A Penny Saved Is a Love Earned

I hope you liked the first part of this story. It's something I've been working on for a while. Like I said before, I've had a lot of fun writing on this site and I hope to continue doing so for a long while, thanks again.

MoogPlayer

~~~~~~

Chapter One

"Why do you say that, Missus Rogers?" "Penelope asked smiling.

"Oh, I don't know," Mom giggled, snapping her out of her reverie, "And you can call me Linda, sweet girl. Missus Rogers makes me sound so old."

"Duh, Nana," Sam teased, as she and Tommy came through the sliding glass doors, "It's because you are old."

"Hmph," Mom derisively snorted, "I'm still young enough to spank your ass, little girl."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Sam teased, going to the kitchen while Mom playfully swatted her butt on the way by.

"Thank you for the compliment Linda," Penelope sweetly said, hugging Mom.

"You're very welcome, pretty girl," Mom tenderly replied, gently placing her palm on Penelope's cheek, "And when my son asks you to marry him, and he will, it's going to be the happiest day of my life."

"Hey wait a minute," I indignantly said, "Don't I get a say in this?"

"NO," said Mom, Megan and Penelope, all at the same time, loudly giggling as the three of them made their way to the kitchen.

"Well, hell," I said, to no one as I sat back down on the couch watching a football game on the television.

~~~~~~

After a few moments Tommy came into the den and sat down in the chair beside the couch and said, "I need to talk to you, Bryan."

"Let me guess," I knowingly smiled, "You're falling for Sam. Am I right?"

"Yeah," he groaned, "I am."

"Damn, Tommy," I laughed, "You almost sound like you're disappointed."

"No, no, it's not that," he hurriedly replied, "I just don't want you to be upset with me because of it."

"Let me tell you something, Tommy," I gently told him, "I've known you since you were a young teenager, and I couldn't ask for a better man than you to be with my niece. Besides, you've got a good job, and I know for a fact that your boss has no plans of ever terminating your employment so, don't sweat it, kid."

"Thanks, Bryan," he smiled, clearly relieved, "There's something else I need to ask you, too."

"Damn, boy," I chuckled, "Don't you know by now that you can ask me anything?"

"I'd like to take Sam to Gatlinburg this weekend," he replied, "And I wanted to ask you if it was alright."

"I don't know," I said, "Maybe you should be asking her mother instead."

"I did," he replied, "And she said to ask you."

"Aw, man......SAM;" I yelled from the den, "WOULD YOU COME IN HERE, PLEASE?"

~~~~~~

Two minutes later, Sam, as well as Megan, Mom, and Penelope, all came into the den as Sam asked, "What is it, Uncle Bryan?"

"So," I began, "I understand that you two want to go to Gatlinburg for the weekend."

That's right," Sam smiled, walking over and sitting in Tommy's lap, "We're going to rent a small chalet."

"Well, you're eighteen and I can't tell you what to do," I replied, "But I will tell you that you've been raised to be responsible. Do you understand what I'm talking about?"

"Relax, Bryan," Megan giggled, "Sam's been on the pill for almost two years now. Besides, they're both good kids and I trust them to do the right thing."

"Yeah," I smiled, reaching over and gently pinching Sam's cheek, "That's true. Okay you two, have a good time and stay out of trouble."

"Oh, thank you, Uncle Bryan," Sam excitedly smiled, as she suddenly hopped out of Tommy's lap to throw her arms tightly around my neck, "I love you so much."

"I love you, too, baby girl," I grinned, hugging her, "I love you, too."

~~~~~~

That evening, Tommy and Sam had gone to the movies while Mom, Megan, and Penelope and I sat around the dining room table talking after just finished having dinner. I could tell by the way she was acting that Mom was enjoying talking with Penelope.

"You're going to have to make Bryan bring you over to our house for dinner soon, sweetie," Mom smiled, "I make a great Chicken Scaloppini."

"I'd like that very much, Linda, thank you, "Penelope grinned, "Can I ask you something? It's about Bryan."

"Of course, pretty girl," Mom giggled, "I'll tell you anything you want to know."

Because my dining room adjoins my living room, Penelope nodded toward my piano sitting in the window and impishly asked, "Can he really play that thing, or does he just have there to show it off?"

"Bryan Lane Rogers," Mom scolded, "You mean to tell me that you haven't played for her yet? What's the matter with you?"

"It's not like I haven't wanted to, Mom," I told her, "I've had my left hand in cast for almost two months, remember?"

