Chapter 1

The sun had set about an hour ago when I heard a banging on my front door. Out here in this corner of the state, people don't have too many neighbors so when there's banging, it's either the cops or the trailer trash down the road. I was hoping for the cops myself as I eased out of my desk chair and walked to the door.

Damn, it was the trailer trash. I don't want to brag, but I am one of the few natives of the county that actually went to college and got a degree. Unfortunately, I think stupidity is a naturally occuring substance in the soil around here, because I came back despite my better judgment. I even moved back into the old homestead, which is a two bedroom cottage, even though my parents are dead and buried. The oak tree out front was old when I was a kid and the circular driveway was forced to go around it.

The Sim's property next door had been a farm since before the Civil War, but the family line gave out and last remaining descendent of that fine family is a scuzzball named Bobby Sims and his 16 year old bastard daughter. I never heard who the mother was. Bobby's one redeeming quality in his drunken life was that he was crazy about that girl. They lived in an old rusty trailer down the pitted drive at the front of their property. Worse still, we are somehow related like second cousins twice removed or some such nonsense.

Bobby Sims was juggling the doorknob by the time I reached the door. I flung it open pissed off and Bobby just trooped past me dragging his daughter Gina after him with no apologies. They were both dripping water on the hardwood floor and I peeked out the open door to confirm the drizzle coming down.

"Look, Kenny," Bobby started in, "I got some business in Avery tonight. I'll probably be back by 11 but I might not be back 'till the morning. You think you could watch Gina and make sure she gets on the bus?"

I stared at him. This wasn't the first time and he rarely did as he said he would.

"Hey, this is a big deal. There is a lot of money going down and its got my name on it, see? I gotta' go take care of business. Okay?"

I nodded despite my reluctance, wondering if 'stupid is, as stupid does.' Bobby shot out the door without closing it of course and hopped in his battered truck and chewed up the gravel before he hit the pavement. I closed the door gently and turned to Gina. She had that look of someone who lives with a drinker, that 'don't bother trying to bullshit me' look because she could see straight through a person.

The girl had grown over the winter and the woman she would become was already before me. Her wet clothes left nothing to hide from her teenaged breasts, which really stood far out, to the rounding of her hips and butt below a thin waist. Her brown hair, curling in the wet and humidity only added to the wild look.

I shook the rising thoughts out of my head and asked her if she had eaten any dinner. Of course she hadn't so I offered to heat up some meatloaf while she put her clothes in the dryer and took the robe from the bathroom door.

She dug into the food like she had not eaten in a week; Gina ate the entire dish. I showed her where the TV remote was and went back to my study to finish my work. Avery is about an hour away and by 11:00 Bobby should have been back but he wasn't. I brought out a blanket for Gina and told her she could sleep on the couch while I crawled off to bed.

I awoke with the sun and after stretching tiptoed out to see if Bobby had come for Gina in the middle of the night. She was still there, the blanket was on the floor and the robe had opened up to reveal a pert breast topped with a light brown nipple pointed straight at the sky. My morning hardon became a steel bar. I ran to the bathroom and made as much noise as I could hoping to wake her up. I did.

"The bathroom's yours," I called out and slipped into the kitchen to make some coffee. As the coffee brewed I stepped out into the sweet air to grab the paper from the mailbox. Standing in the driveway, I watched the sheriff's car pull in from the wrong direction.

I've known Sheriff Taylor since I was a kid, but my bowels still tightened up a little when I approached his SUV.

"Morning, Jimmy."

"Morning Ken, do you know where Gina Sims is?" I pointed towards the house and he turned off the truck and let out a sigh.

"I got fresh coffee" I volunteered and he nodded saying we were gonna need it. My mind was racing wondering what the scumbag had done this time but I kept my mouth shut.

Gina was standing at the front door with a completely neutral look on her face. I poured two cups and a glass of juice for Gina as we sat around my dinner table. She sat stiffly in her chair.

"Gina, I don't know how to tell you this" Sheriff spoke in a rehearsed manner, "but there's been a, ah, accident and your daddy is dead, honey."

Her eyes stared into him, they didn't blink.

"How did he die?" curiosity getting the best of me.

"He was shot behind a bar in Avery. Do you know why he was there."

"He told me he had business, he was going to get money," I answered.

"Gina?" She shrugged and then kind of sagged onto the table.

The sheriff motioned to me and we walked to the front door. He told me he could take her down to Social Services and Mrs. Barrows. I shudder when I hear that old bat's name, even more that she would take care of Gina. I offered my house and told him she was probably better off here, at least for a few hours. "Afterall, I'm family" I heard myself argue.

Days past, and then weeks. My desk and computer moved out and a bed for Gina moved in. I was 24 and now by my own words, was responsible for a 16 year old. I had two things on my To Do Right Now list: the Sims property and Gina's clothes.

Bobby Sims was sitting on money and never knew it. One of the energy companies suspected natural gas under the property but Bobby either couldn't or wouldn't read the proposed contract they had mailed him. I took it to an attorney downstate who had experience with gas contracts and negotiated a fine deal. My responsibility was keeping the property up, which turned out to be easier than I thought. The Turner family was black, proud and probably descendents of slaves in the county. They were a farming family and the two sons were looking for property. I offered them 20% below market value to rent the land until they turned a profit and considered myself lucky.

That was the easy part. Gina would barely talk. She cleaned house like a demon with a purpose but she looked like a Salvation Army castoff. Well, she was. After more weeks of suggesting I finally stopped her in the hallway on a Thursday afternoon and told her were we driving to the big city tomorrow after school, to the mall. She started to shake and tear up but I held firm.

