Jan had woken up early like most mornings, but she hadn't wanted to run or exercise or even talk to anyone. She walked around the house for a while before entering the family room clutching a steaming hot cup of apple cider. She looked to her left at the empty fireplace wishing that there was a fire going because when she looked to her right she saw the drizzling rain through the windows. It was a somber rain. She'd hoped for a ray of sunshine on this grey morning, maybe that would have helped to brighten her day, but the clouds reduced the sun to a colored smudge on the horizon. She took another sip of cider before turning her attention to the old piano that her great-grandfather used to play. It had comforted him, and maybe it would do the same for her. Jan needed something to soothe her rather brittle emotions this morning. Some moments she felt fine and the next any slight could have sent her to tears.
She set the mug on the floor and slipped onto the piano bench. She cracked her knuckles and extended her long elegant fingers over the real ivories. She sat on the bench with a head full of thoughts surging, but one by one she pushed them aside and emptied her mind of frivolity. She purged it all until all she heard was a melody. It was faint even within her. It sounded like it was in D major, so that's where she started, playing a melody both brittle and light. It was almost fragile in its complexity and mood, but that's how Jan felt. This was a far cry from her usual boisterous self-confident music. One wrong note or mistimed chord could have destroyed the musical house of cards that Jan was building note by note, but she didn't do anything wrong. Her melody built on itself until it became a complex stream of consciousness exercise in modern piano.
Only when the music was flowing did Jan allow some other thoughts to enter her head. Physically Jan felt almost normal. She judged her body at close to 90%, but her emotions were lagging far behind that. She was fragile, just like her melody, because no matter how many times it happened, Jan was never prepared for the idea that someone wanted her dead. Sure she was darn near impossible to kill, but the would-be murderers didn't know that. They just wanted her cold and lifeless even when she had done nothing to deserve it. It wasn't as if she went around causing harm to other people just because she could, and of course she could have. But she didn't have visions of power nor idle thoughts about doing horrible things. Instead she often suffered at the hands of madmen like DeBraya who had no idea of the power inside of her. Maybe it was a character flaw, but Jan actually cared about the people around her, even strangers. She decided as she played, that she wasn't going to let the bad people change her for the worse. She was better than that. She would just go on living her life even if it caused her pain from time to time.
Katherine Matthews sipped from a cup of coffee while standing in the doorway listening to Jan play. She rode the roller coaster of Jan's music from the big swells to the tender lows wondering silently what depths of emotion could such a young person have to create music like this. Jan had always been a serious child especially when it came to her music, but Jan was a sweet child too. She'd grown into a beautiful and charming young woman. When Kat looked at Jan, she couldn't help but see her brother in her. She was strong and confident just like Jack, but Jan was more vulnerable than Jack. Jan wore her emotions out for people to see. She was more like her mother Carol in that aspect, and very unlike Kat's daughter Taylor who kept her emotions locked away in a vault with foot thick walls. Taylor had to be alone with people she truly trusted before she would even begin to reveal what she felt. That wouldn't have been a huge problem except Taylor didn't trust many people, almost no one. She trusted Jan though. She trusted Jan so much that Taylor was prepared to walk out on the biggest limb of her life. Kat could only imagine how hard this was for her, but at least Taylor would have Heather to back her up.
It didn't take Heather long to find Jan. Once she came near the bottom of the steps she heard the music wafting through the air like a wonderful scent. She followed the tender sounds of Jan's music to the family room. Heather was a pretty accomplished musician herself when she felt like pulling out her cello. Part of her mind analyzed the sounds coming from the piano while the rest of her brain just enjoyed it.
Heather rounded the corner and saw her mother standing in the doorway. Heather moved silently next to her mother and put an arm around her waist. Kat turned and smiled at Heather then went back to listening. They watched Jan's body sway slightly from side to side. She was smiling now as she worked through the mess of her own emotions. "This isn't a recital", Jan called out to her cousin and aunt. "You don't have to wait until the end of the song to enter."
"We just didn't want to disturb you that's all."
Jan chuckled and finished with one long dissonant chord that fit perfectly with what she'd been playing. "I was just messing around anyway", she said and turned to face them. She picked up her now lukewarm cup of cider, but it was still sweet.
"How do you feel?", Kat asked her niece.
"Better", was Jan's reply, which was true physically.
"Do you want to go for a run?", Heather asked. "Just a short one."
"You want to take her out in this rain?" Kat put a hand to Jan's forehead. It felt normal of course.
"I have a poncho", Heather added quickly. She hoped her mother wouldn't nix this idea. Heather could remember when Jan would get sullen and withdrawn. Jan had been much better about that recently, but Heather could look at Jan's body language and see one of those sullen moods coming on. Kat could see it too, and she remembered the music Jan was playing. She didn't need to stay in the house. She backed off and looked at Jan to see what her reply was.
Jan looked at the depressing rain one more time and then at Heather's always upbeat face. "Sure", she replied. "Let me get changed. I'll be down in a minute."
A few minutes later Jan and her cousin were jogging down the soggy streets of Palm Beach. Jan wore some skin tight knee length jogging pants with a jacket. Her hair was pulled into a pony tail that hung out the back of her Orioles' cap. She hadn't been mentally into the idea of running, but now about two miles in, she knew that she'd made the right choice. She looked over at Heather right next to her and realized that Heather had known what medicine was best for Jan's morning malaise.
People passed by in cars wondering what was wrong with these two young girls running in the rain. They could see the perfection of Jan's body, and knew right away that she was in excellent shape. Her long stride was well practiced, graceful, and efficient. She was so tall that she probably should have moved more like a big bird, but instead she moved like a dancer. People who didn't recognize them guessed that the taller one was a trainer of some sort trying to whip the shorter one into shape. They could only see the baggy sweatsuit that Heather wore and guessed that she was covering up some extra pounds that she wanted to shed. They were a little confused to see that the shorter girl was keeping up with the taller one without much effort. They had no way to know that beneath those heavy sweats Heather's body was every bit as envy inducing as her cousin's.
Jan and Heather were on a pace for a four mile run, but Jan saw a turn that she wanted to take. She went right instead of left. "Oh come on Jan", Heather called out, but Jan just ran on. There was only one real mansion and a couple of wish-they-were mini-mansions until they came to the yellow taped off DeBraya estate. Jan ran faster and Heather ran to catch up. Jan looked at the house with its terra cotta roof and tan stucco exterior. It wasn't too different from many other houses on the island, but this house looked dead. The windows looked like lifeless eyes and the front door, standing partially open, looked like a slack mouth.
Heather could only imagine what was going through her cousin's head. Taylor wanted to know what had happened to Jan the other night, but so far she had been tightlipped. As Jan looked at the house, a sudden rush of anger ran through her. For a moment she lost control of her power and its strength flowed through her. Her fingers tightened into fists causing her muscles to tighten. Jan's jaw flexed before she started toward the roped off compound. She easily stepped over the yellow tape and walked onto the grounds with Heather behind her. Heather looked around for anything as Jan went up to the front door. It was partially open. Jan didn't hesitate to walk inside.
