Many Blessings

  * * * *

  Sachi bid them good-night while the men volunteered to unload the vehicle. Mandaline certainly wasn’t complaining about the early end to the investigation.

  She was definitely in the mood to play considering she’d spent most of the day thinking about tonight. She’d never considered herself much of a morning person before, but with those two in her bed, she now had something to look forward to every morning.

  When the men got upstairs, they found her naked in the middle of the bed, kneeling on all fours with her ass facing the bedroom door.

  She wiggled her hips at them. “Gentlemen’s choice tonight, boys. Come and get me.”

  The men exchanged a look before nearly climbing all over each other to get naked and into bed with her.

  Brad got there first and slid under her sixty-nine, grabbing her hips and pulling her down on top of him so he could bury his tongue deep inside her pussy. With his stiff cock waving in her face, she didn’t need any urging to go down on him. She let out a soft moan as his cock filled her mouth, the head brushing against the back of her throat as she took him as deeply as she could. She curled her fingers around the base, stroking him and making him moan into her pussy. He speared her cunt with his tongue, every moan he drew out of her making him moan as the sensation vibrated down his cock and back into her pussy through his mouth.

  A deliciously vicious cycle, she thought.

  Behind her, Ellis had grabbed a condom and carefully knelt between her legs. “I think I’m only good for one tonight,” he told her. He took his time working his cock inside her, slowly, taking short thrusts and going a little deeper each time. With Brad firmly holding her hips in place, she couldn’t move, couldn’t thrust back against him.

  Finally, Brad let go of her hips and she loudly moaned around his cock as she could rock back a little, taking Ellis deeper even as Brad started sucking her clit.

  Then Brad reached down and found her nipples and she thought her world would implode. It triggered her first release. She went deep onto Brad’s cock, Ellis’ hands now holding on to her hips and forcing her clit to stay between Brad’s tenacious lips. She was helpless to do anything but suck Brad’s cock, laving it with her tongue as the men wrung another orgasm out of her.

  Ellis sounded strained. “You better come fast, buddy,” he told Brad, “because she’s squeezing me like crazy and I can’t hold back much longer.”

  Brad bucked his hips up against Mandaline’s face, his fingers pinching her nipples. The delicious bite of pain amped up her pleasure, triggering another wave of orgasms inside her.

  She was rewarded with a flood of cum exploding from Brad’s cock in her mouth. She eagerly swallowed, still trembling from the last echoes of her orgasm while Ellis slammed his hips into her.

  She felt his fingers dig in hard, one last little climax popping free at the sensation as he came inside her and finally fell still. After a moment he withdrew and stretched out next to her on the bed.

  Eyes closed, she rested her cheek against Brad’s thigh. He stroked her hair, slowly, then her arms. Then he started patting her arms.

  When he started patting a little harder, she realized what he needed and sat up. “Oh, sorry.”

  He laughed as he looked up at her. “Well, I knew I could survive a little longer, but I didn’t want my death certificate to read ‘drowning by cunnilingus.’”

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Thursday morning, Mandaline awoke to find a man between her legs.

  Specifically, Brad. More specifically, he eagerly licked and sucked her clit.

  She buried her fingers in his hair and closed her eyes again. When she reached out to find Ellis, she realized he wasn’t in bed with them.

  “Where’s Ellis?”

  Brad paused, making her wish she hadn’t asked. “Office. Went in early.” His lips closed around her clit again.

  She was happy to lie there and let him make her come, but before she could find release, he sat up and reached for a condom.

  He looked down at her with a smile as he rolled it on. “Don’t worry, babe. I’ll take care of you.”

  He rolled onto his back and made her straddle him, his fingers laced through his. “Okay, baby,” he said. “You ride me. Take your time.”

  She couldn’t get over how well their cocks fit inside her, seemingly hitting every perfect spot inside her. Before them, she’d rarely been able to come just from penetration, usually needing to get over another way. But with them they’d made it the norm, not the exception.

