Chapter 22

Brian rolled over, looked at the clock, and groaned. It was almost 6:00 AM on Saturday morning and he felt like he hadn't slept at all. His usual methods of getting to sleep on a Friday night hadn't worked as well as they normally did. Beer with the guys at Jake's didn't take his mind off his worries. A little two on one with Sandra was a nice distraction but as soon as Pete, left Brian's thoughts started racing again. An extra helping of Sandra after Pete went home didn't help either. Brian couldn't sleep because he was worried.

Brian rolled onto his back and stared at the ceiling wondering what he should do. Movement beside him evolved into the silky texture of Sandra's skin as she slid onto his shoulder. He was always amazed at how Sandra felt when she pressed herself against him. She was soft in all the right places and hard in all the right places. Sandra never failed to excite him in ways no other woman ever had. She had been a part of his life since their freshman year in high school. They had shared some pretty wild times together and it amazed Brian that she stuck with him. He had shared her with friends and casual acquaintances. Brian even gave her to the starting lineup for an opposing school's basketball team when he lost a bet with them and she still stuck with him.

Brian sighed and, moving his arm, pulled Sandra closer. Her head rested in the hollow of his shoulder and his arm pulled her against his side.

"What's the matter baby?" Sandra asked quietly. "You tossed and turned all night long. I don't think you slept at all."

Brian sighed again and said, "I don't think I slept either." He hesitated a moment and thought about the previous day before continuing. "Did you hear about the accident at the airport construction site yesterday?"

Sandra nodded against his shoulder before saying, "Yeah. I heard no one really got hurt but Bill Miller was still pretty mad."

"You've got that right," Brian said with a snort. "Maybe 'pretty mad' is an understatement. The police came by to talk to me yesterday too. Apparently someone told Miller and the Klutz that I was trying to sabotage their project."

Sandra quickly raised her head to look at him and asked, "They don't have any proof do they?"

"No, at least I don't think so," Brian said with another sigh. "I talked to one of the guys that are working on Miller's project last night. Miller gave them a big speech yesterday. Miller has freaking video security camera's set up. They have the guys setting up the accident on video and they turned it over to the police."

Brian shook his head and was silent for a moment before continuing. "The guys that set it up are gone. I paid them $2000 each for the job and another $1000 bonus to leave town. They headed down to south Texas so I don't think they will be a problem. There isn't any other proof to tie anything back to me. Someone could have heard us talking about it down at Jake's Place but that isn't proof."

Sandra was silent for a moment and laid her head back on Brian's chest. She absently stroked his chest hair as she thought for a moment. "So, there isn't anything to worry about. Right?" she asked.

Brian hesitated for a moment before saying, "Well, I did have another accident planned but the guy that was going to do it told me last night that he wouldn't go through with it. You know Jerry Blandish. Well, he said he can make more doing the job straight than what I could pay him." Brian snorted again before saying, "Jerry said he liked working for Miller. He said something about Miller Construction treated their people with respect and tried to do right by them. The guy actually said he appreciated working for a company that was just as concerned about correct pay and benefits for the crews as they were about quality of work. No company can stay in business working like that."

They were silent for a moment. Brian was starting to relax a little as Sandra continued stroking his chest.

"What else?" Sandra asked. She had known Brian for a long time and had been through a lot with him. Sandra probably knew Brian better than most wives knew their husbands because Brian never bothered to try to hide things from her. There were a lot of situations he had pulled her into that she didn't like but she always went along with them just because he asked. She loved him; it was as simple as that.

Sandra fell in love with Brian on their first date when she was a freshman. Sandra also knew that Brian didn't know that he loved her. She had tried everything in the book to wake him up to the fact that he loved her but nothing had worked so far. All she knew to do was stick with him and hope that someday he would come around. Sandra knew when Brian had more to say as sure as a mother knew when her child wasn't telling everything.

