And then the one thing I never expected happened. I woke up in the middle of the night with my dick being sucked. My first thought was that Bev or Barb had snuck into my room and were just going to take what I would not give on my own. I tensed and was gathering myself to rise up and push whichever twin it was off of me when a voice said:

"Relax baby; we both need this."

The voice was Kari's and she swung over me, took my cock in her hand, lined it up and pushed down on it. It had been a while for me and I did not last as long as I would have liked to, but it didn't bother Kari.

"It has been a while for me too baby, but don't worry because we aren't done yet."

She went back to work on my cock and I responded to her ministrations. The second time was a lot longer and more satisfying and when it was over Kari said:

"I want to stay and cuddle. I want my girls to see me leave your room in the morning."

I opened my arms and she snuggled in.

I woke up when she got out of bed. "It's early" she said, "You have another hour or so until your alarm goes off. I just heard one of the girls go into the bathroom so I'm going to leave your room as she comes out into the hallway. I want her to see me."

She bent over and kissed me and said, "Until tonight baby." She moved over to the door, hesitated until she heard the bathroom door open and then she stepped out of my room into the hall.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

I got a call at work from Kari asking me to meet her at Miller's Bar when I got off work. When I got there she was sitting at a table and two guys were standing there talking to her when I came in. She saw me and waved me over and when I got there she stood up and kissed me and then sat down.

"Guys, this is my boyfriend Rob. Rob, this is Stan and Jerry."

The guys shook my hand, said "Nice meeting you," and then told Kari that they would see her around and walked away. She smiled and said:

"That worked out well."

"What worked out well?"

"Killing two birds with one stone. One, I needed to talk with you away from the house and two, those two will spread the word about my boyfriend and that will shut down some of the assholes who keep bothering me."

"I'm your new boyfriend?"

"You are if you want to be."

"What do you need me to talk about away from the house?"

"Last night. I need to explain it."

"Why?"

"Because I don't know if you are okay with it and if you aren't I need to explain why so you don't throw us out on our butts."

"Did I behave like I was unhappy about it?"

"No, but how you feel when Mr. Happy is busy is not an indication of how things are when he is resting."

"So what is to explain?"

"I was super horny and I needed to get laid. I've been trying to find someone who would turn me on since I've moved in with you, but I haven't had much luck. A lot of horn dogs like Stan and Jerry, but no one I could really get interested in except you, but I stayed away from you because you didn't seem all that interested in me other than something that could piss off DJ."

"What changed your mind?"

"Barb and Bev."

"How did they change your mind?"

"I was in the laundry room folding clothes and they thought that I was up in my room so they were talking unaware that I could hear them. I heard all about their plans to get you to do them and I knew that the only way I could stop it was to get to you first and then let them find out about it so they would leave you alone."

"You didn't have to worry. They have been wagging their butts at me for two weeks now and I have avoided them. Believe me, I wouldn't have touched them."

"Oh yes you would have. What I did last night was what they had planned on doing. They were going to flip a coin to see which one of them was going to be the one to sneak in and wake you with a blow job. If one of them had gotten you up and hard there is no doubt in my mind that you would not have stopped."

"I've been expecting them to pull something and I have a great sense of self preservation. My fear of going to jail over having sex with a minor would have me putting a stop to it as soon as I realized what was going on. You saw it yourself. You felt me getting ready to push you away and that is why you told me to relax. It is only because I recognized your voice that you didn't end up on your butt on the floor."

"But you didn't push me away and I'm glad. I enjoyed myself and I'd like to do it again. In fact I'd like to do it on a steady basis. How do you feel about that?"

"As I recall you kissed me and said "Until tonight" when you left my room and I don't believe I said "No way! Not gonna do it."

She smiled at me and said, "It has been a while for me. Early night tonight?"

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Outside of the nasty looks the twins gave me and a bi-weekly phone call from Audrey saying that she knew we could work things out if I would just talk to her the next three months passed by uneventfully. Work was going well, Kari and I were having sex three and four times a week, the twins were doing well in school and had gotten involved in girls volleyball and field hockey.

And then Audrey reared up and threw shit into the game.

She had saved up enough money to get an attorney and she had filed for a legal separation. The judge -- a different one -- ordered counseling and we started all over again. It was a different Audrey at the first of the mandated sessions. It was a different marriage councilor and so it was all new to him.

I told my side the same as I had done in the first go round and Audrey didn't try to interrupt me. When it was her turn she calmly said:

"I filed for a separation rather than a divorce because I don't want a divorce and my attorney said a separation would be the best way to get court ordered counseling and I believe that if I can just sit down with Rob and explain things we can work things out.

"First, I need to clear a couple of things up. Rob accused me of being a cheating whore and that is not true. I have never cheated on him and I'm perfectly willing to take a lie detector test on that. DJ was there with me that day to help me if you got violent and before you explode on me for saying that I will admit that never in our marriage did you ever raise a hand to me, but then I had never told you that I was walking out on you either. I had no way of knowing how you would react and that is why DJ was there. The other thing is that I was called a thief and I deny that. The way I explained it in previous sessions is just the way it happened. I would have given half of it back, but I never got the chance and I'll take a lie detector test on that also.

"I made some errors in judgment. I should have handled things differently and I know that now. I should have sat down and explained why I wanted a trial separation and then discussed it with you, but as we all know, hindsight is twenty twenty."

Then Barry, the councilor, said "Now that you have brought it up suppose you tell us just why you wanted that trial separation."

"I wanted some excitement in my life. Marriage to Rob was dull and boring. We never went anywhere or did anything. I love Rob and our sex life was good, but I wanted a little more than that. I talked with my girlfriend Anna two or three times a week and she was always telling me about the fun things she was doing and after a while I started wanting to do some fun things too. One of the things I've always wanted to do was try pot, but Rob has always been a rabid anti-drug person. I wanted to drink and dance all night long, but while Rob drinks he doesn't dance and so he never took me anywhere where I could dance with someone else if they asked me. Of course, knowing Rob, I know he would never let me dance with anyone else even if he took me to a place where it could happen.

