An Unlikely Alliance - Chapter One

An Unlikely Alliance – Chapter One

         Kate Williams looked out the side window of the living room once again, gazing across the lawn to the old Blanchard place, the lights in the garage windows glowing brightly as usual. She saw the shadow of Glenn Blanchard pace back and forth within, tinkering with his beloved antique and classic motorcars.

         Standing a bit over 5’4”, Kate had long, flowing light brown hair, softly covering her shoulders and coming to just above her waist. She was going to be 40 in about a month, but had been very careful about her appearance, watching what she ate, and staying physically active, jogging through the neighborhood each morning for a two to three mile jaunt, weather permitting. As a result, she was in remarkably good shape.

         Her most striking feature however, was a pair of beautiful, emerald-green eyes which her friends noted as her ‘most valuable asset.’ They would laughingly recall stories of her many conquests of the hearts of Statorsville, simply because of her mesmerizing eyes.

         Mentally reviewing what she knew of Blanchard, Kate noted that he was still an extremely handsome man, though she guessed his age to be in the early 50’s. Lean, swarthy, wearing his shockingly white hair cropped short and sporting a neatly trimmed moustache just beginning to turn a bit gray on the ends, he still managed to stir the tongues of the local widows and spinsters around the town of Statorsville. On his rare trips to town, his 6’2” frame was very carefully followed everywhere by every eligible lady in town, and to be truthful, many of the rest as well.

         It had been nearly two years since his wife, Josie (Josephine) had passed away, and he seldom left his property unless it was to drag back some ridiculously tattered wreck to work on. He seldom had visitors, rarely entertaining anyone but the occasional buyer for his finished products. No one seemed to know much about him, particularly his past. He just showed up in Statorsville about ten years ago with his wife, and they had kept to themselves.

         Kate and her ex-husband Jack had lived next to the Blanchard homestead for nearly three years now, and while they had exchanged pleasantries from time to time, she never got to know them very well. Once Mrs. Blanchard passed away, she had no real reason to communicate with him at all, which had become awkward, now that she had need of his services.

         Her interest in him lately had come about as a result of her recent divorce. It was not, as some local women had come to believe, a lustful passion brought on by any lack of screwing. At least that’s what she told herself. If she wanted to get screwed, she had any number of willing suitors that were more than willing to provide that service; most of them much younger than Mr. Blanchard!

         No, it was a result of the property settlement that had come out of her divorce. Because of her ex-husband’s infidelities, the bulk of their assets disappeared into the maintenance of his many affairs. The house belonged to her now, with all of its contents, AND its substantial mortgage. Right now, she just needed to get much of it appraised, primarily for tax purposes, but ultimately as a potential source for making ends meet.

         In her garage was the chassis of what appeared to be a very old automobile of some kind, along with baskets full of parts that may or may not have belonged to it. Her ex had obtained it at an estate sale years ago, intending to get it restored, but had gotten distracted by what turned out to be many affairs over that same time.

         Her accountant had suggested that she contact her neighbor for some advice, as he happened to be the only recognized expert in antique vehicles in this part of the state. The only thing left to do, she thought, was to get up the courage to walk over and re-acquaint herself with him again. After a couple years of not communicating with him at all, she now felt uncomfortable asking him to do something for her.

         Finally, one Saturday morning Kate gathered up her courage, fortified by several cups of gourmet coffee, and decided to visit her neighbor to see if he might be willing to take a look at the ‘junker’ that she had taking up space in her garage. Making sure that he was actually in his garage working, she filled a thermos with the expensive, but potent brew, and walked across the short expanse of her yard to Mr. Blanchard’s garage.

         The garage door was open to the elements, and the fine weather of that Saturday was undoubtedly a welcome relief from the earlier hot, sweltering days earlier in the week. As she rounded the corner of the garage, Kate spotted Glenn, shirtless, rubbing something into the paint job of one of the two vehicles residing therein. For a moment or two, Kate watched him, bent over, lean muscles rippling across his back and arms, as he lovingly applied the substance to the shining chassis.

         It seemed to be an ancient vehicle of some sort, very near to completion. The compound that he was rubbing into the paint was causing the surface to sparkle like glass, accentuating the deep ebony color of the finish. Its hood was open, and she could see the small, but spotlessly clean engine proudly on display. The other vehicle appeared to be a very clean-lined carriage, but without a visible engine of any kind.