"Oopps," she giggled, "I'm sorry, I forgot, sweetie," then turning back to Penelope, she smiled and said, "He really plays beautifully, honey."

"What about it, Bryan?" Penelope teased, "Are you going to play for me, or not?"

"Oh, alright," I chuckled, as I made my way to the living room, with Penelope, Mom and Megan following me.

I sat down and lifted the cover off the keys, and then warmed up for a few minutes to work the stiffness out of my left hand. And once I was ready, I played my all time favorite song; the title cut on the soundtrack of the movie, "Somewhere In Time" by John Barry. I also included the track of "A Theme by Paganini" by Sergey Rachmaninoff, also on the movie soundtrack

And when I was done, I turned around to find not only Penelope, but, as usual, both Mom and Megan in tears, as well as Sam, had she been there, too.

"See?" I teased, "Now you know why I don't like to play for you, Mom. It always makes you cry."

"That's the music from the movie, Somewhere in Time," Penelope smiled, "That's my favorite movie of all time."

"I'm glad you liked it," I gently replied, "And just so you know, it's one of my favorites, too."

"Play something else, Bryan," Megan grinned, "Play something by Rick Wakeman."

I began the introduction of Rick Wakeman's "Night Airs" album, and continued doing so for the next ten minutes. However, I began to realize what Penelope meant when she said that I wasn't one hundred percent healed, as my left hand began to cramp, making me suddenly stop playing.

Penelope immediately knew what was happening as she simply looked at me and said, "I think that maybe you've played enough for one evening. What do you think?"

"I think you're right," I smiled, rubbing the top of my left hand where an angry red scar had not yet begun to fade, "My left hand is beginning to cramp."

"That's to be expected," she pointedly replied, "And while I think playing the piano is a great form of physical therapy, as your Doctor, I suggest that you try to not overdo it."

"But I'm no longer your patient," I devilishly replied, "Am I Doctor?"

"No," she giggled, "But I can always sick Linda and Megan on your ass, oh, and let's not forget about Sam."

"You wouldn't dare," I good naturedly teased, "Besides, that's not fair."

"No, it isn't," she smiled, making her way to sit beside me on the piano bench, "But there aren't any rules when it comes to love and war," and with that said, she leaned over and softly kissed my lips.

Because of the fact that she did that in front of my mother and sister, of course my face turned beet red in embarrassment. Megan drove the point home even further when she pointed at me and giggled, "Ooo, look at him blush," causing Mom and Penelope both to burst into a cacophony of female laughter.

"Blush this, Megan," I curtly replied, showing her the gesture involving the middle finger of my right hand, "You can be such a bitch sometimes, I swear."

"That's Ms. Bitch to you, Bryan," she spat, "Besides, I was only teasing you, you fucking asshole."

"HEY," Mom quickly shouted, and then calmly said, "Why don't both of you be quiet if you can't be any nicer to one another than that?" Then she turned to Penelope and giggled, "You'll have to excuse these two, they've been like this ever since they were both old enough to talk, but I guess it's my fault for spoiling their little asses."

From the moment Megan started her normal shit with me, up until the moment that Mom intervened, Penelope had worn a tickled grin on her face. And then being no longer able to contain it, she burst out laughing and said, "I'm sorry for laughing, Linda, but I think it's as cute as it can be."

"Oh, honey, don't laugh at them," Mom sighed, "It only makes them worse."

~~~~~~

When Mom got up to leave, she took Penelope's hand and said, "It was so nice to able to spend some time with you. I can't wait until we can do it again," as she placed her palm on Penelope's beautiful cheek, "Our pretty Penny..."

She placed her hand on Mom's hand, and then leaned in and kissed Mom on the cheek and sweetly replied; "Now I see who Bryan got his beautiful heart from."

~~~~~~

Mom had been gone for about thirty minutes when I looked at Penelope and Megan and said, "I've got a couple of bottles of wine that I've been saving for a special occasion. Do you two want me to open one?"

"Why not?" Megan grinned "You know I'm always ready to drink some wine."

"I don't know, Bryan," Penelope replied, "I have to go home before it gets too late."

"Why?" I asked her, "You can stay here tonight."

"I couldn't do that," she objected, "It just wouldn't be right."

"Why wouldn't it be," Megan sweetly teased, "You're not a screamer, are you?"

This time I couldn't help but laugh and received a playful slap from Penelope as she laughed and said, "No...well...maybe sometimes, but that's not the point. What would Sam think about seeing me here in the morning?"

