Aftercare: General's Daughter, Book 4 (13 page)

“Come here when you feel up to it, Jenny,” Scott ordered
quietly. She rose a few minutes later and wobbled over to him. Gently, he
pulled her onto his lap to hold her lovingly. “You’re forgiven, you know. It’s
done. I’m sorry I had to be so hard on you, but better me than someone who
doesn’t care. And Jen?”

“Yes, Scott?”

“No sex. You are grounded. This isn’t to be an opportunity
for my nephew to get his rocks off.”

“Scott! Please!”

“Did I embarrass you? I’m sorry. I’m not used to having a
lady in the house,” Scott chuckled, hugging her.

“Sam’s a lady.”

“When she chooses to be. We have no secrets, so we tend to be
blunt about things. If you want to, you can jump in the shower and cool down a
bit before you come out. Take your time, but I do expect to see you for dinner.”

“Yes, sir, Scott. I’m really sorry about this. Thank you for
caring,” Jen whispered.

“That’s my girl. You can come out and join us when you are
ready,” Scott said softly, kissing the side of her face.

Jen gently touched her bottom after he left the room. Even
the breeze hurt. But she did feel forgiven. And loved.

“Where are my kids? Why aren’t they home yet? I have been
gone forever and they should be here,” Scott demanded as he walked outside.

Rich shrugged. “They had to go deep for a while for Sam to
balance. How’s Jen?”

“She’s one hurting little girl with a clean conscience. Joe
doesn’t understand that completely. It’s hard to explain this to him sometimes.”

“You, Mike and I are geared towards that. Maybe he’s less so
because he’s a healer.”

“He’s not as straight laced as you think. Trust me, he has a
kinky side too. At least with my sister he did. His kids are another story,
though. Different rules for them.”

“Maybe he tries to over-compensate because you’re so hard.”

“He can be hard too, believe me. He just has a longer fuse
about some things than I do. While other things... not so much. There are my
babies! Come to your old Uncle Scott. I missed you,” the man said, arms out for
their wet embrace.

“We’re glad you’re back, Scott. We missed you, too,” Michael
said, ignoring the ‘babies’ comment and Rich’s amused laughter as he embraced
his uncle warmly. He had learned long ago that the more he protested, the more satisfaction
Scott achieved by saying things like that. Sam, of course, didn’t mind, and
happily squeezed him around neck as he lifted her easily into his arms.

“I’m so sorry about what you both were put through with that
damn assignment. Princess, I am just so proud of you. Not happy about my truck,
but still proud.”

“Thanks, Uncle Scott. If it makes you feel any better, I
really hate driving that beast. It’s too big for me. I fit better in the Jag—”

“Don’t even go there, kid. Where’s Jen?” Michael asked.

Rich looked sad. “She confessed. Scott just dealt with her.”

“Oh no, Scott, you didn’t,” Michael said, concern in his
eyes.

Scott nodded, arm around his nephew’s broad shoulders. “She
didn’t feel she had paid her dues. She was given a choice, and she decided on
her own that she needed us to finish what Rich had started. Sorry, but you know
how things are around here. She’s also grounded for two weeks. She will be
staying here. No sex.”

“But…”

“But what? You heard me. You can’t reward after being punished.
And don’t you even try to pull the definition of sex bullshit line with me.”

“Is Jen going to move in with us?” Sam asked, arms around
Scott’s hard waist.

“Just because I’m letting her use the downstairs guest room
on a permanent basis and we gave Rich the upstairs guestroom to use as his own,
doesn’t mean we are running a bed and breakfast.”

“So that means yes?”

“I did not say that.”

“They are welcome to stay whenever or however long they wish
to. I think it would be good if she didn’t have to worry about paying for the
dorm, at least through the summer,” Dr. Quimby said, joining his family on the
outside deck. “I’m going to check on my other girl. I’ll be right back.”

“Old softie,” Scott grumbled. “You two, go rinse off the
seaweed and put some dry clothes on. I’m hungry and I’m tired of waiting to be
fed.” He watched the two run upstairs, and then turned back to Rich. “I love my
family.”

“I do too.” Rich hugged him. “Thanks for taking us in.”

