Thor's Child ©
by K Pelle
Chapter 18
The 'bear scare' shells were noisy, noisier than a slug and far noisier than ordinary buckshot. Not only that, but when they were fired there was a very loud BOOM, then a FWEEEEeeeee-brrrrrrrrrrrrrr sound that started as a sharp whistle and deteriorated into a rapid rattling noise of sorts. After Tor fired one shot, there was an instant's silence, then hundreds of crows, starlings and other birds rose from the trees in the orchard, all of the squawking or screeching alarm signals to other birds.
Tor looked at his dad and grinned. "Well, was that noisy enough to suit you? I notice it made you jump."
"Yeah, but I wasn't expecting you to shoot the dang thing so soon. I didn't even hear you load the darn shell," his dad chuckled. "Do you mind if I give it a try?"
"Sure, but I only loaded one shell as a tryout and that shot not only scared off the crows, but it scared the goats too. I think we should head out into the open hayfield if we plan on shooting again or we'll have the goats trying to climb the fence," Tor offered the shotgun to his father, then bent to scoop up the used shell as it was ejected, glancing at it and frowning. "Dad, isn't this one of the longer shells."
"Yep!" his dad nodded, as they began walking out into the nearest hayfield, "This gun is chambered to take both the extended and regular length shells. I like the pump action too, so it's not a bad gun at all."
"I guess," Tor shrugged. "To be honest the stock is just a touch short for me, another inch would make it more comfortable and it's got quite a kick for a gun with no choke on the barrel. Besides that, the darn thing feels a bit heavy to me."
"That's because you're used to carrying that lever action rifle of yours. This gun isn't much heavier, just longer and balanced differently."
"Yeah, I suppose and I guess it's probably better for scaring off bears," Tor sighed. "I guess I shouldn't have handled that 16 gauge, because it felt almost natural to me and now this one feels clumsy."
"Not only that, but you're wondering why we've let Dori come out to stay for the weekend and you don't know just what to think about her staying here overnight, right?"
"True," Tor said shortly, then sighed. "Dad, I know you guys trust me and everything, but I just don't understand the reason for having her here right now. It's putting me under pressure at the time I'd sort of set aside to prepare for the trip with Uncle Nils and Aunt Hanna. I just don't feel comfortable about the idea of having her spend the night just down the hall from me either. It just makes me feel as if I'm being intentionally tempted to go farther than I really want to take things right now."
"Actually, Dad, I feel as if everyone is testing us to see what we might do, could do or should do, but right at the moment I'm not certain what I will do," he paused for a few seconds and frowned when he saw that his dad was looking at him with a slight smile on his face. "Am I making any sense to you?"
"Yep, but then I'm fairly sure what will happen, and I don't think it will be your decision. Whatever happens will be Dori's choice, no matter what your mother, or Alva, or I say or do, so nothing is guaranteed. Even you don't have a lot of say in what she will do, but she's managed to impress your mom and me that she's a fairly level headed kid. She's like her dad in a lot of ways and not a lot like her mother. Now let's see what sort of noise this thing makes out here in the open, away from trees and the hill that backs up the orchard and sends us an echo."
Tor's dad fired a couple of shots and then turned to Tor with a grin. "I think we're going back to town."
"What? Why?" Tor frowned as he asked.
"Well, you seem to like that little 16 gauge, but I think this 12 gauge is a great gun. So, I'll buy you the 16 and although I want you to take this one on your trip, it'll just be loan, okay? Afterward, since you don't like it, I'll keep it," his dad winked at him. "What do you say?"
"Sure, if that's what you want to do," Tor shrugged. "You might want to call the guy on the phone, just to be sure he still has that shotgun though. I noticed a couple of other fellows looking at it when we were talking to him about this one."
"Yeah, we could, but I don't think we need to, I want some more of these noise maker shells to scare off the birds in the orchard anyway. Olga already chewed me out about the damage the birds did to the plum crop this year and I don't want to hear the same thing about the apple harvest. I suppose we should warn your mom that we won't be here for lunch while we're at it though, since it's getting on toward that time."
"Oh, are we going to eat in town?"
"Yeah, I suppose I'd be in trouble if I let my son miss a meal, wouldn't I?" Tor's dad chuckled as they walked back toward the house.
Just as they got to the back steps the door opened and Alva came out.
"Oh! I was just going to call you to come have lunch," she smiled. "Mom and Dori are going to go talk to Aunt Hanna and she wants to go home from the office early, so we got lunch ready earlier than normal. By the way, what was all the noise about? It sounded like you were shooting off a cannon."
"Dad and I were just trying out his new shotgun, shooting at the 'invisiloons' in the orchard," Tor grinned.
"'Invisiloons?' What the heck are 'invisiloons, some sort of crow?" Alva's forehead creased into a frown.
"No. They're not really birds, but since their part balloon, 'invisiloons' do fly though, only since they're invisible, no one has ever seen one to describe what they look like. When you shoot at them, they screech really loud, sort of like a whistle and if you do happen to hit them, they sound like a balloon does if you fill it with air and let it loose. You know, sort of that long purring fart sound," Tor managed to say with a straight face.
