The Story Thus Far
Chapter One: Mallory Kalvornek and her lover Julie Hanson have returned to Bronning, Minnesota, for the first time in years to catch up with friends and family. Meanwhile, their old friend (and occasional sex partner) paramedic Nettie Hastings fights to save a life, her lover Hannah drops by with an unexpected surprise, Terry Wilder grapples with writer’s block… and two little girls living in a trailer park named Heather and Gina are being carefully observed by a hidden stranger.
Chapter Two: Mallory and Julie get together at Nettie’s home with Nettie and her lover Hannah, Nettie’s friend Terry Wilder, Terry’s teen daughter Halee, and Mallory and Julie’s friend (and occasional sex partner) Cindy. Gossip is exchanged, memories shared, and an unexpected attraction between Mallory and Terry Wilder reveals itself. Meanwhile, the mother of the two trailer park girls Heather and Gina goes out for a night on the town, oblivious to the presence of the man spying on her home.
Chapter Three: At Nettie’s place, Nettie and Hannah leave the others to indulge in a bit of romantic pleasure, while Julie and her old friend Cindy get it on with Terry’s teen daughter Halee. As for Mallory, she has repaired to Terry’s place for one of her occasional bouts of heterosexual action. Appetites are indulged, confidences shared. Meanwhile, Heather and Gina are abducted from their trailer home by a mysterious and very scary man.
Chapter Four: At Nettie’s place, four women and Halee Wilder greet the morning after an evening of lesbian abandon. Later that day, Mallory rejoins Julie, Nettie, Cindy and Hannah for a day of fishing. Halee returns home and spends the day upgrading her internet in preparation for promised to be a fun night of video chat sex with her girlfriend Bethany. Meanwhile, Grace and Heather are in the custody of the mysterious man, who seems to takes delight in terrorizing them.
Chapter Five: After their day of fishing, Nettie, Julie, Cindy, Mallory & Hannah engage in a five-woman sexfest inside a tent… and with the use of Cindy’s phone, their old friend and occasional bedmate Emma attends the orgy virtually. In the midst of their abandon, Nettie has a weird, vague memory flashback that leaves her shaken, but she conceals it from the others. Back home, Halee and her new love interest Bethany (Hannah’s daughter) are having long-distance sex via their laptops.
Chapter Six: Nettie has a heart-to-heart with Hannah about her personal demons. Later, she gets a call from Agent Bridgett Ramscone, who has an unsettling request: for Nettie to go through the documentation of her own childhood kidnapping — and the murder of her sister — as a possible way to gain insight into the abduction of Heather and Gina (who are still being emotionally abused by their kidnapper, but are also taking steps to escape). Nettie is shaken, but agrees to do what she can.
Chapter Seven: Many years after the fact, submerged memories of Nettie’s kidnapping began to make themselves known — memories of a possible accomplice to the original crime. She shares her thoughts with Bridgett. Meanwhile, Heather and Gina work on a potential escape from their makeshift prison.
Chapter Eight: Nettie unearths more hints that kidnap victims Heather and Gina were abducted by the same man who kidnapped and brutalized Nettie and her deceased sister over a decade ago — but that man was known to have died in prison. Gina manages to escape captivity. But Heather can’t fit through the opening they dug, and must remain behind. Nettie gets a possible fix on the girls’ captor who, while out and about, gets a flat tire — then he discovers the spare is flat as well.
Chapter Nine: The man who kidnapped Gina and Heather must get his flat spare tire fixed, not knowing the police have been alerted to him and are searching the area. Nettie, who is also hunting for the man, manages to find his abandoned car — then, some time later, makes an even more startling discovery: little Gina, alone and weeping by an abandoned road. In the meantime, the kidnapper manages to make his escape from the area by phoning a mysterious woman to pick him up.
Chapter Ten: Mallory meets with her mother, Sharon, for the first time in months, but fails to learn the cause of the recent distance between them. Nettie is still obsessed with Jacob Brentshaw, the man who kidnapped her and murdered her sister Annamarie so many years ago, sensing he is also behind the recent kidnapping as well… but can’t get past the fact that Brentshaw was killed in prison. Her actions saved the lives of Gina and Heather, but she remains determined to keep working the case on her own. For the first time, Nettie tells her lover Hannah about her own kidnapping and Annamarie’s death, events she has refused to discuss with anyone for years.
