Adam shook his head. "I don't know."
"Never tried it before?" I guessed.
"No, never."
I furrowed my brow. "What about that wife you were telling me about? The one who tried to make you dead to the world? Didn't she and you try to have kids after you got back from Werewolf Island?"
"We tried, but none were ever conceived," he admitted. He turned away from me and out the window. His voice lowered and took on a deep, melancholy quality. I could barely hear his whispered words. "I would have liked to have had at least a son." I frowned and slammed my hand on the car horn. Adam jumped and whirled around to face me. He whipped his head between me and the empty, quiet road as we drove along. "What is it? What's the matter?" he asked me.
"You're what's the matter. Don't go all brooding-werewolf on me or I might give you something to brood about when I sell my property and ship myself off to Bermuda," I warned him.
He raised an eyebrow, but the corners of his mouth twitched up. "Would you?" he mused.
I shrugged. "Maybe. I've heard a lot about this tiny island with a nice spring. Might be a good place to relax and get myself a fur coat. One I could slip on and off without even undressing."
"It's rather uncomfortable in that humid climate," he warned me.
"Well, it's better than having a brooding werewolf as a neighbor, now knock off all this drama before I turn this into a slapstick comedy," I threatened.
He held up his hands and leaned back in his seat. "I admit defeat, but I still stand firm on my decision. I won't change you."
I grinned and turned into my nicely-graveled driveway. "I'm just going to have to change your mind about changing me."
Adam shook his head. "I will outlast you," he promised.
"Uh-huh, well, I'll be the grownup and let you win this conversation, but remember the war isn't over," I warned him. "Besides, I was wanting to ask you about those Owens boys Agnes told us about. You know anything about them?"
"We're not closely acquainted, but I have had the displeasure of making their acquaintance," Adam replied.
"So you think we should be worried? I mean, I know they smell bad and look bad, but are they really that dangerous?" I asked him.
He shrugged. "You can never tell how dangerous a person is until they're desperate. The desperation could be because they feel trapped or because greed has grabbed a hold of them, but they will do anything in their power to obtain what they seek."
"So you're saying, oh wise one, that if they're wanting to make trouble than we better keep our eyes out for them?" I guessed.
He smiled and gave a nod. "Precisely. You have a certain poetic way with words that's expressed in your beautiful lips." He leaned over and tried to kiss me.
I leaned away from him and the car leaned with me. We slid off the gravel road and brush and tree branches scraped against my car in an attempt to make pretty swirling patterns in my paint. The car skidded to a stop near the slick, muddy Froggy Pond on my left, and I whipped my head to Adam and glared at him.
"Not while I'm driving!" I scolded him.
He sheepishly grinned and shrugged. "A lesson learned?" he suggested.
"Uh-huh, and a death almost occurred," I quipped. "You should really listen. . .to . . .me. Adam, are you listening to me?" I noticed his gaze focused beyond me and to something off to my left. I followed his eyes and looked out on the pond. It was muddy, full of weeds, and-almost dry. It wasn't that way when I bought it. "What the hell?" I whispered.
We stepped out of the car and inspected the muddy ground that had once been two feet of water. There was now only a thick bed of mud. I looked to the right where the source of the pond water originated. It was a small spring that fed the pond, or rather, it was a small spring a day or two ago. Now there was only a little trickle that ran along the creek bed and into my pathetic mud pit.
Adam stepped around the edge of the mud pit and over to the creek. He knelt at the small stream of trickling water and frowned. "It seems something has blocked the water source from above."
I snorted. "You think?" His pursed lips and crashed eyebrows told me he wasn't in a laughing mood. "Maybe it was a tree?" I suggested.
He stood and glanced up the gully where the creek traveled through on its journey to the pond. "Perhaps, but whatever the case we must investigate it. A blockage will cause a great deal of trouble if the dam bursts and initiates a flash flood."
I cringed. "And then it's bye-bye cabin and gravel driveway. When do we go?"
Adam raised an eyebrow, but there was a small smile on his lips. "You haven't found your fill of adventure yet?" he teased me.
"I don't know about that, but I know I want to get my fill of a pond before the frogs think I'm trying to evict them," I quipped.
