Chapter 2
Lucee opened the door and glanced around. "Nice place you have here. Do you live alone?" She asked because there was a noticeable absence of any feminine touches in the front room.
He hung the shotgun back on the rack above the door and let Maggie inside, who immediately jumped on the couch and spread out. He grabbed a couple bottles of water from the fridge and handed her one. He Then went to the plush gray recliner and sat. "Yes, my wife passed away a year ago and the kids are grown and gone."
Lucee sat on the end of the couch not occupied by Maggie and curled her feet under her. "I'm Lucee White, and you are?"
"Ralph Johnson."
"Well, Ralph, I suppose you want to know a few things about me, right?"
Ralph nodded, "White does not sound like a Hispanic name and you have no Spanish accent, you said you were an American citizen. None of that makes sense as to why you were traveling with illegal immigrants."
"No, it doesn't. First of all, I was born on a military base in the Phillippines, my father was black and in the army. My mom was Filipino, so I'm a mixture of both." She paused, "Both are no longer living. My dad died from a heart attack when I was seven and my mom took me to live with relatives in Costa Rica. She got heavy into drugs and died from an overdose a couple months ago. My cousin tried to rape me, so I left and have been living on the streets since then."
Lucee took a swig of her water before continuing. "I heard a crowd of people from various countries were on a trek to America, so I just joined them in hopes of making it back to the U.S."
Ralph digested the information and felt his heart soften towards her. "I'm sorry for your losses and I commend you on being able to make it here. How old are you?"
"A woman never tells her age, rude to even ask. So what now?"
He gazed at her as he thought. She was actually very cute, with stormy colored eyes, high cheekbones, long dark hair halfway down her back that would look nice when groomed properly. But it was her gray eyes that captured his attention. They were a multi-colored gray speckles that caught the light and glittered like precious jewels. He felt a stirring in his loins that he had not experienced for a long time. He quickly dismissed that line of thinking.
"Since you are a citizen, the logical course would be to alert the authorities; they have protocols on how to deal with homeless minors."
She frowned, "That would be child services and a foster home most likely. I don't remember any family members here. I DO NOT want to be in a foster home," she said emphatically, "they are dangerous, if you know what I mean."
He did understand the risks, especially sexual abuse and she was quite lovely. "I don't see any other choice. Sooner or later someone will report you missing or neighbors will be asking questions and more than likely call the cops themselves."
Lucee gazed into his eyes intently, "I have another option. I can stay with you and if anyone questions it, we can just say I'm a niece that needs to be isolated from her old friends that led her down the path of drugs. Living here would be like rehab. You'd be sorta of a hero for taking me in."
If he had been a cartoon character, his jaw would have hit the ground. "Yeah, that doesn't sound like a good idea, way too many things could go wrong." He was thinking mainly about his attraction to her, that would be very dangerous.
"Actually, it's a great plan," she grinned. "No one could prove it wasn't true, especially if I get a new ID with the same last name. We would just have to stick to the story, only Maggie would know different and I doubt she would be willing to rat on us." At the mention of her name, Maggie turned around and sniffed Lucee's hand and grinned the way dogs do. "See, she agrees." Lucee began petting the animal.
Normally, Maggie would not let anyone except Ralph touch her, he was amazed at her acceptance of Lucee in such a short time. "I don't know, so many things could go wrong and I don't want to end up in jail for harboring a fugitive or be accused of kidnapping a young girl."
"I understand, so I guess I'll be on my way. Living on the streets isn't so bad." Cliff could see the disappointment in her face and felt like an ass. He couldn't just toss her out. She stood and grabbed her backpack.
"Wait, let's think about it overnight and see if we can come up with any other solutions."
She dropped her bag and leaped onto his lap, throwing her arms around his neck, she snuggled into his chest. "Thank you, I knew you were a good man." Not sure what to do he wrapped his arms around her.
"Well, I hope I am." The pressure of her tight butt pressed into his groin and he felt his member beginning to engorge with blood. Jeez, I'm such a pervert, he thought. "Listen, nothing personal, but you need a bath."
