A Bad Day Fishing

She finished her inspection of the cabinets, walked over to the stove, and stuck out her hands. "Well, we won't starve. There are quite a few cans of vegetables, a couple of cans of Spam, a small canned ham, a dozen cans of sardines and about as many of tuna."

"Don't forget the fish dinners," I said.

"What fish dinners?" She asked.

I grinned and jerked my thumb in the direction of the boat. "The ones in the live well."

She chuckled and nodded, "Oh yeah. We sure aren't going to need them for the tournament." She frowned for a moment and then said, "I hate it that we can't get to weight in. I sure would like to know where we would have finished."

I nodded and smiled, "Me to. I think we would have been in the top two or three at the worst." I looked around and asked, "Where are the bottoms to my slicker suit? Did we bring them in or leave them in the boat?"

"Uh, in the boat, I think," she answered. "I'll go get them, no need for you to get any wetter. What do we need out of the boat?"

I chuckled and shifted my weight, my tennis shoes making a squishing sound as I did. "I couldn't get any wetter if I jumped in the lake. We're going to need a lot more wood for tonight and I have an ice chest with drinks and sandwich fixings, I need to get out of the boat. There's also a bag under the front deck with a flashlight and several other things that will come in handy."

"I'll help you with the wood and then we'll make a dash for the boat. I'll get the bag and you get the ice chest. That way, one trip will do it," Kaye said, as she raised the hood on her rain suit.

*****

Two trips each, had us enough wood and a trip to the boat had everything we needed from there. I pulled the boat up on shore another foot or so, while I was there and retied the rope at the stairs. The rain wasn't nearly as bad, here in the trees but the wind was whipping the treetops. Limbs and pine needles rained down almost as thickly as the rain.

When we were back in the cabin, Kaye asked, "Is the lake still rising?"

I nodded and said, "Yeah and the creek is probably rising faster. We'll have to keep a close eye on the boat. There isn't much current yet but there could be soon. We could walk out of here but I would much rather ride, if you know what I mean. Anyway, I don't have a clue how far it would be to a main road. I've been back up in this creek several miles and this is the only sign of civilization, I've seen."

Kaye was stripping off the rain suit as I talked. I took off my rain top and stood close to the heater, trying to speed up the drying of my levies. Kaye took off her deck shoes and sat them close under the edge of the stove.

As she did, she reached out and felt of the leg of my jeans. "Damn, you are soaking wet. You need to get out of those pants. I think there's some blankets in the cabinet over by the bunk beds. I'll get you one."

I stepped out of my shoes and pushed them under the stove. Kaye came back and handed me a cheap blanket. It was thin and worn but better than nothing. "There are two more like that in the cabinet and one pillow. Not much for two people, especially if it turns cold again."

Wrapping the blanket around my waist, I wiggled out of the levies. I stepped out of them and then bent to pick them up. I hung the pants over a wire running above the stove. Water dripped from them, causing a hissing sound and a puff of steam.

"This old heater should keep it warm in here," I said.

She chuckled and said, "I was thinking more about tomorrow, if and when we get a chance to get back across the lake. I'm not exactly dressed for winters return. The last weather report, I heard said, sunny, and warm during the day and cool evenings. I expected to be back at the hotel by three thirty at the latest. Talk about your poor planning."

I grinned and nodded. "That's okay, I like what you're wearing. Anyway, I have a jacket in that bag of stuff. Between the rain suit and one of these blankets, you won't freeze." I paused and looked around before I asked, "Uh, where is your hat?"

She laughed and replied, "Somewhere in the lake. A gust of wind took it about the time it started to rain. It was my lucky hat." She paused a moment and looked at me, then she smiled and asked, "You like what I'm wearing, huh? Are you sure, that's what it is? It couldn't be what's in the clothes now could it?"

I stared at her a second, not sure what to say. As the silence drew out, she cocked her head to the side and grinned. This confused me even more. "Uh, if I offended you, I'm sorry. I was just making a comment. You are a great looking lady, after all."

She chuckled and shook her head. "Thank you for the compliment. I was just check to see if you were really as good a guy as you seemed to be. My choice in men lately has been terrible. I've began to doubt my judge of character, where men are concerned."

