Note: This story was dynamically reformatted for online reading convenience. Chapter Seven "Ms. Maudie, you want a cold beer? Julio and I need to get a beer and have a look at our cooker, I bet the meat's done and the fire's out by now," Steve said as they all started around the house. Maudie Hanner looked back at Hannah, Crystal and Janelle, she just had a feeling when she met Crystal and Janelle, that if those three ever got together, this forest and these hills would never be the same again. She saw them showing Hannah their painted tits and then damned if that Crystal didn't look down in Hannah's pants, then pull them down to show Janelle Hannah's pussy. Maudie Hanner smiled and walked around the house in her flannel gown just like it was her own camo paint. Steve got two beers and handed Ms. Maudie one and Julio the other, he reached back in the big cooler and got one for himself. Ms. Maudie drained hers and belched and threw the can in the tall barrel standing next to the back porch that was almost full of empty cans. She got another cold one and walked past the cooker as Steve had the top up, she reached in and tore off a piece of tender Boston Butt and sat down on the side of the porch, crossed her legs under her long gown and ate the Bar B Que and drank her beer. "Steve, you and Julio may just have another girl to look out for, I think my little Hannah and both your women have already made up some trouble they way they're talking and whispering and laughing back there," Ms. Maudie said and laughed as she swung her leg back and forth. Dog, Uno and Bravo walked around the house and jumped up on the porch, they each walked over and smelled Ms. Maudie's back and lay down right next to her. "Ms. Maudie, looks like those dogs have taken a liking to you," Steve said as he looked over at them next to her. "Yeah, I reckon they smell my dogs on me." "Steve, did you hear any more from the deputies about the dog attack over on your back line?" Julio asked as they were taking the meat from the cooker and putting it in pans to take inside. "No, and I forgot all about that in the scramble of the other things that were happening all around us. You and I need to sit down and pull out all the papers, ID's and notes we took from the men over at Ms. Maudie's place. Those goons sure weren't what I'd call professional, they were more like a bunch of men caught up in something they didn't know how to handle." "I agree, this is what I got off the one Dog took down over by the wood stove, it shows he's a lawyer from over at Batesville by the name of P.T. Collinger. He must have been the one that got the other two out on bail, wonder if they were there too?" "Lets get to the table and sort it all out and we'll try to figure out who was who and why they were involved. Like I said, that bunch just didn't strike me as knowing a lot about what they were doing." Steve and Julio cleared the kitchen table and laid all their findings out, sorted from the pockets where they had put each mans credentials. The man Steve had shot first was Joe Adamson, who's residence was Strawberry, AZ. His business cards showed he was a local private detective. The man that had Ms. Maudie by the throat when Steve shot his eye out, had business cards, that showed he was Joe Adamson's brother and he was also a private detective. The two brothers had papers in their coats that had showed they were arrested and released on bail from the jail at Batesville, Arkansas. The bail receipt was for two hundred fifty thousand each, paid by a P.T. Collinger, Attorney at Law. "What did you get from the one you shot, out in the back yard Julio?" "Here it is, I had it stuffed down in my back pockets. This one has a business card that shows he's president and CEO of Amalgamated Distribution in Strawberry, AZ. He's also a member of some organization called TABA, some sort of cash advance organization with locations all over the southwest and even into Texas, Oklahoma and Nevada," Julio told him. "So he was the ring leader, and put together a small posse to get his men back. That doesn't make sense," Steve said, not wanting to tell Julio about the money hidden not fifty yards from the cabin. "There's not a hell of a lot about this that does make sense, but I'm sure it will all come out as soon as the sheriff and the state police get through," Julio said. "Yeah, you're probably right. I never did see another vehicle up at Ms. Maudie's house, did you?" "No, but I'm sure Sheriff Cole's men have found one by now, there sure was enough of them up there." "Lets stuff each of these down in some zip-lock bags and mark them, Julio. Then we'll get some breakfast, where'd those girls get off to anyway?" "Last I saw of them, they were all out front laughing and having a good time with Hannah, showing off their camo paint, they're probably painting her ass up right now, knowing Crystal and Janelle." Just as Julio said that, Crystal and Janelle led Hannah into the kitchen, her long red hair was braided down her back, and she was painted from her hair to her feet. All three were naked and smiling. Hannah O'Brien was as tall as Crystal her breasts were just as big too, they looked like twins as they stood there grinning, even Steve had to look hard to tell them apart when they first walked in, painted in tri-colored green camo. "What do you think of Hannah, isn't she a perfect fit for this bunch?" Crystal asked and laughed at Julio and Steve's faces as they looked at the three of them. "Hannah and you look