Texas Thunder

by R. Casteel

  Exhaustion dogged his steps as he left the elevator.

  He opened the door, and knew they wouldn’t get to sleep anytime soon. He hoped mother did not want to get to the hospital very early.

  Cynthia lay sprawled on the bed. Her nude body covered with a fine sheen of sweat . With her legs spread apart, she had two fingers buried deep inside her pussy. The fingers of her other hand pulled and twisted at the hardened nipple of her breast.

  “I…started without you.” Heat rose from her breast up her neck at the embarrassment of being caught masturbating.

  She watched his breathing become labored as his eyes were riveted between her legs. Sudden realization dawned on her. He’s turned on watching me.

  Charles kicked off his boots and unbuckled his belt. In one, smooth motion he pulled his pants and shorts down over his hips and stepped out of them. His erection was already throbbing. Nerve endings tingled in anticipation. He dropped his shirt on the floor and walked as if in a trance towards the bed.

  Unconsciously, his fingers closed around his shaft and he stroked its hard length.

  The inner muscles of her slick chamber tightened around her fingers. She watched the shiny head of his penis disappear within his hand.

  “Sit beside me,” she moaned. Sliding over she made room on the bed.

  “I…never did this before…I met you.” Her fingers resumed their manipulation of her clit and inner walls. “It was…considered,” she arched off the bed, “dirty.”

  “I missed you so much…I had to do something.”

  A moan escaped her lips. The strokes of her fingers matched the movement of his hand. Her body arched off the bed.

  “Ahh!” she cried out. Hot thick fluid washed over her fingers. Her hips bounced wildly on the bed as her breath came in rasping gasps.

  A fine coat of sweat covered his body and the bed vibrated. His eyes, wild with raw emotion, watched her as the muscles in his neck stretched taut.

  She scooted closer until his knees touched her side. As she continued to stroke her swollen clit, she ran her fingers up his leg and thigh.

  With an explosive burst of air from his lungs, his body stiffened. In slow motion, she watched a stream of creamy white fluid erupt from the head of his penis and arc towards her. She looked down at her breast, speckled with his white heat.

  Charles lay back on the bed and she crawled on top of him.

  “Doing it in front of you was such a turn on,” she shyly whispered against his neck. “I…liked watching you.”

  Charles flipped the covers over them. “Me too.”

  What was that noise? Charles made a blind grab for the phone knocking the receiver on the floor. “Hello.”

  “What do you think you’re doing still in bed?” his mother berated. “It’s time for breakfast.”

  He opened one eye a little further and groaned. “Mother, do you know what time it is?” The gray dawn of winter was casting shadows around the room.

  “Of course, I know what time it is,” she informed him, “that’s why I called.”

  “Do you remember where the restaurant is?” He plopped back on the mattress and closed his eyes.

  “Well of course I do, don’t be silly,” she replied.

  “Then go have breakfast.”

  “But we need to be at the hospital.” she stressed.

  Opening one eye, he looked at Cynthia who was now wide awake and starting to laugh.

  “Mother, Kristina is in surgery, she won’t be out ‘til nine o’clock,” he argued. “Then she will be in recovery for another hour at least.”

  He was starting to loose his thought process. Cynthia was partially draped over him and was making a path down his chest with her finger, followed by kisses.

  “Mother I’ll see you at nine thirty, and not before,” Charles promised. “Now please, go eat.”

  About that time, Cynthia found something she wanted to taste for breakfast.

  As she took him in her mouth, Charles groaned. The feather light licks of her tongue had him grabbing the sheets with both fists. Her teeth grazed the head of his shaft and he arched off the bed.

  “Ohh, you like that.” She kissed the smooth tip and felt his body shiver with need.

  When he could no longer maintain control he pulled her up and rolled her over, entering her in one swift thrust.

  She met him with her own savage lift of her body off the bed. She hardly recognized the low catlike growl that came from within her. When the last quivers of heated passion had been released, she lay spent and tranquil within the circle of his arms.

