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  “I would have thought you'd enjoy that, ” said Georgia. It was true that there was no love lost between Graham and the pastor, who had argued over Graham's divorce; back when it had happened, the pastor seemed to think that he should have worked harder to save his marriage. They were back on speaking terms now, but things were civil at best. Georgia knew that better than anybody. Despite the slack-jawed, low-intelligence mood of the rest of this town, Graham's sister was pretty well switched-on. She kept him sane. “That'll teach him to talk about other people's marriages. ”

  “I'm sure he'll be at the pulpit preaching fire and brimstone onto his own daughter soon enough, ” Graham assured her. “You know the type. Did you see him in the crowd, at all? ”

  “Sure did, ” said Georgia. “He was as red as the devil himself. ”

  “Fitting, ” said Graham, giving her a sly look sideways. “Anyway, it's all a useless display. The kid won't get any bids, if she's even serious. Not in a town like this. ”

  Georgia wrinkled her nose and shook her head. “I doubt it, Graham. There's no such thing as a conventional town. In places where you don't see anybody toeing the line, it just means people have gotten good at hiding it. You see how long the pastor hid his affair with Louise Buckton? ”

  “True enough, ” he admitted. “I just can't imagine there are many people who'd risk all those wagging tongues in this town. ”

  “Well, she doesn't need many people, ” she pointed out. “She only needs two to bid against one another, if they're ardent enough. She's a gorgeous young woman, and you saw her in that dress; I'm sure there are plenty of withered old hearts burning up for a slice of Robinson pie. ”

  “That's disgusting. ”

  “Is it? ” she said. “I don't know. It's not so bad – not in my book. The kid wants to move out of town, and she can't afford to right now. She's selling her virginity. That's a commodity that… basically doesn't exist, and yet people seem to be willing to pay for. If she can get a few bucks out of some guy for a couple of minutes in the sack, why not? ”

  Graham glanced sideways at her, surprised. “You don't think it's creepy to pay a desperate 22-year-old kid for sex? ”

  “Come on, ” she said. “The kid's not that desperate. She's not a coke addict; she's not exhausted all her other options. She stood up there – sober, sensible, smart enough – and she made her choice. Far as I'm concerned, anybody who makes a bid is just paying for a service. That's all. ”

  “Well, it depends who wins. I'm sure she's not crazy about the idea of screwing some wrinkly old farmer. ”

  “You think I'm crazy about the idea of putting my hands on Edith Beacham's greasy head? ” asked Georgia, indignant; she was a hairdresser at the old local salon, and a damned good one at that. “It's still a service. I don't know. Good on the kid. Now, I'm sure she'd rather the winner was a younger, more handsome man. . . ”

  Her eyes lingered on Graham just a little too long. Not for the first time, he was forced to wonder if she knew how lonely he had gotten on the farm. They had never spoken about it, and he never intended on doing so either – but sometimes he just got the impression that his sister understood him better than he'd like her to. Maybe there was something psychic in their shared dark head of hair, or their intense gray eyes.

  In any case, Graham wasn't going to rise to her unspoken question. Instead, he cleared his throat and tried to catch a glimpse of the pastor – though he was sure he'd probably disappeared off somewhere by now. Couldn't really blame the guy, even if he was an ass. “I guess we'll hear what happens in a few days, either way. ”

  “We sure will, ” said Georgia. “And quite honestly, I think you'll be surprised by what you hear. ”

  Chapter Three

  It felt like so much time had passed since Christy's big announcement – but in reality, it had been less than 24 hours. She was bundled up on Claire's couch now, ignoring the faint banging sounds from her friend's room with a little assistance from the TV. Claire's new squeeze Buck was over, and – well. Frankly, it was her house. Christy had no intention of interrupting what was going on in her life. Good for her, if she was getting laid.

  She guessed that would be happening to her, soon enough. After years of denying herself a sexual identity, and then yet more of suppressing it, it was strange to think that she'd be consummating all those years of built-up desire in just over a week, with a man she had yet to meet. Despite the nerves, though, she was still confident she had made the right choice.

