Forbidden Fruit: Volume 1 (3 page)

First Day

I’m an eighteen year old guy.  I’m going to college and majoring in sex and beer. Well, not really but pretty close.  I don’t see four o’clock a.m. unless I’ve not been to bed yet.  Even then I see it while I’m sitting at an all-night diner eating biscuits and gravy with a side of chef salad with ranch dressing. It’s good…everyone should try the combination…anyway, when the alarm started blaring I didn’t know what the fuck was happening.  It sounded like the whole house was going off.  I had no idea what kind of fucking alarm clock Mrs. Mason had but it scared the living shit out of me.  I fell flat out of bed onto the floor clutching my blanket like a little kid.

That’s how she found me.  Wrapped up in the blanket rubbing my head. As I lay on the floor I looked up at her and through the ever so tiny slits in my eyes saw what could only be described as an angel.  I swear to God I could see the halo hanging perfectly over her beautiful blonde head.

She was wearing tiny pink running shorts, a black tank top, and sneakers.  Her hair was still wet and hanging down her back.  She must’ve been cold because her nipples were hard as little rocks under her shirt.  So fucking hot.  Apparently, my “little buddy” was enjoying the show, because my dick was so damn hard it could cut glass. I was doing everything I could to make sure she wouldn’t see my morning wood poking through the blanket.

This wasn’t my fault.  Mrs. Mason was gorgeous.  She was a SMILF - Step Mom I’d Love to Fuck.  But I wouldn’t do that to Jason.  I couldn’t even imagine how awkward that would be.  I sure as hell could never go home with him again.  On the other hand, it just might be worth it though.  It was going to take all of my willpower to not fuck the shit out of my best friend’s stepmom.

“Wake up sleepyhead, haul your hiney outta bed.  Or in your case, off the floor,” she chuckled.

“It’s a little early for me,” I joked, still trying to maneuver my body so she wouldn’t see how she was turning me on.

“Early?  Nah.  It’s actually late.  I’ve already been out for a run and by now we should be out in the barn getting some work done.  I don’t need to give them anymore reason to hate me.” She walked over to the dresser and threw a t-shirt at me.   “Get up.  I’ll make some coffee and how about some oatmeal and toast?”

“Not a huge fan of oatmeal.  Maybe just some coffee,” I grumbled as I climbed up off of the floor. “Actually, I’m gonna need lots of caffeine.  Better make me a whole pot.”

“Oatmeal is a great breakfast option.  It sticks to the ribs.  You’re gonna need nourishment if you’re gonna help Gabe build fence all day.”

“Gabe?  As in, Mr. Friendly?” I asked.

“Yep, sorry.  You’re stuck with him for the day.  That fence has to be replaced ASAP. So you’re all his,” she laughed.

“That’s just plain ass mean, Mrs. Mason.”

“I told you to call me AnaBelle.”

“I know, Mrs. Mason,” I smiled and made a mental note to get up early tomorrow and go for a run.

AnaBelle

I spent the entire morning in my office working on the books.  The farm made its own way, thank god. To say the staff and I didn’t get along would be a major understatement.  They knew I didn’t really know what I was doing and they took it out on me a lot.  That’s one of the reasons that I’d asked Jason to come home for the summer.  They all loved and respected him.  He was a mini-Jefferson and they would listen to him.  Me – not so much.

Nobody in Duncan took me seriously, so why should I expect my employees to?  Gabe was the worst.  He was the sour apple of the bunch.  If anyone had liked me, he would’ve made sure they didn’t.  He and Jefferson were really close before I came around.  Once we were married, Jeff didn’t spend as much time with Gabe anymore.  They had been friends since high school and Gabe had helped make Mason Farms what it had grown to be.  Why he couldn’t help me out now that Jefferson was gone was beyond me.  You would think he would want me to do a good job, but I believe he really wanted to see me fail.

Everything there made me nervous now.  Before the accident I didn’t have much to do with farm stuff. I helped out around the barn, but I wasn’t responsible for the farm.  It was all so different now.  Everything was placed on my shoulders, and sometimes the burden was a little too much to bear.