Chapter Eleven: Terry finds himself at loose ends, questioning his current life path, and decides to open up to than his dear friend and former sex partner Nettie. She and Hannah lend a sympathetic ear, then their conversation turns to kidnappings — the recent one, as well as Nettie’s own horrific abduction over a decade earlier, when her sister was murdered. She is fast coming round to the conclusion that both kidnappings involved an accomplice.
Chapter Twelve: A sleepover is in progress at Terry’s place while he is out. When the girls retire to their rooms, Halee phones her girlfriend Bethany and puts her on speaker to hear her younger sister Naomi and Chelsey going at it through their adjoining walls, and a good time is had by all. Upon returning home, Terry does some work on an idea for a new novel after months of inaction. Mallory is still unsure what to do with the family farm, and Nettie runs some ideas about the recent kidnapping case past Agent Ramscone.
Chapter Thirteen: Four members of the Pussy Posse — Mallory, Julie, Jamie, and Emma — are spending quality time together, along with Julie’s younger sister Vicky. News, gossip, memories, and innuendo are bandied about. Vicky hesitantly speaks of a recent sleepover where she overheard a couple of the girls saying hurtful things about her, an incident that still stings badly. The four women offer her comfort and understanding, which soon becomes something more.
Chapter Fourteen: Mallory, Julie, Jamie, Emma and Julie’s younger sister Vicky are having a barbecue and sleepover. Vicky loves hanging out with the Pussy Posse, but feels a little self-conscious, knowing that the women will very likely be having group sex later that evening. But Julie boldly her sister to join the sapphic festivities. Vicky is hesitant at first, especially at the prospect of coupling with her older sibling, but Julie manages to put her at ease. The four women and one teen adjourn for the master bedroom. Clothes are removed, bare bodies mingle, pleasure is shared.
For a list of the characters from the story you are now reading, visit this page.
For a list of the characters from the previous two stories that you will encounter here as well, visit this page.
And now, dear readers, we make our way into the next installment. Read on…
by Rachael Yukey
Don’t talk to strangers
‘Cause they’re only there to do you harm
Don’t write in starlight
‘Cause the words may come out real
Don’t hide in doorways
You may find the key that opens up your soul
Don’t go to heaven
‘Cause it’s really only hell
Don’t smell the flowers
They’re an evil drug to make you lose your mind
Don’t dream of women
‘Cause they’ll only bring you down
Dio, 1983
“There’s Halee!” Bethany yanked in vain on the interior door handle of Nettie’s car. Halee, who’d been waiting on the steps to Nettie’s front porch, rose to her feet and sauntered toward the car wearing a huge grin.
“Easy there, tiger,” said Nettie with a smile, putting the gearshift in park. The doors unlocked, and Bethany was out of the car like a shot. The two girls fell into each other’s arms, their mouths meeting in a drawn-out, hungry kiss.
“Get a room,” said Nettie, unfolding herself from behind the wheel and stretching, hands clasped high above her head.
“Oh, yes, let’s!” Bethany agreed, disengaging her mouth from Halee’s.
Halee made a face. “Can’t,” she muttered. “I just got my period yesterday.”
Bethany, who had only begun menstruating a few months previously, grimaced. “First one, right?”
“Yeah. It is so disgusting.”
“You get used to it,” said Nettie, making her way to the porch. .
“God, I hope so. I feel gross.”
“That sucks,” said Bethany. “But we still get to be together. What should we do first?”
Halee peered at her watch. “How long do we have?”
“Nettie’s taking me back when she goes to work this evening. But hey—I just got off the phone with Mom, and she said if you want to sleep over tonight, you totally can. Then you could show me around Johnstown tomorrow, like we talked about! Think your Dad will let you?”
Halee grinned. “I know of only one way to find out. Hey, Nettie?”
Nettie was standing inside her open doorway, divesting herself of her shoes. “Yeah?”
“We’ll be heading over to my house. Thanks for bringing Bethany.”
Nettie smiled. “No problem. Just so you know, whether it’s one or both of you riding back to Johnstown with me this evening, I need you here by six. Got it?”
“Got it,” Bethany replied. “Thanks, Antoinette.”