His dad spoiled the story by breaking into laughter though, so Tor had to grin. Alva snorted in disgust at herself for almost believing his tall tale, then shook her head and went inside. However, while Tor and his dad were washing up for lunch, Alva was repeating the tale to her mom and Dori.
When they all sat down Dori waited a few moments then asked Tor. "Say, Tor, if you can't see those 'invisiloons,' how do you know where to aim?"
"Oh come on, now!" Tor answered with a perfectly straight face. "You know what happens to anyone or anything that eats too much fruit. You can smell where they are and for goodness sakes don't stand under their flight path after they've had a good feed either. That stuff is hard to wash off!"
Tor's dad snorted first, then roared with laughter, then his mom chuckled, Alva grinned and Dori giggled, but Tor managed to keep a straight face for several seconds.
"Smartass!" Dori sent silently, while still giggling.
"Better look out or I'll guide you into the flight path of a group of 'invisiloons' and won't warn you about it when one drops a load," Tor looked at her and winked.
Of course that just made Dori giggle even louder.
"It's not all that funny," Alva frowned, then sighed. "Sorry, I shouldn't take my grouchiness out on you guys. Just before lunch I got word that the hospital wants to change my shift, so next week I'll have to work midnights."
"Wow! They're putting a temp on midnights?" Dori looked at her in surprise. "You must be a darn good nurse then."
"What do you mean?" Alva snapped.
"Well, Mom's been working there for several years and she explained to me one time that they try to put their best workers on the midnight shift if they can. There are fewer nurses there then, so they have to be good to handle the load. I'd say you've impressed them if they've moved you to that shift already," Dori explained.
"Really?"
"Yeah, really!"
"That must have been the second phone call, wasn't it?" Tor's mom asked.
"Yeah, the other one was Tor's hockey coach. He wants to talk to Tor, but Tor was out shooting his invisible birds, so I told the coach I'd pass on the message and have Tor call back."
"Oh, what was that about, do you know?" Tor asked
"Something about a guy named Jimmy moving away and a guy named Tom breaking his leg. He was saying he's going to be short players this fall or something."
"Oh cripes!" Tor frowned. "That would be Jimmy Bacon and Tom Rask, both of our goalies. That's definitely not good news for the team."
"Well, you could fill in," Tor's dad said quietly. "I've seen you play goalie here when we have the outdoor rink set up."
"Dad, I haven't got any decent gear to play goal and I'm too big for the gear that the team has."
"If you want to try it, we'll buy you whatever you need," Tor's mom announced. "I'd rather see you play goal anyway."
"Really, why?" Tor asked.
"How many times have you seen a goalie get into a fight?" she grinned. "Besides, you're big, but you move fast, so the other teams would have a hard time scoring on you."
"Your mother is right," Tor's dad smiled. "I think you would do well, and it'd suit you too, because I know you don't like fighting all that much. Besides knowing how fast you react, anyone can see that you're bigger than most of the rest of your teammates, so you cover more of the net even if you're just standing still."
"Dad, I still don't know if I want to do it, I kinda like being out on the ice and getting the odd chance of scoring a goal or two," Tor frowned.
"Well, for what it's worth, I've seen what you look like with a black eye and bruises, but I prefer to see you without wounds or blemishes that you've won in battle," Dori winked.
"And there's one other point you might want to consider," Alva grinned widely.
"What?"
"Just think how annoyed that would make that loudmouth commentator on TV who said you were going to be the next Gretsky, but one with a solid left hook," she chortled.
"That's the best reason I've heard yet," Tor laughed.
"Well, we're going back to town after lunch to see about buying that other shotgun anyway, why don't we go talk to your coaches and see what they think?" his dad asked quietly?
"Yeah, I guess we should," Tor sighed. "I'd rather straighten things out now than have to try to rush things when I get back from my holiday."
So that afternoon Tor and his dad headed back to town to buy that other shotgun and to talk to Johnny Simcoe, Tor's coach from the previous season. That was when they discovered that the town's hockey teams were being changed around a lot. Coach Simcoe had been asked to take over the local Juvenile hockey team which had been coached the year before by Heinrich Schneider. Officer McDonald was still going to be involved with coaching the Midgets though.
"Actually Ollie, I'm glad you came by today, since it means I can call Coach McDonald to see if he can drop around so we can both talk to you," Johnny Simcoe smiled and winked at Tor.
"Why would you both want to talk to me?" Tor's dad asked instantly.
"Well, to put it plainly, Hank McDonald is a full time police officer and there are times when his job makes it impossible for him to be available at a hockey game, but he still wants to coach. He wants to remain as assistant coach, but he needs someone to act as head coach and your name is at the top of both of our lists as a candidate."
"Me?" Tor's dad stared at Johnny Simcoe in surprise.
"Yes, you!" Coach Simcoe grinned. "You and your wife have raised four kids that you can be very proud of and your three boys are all excellent hockey players. Now we know you don't have any professional training as a coach, but both of us have seen you working with the kids on your home rink every winter. We know that you can teach and we know you have a fair amount of patience, but to match that you have a lot of passion for the game."
