for me now. "You are a bad influence, Justin Thyme," she said to my unasked question. "The things a girl will do for the guy she loves! I wouldn't let any other guy see me like this, but you like my little titties, and I like to make you happy, so . . . ." She waved her hand across the front of her body. "Especially after what you did for me yesterday morning! I didn't know someone could make you feel like you did for me. I know, I was a little loopy from the meds, or I wouldn't have gone naked like I did, but you didn't take advantage of me, but made it all about me." Her eyes were shining as she looked up at me, just before taking my hand in hers. "I decided you can have all of me, anything you want. I love you, Justin."

Well, there it was. It had gone from a crush on me to this. Not that I minded, to be sure, as she stirred feelings I had for no one else, other than Rosemary. Was it love, or just infatuation? I was left in a position of having to make some serious choices. I didn't want to take advantage of Steph and hurt her if things didn't work out down the road, but at the same time she was stirring juices from deep inside of me. I wasn't sure I could do the right thing by her, and what about Rosemary? She was my real love. Could I share that kind of love between two girls? Even with two girls that I cared about as deeply as I did these two?

[Ramesh_Rocky]

Steph loosed my hand and slipped her arm around behind my back and pulled me lightly to her. "I know you are thinking about Rosemary, and you don't want to hurt her. She and I have been talking. I don't want to hurt her either." Tears were half filling her eyes as she looked up at me from where she was pressing against my chest. "I love you both, and I don't want to come between you two. She knows she can't have you all to herself, and it is eating at her, and what she told me is she hopes it will be me who will catch you, because she know I understand how she feels about you, and how you feel about her. I'm willing to share. I think what you two have is beautiful. I would just like a chance to be part of it."

"Sweetheart, don't you think we are a little bit young to be thinking so seriously? What if you get to college and some other guy comes along and catches your fancy? I care too much for you to do anything that would hurt you."

"Justin, I love it when you call me sweetheart! It wasn't that many years ago people our age were already married and having children right here in this part of the world. They knew then, and made the choice. I know what I feel for you is real, and it won't change. I'm not trying to tie you down, but I'm telling you I'm yours if you want me." I wanted her, all right. My cock was trying to tear a hole in my shorts. I guess I'm just a romantic, and I had been raised right, to not hurt other people. Involuntarily my arms went around her and crushed her body to mine, and my lips descended on hers. I don't know what happened, but there was serious oxygen depletion in my room when the kiss was done. Neither of us could seem to get our breath.

I glanced over toward my door and noticed Steph had pushed it closed behind her when she came in. I stepped over and opened it a couple of inches before going back to my desk and seating Steph to work on Physics. "I don't want to make Mom suspicious with the door closed and you in here if she comes up to talk. She doesn't check up on us, but often she will come up to chat a bit before bed. If she does, just please don't turn around. She wouldn't like you wearing that shirt that way." I grinned over at her. "She's always giving Rosemary grief about coming over here just wearing a tee shirt like she does. Don't try to hide from her, just be nonchalant."

We started working on her Physics, and true to form Mom came up about fifteen minutes later and stuck her head in the door as I was trying to explain transfer of energy in such as way Steph would understand the concept. "Hey there. I'm glad you are getting some good out of Justin, there, Steph. Good for you!"

"Hey, Mom. It's not a problem. I didn't know she was having trouble with this stuff, or I'd have been working with her on it before now. She's no dummy. It's just a matter of getting the concept in your head where you understand what's really happening, and not just trying to memorize stuff. Mr. Anderson is not much of one for explaining so people really understand. That's the key to learning, but it's easier just to have them memorize facts and put them down on the test where they will never use it again. I like to understand."

"I know, hon, and I'm glad you are willing to share it. Don't forget I have that MLS meeting tomorrow night, so I won't be home until late, probably tenish. Dad is flying to St. Louis and won't be back until Friday. Stephanie, honey, now you be sure to make yourself right at home. If you want something to snack on or to drink or whatever, don't wait for someone to offer. You just help yourself, OK?"

Steph just turned her head around, holding a finger in the book to mark a place. "Thanks. I do. You have always made me feel like I belong, not like I'm just visiting."

"As far as I'm concerned, you do. You are a real good friend to Rosemary, and I like what you are doing for Justin. You are pulling him out of his shell, which is good. Yes, as far as I'm concerned, you belong, you're family." With that she gave a little half wave and stepped across the hall to Rosemary's room.

"Your mom is so cool! I really like her."

"Yeah. I feel like I've done a pretty good job raising her." Steph gave my leg a slap and giggled. "Don't forget she can come down like the 'wrath of God' if you get out of line, though. She's always so busy with work, but she doesn't let that keep her from being involved in our lives. She's taught us to be responsible and independent, but has never just left us on our own. She and Dad are both really good about that."

Steph had a wistful look on her face. "I wish I had that. Mom and I used to be so close, but since Paul came around it's like I'm just in the way, or something. Oh, I know she loves me, but I'm just not that important to her, but it wasn't that way right after Dad got killed in Iraq. Paul just pushes everybody else aside."

"Well, I'm happy to share my folks. They always have room to love one more." Steph laid her head on my shoulder. "Thanks, Justin. We had better get back to doing this Physics before I forget and do what I really want to do." She looked up at me through her lashes and then gave me a quick kiss on the cheek and turned back to the Physics book. I knew exactly what she was talking about. I wanted so badly just to take her in my arms and smother her with kisses, but . . . .

[Ramesh_Rocky]

A few minutes later, just as we were wrapping up the chapter on energy transfer, Rosemary slipped into the room, wearing only a thin tee shirt that reached to mid-thigh. Her nipples were tenting out nicely, and you could just make out the areola through the material. She slipped up behind me and trailed both arms over my shoulders and down my chest, nestling her chin on my head, tucked softly between her breasts. "Mom obviously didn't notice that shirt," she smirked at Steph. "Did Justin notice?"

My ears turned red, having her talking about me so, and both girls just giggled at my look. Rosemary squeezed her shoulders together, which caused her boobs to press against my ears. "You have to watch out for this guy. Next thing you know he will be trying to take liberties with you, like rubbing your boobs with his ears or something!" This made both girls laugh, so I turned my head to and fro a couple of times. It did feel good! Rosemary flattened her hands on my abs and rubbed them back and forth, dangerously close to the top of my shorts, and the end of my cock, which was trying desperately to get out through the waistband.

"Mom and Dad aren't going to be here tomorrow evening. Perhaps we can find something to occupy the time?"

Tuesday was a long day at school. I don't know why, but it was just one of those days that drag on and on and nothing seemed to go right. Classes weren't a problem. I had all of my work done, so that wasn't an issue. Maybe it was Susie on my mind, but I was just in a funk. At lunch I ate alone again. I had gotten accustomed to Susie being there and lunch just seemed tasteless and boring, even more so than usual. I'm not a people person, and making friends has never been one of my strong suits. I'm not anti-social, but most people's interests don't match mine and vice versa. I just was aching for someone to talk to all day. It seemed there was a hole in my life that hadn't been there before. Perhaps it had, but I had never noticed. The only bright spots in the day were the three times I met either Rosemary or Stephanie in the hallway. That was just a smile and a "Hi," on the way by.

It's funny, but I didn't even mind getting in the back seat of Rosemary's bug. I could hear Steph's voice, and a time or two she turned around and smiled at me. Funny how that works!

Susie was more alert when we got there, and we were able to talk for a few minutes before she started to get tired. Michael was there, sitting in the corner, attentive to her every need. I hoped he wasn't developing a martyr's complex, being bound to Susie like this, but he didn't seem to be down about it at all. When Susie started napping again we all made our way to the cafeteria and grabbed a cup of coffee. He filled us in on things a little bit. For one thing, they had removed the chest tube, and Susie was using a cannula instead of a mask for the oxygen. That was the high point. On the low side, her foot wasn't doing well, and he was a little discouraged about it. I was a little curious how he was able to be in the room when the Dr's were checking on her foot since he isn't family, but he just gave me a little half grin when I asked and said he had it worked out.

I had noticed he had a much nicer chair this time, and he was working on a laptop quietly when we arrived. He exuded such a level of quiet confidence one didn't really think about him, and I was finding the more I was around him that I liked him more and more. For a guy who didn't make friends much I was finding him to be a good friend, and one I looked forward to seeing. I noticed with the girls he was very attentive and courteous without going beyond propriety as so many young guys do. He was just very comfortable in his own skin, and didn't seem to feel a need to impress. Both girls though were very impressed. I wondered if maybe something would develop between him and Rosemary, and tried to encourage it without being obvious.

We stopped back at Susie's room before leaving to see if she was awake or not, and found her just waking up. Stephie walked up by the bed to say goodbye. Susie grabbed her hand in her left hand and whispered up to her, "Don't be mad at Michael. It wasn't his fault."

