The Rabbit^(F)©
“In order to make rabbit stew, first one must catch a rabbit.”

By: Daleok357

          New Section 

          He had a place in the Rockies, much bigger than he really needed, built in the time of his life when he thought that someday a home that size would be needed for the wife and the kids. It was set on a bluff overlooking a valley with tall ponderosa pines on three sides and a stream wandering across the front, leading to a little waterfall just below the porch.
           This had been home for the past 30 years, this place of peace and quite seven days a week. Time stood still here, nothing changed; little was needed other than a weekly trip to town for things that homes needed. However, that was not enough.
           Somehow, the house was not a home. It was not a place to live. It had become a prison of sorts for him. When it was new, it was his ideal retreat from the stress of life and the everyday rat race. However, as of lately it was just a house. It was just a place to go when other places would not due.
           His only engagement with people now was the weekly trip to town. It provided the means to socialize and to remember that he too was a member of the human race.
           The jeep stood ready. It was his only link to civilization, but not his only means of transportation. On a few occasions, he would take the horses to town when it was the trip that was needed and not the supplies. This was one of those times.
           Both were saddled, standing, waiting quietly. One wore a packsaddle. The other carried his old TexTan. It would be a hard ride but one that he enjoyed. In addition, this would be one of the few times that he would stay in town over night.
           He sat looking down at the village below him. He wondered if anyone that cared for the life, he was living. Was there anyone that understood the lifestyle of peace and tranquility that was his? If only there was that special person with which to share it. Oh well, if she had not presented herself by now, he doubted that she ever would.
           Time was wasting and the trip down the mountain would not make its self!
           The little village would be crawling with tourist during this season. This was not his favorite time to go but the cupboard was bare. It was now or never.
           Entering the backside of the little town, he headed for the stable. He noticed, not the people, but the number of people. This was not going to be much fun.
           With the horses cared for and resting, he wandered down the main street toward the store. All he would have to do was leave his list with Maggie and then show up the next morning. Maggie knew his likes and dislikes better than he did. After all he, and she, had been doing this for 30 years.
           Maggie was a stout woman about his age with flaming red hair and sparkling green eyes that always intrigued him. She knew everybody in town by their first names, which kids, and grandkids, belonged to whom. She was also one a very few that had actually been up to the place he called home.
           Opening the door, he looked for the familiar face behind the counter. However, nowhere did he see the smile he had grown used to these many years and trips down the mountain. Instead, behind the counter there was a new face. A face he had never seen before, but one that reminded him of Maggie, although a much younger Maggie.
           “Hello, Mr. Stetson,” the voice was Maggie’s but it had come from the young woman behind the counter.
           “Hello,” he stammered looking around the store.
           “I’m Lisa, Maggie’s grand daughter,” the voice came to his ears as though Maggie herself were there.
           “Where is the lovely Maggie?” he asked.
           “She has gone back to see to the funeral of her sister in Oklahoma .”
           “Sorry to hear that, ah, Lisa?” he questioned.
           “Yes, sir,” she smiled at him.
           “Well, the sir is not needed. I am just Dale.”
           “Very well, Dale,” she said. “Maggie told me you would be here. I am to fill your order just as she would.”
           He reached into his jacket pocket and fished out the list. Maggie had no trouble reading his hen scratching but he wondered about this new face.
           Lisa took the list and read aloud every item written there.
           “This will be ready first light tomorrow,” she said as she walked out from behind the counter that had her hidden her from mid chest down.
           It was then that he noticed her for the first time.
           A slim woman standing about Maggie’s height, which was about five foot eight, give or take a few inches. She had shoulder length auburn hair surrounding the face of an angel. He guessed her to be about half his age. As she began to gather up the things he needed he watched her. It was like watching clouds floating over the peaks. She was slim with the body of a goddess. Her legs, long and well shaped, showed some muscle but not too much.  She also had a delightful backside with all the shape of an upside-down apple.
           As she walked toward him, he could not help but notice her eyes. They were the same green as Maggie’s with the same twinkle. However, that was not the only thing he noticed!
           No sir, he noticed that Lisa was blessed with more than her share of breasts. In addition, they quivered and jiggled as she walked making a grown man freeze dead still.
           “Dale?”
           All he could do was smile and nod.
           “Maggie set the spare room up for you before she left just in case you wanted to stay. I didn't see your jeep. I assume you will be staying tonight?”
           It was not as if he had not been speechless before, it had happened many times. Some of those times were over a woman. However, this time was different. This time there was no cure.
           “Dale?” she asked again.
           “Ah, yes,” he stammered, “tonight. I will be leaving in the morning.”
           “Maggie said to tell you the cobbler would be ready as usual and that just because she was not here did not mean for you to spend more time over at the Hungry Logger.”
           ‘Ah yes,’ he thought, The Logger, the only place in town to get a good steak and a beer. Hell, it was the only place in town to eat.’
           For years, he had made this trip. His first stop was always Maggie’s place. Then off to the Logger for a meal and a cold one, sometimes more than one, but never more than three. Then back to Maggie’s for homemade peach and blueberry cobbler. After that a good night’s rest, made much easier by the beer, the cobbler and the company.
           “Dale?”
           He was doing it again, standing there with nothing to say and looking like the wooden Indian just outside the door. What was that old song about the wooden Indian? It was a Charlie Pride number from the late sixties or early seventies.
           Well, the exact title was of no consequence but the feeling was beginning to sink home. Not being able to speak or to move, just like the old Indian. The one standing that had been outside Maggie’s door for as long as he could remember.
           “Dale?”
           The urgency of Lisa's voice shook him out of the trance that had engulfed him.
           “Yes, not too long at the Logger. I understand.”
           Lisa could not help but giggle a little. She knew that at times she had had this effect on men. However, this time it was different, this time she was a little embarrassed about it.
           Here he was, a friend of her grandmother, twice her age. She could not help herself. It was as if her body overruled her mind, to say nothing of her common sense. It was like the feeling of an impending storm, very unsettling and oh so hard to handle. Something inside her said to get back behind the counter and be a good girl. Something else made her want to be there. She knew that if she did not get a hold on herself she could do unmistakable harm to the friendship of this man and her grandmother.
           She took the only course of action open to her.
           “Dale, I need to get your things ready.”
           “Ah, yes,” his feet finally were moving toward the door. “I will be over at the, a, the ah…”
           “Logger,” she finished the thought for him.
           The next thing he heard was the door as it banged shut behind him and the blare of a car horn as he absent-mindedly stepped out into the street. He shook himself and cleared his mind of the woman behind him.
           The woman behind him was not so lucky. Lisa found her pulse racing. Her hands were damp with moisture, her legs more than a bit unsteady.
           The Logger was the same as always, too full, too loud, and too warm. But the steaks were always good and the beer always cold. He seated himself at a table way back in the corner as he always did. It was as far away from the crowd, the jukebox, and the door as he could get.
           He had been here so many times that he did not even have to place an order. All he had to do was catch the eye of Jason the bartender and Susan the waitress. It was all done. The steak was on the grill and the beer on its way. It was the same every time he stepped in the door, just another evening at the Logger. Or, so he thought.
           His mind was occupied with the young woman he had just met. Everything around him was a blur and he did not even mind the loud music.
           As he nursed his beer and waited on his steak, all he could see was Lisa. Her smile, her twinkling eyes, and her body that made his heart race and his blood boil.
           This was Maggie’s granddaughter. He should not be having the thoughts about her he was having. He was so engrossed that he did not hear the voice right beside him. His eyes, focused on the bubbles in his beer as his mind dwelt on the beauty that was Lisa. Had he met her 25 years ago he was dead fast sure that they would have been a couple. Yes, he knew she would have been his rabbit!
           All this was running through his mind, giving him more to think about than he had had in the past few years, even when he was writing daily. He had spent more time than he should have on the last book. It took a total of seven years until he was happy enough with it to send it to the publisher. However, it had paid off. He could now afford to write when he wanted and fish when the urge took him.
           All this cause him to jerk to attention when her hand touch his shoulder, sort of like the shock you get when you find bare spot in an electric wire. The result was more of a jolt than the shock of her touching him. The beer he had been nursing was now all over the front of his clothes. Lucky for him it had warmed a good bit since he sat down.
           Lisa could only laugh at his predicament. And between the chuckles, she managed to ask, “Is that seat taken?”
           Susan saw the action and was there in an eye blink with a towel.
           Lisa seated herself as he stood there patting at his beer soaked clothing.
           “Ya sure ya want to sit with someone who can’t hold his beer?” he asked.
           “I would love to,” she said.
            Susan, who was still busy wiping the table, looked at Lisa and ask, “Wine?”
           “Yes, please.”
           She was gone and back with Lisa’s wine and another beer for him while he was still patting at his clothes with the towel.
           “Your steak will be out any second,” Susan told him. Turning to Lisa she asked, “What will you be eating?”
           “The pasta, please,” Lisa answered.
           Susan left as he sat, still dabbing at his wet shirt.
           “Stop with that,” Lisa said, “we will get you a dry shirt and get that one laundered later.”
           “OH?" he asked.
           “Yes,” she replied, “while you are eating cobbler I can run your shirt and pants. They’ll be ready for tomorrow's trip back up the mountain.”
           “And what would I be wearing while you are so graciously doing my laundry?”
           “I am sure we can find something.”
           His steak arrived and right behind it her pasta. As they ate, they talked.
           “So Maggie tells me you are a writer? Would I have seen any books you have written?”
           “I don’t know, what kind of reading do you do?”
           “A little of everything,” she answered.
           “Then maybe you have. I know Maggie has my books on her shelf.”
           “Then if you will show them to me I will check them out.”
           The rest of the evening went by quickly. The two of them spoke of almost everything under the sun. Both seemed to enjoy the meal and the conversation.
           The beer and the wine were gone, but the talk just kept getting better.
           “Let's continue this over cobbler,” Lisa suggested. “Somewhere a bit more on the quiet side?”
           “I agree,” he said picking up both checks and offering her his hand.
            As she took it the same jolt him them both that had hit him and spilled the beer a few hours earlier.
           On the walk across the street to Maggie’s place, he could not help but wonder, ‘could this be something worth pursuing? Could it be that a woman half his age might be the rabbit he had wished for all his life?’
           She, on the other hand, did not know what to think. She had never had such a delightful evening. The electricity that flowed between them had her off guard so much that she was frightened.
           The street was empty and the sky red with the setting sun, as they walked hand in hand. Neither one said a word. It was as if nothing needed to be said.
           The cobbler was fantastic as usual. However, he had a hard time enjoying it, sitting there at the kitchen table in an all too short robe. However, enjoy it he did, as he watched Lisa busy about getting his beer soaked clothes washed and dried.
           Morning came all too soon. With the sunrise, he was up finding his clothes neatly folded on the foot of his bed. His supplies were ready too, all bound up in the netting, which hung from the packsaddle so well.
           It was a good thing that the horses knew the way for his mind was not at all on his riding this day. More then once he was almost unseated during the trip. His mind was glued to the young woman behind the counter at Maggie’s store.
           With no incentive to write, the week drug by. He only dreamed about Lisa and watched the clock. It was not like any writer’s block he had ever endured. It was far worse!
           Friday finally did come. This time he opted for the jeep and not the horses. It would provide a far faster trip to town giving him more time, he hoped, to see the sassy lady it had only taken a week to fall in love with.
           Hitting the edge of town he found himself checking to see that he was dressed appropriately, clean shaven, and without a hint of odor.
           ‘Spiffy,’ he thought to himself, ‘ready to take on the world.’
           That was when the trouble struck!
           With a large bang and a following slow hiss, the right rear tire went the way of so many others after traversing the rocks of the road up the mountain. His first stop would not be Maggie’s store. It would be Roy ’s shop to get a new tire. Therefore, able to do nothing else, he just limped the jeep down the main street on the rim.
           To his surprise, more problems awaited him at the tire shop. Roy informed him he had just sold the last two tires of that size and would not have more until the next morning. The thought of another night in town was not unappealing. After all that meant he and Lisa could spend more time together.
           He grabbed his bag, with a set of clean clothes inside this time, and headed for Maggie’s store. Even with the bad luck, he was happy to be there.
           He was greeted by the same voice as he entered Maggie’s shop.
           Just like the Friday before, she was there behind the counter. However, this time she was dressed differently. There was a little more frisky lady in her attire. Her hair, which had been up in a bun last time, was now hanging loosely down over her shoulders. Instead of jeans, she wore a full-length pleated skirt held about her waist with a leather belt with shining silver conches on it. Her blouse was a bit more open at the front and tucked neatly beneath the skirt. However, it did nothing to hide the ample filling it contained.
           She smelled divine, like a mix between the mountain meadows filled with wild flowers in spring and a clean pine breeze off the flanks of the mountains. Or was he imaging all of it?
           “Good morning Mr. Stetson,” she smiled to him from her post.
           “What did I tell you, young lady, about that mister stuff?”
           “OK,” she giggled, “Dale. Have you a list for me this morning?”
           “Yes, Miss Lisa I do. And, if it wouldn't be too much trouble. May I again use the spare room?”
           “Well, of course sir,” she hesitated. “I mean Dale. I will have it ready for you after your supper at the Logger.”
           “And speaking of that,” he swallowed hard. “Would you care to join me?”
           “I would be honored,” she replied.
           Was it his imagination or had one more button on the blouse come free.
           “By the way,” she said looking at the list of supplies in her hand, “I read your last book over the week. Interesting to say the least, and quite stimulating.”
           She delivered that bombshell with the grace of a well-trained running horse, never missing a beat.
           The whole book dealt with a couple living back in the woods that had come to an adult nursing relationship by accident. It was much more graphic that his first two books, a fact the publisher had been surprised but elated about. After all, how many times had the publisher told him, ‘Sex sells!’
