Before you all complain and ask where's the incest, trust me, it is pervasive. If you have read my earlier stories, you know I don't always flag the taboo. If you are new to my work, again, just trust me.
I hope you enjoy my little tale of witchcraft.jb7
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LADIES OF THE LAKE
Rick Stuart was tooling along just under the speed limit on the divided two lane, top down on his MGB, enjoying the early summer day, not really paying attention to the traffic. He guessed he was about 500 yards behind the car in front of him, and a hundred or hundred and a half yards in front of the guy behind him. He knew that shortly he would be hitting a straight away where he could goose the roadster and for a few minutes experience some speed. As low to the ground as he was, seventy would feel like a lot more.
As he rode the curve into the anticipated straight stretch, he saw brake lights flashing ahead. Only then did he realize that he had not seen any on-coming traffic in several minutes. He swore at the probable delay, and took his foot off the gas to coast and slow for a couple of hundred yards, then gently braked to a stop.
The line in front of him began to slowly move as drivers took up the space between the waiting cars. With a small sense of relief, he saw some vehicles coming toward him in the oncoming traffic lane. Recognizing one of his company's trucks in the lead, he stepped out of his car and crossed into the grassy median, waving his arms at the approaching truck. He was aware of several other drivers following him into the median.
"Hey, Mr. Stuart," called out a driver he recognized. "I'm afraid you're gonna have a bit of a wait. While I was waiting to be let through I heard a couple of the state cops talking. It's a seven or eight car pile up, with at least three dead. They're waiting on the ambulances before trying to get anyone else out. They got out all the emergency cases and fire threats, but they think they're gonna have to cut four people out of their cars.
"Christ, Pete, what the fuck happened?"
"Near as they figure, right now, the driver of a tractor trailer rig was speeding, not paying attention, and suddenly jerked his wheel to avoid running over a car. He jack knifed and flipped over on his side, and slid up the highway, crossing the grass, wiping out a bunch of cars." As Pete was reciting the details of the accident, the other drivers drifted back to their cars. He noticed, and waved Rick closer.
"Mr. Stuart, if you're in a real hurry to get back to the city, about a half mile ahead, there's a turn off to the village of Gold Lake. It's about ten miles longer, but the road will bring you right to the expressway ramp at City Line. And it's all good road. That little MG of yours won't have any problem with it at all."
"Okay, Pete, thanks. You on a delivery run?"
"No sir, headed home. Wife's waiting dinner on me."
"I won't keep you any longer then. Enjoy your weekend."
'Thanks, Mr. Stuart, I will. You, too."
Rick looked at oncoming traffic. It had slowed down to nothing again, and up ahead, he saw his lane begin to inch ahead. He jumped into his roadster and started the engine. Easing it into gear, he pulled out and crossed the median, then turned into the oncoming traffic lane. He stepped on the gas, bumping up the speed so that he reached the left turn to Gold Lake in a bit less than half a minute. Barely slowing, he took the turn, fish tailing as he hit some loose dirt and gravel.
The side road, approaching the two lane, hugged the mountainside. Rick found himself driving down into a golden valley, The entire mountain was covered with a variety of quaking aspen, unique to the valley, golden from Spring through the Fall. As the MG topped a slight rise in the road, he spied a lake off to the right. Reflecting the trees and the sunlight, it looked like a pool of molten gold. He was dumb, awestruck at the vista laid out before him.
As if of its own accord, the MG slowed to a crawl as he took in the view. Across the lake, he could see, the trees came right to the edge of the water. Some of the shore line was cliff like in structure, ground level some fifteen to twenty feet above the surface of the lake. Crawling along the road at about twenty miles an hour, he noticed signs near a driveway leading to the lake. When he was able to read them, he could not believe his eyes. A year round cottage, on this lake, was for sale .
Although the driveway was dirt, it was even and offered no impediment to the MG. He turned into the drive and in a minute or less, was parking near the golden lake's shore, behind a small two story house. As he unfolded out of his car, he saw an attractive blonde, about thirty, emerge from a neighboring building.
"Hello," she greeted him. "Did the realtor send you?"
"Uhh, no. I was admiring the view, and saw the for sale sign by the road. I couldn't believe there would be a home for sale by this lake." He extended his hand. "My name is Rick Stuart. I work for an advertising agency in the city."
"Welcome, Mr. Rick Stuart. I'm Roberta Duncan. People who know me call me Bobbi. My sisters and I own the lake and most of the land surrounding it," she answered, smiling and taking his hand in a firm grip. "Would you care to see the cottage?"
"Very much. I'm getting married this summer, and the one question Sharon, my fiancΓ©, and I haven't quite settled is where we'll live after the wedding." He looked at the lake, his mouth open in wonder. "You say you own most of the land?"
"Yes. The lake is actually a small caldera, the top of an extinct volcano. It is sort of donut shaped, with a dome in the center. Although around the shore the depth varies from six to twenty feet, there is an area in the center where the lake is only two feet deep.