"I know. He came over to my house and asked my forgiveness. He told us what happened."

"He said he did. He asked me to forgive him, too, and he's been so sweet to take care of me since Mom and Daddy are gone. He brought those roses, too. Aren't they beautiful?"

"Yes, they are. He gave me some, too." For a moment I thought a look of disappointment crossed Susie's face over the flowers, but it passed quickly. "He also got me moved in here to a private room, and he's having a specialist from Mayo come in about my foot." Her voice was getting weak, and I saw Michael's head pop up and caught his eye. He just shook his head a fraction, but I got the message.

"Steph, we need to get out of here and let Susie get some rest." We gathered around the bed for just a moment to say goodbye and promised to be back soon, and slipped out. Michael nodded goodbye as we left. When I looked back at Susie she was asleep already.

Once back in the car and headed home we discussed Susie for a minute or two, but there really wasn't anything new to say. Stephanie started squirming around in her seat for a couple of minutes before turning toward me and handed me her bra with a really cheeky grin. She had done that magic thing that girls can do, taking her bra off without removing her shirt. Rosemary looked over at her and said, "Not fair! Not fair at all! I have to drive!" Stephanie just laughed at her and my cock lurched in my pants.

When we pulled in the driveway at the house I saw Rosemary squirming about in her seat before opening her door. I was wondering what was going on, but as I couldn't get out until they opened their doors, I was stuck. Suddenly, I was smacked in the face with her bra to the tune of maniacal giggling from both girls. I just shook my head and waited for them to open the doors. I did look, though, once I had the opportunity. I don't know how I deserved to be in love with two sexy girls like this, but I was enjoying it. Of course they both saw me checking them out and gave me grief about it, but they ate up the attention.

Rosemary bounded up the stairs to her room, but Steph was moving much slower. "What's wrong, Steph? You OK?"

"Oh, I'm fine, Justin. I just still a little sore and stiff. Stairs bother my hip."

"Well, if m'lady will give me just a moment to put down this backpack I will be most happy to carry her ladyship up the stairs!"

Steph giggled at my antics, and waited for me to pick her up. She didn't need to be carried, even though her hip was sore, but I wasn't waiting for a better opportunity to get her in my arms. I looked for any chance! Carefully I picked her up, mindful to keep her unbruised right side toward my body. Of course, I turned her just enough that her breasts pressed against my chest as I carried her, and her arms around my neck were much tighter than safety required. I gave her a quick kiss as I set her down outside Rosemary's door to go along with the hug and breast press I received from Steph. My jeans were definitely getting tight before I let her go.

[Ramesh_Rocky]

I quickly threw on a pair of shorts and a tee shirt before going down to the kitchen to find something to eat. In just a few minutes I heard the girls descending the steps together, but I wasn't prepared for what came around the corner. I figured they would be braless, from their antics in the car, and I really didn't know if they would be naked or dressed, or how they would be. Both girls came around the corner with button shirts, but they weren't buttoned. They were tied off just below the bust line tight enough to keep their boobs in, but also tight enough to let the nipples poke out. I had figured they would probably have shorts on, but they went one up on that, and they each had short pleated skirts showing off their gorgeous legs. I love girls in short shorts, but skirts have always caught my eye.

There is something about the idea that unfettered under that fabric that swayed as they walked was nirvana. You knew you weren't going to see anything, but you couldn't help looking. Every once in a while when they sat you might get a little flash, but mostly just a look at a little extra thigh. Nevertheless, a loose fitting skirt that moves when a woman walks, or a long dress with a slit that allows a flash of leg, is sexier to me than something more explicit. It's kind of like the old ketchup advertisement of "anticipation." Just like the little boy anticipating that thick red condiment finally coming out of the open bottle, the anticipation of what might be seen gets the heart rate up, and the adrenalin flowing.

I swallowed hard as I looked at the girls, who preened at the attention I was bestowing. "You like, Justin?" Rosemary reached over and took my glass of Coke out of my hand and drank a big sip. She knew my liking for skirts very well, the minx. "I'm not going to tell you if we are wearing any underwear or not. It wouldn't be ladylike!" Both girls giggled and then stepped in to give me a hug, one on either side.

Rosemary pulled a frozen pizza from the freezer and threw it into the oven to cook while Stephanie pulled some pre-cut broccoli and cauliflower, and some baby carrots from the crisper in the fridge. She bent over straight legged to get the veggies, and looked back at me to see if I was watching the way her skirt crept up to just below her ass cheeks. Of course, I was! Rosemary poured each of them a glass of Coke, and topped mine off as well, and we sat down at the table to nibble on the veggies while waiting for the pizza to cook. My eyes had a veritable feast set for them across the table from me. I didn't know where to look first, but I knew I loved what I saw. Both girls were different, but neither was better. I really wanted to reach across the table and untie those knots.

As dry as it is down here in southern Arizona there wasn't any condensation on the glasses, but when Rosemary took her cold, ice-filled glass and rubbed it on her nipples through that white shirt it didn't leave much to the imagination. I was almost glad when the timer beeped and she got up to get the pizza from the oven. My cock was so hard it hurt, and my balls were begging for release. Rosemary, of course bent over without bending her knees either when she got the pizza from the oven. "Gorgeous, isn't she?" said Steph quietly from across the table. "I don't blame you for being in love with her. She's pretty special."

I looked across the table to Stephanie and said quietly, "I think you both are very special, and I love you both very much. I really don't know how to handle this, but I can't help myself, I'm in love with two women, and one of them is my sister. By all that's right I should be locked up for it, but it is what it is." I reached across and captured her hand in mine and looked into her shining eyes. "Somehow, we will make it work out."

Rosemary put the pizza down on the table and mock swatted Stephanie on the shoulder. "You making time with my man, girl? That might start a catfight. I'll bet Justin would like to watch that!" I just shook my head and grabbed a slice of pizza. "You'd better be eating there, Justin. You never know, but what you might be needing your strength!" and Rosemary giggled. She leaned across the table and kissed me on the top of my head, leaving me looking down the valley between her boobs. We finished up the pizza and the girls retreated to Rosemary's room to do homework. As usual, I had all of my schoolwork done, so I made my way to my room to finish up the Hulvey's speakers. I only had two to finish, and then a few little tweaks on some of the off the shelf equipment I would be using. Since the cables came in early there was a chance I might even finish this weekend!

As I entered my room my glance fell on my computer monitor, and I realized something. I had not even bothered checking to see what was going on in Rosemary's room in several days! When I put the camera in there, it seemed a long time ago, I had been all in a sweat just to see some naked skin, but now it was as if I had grown up and didn't need it any longer. Of course, now I was seeing the real thing in the flesh from two lovely young ladies, but the reality made what I had worked so hard for seem juvenile and minor. What was the saying, "When I was a child I thought as a child, but when I became a man I put away childish things?" Something like that anyway. Maybe I wasn't really a man yet, but it sure seemed like it compared to just a few weeks ago.

I thought about turning it on, just for grins and giggles, but then decided it wasn't worth the time and effort. I turned on my stereo instead, and plugged in Shostakovich's 'Gadfly' soundtrack. I don't really care for all of it all that much, but the "Romance" movement is hauntingly beautiful.

I started working on the speakers, with my mind focused on assembling and balancing them and the music saturating my thinking so much that I didn't even hear the knock on my door or Stephanie coming into my room. She was coming to ask for help on physics again, but came in just as the "romance" section started. She stood silently engulfed in the beauty of the music until the movement ended, then she scared me out of ten years of my life by saying, "That was beautiful!" I jumped, and nearly dropped the speaker I was working on, catching it just before it hit the floor.

"I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to startle you!"

I carefully set the speaker down, my heart pounding in my chest. I, too, had been engulfed in the music, feeling the bow strokes of the violin across my soul. I'm not usually that entranced in the music that I'm not aware of what is going on around me, but in this case I was. Perhaps it was the situation with Rosemary, and now with Steph that had me thinking romantically and finding it in the music, I don't know. "Sweetheart, you nearly scared me to death! I didn't even hear you come in."

"I know, and I'm sorry. You were totally into the music, like I was. What was that piece? I've never heard anything like that in my life. It sounds so sad, yet so beautiful and romantic."

"It's by Shostakovich from the soundtrack to the Russian movie, 'The Gadfly.' Want to hear it again?"

Stephie nodded, and I stopped the CD and replayed that movement. When the solo violin started she stepped to me and embraced me with her head on my chest as she listened to the rise and fall of the song. I put an arm around her with my hand on her soft skin just below her shirt and just luxuriated in the bliss the combination of the music and holding her created. I really hadn't planned on touching skin, but who am I to complain? Gently I stroked her hair, allowing it to trail through my fingers and followed it across her shoulders and down her back. When the piece ended she drew in a ragged breath as she looked up into my eyes. "I don't know what the story is, but that music feels like us. You know, with all that is going on with the accident and Susie in the hospital, mixed in with the feelings I get when I'm with you like this. It makes me want to crawl into your arms where I feel safe and loved. Thank you!"

