Gerard’s first thought the next morning when he awoke was that of his late night visitor. “Shit I had to have dreamed it.” But as the words left his mouth he remembered the man telling him he could try to convince himself in the morning it had been a dream.

“Son of a bitch” Gerard muttered. “It was real.”

Slowly he scooted out of bed feeling more confused than he had before. Why was this happening? What did it all mean? He should just get the hell out of here but even as that thought passed through his brain he knew that wouldn’t happen. Last night he’d admitted the truth, he had deep feelings for the woman who had saved him. And those feelings were growing deeper each day. But how could he help her?

Then another memory from last night filtered through his brain. A storm was coming, Rafe had warned. Deep down inside Gerard knew the man hadn’t meant a physical storm was coming. “Fuck” He whispered. “I don’t know what to do.”
______________________________________________

“Lucy?” Gerard called out pushing open the door to the living room. He’d looked first in the kitchen then outside and hadn’t been able to find her. But now as a cool blast of air hit him he saw her smiling at him.

“Good morning.”

Gerard looked over at the small window air conditioner humming away.

“Close the door.” She laughed. “You’re letting all the cool air out.”

He walked further into the room then closed the door. “What’s going on?”

She shrugged, “Well you said you were gonna start writing today and I figured you’d like a nice cool place.” She nodded to the small window unit. “Just cools this one room but if you keep the drapes closed it should be nice in here for you.”

“You said you didn’t have air conditioning.”

“I said my house wasn’t air conditioned, I didn’t say I didn’t have an air conditioner. Beside, like I said, it only cools one room and I haven’t used it for years. Had to bring it in from the barn.”

Looking at her closely he now could see she was sweaty, her clothing covered in dust. “You carried it in by yourself? Just for me?”

She glanced away not wanting him to read too much into her actions. “Well Rex refused to help me.”

“Lucy” He said softly as he crossed the room to brush some dust off the bridge of her nose. “You should have let me carry it in.”

“Why?” She asked squaring her shoulders. “It’s not that heavy.”

He could tell she was getting annoyed. “Maybe not, but thank you.”

“No problem.” She smiled, “Now I’m just gonna wash up and after I collect the eggs I’ll start breakfast.”

“You haven’t collected the eggs yet?”

“Nope, this took longer than I thought.” She sighed, “It was pretty dirty and I had to clean it before I put it in the window.”

It was hard to fight the urge to hug her. “Okay.” He said slowly. “How about if I go collect the eggs while you start breakfast?”

Her eyes grew wide, “You want to collect the eggs?”

Truth was… he didn’t. But he did want to do something nice for her. “Sure, why not? Don’t think the girls will like me?”

“Well…” She sighed, “You should probably just let me do it.”

“Lucy, I’m pretty sure I can collect eggs from a bunch of chickens.”

She looked unconvinced. “It’s not as easy as you think. I told you one of my girls is a sitter. She might peck at you.” To further try to get her point across she added, “And you have to watch out for snakes.”

“Snakes?”

It was so hard for her not to laugh at the look of fear in his eyes. “Yeah, snakes. They like eggs too. Not too long ago there was a black snake in one of the nests.”

“What did you do?” He asked nervously.

“Shooed him away. They aren’t poisonous just a pain. But they do serve a purpose, they eat a lot of mice.”

He was determined not to let her see he wanted to resend his offer. “Well that’s what I’ll do if I see one.” He brushed past her moving towards the door. Lucy followed him shaking her head.
______________________________________________________

“Shit” Gerard muttered as he entered the small chicken coop, his eyes darting around for snakes. “Why the hell did I offer to do this?”

He slowly took a step forward then heard a crunching sound. “Shit” He muttered again this time because he’d just stepped on an egg. “What the hell? I thought they were supposed to be in the nests.”

Over in the corner the chickens on the roost were eyeing him.

“You girls just stay there.” He realized it must seem ridiculous he was talking to chickens but he didn’t care. He just wanted to get the eggs then get the hell out of here.

