Tattletale: The Aftermath

The only sound heard for the next few minutes was the clatter of eating. Finally, all three pushed back from their plates with sighs of satisfaction. Gail said, "That was the best meal I've had since momma got sick. Thank you so much, Pete. It was wonderful. I had almost given up ever eating steak again."

The next morning Pete gathered his fishing gear and walked down the path to the old house. He walked into the area Gail and Todd were using to camp and said, "Hey, you two. It's still a holiday. I'm going to fish if you want to come along. If not, enjoy your day off."

Gail smiled and jumped up from her chair. She turned to Todd and said, "I'm going. Can I use your fishing gear, Todd?"

Todd laughed and remained in his chair. He said, "Yeah, sure, sis. Knock yourself out. I'll just sit here and chill for a while."

Gail happily dove into the mess in the back seat of their car. She soon came back out pulling a fishing pole and tackle box with her. She trotted over beside Pete and said, "OK, I'm ready if you are, Pete."

"Great. Come on. I think I know a pretty good hole if what the neighbor told me is true." The two friends took off down the trail toward the lake and were soon out of sight of the house and Todd. When the path widened Gail, moved up beside Pete and walked with him in companionable silence. Occasionally their hands or arms would brush the other. Once Gail gave Pete a hip bump, then smiled up at him when he looked down at her.

Without thinking, Pete reached out and wrapped his arm around Gail's waist. She unconsciously moved closer to him and walked quietly in his embrace. Soon they came out on the shore of the lake beside where the small stream poured into it. The sun was just barely up and mist was rising from the water. Gail stopped and gasped, "OH, its beautiful! I could just sit here and watch the sun come up and fish jump."

"Yeah, I keep thinking I need to take time to just sit and enjoy my little spot here but it seems all I do is work. As soon as we get the house finished, I AM taking some time to unwind. I intend to buy a boat and build a boathouse down on the shore too."

The two friends moved along to the 'secret' fishing hole and tossed their lines in. They sat quietly on the bank whispering back and forth as they fished. Soon they had caught enough for lunch and supper so decided to quit. Gail said, "I know we don't need more fish but I hate to go back to the house. I could just sit here for a while and relax it's so peaceful."

Pete sat beside a tree and held his hand out to her. "There's no reason why we can't. The fish on the stringer won't get away. Come on."

Gail gook Pete's hand and he pulled her down beside him. He wrapped his arm around her and she leaned into his embrace. She looked up at him and raised her face slightly to meet his as he bent down for a kiss. Gail moved slightly and wrapped her arm around Pete's neck to pull him closer as the kiss continued.

Gail and Pete heard stones rattle just as Todd exclaimed, "Hey. I thought you two were going to fish! This looks like fishy business to me."

Pete pulled back from Gail and turned toward Todd. He felt slightly guilty and started to stand. Gail grabbed him and pulled him back down beside her. She looked over at Todd and snarled, "You asshole. Don't give me your holier than thou attitude. Or should I remind you about Becky and the barn all those times?"

Todd grinned and held his hands out as if to push her away. "NO! No, that's fine, Sis, I'm sorry. I just wanted to rag you a little." Todd looked over at Pete and continued, "Look, I've got no problem with this at all. Hell, I've seen the way you two look at each other. I've listened to the flirts going back and forth. If I had a problem with it I would have told you a long time ago. Look, I'll just get on back to the house and quit bothering you."

Pete stood in spite of Gail's attempts to hold him back. He held his hand out for Gail and pulled her to her feet then said, "There's no problem here, Todd. We have enough fish for lunch and supper so we decided to sit and enjoy the morning for a while before we got back. We need to get back to the house and clean the fish so we can cook lunch. I'm getting hungry and we wouldn't have stayed here much longer anyway."

Pete walked to the stream and pulled the stringer from it. He walked back to Todd and handed it to him then said, "Here. We caught 'em, you can carry them back for us if you don't mind. We'll be along soon."

Todd took the fish and picked up the fishing gear Gail was using. He quickly disappeared down the trail toward the house. Pete wrapped his arms around Gail and pulled her to him for another kiss. Gail moaned and pressed her body to his as the kiss deepened. She rubbed her belly on Pete's hard cock, broke the kiss, and smiled up at him. He looked sheepish then turned and pulled her against his side as they walked toward the house. Pete stopped and picked up his fishing gear as they passed it. As they walked, each constantly looked at the other person their arm was around.

