Chapter 27: Slow - Emergency Vehicle Access

Since there were four women and a telephone in the cabin, I should have expected what happened later, but I didn’t. However, in a short time I was looking at a yard full of cars and people, all of them concerned about us in some way. The RCMP officers had packed up and left, but they must have met the incoming traffic on the road.

Mom, Dad and Wil were the first arrivals, but I’d rather expected them to be there. When John and Wilma Coulter showed up, I wasn’t really surprised. Even having Frank Dolens and his son, Jerry show up with their tow truck to take the car back to town was reasonable, but having Sam and Ann McAdam show up and bring Sandy along, literally floored me. Of course, since her sisters had spent the night, I suppose it was something I should have expected.

Somehow, with Sandy, Carissa and Wil all in the same group, I expected that there would be fireworks of some sort, but in actual fact everyone seemed quite calm and even friendly. I think it was Beth who managed to keep the peace, but perhaps it was Jessica and Jean. Actually they probably weren’t together that long before we broke into groups, the women going one way and the men another. And, to be honest, I wasn’t able to spend enough time with the women to be able to judge if there was any animosity between them.

Actually, since it was the first time Frank and Jerry Dolens or Sam McAdam had ever been at the ranch, I felt that I had to give them the two-bit tour of the place. John Coulter, Dad and Wil all tagged along. Of course the first place we had to stop was the hog pen and I had to tell everyone about the sight of Ray and Sid sitting on the peak of the gable roof.

“Did the cops tell you that the nurses at the hospital had to take cedar slivers out of those two idiot’s asses?” Sam McAdam laughed as he looked up at the old split cedar shakes on the roof. “Both of them must have slid around up there on their butts and didn’t realise what the slivers would do.”

Of course that drew laughter from everyone. All of us knew that a cedar sliver hurt like blazes and that the poisons in the wood would cause a wound made by a cedar sliver to fester quickly.

“Actually I was wondering more about the wound on Ray’s leg,” I said when I’d had a chuckle at the idea of the cedar slivers. “A wound of any sort from a pig’s tusk can get infected pretty badly.”

“Well, the hospital cleaned it up and gave him a couple of needles for it. The doctor didn’t think it was a bite, more of a scratch. He gave Ray a tetanus shot in the wound and some sort of antibiotic though, just in case,” Sam answered. “You can ask Sandy about it. She was on duty last night. She thought it was funny as hell, until she found out the two little bastards were out here. I’m not sure what she’d have done if she’d known her sisters were here at the time.”

“Oh, did she think they were down at the farm?” Dad frowned.

“Yeah, it wasn’t until she got home that she realised they were up here last night. When her mom told her that, she got all worried and insisted that we take the time off work to come out and see that they were okay,” Sam shook his head, then looked at me strangely. “To be honest, I think she was a little worried about you as well.”

“Me? I thought she was mad at me.”

“Not so’s you’d notice it,” Sam shook his head. “Oh, I admit, she was pissed at you at one time. I’m fairly sure she’s changed her mind though, but don’t ask me what her reasons are. She’s a woman and I don’t think their heads work the same way yours or mine do.”

There wasn’t much I could say to that, all I could do was shrug and try to steer the conversation to safer ground. At that point I was feeling tired and not thinking too clearly, but that was because I’d only gotten a few hours sleep the night before. So right then, I didn’t want to have to think about anything complicated. Instead of worrying about anything like that, I did my best to change the subject, but in actual fact, it did worry me. Even then I had a feeling that Sandy’s continued interest in me might cause problems for Carissa and me at some time in the future.

Dad came to my rescue then, asking questions about the new cattle. That meant I could steer everyone’s steps out toward the pasture, detouring past the barn so I could let the dogs out. For a short time, we wandered around as a group, everyone asking questions and getting filled in on the happenings up there at the ranch. Then, while we were standing at the gate to the pasture and looking out at the cattle, Mom called me, so I headed back to the cabin to find out what she wanted. Jerry Dolens and Wil walked along with me part of the way, then went to tow the stolen car out of the bush where it had been hidden. Meanwhile the older men walked out into the pasture to check on the Polled Shorthorn cattle that Dad had convinced me to buy.

As I approached the cabin, Mom, Wilma Coulter and Ann McAdam came toward me and Mom gestured toward the vegetable garden.

“Ann wants to have a talk with the three of us,” Mom said to me with a slight shrug of her shoulders.

I looked at her and frowned. “What’s going on? Is this serious?”

“It might be,” Mrs. Coulter smiled. “And then again, it might be no problem at all. This is more about personalities than anything else. It does involve you, somewhat heavily.”