Nettie watched in amusement as the girls departed, chattering at a great rate. Once they rounded the corner and disappeared from view, she closed the door, crossed the living room to her recliner, and collapsed into it. Clumsily extracting her phone from the front pocket of her jeans, she checked her email. Still nothing from Bridgett. Nettie had to fight off an urge to fling the device across the room.
The hand that wasn’t gripping the phone balled into a fist so tight, it left fingernail marks in the flesh of her palm. Nettie didn’t notice.
***
“Dad?” Halee took the single step from the dining nook to the living room, Bethany trailing in her wake. She took in the scene at a glance; her sister Naomi on the couch sandwiched between their two dogs, Dawn and her friend Allison on the love seat, Maya sprawled out on a beanbag chair. A cartoon Halee didn’t recognize was showing on the TV. Her father was in his recliner, fingers assaulting the keys of a newly purchased laptop. He didn’t look up. “Hey, Dad.”
Naomi gave her an amused smile and a shake of the head. Terry’s eyes never wavered from his laptop screen, and the younger girls remained intent on their program.
Halee stopped directly in front of her father’s chair. “Old guy!”
Terry’s head jerked up. He gave it a quick shake. “Morning, Halee,” he grunted. “I didn’t hear you come in.”
“Yeah, I kinda noticed. What’re you so wrapped up in?”
“Oh, just a random bit of writing,” he replied, massaging his fingers.
“Mmm, okay.” Halee wondered if it was the same ‘random bit of writing’ he’d been so centered on for the last several days. She gestured towards the dining nook, where Bethany still hovered. “I told you Bethany was coming by today, remember?”
Terry craned his head around. “Oh, yes. Hello, Bethany. Welcome to our humble commode.”
Naomi, who had just paused the cartoon, twisted to peer over her shoulder. “Oh, hey, Bethany!” She waved a hand at the love seat. “That’s Allison.”
Bethany smiled. “Nice to meet you, Allison. Um, it’s good to see the rest of you again.”
Dawn and Allison said ‘Hi!’ almost in unison, and Maya tossed out a small wave, then glanced impatiently back at the frozen image on the TV screen.
“Dad, Nettie’s taking Bethany back to Johnstown tonight when she goes to work. I’ve been invited to spend tonight and tomorrow at her place. Can I go?”
Terry shrugged. “I have but one concern. I’ve warned you repeatedly to avoid drug pushers, and I seem to recall that Bethany’s mother works in anesthesia. Isn’t her entire job the administration of narcotics…?”
Halee rolled her eyes and made a slapping motion in the direction of her father’s head, but Bethany responded with a snort of laughter. “I can’t wait to let Mom know she’s a drug dealer!”
“Don’t encourage him,” said Halee, then turned back to her father, arms folded. “So that’s a yes, then?”
“It is, in fact, a yes. And if the good Dr. Fletcher does offer you opioids, I expect you to bring some home for your poor jonesing father.” Halee and Naomi shared a look of long-suffering. Bethany giggled, taking the single step up from the dining nook to the living room.
“Hey, Naomi,” said Halee, “Would it be okay if Bethany used your bike? I thought I’d show her the trails.”
“Yeah, no problem,” said Naomi.
“Thanks,” said Halee, approaching the couch. She reached down to rub her Boston Terrier’s upturned belly.
“Yeah, thanks, Naomi—” Bethany began, then interrupted herself when she noticed the dogs. “Ooh, is this Tinkerbell and Laney? They’re so cute!”
Halee looked on in amusement as her girlfriend bent down to pet the big golden retriever. When she diverted her attention to the terrier, Tinkerbell raised her large shaggy head, whining in protest.
“Don’t be a big baby, Tink,” Naomi admonished, scratching the animal behind the ears.
“Daddy, can’t we turn it back on?” Maya complained, waving her hand at the frozen image on the TV screen.
“What happens when we whine about television in this house, or place it ahead of interactions with people?” Terry inquired.
Maya looked sullenly at her hands. “We don’t get to watch it.”
“Precisely. Therefore, I recommend that you reverse course immediately, lest you find yourself in your room while everyone else watches the rest of the show.”
“It’s okay,” said Halee. “We’re heading out. Thanks for letting us use your bike, Naomi.”
***
“I can’t believe how small this town is,” said Bethany. She and Halee had ridden the city’s circumference, a journey taking them a little over thirty minutes. Five of those minutes had been spent sitting in one place, watching the pastured cattle on the southeast end of town. “And how once you get to the edge of it there’s just—you know, nothing.” She giggled. “I can’t believe I got that close to actual cows.”
