Getting Away From It All Ch 01

(I originally posted this story in August of 2014, but at the suggestion of several readers decided it was time to revisit the story and clean up many of the errors that I missed. This also meant sending it to my editor "larryinseattle" without whom I'd still be struggling to put more than two words together."

*

Keith entered the cabin and stomped his feet to get the last of the snow off of his boots. The cabin was cold and bare just as he remembered it. It wasn't much; a large open area that was used as the living space with a large hand-made table, some chairs, and his old bed along the back wall. A stone fireplace dominated the wall on one end of the room while a storage room had been built at the opposite end. His dad and mom's room, actually nothing more than a loft with a large bed, was above. A second, smaller building was located about 15 feet outside the back door with a roof that connected the two buildings and removable walls. When he had asked his father why he built it that way, his father had looked at him with a knowing glance and explained, "By building it this way we can enclose the area between the two buildings in the Winter and use the outbuilding for storage and then we can remove the walls during the Summer to allow the breeze help cool the main cabin while we use the smaller one as a kitchen."

Keith smiled as he remembered his dad. Six-foot tall, broad shouldered, and jet black hair; he had built this cabin from scratch and equipped it with everything needed to make a life in the wilderness. He had spent hours teaching Keith about fishing, hunting, trapping, preparing the land, and planting a crop. And most of all, how to respect the land and live off what it had to offer. He once said, "There's nothing a man needs to live that he can't get or make from the land you see around you." To say he had been one of the original 'wilderness men' would have been the greatest compliment you could have given him.

His mom called him "tall and rugged" yet he was the most gentle, most patient and dedicated man Keith ever knew, especially when it came to him and his mom. This was why they had been so devastated when he suddenly disappeared the Summer that Keith turned 15 years old.

The local Sheriff and Search and Rescue unit spent weeks looking for him but finally had to give up when they couldn't find a trace. He and his mom spent the rest of the Fall in the cabin as they continued their own search, each day hoping that his dad would return but he never did. Finally they left and moved in with his mom's parents in town just before the first snow fell and all hope of finding his dad was gone.

Grandpa John and Grandma Elle had been great and did everything they could to make them both happy but Keith never outgrew his love of the outdoors and he frequently disappeared for days at a time. His mom, on the other hand, resigned herself to what was needed and found a job at the local post office.

It was while she was working there that she met Ned. He seemed like a nice guy and the two of them started dating. No one was surprised when 6 months later the two of them were married and Keith and his mom moved in with Ned on his farm just outside of town. Almost instantly, things changed. Ned became more and more demanding and frequently yelled at his mom for the things going wrong on the farm. Afterwards he would always say he was sorry but it quickly became a routine.

The final straw came just after Keith turned 18 years old. He had graduated from High School that Spring but no matter how hard he tried he couldn't find a job so he spent the Summer and Fall working on the farm. On the last night Keith spent on the farm, Ned started yelling and screaming, "That kid of yours is useless. He doesn't belong here. All he does is wander around the woods and talk about the cabin you and his father lived in when he was younger. If it was so great maybe he should get the fuck out and live up there. Maybe he can find his 'old man' up there and they can live happily ever after."

"Keith has been helping on the farm ever since he graduated, Ned, so I'm not sure how you can say he's useless," his mom had replied in his defense. But all that did was get Ned madder until he swung around and hit her in the face with the back of his hand.

Keith instantly jumped to his feet but his mother signaled for him to stay out of the argument.

"Shut the fuck up," Ned yelled. "This is my place and I decide who is and isn't useless. Do you understand that?"

Keith's mom nodded her head but didn't say another word so Ned stomped from the room pushing Keith out of the way as he did.

Keith instantly knelt next to his mom. "I'm sorry mom. I don't know what I did wrong."

"It's not you, baby," she replied. "Ned's just under a lot of stress right now because of the poor crop."

"That still doesn't give him the right to hit you," Keith sighed as he stood and helped her to her feet. "Dad would never have done that."

