Write Me a Love Story

Write Me A Love Story

by

Retta Michaels

Disclaimer:

If you are under the age of eighteen, or live in a locale which doesn't allow you to read these sorts of stories legally, then please don't. Come back when it's legal for you to do so and it will be great with us who are here legally. In fact, we'll support you and in the right circumstances help get you laid. Now, skedaddle and shut the door on your way out!

Now, for the rest of you who are supposed to be adults, act like it!

Retta's Notes To The Readers:

I've decided upon a release of all my stories of one chapter a week. I apologize for the inconvenience, but I've got four more stories running. Yes, it's a big chunk, but those of you who know how fast I type and how I can get the typing done, know it's not a big step for me. I'm also typing up two other long stories for Spring release plus various short stories to fill in between.

This chapter has a bit of drama. Multiple readers who get the sneak peek of them said they hated that part and made it seem like Jeremy is a spoiled child. My response is the same as what I'll tell you now. You need to see the underlying point here and not the drama. It is one main facet which will be crucial in the upcoming chapters.

Lies hurt people and there are multiple different lies people tell. You see how Jeremy handles it. He might not handle it the best in a given situation, but it's in his own unique style.

Chapter 7

The next morning, we got up. Well, I should say Stu got up and as soon as I felt his weight come up off me, I was awoke by the coolness his absence caused.

We got up and did our morning routines and by the time we were ready to get something to eat, we decided to go out for breakfast. He suggested a nice restaurant called Starvin' Marvin's which is a great buffet.

He followed me into town in his Jeep and we dropped it off over at the Ford dealer. They said Jimmy wasn't in as he'd went to Springfield to get my truck and bring it back. They got our cell numbers and we took Stu's SporTrak over to the restaurant.

The choices of breakfast offerings they provide were astounding. We ate our fill and were sitting to decide which we'd do and when, Jimmy arrived with my SporTrak in on the lot. As soon as I saw it, I was running out the door whoopin' and hollerin'. The truck was really beautiful.

Jimmy smiled and said, "I guess it meets up with your approval?"

"Oh yeah! It's beautiful!"

"Well, we need to do paperwork, but I was so excited, I just had to bring it over to you."

I smiled a bit mischeiviously and said, "Go ahead and take Stu's and leave this one here. He won't mind!"

Stu and Jimmy both guffawed and Stu came over to put his arm around me. He told Jimmy, "Go ahead and take mine back and we'll be right up. That should give you enough time to get the paperwork done."

"O.k., but I can walk that far if you want."

"No, It'd only have us driving seperately and I really want to see his."

"O.k, but take your time."

"We will, I'll see what I can do to get the guy I was telling you about around."

I called Jerritt's cell number and there was no answer. Stu said, "He's probably at work, we can go over there and get the log cabin books as a cover since I know you'll go in there to speak with him anyway."

"Well, since you insist...."

He laughed, "Yeah, I insist. It'll give you a reason to cheuffer me around in your new set of wheels. Just remember, we need to get those phones ordered."

We went back inside and paid the tip. The waitress had already cleared out place and we gave it to her directly. They were prompt if anything and honest. Stu had left his cell phone on the table and she had it put up for him.

As we were driving over to Home Depot, my cell rang and I handed it to Stu to answer. "Mabel's Whorehouse! Mabel's not able to cum, but my name is Stu and I'll be glad to serve you!"

"Oh, Hi Jerritt! Nah, I'm taken, but that's why he called you. He's wondering if you'd like to meet someone this morning whom he's got picked out for you.......No, I'm sure you're dressed fine after all, if you're lucky, the guy will see you without clothes....Oh, just a second Jerritt, Jer's ready to rip my hand off trying to take the phone away from me."

I took the phone from him and said, "Jerritt! Yeah, he's not lying, we had a wreck last night and we have the most delightful insurance lady down here who went above and beyond the call to make sure we got treated well. Yeah, it's Progressive. Yeah, it's Donna. You know her? Cool, well, the guy we're referring to is relation to her. Yeah, she is related to have the area. Well, that's a good thing because if you like the guy, then you'll be in-laws to most the area too. Oh, you're related to them too! Oh, well, then it probably wouldn't work. Damn!"

Stu looked at me with shock. Tears sprung to my eyes for an instant as I could just see the plans I had falling to bits.

"OH REALLY! Well, I guess you're a hillbilly then, because if you still want to meet him!"

Stu couldn't contain his shock. An eruption of laughter emmanated from within the man I'd never heard before and he used his arm to muffle the sound.

"Yeah, that's Stu over there laughing. Yeah, he does think it's hilarious. Well, where you at? O.k., we're on our way over there now. We've decided to get a magalog of log cabin home designs. O.k., you pick them out and that will save us time and will guarantee you we have you as our sales rep. O.k. We'll see you in a few bits."

I hung up and that's when Stu looked at me and really let loose with his laughter.

"Babe, he's still interested. According to him, he's distant relation and if Jimmy is related, he could be related too, but on the other side of the family. I hadn't thought of that, so he could be right."

"Well, he's got to work, so it will have to wait until this afternoon. Why don't you arrange for them to have dinner with us and that way it won't be so much pressure upon them."

"That's a good idea! I'll do that and we'll see what they think."

"Another thing you need to do is to insist to Jerritt you didn't put his name out there and don't give Jimmy's name up front. I know you'll be tempted to, but what you did to protect him from Jimmy discovering, you need to do likewise for Jimmy."

"Then how am I ever going to do this?"

"My suggestion is keeping both of them in the dark until they discover each other wherever they agree to meet. Then, you've not violated anyone's confidentiality."

"This is a lot harder than it seemed when I started this."

"Well, it's best to do it this way so as they speak and tell each other the other wasn't violated, their respect for you increases and one doesn't feel like he was sold out to the other."

"That's good, I'm glad you gave me the advice."

"Well, just think about the situation and do it on how you'd like to be treated. Then, you've won already."

"You're right, but a big part of me wouldn't care."

"No, but they might, so that's what matters."

We arrived at the store and entered. Jerritt met us at the entrance and we went back to the door department to speak. Jerritt immediately wanted to know who it was and I told him I wouldn't violate the bond I had with the other person either. I did ask him when he got off work and he told me he would be done at 11 am as he arrived early to unload a truck.

"Man, you should have told us that last night!"

"No, we do it all the time here. It's not big deal."

"Well, if I was going to be lifting a lot of things, I'd really want a good night's rest."

"You'll be doing a lot of lifting in the construction, so are you saying you'll be sleeping a lot?"

"Not with Stu as a bed mate!" As soon as I said that, I immedately blushed.

Jerritt smiled and looked at us, he didn't say anything and did a very casual subject switch. "Here's the magalogs you requested. They're everything we have in log homes."

"We're really only needing one which is up in Minnesota. They're really good."

"Oh, well, there's one down here that is really good. You might want to give them a comparison as they're good."

"We'll do that and that way we'll know what the price difference is."

"No problem, I have a cousin who is on their crew."

"Cool, well, let me tell you now your cousin isn't the one I'm trying to set you up with."

Jerritt smiled and said, "No, that hillbilly has a brood of kids. Even if he decided to go gay, I don't think I'd want to share in the child support Melvina would be slapping on him. He's got like 11 kids!"

"Eleven kids! My God! Don't they know how to watch television!"

Stu busted out laughing again and Jerritt said, "Well, the winters are cold up there in thare hills."

"Sheesh! You telling me! After a while the house would be so cramped, it'd serve as it's own birth control. It's hard to get wood when a baby's nudging you in your nuts."

He laughed and said, "It's not that bad!"

"Nah, I'm just joking. Please don't take offense, and please don't tell your cousin I said anything like that....but, eleven kids!"

"Yeah, they're happy and that's what matters. There are others around here who have more, that's why Donna's related to half the world."

"You telling me! Sheesh, thank goodness I don't have to remember names on a clan like that!"

"You'll be amazed at how many names you'll catch onto when you meet them all."

"I imagine, but it's going to take time."

"What kind of vehicle did you get since you said Donna took care of you so well?"

"It's a Ford."

"That just told me volumes."

I looked at Stu panic stricken and he smiled. "You were led into that trap so easily babe, I saw it coming a mile off."

"Why didn't you save me!"

"You spoke to fast. Next time, speak slower and I'll jump in." He chuckled.

Jerritt said, "That cuts it down considerably and for your information, it's the other side of the family. I know most of them though and I approved of everyone I can think of who works there. One in particular is a real babe, but I'm sure it's not him. He's single though."

"Well, after you get off work, why don't you meet us at the Waters and we'll go over there. We have paperwork to do to get the trucks taken care of and then you two can meet. Also, what are you doing for dinner this evening?"

"We're all going out to the sheriff's house as you two are going to be introduced to the family."

"Oh really!"

"Yeah, Donna's not gotten ahold of you yet!"

"No, she hasn't."

"Well, she's been calling everyone and has been arranging it since last night. When she gets something into her head, you better believe she gets right onto it. Besides, she's a natural organizer."

"Well, we're available, but we wanted you and the other guy to have dinner with us so you two would feel at ease and have no pressures put upon you."

"Don't worry about that. We'll take our time and we'll be used to each other. Most of us grew up together anyways, so the only difference will be us just dating which has happened a few times already with a few straight members of the clan."

"Oh, well, as long as you don't feel ill at ease with it."

"I'm not, but I want to make sure he's not...whomever he is."

"Well, we're going to go over to the Waters, so we'll meet you there."

Stu and I checked out and as we were walking across the lot, Stu said, "Well Ollie, that's another fine mess you've gotten us into!"

"What!"

"You don't know the line?"

"It's a line? From what movie?"

"Oh jeez kid, you really make a guy feel old!"

"No! Seriously! What movie?"

