Draft Version: 1.0

Author of Another Yard and Driven Lust presents:

CUMBERLAND FALLS

Chapter 1
Jesse Cumberland was a simple man. Born and raised in Kentucky, he was an outdoorsman by nature. He served in the military after graduating high school to earn a living and learned the brick layer’s trade from his tour of service.

He applied that trade after his tour of duty with a construction company that built new homes. At $25.00 an hour, he could make a decent living and live a comfortable lifestyle.

Growing up on a tobacco farm didn’t prepare him for many of life’s challenges. The one thing he wasn’t prepared for was the challenges of love. He’d fallen in love with a girl in high school and managed to convince her to marry him. It was probably the biggest mistake in his life but hind sight is 20/20.

Divorce papers waited on him when he returned from his military service. He found out later that she really didn’t love him as he thought and had carried on an affair with a guy she had dated in school the whole time he was gone. When his time was up in the military, her time was up with him it seemed.

After those few gut-tearing, heart -wrenching months past, he swore to never love like that again How it was possible to take a rugged man that had military training, a fearless disposition, and tough as nails attitude, and then turn him in to a sobbing, broken shell was baffling to him; but it did. It certainly left a scar on that broken heart of his.

His dad passed away the following year after his discharge and left him with the farm. He sold it because the industry had fallen and decided to invest it in his retirement. Not knowing the stock market at all, he sought property to put the money in to. A co-worker heard of his plans and recommended Lake Cumberland, claiming that if he had the choice, life by a lake with endless fishing seemed like a good way to retire.

That conversation changed his life and he sought some cheap property near the lake. He found three acres reaching up to the lake and bought a mobile home to put on it. He could walk through the forest he owned and be at the lake but a gravel road running past his trailer brought him out at a boat ramp. He was definitely pleased as punch with his purchase. How someone could neglect taxes on the property puzzled him. But their mistake was his prize. He cleared the trees and placed his trailer facing the lake.

It cost a small fortune, at least to him, to dig a septic tank, run electricity, and place a propane tank. But after a few months, you’d have thought that trailer was always there. Jesse started spending weekends and vacations on his new property.

In the beginning, he spent time on his property putting in a driveway, deck, and patio. Eventually, he was able to spend some time angling, the whole purpose of his efforts.

It was while he was fishing that he met Chase Scott. He was working on a lure when a boat eased up in front of him. “Howdy stranger!” the man hailed, leaning on a knee at the bow of the classy craft.

“Howdy” Jesse answered, pretending to be more interested in his lure than he was with the khaki-clad sailor.
The old man and his wife were retired and living in a lakefront redwood home across the lake. Jesse became pretty close friends with him even though Chase gave him a hard time.

“Know how to drive a Briar crazy?” Chase asked, when he found out Jesse was a Kentuckian born and raised.

“You got me.” he replied, eyeing the man suspiciously.

“Stick him in a round room and tell him to find the corner!” he replied with a chuckle, laughing at his own humor.

“Well, that was pretty good coming from a Buckeye that has his first and last name backwards.” Jesse retorted.

That got Jesse an invitation for dinner where he met Chase’s wife Clara. The lap of luxury came with a price as he enjoyed the central air with a five course meal. That payment was made to Clara as she grilled him on his love life.

Yes, he’d loved and lost and no, he didn’t plan on doing that again. Yes, he was available but no, he wasn’t looking for a relationship. She was rather insistent on his finding a lifelong mate, listing sound reasons why he should. He replied with his sound reasoning as to why he shouldn’t.

He left with an open invitation to visit any time and he did, every time he returned to the lake. For a couple of years, it was a pattern to visit the lake, work on his or Chase’s property, fish, and drink with the Scott’s. He helped Chase around the lake house and Chase helped him on the bigger projects like clearing trees at his trailer.

He spent a great deal of the winter away from the lake and didn’t know what it would be like retiring and living out the cold weather there. The following spring, he had a three day weekend and visited the lake again.
He found Chase and his wife gone with the boat still moored at its pier. He went back and wrote a note, ‘I was here but you were not, now you’re here and I am not, Jesse.’, and placed it between the doors of the lake house.

