Date: Fri, 5 Sep 2008 19:25:35 -0400 From: numlfl Subject: Maggie's Farm - Part Two This story is the property of the author. You may keep a copy on your computer for personal enjoyment, however if you wish to publish or distribute the story then you must get the permission of the author. Maggie's Farm Part Two By Chris Today was the anniversary of the day when that madman walked into that theater and tore Brandie's world apart. Maggie then knew why Brandie's behavior had changed so suddenly. She dropped the belt onto the floor as she walked over to where Brandie was standing. She put her arms around Brandie and she pulled her into her body. She felt Brandie's body tense up as she tried to push Maggie away but Maggie wasn't about to let that happen. She just held on tighter. "Let me go, you bitch!" Brandie screamed into Maggie's ear but that only made Maggie pull her in tighter. "Get away from me." She screamed as she struggled to get away from Maggie's grip. "No baby, I'm not going to let go of you. I'm never going to let you go." Maggie whispered into her ear. "I'm here for as long as you need me." "I don't need anyone, you're fucking crazy if you think I do." Brandie screamed again. "No one, I don't need no one!" "I'm not going anywhere honey. I'm always going to be here for you." Maggie said softly. "Fuck you!" Brandie said as she started to beat Maggie's back with her fists. "Let it out Brandie, let it out." Maggie said as Brandie continued to hit her back. And her fists were hurting her but she kept a hold of Brandie as she knew it was now or never and she didn't care how much it hurt she wasn't going to let go. "Let you of me you crazy bitch!" Brandie said as she hit Maggie harder and Maggie squeezed her tightly as she began to caress Brandie's back as Brandie had stopped trying to push her away. She was just hitting her on the back. "Let the anger out honey, let it out." Maggie told her. "Oh god!" Brandie said in a long sigh and she stopped hitting Maggie who for a second thought that Brandie had passed out on her as she was having to hold her up then she heard a big sob come from Brandie. "Oh fuck it hurts, it hurts Maggie." Brandie said sobbing. "I know it does baby but we're going to get you through the pain. I promise you that." Maggie said as she put one hand to the back of Brandie head and she caressed her there. "Oh god is it ever going to end..." Brandie just sobbed. "Oh baby..." Maggie said as she felt her own tears fall as she was feeling the pain that Brandie was feeling. Maggie held onto Brandie letting her cry as she used her hands and fingers to caress and try to comfort her friend. She cried with her as she held her tight. She didn't say anything for a moment as Brandie's crying was drowning out anything she would have said. She had never seen anyone in so much pain and Maggie knew that Brandie had been holding onto the pain since her parents died. It was long past time for her to let it out and they were going to find a way for Brandie to express it and get it out even if they had to talk for days and weeks on end. She would get Brandie through this she promised herself. As Brandie's tears and her sobbing began to lessen, she developed a case of the hiccups. If it wasn't so sad, it would have been funny as Brandie would let out a sob then her body would shake from the hiccup. Slowly Brandie's sobbing began to ebb leaving just the hiccups. Maggie lessened her grip and she felt Brandie wrap her arms around her holding on for dear life. Maggie tightened her grip on Brandie and she said into Brandie's ear, "Honey, I going to help you get through this, I promise." "I don't think you can, I don't think anyone can." Brandie said as she hiccupped again causing her whole body to shake. Maggie pulled back from Brandie and this time Brandie let her however Maggie still held onto her as she only backed away far enough for Brandie to be able to look her into her eyes only Brandie had her head down so Maggie had to use her right hand to tenderly lift Brandie's head up so that she could look into her eyes. She made sure that Brandie had made eye contact with her before she spoke, "I know I can help you and I will." She said not feeling as confident as she made her voice sound. She was determined to help Brandie and if she couldn't then she would find someone that could. "But no one can help me, I'm beyond help now." Brandie said as she started to cry again. Maggie gripped Brandie's chin hard bringing her face back up and this time she let her anger show. "Now that is the last time I will ever hear something like that coming from you young lady. Do you hear me!" "Yes but..." Brandie started to say as she hiccupped again. "There is no buts about it. You are not beyond help, no one is and you are definitely not. Now you sit your ass down on the bed and I'm going to get you a glass of water to get rid of those hiccups and we are going to talk. And this time you're going to tell me everything and I mean everything!" Maggie said as she guided Brandie to her bed and made her sit down. "Yes..." Brandie said as she hiccupped again. "Good," Maggie said as she went out of the room taking confident strides. She wanted to look back at Brandie but she forced herself not to. She wanted Brandie to think that she was going to solve all her problems. When she got to the kitchen, she had to grab the edge of the counter before her knees gave out on her. "Oh god what am I'm going to do now?" She said to herself. She knew she didn't have much time so she had to get it together quick before she went back in to face Brandie. She grabbed a glass, filling it with cold well water then she turned around. She got her knees back under her and she looked to the sky and said, "You got me into this Pop and you damn well better help me out." She figured that it was her father that got her back to the farm thus he was the one that got her into this mess and made her promise to do something she knew she wasn't qualified to do. But between her and her father's sprit then maybe she could just pull this off. When she came back into Brandie's bedroom, Brandie was sitting there on the bed where she had left her and defeat was written all across Brandie's face. "Shit, please don't let me fuck this up Pop." She said to herself. "Here baby, drink this down." Maggie said as she sat down next to her. She handed the glass to Brandie with her left hand as her right one went to Brandie's back. She gently rubbed it as Brandie took the glass with both hands and she drank it down. Then she handed the glass back to Maggie who quickly set the glass on the nightstand before coming back to face Brandie. She placed her left hand on Brandie's right hand which she had resting on her thigh. "Now tell me what's going on in that head of yours." Maggie said softly. "I don't know what to say, it's just all jumbled up inside of me. I feel all this anger and pain. It just seems to get all mixed up." Brandie told her as she turned her head from Maggie. "Brandie look at me." Maggie said gently and she didn't say anything more until Brandie finally lifted her head back up and she faced Maggie. There were these big tears rolling down Brandie's cheeks and Maggie wanted to just pull Brandie to her but she knew if she did them Brandie would just go back to sobbing and that wasn't going to solve anything. "Okay now let's just face one thing at a time so let's start with the anger that you're feeling." Maggie said and Brandie just nodded her head. "So who are you angry with?" Maggie asked. "I don't know..." Brandie said then she added, "... no one and everyone. I'm just angry." "Okay let's start over. Are you angry at me?" Maggie asked. "Oh no, not you. You've been better to me than anyone." Brandie said with a force in her voice that Maggie liked hearing. "Okay, are you mad at Judge Kerner?" She asked. "No, he's been good to me too." Brandie said. "How about your last foster parents?" "Not really, they weren't great but they were okay." She said. "What about the ones before them?" Maggie asked. "No not them either." Brandie said. Maggie knew they could be at this forever so she decided to go ahead and ask the hard question and the one she figured that she would get a positive response. "Are you mad at your parents for dying and leaving you all alone?" Maggie asked and she saw Brandie's face change just for an instant and she saw a flash of anger then it was gone. "No!" Brandie protested much too loudly, "I loved them. I could never be angry at them. I can't believe you would say such a thing!" then she pulled her hand away from Maggie's hand and she stood up. She started to walk back and front of Maggie getting more and more agitated. Maggie let her walk for a moment getting her blood going then she stood up taking a hold of Brandie turning her so that Brandie was facing her. "You know it's okay to be mad at them." Maggie said looking into Brandie's eyes making sure that Brandie understood what she was saying. "No it's not okay..." Brandie started to say as she bit her lower lip and her whole body began to tremble. "Tell me why you're angry with them Brandie." Maggie said calmly. "I'm not mad at them!" Brandie said almost yelling. "Why are you angry at them Brandie, tell me." Maggie said firmly. "I'm not!" Brandie said as the trembling got worse. "Yes you are Brandie so tell me why. Tell me Brandie!" Maggie demanded and she could feel the conflict that was going within Brandie's soul. Brandie eyes filled with fire as she cried out, "They went out without me and they got killed, they didn't ever try to duck or anything, they just fucking died and they left me alone, all fucking alone..." Brandie then just sat down on the floor with a thump covering her face with her hands as she began to sob. "You happy now, you fucking bitch!" She spat out at Maggie. Maggie sat down in the floor in front of Brandie letting her cry for a moment then she put reached out and grasped Brandie's wrists in her hands. She gently pulled at them but Brandie resisted her. Maggie kept pulling gently but determinately on Brandie's wrists until Brandie let her hands fall from her face and she gave Maggie a look that would kill. Maggie kept eye contact with Brandie not saying anything for a second then she said softly, "It's okay to be mad at them. It doesn't mean that you don't love them." Brandie's face held the anger until Maggie's words sank in, then her face showed her confusion. "Let me tell you something about me and my father. As I told you, he raised me by himself after my mom died when I was two. And he did a pretty good job of it. We had a good life together here on the farm but the whole time that I grew up, I dreamed of getting off this farm and all the hard dirty work. I wanted something better and he told me that was wanted for me. Then just after I had graduated from college and was about to start my new life with my new job in the city, he up and had a massive stroke. I rushed home to find him in the hospital with all those tubes running from about every part of his body. The machines were the only thing that were keeping him alive. The judge was there at the hospital when I got there and after I had some time alone with my father the judge took me to waiting area. He sat me down and told me some things about my father that I never knew. He and my father had been best friends since they both were knee high to a grasshopper. He told me that my father had always had a secret dream of me one day coming back to the farm and living there, to raise my family there but he would never tell me that as he knew that I had different dreams and those dreams were what he had supported because that was what I had wanted. This surprised me but then it didn't as my father had always supported me in whatever I wanted to do even if it wasn't what he wanted for me. So we talked more about my father and his life. I spent the rest of the night beside my father's bed holding his hand and talking to