# Car 54

####
© 2005 / revised 2014
K Pelle

### Chapter 35:
Steep Grade - Slower Traffic Keep Right

Tom and I were relaxing, thinking that the last of the crowd had left when we heard what seemed to be a young girl's voice behind us.

"Hey mister, can we get autographs too?"

When we turned, it was Jess and Jean along with Carissa and Sandy. Behind them stood Frank and Jennifer Dolens, John and Wilma Coulter, as well as Sam and Ann McAdam and along with them, Sandy's cousin, Jackie.

I didn't mind seeing the rest of them there, but Frank Dolens was the last person I wanted to see right then. After what I'd done to the new paint on the right-hand side of the car by banging and grinding it against Gary Wagner's car, I was certain he'd be annoyed. I think he caught my somewhat chagrined look though, because he broke into a grin.

"In case you're wondering, I'm not one bit worried about that paint. That can be redone," he said right away. "Actually when the guy in car 19 started to weave around, trying to intimidate you, I was a bit worried, but then you went right after him like a terrier after a rat. I was rooting for you."

"Rooting for him? Dear, you were jumping up and down, screaming like a twelve-year-old," Jennifer Dolens laughingly teased him. "I haven't seen you that excited since we had a race horse that could actually run fast enough to have a chance of winning a race."

"Well, Frank might have liked it, but my heart was in my mouth," Wilma Coulter broke in. "I'm glad your mother wasn't here. She'd have had a fit."

"Oh no she wouldn't," Sam McAdam spoke up. "Liz would have been hollering right along with Frank. I've known her since she was about Chris's age and I can guarantee that the only time she'd let anyone push her around would be if she wanted to be pushed. I think she'd have rooted Chris on just like the rest of us did."

I noticed Ann McAdam look at him thoughtfully as he was talking, then saw her glance at me with a slight frown that instantly disappeared. I knew she'd caught his reference to Mom not letting others push her. It was a good thing Frank wasn't unhappy because I could let my grin surface. If all these folks were happy and had enjoyed themselves, I was willing to let them know I was happy too. I'd let them think I was grinning about the race, but really I was grinning about the fact that Ann McAdam might be having second thoughts about Mom being a pushover for her suggestions. That's when I caught Wilma Coulter winking at me and I almost broke into laughter because I knew she'd caught the byplay as well.

Luckily for me Jerry Dolens drove up just then with the tow truck and low-deck trailer, so we had to load the car. Then Wil and Corinna showed up to take his truck. That left no excuse for the rest of us to stand around the infield, instead we all started back toward the cars. On the way up the hill, the Dolens, Coulters and McAdams, as well as Tom and the 'J' twins, headed for one parking lot, while Sandy, Carissa, Jackie and I headed for the other.

When I looked questioningly at Jackie, Carissa laughed. "Jackie doesn't get along very well with her aunt, so I offered her a ride."

"Well, I did wonder a bit about what was going on," I grinned.

"Oh, oh, oh. Before I forget, Beth said she didn't get a chance to talk to you before she left, so she gave me a note to give to you. The stinker even sealed it in an envelope, as if I'd want to read your mail," Carissa sniffed exaggeratedly, handing me an envelope.

On the front of the envelope, was my name, but when I flipped it over, I broke into laughter. From one side to the other, right over the joints of the glued down envelope flap, Beth had written a warning: "This note is for Chris's eyes only, no one else. This ink isn't waterproof, so it will smudge if the envelope is steamed. So, S & C, keep your noses clean and your hands off!! Beth."

"I'll walk with these two, so you can read it," Sandy offered, stepping away.

Then she steered Carissa and Jackie away from me before I could even think about protesting. I wandered over to one of the lights at the edge of the roadway and tore open the envelope.

> Hi Chris.

> Just a couple of things I thought you should know.