           The blush began to creep up his neck making him want to turn and run. Never in all his days had a lovely woman such as Lisa said anything like that to him. ‘Stimulating’ she called it. All of it was his fantasy of what his life could have been like.
           It was just a bit much for an old man to take. He turned on his heels and started out the door. Her touch stopped him dead in his tracks.
           “I did not mean to embarrass you,” she said softly. “I just found the book to be a good read on a subject that I had never thought about.”
           The blush was still moving up and he wondered if she could tell.
           “Thank you,” he stammered, trying to think of something else to say.
           “I also looked at the other two books.”
           “And?”
           She was doing her best to give him an opening. Some way to restart the conversation they had both so enjoyed from the previous week.
           “I think I shall enjoy them every bit as much,” she smiled at the red creeping up his neck. Not able to resists her next comment, she smiled, “though I doubt that the windows will need to be quite so far open to keep cool.”
           That was all it took! He was now as red faced as a teenager being caught looking down the blouse of the lead cheerleader! Moreover, this situation would not be near as easy to get out of.
           “Well,” he choked out, “as long as you enjoy my work I will take your hot flashes as a complement.”
           “Please do,” she said. “See you at the Logger at six?”
           He just nodded as he went out the door.
           He spent his whole day rummaging around town. He even went to a garage sale, and that was something he detested more than publishers who told you what to write. By the time six rolled around, he was ready for his steak and beer. It had been a long, warm day. He was in need of some cool drink and conversation.
           Stepping into the Logger, he eyed the table in the far back. It was set with candles and a reserved sign on it. ‘Well,’ he thought, ‘a seat at the bar then.’
           Susan was before him before he could turn toward the bar.
           “Your table is ready,” she chuckled a little, “sir.”
           This was not starting out good.
           “Right this way, Sir,” again she chuckled.
           Nope, not good at all! And since when did the Logger use tablecloths and candles? Something smelled rotted in Denmark !
           Susan seated him and Jason was there with the beer before he could think to ask for it. Well, at least that was nothing new.
           “Your steak is on the grill, Sir. Well done as you like it. It will be only a few minutes,” she was chuckling as she left.
           At least the Logger had not changed. There were still too many people. The music was up too high. Sipping the cold beer, he wondered what else might change tonight. At least he had a change of clothes with him this time.
           However, he had nothing to worry about with reference to the past incident. This time he saw her coming, though it had almost the same effect.
           She was wearing a white dress that stopped just below the knees and swirled when she walked like snowflakes in the wind. Every man in the bar watched as she approached him at the table. He was standing long before she arrived. The top of the dress had only one strap, leaving one shoulder bare. It showed how deep the tan she had really was. She was something to behold, a goddess in the flesh and coming toward him. Every eye in the place was on her.
           So many questions flashed through his mind. He was almost unable to pull the chair out for her. Had he known this would be that type of night he could have dressed much better.
           He pulled the chair out and she smiled at his offer. Seating herself, she looked up at him with those shining eyes.
           “I hope you don't mind,” she began, “I wanted to get dressed up for our date.”
           So this was a date.
           Sitting down, words just failed him. A man of his age, and a writer to boot, at a loss for words? Then he noticed that the Logger was suddenly very quite.
           The jukebox no longer was blaring. There was hardly any conversation in the place. It was as if the world stopped when she walked in.
           “I have a favor to ask,” she said opening the purse she carried.
           His first thought was that the bag was a bit large for the way she was dressed.
         “I ordered this last week and it just came in today. Would you sign it for me?”
           He looked at what she had pulled from the white leather bag. In the dim candlelight, he could tell from the cover that it was a copy of his last book.
            He reached for the book and their hands touched. The electricity was still there. It hit them both like lightening from a mountain storm. He felt it and could tell by the light in her eyes that she did too, right down to the soles of their feet. He could not help but notice that at the contact her nipples clearly showed through her dress.
           He looked back at the point where their hands touched on the top of the book. Laying there next to the candle was a gleaming sterling silver pen. Had it been there before? If so, why had he not noticed it?
           He looked at it, then at her with the question in his eyes.
           “A gift to you for signing my book and for being my friend,” she smiled.
           He picked up the pen, opened the book and signed, without noticing what he had written. “To the most beautiful woman in the world.”
           Recovering his senses, he looked down at the words he had written as she sat, hands folded in her lap, waiting.
           I was true; she was at that moment the most beautiful woman in the world. Sitting at his table! Then he read the line again, signed his name and closed the cover, sliding it back across the table to her.
           At that moment, the steaks arrived. She quickly placed the book back in her bag without reading what he had written.
           As they ate, the conversation was about everything but his last book. It was as if they had never ceased the talk from the Friday before. Only to cut the steak did he take his eyes off her. She was, at least to him, the most beautiful woman in the world!
           When the steaks and the wine had been gone for a long time she spoke, “There is cobbler over at the store. Would you like to have some?”
           He nodded and stood, pulling her chair out as she did the same. Again, every eye in the bar was on her. He knew they were not looking at him. In his mind he could hear them saying, ‘Man, what a lucky fellow to have a rabbit like that.’
           Upon leaving the Logger, she turned left instead of heading across the street to the store.
           “Going somewhere?” he asked.
           “I just feel like walking. Don’t you?”
           He did as he had been taught to do by his mother, always walk on the street side of the lady. He never really understood why. To keep crazed drivers from jumping the curb and hitting the woman was his guess.
           A block down the street she stopped to look into a store window. His mind was a million miles away yet still on her, when he bumped into her. She wobbled on her high heels and, the gentleman that he was; his arms were there to steady her. She turned to him, embraced in his strong arms, and kissed him.
           She held the kiss much longer than just to say ‘Thank you for not letting me fall.’
           He was in heaven with such a beautiful creature in his arms. He could have stayed there all night. However, they were on a public street in front of a well-lit store window and everyone passing by could see them. She broke the kiss, taking his hand in hers and moving down the sidewalk.
           At that moment, he, the big virile mountain man that he was, fell in love the granddaughter of the storekeeper.
           Passing by Roy ’s shop they both noticed his jeep with its blown tire still sitting there. Well, Roy would have it fixed in the morning, but tonight he would stay in town. He would stay with this magnificent woman from behind the counter. It mattered not if Roy fixed the jeep tomorrow or the next day. Although he did have to keep his writing schedule intact. He had made it a point to do so for the past thirty years, even when other things tried to pry him away.
           At the corner, she turned to cross the street. He was right there at her side. He was very proud to be with her, prouder still to be the one to help her down off the curb and across the four-lane.
           Crossing the North bound lanes was easy. The Southbound lanes were another story. As they hurried to make a safe crossing, she once again stumbled. Again, he was there to steady her. She looked into his eyes and once again, she kissed him.
           Now that wouldn't have been too bad, there in the middle of the street at dusk, but it just so happened that the city constable was making a right turn at that very moment. He was a young man who knew Dale. He was also one of who few to have been up to the house. He recognized Dale and could not help but make a comment as he rolled by. With a short bleep from the siren that got both of their attention, he called out the window of his cruiser. “All right you two. Get a room!” and drove off.
           They were still laughing when they arrived at Maggie’s front door!
           She did not bother to unlock the door, but instead just turned the handle and opened it. This was very odd. Many times, arriving at Maggie’s store while she was gone on an errand, he found the door was locked. Moreover, once, on the occasion of his staying a little too long at the Logger, he had had to knock until Maggie came to open the door.
           Lisa locked the door behind them as they entered. Then, as she led the way through the store to the living quarters in the back, she paused at the counter. She turned to him and melted into his arms giving him a kiss that made the other two seem like a peck on the check.
           It was then that another voice reached his ears.
           “It's about time you two got back here!”
           Caught! Had he known that Maggie was back, he for sure would not have been kissing her granddaughter. Well, not right there in the store anyway! In addition, he might not have agreed to have dinner with her. It was too late now!
           There stood Maggie, her eyes shining, looking at two lovebirds wrapped up in each other’s arms. If either of them had harbored any thoughts of anything intimate or amorous for the evening, it was gone with the wind.
           “Come on you two, the cobble is getting cold!” Maggie said as she turned and left them standing there.
           Looking into each other’s eyes they both began to giggle like teenagers. Still, they walked into Maggie’s kitchen hand in hand.
           The cobbler was delicious and the conversation, though now three way, was just as good as it had been inside the Logger.
           Lisa excused herself to change clothes and he took the opportunity to try to apologize to Maggie.
           “I am so sorry about that Maggie. I shouldn't have been kissing Lisa.”
           Maggie stopped him with the wave of her hand.
           “She is a grown woman. What she does is none of my business.”
           “But, still,” he started.
           “I will hear no more. If Lisa finds you attractive, who am I to stand in the way? She knows her own mind and can handle herself.”
           With that no more needed to be said.
           The time passed quickly as the three of them sat eating the cobbler. They exchanged ideas, answers to the problems of the world, and insights of one thing or another. Then Maggie excused herself saying that the trip up from Oklahoma had been a long one. She left the two of them in the warm, softly lit kitchen to polish off the last of the cobbler.
           It was getting along close to midnight when they parted, Lisa to her bed and he to his rented room. He would be up with the sun and off to see about the ailing jeep.
           As the sun rose and filtered into the room, Lisa awoke to the sound of the front door closing. She knew that he was off to get the jeep and he soon would be gone for another week. She reached for the book on her nightstand and opened it to read again, what he had written.
           The news at the tire shop was not good. The size he had needed was not in stock. They would not be available until Monday. This would mean he would have to stay in town two more nights.
           He helped himself to a cup of Roy ’s coffee and tried to develop a plan of attack. The thought of spending two more nights in Lisa's company was not unappealing. However, that could not be. The horses would need to be fed and cared for, to say nothing about his writing schedule. He spent Friday and Saturday away from the desk and Sunday rereading what the past week had produced.
           On the walk back to Maggie’s there was still no schedule. No way of getting back to the house. In addition, there was no way back to town to retrieve the jeep. However, things had a way of working out when the day was the blackest.
           His supplies were packaged and waiting on the counter when he entered.
           “Where's the jeep?” Maggie asked.
           “No tires ‘till Monday,” he replied.
           “How will you get back up the mountain?”
           “Right now I have no idea,” he answered.
           “You could always take mine.”
           “No, I couldn't do that. It would leave you without a ride for a whole week.”
           Maggie was deep in thought, but her eyes still twinkled.
           “Why don't I have Lisa take you home and then come get you next week?”
           Sometimes things work out when least expected to do so.
           “Lisa,” Maggie called, “can you come here for a moment?”
           She walked into the store, her hair done up in a long braided tail, eyes aglow. She was wearing shorts and a halter-top. In her hand was the copy of his book as she had been reading it for the second time in so many weeks.
           “Let's load Dale's supplies into my jeep and you take him home. His won't be ready until Monday.”
           Her face lit up at the prospect of seeing where he lived.
           “If that's all right with you?” Maggie addressed him.
           Even if it hadn't been, it was too late. Lisa had dropped her book into one of the boxes and had it in her arms heading for the door. That was that. He grabbed the second box and Maggie the third.
           He could not help but notice, as Lisa passed him, how the box she held in her arms made the bulk of her breasts come out the sides of her halter-top.
           “Watch it old man,” Maggie said as she stepped by him, “she's still my granddaughter.”
           Lisa was already placing her box in the back of the jeep when the door banged shut behind him and Maggie. The reach had her up on her toes leaning over the tailgate, which presented a more than delightful sight to his eyes. Her shorts were just that, short and tight. This was going to be an interesting trip!
           “Let me get a hat and my shades and we will be ready,” Lisa said heading back into the store. “I’ll be just a minute.”
           He added his box to the two already in the jeep and turned to face Maggie.
           “I know she will be safe with you,” Maggie said handing him the keys. “Take care of her,” and reentered the store.
           As he sat there, he wondered about having this young woman so close. Could he keep his hands off her? His wondering ended as she hopped into the jeep, leaned over and kissed him.
           “Let's go,” she said waving to Maggie.
           The little jeep’s engine roared to life and he cut the wheels and made a U-turn in the middle of the street, illegal as hell but it felt right. They were on the way. First stop, Roy ’s, to tell him of the plan. Then up the mountain trail to his home.
           Neither said a word as they sped down the asphalt out of town, the wind in their faces and the sun on their shoulders. Ten minutes later, they hit the cutoff that lead back into the woods and up the mountain.
           He slowed so as not to bounce the supplies out on the trail. The resulting exit off the asphalt did make for a pleasurable sight as her breasts began to bounce inside her halter-top.
           It was about three miles until he had to put the jeep in four-wheel-drive. That was when the going got a little rougher. He knew that at that point that his mind had better be on his driving. Not on the pleasurable sight that was sitting next to him.
           The dust rose behind them as they rode along. Lisa reached over and laid her hand on his leg as he shifted the little jeep.
           “You all right?” he asked.
           “Yes,” she said leaning her head back letting the wind whip her braided hair.
            She was a sight! She was the woman of his dreams in every sense of the phrase. The road became a little bumpier. He glanced at her when her grip on his leg tightened. The resulting sight made the jeep swerve.
           She looked at him, patted his leg, and leaned back. All was right with her world. She was where she was supposed to be, with him.
           The road started up abruptly and he stopped to shift into four-wheel. He reached over and pulled her seat belt tight accidentally brushing the side of her breast. The contact made his hand burn where he had touched her. The voltage between them was still there and very active.
           It would take about an hour to make the climb but he knew that once there she would love the view. He hoped she would love the house. As they slowly crawled up the mountainside making the curves and the switchbacks, his mind planned the tour.

