Chapter 2

Penny and Jessie were in seventh heaven on Thursday. The family visited three malls to do some shopping. Kyle, Danny and Robbie dutifully trooped along, slowly going out of their minds. Friday was golf day for the families. Kyle, Penny, Brady and Casey Rasmussen made up the first foursome. Ethan, Jason and Justin Rasmussen joined Danny to make up the second foursome. Jessie and Kaylee stayed at the Rasmussen’s home to watch Robbie for the afternoon. Neither girl had any interest in golfing.

Saturday, July 12, 2031 – Dove Valley, CO

The Martins slept late, had a late brunch and swam at their hotel for a relaxing vacation Saturday. After lunch, the Martin family met Brady Rasmussen at one of Brady’s outdoor stores. Brady outfitted Kyle, Penny and the kids with everything they would need for the five-day backpacking trip the two families planned. This trek would be Robbie’s first extended backpacking trip. This would also be Danny’s first family trip where he was expected to carry his share of the crew’s gear, along with his personal items.

Robbie would carry his clothes, a super lightweight sleeping bag and enough water for the day in his junior sized backpack. Kyle, Penny, Jessie and Danny would carry food and any extras Robbie might need on the trek.

The family headed up to Longmont mid-afternoon for their cookout with Antwaan and Sherree Booker. A tall, husky teen answered the door. His skin was somewhere between bittersweet chocolate and black, just like his father’s. He had a noticeable fuzzy mustache on his upper lip.

“Uncle Kyle, Aunt Penny!” the boy called. “Come on in.”

“A. J., you’ve grown so much since we saw you last,” Penny said.

“You look good,” Kyle said as he shook the fourteen-year-old’s hand. “Going to make varsity this fall?”

“My dad’s been bragging?” A. J. Booker, properly Antwaan Frederick Booker, Junior, agreed. A. J. stood for Antwaan Junior.

“You know he has,” Kyle responded.

“Coach Swinton says my chances are excellent,” A. J. replied. “I’ll be in ninth grade in the fall and I am up to 220 pounds. Coach says I am big enough to handle varsity offensive linemen.”

“You’re big enough to handle college offensive linemen,” Kyle teased.

“My dad says that too,” A. J. added. “Jessie, you look great.”

“Good to see you A. J.,” Jessie answered.

“Danny my man,” A. J. said as he and Danny exchanged an elaborate handshake, fist bump with a twist. “You’re gonna start eighth, right?”

“I am,” Danny confirmed.

“Gonna sneak into JV for your school?” A. J. asked.

“Maybe,” Danny replied. “I’m new to the school and they don’t know me. I’ll find out how things work out next month, once training starts.”

“Where is your mom and dad?” Kyle asked

“Dad’s in the backyard, firing up the grill,” A. J. replied. “Mom’s in the kitchen getting the sides ready.”

A. J. led his guests through the house to the backyard. Antwaan “Book” Booker, Sr. was cleaning the grill with a wire brush when his guests appeared. He put the brush down and hurried over to greet his friends. The big man gave Kyle a bear hug as he greeted his former teammate.

“Coach, it is so good to see you,” Book exclaimed. “It has been too long.”

“It has been, Book,” Kyle agreed as he was released from the bear hug. Book engulfed Penny with a hug next. The big 6’-3” former defensive tackle towered over her.

“It is so good to see you Penny,” Book gushed before releasing her from his gargantuan hug.

“It is nice to see you too,” Penny agreed. She wasn’t too rumpled from the retired defensive lineman’s boisterous embrace. Kyle and Penny introduced Robbie to Book and Sherree, who appeared from the kitchen carrying a veggie tray and dip for their meal.

Penny and Jessie helped Sherree and Jade finish preparations inside while Kyle helped Book at the grill. Jade was Book and Sherree’s eleven-year-old daughter. Kyle and Robbie hung out with Book as he grilled up seven big steaks and half a dozen hot dogs. Neither Robbie nor Jade cared for steaks.

“You’ve been a head coach for six months,” Book commented as he flipped the big slabs of meat. “You worked towards this job for over half your life. Is it what you expected?”

“I guess,” Kyle said. “I like being the guy in charge and directing and coordinating everyone in their tasks. Still, the Eagles are in such a big, deep hole. They had almost no talent when I arrived last February. The new kids we drafted or picked up in free agency will improve the talent level, but ... how quickly?”

