Chapter 4

Harlan swallowed down his cupful of black coffee in two gulps. The bitter stuff pinched at his throat, and he coughed, thinking that Cal brewed coffee stronger than the moonshine Cal had once been famous for. He banged down his coffee mug and tried to clear the rancid stuff from his throat.

"More coffee?" Cal asked, banging down his own cup after swallowing his coffee as if it were spring water. He poured himself another cup, but Harlan signaled that he didn't want any more. "You sure?"

"Sure as I'll ever be about anything," Harlan said, still trying to clear his throat.

"Down the wrong pipe?" Cal asked.

Harlan just shook his head. He had too much of a hangover to inform Cal that his coffee tasted like swamp water boiled in a hog trough.

"What time you got?" Harlan asked.

"Pret' near eleven," Cal said, shoving his gold-chained pocket watch back into his overalls.

Harlan shook his head. "Dang young 'uns have never sacked out this late before, leastways not since they was babies. One night in the city and they're as lazy as city folks."

Cal smiled, finishing off his second cup of coffee and pouring himself another. "Now, Harlan, don't be so hard on the young 'uns. They had themselves quite a day yesterday. Give 'em a rest once in awhile. Maybe Seth and Delbert will stay around the farm longer than the rest of your pack."

"Or leave earlier," Harlan said, "once they get a snort of city ways and city women."

"I still say, give 'em a good day of fucking and drinking every now and then, and they'll stay satisfied longer. Trouble is, Harlan, I think you drove your first four boys too hard - never give 'em no rest, no days of drinking and women. That's what drove 'em off, Harlan. Kids nowadays, they see the city women on TV, and they ain't satisfied with fucking she-goats and sows the way we was when we was young 'uns. Kids nowadays know all about them big tits in the city, and they's gonna get a taste of 'em one way or another. Bring 'em in, Harlan - bring 'em in to town every few weeks and let 'em fuck their balls off. Ten to one you'll still have 'em helping you out on the farm for a long time to come."

Harlan left the kitchen table and drew some water from the tap. The city water tasted foul, but compared to Cal's coffee it tasted like lemonade.

"You make some sense, Cal," Harlan said, washing the turpentine taste out of his throat. "Shit, after yesterday and last night, neither one of em's likely to need cunt for some time."

Cal chuckled. "You got a really billy goat in Delbert, Harlan. The boy about wore the hair off Ruby's crotch. That girl ain't been fucked so long and so wild since the first time I hired her out to you for your first four boys. Delbert's got more spunk in him than three or four regular boys put together."

"He was still riding her when we come home last night," Harlan said.

"Don't say?" Cal said. "Shit, I don't recollect getting home last night. Had a few too many beers I reckon."

And a few too many whiskeys, Harlan thought. "Yup, he was still humming his eleven-incher in her when we come home. Your poor girl was laying there like she was dead-asleep, I suppose - and my boy was whimpering like a pup and pumping her full. 'Course by that time I expect he wasn't shooting nothing out of him but hot air."

Cal slapped the table and guffawed. "Hot air - that's a good way to say it - hot air."

The kitchen door opened, and Seth staggered in rubbing his blue eyes. His wheat-shock of hair looked like a cyclone had hit it. He was naked except for his tissue-thin blue jeans, which looked as if they'd split off his ass at any moment.

"Well, it's about time, boy," Harlan said. "The morning's about passed. You and me and that randy brother of yours have to be leaving soon."

Seth collapsed into a chair and leaned on the table. Cal shoved a mug of coffee in front of the boy, and Seth swallowed some. The boy banged down his mug and started choking.

"I swear, can't none of you Tibbits hold your coffee?" Cal said. He poured himself another cup and poured it down his throat as if to test it. "One of my better brews."

"What time you get home, boy?" Harlan asked.

"Don't know," Seth said. "Late. Met this guy named Tyler in the bar. We went catting around town till near sunup."

"Same boy got throwed out of the bar with you?" Cal asked, chuckling.

"Same one," Seth said. "They hadn't no right to throw us out."

"You was both underage," Harlan said. "I was afraid it might happen. I warned you about getting too much in the light. And then you about jumped up on the stage and stuck the bitch. Leastways you got a taste of her."

"You missed her sticking her hand up her cunt," Cal said. "Too bad about that, Seth. Boy, you shoulda seen her. Christ!" Cal's grin told Harlan that Cal was enjoying tantalizing the boy.

Seth, though, instead of pouting, grinned back at Cal with one of the biggest grins Harlan had ever seen. "I seen a lot more than that," he said, and he started running off at the mouth about how he and this Tyler had hid in Candy's car, had sprung at her in a dark alley, and then had gang-banged her until her eyes spun in her head.

Cal listened to the boy with his mouth hanging open, and when Seth had finished his story, he said, "Nice story, boy. Real nice story. I couldn't of thunk up a better one myself."

"It's true!" Seth said. "Every word of it."

Cal smirked. "You're one goddamned good liar, Seth."

"Never knew the boy to lie," Harlan said, although he was finding the story hard to believe himself. Despite his skepticism, however, his prick had turned to stone in his pants. Candy Lee was one of the hottest women Harlan had ever seen, and a story about her getting held down and fucked - even if the story was made up - was enough to make him want to jerk off on the spot.