Moving to the first box filled with straw he spotted two eggs. Still he resisted the urge to reach for them. Spotting a twig on the ground he picked it up, shifted the basket to his other hand then poked at the straw. When nothing moved he felt comfortable enough to grab the eggs. It was all going so well until he reached one of the last boxes. The chicken sitting there gave a cluck.

“You are the troublemaker, I assume.” He said moving towards the chicken slowly. “Look, I need those eggs you’re sitting on.”

The cluck was louder this time.

Gerard stood staring at the chicken unsure what to do. Gently he poked the chicken with the twig. She clucked louder but didn’t move.

“Come on, girl.” He coaxed. “Just move for a minute.”

He swore the chicken was glaring at him.

Again he tried to poke it with the twig. This time she began clucking and flapping her wings causing him to jump back.

“Damn it.” He muttered wondering what to do. He took a deep breath then screwing up his courage he stuck his hand under the chicken. “Shit” He jumped back because his fingers had felt something very warm. It was then he heard her giggling. Turning around he saw Lucy standing in the doorway.

“Just came out to check our progress.” She explained, “I see Baby is giving you some problems.”

“Baby? You call that beast Baby?”

Lucy laughed, “Yeah, Baby as in babysitter. Told you she’s a sitter. You just have to reach under and grab the eggs.”

“I tried but there’s something really warm under there.”

She entered the coop walking towards him. Immediately her eyes spotted the egg on the ground he’d crushed.

“Sorry, didn’t think one would be on the ground.”

Lucy grinned, “Look around, there’s lot of them on the ground. Chickens tend to lay eggs wherever they want.”

He looked around and saw she was right. Three eggs were in a small pile under the roost. “Well shit.” He murmured. “But I’m telling you there’s something under that chicken.”

“Her eggs.” Lucy said breezing past him. He watched as she stuck her hand under Baby then pulled it out holding an egg. “See?” She made sure that was the only egg Baby was hiding then placed it in the basket Gerard was holding. As he watched she gathered up the eggs under the roost. “Done” She said a few moments later.

He was frowning by this time. “I was supposed to do this job.”

Lucy patted him on the shoulder. “Hey, you did good for a first try. Come on, breakfast is ready.”

Gerard followed her back across the yard. “Uh, sorry about the crushed egg.”

Lucy smiled, “No problem.”

She was a few steps in front of him and he was having trouble keeping his eyes off her shapely behind. Almost as if she could feel his gaze she turned around. “What?”

He decided not to lie. “Just enjoying the view.”

It took her only a moment to realize what he meant. “Oh” She whispered.

She’d been so in control in the chicken coop he was please to see her thrown off guard. “Hey, you asked.”

Lucy crossed her arms. “Well stop that.”

Gerard laughed, “Stop that? You gonna stomp your foot and demand I stop staring at your ass?”

Her breath caught.

For a minute he thought she was mad but then slowly she smiled, “No, not gonna tell you to stop, I guess. But now’s not the time. The pancakes are getting cold.”

He didn’t speak until they reached the back door. “Uh, so when is the right time?”

“I don’t know.” She said softly, “You have writing to do today.”

He grinned, “Yeah, that’s true. I do want to start on my book. But you know I’m sure I’m gonna need a break at some point in the day.”

She pulled open the back door then entered without responding.

Once she’d placed the pancakes on the table she sat down then started to eat. Gerard was still waiting patiently for her to get back to their previous conversation.

Lucy noticed he was staring at her. “What?”

“We were discussing taking a break later on. Maybe down at the creek?”

She was angry at how her body responded to his simple suggestion. “Don’t know, I have a lot to do today.” She muttered refusing to look at him. “Besides is that all you think about?”

His laugh was low and sexy, “Well to be honest when I’m near you, yeah that’s pretty much what comes to mind.” Slowly he reached over to touch her right nipple that was straining against the thin fabric of her tank top. “Seems like you’re thinking the same thing.”

“No I’m not.” She huffed knowing full well that was a lie.

Gerard scooted is chair a bit closer. “Honey, you’re body is saying something completely different.” He liked pushing her, liked it a lot. “Bet if I’d reach down between your legs I could feel how much you’re lying to me.”