Halee, riding alongside of her, laughed. “I know a girl at school who lives on a dairy farm. I could probably get you close enough to pet them if you wanted.”
“Whoa, really?”
Halee turned left at the grain elevator, a construction project coming into view as they rounded the peripheral storage tanks. Squeezing the brakes, she came to a stop on the gravel next to one of the enormous aluminum bins. “Check this out.”
Bethany came to a halt beside her, gazing at the incomplete structure across the street. “Um, what exactly are we looking at?”
“The new convenience store. It’s been a couple years since the old one closed down, and that was a total pit.”
“It blows my mind that there’s a town in America that doesn’t have a C-store,” Bethany murmured.
“Yet here you are.” Both girls laughed. “There’s a gas station a couple streets from here,” Halee went on, “but it’s just a gas and an auto shop, not a convenience store. They closed down everything but the pumps a couple weeks ago, and there’s not even anybody there. You just pay at the pump with your card. As soon as this new place opens this fall, they’re gonna close the pumps at the old one and tear down the building.”
Bethany was shaking her head. “Crazy.”
Halee gestured toward the north edge of town. “Ready to hit the trails?”
“Let’s do it!”
Halee led the way out of town, nosing into the smooth, well-maintained trail that looped through the woods, then back around to come out near Nettie’s old apartment building.
“This is nice,” said Bethany after they’d been riding for several minutes.
“It’s long, too,” said Halee. “We’re just gonna take a route that loops, but we could also ride all the way to Johnstown going in one direction, or Perry in the other. Then it goes on to other places from those towns. People ride through here on big bike tours.”
They rounded a bend, and through the pines they could see a fork in the trail, one side taking a slight curve to the left, then disappearing down a hill, the other side angling sharply to the right. Bethany caught a flash of motion coming up the hill on the left-hand fork. The figure ascended rapidly into full view, a well-muscled man of perhaps thirty-five in gym shorts approaching at a brisk jog.
Halee suddenly wrenched her bike into the grass at the edge of the trail, braking so hard that she very nearly went over the handlebars. Bethany narrowly missed grazing her as she shot by, hitting her own brakes. The jogger, seemingly oblivious, tossed the girls a casual wave as he trotted past.
Shaken, Bethany awkwardly turned the bike around on the narrow trail, then coasted over to where Halee sat astride her bike, trembling violently, knuckles white on her handgrips.
“Halee? You—you look like you just saw a ghost.” Stopping next to Halee, Bethany reached out tentatively, putting her hand on Halee’s. The quivering flesh was clammy and cold.
“I—” Halee pried her other hand from the handlebar, waving vaguely at the direction from whence the jogger had appeared. “That’s—” She seemed unable to go on.
Bethany was usually good at offering comfort to friends when it was needed, but this visceral reaction was beyond her experience or comprehension. “Halee, you’re kinda freaking me out.”
This brought a shaky laugh. “You’re freaked out? I—” Halee visibly got a grip on herself, taking a steadying breath. “If you go that way,” she said, pointing down the hill, “and ride just a couple miles, you cross Shadow Lake Road. That’s where my shitty ho-bag mom was hiding out. This is the trail I took when—”
“When you got shot.” Bethany felt herself starting to tremble, too.
“Yeah. I saw a, a muscly-looking guy coming at us from there and I—I don’t know—”
Bethany pried Halee’s hand from the handlebars and held it between both of hers. “You’re so brave. I don’t think I’d be able to come out here at all.”
Halee shivered. “I’ve ridden through here a couple times before. I didn’t like it, but it wasn’t this bad. I guess it’s because—”
“Cause someone was there.”
Halee’s fear was contagious, and Bethany realized that she was becoming thoroughly unnerved. “Think we should get out of here?”
“In a second. I’ve got to learn to deal with it.”
A few minutes later the two girls pedaled away, taking the right-hand fork back toward town. Emerging once more on the streets of Bronning, they rode back out to where the beef cattle were summer grazing near the road. They parked the bikes and approached the fence, the animals seemingly unfazed by their presence. Talk turned to the things Bethany wanted to do and see before the summer was over, and all the places Halee wanted to show her.
