# Car 54

####
© 2005 / revised 2014
K Pelle

### Chapter 16:
Winding Road - Do Not Pass

As I walked inside, Corinna turned my direction, dropped her hands to her hips and frowned.

"You could warn people that when they need to use the facilities that they need to carry an antiaircraft gun. Those flies are huge!" she snapped. "Oh, and your brother was on the CB. He wants you to call back when you're alone."

"Easy, Sis," Carissa said firmly. "Don't get all wound up over things again."

"Fuck you too," Corinna swore, then broke into tears and ran past me to go outside, slamming the screen door behind her.

"Oh shit!" Carissa sighed. "I'd better go out and calm her down - again! You'd better call your brother while you're alone, but you can tell him from me that his sense of timing stinks. Oh, and remind him that everyone in the room hears your voice when you're talking on a CB."

Once more I was suddenly alone. I stared at the screen door for several seconds, then sighed and walked over to the CB. I wasn't in the mood, but Carissa was right, if there was a time to talk to Wil and get done with it, that moment was it. I flopped into a chair and grabbed the microphone.

"Crawford Home, this is Mile High. You wanted me?" I growled. "Crawford Home, this is Mile High, over."

I'd hardly lifted my thumb from the send switch on the mic. when Wil came back at me.

"Yes, Chris, is she nearby? Over."

"If you mean Corinna, no. She told me you wanted to talk to me and then ran outside bawling. Carissa went with her. By the way, Carissa said to tell you that your timing sucks eggs. Over," I wanted to yell at him, but decided I needed to do that later, when no one else could listen in.

"I didn't know she was there, I just realised she was gone a few minutes ago and called Tom's folks. They said Corinna had been with Tom in his car and thought they were coming to see you. Over."

"Well, Tom brought her up. I don't know what you did, but she seems really upset with you. Over."

"I didn't do anything, at least nothing to get mad about. I really don't get what she was so mad about at all. All I did was comment about her picture. Over."

"What picture was that? Over," I sat up and frowned, hoping that he hadn't screwed up royally.

"The one with the two of them in bed along with you. I was looking for something and happened to see it in her stuff, but I guess she might be touchy about that. Over."

"OH, WIL! What in blazes were you thinking? First off, what in 'H' were you doing looking in her things? Secondly, how could you be so blasted dumb? Don't you realise both of them feel darn touchy about those pictures? Don't you know that they still feel that Sid used them and was putting them down? If you said something to tease her about that picture, then there's no wonder that she got p'd off. Over."

"But she looks so cute and sexy in that picture. All I did was tell her that I wished it had been me and not you who was there. Maybe I hinted that if I'd been there things would have been different too, but really, it wasn't any big deal. Over."

"Oh Wil, you dumb cluck! You couldn't have done anything stupider if you'd tried. Over."

"But, what was wrong with what I did? Dammit, all I did was tell her what I felt. That's when she started comparing me with you and making me sound like a loser. I guess I got a bit riled at that and we did argue a bit, but it was no big deal! I mean I was trying not to get too mad. She just kept pushing my buttons. Over."

"Will, the CB isn't the place to talk about this," I sighed deeply. "She's here and safe. She's physically okay, but she's still mad as a wet hen. I'll try to calm her down; however, don't expect to have her come running back to you right away. I'll explain what I think is going on when I talk to you face to face, but when Mom and Dad get home, you might talk to Mom. She can probably explain even better than I can. Over."

"Okay, I guess, but tell Corinna that I'm sorry, okay? Over."

"Oh I will, but having me tell her that won't help at all. You're the one who needs to tell her things like that," I growled. "Over and out."

With that I pushed my chair back and walked away from the radio, shaking my head. The thing that bothered me the most was the fact that with a lot of the girls I knew, what Wil had done wouldn't be a big deal. However, with Carissa and Corinna, that sort of thing just wouldn't fly. They simply didn't accept the idea of being teased over some things and one of those things was their 'ladylike' actions. On top of that I was willing to bet that Wil's comments about the picture had been more graphic than he'd implied to me, that wouldn't have flown well either.

As long as I had known them, they had always tried to act prim and proper. Both of them had often lost their tempers if their actions had made them seem the least bit uncouth. I knew they were changing now, after all both of them were openly staying with Wil and me, but the change was coming slowly. The idea of them having their pictures taken when they were nude and in bed with me, then having those pictures seen by others was a horrible insult to them. I could certainly understand that for Wil to think it was 'cute' would have upset Corinna, but at the same time, I was sure there was more to the story than what he'd said.

