Moving On

One evening I was sitting on the patio when her father came out with a couple of Newcastle Ales. He sat beside me, handed me the beer and said, "Ya know Steve I just can't figure you out son. You're a fine fella as far as I can tell and I appreciate your helping Mandy like ya done but... Well, hell, I just don't understand how ya 'all can be like ya are. Hell, I know how I'd feel if my wife done what yourn did but..."

I felt a surge of pain when Frank brought up Joan. He seemed embarrassed when he saw the look on my face. I said, "Ya know Frank I've done some things on this trip I'm not real proud of. I had my share of women, especially at first. I guess I was trying to get even with Joan or something. Hell, I don't know, maybe I was trying to prove I was still a man, still desirable to women or something. I don't know. When I first met Amanda she was working in a bar in Key West and I was attracted to her but we became friends, buds. When her boyfriend kicked her out of her home and I invited her to live with me for a few days I promised her I wouldn't bother her that way. I guess we fell into a pattern or something but neither of us felt the need to move on to something more I suppose."

Frank looked at me and shook his head. We just sat after that and watched the sunset as night came to these beautiful hills. After the sun had dropped behind the hills Frank turned to me again and said, "Mandy tells us ya got a piece of ground here on the lake somewhere. She said ya was agonna maybe stay there fer a while?"

"Yeah I thought I would try and find it. I haven't been there in ten or twelve years I guess. It was my wife's. She inherited it from her grandparents. There used to be a fishing resort on it and I thought I might spend the summer there if I can find a way to get my trailer down to a good spot."

Frank sat in thought a few minutes then said, "Ya know, there's a piece of ground about three miles or so down the road that might be yours. There are some old docks on the shore and a few cabins that're falling down. I think some woman lives in the best of them and sortta takes care of tha place. Tomorrow's Saturday and I'm off work. We can go look at it if ya want."

"I've got a map in the trailer. Let me get it and maybe we can see. I knew it was close here but wasn't sure just where it was. I was going to call around and try to find someone who could direct me if I couldn't find it."

I got the map and returned to my chair. Frank and I looked it over and he said, "Yep. I think that's tha place." He looked over at my rig and continued, "We'll take my little Jeep Wrangler if ya don't mind. Some of the roads down here can get pretty rough and are narrow. No sense in taking your truck until we know for sure we have the right place."

The next morning early, just after breakfast, Frank and I packed a cooler with lunch and beer then took off. At the last moment Amanda came running out and jumped into the Jeep with us. "Hey guys. I wantta go too."

I think we drove almost seven miles by road to get the three miles as the crow flies but we finally arrived at a gate with a "No Trespassing" sign on it. We were positive this was the place so I decided we would just go on in. Another three hundred feet down the narrow trail we came to a steel cable stretched across the road and another no trespassing sign on it. This time the cable was padlocked. We couldn't get past it except on foot.

I said, "Well, looks like we hoof it from here. I don't have a key for the lock with me. Not sure I even have a key."

We walked for about a quarter mile when we turned a corner and saw the unkempt grounds of a small resort and the cabins. Only one of them looked livable and it appeared to have been the office and bait shop. I could see a decrepit dock behind the cabins and then the beautiful lake.

We were walking around visiting when a very upset woman came out of the cabin. "What the hell are ya all doing here? Can't ya read? This here's private property and I know ya passed at least ONE No Tresspassin' sign ta get down here." As she got closer I saw a small pistol stuck in the waistband of her pants.

"I'm sorry to bother you ma'am. We saw the signs but unless I'm in the wrong place I own this land so I'm not really trespassing. I wanted to come down and look it over. If it's my land I thought I might pull a trailer down her and spend some time. Did this used to be the Rory Fellows place? If it was I inherited it when my wife Joan died. I'm Steve Rowland."

The woman relaxed a little when I said that. She looked me over and said, "Yeah, this used to be Rory's place and I remember little Joan. I guess ya're ok but ya shoulda called me or sumpin. I suppose ya want me to move out now huh?

