Justin Thyme Ch. 14

"Hi, Mom."

"Stephanie, I need you home this evening. Besides that, it's a school night. Why would you be staying over at Rosemary's anyway?"

"It's a long story, Mom, and I don't know all the details yet, and there is no school because of the fire. Justin was just beginning to tell me what is going on, but there are TV trucks all over the street out there, and I can't get out without being hounded by reporters. Their grandfather thinks it would be better if I didn't try to leave and get stuck with the media. . . . No, I don't know much more than that right now. Justin was just beginning to tell us. It has something to do with something he found up at the house. . . . No, it isn't anything bad, and no one is in trouble. It's good news, actually. . . . No, I haven't seen anything on the news yet. We've been rather busy. . . . Tom's coming over for dinner? Great! You don't need me there for that! . . . Well, just tell him I couldn't get away. He'll understand, especially if you watch the news. . . . Mom, I really can't leave. I'm looking out through the blinds right now. There are four TV trucks plus a bunch of radio stations have cars out there. If I walked out the door I'd be on TV myself. . . . Thanks Mom. I love you, too, and I'll try to let you know what is going on just as soon as I can, OK? Say 'Hi' to Tom for me, and you two have fun."

Stephanie grinned at us. "Tom is coming to the house for dinner, supposedly with the two of us. Mom's going to have to entertain him by herself, and she's really not happy with me for that! I think it's good, though."

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Dr. Thomas Meechum walked out of the hospital totally upset with himself. Dinner with Mary and Stephanie was on his mind and he wasn't paying attention to where he was walking as he looked at his cellphone to dial Mary's number. He hadn't asked what she would be serving, and he wanted to provide the appropriate wine, but while looking at the phone instead of where he was walking he stepped on the edge of the curb and twisted his ankle. It wasn't bad, but in trying to catch his balance and keep from falling he dropped the phone and watched the screen splinter just before the phone itself fell through the grating of the storm sewer. He muffled a curse as he saw it land in a small puddle, and knew it was ruined.

Shaking his head and muttering to himself he walked across the street to the parking lot, got in his car, and drove to the local supermarket that he knew had a good wine selection. With his phone broken he had no way of receiving Mary's calls asking to postpone their dinner. He thought about making a quick stop at his cell provider's store, but knew he didn't have time if he was going to make it to the Winters' home on time. On a whim he picked up a nice bouquet of flowers from the in-store floral shop to take along.

Stopping at his apartment briefly he grabbed a quick shower and shaved. Flipping on the TV while dressing he heard the tail end of a teaser about an upcoming news report about a local youth's solving of a mystery from over a hundred years ago, and the discovery of a large amount of gold. "Lucky kid!" was his thought as he ran a brush through his hair, flipped off the TV, and made his way out the door.

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Michael dropped Grandpa off at his house to pick up his own car so he could come over to our place and make a statement for the family, mainly me. Susie grabbed his hand again just as soon as he backed into the street and started for her home. "I love you, Mikey. Can you stay for a while when you get me home? It seems like I haven't seen you in ages."

"Sure. I don't have anything pressing going on tonight. I've missed you, too." He looked over at her and smiled. Susie leaned across the console and put her head against his shoulder, which caused her top to gap open just enough for Michael to see the top of her bra and down her cleavage. He could feel his cock stiffening again. He wanted so badly to take her in his arms and properly make love to her. Waiting for marriage was getting to be so hard! At times he was jealous of Justin and Stephanie. They loved each other, but they weren't limited by religion to wait for marriage to share that love. Was it really that bad? "Shake it off, Michael," he told himself. "You know you have to wait," but his eyes trailed back down the top of her blouse once again and he licked suddenly dry lips.

Susie didn't know what was going on, but sensed Michael's sudden arousal. She couldn't see anything, but sensed a sudden tenseness in him that had not been there a moment before. She glanced downward and noticed the way her top pooched open and smiled to herself. So that's what it was! Without even thinking about it she hunched her shoulders just a bit, making the gap just a little wider and felt her nipples begin to contract as she heard a sudden hiss of breath through Michael's teeth. After all, she was in love with him, and she knew he loved her. She felt a rush of excitement and even joy that he found her body to be attractive and stimulating. So much she wished she could show him everything and allow him to make her his. She sighed with frustration and squeezed his hand tightly.