She slowed a little when she saw blood on the floor, some of it in splats and spatters, some of it in pools. Heather's face was neutral as she looked at what her fists had done. She didn't want it to show too much, but Heather was worried that this place could still be dangerous. She followed behind Jan as she went up the stairs. Jan noticed that all the art and the ancient artifacts were off the walls. She headed straight for DeBraya's office and found it stripped too. She went a little further down the hall and found a room that had been completely trashed. There were holes in the wall big enough for people to go through. The furniture had been smashed. Books were strewn across the floor, and the door itself had been torn from its hinges.
"I wonder what the hell happened in here?", Jan asked to no one in particular.
Heather wanted to tell her cousin that this was Taylor's handiwork. When Taylor was really pissed she became like a machine and she had proved that to the guys that she'd kicked the shit out of. Instead of telling the truth, Heather just let Jan have her time. Heather didn't like being in this house, at least they were out of the rain for a moment.
Both girls turned when they heard footfalls coming their way. "I know you're in there!", a man called out.
Heather grabbed Jan's arm to pull her down the hall. Heather knew a way out, but Jan just stood firm. "We're not trying to hide", Jan called back.
The uniformed guard came into view holding a flashlight in his left hand. His right hand rested on the butt of his pistol. The fact that he hadn't pulled it told both Jan and Heather that this guy had at least some training. He opened his mouth to speak, but his mouth opened and closed like a grouper when he saw Jan standing there in her jogging outfit. He forgot his professionalism when he looked Jan. From the tops of her shoes to the brim of her cap he saw that her body was the peak of physical perfection, hard with toned athletic muscles but soft in all the right places. Her sexy hips coupled with her tight physique gave her body an hourglass figure that made men lust after her from the most instinctive and primordial parts of their being.
"We were just being nosy", Heather told the guard. She wanted nothing at that moment than to get out of that house.
He reluctantly tore his eyes off of Jan. He looked Heather up and down too, stopping at her face for a moment to admire it. She had a fresh look with an undeniably beautiful face with two of the most captivating blue eyes he had ever seen. The rest of her was a mystery. Aside from the swell of her ample bosom, he couldn't see any of Heather's shape so his eyes went back to Jan. "What happened in here?", Jan asked.
The guard thought about not answering, but looking at her angelic face he couldn't say now. "A gang of thugs broke in here and beat up a bunch of Mr. DeBraya's employees", he answered. Heather snickered and he gave her a hard look.
"Those guys who broke in here, there must have been ten or more of them, they're framing Mr. DeBraya for things that he did not do. I've worked security at one of their chemical plants for years, and they are great bosses. There's no way they did anything near what the Feds are saying."
Heather snickered again. The guard got annoyed, but Heather didn't stop smiling. 'Ten or more', she thought and mentally laughed again.
Jan had heard enough. She didn't know what had happened, but she knew that her call to Special Agent Wills hadn't been in vain. He had kept his promise and come after DeBraya. They hadn't caught him yet, but that was only a matter of time. Harry Wills was one of the best FBI agents bar none, and he had Special Programs behind him. Jan started towards the steps. "We're leaving now", she stated.
"Hey wait", the guard stopped them. "What makes you think I'm going to let you leave? I'm thinking of calling the cops."
"We didn't break anything or take anything. Just let us go, please."
The guard thought about it, and Jan saw his decision written on his face. A woman with a dazzling face and a banging body usually got whatever the hell she wanted, and this instance was no different. He motioned for them to leave. Jan gave him a grin, and turned to walk away. She'd figured correctly that he just took the opportunity to study her ass in the process. She was glad that he'd taken her trade, because she didn't want to deal with cops, and she was in no mood to fight. That thought made her stop suddenly and turn.
The guard flinched. She'd caught him with his eyes firmly glued on her butt. She wasn't thinking about that though. "I'd quit working for DeBraya if I were you", Jan told him, but wasn't sure why. "You seem like a nice enough guy, so I'll warn you. DeBraya is a murderous bastard and he's going to reap what he has sown. And I don't mean just in the hereafter, I mean soon. You don't want to get caught up in that." More words threatened to come out, but Jan had said enough. She went down the stairs with Heather right behind her.
They ran in relative silence for a while after leaving DeBraya's house. Heather looked over at Jan who was obviously thinking hard about something. She could see the emotions play across Jan's eyes. She'd seen that before in her sister's gaze hundreds of times. Over the years Heather had been trained to spot it like a seeing eye dog was trained to help its master. "I don't know how you guys do it", Heather said as they rounded a corner on their last mile.
"Do what?", Jan asked distantly.
"How you and Taylor take tongue wagging men. Like that guard back there looking at you like that. I thought his dick was literally going to explode out his pants like some sort of disgusting cartoon character when he was looking at you."
Jan chuckled. "I just don't worry about it. It's not my problem. It's not like you haven't had it happen to you."
"Yeah, but like a thousand times a day? There's no way I could take that. I would have to smack them or punch them or something. The worst ones are the really old guys. I might wear a mini skirt or something, and then some really old guy will actually getting a full on woody when I walk by."
Jan laughed again and slapped Heather on her wet shoulder. "Well that's really wonderful. That old guy probably hadn't had an erection in twenty years. Your body's better than Viagra."
Heather looked at Jan and grinned. "I just feel sorry for the wives when those old guys get wood. They sure as hell aren't going to waste it by whacking off."
"Ok Heather's that's just gross."
Heather just smirked and looked at her cousin smile back. So far Heather's plans were right on track. They ran up the driveway and towards the door. Jan was ready to go inside the house. After the run her body was feeling great, and while she was sort of smiling, the deep thoughts of earlier in the morning kept creeping back. She didn't want to sulk; she couldn't seem to help herself.
Jan had no way of knowing that her younger cousin was bound and determined to not let her wallow in deep thoughts, not today. "Hey you wanna help me with a couple of things?", she asked.
"I don't really feel like working out", Jan told Heather apologetically.
Heather shook her head. "No, with something else. Come on." She took Jan by the hand and dragged her down the stairs and into the gym with Jan offering token resistance. Heather led Jan into the ring room. She pulled her soaking wet hoodie over her head to reveal a blue and white sports bra. Even relaxed it was easy to see the potential power of Heather's body. Her arms were shapely and muscular even when relaxed. A moment later she stepped out of her sweats. Her legs were thick with hard earned teenaged muscle. Years of tennis and exercise had built her legs into long sculpted stems. Her hindquarters were nearly unrivaled and she knew it. She had some simple compression shorts on, showing the contours of her legs and ass.
"I'm on a three match losing streak to you know who", Heather explained to Jan. "It wouldn't be so bad if Taylor didn't gloat every chance she gets. You know how she is. I need your help. "I think I'm tipping one of my kicks and some of my punches too, especially my left hook. I asked Taylor, but you know she won't tell me. She'd rather exploit them and push my face to the canvas. I need an impartial set of eyes. Would you please help me, and don't say no."
Jan looked at Heather's face and sighed. She was going to help her and Heather already knew that. She smiled thinking about Taylor using every advantage against her younger sister and then bragging about it when she was finished, and Taylor's way of bragging was so infuriating because she already acted like a queen anyway. "I guess I can help. I'll see if I notice something", Jan told Heather who seemed more relieved than anything else.