“Don’t scare him, Wilma. Nothing has been decided yet,” Ann McAdam frowned at her, then sighed softly. “Let’s sit down over there in the shade and I’ll explain things to everyone.”

I felt a bit weird about this whole deal, but at that moment I was more curious than anything. At the same time I had a feeling that there was an almost palpable tension in the air and although it was between the women, they were getting me involved. For some reason, Mom and Mrs. Coulter seemed to be distancing themselves from Mrs. McAdam, yet something about their attitudes made me feel that I was under a microscope.

As I sat down on an old log, the whole scenario worried me, but I couldn’t explain why. When Mom sat down on my right and Wilma Coulter sat on my left, my tensions increased because I realized that they were probably almost in the dark about what was going on as I was. Ann McAdam was facing the three of us and she looked slightly uncomfortable as her gaze wandered over our faces.

“First I should explain that this whole thing is Sam and his brother’s idea. It’s not mine, but I’m the one they’ve asked to talk to you about it,” she sighed. “Chris, I understand you are planning to attend the Technical school in Calgary in the fall, is that right?”

“Yeah, that was the plan,” I nodded.

“And I understand you don’t have a place to stay yet, do you?”

“He might be able to stay with his cousins, but I doubt if he’d be happy there and it means a drive of at least ten or twelve miles to go to class each day,” Mom answered. “We were looking for something closer, but it seems we should have started looking earlier, most of the closer places are either already taken or else far too expensive.”

“Carissa has the same problem, and on top of that, I think the two of them really have their hearts set on living close to each other,” Wilma Coulter offered. “What about Sandy? I thought she was going into nursing as well?”

“That’s the whole thing in a nutshell,” Mrs. McAdam nodded. “My brother-in-law is a real estate agent and he owns a duplex that he usually rents out to students from the Tech and the University. He keeps the place up himself and it’s fully furnished, ready for students to move in. We were thinking of renting one side as a place for Sandy, but we need at least one more tenant for it to be practical. Actually two or three more students would be even better.”

“Whoa,” Mom said in astonishment. “You want Carissa and Chris to move into one side of a duplex with Sandy?”

“I’m surprised, but I think it would work,” Wilma Coulter nodded her head, astonishing both Mom and me. “I certainly don’t feel comfortable about the idea, but I can see how it might work out quite well.”

“I don’t see that,” I disagreed. “First off, I dated Sandy, remember, and we didn’t exactly hit it off. Secondly, I don’t think Carissa and Sandy are exactly the best of friends. The tensions between the three of us are pretty high. I think throwing us together in one place would lead to a lot of arguments and maybe even fights.”

“Hey, wait a minute,” Ann McAdam laughed. “I wasn’t suggesting that Chris move in with the girls. It’s a duplex, remember. My brother-in-law, Bill, usually reserves one side for guys and the other side for girls. He doesn’t often allow mixed couples because he’s found that too many of the young couples split up under the pressures of going to University or technical school. He usually plans to accommodate four people on each side of the duplex, but he doesn’t mind if there are fewer, just as long as the rent is paid. There is one bedroom free on the guys’ side and I thought Chris might take that. Whether he looked for a roommate or not is up to him. The other side is completely open at the moment, so I thought Sandy and Carissa could take that. Since they’re going into the nursing program, I thought they could each take one of the bedrooms and select a roommate.”

“Well, that sounds better,” Mom laughed softly. “However, I’m not even certain if I’m in favour of the idea of them living that close without any family nearby.”

“Oh come now, Liz,” Wilma Coulter chuckled. “As far as your son and my daughter are concerned, they’re practically a couple as it is. After all, they’ve lived together all summer. Having them live in two separate homes is a lot less open to the gossip brigade.”

“My arguments still hold true,” I said, holding up my hand to stop Mom and Wilma from arguing. “I doubt if Carissa and Sandy would be the best roommates for each other.”

“Actually, I think it would be best is they were both here and involved in this discussion,” Mom suggested with a glance at me.

“Yeah, I’ll go get them,” I said hopping to my feet and hurrying off before anyone could stop me.

Carissa and Sandy were standing in the kitchen of the cabin when I got there.

Both of them were standing straight and as tall as they could with their shoulders thrown back and their hands at their sides. Both of their faces wore an expression of determination, but not real anger. From the looks on their faces and the tension in their bodies, I thought a war was about to break out. Yet, I’d never seen either one of them look sexier.

“Hey guys,” I said, deciding in an instant to try to ease the tension. “Where are Beth and the others?”

“Gone to see the horses,” Carissa snapped. “But, before you run off, we need to talk to you. Did Sandy’s mom explain the lame brain scheme that Sam and his brother have come up with?”

