Chapter 1

Sandy and I (Rob Gordon) have been married for a little more than three years. I'm thirty-one years old and Sandy is twenty-five. My life has been real stable up till now. I lost my mother to cancer when I was in my teens. I have two older brothers and my father and stepmom are still living. Dad owned and operated an independent hardware store near Chicago. It had been in the family for two generations and I made it a third. However, one of the big national chains decided to move into town. We couldn't compete so we sold out to them and Dad retired. Putting the word out to some of our suppliers, I heard about the hardware and feed supply store in this town of twenty-two thousand and purchased it eight months ago.

My oldest brother, Paul, owns a trucking company, and Jim, who is only two years older than me, is a writer. Jim started out in the newspaper business. He worked for awhile as an investigative reporter. He didn't like the hours, so he has since switched to writing novels. The themes of his novels are exposés of different corporate businesses, and are billed as fiction. I guess the SEC thought one novel sounded too plausible and investigated a pair of like firms. Damned if they didn't find something in their investigations.

Sam Henderson, whom I bought this business from, lost his wife a few months before I contacted him. He said he wanted to move out west where he had family. He was concerned about how his customers were going to be treated. I had to assure him that if he would stay on for three months, I would not change his style of doing business too much until they got used to me. This was his life-long work and I knew that all his friends were customers and I think he made all of his customers friends. I counted him as one of my best friends when he left, and he felt the same about me.

The store is located on what was the end of Main Street years ago, but a recent spurt in building has made it more the center of town. Henderson's, as the store was known, took advantage of the building going on and had added a building supply complex to the back lot. All of this was much larger than the store that I had bought from Dad and then sold. I had almost unlimited funds to buy out Henderson's, but wanting to show my faith in my new community, I paid cash for the inventory and put a mortgage on the real estate.

Sam paused a bit when we were discussing how I was going to pay for the store. He said, "You know Bill Jones at the bank made me an offer for this property when he found out I was thinking of selling. It was pretty low. I trusted his daddy a long way, but I don't think I would trust Bill that much. Do as you please though." I didn't see what harm I could come to, so I went ahead and mortgaged the property.

At the end of three months I had a Grand Opening as new owner and a goodbye party for Sam. I guess most of the town was there. Sam kept me by his side and introduced me to a lot of townspeople that I hadn't yet met. I could read by his body language those he liked and trusted. He seemed to like most everyone. I had hired some of the off-duty police for traffic control, so late in the day when an officer with captain's bars came by, I was surprised to see a different Sam. "Tom, what are you doing here? I don't want you on the premises." There was real hate in Sam's voice.

"Guess you forgot. I came by to meet the new owner, which in my mind says you can't say anything about it." He turned to me saying, "Sam and I never seemed to get along, but I'm sure we won't have that problem. He could tell you about it, but I don't think he will. I will meet you some other time." With that he turned and left.

"Sam, what was all of that about?"

"I can't tell you. It's personal. I will tell you, though, don't trust that son-of-a-bitch, especially around women."

Sam left next day for the west. I never did find out what Tom's name was that day and I never found out why Sam hated him like he did.

I guess I had better start to tell about my brother Jim, because he is the one who brought me Sandy. Every year Jim goes on a bike trip around the country. He's got buddies that are lawyers, doctors, accountants and what have you. There are twenty in the gang. I call them a gang and they call themselves "The Gang" but they don't have that mentality. They might even do some good sometimes. They are just a bunch of guys out to see the old US. Jim is a great one for details, so is always looking for scenes and settings he can use in his writing. Dad and I still lived in a big old house with lots of rooms. We had a housekeeper, Mary, a little older than Dad, who cooked and did the cleaning. She had been with us since Mom died and had practically raised me. She also had loved Dad forever. She knows that I know it. Anyway, six years ago Jim called and said he was in North Dakota. He asked Dad if he would mind having him bring home a female house-guest. Dad was puzzled as Jim had a fiancée that he dearly loved. Jim went on to explain that it was someone that needed a little help for a short time. Dad was okay with this. Jim arrived late the next night with Sandy.

I didn't see her until the following night as I had been out on a date and had gone to work before she got up in the morning. Jim had come in with this skinny girl and asked Mary to put her to bed. Jim warned Mary that she was tired because they had ridden the bike all the way from North Dakota. Also she wasn't too well. Jim was beat too, so he crashed in his old room. I met her that next night at dinner. I wasn't impressed. She was a fairly tall blonde, about 5'6" I'd guess. She had on an old pair of jeans and a sweatshirt. Her sneakers should have been thrown away a year ago. Mary did the introduction. "Sandy, this is Rob. Rob, Sandy is going to be with us for three months. Jim arranged this with your father."

