And the alarm went off on Monday morning. We shared a very sensual cuddle and got up and started the rest of the routine. By seven I was out the door headed to work and she was waiting for the school bus.

Arrived at the project, just like always. Walked in, fired up the computer, started a pot of coffee and was tapping out the replay to an email when Sara walked in.

Her first words were, "That was some cute young lady you brought in Friday."

"Yeah, she's a cutie, all right. She's also scary smart. I started helping her with her homework and she was interested in what engineers do, so I told her that if she had good grades, I'd bring her out for the tour."

"That was sweet of you. What'd she think?" Sara asked.

I smiled. "She says she wants to be like you and make people's lives miserable."

"Uh, she didn't say THAT!"

"No, really, she did, but she was laughing. I told her what you really do."

Sara laughed, "What? Sit around all day eatin' bon-bons and polishin' my nails?"

"That too," I laughed.

The rest of my day was normal, except for hearing at least a dozen comments about Cindy's visit. Most of them were suitable for polite company, but it WAS a construction site, and a couple of the comments were somewhat suggestive. "Jailbait" was in one of them. "They didn't have THOSE when I was young" was a comment from an older co-worker.

Finally Monday came to an end and I drove to the RV park. Cindy was at the office with Helen when I checked in.

"Cindy says ya'll have had a busy weekend," Helen said.

"Yeah, you and the judge Friday, a concert Saturday, supper at Jim Hardesty's house yesterday. I had to go to work to get some rest."

Cindy smiled. "Anybody say anything about me there Friday?"

"EVERYBODY asked about you," I said. "You are a memorable thing on a construction site."

"Do you have homework?" I asked.

"The normal stuff. Mr. Hardesty waved at me in the hall today, too. That's pretty cool, you playing music with him and Mizz Ann."

"Ya'll played music?" Helen questioned.

"Yeah, his wife plays fiddle, he plays banjo, and I can do a little on a bass guitar and we did some bluegrass stuff."

"Awww! I wish I could've heard that," she said.

"I dunno," I said, "I'm kind of rusty. But it was fun."

Cindy said, "They were GOOD! I never heard live music before, and they were having fun!"

We laughed and chatted for a while longer before Cindy and I headed to our trailer. "I looked at her. "We need to go find you a bicycle."

"What kind of bicycle?"

I said, "Nothing too fancy. Just something we can ride around parks and stuff. We'll go tomorrow. No, wait. I promised Jim Hardesty I'd meet him at the airport. He's got the flying itch again."

"Can I come?" Cindy asked.

"Of course. You're my little shadow, as far as Jim's concerned."

She smiled. "That sounds good. What are we doing this evening? I mean, the pool's closed."

"I know," I said. "Wanna go for a ride before dinner?"

"Yeah. And we can end up at that salad place for dinner. It'll be good for us."

"You got it, sweetie," I said. We drove off. I had a goal in mind, acting on advice from some co-workers, I had a lead on a secluded campsite not too far away from the park. That's where we headed. It was one of those "and then turn off the paved road" places, and just wouldn't have been accessible to a vehicle less capable than my big pickup truck, but after a bit of trying, with Cindy squealing a couple of times as we rode through some rather muddy spots, we emerged on the bank of a creek deep in the woods.

"So this is the place?" she asked. "We're gonna come camp here? And sleep in a tent? And it's supposed to be fun?"

"Yep!" I said. "We try it at least one time. If you don't like it, we don't do it anymore. If you do like it, well, then we can do it again." We got out and walked around. There was a space between the treeline and the creek, about twenty yards of short grass, and then a sandy bank. There was evidence of some previous camping activity, but here between hunting season and summer, it was deserted and I was told that very little activity ever occurred. And that there were no questions about people camping there. I saw the creek, clear, swift water, suitable for swimming and bathing, and there was enough fallen deadwood for a fire, and I was pretty sure that we'd have to visit the place soon.

Cindy looked around, walked down to the water's edge. "We can swim here?"