enough alike to be twins," Steve said to Crystal. "I hope you don't mind me being here Steve, and when Crystal and Janelle told me I could paint up like they were, I couldn't resist doing it just once, I love it," Hannah said. "You're welcome here anytime Hannah, and as long as all of you take extra care, I see no reason why all of you cant run from here to the river and back. I'd rather you didn't go over to the far corner, Crystal, or back out to the county road either, until we know this whole place is secure. Julio and I'll look it all over as soon as we all eat some breakfast," Steve told them. "We'll fix breakfast, you and Julio have done enough, where's Ms. Maudie?" Crystal said. "She was sitting on the porch in her gown drinking a beer when we came in," Julio told her. "I'll get her, she's probably thinking about all that's happened and selling her place and moving. I bet she's worried sick about all this," Hannah said and went to the back door. "Would you just look at this, she's curled up asleep with your dogs on the back porch," Hannah said as she looked back in the kitchen. They all went over to look out and saw her, she was curled up on her side on the hard porch, the dogs lying as close to her as they could get and all were sleeping after the long night they'd been through. "Let her sleep, she can eat when she wakes up," Crystal said as she went to start breakfast. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---- Across the river gorge on the north side of Stephen Randall's property, there were two men looking across the river with binoculars. They had pulled the bodies of their kinfolks from the rapids where the bodies had hung up in the shallows. Jacob and Henry Haight had been called in by their aunt Harriet when her three boys didn't come home for two nights. They felt it was the responsibility of the family to find out what had happened to their cousins. If there was foul play, they'd just take justice in their own hands and keep the law away from these hills. They'd found the three naked bodies, mangled and dismembered, and they'd looked all over for their clothes. Not finding them, they crossed the river and looked along the high bluff on that side, the side where that old tall boy lived after buying the property from old man Harkness. They'd wanted that piece of property for themselves and were waiting the old man out, when the outsider came in and bought it and put up all the posted signs and no trespassing signs all over it. This cut out a lot of their hunting grounds and they had never liked to be told they couldn't go where they damned well pleased in these hills anyway. They'd been scouring the place good the day after they found the bodies of their cousins. They saw a sheriff's patrol car driving slowly down the dirt road, that follows the property line on the west side. They ran for cover, hiding while the three deputies got out and started putting small objects into little plastic bags. The brothers knew enough to tell they were gathering evidence of some sort and sat there watching until the deputies had covered the place good, took a lot of pictures and turned around and left. They went to the place themselves now and looked all around, finding nothing but animal tracks and some scattered drops of dried blood on the grass. Maybe one of them had hit a deer, they surmised. "Henry, we'll just set up camp back a ways from the river gorge over on Aunt Harriet's side and stay a few more days, just to see what all happens over here. I remember Jr. telling us that they'd all seen a big tittied, red haired girl running up and down the roads over there naked and they were planning on getting in that pussy." Jacob told his brother. "Well, I hope we don't have to stay more than a day or two, I need to get back to that wife of mine, she don't need to be left alone for too long at a time." "We'll be done here in a day or two, don't worry, I just feel beholden to Aunt Harriet, she's the last of Pa's family left now." The two went back across the river gorge and set up camp about fifty yards back from the bluffs on their side, finding a place where they could sit on a tall rock and keep an eye out on the other side. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---- Al Barrow was waiting in his motel room for his hired help to get there, he'd been holed up for a day now and he was getting antsy about not knowing for sure what had happened to the others. He went to eat at 24-hour eatery near his motel and bought a local paper. There had been a write up about a dog attack up in the northern part of the county, but that was it. No mention of a wreck that involved Hallerman and Brody. No mention of Uncle Albert or the Larson's either. He wished there was some way he could have gotten P.T.'s car back down here, at least he would have a vehicle to get around in and do some snooping. He was afraid to try and lease a vehicle, he didn't want his name linked to any of the others if there had been a showdown with that Steven Randall and some or all of them had either been killed or maybe arrested for killing the Randall guy. He sure didn't have a lot of confidence in Joe and Jack and had already made up his mind that he'd never let his secretary recommend someone else for a job as important as this one had been. