Shade of Mother Oak

By C. Heisz

Shade of Mother Oak is story about a forbidden romance in a rural setting in the mid 1960s. The story takes you through the trials and tribulations of this forbidden romance from a mans point of view.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Sep 22, 2015
• ISBN: 9781514408018

C. Heisz

C. Heisz is from southwest Wisconsin. He was dairy farmer until the age of fifty. After farming most of his life, he became an over-the-road truck driver. In his spare time, he enjoys writing stories.

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Copyright © 2015 by C. Heisz.

Library of Congress Control Number: 2015915360

ISBN:   Hardcover              978-1-5144-0803-2

              Softcover                978-1-5144-0802-5

              eBook                     978-1-5144-0801-8

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

Rev. date: 09/16/2015

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T he small ember of light glowing in the East hinted that the sun was only a few minutes from appearing on the horizon. The sky was cloudless, starting out to be a brilliant blue, clear day. Looking over the rolling hills, the view from the ridge top was endless, but like cotton baton stuffed into a pill bottle, every valley with a river was chocked full of dense fog. The Stoney River was no exception. It could be traced out for miles by the ribbon of white fluff as it wove its way through the green hilly countryside, a magnificent sight to see.

The valley fog was a sure sign that fall was on its way. The summer had all but slipped away and far too quickly to suit Cory. That meant his vacation time was coming to an end. Not enough things got done and more importantly, not enough fish caught.

He reached into the back of his old farm pick-up to get his fishing pole, tackle box, and bait pail. Because of the heavy dew, he knew the ground would be wet so he found an old feed sack to sit on to keep his hind end dry.

Dawn was just breaking as he slipped a lively night crawler onto his hook and flipped it into the water. He let the bait drift to the bottom before he tightened the line until it was snug. Sitting on the feed sack, he settled back against the rough bark of an old burr oak tree that majestically stood at the water’s edge, its limbs hovering overhead like a huge green canopy to cover the water.

Cory’s fishing hole was a large eddy flowing lazily around in a circle on the bend of a swift, little river. Enough water escaped from the channel of the Stoney River into the eddy to keep it gently revolving, making an excellent place for fish to gather in the deep, slow moving current to wait for food, such as Cory’s bait.

The robin family was the first to start their robust singing then closely followed by a chipping sparrow and then all the rest of the choir joined in. The valley rang with the different songs as if all trying to out-do the other. A ruffed grouse drummed in the distance and a lone goose honked as it flew overhead. Also squirrels were abundant.

Their playful antics were entertaining in themselves.

Across the river on the far side of the valley, a deer moved slowly along, it’s head down as it browsed, plucking a leaf here and there. A flick of its tail and the doe abruptly raised her head, looking forward and then back. Contented there wasn’t any danger, she continued on her way until she stepped into some belly-high brush. She looked around and shook her head, ridding herself of pesky insects before settling down into her daytime resting place, completely hidden from sight

Suddenly, there was a splash in the water nearby. Maybe a fish had come up to poke fun at him for not paying attention to the job at hand. When he looked, it was a pair of wood ducks, the male brightly colored. As they paddled on past, the two cocked their heads to look back at the strange object on the bank of their river, but there wasn’t any movement to spook them into flight. They were cautious though, as they swam across the eddy and then into the fast moving channel of the river. They bobbed along, floating with the current and soon disappeared around the bend.

On the ridge behind him, he could hear the distinctive hum of a vacuum pump as a farmer started his milking machines to begin his daily chores. The day, August fourteenth of sixty-five was coming to life.

Soon the sun was visible on the horizon. The trees on the ridge top separated the rays of light that were magnified by the fog, making them look like beams from a beacon, searching across the sky in the early morning hours. As the fog thinned, it began to rise and shrink into small patches seeking their escape up the narrow ravines in the hills. The warmth from the sun and the soft breeze that followed, felt good as it chased the cool night air out of the valley.