         Knocking on the side of the garage, Kate announced her presence, not wanting to startle the man working inside. Glenn, giving the finish one last swipe with the cloth, stood up and turned around to greet her. A small frown appeared between his eyes as he focused on the figure standing at the entrance to the garage.

         Recognizing her at last, he dropped the items in his hands, picked up a clean cloth and wiping his hands, walked up to her, greeting her with a wide smile, and extending his hand to her. Surprised, Kate took his hand, and allowed him to gently shake it. “Well, hi neighbor!” he said. “It’s been a while, eh?”

         For a few, embarrassing moments, she found herself caught up in his sparkling, deep blue eyes, and a wide smile that made his lean face radiant. Shaking off the effect, she recovered enough to offer him the thermos that she’d prepared back at her house.

         Looking down at it curiously, he gently took the flask from her hands, opened up the stopper and sniffed the contents. Looking back up at her, he smiled again, and said, “If you’re Greek, and this is your gift, consider me conquered!” Turning around and picking up a couple of cups from his workbench counter he said, “Care to join me?”

         Although she’d had plenty of the potent concoction already, all she could do was nod her head in the affirmative. She could see now what all the womenfolk of Statorsville were all taken in about. He was magnificent! Suave, articulate, gentle and polite! Scary, she thought, really scary!

         Snapping out of the spell that he’d cast upon her, she remembered why she’d come in the first place. “Mr. Blanchard, I’ve actually come to ask a favor of you if you’re willing. I’ll pay you of course, but I really need your help,” She said.

         He looked at her for a moment, and then stated, “Ms. Williams, I’d be happy to help you in any way I can; in return for this marvelous coffee if nothing else! And since we’re neighbors, I think you can call me Glenn.” Still smiling, he urged her to state her purpose.

         Once she’d stated her need to him, he immediately requested that she show him the ‘body,’ as he referred to it. They both casually strolled over to her garage, him listening to her chat away about events that had happened to her over the past few years since they’d last met. She found that she couldn’t help herself; he was magnetic in the way he compelled her to share her stories with him.

         Finally, she composed herself enough to apologize to him for going on so much. Countering her protests, he insisted that she was merely assisting him in catching up on things; things that he’d neglected for far too long. She was finding his cheerfulness quite infectious, she thought.

         Once they reached her garage, she left him to his examination. She watched as he slowly approached the ‘body,’ as he called it. She watched him reverently circle the frame, examining the lines, carefully running his forefinger along the metal struts, touching the remaining paintwork, and then stooping to pore through the contents of some of the baskets of parts that surrounded it.

         She stared as his strong, slender fingers stroked the body of this vehicle, gently, even seductively she thought, and suddenly she found herself wishing that she were the object of his attention at this moment, feeling a bit of a tingle between her legs.

         She watched as he bent over the passenger side of the structure, put his nose to the leather and softly inhaled. He stood up straight, turned around to look at her and softly whispered to himself, “She yearns to live again.” Shaking his head, he quickly apologized to Kate, and exclaimed, “Do you know what you have here?”

         Other than a bunch of ‘car junk’ Kate had to admit to Glenn that she did not. Seeing the disbelief in his eyes, she felt compelled to apologize to him as well. He quickly came to her rescue however, and admitted that he hadn’t seen one of these vehicles outside of a museum in many years. Unless he was mistaken, he said; it was the chassis of a 1916 Studebaker Speedster, which hadn’t seen a highway in over three quarters of a century!

         Looking at the pile of junk in front of her, Kate had difficulty understanding the excitement that accompanied Glenn’s announcement, but his energy was beginning to become infectious! She was slowly starting to understand that this find was something special, and that it might prove to be very profitable as well! A question that she discreetly put to Glenn once they’d left the garage.

         Looking thoughtful, rubbing his chin with his left hand, he finally looked up at Kate and said, “I really couldn’t tell you with any degree of accuracy, since this model hasn’t been seen on the market in over 50 years. I have a friend in the national auction house who can probably give you a better feel for value. My guess is that if you’d restored it to some level of original condition, you might get something around ‘one-fifty’ for it at auction, possibly even ‘two hundred’.”

         Disappointed, Kate suggested that she just might as well have the carcass hauled away, so that she could concentrate on the more valuable appearing objects that the home contained and make some room in the garage. Turning back to her house, she didn’t notice the look of puzzlement on Glenn’s face at her comment, or see him walk back towards his house shaking his head.