I continued to look at her as I said, "I'm sorry to hear that. You seem to be really good people, if you know what I mean. I've enjoyed our time together so far and I like you. I'd like to get to know you better." I paused a second and added, "I've been a widow now for about eight years. It sounds like my luck with women is about as good as your luck with men. I've ran into some real head cases lately."

She laughed and sat down in a wooden chair at the old dinning room table that was next to the stove. She looked up at me for a second or two and then said, "I'm the one that should apologize. Your comment wasn't out of line, mine was. I was being bitchy. That boat ride in here had the adrenaline pumping and now it's wearing off. I've had a little time now to think about our situation and I'm a little scared at being marooned in this cabin with someone I hardly know. I know deep down that you're a nice guy but the way things have gone for me lately, you could turn into Jack the Ripper at any second. I over reacted and I'm sorry."

I moved over and sat down at the end of the table. I thought over what she had said earlier and then what she said now. I nodded and smiled, "Its okay. You confused me more than anything. I wasn't sure what I had done or said that offended you. You did a pretty quick change of attitude, there for a second yourself." I grinned and added, "Nice friendly woman one minute and rabid feminist the next. Talk about Jeckle and Hyde."

She leaned forward, put her elbows on the table, and cupped her chin on her hand as she smiled at me. "I guess I did sound a little crazy. Just chalk it up to the wild boat ride and an over active imagination." She paused a moment and looked into my eyes. "I think I would like to get to know you better also."

Before I could reply, there was a wild, loud rattling on the tin roof. It lasted for a couple of minutes and then the sound of a hard rain followed. I looked at Kaye and shook my head. "That wasn't good. If it's hailing then this storm is slowing and it's probably going to get colder, a lot colder." I told her.

She nodded in understanding and took a deep breath, blowing it out noisily. After a moment she said, "Well, we might as well get comfortable and relax. With no radio and no TV it's going to get boring pretty quickly."

I chuckled and slowly shook my head. "I guess we'll just have to do what they did in prehistoric time."

She looked at me funny for a second and then asked, "Uh, and what would that be?"

"Talk," I said with a big grin and then laughed.

She grinned and shook her head, "Four thousand fishermen on this lake and I get stuck with a comedienne, an old comedienne at that." She laughed and added, "I'm kidding, okay, so don't hit me or toss me out in the rain."

"I don't hit ladies but I have been known to spank one or two for calling me old," I said with a grin.

"Oh, promises, promises. I happen to love a good old fashion spanking ever so often and all I ever get is promises." She returned at me.

When I started up out of my chair, she scrambled to her feet and moved over by the bunks, laughing and saying, "Oh no you don't, I was just joking."

I laughed with her. "I was too," I told her. "Come on back over here and sit down." I grinned at her.

"I don't think I trust that grin, so I'll just sit over here, if you don't mind," she said and got up on the bunk to sit cross-legged, watching me.

I chuckled and stood up. I walked over to the door and opened it a crack so I could look out. It was almost as dark as if the sun had gone down. I had to open the door farther to be able to see the boat. I just could make out its outline between the darkness and the rain. Everything looked all right so I closed the door and used part of the blanket to dry my face and hair. It was really pouring out there.

Kaye had gotten another blanket and was back on the bed wrapped up in it, Indian fashion. I made a circuit of the room, looking into every draw, cabinet, box, and anything else that looked interesting or might have storage. The two small windows on the side of the cabin away from the creek showed nothing but dimly lit woods and an old overgrown road. They were our only source of light. I had not even found a candle much less any kind of oil lamp.

By the time I got over to the bunks, Kaye was laying down, covered with the blanket and asleep. I smiled and went on to check to see if my jeans were dry. They were still damp, so I sat back down in the chair and propped my feet up.

*****

A loud crash woke me up to a very dark and quite cool place, with a jerk and a start. Kaye yelled and then her voice out of the dark was calling me. "I'm right here by the table," I said. "Stay put until I get the fire built back up. I fell asleep too."

"What was that crashing sound?" She asked in a tremble voice.