Book let out a deep belly laugh. “You weren’t with the Broncos when Coach Baldwin and I showed up. Rebuilding a team is a bear, no doubt about it. You don’t know the Broncos from when I started there. They were dreadful when I started. Coach Baldwin, me, Jonesie [Raymond Jones, linebacker], Brownie [Kellen Brown] and [Dan] Sellars were about all the guys left from that team I joined when you came to town.”

“I never got to play with Raymond Jones,” Kyle said, “ ... though I do remember him rehabbing when I was drafted.”

“Shit! Yeah, I forgot that,” Book said. “Jonesie never could get his knee right again. He retired that summer you started, didn’t he?”

“He did,” Kyle agreed. “From what I hear, he was a hell of a middle linebacker for a dozen years for the Broncos.”

“He was,” Book agreed. He looked off in the distance for a moment, before repeating, “That he was.” He looked away again before turning back to Kyle and the grill. “Get your head ready for some losing. You’ve played and coached nothing but winning teams, right?”

“I’ve been blessed.”

“Ain’t gonna’ happen no more,” Book said. “Get ready for a whole lot of losing for the next couple years. You’re bringing in a bunch of kids to turn your team around, aren’t you?”

“I am,” Kyle acknowledged.

“Them kids are gonna make a bunch of stupid-ass mistakes and there ain’t nothing you can do to stop them from doing it,” Book said, deadly serious now. “Them kids are going to make you want to crawl the walls with the dumb shit they’ll do. Count on it.”

“I know that intellectually,” Kyle said.

“You’re gonna feel the losses in your bones,” Book replied. “Endure what is to come. Teach them. Bring them along. Teach them football the right way ... the team way. You’re smart. I know you will learn how to put them in positions to succeed. You were the polish as we rebuilt the Broncos machine years ago. Now you get to get your hands dirty building your machine from the ground up.”

“I know you are right,” Kyle said.

“I hear you got some of the Broncos gang working for you,” Book commented.

“Kellen Brown ... Brownie, he is my receivers coach,” Kyle said.

“I hear you got J. T. [Hill], [Zane] Bell and [Brendan] Hayden too,” he said, laughing. “You got some real workers coaching for you, not just them pretty boy receivers.”

“Probably my best hire was Coach C,” Kyle said.

“No doubt about that,” Book agreed. “SSsshhhiiiIIITTT! That man used to ride my ass when I started at Penn State. He taught me how the game is to be played and put me on the path to the Hall of Fame. You take good care of Coach C and his pretty wife.”

“I am renting them the summer house in front of my place,” Kyle said. “I am taking very good care of them.”

“Give Coach C and Phyliss my love,” Book said. Kyle could see his big friend working to control his emotions, while he remembered is college coach and mentor.

“I will do that,” Kyle agreed. The two old friends’ talk turned to their kids and how they were fairing as the steak continued to grill. Book called out for Sherree to get everything else out when the steaks were finished. The two families sat down to a meal of steak, twice baked potatoes, sweet corn on the cob and salad. Everyone enjoyed their meat, including Robbie and Jade, who loved hot dogs cooked on the grill.

The kids ended up in the pool after their meal. Their parents watched over them as they talked and reminisced about the good times they had together in the past. It was getting dark when the Martins climbed into their rental VW SUV and headed back to their hotel.

Sunday, July 13, 2031 – Waldron Residence, Lone Tree, CO

The Martin clan left a few minutes after noon as they headed for their next cookout. Kyle took a right after passing the Broncos’ Dove Valley training center. He followed the same familiar, 6.9-mile route he had followed nearly every day for his twelve years playing for the Broncos. He pulled off Lincoln Avenue into the development and turned back into the cul-de-sac street, parking in one of the guest parking spaces in the center of the cul-de-sac. Everything felt so familiar, except they walked past “their” old house and knocked at the Waldron’s door, next door to their old place.

“Kyle! Penny, come on in,” Matt Waldron enthused. “Kids, come on in.” Kyle, Penny, Jessie, Danny and Robbie followed Matt into the house. It was picked up and looked spotless today. Becca Waldron greeted her guests and directed everyone outside to the patio on the side yard of their house where a younger couple with a toddler were waiting.

Matt introduced Mike, Jessica and their almost two-year-old son, Brady to the Martins. Everyone exchanged handshakes and greetings before sitting down.