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---- "Unit 110 to dispatch." "Go ahead Unit 110." "I have a white Cadillac here at the Minnow Creek Cemetery, it's abandoned with a flat tire on the front, the keys are in the ignition and the papers say it's registered to a P.T. Collinger from Batesville, AR. Can you run those plates and I'll wait here for your call back," the deputy said after giving the plate number. "Unit 110, the sheriff has requested that you stay with the vehicle until the recovery truck arrives, that vehicle may have been involved in some trouble in that part of the county on the night of the 3rd." "I'll be here and escort it in." --------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---- When word got out that there were two sheriff's deputies in the hospital, there were local reporters all over the hospital grounds and at the courthouse trying to get the details. This was big news and they wanted answers. Sheriff Cole was forced to hold a news conference to let the media know the reason his men were hospitalized with gunshot wounds. He told them that this was an ongoing investigation of a drug bust that had gone wrong and couldn't release any more information at this time. His only reference to the incident, was that a vehicle had overturned while being chased and gunfire had been exchanged after the chase had ended, injuring his deputies, who would both recover. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---- The 4th of July celebration at Steve and Crystal's place, had gone from a happy weekend of fun, food and beer with a few friends, to a day of somber thoughts from all concerned. After they'd eaten breakfast, Steve and Julio had taken Dog in his pickup and rode all around the property, then down to Ms. Maudie's place to check it out in the light of day. They saw tire tracks where a recovery vehicle had backed in to load another vehicle that had been parked in the weeds behind her house. They rode slowly down the west side of Steve's place, to the corner and where the three men had tried to jump Janelle and Crystal. When they came to the scene of the dog attacks, they stepped out and scouted the place once more. They saw where the sheriff's patrol car had been there and turned around, they saw foot prints where they had walked all around. Gathering evidence, Steve and Julio guessed. They also saw two more sets of foot prints in the dirt back away from the scene, and followed them to the bluff where the rocks form a natural set of steps down to the bottom of the gorge. Steve decided to just eliminate those steps, it wasn't going to be this easy for people to cross over onto his land. "We're being watched Julio, you drive, I'm going to take Dog and my glasses and slip from the truck when you round that bend up there, you go about another hundred yards and stop, we'll be back shortly, whoever it is will show themselves soon enough." Steve and Dog slipped from the slow moving truck and into the underbrush nearby. He made a wide circle back to the place where they had stopped, and hunkered down with Dog. With his binoculars, scanning the tree line across the gorge, he saw them. There was two of them, standing in the open, talking and pointing toward his side of the river. He'd never seen these two before, but knew they had to be kin to the three that had crossed over and were killed by his dogs. He watched for a few more minutes and slipped back around to where Julio was waiting. "Did you see anything?" Julio asked as Steve got in the truck and Dog mounted up. "Yeah, there's two on the other side. I figure they're kin to the three that came across the other day. They'll probably camp there for a day or two to see what's going on over here and try to find out what happened to the other three." "I'd say that by now, there wasn't a lot left to see on this side, after the varmints and the deputies have scoured the place for two days and nights," Julio said. "Yeah, but I'm glad I know they're over there, I'll keep a watch out for them now, and make sure that Crystal and Janelle never come back here alone, even with the dogs." Crystal and Janelle did get Hannah to run with them naked, from the cabin to the back line and back, with Dog, Uno and Bravo leading the way. The three of them had fun, and vowed they'd get together again soon. Ms. Maudie awoke from her nap and was ready to move on down to Clarksville, she wanted to put all this behind her and start a new life. Crystal and Janelle helped Hannah wash the camo paint off her body and that made the three women even more determined to get together again, soon. Janelle asked Hannah to keep a check on Becky Larson at the hospital and let her know if she needed anything. On Tuesday when Julio and Janelle went down to Clarksville to make the necessary money transfers and hire an attorney to draw up the legal papers, they went by to see Becky. She was awake, but still heavily sedated. The attorney promised to have the papers drawn up and ready in a week and would call them when they could meet at his office with Ms. Maudie Hanner and sign them. Julio went by the motel and gave his two weeks notice, he and Janelle brought her car as well as his pickup back with them. They spent two days, with the help of Crystal and Steve, cleaning out the belongings of Ms. Maudie's and storing them in an old shed. When they had gone out to the shed, they saw the older bitch cur had already had her pups. The six pups were feeding and looking healthy. They put plenty of food and water there for her and closed the pen. They cleaned and scoured the whole cabin with bleach and scrubbed the floors and walls where the blood had stained the wood. Janelle drove back and