Note: This story was dynamically reformatted for online reading convenience.
 
 Chapter One



   "Ill blows the wind that profits nobody" - William Shakespeare

   The land had been home to members of my family for generations, with the
best part of the property being a high ridge running parallel to the not
too distant Gulf of Mexico.  After great great grand-dad bought a couple of
thousand acres, over the years of heirs and sub-dividing, I was fortunate
to end up with the choicest of tracts, including the hillock on which I
built my house.

   Now about the house.  I'm an engineer, electrical, actually, and several
years ago I was in the middle of a bunch of other engineers, drinking beer
and eating barbecue in somebody's back yard and I mentioned the tract of
land.  Beautiful place, but it was the stripe down the middle of hurricane
alley.  Flooding wasn't likely, but winds?  Nothing for miles in any
direction except a few live oak trees bent in interesting poses by decades
of wind.

   We had representation of the engineering staff there, my co-workers,
contemporaries, and when I said something about building, they ran through
a litany of jokes about houses blowing away.  But the civil guy said, "Nah!
Piece of cake.  I can draw up some specs and some plans and details and I
can guarantee that a Category Five won't touch it." And that's how the
house was built.  Where a standard foundation rode on the surface of the
soil with a thick chainwall around the edge, MY foundation was tied with
steel to a set of poured reinforced concrete borings.  And the frame was
bolted and strapped to the foundation.  And the roof was strapped to the
walls.  And the roofing was sheet steel, screwed down with five times the
standard fastenings.  The windows were double strength and there were REAL
shutters, decorative when folded back, to be sure, but when closed, the
wind and blown debris wouldn't touch the windows.  Anything outside was
built to stand a hundred and seventy-five mile per hour winds.  With
engineered margins.  Everything.  That was the house.

   And I'm the electrical guy, so behind the house was a generator.  And a
BIG tank of fuel.  Enough for three or four weeks.  Propane.  It doesn't go
bad.  And I took care of it, running it, maintaining it, just like the ones
that my clients depended on for emergency backup power.  And when the
parish (county if you're not in Louisiana) came by with a community water
system, I said NO!  and kept my deep well with a pump that I supplied power
for.

   That's what I had.  And it was wonderful solitude.  The nearest neighbor
was a half mile away for the first two years after I built the house and
moved in.  And then a distant cousin decided to make some money off the
government and built a set of apartments on an adjacent tract.  Our rural
area had NO "low income" housing, and a set of apartments was guaranteed to
be filled with occupants who paid with government checks.  Plus, he got a
"special" deal on financing.  And his "do-good" project leapt right over my
objections to the zoning.

   So my dream house now was neighbor to a set of four apartments in a two
story frame building.  Ten miles from the coast.  And I can tell you that
it wasn't built like MY house.

   And it was August in Louisiana and every day I spent a few minutes
checking weather reports for hurricanes.  It was that time of the year. 
And one morning I looked, and there one was.  I and everybody else on the
coast followed the track and two days out, I knew I was in for a ride.

   I called the agency that employed me as a troubleshooter and go-to guy
for industrial power, and told them to take my name off the board for a few
days.  It was time to prepare.  I bought groceries.  I checked the battery
stock, just in case.  Wasn't anything left to do but close and bar the
shutters and I was ready.  Twenty-four hours before the storm, I was
sitting in the living room, watching TV and petting the big yellow cat that
was my companion.  I watched the local news stations breathlessly calling
for evacuations of the parish wherein I resided.  I sat on my own porch and
watched cars leaving the apartments as well as places further back up the
road.

   The winds picked up under strange-colored skies, clouds moving
purposefully in busy patterns toward the storm out in the Gulf.  I walked
into my garage to check the big diesel pickup truck that was enclosed.  Its
tank was full, and there was a fresh drum of diesel inside the garage.  In
an adjacent building was my travel trailer.  In hurricane winds, that
trailer would be like a ping-pong ball in a blender, except that it was
fully ensconced in a shelter built just as well as the house.

   The truck was a tool of the trade.  So was the trailer, home away from
home when I had an out of state project.  Prepped?  That was me.  Before
cell towers went down, I called my family, sister and brother, safely
housed further inland, and they were joining thousands moving north and
east and west out of the oncoming storm.  Both of them tried talking me out
of staying, but I knew what roads looked like, jammed bumper to bumper,
moving start and stop for a hundred miles in every direction.

   So I made a pot of red beans and a pot of rice to go with it, and sat
back to surf the news until the lines went down.

   The winds continued to pick up.  I watched my home's weather station. 
The winds started gusting above forty at dark.  Sunset?  No sun visible,
just some peculiar glow in a generally western direction.  I kicked back
the recliner.  The display was showing gusts over sixty by eight PM.  And
rising.  The lights flickered.  Came back on.  Flickered again.  And stayed
off.  That was the electricity.  THEIR electricity.  I went to my utility
room, flashlight in hand, pushed a button, pulled a handle, and the lights
were back on.  Generator.

   The cable was gone, too.  Same pole somewhere up the road, most likely.
Mentally I cussed.  I knew I should've switched to a satellite system.  I
could've hardened that.  I took comfort in the idea that with the heavy
cloud and rain, the satellite signal would have been very erratic.  But
still... I made mental note for a change when things got back to normal.

   We were ninety and gusting higher, the howl of the wind audible even
through well-built and insulated walls.  Tommi, the neutered tomcat,
decided that he needed companionship and he wedged himself into the
recliner beside me.  I put a DVD in the player and went to sleep.

   I woke up and the winds were from the opposite direction, but down to
forty in gusts.  I looked out my portholes, the little windows that I
didn't have shutters on, and it was daybreak.  I'd weathered the storm.  I
fixed breakfast for myself and put a treat down for the old yellow cat.  We
enjoyed breakfast.  Well, I enjoyed my own.  He looked at his, and turned
his picky old butt to it and stalked off.

   By eight, the winds were down to thirty mile per hour gusts.  I decided
it was time to survey my kingdom.  I walked outside.  Windy.  Splatters of
rain.  Low clouds scudding purposefully towards the eye somewhere inland.
But the storm was over.  I walked around the building.  Not a thing was out
of place.  It had survived unscathed, result of a little engineering and a
little extra time and money.  The RV shelter was similarly unscathed.  I
busied myself opening shutters, putting my house back in normal condition.
That took an hour.

   I flipped open the cellphone.  No signal.  And I looked around, past my
own fence.  My neighboring apartment building was down in a shambles.  Roof
of part of it lifted off and flew to who knows where.  The rest pushed
over. I didn't see a sign of life, but as far as I knew, everybody had
evacuated

   The next thing I did was turn on the radio for local news.  The storm
had come ashore as a Category Three, the eye passing fifteen or twenty
miles east of me.  I'd come through the worst of it.  The radio detailed
post-storm situations.  Like the fact that I was inside an area that was
off limits to travel.  The people who had evacuated wouldn't be allowed
back.  Walking down to the road and looking toward town, I could
understand. Storm surge waters covered it a quarter mile from me.  I could
see debris as far as I could see.

   I walked to the fence between my property and the apartment complex to
get a better look.  The fence, tall boards, was laying flat, having
succumbed to early winds, I imagined.  I was thinking about how much money
was 'saved' on its construction and the construction of the apartments,
building as cheaply as possible.  I supposed that they have more than
enough insurance, and after a few years of charging exorbitant rates to
people who were spending government money, I figured they'd gotten their
investment back already.  But that's just numbers.  I deal with a lot of
numbers.

   What I didn't intend to deal with was a faint sound from the rubble.  I
tilted my head to hear better.  Yes.  It was there.  Sobbing.

   "Helloooooo!!!!" I yelled.  "Who's in there?"

   "Hellllllllppppp!" was the return.  My day just went from a relaxing bit
of isolation to some sort of rescue effort.  I jumped onto the flattened
fence and ran to the edge of the rubble pile.  "Help me!" A strained,
crying, feminine voice.  "I can't get out!"

   "Keep talking," I called.  "I need your voice to find you!" I turned to
the western end of the rubble.  "Are you okay?"

   "I'm trapped!  I can move, but I can't get out!"

   "Can you see daylight?" I asked.

   "Yes!  There's boards in the way.  I can't get past them."

   I moved closer to the voice.  I carefully climbed on some sort of
satanic playground, carefully, wood splintered, cheap siding and plywood
folded and cracked.  "One more time," I said.

   "Here.  Over here.  I saw your shadow.  I'm wavin' my arm!"

   I stopped and scanned the pile for movement.  There!  I saw a hand. 
"For heaven's sake, girl, are you okay?"

   "I... I don't know!  I got hit on the head.  I scraped my leg."

   She wasn't too badly covered.  The building's collapse had basically
taken her wall sideways in one piece, leaving her with a space big enough
for her to fit safely, a minor miracle.  "Okay, I see your hand!  Now keep
still.  Let's see what I need to do to get you out!"

   "Oh, thank God," she said.  "Are you the rescue people?"

   "Nope, I'm the guy next door." I carefully lowered myself to a
semi-prone position on the rubble so I could see her.  There was a teenaged
female face, wet, speckled with debris, hair a matted mess.  She was
separated from freedom by a lattice of two by four wall studs that had
collapsed accordion-like as the building fell sideways.

   I tried pulling on one.  It was loose.  Not loose enough that I could
pull it out of the way with my hands, but loose enough to tell me that if
it was gone, the building wouldn't fall further.  I tried another.  Same
finding.  Okay.  A plan was forming.

   "Let's get some names.  "I'm Dan Granger.  And you're..."



   "Dominique Domingue.  People call me Nikki.  N-I-K-K-I." That last name
was pronounced "doe-main" in Cajun country.



   "Hi, Nikki.  I would have rather met you on a better note.  I'm gonna
have to go back to my house and get some tools.  But we're gonna get you
out of here, okay?  Just wait a few more minutes."

   "O-okay," she said.  "Thank you, Mister Dan."

   "It's okay, Nikki.  I'll be back in a few minutes."

   I carefully eased off the pile very carefully.  I knew that I was on my
own here.  The last thing I needed was an injury to myself, especially
since now there was another human life involved.  Reaching the edge, I
jogged back to the house and unlocked the side door to the shop building
that held my tools.  I retrieved a battery-powered reciprocating saw and a
couple of the most aggressive blades I had in the drawer, and headed back
to see Miss Nikki.

   Reaching the edge of the pile, I called, "Nikki, I'm back.  Hang in
there."

   "I'm not going anywhere, Mister Dan," she said.  I parsed that answer.
Trapped in a collapsed building in a hurricane disaster area, and she found
enough in herself to make a joke.

   After carefully picking my way back up the pile, I looked in at her. 
"Everybody's gone except the one comedian," I said.

   "Sorry.  It's the stress," she said.  "Can you get me out?"

   "Yeah, in a minute.  Back up away from me as far as you can.  I need to
saw these boards." I put my hand on the offending lumber.

   She scooted back a couple of feet.

   "Close your eyes.  There's gonna be sawdust," I warned.

   "Okay.  Go ahead."

   I positioned the saw and pulled the trigger.  Three seconds to complete
the first cut.  I pulled the board out of the way, watching for movement
that might indicate the debris shifting.  I saw none.  I cut the other end
of that bit loose.  A similar procedure had the second out of the way in
another minute.  There was, I surmised, a girl-sized hole to crawl through.

   "Okay, Miss Nikki," I said.  "Let's see if you can get out of there."

   I saw her hands appear, then she stuck her head out.  A few wiggles
later, she was holding onto my hand as she slithered free.  She stood up
shaking.  Soaking wet.  Jeans were soaked, spattered with bits of
insulation and debris.  Cotton t-shirt, torn at the neck.  Athletic shoes.
Hair plastered to her face.  Shivering.  Dammit!  I should've thought to
bring a blanket.  Rescuers need blankets, right?

   "Can you walk?" I asked.

   "Uh-huh.  I think so," she answered.

   "Then let's be real careful getting off this mess.  We don't want to get
hurt here by ourselves."

   I held her hand and guided her over the mess to get to solid ground.

   She saw my house.  "Your house.  It's okay?"

   "Yes it is, Nikki." WE walked across the collapsed fence and into my
yard.  I opened the door.  Cool air flooded out.  "Come in.  Let's get you
cleaned up."

   "Okay.  How?  How do you still have electricity?"

   "Generator," I said.  "Look, we need to get you cleaned up and you need
to check yourself out.  I have a shower.  Hot water.  Can you clean
yourself?"

   "I... I think so."

   "We have a problem, though.  I don't have any clothes that'll fit you.
You can give me those and I can wash `em.  You'll have to make do with a
T-shirt and maybe a pair of pajama bottoms.  They'll be big, though."

   I herded her to the bathroom.  She was shivering.  I turned the water
on. "Shower?  Or bath?"

   "S-shower, please..."

   "Okay.  I'll leave the shirt and pajamas outside the door when you
finish.  Call me.  Okay?" I thought.  "Are you sure you can do this?"

   "I...  I think so."

   I left her and went into my bedroom.  The ONLY bedroom.  I was a single
guy and I'd turned the other room that MIGHT be a bedroom into an office,
complete with desk, CAD station, bookshelves, drafting table (sometimes you
just NEED to do things on real paper) and file cabinets.

   I scrabbled through my drawers and found a pair of pajama bottoms that I
never wore, and a t-shirt and I placed them folded neatly by the door of
the bathroom.  I could hear the sound of the shower.  And then I went back
to the living room, watching the cat patrolling his kingdom.

   I heard the shower stop and the door open and immediately close. 
Moments later she walked out her head wrapped in a towel.  My t-shirt hung
loosely, VERY loosely, on her frame.  And she was holding the pajamas up
with one hand.

   "Okay," I said.  "You made it through the shower.  Now, what hurts?"

   "My head."

   "Where?"

   "Right here," she said, lifting the edge of the towel to reveal a
reddened mark at her hairline just above her right eye.  It was red, but
not bleeding nor was it swollen.

   "That's not too bad.  Any headache?  Ears ringing?  Blurry vision?"

   "No sir."

   "Okay, good," I said.  "Are you hurting anywhere else?

   "I have a bruise or something on my leg.  I scraped it crawling out of
the building.  But it's not bleeding either.  It's gonna be blue, though."

   "Okay," I said.  "Let me get your stuff in the washer."

   "You have a washer working?"

   "I have EVERYTHING working except stuff that came in on a pole.  No
cable.  No phone.  But we have our own electricity." And that was the
subconscious "we".

   She sat down on the sofa while I collected her clothes.  I rinsed most
of the debris off before I loaded up the washer with her stuff, along with
a few of my own things.  I threw her sneakers in with the clothes.  When I
made it back to the living room, she was asleep on the sofa.  I surveyed.
Five feet five inches, more or less.  Maybe a hundred ten or a hundred
twenty pounds.  Definitely brunette, the color of polished walnut, cut at
the jawline, bangs straight across at her eyebrows.  Blue eyes.  Pleasant
face.  Bare feet showed no polish, nor did her nails.  And she was sound
asleep.  I picked up a light blanket and covered her.  Tommi walked up,
looked, and he climbed up and made a comfy loaf shape beside her.  And
purred.

   I went back to my office to do a little work.  Presently I heard the
washer cycle end, and I moved the wet load to the dryer.  An hour later the
dryer beeped and I took the clothes out.  I neatly folded her jeans, paired
her socks, folded an A-cup sports bra and a pair of blue hip-hugger
panties. Her shirt was another matter, but Mom taught me well.  I retrieved
a sewing kit and dutifully stitched up the torn seam.  It was good enough
to wear, maybe not to the prom, but good enough.  I folded my own stuff,
too, and put it up, then went back to my drawings.

   I was putting a red pen to some field changes when I heard a light
knock. "Mister Dan?"

   I swiveled the chair around.  "Hey, Nikki!  You got a nap?"

   "Yessir.  I just passed out.  It feels good to be clean and dry.  I
thought I was gonna die in there."

   I noted that she was holding her bundle of clothes.

   "Thank you for washing these, okay?"

   "Oh, don't mention it.  You can change in the bathroom."

   "Okay." And she disappeared.  I heard the door close.  A couple of
minutes later, it opened.  "Mister Dan, you wouldn't have hair dryer, would
you?  My hair's still wet."

   "Hang on," I said.  I got up and went into the bathroom and rifled
through the back of a cabinet.  I handed her a hair dryer.  I opened a
drawer and pulled out a brush.  "If you don't mind a used brush.  But it's
clean.  The cat's got his own."

   "I don't mind at all," she said quietly.  She plugged in the dryer and
went to work on her hair.  I went back to my office.

   Ten minutes later she was back knocking at the door.

   "Nikki," I said, "if you knock every time you want to come in a room
here, you're gonna wear your knuckles out."

   "Uh... but..."

   "Look, sweetie," I said, "The only time you need to knock is when the
door's closed, okay?  And I'll do that for you, okay?  You need privacy,
just close the door.  I'll knock then."

   "Okay."

   "Now, are you thirsty?  There are cold drinks in the fridge, and water,
and if you want, I can make iced tea."

   "Oh, do you have a coke?"

   "Yes ma'am.  And I have red beans and rice for dinner.  Leftovers, but I
can reheat `em."

   "That's wonderful."

   "Come on, then.  Let's go get something to eat." She followed me to the
kitchen.  Tommi was winding himself between her ankles as I moved pots on
the stove and stuck leftover rice into the microwave.

   I looked at the cat.  "That's Tommi, with an "i".  I never saw him take
to somebody like he seems to do with you.  He's usually pretty suspicious."

   "With an "I"?"

   "Yeah, since I had him fixed."

   Nikki giggled.  For the first time.  It was like the tinkle of tiny
bells.  And it was a long time since that sound had graced these walls. 
"You're funny."

   I smiled at her.  She sipped her coke and looked around.

   "I can't believe you have all this stuff running.  And why's YOUR house
okay when my apartment is a wreck?"

   "Because this is what happened when engineers get to do things the way
they want to.  I probably paid an extra twenty percent to build this house
like this."

   "Wow!"

   "So how come you didn't evacuate?  Was there anyone else in that
building?" I kicked myself now.  I should have asked that question earlier.

   "I was the only one there.  I watched everyone else leave."

   Why didn't you leave with your folks?"

   "My mom was already up north.  I was supposed to catch a ride with my
neighbor, but they wouldn't let her back into the parish after they started
the evacuation.  I couldn't get a ride.  And I really didn't want to go off
with her.  She's a huge slut.  And a druggie."

   "Why didn't you call 911?"

   "I tried.  The phone lines were messed up.  Busy, I guess."

   "Oh," I said.  "Does anyone know you're here?"

   "I dunno," she said.  "Mom prob'ly thinks I'm with my cousins.  She's
prob'ly thinkin' that we'll catch up in a few days."

   "In a few DAYS!?!?!?" I was incredulous.

   "You gotta know my mom.  She's not exactly a candidate for parent of the
year.  I've been home by myself for four days now."

   "Huh?  Even with a hurricane?"

   "Yessir.  Sometimes she goes off with one of her guys for a few days. 
I'm okay."

   "She leaves you?  How old are you, Nikki?"

   "Fifteen.  Since last month."

   "That's hard to believe."

   "At least we got the, uh, we HAD the apartment.  Section 8.  Welfare. 
An' Mom works as a waitress at that bar up in town.  They pay her cash so
she doesn't have to report it."

   "Oh." This wasn't a happy story.  I heard the pot bubbling.  "Beans are
ready.  Come fix you a bowl."

   I showed her where dinnerware and silverware was located and we each sat
down at the table with a bowl of beans and rice before us.  She wasn't
bashful about digging in.  "I haven't had anything to eat since yesterday."

   "I'm sorry.  I should have offered you something sooner.  I didn't
think..."

   "Oh, Mister Dan, that's okay!  You've done enough already."

   "Yeah, but if you wait on me, I'm liable to forget.  I'm not used to
having guests."

   "I'm not a guest."

   "Yes you are."

   She looked at me with those blue eyes.  "No wife?"

   "Nope.  Not for seven years.  She moved to California with a new
husband."

   "Kids?"

   "Nope.  Wife and I tried.  She had complications that almost killed her.
So no, no kids."

   "Oh.  Girlfriends?"

   "Nuh-uh.  And while you're here, you don't have to ask if you're hungry
or thirsty.  Just grab it and eat.  But go light on the milk.  There's only
a gallon before we have to do powdered."

   "I don't want to be a burden."

   "You're not a burden.  Make yourself at home.  Really."

   We finished our meal and SHE got up and collected the dishes and put
them in the sink and started washing.

   "Baby, I usually save up until I have a load for the dishwasher."

   She smiled.  She had a quite pleasant smile, I noted.  "Oh, this is
okay. I'm not used to a dishwasher.  I AM the dishwasher at our house."

   It was my turn to smile.  "I appreciate it, babe.  Let's go sit in the
living room."

   I noticed a slight limp as she got up and walked.  "Are you sure your
leg's okay?  You're limping."

   "It's bruised.  And scraped, sort of."

   "Uh... I don't know how I could look at it, but I should."

   She regarded me for a few seconds.  "I'll be back," she said.  She went
into the bathroom and in a few moments came out without her jeans, but with
a bath towel wrapped around her hips, sarong-style.  She walked up to me
and turned.

   I could see the lower end of the bruised area, red and blue.  "Nope, not
bleeding.  It's gonna be interesting colors, though.  Where's it hurt?"

   Securing the towel with one hand, she raised the bottom edge above her
right leg, just under the cheek of her ass.  Higher.  Higher.  Light blue
panties showed.  I could see the bruise.  "Right there's the worst part. 
Feels lumpy."

   "Do you mind if I touch it?"

   "Just don't get ambitious," she laughed.

   I carefully felt the periphery of the raised area.  "Yeah, I can feel
where it's kind of raised.  But it oughtta go away.  We could put some ice
on it if you want."

   "Nah," she said, heading to the bathroom, returning with her jeans. 
"It's just sore.  I'm okay, huh?"

   "Yes, you're okay.  Best looking girl that I've ever seen crawl out of a
building this week."

   She grinned.  "Thanks." She sat on the sofa and then turned and put her
legs on it, lounging.  Tommi jumped up beside her, purring.  She petted
him.

   I sat in my recliner.  "Cable's out, but I have a lot of movies.  You
can look through them.  And there's music CD's too, but it's probably not
stuff you like.  You're free to look, though.  They're in the cabinet next
to the TV."

   She got up and looked.  Took a CD, turned to me.  "You listen to
classical?  This is Mozart!" She pronounced it "moat-sart".

   "Yeah.  Actually, I'm pretty eclectic in my tastes, but that's stuff I
want to hear over and over."

   "Really!?!?  I would've expected rock or country and western."

   "Sorry.  I'm a little different in that area."

   "No, Mister Dan," she said.  "I'm sitting in YOUR house in the middle of
a hurricane disaster zone, sipping a cold coke, the lights are on, the air
conditioning's on, and you have classical music.  You're different in a lot
of areas."

   "Oh, thanks, I guess."

   "I mean it good, Mister Dan.  I like classical music, too.  Don't know
why.  I go to a different place when I hear it.  A place where things are
just put together RIGHT!  Not the way my life usually is!"

   "Nikki, you can stop with the "Mister Dan" thing and just call me Dan.
Okay?"

   "But you're, like, OLDER!  Uh..How old are you?"

   "Forty-one.  Ancient, in other words."

   "I don't think so.  But definitely older than me.  What kind of work do
you do?"

   "I'm an electrical engineer.  I work for whoever's got problems."

   "Do you make a lot of money?  I mean, I'm not bein' nosey, but I saw
your truck before, an' your travel trailer."

   "I'm not Bill Gates.  But I've got plenty in savings and this house and
that truck and that trailer in the shed are all paid for."

   "Wow!"

   "Nikki, it's not that big a deal."

   She searched through the stack of DVD's and pulled one out.  "Do you
mind if we watch this?"

   It was a movie I could called a `chick flick' although I like the
actress in it and it was funny.  "Pop it in.  I'll turn the TV on." I
clicked the remote.  She sat back down on the sofa, her legs stretched out
in front of her, watching the TV, and if I caught it correctly out of the
corner of my eye, she was looking at me, too.  We laughed at the same
spots.

   She kept a running commentary about the relationships and how they
developed.  "I keep wishing things like that would happen to my mom, but
they just don't.  We've been in that apartment for two years now and I bet
she's had at least a dozen and a half different boyfriends."

   `I don't know what to say, Nikki."

   "Me neither.  I just don't understand how people can be like that.  And
some of those guys!  She left one at home while she went to get beer an'
cigarettes, an' he tried to put the moves on ME!"

   "He did?"

   "Yeah," she said.  "An' when I told Mom, she accused ME of flirting with
`im." She looked me in the eye.  "If somebody's doin' my mom, I don't WANT
him.  I don't want the kind of guy who'd go with somebody like her."

   The movie was showing a bedroom scene.  "And that."

   "What?"

   "Sex.  When I do it, it's gonna be something special with somebody I
love, not somebody I met at a bar on Saturday night." Her eyes were moist.
"You know how much it hurts to figure out your mom's a slut?"

   "Baby, we can turn this movie off."

   "Oh, Mister Dan... uh, Dan, it's not this movie.  I'm sorry.  I don't
know what made me tell you all this." She took a deep breath.  "I'm okay.
Sorry I unloaded on you.  You're just bein' nice to me.  Sorry."

   "That's okay, baby."

   "I don't have many people to talk to, you know.  The neighbors over
there aren't exactly the kind of people I want to tell my problems to."

   "I guess.  I never met anybody from over there."

   "I could tell you stories, babe!" She smiled.  "But I'm not there now,
am I?"

   We finished watching the movie.  "I don't know what to do about you,
Nikki," I said.

   "What'd'ya mean?"

   "I mean, nobody knows you're here, and you're probably wanting to find
out where your mom's at, and she's probably looking for you."

   "Dan," she said, "I don't have any close family besides Mom.  She never
talks to her Dad.  He practically disowned her.  Her mom's dead.  She's got
one brother, and nobody's seen him in five years.  And Mom's not exactly
dying to go back to worryin' about me an' her both."

   "I'm sorry, babe.  I just want to take care of you, is all."

   "You've took better care of me than anybody else has as long as I can
remember."

   "But I don't want to stop you from being where you need to go."

   "Uh, Dan, I don't know where to go.  I mean, they have shelters an'
stuff.  But I'd be fifteen an' in a shelter with nobody to take care of
me." She stared at me.  "I really don't have a place I want to be.  This is
better than I could ever hope for."

   "You're welcome to stay here as long as you want, babe, it's alright
with me." I breathed a sigh.  "But when the roads open up, I will probably
be working every day for a few weeks.  You'll be by yourself here."

   Her eyes brightened.  "You'd trust me to be here by myself?"

   "I shouldn't?"

   "No, you CAN.  I promise." She smiled.  "Really!  I can take care of the
house while you work."

   "Then that's what we'll do.  Until we have to do something different."

   "Thank you." She smiled again.  "You have games in that cabinet.  Wanna
play one?  Like "Trivial Pursuit"?"

   "I haven't played that in years.  My sister and her husband and my
brother and his wife come over every now and then and we play games.  I'll
get it." I spread the game stuff on the sofa between us.  And didn't tell
her that nobody wanted to play with me because I beat them ALL so badly..."

   I almost DIDN'T beat Nikki.  "You play a tough game, little girl," I
said.

   She smiled.  "I haven't ever been beat before.  You beat me.  I thought
I was going to impress you."

   "Believe me, you did."

   I looked at the clock.  "It's getting late.  Sleeping arrangements.  One
of us gets this room.  One of us gets the bed."

   "I'll take the sofa," she said.  "It's your house."

   "It makes out into a bed, if you want."

   "Nope, it's fine like this.  D'ya have a pillow an' stuff?"

   "Yes," I said.  "Lemme get it." I got up to put the game up and get her
some sleeping gear.  I was retrieving it from the upper shelf of a hall
closet and when I turned around, I bumped into her.  "Oops," I said.  "I
didn't know you were behind me."

   "Sorry, Dan," she said.  "I was trying to help."

   "Here ya go, then." I gave her a sheet and a blanket and a pillow and
pillowcase.  "In the morning, just ball this up and put it in the corner.
We'll do it that way."

   "Okay," she said as she started turning the sofa into a nest.

