It Started in a Cabin

"Kinda like that," Scarlett said as she blushed. "I 'borrowed' my mom's boyfriend's car to go skiing at Mont Tremblant. He didn't think it was as funny as I did. He dropped the charges on the condition that I wouldn't travel out of province until after I graduated."

"Ouch. It does sound pretty funny though," Chris grinned.

Scarlett giggled, which Chris thought sounded really cute. "At least me and my friends got a full day of skiing in before we got caught by the police."

"Ooooh! My bad ass ski bunny step-sister gets busted!"

"I'm not much of a ski bunny, I wracked up my knee on our last run. Trees can be a bitch, I tore my ACL and was in physio for three months. I probably just did the same thing again today."

"Ahh yeah I bet. I don't ski but did do a face plant water-skiing at camp this year. I got two black eyes and some burst blood vessels in my left eye. Everyone thought it was funny but a few of the girl counsellors that were my age felt that they needed to comfort me," Chris said with a sly grin.

"You really are quite the ladies man Chris! Sounds like they were all lined up waiting for the camp stud to grace them with his presence." Scarlett teased.

Chris blushed and shook his head, "Trust me I wasn't the camp stud. Besides, they were willing and who was I to argue?"

Scarlett gave a low chuckle and thought about her poor wounded step-brother with his big brown eyes looking all sad. She had to admit that she'd probably have had a hard time saying no herself. Chris was definitely starting to get to her, his easy charm and quiet demeanour were just the kind of thing most girls would be attracted to.

"We should try our phones and let our folks know we're okay." Chris said as he checked his watch, blushing under the scrutiny of his step-sister's gaze. He grabbed his cell out of his kit bag and turned it on, after a minute it was powered up and ready to go. "Fuck, it keeps bobbing between one bar and nothing. How about yours Scarlett?"

His sister pulled her phone out of her vest pocket. A few drops of water fell from it onto the floor. "Uh I think mine's toast Chris, but we can try them both."

"Sure sis, you try your dad and I'll try mom." Chris said as he hit speed dial. The first few calls failed due to poor signal then he managed to get a connection.

Scarlett was having the same issues with signal even though she was on a different network. After a few minutes she got through too.

"Mom? Yeah we're okay..What? Sorry we're almost out of cell service...Okay, yeah we're on an old hunting road."

"Hi dad! No don't worry everything's cool...Chris found a cabin and we're warm and dry. I wrecked the car and I buggered my knee again too...Yeah I know, I'm really sorry...I'll turn on my Latitude and maybe you'll see where we are."

"Don't worry everything's under control...Scar's talking to Steve too...yeah we'll leave it on all night...You what? I'm losing you mom..."

Chris hung up and looked at Scarlett as she too hit the end button on her phone. "Well at least they know we're okay," he said. "Man I gotta take a wizz, I'll be back in in a minute."

He stepped out of the cabin and went around to the back and found the outhouse. The storm had passed and now the only sounds in the forest were the drips of water from the trees and a few bird calls as the day slowly turned to night. On his way back to the cabin he checked around for a honey bucket and found a white pail near the propane tank, bringing it in with him. When he got back inside he took another look around and found that there was a small alcove in the corner behind some shelves, sure enough there was a fold up toilet seat there that was the right height for the bucket.

"Hey sis, I bet you need to pee too. You ever use a honey bucket before?"

"A honey what?" Scarlett asked.

"Call it an indoor outhouse. A bucket and toilet seat so you don't have to go out to the outhouse. Definitely easier for you with your knee right now." Chris said as he set the seat and pail up for his sister.

Chris helped Scarlett over to the honey bucket but she refused his help in getting her sweats and panties down. He went back to check the fire and put on another billet of wood. It wasn't long before he heard the steady stream of Scarlett's pee hitting the bottom of the bucket and her sigh in relief as the pressure on her bladder eased. Shortly there were only the small drips and drops of her finishing off.

"All done sis?" Chris asked with his back still turned.

"Yeah but I, um, have a problem Chris." she replied.

Chris grinned to himself, almost enjoying the sound of embarrassment in Scarlett's voice. "What's the problem?"

"I can't stand up to pull my clothes back up. Mind giving me a hand?"

"Sure, I guess I could be a good brother and help you out." Chris chuckled.

"Same rules as before bro, wandering eyes gets you punched." She replied with no real conviction to her words.

