Sam replies, "No, I didn't know the two men.
I've seen them in the bar but only a couple of times. I don't
understand what they wanted with me."
Relief flows through Stump. Then he asks,
"Did they hurt you? They didn't sexually assault you, did
they?"
Shaking her head, Sam says, "No, they didn't
hurt me at all. That is one of the reasons I am so confused. Why
did they want me?"
Stump releases the breath he didn't even
realize he was holding. Thank God!
Because of the heavy cloud cover darkness is
settling across the mountains earlier than usual. Just before it is
completely dark, they stumble across a narrow cave, more of a slit
in the rock really, deep enough for them to get out of the rain but
very narrow, only wide enough for them to lay side by side.
Stump spreads the two sleeping bags on the
ground then he digs through his back pack and pulls out a dry
flannel shirt and hands it to Sam. He says, "Here, put this on and
climb inside the sleeping bag. It's all I have that's dry that you
can wear. I'll turn my back."
While Samantha changes out of her wet
clothes, Stump pulls out his cell phone and calls the ranch,
"Scoot."
"Hey Scoot I was able to rescue Samantha. She
was in the cabin Pinky and I located when we saw the flash from the
window. Right now we are up above the cabin in a narrow cave so we
have protection from the rain. I'll activate my GPS as soon as the
weather clears so you guys can pick us up."
"That's great, Stump. I'm glad you were able
to find her. Did Sam say who kidnapped her?"
"She said she didn't know the two men but
that it wasn't Zeke and Jeb. Judging by the information we got on
the trucks, it must have been Jack Dempsey. I'll ask her if she
knows anything else. I'll see you guys in a couple of days,"
replies Stump.
While Stump has his back turned, Samantha
strips out of her wet clothes and slips into his warm flannel
shirt. It hangs nearly to her knees and she has to roll up the
sleeves. She spreads her wet clothes on the floor of the cave to
dry. Then when she slides her legs into the sleeping bag she says,
"All right. It's your turn."
Stump looks at her waiting for her to turn
her back. Finally he asks, "Aren't you going to turn your
back?"
Grinning she says, "Why should I? I've
already seen every inch of your body."
Blushing bright red Stump patiently says,
"Samantha, turn you back, please?"
Laughing she says, "Oh, all right. You always
spoil all the fun."
Stump asks curiously, "When did you see all
of my body? That room was as dark as pitch that night."
Samantha says, "It was dark after I turned
out the lights. You undressed and laid down in my bed stark naked
while the lights were still on. I couldn't help but look. You have
a very nice body, Mr. Rance Kincaid."
Blushing again Stump says, "Thank you, I
think." He turns his back to Sam so she won't see his member
standing at attention. He seems to always be in a semi-aroused
state these days, at least when she's around or even if he's
thinking about her. His conscious is giving him fits. It keeps
telling him he needs to apologize for taking her virginity and he
keeps ignoring it.
After he slips on a dry t-shirt and blue
jeans, he sits down on the sleeping bag and digs through the back
pack pulling out two MRE's. He asks, "Have you ever eaten an
MRE?"
Sam inquires, "What's an MRE?"
Stump replies, "Meal ready to eat, they are
nourishing if not the best tasting meal you've ever had. At least,
we won't starve. Here, try it."
They eat in silence for a while then Sam
says, "Stump, thank you for coming after me. I really appreciate
it."
Stump nods and says nonchalantly, "The way I
figure it, we're even now."
Rage flows over Samantha and she spits the
words, "You pig! I offer you a sincerely meant thank you and you
throw it back in my face. No wonder I can't stand you!"
Stump's heart clenches at her remark and he
says, "Did I do that? I'm sorry Samantha. I honestly don't know why
we can't seem to have a conversation without bickering. I would
really like to find a way for us to stop fighting."
"You would? Why?" she asks doubtfully.
He gazes into her sparkling pale blue eyes
and says, "Honestly, because I think you're beautiful and I would
really like to get to know you better."
