The Tahoe Files

By Paco Jones

Continuing the Craft Faire Love saga. Life changes, children growing, flying, racing cars, and a short return to their Special Operations roots. In the end, life changes again when Stanley calls them to Washington for a final briefing.

Bob and the girls need to move, so they build a state of the art geodesic dome home. Raising and educating their kids was the main priority, but maintaining their personal security was high on the list.

While teaching family members to fly, Bob and Eloise have a harrowing adventure, but worse, Bob's cover appears to have been compromised. He and Sandy need to take care of business and make a short, temporary visitation to their past lives in Navy Special Operations. Beforehand, Bob flashes back to a few of their Special Operations missions, ending with their final foray ... their mission from hell.

In the end, Bob and Sandy are unexpectedly asked to make a trip to Washington, a place they were instructed to never set foot in again.

Confused?

So were Bob, Sandy, and the girls, but at least for Bob and Sandy, they could finally hop off their lifelong emotional roller coaster and begin a more "normal" life - whatever that is.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Paco Jones
• Release date: Jan 11, 2020
• ISBN: 9780463608166

Paco Jones

Dr. Paco Jones is an aging Hippie. One of his favorite sayings is: "I will always be a Hippie. It's not a changeable condition." Born in Los Angeles and raised in the San Francisco Bay area he is a true product of the 60's and is a firm subscriber to the cliché "If you can remember the 60's you weren't there." He served in the United States Navy doing a tour in Vietnam in 1969 and 1970.

Book preview

The Tahoe Files

Craft Faire Love book 2

*** Adult Fiction ***

by Paco Jones

text copyright 2015-2019 Dr. Paco Jones

all rights reserved

cover copyright 2015-2019 Dr. Paco Jones

all rights reserved

cover images license from bigstockphoto.com

photo by - Ersler

Smashwords Edition, License Notes:

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you are reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Disclaimer

Disclaimer: This book is intended as adult entertainment. It contains material of an adult, explicit, sexual nature. This book is a work of fiction. All names, characters, events, and places are products of the author’s imagination and are fictional, Though some places may be identified because they are present on the Earth and the story has to take place somewhere, any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, incidents, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Books by Paco Jones

These Girls Can Play (adult content)

Mile High and Beyond (adult content)

Teaching Deanna - Deanna book 1 (adult content)

Tara's Nightmare & Beyond - Deanna book 2 (adult content)

Craft Faire Love - book 1 (adult content)

The Tahoe Files - Craft Faire Love book 2 (adult content)

Jason & Alicia - The secret revealed a Craft Faire Love Story (adult content)

Things to Come (adult content)

Irons in the Fire (adult content)

Castaway Island

Le Petite Castaway Island (short ver. CI)

Zardoc

The Pods

Return to Castaway Island

It's All Over But The Shouting!

Vietnam: A Distant Memory

For my readers and all of those who support Indie authors. It is the true future of literature and together, we will make it so.

Acknowledgement

Any author will tell you that an effort such as this is not a solitary endeavor. If it's going to be anywhere near readable it takes a team. I am extremely thankful for my team. I can write it, but without them you probably wouldn't really want to read it.

I am humbly indebted to the proofreading skills of my friend PawWriter. He added much readability to the original manuscript. He is also the one who set the direction for this book. I had an idea and ran it past him a couple years ago and he said, No. You can't do that. I rethought my ending, and I think it's much better for the suggestion. Sandy thanks him profusely.

Also, a quiet thank you to my friends Turbo, Orblover, and Strickland83 for their kind words of encouragement.

When I ask for it, push and encouragement has always come from my friend Robert Lubrican.

These gentlemen's kind words of advice have kept me on the straight and narrow. Okay, as straight and narrow as I get ...

There are others out there in ether land that I owe a debt of thanks as well. I'm afraid to start a list for fear I'll forget someone, but you know who you are.

I also have to send a heartfelt thank you to you, the reader. Without you, none of this would be worth the effort.

Thank you!

Table of Contents

Acknowledgement

Preface

Prologue

Chapter 1 - Growing Pains

Chapter 2 - Who Are These Kids Anyway

Chapter 3 - The House

Chapter 4 - Eloise

Chapter 5 - Project Complete

Chapter 6 - Growing Up

Chapter 7 - Bigger Bird - Close Call

Chapter 8 - Exploring With The Girls

Chapter 9 - Helo Down

Chapter 10 - Some of Bob and Sandy's Story

Chapter 11 - A Temporary Return to SO

Chapter 12 - New Project Plans

Chapter 13 - Project Presentation

Chapter 14 - Progress

Chapter 15 - El and Tree Flying High

Chapter 16 - Tree's Test

Chapter 17 - Meg's Speed, Tree's Passion

Chapter 18 - Visitation

Chapter 19 - The Return of Jason and Alicia

Epilogue

About the Author

Books by Paco Jones

Preface

A long time ago, when I finished writing Craft Faire Love, I knew the story wasn't finished because there were all kinds of things buzzing around in my head. I wasn't exactly sure where I was going to take it and what direction to move, but I had some ideas. I wrote about six chapters, then thankfully was sidetracked with These Girls Can Play, It's All Over But The Shouting! and Castaway Island.

