Chapter Twelve: Lake Manitoc
Present day…
Main POV
With Sam safely tucked up in the admittedly somewhat meagre sized Murphy bed in the study, Lex in his room, and Dean face down in one of my pillows, it was safe to creep down the stairs. Tiptoeing into the kitchen, I flicked on one of the low lights, immediately taking stock of what the kitchen had to offer. Going through the pantry, the fridge, and the freezer, I tried to plan some easy travel meals to take with us on the road, save everything we had from going to waste. It was a little sad, having to leave all this behind. I knew it was for the best, that Lex hadn't wanted to be here in the first place, and I was getting bored with the stale routine my life held, but it was still sad. My son finally had friends his own age, a girlfriend, a stable homelife. And now in the blink of an eye it was all gone.
Hours later, that was where Dean found me, having come downstairs when he found the bed empty and sheets cold. He raised his eyebrows at the state of the kitchen, dishes piled up to the heavens and ziplock bags and foil wrappers stacked up high on the counter. Seeming to take it in stride, he picked up one of the still hot philly cheesesteak rolls and took a hefty bite. Waving his finger up and down in reference to the sandwich, he groaned.
''This is bomb,'' he told me and I smiled over my shoulder at him, flipping the egg, cheese, and breakfast sausage burrito I was currently toasting in my last clean pan. ''Why are you cooking at four am?''
''We have all this food, I figured I'd fill up some coolers for the road, save it all from going to waste,'' I explained with a shrug.
''Can I have some?'' he asked and I nodded to the second cooler on the counter.
''That's the plan,'' I told him and he beamed, going to divide up the remainder of the rolls between the two coolers. ''What are you doing up?''
''I get maybe four hours, anything longer than that and my body panics,'' he told me nonchalantly. Finishing up my last breakfast burrito, I packaged it and added it to the stack. Carrying them over to him, Dean helped without needing to be told, dividing them up between the two coolers.
While still happily munching away, he made his way over to the table to go through the cases Lex had found, deciding on helping pick one for our first hunt together. I, however, made myself busy tackling the mess I'd created, lest we come back one day to a mouldy kitchen sink filled with rusty dishes. He was done by the time I moved to cleaning the inside of the fridge, and wrapped his arms around my waist, sticking his head in the crook of my neck and practically preventing me from continuing doing my task.
''While we're both awake, why don't you and I go upstairs? It'll probably be the last time we see each other for a while, plus, it might tire you out, get you some sleep for the road,'' he suggested and I leaned back into his chest, considering his mostly selfish offer.
As much as I enjoyed having sex with Dean, I did worry somewhere in the back of my mind the more we did it, the more likely we drew the risk of one of us getting attached. That wasn't what this was supposed to be, it was just friends scratching each other's itches. But that was the rational, careful part of my mind I so desperately wanted to erase. I never got the chance to be young, I was busy being a mother. Perhaps it was time to fulfil my youth, be reckless for a change. Playing it safe had never paid off before. An idea sprung forth in my mind, to hell with playing it safe, I had things I'd never done, things I wanted to try. Dean was all but a sexual deviant, there were probably a lot of things he'd be happy to let me experiment with.
''How much time do you think we have?'' I asked and he smirked into the skin of my neck, peppering a few kisses in that spot. His hips moved behind me, grinding into my ass and I felt a little more solid in my decision to use Dean as an opportunity to try out what had popped into my head.
''Have something long in mind?'' he asked and I glanced back over my shoulder at him, giving him my best sultry look. He bit his lip, practically groaning despite his brother being asleep just a room away, open plan at that.
''I want you to fuck me in the ass,'' I said and he almost choked.
''I didn't think you were that kind of girl,'' he said, still startled. I shrugged. One of his hands came down from my waist gripping my thigh and sliding it up to rub my cheek through my jeans.
