Lost and Found Read online

  “Let me throw on some sweats and I’ll be right back. Aren’t you cold?” Todd tenderly asked his wife.

  “I’m baking and the heater is on. Carry me.”

  Todd chuckled, “I’ll carry you when I come back down. Don’t be such a baby. I’ll be back in a flash.”

  “I can’t believe you make that man carry you, little sister. You’re too old for that,” Lance reproached her as she slid off Todd and pouted as he left the room.

  “It’s your fault. If you and Alan hadn’t carried me all the time when I was little, then I would have learned how to walk earlier.”

  “You couldn’t keep up with us, your legs were too short. Does your husband know what a brat you are?” Lance looked at her with a slight hint of disapproval.

  “Of course,” she giggled, “Why do you think he married me?”

  “Because you’re smart, pretty, sexy, and can cook like a chef in a five star restaurant,” Todd stated, catching her from behind and kissing her neck as he lifted her into his arms.

  “That was fast. So, you didn’t marry her because she’s a brat?” Lance asked, handing him a glass of merlot.

  Todd winked, “Maybe just a little. So any more news on your little fawn?

  “Jane Doe is now Noelle Doe. No fingerprints back, no dental records. I don’t know, Todd, it’s too strange, this whole thing.”

  “At least you know she isn’t a convicted felon, a licensed worker, or a military affiliate.

  Prints would have come up if she had a record or a passport.”

  “True. You should have heard her. Her voice sounded like a child’s. I first thought she had an accent. I’m wondering if we will be dealing with regressive issues from whatever occurred.”

  “No apparent mental disorders?” his brother-in-law asked, sitting on the couch and positioning his wife onto his lap to cuddle her affectionately.

  “Not that we can see. I will not be able to tell until she becomes more active. There is something peculiar about her though. I can’t explain it. It’s that weird sixth sense thing I get sometimes.”

  “Besides the fact you are a knight in shining armor and see a damsel in distress? Oh, don’t give me that look, big brother. You’ve always been my hero. You were all the girls’

  hero.”

  “I get enough of that crap at work, Katherine. Besides, I thought Alan was your hero.”

  “I thought I was your hero.” Todd sulked.

  “Sorry, but no one could ever do the things Lance does. He could always make all the hurts go away and all the frowns turn to smiles. If he cooked for me, then he’d be my favorite brother.”

  “But I can’t cook.”

  “Learn. You’re reasonably intelligent, it’s not that hard. You’re going to have to do it eventually. Todd won’t let us stay here forever.”

  “I wish you would reconsider that. There is nothing in Arizona that you won’t get here in Nevada. Heat, wind, sand, snakes… we just don’t have state income taxes.”

  “I promised I would think about it, Lance. I would never see my wife, though. She’d always be here with you, trying to make you fat, or with Alan.”

  “Alan is the one who never tells her ‘no’ when buying her things, so he’d be your problem. Not me.”

  “Oh really? Then how do you explain your credit card in her wallet? I’m sure she told you that I had to put her on a spending restriction for breaking her budget again, right?” Todd asked, raising his eyebrow.

  “No, she did not. Katherine!” Lance called.

  “Yes? More wine?” she asked, coming to him when he beckoned.

  “Did Todd put you on a spending restriction again?”

  “Oh, yeah. I guess I forgot to mention that to you,” Kathy said, trying to sound casual. “I just went a little over my budget for personal stuff. We have the money…”

  “That isn’t the issue. It’s respecting your boundaries. I thought you said you had this under control.”

  “I got bored. No sour patch face, Lance. I didn’t charge anything to your card.”

  “Todd? I know she’s your wife now, but please forgive me for saying that it’s a good time to put your foot down with her. Take it from a voice of experience. Obviously, telling her

  ‘no’ isn’t working. I know Alan would agree with me.”

  “You can stop scolding now, Lance. I’m a grown woman. You can’t just keep bossing me around the way you did when I was a kid,” Kathy said contrarily as she made a gesture in his direction.

  “Sticking your tongue out at your brother certainly proves your maturity, dear. Any suggestions?” Todd frowned at his wife, who then tried to look innocent.