Cory checked the tension on his line. It was motionless. Where the line entered the water, it created a V as it formed a small wake on each side. Any disturbance from a fish would change the wake when the line would move. But there weren’t any distractions. The fish weren’t biting. In fact, the whole week had been unproductive. He didn’t care, though. Just being on the bank of his favorite fishing hole on a late summer’s day, enjoying the sounds, sights, and smells, was satisfying enough for him.

He spent many hours just staring into the water. As the sun got higher, the surface took on a wonderful blue-green tint. The reflection of the leaves overhead that shaded the pool made the mirror-like surface look alive and vibrant. It was almost mystical. It was definitely magnetic as he was always drawn back time and time again.

Cory chuckled as he looked at himself. He was a modern day Huck Finn, loafing by the river’s edge with a fish pole in his hands. His faded old blue jeans with holes in the knees would soon be a likely prospect for cutting the legs off to make shorts. He pulled out the tail of his T-shirt and felt it wouldn’t have to warm up much more before he could strip of that. He grasped his seed corn cap and formed the bill to better suite his liking. He raised the cap just enough to run his fingers through a sandy mop of hair, and then plopped it back on his head as the curls flipped up around the edges of the cap as if to grip it tightly to hold it in place.

He realized his attire would dramatically change in a couple weeks when he would have to dress more appropriately for school. Barlow High was run by a strict and pompous principal who had many rules and demands. One was a dress code for the students and teachers alike. For the male students, that meant no blue jeans and T-shirts. For the girls, no blue jeans, shorts, or mini skirts. The rule for the teachers was formal attire, therefore the men had to wear a suit and tie. That was the law laid down by Principal Lathrop, or better known by those who had to deal with him as, Ol’ Man Lathrop.

Cory didn’t like being so properly dressed. A suit and tie wasn’t nearly as comfortable as his old blue jeans, but he went along with it like all his fellow teachers, although once in the shop of the ag classroom, the jacket was shed and the tie loosened.

He had finished his first year of teaching at Barlow High where he taught all the agriculture classes. Teaching ag fit right in with his life style. He was raised on a farm so it was in his blood. All he had to do was stay out of Ol’ Man Lathrop’s way and abide by the rules. One thing made it easier was that his classroom and shop were on the opposite end of the school from the principal’s office, that way he would rarely see him.

After several hours of sitting in one position, Cory stood up to stretch the kinks out of his long and lean frame. In all that time, he had never caught a thing except a few catnaps. He packed his fishing gear into the back of the truck and left for home. One good thing, he wouldn’t have any fish to clean, but he had another, not too pleasant a job to do when he got home. He had a lot of dishes to wash, which had fallen by the wayside because of his latest fishing excursion.

*     *     *

Cory turned from the county road and onto his graveled driveway, which was about a tenth of a mile long and bordered on both sides by large cottonwood trees that formed an overhead archway. He, and along with his banker, bought the one hundred sixty acre farm when he first started teaching at Barlow. He was living his dream, own a farm and teach High School agriculture, all leaving enough time for his favorite sport… fishing.

His house was a brick, one-story bungalow with an open porch across the entire front. A few feet away at the edge of the lawn stood a small one-car garage. The rest of the buildings were, a wooden corn crib, a grain storage bin, a machine shed, and an old hip-roofed barn in need of some red paint.

When he walked into the house, the phone was ringing. It was Tom Rollan. Tom was a fellow teacher and was sort of a buddy,—more like a drinking buddy.

Occasionally, they would bar hop, down a few beers and check out the girls. Other than that, they didn’t have much in common. Cory enjoyed outdoor activities more so, whereas Tom liked—, checking out the girls.

Tom, what’s up?

Where were you all day?

Fishin’.

Oh, that!

You should try it sometime.

Not on your life. Tom scoffed. Say, the reason I called is come on down and I’ll treat you to a burger at Harry’s Bar and Grill, then maybe a game of pool after wards unless we get picked up by a couple hot chicks.

Yeah, right! That’s not likely to happen.