''I'm not, but I wanna try it. And if I don't like it, I never have to see you again. Now seems like the perfect opportunity,'' I answered honestly and he shrugged, agreeing fairly easily, and taking my hand to lead me up the stairs without any further questions. He stopped briefly by the linen closet to grab a dark coloured towel, but then it was straight to the bedroom.
''I need lube,'' he told me, pushing me onto the bed with a bounce. He loomed over the top of me menacingly, and I bit my lip to contain the excitement. ''Spit is not enough, believe me, especially if it's your first time. If you don't got any, there's some in my bag.''
''I got some,'' I told him, pushing up on my palms to pull open the top drawer of my bedside dresser to reveal the hall of favourites. He glanced down, smirking slightly before he looked back at me.
''I had you pinned for a good girl, I'm sorry,'' he said, sounding very insincere in his apology. ''I'll never assume anything about you ever again. You just keep surprising me.''
''I got pregnant at twelve and you thought I was a good girl?''' I said with a scoff, picking up one of the bottles to doubt check this wasn't one of the ones that ate through condoms. ''If you're going to fuck more than my ass, you gotta switch condoms between holes.''
''Katie, I don't assume anything about you, the least you could do is grant me the same courtesy,'' he said, reaching into the drawer and pulling out a different bottle. Handing it to me, he tapped the label. ''You want this one, it's the safest. And I'm not an idiot, I know more about women than you give me credit for, at least where their bodies are concerned. I spend enough time in them.''
''Still, there's plenty of guys out there that do the same, and they haven't learned a damn thing,'' I said and he scoffed, shaking his head.
''You need to keep better company, you're surrounded by lowlifes,'' he told me and grabbed my legs, pulling my socks off my feet and tossing them in the corner of the room. ''You got a position in mind?''
''Uh…hmm..'' I said, pausing. While I was no fool, I knew doggy wasn't my only option, I'd been content just to let him pick. Thinking on it a little harder, I realised my demon had shown up rather a lot the last few days, and while I knew I was safe locked up in here, I didn't really wanna recreate any of the positions he'd had me in. Not when things were so fresh. We'd ruled out oral, and vaginal fingering, I also wanted to veto any position I'd have my back to Dean. ''I don't want you behind me. I mean, I get it, I do, I just don't wanna not be able to see it's you.''
''Easy done,'' he said, unfastening the buttons on my jeans and yanking them down my legs. Rolling my eyes at his eagerness, I slid my overshirt off my shoulders and pulled my t-shirt off by the hemline. He stared up appreciatively at the sight of me in my underwear, as if he hadn't already seen me naked not a few hours earlier, and several times before.
Throwing off his own overshirt, and tee, he dropped down between my legs, his knees hitting the bed and bouncing us slightly with his bodyweight. He delved down for a kiss, tongue slipping in easily to my mouth. His freshly shaved face was soft against mine, plush lips softer still as he kissed me with a gentle deepness. His hands roamed the expanse of my body, fingertips alternating between trailing softly and gripping, groping the area and giving it a squeeze. Easily, he slid his hand between my shoulders and flicked the clasp open, join failing and falling to the side. Bringing his hand between us, he tugged it off and tossed it somewhere behind him.
Down to nakedness, Dean was busy using my panties as a slingshot, sending them flying across the room, never to be seen again. Lifting my knees up to my chest, I spread them wide, waiting for the inevitable answer to one of life's great questions. Is anal for me? With an exaggerated squeezing noise, Dean held the bottle of lube upside down over my ass, drops of thick goop dolloping onto my asshole, making me jerk slightly when the cold liquid made contact. He gave my cheek a slap with his free hand.
''Easy, it'll be alright,'' he assured me. Smearing the lube all over the area to make sure I was well and truly covered, he traced the area with his middle finger, glancing up to check my face one more time before he set to work. ''I'm not the kind of guy you can't tell what you want, if you change your mind or you don't like it, just tell me. But relax, I'm also not the kind of guy who can't give you a good time. Just call me Dr Feelgood.''