forth to work, going by and packing a whole load of her stuff each day before driving back. Julio worked for the next two weeks, doing the same when he got off work, packing a load into his pickup and driving up to their new home. Things had settled down for Steve and Crystal too, they went over to help Julio and Janelle when they were there and they continued to run twice each day. Taking plenty of time for Crystal to practice her skills with the guns, knives and bow. Just when they all thought things were back to normal, Steve spotted a black car parked off county road 7680 at an old house place, close to a quarter mile from where Strawberry Loop Road and county road 3701 intersect. He saw it there two days in a row and early on the third day, he and Crystal painted up. With the three dogs, they made a trip out through the rough underbrush over to where the car was again parked. "Arizona plates," he said as he pulled his binoculars down. They watched the vehicle for over an hour, looking all around for any movement. Seeing none, he told her to stay there with Uno and Bravo while he and Dog went in to have a closer look. He saw where three people had left the car, the driver, a passenger in the front seat and a passenger in the back seat. They had all met near the drivers door and walked toward his property, many times, as the tracks showed in the grass and brush. Steve walked into the brush and broke off four limbs from a tall, Thorned Honey Locust tree. The thorns on the limbs were over six inches long and as sharp as needles on the tips. Steve took the long thorns over and ran the sharp points length ways into the vines of some flowering poison oak. He handled the sharp thorns as if they were surgical instruments as he coated each spur with the sap. He placed long thorns behind each tire on the vehicle also, then took the long thorns he'd coated with poison oak sap to the trail the men had used. There he wove the long thorns into the leaves and small brushy limbs at thigh height from the ground and at shoulder height also. As a boy, experiencing his first explorations into the forest near Jasper, he'd learned his lesson, stay away from the Thorned Honey Locust. The thorns would penetrate deep, causing severe pain and swelling in less than an hour. If the thorn tip happens to break off, the pain and swelling was so severe, medical attention is usually needed to remove the thorn. He had heard the old folks tell of getting rid of revenuers by using the thorns coated in poison oak sap. Steve was gone an hour before Uno and Bravo jumped up and growled, as Crystal saw the black form of Dog as he moved back closer to her and his pups. "What took you so long? Did you see where they were, or where they went?" Crystal asked as they made their way back toward their property, across the county road. "They've been coming here for three days I know, the plates on the vehicle are from Arizona. They've got to be on our land, there's no other explanation. They must be set up, watching the cabin. You take Uno and Bravo back with you. Dog and I are going to pay them a little visit while they hide and watch." "Steve, are you sure about this?" she asked, worried once again about the ones that come to cause trouble. "You'll be alright, they're not going to try anything in daylight, especially since the dogs are with you, just go in the cabin and leave the dogs on the porch. Pretend to be petting the dogs when you reach down to release the bolts on the doors. Dog and I won't be long," he kissed her, then was gone. "Dog, all I want is to scare them, OK? Don't harm them, just scare the living hell out of them, they'll be too afraid to shoot, you got it partner?" Steve said as he pulled Dog close and talked to him. Dog broke loose and ran through the underbrush, gone from sight. Steve made his way in a circle, closer and closer as he looked the brush and trees over. He knew they would be close enough to see his cabin. He spotted two of them, hunkered down behind two big trees, in sight of the cabin. He sat quietly and looked all around, he saw the third one now, a younger man, squatted down behind a tree and looking through his binoculars. The younger man never heard the big black dog that walked right up behind him, close enough that he heard his breathing and turned to see the snarling, slobbering face of the huge dog, mere inches from his face, his teeth bared in a snarl and his hair standing up on his neck. The big dog lunged at him, snapping his teeth as he tried to bite him, nearly taking his nose off his face. "FUCK, Get back, OH FUCK," he cried, as he fell backwards, kicking at the dog as it approached him again; he sat on his butt and kicked his shiny, lace up shoes at him. The dog lunged at him, snapping his jaws and he rolled over to protect his hands and face as the dog was standing over him now, he felt his breath on the back of his neck and drew his head down closer to his shoulders, pissing in his pants. He peeped around and the dog was gone. He started crawling away and there he was again, right in front of him, his face all snarled and his huge white teeth bared. He cowered back and covered his face once more, then peeped out from behind his coat and the dog was gone. Al Barrow jumped up, throwing his expensive binoculars to the ground, dropping his 9 mm automatic in his panic as he tried to pull it out, running from the big black dog as fast as he could. He tripped and fell forward into some briars and lay trembling and bleeding, looking