Kindred of the Wood

"Thanks, man."

Another voice — a familiar one — emerged from the radio. "Wade? Who are you talking to?"

"We found them, Dad. They're lost in the woods to the east of the falls, and one of them broke his leg. We're at the campsite by the falls."

"Okay, go after them, take your pack, and mark your trail. I'm on my way."

"Got it, Dad."

Wade handed Mara the horn and radio, pulled a spindle of orange day-glow ribbon from a side pocket, and shouldered his pack. Mara was surprised by the change in his demeanor, which was suddenly very rugged and manly — quite unlike his usual boyish humor.

Memories from her last trip here crept up on Mara as she watched him. Shaking her head and silently scolding herself, she resolutely pushed those memories — and the emotions that came with them — back down. That's the last thing I need right now.

"You can wait here for Dad if you want."

Focusing on the here and now, Mara said, "I'll go with you. I might be able to do something to help."

Wade gave her a nod and set out. Mara followed and soon understood how the pair she and Wade were looking for could have gotten turned around. There was no way to take a straight path through the trees and undergrowth.

Wade wove his way through the woods, pausing to tie sections of ribbon onto limbs at about the same height, at about the same intervals. When she chanced to look behind her, despite the wandering path, she could see the last two ribbons fluttering in the breeze, perfectly aligned with the one Wade was currently tying.

He sounded the horn again, and the young man on the other end of the radio said that it was coming from the same direction — louder. About ten minutes later, Wade tried shouting instead of sounding the horn. Ryan's faint, relieved cry of answer preceded him anxiously announcing over the radio that he could hear them.

Mara followed Wade up a small rise dominated by black spruce, and saw the two men below. One was pacing anxiously, while the other lay on the ground.

"We're on the trail, Wade," Paul's voice emerged from the speaker.

Wade called back to his father, "We can see them. We're going over."

The pacing man below looked around, and then waved frantically when he spotted his rescuers moving his way.

"He's been asking for water," Ryan blurted out as soon as they were close.

Wade turned slightly, giving Mara easy access to the canteen sticking out of a pocket of his pack. She took it and headed toward the ashen-faced blond lying on the ground with his head propped up on a mossy hillock at the root of a tree.

Mara immediately saw the swelling and bruising on the young man's right ankle, and knew that it was either broken or severely sprained. She unscrewed the top from the canteen and held it out to him.

He stared at her for a few seconds, his eyes confused and glassy, and then reached up with a shaky hand to take the canteen. He drank, spilling quite a bit down the sides of his face and his chin in the process. The canteen thumped into his chest when he finished, and he sighed. "Thanks," he offered in a weary voice.

"You're welcome. Try not to move."

The young man's eyes focused a little more and the corners of his mouth twitched up. "Wow. You've got great tits."

Somehow, Mara kept the sarcasm out of her voice as she responded, "Thanks. Stay still."

Wade knelt down next to her and held out an unwrapped energy bar to the downed man, taking the canteen and passing it to Ryan, waiting eagerly behind him while devouring the last bite of his own bar.

Mara asked, "Do you think he's in shock?"

Wade reached down and squeezed the man's thumb, seeing the color beneath the nail return almost immediately. He shook his head and answered, "No, just a bit delirious." Glancing up at the other man, he said, "Keep an eye on your friend."

Mara stood up when Wade did and followed him off to the side a bit. Wade leaned in and said, "I'm going to see if I can find a couple of poles. We're going to have to improvise a stretcher and carry him back to camp. Can you dig my jeans and my jacket out of the pack?"

"Sure."

Wade looked over at the two men and muttered, "Numbskulls," before heading off into the trees, scanning the ground beneath the canopy for suitable deadfall.

Mara squatted next to the pack and opened it, locating two pairs of tightly rolled jeans and a jacket near the bottom. Seeing a first-aid kit, she retrieved it as well. While she was sitting down everything next to the pack, she saw the two men out of the corner of her eye.

They were staring at her ass.

"Mara!"

Mara looked up in surprise at the sound of her mother's voice to see the older woman wave and move at a quickened pace down the conifer covered hillock. Seeing the question in her daughter's eyes, Kia explained, "I'm the closest thing we have to a doctor. Now I really wish Dara was here."