''Mötley Crüe, really?'' I scoffed and he smirked, sliding his finger inside me. Tilting my head back, I tried to relax at the foreign feeling in my ass. It wasn't bad exactly, but it did feel like I was doing something I wasn't supposed to. But maybe that was part of the appeal.
''Hey, you got the reference,'' he said with a shrug, pulling his hand back and finger out. He slowly slid it back and forth inside me, working up the rhythm and tempo until I was almost rocking with him.
Giving me another finger, he worked on playing with my ass, working me up to take his admittedly much larger appendage. Beginning to scissor his fingers, I gave a soft moan. It wasn't discomfort, I knew that much, but it wasn't pleasure either. Perhaps it was due to it being his fingers inside me, rather than his cock. He noticed this, however, and moved his mouth to the inside of my thigh, littering it with soft kisses. At least if there was anybody I could be trying this with, I'd picked the right dude. I knew first hand how receptive he was to my wants and wishes in these sorts of situations.
After the third finger worked its way in and out of me, Dean pulled them out, grabbing the lube bottle and reapplying it all over my ass. While it was cold in comparison to the stuff that had been sitting on me for quite some time, what was left acted as a barrier and I didn't jump nearly as much this time. Ditching his briefs, he traded them in for a condom over his already up and to attention stiffy. He lubed up the condom as well, and then wiped his hand clean on the dark towel I'd taken up residence on. Thrusting forwards into me, he rested still on me, chest to chest. Which was good, because as soon as he'd buried himself to the hilt, I let out a little cry. Giving me a moment, he grabbed hold of both my thighs, strong and calloused fingers from years of gunwork and grave digging, and used them to help pull himself out. Thrusting back and forth slowly, bottoming out completely and shoving hips back forwards, he was surprisingly gentle in his pace. Leaning forwards over myself and my upright knees, he pressed a chaste kiss to my forehead, telling me wordlessly that it was alright.
''I'm ready, you can go harder if you want,'' I told him and he scoffed, shaking his head.
''Oh no I can't,'' he told me, amusement in his voice. ''Sweetheart, it's cute an' all you think you're ready, but it's your first time at this. I'm going slow and wet. You want the rough stuff, you'll just have to wait until I'm fucking that pretty little pussy of yours.''
''I thought of anyone, you'd relish in tearing me a new one,'' I muttered and he laughed, pulling back and thrusting in at the same, gentle, measured pace he had before. It was a little insulting, but he was right, I didn't actually want him to tear anything. Rolling my eyes, I slid a hand between us and started teasing my clit, circling the bud with my middle finger.
It turned out to be the added stimulation I needed and my body started to grow hot, sweat forming on my once freshly showered skin. Moaning softly - quiet so as not to wake the house's other occupants - I threw my head back even further, arching my back a little despite the pressure of my thighs against my stomach. Straining to stifle another groan, I heard Dean failing to do the same above me as I clenched hard, cumming in full force. He grinned proudly down on me and gave my ass a slap for a job well done. He pulled out, ditching his condom in the wastepaper basket before he produced another from my drawer and slid it on.
''Well, was it everything you expected?'' he asked and I shrugged. His prideful look faltered for a moment, and I felt kinda bad he thought it was something to do with him.
''It was okay, I don't wanna rag on you, it's nothing you did. It's just, until I started playing with my clit, it was kinda boring and anticlimactic. Like, I know you can't believe everything you see in porn, it's porn for god's sake, but I just thought it would feel… I don't know, more intense,'' I explained and he nodded.
''It's different for everyone, some don't care for it at all, but it was good though, right? Even if it didn't pan out like you thought it would?'' he asked and I nodded.
''Now, I believe we have something to finish,'' I said and he chuckled happily, thrusting into my pussy with a lot more force and vigour than he had in my ass. Crying out instantly, I threw my hand up over my mouth, horrified at how vocal I was being in the moment.