"Honey, back in the days when movies weren't color, there was a comedy duo..."

"Movies weren't color! You're really old!" I said it joking with him, but for the life of me, I didn't know the line. Him telling me it was a comedy duo really picked my interest."

"Kid, you're cruising for a bruising."

"A-team!"

"I give up. I'm just not going to speak."

"No, seriously. I'd like to get to know the classic comedy movies as I like them a lot. I just can't think of the one you're referring."

"Babe, it wasn't one movie. It's a whole bunch of them. It's one of their standard lines they said to each other."

"Let's see if we can rent them and then we can watch them together."

"I have them. Eddie was a fan of theirs."

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to mean any disrespect."

"You didn't. I believe you."

"Good, because I did know there were black and white movies, but I don't know the one you're referring."

"O.k., we'll watch one sometime, but it sure doesn't look like I'm going to get to write tonight."

"I'm sorry. I sure didn't think she'd plan our evening for us."

"No, that's not a complaint. I'm thankful she's doing this for us. The good will she's stirring for us is going to outweigh anything I could get done tonight by writing."

"Yeah, but we've got to talk with her about doing all this for us."

"No, she means well. Everyone's got an old aunt that does these things. I guess we just found ours."

"She's younger than you! Besides, she's got the hots for you."

"Well, she can get cooled off. I got whom I'm happy with....even if he reminds me I'm ancient."

"No, you're not ancient...even if your first car was a mastodon. I bet you would've cleaned up if you'd thought of the Flintstones before Hanna and Barbera!"

"Nah, I had to let them have their fun. Sheesh, they were worse than you about telling me how old I was."

"That's o.k., I'll cool it. I do love you dude."

"I know."

"What's on our list to do today?"

"Well, we've got to order some things for the waters"

"Yeah, and I've got to get someone to weld up the supports for that hill so I can pipe it."

"Yeah, why don't you wait until tonight and then we'll see who we meet. There might be someone whom we can help out in that area."

"If they're a welder, they probably don't need our help. They're probably making a good living."

"Not everyone down here that has a skill uses it to make money hon. You'll learn that. I know a guy that can carve logs with a chainsaw into all sorts of animals that chooses to work as a night clerk at the motel. So, he's not using his abilities."

"Maybe he feels pressured. We might ask him to do us some pieces to sell and see if he'll work that way without the pressure."

"Another good idea."

"No, you're the grandfather of that one."

"I don't know whether that was a joke or serious."

"Serious babe. That one just showed you we work off each other and we do it well together."

"O.k., I'll get used to this."

I put my hand over on his. "Stu, I'll stop that line of joking if it really bothers you."

"No, it's not that. Heck, I'm going to joke right back...believe me...every time I get to call you kiddo, or something like youngster, you better believe I'm going to take the chance."

"O.k., well, I just don't want to mess this up by hurting your feelings."

"You're not. If you do, then, I'll let you know and get over it."

"No, because once you let me know, you're not going to be disrespected in that manner again. Love isn't about seeing who can push the other's buttons."

"I know. But, what I'm saying is sometimes it's going to be up to me to get over things. You're doing a miraculous job of adjusting and I will have to make some adjustments too."

When we got to the Waters, we noticed some items had been delivered. Four of the items were huge and I noticed they were the blowers for the units which we'd be installing on the back of the building. Stu gave me a credit card and told me to go buy a trailer at Home Depot.

I went back and bought one. Surprisingly, it didn't take as long as I expected. They filled out the paperwork for the title and I was on my way in a matter of about a half hour.

When I got back, I saw another deliver had arrived. Things were stacking up around the parking lot. I knew if I didn't get a handle on this real fast, we'd have nowhere for the customers to park when the Easter shows were shown. I grabbed my cell phone and asked Jerritt when his work schedule was next. He said it would be tomorrow and we made arrangements for him to bring the delivery truck over so we could use the forklift to move everything then.

I went inside and asked Stu if we'd be better off to use the motel room tonight so nothing would get taken. He replied he thought the items were too large to take and wouldn't be bothered. After all, a strange vehicle taking items off the parking lot in the off season would be seen by everyone.

I agreed, but didn't feel totally at ease. Being this laid back was a problem as I didn't trust the way people did down here.

Soon enough, Jerritt arrived and noticed the same thing I did about the parking lot looking cluttered. His remark was for us to load the different items into the semi van bodies and they'd be out of the weather and away from prying eyes. He did agree with Stu in thinking no one would take anything.

We loaded up and drove my truck up to the Ford dealer. When we arrived, Jerritt saw Jimmy heading our way and said, "Guys, please tell me it's Jimmy."

"I can't say a thing. Why, do you like him?"

"Like him, he's the one I think is the hottest of the hot."

We got out and as soon as Jimmy saw Jerritt, his face flushed a bit and went over and hugged him. "Are you the one they're bringing for me to meet!"

"Yeah, I guess I am. So, you're the one they've been telling me about! Because they wouldn't tell me a thing except they were going to set me up with someone."

"I'd be he." Jimmy then turned around and said, "SO, what do you think cuz!"

"Well, technically, we're not cousins, and I'm only clarrifying that because I really think you're hot. Do you think it's going to be a problem with you Jimmy?"

"Nah, heck, for too long, I've thought you were cute too, but had no clue about you. If I had, they wouldn't have had to set us up. Just wait until Donna finds out! She's going to be so shocked."

"She will, but Jimmy, I don't want everyone to know. Well, not at first."

"O.k., we'll play it by ear, but you will agree for us to go out. Right?"

"Oh yeah, I'm really happy it's you."

"Me too."

Jimmy turned to us like we'd not heard a thing he'd just said, and like we'd just gotten there. "Guys, I've got some paperwork for you two to sign and then you guys can be on your way. Donna's got you insured, but she wanted me to call her just as soon as you guys got here. I think she's more curious about who you were bringing me than anything else. I might be cruel and not call her and have her wait."

"Don't you dare!" I said, "She'll track me down and hunt me like a rabid dog."

He laughed and said, "Nah, you'd probably be pulled over about half a block from here...that's all."

We went inside and Jimmy showed Stu what he was able to get him for trade in on his Jeep. Stu was more than satisfied and immediately asked if Jimmy was correct in the figure.

"Yeah, It's correct. I did some looking at it and it's in perfect condition. You've not put many miles on it and even the tires look brand new."

"Well, I liked it, but a S.U.V., wasn't something I really liked after a while. I like the idea of having a truck bed which is open. It takes less time to heat and to cool in the summer this way."

"That's correct. A lot of people are saying that's the drawbacks of owning one."

He pointed at the figure on a seperate sheet and said, "That's the amount we need you to write the check for. I've got it here, but didn't feel comfortable filling in the amount with you not present."

"That would've been fine Jimmy, but I'm glad you did the deal with me. You definitely need to know I'll be dealing with you in the future."

Jimmy smiled and said, "I hope so, you guys are family now."

We signed our names on the papers and soon, we had the extra keys handed to us. Jimmy smiled at me and said, "There's no charge in those keys. We usually have them made for a bank to repo the vehicle anyways, but this time you're not financing, so I just threw them in. There's also extended warranttees on those trucks. If anything, and I mean anything is wrong with them, get them back to us as soon as you suspect and we'll have it fixed totally free. There's also two years oil changes in that deal, so don't think you have to take it anywhere else."

"You've done too much Jimmy."

"Nah, as soon as my daddy heard you two were a part of the family, he gave me the green light to give you the works. He's going to meet you tonight, so be sure to tell him you're satisfied."

"Oh, we will!" Stu said before I could utter a syllable.

Stu looked at me, "Well, let's get to the license office and get on with the rest of this busy day."

We got up and just about that time is when the whirlwind called Donna strolled into his office. "So, where's he at?"

She had her hands on her hips and for me, that's always a dangerous sign when dealing with a woman.

Jimmy smiled, "Who are you referring to hon?"

"Don't you hon, me! He said he was bringing you someone in and I've waited long enough. Who is it?"

Stu chuckled and I just outright laughed which brought looks of daggers at me. Jimmy smiled and said, "Hon, we've decided to keep you in suspense and have you meet him tonight. Now, saying that, didn't you forget to invite the two who are the guests of honor?"

She looked at him and at us and said, "Oh my goodness! I didn't call them. Oh man! Guys, I'm so sorry, I've been so busy calling everyone and getting a family get together planned for tonight, I guess it slipped my mind." She turned to Jimmy, "How could you have let me forget!"

"That was your job, babe. I can't do my job and remember yours. I did happen to tell them and they're open for tonight. The only thing they had planned was going out to dinner with my new beau and I so we'd not feel totally foreign to each other."

"Well, now that's decided, I'm going to ask one more time. Who is it?"

Jimmy smiled and said, "Guys, should we tell her!"

Stu looked at Donna and said, "Donna, I've got a confession to make. The guy wasn't a guy for you, so we decided to just plain leave you out of it. But, if you insist, then I'll just have to say I'm taken and I'm gay....now, Jimmy and Jer, you two run and I'll hold her off the scent!"

She looked at him and turned to us, "You two stay put, he wouldn't dare be able to outrun me when I'm as pissed as I'm going to be! No one leaves this office until I find out."

Just about then, Jerritt walked into the office and said, "Jimmy, I thought you said this wasn't going to take a long time."

Donna looked at him and gave him a hug. "Jerritt, these guys aren't going anywhere because they've got to tell me who they've brought for Jimmy to meet."

Jerritt smiled and said, "Oh, well, in that case, I guess you guys are in a world of hurt. Donna, how about us going out here and devising a little plan of how we can get these guys in different ways so they shouldn't mess with you."

"No, because just as soon as I do, they're going to take off. So, let's stay here and figure it out in front of them."

