Chapter 1

"Ah, ah, aheee" she cried out with every thrust. "Oh God!" Her long, blond tresses flew violently in every direction as she tightly closed her eyes and threw her head back, wild with passion. Her sleek body glistened with a sheen of perspiration as the man lying beneath pushed into her again and again. "OH, YES, YES, I ... I'M COM..."

With one last great thrust, he drove deeply into her heavenly gates. His grip tightened around her waist in reaction to his body's amatory spasms. With a primitive sounding grunt Tyler discharged the warm elixir of life into the soft cavern of his wife's vagina.

As her euphoric trance of ecstasy slowly receded, Nancy collapsed next to her love. Together they struggled to gain control of their heavy breathing. "Oh wow," Nancy chuckled. "It's been awhile since we've been able to do that, especially on a Sunday morning."

"Uh huh," Tyler replied, still breathing hard. "You..." he took another deep breath, "you think we could talk your mom and dad into taking the kids every weekend?" he joked.

"I could try," she joked back.

"Come here, you." Tyler wrapped his arm around his wife of thirteen years and pulled her in closer. "Have I told you yet today that I love you?"

She giggled. "Do all those, 'Oh my God's' count as 'I love you's?' If so then I'd say only about twenty or thirty times, so far."

He still held her in an embrace while rolling her over on her back. He looked into her eyes and smiled. "I love you," he told her just before pressing their lips together.

Nancy held him in position with her hand on the back of his head.

With two kids at home, seldom did they get a chance to make real love like that anymore. Usually it was a quick in and out while trying to stay quiet, but on this rare occasion they'd been at it for hours.

After breaking the kiss, Tyler glanced at the clock then closed his eyes and let his head drop in mock despair.

"What?" Nancy asked while turning to see what he was looking at. "Oh shit," she remarked when seeing the time. "Ten-thirty? We have to grab a shower and get dressed. Dad and mom will be here with the kids in half an hour."

Tyler lowered his head and kissed his lovely wife once more. "Okay, gorgeous, back to reality. To be honest, I don't think I could get it up again, anyway."

"If we had more time, I'd take that as a challenge," she replied with a smile, then gave him one more quick peck on the lips before sitting up. "Okay, handsome, let's grab that shower. We've got thirty minutes."

It was actually thirty-five minutes later when the happy duo descended the stairs. Tyler opened the inside door and unlocked the screen door. The late summer air was fresh from the previous day's rain. "Damn, it's gorgeous outside, honey. I think I'll fire up the grill for lunch."

Tyler stepped outside to soak up some of the warm rays of sunlight. Across the street, his neighbor, Kevin Cermak, was just starting his lawnmower. He glanced up and waved at Tyler who waved back. Even though they'd been neighbors for the last couple of years, they never did become good friends. Tyler thought he was probably an okay guy, they just moved in difference circles, had different friends. His wife was better friends with Susan, Kevin's wife, than he was with Kevin.

"Here they come, honey." Tyler yelled back into the house as her parents came driving up with the kids.

Nancy came out of the house and followed her husband down the front porch to greet everyone as they piled out of the car. The kids were first. Both Christopher and LeAnn hugged their parents.

A little slower at extricating themselves from the vehicle, was Nancy's mom and dad. Nancy hugged them both. Tyler was facing the street and was getting ready to greet his in-laws when he took off at a dead run. He was the only one who saw it happen but the rest heard the blood-curdling scream. As they all looked in the same direction, Tyler was already half-way across the street.

As he approached, he saw things were worse than he feared. Kevin was on the ground; his face was a mask of agony. His pant-leg was ripped to shreds and soaked in red. There was a large gash in his leg and blood was squirting from the wound like a drinking fountain.

"Call 911," yelled Tyler. He'd never had any medical training but he knew instantly that Kevin had cut an artery. He unbuckled his belt and pulled it free, then wrapped it around his neighbor's thigh, looped the end through the buckle, and pulled it as tight as he could.

Susan was in the kitchen, in the back of the house but heard the commotion and came rushing out. She almost fainted at the sight of her husband lying in a pool of blood.

Nancy's dad was still fishing for his phone as they all converged on the grisly scene. "CHARLES," Tyler yelled again to jolt his father-in-law into action, "Hurry, call 911."

