Petroglyph

He looked up at his mother and she nodded. "Stay here until she lets you go," she told him. "Then we're going to have a talk about panties."

He smiled ruefully and closed his eyes. After a few minutes, Tobin's breath was deep and regular and he slipped off the bed, then went outside and cleaned his fish. He went inside, showered and changed his clothes.

When he emerged, dinner was ready and he sat with his mother and sister and watched a movie while they ate. Aden was a younger copy of their mother with the same tall thin frame and dark hair. She adored her big brother and they were very close.

"Where did you find that beautiful girl, and why did you traumatize her like that?" Lila asked him.

"Hey, I was down in the canyon fishing the pool below the waterfall and all of a sudden she comes out from behind a rock naked. It wasn't my fault. Well, she wasn't naked; she had her panties on. I didn't want her to go to sleep so I told her I remembered what color they were and that I was going to look at them again if she went to sleep. She was embarrassed and it kept her awake. I didn't do anything, honest."

His mother laughed. "I believe you. She must have been very embarrassed. What color were they, by the way?"

"I have no idea," he laughed. "I just said that to keep her awake. I was too busy looking at her boobs to notice what color her panties were."

His mother and sister hooted with laughter.

Chapter Two

Lila set her alarm to wake her every two hours and checked on Tobin through the night. She was sleeping deeply and normally and when Lila left for work the next morning, she was still asleep. Her children were also still asleep and she set Marley's alarm and left him a note to continue to check on Tobin. If she woke up by noon, he was to feed her, bring her down to the sofa and talk to her. If she seemed normal, she should be allowed to take a bath. If she was in pain Lila had left a prescription for her but she was to take aspirin or ibuprophen under no circumstances. Tylenol was okay. She loved him and would see him in the afternoon.

Tobin slept until noon and so did Aden. Marley woke her up with some difficulty and asked her if she was okay. She complained of a headache and he gave her an oxycodone and a glass of water. He woke her up again in half an hour and she felt much better. He told her that he was supposed to carry her down to the sofa and talk to her. She started to turn the covers back and discovered to her intense embarrassment that she was naked.

Marley couldn't contain himself. He laughed until he collapsed on her bed. "We've got to stop meeting like this," he gasped. She beat him with a pillow, which caused her covers to slip again and sent him into further convulsions.

"Get out of here and get me some clothes, you big oaf," she said. "I'm sick and you're making fun of me." She began to cry.

He was instantly contrite. "No, no, don't cry. I'm so sorry, Tobin. Here," he scooted up beside her and wrapped her covers around her and hugged her close. "I'm sorry, I'm an idiot. I wasn't thinking about you feeling so bad. I've always had a weird sense of humor." He turned her face up to look at him. "Do you forgive me?" He wiped a tear off her cheek with his thumb.

"Yes; it's me that should be sorry. I don't know what's the matter with me. I'm all weepy feeling. I usually have a weird sense of humor too." She looked up at him from under long wet lashes.

He couldn't help himself, "Tobin, would you mind if I kissed you?"

She burst into tears again and he was shocked.

"No, no, I won't do it then. Please don't cry, Tobin."

"I don't know what's wrong with me," she sobbed. "I want you to kiss me, but I'm all weird today."

"It must be the drugs," he told her.

"I think that's it," she said. "I almost never cry. When do you think you might want to kiss me, Marley?"

He laughed. "I've wanted to kiss you ever since I met you. I'm going to do it now."

She raised her lips and he kissed them. They were incredibly full and soft and he tasted the salt of her tears. He kissed her for a long time and when he drew away, he gently captured her full lower lip between his teeth and stretched it, allowing it to slip slowly away.

Her eyes fluttered and she snuggled into him as he squeezed her.

"I'm going to get my sister to find you something to wear and help you dress," he told her. "Her name is Aden and you'll love her. She's my best friend and I know she's going to love you."

He got up and went to his sister's room. She was sitting at her mirror putting the finishing touches on her makeup. "Hey, Addy, would you mind finding something for Tobin to wear? Mom wants me to carry her down to the living room and get her something to eat. I'll get you something too, ok?"

"Sure thing, bro. Her panties are going to be purple, by the way." They both laughed and he went away to the kitchen.