“Now I am sitting here with Amish Lightning,” Mike commented to Kyle. “I am in awe. In my head I knew you and Penny owned our house before we bought it from the Hollands, but it really never sank in.”

“I’m no big deal,” Kyle replied. “You have a great house for raising a family.”

“It seemed to work for you,” Mike answered. “You raised a big family yourself.”

“This isn’t all of them,” Kyle laughed. “Our oldest is back East. He couldn’t get off work to come along with the rest of family.”

Becca came outside carrying a tray of raw hamburgers and uncooked hot dogs. “Who wants what for lunch?” she asked. Jessica carried little Tessa in her carrier for her friend.

“Hot dogs! Cool, Dad,” Robbie enthused. “I get to have them again.”

“I am sorry I don’t have anything fancier,” Matt commented. “I am sure you ate better at Antwaan Booker’s cookout yesterday.”

“Don’t put Book and me on a pedestal,” Kyle laughed. “Book is a meat and potatoes man, plain and simple. Burgers and dogs will be great.”

When Becca was done taking orders, little Kyle, Brady and Robbie wanted hot dogs. Everyone else asked for hamburgers or cheeseburgers. Kyle and Mike “oversaw” Matt’s work at the grill. Little Kyle and Brady played together happily. Robbie, Danny and Jessie hung out, listening as the adults talked.

Matt and Becca served macaroni salad, a veggie tray with ranch dip and a fruit tray for the meal. The burgers were good, and the little kids loved their hot dogs.

The Waldrons and the Martins told the Comstocks stories about the two families association with each other. Kyle teased Matt about the time when Matt was in high school and showed up forty-five minutes late from a Saturday night date, only to find his house locked up tight. Kyle loaned Matt the spare key Mr. and Mrs. Waldron left with Kyle and Penny so he could get inside for the night.

Another time, Kyle was dragging trashcans out to the curb one evening, finding Matt’s car in driveway next door. The windows were steamed up and it was obvious Matt was making out with a half-dressed girl in the back seat.

“What ever became of that girl?” Kyle asked. This happened when Matt was in college but home on break.

“She was a special one,” Matt laughed. “I kept her and married her.”

“That was you, Becca?” Kyle smirked.

“It pretty much had to be,” Becca admitted, blushing. “Matt and I got together when we were freshmen in college.”

“This was two or three years before I retired and moved away,” Kyle said. “I guess it had to be you.”

“It definitely was you, honey,” Matt added.

“How’d you guys meet?” Jessica asked.

Penny and Kyle narrated the story about how they hired some laborers to help them move into their new home. They hired Matt and his friend Nick to help them move things from the car into their new house.

“What ever became of Nick Brewer?” Kyle asked. “I remember seeing him around for two or three years after I moved in and then he disappeared. You two have a falling out?”

“No, we stayed friends until the start of tenth grade,” Matt replied. “The Brewers moved to Fort Collins. I lost track of him after that.”

The Martins hung out with the Waldrons and Comstocks until close to four o’clock. Mike had a suggestion as everyone was getting ready to pack up.

“Would you like to see your old house, Kyle? Penny?” Mike asked. “Jessica and I would be happy to show you around the place.”

“That would be fun,” Penny agreed.

“We wouldn’t want to impose,” Kyle added.

“We would be happy to show you around,” Jessica insisted. “You can’t say no.”

“Done then,” Kyle agreed. “Thank you for your hospitality and a fine meal, Matt and Becca. Would you two be interested in tickets to a Broncos game when the Eagles play here next? I think your team will be on our schedule in two years.”

“That would be cool, Kyle,” Matt agreed. “Thank you so much.”

Mike, Jessica and Brady led the Martins across the driveway to their home. The inside was spotless, looking nothing like the home of a toddler. Obviously, the Comstocks had anticipated inviting the Martins over for a visit. The house looked much the same, even though the furniture and decorations were different. It was somewhat amazing for Danny and Jessie to look into their old bedrooms. Kyle and Penny expressed their thanks to the young couple before they headed west to their hotel.

Monday, July 14, 2031 – Lone Tree, CO

Bright and early the Rasmussen clan and the Martin clan met at a restaurant near Dove Valley for a big breakfast before their trek. Kyle followed Brady north and west into the mountains when they were done with their breakfast. The Tonahutu trailhead in the Rocky Mountain National Park was about two and a quarter hours from Lone Tree.