"Yeah. Don't know how deep it is, though. And it's probably cold. Looks cold."

As I was saying this, Cindy was slipping her shoes and socks off. I watched step into the creek. "Yes, it is cold. Not too bad, but a lot colder than the pool."

"That'll make your nipples perkier than usual."

"Ummm," she giggled. "You're a dirty old man, thinkin' about a young girl's nipples."

"Actually I'm thinking of a moonlit skinny dip..."

She laughed. "Exactly what I had in mind, love," she said. "I wish it was dark right now..."

"Me too," I said. "Maybe next weekend, huh?" This comment was just as a canoe with a couple of paddlers rounded the bend from upstream. I gestured in that direction. "That's why we're not naked right now..."

"Uh-huh." She smiled. And we waved at the people in the canoe, watched as they passed, paddles glistening in the sunlight. Then we returned to the truck and rumbled back through the woods and up the road to the little restaurant.

The ladies who owned the place recognized us immediately. I knew it wasn't me they remembered. It was that red hair and green eyes of my young partner. We were seated immediately and along with menus we were informed of some specials that they whip together, delicious-sounding combinations of vegetables and pork or chicken. We dined well, and afterward as the table was cleared, we talked with first one, then both the owners about the business and the area. It was a pleasant evening.

It was even more pleasant getting Cindy home before eight and lounging around on the sofa, deliciously entangled together after our showers, then to bed for a gentle and satisfying sharing of love.

Tuesday came and we stepped through the routine. It was a pleasant thing to leave the trailer with Cindy's kiss on my lips and the scent of her in my head. Work was work. No big fires to put out. No hurdles to jump. That was one reason that I was hired, to keep excitement at a low level. Four o'clock and I was running out the gate.

When I got to the park, I found my jeans-clad baby talking with Helen at the front office. "Hi, Helen," I said.

"Hey, Dan," she replied. "Charley was impressed Friday night."

"Must've been Cindy." This got a smile from Cindy.

"Actually, it was both of you. He told me that after meeting you two, he was quite a bit more certain that he'd made the right decision."

"Oh, yeah?"

"Yeah," Helen continued. "Said he was surprised you showed up wearing a suit and Cindy looked very proper and pretty and he could see how you two belonged together."

Cindy said, "He's a nice man. He knows how to tell stories."

Helen laughed. "Yes, he does. I just wanted ya'll to know what he thought."

"I was wondering," I said. "He's everything I'd imagined he'd be. You two an item yet?"

It was Helen's turn to blush. "You know ... I just might be makin' that decision. It's gotten to the point that we had supper with his son and his family."

"And the son approved?"

"Yeah. The son used to go to the huntin' camp with his dad and my husband, and I used to run the camp every fall. He knows me. I used to feed 'im pie and run 'im out of my kitchen."

"Oh, great! You pissed off the DA."

Helen laughed. "Yeah. Cindy says you're goin' to go flyin' with her guidance counselor?"

"Yeah. You know he's a Marine pilot?"

"That's what Cindy said."

"Yes, ma'am," I said. "And if you'll excuse me, I need to go change shoes. It's hard to fly wearin' steel-toe boots."

"Ya'll go have fun," Helen laughed.

Cindy and I left and scooted over to the trailer. Once inside, my original task of changing shoes was extended just a little bit while we kissed. Then we were out the door and on the road.

"You're in the back seat today, sweetie."

"I figured that part out. I'll be okay." She smiled. "But we haven't flown since the first time. I really want to go again."

"We will, babe. And we're going to fly home in it for Thanksgiving, too."

Squeal. "We're going to your real home?"

"Nope," I said. "We're going to my OLD home. Thanksgiving with my sister and brother."

Her brow wrinkled. "Your OLD home?"

"Yes. My new home is wherever WE are."

"Awwww ... You're so sweet." She paused a second, thinking. "But what are you going to tell your sister and brother?"

