Date: Wed, 8 Mar 2017 19:57:47 -0500
From: Jim <sojourn1950@yahoo.com>
Subject: Change of Heart chapter eight

Jim Ford

Sojourn1950@yahoo.com

This story is fiction. The characters are adults in adult situations.

Warnings: The only person you can ever hope to truly know is yourself.
Trust no one; use condoms.

If you are not of legal age or in a jurisdiction in which this document is
illegal, go way.

This is my story. Please respect the copyright. If you enjoy it, let me
know.

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Now, on with the show.

The Christmas shopping crowd was in full bloom at WalMart. The parking lot
was packed. Jeff just sneered at Paul's suggestion that he and Maria be let
off at the door while Jeff finds a parking spot. After going up and down a
couple lot of parking lot rows they lucked out and got one about mid way
down on aisle 14. As soon as he parked Jeff stood on the drivers side step
rail and surveyed the lot. Notting nothing suspicious, he ushered his
family into the melee of Christmas shoppers.

They had decided that this trip was to re-establish the basics of Paul's
wardrobe. That meant four pair of cowboy cut Wranglers, four pair of casual
slacks, maybe ten button down or snap front shirts, casual shoes, house
shoes, running shoes at least another pair of boots, socks, underwear and
tee shirts. As Paul ticked off the list out loud, Jeff could see the
frustration building in his face.

"Ok, what is your waist size? What's your tee shirt size?"

"30 inches and large. Why?"

"You take the cart and grab two pair of jeans and only three shirts. I'll
grab some tee shirts... wait a minute." Glancing down at Maria, "It's
better if we just stick together."

So they did. Everything went well until the underwear aisle. Paul grabbed a
couple of packages of multi colored boxers in his size and threw them into
the cart along with the shirts, jeans and tee shirts he had already
chosen. Jeff selected two packages of skimpy, low rise briefs and tossed
them into the cart.

A quizzical look, "Are those for you?"

A grin "They're in your size, right?"

A gasp, "I can't wear those. They cover almost nothing!"

A smirk, "And your point is?"

A look of consternation, "They don't even have a fly!"

Maria had been watching this `back and forth' like a tennis match, shifting
her head and focus as each man spoke. "Daddy, what's a fly? Do men have
bugs on their underwear?"

Looking around, hoping no one would hear him, Paul glared at the again
smirking Jeff, turned back to Maria and explained, "No honey, there are no
bugs on men's underwear. When talking about underwear, a `fly' is the front
opening in men's underwear. Remember, I told you why there are urinals in a
men's room because men can pee while standing up." Thankfully he got a nod
so he didn't have to revisit the trauma of explaining urinals. "Well,
there's an opening in the front of men's underwear and pants so they can
pee standing up. That opening is called a fly." Fortunately Maria simply
nodded in understanding. Unfortunately for Paul, his embarrassment was
compounded by the presence of not only Jeff, but also an attentive
middle-aged woman who appeared to be enthralled by his explanation.
Lurking, well within earshot and obviously interested was a young,
handsome, male sales associate. Paul could feel the heat flushing his
face. If only he had kept his mouth shut... but nooo, he had to discuss
underwear in front of his five year old daughter.

Maria, with all the innocence of youth turned to Jeff, "Mr. Jeff does your
underwear have a fly? Can I see?"

Paul was ecstatic! He wanted to jump straight up and fist bump the sky! He
wanted to kiss his little girl, buy her candy and lollipops and unicorns!
Of course he did none of that. He simply watched as his big, strong,
handsome cowboy withered under the intense but patient gaze of his five
year old inquisitor.

Jeff recovered far too soon for Paul's liking. After only a moment of
uncertainty, a momentary look of shock and embarrassment, Jeff knelt down
to look his Princess in the eye. "No honey, it is not considered polite for
a grown man to show a little girl his underwear."

"But, I've seen Daddy's underwear at home."

"At home it's okay to be more relaxed. Do you ever see your Daddy's
underwear in public?"

Maria thought about it, then, much to Jeff and Paul's relief, shook her
head saying, "uh,uh".

"Ok then. How about we pay for all this and go to Dairy Queen for hot fudge
sundaes?"

Maria squealed in affirmative delight.

The middle-aged woman offered, "I would have paid to see if he had a fly
inside those jeans. My husband never does."

The sales associate mumbled something that sounded like, "I'd pay to `get'
inside those jeans."