With my knees no longer needing to be as up and out of the way, I shifted positions so I had each of my legs tightly locked around Dean's back. My heels dug into his shoulder blades, and he showed no signs of protest, or even discomfort as I did. My hands slipped up to his neck, fingernails digging into the tender flesh. He didn't seem to mind that either, nor did he care when I dragged them down his back and shoulders. Dean hissed as I did, slipping up slightly and thrusting in much harder than he clearly intended and I moaned high pitched and pathetically.
''You liked that, didn't you?'' He said, almost enamoured. ''Fuck, sofuckinghot.''
''Dean,'' I asked and he looked down at my admittedly quite contorted face. ''do it again,''
''You got it,'' he said with an easy smile, continuing to pound with that amount of force. Even when he'd been quote unquote rough with me in the past, he'd never gone this far. And that was fine, it was good sex, but I liked being treated like I wasn't made of glass. It was the pick me up I needed and he was fully okay with giving it to me. God, I was so close to cumming again, and he didn't even know it. Biting desperately at my lip, I tried not to let out the cry that had been steadily building within me alongside my budding orgasm.
''You know, I said I'd stop assuming things about you but I guess I fucked up,'' he said and I glanced up wantonly at him. He brought the hand not currently being used to prop him above me up to my face, gripping my jaw and throat roughly. Sure, not hard enough to leave a mark, but hard enough I stayed put and did as directed. ''You like that, don't cha? Not that much of a good girl, are ya? You're just as bad as me, sweetheart, aren't you?''
''Fuck, Dean!'' I cried out, feeling my orgasm exploding within me before it erupted out of me in the form of hot and sticky squirt. He groaned when I did, thrusts a lot closer together and faster before he also came, releasing into his second condom. He collapsed on top of me for a second and I relaxed into both the sheets and the towel beneath me.
''You reckon you'll get some sleep now?'' he asked and I nodded quite quickly. ''Good, can't have you getting into a car wreck because you've been busy playing housewife downstairs.''
Part of me was a little offended at his description, but the other part of me was too tired to care, so I shifted my hips instead, feeling him fall flaccid out of me. Scooting back on the towel, I found a free corner and gave myself a wipe off before I settled under the blankets. He tossed the towel to the floor, and climbed back in beside me, laying on his stomach and instantly falling back asleep after removing the condom. Scooting slightly back towards him, I tucked myself under his arm and drifted off in the cool, early morning sun.
It was after ten when I woke up, and he was gone. I guess I couldn't expect much, but a goodbye would have been nice. Sure, this was no feelings sex, but he was my friend first. A goodbye wouldn't have cost anything. Lex was up and packed when I made it downstairs washed, dressed, and carrying the last load of laundry I'd do in this house. He was hopping around from foot to foot with excitement about his first case, hovering around me while he waited for me to finish up with the house.
Picking up the case files off the table, I tossed Lex the keys so he could finish up loading when I noticed the guardianship forms on the table. They were sitting open to the page with the signatures and I smiled softly at the sight of both Dean and Sam's names on the dotted lines. Admittedly, this kind of made up for the lack of goodbye. At some point on our journey, I'd need to find a spot to file this before something tragic happened to them. Tragedy seemed to run deep in this family, and I wouldn't let Lex go without one should it strike me down too.
Sam POV
Dean was busy grinning flirtatiously at our waitress - Wendy - whom he likely didn't remember the name of, when I sat back down beside him. He was eying her up like a piece of meat, which ordinarily didn't bother me much, it was usual for Dean, I couldn't help but think of Katie. They were both obviously more than just friends, any idiot could see the way they acted around each other, and they were the idiots if they thought they were fooling anyone with their act. Rolling my eyes, at his behaviour, I waved Wendy off.
''Just the check, please,'' I answered her and she looked a little annoyed, but agreed and went on her way. Dean slumped forwards with a sigh before he sat back up and looked at me with distaste.
''You know, Sam, we are allowed to have fun once in a while,'' he told me, turning to point at our blonde and perky waitress who was walking away in search of our bill. He pointed to her jean shorts with his pen. ''That's fun.'' I shot him a glare.