The sights just kept coming. Lisa kept squeezing his leg. He was very happy that she was there. It would be an honor to have her in his home, if only for a few hours.
          Catching sight of something moving up ahead, he slowed to a stop. She started to speak but the simple gesture of putting his finger to his lips kept her silent. Then he pointed ahead of them.
          Across the road, not thirty yards ahead, a herd of deer crossed the road.
          Lisa took one, long drawn out breath as she saw them and whispered, “I've never been so close and there are so many.”
          He was accustomed to seeing them every morning from the porch while having his coffee.
          As they disappeared into the woods, the little jeep renewed the climb.
          The horses met them at the fence as they entered the little meadow that was his front yard. As they topped the hill and the house came into view, they repeated the scene with the deer.
          He heard the sharp intake of breath so he came to a stop to let her absorb it all. This was his home. This was where he had spent the last thirty years of his life, alone.
          As the jeep slid to a stop in the parking space at the foot of the stairs, Lisa popped loose the seat belt and bounded out. She stood looking around her like a wide-eyed kid in a candy store.
          “Well, this is it,” he said as he watched her.
          “Beautiful! Magnificent!” was all she said.
          He grabbed a box and headed up the stairs as she looked through the clearing and out over the valley. He could see her breasts rise and fall with her breathing.
          “Come on, let me show you the house.”
          “Oh, yes,” she turned and lifted a box and followed him up the stairs.
          He knew the view was even better from the porch, some twelve feet higher. He stopped, turned to her and nodded toward the valley.
          She turned and looked out and down as he fiddled with the lock on the door. Setting his box down inside, he turned to see her still standing there, box in hand.
          “This way,” he said.
          Holding the door for her, she stepped inside three steps and then stopped to look around at the place he called home. It was definitely a man’s house. He had taken several trips up and down the mountain to get everything to furnish it.
          Leaving her there looking around he brought in the third box of supplies. Sitting it down on the counter he smiled.
          “Now let me show you the rest.”
          “There's more?” she asked.
          They started the grand tour. He showed her the study where he did his writing, the kitchen where he cooked, the bedroom where he slept and the guest rooms. All built with the thought in mind that there would be more than just one person living there.
          “Wonderful,” she said, looking around her. “But the one room I need right now I haven't seen.”
          “Right this way,” he lead her down the hall and opened a door.
          The bathroom was furnished for a man but built with a woman in mind, two sinks, lots of light, and both a shower and tub.
          “I’ll be on the porch when you are done,” he said closing the door behind him.
          Retrieving two cold beers from the kitchen, he moved to the swing on the porch, leaving the door open for her. Sitting on the swing sipping the cold brew, he wondered what she thought.
          Stepping out of the house, she glanced sideways spotting him where he sat. At that moment, she knew that was the right place for her. Here in his mountain hide away, at his side, forever more, was where she belonged!
          Crossing the porch, she stood at the railing, looking out at the view. She knew he was getting a view of his own but she did not care. It felt right.
          “Just awesome!” she said turning to accept the beer he offered and joining him on the swing.
          They sat and talked until the sun began to fade behind the mountain.
          “We need to get you started back down the mountain,” he said.
          “Don't worry. The last thing Maggie said to me was, see you in the morning.”
          Still seated on the swing, they watched the lights in the village below them begin to blink. The chill drove them inside.
          As he lit the fire, she wandered about the house looking at everything. She saw his gun collection, the copies of the books he read, and the pictures that were everywhere.
          The chill in the house increased. Lisa could feel the goose bumps begin to accumulate on her arms and legs. The coolness also had another effect on her body that she noticed and was sure Dale would notice also.
          With the fire safely going he went looking for the houseguest that he wished would never leave. He found her standing before the bookcase, her arms wrapped around herself, shivering.
          “Are you cold?”
          “Yes,” she whispered as he walked up behind her.
          Taking her in his arms to share as much warmth with her as he could, he kissed her neck and whispered in her ear, “Then let's get you back in by the fire.” But neither of them moved.
          Minutes later he turned her around and by the hand led her back toward the front room that was now very toasty warm and inviting.
          He lifted a throw from the chair putting it around her. As he did so, he noticed the goose bumps on her arms and the state of her nipples, both due to the cold.
          Leaving her standing before the fire, he went to the kitchen. Fifteen minutes later, he returned with hot cocoa for them both.
          She had kicked off her shoes and was laying on the floor warming her feet when he walked into the room.
          Pushing herself upright, she watched him place the tray on the hearth. They sipped the cocoa and watched the fire. The only movement either made was his placing more logs on the fire.
          After two cups, she turned to him and asked, “It has been a long day, do you mind if I borrow that big tub I saw in the bathroom?”
          “Don't mind at all. Sit right there while I go get it ready.”
          He added fresh towels, a few different bottles of bubble bath and a few candles to the room, along with a big fluffy white bathrobe.
          “Your bath is running,” he said as he offered her a hand to stand up.
          “Thank you, kind sir,” she made a little curtsy.
          They both laughed. The she took the throw from around her shoulders and placed it around his. He watched as she reached behind herself and untied the stings of her top as she left the room. He could see in dangling loosely from her hand as she stepped into the bathroom and closed the door.
          He prepared the guest room and returned, placing another log or two on the fire. He had his nightly sip of Seven-Crown and sat down to watch the flames and wait.
          She returned to him no more than thirty minutes later, smelling like a mountain meadow in springtime. She was attired in the fluffy white robe that was a bit too long. It dragged on the floor and each time she passed over a rug, it peeled back to revel a peek of well-shaped leg. Seating herself on the floor, right next to the chair he sat in, she accepted the cup of cocoa he had been keeping warm by the fire.
          They sat and talked far into the night. He had to call a halt due to sleepiness.
          He stood and extended his hand to help her off the floor. She stood and wrapped her arms around him, kissing him. When the kiss was broken, she whispered in his ear, “Thank you for having me in your home tonight. And thank you for being my friend.”
          With that, she padded off down the hall toward the guest room. He saw the light blink on and the door slowly and softly close.
          The morning sun, streaming in the window, woke her up, and she could smell the coffee. As she turned back the down comforter, which had kept her warm the night through, she remembered that she was in the mountains. The coolness of the morning air caused her nipples to stand up as she slipped into the robe. She had slept in the nude, only because she had rinsed out her clothes and left them hanging in the bathroom.
          Making her way down the hall, she almost stopped to get back into her clothes. However, decided, on a whim, to stay in the robe, at least for a little while.
          The smell of coffee led her straight to the kitchen, but her host was not present. There was a cup on the counter next to the stove, where the hot pot of coffee was. She helped herself and claimed a stool at the bar. She was enjoying her second cup when she heard him on the back porch. She turned on the bar stool to face the door and noticed that the way the robe fell, and the way she was sitting, that she was showing more than just a little bit of leg.
          Ah yes, Sunday morning on the mountain, time to relax and reflect on the past week. As was his morning ritual, he had grained the horses, paid his respects to the dogs he had buried on the hill out back, loaded the carrier with small sticks for the cook stove and returned to the house, intent on having his second cup of coffee on the front porch as usual. However, the sight that greeted him in his kitchen was not usual!
          As he backed in the door, a few of the sticks fell out of the carrier. Picking them up, he saw her. Her loose auburn hair hung down over the white robe as she sat there holding the coffee cup. Of course that was the last part he saw. In his position, he viewed her from the bottom up.
           “Good morning,” she said with a smile.
          “And a good morning to you too, pretty lady” He jerked his gaze up to meet her amused eyes.
          “I helped myself to the coffee. I hope you don't mind?”
          “That's what I put the cup out there for,” he replied.
          Placing the sticks in the box by the stove he said, “I was just about to have some coffee out on the porch, the view is so nice from there this early. Care to join me?”
          She was on her feet and had filled his cup and hers before he had all the sticks in the box.
          “Ya know,” she said as they sat sipping their coffee, “I am going to hate to go back down. I do so love it up here.”
          “I hope you will come back and stay with me again sometime.”
          “I will anytime you ask me,” she smiled.
          He offered her more coffee but she declined, saying that it was time to get started back to town. She stood and went back into the house only to return a few minutes later with an odd look on her face.
          “Is there a problem?” he asked.
          “Well, sort of,” she nodded. “I rinsed my clothes out last night and hung them on the rack over the tub. They are not there now.”
          “I am sorry,” he turned beet red. “I hung them next to the fire this morning to make sure they were dry. They seemed a bit damp.”
          “Oh,” she said turning back to the door.
          He was beside her at once and holding the door open. He ushered her inside pointing to her clothes there next to the fireplace.
          She went toward the clothes and he toward the kitchen. As he placed the pot and the two cups on the counter, he turned to see her sliding her shorts up under the robe. Then she removed the robe, place it on the chair, and tie the straps of the halter behind her neck and back. All this he watched from the back and, still, it excited him.
          He watched her drive down the hill, vanishing into the woods on her way back to town. He spent the rest of the day daydreaming.
          What would it be like to have a creature like that in his home every day? What would it be like to sleep with her right next to him? His mind ran at the speed of light.
          The week drug by endlessly. He found that, the more the thought about her, the longer it took an hour to pass. Then, when Thursday night finally arrived, he was sitting on the porch thinking about her coming to get him the next day, when he caught the sound of a purring engine and the flash of headlights through the trees. Probably just someone out driving the dirt roads and lost.
          A few minutes later, his own jeep slid to a halt at the foot of the stairs. This was no accident. Lisa jumped out and ran up the stairs throwing her arms around him and kissing him as if she had not seen him in years. It had only been five days, but it did seem like years.
          “I couldn't wait until tomorrow,” she gasped. “I had to see you.”
          “I am glad to see you too, my dove,” he said, lifting her and carrying her toward the house.
          “Wait!” the urgency in her voice stopped him dead. “I need my pack, and I have a surprise from Maggie.”
          She hurried back down stairs, fetching her pack and a box from the jeep. With her pack slung over one shoulder, and the box held with both hands, she carefully mounted the stairs for the second time.
          “What's in there?” he asked.
          “Cobbler,” she smiled, “and it is still warm.”
          They ate the cobbler, adjourned to the porch with hot cocoa. They sat there until the stars shown above them. As they talked, the subject of his last book came up again.
            She listened as he explained how the idea came to him from a couple in Texas and a woman in Alaska . He told her about the research into the lifestyle and the possibility of a woman lactating without being pregnant.
           “I would like to see that research,” she said.
           “You are welcome to it.”
           He started the fire while she retired to the guest room to change. She had laughed as she left him with matches in hand; at least this time she had brought her PJ’s.
           He could not help but wonder what her PJ’s looked like. Would they be that kind to cause him to lose control? Would they be something more modest? Time would tell, either way.
           The fire crackled to life and he sat the cocoa next to it to stay warm. Looking up, he saw her enter the room dressed in long cotton pajamas bottoms and slippers, with the white robe wrapped tightly around her.
           Seating herself before the leaping fire, she watched him pour the cocoa and hand her a cup. She felt like she belonged there, with him, in front of the fire, sipping the warm liquid. Then she thought of his last book and wondered what warm liquid he would like to sip?
           They sat and watched the fire listening to the wind blow through the trees. It was heaven for them both. But neither one knew that of the other.
           “I reread your last book,” she said, “and I still find the story line somewhat erotic. I was wondering, would you tell me what you were thinking when you wrote it?”
           The question did not take him by surprise. It did, however, make him think of how to answer before he spoke. How could he tell a sweet young woman he had only known for a few weeks that it was his personal fantasy? How would she take the idea that he wanted a lactating woman? Would it be so weird that she would flee his home and his company? On the other hand, would she be at ease with his needs and wants?
           As he sat there pondering his answer she continued, “I think it would be the most wonderful thing in the world to be able to give sustenance to someone from my breasts. I know that when I have children I will breastfeed them. So why should it be, as you described in the book, a taboo to feed an adult?”
           “It is not a taboo, so to speak,’ he answered. “I am sure that most every father has tasted, at least once, the milk his child was suckling. And I know of instances where a woman nursed their child and the father at the same time.”
           “Really?”
            “In my research I found couples that induced the female’s lactation just for the pleasure of nursing.”
           “OH? Well, that brings up another question. If you don't mind?”
           Was it getting a little warm in the room, or was it just him? The fire had died down to mostly embers. Still he was feeling a little warmer than normal.
           “Inducing? What does that entail?” she asked.
           The room was suddenly much hotter! He cleared his throat and dove in.
           “Inducing requires a lot of hard work and a commitment by both partners. A commitment most folks will never know. It requires a love deeper than the sea and will result in a feeling of euphoria and a high that makes the mountains look like the flatlands.”
           “Yes, I understand. But how do you do it? I thought a woman could only lactate if she had just given birth.”
           As she listened, he explained that it was indeed possible and how it might be accomplished.
           She watched him with the riveted interest of a child listening to a familiar story told by a parent. Her eyes never left his. As she sat there, she fidgeted, feeling the heat build within her. Oh, how she wanted to invite him to suckle! How she wanted him to know that she was his for the asking. However, this would have to play out on a timetable she did not control. But, she could try to help it along.
           As he talked, she shifted her position, letting the robe fall open to reveal a hint of cleavage. She hoped it would help things along. She had dressed for this occasion, leaving the top of her PJ’s behind, just for this reason. She was very glad the robe he furnished her with was so soft. The resulting reaction within her breasts and her hardening nipples would have otherwise been very uncomfortable.
           His problem was the same, although of a different nature and location. He kept talking as she shifted her position. He explained how one might induce lactation if one were not pregnant. He just hoped he was making sense!
           They sat and talked most of the night, and the sun just beginning to peek over the mountain tops as they parted, her going to the guest room and he to his own.
           It was just past midday when the wind began to blow, gusting enough to tumble over the chairs on the porch. It jerked Dale back to the land of the living. He recognized that a mountain storm had come up, as it often did. Quickly and violently.
           He was standing in the hall when the first of the lightning and thunder struck. With the house so high up on the side of the mountain, it was as if the thunder was in the room with him.
           The noise of the chairs tumbling over on the porch jerked Lisa awake. During her time in the valley, she had not yet experienced the sheer power of Mother Nature’s temper. The shock of being awakened had rattled her a little. When the thunder arrived, she shot out of bed, down the hall, right into his waiting arms.
           The tightness of her arms as she clung to him was not unlike, as the old-timers said, ‘Being caught between a rock and a hard place’.
           It was not until the third clap of thunder that he noticed anything else. All he could think of was the beautiful woman in his arms.
           After the chat during the night, the condition of her breasts had made wearing the top of her PJ’s a hindrance to sleep. Even though it was soft cotton, and made to be comfortable in fit and function, to her it felt like burlap with a sandpaper lining. Sometime, while she was trying to get to sleep, she had discarded the top like a used Kleenex.
           There they stood, both wearing the bottoms to their PJ’s and nothing else.
           The thunder came like rounds from a long line of artillery. However, as the storm rolled along, the thunder no longer seemed to be inside the house. The decibel level eased, as did the tight grip with which she held him. Somewhere, in between the rapid booms, she became aware of her state of dress and of his.
           The warmth of his body, and the tickling of the hair on his chest against her nipples, rekindled the same arousal she had known last night. She knew, as her nipples hardened, that he could feel her state of excitement. Her feelings for him would not be a secret for much longer. She hoped that she would not be rejected or scorned for her body’s response to his closeness.
           He was in a predicament himself, owing to the fact that he was holding a half-naked woman in his arms. As he looked down into her eyes, he knew that this was where he had always wanted to be, in the mountains, in his home, and her in his arms.
           Looking up, she stood on her tiptoes to wrap her arms around his neck to kiss him. Then whispered, “Nurse me.”
           With her arms still tightly around his neck, he scooped her up and turned back into the master bedroom, kicking the door shut. The world was outside and nothing else existed except the two of them.
           As he laid her on the bed and moved beside her, the last clap of thunder roared in the distance. Or was it just beyond the door? Neither one of them knew or cared. It was as if no one was within a thousand miles of the house.
           As they stared into each other’s eyes, no words were needed and none spoken.
           She arranged herself so that his lips were on a level with her nipples and as he looked to her for permission, she gently pulled his head to her breast. Her sharp intake of breath as he latched on turned into one long sigh as he suckled. ‘Yes,’ she thought, ‘this is where I belong.’
           The hour-long ride down the mountain passed without a word between them. She sat with her hand on his leg as he negotiated the curves and switchbacks of the winding road. He looked at her and smiled.
           At the edge of the village, he pulled to the side of the asphalt and stopped, leaned to her and kissed her. As he started to speak, she silenced him by putting a finger to his lips.
           “I am yours, if you will have me,” she said.
           He kissed her again and with a smile said, “Then my home shall be your home.”
           The little jeep roared to life and the wheels spun on the pavement as they headed into town.
           As Maggie filled the list of supplies, she noticed that there were a few additional items this week. It was more a list for two than for one. In addition, she speculated that this would not be the last list of this sort.
           Lisa and Dale sat at the corner table in the Logger that evening until closing time. It was too late for him to return up the mountain, so once again he would rent Maggie’s spare room.
           He was lying there staring at the ceiling when there was a soft tapping on the door. “Yes?” he whispered, and the door slowly opened.
           Back lit by the glow of the refrigerated cases of the store, he saw her enter. As the door closed the moonlight, filtering through the windows lit her face like the vision of an angel. As he watched, she unbuttoned and removed her pajama top.
           The resulting squeak of the bed springs as she raised the cover and crawled in sounded to him like the siren of an oncoming ambulance. Nevertheless, it was music to two sets of ears.
           She moved closer to him and placing one arm under his head once again offered him what he so wanted.
           They nursed, rocking back and forth, listening to the bedsprings as they protested. As he suckled sleep overtook him and, within a few loving minutes, her.
           Each dreamed of the other and in each dream, all was right with the world.
           Somewhere in the night, a soft tugging at her breast awakened Lisa. As her eyes focused, she saw Dale there, sleeping soundly and nursing. Pulling him closer she closed her eyes and drifted back to sleep.
           The next morning dawned a bright, cheerful day. It found them still together, locked in a loving embrace, her arms around him and his head at her breast. Though sometime during the night, the connection had been lost.
           Being the first to awaken she looked at him there beside her and, doing what she thought right, lifted her breast to rub the nipple across his lips like she would have done to entice a child to nurse. His eyes never opened but his lips did, accepting what she offered.
           Thirty minutes later, as she buttoned the top button on her PJ’s and left the room, she came face to face with Maggie. Maggie noticed the blush beginning to spread over her cheeks. She just smiled, winked and patted Lisa on the shoulder as they passed.
           As Dale dressed, he recalled the past night. Was it a dream? Or, had he lived out part of the fantasy he had written about? Could this be happening to him? Was this just the summer fling of a young woman away from home?
            With Maggie busy in the store, he did as he usually did after staying in the spare room. He headed to the kitchen for one cup of coffee before he went to the Logger for his breakfast. However, this morning he would not be alone at the table.
           Lisa was sitting there, sipping coffee and reading. He noticed that the book in her hands was his last book.
           As he entered she smiled and said, “Good morning, dear.”
           It sounded wonderful to his ears as he rubbed his eyes.
           She stood and pointed to a chair next to hers. “Sit,” she said, as she crossed the room to reach into the cabinet for another cup.
           He drank the brew and watched her busy herself. He really preferred his coffee with cream.  However, this morning, his mind was not on how good the coffee was but rather on the woman that had poured it for him.
           Her voice broke the silence between them.
           “I know you usually go to the Logger for breakfast, but I thought that this morning you could stay here and let me cook for you,” she said as she bent over and retrieved the eggs from the refrigerator.
           She was a sight of loveliness, still in her PJ’s. There was no question as to where he would eat this morning.
           As she broke the eggs into the skillet, he pulled the book across the table, still open to the page she was reading and he read the lines he had written years before.

