Keeping Victoria's Secret (30 page)

“I put water on for tea Vick. Cup of tea
sound good?”

Vicky nodded and wiped her eyes. “What should
I do Marsha?”

“If he doesn’t do something soon, you might
just have to initiate things yourself. You know, put the moves on
him?”

“What do you mean?” she sniffed.

“Seduce him. That guy’s in love with you and
one aggressive move from you and he’ll crumble. I know what I’m
talking about. He wants you, and you want him. It’s obvious to
anyone except for the two of you. Sometimes Vick, people are stupid
when it comes to love.”

“I don’t know Marsha. Do you really think he
feels that way?”

Vince, John, and Jack were huddled together
around their favorite corner table at Paulding’s Rest. The three
companions had agreed to meet there to discuss options for security
at the farm in the after math of the fire. Though Jack was still
reluctant to alarm Victoria, he felt he needed to make the farm as
safe as possible for her. Vince and John liked the idea of security
cameras.

“This is the way to go, Jack. Don’t buy
anything on your own, because there are tons of systems on the
market with different features,” Vince said. “You start looking at
all that stuff and your head will spin. I’ll go out first thing
tomorrow and get just what you need and you can pay me later.
Should cost you maybe three or four hundred bucks for a good one. A
system with a least four cameras, one for each side of the house,
is what you need.”

“Get whatever you think is best Vince. I
don't care what it costs.”

“A year ago I bought a system for the Shell
station,” Van Wart said. “They’re not hard to install.”

“Sure,” said the police officer. “I’ll pick
one out that covers all the approaches to the house. I’m not on
duty tomorrow. John and I can get the system installed and
operational in an hour or two.”

“Understood. Thanks, I really appreciate
this. I’m positive it was Van Winkle that torched the vegetable
stand, but there’s no way to prove it. That sick bastard is capable
of doing even worse things, I’m sure. I don’t trust him one bit,
and I’m afraid he might do something to harm Victoria. I know he
scares her.”

“It’s a done deal then,” said John. “Don’t
worry about it; we’ll be out there early tomorrow to put the
cameras up, then you can monitor everything on your computer.
Besides, you’ll be doing me a favor. I have plans to get to know
that hot friend of Vicky’s a little better. What’s her name,
Marsha? Man! That girl’s smoking hot. What a rack on her, know what
I’m saying?”

Before she left the next morning, Vicky sent
Marsha a text to let her know she’d be at church with Diane and
told her to make herself at home. Switching on a fresh pot of
coffee, she went outside to where Joe and Diane were waiting.

Joe was lifting potted plants from the back
of his truck. He smiled broadly when he saw Vicky. “While you girls
are at church, I’m going to put in a few perennials in back there,”
he said, motioning towards the flowerbeds. “These are the bee balm
and butterfly bushes we talked about, Vicky. I can get them in this
morning, and they’re talking rain later. That’ll be good for
them.”

“Nice! Thanks Joe! That’ll be cool. Hey, my
friend Marsha is still asleep upstairs and probably won’t be up
until after noon. I kept her up pretty late last night.”

“Why don’t I drive you ladies to church,
since Joe will be busy?” They all turned to see a smiling Jack
Conner approaching, dressed for church.

“Jack, that would be great,” said Diane.
“Let’s go before we’re late.”

“Mind if I take your truck, Joe?”

His friend shrugged and made no reply. In a
moment, Jack and the two women were down the gravel drive and
turning onto the road toward town. Joe sighed and picked up his
shovel. The bastard even had the nerve to drive off with her in my
own truck.

Marsha opened her eyes at the sound of the
truck doors slamming. It took only a few seconds for her to recall
that she was in Vicky’s farmhouse and not on the Upper East Side of
Manhattan. She rolled over and stretched, just listening to the
birds outside her window. There were no traffic noises, no police
sirens, no one yelling down below in the street. She slid her legs
off the bed, yawned, and began to entertain thoughts of coffee.
Reaching for her cell phone on the bedside table, she peered at it
checking the time, and saw the text from her friend.