Adam looked up at the sky. "If you insist on coming then we must leave immediately or the hour will be too late to risk finding the dam."
"I'll be ready in a bit. Just let me get on my boots, some camo, pack a lunch-"
"Chrissy," he warned me.
I sheepishly grinned at him and hurried to my cabin. "Kidding, just kidding. I'll be ready in a second."
Chapter 4
I was ready in a moment, and we hit a small woodland animal trail that followed the edge of the dry creak bed. Adam was in the lead and the incline was slight, so I wasn't immediately winded. The cool air invigorated me, mostly because I couldn't help but shiver even through my thick clothes and coat.
"Damn winter," I mumbled.
"Enjoy the cool air before the snows come," Adam advised me.
"Don't remind me," I grumbled. I pulled a bar out of my coat pocket. It was one of the survival foods Agnes had stuffed into my groceries. I tore open the top of the wrapper and saw it was some sort of a nutri-grain bar. One bite told me I was wrong. It was some sort of compressed sawdust masquerading as a nutri-grain. "Bleh," I muttered.
Adam glanced over his shoulder and I saw he had an eyebrow raised. "Something wrong?"
"Yeah, I think I got jipped. We did go to a grocery store and not a lumber yard today, didn't we?"
"Yes, why?"
"Just asking." I stuffed the rest of the bar back into my pocket. If I was on the verge of starvation I would try it again, or maybe I'd chew on Adam. "Adam, does your being a werewolf make you tastier?" I mused.
Adam stopped and half turned to me with a bewildered expression. He placed a hand over my forehead. "Are you quite sure you're capable of going on this trip?" he asked me.
I swatted his hand away. "Yes, but I was just thinking of Plan B if something really bad happened to us."
"And what exactly is Plan B?"
"That I somehow overpower you and eat you. Do werewolves taste like chicken?"
"Possibly more like dog meat, but I would prefer not to be Plan B."
"What about Plan C?"
"Perhaps a little farther down the alphabet."
I sighed and playfully rolled my eyes. "Alright, I'll put you at Plan M, but no farther because I doubt I can even think of that many plans."
"If you're concerned about this walk you could turn-"
I waved off his suggestion. "Nope, you're stuck with me and you've wasted enough of our time standing here jabbering."
"I have wasted our time?" he countered.
I spun him around so he faced up the path. "Yep, now let's get moving so I can get back to my comfortable house and thaw myself in front of the fire."
Adam obliged, and we wandered our way up the path. The dirt path grew rockier and steeper the farther we traveled, and the woodland creatures didn't exactly walk straight or through the best spots for humans. We meandered our way through tall brush and under low tree branches. My feet slipped atop loose rocks and muddy dirt. The incline grew so bad I was tempted to lean forward and walk on all fours like the creatures who made the path.
Adam nonchalantly kept a steady pace which for me was almost grueling. I wheezed like the last dinosaur and he trotted along like this was a walk through a park.
Thoughts of using him as Plan B resurfaced, but a small, flat lip on the path ahead averted homicidal thoughts. I crawled up the last bit of hill and collapsed onto the ground. Air puffed past my lips and raised a shaky hand to Adam who stood two yards off.
"Go on. . .without me," I wheezed.
"No need. We're there," he announced.
I raised my head and looked around. What I thought was a small lip was actually a large plateau that stretched twenty yard into the dense trees. The far left side of the plateau dipped down into a neighboring valley and the gentle hillside was covered in thick, tall green grass. On our left was the creek bed, and at the point where the water flowed over the precipice was what appeared to be a hand-constructed dam. It was constructed of a dozen large logs about ten inches thick that stretched over twenty feet. Mud was shoved between the trees as a natural caulk, and only a little water seeped out. A three-foot tall wall along the bank closest to us blocked our view of the pool created by the dam.
