Chapter 17: Caution - Heavy Cross Traffic Ahead

I did manage to fall asleep, but I don’t think I slept for very long before I was awakened by a sound from old Duke. As I awoke fully, I heard a sharp yip and then a scratching sound, followed by Duke’s claws clicking on the floor as he walked around.

Carissa moaned softly then and shifted, then sat up with a deep sigh.

“Duke, shut up!” she snapped in a stage whisper.

“He wants out,” I whispered. “I’ll have to get up and open the door for him.”

“Can I do it?”

“I think I should,” I sighed deeply, easing Corinna’s head off my shoulder, then sitting up myself. “I think the pup’s mama may have come back and wants him with her, not in here.”

“You’ve got to be kidding!”

“No, first that thing with the wolves and coyotes was strange, then to have Duke bring in the pup is completely unreal. In a way it’s so unnatural that it would almost make a strange sort of sense if his mama came back to claim the pup.”

“Well, can I come see what’s going on?”

“Sure. Why not?”

We eased out of bed and I yanked on my jeans again while Carissa grabbed her robe. Then we tiptoed across the room, using the moonlight shining in the windows to guide us. Duke was already at the front door of the cabin with the little pup between his front legs. When I cracked the door open, he snatched up the pup, then bolted out and away as if his tail was on fire. He only went perhaps two hundred yards from the cabin, moving toward a small stand of birch trees near the creek, then it looked like he set the pup on the ground and backed away a few steps. To my surprise he lay down after that, almost as if he was waiting to be certain something was going to happen.

“What do you think he’s doing?” Carissa whispered.

“I haven’t a clue. I’ve never seen anything like this,” I managed a weak chuckle. “Normally, a Border Collie would kill a coyote pup because they’ve been raised to consider coyotes a threat. Right now I’m questioning whether there is a coyote or not.”

“I thought you said it was, well half coyote anyway?”

“I could be wrong. Who knows? Right now I want to try to see whatever is hiding out there, then maybe I can guess what’s going on. I’m going to stand here as still as I can and as quietly as I’m able, maybe I can see or hear something.”

Carissa snuggled over against me and I wrapped an arm around her shoulders as if protecting her, then we waited. We couldn’t really see very well, even in the bright moonlight, but after a moment I did see a slight movement in the shadows under the birches. After a moment or two I heard the little pup whimper. I felt Carissa perk up, so I knew she heard it as well. Almost at once there was one quick bark, almost a yip and the pup moved toward the thin trees.

“Damn,” I murmured softly. “His mama is calling him.”

“Him?”

“Unh huh, the pup was a male, about five weeks old or so, I’d say,” I whispered.

The stealthy figure under the trees moved again; it was almost at the edge of the shadows from the trees, then it paused. Old Duke seemed to realise that he might be too close and he tried to slither backward. His efforts almost made me laugh because he made such rough work of moving backward without standing, but I managed to hold off my chuckles. Instead I concentrated on that slim shadow although I could barely distinguish it from the dappled darkness under the trees.

Had it moved again? I couldn’t really tell because even in the calm of the night there was a slight breeze. As the breeze sifted through the birches, it stirred the leaves slightly, constantly changing the dappled shadows that fell on the lower growth near the base of the trees. Those shifting shadows disguised any motion the partially hidden canine bitch might have made. Whether it was a coyote or a stray dog gone wild, I couldn’t tell, not unless I saw more of it’s shape and size.

I found I was holding my breath and realised Carissa was as tense as me; her body pressed tightly against mine and she seemed to quiver in anticipation.

Another short yapping bark and the pup lifted up, toddled forward, his dark shape barely visible in the grass. He disappeared into the shadow, drawing a sigh from both Carissa and me. Since there was still movement under the trees, I tightened my arm around Carissa’s shoulder, willing her to be quiet and remain still. A long moment passed, then another, but since Duke hadn’t moved, we didn’t stir.

A ghostly shadow shifted under the trees and I could see a form, a shape, still indistinct, but not truly the shape of a coyote. It was shorter and heavier somehow, not lean and lanky like a coyote. It slowly withdrew into deeper shade, then seemed to disappear.

“Did you see anything?” Carissa whispered.

“Just the shape, but it didn’t look like a coyote,” I answered just as quietly. “I think we’ve seen all there is to see though.”