"One afternoon Anna talked me into going out and spending an afternoon with her. We went to a bar on the other side of town and she introduced me to some of her friends. We drank and danced to the music on the juke box and a couple of guys asked us if we wanted to go for a ride. It was my first time on a motorcycle and I loved it. I started spending one or two afternoons a week with Anna and her friends.

"One day DJ was there and he asked me if I'd like to take a ride with him and I said yes. We rode for almost an hour and then he pulled in and parked at a picnic area and he asked me if I would like to share a joint with him. It was something that I had always wanted to try and I said yes. I liked it. I liked the feeling that it gave me. When the joint was gone we rode back to the bar. After that DJ always seemed to be there whenever I went with Anna and he always asked me if I wanted to go for a ride.

"Most of the time there were a half dozen bikes on the run and we always ended up somewhere where we did a little smoke. I always made sure that I was home in time to have dinner ready for Rob when he got home from work. One day DJ made a pass at me and I shut him down. I told him that I was married and that I loved my husband. He didn't push it, just shrugged, but he was always the one offering the rides and he was always the one who was sharing his pot with me.

"I was having a ball, but I wanted more. I got the dumb idea of telling Rob I was going to leave him for a while to try and find myself. I discussed it with Anna and she suggested that I have someone with me to keep Rob from going off on me. I asked DJ if he would do it and he said that he would. Then he asked me if I really expected trouble from Rob and I made the mistake of saying probably not, that Rob was usually a pussycat. So he said that what I was telling him is that Rob was a wimp and to my everlasting shame I didn't say no to that. I just shrugged my shoulders and said that Rob probably was. The only reason I did that was so that DJ wouldn't change his mind about going with me. If he thought Rob would be no trouble he wouldn't back out.

"Anyway, it all went to hell when Rob came home and I told him I was leaving. He surprised me by just saying "Have a nice life" and that is when DJ went all stupid on us and here we are."

She turned to me and said, "I love you Rob and I don't want a divorce."

I just shrugged and said "Okay Audrey, I've listened to what you have said. Some of it or maybe even all of it may be true, but it changes nothing as far as I'm concerned. The day you told me you were leaving me for whatever the reason is the day our marriage died. I wrote you off then and I see no reason to change my mind. By your own words here I wasn't good enough for you then. I wasn't exciting enough for you then. Well I have news for you Audrey; I'm still the same un-exciting guy that I was then and I'm never going to change. Taking you back would be the dumbest thing I could do. I could never trust that some day you wouldn't go off again to find your so called excitement."

"You say that you that you never cheated on me with DJ or any of the others you had your excitement with. It could possibly be true, but I will never believe it. Assholes like DJ and the guys he ran with don't waste time on broads that don't put out. So there it is. You can force counseling all you want and you can fight any divorce I pursue, but you and I are done. There is no -- I repeat, no -- chance that you and I will ever get back together."

Barry looked from me to Audrey and then said, "Counseling only works when both parties want to work at saving a marriage. I can see that isn't the case here. I will file my report with the court stating that I see no chance of reconciliation in this case. Audrey cried out:

"Damn it Rob, I love you. You have to give me a chance."

"I gave you six years Audrey and it wasn't enough."

I got up, shook Barry's hand and thanked him for his time and then walked out of his office. As I headed home I made up my mind that I was not going to restart the divorce. Why waste the money just so I could give money and other assets to Audrey. Any divorce would be because she went for it.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

The next six months went by quickly. Kari had moved into my bedroom much to the dismay of Bev and Barb who seemed to still have designs on me. By then I was treating them like daughters. They had both taken Driver's Ed in school and had their temporary permits and I spent a lot of time out on the road with them. When we were away from Kari they flirted shamelessly with me, but I still wasn't having any of it. Finally I sat them both down and told them flat out that they were wasting their time.

"You are both underage and I will not risk going to jail so give it a rest."

"So what I'm hearing" Bev said, "Is that if we were eighteen it would be a done deal?"

I threw up m hands in exasperation and walked away from them.

They got all As and Bs on their report cards and they were heavily involved in girls sports and except for their obsession with trying to get in my bed they were great kids.

They took their drive tests and they both passed and got their permanent licenses and I sat down at the dinner table with them a week before their seventeenth birthday and told them that their mother and I had worked out a deal. I was going to give their mother my ex's car which was only two years old in exchange for her ten year old car and then I was going to give them their mother's car as a birthday present. There were squeals of delight and they jumped up, ran around the table and kissed and hugged me.

That night as Kari and I were relaxing in each other's arms after making love she said:

"Thank you lover."

"For what?"

"For being the man you are. You are the closest thing to a father that the girls have ever had."

"You're kidding me?"

"No I'm not. The men I've hooked up with have tolerated them, but only because they wanted me. And there were some like DJ who tried to hide it from me, but saw them as fresh meat. I know that doesn't say much for me, but you can't always tell what kind a man is when you first start out with him. I wish I'd met you fifteen years ago."

"No you don't. Fifteen years ago I was a horn dog running around trying to stick my dick into anything female."

"What changed you?"

"I grew up."

"Oh well, better late than never" she said as she fondled my cock.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

It seemed that my life was destined to be full of surprised. The twins had several friends over on their birthday. We had cake and ice cream and then I handed them each a twenty and handed Bev -- she was the oldest by three minutes - the keys to Kari's old car and told them to make sure that they were home by eleven. After they and their friends were gone Kari and I curled up on the couch and she said:

"I talked with your wife today."

"You what?"

"I was in Safeway picking up the cake and ice cream and she walked up to me and said hi. I didn't know Audrey was your wife."

"Sure you did. There isn't a week goes by that she doesn't get mentioned."

"Yes, but never by name. It was always "That bitch I was married to" or "My whore of an ex." You never mentioned her by name."

"Why does it matter?"

"It doesn't I guess; it's just that I knew her when she was hanging around the Diablos with her friend Anna."

"Then you know what a whore she was."

"Actually I don't. The whole time she was around us all she did was some drinking, dancing and pot smoking. She liked going on rides, but she never did anything else. She might have wanted to, but she never did."