         Passing the information on to her accountant later that afternoon, along with the disappointment felt at hearing the verdict, she wondered at the bewilderment that crossed his face. “Surely there must be some mistake,” he said. “The metal alone in that mess would be worth more than that!”

         Then, something occurred to him; something that he should have thought of already! Auction talk! When speaking of items worth more than a couple of thousand dollars, collectors and auctioneers used shorthand to describe the values. Blanchard must have meant a hundred fifty thousand dollars; even two hundred thousand! Turning to an absolutely mystified Kate, he explained to her what he’d just figured out!

         One hundred fifty thousand dollars, she thought. That’d be more than enough to get caught up on her current bills and enough left over to carry her through until she could obtain some employment and become self sufficient! She made up her mind to contact Mr. Blanchard the first thing the next morning, and let ‘him’ do the talking for a change.

         It was finally Sunday morning, about 11:00 AM, and Kate was hoping to catch Glenn in his garage once more. Again bearing her gift of hot, steaming gourmet coffee, she approached the garage door as before, but it was closed that morning. Going up the steps to the front door of the house, she rang the doorbell and waited. After a few moments, she rang the doorbell again, but still no answer.

         Making up her mind to try again later, Kate turned and began to step down the steps to the sidewalk when suddenly she heard the screech of a car careening off the street and into the yard in front of her. As it rolled to a stop, the driver’s side door swung open, and she recognized the figure of her ex-husband now storming towards her. He looked absolutely furious, and had his hands balled up into fists as though he were going to a fight!

         Suddenly frightened, Kate backed up towards the front door, not knowing quite what else to do to protect herself. Undeterred, Jack jumped up the steps and grabbed Kate by her shoulders and slammed her into the side of the house. Shaken, Kate tried to scream, but was cut short when Jack backhanded her across the face, knocking her to the floor. Reaching down, he tried to haul her upright by grabbing her blouse and yanking upwards! With a loud ripping noise, her blouse was torn open by the force, and her bra snapped loose, exposing her breasts!

         With fragments of her blouse in his fist, he started shouting at her, accusing her of trying to steal his antique auto and all the money he’d heard that it was worth. While she was still lying on the floor, trying to pull pieces of her blouse together to cover herself, he pulled his leg back to kick her.

         The sound of a door slamming shut behind him stopped Jack in mid swing! Whipping around, he crouched to confront whoever was there. Glenn was standing behind him, naked to the waist, wrapped in nothing but a bath towel and still wiping his head with a hand towel. Seeing that, Jack began to relax a bit, sensing no threat from him that he couldn’t handle. “Listen old man,” he shouted. “This is none of your fucking business, so get your wrinkled old ass back in the house!”

         As if to accentuate his bravado, Jack reached out with his right hand to push Glenn back towards the front door. Even in her best moments, Kate still couldn’t recall exactly what happened at that moment. One second Jack was about to push Glenn backwards; the next he was kneeling on the floor, screaming in agony! Glenn had the fingers of Jack’s hand bent back nearly to the wrist, and the forefinger of his right hand was pressed deeply against his neck!

         With a wry smile on his face, Glenn spoke softly into Jack’s ear, “I think that you’ll believe me when I say that I could push my finger all the way through your throat; and that I could hand you your fingers, unattached, if I wanted to. You have worn out your welcome here, so make yourself vanish, the quicker the better and I’d better not run into you again!”

         Releasing Jack from his grip on him, Glenn stood back to give him room to make his way back to his car, which was resting across his sidewalk on his lawn. Jack jerked away, holding his injured hand with his other, a small trickle of blood running down the side of his neck where Glenn’s finger had been jammed.

         Stumbling back down the steps, he staggered to his car, and as he opened the driver’s door, he turned to the couple on the porch and with that universal one-fingered gesture of defiance he shouted, “Yer dead, mother-fucker! And your slut bitch too! That car AND the money WILL be mine, asshole; and you won’t be able to stop me!”

         As Jack peeled the car off the lawn and down the street, Glenn turned his attention to Kate, who was now curled up in a fetal position, shaking and sobbing heavily. Her blouse was ruined, that much was certain, and a good portion of her chest was exposed, something that concerned Glenn, but aroused him as well. She was wearing a short, white pair of summer shorts that completed her ensemble, save for a pair of stylish sandals. He also noted that she had a bright red welt on the left side of her face, where Jack had hit her.