Leaning against him, she put a delicate finger on his lips. "Shhhhhhhhh, don't talk about your dad, it just gets Ned angrier," she whispered.

Instinctively, Keith wrapped his arms around her and held her close, the desire to protect and care for her overpowering him. Suddenly he became aware of how his mother felt against him; her breasts pressing against his chest, the touch of her hands on his back, the fragrance of her hair, the softness of her voice, and a more subtle aroma that was coming from her that was stirring a primal urge within him. Without another thought, he gently pulled away and placed a finger under her chin, lifting it as he lowered his lips to hers. Their first kiss was soft but quickly became more passionate until Keith suddenly pulled away, "I'm sor ... I mean I didn't mean ... I ahhhhh, SHIT!!!" Keith finished as he left the room leaving his mother standing there.

He spent the rest of the evening in his room with the door locked as he relived what had taken place between him and his mother. At some point she had come to the door and knocked saying, "Dinner is ready" but all he could do was reply, "I'm not hungry."

Finally, he came to a decision and packed everything he'd need into his backpack and duffle bag before writing a note to her.

Dear Mom,

Please don't be upset but after what happened tonight maybe Ned is right and I don't belong here.

Fortunately, Dad gave me all the training I'll need for where I'm going. Don't worry I'll be fine. Someday I hope to see you again but for right now I think this is the best for all involved.

Love,

Keith

Afterwards he quietly slipped out the door, threw his stuff in the back of his old pick-up truck and, before leaving, took one last look at the house where his mother slept.

The following morning found Keith's mother sitting in the kitchen crying as Ned tried to apologize for what he'd said and done the evening before, while Keith was several hundred miles away stepping into the cabin of his youth.

The daydreaming done, he quickly started a fire in the fireplace and began to unpack his belongings. "

Fishing tackle, clothes, Rifle, knife, first aid kit, survival rations ...

" He ran through the items in his head as he unpacked them until he was finally done. The only thing not in his packs was food but he wasn't too concerned about that as he walked to the wood bin, reached in and grabbed the small log that he and his dad had built into the bottom. Giving it a quick tug he heard the "CLICK" that released the lock and then pushed the bin off the hidden trapdoor to the food pantry. The first gust of air was overly sweet with the smell of old apples that had long ago gone bad along with all of the other fresh fruit and vegetables that they had stored here. But the true treasure that Keith was after was still safe ... a full Winter's worth of dehydrated and dried food for three people.

Descending the stairs, he quickly pushed the rotted food up and out of the trapdoor so he could get rid of it outside and possibly lure some wild game in for fresh meat. When he was done with that, he grabbed the checklist that was still hanging on its nail and began taking an inventory of the supplies that were there. "

Corn, peas, potatoes, sweet potatoes, beets, onions, carrots, celery, flour, sugar, tea,

" he read as he checked them off on his list. Surprisingly there was even some dried venison that seemed good though it was as hard as a rock. Then he noticed a large manila envelope stuffed to the back of the top shelf. Curious, he grabbed it and tossed it up into the cabin along with the supplies he'd need to make a soup for lunch.

Once upstairs, he slid the wood box back in place and took the large soup pot from its hanger by the fireplace before stepping outside to fill it with snow. Back inside, he hung the pot over the fire to melt the snow and threw a hand-full of each of the dehydrated ingredients into the pot to start to cook.

Now, done with the meal preparations, he sat at the table and picked up the envelope. Nothing was written on the outside and it wasn't sealed so he opened it and poured the contents out onto the table. Before him were over two dozen pictures of his mom, a few of her in a bikini or a sheer black lingerie set that he didn't even know she owned. Most of them, however, showed her totally nude as she worked around the cabin, outside in the garden, or down at the creek.

He had always known his mother was part Native American but the pictures dispelled all doubts. Her golden brown skin shimmered in the light and there wasn't a trace of a tan line. Her dark black hair hung to the just above her rounded butt and her deep brown eyes seemed to twinkle teasingly as she looked at the camera. Her body was toned and curvy, her breasts were full and topped by a slightly darker area surrounding her nipple, and the hair between her legs was also dark black but shaved to a small strip that drew his attention to the barely visible slit between her legs.