You never know, but anyway be here about seven. Okay?

Did you say you were treating?

Yeah.

Okay, I suppose.

Cory stepped out of the house wearing a clean T-shirt and a pair of faded blue jeans. His clothes were plenty good enough to have a beer with Tom at the local tavern. He was simply another resident of a rural farm community, contented to be a down-toearth farmer.

He glanced at his watch and saw that he had time to check on his cattle before he had to meet Tom. He fired up his model M Farmall tractor and drove to the far side of the pasture where his cattle were grazing. He only had twenty-five crossbred beef cows and their calves, but it supplied a small income to supplement his teacher’s salary. A neighbor down the road put the crops up on halves, leaving plenty of feed to winter his few head of cattle.

When finished checking the cattle, he parked the tractor back in the machine shed, just past his motorcycle. There wasn’t enough room in his one-car garage for the old Harley, so he had to keep it in the shed. As he looked at it with the desire of wind in his face on the open road, he decided to take that instead of the car. It was such a warm evening with no threat of rain. A bike ride would be great. He wiped away a little dust and twisted his cap backwards before he swung his leg over the saddle. He stood up and came down hard to kick start the old machine. It belched a little smoke and then roared. The inside of the shed rattled as he let it idle to warm up. When he hit the gas, the tin shed practically shook as the big pistons exploded, sending loud shock waves splattering from the chrome pipes. When it was warmed and ready to go, he made a sharp U turn inside the shed and sped through the open doorway and down his drive towards town, a trail of dust floating behind him.

When he was almost to the end of his driveway, he noticed the farm directly across the road from his, had a strange car parked in the yard and people were walking around as if examining the property. He guessed that it must be the new neighbors. He heard the Millers’ had sold their farm and had already moved to town. He wondered what kind of neighbors the new ones would be. He hoped decent ones. At least, he didn’t share any line fences with them as all his land was across the road from theirs.

He slowed to rubberneck, but he didn’t have time to stop and welcome them into the neighborhood. He would have to do that some other day.

In town, Cory parked on the street in front of a set of stairs that lead to Tom’s upstairs apartment. He gave a couple raps on the door and walked right in.

Tom poked his head around a corner, his hair still dripping with water. Oh, it’s you. There’s beer in the fridge. Help yourself. I’ll be right out. Tom was a tall beanpole of a man, skinny and not very muscular. At thirty years of age, his hairline was already receding making him self-conscious of it as he combed his hair across his head in an attempt to conceal it.

Instead of getting a beer, Cory flopped down on the sofa to wait for his drinking buddy. He saw some magazines on the coffee table in front of him so he opened one and let the centerfold fall open.

Tom came in wrapped in a robe and drying his hair. Pretty nice, ain’t she?

Yeah, I have to agree.

Says, she’s the girl next door.

I bet.

She’s sure not next door to either of us.

You got that right, Cory said as he put the magazine down. Although, I’m getting new neighbors, I’ll lay you odds it won’t be anybody as pretty as that one.

You’d crap your drawers if it was.

More than likely, I would. He turned the magazine over so the girl on the front cover wouldn’t be staring at him.

Tom flipped the damp towel over the back of a chair. As far as girls, we sure have slim-picking around here.

Yeah, I have to agree with you on that, too. Cory leaned back and hooked his fingers behind his head. I imagine it’s like this in every small community. When the girls get out of high school, they either get married or run off to the big cities for the big paying jobs, never to be seen again.

Tom scoffed, Yeah, and it leaves slim picking for the guys like us. When we go to a bar around here, what’s the ratio of single men to single women, a dozen to one?

Probably something like that.

Those are mighty poor odds.

Becoming impatient, Cory made a quick motion with his hand. Come on, hurry up, will ya. It doesn’t do any good to complain about it.

You seem to be in an awful big hurry.

I’m not staying out all night. I want to get up early in the morning. For what?

I might go fishin’.

Fishin’?

Want to come?

What the hell would I want to go fishin’ for?

