Chapter 40

On a mid-May Friday, my wives boarded the AN-158, insisting that I join them. They wouldn’t tell me where we were going. I still had no idea what was going on when we arrived at the hotel in Lexington, and they had me change into one of my tuxedos. “Will someone please tell me what we’re doing?” I asked.

“You’re making us happy,” Jan replied. Two hours later the women were dressed as stylishly as I was, and we climbed into a waiting party bus.

I finally realized where we were going when the driver turned onto Oak Street. I only knew about the street because my gift of a car and the fund to Mrs. Tucker made her ineligible for federal or state assistance. Ralph called me and warned me, so I deposit $4,000 a month into the account that he set up for them, and I see the address every month. “Cammie?” I asked Jan.

“You’re smarter than you look,” she chuckled, setting off tittering among all my other wives. “Who had ‘right before we reached the apartment?’” she asked the others and Chloe raised her hand.

“You had a betting pool on when I’d figure it out?” I gasped. They had to nod because they were too busy laughing to answer.

“Did anyone remember flowers or a corsage?” I asked.

“The driver has them,” Jan informed me. “He has a bouquet of roses for all three women, and a corsage to match the jade green dress Cammie will be wearing.”

It was probably a good thing that I only had a minute to reminisce about the day we had found and saved Cammie and Kaylynn and the other two girls. On the rare occasion that I think about that day, I’m grateful that the bastard faced jailhouse justice long before his trial, so the sisters didn’t have to relive that year by testifying.

I was relieved to see that the apartments were decent looking, and not some dumpy low-rent public works project. Watching all eighteen women exit the party bus was almost funny. Several people stopped to stare before the women finished unloading. “Wouldn’t it be easier with two limos?” I asked.

“Easier, yes; as much fun, no,” Jan replied as she gave me a quick kiss.

“How did you find her?” I asked.

“We didn’t; she called the house three months ago to thank you for saving them and for supporting them all these years,” Chloe replied.

“How does she know I was the one depositing the money?” I asked.

“We didn’t even know about it,” Jan reminded me. “She said that you were the only person that made sense.”

It could have taken half the night to find a single apartment in this complex. There were twenty-seven buildings and each building had twenty apartments on each of three floors. Fortunately, Jan had directions and five minutes later, I was standing, nervously, in front of the apartment door.

Taking a deep breath, I rang the doorbell. “He’s here!” a young female voice screeched from just inside the door a split second before the door flew open. The sixteen-year-old girl who opened the door was wearing a pair of short shorts and a T-shirt that was too small, showing off her svelte body. She lunged for me and hugged me tightly, then pulled my face down and kissed me, exploring my tonsils with her tongue.

“Hello Kaylynn,” I chuckled, handing her one bouquet of roses when she let me breathe again.

“I go by Katy now,” she replied, still bouncing excitedly.

“Invite them inside,” Mrs. Tucker admonished Katy as she came down the hallway from the back of the apartment. Katy opened the door and motioned us inside.

This time, Mrs. Tucker grabbed me and hugged me, although her kiss was on the cheek. “I can never thank you enough,” she almost sobbed as I handed her the second bouquet of roses. She stepped to the side so we could see Cammie’s grand entrance, and a grand entrance it was. When I first saw her, she was nervously biting her lower lip. I know that my jaw dropped a split second later and Cammie’s face lit up brighter than the Las Vegas Strip on a Friday night.

“Wow!” was about the only response that my mind could process. Her red hair almost glowed. Her face was stunningly beautiful and splashed with abundant freckles that covered every inch of the cleavage she was exhibiting. The dress accented her slender figure and the slit up the side showed off her long, muscular legs. The jade green color accented her green eyes.

Jan reached over, grinning, and closed my mouth. “He’s a bit uncouth, but we still love him,” she teased as she handed me Cammie’s corsage. Suddenly, I felt like I was back in junior high school again. I knew how to pin the corsage on, but the dress Cammie was wearing would require me to slip my fingers inside the bodice to keep from sticking her with the pin. As low cut as it was, there was no way to avoid touching her breast.

“I know that you can pin on a corsage because you did it with me in high school,” Jan teased me eliciting a chorus of giggles behind me and making both Cammie and me blush.

“Sorry,” I whispered as I carefully slid two fingers inside the bodice of her dress.

“I’m not,” she whispered in a sultry voice. “Do they look any different this time?” she whispered as she leaned back just slightly, leaving a big enough gap that I caught a tantalizing glimpse. I know my face had to be bright red and I was worried that it might spontaneously combust while the giggles behind me grew louder. Somehow, I managed to pin the corsage on without drawing blood. As I was finishing, she hugged me and pulled my face down for a kiss, all while my fingers were still inside of her dress although I managed to extract them while she was trying to one-up Katy’s kiss.