The group stopped off at the park office to register and pick up their permits. Everyone hit the last flush toilet they would see for several days and filled their water bottles. The crew hiked north out of the trailhead for the Big Meadows group camp. The group was not particularly fast, not unexpected given Robbie’s short legs. Kyle put his youngest son in front of the group, so no one walked the six-year-old to death. It was not a difficult hike, 4.3 miles with an 860-foot climb to reach the campsite. The group reached their destination mid-afternoon after a trail lunch.

The crew set up camp. Jessie and her best friend Kaylee Rasmussen shared a tent. Danny, and the Rasmussen twins, Justin and Jason, would share another tent. Robbie would tent with Kyle and Penny while Brady and Casey had the group’s fourth tent.

Big Meadows had a single campsite with a pit toilet and bear pole for hanging food and other “smellables” that might attract bears or other wildlife. Water came from the nearby creek. It needed treatment though. Brady had a couple portable UV light pens to take care of treating all the water the group would need.

Kyle taught Robbie about setting up camp while the rest of the group set up their tents. Everyone except Robbie were experienced backpackers familiar with the necessary tasks to live and be comfortable in the back country.

The kids were sent out to collect some firewood before dinner. Casey handled the cooking, such as it was. Rehydrating store-bought trail food was not exactly challenging. Normally Kyle and his family would prepare their own trail food from the local grocery store before a trip, but they did not have time or opportunity for that during vacation. The normally expensive store-bought food wasn’t so pricey, given they got it at a “store owner’s discount.”

Robbie had been dubious about the trail food, but Penny coaxed her son into trying it. He nibbled a small spoonful than had a bigger second spoonful. He grinned after swallowing this.

“i thought trail food was yucky,” Robbie laughed. “This is good.”

“Do you think I would sell nasty tasting food?” Brady laughed. “Of course, it is good.”

After the group cleaned their dishes from supper, they enjoyed the beautiful scenery. The creek meandered through the flat valley meadow. Hills rose steeply to the sides of the meadow with snow covered mountains rising above the hills. It was a night that reminded both families why they loved the outdoors and the mountains of Colorado.

The group made a small campfire and roasted marshmallows before it got dark. Everyone turned in when it got dark. Kids, being kids couldn’t fall asleep at nine o’clock despite the long day. They reconnected with their friends from six years earlier.

“Do you have a boyfriend?” Kaylee asked quietly.

“I do,” Jessie confirmed. “Matt and I have been dating for a couple months. How about you?”

“Not at the moment,” Kaylee replied. “My last boyfriend thought it would be OK for him to date more than one girl at a time without telling me. I dumped his cheating ass.”

“Fair enough,” Jessie agreed.

“Your boyfriend ... is he a hunk?”

“A hunk?” Jessie allowed. “He’s cute. He’s our age and boys our age don’t quite qualify as hunks yet. He’s a soccer player and is developing some muscles. He is a hell of a kisser and is trainable in bed.”

“You’re not a virgin then?” Kaylee asked.

“Not hardly,” Jessie laughed. “You?”

“No, I am not,” Kaylee replied. “It’s been too long since I got laid since I dumped my ex-boyfriend. I doubt I will get any opportunities on this trip unless I decide to drag Danny to bed. I suspect your brother is probably clueless about girls.”

“Not as much as you might expect,” Jessie replied. “He has a girlfriend. Davey caught Danny upstairs in the hallway, naked as the day he was born. He ran upstairs to get rubbers for his girlfriend downstairs.”

“So, he’s not a virgin?”

“I don’t know for sure,” Jessie replied. “Getting caught by his brother put a damper on that afternoon’s activities. I don’t know that he and his girlfriend had another opportunity before we flew out here for vacation.”

“Your opportunities this trip are even less than mine,” Kaylee giggled. “Which of my eleven-year-old twin brothers do you want?”

“I think I will pass on that,” Jessie smirked.

“Probably wise,” Kaylee said. “You’re more than four years older than the twins. Doing one of them will get you arrested in Colorado.”

“Pennsylvania too,” Jessie allowed. “I guess you and I will just have to be horny this week while we’re out here. I know this, when my plane lands back in Pennsylvania, I will be texting Matt and demanding he get his sweet, cute ass over to my house to give me some loving.”

“You’re lucky,” Kaylee said. “I’ve got to find myself a boyfriend first before I get laid.”