[Ramesh_Rocky]

"I hadn't thought of it quite like that, but I like it. We can call it our song if you like, and you are welcome to crawl into my arms any time, where you will be as safe as I can make you, and you will be loved. Were you needing help with physics tonight?"

She nodded. "You make it so understandable. Last night really helped, but we have a test on Thursday that I'm not ready for. She sat down at my desk, just as the AC kicked on, which immediately brought her nipples to attention and little goosebumps across her bare belly. Her skirt was flared out over the tops of her legs, but fully half or a little more of her thighs were there for me to ogle. It was going to be very difficult for me to keep my attention focused on the schoolwork!

It really didn't take all that much to put her on the right track. A combination of her innate shyness and hesitation to ask questions in class, and a less than stellar teacher left her with an incomplete understanding of the concept. She was trying to make up for it with sheer memorization of facts and formulae, but at this level of the course without at least the rudiments of understanding how it all fit together, it was beyond her reach. Standing behind her, looking over her shoulder I couldn't help staring directly down her cleavage and at those thighs that moved tantalizingly before my eyes as she first crossed them one way and then the next and bounced her sandals on the tips of her toes. I was just aching to slide my hands up and down those delectable legs, and explore their upper reaches in the areas hidden by that short skirt.

Some time or another she had applied just a light amount of fragrance that nearly drove me wild. I wanted to trail my nose all over her person to see if I could find the source of that scent. She didn't bathe in it like so many people do, thinking if a little is good a lot is better, but had on just enough to have a hint of fragrance waft out periodically.

Rosemary knocked on the door and pushed it open. "Are you children behaving, in here?" I swear Rosemary had to have rolled the waist of her skirt a time or two, because it appeared to be shorter than it was earlier. I know she was teasing me, and it worked! My balls were aching constantly, and I was going to have to seek some relief very soon. These two didn't need to do extra stuff to turn me on, not that I minded to be sure, but this was getting serious. Rosemary was toying with the hemline, sliding a finger underneath and stroking her leg absentmindedly, or so it seemed. It was so short now that just the slighted gust of wind would have shown all of her secrets.

"I was just thinking about what to do for dinner. That little pizza isn't going to cut it much longer. Do you want to go out?"

"Not with you two dressed like this! You are killing me here. If I took you out you'd get me arrested!"

Rosemary just laughed, then with just her fingertips lifted the middle of the vee of her shirt, nearly exposing her nipples, but just not quite. "Does all this skin bother little Justin?" With a little twirl that made her skirt flare out she said, "I wouldn't want to do anything that would bother little Justin!" I just shook my head. The transformation of these two girls the last couple of weeks was staggering. I enjoyed it thoroughly, especially knowing it was for my benefit only, that they wouldn't do anything of the sort outside of the house.

"I'll tell you what. You two put on something so I can take you out in public and I'll take you to Al's." Al's Family Restaurant is a family style restaurant that is one of our favorites. It isn't fancy, and you don't go there for the ambience, but the food is superb and there is plenty of it. Nothing fancy, but just plain, wholesome, well prepared food. It has been a well-known establishment in our area for over fifty years, run by the same family, and basically unchanged the whole time. It isn't much to look at, and since the city has grown to surround the area some have tried to close it down, thinking it doesn't present the image they want for their town, but those of us who have frequented the place have stood up for it. It is very much European style seating. The tables are just folding tables, covered with oilcloth, and you sit where you can find a seat, and sometimes you don't find one and you eat standing, with your plate placed on a small counter that surrounds the room.

Rosemary untied her shirt and let it drop loose. "That sounds great! Come on, Stephie. Let's get changed and go before he changes he mind." With that she turned her back and started for the door, but pulled her shirt off on the way. She made sure I didn't see her tits as she did so, but the vision would stick in my mind for quite some time.

Steph stood and glanced at the bulge and damp spot on my shorts and smiled. She isn't as big of a tease as Rosemary, but she's learning. She grasped the knot in her shirt as she leaned in to give me a little peck on the lips. "Thank you so much for your help, Justin. I really appreciate it." As she was talking she also untied the knot, but unlike Rosemary, she opened up the shirt, showing me those delicious titties that I could have feasted on instead of going out. "I'm glad you like my little titties, Justin. They like you too," and she dropped the shirt allowing it to cover them again and turned and walked out the door. At the door, she turned and said, "You might want to put on a different pair of shorts. Those have a wet spot," and with a giggle she was gone.

[Ramesh_Rocky]

I peeled off my shorts and rather wet underwear with a grimace. I had pre-cum all over the inside of my briefs, and my pubic hairs were soaked with it. I grasped my cock, and it only took a few strokes before I came explosively, more than filling the tissues I grabbed, and making a gooey mess all over my hand.

I cleaned myself up quickly and grabbed some decent jeans and a nice polo before heading downstairs to wait for the girls. I needn't have hurried, silly me, because I waited over twenty minutes for them to make their way down the stairs. I will say, though, that the wait was worth it! They both were decidedly casual in their dress, but what those two can do with casual is a lot! "You two trying to get me killed? I go walking into Al's with a couple of hot chicks like you and someone is likely to try and take you from me."

Rosemary just swatted my arm and laughed, but Steph grabbed my other arm and hugged it to her and laid her head on my shoulder. "That was sweet, Justin, even though I know you were just teasing."

I wasn't about to ride in the back seat of the Bug to go to dinner with these two, so I grabbed Dad's keys from the hook and we all piled into the Denali. Rosemary smirked at me as I started to back out of the garage and asked, "Feeling better, Justin?" I just gave her a quizzical look. "I just noticed you were sporting a pretty big bulge when I last saw you upstairs, but you don't have it now." Her laugh was maniacal at best, and Stephie joined right in. "I hope you saved a little bit of it. We might want a little dessert when we get home." When I looked at her in the mirror she winked and licked her lips and then grinned. I swear the little minx is getting out of hand!

When I pulled into the parking lot at Al's and opened their door both girls managed to let their skirts slide up a bit, giving me a good view of their legs before they stepped out of the car. Fortunately, their skirts weren't quite as short as the ones they had worn earlier, but they were still designed to draw attention to their legs, which definitely were among their better assets. With one on each arm we approached the door. No one who didn't know us would have any idea Rosemary is my sister, and we certainly drew some eyes, and I got some jealous looks from some of the guys in the restaurant, as well as some very disapproving looks from some of the ladies. There was no one, though, that didn't recognize the girl's beauty. Love makes a difference in a girl, I know, and Stephie was positively glowing.

We had a very nice dinner laughing and talking about a variety of matters, including school, the house, and of course, Susie. Stephanie of course was planning to return home tomorrow, since her mother and Paul were expected to return that day. That was the only downer on the evening, as she really did not like the guy. "I can't help it," she said. "I'm not upset about Mom getting married again. She deserves to be happy, and Daddy has been dead now for almost ten years. She could have remarried a long time ago, but she didn't want to bring another 'daddy' into my life while I was young. I wanted her to go out and date a long time ago, but I didn't think she would find someone like Paul. All I think he is interested in is what he can get from her, and I hate the way he looks at me and how handsy he is."

Our waitress was a bit of an anomaly for Al's. Most of them, in fitting with the 'family restaurant' image were middle aged or older, working there to supplement their incomes, but we had a college age girl who kept making eyes at me every time she came by the table to see if we needed anything. I know she was intrigued by my company, but was much too polite to say anything. Rosemary got a kick out of some of her antics, the way her skirts swished when she walked away, and the extra amount of attention she gave me. Steph on the other hand was at a slow boil. Personally, I found it humorous. Two months ago she would have paid me no attention at all, but because I was there with two very nice looking young ladies, who obviously were paying me more than usual attention, I became someone of interest and potential. That she had no chance I'm sure she knew, but one always takes one's best shot.

I gave her a nice tip, and a wink as we got up to leave, but a text on my phone stopped me in my tracks, and I sat back down suddenly, my knees jelly-like. It was from Michael, and only said, "Please call me ASAP. I need to talk with you. Troubles."

Quickly, I hit his speed-dial. "Hello."

"Michael, Justin. What's up?"

"I really need to talk. Any chance you could come by the hospital?"

"Yes, I expect so. The girls and I just finished dinner. I suppose we could head that way."

"I guess that would work. I had hoped to catch you by yourself, but they have to be told, too. Could you come right away? I really need someone to talk with."

"OK, we'll be there in about ten to fifteen. Are you in the room?"

"Meet me in the cafeteria. We can talk better there."

"OK, see you there as soon as we can get there."