I gave her my best smile and said, "Welcome, our home is your home." I knew it sounded corny the minute I said it. For some reason I was afraid she might think I was being sarcastic. I guess she took it the way I meant it, because her eyes started to fill a little when she looked up.

Jim had Dad and I come into the study to tell us about Sandy and how she came to be with him. "This is the way I came to know Sandy. It was getting along towards evening and the gang had been on the road all day with only one pit stop. We found the campground we were headed for and pulled around to the far side so we wouldn't bother the other campers. There was another small group of bikers there already. Some of them were pretty noisy. There were twenty of us so we just ignored them. After we got set up for the evening and had eaten, we got out our guitars and mouth organs and made some music. Three of the other bikers had their wives with them and they came over and joined us around the campfire. I'm always looking for a story so I sat down next to what I thought was the leader.

"Back at their fire I could see four bikers and this girl. She sat away from them and looked pretty scared. 'What's with the girl?' I asked the biker.

"'She is a hitchhiker that one of those guys picked up. The four guys aren't really with us. They had her with them when they joined us a couple of days ago. They have been pretty rough with her over the last two days, and she has paid more than enough for her ride. Actually I would like to get her away from them. My wife is tough, but she says she couldn't take what the guys are doing to her. She's pissed at me for letting it go on this long. I told my wife we would leave them here when we left in the morning and take her with us. Can you go over and get her from those guys tonight? I really think she is in danger. The girl could really be messed up. Those four bastards aren't going to give you much trouble with your gang here. Also I'd like it if we could ride out with you when you leave in the morning. Our wives would feel a little better.'

"I sauntered over, walking right by the guys. I sat down by the girl, asking what her name was.

"'Hey, get away from her. That's our pussy. Get your own, ' shouted one of them.

"Twenty bikes beat four bikes in any kind of count 'em up. Why don't you guys get on your bikes and take off? I say the girl is mine and I don't want an audience when I even smile at her. So, bug off! They were soon gone.

"'Sandy, my name is Sandy.' I had forgotten I had asked her name. She put her hand in mine and we walked back to our fire. I was pretty disgusted with the three bikers and their wives, especially when they claimed they couldn't do anything to help Sandy. I guess they didn't exert themselves much. I thought to myself this poor girl is too trusting. How does she know she is any better off with me than with the guys she was with?

"Sandy, all of these guys with me are safe to be with. I guarantee that. We are just out on a vacation jaunt. Most of them are married with children. I have a girlfriend and I love her a lot. I write stories and am working on my second book. I would like to hear your story and see if I can find you a safe place to stay. Can we get you anything tonight to make you feel better?"

"'A shower! I feel so dirty and I have been too scared to eat. Could I have something to eat please?' I asked one of the wives to go over to the shower room with her, but she wouldn't leave her husband. So I took her and waited for her to shower. Eventually she peeked her head out and told me her clothes were filthy.

"I said, 'Wait here.' I went back to the campfire and scrounged up some clean jeans and a sweater for her to put on. 'Do you want to wash those clothes?' All she had was her filthy dungarees and a sweatshirt. I asked her about underwear. She said she had lost it somewhere. It was a very small load at the camp laundry.

"We went back to camp and I gave her my sleeping bag. She was soon asleep. Boy did the guys ever rib me about my new possession. Jokes were flying all over the place. Like, 'George, have you ever found anything of value?' George came back with, 'Yes, I found a quarter one time. Hey, Jim did you ever find anything of value? Oh, I know Jim caught a Sandy. Question, What's a Sandy? Answer, I don't know, but I bet his girlfriend makes him throw it back.' You get the idea.

"The next morning we were up and off heading east. The three bikers with the wives peeled off after a hundred miles heading south. I puzzled all day over what I was going to do about Sandy. That night I got a chance to talk with her and find out a little about her. It seems that her father died when she was just into her teens. Her mother remarried when she turned sixteen. By the time she was almost seventeen her new stepfather had abused her several times. So she ran away. She has been on the road ever since. She turned nineteen last month. Most of the time she gets along okay, but this last week has been her worst nightmare.

"She has a fatalistic attitude and feels she hasn't long to live. I'd like to prove her wrong. I asked how she got along all of these years. She said she was always willing to pay the price to get from here to there. I thought when she said 'pay the price' it was normal conversation. It isn't. It is a whole philosophy and that's what she has been living by.

"She gave me an example: 'If I wanted to go from California to Montana by thumb, I would pay the price using my body. My stepfather made sure I was experienced, damn him! Most usually a pretty smile would get me a ride. Sometimes I had to show a little skin. When I was cold and hungry I was willing to pay a higher price. This meant a blow-job or a jerk-off. I've had to pay out with sex several times. I only had to do a gang bang once before. It was a carload of businessmen going across country. Overall they were pretty nice and they took me almost two thousand miles. I never felt I couldn't pay the price until I met those bikers. I couldn't have taken much more when your gang pulled into that campground.'