"Ok, let's get in the ring", Jan said and Heather started kicking off her shoes. Jan grabbed some focus pads while Heather grabbed some sparing gloves. Jan wasn't up for sparing, but she found Heather's problem pretty quickly. She taught her cousin just like she taught her class. Her problem hadn't been too bad and Jan had it fixed in no time. It helped that Heather was a fast learner and naturally adept that fighting. When Jan was satisfied that her cousin's problems were solved she was ready for a shower. She hopped down from the ring and grabbed a cold bottle of water from the fridge. Heather watched Jan walking away, thinking that she'd done the best she could to keep her from wallowing.
On the way out, Jan and Taylor actually walked into each other. "Sorry", Jan said quickly.
Taylor completely ignored the bump. "Leaving early?", she asked with a smile. "You wanna spar? We're one and one. This could be the rubber match."
Jan grinned but shook her head.
"Well okay, then how about you be the audience while I beat up Heather again?"
Jan was about to say no, but this would be a chance to see her aid had worked. "Sure why not."
Jan stood at the bottom of the ring looking with her expert eye to see the fruit of her recent labors. Both Taylor and Heather were circling. Heather smiled around her mouthpiece while Taylor's face was as it usually was, dispassionate and haughty. In a fight her demeanor was usually unnerving. People could be ranting and raving around her, but Taylor was always calm on the outside even if she was raging on the inside. She fought with the same attitude. The sister's stances were nearly identical, but while Heather spryly jumped around, Taylor stalked like George Forman in his prime. To an untrained eye it looked like a mismatch. Heather was nearly three inches shorter than her older sister, but Heather packed more meat on her athletic frame. Heather had enough muscle to be a figure competitor without much work at all while Taylor looked more like a wonderfully fit fashion model. She didn't hit like that though.
When Heather bounced too close one time, Taylor's left arm struck like a rapier, cutting into her sister and knocking her off rhythm just long enough for a blistering right cross to boom against the headgear. Jan cringed knowing how hard Taylor could hit. She used her length to generate tremendous man stopping power. She was delivering that to her sister at the moment, and what Taylor lacked for pure muscle mass, she made up for with the fact that when she flexed her muscles were harder than a coffin nail. Taylor's cable like muscles flexed as she sent another laser like punch to Heather's head. Her abs flexed into cut up rows as she twisted to deliver at half hook and solid uppercut. Her punches were so fast. They were machine-gun like. No defense really worked against them. She could spot a weakness and exploit it over and over and over again.
Heather wasn't going to take another flurry. She leaned into her sister. She absorbed a punch for her trouble, but she grimaced and took it just so she could land a powerful hook to Taylor's midsection. The muscles in Taylor's midriff tightened instantly, but it was too late the damage was through. Heather pressed her advantage now. A quick kick to the side of Taylor's knee got her thinking and anticipating one thing, when Heather stepped right to her sister and sent five bone jarring punches that threatened to lift Taylor's entire body off the ground. The last punch, Taylor tried to block, but the left hook turned her head and sent the 6'2" beauty to the canvas right in front of Jan who grinned.
Taylor shook her head and exhaled as she lay on the canvas. When her eyes focused, she saw Jan standing right there. "You fixed the problems with her hook I see", Taylor said after pulling out her mouthpiece.
Jan just smiled broadly.
Taylor pushed herself to a sitting position. "Well, this should be interesting." Taylor jumped to her feet and back to the center of the ring. The normal sparring system was best two out of three on the knockdowns. So one more knockdown would give this little sparring session to Heather, but Taylor had other plans. There was another way to win a session.
They mixed it up in the middle of the ring, toe to toe. Taylor's punches were like precision weapons, while Heather's slightly less accurate punches and kicks were like bunker busting bombs. She was so damned strong that it was unreal. Only the fact that Taylor blocked most of the punches was keeping her upright, but even Taylor's defense couldn't keep Heather's powerful blows from hurting. Jan wondered why Taylor was standing there. That was completely against her usually style. Then she figured it out. She opened her mouth to warn Heather, but didn't. It's not like she had a rooting interest. Heather could have used the warning because on her next punch, Taylor used both arms to grab Heather and with a quick but powerful twist of her hips and roll of her shoulder, over Heather went.
Her back hit the canvas so hard that she bounced. Taylor landed on top of her. Heather instantly went into a defensive position, but Taylor was working quickly. She pushed Heather's leg down and bounded over and crossed her body across Heather's. Taylor pulled her leg back and kneed Heather's ribs hard. "That's payback for making my ribs sore", Taylor whispered in her sister's ear before sending another knee into Heather's ribs. "And now for four in a row."
Heather twisted to get free, but Taylor controlled her. Just as Taylor was going in for the finish, Heather took a deep breath and put both of her feet flat on the ground. She tried to put both of her hands on Heather's chest, but she could only manage to get one. That was going to have to do. With only a moment to spare Heather's powerful muscles flexed to their max in one explosive movement she bridged her body. Heather's left arm looked like it doubled in size as and her triceps swelled out. Taylor wasn't locked in well enough and she flew three feet in the air. Heather rolled towards the far side of the ring. She was free.
Jan cocked an eyebrow. That was pretty impressive. Taylor wasn't fazed. She attacked again, but Heather had gained the momentum. Taylor's face twisted up when Heather landed another heavy blow. The punches were hard, but Heather's kicks were monstrous. With Jan in her objective mood, it sent a pang of jealousy through her to admit that Heather's kicks may be harder than her own. She actually felt sorry for Taylor.
She marveled at Heather's power. Once Heather started going, it didn't take long for her to get locked in. Taylor traded blows, but her sister was landing the bigger heavier shots. Jan's expert eyes saw the instant Heather's muscle fibers tightened. She could see the stria of her pectorals and the fingers of her deltoids sharpen before her gloved fists struck. Heather's triceps and abdominals were petrified in their sculpted perfection as her gloves struck again. When Heather had softened up her sister, she wrapped her arms around Taylor's body and with a jerk she lifted Taylor off the ground and slammed her to the mat.
Heather was on top, and instantly burst through Taylor's defense. Jan could see a couple of things that Taylor could have done, but Heather was like a beast working on top. Taylor didn't look overly worried. She extended her legs a little while Heather slammed a few blows into Taylor's unprotected midsection. The older sister though, didn't try and punch back. She was waiting, and was rewarded for her patience. As soon as Heather sat up to deliver a harder punch, Taylor pushed Heather further away and quick wrapped her super long legs around her sister's neck. Taylor's cable like muscles tightened. Heather put her powerful arms on Taylor's thighs, but Taylor wasn't going to let this turn into a test of strength. With an insanely powerful move of her own, Taylor straightened her body pushing Heather completely off balance. The younger girl still tried to pry at Taylor's legs but she might as well have been tugging at anchor chains. Her legs were immovable. Then Taylor pushed again and rolled Heather all the way over using just her legs and powerful hips. With Heather face down, Taylor rotated her body to sit on her sister's back, which just added more force to the awesome choke hold. Taylor gritted her teeth and leaned back a little, digging her flexing calf muscle into Heather's neck and forcing her chin higher, sinking the hold in even deeper. Heather was tough, but even she couldn't hold out too long under this. She would either pass out or tap out. Taylor squeezed her legs, flexing her muscles so hard that the bulging iron hard sinews themselves were causing the hold to hurt worse.
She was counting down the seconds until she heard, "Taylor Lillian Matthews let your sister go!"
"But Mom, I'm almost finished", Taylor moaned and slapped her thighs with her hands in frustration. The muscles were flexed so hard that it sounded like she'd hit solid oak.
