Chapter 11

We spent a quiet day while Amos and Doris prepared to leave and join us. We had talked on the phone and decided to get away from the group that was trying to take over. They left in the early afternoon and made it to Amelia without incident. It was good to see them and we exchanged hugs all around. After supper, we gathered around the radio to check in and listen to the West Georgia folks net on 3.970. We checked in with Shirley Ames Matthews, who was the net control and the wife of Jack Matthews who was the leader of the group down there.

It was a pleasure to talk to Jack and we were all invited to join them in West Georgia. Jack was cautious like me. He didn't reveal the exact location of his community and I didn't blame him. I told him that we would have to talk it over but would make a decision soon.

After they closed the net, I turned off the radio and said, "Well, what should we plan on doing?"

Jane said, "I would like to go to my farm in western Tennessee. I'm sure Jack and Shirley are great people but there is a place for us there and we can protect it. I am known there. We might go to Georgia later but, first, I want to do that."

Amos said, "Doris and I talked about it on the road here. We will throw in with you and George and abide by your decision. You've done okay so far with the right amount of caution and planning that is needed to survive."

Bethany looked at us and said, "Wherever my uncle and aunt want to go is fine with me as long as they take me with them."

Jane gave her a hug. "You're part of the family."

I said, "Well, it looks like a good time to get out a map."

Jane had a few including an atlas. We marked the route. It would be about seven hundred miles, two days driving without problems. We decided to take three days for the trip by packing in the morning and leaving just after lunch tomorrow. I wanted to arrive in the daytime and we were not in a hurry. We talked the rest of the night about what we would pack, what we would need when we arrived and what we needed to watch for on the trip.

We went shopping for Amos a new vehicle and equipped it with a two-meter radio tuned to a simplex frequency. We had two in my truck; one was set for simplex and the other would scan the two-meter band and the upper area for police and emergency frequencies. It wasn't foolproof but was the best we could do under the circumstances. I would lead with Jane covering the radios and watching the road and Bethany acting as navigator. Amos would drive with Doris covering our rear. We would keep a couple of hundred yards between us for safety. If we stopped, they would hang back in guard position while Jane and I went forward to investigate.

Amos wasn't happy about Jane being with me to investigate until she explained to him that she was a hand-to-hand combat expert and we had agreed that we would never be separated. He accepted that though I could tell he was reluctant. However, he also found that it's hard to argue with Jane when she's looking at you eyeball to eyeball.

We started off late but made Lynchburg before five. I suggested we stop here to give us time to find lodging for the night and to scavenge for food. Jane suggested a hotel with an attached restaurant. We were into Lynchburg when Bethany said, "How about that one?" That one was the Kirkley Hotel. I flipped on the turn signal and went in the parking lot. We pulled up just out of sight of the road and Amos pulled up beside us. Jane and I were already getting out of the truck and I stopped at Amos' truck to tell him to watch the area while we checked out the hotel.

We went inside and found it well lit and empty. Jane said, "This is a nice place Bethany picked out. Let's find a few rooms together and set up shop." We, of course, had our pick and chose rooms over looking the pool. We used a master key card to check out the rooms and found that they were clean and ready for us. We went outside to look at a better place for our trucks and found we were close to a secluded area of the lot as far as being seen from the street. Jane said, "Okay, we'll put us in a room, Amos and Doris in a room and Bethany between us in another."

"Works for me. I noticed there is a restaurant here, too. Hopefully, it has some food for supper and breakfast."

"We'll see. I'll go to the door and you bring the others around in the trucks." That's what I did and we all went inside. Amos, Doris, and Bethany had never stayed in a first class hotel and were impressed. Bethany wanted to go swimming. We put our overnight stuff in our rooms and donned our suits. Jane was wearing her thong. She said, "I bet Amos has never seen one of these in real life." She chuckled.

I said, "I hope you don't embarrass the poor man."

She looked at me grinning evilly and said, "We will get you a Speedo before much longer. I think Bethany and Doris would appreciate that. I would, too."

I just harrumphed.

