Chapter 34

I woke up to the feeling of Kelly snuggling against me. She grinned, leaned over me, and gave me a kiss. “Time to get up, sweetie,” Kelly said as she gave me another kiss.

“Are you okay now?” I said.

Kelly nodded her head. “I know I was being silly last night.”

“So, do you still want to marry me?” I said as I found Kelly’s breasts with my hands.

Kelly grinned as she nodded her head. I massaged her breasts for a few moments and then got up. Kelly and I went to the bathroom to get ready for our day. We showered together and then took care of our normal morning routine. Kelly and I stood side by side at the sinks while we brushed our teeth and dried our hair. After dressing in jeans and tee shirts, we went down to the kitchen.

Mom, Donna, and Mindy stood by the counter. We all said good morning to one another. Kelly poured two cups of coffee, handing one to me. We sat at the counter and talked with the women as they prepared our breakfast. Dad, Vince, and Greg came into the kitchen from outside. Dad told me he and the other men had gone for a short walk. Kelly called Jenny, telling her to get down to the kitchen for breakfast.

We all sat down to eat the bacon, eggs, pancakes, and fried potatoes Mom and the women prepared. We talked about our plans for the day while we ate. Kelly and Jenny planned to work in the gardens. Mom, Donna, and Mindy told the girls they would help.

Rob and I wanted to finish setting the poles for the last blind. I also told the others we would like to take them to the new property so I could show them the site where I wanted to have the lodge built.

After breakfast, we all set out to complete our tasks. By lunchtime, Dad, Rob, Vince, Greg, and I finished the blind. While we were out in the woods, Rob and I began marking the trees we would have to remove to build the trails we wanted.

Our group ate lunch on the deck. When we finished, we took the two new ATVs and the jeep to the new property. We drove into the woods as far as we could before walking to the lake.

“Isn’t the lake beautiful?” Kelly said. She gripped my hand as she pointed.

We paused to look at the lake and the hillside beyond it. I tried to imagine how the lodge would look. It looked like the hilltop sat about thirty feet above the lake, with a gentle slope to the water’s edge.

“What do you guys think?” Kelly said, not talking to anyone in particular.

“It’s breathtaking. I can see why you suggested putting the house up there,” Mom said.

We walked up the hill to where I felt the lodge would sit. Greg looked around, and walked away from the slope of the hill.

“This is a great looking building site.” Greg chuckled. “Do you plan on putting in a pool?”

“No, but I might want a hot tub,” I said.

“Are you planning on having a hunting lodge or a party palace?” Dad said.

“It’ll be a hunting lodge. I thought a hot tub would be nice after a hard day of hunting,” I replied with a smile.

We walked around the plateau making comments about how each of us thought the lodge should be situated. In my mind, I could almost envision the building. The site was more of the high point of a rise than a hill top. Standing near the beginning of the slope down to the lake, I noticed it would be too steep for a path. If we wanted to be able to walk down to the lake from the lodge, it would require steps, or we’d have to walk around and take the path we used to walk up the rise.

“I love this place. It’s so beautiful,” Kelly said.

“Do you and Jenny think it would be a good place for your studio?” I said. I put my arm around Kelly’s waist, pulling her closer.

Nodding, Kelly said, “It’ll be perfect.”

We headed back to the ATVs and the Jeep. On the way back, we stopped so Rob could grab the map of the property from the pump house.

“You have a great spot for a lodge if you decide to build one,” Dad said. We all sat at one of the patio tables. Rob got beers and wine coolers from the basement bar for all of us.

“We’re going to build the lodge, aren’t we, Kelly,” I said. “Kelly and Jenny will use if for their photography studio too. I plan to call Mitch and get started as soon as we can.”

“Shouldn’t you decide what you want first?” Mom said.

“With a brainstorming session we’ll be able to come up with a basic idea. Hopefully, Mitch knows an architect who can do the final design,” I said.

Rob left the table, telling us he’d be back in a couple minutes. When he returned, Rob put his drawing pad on the table. “Okay, why don’t you tell me what you have in mind? I’ll see what I can do to get your ideas on paper.”

