Chapter 22

The rest of the day was a blur of activity. Late in the afternoon we took a ride into the nearby small mountain town to do some shopping. One thing about a group the size of what I now considered my family is that almost everyday someone needs or wants something that they didn't bring with them. I think a lot of what they need is to look around and see other people. I took the opportunity to call Gil in order to check on the search for Chuck Mason. I was pleased and relieved to learn that Chuck was no longer our problem as he had been gunned down by someone outside of law enforcement. Gil thought that his murder was an execution to separate Chuck from the other top level leaders of the drug syndicate. He thought that with Chuck dead, the chances that the others would try to eliminate any of us was minimal however, he advised me to stay out of sight for another week just to be on the safe side. Gil felt that there might possibly be other hits on Chuck's lieutenants but was hoping that one or two of them might possibly turn state's evidence for protection.

I told the women about my conversation with Gil on the drive back to the cabin. They were both excited and relieved at the news. Unsurprisingly, none of them wanted to cut the two-week vacation short. The roads were clear enough of snow and ice that we drove through some of the nearby mountains before returning to the cabin late in the afternoon. Everyone was in a festive mood and when we parked the van Jimmy pelted Natty with a snowball just as she was about to go up the steps to the cabin. It hit her on the back of the neck and I could see her shiver as some of the cold snow made its way down her back. Natty screamed and threw her shopping bag on the porch. She turned around and poor Jimmy was laughing so hard that there was no way he could deny he did it or defend himself. Natty scooped up a handful of wet snow and began to compact it into a ball of her own. Jimmy saw what she was doing and reached for another handful of snow. Natty charged him making sure she got close enough that she couldn't miss. By that time Jimmy was frantic and threw a half completed ball of snow that went wild and hit Lucy in the back. Natty was grinning as she ran all the way to Jimmy and pushed the ball of snow in his face, rubbing it in as she tackled him to the ground.

Everyone else was laughing as Lucy put her package on the porch and grabbed her own handful of snow. She took aim at me but threw wild and hit poor Katy instead. I was laughing so hard I missed seeing Katy grab a handful of snow herself. She stuffed it down the collar of my jacket as I was distracted watching Natty and Jimmy roll around in the snow. The snow was cold as I packed it in my hand and took a bead on Katy. My throw was on target but Katy ducked and Suzie, who was about to jump in on top of Natty and Jimmy, took the hit instead. After that it was a free-for-all as snowballs were flying from every direction. We all got hit several times and were soaked by the melting snow but laughing so hard that we didn't care. The battle lasted fifteen minutes. When it was all over all of us looked as if we were badly deconstructed snowmen.

We shook and brushed the snow off of each other before we went into the cabin. There was evidence on each of us after we unbundled that the cold wet snow had run down our backs and fronts. We were laughing and festive as we gathered around the fireplace in the large living room to warm up. I hugged Jimmy and told him that I had never seen Natty so surprised as when she was hit by that first snowball. Jimmy surprised me when he went over to Natty and gave her a big hug and told her that he had wanted to hit someone with a snowball all day. He admitted that he was aiming for the stocking hat on her head but had missed. Natty chose that moment to pull her shirttail out and show Jimmy that she still has snow in her shirt. We were all still laughing.

The only thing missing from the cabin that would have been nice was a hot tub. I decided that if I ever bought a vacation home in the mountains that I would be sure to include one. Showers were the order of the day and due to the limited amounts of hot water Lucy said that the ones that were soaked the worst should take theirs first. Natty was one obvious choice and Katy had somehow managed to get snow down her pants as well as her shirt. Debbie had wet hair and had had snow under her jacket that had even managed to soak through her bra. Poor Jimmy was the worst though as he had been rolled in the snow and hit by all of the girls. The girls had delighted at stretching the waistband of his belted pants out and stuffing snow inside his underwear. He had screamed the first time it happened which seemed to make him even more of a target. We decided that the men should use the shower in the master bath with Jimmy first and then me. Natty would be the first to use the other shower.

We lolled by the fire as they went to take their showers and reminisced about what a fun day it had been. Everyone loved the cold and the snow and getting away from the hustle of school and work. I sat on the floor near the hearth of the fireplace next to Lucy trying to dry out. Debbie surprised me by leaning into me and laying her head against my chest. After our earlier discussion, I tensed up wondering how Lucy would feel about this semi-intimate contact between her daughter and me. Lucy surprised me by moved closer to my other side and looking from one of us to the other with a smile on her face. I took that as a sign of acceptance and hugged both her and Debbie even closer to me. Suzie looked at me from a few feet away and grinned. When she saw that neither Debbie nor Lucy was watching she gave me a wink.