It made the weekend boring with Chase and Clara gone. He had to admit that he missed the old man but kept himself busy cutting his stockpile of wood and fishing. He left that weekend without hearing from Chase.
His crew was off a week for the Memorial holiday and he had some plans for his lakeside property. He loaded up his truck with supplies he intended on using and headed for his part-time home.

Once there, he unloaded his truck and headed to the front door. A note waited on him there, ‘I was here but you were not…’ from Chase. He smiled at that. The old man couldn’t come up with a good reply and used his instead. He made a mental note to tease the guy when he saw him later.

He disabled the alarm, settled in, and then went out back to get started on that barbeque he had planned. His job had its fringe benefits and left over supplies were in abundance. The trailer sat on the cinder blocks he’d laid and the sidewalk was made from expensive bricks left over. Now, his grill was going to be custom made.
Checking the time, he planned on getting the bricks laid that would hold that fifty-five gallon drum he had cut. He could imagine the grill from the back of refrigerators lying in it and cooking all the fish he planned to catch. The piping from an old stove running propane would save him money in the long run.

The higher the sun rose, the more clothes he shed. First, his shirt and then his hat and the bricks rose higher too. Squatting down to prep a brick, a rustle from the forest side of his property got his attention.

“What are you doing there?” a female voice called.

He was startled at first, not use to others being around, and then peeked over the wall of bricks blocking his view. A girl no older than twenty stared back at him as she stood by a tree at the opening.

“I can tell you what I’m not doing.” he replied, eyeing the blossoming young woman in his sights.

“What’s that?” she asked, furrowing her brow in curiosity.

“I’m not standing in poison ivy.” he pointed out, indicating the tinted red vines at her feet.

She skipped closer as if she’d seen a mouse and scurried to the edge of his work site. “How do you know that is what it is?”

He smiled deviously, “I learned it the hard way.”

The more he looked at the girl, the more beauty he saw. She was absolutely striking. Those eyes were intoxicating, begging him to look deeper in them. The blonde hair covered half of her face and feathered back with the gentle wind. He forced himself to loo0k away.

“Oh, it looks like a grill.” she noted, looking at his parts scattered around the patio.

“Yep, a barbeque pit.” he replied, and placed the brick into position. Troweling the access mortar off, he slung it back on his pan. He fought to focus his attention on the task at hand but lost the battle as his eyes wandered to the sandals with painted toe nails peeking back at him. He did prevent looking up as he knew doing so would hypnotize him.

“How tall are you making it?” she asked, eyeing his tanned muscles as they rippled from his efforts. She had seen the jocks at school that worked out in the gym. But this guy wasn’t gawking at her with his tongue hanging out like they all seemed to do. As the sun glistened from the sweat on him, she guessed him to be at least twenty. Since he seemed to be all brawn, she figured he had no brains. You either get a geek or get a muscle head; which was about the only choices she’d found.

Forgetting for a moment that he was speaking to a girl instead of a coworker, he responded with, “About crotch high or so.” and realized his blunder. The language of construction workers has never been elegant. He’d said plenty of things in the past he wished he could gather up and shove back in his mouth. This would be added to that list. His cheeks warmed a little in embarrassment.

Plopping on top of a pile of bricks, she thought, ‘Did he seriously just say crotch to her?’ and asked, “What?”

He quickly corrected himself with, “Up to my waist or so.” keeping his reddened face turned away from her.
She knew he dodged the issue but let it go. This was obviously one of those good ole boys you hear about. He had that southern slang and rugged good looks. She could see why girls fall for them so easily. Throw a suit of armor on them and they’d make a perfect knight.

“What’s your name?” she wanted to know, thinking it would be close to Billy Ray or something.

He stood up and wiped his hands on his blue jean cut-offs. He forced himself to look again at the aqua blue eyes that threatened to turn him to stone with beauty instead of snakes. “I’m Jesse; what’s yours?” he asked, extending his right hand.

She glanced at the six-pack he sported and a muscle-toned chest with a patch of dark hair in the center. Scanning further up at the hazel eyes looking intently back at her, she quipped, “I’m Angela, or Angel, or Angie. But, don’t call me Ann. I’ll smack you for it.” shaking the calloused paw on the man. It was her way, using humor, to avoid the awkward moment of his eyes locking on hers. A girl could lose herself in the universes he had for eyes.