   I went to my own bedroom and stripped, hitting the shower and shaving
afterward.  And just because, you know, I threw on a little cologne.  After
I got out of the shower, I pulled my jeans back on and walked back into the
living room.  In the dim light, I saw her there, stretched out on the sofa.
She wasn't asleep yet.

   "G'nite, Dan," she said.  "Thanks for rescuing me."

   "G'nite, Nikki," I said.  And I turned and went to my own room, noting
that when she had the covers pulled up to her chin, her shirt and jeans
were folded neatly beside the sofa on the floor.

   I woke up the next day to the smell of bacon.  BACON!  And I wasn't
cooking it.  I walked into the kitchen, bleary-eyed.  Nikki was at the
stove.

   "You're cooking breakfast?"

   "I didn't think you'd mind.  I saw you had bacon and grits and since you
live here by yourself, that means YOU like them.  So that's what I cooked.
How do you like your eggs?"

   "You're fixing me EGGS?  Can you do "over easy"?"

   "Sure, silly," she laughed.  "They go with bacon and grits." About that
time, the kettle started whistling.  "I saw you had a coffee pot.  I hope I
make your coffee right." Five minutes later I was sitting in front of a
full breakfast.  And she was sitting at the table with me, staring at me
over a mug of coffee.  The coffee wasn't perfect, but it was close enough.

   "How's the coffee?"

   "Great.  Just about the way I do it."

   "And everything else?"

   "I'm astounded.  And I have NEVER eaten breakfast here that I didn't
cook myself."

   Giggle.  "Really?"

   "Really."

   "I'm just trying to earn my keep, Dan."

   "You don't have to earn your keep here, Nikki.  You're here.  That's
good enough.  But god, I appreciate eating somebody else's cooking."

   "I like doing it.  I made you smile.  That makes me happy!" Her eyes
twinkled.

   I looked at those twinkly eyes gazing at me over her coffee mug.  Made
me smile some more.  Together we cleared the table.  "That was perfect," I
said.

   "What are we gonna do today?" she asked.

   "I dunno.  Lemme try something." I turned on my cellphone.  No signal.
"Well, so much for that," I said.  "Wanna walk next door?  We can look at
where you crawled from."

   "Yeah, we can do that."

   We sat at opposite ends of the sofa putting socks and shoes on.  She
kept looking at me, and I couldn't parse what her expression was saying. 
We walked out of the house.  First thing I saw was a snake slithering
across the yard.

   "Come back inside," I said.  "I wanna get a gun."

   "Why?"

   "Just in case.  We have a lot of wildlife that's very confused and in
unusual places.  You never know what we'll run into." I retrieved a
short-barreled shotgun.

   "Aren't you gonna load it" she asked.

   "It IS loaded," I said.  "It stays that way."

   "You keep a loaded gun in the house?"

   "Of course," I said.  "If somebody was to break in, I wouldn't want to
waste time loading it then.  And there are four of them in the house,
loaded."

   "Isn't that dangerous?"

   "No, baby," I said.  "No little kids around to get to them.  And I would
hope adults would know how to handle them safely."

   "But loaded?"

   "I got stuff to protect.  I got ME to protect.  And now I got YOU to
protect.  So I have guns.  Like this one." And I cycled the slide,
chambering a round.  I got another look, not fearful.  And there was a
little hint of a smile.

   Aside from the single snake that we noted and ignored and a raccoon that
scurried away when he spotted us, nothing else was of concern.  Approaching
the collapsed building, we looked at the opening she crawled out of.

   "I was in the hall sitting on the floor when the place fell in," she
said.

   "That's the best place to be.  There, or the bathtub." We walked around.
"I was hoping we could get you some clothes out of there, but I don't want
to try and get in there."

   "Me neither," she said.  "I thought I was gonna die there, Dan."

   We walked back to the house.  I opened the garage door and backed my
truck out.  We climbed in and drove a little distance down the road before
turning back.  Where the storm surge had covered the road, the debris was
heavy and I didn't want to risk a tire in the debris, or risk running off
into the marsh because the road was washed away where we couldn't see it.
As we pulled back into the garage, I heard the unmistakable sound of a
low-flying helicopter.  A serious one.  Close.

   We walked out of the garage and waved as a national guard Blackhawk
circled.  It flared to land on the road in front of the house and we walked
down to meet the occupants.  A national guard lieutenant and the parish
sheriff met us in the drive.

   I shook hands with both of them, introducing myself.  "Dan Granger," I
said.  "This is my house.  And this is Nikki Domingue.  She survived that
building collapse over there."

   "Damn!" the sheriff said.  "You should know me.  I'm your sheriff, Ernie
Richard." He pronounced it "ree-shard." Cajun.  "This" indicating the
soldier, "is Lieutenant Gregus.  We're doin' a survey.  You're the only
people on this side of the parish that we've found."

   "Really?" I said.

   Lt.  Gregus said, "Yessir.  We had a good evacuation.  What're you doing
here?"

   This could be dicey.  A mandatory evacuation was called, but in
Louisiana, there was no law to force it.  "I built this house myself to
face a Category Five and then some.  And I stayed.  Miss Nikki here missed
her ride out.  I pulled her out of that pile a'crap over there."

   The sheriff popped in, "No shit?  We didn't think anyone was still
here." He looked at Nikki.  "You were lucky he was here.  I don't know when
we'd've got around to looking at that pile.  D'ya wanna fly outta here? 
Where there's electricity and food and water?"

   By this time one of the pilots of the helicopter were joining us.

   "Why don't you guys come on up to the house and let me show you
something," I said.  "And see if YOU'D leave this for a shelter."

   We all walked up to the house and inside.  The cool dry air conditioned
air was a stark contrast to the post-storm humidity.

   The lieutenant said, "Hey, this feels good!"

   "Yep," I said.  "Generator back there, and enough fuel for weeks."
Several weeks' worth of food.  And I suffered NO damage.  " Had bacon eggs
and grits for breakfast this morning.  I'd offer you all a cold beer,
but..."

   Sheriff said, "But we're flyin'..."

   "We have cold Cokes," interrupted Nikki.  "Want one?"

   "That would be nice," said the pilot.

   Nikki bopped back to the kitchen and returned with the cokes.

   The sheriff sipped on his.  "So nobody needs rescuin'?

   "Nope, but thanks!  Any idea when they'll get a road open so I can go
back to work?"

   The sheriff mused, "Oh, three or four days.  Week at most.  Where you
work at?"

   "Any of those plants up there on the channel.  Electrical engineer."

   "Oh," said the lieutenant.

   "What about cell service," I asked.

   The sheriff said, "Maybe a day or so.  The carriers are setting up
temporary towers and fixing the ones that are still up.  We need
cellphones, too, yah know."

   "Can you give these people a call and tell them that I'm stuck down
here?" I asked, scribbling a number and name on a pad of paper.

   "Sure," the sheriff said.  "And Miss Nikki, is it?  Are you okay here?"

   Nikki smiled, "Yessir.  Best place I can be for the time being."

   "Okay, then," said the sheriff.  "We'll check on you again in a couple
of days when they get the road open."

   "I appreciate that," I said.  Turning to the lieutenant and the other
pilot, "If you see orange flares, come and get me.  Green smoke is the
barbecue's ready!" They laughed.

   A few minutes later the helicopter lifted off.  I turned to Nikki who
was standing rather close by my side.  "There went your chance to get out
of here, Nikki."

   She looked directly into my eyes and smiled.  "Looks like we're stuck
with each other, then, huh?"

   Chapter Two



   Watching the chopper disappear into the distance, I mentally kicked
myself.  I could've asked for a couple of changes of clothes for Nikki. 
Five-five and one-twenty and six-two and two hundred, she could practically
swim in anything I wore, and all she had was the clothes on her back.

   We walked back to the house.  I mentioned the problem to her.  "We can
wash these like you did yesterday, an' I can wear your pj's."

   "I suppose.  We'll see what we can do." We went inside and ate
sandwiches for lunch, then she helped me put together a spaghetti sauce for
supper and left it simmering while we walked up the road.  I carried the
shotgun.  Nikki was amazed by the mounds of debris and vegetation piled on
the road.  I wasn't.  I'd seen it before.  Elsewhere.

   We walked back to the collapsed apartments.  She pointed out her room in
the mess, and I came away with the same conclusion that we'd reached
earlier, there was no way either of us would risk going into the place. 
The place was fodder for a bulldozer.  Tiring of the humidity, we returned
to the air conditioned haven of the house and made sure all the electronics
were off.  Nikki watched as I shut the generator down to check it out, then
restarted it.

   We went inside and she chose a CD of Mozart.  We sat in the floor and
played a game of cards until suppertime, then boiled up a pot of spaghetti
to go with the simmering sauce.  I grated fresh cheese to top it and Nikki
declared it to be the best ever.  "I can make this," she announced.  After
dinner we cleared the dishes together and returned to the living room.  She
chose another movie for us to watch.  I was getting ready to start it when
she announced, "I wanna take a shower first.  Then you can take yours, and
we'll have that out of the way."

   "Okay," I said.  "Good idea.  Let me get you something to wear."

   "Those pj bottoms and your t-shirt?"

   "If that works for you.  I'll start a load of wash when we finish."

   "'Kay," she said.  I handed her the fresh clothes and she bounced into
the bathroom.  And heaven help me, I noted that she had an attractive form.

   Fifteen minutes later she was sitting on my bed drying her hair and I
was in the shower.  I got out, shaved, and dabbed a bit of cologne on.  She
was still running the dryer when I walked out, kneeling in the middle of my
bed, the t-shirt having slid down on one shoulder.

   "Dan," she said, "I need a safety pin for these pj's.  When I stand up
they fall down.  See?" And she stood up and caught them sliding down,
stopping the waistband before it reached her pubic mound.  I caught my
breath.  "Oops!  Didn't mean to... you know..."

   "That's okay, babe.  Lemme see if I have a safety pin." I found one and
helped her pin the waistband tighter.  And that put me in close proximity
to what I determined to be a nicely shaped teen ass.  And when she stood in
front of me, I made a similar assessment of t-shirt clad tits.

   My best move was to gather up the clothes and head to the laundry room.
And on top of the stack was a pair of light blue panties.  I should have
just tossed the pile into the washer, but that's not what I did.  I lifted
those panties to my nose and sniffed deeply.  And closed my eyes.  Enough!
I mentally slapped myself.  Into the washer they went.

   I walked back into the living room.  She was lounging on the sofa, eyes
twinkling, her arm languorously tossed on the back of the sofa and that
t-shirt did little to hide the shape of those titties.  My own pj's tented
out.  I hunched over to hide it and retreated to my recliner.  And Nikki
was watching me closely.  And a wry smile spread on her red lips.

   She started the movie, the original Indiana Jones flick.  We'd both seen
it before, and laughed at both appropriate and inappropriate times.  She
started talking about archaeology and I'm no expert, but it sound to me
like she knew a bit.

   I commented on that idea.

   "Lots of Discovery Channel an' History Channel.  And the library when I
can get a ride there." Her brow knit for a second.  "I had books checked
out.  D'ya think they're gonna charge me for them?

   "Not likely.  That's giving me a thought, though.  In the morning we
need to take my camera and go get pictures of your apartment.  And if
anybody says anything, that's your evidence."

   "That's a good idea.  What kind of camera do you have?"

   "A pretty good one.  Hang on, I'll show you!" I got up and retrieved the
camera bag from the closet.  I pulled a digital SLR out of the case and
pointed it at her.  "Smile", I said.  She smiled and the flash went off.

   "That's a fancy one," she said.

   I sat down next to her on the sofa.  "Yeah, I use it in my work
sometimes." I punched the controls and handed it to her.  "Here's you!"

   "I don't look good in pictures," she said.

   "Oh, bullshit!" I said.  "That's what most women say.  Come into my
office.  You can't see the picture very good on this little screen."

   We went into the office and I fired up my desktop computer.  While it
was booting, I pulled out the cable to connect the camera to a USB port.

   "She looked around the office.  "What's all these papers?"

   "That's from my last project.  I need to go through each drawing and
make sure it's correct and all the changes are logged.  It's all billable
hours."

   "You mean you get paid for working at home?"

   "Yep.  I worked four hours yesterday while you were sleeping.  Two
hundred and eighty dollars."

   She caught her breath.  "That's seventy bucks an hour!"

   "That was quick.  You're good at math."

   "I made B's and C's last year.  I don't like to do homework."

   The computer finished booting.  I pulled her photo up on the big
monitor. "There!" I said.  "That's not a bad-looking picture at all."

   "It's just me."

   "And that makes it unique.  And forgive me for saying so, but you're
actually kinda cute!  And this is a good picture.  Look.  You can see every
strand of hair on your bangs.  And you have a little bit of a smile."

   "You think I'm cute?  In the picture, I mean?"

   "Yep!  Very pleasant to look at."

   She looked bit flustered and changed the subject.  "That's a BIG
monitor."

   "Yeah," I said.  "Those drawings are eleven by seventeen inches and I
work on `em on screen, full size.  Makes life better for me."

   "Show me."

   I pulled up some recent files and showed her the red additions and green
deletions.

   "You READ these things?  All I see is a bunch of lines."

   "D'you read Chinese?"

   "Nooo."

   "Same thing.  This is a language.  People who are familiar with the
language can read it.  I can look at every symbol on this page and get a
mental image of a real piece of equipment and how it works in the system."
I patted an inch-thick stack on the corner of the desk.  "This is what it
took to do the electrical power for ONE small production unit at the plant
I was working for."

   "Wow!  That's what engineers do?" She folded her arms and leaned over my
shoulder.

   "That's a painful part of it.  It's not nearly as fun as getting called
when things don't work right and I get to go in and fix them."

   "Can I take YOUR picture?"

   "Sure," I said, handing her the camera.  "Just point it and click."

   "Turn around.  I want to get you with your computer and that desk behind
you."

   I turned and she shot.  "Do a couple.  Film's cheap for that thing."

   "Uh, right..."

   Then she wanted to look at the pictures she took.  "I did pretty good,
huh?"

   "You could be the official photographer of old goats everywhere."

   "You're not that old, Dan." She looked at the camera.  "This thing has a
timer.  If you had a tripod, we could BOTH be in the picture."

   "I've got a tripod in the closet.  Why do you want a picture of both of
us?"

   "So I have a record of who rescued me." She smiled.

   I set the tripod up and showed her how to set up the timer.  We took
several shots and reviewed them on the big monitor.  "I like this one
best." It had me standing close behind her, with her offset just a little
to the right.  Her head was tilted slightly and she was smiling.

   "I'm downloading these to the hard drive," I said.

   "Okay," came the response.  "I'll go put the laundry in the dryer." In
two minutes, she was back hovering over my shoulder.  "D'ya have any work
pictures?"

   "Work pictures?"

   "Yeah, you know, where you work?  What you do?"

   "I have a bunch, but I don't think you're interested in that stuff. 
Most of it's kinda technical.  Obscure.  Interesting to me because it's
what I work on, but..."

   "Try me.  I LIKE that stuff.  Besides, what else do we have to do?"

   "Well, pull that chair over here." And she sat close.  Very close.  I
showed pictures, explaining what each was, and she asked questions.  Like
she was interested.

   Finally I said, "Babe, it's getting late.  Let's shut it down for the
night."

   She laughed.  "Okay, Dan.  I'll go make my bed."

   While she was arranging her nest on the sofa, I came in with the clothes
folded and gave her a stack.

   "Thanks, Dan!" she smiled.  "G'nite!"

   "G'nite, Nikki," I said, walking out of the room.  I closed my bedroom
door and did my pre-bed routine, then stretched out.  I thought about the
contents of the other room as I drifted off to sleep.

   And for the second morning I awoke to the smell of bacon.  I dressed and
walked into the kitchen to find Nikki at the stove again.  She smiled over
her shoulder.  "I found potatoes.  I hope you like hash browns."

   "You amaze me.  Where'd you learn to cook?"

   "Before she died, I used to spend a lot of time with my grandma, Mom's
mom.  And she knew how to cook.  And I learned a few things.  That was the
happiest time of my life, so far." She smiled.  "Although yesterday was
pretty cool, too."

   "Yesterday?"

   "Yeah.  I mean, other than the whole "my home is a debris pile in south
Louisiana" thing, we met people, we took a walk, we played games, we
watched a movie, listened to really good music, and I got to learn a little
bit about engineering stuff.  I think that was a pretty good day."

   "I'm glad you liked it, Nikki.  I could see you taking this a lot
worse..."

   "Nope.  Makin' the best of the situation." She lifted the hash browns
off the cast iron griddle and built us each a plate, poured two cups of
coffee, and sat down with me to share breakfast.

   "Two mornings in a row... I could get used to this."

   Nikki grinned.  "Me too.  Isn't it funny?  I mean, here we have a
stinkin' hurricane, an' in the middle of it life is this good."

   "Yes, little girl, it is indeed good." Plates cleaned, we sat savoring
the coffee, then got up together and cleared the table.

   She said, "I looked in the freezer.  You have some packages that say
round steak.  I can do steak and gravy if you want... for supper?  And
sandwiches for lunch again?"

   "That makes sense," I said.  "But don't think you have to keep house to
pay your way."

   "Oh, I don't," she countered.  "It's nice to be appreciated.  When I did
stuff like this for Mom, she never acknowledged it, but if I didn't, she
raised hell about me layin' around while she did all the work.  And unless
I cleaned up, the house was a mess."

   "I appreciate it, Nikki.  It's wonderful." Finishing our coffee, we got
up and tidied the kitchen.  She went to the freezer and took out a package
of round steak and put it on the counter to thaw.  She looked at Tommi's
food bowl.  "Where do you keep the cat food?" She asked.

   I retrieved it from the laundry room and filled his bowl.  "On the
shelves next to the dryer," I said.  "Once a week he gets a can of the wet
stuff.  Or if there's a special occasion.  I gave him one the morning after
the hurricane.  It's his reward for saving me."

   She giggled.  "Yep!  He's a big hero," petting his back as he walked by
us to his food bowl.

   I turned on my cellphone again.  Still no signal.  Isolation was nice,
but I knew that only a few dozen miles away, the industrial facilities were
recovering, and I should be there.  But with roads closed and no contact...
"Let's go walk around," I said.

   We put shoes on and walked out the door, me carrying the shotgun, her
with the camera.  She took pictures.  Lots of pictures.  A skunk nosing
along the edge of the marsh, several snakes, an alligator, three raccoons.
We made a circuit of the destroyed apartment building and she shot dozens
of shots.  We walked up the road in each direction until we reached the
debris fields, and we photographed that, too.  In short, we made a circuit
of the high ground that protected our house from the storm surge.

   Walking back to the house, she commented, "I never imagined this place
would look like this."

   "Yeah, but in a year you'll have to know where to look for signs.  The
marsh out there will heal itself.  They'll clear the road.  And they'll
clear off the apartment debris.  And you'll not even know there was a
hurricane if you didn't know where to look."

   "Do you think they'll rebuild the apartments?"

   "I don't know," I said.  "Depends on how much insurance money and
government money is in it.  Maybe.  I just can't tell."

   "I don't know if we could get back in there anyway.  There's a waitin'
list down here.  Mom talked about movin' to the city where they have more
housing available for government programs.  Now I guess we will." She
paused.  "If she even comes back."

   "But she's your mom.  Surely she'll come back, huh?"

   Nikki's face was serious as she turned to look at me.  We stopped in the
middle of the road.  "Maybe not."

   "But then you'd be, like, abandoned?"

   "Last year she tried to get me taken away to a home, Dan.  She called
the sheriff department and told them I was out of control and she couldn't
handle me.  I'd be gone now, but I don't get in trouble in school and I
passed a drug test and the only bad report on file was hers.  They put us
in family counseling, for what that's worth."

   "Counseling?"

   "Yeah.  Every two weeks we go sit in an office with a social worker and
Mom says what they want to hear an' I say what they want to hear, and they
collect the government money for it.  But no, Mom wouldn't be sad if I
didn't show back up in her life."

   "That's sad, baby," I said.

   "So you can see why a hurricane is a big plus in my life, right now, huh
Dan?"

   We walked back to the house together, silent.  She started the
conversation back.  "I'm okay, Dan.  Really.  For now, anyway."

   "But after this?"

   "That part I don't know.  So I just enjoy today.  And tomorrow.  Okay?"

   "Okay," I said.

   She led me into the office.  "Let's look at these pictures."

   I turned on the computer again and while it was booting, we had
sandwiches and soft drinks.  I looked at her across the table, not saying a
thing.  Finally I flipped open my cellphone.  And I had two bars of signal
strength.  I punched speed dial.

   The phone was answered with "Well, hello, stranger!"

   "Why, hi, Steve!  What's up?"

   "You're up!  Three plants have been after us for the Great Dan Granger
to come rescue them.  And we can't even find you.  Where you been?"

   I saw Nikki watching me.  "Let me tell, you, Steve.  I weathered the
storm out down here at the house."

   "You did WHAT?"

   "I stayed home.  Didn't evacuate."

   "I saw video they shot from a helicopter, Dan.  Everything down there is
devastated.  Almost."

   "Yeah, I'm part of the "almost." I talked to the sheriff myself
yesterday.  He says roads MIGHT be open in a couple of days or three.  So
I'm stuck here."

   "Dammit, Dan... I need your ass up here.  We have facilities down."

   " I can't help you there, Steve.  No way out.  Hey, I have a 3G card for
my computer, so I can do a lot from right here."

   "Or I can have a chopper pick you up."

   "That'll work.  But only if I'm back here every night.  I got a kid to
take care of."

   "I was jerkin' you about the chopper.  We'll start sending you pictures.
When you can get out, we'll see you."

   "Okay, Steve.  Sorry."

   Nikki looked at me with cool regard.  "You just told them you had a kid
to take care of.  Is that me?"

   "Yep.  Even though you're hardly a kid.  Come on.  Let's go play with
those pictures.  I need to see if I can get a 3G signal in here now."

   I let her sit in front of the computer and directed her through tying in
the 3G and just like that, we were back in the greater world.  I can't say
that I was particularly excited by that.  I was beginning to like the
isolation.  My thoughts were punctuated by the chime of incoming email.

   Nikki turned to me.  "D'you need to get here?"

   "Nope," I said.  "After we look at your pictures." We flipped through,
laughing, talking, doing an occasional edit.  And she came across the timer
shot of her and me.

   "This one is the best," she said.  And she got up.  "You do what you
need to do.  I'm gonna be in the kitchen makin' supper."

   Three days' backlog of email fell down on my head.  I clicked through. A
lot of them got ignored, some got a boilerplate reply concerning my present
status.  And at the very end of the queue I started working on the storm
projects as pictures and reports started coming in from technicians in the
field.

   Nikki reappeared over my shoulder.  "How's it goin, babe, " she asked.

   "Look," I said, and I showed her some of the pictures.  "That's wet and
needs to be dried out.  This is gonna have to be replaced.  This one needs
a new roof before we can do anything." I sighed and shook my head.  "I'm
typing up email right now trying to see who's got used equipment and who's
got extras we can borrow.  It's a mess."

   "I haven't seen you tensed up like this," she said.

   "I know.  I... we were living free and easy for a couple of days.  It
was nice.  Now it's gonna be hell for a few weeks until we get things going
again.  " I reached up with my right hand and pressed against the junction
between my left shoulder and my neck.

   "Nuh-uh," she said, pushing my hand away.  I felt warm, soft, feminine
hands massaging my neck and shoulders.

   "Mmmmmm, Nikki, you don't have to do that."

   "I know.  Does it help?"

   "Yes, it helps.  Very much.  Thank you."

   She massaged for five minutes then went back to the kitchen.  I heard
pots rattling, then a lid set in place, and she was back.

   "So if you did like they said, and a helicopter picked you up..."

   "Email says the city's shut down.  A few hotels are on emergency
generator but they're sold out to recovery workers.  I have no idea where
I'd stay, but sleeping on the floor of an office is likely.  And there's
certainly no place for you.  And I may see myself leaving you here during
the day by yourself, but not overnight.  No way!"

   "But if I wasn't here..."

   "Don't even go there, Nikki.  You ARE here and I want to take care of
you.  Besides, I'm not going to go live like that if I don't have to.  I
don't need the stress, the aggravation OR the money."

   And that got me a kiss on the cheek.  As I sat there, stunned, she left
and I heard the vacuum cleaner start up.  Tommi came running into the
office to hide.

   I reached down and patted his yellow head.  "Patience, old boy," I said.
"There's a woman in our house now."

   In addition to the email, my cellphone was now ringing every ten
minutes.

   If Dan couldn't go to the world, the world could come to Dan.

   At five, Nikki was sitting on the chair next to me in the office
watching me review pictures and emails.  Since she seemed to take an
interest, I verbalized the email answers, embellishing the instructions and
findings so she could follow along.  And half the time I had the cellphone
headset on, talking.

   At five I turned it off.  She took me by the hand to the kitchen where I
was greeted with my supper on the table.  "I hope you like it," she said.
"It's been a long time since I cooked it.  But you have the same stuff in
your cabinets that my grandma did."

   "Two centuries of Cajun grandmas did it for us, babe." It was delicious.
Perfect.  She'd even poured my soft drink over ice.

   After supper I went back to work, logging my time on each of three
projects I was covering.  If I was gonna work, I was darned sure going to
get paid.  I told Steve so over the phone.  He laughed.

   Chapter Three



   I was still in the office when Nikki came in after her shower.  She did
the massage thing on my neck and shoulders again.  "You need to get up and
walk around every now and then," she admonished.

   I hadn't even turned around when she touched me.  I was deep in the
zone, in a world far away, filled with iron and copper and porcelain and
plastic.

   "Look!" she said.  "Turn around!"

   I turned, expecting to see t-shirt and pajamas.  I didn't.

   "I hope you don't mind.  I didn't want to bother you, but I found these
on the shelf in your closet.  They give me another suit of clothes."

   "They" were a pair of hospital scrub pants and one of my old work
shirts. The cotton shirt hung on her loosely, reaching down below her
crotch in front, below the cheeks of her butt in back, whimsically
disheveled.  And she'd rolled cuffs up on the legs of the scrubs and pulled
the drawstring waist tight.  Made her look like something orphanish that I
wanted to wrap in my arms and carry off.  But I couldn't.  Instead, "Cute,"
I said.  "You look like an orphan."

   "Not a hurricane refugee?" She giggled

   "That, too.  Nikki, thanks for dinner.  It was wonderful.  I haven't
enjoyed food like that in a long time.  Eating my own cooking gets old, you
know."

   "I enjoyed doing it.  You have a nice kitchen.  Everything is so clean.
And it works."

   "And you work.  I am so surprised.  Shocked.  I never thought of you
being like this, Nikki."

   "I don't mind, Dan.  I really don't." She looked at the screen.  "You
need to pick a stopping place and shut down for the evening.  A hot shower
will relax you." She smiled and left me in the office musing over the idea
that there was a person on the planet that DIDN'T want me to work myself to
death.

   I answered one last email and shut the computer down.  Nikki was right.
The hot shower washed away stresses.  I shaved afterward and dabbed a bit
of cologne on.  Eight-thirty.  I joined Nikki in the living room.

   "Do you want to start this movie over so you can watch it from the
beginning?" She asked.

   "No, I've seen it enough times.  I can watch it from this part." And I
looked at Nikki, dark brown hair, brushed to a sheen, her blue eyes intent
on the TV, lips in a satisfied hint of a smile.  And that darned shirt,
loose on her, was showing just a glimpse of the valley between two young
A-cup titties.  And I looked longer than I should have.

   When she turned to look at me, I was watching the movie.  "Hard day,
huh, Dan?" she said.

   "Yeah.  Nuts.  But it'll get better."

   "What about when the roads open up?"

   "I figured that out already.  I'll drive to the job in the morning, and
back at night.  Might be late, but I am NOT going to spend the night on an
air mattress in an office.  Or sleeping in my truck.  Drive or no drive,
three hours in my own bed is better'n six hours there.  Besides, I'm the
freakin' engineer.  Most of the time, I just tell `em what they need to do,
then come back to see if it's done right."

   "So you'll be home every night?"

   "Yes.  Absolutely.  And this will be over in a couple of weeks.  We'll
get the major stuff back on, and over the next few months, there'll be
stuff that takes a little longer, but it won't be one of those 'bop 'til
you drop' things."

