Read Home Is Wherever You Are Online

Authors: Rose von Barnsley

Home Is Wherever You Are (6 page)

BOOK: Home Is Wherever You Are
6.55Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

Chapter 9 – Not Again

 

I should have known better, when I had thought the worst was over. I moved my bed into the second room after I had finished cleaning it up, and I put some of the linens on it. I was once again grateful I had been able to get the stuff for Addy from Freecycle. I discreetly put a throw blanket on the couch. I was sure that was where I would be sleeping.

“What time does your girl get home?” my mother asked.

I pulled out the cell phone, because that was the only clock we had. I kept all appliances other than the fridge unplugged, so they wouldn’t waste electricity. “It’ll be another hour at least. She gets home between eight-thirty and nine.”

“Well, let’s get to work then,” my mom said and pulled out the broom. I had swept up before, but apparently I had been doing it wrong. She had me scrubbing every surface of the house until it sparkled. I had to admit it did look pretty nice.

It was 8:15 PM, when I showed my mother the freezer full of leftovers, and we took out four tins of lasagna and put them in the oven. Each had one serving in it and a piece of bread. I usually didn’t cook for Addy, because I always felt like I was overstepping my bounds, when I used any kind of electricity or something that used power. I did my best not to raise her cost, and I only showered at night, after getting good and dirty working hard for her. My gut was twisted with guilt, as I moved around her house. I knew she had said it was where I lived, too, but I didn’t feel like that would really be true, until I was able to help pay for it.

We heard the front door close, and my father called to Addy, “Dinner’s ready, gal, come take a load off.”

She walked into the kitchen smiling and plopped down in the chair next to me, as my mother served us dinner. “How was your day, honey?” my mother asked. “Did you make out alright in tips?”

“Yeah, I did fine.”

“Of course she did, she’s a beauty and a sweetheart,” my dad said, patting her knee. “Now give me your foot,” he ordered, picking it up before she could protest. My dad motioned for me to get the other one, and we went about our job of making my girl moan, as we rubbed her tired feet.

After dinner, my parents settled into their room, and I let Addy know I would be sleeping on the couch. I was just getting settled in, when my dad came rolling out. “You’ve been kicked out?” he asked, and then his eyes landed on my boxers that I had just stripped down to. His eyes narrowed at me, and he shook his head. “Haven’t you ever heard about being subtle? You can’t demand, boy, you have to romance. Women want to feel purty, not dirty,” he said.

I was a little confused, until I looked down at my boxers. They were covered in rhinoceroses, and the waist band said

Feeling Horny

in big bold black letters. I just sank down on the couch, covering my face in embarrassment. To make things worse, I heard someone else coming down the hall, and I hoped to god it wasn’t going to be my mother. Last thing I wanted her to see was my feeling horny boxers.

“Is everything alright?” I heard Addy ask.

“I was just telling my boy that there’s more to romancing a pretty girl like you than wearing dirty underwear. I think he got the point,” my dad said and went on to the kitchen to get a drink of water, leaving me with Addy.

“Matthew,” she whispered so soft I almost missed it, “you’d better come to my room, so they don’t think anything is wrong. I don’t want you to have to sit through another lecture.”

I felt her take my hand, and I let her lead me to her room. She let go of it when we stepped inside, and I heard her moving blankets around. I looked up, and she smiled at me and then started giggling.

“What?” I asked.

“Dirty underwear, I get it now. I was thinking you had plenty of clean ones.”

I covered the waistband, feeling my face heat up.

“Too late, Matthew, I read it, I know you’re feeling horny,” she said, giggling some more.

I just looked at the ground, wishing it would swallow me. Then her hand appeared, pulling my face up a little to look at her. Her eyes were dark and her smile sweet. “You’re so adorable, Matthew,” she said softly. “How could I resist?”

She stepped closer and pulled me down to her lips. I didn’t ever think these stupid boxers would get me this kind of response from her, but I was glad to find out otherwise.

I kissed her for the second time ever, wrapping my arms around her, and her arms wrapped around me as well. I felt her tugging me toward the bed and let her lead. We tumbled back onto it, and I started getting even more nervous, because I had never been this far with a girl.  We were in her bed, and I didn’t know what she expected from me or how experienced she was or anything.

Then I heard my parents’ voices. “I got you some water for your pills, honey,” my father said to my mother.

We both froze and looked up wide-eyed, like we were afraid to get caught. Addy giggled and squirmed out from under me. “We should sleep. I have work in the morning, and you have a test.”

