Chapter 6: Augmentum

Luke came awake slowly, yawning and rubbing his eyes in slow motion. He felt his mother stir gently against him, her arm across his chest, her leg tucked between his.

He smiled; he felt lighter and more alive than he ever had; he felt warm and ... loved. He gently kissed her head and slowly extracted himself from her arms; he was getting used to slipping away from her embrace in the mornings.

He stood up and stretched, arms above him and standing on his tiptoes, giving another yawn. He went over and peeked out the window, seeing the faintest stirrings of light in the trees. He picked up his shaving kit and made his way to the shower, turning the water on and letting the water warm up to the way he liked it; then, as he was about to step in, he felt hands on his hips, moving around to hug him.

“You mind if Mommy shares it with you, baby?” She said kissing his back between his shoulder blades. He smiled and turned, taking her in his arms.

“Not at all Mom.” He said as he leaned down, kissing her lips, which turned into a small make-out session in the now foggy bathroom. They stumbled as they both got under the nice hot water. He had forgotten to grab his soap, but they didn’t miss it.

She reached between them and found his semi-hard shaft sandwiched between them; using her hand, she jerked it quickly, feeling the blood swelling it further, and then she grinned as she turned and arched her back. He got the point and got behind her as her hand shot back and grabbed his cock, placing it at her entrance.

“Ooohh, Mommy loved you last night, Baby; now Mommy wants to fuck!” She rocked back, feeling him sliding inside and again; Luke got the message, he may have been inexperienced, but he had seen plenty of porn; he gripped her hips and slammed in deep, causing her to moan, mouth open as she took her son’s shaft deep in her body. He started to pump into her at a steady pace, slowly picking up speed as they both got more turned on; he felt her shudder, hands sliding over the wall and gripping the rail, flinging her head back, wet hair slapping his face as he kept driving into her.

He pumped her deep and steady for five minutes. Both gasping and groaning as they enjoyed each other’s bodies, taking pleasure with each other. The water had just turned tepid when he felt that familiar rush coming on; he grit his teeth and started slamming into her harder, unconsciously bending his knees and angling deeper, which caused her to gasp as he slammed in one final time before pumping his cum deep into her. He had gripped her hips and held her to him tightly, holding her in place. He shuddered, giving small jerky movements as she panted. After a few seconds, he was done, letting her go as she turned and locked her lips on his for a minute. Then she grinned and gave him a wicked look.

“Mmm, that’s my baby boy.” She giggled, then she stepped out a second to grab his soap.

“We better bathe off while we still have a little bit of warm water!” She giggled as they took turns soaping each other and rinsing. The water turned cold much faster than they thought, and they barely got out before it became ice. It did do some wonderful things for her nipples though Luke noted.

They dressed and got ready to go, though Jeannie took a little more time to dry her hair.

They checked out and got back on the road at 8, both happy and smiling as they stopped at the diner in town as they were passing through. They chatted away like a happy couple as they drank their coffee and ate standard breakfast fare, this time just bacon, eggs, and biscuits. When they finished eating, they were getting into the car when Jeannie’s phone rang. She looked at it and answered.

Luke only heard one side, but it didn’t sound good.

“What? Ok, do it; call me back and give me the details,” Jeannie said before hanging up; Luke asked if anything was wrong, but she just shook her head; work stuff, she said.

When Luke pulled up to the house and turned the car off, Jeannie just sat there looking out the window, the phone still in her hand, the back of it to her chin, like she was lost in thought. He wanted to ask what that was all about but he just waited, being patient in case she needed to talk. Jeannie sniffled a moment then got out, grabbing her bag. Luke did the same. They walked up to the house and knocked. After a moment, Gina opened it in a new robe, waving them in as she chided them that they didn’t have to knock, but Jeannie just smiled.

“We thought Hank might still be chasing you around this morning.” Then laughed.

“Well, he did, a little.” She blushed telling them to come on in and that breakfast was ready. They told her they had stopped at the diner, and then Jeannie excused herself and went back to make a call; Luke and Gina sat at the kitchen table and talked a little, waiting for Hank to come in.

When Jeannie came back in, Gina asked her if everything was alright, and she said it was, just some stuff she had to take care of. Then she got some coffee and sat and chatted for a few minutes, then Hank walked in looking a little more tired than usual.