all around. He could hear the dog breathing and snarling at him. He couldn't see the dog and he was sacred for his life. Carlos Alvarez was watching the big tittied redhead as she walked toward the cabin from the driveway, carrying the mail, with the two young black pups at her side. She was covered in camo paint and wearing a camo shirt and shorts. Carlos punched Manny on the arm and they both grinned and nodded. Neither of them had ever thought camo on a woman was sexy, but they sure liked the way it looked on that woman. Carlos felt Manny breathing on his neck and slapped back at him; hitting what he knew was the snout of an animal, he turned to see the ugliest dog he'd ever seen, just inches from his face. The dog lunged at him, barely nipping his ear as he fell over in the fetal position to try and protect himself. He saw Manny on his ass, scratching to get his heels dug in the leaves to push himself back away from the big dog, that was standing over him now. They both started backing across the leaves and brush on the ground, hoping the big dog didn't attack. The only thing in the world either of them were afraid of, was a dog. This one was huge and his teeth were long, shiny white and bared, with his mouth open wide enough to take a man's head off. They looked at one another and turned to crawl faster, knowing one or both were going to get mauled to death. They had crawled a few feet, looking back when they felt him snapping at their butts. He was gone when they both looked. They jumped to their feet, reaching into their coats to grab their guns as they ran toward the car. They were looking back to see if they were being chased when they tripped over Al, as he crawled through the brush on his hands and knees. He was crying and blabbering about the dog that was trying to kill him. The three looked at one another, then, not saying a word, they jumped up and ran through the brush and trees, across the county road and straight for the car. They could hear the dog as they ran, he was right on them, but they never saw him when they looked back. All three of them felt the prick of the thorns, but kept running, Carlos was fumbling for his keys when he felt the big thorn stick in the back of his right hand. It broke off and he kept running. The three of them were sitting in the car now, doors locked and clothes torn and ripped from them. They felt where the thorns had stuck into them and looked to see if they were still in them, they sure were stinging. Each had thorns broken off in them, Carlos had one in the back of his hand and it was already swelling and turning red as he tried and tried to pick it out. Al and Manny were picking at broken thorns in their thighs and shoulders as Carlos gunned the engine and backed out of the old driveway and into the gravel road, where he took off toward Clarksville, spinning his tires and slinging gravel. "We're not going back in those fucking woods man, you can have the money you paid us in advance and we'll call it even. That fucking dog was inches from my face and I just knew he was about to rip me open, man. You can go back and fuck with that old boy and that fucking painted up woman all you want to, Manny and I are headed back to Arizona." Carlos told Al. "We can go back in, we can use the silencers and shoot that God Damned wild dog, then we can take them while they sleep, you've got to help me, we had an agreement," Al said, trying to convince them not to go. "Fuck man, you pissed your pants, you were so scared of that fucking dog, and now you tell us how we can go back? Fuck you and whatever revenge you wanted on that man. There's some people in this world you just don't fuck with, and that man is one of them; you'll get yourself killed back there and that fucking dog will eat you alive as you scream and kick and piss down your leg again," Carlos told him. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---- Steve walked over to where the youngest man had been on the ground. He gathered up the man's gun and binoculars on his way over to the cabin, with Dog at his side. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---- Carlos Alvarez was driving over seventy miles an hour on state highway 123, when they met a county patrol car. The strobe lights came on and the patrol car made a U-turn with the siren on. "FUCK, now we got a fucking speeding ticket," he cussed as he pulled over on the shoulder. There were two deputies getting out of the car, guns drawn and walking up each side of the vehicle, one was on his transceiver, calling the Arizona plates in. "Step out of the vehicle, all of you. Raise your hands and step to the back of the vehicle, put your hands on the trunk." "Come on, do as he says, NOW," the other deputy said, waving his gun. "You men are a long way from home, doing a little sight seeing?" "Yeah, we like it here, but we're through and heading back now. I know I was speeding a little but could you cut us a little slack officer?" Carlos said as he leaned over the car. "Spread your legs," was the only response, as the deputy started patting him down. He found a gun on the two Mexicans and an empty holster on the other one and a small revolver on his belt in back. "Reach back real slowly and pull your wallets out, place them on the rear deck, then stretch for the back glass," they were told. "Dispatch to unit 110, we have the vehicle information you wanted." "Go ahead dispatch." "The vehicle is registered to a Carlos Alvarez in Tucson, Arizona. Mr. Alvarez is