         Thinking quickly, he covered her chest with his hand towel, bent down to pick her up and carry her into the house. Before he could get to the front door however, she began vomiting, soiling both herself and him, complicating his recovery plans somewhat. He was beginning to sense that his nice, sedate life was to get more complicated, and he had mixed feelings about that.

         Shaking off as much of the vomit as he could, he entered the house and headed straight to the shower that he’d just left a few minutes ago. As he made his way through the house, he had to shift his burden from time to time to make it past doorways and furniture. It didn’t take long for the towel that was draped around his waist to finally became untied and fall to the floor. Not wanting to put Kate down to retrieve the now reeking towel, he proceeded to the bathroom, and set her gently down on the thick bath mat, back to the wall.

         She was still shaking as he turned on the shower, adjusted the water temperature, and unhooked the flexible shower head. Turning to her, he asked her if she needed some help undressing and cleaning up. Trying to choke out an answer, she finally nodded her head yes.

         Glenn left the bathroom for a couple of minutes, and returned with a few towels, a couple of bathrobes, and a large plastic bag. Setting his stuff out of the way, he knelt down next to Kate and began to take her clothes off. The smell from sour vomit was getting to her finally, and her head began to swim. Pulling the ragged pieces of her blouse from her body, and the remnants of her bra, he quickly deposited them in the plastic bag.

         Briefly admiring her now completely bared breasts, Glenn then removed her sandals and threw them into the sink, which was now full of warm, soapy water. He then slowly pulled off her shorts, followed by her thong, and deposited those in the plastic bag as well. Tying a knot in the bag, he tossed it outside of the bathroom.

         Glancing down at her now, completely naked, he began to feel the effects of the vision before him. It also brought him back to the realization that he was naked as well, and his cock was slowly rising to the occasion. No time for this, he thought.

         Quickly picking her up, balancing her carefully, he helped her into the shower/tub along with himself. Picking up the flexible shower head, he began to rinse her down thoroughly, head to toe. After he had rinsed himself off as well, he had her brace herself against the shower wall with her hands, while he lathered up her hair, and followed that up with a fresh water rinse.

         Moving down her body, she allowed him to cleanse her completely, especially appreciating his attention to her pussy and ass, becoming weak-kneed once more; only this time from his touch, not the incident on the porch. She was also acutely aware that his cock was fully erect and bouncing against her whenever he had to reach to some spot on her body to clean.

         Sneaking a look at his face, she noticed that he seemed oblivious to his own condition, finally rinsing her off and helping her to a sitting position in the tub. Getting her comfortable, he began filling up the tub with nice, hot water; just right to take the tension and pain out of her muscles. Stepping out for a couple of minutes, he returned with some bubble-bath, of all things, and poured a bit of the aromatic lotion in the tub with her. It was simply wonderful, she thought!

         Catching her staring at his cock, he quickly turned around and picked up one of the dry towels and covered himself once more, although the evidence of his arousal was less easy to conceal. Looking back at her he said, “Don’t get the wrong idea, young lady! This reaction happens any time I get caught in a shower naked with a gorgeous, equally naked woman! Now lean back and enjoy your soak. I have a couple of calls I have to make.

         Stepping into the doorway to the bathroom, he put on a bathrobe at the same time he snapped open a cell phone, punched in a number and began speaking into the mouthpiece. The language that he spoke was unlike anything that she’d ever heard, taking her completely by surprise! She was beginning to wonder just who this Glenn Blanchard might really be.

         Finishing that call, he quickly made another in that same unintelligible language. A sense of urgency was the only thing that she could make out in his voice. Just before finishing this call, however, he said in plain English, “and make damn sure that you bring Baby to me, pronto! I have a job for her as well.”

         Less than twenty minutes had passed since the incident on his porch, but he began setting things into motion as though he had no time left! Checking on Kate once more to make sure that she was not in immediate distress, he left the bathroom for the inside of the house. Kate was left wondering what Glenn was up to. She definitely didn’t want him to get involved with her ex-husband, as he had proven to be very ruthless since their marriage two years ago. She definitely didn’t want Glenn on her conscience when–not if–Jack came back.

         And who was Baby? Glenn’s girlfriend; lover, or best case, secretary? Things were moving way too fast for her. Her crazy ex was loose out there, mad as hell, and capable of anything. But for right now, despite the hot sudsy bath, she was nursing a terrible headache. She made up her mind though, that Glenn would have a lot of explaining to do when she felt up to it.