  “Oh, I have lots of suggestions. She would have never gotten away with this with either Alan or me. You know that. Have you ever asked her why?”

  “No. Kathy? So why don’t you defy your brothers like you do me?”

  “I love you more.”

  “Answer the man correctly, Katherine,” her older brother ordered sternly.

  Kathy wrinkled her nose and snuggled against her husband’s broad chest, “They scared me because they were so big and mean.”

  “You want this type of helper to care for a little, lost girl with amnesia? Are you sure?” Todd asked, his arm around his wife’s waist.

  “Without a doubt. Nevertheless, she still did not answer you. Tell him Katherine, or this time, I will show him.”

  “You’re such a bully! Todd, those Neanderthal Baboons spanked me! Unbelievable, right?”

  “Neanderthal Baboons? I think you just invented some kind of cross species, my darling.

  Spanked you? Like on the bare bottom?” Todd pretended not to know this fact and enjoyed Kathy’s embarrassed scowl as her brother grinned, playing along.

  “Yep. She got her bare bottom paddled almost weekly by either Alan or myself. It was the only way to keep her in line. When the folks left on their business trips, she managed to get into every sort of trouble she could. And boy, she could put up a fuss! Screamed like she was being murdered, especially when Alan used the wooden spoon on her little butt. I lost count as to how many of those spoons were broken over her behind. We finally moved on to using a nice wooden paddle that she hasn’t managed to break yet.”

  “You really don’t need to be putting this garbage in his mind, Lance Callahan. Excuse me, I have dinner to finish,” Kathy said, stomping off in a huff and completely discomfited.

  “You two honestly spank her? Even now?” Todd saw his brother-in-law nod, “I really thought you guys were kidding when Alan told me he would help keep her in line. Hmmm, I need to think about that. I can’t say the idea doesn’t appeal to me,” he snickered. “Now, back to Noelle… I made some discoveries behind the shooting incident. We’ll have to talk about that later. Away from Little Miss Nosey-Nose,” Todd added quietly.

  Lance frowned and nodded. He did not like the sound in Todd’s voice. It usually cost him some much-needed sleep.

  *

  *

  *

  Kathy moped as she climbed into bed next to Todd that night. He and Lance had continued to tease her throughout dinner about her childhood spankings and discussed, very frankly, about how effective adult, over-the-knee spankings were. Todd was intrigued, Lance was amused, and Kathy? Kathy was furious!

  Todd patted his furry, bare chest for her to snuggle with him. “Come here and stop being a brat. You know we were teasing you, baby.”

  “It’s so humiliating! I can’t believe those boys still think it’s ok to punish me like a little kid.”

  “Well, honey, there are times when you do act like a little kid. But I still love you more than a billion cherry tootsie pops.” Todd rolled over to swing his arm around her shoulders, lovingly smiling at her, as he began to kiss the inside of her wrist and travel up her arm.

  “What is it with you and Lance, and your stupid tootsie-pops? No, you’re not getting anything nice from me tonight.”

  Todd climbed on top of her and pu
shed her on to her back, straddling her hips as he held her wrists above her head. “Wanna bet?” he asked, lowering his mouth over hers. Try as she did, Kathy found herself kissing him back. Since the day they met, she ached constantly for him and, even after three years, they still made love almost every night.

  Todd released her wrists and pulled her on top of him, his mouth still locked to hers.

  Kathy pushed away to study his handsome, rough face. “You’re so lucky I love you, and you better never forget that,” she advised before descending upon his nipples with her tongue.

  “I certainly am, my precious. I’m thankful for that every single day. Lady, your mouth is so hot,” he whispered, stroking her hair.

  “Let’s see exactly how hot my mouth is, Mr. Makin. What do you think of this?” Kathy asked as her lips grazed over his hardened stomach and across the smooth skin of his pelvis. She blew warm air over his bobbing penis, the head already glistening with a drop of pre-cum. She glanced up at him with a sinister smile before she wrapped her lips around the twitching head.