"Would you be leaving Tor and Kevin on the Midgets, or would you be pulling them up to the Juniors?"
"Well, to be honest, I'd love to have them both, but I know that's not going to happen. I am going to try to convince Kevin and the oldest of the Adams boys to come over to the older team with me. I think I have a chance too, since . . . well, I'm stepping in where I shouldn't, but Tor bragged last year that he could play goal and I think Hank will try to talk him into playing that position. If he does, Kevin will be on his own and I think it would be best for him to be on a different team altogether when he does move on. He's been depending on Tor just a bit too much, so although he's a talented player, he's never had to prove it to himself. I think all he needs is to get off his lazy duff and do some work though. What do you think Tor?"
"Well to be honest he's in Alberta right now, looking after a hog farm and he's on his own out there. I think he's going to come back with a changed outlook on life in several ways," Tor smiled. "I could give him a call tonight if you want me to. However, the idea of playing goalie isn't really something I expected to do this year."
"Well, unfortunately we've lost our two best goalies and we don't really have a backup who can play for the Falcons. Jimmy Bacon's father got a job in Victoria and Tom Rask was waterskiing and has a spiral fracture of one of the bones in his right leg. Tom will be in a cast for at least four months and then in rehabilitation for months after that, so at a minimum he'll lose a season. I don't know if you know Bobby Morceau, but he'll be joining the Falcons and he's played goal before, but he isn't all that experienced."
"I think I know him, but I thought he was quite small?"
"He is, but he's growing a lot right now, something the way you did, so in a year or two he'll be a decent sized player. The Falcons need a better goalie than he is this year though."
"You're almost making it sound like I don't have much choice?"
"Oh, I wouldn't say that, but if you play center or forward, you might have to score a lot of goals to beat anyone if the team has to depend on a player like Bobby in goal. One thing about it, if you were the goalie, you wouldn't have many guys charging the goal, not with your reputation!"
"Oh, thanks a whole bunch, coach! You make me sound like a thug or something."
"No, just a player who demands respect," Coach Simcoe winked at Tor's dad. "From what I've heard it's something of a family trait, at least with the younger generation."
"Oh, Dad and Uncle Nils hold their own in that department as well, but so do Mom and Aunt Hanna, so the younger generation got a double dose of that darn respect gene," Tor grinned. "As far as me and my actions, I'm the youngest of the bunch, so I just play follow the leader and live by the examples I've been given."
"Yeah, sure," Tor's dad snorted. "You're something like your dog, Ghost. You follow by leading the way."
The coach laughed and even Tor had to grin at that. They discussed the two ideas for a while longer, but neither Tor nor his dad were willing to instantly jump onto the band wagon. However, it wasn't long before the two Eklunds were heading back to the sports shop to see if the shotgun was still available. It was and they bought it, but while they were there Tor's dad asked about the price and availability of a complete set of pads for a goalie Tor's size.
"If I do decide to play goal we'd better order them for someone a bit larger than I am now, Dad. Remember, I'm still growing," Tor said quietly, but the salesman heard him.
"Well, just how old are you?" the salesman asked.
"I just turned fifteen," Tor grinned at him.
"Oh cripes! You are going to be a big one."
"I imagine he will be a decent size, just like the rest of the family," Tor's dad chuckled. "By the time I was seventeen I was six foot four and well over two hundred pounds, but I didn't grow too much after that, not until I started adding a middle age spread."
The salesman just looked at his father and shook his head, then hauled out a catalogue and showed them what was readily available. Although they studied that catalogue for almost half an hour, they were part way home before Tor and his dad realized they had never been told the prices of anything they'd looked at. Of course they hadn't put in a definite order for a set of gear either, since both of them were still considering the situation.
"I can't believe they want me to coach a hockey team," Tor's dad said with a frown. "In the first place I don't know all the rules and regulations."
"I didn't think you would, but you sure know the basics of the game and there are lots of books available on the subject. I'll bet Coach McDonald has several books you could borrow."
"Probably, but if I'm going to do the job I'll want to own a set myself," his dad frowned. "I just don't know what your mother will say and I'll need her help, otherwise the farm will suffer."
"Yeah, chores still need to be done and practises are held at a bad time for a farmer to be there, then sometimes out of town games would make getting there difficult. You can't be in two places at once."
"Well, except for the cows we milk, I could set everything up so I could do most of the chores during the day. I suppose your mother could still milk one or two cows, like she did years ago, but I don't think she'd like it much."
"I suppose so. To be honest I guess if I'm going to play goalie I'll need to have some practise at stopping hockey pucks. With Kevin away though, who am I going to get to shoot pucks at me?"
"Alva, Dori, me, your mom, Björn, or how about that Adams boy down the road? The Adams only live five miles away and I'm sure he has a bike."
"Cripes, I don't even have a goalie stick or a goalie's glove."
"Yeah, and you're going off on holiday for a month on top of that."
"The whole idea is nuts!" Tor sighed.