Brian sighed again and shook his head. He pulled Sandra tighter against his side and said, "I think I need to drop this whole idea of taking over Miller's project. It isn't just the police talking to me yesterday either. They don't have any proof so that really isn't a problem. I can always find someone else to take care of any future accidents too. Jerry isn't the only person I know on the site. The security cameras make it a lot harder but now that we know about them we might be able to get around them. Things are getting tighter though because Miller is bringing in more of his own people for crew leaders."

"What have you heard about them?" Sandra asked when Brian stopped talking.

"I really don't know much of anything about them. Some of the guys saw them at Paddy's last night and that's all I know. They said Miller had three new guys with him. One of them looked a lot like Miller so that was probably his brother. I heard his brother's family was coming up for the picnic today. Miller told his crew that he was bringing in a couple more guys to run the project during that little speech he gave yesterday so that would account for the other two. The word I got is that the other two are twins."

Sandra was silent for a moment before saying, "Well, I haven't been able to make a good run at Bill Miller but I can try that at the picnic today." She was silent for another moment before sliding her hand down to Brian's stomach and playfully saying, "I can try to take out your twins today too. I've never tried twins before. That sounds kinky."

Brian smiled as Sandra's strokes became something more than calming. "It never hurts to try," he said. "But if we don't make some headway today I think we need to drop the whole plan."

"OK," Sandra agreed as she stroked a little lower. "Now then, give me some ideas about what I could do with some twins," she purred.

Brian laughed and said, "You are sooo bad," just before he kissed her.

Bill had a habit of messing around in the kitchen when he had a lot to think about. The orderly process of cooking and cleaning in a kitchen seemed to help him order his thoughts. This morning certainly qualified as one of those times his thoughts needed ordering. Bill had a lot on his mind. At the easy end of the scale he had a multimillion dollar construction project that needed to be completed on time and on budget. At the hard end of the scale he had a fiancé and new family to figure out how to handle. Those two alone would be enough for anyone to juggle and keep a man awake at night. But when everything else was thrown on the scales; things got real scary. Attempted sabotage of the project was bad but he could handle that. He had often enough in the past. However, putting lives in danger to sabotage a project was a whole new ball game for Bill. Putting Susan's life in danger moved the whole equation to the hard end of the scale. Then, just to add spice to the boiling cauldron he could add Susan's efforts to not wait until their wedding night for certain extracurricular activities. Bill wasn't a saint. He was only human and as the saying goes, the flesh is weak.

He couldn't forget the Susan's daughters either. Bill had learned to love those girls as much as he loved their mother. They were as unique and special as their mother and he loved them so much it scared him. He wanted them to be safe and happy and to grow up with every advantage he could give them. He knew they had him wrapped around their fingers and he didn't care. He loved them and would do anything for them. They were also as unconsciously sexy as their mother. Any one of the three was so sexy they could turn on a brass statue and putting the three of them together could make a brass statue cry. Bill wasn't a pedophile; he didn't hang out in malls to watch the little teeny boppers. Bill's preference in women had always run to women that were more mature minded. If he compared his taste in women and relationships to rides at an amusement park it would be like comparing a roller coaster to a Ferris-wheel. Bill preferred the Ferris-wheel over the roller coaster because the ride lasted longer and he could enjoy it for a long time. Bill felt like he was on a Ferris-wheel running at the speed of a roller coaster. He didn't want to get off the ride but it sure was scary.

So, Bill had been up for a while. He had started the coffee. Waffle batter was mixed and ready to go in the refrigerator for later in the morning. He had sliced some strawberries and gently stirred them into some whipped crème for waffle topping. He would put the creamy confection in the refrigerator after it has set for a few moments to allow the sweet of the crème to permeate the strawberries. Once the flavors were intermingled the cold of the refrigerator would firm up the concoction so it looked as good on the waffles as it tasted. Bill's mind was a little more at ease because he had made some decisions. Of course there were some things that he had no control over, like decisions Susan may make. Trying to keep up with Susan's mind was like trying to walk on ice with greasy shoes.

