Be sure to check out my website and blog: www.lancekenman.com. Visit often to get updates on my progress and other writing efforts. Comments and suggestions are welcome and enjoyed. Let me know what you think about the direction this story's going, and I'll consider all suggestions. If you want to write to me privately, use my email address: kenlou16@yahoo.com or lance@lancekenman.com.
My first two books: "Roses in the Desert" (eight short stories) and "Nudist Camp Vacation, Part 1" (the first 20 chapters of this story) are now available in print. Visit my website to learn more.
There are many people who write to me and touch my heart. The one thing many of us have in common is that we've suffered either from loss or abuse much like the characters in this story. We are all, in some way, at some time, "damaged goods." It is to these kindred souls that I dedicate this story.
My advice to all: "Live simply, love generously, care deeply, and speak kindly. Leave the rest to God." - Author unknown
Nudist Camp Vacation Chapter 36 -- A New Day When I woke the next morning, I found myself lying comfortably on my back. Tim's head rested on my chest, and his legs were tangled with mine. It's hard to describe how I felt. Everything was the same: Tim was the same, the bed was the same, and the house was the same, but at the same time, everything was very different. The muted colors in the room were suddenly more vibrant, the light coming through the gap in the curtains was bright and welcome, and the scent of my special man was like the most exotic perfume! While I concentrated on the steady rhythm of Tim's breathing and the silken texture of his wonderfully sculpted body, it dawned on me. *I* was different! The sensation I had felt in my chest just before my heart attack had been similar to the pressure that I had been feeling on my spirit; it just wasn't physical. That pressure, pain, tension, and anxiety had lifted! It was no longer there! I felt like a kid, watching the new day dawn and the first glow of morning was coming through a gap in the curtains. I felt like a boy again, with the dawn of a new day and the freshness of new love! I wanted to shout my joy to the world! What I would shout, I had no idea. I just wanted to shout! When Tim breathed a moan of pleasure, I realized I'd been stroking and massaging the firm muscles of his shoulders and back. "Don't stop," he whispered before he cleared his throat. I moved to free my other hand and began to knead his muscular shoulders and back with better leverage. "Mmm. That's almost as good as making love," he murmured. "That's because I am making love to you. I love you, my sleeping prince." I felt his drool on my chest, just as he turned his head to lick it up. He was perilously close to my nipple; he quickly found it and began to suckle, noisily. Some time later, as we exited the shower, I heard the boys giggling and screaming, and then there was a loud bang! Tim and I shared startled expressions and grabbed towels, hastily drying ourselves as we ran from the room. Quickly searching for the boys, we found them all in Paul's room. The footboard of the bed was flat on the floor and the bed was at a serious angle away from the wall. "Is everyone all right?" I said with panic in my voice. I looked around the room at three very nude boys. Of course, Tim and I only had towels wrapped around us. Paul looked at me with a very guilty expression and softly said, "Yes, sir. We're all okay." I sighed loudly, "Thank the Lord and all that's Holy. What happened?" Paul looked at me with wide eyes, his lip quivering. He was on the verge of tears. "Paul, it's okay," I said as I walked toward him. He cringed and put an arm up in front of his face and the other around his middle, defensively. "Paul," I whispered, as I gently pulled him against my chest. "Did I tell you it was okay to break something?" "Y -- Yes?" he whimpered. Slowly he put his arms around my naked waist. "Did you believe me?" "N -- No?" he whimpered. I laughed. "Well, then, you'd better start!" I reached to his chin and gently lifted it so I could look into his eyes. When I was sure he could see me smiling, I leaned down and kissed his forehead. "That's the only punishment you'll get from me." He pulled me tighter against him and breathed fitfully, pressing his face harder into my chest. "I -- I broke my b -- bed," he said. Chuckling, I said, "Yes, I can see that." "Aren't you mad at me?" "No, I'm not. Should I be?" "Uh, n -- no, I g -- guess not." "How'd it get broken?" "I was . . . jumping on it." "Oh. I