"Now what the hell do I do, get the other side of the story from Corinna? Or would it be better to just leave it alone and keep my nose out of their business?" I worriedly asked myself as I walked toward the door.

As I stepped outside I was surprised that it was so light, but when I walked down the steps of the front porch and looked up at the sky, I realized that it was bright out because there was a full moon.

"That explains folks acting a bit weird." I couldn't help thinking.

Then I walked over toward the Jeep where the two girls had found seats for themselves. At least Corinna wasn't bawling her eyes out now and Carissa seemed quite calm as well.

"Hi," I said, wondering if approaching them was the right thing to do.

"Did you talk to him?" Corinna demanded.

"Unh huh," I nodded, trying to sound as noncommital as possible.

"And, what did he say?" Carissa demanded this time.

"He wanted me to say he was sorry."

"Well, duh!" Carissa snapped, then shook her head and grinned sardonically. "Is that all?"

"No."

"What did he say?" her grin had disappeared.

"That he accidentally saw a picture of us all in bed and that he screwed up by telling Corinna he thought it was cute."

"That's not what happened at all," Corinna snapped. "He must have snooped to find the picture. Well, maybe he didn't snoop, but he must have been moving my stuff around a lot though. He sure didn't say he thought the picture was cute. What he said was I had a sexy ass and that he wished he'd been there, not you."

"Oh?" I tried to sound noncommital again, hoping to draw her out.

"Yeah, then he put his hand on my ass and said that he was tired of playing second fiddle to his younger brother all the time. That's when I got mad, because up until then, I certainly hadn't been even thinking about you. I told him so too."

"Oh great, now I suppose I really am in the middle," I sighed.

"I think you always were, at least as far as Wil is concerned," she sighed. "He's so fucking jealous of you that it's not funny."

"What? Why would he be jealous of me?"

"Oh for cripes sake, Chris! Wake up!" she spat her words out. "Fuck! You're so fucking smart about doing things and so fucking dumb about some people. Jeez, man. Think about the difference in the way people treat the two of you for a change. People have a problem, who do they ask for help? You, of course. Someone gets in trouble, who rescues them? You do, and you make it look easy. Carissa and I pull a dumb stunt that should have pissed you right off, did you get mad? Fuck no, instead you dug in and hauled our asses out of the fire. Look at you right now. You're up here with a fucking broken arm and leg, working your ass off to help your grandfather. Did you get asked to do it? Nope, you just volunteered and you're doing a great job of it. Wil never even sees any of the problems until after you've fixed them and it bugs his ass."

"I don't try to annoy him. I think I'm just in the wrong place at the wrong time. There's lots of times I wish it wasn't me in the hot seat, in fact I'd trade places with him if I could."

"That's just it," she threw her hands in the air. "He knows that you aren't out to be a glory hound or anything and that pisses him off even more."

"So, what can I do about it," I sighed.

"Nothing!" Both of them said at once.

"Don't you dare change," Carissa grinned at me. "You aren't the one who is jealous for no real reason. I happen to love the way you just automatically step in and do things to help others. That happens to be one of the reasons why I'm here right now."

"Unh, thanks, I guess."

"Oh fuck!" Corinna finally managed a grin and shook her head. "Carissa pays you a huge fucking compliment and you don't even realise it, do you?"

"I don't know, I guess I do. What should I do?"

"Give her a huge hug and a big kiss maybe? At least let her know that you accept the compliment."

"But, I said thanks."

Carissa just giggled, then slowly turned to Corinna.

"He's trying to be noble right now and not make you jealous of me like Wil is of him," she said in a stage whisper. "I'll bet he gives me a proper thank you later, probably after we're snuggling together in bed."

"Just make sure you aren't too loud about it," Corinna giggled back. "Otherwise I'll hear your squeals and groans, then it'll be me who'll be jealous. Either that, or I might let my erotic instincts take over and come join in on the fun."

Just the thought of that idea teased my erotic senses enough that I was glad I was wearing a pair of blue jeans and standing where my crotch wasn't easily visible in the bright moonlight.

"Dream on, Sister," Carissa answered after a few seconds of laughter. "What makes you think I'd share?"

"Oh, I don't know, just the fact that you're my twin and you know just what I'm feeling all the time."

"Just because I know you get hot and wet at the idea of a threesome doesn't mean that I'm going to help you satisfy your prurient curiosity tonight," Carissa giggled. "Not even if I think it might be fun."