“She’s probably left for church by now, but
I’ll bet Vicky has a pot down there all brewed and ready for me.
Yes, I’m sure I’m smelling coffee. Slipping from the bed, Marsha
padded in bare feet down the stairs, wearing only a sheer nightie
and panties. Reaching the kitchen, she found to her delight that
Vicky had indeed left the pot on and quickly filled a mug. Sipping,
she looked out the windows and saw no one around. Making her way to
the front door, she eased the screen open and stepped out onto the
porch. The sun warmed her and a light breeze tickled her bare legs.
Feeling a little naughty, she took a sip of the scalding black
coffee and grinned. No one’s around to see me. Couldn’t do this in
the city.

She let her mind wander back to her
conversation of the night before, with Vicky. That girl needs to
jump start Jack Conner. I know she didn’t get out much and hasn’t
had a lot of experience, but it shouldn’t be difficult to hookup
with him. The way he’s always watching her, he’s gotta be in love.
Now I think, I can’t remember her ever mentioning a relationship
before this.

“Well, Hel-lo!”

Marsha gave a little squeal of surprise and
jumped back. A couple of ounces of coffee jumped from her cup as
well, hitting the porch floor with a splat. She turned to see a
tall good-looking blond guy grinning at her over the porch
railings. Oh my god! Where the hell did he come from?

“Sorry, didn’t mean to scare you. I’m Joe
Vandersmoot, a friend of Vicky’s. You must be Marsha? I just
finished doing Vicky a favor, planting some perennials in the beds
out back.”

“Hi.” Her voice came out in a whisper. She
tried not to stare but she couldn’t stop. There he was with the sun
shining on his blond hair and a crooked smile on his handsome face.
Yum.

Joe couldn’t help looking at her long shapely
legs and flowing honey colored hair. His eyes slid over her in an
admiring gaze as a light wind blew through her hair, and lifted the
hem of her brief nightie, dangerously high on her thighs.

Marsha recovered first. “That’s okay; I just
didn’t think anyone was around. It’s um, well, nice to meet you.”
Smiling sheepishly, she backed towards the screen door. “Listen, I
need to run up and get some clothes on.”

“Hey, don’t do anything on my account,” he
laughed.

Marsha grinned. “Why don’t you go in and fix
yourself a cup of coffee. I’ll be back in two seconds.” She whirled
around, dashed inside and raced back upstairs

Oh god! This totally hot guy drops out of
nowhere and here I am wearing practically nothing and no make-up.
I’m so not ready for this!

It didn’t take her long to slip into her
favorite summer dress and some strappy high-heeled sandals.
Expertly she applied a light makeup, emphasizing her eyes with
mascara. Smoothing lip-gloss on she said to herself, “This will
have to do.”

“Hey.” she said when she found Joe in the
kitchen waiting for her. She smiled and reached for the coffee pot.
“I don’t think I ever drank the first cup. Not sure even where I
left it.” She brought a fresh mug to the table and sat down with
him.

Joe laughed and leaned back, stretching out
his long legs. He found that he had trouble keeping his eyes from
the woman sitting across from him. For the next half hour, Joe and
Marsha relaxed comfortably in the kitchen, becoming acquainted.
They talked about Joe’s plans for his nursery, her life in the
city, the Victorian house he was restoring and their mutual friend
Vicky. Joe was smitten already, and Marsha thought he was at least
as much of a hunk as Jack Conner.

“So, what exactly is it that you do in New
York?”

Marsha needed to think quickly. I don’t need
to lie, in order to keep Vicky’s secret. She simply told him the
truth. “I work for a literary agency. You know, the publishing
business. It’s a job and it pays the rent.”

“Sounds interesting,” said Joe. “Did you guys
meet in New York City? Did Vicky live in Manhattan too?”

That was tougher to answer. “Oh you know, we
knew the same people in the city, and out in Jersey.” She changed
the subject. “Joe, are you hungry?”

“Starving."

"Want some breakfast?” Marsha looked vaguely
around the room at refrigerator and stove. “I guess you could fix
us some eggs, or something. I’m not much in the kitchen.”

“No need. You’re a guest in the Grove this
weekend. We don’t want to leave a mess for Vicky either. I know a
great breakfast place in town. We can run in, grab a bite, and come
back. They’ll be in church for a while yet. What do you say?”

Marsha beamed at him. “Awesome. Let’s do it.”
She quickly shot a text to Vicky to let her know where they’d
be.

Joe laughed as he watched her lock up the
house. “Most people don’t bother locking the doors around here in
the daytime.”