him and telling him why I couldn't ever come back to the farm, I had my own life to live. Then the next day the judge was by my side as the machines were turned off and my father died. The judge helped me to make all the arrangements and got me through it all. Then I was left alone on that damn farm. I would dream about my father at night then walk the fields the next day trying my best to say goodbye to my father and to the farm. As the days passed I found that I was doing things on the farm. I kept telling myself that I was just making it look better to sell. The days turned into weeks and the weeks into months and I stayed on this damn farm. Every time something went wrong on the farm I would cuss my father for doing this to me. I hated him on those days. I mean I hated him to my very core for making me stay on this fucking farm. But that doesn't mean that I didn't love him. I have always loved him and I always will. But a part of grief is anger. It took me a year to realized that this was the only place that I was really ever happy. I found my dream job, it just turned out it wasn't the one I thought it was but the one my father knew it was. He was just going to let me figured that out on my own." Maggie let Brandie think about that before she went on, "You lost your parents just when you needed them the most. I lost my mother long before I ever knew her but you lost your mother just when you were becoming a women and you needed her to guide you through those years. You didn't get to fight with her over makeup and dates and things. You saw the girls around you talk about their mothers and you had no one to talk about with them. All you had was this void in your life that had to be filled with something and that became the pain and anger you were feeling. No one ever told you or showed you how to grieve. So let's start again and this time let your emotions out. I want you to do something for me." "What's that?" Brandie asked as her face still showed some confusion but also the beginnings of some understanding of what Maggie was trying to tell her. "Just a second and I will tell you." Maggie said as she got up and got a pillow from Brandie's bed getting the soft foam one and not the feather one. She then came back and stood in front of Brandie. "Stand up and take this." More confusion appeared on Brandie's face but she did as she was told. "Now I want you to tell me why you hate your parents and after each one I want you to hit me with the pillow." "You're crazy." Brandie said as she dropped the pillow onto the floor. "Then I don't guess you loved your parents too much did you." Maggie said as a challenge which from the look of anger in Brandie's eyes, she had gotten to her. "Fuck you, I did love my parents." Brandie said with fire in her eyes. "They were the greatest parents a girl could have." "I don't know, they left you alone and went and got themselves killed. I would say that they didn't love you too much then." Maggie said as she picked up the pillow, handling it to Brandie who took it this time. "Tell me why you hate your parents." Maggie demanded. "I don't hate them!" Brandie said. "That's not what you said a few minutes ago. Tell me the truth girl. Tell me, you hate them! Tell me now. Let that anger out you pussy!" Maggie demanded as she looked Brandie in the eyes challenging her. Maggie could see the anger overcoming Brandie as she had meant to piss her off and she was doing it. She wanted her angry. "Tell me!" Maggie yelled at Brandie who seemed to be lost for a second then it came out. "They died, they fucking died!" Brandie said and this time she swung the pillow at Maggie hitting her in the shoulder and the blow about knocked Maggie over. "Why else!" Maggie demanded. "They didn't even try to duck or anything, they just sat there and let that fucking asshole kill them!" Brandie yelled as she swung the pillow and this time Maggie was better prepared for the blow but still it shook her. "Good, let that anger out!" Maggie yelled. "If they had loved me they wouldn't have gone out and left me alone!" Brandie yelled and swung the pillow at Maggie hitting her. "They just wanted to have fun without me!" And again Maggie got hit. Then Brandie went on and on with why she was angry with her parents, talking about all the foster homes she had and how they didn't leave her with someone who would love her like they did. And after everything Brandie said she hit Maggie hard with the pillow, until she ran out of things to say and was just hitting Maggie with the pillow getting all the demons out of her system. Finally she collapsed onto the bed crying. Maggie let the cobwebs clear from her head that Brandie had put there with the pillow. Then she lay down beside of Brandie taking her into her arms. Brandie cried softly for a moment then she opened her eyes and said so softly that Maggie could barely hear her, "I do love my parents." "I know you do baby and they loved you. If they could have done anything to keep from being killed they would have." Maggie said as she brushed the hair from Brandie's eyes. "Then why am I mad at them?" Brandie asked. "Let me put it in simpler terms. You like me right, I mean we have become good friends since you have been here right?" Maggie asked. "Yes, of course." Brandie said still not seeing where Maggie was going with this. "But you have gotten mad at me at times haven't you?" Maggie said. Brandie hesitated for a second not sure how the answer the question then she said, "Well yes sometimes." "But you still like me." Maggie said. "Sure, you've been good to me." Brandie said. "It's the same thing, you can like someone and still get mad at them. When your parents were alive you got mad at them then didn't you?" Maggie asked. "Sure when they punished me for something I did." Brandie said. "But you never stopped loving them did you?" Maggie asked. "No..." Brandie said and Maggie could see the light begin to go on in Brandie's head. "It is the same in life as it is in death. I loved my father and still do but there is times I get mad at him. Even now when that damn tractor starts to act up and I cuss it, I'm actually cussing him for not replacing it long ago." Brandie smiled at that and then she said, "You know you can just as easily replace it as him." "Oh I see, getting that smart mouth back." Maggie said as she smiled so that Brandie knew she was kidding with her. And she saw Brandie smile and that made Maggie feel good to see. "So you understand what I've been trying to tell you tonight?" Maggie asked turning serious again. "Yes but what about when I start to feel angry again?" Brandie asked. "Then we talk, come to me and we'll talk. And we're not done talking about the anger you have felt. You have held it in for much too long for us to fix it all tonight. But we have gotten a good start. The main thing is for you not to shut me out. Now why don't you go on to sleep and we can talk more tomorrow." Maggie said as she kissed Brandie on the forehead the she started to sit up. "Maggie..." Brandie started to say then she stopped. "What baby?" "Oh nothing..." Brandie said. "Now what did we just get done talking about you opening up to me?" Maggie asked her. Brandie bit her lower lips as she hesitated for a moment then she said quietly, "Would you stay here with me tonight? I don't want to be alone." "Sure baby, just let me go turn off the lights and I'll be right back." Maggie said as she kissed Brandie's forehead again and she got up. She went out of the room feeling a little better about things and she hoped that come tomorrow that it would continue to go well. She turned out the lights returning to Brandie's room. She looked down at her and she saw that Brandie was sound asleep. She pulled the sheets and blankets from under Brandie barely disturbing her and she covered her up. She thought about just going on back to her own bedroom but then she knew that if Brandie woke up and she wasn't in the bed with her then everything that she had accomplished tonight might be destroyed. So she went to her bedroom pulling off the clothes and putting on her nightgown. She returned to Brandie's room and she slid in beside of her. "Thanks for coming back." Brandie said sleepily. "I told you I would baby." Maggie said as she pulled Brandie in close to her and she held her tightly. She felt Brandie's warm body against her own body and it felt so nice. It felt too nice for her own comfort. She pushed those thoughts from her conscious mind but somewhere down deep they still laid. Maggie woke a little before five AM as she always did. She looked over at her friend sleeping soundly. She hated to wake her but then she decided that now more than even Brandie needed her normal routine continued. So she placed her hand on Brandie's shoulder, gently shaking her. "Wake you honey, it's time to start the day." Maggie said as she watched Brandie's eyes slowly open. There was confusion at first in those eyes as if she didn't know what or where is was then a soft smile came to her face as the confusion faded. Morning hon... it's time to get the day started." Maggie told her. "Can't we sleep for just a little longer?" Brandie said with a hopeful look in her eyes. "Have I ever let you sleep in?" Maggie asked her. "No but there's always the first time for everything." Brandie said with even more hope in her eyes. "True but today's not that day, Now get your ass out of bed. We got work to do." Maggie said and she saw some disappointment in Brandie's eyes but also there a sort of relief that things were normal. It was going to be a day that was the same as any other day. Maggie gave Brandie's shoulder a squeeze as she got out of bed and headed toward the bathroom. When she was done there, she went to her bedroom to dress and then on to the kitchen to fix them something to eat. Brandie came wandering in about the time Maggie had their breakfast done, just as she had done every day since they had gotten there. As they ate, Maggie told Brandie that she could skip the days lessons and she would come with her to help with the cattle. The weather was turning cold and it was time to move them from the outer pastures to the pasture next to the house. That way it would be easier to feed them when the snows came. So they rode the tractor out to the outer fields taking all three dogs with them. Once there, Maggie sent the dogs out to round up the cattle. They followed along helping the dogs get them into a small herd. There was only twelve so it wasn't all that hard to bunch them up and the dogs kept them that way. "So tell me about your parents Brandie, I'd like to hear all about them." Maggie said as they walked behind the cattle. Normally she would have used the tractor to keep up with the cattle but this time she decided that walking would be better and would give them time to talk. Brandie's eyes clouded with fear as she looked over at Maggie. She hesitated for a moment before she said, "Can't we wait for a while to talk about them. I'm not sure that I'm ready to talk about hem yet." "Brandie you're not going to be any more ready tomorrow or next week or next month so now is as good a time as any." Maggie told her, then she decided to help Brandie out a little, "Tell me about the last vacation that you took together." Brandie looked at her and Maggie saw her thinking and then her eyes became moist. Maggie was afraid that Brandie would freeze up before she began to speak. "I got to pick out where we would go so I decided that I wanted to go to Six Flags. One of my friends had gone there the summer before and she told me how fun it was. So that is where we went." "Was it as fun as your friend said?" Maggie asked. "Oh god yes, the first day we were there I spent the whole day riding all the rides. I had gotten taller over the winter so I was tall enough to go on almost all the rides. My mom went on all the roller coasters there except one. That one she refused to go on so I made my father go with me on it. I