By the time Tobin was dressed he had breakfast burritos ready and he went up and carried her downstairs. She was dressed in a big fluffy white bathrobe and she looked beautiful.

She wasn't very hungry but he persuaded her to eat a burrito and drink a glass of milk. Aden ate three and he took the dishes away. When he got back, the two girls were talking about college and he gave them glasses of juice and joined the conversation. They talked for an hour and Tobin grew sleepy again. He laid her head in his lap and Aden covered her up with a throw. The siblings watched a horror movie on Netflix while she napped.

She woke up around three. He carried her out to the deck and Aden gave her a bathing suit. He came back with swimming trunks and they all got in the hot tub and soaked. They got out periodically and cooled off in the pool. She was feeling her headache returning so Aden got her another pill and Marley carried her back in to the sofa. They left her napping while they cooked dinner. Lila returned around 5:30. They woke Tobin up and she felt well enough to walk to the table for dinner. Aden held her arm and she discovered that Marley had cooked the trout he had caught yesterday. She declared them well worth the trouble they had been

Lila had stopped by the hotel and picked up her things. "How would you feel about staying here while you do your work?" she asked Tobin. "We have much better access to the canyon and I could keep an eye on you. I think Marley should go with you for a while anyway just to make sure you're recovered and okay."

"I don't know how to thank you," Tobin said. "You've all been so kind and I feel like I'm imposing on you."

"I'm sending your insurance company a hefty bill," Lila laughed. "But really, we'd love to have you. My children aren't the lonely type, but I'm sure they'd love the company. How long were you planning to stay at the hotel?"

"I don't have a set time. I've just discovered what I think is an unknown cliff house in the canyon. It's on private land and it's nearly unreachable. I was going to try to get permission from the landowner to make a climb. It could take weeks for me to thoroughly examine the site."

"Well, it isn't exactly unknown," Lila told her, "and I don't think you'll have any trouble with the landowner."

"Do you know who the land owner is? What do you mean it isn't unknown? It isn't mentioned in any literature I could find."

"Well, my family knows about it and maybe some of the locals do too. As far as the landowner goes, she's giving you an examination right now."

"You own it? You'll let me climb up and look at it?"

"Yes, and yes; Marley knows more about it than I do. What do you think about climbing, Marley?"

"I think it's easier to climb down than up," he said. "It's kind of a dangerous place, Tobin. There's no way to climb up without inserting pins in the rock and it's loose and dangerous. We could rappel down from the top a lot more safely. My dad died there."

"Oh, my God; I didn't know. I'm so sorry. Do you mind telling me what happened?"

"It's been ten years, Tobin," Lila patted her arm. "Don't be sorry. There's no way you could have known. I don't mind talking about it. We don't know what happened. He could have had a heart attack and fallen or just took a wrong step. We don't know. He loved to poke around the place and he always said there was something odd about it. It was like there was something just at the corner of your eye, but when you turned to look it was gone. Marley found him after two days and the wild animals found him first. It was pretty gruesome and it took us a while to get over it, but nature's like that. He died in a place he loved, doing something he loved. However, I don't think it's a place you should go alone."

"I'll go with you, Tobin, if that's okay. Addy, you want to go? We could pack lunch; maybe swim at the waterfall while Tobin works?"

"Sure, it's not like I have a big party planned. What do you think, Tobin?"

"I'd love for you guys to go with me."

"Well, you're not going anywhere beyond walking distance from this house for a couple of days," Lila told her. "Doctor's orders and I don't think you should go there first. Do something easy the first day and then if you feel okay I'll release you and you can do anything you feel like doing. Deal?"

"It's a deal. Right now I feel my head starting to pound and I want some Tylenol and a bed."

In two days, she was feeling no effects from her fall except for the receding bump on her head and Lila cleared her to go back to the canyon. Marley and Aden had retrieved her truck and parked it in front of the house. She wanted to take it because it had all her equipment in it so they packed a lunch and swimsuits and drove to the canyon.

It was chilly when they left but the sun soon had the temperature skyrocketing and the heat was oppressive in the canyon. Heat waves caused the air to shimmer and Tobin found her drop cloth had worked loose. She folded it and packed it away. The petroglyph was gone.

"Aden, did it rain while I was sick?" she asked.

"No, it hardly ever rains this time of year. Why?"

