Trading in Strange Places Pt. 03

Rendezvous at Grand Lake

I was awake in Amelia's bed in Steamboat Springs, feeling groggy from too much travel and too much excitement in too few days. Domestic noises were coming from the kitchen and I thought about my two companions and the funny phone call with New York last night.

I stumbled to the kitchen. They looked up at me in the doorway, shook their heads, and returned to intense conversation about the computer changeover.

I walked back to the bedroom with a steaming cup of coffee. Sipping carefully, I told myself it was time to deal with a problem I had been ignoring for too long. We were understaffed for the shift from Seattle to Nampa, and other changes we had in mind, such as a new executive location in Denver. We had too few boots on the ground, to use a Marine term.

Maybe I should visit Richard. My favorite mountain man, and former Marine, was a person of few words, but always well chosen. With water and crunch bars in my fanny pack, I could jog to his place on the side of the mountain in less than an hour, and needed the exercise anyway.

A couple of kisses and I was out the door into a cool, sunny morning. I tried to collect my thoughts, hoping that a runner's high and its juices would rescue my woolly head. Seven years back, just before my tour in Iraq ended, we had been out on patrol when the lead vehicle triggered an IED and went cartwheeling into the roadside brush. Richard ended up in my arms, his right foot smashed and bleeding. As we waited for a medevac, I stopped the bleeding and stabilized the broken mess of his ankle, keeping him talking and thankfully out of shock. We were both Colorado skiers and I kept ski conversation going until a stretcher arrived.

Six months later, we were out of the military, except that he was in rehab at the VA center in Denver, his foot and ankle full of metal plates and pins. I learned this after he tracked me down and sent a thank you email. Instead of responding, I drove from Steamboat, where I had landed a job as an instructor, to see him in the hospital.

We shook hands and he grumped about still being in a wheelchair. "They won't let me walk on it yet. Afraid with all my weight, I'll pop the screws."

I thought fast and said, "When they let you out of here, would you consider coming to Steamboat Springs and keeping me company while you work that into shape?"

At first, he said no, but I kept after him, saying the cabin I was renting was fine for two guys, the mountain air would do him good, and after a while, some cross-country skiing would be a low impact way to get back in condition.

Neither of us was very easy to get along with, full of anger about lost buddies and a lost war in Iraq. One night, we got towering drunk and swore to put the war and the Marines behind us and find new things to do. I fell into my market work because of a skier I helped on the mountain one day, but Richard went his own way. His disability check wasn't all that much, but I always dodged his offers of rent, and his lifestyle slipped more and more into mountain man mode. He let his beard and hair go, bought down vests and canvas great coats, and found a giant black cowboy hat that made him look truly impressive walking down the street, or climbing through the trees on his skins.

I ran into Amelia and realized romance in the cabin wasn't going to work, so found a place in town. Richard tried to pay me again, but I refused, telling him free housing was part of rehab. As soon as the money was there from trading, I bought the place and some acreage around it. And sent serious cross-country clients to him for personal instruction.

One Friday night, I discovered he was taking classes in digital media at the community college, and decided to offer some practical experience helping Amelia. She was nervous about this enormous shaggy man being in her house, but his quick mind soaked up details of her work like a sponge.

One night, as we snuggled in her bed after some loving, I said, "Richard is doing good work, isn't he?"

"Yes, his classes and his experience with me have given him very marketable skills. Do you want me to refer him to some of my friends?"

"I'm not sure. He is still struggling with the effects of Iraq. I'll talk to him."

She threw a leg over me and said in a low voice, "You know, Lucas, when he gets close, I have this vision of being grabbed and carried off. Do we need to find a girlfriend?"

"Carried off, eh? Locked in the tower on top of the mountain?"

I was very stiff and she didn't mind being taken again, calling me names, twisting in my arms, and coming hard.

Wrapped in my embrace, she twitched and murmured, "Can't I have just a few fantasies?"

I puffed up the hill to Richard's place, smiling to myself about how essential he had become to our technical support. His giant frame was in the side yard with rounds of wood, striking impressive blows with the splitting maul.

"Lucas! What brings you out on the nice morning like this?"

"Need to talk, can you take a break?"