Fortunately, Jeff and Maria were already heading for checkout and hadn't
heard the remarks. Paul refused to respond to either comment. He simply
smiled knowing there was no fly inside those jeans and that he, Paul
Wilson, could get inside those jeans pretty much anytime he wanted.

The lines were long and checking out took forever. Hot fudge sundaes, with
nuts, did a lot to restore their good mood.

"I got the feeling you weren't familiar with Walmart's layout. I take it
you don't shop there often. Is that because of location or because you
don't have too."

Jeff was caught off guard by Paul's comments. He searched Paul's face for a
moment for a hint as to where this was going. Their inane banter had no
real direction and was kept at a "G" rating to include Maria. Until Paul
brought up Walmart. "I thought a lot about how I feel about Walmart. We've
never owned any Walmart stock. My family saw too many small ranches ate up
by big eastern conglomerates. Families being forced to sell out was not
necessarily the conglomerates fault, but they were ready to take advantage
of the situation. Walmart is worse than that. It poses a personal conundrum
for me, like it does for most people. My family opposed Walmart coming here
for a long time. They new what it would do to small, family owned
businesses. A lot of the empty storefronts in town were not that way before
Walmart built here. I like the convenience and lower prices like everyone
else. But, after I shop there and pass an empty storefront I feel a twinge
of guilt and I think about those ranchers. So, to answer your unasked
question, I am not a shopping snob. Just don't ever expect me to be
thrilled about going to Walmart. It's easy for me to forget all that
negative stuff when I'm with you and our Princess."

Paul reached over and ran his hand caressingly up and down Jeff's
thigh. Jeff wasn't sure how, but he felt like he had dodged a bullet on
that one.

While it was still early, they decided to go on over to Joe and
Mellie's. As Jeff was pulling into the circular drive Paul noticed three
strange vehicles. All three were SUV's. Two were black Suburbans and the
other was a vehicle he didn't recognize. All vehicles had darkly tinted
windows.

Jeff put the Tahoe in park and slapped the steering wheel, chuckled and
said, "He did it! I didn't really think he would but he did it." The
chuckle rolled into a full scale belly laugh.

Paul was totally confused. Then his eye caught the stylized "T" just
forward of the driver's side door. Looking back at Jeff he asked, "Are you
talking about the Tesla?"

Jeff nodded as he fought to regain his composure. "Yes, I've been talking
to the family about Tesla's for the last couple of years. I emailed the
Tesla link to Uncle Raymond after I took delivery of my model X. I
carefully listed the options, paint and interior of my car. I explained
what I could do with the Tesla app on my IPhone. He told me he would check
it out take a test drive. That was the last I heard from him. He's a die
hard Mercedes fan. Except for his 1968 Shelby Mustang convertible, that's
his baby. He's joked about being buried in that thing. At least I think he
was joking."

Instead of heading to the house, Jeff led them to the rear end of the
Tesla. Pointing to a badge on the passenger side which show an underlined
"P100D". Jeff chuckled again, "That ol'..." glancing down at Maria, he
ended with, "so and so. He got the same interior too." Facing Paul he
explained, "I ordered seven passenger seating cause the third row folds
down and the second row moves forward so you get plenty of storage. It
seemed like leaving a room in an apartment unfurnished if I went with only
five seats. Have you ever ridden in or driven a Tesla?"

"No, I've read about them online and watched youtube videos. I drive a five
year old Explorer that is still new to me. There a little out of my price
range. Have you ever used all seven seats?"

"I carried five coworkers to lunch one day. I preheated the cabin and the
individual seats using my phone, from my office. That was certainly
appreciated in the middle of a Chicago winter. Opening the doors by remote
was interesting to them. But, the falcon wing doors were a big hit, that
gave easy access to the third row seats. But, they were blown away when it
parked itself. I was only able to accelerate once but it pushed them back
in their seats. They were sure surprised by the sheer power. Plus it's the
safest vehicle on the road today."

Jeff grinned at Paul, "Told Ya' I'm a big Tesla fan. But, enough car
talk. Let's go inside and see what's going on."

Upon entering the house and just before Jeff could announce their presence,
they were confronted by a mountain of a man. He had Eastern European
features with dark brown hair and brown eyes. A strong nose that had
obviously been broken more than once. An even stronger chin stuck out below
thin lips that looked to tight to ever smile. He made Jeff think of a cross
between the Incredible Hulk and Lurch... fingersnap, fingersnap.

