[Double or Nothing]
Authors Note
Hi everyone, I have been taking my time following my first story. I like long stories, so here is a multi-part story series I am working on. I have three stories in the works, so it takes a little time to draft, find and work with editors for review and edit.
Also, a warning, some chapters will get a little weird as I have not seen the LW theme taken quite in the direction I want to through this story, but that comes later. This first part sets the scene and follows a lot more of the traditional LW format.
I hope that you enjoy 'Double or Nothing Part I.
Prologue
It was one of those Saturday afternoons that you never want to end. Spring was giving way to summer, and the afternoon had been warm but not hot. I had spent most of the morning in the yard, mowing the grass, trimming hedges, working in the garden beds surrounding the house. The result was something that my family and I were always proud of. So now, as the afternoon was moving towards evening and the heat of the day had long passed. I was enjoying some time on the back deck with my brother-in-law. Paul and I were enjoying a couple of drinks while cooking some steaks, chicken, sausages, along with some onions and halloumi for the ravenous hordes inside. In the kitchen, the ladies were preparing salads, sides and bread for our lazy evening feast. I could hear Melody getting the table set while Kim was in the kitchen with Harmony.
My in-laws William and Martha were pottering, helping to get the kids washed up and into their seats for dinner. I heard the rumbling of a car coming up the drive, and I listened to the faint sound of the doorbell followed by a knock at the door. A few minutes later, my father John came out the back having deposited a couple of apple pies and a large tub of ice cream for dessert in the kitchen.
He slapped me on the back, "How are you boys?" he asked in passing, opened the fridge on the back deck and grabbed a drink.
"Great, dad, hey did I hear you come up in the new car?"
"Yeah, sounds great, doesn't it!" Dad had recently retired and decided to spoil himself with a brand new v8 mustang convertible. But, unfortunately, my mum had passed away a few years ago, so it was just him, and being he had worked hard all his life and deserved to have a bit of fun.
"It sure does John; you're going to have to take me for a spin soon!" Paul had a glazed look, thinking of how he would love a mustang, but it was a pipe dream with three kids even if he could get Kim to say yes to a sports car.
We chatted a little more around dad's new car and finished cooking the meat. We placed everything into a couple of alfoil covered trays, each of us carried everything back inside for the feast to begin. Apparently, I had missed the doorbell a second time as we had another two visitors that were certainly not on the invite list.
Walking into the room, the range of reactions and emotions in the room was mixed. The kids were excited, it was dinner time, and they could smell cooked sausages. Melody and Harmony were perplexed; they may have had a vague idea about our guests. However, they had never directly met them before. Paul and Kim were angry, and Dad was suddenly upset. And me, well, I think I had pretty much a range of emotions from surprise, disappointment, anger, fear, and most of all shock. So much so that I dropped the tray of meat I was carrying.
The metal plate hitting the floor brought everyone out from their internal thoughts as they all looked at me.
"um, hi Terry." Carol, my ex-wife, said looking at me. She was tired and worn, and over the last few years, she had put on weight in all the wrong places. Her once voluptuous but good looking curves were now well and truly under layers of not so good looking fat. While I was still quite fit and trim. Most likely even more so since we saw each other last if those hungry eyes were saying anything as she looked at me. I'm sure turning up here uninvited; she had no idea what type of reception she would receive for any of us, but she had to know it would not be a happy reunion.
Our second visitor looked at me as well, 'Hi Daddy," Mackenzie, my ex-daughter, followed up before I could respond. Her head slightly bowed, she looked at me from under a worn baseball cap, one that I had given her when she turned thirteen. Mackenzie looked nothing like the girl who had betrayed and thrown me aside years ago. If anything, she looks broken like her mother and just plain frail.
For what felt like almost a minute, we all just stared at each other. The only noise was the kids at the table. But even they picked up something wrong and started to notice the two intruders stopping them from getting dinner.
I sighed and bent to pick up the try of meat I had dropped, turned around and placed it on the table. I looked and signalled at Martha, who knew exactly who they were and was glaring at them. "Martha, could you get the kids some food. I think this may take a few minutes." She stopped glaring at Carol and Mackenzie. Her gaze softened as she looked at me. Martha knew my pain almost more than anyone in the room. She had been there for me during most of what had transpired over the years. And she would have had a fair idea of what I might be feeling at that moment. My mother-in-law was one of the wisest women I knew, and to cross her family would earn you the ire of not just Martha but her network of friends and community groups. I had a feeling that Carol and Mackenzie had been on the wrong end of her temper a few times now without my direct knowledge.