Quickly I shepherded the girls out to the car and drove as quickly as I safely could to the hospital. Both girls had frightened looks on their faces and tears of fear in their eyes, especially since I was unable to tell them anything. We hurried into the hospital as soon as I was able to find a parking spot. The two girls on either arm, clutching me tightly was in marked contrast to the two girls on my arm going to Al's. The elevator seemed to take an interminable time to come down from the upper floors, but we finally spilled out the door on the lower level to find a distraught Michael waiting for us in the hallway.

"Thank you for coming. I didn't know who else to call, and I had to talk with someone." Michael sank down on a bench there in the hallway and buried his face in his hands. "My brother-in-law came to see Susie today, and said it is hopeless. Gangrene is starting to set in, and they have to take her foot tomorrow morning." Great wracking sobs shook his shoulders. Quickly I sat down next to him and hugged him around the shoulders, pulling him to me. Both girls were holding each other, sobbing. "I don't know what to do. I've ruined her life, and it is all my fault. How can I possibly face her now? It was bad enough before, but now she is going to be maimed because I drove under the influence. The judge ought to lock me up and throw away the key tomorrow, and I can't even be here for her."

[Ramesh_Rocky]

My respect for this young man could not be higher. He wasn't here just from feelings of guilt, but of responsibility, from a sense of wanting to make things right. "You said your brother-in law came by?"

"Yes. Dr. Bruce Hepburn, from Mayo. He married my sister, Janice." Now some of the pieces were coming together.

Both girls stepped over to hug Michael and comfort him, even in their grief. I stepped away, so that Rosemary could sit where I had been, and the three of them hugged and cried together.

I slipped away down the hallway to where I could make a phone call without being overheard and called my grandfather. "Grandpa, Justin. Look, I'm sorry for such late notice, but I just found out. Michael has to appear in court tomorrow morning, and plans to plead guilty to all charges. He feels he needs to take responsibility for what happened to Susie and Stephanie. Were you aware he has spent the entire day every day with Susie, and I think he has stayed overnight as well? You said you would speak on his behalf. Can you make it tomorrow? I know neither Steph or Susie wants him punished. He has already done all he can to make restitution. Right now he is down the hall from me crying with Steph and Rosemary. He just found out they have to amputate Susie's foot tomorrow morning, and because of court he cannot even be there for her when she comes out of surgery. Thank you, sir! No, sir, I won't say a word to him about this. I appreciate this more than you can know. I really think he is a good man, and he has become a very good friend. Goodbye, I'll talk to you tomorrow."

I walked back down the hall to join the others, and found I had not been missed. I grabbed Michael by the hand and lifted him to his feet. "When is the last time you had some real food?"

"I've been eating here in the cafeteria. I'm OK."

"That's what I thought. You need something good in your stomach. Come with us." I led the others to the elevator and we took it up to the main floor. I led him out to the Denali and told him to get in the front. The girls climbed into the back and we drove back to Al's. His reaction was rather dubious when he saw the outside of the place, but he followed us inside. Our waitress from earlier brightened up when she saw us returning, and quickly found us four seats at an empty table. The early rush was over, and seats were available, so I stopped her before she left and spoke quietly, asking that our table be kept private, that our friend had just received some terrible news, and we needed to talk. I slipped her a twenty dollar bill with my request, and she nodded. Michael looked at the menu doubtfully, obviously never having eaten in such an establishment. There was nothing uppity in his attitude, I don't mean to imply there was, neither was there condescension. It was simply he was in surroundings he was not accustomed to, obviously below his normal standard. "Don't worry. We've been eating here since I was just a little kid. This place is a local landmark, and has been for over fifty years. It doesn't look like much, but the food is really good and plentiful. It is nothing fancy, but I don't know a thing you can go wrong on. When we were here earlier tonight all of the tables were full, and people were standing eating at those counters around the walls."

Michael's eyes widened as he surveyed the room. "Really? You aren't kidding me, are you?"

"I wouldn't kid about that. Gourmet it isn't. It caters mostly to the blue-collar, working class crowd who like good simple food, and plenty of it. My Dad's Dad was a construction worker when he was young, and he started eating here, and it has become a family tradition. Sure, we like the nicer places, but when we want good food, we come here. On Fridays, it isn't unusual to wait in line for thirty minutes or so to get in, and there are no private tables. If there is an open seat you take it." Michael just shook his head. He was puzzled by quite a number of entries on the menu.

"Much of this I've never heard of, let alone eaten. I have no idea what to order."

"Let me suggest my favorite. It's a three cheese omelet smothered in chili, with hashbrowns. You get your choice of toast or pancakes. Coffee comes with it, but you can substitute something else."

"All of that and pancakes?"

"Sure. That is why the place is so popular with working class people. Guys working physical jobs tend to burn a lot of calories."

When our waitress came back around and took his order. Michael was still distraught over Susie's situation. Stephie was able to convince him finally that neither she, nor Susie, held anything against him for the accident, nor would Susie blame him for losing her foot. Of course, Susie would not be happy about losing the foot, but blame Michael she would not. Michael went up another notch in my estimation as his total concern was for Susie, and not for his own future. He did not know but what he would be remanded directly to jail tomorrow, but it wasn't first on his mind.

It didn't surprise me in the least when Michael polished off the entire meal, including the two large pancakes. He had not been eating properly, even though he consciously attempted to, but it is very difficult under the circumstances. His appetite had not been very good, and he had skipped meals, plus hospital food, no matter how they try to do it, is not the most appealing. Eating alone under trying circumstances also robs the appetite, so when he was away from the hospital, and had us to talk with, he polished it off quickly.

"Your car will be OK at the hospital, won't it?"

"Why, where are you taking me?"

"I think you need to be out of that environment for a while. Susie will be out of it for the night, and there isn't a thing you can do for her right now. What you need to do is get yourself prepared for tomorrow. To do that you need to get some rest. If you go home by yourself you will fret all night, so I'm taking you to our house tonight, and since I'm going to court tomorrow as well, I'll give you a ride over there, and then we'll see Susie afterwards."

'You seem to think I'm not going to jail, tomorrow. What do you know that I don't know?"

"Nothing, other than I don't believe the judge will give you any jail time for your situation. There are mitigating factors, and while I'm not a lawyer, I believe I could argue the case enough to find a way to keep you out of jail. You may have to do community service or something, and you'll probably get probation and pee in the bottle once in a while or something, but I really don't think you'll go to jail."

"I wish I had your confidence! I have to meet my attorney at 9:00. He doesn't have your confidence. What will I do for clothes? And what will your parents think about me barging in like this?"

[Ramesh_Rocky]

"I have a suit that will fit you very well, and Mom will be happy to have you. Dad is out of town, but he would insist you stay. You need rest, and you just won't get it if you go home by yourself."

Rosemary reached a hand across the table and rested it on his. "Justin's right, as much as I hate to swell his head by saying so. Come on home with us and take your mind off of things for a while. You can't help Susie tonight, and I'm going to court with you tomorrow, too."

"So am I." Stephie laid a hand on Michael's other hand. "They've been babysitting me this week, too. I don't know if it will do any good, but I'm going to speak up for you, and tell the Judge how you have behaved, and how you reached out to us for forgiveness, and that we have given it."

"I don't know what to say. You people aren't like anyone I've ever met in my life!"

"Just say you'll come along peacefully." I gave him a grin to soften it. "We just try to treat other people the way we want to be treated. I'll admit, when I first heard about the accident I was ready to half beat you to death, but when you came over and showed what kind of man you are I told Grandpa you were the kind of man I wanted to be friends with. You should hear what my Grandmother had to say about you the next morning!"

"Really? She didn't say anything while I was there. I was afraid she was mad at me."

Rosemary and I both laughed. "You don't know Grandma!" said Rosemary. "If she was mad you wouldn't be wondering about it! She would have laid into you like you've never seen! If she isn't mad she doesn't say much, but she is a holy terror when she gets upset."

"Grandpa will appear tomorrow on Susie and Steph's behalf, and as he told you he would, he is going to speak for you as well. I know he and your attorney have already spoken." We all piled back into the Denali and made our way home.

"I feel a lot better, now that I've eaten. Thank you, and I'm going to have to remember that little restaurant. I've never eaten like that before, and the price! You should have let me pay for my own meal, though."

"Not a chance, bud. I invited you, remember?"

"Next time, it's on me."

Mom had not met Michael yet, but she was very gracious and insisted I was right about him staying over. "Look, Michael, if my Daddy is going to court to speak up for you after all this, the least I can do is have you going to court rested and prepared. Daddy hasn't been in a courtroom but once since he retired five years ago, and it takes a lot to get him to go back. He must think very highly of you, and I know he does, because he and Momma both have talked with me about you. I'm really happy to get a chance to meet you."