Chris moved to where she was and put his hands on her waist as she supported herself on his shoulders. As Scarlett stood he couldn't keep his eyes from wandering down her body and stopping at her crotch. At the top of her slit was a well trimmed little triangle of fiery red hair. Chris inhaled at the revelation and Scarlett realized where his eyes had gone.

She took a hand off of his shoulder and gently punched him in the ribs. "Hey asshole above the waist remember?"

"Just pull up your clothes Scarlett. I'll keep my hands where they belong and protect your secret from the world okay?" He croaked with a dry mouth.

Once Scarlett was back on the couch Chris moved around the room and lit the small propane lamps on the walls. They added a cheery glow to the warm light already coming from the glass front of the wood stove. He tried to keep himself busy for a few minutes with the lights and cleaning the dishes as he tried to control his latest erection.

Although he'd never really acknowledged it, Chris had always had a bit of a thing for girls with red hair, and knowing that his totally hot step-sister was a natural was both arousing and disconcerting. Here he was with this amazingly hot girl who was, unfortunately his step-sister, and he was starting to feel tongue-tied like he did every time he met a girl with red hair. How was he supposed to act with her now that he knew she was what she was? He could bluster through but he knew that that would only last so long now that the truth was out. Chris shook his head as he finished drying the plates and pot before putting them away.

Scarlett watched Chris busy himself with the lights and dishes. It was almost like he was avoiding her. She was afraid that she had embarrassed or upset him somehow when they had been getting along so well up until then. Scarlett saw that at every opportunity Chris would face away from her like he didn't want to look at her. That kind of pissed her off, she liked him, he was a great guy and she was glad to have him as a brother now. He'd done so much for her since they'd gone off the road and was a genuinely nice guy. Not like the guys who acted nice just long enough to get her panties off.

"Hey Chris?"

"Yeah?"

"Is everything okay?"

Chris tried not to blush or look at her, "Mhmm, yeah it's all cool Scarlett."

"No I don't think so bro. You're acting strange now, have I pissed you off or something?" she asked.

"No, can we just let this go? I'll grab a deck of cards if you want..."

Scarlett thought about how Chris was avoiding the situation and refusing to look her in the eye. Suddenly a light bulb went off in her head and she started giggling hysterically.

Chris frowned at her, trying to figure out what she was laughing at. "What's so funny Scar?"

"Murf! HEE! My bush! You only started acting weird when you saw my pubes! You have a thing for redheads don't you?" she squealed.

Chris blushed about six shades of red and turned away from his step-sister, ashamed of himself and that she had sussed out his secret so quickly. He almost felt like he was going to cry he was so ashamed. "So what if I do?!"

Scarlett took a few deep breaths to calm her giggles, "I-I'm sorry Chris. I shouldn't tease you like that, I just thought it was kinda cute and funny that's all. Like seriously, what were the odds of you ending up with a red haired step-sister? Well bleached blond, but red where it counts. I'm the red headed step-child for Christ's sake! Is that so cliche or what?"

Chris couldn't help himself and gave a low laugh. His new sister's twisted logic and sense of humour were infectious and he found that he couldn't maintain his anger with her. He looked over at her and realized that the glow from the lamps and fire were giving her blond hair a reddish tinge and his heart melted. "Yeah, I guess you're right Scarlett. One of the counsellors last year was a redhead, I couldn't even look at her. I guess I don't have that option here."

Scarlett gently eased her injured leg off of the couch and motioned Chris to come sit beside her. He moved to sit and she looked him in the eye, trying not to drown in his chocolate gaze. "I have a confession to make too Chris. I kind of I like the fact that you think I'm hot. You're not the sort of guy I'm normally attracted to Chris. I kind of always fell for the bad boys. I always got hurt too. I never really knew why I did it other than it always drove my dad nuts."

"Um, yeah okay. Was that supposed to be some sort of compliment sis?" Chris said with a shy smile.

"Just shut up and listen okay Chris?" Scarlett said as she popped him one in the shoulder. "When we met I got the shakes really bad. I couldn't look at you at all, that's why I walked in front of you. Then everything happened, the car, you helping me here, taking care of me. Fuck Chris, you've treated me better in the last few hours than all of my boyfriends ever did combined. If you weren't my step-brother well I, well...Just be glad you're my step-brother okay?"