"I don't care. You two are not going to be all beat up looking when Patricia Ann arrives."
"You are so lucky", Taylor said under her breath as she released the hold. Heather scrambled backwards and got unsteadily to her feet. Heather smiled and stuck her tongue out as her blood started flowing again.
Taylor chuckled. "How lucky can one person be? We'll finish this later." Taylor pulled off her headgear and gloves before helping Heather out of her headgear. "Mom, I want you to know that I was almost to my fourth win in a row."
Katherine looked up at her daughters in the ring and shook her head. She walked out the door taking Jan with her.
Taylor and Heather were in the ring watching both of them go but were more focused on Jan though.
"How was she during your jog?", Taylor asked once they were sure Jan had gone.
Heather shrugged. "She didn't say much. You just saw her, what did you think?"
"She looked a little preoccupied. Did she tell you what happened the other day?"
"No", Heather began and tossed the sweaty gloves to the side. "We did take a detour on our jog though." Heather explained what had happened at the empty DeBraya estate.
Taylor frowned and rubbed her chin. "Jan warned the guard huh? Well that was probably fortunate for him, because DeBraya's days are numbered."
The sisters jumped down from the ring. "How the hell did you let me get you in that choke?", Taylor asked after clearing her mind of more serious thoughts.
"Like usual", Heather admitted. "I thought you were more beat up than you were and got ahead of myself. Jan can fix my hook, but not my temperament."
After their mother had stopped the sparring session, Taylor and Heather migrated to other parts of the gym. Taylor had walked into the gym expecting a light workout, but instead had been subjected to Heather's ridiculous power. She didn't mind it though. The soreness would be gone after a while. Taylor decided to jump some rope for a while. That had always been one of her favorite exercises. The rope was whirling like a force field around her body as she jumped with both feet sometimes and alternated other times. She smiled thinking back on those jump rope competitions in school. Taylor had won all of them except one when she was in the 7th grade. Jan had beaten her. Taylor remembered how upset she had been at that moment. She never told that Heather had been purposely distracting her from the side of the gym. Jan was one grade behind Taylor, and had been the heroine for the kids in school for that victory. It was rare that Taylor lost at anything, and when she did it was usually to Jan who was one grade behind her throughout their schooling. Jan had always been quick to point out that it took a Caufield to beat a Caufield. Jan and Taylor knew that their rivalry was somewhat manufactured, but they were both competitive girls with no other girls who could really compete with them in much of anything. Unless they wanted to compete with the boys, which they did often, both Jan and Taylor were forced to compete with each other. That was coming to an end though, and Taylor was going to finish it once and for all. For her the competition had been even more contrived. That was probably the source of her angst, but she was going to have to get over it.
While Taylor jumped rope and dealt with her thoughts, Heather sat on a chair drinking water waiting on her sister to finish. She was tired from her workouts, but in a good way. She was slightly slumped in her chair and the beautiful thickness of her body at full pump was on display. It was easy to see the impressive width of her back taper down to her tight waist. Heather's abs were like a city grid as she breathed in and out deeply causing her chest to rise and fall. She rubbed her abs, feeling their near impenetrable harness. Her large breasts were trapped under the bra, but they forced the material out making the curves of her body stand out. Long trails of sweat ran down her neck and chest then into the cleavage between her breasts before running down her marble hard abdominal wall. She ran a hand over her arms and grinned. She gave a little flex, and deep buried muscle flexed rock hard. The quick flex produced a massive peaked bicep with twin heads just beginning to show. As jacked as her arms were, a real flex would have produced thick bi's and tri's and her peaks would have been out of this world, but as she sat there something popped into her mind.
She decided to do an exercise that she saw Taylor do quite often. She went to the large sliding door that lead from the ring room to the weight room and jumped up high enough to get her fingers to the lintel of the door. There was just enough room for perhaps half a finger length up there. Heather was dangling by her fingers before she grunted and pulled her body up. She had blasted her legs, and now her always impressive upper body got its chance to swell. Muscles from her waist to her neck flexed, but her forearms and biceps got most of the torture. She muscled her bodyweight up about four times before her fingers went numb and her forearms blazed with fresh pain.
Heather exhaled as she slowly lowered her body to the floor and let go of the header. Her shoulders were burning, her hands were cramping, her forearms felt tight, and her lats were throbbing. Taylor was still jumping while she looked across the room at her sister who smiled despite the pain. Sometimes Taylor thought her little sister liked it a little too much.
"That is a lot harder than it looks", Heather finally said after taking a long drink from a water bottle that felt like it weighed fifty pounds.
Taylor walked to the center of the big doorway without saying a word and jumped to the lintel. Her long lean body gliding up like a missile until she was high enough and her fingertips got a hold in the same place Heather's had been. As soon as Taylor's fingers touched, Heather watched her sisters' back transform into a landscape of razorwire sharp muscles and sinews. Heather's back was thick with muscle, but she couldn't touch Taylor for insane definition. It was a anatomy of moving muscle shapes as Taylor's pulled herself up effortlessly over and over again like she was hooked to a wire. It shouldn't have been that damned easy. She was only using her fingertips for goodness sake.
To show off, she brought her legs up until they were parallel to the floor while still keeping up a smooth rhythm of chins. Taylor's super flat stomach tightened into a six pack. She twisted her hips from side to side, getting in some oblique work in. A few of those had sharpened her definition a lot. Taylor didn't usually show off her six pack. She didn't want to make guys feel bad, but right now her blood was flowing too. When she got pumped her muscles looked like they'd been carved from living rock. Taylor was already showing off, and to show off even more, she removed half of her fingers from the wall. She was now doing pull-ups with just the tips of four fingers touching the wall. She hung at the bottom of one rep an extra count or two just to make sure Heather noticed. Heather had seen enough of that. She got up quickly while her sister was at the top of her chin-up, wrapped her arms around Taylor's torso and pulled down.
Taylor let out a long breathy grunt as Heather squeezed and let all of her weight bear down on Taylor. Taylor's eyes opened wide in their sockets and a single vein throbbed across her forehead as she strained every muscle in her upper body to keep from going down. She hadn't expected Heather to put all of her weight on her like that. Taylor's biceps tightened like steel cables to keep her arms from straightening, but her fingers were cramping and losing their battle. Taylor set her teeth on edge and growled deep in her chest to pull her body up a couple of tough inches. Her face twisted and her muscles flexed harder. A network of tiny blood vessels burst to her skin as she strained, forcing her body just a little higher while Heather giggled. Taylor's forearms burned like an inferno was inside them, but she'd felt that before. Her body was rising and it was only a matter of time until she had it. She was high enough to get eight fingers on the wall instead of the four she'd started out with. She finally exhaled. There was no way Heather could pull her down now. They could hang there all night if that's what her little sister wanted. To prove that fact, Taylor let her arms drop a few inches. It wasn't smooth. Her arms straightened in fits and bursts until Heather thought that Taylor was tiring and unable to hold both of their weight.
When Heather's shoes were only an inch or two from the ground, the peaks on Taylor's biceps burst to the max. Twin veins snaked over Taylor rock hard peaks and the striations in her inner heads were only matched by the corded shredded mess of her forearms as she pulled up again. Her body was one tight flex from head to toe. Heather's jaw rested against the hot mass of flexing muscle that was Taylor's back as she rose helplessly higher. Taylor's muscles got harder and even more shredded with each inch until the top of her head touched the ceiling.