wanted by the FBI on suspicion of two counts of first degree murder and on suspicion of mob activities. He's considered to be armed and dangerous." The sheriff's officers cuffed all three men, with that report. "We have Mr. Alvarez cuffed, along with two more from Arizona, we're bringing them in. We'll need a recovery vehicle up here, the black Cadillac in question, has four flats." "We'll get a recovery vehicle on the way." --------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---- A week later Steve and Crystal were finally enjoying their quiet times they had planned when she first came to stay here with him. "Damn Crystal, you look sexy, want to get naked and run all the way around the place, we're slowly but surely eliminating the creeps that seem to want to cause us harm or resent us being here. We have two more across the river gorge and I want to send them a message today, if they're still camped out there." "Lets go, when you get the message sent to them, I have one to send to you," she smiled, as she strapped her gun and knife on. The dogs were jumping and running to the door and back, they knew what was coming, they were ready. Steve picked up his bow and three, long black, carbon fiber arrows, he took three detonating broad heads from the drawer in his gun chest. He screwed them on the three arrows, then placed them in the rack on his bow. He and Crystal slung their target arrow quivers over their shoulders. "When we get almost to the corner by the river gorge, Dog and I are going to cut back away from the river a ways. Give me about fifteen minutes to get set up, then you, Uno and Bravo continue running along the rim of the bluff as if you're alone." "What're you going to do? Where will the two men be, you were talking about?" "They'll be across the gorge, I'm sure; I don't think they'll be back over here, for a while anyway, I just want to send them a nasty message." "Lets go," she said and they left out running side by side, Dog and the two pups in front. When they were at the place he had in mind, he touched her hand and they stopped. "DOG," Steve said and Dog stopped and came back to him. "Crystal, no matter what happens, you keep running, if you happen to see the men over there, don't even acknowledge them, look ahead and run with Uno and Bravo," he told her. He kissed her, and he and Dog left them, cutting back into the trees and light underbrush for nearly fifty yards. He and Dog then ran parallel to the river until he knew he was close to where he had seen their camp before, when Julio was here. Steve slipped between the trees, using his binoculars to look across at the camp. Sure enough, there they were, sitting out on the edge of the tree line on the other side, only a few feet from the rock bluff of the gorge. Steve patted Dog on the head as he lay down at his feet. He took two of the long carbon fiber arrows with the exploding broad heads on them and lay one on the ground beside him, the other he placed on the arrow rest and nocked it. Kneeling beside Dog, he drew the long arrow back and took careful aim. It was a long shot, but he'd made many just like it, this was just another one. His heart was pounding, he was grinning. He saw Crystal and the two pups coming, out of the corner of his eye and pulled a tight bead on one of the men, when he stood to look at Crystal. The men were brave and ran to the very edge of the rock bluff, yelling obscenities at her, dropping their pants and shaking their cocks as they laughed. The first arrow slammed into the big man's gut and exploded with a dull sound, as if inside a drum, against his spine, causing him to bend forward, plummeting over the side of the gorge. The other man looked at his brother falling to the river below, a huge hole in his midsection front and back. He stood in shock, then looked across the gorge. He thought he saw the tall man standing now, his bow up ready to shoot. Then he didn't see him, maybe he was just jumpy. He never saw the arrow, but felt it pierce his sternum and tried to screamed, his heart and lungs exploding, leaving a hole in his chest; ripping out his ribcage and spine, as he too, fell to the river below. Steve and Dog walked over to the edge of the gorge and both looked down at the two bodies as they washed and tumbled in the rushing white waters of the small, unnavigable river. "Lets go run some more Dog," Steve said, smiling as he ran to catch Crystal, who by then, had turned the corner and headed south on the property line. "I saw the men and heard them yelling, I never even let them know I had seen or heard them, what happened, did you run them off?" she said as he ran up beside her. "Yeah, they left in a hurry, we won't be bothered with that bunch again, at least not until they have another generation of the family grow up and pretend to be bad boys," he told her as they ran all the way out to the gravel road where the incident with the SUV occurred, the night before the 4th. They turned and ran back around the property once more, feeling free and secluded once more, as they ran along the high bluff, alone for the first time in a long time. When they came to the pool below the falls, they both stopped, stripped off their weapons and dove into the cool clear waters, swimming and laughing and loving. "This is what we were talking about when we started this partnership," Steve said when they walked out to sit on their favorite rock. He reached down and picked up a small stone and tossed it into the pool, then another one