She cried out in despair, her hands slapping at him futilely as he drew her close, his lips raping hers in a brutal kiss. He could feel her fight and ...then just as her lips began to soften beneath his, he roughly pushed her from him to stumble against the girls that were being locked into the coffle. She hissed her hate at him as she spat on the ground. “How dare you touch me, you brute!” Hearing his laughter only made her angrier as she stamped her foot and then cried out in both surprise and. "After a week of helping get them moved in, Mrs. Maslin asked me if I would take the girls on a bike ride into and around the town, kind of show them the sights. Let them learn their way around.So, that afternoon, right after lunch, the three of us took off headed for town. I brought them to my favorite place, a large creek that flows with beautiful, clear water. It's only three to four feet deep at most and the girls jumped off their bikes and rushed into the water. It was a warm, summer day. .."Wainwright broke in with a chuckle. "Just stop before you even start. I've become ... callous about friends — close friends — over the years. There is always someone trying to get close enough to untie my purse strings, as my dad used to say. So I guess, I've become more than a little reserved and cautious. With you, you will spend money when you need too, but it doesn't run your life. You love and respect that fine building that Dave and Evie built for me, but you would be just as happy. I decided to grab el toro by los cuernos, as my left fielder, Ramon Lopez, might have said it. "Why don't all three of you beautiful ladies come to tomorrow's game as my guests?" I said. "And instead of cooking, allow me to take you to dinner afterward."My mind ran quickly through the gustatory choices available in Beautiful Downtown Bluefield. We had all the usual fast-food places. There was a Mexican restaurant, but it seemed kinda presumptuous to invite three Mexican-American women to a West.