Nancy dashed over to Susan and was holding on to her as the poor woman fell to her hands and knees and started vomiting in the grass.

Charles completed the emergency call and was now helping Tyler pull on the make-shift tourniquet. Even though Christopher was only twelve, he had a lot of his dad in him. He removed the light jacket he was wearing, balled it up, and stuffed it under Kevin's head. Little LeAnn turned from the gory site and buried her face into her grandmother's protective bosom as she cried.

Minutes seemed like hours. A small crowd of concerned neighbors had gathered around by the time the paramedics arrived. "Okay, we'll take over from here," one of them said as they moved into position. One gave Kevin a shot while the other applied a more professional tourniquet. They lowered their gurney to ground level and transported him over. A third EMT already had an I-V ready by the time they got him in the truck.

"This is his wife," yelled Nancy to one of the emergency personnel. "Can she go with you?"

"Yeah, but she'll have to ride up front," one of them responded.

Nancy helped the distraught woman into the truck. For a second everyone just stood around and watched as the ambulance took off with its siren blaring. One of the neighbors was standing next to Tyler.

"What happened?"

"I'm not really sure," Tyler replied. "I was across the street and just saw it out of the corner of my eye. He was walking behind the mower and suddenly jumped back ... maybe he stumbled; anyway, when he did he pulled the mower back with him. The damn thing ran right over his leg."

The man looked over at all the blood staining the grass. "It's a good thing you saw it, Tyler, he'd of probably bled to death if you hadn't."

Tyler didn't say anything. He just did what he had to do. "Come on, everyone; there's nothing more we can do here. Let's go home."

As he gathered up his family, the entire crowd started to disperse as well. Once Tyler had everyone safely home again, he did his best to calm everyone's nerves. "Mom, Dad, what can I get you guys to drink?" he asked his in-laws as they took a seat in the living room.

"Do you have any lemonade?" asked Nell, his mother-in-law.

"I believe Nancy made some just for you, mom," replied Tyler with a smile.

"I did, honey. It's on the top shelve in the fridge," Nancy confirmed.

Charles spoke up next. "Grab me a beer while you're in there, son."

"Kids, if you want anything, come and get it yourselves," yelled Tyler from the kitchen.

When he returned to the living room with the drinks, his injured neighbor was still the main topic of conversation. Everyone was very worried. LeAnn was only eight years old and was probably the most troubled. She was asking her mother if Kevin was going to die. Nancy assured her he would be alright.

Tyler was just about to try and steer the conversation in another direction when he noticed the expression on his wife's face. "What?" he asked, looking at her.

"I've got to go to the hospital," she announced. "I just realized; she doesn't have her purse, no ID, no car, no keys; she doesn't even have cab fare to get home. The house is sitting open as well. I've got to go over there and lock things up then drive down and give her, her purse."

She was right. Susan jumped into the ambulance with nothing. "I'll go," Tyler volunteered. "You stay here and visit with your folks. I'll go next door and lock everything up."

"What about her purse," Nancy asked.

"I'll find it. I'll run it over to her at the hospital," he told his wife.

"Why don't I go with you?" volunteered Charles. "I can follow you in their car. That way she'll have a way to get back home."

"That'd be great, if you don't mind, dad."

They told everyone they'd be back in an hour and took off to be good Samaritans. When they got to the hospital, they walked up to the desk in the ER. Tyler caught the attention of one of the nurses and did the talking.

"Excuse me, ma'am, is there anyway to see Susan Cermak? Her husband came in with a leg wound and..."

"Tyler..."

He was interrupted by a female voice who saw him as she was coming out of the emergency room.

He almost didn't recognize her. Her eyes were terribly red and puffy from crying and her face was stained from the tears. "Susan, how's he doing?"

"They're taking him up to surgery right now. I was just on my way to the waiting room."

"Well we locked up your place for you, so don't worry about that. We also brought your purse. I made sure your phone and your wallet were inside. Charles followed me over here in your car. It's parked in the second row of lot 'A.' The keys are in here too," he said, holding up her handbag.