The next day I picked her up after school and shared a silent ride to the suburban mall. I marched her in and she looked at me kind of lost and a bit scared.

I marched her over to the Junior's section of the department store and spread my arms: "Go, choose school clothes."

I was worried she would choose all black or something but instead she came back with two lacey, bright blouses.

"Nope," I said shaking my head,"you have five days of school, and two days on the weekend, Go and get some more, a lot more." She looked at me like I was nuts and babbling nonsense, but away she went.

It took a lot of time but we settled on jeans, skirts, sweaters, blouses, t-shirts, and one mini-skirt. Then I told her it was time for the hard part and she started like a deer caught in the headlights. I dragged her over to the bra and panties section and she appeared as if she was going to die of embarrassment. I found the salesclerk and asked her to help Gina, I explained that "her daddy had just died." I hit the right button and the salesclerk shooed me off and told me to come back in 20 minutes.

Mission accomplished. I took Gina for burgers and shakes, and packed her back in the truck for the long trip back. Gina let out a long sigh from the seat next to me. "Thank you" she whispered.

"What?" I asked with a degree of deafness or stupidity.

"Thanks for the clothes and, and forcing me to go to the mall."

I reached and put my arm around her and she leaned into me and started to cry. She blubbered, shuddered, and shook for a good hour as we drove in the dark. When she was done she wiped her eyes and blew her nose. Then she leaned back over and gave me a kiss on the cheek. I blushed and thanked the gods that be for the darkness.

Tired and poor, we dragged in her new clothes and dropped them on her bed. We were too tired to fold them so Gina followed me into my room, we dropped our pants in the dark and she curled up into my side as we fell asleep.

I awoke with the most incredible erection and it was sandwiched firmly between two warm mounds of encased flesh. The shame hit me immediately and I started to slowly roll away and disengage when a hand reached back and grabbed my hip. "No, don't go away!" came a sweet voice from from a distant corner.

I rolled back and wrapped my arm protectively over her stomach. It was 30 minutes of heaven until Gina heaved herself up and ran to the bathroom to relieve herself.

"You like?" she asked as she posed in the doorway. "I bought them for you," and she shook her hips to show off her her new panties, which had more in common with dental floss than underwear.

"Oh, you do like them!" she squealed in mock delight, pointing at my shorts before I could answer. I rolled on my back in defeat only to feel my cock bounce up against the elastic.

Gina sat down on the bed and look into my eyes. "I'm not your daughter," she said. I replied that I was not her father either.

"YOu can be a boyfriend," she said with a big grin on her face. "I know a lot about guys" she said with certainty while pulling a strand of her chestnut hair from her face.

"Oh yeah. Anyone teach you about morning breath?" and I rolled out and away to use the pot and brush my teeth. When I came out the coffee was on and Gina was fixing eggs in the kitchen, still in her new underwear and t-shirt.

Whether is was her long, shapely legs or her beaming smile, I could only manage a grunt and a cup of coffee at first. We ate our eggs standing up in the kitchen and I tried to head off a difficult conversation by turning to the sink to wash the dishes but Gina beat me and simply stuffed the plates in the dishwasher.

"So, am I your girlfriend or what?" Gina began.

'Or what, ' was what I wanted to quip but she wouldn't understand. "Look Gina, I am your court-appointed guardian, I'm supposed to take care of you." (Actually I felt like the court-railroaded guardian as no one wanted to deal with teenage trailer trash.)

"So."

"Gina, you are eight years younger than me. You're a minor for God's sake."

Gina fixed me in her sights with a beady stare. She was thinking. "Just because I'm Bobby Sim's daughter, just because I'm white trash, doesn't mean I don't know the rules." She gathered steam. "To everyone in this fucking town I am the trash, the poor orphan, the 'don't-touch-it-might-rub-off' buck-toothed hick, but I thought you were different!"

I wanted to hang my head in shame.

"Well, excuse me if I am not a sweet magnolia!" she declared at the top of her lungs and made to dart out of the room.

I barked a laugh and grabbed her and held her to me. She squirmed and she pushed, she wiggled and twisted to get out of my arms but I wouldn't let go. Finally she stopped resisting and just rested her head against my chest. I released one arm and reached up to wipe the tears from her face. Bending down I kissed the tears on both sides of her eyes.

"But that's the problem," I began, "you not just a piece of trailer trash, you really are a sweet magnolia." Gina reached for my face and stroked my cheeks. She kissed me gently on the lips and I didn't back away.

"You're good," she concluded. "About as sentimental as roadkill on a hot day in August, but you're good." Laughing at her own barb, she wiped away new tears and asked me to help her put away her new clothes. I concluded that I was forgiven.

In her room I marveled at the damage we had done. I damn near freaked out at the seductive underwear and bras she had bought but held my tongue.

Chore done, Gina suggested we hike the property, something I hadn't done in years. The property went back a fair ways and there was a little creek next to a bluff at the very back. We slapped some peanut butter on bread, grabbed some apples and took off.

The old game trails were faint and the creek still ran cold. We took off our shoes and cooled our feet in the water. Gina leaned against me and I felt my erection press against the tough fabric of my jeans. She kissed me on lips and pulled back to catch my eyes.

"I lied to you," she confessed. "I don't know much about guys."

"I know." And without thinking I kissed her back. I didn't pull away and instead slipped my tongue between her lips. We kissed for a long time and our hands rubbed up and down each other's bodies.

"I felt your thingy in my backside all night." Gina said with a giggle.

"Thingy? It's called a cock."