   Neither of us was really watching the movie.

   "You just do what you have to do.  And I'll make sure the house is okay
and you have dinner when you come in."

   "Nikki, you don't have to do all that."

   "Suppose I want to?  I mean, I'm staying here.  It's the least I can
do."

   "But you don't have to, babe.'

   "Yes I do," she said quietly.  "It's what people are supposed to do."
And she got up and started fixing her nest on the sofa.

   I got up and headed to bed.  I heard a quiet voice.

   "Dan," she said.  "Lay on your stomach and let me rub your back."

   "Uh, Nikki, you don't have to do that."

   "I know," she said.  "But you're tense and you worked hard and this'll
relax you."

   I rolled over and she knelt beside me in bed and kneaded my back and
shoulders.

   "I saw this on TV," she said.  "I hope I did it right."

   "You haven't done anything wrong yet, babe."

   She got up to leave.  "Then this isn't wrong either." She kissed my
cheek.  "Good night, Dan."

   Regrettably I set the alarm for six.  I knew that despite my computer
being off, the emails would pile up.  The alarm's insistent beeping woke me
and I pulled on a set of jeans and walked into the living room, headed for
the kitchen.  In the dim morning light I saw Nikki still asleep, the covers
tossed off her, looking like an angel in repose.  She stirred when I turned
on the kitchen light.

   "Mornin, babe," she said.  "I should have got up earlier and fixed
breakfast."

   "Oh, don't worry about it."

   "No," she said.  "Let's get you some coffee and you can go check email
or whatever, and I'll get you when breakfast is ready, okay."

   "Okay," I said.  I started to walk back through the living room to my
office.  She stopped me and hugged me.  I hugged back.

   "Why'd you do that, Nikki?"

   "Because I wanted to, Dan.  Just wanted to.  Now go to work.  I'll bring
you coffee."

   The smell of fresh-brewed coffee and bacon cooking filled the house. 
She came in, handing me a steaming mug.  "Two sugars.  A little half and
half.  I watched." She smiled, the corners of her eyes wrinkling and cheeks
dimpled.  "Right?"

   "My Nikki is never wrong." Wow!  Did I just say 'my Nikki'?

   There were four late emails, three of them with attached pictures and
field reports.  I turned the phone on and started listening to messages,
most of the "Dan, check your email and call me" variety.  At ten minutes to
seven the first incoming call came.  And we were off to the races.

   Nikki called me to breakfast.  I silenced the phone while we ate
together.  Afterward, she shoved me towards the office.  "You work.  Let ME
clean the kitchen.  Okay?'

   "Okay."

   And back to work I went.  In the back of my head I recognized the noises
of a busy kitchen.  Then they stopped.  Nikki handed me another mug of
coffee.  "Dan," she said, "You have a needle and thread somewhere around
here.  You used it to fix my shirt.  Where's it at?"

   "In the top left side drawer of the desk in the living room.  Why?'

   "I'm gonna alter some clothes.  Like these scrubs.  And this old shirt.
So they fit better."

   "By hand?  You can do that?"

   "Grandma again."

   "Can you use a sewing machine?"

   "Yes.  I think so."

   I got up, went to a closet and pulled a portable sewing machine out. 
And a box containing a variety of things, thread, needles, buttons.

   Squeal!

   "You're not the only one who knows how to do things."

   "Okay," she giggled.  "I can do this.  Now go back to work."

   And the sound of a sewing machine added to the sounds of our little
island of sanity.

   Eleven o'clock brought the sounds of a helicopter again.  Landing.  We
walked out and down the drive together.  Sheriff again.

   "Hello there, Dan Granger," he said.  And he tilted his hat.  "Miss
Nikki."

   "Out surveying your kingdom again?"

   He laughed.  "I'm like king of a shitpile right now.  You folks doin'
alright?"

   "Yes we are," I said.  "I got cell coverage and 3G internet back
yesterday.  I've been working ever since.  When are they going to have the
road cleared?"

   "That's what I was gonna tell you," he said.  "There are dozers and
graders working up from the highway onto this road right now.  You might be
able to drive out late tomorrow if they don't have to fix any big washouts.
We've had a couple of doozies.  Storm surge was somethin'."

   "That'll be good.  My office offered to fly me out on a chopper.  But I
told them I had Nikki here and I would have to come back at night, so I'm
working from home."

   He laughed.  "Ya'll're like Robinson freakin' Crusoe.  Miss Nikki, did
you do that sewin', or did he?"

   Nikki raised her hand.  "Grandma taught me."

   He laughed.  "It works.  Shows that it's done by hand, but it works." He
looked at me.  "How's fuel holding up?"

   "Haven't even used a quarter of the tank."

   "You gonna need some any time soon?"

   "I hope not.  It's propane.  Not like you can haul it in here in a
bucket."

   "No," he said, grinning, "but we use propane at the emergency operations
center, and they're gonna have to get us a truck by the end of the week.  I
can make sure they stop by here."

   "Man, that'd be great.  I might even vote for you next election."

   "You might not have to.  Another hit like this and there won't be
anybody living here to run against me." He looked over his shoulder at the
Blackhawk sitting on the road, rotor blades still spinning.  "Say, you got
a couple of those cold Cokes?"

   "You got it, Sheriff," I said.

   "Call me Ernie," he said.  Nikki showed up with four cokes already
sweating in the humidity.  She handed them to him.  "And you folks be
careful.  You got your cellphone now, wait.  Hold this, Miss Nikki."

   She grabbed the cans as he reached in a pocket.  "Here's my card. 
Office, private office line, and my cell.  Call me if you need somethin'."
He retrieved his drinks and walked back to the helicopter.  I watched him
pass them to the crew.  We waved as they took off, curving out across the
marshes.

   Walking back in, I told Nikki, "I'm glad I stocked up on cokes."

   She laughed.  "But he says he can get us fuel.  And maybe you can get
out tomorrow."

   "Yeah, but I don't know if that's good news or not.  Let's eat lunch and
try to make a list of stuff we need."

   After lunch, we took a generator outage.  I checked fluids and belts and
a dozen other things in making sure that the lights stayed on.  Satisfied,
I started it back up and put the electricity back to the house.  I
restarted the computer and started wading through the email again.  And the
cell calls.  And I told Steve of the possibility that I just might be able
to get out the day after tomorrow.

   "Just come on," he said.  "Everybody's satisfied so far.  They're
reading the email strings.  And nobody's kicking about paying you to lounge
around down there.  But they'd like to see you."

   "I'll be there as soon as I can.  But understand one thing, Steve."

   "What's that?"

   "I AM.  I say again, I AM going to be back here every night.  And not
that "two in the morning" stuff, either.  I have somebody who needs to be
taken care of here.  A kid."

   "I didn't know you had a kid, Dan."

   "It's a long story.  I do.  So we'll do it my way or I'll have me one of
them cushy offices in a building in Houston.  And neither one of us wants
that.  Right?"

   Steve sounded hurt.  "Dan, Dan... I said we'd do it."

   "I know, Steve, but that's while I'm sitting here.  If I'm in there,
SOME people decide they want to throw their weight around.  They're gonna
be throwing at my bumper goin' out the gate."

   Nikki was monitoring this conversation.  "Dan, you're kinda harsh on
`im."

   "He's the one I was talkin' about, babe, throwin' his weight around.  He
needs me more than I need him.  It'll be okay." I pointed out the picture
on the screen.  "What'd'ya think?" I wanted to see if she was paying
attention.

   "Old.  Wet?"

   "Yeah, here's a test report." I pulled it up on the screen and she
looked at the numbers.

   She pointed to a column.  "Aren't these supposed to be, like, two digits
or less?"

   "Right."

   Her finger pointed to the heading.  "Uh, this is a breaker, right?"

   "That's what it says."

   "And it, like, goes with, uh, connects to a bus?"

   "Yep." She WAS paying attention.

   She smiled.  "I heard you do this one.  You said, "Dry the breakers in
an oven and remediate the bus with portable heaters."

   I laughed.  "I oughtta be cookin' supper and YOU should be doin' this!"

   "Nuh-uh," she said.  "I'm like a parrot.  I just repeat what I heard. 
And navy bean soup for supper, okay?"

   "Yes, dear." She slapped the back of my head playfully as she left.

   I was on the second page of a tablet where I was logging my time on each
job, talking into my headset and typing when I saw a hand reach around and
hand me a glass of coke over ice.  "Take a break," she said.  "Come sit in
your chair."

   I kicked back in my recliner and she knelt at my feet, took one and
rubbed it.  I groaned.  After a couple of minutes, she switched feet. 
"Where'd you learn that?  And don't tell me your grandma..."

   "Then I won't say anything." She smiled.

   I closed my eyes for fifteen minutes.  When I opened my eyes, she was
sitting on the sofa, her knees drawn up under her, watching me.  "You
okay?" I asked.

   "I'm fine, why?" she answered.

   "Because you're looking at me."

   "Sorry," she said.  "I just never saw anybody work like you've been
working.  You just DO it."

   "I suppose, babe," I said.  "It's what I do."

   "I'm impressed." She smiled.

   I went back to work.  After another hour, I got up to stretch.  I found
bean soup simmering on the stove and Nikki in the living room with
headphones.  Beethoven.  She took the phones off when I walked in.

   "This is what you chose?" I questioned.

   "Yes," she answered.  "I love this music."

   I smiled, walking back into my office.  Back into the fray.  Five
o'clock and things were dwindling when she came in and her hands grasped
and kneaded my shoulders.  When she stopped, she wrapped me in her arms
from behind and whispered in my ear, "Dinner, Dan!" And kissed me lightly
on the top of my head.

   The soup was good.  After supper, I fielded a couple more phone calls
and emails and then shut the office down.  I walked into the living room.
She smiled when I entered.  "I'm done for the night," I declared.

   "Good," she said.  She patted the sofa beside her.  "Lay here.  Put your
head on my lap."

   "What?" I looked at her.

   She looked at me.  "It's simple.  Lay here.  And put your head on my
lap. I'm trying to help you relax.  Okay?"

   "Okay," I said.  And I did.  She looked down at me and massaged my
temples and caressed my face.  "Mmmmmm, baby, that feels soooo good!"

   "I used to do this for the little girl next door when I babysat.  It
calmed her down and put her to sleep." She smiled.  "Don't go to sleep,
though." And it could have been perfectly innocent and so very caring.

   Finally I sad, "Nikki, If I don't get up and shower, I'm gonna go to
sleep right here in your lap."

   Her smile was sublime.  "That wouldn't be THAT bad.  But you'll sleep
better if you shower."

   I got up.  She usually showered first, but tonight I went ahead.  Twenty
minutes later, I was out and she went in.  "Don't worry," she said.  "I
sewed my own pajamas today." And she did.  My oversized pajama bottoms were
altered to fit her much slimmer and shorter frame.  She sat on the sofa and
I was safely in my chair.

   I looked at her.  Her eyes were softer, a subtle change in the way she
looked at me.  I wrote it off as fatigue on my part.  I was mentally
fatigued.

   "Dan," she said, "When you go out, are you going to be able to get to
someplace where stores are open?"

   "I dunno.  Why?"

   She said, "I'm gonna need some things."

   "What kind of things?"

   "I need another bra and some panties.  And anything I can get for
clothes.  I can write down my sizes."

   "I can do better than that.  I can take you."

   "Take me?"

   "Yeah.  When the roads are open, we BOTH go to the office.  You stay
there for a few hours while I visit some clients, then I come get you and
we go to Houston and get what you need."

   "Can you do that?  I mean, they want you there bad."

   "And I'll be there.  But I have to take care of you, too."

   "Dan, I don't have money."

   "I got an empty platinum card and a full bank account.  I think I can
get you fitted out."

   Squeal.  And she launched at me and kissed me on the lips.  Perhaps a
little bit too long.  But she backed up like it was the most natural and
innocent thing she'd ever done.

   "Now get off my bed," she said.

   And we both went to sleep.  The next morning my alarm went off and I
woke to the smell of coffee and bacon.  I walked into the kitchen rubbing
my eyes.  "Beat you!" she giggled.

   Mid-morning I was busy answering email and she came in all excited. 
"Dan!  There's a bulldozer comin' up the road!"

   "Come on!" I said.  "Let's go see." We drove my truck down to meet the
dozer.

   "Uh, yeah," said the operator, pointing at my big four wheel drive
pickup.  "That'll make it out just fine."

   "I'll be coming back later."

   "You got an emergency pass?"

   "As a matter of fact, I do." The company had sent out an email with
letters to grant access to me as "emergency personnel" and I had copies in
the truck.  "We need to make another pass through the house and then we'll
be back here."

   The grizzled operator snorted.  "They'll get out of your way.  There's a
big washout a mile up the road, but you can get by on the good part."

   "Great!  Thanks!  Hey, you wanna cold coke?"

   "Nah, thanks," he said.  "I got an ice chest full." He pointed to the
box beside him.  "But thanks!  Really!"

   Nikki was excited as we went back to the house.  I shut the computer
down.  And I called Steve and told him that I was going to be offline for
the rest of the day.  We checked Tommi's food and water, then shut the
generator down and locked up the house.

   "Nikki," I said, "You got the sheriff's card?"

   "Sure," she said, pulling it out of her pocket.

   I dialed the number on my phone.  It rang.

   "Sheriff Richard, can I help you?"

   "Yessir," I said.  "This is Dan Granger."

   "Oh, hi, Dan.  Trouble?"

   "Nope!  Just wanted to let you know that we're getting ready to make a
run to civilization.  We'll be back tomorrow, most likely."

   "Road crew made it that far, then," he said.

   "Yessir.  Just got here." "Somebody'll come by and check on your place,
then.  Be careful out there."

   "Okay, thanks!"

   I had an overnight bag packed, and my camera and my laptop computer. 
And Nikki was in the middle of the cab, buckled in next to me.  Like it was
the way things should be.  She could've been all the way on the passenger
side, but I didn't question it because honestly, it kind of felt good.

   The drive out on our little secondary road was slow going.  We dodged a
couple of washed out sections, easing by crews at work repairing them. 
They stopped and stared at this big silver truck coming out of an area they
thought was empty of humanity.  Nikki waved.

   Once we hit the main road, things picked up a bit, but there were still
sections that needed care.  And finally we hit the interstate highway and
headed west.  Eighty miles up the road, you wouldn't know there even WAS a
storm.  And fifty miles later, Houston was, well, Houston.  It took me
several tries before I found a hotel room, and it was a bit pricey, but we
were glad to get it.  And I took Nikki to a mall.

   She needed EVERYTHING.  And she got it.  I had to push a few times,
making her choose slightly more expensive GOOD stuff instead of the
cheapest available, "And for heaven's sake, Nikki, get enough of `em." I
was carrying armloads of bags, the second trip, having already deposited a
load in the truck.  As we started to leave the last store, she looked
wistfully at the cosmetic and perfume counter.  I caught the look.

   "Is there something you'd like, there, babe?" I asked.

   "No, Dan.  You've spent too much on me already."

   "I bought you stuff you need, Nikki," I said.  "Now, is there something
that I can just GIVE you?  Like makeup?" I didn't think she needed makeup.
It would be gilding a lily.

   "Perfume?" She named a name.  "But no.  It's like, eighty dollars!"

   I turned toward the perfume display and an attentive salesgirl came
forward.

   "Can I help you find something?" she asked.

   "Yes ma'am.  Whatever this young lady needs, give it to her."

   She smiled at Nikki.  Nikki told her the name, and a blue foil box was
presented in exchange for a swipe of a credit card.  We made our way back
to the truck.

   "Dinner!" she said.  "What about dinner?"

   "Pick a restaurant."

   She did.  We ate a very nice meal.  I noted her manners were certainly a
lot better than I'd expect for a girl out of Section 8 housing.  I asked
her about it and found that it was yet another of the lessons from grandma.


   That put us checking into the hotel room.  We brought in the bags and
entered the room, replete with a pair of queen-sized beds.  I watched a
happy teen trying on one outfit after another, then carefully packing them
all away in their bags.

   We showered.  When she came out, she was wearing one of our purchases, a
very neat pair of pajamas that chastely covered her and in my mind made her
even more desirable in her innocence.  I showered second, came out to find
she'd turned down both beds and was propped up on a pile of pillows
watching real TV for the first time in several days.  I sat on the edge of
the other bed.

   "No," she said.  "You can sleep there.  But come over here and sit by me
for a while.  While we watch TV."

   I did.  She snuggled up against me.  "Dan, thank you.  You didn't have
to do any of this, you know."

   "I know," I said.  "But you lost everything.  You needed stuff." I
sniffed.  "Even that perfume."

   "Did I put on too much?"

   "No."

   "Mom puts on too much.  I guess it has to cut through the cigarette
smoke.  Grandma said it should be a hint, not a hammer."

   "It's a hint.  Smells very good.  And you look very nice in your new
clothes, baby." Snuggled against me, I could lay my cheek on top of her
head and breathe the scent of a fresh, clean girl into my nostrils.  I felt
a familiar stirring.  I raised my knee, drawing my leg back to hide the
bulge.

   "Is something wrong, Dan?" she asked.

   "No," said, "Just a cramp in my leg."

   She raised up and looked directly at me.  "You don't have to fib to me,
Dan.  I KNOW what an erection is."

   "Uh... Nikki."

   "And I know that sometimes you can't control when you get one.  It's
okay, Dan.  Really."

   "Nikki..."

   "Dan... I just wanted to be close to you for a little while.  You take
good care of me, okay?  That's all.  You can go to your bed if you need
to."

   "Oh, dammit, Nikki, I don't want to.  I liked you there.  But..."

   "I understand, Dan.  You're a good guy.  We... I wasn't tryin' to ... I
was tryin' NOT to.  Okay?"

   "Okay." And I got up to get into the other bed.  And as I left, I kissed
her on the nose.

   "No," she said.  And she pulled my face down and kissed me on the lips,
just a tiny bit past a little girl happy kiss.

   The alarm went off at six AM and we were out the door a half-hour later,
stopping at a diner for breakfast that wasn't nearly as good as the ones
I'd been enjoying, even though I did get to gaze at those blue eyes over a
hot cup of coffee.

   Three hours later we were back at the house, unloading her purchases and
restarting the generator.  I left her under the watchful eye of a yellow
cat and I went to work.  On the way in, I phoned Steve and told him to meet
me on one of the jobsites so I wouldn't have to waste time at the office.
By the time I'd visited three sites, it was six PM.  It took me an hour to
get home, including invocation of both my "emergency access" letter AND the
name of Sheriff Richard to get past an "access control point", AKA
"roadblock".

   I walked in the door to a smiling Nikki.  She was dressed in new shorts
and a simple cotton blouse and darn it!  My heart fluttered when I saw her.

   "Hey, sweetie," I said.  "Everything okay?"

   "Great," she said with a smile.

   I sniffed.  "Smells like a roast."

   "Yeah," she said.  "I hope it works.  It was frozen.  I left it in the
fridge to thaw yesterday.  But I stuffed it with garlic and it's been on
the stove since noon.  I need to do some vegetables and a pot of rice.  You
can go take your shower and it'll be ready."

   I smiled.  "Thanks."

   She looked at me.  "If you could've called me, I would've had it ALL
ready when you got here."

   "But I didn't have a way to call you."

   "No you didn't."

   "I'll fix that." I turned to Nikki.  "Okay.  If you can get through
tomorrow, you'll have a phone"

   "I just need one until the phones come back on, Dan."

   "That might be a while, baby," I said.

   "But my own phone?"

   "You'll need one."

   "Dan, answer me something.  Truth, okay?"

   I looked.  There was a serious look in the face of this young doll. 
"Always the truth, Nikki.  Why would we lie to each other?"

   "We shouldn't.  Ever."

   "So what's the question?"

   "How long am I going to stay here?"

   "As long as you want.  As long as you need to.  As long as you can."

   "Bu... but what if my mom doesn't come get me?"

   "That would be sad for her.  But you can stay here.  Might be some
strange hoops we have to go through, because if you're here, I need to be
able to be responsible for you.  Like for doctors and school and things. 
Is that the answer you were looking for?"

   "I guess so," she said.  Her expression was strange, though. 
Questioning.

   "What else can I say?  Did I miss something?"

   She fixed me with a gaze.  "Just one thing.  How long do YOU WANT me to
stay?"

   And heaven help me, because the word that came out of my mouth was
"Forever."

   And the response was a fifteen year old girl leaping into my arms and
wrapping her own around my neck.  And a decidedly un-little girlish kiss.

   "I missed you today, Dan.  I really did."

   "I missed you too, Nikki.  I thought my day would never end.  But we got
ourselves a mess here."

   "What do you mean, Dan?"

   "Very confusing for me."

   "How?"

   "Nikki, you're fifteen.  I'm forty one.  That's twenty-six years."

   "Grandma told me that the reason my real grandpa wasn't around was that
he married her when she was sixteen and he was forty-five.  That's almost
thirty years.  And she loved him until the day she died.  Her second
husband was her age.  He was a jerk.  Left her."

   "I could go to jail for just touching you."

   "I know that.  But I won't tell.  Nobody'll know."

   "You've known me for what, a week?"

   "Yes.  How much time do I need?" She turned and plopped backward onto
the sofa, arms crossed.  Her bottom lip was pouting.  "You know," she said,
"I'm NOT ignorant about people."

   "I didn't say you were, Nikki."

   "I know about sex and stuff.  I mean, I have a Mom who's been showin' me
the wrong way to do that since I was old enough to remember."

   "B-but..."

   "No "buts".  I know you're aroused by me.  You tried to hide it but you
didn't do a very good job.  Don't you imagine you just might have the same
effect on me?"

   "I don't know."

   "I'm fifteen.  I've known boys.  I've known men.  But I never let one
TOUCH me.  Dan, I'm a virgin.  At fifteen.  I don't know if there are any
others in my class.  I suppose there are, but I know I am, for sure.  And I
wanted to kiss you and hug you and maybe other stuff.  And I know all about
the laws.  So what do you think I'm gonna do?  Kiss you and run tell
somebody?  I'm not."

   "But Nikki, five days ago you didn't even know me.  I pulled you out of
a building.  I didn't do that to take advantage of you.  I'd have done the
same thing if you were a boy."

   "Even the cologne?"

   "Well maybe not the cologne."

   "So YOU put YOUR cologne on, and then you walk by me and I smell it and
I think "hmmm, that smells really good" and I want to get close enough to
smell it some more, and you start getting all paranoid?"

   "Nikki... baby..."

   "And that's another thing.  I've been "babe" an' "baby" and now you're
gonna treat me like I got a disease.  Don't you just suppose I might want
to just cuddle and be hugged and kissed."

   Okay, baby," I said, "but kisses and hugs... it's hard to draw the line
there sometimes..."

   "Dan.  Would you ever hurt me?"

   "No..."

   "I believe you.  Implicitly." And Nikki, a fifteen year old girl who
used words like "Implicitly".  "D'ya want me to say..."

   "Say what?" I asked.

   "That I think I love you?"

   "Nikki, that's just what I'm scared of.  That's why I don't have a
girlfriend.  I don't ever want to be told "I love you" again and give that
back and have them change their minds.  Every time that happens, it hurts
worse than the time before.  And the last one..."

   "I'm sorry, Dan.  It's never happened to me.  But I've had a screwed up
life.  My mom would just as soon be rid of me.  I don't know who my dad is
at all.  And there's nobody in my life, ever been in my life, that made me
smile like you did.  Already.  And I don't want to be told "I love you"
just because you want to get in my pants.  They're MY pants, and I control
who gets in `em."

   "I didn't do anything, Nikki... Just..."

   "Don't you understand, Dan... You didn't, but you did."

   "I don't want to take advantage of you, Nikki."

   She smiled, but a tear was tracking down a perfect cheek.  "Good!  Then
don't.  Hold me and kiss me and tell me that you will love me forever and
mean it.  Would THAT be taking advantage of me?  If you mean it?"

   "No.  It wouldn't."

   "Am I too unlovable to say that, then?"

   "No, you're certainly not."

   Then in a quiet small voice she said, "Then exactly why don't you say
it. If you mean it."

   "You win.  Nikki, heaven help us, I feel like I've been hit by
lightning, but I love you."

   "And I love you too, Dan." And this time I kissed back.  And again. 
This time I felt her lips part and a tongue brush mine lightly.  I opened
my own lips and our tongues met for the first time.  "Mmmmmmm," she purred.
"I know you're scared, Dan," she said.  "But I will never leave you.  I
promise."

   "I want to believe you," I said." I do.  But baby, you're fifteen."

   She kissed me again.  "Babe," she said, "fifteen is old enough to do
'forever'.  People didn't used to get married in their twenties and
thirties like today.  I can do 'forever'.  I'll be yours forever.  Okay?"
Kiss.

   I sighed.  "Then I'm yours.  Forever."

   And she pushed me backward onto the sofa and was astraddle me, kneeling.
She relaxed and settled into my lap and her crotch landed on top of my
erection.  And she wiggled down against it.  "You tried to hide this from
me." She grabbed my shirt and pulled it upward, tugging so I'd raise my
arms and she could get it off me.  Finishing, she reached down to unbutton
her own shirt and paused.  "Dan, I don't have big titties."

   "Little darling Nikki, I know what size titties you have.  Do you think
I'm made of steel?  I looked, babe.  Besides, I washed your bra."

   "Then you're not disappointed?"

   "Certainly not."

   She stripped the shirt off, tossing it over her shoulder and lowering
her arms.  At first she crossed them over her chest, covering that precious
beauty, but I kissed her and she lowered them and sat back.  "Beautiful. 
Absolutely perfect." And I caressed them, reveling in the firm flesh, her
areoles a little smaller than a quarter, her nipples like pencil erasers,
just as pink, and now, just as hard.  I twisted downward to kiss one.  She
purred, and when I sucked it, her hands pushed the back of my head, pushing
my face into her.

   I sat back up straight and looked at her face, then kissed her bangs on
her forehead.  Her eyes were bright.  "Dan," she whispered.  "Wouldn't the
bedroom be better?"

   I cupped the cheeks of her ass in my hands, holding her against me and
stood up.  She buried her face into my neck as I walked us to the bedroom
and gently sat her down on the bed.  Her hands went to the waistband of my
pants and pulled downward.  I took the hint and stood up and shed the
remainder of my clothes.  Her eyes widened at the sight of my dick, as hard
as it could possibly get, all six inches of it.

   "So that's it," she said.  "That's it." She moved to a kneeling position
and pulled her shorts down below her butt, then rolled backward and peeled
them off her long legs.  When she lowered her legs, I was treated to the
sight of wisps of dark, fine hair on her pubic mound.  She wasn't hairy. 
The mound was rounded and gave home to the start of her slit, glistening
with moisture.

   I crawled into the bed beside her and kissed her.  Her arms pulled me on
top of her.  "Nikki, darling, I love you, but we can still stop.  You're
still a virgin.  You can keep that."

   "Dan," she said.  "I love you, and... my virginity?  I'm finished with
it.  I want you to have it."

   "It could hurt the first time, baby..."

   "I know.  But I talked to the doctor when I first started having periods
and he said my, uh, hymen was vestigial.  Like it's almost not there.  And
if it hurts the first time, it won't hurt all the rest of the times."

   "Maybe it would be better if you were on top, baby, where you can
control how fast things go."

   "Okay, honey," she said.  I rolled her over on top of me.  We kissed
more, my hands wandering, exploring her lithe body.  She sat up, astraddle
me.

   "Wow," she commented, "I can't believe how much stuff is coming out of
me." Her hand reached down and touched the head of my dick as it was
trapped between us.  She raised up and it flipped upward.  She guided it
towards her waiting hole, the head lining up, slickened with juices I'd
love to taste.  She worked her hips forward and back, pushing downward as
the head buried into its home.  "We're doin' it, Dan." She rose up, then
pushed down.  A half inch disappeared.  The next stroke got more.  And
finally I felt her pussy lips against the base of my dick and her smile
told the story.  "Dan, you're IN me."

   "Did it hurt, baby?"

   "Not even a little bit." She was smiling with her whole face, looking
down at me.  Then a cloud came over her face.  "Dan, I don't want to get
pregnant."

   "Uh, babe, that's not happening.  Remember when I told you that my ex
and I couldn't have kids?  It could have killed her or the baby.  So I got
fixed."

