Chapter 22
Chapter Twenty-Two
Max
Narrator: Look at Max maturing before our eyes. Didn’t know if he’d be able to set aside his hate for Dwight, and yet all it took was a great set of breasts and a little thumb-to-the-balls action to get him to sing a different tune—and boy, did he sing a different tune last night.
I think feral dogs heard him howl from miles away.
Since Betty isn’t leaving town will she stay with him through the week? Or is she going back to the cottage with Buzz? I bet I know what Max wants, but we will have to wait and see.
“This is your story, but I wouldn’t hate it if it snowed some more or if the power stayed off. The air mattress escapade was a nice touch.”
Narrator: Always with the compliments. Keep this up, and I might grow you a few more inches if you know what I mean.
“If you make me any larger, I’m going to fuck her pussy and her throat at the same time.”
Narrator: Exaggerate much?
“I mean, I knew I was packing, but my dick was huge last night.”
Narrator: Are you complaining?
“Fuck no. Just worried about our heroine is all. Can she take it?”
Narrator: Trust me, she’ll be fine. You just worry about yourself and keeping up your stamina. You’ll need it.
“Aye, aye, captain.”
“Are you sure you want to come?” I ask Betty as she puts on her boots.
“Positive.”
“You won’t be too cold?”
She finishes tying her boot and stands straight. She walks up to me and places her hand on my chest. “You need to stop worrying about me.”
“Impossible. You shivering on your couch will forever be branded on my brain. There will always be worry.”
“You’re sweet.” She lifts up onto her toes and attempts to kiss me but doesn’t reach.
“Ugh, you’re so tall. Help a girl out.” She then steps up on a box that’s next to the back door and becomes more level with me, giving me a kiss on the lips.
“There, that’s better. But yes, I’m coming. I want to see the reindeer.”
“Okay. But follow in my footsteps, because it’s deep.”
“That I think I can do.”
Decked out in snow gear, we head out the back of my house, and I start the path for us, reaching behind me to hold her hand. It’s a bit of a walk through a lot of snow, and when I step into it, I realize just how deep it is.
“Shit, I don’t know if this is a good idea.” I glance behind her. “It’s really deep.”
“Let me see,” she says as she steps into the snow, and it goes up over her knee. She looks up at me, little flecks of snow falling on her cheeks, making her look far too beautiful. “Seems fine.”
I shake my head, laughing. “It’s not fine. Here, I’ll give you a piggyback ride over there.”
“Oh my God, Atlas, not necessary.”
“It’s either that or I pull you in a sled. Take your pick.”
She sighs and then checks out the toboggan next to the house. “Fine, piggyback ride. I refuse to be pulled around in a sled.”
“That’s fine.”
I back up to the stairs and turn around so she can hop on. It takes her a second in her snow gear, but once she’s on my back, I start making our way through the snow and out toward the reindeer barn.
“Are you sure you can handle this?”
“I lift trees for a living and work on a farm. Carrying you on my back through over a foot of snow really is nothing.”
“Well, it seems like a lot to me.”
“Just remember this when I attempt to undress you later but get a cramp.”
She chuckles. “Let’s make sure you have some electrolytes in you then, because I wouldn’t want you cramping up while thrusting.”
“Yeah, nothing erases a boner more than a charley horse.”
She laughs, her chest bumping against my back. “Ever have a boner erased?”
“Twice,” I answer with no shame. “First one was when I was enjoying myself in the shower and my mother walked in, needing to grab the hair dryer. She rummaged around for what felt like an hour, which deflated the dick rather quickly.”
“I could imagine.”
“And then when I was mid-thrust after a long day on the farm, I cramped up, and yeah, things softened really quick. I ended up finishing the girl off with my tongue, but it was embarrassing, and we never went out again.”
“Wait, seriously?” she asks.
“Yeah, I think the whole softened penis inside her wasn’t her favorite thing.”
“Yeah, but that’s no reason for her not to see you again.”
I shrug. “Wasn’t the right person for me. That was more of a we’re single and need to get out some energy thing.”
“Oh. Does she still live here?”
“No,” I answer. “She’s over in Aspen now, making hats for rich people.”
“Do you have any past lovers who still live here?”
“Nervous?” I playfully ask.
“I mean, just nice to know.”
“Uh, a girlfriend from high school, but she’s married now with kids.”
“Is it . . . is it Storee?”
I let out a huge laugh. “No. She didn’t grow up here.”
“Oh, that’s right, duh. But wouldn’t that be awkward if she did?”