Chris turned to face Scarlett, "So you're saying you have the hots for me? Scarlett we're brother and sister, yeah only because our parents married each other, but your dad would kill me if he thought I was boinking you."

"Chris I'm not saying anything about boinking, I'm saying that there's no reason why we can't like each other and not treat each other like shit like some steps do. When we get picked up I don't want us to lose what we have right here and now. I really like you Chris, you're nothing like my real, ratty, turd of an older brother back in Quebec. You're the brother I always wished I had. Someone who I could be 'me' with, not someone I had to pretend to like so I wouldn't catch hell or get pounded. And yeah, I do have the hots for you. Just don't expect me to be jumping your bones any time soon boy-scout," Scarlett grinned.

"With that knee?" Chris laughed. "I doubt you'll be doing any bone jumping for a couple of months at least Scarlett. Be forewarned though that if you let your hair grow out all bets are off on the whole boinking thing."

Scarlett grinned with a mischievous gleam in her hazel eyes, "We'll just have to see about that now won't we bro?"

Chris grinned as well, "Yes we will."

"Hey, before we got all sappy you mentioned cards. Still up for it bro?"

"Sure let me find a deck," he replied.

Once they had a full deck, the two of them sat on the couch playing cards and talking quietly. After several hours they were both nodding off over their hands.

Chris looked across at his sister, "Did you want me to help you into the bed? You'll probably be more comfortable there than on the couch."

Scarlett stretched and yawned, "No go ahead and take it bro, I should be okay here."

"Okay let me put this a different way sis, I'm going to help you to the bed now. You need it more than me."

"Fine be that way," Scarlett said with a dramatic sigh and smile. "Do we have any more Advil or Tylenol? My leg's killing me again."

Chris got up and grabbed one of each pill, giving them to her with a fresh water bottle from under the counter. Once she'd washed down her pills he helped her up and over to the bed, propping up her leg and tucking her in like she was a small child with a cold.

He then went out onto the covered porch and brought in a few more pieces of wood to keep the fire going overnight, then turned off all of the lamps but one and crawled under the blanket on the couch.

"Chris?" Scarlett said in a small voice from the bed.

"Yeah sis?" he replied.

"You're gonna think I'm a total baby, but can I have a goodnight kiss?"

"Sure just a sec," he said as he got off the couch and moved over to her. He leaned down and gave Scarlett a gentle kiss on the cheek which she returned. "Good night sis, sweet dreams."

"Sweet dreams too Chris," Scarlett said sleepily.

--- Chapter 2

The next morning they were back on the couch playing cards again after breakfast when they heard engine noises coming down the road.

"Hey you hear that Chris?" Scarlett asked.

"Yeah, sounds like some quads heading this way sis." He replied as he got up and went to the door.

Shortly, four quads came around the bend in the lane and pulled up in front of the cabin. One of them was pulling a trailer with a cage stretcher on it. The riders got off and the lead one walked up to the porch then smiled at Chris.

"Hi I'm Susan, I take it you're Chris?" She said as she shook his hand.

"Yeah, my sister is inside on the couch. She's got a pretty badly banged up knee and can't really walk. She's going to need to be checked out before we move her."

"Okay, we'll check on her and get her on the trailer. You guys were pretty smart with running your Latitude overnight. You were on the extreme edge of a cell tower's range, we got just enough info from it to narrow the search down to about a three kilometre range. This was the only place that matched, no one's been up here since last spring."

While Chris was talking to the woman, two of the other people went inside and looked Scarlett over.

"Scarlett? Hi I'm Rob and this is Maggie, we're paramedics and we're going to get you fixed up and out of here as gently as possible. Are you able to pull your sweats down so we can check your knee?"

Scarlett blushed slightly before answering. "Yes but I'm going to need a bit of help guys, I'm kind of stuck here. I can't really put any weight on my right leg."

Rob and Maggie helped Scarlett up so she could shimmy her pants down then got her back on the couch. Maggie gently unwrapped her knee and gave Scarlett a small smile as she gently probed the joint. It was still swollen and had purpled up nicely overnight. Scarlett put on a brave face and only winced a few times as her knee was explored by her.

Maggie looked at Rob briefly, "I don't think we'll need to stretcher her right away, but we definitely need the full leg splint from the trailer Rob. You go get that while I help Scarlett with her clothes here."

"Yes ma'am!" Rob said with a grin and small salute at his partner.