As many of my regular readers know by now, I suffer from ADD, so it's not unusual for me to be sidetracked by alternative ideas while in the middle of a project. It's been that way all of my life, so as frustrating as it can be, I'm used to it, and I've learned to deal with it.

I'll get back to it sooner or later.

In its original form, Craft Faire, like Deanna, was not something that could be published, and required major rework. This book has been simmering in my mind since I originally finished Craft Faire, so now after the reworking of Deanna and Craft Faire Love, this has finally been written and finished.

You may notice that this story seems to bounce around a bit, but keep in mind I'm trying to tell the story of seven different people, so trying to do everything all at once would be more confusing than the bounces back and forth in time. What I'm really doing is trying to weave seven different lives into one cohesive story and I'm sure some will say I've succeeded and some won't. It is what it is, but I do try to tell a complete section before jumping into another. Sorry, but that's the way an ADD brain works.

Craft Faire Love received a lot of great feedback, considering how poorly it was written at the time, but one reviewer in particular caught my interest and we started corresponding. After running some ideas past him, he asked me not to do the scenario I had set out for the original direction this book was going to take. Bluntly, he liked the character I was proposing to kill off in order to force some emotional turmoil in other characters. I'm sure Sandy is grateful for the change of heart.

At his suggestion, I took it on a little different course and was able to meet my objectives in other ways. Overall, I think it worked out much better, so as I am wont to do, I do listen to my reader feedback.

Above, I noted that I was thankfully sidetracked. In the intervening time between my first finishing Craft Faire, writing a few chapters of this book, then moving on to four other works before returning, this story gelled in my mind and somewhere in the middle of Castaway Island, I wrote the final chapter to this book. It changed some, but it gave me a direction for the rest of the story. I knew Jason & Alicia needed to be written after this one was completed, but I had about five projects in front of it. As things go in the ADD world, they all were done.

I had to finish my rework of Craft Faire before I did this one to make sure that there was a consistent flow between the two, but once I was finished with book 1 it was on to this story. I have to say, I'm happy with the outcome.

-----

Having to move localities, plan and build a new house, raise and educate the kids, then trying to maintain personal security in some trying situations, are just a few of the challenges Bob and the girls have to deal with. There's more, but you'll just have to mosey along to find all the hooks and barbs.

Bob teaches Hailey to fly helicopters. Then Eloise and Tricia want to learn and through those experiences, they all find interesting adventures in their new locale. There seems to be never ending intrigue and action going on in life to keep them on their toes.

The girls work on some interesting projects to help Melinda earn her doctorate and of course, Hailey already has a PhD in Philosophy and Psychology in her repertoire. What is Jessica going to do in order to keep up with the others? All three are constantly full of surprises and adding all of the children into the mix keeps Bob shaking his head in happy disbelief.

After an unfortunate event, it appears that Bob's cover has been compromised so he and Sandy's former selves need to take care of business by making a short, temporary visitation to their past Special Operations lives. You'll also get a slight flavor of a few of the Special Operations missions Bob and Sandy worked, leading up to their final foray ... their mission from hell from which recovery was uncertain for a significant amount of time. (See note below about Jason & Alicia)

In the end, Bob and Sandy are thrown a huge surprise over their past security issues. Unexpectedly, they are requested to make a trip to their former headquarters in Washington D.C. ... a place they were instructed, never to set foot in again.

Confused?

So were they, but in the end, they could finally get off their lifelong emotional rollercoaster and begin to move on to a more normal life - whatever that is.

The Tahoe Files was a fun story to write and as the sequel to Craft Faire Love, I hope you'll agree it is an interesting and entertaining story of the characters continuing lives.

As always, I thank you, the reader. Without you, none of this would be worth the effort.

Thank you!

pj Jan.2016

(ed. Jason & Alicia was added to the series in 2019. Though some is talked about here and in Craft Faire Love, Jason & Alicia is the secret revealed. pj 2019)

Prologue

Over the years, the four of us continued to do craft shows as much as possible. It wasn't for money, it was for fun and something to do, and we always managed to have tons of fun.

All the girls were in school at one level or another and doing well so our fun times were limited, but never neglected. Hailey, of course, was running through classes like water over a rock in a raging river. She was already at the PhD level in Philosophy, and very soon planned to be finished with Psychology. Stanford and Berkeley were her homes away from home, but she never once complained about all the travel.

Jessica was still in a quandary of what to do. Her logical engineering mind didn't know which way to turn, so we decided that Electrical Engineering was a good place to start because Silicon Valley was just over the hill, and companies there were in dire need of American trained engineers.

Jessi's problem was that she was interested in mechanical engineering and civil engineering as well. We'd cross those bridges when we came to them, but she had an aggressive attitude towards her learning. I had opened the door for her and she was running through it and down the hall at full speed. It made my heart sing.

Melinda, as always, was the pain in the ass to get moving in school. Mel was so used to being bored to tears that anything that smelled of classes in school pushed her in the other direction. It took awhile, but between Hailey and me, we motivated Mel to get through the boring shit online. She was taking all of the bullshit classes, as I refer to them, at her own speed, which was well above mach three. She was also challenging some of the menial classes that are required ostensibly to make you a better person, but we all know they're just bullshit courses to suck money from students, parents, and governments.

