by Marla Monroe
“That’s because hers is the best you’ll ever put in your mouth and the woman scares me. I don’t have the backbone to critique anything about her,” Trisha whispered loudly.
Brent burst out laughing. “You not have a backbone? Don’t get me started, sis. The fact that you dated and even married Kevin is a testament to your strength. That man is impossible to live with. Kent and I hated being around him when he hit puberty. From then on he was always right and we were lucky to be related to him because we were so far beneath him we’d never be worth anything.”
Erica was having a difficult time seeing that in the man she watched across the room laughing with the others. Trisha nodded her head vigorously while trying to keep from laughing as well.
“He’s much better now than he used to be. I like to think that I helped with that issue, but in all honesty, it was the kids,” she said shaking her head. “Once he realized that he didn’t know the first thing about what to do with them, he embraced his ignorance and accepted that everyone else did have a little sense after all.”
“Oh! You have to hear the story about the first time he changed Brian’s diaper,” Brent said. “We got a call at three one morning after we’d been up till after one during calving season. It was Kevin laughing like a loon. He said he’d changed Brian’s diaper for the first time and the little thing could already pee three feet in the air, like it was something to be proud of.”
“What he didn’t tell them was that the reason he knew how far he could pee was because Brain peed in his face,” Trisha said laughing again.
“Oh, I remember that well. I quickly learned to keep small cloth or towel handy to cover him up while I disposed of the dirty diaper. Nothing like a face full to teach you a lesson,” Erica said in agreement.
“We still tease him and poor Brian about his three foot water spout,” Brent admitted. “Come on, Erica. I want to introduce you to everyone. Trisha here will keep you all to herself if I let her. She likes to fill everyone’s head with gossip before you can make up your own mind about people.”
“Do not!” she pouted then smiled. “I’ll see you later and you can tell me if I was right on anything.”
Erica waved as Brent pulled her over to a new group of people. They moved from group to group for the next thirty minutes until Kent whistled to get everyone’s attention.
“Time to eat! Everyone to your places. Dad, will you go gather the kids in the back? Do you need Gabe to help?” he asked.
“He’s already out there playing with them,” Jocelyn said with a shake of her head.” He doesn’t act a bit like the stuck-up lawyer I live with when we’re all together.”
“Come on, honey. You’re sitting between me and Kent. The kids all sit at the smaller tables downstairs in the den. They can watch TV while they are eating,” he said.
“Plus, if they have a food fight, it won’t hurt anything,” Jeni whispered next to her.
“That was your son’s fault, not mine,” Kirk said with a mock scowl.
“He says you threw the first pickle,” she said sticking out her tongue.
Erica couldn’t believe how much fun she was having or at home she felt around these strangers. This was what she’d hoped for when she was growing up, and when she and her ex had gotten married. She’d wanted a big family that visited often and had big dinners and parties two or three times a year.
There was no way she could regret coming. Her kids were having a ball and everyone had accepted them as if they’d always been a part of the group. As she sat down, Sissy walked over with a huge grin on her face and a smaller little girl in tow.
“Mom, this is Krissy. She’s ten. She likes the same kind of dolls I do. We’re going to sit together on the hay ride tomorrow night,” she said.
“Hi Krissy. That’s a pretty name. I bet you two will have a great time on the hay ride,” she told them.
Krissy smiled but didn’t say anything. Sissy whispered into the little girl’s ear and Krissy giggled then smiled.
“We will,” she whispered and the two little girls walked out of the room toward the stairs leading to the den downstairs.
She looked up and realized that everyone had gone quiet. Instantly he wondered if she’d said something wrong. When she turned to Kent to ask, he grabbed her shoulders and pulled her closer, kissing her as if his life depended on it. Then Brent pulled her around to him and did the same thing. When she could breathe again Erica realized that Jeni was crying.
“What? Is something wrong? I didn’t mean to say anything wrong,” she began.
“No, no, honey. You didn’t do anything. Your daughter is amazing,” Kent told her.
Heath was hugging his wife as Jeni smiled through the tears at her. “Krissy hasn’t talked since she was five. That’s the first time I’ve heard my daughter say anything in almost five years.”
“Five years?” Erica couldn’t imagine not hearing Sissy or her boys speak for one day, much less five years. “Why?”
“There was an accident one day at the ranch. One of the children Krissy played with was killed when she fell out of the loft. They weren’t supposed to be up there playing, and we still don’t understand how they even managed to get up there, but she hasn’t spoken since then,” Heath said.
“The counselors all said she probably feels guilty and will grow out of it one day, but that’s been five years ago. We’ve been so afraid she’d never be the same again. She doesn’t usually play with anyone anymore. I can’t believe she’s latched onto your daughter and she spoke!” Jeni smiled. “That’s what this is all about, giving thanks for the big things and the small things.”
Erica couldn’t have been prouder of her daughter. Sissy had always been one to pick out the quiet ones to talk to and play with. Now she knew her daughter had already picked her vocation in life and finding out how she applied it would be wonderful to watch as she matured.
