Autumn Leaves 3

Sam drove like he did everything else, with his full attention. There was no music playing, no GPS chirping at him, no passenger. He avoided freeways and took the more sedate and scenic back routes, though he had little time for the scenery. He dove over hills and through valleys, along straight stretches and around bends with the same steady, ground-eating speed. He had someplace to be and he didn't want to waste any time getting there. It was just too important that he be on time, too important that he not miss this day. He had already been delayed by traffic in St. Paul and he was running behind after the rainstorm in Missouri and he wanted to make up some time.

So when he came around the bend and saw the car on the shoulder and the slim form waving, trying to get him to stop, he nearly eased left and skimmed on by. But he remembered that there had been another person stuck on the side of the road and no one had helped her. He sighed and slowed to stop his pickup behind the car. The day was warm and dry and the cloud of dust obscured everything for a moment. The first thing he saw clearly was the rental car plate and tag on the back of the aqua green Chevy, then he saw the dim form of the driver and as the dust blew past he got a good look at her. She was tall and slim, made taller with her heels on and she was dressed for business, not for travel. As he got out of the truck she came toward him, looking somewhat apprehensive and more than a little frightened.

"Hello there... thank you so much for stopping." She said and her clear British accent caught his ear. He smiled a bit as he stood up.

"Well, you look like you need some help, what seems to be the problem?" He asked and she was visibly relieved.

"I've had a blowout, and I know I look like a helpless fool, but I don't know what to do. I've tried getting a service call, but my cell has no reception out here." She said and Sam looked at her car.

The left front tire was more than flat, it was in shreds and ribbons. She had clearly driven on it a while hoping to get somewhere where she could get help and she had reached the point where it wouldn't even roll anymore. The rim was almost destroyed and there was sure to be severe damage to the front end. He sighed and shook his head as he walked toward her car and she walked with him, arms wrapped around her waist in the warm late spring day.

"You've done a real number on this thing." He said as he crouched down to look at it and she looked immediately worried. "But I think I can get you rolling again. You may want a different rental when you get the chance, this one will need some real TLC." He said as he stood up again and he saw that she was just as tall as he was, her long black hair hung nearly to her waist and she looked both relieved and upset.

"I don't even know what I hit." She said as he took her keys and went back to the trunk to get the spare. He had to lift out her suitcases and set them on the side of the road before he freed the jack and spare that was in the car.

"Well, out here it could have been anything. You should really stick to the highway, it's safer." He said as he went up to start jacking the car up so he could get the wheel off. He loosened the lug nuts and jacked the car higher as she watched and he wrestled the old tire and ruined rim off. By the time he had the spare on he was sweating freely and she was grateful as he let the car back down again and started putting things away.

"You're my hero." She said as he got the suitcases situated in the trunk again and he slammed it shut and turned to look at her. "I'm Gwen, by the way. Gwen Meredith." She said as she held out her hand to him.

"Sam. Sam Nelson." He said, taking her hand and smiling.

Neither of them could explain what happened next, neither of them could understand it. She smiled at him in thanks, they were both about to talk and then they made eye contact. There was a sudden moment of perfect, wordless communication and they could each feel the acute need in the other. He looked so lost, so hurting and broken that her heart reached out to him. He saw her long hair lift in the wind that blew a scattering of red, yellow and gold autumn leaves across the road, streaming out like a banner and the compassion on her face was so clear that he didn't need words, neither of them did, they understood each other perfectly. They stared for a moment, sharing that understanding while the tension built between them. Then it popped like a soap bubble and there was only room for action.

He tugged on her arm and pulled her toward him as he took a step forward and she gasped, her head tilting to one side as one of his hands came to the back of her head, tangling in her hair, his mouth found hers and they kissed. His other hand was at the small of her back, holding her close to his chest and her hands were up between them, grasping the front of his shirt and holding him close right back. There was no room or time for words, he kissed like he drove and the sudden powerful sensation, the dedication he gave to the action, robbed her of words and thought and she was reduced in the span of a heartbeat to pure instinct. It was powerful and humbling but she didn't fight it, she sensed something in him, something she needed and she knew that she had something he needed. Her hands came up to his neck, holding him into the kiss as he bore her back until she felt her legs hit the front of his truck and then she was back, laying on the hood but uncaring of the heat as her hands pulled at his clothing, scrabbling at the front of his shirt, wanting to get at his flesh, to feel him under her hands.

He broke the kiss and she stripped his shirt up and off of him, tossing it carelessly aside and her hands were immediately back at his chest. He was slim but strong and her fingers slid through the hair that sprouted from his skin as she looked at him with open, wordless hunger. He fumbled with the buttons of her shirt for a moment before he gave up and just tore the shirt open, scattering the buttons as they popped free and she gasped as he leaned down and kissed her on the side of her throat. Her head fell back and she moaned at the feel of his mouth as he trailed down and across her collarbone while his hands reached around behind her and deftly unclasped her bra. He pushed the cups up and she moaned as he moved to catch one nipple as her warm flesh fell free. She didn't have a huge chest but she was very sensitive and the feel of his mouth on her sensitive flesh made her sob with pleasure. Her hands tangled in his hair and she held him at her chest as his hands caught and kneaded the soft mounds. It felt so good, so very good to have his attention there and she was panting and gasping for breath.