“Awkward? No. I’d have way too much fun with that, bugging Cole all the time that she was mine before his.”
“I could see you doing that.”
“It’s who I am. Not ashamed. Kind of proud of it.”
“Aren’t instigators always proud of themselves?”
“I think they are. What about you? Any past lovers I need to worry about, driving up here and saying, Don’t touch my woman?”
“Your depiction of my love life is comical,” she says. “They wouldn’t say, Don’t touch my woman. They would say, Let go of my wench.”
I laugh as I cross over to the farm property, the reindeer barn in sight. “Did you date pirates in your past?”
“Yes. You might not know this, but there’s a whole gaggle of pirates in Fort Collins, and I blew through them like a cold breeze on a wintery day. Eye Patch Ezekiel was my most intense lover. He’s the one that I’d worry about.”
“Eye Patch Ezekiel, huh? I’ll be on the lookout for anyone making me walk the plank.”
“He might disguise it under glasses, so I’d be careful.”
“Oof, good point. I’ll just be prepared at all times.”
“Probably best.”
I make the last few steps to the back, and then I grab the shovel that Cole left out. I set Betty on the ground and then shovel around the door so I can get it open.
When everything is clear, I take her glove-covered hand, and we make our way into the reindeer barn, where everything is calm. It’s not warm at all, but they can handle the weather. Cole has draped them all in their blankets, and they seem to be comfortable.
“Wow, why did I think it would be warm in here?”
I chuckle. “Power’s out, babe.”
“Right, that’s still something I’m forgetting. Will they be okay?”
“Yeah, they’re fine.” I move over to their stalls and start checking their feed and water. The water is starting to freeze over, so I take a pick and break it up.
“What can I do?” Betty asks.
“Introduce yourself to the reindeer. Pet them, give them some love. I’m just making sure their water is good. I have to clean out some of these pens, despite hating doing it, and then I’ll top off their feed.”
“I can clean the pens.”
I straighten up. “Over my dead body will you pick up reindeer shit. Jesus Christ, Betty.”
She chuckles. “Why so offended?”
“Because do you really think that’s something I’d allow you to do? No, you’re too goddamn pretty to be picking up shit.”
Her smile grows. “I’d counter that by saying you’re too pretty as well.”
“I know I am. That’s why Cole’s ugly mug usually does it, but he’s not here. Therefore, I have to take care of it.”
She presses her hand to her heart. “You are so brave.”
“Thank you.”
I grab the scoop for poop from the wheelbarrow—ugh, the worst part about snow days—and take it to the first stall.
“Were you ever interested in taking care of the reindeer?” Betty asks as she pets Cupid on the nose.
“I mean, not really. Cole always liked them, and then when his parents passed, it seemed like an easy job for him to take over from my dad, who had gotten older. Carrying around sacks of feed and cleaning up crap has worn on him. It was a great transition.”
“Oh, so your dad took care of the reindeer before Cole?”
“Yeah, and if he were here right now, he would probably do it, even though I’d fight him about it and say I could do it.”
“Where are your parents right now?”
“Europe. My dad surprised my mom with a trip to the Christmas markets.”
“Ah, so you’re watching the house for them?”
I wince, because yikes, this is embarrassing.
“I appreciate you thinking that, but I actually moved back in with my parents a few years ago. I wanted to save up to build a house of my own on the property. I’m just about ready to start the process.
I think in the new year, I’ll start looking at plans. ”
“Oh wow, that’s pretty cool. Do you want a log cabin like your parents?”
“I think so.” I finish cleaning the first stall and then move over to the next.
“I’d want it to fit in with the style of the buildings on the property, not be an eyesore.
There is a pumpkin farm that we went to this past Halloween, Cole’s family and I, and it’s a family farm like this, and all the houses are in the back, but they all have their own style, and I don’t know. It just looked off.”
“I think I know the farm you’re talking about, and I thought so too. Are your brothers doing the same thing?”
“Fuck, I hope not,” I say, causing her to laugh. “They have their own place in town, close to their business, and I hope it stays that way.”
“So they don’t have any interaction with the farm at all?”
“No.” I shake my head. “None. What about you? Do you have siblings?”
“No,” she answers. “Only child.”
“Oh, that’s right, you said that. And Dwight was the sibling you never had.”
“Yeah, Dwight was the closest thing to a sibling I had growing up. We’d always have holidays together. And I called him Uncle Dwight as a joke and it’s stuck, so when he came up with this idea, I almost felt like . . . I had to at least give it a try.”
“The pressure of family is fun, isn’t it?”
“Did you get pressure to stay and help with the farm?”