  After all, her father seemed angry enough.

  The phone calls from Pastor Robinson simply hadn't stopped. She glanced sideways at her phone now, where it had been sitting on silent for the entire evening. Sure enough, the screen had lit up with yet another phone call, which she ignored as easily as she had ignored the rest. She had no intention of enduring Pastor Robinson's anger, his sermons or his criticisms.

  That man had earned everything he was now experiencing last year when he'd chosen to betray his wife. She was no longer on this earth to make him pay, but Christy would very gladly do it for her.

  At long last, however, the banging stopped – and a couple of minutes later, the door to Claire's room opened, and she was no longer on her own. She grinned at Claire, who came to flop down beside her on the couch, and also turned to give a similar smile to Buck. Buck was inescapably handsome, and perpetually half-naked, and… frankly, if Christy had to share this house with anybody as well as Claire? She was glad it was somebody so pleasant to look at.

  She had to remind herself that the man who bought her virginity almost certainly wouldn't look anything like that. In fact, he'd probably be faintly repulsive. Why else would he spend money on sex? Right?

  “Hey, baby, ” said Claire, ruffling up her hair. “Anything good on TV? ”

  “I stopped watching, ” she admitted, nodding down at her phone. “I've just been keeping track of phone calls from the pastor. Look – there's another one. . . ”

  “How many is that? ” asked Buck.

  “That will be the thirty-fifth. ”

  “Jesus, ” said Claire, stretching out on the couch as Buck came to perch on the arm of the chair beside her. “You'd think he'd get the message after, say… the thirty-second. The thirty-third. Have you been refusing the calls? ”

  “Nah, ” she said. “Just letting it ring out. I don't want him to know I'm paying any attention – not even just to think that I'm refusing his calls. He's not a part of my life right now. He needs to come to terms with that. ”

  “I love rebellious new Christy, ” said Claire, giving her a fond squeeze on the leg. “Where have you been all my life? ”

  “I'm rebellious too, ” Buck said, playfully pretending to be jealous, and she reached across to pat his leg.

  “Sure you are, honey. ”

  “I keep wanting to check if I've had any bids, but… that's crazy, isn't it? After less than a full day. Surely nobody's even thought about it yet. ”

  “I don't know, ” said Claire. “I think it's worth a look. ”

  “I'd bid on you, ” said Buck, which had the dual effect of encouraging Claire to swat his leg, and making a blush spread across Christy's face so fast it was like somebody had dropped ink in water. “I mean, like… if I wasn't dating Claire, and if I had the money, and… you know. Just 'if'. ”

  “That's a lot of 'if's, ” Christy pointed out, but Claire was already pulling her laptop up from the floor.

  “Here, ” she said. “Go ahead and check. I'm curious too. ”

  Christy grimaced, accepting the computer from Claire and tapping in her log-in details on the site. “But what if there haven't-”

  But she had to cut the sentence off half-way. As soon as the website loaded, it became patently obvious that the thing she was worrying about need not be a concern. Already, there were a number of bids from four separate anonymous bidders – and the total was already at $15, 000.

  “Holy shit, ” said Claire.

  “What?
” Buck craned his neck to see the screen, leaning in to see the amount. Meanwhile, Christy just read it over and over again. Could that amount really be correct? Wasn't it $150 instead, with the decimal point in the wrong place? Even $1, 500 made more sense. “Wow. Fuck. ”

  “She will, ” Claire teased, “but it's gonna cost you a minimum of $15, 001. ”

  “That can't be right, ” said Christy, dumbfounded. “Who would pay that much just for me? Thousands of dollars…? I thought I'd be lucky to get $1000 after a week. I just wanted to embarrass my – ah, the pastor. I didn't think anybody would really want me that seriously. ”

  “I mean, you can back out, ” said Claire. “If you don't want to do it. ”

