# Car 54

####
© 2005 / revised 2014
K Pelle

### Chapter 14:
Caution - Signal Function Changed

It was evident in the next little while that her mood had changed drastically. When we'd first awakened, she'd seemed to be totally into sex and all that it involved, but now she seemed to be more interested in long term plans and dreams. As well she actually wanted to be involved in the work I was doing, she even tried to understand exactly what was going on and why I did anything.

We ate breakfast first, then went to work on the jobs that I'd planned to do. Grampa Bender even had the first job I wanted to tackle marked on the calendar; we needed to check the battery bank and service the wind turbine. Once we'd checked out all the animals and cared for them, we hiked up the knoll behind the house to the wind turbine tower and battery shack.

"Why is this so far from the house and why are we hauling water to the top of this hill?" Carissa panted as she helped me pull a wagon filled with jugs of rainwater to the battery shack.

"Well, the wind blows a lot stronger up here," I sighed as I stopped for a short break. "And, the reason we're hauling the water is to use it to top up the batteries if they happen to be low."

I went on to explain that we used rainwater because it had fewer minerals in it than ground water or spring water, then answered her questions about the reason for using the generator in the first place.

Since Grampa Bender's homestead was twelve miles from the nearest hydroelectric supply line, the cost to have a regular electrical supply line installed would have been astronomical. Instead, he had installed a wind turbine since his homestead actually sat near the end of a mountain pass and the wind blew through the area quite often and usually quite strongly. The only problem with that was that it didn't blow continuously. To solve that problem he'd added a batch of batteries which could be charged by the turbine when the wind was blowing and he wasn't using power, then he'd have those charged as a reserve electrical supply when the wind wasn't blowing.

Unfortunately the wind turbine and the batteries were getting quite old and had to be serviced every few months to keep them in working condition. Not only were they getting old, but the wind turbine and batteries were all set up to produce thirty-two volts direct current and it was getting hard to get the light bulbs that worked on what had become an odd voltage. Even worse than that there was a lot of loss in the system because it was direct current, but it was better than nothing.

Of course I had to explain the difference between direct current and alternating current as well as to go into all the problems with the system. Then she asked about the reason for not having regular hydroelectric power run in, since she could only see the advantages of a regular electric supply. She didn't understand why we thought it was too costly, but she'd only seen the normal electrical bills that came to a house in town. Up until I explained the costs, she hadn't realised that each farmer had to pay for the lines and poles that allowed the power company to supply the electricity to each farm.

I was impressed with how quickly she understood the overall situation and was even more impressed that she dug in and helped with everything except climbing up the fifty-foot high tower to help me check over the turbine. It turned out she was afraid of heights and was just as worried about the idea of me climbing the tower while I still wore my casts. In fact since the turbine seemed to be working well and still producing full power, she browbeat me until I agreed that I could get Wil or Tom to help me do that part of the job some other day.

While we were on the top of the knoll, I took the time to point out the boundaries of Grampa Bender's original homestead and then explain the complete extent of his lease. I wanted her to understand some of the reasons that I and my family were so involved with the whole setup and have an idea of why I was so adamant that someone should be living on the place all the time.

First off, I pointed out the steep hills that ran along the northern, eastern and western sides of the valley that were the base for the boundaries of the homestead and explained that the upper extension of the valley to the northwest led to a mountain pass several miles to the west of us. That was the real reason why the wind almost always seemed to blow from that area and was the reason Grampa Bender had used the wind turbine as a source of power.

While we stood under the wind tower, we could just make out the little spring fed lake that lay at the north western corner of Grampa Bender's original homestead. Unfortunately from the knoll we were just barely see the lake through the trees and bushes that surrounded it, but I thought she should see how far away from the cabin it was. As well as that, I pointed out that beyond the lake and along the northern edge of the original section of land there was a relatively steep hill and at its base lay the springs and seeps that filled the lake. That area was covered in willows, birches and quaking aspens, then there was a small swampy area that was tightly fenced off so that none of the stock would ever get mired in the muck and mud. That source of water was the real reason that the government had granted the lease that Grampa Bender had applied for so many years before.

Of course I had to pause then and explain the idea of water rights and the relation that had to our leases and grazing rights. Since Grampa Bender's original homestead enclosed the source of the water that fed the whole valley, he had prior rights to whatever happened with that water. Without another source of water no one else could farm, ranch or even build anything in the valley below him without his permission. Once she understood that concept she could see the reason that the lease included the whole valley as it meandered down to the upper edge of Dad and Mom's farm, which was where another creek joined the one that ran along the valley below us.

We took several more minutes gazing off into the distance as I pointed out the landmarks that roughly delimited the area of the homestead as well as others that indicated the extension of the government lease. It wasn't long before she understood that my family controlled the whole valley and at least part of the reason why I was so enthusiastic about maintaining control of the lease.