"She tells me her mother is still alive, but she hates her for getting remarried to that guy. She says she absolutely hates her mother. She won't consider going home. I guess she felt deserted when her mother remarried and it turned out to be such a disaster.

"She said she would pay the price and do anything for me for the next three months. This is for running off those bikers that had her. What I would like to do is get her some clothes and maybe take her for a physical to see how badly she has been damaged.

"Maybe we could work on her self-esteem and show her that the whole world isn't all bad. I can't really take her in hand as I am planning on getting married soon. I guess I'm asking if I can dump her on you, Dad. It shouldn't be too difficult with Mary here. Maybe Rob can make a sister out of her. I don't think she will be much trouble and if she is, just remind her that she is mine for the next three months."

I asked Jim how he was going to tell Sarah, his fiancée, that the person he owned was a female and nineteen years old. He started to sweat and said he didn't know yet. Dad spoke up and said he better tell Sarah everything just as it happened. Keeping secrets was no way to start a married life. Jim agreed, but it wasn't a chore he was looking forward to.

Dad made Sandy an appointment for an exam and tests with the family doctor. Two days later when it was time for her to go with Dad, he had an appointment so I ended up taking her instead. Mary came up with some clothes. I could see that they were out of style, but Mary thought she looked nice. Sandy didn't say anything, but she knew. I gave her a couple of points for just thanking Mary and saying she thought she looked nice too. So here I am taking Sandy to the doctor. If Sandy was nervous, I was more so. I had no idea how she would act away from us. Christ, I had only known her three days!

Sandy sensed it right off. "Ashamed of your little whore? Taking her to see if she has VD? It is more than probable you know. Well I won't humiliate you if I can help it. A lot depends on the doctor. I'm not going to let some old bastard paw me all over and then look down on me." Actually this act of belligerence made me feel more confident. I knew Doc Harris, and he was well aware of the frailties of human nature.

We walked in and wouldn't you know, the office was full of patients. We went up to the receptionist and I said, "Sandy is here to see Dr. Harris."

The receptionist, without looking up as she was on the computer, said "Sandy, who?" Christ, I was in a quandary, I didn't even know Sandy's last name.

Sandy spoke softly, "Sandy Osgood."

"New patient?" At Sandy's nod she said, "Take this clipboard and fill out all the information on it. Bring it back here and I will go over it."

We went and sat down and Sandy wrote her name. It was in a little girl's handwriting and then she began to tremble. Whispering to me, "I don't know all of these big words, would you help me?" I took the forms and by asking her questions we were able to fill in most of the blanks. That is until we came to the Social Security number. "I don't have one and if I did I wouldn't have used it. My stepfather could have tracked me."

I took the forms back to the receptionist who reviewed them. "She left the SSN off. We have to have a number for insurance purposes."

I said, "She doesn't have a number. As you can see, I put down that I am responsible for her bill. If there are further questions about it, you can take it up with Dr. Harris."

The receptionist looked disgusted. "We do not discuss billing with the doctor."

Looking her in the eye I came back with, "This is a somewhat unusual situation and Dr. Harris is fully aware of it. I'm sure he will fill you in on any details he wishes you to know."

It seemed like we were waiting forever. Sandy sat tense and upright with her hands folded in her lap and her feet flat on the floor. Finally a nurse came out and announced, "Sandy, Doctor Harris will see you now." She gave me a nervous little smile and followed the nurse through the door. Now it was my turn to be nervous, not for me, but for Sandy. As the hands on the clock passed an hour and then another half, I wondered what he was finding. Then Doc Harris stuck his head through the door and asked me to come in.

Sandy was getting dressed in another room. "Hi Rob, it's good to see you again. It looks like you are keeping fit. You know you may be only twenty-five, but it might be a good idea to have a checkup yourself. Have a seat." Then he went over some notes he had scribbled. Turning to me he stated, "I don't think I have ever seen a situation like this in my life before. I've been your Dad's family doctor since I was interned. He calls me and tells me he is bringing in a young lady who needs a physical. Then he doesn't come in to explain, just sends you with her. She said I could ask you anything and tell you anything.

"Before I say anything more, what is your Dad's relationship to her?" He looked at me expectantly.

"Dad is kind of a surrogate father and I guess I'm her surrogate brother. I don't know anything about her. I didn't even know what her name was until she answered the receptionist. Today is only the fourth time I've seen her."

Doc was shaking his head. "Oh come on, give me a little more than that. She mentioned Jim too. Where does he fit in?"