Michael was fighting a war within himself. Vainly he tried to keep all of his attention on the road and driving, but furtively he kept sneaking peaks down her top. He was seeing nothing he had not seen before in girls wearing bathing suits, but somehow this was different. This was his Susie. He had taught himself over the years to overlook other women and how they were dressed, but with Susie that was just not possible! It was as if the soft skin showing above the edges of her bra was crying out to him, "Caress me!" Surely it couldn't be that bad to look, could it? After all, he planned to ask her to marry him in just five days. Hopefully they would be married in just three months if he could talk her mother into allowing it before school began in the fall. Certainly a little look was OK, wasn't it?

As Michael turned a corner Susie shifted a little bit, and her arm pressed inward just a little more, causing the bra cup to loosen up just enough to almost show the nipple. Sweat broke out on his upper lip. Fortunately, her house was just at the end of this block. Now the problem was, how was he going to be able to walk into the house without his erection giving him away?

Susie leaned back into her seat, but in doing so managed a peek down at Michael's pants. Sure enough, she could see a bulge there, and a rather substantial one at that. A shiver of excitement shook her and she could feel her nipples pressing against the bra cup. She glanced down at herself and smoothed her top, pulling it more tightly across her breasts and showing her nipples poking before releasing the shirt and letting it loosen again. She could see from the corner of her eye where Michael was looking and smiled. She leaned back in her seat, and with arms stretched out overhead she stretched, arching her boobs forward teasing him just a little bit more. She wished he would propose and they could get married before school started! She wanted him so badly.

Susie decided, and grinned at the thought, she was going to go into full tease mode with Michael. It had to be done differently than with Justin, but she was going to work on it. Her brain started racing trying to come up with plausible ideas that would keep his attention, not that she had to worry about that, but would not scare him away. Michael saw the sudden smile and asked, "What's up?"

"Oh, nothing special. I'm just happy. Let's go on in. I don't know if Mommy is home yet or not, but we can get comfortable."

Michael hurried around the Escalade to open the door for Susie only to find her leaning forward and rubbing her leg above the prosthesis. "What's wrong, Little One? Leg hurt?"

"Yeah. I've been doing a lot of walking, and it's kind of cramping up a little. I'll be OK."

Michael moved to help her from the car, but his eyes were caught by her hand rubbing her lower leg, and then trailing on up her thigh a ways. "Do you want me to get your crutches for you?" Concern was evident in his voice. "I hadn't noticed you were having troubles earlier. I'm sorry, I should have been paying more attention."

"Oh, it's nothing. It just started aching, and no, you don't need to get my crutches. I think I'll use them later though and rest the leg a bit."

Michael turned around and backed up to the door. "Jump on my back and I'll carry you piggy-back then."

"Oh goody! I used to love it when Daddy carried me piggy-back! I haven't done that in years!" She grinned to herself. This wasn't going to be as hard as she had thought. Her leg really did ache. At least that wasn't being faked. As she leaned forward to climb onto his back Susie managed to brush her boobs across the upper half of his back before settling them around his neck. His hands felt really nice on the backs of her thighs as she hugged him tightly and shifted to and fro a couple of times, as if to get more comfortable.

Michael felt her breasts sliding up his back and then settle around his neck and wished they could be there forever. However, when Susie picked her legs up and her soft thighs settled in his hands he felt as if an electric shock ran through his cock. Her skin was so soft and warm. Without consciously thinking about it his hands slid up and down a few inches as he shifted her into place and she squeezed him tightly around his neck and shoulders. He could feel her breath tickling his ear and then she nibbled on the top just a little, sending goosebumps down his side. "Mikey, I love you," Susie whispered into his ear and followed it with a little kiss where she had just nibbled moments before. Her short hair was softening as it grew in, and it felt good against his head.