A knock at the door brought me out of my daze.  Gabe walked in carrying some receipts in his hand.  He tossed them on my desk and turned abruptly, practically running out of my office.  The door slammed behind him.

What the hell had I done to piss him off so bad?  He hated me and for what reason?  Because I took his Jefferson away?  Bullshit.  Jefferson loved me.  Gabe chose to be different after we got married, not me and not Jefferson.

I checked out the receipts and then slipped them into the drawer.  I’d take care of them at the middle of the month.  That’s when I tried to pay all of the small bills.  All of the big ones were taken care of at the beginning of the month.  I was doing this…maybe not well, but I was taking care of business.

“Mrs. Mason?” Tray asked as he stepped into my office.

“Yes, Tray.  Can I help you with something?”

“Gabe asked me not to help him today.  Asshole said he’d take care of the fence himself.  So I was wondering what you would like for me to work on?”

“I don’t understand that man most days.  Why don’t you go check with Matt and Mark?  They can show you what needs to be done every afternoon.” I looked down at the clock on my desk and noticed it was lunch time. “Have you eaten yet?”

“I grabbed some peanuts from the kitchen,” he replied.

“Peanuts don’t constitute lunch.  I need to run into town and pick up some groceries, wanna go with me?  We can grab a bite to eat at Millie’s Diner and then you can pick out some snacks at the store.  I want to get stuff you like, since you’re here to help me out.”

“Does this diner serve big, juicy cheeseburgers?” he asked wiggling his eyebrow at me.

“I believe it does, Mr. Thompson,” I laughed.

“Then what’re we waiting for?  Let’s go.”

Millie’s Diner was pretty small, but you could always count on it being packed at breakfast and lunch time.  They didn’t serve dinner, because they didn’t need to.  People around here cooked dinner every night, but the hard working men needed a hearty breakfast and lunch to hold them over until their wives made them a big ole meal later on.

When we pulled in and parked we took up the last parking space.  As expected, the place was packed.  We got inside and took the last table in the back.  Everyone was staring at us.  I could already hear the rumor mill turning:

Jefferson Mason’s widow seen with boy young enough to be her son.

Yep, that was me.  Cradle robber extraordinaire.  Just call me
Mrs. Robinson.

Tray slid into the booth in front of me.   He picked up a menu and peered over the top at me.

“Everything okay?” he inquired.

Slowly I took a look around the diner and when my eyes met his, I asked, “Don’t you see? Can’t you hear them?”

Leaning in, he asked, “See what?” He looked all around and said, “I don’t hear anything.  What am I missing?”

Maybe I was imagining it.  I guess it was possible that they weren’t all whispering about me, but not really plausible.  I knew they all talked about me.  I’d heard it at the grocery store, feed store, church, and even in this very diner.  Why wouldn’t I think they were talking about me now?

“Never mind.  I’m probably being paranoid. Ignore me,” I muttered just as the waitress made her way to our table.

She was a young thing and she couldn’t take her eyes off of Tray.  He was definitely worth looking at.  Damn, he made my mouth water, I couldn’t imagine what he’d do to a girl his own age.  Well, I didn’t have to imagine it, all I had to do was look up at the waitress.  She was practically batting her eyelashes at him.  Twisting her long ponytail and slowly running her tongue over her bottom lip.  She wanted him and he acted like he couldn’t care less.  What the hell was wrong with him?  She was flirting and he was reading the menu, only looking up at her when he placed his order for a double bacon cheeseburger, onion rings, and a large coke.

The waitress cleared her throat before she asked, “Did you want something, ma’am?”

Ma’am?

I fucking hated being called ma’am.  That was the epitome of old lady.  I was only forty years old.  I wasn’t anywhere near old yet.

“
Hon,
” I murmured in my most sarcastic tone. “I’ll take the same.  But make my drink a diet coke.” I sat up straight and stuck out my big breasts.  I’d show her who the
ma’am
was. “And thank you so much.”

Tray’s eyes were glued to my breasts when I turned back around.  I could feel the blush creeping up my neck and into my cheeks.  That really wasn’t for him; I just wanted to show the little waitress that I still had it.  Maybe I really did.  Tray seemed to like what he was seeing.