They spent what felt like an hour taking pictures. Some were pictures of Cammie and me with my wives surrounding us. Others were just Cammie and me. Several were of me with all three beautiful Tucker women.

When we were finally ready to leave, I offered my arm to Cammie. She took it and gave her mother and sister a one-arm hug. I swear that I heard her mother whisper, “See you Monday.”

Our next stop was a fancy downtown restaurant where Jan had reserved enough tables to hold everyone. The staff had the tables pushed together for us. Everyone gawked as we walked in--a lone male with nineteen gorgeous women, three of whom were obviously pregnant. I could tell when Cammie saw several students from her school, as she stood a little taller and leaned against me a little more.

I made sure to seat each of the women with Jan and Cammie each on one side of me. Jan stopped me before I sat down and handed me one of the Lucky J necklaces, nodding to Cammie. Cammie’s eyes got huge when she saw it. “Are those real?” she asked about all the diamonds on the necklace.

“Every single one is flawless,” Jan said proudly.

I noticed that the eyes of every other student having their pre-prom dinner here were riveted on Cammie as I fastened the necklace.

I have to admit, Cammie definitely was not shy or quiet. She spent most of dinner talking to my wives and me. She asked about what I was doing and what my wives were doing. She also told us about her high school years.

I had a feeling that my wives had timed our arrival at Cammie’s house to ensure that we started dinner after the other prom goers. Naturally, our late arrival meant that almost everyone else was already at the dance when we arrived. Those who were still outside when we got there gawked at the nineteen women exiting the festively decorated party bus.

We walked towards the gym with Cammie on my arm and my wives following us, chattering excitedly. When we got to the door, I took the woman who was supervising aside. “I’m a U.S. Deputy Marshall,” I told her, showing her my badge and ID, “and I’m required to carry my gun with me at all times,” I explained.

“Your wife warned us when she paid for the tickets,” she replied. “We verified it with the local U.S. Marshals office, and they confirmed it. I think that what you’re doing for Cammie is wonderful,” she said emotionally.

I thanked her, not sure what else to say in reply. The dance was interesting. Since I didn’t know any students besides Cammie, I didn’t have much to talk with them about. It also reminded me that I had skipped my own senior prom because Jan was gone. Still, I was busy dancing. I danced with Cammie, and then one of my wives. In between, Cammie introduced me to her two best friends and asked me to dance with each of them. The important thing was that Cammie had a good time. By the time the dance was over, I almost had to tether her because she was practically floating.

“Aren’t we going the wrong way?” I asked when we left on the party bus, and it headed for the airport instead of Cammie’s house.

“No, Cammie’s spending the weekend with us,” Jan replied matter-of-factly.

I almost protested but saw the worried look on Cammie’s face. “Does her mother know?” I asked, and then remembered the whispered comment I had overheard.

“She knows, and even faxed us a notarized permission slip to get her medical care if we need to,” Jan said.

When I didn’t protest, not that it would have done much good since my wives were all in on it, Cammie and Jan snuggled even closer to me. The trip to the airport took half an hour and the girls kept up their excited chatter all the way, Cammie included. I stayed out of it and just listened, learning several things that I hadn’t known.

“You have your own plane?” Cammie gasped when the party bus pulled up next to the AN-158. She was looking at the Lucky J logo on the plane’s tail.

“We have eight jets and God knows how many helicopters,” Holly replied.

“Why so many jets?” Cammie asked me.

“I have three employees who do special work for the government and frequently have to fly all over the world,” I replied.

“He was doing some of that work when he flew into Riyadh and warned us about a terrorist attack. That’s why my grandfather offered me in marriage,” Faizah interjected.

“He and his employees sometimes use one to fly to Cuba, too,” Ashley added.

“I think it’s neat that you’re helping the people of Cuba,” Cammie said.

“Once our government agreed, it gave me a chance to help even more people,” I replied.

“We already have more than seven hundred people working at the ranch here, and most have families. Many were unemployed, homeless, or migrant workers before,” Stella said proudly.

Cammie walked towards the tail of the plane and took a selfie (in the near darkness) of herself by the tail of the jet. She also took a selfie by the “Lucky J Ranch” name next to the passenger stairs right behind the cockpit. She gasped when she saw the inside of the plane and took another selfie. “Nobody at school will believe me otherwise,” she explained in response to the questioning looks we gave her.

Even buckled into her seat, Cammie bounced excitedly. “The only time I flew on a plane was when the junior class went to Washington, D.C.,” she explained.