           "Sara looked into the eyes of her husband as he lay with his head in her lap and nursed from her breast. She knew that, no matter what the world might think, this was her place and this was her destiny. As she pulled Chad closer he looked up at her and she knew, even though his lips were still around her nipple, that he was smiling, and she too smiled.”

            He walked down the street and, after paying Roy for the tire, took the long way back to Maggie’s shop. There in front sat his jeep loaded with the supplies he had ordered. Inside, there was no sign of Lisa.

            As he paid the bill, Maggie handed him the one thing he allowed himself, one box of five cigars. Around it was wrapped a note, “Take care of my granddaughter,” was all it said.

            He would have been happy to do just that but at the time, he had no idea where Lisa was, or why she was not in the shop.

            Sitting in the jeep, he opened the box to have his homeward bound cigar and found inside another note. It contained a quote from his book and a few words from Lisa. It read.

            “In order to make rabbit stew, first one must catch a rabbit.”

            “Your rabbit will be back in a week.”

            Lisa

            He awoke the next morning in an empty bed in an empty house. Lisa’s note was on the bedside table. He saw it as his eyes focused on the new day.

            He sat on the front porch with his coffee cup in one hand and the note in the other looking down on the village in the valley. As he sipped the coffee and read the note for the thousandth time, the thought struck him. ‘WHY should his next book be a fantasy?’ By nightfall, he had an outline, although the outline had more than a few blank spaces. By noon , the next day there was a beginning.

            Burning the oil late that night he put pen to paper, the words just flowing. By day two, there were twenty pages of what happened between them. In it were just enough flowering words to make it readable and not an article for some medical journal.

            The week flew by as he changed the characters names and the location. He was trying to make it true, but still keeping the privacy that he guarded so closely. It had to be a good read! It had to be a true story! However, beyond that, it should give away nothing more.

            He found himself pouring over the research he had saved from the last book. The same research and notes that Lisa had ask to see. Binding all the information in a leather-covered notebook, he carved her name on the front. Inside was a little inscription, ‘For my rabbit, with all my love’.

             As Friday approached, the jeep stood ready to carry him to town. The diesel cans were attached, the supply list was made, and the mail was ready to leave with Maggie.

            In that mail was a short note to his publisher. It only read, ‘Book four is in process. Do not look for it anytime soon. This one will take some time. More at a later date!’

            Heading down the mountain his heart was full of wondrous things. Full of plans and hopes and even a little bit of fear. If Lisa was indeed his rabbit then his life would change, his writing schedule would change, the supply list would change, and all for the better. There would be new commitments and time would have to be made for them.  However, time he had in abundance, time for her and time for them.

            Maggie saw him stop in front of the store. She watched as he crossed the sidewalk and opened the door. She also saw his eyes cover every inch of the shop when he entered.

            As he stepped up to the counter and laid his list on it, she said, “Tomorrow. The spare room is ready for you.”

            His smile lit up the room and his heart sang. ‘Tomorrow,’ he thought. ‘Tomorrow is the day.’

             With out a word he turned and crossed the street to the Logger where he took his place at the back table. Susan noticed his entry and the smile on his face. She did not even bother to ask what he wanted, instead drew his beer.

            “And where is Miss Lisa?” Susan asked, setting the beer in front of him.

            “Tomorrow,” was all he said. His eyes were fixed on the door as if Lisa was about to walk through.

            Susan left him to his daydream with one cold beer and a half burnt stogie. She knew conversation was not his forte today.

            The stars overhead had begun to twinkle before he left the Logger. It had taken the entire day to consume one steak and two beers.

            Stepping into Maggie’s shop, he heard voices coming from the kitchen.

            Was it? Could it be?

            His stride quicken, as did his heart rate. Alas, it was all for nothing. In the kitchen, he found Maggie and Gwen, the owner of the shop next door, chatting away over cobble.

            “Get yourself a bowl and join us,” Maggie said.

            “Yes, please join us,” Gwen added.

            As usual, it was delightful conversation. The kind he and Maggie had been having every Friday night for the past few years. However, his mind was not always on their talk. Some of it even caught him by surprise.

            “Ya know,” Gwen said as his mind focused on Lisa. “You and Lisa make a wonderful couple.”

            It shook him out of his stupor and made him get back into the conversation.

            “Thank you. She is a special lady,” he replied.

            “When is she due back?” Gwen asked.

            With out hesitation both he and Maggie answered at the same time. “Tomorrow,” and then they laughed.

            “Well, I guess you both have an interest there,” Gwen laughed.

            It was true. They both did have an interest in Lisa. One, a vested interested as a grandparent, and the other a growing interest in her in many ways.

            His cobbler was gone and the two women were still chatting away when he excused himself for the evening. He was on his way out the door and down the hall when he heard Maggie’s voice.

            “Sleep well. The rabbit arrives tomorrow.”

            As he lay in bed watching the moon light make the shadows dance on the far wall, he wondered if soon the whole town would know? On the other hand, did they know already?

            He had been living here when his last book came out and the town had made a big deal over his being a resident. He had signed over a hundred for town folks. If they all read it then they would all soon begin to put two and two together.

            In the kitchen the next morning, Maggie had the coffee was done.

            “Ya know,” Maggie, said, “the Springs are just an hour and a half drive. You could be there long before her plane lands.”

            Maggie watched as his face lit up then turned back to her breakfast on the stove.

            “You could take my pick-up,” she paused. “In case she has a lot of luggage. It would save her a three-hour bus ride and a second trip to get her things. Keys are right there on the table.”

            She never saw him take the keys or exit the room. What she did hear was the door as it banged shut behind him, and she smiled as she flipped the pancakes.

            The big four-wheel-drive Dodge Cummins Turbo diesel roared to life. In only a few minutes, he was on the asphalt at seventy miles an hour. The only stop he made was at the top of the pass to look back at the little valley. The village he now called home. A place he hoped Lisa would come to call home too.

            The big truck was nothing but a black flash down the interstate. In no time at all he was pulling into the airport parking lot. Maggie must have planed this because taped to the dashboard was Lisa’s airline, flight number, and arrival time.

            There was two hours to kill and he wondered what he would do at the airport that long. His first stop was the café, because he had had only three sips of coffee before he bounded head long for the door and the trip to the Springs.

            Sitting in the café, he watched the planes come and go. He prayed that he would never be here to watch Lisa leave. As he sat there, he noticed the woman at the next table watching him. She was a middle-aged woman with graying hair and blue eyes dressed in a lavender dress with a more than abundant bosom.

            He had never been comfortable with people recognizing him and did his best to stay out of the public eye. However, sometimes it did happen.

            She leaned toward him and said, “Pardon me sir, are you Dale Stetson?”

            He had begged his publisher not to include a photo on the book cover, but lost his bid hands down.

            “Yes, ma’am I am.”

            “Oh goodness,” she squealed. “I just finished you book. Might I say it was a very good read and I loved the subject matter?”

            “Oh?”

            “Oh, yes. I have been in a nursing relationship for the past ten years and I must say you handled it so tactfully.”

            “Thank you.”

            “Are you here waiting for someone?”

            “Yes, ma’am,” he couldn’t help but smile, “I am waiting for my rabbit.”

            “Oh my and such a lucky rabbit she is.”

            The next hour was spend in polite conversation about the book and nursing relationships until the loud speaker system summoned him to Lisa’s arriving plane.

            As he stood waiting, the woman from the café stood smiling at him from across the waiting area.

            The passengers filed off the plane and, he guessed, the man the woman embraced was her husband, or at least her rabbit.

            Lisa spotted him the second she stepped off the ramp and the tears welled up in her eyes. She noticed something else as she walked toward him, the feeling that her bra was to small and the constant itch of her nipples as they rubbed against the fabric.

            She melted into his arms and kissed him with a fever that over heated the whole terminal in a few seconds. As they broke their kiss the woman’s voice came from behind them, “And a nice looking rabbit she is.”

            Lisa looked over his shoulder and smiled. If she had been uncomfortable in her attire before it was now an overpowering sensation. The thought that someone else knew of her desire to be with this man and her urge to lactate for him sent her mind reeling.

            Standing in the baggage claim area, this unknown woman and Lisa talked. It was not until the bags began to come up that they parted company.

            With her bags in tow, they headed to the parking lot. He was very glad that Maggie had loaned him the big Dodge.

            Hefting the last bag into the back of the truck, a car rolled by and honked. Lisa waved. He was not quick enough to see who was driving.

            Lisa snuggled close to him as he drove, using the middle seat belt. Her head rested on his shoulder and her hand on his leg.

            “I was hoping that you would come get me,” she said. “And I brought you a present.”

            “A present?”

            “Yes.”

            “I thought you were my present?”

            “Well, I am, sort of.”

            “Sort of?”

            She sat straight up and looked at him.