As his mouth came back to hers she kissed him eagerly, pulling herself up closer to his chest, wanting to be as close to him as possible as she parted her lips and welcomed his tongue, tangling with hers as they kissed and his hands almost mauled her chest. It felt so good to have someone touch her; she had been alone since... She didn't want to think about it, didn't want to dwell on that old pain, and she let herself sink back down into the easy oblivion of action and reaction. She didn't give herself time to think or to remember, she just lived in the moment for the first time what felt like years. She sobbed as she felt his mouth move back to her neck and shoulder, felt him reaching down toward her legs. She lifted one obligingly and his hands pushed her skirt up higher until his palm could glide across her hose and across the warm, soft swell of her ass.

She moaned and writhed and bit her lip as she felt him reaching higher and higher until his fingers hooked the waist of her pantyhose and her panties and she said nothing as he pulled them down and across her ass. She felt them pass the wide part of her hips and then they were suddenly almost to her knees. She whimpered as he shifted back, standing and pulling them off of her before he bent back and captured a nipple with his mouth again, one hand braced on the hood and the other slipping up between her thighs to find the heat of her pussy. She cried out and arched her back, pressing her breast into his mouth as his fingers slid through the dark curls between her legs and across the heated lips of her sex. It felt so good to have someone touch her again, someone who needed as much as she did and she struggled to get her hands between them, to reach for the front of his jeans. When she felt the denim under her fingers she fumbled at the fly, swearing softly and then gasping as he kissed the soft place where her throat and her shoulder met.

He drew a little laugh from her then a moan as he parted her soft vulva and caressed across her heated entrance with his fingers. She whimpered and lost her grip on his pants, then tried again and she was rewarded when the button came undone. He broke off his kiss and used his hands to push his pants down for her and she laughed as she wrapped her hands around his shaft the instant it was free. It was warm and hard and thick in her hands and she stroked it gently as his hand came back to her pussy, the other grasping a breast and giving a firm squeeze, his fingers sliding across the warm flesh until he caught her nipple between the pad of his thumb and the knuckle of his index finger, the sudden tight pressure making her cry out and sob in pleasure as the first ripples of an impending orgasm rippled through her body. It felt so good to have someone pay attention to her, for someone to see her for herself, to recognize her need and to feed the hunger that she had learned to ignore so well.

His mouth came back to hers and they could easily see the other's hunger as she felt him shift and she felt the warm, smooth tip of his shaft press at her entrance and she broke eye the kiss and made eye contact with him. He paused and looked into her eyes and she just smiled and hooked her leg behind his hip and smiled. A second later she screamed out in pleasure as he plunged into her, thrusting deep in a single stroke, filling her completely, her passage so wet and ready and needing that she almost sucked him into her body. They came together with a loud slap and her orgasm was instant, tearing through her body and wringing a cry of such passion and desire from her that had they been anywhere near anyone else, they would have surely drawn attention. But out here among the fields of wheat and straw and scrub, with the music of the dry leaves and the wind all around them, there was no one to hear, no cars or houses for miles in every direction.

There was no one to witness as she fell back limp on the hood of his truck and he bent over her, struggling for control himself for a long time before he started moving again, one hand braced on the hood and the other cupping her cheek as he looked right into her eyes. He stroked through her with deep, steady strokes, not going fast but not taking his time either and she cried out with each hard, deep penetration. She could feel her wetness leaking, her nectar soaking into her skirt and coating his cock as he stroked through her and she stared right back at him, unblinking as he took her and she welcomed him, answering his need and his hunger with her own and they fed off of each other. Their next kiss was with such intensity that she wouldn't have been surprised if her lips were bruised later, but she didn't shy away from him, she covered his hand at her breast with her own hand and her other grasped the back of his head and held him in the kiss as she felt another orgasm rising within her, clenching in her core and making it hard to keep her body still.

She bit his lower lip and he smiled as he ground his hips around and pressed even deeper into her body, making her ache with how deep he was, his tip pressing hard at her cervix and his strong thrust lifting her higher. She took advantage of the moment to lift her other leg and circle his waist and she was rewarded as his tip pressed at her deepest recesses with every subsequent thrust. She sobbed and held on to him, her forehead against his and her eyes, looking sapphire blue in the bright light of the day, gazed right into his dark green ones as her orgasm crested over her and a moment later she heard him grunt and moan as he lost all control and the stinging wash of his seed coated her within, filling her to overflowing. He slowed but didn't stop, their motions prolonging both of their pleasures and churning their mixed fluids into froth on their skin.

Finally he stopped and they spent a while just kissing and touching, still joined together for a while until he had softened and slipped from her body. She whimpered at the loss, but she didn't let him go just yet. It was enjoyable just to touch and cuddle like this. She could feel the sweat in her hair and on her clothes and she knew that her outfit was likely ruined. But she didn't care, she had loved that too much to complain.