Enjoyment and relaxation.

With the mosquitoes and rattlesnakes?

There are no mosquitoes and snakes where I go.

What about the pneumonia I get from having a wet ass?

Do like I do, sit on a feed sack.

No thanks. I’ll pass.

Tom started his little red sports car and they drove away. He was actually excited.

It should be a good night. With this nice weather, there should be some girls out. Cory scolded, Tom, I’m not chasing women with you.

But we haven’t been out all summer. You’ve been off gallivanting around the country and I never get to see you.

I’ve been up to Jewel City helping an old army buddy remodel a night club that he just bought.

Or you’ve been fishin’.

Yeah, one or the other.

Well, it’s been forever since we’ve been chasing women together.

Cory turned and stared straight into his face, his cool hazel eyes snapped daggers at his fellow teacher. Not since we went out and you picked up those two girls at the bar, and then roped me into going on a double date with you.

Well, I couldn’t help it if the girl I picked up had her sister along. You know I couldn’t fit both of them in my little car with me.

Huh! You could hardly fit one of them.

What are you complaining about? I took the biggest one.

I couldn’t see that much difference.

What’s your problem? You always say what’s important is the girl’s personality.

That was it. Cory threw his hands up. She didn’t have any. She wouldn’t say anything except her one-word answers. That was, until I dropped her off at her door step, when she asked me in to spend the night.

Tom, chuckled, and you ran like a scared pup. Yes—I—did! Cory emphatically stated.

When they went into the bar, they were the only customers. Desperately Tom asked as he looked around, where is everybody?

Cory laughed as he grabbed a stool and slid up to the bar. Don’t you know that when the farmers go home in the evening to do chores, Barlow all but roles up its streets?

Yeah, but this is ridiculous. There’s not one other person in here except us and old Harry the bartender.

That’s great. Then we don’t have to compete for the pool table.

But there could be a woman or two. Even a bar fly would do.

"I warned you. We’re just here for a burger and maybe a few games of pool.

Nothing more. I don’t like your style of women."

There’s no other style around here, except for those teenaged high school girls.

And you know damn well, they’re off limits.

Not if you don’t get caught. Tom squinted his eyes as if being sneaky.

Tom!!

Don’t worry, I was just kidding, but it doesn’t hurt to dream. Yeah, right.

Don’t tell me you never have thoughts run through your head about those sexy school girls?

No way.

Not even when you see that little blonde cheerleader, Holly Simmons? She’s hotter than a firecracker, and her side kick, Judy Collins ain’t bad either.

Nope. Not even Miss Simmons nor Miss Collins. They are still school girls and strictly off limits.

But you have to admit, they are a couple sexy numbers. It probably wouldn’t take much to get either one in the hay.

You better watch yourself. If Ol’ Man Lathrop heard this, he would boot your hind end out of school.

We don’t have to worry about him for a while.. He went to Europe for the summer, and I hope they keep him there.;

We still have to behave.

Yeah, listen to you, so pure and wholesome, a regular Mr. Keep-Your-NoseClean Iverson.

That’s right.

After they ate their burgers, Cory dug around in his pocket for some change. I’ll shoot ya a game of pool. That will take your mind off women.

Huh! Never worked before.

Why don’t you find some nice woman and settle down, then you wouldn’t have this problem.

I tried that once, Tom said as he slid from the bar stool and picked up a pool cue. No more. That was the most miserable year of my life. All I got out of it was a big fat alimony payment to support her and the kid.

You’re not regretting you have a kid, do you? You should feel fortunate.

Well, the kid is all right, but she has custody and I don’t get to see it enough to know it’s mine.

That’s too bad.

Say, if you’re so hep about marriage, what about you? You’re twenty-six and still single.

I came close once," Cory said as he walked around the pool table and made a shot.

So you stopped looking?

Well, I’m always kind of looking, but the finding is not so good. Cory made a string of balls and then the eight ball. He motioned to Tom. Rack ’em.

