Special thanks to Jim7 for his expertise in editing and proofing.

Special thanks to Shugabear_1962-2020 for his expertise in editing and proofing.

Shit, I couldn’t believe I’d bought that house! Really! Up close, it looked like a total disaster, what the hell was I thinking. It was a house, that was a very generous description of the beat-up dilapidated building I was looking at. The view from the street, the roof looked like it was on its last legs, it would be a miracle if it didn’t leak. The veranda had seen better days, hell, could any of this be repaired? I was told it was a fixer-upper, my ass, maybe for a magician but a military veteran like me, who the hell was I kidding! The only good thing it had going for it was the price, I’d paid: $3200.00, sight unseen. Me gullible? Hell, you got that right.

It’s twenty minutes to my exit ceremonies, after twenty-six years of service, I was being presented with my ‘Unconditional Honorable Discharge’ from the Navy. Twenty-six great years, the last sixteen with the SEALS as a high value specialist. I won’t go into details; I will let your imagination do its thing.

Prior to the Navy, I was a ward of the State of Michigan the story told to me was my mother had died when I was three. She had been abandoned by the man who was responsible for her pregnancy; when she started to show, he dumped her. There were no records of who he was. In the back of my mind was a question: could I track the bastard down? But it was a long time ago.

On my eighteenth birthday, I enlisted in the Navy and never looked back. While in the Navy, I took advantage of every educational and training course opportunity offered; first I completed my high school equivalency. Once I qualified, I attended Officer’s Training School, which I aced, coming in the top of my class. The SEALS training has provided me with a number of skills that may help in my civilian life, but many I know won’t. I took to the physical training like a duck to water. Very few of my fellow students wanted to spar me with in any our numerous simulations. I was good at what I did, and I played for keeps and they knew it.

My interest in improving my lot was the result of a gift from my parents, whoever they were. For some reason, I was blest with a mind that could calculate any problem and come up a valid solution within milliseconds and with 98 percent accuracy. That ability resulted in numerous awards for valor for putting myself in harm’s way to protect my fellow troops. My chest was currently covered with ribbons and metals. The other two percent resulted in a flesh wound in my left thigh, a through and through leaving a very interesting scar, and a groove in my skull just above my right ear. Much to close for comfort, but that was in the past.

As I left the base, I actually felt a pang of regret, but I swatted the side of my face to bring me back to reality.

Now in my motel room, I surveyed my worldly possessions: three duffel bags and two footlockers. While an active Navy SEAL, I never got actively involved with the better sex. My personal background just didn’t fit in, I had no family, no personal friends other then my teammates. My closest friend was Leigh Fran, who lost his life in our last mission; we were side by side when he got hit with three rounds, covering me with his blood and brain matter, Leigh never knew what hit him. Hell, I never felt so lost in my life. I managed to drag what was left of his body to a recovery area and I was at his side until his body was flown home to his family.

Leigh was from Midwest. He would tell me stories of his childhood and later his teenage years. He kept me entertained for many hours as he recalled all of his romances, many of which I believed he greatly enhanced for my benefit. But considering I had no personal background, I enjoyed hearing about his.

Leigh also got me involved in financial investing, his family were clients of a close friend of Leigh’s father who had convinced Leigh to invest as well. During the first two years of my enlistment, I had little need of funds, so they just built up in my bank account, earning nothing but a small pittance of interest. Leigh put me on the right track, I have since had my pay directed to a bank in Abbotsville which in turn sent it to be invested with Leigh’s family’s investment firm. The investment manager, Al Wise, assisted me. According to Al, I was doing well. My portfolio included Money Markets and Real estate. On paper, I was worth a few bucks.

My first priority, as a civilian, was getting some wheels. I had made arrangements with my bank in Abbotsville to provide me with a debit card and a MasterCard. It took three days to receive the actual cards from my bank. I now had access to my cash.