think he was scared to death of the thing but he went with me." Brandie said proudly and Maggie saw the smile that was on Brandie's face as she thought about that moment. "How long did you stay there?" Maggie asked as Brandie had stopped talking for a second. "Four days and it was the best vacation ever. I think I wore them out those days but we had fun, lots of fun." Brandie said as she let a tear fall down her cheek. "I bet it was. I'm not sure I would have gone on a roller coaster ride, the thought of being so high and going so fast scares me to death." Maggie told her. "Oh no they're fun." Brandie said excitedly and the she started to talk about how they went up slowly and then back down so fast. From there it was easy for Maggie to gently guide the conversation. She got Brandie to talk openly about what all her parents did for her and how they acted toward each other. Maggie could see that Brandie had very loving parents and how that made it so much harder for her to lose them. She was the center of their world and Brandie soaked it up. And maybe they spoiled her just a bit but that was their right to do so. But that also increased the loss as she was use to lots of attention and then all that attention was taken away from her. And maybe that was why she had done so well on the farm as it was just the two of them so again Brandie was getting the attention that she had lost. By the time they had the cattle back home, it was going close to lunch time and Brandie was about talked out. So Maggie sent her back to get the tractor as she cooked them some dinner. By the time that Brandie had returned with the tractor, Maggie had the hamburgers fried up. It was a cold morning so Brandie's cheeks were cherry red from the cold and Maggie thought to herself about how cute she looked. Maggie helped her get her jacket off and she poured her some hot chocolate to warm her up. Then they sat down and ate. Maggie kept the conversation about the farm and she talked a little about her father thus giving Brandie a break from the emotions that she was feeling and had felt all morning. That afternoon they worked in the barn and this time Maggie didn't have to get Brandie to talk about her parents, she did so on her own. She seemed to want to talk more about her mother so once Brandie had gotten started, Maggie continued to gently urge Brandie on and then she would stop the gentle pushing when Brandie talked about something that she felt deeply about and that would cause her to miss her mom so much. That evening they sat inside on the couch watching the fire in the fireplace since the weather had decided that it was long past time to cool down. They had both taken their showers and they were both dressed in their nightgowns. Maggie had given Brandie one of her flannel ones since Brandie had just been wearing one of Maggie's shirts to sleep in and that wouldn't keep her warm at night. They sat and talked for a while then as Brandie got sleepy as it had been another emotional day for her, she laid down on the couch putting her head on Maggie's lap. At first Maggie was surprised by Brandie's action then she did what came natural to her. She placed her right hand on Brandie's shoulder caressing it as her left hand gently caressed Brandie's hair. Soon Brandie's breathing changed as she fell asleep. Maggie smiled at her young friend and she had to say that the day had gone pretty well. They still had a lot of issues to deal with but they had a good start. Maggie thought about Brandie and her parents and something came to her that she felt would do Brandie some good but it wasn't going to be easy for her. After a while she gently woke Brandie up and sent her on to bed saying that she was going to bed too. However once she got to her bedroom she picked up the phone and called her the judge asking him for a favor. The next morning Maggie suggested it was time for Brandie to get back to work on her studies. Brandie moaned but then once she had the table cleaned from breakfast, she got out her books and began to study as Maggie went about her chores. When she came back about lunch time, Brandie had her lunch fixed and she had her studies done. By Saturday, she had completely caught up from where she had slacked off and was working ahead. At breakfast, Maggie told Brandie that she had something planned for them that day. Brandie, of course, wanted to know what Maggie had planned but Maggie was vague as to what it was. As Brandie changed into her jeans, Maggie called the judge to find out if he was able to come through for her and of course he had. He told her to stop by his mailbox and she would find what she needed. So when Brandie came back into the kitchen, Maggie ushered her out the door and to the truck. This time she drove when normally Brandie was the one driving so Brandie knew something was up. Maggie kept the conversation light as she drove and when she got to the judge's place she found a digital directional finder in the mail box. When she turned it on, then little machine showed them where they were and what direction to go. Again Brandie tried to get Maggie to tell her where they were going but she wouldn't say. They headed north toward Topeka and Brandie became suspicious as to what Maggie had planned. She became quiet and Maggie left her to her thoughts as she drove. She could only hope that this was the right thing to do. It took her about two hours to get to the outskirts of the city. Maggie could see Brandie starting to bite her lower lip and she knew that Brandie had figured out where they were heading. "I don't want to do this." Brandie said with her voice cracking from the fear and pain that she was feeling as they entered the cemetery. "I know you don't but someone should have taken you here long ago. It's something that you need to do honey." Maggie said gently. "I can't, please take me back home." Brandie begged of Maggie. "I'm going to be there with you honey. We'll do this together." Maggie said as she reached over and took Brandie's hand in hers. "You won't leave me..." Brandie asked as the tears began to roll down her cheeks. "No baby, I'm going to be there for as long as you need for me to be." Maggie assured her as she stopped the truck when the little machine told her to. The judge had told her where the graves would be so Maggie pretty much knew where to go. She got out of the truck first and she went to the front of it. She leaned against the hood of the truck with her back to Brandie. She had gotten Brandie here and now it was up to her. It didn't take Brandie as long as Maggie would have thought to get out of the truck. When Brandie came around to her, Maggie took her hand giving it a squeeze as she started toward the graves. She walked slowly letting Brandie have time to prepare herself. They went down the roll of graves and Maggie could hear Brandie crying softly. Then they were there. Maggie stood there with Brandie and she could see that Brandie was trying her best not to look at the names on the tombstones. But soon her eyes drifted down. Maggie heard Brandie let out a sob as she began to cry hard. Maggie went behind her and she wrapped her arms around Brandie holding her up as she cried. She slowly eased Brandie down so that she was sitting at the foot of her parent's graves. She held her tight as Brandie leaned back against her. Brandie cried hard for a few minutes then she began to get it together. After a few minutes, Brandie started to ease forward and Maggie let her go. She watched as Brandie went to the tombstones. Then she saw Brandie run her fingers across her mother's name and then her father's name. That was when Maggie started to cry but she did so as silently as possible so as not to disturb her. Maggie knew that it was time to let Brandie be alone with her parents. She stood up and eased back a few steps and then a few more. She saw Brandie look back and she stood still and she gave Brandie a soft smile. Brandie's eyes went back to her parent's graces and that was when Maggie took a few more steps back. Every time Brandie would look back at her Maggie was a few steps further away until she had retreated back to the truck. There she stayed leaning against the truck door but never going inside. She wanted Brandie to be able to see her and know that she was there for her if needed. Maggie could see that Brandie was talking to her parents but she was too far away to hear what Brandie was telling them and that was the way she wanted it. This was between Brandie and her parents. Brandie stayed there for well over an hour and Maggie began to worry about her sitting on the cold ground as there was a cold breeze in the air but she wasn't about to go get her until Brandie was ready to leave on her own. Brandie did finally stand up and then it appeared that her knees were about to buckle under her and Maggie started to go to her however Brandie seemed to have gotten her feet back under her. She wiped her eyes before she turned toward Maggie and started to walk back to the truck. When she got there, she went on to the passenger side and got in. Maggie opened her door and she started the truck up getting the heat going to warm them both up. She also pulled out a thermos and poured them both a hot cup of coffee. Maggie saw that Brandie's eyes were swollen and red. She wasn't saying anything and Maggie didn't press her to talk. They just sipped there coffee until the truck cab had warmed up and thus they had started to get warm. As Maggie eased the old truck back out onto the highway, Brandie finally spoke, "Thank you for bringing me here today." Maggie felt her own tears begin to fall as then she knew that she had done the right thing. "You're welcome." "Will you bring me back sometime?" Brandie asked. "Any time you want, you just tell me and we'll come back." Maggie told her as she reached over and took Brandie's hand in hers. "Good," Brandie said as she looked out the window at the passing houses and buildings. They went on for a while before Maggie said, "Are you getting hungry? We can stop if you like." Brandie was silent for a moment and Maggie wasn't sure that she had heard her but then she replied with, "Yea that would be nice, I am getting hungry." "So where do you want to eat?" Maggie asked. "There was a big mall that we passed on the way here, can we stop there and eat. I'm sure that there will be a good restaurant there." Brandie said as she finally looked back over at Maggie. "And maybe we can do a little clothes shopping while we're there..." Maggie said as she eyed Brandie with a small smile on her face as she could see that was what Brandie really wanted to do. "Yea but we can just window shop today, I don't need or want anything really." Brandie said as she bit her lower lit. "What would be the fun of that, we got to buy something. We've both had a hard week, we need to have some fun today." Maggie told her as she gave Brandie's hand another squeeze. Brandie's eyes lit up at that and she smiled for the first time since they had left her parents grave. But then the smile turned into a frown when she said, "It isn't wrong for me to want to shop today after just visiting my parents graves is it?" "No baby it's not. If there is anything that I have learned from what you have told me about your parents is that they wouldn't have wanted you to stop living just because they died. They wanted to best for you and there is nothing wrong with enjoying yourself. Don't ever deny yourself the pleasures of life. That would be the last thing that they would have wanted of you or for you. So let's just enjoy the rest of the day and maybe we can buy us some pretty clothes to wear. As I think that I have kept you on the farm far too long. We both need to start doing fun things and not just work all the time. How does that sound to you?" Maggie asked. "It sounds great, I would like that." Brandie said as she smiled brightly. "I would too." Maggie said squeezing Brandie's hand again. "So just