"So what did she want?"

"She heard that I was staying with you and wanted to know why I was trying to steal her man."

"Her man? That's a laugh."

"She thinks she can get you back if only I will get out of the way."

"Not a chance in hell of that."

"I told her I was not in her way, that I was just a boarder and that I got room and board for being the maid and cook and I told her that the only reason you let me move in was so you could rub DJ's nose in it."

"And she bought that? That doesn't sound like Audrey."

"I told her I tried to get you in bed, but you pushed me away and said it wouldn't be right and that you couldn't do anything like that until you were divorced. She really does plan on trying to get you back."

"You should have told her we were bed buddies and maybe then she would have gotten the message that I'm done with her."

"I might have if it had been anyone else, but I know she never cheated on you at least not with our group so I didn't think it would be fair. I liked her. I think she got stupid there for a little bit and now she's trying to get back what she knows she should have never given up."

All I could do when I heard that was shrug.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

I started getting weekly phone calls from Audrey. The first one set the tone for all that followed.

"Kari tells me that you don't make love because you aren't divorced yet. I'm never going to give you a divorce so the question is how long can you go without sex? Knowing you I'm surprised that it has been this long. You don't have to go without baby; I'm here for you. Any time at all, just call me."

"Why don't you just go away Audrey?"

"I can't baby; I love you. I know I fucked up and I'm sorry, but I do love you and I'm going to get you back. It may take some time, but I'm going to get you back."

What the hell was with that woman I thought as I hung up the phone. She couldn't wait to bail out on me and now she's all hot to come back. Why? She was out there. She was free to do whatever she wanted. She was a good looking and sexy looking woman and I knew she has to have plenty of guys sniffing around. So there she was. Man bait, free to smoke pot, drink, dance and have all that excitement that she was leaving me to experience so why the fuck was she bugging me to take her back? To me it made no sense at all.

On the home front even though Kari has staked her claim the twins still took shots at me whenever Kari wasn't around. They thought nothing of walking naked in front of me and they would come into the bathroom and try to catch me with my dick out and in my hand as I was taking a whiz. Once Bev came in and asked me if she could hold it and aim it for me. They did it even though I had a lock on the door. The knob was one of those you could open from the outside with a dime or even a long fingernail. I heard it was designed that way so little kids couldn't get accidently lock themselves in the bathroom. I finally had to replace it with a keyed lock.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

That was my life for the next six months. Work, make love to Kari three or four times a week, cut grass, do household chores, get a phone call from Audrey every two weeks or so and fight off the attentions of the twins. They almost got me once and it was a close call.

Kari had gone somewhere to do something and I was sitting in the easy chair watching something on the TV and I nodded off. Suddenly I felt something on my chest and I woke up and saw Barb wrapping clothesline around me and the chair. Bev was doing the same thing to my legs and the chair legs. When they were done they stepped back to admire their handiwork and then Bev said:

"Who gets him first?"

They did 'rock, paper, scissors' and Barb won. She was just pulling at my zipper when they heard the garage door start to open.

"Shit! Moms home."

They hurriedly unwrapped me and then ran off to their rooms before Kari got into the house. I had thought that with me and Kari involved I would be okay, but apparently I wasn't. I resolved never to let myself be alone with them again.

Audrey's phone calls were sounding a little more desperate. "Please baby, you have to let me come home. I don't know how much longer I can hold out."

"What do you mean "hold out?"

"I'm a healthy girl Rob and I haven't had sex since the last time with you."

"So go get yourself laid."
"I can't baby. If I do I know for sure that you will never take me back."

"Why didn't you think of that way back when you decided to bail out on me?"

"I wasn't thinking Rob. I was just thinking of the fun I could have. I didn't wake up until I found out what DJ had planned for me. I'm sorry Rob. I messed up big time, but I will make it up to you. Please baby, please let me come home."

"Why Audrey? Just so I can spend my time wondering when you would get bored with me and go partying with Anna again?"

"I don't even talk to Anna anymore. She knew what was likely to happen to me and she never warned me. She was a fucking Judas goat."

"I'm sorry Audrey, but I just can't see it happening. Bye."

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Kari got a call from one of her friends who told her that two of the Diablos who had gone to jail and who had gotten a year each were out on early release and I started carrying my Beretta.. About three weeks after getting the call Kari and I were at the mall and I saw one of them. He saw me at the same time and he saw me open my coat and reach for the Beretta in the shoulder holster. He turned and ran in the other direction so I guess he got the message that I had passed that day in the prison visiting room,

It was a week after that that disaster struck.

I've gone back over it in my head a dozen times and the only way I can see that it could have been prevented would have been if I had just ignored DJ when he called me a wimp and turned and left the room to let him and Audrey leave.

It was a Monday night and I was in the upstairs bathroom changing a burned out light bulb when I saw three guys come over the back fence. As they moved to the house I noticed that one of them had a bad limp. I hurried to my bedroom and got the Beretta and moved quietly down the stairs. The stairs ended on a landing that led into the living room on the right and the dining room on the left. Kari and the twins were on the couch where they had been watching TV. The three men were facing them and apparently had not heard me coming down the stairs. As I reached the bottom of the stairs I heard DJ saying:

"......three of you whores making money for me, but first I'm going to settle up with the fuck face who lives here. Where is he?"

"Right behind you sperm breath."

He spun around and I saw that he has a gun in his hand. I already had mine up and I put three rounds in the center of his chest. As they drove him backwards he threw his arms out wide and his gun went off. The two men with him put their arms up and cried, "Don't shoot, don't shoot." I heard Bev and Barb screaming. It took a second or two to register that they were screaming "mommy, mommy." I took a quick look and I saw Kari slumped on the couch with blood running down the front of her. I hollered "call 911" but both girls were hysterical. I kept the gun on the two men and hurried over and slapped Bev and when she shook it off I told her to call 911.

I walked over to DJ and kicked his gun away. He looked up at me and gasped:

"I'm hurt bad. Call an ambulance man; for God's sake get me some help."

I leaned down and whispered in his ear, "I told you if I ever saw you again I'd kill you. No ambulance for you cocksucker. Lay there and die."