With a definite Russian accent Hulk/Lurch said, "You are expected.  They
are in the dining room."

The huge man was about to led the way when Maria, who had initially
grounded herself to her father, stepped forward and demanded, "Who are
you?"

Hulk/Lurch's tough guy facade shattered as he squatted down and extended
his hand and replied with a smile, "I am Ilya Orlov, vozlyublennaia."

Watching cautiously as her tiny hand disappeared inside the giants paw,
Maria asked, "It's nice to meet you Ilya, I'm Maria. What does `voz blue in
you' mean?"

Ilya chuckled, "Vozlyublennaia, means sweetheart in your language."

"What is your language?"

"I speak several languages, but my language in childhood is Russian. Now we
go to meet others, Da? That means yes, in Russian."

Maria giggled in delight at having made a new and unique friend. With all
the confidence in the world she proudly announced, "Da Ilya, let's go."

Ilya led the way into the dining room where Joe, sitting at the massive
table, was busy viewing something on an iPad. Standing at his shoulder was
a man, about 6' 4" and about 200 pounds. His hair was dark brown that
seemed to have some red mixed in. He was dressed pretty much like the other
men in jeans and a button down shirt. The man spoke as he pointed to the
tablet, "In real time we're able to follow his every keystroke on his
laptop and every call or text on his cell phone, at work and at home. We
have his browser history for the last six months and I don't think he has
ever deleted an email. If you equate cleaning up your computers and
cellphones to taking out the trash then his house and yard would be
overflowing. We have established video surveillance to the point that we
will soon know his personal hygiene habits."

Paul recognized the sexy baritone voice as belonging to Jeff's Uncle
Raymond. As he finished speaking, the man looked up and smiled at the new
arrivals with, what Paul considered an almost familiar, toothy grin. His
brain worked feverishly trying to identify this man that he had likely met
before. He certainly would have remembered those piercing green eyes. Then
like the madly spinning wheels on a slot machine coming to a halt, his
brain recognized the incredibly handsome face. Paul could only mutter, "Oh
my god".

Jeff standing at Paul's side agreed softly, "Yeah, he gets that a lot. He
looks just like a young Tom Selleck." Paul stared blankly at Jeff then back
at Jeff's Uncle Raymond, then back to Jeff. Regaining his composure he
stared into Jeff's eyes and softly mumbled, "Huh?... Oh... Yeah, he does. I
thought for a minute I had seen him somewhere before. That must be it, yeah
Tom Selleck."

Uncle Raymond had moved around the table and wrapped Jeff in a massive bear
hug. "Jeff! It's so good to see you again. What's it been now? Almost six
months since I saw you last. I'm so glad you decided to come back home. I
was afraid you might end up with that law partner and just stay in Chicago
for good." Then turning to Paul, "And you must be Paul Wilson, veterinarian
extraordinaire and the reason Jeff has finally decided to come back home to
Texas. Well, as always, Jeffrey obviously has good taste in men. You're
even more handsome than Aunt Mellie led me to believe. I look forward to
getting to know you better."

Then, squatting down he looked Maria in the eye, "You must the talented and
beautiful, Princess Maria everyone has been talking about." Bowing his head
he brought her hand to his lips to receive a gentle kiss, much like Jeff
had done at their first meeting. Maria, blushing stared wide eyed at the
handsome man. "I am your new Uncle, Uncle Raymond. It's such a pleasure to
meet you. Your Uncle Joe and Aunt Mellie have been telling all about you
for a long time. You're prettier than any of the pictures they have shown
me." Maria slowly drew her hand to her chest and cupped it as though it had
suddenly become something very precious.

Paul, witnessing the exchange, realized his little girl, just like her
daddy, was susceptible to smooth talking, good looking, green eyed men. For
the first time, he could see himself cleaning a shotgun, while grilling a
would be suitor concerning his intentions. All the while pointing a double
barreled emasculator at the boy's balls. In that scenario, he and Jeff
would both be cleaning guns. He tried to remember if he had seen a shotgun
alongside the rifles in Jeff's gun safe. He sighed oh well, there was still
time.

Aunt Mellie came in from the kitchen and after proper greetings asked Maria
to come help her with preparations for dinner. Maria was obviously torn
between getting to know the charming stranger and her new Russian friend
better or helping the cook. Aside from riding and shopping, her favorite
grownup activity was helping in the kitchen. Seeing her dilemma, her Daddy
urged her with, "Go with Aunt Mellie now, we have business to discuss with
these gentlemen." The decision made for her she followed Aunt Mellie into
the kitchen.