"Samantha is a big girl," Megan knowingly chuckled, "And while I'm fairly sure that's she's still a virgin, don't think for a second that she doesn't understand the nature of certain things."

"Don't you think that if Megan and Mom already knew about us, Sam did, too?" I smiled, holding Penelope's hand, "Besides, if I know anything about my niece, it will tickle the hell out of her to wake up and see you here in the morning, knowing that you spent the night."

"Why don't you go get that bottle of wine," she grinned, "I'll go out to your truck and get my bag."

"That's my girl," I replied, quickly kissing her lips.

~~~~~~

Once I'd moved Penelope's bag into my room and showed her where everything was, the bottle of wine I'd opened twenty minutes earlier had had ample time to breathe. So, after I'd poured three glasses and headed back into the living room, Megan's idea, I was again talked into playing some more music, only this time I played my guitar, also Megan's idea.

I played a couple of classical pieces, one by Mozart, and the other by Chopin, and then ended on piano with Beethoven's "Moonlight Sonata". It was strange at first, I don't know why, but it seemed that I was playing that night, better than I ever had before. However, it wasn't until later that I discovered that it was Penelope, my pretty Penny, from whom I drew my strength. But then, I'm getting ahead of myself.....

~~~~~~

"You should've been a professional musician, Bryan," Penelope sweetly said, "God knows that you're certainly good enough."

"Nah, not me," I contentedly smiled, "Don't get me wrong, I like to play, just not for a bunch of strangers. I'd rather play for the people that I love the most."

"He's good, isn't he, Penelope," Sam said from behind us, and then joined us in the living room and sat down next her, "He used to play for me for hours on end when I was a little girl."

"I think he's very good," Penelope cooed, "I could listen to him play all the time, too."

"You guys are in love, aren't you?" Sam tenderly asked, "I can tell by the way you look at each other."

"I don't know," I teased, winking at Penelope, "She ain't too bad for your average white girl. I might keep her around for a while as long as she acts right."

"God, Uncle Bryan," Sam tersely replied, "Don't be an asshole all your life."

"Samantha, I'm warning you for the last time," Megan scolded, "Watch your mouth, young lady."

"Aw hell, Megs," I laughed, "Leave her alone. Besides; she acts just like someone else I know."

Penelope was laughing like a little kid by this time, and before I knew it, we all joined in, making Megan simply shake her head and reply, "That child is incorrigible and it's all your fault, Bryan."

"And that's alright, too," I smiled, pulling Sam off of the couch and into my arms, "Ain't it baby girl?"

"It sure is," she happily squealed, "I love you, Uncle Bryan."

"I love you, too, sweetheart," I smiled, hugging her tightly.

"See what I have to deal with," Megan said to Penelope, "And he was even worse when she was little. It was like having two children instead of one."

By this time I was seated back on the couch next to Penelope with Sam sitting on the other side of me. Still though, I was content to be around three of the four women I loved more than anything in the world.

~~~~~~

"Are you going to spend the night with us, Penelope?" Sam asked, as the evening drew to a close.

"Yes, I am," she smiled, "Are you alright with that?"

Sam looked at her and smiled as her eyes began t fill up with tears. And then throwing her arms around Penelope, she happily cried, "I'm so glad that you two found each other."

"Aw, thank you, sweetie," Penelope smiled, hugging her, "But if you're happy, then what's with all the tears?"

"Because I've been worried about my Uncle Bryan," Sam continued to cry, "He's been so unhappy for so long; but ever since he met you, he smiles like he used to when I was little, and I've really missed that part of him. Thank you, Penelope."

"She's right," Megan began to cry, putting her arms around both Sam and Penelope, "My brother was so lost until you came along, and I wish you knew how happy and grateful we all are that you're here."

"You're very welcome," Penelope now began to cry, "And I swear to both of you that I'll do whatever it takes to keep him happy."

"Jeez, come on you guys," I groaned, "You three keep crying like that and I'm gonna end up having to get my carpets shampooed."

"Oh, you shut up," Megan giggled through her tears, "Sam was right. Don't be such an asshole all your life."

~~~~~~

"I love you, Bryan," Penelope said, as we got into bed that night, "And I love your family, too."

"I love you, too," I smiled, leaning over and gently kissing her lips as she snuggled up next to me in bed, "My sister and my niece absolutely adore you ya know."

"Yes, I know," she contently sighed, "And I love them, too, especially your Mom. She's so sweet and kind."

"Yeah, she is," I smiled, at the thought of her, "She thinks you're one of the prettiest girls she's ever seen."