         Although it only seemed like just a few minutes had passed, Kate knew it had to have been longer, and realized that she’d actually dozed off for a bit. The water was beginning to cool in her bath, and what had brought her back to awareness was a gentle knocking on the bathroom door. “Yes?” she said.

         It was Glenn, wondering if she were ok, and ready to finish her bath. When she replied in the affirmative, he told her that the towels and bathrobe were ready for her on the end of the tub, and to let him know if she needed any assistance.

         Struggling carefully to stand, Kate felt a wave of dizziness sweep over her, and she plopped back down into the bath water, causing a rather loud splash! Immediately, Kate heard Glenn’s voice beyond the door, checking to see if she was all right! Struggling to answer him, all she could get out was “Help!”

         The bathroom door burst open, and Glenn was immediately at her side. Checking to make sure that she hadn’t injured herself by the fall back into the tub, he began to ask her some questions that she realized would have been asked of boxers who had been beaten to the mat! The thought amused her, but she correctly answered them; where she was, how many fingers was he holding up, etc. Most remarkable of all though, was the look of concern on Glenn’s face, and his piercing blue eyes, gazing directly into hers.

         Despite her situation, the fact that she was again nude in front of this man began to create an obviously sexual tingle within her, beginning to creep up her thighs and center deep in her pussy! Giving herself up to the care of this man was beginning to become a very welcome relief, she thought.

         Once again, she felt his strong, soft hands on her body, gently drying her skin. She cast her mind back to their meeting just days ago, and her feelings as she watched his hands gently caress the sparkling finish of the antique automobile before him; wondering what it would be like if he were caressing her in the same way. And now it seemed that he was. She relaxed, completely.

         However, it seemed to Kate that the only senses she had left were centered on her breasts, thighs and pussy! While Glenn had dried her from head to toe, the only sensations that she was aware of were those of his attentions to those areas of her body. She knew it was just her imagination, but she couldn’t help but hope that he shared some of the attraction that she was beginning to feel for him.

         Wrapping her in the robe, Glenn picked her up and carried her to the guest room, where he’d already pulled back the covers of the bed, and gently set her down, pulling them up to her chin. Looking down at her, Glenn realized a couple of things; it had been a long, long time since he’d touched anyone as beautiful as Kate, and she had begun to crack the tough façade that he’d built up around him since Josie’s death.

         This was something that he was determined to prevent however, as anyone who got really close to him seemed doomed to problems. A knock at the front of the house interrupted his thoughts however, and Glenn left to answer it.

         After hearing both his voice, along with a female voice in the corridor, Kate watched as Glenn entered with a very cheerful, beautiful young woman. She was dressed professionally in a black pantsuit, and carrying an equally black valise. Setting the valise down alongside the bed, she quickly sat next to Kate and introduced herself as Cheryl, an acquaintance of Glenn’s.

         Dark brown eyes, almond shaped; dark brown hair, pulled up into a bun, and the brightest white teeth she’d ever seen, Kate was a bit overcome by Cheryl’s appearance. Guessing her to be a black/white mix of some kind, she was instantly likeable and Kate took to her right away, despite the awkward situation she found herself in.

         Breaking open the valise, Cheryl pulled some medical instruments from it, and instructed Kate to relax. “Oh yeah,” she said, “I really AM a doctor, so really, relax…” From that point on, Kate began to experience one of the most complete physical examinations that she’d had in her recent memory.

Glenn had left the room to answer yet another knock at the door, and Kate could hear male voices down the hallway. It was barely 2:00 PM, and it seemed that things were beginning to get a bit busy. Returning to the guest room, Glenn glanced at Cheryl and raised an eyebrow.

         Returning his look of concern, Cheryl informed him that Kate had suffered a concussion, and until she could get some results from her laboratory, she thought it best that she remain with him. She had also bandaged up some scrapes on her legs that Kate had incurred when she had been struck to the porch deck. She finally applied a cold pack to the side of Kate’s head where she had been smacked by Jack’s backhand.

         Glenn excused himself once again and left the room, leaving Cheryl and Kate alone. Sensing an opportunity to get some questions answered, Kate looked up at Cheryl and asked, “Uhm… Have you known Glenn long?” Cheryl didn’t answer for a good while, and Kate, thinking that she might not have heard the question was about to ask her again. Cheryl finally responded, “Quite a while, honey…”

"An Unlikely Alliance - Chapter Two" 

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