Chapter 1

I offloaded the tricked-out ATV I’d found in an ad in the local newspaper. It was only a year old and in perfect shape. The side-by-side ATV allowed the passenger to sit beside the driver instead of behind them.

Starting the unit, I heard the engine’s roar, put it in gear, and headed around my property. The ATV responded well and felt stable, but I didn’t go too fast as I became accustomed to driving it.

I smiled while returning to the house, thinking about the trip I planned. My girlfriend Amber and I were going to an ATV park in West Virginia for a week of camping and riding. The park had miles of trails for every degree of rider.

I started dating Amber just over eight months ago. We started slowly, but lately, our relationship has become intimate. For her twenty-first birthday, I took her to one of the best restaurants for dinner. After eating, we danced at a club. While I didn’t enjoy attending the clubs, Amber was intent on it. Later, while at her apartment, we made love for the first time.

At twenty-four, I’d had several past relationships. A few of them were sexual. While I didn’t have much experience, sex with Amber wasn’t memorable because she didn’t seem as engaged as I would have liked.

A few days before we planned to leave, I invited Amber to my house to show her the new tent and camping equipment I had purchased for our trip. The top-of-the-line tent measured twelve feet by twelve feet, with over six feet of headroom in the central part.

In addition to the tent, I bought a queen-size inflatable bed and new linens. When I mentioned camping to Amber, she said she wouldn’t sleep on the ground. I pitched the tent, inflated the bed, and put sheets and a comforter on it in preparation for her visit.

I had two folding camp chairs, the stove, and other equipment set up as I would at a campsite. I led Amber to the backyard when she arrived to see the makeshift camp. I noticed she wore high heels and was dressed for clubbing.

“I’m not sleeping in a tent, Brad,” Amber said as she looked inside.

“What? I told you we’d camp at the ATV park,” I said.

“I thought we’d have an RV or something nice. Where do you go to the bathroom?”

“The campground has a restroom and shower building, Amber. We talked about this.” I had showed her the brochure for the park and explained everything before.

“Why do you want to play on this thing anyway? My friend Laura is having a big party at the club next Saturday, and I want to go. Will we be back in time?” Amber said while pointing at the ATV.

“No. I told you we’d be gone. Why are you acting like this?”

“Why do you want to go play like a little kid?”

I realized we were getting nowhere. Even if I convinced Amber to go, she’d be a bitch for the entire trip, so I decided to cut my losses.

“If you didn’t want to go, why didn’t you say so before I paid for the trip? Now I can’t get my money back.”

“So what? It isn’t like you can’t afford it,” Amber said.

By now, we were shouting at each other.

“Fine! Just fuck off, Amber. You’re such a superficial bitch. Get away from me. I don’t ever want to see you again!” I yelled.

Amber called me an asshole, gave me the finger, and walked away. I shook my head, wondering what I ever saw in her. Before she got too far, I yelled, “By the way, you’re lousy in bed.”

“That’s not what the other men tell me,” Amber shouted as she went around the house to her car.

I was pissed off. My plans had gone up in smoke, and I was out a lot of money. I went to the house, grabbed a can of beer, and went back outside. Sitting in one of the camp chairs, I thought about the confrontation with Amber. The more I thought about our relationship, the more I realized she wasn’t what I wanted for a girlfriend. My tastes ran toward the outdoors. She wanted to go to clubs and parties.

It took about twenty minutes for me to calm down. Once I did, I got up and began disassembling the camping gear. I’d bought an enclosed trailer and a cap for my truck to carry my ATV and camping equipment.

I spent the next hour packing the equipment into the trailer before I pulled the ATV into the unit. After purchasing the trailer, I built cabinets and shelves to store and transport my gear. I put the trailer in the pole barn and headed to the house.

I went to work on Monday morning, taking the brochure from the park with me on the off chance I could call and get a refund. The policy said no refunds unless requested fourteen days before the scheduled arrival.