At breakfast, I sat at a table where the prior guest had left the local newspaper, I browsed the auto ads. One was a 2002 FORD ECONOLINE E-150 CARGO VAN FOR SALE, my thought was it would be big enough to live in for the time being, while travelling to Abbotsville, with a mattress and a good sleeping bag, I would be set. My worldly possessions would easily fit. Three hours later, I had my van. It wouldn’t set any records for beauty but for utility it was great.

Why Abbotsville, you wonder? I had no relatives that I knew of; the only thing I had were Leigh’s memories. He truly loved his experiences and his life in Abbotsville. My plan was to meet his family and offer my condolences.

It took me a day to outfit my van. For a beast of its age, it drove well, and came with a bonus, a set of brand-new tires. For me, it was a great ride. My last purchase was a smartphone with GPS. It would lead me to Abbotsville. My journey began.

My name is Hunter Breen, forty-four years of age, single as mentioned before, with no attachments. What I was hoping for was a good reason to set my roots in Abbotsville, home of my best friend. Whether or not it would happen was unknown, but it gave me a goal.

I had driven all night, and in the early morning hours, guided by my GPS, I was currently following Timber Road now at the foothills of the Everett Mountain Chain; they seemed to go straight up. The scenery was breathtaking! As I followed the road, it seemed to veer to the left, and I noticed what had to be a reinforced stainless-steel gate guarding a trail upwards. It had me wondering what the hell was so valuable, that it had to be guarded by a reinforced gate. Maybe they were breeding a special line of bunnies.

Then the skyline of Abbotsville came into view. I had the feeling of coming home. I knew Leigh’s family lived on 432 Givens Street, so I followed the instructions on the GPS and drove by. It was a brick bungalow.

Since I had no plans of disturbing the family at this early hour, my next task was to find a place to park and get some needed sleep. After filling up at a service station, in sort of strip mall on the outskirts of Abbotsville, I asked the station owner if I could park in the rear of the property. He asked me for how long, to which I replied five or six hours, and he allowed it would be no problem.

Now rested, my plan was to locate Al Wise and to find out what I was actually worth. It didn’t take me long to locate Premiere Investments. Al greeted me like an old friend; I thought he was going to shake my arm off. It turned out I was very well off; Al and his firm had made me a lot of money and my portfolio was still growing. He insisted we have a coffee as he attempted to explain the workings of my portfolio. After fifteen minutes, I still didn’t have clue of what the hell he was talking about. At the end of the discussion, he offered to buy another coffee.

As we were enjoying our drinks, another man appeared. Al Wise and the man were obviously good friends. Al introduced me to Mitch Teller, a real-estate manager of a firm in Abbotsville. I sat there enjoying my coffee as Al and Mitch had a conversation. Al told Mitch about my recent retirement from the service.

“So, Hunter, are you planning to set up residence in Abbotsville? Or are you going home?”

I explained my situation to Mitch and watched his eyes brighten.

“Hell, have I got a deal for you. If you’re interested, I have a house, a fixer upper for thirty-two hundred. It’s the deal of a lifetime.”

Both Al and I looked at him: what could anyone get for $3200.00? Hell, even I knew that was a ridiculous sum.

“I know it sounds too good to be true, but the property is located in one of the oldest residential areas in Abbotsville. It has been vacant for three plus years, the current owner was in my office this morning and told me the price. I asked him “why so cheap?” He won the title of the property in a poker game; the pot was $3200.00, and the loser offered him the deed. He thought he had won the lottery until he actually drove by the property earlier this morning. He just wants his winnings. He doesn’t want anything to do with the property, so if you are interested, it’s yours. Now it is not the Ritz, but it’s likely worth a lot more the $3200.00. Interested?”

Mitch then described what he knows of the property; it was on a large lot, the main building was brick clad, kitchen, living room and three bedrooms, there was a large garage in the back, and apparently it needed a bit of work. That comment turned out to be a gross understatement.

“It’s a ‘fixer upper’, are you good with your hands?”

That was how I got stuck in this mess! My original thought was, for $3200.00, how could I go wrong? I signed an offer on the spot. Al thought it was a great deal for me to put my roots in Abbotsville. Duh!!!!