“Mental note: never refer to Mrs. Mason as ma’am.  Unless I want to see her breasts more clearly,” Tray chuckled.

I smirked and shook my head. “So tell me a little about yourself, Tray.  Like why we’ve never met before.  If you and Jason are best friends, how come I didn’t know of you until now?”

Pulling his eyes up from my chest, his gaze caught mine.  Looking a little confused, he asked, “You don’t remember, do you?”

I was racking my brain, but I didn’t know what he was talking about.  As far as I knew, we’d never met. “I’m sorry.  Remember what?”

“You don’t remember us meeting?” he asked.

“We hadn’t met before you got here,” I stated.

“At your husband’s funeral.  Jason had me take you home after the service.” He ran his fingers through his hair and turned his head. “You were pretty upset.  I just figured you remembered me.  Makes total sense that you wouldn’t though.”

“Sorry.  I was a total wreck that day.  I don’t remember much about that whole week actually.”

“Don’t worry about it.  We can get to know each other now.  And this way Jason can’t tell you a bunch of crap about me,” he laughed.

“Crap, huh?” I asked.

“Ya you know, crap.  The stuff that two guys know about each other and love to share with others just to make the other guy look bad – crap.”

We both laughed as our waitress set our drinks down in front of us. “Don’t worry,
ma’am.
I made sure yours was a diet.”

Bitch.

“And I’ll make sure your tip is on a
diet
too,” I mumbled under my breath.

“I’ll start us off.  My name is Traydon Michael Thompson.  I’m eighteen years old. I attend Walker University with some no good buddy of mine named Jason.  I’m a glutton for punishment, obviously because I came to work my ass off on a farm for the summer.  Oh, and I killed my dad.  I think that’s about it. Now tell me about you.”

What the hell was that?

“What did you say?” I asked.

“Sorry.  I shouldn’t have called Jason no good.  He’s actually an awesome friend.”

“I think we both know that’s not what I was referring to,” I chastised as I crossed my arms under my breasts.

“Oh, the part about killing my dad?  Is that what you were referring to?” he asked, fidgeting with his straw wrapper.

“Yeah, why don’t you tell me a little more about that? If you want to.”

“Well, here’s the story.  My dad was an asshole.  His favorite pastime was beating the hell out of me and my mom.  One night I came home from a party.  Actually it was the same party where I met Jason for the first time.  Anyway, I was sixteen and I came home and found him on top of my mom.  He had her pinned to the floor and he was raping her.  I couldn’t take it anymore.  I grabbed one of his bowling trophies off of the mantle and hit him over the head with it.”  All life left his eyes at that moment.  The twinkle of a young man’s heart was replaced with the darkness of a man who did what he had to do to protect his mom.  “It wasn’t like I meant for it to happen.  It just did.  The cops ruled it self-defense, because it was.  My mom was in the hospital for a week and I was placed in a facility for a week to monitor my ‘mental faculties’, or at least that’s what the doctor kept telling me.”

“Wow, Tray.  That’s….wow.”

“I’ve scared a lot of people off with that story, but I think it’s better to just spit it out instead of keeping it all in, ya know?  People can get scared of me or act like I’m some crazed murderer. I don’t really care anymore.  It was something that happened.  Did I plan to go home that night and kill my dad?  Hell no.  But he was hurting my mom and he had to be stopped.  What’s done is done and I’ve moved on from it.  I had to before he took me down with him.”

The waitress picked that moment to bring us our food.  Tray grabbed an onion ring and popped the whole thing into his mouth.

“Holy hell! These things are hot as hell, but they’re damn tasty.” He took a big drink of his coke and wiped his mouth with his napkin. “Did I scare you, Mrs. Mason?”

“No Tray.  You didn’t scare me at all.  It’s too bad that you have to live with that memory every day of your life.  I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be.  I survived.  My mom survived.  We are where we always wanted to be – free.  He was a bad man and sometimes they get exactly what they deserve. I did the whole ‘I hate myself. I’m a horrible guy.’ thing. It didn’t do anything but make me a nutcase.  My mom needed me and I needed to grow up and be a man.  Jason had a lot to do with that.  He helped me through all of that shit.  That’s a big part of why I’m here right now.  I’d do anything for him.”