Free Snareville by David Youngquist

crept over the eastern valley wall, the two beached the boat. They dumped their fish in the wagon and stashed their supplied back in the little house. They threw wet sheets over the fish and set off to make the morning delivery run.
    Hours later, they pulled into Tony’s yard. He shut down the quad before he rinsed out the wagon. Cori stumbled, fell into the long grass, and stretched out on her back in a fit of giggling.
    Tony watched her, smiling.
    “ Why don’t you come to bed at my place?” he asked. “When the kids come home, they’ll just wake you up.”
    He held out his hand. She took it, and he pulled her to her feet. She stumbled into his arms.
    “ You tryin’ to get me outta my clothes?” she inquired, still giggling.
    “ Yep,” he said.
    “ At least you’re honest about it. C’mon. I need to get some sleep.”
    She turned, pulled her shirt off over her head, and walked into Tony's house. He followed.
     
     
     
    Three days later, without anything being said, Cori moved the few things she had into Tony’s place. She was still next door to the kids, and he had the space for her. She'd taken up fishing with him every night. She made sure she was awake when the kids got home from school, but she shared her bed with Tony. They didn’t always fish all night. The small house along the canal included a bed, and at times, they came off the water early. She wasn't sure how long it took from sleeping in the same bed together to making love like horny teenagers, but it was a welcome bit of normalcy.
    It was a Friday afternoon and their second week together. Cori rolled over on top of Tony. Sweat cooled the small of her back and slicked his chest. She did miss air conditioning.
    With a final thrust and grind, they collapsed together. She lay half-straddling him, trying to catch her breath. Tony played with the tight curls on her head.
    “ You tryin’ to get pregnant, Catfish, or what?” he asked.
    “ Yeah,” Cori gasped into the chest hair she was playing with. She slid her hips off him. He cradled her in one arm.
    “ Why?”
    “ I’m a statistical freak. I’m twenty-eight years old. I’m an educated black woman who has an upper-middle income that doesn’t involve dribbling a ball or shaking my ass in a rap video. I placed silver in the last Olympic trials on my horse, and I was the third person on the American Equestrian Team. You know what that means?”
    “ What?”
    “ Exactly dick. All of that is gone. Everything it ever meant is gone. What was important to me three months ago has been blown away. What’s important to me now is making sure that someday, it’s important again.”
    “ Glad I could accommodate.” He ran his fingers down her spine. Her thick, kinky bush ground against his hip. He looked into her brown eyes. “I’m forty-three, Cat. Never had any kids. Never wanted any. Until I met you.”
    She smiled up at him and gave him a soft kiss. “We should get up.”
    “ I’ve already been up twice. Don’t think I could do it again.”
    She poked him in the ribs as she rolled out of bed. He faked injury and rolled out the other side. They started to dress, and a pounding came at the door. Voices called Cori's name. Kids' voices. Her kids.
    She jumped into a pair of shorts, then pulled a shirt over her head as she trotted down the hall to unbar the door. The kids tumbled inside as Tony hurried from the bedroom. Rachel was in tears, the crotch of her pants stained dark.
    “ Baby, what’s wrong? What happened?”
    "Muh… Muh… Mister Mueller ruined my panties,” Rachel choked out, her breath coming in short gulps.
    “ What ?” Cori cried, sitting the girl down.
    “ He raped her, Aunt Cori,” Sherrie blurted. “He kept her after class, an’ he raped her.”
    “ Oh, God damn…" Breathless, Corri wrapped Rachel up in her arms. "It’ll be okay, honey. It’ll be okay.”
     
     
    She pulled a blanket off the back of the couch and met Tony's eyes. Tony reached into the deep