Stu turned to Jimmy, "Jimmy, since she's wasting our time, would you look on your computer and see who has the best deals on satellite telephones with GPS? Since our insurance lady is here, it might be good for her to go ahead and throw them onto our policies."

He turned to Donna, "That's o.k., isn't it Donna? I mean, I've never been a hostage before and I really don't want you to miss a chance at getting the rider commission."

She looked at him like he'd gone insane. "Stuart!"

"Ooh Stu, she used your full name and it wasn't me, she really thinks she's got a chance to be your mother. Please tell her that job vacancy has been filled."

Jimmy started laughing and said, "Donna, you're really beginning to scare these guys. I can tell they're really intimidated. Heck guys, since you're going to be here, let's order in and make a slumber party out of it! Everyone here has a partner except Donna, so I guess she'll have to be the one that reads bed time stories."

"What do you mean "everyone here has a partner" except me? Jerritt here will be my partner, won't you hon?"

"Sorry Donna, but you see if you'd paid attention, I was waitting for my boyfriend to go out with me as soon as he got these guys paperwork done, but you had to come in and take them hostage. Now, I guess I've got to wait all day for you to figure it out."

The lights went on and Donna's face went pale. She looked at Jimmy, Me, Stu, and then at Jerritt and said, "You guys are all in a world of shit! That joke you just got off isn't funny at all."

We all busted out laughing and Stu turned to her saying, "Donna, the next new vehicle you get, I'm going to take you hostage and not allow you to drive it just as soon as you sign the paperwork for umm...how long's it been guys?"

Jimmy looked at his watch, "Well, I believe my watch has just messed up because rather than telling me the time, it says two words, "Too Long!" So, Donna, you're going to have to wait entirely too long, are you willing to let them run along now!"

"Guys, this isn't over by a long shot. You got a huge one over on me and I'm completely to blame for not seeing it sooner. Jerritt, when the hell did you turn gay!"

"Well, if you must know, some people say it could be before I was even born, I do know one thng...if I wasn't gay and I wasn't a part of your family...the second I saw Jimmy, I'd tell you that second would be when it happened. Instead, all this time, I've been wasting on not knowing and not noticing he was just as hot for me as I've been him. Now, after all this time, we've got to hold off and answer your questions. Can't they wait until we've gone to lunch?"

She smiled, "So, Jimmy, if I offer to pay for lunch, can I take you two to lunch?"

"No, I'll be seeing you tonight. Stu and Jer over there have a trailer they need to add to their policy. You might want to help them. After all, you've made a big goof at their expense."

Her face was still red. Stu went over and gave her a huge hug. "Donna, they say curiousity killed the cat, I'd say you probably used up eight of it's lives today."

"Oh, you just wait! I'll get even you handsome devil!" She hugged him back and said, "You guys are coming to mama and daddy's for supper tonight aren't you?"

"Yeah, but we need to bring up some things we need to have you work on for us. Would you like to go to lunch with us? We'll be ready after we get done at the license office."

"Sure, I'll buy since I obviously need to make amends."

"No, how about we just go to Dairy Queen and pick up something light. If we don't have a healthy appetite, I know some people are going to take offense, so we need to be prepared."

"You are right there! I think everyone's going to insist on you trying their favorite recipe and I'll forwarn you now, stay away from the bright yellow crock pot as it's going to be my cousin's famous raccoon stew. That is unless you like it."

"No, thanks for the warning, I'll steer clear of it."

"No, you've got to get close to it as other family members use the location right next to it to put their items. They've figured out if people stay away from it, they get to take home more for themselves and that's usually where most of the real good things are."

"Oh, so how do we handle the racoon stew situation."

"Here's how I did it, but don't you dare tell anyone my secret. I took a plastic spoon and dipped it into it and then held it up to my lips and made like I was sampling it. I made a polite face and said, "I'll have to get back to that, my plate's already full.""

"O.k., so the plan is to have a full plate by the time we get to it."

"Over....FLOWING!"

"You are too funny."

"Nah, it's just a great big ole family. Most everyone knows the idiosyncrasies, but new comers don't. That's why we warn them if we like them."

We agreed to meet at the Dairy Queen for lunch and high tailed it over to the license office. On the way over, we passed Shoji Tabuchi's theater. Stu made mention, "Some day, I've got to take you to the bathrooms in that place. He spent a million dollars on them."

"Must've really had to go."

Stu looked at me like I'd gone insane. "No, they're that elaborate."

"Babe, which part of it didn't you figure out? There've been times when I had to go so bad I would've spent that much in order to go, but for someone to spend that much on one just to make it fancy, I'd say he's really did it for the publicity. I imagine people would be just as impressed if you put in bathrooms which were in the style of old outhouses lined up and sinks with pump handles like the olden days."

"You just did it again!"

"What!"

"You just described what I think our next project is. The bathrooms being as you described them! Everyone will see ours and say, "Now there's some real down home people. They went back to their roots and didn't make theirs all high falutin'"

"Let me think on that because I could probably do it real neat. How big are the bathrooms in the theater now?"

"Well, they're good sized, but in the new theater, we can make them however big you want."

"I've been thinking about the new theater."

"Oh really? What do you think?"

"The way you've got the building on the lot really sucks. I'd be willing to bet you not many people want to park towards the back and walk all that way back up to the front of the building. What I think is to do a total tear down and a rebuild across the back and make the fountains wider and less deep."

"Let me think on that, because I think you're hitting on something."

"O.k., but let me do a mental picture for you and then you'll see what I'm thinking."

"O.k."

"Back behind the building, you own how far back."

"It goes back another six hundred feet."

"O.k., so, we do a rebuild back there and it doesn't affect the front building this season. The new one is the one which would look you want to look like a Vienese Palace. Now, a Vienese Palace would have a million dollar bathroom, but it wouldn't have outhouses. So, think about it."

"I hadn't thought about that. So, you're telling me the Vienese palace idea isn't real practical."

"No, I'll build you anything you want and you should know that. But, I'm also going to tell you I think a Chalet would look better.with all the everygreens lit up and having a bit of winter in the middle of summer in Branson."

"I hadn't thought about that. People would be hot and they're going to instantly look at the building and be drawn in because it says, "cool" to them."

"Yeah, it's like the old Nestea commercials that had all those people falling into a swimming pool. It sold them a lot of tea but sure didn't have a thing to do with tea."

"Well, let's work on thinking the new place through and you tell me what you think would work."

"What I think isn't what this is about babe. What I want is you being happy. If you're happy with the current one, then we use it. And, this conversation doesn't go further."

"No, there are things I want and I realize you've got ideas too. One of the first things you pointed out to me was the size of the pool in the building. It hadn't crossed my mind because that's how I was used to it being. As soon as you said something, I realized the amount of space it used and the amount of upkeep it took and the amount of money it costs, and I really began to question why we did it that way, and the only thing I can come up with was it was what we thought was best and it wasn't what we'd thought all the way through. When we went to the company, they asked us what size of pool we had and we told them. They designed it around what we told them and not the other way around. Now, you come along and I see it could be way different."

"Well, what I did was took a look at the website and thought to myself there were some which were beautiful which were wide and not deep. The first thing I thought was, "Wow, it looks like they thought of our lot and I really wish we had a building to put one of those in." The first thing I did was take a look at the width and thought it could be possible."

"So, you think going wider and shallower in depth is the way to go?"

"It's water Stu. It's nothing more and nothing less. It's going to recirculate in the pumps. The evaporation is going to be the same and it's going to be a better presentation. The cool thing about it is I could see the stage being the whole width and looking really cool. The view out back is totally awesome, so what I think is having a glass wall there and doing different shows. During the day time, the lights wouldn't need to be lit and the water would be the focal point. During the night time, the lights would be more focal and people would still see the beauty of the view they take for granted everywhere else."

"Wow, you're right. When Eddie and I first looked at the lot, we seriously thought about building a house there simply because of the view."

"So, you gave up that view for a house to make money?"

"Yeah, and no. We thought about using the back lot to build a house. The motel next door definitely uses the view to make money as every room back there has a large picture window and a balcony."

"If I designed you a building which gave you both a house and a business, would you consider that possibility?"

"Oh man, You'd be giving me a dream I've had for years."

"It's not all that hard babe. We just do things a bit differently . Let me throw together some ideas and then you can see what I mean. You'll be blown away."

"You do whatever you think and I'm sure I will. That's what I like about you is you're not afraid to dream big with me."

"No, what I really regret is I'm the one who isn't Eddie. Eddie started off with you when you had to dream small and do it on a shoestring. Now, the money's rolling in and I'm the one that gets to do the big dreams. Eddie didn't have that opportunity and I really think he was the luckier of us two."

"Please don't think that. Each of you are obtaining your own spots in my heart and I value each of you."

"No, it's not that. It's not that at all. Think about it for a second."

"O.k., tell me what you're thinking."

"When we were little, you thought about having a dream car, right?"

"Yeah, a 67 Stingray."

"Now you can afford fifty of them."

"Probably, but I still don't have one. There was a time I decided it wasn't practical."

"That's not what I'm saying, so bear with me."

"Let's say you decided you wanted a Stingray and we were poor. Now, just imagine I came home one day and I had a front fender of a Stingray I found for ten dollars at a junk yard. Then, the next trip to the junk yard, I found a rear window. Eventually, the dream takes shape that we'd have a stingray one day and we sit at night and we talk about what we're going to do when we're sitting in it, listening to tunes, and imagining the trips we take in it. Those are the building times. Those to me, are the lucky times. Now, you can go out and just buy one and it wouldn't mean nearly as much as that one we built together would."

"Wow, I'm seeing what you mean. I never thought of it that way. You blow me away kid because you get so deep so fast sometimes it's endearing me to you."

"No, I'm looking at those times with you and he and I'm thinking, he was the luckier of us two."