  Rocking slowly, she focused on his sweet brown gaze as she tried to find the perfect angle and position for his cock to rub against the inside of her pussy. Her clit throbbed, her need only stoked by his earlier ministrations.

  When she found the exact spot, his cock deliciously hitting her inside as well as along her clit, she squeezed his hands and moved faster, harder.

  “That’s it, baby,” he softly encouraged. “Ride me. Do what you need to do.”

  She felt his energy reaching out to her, embracing her, dancing with hers the way their bodies moved together. A playful smile curved his lips.

  “I feel it, too,” he said. “You just keep doing what you’re doing.”

  How had two perfect men walked into her life like this?

  Her ass slapped against his thighs as he picked up her tempo and began arching up into her at the bottom of every stroke so his cock bottomed out inside her pussy. She gasped, the extra friction enough to finally send her tumbling over the edge.

  She squeezed his hands harder and let out a soft cry as it started.

  “There you go,” he whispered. “Ride it out.”

  She did, harder, faster, Brad matching her pace perfectly, a series of smaller orgasms all blending together into one longer, sweeter release she couldn’t believe she’d never felt before. She’d had multiple orgasms in one session before, but never like this, never the way their bodies pulled them from her, rolling and multiplying and feeling like her clit had been supercharged with erotic heat.

  Only when she felt it waning did he take over, thrusting up into her at his pace now, harder, faster, his gaze burning right through her very core.

  “This is for you, baby, what you do to me.” He clamped down on her hands and his back arched. Inside her, she felt his cock go rigid before it started throbbing, and he fell still beneath her.

  Winded, she collapsed on top of him, draped over his chest.

  He wrapped his arms around her and stroked her back. With his lips pressed against her forehead, he said, “And that’s what love feels like, inside and out, physically and mentally.”

  She nuzzled her face against his throat. “I felt it,” she whispered. “I feel it with both of you, but I can’t believe you feel it, too.”

  “He feels it. He just doesn’t understand it or recognize it. But you can bet he feels it.” He made her look him in the eye. “Do you realize how happy you’ve made him? And me, too, but I haven’t seen him this happy in years.”

  She didn’t know what to say to that.

  He stroked her cheek. “I only hope we can heal you the way you’ve healed us.”

  She nodded, leaning her face into his touch. “You have.”

  * * * *

  When Ellis left early for the office, he suspected Brad would have his way with Mandaline, but he didn’t mind or feel the slightest bit jealous over it.

  It surprised him how easy it was to fall into a familiar, comfortable daily routine with them both.

  Maybe this was meant to be.

  Frankly, he’d wanted to get up and out of bed and have some alone time. He’d had another disturbing dream about Julie and the shotgun. Only this time, they’d been standing in the kitchen at the house, and the shotgun appeared out of nowhere on the table. She’d handed him the .38 and pointed a finger at him.

  “Believe.”

  Behind her, a dark, ominous shape took form in the open doorway leading outside.

  “Believe!?
?? Julie had admonished one more time before he startled awake.

  He wasn’t usually one to put much stock in dreams. But considering everything that had happened over the past couple of days, he wasn’t delusional enough to ignore them, either.

  And before he left for work, he’d made sure he wore the .38 under his blazer.

  Ellis returned from the office a few minutes after noon. “Is there anything specific I need to wear, or will jeans suffice?” he asked Mandaline.

  “Jeans are fine. Listen, you don’t have to do this.”

  He put his hands on her shoulders. “Last time. I’m going, or you aren’t. Period.” He still couldn’t get the weird dream with Julie out of his head.

  No way would he let Mandaline go to the Corey house alone.

  Brad laughed from where he was lounging on the couch with a sketch pad in hand. “Quit arguing with him. You should know better by now.”

  “It’s just that I don’t know how long I’m going to be or what I might or might not find.”

  “I know you won’t be going at all if I’m not with you.”