Michael and Sam were back downstairs by the time Dr. Quimby came
out with Jen. She went straight to Scott to hug him, and then fell into Michael’s
strong arms. Sam slipped her a pillow for her chair (unnoticed) while they had
dinner. Blushing, Jen took most of her meal standing.

“Richard, take Jen and Samantha to the dorm to get all her
stuff out of there. Michael, you have KP,” Scott ordered after dinner. “Joe,
contact the student housing and settle her bill.”

Michael rolled his eyes. “He’s baaaaaaack.”

“What did you say?” Scott lifted a brow. “Did I stutter? Or
are you having a major malfunction when it comes to obeying orders?”

“Sir, yes sir! KP as ordered, General Sir!” Michael popped to
attention with a perfect salute. Scott strolled around him, saluting back,
making Michael stand still, eyes forward.

“So, this maggot has a smart mouth, does he? Drop and give me
twenty!”

“SIR! Yes, sir!” Michael started doing pushups. Both hands,
then one on the ground with the other behind his back, then stood back up at
attention.

Sam giggled, elbowing Jen as the other girl stared in
disbelief at the interaction. “Michael loves doing pushups. You would think
Uncle Scott would realize this is not a punishment by now.”

“Are you eyeballing me, maggot?” Scott shouted in Michael’s
face. Dr. Quimby looked bored, and picked up his paper.

“Why is he calling Mike that?” Jen whispered, observing the
disinterest by the rest of the family.

“Old boot camp drill instructor thing. They will do this
until one of them breaks. Scott usually gets bored before Mike loses face. They’ve
done this since I was a little girl and Scott bought Mike his first set of
cammies. I think he was six.”

“How cute,” Jen said, giggling.

“I remember him refusing to wear anything but his cammies. He
loved those things. He had a fit when I discovered they were fun to play in and
got covered in mud or something. Let’s go, we’ll be here all night if we wait
for them to stop.”

The three men were still in the living room when the girls
and Rich returned from Jen’s dorm.

“Pack mule! Front and center! Need hauling from the jeep,”
Sam ordered.

Michael stood slowly, smacking the back of her head as he
walked by. “Is this everything?” he asked, carrying a trunk.

Jen nodded. “I don’t have a whole lot.”

“Including clean clothes. She needs a serious Saturday
morning cleaning regime,” Rich snitched.

“Since you’ll be living here, that will certainly be
enforced,” Dr. Quimby said with a grin.

Jen wrinkled her nose. “I hate doing cleaning and doing
laundry. I can live out of my suitcase for two weeks easy.”

“You misunderstand. You will be living here,” Scott said
gruffly. “I thought I made it clear.”

“You are to put your clothes away and the laundry room is
down the hall next to the garage. Tomorrow after work, all of you can go over
and clean up her dorm room. We can get you a different phone number if you wish
in your room or you may use the house number. Do you have a cell?” Dr. Quimby
asked.

“Yes sir,” Jen whispered, stunned.

“Give Samantha your account and the lab will cover it. If you
have any car problems, let Rich take care of it. Michael and Scott are useless.”

“We are not!” both yelled.

Dr. Quimby ignored them, “We do a lot as a family and you are
welcome to participate if you wish. We don’t want you to feel obligated to do
anything you don’t want to, okay? There might be some things you have no
interest in. Just be honest with us, we won’t pressure you.”

“I love doing things with the family, Jen,” Michael said. “I
need to let you know I probably won’t stay home if you choose not to go, okay? It’s
important to me.”

“This goes for you too, Richard. If there are things you guys
might like to do with the family, let us know.”

“I don’t know how to say this, except bluntly. Money is not
an issue. Talk to us about what you would like to do and when it’s feasible, we’ll
see if we can do it,” Scott added, flipping through TV channels.

“That’s awesome, thank you!” Jen clapped her hands.

Scott chuckled. “Got somewhere in mind already, missy?”

“DISNEY!” she squealed. The men groaned.

“Wonderful. That is all we need, another Disney brat. Samantha
loves the stupid place. Right now, young lady, to your room. Your restriction
starts immediately. And no trying to weasel out of it,” Scott ordered. She
quickly kissed all of them and then trotted to her new room.

“It looks like you have a big sister, kiddo,” Scott said,
hugging his niece.

“I like her. As long as I get my cuddle time, I can share.”

“Just no fighting. We’ve never had two girls in the house, so
it might get a little crazy. No tattling either.”