“Whew, man I’m hungry!” Hank chuckled as he went to wash up; Gina walked into the kitchen, got the biscuits and sausage, and put them on the table. When he got back he wasted no time and dug in. They all chatted a bit and laughed wondering what had Hank so starved this morning, Gina with her face on fire and him just grinning as he spooned out pear preserves onto his biscuits.

As he was finishing up he asked Luke if he wanted to help him plow the acre he had set aside for Gina’s vegetable garden.

“Hell ya!” He grinned; he was a guy, and he loved playing with machinery.

Hank laughed and understood, both women giggled at his enthusiasm.

Luke did have to ask though.

“Why are we plowing it now though? Nothing can grow because of the cold at the moment right?” He asked a little confused and Hank nodded.

“Very true, but when we turn the earth now while it’s still cold, it kills off some of the more pesky weeds, and it’s easier to get the planting done when the weather warms. Some say it’s a bad idea, erosion and such, but I’ve never had a bad year when we tilled the ground in cold weather.” He finished as he sopped up the past of his preserves with his biscuit.

They went out to the barn and Hank had Luke drive the tractor out to the little spot only a hundred feet from the house, then he drove stakes in the ground at the four corners of the acre he wanted to till. Then he showed him how to use the quad plow, pulling the pins out and seating them correctly, and securing them with cotter keys.

“Now the trick is, the plow will drag down on you; you just hold it steady, don’t use more power than you need because the ground ain’t frozen, but it is cold and tough, so we don’t want to break the plows or anything.” Then Hank suddenly became thoughtful.

“That reminds me, I need to show ya how to weld; that’ll be tomorrow’s lesson.” He laughed and slapped him on the back as he continued with his explanation of tilling the ground.

Luke hit a few snags as he slowly got the hang of it, he did almost stall out the tractor twice before finally getting the right depth of the plow blade, it was a little bit of a learning curve, sitting on top of the old International and tearing the ground, feeling the plows dig in, he discovered if he went too fast they dug too deep. Hank explained that with bigger and more powerful tractors, you could do that, but with his smaller one, he had to take his time. Overall, Hank approved of the job he did; he said it was a little crooked, but hell, every field was to some degree. When Luke parked it back in the barn, that’s when the real work began.

Hank had him go all around the full acre, driving stakes in with a sledge and putting up a silk fence (which he was told would help keep the soil in place a bit) while Hank started shoveling and carting the manure from the compost bin. Once he was back, he used a shovel to start slinging it out; he explained it helped fertilize the ground without having to use a ton of nitrates from the feed store. Luke went all around the acre putting up the fence except for about a ten-foot gap so Hank could drive his beat-up Polaris in and out with the little trailer he used as a wagon, hauling the compost out to the field. Luke started helping him load and then sling it out with the shovel, which he also learned had a trick to it. Hank explained when he started to toss it, he needed to twist the shovel so it would spread more, covering more ground than usual; if he tried just tossing the end forward and stopping, it would just be a big clump. He explained there were other ways, of course, but that was just the way he favored. He got the hang of it quickly, and at around 11, the field was covered.

Luke was exhausted, and Hank laughed and told him he was doing well. Luke’s hands were getting rougher, and he had to be honest; he liked it; blisters didn’t bother him anymore; he just considered it a part of life.

When they washed up, and Hank had left for work, he sat on the back porch and talked to Gina while she sipped some coffee. The noon sun was burning brightly, but it was still a chilly day. Jeannie stepped out and asked to borrow Gina’s car for a little while which confused Luke.

“Why not just take the car?” Holding the keys up, but she shook her head.

“You might need it, baby; I’m gonna be gone for a few hours; I’ll be back for supper though” At that Luke got a little worried, after all, Rob had tracked them down here, and as far as he knew he was still around town somewhere looking to ambush his mother with another fruitless attempt of getting her back, desperate people do desperate things.

“Are you sure you don’t want me to go with you?” He asked. She just smiled at him then.

“Yes baby, I’m sure, I won’t need my big strong man this time; Mommy can take care of it.” She leaned over, kissed his lips, and gave him a wink Gina didn’t see as she pulled back and giggled. Gina just nodded.

“The keys are on the ring in the kitchen; take as long as you need, Jeannie.” She nodded.

When she left, Luke and Gina talked a bit more. She asked about his problems, and he was honest with her; he still had little quirks with things, but he was getting better, day by day. Gina just smiled and patted his arm, happy that he was doing better and not the angry and on-edge young boy who had first walked through their door.

