Page 31 of Maid in America

“You just can’t stay away from the naughty ones, can you?” His green eyes still shined bright with youth despite the wrinkled eyelids around them.

“I was always taught in Daddy’s church, ‘You have to go where you are called.’”

Rodney opened the door to the kennel beside her, riling all the other dogs with the squeak of the hinges. He wrapped a lead around the neck of a rowdy rottweiler. Chastity could smell its breath from feet away.

“I know, I know. I’m happy to see you, too,” Rodney said, watching the dog spin donuts at light speed. “I see we have someextra energy today. Let’s go out to the yard and play while Miss Erikson here corrupts Molly there with her dirty smut books.”

Chastity smiled. “You know me too well.”

“Oh, it wasn’t a guess. I heard ya. Came around the corner and heard something about an orc performing fellatio, and I felt like I had to make my presence known.” He snickered. “You know I have these virgin ears and all.”

Chastity blushed.Maybe it wasn’t the most appropriate material to be reading aloud in public…

Rodney took the excitable dog outside, and the other pups quieted down. Chastity read her book in silence, calmly running her fingernails along Molly’s scalp until the dog was snoring as loud as a human.

12

The home’s facade wasmade up of varying shades of slate-colored stone that stood out against the afternoon’s dark clouds. After a flash of light, Barrett heard the faint rumble of thunder and pursed his lips. He was grateful he was going inside, where the rare spring rain could pour down to its heart’s content. It seemed like it never rained in Wyoming anymore.

We need the moisture,he could hear Gam-Gam say in his head, something she uttered every time there was precipitation without fail.

He carefully pulled onto the grass near the mailbox. The driveway was full and carefully edged despite the dead, yellow grass in the yard. It would be at least another week or two before it was warm enough to sprout anew.

His dirty Jeep felt inadequate compared to the other seven high-end sedans parked bumper-to-bumper on the concrete drive leading to the house.

The property looked expensive, especially with its nearly unimpeded view of the Grand Tetons in the distance. Neat junipers sat next to columns flanking a black front door. To either side were floor-to-ceiling patterned windows that blended seamlessly into one another. The building was positioned on an expansive plot of land featuring acre-upon-acre of natural perfection. The place was nicer than he’d imagined for a pious pastor. He’d expected something… more modest. Even humble, perhaps.

Barrett killed his truck and rushed straight across the grass to the door, eager to get inside before the sky opened up and soaked his formal attire. He pressed the doorbell and rocked on his heels, hands tapping a cheap pen against a legal pad.

Moments later, Maggie tugged the door open. Her hair was curled into waves, and light makeup accentuated her classic features. She wore a silk blouse tucked into tweed trousers, punctuated by a pair of sensible Mary Janes.

“I’m sorry,” Barrett pointed to the double rows of cars to his right, “Are you hosting right now? I could have sworn Stella said we were meeting this morning.”

“Oh shoot, I forgot that wastoday,” she said, pounding the heel of her hand against her forehead. “Well, come on in...”

She looked at him, trying to recall his name.

“Barrett. Barrett Andrews,” he offered.

“That’s right. I do apologize. Our flock has grown, and I have gotten the regulars down pat, but I still struggle with some of the moresporadicattendees.”

He followed her in, whacking the pad against his slacks nervously.

“Come. I’ll introduce you to all the ladies.” Maggie chuckled, leading him down a long hall toward a towering archway that led into a spacious room.

As they neared the end of the hall, a stained-glass door to his right swung open wide.

As soon as he saw the face beyond, he was floored, frozen in place. At first, he thought his mind was playing tricks by showing him the breathtaking face he’d been daydreaming about all week. But the longer he stood, trying to bat away the hallucination with rapidly fluttering eyes, the more he realized…

She was really there.

In the flesh.

That oh-so-smooth flesh burned into his mind.

She emerged from the bathroom in a plume of steam and jasmine perfume, body wrapped in a cotton bathrobe, slit open between her thighs almost enough to catch a glimpse of Heaven’s entrance.

She was stunned, too, still like an animal facing a predator with no way out. Her vibrant, rainbow ringlets dripped onto the tile. Her eyes never blinked.

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