We went swimming and Bethany wore her almost a thong bikini. Doris wore a more normal bikini and showed a very nice shape for her age. Amos watched them all. I did, too. There wasn't anything else to catch your eye. After swimming, we all dressed and went to the restaurant to check out the food situation. There was an enormous freezer and someone had stocked it. There was fish and meats. We lacked for nothing except fresh vegetables. Amos surprised us by being an able bartender fixing drinks for all of us, even Bethany. I suspected that hers was not strong which turned out to be true when I took a sip. The potatoes were still good and we would have steaks with baked potatoes and French Onion soup for an appetizer. I went into the wine cellar and picked out some great wine to accompany our meal. By the time, we finished eating and had after dinner drinks, none of us were feeling any pain. I was the most sober though that wasn't a recommendation. We stumbled to our rooms. As we entered our room, Jane came after me naked. I realized that she hadn't worn anything under her pants and shirt. That got my libido working and I responded to her happily. We finally wore each other out and were lying together totally relaxed and at peace with the world. We had been lying that way for a while and then I heard a knock on the door.

I looked at Jane and she shrugged. I retrieved my pistol and she went to the door with me. Both of us were naked as jaybirds. She looked through the peephole and whispered, "It's Bethany." I shrugged and she opened the door. "Bethany, is everything okay?"

"Yes, I was just feeling alone. May I sleep in the spare bed?"

Jane grinned, "Yes, I think we're finished making noise for the night." Bethany blushed. So did I. I was standing behind the door holding it to cover me. "Close the door George. People can see me." She laughed and I chuckled. Bethany's eyes widened when she saw me standing there, naked holding my nine-millimeter automatic.

She grinned, "What were you going to do, Uncle George?"

Jane laughed, "He was ready for anything."

I blushed and quickly moved to the bed and lay down covering my body with the sheet. I put the pistol in the nightstand where it had been.

Jane said, "You can look but don't touch. I'm not ready to share him. Yet!"

Now, she had both of us blushing.

Bethany said, "You shave."

Jane said, "With that suit I've been wearing, I would have to even if I didn't normally."

With that, she got in bed with me and snuggled. She said, "Did I embarrass you in front of our niece, Dear?"

"And her in front of me." I managed to say after a moment. Bethany removed her clothes and slipped into the other bed. I had seen her in her swimsuit so I wasn't surprised to see her great, young body. I ignored it as best as I could. We all said our good nights and I turned off the light. Much later, I heard some low sobbing and felt the bed move as Jane got up and went over to Bethany and soothed her. Later, they joined me with Jane in between. Everyone was naked and I was glad it was dark and I was tired. I woke around six and dressed. I went to the restaurant and started coffee. Jane and Bethany joined me a few minutes later. Bethany looked at us and said, "I'm sorry for intruding but I just had to be close to someone tonight who cared about me."

I said, "Well, we do. Next time though, I'll be wearing boxers when I answer the door. I really wasn't thinking."

Jane and Bethany laughed with me as I poured coffee for all of us and then Jane started breakfast. Amos and Doris joined us a minute later. We all enjoyed breakfast prepared by Jane's capable hands. We cleaned up the kitchen and packed. We didn't clean up our rooms much just leaving them neat but used. Someone else may be staying at the hotel and should know that these rooms had been used. We left the hotel and went back on the road. As I drove toward I﷓81, I told Jane and Bethany that I hoped we could find another place as good for tonight's stay.

Our ride to Roanoke was easy and then we got on I-81 and rolled southwest along the spine of Virginia. It was beautiful country. It was late lunchtime when we reached Bristol. Amos wanted to have a look at the speedway. We agreed and Jane said, "Let's get some lunch, tour the speedway, and find a place for the night." We had seen no one or any sign of people all day. We did just that spotting a nice hotel close to the speedway. We had to break in to the speedway and did. Amos and I even took a few laps in our trucks. I had no idea how the NASCAR folk had done it because we weren't going fast and it was a little scary. We left the speedway for our hotel and checked the restaurant. It was not useable. The freezer and cooler doors had been left open when someone cleaned them out. We left there and checked the pool. It was in good shape. Jane said, "While we have time and light, let's find a useable restaurant for supper." We found one and returned to our rooms and changed into our suits for swimming. My only concern was that we were getting too relaxed from not seeing people. I was trying to maintain some appropriate level of paranoia.