It wasn't until I told her of my dream of a horse ranch that she grew really enthused though. Instantly she wanted to know all about my idea and I decided that the only way she'd really understand was if she saw the area I was talking about with her own eyes. The only way I could think of to do that was from horseback, so I suggested we take a break for lunch, then we could catch my two horses and go for a ride.

I think she would have willingly skipped lunch and gone for a ride instantly, but I insisted that we needed food and a change of clothes. In actual fact I was a bit worried about riding far with her because I knew that neither of us had ridden much in the last while. I was worried that we'd both suffer from saddle sores if we rode for too long. It was only as we were walking down the hill toward the cabin that I remembered she'd come in a Jeep and realised that we could use that to travel to the boundaries of the area I'd been discussing.

That suggestion brought on an argument which lasted all through lunch and I learned just how adamant Carissa could be. Of course I was almost as stubborn, but in the long run we managed to hash out a compromise. We ended up planning to take the Jeep out first and using it to climb up one of the surrounding hills to one of the high ridges. From there we could see the overall area, then we'd come back and saddle the horses in order to see some of the areas closely and much more thoroughly.

At least that was what we had planned... Unfortunately for us, Mother Nature and circumstance had other plans.

When we had been making our plans for the afternoon, the one thing we hadn't taken into account was the possibility of a change in the weather. After we'd eaten, and as we walked out of the cabin, toward the Jeep, I glanced at the sky to the west of us, then came to a sudden halt.

"What's the matter?" Carissa asked.

I didn't speak aloud, instead I simply raised a hand and pointed at the roiling black line of clouds coming our way from the direction of the mountains.

"Is that a storm?"

"Unh huh, that's a hum dinger," I nodded. "I think there will be both wind and rain in those clouds, maybe even some hail, so we'd better forget that drive. In fact, I think we should batten down the hatches for some weather. For one thing we'd better try to get the chickens inside the henhouse if we can, we don't want the wind and rain to get the young chicks, that would kill off some of them."

"Oh great we're going to have a storm and the Jeep has no roof," Carissa moaned. "Uncle Frank will kick my butt if I let the upholstery get all wet."

"Well, you could always park it under the shed roof by the barn, the one with the tractor parked at the other end, that would keep off a lot of the rain," I pointed it out to her. "If you look around the corner, just inside the barn, you might even find a tarp you can cover it with, but be sure you close the barn door and tie the tarp down. If the wind does come up really strong, it'll tear the tarp off the Jeep if it's not tied down well and if the barn door is open, it could blow the roof off."

So she went to move the Jeep and I headed for the chicken run.

Thank goodness Grampa Bender only had a couple of dozen chickens because Carissa had time to park the Jeep and tie a tarp over it, then come down and help me get the last few hens inside. By that time the wind was rising and we had to hurry to the cabin to beat the rain.

Once we were in the shelter of the front porch, we paused to watch the oncoming storm. One of the things I was watching in particular was the wind turbine; I wanted to see if the self-feathering blades were still working automatically. Luckily everything seemed to be okay, but I still worried slightly about that. It was one of the things I'd have checked if Carissa hadn't talked me out of climbing the tower.

Of course I was worried about the other animals. Luckily there was just enough height from the front porch to see the big corral where I had my horses. I could see that they'd moved into the shelter of the open fronted shed built into one corner of the corral. Further down the valley I was able to make out the cattle through the driving rain; they were making a beeline for the shelter of the quaking aspens that lined either side of the upper pasture. Since the old sow was a coward about high wind, I knew she'd be inside. Of all the animals, that only left the dog and he was almost under our feet on the porch, so all the animals seemed to be okay, which meant I could breathe a sigh of relief.

As the wind gusts rose and the rain started coming down harder, we were soon getting splattered with raindrops and it wasn't long before we retreated into the cabin. Then because the temperature was dropping so fast during the storm, I lit a small fire in the wood burning heater in the kitchen.

"Are there often storms like this up here?" Carissa asked, as she watched the storm through a kitchen window.

"Not really, no more than down home," I chuckled as I walked up behind her and slid my arms around her waist. "It just seems worse here because we're a bit isolated, but we're really only about thirty miles from town. The weather is about the same here as it is there. Of course since this place is right at the entrance to the pass, the winds are a bit stronger than they are down on the flatland."

"It feels colder," she snuggled back against me.

"Well, we are a couple of thousand feet higher than your house in town and quite a bit closer to the mountains," I gesture out the window in the direction of the pasture. "I think Grampa Bender told me that the surveyors had said that the flats out there were about a mile above sea level. That's why he uses 'MHR' as his brand; it stands for 'Mile High Ranch'. The place has been registered under that name for years."