and another one. Crystal reached down to pick up a stone to toss also and saw the small black box. She screamed so loud, the three dogs ran to her. "OH GOD Steve," she said as she stood and grabbed him. "Will you marry me?" he asked as she slipped the ring on her finger. "YES, HELL YES, I'll marry you." "Good, I thought we could stop down at that little church near Minnow Creek and ask the young preacher and his wife if they'd be embarrassed to come up here and marry us, even if we were naked." "I love you Stephen Randall, I hope they will, maybe we can blindfold them if nudity offends them." "I think I can convince them that nudity is fun and not offensive," Steve laughed and they hugged. "Steve, are you planning on bribing the preacher and his wife with an obscene amount of money, just to come marry us naked?" "Yeah," he said and they both laughed. Crystal sat on the smooth round rock and spread her legs, as Steve eased his fat cock into her willing pussy. "I love the way you feel inside me, I remember the day I came here and first saw you naked. I had my doubts about even getting you inside me. But I already knew I wanted you then; I want you even more now, you make me feel so good in my heart and in my body. FUCK ME BABY, I feel it coming to meet you fast and hard," Crystal said as she pushed up against him. When they had reached their orgasms, they held tight and fell over, back into the cool fresh, pure waters of the pool. They came up laughing and playing. "Crystal, lets go get washed up and pay a visit to the young preacher and his wife. I want to be married this weekend. Julio will be off permanently, Janelle will be off all weekend and Hannah said she had the weekend off also." "You asked all of them to be here, and now we're going to see the preacher? I love your sexy ass Steve. Do we have enough money at the house to do what you want for the preacher and his church?" "Yes, more than enough, but we can always borrow more from the Falls Bank and Trust if we need it," he said and they laughed as they gathered their weapons and headed up the hill. "Can we wear shorts to see them?" Crystal asked as they reached the cabin. "Yeah, they're not radical old extremists, they're a young couple with modern values and ideas, that are trying to build a congregation in a small community. I've seen them both in the yard with shorts on, working in the flower beds. When I first realized the money we have was real and it was mine, I drove down one day to present them a gift of a few dollars and when I didn't get an answer at their front door, I walked around back to see both of them sunning naked in the back yard." "Oh course Ms. Porter jumped to cover herself and so did the preacher. They were dark tanned, by the way. After we had talked a while and I handed them the brown paper bag, I started to leave and he walked me back around to the front; he asked that I never tell anyone they were naked in the sun." "He opened the brown paper bag and closed it fast, he folded into a bundle and smiled, then stuck out his hand." "I told them that if they ever wanted to swim the same way they lay in the sun, come to my place, that I had a secluded place to swim and it wasn't exposed to prying eyes," Steve told Crystal. "Well, I may just invite them over for a swim again, now that its safe and since we're going to ask them to come marry us naked," she laughed. "Well, if they refuse, we may have to go town to get married, but I'd rather it be up here, be private and all of us be naked," he said. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---- "Steve, are you really sure we can wear just our camo clothes to see them, I mean even back in Tennessee, we were always dressed in the best clothes we had, when we went to church, even if they were hand me downs." "The preacher and his wife are just country people Crystal, if I'm wrong, we'll go to town with Julio and Janelle and get married at the courthouse, but I just don't think I'll be wrong about these two," Steve said as he knocked on the front door of the small white house next to the small white church. Mrs. Porter looked through the curtains at the top of the door when she heard the vehicle doors slam in the yard. "Charlie, we got company, its that tall man that gave us the money last month, he's got a really pretty redheaded woman with him too, do we need to hurry and change clothes?" "What're they wearing," he asked from under the kitchen cabinet where he was finishing the plumbing of the new sink. "They have camo tee shirts and shorts on and what looks like boat shoes." "Open the door Claire, I'll be right there," he said, smiling to himself that the man had come back to see them. "Hi Ms. Porter, this is Crystal Parker, we wanted to talk to you and the Preacher, if you have time." "Hello Mr. Randall, you and Ms. Parker come on in, Charlie's under the kitchen cabinet, he'll be right out." "Ms. Parker, I'm pleased to meet you, I don't feel so bad about wearing my old worn out camo shorts and shirts around the house, now that I see you and Mr. Randall wearing them." "We wear them all the time Ms. Porter, I was worried about us wearing ours over here to see you and the Preacher," Crystal said as they walked into the living room. Charlie Porter came into the small living room, wiping his hands on his camo shorts and sat on the arm of the chair his wife was sitting in, Steve and Crystal sat on the small couch across from them, the only seats available in the sparsely furnished room. "Steve, its