One thing Bill could decide that he was pretty sure Susan would go along with was not waiting until their wedding night to make love. Bill had a few options on how to handle not waiting. He could just go along with Susan and invite her to sleep in the back bedroom. He didn't like that idea because it didn't make the occasion special. He could also just move the wedding date up. He didn't need to wait until after the project was over. Waiting was simply a convenience for Susan. Waiting gave Susan a chance to plan a big wedding and in Bill's mind, all women wanted a big wedding. Bill wouldn't mind getting married on Monday. He did decide that the first time they made love would be very special and that wasn't dependant on being married. It would be a memory both of them would cherish the rest of their lives. He would take her away to someplace special for a romantic weekend even if it wasn't sanctified by marriage. Maybe they could go to Hannagen Meadow or Greer; two of the most romantic spots in Arizona's White Mountains. Neither was so far away as to make travel a major production but both were romantic locations.

Bill was standing in front of the coffee pot deep in thought and pouring a cup of coffee while he considered taking a couple of days off. He would give Susan the choice of getting married by a Justice of the Peace on Monday or wait for the project completion. Either way he would take her away. He was anxious to move forward now that he decided it didn't matter if they waited until they got married. He could justify it. Both resort locations were pretty busy this time of year and it would be easier to get reservations during the week than on the weekends. He wondered if that was justification or rationalization.

Bill jumped when he felt a pair of arms slide around his waist from behind. "Damn," he muttered as he jumped at the unexpected touch and spilled about half of the coffee he had just poured down his front. Fortunately he had started wearing medical scrubs around the house after the incident of the girls seeing him in his boxers. The hot coffee burned slightly but wasn't nearly as bad as it could have been if he was only wearing his boxers.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Susan cried apologetically as she reached for the towel Bill had spread on the counter top in preparation for wet dishes. She knelt as she jerked the towel to wipe off the coffee that had splashed on Bill's t-shirt and scrubs. Coffee had soaked the scrubs from just below his waist band to the top of his thighs.

The plastic bowl with the strawberries and whipped crème was sitting on the other end of the towel. The bowl was launched at Bill when Susan jerked the towel off the counter to wipe off the coffee. Bill had a coffee pot in one hand and a half full coffee cup in the other. He tried to catch the large plastic bowl in the crook of his arm and almost made it. The pressure of his arm on one side of the slick bowl and his t-shirt on the other was like trying to grab a fresh oyster on a plate with oily fingers. All he accomplished was spilling the rest of the coffee in his cup and ejecting the bowl straight up. The bowl gracefully rotated in mid-air and true to all of Mr. Murphy's rules, came down upside down. One side of the bowl hit the waist band of Bill's scrubs. The other side of the bowl hit the top of Susan's head. About half of the mixture of sliced strawberries and whipped crème covered Bill from his waist to his knees and the rest provided a nice covering for Susan's head and face.

Susan sank to her knees in shock. Bill looked down in stunned silence.

"Kinky," Mandy said from the hallway.

Bill looked at Mandy, his expression still stunned. Mandy wasn't wearing her robe, again. Beth was looking around her to see what was so interesting. Bill looked back down and tried to visualize this scene the way the girls would see it. Their mother was kneeling in front of Bill with her head just below waist level. Both their mother and Bill were covered with a strawberry and whipped crème concoction.

"Bill, this is getting embarrassing," Beth complained. "You really need to do something about mom."

"Yeah," Mandy agreed. "You need to at least take her someplace private. If you two keep this up it might corrupt our poor tender minds."

Susan looked at her daughters for a moment. She looked back at the mess on Bill's scrubs. She purposefully reached out and scrapped a handful of whipped crème and strawberries off the front of his scrubs, right at crotch level, and licked it off her fingers.

Mandy and Beth's eyes grew huge when their mom licked the concoction off her fingers.

Bill threw back his head and roared with laughter. He set the coffee pot and cup down before reaching down for Susan. He picked her up and kissed her, crème, strawberries and all.