Mel found challenges when she finally pursued graduate school. She was pursuing Computer Technologies and Business. She threw in real estate just for fun, and when she began working on the PhD level, as you will read, we all kicked in to assist.

Sandy was seriously contemplating a move as well. She knew management was taking advantage of her, although it was her choice to play the game. The act was part of her cover, to be the poor girl who needed the job to survive. Nothing could be further from the truth, but she is a good actor.

I wanted to get Sandy away from the prick and set her up in direct competition to steal his business away, one client at a time. I was very sure it would happen, but Sandy was reluctant to change any part of the cover story she had developed for herself. I kept telling her it was just a progression of the same cover, but she still needed some convincing. I'd trained Sandy well and deviating from the cover wasn't something she wanted to entertain without very good reason ... if it ain't broke, don't fix it. If it happened and the change came from necessity it was a different ball of wax, but Sandy was the commensurate agent/operative. In the end, I wasn't above bringing up Jason and Alicia to let her know that under normal circumstances, life evolved and she should evolve with it.

Well, I guess next is me. My cover is still the Hippie tie-dye artist who does silk screening too. I had to start my flying all over again because my old log was useless. The 10000+ hours of helicopter time was flushed and I started at zero, but it was not a big deal. However, I do wonder what the instructor thought when she took the rookie up and he could already out fly her. I did my minimums, took my checkride, and never looked back.

In my Hippie persona, I did a few craft faires every year which satisfied my people watching addiction. Craft faires are what put the three young ladies and I together in the first place so I will never complain too loudly. It was an excellent reinforcement to my own cover, so it was all good.

Why did Sandy and I require cover stories you might ask? Read on, we'll get there. The last chapter reveals the final details, but the secret is completely revealed in Jason & Alicia.

-----

I definitely needed some help doing the LA shows because there was more there than I could handle myself. Small shows in Northern California were one thing, but the huge, rich-bitch shows in LA were a whole other story.

When I approached Janet about having Mel work the shows with me, it was with great trepidation she gave me the go-ahead. Even though Mel was already an adult, she was still living at home, and I felt the need to consult with mom.

I'd met Mel a couple years before through her Aunt Sara and had attended a few family parties held for various reasons. Mel always caught my eye as a young lady who was going to be a man killer when she got to that age. I wasn't wrong, so when we got together that first afternoon in LA to discuss her working, I was knocked off my feet.

Sara knew of Mel's feelings for me, feelings for which I had no clue. Remember, I'm a guy ... basically clueless. I know some guys will object to that description, but history and reality are on my side. When it comes to women, men are essentially clueless, but honestly, I prefer it that way.

With Mel in tow, we began that first LA show after a night of fun and games, which came as a partial surprise, but having listened to her mother, knew that it needed to be a special occasion. It was called Craft Faire Love and we took full advantage on the first night.

Mel brought in Hailey and Jessica to help us out and it turned into a singular threesome that was probably going to last a lifetime. Most relationships are one on one, but these three women had no issue sharing a man and I certainly wasn't going to object.

Jessica, as she had more or less planned, became pregnant during that first foray and was happy as a clam. The others were all happy as well, which really only cemented our overall mutual links. I couldn't believe what was happening to me, but I was hardly going to be complaining.

Jessica had a baby girl who she named Eloise. El is a very special young lady as you'll read, but being number one, she was the joy of my life until the next ones came along then one by one they all became the joys of my life, but the rest of the gang wouldn't happen for a few years after Eloise.

The four of us continued to do the Craft Faire circuit each year, selling our wares to the assembled masses. I have to admit, we had some pretty unique stuff and people appreciated the exclusive nature of what they were purchasing.

Hailey has become an extremely good artist and she used it as her distraction from all of the schooling she was pursuing. She made up screens for the designs, the color separations we used, and made sure there were enough copies to print what we needed. Screens only lasted for so many print cycles before they wore out and needed reclaiming. Hailey excelled at that end of the business, too.

Mel, on the other hand, had completely automated our systems. Her inventory program could tell me, real time, what our stocked merchandise situation was, so Hailey and I could print more on the fly if necessary. The women's skivvies we printed were some of the hottest selling items we had and we were constantly running short of certain designs. We had a three-color print of a cherry right up front and center, which women of all ages purchased in droves. It was difficult to keep them on the shelf.

For one 10-day show, we had 20,000 units printed up and figured that at 2000 a day, we should have a few left over. By Wednesday of that week Hail and I were madly printing as many as we could make, as fast as we could make them. This underwear sold for $25 a pair in hoity-toity town and to save you the math, it's $500,000.00 worth of skivvies, in five days. In my mind, it was completely insane, but I was not going to complain one little bit.

I made ten times the money in those five days as I would make in one entire 10-day show in the past. I have to say though, in the past, I didn't have three scantily clad sales girls wiggling their gorgeous asses at the masses, luring them into the booth like bright lights draw flying bugs. These ladies did wonders for the sales numbers.