Her head shot up, her eyes wide with desire.

Gerard sat back then lifted his fork with a smile of triumph. “I love pancakes.”

He was pretty sure she uttered a curse under her breath.

For several minutes they ate in silence. Then suddenly Lucy put down her fork. “After breakfast I’m gonna develop my film and you’re gonna start your novel.”

He nodded.

“So that’s that.” She said firmly.

Gerard sighed, “So no sexy break?”

She couldn’t even begin to explain to herself why it was important to her that he start writing but it was. “No break.”

However when she stood to place her plate in the sink she suddenly said, “You know there is a drive-in.”

For a moment he was surprised by the sudden turn of the conversation but when he looked at her face he got it. “Really, a drive-in?"

Nervously she nodded, “Yeah, in Iola. I know you like movies and I just thought… I mean it gets cooler in the evening. We could take a cooler with us for snacks...” She was rattling but she couldn’t seem to stop.

“Sounds like a good plan.” Gerard said softly. “That way I can work on my book all day and have something to look forward to for tonight.”

“It was just a suggestion.” She muttered, “I mean they might not even be showing anything you want to see.”

The idea of being at the drive-in with her was already making his blood run hot. “Don’t really matter what there showing, does it?” He asked standing to move towards her.

Lucy forced her mind to work, “No, don’t suppose it does.” She quickly fled the kitchen but heard his soft laughter on her way out.
________________________________________________________

Gerard had settled down at the desk in the air conditioned living room soon after breakfast. At first he’d simply stared at the legal pad not sure how to begin. But then it all changed. Words, ideas, seemed to flow from his mind. It wasn’t until a few hours later when Lucy came in carrying a tray that he stopped, shocked at how much he’d written.

Lucy smiled, “Looks like you’ve gotten off to a good start.”

He glanced down at the papers he’d filled with pride. “Yeah, I really have but damn” He cringed trying to ease the crap in his hand. “I haven’t actually written like this in a long time.”

“Guess you’re used to working on a computer?”

He nodded, “Yeah, hope I’ll be able to read my own writing.”

“Penmanship is becoming a lost art form.” Lucy said as she sat down the tray on the coffee table.

He’s never given it much thought until now. “Suppose that’s true.”

“I brought your lunch” She said standing back up.

Gerard was touched by the gesture as his stomach rumbled. “Thanks.” However when she turned to leave he asked, “Uh, aren’t you eating?”

“Not really hungry.” She answered wiping her brow. “It’s too hot.”

Immediately he felt bad realizing she had spent all morning in the rest of the unairconditioned house while he’d been nice and cool. “Hey, stay in here.”

She shook her head, “No, don’t want to bother you while you’re working.”

“But I’m not going to be working right now, I’m gonna be eating my lunch.” He looked down at the large sandwich on the plate. “A lunch that is definitely big enough to share.”

Still she looked unconvinced, “Really, I’m not hungry and I’m sorta busy, so…” She stared for the door.

Gerard was faster, grabbed her arm he pulled her to him. “You need to keep you’re strength up.” He whispered, his lips inches from hers.

Instinctively Lucy turned her head.

Cursing silently Gerard knew once again she didn’t want him to kiss her. Fine, for now he’d go along, but just for now. Refusing to let go of her he dropped his head to the exposed skin of her chest. Lucy stopped trying to struggle out of his arms when his tongue slowly licked a path from the base of her neck to the top of her breasts.

“Gerard, I’m all sweaty.” She whispered.

“Yeah, and it’s sexy as hell.” This time his mouth moved even lower to wet the material of her tank top covering her nipples.

Her body was responding her mind shutting off. “Oh” She moaned softly.

He slid his hands down her arms then over to the bottom of the tank top. She didn’t move when he lifted the material to bare her breasts but her breathing did increase rapidly. “I’m very hungry.” He whispered.

Lucy’s hands came up, her fingers intertwined in his hair as his mouth began to suck, his tongue tease.

Suddenly he stood back making her hands drop. With a smile on his face he pulled the tank top back down. “There.” He said moving across the room to take a seat on the sofa.

“There?” her voice shook.