I gestured toward the old dog as he slowly stood and turned back toward us. Perhaps I was imagining it, but the way he walked it seemed to me that he had a slight prance to his step, almost as if he was proud of what he’d accomplished. I

“Look at that old bugger,” I chortled. “He seems happy with himself.”

“Maybe he just doesn’t like babysitting?” Carissa snickered.

“Hmmph, maybe,” I snorted, watching as Duke came up the steps, but didn’t come to us, instead he circled, then lay on the porch deck.”It looks like he wants to stay outside tonight.”

“Perhaps he feels that he might be needed again and wants to be available, not locked inside?”

“Yeah, maybe, but I think we should get to bed.”

“Umm, I guess, but I was thinking, if Corinna did pee the bed, shouldn’t we get the sheets off the mattress and let it air out? Other wise it will stink to high heaven tomorrow.”

“It’s a little late for that, isn’t it?”

“Well, better late than never,” she pulled away from me and walked toward the back porch.

I followed and was with her as she ran her hand between the tousled sheets. Then she snorted. “I think Corinna fibbed so she could sleep with us. If she peed, it sure wasn’t while she was in bed.”

“Well, she might have just needed company. After all, she was awfully wound up yesterday,” I excused her.

“That’s all you have to say about it! You don’t mind?”

“She didn’t do any harm, so what’s to be upset about? Lots of folks have a hard time asking for a snuggle.”

There was enough light from the moonlight reflecting in the windows that I could make out her head as she shook it slightly, then she moved closer and ran her arms up mine.

“You are something else,” she sighed as she pressed against me gently.

“What?” I asked, hugging her gently.

“Oh, you just seem to understand so much about people’s emotions.”

“Only sometimes,” I snorted.

“Oh shut up and kiss me,” she lifted her face toward mine.

One kiss led to another, then that led to a bit of petting. Things escalated from there. We decided that since Corinna hadn’t actually messed up the bed, we didn’t need to go back to the other room. Unfortunately that old roll away folding bed wasn’t really made for lovemaking, but we made do, even though it squeaked and complained about our activities.

Afterward I was worn out and didn’t want to move. Carissa complained that the narrow bed was too small though and finally she simply kissed me goodnight, then left me there.

I was shocked awake in the morning by Dad’s baritone chuckle and a snicker from another male voice. As I sat up, I realised that my pants were laying beside the bed and although I couldn’t see them from the bed, my gaunches must have been there too. I was naked under the covers.

“What’s up, Dad?” I managed to mumble. “What are you doing here?”

“Well, to be honest, I’m not sure, not now,” he grinned. “Your mother and I brought the Coulters up here to find their wayward daughters and we expected ... well, I’m not sure what we expected. I know that no one guessed that we’d find the front door wide open and you snoring in the back porch. Where are the twins?”

“In the big bed in the bedroom, I guess,” I was waking up rapidly and reached out to grab my jeans and my gaunches. “We had a hell of a night, what with wolves and coyotes howling. Then Duke brought in a darn pup of some sort. Later he woke me by barking and wanting to take it back outside. Carissa woke up then, but I think Corinna slept through that. Personally, I think I was awake half the night.”

“I see, well, get your pants on. You’ve got company. You might knock on the girls’ door and wake them too,” he backed out the door, closing it softly behind him.

“Great,” I sighed, swinging my feet to the floor and pulling on my jeans.

Barefoot and shirtless, I walked out into the main room, readying myself to face the music, only to find it empty and the front door closed. I could just see Dad through the curtains on one window, he was gesturing at something he was pointing out to Mr. and Mrs. Coulter, then I could hear them all laughing.

Knowing I was going to need a cup of coffee to wake up, I threw the teakettle on the coal-oil stove and lit it. After that I tapped lightly on the bedroom door before slipping inside to grab my shirt and my shoe. Both of the girls were laying tight together, sound asleep, with their arms around each other. I shook Carissa’s shoulder.

“Hey. Wake up. Your folks are here. So are mine. They think you two slept in here and I spent the whole night in the other room, okay?”

“You did, most of it anyway, dammit!” Corinna answered while Carissa just grinned at me, then winked broadly.

I just raised my hands as if in surrender and backed out the door, closing it behind me. Corinna believed I’d snuck away and Carissa knew enough not to say anything, but I was going to have to skirt carefully around the truth as I talked with our parents. I was certain we’d all be in one kind of trouble or another if they knew I’d spent even ten minutes in bed with both girls, especially since everyone was nude. As I stepped outside, I postponed the talk with them for a moment or two by calling out a good morning, then running around the cabin toward the outdoor biff. I could hear Mom and Dad laugh, then the Coulters politely join them. When I walked back toward the cabin afterward, Dad winked at me and Mom grinned, so I knew I wasn’t in deep trouble, at least not yet.