"I don't know but it sounded like a large tree. Let me get the fire going and my pants on and I'll see if I can find out," I said as I put a couple of pieces of wood in the stove and then I blew on the coals gently to catch the chunks on fire. As they blazed up, the open door of the stove gave us a little light.

"That's better," Kaye said. "I hate the dark."

"You may have to get used to it for a while, I only have the one set of batteries for the flashlight, and I didn't find any other light source in this place." I told her.

"There are electric lights on the ceiling," she said.

"Yeah but they must have taken the portable generator with them at the end of hunting season," I replied.

"That wasn't very nice of them," Kaye said and chuckled.

"It would have been too easy for someone to steal it. Even easier, if they were in a boat," I explained to her. "People don't leave much of value at these camps after the season is over."

"I understand, believe me, but it still sucks," she said and chuckled.

I slipped my jeans on, put on my fairly dry shoes, got the flashlight and my rain suit top. Putting on the top, I said, "I'll check on the boat while I'm at it. It doesn't sound like it's raining as bad as it was."

*****

Outside the rain wasn't nearly as bad as it had been but the wind was if anything, higher and very gusty. I shined the flashlight over the area around the house and found the fallen tree right off. It was right out front. At the bottom of the steps, I found the water about a foot deep.

When I pulled on the rope, it wouldn't move, so I stepped off in the water and shivered from how cold it was. Tennis shoes were not made for this, I told myself as I followed the rope to where it went under the large limbs of the fallen tree. I could see that the boat had floated back toward the lake a little ways and was up against a tree. I went around the fallen tree and headed for the boat.

My boat will float in a foot of water easily, so I pulled it toward the fallen tree and rolled up the rope as I went. The knot between the two lengths of rope was right next to a big limb and after some work, I got it untied and towed the boat along the side of the fallen tree trunk towards the root ball sticking up in the air. I figured that I could get it closer to the stairs in this direction.

As I rounded the root ball, I stumbled and fell, almost dropping the flashlight. I hit the water hard and went under. There was a deep hole where the roots had pulled up and I landed right in it. Trying to get to my feet in the slippery mud, I ended up losing one of my shoes.

I made a wide circle around the hole and got the boat within twenty feet of the steps. The ground had a high spot here and as I shined the light under the cabin, part of the ground there was still dry. I played out the rope and tied the boat off to the stairs again. I used the loose end of the rope to tie a depth mark on the first post. I would be able to see it and the boat now, from the door without opening it so wide.

By the time I got back inside, I was freezing. Kaye was standing next to the stove and with one look at me, she asked, "What happened, you look like you've been swimming."

"Something like that," I said and told her about the tree, and what had happened to me.

I took off the rain suit top and then my shirt. I got my blanket from earlier, dried off with it, and then took off my pants again. Kaye took the pants and shirt over to the sink along with my socks and rung them all out.

Now all my clothes were hanging above the stove to dry. I wished I could get up there too as I was still freezing. I got closer to the stove and slowly rotated trying to warm up.

Kaye brought me the second blanket and said, "Get over on the bed and lay down, I'll get that third blanket. We don't need you to get sick. I don't know where we are or how to run the boat well enough to get us back to the landing."

"I'll be all right as soon as I get warm." I told her as my teeth started to chatter. I seemed to be getting colder, not warmer.

I moved over to the bed and lay down as Kaye put a couple more chunks of wood in the stove. She brought the extra blanket over and covered me with it. I was already wrapped up in my blanket. She stood by the bed looking at me for a few minutes as my teeth chattered again. She got a frown on her face and then she crawled over me and cuddled up behind me, spreading her blanket over the two I already had.

As she tucked the blankets in tightly to me she said, "I've never seen hypothermia but I've read about it and you look like a classic case. Relax and let your body shiver if it wants to, the muscle movement will generate heat and sped the warming."

With a nod, I tried to relax as she said, but my teeth chattered so much I thought I might break one and my body went through a long bout of the shivers, until my muscles actually hurt. She hugged me tightly for a while and then pulled the extra blanket from between us and cuddled back up, against me. The fire was blazing up in the heater and the stove was starting to glow slightly in places. I was still freezing.

I was still shaking and shivering after another ten minutes. Kaye finally said, "Okay, get unwrapped out of that blanket and I'll cuddle up right against you. You need some heat and other than sitting you on the stove, I'm the only other source around."