"Oh cripes," I groaned. "I looked at the moon before and thought that people were acting weird, but you two are taking the cake."

"I wasn't thinking of cake," Corinna giggled. "What I was thinking of was more of a sister sandwich."

"Be honest now, Sis. Tell him that you expected to find lots of hot meat in the middle too," Carissa added with a giggle of her own.

All I could do was shake my head at the two of them. Then it dawned on me that at least Corinna seemed to be in a lot better mood and was no longer mad at the world in general. I stopped myself from making a smart crack about their conversation just in time and simply sighed instead.

"You know, I think we've stumped him. He's not leaping into the fray to help us out with our problem," Carissa giggled even louder.

"Perhaps he's wise," Corinna snorted. "Wise enough to know that two plus one doesn't always add up correctly. At least it doesn't add up to anything near equal. One of that number is always going to be left somewhat resentful of that inequality."

"Hah, a lot you know," Carissa shot back, her giggle disappearing. "Knowing him, he'd wear himself out before he'd let that happen."

"I think the whole idea had best be left as a theory," I broke in before an argument broke out between them.

"Chicken!" Both of them shouted, then broke into laughter again.

"Ya darn tooting," I laughed. "I want to save some strength for tomorrow, so I can do some fencing while I've got the Jeep here to haul posts and stuff."

"But, you'd have the two of us here to help, wouldn't that make up the difference?" Corinna chuckled.

"Oh, Sis, forget that."

"What do you mean, forget that?"

"Oh, it's just that I know how you and I act when we're short of sleep and worn to a frazzle," Carissa sighed. "I'll be darned if I want to have all three of us dragging our asses around all day just because you're curious about what you've been missing."

I just threw my hands up and walked away. Carissa was just making things worse as far as I could tell and I wasn't about to help her.

At that moment Old Duke, the old Collie dog, came over toward me and snuffled my hand. I thought that was strange until I heard a long howl from somewhere off to the west. In only a few seconds another howl answered the first one. I cursed softly under my breath, then realised that I'd shut the young stock in the barn for the night. The older animals could look after themselves, wolves wouldn't dare bother them much.

"Chris. Is that coyotes or wolves?" Carissa called.

"Wolves, but don't worry, they're just howling at the moon," I answered. "Besides, all the animals that they might tackle are already inside tonight."

"Yeah? Well we aren't inside! Not yet!" Corinna squawked, then both she and Carissa seemed to levitate out of the open Jeep and race past me to the front porch.

I couldn't help it, I broke into laughter as Corinna whipped open the screen door and dashed inside, slamming it behind her.

"What are you laughing at, you damn fool?" Carissa demanded, as she paused near the door, turning to face me.

"Well, it's early summer, and the wolves won't be all that hungry at this time of the year. Right now they'd be far more worried about you than you are of them," I chuckled, then grew more serious. "Now if it was forty below zero and there had been deep snow for weeks, I'd be worried about having any of the stock out in the pasture. But, at this time of the year and with all the young stuff in the barn? Nah, no way! They probably won't come within a mile of the place."

"They sound closer than that right now."

"That's because it's a quiet night and the humidity is still high from the rain the other day. Sound travels well in conditions like this."

"You aren't bullshitting us, are you?" Corinna asked as she pressed her nose against the screen door.

"Nope, I'm telling you the truth. Besides, if they came anywhere close, old Duke here would warn me. Wouldn't you, buddy?" I scratched the dog's ear and he wagged his tail as if agreeing with me.

"You're sure?" Carissa asked quietly. "I've never heard them before, at least not like that. They sound so close."

"I'm sure. If they were close, the dog would be simply bristling, all the hair on his back would be standing up and he'd be acting defensive. That's about the time I'd be hauling the old 30-30 off the wall and checking that it was loaded."

"You'd shoot the wolves?" Corinna asked.

"Well no, not unless I had to," I sighed. "Only if they were attacking the animals or getting too close to either them or the cabin, anything like that. Then I wouldn't hesitate."

"Why only then?"

"Because too many people are hunting them now," I said quite vehemently. "We'd be in a hell of a fix if all the wolves and coyotes and bears were gone, then the darn rabbit, deer and elk populations would skyrocket. We'd be up to our ears in them and they'd eat all the grass. Then where would we raise cows?"

"I thought all farmers and ranchers hated wolves?" Corinna sounded confused.