Sam says, "Harrumph! Do you really think I'm
stupid enough to fall for a line like that? I know I'm not
beautiful. Men never even take a second look at me. Why do you
think I was twenty-five years old and still a virgin?" Tears spring
to her eyes and she looks down at her hands to hide them.
Guilt flows through Stump and he apologizes,
"Look Sam, I'm really sorry. I didn't mean to ... I mean ...God
Sam! I'm really sorry if I took advantage of you that night."
Sam looks at him unbelievingly and then
starts laughing and laughing. She can't seem to stop. Stump is
horribly offended. How dare the witch take his sincerely meant
apology and laugh about it! Damn woman!
Seeing Stump's offended look, Sam says, "I'm
sorry Stump. I'm not laughing at you. I'm laughing at the
situation." She breaks into gales of laughter again. Trying to
catch her breath she says, "Don't you realize I was the one that
took advantage of you that night? I thought you were the answer to
my problem!"
Stump looks at her confused and asks, "What
are you talking about Sam? I took your virginity that night and you
can never get it back. I've never done that to a woman before and I
feel really guilty about it."
Finally able to take a deep breath, Sam says
in a calm sincere voice, "Well don't ... don't feel guilty." She
looks down at her hands and turns a bright red, "I took my own
virginity. I just used your drunken state and your body to achieve
my goal. I'm the one that's sorry."
Curious now, Stump asks, "You used me?
Why?"
Sam is the one feeling really guilty now and
she gazes into his curious chocolate brown eyes and says, "Yes, I
used you." Terribly embarrassed Sam drops her eyes to her shaking
hands, "You see, when I was in college all of the girls
continuously made fun of me because I was still a virgin. It was
terribly embarrassing and hurt my feelings really badly. I had
never even been on a date back then so I never had an opportunity
to have sex. Besides, I told you, guys don't pay attention to me
that way. They never have. Anyway, I thought, since you were drunk
you wouldn't remember and that I could lose my virginity to you and
never have to worry about it again. I'm really sorry."
Stump looks at Sam, his heart breaking for
the young naïve girl inside of her and he quietly asks, "Sam, you
do realize you may be pregnant, don't you? We didn't use any
protection."
Sam turns a bright red, looks horrified, and
says, "Honestly, it never crossed my mind."
******
As soon as Pinky dropped Stump on the
mountain above the cabin, he radioed Scoot to let him know what
they were doing. A couple of hours after his return to the ranch,
Scoot's cell phone rang. After disconnecting, Scoot tells the other
guys what Stump had told him about finding Samantha in the cabin
and then stumbling across the narrow cave to keep them dry for a
couple of days. Everyone is relieved to know that Samantha is safe
and soon the guys start making bets as to what will happen between
Samantha and Stump while they are alone in the wilderness.
Everybody knows how volatile their relationship has been up to this
point. Bear is betting they get together as a couple. Scoot is
betting one of them ends up in the hospital at the hands of the
other one and Goose is just laughing at the whole scenario.
Pinky observes the other guys and wonders who
is right. He had been surprised at Stump's reaction to his teasing
about Sam the other day. He's not sure what's going on between
Stump and Sam, he just hopes Stump is all right and doesn't get
hurt. He knows how much Stump wants a family of his own.
******
After finishing their MRE's, Stump and Sam
are lying quietly inside their sleeping bags in the narrow cave. It
is very dark and the rain is loudly pounding the rocks surrounding
them. Stump asks, "Sam, where did you come up with the name Susie
and how do you remember to answer to it?"
Smiling Sam replies, "That was easy. When I
was growing up, I lived with my grandmother and grandfather in
southern Alabama. My grandmother's name was also Samantha. My full
name is Samantha Sue, so my grandfather called me Susie my whole
life. I only started going by Samantha when I went away to college.
How about you? If your name is Clarence, where did Rance come
from?"
Stump says, "I really don't know for sure. My
Mom has always called me Rance. I have a suspicion it was because
my Dad didn't come back to her after he returned from Vietnam. I
think she was hurt and didn't want to think about him so she called
me Rance. His name is Clarence too."
Sam asks, "When did they get back
together?"
