“Get a divorce.”
“Yes, right,” she said. “I need to do that. I will. I promise.”
----
A few days later, Ethan and Maggie had a meeting at the store with a new vendor making a sales pitch. After the sales rep left, they talked about a couple other issues, then Ethan changed the subject.
“What’s up with you and Brad?” her father asked nonchalantly, taking Maggie by surprise.
“Huh? Why do you ask?” Maggie said.
“Well, I don’t want to pry, but Kate and I have noticed that you two have become quite chummy over the last year or so. And this past Christmas Eve, well, it was quite noticeable. We heard noises in the night that were, shall we say, ahem, unmistakable.”
“Oh, I’m so sorry,” she said, turning red. “We’ve been working up the nerve to tell you. Is Kate okay? We sure didn’t want to upset her, or you.”
“She’s not upset by it, at least not anymore. It was more of a shock, him being your younger stepbrother, and all. We just hope you both know what you’re doing.”
“I’m in love with him, Daddy.”
“Huh. I see.”
“I know it sounds crazy. All those years we never really connected, I never really knew him, but the last few… I don’t know. We’ve gotten closer, gotten to know each other. I know he’s younger, but, he’s so cool, we’re on the same wavelength, like it’s meant to be. Like you and Kate after Mom died.”
This struck a nerve with Ethan. He’d never thought he’d get married again after Rosa died and he raised Maggie the rest of the way on his own. But that changed when he met Kate.
“How’s Brad feel about it?” he asked.
“The same.” She was relieved that her father seemed to be taking it all in stride.
“So, what are you going to do?” he said. “You’re still technically married. And you are living in different time zones.”
“I know. We have to work that out.”
“Well,” Ethan said, rising up from his desk. “Sounds like you two have your work to do on this relationship. If there is any way I can help, let me know.”
“Sure, thanks Dad. Know a good divorce lawyer?”
----
He didn’t, but his attorney recommended someone. Agatha Mann.
“She’s the best, I’m told,” Ethan said. “A real Alpha Female, she’s brutal, goes for the throat. Only represents women. They call her the Mann Eater.”
“Dad, I don’t know if I need a man eater. We have no kids or assets to fight over. I just want to get out without a lot of hassles.”
“She’ll take care of it. Call her.”
So she did.
----
Maggie and Brad managed a two-day tryst in mid-January. They met in a small town roughly midway between the two of them. They got a room at the Red Roof Inn right off the highway and fucked their brains out from late Saturday afternoon until checkout time on Monday. They reluctantly parted and went their separate ways, without seeing any of the town, and sore in all the right places from their gymnastic exertions in the king bed.
They wanted to be together badly, but came no closer to a solution. Brad was an outdoorsman, and in his heart knew that sooner or later he’d be miserable if he moved back to the city. He explained to Maggie that he could put in for a relocation, but there were no guarantees, it could take many months if not years, and there weren’t any posts that much closer anyhow. Also, because his particular job was not one that most rangers wanted, living back in the woods a half-mile from the nearest parking, finding a replacement could be difficult and take time. He had promised that he would not leave unless they had his replacement ready to go. And Maggie had her own commitment to her job, and of course, her father.
So what to do? Brad would go crazy in the city, and was it fair to make Maggie leave her job, leave her father hanging, and move to the boonies?
They talked on the phone as much as they could, but even that was problematical. Brad had no signal back in the bush, so he’d have to drive to park headquarters to call her on his cell. His usual mode of communication in the forest was by two-way radio.
They mailed each other gifts for Valentine’s Day. Brad sent Maggie a very nice card, apt for a passionate lover and not a stepsister, two bangles to match the choker he’d given her, and had a dozen red roses delivered to her at the store. She sent him a sexy card too, and another pair of silk boxers. The boxers were white with red hearts of different sizes scattered about and four words in baby blue lettering: HOME OF THE WHOPPER.
Brad was sitting in his car that evening in the parking lot of the park headquarters. He’d picked up his mail and when he opened his gift he laughed out loud. God I love her, he thought, and he called her. She picked right up. They thanked each other, then it was I love you, I miss you, I want you. He had an erection in a few seconds and unzipped. He came in a couple minutes, and she described to him what she was doing to herself, and that she wished he was the one doing it to her, and he soon knew by her grainy breath that she had come too.
"God, I need you.”
“Yes. I need you too.”
“Can you get some time off?” he asked.
“I have vacation days coming. Why?”
“Would you come to visit? I could get some days off, and…”
“I’d love to,” she said. “Thought you’d never ask.”
“I could show you where I live, what I do, we can make it fun, but…”
“Brad. I said I’d love to.”