Instinctively, his hand slid from the table and landed on his cock as it pressed against his pants. He closed his eyes and imagined himself taking the pictures as his hand continued to rub faster and faster. Suddenly his eyes flew open and he jerked his hand away as if struck by lightning as he thought,

"That's my mom!!! What kind of a sick fuck am I thinking about fucking my own mom?"

He quickly scooped up the pictures, dropped them back in the envelope, and threw it onto his old bed as he calmed himself and continued with the chores that needed to be done to get the cabin ready for permanent use.

The day seemed to fly by yet his attention was continuously drawn to the envelope lying on his old bed. He imagined his mom there in the cabin helping him with the cleaning and cooking, all the while being nude as she had been in the pictures. Finally, too frustrated to continue, he pushed the envelope under his make-shift pillow and finished most of what he had planned for the day.

Sunset brought a quiet to the wilderness and to the cabin that he had missed while living with his grandparents and on Ned's farm. He sat in silence at the table and wrote a list of the things that he needed to do the next day before picking up one of the books he had brought with him and tried to read. But exhaustion soon overtook him and he headed to bed. Quickly banking the fire as his dad had taught him, he looked up at the loft and considered using the larger bed but even the idea of climbing the ladder to get there seemed too exhausting so he lay down on his own smaller bed.

Sliding into his sleeping bag, he slipped his hand under his pillow and once again found the envelope. Silently he pulled it out and sat up in his bed. Then, one by one, he pulled the photos from the envelope and spread them across his lap after looking at them in the flickering light of the fire. It was only after he'd pulled the last one out that he found a much larger picture still stuck inside. Gently he pulled it out and found a full frontal nude picture of his mom lying on her left side. Her left arm was bent at the elbow and her head rested on it while her right leg was bent at the knee and pulled up behind her left leg. Her right arm rested just under her breasts, pushing them up but the most striking feature were her eyes that had a 'come hither' look that every man hoped to see in the face of his lover. He sat, silently, and stared at the picture but instead of the lust he had felt earlier, a feeling of undying love flowed through his body until he quietly whispered, "I love you, Mom," and placed the pictures back in the envelope.

The following days quickly fell into a routine as he repaired the cabin and took care of his own daily needs. Then one evening he noticed that the meat was almost gone. A hunt in the Winter was always a dangerous venture but the option of going hungry seemed more of a concern so he pulled out his hunting supplies and prepared for an early morning start.

The next day broke clear and crisp and after throwing some last minute items into his backpack, he was on his way. The paths and trails he had known as a child were gone in most cases but new ones had taken their place and after several hours, he found a well-worn deer trail that he followed to a clearing. Heavy snow clouds began to block the sun as he peered through his rifle scope at a large six-point buck standing on the far side of the clearing. He quietly slipped through the underbrush until he was able to drop it with a single shot. Once again the things his dad had taught him allowed him to quickly gut and dress down the deer so he could get it back to the cabin but by then the snow had begun to come down and come down hard.

He could barely see the far side of the clearing as he headed off and the woods now seemed different. The trail he was on didn't show any sign of his coming that way earlier but he shrugged it off to the new fallen snow. Thirty minutes soon became an hour and then two and it was only when he came to the base of a mountain that he admitted his mistake. Glancing up at the sheer rock face of Mount Whatchamacallit, Keith instantly knew where he was and also that there was no way he'd make it back to the cabin that night. He silently cursed himself for making such a rookie mistake. He strung the deer up in a tree before looking for material to make a shelter and a fire for the night. It was then that he noticed the small opening above a rock slide at the base of the mountain.

Carefully climbing over the rocks, he took his flashlight and shone it inside.

"Not too big but definitely dry,"

he thought to himself as he moved the light across the cave until it hit upon something that reflected back at him. He cautiously moved some of the rocks so he was able to slip inside the cave to see what was causing the reflection. Kneeling, he picked up an open compass; but not just any compass ... it was his dad's compass. He stood and slowly scanned the rest of the cave until he found what he had hoped he wouldn't find. There at the back of the cave were his dad's remains or at least as much as you'd expect to find after three years.

