Chapter 14 - Michael
Callie was a mess. She looked years older than when I'd seen her last. I knew it was stress, and I knew it was temporary, but things had to change.
I took her to the Ramada closest to the hospital. I got us the biggest suite they had and had their restaurant send up a selection of food and drinks. Once I got her to the room, I turned on the shower, practically stripped her clothes off and put her in it. As if she were a small child, I shampooed her hair, soaped her up, rinsed her off, and wrapped her in an oversized terry towel and then the matching terry robe. I put her beneath the covers, still bundled, and was plumping pillows behind her when room service arrived with the food. She didn't want to eat, but I insisted. I put a call through to the front desk and had their lobby boutique send up some fresh clothing for her.
Callie was quivering, and I recognized she was likely on the verge of a nervous breakdown. I was so, so angry with myself. This was my fault - all my fault.
"Callie, listen lassie. I just need to get some information from you. Where is the baby?"
Her eyes flared with alarm as she looked to me. "He's with a friend. She'll keep him a day or two."
"Okay, that's my lassie. Good thinking. Now, what did the doctors say about your dad?"
The dam broke and she started to cry. "He's had a stroke, Michael. He'll live, but it will be months and months before he's back to himself. He can't work anymore. We'll have to move. What am I going to do?"
"Shhh... I told you I would make sure everything is taken care of."
"No!"
"Callie, we'll talk about this later when you've had some rest. Here, now finish your plate and then slide under those covers and get some sleep. I'll keep an eye on things, and I don't want you to worry, you hear me?"
She nodded and mechanically slid down between the blankets. In a matter of moments, her eyes were closed and she was asleep.
I turned the television down and just watched the images dance across the screen as I thought about her predicament. I was about all she had in the world besides an ailing father and a young baby. She was completely worn out, that much was obvious. After checking on her one more time, I took my phone and stepped out into the hall where I wouldn't disturb her.
I made a phone call to my cousin, David. David and I were almost the same age, but he lived in Louisville and we'd seldom seen one another growing up, except on family holidays. Still, his dad and mine were brothers, so he knew exactly what kind of relationship we had. More than once, he and I had banded together to get out of scrapes without our fathers knowing about them.
"David, it's Michael."
"Hell, how are you?"
"Fine, fine."
"You going to win that game this weekend?"
"We'll give it a shot. Listen, David. I need your help."
"What did you do now? You're always managing to get yourself into scrapes."
"It's not me, really. It's for a very, very dear friend."
"Uh-oh, sounds like a girl."
"Did you ever meet Callie?"
"That sweet little pixie with the mane of white hair? How could I forget her?"
"That's her, alright. Listen, without going into details, because of me she's going through some hard times, and I've been a real dick to her. I'm going to make it up to her, and this is going to end up alright, but in the meantime, she's not in a good place. Her dad just had a major stroke and there went his income and the trainer's house they were living in. She's got a baby, David."
"A baby?"
"Don't go there. It's a long story, but yes. She's working for a crotchety old lady outside town here and going to school full time for animal husbandry. She's got her hands full and is on the verge of collapse. I'm going to look after her, but I've got some things in my life I have to get straightened out first."
"So where do I enter the picture?"
"I guess I'm asking for you to give me some ideas. She's proud, won't take charity."
"Okay, what's she good in - I mean, what kind of skills?"
"She's a helluva horsewoman. Her dad's a trainer and she's grown up around them. I'd find someplace for her, but I don't want Dad getting involved and anyway she's not likely to take anything he might arrange for her."
"I might know something, come to think of it. You remember that farm outside of Shelbyville - Stephens was their name."
"Yeah, I've driven by. They came in from somewhere else, didn't they?"
"That's right, that's them. They're new money up from Florida, so your dad isn't going to know them. They're looking for a farm manager / trainer combination, but they've only got four or five horses. They go back and forth to Florida, so whoever's there has to look after the place while they're gone. She'd be perfect for it. There's a house that goes with it, and they'd pay a fair wage. She could take the job, quit the job with the old lady and be close by for her dad until he's up and on his feet."
"I take it you know them?"
"Sure do. I play golf with him in a league at Hurstbourne."
"David, call him. Tell him to hire her; I'll get her there to interview one way or another. Tell him she's perfect and he has my word on that. I want him to pay her twice what he'd normally pay. I'll pay her salary through him, so it won't cost him a thing. He has to keep this quiet, though. She won't take charity. I want her to think that he's gullible enough to pay too much. She'll still argue, she's like that, but tell him to make something up, like he might be needing her to give riding lessons or something. I don't care what he has to say, but I'm writing the checks. Can you do that?"
"Hell, yeah. I don't think he'll have any problems with that arrangement. He's got nothing to lose, and I suspect he'll like doing a favor for someone who's a local."
"Yeah, well, you don't have to go into all that. In fact, if you don't mind, keep the family name out of it. If you don't mind, I'll get you a chunk of cash and you write him a check. Keep me out of it. That way it won't get back to Callie. Can you do that for me?"
"No problem. You know where to find me."
"Thanks, cuz."
"My pleasure, cuz."
I stepped back into the room and took a fast shower, closing the door before I turned on the light. I flipped off the television and eased into the bed next to Callie as gently as I could. I turned onto my side and the movement brought her out of her deep sleep. She turned, too, her naked bottom against my groin and backed up against me for warmth. There was nothing I could do to stop my reaction. I lay there, trapped between lust and compassion, and she wasn't making it any easier. It was difficult to breathe, and I didn't know where to put my hand.
I laid it gently on her hip, just so it wasn't suspended mid-air. She wiggled her ass against me again and then reached up and took my hand, pulling it over herself like a blanket and settling it over her bare breast. Oh, my God, Callie, you're killing me. How much am I supposed to take?
That's when I realized she was awake. She turned to face me and her hand went to my cock. She began to stroke me slowly, and as she did, her soft mouth began sucking my nipples and inching upward to my chin and to the soft skin beneath my ear. I wasted no time and wrapped my arms around her, rolling her onto her back.
"God, but I've missed you," I rasped as I began stroking her soft, supple body. She smelled of soap, and her hair had dried into a soft pillow that perfumed the air around us. She didn't resist, just lay there with her eyes open, watching me.
"Are you sure?" I asked, and she smiled. It was without a doubt one of the most beautiful things I could have imagined at that moment. I knew she needed the closeness, the reassurance that she wasn't alone. This wasn't a moment for prolonged passion, but for a gentle joining. I bent down and kissed her pussy lips, spreading them to suck at her swollen nub. Groaning, her head rolled left to right on her pillow and she spread her legs and began stroking my penis again. I moved over her, balanced on my arms, and then, with the slowest movement I was capable of, lowered myself into her. She was just exactly as I'd left her - tight and yet moist and swollen, anticipating my entry. I held still once I'd plumbed her depth, relishing her soft warmth around me.
Callie broke the moment by bucking upward with her hips. "Fuck me, please, Michael," she whispered, and I knew it was the first time the word had passed her lips. She needed to say it; the moment called for it. This was real life with real problems, not some Saturday night around the campfire. Callie needed me.
I began the pumping motion, swerving my hips from left to right slightly so I came into her from every angle. Her hands were on my chest, her fingers locked into my chest hairs, pulling me downward faster and faster. Her legs encircled my waist, holding me against her, and for the first time, I exploded just from the sensation of being inside her. She cried out and thrashed. I knew she'd found her release as well.
Once she lay quietly, I carefully and slowly rolled to her side, pulling her against me, tucking her head onto my shoulder. "It's okay, lassie. I'm here, and you're going to be just fine. Go to sleep now. We both need the rest."