"No, you're building your own with me and this one I'm treasuring just as much as the one I have. You might not realize it, but I see you making your own spot for us and it's warming and comforting to me just the same."

"I hope so, but I can also see you thinking I'm tearing out the old and building everything anew and I don't want you to think that. I'd walk away before I ever did that to you."

"Maybe sometimes we have to do that to progress. Have you thought of that?"

"That's what I'm trying to do. But, it could be very easily taken the other way. I don't want that to be thought."

"Not at all. No, I'm not thinking that."

"Good, because I don't want you to think that. I'd rather us to communicate and for us to discuss things through the way we have. The one thing I want above all else is to respect Eddie and his memory and build upon those and build my own at the same time."

"I really respect that. You're doing an amazing job."

"No, I'm flailing away like someone who doesn't know how to swim and hoping I just tread water because I don't have a clue as to what the hell I'm doing. This is so foreign to me it's amazing the shit out of me that I'm in a good relationship."

"I can see that and because of that, you're telling me what you're feeling and that communication is what's helping me to build things tighter with you. Have you ever considered Eddie had his faults too?"

"No, because you never mention them."

"I don't because I took them as a part of the whole of him. In order to have the good, I had to take the bad too. He'd come to me and say, "This is the way we're going to do them" at times and there was no room for anything different to be said to him. One of those items was the size of that pool. I just went along with it because I trusted he knew what he was doing and now, you're telling me something which I knew all along but was too blind to admit."

"I'm sorry."

"No, that's a good thing. I loved him, and I'm sure you love me too. You love me enough to say your sorry and you love me enough to tell me the truth. I like that."

"He loved you too. Maybe he had a reason for the pool being that size. Maybe he got it on sale."

"No, we paid out the ass for that pool if you really want to know. I don't know where he yanked the figure of eighty thousand gallons out of the air, but I imagine he decided to figure out how many gallons went through the pipes and pumps in one show and to build it that big. I can't tell you, but you're right in figuring it's not going to do anything but continute to cost to maintain, heat, and work around."

"Well, what I'm thinking is the water can be replaced easily which gets lost due to evaporation. It's not like they shut off the faucets."

"True, and I didn't ever think to question that with him."

"In ways, Stu, you loved him enough not to question. That's not a fault, that's a strength. You trusted him and that's great. I appreciate you did that."

"I do too, but now I find out I've been holding onto the memory and it's been something that's been holding me back and I don't like that. Now, you came along and I see a whole new dawn coming because you're not afraid to think outside the proverbial box."

"No, I'm just as afraid in ways...believe me. There's always going to be a check and balance in me that says, "Make sure you don't use him, or it even appears that you're not using him." I'm being ultra cautious there because I know how easy it is to love someone enough to let them come in and totally fuck up your world."

"So, you're thinking you could possibly be the Dave in my life."

"Yeah, in ways, I am thinking that and rather than be a Dave, I'm treating you like a piece of fine china or like I'm walking on eggshells so I don't damage you. Dave didn't appreciate me and he went through me like a bull in the china shop and I was left like Humpty Dumpty."

"Well, I can see why you are doing things the way you are now. This is making things clearer and you're also loving me enough to tell me what's going on with you mentally."

"Yeah."

"Well, let's go inside and get the plates bought and then we need to take this truck home and have you drive me in yours back into town."

"You don't want to drive yours?"

"No, not really. There's a reason my Jeep didn't have a lot of miles on it and that's because I really don't like to drive. Last night, I had a wreck and it's further reinforcing that fear in me. That's why I'd gladly embrace having a house where I didn't have to drive to work."

"Oh babe, I never thought of that. I'm sorry. I'll drive us anywhere you need to go."

"I'd prefer that."

When we went inside, the girls at the license office were great. They were helpful, kind, and understanding. They made suggestions and quickly, we realized Missouri has not only personalized plates, but they have organizational plates which promotes your cause or affiliation. The variety was overwhelming as we took a look through the selection. Upon a whim. I asked her if the personalized plate, StusLuv was taken. The girl did a check in her computer and affirmed it was available. I instantly chose that plate. Stu then asked her if JersLuv was taken and it was available. He took it for his. The girls figured out we were gay and not one moment did I sense they were anything but supportive. It really made me happy we were afforded the amount of time we'd spent with them. In return, Stu handed them five cards each for free entrance to the Waters.

When we left, Stu looked at me and said, "That's the first time I've ever been in a place like that where I can say I enjoyed myself, Thanks."

"No, those girls in there are the ones which were great. Heck, when the light went on with them we were gay, not one instant did they think anything ill towards us. It really made me feel good."

"They did make us feel good, didn't they!"

"Yeah, we need workers like that for the Waters."

"Hold on a second, I'd like to go back in and get their names and tell them we'd like for them to work for us if they ever need to moonlight."

He went back in and I decided then to make a phone call home to my mom. I told her about meeting Stu and about us getting the new trucks. She was happy to hear the good news and then, I told her about getting the new truck. Upon her hearing this, she instantly became worried and the more I attempted to reassure her, the more she insisted something was wrong with me. I told her to alieve her worries, I'd get a copy of the accident report and assured her we'd been checked out by the EMT's at the scene. I made a mental note to have the Sheriff call her tonight and assure her we were fine.

Before I hung up, she asked one question I hadn't even thought of and that was, What are you going to do about your house up here?. I hadn't even given it so much as a moments consideration since things were going so well down here. It was my thought it was there for us to go to in the off season, but then I thought about my heart belonging to wherever Stu was. As soon as I thought that, the next thought I had was in regards to selling it.

By this time, Stu was back at the truck and saw I was on the phone. He said to tell her "Hello", and she said the same. We rang off and I then filled Stu in on what all she'd said and her concerns. Then, I asked him what he thought about me selling the house, or if I should keep it.

His reply was, "Hang onto it. We'll go up there in the off season and that way we can decompress up there away from here and your mom will see I haven't taken her baby away from her."

"You don't understand. You have and for that I'm thankful."

Just about that time, my cell phone rang and it was my mom again. I answered and she told me she'd finally realized Dave for what he was when he'd apparently spoken to her numerous times and told her of ficticious arguments we'd supposedly had and what I'd apparently said in those arguments. Mom finally told him I was nowhere near my house and she knew in fact I was several hours away and he was a mental case. I had to laugh when she said this because I was thinking it myself.

As soon as I got off the phone, I told Stu about the conversations Dave had with her and about the fictitious arguments. Stu laughed out loud and said, "Well, why don't we drive up there this weekend and give your mom a stack of receipts showing you were here the whole time just to reaffirm in her mind you were indeed down here."

"No, she believes me, but he really cooked his goose with her."

"It sounds like it needed cooked. I'd be willing to pursue slander charges on him if I were you. Lord knows who else he's spoken with and told."

"Well, to be quite honest, I don't really care who he's told what to. What matters is what I have down here with you and what you think...not him."

"Yes, I understand that, but if we're going to be up there part of the year, you've got to face those people and I'll find it really upsetting if he's marred you in any way with those people."

"No, they'll get to know you and believe me, the friends I have won't be affected by him. He didn't have his own friends and relied upon the relations I had for friends. I imagine he's messed every one of them up with him and they've told him to get on down the trail. Just the same, with mom telling him I'm gone, I don't put it past him to break into my house."

"Well, we need to go up there and check on things. It'll do us some good to get away for a few days."

"How about if I call Rhett and see if he can arrange for someone to go over and open up the house and have it ready for us."

"No, it won't take that long and I'd rather we do it. If people see strange vehicles around there, it might confuse them when it comes time to testify if anything was done."

"O.k., I'll follow your lead on this."

We drove back to the Ford dealer and put the temp plate in the window. Since were were getting personalized plates, they said it could take up to two weeks for us to receive them. We then drove our own trucks back to the cabin and I parked mine. I went over to his and he said, "Let's park yours over here and have you start staying in my cabin. It's not fair for us to support two houses when we only need one."

"O.k., but we'll need to get Gyp used to yours."

"Speaking of her, why don't you go get her and put a blanket in on the back seat. With the leather seats, I'm sure she's going to do some ice skating on the slickness of them. "

"If we take her into town, we'll have to bring her back home before going to the Sheriff's house for supper."

"O.k., I forgot that. I just wanted her to know we were thinking of her."

"She does. She's used to having alone time sometimes."

"Well, it is an awful long time in her time to be alone. Let's take her with us and then drive her back home."

"O.k., but you promised yourself you'd try to get some alone time for you."

"I did, but not today."

"If not today, when? Tomorrow, you have your doctor's appointment."

"Damn, I forgot about that."

"No, you hoped I wouldn't remember Stuart!"

"I'll go, it's just I don't want to waste their time over something which is trivial."

"I'd rather them to prove it's trivial than to have it be something big and know we ignored it."

"You're a worry wart."

"No, I happen to love you and I care. There's a difference. Prove me wrong on this and I'll listen to you closer the next time, O.k.?"

"Yes mom!"

"No, because if I was your mama, your happy ass would have already been to the doctor."

"That sounded just like her too! The tone of voice and that word."

I chuckled and said, "Well, I know we would have seen eye to eye on this and I'm glad. By the way, you just got outvoted."

"Are you sure you're not channeling her ghost, because she would have said that too."

"No....well, at least I don't think so....where'd she die?"

"Back home in St. Louis county."

"Oh, which burb?"

"Hazelwood, why?"

"Oh, I just was interested. I know most of the burbs and absolutely love Corondolet Park."

"You don't like Tower Grove?"

"Corondolet just tells me it's a piece of the missing puzzle within my soul. Tower Grove, I've been to, but only when Pridefest was happening and I didn't care for it all that much. Shaw's Garden is beautiful though."

"Have you been to Kansas City much?"

