’ I’d always known this, so it was no surprise to me. Friends always love each other. He read my face, and knew what I was thinking. ‘No, not li...ke that. I mean, yes, of course I love you as a friend. But I think this runs deeper. ‘ I didn’t know what to say, and I’m sure the shock showed on my face. ‘It’s just that with this fight, and how much it took out of me, I realized that this is more than just a friendship. I realized that I can’t go any longer without telling you I love you. Not simply. Some alien races came close – the Sor’Kith claimed they could extrapolate emotional states via a long distance kind of electromagnetic senses, but no one bought the idea that they could read minds. But humanity had sidestepped the problem. It turned out, you needed only twenty five posts on social media to begin building a statistical model for what you would be like. Most people, from Paul DeVilbiss onwards, were more than eager to give the average government spook a lot more than twenty five. Had she invited one of her friends to play with her completely immobilized husband. I doubted it, but it added some interesting suspense to my situation. Part of her intricate plan, I was certain.There was a sudden stinging of my ass. So alert my remaining senses were that I recognized the feel of our riding crop as the assaulting weapon. Two more times the crop assailed my wanting cheeks. Then the object in my anus was removed. My mind was screaming to replace it, but my mouth remained silent.. " Come back with me to the river, mistress Hedgepeth and we can get you washed and cleaned up nicely. I will get a clean shift from the line to replace your unsuitable remnants."When Cassie came back to the river, she found the young widow up to her nipples in the water washing her long black hair in the rushing current."I also brought you some of the goat's soap we made just yesterday. It works wonders in taking out all the dirt and it makes the skin feel new again."The widow smiled her.