Her entire vibe changed to making sure all the kids would get feed in, my former family pushed out of her mind for the moment. "No problems, Terry sweetie, you do what you need to. I've got the kids."
I turned back to my ex-family and let my face fall into a scowl. "For the sake of the children that are here, I am not going to say what I want to say right now. However, you need to know that neither of you is welcome here!" I had a hard time keeping my voice calm, and as it was, I almost spat the words. Carol looked upset, but like she expected that kind of reaction, Mackenzie looked like she was about to cry.
Kim had, at this point had come to stand beside me. Melody and Harmony moved to stand on my other side, Melody grabbing my hand, letting me know she was there for me. She now knew these intruders, like her sister Harmony, had a great idea of what I was likely feeling.
Carol gave a big sigh and looked at everyone in the room before once again letting her gaze set itself upon me. There was a time many years ago when I would adore those eyes and just love to look back into them. Now all I saw was a mask of pain, regret and sorrow, which surprised me. "We know Terry, but we need to talk with you".
Shit!
Chapter 1 -- Betrayed
Growing up, if I wasn't at school or hanging out with friends, I was on the job site with my dad, earning a bit of pocket money. I was always helping out with digging trenches or bringing pipe. At school, I worked hard but wasn't an academic, my report cards were good, but I was never going to be a grade-A student. However, I was good with my hands, and it showed in shop class. Dad was a plumber working the residential market primarily, supporting a few builders and doing the occasional commercial plumbing gig. The markets were good where we lived in Maitland; usually, dad had lots of work keeping him busy on site. He had one apprentice, and then when I was available, myself. I was pretty sure that I was going to become a plumber too. I had the build and could pick up on things quickly once dad showed me them once.
I met Carol in junior high, we hit it off and started dating the following year. I thought there was a good spark between us. We laughed at the same jokes, mostly enjoyed that same music and had similar interests in movies. She was a slim blonde with dirty blonde hair, brown eyes, good b cup tits, along with a round ass that was certainly squeezable. Most people would describe her as the girl next door. Not a model, but she could turn a head or two when she wanted. My name is Terry Other. I am tall with a solid build, thanks to working with my dad. I've got shortcut brown hair, brown eyes, and broad shoulders from a combination of genetics and a lot of work with dad on the job site.
To make a long story short, towards the end of high school, Carol and I gave each other our virginities, I'd love to say it was mind-blowing, but we were both awkward and in-experienced. Still, we managed and did a lot of fucking after that when we got the chance. The trouble came, though, when Carol missed her period finding out she was pregnant. There were a few tears and some upset parents on both sides, but we ended up engaged when we had both graduated high school. Not long after we were married, Mackenzie was born. While I loved Carol, Mackenzie was my pride and joy. If I wasn't working, I was spending time with Mackenzie. I was there when she started to walk. Her first words were Dad, and growing up, she enjoyed hanging out with me on the job site just like I did with my dad. Carol wasn't always a fan, but she also didn't mind as it gave her time to head out with her friends without a child in tow.
When it came to Carol and me, it wasn't always an easy relationship. We did many things together, I loved her, but we also had to work at it. I suppose that is just like a lot of couples out there. After Mackenzie was born, sometimes I felt it was like I was in Carol's way. There was never anything overtly said. However, by the time Mackenzie was three years old, I felt like Carol was looking down her nose at my being a plumber. We were friendly, and I would have said loving. We had a fairly active sex life having the usual ups and downs of some months we fucked every day, and sometimes when life got in the way, it could be a couple of weeks between bouts.
All in all, I had thought we were a good couple until I came home one day after a big day at work. It was fifteen years later. I was now a master plumber, certified in multiple plumbing sectors and a range of products, and like my father, I had a few different builders that I worked with. I had gone into a little more of the commercial subcontracting than dad had and was doing alright. As a family, we were reasonably well off, and neither Carol nor Mac went without. School requirements or shopping trips they got what they needed and most of the time what they wanted.
