Chapter 3

The boys were already in the jeep waiting for Tambry when she came outside. She was wearing camo pants, hiking shoes and a black cropped tank top, and carrying a black hoodie and a backpack with water and other stuff she thought they may need. Nate started it up as she climbed in the back and buckled up. Lee turned around from his place up front in the passenger side.

"Wow, you look great!"

"Thanks." She batted her eyes at him, smiling. "Looking forward to getting out of the house and exploring the falls...with you." And she placed her hand on his shoulder. He reached around and laid his large hand on top of hers, completely covering her small delicate one, and then he leaned back for a kiss, and she leaned forward and obliged, kissing with a smile. Then Nate turned a corner and centrifugal force separated them.

"Whoa dude! You can really feel the road in this baby!"

"Yeah but that's what makes her tough!" Nate was proud of his used jeep.

Tambry looked down at the back seat floor: inflatable rafts, inner tubes (all deflated), 12 volt DC air compressor, ice chest…the boys had this planned, but Lee didn't tell me? Maybe they didn't think I would come. Well I'll show them, I'm just as tough as Wendy!

She loved feeling the wind in her hair, and pulled out her sunglasses from the backpack and really begin to enjoy the ride, especially when they passed someone they knew. Then Lee and her would wave as they drove past, smiling, while Nate just acted cool, like he drives every day.

Soon they were outside the town limits and turned onto the dirt road that eventually climbed a weaving path up 2200 feet to the top of the falls. The jeep started bouncing on the rocks and in the gullies and so Nate had to slow down. Tambry held onto one of the roll bars with her left hand and onto Lee's shoulder with her right, and he reached around and held her hand again. Lee was having fun.

"Whoa haha! Now we're off-roading in style man! Woo Hoo!" Tambry joined in the shouting too, her girlish shout music to Lee's ears, and now even Nate was smiling.

"Let's see what this baby can do!" and he downshifted and then stepped on the gas, and they could hear rocks and gravel getting spun backwards under the knobby tires with the dust as he negotiated each turn. If there were any creatures in the forest that day they would have run a mile before the jeep even approached for all the noise and clamor.

…

Wendy and Dipper were walking through the cemetery, holding hands and enjoying her day off from the Mystery Shack. Anyone could have spotted them from a mile as her bright orange and yellow spaghetti strapped sleeveless top contrasted against the green, green grass and surrounding forest, and Dipper's red tank top. Both wore blue jeans that day.

"Another nice warm clear day today, been a lot lately. But I have to be careful, I get sunburned easily. Weeks of sun will burn me good."

Dipper leaned towards her and kissed her bare shoulder. "I love how it brings out your freckles."

"You think it's that easy to see my freckles? You gotta work for it mister!" and she let go of his hand, and started running away from him, laughing. He started running after her, shouting back.

"Yeah but all work and no play? No fun! It's PLAY time haha!" and he dived at her and tackled her, and they both tumbled on the thick graveyard grass, laughing and breathing hard.

He climbed on top of her to pin her down and grabbed her forearms and pushed them back to the grass and started kissing her neck.

"Haha stop it!" and she tried to push him off…but not too hard.

She opened her eyes and leaned up to try and bite his neck…and stopped. Dipper kept kissing her neck but noticed her becoming stiff and silent. He leaned back and saw her expression: she was looking at something behind him. He turned around.

Far off, miles away in the distance they could see a wisp of smoke or dust trailing through the forest road to the falls. Dipper turned back around to her.

"What's wrong?"

"Oh…nothing probably. I thought it was a forest fire because it is warm and dry today, we haven't had rain for two weeks…but..." and she squinted "…but I think it's just dust from a truck or something going to the falls. Hope it's not another careless tourist like the one that started the fire 3 years ago."

Dipper turned around and looked again at the distant dust cloud. "Hmmm…" then Wendy's phone buzzed. She looked. "It's Tambry."

(Tambry) woot! On forest road on way to falls in Nate's new jeep!

(Wendy) Where's Lee?

(Tambry) Front seat, says hi

(Wendy) hi too have fun be careful

(Tambry) got two strong guys I'll be ok

Wendy showed the texts to Dipper. He smiled and looked up at Wendy.

"Wow she is really living life now isn't she? Facing the world and not her phone?"

"Yeah, man what a turnaround. From one extreme to the other. But…"

"Yeah? What?" he reached forward and brushed aside her orange-red hair from her face from the abandoned wrestling match.

Wendy looked back at the forest road in the distance.

"Any extreme, one end or the other isn't good. She needs to start living in the middle. The safe middle."

Dipper laughed.

"What? What's so funny dork?" she put her hands on her hips in mock indignity.

"Look who's talking! Don't you think dating a 14 and half year old is extreme?" and he wiggled his eyebrows. Now she laughed and pointed at him. Now it was his turn to become indignant.

"What?"

"You…haha! You look just like Mabel when you do that hahaha! Oh sorry …haha!"

Dipper looked hurt. "Really?"

She stopped laughing out loud and was now to chuckles and snickers.

"Well, kinda. I mean, you are siblings hee hee."

Dipper grabbed her arms and pushed her down again, catching her by surprise.

"Eep!" Her eyes were wide and then lowered as she saw his intent, he was going to silence her laughter, in his favorite way.

But Dipper could still feel her smile as he kissed her.