He went inside and returned with two beers. "This will help your ski conditioning." His laughter went out across the yard. We didn't ski much together because I was wedded to downhill and he liked his cross country. Once in a while, we would try the lifts together, where he almost kept up with me using incredible telemark technique.

"Marine, I need some help. Money is rolling in and there are new hires. But the technical side is understaffed, and I can't recruit just anybody. What about giving me twenty or thirty hours a week of very private help?"

There was a long pause as he took another drag on the beer and stared at me.

"You trying to blast a hole in my lifestyle? Like you did finding Claire?"

I laughed. "Yes, absolutely. Is she still sharing a bed with you?"

"Lucas, that is one independent woman! And loves to roam these hills. After a couple of hikes, she made dinner here and said it was time to find out how compatible we were."

"I see you together at events, so the answer must be yes."

"You ever have a woman attack you with that look in her eyes that says, "Take me if you can?"

"The furniture must be suffering."

"Oh man. We have this game we play. Stalking and trapping. And sex..."

"Maybe I have to hire Claire too. You ever heard of Nampa?"

"Sure, my dad used to drive trains on the UP. Main line railroad town."

"Good. My operation is building a data center there. Very quietly. Very privately. I need your kind of help and I pay well."

"I like to save my pennies over the summer. You can have about as much time as you need between now and snow. After that, not so much."

I chugged the rest of my beer and feinted with him. He landed some and I landed some. Just as well we were not on active duty.

"Come to dinner tonight. Bring Claire if she is interested. She can keep a secret or two?"

"Yes, but she's picky. Hates the NSA. Better ask her first."

Mely and Catherine were pleased when I showed up with my latest news. "Lucas, we get to meet Shaggy Dog's girlfriend!"

We were feeling frisky. After chasing around the backyard, I found a beer to share and plopped on the porch swing. Amelia's wiggly self climbed on top and licked me.

"Thank you for finding more help. Catherine and I are feeling underwater with all the work. I have a sneaky idea. What if Cate and I talked Claire into being part of the diner operation? Her reputation says she is super organized and knows about small business."

I pulled the tee shirt up and massaged her shoulders and back. Catherine sat in the rocker and sipped on her drink. "Maybe there is someone here that can take over the shop on a day to day basis."

Chapter 6 - A Rethink About Nampa

Mely propped her head up, "Does this new computer operation need 7x24 human attention? I'm not sure your women want to spend full time in Nampa."

I pushed her head down and went back to the shoulders. She flexed into me and said, "You're grinding my shoulders to nothing. What are you thinking about?"

I eased us to the deck and lay on my belly. Both of them sat on me.

"Well?"

"Um, sorry. I was thinking again about Nampa. Maybe Catherine and I got carried away. We need both a primary site and a secondary location. You know that business about single point of failure. The people comforts for our crowd are better here than in Nampa. What if this was the primary, and Nampa was an unmanned mirror site, instead of the reverse?"

"No diner?" They bounced on my butt and laughed. "No Italian dishes?"

I turned over and grabbed Cate's hips. "I have an idea about that, but let's take the conversation to the bed."

"You behave. This is a work discussion."

"Give me some incentive to explain the most fun idea you will hear this week."

Their eyes were staring hard. "No false moves, or you will get it right in the balls."

My back was against the headboard. I had two topless women kneeling by my side. I leaned forward and tried for a lick.

"No, no, no. Your story first."

"All right. Instead of a diner in cow town, we buy a Victorian in ski town and make an upscale B&B out of it. Three or four lovely, talented women share the work and, with help from community college students, serve incredible meals at dinner time. I can't think of a better cover story."

Mely leaned down, very slowly, and ran the stiff tips of her front across my chest.

"What are you doing?"

Her tongue found mine for some play as the nipples continued their game.

Catherine said, "Mely has better tits than I do. Is Marie still supposed to disappear?" She didn't look too happy.

Mely noticed instantly and rolled them together. "We will gang up on him and get your name back!"

Quickly they had my shorts off and grabbed my cock. "Tell us she is still Marie, or else! No one knows her in Steamboat."

I raised my hands in surrender. "Ok, you win. Just another of my dumb ideas..."