I told the two guys to le down on the floor on their backs and spread their arms and legs like they were making Angels in the snow.

"If you move I will kill you. Raise your head, twitch, any movement at all and I will shoot you dead. I swear to God I will. I'm sorely tempted to do it anyway."

"Don't man, please don't. We was only supposed to help him get his bitches back. Wasn't supposed to be no shootin. We don't want no part of this shit man."

While holding the gun on them I got Kari on her back and ripped open her blouse. I grabbed a throw pillow and put it over the bullet hole in her chest and pushed down to try and stop the bleeding. Her eyes fluttered open and she managed to lift her arm and her hand grabbed my wrist.

"My girls" she said weakly, "Take care of my girls. Promise me Rob; take care of my babies."

"I promise."

Her grip weakened and then with a little cry she was gone. Bev and Barb were crying and Barb looked at me and asked, "Momma?"

All I could do was shake my head no and that set off more wailing.

After all of the flashing red and blue lights were gone and the girls and I were alone I tried to calm them down, but how do you do that to two girls who have just seen their mother shot and then die in front of them? All I could do was put my arms around them and hug them as they cried into my shoulders. After a while I led them to my bedroom and the three of got on the king size bed and with Barb on my right and Bev on my left and one arm around each of them I held them while they cried themselves to sleep.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

The next three days were busy with interviews with detectives and assistant district attorneys and making arrangements for Kari's funeral. There were only a dozen or so in attendance and one of them, a hard looking redhead, came up to me and introduced herself as Matty, shook my hand and told me that she was sorry for my loss.

"You were good for her. She was really happy for the first time in the eight years that I knew her. She was hoping to marry you if you ever divorced Audrey. It was the first time I ever heard her talk about marriage."

"You know Audrey?"

"She ran with us for a while until we clued her in on what DJ had planned for her."

"Why did you clue her in?"

"It was obvious to the rest of us that she didn't belong there. She was getting a taste of wild for the first time in her life and it was turning her head. She wouldn't have lasted a week on the street and we knew it so we told her what she was getting herself into in time for her to get out."

"I heard she was pulling trains with the guys in your club."

"I don't know who told you that shit, but she never gave it up for any of the guys even though nearly all of them tried. Not even DJ although he did brag about what he was going to do with her when he got her broke in. Anyway, I kept Kari up to date on what the Diablos were planning and if you want to give me your number I'll call you if anything about you comes up."

I gave her my number and she left. It was a sad day for the twins and they were not yet cried out so I had my hands full trying to comfort them. Since that first night we had all been sleeping in my bed, but I was going to have to put and end to that soon. I didn't expect anything to happen until we got a ways away from their mother's death, but given their track record in the past it was likely that one day in the future I was going to be a target again.

At breakfast the day after Kari's funeral both girls were sitting at the table with their eyes downcast. I assumed that they were grieving so I didn't say anything. About halfway through breakfast Bev set her fork down and said:

"When do we have to leave?"

"Leave? Why are you leaving?"

"Mom's gone. None of her other boyfriends wanted us around even when she was there and now she's gone."

"Yes she is, but I'm not. The last thing your mom said to me was "promise me that you will take care of my girls" and I promised her that I would. You are my girls now and you aren't leaving unless you want to."

"You mean it?" Barb cried, "We can stay?"

"As long as you want."

They both jumped up and came over and hugged me and there was more crying only that time it wasn't caused by sadness.

The next two nights they slept with me and one morning I woke up with Barb's leg thrown over mine and her left hand on my thigh about three inches away from home plate. I started getting stiff and I knew that it was time to send them back to their own rooms. It was also time to step back and look at what I had promised Kari and where it was going to lead. There were no two ways about it. I was going to need protection from the twins and to brutally honest with myself they were getting very close to needing protection from me.

But what to do?

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Almost as I had the thought a possibility occurred. The fact that I even remotely considered it shows how desperate I was. Audrey called.

"Are you ready yet?"

"Am I ready for what?"

"Are you ready to let me back into your life?"

"Why do you keep bothering me Audrey?"

"Because I love you Rob. I've told you and told you that and why you won't believe me I'll never understand."

"It should be very easy for you to understand Audrey. Just think back to that day in the living room when you stood up and said, "God. Now we can get this over with." Remember that Audrey? Remember your next words? I believe they were "I'm leaving you." Remember that?"

"I screwed up Rob. I admitted that I screwed up. I also said that I would take a lie detector test on the cheating and the money. Give me a chance Rob. Let me prove to you that I love you and want to be with you."

"A chance? Just how bad do you want that chance?"

"I'll do anything Rob, anything at all."

"I doubt that Audrey, but I guess we will just have to see."

"You'll do it? You'll give me a chance?"

"We need to talk Audrey and not on the phone. Meet me at Augie's tomorrow night at six and we will talk."

Audrey was there waiting for me in one of the rear booths when I got to Augie's Bar and Grille. One look at her and I remembered why I had gone after her in the first place. She really was a very sexy looking and very good looking woman. I sat down across from her and the waitress was there almost immediately and I ordered drinks. When she had taken our order and gone I went right to it.

"You hurt me Audrey. What you did cut me to the quick. What your reason was for doing it doesn't mean shit to me. What matters to me is what you did to me. You were only thinking of yourself and you didn't give a rat's ass what it would do to me. You just didn't care and I can't forget that. I don't trust you Audrey and that is the reason that I have never considered taking you back. I don't trust you not to break it off in me again. You can promise me all of your love and devotion for the rest of your life, but you already did that once, remember? When I slid that ring onto your finger? Promise all you want Audrey, but I will always be watching and waiting for you to screw me again.

"The problem is that I am between a rock and a hard place. Letting you back into my life just might be the lesser of two evils. The fact that I'm even considering it shows just how bad things are."

I went on to explain the situation with Kari's daughters.

"I promised her that I would take care of them and I will, but I need to protect myself from them. The only way to do that is to have a woman in my life and bedroom. Given how bold the twins have been in the past I don't think I have the luxury of taking the time to date and woo a woman. I need something to happen right now."