  They ordered breakfast sent up to the room while they showered and dressed. Room service arrived at the same time the last article of clothing was being buttoned.

  A look at the clock and he knew they were going to be read the riot act. It was nine-twenty.

  Taking the cart with them, they ate walking down the hallway. They finished eating in the elevator, Charles washed down the last of his toast with coffee and the door opened.

  Mother was standing there looking at her watch when they stepped out. She tried to look stern, but underneath that look, he could see the gleam of laughter within her eyes.

  “Ready to go, Mom?” Cocking an eyebrow, he leaned over and kissed her cheek.

  “What I was ready to do was come up there and get you.”

  On the way to the hospital, Charles watched his mother in the rearview mirror. She wore the contented smile of trust. He thoughtfully contemplated the expression on her face.

  She’s accepted all this for good. Though she’s been tested and tried, her faith has never wavered. Reaching over and taking Cynthia’s hand, he gave it a gentle reassuring squeeze. Well mother, one of your prayers is answered. I’m off my mountain. We’ll have to wait and see if Sis quits flying.

  Pulling into the hospital parking lot, Charles got out and opened the rear door.

  “Did you discover anything on our short trip here?” She swung her legs onto the concrete. “You were watching me so intently, I’d begun to wonder if maybe Cynthia should be driving.”

  “Yes, I realized what an honor it is to have you as a mother.” Taking her arm in his, he looked down into her eyes that were suddenly bright with unshed tears. “Shall we go see how Kristina is doing?”

  Together they walked, arm in arm toward the hospital entrance.

  “Mr. Randall, I’m Dr. Slaton.” They shook hands. “Kristina came through the surgery fine. The bone in her leg is pinned and Dr. McKinney set the bone in her face. With her present rate of recovery, she should be able to go home by New Years, under very strict guidelines of course. ”

  “Charles Randall,” the nurse said, “you have a call on line one. You may take it at the desk.”

  He picked up the phone, “Randall speaking,”

  “About time you got to a phone,” Steven quibbled.

  “Good news on this end,” Charles said, “Kristina is out of surgery and the doc thinks she might go home in three or four days.”

  “That is great news,” Steven’s voice beamed. “I’ve got more, hang on to the phone and remember you’re in a hospital. The hospital papers are signed except for your signature and there is five hundred and fifty thousand dollars already in the bank. Charles, I hate to say this but…Dad and I feel it best if you get here as soon as possible. It’s just a feeling we both have. It’s like every thing else that’s happened, we can’t explain it, but the feeling is there just the same.”

  Often times in life when we ask God for something He says “Wait.” Some times when God does things we say, “Hurry up.”

  It appeared now that God was saying, Catch up.

  “I’ll call you from the plane and let you know what time I’m arriving.” Charles hung up wondering about this feeling of pending doom he was experiencing.

  He went back to Kristina’s room.

  “How soon are you leaving?” Mother asked.

  “Now.” He gave his mother and Kristina a quick kiss.


  “Don’t worry about your Mother. I’ll take care of her.” Cynthia gave him a playful slap on the butt. “Now, go or you’ll miss the plane.”

  Charles caught a cab straight to the airport.

  Any other day he would have missed the eleven o’clock flight out of Los Angeles to Dallas. It had been delayed an hour due to an unexpected storm.

  The last call for boarding was being announced as he got his ticket.

  As Charles boarded, the flight attendant closed the door.

  Chapter 11

  Steven met the plane in Dallas.

  “Brother,” Charles said, “you look beat.”

  “Yeah,” Steven answered with a weary smile. “I look like I feel. Any chance of slowing the train down?”

  “That bad?” Charles slapped him on the back. “Getting too old to take the heat?”

  “Yes and maybe. Dad says he has never seen anything like it in his life.”