Smiles appeared and tongues came out.

I said, "What are you doing?"

"You get a reward for good thinking. Neither of us is excited about that dumb ski hill they have in Idaho."

"Don't count too many chickens yet. I have to talk to Richard tonight."

"So we are to chat up Claire to see if she should be invited to our fun party?"

I started a wrestle, hoping it would end up with...

"Lucas, stop! we know you are all wound up, but we don't need wild, screaming sex in the middle of the afternoon. There are only two days until Grand Lake and you keep throwing our plans up in the air. We have to work, damn you!"

I croaked out, "You are right, as always. I apologize."

They stood away from the bed, arms around each other's nakedness, trying a glare but breaking up in a giggle. "You guys are so transparent. Get a look at tits and only want one thing."

They made me watch as they put on conservative underwear and fleece tops and long jeans. Every other word was about decent girls, and respecting their persons. I put on my own clothes and growled threats to the persons.

Today's lunch hike was shorter but as beautiful as the others.

"Lucas, my house has to be remodeled if there is going to be serious computer equipment installed. It is not safe and it is not secure. You and Richard need to decide what to do and how it gets done without attracting attention."

After a sandwich, they prodded me to talk about the agenda for the meeting, what items and what order. What extracurricular activities were scheduled, and what did I intend to do about Rya?"

I groaned and closed my eyes. That got me toes in ribs. "No privileges for leaders who do not lead."

I lay for a long time, cursing myself for wanting more than the riches my former off the reservation existence had provided, with only three smart, sexy women to help.

"Maybe this isn't going to work. Someone will notice and take us out."

"Too late, Lucas. You have attracted a strong team and we are going to beat the system."

I sat up. "Ok, lots of outdoor exercise combined with morning and evening work sessions. Two days. Three, if we have to. Rya said she wants private time with me and she is going to get it. After that, there is a communal free for all to make her feel welcome."

The walk back from lunch was accompanied by more threats if a written agenda was not forthcoming. I was pushed to the office computer and the door shut behind me.

God, you are lazy, I said to myself. This isn't funny. They are counting on you.

By the time Richard showed up at five with fine wine, I was done. A package of five pages was stapled and ready for review.

Claire was close behind and immediately engulfed in hugs and kisses by the kitchen gang. I grabbed Richard's arm and led him outside, glasses in our hands.

We sat on a bench and looked at the house, which wasn't much more than an overgrown cottage.

"The basic idea, buddy, is to double our level of business. A stealth operation fronted by two extremely attractive women who will occupy the corporate office in Denver. Cosmetic information about services and so on will be available. Securities forms will be filed on time and other requirements dealt with. A back office staff will be located here and in Nampa."

"Hmm. You are getting ambitious, Lucas. If it was anyone besides you and these super smart women, I'd give you zero chance."

"Speaking of front people, would you mind being the project manager for remodeling the cottage? Everyone in town knows you, and knows you work for me off and on. You can tell them we like the location and want to bring the house to modern standards, including a poured concrete basement."

Richard added, "With underground utilities. Might as well make them a little harder to take out."

"That's one piece of business. A second is establishing the backup facility in Nampa. Marie had the idea of closing out Bellevue with no forwarding address, so to speak. Do a fresh start in Nampa. Rent the cage space, HVAC, power and broadband Internet connections from the cloud people, but install all our own equipment, software, and remote monitoring gear."

"I suppose she is going to represent a shell corporation?"

I smiled. "Nothing illegal, just a little devious."

"Lucas, you slippery black hearted Hungarian, you were devious the first day I met you. This is just more of the same. We are two of a kind, even if you do spend too much time on those downhill skis."

"Richard, the women and I are looking for something to provide some cover. Do you suppose Claire would be interested in managing a B&B here in Steamboat? If there are several of them to share the work, the always available part of it doesn't turn into drudgery."

"She is one smart woman, Lucas. And is feeling tied down to that shop she took over for her relatives when they retired and left for Arizona."

Dinner was relaxed and I didn't bring up work. Claire fit right in. A tough, broad shouldered girl from Belfast, she said.