“About renting the duplex? That’s why I’m here, our mom’s want to have us involved in this discussion.”

“What discussion?” Sandy snapped. “You mean she was already talking to your moms about that? Dammit, she’s gone too far this time. I was supposed to get it settled with you guys first.”

She spun on her heel and ran out the door, leaving Carissa and I staring at each other. Both of us were left with our mouths wide open, then we both started to laugh as we thought about the situation.

“Parents!” Carissa snorted.

“Yeah!” I laughed. “As if we need this today when neither of us got much sleep last night.”

“Well, they did get things part way right,” she grinned and hugged me. “At least we’d be living next door to each other instead of miles apart.”

“I’d rather have an apartment where I could live with you, thanks,” I grinned. “But, I doubt if that will happen.”

“I don’t know,” she got a crafty look in her eye. “I just thought of a way this might work out okay, but the two of us would have to put up with Sandy being around all the time and sleeping in the next bedroom.”

“What?” I stared at her.

“Look at it this way, what if we did agree to their plan at first, but when we got to Calgary, we shuffled things around a bit.”

“Maybe I’m slow this morning, but I don’t understand. You’ll have to explain.”

“Okay, there are several ways this could work,” she grinned. “The most likely way would be to move in the way they suggested, then look for roommates. However, instead of looking for one guy, you just happen to find two and instead of two girls, Sandy and I find only one. That way you could move in with us and share a bedroom with me, then things would still work out.”

“You want me to live in a two-bedroom duplex with you and two other women? You’ve got to be kidding! I’d go nuts in a week,” I shook my head.

“Oh, you’re tougher than that,” she grinned at me. “Besides, we’d be together and that would balance out a lot of other things.”

“Huh, I’d never be able to use the bathroom. And on top of that, we’d still be living in the same house with Sandy.”

“Oh Sandy isn’t all that bad,” she laughed. “In fact, I think the two of you still have a bit of a crush on each other, so I’m happy she wasn’t more experienced when you guys were together. If she had been, I doubt if we’d have ended up as a couple.”

“So, even though you think we have a crush on each other, you’d be willing to have the three of us live together?” I stared at her in astonishment.

“Well, yes. I’d rather have that than have you living miles away from me,” she smiled. “I happen to like sleeping in the same bed with you almost every night.”

“Yeah, but...”

“Oh, I can’t see it happening, not really,” she sighed. “I don’t think even Sandy would go along with it, let alone your mom and mine. I think Sam McAdam has talked his brother Bill into the idea somehow, probably because he likes you so much.”

“Sam likes me?” I asked in astonishment.

“Oh yeah!” she laughed. “He idolizes your dad. Well actually, I think he idolizes both of your parents for some reason, but mostly your dad, and I’m fairly certain he thinks you’re a chip off the old block.”

“Yeah, well that’s neither here nor there,” I sighed, waving a hand in dismissal. “I’m also the guy who told him that he was raising his daughter in a way that was almost guaranteed to turn her into a slut.”

“I think he respects you all the more for that,” she giggled. “Actually, I’d have loved to have been hiding in the bushes so I could have seen that. You hobbling around in your casts and him charging out to beat you up for bringing his daughter home in tears, then having you chew him out for poor parenting.”

“Well, it wasn’t exactly fun for me,” I snapped.

“Hey, it was needed,” she grabbed me and kissed the tip of my nose, then pulled back to stare into my eyes. “Sandy was just telling me that she wishes she could turn back the clock and have that night all over. She’s changed a lot since she’s had some good advice about guys and dating.”

“Now that scares me,” I sighed.

“Why?”

“Because I think that means she still wants to have sex with me,” I answered honestly.

“Oh yeah, I’m almost certain it does. So, you and I will either have to convince her that she had her chance and blew it or else give in to the inevitable,” she sighed, then grinned. “It might be easier to just find a way to get rid of that cherry she’s so worried about losing. However, I think that means we’d have to find her a boyfriend, since I’d rather you were no longer in the picture.”

“Well, whatever you say, but I think we should go talk to our mothers about this duplex thing right now,” I frowned at her because of some of the implications of what she’d said.

“I’d like to talk to Sandy first, just the three of us.”

“Why?”

“Because if it seemed that all of us went along with the idea, but did it rather begrudgingly, our folks might just go for it,” she sighed, frowning at me. “If we did it right, Sandra’s folks would think that she’d be close by and might have a chance to get back together with you. Meanwhile, our folks would look on her as a chaperone of sorts, someone who would keep us from getting too wildly involved.”