  “Well,” he laid his arm over Steven’s shoulder, “I’m here now; maybe I can help ease the strain a little.”

  “I hope so. I sincerely hope so.”

  They got in Steve’s car and headed down Highway 114, hit the Northwest Highway over to Preston Road. Ten minutes later, they were at the office.

  Charles called a mini-conference to find out where everything stood.

  Steven was right. This train was on a fast track and Randall Construction was supposed to be the engine pulling the train. Instead, it felt like they had grabbed the caboose and were barely hanging on.

  Steven started to say something when the phone rang. Charles’s secretary answered,

  “Randall Construction. How may I help you?”

  “Yes sir,” his secretary said.

  “Yes sir.”

  “Sir, if you’ll wait one moment, he will be right with you.”

  Nancy looked at Charles, “It’s for you, a Mister Scottsdale.”

  He looked at Dad, then Steven, nothing. Thanks for the help you two. Why is Scottsdale calling here? The word in the big money circles in Dallas was what Scottsdale wasn’t into wasn’t worth investing in. He had and was making millions in oil and the Hi-tech industry. He had his fingers into so many financial pies very few people knew just how much he was worth.

  “Charles Randall speaking.”

  Scottsdale replied, “You know who I am so I’ll skip the small talk. A mutual friend of ours called me. I don’t always agree with him on politics but I respect the man. He told me how this hospital project came about and I want to be on board. I need the account number to wire you some money.”

  Anybody else and Charles would have let Nancy take over. He gave him the account number.

  Scottsdale said, “I know this won’t be all you need, so when you get to the end of this project, if you run low, call me.”

  Charles thanked him and, in shock, hung up the phone.

  The others in the room were waiting.

  “Well!” Karen pleaded, “don’t keep us waiting. What did he want?”

  “Mr. Scottsdale…wanted to give us some money,” Charles whispered in bewilderment.

  “How much?” Steven and Karen both asked.

  Charles shook his head. “I have no idea.”

  A few minutes later, the phone rang; Nancy answered and looked at Charles. “The bank.”

  He punched on the speakerphone, “Yeah Greg.”

  “Charles, just wanted you to know we just had two million dollars wired to the hospital account.”

  The shock rendered Charles speechless.

  “Charles? Are you still there?” Greg asked.

  “Yeah Greg, I’m here. Thanks.” Charles stared with perplexity at the phone and slowly disconnected.

  “Scottsdale!” they said in unison.

  Somewhere in the very near future, this train was going to have to stop and let them on board.

  “Okay crew, time to figure out where we are, and where we should be.”

  “Good luck!” Steven said.

  Nancy had her pen ready.

  “Before we can consider building a hospital, what’s the first thing we need?”

  “Land,” Dad said, “preferably several acres with access to a main road. With the deposit Mr. Scottsdale made this morning, there should be no problem paying for it once we find available land.

  The phone rang again.

  He waved Nancy away and the hit intercom, “Randall Construction.”

  “Charles, Ron here, I heard the good news on Kristina this morning. It sounds almost too good to be true. Then again, miracles have always been difficult to understand from a scientific viewpoint. How is everything going up in Dallas?”

  “I’m not sure Ron. Did you ever run to catch a train and have it pull out as you got to it? No matter how fast we run up here, this project keeps going faster. If it doesn’t slow down I’m worried about it derailing somewhere.”

  “Maybe I can help. We have just been given a lease-option on ten acres of land by the City Council of Rising Star.”

  Charles felt the train speed up.

  “That’s not all,” Ron continued, “The land has already been surveyed and tested. There are city services already on the property; all we have to do is hook on. It’s located on the south edge of town and has frontage on Highway one eighty-three. Access to the property has already been approved by the State Highway Department.

  “One other thing, the property borders mine. That means the hospital will have its own landing field with night landing capabilities.”

  This information usually took months to complete and get approval for. The airstrip was an added bonus that couldn’t be overlooked.