            “Well, I guess I could show you now,” she said, beginning to unbutton her blouse.

            She pulled the blouse tail out of the waist of her slacks and the last button popped free.

            He glanced sideways to see her pull the blouse back revealing her breasts encased in a puritan white bra. Her nipples show clearly through the cups. He watched her move her hand up the shoulder strap.

            “I thought this might be not only interesting but functional as well,” she said pulling the clasp open and dropping the flap. She did the same with the other side, sitting there for the entire world to see, her breasts jetting out like nosecones on a rocket.

            It was just then that a semi passed and the blowing of the air horn reminded them both. This was a public highway.

            The red started at her nipples and shot upwards to cover her face in a matter of only seconds as she quickly covered herself.

            “Opppppsss,” she said and they both laughed. The big Dodge accelerated away from the truck.

            Lisa was back together and suitably attired for public viewing as the big Dodge slowed at the village limits.

            Unbuckling her seatbelt, she ask, “Can we stay here tonight and go up to the house tomorrow?”

            The three of them dined at the Logger that night and toasted her return. Maggie excused her self after the meal and one toast saying that the cobbler would be on the table when they arrived.

            Susan did not run them out of the Logger until everything was clean except their table. She watched the pair sit there, him sipping his beer and she her wine, making out like to teenagers. As she finished the last table, she slipped up behind them and whispered, “OK, you two get a room.”

            That was the second time they had heard that phrase.

            They walked the streets hand in hand for hours. They made their last stop at the Quick Mart for a pint of French Vanilla ice cream to top the cobbler.

            They ate in silence just looking at each other. No words were necessary. They were just happy to be together again and embarking on a new life for them both.

            With the ice cream a fact of history and the cobble mostly gone, he leaned back in his chair as she put the dishes in the sink for tomorrows washing.

            “Well,” he said.

            “Yes,” she replied.

            He took her by the hand and led her to the spare room. They both stepped inside with out hesitation, closing the door behind them. The lights were out but he moon illumined the room enough for them to see to get ready for bed.

            He sat on the edge of the bed and watched her open the one bag she had bothered to unload. She pulled out the same set of PJ’s he had seen her in before. She was a vision to see, even from the back.

            Laying the PJ’s over the bag, she unbuttoned and removed her blouse. Then reaching behind her, unhooked the nursing bra. She bent over as she removed her slacks and stepped into the bottoms of her PJ’s. Looking back over her should at him sitting there on the bed, she smiled and pushed the top back into the bag.

            “OK, my turn,” she said turning to face him. Her breasts jiggled from the move.

            “Your turn?”

            “Yes, you have sat there watching me and only removed your boots. Now it is my turn to watch you get ready for bed. Come on now, my turn,” she said pulling him by the hands.

            He stood up pulling his shirt over his head and laying it on the table beside her bag. Next, to go was his jeans. He did a little more shimming than he needed getting out of them.

            “That’s about it,” he said turning to face her. She was already under the covers.

            “What? No PJ’s?”

            “Sorry,” he replied, lifting the covers, “No PJ’s tonight.”

            “No matter,” she whispered, leaning in to kiss him. “You don’t need them.”

            As their lips touched, she took his hands and placed them on her breasts. To him it was like holding glowing coals from a campfire. Her nipples were hard little points embedded in the palms of his hands threatening to bore holes all the way through.

            The shadows on the far wall danced their moonlit dance and the two of them relaxed from the day’s events into a loving embrace. As they settled, she gently urged his head to her waiting breasts. Latching he on caused the sharp intake of breath that he loved to hear. That was the way they spent the night. Sleep overtook them both in only minutes.

            Lisa awoke late in the night to see Dale sleeping there beside her, his lips at nipple level but not latched on. And she dreamed. Dreamed of how it might be to be lactating for him. As she dozed off, she rolled slightly toward him, touching his nose with her breast. That was all it took. She came wide-awake as he rooted for her nipple like a starving piglet. She could not help but chuckle.

             As sun light filled the room, Dale’s eyes opened to see her face. Her hair tossed and tousled on the pillow surrounded it like a picture frame giving her the look of an old masters painting. He thought again that she was the most beautiful woman in the world.

            Kissing her cheek, she moved in her sleep allowing the covering blanket to slip down exposing her breasts. He watched as her breathing caused them to rise and fall. It was a wonderful sight. As he bent to kiss a protruding nipple, Lisa’s arms went around his neck and pulled him close urging him to latch on. With her nipple between his lips, he looked again at her face, the face of the woman he loved. He saw her smile in her sleep. And, he nursed.

            He suckled for what seemed like hours, listening to her deep breathing. However, it was only a few minutes. Then as he began to doze off he heard her whisper, “Good morning my love.” That was how they started the new day.

            After breakfast at the Logger, they began packing the supplies and what they could of her things into the little jeep. Some of her belongings would have to wait until the next trip. Dale thought, judging from the amount, it would take at least three trips to get it all up the mountain.

            Night fell on them sitting on the porch swing, watching the little village twinkle to life below them.

            “Sort of like watching a birth isn’t it,” he asked.

            “Yes,” she said snuggling closer, resting her head on his shoulder. “Sort of like us in a way.”

            “How’s that?”

            “Well, we met and the lights came on, and each time we are apart it is real dark. Then, when we are together the lights burn brightly again.”

            “I feel the same way,” he answered turning to kiss her. “It’s getting a little cool shall we go inside?”

            Once they were inside and the fire was blazing, they settled to watch the flames. For over an hour they sat there watching it burn until she excused herself to go change.

            Dale took the time to make the coco and place another log or two into the fireplace. As he rose from his work, she entered the room wearing the robe he had given her the first time she visited his home.

            She moved to the end of the couch, seated herself and motioned for him to join her.

            Sitting on her right side, he offered her the cup of hot coco. She took the cup and placed it on the table at the end of the couch. Ten with a smile, and a little muscle power, had him lying with his head in her lap.

            He watched as she slowly opened the top of the robe, first the right side and then the left.

            “These are yours anytime you want them. Someday they will be full of milk. But for right now,” she said as she lowered a nipple to his waiting lips, “just suckle me.”     They nursed until the fire died out, first one side and then the other, then back again. He could not get enough of her nor her of him.

            For the next week, their day ended the same way, nursing before the fire until the flames were gone and nothing was left but dieing embers. During the day, she poured over the research he had from his book. She would come to him with questions about things that were not clear. He answered as best he could, pledging more research when the answer eluded them both.

            Every two hours she would come to him wearing the nursing bra and they would nurse. She would even wake him up at night to suckle at her breast. It was the most wonderful arrangement for them both.

            His feeling that the house was a prison slowly evaporated. It became a home. Their home!

            He found that his writing took on a new life. It seemed to flow like a mountain stream. The more he wrote the more he had to write about.

            She read what he penned and was surprised to find that she was a prominent character with in it. As she read the words that described their day-to-day activities and their life together, she was amazed at the depth he attained. In awe at the way things were woven together to form an amazing story. A story that she was living. A story that only they could make come true. It was a fairy tail with an as of yet undetermined ending.

            One thing was for sure, they were in love. Deeply in love and that love grew with every passing day. Who would have thought that the two would find each other in such a way? A way that fulfilled them both and left nothing to be desired?

            Each day brought them new happiness. Each day brought them closer together. Each day was a new beginning for them both and the love they shared.

            Then Friday came. The day they would again travel down the mountain to Maggie’s for supplies.

            She had been in his home for a week. She had never known such peace and tranquility. Never in her twenty-five years had she known she was in the right place at the right time. Now she was sure that this was the place and now was the time. He was the man she had been searching for all her life.

            He had known all along that this home, on this mountain, in this valley was the right place. Now he knew that this woman was the one. The only one for him. This woman was his rabbit!

            Riding down the mountain they chatted and held hands, when he did not need both to drive. Then at the edge of town, he stopped the jeep, turned to her and said, “Lisa I love you.”

            Her heart stopped. Tears welled up from within running down her cheeks like the little water fall in the front of the house. He was not a man of many words, except on paper. She knew, for him, this was greatest gift he could give. Her heart yearned to give him the one thing he wanted. The greatest gift she could give him.

            Maggie met them at the door with a smile that brightened the day. She could see in her granddaughters eyes the happiness she felt. In addition, when they disappeared every two hours, Maggie smiled and chuckled to herself.

            This night was not to be one that they would spend in town, though the arrangements would have allowed them to do so. This night they would spend back at their home on the mountain. As the little jeep wound its way back up the road they both knew, they would be doing this for a long time.

            At the second switchback, he stopped the jeep, set the brake, and got out motioning for her to join him. As they walked along the little trail through the trees, he removed his shirt. Not knowing what was on the agenda for this walk Lisa followed closely behind him.

            She could hear the bubbling and gurgling of the spring long before she saw it. Rounding the corner of the trail, she set her eyes on a wondrous sight. There set amidst the forest, hidden from all but the privileged few who knew it was there, was natures own version of a hot tub. Tall pines that shaded the pool, accessed only by a trail that was easy to travel yet invisible from the road, surrounded it.

            The spring ran down over a granite outcropping splashing into the pool from about a three-foot drop.

            “I wanted you to see this,” he said removing his shoes. “I found it a few years ago and have enjoyed it ever sense.”

            “What is it?” she asked.

            “A natural occurring hot tub,” he answered and tested the water with one bare foot.

            It was warm enough to relax the troubles of the world away yet cool enough to let one emerge with renewed energy and so secluded to be unknown.

            Standing there beside him the world was a thousand miles away. Nothing mattered but that she was there with him.

            She removed her shoes and tested the water as he had done.

            “Have we got time?”

            “Sure,” he answered as he turned to see her standing there, like him, sans shirt.

            “I hope this pool does not have a rule that requires a suit,” she said as she began to remove her shorts.

            “No ma’am. There is no such rule here.”

            Sitting in the warm water listening to the wind in the trees and the splash of the water, they talked, nursed, nursed, and talked until the sky began to darken. Then the little jeep began its climb up the mountain again.

            After the supplies were put away, she sat on the porch and he retied to his study and began to write. Two hours later, she was by his side dressed in the robe. He knew what was needed and laid his work aside.

            Expecting to end the day in the same way they had always done, he was about to stand when she laid a hand on his shoulder. He turned the chair to face her and she dropped the robe and stood before him wearing the nursing bra.

            Straddling his lap facing him she made her self comfortable, her nipples on a level with his lips.

            With her arms over his shoulders and her hands locked behind his head she said, “Do you know how one of these works?”

            He just smiled and unhooked the clasp pulling the flap down.

            “I see that you do,” she giggled.

            She felt the stirrings within her as her body took over. Her urge for him to suckle was so strong it seemed her breast reached for him, her hard nipple just grazing his lips. The warmth of his breath forced her to fill her lungs with air. This pushed the extended nipple between his lips and he latched on making the feeling complete.

            She had read in his research of the feeling of let down. However, his words had not prepared her for the on rush of the deep feelings she experienced. Her eyes closed and her head dropped back. She felt the tingling begin. A feeling so exquisite that she shivered and goose bumps began to form on her skin.

            She had known from the beginning that this was right. However, until this night, until this time she had not felt this sensation. It was as if the universe had opened inside her. All that was there wanted to pour down through her breast and exit out through her nipple into him where it belonged. Yet there was nothing to pour. Nothing to exit. Nothing for him.

            A tear formed in her eye and rolled down her cheek to splash on her exposed breast. It mattered not for this was right!

            As he pulled back releasing the nipple he had between his lips he saw the teardrop. On instinct, he moved forward and kissed it away. He reached to unclasp the cup still covering her other breast. As he did so, she urgently pulled him forward to continue his nursing.

            He kissed the second exposed nipple and placing his arms around her, he stood taking her with him.

            That night as they lay in the bed, she held him with the gentleness of a mother holding a child and the firmness of a tigress protecting her young.

            He found her the next morning at his desk. She was pouring over the research he had accumulated in writing his last book.

            “Find something interesting?” he asked, sipping his coffee.

            “Yes,” she said not looking up, “I will need to go shopping next week.”

            They spent rest of the week just as they spent that first week. They were happy to be together, nursing on a schedule, and dreaming of things to come.

            That Friday night they had dinner at the Logger with Maggie and spent the night in town. On Saturday, they drove to the Springs, spending the day shopping and the night in the honeymoon suit at the Broadmoor.

            As they sat in the hot tub that night, looking out over the city, they both decided that they had a better model at home.

            As they loaded the jeep the next day, Lisa let Maggie know that there would be mail coming for her within the next two weeks or.

            “It will have a New Zealand return address,” she told Maggie.

            Overhearing this Dale knew what Lisa had ordered.

            The days had begun to fly by for them. He was writing. She studied the research, and the two of them nursed. It was as if their lives had an order, a simplistic yet divine reason for being and a schedule to follow. Some weekends they spent in town and some they spent at home, both allowing time for the pleasure they found in each other. A pleasure they had found, if not by fate then by accident. Nonetheless, it was a pleasure in which they both found peace, love, and above all a feeling of being complete, each within the other.

            Neither spoke of the journey they had set out on together. Both of them knew what it was. Both knew the result it would have on their lives, binding them so closely together that one would not survive without the other. In addition, both accepted the needs of the other and knew of the responsibilities it would entail.

            As the days passed, he would seek her out for the feeling of closeness he found at her breasts. She would come to him to find the solution to what she could only call ‘her need’.

            As they sat on the swing that Thursday evening, in the position they had become accustomed to, his head in her lap, she spoke for the first time of the things in her mind.

            As he suckled at her breast she said, “I ordered some Domperidone. It should be here this week.”

            He looked up at her over the breast on which he suckled.

            “I read in your research of what it can do and I need that. I want to see you face the first time you taste my milk. I need to give you something that no one else has given you. Something that is totally and uniquely mine. ”

            As his eyes filled with tears, her nipple left his lips with an audible pop. All he could do was to look up into her eyes, eyes that he had grown to love, and say, “Thank you.”