“Ok, nice to meet you Ann…” he paused, and watched her raise her hand back, “Gee” he finished as she slapped the arm that shook her hand. “Hey, I said Angie!” he protested, feeling the sting she left behind.

“Too late; it wasn’t quick enough.” she giggled, “And I did warn you.” shaking a finger at him.

He tore his eyes away from her and picked up a brick, cutting it in half with his trowel. “So, are you here for the holiday?” he queried, looking back at the corner he intended to place it on.

Not accustomed to a man losing attention with her, she was almost offended when he turned away. ‘Didn’t his mother teach him to pay attention when someone was talking to him?’ she thought. “Yes, I am here until Sunday.” she informed him, and then asked, “Where’s your significant other?” Maybe he was taken and that explained his actions.

‘She didn’t waste much time bringing up a bad memory.’ he thought, “Divorced; where’s your boyfriend?” turning the table back on her.

“Dumped that scum like milk gone bad.” she replied.

“Oh, he’s probably with my ex.” Jesse suggested, “Sounds like they’d get along.” still placing bricks.

She laughed at his humor, “Probably”

An awkward silence fell for a few seconds and Jesse broke it with a question. “What’s your favorite color?”

She perked up, thinking his attention was back on her. “Sky blue” she replied, pointing up at the cloudless atmosphere.

“That’s a shame”

“Why?”

“I’d hoped it was brick red.”

“Brick…?” she started, and realized where she sat. She jumped up off of the bricks and tried her best to inspect her backside. Her once tight white shorts now had a red kidney-shaped pattern with white polka dots where her cheeks had pressed down on the holes.

“Why didn’t you say something?” she demanded, wondering if bleach would get the stain out.

“You sat on there before I could stop you.” he shrugged, finishing the last brick he needed to place.

The sight of it sunk in and started eating at her, “How am I supposed to get this off?” she howled, afraid to touch it and get it on her hands.

Jesse raised his eyebrows, “I’d dust it off for ya but you’d just slap me again.”

“You’re not funny Jesse!”

She turned in her attempt to look at it better. Those two kidney-shaped impressions came together to make an almost perfect heart as the center crept in to her back crevasse a little. He clinched his eyes shut and shook his head quickly to drag himself out of the daydream she’d just put him in.

She caught him doing it out of the corner of her eyes and almost smiled, knowing her charms had affected him. ‘He’s not gay.’ was Angela’s thought as she finished turning around.

“It’s just dust; comes right off.”

“Great, it will get the couch dirty.”

“Really, just dust it off with your hands.”

“And get my hands dirty?” she asked incredulously.

He shook his head with that, “Then, wash your hands.” he rationalized.

“Ewe, that is so nasty!” she snarled and pondered her dirty dilemma. “Go ahead, dust it off.” she consented, and turned her tush in his direction.

He didn’t know whether to be annoyed at the “too good to get dirty” attitude or be thankful to have the view she offered.

Either way, he stood and approached his target. “You aren’t going to slap me now are ya?” he asked, wiping his own hands on his cut-offs.

“No!” she huffed, “Just get it off me.” and grabbed her knees.

He didn’t know if she realized what she was doing. If she did, then she was teasing him. If she didn’t, then she was too innocent for him to corrupt. Deciding that he couldn’t judge, he went ahead with her request.

“Don’t fart.” he warned, and swatted her derriere.

“Ewe!” she snarled, and felt his hand strike her cheek.

It was rather erotic for her as he dusted off that brick dust. She’d never imagined she would be in a forest bent over while a handsome mountain man swatted her tail. She could count on one hand how many guys had even touched her there and those weren’t erotic at all.

He let his last stroke be a spank, forcing the cheek to jiggle, and announced, “You’re good.” and then dusted his own hand off.

She let out a yelp from the last impact and quickly rose up. “Thanks” she mumbled, rubbing the sting out.

While Angela checked his work on her backside, Jesse went to gather up his brick-laying tools. She still saw a faint color on her pants but at least the majority of it was gone. Then she noticed that she had lost his interest once again.

