Chapter 3

Becky had never been so nervous as she walked up to Josh’s door that Thursday afternoon. Ben had texted and confirmed that Josh was leaving that afternoon and didn’t know Becky was coming up. Becky took a deep breath and knocked on the door with some encouragement from Ben’s girlfriend, Cynthia. Ben answered:

“Wow, so you’re Becky?”

“Yes, sir,” Ben laughed at this.

“Hey, don’t call me sir; I work for a living. The guy you want to see is in here. Come on. I’ll introduce you.”

Becky stepped in and set her bag down on the couch. She was interested in all the robots and books around the living room, and Ben saw her looking at the books.

“Yep, both of us are serious nerds. Now come on, girl.”

They walked down a hallway and stopped in front of a closed door. Ben knocked.

“Since when the fuck do you bother knocking!?!?”

Ben smirked.

“Since there is someone here to see you. So, get your skinny, white ass out here.”

“Keep that shit up, Ben, and I’ll turn my sister loose on your ass.” Ben instantly had a look of pain on his face as he covered his junk.

“Seriously, that was one time.”

“And she hasn’t cared for you since.”

At this, Josh opened the door and stopped to look at Becky.

“So, how’s the shoulder?”

Becky was stunned. Josh’s eyes were the most beautiful blue she had ever seen, and his shaggy head of curly blond hair made him look more like a beach bum than an engineer. Fortunately, she was able to recover quickly.

“It’s doing good. The doctor said that I would have bled to death if you hadn’t put a dressing on it. Thank you so much.” Josh just shrugged. “Also, the cops are still looking for you, so you should probably stay out of Bloomington for a while.”

“I have no real reason to go down to Bloomington any time soon. I’m actually getting ready to go home for the weekend.”

“Yeah, about that. I was wondering if I could come with you? Please?” Becky asked with puppy dog eyes.

“Why?”

“Because I would like to get to know you better. I’ve never met anyone like you.”

Josh looked straight into her eyes for a few seconds, and everyone held their breath. Cynthia and Ben knew what was going through Josh’s mind and wisely kept their mouths shut. Josh was seeing if the woman would flinch. She didn’t.

“Sure, why not? I hope you have other clothes than just those.”

“My bag is in the living room.”

“That’s not what I meant. Do you have work clothes? I live on a farm, and if you want to visit, you are expected to help out some or at least make an effort to help. On the plus side, being a girl, you won’t have the same problem Ben had the only time he visited.”

“What happened?” Josh smirked at Ben, inviting him to tell the story.

“I got a little carried away with his older sister at a New Year party, and she kicked me so hard I had to wait three days for the ball to drop.” Cynthia laughed so hard that she had problems breathing as she clutched her sides. “Hey, it wasn’t funny. That fucking hurt!”

“I told you to be careful with her, but you wouldn’t listen. You were so sure that you knew all about women, but you didn’t know shit about farmgirls.”

“I do now. It’s called stay the hell away from them.” At this, Josh chuckled, and Becky grinned a bit. ‘Maybe this wouldn’t be so bad after all,’ she thought.

“So, Becky, do you have work clothes with you?”

“No, sorry, I’m a city girl, born and raised in San Francisco.”

“What the fuck are you doing in Indiana?”

“I couldn’t get into a decent med school in California, so IU was my next choice. Plus, my grandma lives southeast of Bloomington, and it’s nice to see her.”

“And that would be that “marvelous affirmative action” for you,” injected Ben quietly, causing Cynthia to smile.

Affirmative action might have been officially banned in the state, but Ben and Cynthia knew it was still alive and well due to essays that are very subjective. Both of them hated that some people thought because someone had darker skin, they needed extra help. It was like because they had darker skin, they were incapable of succeeding by themselves.

“Well, we should probably get going, and we’ll just stop at a farm store on the way home to find you something for the weekend.”

With this, Josh stepped out of his room and tucked his Sig P365 into its holster.

“You have a gun?” asked Becky, now frightened. “Why would you or anyone need one of those?”

“This is Indiana, sweetheart. I bet three-quarters of the people in the state have a gun or two. I’ve got a few, but my sister is a gun nut and likes to build her guns.” Ben then chimed in:

“I have two,” and pulled two handguns from their concealed holsters.