“Just wanted a taste, something to tide me over until tonight.” He said matter-of-factly as he picked up his sandwich. “Now, want to share my lunch?”

Just as had happened at the breakfast table this morning he was sure he heard her curse under her breath.

“What’s wrong?” He asked fringing innocence.

Lucy glared at him. “Just wait.”

Gerard laughed, “Gonna get even with me?”

She slammed the door on the way out.
____________________________________________________

After he had finished lunch he went back to the desk to start writing again. So many thoughts were running through his head concerning the story. Truly it felt great to be writing what he hoped would turn into a publishable novel. This was something he’d always dreamed of doing but had never had time before now. The voice in the back of his head was reminding him the only reason he had time now was because he’d run away from his life but he ignored that voice. Being here seemed so right, like it was meant to be. He didn’t stop writing until he heard the sound of the truck moving down the driveway. Quickly he got up and pushed the drape aside just as the truck turned onto the road. Where was Lucy going? Why hadn’t she told him she was leaving?

For a moment he watched until the truck was out of sight then a thought occurred to him, he was alone in the house. Curiosity got the better of him. He left the air conditioned living room to head upstairs. Keeping his ears trained for the sound of her return he stood at the top of the stairs staring at her bedroom door.

“There is so much about her I don’t understand” He whispered to himself. That thought pushed him on. Slowly he opened the door. His initial response was that of surprise. The bedroom was much smaller than the one he was using; it only had a small twin bed and a small dresser. His first thought was that perhaps she’d given him the larger room but he quickly dismissed that thought. It was obvious Lucy stayed full time in this bedroom. All of her things were here. But why would she choose to stay in the small bedroom instead of the other that was definitely much nicer?

Knowing instinctively she’d be angry if she caught him hear he continued to listen for the sound of the returning truck while he walked over to the closet. It was filled with her clothing but it was the photo album on the shelf in back that caught his attention. Carefully he lifted it moving a few steps back for better lighting. As he opened the cover his breath caught. He was staring at a wedding photo, Lucy and the man he’d spoken to late last night, her dead husband Rafe. “Son of a bitch” His fingers trembled slightly. He hadn’t really doubted the spirit was her dead husband but actually seeing a photo of the man caused a shiver to travel down his spine. He was just about to turn the page when he heard Lucy’s truck coming down the road. “Shit.” He quickly put the photo album back then sprinted from the room.
__________________________________________________________

Lucy was shocked to see him standing in the kitchen when she walked in.

“Hey” He smiled, “How come you left me?”

They way he phrased the question caught her off guard. “Left you?”

He nodded, “Yeah, you were gone.”

“Gerard” She rolled her eyes. “You were working and I didn’t want to bother you by telling you I was leaving. I had to take my eggs to the farmer who buys them.”

“I thought you sold them yourself?”

“No, he actually sells them at the farmers market.” She eyes him suspiciously, “Why were you looking for me?”

He tried not to look guilty, “Just heard the truck leaving and wondered.”

She laughed, “Well Rex was here, you weren’t alone.”

“Oh, so you left Rex in charge of guarding me?” He teased.

Walking over to the sink to get a drink of water she answered, “Yeah, he was guarding you from the chickens. I heard rumblings that they are plotting against you.”

He laughed, “Very funny. You know the girls love me.”

She took a drink of the cold water before responding, “Yeah, sure they do.” She turned, “So what would you like for dinner tonight?”

“Chicken?”

Lucy who was taking another drink started laughing so hard she spit water.

Gerard loved to see her laugh like this. “Hey, you asked. I’m thinking Baby would taste pretty good fried up.”

Lucy grabbed a towel to wipe her mouth. “You are an evil man. You’re not going to be eating any of my girls.”

“Fine, fine.” He held up his hands in surrender. “How about we grab a quick burger on the way to the drive-in? That way later on we’ll have room for treats from the snack bar.”

“But I was going to take a cooler with us.”

He thought a minute “We could but that seems kinda wrong. I mean the drive-in wants you to buy stuff from their snack bar, helps keep them in business. I’ve heard drive-ins are sorta a dying breed and so many of them have closed down. I just think that by buying stuff from their snack bar we’d be doing our part to support them.”