> First, George and I had a long talk last night. We're not engaged, but he has given me a promise ring and I haven't even told Mom, so mum is the word. On top of that, although I love the ranch, it's just too isolated. I want to live closer to town and on a decent road, even if it's just down near Mom and Dad. George feels the same way, so although I may become half owner of the ranch along with you and will support what you do as much as I can, I don't think I want to live up there, at least not for now.

> Second, I hope you realize that Carissa is developing a thing for Jackie. I can see it in her eyes. I always wondered about her and the way she acted with other girls at school. When she moved in with you, I thought I might have been wrong, but the way the two of them are acting today leaves me with no doubt. Sorry to load you down with my suspicions, especially in a letter, but I just couldn't get you alone to talk to you today.

> love ya,
> Beth.

I just shook my head and sighed. Beth meant well. However, there was nothing in that note that I hadn't already guessed. After talking to Mom and Dad about Beth and George I was expecting the news about her and the ranch. I could handle that part of the news. It wasn't a surprise at all. Then too, I'd seen the way Carissa and Jackie had acted at the barbeque. The biggest clue had come while talking to Jackie for a few minutes, that's when I'd become certain that she'd be a major temptation for Carissa. The strange thing was that I wasn't really all that upset about that development either. Strangely I was more worried about not being upset about the idea that Carissa might leave me for a woman than anything else.

I leaned against the lamppost and thought about it for a moment or two, wondering why I didn't feel more upset than I did. Perhaps I didn't feel as deeply for Carissa as I'd thought? Maybe I'd begun to separate myself from her already, perhaps from the time she'd explained her feelings about women. For a short time I even wondered if I'd been taking advantage of her, but then I remembered that she'd been the one who had chased after me. I knew I hadn't coerced her. She'd been quite willing to spend time with me. That still didn't answer the question of why I was certain I wouldn't be upset if she moved on to become someone else's lover. Was I that fickle? Was the idea of being involved with Sandy easing my worries?

With another deep sigh, I decided that standing on the edge of a roadway wasn't going to help me think, so I pushed away from the lamppost and headed for my car.

When I walked out into the parking lot where my car was parked, it was almost empty. Sandy was leaned against the door of the car while Carissa and Jackie were keeping her company, sitting in Carissa's Jeep. To my surprise as soon as I got close, they took off, waving and tooting the horn.

"What the hell?" I said as I stared after them. "I didn't even get a goodnight hug and kiss from Carissa."

"Why should she? You'll see her later," Sandy laughed. "The way she drives, she'll probably have a cup of coffee ready and waiting for you when we get home."

"Oh," I unlocked the door and opened it to let her get in.

"Oh, you dummy," she snorted, kissing me on the cheek as she slipped past me and into the car, pulling the door closed behind her.

"So why am I a dummy?" I asked, after walking around the car and getting in.

"I dunno, probably because I think you expect Carissa to throw you over for Jackie," Sandy chuckled. "Ain't gonna happen, buddy, at least not on this short notice."

"Huh?" I grunted, not understanding why Sandy thought that.

"Carissa isn't about to toss you back over a brief infatuation and that's all Jackie is, at least for now," she answered. "Strangely, I got the feeling Jackie was envious, not of you or Carissa, but of me. I think Jackie likes you enough that she's jealous of me and that's really weird."

I didn't answer because I was concentrating on the traffic we'd come up behind. That was the trouble with leaving the track after the races; everyone else wanted to hurry home then. After a moment or two at a snail's pace, I sighed resolutely.

"Well, Carissa isn't going to get far ahead of us in this mess," I snorted.

"No, but when she hits a clear stretch of road, she'll make up for lost time. She drives almost the same way on the road as you do on the track; safely, but as fast as conditions allow."

"I've never noticed that."

"That's because she prefers you to drive when you're along, haven't you noticed?"

"Not really," I frowned as I thought about it.

"Well, she does. She knows you prefer to drive, so she defers to you. In fact, she gives way to you in most things, which is rather strange, because at school I always thought she was pushy."

"Well, she says that I have a dominant personality and that I convince people to do things my way all the time."

