Chapter 44

Tammy's response seemed to satisfy Linda. She and her mother had a bit of a staring contest as Linda tried to make more out of what Tammy said than was there. It appeared as if she finally accepted the fact that I didn't hurt her, or pressure her to do anything. Tammy made it plain that I was considerate of her feelings, and just as plain how grateful she felt for our time together. Linda gave me an unreadable look, kissed her mother and sisters goodnight, and went to bed.

Tammy tried to apologize for Linda's coldness, but I waived it off. "She deserves time to heal. You all need to heal, and you will. It will just happen at different times and in different ways."

Carrie and Amy grabbed their mother and dragged her off to Carrie's room for girl talk. I was pretty sure what that would be about. I wanted to nowhere near it, so I grabbed my book from the table beside the sliding glass doors and headed to bed.

As I settled down, I realized Tammy hadn't said whether she intended to stay the night with me. Rather than make a thing out of it, I read until my eyes got heavy, turned out the light, and slept. It was just a short time later I felt the bed shift as Tammy crawled in and laid against me on her right side, with her back against me. She felt soft and warm in all the right places. Ready for sleep, I slipped my arm around her, kissed her hair, mumbled, "Goodnight," and dropped off again.

It seemed like much later when one of the girls crawled in on my other side and cuddled up against me. I suspected she wanted to be near her mother. I was on my back. Tammy had placed my hand on her breast and held it in place with both of hers. I reached under the newcomer and pulled her to me. She came willingly, and I cuddled her against me, kissed her lightly on her forehead, and fell back to sleep.

I must have been tired, because I slept the sleep of the dead, without dreams, and woke refreshed still holding two ladies in my arms, with Tammy's breast still in my hand. Waking up between two such lovely bookends made me smile, and I turned slightly to share my happiness with Tammy, except she wasn't – Tammy - I mean. Amy held my hand against her breast, and I was cuddling Carrie with my other arm.

To make matters worse, Tammy was sitting at the end of the bed, patiently waiting for me to wake up. Her smile was in direct contrast to my look of horror. I could tell Tammy knew I didn't engineer this by the loving amusement on her face. She eased up off the bed and beckoned me to come with her.

It took some maneuvering, but I eventually managed to slide down to the foot of the bed and wiggle out, still naked. To avoid further complicating things, I dashed into the bathroom and retrieved my robe. It wouldn't do for the girls to run out and tell Linda all about sleeping with their mother's nude boyfriend. If she distrusted me before, she would hate me for sure if they told her that bit of news.

Tammy had coffee and hot chocolate ready, and was stirring scrambled eggs in the frying pan. I pitched in and made toast, set the table, and poured orange juice for everyone. When she was ready, Tammy called her girls to breakfast and we both settled down for the comedy that would surely ensue.

The girls dragged themselves to the breakfast bar one by one. Linda was first, watching expectantly for Amy. Carrie was next, bubbly and happy. She kissed Tammy, hugged Linda, and then put a big wet one on me. Amy arrived last, freshly showered, her wet hair wrapped in a towel. She kissed and hugged her mother, holding on for an extra second, then acknowledged her sisters, and kissed me softly on the lips before seating herself.

As we ate, I kept watching Tammy and Amy. There was no way Tammy did not see my hand wrapped around Amy's breast, so I knew there would be something said about it before long. I was wrong. Tammy positively glowed, and Amy had a spark too. Their happiness was contagious, and soon we were all enjoying the moment.

While Tammy organized kitchen duty, I got the engines started, grateful for the block warmers that preheated the diesels, making them easy to start on cold days. As I got the boat ready to go, things were winding down in the kitchen. By the time I lifted both anchors, and was settled at the helm, I could hear Tammy, Amy, and Linda discussing last night's sleeping arrangements.

"Why are you letting Amy and Carrie sleep with Brian if he's your boyfriend?" Linda had a point, and I was anxious to hear Tammy's answer.

"First of all, Brian is not my boyfriend. He's the man who saved us from living in a homeless shelter, being bothered by sick, stinking, crazy people, remember? Second, Amy and Carrie are just as scared as you are, and if being close to Brian makes them feel safe, then that's a good thing, isn't it? Third, unless you want to go back and live with your father, this is how it is, until it changes.

"Linda, I have nothing. Not even a dollar of my own. Brian hasn't laid a finger on us. He doesn't hit me. He doesn't frighten you girls, and he doesn't seem to want to. Your father would love to get his hands on you, and you darn well know it. So lighten up, and maybe you'll realize how good you have it."

Linda's crying was all the answer Tammy was going to get. She cried like her heart was breaking. Tammy held her, rocked her, whispered comforting words to her, and guided her to the sofa where they could stretch out until it passed. I could hear them whispering to each other while I guided the boat downriver.

For a change the day passed without much drama. I fueled up and had the tanks pumped at lunchtime, as we ate at a marina restaurant. Because of the cold and wind, we were the only customers, so we got excellent service. The owners were not only good cooks, but great people, and we had a wonderful time. Before heading back down the river, we shopped in the marine store for a few odds and ends. While I picked things up for the boat, I sent the girls across the street to a small department store with instructions to buy a video game machine, and as many games as they needed to entertain themselves.

Linda spent the last hour of our cruising day sitting beside me on one of the kitchen stools. We talked about inconsequential things until she looked at me with serious eyes and said, "I'm sorry I've been such a bitch. My father didn't only hurt Mommy. I haven't told anybody, yet - but he tried to ... do it to me a few days before we ran away.

"Mom took Amy and Carrie to the mall. I stayed home to work on a school project. My father came home screaming and yelling because my mother wasn't there to wait on him. When he saw me working at the kitchen table he started in on me. He was so angry for no reason.

"When I didn't respond to his screaming, he jerked me out of the chair, held me down across his lap and started to spank me, really hard. He was yelling the whole time, until his hand hit me down between my legs, instead of on my bottom. He stopped for a few seconds, and I thought it was over. Instead he yanked my sweat pants down, pushed my panties out of the way, and started to hit me again.

"I was crying but he wouldn't stop.

"Then he shoved his hand down between my legs and pushed his finger up inside me, making me bleed. It hurt like anything, and I was screaming at him to stop. He kept telling me he was going to make me have a baby, and sell to stupid people, then do it again. He was crazy.

"I could feel his hard thing against me It scared me so bad. I knew he was going to rape me, and there was nothing I could do about it. When he saw the blood he got even worse, and threatened to kill Mommy, Amy, and Carrie if I told anyone.

"He pinched me so hard – down there – that I screamed again. It was like he was tearing my ... you know ... my ... it off. He got this really weird look on his face, and I could feel him – his thing – twitching under me. It must have distracted him, because he stopped shoving his fingers inside me and let go.