Heather shouldn't have been wowed. She knew the insane hidden power of her sister's body. She put her feet on the ground, unwilling to be Taylor's exercise weight any longer. It was time to show Taylor that she wasn't the only one able to lift bodyweight. Heather used her already strong grip around Taylor's waist to lift upward instead of pull down. Taylor's hands left the wall as her little sister lifted her ramrod straight body up and away. Heather bounced her sister up and down. Taylor could feel Heather's big biceps biting into her waist as they flexed to hold her upright. She had to flex her abs to keep Heather's arms from making it nearly impossible to breathe. "Am I sensing some jealousy down there?", Taylor teased. "Now you're trying to show off."
Heather opened her arms and let Taylor drop to the floor. "Ouch!", Heather moaned as her biceps, pecs, and traps cramped up. Taylor rolled her eyes and stepped behind her sister and helped stretch Heather's arms and shoulders.
"You were cheating when I tried to pull you down", Heather declared.
"I was not. You're just not weighty enough to pull a good woman down."
Heather cocked her head while Taylor massaged her sister's shoulders like she used to do after tennis matches for years and years. "Is there some double meaning there?", Heather inquired.
Taylor laughed and grabbed a towel. "Only if you want there to be."
Taylor cracked a smile, but Heather could tell that something was running through her sister's mind. She knew what it was. Their family was coming in tonight, and Taylor was getting nervous. "You don't have to do this", Heather said.
Taylor sighed and thought about how easy it would be to chicken out on what she had planned, but she said, "No, it has to be done. It probably should have been done a long time ago." Taylor drank some water and started out of the basement, walking slowly so Heather wouldn't cramp again. "I hope I can do it at dinner tonight when the entire family is there."
"That'll be a good time", Heather agreed as they came to the steps and paused. "I wouldn't force it though. Let it be natural when you do it. People are still going to be on a little high when everybody arrives."
Taylor finished her water and turned to her sister. "Speaking of arriving… I saw that cute outfit you bought the other day. Are you going to wear that when Patricia Ann arrives, or are you going to keep dressing like Missy Elliot from The Rain video?"
Heather threw her head back in laugher. "Now that's taking me back. 'I'm drivin to the beach, top down, loud sounds/see my peeps…", Heather started rapping the lyrics instead of answering. Taylor tried to hold it in, but she laughed too. Heather continued in to the chorus.
The house was in constant motion all the morning and into the early afternoon despite the drizzle. The staff was getting ready for the arrival of lots of people and at the same time they were getting ready for the Cook Out. Mostly the family stayed out of the way, except Kat made sure that things were to her liking during the process. The rain didn't slow down the preparations, but it did have an effect. It forced everybody together. Everybody was in great spirits including Taylor who had looked nearly as distracted as Jan's the day before. Taylor joked on Heather who actually shot a few barbs back. Brice laughed and added some more. Jan was amused at how everybody laughed except Brian who was afraid to. Everyone else mood helped raise Jan's mood even if she didn't say much.
After lunch everybody ended up in the family room. They pulled out an ancient version of Monopoly and started playing. Kat and Ted just looked at the younger people spread out on the floor in front of the fireplace like children. They joked and jostled for their own monopolies. It was hilarious to watch Brian choke up and stall when Taylor tried to trade him for Atlantic. Heather was the first one eliminated after Brice had mortgaged everything to put a hotel on Boardwalk, which she landed on the next time she rolled the dice. Alisha got put out, then Jan, and then Brice. Jan and Alisha stayed on the floor near the fireplace only occasionally checking on the game's last three participants. That was soon whittled to one as Brian got put out. Now it was just Sara and Taylor. Jan wanted to tell her roommate that Taylor was a cutthroat ringer, but she'd let Sara find that out on her own.
"Well how about a dumb blonde joke now", Sara teased as Brian put his piece back in the box. "It seems that the two blondes are still in the game and the so called smart ones are outside looking in." Taylor glanced at Sara and chuckled.
"Ahh well, we felt sorry for you", Alisha began.
"Yeah we figured that the blondes need to win at something every now and again", Jan put in.
"That way you two can enjoy that feeling", Alisha finished.
"It makes sense that you'd give in. Brunettes have to get out of the way, because it's true what they say. Blondes do have more fun", Taylor said with a smirk. She and Sara high-fived over the board then looked at Alisha and Jan who twisted their lips.
"Well, brunettes are sexier", Alisha shot back before she and Jan high-fived too.
"And redheads are better in bed", Heather quipped as she walked through the room. Kat put down her newspaper and looked up at her daughter, but didn't say a word. She raised an eyebrow then shrugged her shoulders and went back to reading. Ted just chuckled.
As the day wore on, the rain finally moved off and a beautiful rainbow arched across the sky. The air chilled out and it was relatively cool afternoon, but beautiful. The sun shined off the wet surfaces creating mini rainbows all over the place. That was the perfect backdrop for Patricia Ann. Jan felt herself getting excited with the arrival, and she hadn't expected that. It helped that some of Jan's more distant family members started arriving. They came from all over the country, most by air, but some drove in from other parts of Florida. Jan's friends saw that many of them had those Caufield blue eyes even if they were sometimes 2nd and 3rd cousins. Jan introduced her friends, but everybody was waiting on the big arrival. They all went outside when it was time. Jan stood on the dock near the rail where she would help tie off Patricia Ann when she arrived.
People lined the waterfront on both sides of the lake to watch Patricia Ann slip through the water towards the Caufield compound. The sun was low creating great shadows and great theater. The black, white, and blue painted hull was one of a kind and its profile on the water was striking. Brian snapped photo after photo, changing positions to get the best angles. The yacht sailed past the dock and then was expertly turned before a group of men worked to tie her off. The sails were retracted and the gangway was put in place. The mood had grown to pure excitement when the hatch opened. Brian's camera snapped away as a massive male shape filled the doorway. Brian shouldn't have been surprised when he got his first look at Andrew Caufield. He was a truly huge man, standing as tall as a power forward with wide shoulders and an athletic lean body. He could have been a frightening man, but he had a gregarious smile that put people instantly at ease. People stepped up and hugged and were buzzing as more people came down the gangway. Drew's willowy wife Amber came and stood next to her husband. She was a mother of three who looked to be in her late 20's when she was really 38. Their three sons were well built and tall like their parents. All of them had that unmistakable Caufield look. The oldest of Drew's sons was helping his grandmother off. Joyce was well into her 70's, but she retained her vitality. Her once sandy hair had grown regally white. She kept it long and on this night had it pulled into a pony tail.
Kat came up and gave her mother a big hug before turning to her brother. Even the 5'10" Katherine had to stretch high up on her toes to reach around Drew's shoulders. He helped her by leaning down a little. He turned back towards the yacht afterward and yelled, "Hey where's my boy? Where's my first mate?"
"I'm coming", Thomas yelled and ran down the gangway. His big brown eyes were twinkling and he wore a huge smile on his face. He ran up to Drew, and although also tall for his age and a little lanky, Thomas barely came up to Drew's stomach.