We all sat in the den and talked for a while. Michael insisted on seeing the pictures of the house we bought, and we talked at length of our plans for the property. It wasn't long though before I saw him trying desperately to stifle a yawn. I realized belatedly how little real rest he has had in the last few days and showed him to the guest room and bid him goodnight. I pointed out the bathroom and my room, telling him to not hesitate about asking if he needed anything.

Mom hugged us each goodnight and headed off to bed. She had an early morning Realtor's breakfast to attend tomorrow, and while she didn't like us missing school, she agreed with our skipping to attend court, and then to be at the hospital with Susie when she came out of surgery.

The girls and I made our way upstairs and I started to go to my room, but Rosemary asked if I would go to her room for a little while so we could talk. I said I wanted to get out of my jeans and get into something more comfortable, and cooler. She said, "Why don't you just peal down to your boxers? We're going to get ready for bed, too. Don't worry about Mom. She's gone for the night, now."

I nodded and followed them into her room. Rosemary unbuttoned her skirt and let it fall to the floor with a sigh, and then pulled her top over her head. She looked over at Mr. Koala as I pulled my polo over my head. "You know, it's funny, but Mr. Koala is the reason for all of this. Just think, a couple of weeks ago I didn't want to get undressed in front of him, because I felt like he was watching me, and now I'm getting undressed not only in front of him, but in front of you, and with my best friend here, too."

She walked over to her bedside table and stroked the koala's fur gently. "I never really told you how much that means to me, Justin. We had grown apart, but when you bought me that, and you built in that radio it showed you still loved me. I'll never forget it, and I'm going to do all I can to be certain we never grow apart again." She walked back over to me, in just her panties and bra and gave me a big hug and a kiss on the cheek. "Thank you. I know I have the best brother in the world, and you are so much more than just a brother. I love you, Justin."

I hugged her back and gave her a kiss on the ear, and whispered, "I love you, too, Rosemary, and nothing is going to separate us now."

Stephie, who had gone ahead and changed into a light tee shirt said, "That koala is what finally made me madly in love with you too, Justin. When you gave it to Rosemary I was so jealous that she had someone who loved her that much, and I wanted you." She joined our hug, and whispered in my ear, "Nobody is ever going to be loved as much as I love you. You may be Rosie's, but you are mine, too, and we have agreed to share."

When we untangled I realized that while the hug had not been sexual in nature, nobody bothered to inform 'little Justin'. It was rapidly on its way to getting hard. As I unbuttoned and unzipped my jeans I watched as Rosemary released her bra, and then slid her panties down her legs. As she stepped out of them she grinned and said, "See what I mean?" By the time my jeans hit the floor I was all the way hard. Rosemary pulled a tee shirt over her head, and we all piled onto her king-sized bed, with me in the middle, and the two people I love most in the world snuggled on either side.

We talked for a few minutes about Susie and Michael, but then the conversation turned to the afternoon, and before I knew it I was alternately kissing Steph, then Rosemary, and back and forth. Hands were roaming here, there, and yonder, until suddenly I realized I no longer had my boxers on. Not that I minded, mind you. Stephanie slipped her tee shirt up until her breasts were freed and snuggled them on my chest and leaned in to whisper in my ear, "Justin, I love you. Will you please make love to me?"

[Ramesh_Rocky]

As Stephanie slipped her tee shirt the rest of the way off and then climbed on top of me I felt another hand grasp my cock and line it up with Stephie's very moist pussy. Surprised, I glanced over to see Rosemary's smile and little nod of encouragement. I let Steph set the pace as she slid slowly onto my cock. She was tight, hot, and very wet. Lubrication was no problem at all. She just slid slowly down until I felt her pubis brushing my pubic hairs. With a quiet moan she lay there for a moment or two, and I could feel drops of moisture dripping onto my collar bone from her eyes.

"Steph, sweetheart, are you OK?"

I heard a sniff, and felt her nod as her arms tightened around my neck and her vaginal muscles tightened and released, though she did not move. "Oh, Justin, you have no idea how long I have wanted to do this, and it feels so wonderful. I feel so full, and it is you, not some plastic imitation I pretended was you." More sniffles, and the slightest of twitches as she wiggled her hips experimentally. "If I don't move can I feel this forever? You just feel so good!" I was struggling to remain still for her, but the urge to start my cock moving was almost overpowering, and I felt my balls drawing up already. I hoped I wasn't going to come too quickly!

With a small gasp Steph started rocking her hips, and I tried hard to match her tempo, but it wasn't long until she half sat up on me and started bouncing up and down on my cock as if she thought she would never get another opportunity, or that I was going to tell her to stop and get off. Her little boobies were bouncing around in front of my face, and I couldn't resist. I reached up with both hands and tweaked her nipples, which caused her to wail. Rosemary tried to shush her, for fear Mom would hear us. Steph slammed down on my cock one last time and groaned a guttural moan as her orgasm overtook her. She squeezed down on me so tightly I couldn't even continue moving in her, but the rippling effect of her vaginal muscles on my cock pushed me over the limit as well, and I filled her with my seed.

Steph's head dropped to my shoulder and she began to sob as I held her tenderly in place, and then Rosemary's arms enveloped both of us, as if making the three of us one. After a minute or two Steph released my neck with one arm and snaked it around Rosemary, and from underneath I did as well. "Thank you, Rosie," Steph whispered, and sobbed once more. Rosemary just nodded and stroked her hair softly, but her eyes were on mine. Somehow we communicated, and I knew everything was OK with her. Have I ever mentioned how much I love my sister? There is no more loving, giving person in this world. How could I, a little skinny dweeb of a guy, be so lucky as to be loved by two wonderful women, and they be willing to share that love?

"Stephie, I love you."

"I know. Nobody will ever be loved as much as I'm going to love you. Rosie, you know I love you too."

I crawled into the hated back seat of Rosemary's Bug and looked forward to see the radiant smile of love coming from Stephanie, as she turned in her seat to glance at me. Her hand reached back to grab mine and hold it all the way downtown to the courthouse.

We arrived and were on the sidewalk when I saw Michael's Escalade pull into the parking lot. He had risen early and had gone to his apartment to change clothes before going to court, not wanting to impose on us any more by wearing my suit. I stopped the girls, and we waited for him to park and start our way. I shook his hand, and both girls gave him a hug and we crossed the street. I rather doubt the courthouse ever witnessed such a sight before, that of the accused being hugged by and walking with the one who had been injured by his actions. Michael was rather somber, but I didn't try to buck up his spirits. He knew we were there for him, and anything else would have been only fluff.

When we were passed through the metal detectors of course it was I who forgot to remove my pen from my shirt pocket, to the amusement of the girls. Those detectors are sensitive, and the girls got a real kick out of seeing me get wanded with my feet spread and my hands on the counter.

Grandpa was talking with the State's Attorney when we entered the courtroom, and he made no move to recognize our presence. Michael's attorney walked in and came over to chat with Michael, who promptly introduced us. He gave us a rather curious glance, and then taking Michael by the arm walked away to talk in private. I know he had never dealt with a case of this sort before either, and he really didn't hold out much hope. This judge was one known for throwing the book at DUI offenders, as one who had lost family members to a drunk driver. Some said she should not be allowed to adjudicate DUI cases because she could not be impartial, but she had always shown a very careful neutrality and waited for the jury to decide before coming down hard on the offender. To her surprise, Michael had foregone a jury trial, leaving it all to the arraignment, as he planned to plead guilty.

Grandpa finished his discussion with the State's Attorney and gave us just a very brief nod as he sat down at the prosecutor's table. Michael and his attorney proceeded to the defendant's table and sat down. I'll not bore you with all of the details of the hearing, but suffice it to say it was one unlike any the judge had ever presided over. After the Bailiff announced the judge and the charges were read Michael was asked for his plea. He pled guilty to all counts of driving under the influence, of underage drinking, of driving too fast for conditions, and of failing to stop for a traffic control device. Before the Judge could say anything, the State's Attorney stood and said, "The State asks for leniency in this case."

I thought the judge was going to fall off of her chair at that! She looked down and asked the State's Attorney to repeat herself, and then asked for reasoning. At this point the State's Attorney recognized Grandpa, who stood and told the story of Michael coming to the house, the way he had asked for forgiveness, his admission of his guilt, although Grandpa explained Michael had not known he had any alcohol, and Grandpa produced charges that were in the process of being filed against the fraternity for serving alcohol to minors. Grandpa also told of the way Michael had stayed at the hospital and cared for Susie, and then he asked for Stephanie, then me, and finally Rosemary to tell what we had experienced and what we thought and that we were there of our own free will, and not at Michael's request.

The judge sat and looked thoughtfully at each of us for a few minutes and then asked Michael to recount the story of the party. He told the judge he accepted full responsibility for his own actions, and that he was not trying to shift the blame to the party. He said he should have known he was not fit to drive, although he had never been under the influence of alcohol before. Obviously, the judge had never experienced someone of Michael's caliber, and she really didn't know what to do about it. She called for a five minute recess and conference with the attorneys and left the courtroom. We all sat waiting for fifteen minutes before they all trooped back into the room. I wanted to talk with Michael while we were waiting, but the bailiff wouldn't allow it.

