Author's Notes:
'The Most Valuable Gift' is an unplanned sequel to 'One Who Understands'.
Some minimal effort is made here to bring readers up to speed on the backstory but if you like this story feel free to read the original tale.
The trilogy follows this order:
•One Who Understands
•The Most Valuable Gift
•To Walk a Mile
All characters engaging in sexual relationships or activities are 18 years old or older.
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The Most Valuable Gift
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Prologue:
Edward Walters wasn't gifted with great intelligence. He wasn't strikingly handsome nor was he fabulously wealthy. He was, more often than not, tongue tied around women so couldn't claim to have a silver tongue. He didn't have a six figure job, drive a fast sports car, or own a villa in the south of France.
But he was happy. Deeply, completely happy.
He had the love of the woman he'd been in love with since he was just a boy of six years. He'd lost his mother to a tragic accident and had no father so he'd been taken in by his mother's cousin Shirley Wilson. While she'd been a less than ideal replacement, her ten year old daughter Grace saved him from a life of misery and loneliness. His love for Grace just grew over the years as he did.
And grow he did. Now that he was almost in his twenties he was a big man, standing 6' 2" and 240 lbs of hard muscle. His genes and years of playing football in school had given him a strong body. He wasn't aggressive by any stretch of the imagination. Grace called him an innocent. He relied tremendously on her because he often found himself confused and troubled by people's behavior. He didn't recognize when he was being lied to nor did he understand why people did it. This often led to him being hurt or taken advantage of. He knew that wasn't normal but Grace never made him feel stupid or ashamed for his inability to understand. She was patient and explained things to him. She understood him better than anyone and he loved her with every fibre of his being.
The truly incredible fact was that she loved him the same way.
They'd lived with her mother until Grace caught her sexually and emotionally abusing Ed. After the confrontation, Shirley spitefully sold her house to move in with her boyfriend making them essentially homeless. While they were both adults at the time they would have been on the streets had it not been for another woman in Ed's life.
Rachel Thompson was the mother of one of Ed's football teammates. Initially she seemed to be just attracted to his physical attributes but she confessed that she had fallen for his innocence and his sweet, gentle nature.
She'd later said that she never expected their relationship to advance beyond their mutual and powerful physical attraction and she'd resigned herself to that. She lived alone in a large mansion since her ex-husband and his son had unsuccessfully tried to kill her to collect the insurance money. She was lonely living alone in the big home and it was beginning to weigh heavily on her. When she heard that Ed and Grace were going to be out on the street she leapt at the chance to come to their rescue and ease her loneliness. Grace and Ed were stunned by her generosity and willingness to take them in.
When Ed discovered he was in love with Rachel as well as Grace, it was Grace who announced it to Rachel. Knowing him as intimately as she did, Grace was aware of his true feelings for Rachel almost before he was. She wasn't threatened. She knew he loved her without reservation. She was also aware that Rachel wasn't the only woman that he'd been intimate with. They, like Rachel, had begun their relationships with him for the pure physical thrill of having sex with the big man but they'd all become attached to him... as he was to them.
Ed had been with Rachel's best friend Angie Spencer, a widower, and their mutual friend Zoe Sandoval who was separated from her husband as he was serving a life sentence in prison. He'd also been with two other women in Rachel's neighborhood, also her friends, Stephanie Mathews and Carolyn Patterson, both of whom were going through divorce proceedings. All continued to see Ed with Grace's blessings as long as they never abused Ed's good nature or took advantage of his innocence. If she ever discovered they had manipulated him as Shirley had done then their relationship with him was over.
Aside from being very busy at home, Ed had his dream job working for Drakos Heating and Cooling. The owner had paid for Ed to get his certification and nurtured his favorite employee as Ed's work was second to none. While his unique mental state may have given him some socially challenging issues they also allowed him to focus on his task with an almost laser like precision. It was almost a savant state. He wasn't really clear on what all that meant but he knew he loved his job and for the first time in his life he was really good at something.
So he was happy. With the leaves gone and snow threatening to fall any day now, his very favorite time of year was rapidly approaching! Christmas! Now that he had so many more people to share it with Ed knew he had more reasons to be very merry indeed!
Chapter 1
Ed pulled his old, beat up pickup into the garage of the beautiful mansion up on Silverton Heights. His truck was as out of place in this upscale neighborhood as he often felt but it was perfectly suitable for him and he'd refused Rachel's generous offer to replace it with a newer model.