"Oh, I thought it was an 'M' and an 'R' with a bar between them," she snickered. "That's what I get for not asking about things."

"Actually, the letters are just close together and run into each other," I nibbled on her ear

"Umm," she lifted one of my hands to a breast and wriggled her bottom against my growing hard-on. "I can see you feel like snuggling together too. Are you having ideas about keeping us warm?"

"Maybe?"

"Well, I'm a bit tender, but ..." she turned in my arms.

Suddenly the storm was nowhere near as interesting as it had been. That afternoon we discovered the joys of making love while listening to a storm roar outside. Somehow, in some perverse way, it added a sense of danger that increased the enjoyment we shared.

Later that evening, after that the worst of the storm had passed, we sat out on the front porch and watched the drizzling rain. We'd had time to check for problems and no major damage seemed to have been done, so we were celebrating with a cup of coffee as we snuggled together on the old porch swing. Suddenly Carissa drew a deep breath, then sighed softly.

"Just smell that," she spoke softly. "Everything smells so fresh and clean up here."

"Um hmm, wait until the sun comes out again," I nodded. "That's when the odours really show up and they always seem stronger after it's rained."

"Mmm, I think I'm going to like that, but then I already like this place a lot," she sighed and grabbed one of my hands in hers.

"So do I. That's why I wanted to be sure everything was okay while Grampa Bender was in the hospital. I'd hate to have anything happen to this place."

"I can understand that," she drew a deep breath and sat up, then turned to face me, her forehead furrowed by a frown. "Have you any idea what will happen if he's incapacitated enough that it would be unsafe for him to come back here?"

"Well, I'm hoping that won't happen for a few years," I sighed as I shrugged my shoulders. "Someone would have to be here to look after the place and I've sort of stepped up to the plate for now. I'm hoping that this isn't permanent though, because I've got a lot of things I want to do first. However, I'd love to live here in the long run."

"Besides moving to the city and studying electronics, what else do you want to do?"

"Well, for one thing, I'd like to try racing that old stock car your uncle Frank gave me, but if I'm living up here, I won't even have time to work on it to get it ready," I sighed.

"I thought Uncle Frank said it was ready to go?" she questioned. "Can't you just jump into it and race it?"

"I wouldn't feel safe, not until Tom and I have a chance to go over it from top to bottom. There are some things that I just don't trust others to do. I like to check them myself."

She chuckled and snuggled close. "I kind of like having you check things out myself."

"I think that's a slightly different kettle of fish," I laughed. "That's more along the lines of exploration of totally new territory, at least for me."

"For me too, buster, and don't you ever forget it," she poked me in the ribs, but none too gently.

I'd just started to tickle her in retaliation when I heard Grampa Bender's call sign on the CB.

"Oh damn, that'll be Wil checking in to see if we're okay after the storm. I'd better answer him or he'll worry," I hurriedly disentangled myself from her arms and leaped to my feet.

Inside I grabbed the mic. and answered the call."Mile High here. How goes it, Big Brother? Over."

"Well, we had some hail, but we're okay. How are you doing? Over."

"Everything is okay. Over."

"Everything? No surprises? Over," Wil was chuckling.

"One, but it was a pleasant one," I grinned and wrapped an arm around Carissa, who'd come inside to stand beside me. "Nothing I can talk about on the radio, though. Over."

"I understand. Do you need any help or any supplies up there? Tom's car is insured and he has his learner's permit. He was talking to me earlier about coming up to see you. Over."

"Nope, everything is fine, but if you want to visit that'd be fine too. The roads will be a bit slippery from the storm though and there might be some minor flash floods in the gullies up on the plateau, so it might be a good idea to wait for things to dry a bit. Over."

"Maybe tomorrow afternoon? Over."

"Sounds good. Over."

"Right, see you then," I could hear Corinna say something in the background, but Wil just chuckled and then I could hear Corinna squeal.

"Over and out," he said and his radio shut down.

"It sounds like you aren't the only explorer in your family," Carissa laughed.

"Well, with weather like this, some indoor exploration seems like a great idea," I laughed, reaching for her.

"Unh uh," she danced away. "I want to explore too and we have clean bed sheets. Shall we go mess them up? That way I'll have a decent sized wash tomorrow because I want to try it out that old gas powered washing machine of your Grampa's."

"Only if it's sunny," I laughed. "Otherwise there's no way to dry things."

"Lets gamble," she laughed as she moved toward the bedroom, delighting me with an impromptu strip tease on the way.

The next day neither of us was moving as quickly as we could have been because we were both a bit tender. We'd found out the hard way that there are consequences to overdoing certain physical activities that we weren't used to doing. Of course we did feel slightly better when Corinna and Wil showed up in the early afternoon; they were moving even more slowly and carefully than we were, which gave Carissa and me a small private chuckle.