"There was a symbol painted on this rock the last time I was here. Now it's gone and it almost seems like it's been washed off. I had it covered up, but somehow the covering came off."

"Take a look at this," Marley said.

In the dust about six feet from the rock there was a clearly outlined bare footprint. It was very small, appearing to be the footprint of a small woman or child.

"Were you walking around here barefooted?" he asked Tobin.

"No, I took off my boots down at the waterfall," she blushed and looked away from his eyes. "I don't have tough enough feet to walk around on the rocks barefooted. Besides, my feet are bigger than that."

She compared her foot to the track and Aden did the same. They had similarly sized feet, but they were clearly at least an inch longer than the track.

"Do you think whoever left the footprint took off your tarp and erased the symbol?" Aden asked.

"Maybe, but why would they do that? Who would want to erase a thousand year old petroglyph? I don't know. It's okay, I've got pictures. Let's look around and see if we can find anything else."

Near the edge of the rock, Tobin discovered what looked like a bone protruding from debris that had fallen from above. They removed the rubble and discovered several more bones. Marley swept the area with a broom while Tobin took pictures.

"These look like human bones," Aden shivered. "Should we be disturbing them?"

"We shouldn't move them," Tobin said. "We can brush away the dirt. This isn't a burial mound; it looks like these people died in a fight."

She pointed out that one of the skulls had been crushed. "That happened while they were alive," she said. The skeletons weren't intact and the bones were scattered over an area a dozen feet square. "It's almost like they were dismembered." She felt the small hairs rise on the back of her neck as if someone were watching her.

She spun quickly around and thought she saw movement out of the corned of her eye. She looked but there were only the shimmering heat waves.

"This is kind of creeping me out," she said. "Let's get out of here and go swimming."

The Dolans were agreeable and they made their way back to the waterfall. Marley jumped in right away since he already had shorts on and the two girls went behind the familiar rock and changed.

Marley spotted them when they came around the rock carrying their clothes. "I liked the other suit better," he called.

Tobin blushed furiously and threw a small rock at him. He yelped as it bounced off his shoulder. "You throw like a girl," he called.

"Let's dunk him," Aden said.

They ran splashing into the pool and leaped on him, struggling to push his head under. This proved no easy task since he was half a foot taller and they soon found the tables turned as he pushed their heads under the water.

They came up sputtering and attacked him again. He was weak with laughter and allowed them to have their way, ducking his head under. Their vengeance satisfied he slipped an arm around them and pulled their water slick bodies against him.

"If only my buddies could see me now," he mused. "Alone in the wilderness in a pool below a waterfall with the two most beautiful girls in the world in my arms, they'd cut off their right arms to be me."

"One of whom happens to be your sister," Aden told him.

"The sexiest sister alive," he agreed, sliding his hand down to squeeze her butt.

She shrieked and splashed him. "You are so bad. Stay away from him, Tobin. He'll corrupt you."

"Oh, I guess I don't mind a little corruption," she kissed his cheek. "I'm hungry; let's eat."

They spread a blanket on a large, flat rock and unpacked their cooler. They had sandwiches and chips and cookies and beer to drink.

"Addy's not old enough to drink beer. Don't tell Mom, Tobin," he said.

"No, I won't say anything."

They packed up the trash and the girls lay on the rock, soaking up the sun.

Marley put his t-shirt back on and got out his floppy hat. He rubbed sunscreen on his legs.

"We gingers aren't genetically blessed in the exposure department," he told them. "If I lay like that I'll burn in about ten minutes. See this freckle here?" he pointed to his huge bicep. "That's your soul, Addy. I stole it while we were in the water. Tobin's next."

They laughed. "I wouldn't mind some of that sunscreen myself," Aden said. "Later in the summer I won't have to worry about it, but I'm still working on my tan."

Tobin's arms, face and neck and lower legs were very brown, but she had definite tan lines going on and her borrowed swim suit exposed a lot of skin.

"Well, as the owner of the sunscreen, I get to apply it," he told them.

"See, I told you he's nasty," Aden complained. "I'll do you, Tobin and then you do me."

There was a battle for the sunscreen and Marley soon wrestled them into submission, catching Tobin in a leg scissor around her belly and locking Aden into a kimura. He squeezed Tobin until she could hardly breathe and twisted Aden's arm until she yelped in pain.