Adam walked over and peered into the pool behind the dam. I joined him and tried to whistle. It was more of a croak because of my being winded. The depth of the water behind the dam was three feet and the pool behind the dam stretched backwards for forty yards. On the other side of the dam was a canal two feet wide and dug into the ground to divert the water to the sloped hillside twenty yards off. The water reached the crest where the plateau met the slope and disappeared into an eighteen-inch diameter black pipe made of some sort of thick plastic or rubber. A narrow all-terrain-vehicle trail followed the pipe over the hill and into the wooded valley a hundred feet below us.
"Somebody really wanted a nice water slide up here," I commented.
"It's not a water slide, it's an irrigation ditch," Adam corrected me. He knelt beside the pool and his eyes followed the path of the canal to the pipe. "Whoever went to all this trouble would very much like to have your water."
"Well, I might have considered giving them some if they would have asked," I joked. It fell flatter than a fly beneath a swatter, and my smile slipped off my lips. "You're really worried about this, aren't you?"
He gave a nod. "Yes. Even if we destroy the dam they may try to rebuild it."
"How are we even going to destroy the dam without flooding my home?" I pointed out. Adam's response was to stand and remove his coat and shirt. I blinked at his partial nakedness. His physique was muscular, but not enough that I couldn't press my hands against the smooth skin and feel the muscles give a little. My fingers itched to touch those well-chiseled muscles. His skin was well-tanned, and I could just snuggle my head just above his sternum-get a hold of yourself, Chris. I shook my head and rolled my tongue back into my mouth. "I don't know what you have planned with taking off your shirt-" he removed his socks and shoes, "-and your shoes and socks, but what I'm thinking isn't going to remove that dam."
"Stay away from the front of the dam," he ordered me. Adam knelt down and eased himself into the water. He waded over to the dam and knocked his fists against the mud between the logs. The mud knocked loose and slipped to the bottom of the pool. I leaned to the left and watched little spouts of water appear on the opposite side of where Adam worked.
"Letting out the water a little at a time?" I guessed. Adam was too busy to reply, and I decided to take a load off his shoulders. I pulled off my coat, and shoes and socks, and knelt beside the deep water. My intention was to slip gracefully into the liquid, but my foot slipped a little early and I tumbled feet-first into the pool.
The cold water wrapped me in its icy embrace. It was like I'd plunged into an ice tray in a sub-zero freezer located at the South Pole. I thrashed and managed to poke my head above the water. Adam stopped his pounding and hurried over to me. He scooped me in his arms and scowled down at my shivering, pathetic figure.
"I told you to stay away from the dam and the water," he scolded me.
"N-no, you t-told me to stay away f-from the front of the dam. T-this is the b-back," I chattered.
"And this is where you get out," he finished. He picked me up in his strong arms and waded back to shore.
Adam set me on dry ground before he himself climbed out. I wrapped my arms around myself and wondered if I was eligible to become part of the Blue Man group. I'd be the only one not in need of makeup. Adam knelt beside me and wrapped my coat and his around my shoulders.
"Now stay here while I finish the dam," he ordered me.
"Y-yes, s-sir," I agreed. I would be lucky if I didn't freeze in place.
Adam waded into the pool and I slowly inched around so I could watch him. He pounded and clawed faster and harder at the mud, and in a minute there was a large leak in the dam. Water burst in front of where he stood and he stepped back and turned his shoulder toward the dam. He jumped forward and rammed his shoulder into the logs. The entire length of the dam shifted a few inches, no small feat when they must have weighed a collective three tons. Adam rammed the dam again, and more water poured down the dry creek bed. The front of the dam bent outward in a v-shape and mud fell off on its own as the water tried its best to escape through every new weakness in the construction.
Adam returned to me and grasped the edge of the pool, but didn't get out. I pointed a shaking hand at the broken but still-standing dam. "It's not-" I heard a groan and the top half logs fell forward down the hill and others fell back into the draining pond. The water rushed over the top, carrying with it mud and some of the long logs. The whole mess flooded down the hillside like a wet avalanche. The ride of the logs was short as they caught on trees and large rocks, but the water flowed onward down to my Froggy Pond. "-breaking," I finished.
"Almost finished," he promised. He returned to the rear of the dam and kicked the remaining logs. They fell over the front or broke completely, and the rest of the water followed its brethren down the hill. Adam came back to the edge of the empty pond and hefted himself onto the ground beside me. "How are you doing?" he asked me.