"No, not all of them," I sighed heavily. "Some of us can see that killing off the predators in the wild causes problems. Look what happened in the forties and fifties when there was a big bounty on coyotes and hawks. A tremendous number of them were killed off around here, then the darn rabbits and mice bred like mad. Pretty soon there were so many rodents that they cleaned out vegetable gardens in the summer and ate all the bark and low branches off the young trees in the winter, which killed the dang trees. Then at night there were so many rabbits and mice on the road that cars and trucks were running over them all the time. It was a bloody mess."

"I remember that," Carissa nodded.

"Yeah, I remember Daddy running over a rabbit on the road and making us both cry," Corinna nodded, finally getting the nerve to come back out on the porch. "We weren't very old though."

"Old enough to have seen the results of the government being idiotic and passing stupid laws," I sighed.

"Oh come on, Chris. There are still bounties on some things."

"Yeah, but most people don't try to collect them," I growled. "Bounties are nonsense. Wild animals are part of this country and we need to learn to live with them."

"Damn, but you're an idealist," Carissa chided me.

"Yep, that's me," I sighed. "I actually like the song of the wolves."

"Song? You call that horrid scary noise a song? You've got to be kidding?" she stared at me in surprise.

"Nope, that's a song," I smiled, as I walked past her and sat down on one of the benches. "To me those howls sound like a melody. These songs tonight sound lonely and haunting, but some nights it sounds more vicious, more like a song of battle."

"It just sounds scary," Corinna shivered. "I keep remembering that it's a full moon and thinking about werewolves."

"You've got too much imagination and have watched too many Hollybush thrillers," I chuckled.

"Damn, you would make me think of werewolves," Carissa moved closer to me. "You'd protect us though, if they were werewolves, wouldn't you, Chris?"

"Oh definitely," I grinned. "Even if I haven't a clue where I'd get a silver bullet."

"That's not funny," Corinna snapped.

"Oh come on, you don't really believe in werewolves?" I snorted loudly. "Those are just crazy stories written by a bunch of nuts and meant to scare kids."

"Oh, Chris. Don't tell me you don't like going to a theatre to watch a scary movie?" Carissa said in a teasing tone.

"Not really," I shrugged. "But then, what most people think is scary, I usually consider to be just plain stupid. I simply don't see that it's worth wasting the time it takes to watch them. I'd much rather read a good book, something that lets me use my own imagination."

"You're not very romantic, huh?" Corinna asked.

"What's romantic about being scared of something that some damn fool dreamed up or had a nightmare about?" I asked at the same time as Carissa snorted.

"Sis, he's very romantic, only he's a real time romantic, not an imaginary romantic," she said flatly. "On top of that, he makes me feel romantic and that's the best part."

"I don't understand."

"Well, I'm not sure I can explain, but he opens doors and thinks of what I like, stuff like that. It's little things that he does automatically, things to let me know that he feels I'm special."

"Which reminds me, who'd like a cup of hot chocolate?" I asked, trying to change the subject of the conversation.

"I would, but I'll make it," Carissa offered, moving toward the door.

"I'll help, that way I can learn to find my way around this kitchen," Corinna smiled and stepped inside with her.

"Well, Duke, what do you think?" I asked the old dog who had his head resting on my knee.

Duke was wise. Since he had no opinion, he made no comment, but simply wagged his tail. I chuckled and scratched him behind the ear, then both of us perked up slightly as we heard the wolves again, sounding off one after the other.

"They're coming closer, old fella," I said scratched gently. "I wonder what the girls will think of that if they come back outside?"

Duke decided he should move. He slowly stood and moved to the other end of the porch. Just then I was surprised to hear the yipping call of a coyote.

"Wow! That's rare," I said to myself, knowing that when wolves were around the coyotes would usually be quiet.

I knew there was no love lost between the two breeds and I frowned as tried to think of a reason why a coyote would draw attention to itself when it knew there were wolves nearby. The only reason I could think of was the possibility that the coyote was protecting a bunch of pups by trying to draw the wolves away from them.

It must have worked too. Only a moment later it sounded as if the wolves had found a scent. Their song now became a hunting bay. I was still listening to that when the door opened and Carissa came back outside with two mugs of cocoa. Even she noticed the difference in the sound.

"What's up with the wolves? They sound different," she said just as Corinna came out behind her.

"Well, my guess is that there's a coyote who has young close by. When the wolves moved down off the hills, a coyote started howling. I think it was trying to draw the wolves away from its den."

