alone. Once, a sudden moving shape deep in the woods made his heart jump before his mind registered that the shape was merely a deer.
This is going to be a long week, he told himself, if you don’t settle down. Nobody’s out there. Nobody’s stalking you.
But he wished his revolver were close at hand, not in the car’s trunk at the bottom of his backpack.
He kept watching the trees. Sometimes, he looked over his shoulder and gazed out the rear window. If they were being followed, the man or vehicle was not in sight. Could someone looking closely at the tracks tell that their car had recently made the passage? He remembered the limb that he had lifted out of the way and wished he’d had the sense to place it back across the tracks after they’d gone by.
“What are you doing?” Bert finally asked.
“Just enjoying the scenery.”
“You look like a cemetery guard keeping an eye out for spooks.”
“Just a little edgy,” he admitted, and made a weak smile.
“Hey, if there was anything to worry about, do you think I’d come out to a place like this? I’m the world’s greatest chicken. I get the willies all the time. You should see me when I get back to my apartment at night. Especially after I’ve been with you and it’s late. I check behind the furniture, look in closets. I’ve even been known to look under the bed. And I’ve usually got a great case of the shivers till I’ve made sure nobody’s lurking around.”
“Really?”
“Absolutely. I always figure some drooling maniac has gotten in, somehow, and is just waiting for a chance to rape or murder me. Or both.”
“You’re kidding. You?”
“Had me figured for a fearless Amazon?”
“Something like that.”
“Disappointed?”
“Well, I knew you were no Amazon. You’ve got two boobs.”
Bert grinned. “But really, the way I see it, a certain percentage of people are criminals or dangerous nut cases. Therefore, the smaller the population, the less danger of running into one. When you get out in a place like this, there’s almost nobody so your chances of meeting a creep diminish to almost nothing.”
“On the other hand,” Rick said, “the larger population works to your advantage in that the nut has a larger pool of victims to choose from. Start decreasing the population, you might have fewer nuts but it also knocks down the odds that someone
Bert nodded. “So if there is a nut out here, we win by default.” In a teasing voice she added, “Better keep a sharp eye out.”
Though Bert was making light of it, Rick wished he hadn’t pointed out the less comforting side of her argument. Getting her worried would serve no purpose. He should’ve kept his mouth shut.
“I’ve spent a lot of time in wilderness areas,” Bert said after a while. “I’ve never run into trouble so far.”
“Well ...”
“That probably hurts the odds on this time out, huh?”
“Don’t be such a pessimist,” Rick said.
She laughed.
In the silence that followed, Rick’s uneasiness came back. He felt a strong urge to resume his watch of the surrounding forest, but he fought it. He watched Bert instead. Then he lay down on the seat and rested his head on her lap. Drawing up his knees, he propped his feet on the window sill.
Bert smiled down at him. “Comfy?”
“Very nice.”
Rick felt her warmth through the fabric of her shorts. Her flat belly eased against his cheek sometimes when she inhaled. The front of her loose shirt, jutting out like smooth hills just above his eyes, stirred slightly as the bouncing, rocking motions of the car shook her breasts.
“Down there,” she said, “you can’t keep a look-out.”
“The view’s fine.”
She let go of the wheel for a moment and brushed a hand through his hair.
“If you’re nervous about going back to your apartment at night,” Rick said, “how come you won’t stay over at my place?”
“I believe we’ve been over that ground.”
“Well, you could do it sometimes. Maybe just on weekends.”
“It might start with just weekends, but pretty soon that wouldn’t be enough. I know men, and I know myself. Before long, you’d be pointing out with infallible logic that keeping my apartment is a wasteful expense, that I should move in with you and get rid of it.”
“And you,” Rick continued for her, “value your independence too highly—”
Bert stopped the car.
“What’s wrong?”
“We’re there.”
Rick’s stomach did a small flip, but he managed a smile. “And I was just getting comfortable.” He sat up slowly, keeping the side of his face against Bert. His cheek nuzzled her breast. He turned his head and kissed it. Her nipple was stiff under her shirt. He opened his mouth wide and ran his tongue over the fabric.
Bert slapped his stomach gently. “Stop it,” she said. “People are watching.”
Rick stopped. He bolted upright and looked out the windows. Perhaps he’d sensed rather than seen somebody back there in the trees. He stared. Hard. Nothing moved.
“Just kidding,” she said. She pinched the cloth away from her breast. “Look what you did.”
His mouth had left a dark wet patch on the blue pocket. “But it felt good, right?” he asked.
“Feels damp.”
“Better get into a dry shirt.”
She gave him a smirk, then took the key from the ignition and rolled up her window. She punched the lock button down. Rick watched her climb out. The back of her shirt was wet and clinging, though not as wet as he’d made the pocket. She swung her door shut.
The car had stopped in a clearing. Rick saw no tire tracks ahead. There was a heavily wooded slope, dim with shadows. Looking out of his window as he cranked it up, he saw that the clearing provided enough room to allow the car to be turned around. He elbowed down his lock button, then checked the rear doors. They were secure.
He joined Bert behind the car as she opened the trunk. She gave the key case to him. “Don’t lose it,” she said.
Her comment triggered new worries. What if he lost the keys? What if they came back here, ready to depart, and the battery was dead? What if the car had two flat tires? What if it was vandalized or stolen while it sat here unguarded for a week?
So many things could go wrong. They might get through all the camping unscathed only to find themselves stranded when they were ready to leave. By that time, their food supplies would be depleted ...
Bert reached into the trunk.
“I’ll get it.” Rick lifted out her pack. He held it while she slipped her arms through the straps. Then he propped his own pack on the edge of the trunk. Bert held it steady. He crouched and found the straps. Standing, he felt the solid weight pressing his shoulders and back.
Bert took their hats from the trunk and shut the lid. She plopped Rick’s hat onto his head and put on her own. It was a tan, Aussie hat with one side of the brim turned up. It might look silly on some people, Rick thought. On her, it looked great.
“Now what?” he asked.
“Now we find the trail and start walking.”
“Maybe we should spend the first night here.”
“Sleep in the car?”
“There’s a thought.”