“Kelly, what do you think?” I said.

“Do you remember the pictures Mitch showed us? I liked the log house style. I think we should make the main area open. You know, the great room, kitchen, and dining area all one big room,” Kelly said.

“We’ll want a tall ceiling with log beams,” I said.

“We’ll start with the floor plan and go from there,” Rob said. “How big do you think you’ll want it?”

I looked at Kelly’s dad. He smiled and said, “I paced off a little over one hundred feet along the edge of the plateau. I could have gone further, but I didn’t think it would be necessary. You could build a very large building if it’s what you want.”

“How about starting with the great room and make it about eighty feet wide and forty feet deep? Will it be large enough to have a studio?” I said while looking at Kelly and Jenny.

Rob sketched a rectangle on the pad. I pointed at one wall and said, “We can put the fireplace on this wall.”

“Yeah, and put the kitchen on the far end,” Kelly said.

For the next hour, Rob sketched our ideas. I looked at the drawing and said, “I think this will get us started. Once we get an architect, we can fill in the details.”

Mom moved close to Kelly. She whispered something to Kelly and they both chuckled. Kelly asked me to uncover the pool so she and the other women could go for a swim. A moment later, all of the women got up and went into the house.

Rob and I removed the pool cover. Dad, Greg, and Vince stood along the side, examining the pool again. Rob and I finished removing the cover and joined the rest of the men.

“This will be great once the enclosure is installed. We’ll be able to use it year-round,” I said. “Thanks for doing a great job, Greg.”

“My pleasure. I’m happy you and Kelly like it,” Greg said.

I turned around when I heard the women laughing. They came over to the pool, each of them wearing fluffy terrycloth robes I didn’t remember seeing before. The women gave each of us a beer.

“Where did you get the robes? It looks like you ripped off a hotel,” I said.

“Donna bought them for us,” Kelly said. “Aren’t they nice?”

“I have a friend who owns a hotel supply company. I bought them for you kids as a pool warming present,” Donna said.

“Thanks, Donna,” I said.

Kelly moved up to me. “Donna gave us two dozen robes. When we have guests, we’ll have robes for them.”

I nodded. Kelly walked over to Mom and the two of them began laughing again. I stood with the rest of the men, wondering what the women were planning. It didn’t take long for the women to answer my question. All at once, the women shed their robes and jumped in the pool, naked.

“Now this is a sight for sore eyes,” Dad said with a chuckle.

I glanced at Rob, noticing the big smile on his face. Looking back at the pool, I watched the women milling around in the water.

“I don’t know about you, but I think we should join them,” Dad said.

I laughed and began removing my clothes. The rest of the men stripped before we all jumped into the pool with the women. I swam over to Kelly. Putting my arms around her body, I said, “What made you decide to do this?”

“Mom suggested we go skinny-dipping. I think this is fun!” Kelly said.

“I think you and Mom are crazy in a very good way. I knew we’d do this, but I didn’t think it would be with all these people,” I said.

Shrugging her shoulders, Kelly said, “Oh well.”

We swam around for a few minutes, enjoying the warm water. Rob and Jenny came over to Kelly and me to tell us they were having a blast.

“I’m going to start working on my tan,” Jenny said. She gave Rob a peck on the cheek, turned around, and walked toward the steps. Kelly laughed as she followed her friend.

Mom, Donna, and Mindy got out of the pool. They stretched out on lounges near Kelly and Jenny. I stood in chest deep water, thinking things were great. It wasn’t the fact the women were naked, although it didn’t hurt, it was because everyone seemed so comfortable.

We spent the rest of the afternoon sitting by the pool. We drank, swam, and enjoyed the sun. When it started cooling down, we all went into the house to shower and dress.

“I think we should cook steaks for dinner,” Mom said. “Larry bought some steaks and put them in the refrigerator.”

After dinner, we sat on the patio having an after dinner drink with our coffee. Mom and Dad told us they were leaving the next morning. Kelly told them they didn’t have to leave, but they said they had things to take care of back home. Vince, Donna, Greg, and Mindy said they planned to leave in the morning too.