For me it wasn't supposed to be a big money-making affair. It was something to do to maintain my cover, keep me occupied, and out of trouble. When Sandy and I did what we had to do, the government gave us both bank accounts in the high eight-figure range. Neither of us needed money.

For me, doing the business as we were doing now was specifically for the young women who I had working for me. Truth be told, a majority of the money we made went into trusts for them and helped cover their education. The bonus monies I paid them for each show, was theirs to use any way they desired.

Over the years, our family was growing and though Jessica still hadn't decided to join the family, we knew it was moving to the time where we needed to make a change in our lives. Jessi was a regular visitor always bringing Eloise to visit the rest of the family.

In the meantime, Mel and Hailey had given birth to Trisha and Megan respectively. It changed the dynamic a lot and convinced us that the change we had been contemplating needed to be worked sooner rather than later. During all of this time, we were continually trying to convince Jessica to finally make the move and join the rest of us.

As one would expect, the story goes on with much more to tell, so I think it's time to get to it.

Thanks for going beyond the bounds of Craft Faire Love, and sharing The Tahoe Files.

Chapter 1 - Growing Pains

Mel, Hailey, and I, sat down one afternoon and after some lengthy discussion, decided our living quarters were starting to be stretched a little more than we liked. We all had our spaces and so did the kids, but the condo was too confining for everything we had going or wanted to do. Instead of my condominium, which we had outgrown, we decided that what we needed was a larger place to call home.

Even though the mini-monster condo was all mine, there were a couple tenants at the far end, so what we were really looking for was space of our own without having other people around. We never had any issues with tenants, but it did temper some of our outdoor activities a little.

Mel's assignment was to do the research on the overall project. We needed a location, which I had already chosen and defined, a plan, and some timeframe with which to work. We continued doing our shows during the spring and summer, so besides the kids, there were many distractions slowing us down, but we all agreed we were in no hurry. We wanted it finished, but done once, and done right. We agreed being rushed could lead to errors in judgment.

Why Mel?

Melinda, at the time, was working on her advanced degree in Business and Real Estate along with Computer Science, so it only made sense to allow her to practice some of what she was learning. She had already earned her MBA and was nearly finished adding Real Estate to the business and computing part of the degree.

She agreed to do it without any reservations, but thought she'd go talk to the head of her department at school to see if the whole project could be a PhD effort.

Now, the contemplation that Mel was actually seriously considering a PhD program in anything is a half expected thrill for me. Unlike Hailey, trying to get Mel to finish the first 4 years of undergraduate work was like pulling teeth at times. She had so many ideas going on that school was getting in the way of executing things she already had in her mind. She'd get them done eventually, but like me, even in college Melinda Lee was bored to tears.

Having challenged more than 70% of her undergraduate classes, it really wasn't until she went into her upper division graduate studies there was a lineup of courses that actually challenged her. It was interesting to watch the conversion from completely bored student to challenged student. You might think there would be some level of rebellion, but with the new challenges she was facing, Mel couldn't be more pleased. Me either.

Somewhere along the way, she had decided school was actually kind of cool and began to fully enjoy the experience. She also figured out she could take some of her ideas and work them into advanced degree programs so she could kill two birds with one stone. No more ultra bored Mel. Much of what she had done for the Craft Faire business would be the material projects for her MBA. The business and computer science part didn't take her very long at all because she really only had to thoroughly document the work she had already done for the business.

That wasn't a real big challenge because Mel had already formed very good documentation habits. She always said that she liked to document things in great detail so if she got hit by a bus someone would be able to figure out what she has been thinking. For her degree she really only needed to organize it in the way the professors wanted to see it. Her coding was also commented at nearly every line so the logic was defined within the flow of the script.

When she announced she was applying to be a Masters candidate in the business and computer science, I have to say, I nearly fell off my chair. Hailey just chuckled because she knew what Mel was thinking and they had already discussed it in detail.

Hailey was nearing completion of her second PhD program from Stanford University. She chose Philosophy first, but she was working on Psychology at the same time. It turns out that she will be one of the few persons to ever to go through the entire Doctoral experience twice in less than six years.

Christ, that's all I need ... a philosophical shrink living in the same house with me. I couldn't believe the level she was keeping up her studies while still making screens and prints. Her work for the faires didn't diminish at all. She said doing screens and printing garments was her therapy, her mindless exercise in relaxation.

Mindless? Excuse me? The work I did so diligently and worked so hard at ... mindless? Had it been anyone but Hailey, I might have been a bit insulted, but in reality, for her, it is mindless.

She has been very good for all of us in her Psych fieldwork already and quite honestly, I have some issues about which I couldn't talk to anyone but Hailey, so from my perspective, it was really great having a Psychologist in residence. In my mind, it was money well spent and as fucked up as I am, it may work out that her education was a bargain.

However, back to Mel and her surprise PhD aspirations. Under normal circumstances to work on a PhD, the candidate had to declare what their project or dissertation was going to entail and have it approved. It generally had to be something specific and unique, which no one had ever done as a PhD project in the past.

It really wasn't going to be a big issue to do, but she acknowledged she would be receiving help from the rest of us, especially me. There were going to be some very esoteric design issues, but specific design items and construction weren't part of her program. Acquiring the property, then planning, budgeting, and managing the entire project was.