Jan smiled when she saw Thomas run down, and even though he was standing next to Drew, Thomas' eyes searched for Jan. He jumped up and waved her over when he saw her. Jan was so happy to see her younger brother that she couldn't put it to words.
"Thomas had never been on a sailing ship before, but he's a fast learner and he had the wheel as we approached the inlet. I'm gonna teach him everything I know", Drew announced to the family and friends standing near him. "Patricia Ann has rounded the horn seven times, and the next time she does, you're going to be at the wheel", Drew declared and Thomas beamed.
Drew then turned his attention to Jan. He reached out with his long arms and gave her a big hug. He hadn't seen Jan since early in the summer before her trip to LA. He held her in one arm and Thomas in the other as he looked to find his older sister. "Hey Kat", Drew called out. "I hope it's not a problem", Drew began with a playful sigh. "I picked up some riffraff on the way out of the Chesapeake."
"Oh very funny", a very familiar voice bellowed from inside the vessel. Everybody on the dock was floored when Jack Caufield came down the gangway with his wife Carol right behind him. He was trying to suppress a grin as he made his way down holding a couple of bags in his hands. It had been nearly 20 years since Jack had stepped foot onto this property and more than 25 years since he had sailed on Patricia Ann. His suppressed smile blossomed to a full grin when he saw the look of utter surprise on Jan's face. It was memorable and timeless because Brian got a photo of it.
"Daddy?", Jan uttered in complete disbelief.
Jan wasn't the only one with that look on their face. Everybody on the dock stared wide eyed at Jack Caufield coming down towards them. Even Taylor, Heather, and Brice were floored. Taylor was a person who rarely let anything take the look of cool detachment from her face, but when she saw her uncle come onto the dock a parade of emotions crossed her exquisite face. Jack's smile faltered a bit when he looked at Katherine. "Hey Kat", Jack said softly and somewhat awkwardly when he stepped off the gangway. They had seen each other earlier in the year, but this was different and they both knew it.
"Jack, this is a surprise", she understated with equal hesitation.
"I hope you don't mind", he said with a smile, hoping that would help break the tension.
Kat's eyes narrowed and she had already started to turn when she replied, "I don't mind. You own a third of this place just like I do. You can come whenever you want."
Jack watched her go hoping that something to say would pop into his head. Nothing did. He turned to his wife and made his way towards the house. Jan came over quickly with Thomas in tow. Jan couldn't believe that her immediate family had showed up, that was a big enough surprise to make Jan temporarily forget about her own problems.
There was a big gathering inside the house. This was the first time people from the neighborhood had come over in any big numbers. Brian became the unofficial official photographer. People he didn't know posed for photos that he would distribute later. Brian's biggest accomplishment that night was getting all the Caufield's together for a family photo. It was great to get a family together at this time of the year. Drew was especially pleased that Brian had gotten everyone together. It had been a long time since the entire family had been together like this, and Brian had pulled off a damn fine picture. Brian continued taking photos after the big shot. He took individual shots of Jan and Heather making faces in his lens, and of Taylor smiling with Thomas. He saw Brice looking like a giant with several toddler cousins draped on his arms.
"You must be in hog heaven", Brian heard from behind him as he took a picture of Brice.
"You know it", Brian replied without turning. When he did, Heather held out a cup of punch for him. "Thanks." Heather gave him one of those smiles that made time stop before she walked away to talk to a friend of hers.
Dinner was served in the formal dining room. The room may have been formal, but the people were far from. Many had changed from their traveling clothes, but they weren't wearing gowns or suits. It was just a time for family to be together. Brian, Alisha, and Sara were honored to be at the table with so much family. At Joyce's insistence, her children sat near each other with their families arrayed around them. Despite the coolness between her oldest son and her daughter, the conversation was lively and people were enjoying themselves.
Brian was sitting between Sara and Alisha on the same side of the table as Jack, Carol, and Heather. He was directly across from Jan who was sitting next to her uncle Ted who was sitting next to his wife. Thomas right next to Kat with Brice further down. Brian looked at the people around him trying not to stare. He was having a conversation with his friends with the aid of Sara's powers. Brian washed down a forkful of food and looked around the table stopping when his saw Heather sitting next to Carol.
"My goodness", Brian thought. "Is it just me or does it look like Heather could be Carol's daughter?"
Sara tried not to stare, but the resemblance was uncanny. Sara had always thought that Jan and Heather looked alike, but not in the way that Taylor looked like Jan. Heather's face didn't have the sharp beauty of Jan, Taylor, or Kat. She had a softer beauty more like Jan's mother. "And now that I'm looking, I mean Taylor looks a lot like Mr. Caufield… well Jack… which is to be expected I guess he's her biological uncle, but why does Jan look so much like Ted? He's married to her blood aunt, right?"
Brian couldn't keep it in anymore. "I just have to say", Brian began and wiped his mouth. "I don't think I've ever seen two families that look so much alike. I mean Heather looks like you Mrs. Caufield and Jan actually favors you Mr. Matthews."
"Well of course she does", Ted said with a quick gesture towards his niece. "Jan's as much a Matthews as she is a Caufield."
"You didn't tell them?", Carol accused and looked over at her daughter.
Jan looked at her mother and shrugged. "It never came up."
"You see…"
"Oh no Carol, let Ted tell it", Kat urged her sister-in-law. "Just look at him."
They could see the twinkle in Ted's eye as he looked at Jan's friends, the only people who didn't know the story. "Well you guys, me and Jack have been friends for a long time. I was actually his commanding officer in the Army for a while before he went off to become Rambo. Well anyway we stayed in touch, and one day years after we'd met I convinced him to go to an Armed Forces party in Fredericksburg. I don't know why he made it so hard? If I had his ribbons, I would have worn them in the shower. Well anyway, Jack's a well heeled guy and he had no problem working the room. After a while at this particular party he came up to me with a glass of wine in one hand and half a cookie in his mouth. He nudged me in the ribs and said, 'Hey Ted, do you see that hot blonde over there with the legs that won't stop? You wouldn't happen to know her would you?' I told him that yeah, she's a first year law student; her name is Carol, and she's my little sister. Well after Jack finished choking on his cookie, I introduced them. Before I knew it Jack was dating my baby sister, and they were talking about getting married. So Jan, if it wasn't for your Uncle Ted, your parents never would have met because the only reason Carol was even at that party was because she was a broke college student looking for free food so I snuck her in. But I felt pretty darn good about it though. I had hooked my baby sister up with my friend Jack, but did my good buddy reciprocate?
"No way. I didn't even know Jack had a sister until one day I had a few too many and couldn't make it back to my place so I crashed at Jack's apartment. I woke up the next morning feeling slightly hungover, but I cleared up real fast when I walked out of the bedroom and saw the most perfect thing on God's green Earth sitting cross legged on the sofa wearing one of Jack's oversized Georgetown t-shirts eating a bowl of Fruit Loops. I didn't know who that red headed woman was, but I felt my heart rise in my throat and my stomach drop to the floor."
Ted shook his head as he thought back to the image of Katherine on that couch. Her flaming locks had been longer then, and pulled back showing off the tender sweep of her neck and the barely hidden power of her swimmer's shoulders. He couldn't see her straight on, but her face had an aggressive beauty that challenged those who looked at her, almost forcing any man to look away for fear of being overwhelmed by her. She had the sharp jawline and cheeks with the most piercing blue eyes that Ted had ever seen on a woman, with skin so clear and vibrant that she shined like the sun itself. Everything around her melted, until she was the only thing in Ted's vision. To him, at that moment, she was the only real thing in all the world. She had captured every single fiber of Ted's body and soul the first instant he saw her. Her every move, gesture, and expression was poetry.
