Jake examines the elk’s legs and the surrounding area that is drenched in the elk’s blood.
“He’s miserable, Jake, absolutely miserable.” I state the obvious.
“You know, Liz,” Jake says solemnly. “I am going to have to put him out of his misery. He won’t be able to make it back over the fence on his own and, even if he does, he won’t heal on his own from this kind of injury.”
“I know. I was thinking the same thing.”
I take a few steps backward. Jake aims the pistol and shoots the elk in the head. I naturally flinch at the blast of the gun. The elk’s tongue slides out of his mouth and his eyes remain open.
“What now?” I ask. “Do you leave him out here?”
I’m not a hunter. I have no idea what to do.
“If I leave him here, the stench will attract a lot of unwanted critters or animals that will cause more damage to the fence.”
Jake sets his weapon back in its casing. He surveys the trail made by the elk.
“Let’s keep walking to find where he got in. It shouldn’t be too far ahead.”
Jake takes my hand as I follow his lead, stepping over fallen branches and protruding rocks. The fence isn’t a long distance. Elk fur and blood hang from the broken lines. Jake tosses a stick at the fence to see if there was a break in the current. Jake is in close proximity to the fence and the edge of the property as he examines the situation. I stay back as a spectator, not knowing anything about elk, electric fences, or unwanted critters.
Jake turns to me. “I think it would be best if I use the truck to pull the animal out of here.”
Returning to the cabin, Jake grabs the keys to his truck and whistles for Zeke to follow. Jake opens the garage and gathers rope and other gear needed to take care of the elk. As he does, I climb into the passenger side of the truck.
Climbing into the truck, Jake turns to me in surprise before starting the ignition. “You don’t have to come, you know.”
I shrug my shoulders. “I know. I just didn’t want to stay behind, if that’s all right with you.”
“It’s perfectly fine. It’s just going to take a long time and it’s not going to be pretty,” Jake explains.
My stomach turns; maybe it isn’t a good idea tagging along, but I also don’t want to stay alone by myself for a long time in the cabin.
“I’m not going to be a big help, but I’ll be fine,” I say.
“Maybe you can help. I need to bring the ATV with us in the back of the truck.”
I take the keys from Jake and walk to the ATV that is parked by the cabin. Jake slides a heavy metal ramp, hooking it to the open truck bed. I steer the ATV around to drive up the ramp. It’s a larger machine, so I stand to bear all my weight forward instead of sitting still or leaning back to avoid the ATV from tipping or rolling over on me. Jake is quite entertained, watching me maneuver the machine. I turn the engine off as Jake slides the grated metal ramp into the truck bed. He holds his hands out to motion me down from the truck. Jake holds onto my waist as I jump from the truck bed.
“I’m quite impressed how you handled yourself with that machine. You never cease to amaze me, Liz.”
Jake’s hands remain on my waist. He pulls me closer to him. My arms still have a hold of his shoulders. He leans down to kiss me. His hands run down my back and then he gives me a playful slap on my rear end.
I yelp, “Hey!” I return the slap to his tight, sculpted ass.
We grin at each other as Jake follows me to the passenger side of the truck, never relinquishing our eyes from one another.
When we arrive at the main gate, Jake turns off the electric current that flows through the fence. We drive on a gravel road, which twists and winds back to the property line. Jake spots the damaged fence and drives toward the break through the tall wild grass. He rolls over the small bushes, driving the truck as if it is a tank smashing everything in its path.
Jake retrieves a metal box wedged in the back of the truck bed. He pulls from the hefty toolbox a large pair of wire cutters before sliding on a pair of work gloves. He cuts off the broken wires of the fence and continues to pull away a twelve-foot clearing.
Jake walks toward the truck to pull down the back of the bed. He reattaches the grated ramp to the tailgate. I have the keys to the ATV in my pocket, so I climb the back tire and hoist myself over the truck side to straddle the machine and turn it on. Jake signals it is okay for me to put it in reverse. When I come to a stop, Jake approaches the machine to place what supplies he needs on the back rail, strapping everything securely.