I felt like a fool! Shit, I should have known better. Since I was here, I might as well take a peek. As Mitch said there was a very large lot, it had to be worth something. The garage appeared to be in a hellva lot better shape than the house. It was large, with a room above the unit. Looking in, it had been used for storage; there were sealed boxes and items piled everywhere. Now I was wondering if all that crap came with the sale. I’d have to call Mitch.

The house was something else; the veranda needed serious repair. The keys that Mitch gave me actually worked in the front door. Inside, the odor of stale air was prevalent. As I walked, my footprints could be seen in the dust. Nobody had been in here for a long, long time. I started to feel a little bit better about this purchase. I had nothing on my plate and this house would be a challenge, so I could refurbish the unit. Once cleaned, repaired, and repainted it should be everything I would need. Hell, there was only me!

First, I needed to go shopping and get some work clothes and boots. When I was leaving the house, a voice from nowhere scared the shit out of me. Standing in front of the veranda was an elder gentleman, with dark skin and short curly silver hair.

“Sorry to scare you, but did you buy this property?”

“Yes, I did, sight unseen! It’s a surprise.”

With that comment, he started to laugh.

“Sorry, I am not laughing at you but at your circumstances. My name is Ralph Morgan. I live next door. I have been wondering about this property for a couple of years. It has been vacant for over three years, the result of a very serious marital dispute. They couldn’t agree on who owned what, the price, etc. Their bickering went on for years, then they both died. The estate took forever to settle, I heard the title went to a cousin twice removed, who didn’t want it and tried to sell it on his own, and he couldn’t settle on a price. How did you get involved with it?”

I introduced myself and then told him about the sad story about the poker game and how Mitch knew Al and how I got involved.

“For what it’s worth, Hunter, I’d be willing to help you if you need me. I’m retired and bored out of my mind. In my other life, I was actually a carpenter.”

“I have to admit carpentry is not my forte; give me a pistol or any kind of rifle or knife you can think of, and I’m your man.”

“To be honest, there isn’t likely too much call for your vast talents in Abbotsville, but you never know.”

“I can polish boots as well!”

That got a laugh from Ralph.

“Hunter, I want to show you something. Please follow me to the street.”

Which I did.

“Take a look at the neighborhood, it’s now your neighborhood. You are looking at the United Nations of neighbors. We have to have every nationality in the world living in these twelve blocks. See that young lady, that’s Ziya Tong, her family is Chinese; they live four houses south, great people.”

“The girl beside her is Tahgrid Hussain, Saudi Arabian background. The story of how the family got out of their country is fascinating.”

What I saw, was two very attractive teenage girls, John Thomas was attempting to show his appreciation. Their complexions had me watering at the mouth. As I mentioned my experience with the better sex was very, very limited. Looking at the two young ladies had me thinking about improving my outlook and approach. A voice from my left brought me back to the present.

“Grandpa, you were supposed to be driving me and my friends to the library.”

“Hunter, meet my granddaughter Tinashe Morgan. She is my daughter’s eldest. Tinashe has two sisters.”

Turning to look at his granddaughter, caused me to go tongue tied. I, truthfully, had never seen such beauty; her face will cause many males to become slaves to get her attention. As she looked at me, I watched as a knowing smile filled her beautiful face. It was like she was saying to me, get in line buddy; if you desire to get to know me, plan to pay dearly.

“Don’t worry, Hunter, Tinashe has that effect on all men.”

Shit, was I that obvious? Tinashe started to laugh; I felt my backbone turn to mush. Then I really looked at her totally. She didn’t have much of body; actually, her shape could be compared to that of a broom handle. What I did notice were her two very large nipples making their presence known, pushing against the material of her very tight T-shirt. Hell, did I feel uncomfortable.

Just when I thought I couldn’t get more embarrassed, Ziya Tong and Tahgrid Hussain came towards us.

“Tinashe, I thought we were going to the library.”

“We are, just as soon as I get my grandpa moving. Girls, this is our new neighbor, Hunter Breen. He bought the Franklin place.”