"I was completely in love right then and there", Ted continued, "But of course she didn't quite feel the same way. As soon as she saw me, she screamed at the top of her lungs and threw the half eaten bowl of cereal at me. I tried to calm her down, but she just ran around jumping over the furniture threatening me until she pulled open the window and climbed out onto the fire escape." He stopped and laughed. Kat chuckled too, thinking back on it.
"So what happened?", Sara asked.
Ted looked at Kat then Jack before he continued, "I tried to talk her back inside, but she wouldn't listen. She stayed on that fire escape trying to pull her shirt closed so people walking beneath her couldn't look up. That was funny all by itself if I had been in a comic mood, but I wasn't.
"Finally Jack came home and convinced her to come inside. He wanted me to apologize back then, but I told him I couldn't. He got pretty upset with me, but I'll tell him now just like I told him then. I'd just met the only woman in the entire world that I would ever want to marry." Ted looked into Kat's eyes then took her hand.
"Aww! That's so sweet", Sara and Alisha both moaned at the same time.
"So", Brian began, making sure he had it all correct. "Jack Caufield married your sister, and you married his sister?"
"Our families are pretty well intertwined."
"Yeah", Brice began then chuckled, "We're double first cousins."
Taylor rolled her eyes. "I wish you wouldn't say that. It sounds so hillbillish."
Brice laughed. "Well our parents are brother and sister."
"Heather, Brice, Jan and I share the same four grandparents", Taylor said to put things in terms that she preferred.
Alisha looked down the table. "You know this means that genetically Jan is more like you guy's half-sister than just a regular old first cousin. That is so cool."
"I never really thought about it like that", Jan admitted, but as she thought about it she was genetically as related to Taylor, Heather, and Brice as Sara was to her brother Charles who had a different mother than Sara. Jan looked at Taylor and smiled, but Taylor didn't immediately smile back. She had something on her mind.
Dinner broke up after a while and Jan went to show Thomas around the house. Jack joined her. The house had been renovated fairly extensively five years earlier. Jack could remember getting a letter from Kat about it. It had been part announcement and part invitation to come see the changes and updates. Instead of catching a flight to Florida, Jack had simply mailed her a check for the portion of the cost that he was responsible for. He felt awful thinking about how that must have made her feel after she'd taken the time to write him a hand written letter. He hadn't even sent a note with the check. Jack was amazed though at the things that Kat had done to the place. She had managed to keep the same feeling inside the house without it looking dated like it had the last time he had been there. Jan hadn't known that Thomas was coming down, but the room right next to hers was going to be his. She made sure of that. While the staff was bringing Thomas' luggage to that room, Jack and Jan went into her bedroom, his old bedroom.
He looked around. The walls were a different color and the furniture was different, but this was his old place. He'd had plenty of fun inside this room. Jan saw him reminiscing and stepped next to him. "Daddy, you should have made reservations because I don't think I'm gonna give up my room."
Jack smiled. "No, Jan me and this room have had our good times in the past. I think your mother and I are going to enjoy ourselves in one of the guest houses." He raised his eye brows a couple of times and Jan felt queasy at the thought.
"Speaking of that", Jan began and went to the closet. "I think I found something of yours." She reached into the hole in the wall and pulled out the shoebox. She wondered how her father would react when he saw it. She found out as soon as she turned around. His face turned beet red.
"Jan! Where did you get that?"
"Right in the wall where you left it. I was thinking about giving it to Mom if you won't take it."
Jack quickly reached out and took the box from his daughter's hands. "Kat must have told you about this." He shook his head thinking back. He laughed at something he remembered and tucked the box under his arm. "To be honest with you Pumpkin, I'd forgotten all about this."
"Well judging by the number of different tops of different sizes inside that box there are lots of young ladies who didn't forget you."
Jack was still blushing. "Guilty as charged, but umm, how about we keep this between you and me, your mother doesn't have to know about this."
"Know about what?", Thomas asked from the doorway. Jan and Jack shared a laugh while Jan intercepted Thomas. Jack made a hasty exit with his box of conquest tops in his arms. Thomas ended up in Brice's room playing on the new X-Box 360. Jan wasn't all that great at video games, but she did have good hand to eye coordination so she could fake her way through it for a while, but soon more serious thoughts took over and she sought out her father.
Jack had made sure that Carol was settled into their guest house before going to work on a project that he had started a long time ago but had never finished. Jan found her father in the compound's large two story garage. It looked like only one story because the bottom floor was completely underground. The top floor held all the cars that were used on a regular basis, but the downstairs, protected by a waterproof door held the older cars. The big door was open and the lights were on. This door faced the lake and she saw a couple of people on Sea-Doos heading south. That was something she could do with Thomas later, but right now she needed to talk to her father.
Jan had been down there once years ago, but it had been a dark dusty place. The cavernous space seemed to be alive this time. She walked past a '66 Imperial Crown and then a '61 Lincoln Continental Convertible right next to a '66 Continental hard top. Jan had been around her father so much that even though she had never seen these particular cars, she could rattle off make, model, and year with the best gear heads. She had to step around a '58 Plymouth Fury and a '70 Charger before she found her father. His legs were sticking out from beneath a big metallic gray Cadillac. The exterior of the car was dusty in some places, but mostly it shined like it had just been waxed and buffed. The chrome was particularly impressive. The car had been covered since the last time Jack had uncovered it.
"I don't think I've ever seen this model before", Jan told her father as he turned a wrench.
"No, I doubt that you would have Pumpkin. This is a 1957 Cadillac Eldorado Brougham, the most expensive Cadillac ever made if you consider inflation. They only made 400 of them.", Jack yelled out from beneath the big V-8 engine. "I have some of my earliest memories riding around in this car. Daddy loved it. He ordered it a couple days after I was born. He always said that he wanted to share it with me when I got older. We would cruise all over the place in this car. Daddy thought of it as his good luck car. He always drove it to work when there was some sort of big deal being done, or when he brought Kat and Drew home from Johns Hopkins after they were born. This is back when Detroit really knew how to make a world class car."
Jan took a close look at the car and like all the luxury cars from that era, the styling was beyond reproach and the people who built it really cared about the fit and finish. This car really was beautiful. Jan decided to get a better look at the workings though. With her cup of water still in her hand, Jan slid down next to her father and pushed her way beneath the car.
Jack turned his head and looked over at his daughter and smiled. "Hey Pumpkin nice of you to join me. Could you hand me that small prybar?"
"What are you workin on?", Jan asked as she handed her father the smallest bar she saw.
"Ah, I've been meaning to fix the damn clutch plate on this car since disco was in style. I should probably switch this over-engineered hunk of metal out, but this tranny is original and so is the rest of the car so it stays I guess."
Jan looked around underneath the car and stopped when she saw the jack stands. "Yeah, Daddy I'll tell you something else that looks original. Are these jackstands from the 50's too?"
Jack looked over and laughed. "Well they've seen better days, but they made stuff to last back in those days."
