CHAPTER 1

 

 

 

Things had been tough for Laurenna since the death of her husband two years ago. She had married young to a man fifteen years her senior and now, at the ripe old age of twenty-nine, had inherited two teenage stepsons and a teenage stepdaughter. 'Just what any man would want,' she used to think to herself. 'Marry a widow with a readymade family.'

Oh, she had her share of dates since she went back to active involvement. There was the cute banker who literally ran out of the house when he met the kids. There was the store owner who, though he at least stayed around for a few drinks, had never bothered to call her again. And there had been others but the ending was always the same. One date, meet the kids, gone. After nine or ten different guys, Laurenna about gave up on it all.

Laurenna used to sit and wonder exactly what had happened to her. She was a fine looking woman with long blonde hair and bright blue eyes. She had kept herself in great shape through aerobic exercise and hard work. Before she met her late husband, she had never had any trouble at all. Within the span of six years though, Laurenna had lost both parents and her only brother in an auto accident and then lost her husband in a freak hunting accident. Married at 21 to a 37 year old widower, widowed herself at 27.

There were times when Laurenna thought seriously about just taking off and leaving the kids. Once she had even packed and made plane reservations. But, at the last minute, she decided she couldn't. The kids would have been well taken care of by her brother in law so that wasn't the problem. It was simply that she had grown so attached to them.

Kevin, the oldest, had just turned 19. He had his father's features and there were times that Laurenna felt that she was actually looking at her late husband. Kevin had grown up as a great kid, never gave her any trouble. When he got his first job last year he voluntarily had given her half of his net pay as room and board payment. He never complained about having to help around the house and willingly did his share. Laurenna was constantly amazed at his attitude.

Kyle was 18 going on 30 and was everything that Kevin wasn't. Always in trouble in school, Kevin constantly seemed to try to push Laurenna to the limit. But Laurenna saw something in Kyle that most others would have missed. Underneath that hard exterior he put on was a kid whose heart was gold. She remembered the way he reacted to his father's death. He took it harder than the other two kids and, even now, two years later, Laurenna would sometimes hear Kyle crying in his room at night. She never let on that she knew, of course.

Caren was 17 and was about the cutest kid Laurenna had ever met, both in physical terms and in personality. Caren was only six when Laurenna married into the family and she immediately accepted Laurenna in as mother. Caren was tall with a dark complexion. She had blossomed early. Laurenna remembered well sitting with her four years ago discussing the "facts of life," which Caren took in with amazement. Then, at age eleven, Caren experienced her first period. Laurenna ended up sitting up half the night holding Caren's hand because the cramps hurt so much.

No, Laurenna couldn't leave. These kids were as much hers as if they had been born to her. They were her family and her life. It was rough and would get rougher as time went on but, she thought to herself, it was worth it.

One of the hardest parts of being single again was a lack of physical affection. Laurenna had been sexually active since she was 15 and now it had been over two years since she had slept with a man.

During her six years of marriage, Laurenna had always remained faithful, actually for two reasons. The first was that she honestly and dearly loved her husband. The second was that he was the best lover she had ever had. He always seemed to know exactly what she wanted and how to please her. Pleasing her was always more important than pleasing himself. Many nights since the accident that took her husband away from her, Laurenna would lie in her bed and remember their lovemaking sessions. At times, caught up in the throes of passion, Laurenna would bring herself to deep orgasms and moan loudly before coming back to the realization that her stepchildren were asleep in adjoining rooms.

Laurenna made a commitment to herself though, that, no matter what happened, she would keep her family together. If it meant that she would never find another man, so be it. If it meant a remaining life of celibacy, then she would bear up. Nothing would separate them.

Then, one warm summer evening an incident would happen that would change Laurenna's life, forever.