After the meal, I asked, "Claire, you know everything about this town. We are thinking about buying one of the older Victorians and fixing it up. Rooms for our clients when they visit and for others too. Is that possible?"

Gesturing to Richard, she said, "I suppose the more rundown the better? Gives the two of you the chance to get dirty and mess around?"

Richard and I had our hands in the air, "Who us?" and everyone was laughing.

Claire added, "These two clued me in that there is more than just a B&B involved. Said if I wanted to join, I had to promise to keep your secrets."

She climbed into Richard's lap and said, "He'll beat me if I speak out of turn, won't he?"

I tried to keep my voice light, "There's money involved, Claire. Quite a bit of money. Enough that other folks would try dirty tricks to get their hands on it. That's why we keep a low profile. Anyone that Richard trusts, I trust. If you would like to be part of our operation here in Steamboat Springs, we would love to have you. Richard is going to be doing more than half time work over the summer on our latest computer project."

Mely spread a blanket over Claire and Richard, then used another to get Marie and herself arranged on me. She said, "Claire, while you look for a usable Victorian, Richard and Lucas are going to jack this house up and build a new basement under it. So, we actually need two houses, one to rent right away for temporary housing while this one is fixed, and another one to remodel into a B&B."

The conversation continued, but coziness was leading to sleepiness. Richard's hands were moving under the blanket and Claire was kissing him with her tongue busy. I whispered to Amelia to tell them to use the extra bedroom.

My dark girlfriend padded over and whispered in their ears. Richard nodded and rose with Claire in his arms. Her hand waved at us as they went by.

Marie had my ear. "You are a rogue with sentimental instincts. Do Mely and I get a carry to bed?" I quickly had them riding on my hips, giggling and licking. "Lucas, be nice, we have to work hard tomorrow. When are we leaving for the lake?"

By the time they visited the bathroom and slid naked into the bed, I was wideawake and ready. So were they, accepting my stiff cock with a sweet groan and clenched legs around my waist. Marie forced Mely to go first, saying, "You are the house mistress and deserve him more than I do."

I thrust hard, her body bouncing on the firm mattress. "Yes, she is the mistress but has to leave in ten days so the rebuilding can begin. This may be the last sex..."

The encounter turned wild. "You are throwing us out! Having a fine screw and tossing us in the street? There will be no more favors for you!" I pushed the two bodies together and speared the one on top. More shouts and twisting attracted Richard and Claire to the door, naked themselves.

Claire said, "It's an orgy, Richard, we had better join." The sight of large purple cocks and bodies being forced into many positions for entry called forth torrents of abuse and terrible threats. Richard and I worked each of them to climax, finally falling limp in the disaster of a bed.

In a few minutes, I opened my eyes to find a round freckled boob nearby and licked it.

"Evil man. Does working for you involve frequent sex?" She sat up and reclined on Richard, whose hands took possession of the freckles.

Amelia answered for me. "It does. When he chases, you never know whether it is for work or play."

I added, "Or both," and reached for a muscled rump. "She knows she can lead me down the mountain almost any day, and rubs it in. I am totally pussy whipped!"

The third one sat on my chest. "This is Catherine talking, Lucas. Your mystery French mistress. A real mistress. I have decided you were right after all. It will be a lot of fun for Catherine to appear in Steamboat as the newly hired chef at Le Bontemps B&B. Straight from a two star in Paris. Perhaps we can turn dark Amelia, who always wears black, into a Lucas relative. Previously, she used an assumed name in town to hide from an abusive boyfriend. She will have charge of the cellar, in more ways than one."

"Claire will be the owner, the blond and beautiful owner, who can be very tough with misbehaving guests who fail to understand that the sign on the hot tub that says no public sex means what it says. She has a flogger and is not afraid to use it."

By the end, giant Richard and I were standing next to the bed, smiling at the three women, who were screaming and hugging each other.

"Le Bontemps! Oh my god!"

Mely disappeared for a moment and returned with flogger in hand, looking evilly at the men. "These two have obviously been bad. Look at the way they they hold hands and speak softly to each other."

Richard and I jumped apart, but it was too late. The flogger landed smartly on first my butt and then Richard's. With a nod, we had them over our knees and squirming.