"Oh, thank you, thank you. I didn't even think of all that. I didn't have my phone or anything," she said taking her purse. "Tyler, Kevin owes his life to you. I heard the paramedics in the ambulance say if you hadn't stopped the bleeding with your belt, Kevin would have died before they got there."

She had obviously rinsed out her mouth but he could still smell a hint of vomit on her breath as she reached up and kissed him on the cheek. "I don't know how we'll ever be able to repay you," she told him.

"Don't be silly," he replied modestly. "I'm just glad I was there."

e."

The grateful wife put her arms around him and hugged him with all her might. "Thank you, thank you, thank you," she mumbled into his chest.

Charles couldn't wait to tell the family about the hero in their midst but Tyler took it all with humility and really just wanted to spend the day having a good time with family.

All day Sunday, Nancy kept checking across the street for signs of life but hadn't seen any until early in the evening.

"Tyler, it looks like Susan's home. I'm going to go over there to see how Kevin is doing. You want to come with?"

"Honey, she's probably exhausted. Why don't you hold off till tomorrow? I'm sure he's fine."

"I won't stay long. I just want to see if she needs anything."

"Okay," Tyler returned. "You go ahead. I'll stay here with the kids. Don't be long though. I doubt if she's had much sleep."

When Susan answered the door and saw Nancy standing there, she was actually delighted. As tired as she was, she had been under a tremendous amount of stress and just needed someone to talk to.

She was in her robe and asked Nancy to make a pot of coffee while she grabbed a quick shower. Nancy thought it was a little late to start drinking coffee, but Susan's inner clock didn't know night from day after spending the last thirty hours at her husband's bedside.

The soothing water felt so good she took a full twenty minutes, then threw on a pair of sweats before joining her neighbor in the kitchen. Nancy started pouring the coffee as soon as Susie walked in.

"Here you go," Nancy said, setting a cup of hot brew in front of the thankful woman.

Susan's lips turn up into a small smile as she took a sip then set the cup back down. "Mmm, thanks. That machine coffee at the hospital was so bad, I couldn't drink it."

"Well, how is he?"

"He'll be fine," she replied, "thanks to your husband. They had to operate to repair the artery so they have him in a cast and he'll be off his feet for a while, but in a month or so he should be good as new."

"Oh that's wonderful, Susie. I'm so glad to hear that."

"Thanks. You know, sometimes we can lose sight of how much we love somebody. When I saw Kevin lying there in the yard with all that blood, I thought I was going to lose him for sure. Even in the emergency room, he was so white, he looked terrible. All I could think of was, what if he doesn't make it." She pondered for a moment, re-living her fear. "I'll admit he has some rough edges and sometime I feel like I want to kill him myself but I ... I don't know what I'd do without him, Nancy ... I ... I..."

The pressure had finally gotten to her. Worry had kept her other emotions in check but she couldn't hold on any longer. She buried her face in her hands and let the tears gush like a waterfall.

Nance went to her side, put a comforting arm around her shoulders, and let her cry it out.

After a couple minutes, Susan started to compose herself again. "I'm so thankful for Tyler," she whimpered while wiping her eyes. "I don't know how we can ever thank him. He saved Kevin's life."

"Well ... you know Tyler; he's being very humble about the whole thing. He says he's just glad he saw it and could do something."

Nancy listened to what Susan had gone through with her husband in the hospital. "How long will he be in there?" she asked.

"They're going to hold him another two or three days, then he'll be coming home. I've got some vacation time coming so I'll work until they release him then I'll stay home until he can get around on his own. At first he's supposed to stay in bed with his leg propped up."

Susan looked at her friend with guilt written across her face. "You know, I feel terrible for even thinking this way, but ... well, he's been working four-to-twelve at the plant now and we've hardly even seen each other, except on weekends and those are always so busy..."

Again, Susan showed her guilt as she looked down at the table and took another sip of coffee before continuing.

"Don't get me wrong. I'm not happy this happened, but it'll be nice to be able to spend some time with him, you know what I mean?"

"Of course," Nancy responded. "Tyler's home every night but with the kids we don't really get much quality time together."

"Huh," Susan joked, "too bad our husbands aren't more thoughtful." She saw the perplexed look on Nancy's face. "Well, I'm home alone all night and you're home alone all day. If they switched jobs we'd see them all the time."

