Kelsey had been doing pretty good after graduating from junior college. She'd landed a decent job with a promising California company two years prior and she'd been dating a coworker and that was looking good too. The tall and thin redhead fit in well with the Silicon Valley fashion scene and she rather enjoyed being able to pull off some of the more interesting styles. Back at home she was just called 'skinny'.
Then the state government made some arbitrary environmental rules about some random thing and the next thing she knew her potential boyfriend was gone and she was out of a job. The possibilities of another job were remote as every firm in her field of expertise was either in retreat or facing bankruptcy.
The paltry savings she had didn't last long and all too soon she had to give her car back to the bank, vacate her apartment, and then catch a bus to her mother's new place in Newton County, Arkansas.
Newton County is in the Ozarks and actual towns are not really a thing there. "Root Hollow" was the unofficial name of the place where her mom Shauna landed after her divorce from Kelsey's father. It wasn't far from what was called the Ozark Grand Canyon so it was definitely beautiful even though few people lived there.
When Kelsey finally made it to Shauna's place she walked up the steps and was greeted by a big man who was sitting on the porch.
"Howdy, you must be Kelsey! I'm Jim!" he said as he stood up and went towards her.
Kelsey figured this was her mom's boyfriend she'd heard about.
"Hi!" she smiled and held out her hand.
The big man smiled and gathered her up in a bear hug. "Your momma told me you'd be along. She didn't tell me how pretty you were, though."
He said this in all sincerity and Kelsey didn't mind.
Jim helped her get her two bags into a spare bedroom and then he got Kelsey a tall glass of iced tea. Sweet tea, really.
They sat and chatted for a couple hours and Kelsey got to hear all about how Jim and Shauna met at the Kroger grocery store where Jim worked in the warehouse. He was gregarious and friendly and Kelsey saw what her mother liked about him. He was the polar opposite of Kelsey's stern, disciplinarian father.
Shauna came along after a while and greetings were exchanged and dinner was made. The evening conversation was incredibly pleasant and Kelsey saw even more of what her mother liked about Jim.
After the evening was over the couple retreated to their bedroom and Kelsey retreated to hers. The cool early fall air wafted in through the bedroom window guaranteeing Kelsey a comfortable sleep.
During the night she heard a rhythmic sound and it woke her up. She also heard her mother's whispered voice. Between the thin walls and the dead quiet of the night Kelsey realized that her mother was getting fucked by Jim.
Even though she understood that her mother had moved on from an unhappy marriage it was still significant to her that Shauna was fucking someone other than Kelsey's father. And from the sound of it Shauna was enjoying herself. After some time Kelsey could hear the two lovers reach their peak and then it was quiet again.
Jim was up and out the door for work well before sunrise.
In the morning Kelsey and Shauna were making small talk over breakfast when Kelsey decided to 'go there'.
"I heard you and Jim last night." she said to her mom.
"I suppose you did."
"Are you happy with him?" asked Kelsey.
"I am. He's a good man and he's good for me. He's also a hell of a lot better in bed than your father ever was."
"MOMMA!" said a shocked Kelsey.
Shauna laughed, "I didn't become a nun after your father and me broke up. But I will say your father was pretty cold and there were times he made me wish I'd been a nun."
"Are you going to marry him?"
Shauna sipped her coffee. "I don't know. It's not a big priority really. I mean I been married, right? Now maybe I want to not be married."
Shauna put the coffee down. "We might even try for a baby."
"Wow." was all the response Kelsey could muster.
Kelsey considered that she'd been born to her mother at an early age so her mother's baby years weren't past her yet. And Jim was a couple or a few years younger than Shauna. It was a possibility.
She decided she liked the idea of having a sibling. Even one twenty-two years younger than herself.
That night when everyone had gone to bed Kelsey found herself thinking about Shauna and Jim in the next room. She was just starting to feel herself slipping off into a slumber when she heard activity from the next bedroom.
When the rhythmic sound started up she imagined Jim fucking her mother and mating with her. He was trying to get Shauna pregnant. Somehow that was arousing to Kelsey and she absently fingered her pussy as the tempo from the next room increased.
"Guuuuh!" she heard Jim growl and she knew he was cumming in Shauna.
The next day saw Shauna going to the Kroger to apply for a job. She'd hitched a ride with a neighbor and figured on riding back with Jim.
Things were getting hard even for Kroger's and Kelsey was told they'd keep her application on file in case something opened up.