[Ramesh_Rocky]

The judge looked perplexed when she sat down again. She called Michael to approach the bar and asked him point blank if he intended to accept responsibility, financial and otherwise, for the damages, to which he said yes, that he had already told us, his attorney, the hospital, and his insurance company that he would make good any expenses not covered. She told Michael to be seated and then sat with her fingers steepled, thinking. We all sat quietly, with bated breath awaiting her decision.

At last she lifted her head and told Michael to stand. He and his attorney stood quietly to hear her judgment. "Judgment on the charges of Driving under the Influence, and of Underage Drinking are hereby suspended pending adjudication of the charges against the fraternity. If they are indeed found guilty of spiking the punch unbeknownst to those partaking, and of serving this spiked punch to under-aged partiers, your charges will be dropped. If they are not these charges will be reopened and your guilty plea accepted. I cannot and will not drop the charges of driving too fast for conditions or of failing to stop for a traffic control device. This court finds you guilty of those two charges and fines you $225.00 and $200.00 in court costs. Based on your driving record, and the way you have conducted yourself, I am granting court supervision. If you have no traffic infractions in the next ninety days no points will be charged to your license. That is as lenient as I can be." With that she struck her gavel and said, "You may pay the court clerk on your way out, and let me say, I have never dealt with anyone of your character and quality before. I am honored to have made your acquaintance." She stood and left the courtroom.

We of course all swarmed him, hugging, handshaking, backslapping, ecstatic over the results. Even the State's Attorney joined us in congratulating Michael. Michael, though, was in a hurry. He wanted to get to the hospital in time to be there when Susie came out of recovery if possible. The only thing that puzzled me about the whole proceeding was everyone kept addressing him as Michael Thibodoux!

In the rush to get out and to get over to the hospital I didn't get to ask Michael about the name situation, but I knew he would tell us what was going on in good enough time.

Our timing could not have been much better. We were at the hospital about fifteen minutes before Susie came out of surgery, and about ten minutes before Michael was able to get there. Michael definitely has some pull somewhere, because when the surgeon came out to make the report to the family, of course there was none there, but the Dr. talked with Michael, and since we were there he talked with us, too. "Surgery went well, as well as it can go in this type of circumstance. We were able to stay as low as six inches above the ankle, which will allow for a prosthesis that will give as near life-like motion as possible. You should be able to see her in about forty-five minutes, or so. Please limit your visit to just about ten minutes, if you will. She will need to recover more fully before she is able to converse with you. I would suggest this evening, or even better, tomorrow." With that he was gone.

I don't know why, but we all breathed a sigh of relief. The surgery really hadn't been anything difficult, but when one you love is in surgery even a hangnail is serious to you. "Let's go down to the cafeteria and grab something to drink. I know I need something. My mouth is as dry as the bottom of a box of cotton balls." We all laughed at Michael's joke, but I think we were much the same condition.

We all made our way down the elevator, and the girls and I each opted for a large Coke, while Michael got a large glass of orange juice. When we sat down Michael said, "We need to talk. His face was flushed, and he had trouble looking us in the eyes. "You have no idea how much I appreciate what you and your grandfather," he nodded at Rosemary and me, "did for me. I've never had anyone come to my aid like that before, and I want you to know I appreciate it from the bottom of my heart." He hanged his head again, and said, "My name, as you heard in court is not really Borden, it is Thibodeaux. My dad is Jeff Thibodeaux, who played in the NFL." The name was vaguely familiar to me, but I don't care for football, so it didn't mean anything special, but Stephie was looking at him with unabashed awe. "I'm not ashamed of him, by any means, but I've learned it is a lot easier if I use my middle name, which is my mother's maiden name, instead." I nodded my head understandingly.

"So, that is where the money comes from? Not that it really matters. You are trying to keep people from putting the bum on you all the time?"

He shook his head. "No, it is more people wanting to use me to get to my Dad, wanting autographs or free tickets, and that sort of thing. It gets tiresome with people not valuing you for yourself, but just as a means to get something. My money is my own. I've written some apps and some software that I've sold. They have allowed me a lot of freedom, and the ability to make sure you guys are properly taken care of. I'm really sorry I've deceived you. It wasn't anything malicious, I assure you of that, nor was it a matter of trying to evade anything."

"No problem on my end! To be honest, I really don't care for football, so it wouldn't have meant anything to me, but Stephie, on the other hand . . . "

"I can't believe Jeff Thibodeaux is your dad! I've got his autograph from when he was at ASU!" She then began to recount all of his major stats, both college and pro. Stephie might not look like it, being a girly girl, but she is a real football fanatic. "I would love to meet him, but knowing his son, and knowing what a sweetheart he is; is about the same."

[Ramesh_Rocky]

Michael just nodded his head. "I'll ask him to autograph a football and a picture for you when I talk with him this evening. I don't usually do that, and I know he will be happy to do it. In fact, they will be in town in a few weeks, and I'll see if I can arrange it for you to meet him. May I ask a big favor, though? Will you please keep my identity private? Otherwise, I get swarmed wherever I go, especially if I'm up around ASU."

We all agreed, fully appreciating his request. It only made sense.

Stephie piped up. "You and Justin ought to get together on your stuff. Justin builds some really neat electronics and things. He builds his own computers, and he has a sound system to die for! You have to get him to show it to you." That got us discussing tech stuff until we realized Susie should be able to have visitors, and we hurried upstairs to see her. She was groggy, but knew who we were, and Michael in particular.

"I really missed you last night, Mikey. It didn't seem right without you over there in the corner." Michael was obviously uncomfortable being called Mikey, which got a grin from the other three of us. I guess it was like Rosemary with Rosie. Nobody but Steph could get away with that, and how she did I never understood.

We all sat with Susie for a few minutes, but it was obvious she was struggling to stay awake, so we said our goodbyes and stepped into the hall. Rosemary and Steph really wanted to stay with her for a while, but that left me without wheels. I had also counted on Rosemary helping me pull wires at Hulvey's. I could do it by myself, but with two it was much more efficient. Michael needed to go home and change clothes. He really had thought he would be going to jail from the courthouse, so he didn't bring a change of clothing with him, but only had on his suit. "I'll tell you what. How about if Justin rides with me, and you girls stay here for the rest of the day? If Justin can spare the time to go to my place while I change I'll go help him pull wires, and then I'll take over here for the night."

I was more than happy to accept his offer, and the girls were happy to get to stay with Susie. Michael made a stop at the nurse's station and told them the girls would be staying, but that he would be back that night. I wondered how he was able to do all of this and asked him on the way to his car. "It's easy. My mom is on the board of directors here at the hospital. I don't have any clout, but she just asked a couple of favors for me, and I pretty much have carte blanche to do what I need to do on Susie's behalf. When her parents get home I'll probably step out of the picture."

"I really hope you don't do that. Susie has really grown to depend on you."

"I'm not talking about abandoning her! I'd never do that! I just figure her parents will want to be involved and won't need me underfoot. Don't worry, I'm going to be around and make sure she gets the very best care possible."

Because we had skipped school Michael and I got to Hulvey's well before school released, and had that much extra time for running wire, and actually had a chance to get started installing some of the equipment. He may not have all that strong on the hardware side of things, but his was a good hand, and more than pulled his weight. I was more than pleased with what we were able to accomplish. When Mr. Hulvey arrived home we had completed all of the wire pulling, and had part of the speakers installed. Of course, he was surprised at what we had accomplished and wanted to know how we had gotten that far already. When I told him I had skipped school he wasn't nearly as excited, but once I told him about Michael's situation and Susie's surgery he was more understanding. He got more excited when I started showing him the layout, and what it was going to accomplish.

While Michael was connecting and mounting the third speaker I showed Mr. Hulvey the controller, which was custom, and how he could use it as more than just an equalizer, but could use it to adjust sound quality from focusing it on one listener to optimizing the sound for a room full of people.

While most people might not notice the difference, not having a trained ear, I had it tweaked to an audiophile's wet-dream. I knew Mr. Hulvey would appreciate the difference, as Janelle had in my room, whereas Mrs. Hulvey was satisfied if she could hear someone talking on TV. I did warn him I had overbuilt the subwoofer, and not to crank the volume on it without warning anyone upstairs. If he watched a war movie it would sound like the bombs were going off under the theatre seats. I knew it was more than he really needed, but knowing Janelle, I figured she might have a party there sometime when her parents weren't home, and they might not be concerned about hearing loss by the time they were thirty. I mean it would really crank out some volume, and with it up only halfway you didn't need to hear the bass, because you could feel it.