where did you see this mall?" Maggie asked her. "It's just a few miles ahead, just take exit sixty-nine and go to the right, then it is about ten miles from the exit." Brandie told her. "And you saw this mall from the road on the way up here?" Maggie asked as she looked over at Brandie with her eyebrows raised. "Well... no... When I lived here with my last foster parents, my school was near the mall and I when I felt like cutting school, I would hang out there." Brandie admitted. "I see, the truth always comes out in the end." Maggie told her as she smiled and gave Brandie a wink. "I may have to start checking up on my student when she is suppose to be studying from now on." "Don't worry, I won't cut classes anymore." Brandie told her. "And how can I be sure of that?' Maggie said as she grinned so that Brandie knew that she was kidding with her. "There's no mall to hang out at near your farm." Brandie said straight faced. Maggie looked over at Brandie and laughed out loud at Brandie's quick thinking. "That was a good one!" She told her and Brandie laughed with her. So Brandie directed Maggie to the mall where they first stopped at one of the restaurants and ate. Brandie told her about all the stores within the mall and the cool stuff that they had in them. The more Brandie talked the more Maggie knew that her credit card was going to take a big hit. Brandie had gone so long without the ability to buy anything new for herself and she deserved better. Maggie's father had left her with plenty of money and Maggie had added to it every year since she had taken over the farm. She had never spent any money on herself so all the money she made each year was added to her savings. Money wasn't going to be a problem and now she had someone to spend some of that money on and a reason to spend a little on herself. After eating, Brandie gave her a tour of the mall as they window shopped then they went back to the places that Brandie liked and they started to look at the clothes. First Brandie tried on some dresses and she would come out of the dressing room for Maggie to see what they looked liked on her. Maggie had never seen Brandie in a dress and she saw the curves that Brandie had developed and they looked good on her. Brandie was transformed in front of her eyes and she couldn't help but to admit that Brandie was doing something to her. She tried to push those thoughts from her mind but with every dress or jeans that Brandie tried on just reinforced those thoughts. Brandie got Maggie to try on some dresses and she seemed to keep picking out dresses that fit snugly on her and she saw in Brandie's eyes what she knew was in her own eyes just moments before. So they shopped all afternoon doing more trying on than buying but still Maggie's credit card was used in several stores. Brandie also got Maggie to go into a lingerie store where Brandie picked out some sexy panties and bras and she got Maggie to get some too. As they left the store, all Maggie could think of was what Brandie would look like in some of the things that they picked up. They got in late that evening and as Maggie went to check on the cattle making sure that they had plenty of feed and their water hadn't frozen over on them, she had Brandie take in their purchases. She told her to go ahead and take her shower and then she would be in to take hers. Once she was done with the cattle and she had checked on the dogs giving them all a little petting, she came on into the house. She got her a drink of water as she heard the shower still running. She thought about how the day had gone and she figured that things were going as well as could be expected. Brandie had gotten to visit with her parents and she was able to heal a little by doing so. Then the shopping trip was just what Brandie needed to take her mind off of her troubles and the loss of her parents. As her mind came back to the present, she realized that the shower had stopped so she headed to the back of the house. As she turned into the hallway leading to the bedroom and the showers, Brandie was coming out of the bathroom. Maggie stopped in her tracks as she looked at Brandie who was naked as the day she was born, except for the towel that she had on her head. Brandie stopped just outside of the bathroom with her legs slightly spread. Maggie looked down at Brandie's B cupped breasts capped with light colored nipples that seemed to harden just a little as she stood there. Maggie's eyes ventured on down to the flare of Brandie's hips and on down to the light colored pubic hair that covered Brandie's pussy. The outer lips covered the inner lips and they seem to be slightly swollen. Maggie felt her heart speed up and she could feel a twitch within her pussy. Maggie knew she should turn away but she couldn't. Her feet wouldn't move and she couldn't make her head turn away from Brandie's body. She was just too beautiful a woman not to look at and that body was awakening a desire deep within her. After what seemed to be hours but was only a minute or so, Brandie began to walk toward Maggie, she was taking short slow steps keeping her eyes on Maggie until she got to her bedroom door where she turned slowly allowing Maggie to view her from the rear. Brandie's back was well formed and that back led to a perfect curved ass that begged to be kissed. After Brandie had gone into her bedroom, Maggie just stood there trying to get her breathing back under control and she finally got her feet to work. As she passed Brandie's room, her eyes naturally turned to look in at her. Brandie was sitting on her bed brushing out her hair. Her legs were open and with her light bush, Maggie could clearly see her slit. Maggie heard a low moan and then she realized that the moan was coming from her throat. Maggie stood there for a second looking at Brandie then as Brandie smiled at her, Maggie made herself move on past her room. Maggie felt like she was in a daze as she went directly to the bathroom. She striped out of her clothing then she stepped into the shower. She let the warm water run down over her body and the only thing that was on her mind was Brandie's body. Her hands went up to her breasts cupping them then her fingers began to pinch her nipples. She wasn't surprised to find that her nipples were already hard. She pinched and pulled on them as she moaned. If her eyes had been open she would have seen Brandie peaking at her from the door. Since she had clear glass doors covering the shower, Brandie got a clear view of Maggie's body and what she was doing to it. Maggie kept pinching and pulling out on her nipples as her mind went back to Brandie's nude body. Then she let her right hand leave her breast and she lowered it to her pussy. She always kept her pussy hair trimmed short and her fingers rubbed against the short hairs above her slit. Slowly she eased her fingers to her clit which was swollen and was peeking from its hiding place. She gently rubbed her clit letting out another moan as she did so. Just as she felt herself getting close to an orgasm, she moved her fingers to the entrance of her pussy. She slipped two fingers into her pussy feeling the walls tighten down against them. She began to move those fingers in and out of her wet hot pussy. "Oh god Brandie!" Maggie moaned out not realizing that Brandie could hear her as she watched her masturbate. Maggie pushed her fingers in and out of her pussy at an increasing rate of speed and forcefulness. Maggie moaned and groaned as she got ever closer to that released that she needed so fucking bad. Finally she couldn't take it anymore, so she moved her left hand to her pussy and she used the fingers of that hand to rub her clit as she continued to fuck herself. Her fingers were flying across her clit until her orgasm was at hand She pinched her clit with her fingers rolling it around between them. That was what sent her over the edge and she let loose with a loud moan as she came hard. Her knees almost buckled as she came and she had to hold onto the shower nozzle to keep from falling. Once she had recovered, she felt guilty over what she was thinking as she masturbated but it was something that she didn't seem to have any control over. Brandie had come to be much more than a friend to her over these past few months. But still Maggie knew that she had to control herself and that Brandie had been hurt much too much over the past few years and she didn't want to add to that pain. Maggie got herself back together and she went back to taking a shower cleaning her body as she tried to wash the imagine of Brandie's naked body from her mind. The first she was able to accomplish but the other was beyond her ability. Once she finished, she stepped from the shower, drying her body and putting lotion on before picking up her clothes and leaving the bathroom. She glanced down toward Brandie's bedroom and she noticed that Brandie was peeking at her from the corner of her doorway. For a reason that she didn't know she stopped and turned so that she was facing Brandie's bedroom. She looked back into the bathroom so as to appear to be looking for something that she had forgotten. She stood there for a moment allowing Brandie to look at her naked body. Then she went back to the bathroom bending over so that her ass was still in Brandie's view and she picked up some imaginary object. Then she stood up and went on to her bedroom. Once inside her bedroom, she couldn't believe what she had done but she had done it. That night as she went to sleep she had Brandie's body on her mind and that led to some very erotic dreams. "Thank you for yesterday." Brandie said as they walked out to where the cattle were at so that Maggie could see if the cattle needed more hay as she had put a big roll of hay out for them on Friday. "You're welcome. And remember when you want to go back then let me know." Maggie told her. "Can we go back to the mall too?" Brandie asked. "Yea we can go there too." Maggie said smiling at her friend. "Good, I liked that, it was fun, the most fun I've had in a long time." Brandie said as she smiled warmly. "You deserve it, you've worked hard for me since you've been here and I need to start looking at what I should have been paying you. That way you can save up to buy the things that you want." Maggie told her. "You don't have to pay me anything. I like it here, you treat me good. You don't make me feel like I don't belong. You treat me like I'm your friend and not just some foster child you have to take care of." Brandie told her. "I've never thought of you like that. Even when you got here, I thought of you as someone who just needed a little help. And since then you have become more like a great friend and friends help each other out when they need it. I needed help running this farm and you just needed a friend to show you that there was indeed a light at the end of the tunnel." Maggie said as she wrapped her arm around Brandie's waist giving her a squeeze. "You've done more than that for me." Brandie said as she up at Maggie with her eyes showing the emotion that she was feeling. They walked together like that until they got to the cattle then Maggie let Brandie go so that she could check on the cows. As she did this, Brandie went over to the water trough where she broke up the ice that had formed overnight. They worked around the cattle for a while then headed back toward the house where they warmed up a bit before heading to the barn. Maggie wanted to move things around in case they had to use the barn for the cattle. If they had a big snow then Maggie liked to move the cattle into the big barn that she had. That way they were protected from the weather better. It wasn't like they couldn't survive out in the snow if given food but it was just easier for Maggie to care for them if they were in the barn. The Farmer's Almanac was predicting a long hard winter and since her father had always believed in that then she figured that it wouldn't hurt to do so