Tom had decided not to come up after all, but he'd lent his car to Wil, who had used the excuse of bringing us some milk as a reason for visiting. Since Grampa Bender didn't have any milk cows and only an ice box to keep things from spoiling, we actually did need it. The milk I had brought up with me would only last that day anyway, mostly because I hadn't counted on having two people to use it.

While Wil and I carried the extra supply of milk to the ice house to store it safely, the twins went inside in order to make everyone some coffee. We could hear them giggling and Wil looked slightly embarrassed as he glanced at me.

"I'll bet they're comparing notes," he sighed.

"Well, I expect they are," I had to grin. "First off, they're women, secondly, they're twins. Are you worried that Corinna might let out a secret or something?"

"No, I guess not," he sighed again. "It's just that I think some things should be private."

"Maybe, who knows," I had to chuckle. "I'll be honest, I'm not worried since I'm a complete neophyte at the sort of thing that we've been doing. Carissa and I are learning about each other as we spend time together."

"Well, I'm not exactly and old hand at this either," he snorted. "Corinna is really only the second woman I've ever done anything with. On top of that I never expected this and it took me by surprise when she showed up. I can't believe Mom went along with the idea."

"I agree," I nodded. "In fact I think I probably question it more than you do. Carissa has made it plain that she's not expecting me to make it permanent."

"Wow," he paused and looked at me strangely. "How do you feel about that?"

I thought for a moment, then sighed. "Uneasy I guess."

"Oh, why?"

"Well, there are just too many changing factors in my life right now," I sighed even deeper than before. "Hell, I'm only sixteen and there are just too damn many things going on in my life. I'm having a hard time with all of the crap that's affecting me."

"I think that's why Carissa said what she did about you two," Wil clapped a hand on my shoulder. "She's smart enough to know that you're putting yourself under pressure and she's trying not to add to it."

All I could do was stare at him questioningly.

"Look, you've stepped in here like a grown man," he waved his hand as if taking in the whole of Grampa Bender's homestead. "I know you can handle anything that might happen and deep down I think you know you can handle it, but it's not surprising that you're a bit worried. You're young and you can't help looking around you at other guys your age, and you know damn well that they'd never do anything like this. Fuck, I'm not sure I would even try it, but you've always been the guy who grabbed responsibility by the horns and wrestled it to the ground. Seeing you leap into this wasn't a big surprise to me or to anyone who knows you. That's always been the way you do things."

"Yeah, but what if I fuck up?"

"You won't, because if you find something you can't handle, you'll call for help. That's when you'll find that the whole family and all your friends will back you up and help you handle the problem."

There wasn't much I could say to that, all I could do was smile in gratitude.

Actually that visit with Corinna and Wil left me feeling a lot more at ease than I had felt for weeks. It also convinced me that I had to talk to Carissa about her dreams and desires. Somehow I knew that if I understood her long term hopes and plans, I'd have a better handle on what she wanted from me.

I was surprised to find out that she wasn't sure what she wanted. Well no, that's not quite truthful. She was sure she wanted to be involved with young children, either as a pediatric nurse or a kindergarten teacher and one day she wanted a couple of children of her own. She paid me a very high compliment then, admitting that she wanted to have a husband who was like me in many ways, but she emphasized that she wasn't in a hurry to get married.

When I asked her why she had worked so hard to arrange for us to have the weekend together, she'd laughed and admitted that for some reason I fascinated her. To her, it seemed I was something of an enigma, a quiet and shy 'Mr. Nobody' who hung back most of the time and let others take the lead at school, but now she was seeing a guy who seemed to know when to step in and take charge if he was needed. She also thought I was a true, died in the wool, romantic and that I'd make a great husband for some woman one day, but she thought it might not be her. Finally she asserted that I was the one guy she felt completely comfortable to be around, so I was a natural to be her first lover. In a nutshell, those were the main reasons why she was with me.

As a matter of fact, when she'd admitted that she didn't think we'd be together for more than a few months, it was a relief to me. Up until then I think I was still harbouring thoughts about Corinna and Wil, who seemed to think that they were meant to spend a lifetime with each other. Somehow, I didn't want to follow that model. I wasn't excited about being tied down to any one woman right then. In fact I was positive that I needed more freedom than that, at least until I was older.

That evening we found out that we were really good at something else besides making love; we could talk intelligently with each other, even when we disagreed on many subjects. As a matter of fact, we spent most of that Saturday evening talking and discussing whatever subject happened to come up.

That night as we lay in bed and I held her in my arms, I felt closer to her than I ever had with any other person.