"Oh, yeah;" she replied with a chuckle. "I've thought about getting a part-time job so I didn't just sit home every day but it's hard to find one where I could still be home for the kids after school. That's a deal breaker for Tyler."

"Yeah, that's why Kevin and I never had any ... well, actually I guess it's been my decision not to have kids. I've always been career oriented. There just never seemed to be a good time..."

Susan just let her words wander off while she seemed to zone out for a second before looking back at Nancy. "Do you think it's too late ... to have kids, I mean? Shit, I'm thirty-three years old. Kevin will be forty in a couple years; you think that's too late to start a family?"

"No, not at all, Sue. Hell, women have kids well into their forties these days."

Nancy saw her friend was deep in thought before replying. "Maybe it's time ... I mean ... something like this happens and it makes you look at things differently, you know. I'll wait until he's feeling better, or course, but when he's well I'm going to talk to Kevin. Suddenly I want more than just a house, I want kids—I want a family."

The two ladies talked until they were all talked out. Finally feeling the exhaustion from her ordeal, Susan announced she was going to bed. On the way back home, Nancy thought over what Susan said about losing track of how much she loved her husband. She felt her eyes well up from shame. She had been guilty of the same thing.

"You're just in time, the kids were just getting ready for bed," Tyler said as she walked in the door. "Isn't that right, kids?"

"Ahhhh," came the protest from the two young-ones.

Without saying a word, Nancy walked up to her man, put her arms around his neck and gave him a passionate kiss. As they pulled apart, Tyler saw the glistening in her eyes.

"Is Kevin okay? You're crying."

A little embarrassed, she wiped the tears away and chuckled. "He's going to be fine. Sue and I were talking about how much our husbands mean to us, that's all. I guess I got a little emotional."

Tyler leaned in and pressed his lips to hers again.

"Geez, why don't you guys get a room," Chris commented from the couch.

Both parents couldn't help but laugh. It forced them to separate again. "Alright, wise guy, that's enough out of you," scolded Tyler, trying to stifle his amusement. "Upstairs, both of you; come on, school tomorrow."

"Oh, okay," groaned the siblings. Chris felt he was too old, but LeAnn gave her mom and dad a big hug and a kiss before running upstairs.

By Monday, things were pretty much back to normal. Nancy got the kids off to school and her husband off to work. As she stood on the front porch, waving goodbye to her departing hero, she looked across the street. Susan's car was gone. She remembered her neighbor said she was going to work until they released Kevin.

With a small sigh, Nancy returned to the kitchen where she cleared the breakfast dishes, then poured herself another cup of coffee. As she had done so many times in the past, she sat and started to daydream about getting a part-time job. She needed something to do. The time between everyone leaving the house and coming home again was like purgatory. How many times can a person clean, go shopping, or watch daytime TV. She'd been doing those things for years and she was bored to tears.

Out of all their friends, she was the only wife who didn't work. Maybe it was time to try again. She'd tried before but was unsuccessful. She had talked it over with Tyler, and although he was unenthusiastic, he was supportive ... but only if she could still be there for the kids when they came home from school. That was the problem! There was just nothing around that offered those kinds of hours. She even tried volunteering for some charities but when she told them she'd have to leave by two-thirty they'd tell her to forget about it ... in a nice way, of course.

Well, she contemplated, taking another sip of coffee; time to start seriously looking again. Maybe I'll be luckier this time. As she deliberated more about the kind of work that might be available, her mind turned to other thoughts; terrible, shameful thoughts. Thoughts of the reprehensible actions a person was capable of committing out of loneliness and boredom. Her vision clouded and she felt tears finding their way down her cheeks.

A little later in the week, Nancy saw Susan's car still in their drive when Tyler left for work. She ran across the street and rang their bell.

Susan answered looking like she was getting ready to leave the house. "Oh, hi Nancy; I was just getting ready to go pick up Kevin. They're releasing him today."

"I figured that when I saw your car still in the drive. Is there anything I can do to help?"

"Ah, no, not right now, but thanks for asking."

"Sure," Nancy replied. "Well, you know where I'm at if you need anything."