The Martins and Rasmussens got up with the sun. Coffee, tea or hot chocolate warmed the families up in the chill of a mountain morning. After breakfast, they packed their gear and headed up the valley for their next campsite, the Timberline camp. The hike was six miles with an 1,100-foot climb.

The group stopped midway for lunch at Granite Falls. The sight of the creek cascading down over the rocky falls was amazing. The group lingered there before continuing the trek up the valley to Timberline Group Camp.

Timberline was similar to the big Meadow campsite, with a fire ring, a bear pole and a pit toilet for amenities. This site was small, with room for a single group. This campsite was near the head of the valley they had followed the past two days. Tomorrow they would tackle the mountain towering over their campsite.

The group had time for napping, exploring or goofing around. Jason and Justin introduced Danny to hacky sack. The game used a small knitted bag full of plastic pellets. The group stood in a circle and endeavored to use their feet to pass the hacky sack around the circle without it touching the ground. Danny’s natural athleticism allowed him to learn the game quickly. It was a good game for the back country.

Brady Rasmussen had brought a variety of back packing meals for the group. Tonight’s dinner was a freeze-dried lasagna that was quite tasty. The group enjoyed the sunset from their campsite. It set over the hills opposite their campsite, giving everyone a spectacular display of yellows and oranges as it set. Kyle and Brady sent everyone to bed as soon as dark fell. They had their hardest hike first thing in the morning.

On Day 3, the group had to hike over Flattop Mountain, elevation 12,324 feet. Kyle pulled some Robbie’s gear from his backpack and shared it with Danny’s, Jessie’s and his own pack. It was going to be a hard day for the six-year-old.

They climbed seventeen hundred feet to the top of Flattop Mountain. They took frequent breaks on the way up. Lunch was done on the trail a few hundred feet short of the top of the mountain. The group took a lot of pictures when they reached the summit. The top of this mountain was near the tree line. It was covered with short, stunted trees, but was not bare.

The group worked its way down carefully. The trail descended 1,770 feet to the July campsite, their destination for the night. The July campsite was larger. There was one group site for their crew and two individual campsites. An older married couple had one site. The second had two couples sharing the site. That group was in their early twenties. Dinner was freeze dried Chicken Teriyaki, pretty tasty.

The group was up bright and early. This day’s hike wouldn’t be hard. They would descend from July campsite at the head of the valley about five miles to Big Pool campsite. The descent was around 1,400 feet. The group pulled into Big Pool around 2:30 in the afternoon. They set up camp in one of the two campsites in the camp.

Jessie and Kaylee watched two boys hike in just before supper. They were hard to miss. They were probably eighteen or so, 6’ tall and wearing nothing but shorts. The muscles on their bare chests glistened with sweat. These two definitely worked out. Jessie and Kaylee gave the boys big smiles as they hiked by. They set up their tent in the next campsite.

“I’d do them in a heartbeat,” Kaylee whispered to Jessie.

“I would too,” Jessie agreed, “ ... if I didn’t have a boyfriend now.”

Jessie and Kaylee kept their eyes on the two boys as their families prepared dinner. The boys stayed shirtless as they worked. Both girls were turned on by the hunky boys next door. Kaylee hadn’t had sex in over a month, not since she broke up with her last boyfriend. Jessie had done without for over three weeks, since that party when Matt did her twice.

The Martins and Rasmussens gathered and enjoyed their dinner together. The families were almost done eating when Kyle spotted a goat trotting down the trail into camp. He was a wild goat, but he came into camp like he owned the place. Soon another trotted into camp after him, then two followed by three more. Soon the camp was infested with a herd of goats of all ages, sizes and sexes – from bearded billy goats to little kids still suckling at momma’s teat.

The kids gamboled around. The females and young males munched vegetation. The dominant billy goat strutted about, watching over his herd. The goats pranced around the tents, totally unfazed by the campers. The Martins and Rasmussens photographed and enjoyed the wildlife show. Eventually the crew tired of watching the goats. Danny and Jason were assigned to clean dishes that evening. While they worked, Kaylee and Jessie collected everyone’s “smellables” – any item with a smell that might attract bears to their camp.

The girls headed off a couple hundred yards to the bear protection area for their camp. They found this camp had a fifteen foot high vertical pole with hooks at the top to hang their bear bag. A fifteen-foot staff with a hook on the end lay beside the bear pole. Their “smellables” were in a single day pack since the only food left was tomorrow’s breakfast and some snacks to eat on the trail as they hiked back to the cars. Earlier in the trip, when the load of food was bigger, they had filled Kalee’s dad’s backpack with “smellables” and hung it at night.