"Count me in Rob."

"You haven't heard the whole deal yet Audrey. You can move back into the house and back into my bedroom, but all we will be doing is putting on a show for the girls. I doubt that there will be any sex for a while if ever. I don't know if I can bring myself to touch you."

"It will happen Rob. I love you and I know that deep inside you still care for me. I'll bring it out Rob."

"There is more for you to consider. Are you ready to try and handle two grown girls? Two girls who are going to resent you for taking what they hoped would be theirs? Two girls who are not going to be happy with an adult female filling their recently departed mother's slot in the house?"

"I can handle it Rob. I can and will do anything I have to do to get you back."

"You have a long hard road ahead of you Audrey and the one thing that you need to know going in is that if you and the girls can't get along you will be the one leaving, not them. I promised Kari I would take care of them and I will. I don't know that I will ever get to the point where I trust you again, but if you want the shot I'll give it to you."

"I want it Rob and I promise you that you will never be sorry."

"I guess we will find out. When do you want to move back in?"

"Now. I'll start moving my things as soon as we leave here."

"No Audrey. I have to talk with Bev and Barb first. Nothing they will say will change anything, but I do owe them advanced notice. You can move back in tomorrow."

Tears were running down her cheeks as she said, "Thank you Rob, thank you."

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Driving home I wondered if it would work. God knew that I still had strong feelings for Audrey. There was a fine line between love and hate and on any given day I could be found on one side of that line or the other. Before Kari moved into my bedroom I'd wake up missing Audrey and wishing that she was there in the bed beside me and then I would remember just why she wasn't there and I'd cross over to the other side of the line. Even after Kari became my full time bed buddy I'd think of Audrey during the day at work and wonder where she was and what she was doing and then I'd remember what she'd done and be back on the bad side of the line.

Would it work? I had no idea, but I hoped that it would, at least long enough for the girls to find steady boyfriends. They dated a lot, but neither one of them had come up with a special guy.

When I walked into the house I heard Bev on the phone. "I don't know? I'll have to ask my dad." That stopped me dead in my tracks. It was the first time I had heard either of them refer to me as "dad" and it suddenly occurred to me just how much trust Kari had in me when she made me promise to take care of her girls. It was a pretty humbling experience.

"I'm home" I called out as I closed the door behind me. Dinner was ready and as we sat down to eat I wondered if I would still be called dad after I had talked with them. I knew that I couldn't put it off so as soon as we finished dinner I said:

"We need to talk."

"About what?" asked Barb.

"About what is going to happen around here. As you both know your mother and I had an arrangement. What you don't know" I lied "is that the arrangement was about to change. Your mother was in the process of moving back into her room when the bad shit happened."

"Why?" asked Bev, "Why would she do that? She was happy with things the way they were."

I kept the lie going. "Your mother knew that what we had was never going to be long term. She knew that I was still in love with my wife. She never understood why especially knowing what Audrey had done to me, but she did know that I was still in love with Audrey. Audrey and I have been talking and trying to work things out and we decided to get back together and see if we could make things work. Your mother was moving so Audrey could move back in. Because of what happened we put off Audrey's move to let things settle down a bit around here. I wanted to give you a little advance notice and that is why I brought it up tonight. Audrey will be moving back in tomorrow."

"How could you" Bev cried, "Didn't mom mean anything to you at all?"

"Your mother meant a great deal to me honey, but your mother didn't love me and I didn't love her. It is like I said, we had an arrangement. You never knew, at least I don't think you did, but that arrangement came about because of you."

I told them about their mother overhearing their plans for me and how she decided that the only way to prevent it from happening was to get to me first. "So it started out as just a way to keep you two away from me. Over time we developed feelings for each other, but those feelings were never more than a strong affection for each other. We were very good friends, friends with benefits as it were, but still just friends."

"What about us" Barb wanted to know.

"Nothing changes as far as you two are concerned. Your mother gave you to me and I promised her that I would take care of you. You are mine now. Audrey is not coming here to be a replacement mother for you. I am hoping that you will be able to get along and in time become friends, but if it doesn't happen it doesn't happen. But you need to know that this is your home and that is not going to change. You are my girls now and that is the bottom line."

Both girls looked at me and then Barb showed that she me that she had a little more savvy than I had given her credit for.

"Is this you getting together with your wife to try and put things back together or is this just another arrangement being put in place to keep Bev and me out of your bedroom. Be honest with us here daddy. If this is just a way to hold us at bay and you really don't want to do it say so. I will promise to behave and leave you be rather than see you do something that you really don't want to do."

"Me too daddy" Bev said, "Please don't do it if you really don't want to."

Well, there it was. My way out. I knew that if the twins promised me something that they would follow through on it. The problem was the timing. If I would have had the conversation with them the night before -- after I'd set the time to meet Audrey, but before meeting her -- things might have gone differently because I would have had their promise, but I didn't have the talk and so I didn't have the promise when Audrey and I had our sit down. What I did have was that Kari and her friend Matty had told me that Audrey had never engaged in sex when she spent her time running around with Anna and the Diablos and Audrey had volunteered to take a lie detector test on the subject. I pretty much accepted that she hadn't cheated on me before leaving me. After? Who knows?

Audrey was a healthy woman and with a healthy woman's sexual appetite. Since I wouldn't let her come back I really couldn't blame her if she found someone to scratch her itch especially since I was busy letting Kari scratch mine. The fact was that I was ready to let Audrey come home. I was ready to try and put things back together. Would it help where Bev and Barb were concerned? Probably, but I did have to admit to myself that I did want to try it again with Audrey.

I looked from Bev to Barb and asked, "When did you start calling me daddy?"

"Months and months ago" Bev said. "We always referred to you as dad when we talked to mom and our friends. We never said it to you because we didn't know if you would like it."

"Thank you both. I'm honored that you think so well of me. Now to answer your question. I am taking Audrey back because I want to see if we can put our marriage back together. In fact it was your mom that helped convince me that Audrey never cheated on me and my thinking that she had cheated was the big reason that kept us from getting back together."

