AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Quit acting like a wuss. I just asked so Billie can confirm it.” My sister is eight going on thirty. She puts her hand on her hips and her head is bouncing all over the place. I love my kid sister, but I dread her teen years. Maggie sits herself at the table and puts her head down.
I check the oven to check on the biscuits. On Saturdays, we eat hot biscuits with jam, jelly, or apple butter on them. Sometimes, I even add a little honey. That’s Mom’s favorite. They’re not ready just yet. I turn and look at my brother and sister.
“Ryan, you have your list of stuff to load up. Be sure to put some sunscreen on those ears and shoulders and bring a bag of clean clothes, a towel, and pack your sunscreen,” I tell him so he won’t forget anything. I hate turning around and having to come back.
“You’re going to let me go to that party with Dooley?” I look at my younger brother. How did he get taller than me so fast? It’s like he grew up over the summer.
“Ryan, I told you I would think about it. I have and I know you hold a lot of adult responsibilities on your shoulders just like I have. I had to give up extracurricular activities in high school and I don’t want you to do that. You can go with Dooley tonight. Mom left it up to me. Do not make me regret this. You can’t go with Dylan under any circumstances. He drives drunk and with only his learner’s permit, if I find out you were in his truck, I will lock you up until you’re sixty. I am not exaggerating. I will knock some sense into you and then I’ll go to his Mom and Dad’s house and drag him outside and knock some good sense into him. You know I’ll find out.” I take a deep breath and try to remember that my brother is a good kid. “It’s not that Dylan is a bad kid. It’s that his parents never taught him right from wrong or about paying for the consequences of his own actions. That’s not you and he would leave you holding the bag. I want you to have a fun time and not do jail time for it. Your curfew is midnight. After a couple of months, Mom will take that curfew away if you show her that you’re responsible enough so you don’t need it. No alcohol. Mom will check you out when her shift is over at midnight. If you abide by the rules and work hard for us, then we’ll get you a truck of your own at Christmas.” That makes Ryan pay attention. “You and Dylan racing in Dylan’s truck kept you from getting your own truck when you got your learner’s permit, don’t screw it up again. This town is too small for it not to get back to me or Mom. You can only drive the truck around the farm until you get your license.”
“I thought I had to wait until I graduated to get a new truck,” Ryan says.
“Not if you prove you deserve it and you can take care of it. I’m ordering two new trucks at the end of the year for the farm. You’ll have two months to drive it on the farm only. That one will be yours if everything goes smoothly, along with added responsibilities for the farm. It will be for just running errands after you have your license. With the added work, you’ll get a weekly pay raise and a fuel card for diesel. Just remember, it’s a farm truck and the fuel card is for work-related trips to town. That doesn’t mean you can’t drive it other places if you provide the fuel and keep up with the mileage for our taxes. I don’t want to need to look over your shoulder to make sure you’re managing the farm money responsibly. When you graduate, you’ll get to pick out the vehicle you want and it will be yours forever or until you trade it and get a new one on your dime.” I’m trying to give him a goal to work toward while keeping him away from Dylan.
“I promise I’ll do right, and I’ll take any extra jobs you have. I need to start saving for college.” I smile to myself.
“It’s good that you’re thinking about your future but there are no worries about money for your college. Dad’s insurance will cover both yours and Maggie’s education.” Ryan looks surprised.
“Why aren’t you in college then? You’re smart. You should go to school. You love reading and learning.” Ryan sounds just like my mom did when I told her my idea.
“Thank you, Ryan. As far back as I can remember, when I was growing up, all I wanted was to work this farm. It’s in our blood and we have to keep up the tradition of working here and making this farm thrive. It’s not just us who depends on the food we produce. We help a lot of people put food on their tables for their children.” I take a deep breath. I can get carried away, talking about one of my passions. “I do classes online at night once everyone is in bed asleep. I take both agriculture classes and writing-related classes. It’ll take me longer that way to get a degree but it’ll be worth it. When our family comes up against tough times, we just regroup and find a way to make things work. We never run from our problems. That’s the strength that makes our family stronger and the Nesbit family is a strong one,” I tell my brother. Ryan comes to me and hugs me.