The sun glistened off of his back, highlighting the muscles he acquired in hard labor. Her father warned her to date her peers or higher but nature always seemed to fight against it. ‘Too bad he isn’t rich.’ she thought, studying his physique, ‘Father would never approve.’

She got a look at his craftsmanship when the tools and mortar was cleared away. He had laid a geometric pattern in bricks and it looked stunning. “Where did you learn to do that?” she asked, pointing at his finished product.

“Mostly from others.” he said, standing beside her to check his efforts. “Want something to drink?” he asked, not sure how he could prolong her stay.

“Sure, what do you have?” she responded, eager to accept his hospitality.

“Inside, let’s check the fridge.” he offered, and headed for the back door.

She hesitated before entering, a fleeting thought crossing her mind. Going in to a stranger’s home in the woods might not be the safest course to take. A girl could be taken advantage of in this situation. She decided that she was probably alright and besides, ‘You can’t rape the willing.’ and she wouldn’t mind a good go-around with this hunk of a man anyway.

It was if he read her thoughts. “Come on” he nodded, “I won’t bite.” urging her on in.

She didn’t know whether to be relieved or disappointed as they walked down the hallway to the living room. The place reminded her of a ski lodge. A mural of a mountainous landscape adorned one wall. Photos of supposed relatives hung on the other and a gun rack holding two rifles was mounted on the third while several fishing rods were leaned up against the wall below it. A large window faced towards the lake with an unobstructed view. A couch sat under the photographs and a recliner faced towards the lake.

The kitchen was clean, which surprised her, since it was a man’s kitchen. Pans hung under a cabinet, hovering over a gas stove. A calendar was held by a magnet on the refrigerator. It showed last month’s dates with numbers written on the weekend days. Jesse pulled it off, threw it in a drawer and replaced it with the current month. With that, he opened the refrigerator door.

Beer and lots of it sat on all but one of the shelves. ‘The guy’s an alcoholic!’ she thought, staring at each of the shelves. “You know, a liver is kind of required to keep on living.” she scolded.

“Yeah? Good thing I only drink on weekends.” he replied, squatting down and grabbing two off of the top shelve. “Besides, I have some help drinking them.” glancing back at the long and slender legs she sported to hand her one. ‘That girl has legs all the way to her ass.’ he thought.

“Help?” she asked, taking it from him.

“An unary ole cuss around the lake” he started, popping the top on his beer, “likes to sit around and hurl insults at me from time to time.”

“Oh” she sighed, a little relieved that it wasn’t a girlfriend.

He sipped his beer and sat it down. “Remember I said I wouldn’t bite?” he asked, stepping closer to her.
“Ye… yes” she stuttered, as he entered into her comfort zone, his eyes piercing at hers.

“Well, something already has.” he replied, and grabbed her by the waist. Lifting her up, he sat her down on the counter top. “Wait here.” he instructed, and headed back down the hallway.

Not only was she baffled by his comment but his sudden man-handling left her in shock as she was treated like a sack of potatoes. She studied her surroundings while she waited, noting the woodwork and carpeting. The place lacked something she couldn’t quite put her finger on. Maybe it had too much testosterone. She would definitely pick different curtains because the growling bears in the woods depicted on them were way over the top. Then she realized, ‘The place needed a woman’s touch’.

He returned with something in his hand. She didn’t know what it was until he laid it on the counter beside her. As his hand pulled away from it, she recognized a pair of tweezers.

“I have to tell you, it isn’t very often I get to say to a girl what I am about to say to you.” he started, watching her eyebrows furrow with curiosity.

He had certainly gotten bold all of a sudden. She was a little pleased to have maintained his attention so long this time. But his flirting skills really needed some work. “What is it?” she asked, wondering what he was getting at.

He placed a hand on each of her knees and said, “I need you to spread your legs.” and jerked them apart.

Her eyes flew open along with her legs, surprised at his quickness. Thoughts came rushing back of her bent over outside. ‘Ok, this is going to beat that!’ “What are you doing!” she gasped, as his hand started up her leg.

“If you thought brick dust was gross, you might want to turn your head for this.” he cautioned, and finger tips crept to her pants’ hem.