  Todd groaned as her mouth slowly descended over his thick shaft, her tongue swirling against his flesh as she held him in place. Carefully, she tightened her lips around him, pulling him with her as she moved her mouth up and down, caressing his rod with the flat of her tongue.

  Todd growled, feeling the surge of cum threaten to bubble over. He pulled his wife’s mouth away and lifted her body over his cock. “Ride me, woman. Ride me hard tonight,” he ordered, feeling himself slide deep into her moist, waiting womanhood.

  Kathy’s hair hung wildly about her face as her strong thighs lifted her to the tip of his hungry cock and then slammed down hard onto the full length of his throbbing manhood. She gripped him tightly with her muscles and, once again, lifted herself to the tip only to allow him to plunge into her again. She began to ride him like a bronco, her strokes becoming more and more aggressive as she drew near to her climax. Todd grunted, grabbing her hips and guiding her to go faster, harder, deeper. Kathy threw back her head and let out a soft moan as she began to cum in frantic waves. Todd, with one last deep thrust, joined her, sending a tidal wave of heat into her inner walls.

  Panting, Kathy collapsed upon Todd’s chest, his twitching cock still lodged inside her .

  He wrapped his arms around her, kissing her neck and moving to her mouth. “I never tire of you, my love. Every time we make love, it’s something new,” he praised, pulling her off of him and nestling her against his chest.

  “Just remember that next time you and Lance start teasing me, husband. One of these days, I really will cut you off. Only Saturday nights and birthdays.”

  “Yes, dear.” Todd chuckled, kissing her head. Kathy just smiled.

  Chapter Two

  The next evening, Noelle sat up in bed and stared at the tray in front of her that the nurse had left. She wrinkled her nose, sniffing it. She knew what everything was for, but could not get her body to cooperate. The occupational therapist watched her carefully.

  “Are you hungry, Noelle?” she asked. Noelle nodded, blinking back tears. Why couldn’t she do anything? The OT picked up a spoon and placed it in her hand, scooped up some mashed potatoes and directed it towards the girl’s mouth. On her other side was a speech therapist, observing her swallowing and ability to verbalize.

  “Is it hard to swallow, honey?” the ST asked, seeing the difficulty. Noelle nodded, tearful again. The ST patted her hand, “It’s ok, we’ll take care of you. How about this? It’s Jell-O. Any easier? Good!”

  Systematically, the two evaluated her abilities, then retreated to the office to conference call Lance. “Hi, Dr. C. It’s Julie, Noelle’s occupational therapist and Connie from speech. Sorry to call you so late, but the poor kid slept most of the day and we didn’t want to wake her. We finally have your results.”

  “Thank you, ladies. I was hoping to hear from you tonight.” Lance held his finger to his lips as he placed them on speaker so his sister and Todd could hear. “Go on, please.”

  “Well, cognitively, she seems to be completely intact. For some reason, she is unable to coordinate certain motor skills with her understanding. We did notice that she has a fast learning curve, so it shouldn’t take too long to retrain her to a fully functional level. Physically, anyway.”

  “What are you saying, Jules?”

  “She’s at a three or four year old physical level with an apparent adult understanding.

  She definitely needs retraining, but I think she’ll be fine.”

  “And her swallowing?”

  “Like her physical abilities, she needs to learn how to swallow again. Doc, it’s almost as if something blew the adult in her out of her head. I’ve never seen anything like this.”

  “Ok, list her as a choke risk and put her on maximum attendance with assist. How’s her mobility?”

  “It took her a while, but she’s fully mobile and able to tend to most of her personal needs with reminders and some assistance. She does not seem to know how to feed herself with utensils, although she’s fairly adept with a small spill-proof cup.”

  “Make sure she does not bathe unsupervised and see that she has a sit-by to help in toileting if she needs it. I will be sending her new caregiver over tomorrow to train for her care. What type of special equipment will she need?”

  “Probably nothing, Dr. C. Just things to keep her occupied and stimulated as she’s retraining. Of course, be mindful of safety. I know this sounds bizarre, but I think it might be a good idea to take her to a toy store and let her pick out some things of interest. Grant her as many choices concerning her personal care as you are comfortable with, too. It will help restructure her autonomy.” Julie suggested.