All through the meal, everyone shared stories about their lives and what it was like to grow up on a ranch. Alison, the guy’s mother made sure to treat her to lots of stories about the twins and how they’d made their teachers in school threaten to kick them out of school if they didn’t stop playing tricks on them.
“Finally we had to make them pick something that would differentiate them from one another or we’d do it for them. They chose to use their hair. Kent didn’t like longer hair, said it tickled his ears too much. So, Kent kept his cut short and Brent, ever the wild child, let his grow out,” their mother told her.
By the time they’d finished eating and the table had been cleared away by the women while the men cleaned up the den from the kids’ meal, Erica was exhausted, but in a good way. She’d overheard nearly everyone comment on how nice the house was decorated and how much they appreciated the flowers in the bedrooms. It pleased her to hear first-hand that all of her planning had worked out perfectly.
“You look like you could use a nap.” Kent teased when he found her relaxing on the front porch on the swing.
“I just needed to catch my breath. You have the best family in the world, Kent. You and Brent are so lucky. I’ve never enjoyed myself so much in my life. Thank you for inviting us. The kids are having a ball and everyone has been so accepting of us barging in on a family gathering.”
Kent sat next to her and used his feet to set the swing in motion. “They can be a bit overwhelming at times even for us. I’m so glad you came and brought the kids. We’ve loved having you here to share this. Everyone loved having you as well.”
“There you are.” Brent walked outside and joined them on the swing, sitting on the other side of Erica. “Did you enjoy lunch?”
“Oh, my, God! I’m stuffed. I’ll have to go on a diet just so I can enjoy Christmas next month,” she said with a laugh. “I was just telling Kent that I had a wonderful time and your family is awesome.”
“We enjoyed you being here. The kids are amazing and it felt good seeing them all enjoying themselves,” he said. “We hope you won’t be a str
anger and even though we know you’ll be working on Christmas for us, we’d like for you to visit just to visit, too.”
Kent leaned over and kissed her lightly on the corner of her mouth. “We’d like to take you out some time as well. We want to take you and the kids places and then sometimes just you.”
Erica’s mouth opened then closed. What was she going to do? They were clients. There were two of them. She had her business and the kids that took up so much of her time.
But all she managed to get out was, “both of you?”
Chapter Eight
All the way back home all Erica could think about was Kent and Brent. They both wanted to date her. They included her children, but there were two of them. That wasn’t how it usually went.
“Mom?” Sissy’s insistent voice finally broke through the haze of her thoughts just as they turned down their street.
“What, sweetie?” she asked.
“Can Krissy spend the night with us after the hayride tomorrow?”
“Honey, I don’t know if her parents will let her. They don’t know us that well,” she told her.
“Will you ask? I really want her to spend the night so I can show her my dolls and find out about her dolls. She’s really nice, but she doesn’t talk a lot,” Sissy said matter-of-factly.
“Yes, I’ll ask. Just don’t get your hopes up, okay?”
“Okay.” She scrambled out of her seatbelt as soon as they stopped in the drive under the car porch.
“I’ve got the pie plates, mom,” Ricky told her. “You better get the other thing. I don’t think Aaron is strong enough to carry it.”
“I’ll get it. Thanks Ricky.” She didn’t want Aaron to feel like he wasn’t needed, so she handed him her purse when he jumped down from the car. “Take this for me, okay champ?”
“I’ve got it.” She smiled as he struggled with it, having draped the strap around the back of his neck.
As soon as they were in the house with the doors locked, her mind drifted back to what Brent and Kent had told her. She still had a difficult time wrapping her mind around both of them thinking that she would be okay with dating them both at the same time. How did that even work? Did she go out with one of them one night and the other another night? Would they both take her and the children to get pizza?
The more she thought about it, the more confused and unsure she became. If they both wanted to take her at the same time, what would people think? She had a business and depended on the town to keep her children fed and clothed. Could she risk that for them?
“Mom? Did you call yet?” Sissy stared up at her with questioning eyes.
Erica hadn’t budged from the kitchen in front of the counter after she’d put away the dishes. How long had she been standing there?
“Um, no, sweetie. I’ll call tomorrow after lunch. Let’s give them time to visit tonight. They haven’t seen each other in several months,” she told her daughter.
Sissy pushed out a dramatic sigh she often gave when she was losing patience with her brothers. Hearing it directed at her drew a smile from her. She could remember being her age wanting someone to spend the night with her. Normally she didn’t get that wish, but she tried to allow Sissy and the boys to have those wishes as often as she could.
“I’ll call tomorrow, Sissy. I promise,” she said.
Erica watched her little girl walk out of the room and marveled again at how she was so different from herself when she’d been that age. She would have never believed she would have a child who liked to be clean and dress up like her precious little girl. Well, nearly teenage little girl. Where had the years gone?
She checked all the doors once more then spent the next hour coaxing the kids to take baths and go to bed. It has been a long, exciting day for all of them. Tomorrow would be an even longer one with the hayride. While Sarah would handle the more physical aspects for her, she would still have to make sure everything stayed organized and on schedule.