She looked him in the eyes and dropped them to his disappearing fingers. He almost touched the end of her leg but forced her pant leg up higher instead. A reddish brown bump appeared and she didn’t remember anything like that being there before. “What is that?” she wondered aloud.

He shrugged his shoulders and asked, “Ever heard of Lyme Disease?”

She thought back and recalled hearing of it, “Yes, biology maybe.” she offered, not really sure where she’d seen that.

“Well, that little critter gives it to you.” he explained, pointing at the dot.

“Ok…” she started, now more worried than anything else, “What the hell is it?” she asked again, panic creeping in to her voice.

“That is a tick.” he explained, “You can get them from hiking through a dense forest.”

“Really!” she exclaimed in awe, as she recalled brushing past some foliage outside.

“I’m not kidding.” he said, and picked up the tweezers to hand to her. “Grab it by the head, not the body.” and urged her to take the tool. “If you squeeze the body, it may inject something in you that you won’t want.”

“What?!” she screamed incredulously, and shook her head at the tweezers, “Oh hell no!” and pushed his hand back from her.

He shrugged at her rejection and said, “Suit yourself; but the longer it’s on you…” he hinted, hoping she’d do the task.

“I’ve never had one before!” she barked, her plight becoming apparent. “You get it off!”

Jesse couldn’t believe the fear developing in her eyes. It seemed like a whole lot of drama over an insect. But she was demanding that he work too close to something that would take his attention away. “Angie, I don’t know what kind of guy you think…” he started.

Her concern dwindled as the realization that she was putting him in a compromising position sunk in. ‘This could be interesting.’ she mused. “Seriously, you can’t expect me to know what I’m doing.” she snapped, intently glaring at the fear now forming in his eyes. She was going to make him squirm just for not paying attention to her earlier. “Besides, I won’t bite.” she quipped, and batted her eyes at him.

Why he bothered to argue with her was a mystery to him. She either didn’t know or didn’t care what position she was putting him in. He opened a cabinet drawer and retrieved a Ziploc baggy. Since she didn’t seem to know or care then why should he?

“Put your foot on the counter.” he instructed, picking up the tweezers.

Those white short-shorts rose right up as he expected. He let out a sigh and approached his target, resolved to stay focused on the task at hand.

She saw him study his mark and smiled. Just to make it a little harder on him, she grabbed her knee and tugged her leg wider. She couldn’t resist and asked, “You do know what you’re doing down there, right?” and watched his shoulders slump.

“Yes, I know my way around, thank you.” and recommitted to his efforts. This girl had to be teasing him. ‘Nobody is that blonde.’ he surmised. He approached the tick with the tweezers. He planned his entry to be able to grasp it by the head.

“Can you see it ok?” she asked, and watched his shoulders drop again, and then added, “I can maybe spread a little more.”

He turned his head to see her pant leg gaping, getting a good view of her left labia. Squeezing his eyes shut to steady himself, he replied, “I can get to it just fine.” and huffed.

She watched his hand approach the dot once more. As it hovered over it, she thought to ask, “Is it going to hurt?” and saw his shoulders drop again.

“I hope so.” he whispered under his breath, bringing a concerned “Huh?” from the girl. “I said I hope not.” he claimed out aloud. Focusing once more on the task, he finally reached his goal. He grabbed the head and pulled back, causing the skin on her upper thigh to follow.

She sucked in air from the sight although it wasn’t as painful as she thought. He held it out and stopped. “What are you waiting for?” she asked between clenched teeth. “Pull it out!”

He shook his head while he waited and said, “You want it to release on its own.” explaining, “It wouldn’t do to leave the pinchers in your leg.”

Just as he finished saying that, the nasty bugger let go. Jesse turned one more time to peek at the sight she was displaying and then rose up with tweezers in hand.

Angie was more interested in the red mark left behind than the bug he had in his hand. She checked to make sure no part of it was left stuck in her. Relieved to find nothing remaining, she noticed her pant leg had revealed more than she intended. Apparently, her bikini bottom had fallen in to her slit and left her bare.