guess we'll have to get you a stronger bed!" "You're not mad?" He was incredulous. "No, I'm not mad," I said, stroking his hair. "Do you remember when I said that I expected you boys to break something once in a while?" "Yeah?" "Do you also remember that I said that they're just `things?'" He swallowed, hard. "Yeah," he whispered. "Well, I meant it." He let go of me to wipe the tears from his face. I sat on the sloping bed as well as I could, draping the towel over my lap. "Paul, will you believe me now when I tell you something?" His eyes grew wide again as he nodded. I smiled at him and said, "Okay, then." I looked over at Mike. His eyes were wide, and he looked as if he felt guilty about something. He was breathing hard and he was holding his hands over his mouth. I smiled at him and reached my arms for him. Tentatively, he came to me and let me hug him. Whispering into his ear, I said, "You were jumping on the bed, weren't you?" He quickly pushed me to the length of his arms. His eyes had a wild look of fear in them. Looking directly into his eyes, I asked, "Mike, did I punish your brother?" He shook his head and relaxed his arms, slightly. "Do you think I'd punish you, even after I watched you jumping on your own bed?" He smiled and shook his head, leaning into me. He slowly reached his arms around my neck as I hugged him. After a good long hug, I said, "Okay, guys, listen to me." I positioned both of them in front of me. "There's something you both should know. I don't care if you break something, as long as you didn't mean to do it and no one gets hurt, but there's one thing that's very important." I looked seriously at both of them and softly, but seriously said, "I won't tolerate lying. Telling the truth is something that will earn you my trust, and trust is more important than anything. Do you guys want Tim and me to trust you?" They both nodded. Mike's was vigorous. "Then always tell us the truth. I promise that we'll always do our best to tell you the truth, too." I studied their faces and asked, "Now, what really happened?" Paul hesitated then said, just above a whisper, "Stevey and me were laying on the bed and Mike came in and jumped on it. He only bounced on it a couple of times and it broke! He didn't mean to do it!" "That's okay," I whispered. "When you told me you were jumping on the bed, you were protecting your brother, weren't you?" He slowly nodded. I smiled at him and pulled him into a hug. "Tim and Stevey do that for each other, too." I looked at both of them for a moment, allowing them to digest what I'd told them. "But I hope you know now you don't have to protect each other from Tim and me. Are you guys really okay?" Mike said, "When the bed broke, I fell off and hit my head." "Oh! Let me see! Where does it hurt?" He put his hand on the side of his head then pointed to a spot. I felt a little bump coming up, so I pulled him to me and kissed it. He giggled and said, "You kissed my head!" I laughed and said, "Yeah, I did!" He grabbed me tightly around the neck, climbed into my lap and pressed himself into me. When he finished the hug, he touched my cheek with his hand. "Your face is all sticky," he giggled. "Sticky?" I felt it to make sure I didn't have something on it that shouldn't be there, like some residual from making love with Tim. "Yeah, like a porkypine!" "Oh, you mean my beard!" I sighed with relief then laughed. "I haven't shaved, yet." He smiled and rubbed my face with both hands, then put his cheek against mine and held me by pressing his hand to my other cheek. Whispering, he said, "It feels good, Papa." I put my arms around his tiny body and held him tightly, swallowing hard. Mike's need to feel me so close was difficult to describe. He was quickly becoming an essential part of me and important to my well-being. Feeling his warm, tender skin against me was overwhelming, but in the purest sense! The boys busied themselves with trying to find a way to prop the bed up, and I kept hugging Mike. It wasn't as if it was hard to keep him there, he just clung to my neck as if he thought I might try to get away. After we'd been hugging for a while, I thought it might be time to get ready to go meet Thomas at the site of the new house, but when I tried to pry Mike from my neck, I looked into his eyes and saw that he'd been crying. "What's wrong, little one?" I whispered. He wiped at his eyes and said, "Nothing." I was concerned, so I pressed him. "There must be something wrong. Can you tell me what it is?" He replied very softly, "Nothing's wrong." "Then why are