I’d called Mitch earlier and arranged to meet with him the next day. He told me he knew an architect he’d worked with and trusted. I told Mitch to bring him along with him.

At ten o’clock, we all decided to call it a day. We said goodnight and headed for our rooms.

“Are you excited about building the lodge?” Kelly said as she undressed in our bedroom.

“Yes, are you excited too?” I replied.

“Sweetie, I can’t wait to get started on the lodge. I have so many ideas to tell you. It’s the only thing I’ve been thinking about this afternoon. Jenny and I talked about how it will be a great place for our studio too.”

“We can talk about it tomorrow when Mitch and the architect are here. You can have anything you want.”

Kelly wrapped her hand around my cock and said, “Can I have this?”

I laughed as I nodded. She pulled on my cock, leading me to the bed. Kelly kept one hand on me, using the other hand to pull back the covers. She sat on the bed, pulled me close, and gave my dick a kiss. Looking up with a big smile, Kelly took my cock into her mouth. I reached down to fondle one of her breasts as she bobbed her head.

Kelly and I made love twice before we finally cuddled together. We shared our love in words as well as tender kissed and soft caresses. She snuggled against my side and said, “Justin, I love you with all my heart.”

“I love you too, honey,” I said. We kissed before settling in for a good night’s sleep.

Kelly woke me up at seven the next morning. We hugged and kissed for a few minutes before taking our morning shower together. We cruised through our morning routine and then went downstairs.

“Good morning, Mom,” I said when Kelly and I walked into the kitchen. Mom stood at the counter making coffee.

“Good morning, kids. Go sit outside with Dad. I’ll bring the coffee in a moment,” Mom said.

Kelly and I went out on the deck off the breakfast nook. We greeted Dad as we sat at the table.

“Is everyone else up yet?” Kelly said.

“They’ll be down in a bit. Mom and I want to talk to you two alone,” Dad said.

I started to ask what Dad wanted, but Mom came out with the coffee. She passed out the mugs and then sat down.

“What’s up?” I said.

“Mom and I talked last night. We want to build the lodge for you kids,” Dad said.

“You two can design it and build whatever you want, but Dad and I will pay for it,” Mom said.

“You don’t have to,” I said.

“We know we don’t have to, but we want to. This isn’t open for discussion. We’ve made up our minds,” Mom said.

“Thank you,” Kelly and I said at the same time.

“Mom and I have to do something with the money she has. If we hang on to it, the taxes will take a bite out of it when we pass on. If we invest it into the building, there won’t be any problems later,” Dad said.

“You shouldn’t talk about dying,” Kelly said.

Mom and Dad laughed. “Honey, we’re not planning on an early demise, but we want to take care of things while we can.”

“You two should spend the money on yourselves,” Kelly said.

“We are, Kelly. Dad and I plan to use the lodge once in a while,” Mom said with a chuckle.

I knew trying to argue would be pointless. Once my mom made up her mind on something, it was nearly imposable to sway her.

“What’s our budget?” I asked.

“Try to keep it under a million if you can,” Dad said, and then he winked at me.

Kelly got up and gave Mom a hug. She thanked Mom and moved to her dad. I gave Mom a hug and shook Dad’s hand.

“I was thinking of having a trailer put on the spot where the other owner had his trailer so we’ll have another place for guests,” I said.

“A trailer is a good idea. You should be able to find something reasonably priced,” Dad said.

“You know, you and Mom can build a house on the property if you want to,” Kelly said. She looked at me to make sure she didn’t misspeak. I nodded, causing Kelly to smile.

“Dad and I aren’t sure what we’re going to do now we’ve decided to retire. We may take a few months to travel after the weddings,” Mom said. “It’s nice up here, but I think we’ll stay down state. All of our friends live there.”

“You know you’re always welcome here,” I said.

“We know and we plan to come up often. Dad wants to go snowmobiling. We loved it when we were in New York,” Mom said.

“One other thing, please keep the fact we’re paying for the lodge under your hats. Mom and I will start transferring money into an account when we get back. We don’t want to throw up any red flags,” Dad said.