"Oh yeah, but none of the parks there really say much to me. Swope Park is the very first place I ever saw a drug deal happen and it totally blew me away. Memorial Park downtown had too many prostitutes in it for me to enjoy. The only memory I have of it is the guys and the girls both hit on me."

"Where else have you been?"

"Most everywhere North of I-70, and quite a few places south of it now. Some places, I'd just care not to revisit though."

"I understand. It's that way with me and Columbia. Columbia is where we lost my dad and that town is just rampant with crime. During the time Eddie and I were there, we saw a shooting, a stabbing, and had the wheels stolen off my car...and that wasn't two blocks away from the hospital."

"Which hospital?"

"Boone"

"Well, that neighborhood has it's ups and downs. There's so many college kids in it, it varies from year to year how it's likely to be."

"Well, we happened to hit during a bad one and it's made a memory on me that I'd not likely want to repeat."

"What I think about Jeff City and Hannibal is the two are so similar it's interesting. Both are river towns and both are so integrated, the racism isn't an issue. I think that's why I have a huge difficulty with being told I can't go into a neighborhood because I'm white, or blacks shouldn't be caught after dark in certain towns. To me, I had access to a whole town growing up and wasn't afraid to go anywhere."

"I agree. However, you will find racism alive and well in this area. Take a look at the strip, Shoji is the only person of any color besides anglo there. And, elsewhere, blacks just aren't really welcomed. I don't have any working for me because none have applied, but personally, I'd hire one if their skill level was the same. To me, it doesn't matter who a person is or where they come from, what matters is what's in their soul."

"I agree"

We got back to the Waters and the more I saw the different items laying around unprotected on the lot, the more it bothered me. Stu saw my dilemma and said, "Babe, why don't you go rent a bobcat and get some forks for it so you can lift with it. I'm sure you'll need one stacking the rocks anyways."

It was then I decided I'd need a Bobcat in any job I did and I'd go buy one. The trailer I'd purchased was a dual axle, so it would haul one, so I agreed and went to get one. I figured while I was at it, I'd get a push blade for us to use when snow was on. It'd certainly save on lot maintainance of the Waters, DQ, and the motel. I didn't mention it to Stu, because I didn't want his money on this decision. I decided it because it was something I could do to make life easier on my own.

At the Bobcat dealer, I met my first bonafide redneck who spat tobacco juice upon my shoes the second I exited the truck. I listened to him tell me how I didn't need the thing long enough that I finally got pissed and pulled out my cell phone right in front of him and called Donna. She let out a shriek as soon as she heard where I was and said, "I'll be right there and believe me when I get there, he's getting an asschewing he'll be thankful for when I stop."

I stood there and the dude looked more pissed by the second because he knew I wasn't paying attention to him. He finally said, "You gay boy!"

I smiled at him and said, "If I am, then rest your sorry ass knowing I wouldn't go for yours."

"Then get the fuck off my property before I shah-yoot yow azz!"

That was when the little white Progressive truck skidded to a stop next to mine and she got out.

"Emmett, You DUMB Mother FUCKER!"

"Donna, what you yellin' 'bout?"

"Do you realize who you just went off an pissed off?"

"Some dumb faggot is all."

That's when she grabbed the side of his head and said in a low voice, "That man right there is the person who you're coming to my mama and daddy's house tonight to meet and as soon as he tells everyone how you treated him, how in the HELL do you think you're not going to have the MOST sever ass WHOOPIN' you've ever had?"

"Awww Donna, I wasn't doin' nothin'. I was just funnin' him."

That's when I really got pissed. "So, you think offering to Shah-yoot mah azz, as you so rightly put it is funnin' me and doing it because I'm gay! Guess what, I WAS going to buy a fucking Bobcat, and not rent one... I WAS going to buy some forks to go with it. I WAS going to buy a push blade to go with it too. BUT, I could give a fuck less if I ever do business with you ever again. IN FACT, I WON'T!"

"Well Emmett, you done screwed the pooch, your dumb ass probably just cost you a hell of a lot of business because this guy is in construction and where do you think he's going to do busienss now? It certainly won't be with you and furthermore, I don't blame him. You shouldn't have shot your mouth off and by the time I get done telling the story so you can't make him out to be a liar, you'll most likely have your ass put out of business!"

"Donna! I didn't mean nothing!"

"Bullshit Emmett! You meant it, and you know it. You shouldn't have listened to a one of those good old boys and you should have figured on what was right. Instead, you've made your bed so not even you will be able to lay in it after tonight."

I turned to her and said, "Donna, I'm sorry, but if this is the way your family is, then I won't be at supper tonight."

"Jeremy, wait just one minute."

She turned to Emmett and said, "Emmett, who the fuck did I catch up in the hayloft?"

"Oh Donna, that twarnt nothin'."

"A whole helluva lot of things are nothin' to you Emmett, and that guy thinking bad about our whole family off your dumb ass is really upsetting me with you. How do you think the rest of the family will think when I tell the family tonight the guys who daddy likes so much was ran off by your dumb ass who says one thing, but will take the time to climb up in the hayloft and slob on the knob of Jimmy Joe."

"Donna! Don't go doin' that. It'd not be right."

"Oh it wouldn't! Then how the hell can you tell me it wouldn't be right when you're judging him for being gay when you and Jimmy Joe are doing each other every chance you get."

She turned to me. "Please come to the house tonight. What you'll probably see is the family taking care of one of it's own the way a family should...and I'm not referring to him. I'm referring to you! You are a part of our family now and whether this dumb fuck likes it, or not, he's going to have a bunch of the family down on him like stink on shit!"

She turned to Emmett and said, "Emmett, you don't show tonight, tomorrow morning don't show up at work either because Daddy will be up here slapping a padlock on these gates and right after that, he'll be out to put one on your trailer. Like I said, you screwed the pooch on this one and you're going to find out how sharp it's teeth are."

"Jeremy, come back tomorrow and buy that Bobcat, I'll guarantee you there will be a different person here selling it to you and you'll be amazed at how he suddenly owns this business."

She turned once again to Emmett and said, "Show up tonight Em, or I'll come looking for you and you can't outrun the shoe that's going to be kicking your ass."

"Donna, I really need to buy a Bobcat. We've got thing laying all over the parking lot that need picked up and we're going to need it when I'm doing the various construction jobs."

"Emmett, you hear that?"

"Yeah, I'm not deaf Donna."

"But your ass sure is dumb! Jeremy, which Bobcat do you want?"

I pointed it out to her and she said, "Load it up and get the attachments you want too. I'll stand here and get the numbers off them and see you've got everything you need because Em's going to see how much exactly that stupidity just cost him and then tonight, I'm going to tell everyone else about being so damned dumb."

She turned to Emmett and said, "Go get the keys to that Bobcat, Em, and you best make it pretty fucking fast for me."

Donna was pissed like I'd never seen her before and rightfully, I didn't blame her. I was pissed myself, but the way she rallied on against him took him down to silence. I really began to feel sorry for him because he knew he was in a world of hurt and most likely wouldn't have a thing to say about it.

I went out on the lot and took a look at what attachements the place offered and then made my decision. It still really bugged me I was purchasing it from this place, but as she said, there'd be someone new running it the next day. My only hope was after this, I wouldn't have an enemy with Emmett.

Thinking about Emmett, I went back to Donna and said, "Hon, let me go talk to his dumb ass and try to resurrect this from hurting him worse than it has."

"You're not understanding this. If he did it to you, then he's doing it to everyone else and his job is to be in business to make money. He promised the family when we lent him the money, he'd not pull this sort of shit and he knows it."

"Maybe he'll have learned a lesson by you breaking one off in his ass. Let's try to give him back something."

"You can try, but if his dumb ass doesn't want to try, then don't bother. The family will shut him out tonight."

"That's what I'm afraid of. In doing that, I've made an enemy and he's going to carry that the rest of his days."

"And, each time he thinks about fucking with you, he'll remember what happened here."

"No, you're not getting it, Donna! A bullet doesn't have brakes and it doesn't tell you exactly who shot it. I certainly can't tell you if my brains are blown out, now can I? So, tell me how he's going to be dealt with when he's not caught. Someone's already taken shots at Stu, when he was together with Eddie and I'll be damned if I'm going to take that risk."

"Go talk with him, but don't put up with no shit."

"O.k., but don't come in with both barrels blazing."

"I'll stay out here, but if he does anything, you have your finger on the dial button to my cell phone and I'll be in there in a flash."

"O.k."

I went into the office and sat down across the desk from Emmett. "You want to talk? Or, you want to hold a stupid grudge?"

He looked up with tears in his eyes, "It doesn't matter now. I'm going to lose the only thing that matters to me and I'm going to be a laughing stock in my family."

"My family too the way it sounds. So, you willing to work things out with me and us go out there and have me get her off your ass?"

"She won't stop. She's that way."

"No, because if I tell her to stop and she doesn't, I'll go to her daddy and tell him you and I worked things out and she didn't choose to listen."

"What do you gain from helping me?"

"Not a thing except I don't make you an enemy. Believe it, or not, Emmett, I've made some mistakes in my life too. My last boyfriend totally fucked up my life. That's why I'm down here."

"Who is he? I'll go fuck him up for you?"

"Why would you do that for me? You wanted to do that to me, remember?"

"You're family now."

"Not good enough Em. You're running a business and you need to know you can't treat people bad just because they're different. You may not like it, but their money is just as green as the next person's. Am I right?"

"Yeah,"

"So, you need to think about that when you're out there waiting on them and if that's the only thing that gets you through the sale, then you grit your teeth and you make that sale. That person might be the person who is in a position like me who is going to be doing a lot of busienss with you and make you wealthy."

"Yeah, you're right and I didn't think about that. Can I ask you a question?"

"Sure, what's on your mind."

"What's it like?"

"What's what like?"