Susie wrapped her legs around Michael and made sure to let her good foot slide down over his crotch 'accidentally' as she hitched herself up, as if she was sliding off. She smiled at Michael's obvious boner as he had to quickly shift his hands to keep her from falling. His strong hands felt so good on the skin of her legs.

Michael's mind was in turmoil as he carried Susie toward the house. It seemed everything that happened was going straight to his cock. The feel of her body pressed against his back, the softness of her skin, her breath on his ear, and the feeling of her hair brushing up against the side of his face all conspired against his wavering resolve. His mind said one thing, but his body was screaming something else.

Once inside the house Susie asked him to set her down on the couch, but as he started to lower himself to let her down she leaned backward and pulled him onto the couch with her.

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Mary Winters was flustered at best as she scurried about the house preparing for Tom's arrival. She didn't understand why he wasn't answering his phone. Numerous times she had tried to reach him to cancel plans for the evening. She just wasn't sure that having him there in her home alone was quite the thing for this early in their relationship, such as it was. At least she didn't have to worry about a special dinner. She had told him it would be pot-luck, but she didn't want to look bad either. She always kept her house neatly, but with a man coming over she was more conscious of it than ever and fluttered around fixing this and that, things that she knew he would never notice, but she would.

Mary looked at the clock and realized she had just enough time for a quick shower if she hurried, and she scurried down the hallway to the bathroom, stripping off her clothes as she went, and dropping them into the hamper. She paused in front of the full length mirror and took a quick look at herself. She lightly hefted her medium sized breasts, and was pleased that they sagged little yet. Her belly was still pretty flat, with only a little bit of a middle age pooch. In fact, she was not self-conscious about wearing a bikini. A quick tug at her pubic hairs and she thought that she really ought to trim them, and then she shook her head. Tom wasn't about to see them anyway, so what was the worry. "Mary, what are you thinking, anyway. You're letting Stephanie get in your head about trying to catch this man. There is nothing like that going on. This was about getting Stephanie a chance to get to know more about her father." Yet she was very careful to fix her hair and makeup as nicely as she could.

Stepping into her bedroom she selected a nice pair of bikini underwear. Thongs were not for her. "Butt floss" was her thought of them, and she thought they looked totally uncomfortable, although she had never really given them a try. Her matching bra next, but to her total dismay, one hook on the clasp broke loose as she hooked it, and while it would have held with only one hook she could see that it would definitely leave a lump on the back of her sundress. A quick look at the clock and she saw she was running late. If she was to finish the salad before Tom got there she had to hurry. Her breasts were still firm enough to stand up on their own without support, and the sundress she planned to wear wasn't tight enough to show off her nipples, so she decided just to go without the bra as she didn't have another nice one clean. Not that she was going to let Tom see it, but she just wasn't about to wear one of her less nice ones. She just wouldn't feel dressed up. No, it would be better just to go without.

A pair of comfortable sandals completed the ensemble and she scurried to the kitchen to finish up her preparations. Not a moment too soon, either for she heard the doorbell ring as she put the shredded carrots in with the lettuce. She wiped her hands on a towel and walked to open the door to Tom.

"Wow, you look nice! Scrubs just don't do you justice."

"Thanks, Tom. That was nice of you to say."

"I meant it! I'm sorry, but I dropped my phone and broke it just before it fell into a puddle in a storm sewer, so I wasn't able to call and see what you were serving. Since I didn't know I just went ahead and got a couple of bottles each of a red and a white wine. I hope that isn't a problem with Stephanie. I really didn't even think of her." He handed a bag with four bottles of wine over, and then presented the bouquet of flowers. "I hope these will go with your table decorations as well."

"Oh, Tom! You didn't need to do that! Those are beautiful. Would you like to bring them to the kitchen and I'll find a vase? Oh, the wine will be fine, because I was trying to call you. Stephanie can't be here tonight." She colored a little. "I hope you don't think I tried to trap you. She was supposed to be home, but something happened and she can't be here. She said something about it being on the news, but it wasn't bad." A quick look at the clock and she said, "The news comes on in ten minutes. Do you mind if we watch it to see what is going on?"

"By all means! I'm curious now, too." The swish of her skirt around her legs caught his eye as she turned and led the way to the kitchen.