I watched as ‘how dumb is this guy‘ look expanded on their faces. These two girls had beauty and interesting bodies going for them. Again, John Thomas was rising to the occasion. In the service, I had taken on the baddies of the world and came out on top in every engagement, but here, I was folding like a broken balloon in the presence of three young teenage beauties. All I was thinking was, ‘Ralph, please take them to the library.’ Then it hit me, the girls’ female scent, perfume. I was sure, it had to be my imagination, I could sense their pheromones; not that I was that experienced, but John Thomas was really attempting to embarrass me.

I made arrangements for Ralph to give an estimate for the repairs and how long it would take. He said he would see me later in the afternoon for a walk through. I parked the Ford in the driveway and went into the garage. To me it appeared to be sound but my knowledge about buildings could be written on my thumbnail. I started with the boxes; hell, maybe there would be something of interest. There wasn’t it was all kinds of household items and clothing. Nothing I could use; I would likely have to arrange to have it disposed of.

Later, Ralph did come over, I could tell by his demeanor he was enjoying this. He had pad and pen in hand.

“Ralph, the garage is loaded with crap. I’m going to have to arrange to have it moved to a landfill.”

“Don’t be too hasty. Show me what you are talking about.”

We went through box after box. To me it was crap. To Ralph, it excited him.

“Hunter, this isn’t crap. It’s items you have no need of, but I bet our neighbors will be interested it most of it. You don’t get rid of items that still have a use; you repurpose them.”

“Please explain.”

“The first thing you and I are going to do is build a table using some of the timber and boards in the garage. We will set it up on the lot line next to the street and then fill it with what you call crap. We will let our neighbors know everything is free. Thus, it will be repurposed.”

“Nobody is going to be interested in that crap!”

Boy, was I wrong! After loading the table with three boxes of crap, then going back to the garage to get more, by the time we returned, most of the ‘crap’ had disappeared with the neighbors. Ralph had had the girls broadcast the event to all the neighborhood. Four days later, all that was left, was the empty boxes to recycle. It took a good week to go through all the items that were in the house and garage, Ralph was a great help; anything I had no use for, he would mention someone in the neighborhood that may have a use for it and, after a short cell call a car would pull up, Ralph would introduce me to one of my many neighbors and whatever they needed went into their trunk. Worked well for all of us. The result was a number of offers to assist me in the renovations if they could.

It took seven months and twenty-three thousand dollars to bring my rundown shack back to life. During the renovations, I actually got comfortable talking with Tinashe. She helped with the painting and cleaning, and later the furnishings and decorating.

Ralph Morgan had been a godsend! His talents were endless. Even though I was just the gofer, I did learn a lot about carpentry. Ralph called upon three other retirees to assist on many occasions; actually, they played cards together. None would accept payment, but I had to keep them in pizza and cold beer, which they consumed by the box and case. The first thing Ralph did was to ensure the power to the refrigerator was working. Thus, the group always had their cold beer. One thing I did for me was to install a new furnace and central air conditioning. In the summer heat, it would be a blessing.

During the construction, Tinashe came over many times with Ralph. I think her curiosity got the better of her. Her appeal to me never changed. I loved looking at her, and now being able to talk to her. She might have been young, but she unknowingly had my number. I don’t know why, but I was smitten with her.

Ralph told me Tinashe had a talent for decorating. She, with Ralph’s insistence, dragged me to a number of furniture stores. Shit, I found out the hard way the cost of decorating a home. There were three bedrooms. The master bedroom was now equipped with a King-Sized bed and all the trimmings. The guest room had a queen-sized bed (hell I didn’t have any close friends so I had no clue who would be using it). And since we were at it, I had Tinashe complete the decorating of the third bedroom.

Ziya Tong and Tahgrid Hussain accompanied Tinashe a number of times. All three were no slouches, they had the art of make-up down to a ‘T’. I learned during our conversations, all three were very intelligent. All three were well versed in current affairs and surprised me with their knowledge. I knew our age difference made it impossible to think of the girls as more then friends.