"What's it like being in love with your boyfriend?"

"Well, the one I have now, is the best thing I've ever had happen to me. The last one, well, he was the worst. Why do you ask?"

"Well, I think I'm that way and Jimmy Joe, well....Jimmy Joe just don't want to be my boyfriend. He says he wants to wait until he can get some girl."

"Then don't fuck with Jimmy Joe and find someone else."

"Who?"

"I don't know, but I'll tell you now, Donna's not going to hold it against you unless you hold it against someone else. Heck, she didn't say a thing about two of your other family members becoming boyfriends earlier today and she doesn't think the family's going to have a problem with us or them."

"No, they're pretty much o.k., with that. Heck, all the guys and half the girls have tried it, so they can't very well say nothing."

"Then, why did you have a problem with it."

"Because I was afraid other people would see me dealing with you and not do business with me."

"Let me say this, if someone else wants to be that damned dumb, then let them be that damned dumb and face Donna's being pissed off. Now, to me, I didn't know she'd be that fucking hateful to you.Well, I didn't even know you were family, but I called her because she knows everyone and that's why I wanted her here. As you can see, she came riding in like the calvary."

"That's the way she is. She's more tom boy than most of the girls. She's whipped nearly all the guys and they don't forget it."

'"Well, then in the future Em, look at the next guy who might be gay coming in to do business with you as the guy that might be your boyfriend....well, except for Stu, if he ever comes in, and then don't touch him because I'll be in to kick your ass over him."

He chuckled and said, "Well, if you're anything like Donna, then I won't."

"No, over Stu, I'd say what you got from her was light compared to what you'd gotten from me. Stu's a keeper and I love him.What I will do is keep an eye out for you and let you know if I find someone who's gay that I think you'll be interested in. BUT, one thing you've got to stop doing Em, is stop chewing that tobacco. That shit's disgusting. You spit it out, how do you think someone else sees kissing your mouth with that crap in it."

"I never thought of that."

"Well, think about the way you are and think about the way someone else sees you. What wouldn't you put up with from someone else. If you do it, then my suggestion is to stop it. Another thing, you're damned fine looking, why do you not show it off more?"

"What do you mean?"

"Em, Bib overalls don't do a thing for you. I can tell that under those, you're built damned nice. Why don't you show it off and let others see it. I bet you if you drove down the strip, you'd have gay guys doing a whiplash head turn looking at you. You might think about losing the hat too. You've got gorgeous hair and all people can see is the hat."

"So, what if all I got is these bib overalls?"

"Then go out and buy some clothes, you can't tell me you're not going to make a nice chunk of money from the sale of these things I'm buying today, now are you?"

"No, you're probably going to pay about twenty five for those things and I'll make about ten thousand on them. I'll put five back into the business and pay five to the family as payment."

"So, rather than pay the family back five, I'll step up for you and tell them they're only getting four and you're buying clothes with the other one."

"They'll think I've gone all high class on them."

"No, they'll think you're actually taking your business seriously. SO, stand up big guy and get over here and give me a hug so we can go out there and get that girl off your ass."

He walked around the desk and I hugged him. He didn't let go of the hug and the muscles I felt under those bibs and the snake I felt poking me definitely told me he was built like a brick shithouse. Whoever Jimmy Joe was, he was dumb as a box of rocks.

"Jimmy Joe is a dumb ass Emmett."

"No, he's smart."

"No, his dumb ass is letting you get away."

He blushed and said, "If you find me someone, I'll make him happy."

"No, you make yourself happy and they'll be happy. Don't ever try to make someone else happy. That's what causes you problems. Believe me on this. That's what I did with Dave and I was miserable."

"He still needs his ass kicked."

"Well, if his dumb ass comes down here Em, I promise you I'll give you a call, o.k.?"

"You got a deal, Is he big?"

"No, I beat the tar out of him myself."

"Oh, you must have been pissed."

"Yeah, I was..." I said chuckling. "Let's get on out there, so I can write you a check."

"We don't take checks."

"Do you take plastic?"

"Yeah, we do take them."

"Well, I've got a Visa Check card which is the same thing, so that will work."

"You must have a lot of money."

"No, I'm planning on making lots of money. By the way, how many in your family know construction?"

"A lot of them know how to build things, but they can't get jobs with anyone because all the out of towner's won't hire them."

"Well, that shit stops tonight. I'll be hiring them."

"Really!"

"Yeah, I'm planning on doing a lot of work down here and one job is going to be a new show at the Waters."

"Wow! I like that show."

"That's good because he's my boyfriend."

"He's a nice guy."

"Yeah, I think so."

We went outside and Donna looked at us and said, "Things better?"

"Yeah, we've come to an understanding, Em's not going to treat strangers bad anymore and he's going to get a new wardrobe of clothes, drop the tobacco, and the hat. In return, I'm going to find him a boyfriend and he's dumping Jimmy Joe's dumb ass."

She smirked and said, "Em, you can do better than him. He's not ever going to amount to much."

"Donna, I really do love him. I just wished that he loved me back."

"Jimmy Joe just isn't ever going to see it. He's always thinking about himself."

She turned to me and said, "You buying them pieces?"

"Yeah, and one other thing. Not a word of this gets mentioned in the family."

She glared at Emmett and I said, "That's my choice to make and not yours Donna. We've come to the understanding and if you insist, I'll take it up with your daddy. He'll se you as out to bother Em after I asked you to stop the feud."

"O.k., but if he fucks up again, I'm going to be in here slapping the padlock on his place myself."

"No, because the next time he treats someone unfairly, it might be my ex boyfriend and we've already made a deal that if he comes down here, Em gets to beat him up."

She smiled.and said, "That would be running the gauntlet because once Em got through with him, I'd expect him to call ever family member up and down the strip to let them know they're going to whip his ass too."

"As long as Em gets first crack at him. By the way, if all the guys in your family are built like Em here, I'm going to open a strip club on the strip and hire them to work for me. All of us will be millionaires within a year. He's built and hung like a mule."

"What did you do in there?"

"Nothing, just hugged him is all. He got wood and what I felt nearly hit my kneecap."

"You really don't want to hug too many of my family members then, because it's something about these hills."

"If it works for transplants, then I can only hope. Man..."

"She chuckled and said, "it doesn't, trust me, it doesn't."

She turned to Em, "Em, I'm going to go. You treat him fairly and be thankful I love him like I do you because he's the only one that has the balls to pull me off you."

"He's a damned nice guy Donna, and I'm sorry to make you come down here on him being treated wrong."

"Well, I'd tell you two to kiss and make up, but Jeremy here might dump Stu over the next one."

"Not likely."

"I could only hope and then maybe Stu would go straight."

"Not a chance in the world I'm messing things up with him!"

"You know what you got and I doubt he'd let you get away either. I'm happy for you both."

She got in her truck and said, "Lunch is still on, so get that piece of equipment down the street so we can go."

I'd nearly forgotten lunch, so I told Emmett to deliver it to the Waters as I would like for him to meet Stu. Em smiled and said he'd be there in about ten minutes.

I drove off and realized I hadn't paid him. I pulled back onto the lot and got back out. Em looked at me and I said, "I forgot to pay you!"

He got off the Bobcat and went into the office with me. A sudden thought hit me and I said, "Em, do me a favor and ask around about who took some shots at Stu and his last boyfriend. Someone has to know something and I'd sure like to rest easier at night knowing who they are."

"I can tell you who they are, but the best thing I can tell you is tonight at supper, you just make mention you want that to stop and I betcha it won't ever happen again."

"Is the person who did it someone who's messed around with guys before?"

Em smiled and said, "I told you all of the guys have messed around before. The ones that did it didn't know it at the time, but they both were gay and they now live together."

"Well, we still need to put the fear into anyone else who even thinks about doing something that stupid because it probably led to Eddie having the heart attack which killed him."

Em looked shocked and I said, "Yeah, it cost Stu someone who meant the world to him and that pisses me off. I don't give a shit if they're gay now , or not. They pulled that shit and I'd like to ask them how they'd feel if something someone did would inadvertantly take their partner away from them. I bet you they'd feel pretty bad."

"Tonight, we'll see it stops and I'll get word to them about what happened. Please don't do anything to them, and learn to forgive them. They didn't know."

"No, they didn't, but if it ever happens again, Em, I won't think twice about making sure my bullets don't miss."

"You won't have to because I'll take care of it myself."

"No, don't you get yourself into trouble on our account."

Em looked up at me with his baby blue eyes and said, "You're my best friend and if I can't look out for you two, then who can."

"Em, I'll gladly be your friend if that's what you want, but don't do anything you'll regret over us."

"Won't regret it for a second, but they will." The look on his face was stone solid.

"Em, let's just make sure the younger ones don't ever think about pulling the same stunt. They might not do it, but younger one's might think about it."

"No, because the younger ones would have me to deal with before they even got into their pickup truck."

He swiped my card and it came back approved. He smiled and handed me the paperwork and said, "I'll follow you down there."

"If you'd like, you can go to lunch with us."

"I'd like that, but you really need to save space for supper."

"Oh, we are. We're just having a light lunch and then planning on a big supper."

"Stay away from the yellow crockpot!"

"We've already been told."

He laughed and said, "I ate me a bunch once when no one told me and thought it was good. Then, someone told me and I was sick for a week afterwards."

"I don't blame you."

"The same person who brings that stew also brings possum occasionally, so if they do, I'll warn you. It's usually fried up and they put it up next to the fried chicken. It's pretty easy to tell because the pieces are smaller than a chicken."

"I know people eat that stuff, but I don't know how people can eat varmit or critter."

"Most people aren't doing it so much anymore, but if times get bad ever again, you'd be amazed at what people will eat. There've been times before my mama boiled our shoes and we ate the broth off of them."