His answer really caught her off guard, but at the same time pleased her deeply. Suddenly she smiled, “Yeah, that’s true. Okay I will go along with your plan.”

He gave her a wicked smile, “Will you go along with any plan I have?”

Her eyes narrowed, “Any plan?”

“Yeah, any plan.”

Lucy could feel the heat rise to her cheeks when she saw the look of pure desire flash in his eyes. “Maybe.”

He took a step closer to her, “Maybe isn’t good enough, Lucy.” His voice dropped to a husky whisper, “Come on…what are you chicken?”

“Funny.” She whispered.

He reached out to stroke her cheek with his fingertip. “Chicken” He taunted.

Lucy took a deep breath, “Fine, I’ll go along with any plan you have.”

Gerard smiled slowly, “That’s the spirit. Now for the first part of my plan I want you to wear a nice sundress tonight.”

Her eyes grew wide. “What?”

“A nice sundress.” He said slowly. “One that will make it easy for me to run my fingers up your soft legs.” He loved how her eyes flashed.

“I don’t own any dresses.” She said defiantly.

While he knew that wasn’t true since he’d seen the clothes in her closet earlier he couldn’t admit that. Luckily he’d seen a sundress hanging in the laundry room. “Yes, you do, Lucy.” He said running this thumb over her bottom lip. “Don’t you?”

Lucy trembled under his touch. “Yeah”

“That yellow one in the laundry room is nice.” He said continuing to brush her lip. “How about that one?”

“If you’d like.” She whispered unable to deny him.

“I’d like that very much.” He moved his face closer to hers and as he expected she turned her face away. That was fine, he gently bit the side of her neck.

Lucy swayed slightly and closed her eyes.

“And” Gerard trailed his mouth up her neck to her ear, “No panties.”

Her eyes snapped open and she took a step back.

“Remember.” He taunted, “You agreed to go along with any plan.”

She took a deep breath. “Fine.” With that she brushed past him. “I’m gonna go shower now.”

“Need any help?”

“No” She huffed without turning around.

“You sure?”

“I’m quite sure.”

Gerard laughed, “Well if you change your mind just give me a shout out. I’d be more than happy to help…” Suddenly his libido went into overdrive. “As a matter of fact your shower is part of my plan.”

Lucy spun around. “What?”

“Yeah” He said slowly as the plan became clearer.

“You are not going to help me take a shower.”

He nodded “You’re right. I’m not going to help you, I’m gonna watch you.”

Immediately she started shaking her head, “Oh hell, no.”

“Lucy” He said slowly, “You already agreed to go along with any plan I came up with.”

“I agreed to go along with any plan you came up with for tonight.”

“Well you taking a shower does have to do with tonight.”

“Gerard.” Her eyes narrowed.

“Chicken.” He taunted.

“I shower alone.”

“You will be alone in the shower. I’m just gonna watch and maybe give a few directions.”

“Damn it.” She muttered as her whole body responded to his words.

“Chicken” He taunted pushing her, knowing by the look on her face she truly wanted him to do so.

“Fine.” Lucy said after taking a deep breath. “You want to watch, fine. But no touching.”

His smile was so sexy she blushed. “You’re gonna do the touching for me.”

He followed her up the stairs. Lucy’s body was humming with unbridled excitement.

Opening the bathroom door she immediately began to strip off her clothing trying to pretend it made no difference to her that he’d closed the lid of the toilet and taken a seat. Refusing to look at him she turned on the water making sure it was lukewarm then stepped in. She pulled the shower curtain closed.

He immediately pushed it back open.

“Gerard, water is gonna get on the floor.”

He grabbed a towel off the rack and placed it in front of the shower. “There” He smiled then sat back down.

“You are crazy.” Lucy said grabbing the shampoo bottle. She quickly lathered her hair then leaned back into the spray to rinse knowing the whole time he was watching. Her eyes were closed but as soon as she heard his voice they popped open.

“Now for the fun part, soap up that washcloth.”

