This is a work of fiction. All characters are 18 or older.
Comments and votes are welcome. Thank you.
I would like to thank GrandTeton for his editing and guidance and time spent.
Thank You
*************
James stood looking at the gate. It was a single pipe that spanned the dirt drive, with a support pipe that branched off a larger pipe. James could recognize a national park gate just by the color. The sign made it clear.
Claire, his oldest sister, who was 20, fumbled with the large key ring. She was trying every key in the padlock.
James had time to reflect. Their parents died. They were broke, had lost the only home they ever knew, and on top of all that, had to move from southern Georgia to northern Montana.
James then looked at the large rental truck. He smiled at the thought of not having to drive that beast after tomorrow. But he did have a few fond memories.
A movement out of the corner of his eye brought his attention to the twins. His nineteen year old sisters were jumping up and down hugging each other. They had stopped long enough to do a few back flips, then back to hugging.
He looked back over at his sister Claire.
Claire had given him a fantastic hand job around Atlanta, and he had gotten to finger fuck her just an hour ago. Now, bent over and still trying every key, Claire turned towards James, and smiled as the lock popped open.
James walked up to the gate and pushed it open with his foot. With that done, the siblings joined hands. On the three-count they stepped into their new life.
The siblings had a difficult time trying to take in the panoramic view. A wide valley was splayed out in front, with several mountain peaks bordering. More pine trees than could be counted rose from the valley floor to the alpine tree line.
Several meadows and ponds in the distance brought their attention to the stream that meandered towards them. As they followed it with their eyes, they noticed that the road crossed it; they would have to ford the river.
The quartet, feeling the bite of the cool air, made their way back to the vehicles. They started down the gravel road towards their new home, still a mystery.
The stream crossing was not too bad after James had waded it and said it should be fine. James had been considering changing clothes but gave up on the idea when the second crossing came.
"James? There's no more directions. I have no clue which way to go, but I think it would make sense to follow the road most traveled," Claire said as she looked at the gravel road's intersection with a two-track dirt road.
"OK, gravel it is."
Melody was having a blast driving James's pickup truck. The creek crossings thrilled her although they did make her a bit nervous. She enjoyed the winding road, the pine trees and the crisp fresh air. She got annoyed when James just stopped the truck and got out.
They were on the upward grade of a small hill, among the trees. Melody's leg got tired from holding the brake pedal. She put the vehicle in park and went to see what the holdup was. Cindy had joined her by the time she got to the front of the rental truck.
"Well, it does have a fireplace," Cindy said bemusedly
"Yeah, it's pretty," Claire added with a hint of sarcasm.
"It's cute. With a bit of work, it will be just fine," Melody added.
James looked at their new home, chewed his bottom lip, then said: "I'm Jeremiah fucking Johnson."
James's comment got a giggle from all his sisters.
"For a log cabin it is in fairly good shape. But it is a bit on the small side," James added.
The log cabin was perched right in the middle of a small glade. One story tall and just about as long as it was wide. Green moss covered most of the logs as well as the entire roof. A small porch decorated the front with a window on both sides of the heavy looking door.
The siblings decided to have a look inside. Claire surprised herself by getting the correct key on the first try.
The inside was a single room. At one end was the fireplace, made of river rocks and rather large. On the other side of the room, there was a counter with a sink, and a hand water pump. Next to the sink stood an old Liberty wood stove that had a crazy straw configuration of pipes. And covering everything, dust with dried pine needles on the floor.
"There is no bathroom," Claire said dismally.
"Cause it's out back," Cindy sadly stated.
That statement brought groans from them all.
James also noted the lack of outlets and no lights. No breaker box, and no power meter. 'For joy,' James lamented.
"Too bad we don't have the money to rent an apartment or a house," Claire stated.
"Nobody wants to rent to a bunch of teenagers, if you had the money or not," Melody said melodramatically.
"Not sure if we will be able to find work around here, either," Cindy added.
"The newspaper we got didn't have anything," James stated.
James checked the water pump and found that it still worked. The brown water flowed for almost a minute before it cleared. The water cascading from the pump felt like ice.
The river rock fireplace was the largest one he had ever encountered. It stood in the center of the side wall just opposite the sink. The mantel was one large flat stone. The hearth was another flat stone that came out about four feet in all directions.
The fire chamber was huge. It could easily have held all three of James's sisters. Inside the chamber, besides the grate, were two iron stands that had arms at the top. The ash pan needed to be cleaned. When he looked up the chimney, it was clear.
"I believe that we can use the fireplace. I'll go collect some wood. Once we have a fire, it'll get warmer and give us some light." With that James walked out.
*******
Cindy and her sisters had retrieved cleaning supplies from James's pickup truck and cleaning was well under way when he came back.
"Damn it James! I just swept there," admonished Claire.
"Sorry, but this shit just slips out. Once I have the fire going, I will unload the truck into the barn I found. Since this place won't hold everything, and the barn is close, I figured it would be the best place."
"Will our stuff be alright in there?" Claire asked.
"It's dry and built well, so...everything should be fine."
"That's good, be sure to keep the stuff easy to get to. I don't want to have to move everything just to get something we might need," Claire added.
"The barn is huge, so that should not be a problem."
Cindy noticed the side glances that Claire was giving James. Something was going on or something happened in the rental truck. Definitely something happened in the truck. She knew that from the smell that smacked her in the face when she gave Claire some clothes.
Cindy decided that she would ask Claire about it when they were alone. Cindy would have to be direct with her questions. Otherwise, Claire, would just beat around the bush and avoid answering.
The smell of smoke broke Cindy's chain of thought. She watched the smoke turn to flame.
"Melody, looks like you at least got the fireplace right."
"Yay...but wish it was the bathrooms," Melody somberly replied.
"We have a roof over our heads and a way to stay warm. It may not seem like much, but it is better than living on the streets," Claire stated.
A long silence then took hold of the siblings, as each thought back to better days. The sisters continued to clean and James brought in a few more arm loads of wood, then he left to deal with the rental truck.