She slipped under the blankets and patted the pillow next to hers. “Come on,” she said with a smile, and I settled down into the bed next to her, careful not to touch her. Last thing I wanted to do was offend her and get kicked to the curb in front of my parents. I knew for a fact they would take her side. I could tell they loved her already. Thank heavens they had bought the lie.

I felt Addy move closer to me and rest her head on my shoulder. I wrapped my arm around her. “Is this okay?” I asked.

She smiled up at me. “Yeah,” she whispered and snuggled down, and that was how I fell asleep.

I woke with a start, as Addy was jumping over my body. “No, no, no! Not again!” she cried, as she grabbed her pepper spray, and I flinched, covering my eyes, but she was darting out the door. I didn’t know what the hell was going on, but I was going after her to make sure she would be okay.

She darted out the front door, and I was fast after her, but she was faster. She had just run around the side of the house, as I stepped outside. I heard the spray going off, and I ran as fast as I could, panicking when I heard someone yelling, “You fucking bitch!”

I made it around the corner in time to grab her and move her out of the way, just as some guy lifted his gun and shot at us blindly.  He heard Addy cry out when we hit the ground, and he thought he had hit her. “Stay down,” I whispered. I would not let this creep get away with shooting at my girl. He had no idea I was there, either, so I made quick work of knocking his gun out of his hand and punching him in the face. Okay, I might have punched him a few times and then nailed him in the gut to get him to drop. I pushed him down onto his stomach and pulled his arms up like I was going to break them, as I sat on his ass. “Go call the cops, Addy!” I called to her, and I saw her run into the house for her phone.

“Get the fuck off me!” the dirtbag shouted.

I punched him in the kidney. “Not happening, you’re going to jail for messing with my girl’s house!”

“I was just trying feed my family.” 

“Try panhandling, it pays well, or hit a food bank, apply for food stamps. There’s no reason for you to be messing with my girl’s house!” I was pissed and punched him again in the kidneys.

He groaned and shut up. I heard the sirens coming, and Addy came hurrying out looking worried, but I smiled at her. “That was fast,” I said, as I nodded up the street where the cops were now visible.

“My dad is friends with the cops here, he has them looking out for me,” she shrugged. A squad car stopped in front of the house, and an officer came running up. 

“Which guy, Addy?” the cop addressed her by her first name.

“The one on the bottom, Matthew was just holding him for you until you got here.”

“My fucking eyes are burning, man, I need a doctor,” the lowlife whined.

The cop smiled at Addy. “You used your pepper spray?”

She nodded proudly.

“Good girl. I’ll make sure Daniel knows to send you more.”

The cop handcuffed the guy and then let me know I could get up. He took the guy to the squad car and “accidently” forgot to tell him to watch his head, smacking it pretty hard on the cruiser. I couldn’t help but snicker. Another cop came driving up and started taking pictures of the damage to her A/C unit. I realized now the guy had been trying to strip the copper from it again. Now I wished I had gotten in a few more kidney punches.

My parents heard the commotion, and my dad came wheeling out. “What in tarnation is going on here?” he asked.

“Someone was trying to strip my air conditioner for the copper again.”

My dad shook his head and wheeled over to the unit. He let out a huff and rubbed his face. He looked over at my mom. “We’re going to have to stay another day, Dottie. Do you think you can clear it with Abe?” he asked, confusing us.

“Of course, honey. Addy, can I borrow your phone in the morning?”

“Sure,” she agreed quickly.

“It’s not a Trane, but they’re all engineered the same. I should have your A/C fixed by Friday,” my dad promised.

“You can fix this?” I asked hopefully.

“Of course, I worked for twenty years in a Trane factory,” he said.

“What do trains have to do with air conditioning?” I asked.

He laughed. “Not choo-choos, Son, Trane, It’s a name brand of A/C units.”

The officer who had taken the pictures called us over. He took our statements, and my parents stood by us, giving us support. At the end of it all, Addy hugged my dad. “Thank you,” she said, squeezing him tightly, and my dad winked at me.

“You got a winner here, boy. You hang on to her.”

“I will,” I promised. “I definitely will.”

 

 

Chapter 10 – Working on It

 

After the police hauled off the guy who had tried to strip Addy’s A/C unit again, my parents surprised me by taking control of the situation. Mom had called in another vacation day and was assisting my dad in repairing the A/C unit. That thieving jerk had pulled the copper from a couple of places, but fortunately, the copper was still there, and my dad knew how to put it back where it belonged.