you crying?" "I don't know!" he said as he flung his arms back around my neck. This time he had a death grip on me, and I knew he must have needed to be held, so I held him as tightly as I could without hurting him. He cried in earnest, not quite sobbing, but sniffing in fits. Tim looked over at me with concern. He mouthed the words, "What's wrong with Mike?" I lifted my eyebrows and shoulders in a bewildered shrug. Finally, Mike pulled his face from my neck far enough to look into my eyes. Tears still ran from his red eyes. "Is there something you need or want?" I asked as carefully as I could. He shook his head as he wiped roughly at his eyes. He kept one hand around my neck. "Are you unhappy about something?" I quizzed. He shook his head again, but more vigorously. I smiled at him and he smiled back, weakly. He looked down at my chest and ran a finger through my short chest hair. I whispered, "I love you, little one." For some reason that was the wrong thing to say, because he grabbed me around that neck again and the waterworks started all over again. This time, he sobbed, apparently uncontrollably. I was at a complete loss, knowing only that I couldn't let him go. Of course, he wouldn't let go of my neck, either. The boys all became quite curious, so they gathered around Mike and me. Tim began rubbing Mike's back and craning his neck to see Mike's face. Paul came closer and just watched us. Stevey crawled onto the bed to look at Mike over my shoulder, and Mike buried his face deeper into my neck, crying even harder, if that was possible. I finally decided that Mike was having a crying fit of some kind, and that he needed something to break the cycle. Since his shoulder was in front of my mouth, I drew in a deep breath and blew a long raspberry into his neck. Mike shrieked into my neck! Then I couldn't tell if he was crying or giggling. I decided to take a chance that he was giggling, so I gently stroked his sides with my fingertips. He screamed again and erupted into giggles, convulsing with laughter, still holding my neck tightly. Carefully, I looked into his eyes and whispered, "Better?" He had an enormous smile on his little face and slowly nodded. Still holding him, I stood, and he wrapped his legs around my waist. "Okay, guys, time to get cleaned up and get some breakfast! We've got a meeting with our architect." I left Tim to get the two teens going and carried Mike to his room. Setting him carefully on his bed, I knelt in front of him and looked into his light blue eyes. (Yes, they change color!) "Are you okay, now?" He sniffed, wiping his nose with the back of his hand and nodded. "Can you tell me why you were crying?" He shook his head and leaned over, putting his arms around my neck again, but this time, he didn't seem quite as desperate. I kissed his neck and whispered, "Is there anything you need?" He pulled away just far enough to look deeply into my eyes and shook his head then immediately changed his mind and nodded. "What is it?" He looked at me intently for a moment then poked my chest with his index finger. I looked down at it and asked, "M -- Me?" It came out as a bit of a stutter. He nodded, vigorously. He had an impish smile on his face, and his eyes were wide. I swallowed hard and whispered, "You got me, kiddo, and you'll have a hard time getting rid of me." He threw himself at me and hugged me tightly, and I returned as good as I got. His hands moved to my biceps as he looked down at them. He whispered with awe in his voice, "Papa, your muscles are even bigger than Tim's!" I laughed and said, "Maybe, but he's prettier." Mike looked at me carefully and cocked his head to one side. "I don' know," he said slowly. "You're not pretty, but you're handsome." I laughed again, more out of shock that he would say such a thing. Just to break the tension, I pulled him into another hug. I finally brought our hug-fest to an end by saying, "We've got to get ready to go, or we'll be late." He let go of my neck and sat up straight with his hands resting in his lap. "Mike?" He looked up at me, but there was guilt on his face. "Are you okay?" He slowly nodded. "You know, you're very special to me, and I love you very much." He swallowed hard, searching my eyes. "I'm sorry I broke the bed," he whispered. I smiled at him and gently held his hands. "I'm not. I'm glad the bed broke. It gave me a chance to hug you some more." His eyes grew wide and he hugged me, again. "Mike, as much as I love your hugs, we have to get ready to go. Okay?" He loosened his death grip on my neck, looked me