"Okay, okay, you big lunk, get off us. You can put on the sunscreen."

"I am your master," he crowed. "Say it."

They struggled a little more and he clamped down.

"Okay," Tobin gasped. "You're my master."

"Stop Marley, you're my master," Aden admitted.

He turned them loose and Aden immediately attacked him again. He pinned her down on her stomach and sat astride her while he squeezed the sunscreen on her back. She surrendered and allowed him to work it into her skin. He untied her bikini string, spread the lotion evenly across her back and got off her to apply it to her legs. He ran his hands under her bikini bottoms and squeezed her firm cheeks and she squealed and kicked at him.

"Stop that bro." She rolled over. "Do my front."

"Aden?" Tobin was a little shocked when the younger girl exposed her breasts to her brother.

"It's okay, Tobin. We've been going naked around one another since we were kids. Mom and Dad were always cool with it. I guess it might seem weird but we don't have sex or anything. We just like going without clothes sometimes. We don't have any secrets. I'll put my top back on if it weirds you out."

"No, it's okay. I just didn't know where this was going. I know you guys are kind of free spirits. I actually think it's kind of cool. I've never known a brother and a sister that seem so close. I envy you. I hate my sister. She's three years older than I am and she's been a bitch her whole life. Mom and Dad are miserable around her and I pity her husband and kids. It's cool to see you guys love each other so much."

"Marley's been by hero since my first day of school," Aden said. "He beat the snot out of an older guy that pulled my hair. He's always been there for me and I love him to death."

"Please; stop," he protested. "I'm going to weep." He finished covering Aden with the lotion and gave her nipples a tweak, making her squeak. "Your turn, Tobin."

He moved astride her and kneeled down, resting lightly on her butt. "How is your bump feeling?" he asked her as he worked the sunscreen into her neck and shoulders.

"It's still a little sore, but I'm not having headaches anymore."

She sighed as he massaged her back and reached around to untie her string. He continued down her back to the top of her swimsuit. He pushed it down a little and the top of cleft between the two rising mounds came into view. She shivered as he worked the sunscreen into it. He moved to her feet and tickled her a little. She giggled and he moved up her calves and thighs, running his fingers under the edge of her bottoms as she began to squirm a little.

He rose so she could roll over and his breath caught in his chest as she left her top behind. He hadn't known she would do that but seeing Aden expose herself without embarrassment had given Tobin confidence and made her comfortable.

Her breasts were magnificent. Full and firm, they stood out proudly, not losing their shape even lying on her back. Her nipples were erect and throbbing, very pale areolae were nearly invisible except where they stood out thicker, forming small pink cones on the tips of her breasts, capped by slightly darker pink nubs.

He avoided them for the moment, beginning with her ankles again. He worked up her legs to the V between, fascinated by a stray dark curl that had escaped. Again he ran his fingers just under the leg openings and tugged gently at the curl. She giggled again and he worked his way up across the flat plane of her stomach and across the rise of her ribs. He bent and captured one firm nubbin between his lips and stretched it a little as she gasped.

He worked the oil into the delightful mounds, rolling the nipples between his fingers until she moaned.

"Stop torturing the girl, Marley. I'm right here, you know." Aden told him. "Jesus, get a room."

Tobin blushed furiously and Marley sat up with a laugh. "Sorry Addy, I just got carried away. Have you ever seen such a sexy body?"

Aden leaned up on one elbow and looked at Tobin. "No, I don't think I have." She reached out and tested the weight of one big breast.

Tobin gasped and pressed her hand over Aden's for a moment. "Aden?"

"Yes, you're smoking hot, and you know it, Tobin. Don't tell me a lot of girls haven't made passes at you."

"Well, yes they have but they weren't like you. Are you gay, Aden?"

"No, but I like beautiful things and you're beautiful. Beautiful feels good."

"Oh, I guess you're right. Do you mind if I touch you?"

"I was hoping you would, but Marley is going to break something. Another time."

Marley dove back into the chilly water to regain some measure of control and the two girls giggled and relaxed on the rock.

Applying the sunscreen was hot work and Marley was grateful for the water. He dove to the bottom and noticed a small opening in the face of the rock behind the waterfall and just below the surface. He reached his arm in but he couldn't feel anything. He decided to bring a snorkel with him the next time he came.