Maybe the finding will get better when they open that new night club in town. A new night club? Cory asked as he leaned his lanky frame against the bar.

Where? I never saw any construction.

You go by it all the time. Tom plopped his rump on the edge of the pool table.

They’re fixing up that old warehouse on the edge of town. It’ll be a bar and dance hall.

They’re fixing that up? He asked in shock. I see vehicles parked there, but I thought they were renovating it to be used as a warehouse again.

Nope. It’s a nightclub. They call it the Club Royal.

What kind of business will they have there? That old place won’t attract customers. People like to go to a nice place with a pleasant atmosphere. We have one of them in town, Perrys’ Lounge.

You don’t understand. Perrys’ Lounge caters to the older crowd. They serve hard liquor. You have to be twenty-one before you can be served. The Club Royal isn’t a sit down and dine place. It’s a beer joint and dance hall. They only sell beer and can serve anyone as young as eighteen. It’s the state law.

A teenage bar?

Yup. There isn’t another on in this corner of the state. It’ll attract girls from all over the country. And just think it’ll be right in our back yard. Great, huh?

Is the town going to allow it?

They already have their permits and liquor licenses. Tom had a gleam appear in his eyes. Just think of all the people that will be there. It’ll be a smorgasbord of new girls every weekend.

I don’t see where it’ll do you any good. They’ll be way too young for you. Those teenagers don’t want an old codger like you hanging around. I’m four years younger than you and I would certainly feel out of place. Cory warned. And being teachers, we shouldn’t be in there either. Ol’ Man Lathrop would blow his top if he caught any of his teachers hanging around a teenage bar.

He has to sleep sometime. He won’t be out there in the middle of the night. Besides, all we have to do is keep an eye out for him. His old sober, pickle-face would stick out like a sore thumb.

Cory sincerely warned, Tom, you’re just asking for trouble.

We might just as well be in prison, if we can’t go out and enjoy ourselves once in a while.

"Well, I sort of agree with you there, but a teenage bar?

That won’t bother me a bit to party with some teenaged girls, and I bet you would too, if you had half a chance.

No way. Cory shook his head to disagree.

I bet.

Shut up and shoot the ball. Cory barked. I don’t have time to sit here and listen to your crap. I have to get up early, remember?

*     *     *

The next morning, Cory was a little later than normal having his hook in the water, but the bait no more than hit the surface when he got a strike. He set the hook and kept his line tight. The fish jumped out of the water and then made a dive to the bottom. With his pole bent around almost double in one hand and the net in the other, he guided the fish close to him. He dipped the fish out and held it up to examine his catch. Not the biggest, but plenty big enough for the frying pan.

He didn’t know what was going on, but he would no more than get his hook baited and back into the water when he’d have another fish. That kept up until he simply had to quit. It would be a big job cleaning all of them. He had enough for several meals and would have to freeze what he couldn’t eat in one sitting.

Cory got back home and it was still early in the day. He would have to think up something else to do to occupy the rest of the day. As much as he hated it, there was laundry, or on second thought, a fence between his pasture and cornfield needed mending before the corn coaxed his cows out, but first he had to clean fish. It was not the most favorable job, but it came along with the fun of catching them.

He took some pans and his catch out by the water hydrant to a fish-cleaning table. He was about half done, when he heard a semi truck coming down the highway. That was rather unusual being a country trunk road there was very little truck traffic. Then he heard it’s Jake brake. He realized it was slowing down. He walked around the corner of the house to see what was going on, and sure enough, it was coming almost to a stop. Then it turned into the neighbor’s driveway. It was a moving van. The new neighbors were moving in.

He saw the truck work it’s way around the barnyard and back towards the house and stop. The distinct sound of air brakes hissed. It was as close to the front door as it could get, but was still twenty feet away. They would have a lot of packing to do so he thought maybe they could use some help. He could take the time and postpone the fencing and laundry. That would be the neighborly thing to do, but first he had to finish the job at hand.