She and I sat down with the department head and discussed what her requirements would be. Since her degree wouldn't be in the design or construction arena, but mostly the acquisition (real estate), cost control, materials, overall alternative requirements, and project control (business) as a whole, it seemed like it would work out well for everyone.

She was so close to finishing her real estate masters addition to the MBA and doing so well, the Prof's and department heads allowed her to begin the initial work on her PhD early. Realistically, it wouldn't start until after her Masters was completed anyway. They determined the additional work wouldn't interfere with any of her present studies. She let them know we were all willing to do whatever was needed to help her with her dissertation, research, and project, but the overall project control was hers.

It was going to be simple from our standpoint. Hailey and I would be dealing with the design parameters and working with the architect. Mel would find the new location within my constraints and then with our inputs, she would work up the development plan with the architect, hire a contractor, and manage the project from start to finish. It's not as clear-cut as it sounds and the project would be breaking a lot of new ground ... new ground that badly needed to be broken. Mel would be at the forefront of latest innovations in many alternative, ecologically friendly, systems. In the end, there would be nothing to compare with what we were going to do and it would lead her to places she never dreamed of going.

It wasn't part of her job, nor did I expect her to do any of the construction work, but broaching that is getting ahead of myself a little. Mel is an amazing woman and isn't afraid to get her hands dirty. She took those kinds of things as new challenges and attacked them with a vengeance.

Now, you may think it's simple to work through all those things, but she had to deal with me since I was the money guy. Not only did she have to find the perfect location and acquire the property, she was on the hook for many of the specials I insisted we do in our design and construction. Mel needed to source them and work to get delivery in a timely manner so things were ready when the contractor or sub-contractor was ready to install. She would need to study up on just-in-time manufacturing processes because it's pretty much how the project was going to be accomplished. That, in and of itself, would be a very large headache. Trying to keep things on a tight schedule would continually keep Melinda on her toes.

This was not going to be your average, run of the mill, basic home construction project. There was a whole lot more to it than meets the eye. We'll delve more into details as we go along, but overall, those aspects of the project had intrigued the Profs and really led them to approve Mel's application.

That said, the Profs had no clue about the kind of pain in the ass I could be when I had my mind set on something. Overall, I was very flexible with all the girls on the whole thing, as long as it was within my overall goal. I had specific things I wanted done and I didn't care how we got there, only that they happened. If they got too weird on something, I'd ask them to take another look at what they were proposing. That was their signal they had wandered a little too far outside the box, even for me. It was also an indication that I didn't feel they had really thought it through completely.

The goals? One is my insistence that power systems had to be as close to 100% self sufficient as possible, using the grid only as a backup. Though a grid connection may be there, I didn't want it used for anything other than feeding excess generated power back into the grid, but in the end, it wasn't an issue. That's only the first one. We'll get into more of them as time goes on, but I'm sure you get the gist.

My parts of the project were going to be security, heli-pads, power, and the alternative energy systems. Since the budget for those was close to unlimited, I had little doubt that the grid interface switch would never need to be thrown.

Suffice it to say, Mel's task wasn't going to be as routine as it may appear on the surface and after joint meetings with all the academics involved, they understood it was not going to be anywhere near run of the mill. Indeed, it would be unique to a level that if Mel successfully navigated all the land mines, they could and should award a PhD.

It was my job to set the land mines. Now, it doesn't mean I would be trying to set Mel up for failure. Quite the contrary, there was nobody who wanted Mel to succeed more than I did. It was also my job to help her navigate through the minefield, but there were requirements I was going to insist on. Requirements the Profs thought were next to impossible in their challenge, but I assured them Mel would be able to ensure successful completion. As I say, I was setting the mines, but I was also providing a map through the minefield.

This was going to be an exciting, first of its kind project that Melinda was going to drive and report on. I would also help her write the books, which would inevitably come out of the whole effort.

Between the work, design, construction, and the book, we would be setting Mel up to be the CEO of a new design/construction company. It was going to be the first organization specifically oriented to off grid systems and alternative energy sources, while using all that nature has to offer without abusing her.

It is something our country and the entire planet, for that matter, needs badly, but the greedheads continually block progress because there is no obscene money in it for them. Believe me, if the power companies could own the sun, there'd be solar power everywhere and you'd be paying through the nose to get it.

The oil industry is incredibly paranoid that while we concentrate more and more on alternative sources of energy, that they will be left with no product to sell or worse, no market for the product.

¡Qué Lástima!

If those shortsighted, greedy bastards, took a step back, looked at the future, and took off their oil-covered glasses, they would see that with a few billion of their quarterly profit dollars, they could start buying and installing, on a lease back basis, solar and/or wind systems everywhere the sun shines or the wind blows. They could create themselves another corner on the energy market. With PV panels at near a buck a watt and dropping, what the fuck is holding them back? Shortsighted greed is all I can come up with. There's no instantaneous ROI or easy way to con the Congress for never ending subsidies.

They can't see the forest for the trees. If they can't be the only ones to supply the systems, they don't see how they can make any money. Hello? Anybody home?

I guess in their oil-stained world, the sun doesn't shine.