“You’re certainly looking better, your color has improved, and you’re getting some muscle; you’re a man now” She giggled, saying how Hank was a good influence on him. Luke laughed and agreed, saying he was learning a lot.

“He said he was going to teach me to weld tomorrow, I’m really looking forward to that.” He told her honestly. It was one of those skills he had seen before but never thought he’d have the chance to do it.

“Yeah, Hank is a jack-of-all-trades; he wants to build a shop out back so when he retires, he can tinker to his heart’s content. He loves working on things.” She smiled again, thinking of Hank, no doubt.

“When Mom first brought me down here, I honestly didn’t think this was a good idea; I mean, family I’ve never met? A place and people that are so different, well, I just didn’t know.” Luke looked down and shrugged.

“But I also knew it wasn’t just for me; it was for Mom, too. And after being here for a couple of weeks ... I think Mom knows what she is doing.” He gave her a small smile and shrugged again. Gina just nodded, saying how Jeannie had always been the smart one.

“She always did have that knack of knowing how to get things done, and you’re a lot like her you know? You’ve impressed Hank a lot with stuff he didn’t think you’d pick up so easily; he’s always going on about how young people never pay attention anymore,” She told him seriously as she sipped her coffee.

He got a little uncomfortable with the compliment, she noticed and patted his knee again.

“Just being honest Honey.” She gave him another smile and then asked him what his plans were today.

“I’m not sure, really; what do guys my age usually do around here?”

She laughed and said work usually.

“But since you don’t have anything to do, why don’t you drive me to the grocery store, and I’ll grab a few things that your Mom forgot when she shopped?”

“Sure, no problem!” They went in, and he got his hat, and when she was ready, he opened the door for her, making her giggle, saying Hank was turning him into a Gentleman. Luke just grinned as he went around the car and got in.

“Wow, this thing is almost the exact same!” Gina was looking around the interior.

“Yea Mom said she had it in storage for a few years, she said she was gonna give it to me on my 16^th but I kept talking about a truck so she got me that instead.”

He started the car up and they got on the road.

“Yeah, boys and their trucks, just the same, they don’t make cars like this anymore.” She enjoyed the ride in the classic car.

They pulled up at the old Winn Dixie and went inside. Gina got a cart, and Luke diligently followed, reaching things for her from the top shelves and definitely lifting anything heavy, even when she didn’t want him to. Or at least she acted a little offended. Luke pretended he didn’t notice the little fake glares, but then he found her smirking when he turned, and she thought he couldn’t see her. She did get quite a bit, and then when they went to checkout and pay, she almost slapped him when he had snuck his card into the reader ahead of her. He just grinned at her guiltily and shrugged when they were pushing it out.

“Sneaky little rat!” She laughed as they were walking to the car. He just laughed.

They were walking and chatting away until Gina stopped suddenly. Luke looked back and she was staring at someone. Luke looked and saw two guys sitting on his car. One was tall and heavy, more fat than muscle, and the other was skinny with a scraggly beard; both looked like no good, with dirty jeans, stained t-shirts, and oily hair. Luke only thought about it for a moment, watching those two tap on the window, checking the doors; then the gorilla sat on the front driver-side fender and lit up a cigarette, tossing the lighter to the skinny one on the other side of the car.

“The Jenkins boys?” She looked surprised that he knew the name as she nodded; Luke then just told her, “Wait here.” Luke waved her behind him. She started whispering and trying to tug him back, but he ignored it and told her to get her behind the SUV beside them; then he walked over to his car.

He walked straight to the car; when he got 10 feet away, he threw his arms wide and yelled, “Fellas! It’s so nice to see you again!” He was a couple of feet away, then he stopped. The big guy looked at him, confused. The other one had some kind of snide look.

“Do I know you?” He rumbled, Luke just shook his head.

“No, no, never seen you before either, but you see, you’re sitting on my car like you know me! So being the truly generous person I am, I decided to give you the benefit of the doubt! So, do we know each other?” Really playing up the New England accent for their benefit.

He looked even more confused. “No, I don’t, uh, know you.” The skinny one was obviously the smart one.

“He’s making fun of you, fucking idiot.” Skinny started walking around the car.

“I’m afraid he is correct, but there are no hard feelings; I just need you two fine gentlemen to get off of my car, please,” Luke said with an expectant smile. Keeping his hands up and steepled, fingers gently tapping each other.

The skinny one got close as he dropped his cigarette on the ground and crushed it with an old paint-splattered boot.