directly in the eyes and whispered, "Okay." I smiled at him and sniffed. He sniffed in return and wiped his nose with the back of his hand. When his eyes darted to the doorway, I turned and saw my luscious young man leaning against the doorjamb in all his natural splendor. His towel wasn't around his waist, it was over his arm. He winked at Mike and Mike giggled back at him, his eyes wide and staring intently at Tim's pelvis. I rose to my feet and asked Mike, "Are you okay, now? Do you need any help getting ready?" He shook his head, jumped off the bed and ran to the bathroom. I looked from Mike's naked butt, wiggling out of sight, to Tim and asked, "How long have you been standing there?" "Long enough," he whispered. "You're amazing, you know? He really needed to be close to you." I shrugged and whispered, "I needed to be close to him, too. Now, I think we all need to get dressed and get something to eat. Time's a wasting!" As I turned to walk with Tim back to our room, he put an arm over my shoulder and rested his head on the other. Back in our room, before he had a chance to cover himself, I ran my hands all over his arms, shoulders and chest while I watched his eyes for his reaction. I wasn't disappointed. He was about to say something, but before he could I covered his mouth with mine. The kiss was slow and demonstrative, and I needed the closeness with him. It must have been because of the much needed closure I felt, seeing Robert fade away like that, but I felt so much more alive and that I could give to Tim that last bit of myself that I was holding back. I think he felt it, too. When we finally came up for air, Tim whispered, "Damn appointments! I want you in me so bad I can't stand it!" "Oooo," I cooed. "I think you've discovered a preference." "I prefer anything with you," he whispered. "I love you." "I love you, my perfect man." He hesitated, so I waited for him to choose his words. "I just like to feel you there." As I smoothed his longish, wavy hair from his forehead, I whispered, "I love feeling myself there, too." He locked his dark eyes on mine, and I didn't ever want to look away. When he placed his hands flat on my chest, I realized that my breathing had become deeper and more rapid. He rested his head against my shoulder and held me firmly in his arms. Our embrace was different, somehow, because it held even more tender warmth than I'd ever before noticed. Our love was somehow, someway, deepening, developing, and maturing, in its quality, quantity, and yes, its feeling of permanence. We got dressed in record time and had been waiting only a few minutes when the boys arrived in the kitchen. The boys all looked around the kitchen with wide eyes. I could sense their noses working overtime and their stomachs growling. I was quite impressed how well Nell took charge of them. "Have you boys all washed up?" she demanded. Her question was met with a chorus of "Yes!" Mike added, "I washed up all over!" Nell laughed at him and gently touched his back. "Okay, then, everyone take a seat! You haven't got much time!" As they ran and jumped in chairs, Nell put a large platter of cinnamon waffles in the middle of the table. I thought sure she had made too many, but I was wrong, again. I made sure to stay out of the way while the boys filled their plates from the pile. I did manage to grab one before the last one disappeared. While Nell collected the dirty dishes, I whispered to her, "How do you know about our appointment?" She smirked at me and said, "The same way I've always known what goes on in this house! I listen on the extension! You don't always tell me what I need to know, so I've got to find out somehow!" I laughed. I'd never caught her being that sneaky. "What if you hear something you shouldn't?" She tilted her head and said, "Is there ever anything about you that I shouldn't know?" "You've got me there. No, there isn't anything you shouldn't know, but now I know that if I want to hide something from you, I'll have to use my cell phone." She laughed and handed me two large canvas sacks. "One is bottled water and the other is snacks. I'm sure you didn't think to take anything along, did you?" "No, I didn't," I said, taking a quick look in the snack bag. "Nell, you're a treasure." "I know," she said as she tried to shoo us out the door. "Go have fun, and for goodness' sake, be careful! I'll see you guys later." "Nell, you're taking the rest of the day off, right?" "Yes, I will," she said impatiently. "I've got just enough time to make it to the late church service." "Thanks, Nell." "Go