Chapter 3: The Daughters

He lay tattered and torn, the life gone from his once vibrant body. Shelby screamed and pounded her fists into her father's chest. Seth felt numb to the pain she inflicted on him as he tried to make this nightmare go away.

His son-in-law was dead. Another man was as well. The elderly man ran a red light and plowed into Rex's car just hours ago. Both men died on impact according to the police. Rex was just twenty-five. Seth struggled with the senselessness of it all. He knew his daughter would need his support in the coming weeks and vowed to do whatever he could for her and his young grandson. Dallas was only two and now his daddy was gone.

Somehow, they'd made it through the funeral. Shelby barely spoke. Her eyes had a vacant look to them as if she too was gone. Seth took care of as many of the details as he could to make things easier for her. They moved in with him for a while so she didn't have to be around Rex's things. The sight of them tore her heart out. Seth found them a new apartment when she was ready to go on her own again.

He looked so much like Rex it hurt sometimes, she thought. Shelby watched her young son Dallas sleep as tears rolled down her cheeks. He'd asked for his daddy again before he fell asleep. How did you make a two-year old understand their father was dead? She struggled with that question.

Six months had already gone by since that horrible day. Shelby would never forget the look on her dad's face when he'd shown up at the small print shop where she worked. At the time, she didn't question why he was the first to know about the accident. It was weeks before she'd thought clear enough to ask him about it.

"Dad, why didn't the police tell me first?"

"I was doing business in the complex on that corner where the accident happened. Rescue personnel blocked the parking lot exit. Traffic would be a mess, so I decided to walk across to the sandwich shop. That's when I recognized Rex's car."

"Did you see him?"

Seth looked at his daughter and felt her pain. "No, I didn't. One of the police officers was a client of mine. He confirmed it was Rex after I expressed my concern."

"What made you so sure it was Rex?"

"I saw the armadillo bumper sticker I gave him from my trip out west."

She'd smiled at that, he noticed.

"He was crazy about those ugly things. I never did figure out what he saw in them," she said. "Thank you, Daddy. I'm glad it was you that told me and not a stranger."

"I wish I didn't have to at all, Shelby."

Now that conversation made her feel closer to her dad. She knew he worried about them and checked often. Life just didn't have any joy for her anymore. Even with Dallas around she found it difficult not to cry all the time.

She heard the doorbell and figured it was her dad. Instead, Rex's best friend Rob stood there.

"Hi Shelby," he said with a small smile.

"Rob, come in. Dallas just went to sleep."

"I wanted to see how you're doing or if you need anything."

Shelby knew Rex's death hit Rob hard, too. They'd been friends since grade school and even went to college together.

"It's so hard, Rob..." Fresh tears fell thought she tried to hold them back.

He wanted to ease the pain, so he pulled her into his arms. Her slight frame curled into his chest as she cried. Calloused hands rubbed her back in an effort to comfort her. Her breathing changed seconds before her lips touched his.

Rob felt dizzy with desire. He'd known long ago he had to be careful around Shelby. She'd never looked at him as anything other than a friend but he lusted after her from the first time he met her. Now, his body burst into flames from a simple kiss.

"Shelby —"

"Please, Rob, I need to feel again. Help me, please?" Her plea interrupted him and made him forget everything but the way she fit against him.

She rubbed her heat over his groin and kissed him again. Her soft tongue dueled with his as her fingers worked his belt loose. Rob slipped his hands under her baggy shirt and groaned.

"God, Shelby, I want to touch you."

He watched as she stepped back and pulled the shirt over her head. Her unrestrained firm lush breasts were as tanned as the rest of her. Rob cupped each one and flicked the nipples until they peaked hard and tight. Shelby unzipped her jeans and wiggled out of them. She took his hand and slid it over her mound.

"Take me, Rob."

Her simple request was like a switch. He stripped and hauled her into his arms for a blistering kiss. They fell to the sofa where she landed on top of him. Shelby crawled over his chest and devoured his mouth with hers. He dug his hands into her hips when she rolled over his shaft with her heat. Rob lifted her over his aching member and thrust deep inside.

"Oh god, yes," she hissed. "Fuck me hard."

Pounding and stabbing, he drove her wild. They flipped positions and he slammed himself deep into her tunnel. Her legs tangled with his and she raked her nails across his back. His mouth latched onto her neck and sucked hard. A passion unlike any he'd ever experienced made him wild until he thought he would explode.