Cynthia spoke up as well:

“And I got one in a holster between the girls.”

“See, three-quarters of the people have guns,” Josh chirped while Ben and Cynthia gave shark-like grins. Becky wasn’t sure what she was getting into.

Cynthia then added:

“Ben and I now carry because of an incident a couple of years ago. Ben and I would have been killed if Josh hadn’t been there with a gun.”

Josh came out and closed his door.

“Well, can you two kids manage not to destroy the house this weekend?” he asked, looking at Ben and Cynthia.

“We make no promises,” they said together, causing Josh to smile, chuckle, and shake his head.

Becky felt her heart rate increase a little because now she could see how handsome Josh was, and his warm smile made her weak-kneed as he squeezed past her to the kitchen to grab a drink for the drive. When he returned, Becky was ready to go, and she followed him to his truck.

“Wow, this is the first time I’ve ever ridden in a truck. Well, the first that I can remember, I mean.” Josh gave her one of his warm smiles.

“I’ve had this one for five years, and she runs like a dream. Hop in.”

When Josh touched her arm, Becky felt a surge of electricity flood through her. Josh opened the door for her and held his hand out so she could use it to climb in. He then took her bag and put it on the back seat. Becky was taken aback by his old-fashioned manners and her reaction to his touch, but she wasn’t going to complain. She had invited herself even if she had been blackmailed into it by Cynthia. When he started it, Becky asked:

“Why does it sound like that?”

“It’s a diesel. Diesel gets much better fuel mileage, and I use it for pulling on the farm and hauling stuff around down here.”

“Oh.”

“Just let me text my sister and tell her I’m on the way and bringing a friend.”

“Your sister?”

“Yep. We own the farm. That was the condition for Mom and Dad to “sell” it to her. I don’t mind because I love living on a farm. It’s much better than living in suburbia or, worse, the inner city.”

Becky tried to get to know Josh more as they traveled, but he was pretty quiet, giving only short answers to her questions. She learned they were about as opposite as possible, although they did agree on a few things. Becky was as liberal as could be, while he was a moderate conservative for the most part. Becky was even a card-carrying socialist who attended rallies as often as possible, while Josh was a business owner. Even as opposite as they were and as distant as Josh was, Becky could feel herself being drawn to him like a moth to light. She couldn’t understand why since he was far from her dream date. First, Josh was a guy; second, he was white; third, he lived on a farm; and fourth, he was a business owner. All this was the exact opposite of who she thought she was looking for. The biggest question in Becky’s mind quickly became: ‘Is Josh attracted to me?’

Josh was wary as hell, and alarm bells were going off in his head. His biggest questions were: ‘Why is she coming on so strong? What does she want, a meal ticket, or is she more mature than that? Maybe she thinks that she can secretly film the farm and inject scenes of animal abuse?’ He hoped that she was interested in him personally because she was hot as hell, and Josh could tell already that she was brilliant and willing to use her intelligence. This combination was precisely what Josh sought in a date, but time would tell.

Home for Josh was in the Northeast corner of the state, so the drive was about three hours long. On the way, Josh stopped to get Becky some clothes for the weekend. He bought her a pair of cowgirl boots, a couple of pairs of pants, two shirts, and a sweatshirt. According to the weather forecast, a cold front was coming in, and Josh figured Becky would appreciate warmer clothes. He was sure his sister’s shorts would fit Becky; they appeared to have about the same size waist. Friday was forecasted to be a scorcher by October standards.

“You don’t have to do this, Josh.”

“Would you just not argue. This stuff isn’t costing me much, and I’m finding that I kind of like you.”

“Just kind of like?”

“Don’t push it,” he growled.

With this, Becky clammed up, and they resumed their journey. Something in Josh’s voice told her he was serious. Traveling, Becky was amazed by all the farms, and she liked going through Amish country. Josh didn’t react because he was used to it all. Finally, Josh pulled off the highway and tore down the backroads. He could make this part of the journey in his sleep, and he sometimes did. Becky was nervous as Josh sped down some of the dirt roads, but looking at Josh, she relaxed because he was completely relaxed. After traveling backroads for about fifteen minutes, Josh slowed and pulled into a farm.