"Maybe, you do, but I wouldn't notice it if you did," Sandy shrugged her shoulders. "I really don't argue much about what other people want. I guess Mom raised me to be agreeable with others, especially men."

Just then the traffic started to move and I couldn't comment, instead I was concentrating on the nuts on the road. By the time I was clear of the congestion and able to glance over at Sandy, she looked like she was dozing.

"Sandy?" I asked, but she didn't answer.

Instead of awakening her, I spent the rest of the drive home quietly thinking. Once more I was puzzled about my feelings and about the actions of the people in my life.

As I drove into the yard at the ranch, Sandy awakened and stretched. When George and Beth had left, they must have switched on the porch light on the cabin, but that was the only light we could see.

"Gee, I thought Carissa would have beaten us here," she frowned.

"I guess not," I answered. "I thought you were asleep."

"Umm, I dozed, but I woke as we crossed the bridge. Something about the sound as we drive across it disturbs me, but I can't think of why."

"Huh, that's funny," I frowned. "It is safe. We checked all the support timbers earlier this year."

"I don't know what it is," she sighed and stretched as I pulled to a stop. "I don't think it's important or anything. I don't really feel unsafe or anything, just kinda eery, if you know what I mean."

"No, if I feel something like that it worries me, I try to find out why I feel that way, then I usually do something about it."

"Like at the track today, huh?" she chuckled as she hopped out of the car. "It was funny watching from the stands as you pulled across the track and into the pits. Right away, people started crowding around you and your car. Carissa was trying to explain what was going on, but she was upset by the way those visiting drivers were hogging the track."

"Well, I was worried about those guys too, but not because they were on the track."

"Hey, Carissa figured that out. Especially when you and Tom hopped up and sat on the hood of the car. Then, when everyone else did too, she was crowing about your leadership qualities, going on and on about that. Then the accident happened. That scared me and Carissa kept trying to me calm down, telling me that it was an accident and a stupid mistake by the second driver."

"Well, I don't know if I'd say that it was anyone's fault. Those cars weren't meant to race on dirt track, but the drivers in them were safe enough," I shrugged. "All that worried me was the fact that the one car was upside down and underneath the other one. When I see a car accident, I always worry a bit about fire, but today, I got really worried about it. On top of everything else, that accident should never have happened."

"Mr. Dolens said something about that to Dad. He said those cars should never have been on the track without changes and modifications being made to make them safer on that track."

We were in the cabin by then and she headed for the sink with the coffee pot.

"You did want a coffee, didn't you?" she asked, holding out the empty pot. "I'd like one. After dozing off in the car, I'm not really sleepy, so I want to talk for a while."

"Yeah, I don't think I can sleep yet either. Driving home doesn't burn off the race fever. I'm still a bit wound up," I nodded. "I think I could use a drink of something, but perhaps coffee isn't the best choice. It doesn't bother me, but doesn't it keep you awake?"

"Oh, don't worry about that," she laughed. "After watching you smash and bash around that track, sleep isn't what I had in mind to occupy us after we get to bed. Besides, since Carissa and Jackie aren't here, I've got you all to myself."

"Carissa and Jackie? What do you mean? Did you expect Jackie to stay here too?" I frowned at her.

"Well, yeah," she looked surprised. "Didn't she tell you? That's why she came out here to see me, that and to meet you and Carissa. Her dad is my uncle, the one who owns the duplex."

"Oh boy," I sighed. "Umm, did she talk to you and Carissa about her likes and dislikes."

"Not really, why?"

"Oh shit!" I snorted. "It's not my place to say anything, but I think she's something like Carissa is, about guys anyway."

"Oh, that!" Sandy broke into laughter. "She didn't have to say anything about that. I've known about that for years. Well, I've known for at least a year or two and I suspected it even before that. The funny thing is that she's like Carissa more than I thought. She thinks you're the neatest guy that she's ever met."

"Oh great," I rolled my eyes and tried rather weakly to laugh. "What the heck am I going to do in a house with three women?"