"They don't get along with each other?"

"Nope, they're competitors for the same prey and since the wolves are bigger and tougher, it wouldn't be much of a fight between them if it came to one. I've never heard of this sort of thing before. If there are wolves around, the coyotes usually hide and keep quiet. That sound you hear from the wolves is their hunting sound, but you don't often hear that either. Usually they're darn quiet when they hunt, especially at this time of year. You only hear them baying like that when they're spread out and the weather is bad or when they have a wounded animal on the run. This whole thing is weird."

As we listened, the wolves seemed to be moving out of the west, then down the valley and more to the southeast. Eventually all of the sounds seemed to die off into the distance.

"Well, I'd say they were five or six miles down the valley, past the drop off," I frowned slightly.

"How do you know that?" Corinna whispered.

"Just the sound. It faded out so fast. They have to be behind a hill or something to block the sound. The only hill in that direction is the steep drop down to the lower valley. They probably followed an erosion gully down the hill, that's why the sound was suddenly muted."

"Gee, but you know a lot about this place, especially about all the wild animals and stuff," she shook her head slightly as she looked at me.

"Well, I've lived around here all my life," I grinned. "I'd be darn dumb if I didn't notice anything that was going on around me."

"That's not what I mean and you know it," she snorted. "Lots of people would recognise the different sounds, but not many would know what they meant and be able to explain them."

"He pays attention to things, Corinna," Carissa reached out a hand to touch mine. "I was talking to Brenda Murphy the other day and she was in the room when we opened the two envelopes with the pictures in them. She said Chris was running out the door right behind us when we ran for home. That means he saw what happened and added two plus two to get four. He had it figured out before anyone else in the school even had a chance to react. Then he was on his way to catch the bastards that did it."

"Oh," Corinna said in a quiet voice. "I wasn't thinking about stuff that way."

Just then Duke seemed to jerk and suddenly he was dashing off the porch and around the end of the cabin, headed in the direction of the lake.

"I wonder what the hell has gotten into him?" I frowned.

I got to my feet and ran down the steps so I could move beyond the end of the cabin. I wanted to see where he had gone, but I still couldn't see him and was going to go further when Carissa called me.

"Chris, what's going on? Where are you going?"

"I just want to see where that stupid mutt went," I called back.

Then as quickly as I could hobble with my leg in that darn cast, I moved along the side of the cabin. There were a few trees and bushes toward the lake, but even standing well out in the back yard, I couldn't see any sign of Duke. He had to be behind something, but I couldn't tell what or where.

"Duke. Here boy. Come on home, Duke," I called, but still didn't see hide nor hair of that darn dog.

I tried walking a short distance from the house, calling Duke ever thirty seconds or so, but it didn't seem to do any good. Finally I decided that no matter what he was doing, I wasn't accomplishing anything except getting my feet damp from the dew on the grass. I headed back to the cabin.

"Well, what's going on?" Carissa said as I approached the cabin again.

"I haven't the slightest clue," I shook my head. "For all I know he's chasing a wild goose. Or maybe that coyote we heard doubled back on its tracks and came close enough to the house for Duke to smell it. If it did, he's probably out chasing it away again. Who knows?"

"Oh Chris. He wouldn't do that, would he?" she asked as she walked next to me and put her arm around my waist.

"Who knows?" I snorted, then laughed. "No matter what you think, I'm not Dr. Doolittle. Animals don't talk to me, at least not aloud, but sometimes they make it easy to guess what they're doing. Duke was being secretive."

She was giggling about that as we came around to the front of the cabin and walked up the steps of the porch.

"What's so funny?" Corinna wanted to know.

"Oh, Chris is pissed off at the dog because Duke wouldn't tell him where he was going?" she snickered.

"Oh Carissa!" Corinna snorted. "That's silly."

"Hah, you want to watch him around critters, sometimes you'd swear they do talk to him."

"Enough already, my ego is going to get sore if you don't stop massaging it," I growled. "I was just thinking that it's about bedtime and I was planning on having the dog inside tonight. Now the dumb old bugger has run off, but you can bet that he'll be back later. He'll wake us up by scratching on the door or howling at the window, probably around two or three in the morning."

"Umm, before we go to bed, is there a light or something in the outhouse? I think I should go again, even if I have to fight off the flies," Corinna said tentatively.

"Chris, if you'll light the lantern, I'll go with her," Carissa offered. "We can take turns fighting the flies."