I planned to leave early Thursday morning to drive to the park. I saved a little money by booking my stay from Thursday through Wednesday.

When I walked into the building, I said good morning to the receptionist and headed to my office. My father owned the company, and I ran the IT department. The company distributes durable medical equipment to our customers. Since starting my job, I have developed an online store and updated the website.

Our family business was growing every year. My mom worked in the accounting department. My younger sister Gayle was in college and would join the company when she graduated and moved back to Florida the next year.

After quickly checking my email, I headed to the lunchroom for coffee, poured a cup, sat at a table, and looked at the brochure. I had to decide if I wanted to take the trip alone and hope to meet people to hang around with or not go.

“Hey, Brad, how’s it going?” Kelly said as she pulled out a chair and sat down.

Looking up, I said, “Don’t ask.”

“Oh-oh, what happened? Did you and your girlfriend have a fight?”

“That’s putting it mildly. I broke up with Amber this weekend.”

“What happened?”

I looked at Kelly, shrugged my shoulders, and told her what had happened.

“Wow, what a nasty bitch,” Kelly said.

“Oh well, things weren’t very good between us anyway. Now I have to decide whether to go on my trip alone or forget it and lose the money.” I told Kelly about the park’s no-refund policy.

Kelly got up. “I hope you figure it out, Brad. I have to get to work.”

Kelly, my cousin on my mom’s side, worked in the contact center handling customer service calls. Dad gave her a job when she graduated from college with an associate’s degree. My mother told me Kelly and my aunt didn’t get along, but not many people got along with my Aunt Ruth. My Uncle Jeff, Mom’s brother, got fed up and left a few years ago. Shortly after graduating high school, Kelly moved into an apartment with her girlfriend to avoid living with her mother.

Because Kelly and her mother lived in a different suburb, we didn’t see them often before Kelly came to work for Dad’s company. My cousin was twenty-two, two years younger than me. Kelly’s brother Dave was in the Navy. He joined to get away from his mother and would finish his tour in about a year.

After refilling my coffee mug, I went to my office to call the park. They told me I could cancel, but I wouldn’t receive a refund unless they booked another party for the site. They also said I would have to pay a twenty percent cancelation fee. I thanked them and said I didn’t want to cancel.

I wasn’t sure whether or not I’d go alone and decided to think about it. My phone rang, and I answered, talking to one of the IT techs about a problem. I worked until noon and went to the lunchroom to eat. After taking my salad from the refrigerator, I sat at one of the tables.

“Hey, did you get things straightened out?” Kelly asked.

I shrugged my shoulders and asked her to join me. “I guess I’ll go alone, Kelly. It won’t be as fun as having someone with me, but I hate wasting money. As it turns out, going alone is probably a better option than taking Amber.”

“Where are you going?”

I handed my cousin the brochure. “It’s an ATV park in West Virginia known for its great trails,” I said.

“It looks beautiful, Brad. It says over seven hundred miles of trails are connected to the park.”

“Yeah. The park is in the Hatfield-McCoy Trails system.”

As we ate, Kelly read the brochure. She asked a few questions, and I answered using the information I’d researched online. When I finished my meal, I got up to toss my trash. Kelly came over, threw her container away, and chuckled.

“Brad, if you want company on your trip, I have vacation time, and I’ll go with you,” Kelly said.

I was a little shocked. “Have you ever been camping, tent camping?”

“Sure, I was in the Girl Scouts. We camped, and I know how to pitch a tent and cook over an open fire.” Kelly chuckled. “I’ve always been a bit of a tomboy.”

“Let me think about it. Are you sure your girlfriend won’t mind?”

“I don’t care if Sue minds.”

Kelly started hanging around with Sue in high school. I didn’t know the details, but she swore off boys after attending her senior prom. Her new sexual preferences were one of the things causing a major rift between her and my aunt.