Becky was speechless; the farm was beautiful. There were a large number of flowering plants and shade trees surrounding the house. The house was brick with a copper roof, and the barns behind it were red with white trim and roofs. Becky could also see a pond and a garden behind the house. Josh pulled right into the garage and parked his truck. He noticed his sister’s truck in the other bay and knew she was home.

“Come on, Becky. Let’s get your stuff inside; then we can find my sister. By the way, her name is Gretchen.”

Becky grabbed her bag while Josh grabbed her new clothes, and they went into the house. Becky found the inside as beautiful as the outside, with a modern kitchen and granite countertops. Every room she could see had rich, hardwood floors, with many of the larger trim pieces being reclaimed lumber. The living room centerpieces were the sizeable tropical aquarium against one wall and the grand piano near the opposite wall. What surprised her the most was that there wasn’t a single TV in the house while numerous books were in a small library. The library also had several animals mounted on the walls, which bugged Becky, but she held her tongue since she was a guest and a long way from her dorm. Josh showed her to the guest room, and she was thrilled to see a very comfortable queen-sized bed. After putting her stuff on the bed, they went to find Gretchen.

Walking out of the house, Josh saw a door on one of the barns open, so he headed there first. He could hear a welder working as he was going through the door. Turning to Becky:

“It sounds like Gretchen is welding something. Now, if she is welding when we get in there, do not look directly at the light source because it can burn your eyeballs.”

“Oh, okay,” said Becky nervously.

“Don’t worry, Becky. Now come on.”

They finally got into the barn, and Becky could see someone bent over a big piece of metal.

“GRETCHEN,” Josh shouted.

Gretchen turned and lifted her welding helmet, so Becky was stunned at how beautiful she was. She had the same golden blonde hair that Josh had, but hers had been bleached by the sun, and it was in a single braid going down to between her shoulders. She had a golden tan that made her blue eyes stand out more. Becky estimated that Gretchen stood about 5’9” and weighed maybe a buck fifty. Gretchen was a curvy lady, but from what Becky could see, the only fat on her was in her breasts, which were C-cups, and it was apparent that she wasn’t wearing a bra because Becky could see them sway as Gretchen moved. As Gretchen walked up, Becky was mesmerized by her deep blue eyes.

“Hey, Josh. Who’s this?” Josh waved Becky forward.

“Becky, this is my older sister, Gretchen. Gretchen, this is Becky.” Gretchen and Becky shook hands.

“That the new tractor frame?” asked Josh, nodding toward the piece of steel that Gretchen had been working on.

“Yep. I should be able to finish next week, and before you ask, it’s going together like a dream.”

“New tractor?” Becky asked.

“Yep, we build some of our tractors. That way, we can control the programming and the design. Hey, I’m an excellent engineer and can do the programming better than the big guys’ can. I design them, and Gretchen does most of the building, although I help when I have time. We save thousands of dollars by building our tractors. When we make a new tractor, we sell an older one, and usually, we get more out of it than we put into it. Our tractors are very popular with the other farmers in the area.”

“Wow. Cool.”

“Hey Gretchen, what did you make for supper?”

“Venison.”

“Get one this morning?”

“Yep, a big doe and the meats in the fridge. I was waiting for you to get home to start it.”

“You mean you were waiting for me to get home so I could cook it,”

Gretchen smiled. “Same difference. Now go so Becky and I can talk.” Josh swallowed hard and went to start dinner. As he walked away, he mumbled: “Shit, I’m fucked!”

After he was out the door, Gretchen gave Becky a calculating look before starting:

“You know I’m much warmer than people make me out to be. It’s just that I don’t take shit from anyone. Plus, while I have dated women before, I would rather have a man.”

“I...”

“Stop, just stop. I saw the look on your face when you first saw me, and I know you find me attractive. Since you came with Josh, I assume you met him at his place in West Lafayette, which means you talked with Ben. So, what’s your story anyway? You must be extraordinary because you’re the first girl Josh has brought home in a long time.”

Becky told Gretchen about living in California before moving to Indiana to attend IU. She told Gretchen of Josh saving her in the alley, how he had helped her, and how the cops couldn’t figure out he killed those bastards. She also told her how she had found Josh and why she had searched so hard for him. During Becky’s story, Gretchen never said a word or even moved a muscle. When Becky finished, Gretchen asked:

“So, where do you want to go from here? Do you want to try to date Josh, or do you want to say thank you in a special way?”

