Free Before The Night Is Over by Sandy Sullivan

threesome.”
    “ Threesome?” one of the others squeaked.
    “ Keep your voice down, Missy,” the blonde snapped. “She’s talking about the two men and Natalie having sex. Together. At the same time.”
    “ No shit! Really?” Missy replied.
    Heat seeped through Laurel’s veins while she listened. Blood rushed in her ears and a quiver spread through her belly. Her thoughts went haywire when she imagined Kale and another mysterious man pleasuring her at the same time. Threesome’s weren’t something she’d ever experienced, but if Kale was involved, she might jump at the chance—then again, maybe not.
    “ Cade and Kale had the reputation for sharing a woman in the past. Why wouldn’t they share Natalie?”
    “ But Cade is married to her now. Wouldn’t that be kind of weird, Jan?”
    “ Like I know. It’s not like it was me,” Jan snapped.
    “ You sound a bit jealous,” the third woman said.
    “ Hell yes, I’m jealous,” Jan replied, while she fanned her face like she’d overheated. “Those two are about the hottest thing around here.”
    “ You’re married, Jan.”
    “ I may be married, but I ain’t dead, Candace. Kale is still a fine looking man and single.”
    Yes, he is.
    “ Mommy!” Kimmy yelled from the top of the slide, waving madly and then sliding down.
    The three women finally seemed to notice her sitting not far away and focused their icy stares on her. She lifted her hand in a small wave before she stood and walked toward her daughter.
    When she reached Kimberly, she said, “Let’s go play on the swing, okay?”
    “ Kay.”
    Kimmy took her hand and they walked toward another part of the park, away from the steely-eyed women still watching them.
    The plastic of the swing seared through the butt of her jeans. “Wow.” Laurel wiggled her butt on the seat and then settled down, pulling Kimmy into her lap and pushing against the ground to set into motion.
    Off in the distance, a fairly handsome blond man threw a baseball to his young son, who appeared to be about Kimberly’s age. The tightness in Laurel’s chest made her realize how much of Kimberly’s life her father would miss. The influence of a man in her life wouldn’t be there, unless she got married or found a steady man. The day would come when Kimberly would ask questions and her stomach clenched at the thought.
    “ Mommy,” Kimberly said, smacking her small hand against Laurel’s cheek.
    “ What, sweetie?”
    “ Go for walk.” The little girl jumped down once Laurel stopped the swing.
    “ Where?”
    Kimberly pointed to a jogging path the led back into the woods and wrapped around the back of the park before it came back out on the other side of the skateboard ramps. They had taken the path several times and Kimberly loved to pick up bugs and anything else that moved, along the path.
    “ All right, pumpkin, but once we come back around; we need to head for home.”
    The pout on her daughter’s face almost made her laugh, but she smiled and took Kimmy’s hand. There would be no dealing with the rambunctious three year old later on, if she didn’t wear her out some before they went back to the apartment.
    Leaves rustled above their heads and the canopy of filtered sunlight kept the heat to a minimum down the asphalt path. Kimberly ran ahead several feet and picked up a rock. It skipped off into the bushes surrounding the path with a toss of her hand.
    “ Don’t go too far,” she yelled as Kimberly skipped around the bend of the trail and out of sight for a moment. Laurel picked up the pace and rounded the corner. The little girl had stopped not far off the trail near a bush and stood looking down at something on the ground. “You know better than to run ahead, sweetie,” Laurel scolded as got closer. “What’cha got there?”
    The sight meeting her gaze sent Laurel into cop mode—an uncovered tennis shoe attached to a foot, leg and probably the rest of what looked like a woman’s body, under the covering