She raised her head and smiled, "Yeah, it's been a few days."
She pecked him on the cheek and stood up. He quickly rearranged his swollen penis and stood. He pointed to the bathroom, "There's a towel, soap and shampoo in the shower. Do you have clean clothes?"
"Just underwear, the rest needs to be washed."
"I'll leave a tee shirt and shorts outside the door, they might be a little big, then we'll wash your clothes."
She picked up her bag and walked to the bathroom. He couldn't help but watch her firm butt wiggle as she walked. He felt his cock begin to harden again. He turned towards the bedroom to hide his embarrassment. Lucee entered the shower room and shut the door. A few moments later he heard the water running.
He wondered what the hell he was doing, letting her stay here. It could only turn out to be a bad thing. He went to the bedroom and found his smallest shirt and shorts. When he returned, Maggie looked at him with her amber eyes accusingly. "I know, it's a mistake, but I just can't kick her out." Maggie huffed a, "Yeah, right," at him.
He went into the kitchen, grabbed some eggs and bacon from the refrigerator. Placing a cast iron skillet on the stove, he began to cook some bacon. The aroma of frying pork made his mouth water. He cracked some eggs and scrambled them in with the bacon, while waiting he popped some whole wheat bread into the toaster.
He heard the bathroom door open and glanced that way. Lucee stood in the doorway wearing just the tee shirt that fell to just above her knees. Her wet hair hung limply around her shoulders getting the shirt wet that clung to her curves. He could clearly make out the budding breasts beneath the thin material, her nipples were prominently pushing up the cotton fabric. The shirt revealed her slim waist and ample hips making her look more mature than her petite form indicated. She was gorgeous. "I made some breakfast, you hungry?"
"Famished!" She gently towel her hair removing most of the water and began to brush out the tangles as she walked to the kitchen bar. He placed the plate of food before her and stood across the bar and began eating his. She hungrily scooped the food into her mouth, barely chewing.
"Milk, water or a coke?"
With her mouth half-full she muttered, "Milk would be great." He poured a large glass and pushed it across to her. She downed half the liquid before coming up for air. "Wow, that tastes so good after weeks of lukewarm water."
She finished her food and pushed the plate back, "Thank you so much, that was delicious."
"More?"
"I would say yes, but if I eat too much right now, I'd probably throw it up. Don't want to waste good food." She got up and went to the couch and began brushing her hair. He followed and collapsed into the recliner. "A favor?" He nodded. She stood and crossed the room turned around facing away from him. "Could you brush out the tangles, I can't reach back there." She held out the brush.
Ralph took the brush and started tugging on the tangles, she winced. "Sorry, been awhile since I brushed my daughter's hair." He continued carefully. Using his fingers to first separate the clumps and then brush it out. The fragrance of the freshly laundered hair filled his nostrils and the feel of her silky tendrils gave him a rush like never before. He could make out the curve of her ass and crack through the thin fabric that only added to his discomfort. This was so awkward. His attraction to her excited and disgusted him at the same time. His mind said no, but his body betrayed him. When he finished, her hair was shiny, silky and had just a slight wave that reflected the light famously. He handed her back the brush.
"Thanks, it feels so good to be clean, a full stomach, now I just want to curl up and sleep."
There's a spare bedroom upstairs, please feel free to use it."
He put the recliner back. "Actually, I really need a hug, can you do that for me?" She cooed.
His thoughts jumbled as the adrenaline coursed through his body. Before he could say no, she climbed up next to him and nestled her body alongside his. She laid her head on his chest, curled one leg across his and put an arm over his stomach. "You are so warm," she mumbled. His arm naturally snaked around her. He felt her breathing slow and within seconds she was sound asleep.
He lay there feeling her body pulse with her breathing. Her warmth and the smell of her freshly washed skin assaulted his nose causing an arousal more intense that he had ever experienced. What was he becoming? How wrong was this? Maggie lifted her head and seemingly shook it from side to side then laid her head back on her paws. "I know," he whispered to her, "this is going to be a problem." Soon he too drifted off to sleep.