Of course they didn't know and I was never going to let them know that my getting back with Audrey had indeed started out to be an arrangement to protect me from them.

"Okay daddy" Bev said, "If you are sure that is what you want to do we will try to like her, but it will be hard."

"Why?"

"Oh come on dad" Bev said, "You know we both still want to climb in your bed and your wife will be it the way."

"Why won't the two of you accept that it is never going to happen?"

Barb chuckled and said, "Never is a long time daddy and over time things can change."

"Well little girl, one thing that hasn't changed is that dinner clean-up is still your job so get to it."

I didn't get much sleep that night. In my mind was the thought that the twins knew Audrey would be moving back in the next day and they might see that since I would be alone that night it might be a good time to take a shot at me. I remembered their plan that had brought the mother into my bed and every little noise had me looking at the bedroom door, but morning came without my having to fight them off.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x
When I got home from work that night I found that Audrey had taken a day off from work and had used that day to move back into the house. She and the girls were in the kitchen making dinner and since they weren't scowling at each other I assumed that things were so far okay. Barb said:

"Dinner will be ready in about five minutes daddy" and I saw Audrey give a quick glance Barb's way. I would bet that that "daddy" was Barb's way of letting Audrey know that she was staking a claim to part of me and letting Audrey know that there was a strong relationship there that Audrey wasn't going to be allowed to mess with.

Dinner conversation was mostly Audrey and the girls getting to know each other. Audrey wanted to know about what they liked in school, did they have boyfriends, what they wanted to do when they got out of school and other stuff like that. The twins wanted to know about Audrey and in the process I found out about things that I hadn't known. Before the split Audrey had worked part time in a clothing store, but while she was gone she had taken classes at the community college and had gotten a full time job as a legal secretary and was still taking classes to become a paralegal. The three women seemed to like each other enough to get along and that is all I cared about.

The girls were off doing there homework and Audrey and I were sitting on the couch in the living room when she said:

"Daddy? They call you daddy?"

"I had no say in the matter Aud. It is what they decided they wanted to call me."

"Still, I have a hard time seeing you as a daddy."

"It is just a term of affection Aud, not a description of what or who I am. According to what Kari once told me they have always wanted a father figure in their lives and I guess they decided that it was going to be me."

"I think I like them Rob and I hope they like me."

That night when we went to bed I was wearing pajamas. Since I usually sleep naked it was my way of letting Audrey know that there was not going to be any sex. When she got in bed she moved over to snuggle up to me and I moved away from her. She rolled over on her side and we both went to sleep.

I woke up with a hot mouth on my dick and in my half asleep half awake state I thought it was Kari, but then I remembered that she was gone and I thought it must be that Bev or Barb had come into the room. I was all set to panic when I remembered that Audrey was there. By the time I had worked it all out in my head Audrey had impaled herself on my cock and was riding me. I tensed and Audrey hissed:

"Don't even think about it. Try to push me away and I'll sink my nails so deep into you I'll tear chunks out of you as you push me off."

She needn't have bothered with the threat because by then the little head had taken control away from the big head.

"It has been too damned long for me baby. Tomorrow we can make love, but tonight we fuck."

And we did. Three times and Audrey wanted a fourth, but I could not get it back up. She tried though. She spent twenty minutes on me with her mouth, but it just would not get up to play. Finally she looked down at me and said:

"You bastard! You were fucking Kari weren't you?

I just shrugged and she went on, "No way you could have lasted as long as you did if you had gone without since I've been gone."

Again all I could do was shrug.

"Not fair. If Kari would have been honest with me I might have been able to play a little too and I wouldn't have suffered so much. Not fair at all."

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Over the next month Audrey did her best to try and make up for lost time. It was two and sometimes three times a night every night and I went to work in the morning exhausted. Finally she must have figured that she had caught up enough to back off a bit. The love making slacked off to three or four times a week and usually only one time a night.

Audrey and the twins had settled into a sisterly type relationship with Audrey being the big sister. They went shopping for clothes together and Audrey took them to the beauty parlor she went to. It was the twin's first visit to a hair dresser and they couldn't wait to get home and show me their new hair style. Yes, style, not styles. They were still doing the twin thing and trying to stay alike.

It was coming up and the twin's eighteenth birthday and graduation was going to be the same week. The girls had earned some scholarships and they both planned on attending the community college to work on nursing degrees. Audrey was still taking evening classes three nights a week to get what she needed to become a paralegal and the girls were pumping her about what college was like. Audrey tried to talk them into attending a regular school for nursing, but the girls insisted on going the community college route. It seemed to upset Audrey, but I didn't think anything of it at the time.

Because Bev and Barb's birthday and graduation fell in the same week Audrey decided to throw them a combination birthday and graduation party. The house was full of kids and I was kept busy making sure that nothing happened that would get the police or other parents involved. Twice I caught kids sneaking away to drink from a bottle that they had stashed and once I had to chase a couple out of one of the bedrooms, but all in all it was a good party.

Audrey and I were in the kitchen cleaning up and Barb came in to help. "Where's Bev" I asked.

"She and Marv are on the swing in the back yard necking. I don't know what she sees in him; he is such a twit."

Audrey giggled and said, "Twits need loving too."

"She probably thinks the same about Randy" I said.

"Oh puleease" Barb snorted, "Randy is just a date and I don't have any interest in him."

"Is that why you sat in his car steaming up the windows when he brought you home last night?"

"I didn't say that I didn't like him, just that he is nobody special."

"Right!" Audrey and I said almost in unison.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

The twins got jobs for the summer, the months flew by and suddenly the girls were off to college. Before the month was out Bev had come up with a steady boyfriend and for the first time since I met them they were spending much more time apart than had been the norm. Barb seemed content to play the field.

Audrey was working hard at trying to prove to me that I was the love of her life, but as I told her before she ever moved back in that getting my trust back was going to be a hard thing for her to do. I watched her for any sign that all wasn't as it should be. She had evening classes on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday and one Wednesday I actually parked down the street from where she worked and followed her to see where she went after work. She drove to the college, got out of her car with a book bag and walked into one of the buildings.