"I really wanted Stephanie to have a chance to talk with you some more about her father, if it isn't too painful for you. She was so young when he left, and her memories of him are so few."

Tom stopped for a moment to look at Staff Sergeant Winter's picture and gave it a brief nod of acknowledgement, almost as if to him in person. "I would be honored to talk with her about him any time. She can ask anything she wants. If it gets too painful I won't answer. In fact, I was thinking about going out to visit his grave, now that I know he's buried in Phoenix. Would you two like to go along?"

Mary nodded. "Thank you. We try to go up on Memorial Day and Veteran's Day. We would love to go along with you, too." Tom nodded, and they turned toward the kitchen. Mary opened a bottle of red to breathe and noted the white was already chilled. "Would you like a glass of white while we watch the news?"

Tom looked up from trimming the flower stems and said, "That would be good. Thanks. Supper smells good. Pot roast?"

"Um hmm. It was the quickest thing I could think of, and it's easy to do."

"Good. One of my favorites." Out of the corner of his eye he noted the way her skirt flared out as she turned and noted how nice her figure looked. Scrubs do nothing to compliment a woman's figure. How long had it been since he had looked at a woman as a woman? It had been a long time. Since returning from Iraq he had been so busy with medical school, internship, and then residency, plus dealing with a bit of PTSD that being with a woman had taken a back seat in the bus for him. Sure, there had been a few nice looking girls in his classes, and he worked with several as he made his way through training, but they were all a good bit younger than him, and didn't find much of interest in an older, often morose, guy.

Mary poured two glasses of wine and led the way into the living room, where she sat on the sofa. Tom also sat down, but left a polite space between them. Mary picked up the TV remote and turned on Fox 11 in time to watch the News lead-in, followed by a commercial. "I can't for the life of me figure out what is going on with those kids. What does the news have to do with Stephanie not being able to come home?"

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Jeff and Joanne Thibodeaux turned on their TV in time to watch a picture of a large Victorian mansion flash across the screen as the news anchor's voice said, "A cold case over one hundred years old has been solved the Sheriff's department revealed today. While renovating the old Samuel Johnson mansion, recently owned by a now defunct insurance company, two young men found a secret entrance to an heretofore unknown room beneath the house. They found the skeletons of Samuel Johnson and Henry Murray, whom it appeared, had shot each other. According to the Sheriff, Murray tried to hold up Johnson for $50,000 in gold coin that had been shipped to him for a railroad merger. Johnson was heavily involved with a number of local spur lines, some of which are now a part of the Union Pacific.

Neither Justin Thyme, of Thyme and Thyme Again Properties, nor Michael Thibodeaux, son of ASU and Phoenix Cardinals standout Jeff Thibodeaux, were available for interview. We go now to our local affiliate in Tucson for a further report from reporter Jose Garcia."

"Thank you, Julie. We are standing here in front of the Thyme home here in Tucson. When I rang the doorbell earlier this afternoon a young man opened the door and in answer to my questions would only answer 'No comment.' before closing the door firmly in my face. Repeated phone calls were answered only with a 'No comment,' and then only the answering machine picked up. Some time later Ben Thompson, a retired attorney from here in Tucson, showed up and identified himself as a spokesman for the family. All he would say is that they young men indeed found Samuel Johnson and Murray in the cellar and that they had been able to recover the gold, which has been returned to the Union Pacific this afternoon. By the way, that $50,000 in gold coin is now worth over three and a half million dollars! From Tucson, this is Jose Garcia, standing by at the Thyme residence, where we will update you as new details emerge."

Jeff clicked off the TV. "My word. That's what Michael was talking about! I don't blame him for being tight mouthed!"

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Grandpa and Grandma both sat with us and watched the news and Grandpa grunted once or twice when he didn't like the way they said something, but of course there was nothing we could do about it. We certainly weren't going outside and arguing with them over the details. Dad called my cell right after the news segment was over. It even made the news out in LA, although they didn't have as many details there as at home. I handed the phone over to Grandpa after a few minutes to let the two of them decide what steps needed to be taken in the near future.