Chapter 1
The man sitting two seats away from Barbara on the bus looked at her sleeping face, her full, slowly breathing breasts, her slightly parted thighs-and he rubbed his groin gently. When he sprang to hardness there, he thought to himself, hell they can't arrest you for looking ... and dreaming. But mmm, wouldn't that little stuff be nice on a cold winter night!
Barbara Winters stared out the window of the Greyhound bus, wondering if she would ever be happy again. The tall willowy blonde was still stunned by the rapidity with which her entire life had changed. Last month she had been bursting with happiness and youthful confidence in her future, but that had all changed two weeks ago when her parents had been killed instantly in an automobile accident less than a mile away from their California home. And now, instead of attending High School in Los Angeles, she was on her way to Iowa to live with her father's sister and family, who lived on a farm in a small country town in Iowa, with their two sons, Donald, and Bart. The troubled young girl had seen the Jacksons only four times in her life, and that had been on the rare occasions when she and her parents visited them on their farm.
Having always lived in the cosmopolitan city of Los Angeles, Barbara was a mature, relatively sophisticated teenager, knowledgeable about a lot of things, but still innocent about one of the most popular teenaged topics of conversation: sex! It wasn't that the cute blonde hadn't been exposed to sex in school, but her parents were thirty years older than she, and they had instilled in her the old fashioned ideals of a girl saving herself for a husband. They had given her so much love and understanding, enough that she believed their way was the right way, never questioning their philosophy.
Barbara had been so close to her mother and father that when they died, she had gone into a state of shock and then wanted to die with them. Neighbors had cared for her until she was well enough to travel, and now, the teenaged orphan was so lonely that she would have gone anywhere to be with someone who loved her.
The bus went under an underpass, and Barbara caught her reflection in the bus window. She stared almost blindly through tear-filled eyes at her slumped shoulders which added woebegone years to her youthful age. She was an extremely pretty girl, one who was unaware of her tall, graceful beauty ... a natural beauty that needed no props. Her long blonde hair flowed down her back in deep natural waves, and her deep blue eyes were clear and sparkling with an inner fire like precious diamonds. Her nose and mouth were perfectly matched to her sweetheart face, and her firmly upthrust breasts filled her tightly fitted sweater to bursting. Her tiny waist was just right for her 36-24-35 body. She remembered her father calling her his beautiful princess, and a shiver of unhappiness shook her entire body. Oh God! What in the world was she going to do on a farm? Nothing but hicks and corn fields! If her Aunt Lena's letters were any indication, she was no different from the rest of the farm belt people. Feeling the sobs of despair threatening to break through her calm reserve, she fought for control.
But, Barbara's thoughts kept beating inside her head as she tried to accept her fate and remember what her father's sister looked like. She hadn't seen her for five years, and the only thing she could bring to mind was her Aunt Lena's weary, work-lined face and her uncle's gruff voice and gray-striped bib overalls. She remembered Donald and Bart as being children, but they probably had changed just as much as her aunt had. Bart would be grown up now, and Donald was her age.
Still staring into the bus window, Barbara jerked her shoulders up straight, and thought angrily, I don't want to live on a dumb farm ... I don't want my aunt and uncle to be my parents ... I don't want to go to Iowa! I don't want to be adopted! But I don't have a choice! If I had stayed in Los Angeles, they would have sent me to a foster home. At least, I'll have someone who's a blood relative. But ... but ... I want my Mother and my Daddy! I want my Daddy!
Traveling by Greyhound bus was taking an awfully long time it seemed. She was bored by the inactivity, by the insufferable stops along the way, the curious older people who sat beside her and their constant chattering. No, Barbara was convinced that this bus and her final destination was not for her. She never wanted to ride another bus as long as she lived.
Slowly wiping the tears from her eyes with the back of her hand, the teenaged orphan realized that, for the first time ever, she had to worry about finances. Her father had always given her money when she asked for it, and she never thought about where he got it. The shock of finding out that her parents were broke was almost as much a shock to her as learning about their death. Now, she was completely dependent on her relatives until she was old enough to take care of herself.
Tired and finally drained of all emotions, Barbara closed her eyes and tried to sleep. Three hours later, she was awakened by the bus stopping in a small town called Wilkens, Nebraska. She stretched and yawned, then checked her watch to see the time, wondering how long she had slept. Then, she followed the other passengers into the bus station. It was exactly like all the other stops they had made on this tiresome trip. There was a small dirty-looking cafe with bare tables and a counter and rest rooms. The thought of food sickened her so she went directly to the ladies' room and brushed her teeth. She washed her face and combed her hair, then returned to the bus, anxious to get the ride over with. Again and again, she had to tear her thoughts away from her dead parents, forcing herself to stay calm and not panic.
Quickly, she took a map from her purse and looked for Wilkens. Then, her face lit up with a rare smile! It was only two hours away from Bennington, Iowa. Feeling as though the trip was almost over, Barbara settled back in her seat and closed her eyes again, but she did not sleep.