Sunday morning was gorgeous with the sun shining in a clear blue sky. So after we'd had breakfast and looked after the animals we took the Jeep for a run up to the heights of the slopes that ringed three sides of the valley. By choosing the western slope and knowing where a great viewpoint was, I could literally point out all the main features of the whole area.

What we were talking about was a roughly 'L' shaped valley that started at a little lake near the base of a steep slope and ran east and south from there. The lake was in the northwest corner of Grampa Bender's original homestead and was surrounded on the north, east and west by steep slopes. Those slopes were too steep to climb easily and any erosion gullies that might have been climbed by cattle or horses had been fenced. Initially the valley stretched toward the east from the lake, but as it ran off on a slight downgrade it gradually swung southward. Then after it made the turn to the south the slopes steepened into nearly impassable cliffs that grew further and further apart. Finally, almost seven miles downhill from the lake it narrowed again until there was only a small gap in the cliffs with a very steep drop off to the lower valley floor. In fact at that point the creek went over some falls and then into a stretch of rapids as it dropped over an almost vertical cliff. That whole upper valley, enclosed by cliffs and slopes, was the upper five thousand acres of Grampa Bender's lease, otherwise known as Mile High Ranch.

As I pointed out the features to Carissa, I could see the comprehension growing in her mind that it could be a wonderful ranch for raising horses. Before long she was staring off into the distance with a dreamy look in her eyes that I recognised easily. I'd often had that same look in my eyes as I stood on that hill and gazed out over that section of rangeland. What we were looking at was a 'natural' ranch, with feed, water, shelter and the majority of the area fenced by natural barriers. It was big enough to support a family, but small enough to be easily maintained.

"Now I understand why you're so enthusiastic about this place," she sound excited. "I'm not a farmer or a rancher, but even I can understand what I can see from here."

"Yeah, it's something else, isn't it."

"Why hasn't it ever been developed into a real working ranch?"

"Because Grampa Bender was never that energetic and he didn't have anyone to help him. He and his last wife only had a daughter and she wasn't interested in ranching. Besides he's always been satisfied to make just enough to live on, with a little extra to put away for a rainy day," I sighed.

"It's a shame that he never developed it," she sighed softly in a match to my mood.

"Hey, it's his place," I managed a weak chuckle. "There are over a thousand acres down there that have never been grazed for as long as I can remember. We come up every August and cut the native grasses for hay, then bale it, truck it out and sell it to the rancher who rents the bottom section of the main lease from the family. The money from the hay goes to pay the taxes, the lease, and the major portion of Grampa Bender's yearly expenses. His only other income is from the few cattle he sells once a year, but even at that he seems to make out okay."

"I see, and if you were ranching this, what would you do?"

"Well, a fellow would have to build up gradually, but I think in only a few years you could triple the income from the place and in twenty years, you could be sitting pretty," I shrugged. "The first few years would be tough slogging, but after that it would be easier."

"I see," she nodded at me, then smiled. "The problem is that it's not yours."

"You're right," I chuckled. "In fact there are about twenty relatives who are senior to me as far as any chance of inheriting the place is concerned, so I'm just dreaming. Besides, I like Grampa Bender too much to want anyone to inherit the place very soon."

"I can understand that," she smiled and grabbed my hand. "In fact, I think we should go to town and visit him. After all you haven't seen him for a couple of days and he'd probably enjoy having visitors."

That idea earned her a kiss.

Inside of an hour we were in Grampa Bender's room at the hospital and I was introducing the two of them to each other again. He didn't remember her, even though she'd been along when we'd found him in trouble and rushed him to the hospital, but then he was having trouble remembering anything that happened only a few days before.

Of course he was happy to see us and to hear about how everything was going on the homestead, so we talked to him for almost an hour.

After the hospital visit I decided to splurge and take Carissa out to lunch at a local restaurant. We got a surprise as we walked in though, Carissa's uncle, Frank Dolens, and her Aunt Jenny were already there and invited us to join them.

Naturally Frank Dolens was up to date on the latest rumours, so he knew all about Carissa staying with me up at Grampa Bender's and about Corinna staying with Wil. I don't think his wife approved, but I was quite sure he did, at least he managed to wink and grin at me several times during the meal.

"So how are the arm and leg doing," he asked.

"Oh, okay I guess. Carissa wanted to have the wind in her hair on the way into town, so she wanted to take your Jeep. She had to drive it though; I don't trust my leg on the clutch of a standard transmission yet," I shrugged my shoulders.

"I guess that means you won't be driving the stock car for a while then."

"Probably not," I agreed. "In fact I'm a little tied up at Grampa Bender's place for now. In fact, I haven't had time to do any work on the stock car at all."

"That's too bad, I was hoping you'd have time to get into a few races this year."

"Well, since the car was a freebie, why don't you bring it back into town and have your sons fix it up and race it?" I offered.