Donna and Vince came outside, followed by Greg and Mindy. A few minutes later, Rob and Jenny joined us. We ate breakfast on the deck while enjoying the morning. The sprinklers came on, watering the garden and flower beds. I watched as each zone went off.

“When are you kids going down to pick up Jenny’s sister?” Mom said.

“We’re leaving next Friday to go to her graduation and party,” Jenny said. “Clair’s called me every day for a week to make sure we’re still going. After the party, we’re bringing her back up here with us.”

“Clair is going to help us get ready for the weddings,” Kelly said.

“It sounds like it’ll be fun for your sister,” Donna said.

“I think so. Clair and I were close before I moved up here. It’s going to be nice to spend some time with her,” Jenny said.

“Dad and I will be here about ten days before the weddings. I have everything covered with the caterer and the outfit we found to do the decorating. We should start getting responses from the invitations soon. Dad made the arrangements for rooms and transportation,” Mom said.

“What do you need Rob and I to do?” I said.

Mom laughed and said, “Show up and say I do!”

Everyone laughed at what Mom said. “Don’t worry. There will be plenty for you two to do when it gets closer to the wedding date.”

“Okay, so we’re all on the same page, the final plan is for a barbecue the day before the weddings. A catered dinner the day of the weddings, and a luncheon the following day,” Mom said.

“It sounds great. I love the idea of having a three day party for our weddings,” Jenny said. She chuckled and added, “The truth is, I don’t care as long as I marry Rob.”

“I think we all feel the same way, but what the hell, we might as well have the parties too,” Kelly said.

I smiled, remembering how our weddings went from an informal gathering to an event. It didn’t matter to me, I was happy I would be marrying the girl of my dreams. Every time the woman talked about the weddings, I felt my heart swell. The looks on Dad and Rob’s faces told me they were as happy as I was.

After breakfast, Kelly and Jenny began clearing the table. Rob and I helped so our guests could prepare to leave.

Standing in the driveway, we all said goodbye to one another. I thanked Dad and Mom for the ATV’s and trailer. Kelly and I thanked Donna, Mindy, Vince, and Greg for all their help too. After hugs and promises to call us when they got home, our guests left.

Mitch and the architect showed up at one. Mitch introduced us to Anne Oliver. Anne told us about herself and some of the projects she’d worked on. We sat on the deck, talking about what Kelly and I had in mind for the lodge.

“Why don’t we take a ride to the property so you can get a feel for where we want to build the lodge?” I suggested.

“Seeing the property would be great. How far is it from here?” Anne said.

Pointing, I said, “A little over a mile.”

“Why so close?” Anne said.

“We bought the property next to this place. We want the lodge close so Kelly and Jenny can use it as a photographic studio too,” I said.

I led the group to the barn to get the ATV’s. Anne sat with Kelly and me. Mitch rode with Rob and Jenny. We drove over to the property, opened the gate, and headed in. When we went as far as we could on the ATVs, we got off and walked.

“There’s where we want the lodge,” Kelly said as she pointed up at the top of the rise above the lake.

“This is beautiful. Are you planning on something rustic?” Anne said.

“We want it to look like a log lodge. Mitch suggested we use conventional construction with half-logs outside,” Kelly said. I grinned, feeling great Kelly was involving herself.

“It sounds like a good idea. It will save you money,” Anne said.

We walked up to where we planned to build the lodge. Mitch looked around while Anne made a few sketches.

“How big do you want the cabin?” Anne said.

“I think I’d like to start with something about eighty feet wide and forty feet deep. If it needs to be larger, it’s okay, but no smaller,” I said.

“Okay, I guess you weren’t kidding when you said you wanted a hunting lodge. Most of my clients say lodge, but they mean a cabin. It will make the lodge about thirty-two hundred square feet. Okay then, how many bedrooms do you want?” Anne said.

Glancing at Kelly, I shrugged my shoulders. We walked away, taking Rob and Jenny with us.

“What do you think, sweetie? How many bedrooms do we want?” I said to Kelly.

“It depends on how many people you guys plan to invite to go hunting,” Kelly said.

I turned to Rob and Jenny. “What are your thoughts?” I said. The look on their faces made me smile.