"Yeah, just like that clutch you're fixing right?" Jack just smiled and kept working. He occasionally glanced over at his daughter. He could tell that she had something on her mind. He knew that she would speak when she was ready.
"Daddy do you think it's ever okay to be selfish?", Jan asked.
"We all have to be selfish in a way. We have to take care of ourselves to a point, so we're in a position to help others, but most people go too far. Selfishness in a person is like those old fashioned ointments, a little dab will do ya."
"Well, I think I've been sort of selfish recently. I mean ever since I left Special Programs I feel like I've been wasting my time. Sure I'm teaching self defense and piano and stuff, but I just feel like I'm not using my talents or my gifts the way I'm supposed to. Like I'm keeping them to myself when there's so much more I could be doing."
"Jan, you made the decision you thought was best at the time, but be willing to reexamine your situation as often as you like. That's how we grow as people. Lord knows I've done some of that recently. Are you thinking about rejoining Special Programs?"
Jan sighed, "Ahh, I don't know. It's just that I quit because I wanted to have a regular life, whatever the heck that is. I'm starting to think Daddy that regular for me isn't the same as regular for everybody else. But maybe it shouldn't be. I can do things that other people can't do. I should be more willing to use what I can do instead of keeping it hidden just to protect myself."
Jack grimaced as he tightened the second to last nut. He turned to his daughter about to speak when they both heard a deep groaning and a quick SNAP! The car tipped to the left. A second loud bang echoed in the garage as the other stand shot out from beneath the car. The car was free to fall. Nothing was holding up the big Cadillac as it crashed down with two people beneath it. Then a third BOOM as the car came to rest with a sudden stop. Jack quickly looked to his right and saw his daughter beside him with her left hand beneath the front axle of the big Caddy. Her horseshoe tricep was bulging from the weight it had just stopped cold. The stitching of her sleeve could barely contain it. Jan's face was tense like her father's. He'd been a split second from death.
Beneath the car, only their breathing could be heard until Jack leaned over and kissed his daughter on the cheek. "That was a rush! Did I ever mention how glad I am that you have your strength back?"
"Daddy", Jan grunted. "Could you go get the jack before somebody sees this?"
"Oh right", Jack exclaimed. Jan pushed the car all the way up with one arm, so her father could get out easily. A couple of tons of pure Detroit steel went up as smoothly as a paper weight. Jan's already bulging triceps got harder the higher the car went until it was a half moon of striated muscle on the back of Jan's arm.
"Please hurry", Jan labored a little. "This is awkward to hold."
Her father got the hydraulic floor jack and began pressing the lever. Jan lowered the car to meet the rising lift arm. When the Caddy was resting on the jack, Jan slid from beneath the car and breathed a sigh of relief. "So, Daddy about those jackstands?"
Jack looked at his daughter and laughed. "I think we better get some new ones."
They went up the stairs to get the keys to one of the vehicles on the main floor. They chose one of the pickup trucks usually used for maintenance. The father and daughter closed the doors. Jack put the keys into the ignition, but he turned to Jan without starting the truck.
"I think you should follow your conscious, Jan. I know that you have a burden on your shoulders that I will never quite understand no matter how hard I try. Whatever you choose to do, I will support with everything I have." Jack put his arm around her shoulders and pulled her close to him. He'd just witnessed her lift a Cadillac front end with one arm, but with her curled up next to him she just felt like his little girl.
"Thanks Daddy."
Jack hugged her closer to him thinking about the story that Ted had told. It was true how pure chance had brought he and Carol together and for some reason a man like him had been blessed with a daughter like Jan. He moved her a little so he could look her in the eye as he spoke.
"You know how much I love you Jan. But I don't ever think I've told you how proud I am of you, your mother too. We're so proud of the woman that you've become that I can't even find words to express it most times. I know it hasn't been easy for you, but you're everything a father could hope a daughter could be and more."
Jan wiped tears from her eyes. "Oh come on Daddy, you know I'll cry for any reason. I've been doing pretty good. I hadn't cried since yesterday", Jan informed with an emotion filled chuckle. "Now look at me."
Jack kissed her on the forehead again and finally started the truck. "I meant every word of it." They pulled down the driveway and headed to the closes parts store which was over in West Palm. Jack was going to finish that Caddy tonight, even if it killed him. He had plans for the next day.
Jack noticed the car coming down the road but didn't think anything about it. He didn't know the driver. He'd never seen that young man in his life, but if Jack had known Slater Hastings he would have stopped and perhaps snatched the young man through the window because Slater had an ax to grind with one of his nieces. Despite the rift between Jack and his sister, messing with one of Jack's nieces was the same as messing with his daughter. Slater's quest for revenge would have ended abruptly at Jack's hands, but instead the two vehicles passed on the road. Slater slowed and nearly stopped as he came to the Caufield place.
He wondered if she had forgotten about him. Perhaps Taylor had simply moved on with her perfect little life after she'd completely ruined his. He saw her next to the house standing with a group of young women and girls, but he only had eyes for Taylor. Her hot pink outfit was gorgeous on her. She was as close to perfect as any woman had ever been. From her sandy blonde hair to her gorgeous face, long lean body, and those captivating blue eyes, she had it all. Slater could barely take his eyes off of her legs as she walked towards one of the guest houses with the group of family around her. She strutted across the driveway in her regal manner, every movement was graceful as if was above everything and everyone.
Slater had nothing. Everything that he used to have was coming to an end. Life as he had known it was over, and all he could do was make sure that life as Taylor had known it would end too. He searched himself for the hot searing anger that should have accompanied his new reality, but it wasn't there, just the impulsive coolness that had always been his. He wanted to hurt Taylor. He wanted to hurt so bad that no other thought could invade his head. He wanted her to scream and wail in pain from the depths of her soul. He wanted her to know who had hurt her. He wanted to make sure that the rest of Taylor Matthews' life was miserable and empty.
Slater looked at Taylor going out of view smiling and surrounded by family. It was easy to see that the girls around her were relatives because they were tall, and all of them were varying degrees of hot. They laughed and joked and hung on Taylor's every word. He could tell that in some ways each of them looked up to Taylor. They wanted to know how to be more like her. Those other members of her family would share in Taylor's pain too.
Slater's plan was elegantly simply, and able to be manipulated if necessary. He thought about his father trying and failing at his grandiose ideas that might salvage his life, but Slater's plan would certainly succeed. He only wished that he could inflict more pain on more people. Slater's eyes narrowed as Heather came out of the house wearing a navy blue tennis dress, her long wavy auburn hair was pulled into a pony tail that bounced as she moved. He'd never realized just how hot Heather was. She was so damned odd that Slater wondered if she had a screw loose or just didn't give a shit about what other people thought. Either way, she was high up on his personal hotness meter. She had a bucket full of tennis balls in one hand and racquets in her other hand. Several children were following her to the tennis courts. Slater guessed that those were family members as well. He looked at how easily Heather interacted with the kids. She had a carefree manner about her that Slater envied. Heather seemed to not get stressed about much, but she was no weakling. Heather had beaten up three tough men who worked for Slater's father. She might act carefree, but she had no idea what was coming. Slater's eyes swam with evil intent. He'd get his revenge, and it was going to be so very very sweet.
More coming!!!!
Recent Chapters:
comments and critisisms welcome: dem2@hotmail.com