"Just a teeny tiny little lie or two. I'm going to tell them you're eighteen. And we're married."

Another squeal. "You think they'll believe you?"

"What are they gonna do, ask to see your driver's license?"

Green eyes narrowed. "I don't know..."

I continued, "They're my brother and sister. I don't think we have a problem."

We were unlocking the T-hangar when Jim Hardesty drove up. "Hi, Dan! Hi, Miss Cindy!" he said.

"Hi, Mr. Hardesty," Cindy chirped.

"Hey, Jim. Push a door." He and I pushed the doors open on the hangar, revealing the other woman in my life.

"Well, I'll be damned," he said. "She looks nice, Dan!"

I laughed. "Cindy? Or the plane."

Jim chuckled. "Both. But Cindy's not forty. You spent some bucks keepin' this old girl in THIS shape."

"I spent a dime or two. Engine's been overhauled to new. And the prop. And I gave a mechanic a blank check on the airframe. She's not show quality, but she sure is 'go' quality. Let's drag 'er out." We pushed the plane out onto the apron and the three of us did the pre-flight. Cindy climbed the ladder to check fuel levels with a dipstick.

While she was up on the ladder, Jim asked, "She knows what she's doing?"

"Showed her once. That's all it takes with Cindy."

"Yeah. That's what her teachers say."

"Uh, guys, it's NOT polite to talk about somebody when she's right there," Cindy said. "Mr. Dan, you have about three-quarters of a tank. Twice." She climbed down and before I could do it, she folded the ladder and carried it back to the hangar.

Cindy was the first into the plane, buckling herself into the back seat. Jim took the passenger seat, "because it's YOUR plane and I haven't flown in a decade." And I got in the pilot's seat. In five more minutes we were in the air and Jim was at the controls, his round face grinning.

I spoke into my headset. "It's yours. Just remember, plus four G's, minus three, and Cindy's on her SECOND flight of her life and there's only two barf bags."

"Oh, man," Jim said. "This is great. I know. I already tried to find the gun switch."

We flew around. Jim ran us through the operating envelope: slow, hanging on the prop, and steep turns, and a few stalls. I looked over my shoulder hoping that Cindy was turning green. Cindy was grinning widely. "Mister Dan, you didn't show me all THIS stuff the first time!"

Dan popped in, "Oh, I'm sorry Cindy! Am it getting' too radical?"

"Oh, no sir! This is GREAT!"

I smiled. Two happy people. Make that three. Me too. We made a great circuit of the local area, then the shadows on the ground started to lengthen and it was time to go home.

"Plane's yours, Dan," said Jim. "I've never landed a taildragger."

"Then follow along with me. Just requires some footwork and make sure you're pointed in the direction you're traveling when the wheels touch down." We shot a couple of touch and goes and then landed for real, taxing to the hangar.

I grabbed Cindy by the waist and helped her down as the three of us exited. We pushed the plane back into the hangar and closed and locked the door.

"Wow!" Jim laughed. "That was great! Makes me want to get current again." And my own...

"It's expensive, man."

"Yeah, I know," said Jim. "But I'm thinking of long vacations and stuff, an' this one'll do the whole family."

"Yeah, it will. You should've seen what they were haulin' with it in Alaska."

"This was a bush plane?"

"Yep. I flew it back to the Lower 48 after I finished a job up there."

"Man! I might have to dip into the savings for one of these."

"Wanna go to dinner with me an' Cindy? That's our next stop." I smiled.

"Yeah, Mister Jim. Come have dinner!" Cindy injected.

"No, I need to get home tonight. But, golly, thanks!" Jim shook hands with both of us. Cindy waved as he drove off.

"You sure made HIM happy!" she smiled. "And me too! All those maneuvers ... He knows what he's doing?"

"Baby, he's a Marine aviator. He's so far above me in pilot cred that it's scary. He knows everything we did today. It's just that with this little plane, the numbers are all different. Like a baby carriage compared with an Indy car."

"Oh ... But it's your plane. You can do all that stuff in YOUR plane."