Getting out of the cab he stretched his tired muscles. He'd worked out this morning with the gym equipment in the basement. If he'd known how strenuous work was going to be he might have chosen to skip the workout. The four story shopping complex in the downtown boutique shopping district the team was working on these days involved a lot of heavy lifting and cramped working conditions but he was putting in extra time to get the job done quickly. If they could meet the deadline for the spring opening there was a generous bonus involved.
Mr. Drakos was very delighted with the progress they were making, especially Ed's. They were reaching a phase where the other contractors would be taking over the building to complete their work and they would have a couple of months of respite before they'd need to return to finish up. If the other teams didn't encounter any complications then they would definitely hit the deadline. As it was they'd be early, largely due to Ed's peculiar gestalt perception of systems and patterns.
He had poured over the building's blue prints to ensure he understood where their installations would run and noticed some errors in the construction of the building's layout. Two important walls had been poured in the wrong location and there wouldn't be enough room in the central utilities shaft to house all of the required conduits. He'd brought this to the attention of the new site foreman who confirmed Ed was right and contacted the project managers, the Klein Group, with the setback. Ed provided an alternate suggestion for the location of the electrical conduits which actually cut some of the cost so the foreman was able to take steps to keep the project moving.
But today Ed was tired. It was late. Getting home at 9PM every night this week was draining but he was done for the weekend. No Saturday shift tomorrow.
He entered the house and heard voices coming from the kitchen and the wonderful aroma of cooking. He followed this until he was standing in the doorway looking at the two women he shared the home with.
Rachel noticed him first as she was facing his direction. Her smile dazzled him as it always did. Lovely blue eyes twinkled with delight as he stood enraptured by her beauty. Lush red hair cascaded over her shoulders and partially obscured her abundant cleavage. His eyes were trapped there for a moment as she subtly arched her back to tease him just a little.
Grace turned with a smile and he looked into her loving dark eyes. She was not as tall or svelte as Rachel but she absolutely glowed with love for him and quickly crossed the room to pull him into a tight hug. Ed kissed her and felt himself floating away to heaven as her soft lips against his were absolute bliss.
"Welcome home," she purred when she pulled back. He loved the feel of her body against his but he was just too pooped to respond that way.
"It's good to be home!" he sighed happily.
Grace released him and he made his way over to Rachel. He pulled her into a hug and kissed her. She slipped him a little tongue which sent a spark to his groin but he pulled back and shook his finger at her. "I'm not risking falling asleep while making love. Tonight I sleep. Tomorrow..." he bounced his eyebrows at the two ladies who chuckled at him.
Rachel patted his thick bicep, feeling a tantalizing little tingle shoot through herself and turned to get his dinner.
"I made a chicken casserole from that recipe you gave me." Rachel said as she pulled the dish from the oven. Ed's mouth began to water immediately. She served up three plates, giving Ed a large portion. They carried their plates to the table. "Careful everyone, it's hot!"
Grace brought tall glasses of cold water to the table and they sat together.
"You two don't have to wait for me to get home to have dinner!" Ed exclaimed.
"Nonsense! We love eating together!" Rachel insisted and Grace just smiled at him. She knew he was secretly delighted they were sharing this mealtime with him.
Ed blew on a forkful of the steaming noodles and chicken then popped it into his mouth. His eyes closed in happiness as the flavors melted across his tongue. "Oh, that's so good, Rachel!"
She gave him a very pleased smile and enjoyed her own meal.
"How was school today?" Ed asked Grace. She was attending college studying accounting as she wanted to be a forensic accountant.
Grace's sudden smile warmed his heart. He was so glad she was finally on the path she was destined for and he was so glad he was able to make it happen for her.
"It was really good! The prof is taking us through an actual case history of a company involved with money laundering!" she gushed.
Rachel smiled at the other woman's obvious delight.
Ed turned to her and she dabbed her mouth as she swallowed. "Well, I had lunch with a bunch of very wealthy ladies with too much time on their hands," she quipped.
Ed looked at her curiously and she realized he hadn't caught her self-effacing tone. Grace raised an eyebrow at her and she nodded apologetically.
"With our neighbor from the top of the hill no longer available to attend these social events, the Empanada League invited me to their luncheon. Most wouldn't even look at me as I hadn't inherited my fortune but one of the ladies was friendly so the lunch wasn't a complete loss. They were discussing some big charity gala event tomorrow night. I think it's a five thousand dollar a plate dinner with a silent auction and celebrities attending."