Stump answers, "A couple of years ago now,
when Scoot went to Montana to rescue Skye, he met Bear. Bear helped
Skye when she first went to Montana. He set her up in his cabin and
taught her how to hunt and fish so she could survive on her own.
Skye told Scoot that Bear's real name is Clarence Kincaid. He has
quite a reputation and is somewhat of a hero around the Marine
Corp. so when Scoot told the rest of us that he met him I was
thrilled. I went to Montana to find him under the guise of picking
up Skye's car from the mall in Kalispell. At that time the guys
didn't even know my real name. Anyway, when he delivered the car to
the mall, I introduced myself and convinced him to seek help for
his Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. It was the PTSD that prevented
him from coming home to my Mom. I took him to Phoenix where my Mom
was working at a hospital that specializes in treating PTSD. They
immediately got back together and got married a few months later.
I'm really happy for them."
Sam smiles a dreamy smile and says, "That is
so romantic! Your Mom is so lucky to have found someone that loves
her that much. For that love to last through all those years even
though they were separated, wow, I wish ..." She stops
speaking.
Rance asks, "You wish what?"
Embarrassed Sam says, "Oh, nothing. It was
silly."
Even though she didn't say, Stump thinks she
must be wishing for a love like his Mom and Dad's. He has often had
the same wish.
When Stump wakes up early the next morning
inside the narrow cave, the first thing he realizes is that the
ground is hard. His shoulder hurts and his arm is asleep. Then he
realizes a warm body is curled up right next to him, their bodies
fitting together like two spoons in a drawer and only separated by
the material of the sleeping bags. She has her head resting on the
arm that is asleep. His other arm is around her waist and his hand
is cupping her luscious breast. As usual, his member is standing at
full attention, aching with need.
He needs to go and relieve himself but he
doesn't want to move. He wants to savor the feel of her body next
to his, imprinting it on his brain so he can relive it later, when
he is alone in his bed. Nature has other ideas and finally he
unwraps himself from around her and climbs out of the warm sleeping
bag and goes to the front of the cave to relieve himself. The rain
is still coming down in sheets and he is thankful he and Sam found
the narrow cave last night. If they had been forced to spend the
night out in the rain, it would have been cold and miserable.
When he returns to the sleeping bags he sees
Sam staring at him questioningly and she inquires, "Any ideas about
where I might go to relieve myself?"
He glances back over his shoulder and sees
her problem. He thinks for a moment and then says, "Well, I guess
we could go over to the edge and you can hold on to me and hang
your butt out in the rain. Otherwise, I don't know."
Much to Stump's surprise, she shimmies out of
her panties, climbs out of the sleeping bag and says, "Come on, I'm
going to need your support to pull this off."
Bracing her feet against Stump's foot and
holding on to his arm, Sam sticks her behind out in the rain and
relieves herself. Once it is accomplished Stump pulls her back
upright and encloses her in his arms to steady her. They stare into
each other's eyes for long moments before Stump forces his gaze
away. Damn! He wanted to taste her luscious lips so badly that it
is a miracle he was able to pull away.
He walks back to the sleeping bags and digs
around in the backpacks until he finds two more MRE's for their
breakfast. Giving her first choice between the two they sit back
down cross legged on the sleeping bags and begin eating.
About halfway through his meal Stump looks
over at Sam and realizes she never put back on her panties and the
shirt she is wearing is split revealing her most private area to
his view. His heart skips a beat and a quick intake of breath
causes him to choke on his food. He begins coughing and sputtering
and struggling to breathe.
Sam says, "Stump, are you all right? Can I do
something to help?
Stump points at her private area and then
succumbs to another binge of coughing.
Looking down at where Stump is pointing Sam
nearly faints from embarrassment. She turns bright red and
immediately slides under the protection of the sleeping bag quickly
replacing her panties. She says, "I am so embarrassed. I'm
sorry!"
Finally, Stump is able to stop coughing and
to take a full breath. He says, "You're killing me, Samantha."
Confused and a little hurt by his comment,
Sam looks at Stump and asks, "What? How am I killing you?"
Amazed, Stump looks at her and says, "You
really don't know, do you?"