"You know what?" Bill asked the girls with a grin after he broke the kiss. Now his face was also smeared with the waffle topping mixture too and it gave his grin an oddly maniacal look. He didn't wait for the girls to answer. "You girls are right. I need to do something about your mom. I mean, look at her. The woman is out of control. And the ideas she comes up with!!! The only thing I know to do is to get her away from your poor tender minds for a few days and try to teach her some manners. She has got to learn to control herself. I'll make sure Ruth can spend a couple of days over here and your mom and I will take a couple of days off."

"Where are we going to go?" Susan asked breathlessly. Bill was still holding her and her feet dangled about six inches above the floor.

"I don't know yet," Bill said as he hugged her again. He grinned when he licked a blob of crème and strawberry slices that was sliding down her cheek. "I was thinking either Greer or Hannagen Meadow. Woman, we are going to have a romantic getaway. The only choice you get is if we get married at the Justice of the Peace before we go."

Susan squealed in excitement and wrapped her arms and legs around Bill in a hug followed by a searing kiss.

The strawberries and whipped crème smeared over their faces didn't seem to affect their kiss but someone knocking on the door did. Bill broke the kiss and called, "Come in."

The door opened and Linda took a step into the room before stopping. Jack ran into her back when she stopped suddenly.

"Oh my," Linda said with a bemused expression.

"Wow," Jack said with a big grin.

"We were just getting a bucket of water," Mandy said sarcastically.

"I don't know," Beth said thoughtfully. "I think we should leave them alone and see what they do next. It is pretty educational. I never would have thought about strawberries and whipped crème."

"Maybe you're right sis," Mandy agreed with a grin. "We should watch. I wonder if Jimmy likes strawberries."

Susan buried her face in Bill's neck in embarrassment. Her neck and the side of her face that could be seen turned almost as red as the strawberries, but she didn't release her hold on Bill.

"Hey Jack," Bill said laughing. His face was now covered by the strawberries and whipped crème too. "I'm taking Monday and Tuesday off; maybe Wednesday too. You can stay for a couple of extra days to play site manager or just let Tim run things."

Jack pushed around the still stationary Linda and said, "I don't know. Do I get a hot and cold running bookkeeper too?"

That brought Linda out of her musings and she punched Jack in the arm. "I'll give you a hot bookkeeper," she warned with a smile.

Jack rolled his eyes and said, "Promises, promises."

"Hey. Are we ready to go yet?" Tim called from outside the open door.

"I don't know," Jack said as he moved out of the doorway so Tim and Ruth could enter. "I think big bro just moved the wedding date up and is taking a couple of days off with Susan."

"What I actually said was that Susan and I were taking a few days off for a romantic getaway and she could decide if we got married first or not," Bill corrected.

"You won," Ruth squealed as she rushed forward to hug Susan.

Susan released Bill, dropped back to the floor, and turned to hug Ruth. Ruth skidded to a stop before she reached Susan and asked, "What the hell happened to you?"

Susan still had sliced strawberries in her hair, on her face, and covering her shoulders and night gown.

"Mom's getting kinky," Mandy answered for Susan.

"Does Junior like strawberries?" Beth asked Jack and Linda.

"Bill was being clumsy and spilled a bowl of strawberries and whipped crème," Susan explained to Ruth with a completely serious expression.

"What ... I ... You ... What do you mean I was being clumsy?" Bill sputtered.

They all burst out laughing.

There were a lot of changes to plans that morning. Bill would marry Susan and Tim would marry Ruth on Tuesday. That would give them Monday to make the plans and reservations. Jack, Linda and the boys would stay in Show Low to stay with the girls while the two couples were on their three day mini honeymoon. Jack would run the project with the help of the twins. They decided to announce the change in plans at the picnic and inform the town that the picnic was now officially the wedding reception, in advance of the wedding. There was some disagreement about the legality of having a wedding reception before the wedding. After all, people sometimes got cold feet and backed out of weddings. It was pointed out that a lot of people only went to weddings for the receptions and this way the guests wouldn't be cheated out of the party, even if someone did get cold feet. Plans were changed for the big honeymoon after the project was completed too. Bill insisted that Mandy and Beth be included in the reservations for Hawaii to the girls delight.