on! You'll be late!" The boys, Tim and I ran noisily out to the Toy Box to pick a car. Paul wanted to take the Rolls Royce Silver Cloud and Stevey still couldn't find a sports car that would hold all of us. Tim, Mike and I walked hand-in-hand to the HumVee and they climbed in. Tim honked the horn and shouted, "Come on, guys! We're late!" I opened the big door while Paul and Stevey climbed into the HumVee complaining about always taking the same car. I had to chuckle. They were right, we did have a lot of other cars to choose from, but I thought the big HumVee afforded us better protection. Maybe when all this chasing, shooting and kidnapping blows over, I'll be less paranoid, and we'll choose a different car. Tim stopped for me at the door and we were off. I checked to make sure they had all buckled up. I noticed that Paul and Stevey were sitting very close, and Mike was sitting behind me, his eyes intent on Tim. I smiled and winked at him, and he did his best to wink back at me. That was when I noticed the dark colored pickup truck following us. "We're being followed," I whispered to Tim. "It's one of our guards. I think it's Grant. He followed us down the driveway and he's been close behind us all the way." I breathed a sigh of relief. Yes, paranoia had set in, but I prefer to think I was just being cautious and protective. We pulled into the new property at about nine-fifteen and saw Thomas snooping around the burned out house. He had a clipboard in one hand and a flashlight in the other. When he turned toward us, I saw that he was as thin and pale as I'd ever seen him. His pale skin was due, at least in part, to the fact that he was a redhead and that he never could hold a tan, but he probably hadn't seen the sun in ages. His hair was several shades of red, but still orange as fire, and he had the temperament to match. It wasn't that he had a fiery temper, but his moods were sometimes unpredictable and extreme. All-in-all, though, I found him to be a highly gifted and methodical architect. As we all climbed out of the car, Thomas began to make his way to where we parked. It wasn't difficult to recognize that his eyes popped when he saw Tim, and he kept looking back at him as he walked up to me. Distractedly, he put his hand out to shake mine and said, "Hi, Alan! You're looking great!" He said "looking great" as he turned back to gawk at Tim. "Yes, he does, doesn't he?" I said in a private voice. "Wha . . . ?" he stuttered as he turned back to me. I was still shaking his hand. I smiled at him knowingly and he blushed. "Good god, Alan," he whispered. "Is that Tim? You've robbed the cradle! You lucky, lucky man!" "I'm more fortunate than you'll ever know." He caught sight of the boys as they all climbed out of the car and gathered around me. Mike, of course, wasted no time claiming a tight grasp of my hand. "I think introductions are in order. Thomas, this little man is Mike, that's his brother Paul, and Tim's brother Stevey. The gorgeous man walking up behind you is my partner, Tim." Thomas spun around and gaped at Tim's voluptuous face, his mouth dropping open. After a pregnant pause, Thomas swallowed and said, "Please forgive me! I haven't seen such a beautiful young man in a very long time." As he reached for Tim's hand to shake it, he continued, "No, make that ever! Are there any more at home like you?" I stifled a groan at his clumsy use of that overwrought cliché. Tim laughed, obviously not put off by him. "Yes," he said, "but he's only thirteen." Stevey had a wide grin on his face, looking from his brother to Thomas and back again. Thomas looked at Stevey and his mouth fell open. At that point, I had to intervene. The others were amused, but I was alarmed. Thomas didn't usually lose control of himself; he was almost always quite circumspect. "Thomas? Are you all right?" I asked, genuinely concerned for his sanity. He blinked rapidly and shook his head, as if to clear a fog from his mind then he squeezed his eyes closed and put his hand over his mouth. Through his hand, he mumbled, "I've been working too hard." Putting my hand on his shoulder, I softly said, "Thomas? Take a deep breath." He breathed deeply and let it out slowly. He kept his eyes closed. After a long moment, he blinked his eyes and focused on me. "I'm sorry," he whispered. "Thomas, you're obviously overworked. We can do this some other time." "No, I'm okay. I just need to get my thoughts in order." "Do you need to sit down?" "I'm okay," he squeaked. I pulled him into a firm hug and felt his tension gradually ease. He