   "Like a vasectomy?"

   "Exactly."

   Giggle.  And wiggles involving two people with parts that were made to
fit together.  "Then shoot.  Come."

   "What do you know about coming and shooting?"

   "Mom's a slut.  And not a very quiet one." She slid back and forth on
me. And laid down on top of me, and we entwined our arms and kissed. 
Mated. "Dan," she whispered.  "It ain't sex to me.  It's love.  Just a part
of love, but it's love."

   I marveled at the flurry of thoughts and emotions that were running
through my Nikki.  "You're so beautiful in so many ways, Nikki." I kissed
her and she writhed in my arms, then pushed up, her hands on my chest.  And
her hips moved.

   There was a smile and her eyes were gleaming as she began to experiment
with the feeling she could generate by moving the moistness over the shaft
that she'd welcomed inside her.  "Mmmmmm.  Dan!  Feels soooo good!" She
rocked back and forth, finding an angle and a motion that made her very
happy.  "There!  Like that.  I can feel you IN me and I can feel ME rubbin'
on you.  In just the right place."

   And she started a rhythm.  And I couldn't help myself, but my own hips
started pushing in concert with her rhythm.  I could feel her juices
starting to cover the front of my balls and my pubic mound.  My dick was
immersed.  And Nikki was getting more insistent in her motions.  The smile
on her face morphed to concentration and her eyes alternated between bright
and open to squinched closed.  And then she bit her bottom lip.  "Oh!  Dan.
It's.  Happening!  Aaauuughhhhh!" and her hands grabbed my chest, my
breasts, and her fingers dug in.  And she came.  As I splurted
uncontrollably into her center.

   "Niiiiiiiikki, baby!  I'm coming.....  Aaahhhh!!!!" And Nikki fell
forward into my arms.

   It took a minute for us to return to lucidity.  "Dan," she said.  "Mom
told me that it wouldn't be good for me the first time." She sighed.  "She
was wrong about that, too."

   "Mmmmmm, baby!  I'm glad." I kissed her gently.

   "Was it good for you?" She looked at me from three inches away.

   "I think I entered a parallel universe, baby."

   She giggled softly.  "It was good for US, then." She kissed me lightly,
perfectly, in post-coital bliss, her face framed by dark brown hair, her
blue eyes happy.  From our nether regions came a soft plop as my softening
dick fell out of its new home.

   Nikki gave a tentative wiggle in response.  "It fell out, Dan..."

   "It's dead.  It died happy, though." And I smiled at her tinkling
giggle, caressing her back and butt with my hands.  "You feel so good,
baby."

   She purred at my touch.  "Mmmmmm, So do you, baby." She slid sideways
off of me and molded herself along my left side.  "Dan, you take such good
care of me..."

   "You're worth caring for, baby.  You were before you showed up at my
door.  And even more now."

   Her eyes were bright, a smile on her lips.  "You've given me more in
five days than I've had since Grandma died, Dan."

   "That's a two-way, street, little one.  You don't know what it meant to
me to wake up and find you in the kitchen, smiling.  And leaning over my
shoulder in the office, smiling.  And sitting on the sofa, smiling.  It's
like you brought a rainbow into my life."

   Chapter Four

   We stayed in an embrace for some more time when Nikki remembered the
kitchen.  She got up and disappeared into the bathroom and returned.  "We
made a mess of Nikki, babe!  I'm going to finish dinner." She pulled on the
clothes she'd strewn around the house.

   I joined her, walking up behind her as she stood at the stove.  I put my
hands on her shoulders and kissed the back of her head.  She turned, her
hair bouncing, spoon in hand.  She smiled.  "You know, it'll be even better
around here since we won't have to tiptoe around each other."

   "Huh?"

   "You know," she smiled, "Makin' sure you're properly clothed around me
an' me around you.  Stayin' a respectable distance apart.  And I don't have
to make a bed on the sofa."

   "No you don't," I said.

   "You don't know, Dan.  I wanted to get in bed with you the first night I
was here.  And not for sex, babe.  Just to feel safe."

   "Sweetie, I'm glad you didn't try.  I couldn't have handled it.  I was
battling in my head over you."

   "Why, Dan?"

   "Because you're an impossibility.  You're smart and cute and sweet. 
Well, that first day, I didn't know the 'smart' part.  But you're
impossibly young.  I was killing myself every time I had a thought about
you that strayed just a bit off the line."

   "I know, Dan," she said.  "I was havin' the same ones." She lifted a pot
lid and stirred the contents.  "Get a plate.  This is ready."

   We sat down at the table and ate our meal.  She was glowing.

   "You look so much happier, Dan," she said.  "Is that from ME?"

   "Yes, my love, it is."

   We cleared the table in record time.

   "Shower" she said, giggling.  "Both of us."

   I stared.

   "Don't be bashful.  I want that whole naked thing.  You're the first guy
I ever saw naked, and I wanna play, okay?  So we can start in the shower."
She was shedding clothes on the way up the hall, laughing, "Don't worry
about the clothes on the floor.  I know that lady that takes care of the
place and she'll pick `em up."

   I followed like a lovesick puppy.

   "Come on, Dan... you can't take a shower with your clothes on." Her eyes
twinkled.  "Here!  Let me help." She peeled my t-shirt over my head and
then started unbuttoning my jeans.  I heard the sound of my own zipper and
then she tugged the waistband downward.  She stood up, naked.  A vision. 
Her face was wreathed by that walnut colored hair, a sassy little flip at
her jawline.  She shook her head and her bangs settled in place.

   She kissed me.  I kissed her back, then started to bend over to get out
of my pants.

   "Nuh-uh," she said.  "I started it.  I'll finish it." And she knelt down
in front of me.  Her fingers hooked into the waistband of my briefs.  And
pulled them downward.  The elastic waist caught on my dick, pointing
upward, hard.  Blue eyes looked up at me.  "Uh, Dan, I've never undressed a
guy before." She pulled the waistband out and past my dick, dropping my
briefs on top of the jeans piled around me feet.  I stepped out of them.

   "Don't go anywhere," she said.  "I didn't get a chance to look while
ago." She could look now.  It was pointed at her face.  Her fingers gently
wrapped the shaft.  "This is so neat," she said.  As I stood there trying
to keep my knees from buckling, her fingers explored the head, tracing the
coronal ridge, touching and squeezing.  A big drop of pre-cum formed on the
tip.  Her eyes looked at me and turned naughty.  She picked up the drop on
her fingertip and popped the finger in her mouth.

   "Hey, that's actually pretty tasty." And then she wrapped the head of my
dick in her mouth and sucked.

   "Oh, gosh, Nikki," I moaned.

   She pulled off it.  "Did I hurt you?" she asked.

   "Oh, no, babe.  You surprised me."

   She stood up and pulled my face down to hers.  And kissed me.  "Another
first for Nikki, lover," she said.  "Let's get that shower."

   I was glad I'd designed the shower.  I knew when I designed the house
that days would come when I might need the room.  Nikki in the shower with
me was that need.  And a naked, wet and lathered Nikki was a thing of joy.
I washed her.  I shampooed her hair.  She washed me.  Scrubbed my back. 
Finally we stepped out and I wrapped her in the biggest, fluffiest towel in
my inventory.  And made a mental note to get new towels.

   She dried off and was drying her hair while I shaved.  She giggled.  "I
never saw a guy shave before.  You make funny faces."

   I put a dab of lather on her nose.

   After I finished shaving and brushed my teeth, the said, "Dan.  A little
of your cologne would be appropriate."

   "I didn't think you noticed."

   "I TOLD you that I noticed.  You need to listen to me better."

   "Yes, ma'am." I put cologne on.  And she put dabs of perfume here and
there for me to find.

   We went back to the bedroom.  The covers were still a mess from our
earlier activity.  "Grab a corner," she said, and we straightened the
covers.  She saw the spot where we'd leaked together earlier.  And there
was a slight tinge of red.  "I'll wash these tomorrow, baby," she said. 
And she crawled into the middle of the bed and stretched out on her back.

   The cat strolled into the bedroom, looked at the two of us, and strolled
back out.

   "Poor thing!  I'm probably taking his spot."

   "He'll probably be back when things quiet down."

   "But they're quiet right now," she cooed.

   I crawled beside her and kissed her, cupping a breast in my hand, my
fingers teasing a nipple to hardness.  And then I moved my face away from
hers, downward, kissing my way to her nipple.

   "Oh yeah, Dan!  I like that!"

   I tongued and sucked first one perky breast, then the other.  Then I
looked up into her eyes.  "Nikki," I said, "different people like different
things.  If I ever start to do something that you don't like, you need to
tell me.  It's your body.  You get to say what we do."

   "Oh, Dan, I want to do everything."

   "Everything?  What do you consider everything?"

   She pulled herself down to cuddle up with me.  We entwined arms and
legs. And she explained.  "You know I WAS a virgin until a couple or three
hours ago, right?"

   "Right," I said.  "I felt that.  And saw the evidence."

   "I was.  And I'm not experienced.  At all.  I never even made out with a
guy.  Or kissed one.  Not like we did.  When I felt your tongue touch mine,
that was the first time that happened."

   "But you... you started it."

   "Yeah.  That's the point.  I know about stuff.  I heard Mom and whatever
guy goin' at it, an' like I said, they weren't quiet.  The tongue thing,
well I read about it somewhere.  And that stuff about shooting an' coming,
well I heard that through the wall a bunch of times.  And when I did you
with my mouth, I heard about that.  And about her gettin' him to do that to
her."

   "Wow!"

   "But, baby, I never did anything.  With anybody.  So, like, maybe I
don't know HOW to do things, but I know that things are done."

   "Okay..."

   "And the same thing goes with you.  If you don't want to do something
with me, just tell me.  I remember one of Mom's guys didn't like to, as he
said, 'Eat pussy'.  But most of them did." She looked into my eyes.  "Do
you?"

   "I think that eating you would be one of the happiest events of my life,
babe."

   Squeal!  "Good!  "Cuz I want to see if that feels as good as I think it
will." She kissed me.  "And while ago?  When I put your thing in my mouth?
I REALLY liked that.  I hope you do.  I want to do that.  Lots."

   Her hand was exploring my balls.  "Lay back an' let me play."

   I did.  She had questions about what and how hard and where, and I
answered as she explored.  She finally eased up into my arms again and my
fingers explored the sweet, moist folds of her womanhood.  Oh, right, she
was fifteen.  Make that her late girl-hood.  We kissed and teased, lips to
lips, face, neck, chest, and I kept my fingers busy in her pussy, finally
succeeding in breaking her train of thought.  Her pelvis was hunching
insistently against my fingers as I teased an orgasm out of her.  Finally
she tossed her head back and said, "Dan!  Lick me.  There!"

   And I did, reveling in the juices flowing from her, the smell of lust,
the velvet feel of her folds, and the little pea-like head of her clitty. I
covered her clit with my mouth, sucking it in between my lips and working
it with my tongue in light, feathery flicks.  And she came, pulling my face
hard into her wetness.  Her muscles tensed then relaxed.  I gave her a few
seconds, then resumed.  "Dan!" Her hands went back to my head.  "I don't
know!  It's too soon!  Aughhhh!  Wait!  Don't stop!  Please.  There! 
HARD!" And I abandoned the light flicks and laved her clit vigorously with
my tongue.  "Nnnnnnngghhhhhhh!  Ohgodohgodohgod!!  Yesssss!" She went
rigid, back arched, her pussy pressed against my face.  And then fell back.
"Ahhhhhhh!  Please!  Come up here!"

   I cuddled her into my arms and kissed her face lightly.  "Dan, baby,"
she whispered, her lips near my ear.  "I used to do myself with my fingers
sometimes, and I made myself come.  But what you just did, wow!  Just wow!"

   I brushed her sleek hair away from her face and kissed her.  "You make
me feel good, babe!  You're a doll.  A fantasy.  No, I take that back.  My
fantasies were never this good."

   She pushed me onto my back and rested her chin in her hands on my chest.
"Did you have fantasies about me, Dan?"

   "Oh, Nikki, I tried soooo hard not to.  I felt bad about thinking of you
like that.  I wasn't supposed to."

   A smile formed on her lips and her eyes twinkled.  A smile to Nikki was
something that involved her whole face.  "But you did anyway, huh?"

   "I couldn't help it." I kissed her.  "I felt bad about it."

   "You don't have to feel bad about it any more.  I want you to think
about me like this!" She eased down my chest, playing on my nipples with
her tongue.  "Do guys like this too?" she asked.

   "I don't know about other guys, but I love it.  And it's like there's
wire from my left nipple to my dick."

   "Your left nipple?  Is it the most sensitive?  You showed me my RIGHT
nipple is more sensitive." And she was holding my dick when she latched
onto my left nipple, sucking it with her lips and teasing it with her
tongue.  She giggled.  "That's so COOL!  Every time my tongue moves, your
thing moves.  And gets harder." She smiled.  "I'm gonna love learning how
to please you."

   "You already please me, blue-eyed girl."

   "Yeah, but I want to fix you so where every time you stop to relax, you
think of me."

   "Too late, Nikki!"

   "Too late?"

   "Yeah.  All day today every time I closed my eyes, I saw you."

   "Before we even talked about us?"

   "Yes.  Before we even talked about us."

   "It's us now, Dan." She left my nipple, headed further down.  She
regarded my dick at close range.  It was rock-hard.  She turned her head
back toward me.  "This thing is MADE for me to suck on, Dan!" Her head
dipped and I felt lips close over me, sucking.  She pulled off me with an
audible pop.  "I think I could do this better if I was between your legs,
baby!"

   "Okay," I said.  I scooted up toward the head of the bed, arranging
pillows to support my back.  The fact that it gave me a clear view of the
brown-haired cutie crawling between my thighs was a definite plus.

   She started kissing my balls, giggling.  "They're all wrinkly!  It feels
funny on my lips.  I like it!" She kissed again.  "You said not to suck too
hard, huh?"

   "Yeah."

   Her head bobbed down.  "Mmmmmm," she purred.  "Was that too hard?"

   "Nope.  Perfect!"

   "Okay, then." She worked me over for a minute.  Then she licked up the
shaft of my dick.  "I'm just kinda wingin' it here, babe," she said,
grinning.  Her pink tongue made another pass.  "Oooooh, look!  You made me
some juice!" She dispensed with the finger this time and her pink tongue
licked it off me like a lollipop.  And then she sucked.  Her hand was
wrapped around the shaft and her lips met her fingers as her head bobbed.

   "Dan," she asked, "can I bite it?  Just a little?  I mean, I WANT to."

   "Bite, baby."

   "How hard?"

   "As hard as you want.  I trust you." It is a truly sensual thing to see
your lover smile when she's got your dick in her mouth.  I felt teeth.

   "Too hard?"

   "Nope.  You could bite a little harder.  Just not on the head.  Real
light on the head, okay?"

   And she gave me a series of sucks, licks and nibbles.  Purrs and giggles
accompanied her experimentation.  "Am I doin' this right?"

   "If you do it much longer, you're gonna see how right you are..."

   Squeal!  "Like, I'm gonna make you COME?  With my mouth."

   "Yes, you are.  So you better stop or you are going to get a mouthful."

   Her lips slid down over the head and her teeth fastened behind the
ridge, tugging.

   "Nnnnnnnghhhh!" I breathed.  "Baby!  I'm serious.  I'm gonna come."

   "I want you to."

   "B-but..."

   "You're my lover, Dan, and I want this thing to come in my mouth.  I
mean, if Mom could do a guy she just met, I can do THE guy who I'm gonna
spend my life with..." And she went back down on me.  As she worked me over
with lips, teeth and tongue, her free hand cradled and caressed my balls.
She looked up at me, giggling.  "This is FUN!  I can feel it throbbing!"
She returned to sucking and swirling me.

   "I'm close, baby," I said, touching her pretty hair.  She doubled her
effort and "Nnnnnnghhhhh!  Baby!  Hereitcomes!  Gahhhhh!  Ohbaby! 
Nnnnnghhhh!" The first surge spurted into her mouth.  I felt her tongue and
cheeks as she swallowed.  Then the second.  And third.  And the rest was
just a long flow like fire.

   She kept the suction as I softened, then she climbed up to rest on my
chest.  "Would it be gross to kiss you right now?"

   "No.  You kissed me with your juice all over my face.  Kiss me."

   She did.  I could taste the vestiges of my semen in her mouth.  "We
taste pretty good, huh?" she giggled.  We kissed more.  Then she asked,
"Uh... When they say sixty-nine, that's where we do each other at the same
time?"

   "Yes it is.  Wanna try?" And in a trice I was treated to the prettiest
little pussy I'd ever seen.  We attended to each other for some minutes.

   "I LIKE this," she said.  "But I wanna kiss you." She turned back around
and we embraced.  "You're hard again, Dan." And she impaled herself on me.
We went one more round, and I was astonished to find out that I could do a
third orgasm in just a mere few hours.  Nikki was under no such limitation
and came twice as my stamina met the hurdle of building my third orgasm. 
This time when she sat up, recognizing the wetness between us, she grinned.

   "I know what to do about this mess," she announced.  "If you don't think
it's gross."

   "What's gross?"

   "You clean ME up and I'll clean YOU up.  And that way, we won't make a
big mess like we did earlier."

   I grinned at her.  "I like the way you think, darlin'!" She squealed and
simultaneously attacked my dick and balls as I licked our combined juice
from her pussy.  She was right.  We WERE delicious.

   Finally we lay side by side, holding hands.

   "Wow!  What a day, Dan!"

   "Yes it has been.  I left here this morning troubled and lonely, and now
I have YOU."

   "Forever, Dan.  I will never leave you or forsake you."

   "And I will cherish you and you alone, for the rest of my life.  I love
you Nikki.  Forever."

   "I love you, Dan," she whispered.  She gave me one more kiss and turned
toward me, her hand holding my dick as we drifted off to sleep.

   The alarm was all too soon.  Nikki hit the kitchen dressed in my t-shirt
(But I'd rather YOUR t-shirt than pajamas) and panties and whipped up a
breakfast for us both.  As we sat at the table eating, she said simply,
"Dan, we're married, you know."

   "Married?"

   "Yep!  Maybe not the way the state sees it, but that's the way it always
was.  When a man took a woman to be his wife, then they vowed to each other
and sealed it with making love.  We've done all that."

   "You actually WANT to be married?  To me?"

   Fifteen year old eyes regarded me coolly.  "Yes I do.  I said so
yesterday."

   "Then we're married.  First day I get free, we're going to buy us some
rings."

   She smiled sublimely.

   "Now I have to go to work, babe.  I'd rather stay with you, but I need
to make us some money for a honeymoon." And I kissed her and turned to
leave.

   She tugged at my belt.  "One more, husband," she smiled.

   I kissed her.  "They're all yours from now on, wife."

   And I went off to work.  I zipped through a couple of hours of site
visits and pointing out things that might be obvious but that the clients
felt better about after I validated their suppositions.  Mid-morning I
parlayed my day to drive out of the hurricane footprint to a nearby city
where a facility was drying out some wet equipment.  After my visit, I
stopped by a cellphone store and picked one out.  I grabbed a burger on the
road and headed back into the mess and a couple more site visits.

   At the five o'clock hour I saw no reason to hang around longer so I
headed back south to my Nikki.  She was in the living room at the front
door when she heard my key in the lock.  Greeted with a kiss at the end of
a day.  What a wonderful thing.  Even more wonderful with Nikki, soft,
eager, smiling, those blue eyes laughing for me.

   "I hope you're hungry for spaghetti again," she said.  "I had a hunger."
She paused.  "Actually TWO hungers.  Spaghetti is one of them." She smiled
wickedly.  "Let me go start the water boiling for the pasta.  Go sit in
your chair."

   It felt good to recline.  Nikki showed up at my feet and untied my work
shoes.  This was almost too much.  "Baby, you don't have to do that," I
said.

   "I know, babe," she smiled.  "But you went off to work today and I
stayed home." She pulled off my shoes and kneaded my feet.  I moaned.

   "The sheriff stopped by today to check on us.  In an army hummer."

   "Did he say anything?"

   "Just checking on us, is what he said."

   "Okay," I said.  "I wonder if he's asking himself questions about you
being here."

   "He didn't say anything about it.  Why?"

   "Oh, just something to worry about.  You're fifteen, living with a guy
who's old enough to be your daddy."

   "Or my uncle." She smiled.  "Or my husband."

   "Except you're too young to get married in this state."

   "Oh.  That's stupid."

   I sighed.  "That's the law."

   "But what about girls who have sex an' get pregnant and they're younger
than me?  Huh?"

   "I didn't say it made sense, baby, just that it's the law."

   She left and came back.  "Pasta's gonna be ready in ten minutes." And
she crawled into my lap.  "Baby, but I WANT to be married to you.  It's
just stupid!  I could be the biggest skank in the school, and nobody would
care, but if I want to commit my life to the man I love, it's against the
law?"

   "It would be against the law for me to be with you if you were the
world's biggest fifteen year old skank.  To skank legally you've have to do
guys your age."

   "It's not funny, Dan."

   I kissed her.  "I know, baby, but what is, is.  We can't do much about
it." I stroked her sleek walnut tresses.  Pushed them back from her ear and
nibbled at it, eliciting giggles.  And whispered, "I love you." And that
got me another, full mouth, passionate kiss.  Our tongues wrestled
together.

   "Mmmmmm," she purred.  "It's a mess.  But you know, this is the best
I've had it since Grandma died."

   "I'm sorry, baby.  You're cute and smart and funny and a delight to
behold and things should be better for you."

   "Thank you, Dan.  You make me feel so good."

   Our little reverie was interrupted by the bell of the kitchen timer.  We
ate our meal, talking about what we each did during the day.

   "I pulled a book off your shelf and read it, and I listened to some of
your CD's."

   "What CD's?"

   "Oh, some Beethoven symphonies.  I love his "Pastorale"."

   "That's one of my favorites, too.  What book?"

   "That one you had of collected Mark Twain works.  You have to sort of
get your mind into him, but when you do, he's FUNNY!"

   "No TV?"

   "I didn't feel like TV.  I vacuumed and swept and did the laundry. 
Those sheets with the big spot on them." She giggled.  "I should have cut a
square out and framed it." She smiled.  "You know.  Proof of me giving
myself to you."

   "It means something to me, Nikki.  It does."

   "I know it does, Dan."

   And there was a knock on the door.  I had the shotgun in my right hand
as I opened the door with my left, my foot anchored firmly to stop it from
opening more than a few inches.  "Yes?"

   "Uh, Dan?  It's me, Sheriff Richard."

   "Oh, come in, then."

   I stepped back, leaning the shotgun against the wall behind the door. 
He walked in and saw the shotgun.  "Prepared, huh?" he laughed.  "I would
be, too.  I had to arrest four guys in a pickup truck today.  Looters."

   "No shit?!?!?!"

   "Yeah.  Kinda what I said.  But you know how some people are.  That's
why I came by today.  Wanted to check on you folks."

   "Where's your Hummer?" asked Nikki.

   "I gave it back to the national guard.  I like my SUV." He smiled. 
"Miss Nikki, I put your name in a database.  We're trying to find your
momma, but nothing's turned up yet.  But if she goes to Red Cross or one of
the other organizations and asks, you'll show up."

   Next he turned to me.  "Dan, you got everything you need?  Food? 
Water?"

   "I have my own well, sheriff," I answered.  "And we have plenty of food.
How about you?  You're welcome to a home-cooked meal.  We have spaghetti.
Nikki learned to cook from her grandma.  She's GOOD!"

   He patted his belly.  "Not today.  I've been eating at the national
guard field kitchen.  They got a good cook there, too.  Mess sergeant. 
From New Iberia." He looked at Nikki, then me.  "So are ya'll related?"

   "Nope," I answered.  I told him the story of walking outside after the
storm, surveying the fallen building next door.  Hearing the cries.

   "I thought that's what I heard you say the day we flew in.  But I didn't
think to ask.  Little girl," he said, "that's a heck of a story.  How'd you
get left behind?"

   Nikki explained to him as she had to me.

   He looked at the two of us again.  "I can get you out of here, Nikki, if
you want."

   "Thanks, Sheriff Richard," she said, "but if you take me from here, I'm
gonna be a teenager in a shelter by herself, and I don't want to do that.
Mr.  Dan's got me a cellphone and if you find out anything you can call me.
I'll be right here.  Just like today.  Okay?"

   "That's okay with me," he told her.  "Dan, she told me you're driving
out to work?"

   I told him about what I was doing and where, and about taking her to
Houston to buy clothes and supplies.

   He looked at me with an odd expression.  "Sounds like you're taking
better care of her than she would've gotten at a shelter.  So you're okay
with her staying here?"

   "Just call it the only shelter in the parish."

   He laughed.  "Well, then, I'll make sure that the deputies know she's
here during the day and they'll make patrols."

   "Any word on when electricity will be back?"

   "The electric company says we'll probably get this road back in another
five or six days.  My office is on generator too, though, and the propane
truck's gonna come in on Friday.  I'm gonna send `em over here under escort
to make sure you're filled up, too." He looked thoughtful.  "Hang on!  I'll
be back."

   He walked out the door and came back in a minute with a walkie-talkie
radio.  "Here," he said.  "This one's on our frequencies.  Here's the
charger.  If you need us, make sure it's on channel one.  That's our
priority channel.  And just holler for help.  Miss Nikki, that's especially
for you.  It's faster'n 9-1-1 on your cellphone."

   "Thanks, Sheriff Richard!" she said.  Turning to me, he said, "Dan, can
you walk outside with me for a second?"

   Now I was worried.  But I walked outside.  "Whatcha got, sheriff?"

   "Dan," he said, "You know that a person with a dirty mind would be all
kind of suspicious about a fifteen year old girl stayin' the house with
you."

   "Yeah." I rubbed the back of my neck.  "I can see where a person might
read something into that."

   "Well, here's what I see..." he leaned back against the hood of the SUV.
"I've asked her THREE times now if she wanted to leave and three times she
says no and then she looks at you.  I know what "no" means.  And I'm an ol'
country boy and I'm pretty sure what that look is, too."

   "What?!?!?"

   "Don't get upset, man," he said.  "She's just not hiding it very well.
The kid is in love."

   "And with a bit of knowledge like that, where does that leave me in the
eyes of the law, sheriff?"

   He crossed his arms.  "In the eyes of the law, you're looking at five to
twenty, and a life as a registered sex offender."

   My shoulders fell.  "That'd kill Nikki.  Me too.  But Nikki... Sheriff,
she's had a rough time..."

   "That's what I'm sayin', Dan.  IF... and that's a big "IF", I was to
make a case of it.  But you see, she might have told you about her momma,
but I already KNEW about her momma.  And what's goin' on with her momma
right now."

   "What?"

   "The woman's been in this parish for two years now and I've had her
picked up three times for prostitution.  Drugs twice."

   "Nikki said there were problems, but she didn't mention arrests." I
rubbed my neck again.

   "And just so you know, her momma's NOT going to try and find her, I
don't think.  She and the latest boyfriend got arrested with another guy at
a meth lab in Arkansas today.  I got a call an' sent `em a file on 'er."

   "Oh, shit!" I said.  "I don't know how to tell Nikki..."

   "Don't tell her.  It's a piece of knowledge that won't help anything. 
Kinda like me knowin' that she's stayin' here with you."

   "Damn!"

   "Look, buddy," he said.  "This is the country.  I'm the sheriff.  I get
a pretty free rein on how to enforce laws here.  On you an' her, I'm
keepin' my mouth shut.  Now I'm gonna tell you something.  An' if you say
anything to anybody, your ass is mine, but I ran a background check on
you."

   "That should have been interesting."

   "It was.  Army engineer lieutenant.  Honorable discharge.  Good credit.
No criminal record.  Divorced once.  Blah-blah-blah.  Talked to a guy I
fish with that works at one of those plants where you work.  He says you're
some sort of electrical god.  You have a lot to lose, you know."

   "I know."

   "You know Nikki's grandma?"

   "Dead grandma?  To hear Nikki tell it, the woman was a saint."

   He laughed.  "You choose words wisely.  She was.  Was my wife's aunt,
too.  And this bein' a little country parish in Louisiana, I know that
sometimes young girls and old guys, well, her grandma was a case.  And so
was a certain law enforcement official who fell in love with a teenaged
girl thirteen years his junior."

