After boarding up the window, cleaning up after dinner, and making sure the house was secure, there wasn't much else to do but sit there and read a good book by candlelight. Mackenzie, however, stayed in the bathroom, calling out for me for a short while until I told her that the hot water was still working. After that, the shower had run nonstop.
"Do you think she's okay in there?" Jennifer asked.
"Yeah, yeah. She'll be fine. She's just having an upset stomach, is all."
"Oh," Jennifer said, getting off the couch to re-stoke the fireplace. "Did you learn anything more about what happened between her and Brody?"
"No," I said, shaking my head.
"I wonder what that's all about."
"Me too," I said quietly.
"Daddy?" Jennifer asked, still staring at the fireplace. "You're not mad at me for...bringing her home, are you?"
"What? No. No, I'm not mad. Why would you think that?"
"No, I was just wondering," Jennifer said. "I know a lot of things have changed, and...it used just to be me and you...."
"Yeah," I said, giving her a heavy sigh to show I felt the same way. "But it's okay with the three of us."
"I know," she said, but it felt like she wasn't exactly feeling it.
"Is everything alright?" I asked then.
"Yeah," she said, and then she glanced at me, a smile on her face. "Great."
"You wanna come sit with me?" I asked, putting my seat up and setting my book aside.
"Yeah," she said, and she hurried over from the fireplace and sat down next to me, squeezing in beside me in my oversized recliner. I put my right arm around her shoulders and pulled her in tight like always, and she shifted her upper body to tuck in against me and put her head on my chest. She smelled like smoke and steak, and hair conditioner and hard work all mixed into one. I put my cheek on the top of her head, pressed it there, and enjoyed just sitting there with her for a moment.
"Do you think I look like mom?" Jennifer asked then.
"Mmmm, a little," I said.
"The boobs, for sure," she said.
"I wasn't thinking about your breasts," I said softly. "No, I think you have her cheekbones and her eyes. Definitely have her eyes. And her nose. And...her ears."
"I've got your chin," she said quickly, "and your dimples."
"Yup. We all get that from Great Grandma Bertie," I said.
"Great Grandma Bertie," Jennifer replied.
"Yup," I said.
"I wonder where Mackenzie gets her dimples from."
"Well, her parents, obviously," I said.
"Yeah, but if we get our dimples from your side of the family...."
"Jennifer," I said with a heavy heart. "I know they might not have taught stuff like this in school, but she's not your sister." Jennifer laughed and shook her head. "You are. It doesn't work that way."
"I...oh my gosh. I can't believe I said that," Jennifer said awkwardly.
"I'll never forget the woman I saw in the paper, who said while most people may question who their fathers are, she questioned who her daughter's mother was."
"It...wouldn't it be her?" Jennifer asked.
"YES!" I said, laughing.
Jennifer laughed with me and then we sat there watching the fire as the candles burned low, and then we heard Mackenzie start screeching from the bathroom.
"Sounds like the hot water ran out," Jennifer said with a knowing chuckle.
"Yup, sounds like it," I said.
"I'm going to go get ready for bed," Jennifer said, shifting her body around. "Thanks."
"For what?" I asked.
"For being the best dad in the whole wide world," she said, and she kissed me, her lips so soft and tender against mine. She pulled away and stood up, her hand trailing down my leg to my kneecap and then off as she spun away.
"Goodnight," I said, calling after her.
"I love you," she called back.
"I love you too," I said, and then I stood up and went to the fire, putting another log on and moving the spark shield into place. As a second thought, I shifted some of the coals around, put on another log, and moved the shield back in. With the board in the window not being entirely airtight, I could feel the heat and the cold competing for dominance in the front room.
As soon as I entered my own room, I let out a full body shiver. It was cold. Really cold. I set my flashlight down on my dresser, lit the candle I has set there in a dinner plate, and then switched the flashlight off before heading to my closet.
The candle didn't provide the best light, but it was enough for me to see where the extra bedding and comforters were, and I quickly pulled them down, whipped them onto the bed, and then piled up the comforters. Tonight, I would use two. As I inspected my handiwork, I remembered the linens from this morning and that they were still in the washing machine. With a grumble, I grabbed my flashlight, blew out my candle, and went to the laundry room to check on it.
The linens looked good, nice, and clean; they didn't require a lot of agitation when you let them sit and soak in detergent all day long. I grabbed the crank, gave it a good whirl, and then reversed direction before grabbing the cast iron pot off the dryer and headed to the kitchen. I filled the pot quickly and then adjusted the tap to give as slow a drip as I possibly could. It was the only way to prevent the pipes from freezing, and even then, it wasn't guaranteed.
I headed back to the front room, noting the bathroom was now empty and Jennifer's door was closed. I hoped they were warmer in their room than I was in mine, but I expected that. Jennifer's room was in the dead center of the house, with no windows and only a single vent to keep the air from getting musty and stale. It was always ten degrees hotter in Jennifer's room than anywhere else in the house, and now, without electricity, I hoped it would be even warmer.
As soon as my pot of water was boiling, I took it back to the laundry room, toed the drain valve on the bottom of the washing machine, and started cranking. The water drained, and I spun the linens until they were almost dry before pulling them out, one by one, to dunk them in the boiling water. I slipped on my hot water gloves for doing dishes and wrung out each item before hanging them from the wires I'd put in the overhead a couple of summers back. Halfway through the load, I had to go dump my water and boil another pot, but by the end of it, all the linens were hot and fresh, hanging by the wires and filling the laundry room with a thick blanket of steam. It felt good. Good enough that I stripped down to my birthday suit, tossed my clothes in the washing machine, and then traipsed through the house, nude, back to my room.
Switching the flashlight off, I checked my watch and saw it was two a.m. in the morning. Time for bed. I shuffled forward, touched the edge of the bed, and crawled onto it. My hand touched something firm and living, and I immediately stopped moving. "Is there someone in my bed?" I asked.
"Uh-huh," a voice said from up by my pillows. I shook my head. "Who is it?" I whispered.
"You have to ask?" Jennifer replied.
"What's going on?" I said, crawling the rest of the way and then slipping under the comforters quickly.
"Nothing," Jennifer said, sliding over to press her back up against me. "It's...nothing."
"I don't mind if you sleep in here," I said quickly, not wanting her to feel offended.
"I thought you wanted me in here?" She said.
"I do," I replied, sliding my arm around her tummy and pulling her close. "I do. I'm just tired."
"I can tell," she said, snuggling back against me.
My hand moved across her tummy again, and whatever she was wearing shifted with the passing of my fingers. It felt much lighter than the last thing she had on, much less durable, thick, or silky.
"What are you wearing?" I asked.
"Something new," she said teasingly. "Don't worry. It was only five bucks at the thrift shop," she said, and I felt her press her buttocks up against my pelvis and my cock hanging there. Her cheeks were warm and firm, barely covered by the same material, and my manhood started its slow rise to prominence.
I pulled my hips back, not wanting to touch her with my privates, but she turned her head and spoke to me. "Why are you pulling away?"
"I...I just."
"It's fine," she said, one hand slipping behind her to touch my hip. Gently, she coaxed me back, and then, to my shock and surprise, she reached between us, took my cock in her hand, and pressed it between her butt cheeks. "It fits right there," she said, turning her head back straight. "I can't tell you the number of times I woke up and felt that jabbing into my side, or my leg, or whatever. Put it back in the holster, and let's go to sleep."