"Yes, I can. And since I am now convinced that you won't barf all over, I will show you what we did and why." I paused. "Come on. We have a stop to make before supper."

We got in the truck and drove off. The stop was the local jewelry store. To pick up a pair of rings. I got out, went inside, and came back out, handing Cindy the little velvet-covered box.

She started to open it.

"Nope! Not yet. When we get home after supper."

Her eyes glittered. "Then we're having TV dinners for supper. Drive straight home. Fast."

"Now ain't this just great! I present the love of my life with a ring, and she marks the occasion with TV dinners?!?!?"

Cindy giggled. That giggle. It melted my heart. On the fifteen minute drive home she cradled the little box in both hands, clasped to her chest. When we pulled up to the trailer, she dashed to the door, her key in one hand, the box in the other.

"Slow down," I said. I thought she'd be on the sofa. As I locked the door behind me, I saw her at the opposite end of the trailer, kneeling in the bed. Her face was turned toward me, waiting.

"Let's do this right," I said. I sat on the edge of our bed. "Open the box."

Her eyes were wide as she opened it, revealing two gold rings, filigreed, just as she'd shown me.

"Oh, Dan..." she sighed.

I took the smaller ring and holding her left hand, I slid it onto the ring finger. And kissed her. "My Cindy. Forever!"

"Oh, Dan..." She took the other ring and I held my hand up. She slid it onto my finger. And slid herself into my arms. And I hugged her to me, hearing her whisper breathlessly, "My Dan forever! I love you!"

"D'you like them?"

"Oh, god, YES! That's the one I showed you! And you got YOU one, too!"

"Because I want to be as much YOURS as you are mine!" This got me kisses. Bunches. Some longer than the others. "But sweetie," I explained, "I can't wear mine all the time like you can."

"I know..." she sighed. "On YOU it's a wedding ring."

"That's how people will see it. At work, that's hard to explain."

"I know..."

"But every chance I get, I'll have this ring on my finger."

She took my hand to her lips and kissed the ring. "I know you love me, Dan. And you got us rings. Like we're married."

"As far as I'm concerned, baby, we ARE married. When I tell my brother and sister, I won't be lying. The only thing is that we haven't done it in public records, because we just CAN'T."

"I know, baby." She hugged me. Hard. Pulled me down onto the bed and climbed on top of me and showered me with kisses.

"Married means forever. What's mine is yours and what's yours is mine."

She interrupted. "But I don't have anything."

"You sweet, sweet thing. You ARE everything. The riches of the universe. And everything I have, I give to you."

More kisses. She was tugging at my shirt, pulling it, unbuttoning. She stood up and began undressing herself. "You do you. I'll do me. And then it'll be US. Naked."

And that is a good thing. Thirty minutes later, the orgasm score was Cindy 2, Me 1. And it was shower time. And finally the TV dinners went in the microwave.

And life was good. Very good. Friday night we camped out, just like we'd talked about. Skinny-dipped in the creek in the moonlight. Made love, then lay together under the stars, safe from insects in my screened tent, but still able to marvel at the heavens. It was still warm enough at night to only need a light cover, so we lay on one unzipped sleeping bag and covered with the other. I didn't push the "cook breakfast over an open fire" bit. When the sun came up, we splashed into the creek to wake up and then broke camp and headed back to civilization for breakfast, then back to the storage unit to unload the gear, and then to the airfield.

This time the flying was more of a lesson than the oohing and ahhhing of previous events. Cindy wanted to know HOW. I showed her. We chatted back and forth over the intercom as I showed and told her what to do and why. Two hours and she understood much, but I knew that she needed a practice to turn thought into subtle movements and pressures to fly smoothly. I knew that would come.

We returned to the airfield at lunch and at her insistence we ended up at a burger joint. I had a burger stuffed in my mouth when she said, "Let's fly someplace next weekend. You know, for overnight."