either. Besides it was better to be safe than sorry. They worked for most of the day going back in when they got cold. Come Monday, Brandie was back to her studying. Since Maggie didn't have as much to do on the farm, Brandie spent more time studying. That evening after supper, they went to the living room and watched a movie that was playing on TV. This time of year was the only time that Maggie ever watched anything other than the news or weather reports on the TV. The rest of the year, she was working from the time she got up until she went to bed. So they sat on the couch and talked some as they watched the movie. Brandie talked a little more about her parents and that made Maggie feel good to hear. She was definitely making progress and the attitude that she had shown for a couple of weeks was gone. After a while, the talking quieted down and Brandie laid down on the couch putting her head on Maggie's lap. This time Maggie wasn't as surprised by Brandie's action and she let her hands caress Brandie's shoulder and she played with Brandie's silky hair. She tried not to think about how she had seen Brandie the previous night but that was something that was very difficult to do. They stayed there until the movie ended when Maggie woke Brandie up so she could go take her shower. Brandie said that she would let Maggie go first so Maggie got on up and went to the bathroom. As she exited the bathroom, she saw Brandie coming out of her room. Maggie had not bothered with getting her nightgown so she wasn't surprised to see Brandie there staring at her as she went from the bathroom to her room. Most of the time Maggie did this and Brandie would almost always be there to look at her. This didn't mean that much to her until what had happened happen the previous night and this seemed to take on a whole new meaning or at least the possibility of a new meaning. Maggie wasn't sure about anything anymore. The rest of the week went about the same way with Maggie working and Brandie doing her studying. Then the evenings were spent talking and watching a little TV. From there they went to take their showers and then on to bed. On Thursday things began to change and that made Maggie begin to worry. Brandie just wasn't her normal self as she had become quiet and she didn't talk as much. It wasn't that she was being rude or had started her back talking again. It was just that she didn't seem to have anything to say. Her mind seemed to be somewhere else. Then came Friday and Brandie finished up with her studying early. She came out to where Maggie was working in the barn. Maggie saw that Brandie was in her own world again. "Is something bothering you?" Maggie asked her. Brandie seemed not to hear her then she replied, "What? Oh... no I'm fine." "You sure, you know you can talk to me about anything." Maggie told her as she eyed Brandie carefully trying to get a hint of what was going on inside of Brandie's mind. "I know and I will if I need to. Just got something that I got to think about, is all." Brandie told her. "Well, I'm here whenever you need to talk." Maggie said. Brandie then helped her get some feed out and she went with her on the tractor to put it out for the cows. Maggie wanted to fatten them up a bit more before the winter snows hit. They worked for the rest of the day and Brandie did talk more but Maggie could see that there was something that was really bothering her and she so wanted to go to her and just make her talk. But she knew that Brandie had to work it out on her own first and she only hoped that she would come to her then. That evening Maggie was just pulling her covers down to get into bed when she heard a soft knock on her door. Before she could say anything the door opened and Brandie walked in carrying Maggie's father's strap in her right hand. Maggie had forgotten all about how she had come into Brandie's room aiming to wear her ass out for all back talking that she had been doing. But then when she saw how badly Brandie was hurting she had dropped the belt. Maggie feared that was what had been bothering Brandie these past couple of days. "Can I talk to you for a moment?" Brandie asked as she stopped in the middle of Maggie's bedroom. "Sure just have a seat." Maggie said as she came around the bed, sitting beside of Brandie. Maggie noticed that Brandie had the strap in her hands on her lap and she was nervously fingering it. "I want you to do something for me." Brandie said as she looked down at the strap in her lap. "Sure anything you need. All you got to do is ask." Maggie said still trying to figure out what Brandie was getting to. "I've been thinking about how I acted toward you before when I was feeling so angry. You've been so good to me and I shouldn't have treated you like that. It wasn't right. And since then you have helped me so much. You don't know how much that means to me. No one has ever tried to figure out why I did the things that I did but you did. You stopped and went out of your way to help me understand what was going on inside my head. I just feel bad about the way I acted." Brandie told her. Maggie took Brandie's left hand in her right and she gave it a squeeze as she said, "Honey you had a lot of things going inside that head of yours and once I saw that then there was only one thing that I could do and that was to help you out. And I should be the one who apologize to you for not realizing that your behavior changed just about the time that your parents were killed. I should have put one and one together long before I did. If I hadn't seen the X marks that you had put on the calendar then I'm afraid I would have done something that I would have regretted. " Maggie told her. "Well that is what I wanted to talk to you about. I think you should do what you came into my room to do that night." Brandie said in a rush as if it was something she had to get out in a hurry or she wouldn't be able to. "Oh no honey, you don't deserve to be punished like that. I was wrong to even think about doing that to you. I was acting as if you were my child and not my friend as you are." Maggie said as she took her left hand to move Brandie's chin over so that she could look into Brandie's eyes. "But that's just it, every time that I have gotten into trouble I haven't been punished because of what had happened to my parents until I decided to run off and ended up down here. I don't know why I spray painted that school, I think I was just so hurt and angry and I just wanted to do something bad. Then Judge Kerner got a hold of me and for the first time I felt like someone really cared about what happened to me. Then he put me with you and while you scared the shit out of me when I first saw you in your overalls. I quickly found out that you seemed to care about me. That made me want to show you that I was worth caring about." She said. "You are worth caring about Brandie, you're a great friend to me." Maggie told her. "I am beginning to realize that now and that makes me feel worse about how I treated you. I mean all I had to do was just tell you what I was feeling and you would have helped me like you did but I didn't chose that option, instead I went back to my old ways and treated you like shit. I acted like a child and you were right to treat me that way. And now I feel guilty about the way I acted and I want you to do what you intended to do. I don't want to continue to feel guilty. I want you to whip me and then I can go on from here. And if I start to act like a child I want you to treat me that way. Then maybe I will learn to talk and not act stupid." Brandie told her as she looked Maggie in the eye and Maggie could see that not only was Brandie serious, she was very determined. "But honey, you don't need me to do that. You already have learned that you can talk to me so whipping you would serve no purpose. I don't want to do it." Maggie said. "But I need for you to do it. Can't you see that?" Brandie said as she was almost begging her. Maggie saw that she wasn't getting anywhere this way, she wasn't convincing Brandie one bit. So she decided that maybe a different tactic would work. "You know this strap hurts when it lands on your butt. Take it from me I know. My father wore my ass off a number of times with that thing." "I know it'll hurt, it's suppose to hurt to get the point across." Brandie said. "But you already have gotten the point, you know to come to me and talk." Maggie said. "Please be my friend and do this." Brandie begged. Maggie looked into Brandie's eyes and she saw that she could talk all night and not get Brandie to change her mind. It had been made up long before she came into her bedroom and so she gave in. "Okay but I'm going to whip you like my father did me." Maggie said as she tried one last time to convince Brandie to change her mind. "That is what I want, it is what I need you to do this for me." Brandie said as she handed the strap to Maggie. "Well if you're sure then let's go ahead and get this over with. But if you decide that you want to stop then tell me and I will." Maggie said as she stood up. "I know you will." Brandie said as she got up. Maggie could see the tears had already started to run down Brandie's face and Maggie just wanted to stop this right here and now. But Brandie didn't give her a chance to do anything as she promptly leaned over Maggie's bed which was an old bed and thus high so that it was perfect for her to lean over. Maggie stood there for a second looking at Brandie's ass covered only with her nightgown and panties. Maggie hated to do this but Brandie had pushed her into a corner and she didn't see a way out. She could just refuse but she feared that would only upset Brandie more and she seemed to feel that she deserved to be punished. Maggie had one last chance to stop this before it went too far and that was to show Brandie just how much a strap could hurt. So she came around to Brandie's left side standing just behind her so that she could swing freely. "Are you ready?" Maggie asked. "Yes Maggie." Brandie answered and Maggie could hear that Brandie was crying a little harder. Maggie felt her own tears start to fall as she raised her strap high and swung. The strap landed squarely on the center of Brandie's ass. The sound of the strap landing on Brandie's ass echoed around the room. Maggie heard Brandie groan and she heard her crying harder. It was a hard lick that Maggie hoped would convince Brandie to say enough. But Maggie figured that Brandie wouldn't and she didn't. She just wiggled her ass a bit then settled down. Maggie raised the strap and she decided that she would give Brandie what she thought that she needed. Maggie swung the strap again landing at about the same place and she heard Brandie cry out but she didn't reach back to try and cover her ass. Maggie decided to get this over with so she brought the strap back and she swung again, hitting Brandie's ass a little lower. She quickly raised the strap and started to whip her ass fast and hard letting Brandie cry and feel the pain that she thought that she needed but really didn't. Maggie cried the whole time that she was whipping Brandie with the strap. She swung hard and fast as she heard the strap land upon Brandie's ass. Brandie was shifting her ass around but she never said anything as Maggie now knew that she wasn't going to. It would be up to Maggie to decide when Brandie had enough. Maggie didn't want to ever have to do this again so she kept going letting the strap go down to Brandie's upper thighs and then back up to her ass. She hit her hard and often making sure that there wasn't one part of Brandie's ass that didn't feel the sting of the strap. Brandie was now sobbing as the strap continued to hit her ass and upper thighs. She was gripping the covers in her fists as she laid there taking the spanking. Maggie knew that Brandie had about had enough so she gave her a few last swings making them harder than the rest and Brandie moaned after each one. "Okay