The rest of the afternoon Pete and the Sheppard's sat around his patio enjoying the time off and each other. Of course, Pete and Gail enjoyed the afternoon (each other) much more than poor Todd did. After lunch they sat under the trees and visited, learning more about each other. Gail said to Pete, "Pete, I know you are divorced but that's all. I don't want to be nosy but, well, you seem like such a great guy I can't believe it was something you did."

Pete sat back in his chair. He got an angry look on his face and Gail began to worry she had overstepped her bounds. Finally he looked at her and said, "No, it wasn't my fault. Or maybe it was, sort of. To answer your question, or what I think your question is, I didn't hurt her and I didn't cheat on her. It was the other way around. I found out she and her best friend's husband were an item and had been together since before I even met her. I divorced her and ruined him. That's where I got the lawn care business. His wife took most of what I left him and he disappeared from town. If you want to check, you can call her or ask some of the employees at the business."

"NO. No, Pete, that won't be necessary. I trust you and think I know what kind of man you are. You may have saved Todd's and my life and asked nothing in return except we work and earn our pay. Even when I offered to screw you for food you kept to the moral high ground. Working with you and getting to know you better has just made me respect and love you more. Oh, shit! Uh, -."

Todd laughed when he heard Gail say that. Pete looked shocked and then grinned. He pulled her to him for another kiss, looked into her eyes and said, "Gail, I never thought much about finding another woman after the mess with Emily but you have changed my mind. I'm pretty sure I am falling in love with you, too."

During the rest of the afternoon the three visited and talked about their past and became even better friends. They also discussed the future work on the house and possibilities of employment after that. Pete made sure the siblings knew they would have a job with his company. He also said if Todd wanted they might even add remodeling, repair, and small building tasks to the current deck section. Much too soon for Pete and Gail the evening turned into late night. Finally they sorrowfully ended the day and went to their separate beds.

Since the exterior of the house was completed the three began to redo the interior the following day. The first thing they did was the wiring then the plumbing. After those items were up to par, new insulation was installed then the wallboard. Pete decided the office and library would be oak paneling. The rest of the house would be sheetrock. It took another six weeks to finish this phase of the work. As the job progressed, Pete came more and more to rely on Todd. Todd seemed to be an artist at every phase of the work. Pete also became more and more enamored with Gail. They always worked close together and took every opportunity to touch and kiss each other.

Finally the house was completed. On the evening they completed the renovation, Pete, Gail, and Todd sat outside on the now completed patio of the old house. They looked out over the small lake where the stream ran into it. Pete pulled Gail to his side and gave her a gentle kiss. He looked down into her eyes and said, "Gail, there is one thing this old house needs desperately that it doesn't have."

Gail looked puzzled then asked, "What? I thought we did a great job on the place and you were ready to move into it? What did we forget?"

"Well, Gail, it needs a woman to care for it and I need a wife to help me enjoy it and fill it with love and children. Will you marry me and be that woman?"

Gail's eyes got larger and she smiled before answering, "Yes. Yes, I'll marry you and we'll fill this house with love and children."

Pete turned to Todd and said, "Well, Todd, it's not that we don't like you but I think you just got your walking papers. You know what they say, two's company and -"

Gail and Todd both looked shocked. Gail broke into Pete's sentence before he could finish. "Pete. What do you mean? How could you kick Todd out! If you're going to be that way"

Now it was Pete's turn to interrupt Gail. He put his hand over her mouth and saw instant anger. He said, "HOLD ON. Damn it let me finish before you get pissed off." Pete turned to a worried looking Todd and continued talking, "What I was getting ready to say before your sister jumped to a conclusion was that after we get married and move into this house you can live in the modular home I am living in now. It can be part of your pay if you want."

A now crying Gail wrapped her arms around Pete and blubbered, "OH, Pete, I'm sorry. I should have known you wouldn't kick Todd out. You just surprised me and after all the trouble we've had I spoke before I thought. I'm sorry, honey, and it will never happen again. I promise.

Pete moved into his renovated home over the course of the next two weeks. The three then began the renovation of the old garage and barn. Those tasks took longer because of all the wedding plans and then the big day. After the wedding, Pete and Gail lived in the beautiful old house in happiness greater than he ever knew with Emily. Todd led the construction side of the business to huge profitability. Pete appointed a foreman over the lawn care part of the business while he oversaw the entire operation. He, Gail, and Todd operated a small commercial produce farm on the land east of town also. Gail was able to operate that part of the business while she watched over their children with very little outside help. Todd began dating one of the young neighbor women after he moved into the house Pete used to live in.