"Yep," his dad agreed.
The two of them fell silent then, not saying anything more during the rest of the drive home. It wasn't until they were back at the house, sitting at the kitchen table having coffee that they said anything more on the subject. Actually when they drove into the yard the women weren't in the house, so they had made coffee themselves, but they hadn't even had a chance to sit down before Dori, Alva and Tor's mom came inside. All of them were nude since they'd been up at the pond for a swim.
"Well, what did you decide?" Dori asked Tor.
"Things got a bit complicated and I'm not sure what's going to happen," he shrugged, doing his best to look at her face and not stare at her gorgeous body. "To start with, the goalies who played for the Falcons last year are both going to be gone, one for good and the other for at least a year. Jimmy Bacon's family is moving to Victoria and Tom Rask broke a leg quite badly while waterskiing, so both our main goalie and our backup are gone. There is a young guy, Bobby Morceau, who can play goal, but he doesn't have a lot of experience and he's small, which is why they want me to try out as goalie. On top of that, Coach Simcoe is going to take over as coach of the local Juvenile hockey team, the one that was coached by Heinrich Schneider last year. Officer McDonald is still going to be involved with coaching the Midgets, but being a cop, he's not available all the time, so they want Dad to become the head coach for the Falcons."
That last statement set off a firestorm, not really an argument, but a very emotional discussion that lasted until it was time to start chores. Tor and his dad went out to do the chores, knowing that the discussion was going to continue when they came in to eat supper and it did.
In the long run it worked out that Tor's mom was in favour of his dad becoming the new coach for the Falcons, but Alva was opposed to the idea, while Dori was ambivalent. All three women were in favour of Tor trying out for goalie though. However neither Tor nor his dad were really convinced one way or the other about what they wanted to do.
After they'd eaten Tor wanted to go for a walk and have a talk with Dori, so they went outside and wandered down to Tor's little shop for a bit.
"What's up?" Dori asked.
"I just wondered why you are so hot about my playing goalie?" Tor frowned. "You must have some other reason than the bruises I've gotten occasionally."
"Think about it, you nut! If you get hit in the head hard enough and get your brain scrambled by a concussion I'm positive you'll lose the ability to do this," Dori sent as she glared at him. "If you're playing in goal you aren't going to get into fights and you aren't going to get rammed into the boards or knocked down so you hit your head on the ice."
"But I always wear a helmet."
"Big deal! A concussion is caused by the brain being jarred during the impact and a helmet won't stop that. What happens is the brain bounces around inside your skull and if the impact is hard enough the brain gets damaged. If it gets bruised badly, it can swell or blood vessels inside the skull can tear and leak, then the pressure of the blood inside the skull damages the brain. Mom was talking about that the other day because she helped treat a kid in the hospital that they had to operate on earlier this spring. He slipped off a building and his head bounced off a cinder block when he fell. They had to drain the blood from his skull and they were even thinking about opening it up to repair a blood vessel that was causing the problem. It's two months later and he still can't talk well or even see right any more and they aren't certain he'll ever get all his faculties back. I don't want that to happen to you," Dori almost shouted, looking as if she was close to tears. "I know you love playing hockey, but the idea that you might get knocked down and hit your head on the ice so hard you got a concussion just like he did terrifies me. At least if you're playing in goal you wouldn't be flying down the ice so fast, then getting run into the boards and you wouldn't get into fights so often."
"You tell him, Kid!" Alva said from the door of the building, surprising both Dori and Tor. "I'm sorry to interrupt you and invade your private conversation, Dori, but I heard you tearing into my little brother and I wanted to add my two-bits worth. You see while I was training in Vancouver this year, I helped care for a guy who had suffered a concussion in a bicycle accident. Now he wasn't racing or anything, just out for a ride with friends and he swerved to avoid a raccoon that ran across the bike path at a local park. He just lost his balance and fell, but he hit his head against a tree. He got back on his feet and tried to get on his bike to ride away, but his balance was shot, so his friends called an ambulance and they rushed him to the hospital.
"I was working emergency room admissions that day and I saw him when he was brought in on the stretcher. There was no sign of damage on his head, except for a developing bruise on his forehead and a tiny scratch by his right ear. You could tell he had a concussion though and his condition rapidly grew worse, so we rushed him into the ER. He died on the operating table and later, when they did an autopsy, they found that he'd damaged his brain stem and as well as that his brain was swollen.
"Now I know you're really good on skates and you play hockey very well, but if a guy can fall off his bike and be killed by a brain injury, you can do the same damn thing playing hockey. It could be a lucky punch, a fall or a boarding and even as good as you are there might be nothing you could do about it, but there's a lot less chance of that happening if you're in goal," Alva sighed heavily then. "If I'm going to work in the local hospital, I don't want to see you carried in there on a stretcher like that guy was, so you know how I feel about the whole thing."
Before either Tor or Dori could say a word Alva wheeled around and left.
"See what I mean?" Dori snapped, then she ran off as well.