   "No joke?"

   "Nope.  I'm sixty-two and she's forty-nine.  And her brother's the
district attorney."

   "That's awfully convenient," I laughed.

   "So here's the deal," he said.  "You and Nikki... okay.  Unless SHE says
it's a problem.  If you're a couple, you're a couple.  And not one of those
couples where I get reports of domestic disturbances.  You appear to be an
honorable man." He paused.  "Now let's see what Miss Nikki says about some
of this."

   We walked back into the house.  Nikki was pacing.

   "Nervous?" Sheriff Richard asked her.

   "Ya'll been out there talkin' for a long time.  Dan looked serious. 
Like he was worried."

   "He had reason to be," said the sheriff.  "Miss Nikki, do you know what
the law says about under-aged girls?"

   "Yessir.  Mr.  Dan explained it to me."

   "He did?  Good!  So let me get a final answer from you.  Are you SURE
you want to stay here.  With him?"

   This time I was watching.  And he was right.  She tried to hide it, so
the smile didn't show on her lips, but her eyes twinkled and she stood just
a little straighter.  "Yessir," she said.  "I do."

   "Go sit on the sofa by `im, then," he said.

   Nikki obeyed.  She sat next to me, hands folded on her lap, a little
fidgety.  She glanced at me.

   "Now," he said, "tell me that you livin' here with Mr.  Dan is what you
want, and don't try to tell me that it's 'I'll clean the house and cook and
that's it!', okay?  Am I right?"

   Nikki glanced up at me and then burst into tears.  "B-but Sheriff
Richard, he didn't force me to do nothin'.  I love `im.  An' he loves me.
Don't take me away..." She wailed, tears rolling down her cheeks.  I put my
arms around her.  She looked up at me.  "I'm sorry, Dan," she sobbed.  "I
love you."

   I kissed her then turned to Sheriff Richard.  "Is that an answer?"

   "Dammit, I'm sorry, Dan.  I'm sorry Miss Nikki," he said.  "I know what
I need to know.  You two are okay.  Just like you are." He paused.  "Dan.
Outside for another minute?"

   Out the door we went.  He turned to me.  "I just broke my OWN damned
heart, Dan.  I'm sorry."

   "I am too, sheriff."

   "Stop the "sheriff" bit.  Call me Ernie."

   "Okay, Ernie."

   "Dan, are you... would you, if you could, you and her get married?"

   "Married?  How?  She's fifteen."

   "Listen," he said.  "Her mom's in jail, headed for prison.  She's in a
bad spot."

   "I know.  But..."

   "But nothin'.  I've been huntin' in these marshes since I was a kid. 
I'm good at it, and I end up with a bunch of lawyers and a judge or two who
just love to come down and shoot a few ducks with me and drink some liquor
an' play cards every fall.  And I just might have me... us a plan."

   "What are you thinking?"

   "Emancipation.  Court order takes her out of her mom's custody.  And a
judge can sign a court order to allow her to marry.  At fifteen.  Used to
happen all the time, just to make sure that a baby wasn't sittin' in the
front pew clappin' when his parents got married.  When I was young, people
cared about that stuff.  They don't now, but I think I could talk a judge
into..."

   "Wait.  Nikki's not pregnant."

   "So?!?!  Nobody said she had to be.  I had an uncle who married his
fifteen year old girlfriend before he went to Viet Nam.  They have four
grown up kids now.  She wasn't pregnant.  Just wanted to get married."

   "You think you can pull that off?"

   "I'd pretty much bet on it.  Cost you a cold coke, though."

   I laughed.  "Come on in." We walked into the house.  "Nikki!  Get Mr. 
Ernie a coke!"

   She came back in with the can in her hand.  "Ya'll sure seem happier
this time."

   "You gonna tell `er, Ernie?"

   He smiled.  "Miss Nikki, I am so sorry I made you cry.  I really am."

   "I'm okay, Sheriff..  uh, Mister Ernie."

   "It appears to me that you love this here old guy.  Am I right?"

   She nodded warily.  "Yessir."

   "Enough to marry `im?"

   A smile, briefly, then, "Yessir."

   He laughed.  "Then smile, baby.  We're gonna make that happen."

   Squeal.  And Nikki threw her arms around my neck and kissed me, the
chastely kissed Ernie on the cheek.  "Really?  How?"

   Ernie explained.  "Now I gotta go, folks.  But here's the deal.  After
the wedding, we get together for a crawfish boil or a gumbo or somethin'.
And Dan...?"

   "Yeah?"

   "You vote for me?"

   "Hell, man, I'll put your sign in my yard!"

   I shook his hand and Nikki hugged him before he left.  We plugged in the
radio charger and she was almost giddy.

   Chapter Five



   "It's gonna happen????  I can't believe!  It's REALLY gonna happen! 
Dan!"

   "Nikki, you need to be sure.  I'm not the guy that thinks marriage is
just a way to get a tax deduction.  If you think it's forever..."

   She wrapped me in her arms and kissed me.  "Dan, you're mine!  I will
never leave you or forsake you.  Forever!"

   "Forever's a long time, babe," I said.  "I can see it from forty-one. 
Can you see it from fifteen?"

   She looked into my eyes.  "I'm walkin' into it with you, no matter what,
Dan!" she exclaimed.  "You'd better get used to it."

   "I love you, babe," I said, holding her.

   "I love you too..." she giggled.  "Let's get the kitchen straight an'
get us a shower, `kay?"

   "You betcha, brown-haired girl."

   We had the kitchen squared away in half an hour.  And into the shower.
She was not the least bit ashamed of her own nudity this time.  And as I
stripped, she watched.

   "Danny," she said, "D'you think I'm pretty?"

   "I do, Nikki.  You're very pretty.  And it's not the clothes you wear or
make-up or anything you have to put on or add.  You're just a naturally
pretty girl."

   "But I'm not blonde."

   I laughed, "Sweetie, blondes don't have a monopoly on pretty.  You have
beautiful hair.  It's clean and shiny and has that little curl, and I adore
your bangs."

   "Really?"

   "Really," I said.  "And besides, a guy in love gets to say that his girl
is pretty.  But you were pretty that first night you were here, before I
found out I loved you."

   She pressed her nakedness against me.  "I just want to be what makes you
happy, babe!" and she kissed me.

   "You make me way past happy, babe," I answered.

   The next two weeks were surreal.  I'd never been like this when I was
married before, juggling a career for me and a career for my wife, waking
up and going in separate directions, coming home, it wasn't the same.  Of
major importance, though, was that first wife, Shelley, was NO Nikki.

   Nikki and I just clicked.  She had the most amazingly placid demeanor,
and the more I talked with her, the more I came to realize that there was a
world-class brain behind that wry smile and those blue eyes.  I mean,
first, she just took over the household like she'd been doing it for years.
I kept a clean house, but she made it shine.  Meals?  Breakfast every
morning, a snack in a bag for me to take off to work, and when I came in
there was always something ready for me.

   There was another thing.  I'd come in and find the books she was
reading. Yes, she did Mark Twain.  And downloaded a few to my e-book
reader, and I tracked titles and progress, and she was a reader.  A pretty
fast one.

   But one of the big surprises was, "Dan, when school starts back up,
you're gonna fix me up!"

   "Fix you up?  Are you broken?"

   "Nope.  Just I'm thinkin' about my grades.  Uh, do YOU think I'm smart?"

   "Hah!  Not since you were helping me with storm damage stuff.  You learn
amazingly fast.  That's "smart" as far as I'm concerned.  So what are you
asking, little doll?"

   "I'm asking you to HELP me.  I never worked in school.  I just sit
through the class.  I think I can do better.  I want you to help me."

   "I'll help you, baby."

   "Okay, then.  I need to write down some stuff about math an' see if we
can get up to speed from there.  I'll do that tomorrow, `kay?" Her eyes
twinkled.  "And when school starts back... Your Nikki is gonna turn over a
new leaf."

   Nights were our time.  Nikki put a whole physical dimension to my life
that even my wildest fantasies never imagined.  She was a temptress in teen
body.  Most evenings we showered together, but sometimes we didn't, and I'd
get out of the shower and find her in the bed lying seductively, reading,
and she'd look at me and giggle and wink, and off we'd go.

   I'm trying to say that life was good.

   So I was at one of the client sites mid-morning when my cellphone rang.
I didn't recognize the number.

   "Hello.  Dan Granger.  Can I help you?"

   Laughter.  A voice I recognized.  "Dan, this is Ernie.  I got some news
for you."

   "Oh, hi, Ernie!  Figured you'd been busy.  How're things going?"

   "Hell, Dan!  We got our butts kicked by a hurricane.  But we're getting
things back together.  Lemme ask you up front.  Are you still serious about
Miss Nikki?"

   "Yes I am, Ernie.  Why?"

   "Then you're gonna like what I have for you."

   "Whatcha got?" I was excited.  My heart was pounding.

   "I got a judge who let me explain the situation.  Now he wants to talk
to Miss Nikki.  And you.  Separately."

   "When?"

   "You know, Dan, I can move this along pretty fast.  Can you call Miss
Nikki?  I'm about twenty minutes away from ya'll's house.  I can bring her
into town to talk with the judge this afternoon."

   "Ernie, straight up... this isn't some way to get Nikki out of my house
for good, is it?"

   "Oh, no way, Dan.  If I thought that, I'd tell you.  This judge is
straight up.  He's not gonna be stupid.  Just wants to hear it from her. 
And if you can see `im tomorrow morning, then that's what we need."

   "Okay, Ernie.  I'll call her and tell her." I thought for a second. 
"Say!  I could talk to `im this morning myself, before or after Nikki."

   "Okay.  You call Nikki, and I'll call Judge Lanford, and we'll talk
afterward."

   As soon as I hung up on the sheriff, I was on the phone to Nikki.  "Hey,
sweetie," she answered.

   I told her what was going on.

   "Dan, I'm worried."

   "Sheriff Ernie says not to worry.  Just tell the judge what you told him
the other night."

   Small voice.  "Okay.  And Dan?"

   "Yes, babe?"

   "I love you!"

   "I love you too, sweetie!" I hung up with Nikki and shoved the phone
into its holster.  It rang almost immediately.

   "Yeah, Ernie?"

   "You're set up for eleven this morning." He told me the address of the
judge's office.

   My next call was to the office.  "Steve," I said, "I'm tying up loose
ends right now.  I have a domestic emergency.  I may be in and out for the
rest of today and tomorrow.  Ledbetter has a handle on this project and he
can call me if he needs me.  I'll be on my phone if you need me."

   "Dammit!  Okay, Dan.  Do what you have to do, I suppose!" Steve knew
better than to think I was going to screw my clients.

   "That's a good little boss," I laughed.

   "Dammit, Dan!  Don't rub it in!"

   I worked up until a quarter to eleven and headed across town.  Walked
into a tastefully appointed law office, gave my name to the receptionist,
and she walked back to report my arrival.  A sixtyish man appeared in the
door wearing shirt and tie.

   "So you're Dan Granger!" Shaking my hand he said, "I'm James Lanford. 
Sheriff Richard told me about you.  Can you join me?"

   "Yessir," I said.

   Laughing, he said, "Oh, don't do `sir' with me.  Ernie and I gut ducks
together.  I'm just James, okay?  You coming in from work?" He asked. 
"Ernie told me you were at one of the plants."

   "Yes, James.  I feel under-dressed."

   "Don't," he said.  "Sit!" He motioned me to a chair equally as luxurious
as the one behind his desk.  I sat.

   "So Ernie explained to me a, well, a situation."

   "Yes, James.  A situation I wasn't out looking for.  It just happened."

   "So he said." He folded his hands together.  "And I had an interesting
talk with a Miss Dominique Domingue."

   "She's an intelligent young lady who's had a rotten life right up to the
point where an apartment building fell in on her."

   He looked at me.  "That's what she said.  And the sheriff updated me on
the status of her mother, now in the custody of the State of Arkansas."

   "So I've heard."

   "And her mom's stepfather is out of the picture.  I looked into him. 
Not the sort of character I'd want to turn over the custody of a fifteen
year old girl to, I'm told."

   "I didn't know that."

   He looked at a legal pad on his desk.  "Says here that he divorced
Nikki's grandmother a couple of years after they married, when Nikki's mom
was sixteen.  In and out of jail since then."

   "I didn't know that, either."

   "And you, according to our sheriff, are, in his words, 'an honorable
man'.  He skirted the law to get some of that information, apparently."

   "It's amazing the kind of help you can get with a cold coke after a
hurricane," I said.

   The judge chuckled.  "If you'd've given `im a cold beer, he'd have
rented a chapel for you.  Uh...chapel.  So let me get this straight. 
You've known Miss Nikki for three, three and a half weeks, and you're
willing to take care of her?"

   "Yes, I am, James."

   "More than take care of her?"

   "Uh..  yes..."

   "Marry her, except that according to state law, she can't get married
without parental permission until she's eighteen.  Sixteen WITH parental
permission."

   I looked at him straight on.  "Yes, James, I would like to marry her. 
She and I have talked about this.  As I am sure you've discovered."

   "Dan," he said, "She had tears in her eyes.  Swears her un-dying love
for you.  And for some reason, I am inclined to believe her."

   "Yeah?"

   "Yeah.  Most unusual young lady.  I asked her how she spent her days
while you were working and she gave me the names of Mozart concertos and
Beethoven symphonies and Handel and Telemann and Boccherini and Twain and
Heinlein.  Sounds like she's quite the sponge for culture."

   "Then she didn't mention being an engineering assistant?"

   "No."

   "The first couple of days after the storm, when I got phone and internet
back, I worked from my home office.  She sat there and watched, then
started catching on, and talking about it, and dammit!  She picks up things
fast!"

   "Sounds like she's picked up an electrical engineer along the way."

   "Yeah.  She did."

   "You love her?  I mean, bullshit aside, you LOVE her?  Not for a
housekeeper or a sex toy?  Love her?"

   "James, I know that some people could do that.  But I couldn't.  I would
kill myself before I let myself add one tear to Nikki's life.  She's had it
hard enough already."

   "Dan, she said the same thing about you.  Except she said your hard life
was from women.  I can understand that, as many cases as come across my
desk."

   "Nothing else I can say then."

   "Well," he smiled, "I took the liberty of having Miss Dominique Domingue
affix her signature to this legal document.  I will have you affix your
own. And I will sign it.  And Mizz Helen," He punched the intercom, "Mizz
Helen will come in here with her handy dandy court seal and seal it, making
it binding and legal.  And I think that if you take this to the courthouse,
those people will issue you and Miss Nikki a marriage license.  I think
you'll find that Sheriff Richard is having a hamburger with her at the
diner up the street." He laughed.

   Mizz Helen appeared just as he signed under my somewhat shaking
signature.  She stamped the papers and gave me several copies.

   "Mizz Helen," he said, "Give the sheriff a call and have him bring Miss
Nikki back here." He looked at me.  "Oh, and call your sister at the
courthouse and see if she's too busy to bring us over a marriage license.
I'm finding that I feel particularly judgish today.  I like helping people
from time to time."

   "W-what???"

   "Well, Dan," he said.  "If you want, and she wants..."

   I stammered, "Y-you ask her..."

   I sat back in my chair.  "Wow!"

   "So," he said, "how's work?"

   We chatted for five or ten minutes when Nikki walked in wearing a blouse
and skirt and pumps, an outfit she'd bought with me on our trip to Houston.
Her eyes twinkled when she saw me.  She stood at my side.

   "Hi, Miss Nikki," said the judge.

   "Hello, Mister James," she said.  She looked at me, smiled, and took my
hand in hers.  "Since you're smiling..."

   "Dan told me to ask you something," James said.

   "Yessir," she said softly.

   "You told me you wanted to marry him.  He wants to know if today's too
soon."

   Squeal!  I got a kiss.  Ernie got a hug and a kiss on the cheek.  And so
did the judge.  And Nikki was back at my side.  "Really?"

   "Yes, really."

   The front door opened and closed.  Helen and her sister showed up with a
marriage license form.  In the presence of a judge it was filled out and
signed by me, by Nikki, by the judge as the official performing the
marriage, and by Sheriff Ernie Richard and Miss Helen as witnesses.  And
holding hands in a judge's office, we exchanged vows and promised our lives
to each other forever.

   And in our topsy turvy day, THEN we went and bought two simple gold
bands.

   Leaving the jeweler with my brand new fifteen year old bride sitting in
my truck beside me, I said, "Missus Granger, I need to make a phone call."

   She glowed.  "Wow!  I get it!  I'm really married to you!" She giggled.
"Make your call, husband!"

   I flipped the phone open and called Steve.

   "Where ARE you?" he asked.

   "Leaving a judge's office," I said.

   "W-whaaa???"

   "Long story, Steve.  I'm gonna be out the rest of the day."

   "Somethin' wrong?  Need bail?"

   "Nope!  Need a day off tomorrow.  Got something to take care of."

   "A day off?  We're goin' balls to the wall!"

   "And I know exactly what's going on for my projects, and they'll do
quite well until Thursday."

   Steve was a little irate.  "Dammit, Dan!  What do you have that's more
important than your job?"

   "Oh, Steve, my dear old friend, I just stood in a judge's office and got
married.  My wife is more important than this job, if it should come to
that." I paused for a second.  "But you don't want it to come to that, do
you?  Do WE?"

   He was off balance now.  "Dammit, Dan!  You coulda told me...
congratulations, I guess."

   "Why thank you, Steve!  Here.  You can congratulate my new bride, too."
I handed the phone to Nikki.  "Say hi to Steve, baby," I told her.

   "Hi, Steve," she giggled.

   "You married my engineer?"

   "Yes I did.  Can I keep him to myself for a day?"

   "Uh..."

   She giggled some more.  "I'll leave enough of `im to go to work
Thursday, I promise," she said sweetly, and he handed me back the phone.

   "Okay, Steve?" I asked.

   Steve coughed.  "Dan, she sounds YOUNG!"

   "She is young.  And cute.  And smart.  And I'm takin' `er home right
now. I will talk to you later."

   "Uh, okay.  See you Thursday, then."

   She was laughing.  "Oh, you're gonna get such a reputation..."

   And hour later we were walking through our door into the house. 
Cellphone rang again.  Sheriff Richard.

   "Hey, Ernie!"

   "Hi," he said, "how do you think I did?"

   "I can't say thank you enough.  You're on my permanent list of good
people!"

   "Well good," he said.  "Just wanna let you know that ya'll should have
real electricity in the next day or two."

   "Great!" I said.  "Nikki said "thank you," too."

   "I'm sure she did.  You two have fun.  I'll talk to you later.  Ya'll
need to come over and visit soon, okay?"

   "I'll...  We'll sure do that, Ernie.  Thanks again!"

   "No problem," she said.  "Just tryin to keep my crime numbers down, ya
know!"

   I laughed.

   "See ya later," and he hung up.

   I looked at Nikki.  "That was our benefactor."

   She smiled.  "Dan, I don't know what we did to deserve this, but a
buncha people just helped us."

   "Yeah.  I don't know what we did.  But in three weeks this hurricane
thing got me a perfect wife."

   She hooked a hand around the back of my neck and swung herself to face
me.  "And I have a perfect husband," she said.  "You need to know that's
how I feel." Her kiss punctuated the statement.

   We walked out the back door and checked the generator together, then
came back in.

   "You know," she said, "we're not expecting company, and even if somebody
DID show up and catch us, we're married.  I'm thinking that just maybe I
don't want to wear clothes right now."

   I watched her unbuttoning that neat blouse.  "I like the way you think."

   She'd just pushed me backward onto the sofa and climbed on top of me
when the cellphone rang.  I ignored it.  The people I'd been working with
KNEW that if I didn't answer, they should leave a message.  I thought that
would happen.  But it rang again.  I waited.  It rang again.

   "Pick it up, babe!" Nikki said.  "It's got be important."

   "More important than a naked girl in my lap?"

   She giggled.  "Answer your phone!" She fished it out of my pants and
glanced at the display.  "See!  It's your sister!"

   I hit the callback button.  "Hey, Sis."

   "Hey yourself.  You still workin' all those hours?"

   "Kinda," I said.  "But I'm off tomorrow for a family emergency."

   She drew a breath sharply.  "Uh, what KIND of family emergency?"

   I laughed.  "The best kind.  As in I wanna spend it with your new
sister-in-law."

   Squeal!  "You got married?"

   "Yep!"

   "Who?  Do I know her?"

   Nikki was watching me.  "Yeah, you know ABOUT her."

   Another deep breath, audible in the phone.  "Dan!  Not that kid that was
stayin' there?!?!  She's fifteen!"

   "Yep!  Nikki's your new sister-in-law.  Went to a judge and did it all
legal and correct.  Just this afternoon, as a matter of fact."

   "You're serious!" Incredulity colored her voice.

   I looked at Nikki and announced loud enough for my sister to hear, "Your
sister-in-law is beside herself with joy."

   Nikki smiled.

   Back to my sister.  "I am serious.  I love her and she loves me and we
are husband and wife now."

   Tersely.  "Okay.  I suppose.  You're a big boy."

   "Yes, I am.  Now, are you calm enough to say hi to Nikki?"

   "Yes.  Let me talk to her."

   "Be nice, now!" I said, handing the phone to Nikki.

   "Hi, Sis!" chirped Nikki.  "Your brother's wonderful!  He's the love of
my life!"

   "We love him too," said Dana.  "You're a bit of a surprise, but welcome
to the family.  When are we getting' together?  Us women have to make that
happen, you know.  The guys will never get around to it."

   Nikki beamed, "Let him get through all these jobs and we'll get ya'll
down here or we can go there."

   Dana sighed, "Yeah, babe!  Now you keep `im straight!"

   And as related later, Nikki floored her.  "I sure will!  That's why I
married `im."

   Dana was still trying to breathe when I got the phone back.  "What'd'ya
think?"

   "Dan, she's a horrible person!" snickering.  "You deserve each other.  I
can't wait to tell your brother.  Or do you wanna tell `im?"

   "Nah, you know that I hate to deprive you of your few joys in life."

   She was still laughing when we said goodbye.

   Nikki's naked butt wiggled in my lap.  "See!  They're happy to know me,
huh!"

   "Yeah, especially that part about you keeping me straight."

   She batted her luxurious lashes.  "But I do, Dan.  Every chance I get!"
She was kissing on my neck when the phone rang again.

   "That'll be the brother," I said.

   "After this one we turn the phone off," she said.

   "Hey, brother!" I said.

   "You did WHAT!?!?!?!"

   Calmly I answered, "I married Nikki.  She is the love of my life."

   "Lemme get this straight.  You pulled her out of the wreckage of her
home, and that was three weeks ago.  And you're MARRIED?!?!?!"

   I laughed, trying to defuse the situation.  "Yeah!  Ain't it
wonderful?!?!?!"

   He drew a deep breath.  "AND she's FIFTEEN!?!?!"

   "Yeah.  She's fifteen.  And smart.  And cute.  And YOUR sister-in-law.
And as far as we're concerned, this is forever, so get used to it."

   Nikki was listening.  She looked at me, eyebrow arched, questioning.  I
smiled and shook my head, smiling.  Back to the phone.  "So congratulate
me."

   "Yeah... I suppose.  Okay"

   "If you're nice, I'll let you congratulate your new sister-in-law, too."

   "I'll be nice.  It'll be like talkin' to one of my daughter's friends.
Lemme talk to her."

   I handed her the phone again.

   "Hi, Bill," she said sweetly.  "You've got a wonderful brother!"

   "Hi, Nikki.  He's a barrel of laughs, ain't he?"

   Nikki purred.  "Yes he is." And she did it to Bill.  "Sometimes we stay
up all night (big, pregnant pause) laughing." She giggled.  And grinned at
me.  I could hear Bill's discomfiture over the phone as she handed it back
to me.

   "Well," I said.  "There she is."

   "Well I suppose.  You're a big boy..."

   "That's what SHE said!" I said.

   He sputtered.  "DAMMIT!  Okay.  We all need to get together.  When you
can."

   "I know.  Nikki an' Dana are already talking about it."

   "Good," he said.  "I'm gonna let you go, bud.  I'm sure you can find
something to entertain yourself."

   "Yeah.  Unless you're completely warped, you can't BEGIN to imagine." I
kissed Nikki loudly.

   "Bye!" click!

   "You're so baaad!" she giggled, kissing me.  "I love you!" She sighed.
"Are they gonna accept me?"

   "Yep!  No doubt.  Dana'll do it because she knew how bad things've been
with divorce and girlfriends.  Bill will buy it just because he's gonna see
me an' you and know how offbeat it is that we're so happy.  But you might
want to know that he has two daughters older than you."

   "Oh!" She said.  "I'll just wave this!" She looked at the gold band on
her ring finger.  "Mrs.  Granger!  Hmmphh!  How about that!" She slid off
my lap onto the floor.

   "What are you doing?" I asked.

   She shoved my knees apart, smiling.  "My first wifely duty, sir," she
giggled, smiling with her whole face.  Her hand tilted my hard dick toward
her lips and I drew a breath as she sucked me into her mouth.  She went
"Mmmmmmm" as she sucked me.  "I know how this relaxes you, baby!" She spent
a couple of minutes bouncing my balls in one hand as she gently sucked me
in and out of her mouth.  The she stood and took my hand.

   "Husband," she said, "come to our bedroom."

   I followed her.  She crawled onto the bed on her hands and knees and
looked back over her shoulder.  I knew the signal: doggie style.  I
couldn't resist working over her wet pussy with my lips and tongue. 
"Baby," I said, "You KNOW I don't have much control like this.  I can't
last long."

   She purred, "Give me your best shot, babe.  You just married me today. I
won't take long."

   I knelt behind her, erect, her pussy pink, wet and inviting.  I pushed
my dick downward, the head parting her lips and smearing her moisture over
the head.  I was preparing to push forward but she beat me to it, pushing
backward onto the head and first inch of my shaft.

   "Oh, Nikki," I moaned.  "You are heaven!"

   "Fill me, Dan," she said simply.  "Push me hard and fill me!"

   I gripped her hips and pushed inward as I pulled her backward onto me,
bottoming out, my pubic bone hard against her ass.  I could feel muscles
rippling inside her.  Her mobile hips moved back and forth on me in in
short, insistent strokes.

   "I feel your balls bumping me.  Mmmmm!"

   And I matched her rhythm, stroking in and out of heaven.  She was
whimpering, little happy, "Mmm,mmm,mmm" sounds coming from her.  I marveled
at her beauty.

   Suddenly she pulled forward off me, rolling onto her back, legs spread.
She held her arms out.  "Come here," she said.

   I crawled in between her waiting thighs, entering her with one fluid
motion.  Her pelvis rocked upward to meet me and we began to mate.  I felt
her mons against me and I stroked in and out and her own motions met mine.
Her fingers dug into my shoulders.

   "NNnnnnnnggghhhh!  Dannnnn!  I'm coming, babyyyyyyy!" and she smashed
upward against me.  I felt myself in her all the way to her cervix, its
hard little roundness against the head of my buried dick.  And I washed
that cervix with jet after jet of my semen.

   "Ahhh!  I feel it!  I feel you coming!!!  Babyyyyyy!" And one of her
hands hooked behind my head and pulled me down to kiss her.  Her legs were
wrapped around me, trapping me as we finished our orgasm.  With our mouths
joined at one end and our sex joined at the other, I rolled us over so that
she rested on top of me.  When our kiss finally ended, she pulled away.  I
saw tears running down her cheeks.

   "Baby," I said, "I love you."

   She looked at me with tear-filled eyes.  "Oh, DANNNNNNN," she sobbed, "I
love you SOOOO much!  Tell me I'm not dreaming."

   I took her left hand and put it in front of her face, showing her the
ring on her finger.  "Baby.  My Nikki.  It's NOT a dream.  It's you and me.
Us!"

   Twenty minutes later we finally realized that we hadn't eaten dinner.

   We had a one-day honeymoon in our own house.

   "Nikki," I said, "I promise you a honeymoon of your choice, babe, when
this is over.  Maybe another week.

   She smiled.  "Can we do a cruise?"

   "Uh, sure, babe.  Where?"

   "Alaska!"

   "You betcha, babe!  You amaze me."

   "I do?  Why?"

   "I've never been on a cruise, and I wanted to do Alaska, but never did.
We'll discover together."