"Actually, I think she's a great safety valve," Sandy reached for the coffee pot as it gave a last splutter, pouring two mugs. "I think she and Carissa are going to be spending a lot of time together."

I took the mug she handed to me and headed out onto the porch, my mind again in a whirl. When she joined me, she sat close beside me on the old bench as we sipped our coffee, talking quietly.

As we talked, I realized that my worries were more about the prejudices of other people than anything else. For the first time in my life I'd be leaving home and living in a strange city and a new neighbourhood. To make matters worse, I was going to be the only guy living with three young women in a two-bedroom duplex. The neighbours were going to make all kinds of assumptions about that. Then added to everything else they might think that two of the women were lesbians and I didn't think that would go over well with most of the religious people who might be living nearby. When I said something about that, Sandy frowned at me.

"Chris, you think too fucking much and it makes you worry. If you're not careful, you're going to give yourself an ulcer," she snapped.

"Well, it's just that I like to be prepared for emergencies before they happen."

"So do I, but worrying so much just isn't worth it," she sighed. "Actually, I haven't a clue what's going to happen, but we'll figure it all out. Besides, people are broader minded than you seem to think. The world is changing and people aren't worried about stuff like that so much. Everyone has had a few years to get used to the hippies in California and the way they act with all their communes and free love and stuff. We even have hippies here, or at least wannabe hippies, so people kind of look the other way. Heck, look at the way our parents have been acting about us."

"Well, my parents have been pretty open all their lives. After all, what happened to them when they were young made them fairly nonjudgmental."

"Oh, yeah, I heard about your dad having two cousins as lovers at one time."

"That's not exactly right," I shook my head. "When Wil was born, his mother had problems and Mom came to stay and help out. Kate was in the hospital and almost dead before anything happened between Mom and Dad, but what did happen was a reaction to the stress they were under more than anything else. Mom is living proof that a virgin can get pregnant her first time, because they never had sex again for weeks, if not months."

"Gee. That's not the story Mom passed on to me."

"Yeah, well that's not a surprise," I snorted. "People who pass on rumours seem to always change things a bit, just to make it a bit juicier or to serve their own purposes. Whatever the reason, before long the rumour soon bears little or no resemblance to the truth. If your Mom ever talks about it again, do me a favour, tell her what really happened. Actually, you might want to ask Mom about it first, then you could repeat the exact truth and not my interpretation of what happened."

"Do you think your Mom would talk to me about something like that? I thought you wanted to act like we didn't get along and that she was feeling reserved toward me."

"Oh, didn't I tell you about that?" I grinned. "Mom told me that she thought I should give you another chance, because she didn't think you were as bad as I seemed to be making you out to be. But then, I'm not too sure if her reasons were all that lily pure."

"I don't understand. What reason would she have that wouldn't be aboveboard?"

"Well, she astonished me by admitting that she had some rather racy thoughts about her son sleeping with two women at the same time," I chortled. "I just about fell over, but she broke into a blush and rushed off right away, or I don't know what I'd have said."

Sandy had been looking at me and the surprised look on her face was priceless, then she broke into a giggle.

"Darn, I almost wish Carissa was here, but even if she isn't after thinking about that conversation you had with your mother I want to go to bed. I think I should follow your mom's advice and give you another chance."

So, we went inside and went to bed.

In bed, she was extremely enthusiastic, but since I was still feeling slightly wound up after the race, I suppose I was a bit spirited myself. I know it was well after midnight before we went to bed, but I'm not even going to guess how late it was when we finally fell asleep. I do know that we slept in really late the next day. In fact I was awakened by the jerky feeling of someone sitting on the bed and the smell of a fresh mug of coffee held near my nose. It's lucky I didn't spill that cup of coffee all over my bare chest, because when I opened my eyes I saw three naked women sitting on the bed and almost surrounding me. Not only that, but I was as naked as the day I was born and the covers I'd had the night before were pulled down to my feet.