Nodding her head in agreement, as her mother's veterinarian experience combined with training in first aid was better than nothing, Mara said, "I don't know if it's broken, but it's really badly sprained if it isn't."

"Where's Wade?" His father asked.

"Off looking for poles to make a stretcher."

Paul nodded approvingly and then started toward the two blond men with Kia following close behind.

Wade returned a couple of minutes later with two stout limbs to make the stretcher. Paul handed Kia a pain killer from his first-aid kit before going to assist his son. Kia got to work on splinting Terry's ankle. Mara helped where she could as the other three went about their tasks with methodical speed. The hike back through the woods would not be easy while carrying the stretcher, and none wanted to attempt it in failing light.

The young man cried out once as he was lifted on the makeshift stretcher. Wade had purposely made one of the rear poles long enough for both Mara and her mother to hold, letting them share their part of the burden. On Paul's signal, they stepped forward on the same foot, at the same time.

The walk was grueling in the humid summer heat. Mara was dripping with sweat by the time they crested the spruce-dotted rise, her t-shirt clinging to her skin before they were a quarter of the way back to the camp. The terrain was uneven, and the obstacles were often hidden beneath concealing leaves and pine needles. Skirting the trees, bushes, and undergrowth was even more difficult, making the journey longer than the trip in.

Despite the difficulty, Wade and his father made sure to pull down all the trail-marking ribbon along the way.

By the time they reached the camp, Mara was weary to the bone. The men helped Terry into the tent where he could lie on his sleeping bag while Mara and her mother collapsed into a shady spot to quench their thirst and rest.

Wade and his father emerged from the tent and exchanged a few words. Paul went to the canoes, while Wade walked to where the women rested.

"We're going to have to pitch camp here for the night. We've got two tents, but they'll be a bit crowded with two each in them."

"Won't Dad be worried?" Mara queried.

Her mother shook her head. "He knew we probably wouldn't be able to make it back before dark. They'll head this way in the morning."

Wade said, "Take it easy while we get set up. If you don't mind cooking, we'll fall in a heap while you're doing that."

Kia nodded, and Wade went to join his father.

Mara looked over when she felt her mother's hand patting her knee.

"I'm proud of you."

Her cheeks warming, Mara asked, "For what?"

"For not dropping that pole because those two were staring at your boobs the whole way back here."

They both broke out into stifled laughter.

****

The air was cool and everything moist with dew when Mara crawled out of the tent the next morning. The resinous smell of pine hung thick about the campsite, mingling with the smoke of the fire. Her mother sat with Wade and his father, wearing a pair of shorts and a t-shirt that were decidedly too big for her. Her hair was damp and her clothes hung down by the canoes, drying in the sun.

"Morning, sleepyhead," Kia greeted her daughter. "Come have some breakfast."

Mara felt absolutely ravenous, likely because of how much energy she'd expended the previous day, and cleaned her plate in short order. All the while, she shrugged her shoulders and plucked at her stiff shirt, decorated with half circles of dried salt from the sweaty hike through the woods. She'd barely put down her plate before her mother picked up a bundle of clothing and a towel.

"Let's go get you cleaned up."

Mara cast a furtive glance toward the other tent in the camp, though both of the young men were inside at the moment.

His eyes a little hard as he nodded toward the other side of the camp, Wade offered, "I'll make sure they keep their butts here and their eyes in their head."

Kia stood up and held out a hand to help her daughter rise. "Let's go."

The trail from the camp to the waterfall was clearly marked from travel, but new shoots still poked up from between the leaves. The limits on daily visitors preserved even this popular spot from suffering too much from the intrusion of man in the wilderness. The falls wasn't large, only a couple of tumbles from about twenty feet up, but the water cascaded in disperse sheets, catching the sun to form rainbow patterns.

More important for the moment, the vegetation hid the small clearing and frothing pool from view until one walked right up on it. Mara peeled off her shirt even as she walked — the water calling to her.

Her mother took the shirt from her and said, "I'll rinse these out while you wash up."