Once the ladies had left the room Uncle Raymond cleared his throat getting
everyone's attention. "Alright everybody let's have a seat. You guys met
Ilya, he's our head of security. For the immediate future there will be
security guards assigned to both houses. Hopefully they will blend in so as
not to be too obvious. These men and women are highly trained professionals
each with special forces backgrounds. Listen to their advice, it may save
your life or the life of someone you love."

After waiting a moment for questions, "Now,we'll talk about the fire. Danny
has provided us with copies of pertinent statements from both you guys as
well as his observations and through a friend at the fire station he has
obtained copies of Bumpkis' documentation."

"Bumpkis has made it clear that in his opinion the fire most likely started
from faulty wiring. Probably from the front porch light. In spite of Deputy
Lovan's protests, the sheriff has decided to follow the Chief's lead and
not investigate any further. That leaves it to us to investigate this as
arson."

Only after he was sure he had Paul's full attention did he continue, "If
this perpetrator was ever brought to trial, I think he could very likely be
charged with, though probably not found guilty of three counts of attempted
murder. Since the sheriff has, at present, refused to investigate, I
consider it likely that any future attempt by the perpetrator would likely
be viewed as an isolated incident."

"We've had our forensic engineering and arson investigation team on site
since before daylight. Of course tire tracks and footprints are out of the
question. That team has confirmed the accelerant used was untaxed, commonly
referred to as red diesel. That means the fire could have been started by
diesel from this ranch or almost any good sized farm or ranch in Texas. The
samples taken indicate the can found at the scene was most likely the
source of the accelerant."

"The fingerprints from the can have been processed through the Integrated
Automated Fingerprint Identification System, IAFIS, the FBI's fingerprint
database. The FBI database turned up a match involving seven burglaries,
over a period of about six months. These all took place in southern Idaho."

"The last burglary happened a little over 18 months ago. The burglar was
surprised by the homeowner who got knocked unconscious and had his house
set on fire. Fortunately the homeowner regained consciousness and called
911. Having been attacked from behind, the victim couldn't identify his
attacker. The police were successful when they checked for fingerprints and
were able to tie in the other burglaries. Police have since decided the
burglar left the area after the arson and attempted murder both
failed. Ilya has sent a man to Idaho to interview each of the burglary
victims as well as the attempted murder victim."

Paul, a little intimated by the scope of the investigation, halfway raised
his hand, "Excuse me sir, but what do you expect to learn by sending
someone to Idaho. I mean, since we know or uh think he is in this area,
wouldn't it make more sense to concentrate on this area?"

"First off Paul, please call me Raymond. In fact, I would be honored if you
and Maria called me Uncle Raymond, as Jeff does. I must admit it felt more
appropriate when he was about the age of Maria. Actually, I'm only ten
years older than he is. We've just gotten used to it over the years. Now,
it just seems natural."

"As to your question, I'll let Ilya answer that. Ilya?"

Turning to Paul, Ilya spoke with his thick Russian accent, "When police
investigate a crime they tend to do so with a limited budget and limited
perspective. For instance, in this case, did they check for a pattern in
the burglaries or just accept them as opportunistic endeavors. Were the
victims all at work or engaged in similar activities that let the burglar
know the homes would be unoccupied? Were the houses in same neighborhood or
the same socioeconomic strata? Was there possibly a familial or
professional connection? It could be as simple as they worked out at the
same gym or shopped in the same shops."

"Or there may be a sexual connection? Often times the police take a very
macho stand and refuse to consider that perhaps the perpetrator used sex to
get to know his victims before burglarizing their homes? Like most straight
men, like all Russians, discussing same sex encounters in other than the
most base and vulgar terms calls into question their own masculinity. They
tend to ignore or downplay any gay sex element of a crime unless it is
blatantly obvious. So, there is much we can learn about this `sukin syn' in
Idaho."

Without hesitation Raymond picked up the thread, "While Ilya's man is
checking out the `son of a bitch' in Idaho. His team here has begun
questioning ranch employees. Joe has already directed the ranch foreman,
Miguel Sanchez and the acting barn manager, Dick Fenwood to make sure their
people cooperate fully and report any suspicious behavior."