After he cleaned the fish and put them away, he packed some cans of soda into a cooler along with some ice, figuring it would make a good ‘welcome to the neighborhood’ gesture. He parked his pick-up along the side of their driveway so it would be out of the way in case the semi had to move.

He walked past the big semi tractor, still idling, and when he was alongside the van trailer, he could hear voices, the tromping of feet, and the shuffle of furniture coming from within.

He went around to the back of the truck where a ramp was hooked onto the back of the trailer. He saw movement inside the house and it drew his attention away momentarily so he stopped at the bottom of the ramp. Just then someone coming down the ramp behind a pile of boxes stacked so high it partially blocked their vision, collided with him.

Cory helped steady the boxes and apologized. Oops, excuse me. I better watch what I’m doing before I get trampled underfoot.

The person lowered the boxes enough to peer over. What Cory saw totally surprised him. It was something he never expected. It was a girl. In fact, she was a very beautiful girl, her eyes an illuminating emerald green. Although she looked like a tomboy with a baseball cap, her dark brown ponytail poked through the hole in the back, he was still astounded.

With a startled expression on her face, she asked, may I help you?

Ah—, I’m your neighbor. I live straight across the road from you. Oh yeah, my name is Cory. Cory Iverson.

Hi, I’m Kate Linsey. Nice to meet you.

Nice to meet you, too. Um, if you want, I can help carry stuff into the house for ya.

You’re offering to help?

Yes, ma’am. I thought it would be the neighborly thing to do.

Well, thank you. That’s very nice of you. Just go in the truck and grab something. My brother, Bud, is in there. He’ll tell you what to do. My folks are both in the house. You can meet them when you come in.

She gave a friendly smile and turned to go into the house. He couldn’t help but look at her shapely form, her tight blue jeans fitting exactly to a slender perfect body. He couldn’t believe it. She was breathtaking. She was better than the girl in Tom’s magazine. Of course, she looked a little young, probably eighteen, or nineteen, hopefully twenty. But just imagine, having someone like that be his neighbor, the proverbial girl next door. Maybe his luck was changing.

He watched the girl disappear from sight before he went into the van. A tall wellbuilt young man was struggling to free an over-stuffed chair from the pile, so Cory said, here, let me help you. I’m your neighbor from across the road. I’m here to give you a hand. I’m Cory, you must be, Bud?

Yeah. He wiped his brow after they got the chair free. "Boy, I appreciate that.

I can’t believe we have so much junk."

Yeah, it accumulates.

Bud asked, Can you handle that chair by yourself?

I think so. Cory gripped it and picked it up. It wasn’t heavy but it was awkward to handle as he struggled a little to carry it down the ramp. Just then he felt some pressure ease up on the weight. He looked and that same young lady had a hold of the other side.

She smiled and asked, Need help, Cory?

Thank you. He gave her a smile back. He said to himself. She remembered my name. That’s a good start.

When they reached the bottom of the ramp, a husky red-haired lad squeezed between Cory and the chair as he ordered. Here, I’ll take that.

Cory was so surprised by the blunt jester that he let him take over. After the chair was out of his grip, he stated. I could have handled that.

The red head turned his face enough over his shoulder to say. Don’t worry about it, chum. I got it.

Cory thought it was strange. If the red head wanted to help, why didn’t he take over for Kate instead? He wanted to say more, but it was too late. The couple and the chair were gone.

Bud went by with a stand so Cory went back inside and found a couple boxes to carry. When he went into the house, a middle-aged man came up to him, pointing to where he was to put his arm full.

The man extended his hand and said, I’m Avery. Kate and Bud’s father, and this is my wife, Lisa. He motioned to an extremely nice looking woman who was busy on the other side of the room. With her father’s tall striking physique and her mother’s good looks, he could see how Kate turned out to be so beautiful.

He took Avery’s hand as he said, how do you do, my name’s Cory.

Yes, Kate told us.

Lisa came to their side of the room and said. It sure is nice of you to help. We were apprehensive of what kind of neighbors we would have. I’m relieved to see we’re going to have, at least, one good neighbor.