Jake straddles the ATV. I kiss the back of his neck and wrap my arms tightly around his waist. The sides of Jake’s cheeks blush.
Jake drives the ATV through the clearing he made in the fence. Zeke follows close by. The terrain is rough as we make our way downhill. We duck to avoid low-hanging tree branches and lift our legs to escape scrapes on our shins by jagged twigs. I am dumbfounded we are able to make our way to the elk. Zeke sniffs out the elk before Jake approaches it with his gear. I remain seated on the ATV.
Jake pulls the heavy elk by his points away from the trees encasing him. I am astonished by the magnitude of Jake’s strength as he singlehandedly yanks the large elk and manipulates him. Jake ties the elk’s front legs to the hind legs and then attaches the rope to the back of the ATV, which connects the machine to the animal. I start to climb off to let Jake take the lead, but he insists I stay on the back to keep weight on the vehicle. It is a dreadful pull through the cleared way to the fence. The elk looks dreadful from having his fur dragged and scraped during the pull.
Before loading the elk in the truck, Jake guts the elk on site. He positions the elk as close to the bottom of the ATV ramp as possible. Jake unties the rope from the ATV and uses the rope to pull the elk into the truck bed. It is baffling how one man is able to pull an enormous animal on his own. My mouth drops as I watch his muscles pull and arrange the elk in the back of the truck.
Torn pieces of hair and flesh of the elk litter the ramp. The sight and smell nauseates me. I have never been hunting or helped retrieve an animal like this before. I stay focused on Zeke and keep him out of Jake’s way as he attends to the carcass.
When Jake hops out of the truck bed, gloves saturated with blood and shirt splattered and stained, he detaches the ramp and leaves it by the side of the truck.
“Are we just going to leave the ATV here?” I ask.
Jake says, “Yeah, I can’t take everything in one trip. We’ll come back for it.”
I should just keep my mouth shut. Jake plainly knows what he is doing. This is not his first time retrieving a large intruding animal from the property. Perhaps he watched his grandpap do it. By the sight of his garage, he’s no stranger to hunting.
Zeke climbs into the back seat of the extended cab as Jake tosses his bloodied gloves into the back of the truck. He then steps out of his boots and places them into the back. Jake reaches down his back, pulling the hem of his shirt over his head and unbuttons the top of his jeans. He looks at me. I must be staring.
“What? I’m not getting all this bloody crap in my new truck.”
The corners of my mouth turn up. “I’m not questioning. I’m just watching.”
Well, I’m not just watching; I am staring and drinking him in, especially once the pants are off and thrown with the rest of his things. My eyes begin at the top of the elastic of his socks to his distinct shins and chiseled thighs. His jockey shorts remain on, even though I wish he took those off too. I am hypnotized with the rest of his formed body. It’s not strange to me, but now I get the entire picture of him standing in front of me and I dissolve at the sight.
I am entranced by the splendor of his body, but he interrupts my gaze when he asks, “You’re coming back with me, right? You can stay here by yourself, if you’d like.”
I shake myself out of my unmovable trance. “No, I’m coming.”
I quickly run to the passenger side and climb in. My eyes resume roam
ing the delicious body that is sitting in the truck, waiting for me. I can’t stop staring. I look out the passenger side window, trying to redirect my mind as Jake turns over the key in the ignition. Zeke begins licking my cheek, which helps me cool off a bit.
Once we arrive at the gate, I insist on opening it, since I am the one whose clothes are still intact. I find the latch comes undone easily and swings open almost by itself. I hold it in place with my back so it doesn’t swing prematurely. Jake drives through the entrance and waits for me to close down the latch and return the key to the box.
In this moment of coming and going from the property, I realize I am choosing Jake. Choosing to stay, choosing to be with Jake for as long as he will allow me to stay. I could have taken off on the ATV, but I didn’t. I could have driven off in Jake’s truck, but I didn’t do that either.
Jake parks the truck so the backside is facing the garage. He asks me to run into the cabin to get him some clean clothes. I don’t mean to snoop as I look for a T-shirt, but my eyes can’t help but roam as I open the drawer. In the top drawer lies a metal U.S. Marine lapel pin. The globe and anchor emblem is a distinct reminder of whom I am choosing to be with, a Marine. Even though I am far from home, I feel safe, cared for, and loved by this man.