I looked around the place and said, "No, there's no need unless you want to move on. As I understand it you were supposed to look after things for the right to live here. I can see you have done some work here but I would like to see more done. If you still want to live here I can use the help cleaning up a little more."

"Listen mister! I have to work to eat ya know. I do what I can here but I gotta work in town to pay fer food and other things too."

"Hey, Hey. Hold on. I didn't mean you weren't doing things here and I understand we didn't pay you anything. All I said was I could use your help to do more. With the two of us working I want to get the place looking a little better ok?"

"Well OK but I don't like it when ya let on like I've not been doin' my job here ya unnerstand?"

Frank and I wandered around looking at the place trying to decide where I might park my trailer. Mandy stayed to talk to... Hell, I didn't even get her name. Shortly Mandy caught up to us. She said, "I think Jolene is in a better mood now. I explained some things to her and she's calmed down some. You know Steve some of these hill folks are sortta touchy. You'll learn but you need to be a little careful how you talk to some of the folks around here until you get to know them. You've lived near here but the folks in your part of the country act a little differently than we do down here. Of course a lot of the ones who work in Branson, in the tourist industry, have adapted a little but even then, on their own ground they sort of revert to a different outlook."

It was still late March and cool weather was the norm. Beginning the next morning I began working to get my rig down to the camp. Getting down the state and county roads would not be too difficult but I had to cut some small trees and brush to get down the trail to the old resort. It took all day to do that. I had purchased a chain saw to accomplish that task and decided to leave it at the resort. I knew I would need it again soon and didn't see any reason to keep carrying it back and forth.

Jolene had been out to watch me work a couple of times during the day. When she saw me walking toward the cabin she occupied she came out on the porch. "Hey Jolene. Guess I'm done for the day. Thought I'd leave the saw here if you have a safe place for it."

"Yeah, I've been using the old maintenance shed for the few tools I use here. I keep the mower in there too. Let me get the keys and I'll be right back." When she returned from inside Jolene handed me a key and continued, "Here Steve. This is the extra key to the lock. If ya lose it I keep mine on a nail beside the front door and an extra door key is hanging on a rafter of the second cabin over there."

When we got into the maintenance building I looked around. All the equipment was old but it appeared Jolene had taken pretty good care of it. She saw me looking and said, "I know it isn't fancy but me and my man tried to keep all the old stuff up as best we could. Lost him to a heart attack couple of years back. Now it's just me. Kids have all moved off to town. Have one in Branson and the other's living in Springfield with his wife. Gets lonesome down here but I just can't leave. My husband's daddy was caretaker here when old Mr. Fellows still lived here. When we got married we lived in Hollister until we had to move out here to take care of him. When he died we just stayed on and did the best we could."

"That's fine Jolene. I appreciate it. Before I leave I'll give you my cell phone number. I guess you still have my address in case you need something? I know we've got a few bills from you in the past that we needed to pay."

"OK."

"Well, guess I'll wander around a little then get back to my trailer. I think I'll try to bring it down tomorrow. I haven't decided where I'll park it permanently but at least I will have it here and not have to drive back and forth."

I had to be careful the next morning but I did get my trailer down to the camp. I set it near Jolene's cabin for a while so I could use the water and electricity hook ups there. That morning I spent some time looking over all the cabins and grounds to locate a more permanent place to park. I finally found just the perfect spot and went to work preparing it. It was at the far end of the more open grounds and had a perfect view of the lake. I could see the sun coming up in the east and setting in the west. I had afternoon and evening shade and thought I would catch cooling breezes off the lake too. It looked like I was cleaning up an old camp spot. I found a water pipe sticking out of the ground with a freeze less faucet on the end. When I tried it I didn't get any water flow though. There was a fallen down power pole at the edge of the brushy area too.

By mid afternoon I backed my trailer into the spot and leveled it. I spent the rest of the day stacking and burning brush and trash. When Jolene returned from work she walked part way to my trailer and stood looking around with her hands on her hips. I smiled and waved as I walked up to her. "Well Steve I see ya found a good spot fer yer new home. You've sure made a difference in tha place too. Making me feel a little lazy though. You get twice as much done in a day as I do."