"You know, that's a good idea, babe," I said. "I can get us a rental car when we get there, and a reservation at a hotel, and we'll have a new city to play in."

"Why didn't we do this before?" Her eyebrow was arched at me.

"I dunno. I was just so happy running you around here. Flying will get us a three hundred mile range for the weekend." I was thinking we had four adjacent states to play with.

She was thinking about more flying, among other things. "Let's go back to the field and get the charts. You can show me flight planning again."

"Okay, babe!" I watched that sassy body bounce out of the eatery ahead of me to the truck. Fourteen! And so much potential. And so perfect it made my eyes water. We complied with her wish. While we were there, we chatted up another recreational pilot. He let Cindy sit in his sixty year old airplane. She was tickled by it.

Back in the truck, I said, "Okay, now what?" It's mid-afternoon."

"You said I needed a bike."

"Right! Let's go to town." "Town" was the big city an hour's drive away. I knew there had to be a bike shop somewhere. We found it. The salesman found a mountain bike with a frame that would work for Cindy, I got a bike rack that would fit in the bed of my pickup truck, and we headed back home, stopping by the storage place again so I could pick up my bike.

She already knew what it looked like, and said so. "Like mine, except the frame's bigger, huh?"

"Yep. My leg's longer. Want to go ride around the park?"

She smiled. That's a good place to start. It's been a few years since I rode a bike. There's no traffic in the park."

Which put me riding a bicycle behind a Cindy clad in shorts and a t-shirt. Watching that perfect butt as she pedaled ahead of me – yes, there is truly poetry in motion. I spent some time observing it, then, "Dannn! Ride beside me!"

"Okay," I answered, "we can do that here, but on the street we have to ride single file."

"I know. But we're in a park."

So that's the way we rode. Nope, not spandex-clad bicycle nuts, just two people enjoying the beginnings of fall air on a Saturday afternoon, and yes, it was exercise. The Saturday park population was maybe ten RV's. Two families had kids. A couple of them were on bicycles also. And with the change in seasons, Helen's snowbirds were coming in, people from the northern states migrating south ahead of the cold. These were older folks, and they were clustered on groups, socializing. Some of them waved as we rode by. We put an hour in, lazily pedaling around, then locked the bikes up at the trailer.

Entering our little nest, Cindy said, "Dan, I really need a shower."

"Me too, babe! We've done a lot today."

"Wouldn't it be nice if we could shower together?"

"Yes it would. Are you thinking..."

She finished the thought. "that we should go find us a motel with a big shower?"

"A kiss would make me do that." I got my kiss. And I flipped open my cellphone and punched a number. A couple of minutes later, I hung up and looked toward the bedroom. Cindy was zipping up her overnight bag. Mine was on the bed beside her.

Giggle. "We're packed!"

"Let's go, then!" We kissed before heading out the door. She crawled in the pickup, pushing the console up out of the way, then buckling in the passenger seat, leaving a huge space between us, but she was grinning as we left the park and got onto the open road.

Five miles later she was sitting beside me. Her eyes were sparkling as she played with the gold band on her finger. "I can't believe you got me this, baby," she said. "and you have yours on, too!"

I waved my ring at her. "You bet, baby!"

The month of October passed, and then half of November. The first cold fronts made their way down south, and we saw our first frost of the winter a couple of weeks early, according to Helen. "It's that global warming," she laughed.

On a practical note, living in a travel trailer made us very cognizant of the seasons. Winter meant keeping an eye on the propane bottles that heated the place. It also meant that I spent colder nights with the warming influence of a fourteen year old form cuddled up next to me.

The first one of those mornings, as good luck would have it, was a Saturday morning, and with no alarm clock driving the day, we eased awake in each other's arms. The previous evening was rainy, presaging the coming cold front. And because I was bouncing in bed with a sexy fourteen year old redhead, I forgot to set the thermostat, so forties on the outside translated to fifties on the inside, and green eyes just barely peeking over the blanket.

"'S cold, Dan!"