            That night as he lay in the bed, watching her sleeping next to him, he knew that this was for real. He also knew that he had to ask the question that had been haunting him sense the day he first saw her in Maggie’s store. The very question that for eons had bound a man and a woman together as one.

            He reached out and touched her hair and she stirred. Then he touched her cheek and she awoke, her eyes looking into his.

            “I have something to ask you,” he said. “I hope you are awake enough to hear what I am saying.”

            She smiled and whispered, “I am awake.”

            “Lisa Ann, will you marry me?”

            Even in the subdued light, he could see the tears in her eyes. When she spoke, he heard in her voice the slight tremble that told him she had indeed heard what he said.

            She said only one word, “Yes.”

            She raised herself up on one elbow, the sheet falling down to her waist exposing her breasts, and said, “These are yours.” Using her free hand to raise and offer a nipple to be suckled she said, “Nurse me?”

            In the dim light, he watched the look on her face as she moved closer. In her eyes, he saw her love for him, he saw a need, and he saw passion. It was like looking into a well and seeing in the still water all that was good in the world.

            As he watched her face, she rubbed a nipple across his lips, as she would have done to entice a baby to nurse. His lips opened and accepted what she offered. As she laid back he suckled, knowing that his life had changed and that this was, and would be, the future.

            In the morning light, she watched him. In her heart, she knew that she would be at his side forever more. In her mind, she knew that one day she would have milk giving her the feeling of being a whole woman. A wanted woman. A needed woman! She teased him as she had done the night before, rubbing a nipple across his lips.

            His eyes never opened but his lips did. He latched on and suckled like a starving child and she smiled. She knew that one day she would be giving of herself in the most intimate way she could, the milk from her breasts.

            They made the trip down the mountain as they had done every Friday for the past few weeks. At Maggie’s the process of getting the supplies they needed was the same. Their schedule in town changed very little. Ever night it was supper at the logger. Even Susan expected them. She always had the reserved sign on the back corner table every Friday night.

            This Friday night was no different from any other Friday night. They sat at their table in the Logger, him sipping his beer and her, a glass of wine.

            “I got some mail today,” she said.

            He watched her as she fished in her purse.

            “I wanted you to see and to know that it had come,” she said smiling all the while.

            “What is it?” he asked.

            She handed him the bubble pack card to examine.

            As he held it in his hand a smile she had never seen him wear before came across his face. It was as though he was once again a child and it was Christmas morning!

            He had no words! However, his smile and the look on his face said volumes!

            Handing the item back to her he knew that she wanted this as much as he did. He watched as Lisa punched out the first two Domperidone tablets.

            “I wonder,” she asked holding them in her hand, “how long it will take for these to work?”

            “Could only be a few weeks,” he answered. “But no matter how long it takes I want you to know something.”

            She looked at him, then back at the tablets.

            “I love you so much for doing this. No one has ever done anything like this for me before!”

            She lean to him and kissed him, which was a mistake. In doing so, one of the tablets was set free from her hand and rolled off the table to vanish like a raindrop in the ocean.

            After a short search that yielded no tablet, Lisa punched another one and let them both dissolve beneath her tongue.

            They both knew that their journey was well on its way now. They were going to be a nursing couple in the future. No matter what life brought their way they would be dependent on each other in a way not many couples would ever know.

            “We will have to go to the Springs again when these begin to work,” Lisa chuckled.

            “Yes,” Dale chuckled, “I am sure of that.”

            “I can only imagine what I will look like when I am milky,” she chuckled. “Your research said up to a two cup gain in size.”

            “Yes,” he readily agreed. “But think about it, a two cup size gain would be nothing compared to the mouse that finds the one we lost.”

            That thought circled around her mind for a few seconds before it registered. When it did hit home Lisa was laughing aloud.

            “Oh my God,” she said between breaths, sobs, and giggles. “A mouse with big tits, and lactating to boot!”

             As they walked out of the Logger that night, they were both still laughing at the thought of a mouse finding the Domperidone tablet.

           They had been happily traversing the mountain for three weeks, visiting Maggie, getting supplies, and continuing the journey they had started together. Each day at home scheduled by the commitment of his writing and their nursing. Three glorious weeks together flew by bring them closer to one another, increasing the bond between them.

            Sitting alone in his study, Dale wondered if they would ever be truly a nursing couple. Would Lisa ever have milk? Would he ever be the recipient of the bounty of her breasts?

            As she had done each night for the past three weeks, Lisa was sitting in the tub filled with warm water and bubbles. He had sat with her on several occasions. They discussed the project, her telling what she was feeling. He hung on every word as she described the changes she was going through.

            “I can feel my breasts getting heavier,” she had told him. “It’s like something was happening inside and my bras seem to be much tighter.”

            Each time he nursed, he marveled at the process, even though there was no milk. It seemed to him that the time they spent nursing were the times when they were the closest. Never before in his life had he long for the touch of a person as he did her. Each time she came to him with that look in her eyes, he knew this was right.

            This night had been no different from the many nights before. The fire crackled and he listened to Lisa humming as she bathed. The sounds surrounded him and made the whole world fade into the distance. Those same sounds also made the house a home.

            Time was when the house was only that, a house. Now it was more, much more than it had ever been. Happiness had invaded every room. It had a soul now. A soul named Lisa!

            He had also noticed other differences. Food tasted better. Days lasted longer. Nights were warmer. The sun was brighter and the valley had never been more beautiful!

            There were differences in him too. His writing came much easier now. He even was hearing better these days. On the other hand, was that simply the fact that when Lisa stepped out of the bath the humming stopped?

            What ever it was, he noticed it each night.

            He put away his work, knowing that in a few minutes she would be with him, attired in the too long robe. Placing another log on the fire, he entered the kitchen to make the coco they had each night.

            The milk was warming as he lovingly added the chocolate, stirring slowly. The aroma filled the house making it even more a home. It was at times like this that he thought about the years he had spent here. The summer days by himself on the porch with his beer and the nights alone before the fire sipping the coco were gone forever, replaced by better times.

            He filled the over sized cups. The fire crackled loudly as he reached for the tiny marshmallows she loved in hers. It was a scene fit for Currier and Ive’s and it lasted for a total of fifteen seconds.

            “DALE!”

            Lisa’s scream echoed through the house bouncing off the walls and hit him like the concussion of a bomb exploding in a closed room. Marshmallows flew through the air ricocheting around and landing everywhere, except in the cups. In addition, his mad dash he left a trail of them from kitchen to bathroom.

            “What?” he screeched jerking open the door.

            “Look!”

            Before him stood a beautiful totally nude woman, starring into the mirror. As she turned, he took in the whole sight, her long legs, the flat stomach, the tears streaming down her cheeks, and her hands holding her left breast. Stepping closer he watched as her fingers pressed together and moved outward on her the areola toward the nipple.

            Forming on the end was a single solitary white drop. It hung there like a diamond in space before dropping to join the marshmallows. In its place formed another which grew until it too splashed on the floor along with her tears.

            Time was frozen between them and yet the journey continued.

            This project had begun strictly for his consumption. Yet there they both stood watching the first few drops of her lactation splatter on and adorn the floor. With each press of her fingers, another drop formed and joined the rest.

            He moved forward as she again pressed her fingers together and bent to catch the next drop on his tongue.

            So sweet was the taste that the coco in the kitchen was forgotten to cool with the night air. It was not until after the third drop caressed his tongue the he looked at the right breast. There on the nipple, glistening in the light was another.

            He tasted the sweetness of her milk as she moved her hands to express for him the essence of her womanhood. To give to him the one gift that no one had ever given him.

            Kneeling before her and looking up into her eyes, he saw tears of happiness. He licked away each drop of milk from her nipples and as the tears drop to her breasts, he kissed them away.

            That night as they lay in bed, he nursed.

            She held his head to her breasts with the strength of a lioness protecting her cubs and the gentleness of a mother with a newborn.

            The sun found them the next morning just as the moon had left them, together, his lips at her breasts.

            Lisa was the first to awaken, one arm under his head her free hand going to the breast away from him. Her fingers did the same dance over her aureole they had the night before but her nipple remained dry.

            Had it been a fluke? Was it over? Her heart sank at the thought. Was the reward for the journey only a few drops of white gold?

            Gently moving him off her arm, she went to the bathroom. No amount of coaxing from her fingers would produce anything from either breast.

            He found her in the white robe sitting cross-legged in the big chair. Her tear filled eyes stared out the window over the valley. His questioning look brought only one comment.

            “It’s gone.”

            Sitting on the arm of the chair, he pulled her to him, wiping away her tears.

            “We know it was there,” he said holding her, “and I am sure it will return. If not today then tomorrow.”

            “But…..” she sobbed, “I wanted…..”

            He just held her tightly as she let the thought fade away.

            They spent the rest of the day in each other’s arms as flakes of the first mountain snow filtered softly to the ground. There was work to do but it would wait. The only time he left her was to rekindle the fire.

            The next few days were a repeat of the first. They nursed and she massaged but nothing was forthcoming. No nectar from her breasts appeared. During those days, she dozed and dreamed of a torrent from her breasts as milky white as the falling snow. Alas, it never emerged.

            He poured over the research from the last book, revisiting each fact he had collected.

            She came to him every two hours with hope in her heart. She left him after each session saddened but filled with resolve to lactate for him come hell or snow fall.

            The next Friday was full of bright sunshine filling them both with hope. There was work to do. The horses needed to move down into the valley for the winter. The snowmobile was in need of service for the coming winter. Firewood had to be split. This would be the first winter when there were more than chores to do.

            Lisa left that morning taking the jeep down the mountain while he followed on horseback. They would bring the supplies back up in the jeep after the horses were sheltered. It would be a two-day job and they would stay with Maggie that night.

            After coffee and cake with Maggie, Lisa set to work getting the things on the list together. As she worked, Maggie watched.

            “Good God girl,” Maggie said. “Living on that mountain must be good. You look fantastic.”

            “I love it Mags. I have never been happier.”

            “But it is not all roses is it?” Maggie asked.

            “Well, not really.”

            “What wrong sweetie?”

            “Nothing. Just a project I can not seem to get completed.”

            “I see,” Maggie let it drop. If Lisa did not want to elaborate then the subject was over. “By the way you left this.”

            Lisa turned to see what Maggie had and her face began to get rosy. In Maggie’s out stretched had was the copy of the book Dale had signed for her. The red in her face began to increase ten-fold.

            “I read it long ago when it first came out sweetie,” Maggie said. “You are trying to do this aren’t you?”

            Lisa dropped her head.

            “I thought so. Well, just between you and me,” Maggie began, “I think it is wonderful that you would try.”

            Lisa looked at her grandmother.

            “Honey when your mother was born your grand-dad wouldn’t leave me alone. I spent the best part of the first two years of her life suckling one or the other of them.”

            “Really?” Lisa asked.

            “Yes, sweetie. Your mother weaned at about 14 months.”

            The calculator in Lisa’s head whirred and the math was done. To years or twenty-four months minus the fourteen months to weaning left ten months when her mother the baby was not nursing. It took a minute for it to sink in to her head.

            “Mags!?”

            “That’s right dear, you grand-dad nursed up till the day he died.”

            Dale opened the door to the shop and the conversation stopped abruptly!

            The tingle in her breasts that the chat with Maggie had started suddenly tripled as he walked into the shop. It had been several hours’ sense they had last nursed and she was beginning to feel a little full.

            “Get the horses taken care of?” Maggie asked.

            “Yep they are down and settled. I always enjoy the last ride of the season,” he said over Lisa’s shoulder as they embraced.

            “Well, you got get cleaned up and we girls will finish here. Then we can go to the Logger to eat.”

            Dale headed straight to the shower. It would not do at all to go out with two good looking woman smelling of horse sweat.

            As he disappeared, Lisa turned to her grand mother to say something when Maggie stopped her saying, “You had better go clean up too.”

            The look on Maggie’s face told Lisa something was wrong but she had no idea what.

            “I think I have some breast pads in the back,” Maggie smiled.

            Lisa’s eyes went to her chest and the red flooded her face once again. Two wet spots were forming over her nipples. She could not help it. It had begun and there was only one way to stop it.

            “Go on girl,” Maggie pointed to the back. “I will put the breast pads on the kitchen table for you.”

            As Lisa headed for Maggies living quarters, she was still red in the face. However, the smile she wore would have out shown the sun.

            Dale had the water running and was down to only underwear when Lisa opened the bathroom door. He never turned around knowing that it would not be Maggie walking in on him.

            “What’s the matter sweetie?” he asked.

            “We have a little problem,” Lisa answered.

            “OH?”

            “And they need your attention.”

            Dale turned to see her standing there. The wet spots expanding as he watched.

            “Oh my God!”

            Lisa began to remove her blouse as he ran his hands over the outside swell of her breasts, his thumbs skirting the edge of the wet spots.

            With her blouse off the both looked at the bra that was soaked with her milk. She could feel it beginning to run down over her stomach.

            She opened one side of the nursing bra while he undid the other. The flaps down left her open to his view.

            He saw her nipples oozing milk in a steady but small steam.

            Lisa moved a hand to her left breast, lifting it and offering it for suckling. The resulting action sent a spray of milk into the air surprising them both. Dale caressed the right side with the same result.

            “But how?” he asked.

            “I don’t know,” she answered. “But for God’s sake done waist it.”

            The tingling was still there and when he latched on it began a gradual crescendo. It burst out of her breast and traversed up to her neck splitting into four parts, one down each arm and one directly to her brain like lightening bolts. The fourth began to move slowly downward.

            For Dale’s part, it seemed he did not need to suckle. The volume of Lisa’s milk just began to increase and continue to do so. He swallowed hard and fast that still it kept coming threatening to drown him. The other breast began to squirt and spray on its own getting in his hair.

            Lisa began to shake. At first, it was only tiny shivers. As the tingling sensation moved lower, her shaking became uncontrollable. Then it hit. It was something that she had not felt in a long time. She knew what it was and it flooded her body making every muscle tense and then relax. She was looking down from a place outside, seeing what was happening to her. She watched as her knees began to buckle.