   Conveniently, this conversation took place while we were naked and in
bed, because smiles turned to kisses and kisses led to caresses and
explorations and that led to another coupling.  At ten in the morning.

   In the afterglow, we lay side by side, our hands together, fingers
entwined.  I turned my head to look at her face, her hair in sassy
disarray. She turned slightly toward me and purred.  "Mmmmmm, Dan, can you
do this so much you die from it?"

   I smiled at her blue eyes.  "I dunno, cutie, but we're trying."

   "We're married, Dan!  Consummated.  VERY consummated, I might add. 
There's probably never been a more consummated couple on the planet." She
giggled at her own joke.  "And we don't have to hide.  From ANYBODY!"

   "Yeah, I know, babe.  But it's gonna be different when you go back to
school."

   "Yeah, I think they said schools might open next week.  Tuesday or
Wednesday."

   "Where'd you hear that?"

   "Radio," she said.  And as she said that, I heard a beeping.

   "What's that sound?" she asked.

   Chapter Six



   "That, my dear, is us returning to civilization.  That's telling me that
the utility power's been restored and I'm... we're still on generator.  I
need to go flip the switch and shut the generator down." I stood up, naked.
She smiled.

   "Come here," she said.  "You're dripping."

   I stepped back and faced the bed, letting her soft, warm mouth clean my
dick and balls.  I dove into her wet pussy with my mouth and returned the
favor, then we both got out of bed and went to the utility room to perform
the needed operations.

   Standing in the utility room, she looked at the back door, then looked
at me and smiled.  Her head tilted in what I knew was the lead-up to an
adventuresome question.  She smiled at me, then broke into a grin. 
"Outside?  In the sun?"

   "Why not?" I answered.  "Just a little while.  Don't wanna get caught."

   We walked hand in hand, naked, in our back yard.  "I could get used to
this," she laughed.

   "Maybe I need to get us a privacy fence so my baby can run around
naked."

   "So WE can run around naked," she countered.  "And do this!" And she
knelt and sucked me.

   "Stand up!  Let's go get a blanket."

   She was giggly, following me to retrieve a blanket and then we were out
in our yard and I was amazed at the effect that this fifteen year old's
physical attractiveness and enthusiasm had on my forty one year old libido.
I was already hard when we got the blanket spread and she lay down and I
mounted her and took her, wildly, vigorously, her unmuted cries ringing
over the open fields and marshes surrounding us.  We came down together and
then gathered up the blanket and retired into the house.

   I was breathless and my baby was glowing.  "Wow!  Baby!  That was wild!
Did it excite you as much as it did me?  Really?"

   "Gosh, yes, little girl.  That was our fourth in twenty-four hours and
the second in an hour.  Guys my age can't do that.  It's gotta be YOU!"

   "Mmmmm, thank you," Nikki said, kissing me just inside the back door. 
"I think it's US!"

   "Yes, that's it, baby.  It's us.  Together.  All I ever wanted was you.
Even before you existed.  Before I knew you.  I've been looking all my life
and now I have you.  We have each other."

   Thursday.  Friday.  Saturday.  Sunday.  Work.  Work.  Work.  Work.

   Yes, school was supposed to start on Wednesday for the handful of the
students in the parish.  I made a phone call to give them an address and
yes, they'd dispatch a bus to pick Nikki up at the house.  I had to wonder
about the number of students who'd be on that bus.  On my drives back and
forth to work I'd not seen a lot of activity at any of the few homes that
had survived the storm.

   I called Sheriff Richard.  I was pleasantly surprised to be called by my
name when he answered.  Apparently I was on his phone list.  "Dan!  Why,
hello, newlywed," He said.

   "Hello, Ernie.  How're things goin' in the sheriffin' business?"

   "Well," he said.  "We're getting out of the mad scramble.  Some people
are comin' back, what with the utilities getting done.  And some of them
have homes to live in.  We'll start seein' FEMA trailers for others any
time now."

   "That's what I was callin' about.  I just set Nikki up to go back to
school and they're tellin' me they'll send us a bus to get her.  How's that
gonna work?"

   He said, "Best information I got is that she's gonna go north out of the
parish to school, and from your end of the thing, there's probably a dozen
kids, kindergarten to high school.  And it'll pick `em up.  I don't know
when they plan on openin' our schools back up.  One' of `em's gone.  The
middle school and high school, they'll need some work.  Maybe they'll open
by January."

   "Okay."

   He asked, "So how's YOUR business?"

   "Oh," I answered, "Kinda like yours.  We've finished panicking.  Most of
my clients are up and running, or darned close.  I'm about to go back to
regular hours."

   "That's good!" he exclaimed.  "Remember!  We get together soon, okay?"

   "I haven't forgotten.  Neither has Nikki.  We'll call you."

   "'Kay, Dan.  Talk to you later."

   I went by the office and checked on a few things.  Saw Steve.  I stuck
my head in his door.  "Hey, Steve."

   "Hey yourself," he said.  "You dropped a couple of techs off the
Salzburg project.  It's winding down?"

   "Yeah," I said.  "Two guys can finish up working a regular schedule. 
We'll have to go back in in a week or two when the new stuff comes in and
we can put the load back on the repaired equipment.  But it's pretty much
done there." We continued talking about the other projects I was working
on.

   "And in the middle of all this, you stopped to get married?"

   I grinned sheepishly.  My social life wasn't a normal topic of
discussion with outsiders.  "Yeah.  I did."

   He asked, "Was this something that's been going on for a while?"

   "Nope!" I said.  "Hurricane.  Call it a whirlwind romance."

   Steve laughed.  "That's BAD!  Well, when the town gets back to normal,
maybe we'll get all the guys and their wives together for a dinner.  You
know, for appreciation."

   "That'd be nice," I said.  "Anyway, I gotta go.  See you tomorrow." I
called Nikki as soon as I got on the road.  "Babe, I'm on the way.  Be
there in an hour."

   "I missed you, honey," she cooed.  "I'm putting the fish on the stove
right now.  Court bouillon.  I hope you like it!"

   "I can't imagine not liking it, sweetie," I said, privately thanking
generations of caring Cajun grandmothers.

   "An' we got cable and phone an' stuff.  The guy came by today to check
on us."

   "That's good," I said.  "Life is getting back to normal."

   She laughed, "The new normal.  `Cuz I got a husband and you got a wife,
and things'll never be the same."

   "You're right, cutie," I said.  "They just get better and better."

   "Yes they do," she said.  "Now you hurry.  I missed you."

   I pulled into our driveway a half hour later.  Clear roads meant faster
commute.  As I shut the door on the truck behind me, the front door opened
revealing my Nikki standing there in shorts and a logoed t-shirt.  She
rushed out to kiss me in our front yard.

   "I don't care who sees us now.  You're my husband!" Her arms were around
my neck as an SUV with a magnetic sign pulled into our drive.

   We walked down together.  The SUV was assigned to a federal agency, and
the occupants were surveying the hurricane's aftermath.

   We all shook hands and exchanged business cards and I pretty much burst
their bubble when they found out that not only had I weathered the storm
right here, but that I had no damage.

   "So," the senior guy asked, "what you're telling me is that you have
zero storm losses?"

   "Yep!  That's it."

   "But how?  Houses are torn up all over the county... uh... parish!"

   I smiled.  "That's not my observation, man," I said.  "Get away from the
storm surge, and you'll see the seventy year old houses did pretty well. 
The twenty year old and newer houses got torn up.  That's the way they USED
to build `em."

   They regarded me coolly.  "But your house.  What'd you say, six or seven
years old?"

   "Yes it was.  And designed and built by a freelance consortium of
eminently qualified engineers." I pictured the motley crew sitting around
the table in the kitchenette after work, But, hey!  We WERE eminently
qualified.

   "Who would that be?"

   "Me an' the guys I used to drink coffee with at the plant."

   The older guy snickered.  "That's interesting.  What about utilities?"

   I showed them the generator, the propane tank and my well.

   "Wow!" the junior guy said.  "That's the way people should do it."

   "They won't, though.  I paid a fifteen percent premium to build this
way. And $10K for the generator.  And I haven't had to pay for anything
yet, but I put the well in out here before they came up the road with the
community water system, and it's gonna cost me to keep it working.  But
it's worth it." I gave Nikki a squeeze.  "We didn't miss a beat after the
storm.  Lights.  AC.  Water.  And peace and quiet." I motioned toward the
rubble pile next door.  "What about that?"

   The senior guy said, "According to what I've been told, there's a
contractor lined up to finish the demolition and cart the debris off. 
Maybe next week."

   Nikki piped in, "Uh, can you, like, call us when they're supposed to
start.  I used to live in one of those apartments and maybe I can get some
of my stuff out."

   "We can try to do that.  But I can't promise you much.  It's a private
contractor and you can imagine how independent they are right now."

   I laughed.  This got me a look from the pair of agents.

   Nikki giggled.  "I can imagine.  My husband's an independent contractor,
and he's been a complete asshole for three weeks!"

   "Oh yeah?" the senior guy asked, "What'd'ya do?"

   "Electrical engineer.  Industrial power systems!" I ran quickly down the
list of my projects since the storm.

   "If you need work..." the junior guy started.

   "I got more work than I know what to do with.  I NEED time off!" I
laughed.

   They laughed with me.  "So," said the senior.  "How much propane did you
use?"

   I told him.

   "Sign this form and we'll get you a reimbursement for it.  Storm loss."

   "Hey!  I appreciate that.  Heaven knows that you guys are getting' a
deal for your money!"

   "How's that?"

   "You should see the hit that federal income tax gets out of my check."

   The senior guy laughed.  "Well, this is a way to get a little back." And
they got in the SUV and left.

   Nikki and I went inside into the kitchen and enjoyed dinner together.

   Conversation at the table wandered around and came to the beginning of
school.  "I'm torn," she said.

   "Torn?"

   "Yeah, baby," she said, "Last year, livin' with Mom, school was kind of
a refuge for me.  I could go an' hang out and stay out of trouble and there
wasn't much stress.  I mean, except for some of the kids..."

   "There's always that.  Even when I was in school..."

   "Yeah, but I mostly ignored that.  But this year..." she smiled
wistfully, "When I go to school, I'm gonna leave OUR house.  An' you know,
I have enjoyed bein' here takin' care of our home and making breakfast and
dinner for us.  It's been really nice."

   "I know.  And I have really appreciated it, too, baby.  But school's
something you have to do."

   "Don't get me wrong," she said, "I like learnin' stuff.  But I am going
to miss bein' here when you come in, with dinner on the stove."

   I finished the last bites off my plate and pushed back from the table.
"Believe me, babe, I am going to miss that too!" I patted my full belly. 
"You're a better cook than most women four times your age."

   "Awwww, thank you, baby!"

   "But we gotta get you through school."

   "Oh, I'll GET through high school," she said.  "And YOU'RE gonna help
me. Remember?"

   "Yes, I remember."

   Her brow knit.  "Dan, do I come off as intelligent?  I mean, you work
with engineers and they're supposed to be smart.  How do I stack up?"

   "Smart.  You do things on your own that show me that you want knowledge.
And you catch onto things quick.  And you're an excellent
conversationalist. I'd think you're above average.  Way above average."

   "Really?" Her eyes twinkled.

   "Really.  And that's why you're going to get your act together in
school. What I see in you, I want others to see in you, at least your
intellect.  I've seen a lot of you that I want to keep to myself." I
chuckled.

   She smiled wickedly.  "I'll show you mine if you'll show me yours,
little boy..."

   "Such a little minx," I laughed.

   "That's rather archaic, don't you think?" she giggled.  She picked up
her plate.  "Let's get this table cleared and we can play nasty!"

   In record time the dishes were in the washer.

   Forty five minutes later we were in each other's arms, sticky and
satiated and I was running my fingers through her walnut hair, savoring the
wisps of perfume teasing my nostrils.

   "Mmmm, baaaaby," she purred.  "You make me visit another dimension."

   "We get there at the same time, sweet one," I said.  We stayed in each
other's arms for a few more minutes.  I breathed Nikki...

   When she stirred it was to kiss my nose.  "Go take your shower.  I got a
few things to take care of." We didn't shower together every night, just
most of them.  So I was finishing with my shaving when she appeared, a
vision in nudity.  Wiping the remaining lather off my face, I turned to
meet her.  Her touch had me headed towards hardness again.  She gave that
thing a squeeze.

   She hit the shower alone.  I puttered around the bedroom, putting away
clothes and such.  I heard the shower stop, then shortly after, the sound
of a hair dryer.  When it turned off, I counted the seconds before her nude
form came through the door.  She joined me on the bed and gave me a brief
kiss.

   "So tell me, babe," she said, "when are we meeting your family?"

   "This weekend?" I looked at her.  "That is, if school doesn't kill
you..."

   "Hah!" she laughed, "School's not going to be a problem.  Tell `em to
come down here.  I'll cook."

   "Are you sure?"

   She grinned.  "Yeah, I'm sure.  I want `em to think that you married me
for my kitchen skills, not the fact that we screw each other's brains out."

   It was my turn to laugh.  Of course they'd think that.  Even if they
weren't going to see her as she came to me, nubile, naked, desiring.  "You
could be a cordon bleu chef and they'd think I did it for your body, babe!"

   "I don't know why they'd think that," she giggled pushing me onto my
back and straddling me.  The impact of her hot moisture on my dick changed
it from semi-soft to hard and gave her something interesting to slide
between the lips of her pussy.  She did just that, sliding forward and
backward, my dick firmly enwrapped between the firm outer lips of her
pussy, each move increasing the slick wet lubrication of her juices.  She
was still smiling, giggling, looking down at me.

   "Do you know how much I LOVE doing this, Dan?" She grinned, but each
stroke took at little of the grin away as her feelings started to climb
toward orgasm.  Finally she desired me inside her.  She rose off me, my
dick jumped upward and her pussy's opening was waiting.  She slid down over
the length of my shaft as we both moaned.

   I reached up, sliding my hands from her hips upward to cup those firm
tits, each one just a bare handful, each one a little mound of heaven.  I
tweaked her nipples between my fingers, eliciting another moan from her
lips.  She eased forward into my arms her body pressing against mine, our
pelvises moving in concert with each other.  Our mouths merged and we
kissed, breathing each other, tongues meshing as seriously as the parts at
our other ends were doing, completing a circle of mating.

   Her lips broke with mine as her clitty worked her into coming and her
second spasm, her pubic bone grinding into me, triggered liquid fire from
my balls.

   Sometimes it was just too intense to move.  This was one of those times.
I lay there with my eyes closed, arms around Nikki, tuned to the fall and
rise of her chest as she breathed.  Finally she sighed.  "Life is good,
babe.  You make my life good."

   I kissed the top of her head gently.  "I know, sweetie.  You bring the
color back to my life.  I love you."

   "Forever, Dan!"

   "Yes, forever, Nikki."

   It wasn't until she finally rolled off my chest that she wanted to talk
about school.  She did.  "I'm not sure how it's all gonna work," she said.
"I mean, I had a schedule when school ended last year, but with the school
gone, I don't know what I'll get.  Or who the teachers are.  Nothing."

   "Just play it by ear, babe.  You're a survivor.  If you need me, I'll be
at the end of the phone."

   "I know, Dan," she said.  "I'll... We'll find out Wednesday, won't we?"

   "Yeah.  I need to get you copies of our marriage license, though, in
case you need some documentation.  Married fifteen year old girls aren't
too common these days."

   "Yeah.  I knew a bunch that got knocked up.  None of `em got married,
though.  And I'm married, and not knocked up."

   "But that might not be something the school will believe without proof.
Besides, you need to make sure they have me down as your next of kin and
all that stuff."

   "Yeah.  That's gonna be interesting." She snuggled against me, her hand
idly exploring.  My own hand was caressing the smoothness of her back.  I
twisted to kiss her hair.  Her face tilted upward and our lips met for
loving moments, then she nestled her cheek against my chest.  "Mmmmmm," she
purred.

   "Come on," I said.  "Let's go make copies so we'll have the boring stuff
out of the way, babe."

   "Oh, alllll right!" she pouted.

   She pulled a t-shirt on and I pulled on a pair of gym shorts and we went
into the office.  We opened a manila envelope containing the papers that
made us "legal".  She ran through the procedure of scanning them and
printing copies, then put her copies in a separate envelope.  The originals
went into the fireproof safe.

   I'd already explained to her where the important papers were kept, and
this safe was one of those places.  "I can go to school with you, if you
want, baby," I said.

   "I can handle it, I think, babe," she said.  "I just show 'em the
papers. If there's a problem, I'll call you."

   "That'll work," I said.

   We went into the living room, flipped on the TV, didn't find much but
nature shows.  "That's good enough," she said.  She plopped back into my
arms on the sofa.  I kissed her head.

   "You know, we need... Uh, do you have your driver's license?"

   "I'm fifteen, baby.  I can't get anything but a learner's permit."

   "Do you have that?"

   "No.  Like Mom was gonna do THAT for me.  Half the time her car wouldn't
run anyway."

   "We need to get you that, cutie," I said.  "So you don't have to depend
on the bus, and you can run errands and stuff.  YOUR freedom."

   "I'd love that.  You'd teach me to drive?  I can take drivers' ed in
school."

   "You need to see if you can sign up for that, baby.  And we need to get
a copy of your birth certificate and a social security card.  All the
things you need to have a life in the eyes of the government."

   "I don't know where any of those things are, Dan," she said.

   "It'd be nice if we had them right now, but all it takes is a few phone
calls and office visits and we'll get you fixed up."

   I realized that I was not only married to Nikki, but that I was the one
who needed to guide her through life now.  And I wanted to do it in a way
that gave HER the independence to find and use her talents.

   She leaned back against my shoulder so I could get to her ear.  I did,
giving it a little nibble.  She dissolved into a giggly package in my arms.

   "We oughtta go get in bed," she said.

   I think she has good ideas, myself.

   Tuesday was getting closer to normal for me.  I didn't find anything too
troubling, got back to the office, looked at the numbers we'd run up in the
aftermath of the storm.  Steve was happy, until I burst his bubble.  "Looks
real good, buddy!  But what's that bunch of bean-counters gonna say when we
don't have another hurricane NEXT year?"

   "They wouldn't do THAT!"

   "Yeah... Ever since our owners sold the company to that holding company,
we find out things that no sane man ever thought they'd do..."

   I got in my truck and got on the road toward home.  As soon as I got on
the highway, I called Nikki.  "Hey, cutie, "I'm on the way..."

   "Good, baby," she said.  "I miss you.  I got us a roast goin'.  So we
can do leftovers tomorrow."

   "Okay, princess," I said.  "We need to figure out how we can do this
with both of us gone during the day.  I don't think my Nikki is a big ramen
noodle and canned soup fan."

   "Uh, if I HAVE to," she said.  "But I think WE can do better..."

   "'Kay, princess," I said.  "See you in a bit..."

   I drove home, thinking of the little blue-eyed girl waiting for me. 
Life had certainly taken a strange and pleasant twist.  I pulled into the
driveway and killed the truck.  She opened the door as I got out of the
truck.  We met at the door.  Kissed as I kicked it closed behind us.

   "You're a horrible thing," I said.

   "Me?" she asked, "What'd I do?"

   "You waltzed into my life and now the road home is entirely too long at
the end of the day."

   Her concern changed to a smile.  "Me too.  I got a place where I feel
loved and cared about every day.  And safe." She tugged my hand.  "Sit!"

   I sat as she pulled my shoes off and gave my tired feet a few squeezes.
I groaned with pleasure.

   "Makes my guy feel good..." her eyes sparkled.

   As was our normal mode, we each fixed a dinner plate from the pots on
the stove.

   "You cook too good, baby," I said.

   She smiled.  "Thank you.  But tomorrow's gotta be leftovers."

   "Just like I was raised," I said.  "One good meal.  Then leftovers." We
talked about things we could do that didn't take Nikki in the kitchen all
day, and we formulated a plan.

   "We'll try it this way," she said.  "And make adjustments.  We can do
it."

   "I know we can.  You'll make it fun." If we go take a shower, we can
make other things fun, I bet," she giggled.  Then, "If only there was
SOMEBODY to help me get the kitchen cleaned up..."

   Showered and ready for bed.  Giggle.  "I wanna be REAL relaxed goin' to
school tomorrow," she said.

   "I'll do my very best, cutie." I did.  I reaped the rewards, too. 
Except we were sitting in bed at eight, looking at each other.

   Giggle.  "We're getting too good at this, baby." Her eyes twinkled.  "I
passed out on that last one."

   "I know.  I held you till you got back."

   "I was in another universe," she said.  She was still in my arms.  "But
I'm back." Wanna play cards for a little while, 'till we catch our breath?"
Her eyes laughed.  "And then..."

   We did play cards for a while, sitting cross-legged on the bed.  I lost.
Mind kept straying.  To what had already happened.  To what was GOING to
happen.  Makes it difficult to concentrate.  Nine o'clock.  The cards got
put away and I ended up in the arms of this little cutie.

   "If you do me, I will do you, sir..." she played.

   "What a wonderfully polite young lady," I said, playing along.  "It's so
rare to find that these days.  How could I EVER refuse?"

   She quivered through two orgasms before sliding sideways off me and
concentrating her efforts on giving me my second of the evening.  Soon I
had my fingers tangled in her hair, feeling her head bob in my lap as she
sucked me to orgasm.  I think I was paralyzed when she finished.  She
didn't release me until I was softened.

   Then she was up in my arms.  Kisses.

   "Is the alarm set?"

   "Uh-huh..." I was still only barely conscious.

   Another sweet kiss.  "I love you, Dan.  School tomorrow."

   "I love you, Nikki.  And you'll do just fine."

   Chapter Seven

   We awoke to the alarm set a little earlier than normal.  Morning
ablutions out of the way, breakfast was a couple of bowls of cereal, then
we both sipped a cup of coffee before I filled my travel mug and headed out
the door with a kiss on my lips and adoration in my heart.

   I had my day planned out.  A stack of reports was sitting on my desk,
important, to be sure, but nothing that I couldn't give up at the drop of a
hat if I was needed at school with Nikki.

   Made it all the way to eight-thirty when the cell phone rang.  I looked
at the display: Nikki.

   "Hey, baby," I said.  "Trouble?"

   "A little.  The office staff is confused.  I need a parent's signature.
I showed 'em my marriage license, and they still say they need an adult..."

   "I'll be there in half an hour or so, baby," I said.

   "I'm sorry, Dan," she said.  "I hate to be trouble..."

   "You're not trouble, cutie," I said.  "Somebody THERE is trouble.  See
you in a bit."

   "'Kay, babe!  I love you!" she said, then the phone clicked.

   I shut my laptop down and stuck it in the bag, shouldered it, and one
the way out the door, I stuck my head in Steve's office.  "Gotta go, Steve.
School's givin' Nikki a hassle."

   "You gave it a 50-50 chance when you walked in this morning, bud," he
said.  "Do what you gotta do.  An' if she doesn't go back to school today,
why don't you bring her by the office?  I'd like to meet the girl that
snagged you."

   "I'll see what happens.  Might be back with 'er for lunch." And I walked
out the door.

   That's the trouble with being an engineer.  I mean, you go out there in
the field and you deal with things that make sense.  You don't have to
worry about some committee rewriting Ohm's Law or re-defining the value of
pi because they can gain some key votes by it.  That's the engineering
part. Nice.  Logical.  Then there's the other world, and it's all too real
also: rules, procedures, laws, regulations, all rife with foibles and folly
and ignorance and unintended consequences.
I walked into the high school, right into THAT world.  First thing was
getting past a phalanx of students trying to look as cool as they could
while wearing the prescribed uniform.  Snippets of conversation were full
of "cool" and "yaknow" and "he's like..." and I didn't draw more than a
passing glance.  My work clothes, after all, in this blue collar town, were
pretty standard: Khaki-colored pants, cotton shirt (ironed!  Thanks,

Nikki!) and normal-looking safety shoes.

   Second hurdle: the 'safety resource officer', a policeman assigned to
the school as a further sink of my tax dollars.  "Excuse me, sir.  Can I
ask your business here?" he asked.

   I wanted to say "I'm back because the first trip through school didn't
take," but I didn't.  I said, "I need to go to the office and straighten
out some problems with my wife.  She's student here." That 'wife' admission
got an eyebrow raised.

   He pointed up the hall.  "First door on the right.  Uh, you don't have
any contraband on you, do you?"

   "No drugs, no weapons," I said.  "I do have an incredibly devious mind."
I cracked a smile.

   "You an' me is pikers compared to these kids," he laughed.

   "I bet you're right," I retorted as I turned up the hall.  I went into
the office.  There was Nikki, sitting in a chair, hugging the backpack in
her lap.  When our eyes connected, she stood up, smiling, and joined me at
the counter.

   "Mizz Nevils, this is Dan Granger, my husband.  Dan, this is Mizz
Nevils," Nikki said.

   "Hello, Mister Granger, did you get a letter about registering Nikki for
school after the storm?"

   "Uh, no... The address where Nikki WAS living is a pile of rubble, and
we just got married a couple of weeks ago, so I wouldn't've been the one
they sent it to, anyway.  So, no letter... what'd we miss?"

   "A lot, I'm afraid," she said.  "We have all the records from the old
school, and we found Nikki's, under her maiden name." She looked at me when
she said that.  "And we found her schedule, the classes she would've been
taking if she was going to THAT school.  But I'm afraid we're going to have
to change things around."

   Nikki said, "I was takin' 'business math'..."

   "Nope.  You said you've had Algebra I?"

   "Uh-huh."

   "Mizz Nevils, can we swap business math for Algebra II?"

   "I'm glad to hear that.  Our business math classes are full.  Mostly
with kids who're dodging Algebra II because it's much more rigorous..."

   "See, Nikki?" I said.  "This is where you're supposed to be.  What
else?"

   "Study hall's gonna be out.  We converted most of the library to
overflow classrooms.  We have a couple of options," Mizz Nevils said,
referring to a printed page.  "Looks like about all we have left is music
appreciation or chemistry."

   I looked at Nikki.

   "We have a library full of the best music in the world," she smiled at
me.  "Chemistry?"

   I smiled back.  "You betcha, babe!" I turned to Mizz Nevils.  "Put Nikki
down for chemistry."

   "That gives me a full schedule, Dan," Nikki said.

   "We can handle it, little one," I said.

   "If this schedule is okay, then I can get you to sign right here, Mister
Granger?" Mizz Nevils pointed to the bottom line of a form.

   "Nikki can't sign?  She's legally married..."

   "Oh, I know, Mister Granger.  She showed me the license and the court
orders and everything.  But the rules say an adult, parent or guardian."

   "I'm neither parent OR guardian, I'm her husband, and I work with an
office FULL of people who'll argue the 'adult' part," I said.

   Mizz Nevils rolled her eyes.  "Oh, gosh, Mister Granger... It's been a
long day..."

   I whipped my pen out and scrawled a signature.  "Somebody needs
brownies..." I said, smiling.

   "This hasn't been a 'brownie' day.  This is the kind of day that the
cafeteria needs a margarita machine," she said as she flipped through the
rest of the forms.  "Okay, you're the emergency contact, I have phone
numbers, the new address... I think that's it." She looked up at me, then
to Nikki.  "I'm sorry we had to call you off the job," she said.

   "Let me ask you something, then,' I said.  "Looks like we shot this day.
Is Nikki gonna lose anything by coming in tomorrow morning with a fresh
start?"

   "Oh, no..." Mizz Nevils said.  "When you come in, Nikki, come by the
office and get your class schedule, and you're good... Mister Granger,
that'll give us time to get it all printed up."

   "Thank you, Mizz Nevils," I said.  "I hope your day is a little
better..."

   She smiled wanly as Nikki and I walked out of the office.  Walking out
as a couple, heads turned.  Of course, none of those kids were likely to be
able to tell that this was husband and wife and not dad and daughter.

   "It's a madhouse, Dan," Nikki said.  "Place is full of kids and parenta
ll trying to figure out what's going on.  I saw Mizz Nevils in tears with
one mom yellin'..."

   "That's what I figured," I said.  "I should've known better than to send
you in here by yourself today.  But we're straight now."

   "Yeah," she said.  "But I really strained to get business math instead
of Algebra II."

   "And where were you going with business math?  Lingerie sales at
Wal-Mart?"