If I hadn't had a boner as I awakened, I instantly developed one. I couldn't help my reaction, but had to fight off the urge to try to cover my own nudity, especially since they were all just as nude, yet were acting calmly. Of course I also couldn't stop my eyes from wandering over their bodies, particularly Jackie's since I'd never seen her nude before. She wasn't as well rounded as Carissa, but carried more weight than Sandy; of course, being naturally blonde, her skin was a lighter shade than either of theirs. But, I didn't get to make an undisturbed comparison of their bodies for long.

"Good morning, lover," Carissa grinned. "For once, I'm the one waking you and I love it."

"Unh, hi," I grunted. "Just what the heck is going on?"

"Nothing special," Sandy giggled. "Just making your mom's wish come true about you being in bed with a bunch of nude women."

"That's not true," Jackie laughed embarrassedly as she broke into a blush. "It's very special for me. You're the first guy to ever see me completely nude and in daylight. These two talked me into it."

"Jackie is a little shy, but she's not a virgin like I thought she was," Sandy grinned at me. "So I was the last cherry you're going to get a chance at, for now anyway."

"What is going on?" I managed to grunt somewhat coherently, but I'll admit my eyes were taking in the sights and distracting my thoughts.

"Well, I should explain," Carissa volunteered. "We got here an hour or so ago and we were doing the morning chores for you when Sandy woke up, so we had a talk before we woke you. We've decided that living together in Calgary is a great idea and we really want to convince you to live with us."

"Even you?" I looked at Jackie.

"Unh huh," she nodded, her blush had faded, but when I looked directly at her it came back with a vengeance.

"Why?" I asked flatly, wondering what was going on in her head.

"Lots of reasons," she sighed, then grinned. "Mostly though because you're the first guy I ever met who didn't pull away from me when I told him I liked to be around other women."

"Well, as you can see, I'm not a woman," I snorted, still wanting to hide myself, but forcing my hands to stay away from my crotch.

"Oh, can I ever!" she broke into a wonderful laugh that seemed to have sexy overtones. "You're the first grownup guy I've really seen up close and personal."

"You aren't up close and personal," Sandy said, then she leaned forward and kissed me before sitting back again. " Now that, was up close and personal."

She'd surprised me a bit, but I think she astonished Jackie. However, Jackie floored all of us by slipping forward, laying out full length and pressing her body against mine as she kissed me. As if that wasn't enough, she stared at me accusingly after she sat back again.

"You didn't shower after you had sex. I can still taste a woman on your face," she said vehemently, almost accusingly.

"That would be me," Sandy was the first of us to gain the ability to speak after we all broke into laughter. "We don't have a shower. Besides, we were both rather tired last night and it was darn late by the time we finally went to sleep, so we haven't had a chance to wash."

"Enough already," I said firmly, finally sitting upright and taking the coffee from Carissa's hand. "This is fun, but I need to get up and around. I've got to do some work today or I won't be ready to move to Calgary in time. Besides, I need the can."

"Well, if you don't pee on me, we can all help you today," Carissa giggled, scrambling to her feet and moving out of my way.

I was surprised to find that I'd slept until almost ten in the morning, almost as surprised as waking to find three good looking and completely naked women sitting around on my bed. Perhaps because I'd slept in so late, time seemed to fly that day, but I think the biggest factor in making the hours speed by was Jackie's delight in each and every job that we did.

Jackie explained that she had never spent any time on a farm or a ranch in her life, so everything was new to her. Still, the hardest thing for me to accept was the sheer delight she had in learning about things. It didn't matter what it was she found it fascinating, but then, there were a lot of things she'd never seen or done before.

She'd never ridden a horse. She'd never steered a tractor. She'd never even driven an open vehicle like my Jeep. Her reactions to things we did and saw that day were a surprise for all of us.

She squealed in sheer surprise when she saw a hen lay an egg, comparing it to a woman giving birth and marvelling that a small hen could produce something as large as an egg so easily.

"If you think that's something, you should see a cow have a calf," Sandy chided her.