Susan thanked her again then took off for the hospital while Nancy returned home to continue her search for employment. It was a little after noon by the time she saw them drive up. Nancy watched out the window as Susan got out the driver's side, then hurry around the back of the car to open the passenger's side door. She reached into the back seat and pulled out a pair of crutches for her slow moving hubby. Together, they disappeared into the house. Nancy felt an obligation to help Susan and wanted to go over there so bad but decided to respect their privacy. It wasn't until Friday when she thought she'd offer her assistance once again.

Susan invited her in with a big smile.

"I was just on my way to the grocery store and wondered if you needed anything while I was there?" asked Nancy.

"Thanks, but I stocked up before Kevin came home. Right now my fridge is bursting at the seams," Susan chuckled. "But come on in. You want to say hi to Kevin? He's in the bedroom. I'll just go in and make sure he's decent, first."

"No, no; that's okay. I don't want to disturb him, Sue."

"Nonsense," she replied. "You won't be disturbing him. I'm sure he'd love to see someone besides me. I haven't left him alone for the last two days. Come on."

Susan took her hand and led her to the guest room. They stopped just around the corner from the door. Susan spoke loud so Kevin could hear her. "Honey, Nancy came over to see how you're doing. Are you covered up?"

There was no answer.

Nance quickly offered, "Maybe he's asleep. Really ... I don't want to bother him."

"No, he's not asleep. I was just in there." Susan raised her voice a little more. "Honey, did you hear me?"

"Ah, yeah, I heard. Okay, I'm covered."

Kevin watched through the doorway as the two ladies rounded the corner and came into view. Even in his condition, seeing them together, Kevin could not help fantasizing about a three-some. A slight smile showed on his face as he pictured it in his mind.

"Hi, Kevin," addressed Nancy, seemingly a little unsure of herself. "How do you feel?"

"Lucky," he told her. "Lucky to be alive, thanks to Tyler."

"Tell her how you did it," Susan said.

"Ah, it seems so stupid, looking back. I don't want everybody to know I'm afraid of snakes."

"It's better than having everyone think you're just plain clumsy," teased his smiling wife.

Kevin told his neighbor the short story behind the accident. It would have probably been funny if it hadn't almost cost him his life.

That night, as her family sat down to dinner, Nancy repeated the accounts of his accident. "I went over and saw Kevin today," she started.

"How's he doing?" asked Tyler.

"He's doing good. He told me what happened that day. You're not going to believe what he was trying to do..."

"I give up," joked Tyler.

"Kill a snake," she resumed.

"A snake," Chris asserted. "The only kind we have around here are Garter Snakes, mom. They can't hurt you."

"Yeah, well it startled him. He must have just past the snake up with the mower and probably scared it. Anyway, it shot right in front of Kevin's feet. He panicked and tried to pull the mower backwards to kill it but he was jumping back at the same time and tripped."

For someone as capable as Tyler, it was hard for him to believe anyone could be so reckless. "Why didn't he let go of the mower? The damn thing's got a kill switch on it. If he'd have let go right away the engine would have died immediately."

"Like I said, he panicked. His hand froze on the handle."

"Geeze," Tyler said, shaking his head, "all that over a Garter Snake. How long has he lived here, for Pete sake. He's never seen a snake before?"

"I think it was just that it surprised him, honey. He also told me to thank you for saving his life. He's really grateful to you. He said a couple of times that he didn't know how he was ever going to repay you. He's hoping you'll go over there so he can thank you in person."

"Tell him it's not necessary, honey. But when you see him again, tell him if he really wants to repay me, he should buy some snake repellant for his yard."

That brought a laugh from everyone around the table.

Over the next few weeks, relations between the two families were getting back to normal, although Nancy and Susan did seem to be closer than they were before the accident. Tyler never did go over to receive his hero's welcome and Kevin started back to working four-to-twelve so their paths didn't cross. It was seven weeks to the day, before Kevin saw his chance.

It was mid-morning on a Saturday. Kevin looked out the window and saw Nancy in the front of their house. Both cars were in the drive so it was a good bet Tyler was around somewhere as well.

"Honey, I'm going over to talk to Tyler. I have yet to tell him how grateful I am to him."

