* * * *
Penny tried to put a little sunshine into her voice. “Good morning, Sean. This is Penny. How are you?"
“What time is it, Penny,” he said sleepily.
“It's six-thirty—time for every hardworking man to be up and at ’em."
“You're right,” he said. “I overslept."
“I have to ask you something and it's extremely important that you answer me honestly."
“Okay."
“Do you like me, Sean?"
He laughed. “Why else would I be spending every spare minute with you?"
“Do you love me, Sean?"
He dropped the telephone. He sat up on the side of the bed and retrieved it from the floor. “Penny, are you still there?"
“Yes."
“What a way to wake a guy up."
“Your answer is?"
“An honest answer is extremely important, is it?"
“Yes."
“I think I might love you, Penny. You're the only woman I've ever dated. I'm not sure I know what love is."
“How would you feel if I were suddenly taken out of your life?"
“Oh, God,” he said with obvious anguish.
“Right answer. I want you to come to my house right now. I want to fuck you and then I have a long story to tell you."
He did not respond.
“Are you still there, Sean?"
“Yes."
“Will you come?"
“Penny, I've never ... I've never..."
“I'm a good teacher, Sean."
“Maybe I'd better take a shower, brush my teeth and put on clean underwear first,” he said.
“Good idea."
* * * *
“Good morning, Mother,” Randy said as he padded into the kitchen. “You are up early. Boy, that bacon smells delicious."
“Good morning, son. I wanted to make you and Jo a good breakfast. Your usual cold cereal is not my idea of the way to start a day."
Randy poured two cups of coffee and carried them to the master bedroom. “Did you find out where she went so early this morning?” Jo asked.
“I didn't have the guts. I guess Mom deserves to have a few secrets. If she wants us to know, she'll tell us."
Chapter Twenty-five
Penny, wearing only a white terrycloth robe loosely tied at the waist, greeted Sean with arms spread wide. Her open mouth met his closed lips. Moving her tongue from side to side, she suddenly forced it deep inside his mouth as she wrapped her arms tightly around his neck. Slowly she pulled her tongue back and then plunged it deep inside again. She ground her hips against him and rolled her breasts against his chest. His hands remained motionless on her back.
She broke the kiss. “Sean, honey, you're not in Sunday School. Let your hands go where they want to and do what they like."
She sucked on his lower lip and maintained the suction as she pulled away, causing a popping sound when his lip regained its freedom. She repeated the action on his upper lip and finally she felt his hands gradually roam south. His hands stopped on her lower back.
“A little lower,” she urged and then rammed her tongue into his parted lips. She felt his erection growing but his hands returned to her shoulder blades.
She stepped back and dropped the robe to the floor. “Meet Barb and Betty,” she said, looking down at her swollen breasts.
His eyes bulged.
“Suck them,” she whimpered.
He stooped, picked up her robe and held it for her. “I'm not ready for this, Penny. Please put your robe back on."
She felt her cheeks flush as she turned her back to him and stuck her left hand into the sleeve of the robe. In my entire life, she asked herself, has any other man ever refused me?
When both arms were in place he lifted the robe over her shoulders, pulled it together and tied the sash. With his hands on her stomach, he drew her back to him, then jumped away in alarm. “You're ... you're pregnant!” he exclaimed.
“Just a little bit,” she joked. She turned and snuggled her body close. Her lips found his.
He tentatively followed her retreating tongue into her mouth with his own. She fondled his scrotum with her fingers while rubbing the heel of her hand against his erection. She was disappointed in the size of his penis.
“Stop,” he cried, suddenly pushing her away and grabbing his crotch as he bent over.
“Sean, sweetheart, if you don't want to have sex with me its okay."
“Damn,” he moaned. “I've never been so excited in my life."
“You came?"
His face was aflame with embarrassment as he nodded.
“Wonderful!” she cried. “I knew your first time would be over in a hurry. The second time will last much longer and the third will be longer still."
“Penny, beautiful Penny,” he said with his back to her. “How can I say this so you will understand?"
As she approached he turned and placed his hands on her shoulders, keeping her at arm's length. “I ... I ... It's wonderful that you want to have sex with me, but it isn't right. It's ... It's just too ... too clinical."
“Not romantic enough for you?"
“Maybe that's it."
She stepped back, pulled the robe tighter across her chest and retied the sash. “Sean,” she said slowly, “I just ... well ... I want you to know how I feel about you. I'll be here for you whenever you're ready."
“But you're pregnant, Penny. How did that happen? Who's the father?"
She sat on the sofa with her knees pressed together and looked at him until she was certain she had his attention. “Sean,” she began, “I am capable of telling very convincing lies. I haven't known you long, but I promise I have never lied to you about anything. I haven't told you all I know, but I've never lied to you. I swear to God I will never lie to you."
“Are you going to tell me about your swollen belly?” he asked as he sat beside her and put his arm around her shoulders.
“Yes,” she said. “It's a long story and I'm going to start at the beginning. When I'm through, you may walk out of my life forever. I wouldn't blame you. But if we're going to have the relationship I long for, you must know it all and accept me for who I have been, who I am, and who I may someday become."