On the way home Jim tried to cheer her up and Kelsey caught herself looking in the direction of the man's crotch as he talked and drove. She wondered at the fact that his cock had been inside of her mother. She imagined it stroking in and out, and then spurting seed into Shauna's womb.
"Hey, you awake?" asked Jim, stirring her from her reverie.
"Oh, yeah. I'm sorry, just lost in thought."
He patted her back, "I understand. But don't worry, you'll find something to do soon enough, I'm sure."
Except she didn't. The economy was in a slide and tourism was off and that was the main money maker in Newton County. In short, no one was hiring.
Over the next couple months Kelsey kept looking for work and along the way she did the occasional odd job like cleaning for someone or helping at a local egg farm. It wasn't big money but it was enough to keep her wallet from going empty.
Also over the next couple months Kelsey found herself listening to Jim and Shauna almost every night. She'd masturbate along with the sounds from the next room and then try to keep quiet when she'd orgasm. One night in November she failed to do that and the sudden silence in the room next door told her she'd been caught.
The next morning Jim was gone and she and her mom sat to chat.
"We heard you last night." said her mom.
"Aw, shit..." replied Kelsey.
"No, it's okay. Nothing to be ashamed of. We both understand. You're young, you need a man, and Root Hollow ain't exactly the best place to meet anyone."
There was a brief silence to digest the sizable facts that were now out in the open.
"You're embarrassed." said her mom.
"No, I'm...I'm...sorry." Kelsey just couldn't find any other words.
"Well, me and Jim we talked and if you ever want to give him a go then we'd both be okay with it."
"MOMMA! But he's your boyfriend!"
Her mom smiled, "Yeah, but he ain't my husband and that kind of makes it okay. Or maybe not so bad. One of those for sure."
Shauna stood up, "Well, I got things to do. You think about what I said and if it ever comes up then that's fine. If it doesn't then that's fine too. Either way we'll leave this here at the table, okay?"
"Yes, ma'am." replied Kelsey.
Of course, this changed nothing at night when Kelsey would have to hear her mother getting fucked in the next room. Kelsey masturbated sometimes but the satisfaction started to feel empty.
Not long before Christmas Shauna announced that Kelsey was going to have a baby brother or baby sister.
Kelsey saw Jim looking at her while he hugged Shauna. His smile was understated and she could sense his thoughts.
Christmas Eve was when Kelsey's family had always opened presents and so after dinner that night the trio gathered around their modest tree. Kelsey gave presents to Jim and to Shauna. Jim gave presents to Shauna and Kelsey.
Shauna however said that her present to both of them would come later.
When it was time for bed the trio went their different directions.
But about fifteen minutes after Kelsey got to bed she woke up with her mom gently shaking her shoulder.
"What is it?" she asked.
"I want to sleep in here tonight." said Shauna.
Kelsey sat up a bit, "In here? With me? This isn't that big a bed, momma."
Shauna shook her head, "No, Just me."
Kelsey was still half asleep and not grasping the idea. "Then where do I sleep?"
Shauna smiled, "With Jim. He's waiting for you. I'm giving him to you and I gave you to him."
"Holy shit...I don't know if I'm ready for that."
Shauna stood up and took off her robe. She was naked under the robe, which was how she would sleep with Jim most nights.
"You can use my robe if you want."
"What?" asked Kelsey.
"Get naked, put the robe on, and go in there. You know you need it. And Jim is a good man and he'll treat you right. Beats hell out of laying in here all the time and rubbing it out like you do."
"Momma!"
"Don't 'momma' me, go on. Git."
Shauna pulled back the blankets and had Kelsey stand up. Kelsey had serious misgivings but at the same time she also wanted to get laid. She'd been thinking about sex with Jim so much that she found herself somewhat smitten with the older man. It was wrong in so many ways but at the same time Jim was the only man around. There weren't a lot of other options for Kelsey if she wanted to enjoy some masculine attention.
Still, it took some cajoling for Shauna to get Kelsey out of her pajamas and into the robe. Then she ushered Kelsey to the bedroom door.
"Go." she said, pushing Kelsey out the door.
Kelsey was alone in the hallway. The two bedroom doors were closed. She thought about what her mother was offering to her and a cavalcade of worries and desires ran rampant in her brain.
Going out to the kitchen she pulled down the bottle of bourbon and poured herself a shot. Not a lot, just a shot to settle her nerves.
Sitting down on the couch she sipped at the bourbon while scenarios of pleasure and consequence ran through her head. She wasn't worried about her relationship with Shauna because this was just like Shauna to have a wildly pragmatic solution to a touchy problem.