"Alright," responded Susan. "Why don't you invite him and Nancy over for dinner tonight. Tell them to bring the kids."

"That sounds like a good idea. I will," he answered on his way out.

Tyler had been working in the garage but had to take a leak. He was just coming out of the bathroom when he glanced out the window and saw Kevin crossing the street. He hadn't talked to him since the accident so he assumed his neighbor was coming over to say thanks. He approached the screen door but stopped short of venturing outside and just watched as Kevin walked up and stood behind Nancy. She was weeding the flower bed under the picture window and was still kneeling in the dirt. She hadn't heard his approach but with almost a sixth sense a chill ran up her back as she felt her neighbor's presence. She stood and backed up to put some space between them.

"What do you want, Kevin?"

Tyler was about to walk outside but hesitated when he recognized his wife's uneasiness. He knew his wife well enough to know when she was tense. Something wasn't right, he could feel it. It didn't take an expert to read their body language. Tyler was getting an uncomfortable feeling. He noticed his wife nervously glancing around, presumably to see if anyone was watching them. What the hell was going on, he wondered? He knew, because of the difference in light, they couldn't see him behind the screen so he stayed out of sight and listened to their conversation.

Kevin's obviously cool reception caught him slightly off guard. "I ... um, I came over to talk to Tyler. I still haven't thanked him for saving my life..."

"He's in the back, by the garage," she said curtly cutting him off.

Kevin looked around to make sure Tyler was nowhere in sight before speaking. "And..." he continued, "I thought as long as I'm here I'd, ah - I just thought I'd let you know the doc said I can resume all activities – all of them," he repeated with a snicker. "So, now that all the excitement's over..."

Nancy was hoping she misunderstood his meaning. Surely he couldn't be talking about what she thought he was talking about. She looked him in the eye. "I don't believe you. Are you seriously suggesting we keep screwing each other ... after my husband saved your life; this is the way you plan to repay him?"

Suddenly Tyler's whole world was caving in around him. His body froze in place as if he'd just been struck with a bolt of lightning. Still hidden behind the screen door, he stood spellbound as his wife's words reverberated in his head.

"Jesus, Kevin, you really are a pig, aren't you. You don't have a decent bone in your body. Do you have any idea the chance we took? What if Tyler every found out? What if Susan ever found out? At the hospital, she never left your side. She loves you. How can you even think about continuing our dirty little affair?"

"Oh don't give me that shit," Kevin responded snidely. "I never forced you into anything. So Tyler saved my life; I'm grateful, big fucking deal. That doesn't mean we can't still enjoy ourselves. Nothing's really changed. We've already talked about our spouses finding out. There's no way. Who's going see us? No one's around during the day. Everybody in the whole fucking neighborhood works during the day. Tyler's never going to find out about us and neither will Su..."

Kevin never got a chance to finish what he was saying. Both he and Nancy looked over in shock when they heard the screen door fly open.

"YOU SON-OF-A BITCH," screamed Tyler as he leaped from the porch. "I'LL KILL YOU!"

Before his mind could comprehend what was happening, Kevin was dropped by a hard right fist to the side of his head.

The recognition that he had saved the life of the man who was screwing his wife, had enraged Tyler beyond comprehension ... beyond reason. He was insane with anger as he jumped on his stunned enemy's chest and wrapped both hands around his throat.

"STOP! STOP! TYLER, YOU'LL KILL HIM," screamed Nancy. With tears streaming down her face, she grabbed his arm and desperately tried to pull it free from the choking man's windpipe. "TYLER!" she screamed again as she unsuccessfully tried to break his grip.

Kevin could feel his air supply being cut off. Terrified, he looked into the eyes of a mad man. Instinctively, he seized Tyler's wrists and tried to pry them from his throat. He gagged and gasped for a single breath. He tried twisting his body and kicking. He bucked with his hips, attempting to throw his assailant off, but nothing worked.

Only the shrill scream from a eight year old could penetrate the fury of her father's wrath. "DADDY, DADDY..." cried LeAnn.

It was like dumping a bucket of cold water over his head. Tyler looked up and into the petrified expression on his daughter's face. His grip relaxed. Now with tears of his own, his heart pounded from the pain of knowing how he had almost killed a man in the presence of his little girl.