So I lit the old coal oil lantern while they rinsed out the mugs we'd used for cocoa. Then, while they went one way toward the outhouse, I went the other. Instead of waiting for them to finish, I found a handy bush that I felt was far enough from the cabin to be inconspicuous and provided it with a bit more moisture. A few minutes later we were all back in the cabin and after giving Corinna a quick hug from each of us, Carissa and I headed for the bedroom.

We'd hardly gotten our clothes off when I heard a scratch on the door. Duke was back.

"Hey, Chris. The dog's back, just like you said," Corinna sang out.

"I heard him," I called out, tugging my gaunches back into place and grabbing my jeans.

"Oh cripes, you don't need your jeans," Carissa chortled. "I don't know why you want to hide it anyway, Corinna even said she handled your thing that night the pictures were taken."

"What?" I stared at her.

"Well, ask her," she giggled.

"Like hell," I grunted, yanking up my jeans and heading toward the cabin door as Carissa laughed aloud.

"What's so funny?" Corinna called.

"Nothing," I snorted loudly, but at the same time Carissa laughed even louder.

"He had to hide his weenie," Carissa giggled.

"From me, or from the dog?" Corinna started giggling as well.

"Both, I guess," Carissa roared back, breaking into full-fledged laughter.

I was probably as embarrassed as I've ever been as I flipped on a light, then reached to open the door for the dog while I had to listen to both of them laugh wildly. Duke wasn't waiting for me, as soon as I had the latch free, he shoved through the door and rushing inside. Moving past me, he lowered a wriggling black lump onto the old coat he used for a bed when he slept inside. Then he turned to face the door and stood as if braced for attack, now growling loudly. I noticed that the hair on his back, near his shoulders and head was standing straight up, so he was being protective. I closed the door, then I glanced over at his bed.

"Oh shit!" I said loudly, in fact I almost shouted.

"What is it?" Carissa asked, her laughter disappearing instantly.

"I think Duke is a papa," I groaned. "And, I think Mama was a coyote. He brought in a pup that has a coyote pup's shape, but has Duke's colouration."

"What?" she hollered.

Suddenly I heard rapid footsteps coming toward me from both the bedroom and the back porch, then both of the girls were standing next to me and looking at the pup on the floor.

"Don't touch it," I said as Carissa reached out a hand.

"But ... why not?"

"Well, because I think it's at least half coyote and if we touch it, Mama coyote won't have anything to do with it ever again."

"But if Duke brought it here, won't it already smell like him."

"Yeah, but if he's the daddy, she already knows his smell."

"Cripes, can dogs and coyotes ... uh, uh, cross like that?" Corinna whispered.

"Yeah, they can, but the result is a strange mix. Half wild, half tame and usually a complete pain in the ass," I growled

I was trying to see if the pup was hurt without touching him and hoping he wasn't.

"Why would it be so much trouble?"

"Because it imprints on whoever cares for it, kind of becoming one of that person's pack. What's bad about that is the fact the imprint lasts for life. If one of us were to care for that damn pup, it would imprint on whoever it was and they'd be stuck with it's care for its lifetime," I sighed heavily. "That poor little beast right there is stuck half way between two worlds. It's not a dog and it's not a coyote, so it will never fit into either world very well. If it grows up in the wild it will always be something of a misfit and a danger to farm animals because full blooded coyotes will never accept it into their pack, but the same time it wouldn't have a coyotes normal fear of humans, so it wouldn't be afraid of raiding livestock. If we handled it we'd would only make its plight worse, because we couldn't let it go back to the wild and yet it could never be properly trained, yet one of us would be responsible for it."

"Oh shit," Carissa whispered.

"He already said that," Corinna said with a grin.

"Oh, shut up," Carissa snapped. "Chris, what do we do?"

"I don't know, but the way Duke is acting is weird, so I'm wondering if there isn't a wolf or two nearer than he'd like it to be."

"Oh shit," Corinna moaned.

"Don't say it," I growled at Carissa as I saw her open her mouth.

"It's not funny," Corinna sighed. "I'm supposed to sleep in a fucking screen porch. There's no fucking way I'll be able to sleep. I'll be too scared."

"Oh hell, the wolves won't stick around long. Somebody grab the dog by his collar and don't let him loose," I growled, then I grabbed Grampa Bender's old shot gun off the pegs in the logs and opened the door.