“I’ll talk to you tomorrow, Kelly. Check to see if you can get the time off. If you can, I think it would be fun. We haven’t seen much of each other besides work during the past few years.”

“It’s more like five years, Brad. It doesn’t matter, does it?”

“No, it doesn’t matter. Let me know if you get your vacation approved. You’ll need boots and clothing for hot and cold weather if you want to go. It can get cold at night in the mountains,” I said.

“I have everything I need. Carl and I went camping a few times,” Kelly said, referring to the guy she dated in high school and who took her to the prom.

“Okay. If it works out, I plan to leave early Thursday morning. You can come to the house on Wednesday after work and stay in the guest room.”

Kelly smiled. “What do you consider early?”

“I’d like to be on the road by five-thirty in the morning.”

“Yup, that’s early. Where do you live?”

“I bought a place with forty acres outside the city, about fifteen miles from here.”

“Okay. I’ll talk to you tomorrow, Brad,” Kelly said.

I packed my clothing in my backpack when I got home from work. I made and ate dinner, poured a drink, and went outside to check the trailer and make sure I had everything I’d need. Sitting on the patio, I considered taking my cousin on the trip.

Besides family functions, Kelly and I didn’t see each other often until she started working for the company. We were friendly but didn’t talk much except about the company or business. Kelly wasn’t the thinnest girl I knew. Where Amber was slim with small breasts, Kelly was curvy. She wore her light brown hair short and always dressed conservatively. At work, she wore long skirts or slacks and sweaters. The oversized sweaters concealed her upper body, but her breasts were obviously on the larger side.

Laughing, I reminded myself Kelly was my cousin, not a girlfriend. I was glad to have company for my trip. The fact that she preferred girls wasn’t a problem for me.

After work on Wednesday, Kelly followed me home. It was the first time she’s been to my house. I carried her backpack into the house, putting it in the guest room while showing her the house.

“Your house is beautiful, Brad. I had no idea,” Kelly said as she looked into the ensuite bathroom in the master bedroom. Laughing, she pointed at the bidet. “Do you use it?”

“No. It was here when I bought the house.”

“This is the largest ranch house I’ve ever seen,” Kelly said while standing in the great room.

“It’s too big for one person, but I couldn’t pass up the deal. I don’t need a thirty-eight-hundred square foot house or all the property, but I was looking for a house outside of town when this came on the market. It was part of an estate sale, and the old owner’s kids didn’t want it. They lived on the West Coast and were happy to get it sold.”

I led Kelly into the spacious country kitchen. She walked over to the breakfast nook and looked outside.

“You have a swimming pool?” Kelly gazed out the bay windows.

“Yes, it was here when I bought the house. Want to go see the pool and patio?”

When she nodded, I led Kelly through the great room to the double door wall, slid it open, and we went outside. Kelly shook her head and smiled as we walked around the partly covered patio.

“You have a hot tub,” Kelly said.

“I’ve only used the hot tub a couple of times.”

I showed Kelly the outdoor shower, telling her I planned to build a cabana one day. We went into the house and sat down in the great room.

“What are we doing for dinner? I’m getting hungry,” Kelly said.

“I thought we could go out to eat. After dinner, we’ll shop to get the food we need.”

“Okay, I’m ready anytime you are.”

We left the house and got into my pickup truck. I pulled up to the pole barn to get my Yeti cooler. After putting it in the back of the truck, we left. As I drove, I thought about where to go to eat. Smiling, I decided to go to a local bar that made great hamburgers. The place wasn’t fancy, but the food was excellent.

Kelly didn’t bat an eye when I parked in the unpaved lot. I’d brought Amber to the bar once, but she wouldn’t get out of the truck.

When we walked into the dimly lit bar, Kelly looked at me. “Is the food good here?”

“I like it,” I said.

Sitting at a table, Kelly and I ordered beers, burgers, and an order of fries to split. When the server delivered our food, Kelly put onions, pickles, and mustard on her burger. I chucked when she picked it up without cutting it and took a bite.