            Dale only knew that her milk came in wave after wave after wave in an increasing quantity and then decreased in the same way until it was no more than a trickle. With his arms around her, he slowly settled them both on the floor.

            It all lasted no more than five minutes, maybe ten at the most and left her exhausted and unable to stand. It left him with the taste of her sweet milk on his tongue and a rag doll in his arms. They both now were in need of a shower. Dinner at the Logger would be late!

            Lisa was the first one out of the shower. Dale, on the other hand, needed a bit more time. After all, Lisa did not get milk in her hair.

            Entering the kitchen, she found Maggie sitting with her coffee. An unopened box of breast pads sat on the table.

            “Dale still in the shower?” Maggie asked.

            “Yes,” Lisa chuckled, “he is washing his hair.”

            “Ah yes,” Maggie smiled and sipped her coffee. “You can’t suckle from both at the same time.”

            Lisa was seeing her grand mother in a new light. In her eyes, Maggie was now the total woman, having given birth and suckling a child. To say nothing of that child’s father.

            “That’s the only box of pads I have,” Maggie said. “But I will get more for you.”

            Lisa opened the box and took out two of the round items, looking them over. The question of what to do with them entered her mind. It must have shown on her face also.

            “Put them inside you bra with the nipple just above the center of the pad,” Maggie said. “And never leave the house without two extra just in case.”

            Lisa nodded and left the kitchen, pads in hand.

            Their dinner at the Logger was the same as every Friday night. Dale and Maggie had steak and beer. Lisa had pasta and wine. As they talked and ate, Lisa would feel the tingle in her breasts every time her knee touched Dales. Twice she excused herself to check the condition of the pads. Both times, they were as dry as a duck in a desert.

            On Lisa’s second trip to the girls’ room, Maggie spoke with Dale.

            “I read you last book when it came out and found it to be a wonderful story.”

            Dales’ caught the twinkle in Maggie’s eyes, telling him she was aware of the situation.

            “I remember the days when I was lactating,” she continued. “I never felt more like a woman. Clyde and I were never as close.”

            He could only listen as the story came out.

            “I envy you two and the life you are going to have. You will find that nursing will bring you two to depend on each other like nothing else. It’s a relationship that not many will understand or experience.”

            “I suppose not,” he answered.

            “I have a few things that I will send back with you tomorrow that are not on your list. But I have a feeling they will be welcomed in the days ahead.”

            “Thank you,” Dale said as he rose to pull the chair out as Lisa returned. “Everything all right?”

            “Yes everything is fine,” Lisa answered.

            “I was just telling Dale that I have a few items to send home with you,” Maggie repeated.

            “OH?” Lisa asked.

            “Yes, I am sure they will be of use. We will get them out when the cobbler is gone.”

            With the cobbler nearly gone, Maggie left the table without saying a word. Both Dale and Lisa wondered until she came back with a small suitcase and box.

            “I bought this when your mother was a baby,” she began, “I think it still works.”

            Sitting two baby bottles on the table, Maggie produced the tubing, bells and the rest of the breast pump.

            “If for some reason Dale is not available,” she addressed Lisa, “you will need this.”

            It was his turn to be red faced as Maggie explained to Lisa how it worked. Even after all the research he had done, the real thing was still embarrassing. Moreover, if that was not enough, when Lisa removed her blouse to try the pump he had to excuse himself.

            As he stood in the front of the store with his cigar, he could hear the breast pump humming softly form the living quarters. The voices of Lisa and Maggie floated to his ears.

            “Place you breast with the nipple centered in the bell. Your finger goes over this little hole. That is what creates the suction,” Maggie was saying.

            The pitch of the hum changed as Lisa use the pump.

            “Lift your finger and the suction will be released. You need to do this as you pump…..”

            He let the smoke and tastes of the cigar drown out the sound. How long he stood there, he did not know. The thing that brought him back to reality was Lisa touching his arm.

            “Look,” she said handing him the four-ounce bottle from the pump beaming with pride. “And it is all for you.”

            He stared at the ounce of her milk in the bottle.

            “It’s not much, but I am sure there will be more.”

            All he could do was to fold his arms around her and sob. The rabbit he had wanted all his life had appeared in the form of Maggie’s granddaughter. She had stolen his heart that first day and now there she was, in his arms forever more. The tears filled his eyes and ran down his cheeks to land on her shoulders.

            That night, as they lay back to front in Maggie’s spare room after nursing, the thought came to him again.

            “Lisa,” he whispered. “I know I have asked before but I must do so again. Will you marry me?”

            “Yes, my dear,” she said as they both dropped off to sleep.

            The next morning was a beehive of activity. It had dawned bright and sunny but the night had brought the first inch of mountain snow to the valley floor.  It would make the drive home a bit more demanding though not impossible.

            Loading the supplies, and the things Maggie was sending, Lisa was a bundle of energy. Even the folks walking by that spoke to him noticed it. They would shake his hand and say, “She is a wonderful lady.” Some would even comment on the two of them together. He heard, “You two make a lovely couple,” and “You belong together” more than once.

            With all the attention, he wondered if the whole village knew.

            The drive up the mountain to their home was slow due to the snow, forcing him to use the four-wheel drive from the minute they left the pavement. Keeping the jeep on the road was giving him more than a headache.         His shoulders were tired. His back muscles in knots after only a few miles.

            Rounding the corner where the trail lead to the hot spring, lovingly named ‘Bowl Bath’ by Lisa, she touched his shoulder and said, “Let’s stop. You need some rest.”

            As they walked the path, they could see the steam rising ahead of them. At the edge of the spring, Lisa removed her coat and hung it on a tree.

            He watched her shed the rest of her clothing and step into the warm water. It was a sight for his eyes, a vision of everything loving and good.

            The tall trees heavy with the fresh snow stood guard. The steam rising from the water made her look like a goddess. Sunshine lit it all like a dream.

            Reaching the middle of the pool she turned to see him standing there watching her. The look on his face told her of his love, care and of his needed.

            Her breast, buoyed by the water, seemed to float. As he watched this vision, she stepped toward him bringing her hands up from under the water to take a breast in each.

            Her playful nature won out over the reverence of the moment. She moved her fingers and sent two milky streams flying through the air in his direction.

            That was all it took to entice him to join her. They played like two teenagers splashing and dunking one another as the jays scolded them from the trees. She would squirm away from him, raise a breast and squirt him in the face. He in turn would vanish under the water only to surface directly in front of her and latch on. He would get only a taste of her milk before she would push him away to repeat the game. The bulk of the drive up the mountain remained as they played. The setting sun forced them to return to the jeep and continue the trip,

            As the wound their way up the road, they were at peace with the world and with each other. Nothing mattered but the two of them.

            The house was cold as they carried in the boxes. He knew that because of her presents, and a nice fire in the fireplace, the house would once again be warm and livable in no time.

            He busied himself with the fire as she put away the supplies. As the flames began to leap higher, she sat on the couch with his head in her lap and they nursed. They were at home. Home, where all was right. Home, where they belonged! Home, together as the snow began to fall.

            The life they would spend together had started only a few months ago. It was growing steadily. Engulfing them both and all that surrounded them. It had made what was once a house a home. It had combined two people into a couple, two souls into one.

            As he suckled Lisa hummed. Occasionally asking a question to which he would only nod.

            Cradling his head to her breasts as if it were the most natural thing to do, she was at peace. She knew in her heart that this was who, when and where she was supposed to be.

            They retired to the bedroom only after the fire was down to embers.

            Sleep overtook them both quickly. The day had taken its toll on both mind and body.

            Lisa awoke some three hours later with an ache in her breasts. It was a feeling of fullness that signaled her need to be nursed.

            Gently shaking him, she brought him to a state of semi-alertness.

            “Sweetie,” she kept saying. “I need you.”

            As Dale lay on his back half awake, Lisa moved over him straddling his body. Slowly she lowered her nipple to his lips. Even in the darkness, she could see his lips open as he latched on.

            He began to suckle just as he had only three hours ago. The slow rhythmic pulling brought her let down and eased the fullness.

            She watched as his eyes drifted close as he nursed. The feeling of fullness slowly vanished from that breast as her milk flowed. Her entire being centered itself in the breast he suckled. It was as if she could feel every drop as it moved from deep within her breast to the nipple and out.

            Pulling her nipple from between his lips, she offered its twin, tickling his lips with it, as she would have a child, to get him to latch.

            With a good latch she settled back to enjoy the sensation of being nursed. To her the feeling was nothing short of awesome.

            Long minutes later, as the tingle of her let down and the feeling of fullness receded, she noticed it. Sitting astride him as she was his excitement was hard to miss. The revelation that, to Dale, nursing might be a sexual stimulus shocked her at first.

            Lisa slept fitfully the rest of the night. Between dreams of nursing and thoughts of her coming life, she tossed and turned.

            Morning light found her alone in the bed.

            Wrapping the robe around her, she padded through the house. The fire was blazing and the coffee fresh brewed, but he was nowhere to be found.

            Filling her cup Lisa moved to the study to watch the fire. On the chair she always sat in was a note. Opening it, she read.

            My dear Rabbit,

                        On the bed in the spare bedroom are three gifts for you. Just a few things I think will come in handy today. Have you ever been on a snowmobile? Please open your gifts and then join me in the barn.

            Dale

            Lisa ran to the bedroom and on the bed found three nicely wrapped boxes. The first one she opened contained a new snowsuit. The second was a pair of new snow boots. The third and last was tinted snow goggles.

            Twenty minutes later, dressed in her new things, the back door of the house closed behind her with a bang. In the bright sunlight, she could see his tracks leading to the barn. She had crossed the porch, descended the three steps and taken only two tentative steps into the eight inches of fresh power when she heard the snowmobile roar to life.

            Stopping dead still, she watched the open barn door.

            The bright red and yellow snowmobile with its trailer on skis slowly edged out of the barn onto the snow. It stopped dead still for a few seconds, then with a roar of the engine shot across the open snow toward her.

            Moving back to the safety of the steps, she watched him run the machine around in a circle. He stopped right in front of her and killed the engine.

            Slipping the goggles up from his eyes, he looked at her. She was in his world now and he knew he had to bring her around slowly.

            “Care for a ride?” he asked.

            She stepped toward him. Taking his hand, she straddled the machine much as she had done his body last night. Her arms went around his waist, her breast against his back.

            He hit the starter and the engine roared to life. The sound was deafening and the vibration shook her.

            Easing out across the snow into the meadow, Dale went slowly, letting her get use to the ride. She would need to be able to ride the machine, as it would be their only means of transport during the winter.

            Lisa was used to motorcycles. However, a motorcycle on dry pavement in warm weather was something else all together. The sound was different to her ears. The vibration was not much different. It was a very new sensation.

            As she began to get use to the idea of flying across snow, she noticed that there were some distinct advantages to this mode of travel. The first being that she was with the man she adored. The man she would call her rabbit for the rest of her life was at the controls.

            The second advantage was the vibration! It was directly below her pleasure center. The faster the snowmobile went the closer she came to an orgasm.

            She had no idea where they were going and did not care. The company and the stimulation kept her mind racing. Her mind caused the problem.

            The tension from within had her thinking about other things. Her hold around Dale’s middle loosened. One bump and a turn sent her sliding through the snow.

            “You alright?” he asked helping her up.

            All she could do was laugh. The top of her snowsuit had not been totally closed. Now it was filled with more than just Lisa.

            When Lisa opened the suit and bent over, Dale saw the problem. He doubled over and turned away. His fit of laughter did not last long. Reality returned when Lisa’s well aimed snowball hit him in the backside.

            “Oh you want to play do Ya?” he grinned.

            Her second shot hit him right in the stomach. The battle was on!

            Like two kids, they fought. Firing from behinds trees and over the snowmobile, the snowballs flew in rapid succession, neither one of them gaining the upper hand.

            When the war waned, due not to the lack of snow but to cold hands, Lisa asked, “How far to Bowl Bath?”

            The snowmobile roared to life and they were on their way. This trip Lisa remembered to hang on tightly. She again found herself with more than enough stimulation.

            By the time they slid to a stop beside the spring, the vibration had done its magic. Dale only knew that twice her grip had almost shut off his breathing.

            Stripping down to nothing, they walked hand in hand into the warm water.

            Seating himself on a rock as he usually did, he looked up to see her standing like a goddess in the steam. She was a sight to see. Her long hair damp from the steam and the snowball fight, her breasts rising and falling with her breathing made a very enticing picture. As she stepped toward him, he could see the white drops forming on her nipples.

            Straddling his legs Lisa sat in his lap in the chest deep water. Lifting a breast to his lips she whispered, “I need you.”

            As he nursed, the world vanished. All he could hear was the running of the spring. All he could feel was the warmth of the woman in his lap. The woman he would forever refer to as ‘his rabbit’.

            The tables were now turned. Dale was now being stimulated. His excitement grew as he nursed. Lisa, sitting in his lap, was aware of the situation.

            She wiggled. It was like pouring gasoline on a raging fire. The result was to make him slip on the slick rock and lose his connection with her nipple.

            Rearranging their position, Lisa returned to his lap. With one hand, she offered the lost nipple. With the other, she adjusted his manhood doubling their connection.

            As she descended, his eyes closed. Settled, she rubbed her leaking nipple over his lips and he latched. Joined this most intimate of ways they were now truly one, in mind and body.

            Liquid love flowed from one to the other. A union amidst the pines, the snow, and the mountains began within them both. It began their new life together. A new life tied to each other more tightly than the trees tied themselves to the mountain.

            Staying there in the spring for the entire day, they reveled in each other. They stopped only to have the lunch packed in the snowmobile trailer.

            Over lunch, they talked about the coming life they would share. Dale brought up the subject of their wedding.

            “When you are ready,” Lisa said, “I will do the planning.”

            His eyes and smile said it all.

            He looked at her as though she was the last woman on earth. Through the steam and the sound of the spring, she heard him say, “I am ready.”