pulled away and looked directly into my eyes and breathed deeply one more time. "Thanks, Alan," he said, wiping his eyes with his handkerchief. "I don't know what happened to me. I just zoned out." "Are you sure you're okay?" He smiled at me and whispered, "Yeah, I'm fine. I just need some time off." "Are you sure you want to do this, today?" "Yes! I'm here, you're here, we're all here, so let's do this!" I looked at him and appraised him for a moment. "Okay, but when you're done with this place, you're going to take some time off! You can spend some time with us, if you like. There's even a vacation resort next door, but you'll have to make sure you leave your inhibitions behind." His eyes widened. "No, it's not gay. It's a nudist camp." His eyes grew wider. "Tim and Stevey grew up there. Their parents own and run it. You'll have to be nude, but it won't be long before you get used to it. Promise you'll come for a rest?" He put his hand to his chest and gasped. Turning to Tim, he looked him up and down. Tim put his hands on his hips and grinned. He smiled, weakly. "That's a promise," he whispered. We quickly changed the subject to the matter at hand. In answer to his questions, I told him how large we wanted the house, the number of bedrooms and such, as well as special requirements for the boys' and adults' areas, and wiring to all the rooms for communication, data and entertainment. Then I told him about the need for a paved path and fence through to the place next door. "We'll want to be able to get over there easily, but we'll want it secure so only those who are welcome can get through to this side. That brings up another point. I'll want Frank Holmes to get with you to talk about security for the property." "That's right, you said something about that when we spoke on the phone. What's the deal with security? Is it because of your new family?" "That's part of it, but there's a lot more." I motioned to Stevey and Paul. "These two boys were kidnapped a couple of weeks ago, and we don't want that to happen again. We also have reason to believe that we still need to exercise caution about our security." Thomas nodded toward our guards and said, "Is that why they're here?" I looked in the direction he indicated. I hadn't noticed them before he pointed them out, but we had three guards with us, and Grant was one of them. They were "stationed" close, but far enough away not to make us feel crowded. "Yes," I said. "Frank will tell you about any special needs he may have." We made our way around the compound, looking at each of the buildings and all of the grounds and gardens while Thomas took extensive notes. When we returned to the burned out house, he looked at it as if he were trying to find a way inside. "Thomas, you're not going in there," I said, more as a statement of fact. He looked at me as if to see if I were serious. He shrugged and said, "I just need to see what it's going to take to clear it out of here." I argued, "We don't know if it's safe in there! Look at the yellow tape! Someone else didn't think it was safe, or they wouldn't have gone to the trouble to mark it!" "Hmm," he mumbled, still trying to make up his mind. "I guess you're right." "Why would you want to see inside, anyway? We're just going to clear the site, aren't we?" "Do you know if there's a basement?" "No, I don't, but you don't need to look. Get someone else to find out." He looked at me with a scowl. "I don't ask anyone to do something I wouldn't do myself." "Then you're saying you'd go in there, yourself?" "Well, maybe not, but I sure wouldn't ask anyone else to do it." "Okay, then, get a contractor to inspect it. They can demolish the building and find out what you need to know at the same time. Just caution them that you don't know if there's a basement." He nodded. "Okay, I'll get someone out here next week." I thought a moment and said, "I won't own it until Friday, but I don't think it would hurt anything to start a little site clearing." "I'll also get some people out here next week to survey the property and get complete dimensional surveys of all the buildings. I'll need a good site plan to start. How much of this place do you want to develop?" "Just this compound, but we could expand it, if necessary. I don't see a reason to do that, though. There's quite a bit of property devoted to the living area already, don't you think?" He nodded as he glanced around. "I'll have to see how the survey turns out to know for sure, but it does look quite large." Then he turned to me with a curious expression. "Do