Chapter 5

I was surprised at the number of people attending Gus' funeral. Jessica looked nice in her black dress and tights. Apparently Brenda had made the purchase during their shopping spree.

Brenda and Ray were in attendance, and Jessica asked if they would sit with us. Also there were about two dozen older veterans who had served with Gus in the army. Since Jessica was the only family, they came by and paid their respects and shook her hand. Many told her that her granddad was a good man. A few even said they would not have been alive if it had not been for him.

There were also a few older men and women I had seen on occasions around town. Ray said they were residents who had lived in the area all their lives.

Jessica held up very well, considering. She did break down and hugged herself to me when they began lowering the coffin into the ground. I hugged her back and let her weep.

After the service Ray took Brenda, Jessica and I to eat. I picked at him, saying if he was buying then I wanted steak. He agreed and we went to a Lone Star. The meal was delicious.

I did notice Brenda kept looking at me and smiling. I felt uncomfortable thinking I had something on my face. At one point I even went into the bathroom just to check.

"You look exceptionally nice today, Keith," she said when I returned.

I had worn a western style suit I had purchased right after I retired. I had the cowboy boots and cowboy hat to finish it off.

"Uh, thank you, Brenda," I answered. "And may I say you look very pretty as well."

She was dressed conservatively in a black knee-length dress, however it was very form fitting and showed her curves nicely. There was no doubt she had a pretty face. Her blond hair looked like silk as it cascaded over her shoulders and halfway down her back. Her blue eyes sparkled in the light. She had a slim face and nice lips that seemed to always smile. There was a light sprinkle of freckles over her small nose. Unlike the business suit she wore when we first met, the black sweater she was wearing under her coat showed nice sized breasts for her petite body.

"How are you coping with being a daddy," she asked, smiling as I admired her body.

"We're both still alive," I laughed, embarrassed at being caught. "That has to account for something." After a pause I continued. "Actually there hasn't been any major hurdles. I believe we're still getting use to each other." I put my arm around Jessica and hugged her to me. "Besides, how could someone not love this little munchkin?"

Jessica slapped me playfully.

"Well, my offer still stands," Brenda said. "If I can ever be of assistance, please don't hesitate to call."

"Why don't you come out Saturday evening for dinner," I said.

"Yeah," Jessica added. "I'll make us some chili."

Brenda looked at Jessica with surprise and then at me with raised eyebrows.

"I've found she is quite the cook," I smiled. "I have to force myself to push my plate away. Otherwise, I might start looking like Ray."

"Hey, watch that," Ray said rubbing his belly. "It took me a long time to get a physique like this."

"And it will take a lot longer to get one that looks like Keith's," Brenda told him. Then to me she said, "I'd love to, if you really don't mind."

"I wouldn't have asked if I did," I told her. "Why not come around five and we'll have time to visit."

"Sounds like a plan," she said.

Ray told me Cassandra McKoy had asked that I contact her as soon as possible, so after lunch I drove to the Department of Family Services. We had to wait about twenty minutes before a short, heavyset black lady in her mid-thirties came into the waiting room. She looked at me, then at Jessica and finally back at me.

"Mr. Bradford," she began. "I'd like to set up a meeting to evaluate your competence of child rearing. I understand you are a single man and have no children of your own. What makes you think you can take in a child, a girl for that matter, at this point in your life? I have selected a foster family that is prepared to take her at this moment."

"Jessica, grab your coat and let's go," I said, putting on my own coat. I reached out and took Jessica's hand and started towards the door.

"Mr. Bradford, I'm talking to you," McKoy said.

I turned to her and said, "Ms. McKoy, I'm sure if you've done your job you'll have found that I have no criminal past. If you've checked my work history you'll have found that I was not an abusive officer. Just so you'll know, my retirement is probably more than three times your annual income. That doesn't include my income as an author, which again, if you've done your job, you'll know I've been quite successful. I came to you today as a courtesy because you had contacted Sheriff Langston. If you were truly concerned about Jessica, you would have done your job and come to visit me the day you heard of Mr. Gainey's passing. The least you would have done would have been to contact me by telephone.

"As far as my competence of childrearing, as you put it, I was named Jessica's guardian in Mr. Gainey's will. Now, you can contest that before a judge if you have grounds to believe there has been abuse or neglect, but I don't think you have received any complaints about me. Until such time, Ms. McKoy, I will consider any further contacts by you or your office as harassment and will take appropriate legal action."