  “I do want to, ” she confirmed – and she wasn't lying. The thought of the sex didn't concern her, and she wasn't changing her mind about that. When she had made her final decision backstage, she had meant it. It just blew her away to see that figure. She didn't have terribly low self-esteem, but she couldn't imagine anybody believing that a short period of private time with her could be valued so highly. “Just… wow. ”

  “So if it's this high already, ” Buck pointed out, tapping at the screen, “after 24 hours. Can you imagine what the bidding will be at in one week? ”

  Christy shook her head, momentarily distracted by her phone flashing up again, before she turned back to Claire. “I wonder who the top bidder is? ”

  “No way of knowing, ” said Claire. “I always thought the math teacher at the high school was into you, though – not the one we had. The new one. You know, when I drove you on your grocery round that one time? I bet he put in a bid. ”

  “He's not bad, ” Buck reasoned. “Not too old. Kind of salt and pepper. ”

  “Math, though, ” said Claire, and all three of them pulled a face. “Who else? ”

  She and Buck continued their guessing game, but Christy couldn't keep track. Her eyes were still fixed on the screen of her phone, which continued to light up and go dark in an even, steady rhythm. It had been hours of this now. Had Pastor Robinson really not given up in all this time? Had he really not gone to do something else?

  “I should take this, ” she said under her breath, but Claire reached to stop her hand before it reached her phone.

  “What are you doing? ”

  Christy shook her head, knowing Claire wouldn't like her answer. “Maybe I should just answer – just once. Tell him where to stick it. ”

  “No way, Christy. You just told me five minutes ago that you wanted him to work out himself that he's no longer a part of your life. That made sense, and I totally support you on that. There's no way you can answer that call. ”

  “Your ass is worth $15, 000, ” Buck pointed out. “I mean… literally. More than that. You don't need his bullshit. Let's go out and get pizza. ”

  Christy wrinkled her nose. “You guys go. Everybody stares at me when I leave the house right now; I'm not in the mood. ”

  Claire fixed her with a serious expression, really measuring her up until she was forced to look back, both awkward and a little nervous of Claire's intensity. “You promise me, ” she told Christy. “Promise you won't pick up for him. ”

  “I won't, ” she said. “I swear. ”

  After a few seconds' more scrutiny, Claire stood from the couch. “Alright. We'll go for pizza, but we're bringing it back here. We can all eat together. Right, Buck? ”

  “Yup. ”

  “Alright, then, you lump of muscle. Go get dressed. ”

  They watched Buck's retreat into the bedroom, quite openly admiring the shapely form of his back, and then grinned at each other once he'd gone.

  “He's sweet, ” said Claire. “I think he'll do. ”

  “I like him, ” Christy agreed – and this wasn't necessarily a given. She had not liked all of Claire's boyfriends. In fact, she tended to be quite discerning of them. Very few people ought to be permitted close access to Claire, in her view. She was too important, and too good a person to be hurt by some jerk. Not that anybody deserved it, of course, but in the grand scheme of things? Well, Claire deserved it a little less.

  Despite their moment of fun, though, Claire's face went serious again. “You'll be alright here on your own? You really won't call him? ”

  “I won't, ” she assured her. “You're right. I'm right. He has to work it out for himself. ”

  “That's my girl, ” she said, briefly cupping Christy's face before she stood up. Usually, that was a playful gesture, but now she felt the affection from Claire in spades. Claire was an incredible friend to her, really. She really hoped she understood how grateful Christy was. She'd have to tell her so, later. “We'll be back soon. ”

  As the couple left the house, however, Christy reached for her phone with a slight trace of guilt. She hadn't lied outright. She wasn't going to answer the calls – but at least she composed a text.

  Please stop calling. I'm not going to answer. I've made up my mind, and I don't care whether you're sorry or angry.

  At least that was closure. One thing that Christy had learned after losing her mother was that closure was extremely important. At her bedside, she had told Christy that hearing her daughter's plans for the rest of her life and having time to say goodbye made leaving her behind just that little bit easier. It hurt to think of that moment right now, especially considering how she was punishing her father – but she had to bring that lesson through the rest of her life, or it'd be an insult to her mother's memory.