"Sometimes that doesn't go so well," Carissa said shortly, having helped me to pull a calf from a young heifer that had trouble giving birth.

"Well, most of the time they just grunt and groan, then the calf falls out with a plop," Sandy snorted.

"It falls? Is the cow standing up? Doesn't the calf get hurt?" Jackie asked me, looking concerned.

"Well, the cow is often standing, but even then it's really not that much of a fall," I sighed. "If you look at how long a calf's legs and body are, you'll understand that it's more of a slide than a fall. Usually the front feet come out first, then the head comes out between the calf's knees; after that the body follows, with the hind legs coming last. By the time the hind legs are free, the front feet are usually almost on the ground."

"Oh!" she stared into my eyes as if I'd just explained a miracle. "You make it sound so simple."

At first I thought it was an act, as if she was trying to appear to be a dumb blonde to get my attention, but I soon changed my mind. I wasn't the only one that she asked for explanations. She did the same thing to both Carissa and Sandy and accepted their answers just as easily as she had mine.

It had tickled the three girls to teach me few of their tricks too, especially since they'd all been born and raised in town and they were teaching a country boy tricks about working. Okay, I'll admit it, they weren't really teaching me major things, but sometimes they had some hints that did help out in some small way. I think they knew that, but I tried their tips and made sure that they knew I appreciated that they were sharing their ideas with me. I realized that it meant we were all learning something and yet everyone was enjoying the work we were doing, that alone was worth any amount of teasing they might heap on me.

All in all as we'd been working that day, my opinion of Jackie had risen steadily. In fact she'd turned the whole working day into either a classroom or a game, making the time pass much faster. Neither Jackie nor Sandy was in as good shape for farm work as Carissa and none of them had my stamina, yet we'd managed to achieve more than I'd expected to do even though we'd had a late start. Since all four of us had worked steadily, we'd done more than twice as much work as two of us would have finished in one day. Not only had we done many of the little projects that I wanted to polish off before fall, but we hadn't really seemed to work all that hard. Instead we'd talked a lot, showing each other little tricks and techniques that made our tasks slightly easier.

Having Jackie along as we worked was like having an exceptionally bright five-year-old tagging along and asking questions. She did ask a lot of questions, but she never repeated the same question and she was able to assimilate the answers instantly. She was definitely uneducated about farm life, but she certainly wasn't stupid, in fact she was exceptionally bright. The fact that she seemed to absorb knowledge instantly, then had the ability to adapt and use that knowledge almost as quickly, really impressed me.

A perfect example of her absorbing and using knowledge was when she helped me to dig the last two hills of potatoes in the garden for our evening meal. I dug the first hill, showing her how to work the digging fork into the ground with one foot on the tines of the fork, then using a rocking motion to loosen the soil, at the same time as pulling the handle back to lift the potatoes to the surface. She tackled the job of digging up the second hill and afterward, when we were picking up the potatoes, teased me that she had dug up more undamaged spuds than I had.

As soon as the potatoes were dug up and taken inside, Sandy and Carissa shooed us out. They claimed to need room to move around when they were cooking, so with Jackie along to help, I went to do the evening chores. She seemed fascinated by each task that I had to do and again wanted an explanation of why I did things the way I did them. Once more I was reminded of a young child asking incessant questions of a parent, but somehow I knew there was no real comparison. I was surprised at Jackie's naivety though, and asked her about it as we finished off the chores by feeding the horses a bit of grain at the back of the barn.

"Let's just say that Mom and Dad believe that little girls should be sheltered," she sighed deeply. "I'm the only girl in my family and I'm the youngest child too, so I've been protected and coddled all my life. I won't say I was spoiled, but I was home schooled and I was only allowed to play with other girls from the church. I wouldn't even be here except that Mom and Dad got the idea from Aunt Ann and Uncle Sam that you were a Mormon."

She saw the frown on my face and grinned at me. "Don't worry, both Sandy and Carissa told me that you weren't, but both of them have suggested that we don't let the truth slip out around either Sandy's folks or mine."