I got his permission to work late on Thursday evening so I could finish up installation early, and then on Friday all I would have to do is equalize and optimize everything, and have it ready for demonstration Friday night. That would allow me to head to the house Saturday and Sunday and get a head start on that project. Things were going almost too well!

I took Michael by the house on the way back to the hospital so he could hear my setup, and showed how I could optimize the sound for either at my desk or in my bed, and had him sit and listen to several selections showing a variety of sounds, and before we left he made me promise to build him a system for his place as well. I told him he would have to wait until we got the house ready to go, though. That was priority number one from this point forward.

Susie was awake and alert by the time we returned to the hospital after stopping at Al's for a quick bite to eat. Michael wasn't as leery of the place this time, and even tried chicken livers and gizzards, something he had never eaten before. He was amazed at the size of the platter they brought him, but dug in with gusto. The livers took him a little getting used to, but by the time he was done he was licking his fingers with relish, rather than trying to chase them with a fork and a knife. I promised him I was going to spoil his manners yet, but he just grinned and said give it a good try.

[Ramesh_Rocky]

Susie was happy to see Michael when he walked in the door, and told him she missed him. He grinned and said, "You just missed having a manservant to tend to your every whim."

Susie just grinned her saucy smile and said, "That too." I knew then she was going to be OK.

"How are you feeling, there, little one?"

"That's what I missed. No one else thinks I'm a 'little one!' I'm doing OK, I guess, except I have this horrible itch inside this cast, but I can't tell you where." She cocked one eyebrow at him and grinned.

"Sounds to me like they must have given you a happy pill while I was gone."

"Maybe one or two. I'm glad you weren't any later, because I'm starting to get sleepy. They gave me a sleeping pill just a little while ago, and I've been fighting to stay awake until you got here."

Michael stepped up to the bed and grasped her hand gently and kissed it. "It's OK, 'little one.' You can go to sleep now. I'll be here when you need me. Rosemary, Steph, and I said our goodbyes and left, promising to look in on her tomorrow.

Stephanie just sat in the front seat of Rosemary's Bug for a moment when we pulled into her drive. "I really don't want to go in," she sighed. "I really don't like Paul, and I don't trust him. I don't know how he snowed Mom into going out with him, let alone marrying him. He gives me the creeps, but for Mom's sake I have to be nice to him. Since he came around it is like he has pushed away all of our friends, and it is just him. He can't keep me from you guys, but if he could I think he would try." She shook her head and sighed again. "You two have no idea how lucky you have it."

On the contrary, we do, but we really couldn't say so in this situation. "You know you are welcome anytime, Steph. If he gives you too much trouble feel free to come over. I'm not trying to break things up between you and your Mom, but don't let him hurt you."

"Thanks, Rosie. And thanks to both of you for this week. It has been wonderful." She looked back at me, and I'm sure there were tears in her eyes as she got out of the car and slowly made her way to the door.

Rosemary looked over at me as I clambered into the front seat. "We've got to do something to get her out of that house just as soon as school gets out. What would you say about letting her work on the house with us this summer? She knows how to paint, I know, because she did her own room and her bathroom. They look nice."

"Sounds OK to me. We'll have to run it past Mom and Dad first though."

"I'll say something to Mom. She can talk with Dad about it. I don't feel right about talking with him about Paul and what he has been doing, and it is more than she told you about."

"I think you would be the better one to broach the subject anyway. Speaking of the house, want to go up Saturday and Sunday?"

"What about Hulvey's?"

"We got a lot done today, and I'm sure I can finish the installation tomorrow, and leave Friday for tweaking everything. That would leave us free Saturday and Sunday to get started on some of the tear out and cleanup work that has to be done." Fortunately, we were at a red light, because Rosemary reached over and tried to break my neck with a hug. I took it she was in favor!

"Are we taking sleeping bags and spending the night, or were you planning to drive home?"

I cocked an eyebrow and said, "I had thought sleeping bags would be best. That way we can work as late as we can and start early again Sunday morning."

"Hmmm. Just in case we get too dirty, I noticed a couple of those old clawfoot tubs look big enough for two."

"Well, we wouldn't want to go to bed dirty!" We both grinned at each other as Rosemary pulled into our driveway.

Six o'clock Saturday morning found Rosemary and me piling into the Denali and heading up to Scottsdale. We needed more space than my Mini afforded, so I swapped Dad for the day. I think he was actually looking forward to tooling around in the Mini for the weekend. It's kind of like a big boy toy. We hadn't turned the corner yet, leaving our street, when Rosemary started that magic thing girls do taking off their bras. "Wow! Not wasting any time, are you?" She just gave me a coquettish smile and wink before leaning her seat back and closing her eyes.

Eight o'clock, and we pulled in to a McDonalds to grab a couple of breakfasts. Neither of us had felt like eating before leaving, and besides, my travel mug of coffee had run out a long time ago. "You OK with stopping like this without your bra on?"

"It's just the drive through, and besides, this is a college town. They're used to it."

"They're not used to your tits, and besides, I'm a guy, and it wouldn't matter if everyone went braless, I'd still notice."

"Then try not to be jealous, and if I catch you looking at some other girl without her bra on I'll try and do the same."

With our stomachs fortified, as it were, we quickly made our way to our new home. "Justin, I can't believe this is really ours! Tell me I'm not dreaming." She reached over and grabbed my hand and squeezed it. "How many eighteen year old kids are trusted with this much property, and are put in this kind of position? I guess we have to grow up a bit and prove we are worthy. It's really sobering when you look at it that way."

"Yeah, I know. However, just a hundred years ago we wouldn't be thinking of going to college, but we would have already been considered adults and have been expected to act like it. You would have already been married and had a kid or two by now, and a boy fourteen years would be riding herd on a ranch or even on a cattle drive. He would be expected to put in a man's work. We really have it easy, and have been spoiled. I'm glad Mom and Dad and Grandpa and Grandma thought we were mature enough to do this. I know I'm going to do my best to do it right. It doesn't mean we can't have some fun along the way, though!"

I opened up the back of the Denali and grabbed a load of stuff to carry in with me while Rosemary went and unlocked the door. "This is so cool! I'm unlocking the door to my own house for the very first time! I'm excited!" I set my stuff down in a corner of the foyer and we both went back for another load.

When we walked into the kitchen we found a small basket from Donna and a congratulatory note on our purchase. It had some crackers and cheeses with a bottle of sparkling gbang juice and two wine flutes. Donna noted our age in the note and told us we would have to make do with the gbang juice until we were old enough for Champaign.

Rosemary stepped into my arms for a big hug and then grabbed my hand. "Let's take another look at our house before we start work! I just can't get over it being our house!" Room by room we made our way through the downstairs before returning to the foyer and looking admiringly up the stairs, and at the frieze on the ceiling. "It's all just so beautiful. Kiss me!" I gathered her in my arms and gave her a soft kiss, relishing both the feelings of satisfaction of the house, but mostly Rosemary in my arms.

[Ramesh_Rocky]

With an arm around her waist we ascended to the second floor and took a look in each room. "I think we ought to christen each room in the house before the summer is over! Make this house ours!" Rosemary grabbed me in a big hug, pulling my swelling cock firmly against her. With a grin she said, "I think somebody likes the idea! I really think we need to start with your room, up in the turret, though! How about tonight? With the lights off, but no window coverings yet we can see the lights of the city and look out at the view." I liked the way she was thinking!

Pulling her to me, I reached around from the back and grasped her breasts gently and tweaked the nipples. "What makes you think I want to wait until tonight?"

Rosemary swatted at my hand playfully and said, "You silly boy, you. We have work to do!" Indeed, we did. We went on up to the third floor and walked each of those rooms, reveling in the reality of our own property, until we arrived in my room. "You're sure you want to wait until tonight?"

Rosemary swatted my arm. "No, I don't want to wait, but we had better. If we start fooling around now we'll never get anything done." She leaned in for another kiss, and then said, "Where do we start?"

I sat down on one of the window sills in the turret and said, "I thought probably the best place to start is in the bedrooms, pulling the carpet. We're supposed to get a dumpster sometime today, so I thought we would see how much we can get down there before it gets here. Too bad we left our gloves and things downstairs. Let's go grab them and then start on the second floor."

It was a hard, dirty, sweaty job we had before us, but Rosemary skipped down the stairs like a little girl on her way to a party. Fortunately, each floor had a doorway that led to the back stairs that went to my room up in the garret. I hadn't used the stairs when we were there before, and hadn't noticed that access to the other floors either. I had wondered how we were going to be able to get things up and down three floors without destroying the lovely antique Persian rug runner going up the front stairs. The back stairs obviously were for servants use, and hence were not anything fancy, being plain wooden stairs without ornamentation. They were perfectly suitable for our needs.