"Okay here we go honey," Maggie said as she helped Scarlett up from the sofa again. "Your brother did a good job on your knee, it's not in the best shape but it could have been much worse if he hadn't bandaged it."

Scarlett pulled her sweats back up and sat back down, "Yeah, he said he had first aid. Hurt like hell when he was wrapping me up though."

---

"I guess the road's a mess since you guys brought in quads huh?" Chris asked Susan.

"Yeah, we went as far as the road in with the vehicles then rode the quads in as far as your car, and backtracked a bit to find this track in."

Susan's radio squawked and she motioned Chris to hold on for a moment. "Yes we found them down at Jim Hunt's camp. They're okay and we'll be bringing them out as soon as the girl's leg has been stabilized. Yes, tell their folks to meet us at the hospital in Brantford."

Rob and Maggie the paramedics were just coming out of the cabin with Scarlett supported between them, her right leg in a full length splint. She grimaced as they navigated the stairs but never made one complaint.

Chris helped get her into the stretcher and on the trailer then ran back into the cabin to get their things. He hastily ran the honey bucket back to the outhouse and gave it a quick rinse with water from the rain barrel before placing it back where he'd found it. He made one more quick stop into the cabin to put a twenty into a sealable jar for the owner to cover the cost of their food.

Susan looked over her charges, "You guys ready? Let's take it gentle okay?" She then turned her quad back up the lane, followed by the others. Chris was sitting in the trailer with Scarlett at his own insistence so he could watch over her.

They could have made better time coming back out to the highway but took it slowly so as not to jar Scarlett's knee and possibly injure it further. After about forty minutes they reached the highway where the ambulance and several other vehicles were waiting for them.

Scarlett was quickly moved into the ambulance and Chris followed her in, sitting on the bench and holding her hand.

"You know you could've gone in one of the other trucks Chris," Scarlett said quietly.

Chris nodded, "Yeah I could've, but last night you said I was the brother you wished you'd had. Well this brother is very protective of his sister, and is always going to make sure she's okay."

Scarlett tried to fight back tears and held his hand to her cheek, "Thanks bro, I guess I'm just not used to having a great brother yet."

"Yeah well you're the best sister I've got, even though you are a redhead."

Scarlett grinned playfully and whispered, "Probably more because I am one Chris."

"Yeah okay, because you are one Scarlett," he murmured in response.

---

Once they got to the hospital their parents met them in the emergency department, both of them concerned about their kids. Chris' mom hugged him and looked him over while his step-dad spoke to Scarlett, making certain that she was okay.

"Christian Thornton you had me worried sick! What were you two doing out in the middle of nowhere?" his mom asked.

Chris blushed and looked at Scarlett who was grinning broadly at his mom's comment. "God mom! Scarl..uh Scar's the one who got hurt, I just got a bump on the head. I'm fine really. It wasn't anyone's fault, the GPS screwed up and took us the wrong way."

"It was probably my fault Lisa, if I wasn't such a techno-feeb I would have known the GPS was set wrong and none of this would've happened." Scarlett said in Chris' defense.

Scarlett's dad kissed her forehead and gave her a gentle hug, "Well the important thing is that you're both okay kiddo. Well, mostly okay. How bad do you think your knee is Scar?"

"Pretty bad dad. Thank god Chris knew what to do once we were safe. If it weren't for him it would probably be a lot worse."

The nurses came up and started to move Scarlett to an examination room and her dad began to follow when Chris piped up, "Uh is it okay if I go in with her Steve? I kind of promised Scar that I'd make sure she was okay."

Their parents gave each other a funny look but Steve nodded and let Chris go into the room with his daughter.

Once they were in the room Scarlett let out a giggle. "Christian? God and I thought I got a rotten name!"

"Only between us okay Scarlett?" Chris said as his cheeks got hot.

"Okay bro, our little secret. What were our parents thinking though?"

Chris grinned at his sister, "I've been thinking that every day for years. I got beat up a lot when I was a kid because of that."

---

Lisa and Steve both had thoughtful looks on their faces as they sat out in the waiting area for news on Scarlett's condition.

"Somehow I think this little adventure wasn't such a bad thing Steve," Chris' mom said.

"I think you're probably right honey. Getting them stuck and alone probably did more to help them to get to know each other than us forcing the issue ever would have. Thank God they were together, Scar's a total city kid and wouldn't have been able to manage by herself." Steve replied.