  Christy's father may be an asshole, but no matter what she had said yesterday on the stage – well. He really was still her father.

  Chapter Four

  Usually, Graham managed to smother the loneliness he felt on the farm. Sure, he could do with finding somebody new, and that would probably be the healthiest thing for him to do – but he simply wasn't at a stage of his life where it was feasible, and he had come to terms with that.

  Did it mean he didn't have impulses? Of course not. They were a part of his life, and he dealt with them. It just usually didn't occupy a huge part of his day. After Christy Robinson's announcement, however, he found himself unusually fixated on the subject. He couldn't stop thinking about the commitment on the young woman's face as she had revealed her intentions, or the flushed, poorly-hidden pleasure on her face as she had enjoyed the town's mixed bag of reactions. She had looked so ravishing in that low-cut red dress of hers, like she'd been poured into it.

  She was undeniably a very good-looking kid – but she was exactly that. A kid. Not literally, maybe, but she was only 22 years old. She still delivered Graham's groceries, for goodness' sake. Despite Georgia's more liberal assessment of the situation, Graham couldn't help but feel that to lust after Christy was. . . well. Creepy. Graham was 30 years old, and that made for an eight-year age gap between them.

  To put that in more clear terms, when Graham reached the age of majority, Christy was only 10 years old.

  Graham was sure he wasn't the oldest man who was drawn towards the idea, but that didn't make it any better. Besides, he had already told himself – it wouldn't be worth the gossip that would inevitably follow him around the town forevermore afterward. This wasn't going to be a long-term thing, after all. When the sex was done with, Christy would leave town, and Graham would have to deal with the consequences of his lust.

  If he was really beginning to need a new partner this badly, then he should start looking discreetly. Placing a bid on the pastor's daughter was not the way to go.

  Just as he was considering this, however, he heard the sound of tires on the gravel path. Somebody was driving up to his house – and with an unpleasant jolt in his stomach, he realized that it was grocery delivery day. Of course, this shouldn't be a problem, but part of him felt like his preoccupation with the concept of buying the girl's virginity would be obvious all over his face. He certainly didn't want Christy to know he'd been thinking of her that way. Besides, the last thing he needed right now was a reminder of how beautiful she was. U
nfortunately, however, a glance up at the vehicle proved that was exactly what Graham was about to get. It was definitely Christy's truck.

  He cleaned his hands off with a rag he kept in his pocket, abandoning the machine he had been working on in order to greet the kid. Like always, Christy stepped out of her truck with a warm expression, her thin white tank top clinging to her generous curves in the warm sunlight. Her appearance aside, there was some extra bright thing about her that could not be suppressed; even the drama and whispering that was following her around after the town fair did not seem to dampen her spirit. It only made her more appealing.

  Honestly? Previously, Christy had been off Graham's radar. Her fair blonde hair and soft pink lips were pretty, but her big blue eyes were full of innocence – and she was, after all, a pastor's daughter. She had seemed too pure and innocent for Graham, who was a little more rough-and-ready. With this salacious new offer on the table, however, it was clear that there had always been more to Christy than Graham had given her credit for.

  “Hey!” said the girl herself, her tone light and easy. “You look busy today. ”

  “I'm always busy, ” Graham assured her, wiping his hands off again on his pant legs – which was useless, considering how dirty they were – and accepted the first bag of groceries from Christy. He hoped he didn't sound unfriendly. He was just a little naturally abrupt. It had never seemed to bother Christy before, though. Why would it bother her now? Graham needed to calm down. “How about you? Busy day for deliveries? ”

  “Well, ” said Christy. “The Carters are having a small get-together next week, so they had two full loads to bring in – but that's about as exciting as it gets on a grocery route, I'm afraid. ”

  “The simple life, ” said Graham, paranoid about how condescending that might sound if interpreted the wrong way. “Can't complain about that. ”

  “I guess not, ” Christy agreed, her tone still bright. “That being said? My life has been anything but simple recently. ”