"Man, if times ever get that bad again, I certainly hope we don't have to get down that far."

"No, me neither, but it's always wise to have a good long supply of vegetables in your pantry. I keep at least a year's worth in mine so I don't ever have to think about it for a long time."

"That's smart, I'll have to do that. How much food is that?"

"I'll get you a list. It's a lot, but it's not really that much if you're figuring for more than one. A single person is the most wasteful person on the planet. When they're cooking for two, or more, then they get more economical."

"Get me that list and I'll make sure I get Stu and I's bought."

"What you should do is put the word out in the family you're interested and they'll can them up for you. Glass doesn't rust, but a canned good will only last so long. You should use out of them and then replace with new, so you're rotating them in and out."

"That makes sense. I appreciate the information."

"Don't worry, we take care of our own, You just take care of us likewise."

"We are and we plan on it."

"I know you are, that's why Donna's throwing this together for you all. Do you mind if I get another hug again, it felt good."

"Sure, no problem, just consider that a token of our frienship and wherever we are, you get one when we see each other and when we part, o.k.?"

"Sure, I know I'll look forward to it."

"Me too. I'm glad we've gotten over the rough patch."

"Jeremy, you know the way you explained it to me really made a difference to me. I'm sorry."

"No problem."

We went back out and I once again drove off the lot. When I got down to the theater, Donna was parked there and Stu was outside.

"Things better now?" Stu asked.

"Yeah, and for the part of you not keeping your word Donna, please don't go to lunch with us. What you just did pisses me off. If you won't keep your word to me, then I've got to refigure everything you've told me and I sure as shit won't have do busienss with you."

Stu looked at me and said, "What she do that's pissed you off, it sounds to me like you're pissed off at the wrong person."

"Oh she knows. I said I was letting it drop as did she, and now I find out she didn't. Fuck you Donna, get the hell away from me."

"Jeremy, don't speak to her that way."

"Stu, I hate to say this, but she's dead off in the wrong. I've got to go see the Sheriff."

I backed up and then pulled out of the lot. It didn't take three blocks and I saw the Sheriff's car parked at a McDonald's. I pulled in and parked. When I got inside, he was sitting with someone and I went over to speak with him. "I'm going to be over here having lunch and need a moment of your time when you have one free.

"Sure, what's up?"

"No, not in front of others, but I do need to speak with you about a family matter."

"These guys are family, so go ahead."

"O.k., Donna is inviting others to a family gathering tonight and after what she just did, I won't be going."

"What the hell?"

"Sheriff, when someone gives me their word, I expect that word to be kept. She straight up didn't...in fact, she lied through her teeth and it's pissed me off to the point, I'd just as soon not be a part of something like that with people I can't trust."

"What's going on?"

"Well, a family member and I had a disagreement. He tried a bigoted role and I called Donna. She came and then he and I got it quashed. Her agreement was it was going to be over and never discussed again. Instead, as soon as she could, she went to Stu with it. Now, Stu's asking questions and I'm not about to break my word simply because she did."

He looked at me and said, "So, you're telling me she gave you her word and then went back on it."

"Yeah, for a large part yes. Now, to do business with someone you can't count on their word, and to go into a family situation where one straight up lied to me and you, sir, didn't tell me everything,..well, I'll tell you now, I'll be going back to my parent's cabin and packing my stuff to get just as far out of here as I possibly can."

"What are you saying about me not telling you everything?"

"It seems plenty of people in your family know who took the shots at Stu and Eddie. It was your family. Are you aware the added stress set off a chain of events which led to Eddie's having that heart attack? Well, if that's what I've got to face, sir, then I'll tell you to your face, I'm not trusting the lot of you."

"Hold up, you think I know who did it?"

"Well, it's your family, so you should."

"Now get this, I didn't and I don't like being told I did. A lot of people don't tell me things simply because I'm the law and they know I'll drag family in just as fast as anyone."

"Well, if you didn't know, then you know now. It's your family that took those shots. So, what are we walking into tonight, an ambush? If so, then I'll stay home and will advise Stu to also. His decisions are his, but mine are mine."

He looked across the table at the two guys sitting there, "Who the hell was it and I want to know now!"

"Ummm....we promised not to say."

"So, you're obstructing justice and this one right here is correct in what he's said."

"Ummm, we promised and they didn't mean it like it turned out."

"Well, it did turn out and I find out I've been riding these roads and trusting my family when they're the one's who're responsible. Jeremy, just as soon as I can run these guys off, we're going to have a talk and I want to know what you've heard."

"O.k., but the end of the deal is, it's your family that wants Stu and I in to get to know while the whole time, they know someone amongst them just as soon as killed Eddie. Sir, I'll talk with you, but as you can see, I won't be dealing with anyone but you."

The guy across the table said, "Donna's not going to be happy."

I looked at him, "Donna's made her bed with me. Someone's word is their bond, and she showed me what her word means."

"Jeremy, I'll be taking care of Donna too, just as soon as I can get these guys away from here....Now, you two, I'm going to say this once and I'm going to say it clear so you can know what I'm about to do. You two go and you tell the ones responsible they need to have themselves at my office this afternoon. Now do that and I'll forget you forgot what you knew. If you do anything other than what I just said, then I'll have you sitting in a cell right next to those responsible."

The left and he said, "Jeremy, sit over there and tell me everything that happened. I'm not giving one hoot you told the other person you wouldn't let it go further, but I want to know what happened."

I sat across from him and told him everything. When we got to the end, he said, "One second, I'm going to make a phone call and get her down here. She's got some explaining to do and I'm not happy with her. You and Stu are members of our family as privledged guests simply because we like you and see you two as bridging the gaps in this town. Now, she's gone and forgotten what she's supposed to be doing."

"O.k., I'll call Stu and tell him to come too."

"O.k., because I owe him a big apology just like I do you. I really didn't know who took those shots and to find out my whole family knew really ticks me off."

He called Donna on his cell phone and I called Stu. It turned out they were together. Stu told me he'd be there just as soon as he could break free."

After we rung off, the sheriff said, "They're together and are going to be here in a moment. When she gets here, let me do the talking and know I'm going to be giving her a real chewing. All I really want is you and Stu to please show up tonight. I understand you not wanting to be there, and not trusting my family, but they're going to be hearing what I think of the lot tonight and I'd like for you to be there to receive all the apologies you have coming."

"Your family didn't do anything to me. The did it to Stu. My problem with Emmett was over when we resolved things. Now, it's resting with Donna."

"I understand that. She'll be apologizing all over herself too here shortly, but first, I want her to admit to me she knew just as well as everybody else she knew who took those shots. If she does that, I'll tell you now, I'm not going to be a very happy man."

"Sir, I look at what happened before I got here as harrassment pure, plain, and simple. Everyone knowing about it was unethical, but when Eddie died from the stress, I view it as a giant cover up. I don't know the guys that did it, and my axe isn't being ground with them. Heck, they saw the error of their ways and turned over a new leaf. It's what everyon else did that just stinks to high heaven."

"I agree. Technically, it's conspiracy and we'd have a heck of a time getting a conviction on anyone, but what's worse is it's violated your trust and that's beyond what I'll tolerate."

Donna and Stu came in and sat down. Stu looked at me and said, "Are you o.k.?"

"I'm fine, just sit here and you'll get to hear what's happening."

The sheriff turned to Donna, "How long have you known who took the shots at Stu here and his partner?"

She looked at him and said, "Daddy, everyone knows in the family. They all knew just as soon as them two did it."

"Why didn't you take responsibility and come to me with it?"

"We knew you'd go out and arrest them."

"You're damned right I would've. That's called being a lawman. It doesn't matter who breaks it, they've got to be held accountable. If they aren't, then civilization begins to crumble and then others see it sliding and they begin to do whatever they want too."

"So, you know who did it now?"

"Yeah, and it took Jeremy coming in and accusing me of knowing about it too to get to the bottom of it. How do you think I feel?"

"You're the only one that didn't...even mama knew."

"SO, you're telling me I'm to be made a laughing stock by those who are supposed to love me. Donna, I'm really disappointed in your actions."

He turned to Stu. Stu, you have my apologies. I told you the truth that I didn't know. I drove those roads patrolling to protect you two when I see now my whole family was involved in the cover up. Jeremy says you think Eddie died from the stress associated with it, is that correct?"

"That amongst other things, yes."

"What you're saying is telling me the death is related and I need to go find the two responsible and arrest them for manslaughter."

Stu sat up a bit more upright and said, "Don't. Just let sleeping dogs lie. Opening things up will only create a bigger mess and for that, I don't want to have a part of it. I can understand Jeremy here being upset and not trusting your family, and he's justified, but I also know if you point out the bad in situations, then the good gets ignored."

"You're right, but for me personally, I'm seeing a whole new light on my family and I'm not happy with them at all. I'm not sure what I should do about it."

He turned back to Donna and said, "You, young lady have some serious apologizing to do to these guys here. From what I hear, you took it upon yourself to go be a gossip monger after you gave your word you wouldn't. Maybe you had your reasons for attempting to ingratiate yourself with Stu here, but you did so at a cost of Jeremy's trust in you. He now thinks anything you've said is a lie and doesn't want to do business with you anymore. Quite frankly, knowing the situation from what I've been told, I wouldn't either. In fact, he was ready to go back to that cabin and get just as far away from here as he could simply because he thinks the whole family is a pack of liars. I'm inclined to believe him now. If I didn't have this badge on my shirt, I'd probably be hitching a ride with him. I'm now finding out my own wife kept knowledge away from me and then wanted to make me feel guilty for driving the roads at night when she very easily could have stopped it."

Donna looked at me, "Jeremy, I only told Stu because I didn't want him to be worried. I wanted him to know what happened because he'd be aware of it and if anything happened to you, then he'd know."