The next morning I went into Branson and found an equipment and tool rental business. I rented a back hoe with a front end loader on it then returned to my new home. I spent the rest of the day digging a new water line to my trailer and using the loader to push some of the smaller brush out and stack it. Once again when she returned Jolene stood and looked over the grounds. She shook her head and went into her house this time without saying anything. The next day after I laid the water pipe from the well house to my trailer I covered it and smoothed the trench out. I worked on the road next cleaning the ditches and pushing more brush away from the edge. I also cleaned a lot of the beach down to the lake and along the small stream that ran beside my trailer and into the lake. I dug up a clear patch for a garden also then returned the back hoe.

I seeded grass in the areas I had torn up and covered it with straw the next day then just sat most of the afternoon and relaxed. It was in the sixties and I hung my hammock where I could look over the lake and chilled out.

My next project was to repair a part of the dock so I could get my boat out of storage and tied up. I planned to do a lot of fishing when the seasons opened. I was spending some money fixing up the old place but not much. It was cheaper than what I had been spending on my trip and I think I was happier.

I had been keeping in touch with several people I met on my trip around the country and they were all interested in my project. In fact a couple of them had said they would stop and visit me if I had a place for them to park their rigs for a few nights. I got excited about that and spent several more days working around clearing pads for friends to park. I called my son and had him bring one of our back hoes and dump trucks down for me to use. I did more road repair and hauled several loads of gravel to improve it then I decided after I had ran more water and electric lines that I would pour concrete pads in the places I had cleaned up for RV's. By now Jolene was no longer surprised when she returned home and found another major change. In fact, some evenings she even came out and helped me if I was still working.

I had also kept in touch with Maria and her parents. She was really interested in my little project and every time we talked she wanted to know what I had done since the last time. She kept gushing over the pictures I would send her and one time she said she would really like to see the place in person. I said, "Well why don't you? It's really nice here in early June. Why don't you come up and see me then. Bring your parents if they want to come too."

"You know I just might do that. Can you make me a reservation somewhere?"

"NO. I have a cabin here that's not in too bad a shape. I'll clean it up and fix the major problems and you and your family can use it if you all come. If it's just you that's ok too. I have several friends that plan on dropping by throughout the summer and have some pads set up for their RV's so if you all want to drive a rig up you can use one of them also."

My children thought I was crazy to do all the work and spend the money on the old camp but after a heated discussion they admitted it was my land and my money so if it made me happy it was fine. Besides, I think they decided they might enjoy coming down and spending a few weekends when it was warmer!

In mid May my first visitor showed up. They pulled in with a 36' fifth wheel and just barely got it down the drive! We took several minutes to site it on the pad properly then hooked it up. The first day they were there we just visited and caught up on happenings. Over the next week or so they did the tourist thing, took in shows in Branson and even used my pontoon boat for a day on the lake.

Just before the first rig left another of my friends pulled in with a slightly smaller fifth wheel. We set them up and they followed the pattern of the first couple. Jolene was still unsure of her reaction to the changes but I did find her visiting with the folks some evenings. The second couple and I were visiting one evening and they were complaining about the long drive into town for groceries, beer and so forth. "Steve why don't you stock a few things in the store over there? It would sure make it easier for your customers."

"Whoa there hoss," I said. "I'm not running a RV site here. This place has been in my family for years and I just poured a few pads so my friends and family could park when they dropped by."

"What? Hell Steve you're sitting on a gold mine here. I guess I thought you were going into the business. I've been telling some of our friends how nice it is here and a couple of them told me they planned to come by and stay with ya. I'm sorry I misunderstood. I'll have to call them up and let them know they need to find someplace else to stay when they come to Branson."

When the first couple pulled out they tried to pay me for the space. I refused because I had told them I considered them friends and guests, not customers. "Hell Steve. That's bullshit boy. (He was a Texan and when he talked you knew it) I do consider ya a friend but you put a lot of work and money into fixing up this place. We've used your water, power and sewer system. You need something for that at least." He pushed a check at me and said, "Here. Take this check for the power and water at least. Besides, I never did pay you for the boat and fuel we used. I know it's not as much as some of the nicer spots charge but I figured $30.00 a day for the pad and I added another $250 for the boat and fuel. Now I won't take no for an answer. Hell, me and the old Lady want to come back. This is a right relaxing place ya got here. If ya had a pool it'd be perfect."