''And so what, a couple of months go by and you've already forgotten about Katie?'' I scoffed, and he spluttered, shaking his head at me.
''Wha-Katie? What does this have to do with Katie?'' he asked, sounding legitimately confused. Groaning, I put my elbows on the counter, resting my head in my hands for a moment. Were the two really so dense?
''Oh come on, can you honestly not admit the two of you are clearly more than friends?'' I said and he blinked at me. There it was, that legitimate, honest confusion again. He really didn't seem to know he'd gone and gotten himself a girlfriend.
''Katie and I are just friends. Since when do you care? You didn't even want her to come on that first hunt,'' he pointed out and I rolled my eyes. While I'd been confused as to why he'd seemingly brought a booty call along with him on our quest to find Dad, I didn't dislike Katie. For the most part she was funny, yet responsible. She was certainly the kick in the pants Dean needed, even if he couldn't see it himself, and she knew how to muscle through tight spots.
''Dean, she's willing to make you legal guardian of her son. She at least sees you as something more,'' I pointed out and he screwed up his face, shaking his stupid, fat head again. This idiot.
''She sees me as someone she can trust. A friend,'' he corrected and I sighed again.
How could my brother be so good at getting what he wanted from people, yet so dense when it came to their feelings? I thought when he'd had me witness that paperwork before we'd left that he'd decided where they stood, I mean, they slept in the same bed that night, and by the sounds they were making I knew fine it wasn't platonically. Dean had always had a thing for blondes, Katie fit his type to the T with the exception of the kid riding with her, but he liked Alex, and he seemed to really like Dean.
He handed me the newspaper he was going through, he'd circled an obituary. It read her surname, Carlton, and then her first, Sophie. Along with the usual death report, spruced up so that nobody got described as an asshole, and wiped clean most of the important details. 'The Carlton family is sad to announce the death of their beloved daughter in a tragic swimming accident. Sophie Carlton, 18, was having her…' so far this didn't sound like our kind of thing. Yes, her death was tragic and sad, but we weren't lifeguards or from the wildlife department, if someone drowns, it wasn't our problem.
''Now, here, take a look at this,'' he said, tapping animatedly on the paper with his pen. ''I think I got one. Lake Manitoc, Wisconsin. Last week Sophie Carlton, eighteen, walks into the lake, doesn't walk out. Authorities dragged the water… nothing. Sophie Carlton is the third Lake Manitoc drowning this year. None of the other bodies were found either. They had a funeral two days ago.''
''A funeral?'' I asked in surprise, glancing up at him to catch his single nod.
''Yeah, it's weird. They buried an empty coffin. For uh.. closure or whatever,'' Dean explained and I scoffed.
''Closure, what closure? People don't just disappear, Dean. Other people just stop looking for them,'' I said irritatedly.
Dean shifted, looking at me expectantly. I could feel my anger start to rise within me, we'd been looking for a while and we'd brought up nothing on the Dad front. Although admittedly, part of my irritation that stemmed from Dean was also that he clearly had a damn good thing in front of him and he was throwing it all away. If Jessica was still here, I'd've never have left California, I couldn't have that. Dean had every choice, he had a girl he clearly liked, one that was perfect for him and he was eying up other girls.
''Something you want to say to me?'' he demanded, cutting straight to the chase.
''The trail for Dad,'' I sighed. ''It's getting colder every day.''
''Exactly, so what are we supposed to do?'' Dean pointed out and I threw my hands out in front of me. He was acting exactly as I was expecting him to, he didn't care. He didn't care about Dad, or Katie, or anything. He just didn't care.
''I don't know,'' I replied frustratedly, shaking my head from side to side as I did. ''something, anything.''
''You know what?'' Dean said, clearly as frustrated with me as I was with him. But at least my annoyance was justified. ''I'm sick of this attitude. First Katie, and now this? You don't think I wanna find Dad as much as you do?''