She checked her bruised side in the mirror once she’d settled the children and was getting ready to shower before bed. It looked terrible, but it could have been worse. If instead of hitting her side on the bench, she’d hit her head instead, she could have been seriously injured. A broken neck or cracked skull would have left her poor children without family to care for them.
Sarah and her husband had agreed to take them if anything ever happened to her, but they weren’t family. It had brought home just how alone they were with no living relatives and an absent dad who’d never once gotten in touch with them to see how his children were. It made her rethink her earlier idea that she didn’t have a lot of time to date. She was putting her children at risk of having no one by not trying to find a suitable man for them to look up to and trust to care for them.
She shook her head, tired of running that particular problem in the ground. Once the holidays were over with, she’d do some serious thinking about their future. She couldn’t depend on the idea that nothing could possibly happen to her that would leave the kids alone. The fall had opened her eyes to that.
By the time the water was warm enough for her, Erica had managed to put it out of her head and instead of thinking about ideas for the Stone’s Christmas party, she replaced her earlier thoughts with ones that involved two sexy men who wanted to date her. With a groan, she closed her eyes and tried to ignore the ache in her pussy and the way her nipples had hardened with the first thought of them.
I can’t let myself get involved with them. It would ruin my reputation with the community. I have to maintain it in order to pay my bills.
But try as she might, their images wouldn’t be banished from her head. Instead, they began to move and touch her in the most intimate of places. God, if just her imagination could turn her on to the point of being close to climax, what could they do if they were right there with her?
“Don’t answer that!” she fumed out loud.
Instead, her imagination showed her in minute detail. She felt their hot breaths against her neck just before their wet mouths traced her neck and shoulders with their tongue and kisses. One of them nipped her earlobe while the other bit lightly at her shoulder. One set of hands grasped her waist, just above her hips while another set held her upper arms in a light clasp. They continued to lick and kiss her with the occasional nip or bite on her jaw, her neck, or her shoulder. It turned her on.
Without warning, a hot, wet mouth latched onto one of her nipples, sucking hard then brushing the tip of his tongue over it. His teeth grasped the tight nub lightly while he let his tongue lap at it. God, Erica could feel it all the way to her clit as if there were an electrical wire connecting the two.
Deep inside she knew her own hands were what stimulated her body, but it was her thoughts that made it seem real and had her body so aroused she was sure she’d have one of the best orgasms she’d ever had.
Just when she managed to handle one mouth pleasuring her breast, another mouth attacked the other one with equal fervor. Together they shot her to the top of the pole so fast her head spun. The thought of two mouths, two tongues, and two sets of hands touching her and giving her pleasure was so intense her knees nearly buckled. Her hand shot out to brace against the shower wall.
Erica couldn’t control her thoughts now. They had a life of their own and because of that, the mouths let go of her breasts with a double popping sound and traveled down her torso, leaving a burning fire in their path as they reached the crease where her thighs met her hips. God what she wouldn’t do to have them there with her in that moment. Community be dammed. Erica wanted them with a fierceness that both surprised and scared her.
Once again, the two phantom men separated as one moved to her ass and the other spread her pussy lips and delved deep into her dripping cunt to devour her there. His hot tongue felt like a living entity all on its own as it speared her over and over, lapping up all of her juices. When he sucked on the delicate lips protecting her slit, Erica moaned out load.
The other one mas
saged and squeezed her ass cheeks before his mouth sucked in a bit of skin hard enough to leave a hicky. Then he bit down on the tender flesh before licking the abused flesh with his tongue. While he spread her ass cheeks wide, his hot breath warmed her where the cooler air of the bathroom whipped tendrils along her wet skin. The shiver she gave had little to do with that cooler air though. The naughty tongue even now licking along her ass held the sole responsibility for it. She’d never had a man lick her there before. It was dirty and amazing all wrapped up in one wild package.
Even as he slid his wet tongue up and down the crack of her ass, his brother was exploring every aspect of her pussy. No matter how hard she tried to manipulate his tongue to her clit, he resisted. Dear God! Did she just hear a chuckle? She was going insane with the buildup, the need that wasn’t going away.
The feel of a tongue circling her back hole then pressing ever so slightly inside her ass nearly made her lose her balance. Then the other man breeched her pussy with a finger, pumping it slowly in and out of her cunt, drawing out her torture until she was about to beg two phantoms she knew weren’t in the shower with her. What was she doing? Why was she allowing thoughts of them to take over her fantasy so intimately and completely? They weren’t real, at least not there in the bathroom with her.
Just as she started to pull out of the self-induced sexual day-dream, the twin in front added a second finger to her pussy, curling it to stroke her G-spot even as he sucked hard on her clit. His brother slid the tip of a finger inside her ass as he lightly bit her ass. Together they exploded her world into the heavens, holding her there for what felt like hours before allowing her to drift back to where she stood, both hands pressed against the shower wall. It was a few seconds longer before her hearing returned as well as her ability to have a rational thought. They’d ruined her, and hadn’t even actually touched her yet.