The water was cold, even in the warming air. Ignoring the shock, Mara moved toward a large rock that broke the surface of the pool directly below the falls. After a few moments of shivering, she let out a sigh and ran her hands over her body, washing away the sweat and dirt of the previous day.

"You seem a little more like yourself today," Kia remarked as she knelt next to the pool, dunking Mara's bikini bottom in the water. When her daughter frowned a little, she quickly said, "Sorry."

Smoothing water through her hair, Mara said, "It's okay. It's hard to wallow in pity around that goof Wade." She rolled her eyes and smiled.

Kia looked up to see her daughter leaned back, the falling water arching out from her firm breasts — her expression one of content bliss.

"I know it's hard, but you'd better hurry before someone decides to hike up here from the other campsite."

Mara gave a sad nod and concentrated more on getting clean than luxuriating in the invigorating spray.

Her father and brother arrived an hour or so later, leading Ryan's uncle and Terry's father — neither of whom looked at all comfortable in their canoe — to the campsite. Mara was relieved to discover that her father had brought along a change of clothing, as the borrowed t-shirt felt as big as a tent, and her own clothes were still wet.

The men broke camp while Mara and her mother made lunch. Paul sat off to the side, a whittling knife in hand. By the time everyone was ready to set out, he'd finished carving a stout crutch to help Terry get around.

The paddle back toward 'home' was a bit slow at first. The two rescued men's relatives were still unsteady, and Terry had difficulty finding a position in which he could sit that didn't send shooting pains up his leg.

It didn't stop him from ogling Mara and her mother any time he thought nobody was watching, though.

A low growl from behind her prompted Mara to glance back shortly after one of those callous stares. She saw Wade staring daggers at Terry, his eyes narrow and his lip twitching.

Doing her best to ignore the emotions his protectiveness caused, Mara mischievously gave a flip of her paddle when completing the next stroke, splashing him. His expression changed to one of amused irritation, but Mara swore she saw his cheeks redden — just for an instant.

"Forget it. They're just jerks," she quietly urged. The hint of a grin touched her face as she asked, "Are you a knight instead of a pirate now?"

Though he laughed, the sound was a bit forced. "Okay."

Wade's curbed enthusiasm made the whole journey a great deal less enjoyable for Mara. Once back in the section of the lake where her family and Wade's made camp, the group drifted to a stop.

The young men expressed gratitude for the rescue, and Mara thought that they looked a little humbled by the experience. Their older relatives, who had found some confidence near the end of the paddle and had begun talking about returning under happier circumstances, were profuse with their thanks as well.

Wade's expression relaxed almost immediately after the other two canoes left, but Mara didn't have a chance to benefit from his improving humor for long. The rest of her extended family wanted to hear about the part of the search and rescue they'd missed, while Wade and his father still had to attend to setting their camp.

Mara watched them cross the lake with a little sigh, content at least in the knowledge that she would see them both again soon.

****

With five years of exploration that she'd missed under his belt, Wade had all sorts of wonders to share. Though she spent her mornings and evenings with the family, Mara passed the days paddling to little-known corners of the local wilderness with Wade.

The easy friendship they'd shared as youngsters returned, coupled now with the freedom that arose from parental trust in them to roam — within reason. They were wise enough to stay within radio range of at least one person, and keep in contact. Though Mara endured a long cautionary lecture from her parents that first afternoon, after proving her good senses and returning unscathed, her mother had let her go with no more than a wave and a smile the second. That smile spoke volumes, and Mara knew that her improved mood played no small part in the loosening of the apron strings.

Improved was actually an understatement. Sitting atop a hill with a magnificent view on the third afternoon, it dawned on Mara that she hadn't thought about her breakup since the day before. Wade's return to jovial silliness was simply infectious and irresistible.

Mara glanced over her shoulder, wondering where he'd gotten to. The view was the bait he'd used to lure her up here — and it was well worth the easy climb — but he'd hiked off wearing a devious smile shortly after arriving at the top. A frothy stream rushing down the hillside only a few feet away made it difficult, but she could just hear him rustling through the woods somewhere nearby.

When he returned, Wade still wore that sneaky smile, and had turned the tail of his shirt into a basket. However, the makeshift pouch wasn't the thing that first caught Mara's eye, but rather the rock hard abdominal muscles below.