baby, that is enough. It's over." Maggie said as she dropped the strap to the floor. She came to the bed sitting beside of Brandie and she reached over with her hand, rubbing Brandie's back with her hand. Brandie laid there crying for a few minutes and Maggie was afraid that Brandie would hate her now and she wasn't sure that she could handle that. Maggie was crying about as hard as Brandie was now and she didn't know what to do. Brandie started to get up and when she looked at Maggie, she didn't have that any hatred in her eyes as Maggie had so feared. Instead what Maggie saw was love, pure love. Brandie got on up and then she did something that really surprised Maggie. She came over to Maggie, sitting down on her lap. She wrapped her arms around Maggie who put her arms around Brandie pulling her in close. "I'm so sorry Maggie, I really am. I'm sorry for everything that I have done." Brandie sobbed into her ear. Maggie then realized that this wasn't just about what Brandie felt she had done to her but about everything she had felt she had done wrong including hating her parents for dying on her. "I know you are baby but it's all forgiven now, you don't have to feel bad anymore. You're free of all the guilt that you have been feeling. It's all gone now." "Please hold me Maggie, hold me tight." Brandie asked of her as she cried. "I am baby, I'm holding you tight." Maggie said as she gripped Brandie tighter and she began to gently rock Brandie in her arms. Maggie ran her hand up and down Brandie's back comforting her as she told Brandie how sweet a girl she was and how proud her parents would have been of her. They both cried for a while as they clung together. "Can I sleep with you tonight?" Brandie asked as she pulled back from Maggie and Maggie saw her swollen and bloodshot eyes. "Sure baby, anything you want." Maggie said as she kissed Brandie's cheek. Brandie face changed into a very slight smile before her face turned back to being sad. Brandie then got up and she allowed Maggie to get up. Maggie finished pulling down the covers that she had been in the process of doing when Brandie came into her room. She then helped Brandie into her bed. Maggie turned off the lights slipping into the bed behind of Brandie who was on her side facing away from her. Maggie lay there for a second not sure what to do when Brandie slid her body back. Maggie reached out putting her right hand around Brandie's waist. She nuzzled her head against the back of Brandie's head, kissing it lightly. Brandie pushed her ass up against Maggie's abdomen. Maggie could feel the heat coming off of Brandie's ass and Maggie knew that the spanking that she had given Brandie was a hard one but it did seem to be what Brandie wanted and needed. She thought about that for a moment then that heat for Brandie's ass caused a different effect on her. One that she knew she had to resist but after seeing Brandie naked body, it was something that was getting almost impossible to do. Soon Brandie fell asleep in her arms but it took Maggie much longer to go to sleep. There were just too many thoughts going through her head. The next morning when Maggie woke up Brandie was still snuggled up against her. It felt nice to have Brandie so close Maggie thought to herself as she lay there for a second. She felt so good as she pulled Brandie in tighter. She heard Brandie let out a soft sigh and Maggie realized that she needed to get out of the bed before she did something that she shouldn't. But as she started to sit up she looked down at Brandie who was laying there so peacefully. Maggie leaned her head down and she kissed Brandie softly on the cheek. Brandie then began to stir and Maggie quickly got herself back together before she gently shook Brandie saying, "Time to get up hon." This time when Brandie rolled over she had a smile on her face before she yawned and stretched. Normally she would have growled and beg for a few more minutes of sleep. But this morning she just smiled and said, "Okay." Maggie got on out of bed, heading into the bathroom as Brandie wandered down to her bedroom to get dressed for the day. Maggie was at the stove when Brandie came into the kitchen still yawning but she seemed happy much to Maggie's relief. Brandie then came on over to where Maggie was standing and she gave her a hug before going to the fridge to pour herself a glass of orange juice. "You seem to be in a good mood this morning." Maggie said smiling. "Yea, I am except for my ass hurting." Brandie said with a grin. "Are you okay with that? I mean me spanking you like I did." Maggie asked still worried a bit about it all. "Yes Maggie, I'm fine. It was what I wanted and needed. And you have my permission to do it again if I start to act that way again." Brandie said as she came over to Maggie giving her a hug in which she kept her arms around Maggie until Maggie hugged her back. They stood there for a few moments before Brandie pulled back a little and she stared into Maggie's eyes and Maggie felt herself drawn to those pretty green eyes. But before she got lost in them she pulled back saying, "I got to get breakfast going before we get this day started. You know we got lots to do before we doll ourselves up for a night on the town, such as it is." "You mean it?" Brandie said excitedly. "Yes I told you last week that we need to start getting out and tonight will be a great night to start. Unless you would rather stay in..." Maggie said leaving her sentence hanging there. "Oh no, I want to go. Where are we going and what are we going to do?" Brandie asked as she started to get the breakfast dishes down. "What do you want to do?" Maggie asked. "Mmmmm..." Brandie said as she stopped to think then she went on with, "How about going out to eat and then take in a movie. But there isn't a movie theater here is there?" "No but that doesn't mean a night on the town means that it has to be this town does it?" Maggie said as she put the bacon onto fry. "Nope, I don't guess it does. So when are we leaving?" Brandie asked. "After the chores are done my sweet." Maggie said with a smile. Brandie tried hard to not so discreetly push Maggie to go faster on their chores that morning. Maggie knew what she was doing and she allowed Brandie to hurry them up. But only so much as the cattle had to be tended to and she had some things that she had to do. But by two she knew that Brandie could stand it no longer so she sent her off to take a shower as she finished what they were doing. When she got back to the house, she heard the shower being turned off. She sipped her coffee for a few minutes giving Brandie plenty of time to get back into her bedroom before she headed toward the hallway that led back to their bedroom and the bathroom. As she turned the corner, she saw Brandie walking out of the bathroom with just the towel on her head. Maggie stopped in her tracks as she took in Brandie's body once again. She knew that her jaw had dropped and she just stood there as Brandie walked ever so slowly to her bedroom. Brandie was smiling demurely as she approached her bedroom then she turned and stood for a second before saying, "The bathroom's all yours." Maggie stood there for just a second more before she got her feet to work and again she looked into Brandie's bedroom as she passed by. Brandie was standing with her legs slightly parted facing the doorway. Maggie hesitated for just a second on her way down the hallway. When she got into the bathroom, Maggie's mind was going a mile a minute and it all involved Brandie. She knew that Brandie was doing this on purpose and she also knew that she was responding to what Brandie was doing. But she vowed not to give in. Brandie was a friend and she didn't want to do anything to change that. Even thought she now wanted so much more from Brandie but she didn't feel right asking that of her, even if it was what Brandie seemed to want. As she entered the shower, her pussy was itching for attention. So she reached down with her right hand and she began to caress her clit feeling how sensitive it was to her touch. She closed her eyes thinking only of Brandie's body. Her left hand went to her breasts, caressing them first before going to the nipples which were hard as a rock. She pinched them moaning aloud as she felt the pain that lead to pleasure. She moaned louder as her fingers rolled her clit between them. She didn't notice Brandie's head peeking around the corner of the doorway and she didn't see the smile on Brandie's face. Maggie stroked her clit harder and she could feel the juices flowing from her pussy. She hated doing this but at the same time she couldn't help herself. Her finger went faster across her clit as she pinched and pulled on her nipples. Then as she felt her orgasm approach, she cried out louder than she realized, "Oh fuck Brandie." Then it hit and she let out another moan before she sunk down to the floor of the shower. "Oh god that girl is turning me inside out." Maggie said as she recovered from her orgasm. She then quickly finished her shower before Brandie began to wonder what was taking her so long. When she came out of the bathroom, she could just feel Brandie looking at her and she wondered about her feeling about that. She slowly crossed the hallway to her bedroom where she set out the dress she wanted to wear. She wasn't sure what Brandie had decided to wear and she thought about going down there to ask her but she feared that she would still be naked so she took her time getting dressed making sure that Brandie had more than enough time to dress. When she did come out, she looked into Brandie's bedroom but she wasn't in there. So she went on down the hallway, heading for the kitchen where she found Brandie standing by the sink. She had her back turned to her and Maggie took in her shape as the dress that Brandie had chosen to wear came in at her waist and then flared out at her hips. She was one sexy girl that was for sure Maggie thought to herself. Brandie then turned around and Maggie got to see her with her hair brushed out and she had parts of it pined up on her head. The dress seemed to form around her breasts making then appear slightly larger than they were. "You do clean up nicely." Maggie said as she came on into the kitchen. "So do you, you look beautiful in that dress." Brandie said smiling softly. "Not as beautiful as you do in yours." Maggie told her honestly. "Thank you." Brandie replied as she blushed slightly. "Let's get this show on the road, we can't go have some fun if we just stand here complimenting each other." Maggie said as she smiled at Brandie then she went and got her keys and purse. "So where're we going anyway?" Brandie asked as she got into the passenger seat of the old truck. "You'll see." Maggie told her with a grin on her face. "I was afraid you'd say that." Brandie said with a laugh. "I want it to be a surprise and then next week you can decide where we go, how about that?" Maggie asked her. "Okay, it's a deal." Brandie said. So Maggie drove them into town and then on through it as she headed for the next city that did have some nice restaurants and a few movie theaters. Maggie didn't have to get Brandie to talk as she was chattering away as Maggie drove. It was almost like music to her ears after enduring Brandie's near silence for the past couple of days. It was about an hour's drove and once they got into the city, Maggie took them to a restaurant that she had always made her father take her on her birthday. When she was little, it made her feel grown up to go to such a nice restaurant and then it just became a tradition for them. She hadn't been back since her father had died and she felt that it was time to restart the tradition only now it would be with Brandie. They didn't have to wait long to be seated and then they ordered their dinner. The food was just a good as Maggie had remember it to be and she told Brandie about how her father always took her here on her birthday. Which of