When the second couple left they also insisted on leaving me a small check 'for the power'.

To my surprise late in the afternoon of June 1 I got a phone call from Maria. "Steve did you mean it when you said I could visit you the first of June?"

"Of course Maria. Are you coming? I would really enjoy seeing you here. I've missed our talks and I would love to see you again."

"OHHHH Good. I was afraid you were just being polite. When can we come?"

"Any time you want to show up Honey. I'm not doing a thing except puttering around here. I've already had a couple of friends stay a few days but they left last week. It's just me and the caretaker here right now."

"Steve we're in Hollister right now. Can we come out tonight?"

"Hell YES! Do you need directions or I can come and lead you in. What are you driving?"

"We brought Daddy's Motor Home. Is that OK?"

"OH Shit! It's going to be a tight fit Honey. The camp will handle it fine but a couple of the corners on the road will be tough. The county road down here is really narrow too."

Maria and her parents plugged the address into their GPS and before I much more than got the gate open they were there. I looked at the Class A motor home and stared. Hell I knew they were huge but this one looked like a monster trying to turn into my little narrow driveway.

I watched and directed as Phil, Maria's Father, slowly made his way through my gate and started down the road. I walked in front of him and watched. There was one sharp dogleg corner that worried me. When he got to it he got half way around it when I had to stop him. His rear wheels were going off the road into the ditch and it was deep enough he would get stuck if he continued. I came up to the coach and had him back up. Luckily I still had the back hoe and a couple of loads of gravel at the camp. I went to the camp and brought several back hoe bucket loads of gravel to fill in the ditches on either side of the corner so he could drive into them and get around the corner. One place I had to cut a couple of tree limbs so he could get under them.

Jolene was standing in the yard staring with her mouth open when we came into her sight. She just stood and watched as Phil backed his rig into the spot nearest mine and hooked up. When he came out to hook up his lines she walked up to us and said, "Well, I never in my wildest dreams thought I would see something like this down here. Ya all must be crazy to bring that thing back here in the hills."

I was still listening to Jolene when a small shape jumped off the last step of the RV, dodged around Phil and jumped into my arms. Maria wrapped her legs around my hips and slammed her mouth against mine in a kiss. My arms instinctively wrapped around her supple waist to hold her. It was a moment before I kissed her back then I disentangled myself from her. I stepped back a short step and looked at her. Her eyes were shining and she was flushed. Her breasts were heaving as she breathed rapidly.

"Oh Steve it's so great to see you again. I've really missed you!"

I looked over at Phil and Felicia as she came down the steps. My mouth was hanging open and Phil grinned. He shrugged his shoulders then winked. Maria moved up next to me and wrapped her arm around my waist. To say I was gob smacked was an understatement. I didn't know how to react and I think Maria finally picked up on that. She stepped away from me a little and looked up at my face. "Steve is something wrong here?"

"Uh no. You just surprised me is all. It's great to see you all."

About then a small car pulled into the yard near us. I looked over and smiled as Amanda jumped from the vehicle and skipped up to me. She wrapped her arms around me and gave me a kiss on the cheek then stepped back. She looked over at my new guests and said, "Hi ya all. I'm Mandy. I didn't know you were here. I just came over to talk to Steve for a minute then I'll be out of your way.

Mandy's eyes were sparkling and she was almost jumping with excitement. Her beautiful breasts were bobbing within the restraints of her bra. The evening sun made her thin sun dress almost translucent. You could tell she was all woman for sure. She said, "Steve I had to stop here first and tell you the news. Oh, Steve I got the job! I'm the new Assistant Manager at Ride the Ducks. I work from Noon until we close. Now I can pay you back for all the money you spent on me in Florida. I just had to tell you before I went home."