"You gave your word Donna and the way I see it, you couldn't wait until you got away from there so you could go tell him something which wasn't your place to tell. It was my choice and you took that away. My advice in the future is to think about the word you gave and not about what you gain by violating someone's trust in you."

Stu looked at me, "You weren't going to tell me?"

"No, my problems with him were over. We'd reached an understanding and she knew it. It was my place to tell you, and I'm sure I would have introduced you to him and gave you the full details. Instead, I arrive and find out she'd told you when she agreed to not say anything."

"I see. SO, you're o.k, with what happened up there today."

"Yeah, I know the reason he did it and I know what his friendship is going to mean to me. She wasn't there for that part, so she's just guessing what we said to each other in that building."

"Would you care to divulge it to us?" asked the Sheriff.

"Not really, I agreed to carry Emmett's friendship forward, not violating his trust...which someone should have done."

Donna said, "I'm sorry, Jeremy, can you forgive me?"

"Can I trust you?"

"Yes!"

"Don't answer that question so fast Donna, because it's a double edged sword. We have a business relationship and we have a friendship. On both counts, I expect you to be honest with me in the future. That means family doesn't come first in it, and you don't tell me any half truths. If I find out otherwise in the future, we're through. I won't even be polite to your face like I was just now, I'll front you out for being the liar I think you're capable of being."

"Jeremy, I really did it to protect you two. I didn't know you and Em agreed to anything, all I knew was it was over and I know what he's capable of doing."

"Well, Em gave me his word and I trust him. You gave me your word it wasn't going to go any further, and you did. He was supposed to be introduced to Stu, by me, as a friend. You tainted that and now that's a debt Em has to carry with Stu. That wasn't fair at all."

"I see that now."

"No, because you don't know the whole situation and I gave my word I wouldn't say what it was. That's Em's position to divulge and I'm not going to violate it."

The Sheriff said, "Guys, what I've got to do is bide my time and deal with those two guys this afternoon. If they don't show, then I'll be going to arrest them. It's that simple. Stu, I understand you don't want a can of worms opened, and I'll try to respect that...but, that's if they come in. If they don't, then I'll open it myself and deal with my family later. One thing I'll tell you is I'm going to sit those two down and I'm going to tell them the affects of their actions and what they caused. I'm going to tell them to put themselves in your position and think about how they'd feel if you and Eddie had done it to them. I bet you they're going to feel really bad. Now, one thing I'd like to ask you is if you two will open your hearts and invite them in as friends. It's going to be tough, but they need friends and I think you two would be good for them. If you don't, then I'll understand. But if they don't want to, then I'm not going to be as cordial to them."

Stu looked at me and said, "Jer, what do you think?"

"I don't know. I don't know them. If the Sheriff thinks it'll be safe, then maybe we should if you don't want them arrested. If you don't want to, then I understand that too. I'll abide by what you decide."

Stu sat and thought a moment, I could see he was dealing with a lot of pain. A tear slid down his cheek and then he reached over and held my hand, "I'll do it. Tonight, I want to speak with them and I don't want them to dilly dally on this. The longer I have to wait, the more of a chance I would have on changing my mind." He paused and then turned to Donna. "YOU better find a fucking way to tell your family that's the only chance they've got to kill someone I love. The next time, it better be me otherwise, I promise you a mass execution will happen even if I've got to go on the black market and get every machine gun in this country. You will all be dead. Got that?"

"Stu, I'm sorry. I know they didn't mean it and I understand what you've went through because of it."

"No, you can only guess what I went through. I went into a pattern in my life in which I hoped one of those guys would come back and finish the job. You don't know how many nights I saw your dad drive by and wish he wasn't out patrolling the roads so they could come back and finish me off just so I could be with him. It didn't happen. For so long, the life of having someone to be there and the security of knowing they'd be there to back me up was what I knew. Then, suddenly, he was gone. I got to find his body and I got to bury him. Then, I got to live without him."

Stu began to rack with sobs and said, "Then, when I accepted the pain would be there and the other side of the bed would be cold, I found him here. A huge part of me is just now accepting the sun's going to shine again and it's o.k., to trust he'll be there and I find out you and your family once again took it upon themselves to fuck with my life. Well, I'll tell you now, you do anything to jeopardize it and I'll hunt you down like the dogs you are. You want to fuck with someone sister, then you go fuck with your family, because your days of fucking with me are over."

He got up and went into the bathroom. Others were seeing the scene unfold, and stared, but I didn't give a shit about them. I went into the bathroom and held him and hugged him. "It's going to be o.k, it's going to be o.k."

"How do I know. I sit out there and find out you damned near left me over this shit. You don't know it, but wherever you would have went, I would have been too. This place doesn't mean a thing to me down here, but you do."

"I'm here and I'm going to be here. If I choose to leave, then you'll be told, but I think we're handling it good. I'm really glad I went to the Sheriff."

"Why'd you go to him?"

"I told Donna if she attempted to fuck me over, I'd go to him in a heartbeat and I did. She has to know, I'd go just to keep my word and now we've found out how much everyone knew."

"Yes, and that's upsetting. A huge part of me doesn't trust the lot of them, but a big part of them says to trust them and look for the good in them. Now, you want to tell me what really happened up there in that building?"

"Yeah, he's gay."

"What!"

"He's afraid of what everyone else would think. So, he chose to act out out of fear. Now, he knows I'll support him and do what I can to help him to find someone and be better about himself."

"Whew, you have a way of finding them, don't you?"

"It looks that way, but hon, he's a real sweetheart. You'll like him."

"Donna said he can be a real bad ass."

"Yeah, but apparently, she doesn't know the side he showed me."

"O.k., I'll trust it with you, but you've got to make ammends to her. I know she was only doing what she did to protect you. It's kind of came back and bit her."

"Yeah, I know. I'll make it up with her, but we've got to deal with this situation Stu, otherwise, it won't get better. Do you really want to meet those two guys?"

"I'm not sure, why did they do it?"

"They did it for the same reason Em acted out against me, both were afraid to tell the other what they felt and after they did what they did to you all, they communicated and built a relationship."

"Oh."

"Yeah, so they're happy now and their mistake cost Eddie his life."

"Eddie probably would have died anyways, but he sure didn't need that stress."

"No, he didn't. So, let's go back out there and we'll get through this mess. I'm sorry I opened the can of worms."

"No, I'm glad you did, otherwise, I would have been constantly looking over our shoulders thinking they'd come back."

"They will hon, but this time, they'll do it as friends. It's up to us to turn the other cheek."

"I'll do that, but they need to know they're on probation with me."

"O.k., now I'm going to ask something else which might not make sense to you, but I'm going to shoot anyways."

"What?"

"Tonight, if things go good, let's get everyone together and bring them up to the theater so they can see it all at once."

"That's a good idea. Maybe it will help the Sheriff keep his mind off his troubles. I really feel sorry for him."

"Me too, but after seeing Donna in action today, I'm beginning to worry about that whole family because if she took after him, then he's not going to leave anyone standing, he'll hit like a nuclear bomb."

"She that bad?"

"Oh hell, bad doesn't begin to describe it. Just say I was awed."

"Man..."

"Yeah, just think of her like she's an iceburg, what you see is one thing, but what she keeps hidden is way worse. That girl was like nothing I've ever seen."

"Well, let's be glad she's fighting for our side."

"Let's hope it's our side."

"No, you've got to trust too."

"O.k., I will, but she doesn't realize how deep that cut was today."

"I'll work with you to heal you."

"No, that's going to be her job. She's the one that violated the trust."

"Well, let's get back out there. Otherwise, they'll think I fell in."

"No, they'll understand."

We went back out, and when we sat down, Donna reached over and put her hand on Stu's arm. "Stu, I'm sorry. Our whole family doesn't know the things you went through, and once they know, I'm sure they'll tell you how sorry they are too. We weren't thinking about your loss when we were trying to protect those guys, we were thinking of them. Now, I know what daddy was saying and I feel like shit."

"No, just understand and know it takes time. I'm not totally blaming them otherwise, I'd tell your dad to arrest them and not feel one bit of remorse for what would happen. Instead, I've got to reach out and attempt to begin the healing process. Hopefully, they'll participate."

"Oh, they will!"

"No, it has to be freely given."

She smiled and said, the words I was thinking, "Or else!"

Notes From Retta:

Many of you have written to express your concern with whether the story would continue. Good News! The characters are now speaking to me again, for "Write Me A Love Story". While they are speaking, I'm writing like a mad man. Chpater Seven got finished and Chapter 8 is well on it's way of being finished.

I'm really happy because I was sure I'd have to have them shelved for a while because they'd just stopped speaking to me. Now, I've got a good direction on it and I'm pulling out the stops so I can get them in the can for you.

Once again, thanks for writing and let's hope I can get the fellas to where they need to be.

Loves, Rhett

From My Keyboard To Your Heart,

Retta

RettaMichaels@Gmail.com

Copyright Notice - Copyright (c) December 2007 by RettaMichaels The author, RettaMichaels copyrights this story and retain all rights. This work may not be changed or duplicated in any form, media, ( known or unknown) without the author's expressed permission. All applicable copyright laws apply.

Disclaimer: All individuals depicted are fictional, and any resemblance to real persons is purely coincidental

-- >From My Keyboard To Your Heart Rhett

Here is a list of stories I've written and where to find them:

With Love - Nifty - Beginnings Section Rural Love - DeweyWriter.com Write Me A Love Story - DeweyWriter.com To Love Him - DeweyWriter.com Military Zone - Nifty - Military Section Evan - Nifty - Beginnings Section Jordan - Nifty - Beginnings Section

Can You Catch My Heart

Buckets of Blessings

Chains of Love

Dead Air

Prayers of Thanks

All On DeweyWriter.com or Nifty.org