During the entire conversation I had maintained a calm, steady voice. There were now people in the hall, Ms. McKoy's co-workers looking over partitions and sticking their heads out of doorways. The others in the waiting room were wide-eyed with mouths open.

"Let's go, baby," I said, holding my hand out to Jessica. She took my hand and we walked out the door. We could hear Ms. McKoy calling me over and over as the door closed.

"Guess you told her," Jessica said when we were outside.

When Saturday came Jessie was up early bustling about in the kitchen. She told me the chili would be better if it simmered all day. By noon she had the table set and the house filled with a delicious aroma. She swatted my hand when she caught me lifting the lid on the pot trying to sample the goods.

I used my tractor to scrape the driveway so Brenda wouldn't have trouble driving up when she arrived. The cabin was on the south side of the mountain and the sunlight through the day would melt any remaining snow.

Jessica fixed ham sandwiches for lunch. After eating I was just sitting there relaxing, enjoying the feeling of being full yet hungry from the smell of chili that filled the air. Jessie came and crawled into my lap, straddling my legs facing me. I cupped her bum to keep her from sliding down my legs.

She had not dressed since getting up, and still wore one of my t-shirts and nothing else.

"Are you gonna do her," Jessica asked. "She wants ya to, ya know."

"Do who," I questioned.

"Brenda. She likes ya, a lot," she answered.

"No, I'm not going to do her," I said, shocked at her forwardness. "How would you know she likes me?"

"The way she looks at ya, the way she touches ya."

I tried to think of Brenda looking at me, but couldn't recall anytime it might have been suggestive. I could remember her touches but they were always subdued gestures, as if to emphasize a comment or remark.

"When she looks at ya, her eyes smile," Jessica continued, "and her touches, they're light and tender."

"Jessica, she's just being nice," I tried to answer, remembering how I thought her eyes smiled. "Besides, I'm almost twice her age. Anyway, I've already told you, I've got a girlfriend."

Jessica grinned at that and kissed me on the nose, then gave me a chaste hug.

I hugged back, sliding my hands under her long t-shirt to cup two firm buttocks. My fingertips dipped between her cheeks and felt the heat of her sex. I pulled her into my growing erection and let her feel my excitement through my pants as her clit pressed against my bulge.

Glancing at the time, I saw we had just over an hour before Brenda was supposed to arrive. I picked Jessica up and sat her on the table. She lay back, being careful not to disrupt the dishes she had already set out. I lifted her legs over my shoulders and was greeted with the wonderful sight under her t-shirt.

Two puffy pink labia slightly parted to show a clitoral hood. Just below the clit was the darker pink entrance to her vagina. The darker pink glistened with her moisture and gave off a heady aroma that was intoxicating. Lower still was a tiny ring around her anus. It looked as if a thick o-ring had been implanted under the skin directly around her asshole. Lines of dark skin extended about an inch outward from its center giving the illusion of a star, her anal star. The color of her labia and the anal star were slightly darker than the surrounding skin.

Leaning forward, I gave her clit a small kiss. Jessica groaned and voluntarily raised her legs higher, opening herself wider for me to enjoy. I could now see the small inner labia and the shredded remains of her hymen that recently protected her entrance.

I dipped my tongue into her opening, tasting the tangy nectar she offered. Her taste was much different to any woman I had ever had. It was milder, almost sweet and slightly metallic, exactly like it smelled. It was almost like you could taste it with you nose and smell it with your tongue.

My lips sealed around her opening and sucked while my tongue dug deeper, seeking more of her ambrosia. Her groans turned into whimpers and her hips began to undulate under my assault.

Licking over her asshole, I lubed it liberally with my saliva and then continued the lick through her slit to her hard little bead. My tongue danced over the exposed sensitive flesh as I pressed my middle finger into her ass and my index finger into her pussy.

"Yes," Jessica gasped, pressing down towards me to get my digits deeper.

My fingers were buried completely as I curled my index finger upwards to press along the ridges in her vagina just under her pubic bone. I sucked her clit into my mouth as my tongue continued to slash back and forth, up and down.

"Oh, Keith," she said as her hips hunched up to meet me.

I could feel her holes squeezing my fingers as her orgasm neared. With my free hand I slipped under the t-shirt to her budding breast and rolled a nipple between thumb and forefinger. Her hunches grew stronger and faster as I looked up and saw her mouth open in a silent scream.