"What about your Dad?" she asked, "I haven't seen him since the hospital."

"Dad thinks you're hot," I chuckled, "But he gets real uncomfortable around pretty women. We all think it's funny, too."

"Your Mom is a beautiful woman," she replied, "And he's married to her."

"That's because Mom was the one who did the proposing," I smiled, "Mom said that she fell in love with Dad the moment she laid eyes on him. The only problem was that he was painfully shy, and he still is to some degree."

"We'll just have to see if we can't love that out of him then," she playfully purred. And then after kissing me again, Penelope looked into my eyes and said, "I meant every word I said to Megan and Sam when I told them that I'd do whatever it took to keep you happy, Bryan."

"I know you did, beautiful," I smiled, gently pulling her to me and kissing her lips, "And I love you with all my heart."

~~~~~~

We slept the whole night through in a lover's embrace that night, and not once did Penelope wake up. I like to think that it was because I had silently asked God to watch over her right before I went to sleep; and to be honest, he's still the only one who really knows how much I truly love her."

~~~~~~

The next morning I awoke to an empty bed, and for a moment, it felt like a part of me was missing. However, that all faded away the moment I heard the sound of female laughter ringing through my open bedroom door, emanating from down the hall, and being followed by the aroma of something heavenly.

~~~~~~

"See," Megan told Penelope, the moment I appeared in the kitchen, "I told you he'd wake up the minute we started cooking."

Penelope stood at the stove wearing a pair of sweat pants and a small tee shirt, with my bathrobe over it, and looked sexier than I ever recalled her being. Of course Megan and Sam wore their pajamas and robes while I wore a pair of boxers and a wife beater tank top.

"Good morning," I smiled, kissing Penelope's neck as I hugged her from behind, "How did you sleep?"

"Mmm," she purred, leaning back against me, "I slept great."

"Uncle Bryan," Sam started in, "Do you always walk around in your underwear in the morning?"

"No," I impishly grinned, "Not always."

"So, you do put clothes on then," Sam said, as a question.

"No," I teased, "I usually walk around here naked, Sam, if you must know."

With a horrified look on her face, Sam shook her head and said, "Ugh...that is so gross."

~~~~~~

We spent the rest of that day by the pool; again, Penelope looking stunning in her bikini, until the time that we were to meet with Richard Boles drew near."

~~~~~~

Chapter Two

"It's good to see you guys again," Rich smiled, when Penelope and I picked him up at his hotel that evening, "Where are we going?"

"To a place out in Donelson that I go to from time to time.....It's called Darfon's," I grinned, "They've got great food, and the drinks are always nice and rich, if you know what I mean."

"I guess that means that I'll be driving us home tonight," Penelope smirked, "That's okay though...this time."

~~~~~~

"Hi Bryan," chirped Tiffany, the hostess at Darfon's, "It's good to see you again...table for three?"

"Hi, Tiff," I smiled, "Yes, that would be nice, thank you."

~~~~~~

We followed her to a secluded corner table in the bar. Our bartender, Stephanie, was a girl I'd known for about four or five years at the time, and we had always been nothing more than just good friends. She was an attractive girl with pretty blue eyes, blonde hair and a great figure. Stephanie had, in the past, always gotten a kick out of making me blush when she'd flirt with me, and tonight was no different."

"Hey there, cutie," she giggled, when she came to take our order, "I haven't seen you in a long time, Bryan. What's the matter, don't you love me anymore?"

"Hi, Steph," I smiled, my face turning bright red, "How are you?"

"I'm great, handsome," she tittered, "What would you guys like to drink?"

She took our orders, and as she walked away, her hips swaying from side to side, Penelope leaned in, and placing her palm on the inside of my thigh, right next to my groin, lightly purred, "My, my, but you do get around, don't you, baby."

"Oh, hush," I chuckled, "It's not like that at all."

"Okay, Bryan," she lightly teased, "What ever you say, baby."

"You know, Bryan," Rich smiled, watching us, "I've known Penelope ever since she was a little girl, and I haven't seen her smile like this since before she lost her parents. I know that you're the reason for it so; please, allow me to say thank you."

"There's no reason to thank me," I smiled as I looked at Penelope...my pretty Penny, "I'm the one who's been blessed."

"That's the reason for this meeting tonight," he said, getting right to the point, "If you'll take care of manufacturing of The Strong-Arm, then I can handle the distribution." And then reaching into his inside coat pocket, he pulled out an envelope and said, "And to show you that I mean business, here's a check for three million dollars to help get this project up and running."