But Bethany couldn’t stop thinking about the raw terror in her girlfriend’s eyes, the clamminess of her skin, the way Halee’s body quivered helplessly. She didn’t understand what she’d just witnessed, or what, if anything, she could do about it.
***
“Can we watch one more, Daddy?” Maya gazed hopefully over her shoulder from the beanbag chair in the center of the living room. The credits were rolling on the cartoon the girls had just watched.
Terry looked up from his laptop, which he had purchased in order to work on Junkyard Jet Skis without sequestering himself in his office for hours at a time.
“Hmmm—what say the rest of you?” he inquired of the room at large. Dawn and Allison both nodded vigorously, thrilled at the prospect. Terry rarely allowed more than an episode in a single sitting, especially on a nice day—and they’d already had two.
Naomi simply shrugged, although her eyebrows lifted. “I could go either way.”
“Fortune smiles upon you all,” said Terry, “though it comes with a price. I want everyone out of their pajamas, dressed for the day, and with teeth brushed. You may then reconvene here and watch one, I repeat, one more episode whilst I finish proofreading these last two chapters. Once I’ve completed that task, I was thinking we’d go to the state park for the day.”
The three youngest girls lit out of the living room, thundering down the hall as if their feet were on fire and their behinds catching. Naomi pushed herself from the couch and made her way to the stairs at a more sedate pace.
***
The white-on-black beef steer approached the fence cautiously, stopping only inches from the stalk of alfalfa Bethany was holding between the gaps in the barbed wire. They’d found a stand of the stuff growing in the neighboring ditch, and had been trying to use it to lure an animal within petting distance for almost five minutes.
When the phone in Halee’s pocket chose that moment to ring, the large animal started, turned around, and trotted off in the opposite direction.
“Aw, man!” Bethany complained.
Dropping her alfalfa stalk in exasperation, Halee dug the phone out of her pocket. “It’s Dad,” she muttered, swiping the accept button and putting the phone on speaker. “You just scared our cow away,” she groused.
There was a moment’s pause. “I’ll refrain from asking what you mean by that,” said Terry. “That aside, I’m calling to inform you that we’re going to Sequoia for the day. If you and Bethany would rather stay in town that’s quite all right; otherwise, she’s welcome to come along.”
Bethany’s face lit up. “Isn’t that the state park over by Johnstown?”
“Indeed it is,” said Terry.
“That’d be so cool!”
“Hold on,” Halee put in. “First off, will we be back in time to catch our ride with Nettie?”
“Daughter dearest, the Sequoia public access is only five or six miles from Johnstown. I can simply deposit the two of you at Hannah’s apartment when we’re finished for the day.”
“Didn’t think of that,” Halee admitted. “Will we all fit?”
“That’s the reason I bought the Pilot last month: my increased passenger loads of late, and the pop-up seats in the back,” Terry pointed out. “Fear not; there is room for all.”
Halee glanced at her girlfriend with amusement. Bethany was bouncing on the balls of her feet with excitement. “It appears we’re in,” she said. “We’ll head back right now.”
“Sounds good. I’ll inform both Nettie and Hannah of the change in plans.”
***
Two teenage girls lounged in their respective rented kayaks, oars shipped. They were about two-thirds of the way across the lake from the public beach, the light breeze carrying them gradually back in the general direction of their point of origin.
“Can I ask you something?” Bethany ventured.
Halee shrugged. “Anything you want.”
“It’s personal.”
Halee reached out, barely snagging the side of Bethany’s kayak. She pulled it alongside hers, hulls meeting with a dull thunk, then reached inside to take her girlfriend’s hand. A twinge of excitement still ran through her every time the word girlfriend popped into her head.
“Being girlfriends means we should be able to pose personal questions, don’t you think?”
Bethany nodded. “Yeah, but some stuff is hard to talk about. And I kind of want to talk about what happened on the bike trail this morning.”
Halee tilted her head back, shielding her eyes against the glare. “Yeah—I kind of wondered when that was going to come up. I freaked you the fuck out, didn’t I?”
Bethany squeezed her hand. “A little. I’ve never seen anything like that before.”
“Yeah, I got that. What do you want to know?”
“We—well, we’ve never really talked about what happened when your mom came back. Is it something you feel you can tell me about?”
Halee shook her head. “I’m not ready for that yet. I know I need to get there. I mean, I have no desire to be like Nettie and—oops.” She clapped her free hand over her mouth.