They didn't stop again until they arrived at the Bennington bus station, but it had been a long drive through flat farm land, and time had dragged in her anxiousness to see the end of this bus. After the driver opened the door, she gathered up her belongings and reluctantly, she moved toward the waiting room of the bus station, her eyes searching the room for a familiar face. She was nervous, apprehensive that no one would be there to meet her, and she felt the tears threatening to break through again. She gritted her teeth and stared at all the faces of the people waiting for passengers. She did not recognize anyone!
But just as she moved toward the ticket counter to ask them what she should do, she saw her Aunt Lena come through the swinging door. She recognized her plump, good natured face. Her long brown hair was pulled back in a severe bun, and her thickened, heavy-set body was the same as she remembered. Immediately, she was followed by Uncle Les in his bib overalls, and her two cousins. Her uncle was tall and swarthy, sun-bleached hair that matched his oldest sons, and his face was sunburned and leathery.
Bart was almost as tall as his father, and she would never have recognized him if he had been alone. His blond hair was modishly long and he had the muscular body of an athlete. He was handsome in his tight fitting Levi's, but he had a mean look about him. Donald was slender, dark brown hair like his mother, and about Barbara's height.
Momentarily, her aunt stared around the waiting room, then caught sight of the uncertain young blonde standing beside the ticket counter. They met in the center of the room, and Barbara heard her father's sister ask, "Barbara? Are you Barbara?"
"Yes, Aunt Lena."
"Oh you poor baby." The older woman began crying immediately as she took the girl in her arms and held her tight against her bosom.
"I'm fine, Aunt Lena ... I...." Barbara stammered, her own voice choking as she felt the tears filling her eyes again. "But I am tired."
"I bet you are." The older woman kept her arms around the girl while her husband and two sons greeted her.
"Good to see you, Barbara. Welcome to your new home," Les Jackson said, forcing a smile on his weather-beaten face. "I ... I ... I'm sorry about your Mama and Papa."
"I ... I...." Barbara tried to speak but the words stuck in her throat. Then, fighting for control, embarrassed by the tears, she smiled at her cousins in an effort to relax their strained features. "You've grown," she stated in an attempt to be casual.
"So have you," Bart grinned. "Boy! You sure have! You were just a knobby-knead, skinny little girl the last time I saw you. Now...." he lifted his eyebrows in appreciation.
"I was only ten years old."
"Wow! You are pretty now," Donald stammered, his young voice breaking.
"I remember you, Donnie. We used to play tricks on Bart because he wouldn't let us go with him." Barbara giggled for the first time in many days. "Remember the time we went up in the hay loft and poured water down on his head when he was all dressed up?"
"Yeah!" Donald blushed. "So do I," Bart snapped. "I thought you two were peeing on me."
"Bart! Shut your mouth! I'm ashamed of you talking that way in front of Barbara," Lena snapped at her oldest son as she took her niece's hand and led her out the door of the bus station.
A few minutes later, they had collected Barbara's luggage and put it in the station wagon parked at the curb. The girl sat in the front seat with her aunt and uncle, while the two boys got in the back. Barbara's eyes stared out at the many rows of green corn that seemed to go on and on forever. It certainly was different from California, but she had to admit that the fresh air was nice. She couldn't remember smelling sweet air like this for a long time.
Within ten minutes they were pulling into a dirt -lined driveway that led up to a tree-sheltered house. It looked like every picture of every mid-west farm house the girl had ever seen, complete with a screened-in porch with rocking chairs.
Uncle Les turned off the engine, and it was Donald who broke the silence by asking, "Here we are. Want me to show you your room, Barbara?"
"Yes ... I'm kind of tired!"
"We fixed it all up with girl stuff," the youth said, his face flushing with sudden embarrassment.
"He thought I was being silly, honey," Lena smiled. "I think he's changed his mind now that he's seen you."
"Bart and I will get your bags if you want to go on," Les said, grinning at his young son. He was remembering their family meeting to discuss Barbara's arrival, and Donald had been the most apprehensive. But now the younger boy seemed to be the most excited. He probably thought she'd be buck-toothed and ugly. Kids were so strange and unpredictable.
"Thanks, Uncle Les," she said as she got out of the car and followed Donald into the low rambling house.
"How did you like the bus ride?"
"It wasn't bad ... too long, but I saw lots of mountains."
"Wow! I'd like to ride a bus to California."
"I bet you wouldn't. I'm never riding one again. I'm stiff from sitting so long."
"Come this way," the young boy said as he led her down the hallway and stopped at a closed door.
"You got the room next to me."
"I'm glad."
"Me, too ... now!"
"Thanks. If I get lonely, can I come in and talk to you?"
"Sure can," he grinned.
"Where's Bart's room?"
"At the end of the hallway," Donald pointed. "That's our bathroom on the other side of my room. Yours is inside your room."
"Really? That's great."
"Mom said you needed your own so you wouldn't have to use one with us."
Barbara and her young cousin laughed together and their eyes locked in an instantaneous friendship. Barbara could feel his anxious pity for her, but she instinctively knew that he wanted to help her to be happy.
And, all things considered, she knew that was one thing she needed most in the world now.