   She smirked.  "no, one of those upscale shops at the mall!"

   "Cute!  Are your goals so low that you thought that was enough?"

   "With Mom, I was just tryin' to stay out of the way..."

   "You need the higher math for college..."

   "College was a dream I didn't entertain," she said.  "You're telling me
I'm college material?"

   "Since the first week we were together, I figured you for college
material.  The question is more of 'are you interested?"

   Those blue eyes connected with mine.  "Costs a lot of money, Dan..."

   "Not a lot, actually, and I have this delightful wife to spend it on...
Nikki, do you WANT to go?"

   We were standing by the truck by this time.  And in the high school
parking lot, she squealed and threw her arms around my neck and kissed me.

   "Yesyesyes!"

   "Good!" I said.  "Let's go!" I opened the driver side door and she
jumped up and scooted to the middle, buckling herself in.  We drove out of
the parking lot slowly.  Two reasons: first, that security officer was
staring at us and I darned sure wasn't going to speed, and second, I wanted
EVERYBODY to see her sitting beside me.

   "So where're we going, baby?" she asked.

   "To the office.  See if we can't beat Steve out of a free lunch.  People
wanna meet you, anyway!"

   "Are you sure?  I mean..."

   "Don't be scared, baby.  They're just people.  I work with 'em every
day. They know I'm married now.  They just wanna meet my wife."

   "How am I supposed to act?" she asked.

   "Act like Nikki.  Smart.  Cute.  Friendly."

   We kept driving.  I listened to her commentary on her first couple of
hours in the new school.

   "I don't think the regular kids like all us refugees," she said.

   "I read where that school's student population took a thirty percent
jump.  And the school's old an' it was already full.  You can imagine what
that does to their nice, neat little world."

   "I guess so," she admitted.  "Still, they don't have to be jerks about
it."

   "It's gonna take a while, but it'll sort itself out in a while."

   "'S gonna be a mess," she said.

   "I'll be here for you, baby," I said.

   "I hope so," she said.  " I made a C in Algebra I last year."

   "You're smarter than that."

   "D'ya really believe that, Dan?"

   "I do, sweetie.  And I'll bet your grandma did, too..."

   "I made good grades at Grandma's," Nikki admitted.  "Wanted her to be
proud of me." She ran her hand up the inside of my bicep.  "I want you to
be proud of me, too..."

   "I am.  Proud.  Happy.  Delighted." I smiled at the little dark-headed
cutie beside me.  She responded by clutching my arm tighter, rubbing her
cheek against my shoulder.

   "I was thinking about that at school," she said.  "Seeing all those
kids, it all comes flooding back, you know..." she sighed.  "That whole
boy-girl highschool mating ritual." She huffed audibly.  "Heck, most of
those kids are my age and they're so screwed up.  Two girls I knew when
school let out last spring are showin'... pregnant..." Dan, she said, "I
never wanted that."

   "A lot them didn't, either, baby," I said.  "So many people just go
through life without giving a thought about consequences."

   "Sometimes the pressure's too much to give it much thought," Nikki
answered.  "Like me with that business math.  I knew that it was just to
fill in a block to get a diploma, and that if I had any ambition, I needed
to do the hard stuff, but all I could see was stayin' out of Momma's way
and getting out of high school and after that..."

   "I understand, sweetie," I said.  "I really do."

   "I never expected..."

   "I never expected that the aftermath of a hurricane was gonna be my
Nikki, either... I ws kind of like what you said, baby, just going through
life..."

   "No, Dan," she countered.  "You had the consequences pretty well taken
care of.  Job.  House.  You know..."

   "I lacked the brightness, the sparkle, the music... had to dig that out
of the rubble."

   She smiled.  "I'm glad YOU rescued me."

   "Baby, we rescued each other.  I was as trapped as you were, collapsed
building or no." I turned the corner on the street of the office.  I saw
two other vehicles in the parking lot, other field service guys.

   One of the technicians, a guy about five years my senior, was outside
the back door, heaving on a cigarette.  Nikki and I walked in the front
door.  The admin clerk's desk was still empty.  She'd evacuated ahead of
the storm and the news through the grapevine was that a falling tree had
done substantial damage to her home.  She was staying with her parents a
hundred miles away until suitable repairs or living arrangements could be
made.

   I stuck my head in Steve's office.  "We're back," I said.

   "Oh, great!" he answered, standing.  "I wanna meet Nikki!"

   Nikki stuck her head around the corner.  "Hi," she said, almost shyly.
"You're Steve?"

   "I'm Steve," he said.  "What's wrong?  You expected horns and a tail?"

   Nikki perked up.  "Oh, no," she giggled.  "Dan said something about a
butt on your shoulders."

   "Well, Dan," Steve laughed.  "I see you're giving her a positive
impression of our business..."

   "Oh, no," I said.  "I told her that the business is quite wonderful. 
However, there are some interesting personalities."

   "What he says is true, Nikki," Steve said.  "Of course, from MY vantage,
I count HIM as one of those interesting personalities.  Do you object to
dragging him off to lunch?  I'll let the company buy this one."

   She smiled.  "Wonderful!"

   "Let's go," he said.  "We can beat the lunch rush!"

   We started for the front door.  As we did, I heard the back door to the
office open and the quick burst of a breeze bore a whiff of tobacco stench.

   "Grady!  We're goin' to lunch!  Lock up if you leave," Steve called.

   "I'm takin' care of equipment," Grady called from the back.

   I noticed Nikki's ears perk up immediately, but she said nothing.  We
walked out into the parking lot.  "Let's take my truck," I said.  "So I
don't' have to put you in the back seat."

   "Huh?" asked Steve.

   "Nikki gets to sit by ME."

   Nikki giggled.  "Sorry, Mister Steve," she said.  "He's just LIKE that,
sometimes..."

   "I've been like that about Nikki since I pulled her out of the rubble."

   The restaurant of choice for a quick meal was five minutes from the
office and we were there at a few minutes after eleven, encountering an
almost empty parking lot.  We walked in, got seated and placed our orders
for the daily special.

   Sipping drinks, I let Nikki explain a little bit about how we met.  We
ate a pleasant meal, made small talk, even talked a bit about school.  I
talked about Nikki's interest in my work in the home office.

   "So I know a little bit about what you guys, well, at least what Dan
does.  It's all very interesting." Nikki smiled.  "Do they have girls doing
this?"

   Steve's brow knit.  "Female engineers?  Female technicians?  Yeah, I've
seen both.  They're kind of few an' far between.  But they're out there."

   I knew the 'I'm thinking' look on Nikki's face.

   "You know, that gives me an idea..." She smiled sweetly, pushing her
plate away.

   Steve did indeed pick up the ticket for the meal.

   Back at the office, Nikki pulled a chair up next to my desk.  Together
we sorted through hand-written reports and scanned them into my computer.

   I heard the back door open, then the tobacco stench came in on the
breeze.  Nikki's nose wrinkled.

   "Last smoker in the office," I said.  "Grady Denson."

   Grady stuck his head into my office.  "You got a minute, Dan?  Me an'
you and Steve need to talk."

   I noticed Nikki's pupils dilate as she studiously avoided eye contact
with him.  "Sure," I said.  "Baby, can you wait here for a minute?"

   Grady looked at her like he was trying to remember something, but I
immediately got up and said, "Come on.  Let's go."

   I knew what was coming.  Grady was at best, a mediocre technician, had
'people skills' issues and honestly, I think he might have a bit of 'bottle
fatigue' on top of it.  We'd bumped heads a couple, no, make that 'several'
times over the last couple of years, including on some of the stressful
jobs in the hurricane aftermath.

   We went into Steve's office.  "Close the door," he said.  "Now, we need
to get this mess straightened out.  Grady, since you asked to meet, you
start."

   "Steve, I just think I'm getting' a raw deal on Dan's jobs.  I mean, he
put that kid up as lead technician on the Westchem project.  I've been with
the company longer, an' I damn sure got more experience in this business."

   Steve looked at me.  We'd already talked.  "Dan, what do you have to say
about this?"

   "Grady," I said, "you're right about the years, but you KNOW that
Kevin's the one that's up to speed on the protection and control
technology. That was the critical part of that job.  You might've seen more
of the old stuff, but both of you were together the first time you got to
work on the stuff at Westchem.  And he does a better job of tracking
reports and paperwork.  I told you all this stuff already."

   "You don't give me a chance," he started.

   "Grady, we were nipple-deep in trying to get that facility back on line,
and that meant installing NEW stuff that frankly, you go out of your way to
avoid.  I knew you could handle the transformers and breakers and stuff,
but I needed Kev's skills on the WHOLE thing to bring it together.  And it
wasn't a lot of ass time, either." I sighed.  I didn't need this sort of
kiddie crap.  "Grady, look, if the project is an outdoor substation,
you'd've been lead, probably.  But you KNOW we have issues with your
reports and record-keeping."

   "I do the best I can, Dan.  I'm not the only one..."

   "The only one what?" I jumped in.  "The only one that made me have to
explain to a client that we were missing some test results, that we had to
refund twenty percent of the charges?  Or that you and your helper didn't
install a power fuse correctly and I ended up sitting in the investigation
meeting at THAT plant?"

   "That's history, Dan.  We already talked about it.  I'm working at
making sure it doesn't happen again."

   "Good," I said.  "Then we'll see how it works out in the future." I
looked at Steve.  "You got anything you need to add?"

   "Grady?  Anything else you were looking for?  You wanted all three of us
to talk."

   "I wanted you to tell Dan to cut me some slack..." Grady started.

   THAT pissed me off.  "Grady.  THIS is NOT a 'slack' business.  There's
ONE main reason these people hire us: We can do what they don't have the
skills and people and equipment to do.  And we do it right.  And It's
competitive.  WE, THIS COMPANY, has the best reputation in the business. 
And we don't KEEP that by playing around, 'cutting slack'."

   "Everybody makes mistakes.  Even The Great Dan Granger makes mistakes."

   Steve stepped in.  "Grady, let's keep this on a professional level."

   "Okay, but I know you've made mistakes," he said.

   "Yes, and I fixed them and moved on to make sure that I don't make the
same ones again.  But I don't walk out of the office thinking that I
deserve 'slack'.  But if Steve says I need to cut you some slack, that's
HIS prerogative." I looked at Steve.

   Steve squared up his shoulders, an obvious 'I'm the boss' move.  "Grady,
I gotta go with Dan on that one.  I think Dan's gonna be fair about it."

   "Well, then, I guess that's all," Grady said.  He didn't look happy.

   I honestly didn't know what he thought he was going to accomplish.  For
all that I laughed about it, Steve's title of regional manager was more due
to his marketing skills than anything, and when it came to field
operations, I was more of a manager than he was, but I reserved the option
to get the hell out of the office before I lost my mind.  "It is for me," I
said.  "Grady, it's NOT personal.  Don't make it that."

   "I'm not." He wheeled around and left.

   I looked at Steve.  "Why do we put up with that pain in the ass?  He's
not half as good as he thinks he is.  If you give him a helper, the helper
does ALL the work that Grady can push on 'im."

   "I know.  Had one of the young guys in here last week tellin' me the
exact same thing.  But we have sooo much work right now..."

   "Still... 'cut me some slack'..."

   "Yeah," Steve snorked.  "I KNEW you'd like that one..."

   "You know this ain't over.  That guy's... oh, never mind.  I'm goin'
back to my office."

   "Cool off," Steve said.

   "I will," I answered as I left.

   I got back in my office.  Nikki was sitting at my computer.  When I came
in, she smiled a bit.  "Dan, can we go home?"

   "Now?  It's early."

   "I... We need to get out of here.  I'll explain when we get in the
truck."

   "Okay," I said.  "Log me off."

   She followed me through the office.  I ducked around the corner to
Steve's door.  "Steve, I need to get home early today."

   "Problem?" he questioned.

   "Little one.  I'll make it up to you later."

   "Oh, hell, Dan.  Just go.  See you later.  Nikki, nice meeting you,
lady!"

   "Oh, nice meeting you too, Mister Steve.  Sorry, I need to go..."

   "Okay, y'all be careful," he said.

   I was still wondering about Nikki's sudden desire to leave.  We got in
the truck.  As I backed out, I asked, "What's wrong, baby?  You went from
giggly to nervous almost instantaneously."

   "That guy Grady?  I know 'im."

   "Huh?!?"

   "Not like we've ever talked or anything.  But he came home with Mom a
few times.  I thought I recognized the voice.  But he's got that scar on
his right ear."

   Grady did indeed have a scar on his ear, the origin of which he'd never
revealed.  "I don't think he remembered you," I said.  "He didn't say
anything."

   "I know.  And he was pretty drunk when he came home with Mom, and it's
not like we sat in the living room and watched old movies.  She brought
guys home for one thing..."

   "I'm sorry, baby..."

   "Not YOUR fault.  As many guys as she did, I suppose I would've run into
ne eventually.  It's just that I recognized him.  And I didn't want to even
think about it.  Mom, I mean..."

   "Not to change the subject, but if you want, we can finally get together
with Dana and Bill and the bunch this weekend." I felt her relax, a slight
movement, but perceptible because I was paying attention.

   "Why don't we try that?" she said.  "We can buy groceries Friday and
cook a big meal Saturday and have everybody over..."

   "Yeah... Now, about that look on your face at lunch..."

   She smiled.  "oh, about college..." Giggle.  "Well, what do YOU think I
should be setting my sights on?  The Wal-Mart lingerie department?"

   Chapter Eight



   So Nikki was a high school student.  We drove home, stopping at the
grocery store for a few essentials and needs.  On the trip through the
hurricane footprint we noticed a beehive, actually SEVERAL beehives of
activity as people put lives and homes and businesses back together.  Many
of the houses had the generic-looking white FEMA temporary trailers sited
in various locations nearby, along with signs of rebuilding.

   "We're lucky we don't have to go through that, baby," Nikki said.  "So
many people have a mess." Sigh.  "I talked to a few girls at school."

   "The only 'luck' in it, baby, was that YOU weren't hurt.  My buddies and
I designed that house to stand two hundred mile an hour winds, and
historical evidence says that where it's built NEVER saw a storm surge.  We
planned."

   "But why?  I mean, look at THAT house..." She indicated a badly damaged
modern construct.  Part of the roof was gone, a wall blown out.

   "Oh, I know, little one," I said.  "I could've turned my LITTLE house
into a BIG house like that for about the same money.  But what would a
single guy do with four thousand square feet, really?  The cat'd get
lost..."

   "That old house..." she pointed at a wood-frame house that was at least
seventy years old.

   "My grandmother lived in a house like that.  Survived TWO of these
hurricanes.  If you built one like that today, it'd cost more than that new
one, with half the floor space.  If you could find the materials and an old
carpenter who remembered how things USED to be done."

   "I'm learnin' stuff," she said.  "I never knew anyone who KNEW this
stuff.  How do you know this?"

   "I learned it just like you're learning it.  Observation.  Questions. 
Taking couple of ideas and smashing them together to make another idea. 
You're plenty smart enough to do it, cutie."

   "You make me feel smart, guy." And her arm twined around mine and she
laid her head on my shoulder.

   "Just pointing out something that's a fact.  'Nother fact: You're a
cutie!"

   That got me a kiss on my shoulder.  She sighed.  "I guess we need to see
how this is gonna work, with you working and me in school.  I mean,
housework and meals and stuff." She batted those long, dark eyelashes at
me. "I'm glad you think I'm cute.  I'm glad you think I'm smart.  I want
you to think that I'm your PARTNER.  I wanna pull my weight."

   I smiled.  "What a delightfully different creature you are, Nikki. 
Sometimes I close my eyes during the day and your face appears and I think
of how wonderful you are."

   "I know how wonderful YOU are, Dan.  But is not you.  And not me.  It's
us."

   "Best 'us' on the planet, little one,' I said.  A month or so into
knowing her, loving her, and I was convinced.  And I'd watched at school.
Her gaze didn't change when she looked at boys her age.  It turned into a
twinkle when she looked at me.

   We pulled up into the driveway and went into the house.  She tossed
aside her backpack to bend over and pet the cat.  Yeah, Tommi, who would
meet me at the door with feline indifference, THAT cat.  He acted like
Nikki had nursed him from birth.

   I mean, if the CAT loved her, what chance did **I** have?

   She straightened up.  "Let's see what's for dinner." She turned and
tossed her arms around my neck.  "After a kiss or two..."

   When her lips touched mine, we both went "Mmmmmm".  The synchronism of
the event caused us both to giggle.

   "I'm so glad that's still an 'mmmm' event, baby," I said.

   "More than just 'mmmm'," she said, eyes atwinkle.  She smiled.  "If you
think we can live on love, we can forget the kitchen.

   "No," I laughed.  "I'm an old man.  I need to keep my strength up."

   She hooked her fingers inside the waistband of my trousers.  "I really
don't think that's a problem.  But you DO make a wonderful dessert."

   "As you do, too."

   "How about something garlicky.  With pasta?"

   "You have something in mind?"

   "I think I can make something work." She was pulling cans out.  "If you
run the vacuum in the living room, I'll take care of this." She looked over
her shoulder.  I already knew that she was good in the kitchen.  And a few
other rooms in the house.  And the back yard.

   I fired up the vacuum cleaner, causing the cat to scoot into the
kitchen, and went about the simple task of maintaining our home.  Domestic,
I was.  I mean, BEFORE Nikki, I was no slob.  I kept the house neat and
clean.  But it was so much easier with a willing partner.  After I finished
vacuuming, I made a pass through the bathrooms, tidying up a bit.  Then I
went back to the kitchen.

   Nikki had something red and odoriferous simmering in one pot, water
coming to a boil in another, half a box of spaghetti ready.  "We'll have
plenty of sauce," she said.  "I'll freeze the leftovers.  That'll give us
another meal, maybe next week."

   "Aren't you little Suzy Home-maker?" I laughed.

   She stuck her tongue at me.  "Why, yes I am.  I got a husband.  I got a
home.  And I got a grandmother who'd HAUNT me if I did any less."

   I scooped her in my arms.  "You know,' I said, "it took me about two
days to come to the full realization that you weren't just some
teeny-bopper fluff-ball airhead.  And ever day, you prove me right."

   "I think we were both looking for something and got really surprised at
when and where we found it, baby." She kissed me.  After the kiss ended,
she turned to the stove, gave the sauce a stir, turned the burner down,
then put a lid on it.  The pasta water was boiling, so she tossed the dry
noodles in, gave them a stir, and then said, "Let's go sit a minute," as
she set the kitchen timer.

   We went into the living room.

   "I'm sorry about the office, baby," she said.  "It's just that when I
heard the guy's voice, then saw him, so much crap started coming back..."

   "Grady's not the kind of person I'd associate with on a social footing,'
I said.  "He's not so hot as a technician, either.  And I think he'd carry
a grudge.  We had a little incident today at the office."

   "Well, I just don't want somebody seeing me and you and thinking that
I'm with you because I'm like my mom was."

   "He can think what he wants.  But I don't want him spreading anything
like that.  You're nothing but purity and decency to me, and I want others
to see you like that.  Do you think he recognized you?"

   "I don't know.  When he stuck 'is head in your office... maybe.  I don't
know.  That's why I wanted to get out of there, before he had a chance to
get a good look."

   "I'd love for you to be comfortable at the office, baby, but if you
think it's a problem..."

   "What do YOU think?" she asked.

   "I think you're probably right.  If he got the chance, he'd use you to
get at me." The thought saddened me.  I'd stumbled on a bit of purity in
Nikki, unlikely as it was with her mother's example.  I saw no guile in
her, just openness and honesty.  I wasn't manipulating her and I didn't get
any inkling that she was in any way manipulating me or using me, and the
very thought that Grady might start planting that story rankled me.

   My thoughts were interrupted by the ringtone of my cell phone.  It was a
little noisy thing I'd assigned to my sister.  "Dana," I said to Nikki.

   I punched the button to answer.  "Hi, sis!"

   "Hi yourself.  How's everything?"

   "Pretty good," I said.  "Work is work.  Home is magic.  Got me a Nikki."

   Dana laughed.  "Just checking.  Did she start back to school?"

   "Yeah, but they had problems with her schedule.  Seems we missed a
letter.  I had to go up there and get things straight.  You wanna talk to
her?"

   "Sure," Dana said.

   "Here she is." I handed the phone to Nikki.

   Nikki repeated the "Hi, Sis!" Pause.  "No, he brought me to his office.
I start classes tomorrow." Pause.  "Actually, I'm glad they screwed things
up.  I'm in algebra instead of business math, and chemistry instead of
study hall."

   I could hear Dana's squeal.

   "No, Sis.  I talked with Dan.  It makes more sense.  I was kinda idlin'
through school last year.  It's time to kick things up.  Start thinking
about college." Pause.  "No, livin' with Mom, college was out of the
picture.  Now Dan WANTS me to go."

   I smiled at her.  She touched her index finger to the tip of my nose,
smiling.

   "Okay.  Now, are we still talking about y'all coming over Saturday?"
Pause.  "Good!" Pause.  Nikki looked at me.  "Baby, Dana said she'll bring
a pie.  What kind?"

   "Mom's recipe.  Lemon meringue."

   "Lemon meringue, he says," Nikki repeated.  "I'm doing a pork butt.  Dan
says I do it pretty good."

   I smiled.  Nikki's cooking skills were far more than I had reason to
expect, akin to finding a cut diamond in a shovel-full of gravel.  I didn't
expect a cordon bleu chef, and she wasn't THAT, but I didn't expect a
fifteen year old girl to do more than boil water and stir a package into
it. Nikki must've paid CLOSE attention to her grandmother's lessons.

   "Well, he knows," Dana said.  "Momma was a good cook.  What's for
dinner? I mean, you in school an' him workin'."

   Nikki described her spaghetti sauce and the two chatted for a couple
more minutes before the ring of the kitchen timer signaled that the pasta
was ready.  I got up and dumped it into a colander while Nikki ended her
phone conversation.  We fixed our plates from the kitchen and sat at the
breakfast nook table to eat.

   "I like talkin' to Dana," Nikki said.  "Feels normal."

   I laughed.  "You'll never get me to admit that in public, but she's good
people.  I told you that once she got over me marrying a fifteen year old,
she'd be your friend."

   "What about your brother?  He's got kids older than me."

   "So does Dan, but she didn't worry about that.  Neither will Bill.  He's
a loudmouth.  Once you get past that, he's okay."

   She forked a load of spaghetti, chewed for a few seconds, then
swallowed. "Okay, what about those kids that are older than me?"

   "That oughta be fun.  They're good kids.  But they're still kids.  And
Uncle Dan's married to somebody their age.  I honestly don't think they'll
be intentionally mean to YOU, but they're gonna let me have it.  Just don't
get caught in the crossfire."

   "I think I can handle it, honey.  I AM a high school student myself, you
know..."

   "It oughta be interesting," I said.

   "So how's the sauce?" she asked.

   "Perfect!"

   "How come you're shakin' pepper flakes on it?  Not spicy enough?"

   "I like a little extra fire.  I want you to cook it so YOU aren't
uncomfortable.  I can add the flakes."

   She smiled.  "But it's okay, otherwise?"

   "Perfect, really."

   "I could've simmered it longer..." she said.

   "I don't know what you'd gain.  The flavors combined pretty nicely.  And
you just jumped right in on it.  You did good."

   Another smile.  "I was just trying to see how we can both be gone all
day and still have a decent meal.  And maybe make Friday night our 'go out
to eat' night, or something like that."

   "We can trade places cooking, too, you know.  And we can make a batch of
something on the weekend and freeze some meals."

   We finished a perfectly normal evening meal, conspired on cleaning up
the kitchen, took a little walk outside, curtailing it when mosquitoes
started showing up.  That put us back in the house and a little sticky from
the elevated humidity of the lingering summer heat.

   Sticky?  Showers!  Well, not TWO showers.  Just the one, happily
occupied by the two of us, giving me the opportunity to lavish her with
soapy caresses over that sleek, youthful form.  Lots of coos and giggles
were involved in the procedure.  Finished, we were both clad in our night
clothes.

   I pulled out the laptop to check personal email and websites.  Nikki
scooted up next to me, looking on.  Nothing earthshaking was on the email
queue.

   "You need a laptop, baby," I said.  "We'll take care of that tomorrow."

   She nestled close.  "I dunno.  I like getting' here and lookin' at
yours."

   I closed the laptop screen and set it down.  Nikki took that as a cue
for her to slide onto my lap.  She shook her head.  "We need to get me a
haircut, baby.  If you like it short.  Or I could let it grow.  But I never
did that, so I'm not sure what to do with it."

   "I love it short.  Lets me get to your neck," I said, attacking her
neck, causing her to giggle.  "Where do you go to get it cut?"

   "Uh, someplace that's probably not there any more.  I'll have to ask
around.  At school, maybe."

   "Or call Dana..."

   Her face lit up.  "That's a thought." She got up and grabbed the phone.
Next thing I knew she had it at her ear, talking to my sister.  She hung
up. "Bring you a book to work tomorrow.  Pick me up after school, and we'll
go get me a hair trim.  Dana's place takes walk-ins.  You can sit and
read."

   "Okay," I said.  "I can get away a little early to do that."

   "Oh, that's right... You don't get off until four or so.  I get out at
three-fifteen.  Is that gonna cause you trouble?"

   "Not once in a while," I said.  "It's gonna be a madhouse, though, the
traffic at school, I mean."

   "Oh, I know.  But we won't do this very often.  And I want my hair
looking neat for Saturday."

   "You could dye it pink and get it spiked..."

   "Sir, I wish to remain horribly conventional."

   "That's what got me into trouble..."

   "What got you into trouble?" she smiled.

   "You.  Just looking natural.  No enhancement.  Because the guy that
loves you, he loves you the way you ARE."

   She climbed on top of me, right there on the sofa.  I took her into my
arms, feeling my excitement building.  One of my hands stroked that walnut
hair.  She pressed her face against my hand.

   Our eyes connected.  "I do so much adore you, Nikki."

   "Mmm-hmmm!  Because I AM adorable, you know..."

   "Yes, little one, you are." And we kissed, communing with lips and
tongues and roving hands.  "Except now you have to go back to being a
schoolgirl."

   "Ummm, yeah... A MARRIED schoolgirl."

   I harbored that worry in the dark recesses of my mind.  I was thrown
into a stressful situation with this fifteen year old girl, and for a few
weeks our lives were intertwined and we came out of it married.  It was
nothing but me and her for weeks, and now she was getting ready to go back
into the world where there were plenty of choices, guys her age, and I was
forty-something.

   "Your face just clouded over, baby.  You're thinking something."

   She knew.  She read my expression and she KNEW that I was thinking bad
thoughts.

   "You can tell me, Dan.  I'm your wife.  You can tell me anything."

   "Baby... really?"

   "Really, Dan." She punctuated her statement with a simple, soft kiss.

   "Baby," I said.  "You're my everything.  Since we've been together, it's
like the sun came from behind the clouds in my life."

   "You're worried about me and school, aren't you?" Nikki was no dummy.

   "Yes," I said.  "A whole school full of boys your age.  And you're an
attractive, intelligent girl."

   Another kiss.  "And YOU need to stop worrying.  Boys my age?  How many
of them are going to be the least bit interested in the 'intelligent' part?
And 'attractive'?  You're the one who said that there was a Nikki-shaped
hole in your heart that I was made to fill.  I know myself, baby.  You love
me, and that makes me beautiful in YOUR eyes.  But being realistic, I'm...
well, I'm NOT blonde.  I don't have big tits.  I don't use make-up.  I
don't do trendy styles.  I'm not up on the latest music or TV or whatever."
She sighed.  "And if that's not enough, without YOU, I'm NOWHERE now that
Mom's gone to jail."

   "Baby..." I started.

   "Let me finish," she interrupted.  "So one of these 'boys my age', where
do you think THAT would go, Dan?  Guys... Last year I guess I tried.  You
and me, we TALK about everything under the sun.  Guys I meet at school, I
never got a decent conversation with one.  We'd start talking about school
stuff and then it was all downhill.  What's that silly sign in your office?
The quote that says "Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and
expecting different results." Her mouth was a determined straight line. 
"That's what kids do in school."

   Her face softened and she gave me a longer kiss.  "Dan, why would I want
to do that?  It doesn't make any sense."