Instincts made her close her legs but met Jesse’s elbow instead. “Watch it.” he warned, keeping hold of the tick. “I’d hate to drop it back on you.” and she watched him pick up the baggy.

“Here” he started, zipping the airtight seal. “Put this in your fridge at home.” handing the blushing girl the baggy.

Her head jerked up at that, “What?” she gasped, “What for?” glaring at the country boy in front of her. ‘He must be mad!’

He tried to keep her calm and stated, “It’s for ‘Just in case.’” and picked up her hand to place it in it.

“In case of what?” she wanted to know, looking at the baggy in her hand.

“Very few people are allergic to their bites.” he explained, “If it gets infected or you feel sick; take the baggy to the doctor with you so they’ll know how to deal with it.”

She snarled her nose at that, “I can’t keep this in my refrigerator! My parents will kill me!”

‘Really?’ he thought, ‘What kind of parent wouldn’t want to have the critter that made your daughter ill?’ He frowned at her response and said, “Well put it in mine.” and picked up his beer.

Angie hopped off the counter and opened the fridge. Looking at his stockpile she asked, “What beer can do you want it behind?” taking the opportunity to remove the wedgie she’d given herself.

He leaned back and drank his beer, enjoying the view of her bent over in front of him. “Put it on the top shelf by the night crawlers.”

“By the what?” she asked, looking for a container with a label.

“The white Styrofoam container.” he instructed, tilting his head as if that would give him a better view of her backside.

She tossed the baggy between the container and a pack of bologna. She couldn’t resist knowing what a night crawler was so she pulled out the container.

Turning around, she caught his gawking. He sat his beer down and stood up straight. Her eyes were distracted by his six-pack and chest but she tore them away to see his eyes. “See something you wanted?” she asked, pushing his buttons more.

“Yep, another beer.” he answered, and picked up his empty can, “How ‘bout you?”

‘Oh, I see something I want all right.’ she thought, but said, “I haven’t drank the first one yet.” while opening the lid on the container. ‘What the hell?’ “Who keeps dirt in their refrigerator?” she exclaimed, staring at the container completely full of what looked like potting soil.

“I reckon anybody that fishes does.” he replied, tossing his can in the trash.

“So, what does night crawling dirt have to do with fish?” she asked, puzzled.

“Nothing” he said, stepping closer to the container, “But the worms in it will get you a bite or two.” and shoved a finger in the dirt to scoop one out.

Angie dropped the cup as soon as the worm appeared. Jesse expected as much and caught it without incident as she backed into the fridge. She glared at his finger exclaiming, “What the hell is that?”

“That” he said, pulling the full length of the night crawler out, “is a worm.” and dangled it in front of her.

“No” she replied, “That is about the nastiest thing I’ve ever seen!” watching the slimy thing wriggle on his finger.

“What; you never seen a worm before?” Jesse asked incredulously.

She nodded her head, “Oh, I’ve seen them before” and finished with, “but not in somebody’s refrigerator!” snarling her nose at it.

“I have to keep them alive. Otherwise, they wouldn’t be live bait.” he explained, swinging the slimy worm like a pendulum.

“Keep it away from me.” she warned, daring him to get closer.

‘Man, she is squeamish!’ he thought. “What’s the matter; you don’t want to play with my worm?” he asked, taunting her with it.

‘That could be taken more than one way.’ she supposed, “Put that worm back in the container.” she demanded, and when he hesitated, “Now!” she barked.

He rolled his eyes and let it drop back in the dirt. He would let that go simply because he had something else to throw her way. Taking the lid from her, he said, “Don’t forget. When you get home, look yourself over real good.” and put the container on the shelf behind her. “Those ticks like to hang out in clothes and hair.”

“Seriously; you think I might have more?” she asked, a look of concern crossing her face once more. His bare chest brushed against her as he foraged in the fridge.

“You had one, didn’t you?” he reminded her, grabbing another beer.

“Speaking of which, how did you know it was there?” she asked, trying to get him riled up again. ‘It would serve him right for teasing me with that worm.’ she mused.

“I saw it when I handed you your beer.” he explained, popping the tab on his own.

“Oh” she huffed, not really having a response to that. But another concern struck her, “If I do find more on me, how will I get them off?”

