Free Hunter's Moon.htm by C T Adams, Cath Clamp Page A

information and it's not like I can sniff them out or something. At least, I don't think I can. Maybe I should have let Babs give me some instruction like she wanted to.
    "I must've been about four years old." She scooted down further into the water, reaching up with a toe to turn on the hot water spigot. She spoke louder although she didn't need to. "My parents took us all to the woods. Mom was really great back when Dad was alive. Sweet and thoughtful and just wonderful." She smiled. "I remember Mom made a special trip to the grocery store to buy me bologna for the trip. My favorite sandwich back then was bologna with ketchup on white bread."
    She giggled, really giggled. I'd never heard one that wasn't faked. It was cute and I smiled at her. The smile reached all the way to my eyes. She blushed again and averted her eyes. Musky desire rose from her. Her toe stretched again for the faucet but I beat her to it. My hand brushed her bare foot and electricity raced through us both. She gasped and glanced up at me in shock. Our eyes locked briefly but then she looked away uncomfortably. Her foot dropped back into the water.
    Sexual tension crackled in the air.
    Not yet, I told myself sternly. Business first.
    "So, you were camping?" I prompted, after her sudden fear tickled my nose.
    A relieved breath exited from her lips. She nodded. "We had just eaten and I was playing near the edge of the woods with my favorite doll. Her name was Jessica. Strange, huh?"
    I raised my brows slightly in agreement. I've always liked the name. It's why I picked the fake name for her to use.
    "She was one of those dolls that had adjustable hair, you know?"
    I didn't. I shrugged and shook my head. "Sorry, dolls aren't my thing."
    "Well, she did," she said firmly. "My sisters decided to tease me. I think it was meant as a tease. I try to remember it that way. They took my doll and threw it into the woods. They told me that Mom would be mad if I lost my doll and I'd better go get her. They were right. They wouldn't get in trouble for throwing the doll; I'd get in trouble for losing her. It was the way it was in our family."
    "Kids can be cruel."
    "Yeah. But they're supposed to grow out of it. Bekki and Mitzi didn't." The anger that she still felt all these years later surprised me again. There was no mistaking the scent.
    "Sorry." It was the only thing I could think of to say.
    She shrugged. This time, she didn't catch the towel in time. Yes, I watched. I waited for the blush. She didn't disappoint me.
    She quickly tightened the towel around her body. "Anyway, I went into the woods to find Jessica. It was hours later when I did. If my parents called me I never heard them. When I found my doll and turned around to head back, I didn't know where I was. I was absolutely lost and the sun was setting. I wasn't a Girl Scout or even a Brownie. I didn't know directions. I knew I'd get spanked for running off so I started to cry."
    Sadness and fear rose from her in a sudden burst, engulfing me in her memory. The emotions shadowed her voice as she spoke. "I still had part of my sandwich in my pocket and my doll for company so I sat down under a tree and waited. But nobody came."
    "What happened then?"
    "I heard a sound and thought it might be Mom or Dad. I called out but it wasn't them. It was a big dog, white as snow with blue eyes. It was beautiful. I didn't know a wolf from a dog. I did remember that Dad always told me a doggie without a collar doesn't like people so I shouldn't pet it. But it was a pretty dog and I was lonely."
    I closed my eyes and sighed. "That wasn't real bright."
    "Hey!" she retorted. "I was four! What can you expect?"
    "Okay, yeah, I know. What did you do then?"
    "I thought the doggy might be hungry because I was. I shared my sandwich with it. All dogs like bologna."
    I wrinkled my nose. "Don't ever feed me bologna. I know what's in that stuff." I was startled that I said it as though it would come up again.
    "Said by a man who just ate