Mel was going to kick their asses and show them there is money in it, lots of money. It's just that in the beginning, the money was going to come rolling in her direction, instead of theirs. I have no doubt they'll catch on at some point. They're blinded by greed, but I would think they're not completely stupid … though I could be wrong.

Mel is also committed to using her abilities for the betterment of all people. Because of assets already held outside of her new business, a good portion of the profits from that business would be going back into R&D. Mel's business will lend support to people who really needed a hand.

Not a handout, but a hand.

Now, it was up to the rest of us to ensure Melinda succeeded. It wasn't going to be easy, but Mel was ready to tackle the job and was already looking forward to the challenges.

The first thing Mel did was to call a meeting to discuss the needs, wants, and would-be-nice issues, even though it wasn't going to be in her sphere. Mel's ability to focus and organize is incredible. She is the perfect complement to my artists, spaceman view of the world, and Hailey's head in the clouds, philosophical view. Mel is the perfect centering force for the whole family and she doesn't shy away from that role in any way. She knows that Hailey and I are off in space most of the time, so her being the grounded, logical entity just fits, and she revels in the role.

-----

Thankfully, before we got too far into the process, Jessica made her decision to move in. All of us welcomed her and Eloise with open arms because we all loved both of them and knew Jessi wasn't very happy outside the family.

Jessica was all smiles when she travelled up to finally announce her change of plans. Eloise was beaming also because she knew how mom felt about her daddy and how much she really missed him and her two sisters.

Jessica looked around the table and let out a huge sigh, I guess you guys are wondering why I changed my mind.

We all nodded our heads and smiled at her.

I'm glad you've decided to join us, Jessi, I said softly. You know we love and miss you, too. I know Megan and Trisha are always asking when Eloise is going to visit again.

Jess smiled and nodded her head, "Well to be honest, El is one of the big reasons. It's been kind of hard on her, being alone a lot of the time, knowing she has 2 sisters somewhere else in the world that she only sees once in a while.

"For me, I just couldn't find anyone I wanted to spend my life with. The only man who loves me the way I want to be loved, is Bobby.

I hate to admit it, but mom was right, she chuckled.

She looked at me for a moment, then at Mel and Hailey. We were all smiling and the girls both reached their hands out to hold hers.

I've never felt so loved as I do when I'm here with my family, so I just decided that since I couldn't find anyone that could measure up, I'd come home to where I was loved. I knew Mel, and you, Hail, wouldn't see it as an intrusion on your loving, but as an addition.

They were both nodding their heads, and Hailey spoke up, Jessi, you have always been welcome. We'll just rearrange the schedule a little. Bobby's the one who doesn't get much of a break.

I looked at the three of them and exclaimed, Hurt me, hurt me.

Mel chuckled, We can do that.

Yeah, I know, I lamented.

Jessica continued, Well, one thing I want to let you all know is my attitude about having to be private when we love has changed. I just decided it was silly. We've all seen each other naked and we've all seen each other make love, so there's no reason for me to insist on that.

We all try to have private time, Jessi, said Hailey, Mel and I have worked it out so we can have our private, intimate time, with Bobby. I like being able to just look at him and let him know how much I love him and it's just not the same if Mel's there.

Mel was nodding her head, Yeah, that's true. I like to have my intimate time with him too, for exactly the same reason, so you needing it too isn't a big issue.

Laughing, she continued, We have no problem ganging up on him either, so if you have changed your trip, then it adds one more to our side of the gang.

Looking at me with a huge grin, she chortled, You are in deep shit, bucko.

All three of them started laughing loudly and throwing high-fives at each other.

Something else I wanted was for Eloise to see and experience the love we all have for each other. She knows we all love each other, but I can't think of any time she's ever seen any of us loving and that's important too. She's almost eleven now and we've had many birds and bees conversations, so she knows about what happens, but she's never seen it.

Mel commented, I don't think that creates any problems, Jessi. I mean, you know we don't blatantly sit the girls down and fuck in front of them, but we don't freak out, hide, or even slow down if one or both come wandering in. They know it's mommy and daddy giving each other their special love and we just leave it at that. We know they'll have more detailed questions later and we're already prepared for that.

Well ... Jessi said a little hesitantly, "that's exactly the kind of thing I want Eloise to experience.

I fully expect her curiosity and hormones to grow at some point and I can't think of a better man than Bobby to show her what physical love looks like.

I think Mel and Hailey were a bit taken aback, but it was obviously something they had considered in the back of their minds at one point in time. I wasn't going to say anything. I didn't need to add to my harem, especially with my girls, but I also knew that what Jess had said was very true.

I don't want any of our children to experience sex or love in a bad way. I hope between now and then, we'll find someone that will treat them the way I treat their mothers. They'll have excellent examples to judge with, so we'll see.

She's asked me some pretty interesting questions for an eleven year old, I have to tell you.

Mel looked at Hailey, then at me, and said softly, If it's okay with you Bobby, Jessi needs some loving.

I just smiled and said, If it's what you guys agree to, I'm good with it. I love all of you and you know I leave it up to you to decide. I feel very much loved, so none of you needs to worry I'm not happy.

Ha, three ready pussies any time you want one or more. You better be happy, mister, Melinda chuckled.