Tor started to get angry about being forced into making a decision that he didn't like, but then he took the time to really think about what they had said. That's when he considered just how much he valued his 'special talents' and realized what he'd lose if his brain was damaged. Besides, he'd still be playing hockey and if anything, a good goalie was just as valuable to a team as a good center or a good forward. In fact a really good goalie might be even more valuable to the Falcons this year, especially if he and Kevin weren't on the ice to score goals. In fact it looked like having a good goalie might be essential this year since the team was probably losing it's two best forwards, so even if he still played center they wouldn't have nearly as many scoring chances. In only five minutes he'd made up his mind and decided that having a decent goalie was an essential to the team, so unless they could pull in another goalie from somewhere, he would have to play goal. Right then he felt he was being forced into the decision though and felt frustrated because it seemed he had no choice in the matter. Frustration wasn't something he handled well and since he hadn't had much exercise that day, he decided he wanted to go for a run. Perhaps he could burn off some of the frustration he was feeling.
Tor was just passing the house as his dad came out of the house to do his evening check of the farm and the animals. Tor slowed down long enough to explain where he was going, then set off up the trail that ran length of the farm. He hadn't gone a hundred yards before Ghost was galloping along at his side, tongue out and tail wagging, so he had company for his whole run. Once more he set his shield as he ran, just to make certain he was working hard enough, but since it retained his body heat he had to drop it occasionally in order to cool off. By the time he had run the whole distance out and back he was sweating profusely, so when he got to the house he rushed upstairs and hopped into the shower.
When he had washed and cleaned up, he just scooped up his clothes in one hand and headed for his room, not even thinking about the fact that Dori was visiting. As it happened, Dori and Alva were sitting in his room, playing on one of his old Apple computers.
Dori looked up, grinned and whistled, which made Alva chuckle.
"Huh, if I did that to you, I'll bet you'd get P'd off," Tor snorted, then stuck out his tongue at her.
"No fair, you were supposed to blush," Dori grinned.
"Tor? Blush because he was naked? Never happen!" Alva chortled, then she winked at Tor. "You know, boy, you are getting to have a great set of muscles there. Are you working out again?"
"Not really," Tor answered as he scooped a set of undershorts out of his drawer and pulled them on. "I run a bit, like I just did, and I do some of the farm chores the hard way, but I think it's mostly just from staying busy and working hard at various jobs."
"Well, while you're both here, about before . . ." Alva looked as if she was going to apologise, but Tor held up his hand to stop her.
"Unh uh, no apologies. Both of you said what you thought and explained how you felt quite honestly. I have no argument with that in any way. In fact I'm glad you were honest with me and I do appreciate your input. However, what I do is going to be my decision, not yours."
Just then Tor heard his mom call him from downstairs.
"Yes, Mom, what is it?" he answered.
"Nils is on the phone with your dad and they want to talk to you."
"Okay, I'll be right down," Tor yanked on a set of jeans and headed downstairs to his dad's office "What's up, Dad?"
"Can you stand a late night?"
"I guess, but how late?"
"Nils wants to talk to us over at his place, so it'll probably be after midnight before we get home."
"Okay, let me get a shirt though," Tor dashed back upstairs, grabbed a shirt and raced back down, slipping into the shirt as he ran.
"What's the hurry, Dad?" he asked as he climbed into the truck.
"Well, I'm not sure if I've got it straight, but from what I understand Nils was approached about a trade of the valley over on Vancouver island for a small ranch in the Cascade Range. I think he mentioned Coquihalla Mountain and having a place there makes a lot more sense to me, since it isn't so darn hard to get there and its so much closer."
"Well, it does to me too, but what's all the rush for?"
"I don't know, but we'll find out soon enough," his dad sighed softly. "While we're alone, have you made up your mind on that goalie thing?"
"Yeah, after getting hammered about concussions by Dori and Alva, I think I've made up my mind to try it. I'm not sure how good I'll be since I haven't had much practise, but I'll give it a go. The only thing I'm worried about is the expense of buying all the gear, especially if it turns out that I'm a crappy goalie."
"Ha, with your size, speed and reflexes? You have to be kidding me," Tor's dad scoffed. "By the way, Olga convinced me that I should try the coaching position, so I called Officer McDonald and we're meeting Monday morning to discuss the situation. Since you're planning to play goal, we'd like you to phone Kevin tomorrow and tell him what's going on. Maybe you can convince him to play for Coach Simcoe on the Juvenile team? Simcoe really needs someone like Kevin to help clean up the mess Schneider left behind."
"Well, I can talk to him, I suppose, but who knows what he'll say? I don't think he's going to be happy about me playing in goal, but like Coach Simcoe said, I think he's a better player than he admits that he is. Even I've felt that he was leaning on me a bit instead of stretching himself as much as he could."
His dad nodded at that, then asked about some of the other players on the team and Tor was able to offer some opinions. He was quite comfortable discussing the players on the hockey team, but once they reached his uncle's place and they began to discuss real-estate and the possible trade that was in the making, he felt lost. In the first place he had been under the impression that his uncle had purchased the homestead and the lease in the valley for sentimental reasons, so he was astonished that he'd be willing to part with it. In the second place Tor felt as if he was horning in on his cousin's rights just by being involved in the original deal, let alone having anything to do with a possible trade for a new property.