The girls were ready to hoist their bag up when they noticed something odd in the small meadow beside the bear pole. One of the nanny goats was prancing around the field closely followed by one of the billys. She was flapping her tail around. The billy was sticking to her like a hungry man would to a plate of flap jacks. She gamboled off. He followed her and rubbed against her side. He’d smell her tail and she would prance away again.

“What in the world are they doing?” Kaylee wondered.

“I have no idea,” Jessie replied.”

“You live in the country,” Kaylee said. “Your mom’s a veterinarian. I thought you knew about animals.”

“Mom is a veterinarian,” Jessie agreed, “ ... but I lived in Denver and Pittsburgh most of my life. I know nothing about goat behavior ... other than what they are doing seems weird.”

“Not so weird,” someone said. The girls turned to find the two guys from the next campsite. They two were just as studly looking close up as they were from a distance. They were wearing shorts and sandals and nothing more. Their muscular chests and arms were on display for the world to see. They appeared to be about eighteen to twenty.

“I’m Mike Johnson,” the one guy said.

“Wendell Masters,” the second replied. The girls introduced themselves to the boys.

“Young girls like you shouldn’t be watching what is about to happen,” Mike commented after introductions were complete. As if on cue, the billy mounted the nanny. The foursome could clearly see the billy spear the nanny with his prick and rut in and out for about fifteen or twenty seconds. The nanny scooted away from the billy when he was done.

“Ahh ... that explains the weird behavior,” Jessie said. “The female is in heat. They’re horny.”

“I hope that display didn’t shock your young minds,” Mike said.

“We are not that young,” Kaylee insisted. “How old do you think we are?”

“Um ... maybe you’re finishing middle school?” Mike offered.

“They are older than that,” Wendell insisted. “High school ... what grade are you girls in?”

“Tenth grade,” Jessie replied.

“That makes you what? Sixteen?” Mike asked.

“Yeah, that’s right,” Kaylee agreed. Jessie shot her friend a questioning look. Kaylee was a few weeks older than Jessie and she wasn’t fifteen and a half yet, much less sixteen. The two guys exchanged smiles. Their plan was possible.

Sixteen-year-olds were old enough to fuck. Mike and Wendell had argued briefly on the way to the bear pole whether the two hot girls would be too young for sex that evening. If they were fourteen, the boys could be charged with sexual assault in Colorado. They were more than four years older than fourteen-year-olds. The state’s age of consent was seventeen, but the state had a close-in-age exception. You could do girls under fifteen if you were no more than four years older than the girls. Girls between fifteen and seventeen were legal to fuck if you were less than ten years older. The legal hurdle overcome; the boys just needed to put their seduction plan into action.

The billy goat helped set the mood. He caught and mated with the nanny again. Seduction might not be a difficult feat to accomplish. Kaylee was dumped by her boyfriend near the end of the school year. She and Tyler had sex enough that Kaylee was missing riding a boy’s pole. Jessie felt equally deprived. She hadn’t had sex in over three weeks, the longest deprivation since Adam popped her cherry last March. These two studs might ease the itch they both had.

“You girls local?” Mike asked.

“Denver,” Kaylee answered.

“Mostly,” Jessie added. “I was born in Pennsylvania but moved here full-time when I was two. I grew up in Lone Tree, on the edge of Denver. My dad took a job in Pennsylvania, so we are back there again. Still, I will always feel like a Coloradan. How about you guys?”

“Broomfield,” Mike answered.

“Fort Collins when I was little,” Wendell added. “We moved to Aurora when I was ten.”

“I am guessing – you are college not high school, right?” Kaylee asked.

“Wendell and I are starting at CU in a few weeks,” Mike said. “This trip is so we can get to know each other before school starts.”

“That cool,” Jessie said. “CU? You mean Colorado University?”

“Where else?” Wendell asked.

Kaylee smiled at the news. They were studs – check; friendly – check, couple years ahead of them in school – acceptable. One of these guys would do just fine. What would be wrong with a backcountry romance?

Jessie and Kaylee took the pole and started to hoist their bear pack up to the top of the tall pole. Wendell and Mike got close and helped steady their staff as they raised the bag. Wendell took the pole and hoisted the boys’ bear bag, a draw string cloth bag with their food and other bear attractants. He did it easily without need for help.