I grabbed a super-bar and my gloves and made my way to the second floor, where I started pulling carpet loose from the edges of the first room. Rosemary stopped long enough to pull her tee shirt up and tie it off just below her boobs. "No fair! You are going to dress like that and expect me to keep my mind on working? It doesn't work that way!" Rosemary just giggled at me and lifted her boobs in her hands, pinching at the nipples with her thumbs in the process before turning her back to me and dropping to her knees to pull on carpet. Her ass sticking up in the air as it was wasn't much better!

We had no more than rolled up the carpet and we realized there was no way the two of us were going to be able to wrestle it to the stairs, and then down them. I had Rosemary unroll it again while I went back downstairs and got a utility knife. There was a seam in the carpet at near the mid-room point, so I used it as a basic guide and cut the carpet into two pieces, which we rolled, duct taped to keep it from unrolling, and dragged it with much effort to the stairs, and then pulled it thumping and bumping down them to the bottom. Keeping from being run over was the hardest part of the job. Once at the bottom we walked it out the back door and tumbled it off the back stoop to await the dumpster.

We trudged back up the stairs and rerolled the other half and repeated the process. When we had it at the bottom of the steps Rosemary sat down on a step and said, "Now I know why Dad is so dead-set on us going to college! There is nothing wrong with doing this kind of work, and I'm glad for the guys who do, but I don't want to do this all of my life!" I could only nod in agreement as I looked at the sweat soaked shirt sticking to her boobs. After a breather we dragged it the rest of the way out of the house and went to the kitchen for a drink of water. We hadn't thought to bring a cooler with us, and of course there was no refrigerator, but the water from the faucet was invigorating in our parched state.

Rosemary noted my eyes straying to her breasts and looked down. She had an amused look in her eyes as she looked back up at me. "Giving you quite a show, aren't I?" She tipped he cup and drizzled water down her chest. "I might as well cool off then since I'm showing everything anyhow." She gave me a wink and stood to go back up the stairs. I left Rosemary to roll and carry down the padding since it is so light, while I started cutting and rolling the carpet in the next room.

As he had been for the last several days, Michael was ensconced in the recliner in the corner of Susie's room, working on something on his laptop while Susie dozed. His focus was so great he didn't hear the knock on the door or notice Stephanie walk in the room, nor did he hear her call his name softly, so as not to wake Susie. It wasn't until she touched his shoulder and startled him that he knew anyone was about. "You sure are concentrating. What's up?"

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't even notice you come in."

"Yeah, I noticed!" Steph said dryly. She sat down in a hard plastic chair set aside for visitors. "I notice you never miss it though if Susie stirs."

Michael colored a little bit before he said, "Yeah, well, I feel a certain responsibility there. That's why I'm here."

"I'll bet the nurses would like to put you on the payroll! You are doing all of their work for them."

"I wouldn't go quite that far. It really isn't a problem, and I don't mind it at all. I'm getting a lot of work done while she is sleeping, and I enjoy talking with her when she is awake. How are things going with you, anyway? Has the insurance company done anything for you about replacing the car yet?"

Steph shook her head. "They say they can't do anything about it until we settle everything, and we can't do that yet, and we didn't have a rental policy on our insurance, so we are doing without it for the moment. It's not real convenient, but we are getting by."

[Ramesh_Rocky]

"That's not going to do at all! Let me call my agent and see what I can do." He quickly dialed a number on his phone and got his agent on the line.

"Hey there, Michael. What can I do for you? You just barely caught me. I normally get out of here before now on Saturday."

"I'm sorry. I forgot it's Saturday. Quick question for you and I'll let you go. I'm talking to Stephanie, the girl whose car I hit, and she is telling me you guys won't do anything about replacing her car until you settle everything?"

"Yes. That's the way it works, and I can't do anything about it. I don't like the policy, but that's the way it works."

"That's unacceptable. She tells me she doesn't have rental coverage on her policy, so they are without wheels until you guys get your act together and settle up with her. That's not right!"

"You're preaching to the choir, Michael. I'm sorry, but I can't change it. I would if I could, but that is standard practice with all companies."

"OK, then I guess I'll have to go out and buy her a car myself, and you can settle it up with me later."

"I'm sorry, but we can't do it that way either. If you want to buy her a car you might get her to pay you back out of the settlement, but we can't do anything of the sort with you for it."

"I'm really sorry to hear you say that. Everything in this whole deal has been very smooth up to this point, and she and I are on an amicable level, but you are going to make this whole thing adversarial, I can see that already. I will be speaking with her attorney on Monday, and will relate our conversation. I will be telling him to do what is necessary, and that I will cooperate with him fully. You can also expect me to cancel my policy as soon as I find a replacement. Good day, Sir," and he hung up the phone before his agent could respond.

"Are you busy this afternoon, Stephanie? If not I will take you car shopping and we will get you a car today. I have to wait until after Susie wakes up though so she will know where I've gone."

"Oh, that isn't necessary. We can get by until the insurance company settles it. I wanted to see Susie, too, which is why I'm here."

"No, that isn't acceptable. If I had not hit your car you would not be doing without. We'll get you something whenever you have the time to do it."

"I can't ask you to do that! My car wasn't worth all that much, but still, I can't ask you to spend that much money, especially since you aren't working."

Michael gave her a crooked grin and said, "I don't have to work. I was working when you came in the room, but I don't have a job that requires me to be anyplace at a certain time. I'm not Bill Gates, but I've written some software and apps that have left me in pretty good shape. Please don't advertise it, because I get more people trying to 'help' me with my money than I can chase away. I can afford it. I would rather the insurance I pay a premium for would do it, but that doesn't really matter. We are going to get you a car. I wrecked yours, I am responsible to replace it, so if not today, when would be best for you?"

"Well, I guess I could go today, then, but I still hate to put you out to do it!"

"No problem at all. It looks like Susie is stirring."

Stephanie didn't notice anything, but sure enough, in just a couple of minutes Susie opened her eyes and looked first of all for Michael. "Hi, Mikey. Still hanging in there with me?"

"You've got it, Little One. What can I get for you? Water?" Susie nodded, and Michael got up from his chair and went to her table and poured some ice water in a cup for her. "Anything else I can do for you?" She shook her head as she sipped from the straw in the cup he held for her. "You've got a visitor."

"Oh, Hi, Steph. I didn't even notice you were there. I'm sorry."

"Oh, that's OK. If I had a cute nurse hanging around me like Michael I wouldn't notice anyone else either." Susie giggled, and Michael blushed as he sat down. Stephanie stepped up to the side of the bed to where she could grasp Susie's free hand and squeezed it. "How are you doing, there, girl? Are you hurting?"

"No, they keep me pretty well doped up, so I don't hurt much. The worst thing is I itch inside this cast, and I can't do anything about it! Michael has been taking good care of me, and I sleep a lot."

"I'm glad you aren't hurting. I was worried about that."

"No, that's OK. See my rose?"

Now that it was mentioned, Stephanie noticed a single rose in a vase on the bedside table. "Michael brought me another big bouquet of roses. He said the others weren't fresh enough, but I told him it was too much. He ought to share them, so do you know what that silly man did? He got the nurse to get him some tall cups, and he split up that two dozen roses and went from room to room, passing them out." She glanced over at Michael and smiled when she caught his eye. "I think he's pretty special. Do you know he will hardly leave the room, except when the Dr. or nurse is doing something with me, and I don't even have to use the call button? He takes care of everything for me."

"Yes, he is pretty special. We've been finding that out. He's going to take me out and buy me a car this afternoon, because the insurance company won't do anything until they settle the whole thing. He doesn't have to do that." Michael shook his head emphatically otherwise.

"Little One, I'm going to have to leave you for a couple of hours, but I'll be back just as soon as we find her something suitable, OK?" Susie just nodded.

"I'll be fine. I'll probably be asleep anyway. Those drugs just keep me sleeping it seems."

Steph squeezed her hand tenderly. "That helps you heal faster. Your body heals while it is sleeping. I don't want to tire you out, but I wanted to come by and see you for a few minutes. Rosemary and Justin said to say 'Hi'. They went up to work on the house today and tomorrow, but they promised they will be by on Monday." Susie nodded, and Steph noted her eyelids were drooping already. She glanced over at Michael, who nodded, and then leaned in to rest her head against Susie's in as much of a hug as she could give and said, "I'll let you sleep now, and I'll see you again, tomorrow. OK?" Susie nodded and closed her eyes.

"I'll be back in a little while, Little One. You sleep well, now." Susie opened her eyes and looked at Michael with a little smile, then she closed them again and in moments was asleep again.

Stephanie assumed Michael was thinking about a used car, since hers wasn't anywhere near new, so she was surprised when they pulled into a Chevrolet dealership. Even then she expected him to pull around to the 'Pre-owned' section, but instead he pulled into one of the customer parking spaces right by the door and stopped. "Chevy OK with you? That's what you were driving, isn't it?"