Then Jess finished her thoughts, I think that once El is 13 or 14, we will have her on birth control. Like the three of us, it will be up to her. Totally her choice, but I have no doubt what her choice will be. She's already mentioned it in a roundabout way. We'll have to find her a boyfriend who is like Bobby.

Hailey mumbled, Good luck with that.

Though she mumbled, everyone heard her and laughed and nodded knowingly.

The conversation drifted onto subjects that are more mundane and before we knew it, the time to head for the showers was upon us.

Mel grabbed Hailey's hand and off they traipsed towards one of the shower rooms and check up on the kids. I'll tell you more about the kids in a few minutes. Each child has a different mother and couldn't be more different from one another.

They had already taken a mass bath, were in their jammies, and Eloise was reading a story to Meg and Tree. How can it get much better?

When Mel and Hailey headed off, Jessi stood up, walked around the table, and sat in my lap. Wrapping her arms around my neck, she looked at me with her sparklers, and slowly moved her lips to mine for a gentle, long, sensual kiss.

Mmmmmmmm ... she moaned softly while beginning to wiggle a bit as her kiss became deeper. My hands didn't stay neutral while she was wiggling. I slowly moved one from around her back and up her side to cup one of her firm breasts, causing an even louder moan.

Her hands came up to grasp the sides of my face as the kiss came to a protracted end. Her eyes remained closed and she started to purr while my hand gently massaged her breast. I gently tweaked at a nipple causing it to grow and stiffen.

Her eyes slowly opened and I could hear her breathing becoming more rapid.

She looked at me and whispered, Take me to bed, Bobby. Make love to me.

You didn't have to ask me twice. I put my arms under her knees and around her back and stood up, lifting her gently. Her arms wrapped around my neck and she buried her face in the crook of my neck.

I heard so softly I almost didn't hear it, Oh god, yes.

As we slowly made our way towards the master bedroom, her purring became quite a bit louder.

As we passed the girls room, they all looked up, and seeing that I was carrying her mom, Eloise asked, What's wrong with, mommy?

Jessie immediately answered, Nothing, baby. Mommy's fine. Sleep well, honey.

Then she whispered to me, I need to give her a goodnight kiss, Bobby.

I immediately stopped and carried her into the bedroom where the three girls were just hanging out. I set her down gently and she leaned down to give El a goodnight kiss.

I love you, baby. Sleep well with your sisters.

I love you too, mommy. This is so neat being here with them, knowing we don't have to leave and this is going to be our home too. It makes me really happy.

This is home, baby. It makes me happy too.

Then she leaned over and gave T a hug and a good night kiss, then gave Meg the same.

As Megan hugged her back, I heard her whisper into Jessie's ear, Have fun.

Then when Jess looked at her, Megan gave her a knowing smile and a wink. Meg's seen this routine before with both mom and Mel.

Jess whispered back, Thanks, honey, I will, giving her a gentle pat on the butt.

I know, Megan whispered back with a grin.

The girls went back to reading, and Jess and I left hand in hand.

As we left the room, I heard Megan say with a chuckle, Good times at the old hoedown tonight.

I just shook my head. Jessie looked up at me with one of those, I don't believe I just heard that, looks.

I smiled at her and said, Megan knows you're getting laid tonight, sweetie, and when she said to have a good time she meant it.

Jess just shook her head and smiled.

I looked at her and figured I'd better tell her, Don't be overly surprised if we have an audience for a while at some point.

You're kidding me? she was shocked.

No, not at all. Megan knows we will be giving each other our special love. She has no odd feelings or anything about what we'll be doing. If Eloise has never seen you make love, she may get an eye full tonight.

Bobby, I'm not sure ...

Hon, it's just the way we keep things open. I don't know how much Tree has seen, but I know she's come in when Mel and I are just cuddling. We welcome her up into the bed to cuddle with us. Jess, you know they're all going to be curious, but they're not going to end up having the same kind of hang-ups other kids have when they get into their teen years. As you said about El earlier this evening, when the time comes, it's going to be up to her. Don't you think it would be better if she knew what she was deciding on?

Yeah, you're right about that, but Meg's only six, Bobby, Tree too, how can she understand or relate?

"She can't. Not totally anyway, but she knows basic birds and bees. She knows that special love is how we make babies, so you have to be very careful who you give your special love to.

Jessi, we don't actively flaunt it. We just don't squash their natural curiosity. We try to explain things to them at a level they'll be able to understand and that cures the curiosity for the time being, but we never distort or lie to them about anything like that.

No, you should never lie to them. For a while, this is going to be strange to me. I suppose I better be ready for El to have some questions.

She may go to Mel or Hailey too. It's okay, they won't mind, but until they talk to you about what you'd prefer she be told, they'll just keep it light and generic. I can tell you she's not far away from having some of those strange hormonally driven feelings, so it would probably be best if she knew what the feelings were and what was causing them, don't you think?

Yeah, you're right. Where did Mel and Hail go?

I'm sure they're in the shower across the hall from the master. That's where one of their rooms is.

Hold on for a second, I need to talk to them.

Okay, sweetheart, don't worry about it. Dealing with those kinds of issues is way higher on the priority list than screwing, I said, chuckling.