         NEW SECTION   

          Lisa filled her days with planning the wedding, asking questions when needed. How many should I plan on attending? Where can we hold it? All the normal things a couple has to do before hand.
        Dale continued his writing, adding details and more information until the story began to write it’s self.
        Through it all, they stopped every few hours to nurse. Most times, she came to him with a smile and a gleam in her eyes. Some times, he searched her out. Each time the world stood still!
        At night, they would sleep until she would awaken him by rubbing a nipple across his lips. Most times, he would drift off still latched on and she would watch him suckle in his sleep.
        With the winter making trips to town a tough ride on the snowmobile, it was their habit to stop at Bowl Bath both coming and going. This made most trips over night stays with Maggie.
        Maggie was always glad to see them arrive.
        The machine would roar up to the back of the shop, they would present the list of supplies, then need alone time while Maggie filled the list. Maggie had no problem with them wanting to be alone.
        The nights were the same on every trip. The three of them would eat at the Logger, return to the store for cobbler, chat for a while and then the two of them would retire to the spare room.
        The girls filled the time planning the wedding. For his part, he was there to answer questions. Mostly he used the time to do the things he could not do from the house.
        The trip home always started very early in the morning. It took at least an hour to load the supplies and then ninety-minutes to travel a little over half the distance home. Bowl Bath was their stopping point.
        Between the constant vibration of the snowmobile and the time between nursing sessions, Lisa was ready for a break.
        Dale was ready too. Driving the snowmobile was hard work. It was a much more relaxing trip during the summer on horseback or in the jeep.
        The Bow Bath agenda was most times the same. They would shake the snow from the tree branches for a place to hang their snowsuits. Then after a brief nude snowball fight, they would splash in the naturally heated water like teenagers.
        It would have made quite a movie, the village’s resident fifty-two year old author splashing around buck-naked with the equally nude twenty-five year old granddaughter of the town storekeeper.
        Though the day they arrived and the time they spent varied, the break in the trip home ended up the same each time. It was a circle of love. One body filled and completed the other. She gave to him the white gold her breasts produced and he returned the favor giving to her his liquid love from within.
        The transformation had been an easy one for them both. Each had become half of a committed loving nursing couple. The only thing that remained was their wedding. Between Lisa and Maggie, the plan began to take shape.
        Each cold winter weekend brought the spring nuptials closer. Each detail addressed and each arrangement finalized brought the plan closer to completion. It would be a big day in the little village when the two became one.
        It was at the Logger one night that the cat was freed from the bag.
        “I wonder if we could hold the reception here?” Lisa asked.
        In a small mountain village, it only took one slip to inform the whole town.
        “Reception? As in wedding reception?” asked Susan who was setting the evening’s supper on the table.
        Susan had been the server at the Logger long enough to know and be known by everyone in town.
        “Yes,” Lisa answered, “this spring!”
        As Susan retreated behind the bar, Maggie whispered to Lisa, “It’s public knowledge now.”
        “Ooooopppssss,” Lisa chuckled, then leaned to whisper to Dale, “at least I didn’t say anything about our activities!”
        His resulting choking and coughing brought the attention of everyone in the Logger to the back table. Even Steve, the local volunteer firefighter and EMT, took notice.
        The rest of their meal was uneventful. However, by the end of the evening every adult male in the Logger had offered to buy the beer.
        Around the kitchen table over cobbler, they laughed about the incidents of the day.
        “You two have got to get married now,” Maggie began, “the whole town will know about it by noon tomorrow.”
        “So it seems,” Lisa added.
        “Looks like we need to get a really early start tomorrow,” Dale said. “We can let the hoopla settle down over the next week.”
        The next morning, even though they were up early and the weather was falling swirling snow, the townsfolk were out. Each one that saw them yelled their congratulations. Or, if they were close enough, slapped Dale on the back and gave Lisa a hug. It was nowhere near noon and it seemed the whole town had been told.
        They spent the week as they usually did, Dale doing his writing, Lisa planning the wedding, the two of them nursing. It was as if they were already on their honeymoon!
        The whole week had been clear though cold. Dale had the list made and the snowmobile ready for the trip to town. Lisa was anxious to talk with Maggie about the wedding. However, Friday morning dawned with heavy snow, blustery winds and zero visibility. The trip down the mountain would have to wait.
        Dale had been through this many times. It was no big deal for a storm to blow in dump several inches of snow and blow out. There were always enough supplies in the house to last a few days. The difference this time was he would have someone to talk to while waiting out the blizzard.
        The day passed with normal activities, writing, planning, and nursing. With the fire crackling, they watched the snow pile up as the storm unleashed it furry on the mountain. The walk to the woodpile began to be an adventure.
        Many times he had laughed at the old saying, ‘Firewood warms you twice. Once when you cut it and once when you burn it.’ In this case, it was three times when you added the carrying.
        That night as the wind howled they lay on a blanket in front of the fire and nursed. It was one of those sessions that seemed to last forever. Long after her milk was gone, Lisa held him to her breasts, urging him from one nipple to the other and back again. The only break they took was to add another log to the fire occasionally.
        He would glance up from the breast he was suckling to see Lisa, eyes closed, smiling, and content to be where she was doing what she was doing.
        For her part, she watched him as he nursed noting the same look on his face that she wore on hers.
        They dozed, nursed, nursed, and dozed as the storm raged outside.
        Saturday morning was no better weather wise. The snow was piled up to the windowsills and still it fell threatening to bury house, mountain and all. The roof began to creak with the load. It was time to close the downstairs shutters to protect the windows. This would leave only the second floor deck exit to use.
        There was always one storm each winter that hung on like this one and Dale knew from experience that this one would not be over soon. This was the one to test the strength of the house.
        Each time the wind let up he would clean the porch off enough to open the door. More than once, he had to exit through the upstairs onto the deck and jump down. Each time he would knock as much snow off the roof as he could and each time there was more.
        It became a race with the storm to keep the load off the roof and the door opening. As the day progressed, Dale gave up on the porch and door. Until the snow melted, they would have to leave via the second floor. He knew that as soon as he could he needed to get the snowmobile up there. Otherwise, it was going to be impossible to get to it.
        This was Lisa’s first blizzard. The creaking roof and the howling wind, to say nothing of the Dale’s futile effort to keep the snow off the roof, was beginning to cause her to worry.
        Each time he went out it took longer to accomplish the task. And each time he returned, she needed him close. Her nervousness showed in her face and voice but vanished like snow in summer when they nursed.
        By Saturday night, the windows were below the level of the snow. It was time to move the snowmobile up to the deck.
        All Lisa could do was watch as Dale worked. In her excited state, she never gave a thought to her building milk supply. When he came in and announced that they were now ready, come what may, she began to relax.
        That was when she began to notice it. All the nursing they had been doing the past few weeks had brought in a good supply of milk and it had been building up during the last hours.
        As Dale got out of his snowsuit and began to warm up, Lisa began to feel a dampness that could mean only one thing. She needed to be nursed.
        Throwing another log on the fire, from the load he brought up on the snowmobile trailer, he turned to see her standing there. Two dark wet circles had formed on her shirt, one over each nipple.
        Now that she was relaxed, and he was back inside, her let down began in earnest.
        This nursing session was different that either one of them had experienced. No matter how fast Dale nursed, he was always behind her production. The more he suckled the more milk there seemed to be.
        After and hour it was time to get out the pump. Dale could consume no more of the sweet bounty.
        The diesel generator hummed away producing power to run the pump as the pumped hummed away collecting the sweet nectar from Lisa’s breasts.
        “I never would have believed I would produce this much,” Lisa said, looking down at the fast filling bottle on the pump.
        Dale smiled and chuckled.
        “What are you snickering at?”
        “Oh, nothing,” he lied.
        “Come on spit it out!”
        “I’ve have always called you my rabbit,” he smiled again. “Now it seems that I have a cow.”
        They both began to laugh. The more they laughed the harder it was to hold the pump still. The result was a damp mess!
        As the day went on Dale wrote and nursed. Lisa planned and pumped. By evening, there were three bottles of her milk to deal with. It would have to be frozen or discarded. Luckily, Mother Nature had furnished a deep freeze.
        The storm had blown itself out by dark and once again, you could see the lights of the little village below. As they sat on the second floor looking out past the snowmobile and over the new blanket of snow with the fire crackling in the background, they new they were at home.
        The next morning the sun was shinning when they awoke. It was time to make the trip down the mountain.
        As they crawled into the snowsuits, Lisa spoke.
        “This seems to be getting smaller,” indicating the top half of her suit as she struggled to zip it up. “And I have noticed that my bras are shrinking too.”
        Dale chuckled, “Then I think YOU need to go shopping.”
        “Can we go to the Springs?”
        “As soon as the plows run,” he answered.
        Trips to the Springs were always treasured moments during the winter. With all the snow, the roads always seemed to be impassable. Therefore, when the chance came along to get out of the village most every one took it.
        “I need to check on my dress while we are there,” Lisa stated.
        “Dress?”
        “Yes, my wedding dress.”
        “Does that mean I will need a tux?”
        “Yes, silly man. I am not marring you if you don’t wear a tux!”
        “Then I guess we both need to do some shopping.”
        Heading down the mountain, the new snow made for slow going. By the time they reached Bowl Bath, Dale was worn out. Passing on the normal nude snowball fight, they just sat in the warm water.
        “I’ve been thinking,” he said as she rubbed his sore shoulders. “If we had a second snowmobile and trailer, we could bring more supplies up. Then if we didn’t want to we wouldn’t have to make this trip every week.”
        “You just want to get out of taking me to town,” she chided playfully.
        “No it’s not that. I just…”
        “We aren’t even married yet and already you are welching.”
        “Welching? I have never welched…..”
        The rest of the sentence was cut off as Lisa dunked him.
        As he surfaced sputtering, Dale caught the mischievous grin on Lisa’s face.
        “You little wench! You want to play, huh?”
        Before he could grab her, to administer the same, she dove into the deeper part of the pool. Thus began a thirty-minute free for all that left Bowl Bath white capped.
        The rest of the trip to town was uneventful. Roaring along on the snowmobile, Lisa held tightly to him. It was nice that they could let their hair down and become teenagers again. It only proved that they belonged together.
        They slid to a stop behind Maggie’s store just as the sun was dipping behind the mountain. Having heard the machines engine Maggie met them at the door.
        “I was wondering if you two were alright?” she smiled. “That was one hell of a storm. The cobbler is ready to put in the oven so you two get yourselves in her and get out of those damp suits.”
        Tonight would be the same, supper at the Logger and cobbler in the kitchen. First, there was a little activity that needed to be taken care of. After all, it had been a while sense they had nursed and Lisa was beginning to feel the discomfort of being full.
        It had been a week and two days sense they had been in town and, if the whole town had not known about the coming wedding when they left, they sure did now! Congratulations came from every direction. By the time the three of them sat down in the Logger, Dale was sore from all the backslapping and Lisa’s shoulders were tired from all the hugging.
        It was the usual crowd even though it was Sunday night. They had become the village celebrities, and even though it was against state law to serve alcohol on Sunday, Susan had Dale’s beer and Lisa’s wine on the table before they were seated.
        They left the next morning for the Springs as soon as the plows had run. The big dodge diesel purred slowly along behind the plow as it cleared the road of the weekend’s heavy snow.
        The normal two-hour trip stretched out to almost five. By the time the arrived Lisa was very uncomfortable. Grabbing the first hotel room they could get, they set about easing her problem. After a wonderful supper, they retired to the hotel hot tub with a bottle of wine. As the wine disappeared, and because they were the only ones there, Lisa offered her breasts and Dale accepted. Later that night as they looked out over the snow covered sparkling city they made long slow love.
        Lisa was off at first light to find a wedding dress. On the other hand, after being measured for a tuxedo, Dale was shopping for another snowmobile.
        They had set a time to meet back at the hotel and both arrived on time. He had the new snowmobile in the back of the dodge and she had several packages.
        “Did you find a dress?” Dale asked as the elevator whisked them up to the room.
        “No,” she replied, “but I did find a few things. But, right now what I need is you!”
        Lisa hit the emergency stop on the elevator and turned to face her soon to be husband. Her coat hit the floor as she opened her top. She then dropped the cup on the nursing bra she wore.
        “Right here?” he asked.
        “Right here and right now!” she answered.
        When the elevator began to move again, the pressure in her breast had been relieved. Somewhat.
        Over lunch, the subject of a wedding dress took up most of the conversation.
        “I looked at a few but I just couldn’t find anything that was what I wanted,” Lisa said.
        “Should I come with you?”
        “You can come, but you can not see,” she replied.
        Before leaving the hotel, they retired to the room to make sure Lisa would not be uncomfortable while shopping. Having just had lunch, on top of the nursing session before, Dale could only empty one breast. Luckily, Lisa had though to pack the pump.
        Just as he did at home, Dale marveled at the operation. The little pump hummed, sucking her nipple deep into the bell. As he watched, white drops began to form and before his eyes, the bottle began to fill.
        He watched the procedure, lifting he gaze only to look at Lisa’s face. She always had such a dreamy look, as if she was somewhere else. He had first noticed this when they nursed. Although he could not hear it, he knew the sounds. The little ‘unh-unh-unh’ she made in time with either his suckling or the pulsing of the pump.
        He was also aware of the aroma. If he had been a blind man, he would know her by that alone. A smell that was at the same time both fresh and sweet. A smell he had grown to love.
        “There,” Lisa smiled, as she removed her nipple from the bell with an audible pop. “That should buy me some time.”
        Capping the bottle and placing it in the refrigerator of the wet bar, Lisa dropped and second set of breast pads into her purse. It only took a few minutes to adjust her self and she was ready to leave.
        Dale could not help it. He was after all a man. The sight of Lisa pumping always left him aroused. It took those few minutes for him to be able to stand with out an obvious problem.
        Leaving the hotel arm in arm, they began the search for the perfect dress.
        The big diesel purred through the streets as they moved from one bridle shop to the next.

  To be continued!! 

© July 16, 2004
Short Grass Enterprises, Inc.
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