In about two steps I was at the edge of the porch. Lifting the gun to my shoulder and pointing it at the moon, I let off three rapid shots. I'd just stepped back near the door when Duke went tearing through between my legs, almost knocking me over.

"Duke, you stupid beast, get back here!" I screamed.

"I'm sorry! When you shot off the gun, I jumped and he got away," Carissa pleaded. "He was stronger than I thought."

"Oh, it's okay, but this time when he comes back and wants in after we've gone to bed, you'll have to be the one to get up and let him in," I teased her as we moved back inside, closing the door again.

"Well, I think I can do that," she jutted her chin forward as if she was challenging me.

"But what about the little pup?" Corinna asked.

"Well, I don't know, but ..." I was interrupted by a soft whine at the door, then a short bark.

When I opened the door, Duke slipped in and headed straight for his bed. He walked around the pup, then settled down and instantly the little mutt snuggled up to him as if he belonged there.

"I guess that answers that question. Can we all go to bed now?"

"Well, I don't imagine I'm going to sleep much," Corinna whispered. "With those darn wolves around I don't feel safe sleeping in the screen porch."

"With the windows pulled down and locked in place you're just as safe as we are. Besides, with Duke inside, we'll all have lots of warning if they come close. He'll make lots of noise to warn us," I sighed.

"Oh come on, Chris. Let her sleep with us. She's not dangerous or anything and she isn't going to bite," Carissa said firmly. "I won't let her."

"Oh hell, I'll sleep in the other bed, then you two can sleep together in the bedroom."

"No frigging way," Carissa growled. " You've slept with both of us before and nothing happened."

"Yeah, but that was before, when I didn't know how to do anything and you two didn't know that you enjoyed sex so much. Besides, your folks' bed is bigger."

"For cripes sake, I'm not about to rape you," Corinna snapped.

"No, she'd ask first," Carissa snorted.

"That does it, I'm sleeping in the back porch."

"Then I'm sleeping there with you," Carissa shrugged. "I'm like Corinna, I'll feel a lot safer if you're there with me."

"Dammit, I don't want to sleep alone, but I guess I will if I have to," Corinna was almost in tears as she stomped off toward the back porch.

"That's all I want to do too, just sleep," she said finally.

"Dammit, Chris. What the hell are you worried about? She's not a sex fiend or anything," Carissa growled quietly as we moved toward the bedroom. "Cripes, all she wants to do is sleep with us so she can feel safe."

"Yeah, but she's my brother's girlfriend or at least she was until this afternoon. Just what would either of our families think if they ever found out that we'd been all sleeping in the same bed?" I sighed, knowing that if I wasn't careful I was going to lose this argument.

"Oh, bloody hell, this is a special circumstance," Carissa had already dropped her robe and was lighting the candle in the sconce on the wall above the bed again. "Corinna is scared and I can't blame her, so am I."

"I know that, and I don't like the idea either," I shrugged my shoulders as I got ready to slip back into bed. "But, she wasn't exactly wearing a lot of clothes under that robe, so I imagine she's like you and sleeps nude. I'd be as worried about what I'd do if she was in bed with me as I am about what she'd do."

"Huh, it's too bad you can tell us apart or I'd swap with her, just to teach you a lesson."

"You wouldn't?"

"Oh, yes I would," she barked a short laugh. "What's the worst thing that could happen? So what if you two made love, would it kill any of us?"

"No, but it would be wrong."

"By this society's standards maybe, but not by several others," she rolled over and snuggled close. "Do you like holding me in your arms and having me cuddle up like this?"

"You know I do," I sighed. "And yes, I'd probably like the feeling of someone on my other side, but at the same time I'd feel like a two timing S.O.B. It just wouldn't feel right."

"If I was right here, how would that be two timing me?"

"It's cheating," I growled.

"How is it cheating? I'd know what was happening, so you wouldn't be doing anything behind my back or anything like that. It's not like it would wear out either your dick or her pussy."

"Jeez, this is bloody weird," I snorted. "I'll bet you're the only darn woman in the province who would argue that she wanted her guy to have sex with her sister or with any other woman for that matter."

"I didn't argue that at all, but I'll bet you'd be wrong about other women too," she laughed shortly. "Lots of other women get into just as weird positions as this one and lots of them are tempted to stray too. I know several girls at school who swapped dates around, then sat in the bathroom and compared notes with each other about the various guys."

"That's different."

"How is it different? The only difference is that we're sisters, all that means is that we have a tendency to keep our secrets between us better than others do."