“Oh come on,” I snorted. “Your mom just told mine that she already thought of us as a couple.”

“That’s encouraging,” she kissed me lightly. “By the way, how do you think of us?”

“Most of the time I just accept you as my gal,” I admitted, then wrapped my arms around her. “So in a way, I guess that means I think of us as a couple, but then I think about the idea that you’re older than I am and I get a bit worried about us being together.”

“Don’t worry about that,” she grinned, hugging me tightly. “Most of the time you make me feel like I’m the kid. You have to be the most grown up sixteen year old there ever was.”

“Yeah, but I still make mistakes, big ones,” I hugged her back.

“Since when did age make a difference about making mistakes?” she broke into laughter.

“Well, as a person gets more experience...”

“Do you know what Grampa Bender said about experience when I was talking to him the other day? He said experience is gained by making mistakes and learning from them, nothing else. Oh, he did add to that though, saying that some people only had experience at making the same mistakes over and over all their lives, but you sure don’t fit in that class,” she pushed away from me, then grabbing my hand and heading for the door. “Let’s go see if we can get Sandy away from all of our mothers before she completely blows off the idea of renting that duplex.”

We hurried outside, but Sandy wasn’t with our mothers.

“Where’s Sandy?” Carissa asked.

“She’s being a little bitch,” her mother frowned at us. “I don’t think she wants to live with the two of you being all that close.”

“The problem is the fact that we’re together,” Carissa sighed. “I think it’s really me that she’s annoyed with. We should talk to her I guess.”

“She went off toward the creek,” her mother waved that direction, then bowed her head. “Right now she seems angry about everything, but mostly me.”

“Okay, I guess we’d better go look for her,” I shrugged my shoulders. “I take it then that the duplex idea is out the window?”

“We’re still discussing it, but I think it might be up to the three of you,” Mrs. Coulter smiled and managed a bit of a wink at Carissa and me. “It’s too bad that Sandy doesn’t have a boyfriend too. Then the four of you could rent a two-bedroom place together.”

“Wilma, what are you thinking?” Ann McAdam lifted her head and stared at her. “Are you suggesting that my daughter live in sin like...”

Mrs. McAdam paused at that as if she realized what she was about to say and I could feel Carissa tense up to respond, so I grabbed her hand in mine, dragging her away.

“Don’t you dare say a thing,” I growled in a whisper only Carissa could hear. “Let our mothers handle that one.”

Carissa marched at my side for a moment until we were forced to dodge through the trees on our way toward the creek so that we were out of sight of our mothers. Then she came to a halt and turned to me.

“Oh man,” she sighed deeply. “I guess I should thank you for pulling me away, but right then I wanted to slap that silly woman’s face.”

“Why? She didn’t actually say a thing about us,” I grinned, trying to calm her down. “Does what people say about us really bother you that much?”

“Yeah, it does,” Carissa sighed deeply. “I know I’m the one who came to you and started this, but Mom was telling me that the rumours flying around town have been wicked. Don’t they bother you at all?”

“No, not really,” I smiled at her. “I don’t mind the rumours that are based strongly on the truth. Actually, I’m sort of proud about some of those. Of course I assume the false ones are coming from people who are jealous or just plain vindictive about what we have going for us, so they don’t bother me either. Neither type means a darn thing to me. In fact, I find some of them quite humorous.”

Carissa’s face went from anger, to a grin in a few seconds, then she giggled. “I guess if you look at it that way, it is sort of funny, isn’t it?”

“Yep,” I grinned. “Most rumours come from liars and two faced idiots, so I just do my best to ignore them, unless they’re outright lies. Then I stand up and sound off. Like that time with the pictures. That was a twisted fact and a lie that would have become a horrible rumour, but in a way it’s sort of funny now.”

That made her grin and giggle again.

“What’s so damn funny?” Sandy said as she stepped out from behind a bush.

“Oh, we were just talking about rumours,” I grinned at her. “It seems the rumour mill in town is chewing on Carissa and me again.”

“Not just you.”Sandy’s eyes showed tears. “There are a few floating around about me as well.”

“Actually, I like Chris’s idea about that,” Carissa grinned. “He considers the rumours on merit. He likes the ones that are close to the truth because it’s like people were bragging for us. He laughs at the others because he thinks they come from people who are jealous of the truth and they’re just showing their envy.”

“Well, I’m not so sure I like the ones that I’ve heard about me that come close to the truth,” Sandy complained. “I did some pretty stupid things.”

“Like what?” I asked bluntly.

“Huh, I told someone I thought was a friend about that night when I came onto you so strongly and she blabbed the story all over town.”