  “Ron, how? I don’t understand. How is it possible…this quick?” Still reeling from Scottsdale’s generous gift, he slumped back in his chair.

  “A storage facility for a large trucking firm was going to build a warehouse. At the last minute, they pulled out of town. They gave no explanation or any comments other than they had changed their minds.”

  “You said we had a lease option on the land.” Charles hesitated. “How much is the city asking?”

  “The city council decided on a dollar an acre. If you think that’s too high, I can go back with a counter offer.” The laughter in his voice was shared by those in the room.

  “That is great news Ron. It couldn’t have been received at a better time.”

  “I know you’re busy but before I go,” Ron paused and then continued, “there is something else. I was talking to a friend of mine who works in another hospital. I’ve seen it and the layout is real close to what I was thinking about. He told the director, who called the engineers that designed the building. They are sending you a complete set of diagrams. We can sit down and go over any changes I want and see if they are feasible.”

  “What is it going to cost us for the plans?” Charles asked.

  “Nothing,” Ron boasted with jubilance. “Absolutely nothing.”

  “That’s great Ron. Thanks for calling. I’ll get back to you.” The loud buzzing of the speaker filled the room as Charles slowly reached to disconnect the phone.

  “Anyone willing to guess what the next surprise is going to be?”

  There was a long period of stunned silence and he glanced around the room.

  “I didn’t think so.”

  Charles looked at the clock on the wall, five p.m.

  “First thing in the morning, meet back here for a fresh start,” he said.

  As the others left the room, all he could think about was a long hot soak in the spa and calling Cynthia.

  They all met in the hallway at the same time. Steve was giving Charles a lift home and his car was out front. There, they received the next surprise. They were all there, Fort Worth Dallas Channel eight news, First News Broadcast and National News Network. There was also a gathering of newspaper reporters all looking like a pack of buzzards ready to descend on their next meal.

  “Mr. Randall, is it true you’re building a hospital for Dr. Ronald
Petterson?”

  “Who’s the hospital going to be named for, Mr. Scottsdale or Senator Shaffer?"

  “When you were at White Memorial Hospital, Dr Petterson’s sister was with you. What is your relationship with her?”

  “How much money did Mr. Scottsdale give to the building fund?"

  “Why was Dr. Petterson at White Memorial? Did you call him because you didn’t trust the staff?”

  “There has been speculation that the reason you came back to Dallas is that Randall Construction is experiencing financial difficulties and that building the hospital is a way to get free publicity to increase business. Would you care to comment please?”

  “Are you and Cynthia Petterson having an affair?”

  Charles held up his hand. As soon as he saw the reporters gathered like a flock of buzzards, he put on a stone like emotionless expression. Inside however, he was seething with a boiling rage.

  “I have no comment at this time. There will be a press conference tomorrow at ten a.m. Thank you.”

  They turned around and walked back into the building straight to the Conference room. “Nancy…Tiff! Steven, get Ronald on the phone, see how soon he can clear his day tomorrow.

  “Nancy, get the lawyers office, I want Chris here, now! Time he started earning his paycheck.

  “Karen, get hold of Senator Shaffer.

  “Tiffany, fresh pot of coffee. Then find Cynthia; check the hotel then the hospital. Also, get a hold of Howard Petterson at the ranch,” he tossed her his address book.

  “Ron is on line two,” announced Steven. “He says he can clear his whole day. It’ll take about an hour.”

  “Tell him as soon as he can fly up to Love Field, there will be a car waiting,” Charles directed. “Whoever you send to the airport have him come around back in case any of those damn reporters are still out there. It would be best if it weren’t a company vehicle, might give us a little edge.”

  “Chris is already on his way,” Nancy stated. “It made the news. We were live.”

  He turned the set on as he went by. Kristina’s picture was again making the headlines along with his and the company.

  “Senator Shaffer, line one,” announced Karen.

  “Sorry to bother you sir,” apologized Charles.