I would never have believed that these connections could be made without the slightest hint of jealousy. I knew of many natural families that would be envious of the intimacy that we developed in such a short period of time. Even Debbie, Jimmy and Lucy had grown much closer because of the shared danger. I knew that I felt almost as much love for Debbie, Lucy and Jimmy as I felt for Katy, Natty and Suzie. At that moment I realized that there wasn't really any limit to my love. As I basked in the warmth of the fire I had a vision of a rose blooming in a desert and decided that was an apt portrayal of the changes in my life over the past few months.

Prior to meeting Suzie and Natty my personal life had been a wasteland of failed relationships. I had hardened my heart to love and had only been looking for sexual encounters. Now I felt surrounded by love and the sex, while still sensational, was no longer the end that I sought. I found myself willing to look to the needs of the people around me rather than my own pleasure as the source of contentment in my life.

I knew at that moment that I would give each of the people in my life whatever portion of me that they needed for their own fulfillment and happiness whether that involved sexual intimacy or fatherly love and advice. The joy that swelled my heart when Debbie put her arm around me was a form of happiness that I had not known even existed prior to Natty and Suzie entering my life. I brushed some moisture off of my cheek that must have come from the melting snow.

The next thing I heard was a call from Jimmy. "Jeff can you come here a minute, please."

I gave Debbie a kiss on the head and got up off the floor and headed upstairs towards the bedroom I had been sharing with Lucy and Katy. I got to the door and Jimmy had his head sticking out looking up and down the hall. When I got to the door he motioned me in and then closed the door. "What's the problem, big guy?"

He looked embarrassed as he said, "I left my underwear and stuff in my room."

I said, "Then why not just go over and get it?"

He blushed a deep red color and then said, "Natty's using my bedroom to change. She locked the door. I don't want to embarrass her."

I shrugged my shoulders and said, "Why not just knock on the door. I'm sure she'll cover up before she comes to the door. I don't think she would mind."

"It's not that ... umm ... don't get mad, promise?"

I couldn't help but smile, thinking I knew what the problem was. I put on my most serious expression before saying, "It depends on what it is. We're friends, right? I think you know what types of things I would get mad about, stuff like drugs and drinking. Even then I'd rather find out about it from you than from someone else. Since I guess that it's not either one of those I doubt you can tell me anything that will make me mad."

Jimmy's face reddened and he said, "I won't ever do drugs again. It's nothing like that. It's just that, well the last time I saw Natty while I was wearing a towel she looked at me funny."

I used my fingers and pulled my lips in four different directions as I repeated, "She looked at you funny?"

Jimmy laughed and said, "Not like that, I mean she looked at my towel. You know down there and made me look down and there was a lump in the towel, you know down there. I couldn't help it. When she knew that I knew what she was looking at she looked at me and smiled. I thought I'd die."

I knew I had embarrassed him enough and said, "Jimmy, you can't help what your body does or the bumps in your towel any more than Natty can help the bumps in her towel. That doesn't mean you should flaunt yourself or tease someone about it but we're almost a family now and there's going to be times when we all see each other in various states of dress. I can tell you that you're both showing a hell of a lot less under those towels than you will be in your swimsuits next year. So don't worry about it, okay?"

Jimmy smiled at me and then nervously went to his bedroom door and knocked. Natty opened the door in a towel just as he feared. She looked out and smiled at him. I heard him say something and then Natty moved back to let him in. Just as he squeezed through she shut the door. The problem was that it caught the corner of his towel. I could see the towel flutter open as the door came back open. I didn't hear what Natty said but I saw a mortified Jimmy trying to cover himself while blushing a deep red. Natty realized that he was embarrassed and did the only thing she could think of to put him at ease. She undid her towel and let it fall to the floor. She then stood there with her hands by her side not covering anything. Jimmy then dropped his hands to his side and I could see his gallant reaction to Natty's beauty. I realized that things had gone on long enough and I cleared my throat. Natty just stood there smiling but Jimmy practically dove for his towel. I walked over to their doorway and looked at Jimmy and said, "No one's in any trouble but I would like to speak to you after you get dressed."