"There is no way my sons are driving a race car," Mrs. Dolens said sharply.

"Actually, I wanted you to drive it and the three of you boys to work on it. I was really impressed with the way you guys fixed up those Model'A's," Mr. Dolens smiled.

"I guess we'd better all hope Grampa Bender gets better fairly quickly then," I smiled. "Otherwise my time for that sort of thing will be fairly limited for the foreseeable future."

"I don't suppose you'd let the other boys work on it, then you could drive it in the races on the weekends?" he suggested.

"Well, to be honest, I haven't even mentioned it to the guys yet. I didn't feel it would be fair for them to work on it without my being able to pull my weight."

"Somehow I doubt if they'd mind," he grinned.

"Maybe, but I wouldn't feel right about it," I shrugged.

"I suppose I shouldn't expect you to feel any differently," he chuckled and shook his head.

I just smiled and the topic drifted off onto other subjects. However Carissa raised the subject again once we were finished lunch and driving back toward the ranch.

"I really think you should show Tom and George that stock car," she put it bluntly. "In a way, I don't think it's fair for you to hide something like that away and spring it on them."

"Well, I'm not even sure I want to race the darn thing," I sighed. "Besides, I've got my hands full right now, what with Grampa Bender's ranch and you."

"So now I'm a chore?" she teased.

"Oh no, but you do take a lot of my time," I laughed.

"Lets take an hour right now and show the boys your stock car, then you can tell them about your concerns about time and let them judge what to do. We can spend that long can't we?"

I argued and protested, but she talked me into the idea in the long run. So instead of driving straight back to the homestead, we headed out to the family farm. We decided that we were going to stop and pick up Tom as we drove past his home and pulled into the yard, hardly getting stopped before Uncle Tom was coming out of the house.

"Hello Chris, Hi Carissa, How are you two?" he called.

"Just great, Uncle Tom. Is Tom Junior around? I have something to show him?"

"Hah, on a Sunday, you've got to be kidding," he grinned at me. "He's over at your Dad's place."

"Oh, has Wil got a problem they're working on?"

"Not that I've heard of," His grin widened. "Why don't you head home and see what he's up to for yourself?"

Somehow I knew that I wasn't going to get any further information from him, so after going inside for long enough to say 'Hi' to Aunt Alice, we left them to have some time alone. Only a few minutes later we were driving into the yard at home. There wasn't anyone around the house or the barn and I didn't see Tom's car either, then it dawned on me; Tom and George must have heard about the stock car somehow and they'd gotten it into their heads to try to get it all tuned up as a surprise for me. I had Carissa drive down toward the old shed at the back of the farmyard where we'd stashed the darn stock car.

Everyone was there. Well, at least Tom and George were there, along with Corinna and Wil, and all of them were showing signs of grease and grime.

"What in Hell is going on?" I demanded with a grin on my face as I got out of the Jeep.

"Well, it's about time you showed up," George hollered back, grinning just as widely as I was.

"Yeah, at least you showed up in time to save us the trip to come get you," Tom winked at me, his hands still busy as he continued to work on bolting something to the engine.

"Typical driver," George added. "All the mechanics slave away for weeks and he shows up just in time to get behind the wheel for a test drive."

"You mean it's ready to drive?" I stared at him.

"Pretty well," Tom laughed at me. "At least as far as we can tell. We won't know for sure until you get behind the wheel and tell us if there are any problems."

"Is it safe?" Carissa demanded.

"Yes, dear sister, at least they tell me it's as safe as they can make it," Corinna answered. "That's been my job, quality control. It's got new tires all around, new seat belts, new steering parts, all the welds have been checked, everything's been gone over. This car is as safe as we could make it."

"Yeah, that's the one thing we're positive about," Tom said as he leaned back, wiping his hands on a grimy rag. "As far as mechanical reliability is concerned, that might be a bit iffy."

"Oh? What's wrong?"

"That's just it; we don't know," he sighed. "Everything in here is rebuilt, but everything is used, so who knows how long anything will last."

"The only thing that's new on it is the paint," Wil spoke up for the first time. "Frank Dolens gave us that."

"But it's green!" I frowned at him.

"Yeah, well, he's Irish and that's the colour of all his cars and trucks, Kelly Green. Since he's our sponsor and that's what he wants, we went with it. Is there something wrong with green?" George asked.

"Yeah, race car drivers have a superstition about green cars," I sighed. "It's considered bad luck."

"Since when are you superstitious?" Wil laughed. "If the other drivers are leery of it; that's to your advantage because they'll give you room."

"Well, it certainly looks Irish," I sighed. "In fact with the body in green and the door and roof in white with that darn green shamrock painted in the middle, it looks almost like a cop car."