"I thought you said your Mom hated you because you like women?"

"Oh, I don't think she hates me. She just thinks it's completely wrong of me," her mood changed and she frowned. "I mean, what else would they expect? The only guys I saw were either my family or the guys at church for a couple of hours a week, and that's when everyone is being really uptight and religious. All the rest of my life I've lived with girls, studied with girls and played with girls, that's the only time when we could relax and be ourselves. My parents probably don't know it, but I'm not the only girl in the group like me either."

"Now wait a minute, I thought Sandy said you weren't a virgin?"

"Oh, that!" she snorted. "I think I was fourteen at the time. Anyway, the girl whose mother taught us music one day a week had a slightly older brother, a year or two older than I was. He'd broken his ankle, so his family kept him home from school for a few days. None of us girls had ever really talked to any guys except our own family. So, during the time when we were supposed to be practising our music in the basement of their house, all the older girls in the group slipped away to talk to him, one at a time. I was the last one to visit him, but I don't think he really knew much either. What he did sure wasn't much fun and it certainly didn't feel as good as I'd been led to expect. A few days after it happened the truth slipped out and all of us were in trouble, but mostly the guy. All of our parents thought that their daughters had been 'ruined' and they blamed him. Heck, I think some of them wanted to castrate the poor kid. His folks finally had to send him away from home for his own safety."

"You mean you don't blame him for taking advantage of you?" I asked in surprise.

"Heck no. If anything we took advantage of him," she laughed almost guiltily.

"Damn, you are one strange woman," I shook my head and laughed along with her.

"Maybe," she shrugged. "The strange thing for me was that after that day my folks started to introduce me to lots of guys. They tried to teach me to act differently and even made me dress differently. It was as if they wanted to me get out of the house and go off with some guy, but I thought the guys were all strange and some of them were even brutal. Besides, all of the men they brought around to meet me were much older than I was and all of them were mean and bossy. That's when Mom and I had a fight, because I told her I liked girls more than I liked guys, especially grouchy old geezers like the ones they had introduced me to."

"So had you fooled around with girls too?" I asked bluntly.

"Unh huh, a bit. I mean we were together all the time and we did have urges you know," she blushed, then turned to face me and looked rather serious. "Umm, if we're done, maybe we should get back to the house before Sandy and Carissa start to think you and I are doing the same thing in a haystack or something?"

"You mean playing around a bit?" I teased.

"Yeah, I guess," she answered, her face flushing even more.

"Oh, I think they know I wouldn't force you, but to be honest they might like it if we were to become closer. After all, didn't Carissa tell you what she wants?"

"Oh yeah. She and I slept together at her folk's house last night," she admitted and her face turned almost crimson red. "We talked quite a bit."

"Just talked?" I teased.

"Well, what do you think we did?" she countered, staring at her feet as if trying to hide her blushing face.

"I don't know," I laughed uneasily. "I really don't care either, but I do like to see you blush."

"Meany," she snapped, suddenly grinning as she lightly swatted my arm.

We'd been walking through the barn and as we came out the front door, I looked toward the cabin, then I stopped and stared.

"What's wrong?" Jackie asked as she stopped and stood at my side.

"Carissa's Jeep is gone. I wonder what happened?"

"I don't know, maybe there was something wrong. Maybe someone phoned her and she had to go somewhere in a hurry. Sandy will know, won't she?"

"I guess so, maybe? Let's go find out," I sighed, immediately thinking that Corinna might have done something stupid again.

When we got to the cabin, there was a note pinned on the front door.

> Jackie and Chris;

> Your dinner is cooked and on covered plates in the oven of the electric stove and there are two small salad plates in the fridge. When you take the dinner out of the oven, shut off the element or it will stay warm all night.

> We decided that you two should get to know each other without the two of us interfering, and Beth's bed is too small for the two of us. So, we're going to town to spend the night. We'll see you tomorrow sometime, but don't expect us to be as early as today.

> We love you both, but we know if you two aren't tossed together and given a push, things probably won't ever change between you.