"You mean you've told Corinna about us, about what you and I do in bed?"

"Sure, and she's told me about Wil too. What harm is there in that?"

"Oh hell, I don't know," I sighed. "It just seems to me that what we do in bed should be private, strictly between you and me."

"You mean you and Wil have never mentioned what you do in bed with us?"

"Nope, since you and I started sleeping together, I haven't said anything to anyone."

"Wow!" she sat up and turned to stare down into my face.

Her mouth opened to say something more, but she was interrupted.

"AYYYYAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaa!" Corinna screamed from the other room.

Then we could hear footsteps scrambling across the floor and toward the bedroom. Of course Duke started to bark and I sat up, flipping the covers down as I started to get out of bed. I didn't even get the chance to move from where I was laying though.

An extremely frightened and an almost nude young woman came racing in through the doorway, then dove from beyond the footboard of the bed, directly at me. I was flattened on my back, pinned beneath her quivering flesh and knocked breathless by the impact. For several long seconds I was gasping for air, then when I could breathe again, I was assailed by Corinna's babbling explanation.

"I was just laying there, listening to the murmur of you guys talking and staring off toward the lake, watching for coyotes or wolves. I was warm, so I'd pushed the covers to one side and starting to feel sort of relaxed when I heard a funny clicking sound. Then I saw it! Some kind of black thing was inside the room, coming toward me. I was paralysed, I couldn't even breathe and it kept coming closer and closer. Then it was right beside the bed. It reached out and touched me, right by my pussy and it was horrible, wet and slimy and cold!"

Carissa started to giggle and I'm ashamed to say that I started to laugh. We knew what had happened. We'd forgotten to warn Corinna about Duke and he had gotten curious about how this new woman smelled. He had a nasty habit of sneaking up on you and when you least expected it, stuffing his nose in your crotch to take a big sniff. It seemed he had struck again.

Corinna didn't find it the least bit funny when we told her why we were laughing.

"I'm going to kill that bloody dog!" she squealed and started to shift to get out of bed and tackle the dog right then,

Of course I grabbed her to hold her long enough so she'd calm down, but I was still chuckling even then.

"It's not funny, you forgetful damn geek," she squawked "He scared me so much that I peed the darn bed, so now it's all wet and so are my panties."

Then she shifted enough to whip off her panties and throw them across the room. That set Carissa off. Then both of us were laughing.

"What's so damn funny?" Corinna demanded through gritted teeth.

"When you heard us ... and thought we were ... talking, we were ... really arguing," Carissa gusted through fits of laughter, but she fought it for a few seconds, then began to speak again. "Chris thought it was wrong ... for all of us to sleep in the same bed. He was worried something might happen. And since Wil is his brother that made it worse. So he insisted you sleep in the other bed. But, now it's wet and no one can sleep there. And you're here with us anyhow. So maybe you should thank the dog ... not beat on him."

With that she was off laughing again, harder than ever and I realized she was laughing at both Corinna and me. I couldn't help but chuckle though. The humour of the situation must have been infectious, soon Corinna was chuckling along with us.

Then Carissa began to tease Corinna about diving the length of the bed to hug me. She pointed out that I'd have been the natural person to do anything if there had been a real problem, but Corinna had almost knocked me out. Then she started to tease me about the way I held Corinna and wouldn't let her get up to berate the dog, claiming that I just wanted to hold her nude body tight to mine. Of course that led to a discussion that carried on for a while because both Corinna and I tried to defend our positions.

When that conversation had petered out, Carissa pointed out to me that Corinna had been lying belly to belly with me for almost half an hour, but that I hadn't been raped yet. That caused both of us to react. Carissa rolled to lie at my side instantly. Of course I got quite embarrassed as the two of them sat, watching my cock grow and stiffen into a full-fledged hard-on. Since they'd grabbed my hands and were leaning against me to hold me down, I couldn't move to hide it either.

Suddenly Corinna giggled and grinned at me as she licked her lips. "That looks very tasty, but if I promise to be good and not gobble it down, can I spend the night just sleeping at your side."

"I've thought about that question myself, and since she asked the way she did, you'd better say yes," Carissa smirked as she glanced over at me. "Otherwise you're going to have to sleep in a damp bed."

So I gave in. What else could I do? Actually I was soon relaxed enough to doze off with Carissa lying on one side, with her head on one of my shoulders, while Corinna lay on the other side, using my other shoulder as her pillow.

### Chapter 17