The holidays came around and with them the usual parties. Audrey and I had a good time at my company Christmas party, but I couldn't say the same for hers. I got the definite impression from the people she worked with that as a production line supervisor I was beneath them and when Audrey introduced me to the lawyer whose secretary she was I took an instant dislike to the man. I can't explain why, but I did not like him. Maybe it was the way he looked at me or maybe it was his hand shake, but I knew right away that I didn't like and would never like Mark Hathaway. I did my best to be sociable for Audrey's sake, but I was more than happy to say goodnight to the whole bunch when the party broke up.

Christmas Eve at the dinner table Bev asked, "Does anybody notice anything different?" as she patted her hair with her left hand. I didn't catch it, but Audrey did and shortly after Audrey said, "Oh my God" Barb squealed "When?"

"Yesterday" Bev said as she stuck her hand out to show off the engagement ring. "Benny proposed last night when he brought me home. We aren't going to get married until I get my degree, but Benny said he had to ask now before someone else beat him to it."

Then Barb and Audrey started with the questions. "Did he go down on his knee?" "What did he say?" "Were you surprised" and on and on. I got up and left the three of them there yakking away.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

It was a Wednesday in February -- the day before Valentines Day - and Bev was out somewhere with Benny and Audrey was at her Wednesday night class. Barb and I were home alone.

"Can I ask you something personal dad?"

"Sure you can sweetie, but I may not answer you."

"Is everything okay between you and Audrey?"

"As far as I know. Why do you ask?"

"Just curious."

"Bullshit baby girl. You don't do anything for no reason. What prompted that question?"

"I'm sorry I asked. It isn't any of my business anyway"

"But you did ask Barb, so give."

"It is just that Audrey is supposed to be taking evening classes like I am, but I never see her there and the place isn't so big that we shouldn't run into each other every once in a while."

"I don't know why you never see each other, but to answer your question everything id fine with us."

At least I thought it was, but was it?

Thursday I was parked down the street from the law offices of Bingham, Bingham and Hathaway when Audrey came out the front door on the arm of Mark Hathaway. The got into his Cadillac Escalade and drove off with me following. They drove to a gated community out near the country club. I had no way to follow them inside so I parked where I could watch the gate. Three hours later the Escalade came out and I followed it back to the BB and H employee lot. Audrey got out of the car, leaned back inside and gave Hathaway a kiss and then walked to her car.

I shot home and was there sitting on the couch watching TV when she got home. She breezed in, kissed me and told me that it had been a rough day at work followed by a bad night at school because one of her instructors had picked the paper she had just turned in to pieces.

"I'm going to go soak in the tub and then we can go to bed and you can console me. Sound like a plan?"

I wasn't quite ready to confront her so I just smiled and said, "You bet." I managed to get through the weekend without strangling her and Monday I followed her and Hathaway again. Wednesday she did actually go to school, but Thursday it was back to the gated community again. I knew all I needed to know so I drove on home and began to make plans.

Audrey was history and that was a given, but I needed a way to get back at Hathaway so I was stuck with pretending that all was well with Audrey and me until I could come up with a plan. Over the next two weeks I came up with a dozen plans, but every one of them turned out to have a glitch. I could have just caught Hathaway alone somewhere and stomped the fuck out of him, but that isn't what I wanted. I wanted to ruin him. I wanted to sue him for alienation of affections and smear his reputation as a lawyer. Maybe do a good enough job that his partners would kick him out of the firm. To get what I needed though I needed a way to get into his gated community so I could peek in his windows and take photos or kick down his door and get pictures of Audrey and him doing the dirty.

I made an appointment with a private detective and he told me that there wasn't any way that I could get what I really needed. He said he could arrange to be inside the gate when Hathaway and Audrey got there and take pictures of Audrey going inside the town home, but those pictures would prove nothing other than Audrey had visited. Even if he could get inside Hathaway's place and plant video cameras and recording devices their product would be inadmissible as evidence because they would have been illegally obtained. His advice to me was to suck it up, sue using Irreconcilable Differences and be done with it.

I was sitting o0n the couch with a beer in my hand and staring at the wall trying to think of some way to fuck Hathaway when Audrey came into the room and sat down beside me.

"Where are you right now?"

"What?"

"You have been distant lately and here you are sitting and staring at the wall. So where are you right now? Where is tour head?"

I didn't say anything, just looked at her and she reached over and touched me.

"You know don't you?"

I looked at her and nodded my head yes.

"The girls are going on a ski trip with some friends this weekend and I was going to tell you then while we were alone, but I guess now is as good a time as any. I love you Rob, I really and truly do, but it isn't working out. It isn't your fault. I am the one who made it so you would never trust me again and the ironic part is that even though I never did what made you distrust me in the first place you were right in not trusting me when I came back.

"I really did want to put us back together and I have tried my damndest since I've been back, but it hasn't gotten me anywhere and I've come to realize that it never will. We have sex, but you have never really made love to me since I've been back and we don't snuggle and cuddle like we used to. You barely show me any affection at all. In a way you are to blame for what has been going on because you are the one who kept pounding it home that you doubted that we would ever make it. I came home with high hopes, but in the back of my mind I always doubted that you would ever accept me again. I convinced myself that the only reason you let me come back was so that I could be your protection against the girls.

"I lied and I am sure that you know I did when I said I had never had sex while we were apart. I never did before I left, but I couldn't go without forever and I started an affair with Mark about three months after I started working for the firm. It was supposed to be just a friends with benefits kind of thing at first. I told him up front that I still loved you and intended to get back with you somehow. He accepted that and even tried to help. He was the one who suggested the trial separation to force counseling, but we know how that turned out. Over the course of our friends with benefits relationship Mark fell in love with me. I liked him, I liked him a lot, but my level of affection for him wasn't anywhere close to how I felt about you. I made it plain to Mark that you were my guy and he loved me enough to want to see me happy so he accepted that I was always going to want you first and he accepted what little I would give him.