  “Me? Why would you suggest that?”

  “We already know you are taking her home, Doc. That’s why we all love you. You’re a hero.” Connie said over the speaker. Kathy elbowed her brother and mouthed ‘told you so.’

  “I’m not a hero, I’m a person who cares about others. Take good care of her, ladies. We still don’t know what that child has been through.”

  “We will, Dr. C. Good night.”

  “You have quite the staff there.” Todd smiled, accepting another cup of coffee from his wife.

  “They’re the best. I don’t know what I’d do without them. Katherine? Are you sure you can handle this? It sounds like you will be dealing with a three year old.”

  “I can do it just fine. Please, let me contribute something. You boys can look at it like I was repaying you for going over budget.”

  “I like that idea,” Todd teased, “Let’s see, at 10 bucks an hour, 16 hours a day, 5 days a week… it will take you ten weeks to pay what you owe.”

  “Pardon me? You didn’t fill me on this little detail yesterday. Katherine, how the heck did you manage to go eight grand over your budget? What did you buy? A new car?”

  “Don’t yell at me, Lance. No, I bought a motorcycle,” Kathy confessed, preparing for the outburst.

  “A what?! No, you certainly did not!” Lance’s handsome face darkened angrily.

  “Oh, yes, she certainly did. Good thing I like bikes. Don’t worry, she will never ride it,” Todd assured the over-protective brother.

  “Alan is going to blister your butt when he finds out, little sister. You had that argument with him just last year and he forbade you from getting one because you are so reckless.”

  “I’m a married woman and he can’t forbid anything anymore.”

  “We’ll see about that. You will call him tonight to tell him. If you don’t, he will find out from me and you know how he feels about that. I can’t believe you sometimes,” Lance was completely exasperated with her. “What time can you be ready to go to the hospital tomorrow?”

  “Snitch! I can go with you in the morning. I want some time to get things ready for her homecoming, too. Can I SPEND MONEY for that?”

  “No sassing me, young lady. Yes, of course you can. But give all the receipts to Todd so he ca
n determine if they were necessary purchases.”

  “You… you BUTTHEAD!”

  “She’s pulling out the big words now, Lance. Watch out!” Todd laughed, smacking his wife’s rear playfully as she stomped away.

  “She’ll get over it. I’m serious, you really need to paddle her one of these days. Alan and I aren’t around enough to keep her behaving for you. She should be in there stewing for a while.

  Since we didn’t get a chance to talk last night, can you tell me now what you discovered about Noelle?”

  “I pulled together an investigations team from my agency to research this since the police don’t seem to be too interested. I found that unusual due to the fact it was a gunshot wound and abandonment. Usually something like that get cops in an uproar.”

  “That suggests someone wants to keep things quiet,” Lance frowned.

  “Exactly. Now, get this: apparently, the kid was shot right outside Area 51. There were no vehicles within 20 miles from where she was found and no one in the military has come clean about the situation. My guys tried to find the bullet, but the place was picked clean, including any blood she may have left,” he whispered. “I contacted an old friend, Detective Collins, who is stationed here in town. He’s going to probe a little deeper and keep his eye out for us. I hope you don’t mind.”

  “Of course not, I appreciate it. Please don’t tell Katherine, she’ll start to worry. So, you’re saying that Noelle was shot and left for dead outside a top secret military installation and there is no evidence as to how she got there or who did it?”

  “That’s what it looks like. Maybe she’s an alien or a government spy.” Lance groaned as his brother-in-law shrugged with a goofy grin. “You watch too many movies. She’s a little girl who’s in a whole lot of trouble and we need to find out how to help her.”

  “Let me keep working on it, ok? Do you think you could stand having us around for another month? It’s good for Kathy to mother us guys and now have someone else to take care of. I’m seeing a positive turn for her,” Todd asked quietly.

  “I’ll buy you a house myself if you two decide to stay permanently!” That meant they would be around for the holidays.