“Hi everyone. So, what do we owe the honour of this visit?” I decided to dive right into the trouble zone.

“Oh Cris. Do the math, one teenage guy, two teenage girls, all alone in an isolated cabin, what do you suppose we expected?” Mom said sharply.

“Well, we certainly didn’t expect to find him snoring loudly in one room and the girls asleep in the other,” Dad laughed loudly, more at her than anything else. “As well as that we certainly didn’t expect to find everyone asleep at ten in the morning, especially not you.”

“Ohhh,” I groaned. “I was awake most of the darn night. Between the girls yammering and talking for hours, then the wolves, coyotes and the dumb dog howling, barking and mucking around with pups, I had an awful night. That reminds me, I’ve got to let out the young stock and the chickens. I locked them all in last night.”

“You haven’t had your coffee yet, son,” Dad rested a hand on my shoulder for a second. “I’ll get John to give me a hand and we’ll do that for you.”

I protested, but Dad won the discussion, which left me facing Mom and Mrs. Coulter.

“How is Corinna?” Mom asked blankly.

“P’d off with Wil!” I snapped. “I don’t know exactly what he did, but he sure punched all of her buttons.”

“You must know something, don’t you?”

“Not much that makes sense to me,” I sighed. “Can we go sit down, for some reason my leg’s hurting?”

“Could you lean on the Jeep, Chris? We wanted to find out what you knew before we talked to the girls,” Mom suggested.

“I don’t really know much, Mom. Didn’t you talk to Wil?”

“He was drunk when we got home last night and wouldn’t say anything this morning. Then he insisted on going out on the tractor with the cultivator. All we know is he and Corinna had a fight. Afterward, she walked off in a huff, then had Tom come and get her, but she didn’t go home. Since we knew you and Carissa were here, we thought we’d check with you.”

“Well, that’s about all I know,” I shrugged. “Oh, Corinna did say something about Wil being jealous of me, but I think that was sort of a side bar to their fight.”

“Well, everyone knows he thinks you outshine him, so he may be slightly jealous, but that’s neither here nor there. We’d like to have an idea what they fought over to see if we can help to patch things up between them.”

I just threw my hands in the air, deciding that whatever Corinna had said last night was her business. If she wanted to tell Mrs. Coulter or Mom that was up to her. I was saved from saying much more though. Carissa came to the doorway of the cabin, shouting good morning and saying that the coffee was ready. That was the best news I’d heard all morning.

Ten minutes later, I was sitting on the front porch, sipping a coffee and eating a breakfast of eggs and bacon when Dad and John Coulter came back from letting the animals out. They went inside to get coffee, then came out to sit with me.

“The place is looking good, Chris,” Dad said, sounding proud of me. “You haven’t exactly been fooling around have you?”

“I’ve had a lot of help.”

“That’s possible, Chris, but it takes a good organiser to see what needs to be done immediately and then get his help to see things his way,” Mr. Coulter smiled. “I’m impressed. I’ve had men in their thirties working for me who couldn’t do as well.”

“What does age have to do with anything like that?” I frowned. “So I’m only sixteen, so what? Look at Tom, he’s younger than I am and Mr. Dolens would love to have him come work for him as a mechanic because he’s so darn good. Then there’s George. He could sell darn near anything to darn near anyone. Heck, Mr. Dolens just made an offer to hire both Tom and George to work around his garage.”

“I had heard that offer just might have something to do with the stock car,” Dad laughed.

“It does, but that’s not important,” I shrugged. “I was illustrating a point about guys who grow up on farms. We get to be independent pretty darn early in life, and if we’re given a chance, we usually jump in and do well.”

“Hmm, I suppose,” Dad nodded soberly. “The three of you aren’t exactly comparable to most young men though. Look at Wil; he’s nothing like you three.”

“Oh come on, Dad. Don’t put Wil down, he does darn well and you know it. Look at him right now. He’s come home early because he aced his course at Ag. school. He stepped right in on the farm, doing a darn good job of pulling his weight, and a little bit more. He did it without even taking a break, and that’s after working his butt off all year at school, too. Heck, he just had a bust up with his girlfriend, yet he’s out in the field, driving a tractor like nothing had happened. He may have had a few drinks last night, but he’s out doing a regular job of work today. Shucks, he did better than I did today. I slept in and someone else did my work this morning.”