Becky turned crimson when Gretchen called her out so fast.

“To tell you the truth, I’m not sure yet. I’m leaning toward trying to date him if he would have me. I’ve never dated a guy before; my mom hates males, and that view was pounded into me at a young age.”

“Good answer because if you said that you just wanted to say thanks, I would have told you to take a hike. Josh doesn’t do one-night stands, and neither do I. I’ve had guys and gals pretend to be interested in me, but they were only into one-night stands, which broke my heart. That was followed by Josh breaking them. He is much stronger and smarter than he looks and is very protective of his loved ones. I’ve lost count of how many fights he’s gotten into because of me. So, naturally, I’m a bit protective of him, and if you break his heart, I’ll break you, and you’ll regret looking for Josh for the rest of your life.”

Becky stepped back, “Why are you two that protective of each other?”

“Because we’re family, and families look out for one another because all you truly ever have is family. Friends, money, fame; they come and go, but family is forever.”

Before Becky could say anything else, Josh called the ladies for dinner. He had made venison steaks with a baked potato, mushroom gravy, and a salad on the side. For drinks, he had a beer and two glasses of wine on the table. Becky’s mouth started watering when she entered; the smell was divine. Even though she had been raised vegan, she would eat Josh’s cooking. One, it smelled delicious and looked better; two, she hadn’t told him she was vegan and didn’t want to be rude. Three, she was curious because she had never had meat growing up.

Just as she thought, Josh’s cooking was to die for, and she gave up being a vegan right there because of it. She was stunned at how comfortable Josh and Gretchen were with each other, and several times, she blushed because of their conversation. It seemed like nothing was off-limits as they talked about Gretchen’s love life. They didn’t bother talking about Josh’s because he didn’t have one. What surprised her was how fast she got full from the dinner; she never remembered feeling so satisfied after eating at home. Seeing the look on Becky’s face, Josh said:

“Yep, eating meat will do that to you when you’ve never had it.”

“How did you know?”

“I guessed within ten minutes of meeting you today, and your look confirms that you were raised vegan, but it wasn’t your choice. Remember, there’s nothing wrong with eating meat as long as you don’t overdo it. Children need to eat meat and eggs since they need protein, and some minerals are only found in those products. Again, within limits. Plus, they don’t need the extra fiber that plants have.”

“I must say that I’m surprised that I like this so much because before I came here, the smell of meat cooking would make me sick.”

“Why didn’t you say anything? I would have stopped and gotten you whatever you wanted to eat.”

“I don’t know. Maybe because I sprang this on you so fast, I didn’t want to be a bigger burden than I already am. Now, I want to try all kinds of meats because I’m curious.”

“Well, I will tell you right now that there are some meats you will love and some that you will hate. Just like with any other food.”

Becky giggled, and Josh and Gretchen immediately caught what she was laughing about. Gretchen about fell out of her chair, and Josh turned bright red. He couldn’t believe he had walked right into the double meaning of meat. Since Gretchen didn’t cook, she did the dishes while Josh showed Becky the farm. Gretchen looked out the kitchen window and smiled while watching Becky and Josh. ‘They do make a cute couple, even if she’s lesbian. I hope Josh knows that about her, but maybe she doesn’t realize that she’s straighter than she thinks,’ Gretchen thought as she watched them walk to the barn.

On their way to the barn, Becky wrapped her hands around Josh’s arm and felt a thrill at how hard his muscles were and the heat coming off his body. As they walked, Josh moved his arm. At first, Becky was worried she had gone too far, but then she felt his arm wrap around her shoulders and gently pull her body toward him. Then she looked over and up into his eyes. This almost turned into a mistake because she was so busy looking into his eyes that she tripped, and only Josh’s arm kept her from taking one hell of a tumble. All this with Josh confused Becky; she was horny as hell, and Josh was causing those feelings. Never before had anyone caused such feelings in her, which were scary as much as they were exhilarating.

When they finally walked into the barn, Becky suddenly felt very small; she had never been near farm equipment and was humbled by their size. Josh saw the look on Becky’s face and chuckled as he went over and pushed the opener for the main door.