Part of her so badly wanted to tell him no but her body was in control. Her hands shook as she placed some of the strawberry gel on the cloth.

“I like that you’re gonna smell like strawberries.” He said softly.

Turning away from him she started to gently rub her shoulders.

“Turn around.” His voice was rough.

Slowly she turned.

“Good.” He nodded. “Now continue.”

Lucy’s body was humming now when she saw the desire in his eyes. Two can play this game she thought. Smiling seductively she ran the washcloth over her neck. When her hand lowered to her breast she heard him moan.

Now she felt she had control over him. Using her other hand she lifted her breast to run the soapy rag beneath. Then she did the same with the other breast.

“Nice.” He hissed moving slightly forward.

“No touching.” She laughed, “You can only watch.”

Gerard was now realizing this plan could get very painful for him. He shifted his body trying to get comfortable because his jeans were suddenly very tight.

Lucy grinned as she inched the washcloth down her stomach. She stopped, applied more gel, then continued watching his face closely. “Am I doing this right?”

“Yeah, perfect.” He ground out.

She had never enjoyed a shower so much. When she turned away from him she heard him start to reprimand her until she bent over to wash her feet.

“Oh fuck” Gerard shifted again, his eyes glued to her ass.

She grinned as she slowly washed her feet then stood back up.

“Woman, turn around.”

Lucy slowly turned back to face him. “Something wrong?” She was now the one who was taunting.

He clinched his fists at his side. “Wash your pussy.”

Hearing that word on his lips caused heat to pool in her lower belly. She lowered the washcloth slowly.

“Spread your legs.” He was leaning forward fighting the urge to touch her.

Lucy, who had never dreamed of showering in front of a man, was breathing heavily with excitement and anticipation as she moved her feet further apart. Then the washcloth dipped even lower. She leaned back against the wall of the shower closing her eyes as she ran the cloth between her legs.

“Fuckin’ hot.” Gerard whispered brokenly. “But tell me, let me hear how that feels.”

Her voice was breathless, “The material is rough against…”

“Yeah”

Lucy gave up, loosing control, “My pussy is throbbing.” She cried out as she rubbed her aching nub harder. “Oh, damn.”

“That’s it.” He said mindlessly standing to unzip his jeans. He lowered them then sat back down.

Lucy saw him take his dick into his hand then start to stroke.

“Oh” She rubbed harder, faster, her eyes on what he was doing. Her hand came up to caress her breast.

Gerard suddenly stood. “That’s it baby, come for me.”

She could hardly breathe. “Yes” She was so close, the feeling swelling.

He took a step toward her. Looking into her eyes he panted, “I’m gonna come all over your stomach.”

Lucy went wild, “Yes”, she pushed off the back of the wall never stopping the rubbing and caressing, feeling ready to explode, “Do it.”

He was stroking madly but it wasn’t enough, he needed something more.

Lucy knew any minute her release would come but she saw Gerard struggling. Reaching out she grabbed his other hand, spread her feet even further then thrust one of his fingers deep inside her.

“Oh fuck.” Gerard cried out as she pumped his finger in and out her wet hole.

“Yes” Lucy cried out as his hot release splattered onto her stomach. A moment later his finger found the spot that pushed her over the edge. Gerard continued to pump his finger until she leaned back completely spent.

When she felt him gently running the washcloth over her stomach her eyes popped open.
“You said I couldn’t touch.” He said softly. “Thanks for changing your mind.”

Lucy looked down to see he’d completely washed her stomach clean. “Thanks” She whispered.

Their eyes locked, each moved slightly closer and for one brief moment he almost thought she’d kiss him.

“Well” She said breaking the spell. “I uh, need to get dried off and dressed.”

He took a step back, “I’m gonna go change.”

Lucy watched wondering why he’d looked upset. She refused to acknowledge to herself she knew why, she hated herself for almost allowing herself to kiss him. “That’s not what this is about.” She muttered as she dried off. Still she couldn’t deny in that brief moment she’d wanted nothing more than to feel his lips on hers. “Damn” She wiped her eyes, now wet not with water but tears, “Damn.”