Two Sides of the Same Coin (30 page)

“You’d mentioned that before. Why is that?” I asked.

“Just no one to go with and no opportunity.”

“Stick with me, buddy, and you’ll have lots of opportunities for lots of different stuff.”

“You’ve already showed me some stuff I never done before.” He winked at me.

“Any complaints?”

“Naw. It’s funny, I’ve heard a lot of cowboys talk about all the women they’ve had and how they use ’em and so forth, but it don’t feel like that with us. Ya know?”

“First of all,” I said, “you listen to any guy talkin’ about all his conquests and probably three quarters of it is bullshit. Next, when we fuck, it’s somethin’ special. It seems to me when I’m inside you that we’re almost like one. We connect. And to me that’s really special.”

“That it is. We’re not just all about sex though either.”

“You hit the nail on the head with that one. I just like bein’ with you. Hold on, I’m gonna switch it into four-wheel-drive.” We’d turned off onto one of the forest service roads about ten minutes before. The roads were gravel or dirt and pretty muddy. I didn’t think I’d need four wheel drive, but better safe than sorry. The forest was dark with the clouds and drizzle; it was like the last bit of twilight. The air coming through the vents smelled clean, like it was just washed and given a pine or cedar scent. It was slow going with the limited visibility due to the darkness and the muddy roads. After a couple of hours, we finally made it to the place we wanted to camp. I was able to pull off the road and we went about setting up camp. I had the tent up in no time and put the rain flap on and a tarp over the door so we could take off our boots or rain gear out of the rain. I brought in sleeping pads and our sleeping bags and blankets from the truck. I arranged the sleeping bags and blankets so we had one big bed. We’d end up sleeping in our clothes anyway, but we’d be close enough to keep each other warm. Mike had made a fire pit and gathered some wood. Together we rigged another tarp over some clothesline we’d strung up between trees to have a dry area to sit in, eat in, etc.

“Mike, wanna scout around and see if we can find a good place to rig the camo tarps for a deer blind?”

“Yeah, let’s do that.” We scouted around for about forty minutes, looking for signs of game. I finally came across a game trail which had some fresh tracks.

“I reckon this might be a good area. We can set up the tarps for a blind in that bunch of trees there. It looks like a lot of deer use this trail.” We’d each brought a pack with a couple of tarps in it and some clothesline. We got the tarps set up to form a barrier between us and the trail, and one overhead to keep us more or less dry. We also put tarps around us, so that we were enclosed. The tarp in front had a couple of holes in it so we could keep a lookout for deer, and shoot.

“Jeff, it looks like we’re ready here, what do you think?”

“I think you’re right, buddy. Let’s head back to camp and get somethin’ to eat.”

“How far you reckon we’ve come from camp?”

“I’d guess about a mile, mile and a half at the most.”

“Is that far enough away so the smell of the fire and any light from camp won’t scare the deer away?”

“It’s fine. The only thing you need to worry about is what you’re gonna tell folks when I get a much bigger buck than you do.”

“In your dreams, Jeffy, I got beginner’s luck.”

“We’ll see. Now let’s get supper.” It was starting to get dark. We’d marked the way back to camp with pieces of reflective tape on the trees, so we made fairly good time. We’d brought a lantern and a little Coleman stove, so we had light and a place to cook on. We’d also brought some camp chairs and a small folding table, so we were pretty comfortable.

“What’s for dinner, Jeff?”

“How does steak and fried potatoes sound to ya?”

“You’re shittin’ me!”

“Nope. I brought some good rib steaks, some potatoes, and the camp mess kit. So if that sounds good to ya, that’s dinner.”

“That sounds fantastic!”

“You got it. As far as I’m concerned, nothing’s too good for you.”

“You mean that don’t you?”

“I do. Why?”

“I just never had anyone really care for me and value me for me. It makes me feel like I got somethin’ to offer.”

“Believe me, buddy, you do. You remember what Sandy said that my dad had told her, that we’re two sides of the same coin?”

“Yeah.”

“The more I think on it, the more I think he had us pegged. We like the same kinds of things; we just get along real well. I do value you for you quite a bit actually.” Mike was quiet. I think he was gettin’ a bit emotional. I set about making dinner. I got the potatoes frying and then seasoned the steaks and began to fry them. In about twenty minutes, dinner was ready. I’d even brought a couple of six packs for us to share.