* * * *
“Mrs. Nickels?"
“I am Leora Nickels,” Randy's mother said to the pimply faced youth at the front door.
“I'm Sean Taylor. I've come to set up a computer for you."
“Oh, holy horsehair!” she exclaimed. “I told my son and daughter-in-law I wanted one, but I didn't know they already ordered it."
Sean's smile seemed to reach from one ear to the other. “They said you'd be surprised. Where do you want it?"
“Why, I don't know,” she said. “I have other things on my mind and haven't given it much thought. I suppose the best place would be the desk in my bedroom.” She looked at the boxes piled up on the porch. “Is all of that just one computer?"
“It's a computer, monitor, printer, scanner, battery backup, paper and extra print cartridges."
“Mercy. Will I ever learn to use all that? You bring it in while I clean off the top of my desk."
When he brought the last box into the bedroom he asked, “Are Randy and Jo here?"
“Yes. They have their studies upstairs."
“Do you mind if I close your door?"
“I suppose not. I guess it's too much to hope that you intend to sexually molest an old woman like me?"
Sean blushed instantly. “No ma'am. Penny Swanson said it would be okay for me to talk with you."
“You know Penny?"
“Yes ma'am. We've become very good friends over the past few days."
“Sean, you're positively glowing. She fucked you this morning, didn't she?"
His face again turned flaming red.
“Unless I miss my guess, it was your first time."
As he pulled the CPU out of the box he said, “We didn't have sex, Mrs. Nickels."
“But you came close and now you're pussy-whipped."
He laughed nervously as he sat the unit on her desk, keeping his back to her. “Penny warned me about you,” he said.
“You don't know what ‘pussy-whipped’ means, do you?"
He turned around and began to open another box. “No ma'am."
“When a young man has his first sexual experience,” she said gently, “he sometimes thinks he owes the woman something for being so generous. Oftentimes he thinks he loves the woman, but he doesn't. It's her pussy he loves and he will do anything to have another crack at it."
Leora held the box as he struggled to wiggle the tightly packed monitor out of it. “Mrs. Nickels, we didn't have sex but I do I think I love her."
She pulled the Styrofoam packing from the top and bottom of the monitor as he held it up. “Sean, you seem like a nice young man. Everything I've heard about you has been good, but you're so innocent. Penny is not a nice young lady. If I were you, I would cool it for a while."
“She told me all about it,” he said as he placed the monitor on her desk.
“Did she tell you she is pregnant?"
“Yes."
“Did she tell you about all the men in Dot she has been screwing?"
“She told me, but she didn't name anyone."
“Did she tell you about Al Young?"
He nodded.
“And she told you about the money, the tapes, the blackmail?"
“She told me more than I wanted to hear,” he said, finally looking her in the eyes. “I feel so sorry for her. What can I do to help?"
He unwrapped the keyboard, connected it to the CPU and plugged in the mouse.
“What did she ask you to do?” Leora asked.
“Love her."
“She's the world's greatest liar, you know."
“She told me,” he replied as he knelt to plug in the UPS and computer power cords. “I choose to believe she is not lying to me. I believe she came to Dot fully intending to turn her life around. She slipped into some old habits. She wants another chance and I want to do what I can to give her that chance."
“I think you would be better off if you didn't get involved."
“I'm already involved, but it's not too late to get out of it. That's why Penny wanted me to talk with you. But I don't want to get out of it."
“What Penny needs right now are some real friends and a whale of a lot of good luck,” Leora offered.
“Do you think I should go back to her house and wait with her for the deputies to arrive?"
“I think you should walk away from the whole mess,” Leora said, “but that's not what you want to hear. The only thing I can tell you is to be careful in obeying the demands of your heart and groin."
He pushed a button on the monitor, punched a similar one on the printer and threw a switch behind the CPU. There was a crackling sound and the Windows 98 icon flashed on the screen. “We're in business,” he said and he pulled up the straight-backed chair. “Would you hand me that box, please?"
Leora picked up the small box and expressed surprise at its weight.
“This is your main software package—Microsoft Office,” he explained. The weight comes from the manuals inside.” He pulled out a disk and slid it into the CD-ROM drive. “Loading the software is going to take a while."
Leora picked up the manual. “Holy horsehair!” she exclaimed. “Will I ever learn all this stuff?"
Sean laughed while keeping his eyes glued to the changing messages on the screen. “I'm going to teach you the basics of using Windows 98 and of opening and closing the various programs in Office. We'll spend most of our time playing with the word processor program, since that's what you'll probably use most often. I suggest that you learn by using the program. Play with it. You are not likely to do anything to harm the computer, and if you do, I'm just a phone call away. Only if all else fails should you read the manual."
“That's what Jo said,” she laughed.
He turned sideways in the chair and looked at her carefully. “Mrs. Nickels, Penny asked me to marry her. She told me she has agreed to let your son and daughter-in-law adopt her baby, but she asked me if I want to keep it."