I don’t touch the pin because Jake will know if it has been tampered with; he notices everything. I want to keep snooping, but I will myself to stop since I left that beautiful Marine standing outside in his jockey shorts. There is a hop in my step as I head to Jake with his stack of clothes.
Jake quickly dresses and ties on his boots before climbing into the bed of the truck. He pushes the elk out of the truck bed and it lands with an enormous thud. A small cloud of dust rises from the ground where it lands. Jake straightens out the edges of a tarp onto the floor of the garage. He pulls out metal cording connected to a pulley and attaches the mechanisms high in the garage. Jake pulls out a machete, slicing the elk across the neck. With the rope attached to the tied-up legs of the elk, Jake pulls the elk into the garage with a clamp connected with a thick metal cording. With one strong tug, Jake hoists the elk midair, upside down in the garage. He places a five-gallon bucket to catch the dripping blood. When the bleeding ceases, Jake pulls around a hose to wash the whole animal down with cool water.
After putting the hose away, Jake disappears into the cabin to shower and I take Zeke near the lake to run around.
A freshly showered Jake sits on the porch, waiting for me to return. The animal hangs to dry as Jake makes a phone call. I overhear him making arrangements to have someone come fix the fence and take away the animal.
When the call ends, Jake turns to me. “This will all be gone in a few days. I still have to get the ATV and I’d like to do it before it gets dark. Do you want to stay here?”
“No, I’ll come,” I answer. I don’t mind riding in the truck and watching this gladiator in action.
It is dark and nightfall arrives when we return to the cabin with the ATV. The garage is open where the elk hangs. Jake keeps the ATV stored in the truck.
The Milky Way glows above us while crickets sing to us their lullabies.
Chapter 23: Jake
I kick off my boots and collapse onto the couch. Today did not turn out the way I thought it would when I woke up this morning. The last thing I expected to discover while hiking was a mangled elk on the property. Liz stuck through the entire day without being exhausted. She didn’t cringe or vomit from the sights and smells of the dead carcass as I had expected.
I am pleasantly surprised when she hands me a plate of leftover lasagna and I devour it as if I haven’t eaten in days.
I clean the kitchen and return to the couch, where Liz snuggles under a blanket that she offers to share with me. As Liz cuddles next to me, she rubs my sore arms and massages my tired hands. She intertwines her fingers in my hand and kisses the back of my hand.
Her touch excites me. Releasing my hand, her fingers softly glide along the top of my chest. She reaches up and kisses me on the cheek, and then her head nestles on my chest. My hands move up her body to stroke her golden hair. I sink deeper into the couch with Liz on top of me. She is close to me, at her own free will and choice – my newly discovered Heaven on Earth with her and I don’t ever want it to end. I wrap my arms around her, close my eyes, and fall into a peaceful sleep.
* * * * *
I wake to find Liz sound asleep on my chest with a blanket covering the both of us. Listening to her breathe softly, I comb back her blonde hair with my fingers to kiss her forehead. Last night, I slept so well. I feel so rested and relaxed and I wonder if I would sleep better if I slept every night next to Liz.
Not wanting to awaken Liz too soon, I gently lift her off me so I can slide out from underneath her to shower and proceed to make breakfast before she wakes.
When I return to the room, I find Liz remains enveloped underneath the blanket. When I lean down to kiss her forehead, her eyes slowly open. I apologize for awakening her.
I stand to leave her to rest when she grabs my hand to pull me back down to the couch. Liz throws the blanket off the couch, removing the barrier between us. She grabs hold of my face and pulls me down to her. As we kiss passionately, I collapse onto her.
My weight must be crushing her, but Liz smiles an insatiable smile and looks at me with those compelling eyes. Her enticing arms wrap around me, trapping me into to an embrace. I cannot resist; I don’t want to resist.