“This is the life, ain’t it?” We were sitting back on the camp chairs after finishing off the steaks and potatoes, sipping our beers. Mike looked real happy.

“Yeah, buddy. Good space we’re in right now.”

“Hey, Jeffy?”

“Yeah?”

“How’d you ever get to be so self-confident? I know I tease ya about bein’ cocky and all, but you seem to be able to do just about anythin’ you put your mind to.”

“It’s funny. Sometimes I really ain’t sure about bein’ able to do stuff. But Dad drilled into me a good attitude is half the battle. I figure why the hell shouldn’t I try for whatever I want to get?”

“Is that why when we were ridin’ fences, the first time we camped you made such a show of paradin’ around in your boxers? Did you want me then?” He had a soft smile on his face.

“I noticed you lookin’ a few times. It was cute how ya got all flustered when you saw I’d noticed. You were bein’ pretty ornery, and me doin’ that kept you off balance. But I reckon so, that was when I first noticed just what a hot man you are, and began to get an inklin’ of what a great guy you are under all that hurt.”

“Most folks just turned away when I was so ornery. What kept you goin’?”

“I saw the guy I’m talkin’ to now. Just bits and pieces, but enough to let me know you’re special.”

“Can you believe that José, Josh, Sandy, and Maria were bettin’ on when we’d have sex and when I’d stay with you in your room?”

“I can believe it. It sounds like somethin’ they would do. They didn’t mean any harm.”

“It was kinda funny though.”

“It was. You know, we oughta turn in. We’re gettin’ up awful early tomorrow. We wanna be in the blind at daybreak. That’s the time the deer are the most active. Besides, we done used up this day.”

“Okay, I’ll just bank the fire.” We’d eaten on paper plates so Mike burned those. We’d already cleaned off the pots we used to cook with and the silverware. I got into the little vestibule I’d built in front of the tent, took off my boots and crawled into the tent. I took off my jacket, but left the rest of my clothes on. In a few minutes, Mike joined me. We snuggled together and fell asleep almost immediately.

T
HE
little travel alarm rang real early. It seemed like we’d just gotten to sleep. We got up pretty quickly and got our boots and jackets on. Mike made coffee on the little cook stove, and we each took a thermos. Breakfast was jerky, granola bars, and dried apricots. We headed off in the darkness with our rifles, day packs, and some rope and knives just in case we had to hang and gut a deer. We got to the blind just as the sky was starting to lighten. We had some camp chairs and got arranged in the blind.

We did see quite a few deer that morning, but mostly does and yearlings. Finally in the late morning, a large buck came down the trail. I motioned to Mike that I had the shot. The buck stopped in the game trail and sniffed the air. I wasn’t worried that he could smell us. The thermals we had on are the type that masks human scent, and anyways the wind was coming to us not from behind us. I sighted on the buck and began to squeeze the trigger. Just before I made the shot, he twitched his nose and was off. I was a bit pissed, but wondered what in the hell spooked him? Then I smelt it. There was a smell on the air like burning plastic and chemicals.

“You smell that?”

“Yeah, what in the hell could that be?”

“I dunno, buddy. I know you turned off the camp stove, and we didn’t start the fire this mornin’. It’s comin’ from the direction of our camp, so let’s go and see. It’s time for lunch anyway.”

“Okay. Jeff, do we just leave this stuff here?”

“Yeah, let’s take the day packs, but we don’t need to carry the camp chairs or tarps.” We headed back toward camp. As we got near, I broke into a run, and Mike was hot on my heels. I could see flames from the direction of camp!

“Fuck no!” I yelled. Someone had dragged our tent with the sleeping bags in it to the middle of the dirt road. They’d piled the tarps on top and used the white gas from the stove to set it alight. The nylon must have burned almost immediately.

As we ran up to the fire, we realized that nothing could be salvaged. We ran over to the truck. Whoever had destroyed our equipment and camp had done a number on the truck. The food in the back and cooler were gone. So was the white gas for the stove. Worst of all, someone had slashed all four tires, broke the windows, and gone under the hood and grabbed whatever wires they saw and pulled. The battery was pulled out and smashed with what must have been an axe. The truck could be put right, but it would take a lot of time and money. We’d left our cell phones in the truck since we had no signal here. They were both smashed on the road by the truck. Mike and I just stared at each other. Mike got a panicked look on his face.

“What we gonna do, Jeff? What are we gonna do?”

“Walk.”

“How far is it to the ranch?”