  While Ellis knew where the Croom park was, he’d never been there. Mandaline carefully bumped the SUV over the cattle guard at the gate before stopping at the small gatehouse.

  The park ranger wore a frown as Ellis rolled down the passenger window. “Can I help you folks?”

  Mandaline leaned forward to see past Ellis. “I have an appointment with Samantha Corey today.”

  The ranger slowly nodded. “You worked with Julie Prescott?”

  Ellis glanced over at Mandaline. He didn’t miss the momentary flash of grief on her face. “Yes. I’m Mandaline Royce.”

  The ranger slowly nodded again. “Sorry about your loss. Main road was just graded yesterday, so you shouldn’t have any trouble there. Not sure what condition their driveway’s in. It’s marked. You know how to get there?”

  “Yes, she drew me a map.”

  He stepped back from the car. “Have a nice day.”

  Ellis rolled up the window as Mandaline pulled forward. “He was certainly chipper,” he snarked.

  “I can’t imagine they’re happy about what happened, either,” she said. “The whole park’s been crawling with press and the morbidly curious.”

  Immediately to the east of the main road lay I-75. To the west, various trails wound through thick oak and pine trees. He knew there were also day-use areas and a large campground in the park. As they made their way up the main road, he noted the frown on Mandaline’s face.

  “Are you sure you’re up for this?” he asked.

  She nodded. “I have to,” she quietly said.

  They found the driveway and she slowed even more as they bumped down the deeply rutted dirt track that wound through the trees. After several minutes, they emerged at a fence line, where a locked metal gate stood guard.

  “She told me to honk.” She tapped the horn twice.

  An old, two-story house stood roughly in the center of the property. Next to it sat a large construction Dumpster.

  A small, older-looking barn was overshadowed by a large, brand-new travel trailer parked next to it. Two horses, which had been grazing in a fenced-off pasture, raised their heads at the sound of the horn.

  A moment later, the front door opened and a man waved at them before he started down the porch and across the property toward them.

  As they waited, a woman appeared in the front door. She walked to the edge of the porch, where she stood, waiting on them.

  Mandaline rolled down her window as the man reached the gate. “Matt, this is Ellis Fargo. He’s…my boyfriend. I hope it’s okay that he came with me.”

  Ellis inwardly smiled at how she’d announced his status. It was the first time he’d ever heard her call him that.

  Matt unlocked the gate. “No problem. I suspect he insisted on coming.” Matt gave them a good-humored smile. “After what happened, I sure as hell wouldn’t blame him.”

  Ellis gave him a thumbs-up and they waited while Matt opened the gate for them to drive in. He glanced behind them and watched Matt lock it behind them.

  When they parked by the house, the woman walked down to greet them. Somewhere, a dog barked. It sounded like it was coming from the travel trailer, barely audible over the whirr of the trailer’s air-conditioner unit.

  The woman gave Mandaline a warm hug. “Thank you for doing this,” she told Mandaline. “We really appreciate it.”

  “It’s okay. Samantha Corey, this is Ellis Fargo.”

  The woman looked sad, grieving every bit as deeply as Mandaline. “Please, call me Sami,” she said as she extended her hand.

  He shook with her. “Ellis is fine. I…I’m sorry about your husband.”

  She nodded. “Thank you. I think we all wish things had ended differently.”

  The man walked up. “Matt Barry.” He stuck out his hand as well. “Thanks for coming.”

  After shaking with him, Ellis adjusted the back of his shirt, which concealed the comforting weight of the holstered gun against the small of his back. In the humid heat, sweat had already begun pooling behind the holster. “No problem.”

  * * * *

  Relief washed through Mandaline that they didn’t mind Ellis’ presence. And now faced with the house for the first time, a chill blasted through her soul, even in the oppressive heat.

  She’d avoided media coverage of what happened, hadn’t seen pictures of the house’s exterior in Julie’s notes.

  The outside of the house looked exactly as Julie had presented it in her dream the other night.

  “Where did you want to start?” Sami asked.