Dad laughed softly and Mr. Coulter smiled.

“Talking about Wil, what do you know about him and Corinna?” Mr. Coulter asked.

“Not a darn thing. I just know they had a fight and she didn’t want to be home alone last night. Or perhaps she just wanted to be with her twin, I don’t know and it’s not something I plan to pry into. If she wants to tell me, she will, but even then it will be between her and me.”

I suppose I came across as a bit vehement. I know both Dad and Mr. Coulter looked surprised, then got strangely quiet for a few moments. I’d finished my coffee and excused myself to see if there was any more. As I walked in the door, Mom and Carissa were sitting at the table and talking quietly. I wasn’t sure where Corinna and Mrs. Coulter were and I didn’t ask.

“More coffee, Chris?” Carissa asked, getting to her feet.

“I can get it. I didn’t mean to interrupt your conversation.”

“Oh, we were just talking about you,” Mom winked at me. “Weren’t your ears burning?”

“Hah, if that old wives’ tale had any basis in truth, Corinna’s ears would be in flames,” I snorted. “I wish everyone would just give the gal a break.”

“Whoa,” Carissa stepped over to me and gave me a quick hug. “Everyone just wants the best for her. They’re trying to pour oil on troubled waters.”

“Maybe, but you can drown in that kind of crap,” I growled. “It’s her business, let’s just keep our noses out of it until she wants to talk.”

“But, what about Wil?” Mom asked.

“Maybe he should think about what set off her temper, that might be the best thing. As it is, it sounds to me like he was feeling sorry for himself last night, then got drunk because he knew he’d screwed up. Of course I could be wrong, who knows? I haven’t talked to him, face to face, and Corinna hasn’t said anything to me that she didn’t say to Carissa, so I’m as much in the dark about the whole thing as anyone else. On top of that I don’t feel that their fight is any of my damn business, so just leave me out of it.”

Both of them were silent as I finished readying my coffee, then went back outside. At the moment I was grouchy at everyone. Instead of stopping on the front porch and getting into another discussion with Dad and Mr. Coulter, I walked away from the cabin. I just wanted to be alone for a while.

For some reason my steps took me out toward the clump of Birch trees where the pup had disappeared last night. I knew I wasn’t a good enough tracker to be able to follow any tracks that might be there, but for some reason the area seemed to draw me toward it. I was well into the trees before I saw a patch of grass that had been mashed flat by something. Then I noticed the dark brown streaks of dried blood and I began to worry about the mother of the pup. Whatever kind of animal she was, whether dog or coyote, I knew from the blood that she was injured.

Hanging the empty coffee mug on the dead branch of a tree so it hung above the bloody patch, I began to move off in the direction I thought I’d seen her go last night. As I said, I’m not a great tracker, but I’d hunted enough deer to follow a blood trail and she had left a clear one. As she’d moved through the longer grass, the blood had been oozing from her wound and it had marked her path, that is it did if you knew how to see it. The brown of dried blood showed clearly against the green leaves, especially in the morning sunlight.

I lost the trail on the outer edge of the patch of trees, but by then I had an idea of the general direction she was headed. Instead of trying to trail her across the area that Tom had mowed with the tractor, I headed straight for the creek bank. Only a moment later I found an obvious trail made by some animal and only a few feet from its start there was another bloody mark on the weeds that grew there. To make a long story short, inside of only a few minutes I saw a hole dug into the bank under the roots of a willow and guessed that she had dug a den there to have her pups. At the moment there was no sign of either her or the pup, but I made up my mind that I was going to come back and watch for signs of life later, after I had less company to deal with.

By the time I had backtracked and picked up my coffee mug, then had walked back to the cabin, everyone was out at Mr. Coulter’s car. As I walked up, Mom came over to me and gave me a big hug.

“We’re going to go home now,” she said quietly. “And I think you’re right. I think this whole thing is between Corinna and Wil. What happens is up to them.”

“Thanks, Mom,” I hugged her back. “Hey, I forgot to ask, how did Beth make out at the show?”

“She got second place in barrel racing and placed in the top eight in everything else that she entered. She also got an offer from some guy who wants to buy every Appaloosa she has and he’s offering top price.”