Bethany waved that away. “Please. I know Antoinette’s got some kind of problem she won’t talk about. The first night she stayed at our house, she had a really awful dream. Woke both me and Mom up. We didn’t think too much of it, but then there was other stuff.”
Halee relaxed. “Yeah. I don’t know what it is. I’m not even sure if Dad knows the whole story. But it really fucks her up sometimes, I can tell you. I can’t let that happen to me.”
“It must be really scary to think about,” said Bethany. “Having a—oh, shit. Forget it. I’m sorry.”
“Having a what?”
Bethany grimaced. “I don’t wanna make things worse—”
“No, say it.”
“I was just thinking how I’d feel with a gun literally pointed at me.” Bethany’s voice was subdued. “I don’t think I’d ever sleep again, even if the gun never got fired. And actually getting shot—”
Halee was trembling now. “It’s all I can think about, sometimes,” she said, her voice catching. “A pistol—its such a—a small thing, Bethany, but it’s the biggest fucking thing in the world when it— when—”
“Oh, Halee, I’m so sorry,” Bethany was almost in tears. “I should have just kept my mouth shut. I won’t mention it again, not ever.”
“It’s okay.” Halee was still shaking a bit, but her voice was firm. “I need to talk about it, I think. And you know what? God—you’re going to laugh at this.”
“What?”
“I’m even more afraid of being so fucked up nobody will want me. When I freaked out on the bike trail this morning, all I could think of as we were riding out of there was that I wouldn’t blame you if you ran like hell.”
Bethany’s brow furrowed. “Well, I’m not going to laugh, because it isn’t funny. You’re going through a huge, scary thing. You almost died, Halee. I want to help you, not get away from you. I’m a little mad that you thought I would.”
Halee realized she’d been holding her breath. It all came out in a rush. “You’re the best of all possible Bethanys.”
Bethany grinned. “I am. I really am.”
“And now you sound like my dad.” Both girls burst out laughing.
“You’re so brave,” said Bethany. “I don’t think I’d ever come out of my room again if something like that happened to me.”
“I don’t feel very brave. I’m jumpy and on edge all the time.”
“But, see, you don’t let it stop you. Not being scared—that’s dumb. Being scared and doing what you want to anyway—that’s brave. You don’t know how big a turn-on it is, knowing how brave you are.”
Halee tipped her a sultry smile. “I love that I turn you on.”
Bethany sighed. “Getting your period when you did is way crappy timing. I just wanna rip your clothes off and tear you apart.”
Letting go of Bethany’s hand, Halee allowed her own fingers to creep down her girlfriend’s midriff. “I feel too repulsive to let myself be touched right now,” she murmured, “but I can do something for you. We’re still a long way from shore…”
***
That evening, Halee and Bethany were seated on the brand new sofa in the apartment Bethany would be sharing with her mother. Some heavy rock was playing at a low volume. The two young lovers were engaged in a deep, passionate kiss when Hannah exited the bathroom, hair wrapped in a towel, the rest of her unselfconsciously nude.
“That looks like fun,” she remarked.
Bethany disengaged, her face flushed. “It’s no fair. I’m so fucking hot for her, and we can’t do much because of her stupid period.”
Halee grinned. “I can take care of you, like I did today on the kayak.”
Hannah’s eyebrows shot up. “Sounds like I missed a fun time.”
“Just a little,” Halee agreed.
Bethany grinned. “It was fun, but I so wanted to touch her back! It’s way more awesome when she comes, too.”
“You know, your period doesn’t have to be a showstopper, Halee,” Hannah pointed out.
“Yeah, I get that, but right now I just feel disgusting down there.”
A contemplative look came into Hannah’s eyes. “So maybe you need a hot shower.” She glanced at Bethany. “Both of you…”
Five minutes later the two girls stood naked in the shower cubicle together, lips and tongues caught up in a sensual dance. Bethany disengaged, dipping her head to wrap her lips around one of Halee’s nipples, then the other. Halee let out a long, low moan as Bethany switched to licking and kissing her budding breasts while she fondled Bethany’s ass.
Taking the detachable showerhead in hand, Bethany slipped behind Halee. She nuzzled the back of Halee’s neck, reaching around to caress her nipples. With her other hand, Bethany directed the spray at Halee’s cunt.