“Wow, this is tasty. Bars have the best burgers,” Kelly said.

“I know this place isn’t fancy, but the food is good, and the beer is cold.”

“Three of the things I like the best. Good food, cold beer, and great company. So, what time do we have to get up in the morning?” Kelly said between bites.

“We should get up at about four-thirty, have breakfast, and hit the road. I want to avoid the traffic.”

Kelly and I finished our meals, paid the bill, and left. I drove to the grocery store, and we went in to shop. We loaded things into the cart and walked up and down the isles. When we got to the beverages, Kelly put two cases of beer on the bottom of the cart.

“I guess you like beer,” I said.

“Yup. I like whiskey, too. I don’t like getting drunk, but I like a few drinks occasionally.” Kelly added a bottle of bourbon to the cart.

We finished shopping, headed to the truck, and put the bags in the back. Kelly separated the things requiring refrigeration and put them in the cooler, along with one of the cases of beer. I added ice before closing the lid.

We sat around, talking for an hour before going to bed. I told Kelly I’d see her in the morning and went to my room.

My alarm woke me at four-thirty. I got up, showered, dressed in jeans and a shirt, and went to the kitchen. Kelly stood at the counter, watching the coffee maker. She had pulled her wet hair into a short ponytail and wore jeans, a sweater, and boots.

“Good morning, Kelly,” I said as I walked over and stood beside her.

“Good morning, Brad. The coffee will be ready in a moment. What are we having for breakfast?”

“I usually have cereal and juice for breakfast.” I opened a cupboard and removed a box of cereal. While I took out two bowls, Kelly chuckled.

“Greasy burgers for dinner and healthy cereal for breakfast?”

“Yup. Is it a problem?”

“No, not at all. I usually have yogurt for breakfast. I try to eat healthily, but Sue likes junk food. We argue about it all the time. I get a salad when we order carry-out, and she gets pizza.”

“Don’t you like pizza?” I asked.

“I love pizza, but not three or four times a week. I’d rather cook, but Sue is picky and dislikes most of what I make. We ordered out so we could have what we wanted. Cooking for one sucks.”

“I don’t mind cooking for one. I don’t eat out often.”

We continued discussing our likes and dislikes regarding food as we finished breakfast. I was about to put the bowls into the dishwasher, but Kelly took them and washed them by hand.

While Kelly prepared a thermos of coffee, I connected the trailer. We tossed our backpacks into the backseat of the truck and were off. I stopped for gas, topping off the tank. As I drove, Kelly relaxed. We talked about our lives, catching up on things.

During lulls in our conversation, Kelly looked out the window. Unlike my ex-girlfriend, my cousin didn’t need to talk every moment. When I mentioned it, Kelly said she was enjoying the scenery. As I drove, she kept my coffee cup full.

“We need to find a place to stop. I have to use a bathroom,” Kelly said.

“No problem, I’ll get off at the next exit. I need gas and coffee.”

We were about three hours into the trip when I pulled off the highway. Kelly and I used the restroom before I started filling the truck’s gas tank. Kelly took the thermos and travel mugs and headed toward the building for coffee. I watched her butt as she walked away, then she stopped, turned around, and returned to the truck.

“I forgot my purse.” Kelly opened the door.

“Here, I’ll give you money.” I reached into my pocket.

“Thanks, but I’ve got it, Brad.”

I tried to protest, but Kelly ignored me, grabbed her purse, and headed toward the building. I finished filling the gas tank and cleaned the windows while waiting for Kelly to return. She came out carrying the thermos, two cups of coffee, and a small bag.

When we got into the truck, Kelly gave me one of the cups. She put the thermos on the floor and opened the bag. I chuckled when she gave me a donut and took one herself.

“I thought you were a health nut,” I said.

“I try to eat healthy most of the time, but I figured what the hell. I’m on vacation.”