   "Love isn't about sense, sometimes, baby..."

   "I know," she said softly.  "It doesn't make sense at all.  That me,
fifteen, hurricane refugee, should meet you, forty-one, mature,
intelligent, settled, and fall head over heels in love with him.  Doesn't
make sense that I should sidestep all the heartbreak and tragedy that seems
to go with being a poor teen.  Or even a rich one, in high school." Another
kiss.  "No, Dan.  We don't make sense in the absolutely best way ever."
Another kiss.  "And if you really think I'm smart, how stupid do you think
I'd have to be to leave you for some pimply seventeen year old?"

   "I hope not, Nikki.  I'm wrapped up with you."

   Kiss.  "That goes both ways.  So stop worrying.  I'm yours forever. 
That's an awfully long time."

   The kisses that followed were much hotter.  "You're the only one who'll
ever make love with me, you know," she smiled softly.  "And we have
time..."

   "Our whole lives, little one," I said.

   "Now... since we've finished bein' all sad an' serious, can we do
somethin' fun?" Giggle.  And she was standing, tugging on my hand, laughter
and lust mixing in her eyes.

   I wasn't physically able to refuse that.  I followed her to OUR bedroom.
She tossed the covers back and started undressing.  I started undressing,
too, and she beat me, kneeling naked in the middle of the bed, sitting back
on her heels, smiling.

   "Perfection," I said.  "Lovely perfection."

   "Because we're in love, baby," she said.  She welcomed me into her arms,
our lips merging together, and she gently pushed me onto my back so she
could get atop me.

   "Mmmm," I purred.  "You feel so good..."

   We kissed and embraced for some minutes before she rolled off me and
started playing.  She... well, we'd been together for a couple of weeks
now, and she certainly had examined me from close range, playing, learning,
but she STILL wanted to play and explore.

   Giggle.  "I love how it jumps when I play with your balls."

   "Be careful.  I'm about ready to explode."

   Her eyes twinkled.  "You just do whatever you need to do.  I'm just
playin'." She played for a bit longer, then announced the appearance of a
big, clear drop of pre-cum on the head of my dick.

   "There it is.  And I never touched your dick." She smiled.  "Well, we
can't be making a mess.  I need to take care of that."

   I gasped as she bent over and sucked the head into her mouth, vacuuming
and tonguing me.  When she bent over to do that, I moved fingers to dip
into her slit.  Oh, yes, it was juicy.

   "I need that," I told her.

   Her head bobbed up, releasing me from her mouth.  "I'm not giving THIS
up.  You wanna..."

   "Get on top of me.  You make me hungry."

   "Then I need to give YOU something to eat, huh?" She moved to throw a
leg over my face, then she lowered her pussy within range of my mouth.

   She's a feast.  Juicy, musky, salty.  And a lot of it.  And
simultaneously with me enjoying myself, my tongue tickled and teased and
she started bucking against my mouth, the movement foretelling impending
orgasm.  She gamely kept my dick's head between her lips, immobilized, as
she came, little gasps and whimpers escaping around the happy object in her
mouth.  Of course, that started a loop: Nikki was teased, creating juice. I
licked, creating MORE juice which caused me to lick even more, fetching
more juice, requiring MORE licking, then orgasm, creating a gout of juice,
starting the loop over...

   After her second orgasm, she moved around to kiss me.  "Can I take care
of this now?" Her hand stroked the length of my shaft.

   "Oh, god, yes, little one.  I'm about to explode."

   "I'm already all wet," she smiled.  She straddled me and pushed herself
down on me in one smooth and incredibly wonderful motion.  "Ahhhhh," she
moaned.  "Every time we do this, it gets better and better."

   My hands slid up her thighs, over her hips, and up, cupping the small,
pliant mounds of her titties.  She gripped my arms, smiling at me, eyes
bright.  Giggle.  "That's the part of you that I need to complete me
physically." She bent forward and I curled to meet her for the kiss.  "And
YOU are what I need to be complete as a human being."

   Her words penetrated my brain, fulfilling the same emotions in me. 
Little rocking motions of her hips took care of the part that was purely
physical.  She was hot, wet, and tight.  And eager and loving.  And I'd
been primed through the process of making her come twice.  Her lips came
away from mine, she tilted her head, and her lips fastened to the side of
my neck.

   That's all it took.  I erupted.  She felt it, a little squeal from her
mouth as she kissed and sucked my neck.  Her hips kept moving, urging the
liquid from me as I surged upward into her pussy.

   "Got it, huh?" she whispered.  "I felt it.  When you're in me, I FEEL
it."

   I couldn't talk.  I was almost breathless.  She kissed me.  "You're so
intense when you come, baby..." Little kisses until I regained the ability
to speak.

   "You're my heart and soul," I said.

   "I believe you when you say that, Dan.  You're that to me, too, you
know." She shifted a little bit, and I felt myself still inside her.  "Are
you getting hard again?" Giggle.

   "I never got soft.  You need to believe me.  You push my buttons like
nobody I'd ever imagined."

   "If it's hard, then we oughtta use it, huh?"

   "I don't know if I can manage another one so soon, little one."

   Giggle.  "I can... and you told me that this is the ONE place that we
can be selfish.  But I know some things about you..." she batted those long
eyelashes at me, kissed me on the lips and went from there to my neck, her
pelvis moving.  "Mmmmm," escaped her mouth against my neck.

   My hands roamed up and down her, savoring every inch of her smooth,
youthful torso as her hips worked me, my own thrusts timed with them.

   We'd go at each other frantically for a minute, then slow, kiss, love,
then back to pounding lustily into each other.  I could feel the surge
building.  The first burning tingles though, coincided with her looking at
me, mouth slightly open, eyes wide.

   "Ohgod, Dan... It's... ohgod.  Nnnnnnnn..." she slammed her mouth into
mine, her tongue forcing its way to find my own.  Her "nnnnn" escaped
inside my mouth.

   "Mmmmmpphhhh," was my response as I thrust as deep inside her as I
could, an orgasm overtaking me.

   Her last quivering downward swirl caught me on my second squirt.  She
pulled her mouth from mine with a sigh.  We were still coupled.  "Dan
Granger, I am your wife.  If I ever lose you, I will kill myself.  Hold
me."

   I held her.  "That goes both ways..."

   She recognized that I'd repeated her earlier statement.  Her eyes
sparkled.  "Then we'd better start trusting one another, huh?  And YOU
don't need to worry about any teen-aged boys, guy."

   A soft plop down below and she giggled again.  "We're gonna have a mess.
That's TWO of 'em..."

   "I'll do my part," I said.

   Squeal.  She got up and I laid back.  She got back to sixty-nine and we
happily licked one another clean, and she was back in my arms.

   "Quick shower, babe?"

   "Sure," I said.  "Quickie..."

   "Uh... THAT wasn't a quickie..."

   "No it wasn't, brown-haired girl.  My love.  My mate."

   We showered, got back into the nightclothes, and went back into the
living room.

   "Sit in your recliner." she said.  That was a favored thing for both of
us.  I settled in and she settled into my arms.  And the cat settled onto
the arm of the chair.

   "Poor thing," she said, petting him.  "He gets ignored." He was purring
from her attention.  I added my own hand to the cat's satisfaction.

   "He's learned to clear the bedroom until the 'all clear', though," I
said.

   "Maybe we need another kitty to keep him company while we're out."

   "That's a thought.  But kittens are soooo expensive.  We'll have to
think about it."

   Cuddled in my arms, she flipped through the TV channels, found nothing
worth wasting time on, so then she hit the stereo and ran a few choices
then settled on some Mozart concertos and we played a few hands of cards
until nearing ten PM.

   "Bedtime," she announced, at the completion of yet another hand.

   "Sure, you wanna go to bed when YOU'RE ahead."

   Laughter.  "I'm beating you by two hundred points.  You'll NEVER catch
up before the game ends.  Come on!"

   I put the cards up and followed her into our bedroom.  She curled up,
spooned against me, clasping my hands against her breasts.

   I kissed her head gently.  "Good night, my love."

   "Good night, baby.  Tomorrow's gonna be a good day."

   Chapter Nine

   The next morning started with a little soft music on the clock radio, a
wake-up snuggle, and then it was off to business at hand.  Forty-five
minutes later I was kissing my wife as I headed out the door and she waited
on a school bus.

   I drove up the road, thinking all was good with the world, mulling over
the idea that I'd left a new fifteen year old wife waiting on a school bus.
I didn't get too far, though, before my phone chimed that tune that was
"Nikki": "Fur Elise".

   "Hello, cutie," I said.

   "Hi, love of my life," her voice chimed.  "Just reminding you to give
that meat market a call."

   "Thank you," I said.  "I'll call 'em.  They'll fix us up." I knew a good
meat market that would give us a great hunk of pork for Nikki's debut
dinner with the family.

   "I'm glad you called, too..."

   "Why?" she asked.

   "SO I can hear your voice one more time and tell you that I love you."

   Purrs are audible.  "Thank you, Honey," she said.  "I love you too. 
I'll talk to you later.  I see the bus up the road."

   "'Kay, baby.  Bye." I settled back into the routine of the drive, musing
over the idea that while waiting to go to school, Nikki was thinking about
our plans for the weekend.  I was, too.  I loved my new little doll, and I
wanted to believe that the rest of my family would be as enchanted as I
was.

   I didn't roll directly to the office.  First stop was inside one of my
client facilities.  I drove down roads with huge vessels and pipes and
whistling, screaming processes going on, arriving at a new substation.  I
had four technicians working among a herd of electricians.  I stopped by
and chatted with each of my techs, assessing the work's progress and the
individual's understanding of what he was doing.

   Finally, I located my lead guy.

   "Hey, Kev," I said.

   He was smiling when he turned around.  "Hey, Dan!  What's up?"

   "You tell me," I countered.  "You're ass-deep in alligators here."

   "Nah!  I'd much rather this than cleaning a bunch of forty-year old crap
on a maintenance outage.  This is gonna be a nice sub when it's done."

   It was good to see somebody enthusiastic about his work.  Kevin was one.

   "You finding anything?"

   He grinned.  "We ALWAYS find things.  Look at this.  I think I know what
we need to do, but I just want to verify it while you're here." He showed
me one of a sheaf of drawings, pointing out a perfectly normal equipment
configuration.  He further pointed out that if we hadn't considered it in
light of our specific application, things would've been WRONG. 
Embarassing. Easily fixed, but embarrassing.

   "You're absolutely right.  Great catch!  Just make sure that you make
red pen changes to the electrician's drawings before they wire to it.  And
test it completely when they're done.  Don't wanna..."

   "Would've tripped first time we loaded up, huh?" he said.

   "You got that right.  Red faces.  Hollering.  Finger-pointing."

   He laughed.

   "Yeah, I can laugh now, too.  I caught it on another job, marked up two
sets of drawings, gave one to the electrical foreman, and his guy STILL
found an old one to wire from."

   "And you didn't catch it in testing?"

   "Lead tech was..."

   "Grady," Kevin said.  "I think he's pencil-whipped stuff on me, but
nothing I could nail down.  I was gonna talk to you..."

   "About Grady?"

   "Yeah.  I'm gonna need a good tech and helper next week for the outdoor
stuff.  I'd rather not get Grady."

   "I'll see what I can do," I said.  I filed that 'pencil-whipping'
comment away.  Much of our business had to do with meticulously testing
equipment and systems and recording findings.  The idea of giving results
without actually doing the tests, or changing the results from actual
values, that was inexcusable.

   Leaving the actual work, I drove back through the facility and visited
the client's lead electrical engineer and engaged in a little discussion of
the work we were doing, upcoming work ("You KNOW you're getting this, don't
you?") and a fair amount of good-natured discussion about domesticated
(him) versus feral (me) engineers.  I was 'feral' because unlike him, I
didn't have a single place to call home.  We managed to stretch
conversation to include lunch, on my company expense account, naturally.  I
drove my buddy back into the plant and dropped him at this office, visited
my crew one more time, then drove to my own office.

   I pulled into the front parking lot of our building, next to Steve's
SUV, and walked into the office.

   "That you, Dan?" I heard him call.

   "Yeah."

   "Thought so." Steve recognized the clatter of the diesel idle from my
truck.  "How's InChem?"

   "Rockin' right along," I said.  "Took their engineer to lunch.  He's
happy.  You know what they have coming for the rest of the year, huh?"

   "Yeah.  We'll stay busy there."

   "Give the plant to Kevin.  He'll take care of it.  I can pop in every
now and then, bill a few hours, talk to Doogie." "Doogie" was Douglas
Stratton, the engineer I had lunch with.  He DID look young for his actual
age and responsibilities.  His co-workers tagged him early on, and like
many nick-names at work, it stuck.  And went universal.

   "You think Kevin's ready to handle it?"

   "Real question is why YOU don't."

   "I didn't say that," he back-pedalled.  "Just that he's..."

   "The guy that Doogie asked for on this substation project.  He's more
than technically capable, and he knows his limits.  He'll call if he has
questions, you and I will know EXACTLY what's going on, and honestly, he'll
think it's a promotion.  Bump 'im hard next pay raise."

   "Done," Steve said.

   "When's Becky getting back?" I asked.  Becky Young was our office
administrator.  Her house took some damage during the hurricane and was
unlivable while the repairs were being made.  She was living with her
sister in the next state.

   "A week, she says.  I'm ready.  She's VPN'ed to the company system for
opening jobs and stuff, but I'm going crazy here.  SHE'S gonna have flowers
waiting when she gets back."

   "Good!  Absence makes the heart grow fonder," I laughed.  'Fond' was how
we ALL felt about Becky, all five feet two and two hundred and twenty
pounds of her, smile and attitude, dedication and competence, soft heart
and sharp tongue.  "I'll be glad to see 'er back."

   "Until she starts in on your billing and report backlog," he laughed.

   "Yeah, I know... I can blame it on the hurricane."

   "Yeah, you can.  It won't work, though..." by now, I was stretched in a
chair in Steve's office.  "Did Kevin mention when they're gonna start on
the outdoor equipment?"

   "Said he was going to need a tech and a helper next week."

   Steve smiled.  That was a couple of thousand dollars a day on the
ledger.

   "Before you smile too damned big, he asked that we NOT send Grady.  Said
he thinks Grady's been pencil-whipping reports."

   "Oh, I NEED this shit, Dan," Steve whined.

   "Yeah, we all do, don't we?" I sighed.

   "You know, if we have this guy who doesn't work well with others, and we
can't trust on his own..." Steve sighed.  "HR ain't gonna like it... We
really don't have anything concrete."

   "If he's faking reports, he'll trip over his own feet.  The guy's not
bright enough to do a good job of faking things.  If I find something, you
need to back me up.  He'll be gone."

   "I'll back you up."

   I picked a candy from the jar on Steve's desk and was peeling the
wrapper.

   "So, you an' Nikki?  Thing's okay?  Are you freakin' insane?"

   "Whaddaya mean, 'insane'?"

   "She's, like A KID!"

   "Oh, hell, Steve, I knew sooner or later you'd get nosey." I fixed my
eye on his.

   Steve bridged his fingers together, elbows on his desk.  "Dan, you an'
me, we've been bumpin' together in this biz for years.  I'd say we're
friends.  I just worry.  I mean, we all have, you know... She's not
pregnant or somethin'?"

   "Damn, you're a subtle devil, ain't you?"

   "I'm sorry, Dan, but it's killin' me..."

   "Sorta like me comin' over that desk?"

   His eyes widened fast.  He stuttered, "D-d-Dan?"

   "Oh, cool off, asshole," I said.  "Sad thing is that Nikki's probably
getting the same thing at school now.  No, she's NOT pregnant."

   "So why'd you marry 'er?"

   "Steve, you and I've worked those out of town jobs, right?"

   "Yeah, I remember a couple?"

   "Where was Dan?  After work?"

   "Dinner.  Maybe a beer.  Then your hotel room."

   "That's part of the story.  I don't chase tail, bud.  That's like a dog
chasin' cars.  If he catches one, then what?"

   "But fifteen?"

   "Curious fifteen.  Funny how a number might be so significant in one
context, and insignificant in another."

   "You really DID rescue her from a building?" he asked.

   "Yes.  Had to take a Sawzall to cut some structure out of the way.  If I
hadn't been there, I don't know if she'd be alive today."

   "Oooookayyyy," he said.  "But marryin' 'er.  That's..."

   "Just crazy enough to work.  She's smart.  Very mature for her age, more
mature that a lot of women with a lot more years on them."

   His eyebrow raised.

   I caught it.  "No, I didn't seduce her.  She didn't seduce me.  After
the roads opened, I took her to Houston to buy her enough clothes and stuff
so she'd at least have that.  She thought I was tryin' to get her ready to
move out.  I guess, in a way, I was." I sighed, remembering the day.  "She
asked how long she could stay there.  I told her she could stay as long as
she needed to.  She asked how long I wanted her to stay.  I looked in her
eyes, Steve.  And I told her that I wanted her there forever."

   "Damn, boy," he said.  "You sound like a chick flick."

   "I know it sounds sappy.  But dammit, she just fits soooo well... she's
not just one of those little airhead bimbos.  Innocent..."

   "You mean..." Raised that eyebrow again.

   I just nodded.  "The lady is worthy of respect," I said.  "She didn't
whine and cry.  When I started working she started taking care of the house
without me even mentioning it.  That was BEFORE we decided to get married.
After that, when I started working in the field again, she spent her day
listening to classical music and reading when I was out, meal was waiting
when I came in the door.  Hell, man, I was MARRIED to a woman who didn't do
THAT!"

   "Okay, okay... so who's exploiting who?"

   I smiled.  "We both are.  Any more personal questions?"

   "No, that's about it, buddy.  You know I wish you the best of luck.  We
need to get together, at least you an' Nikki an' me an' Carole.  Maybe some
of the techs and their wives."

   "I don't want Nikki catching crap, Steve."

   "I don't think anyone would do that, Dan.  She seems to be pretty quick
on her feet, and she's personable."

   "Thanks, Steve,' I said.  "Of course, she's meeting my family in person
for the first time this weekend.  I may be missing either a wife OR a
family, come Monday."

   "You know you expect things to be fine, don't you?"

   "Yeah, I do.  My family loves me.  And from the conversations with my
sister, they think a lot of Nikki, after the initial shock.  Reminds me.  I
need to make a phone call"

   "Phone call?"

   "Yeah, Nikki told me to make sure and get a good pork roast for
Saturday. She's cooking."

   "Fifteen?  Pork roast?"

   "Learned from her grandma.  Apparently she pays very good attention."

   "I've had YOUR cooking, and you say she cooks good, then she must be
something."

   "My point exactly, Steve."

   "Well, you know I wish you all the good.  But not too damn much.  I
don't wanna be jealous, yaknow."

   I laughed.  "You're right... I can't get as perfect as you." I stood. 
"I'm gonna go play with a few drawings, and then I'm gone."

   "Yeah, okay," Steve said.  "And don't forget your phone call..."

   I made the phone call.  Then I cleared room on my desk and started going
over drawings, stopping occasionally to wonder how Nikki's day at school
was going.

   Finishing up a sheaf of drawings, I grabbed my keys and headed out the
door.

   "Seeya in the morning, Steve," I said.

   "Take care, old son," he said.

   On the road, I opened my phone and said one word: "Nikki".  She should
be somewhere on the bus ride home.

   "Hey, babe!" came the happy chirp.  That answered one question.  She had
enough of her happy energy left to put a smile in her tone.  "You on your
way home?"

   "Yeah.  I'm dying to hold you!"

   "Good," she said.  "I definitely need holding." She paused.  "Hey, that
barbecue joint has an 'open for business' sign up, if you wanna do barbecue
sandwiches for dinner."

   That'd keep us from cooking, and a couple of sandwiches weren't
expensive.  "You want one or two?"

   "Two, she said.  "Pork, if there's a choice." Many of the small
businesses had indeed re-opened in the storm's aftermath, but many of them
started back with abbreviated menus and services.

   "I'll get us something," I said.  "How was school?"

   "We'll talk when we get home, baby.  It was okay."

   "Okay, sweetness," I said.  "I love you."

   "Love you too!  Bye!"

   The afore-mentioned barbecue joint was on the road home.  I pulled into
the drive-through, expecting to find a pimple-faced teen, but was greeted
by the plump red face of the female half of the couple who owned the place.
"Well, good to see you up and running, " I said.

   "Running ourselves to death," she laughed.  "Me an' Petey thought we'd
open with a coupla things on the menu and struggle for business.  I been
packin' away orders for pickup like it's goin' outta style." She grinned
broadly.  "Not that I'm complainin', you understand.  'Cept I need help."

   "Like..." I started.

   "Oh, a high-school kid would be nice right now, but I need somebody to
work with me during the day.  Ever'body's still evacuated that used ta work
for me."

   "I can get the word to the high school bunch," I said.  "New wife's a
student there."

   "Oh, yeah," she said.  "Sheriff said you married that Domingue girl."

   "News travels fast," I said.

   "He said it like it was a good thing.  He's my cousin.  If he says it's
good, it's GOOD.  She lookin' for work?"

   "No," I said.  "I want 'er concentrating on school.  But she might have
friends..."

   "See what you can help me with," she smiled.  "Now what can I help YOU
with?"

   "Four pulled pork sandwiches," I said, grinning, "If they're any good!"

   "Best barbecue in the parish," she laughed.  "Only barbecue in the
parish!"

   I waited a few minutes and we exchanged food for money.  "Thanks!  Don't
forget my help," she said.

   "I won't," I said.  "Good luck!" I drove off, headed on the final leg
home.  Twenty minutes put me in my driveway, and I got out, Nikki was
bounding out the door to greet me.  Greetings involved a kiss, a wonderful
thing, even in the scalding combination of heat and humidity.

   "I missed you, baby," and we both laughed, because we'd said it
simultaneously.

   I retrieved the bag of sandwiches and followed my cutie inside.  We sat
at the breakfast table and pulled sandwiches out for dinner.

   "So how was YOUR day?" I asked.

   "Nuts," she said.  "Finding the best way to get from one class to the
next may take a while.  The school was WAY over-crowded." She took a bite
of her sandwich, chewed, and swallowed.  "I just KNEW this'd be GOOD!" she
smiled.

   "Had in interesting conversation with the owner," I said.  "If any of
your friends are looking for after school work, she's dying for help."

   Nikki's face changed.

   "No, not YOU.  You have a husband and you don't need the money and you
have school to worry about."

   "Oh.  I thought maybe you wanted me to go to work." The smile came back
to her face.

   "No, not even close.  I wish you could work with me, but that's not
possible, for most cases.  So what's your classes like."

   "Like forty pounds of books," she said.  "I just know I'm not gonna have
to strain at anything but math and science.  The rest is just reading."

   "And we'll work together on the math and science."

   She smiled at me.  "How come I feel smarter, Dan," she asked.

   "Because **I** think you're smart.  Always were.  Just nobody told you."

   "Maybe nobody was in that good a position to make a determination," she
said.  "Grandma, well, I don't think she got past, like, the eighth grade.
An' Mom didn't care."

   "And teachers, except for the best of them, they just try to get their
kids through the class.  A smart one just means they don't have to spend
time worrying about that one." I watched the brown bangs sway as she chewed
her sandwich, smiling.  "This year, though, you don't let them leave you
alone.  Make sure YOU understand where they're heading with the lessons."

   She took a sip of her drink.  "It's gonna be different, for sure."

   I considered, for a moment, that just maybe Nikki didn't WANT to work
that hard.  "Sweetie, I'm not trying to push you too hard.  If you think
I'm pushing too hard, tell me."

   "I will.  Right now, I'm excited.  I was thinking about it on the bus,
Dan.  I have a future.  WE have a future." She sighed.  "I know sometimes
you wanna be a plain ol' husband and I wanna just be a wife, sometime, too.
But I'm still a high school student and you have to kind of do a strange
parenting thing for me."

   "I'm glad you think about it, baby, and we can talk about it.  I promise
I'll never drop the husband and wife part.  You're too much of my life."

   We finished the sandwiches and disposed of the remains.

   "Now let's look at my books,' she said.  My young wife was excited about
school.  We ended up on the sofa side by side as she paged through her
books.  I had flashbacks to my own high school experience and like her, the
new material at the first of the year was always a promise of new worlds of
learning.

   I commented on her enthusiasm.

   "Uh... I AM excited.  Dan, I've seen the kind of people who want to
learn and act civilized, and the other kind.  I know what I want to be."
She laid the book down that had been on her lap, and she twisted around to
straddle my leg, putting her face inches from mine.  "You need to stop
worrying, guy.  I love you.  Now.  Forever."

   "That makes me very happy, little flower,' I said.  "I want YOU to be
happy.  I can just go along for the ride."

   "Lay down.  Put your head in my lap."

   I complied, feeling the stress leave me as her fingers caressed my face
and temples.  The pleasant face smiling down at me was equally soothing.

   "I have you.  You have me." A smile, twinkling eyes.  "I watched the
games today, you know."

   "Games?"

   "Yeah, the mating games.  You and me, we talked about that some."

   "Yeah," I acknowledged.

   "I don't want to do that, Dan."

   "Considering that you have your husband's head in your lap, I'd wish you
didn't."

   Giggle.  "You know what I mean." She playfully slapped my cheek.  "But I
ran into some of the kids from last year, and I got asked a lot of
questions, you know, where I was living?  Where was mom?  Where'd I
evacuate to?  The usual stuff.  And then when they saw my ring, it was a
whole other set of questions, like, was it somebody from school?  Was I
pregnant?  Did I have a baby?"

   "Sounds like fun." I recounted my conversation with Steve.

   "If what we did, us getting married, is crazy, Dan, I am hopelessly
crazy, you know."

   "Me too, angel.  I haven't had a single regret."

   "Good!" she said, curling over to kiss me on my nose.  "Sit up!" I sat
up.  She hopped into my lap, circling her arms around my neck.  The next
kiss wasn't on my nose.

   As a matter of fact, a few of THOSE kisses, and she moved from sitting
sideways in my lap to astride me, and her eyes took on a serious twinkle.
"I feel bad," she said.

   "You feel bad?"

   "Yeah... period started today.  Good thing I keep a few tampons in my
purse."

   "You gonna need some more?"

   "No, I got some last time we went grocery shopping.  Got plenty. 
But..."

   "But what?" I asked.

   "I'm havin' a period.  We can't, you know..."

   "Unless you wanna..."

   No, baby.  Unless you're desperate for it."

   "I'm desperate for YOU, Princess.  I can do without that for a few
days."

   "You sure?  I KNOW people do that.  Mom did, at least some, because I
heard her and her guy of the week talk about 'doin' it on the rag'.  It
just makes me uncomfortable thinking about it."

   "Don't worry about it in the least, little one." I kissed her.  "There's
a whole lot more to Dan 'n' Nikki than vaginal sex."

   "You're so clinical sometimes," she giggled, returning my kiss.  "And
you're right." Kiss.  "And now I need to look at my homework."

   "You do that.  I'll do some housework.  You can use our office, you
know. Computer.  Desk.  Printer."

   "I didn't know how you felt about somebody else in your office."

   "Anybody but you, baby," I said.  I helped her haul her materials into
the office, then I went about the business of maintaining a household.  It
was not a difficult proposition, actually.  The 'Dan and Nikki' combination
did not generate twice the mess, but it did contribute twice the labor, so
I was relegated to more of a touch-up than a major cleaning effort.

   I paused from vacuuming to give the cat time to stick his head out.  He
took advantage of the silence to charge into the office and hide behind
Nikki.  She petted him as she pored over her science textbook.

   I looked in on her.  "How's it going, cutie?"

   She said, "I'm petting my biology experiment." The cat peered around
from behind Nikki's calves.  "This stuff isn't gonna be hard at all."

   "Good," I said.  I went around emptying trash cans and then took my
shower, rare in that I did it alone.  By the time I finished, she was in
the bathroom, getting ready for her own.  I waited for a few minutes until
the water turned off, then I went in to help her dry her hair.

   "Wait a second,' she said.  "Let me get my panties on." I heard a rustle
and a sharp breath, then "Okay!" I went in to view her nude except for neat
hip-hugger panties that accentuated the curve of her hips.  She sat on a
stool while I brushed and dried her hair, then she donned her nightshirt.

   "Let's go watch TV.  Sit in your chair.  I wanna snuggle."