"That Shamrock is for good luck," George laughed. "We thought we'd paint the car number inside that nice green blob."

"Oh great, I'm going to be driving a car that might be unreliable, painted to resemble a darn cop car and I've got a bunch of clowns for mechanics. This is going to be a comedy. Have you decided on a number yet?"

"Nope. The only thing we have decided is that we don't want to have a number that looks the same either way up. You know, like '88' or '00', that's considered really bad luck."

"Well, if we follow Wil's logic about the colour, we could paint the number '69' in that darn green shamrock, that would definitely have everyone giving us lots of room," I laughed.

"NO WAY!" Both Carissa and Corinna screamed in unison.

"Not while I'm going with you, you aren't!" Carissa added vehemently.

Of course all of the guys thought that was a great way to tease them and for the next few minutes we did. Then Tom grew impatient and decided that we'd wasted enough time. He suggested that I should try a short drive.

"And where would I drive the darn thing?" I asked. "The way it's set up, it will want to turn to the left, so the road is out and there isn't enough room here in the yard to do anything."

"Well, I have to cultivate the stubble under on last year's barley field tomorrow. Why not take it out and run it there?" Will suggested. "We could take a few empty gas barrels out with the tractor and set up an oval track for you to drive around."

"You mean the car really is ready to go?" I stared at Tom.

"Yep," he nodded. "It just needs warming up."

"But what about these?" I gestured with my casts.

"Well, the clutch peddle has a plate fastened on it that's a match to that stirrup I made for your saddle and you seem to be using your hand darn well. Besides, this is just a tryout to see if everything works," he grinned. "To be honest, I think we all want to see just what you can do with it."

Somehow I let them talk me into going for a drive. To be honest the idea of actually racing that car was quite a thrill for me, so they really didn't have to try all that hard to get me to slide behind the wheel.

Under no circumstances, would I recommend that anyone with a lower leg and foot in a cast try to climb into a stock car. Of course in my case it was made even more difficult, because I also had a hand in a cast, but that's neither here nor there. Since the doors of a stock car are welded shut you have to slip in through the window and it makes sense that your feet go in first. I tried by myself, but since my mobility was severely limited by my casts, my friends grabbed me bodily, lifted me up, then fed me into the car. Talk about a somewhat humbling experience, that one had to take the cake since it made me feel so darn helpless.

It didn't help that Carissa suddenly turned into a mother hen either. For some strange reason she became all worried about the idea of my getting out if I rolled the car. I actually had to show her that it was far easier to get out of the car than it was to get into it. Of course that meant the guys had to help me back in once more and it certainly served to try my patience a bit.

Of course once I was in the seat of the car, I had to adjust the seat slightly, then adjust and fasten the five point safety harness. After that I put on an old motorcycle helmet, then Carissa insisted that I made sure that I could reach the fire extinguisher in case I needed it. Since everything was done under Tom and Carissa's instructions, shouted through the window, I was getting the impression that they didn't trust me to use my head or worry about safety. Finally though, they both shut up and Tom gave me a thumbs up sign.

It was a relief when I was finally able to start the car. I'll be honest, my first impression was that the engine and exhaust noise were far louder than I'd ever expected. Of course since all the soft materials that might have absorbed any sound had been stripped from the car, the noise shouldn't really have been a surprise. Because I wanted to be able to hear if anything went wrong, I decided I'd just have to put up with the noise. Instead I tried to ignore the noise level as I kept my eyes on the heat and oil pressure gauges while the engine warmed. Tom leaned in through the window at that point, his face contorted into a huge grin.

"Look okay?" he shouted.

"It seems like it," I shouted back, nodding my head firmly.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" he laughed and yanked his head out of the window, giving the roof of the car a hard swat with his hand as he backed away.

Seeing that everyone was clear of the car and well back out of the way, I waved my hand to let them know I was going to move out. Then I tapped my foot down on the accelerator a couple of times to be sure that the carburettor was responding correctly and pressed the clutch to the floor before I shifted into low gear.

As soon as I released the clutch and gave the engine some gas, it dawned on me that I'd never driven a car with that sort of power to weight ratio. The instant power hit the rear wheels of that buggy, they began to spin. The first fifty feet or so that I travelled I was fighting a wild fishtail that took me completely by surprise. Of course by the end of that fifty feet, I'd eased off the gas and jammed the clutch to the floor, killing all the power to the rear wheels.

An instant later I was laughing uproariously and shifting the transmission into second gear, not low. I noticed Tom heading toward me at a run, but waved my left hand out the window to warn him away, then I tried to start out again. Talk about a thrill, this time the wheels didn't spin, but that car took off like a jackrabbit running from a prairie fire. I estimated later that I was doing more than forty miles an hour when I herded a six-foot wide car through the ten-foot wide gate going from the farmyard out into the field. At the speed I was going, the two feet on each side of my front fenders looked like an inch.