“You don’t have to pay for anything, Kelly. I’m happy you agreed to come on the trip with me. I hated the thought of going alone.”

“I don’t mind, Brad. You have no idea how happy I am you invited me. I’ve never really been on vacation before. I’ve taken time off, but my mother never took me anywhere, so the closest thing to a vacation was when I went camping with the scouts or Carl.”

I nodded and smiled as I headed toward the highway.

“I’ve never been on an ATV. Is it fun?” Kelly asked.

“I’ve only driven around my property. So far, I like it. I wanted to do something different and bought the ATV and camping equipment. I have never camped or slept in a tent.”

“Do you know how to set up the tent?”

“Yes, I practiced at home and can put it up. I even fixed a few meals on the camp stove, so I’d know how it works.”

“I’ve never used a camp stove. We cooked over an open fire when I went camping with the scouts.”

Kelly told me about camping with the Girl Scouts, mentioning she only went three times as I drove.

When I finished my coffee, Kelly poured me another cup, filled her travel mug, and put the thermos back on the floor.

“I think you like coffee as much as I do.”

“I love coffee,” Kelly said.

“If we drink too much while we’re riding, we’ll have to make a lot of trips to the restroom.”

Kelly laughed. “Make sure we have toilet paper on the ATV. I can pee in the bushes.”

When I glanced at my cousin, she shrugged and laughed again. “I’m not a prissy girly girl, Brad.”

“I guess not.” I laughed when I thought about how Amber would have reacted.

“We’re about an hour from the park. Do you want to get something to eat so we don’t have to mess with it when we get there? It will take a while to set up our camp,” I said.

“Sure, sounds good to me.”

I found a restaurant on my GPS navigation system. When we arrived, I found a place to park the truck with the trailer attached, went into the building, and found a booth. After ordering cold drinks, Kelly excused herself and went to the restroom. When she returned, I used the facilities.

The server took our orders and left the table. Kelly took the brochure from her purse and began looking at it.

“This place sounds cool. It says they have a concession stand for hot dogs, burgers, and sandwiches. It also says they have a bonfire every night. Can we go to the fire while we’re there?”

“Sure, it sounds like fun. Maybe we’ll meet other people to ride with.” I’d studied the brochure and knew about most of the amenities.

Our server brought our meals and placed them on the table. Kelly and I began eating while discussing what we wanted to do at the park.

“We should stop and get cheese, crackers, and snack food. We may get hungry later,” Kelly said.

“Okay, I’m sure there’s a store between here and the park.”

When the server stopped to check on us, Kelly asked about a store. The server said there was a small grocery store a mile from the restaurant on the same road. We finished our meals, paid the bill, and left.

We bought block cheese, several boxes of crackers, lunch meat, and other things in the grocery store. Kelly added apples and oranges to the cart before we checked out.

When I pulled up to the office at the park, Kelly got out and went in with me to register. She grabbed a couple of maps of the park’s trails and the campground while I filled out the paperwork and listened while the man behind the counter showed us how to get to our campsite.

“I like that the campsites aren’t too close together,” Kelly said as I drove to our site.

“I asked for one close to the bathrooms but not too close. I didn’t want to have to walk too far.”

I located our campsite and parked on the road. Kelly and I checked it out and determined where to pitch the tent. We decided where to put things, and I backed the trailer in. Once I was sure I’d be able to lower the tailgate and pull the ATV out, I got the jacks from the trailer. Placing a jack at each corner, Kelly and I secured the trailer, disconnected it from the truck, and began getting the gear out.

After placing the tent’s ground cloth where we wanted, Kelly and I staked the corners and put up the poles. As we worked together, I was impressed by how she jumped in to help, thinking Amber would have probably sat in my pickup while I did everything.

Once the tent was up and the rain fly was in place, Kelly and I began getting the rest of the gear. When I grabbed the air bed, I realized I hadn’t thought about the sleeping arrangements.