“Did you agree to marry her?"
“Not yet."
“But you're going to?"
“Probably. What about the baby, Mrs. Nickels? How badly would it hurt Jo and Randy if we keep the baby? How badly would it hurt you?"
“You're not ready for marriage, Sean."
“Ma'am. Penny is the prettiest woman in the world. She's the only woman who has ever looked at me twice. She's the only woman I've ever dated. She's the only woman I've ever kissed. She's the only woman I've ever seen naked. This ship may never come my way again."
“Pussy-whipped,” Leora said with a smile.
“Maybe, but I like it. What about the baby?"
“If you keep the baby, it will be a constant reminder of Penny's past life,” Leora said.
“And a constant reminder of our present and future,” he countered.
“She's using you, Sean."
“I know. At least that's how it started. She says she now has real feelings for me. I believe her. I want to believe her. I need to believe her."
“Son,” she said, “you're opening the door to a lifetime of heartaches."
“Or happiness."
“A leopard doesn't change his spots."
“Penny's not a leopard. People do change. The preacher says we're never today exactly what we were yesterday."
“He ought to know,” Leora replied.
“You haven't answered my question."
“I know. I'm being selfish. If you and Penny keep the baby, it will hurt us all. That should not be a consideration of yours. You must consider what will be best for the baby."
“Shit. Oh, excuse me Mrs. Nickels. It's just that I hadn't thought of that.” He turned back to the computer.
* * * *
“I appreciate your cooperation and candor, Penny,” Detective Borders said, standing on Penny's front porch. “And nice to have met you, young man."
Sean nodded.
“Penny, I'm truly impressed by your openness. This interview has gone much differently than I expected. Turns out I didn't need the search warrant after all. At the moment, I am inclined to forget everything you told me except for the money and how it may have caused Alfred Young's murder. You understand why I have to confiscate the cash that is still in your possession?"
Penny nodded, clinging to Sean's arm.
“When the IRS gets finished with taxes owed and penalties, you should still wind up with a nice little sum. Although I am going to forget about all your other schemes, I will suddenly have excellent recall if Mrs. Nickels tells me you didn't follow through with your promises."
Penny again nodded.
“Detective,” Sean said. “What are you going to do to protect Penny from these murderers?"
“What do you want me to do, son? Provide her with a twenty-four hour-a-day body guard?"
“That would be good for a start."
“We just don't have the manpower."
“I could hire someone if you will make a recommendation."
“I don't want that, Sean,” Penny said. “Maybe they don't know about the additional money and tapes."
“And maybe they do,” Sean argued. “At least you can stay at my place until the murderers are caught."
“I can't. I still have the greenhouses to look after."
“I thought you said Billy will do that."
“He will, but I'm not going to leave him here alone."
“Then I'm going to stay here with you."
“What about your business?"
“Screw it."
“Son,” Detective Borders asked, “do you own a gun?"
“Yes, Sir. And I have a permit for it."
“Do you know how to use it? Do you know how to really use it?"
“I took the civilian training course your department
offers."
The detective nodded. “Don't use it unless you absolutely must. More innocent people than crooks are killed by civilian owned weapons."
Penny and Sean watched the fleet of deputy vehicles depart. “Sean,” Penny said. “Thank you for coming back. When you left this morning, I didn't think I would ever see you again. Take me to bed."
“No,” he said. “Penny, you seem to treat sex as if it were a necessary body function like a bowel movement. I want to have sex with you, and I will when the time is right."
“What I really want is for you to hold me."
He smiled and allowed her to lead him to her bedroom.
She lay in his arms, fully clothed, until he thought she was asleep. Slowly, carefully he pulled the shirt out of her slacks and inched it above her navel. She expected the shirt to wind up around her neck and to feel his hands on her nipples. Instead she felt his lips gently brush her protruding tummy.
“Little one,” he whispered, “you're going to have the best mommy and daddy in the whole world."
Chapter Twenty-six
“Hello,” Billy said as he sat down in a dark blue plastic chair in the clinic's waiting room.
She neither looked at him nor replied to his greeting.
“Sure is bright in here,” he said, shielding his eyes from the florescent glare with both hands.
She placed her hands on the arm of the wheelchair and shifted her weight.
“My name's Billy Morgan."
“You don't look sick,” she finally said.
“I'm not. Penny and Mrs. Nickels are seeing the lawyer. They wanted me to come with them, but when we got here they told me to come in here and wait."
She looked away from him and checked her watch.
“Are you sick?” Billy asked.
“Are you stupid or something? Can't you see I'm in a wheelchair?"
“Yes, yes.” He answered.
“Yes, yes? What kind of answer is that?"
“You asked two questions. I gave two answers."
“You mean you can see that I'm in a wheelchair and you admit you are stupid?"
“Yes. Penny is learning ... teaching me to read. I can read the whole front page of the Charlotte Observer if I want to."
“But you don't?"
“No, not yet."
“Why not?"
“It takes too long. I have to look up most of the words in a dictionary."
Sintown Chronicles I: Behind Closed Doors Page 73