Once we reached cruising altitude, Jan motioned to the bedroom. “I believe that Cammie would like to join the mile-high club,” Jan told me. Cammie’s face showed a mix of uncertainty and lust as she waited to hear my answer.

Instead, I unbuckled, stood, and proffered a hand to her. She practically exploded from her seat, hugging me excitedly. Once the door closed behind us, however, she became nervous again. “I’ve never done anything with a guy since you rescued me,” she admitted.

“You don’t have to do anything now if you’re not sure,” I replied.

“I’m sure that I want to,” she replied. “I just can’t imagine a man as rich and influential as you are, and who already has so many gorgeous wives, being interested in me, especially after what happened to me,” she replied nervously.

“First, you are just as beautiful as the others; you saw my reaction when I first saw you. Second, I hope that I haven’t changed too much from the person I was when I rescued you. Third, ten of the women out there were a similar situation to you. Fourth, the flight home isn’t all that long,” I warned.

At least she laughed.

We were lying together afterwards when Jan knocked on the door. “We’re landing in twenty minutes,” she said loud enough for us to hear through the door.

“You can come in,” Cammie called back, laughing.

“Well?” Jan asked Cammie when she came in. We were both still lying there, uncovered.

“Definitely worth the wait,” Cammie replied.

“You should get dressed or you’ll be meeting the rest of Jim’s family in the buff,” Jan laughed. Cammie shrieked and jumped up before nonchalantly digging through a bag of clothes that I didn’t even know had been brought aboard the plane, let alone into the room.

Had there been a bell tower at the ranch, it would have begun striking midnight while I was introducing Cammie to my parents. Gratefully, nobody turned into a pumpkin to ruin Cammie’s fairytale night.

Surprisingly, when I was trying to extricate myself without waking anyone in the morning, Cammie woke up and insisted on joining me in the shower. “Jan told me all about your shower,” Cammie said as she led me into the shower. She showed me that the girls had explained what the shower was for besides getting clean.

We ate a quick breakfast where she met Mabel, Twyla, and Olivia. “Where’s Juwanna?” Cammie asked.

“Jim sent her to Cuba to learn how to cook Cuban dishes,” Mabel replied without even the shortest break in mixing up her biscuits. We managed to sneak an early breakfast and then climbed into my pickup truck so I could show her around the ranch like she wanted.

“This is all yours?” she asked an hour later while we wandered through the packing plant for strawberries.

“It keeps me grounded and lets me help families that aren’t afraid of working for a living,” I explained.

“Like in Cuba?” she asked.

“Sort of, but I’m trying to help all the people in Cuba by growing more food,” I replied.

We made it back to the house well before lunch and Jan and the girls claimed Cammie for a while. “That is one very happy young woman,” Mom said as she hugged me, and we watched Cammie and the girls as they poured out of the house giggling about something.

“She and her sister are nothing like the two girls I found that evening,” I sighed. “It’s a miracle that they can even smile, let alone laugh.”

“I’d say that at least one of them can love, too,” Mom said as she kissed me on the cheek.

I headed for my study to catch up on everything and noticed a new land use map on the wall behind Dad’s desk. A new area adjacent to and behind the farms we bought across the creek was highlighted. “Wow, that looks like nearly six thousand more acres.” I thought to myself. The area was an eclectic mix of farms, a dairy, a small cattle ranch, and hilly wooded areas with two small streams and three cattle ponds thrown in for good measure.

“I see that you found our newest addition,” Dad said when he came into the study.

“That’s a lot of new farms,” I replied.

“Only two farms were currently being worked. The dairy was close to folding because he couldn’t make any money; the rancher wanted to retire, and his kids didn’t want any part of it. The other six small farms were empty, and the wooded areas tied them all together. I spoke with Carl from Kroger to see if there was anything we’re not producing that they want. They asked about cheese made from organic milk. The dairy we bought is already organic, but he didn’t have it certified.

“He’s offered to stay and run the dairy if we get him a couple of helpers. With the other properties, we can increase the size of the dairy herd a little at a time until we produce as much milk as we need to meet Kroger’s organic cheese needs. They might even want us to make organic yogurt. They have several flavors now and want to add more, but their current supplier already can’t keep up with the demand.

“I know that we use Jerseys, but he had Holsteins because they give more milk. Holsteins will work fine for cheese, even better than Jerseys. I’m also considering sending our private herd over there to have everything together, although we’ll keep the milk separate. How does that sound?” he asked.

“It sounds reasonable. Will we have enough grass to feed so many dairy cattle? I remember that milk for cheese is best from grass-fed cows. On half of the new land, you can raise five or six hundred cows.”