Chapter 7

The winter months had been busy ones for Ed. He had worked at the university, his consulting business had taken him all over the southwest, and he had brought down a fake charity organization. That didn’t include his activities on the board of the Fusion Foundation, two trips to visit John at the Druid College, and several conferences where he had presented papers. His busy life had finally caught up to him and it was time to rest.

Stopping by the office, he saw that Cathy was busy on the phone arranging for an end of semester party for the biology department on behalf of Leroy. He smiled at how well Leroy had stepped up to his responsibilities as a member of the Carter Clan. It had taken him ages to realize his own responsibilities, but Leroy had settled right into it. He waited for Cathy to get off the phone to make his request.

When she finished her call, she turned to look at Ed. He noticed that she looked a little tired. He asked, “Are you okay?”

“Just a little tired, that’s all.”

There was a slight dissonance in her voice. He asked, “What’s the matter?”

Realizing that she wouldn’t be able to hide the truth from Ed, Cathy answered, “It’s been rather hard keeping up with all eight of you.”

“Eight?”

“Yes, don’t forget to include the kids.”

Thinking about the demands upon her time, Ed wondered if they were going to have to hire an assistant for her. He asked, “Do you need some help?”

Cathy smiled and answered, “I’ve also been helping Walt and George proof-read their manuscript. I’ll get a little more rest when that is done.”

“They have a manuscript?” asked Ed surprised at the news. He had known they were working on a book, but hadn’t known they had made that much progress. Considering how much the two men argued over every little detail, he had figured it would take them a lifetime.

“Yes, they sold their idea for a book. Actually, they sold the idea for a whole series of books,” replied Cathy with a little pride at their accomplishment.

“That’s good news. I had no idea they were that far along.”

“Yes, lots of books coming out of this household lately.”

“When is Linda’s book coming out?”

“Next month.”

“Has anyone arranged a celebration for her?” asked Ed.

“Kelly has already set up a party at the library, and I’ve already arranged everyone’s schedule so they can be there.”

The telephone rang and Cathy turned to answer it. It was Jim calling to discuss some legal issues that were important to the family. That was a little more important than idle talk or arranging for his trip. Ed realized that she was going to busy for the next twenty minutes or so, and made a gesture to get her attention. When she turned to face him, he said, “I’ll be back in half an hour.”

She nodded and went back to the call. Ed wandered up to the security center and found George sitting behind the console watching the cameras and testing the sensors as Bob walked around the property. Sitting down in a chair next to George, Ed watched him at work. It was only a few minutes before Bob had completed his circuit around the building and went on to his duties.

George turned to face Ed and said, “Sorry, I wanted to finish the sensor tests. Bob is rather busy getting ready for his wedding and I don’t like to waste his time.”

Ed had forgotten about the pending wedding and still hadn’t come up with an appropriate wedding present. Nodding, Ed said, “I imagine that he and Marguerite have a lot on their minds right now.”

“You can say that again. She’s been interviewing cooks to take her place while she’s gone.”

“How are things going for you?”

“Fine. I’m happier here than I was in the Army, and I never thought I would say that.”

Ed was pleased to hear the truth of his words. The last security specialist had sold them out and nearly got the rest of the staff, John, and Kelly killed. There was one area that he had a remaining concern about and he didn’t know how to ask the question. Instead, he said, “I heard that you and Walt are publishing a series of books.”

George sat back and smiled as he said, “Yes, we are. I can tell you this, three years ago I would never have thought of doing that. I really enjoy working with Walt. He’s a smart guy.”

“So you don’t have any problems with him or his sexuality?”

Looking over Ed with amusement, George answered, “Oh, you mean the fact that he is a part time faggot?”

Ed didn’t like the way that George put it and said, “That isn’t a nice thing to say.”

“I’m one now, too, so that isn’t a problem. We’ve been doing each other for about a year now, usually at the request of Cathy and Sarah.”

Ed laughed at the revelation. He commented, “Amazing what women can get a man to do.”

“Yes, it is,” remarked George.

Standing to leave, Ed said, “I’ll let you get to your work. I’m glad you’re enjoying it here.”

George nodded and went back to work. With the arrival of the children, he had been researching ways to better protect them from kidnappers that might use them for financial gain. He was waiting for Ling to show up so they could discuss some of the devices he had found.

As Ed left, he passed Ling on her way into the security center. Stopping her, he asked, “What’s up?”

“I’m going to meet with George on how to protect the kids. We’ve been working together for a long time.”

That his children might be kidnapped because they were rich had never occurred to Ed. As he thought about it, he knew that recovery wouldn’t be an issue. A single call to Annette Baker and they would know within minutes where the kids were located. The real problem was keeping them from getting injured. He commented, “Finding them if they are taken won’t be a problem. We do have some resources that others do not.”

Ling glared at Ed and said, “I don’t trust people alone. I want more than one way to locate them.”