"Okay Doc. Short story. Jim owns her for the next three months." I paused and the doc was about ready to explode. I continued, "Basically, Jim rescued her from a biker gang and for saving her she promised she would do whatever he wanted her to do for three months, and he wants to get her help. As you know he is getting married soon and he doesn't need this complication. So Dad and I are looking after her. This physical is the first thing he asked her to do. She didn't object, just said okay, and here she is.

"What we do know is that she is a runaway, and has been on her own since she was seventeen. She is nineteen now and says she has seen forty of the states, all by hitch-hiking. Apparently she had no goal and just went on down the road. She is used to begging and if need be, using her body to pay for a ride. She told Jim that there are a lot of nice people she has met, but some she never wants to meet again. She was abused by her stepfather shortly after she turned sixteen and that started all of this. She told Jim that if he hadn't got her away from those bikers that night, she was going to end it all."

"Rob, I really can't tell what her overall physical shape is yet. Not until I get back the results of all the testing I've ordered. I can tell you that she has recently been horribly abused. She is black and blue pretty much all over. She has had rough sex, both vaginally and anally. This happened within the last week. I suspect she has had some broken ribs at some point. I noticed an irregular bump on one arm. It was probably broken at one time. She wouldn't talk about it. She is young and if she hasn't contracted some incurable disease, she will heal pretty fast.

"I have noticed another thing. I would say she might be a case of arrested development. In a lot of ways she seems to be sixteen and yet you say she is nineteen. I guess that fits if she was abused at sixteen and has been on the road since she was seventeen. She never would be able to develop along with her age group. However, she has a highly developed sense of street smarts. Don't try and slide anything over on her, because she will pick up on it pretty fast.

"Here is a warning for you. If she sticks around long enough to lose that scared-doe-in-the-headlights look and fills out, she is going to be a beautiful young lady. Watch your heart! Anyway, as soon as I get the test results back, I will have you bring her in to go over them. I gave her some med samples to hold her until I see her again. In the meantime take her shopping and get her some pretty clothes." Doc shook my hand and I went and found Sandy in the waiting room.

We didn't say much on the way home. To break the silence I asked her if she would like to go shopping for some clothes now. No! I wouldn't know what to buy. Well, how about a soda and sandwich? Okay if you know some place with a booth. After we got seated, she wanted to know what the doctor told me about her. She did give him permission to tell me everything. She was just curious.

"Well," I said with a straight face, "he said to go buy you some clothes."

Sandy laughed. "That's because I have Mary's panties on and they are three sizes too big. I had to pin them to keep them from falling off."

"Do you really want to know?"

"Yes. Mainly because I never had a physical before, and I couldn't read what he was saying. He'd look at part of me and say 'That's interesting' and a lot of 'Humm' stuff like that. He put something on my arm and pumped it up. Said that was to check my blood pressure. He looked at every inch of my skin and felt and pushed my breasts around. After he looked in my ass and in my cunt he asked me about my lifestyle. I tried to answer everything as I knew Jim would want me to." I shuddered at the language Sandy was using.

"Doc Harris has been my doctor ever since I can remember. He treated my mother and cried when he couldn't save her. We knew he'd be a good person for you to see. He said that you were a nice young lady. His heart went out to you when he saw the amount of abuse you've had to tolerate. Jim's stock went up in his eyes considerably when I told him how you came to be with us. From what he can see now, he thinks you will heal up okay. Use the medicines he gave you. When he gets the tests results back he wants to see you again. I'd like to be there too, if you don't mind."

I said this because in my mind she might have a nasty surprise in store for her and she would need some support. "I'm going to call Jim when I get home and see if we can figure how to get you some decent clothes. That is unless you want Mary to take you shopping."

"Please call Jim."

I did call Jim that night. I asked him if he had told Sarah what he had done on his vacation. He had and she wasn't too thrilled. I told him about our trip to see Doc Harris. I gave him all the details. Then I asked him what to do about clothes for Sandy. He had no clue how to go about getting clothes for her especially without making Sarah jealous. I asked if Sarah was there. No, but she was coming over in an hour or so. I said I thought I could get him off the hook, but I had to talk to Sarah.

I was getting ready to call Sarah at Jim's house when she called me. "What's up? You Gordon guys are always doing some damn fool thing. I'm beginning to wonder if I want to become a Gordon or not."

"Sarah, I need your help. Your ever-loving lover brought me a new sister. She needs a few new clothes. Hell, she needs a whole lot of clothes. Mary fitted her out in one of her dresses to go get a checkup. She even had to wear a pair of Mary's panties pinned up. I just don't want my new sister appearing in public like that again. Could you take some time tomorrow and have her outfitted? Maybe you could get her hair done too. It looks like she hacked it off herself, but there is still a lot to work with."