  She still wore her grief as thick as the sultry Florida humidity against her skin. “Are you ready to do the service, or did you want to wait and do it last?” She hoped they wanted to do the service first, because now faced with the reality, she wasn’t sure she wanted to see where Julie had died.

  Sami glanced up at Matt, who protectively draped an arm around her shoulders. “Let’s do it now, please. Before the afternoon rains start.”

  Mandaline took a messenger bag from the SUV before locking it and putting the keys in her pocket. She wouldn’t take any chances despite not feeling the slightest bit of apprehension or fear about the place.

  It might have had a history of horrors, but now, it was a place of healing grief.

  They waited while Sami went to the house and returned with a plain box about the size of an urn.

  She looked a little embarrassed. “I…I told them I didn’t want an urn,” she told them, the box securely wrapped by her arms. “I wanted to scatter them anyway. Is…is that horrible?”

  Mandaline gave her what she hoped looked like a kind smile. “No, you did what you needed to do.”

  “The cemetery is this way,” Matt pointed as he started off. “We picked up a small paver stone to use to mark the spot. I left it over by the other gate.”

  They headed south through the pasture as the horses came over to follow them. A fresh lock on a shiny chain had to be opened by another key on Matt’s ring of them. He let them out, locking it behind them. The horses whinnied by the gate, one of them throwing his head up and down.

  Sami turned with a sad smile. “It’s okay, boys. I’ll try to take you out later.”

  Matt picked up the small paver stone and took the lead again. “They’re antsy because I’ve made her stay here and not go out riding. Fucking asshole paparazzi all over the goddamned place.” He glanced at them. “Excuse my language. I have no use for them. I’d file restraining orders against every damn last one of them if I could, but it’s public land around here. If there’s a ranger on duty, they try to call us with a heads-up. Unless they break park rules, there’s not a lot they can do to legally keep them out.”

  “Ellis is a lawyer, too,” Mandaline offered, more to keep conversation going than anything.

  Matt glanced back. “In town?”

  Ellis nodded. “Family law, mostly.”

  ?
??Ah. I turned a law degree into being a literary agent,” Matt said as they continued walking. “Helps a lot with the contracts. I’ll get your card before you leave, if you have one with you. We’ll need a local attorney.”

  They trudged along a soft, loamy dirt trail. The trail ran south along the property line, eventually curving off to the east, passing under trees until the land sloped up a small hill into a thick stand of pine trees. They entered a small clearing where a thick bed of pine needles carpeted the ground. Matt and Sami stopped at the edge of the clearing.

  “Here it is,” Sami softly said.

  Mandaline, followed by Ellis, slowly walked forward. She knew from pictures and sketches in Julie’s notebook that the small stone marker in the center of the clearing was George Simpson’s grave marker. Mandaline also noticed the several piles of stones scattered around the clearing.

  “Those are the Spaniards’ graves?” Mandaline asked, pointing at the cairns.

  Sami nodded. “Yeah. Julie had sketched the layout of the other graves. And…” She took a deep, shuddering breath. “She thought George Simpson probably murdered his wife and kids and burned the bodies here. When the family disappeared, searchers found signs of an old fire and some bone fragments.” She looked down at the box in her arms. “I think she was right.”

  Mandaline walked the periphery of the clearing, but felt nothing out of the ordinary. Nothing creepy, nothing spooky.

  Nothing dangerous.

  Mandaline put her bag down. From inside, she pulled out the recreated drawing of the clearing Julie had with her that day. The original copy had been found in the pocket of the clothes she’d had on that day and returned with her other personal possessions.

  “Do you have a specific place you’d like to put him?” Mandaline asked as she quickly oriented herself.

  “No,” Sami quietly said as she stroked the box. “Wherever you think is best.”

  Mandaline nodded. From her bag she pulled out a small, purple velvet sack of items. Walking around the clearing, drawing in hand, she finally settled on a place. “This would be good. No one is here.”