“I don’t trust people alone, but I do trust the Gods and the Goddesses,” replied Ed with patience. There was no doubt in his mind that this answer wouldn’t satisfy Ling. He predicted her next comment would be about the injuries that John and he had suffered in their service.

“Right. You and John get beat up more than I do when I’m competing against the best fighters in the world.”

Shaking his head at a difference that would never be resolved, Ed replied, “I’ll let you two get on with it.”

Concerned for the future, he watched as Ling entered the security center. Anyone that attempted to harm the kids when she was around had better be prepared to die a painful death because she wasn’t going to stop hurting them until they were dead. He wasn’t sure how he felt about that.

Searching for Sarah, Ed went down to the laundry room where she was usually hanging out when not cleaning elsewhere in the house. She wasn’t there, but Walt was. Kneeling down on the floor, he had a hand thrust under the washing machine working on it. Surprised, Ed asked, “What’s wrong with the washer?”

“Oh, it just needed to be leveled. This is just a little preventive maintenance.”

“I never heard of doing that.”

“Sometimes they shift after years of use and it’s a good idea to level it.”

“Oh. I heard that you were publishing a book with George.”

Walt checked the level sitting atop the washer. Satisfied, he stood up as he answered, “Yes, it’s just about finished.”

“You must be proud of it.”

Rubbing his hands together to remove any dust, he said, “I’m very proud of it. I’ve really enjoyed working on it with George. He should have been a commissioned officer.”

“So are you happy working here?”

“Yes, I am.”

Satisfied that things were going all right, Ed asked, “So where is Sarah?”

“She’s upstairs cleaning the nursery.”

“Thanks.”

Walt looked at Ed for a moment and then said, “You must be planning on being out of town for a while.”

Surprised by the accuracy of the observation, Ed asked, “How did you know?”

Laughing, Walt said, “You always make a tour of the entire staff before you go somewhere asking each of us if we are happy here.”

Ed had not realized that his survey over the state of the household was that obvious. After he had failed to follow up on his doubts about Greg, that had almost lead to a disaster. As it was, Bob still had medical problems with his neck from that incident. He felt like he needed to answer the charge and said, “Yes, I’m planning on going away for a little while to get some rest. After Bob was hurt, I don’t want anyone put at risk again, so I guess I do tend to grill people about their job satisfaction.”

Walt shrugged and said, “In the military, a commander that doesn’t make sure that things are in good order before leaving the base isn’t much of a commander.”

Smiling, Ed replied, “I just like to make sure my home is safe before I go out.”

Walt smiled and said, “Go question Sarah so you can rest easy on your trip.”

Shaking his head, Ed left the laundry room and headed over to the nursery. It had been a while since he had been in the nursery. Stepping into it, he saw that toddler beds had replaced the cribs. The walls were still colorful and the diaper changing station was still in place. The single bed that had been used by whichever adult had been watching over the babies at night was in place. Cameras covered the beds and baby monitors were situated to watch and hear everything going on in the room.

Sarah was in the nursery wiping down the surface of the changing station. It was obvious that she came in here everyday to clean. The room was clean enough to eat off the floors. He watched her work, her naked body moving and her long black hair swaying as she wiped the top. Her breasts swung in time to her work. It was a very nice sight and one that he had appreciated many times in the past. She turned and found him watching her. With a smile, she asked, “Do you like what you see?”

Blushing at having been caught, Ed answered, “Yes, I do.”

“What are you going to do about it?”

Licking his lips, he said, “I’m going to go find Linda.”

“Smart answer,” said Linda from behind him. She had seen him making his rounds and followed him to the nursery. Her arrival had coincided with Sarah’s comment.

Ed nearly jumped a foot off the floor at the sound of Linda behind him. Recovering, he said, “I didn’t know you were behind me.”

Linda looked over at Sarah and said, “Tell him you love working here so that he can finish his duties and I can have a little fun with him.”

Sarah asked, “Is he going out of town again?”

“Don’t you guys have anything better to do than talk about me?” asked Ed.

“Yes, he is,” answered Linda to Sarah’s question.

“Nope,” answered Sarah to Ed’s question.

“Now tell him you love it here.”

“I love it here.”

At that, Linda pulled Ed away from the nursery and over to the corner. She dropped down to her knees and pulled the robe over her head. With just a little effort, she fished his hardening cock out of his pants. Seconds after it was freed from his pants, she had locked her lips around it. Looking down, Ed couldn’t see Linda as she was totally covered by his robe. Looking up, he found a smiling Sarah posing at the door with a finger rubbing her slit. Seeing that she had his attention, Sarah shook her head so that her long hair covered her breasts.

With so many of the women in the house having short hair, Ed had discovered that he was very attracted to long hair. Linda and Sarah both had long hair that came down to the middle of their backs. Sarah knew how to use hers to her best advantage. The dual eroticism of the situation was having the desired effect on Ed. Watching Sarah while Linda sucked his cock was too much for him to resist. Within two minutes of Linda putting her mouth around his cock, he was filling it with his come. She stayed down there for much longer making sure that his cock was completely clean.