Kyle came to pick me up for my test on Thursday, and my mother answered the door, pulled him inside, and confused the poor guy, as she shoved a piece of toast in his mouth. I was sure he thought he was in the wrong house, until I came walking out, telling him I was ready to go.

When I told him those crazy people were my parents, he just chuckled and told me they were cool. I had yet to meet anyone who didn’t like my folks. They had that southern hospitality about them that people were used to out here.

I was nervous, but as I started going through the test, I realized it was easy. It was a bunch of safety question and diagrams. I was sure I totally aced it. I had thought they would fill it with trick questions like they did in high school and college, but this test was very straightforward. I guess they figured you either knew it or you didn’t. Thank heavens I knew it.

Kyle picked me up after the test and saw my big cheesy grin. “I take it the test went well?”

“Yeah, I was worried for nothing. All that stuff was easy. I’d done it all several times over and read up on it like mad. I freaked out for nothing.”

Kyle smacked my shoulder with his big paw, laughing. “I knew you could do it.” His face changed to a serious expression. “So, what’s going on between you and little Addy?” he asked.

My eyes widened in surprise, and he started laughing. “Don’t freak, man, but your parents have invited me to your wedding and suggested I be your best man.”

I blushed a deep red and hid my face. “As much as I’d love to marry Addy, I haven’t gotten that far. We’ve only kissed twice,” I confessed. “Maybe when I’m actually working, I can get up the nerve to ask her out on a proper date.”

“Are you two just living together?”

“Sort of,” I said, trying to think of a way to explain this. “I’m staying with her while I fix her house.”

“And you kissed her?” he inquired.

“Um, yeah, the first time, she was crying and upset, something about being a mouse, so I was trying to make her feel better, and it just happened. It was short, and she didn’t respond. I’m not really counting that kiss. I freaked out. I was sure I’d crossed a line and was getting my stuff to get out of her hair, when she tackled me and kissed me back, and then she told me to come to dinner, like nothing had happened.”

He started laughing. “That sounds like our girl.” He shook his head. “She called herself a mouse?” he asked frowning.

I just nodded.

He let out a sigh. “This witch, Jennifer, used to call her a plain little mouse and tell her not to look at the guys in our group. I never dated the witch and glared at her for saying that crap, but that never stopped her. Addy went to high school with me, but we didn’t hang out in the same groups. She was quiet and mostly a loner. She didn’t really hang out with anyone.”

I frowned. She sounded a lot like me. “But she’s so beautiful,” I said confused, and Kyle squeezed my shoulder.

“I’m glad you see that, Bro. I’m sure the Sheriff will be cool when he finally meets you.”

I looked at him confused. “Sheriff?”

He laughed. “Her dad is the Sheriff in our hometown. Didn’t she tell you?”

I shook my head no, paling a little bit.

He just laughed harder. “Don’t worry, Matt, I’ll put in a good word for ya.”

When I got home, my mom was just kicking on the A/C to make sure it was working properly, and she smiled as the cool air blew down on us. “Ain’t he the best?” she said with a dreamy look on her face. My parents had been madly in love with each other for forever. Even through my dad’s accident, which would have really strained most couples, they just banded together and became closer.

My dad came wheeling in, and my mom dropped into his lap, kissing him soundly. “You’re a genius.”

He chuckled and kissed her again. “And you’re beautiful.”

He told me to call him if we had any problems with the unit, but I didn’t think we would need to. Addy came in and smiled at them cuddling and looked over at me. “So, how did it go with the test?”

“Great, I’m sure I aced it, and my dad fixed your A/C.”

My mom got up and walked over to Addy, hugging her. “I’m sorry we can’t stay longer, dear, but I know you understand. We’ve got to get back so I can work. I’m so happy we were able to meet you, Addy. I can’t wait for you to be our daughter-in-law.”

She paled a little, but my mother ignored it and kissed my cheek. “I want grandbabies, boy, so don’t mess this up,” she warned. I was right. I knew my parents would take Addy’s side if I screwed up. I didn’t blame them, though. I would, too.

The rest of the evening was uneventful. Addy had gotten used to my dad grabbing her feet and rubbing them. I grabbed the other one and began rubbing as well, trying hard not to let it show how her moaning was affecting me.  My dad just smirked at me, so I guess nothing was getting past him.

I was a bit surprised at bedtime, when Addy took my hand and led me back to her bedroom again. She smiled up at me and kissed me softly. I knew I couldn’t push it and pulled back a bit, so she wouldn’t notice my body reacting to her. Of course, it was all for nothing, because she pulled me down into her bed and snuggled into me, completely ignoring my stiff member between us. Her breathing evened out after a while, and with the help of hearing my parents having sex across the hall, I went soft. I would have to remember that for future reference if that room ever really did turn into the nursery. I wouldn’t want to traumatize my kids or anything.