"I-I'm f-f-a-a-achoo!" The sneeze whipped my head forward and heard my neck crack under the strain. "Owie," I whimpered. Adam chuckled, and I glared at him. "Can't a g-girl suffer in p-peace?" I growled.
"I won't allow either to happen," he quipped.
My eyes grew wide when I noticed soft, fluffy fur sprout from his bare chest. There were some things that never ceased to amaze me. One was how things never fit back in the box they came in, and the other was Adam whenever he transformed into a werewolf. This time was only a partial transformation. Only the chest and some long arm hair appeared. Adam grabbed his shirt, and stuffed it over my head.
"H-hey!" I complained through a mouthful of shirt.
Adam ignored my protests and hefted me into his arms. One side of me lay against his luxurious fur and I buried my face into the warmth. "You must be kept warm or you will catch your death of cold," he warned me.
"Ah hmph," I replied.
He blinked down at me. "Pardon?"
I pulled my face out of his fur. "I said 'I guess.' Now can we go home before I turn into a fattening treat?"
He smiled. "Hold on to me."
I frowned. "Why? What are yooouuuuu!" Adam raced toward the top of the path and jumped into the abyss of air above the steep incline. I clutched onto his furry self and pressed myself against him. "Murderer! Homicidal maniac!" I screamed all the way down the hillside.
Chapter 5
We reached my cabin in less than half the time it took to get to the top of the hill. "Wait a minute," I spoke to Adam before he took me inside. I nodded at the pond. "Let me see it."
Adam carried me over to the pond and I was glad to see my trails weren't in vain. The water had returned and the frogs were snug beneath their wet mud to await the time when spring would return. "All right, time to get me out of these wet clothes."
Adam chuckled and carried me into the cabin and to my bedroom. He plopped me on the edge of the bed and walked over to the dresser. "What do you need?" he asked me.
"Privacy," I quipped as I slid my outer layer of coats off my
body. What remained were my soaked clothes and the soggy nutri-gross bar in a side pocket.
"But-"
"Nope."
"Perhaps-"
"Not gonna happen."
"What if-"
I snapped my finger toward the door. "Out. Maybe later when I'm not a drowned rat we can play, but this rodent just wants some warm clothes and a warm shower."
Adam slyly grinned at me. "But perhaps you need someone to help scrub your back."
"I've got a long-necked scrubber for that, but I'll be sure to call you when it breaks," I assured him.
He bowed his head. "Very well. I'll fix you some soup at my cabin, and return in a short while."
"Sounds great, now shoo."
Adam shooed and I too my much-needed shower. It was refreshing, but my bones still ached with cold. If I ever did that again I'd become as good a barometer as old Abner. I walked out of my room and noticed a warm, cheerful fire blazing in the hearth and some warm cocoa water on the stove. I couldn't help but smile at all the sweet gestures. Maybe I should have taken him up on that offer to scrub my back. Heck, maybe I'd take him up on anything when he got back. I could use the warmth from his smooth, warm body pressed against me. How he'd make me groan as those strong hands slid along my-door?
I frowned at the door. I swear I heard someone knock. Maybe it was Mr. Woodpecker asking for a cup of sugar for the winter. I draped a quilt from the back of the couch over my shoulders and walked over to the entrance. The sound didn't repeat itself, and I peeped through the peephole. Nothing but the darkness. Night fell early this time of year and I could hardly see five yards beyond the porch.
I swung open the door and peeked my head out. My breath came out in large puffs of white air and the chill made me shiver. All the world was covered in the white of an early frost, and not a creature stirred. I shrugged and closed the door. Maybe it was just my imagination.
My imagination came knocking again, but this time the thud was really loud. I returned my eyes to the door and the point of a Bowie knife stared back at me. My eyes widened and I stumbled back into the trailing quilt. I tripped over the blanket and fell on my rear onto the hard floor. The Bowie knife stared down at me with its sharp, mocking tip. I waited for something else to happen. Maybe the Bowie knife wanted me to invite it inside for some cocoa. The Bowie knife said nothing, and nothing happened for a further two minutes.