“Oh, yeah,” Halee grunted, thrusting her pelvis forward. She reached down to rub her clit, but her hand froze in mid-motion as Bethany angled the showerhead a little higher. A loud cry escaped her throat, and her arm went slack. No need to make herself come after all, she reasoned—Bethany had the situation well in hand.
The rushing water swept over her clitoris again. “Oh fuck, yeah!” she wailed. “Ohhh! Oh, Bethany, that feels so fucking amazing—”
Bethany’s soft kisses were now playful love bites, traveling over Halee’s neck, shoulders and upper back. Halee was moaning with every breath, powerful jolts of pleasure slamming through her body. “Oh, God. Oh, Bethany…”
Halee made short, fast “uh, uh, uh” noises as she came, doubling over, tearing herself out of Bethany’s embrace as the ecstasy became too explosive to bear, supporting herself with both hands against the beige-tiled wall of the shower.
Halee spun around to take hold of her girlfriend by the shoulders, shoving her into the corner, then went to her knees, looking up into Bethany’s eyes. Bethany, her breath ragged, let the showerhead fall from her trembling hands. It swung to and fro, still spraying water at the wall.
“I need to eat your pussy now, Bethany,” said Halee. “Can I?”
“Oh, God, yes…”
Halee wasted no time, slipping her tongue between Bethany’s folds. She brought her right hand up to ease a finger into her girlfriend’s slippery cunt.
Halee’s tongue flicked back and forth, her finger sliding in and out in a steady rhythm. Bethany seemed able to take more, so Halee added a second finger. “Yes,” Bethany breathed. Within minutes the girl was panting like a sprinter, grinding her mound into Halee’s face.
Then she was screaming, her vaginal muscles gripping those thrusting fingers, and Halee felt a warm gush of fluid as Bethany came all over her.
“Oh Jesus, Halee—no more!” Bethany wailed, pushing her partner’s head away.
Halee buried her face in the softness of the redhead’s belly, licking droplets of warm water from her skin. She reached around with both hands to lovingly fondle Bethany’s ass, pressing the girl back against the opposite wall of the shower.
“Your mom was right,” Halee said, gazing up at her breathless girlfriend. “I just needed a hot shower.” She licked her lips, smiling hugely. “One thing’s for sure—I’ve never had my face washed like that before.”
Bethany began to chuckle—then both girls were shaking with laughter.
***
Nettie perched on a stool at the kitchen island wearing nothing but blue cotton panties, regarding a pair of side-by-side images with a critical eye.
It had taken over a week for Bridgett to get hold of the artist’s sketch of the Dulcey girls’ kidnapper, and the digital scan had dropped to her email last night while she was asleep. It was five-thirty this Friday morning, and in a short while she had to depart for her three-day weekend tour at work. Primary dayshift, backup nightshift, with the good news being that while on backup, she didn’t have to stay at the station. For the next three nights, she’d be crashing at Hannah’s apartment.
The sketch tiled to the right side of her screen was a composite taken from the descriptions the Dulcey girls had given, and to the left was Jacob Brentshaw’s arrest mugshot. They weren’t quite a match.
The sketch sported more age lines and less hair; both to be expected after so many years. But the forehead was also too wide in relation to the chin, the cheekbones too high. On the other hand the spacing of the eyes looked right, as did the beak of a nose. Although not an exact match, the similarities to the mugshot were sufficient to make Nettie’s skin crawl.
Closing her laptop, she slurped the last of her now-cold coffee, then heaved herself to her feet with a heavy sigh. The window of opportunity for a decent breakfast had passed; the McDonald’s drive-through in Johnstown would have to suffice. Making her way to the bedroom, she struggled into a uniform, tugged her pre-packed weekend bag from the closet, and shambled her way out the door.
It was during the forty-minute commute to Johnstown, Mercyful Fate rattling the dash, that a plan began to form in her mind. Bridgett wasn’t going to like it, but Nettie had a few days off coming during the first part of the following week—and she knew how that time was going to be spent.
***
Mallory was sitting bolt upright on the edge of a kitchen chair in the old farmhouse she still thought of as Dad’s Place, or sometimes as Home One, a name she’d given it to distinguish it from the series of apartments her mother had taken in the years following the divorce, each of which had been dubbed Home Two. Her eyes were fastened on a stick of white plastic in her hand.