“Oh yeah. It's different than what I’m used
to,” said Marsha.

“I know where I’m going, if you want me to
drive.”

Marsha nodded so Joe opened her car door for
her and went around to slide into the driver’s seat.

A few minutes later, they were on their way
to town.

Bathed by the soft breeze and bright
sunshine, John was driving his Mustang with the top down, on his
way to Jack's. The radio was turned up high and he sang along with
his favorite country songs. He couldn’t wait to see the beautiful
blue-eyed Marsha again. Just the thought of all that golden hair
and her incredibly perfect boobs had him grinning.

Then just as he was slowing to make his turn
into the farm's gravel drive, he saw Marsha’s car pull out and come
toward him. Jaw hanging, he looked over amazed as Joe, the gorgeous
Marsha seated close beside him, smiled and waved at John as they
sailed past.

“Damn! What the hell is Joe doing with her?
Where the hell are they going?”

When Vince pulled in behind his car a few
minutes later, John was waiting for him. “No one here Vince. Even
Jack is gone. His truck’s in the garage, but he’s not
upstairs.”

“Not a problem, John. He said to use our
judgment. Let’s get these things up under the eaves, and out of
sight as much as possible. I’ve got a honey-do list waiting for me
at home.”

They found a ladder in Jack’s garage and went
to work. Just as they’d promised, the cameras were installed in an
hour and John took the instructions up to Jack’s apartment.

When Jack returned with the girls from
church, he noticed that Marsha’s car was gone, but Van Wart’s was
there. He must be here to install the cameras.

“Marsha’s gone somewhere,” he said to
Vicky.

“Oh that’s right; she texted me. She and Joe
went out to breakfast,” she said, thumbing through her phone
messages. Diane and I can fix us all some lunch. Want leftovers
from last night? Maybe John’s hungry too.”

“Absolutely Victoria. When is John not
hungry?”

Jack found his friend upstairs pouring over
the installation instructions for the camera system.

“Jack, boot up your computer. This will only
take a few minutes. Got to install software and tweak a few
things.”

It wasn’t long before they were looking at
the camera view of the back yard, barn, and garage.

“John, the resolution is incredibly clear.
You can see everything. This is amazing.”

“Van Wart smiled. “Awesome isn’t it? Now
watch, I’m going to cycle through the four cameras and we’ll look
at the sides and front.”

Soon they were looking at a view of the front
yard and the road beyond.

“There you go pal. You’re a lot more secure
than you were yesterday.” John turned to his friend, frowning.
“Jack what was Joe doing with Marsha? They took off in her car. I
passed them on the way in. What’s up with that?”

“Don’t know John, but you can ask them
yourself in a minute,” he said, pointing at the computer
monitor.

As they watched, Marsha’s car pulled into the
farm drive and came to a stop. For a minute, no one emerged, but
then Joe and the girl got out. Both were laughing at something.
They got only half way across the lawn and stopped, turning towards
one another. Their smiles faded and Joe looked up at the house. It
seemed as though he were looking directly into the camera.

“Hey John, you remember that old TV show,
Candid Camera?”

“Yeah, what about it?”

“Look.”

Suddenly Joe and Marsha were in one another’s
arms, lips locked together. The men stared at the screen as the
girl put her arms around Joe’s neck and kissed him, running her
fingers into his hair. Gathering her into his arms, Joe deepened
the kiss, stroking up and down her back. She didn’t seem to mind
when Joe’s hands strayed slowly down until he grasped Marsha’s
beautiful round rear end and crushed her up against him. As he did
so, the short dress rose, revealing a hint of white panties. Marsha
kept her hands on the back of his head, holding his lips to hers,
not letting go.

“Joe! Buddy, Get a room.” laughed Jack.

Beside him John could only groan, “Oh god!
Damn! How did this happen?”

Grandmother Buonadies’ Chicken Sausage &
Potatoes

Grandma used all kinds of Italian sausage;
hot or sweet, with basil or cheese, they were all delicious. The
links can be cut in half. I like to use chicken thighs although my
grandmother used an entire chicken. If your Italian grandmother is
particularly fond of roasted garlic and she's coming for dinner,
throw in several more cloves. A roasted clove, a bite of potato,
and a tidbit of sausage on the fork together is heaven. Serves
four.