“Is there anything else on the radio?” Audrey politely asked from the rear seat.
Her father laughed, “My little pumpkin can’t handle a bit of classical now and then.”
Rachel backed her sister, “Oh come on Dad, we’ve had your choice for the last twenty miles, in fact longer than that, even before we got to the snow line.”
Jacquelyn looked through the glove compartment and found a C D, “How does, Best of Cher, suit everybody?”
Rachel was quickest, “Yes that will do, anything but slay ride.”
The road wound slowly up the hill; the forest on the left and the valley to the right looked a picture in the late autumnal snow.
Albert Beamish had been married to his second wife for just three months, they and his two daughters, Rachel eighteen and Audrey nineteen, his girls from his first marriage had decided on a family bonding weekend to the hills, they had managed to get, well what looked like from the pictures, a very nice holiday home, a weekend let, It was up in the hills, they had brought plenty of wine, some nice easy to cook food and were just going to spend a few days, as Rachel would put it, chilling out.
Jacquelyn sounded excited as she squealed, “Look It’s snowing again.”
Albert patted her leg, “How old are you three or thirty three.”
From the rear seat Rachel tapped him on the head; “Don’t be so horrid just because you’ve gone fifty, an old fuddy duddy like you should think himself very lucky to have three beautiful women with him, I really don’t see what Jacque saw in you.”
Albert snorted, “Money, which, with you two beautiful women, is running out fast.”
Their laughter was cut short as the back end of the car slid in the now heavily falling snow, “Whoops;” Albert laughed trying to reassure the women, as the snow swirled around the car.
Albert looked down to turn on the headlights, there was a loud bump and he swerved to the right, the car slid in to the water ditch at the side of the road and the engine cut out.
“Christ what was that”? Albert cursed as he struggled out the door, the women looked at each other as Albert walked around in the snow, a few minutes later he opened the door, “We hit a deer, a big deer, the trouble is I don’t think it’s dead, our problem is the car head light is bust fortunately that’s the only damage, the rest of the car looks alright.”
Suddenly there were voices, men’s voices shouting, the language was not what the family was used to.
Albert swung round, the women heard him ask, “Can I help you gentlemen?”
A loud gruff voice yelled, “Are the fuckin dude that hit my deer?”
Albert was taken back, “Your deer, I thought they were wild up here and yes it ran in to my car, and can you keep the language down as there are ladies present.”
“I don’t care if the Queen of fuckin Sheba’s here, I been tracking that deer for the last three hours and its antlers were mine, now you and your fucking city motor have smashed them.” Just then a shot made everybody jump as another man put the quivering animal out of its misery.
He turned to the two arguing men, “C’mon Jeth the critters dead, no point in getting all pissy with the city folk, them just as dumb as this dead fuckin deer.”
The women hadn’t said anything, Jacquelyn had told the two girls just to keep quite but that all changed when three unshaven filthy faces pressed against the windows, Albert moved them away, it was then that the girls noticed they all had hand guns as well as hunting rifles.
Albert got back in the car and started it, put it in gear but all that happened was the wheels just spun, they could see the three men watching, then, out of no-where another set of headlights lit the scene.
Albert stopped the car rives and just sat, three other men jumped out a battered old four by four truck. First they looked at the dead deer, then they all stood talking until one headed for the car, Albert lowered the window about two inches, the man spat tobacco out and said, “You folk gonna camp there for the night or wanna tow, where’s yah business?”
Albert showed him the agents sheet, he laughed, “You gonna need a tow, with this snow you won’t get nowhere in this pansy wagon, we’ll take you, ladies hold on to your beavers.”
He turned away and shouted, “Le-Roy, Pip, put a chain on the city folks fancy motor, can’t see three pretty beavers freezin out here.” He grinned back at them over his shoulder, Jacquelyn felt uneasy she didn’t like the smirk on his face.
With the car doors locked, the family waited, first they put the deer in the back of the truck then a chain to the car, before they all piled in, the family braced it self, two hefty jerks and the car rolled free. For about twenty miles Albert and Jacquelyn had to endure the grinning faces of the three men they had first met as they stared at them from the back window of the truck.
To every-bodies surprise, their truck pulled them in to the drive of the house; one man jumped out and uncoupled the chain and next thing the taillights of the truck just disappeared in to the forest. The four of them just sat and looked at each other until Audrey quietly said, “I think we should go in before we freeze to death.”
The house was quite well fitted out, not exactly mod cons but nice and homely all beamed out, log cabin style. They soon had a log fire going in the parlour and candles lit everywhere, and to warm themselves three bottle of wine were quickly polished off.
They had a big lunch on the way so some cheese and bread was enough to complement the fourth bottle; Albert had lit a fire in his bedroom, commenting on the big old rocking chair in there. The girls had small but nice rooms each and he lit a fire in both of theirs.
