Jerri began to doze off in front of the steady-burning fire when she was suddenly jolted awake by a face in the window. In the midst of the terrible rain, a man's face appeared in the window. She sat up. Her first impulse was to run and tell Russell, but she didn't, She saw the face move away and then heard a knock at the door.
Jerri opened it and there on the little porch, dripping wet, was a long-haired boy, dressed in jeans and an old coat, with a pack slung over his back, looking hungry and cold.
"Can… can I come in? I just need to warm up, man, you know?"
Jerri smiled and opened the door farther. The boy walked inside and stood looking at Jerri as she closed the door. She turned to him and stood motionless for a moment, her tongue twisted. She had never been so taken with anyone in her life as she was with her first sight of the boy. He looked like he was about twenty, tall, slim, rugged, and extremely handsome. He had high, firm cheekbones and dark blue eyes and a thick moustache. It was the age-old story of love at first sight.
The feeling was mutual. Never in a million years did the boy expect to find a beautiful young girl with shaggy chestnut hair and a warm smile greeting him on a rainy October morning. He was shocked when she opened the door, and even more shocked when he stepped inside and took a good look at her shapely figure under the tight robe. He resisted the impulse to make love to her right then and there. Actually, he thought he wouldn't be able to hold up through it-he hadn't eaten in two days.
"Here, you have to get out of those wet clothes," Jerri said, helping him off with his jacket.
"They'll dry… "the boy said.
"No, listen, something of Russell's will fit you. He has a pair of jeans lying around. Ill get them. You get out of those soaked clothes," Jerri ordered as she left the room.
She stepped into Russell's room. He was sound asleep on his back, and sure enough, his hard cock formed a mountain in the blanket. Jerri smiled and pulled a clean pair of jeans from his closet and tiptoed out of the room, closing the door.
When she returned to the living room, the boy had stripped to his pants and was standing near the fire, shaking. "It really is cold out there today," he said, taking the clean jeans from Jerri's hand.
"Listen," Jerri said," I'll get some coffee ready and fry you some eggs and you get into those clean pants. "She walked into the kitchen.
"Thanks," the boy said.
Jerri stood at the stove and turned the gas on high under the coffee pot. She wanted to look into the room. She wanted to see the boy's body. Should she dare? Hell, she thought, why not? She moved quietly to the door and peeped beyond it.
The boy was standing bare naked in the middle of the room, his back to her. She could see his strong slender legs and his full buttocks, which had a dark patch of hair between them. He bent over, putting the pants on, and she could see the underside of his hairy balls as he slid his right leg into the jeans. He stood up and pulled the other leg on, and then lifted the pants over his bare ass.
Jerri moved back to the stove. She felt a strange sensation as she scrambled the eggs. It was a bit like when she first met Russell-attraction, sexual desire, the fascination of meeting a new person. But there was also some-thing more, something that could not be put into words. She wanted to fall in love-and she wanted specifically to fall in love with the boy who just came in from the rain.
"What's your name?" Jerri asked as he walked into the kitchen.
"Rob," he answered, sitting at the table. Jerri poured him a cup of coffee.
"I'm Jerri, this is my place, well ours, actually. We call ourselves a tribe. There're five of us," she said, cooking the eggs.
"Hey, do you think you could whip up a couple of pieces of toast as well?" Rob asked, hungry.
"Sure, of course. Hey, I can fry up some sausage if you want…"
"Great! I haven't eaten in days. Been traveling quite a bit-hitchhiking. "He sipped the coffee.
"Where you going?" Jerri asked, taking the sausage from the refrigerator.
"Nowhere," Rob replied.
"Well, where you coming from then?"
"Nowhere."
Jerri didn't ask any more questions. She began to cook the sausage when Rob volunteered the information.
"Oh, I worked up in Montana on a ranch, and then I got tired and left and I've been drifting. I don't have any place to go, and I heard a lot about New Mexico, so here I am. This damn truck driver and me, we got into an argument about Nixon and he dumped me off just down the road from here. I saw smoke coming from behind the hill, so I figured there had to be a house down here where I could rest and beg some food."
"Hey, your hair is wet; let me get you a towel," Jerri said, running to the bathroom to fetch a towel. She returned instantly and began rubbing his head with the soft towel, drying his hair. She positioned her body close to his, so her thighs touched his naked back. He brought his hands up and helped her, and finally Jerri went back to cooking the sausage.
"You live here long?" Rob asked.
"Since early summer. Carol and I moved out here from New York…"
"I thought I detected Manhattan in your voice. I'm actually from Queens."
"Well, I only lived in Manhattan since high school. I'm from East Orange."
"Same thing," Rob laughed.
"Anyway, we just packed up, bought a station wagon and came out here. We found this ranch the first day we spent in Santa Fe. "Jerri set the plate of eggs and toast in front of him. "Sausage will be ready in a minute."
"Oh, food, glorious food!" Rob started eating.
"There are five of us, Carol and myself, Russell, and my brother Dave and his wife, Tracey," Jerri said as she stood next to the stove, staring at the boy, watching him eat.
"The tribe," Rob said, between mouthfuls.
"The tribe. You know, I love it here. It's a far-out place to live-away from the rest of the world."
"I saw a sign that said Snow Canyon. Could I have some more coffee?"
"Huh? Oh, sure," Jerri said, pouring him another cup of coffee. "Yeah, we're in Snow Canyon. They call it that because it's the one place in the area where it really snows during the winter, and also because it's surrounded by mountains-and, of course, it shows a lot on the mountains-and when the spring thaw comes, all the icy water comes flowing through the canyon. We have a little river on our property."
Rob just looked up at her. He didn't say anything, but she knew he liked her. And she certainly liked him.
Jerri served him the sausage and then sat across the table from him and poured herself another cup of coffee.
"What did you do before you came here?" Rob asked.
"I was a model. Forget it, what a scene! That's what made me run."
"I started college. Jesus, big university and all. I couldn't hack it. My parents freaked when I quit. They threw me out. So what? We were never close anyway."
Jerri sensed great honesty in the boy. She trusted him immediately.
"My parents still write, begging us to give this all up. They just don't understand. I don't think they ever will," she said sadly.
"Give them some good grass and hold them here for a week and they'll give in! It's just that first break, that first move, and then you're on your way. Trouble is, everyone's afraid to make that break."
"I did," Jerri said softly.
"Me too," Rob agreed.
Jerri looked down to the boy's plate. It was empty.
"Hey, you still hungry?"
"No, really, I'm ready to burst. Give me an hour or two," he said, leaning back in the chair. "You know, I like you, you're easy to talk to."
"And I like you too. Glad you happened to choose our little house to warm up in."