Here we go he thought

The big guy was looking confused, but the skinny one started moving, and Luke knew what Skinny was doing, he was picking a fight. He had been bullied before, he knew what was about to happen and he probably would lose, but he would make damn sure they paid for what they were buying.

Before the guy could completely draw back his arm, Luke gave a quick jab to Skinny’s face right square on his nose, and then here came the big guy, he was fast; he felt more than saw the arms suddenly closing on him all around, clamping him. But the guy bent too low, and Luke threw his head back, cracking his face. Luke felt wetness in his hair as he then jabbed his elbow hard into Gorilla’s ribs, feeling him staggering backward.

Then he saw Skinny’s fist connect with his eye, rocking him backward. He managed to keep his feet as Skinny threw wild haymakers and roundhouses like some angry orangutang fighting a zookeeper for bananas. Luke ducked one, then, with an inspired move, clamped his fingers of both hands together and swung upward, connecting with Skinny’s jaw and hearing a loud crack. He saw teeth flying, knowing he didn’t hit him that hard, he yelled at Skinny.

“Don’t smoke meth!” He started laughing then, the adrenaline was flooding his veins as he danced around the gorilla, who had recovered but favored his right side as he started swinging at him. Skinny was on one knee spitting blood. Luke dodged another blow from Gorilla and just kept throwing punches, most landing but doing basically nothing to him, until finally, Luke was too slow, and one big backhand caught him; he literally felt his feet leave the ground and slammed into a parked car, then fell on his back beside it. And Gorilla came charging over, face wild, lips bleeding, about to grab Luke and use him as a punching bag.

Luke wasn’t proud of it, but they really didn’t leave him many options; after all, it was two versus one, they were clearly looking for trouble, they were on his car, and he had a pregnant lady with him, who knows what kind of shit they could have tried. So when Gorilla was right on top of him Luke planted his foot as hard as he could into his balls.

Gorilla crashed to the side, trying to suck air past his lips, teeth gritted, eyes crossed, twitching and shaking on the ground as he cupped his balls. Luke quickly got to his feet as Skinny was backing away, hissing through missing teeth, spewing threats, yelling at his brother to come on.

Luke looked at them as they limped and groaned then they got into some dingy, rusted-out old Nissan truck that took a couple of tries to start before they peeled out. Luke shook his head, and he felt the adrenaline flowing, he felt alive! He danced around a little right beside the car as he turned and stared at Gina who was looking at him in shock. He just looked at her.

“What?” He was a little confused.

Her hands were shaking as she dug into her purse for tissues and started mopping his nose and shoving them into it, and he realized he was bleeding; he tried to look down but only caught a glance that his once-blue shirt was now purple in front. His vision was slowly getting dark as well he found, and he felt fine, but then realized his eyes were swelling shut.

“Help me get this stuff in the car, Luke; we have to get you home and get some ice on that to keep the swelling down!” She dug the keys from his pocket and started slinging the groceries into the car.

They got their stuff loaded up and Luke took the passenger seat this time while Gina peeled out of the parking lot, her foot staying very heavy all the way home. Luke would have laughed if he hadn’t hurt so much now. He tried to laugh, but then found it wasn’t that funny when he groaned. They got back in record time. He was hurting, but he still insisted on lifting the heavy stuff. Gina was fussing over him, but he wasn’t having it; even a blind horse can pull a wagon! Wow, I AM turning into Hank, he thought and laughed then groaned again. Gina just gave him a look as if he was going crazy.

Once all the stuff was inside on the table and counter, Gina ran into the bathroom and came back with ointments and then grabbed an icepack from the freezer, the kind they used in coolers, and fitted it over his entire face, which, if he was being honest felt like it needed it.

“When that adrenaline wears off it’s gonna hit you hard.” She made him get the bloody clothes off, so he sat there in his boxer briefs while she dabbed and patched the scratches on his arms, hands, and some on his head and neck. Finally, after a few minutes, she was done; then she checked the swelling in his face and said it was going to be a couple of days before he could function like a normal human again. She got up, grabbed him some Tylenol and a Mountain Dew, told him to take all 3 pills, then started putting stuff away, grumbling about fighting and trailer trash, and talking to Hank more.

Luke told her he was gonna take a nap and trudged upstairs, really feeling the pain now. She waved him up. He went to his bed, and after taking the pills, he flopped back, laid the icepack over his head, and closed his eyes.