Tinashe actually assisted in furnishing all of the house. She had a good eye for decorating, or should I say I didn’t have a clue! Once the items were delivered, she would make sure that they were set up correctly. As I mentioned, she did her thing in my bedroom. Everything matched, she enjoyed doing it. I enjoyed having her so close. She may have been shapeless but when she leaned over, her beautiful bum was on display. The seam of her slacks would fill her butt crack giving me a wonderful view of her feminine cheeks. How I wanted to reach out and touch someone. A number of times we found ourselves face to face; how I would have loved to just kiss her. To me, her eyes and movements showed interest, but nothing ever happened.

I often went to bed with her scent still prevalent in my spiffy new bedroom; John Thomas was usually as hard as iron pipe. Tinashe was the major feature in all of my dreams. Hell, it was better than thinking of maneuvers with the SEALS!

I did meet Leigh Fran’s family. They greeted me like the son they’d lost. Apparently, Leigh gave them a running commentary of our actions. His letters were full of what we did, both in country and during our leaves. They advised me their doors were always open to me. I had a number of Sunday dinners with the family.

What I did enjoy was Tinashe. She came over numerous times, just to have coffee or a soft drink and tell me about her day at school or her swim team. With her slight body, she was able to slide through the water giving her an edge when racing. How I wanted to see her in a body-hugging bathing suit.

“Hunter, my swim team is participating in the County Competition this Saturday, would you like to come and cheer me on?”

That was out of the blue, I was looking to her beautiful brown eyes that seem to be glowing. John Thomas was doing his thing, as long as I didn’t get up, I was safe from embarrassment.

“Where is the competition being held?”

“At Hargrove High, that’s on the edge of Abbotsville, about six miles from here.”

“It would be my pleasure to cheer you on. What time and how do I get there?”

“The competition starts at six-thirty, but I have to be there at five to get ready with the team.”

“So, it’s a team competition?”

“Yes and no, the team does compete, but I will also be competing as an individual swimmer. Winning a race gets me brownie points, personal recognition at school.”

“Brownie Points?”

“Yes, I have all the students looking up to me if I win; it feels good.”

Hell, I am looking up at her now, she didn’t have to win anything.

“I’ll let you know all the details on Friday after school.”

“Great.”

I often walked the streets in the area, at first it was to get to know the neighborhood. I met a number of my neighbors; all welcomed me and, much to my chagrin, all knew of my circumstances surrounding the house purchase. It, apparently, was the top gossip item for months. Actually, many of them were part of the group that participated in accepting the free items. Many commented about how they approved of the changes to the structure as a result of the renovation.

One thing in the area that had my interest was a small green park about three blocks from my home. It had a small wading pool for the local children, a number of benches and picnic tables among the trees for just enjoying the day. Often, I saw Ziya and Tahgrid with schoolbooks open, I assumed they were doing homework or studying. Today they were here. They saw me and smiled. John Thomas wanted to smile back. They were both fifteen, fully blooming young women. Unlike Tinashe, they had great developing bodies. Just looking at them gave me the willies. Both seemed to have power over me, as I turned into ‘the village idiot’ when they gave me any attention. Today they surprised me; they joined me. This was a first.

“Hi, Hunter, you come here often. I take it you enjoy our little park?”

That was Ziya. She was sitting across from me, her legs spread. To make matters worse, her camel toe was very prevalent, and she knew she had my undivided attention. She kept slowly moving her knees back and forth keeping my attention on her crotch and pussy. I was sure John Thomas was going to do something stupid to embarrass me. I diverted my eyes to Tahgrid, but that didn’t help. Her eyes burned into mine, and her movements directed my attention to the movement between her legs. Her camel toe was larger than Ziya’s. Both of them were smiling. They knew where my attention was and kept moving just enough to hold it. How do I get myself into these situations?

“The park is great, so peaceful, everyone seems to be enjoying themselves.”

Then Ziya hit me with a question.

“Hunter, don’t you have a girlfriend?”

“No, I haven’t, I am just a lonely guy.”

I attempted to be jovial about it, it didn’t work.