He shrugged at that and said, “I reckon you get them off the same way the last one came off.” not understanding the problem.

“No, I know that! But I can’t have my parents looking around for bugs!” she protested, “Just asking my mom would freak them out.” she imagined aloud.

“That’ll teach you to wear long sleeves and pants when you’re hiking.” he quipped, imagining her parents panicking over the idea. But her frown told him that he was the only one that found that funny. “Look, you’re a grown woman. Check yourself over. If you find one, pull it off like I did.”

“And if it’s in a place I can’t see or reach?” she asked, wondering if he had a solution for that.

He wasn’t about to tell her she’d have a big surprise in a few weeks when she got sick. “Look, just get your momma to look you over, check your hair” and then paused, “in both places. But I bet you won’t have any more though.”

“You are out of your mind!” she gasped, “The only bug my mother has ever had was in her laptop!”

That set Jesse off, unwilling to understand a mother like that, “You can’t expect me to do it. I’m just a stranger for Christ’s sakes!”

“Hi, I’m Angela.” she snapped, “And you’re Jesse. Remember that?” ‘This guy was going to bend to her will and she would make sure of it.’ Thumbing behind her back, she ordered, “Get to looking.”

He brought a hand to his chin to scratch it as he contemplated her demand. Obviously, he was dealing with a spoiled brat. “Raise your arms up.” he instructed, and stepped closer to her.

‘Armpits’ she should have guessed ‘would definitely be a place for them to hide.’ She rose up both of her arms to allow him to inspect them. ‘Good thing I shaved them last night’ she thought with a grin, watching him succumb to her will.

In one swift move, her halter top was gone, as he jerked it over her head before she realized it. Fortunately, her strapless bikini top covered her goods in pink. “Hey!” she protested, crossing her arms on instinct.

“It was your idea, not mine.” he shrugged, tossing the top in her lap, “Look that over while I check you out.” and pulled an arm away from her chest. Twisting it one way and then the other, he worked his way up to her head.

‘He must have known I had a bathing suit on.’ she surmised, holding an arm out while studying her halter top. She had turned it inside out when a thought struck her. She interrupted his inspection of her hair with, “You think they could get inside my swim suit?”

“Look, its bad enough that I have to avoid staring at your cleavage.” he replied, lifting up the back of her hair. “Don’t expect me to pick up a breast and just look underneath it because that isn’t going to happen.” he continued, separating strands of hair. “Besides, I thought the suit was painted on.” he smirked, pulling the elastic back on her clasp and then letting it snap.

“Ouch!” she protested, trying to slap him from behind. ‘At least he has a sense of humor.’ she thought, the last guy she dated didn’t.

Cambridge was held in high regard for the future movers and shakers of the world. But they also had the market cornered on stiff collars and prudes. Something she’d studied seemed to ring true all of the time with her. ‘You’re a product of your environment.’ she recalled. Her last boyfriend was a good example.

Destined to rein over his family business, the guy took that role seriously enough. All business and no play made him a dull boy. He was perfect for her father’s approval but a failure as a life-long companion for her. She just couldn’t see growing old with the guy.

“I’m done.” Jesse announced, letting her hair fall to her back.

“Wait” she said, hopping off the counter, “Check my backside.” and removed her shorts. She knew she looked good in a bikini and men’s eyes pop out when they see her.

But Jesse turned his eyes to the front door, as if he was going to leave. She dropped her shoulders in disappointment, realizing she’d lost his interest yet again.

A rap on the door while it was being opened distracted her attention away from him.

“Jesse?” a familiar voice sounded. “Are you in here?”

“Kitchen” he yelled back, watching Chase Scott search for him with his eyes.

He saw Jesse through the opening in the bar along with someone else he recognized. A concerned look crossed his face as he headed for the pair.

“Grandpa!” Angela gasped, recognizing him at once.
______________________________________________________________________________
This story expected to be published next year.

News: Another Yard ISBN: 9780983707059 debuts in Beijing Sept. 2013
Driven Lust publishing date is Sept. 8th, 2013 Cost: FREE for 30 days. Book II will follow.

Twitter: @AuthorGentalman
Facebook: Author Gentalman

---