course Brandie asked when that was but Maggie wouldn't answer and Maggie asked Brandie when hers was but she also refused. However Maggie already knew Brandie's birthday as Brandie had shown off her driver's license and thus Maggie saw the date. She chose not to diverge this fact to Brandie letting her think it was a secret. So Maggie went on with her stories about her father as they ate. Then they went from there to the theater. They had about an hour to kill before their movie was to start so they walked around the lobby as Brandie picked out some of the upcoming movies that she wanted to see. When it finally came time for the movie to start, Maggie got them a big tub of popcorn and a couple of drinks. The movie they were seeing was a romantic comedy that was supposed to be good. The found a couple of seats in the center of the theater. Brandie sat down first then took the popcorn from Maggie as she took off her coat then sat down. They settled down in their seats as the movie came on. As the theater got dark, Maggie felt Brandie leaning against her. Maggie felt her heart skip a beat then it settled down. On the way home, Brandie chatter on about the movie and how much she enjoyed the evening. Then as Maggie was turning off the lights, Brandie came up to her giving her a hug, "I had fun tonight, thanks." She whispered into Maggie's ear then she headed off to bed leaving Maggie standing there thinking about how much she too enjoyed the evening too. Sunday morning they were back up early and once breakfast was done, Brandie went back to her studies. She wanted to get the years work done and she figured that she could finish what she needed by the end of the week. Then she could be done with school for good. Maggie didn't quite understand why Brandie was in such a hurry to get done with school but as long as she was working hard at it, she couldn't complain. So she arraigned for Brandie to take all of her final exams on Friday at the school. Maggie had tried to talk Brandie into taking a couple of exams each day but Brandie nixed that idea. She wanted to take them all at once. And since Friday was a teacher's work day, there would be no regular school going on so she could take her exams alone without the other students being there. On Thursday evening, Maggie figured that Brandie would want to study but after the supper dishes were put away, Brandie followed her to the living room where she sat beside of her as she turned on the TV. They talked about her coming tests and Maggie could see that Brandie was confident but not overly so. It had not taken Maggie long to figure out that Brandie was one sharp girl and when she began to tutor her, she found out just how smart as she rarely had to correct anything that she did. And there was times that Brandie had to explain things to her. But still Maggie would have felt better if Brandie did some last minute cramming but she left it up to her as to how to approach her final tests. Friday morning Maggie let Brandie drive them both to the school. Maggie wanted to make sure she was there as she knew that the school superintendent didn't like having Brandie study under her who wasn't a certified teacher. So she wanted to make sure that the tests were administered fairly. So she wasn't surprised to see the superintendent there with the principal who appeared nervous. Like he was stuck between a rock and a hard place. Maggie began to spell a skunk and she was trying to decide which way was the best to go. She had Brandie standing beside of her and she didn't want to cause her problems but at the same time she didn't want her to be screwed either. But she knew she had to protect Brandie so she was about to ask what the hell was going on when she happen to see the judge strolling into the principal's office. Maggie had never been so happy to see him in her life. He took one look at the superintendent and then asked to see him outside of the office. The principal seemed to be relieved that the judge had arrived. So Maggie took the opportunity to talk to him as the judge and superintendent talked. While he wouldn't say anything specific, he did allude to the superintendent wanting to do everything possible to see Brandie flunk her tests thus making her attend school. About twenty minutes later, the judge walked back in and he gave a nod to the principle who went and got a second set of exams from his desk, throwing the set he was holding into the trash. So then the principal took Brandie down to one of the classrooms as Maggie walked the judge out to his car. "Thank you for doing this for us. I knew something was going on when I saw the principal looking so nervously at me. I know I was a pain to him when he taught me in school but I didn't think I was that much a pain." Maggie told him. "Hell Maggie, you've been a pain since you were born." The judge said laughing. "Thanks a lot, and I thought you were my friend." Maggie said laughing with the judge. "No I figured that John would try to pull something like this. He fought me tooth and nail over you teaching Brandie. He didn't want to lose the money the government would send to him, not that one more pupil would add all that much. But I think it was the whole idea that she wouldn't be under his control. He just hated doing anything for me but he did. So I knew I had to check and make sure that the tests were fair. I got Brandie into all of this and I felt like I needed to protect her." He told her as they reached his car. "You've done wonders for her. She needed someone like you to come along." She told him. "No she needed someone like you. You are the one who helped her turn her life around and get her to understand that it was okay to be mad at her parents for dying and still love them." He said. Maggie was taken aback by what he said and she had to think for a second before she could reply, "Did she tell you that?" "Yea, she calls me sometimes before court to talk. She is a sweet girl and she has learned a lot from you. You've definitely made an impression on her, a good impression. I think you both need each other." He said and that made Maggie wonder what he was saying. She wanted to ask him to explain his comment but at the same time she wasn't so sure she wanted to know. But he had to leave so she never really had a chance to ask which was just as well, she thought to herself as she went back into the building. She spent the rest of the time talking to the principal going over old times and she found that while she was a pain to the principal, he had grown to respect her as the questions that she would raise kept him on his toes. From time to time Maggie would peek into the room where Brandie was taking her tests and she didn't seemed to be stressing out. Maggie on the other hand was stressed to the max. Brandie just kept her eyes down on her papers and she was writing away. She seemed perfectly at ease taking the tests. A little after noon, Brandie came out of the room carrying her tests. "You ready to take a break and eat some lunch before you finish?" Maggie asked. "Nope, I'm ready to go home. I'm done with my tests and thus with school." Brandie said as she handed the tests to the principal then she turned on her heel walking toward the exit. Maggie glanced around toward the principal giving him a shrug of her shoulders before hurrying to catch up with Brandie. "What do you mean you're done?" Maggie said as she caught up with Brandie who seemed to be in a real hurry to get out of the school. "I mean that I'm finished, I completed all my tests so now I can just help you on the farm. I'll never have to worry about this building and buildings like it for the rest of my fucking life." Brandie said with a vigor that took Maggie back. Maggie wanted to explore this further however she decided that today wasn't going to be that day. Tomorrow would be soon enough or better yet after they get back from going out for the evening. She knew that Brandie would be happy and maybe more willing to talk. When they got outside of the building, Brandie gave out a yelp of joy as she turned back toward the building, throwing it a bird. Maggie started to admonish Brandie for doing so but she didn't. That too could wait until later too. Instead she let Brandie drive them to the edge of town where they stopped for a pizza then it was back to the farm. "Can I ask you something?" Maggie asked as they sat on the couch after getting back from a nice dinner as a restaurant that Brandie had picked out and a night of bowling as Brandie wanted to try her hand as she had never been. "Shoot." Brandie said as she turned toward Maggie. "Why do you hate going to school so much? I mean I was very happy when I finished high school but also a little sad but you seemed to be overjoyed that it is all over with. I just don't understand why."Maggie said as she saw Brandie's smile turn downward. Brandie didn't say anything for a minute or so before she opened her mouth to speak then she closed it before a sound came out. Maggie waited a patiently as Brandie formed her thoughts then she opened her mouth again only this time words did flow, "You attended school with the same people from the time you started until you graduated didn't you?" Brandie asked. "Well yes... for the most part. Some students left and some new ones came but yes, I attended with the same classmates throughout my schooling." Maggie replied. "And you had your father to depend on and buy you the things that you needed for school." Brandie stated and Maggie could feel the undercurrent of envy that was in Brandie's voice. "He didn't buy be everything I wanted but again the answer is yes. He supported me and he pushed me to do well in school and he did come to my defense when I got into trouble when I was right and punished me when I was wrong. But I believe I see what you are saying." Maggie said. "No you don't, you can't." Brandie said quickly and harshly which took Maggie aback. "I'm sorry, your right I can't. Please go ahead." Maggie said . "No I'm sorry, I didn't mean to say it that way. But listen for a moment and I will try to explain. You see, my parents brought me up as a child to love school and I did. My mom came as often as she could to school and they never missed a school function. Then at night, my mother or father would sit with me and help me with my homework. They made a game out of it and I grew to love learning as they both did. Then when they died, they took me from my school and placed me in another school far from my friends. The teachers weren't nearly as good as the ones at my old school and my foster parents didn't seem to care about my homework or anything else about my schooling. All they cared about was that I stayed out of trouble which I failed to do. And they never attended any functions or allowed me to attend any afterschool activities. They weren't bad people just poor ones who had to make a living. So I had to do my home work alone. I was way ahead in my studies than my classmates so I was bored all day long which lead me into trouble. But I still studied though my grades didn't show what I was learning as my classmates didn't seem to appreciate someone showing them up. The home I was placed in had older children and once they figured out that I was smart they had me do their homework. So I ended up learning things two or three years ahead of my own grade. So I did their homework because it challenged me. So that is what I did throughout my schooling. And the children that I attended school with just loved to tease the kids that had foster parents and they made fun of us. So I became a loner and a mischief maker in school but I always learned. I just did it my way and on my own terms." Brandie told her as she let out a sigh. "That does explain how you were able to get through all of you school work in such a short time and why you didn't need my help too much." Maggie said as she sat back. "But your wrong there. I did need your help. I needed you to