"I know, babe. I should've turned the thermostat on to heat." I got out of bed. The temperature made the floor cold and my bare feet stepped spritely as I reached the thermostat and flipped it on, then raced back to dive under the covers. I knew EXACTLY what to do next. Cold feet. Warm girl. BINGO!

Screech!!! "Your feet are ICE!"

"But sweetie, you're sooooo warm!" I laughed, cuddling her giggly form in my arms. Kissing Cindy in the morning was finding the universe in harmony.

"Mmmmmm, baby. We sleep sooooo good together. But it's even BETTER when it's cold and WE'RE warm!" And then "What's it like to make love UNDER a blanket?" And a hand found my dick, already hard. She pushed me over onto my back, climbing on top of me, then kissing me a quick peck, and then saying, "Nope! You gotta be on top!"

We rolled together, her legs spreading to accept me. A wiggle had me sliding into a tight but oh so accepting pussy. I reached full penetration to her sigh. She drew a breath and as our eyes met, she giggled. "We're so perfect together, Dan. We feel sooo darned perfect!"

I kissed her pert nose, drew back enough to see the scattering of freckles across it, and answered, "Yes indeed we do, cutie!" And was part of the wonder of making love with Cindy. She was giggling, laughing, savoring, eyes laughing at the pure joy of coupling, right up to the point where she'd bite her bottom lip, a sure sign of impending orgasm. And our bodies on this cool morning merged with each other and in some minutes of kissing and grasping and pushing and sliding and the bottom lip was pressed by perfect white teeth, the eyelashes fluttered over improbable green, and I struggled to hold my own until I felt her first spasm, then I released with her.

"I'm hot NOW!" she announced, throwing the bedclothes off us. "and we're gonna have a mess!"

The "mess", of course, was what we'd have from leaking juices from a happy and vigorous coupling. "I'm gonna clean MY end!" she announced, and spun around, presenting me with a view that, although I'd seen it many times in the last three months, was always new and exciting, and I happily lapped her juicy pussy clean, again listening to happy giggles, then an "Nnnnnnnnngghhhhh!" through clenched teeth as she came once again. When she recovered and turned back around to put her head on my chest, she dragged the bedspread up with her, covering us up again.

"This is gonna be the BEST winter EVER!" she told me.

"Yes it is, angel. And I've already had forty-two of 'em." I cradled her in my arms, stroking her red head, smelling the remnants of the dab of perfume she always seems to dab on before going to bed with me. It was just a dab, and sometimes it was her throat, sometimes the nape of her neck, sometimes behind an ear, occasionally between her perky breasts, or right on her pubic mound, her muffin, and I always took time to search for it. Last night it was on the back of her neck, under her hair, and I kissed the spot. "Mmmmmm!"

Of course the cooler air meant that the bicycle rides were now going to be in jeans, but she defined the effect of jeans on the female form, bent over the handlebars, her legs pedaling, the musculature smoothly flowing under blue denim.

Another thing, too. A couple more visits to the Hardesty's and he and his wife Ann and I decided we were ready for the public. And Cindy had a voice. And one Saturday evening we played our first public show at the RV park pavilion, our audience twenty or thirty weekend residents. We weren't good enough to do requests, and our repertoire was limited to a few bluegrass favorites, but the ticket price, i.e., free, and the accessibility, i.e., we showed up, and sometimes enthusiasm covers up the occasional (all too occasional) wrong note or missed chord change, and a fourteen year old redhead with a microphone and a sweet, although untrained, voice, we got ovations.

Deeper into November, another milestone loomed. Thanksgiving. I had a mandatory invitation to my sister's house for Thanksgiving. She lived in the same town that we grew up in, the town where I owned a home, and it was pre-planned that I would be there.

Thanksgiving week at the project, we were fighting the schedule. My stuff was on track, even a bit ahead, but other parts were lagging, fighting, and it was ordained that we would work the Monday and Tuesday of Thanksgiving week.

And that week was coming.