"Well, thank you. I’m sure all the neighbors would be here to help, if they knew.

I think we have a great neighborhood. You’ll like it here."

I’m sure we will. I know one thing, we sure like our new farm.

Yeah, the Miller farm has always been a show-place of the neighborhood.

Kate came into the room closely followed by the red head and another man dressed in coveralls with the moving company’s logo on the pocket.

Avery said to the man, Gil, tell me when you’re ready to bring in the stove and I’ll clear a path to the kitchen for you.

It’ll be soon. Gil responded. Either me or Cousin Willis will let you know.

They went outside to the truck and Cory followed. By the time he got into the trailer, the red head and Kate had a sofa ready to go. Cory went up to her and asked. Do you want me to take this end? Looks heavy.

Thanks, she said as she moved away.

Willis looked up and saw that he had Cory on the other end so he said to his cousin. Gil, take this. I want to help Kate. We make a good team.

Cory thought it was awful bossy and pushy of the supposedly underling of the movers to order his cousin around, but Gil obliged him, anyway.

When he was maneuvering down the ramp carrying his end of the sofa, he could overhear the talkative red head as he and Kate closely followed.

Hey sugar, next year I’ll have my own truck. This company won’t hire anybody until they’re twenty-two. I’ll have my chauffeur’s license by then. Cousin Gil lets me drive a little once in a while. I’m not allowed on the highway until I get my learner’s permit, though, but I drive around the company’s lot. I can shift a nine-speed, and double clutch pretty good. I’m getting better at backin’ up, too. Next year I’ll have everything down pat. You know the company trucks all have big sleepers. Babe, you have to see ’em to believe ’em. I can’t wait to hit the road. I thought of a CB handle already, The Red Viper. Sounds great, huh? I’ll make good money, too. I think it’s so cool, don’t you?

Kate smiled and politely responded. I suppose it would be exciting for a fellow like yourself to be a truck driver.

Oh yes, most definitely. His smile was clear across his face. You’ll have to come ride with me. When I roll through a truck stop with a beauty like you, all the other drivers will really sit up and take notice.

Cory said under his breath. Oh, give me a break!

Cool, huh?

Kate didn’t answer, being distracted by her parents telling everyone where to put their loads. Because she was so good looking, he could see why Willis was hitting on her every chance he got. Although, he couldn’t imagine her putting up with such an obnoxious person, but that was her business.

Cory didn’t go out to the truck with the others. He stayed back with Avery to help rearrange some living room furniture to make room for the sofa. When finished, he asked, What brings you to this area to buy a farm?

"We were looking for a farm large enough to suit us. When Bud got out of high school, we decided to farm together. It’s easier that way. Where we farmed before, it was too close to the big city. Our farm wasn’t large enough to handle all our cattle, so we had to rent land. But the city was gobbling up all the land around us and what was left was getting too expensive. The forty acres we rented right next to us was sold to build a shopping center. So when that happened, every realtor around was after our farm to make a sub division. We didn’t like it, but there wasn’t anything else we could do. We were lucky to find this farm at a reasonable price. It’s late into the year to move onto a farm, but we had no choice. At least, the Millers had all the crops done. We’ll be a little short on hay and corn so we’ll have to buy some in the spring

I always have some corn and usually a little hay left over, I’ll make you a deal on that, if you like?

Oh, I’ll give you a fair market price.

Deal.

That’s great!

Kate went by on another trip and Willis was close by her like a stick-tight. Cory’s mind strayed to the beautiful young lady. Her father said Bud was out of high school, so where would that put her, age-wise? She isn’t wearing any kind of ring, marriage or engagement. Not even a friendship ring. Apparently she’s home with her parents, yet. Maybe she’s home for summer vacation from college. Maybe that’s it. Now, that would be great!

About half done unloading the truck, Cory saw Lisa straighten up and wipe the hair out of her face. She put her hands on the small of her back as if she was exhausted.