She almost jumped out of her skin at the sound of the front door opening. “Where you at, sweetheart?” Julie’s voice called out.
“Kitchen,” Mallory heard herself reply, as if someone else was speaking. Looking around in a near-panic, she shoved the white plastic object in her hand under the edge of a napkin that had been left on the table.
“Hey,” said Julie, stepping into the kitchen with a watermelon tucked under one arm, a grocery bag in the other. “Just picked up a couple of extras while I was in town. How’d your practice go?”
“All right.” Once more, Mallory felt herself responding automatically, with no apparent conscious link between her mouth and her brain. “Most of it’s stuff I just recorded a couple of months back, so it won’t take much to be ready to go onstage with it in September. Did you have a good time?”
“Yeah, it was cool.” Julie set the bag down on the counter, opened the fridge and tucked the watermelon in on the bottom shelf. She began removing objects from the bag, deftly sorting fridge items from cupboard. “Got my ass handed to me, but I haven’t played cribbage in, um, how long? Can’t even remember.” She knelt to stuff some peppers and celery into the crisper, rose again, then closed the refrigerator, turning toward Mallory with a grin that faded instantly. “Mal—are you okay?”
Mallory ran a hand over her eyes, fighting down an irrational urge to tell Julie that everything was just fine, she was only tired, she…
“I’m late.”
Julie put down the can of soup she was holding, her face going still. “You’re never late.”
“Which is why I bought these.” Mallory extracted the pregnancy test she’d tucked beneath the napkin.
Taking one long step forward, Julie plucked the stick from Mallory’s hand, staring down at the bold pink stripe. Moving very slowly, she pulled out a chair that was tucked under the edge of the table, settling herself into it. “Holy shit.”
“I bought a three-pack,” said Mallory. “This is the third one, and they all come out the same.”
Julie nodded slowly. “Terry Wilder?”
“Unless you’ve been artificially inseminating me in my sleep, he’s the only possibility.”
“We should go to the clinic and make sure.”
“Yeah,” said Mallory, fingers drumming on her jeans-clad thigh. “Obviously, we have to do that. But I know what they’re gonna tell me. Honestly, Julie, I think I’ve known something was off since maybe three or four days after.”
Julie reached out and took her partner’s hand. “Any idea yet what you want to do?”
Letting out a laugh that was almost a sob, Mallory shook her head. “Are you kidding? I’m still half-convinced this is a fever dream. I couldn’t even tell you what the options are, much less which ones appeal to me.”
Still holding Mallory’s hand, Julie leaned back in the chair. “There really aren’t that many, babe. You get an abortion, or you give birth. If it’s the latter, you either keep it or give it up. I’m behind you no matter what you decide.”
Mallory stared at Julie, hard. “I’ve been sitting here with that damn test strip in my hand for almost an hour. You got clued in like three minutes ago, and you’re already way ahead of me.”
Julie shrugged. “You’ve been sleeping with guys on and off for over a decade. This was always a possibility. It’s something I’ve given some thought to.”
“You’re not even going to ask if I was careful?”
“What for? I know you’re careful. Shit happens.”
Mallory chuckled. “It’s crazy that you’ve thought this out more than I have, when I’ve been the one out there actually taking the chance.”
“Not so much,” said Julie. “It’s easier when you’re not the one who has to make the hard choices.”
“So if I want to keep it—” Mallory trailed off, letting the question hang in the air.
“If you want to keep it, we raise it together, just like we do everything else. That’s a decision I made a long time ago, when you first started hooking up with men. I think part of me is kind of hoping you decide to keep it. Is that what you want?”
Mallory looked at the floor. “I honestly don’t know yet. I don’t think I want to abort, but you know, Julie—as busy as the past few years have been, I’ve hardly given motherhood a single thought. Is it something I actually want to do? I have no fucking idea.”
“I know what you need to do either way, and soon.”
Mallory made a face. “So do I: talk to Terry. And I really ought to do it in person.”
Julie looked momentarily at the ceiling, then back to Mallory. “We don’t have any plans for the next few days. Trip to Bronning?”
“Might as well. And Julie—” Mallory was crying now, slow tears tracking her face. “I love you s-so much.”
Leaning forward, Julie kissed her forehead. “I love you, too. No matter what, things are going to be okay.” She stood. “I’ll call Nettie and let her know we’re coming.”
On to: Chapter Sixteen!