They chose the days, a whole week in late March.
----
It would be Sunday-to-Sunday. Brad booked them a room in a hotel on the edge of town, just a few miles outside of the park entrance. He stocked it with champagne on ice. The room was on the second floor and had a bird’s-eye view of the parking lot facing the road. Brad had texted Maggie the hotel name, location, and room number. He taped a large, yellow cardboard sign to the outside of the railing that read BRAD LOVES MAGGIE in large, red, can’t-miss block letters and a heart for the O, then sat in a chair on the balcony and watched for her.
The town was of medium size, big enough to have the amenities and services to fill the needs of its residents, but not so big that it was noisy, congested or polluted. There were a number of hotels, bars, and restaurants to serve the numerous visitors that would spend a day or two before entering, or after leaving, the park, forest, and mountains. There was a hospital, doctors galore, theaters, a river walk, even a small zoo. There was a small, vibrant downtown and the highway leading to the park went right down Main Street.
It was about five p.m. when Brad saw her car pull into the parking lot. He stood up and waved. Maggie’s face broke into a big grin when she saw the large sign draped across the railing. She found a spot right next to the building, not twenty feet from where he stood. She got out of the car and looked up at him, her hand shading the sun from her eyes.
“Hey Sailor,” she called. “Looking for a date?”
“Waiting on you.”
“Nice sign, I could see it as soon as I pulled in off the road. But you can take it down now, I’m here.”
“Naw, I’m gonna leave it up. I want everybody to know how I feel about you. Now get your butt up here.”
“Ooh, bossy. I like that.” She grabbed a small suitcase out of the backseat, locked her car, and headed for the stairwell.
Brad greeted her at the top of the stairs, took her bag and grabbed her hand, and led her into the room. As the door closed and locked behind them, he put the suitcase on the floor and turned to face her. He took both of her hands in his and they both squeezed. Their eyes burned holes and their lips curled into relaxed smiles.
They kissed. Long. Their fingers untangled. Their arms surrounded their bodies, their hands wandered over backs and butts. Tongues tangoed and tasted again.
“Finally,” Brad said.
“Yes. Finally.”
“How was the drive?”
“Long.”
“Is there anything I can get you? Anything you want? You want a shower, are you hungry?”
“Just fuck me.”
----
They did a lot more than that. They spent the next four hours horizontal in bed, making hard love. Every inch of their bodies were treasured and caressed and all of their openings were penetrated by fingers and tongues and cock. Brad sucked her tits almost raw and pounded his love into her, into her mouth and cunt and ass. Maggie licked the length of him, sucked him like a Hoover on high, and tongued him. Their kisses were grimy with cum and funk, but still they went on and on.
They called out to have food delivered. They ate salads and shared a white pizza and drank champagne. They showered, got back into bed, fucked. They slept enwrapped, like rocks. In the morning they did it all again, thinking, this is wonderful, a whole week together. They made the most of it. They made love all morning and barely had time to shower by checkout time.
The afternoon was spent walking around town. Lunch at a local pub, and a couple Bloody Marys. They visited the shops and bought them both some silk underwear. They walked the avenue, and then the side streets, checking out the neighborhoods. Finally, they worked their way back to the main drag and ended up at the edge of town closest to the park.
“What’s that place?” Maggie asked, pointing to a vacant commercial property with a large for-sale sign out front.
“That’s the old Agway, the feed store,” Brad said. “It closed up last fall. Why?”
“Oh, nothing. Just seems odd, being vacant and all. It sticks out. I haven’t seen another storefront that was empty. This town seems to be abuzz with business and activity.”
“It is. It’s the last stop before people enter the park to hike, camp, raft, canoe, climb, explore, whatever. They spend their money on gas, food, lodging and whatever else they’ll need in the forest and the mountains.”
“Hmm.”
----
Back at the hotel, Maggie said wait a minute before they got into their separate cars. She pulled a large backpack out of the trunk and started transferring all of her clothing and other items from the suitcase to the backpack.
“I knew I’d be hiking in,” she said. “Be a lot easier this way.”
Brad smiled and shook his head. Good thinking, he thought, she’s amazing. She’s the one.
----
That was the beginning of a seven day love-fest. For a solid week they were never apart.
They hiked into his cabin that night. She loved the place. Simple, but comfortable. One big room, which was both living and sleeping space, and a loft. A small kitchen on one side, and the bathroom on the other. It was still chilly out, so they fired up the wood stove. It was warm. Brad had stocked the fridge and cupboards and they cooked a simple supper from what was handy. Deliciously filled up, they cleaned up, and made love.