His Uncle Nils and Aunt Hanna had other ideas though, because they felt the new property was an ideal horse ranch and they wanted him involved as a horse trainer. This time though Arne and Kai weren't going to be included in the ownership since both of them had other plans for their futures. Tor tried his best to remain in the background during the whole discussion, but they were dealing with Aunt Hanna and Uncle Nils, who liked to argue and somehow that night Tor was caught in the middle. By some convolution of logic they had decided that he had the deciding vote on what they'd do with the property but he was doing his best not to offend either of them. He hardly said a word, just shrugging his shoulders if they asked his opinion while they were still arguing or nodding his head if both of them agreed on some point or other. By midnight the group had hammered out what they wanted for their property and what sort of deal they were willing to accept in trade. It was only as Tor and his dad were leaving that he discovered his aunt and uncle were going to be flying to both places the next day, which was the reason for the hurried meeting that night.
He was back in his dad's pickup and they were driving home before Tor finally asked a question that had been bothering him about the whole deal. "Dad, why would anyone want to trade a working ranch for a hunk of property that's so far off the beaten path, even if the ranch is small?"
"That is the whole point, I think," his dad chuckled. "From what Nils said the fellow who owns the ranch has more money than brains. He's an actor or director or some sort of movie bigwig from California and he wants to own a place where people can't get to him easily. It seems that the ranch wasn't isolated enough and some of the guys who run around taking pictures of movie stars found out where he was hiding. I don't know how he found out about your place, but he did and he has an agent coming to pick up Hanna and Nils tomorrow morning. I thought you'd be a lot more interested in the deal than you were, since you're listed on the deed as a part owner. I was surprised that you turned down the offer to go along."
"Dad, as far as I'm concerned, that hidden valley was just a hideout of sorts, a place where I was able to work when I wanted or sit on my butt when I felt like relaxing. I never did feel right about having my name on the deed and I don't really feel right about it this time either. At least this time I'll have a definite job to do next summer and I'll be able feel like I'm earning my share," Tor paused for a second and then laughed aloud. "I just realized, we just killed off my holiday, didn't we?"
"I don't think so, but you might have changed where you're going and you might have changed the date a bit," his dad chuckled. "If the deal does go through Nils and Hanna are going to want to go check the new place out thoroughly and they'll want you along."
"That's something else I don't understand – I mean Uncle Nils was so happy to buy that place on Vancouver Island and now he's sold it so readily."
"I think that might have been your Aunt Hanna's doing," his dad said quietly. "She wasn't too happy about being that far off the beaten path and your mom wasn't too happy about you going up there either. If you got into trouble in there, you'd have been in deep trouble, because the mountains around the place block out radio reception, so you couldn't even call for help."
"Yeah, that even worried me a bit," Tor admitted. "It had a tendency to make you careful of what you did and how you did it."
"Yeah, I'll bet it did," his Dad chuckled. "To change the subject though, do you have any idea who might be joining the hockey team for younger players coming up the ranks?"
So they talked about hockey for the rest of the drive home, but when they got there they were surprised to find all three women still up, sitting in the kitchen having a cup of tea.
"Well, what was decided?" Tor's mom asked as they came in the door.
"Nothing definite," Tor's dad answered, grinning slightly. "They just decided on minimum limits on what they wanted for their property and what sort of deal they were willing to accept in trade. Tor and I just sat there most of the time and listened to Nils and Hanna argue about what they wanted to do. Your son refused to take sides in their arguments though, which was a brilliant tactic. They'd ask his opinion and he'd shrug his shoulders, as if it was up to the two of them to settle their differences, but once they'd agreed on anything, he'd nod his head and they'd move on. The next time we have a family meeting when Nils and Hanna are involved I want him to act as our representative. He actually had them cooperating for once."
Tor suddenly felt too tired to comment and just shrugged, then wished everyone a goodnight and headed for bed. He'd only just stripped off his clothes and rolled under the covers when he heard a light knock on his door.
"It's open," he mumbled, then was surprised to see Dori come in.
"Don't I get a goodnight kiss?" she teased.
"Only if you bend over. Right now I'm too tired to sit up," he mumbled.
"How come you're so tired tonight?" she asked as she shoved him over and lay on top of the covers next to him.
"After you and Alva chewed on me about bumping my head, I ran all the way to the top of the farm and back while I thought about it. Then I had to sit and listen as a bunch of people argued about land and cabins and other stuff. I came home all tuckered out and bored silly."
"Aww, poor boy, let me tuck you in," she murmured.
He was wide enough awake to give her a hug and a peck on the lips, but then he relaxed and fell asleep.
The next morning he was astonished to find that Dori was sleeping at his side when he awakened. Not only was she still there, but she was under the covers and wearing as little as he was – namely nothing! What he found more alarming was the fact that her round butt was pressed against his belly. Meanwhile his body was in its normal condition when he'd awakened – he needed the bathroom and his body was warning him how badly. By then Wee Willy Winky had transformed into Major Stiffy, who was standing at attention and intent on marching into new territory.