“Maybe thirty-five miles, thirty or so to the main road.”

“But that’s two or three days!”

“Yep. We better get started. Let’s go back to the blind. We need those tarps.”

“Okay.” I could see Mike was still a bit panicked, so I clapped him on the back and tried to sound cheerful.”

“We have tarps; we got some food; we got waterproof matches, and knives. We’re in rain gear. All in all we’re pretty lucky. Now let’s go and get the tarps and get started on our way back.”

Trying to appear a lot more confident than I felt, I strode off toward the deer blind. We got there fairly quickly. We folded up the tarps and the clothesline, and divided them between us. We then headed back toward the road. We reached it and began the long muddy slog back to the ranch.

“Jeff?” Mike’s voice was quiet and subdued.

“Yeah, buddy?”

“You reckon someone was tryin’ to kill us? I mean, gettin’ caught out here in rainy cold weather with nothin’ is askin’ for hypothermia.”

“Buddy, it did cross my mind; but why?”

“Did you see the motorcycle tracks in the mud, Jeff?”

“No. I was too focused on the truck.”

“There were motorcycle tracks up and down the road. It looks like a bike parked right by the truck.”

“Shit! You think it was Porky?”

“I reckon it was, but, Jeff, that just don’t make sense. How would he know where we were?”

“Not makin’ any sense is right. Do you reckon we mighta got close to the rustlers? Maybe it’s them rather than Porky.”

“I dunno, Jeff. All this shit about dyin’ and feelin’ hopeless and stuff is goin’ through my mind. I don’t rightly know what to think anymore.”

“Buddy, we’re gonna get outta this. You know that, don’t ya?” He didn’t answer, and I said louder and sharply, “Don’t ya?”

“Maybe.”

“Ain’t no maybe about it. We’re gonna get back to the ranch. Mike, now that I found you, I ain’t gonna let either of us die. We got too much to do together, too much to live for together.” I stopped and grabbed his hands.

“Mike, I love you. I ain’t gonna let nothin’ happen to you. We’ll make it.” He looked at me. The worry seemed to fall off his face to be replaced by a brilliant smile.

“You’re right, Jeffy! This is just another adventure. Together we’re gonna get through it.”

“That’s the spirit!”

“And, Jeffy?”

“Yeah, buddy?”

“I love you too.”

“See after hearin’ from the handsomest man in the world that he loves me, I got too much to live for to let anythin’ happen to either one of us.”

“Sorry for bein’ such a chump.”

“No worries. It’s a pretty upsettin’ situation, but we’re lucky to have what we got. We got enough for any halfway decent woodsman to survive well out here.”

“Ain’t you upset and pissed off?”

“I don’t wanna waste energy on that. I wanna put all my energy into gettin’ outta here. There’ll be a time to be mad and kick things. This ain’t it.”

“You’re really somethin’, you know that?”

“What, you’re just realizin’ that now?” We both laughed. It was great to hear him laugh.

Actually I was a bit worried. I did think that whoever did the number on the truck was either a complete idiot, or they were trying to kill us, but why? I did know one thing though; I was listening for the sound of motorcycles. I had told Mike that it would be easier to walk on the side of the road on grass, stone, and debris, rather than in the mud in the center. In truth, I wanted to avoid making our tracks too visible.

The afternoon seemed to slog on. The drizzle just didn’t give up. The walking was also making me sweat, so I was getting wet from the inside too. I wasn’t really worried about that since the gear we had on was wicking and hi tech, so it would keep us warm even when wet. Daylight was beginning to fade, and I was about to suggest to Mike we make camp when I heard a faint buzz. Mike had noticed it too. It sounded like a motorcycle.

“Jeffy! We’re gonna get rescued!”

“Mike, let’s get off the road. Now!”

“But why?”

“You saw motorcycle tracks by our ruined camp. I don’t think whoever did that has our best interests at heart. We can always jump out if we need to.”

We ducked into some bushes on the side of the road. The motorcycle got louder as it got closer. Then it drew abreast of us. It was Porky. He had his gun out and was waving it all over the place while looking around. It wasn’t really a mystery who he was looking for. I wasn’t too worried he’d see us. We both had rifles, and I’d gotten mine up and cocked when I heard the bike. Also we were both dressed in camo, and had camo face paint on so the deer wouldn’t see our faces. With the murky light, we’d be pretty tough to spot. Sure enough, he continued on. We waited a few minutes before moving.