good to see you again, Claire and I have been thinking about you a lot since that day we met. We've put your generous donation to very good use. We have a rebuilt piano, and some used hymn books and we've ordered some refurbished pews for the auditorium. We've even been trying to get this parsonage in shape to live in, we want to thank you once again for what you've done for us. By the way, we now have twenty members more than we did the first day we came here," Charlie Porter told Steve. "Preacher, you and your wife have done a great job here, I know you have to be happy the way things are going. Crystal and I are here for two reasons, one is, we want you to marry us, the other is, we want to join your church here." "Steve, you and Ms. Crystal are most welcome to join our small church and we'd be more than happy to perform the wedding also." "Well Charlie, I hope you don't mind if we call each other by our first names, since we're neighbors. Crystal and I have a request that you and Claire just may not want to agree to, but, and please don't be offended, we'd be willing to donate twice what the first donation was if you'll agree." "Steve, just tell us what it is you want, if we can do it and have a good conscious about it, we'll be glad to do it," Claire told them. "Claire, Steve and I have a fantastic place we swim and lay in the sun, there's a cool spring that comes from the rocks and makes a waterfall, that falls twenty feet into a fair sized pool, that runs into the creek on our place. We love to swim naked and lay in the sun and dry and make love. We want you and Charlie to marry us naked, along with our two best friends Julio and Janelle," Crystal told them as plain as she could. "I must say, that would be the most unusual request we've had since I was ordained, and we've had some wild ones. You were referring to the wedding party being nude, not my wife and I weren't you?" Charlie Porter asked and laughed until he saw they weren't laughing. "Crystal, are you serious?" Claire asked, her face red, but she was smiling at her husband. "Very serious and Steve wants to offer the use of the pool for Baptizing one Sunday a month, that is if you'll both agree to our request." "Charlie, you've been wanting a place for Baptizing, what do you think?" "Claire, I just, well, why don't we just go have a look at this oasis and then make our decision, twice the donation, you said?" The preacher grinned. "Yeah, come on, we'll take you over there now and you can look it over, then tell us your answer," Steve stood up. "Can we at least go have a look Charlie?" Claire said, still smiling from when she first heard their strange request. "Then lets go," Charlie Porter said and they all loaded up in Steve's truck and rode up to their place just a few miles north. As soon as Claire and Charlie Porter walked to the top of the smooth rock ledge, she had the urge to just strip naked and dive into the pool below. Charlie looked down at the pool then looked at Claire. "You'd be embarrassed if I told you what I did the first time I walked up here; I had just met Steve, when we walked back here that day," Crystal said as she looked at Claire. "You pulled your clothes off and dove into the water didn't you?" she laughed. "Yes, it's almost irresistible isn't it, she said and the two women were laughing, as they stripped, then turned to dive naked right into the center of the pool. "Charlie, I don't know about you, but I'm going down there where my wife-to-be is swimming naked," Steve said, stripping also, then turned to dive, followed by the naked preacher, Charlie Porter. So was born a friendship that became even stronger when Julio, Janelle and Hannah were brought into the circle. The wedding was performed as requested, the preacher and his wife as well as Hannah and her boyfriend, were naked; as Steve and Crystal along with Julio and Janelle were married in dual ceremonies. Maudie Hanner and her daughter were on a four week cruise at the time, but they all celebrated when they returned. In the coming weeks, there were news helicopters flying over the property, and news vehicles blocking the narrow county roads around Steve and Crystal's property. The story had broken about the gang related killings and the wild dogs attacking members of the gang. Steve called Sheriff Cole and filed a complaint, then Pastor Charles Porter and each of his congregation all filed separate complaints, when they were having a Baptizing in the pool and the helicopters were so annoying they had to stop. Sheriff Cole issued a no fly zone order over the entire northern border of the county and put up no parking signs at each intersection, warning offenders that vehicles would be towed. There were numerous, unconfirmed reports that some of the more adventurous reporters had trespassed on the Randall and Ramos lands. Some telling of being chased from the property by packs of wild dogs, barely escaping with their lives, with hardly enough clothes to wear home. The little church at Minnow Creek was thriving now, with over a hundred members, a new parsonage and even plans for a new church to be built right in front of the old one. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---- I live back in the woods, you see A woman and the kids, and the dogs and me I got a shotgun a rifle and a 4-wheel drive And a country boy can survive Country folks can survive And a country boy can survive, Country folks can survive. J Ryter Edited by OldFartJRyter's A Country Boy Can Survive Chap. 07