“I don’t know. This place is yours and Kelly’s,” Rob said.

“I know, but you and Jenny are going to use it too. You’re the one with the hunting partners. I’ve never hunted before,” I said.

Jenny counted on her fingers. “If we invited everyone, we would need at least eight bedrooms,” Jenny said.

“Sounds good to me, Jen. What do you think, Kelly?” I said.

Kelly nodded. We walked back to where Anne and Mitch were talking to each other.

“We want eight bedrooms. I think we should have two larger bedrooms with private baths and the other six others with a bathroom for each two. We also want a couple half baths,” I said.

“Those rooms are going to eat a lot of the space if we build the lodge eighty feet by forty feet,” Anne said.

“It’s how large we want the main room. The bedrooms, bathrooms, kitchen, and eating area are in addition,” I said. “Rob made a few sketches of our ideas. We’ll show them to you when we go back to the house.”

We spent another half hour looking around. Mitch made a few suggestions for a road leading to the site. On the way back to the gate, I stopped near the pump house.

“Mitch, do you know of anyone who can put a trailer here?” I asked as we walked on the gravel where we thought the previous owner had a trailer.

“Yes, I can do it for you. Do you want the best price or the best trailer for the money? Trailers are like most things in life. You get what you pay for,” Mitch said.

“Which one would you suggest?”

“If it were me, I would use General Homes. They have a great line of trailers. I do work for them when they need to set one,” Mitch said.

“Who should we ask for?” I said.

“Talk to Henry Johansson. He owns the place. Tell Henry I sent you,” Mitch said.

I thanked Mitch. We went back to the house to continue talking about the lodge. Rob showed Anne his drawings. She asked if she could take the drawings with her.

“What about a road to the lodge? What do you have in mind?” Mitch said.

“I think we’ll let you do what you feel is best. I want to make sure we can get up to the place when it snows,” I said.

“Anne, when you design the kitchen, please include a wood-burning cook stove.” Kelly smiled at me. “If we lose power, we want to be able to survive. One of those stoves saved Justin and me once.”

“It sounds like an interesting story,” Anne said.

Kelly told Anne and Mitch about our trip to the Adirondacks and how we ended up in the cabin in the woods. I chuckled when Kelly suggested we put an outhouse close to the lodge.

“I don’t think it’s a bad idea, Justin. If we don’t have power, we won’t be able to flush the toilets,” Kelly said.

“It’s a great idea, sweetie,” I said.

I think we have enough information for now. I’ll get to work on the concept drawings. Once we decide on the design, I can start with the blueprints,” Anne said.

“When do you want me to start excavation for the road?” Mitch said.

“This afternoon if you’re not busy,” I said.

Mitch laughed. “Okay, I get it. We’ll get started this week. I have a lull in my work right now so I can get the crews in there.”

Rob went into the house, returning with the map of the property. He rolled it out on the table.

“We should have Mitch put in a couple two-tracks while he has his equipment there.” Rob pointed at the map. “I’d put one here and another one here so you wouldn’t have to walk more than about a half mile to find a road. It’s easy to get lost in the woods if you’re tracking a deer,” Rob said.

I nodded and told Mitch to do it.

“What about a deposit?” Anne said.

“Justin’s word is all I need,” Mitch said.

“Thanks, Mitch. Let Kelly know what you need, Anne. She’ll write you a check,” I said.

“Would two thousand be too much?” Anne said.

“No, not at all. Honey, would you take Anne in and write a check for her please?” I said.

After Kelly and Anne left, Mitch said, “Anne is good, but things have been a little slow for her lately. A lot of the people putting up places up here are using modular homes now.”

“If you want some front money you know I don’t mind,” I said.

“I’ll get with you next week. After we do the surveying, I’ll have a better idea of what the road will cost. As for the lodge, I have to wait until Anne completes the blueprints before I can give you an estimate,” Mitch said.

“Make sure the lodge is something you’d want to stay in or show perspective clients,” I said.

“Kelly and I will take pictures for you, Mitch,” Jenny said.

“If you’d like some work, let me know. I can use a good photographer from time to time. I like to keep my photo album up to date,” Mitch said.