The more feral portion of his brain felt that was a marvellous idea, but the reasoning portion knew his door was unlocked, so anyone could walk in at any moment. As well as that when he glanced over Dori's shoulder at the alarm clock on the bedside table he saw that he'd slept in and that exponentially increased the chances of being discovered. So, although the idea of remaining in bed, but gently waking Dori, then the two of them enjoying themselves in an erotic manner blazed through his mind, he knew better than to tempt fate.
Moving as quickly, but as gently as he could so he wouldn't wake her, he slipped out of bed, pulled on his clothes and headed for the bathroom. Once he'd drained the bilges, then washed his hands and face he hurried downstairs only to see his mom and dad both sitting at the table.
"Good morning, Tor. Did you sleep well last night?"
"Like a log I guess, because I woke up to find I had company. How the heck did Dori end up sleeping with me?"
"That was my next question," his mom said, trying to look serious, but Tor could see she was struggling to hide a grin.
"Did you set that up?"
"What? No way!" his mom tried to look shocked, but didn't really succeed.
"Dad, your wife tried to give me a heart attack," Tor accused as he poured himself a cup of coffee.
That brought a snort of laughter from his dad and a chortle from his mom, so he knew he'd been set up.
"Actually Alva knows that you sleep like a log and once you go to sleep you don't wake up for hours, so she teased Dori into sleeping with you. She made sure there was a sheet between the two of you though."
"Dori cheated then, because there was no sheet there this morning," Tor grinned.'
"What? She promised, but at least she was wearing a nightie."
"Nope, just her birthday suit," Tor laughed. "Of course she might strip in her sleep."
"You didn't do anything, did you?"
"No, Mom. I was a good little boy, this time, but I might be tempted if I'm more wide awake next time."
"Well, you blew your chance then, kid, 'cause I doubt if it's going to happen again."
"Oh well that's okay, at least for now," Tor nodded and winked at her, then looked at his dad. "Are the chores already done?"
"Well, they were almost done when I came in and by now I imagine Alva is cursing that old Holstein cow for giving so much milk. She'd barely started on that one when I brought the rest of the milk inside, then I'd just grabbed a coffee when you came downstairs."
"Huh, if I'd have known that you guys already had the chores done I'd have stayed in bed," Tor winked at his dad. "In fact . . ."
"Don't even think about it!" his mom chuckled. "I think I'm going to have Alva remind me never to try anything like that again. You're having more fun out of teasing me than I got out of teasing you."
"Well, when it comes to teasing, I had a good set of teachers," Tor grinned.
"Yeah, I think you did," his dad chuckled.
Just then they heard Alva come into the back porch and pour the milk she was carrying into the separator. She walked in the back door of the kitchen a moment later, saw Tor and grinned.
"Hey little brother, good morning! Did you sleep well last night?"
"Mmmhmm, just marrrvelously." Tor purred and grinned like a Cheshire cat. "Thank you for thinking of me and arranging such a wonderful surprise."
The astonished look on Alva's face as she looked at him was perfect payback, but what came next was even better.
"I think it'll be a long time before I go along with one of your silly schemes, young lady," his mom said, sounding very serious.
"You didn't . . . she didn't . . . Omigawd!" Alva simply stared at all of them.
To top it off, Tor heard Dori at the top of the stairs and instantly got to his feet.
"Hey Dori, thanks for sleeping with me, that was wonderful. Now play along with whatever I do, please! We're teasing Alva for sneaking you into my bed and trying to make her think more happened than really did," he sent silently as he rushed to the bottom of the stairs and held out his arms.
"Good morning, Sleeping Beauty. You look absolutely gorgeous today!" he wrapped her in his arms and hugged her tight, then gave her a gentle kiss.
"Mmm, how are you today. You were pretty darn tuckered when you finally fell asleep," Dori murmured softly as she practically draped herself against Tor.
"Oh, I had a wonderful sleep." Tor grinned and winked at her. "You're far better than any sleeping pill. Would you like me to get you a cup of coffee?"
As Tor and Dori moved toward the kitchen table, each with an arm around the other's waist, Tor winked at his dad, and that must have been the trigger, because his dad roared with laughter. That set off Tor, his mom and finally Dori, who broke into giggles.
"Alva, you've been had." Dori managed to mumble between her giggles. "Tor slept all night, then snuck out on me this morning. All I had to wake up to this morning was a faint body odour on his pillow. His side of the bed wasn't even warm anymore, which is probably what woke me up, 'cause he's nice to snuggle up to."
"Gotcha!" Tor winked at Alva.
"You bugger!" she snorted, then turned to look directly at Dori. "And you aren't any better!"
Then finally she broke into a chuckle. "The whole darn bunch of you are on my list now."
"Temper, temper," Tor said quietly as he walked over and gave her a hug and then a kiss on the cheek. "And thank you for helping Dad with the chores this morning so I could sleep in. I really appreciate that a lot."