She was moving around behind me as I told her through chattering teeth, "I ain't got anything on under this blanket."

"So?" She answered. "Get that blanket out of the way."

I did as I was told and when she cuddled back up behind me, I nearly jumped off the bed. She was as naked as I was. She was also as warm as toast against my chilled skin as she fit spoon fashion against my back, ass, and thighs.

Slowly over the next half hour, my teeth stopped chattering and I was down to just occasional shivers. As my body finally started to warm, I started to get sleepy and I got a case of the yawns.

"Are you feeling any better?" She asked softly.

I nodded and told her, "I think I'll live, now. I wasn't so sure a little while ago. I was about to shake myself to pieces. Now I'm getting sleepy. I guess it's safe for me to doze off."

"I think you'll be alright, and sleep will do you good." She shifted a bit and added, "I'll try and stay awake for a while, that way I can watch the fire and make sure it doesn't die down too much for a while or go out."

I nodded and yawned again.

*****

Something woke me up. There had been some kind of movement and now my back was cold. I opened my eyes and then had to blink a couple of times. There was a naked lady putting wood in a stove in front of me. Then my brain kicked in and the memories from earlier flooded back. In addition, the dream I had been having, now made a little sense, as did the hard-on pressed up against my belly.

Kaye turned and saw me looking at her, so I yawned, sighed, and closed my eyes slowly. I was hoping she would think I was still asleep. I caught the hint of a smile on her lips, just as my eyes shut. A moment later, she climbed back onto the bed and snuggled up behind me with a sigh of her own.

*****

The next time I woke up, I was lying on my back with Kaye's head on my left shoulder. My arm was draped across her back, my hand flat on her skin just above her tailbone. Her left arm was across my chest and her hand was tucked up under my shoulder. Her left leg from the knee down was between mine, her thigh over mine. I could feel the hot heat of her sex pressed against the side of my thigh, as she cuddled against my hip. Her small soft breasts were pressed against my lower rib cage.

My mind wandered around trying to figure out how and when, we had gotten in this position. I didn't have a clue. Then I realized that I could see across the room. I glanced at the windows to see that it was dark and gray outside. I could hear the rain on the roof and the whistle of the wind from somewhere.

I didn't want to move and wake Kaye up. I was enjoying the feel of her against me. It had been a long time since I had slept with anyone this way. I relaxed and took a slow deep breath and let it out even slower. I noticed that there was a soft sound of contentment mixed in with it. I also realized that I was smiling.

A fluttery tickle on my shoulder made me turn my head and look at Kaye. Her eyes were open and then they focused on my face. A smile to match mine slowly grew on her face. Her eyes flickered down across the blanket covering my chest and she wiggled subtly, as if she were testing to see if what she felt was real. Then she sighed and the smile turned to a grin. "I seem to have made myself at home and comfy."

My smile turned to a grin also as I said, "Good morning."

"You do know that we're both grinning like a couple of fools, don't you." She asked. I nodded my head and she asked, "How are you feeling this morning?"

"Wonderful." I replied. "I haven't slept so well in a long time."

She shifted subtly again and said, "Me either. Even getting up a couple of time to add wood to the fire didn't seem to matter."

"Oh, that explains my dream," I said softly, grinning.

"What dream was that?" She asked grinning back at me.

"The one about the beautiful naked lady, bathed in firelight as she put wood in a stove," I said.

She chuckled and said, "Yeah, that would have been me alright, except for maybe the beautiful part. I have gotten too old to even think about that. Beautiful, is for young sexy college girls, not middle aged.... Well, whatever I am."

I chuckled and said, "I think the lady does protest too much or something like that. Shakespeare, I think. Beauty has nothing to do with age, it has to do with the person wearing it on the inside and the outside of themselves."

"Oh, so you're a philosopher in the mornings, huh. I like that, it gets the brain to working before you have to move the body," she said with a smile.

"Now you're giving me more credit than I deserve. First, I'd have to have a brain to get working. Most of the time, a couple of lazy brain cells is about all I can muster, and then that's only if I have too," I said with a chuckle.