you have a budget amount in mind?" Again a question about my finances. I chuckled. "Just design what we need and give me your best guess at a cost. I'll let you know if I think it's too much." He persisted, "I really need to know if you have a limit." "Thomas, I'm buying this property at a bargain basement price. Whatever we add to it will only add to its value. I'll always be able to get more than my investment out of it, as long as it's tastefully done, and I know you'll do just that. Okay?" He shrugged again and skeptically said, "Okay. I'll do my best, but with the house and the rest of the work you want, the cost could run close to seven figures." I nodded. "I expect it will." "Alan," he said in a surprised whisper. "That's a lot of money!" "Thomas," I mocked in the same tone, but with a smile. "I know! Just do your usual magic, and we'll all be happy." He chuckled and shook his head, "Okay, you asked for it. But don't say I didn't warn you. This won't be cheap." I glanced around at the property and said, "No, and it shouldn't be. We can always take in boarders if it's too much." His eyes grew wide again. "Joking! I was joking!" Tim was stifling a laugh. I couldn't see what the boys were doing without turning around, but that would have been too obvious. Thomas finally relaxed and looked at me with a smirk. He stepped up to me and hugged me. He whispered in my ear, "I knew I was a fool to let you get away!" He glanced at the boys then Tim and said, "I guess I'll see all of you as soon as I get something together." He extended his hand to Tim and Tim took it, pulling him closer, then to a hug. I thought I could hear Thomas whimper. Thomas took a step back from the hug and breathed, "Nudist camp, huh? This I've got to see." "Thomas!" I said, feigning indignation. He turned to me and sighed, "Can you blame me?" "Actually, no," I laughed. We watched while Thomas walked toward his car. Tim came to my free side (Mike still held my hand) and put his arm around my waist. "He's kinda cute," he whispered. I leaned to look into his eyes with a smirk. Tim smiled at me and said with a sigh, "His skin's so pale, and that always gets me." "Gets you? As in `gets you stirred up?'" He smiled at me, seductively. "Mm hmm. What do you think first attracted me to you? It was your pale skin. Then I saw the rest of you." I laughed and said, "I'll have to have a treatment to keep from tanning." "No! You look even hotter with a tan!" Smirking, I said, "You sure?" "Yeah," he breathed. "Hey, you guys!" Stevey broke in. "Are you two gonna talk lovey dovey all day, or are we gonna go do something?" I laughed and said, "Yes, we're going to do something. We're about to take a look at the rest of the property." "I thought we did that already." "No, we only saw this property. We're also buying a lot more. You don't mind, do you? We could always take you home so you can play videos." Stevey looked at Paul as Mike held my hand tighter. "No, we want to see it, too." "Okay, let's go." While the boys were piling into the HumVee, I walked over to our escort detail, singling out Grant, assuming he was in charge, and explained what we were about to do. He nodded. I glanced at the other guys and asked Grant, "Are you in charge?" He nodded and said, "Yes, sir. I brought these guys along as insurance. This is Dale, and that's Kyle. Dale was a Seal and Kyle was a Ranger." I shook their hands, making sure I grabbed their hands firmly before they could break my knuckles. They both had a very firm handshake. "I'm glad to meet you guys, and thanks for coming along." I glanced at the pickup they were using. "Does your truck have four wheel drive?" Without moving his eyes from me, Grant said, "Yes, sir, it does. Will we need it?" "Yes. As I said, we'll be inspecting the other property. There's about seventeen hundred acres, and I don't know how accessible it is." He nodded and said, "We'll be right behind you, sir." "Thanks." "Sir?" Grant asked. "Yes, Grant?" "That gentleman that was with you? He just went in that burned out house." As I turned to look at the house, I saw that Thomas' car was still where he parked it. A small noise broke the stillness of the morning, then a loud CRASH! I watched, frozen in disbelief while part of the roof disappeared and a plume of dust rose from the middle of the charred structure! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ To be continued . . . . ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ If you want to keep track of what I'm up to, check out my website and blog at www.lancekenman.com.