“Me and Tahgrid haven’t got boyfriends, so we could be your part-time girlfriends until you find someone permanent.”

John Thomas was all for that; hell, I couldn’t keep my eyes off their beautiful camel toes. I was sure Ziya’s had gotten puffier. My mind was everywhere, especially creating a plan to actually see both girls naked.

“Your parents would have my balls if we ever considered anything like that.”

There, I had stuck my foot in my mouth. Now what? Tahgrid had the answer.

“That I doubt. I think you’d be surprised: our parents have been observing you and the way you and Ralph worked to repair your house. They have both mentioned many times you would be a lucky catch for some girl. I really don’t think they would mind if we became closer friends. Besides, there are the two of us!”

The conversation continued on the same vein, so I thought I would call their bluff. I offered to them a chance to go for dinner. The surprise was they both agreed, and we set a date in two weeks. This weekend was for Tinashe’s swim competition.

Tinashe visited me on Thursday, very excited about the competition. She sat beside me as she drank a Coke, explaining the Saturday venue. I asked if there was anything else I could do beside supporting her? She said I could provide the transportation; that way her grandfather wouldn’t have to drive. I volunteered. We were to leave at two on Saturday, the competitions started at four. Her personal swimming competition started at six. It was set.

I still spent time at the parkette, one thing I noticed, was that Ziya and Tahgrid appeared to be more than just friends. When they thought no one was paying attention to them, they would touch each other affectionally, often hold hands, and they stared into each other’s eyes. I couldn’t say I blamed them. Of course, my imagination was all over the place.

Both continued to insist that we should become a pair plus one. What they did, which surprised the hell out of me, was have both their parents call me approving of the arrangement as long as both girls were present. That actually shocked me. Of course, the girls were all for it. Hell, they even arranged to stayover at the house, using one of the guest bedrooms.

I continued visiting the parkette at least three times a week. I got to know more of my neighbors, many of them brought their young ones to the wading pool. I started reading, I bought a comfortable light lawn chair. I would at times just sit and listen to the voices of the people as they enjoyed themselves. A couple of times, I noticed a group of five teen boys walking through the family park, all had an attitude. What had me concerned was the fact that most of my neighbors seemed to cringe, as the group walked through. I made a point of watching for them and the reaction of my neighbors.

One afternoon, I heard a ruckus, looking up, and there were the five clowns; they had stopped at a table where four young girls were having a picnic lunch. I watched as one of the jerks actually took one of the girl’s drinks, took a swallow and then dump the remains on the ground. The girls just cowed; the jerks thought it was funny. Hunter to the rescue.

As I slowly walked toward the group, one of the clowns noticed me, he made the others aware I was moving towards them. One of the larger boys, who I assumed was the leader moved towards me. He was trying his best to be intimidating.

“What the fuck do you want, asshole?”

Not a good way to impress me. I kept walking towards the girls.

“Hey asshole, I was talking to you!”

I turned and looked at him.

“Are you talking to me?”

“You’re the only asshole around. Yes, I’m talking to you.”

“I have a suggestion for you and your pathetic friends: apologize to the young ladies, pay her five dollars for the soft drink you spoiled and leave the parkette.”

He wasn’t expecting anyone to challenge him and his group. He wasn’t sure what to do. Hell, I had asked him politely.

“You are really looking to get a hurting. I suggest you turn around and leave before my friends and I beat the shit out of you.”

Now, I know my eyes were telling him he would be wise to take my advice. But that was not to be. But I had to hold myself in check; my SEAL training had my body tight as a spring wanting to end this now. I really didn’t want to demonstrate how unfortunate that would be to this group of malcontents.

“I asked you very politely to move on after paying the young lady for her drink. Perhaps your brain, like your dick, is so small you didn’t understand.”

The comment about his little brain and dick got to him. I could see the wrath consuming his being. By now, we had a sizable audience. A number of my neighbors and the young girls were watching intently; I noticed a number of the group had cell phones pointed at me and the group. The big dummy moved towards me. Wrong move on his part.