Her body locked into an arch as liquid sprayed from her pussy and soaked my chin and neck, her holes clutching and releasing my fingers over and over. I could feel the pulse from my heart throbbing in my fingertips because of her tight grasp around my digits. I had not heard her breathe, and was beginning to worry when her body collapsed limply back to the table.

I stopped the movement of my tongue but continued the gentle suction of her clit. Slowly I pulled my fingers from her openings, which allowed more liquid to dribble from her vagina and trail over her anus, finally collecting on the table.

"Oh, God," she gasped breathlessly. "That was so good."

I stood before her spread legs and began lowering my zipper. She smiled as my drooling cockhead glided across her mons leaving a precum trail in her sparse pubic hair.

She grabbed my shirt and pulled me down for a kiss as my dancing cock tried to seek refuge in her hot tunnel. Before it could find its target, Jessica pushed me up.

"You gotta shower and change," she said excitedly. "You smell like me. Brenda will know."

The mention of Brenda's name startled me. Then I registered what she said and I understood. My face and shirt were covered with her juice.

"What am I supposed to do with this," indicating my cock which was hovering just over her belly, precum still leaking to leave a trail everywhere it moved.

"You'll have ta save it," she said. "She could be here any minute. Remember, ya told her to come early ta visit."

"Oh shit," I remembered, turning to head for the shower.

The shower felt good but did little to wilt my erection. Even turning the hot water off and letting the cold water douse my body had little effect. After enduring the cold as long as I could, I turned off the water while still sporting a half hard.

I opened the door to the shower and reached for a towel only to remember Jessica had taken it to do the laundry.

"Jessie," I called. "Can you bring me a towel? I don't want to get the floor wet."

In just a minute there was a knock on the bathroom door which I thought was unusual. Jessica had walked in on me several times unannounced, why was she being so modest now?

"Come in," I said, wiping the water from my eyes. I stuck my hand out of the open shower door and felt her place the towel in my hand. Once I dried my eyes I looked up to see Brenda standing there with a sly grin on her face.

"Very nice," she said, looking up and down my body through the open shower door.

"What the hell," I gasped, using the towel to cover myself.

"Jessie was putting the finishing touches on dinner and asked me to bring you the towel," she said, giggling. "Do you need any help or can you handle that on your own." She was staring directly at my now covered crotch.

"I think I can handle it," I blushed, "I mean, I think I can dry myself, thank you."

She gave a pouty look, sticking her bottom lip out exaggeratedly. "Just holler if you change your mind," she said as she headed out the door.

After dressing in jeans and a polo shirt, I took a deep breath and headed towards the kitchen. Brenda was sitting at the bar as Jessica grated cheese for the chili.

"So, I guess you were able to handle everything by yourself," Brenda said, climbing off the stool and giving me a hug and kiss on the cheek. "By the way, you're cute when you blush," she added.

"What is it with women walking in on men while they are in the shower," I asked.

"Well, I've only walked in on one man in the shower," Brenda said. "I must say, it was quite exhilarating and I hope I have the opportunity to do it again sometime."

"Maybe I should start posting the times I plan to shower and charge admission," I said, trying to turn the embarrassment back to her.

"From what I saw, it would be well worth the fee," she said, looking at my crotch, "and I'd even consider a generous tip. How about season tickets?"

Damn, I wasn't winning at this game. "How's it coming, Jessie," I asked, trying to change the subject.

"Hot and spicy," she giggled, looking at Brenda. "Well, hot anyway."

They both laughed causing me to blush even more.

"Maybe I'll just sit over here and keep my mouth shut," I said, turning to the table.

"Before you sit, put the chili pot on the table," Jessica said. "Everything's ready. We can eat."

I put the pot on the table and the girls joined me. I sat at the head of the table while Jessie sat on my left and Brenda the right.

To my relief the conversation took a new direction when we began to eat. I learned that Brenda was finishing her Master's degree and would graduate in the spring. She was majoring in child psychology with a minor in education. She planned to continue her education to receive her doctorate. She was working her internship in her father's sheriff's department with the juvenile division. When asked what college she attended, she explained she was taking online classes through Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee.

She asked about me and I explained my career as a police officer, working my way up through the ranks and then being let down after the arrest of the mayor's son. I told her how I had moved to the area and began writing as a hobby and how it turned into a second career. It turned out she had read several of my books and was impressed with my writing ability.

The meal was exceptional, although I did notice Brenda kept wiping her brow and blowing her nose.