I kiss her neck and nibble on her ear. She returns kisses on my cheeks; not just light kisses, but long, lustful kisses. I harden at her touch and suddenly my hands are on her breasts as I begin to ravish her with my mouth. She moans as we press our lips together. Liz trails her delicate fingers along my chest, moving past my stomach, and undoes the top button of my jeans.
“I wanted to do that for you yesterday,” she whispers in my ear.
I quiver at the thought that she wants me.
“Several times,” she adds as her fingers pinch my zipper.
I feel her fingers of her other hand moving at my waistline, tugging on my belt loopholes to pull my jeans off. Once she has them loosened and moving toward my knees, she slides her foot between my thighs and pushes my jeans off the rest of the way in one swoop. I kick away the final sleeve of denim still stuck on my heel.
Continuing our kisses, I feel as though I am falling into her. Liz’s hands wrap around me, creeping their way down the small of my back to grasp the back hem of my shirt. She pulls it up over my head and whispers, “I wanted to do that, too.”
The kisses grow deeper and more intense than before. She breaks from me to pull off her shirt, quickly returning to my lips. Liz doesn’t sever our kiss as she wiggles to slide off her pants off while still pressed beneath me. Then her fingers trace my chest and find their way to the elastic of my jockey shorts. She easily pulls them off, using the same trick she used with my pants.
Liz’s lips move from my mouth to my chest, stopping to lick each one of my hardened nipples. As she moves on, her tongue makes a moistened trail to my navel. She is underneath me at my waist. The progress continues below my waist and I feel her lace bra on my skin.
Finally pushing up to encourage me to change positions, Liz rolls me to my back with her on top of my chest. I lie on my back completely naked, completely captivated by her lure.
I want her to do anything and everything to me.
Liz kisses my lips, my chest, and my navel. While still prone, she inches her way between my legs, resting her body there. Then, kneeling on her hands and knees above me, Liz wraps her fingers around my shaft, then licks the tip. I shiver when her mouth envelopes me. The sensation pushes my body into a sitting position, but my movement doesn’t make her lose her connection. I am about ready to lose it. Sensing this, she plunges me deeper into her mouth.
I look down to watch. Liz is on her knees, holding me inside her mouth and I moan in pleasure. She looks at me with those eyes, those beautiful blue eyes. I see them now in a way
I have never seen them before; a way I will never forget. I gasp, inhaling deeply as she takes me in deeper. I am unable to keep myself from some kind of audible response any longer. I don’t want to release yet; no, I want to be inside of her.
Another jolt of sensation runs through me and I can’t take it anymore. All my intentions to hold back come to nothing as I squirt right down her throat and she swallows. I haven’t had a woman do this to me.
I pull her off her knees and kiss her while my arms wrap around her waist and she reciprocates the embrace. She kisses me in a way that will get me hard again, quickly. Then, we’re distracted by the sound of a truck engine we hear slowly approaching the cabin. A moment later, the driver slams on the horn. This time, I’m groaning, disappointed at the arrival of unwanted company.
“They weren’t supposed to be here until tomorrow,” I complain.
Liz smiles, completely satisfied now that she has had her way with me. I want more and, by the look on Liz’s face, she wants more too. Liz stands and scampers up the stairs to shower. I quickly dress with a smile to greet my neighbors.
As I open the door, I yell from the porch, “I thought you guys weren’t coming until tomorrow.”
“Well, we’re here, so no use in waiting. We got nothing going on, or would you rather we came back tomorrow?”
I wave my hands. “No, today is fine. I just wasn’t expecting you.”
I close the front door tightly behind me, making sure it locks for Liz’s protection. I hope she doesn’t think I’m trying to trap her inside.
Chapter 24: Liz
The people who arrive at the cabin are the ones Jake was referring to about removing the carcass in the garage. I don’t remember Jake turning the fence on last night. They must have accessed the main gate without any problems.
I completely dry my hair and zip my hoodie. I stop in the kitchen to prepare something for our guests, since it is getting close to lunch. I look in the fridge, finding plenty of things, but I don’t know what protocol is for visitors, so I decide to step outside to ask Jake.
Hasty Resolution Page 13