He slowly moved towards them and knelt down. The hat, shirt, rifle ... there was no doubt it was his dad and the splints on both legs told the story of why he never made it back home. The unusual part was the way the rifle was resting on some rocks with a piece of paper stuffed in the barrel. Gently pulling the paper out for fear of tearing it, Keith looked at the message his dad had left.

Follow the gun. Mother Nature always provides even at times like this. Tell my family I love them and am sorry for leaving so soon.

Dennis Forbes

The note was cryptic but he slowly shifted the light back to the rifle and up its barrel to the wall it was pointed at. There he saw a vein of pink quartz and embedded in it was a thick vein of shining golden ore.

"Gold,"

he thought as he reached out for it and realized that even in the end his dad had been trying to provide for him and his mom. But the excitement quickly passed as he realized there were things he needed to do so he didn't end up next to his dad.

He soon had a fire going and a tarp across the opening of the cave to block the snow and wind. From his backpack, he pulled out some dried apple and the fixings for bannock bread which he soon had wrapped around a stick and cooking over the fire while a piece of the deer was roasting next to it and a tin of snow was melting on a heating rock in the fire for tea.

It was only then that he returned to the mineral vein and broke off some samples with his knife. Taking a seat by the fire, he examined them closely. The quartz was deep pink and the ore shimmered when the light of the fire reflected off of it. He remembered a field test his dad had told him about and took his knife and pressed the tip against the yellow ore. Unlike 'fool's gold,' the ore was soft and the knife tip sliced into it proving it was really gold. He placed it in his pack before spending the rest of the evening 'talking' to his dad about all that had happened since he had disappeared and how happy he was to have finally found him until he slowly drifted off to sleep.

The next morning he finished off the food he had cooked. Something, however, seemed to be nagging at his memory about the night before. He sat there in the silence and listened until it was almost as if he could hear his dad's voice whispering to him, "

Take care of your mom. She needs you now more than ever before."

And then the cave once again became silent.

Exiting the cave, he found the trail back to the cabin without any problem and was pulling his deer up the hill when he noticed the smoke from the chimney. He was sure he had put the fire out before leaving the day before and instantly became suspicious. He silently dropped the rope he was using to pull the deer and cautiously moved to the cabin and glanced in a window. The pot was hanging over the fire along with the tea kettle and the table was set as if someone was getting ready to eat. But more surprising, was the small decorated Christmas tree standing in the corner along with a few presents under it.

Slowly opening the door, he listened and watched for whoever was in the cabin until he suddenly heard, "SURPRISE!! MERRY CHRISTMAS!!" from behind the door. He spun around and a pair of arms circled his neck and a pair of soft, moist lips met his in a loving and passionate kiss.

Dazed, he stood there until the person kissing him let go and stepped back. "MOM!!?? What are you doing here and what's with the kiss?"

Taking him by the hand, she led him to the table. "Sit down. I have a lot to tell you."

Unquestioning, he took a seat at the table as his mom sat next to him.

"First of all, you're not nearly as good as your dad was ... yet. He would have noticed the smoke coming from the chimney before he even stepped into the clearing by the creek. Second, I'm here because my son is here. Ned and I are through. After you left, things got even worse between us. We landed up fighting almost every day. He kept insisting that everything that had gone wrong on the farm was my fault because I hadn't raised you up to be a man who took his responsibilities seriously. One night the fight got so bad that he hit me again. Without even thinking about what I was doing, I grabbed the big cast iron skillet that hung on the wall in the kitchen and hit him with it. Apparently, I broke his collarbone but the cops said it was in self-defense so I shouldn't have to worry about it. I told him I wouldn't be there when he got back as they were loading him into the ambulance and that he'd hear from my lawyer as soon as I got one. Third, and probably the most important, the kiss was because I needed to find something out - and now I have."