> Enjoy yourselves and don't do anything we wouldn't do.

> Sandy
> and
> Carissa

Both Jackie and I stared at that note. I even reread it a second time, then we stared at each other some more.

"Now what?" I finally asked her.

"I guess we should eat first, then maybe we can talk about it," she said, biting her lip.

"Okay, but after we've eaten, I can drive you to town if you want me to."

"Don't you want me to stay with you?" she whispered and I could see tears building in her eyes.

"Oh no, that's not what I meant at all," I grabbed her hands so she couldn't turn away from me. "What I meant to say was what happens is your decision. If you want to stay here, you're welcome, but if you want to go to town, I can take you. Or if you don't want to ride with me, I can call someone and have them give you a ride. Whatever you want, I'll try to arrange to have it happen."

"Oh, okay," she sighed and relaxed, then drew a deep breath and let it out slowly. "I still think we should eat and talk before we do anything."

The two delinquents had cooked pork chops, mashed potatoes with mushroom gravy as well as carrots and peas. The salads were lettuce and tomatoes and behind them in the fridge were two small bowls filled with sliced peaches.

Jackie looked at it as we set it on the table, then she giggled. "Did you know my cousin and your girlfriend are conniving bitches?"

"Yeah," I laughed. "This is one of my favourite meals."

My laugh seemed to set her off and we kept the light mood going through the meal, but both of us were still tense. As we were cleaning up and washing the dishes after we'd eaten, I automatically made a small pot of coffee and wondered about her reaction of surprise, but didn't think anything of it. It was afterward, when I offered her a mug that I found out the reason for that reaction.

"I don't know if I should," she sounded extremely tentative. "I've never had coffee."

"What?" I stared at her.

"I haven't," she said defensively. "I've never had tea or coffee. I've never had any alcoholic beverage either. Mom and Dad would have a fit if they knew you even offered it to me. The Word of Wisdom literally prohibits any member of the Church of Latter Day Saints from using any of them."

"Oh," I was astonished, because I hadn't known that. "Well, is there anything else I can get you?"

"I didn't say I wasn't going to try it," she snorted, taking the mug I'd already poured and having a sip.

"Oh, it's very bitter," she made a face.

"Well, most people add cream and sugar," I grinned. "Coffee is an acquired taste though."

Ten minutes later, we walked out onto the porch of the cabin and sat side by side. Her mug was filled with a mixture that must have been half cream and sugar, but she'd insisted on trying coffee at least once.

As we sat there and talked about our lives, I think both of us spent a lot of time verging on disbelief that we could have been raised within such a small distance of each other and yet have had lives that were so different. While my family had insisted I was given openness and freedom, her life had been totally controlled and she'd been insulated from many things. While my education had been broad and well rounded, hers had been tightly closed and restrictive. Suddenly I understood the tremendous thirst for knowledge that she had. She was like a sponge, trying to absorb everything around her as quickly as possible, sopping up experiences as if the chance might never come again.

We sat and talked until it grew completely dark, then she suddenly jerked as if stung.

"Look at the sky!" she whispered, leaning forward and staring upward.

"What?" I asked in surprise, looking in the same general direction as she was.

"There are so many stars," her voice was so low I could hardly hear it, yet I could detect a reverent tone.

"When the sky is clear, we do see a lot of stars," I answered. "I know when I'm in town, I can't see as many. I think the streetlights make too much light for us to see the dimmer ones."

"Oh my goodness," she sighed, as she slowly leaned back against me. "That sky makes me feel so small and insignificant."

I couldn't think of any answer for her, so I simply wrapped my arm around her shoulder and held her gently. After a moment, she turned to face me.

"Could we go to bed? Please? I want to be held, okay?"

I wasn't about to argue with that idea. Come on, get real, she was gorgeous and I was a teenaged guy. Can you think of one teenager who would turn down the chance to climb into bed with a beautiful blonde, one who also happened to have a marvelous figure?

### Chapter 36