Chapter 9

Clean and presentable we got back easily an hour or so before dinner. Rebecca and the farm were fine. She had made soup which was a nice change. I was exhausted and took advantage of the luxury of a late afternoon with no projects started, dinner already made and a beckoning bed to take a nap. I could hear the two of them gossiping like hens, gasps and giggles like high school kids. I still didn't know what to make of their relationship. Rebecca's sometimes outrageous flirting was blatantly obvious as was her mother's disinterest in it. Hanna wasn't touchy feely for the most part in front of her daughter, but maybe that was because Rebecca seemed to match her mother kiss for kiss. At least in public. I suspected she knew exactly what her mother and I did in private ... But, well ... I didn't know what to do and it probably wasn't up to me to decide. I went to sleep instead.

Sitting by the fire that night after dinner I thought it was about to come to a head. They had been snapping at each other constantly. Hanna, sitting next to me shifted a bit, her knee coming into contact with mine. Rebecca saw it and got up.

"Good night you two" she said, a bit huffy and stilted. She started for their tent.

I was surprised. 'What no hug and kiss goodnight?"

She looked down at the two of us with ice daggers in her eyes. I stood up, my back to the fire and her mom and grabbed her, pulling her into a hug. She was stiff for a moment then melted, her arms going around my neck, her tongue, invisible in the darkness coming out and licking my lips before she kissed me short and hard. She turned and almost bounced into the tent.

"What was that all about?"

Hanna just shook her head silently shushing me.

I got up to break up the fire. Hanna went into my tent. She was naked by the time I got in to join her.