“You and Mom are the strongest women I know. I’m proud to be your brother. I will go to college to learn things to help our farm and then I’ll come back and build myself a house on our property too.” I give Ryan a tighter hug.
“Thank you, Ryan. Now, I need to check the biscuits.” I look toward the table and Maggie has laid her head on the table and gone back to sleep. I knew she was too quiet. I open the oven and see the biscuits are done. I take the hot pan out with a potholder and set it on top of the stove. I get a plate from the cabinet and flip the biscuits out of the hot pan onto the plate. The homemade biscuits smell good by themselves. Maddie lifts her head and looks at the biscuits. Now she’s awake.
“Do we get to stay all day at the lake? I want to stay all day. Does Mom know we’re playing hooky from chores today or will she talk to us later about things we should have done today instead of going to the lake?” Maggie is still half-asleep but she’ll be awake by the time she’s finished her breakfast.
“Mom knows we’re going, and I already took care of the chores that we needed to get done. Mom was going to try to come to the lake with us for a couple hours but she’s going to need to go in early for work so she can’t make it. She needs the extra sleep.” Maggie slants her head and then looks at me.
“Mom is always working. You go with me to my school stuff. You take me to the doctor and the dentist. Does Mom not love us anymore? I miss her.” I’ve had to answer this question multiple times over the last two years. It’s time that Mom and I have a talk about this. Maggie is missing her mom.
“Squirt, Mom just needs some extra sleep. She’s having to work overtime because a lot of the nurses take vacation this time of year and the others are off with that virus that is going around.” Ryan tries to comfort her. Maggie looks at Ryan with sharp eyes.
“My daddy and mom gave me a beautiful name. Do not call me squirt. I’m the baby and I can whine if I want to. I’m the baby and you gotta love me even when I do whine,” Maggie tells Ryan without a smile on her face. I get up and get the condiments on the table and get us paper towels to put our biscuits on. I give Maggie some milk, grab me a water, and Ryan has already grabbed a juice from the frig. Easy clean up. We eat in silence and when we’re finished, Ryan and Maggie go do the things I have asked of them. I tidy up the kitchen and start the dishwasher. I go and get my things ready. I poke my head in my mom’s room and she is sound asleep. I go into the room and pull the curtains tighter so the sun doesn’t wake her up too soon. I make my way back downstairs and we’re on our way. I’m tired. I hope I can catch a little sun today and relax a little. It’s been too long since I’ve had a day off. My days keep getting longer and my nights are getting shorter.
4
Raider…
Our club has been working our asses off, trying to get the Three Striped Brotherhood contained. The deaths at the schools have stopped but I know it’s only a temporary reprieve. They have also thinned out. The club’s sighting of them in our town has been down to a couple of sightings a week instead of the daily sightings just a few weeks ago. Word on the street is they’re moving down south and have only left a few grunt soldiers here to keep a presence, in case things down south don’t work out.
Black Web talked to Law and the only thing we got from that is the same information we already had—the Striped Brothers Brotherhood is a street gang. The dirty work is done by young soldiers, as they call them, and they replace the dead ones with new recruits before anyone can thin them out too much. We don’t kill anyone that doesn’t deserve it but this shit gang deserves to be six feet under. They are poisoning the children in our small town, and the children are the leaders for our tomorrow.
Today is a day off for everyone in our club except for the prospects. They’re still trying to show the officers that they’re capable of becoming a member of our club. They get no days off until they get that bottom rocker.
Some of us are getting together at the lake. Some of the members are bringing their families. Mom made a tray of cheese, fruit, and crackers for everyone along with three dozen of her peanut butter cookies, which are my favorites. I filled the cooler up with soft drinks for those of us that aren’t drinking. I stick to water when I’m away from the clubhouse. I’m taking my truck for the ice chest and some chairs plus the food I’m bringing. The club is paying for hamburger and hot dog fixings for our main meal. Gator and Trip take care of the grilling duties. I can cook on a regular grill but those trap boxes they call grills at the lake aren’t real grills. I tried once, and the burgers were so hard we couldn’t even eat them. I banned myself from those damn things.