Paul looked confused, then clearly upset, "What do you mean, the acting
barn manager?" His accusatory gaze fell on Jeff.

Joe, not understanding the reason for Paul's sudden ire, offered, "Yes, Tom
has taken time off to spend Christmas with his sister up in Snowville,
Utah. He'll be back to work on the 27th. Dick Fenwood is filling in for
him. You know Dick, Paul. He's been with us for about five years."

Ilya added, "We verified Mr. Braxton left on his flight the morning of the
fire."

Paul's face flushed red with embarrassment, "I'm sorry. I thought that..."

Jeff understood what Paul was getting at. "I consider Tom a good
friend. I'm not happy with him wooing you and Maria. He and I need to have
a serious talk and we will. But, if he leaves this ranch it won't be
because of petty jealousy on my part. I hope you love me like I love
you. If you do, then how other people feel about either of us is their
problem, not ours. We can't control their feelings, only how we react to
them." A slight pause, then, "Okay?"

Paul reached out and gave Jeff's hand a reassuring squeeze. "You're wrong,
`we' should have a talk with him. I think he could be a good friend to both
of us."

Joe and Raymond both smiled at the two men's exchange while Ilya perused
his neatly trimmed fingernails. Raymond took up the conversation again,
"Paul we're going to be asking you some very personal and probing questions
about people you may have angered or alienated in the past. Friends, family
or ex lovers you may have intentionally or inadvertently pissed off. Anyone
who may have a reason, however slight, to hold a grudge. You don't strike
me as a man who looks for trouble so it should be a short list. I'd like
you to think about that while you work with Ilya on your LTC. While y'all
are playing shoot `em up, Joe and I will be grilling Jeff about his wild
and crazy life in Chicago."

Raymond handed Paul an ID card and explained, "LTC, License to Carry. Ilya
is among other things a licensed firearms safety instructor. He will get
you set up with sidearms and holsters. You will probably notice that issue
date indicates you've been licensed to carry for almost a year. We figured,
if you're involved in any shooting, it might raise an unwanted red flag if
you were newly licensed."

Before Raymond could dismiss the group, Ilya cleared his throat. Raymond
nodded and Ilya spoke, "I am sure you men think only girly men wear
jewelry, but from this time you two, Mr. Joe, Miss Mellie and Maria as
well, will be wearing special necklaces. We will be able to track you to
within one meter. You will wear them at all..."

Raymond decided to intervene before the boys told Ilya exactly what he
could do with his jewelry and his suddenly domineering attitude, "What my
well intentioned friend is trying to say is that our jobs would be made
easier if you all agreed to wear noninvasive tracking devices. We have
chosen silver crosses on necklaces as the common medium. It's not unusual
to see men or women wearing a cross.  People who do see them will just
assume you are somewhat religious." Then with a soft smile, "For Maria we
chose something more in keeping with a five year old Princess."

The meeting soon split up. Jeff went along with Paul and Ilya. He decided
to get in some practice with, what was now, his everyday carry
weapon. Under Jeff's direction, Ilya drove them to a spot on the ranch that
could safely be used for target practice. Upon arrival they followed Ilya
to the back of the Suburban where he lifted the tailgate, flipped back the
carpet cover and revealed a hidden compartment. They watched in awe as a
small arsenal was revealed. They would learn there were two M-4 carbines
with attached magazines. Two short Kel-Tec KSG, 12 gauge shotguns, with
ammo side saddles, two Sig Sauer P320's semi-automatic handguns as well as
two strange looking Chiappa 40DS, 6 shot revolvers. All weapons had red dot
aftermarket sights as well as attached flashlights. Each had a round in the
chamber. These guns were surrounded by boxes of ammunition.

Ignoring all this firepower Ilya pulled out a small case. Offering it to
Paul he said, "Allow me to introduce you to you new best friends."

Paul's curiosity overcame his hesitation so he took the case and sat it on
the floor of the Suburban. Flipping open the catches he lifted the lid to
find, he would learn, were a Chiappa Rhino 40 SD, 40 caliber revolver and a
Seecamp LWS380 semi automatic "mouse" pistol. Paul became convinced that
whatever Ilya had in mind it was going to change Paul's life drastically.

Author's Note:

There are a few readers who email me, religiously, after every chapter.
They know and I know, they do that to keep me motivated. It does brighten
my day to read that someone appreciates my efforts. If you do, let me know
what you think.