This started out as another quarantine story involving strangers, but since the pandemic restrictions have ended, I needed to switch the vehicle for the story. Along the way, and through various rewrites, I settled on this version.
I owe some of the inspiration to a friend of mine who had her own idea for a story series that intrigued me. While not outright plagiarizing her idea, it did help me go in the direction I finally ended at.
Her idea involved an island and it also involved some taboo subjects, and that is where the similarities end.
I never intended to dive into the incest/taboo realm, it was simply evolved as the story evolved and changed. I do have to admit, however, that certain feelings arose that I had never expected, and perhaps there is more to this genre than I had ever imagined.
Mark had just finished taping up the last box. He was tired and drained from the day's effort. In this small southern town, the heat and humidity can easily drain the strongest of men. He ran a hand through his damp scraggly hair and leaned back against the wall. He could feel the stress of the constant bending and lifting of the day coursing through the sinewy muscles of his body. He wasn't old and led a very active life, but he admitted that his strong body was not used to this particular set of bending and lifting motions.
Even though he was ready to be done with the packing up of his father's belongings, he was feeling a little sad. Not sad for the memory of his recently deceased father. His father was an ass and not worthy of the effort to feel sad for his loss. Rather, he was sad that this day was
coming to an end. He had truly cherished the time he spent with his sister as they both worked hard, busily packing up the meager belongings of their loathsome parent.
Mark and his sister Angie had been very close as kids but had grown apart and had fallen out of contact for many years. Neither was happy or proud that they let the distance grow between them, but that is how life worked out for them. Ironically, it was their father who caused the distance to develop in the first place. It seemed fitting that his passing would provide the impetus to bring them back together again.
As he put the last box on the floor of the empty living room, he took the opportunity to look up and catch Angie brushing the hair from her sweaty brow. It brought a smile and sense of comfort to be here with her at this time.
"What are you looking at little bro?" she asked, blowing some stray strands out of the way.
"Just admiring the view", he replied.
"Oh yeah, sweaty old ladies always make for great scenery", she quipped.
"Well it's a sight I haven't seen for a long time, and I just realized how much I missed it. Missed you."
Angie blushed at the comment and felt the love for her little brother that she remembered when they were kids. To be honest, she was somewhere between that young woman and old lady stage in her life. While she still looked and felt young, she realized time was catching up with her in both looks and maturity. She just wished she had more in the way of life experiences to go along with the crow's feet that were just barely making their presence known.
Her long brown hair was showing little streaks of grey every now and then, but the rest of her looked like she was in her thirties. Amazingly, the intense sun of the southwest did little to blemish her radiant skin, and her active lifestyle kept her womanly curves attractive and robust.
At 46 years of age, she still felt youthful and exuberant. Her small 5'5" frame had rounded out a little more over the years, but luckily it was all in the right places. She certainly had no misconceptions of being a beauty queen, but men of all ages still paid a great deal of attention to her. She wasn't even aware of the effect her looks and her body had on men.
"Well, little brother, I think that's all of it. I think we should reward ourselves with a steak and some wine. What do ya say?" she asked.
"That sounds like a great reward. But don't forget, we still have a car and a boat to get rid of," he replied with a sigh.
"I didn't forget, but this is all I can handle for today."
With that, they hugged and headed out the door of their childhood home. Mark savored the warmth of his sister as they hugged. It gave him a chill to realize that after so many years, it still felt so comforting to feel her. It was like time stood still for them and they really were innocent kids again. Well, mostly innocent.
They piled into Mark's pick-up truck parked in the driveway. The pick-up was Mark's pride and joy. Huge engine, big open cab with bench seats, big ole mud tires to make any country bumpkin proud and lifted enough off of the ground that it required a little effort to climb into.
Angie was currently struggling with that effort.
"Hey little bro, how about a hand here? I'm old and beat from all of that lifting and bending," Angie complained.
"Sure thing sis," Mark said as he stepped close to give her a boost.
Angie had a hand on the door and a hand on the seat as she lifted one leg up onto the running board. Mark tried holding her elbow to steady her as she tried to push herself up. After two failed attempts, Mark let go and laughed at her.
"Enough of this, give me a good shove so we can get this over with. I am clearly not getting any younger here," she moaned in frustration.
Mark stepped closer, and grabbing her butt in his chiseled hands, lifted her high in the air so she could settle into the cab. She wasn't expecting that and ended up going face first into the seat. They both started laughing hysterically.
"Damn bro, that was a little excessive donthca think" and kept laughing.
They both relaxed and enjoyed the silly moment. It was exactly what they both needed at the moment.
Mark surveyed the picture of his sister sprawled out across the front seat of the truck and suddenly realized there was his sister's curvy ass staring him right in the face. He suddenly stopped laughing and admired it for a few seconds before the shock of what he was doing hit him in the gut. He turned quickly and headed for the driver's side of the truck. Once he climbed in, he strapped the shoulder belt and looked sideways at his sister.
"What the hell do you need a truck this big for? Are you turning into a bona fide redneck now?" she said to him.
"I am indeed, ma'am, " he replied in his best southern drawl.
"You know what they say about big trucks don't you?", she asked.
"What do they say?" he asked.
"The bigger the tires the smaller the dick" she giggled.
"That is definitely not the case here, I can assure you," he quipped back.
"Uh huh," she replied in a sarcastic tone, but she couldn't help look down towards his lap just to check it out. She blushed when she realized she just tried checking out her brother's bulge.
Mark was right about the comment on the size of his equipment. He had always been a little above average in that department, and the hard work of his life in the outdoors kept him fairly trim and in shape. He did have to admit, however, that time was taking it's toll and the ponds were accumulating on his torso at about a 2-3 pond per year average.
The one thing that annoyed him most, however, was the thinning of his hairline. For years, most people assumed him to be 10 years younger than he was. In fact, he was only 3 years younger than Angie's 47 years. Their hold onto youth is just one of the many things they had in common.
They drove on to Mark's house in eerie silence, both of them hoping to clean up and get some much-needed sleep.
Angie woke in the morning as sun came in through the guestroom window and the sound of birds chirping filtered into the room. She was almost startled for a second.
She never hears birds in her city apartment and the sun is blocked by the surrounding buildings. After she came to her senses, she savored the sights, sounds and smells of the first country morning she had experienced in a long time. She couldn't believe how relaxing it was to just lay there and take in the sounds. She curled up in the soft sheet and almost purred with satisfaction.
Mark was already awake and rummaging around the kitchen. He had been awake for almost two hours now and was getting antsy. Being on the farm, he was always used to rising early and getting a good solid start on the day. Just hanging around waiting for his sister just made him feel...lazy.
He thought he would jump start her lazy bones by cooking her a nice hearty breakfast. And the smell of bacon wafting through the old farmhouse was sure to get her moving.
Mark had transitioned easily into farm life in the small town they grew up in. He loved being outdoors, liked to see the fruits of his labors, satisfied that he actually produced something that was useful to everyone, and he had a certain distrust of authority which made him unsuitable to working for anyone else but himself.
He left the small town right after high school, hoping to break free from his parents, or more specifically, his father. He attended college and did well since he never really had to try very hard when it came to schoolwork. He worked as an engineer for a few years, and even earned a huge promotion and bonus when one of his designs was granted a patent that earned his company tens of millions of dollars.
Of course, the promotion added more responsibility and pressure, so he decided to just take his bonus and invest it into the modest farm he owns now. He often looks out across the fields and compound as the sun rises, and realizes it was the smartest decision he ever made.