I was just glad that the gate was open and that I'd been pointed in the right direction, because I was fighting hard to even steer that damn car straight. At that time it hadn't really sunk into my brain that the whole car was set up to run on a relatively short, oval track with a slight bank to the left. The tires were mismatched, the suspension was altered and even the frame was slightly twisted, all in the way of making it easier to drive in a counter clockwise direction. As a result of all those modifications the nose of that beast wanted to go hard left, even with the steering wheel set to go straight ahead.

Now I wouldn't want you to fall prey to the assumption that the motorized monstrosity I was trying to herd into the field only had the minor quirks of excess power and a tendency to wander to the left of center. Oh no! Did I mention anything about the suspension yet? No? Well let me fill you in a bit more then. You see the springing on the left side had to be soft in order to give way easily, that way when the brute leaned away from a left-hand turn because of centrifugal force, but the wheels would stay in contact with the track as long as possible. And the right side of the chassis had to be stiff to keep the car from leaning too far away from the turn in order to maintain stability and some semblance of steering control.

So how did that effect my pleasant little Sunday afternoon drive? Well, I was trying out the car in a stubble field, one that had a few million small, evenly-spaced ridges left behind after the previous years cultivation and seeding. Oh, and I should also mention a few thousand minor ruts left from last years swathing and combining operations. The soil had been just damp enough when we'd harvested the field in the fall to leave a perfect impression of each wheel track. Of course the clay gumbo soil on the farm had done an excellent job of preserving each rut over the winter. That car seemed perfectly designed to find each and every one of those small, sharp bumps and to turn each one into the same sensation as driving over a small log.

The soft suspension on the left side of the chassis was hammering down to the lower limit each and every time I hit a ridge. At the same time, the right side was slamming up and down, amplifying any rise or any dip in the ground as I drove over it. Even with the engine at an idle, second gear worked out to be about thirty or forty miles an hour. The ride in that car felt worse than sliding down a very long wooden staircase on your bare butt.

Inside of a very short distance I'd shoved the clutch to the floor and let the motor die to a low idle. I wasn't worried about being shaken up a little bit, but I was worried that the constant hammering would crack welds and shake loose bolts all over the car. As Tom and the crew came driving up in his car, I could see them bouncing as well and knew that they all realized what the problem was. I'd shut off the engine and was climbing out of the car as they got there, only to be met by grins and shaking heads.

"I guess my idea wasn't so great, huh?" Wil said as he climbed out of Tom's back seat.

"Not as rough as this field is," I snorted. "I think I just lost five pounds in the last fifty feet, just from vibration."

"Couldn't you just follow straight along the ruts?" Corinna asked.

"Unh uh!" George surprised everyone by answering. "The car's been designed and built to turn left, so Chris has to fight to keep it going straight. The first time he hit a bump hard enough to bounce, the wheels would probably turn one way or the other while they were in the air. When it landed the car could flip right over because the wheels would dig in and throw the whole rig around."

"That would be scary," Carissa nodded at him, then looked at me. "I was wondering, is there anywhere that's level and even, where you could try it out, like one of the pastures or something?"

"How about using Beth's riding ring?" Corinna suggested.

"No way! Dad would shoot me for ripping up the grass in one of the pastures and Beth's riding ring is too darn small, I'd probably run into the fence or something."

"Well, I have an idea," Wil said quietly. "Why don't you go drive slowly around an oval area in the stubble to lay out a track you can follow? I'll go get the tractor with the cultivator and the harrows behind it. I'll be able to follow the wheel marks the car leaves in the stubble and I'll set the cultivator to just skim an inch or so deep. It'll knock off the high points and the harrows will drag the loose soil into the hollows. After a dozen or so passes it'll be relatively flat, but it'll still be a bit loose on top."

"Hey that would work," Tom crowed. "I could go home and bring over our tractor, with our harrows and packers and follow you. That would pack the loose dirt into the hollows just enough to make the base relatively stable."

So the three guys took off in Tom's car to get tractors and equipment while I and the two girls laid out a rough track. The girls each stood about a hundred paces apart and I drove around them, trying to stay about seventy-five feet away from them at each end of the oval. This time I was smarter. I started the car in second gear, but once I was moving I dropped it into low and drove the loop at barely more than an idle. That way the thumping that the beast and I took wasn't quite as drastic. By the time I'd made three slow circuits, Wil was back. He'd only made a lap or so when Tom and George showed up with the other tractor and Tom's car.

In a little over an hour we had a temporary track laid out. Admittedly it wasn't banked, but the darn thing was relatively level, at least I wouldn't be trying to drive on a washboard.

### Chapter 15