My parents left the next morning. They made me promise to keep in touch and told Addy to call if I gave her any trouble or was not rubbing her feet. My dad truly believed his job was to pamper my mother, and so that meant it was my job to pamper Addy. I had to say, I would love to be able to do that.

Kyle picked me up later that morning and took me out on site. “We got your test results, man, and Christianson was impressed. You weren’t kidding when you said you aced it, because you really did. He has us working in a new subdivision. It’s all easy work, just pulling wires through open walls. It should be cake.”

He was right. The work was simple, and we moved quickly. Several of the houses had the same floor plan, making it easy to get into a rhythm.  Kyle gave me a heavy pat on the back by the end of the day. “We got three times the work done today,” he said and called Mr. Christianson. “Hey, boss, you wouldn’t believe the work we’ve gotten done.” He listened for a moment. “Nope, even sooner, we’re already halfway through the houses, maybe with us moving so fast, word will get out, and we’ll get more jobs.”

Kyle nodded his head, as he listened to Mr. Christianson speak, and then he let out a laugh. “You just let them know they won’t be behind schedule because of us,” he smiled at me. “Yup, I know the place. Alright, we’ll go hit it, and then I’m taking my boy out for a drink to celebrate.”

Once he was off the phone, he put the last of his tools on the truck and looked over at me smiling. “We have a show job to do. This guy’s a builder, and they’re looking for a new electrician. If we can get his company to pick us up, we’ll have work for a long time, and the pay’s great. He doesn’t do just houses, so this account is really important.”

I nodded nervously, hoping I didn’t mess anything up. We arrived at a huge house, and my eyes popped wide in shock.

A man stepped out on the porch and greeted us. “You were able to make it today. When I called Leon, I was under the impression you wouldn’t be here until later this week.”

“Are your walls ready?” Kyle asked.

“Yes, they are.”

“Well, then there’s no reason to wait now, is there,” Kyle grinned and shook the man’s hand. Once we were inside, you could see the interior of the house was not complete. Kyle pulled me aside, and we looked over the blueprints. I ran to the truck and fetched the wire and tools to get right to work, as Kyle started drilling the prep holes for us.  It took us a few hours to get the whole house wired, but we got it done.

Kyle took the blueprints and walked through with me, as we made sure the work was to specs. The man had left, but Kyle called him and asked him to come do a walkthrough before we left.

The man came back, wearing a huge smile. “Surely you can’t be done. The last guys we got an estimate from said it’d take three days to get this house done.”

“What do they employ, sloths?” Kyle asked. “It’s a big job, but if you get off your butt and do it, as you can see, it really doesn’t take that long.” He passed his blueprints to the man, and they walked through the house, as I packed up the tools and loaded the truck.

“You’ve done beautiful work. I’ll be sure to let Leon know I was very impressed. I have a feeling we’ll be doing business again very soon,” the man said, giving Kyle a creepy smile and shook his hand.

Kyle joined me in the truck and patted my shoulder. “Boy, you did amazing for the first day at work.”

I was glad he thought so, but I was exhausted.

“I’m going to take you out for a drink,” Kyle clapped his hands.

“Um, at the risk of sounding like a baby, I really would rather go home and get some rest.”

He let out a hardy laugh. “I don’t blame you, boy. We worked a good sixteen-hour day with that extra job Christianson threw at us, but it’ll pay off in the end. Don’t worry, next week our days won’t be as long as this one. You did great.”

He dropped me off, and I stumbled inside, completely exhausted.  Addy looked at me and frowned. “Did Kyle overwork you?”

“No, we just had an extra special job that was called in, but it went well. We got a lot done. I think the owner was impressed with me.”

“Good. That’s good. Now eat up and go take a hot shower. I already changed the sheets on your bed, so you can just collapse when you’re done.”

I thanked her, but I was frowning internally. I kind of liked sleeping with Addy, but now I really didn’t have a reason to. Maybe I could get my parents to come back for another visit, preferably soon.

 

BOOK: Home Is Wherever You Are
6.55Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

Other books

The Unprofessionals by Julie Hecht
Beautifully Ruined by Nessa Morgan
mission magic 01 - the incubus job by francis, diana pharaoh
Drip Dry by Ilsa Evans
Heaven's Keep by William Kent Krueger
Public Relations by Armstrong, Tibby
Death Blow by Ashley Harma