Chapter 13

That evening I spent a lot of time thinking about my love life – what it was and what it was becoming. Once I accepted the fact that everything that happened to me time the first time through was shaped due to my being a fourteen year old boy, the difference this time started t make sense.

Beth Ann, Rebecca, Colleen, and even Millie reacted to me the way they did, because they were dealing with a teenager. That slowed, and changed everything, including the normal behavior they would indulge in. Free from the idea that they were doing something "wicked," my women were free to behave as they would with any single man they met. That's why it was easier this time.

It was me that caused the barriers and the heartache for the ladies. They had to accept their unusual choices, and accept me as their chosen mate, even though I was not acceptable. By getting through it we became stronger and weaker. Rebecca's problem was likely much worse for the guilt involved in sleeping with a minor.

An awful lot of things were my fault.

That got me thinking about my loves. Whenever I think of "my loves," I think of Beth Ann, Colleen, and Rebecca – but then I get to thinking about Winnie and Millie, then the three becomes five.

Without the direct threat of mafia war, ginning up a reason to get Winnie down here was questionable. If I was going to reconnect with her, I was going to have to be direct and to the point – whatever the point was...

As long as Mr. Bell was alive, there would be no Millie in my arms. And that was as it should be. I could love her from afar and live with it, because I knew the future, or at least thought I did. I was changing the future day by day, so it wasn't what it was, and there were going to be things that are totally different just because I'm alive, and Brian is alive, and he's not me.

It really was too much to think about, so I stopped thinking about the permutations, and slept

Jim and Colleen called bright and early on Monday morning. Bright and Early is always a flexible term, and in this particular case it meant seven o'clock. Beth Ann was getting Brian ready to head up the dock to work, and I was attempting to remain calm until after he left, so I could ravish her.

It seemed like three very official gentlemen from the US Government were awaiting me at the law office, and I needed to get myself over there as fast as possible.

Possible ended up being quite soon, because I had been up for some time, showered, dressed and had eaten a bachelor's breakfast over the kitchen sink, so all I had to do was pick up my keys and walk out the door. Mr. Johnson was NOT happy. He was all prepared to BE happy, and now he was definitely NOT happy.

So much for my happiness in this life...

The surprises just kept coming, because three other men from the US Government were waiting for me on the end of the dock, and they didn't look all that patient. Their patience or lack thereof, made no difference to me, because they were going to wait until Jim Bell told me it was safe to abide by their wishes.

"Hey, Miss Annette," I said cheerfully when she answered the phone at Jim's office. "There are two well dressed, well-armed, and rather impatient fellows identifying themselves as agents of the United States Department of Justice, who claim they were sent to give me a ride into your office. Neither Jim nor Colleen happened to mention this fact when Jim called to ask me to come in, so before I assume they mean me no harm, I want to hear it from Jim.

"Please ask him to come to the phone and confirm these arrangements." I was still a little giddy from my weekend with Beth Ann, and not feeling any sense of dread at the appearance of the two agents.

That all changed...

Jim came on the line and began to question me, at length, about nonsensical things, and it took me a minute to realize he was stalling. That's when I got scared. Beth Ann and Brian were inside the boat, and at risk, and I was unarmed, out-numbered, and out of the loop on what was going on.

To keep things copacetic, I hollered to the two agents that Jim needed the papers I signed on Friday, and I would grab them and be ready to depart. That gave me a little space to figure out how to stall while the real agents of the DOJ got themselves out here.

Beth Ann was at the sink when I walked in and told her to grab Brian and go out the bedroom door, drop silently into the water, and work their way around the boat, until they could hide between the hulls of the next two boats. I kissed her and told her to do it now, but keep everything silent until I said otherwise, or Jim and Colleen arrive.

"What is going on? What's happening? Are we in danger?" She was ready to bolt.

I kissed her ... HARD ... to get her attention, and whispered, "I think those three men are here to kill me. Get Brian and get in the water, now, before they decided to kill you two, too." I didn't have time to debate this, so I steered her towards the middle bathroom, where I could hear his Gameboy.

Thankfully Beth Ann realized how serious I was, and grabbed Brian. They were out the back and in the water so fast, even I was surprised, and I told her to do it!

With her and Brian safe for the moment, I grabbed my Jim Bell file and stood in plain sight on the front deck, rifling through it, as if I was searching for something. The three goons walked closer and I could see that their attention was all on me, so Beth Ann and Brian hadn't appeared on their radar as of yet.

"Hey!" I hollered at them. "Do you know which set of forms is the power of attorney?" That drew them closer to me, and even further from Beth Ann. I needed to create all the distance possible between those guns and them, so I motioned them over and started to scatter things on the table top, looking for the mythical power of attorney. Hank and Coulter were in sight, so the goons couldn't just grab me without causing an alarm, so pretending to cooperate with me pretending to be looking for a non-existent document was about all they had to work with.