We all arrive about the same time. I take my rod and reel along with my tackle box and bait, and I find me a little spot to fish. There’s nothing like fishing to sooth a man’s soul. I always wished I had a dad to teach me how to fish. My mom, Honey, did the best she could to teach me. We had a lot of good days at the lake. We never caught any massive fish, but we laughed and had a great family day. Mom also took me camping a few times over the years. Mom and the outdoors did not get along very well. It didn’t matter to me. She made the effort, and that’s all that mattered to a young boy who didn’t have a dad. That is one of the many reasons I hope I never come face-to-face with the man that was my sperm donor. He left us alone without looking back. I thought then that if my mom would just give me a little brother that I would teach him everything. That never happened either. My mom is still hung up on one man and she won’t let anyone else close enough to her, to build a future. I gave up on that dream when I was eight years old. I knew Mom and I would be alone except for the men that would hang around Mom for a little while. That is until Mom showed them the door. I never got attached to any of them. I just need to stay out of her business. But she is my mom, and I don’t want her hurt for any reason.
I walk to the edge of the water and I see a woman not far away with a teenage boy and a younger girl. The older two are casting out and they both catch fish. They take them off the hook but the younger girl keeps getting tangled up in the water close to the shore. She needs to cast out further. I walk closer to them. The closer I get, I see that the woman is gorgeous. She has long dark hair and legs that are long, lean, and tanned. She has a small frame but her ass is shapely. I could see myself with my hands on it. Her tits are gorgeous and more than a handful. I set my stuff down and adjust myself without being obvious about it. Her bathing suit may be a one piece and modest for a young woman, but it does nothing to hide her assets. I see the teenage boy’s eyes on me. I try to think about granny gowns and my mom to get my body under control before I approach the three.
“Hey, strangers. Do you mind if I fish over here by you three? It looks like this is the sweet spot for the day.” The woman looks at me and I see who she is. Seeing her with the other two threw me off. I have never seen the three together before today. I know she’s too young for me yet. Her eyes captivate me and I know this woman from some of my dreams. I need to find out how old she is for sure before I let this progress. I’m not a prude when it comes to age. I think she’s around nineteen. I have dated both older women and younger women, along with women my age. I have let every woman who I date know that I’m not looking for a locked-down relationship. I think it’s only right that they know upfront before we have sex. I respect the woman I’m with but I’m not relationship material. Maybe for this woman, I could be. I think it’s from not having a dad in my life. It also has to do with him rejecting my mom and blindsiding her. I would never do that. The one thing I have always done is make sure the woman is legal. If they’re under the age of eighteen, then they are off-limits and I never think of them that way again. Not even when they do turn eighteen. This woman has been starring in my dreams for a while now.
“We’ve caught our limit for the day so it’s all yours. They’re biting on live bait. We still have some livers left if you would like them,” the young woman says. I see they have an ice chest with an aerator system in it. It must run off batteries. She either doesn’t remember me or she’s hiding it. I see no recognition at all.
“Does that thing work?” I point at the aerator. The woman looks friendly. “I’m sorry. I’m Raider Miller.” I introduce myself, just to see how Billie will react. The woman moves closer to me and I can see her beauty closer. I smell the slight aroma of magnolias.
“We’ve met, Mr. Miller. I run the Nesbit farm now. I’ve been there when you or one of your club members comes to our farm to pick up the vegetables for the food program in town. I’m Billie and this is my brother, Ryan.” She points to the boy and then toward the little girl whose rod is still hung up. “That’s Maggie.” She sees the trouble that her sister is having. “Ryan, please, help Maggie.” Then she looks up and smiles at me. My heart skips a beat. She did know who I was. Good to know.