"Well, it probably won't be the last time, since Dad says he's going to take on that coaching job," Alva managed to smile. "I'm still gonna get back at you for this morning though."
"How are you going to do chores and still keep up with your nurses training?" Tor frowned.
"Well, I've taken the two years of university that make up the basic course and now I need to decide if I want to specialize. The local hospital is short nursing staff, so I can work here for a year and make up my mind if I want to take further courses. In fact they seem to want me to spend a year here while I make up my mind if I want to specialize in one branch of nursing or another. I'm sort of in the catbird seat, since I'm single and can work any shift. I like the hospital and I like most of the people I'm working with here, so if they offer me a continuance I expect I'll take it for at least a year."
"That's great news." Tor gave her a gentle hug. "I'm glad you're doing what you want."
"Yeah, well until I get in a few months, my wages are a bit lean and I may have to work some off shifts, but I am enjoying myself, most of the time. Of course being a nurse lets me see the bad crap too, but seeing the smile on someone who is healing and starting to feel better makes up for that, at least most of the time."
"I suppose," Tor frowned. "I know I couldn't do it. Heck I couldn't even be a vet like Dag is. The sight of blood, gore or writhing guts simply turns my stomach, so nothing like that is my idea of a pleasant pastime."
"Well, I couldn't go out on the ice and let people take the first swing at me before I hit back like you do, instead I'm into preventive measures. So I'd deck them before they decked me."
"You'd spend a lot of time in the penalty box then for being an instigator," Tor laughed.
"So what? I'd just have bruises on my knuckles, not my face."
That short conversation brought the whole room around to a discussion of hockey and what Tor and his dad were going to be doing that winter. Almost inevitably that resulted in Tor's mom suggesting that the main people involved in the two teams should be invited over for a discussion and a backyard barbeque. Before quick got to shove she was planning for a backyard party and bustling around the kitchen and pantry to see what supplies she had on hand. In no time at all she had Tor and his dad making phone calls to the two coaches and trying to contact the other players on the two teams. Once she had an idea of how many people would be coming over, she got Alva and Dori involved by sending them to town to buy hamburger patties, hot dogs and buns, as well as salad fixings. While the girls were off to town on a grocery hunt, Tor was shanghaied into scraping and cleaning the backyard barbeque grill.
Then his dad had Tor call Kevin in Alberta, but the result of that call was a total surprise. It seemed that Kevin was considering the idea of staying in Alberta and not planning on coming back to Eagles Bluff. He hadn't really talked it over with his parents yet, but his uncle wasn't recovering as quickly as they had hoped, so chances of Kevin coming back home that fall were rather slim. On top of that Kevin actually enjoyed his job and he'd found a girlfriend, so he was considering the idea of staying there and finishing his schooling at a local high school. The whole conversation astonished Tor and he couldn't believe how much more confident Kevin sounded. Since Kevin's growing confidence was something he really approved, he congratulated Kevin and wished him well before hanging up and passing on the news to his dad.
His dad took the news quite phlegmatically, but the other two coaches weren't happy to hear the news when they were told about it later in the day. What did make their day was the news that Tor was willing to play goal for the Falcons and the news that Danny Adams, who lived nearby, was willing to work with Tor to get him prepared. Meanwhile fourteen-year-old Danny was almost delirious that he was going to get to play on the Falcons and train with Tor and his dad.
Before the afternoon was out there were three coaches and twenty-one players in the backyard of the Eklund farm. Coach Simcoe, who was taking over the Hawks – which was the Juvenile team, ended up with nine players there that day and seven of those had played for him before. An even dozen players were going to be joining the Falcons and would be coached by Tor's dad and Officer McDonald. As a result, even before official registration the coaches knew they had the basis for two decent teams and all of them breathed a little easier.
All the players and coaches had been warned to bring their swim suits along and before they ate, they all had a swim. As well as that it was almost a given that each of them had brought along a hockey stick or two, so a 'no checking' ball hockey game was inevitable. Luckily Coach Simcoe had brought along the gear for the goalies of both teams and they had enough gear that Tor and David Elliott, the goalie for the Hawks, were both able to have some protection. The game was all in fun, so even the coaches and some of the girls who were there played.
Of course Alva and Dori made sure they were playing for the Hawks against Tor and he knew from experience that Alva had an absolutely wicked slap shot. In fact she scored on him – twice, potting two of the four goals the Hawks scored against the Falcons. Danny Adams proved just as devastating against Dave Elliott though, scoring once himself and feeding two other players enabling each of them to score an easy goal. In the long run the score was four to three for the Hawks over the Falcons, which surprised almost everyone since the Hawks had done so poorly the year before while the Falcons had done so well. However both Alva and Dori had been playing on the Hawks team and since both of them were bouncing around in outrageous bikinis, lack of attention might have had something to do with the Falcon's loss. At least Tor knew that he was suffering from a near total lack of concentration much of the time.
Everyone who was involved agreed that it had been a great afternoon and they were all glad they'd come. Then each one of the players made certain they thanked Tor, as well as his mom and dad, before they left. That really impressed Tor's parents.