“Hey, I have two other men I can go to with reports if need
be. So there!” Sam laughed.

“You are a brat, know that?” Scott asked, pulling her onto
his lap and squeezing her hard. “Damn it, baby. I missed you. Don’t you go
scaring me like this again.”

Sam said nothing as she snuggled under his chin, holding the
arms that were wrapped around her body. She inhaled deeply, knowing that she
was safe and loved.

***

Two weeks later, Sam took in a cleansing breath as she tried
to control her temper. She leveled her eyes at Jen. “I’m not going to get in
trouble because you didn’t finish your chores. Daddy is going to be back from
his run any minute now and these have to be done. We do this every Saturday,
Jen. You know that.”

“I’ll do them later. What’s the big deal?”

“You can be so infuriating! Just clean the damn sink the
right way. He said to do the guest bathroom and I did my half. I’m going up to
my room. You deal with him.”

Jen waved her away, and then walked back to her bedroom. Dr.
Quimby had given her two weeks to get everything organized and put away, with
specific instructions. She completed her tasks with minimal effort, grateful
that Michael was a neatnik. She would never worry about a clean house if she
ever married him, that was certain. The two girls were also instructed to clean
the community restroom downstairs. Sam did the toilet and the floor, leaving
the sink and mirror for Jen. The girl had only wiped it quickly with a wet
sponge, leaving streaks everywhere. She ignored Sam’s advice as to what her
father expected, stating no one ever really used that bathroom anyway.

Sam stayed in her room, fuming. She knew she would probably
get into trouble if the chore wasn’t completed properly, but she wasn’t going
to cover up for Jen’s laziness. Her room was twice Jen’s size and her own
bathroom a lot larger and she had her own mess to take care of. She heard the
front door open as all four returned.

“Girls! We’re back!” Dr. Quimby called, going into the
kitchen for water.

Sam came down, holding her nose. “You guys are sweating all
over the place. Go jump in the pool or something.”

“How about a hug?” Rich teased, chasing her around the
island. He was soaked.

“You’re gross. At least you don’t reek. Daddy, I need to talk
to you about something. Do you have a minute?”

“Only if you promise to make me bacon.”

“You and your bacon. Yes, I’ll make you bacon. It’s Jen,” she
said quietly, “I don’t know how to get her to understand what sharing chores
means.”

“Are you snitching?”

“No sir, I’m asking for advice. I have no problems with her
at work. She’s great, really helpful, cleans up her station. Here, though… I
think I know how you feel about me and my mess.”

“I’ll talk with her if I need to. I will remind you, no
tattling is allowed in this family unless the person is in danger.”

“Yes, sir. How many pieces?”

“The whole package.”

“No, I’ll make you two.”

“Six.”

“Four. No more. It’s not good for your heart or that gorgeous
physique.”

“Good ego stroke. You’re learning.” Dr. Quimby toweled off
and went to Jen’s room. He tapped on the door.

“Come in. Hi! Did you have a good run?” Jen asked with a
smile, looking up from her laptop.

“I did. How’re the chores going?”

“Okay, I guess. I hate cleaning and I’m not very good at it.”

“You’ll get better. Let’s see.” He opened her closet door. “Jen?”

“Yes?”

“Does this look organized to you?”

“I can find everything I need to. Hey, you didn’t say
anything about the dresser drawers,” she protested, peering over his shoulder.

He shook his head. “This isn’t going to cut it, youngster. You
have a shoe rack, why are they just tossed in? And how can you tell what is in
each of your drawers? I see a pair of socks, a couple of tee shirts and shorts
thrown in. Hangers are also designed to be used in a specific way, not to have
things flung through them.”

“I put everything away. That’s what matters, right?”

“Nope. Jennifer, I gave you two weeks. You don’t have a lot
of stuff. Michael!”

“Yeah, Dad?”

“Come in here please. Do you mind helping Jen get this room
in order? She needs some boot camp training and we both know we can’t expect your
sister to be the model of perfection here.”

“Samantha does a good job, when she does it. But yes, I’ll
help. I’ve been holding formal inspections since I was six.” Michael puffed his
chest proudly.

“In your little cammies?” Jen teased.

“Oh, you heard about those. Yeah, the ones my little sister
destroyed when she found a puddle of tar.”