Cory asked, Anybody for a break? I have a cooler full of ice cold pop in my truck.

They all agreed. Everyone went out to the porch and a few brought chairs. Willis sat on the porch steps and patted the seat beside him for Kate. Cory had to step around him in order to get by and had to be careful not to step on his hand as he was still trying to coax her to sit next to him.

Instead, she said to Cory, Wait up, I’ll give you a hand, if you don’t mind.

Sure. He was surprised. She was going out of her way to be with him. Then he realized she was probably doing it to get away from that pesky Willis. He gave her a big smile as he slowed to let her catch up. I can get it by myself, but I appreciate the help.

I’m glad to do it.

She fell in beside him and matched him stride for stride. He hoped his stare wasn’t too obvious as his eyes were virtually glued upon her all the while, but he couldn’t help it. It had been such a long time since he had seen anyone that even resembled pretty, but here was one that was absolutely outstanding. She was dressed in faded blue jeans and a pretty print blouse that was nicely filled in the front, her baseball cap shading her eyes. She was definitely tomboyish, but in a very sexy way. She was so friendly and outgoing, and being very beautiful didn’t hurt either. He had to admit, he had never been so enthralled by someone like that before. She was something special, her beautiful green eyes, riveting. He had a warm and comforting feeling overtake his body just to have her so near. He had the strongest urge to reach out to give her a big hug, but he knew he would have to get better acquainted first. Being such close neighbors, hopefully he would get more opportunities to get to know her so he could strike up a close and lasting relationship.

He glanced over his shoulder and the disappointed Willis was to his feet, glaring at them. Cory rolled his eyes to her again. I see you have an admirer?

It’s really obvious, isn’t it?

Yeah.

He’s already asked me for a date for tonight while he’s in the area.

He did?

I turned him down.

Apparently he doesn’t want to take ‘no’ for an answer.

Apparently not. He’s in my face all the time and it’s becoming very annoying.

Well, tell him to knock it off, if you don’t like it.

Well, I’m trying to be polite. He is hired to move our furniture.

That’s no excuse to be a pest.

I guess you’re right. I’ll just have to tell him ‘no’ in a more persuasive way. I told him I’m not interested in dating yet, especially with all this packing and moving on my mind.

When they got to his truck, he raised the lid of the cooler and opened a can of pop and handed it to her. I bet you’re thirsty. Here, let’s get a head start on the others. I am. Thanks, she said as she put the can to her lips.

He opened his can of pop, but stood motionless, his hands barely out of the cooler. He watched her hold the dripping, iced can to her mouth as the cold liquid flowed past her lips. She was so beautiful. Those eyes were something special. He had never seen a girl with eyes like hers’, so green and pure, an emerald gemstone would be diminished by their sheer beauty. Yet, somewhere, sometime, he felt he had experienced that vision before. Like then, it was a vision that pulled at his very soul and fiber. He could feel his mind and body slipping away like he was in some kind of heavenly trance.

He stared at the can of soda still to her mouth as she took another drink. She looked so desirable. What wouldn’t he give to have his lips trade places with that can. Those tender unpainted lips freshly moistened by her tongue. Her smooth, tanned face looked so soft and touchable.

Then his eyes unmercifully roamed down her graceful neck to her flowery print blouse. Where, from his vantage point, a bra-strap was clearly visible and beyond that, he could see white where the sun had never shone before.

Kate lowered her can and, looking directly at him and asked, What’s the matter?

Huh? He was startled. He thought his roaming eyes had been detected.

You haven’t touched you pop, yet. I thought we were getting a head start?

Oh,—yeah. I forgot. I guess my mind was way off somewhere.

A penny for your thoughts.

No way.

Come on, Cory.

Nope. He grinned and then jokingly added. It’ll cost ya a nickel.

Okay.

No, I was only kidding.

Well, are you going to tell me?

He knew he didn’t dare tell her everything that was on his mind. He would probably get his face slapped if he did. So