Chapter 10

George looked around the table at Sally, Tammy and Karl wondering just what he was getting himself into. He'd just agreed to help fix this place up but really didn't know what 'This Place' really was. After taking a sip of his coffee to give himself time to gather his thoughts he looked over at Karl and said, "Just what is this place?"

Sally nodded indicating she was wondering that too. "Why are you here?" she asked.

While Sally was asking her question, Tammy had gotten up to retrieve some cookies putting them on a plate in the center of the table. Picking one cookie up and before she proceeded to munch on on it she laughed a little then said, "It's quite a story."

"Three years ago, this cabin was more or less a barren shack," Karl began. "Sort of a building lost in time. An empty hunting shack. All that was inside here was a wood stove for heat and cooking plus a couple of bunk beds to sleep on. That was just about it. That's how I was back then too, an empty shell. And I was just as lost.

"My Grandfather was a little disappointed I'd not started on with my life after graduating from college. I will admit I was floundering. Just before he died he told me that this place was going to be my trial by fire. You know. The sink or swim time of my life.

"I knew he was fairly well off and I was his only heir. We'd spent a lot of time up here while I was growing up, hunting, fishing and just wandering the woods as he taught me about the forest.

"He'd been a Forest Ranger and encouraged me toward that field. I'd always loved being up here and during my stays with him I'd learned a lot about trees and forestry. It seemed a natural for me and that's why I took that as a major in college.

"So, anyway, he told me that if I lived here on my own for five years, all this and most of his estate would be mine.

"There were lots of stipulations, the main one was that I had to live here. If I left for any reason I'd lose it all. Living here wasn't the real challenge. The real challenge was 'living' here," he laughed.

"I mean, I've always liked this place and the challenge was not physically being here. My challenge was to organize myself so that I could live ... exist. I was going to be totally responsible for myself and actually staying alive was the challenge.

"Like I said, live.

"At first it was real tough until I got the hang of it. I get supplies delivered every week that I ordered the previous week. If I run out of something it takes two weeks to get it. That was the sink of swim part of it.

"So anyway, since the first winter, where I almost froze to death, I've learned a lot and made this place comfortable for myself. Now with Tammy here, I've got to make some improvements and your extra hands will help.

"How big it this place," George asked.

"Five hundred acres," Karl told him. "Plus it has a nice stream running through it. There's a small lake too and a good piece of the side of a mountain. At my last count, about a hundred deer use my meadow on a regular basis."

"Lake?" both Sally and George queried in unison.

Karl laughed and then explained. "It's more like a small meadow a little steam ran through that a couple of Beavers decided would be a great home. It serves a great purpose because it's a great hatchery. My grandfather stocked it with Trout and Pickerel many years ago and nature has been holding the balance since then. Once the fish are large enough they can get over or around the Beaver dam and into the stream.

"I know that upstream and downstream from here, many an angler has appreciated the fish spawned here without knowing where they came from. But I'm the only one who has the privilege of fishing in their home ground." Then Karl laughed, "Well, me and my guests, that is."

"How about a tour?" Tammy suggested.

"Well, to really get into the back woods we'd all need heavy work clothes to thwart the sticker bushes. Tammy found out about them when she arrived here. That's what she ran thought to get to the meadow," Karl said.

"Yeah," Tammy admitted. "That's why I'm all a bunch of scratches and my clothes were really torn up."

"But there is another way to get up to the lake," Karl commented. "If we walk to the stream and then up it a little ways we can get to the lake. That path avoids the underbrush. Needless to say, we'll go that way."

As they headed out the door, Karl asked the group if they'd like fresh fish for dinner. "We could catch a few up at the lake," he suggested as he headed over to the little tool shed behind the shack. Pulling out a fishing rod with a green lure already attached he said, "This should do the trick. They bite on anything that moves up there."

Tammy added, "We have plenty of frozen vegetables so we can figure out that part of the meal when we get back."

Karl reached into the shed as an after thought. Picking up a small bucket, sort of thinking out loud he said, "We can use this to carry the fish back." When George offered to carry it, Karl smiled and said, "Cool," as he handed the bucket to him.

As the group moved toward the beach Karl laughed. "We never got to take back our lunch basket."

"Yeah," Tammy added, "Something interrupted us."

"Like us?" Sally asked.

"Nope. A police helicopter," Tammy said.

"Yeah, we were down on the beach having dessert," Karl interjected with a laugh.

First it was Tammy that responded with a "KARL!!!" Sally and George looked at each other and then at Tammy who by then was a deep crimson. "Private joke," said Karl.

"Oh?" said Sally. "I can guess what that means."

Tammy let out a little squeak and if it was possible, got even redder.

"We'd gone for a swim and then had lunch. And well, afterward, we got a little friendly," George admitted. "That's when the Police Helicopter arrived."

"With my mom and dad in it along with two Police Officers. It was so embarrassing. We were both naked as J-Birds," Tammy added.

"We were really into it and didn't hear them coming. I'm not sure what we'd been able to do anyway. The Cops got upset when Tammy ran into the house," Karl said.

"Yeah. They almost shot you!" Tammy told the group.

Kissing her, Karl continued, "But you saved me.

"She moved between the Police Sergeant who by then had his hand on his gun. He kept telling me to get away from Tammy. They thought I was keeping her captive."