"Then we talked and you agreed to let me come home and that is where I failed you. No matter how much I loved you, no matter how bad I wanted it to work out I didn't think that it would because of your constantly telling me how hard it would be for you to ever trust me again and so I hung onto Mark as my security blanket and I would meet him once a week or so to keep him interested in me. I really did have classes on the nights I said I did, but six weeks ago I tested out of my Monday and Thursday classes. This last month I finally accepted that you and I were never going to be any more than friendly roommates and friendly roommates just isn't enough for me Rob. I love you too much to just settle for that. I started spending my now freed up Mondays and Thursdays with Mark and thinking about what I should do. I decided to do both of us a favor and end it.

"I'm going to file for divorce using Irreconcilable Differences and Mark is going to handle it for me. I won't be asking for anything except the end of the marriage. After a suitable length of time I will most likely marry Mark. I know I will never love him as deeply as I've loved you, but at least he wants me. All of me. I'm sorry it didn't work out Rob. God knows I would have given anything to make it work, but I guess some things are just not to be."

She leaned over, kissed me and said, "I'll sleep in the spare bedroom tonight and move out while you are at work tomorrow."

She got up and left the room, but paused at the stairs and said, "Don't ever doubt it Rob; I do love you" and then she went up the stairs and she was gone when I got home from work the next day.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

It happened just as she said. I was served and she asked for nothing. I didn't even have to get an attorney; all I had to do was sign the papers and send them back. That's all, just sign them and send them back, but for some strange reason I didn't do it. I tossed the papers on the desk in the den and left them lie there.

For the next week the twins tried to cheer me up telling me that it was all for the best, that it was obvious that it was never going to work out, that it was never meant to be and other such platitudes. One night I woke up as someone climbed into bed with me and Barb's voice said:

"Relax daddy. Your pee-pee is safe. I just thought you needed someone to hold you and I appointed myself as the holder."

We fell asleep in each other's arms. The next night it was Bev and the night after that it was Barb again. For the next week the girls rotated and surprisingly enough they behaved.

Until one Monday morning.

I woke up with Barb's hand on my cock. I went to push it away, but she held on to it.

"I told you the other night that your pee-pee was safe, but I had to let you know that I still want it. I'm over eighteen daddy and I'm totally legal and I dearly want what I have in my hand, but you have to be the one to make it happen. There won't be any sneak attacks from me. No ropes around the chair; no waking you up with blow jobs in the middle of the night. I'm yours if you want me, but you will have to be the one to make it happen."

She let go of my cock, kissed me and then said, "I've got an eight o'clock this morning and I'm going to have to hurry to make it" and she got up and left the room leaving me with a seriously hard dick.

Barb and Bev were indeed both legal and they had both wanted to be in my bed. I didn't know about Bev now that she was engaged to Benny, but it was obvious that Barb was ready.

One thing I had never done was lie to myself. I had lusted after both of the girls since the day that Kari had brought them to the house. It was only my determination not to go to jail as a child molester that had kept me away from them. That fear was now gone, but something else had taken its place. That night when Barb came home I told her flat out that what she wanted could never be.

"You are legal sweetie and I will admit that I have always wanted you, but there is something in the way. Even though there are no blood ties between us you are my daughter. Your mother with her dying breath entrusted you to me. I promised her that I would take care of you and I was aware that what she was asking of me was that I keep you safe. To me that meant safe from all harm and safe from what your mother feared most and that was that you and I or Bev and I would have sex. Your mom was so dead set against that ever happening that she put herself in my bed to keep you out of it. I will not betray your mother's trust. You are my girl, my baby, my daughter and as such I will never touch you in the way you want. I will love you and cherish you as a father should and that will have to be enough for you."

Tears started flowing and she cried out, "That's just not fair" as she ran from the room. As I watched her go I thought, "Maybe not fair baby girl, but it is what's right."

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Audrey was surprised when she came out of the offices of BB and H with Hathaway to find me sitting on the sidewalk on a folding chair. I pointed to the other folding chair and said "sit!" She looked from me to Mark and then back at me and then she sat down. I handed her the divorce papers and said:

"If you look you will see that they are not signed. Before you ask me why I have a few things to say. I cheated you when I told you that you could come back and try to put things back together. I let you come back and all the while in the back of my mind I had the thought that it was never going to happen. I had already made up my mind that you were going to leave me again in your search for fun and excitement and why wouldn't you? I was an unexciting stick in the mud and I knew it and I also knew that was who I was and that I wasn't going to change. So not really believing we had a chance I didn't try. I went through the motions with one eye on the calendar trying to pick out the day, week or month when it would happen. What is so stupid about it is that I really did want it to work. I did want us to put things back together.
"Everyone knows that the brain needs oxygen to function properly, but I had my head so far up my ass where you were concerned that my brain wasn't getting any oxygen. When Barb tipped me to the fact that you weren't at school on Mondays and Thursdays I followed you and saw where you went. I remembered back to when you first came home how upset you seemed to get when the girls said no to a regular nursing school and insisted on going the community college route and I figured that it was because you were afraid they would find out that you didn't really take classes and they would tell me. Following you to Hathaway's told me that you had been fucking him all along. That made me believe that along with my not believing we could make it you weren't even intending to try. You were playing some kind of game. Setting me up so you could leave me in some nasty way to get even with me for tossing you out. Why else would you be wasting your time with me and spending your evenings with your boyfriend here?"

Hathaway gave me a nasty look and Audrey started to say something, but I held up my hand to cut her off.

"Let me finish and then you can have your say. On your last day you said that you would have given anything to make it work. The sad thing is that even though I wanted it to work I gave nothing. So here it is Audrey. I am willing to give everything and do anything to try and make it work. I have no way of knowing if you still feel that way. You have the divorce papers in your hand. Take them with you and think about them. If they show up in my mailbox in a day or so I will sign them and send them back."

I stood up and turned to go. I hadn't taken three steps when Audrey called my name. I turned and she held the divorce papers up in front of her and tore them in half, dropped them on the ground and then ran to me. As I held her Hathaway walked up and said:

"If you hurt her you will answer to me."

I looked at him for a couple of seconds and then I smiled and said, "I could almost learn to like you."