Oh, I got the look, but I deserved it. She also knew what I said was the truth. We have all night for what we have planned, and who knows, it may happen most of the night. We've been known to finish, nap, go again, nap, and do it again, but taking care of the kids needs is always, and always will be, top priority in this family.

Jess gave a knock on the door just so the girls would know that someone was going to disturb their shower.

Come on in, Bobby, we heard Mel through the door.

It's me, Mel, I need to talk to you and Hail for a second.

Oh, okay. Come on in, and hold on a sec. we're pretty much done.

Having said that, after the water had been turned off, Hailey popped out one end of the shower and grabbed a towel, followed shortly by Mel.

Both were standing there drying their gorgeous bodies, looking at the both of us, but Hailey opened the conversation.

What's up? she asked, looking at both of us.

Well, I'm not quite sure how to address it because I haven't had a lot of time to digest it.

She got strange questioning looks from both Mel and Hailey.

We went in to kiss the girls goodnight because Eloise saw Bobby carrying me to the bedroom, she started to blush a bit, but the girls didn't say anything.

When I gave Megan a kiss, she told me to 'have fun' and when Bobby explained everything to me, it was like ... whoa.

Both of the girls knew what it was about and just looked at each other giggling. This was undoubtedly going to be a bit of a culture shock for Jessica.

Yeah, Jessi, we're pretty open about everything. It's just something you'll get used to over time, Mel told her.

Jess looked at them and said, No, he said Eloise might come to you guys with questions too.

Both nodded their heads.

If she does, I don't want you to hold anything back. Just tell her what she asks in whatever detail you think is appropriate. Like I said, one of the reasons I decided to come home was so that El could experience the love we all have and feel for each other.

Hailey smiled at her nodding, Not a problem, Jessi, not at all. Did Bobby mention you're liable to have an audience?

Yeah, it's what kind of started the whole conversation about what to tell them. He said if El came to you, that you'd just give her a generic answer until you talked to me about it. Well, we've talked, and it's an open book.

Thanks, sweetie, said Mel, We'll be sure to be honest with her. Don't be surprised if when you're done, that Meg doesn't drag her into the bedroom to come cuddle with you. She kind of feels by doing that, she's able to share a little in our special love too.

We don't discourage it. Sometimes she'll take her jammies off and be naked with us. Most times, it eliminates further activities, but sometimes after a little while, she gives us a kiss and leaves. I suspect she knows, but she's never said anything. She's so cute.

Okay, why don't you two get out of here and start the show, Hailey finally added, with a huge grin.

Jessi just smiled, grabbed my hand and we were across the hall in a matter of seconds.

Now, we can either close the door totally or just leave it unlatched.

She looked at me with one eyebrow raised, not quite believing what I'd said.

If you want to eliminate any possibility of an audience, we need only close the door all the way so the latch catches. We rarely ever do it, but the girls know that a door closed, is to be left alone unless there is an emergency. If the door is just pushed to the jamb, they can push it open if they want to. Meg also knows not to open the door wide if we're making love. If she just wants to watch for a little while, she'll just crack it open so she can see, but still maintain some of our privacy. She's very perceptive.

Jess looked at me as if I'd grown a third eye, but she took a deep breath and whispered, You can leave it open if you like. She's going to see it sooner or later and I'm just gunna have to learn to deal with it. It may as well be tonight.

I smiled at her and just pushed the door until it almost met the jamb and turned to watch Jessie dropping her top onto the chair next to the bed.

She had a shit-eating grin on her face. Hmmm, do we have a closet exhibitionist here? I could tell by looking at her tits that she was already excited. Couldn't be me.

I was naked and in the bed before you could count to three, but it was just ahead of her getting her lower clothes on the floor and enthusiastically jumping in after me.

We each scootched across the bed until we had our arms around each other and just held each other tightly while swapping a lot of spit, our tongues expressing their hunger for each other. I could tell she really didn't want a lot of buildup tonight, but we were going to be tender anyway. She just wanted a cock buried in her.

I also think she was a bit nervous about the possibility of putting on a show for her daughter, but there was no assurance that the youngsters would come to watch. Meg has always been very protective of Tree, knowing that she's not quite ready to see what looks like daddy hurting mommy, not to mention the noise mommy makes. It seemed to change a little over time, but Trisha is a sensitive girl. She wouldn't understand yet and though they are only a month apart, somehow Megan understood and protected Tree from seeing something that may upset her. Give her another year or less.

Jessica and I caressed each other tenderly while continuing to kiss softly, her moans telling me just how hot she was. I squeezed her breasts gently, tweaking each nipple delicately. Her top leg was thrown over my thigh and she pressed her mound into me with remarkable pressure. She was sliding my cock between her open legs, moving up and down, slipping it between her engorged labia, soaking me with her oils.

Oh god, Bobby, this feels so good. It's been far too long.

Well, honey, I hope it won't be that long anymore. You're here where I can play with your pussy whenever you want, or I guess, whenever you're on the schedule.

She giggled and wiggled with a bit more urgency. Her moans were getting a bit louder as we continued to hold each other. However, with the increased noise, the body motion was getting a little