look over my work at night and make me do things over when you thought I could do better. That is why I wanted you to be my teacher. I just knew that you would push me and even when I wrote a great paper you make me find ways to make it even better. I loved you doing that and it is why I felt so bad when I stopped doing my homework. I had asked you for something and you gave it to me then I turned and rejected it." Brandie said as she reached out and she placed her hand on Maggie's hand. "Well I'm glad I could do that for you and I'm sorry that you had it so bad in school. I took all of that for granted and you have made me see how lucky I really was. I envied some of my friends that moved off to the bigger cities but now I'm glad I was stuck where I was. But that part of your life is over now and you can look forward to college. There you will find that they don't care where you came from for the most part. That is what we will work toward now, getting you ready to take your entrance exams." Maggie said as she squeezed Brandie's hand. "No Maggie, I'm done with school. I just want to stay here and help you on the farm." Brandie told her and Maggie could see that Brandie wasn't about to budge on this point. "We'll see..." Maggie said as she wasn't about to let Brandie's brain go to waste. "No we won't." Brandie told her. "Well it's time for bed, we can talk about it another time." Maggie said as she got up but she thought to herself that she was going to get Brandie to college whether she liked it or not. The next week went pretty smoothly except for Brandie bugging Maggie about the results of her tests and whether she had gotten them yet. She wanted to make sure that they would accept her tests and thus give her degree even though it was it was much earlier than most kids could graduate with a actual high school degree and not just a GED. Brandie did want the real thing even if she did it in an unusual way. Maggie kept telling her to be patient as when you go outside the lines then you have to expect to have to wait longer. This didn't satisfy an impatient Brandie who wanted Maggie to call the judge and get him to push things along. Maggie was afraid the Brandie would call the judge herself so she kept close to her all week thus preventing Brandie the time to do so. Also the weather started to turn even colder and they got their first snowfall. It was just a couple of inches but still for Maggie it foretold a long and hard winter. So she kept herself and Brandie very busy getting the farm ready. They cleared out part of the barn and put hay down just in case they had to use it for her small herd of cattle. Brandie also begin to worry about the dogs being out at night in the cold weather. She had grown to love those dogs and she worried about them. One night when the temperatures were suppose to drop below freezing, Brandie wanted to bring the dogs into the house with them. She kept on at until finally Maggie had to take Brandie outside and up under the pouch where there was a small opening that the dogs used to get under the house. Then she showed Brandie the blankets that the dogs had and how they had set them up near where the fireplace was. She also had Brandie feel the thick fur that the dogs had grown. This was the only way that Maggie could convince Brandie that the dogs were well suited for the cold and also how they loved it. She also told Brandie if it ever got super cold then the dogs could come in if they so chose. Finally Saturday rolled around and it was Maggie's time to pick where they would go for their weekly date night as Brandie now called it. Maggie had Brandie put on her prettiest dress but not her sexiest one. They left in the early afternoon with Maggie driving. She talked about the farm and not anything about where they were going or what they would do that night. She hadn't gotten too far before Brandie realized that they weren't heading into town nor where they heading toward any big cities. Maggie waited for Brandie to ask where they were going but she didn't so Maggie drove on until she got to the entrance to the judge's house. As they got closer to the house, Maggie saw several cars by the house and she knew that everything was ready for Brandie's big night. "What're we doing here?" Brandie asked as stopped the truck in front of the house. "You'll see honey." Maggie said as she smiled at Brandie who let out a frustrated sigh at Maggie's non answer. When they got to the front door, Maggie went ahead and opened it without bothering to knock which drew and strange look from Brandie. They both shed their heavy coats and Maggie hung them up with the other coats in the closet by the door. Maggie then took Brandie by the hand leading her to the back of the large farm house. They had seen no one up to this point nor had they heard a sound. Maggie could see that Brandie had her senses going full blast as she tried to figure out just what Maggie was up to. Maggie led Brandie on back until they got to the door leading to the large den that the judge had. Maggie slid to the side as she started to open the door, then she slipped behind Brandie pushing her into the dark room. "Happy Birthday!" Rang out from the room as the lights came on. "Ohhh..." Brandie said as she put her hand to her mouth. Maggie looked at her and she saw an embarrassed grin on Brandie's face but there was a grin so she knew setting this up for her was a good thing to do. There was about twenty people in the room as the judge had his two daughters there and they both had their two daughters. Plus Freddie and his family was there as well as the principal and his wife. Then Red from the co-op was there with his family as Brandie had made friends with him from all the trips that Maggie had sent her there to pick up things. "How did you know it was my birthday?" Brandie asked as she turned toward Maggie. "You made the mistake of showing me your new drivers license when you got them. I remembered the date and knew that I had to do something special for you to celebrate it." Maggie said just before all the little girls came up to Brandie to drag her on into the room. Brandie had met them at Thanksgivings when they had come and they had quickly made friends with Brandie. So they loved her and she loved them. Every one congratulated Brandie on her birthday as the girls showed her the big cake that they had helped make for her. They then showed her all the decorations that they helped to put up as Maggie watched. It didn't take long for Brandie's eyes to light upon the Congratulations banner hung just below the Happy Birthday banner. Brandie looked over at Maggie who was talking to the principal and the judge and Maggie just nodded her head. The party then got under way, with first a big dinner and then the cake and ice cream. From there the girls put Brandie in the center of the room and helped her open all her presents. Maggie had made sure that Brandie had plenty to open. She had gotten up in the middle of the night several times over the past several weeks to ordered things from the internet and had them sent to the judge where his wife wrapped them for her. Plus everyone else there got her a little something. So Brandie and the girls had fun opening everything and when that was done, Maggie saw that Brandie was smiling from ear to ear. She was the center of attention and she loved every second of it. It was only when things had settled down that the principal stood up and made Brandie come over to him. There he presented her with her diploma, showing that she had graduated high school with honors as she had aced every test that she had taken and that was proof enough for him to know that had she attended the high school, she would done so with honors. Brandie smiled as she took the diploma and she thanked the principal. The principal then sat down and Brandie was about to do so too when the judge's booming voice rang out with "Speech". The voice carried an air of authority with it as it did when he was in the courtroom. Brandie looked over at Maggie for help but all she could do was to shrug her shoulders as she couldn't do anything to help Brandie out this time. The judge had made a ruling and there was no way to get out of the sentence he had imposed upon her. Brandie stood there for a second as everyone looked at her and then she started to speak with her voice being low at first then getting louder, "I want to thank everyone for doing this for me. This has been the best birthday I've had in a very long time. I also want to invite everyone back to Maggie's house after the party so they can watch me kick her butt for arraigning this." Brandie said as she looked at Maggie with fire in her eyes. This brought a laugh from everyone then she continued but much more seriously this time. "When I ran away from my last foster home, I don't think I had an idea as to where I was going or why I was going there. I just felt all these emotions within me that I couldn't get out. So I ended up here and then I vandalized the high school for reasons to complicated to go into here but that act was the best thing I could even have done, not that I knew it at the time. But that was when I was introduced to the Judge there. To say that he put the fear of god into me was an understatement but as he did that he also listened to what I had to say. Then he decided to put me with Maggie. When I first saw her riding on that old beat up tractor in her dusty overalls and big hat. I thought she was a crazy woman and I wanted no part of her. I almost told the Judge to take me back to jail. But I didn't. And she took me into her home and treated me like a old friend. So thank you Judge for taking me under your wing and looking out for me." Brandie said as she went to him making him get up so that she could hug him. Maggie saw that the judge was embarrassed by Brandie doing this but he also was hugging her back and she could see that he was saying something to Brandie that made Brandie smile. "So you really going to kick my butt when we get home?" Maggie asked as she drove them home after the party. "Yep..." Brandie said as she gave Maggie a evil grin. "Just checking..." Maggie said as she smiled at her. "Yep... I'm going to kick your butt all over the front yard..." Brandie went on to say. "Well then I guess you don't want your last present as I'm sure that once you get done kicking my ass, I wouldn't be able to remember where I put it." Maggie said and she saw the grin that was on Brandie's face change to curiosity. "You already have given me enough Maggie. I mean the back of the truck is full of things you and everyone have gotten me." Brandie told her. "Does that mean that you don't want the last gift?" Maggie asked teasing Brandie a bit. Maggie looked over at Brandie and saw that she wasn't sure what to say. She wanted the gift but she also didn't want to seem greedy. Finally she said, "If you have already brought it..." "I thought that you would change your mind." Maggie said smiling. Then Maggie changed the subject away from the gift as she talked about the party and how it went so well. They talked until they got home then Maggie helped Brandie to carry her presents into the house. Maggie took Brandie's diploma and she put it up on the mantel which made Brandie smile broadly. Maggie went on getting things ready for the morning then she poured them a glass of milk and got some cookies out. She talked for a few minutes as she watched Brandie get antsy from being made to wait. "Oh yes, I about forgot." Maggie finally said as she got up and went to her purse when she pulled out a small wrapped package. "Here you go honey, happy birthday." Maggie said as she handed the gift to Brandie as she sat back down at the kitchen table. "Thanks," Brandie said as she took the expensively wrapped box. End of Part Two. To be continued... Please let me know what you think of my story. I welcome all comments good or bad. You can email me at numlfl@hotmail.com