Finally he shifted and she reluctantly let him. He got her settled back on her feet and helped her find her discarded shoes and panties. She pulled on the heels but just discarded the panties and hose as she got one of her suitcases out of the trunk of her car and got out a clean shirt. She shucked her shirt and bra then pulled on a loose shirt and buttoned it up as he pulled his shirt over his head. She smiled almost shyly at him and he returned it.

"Look, about that..." He started and she shook her head and silenced him with a kiss.

"No. No apologies. I wasn't exactly saying no, and I can tell we both needed that badly." She said and he nodded.

"I'd ask to see you again, but we're both just passing through." He said as she turned a bit.

"Yes, I think it's best we just say goodbye, Sam." She said and the sound of his name on her lips was almost musical, her accent making the simple name exotic.

"Well, if you ever find yourself in Grand Rapids, look me up." He said and she smiled again, walking backwards toward the door of her car.

"Likewise if you're ever in Liverpool." She said.

He smiled and watched as she opened the door to her car, paused as she looked at him, then strode back toward him with long, sure strides and kissed him again. The kiss lingered and only didn't turn into something more because she pulled away and turned to her car. She paused at the door and looked back, then got in her car and drove away. He stood looking after her for a long time before he got into his truck and started driving again. He looked over at the flowers on the seat and saw that they were starting to wilt from the heat of the day, but he didn't think Kelsey would mind.

*

He found the turnoff to the place where she had died and then the tree he had planted there the week it had happened. It had been night and she had been struck and killed by a passing car. The driver had been drunk and hadn't seen her. She had been lost and her car had broken down early that day. She had spent the entire day out there just to die when some drunken farmer was on his way back from a hoe-down or some other equally stupid bullshit. He sat and sobbed for a long time on the spot before he stood up. It was dark by then and he had to say goodbye. The flowers looked pitiful at the base of the tree but he just got in his truck and drove away. He had a reservation at a bed-and-breakfast that was a few miles away from where he had met Gwen and he was hungry and tired.

But as he drove he wasn't thinking about Gwen or about much of anything aside from the place he had just visited. He was thinking about Kelsey trapped out here all alone, afraid and lost and wishing that she had someone to help her. She had probably been so happy to see the headlights coming, so relived that she had strayed too close to the road and she hadn't had time to get out of the way before...

Before it was just too late.

He drove slowly as he went and he was careful as he wept, tears slipping down his face unheeded as he relived the five years that they had had together before that. He was feeling bitter and sorrowful as he pulled into the B&B and he locked his car and turned for the house and his steps slowed as he saw the aqua Chevy with the donut on the left front. He smiled a bit and walked into the big palatial house that had been converted and the owner greeted him at the door. He had stayed there ever since Kelsey had been taken from him and the lady knew him well enough. He was brought up to his room and then went down to dinner where he sat right across from Gwen, who smiled at him a little but said nothing. After the meal the guests all dispersed and he lost track of her as he was stopped by the owner. When he managed to free himself he went up to his room and started getting ready to sleep. He had just finished his shower when he heard the soft tap at his door. When he opened it he wasn't surprised to see Gwen. She was wrapped in a soft robe and she was smiling as a blush rose in her cheeks.

"I know this isn't Grand Rapids or Liverpool, but I thought I'd look you up anyway, Sam." She said in that smooth accent, as she moved her arms and let the robe fall open. He stared as the front parted and he could see that she was just out of her shower as well. He stepped back and she followed him into the room. Behind her the door swung closed and inside the room the two of them found comfort and surcease once more.

*

Sam rolled out from under the old Buick and sighed as he wiped his hands on a rag. "Well Mr. Magnussen." He said as he approached the elderly man waiting at the side of the garage. "It looks like your engine is, as we say in the business, 'Completely Fucked'. Now I could find a new engine for you, but I think you may be better off with a different car, sir." He said and the man sighed as he looked at the beat up old car.

"Well shit." He said simply then shrugged. "I think it's time to accept that the bus is my ride from here on. I mean, hell I'll be ninety next week."

"You don't look a day over thirty, sir." Sam said with a smile and the old man snorted.

"You're full of shit, but I like you. Thanks a bundle. Now, how much do I owe you for that work?" He said as he set his newspaper down and Sam haggled with him for a bit, actually having to argue the man down in price before they finished up and he paid. Sam waited until he was out of sight before he called and canceled the transaction. He knew that Oswaldt Magnussen was on a fixed income, and really there hadn't been that much work in the job. Then he glanced down at the paper. It had been a while since he thought about Gwen, about their roadside meeting four months earlier or the night she had spent in his room but seeing her on the front of the paper brought it all back to him.

...British ambassador Gwendolin Meredith-Hawkes is seen here attending a conference in Santa Monica California. Meredith-Hawkes, who tragically lost her husband five months ago in an IED explosion in Afghanistan, found out weeks after his loss that she was pregnant with his child. Meredith-Hawkes is approximately five months into this, her first pregnancy. She says that if the child is a boy she will name him Samuel, if it is a girl she will name her Samantha. The ambassador is expected to attend a conference in Michigan before returning to her native Liverpool for the birth of her...

Sam smiled a little and set the paper aside and turned to get back to work.

The End