She chased that thought out of her head as quickly as possible, and managed to avoid blushing this time. Dealing with the reality that he was a man now, and not just Wade was hard enough, but any time that truth asserted itself, it reminded her of just how alone she felt.

"Blueberries?" He asked as he sat down and revealed the fruit.

The moan of anticipatory delight was unavoidable as Mara picked one of the big round berries and popped it in her mouth.

"They were growing up here last year, so I figured they would be here."

Mara ate another. "Aren't you going to have some?"

"I already had one or two. You can have your pick, then I'll help you finish them off."

Looking out over the lake, a stiff breeze sending her hair fluttering out behind her like a golden banner, Mara sighed and said, "Only one week left. That's the only bad thing about coming up here. We never get to stay long enough."

"At least you've got another week. Everybody else has to paddle out tomorrow."

Mara nodded, knowing that she was going to miss her extended family when they set out for civilization. She was lucky that her parents could carve out much longer vacations. "They live up here, though. They can come out on weekends."

"Ah, you get a little jaded if you're out here all the time like me and Dad. We'll give them a good send off."

Mara was looking forward to this evening, fondly remembering her father strumming his guitar while Wade's father plucked a banjo or played harmonica. The evening get-together was a tradition that always happened whenever her family and Wade's shared the lake at the same time.

The blueberries didn't last long between the two of them, and as Mara took the last one, her mother's voice came over the radio. "I'm getting ready to make lunch, Mara."

Wade grabbed the radio off his belt and handed it to her so she could answer, "Okay, we're heading back."

As she stood up, Mara handed the radio back to Wade, and then took a step toward the animal trail leading back down to the water. The spot where she put her foot down looked solid enough, but the forest detritus gave way, slipping downhill.

Crying out, Mara threw her hands wide for balance, but she could feel gravity winning the battle. Just as she was sure that she would tumble down the hillside, bouncing off rocks and trees all the way, Wade's hand grabbed hers with a resounding clap. He reeled her in, sliding his other arm behind her shoulders to help her find her footing.

"You okay?"

Her heart pounding, Mara nodded and let out a long breath of relief. When she looked up into his eyes, her fluttering heart skipped a beat. The deep, liquid blue pools drew her in. It was several seconds later before she realized that he was still holding her, his hand clasped tightly with hers.

Wade let go a little quickly, and nodded toward the trail. "Uh, let's go then."

Following along behind, Mara curled her fingers to stroke them over her palm. She could still feel Wade's hand, the firm, protective grip softening to something far different as she'd regained her balance.

Wade stepped onto the trail and looked back over his shoulder. "If you're going to test to make sure the law of gravity is still in effect again, try not to take me out on the way down."

He just managed to dodge the clump of leaves she kicked at him.

****

Sitting around the fire at Wade's camp that evening, Mara glanced at her furiously blushing father and stifled a laugh. Her great uncle continued the story, much to her father's chagrin.

"Now, I didn't see Steve's gallantry, so I had no idea what was going on when I paddled up. There he was, standing on the bank holding his paddle planted in the ground like a knight with a lance, lookin' for all the world like he'd thrash anybody who dared set foot on land.

"I asked him what he was on about, and he puffs up his chest and says that he's standing guard. His voice only cracked a little."

A few chuckles popped up here and there around the fire. Mara took another drink from her cup, once again feeling the warm rush as the homemade wine settled in her stomach. Though Paul always kept a couple of gallon jugs weighed down in the deep, cold waters of the lake, tonight was the first time she'd been allowed to partake. Despite having only sipped a half a cup so far, she already felt light-headed, and more than a little giddy.

"Well," her great uncle continued, "I was about to ask what he was standing guard for when they came walking down the trail from answering nature's call. I tell you, those girls could have come right out of the pages of a magazine. Prettiest things you ever did see, and wearing bikinis so small you could have stuffed them both in a cup. Them girls told Steve here thank you, and then they both gave him a kiss. He just stood there with his mouth open, as bright red as a stop sign, and grinnin' from ear to ear while he watched them go back out on the lake — until I asked him if he was tryin' to catch flies."