''Yeah, I know you do, it's just…'' I said, trying to be diplomatic and hear him out, but I really didn't think he did care as much as he said he did. He wasn't doing anything, it was like he'd come to get me solely so he'd have a partner on the road.
''It's like you just wanna fight. I'm the one that's been with him every single hunt for the past four years, while you've been off to college going to pep rallies. We will find Dad, but until then, we're gonna kill everything bad between here and there. Okay?'' he said firmly, leaving little room for argument. He was acting like he did when we were kids, like he was the bossy older brother he'd always been. It was crazy how quickly he'd slipped back into doling out the orders. I rolled my eyes, just as he was about to say something else, Wendy walked by again, gaining Dean's full attention as he leered over her body.
''All right, Lake Manitoc,'' I said in defeat. When I realised he was still watching her, I tried again a little louder. ''Hey!''
''Huh?'' he asked, finally returning his attention back to this case he seemed so fired up about.
''How far?'' I asked and he grinned at me, pulling out the paper map. ''Alright, you get the car started, I gotta go to the men's room.''
''What? You just went,'' Dean said and I brushed him off. There was something I had to do first before we hit the road.
''Yeah uh, something at breakfast didn't agree with me,'' I said and pushed off my stool, heading to the bathroom.
Once there, I peered around the bathroom door and out into the restaurant making sure Dean was out of earshot. Dialling the number I'd copied from Dean's cell before we left Katie's, I held the phone up to my ear and closed the door. It rang a few times, nearly ringing out before someone finally picked up and I sighed internally as I realised it was Lex who'd answered. He had a mouthful of food and was talking through it as he answered.
''Can you put Katie on?'' I asked and he grunted before I heard rustling and the sound of a few items being juggled.
''Hey, Sam, what's up?'' Katie said through the phone, sounding cheery, if a little out of breath.
''Katie, hi, listen, where are you right now?'' I asked and she paused before answering. I poked my head out of the restroom door again, checking for Dean. He wasn't in the restaurant anymore, that was good.
''Wisconsin, why?'' she asked, sounding a little confused.
''Perfect,'' I beamed. This would work nicely, she was already there. In a few hours, she could be with us. ''Listen, Dean and I are about to go to a job there, Lake Manitoc.''
''And you two need our help? I read about the drownings in the paper, looks like our kind of thing but…'' she said, trailing off. ''You know Lex has done only one hunt…''
''Hey! I can help! Don't let them pass off a perfectly good case to some other bozos,'' Lex yelled in the background. Katie groaned in frustration.
''Go wait in the car,'' she hissed, shooing him off. I smiled at that, thinking of all the inopportune moments I'd interrupted Dean over the years, although usually it was on purpose to prevent him from scoring.
''I know, he's still fresh meat, but what better opportunity than to do something like this with three other experienced hunters to watch his six,'' I suggested. I felt a little bad about using Lex as bait to get Katie down here, but she really needed to see what was going on with her own eyes.
''True, alright, I'll meet you guys there. I'll give Dean a call when we get there,'' she said and I jolted upwards at the mention of my brother.
''NO!'' I yelled before I realised I was yelling at a woman down the phone in a public restroom for no good reason. ''Uh, ah… no actually could you call me. Dean's uh…'' I trailed off awkwardly.
''Sam, is there something going on that you wanna tell me?'' she said knowingly, a smile sounding in her voice.
''N-no, uh, why would you think that?'' I replied, feeling like a misbehaving little boy again. How the hell did she do that? I was twenty two!
''Because I have a teenage boy at home. Look, I'll find out eventually, whatever it is, so you'd better just tell me,'' she said and I stood there in silence. She waited a few moments before she laughed, sounding like she was shrugging the whole thing off. ''Alright, well, I'll call you when I get there. But I will find out.''
''Sure, sure, I gotta go,'' I said, knowing fine there was only so long I could hang out in here before Dean would come to investigate my pretend digestive distress.
Dean POV
Sheriff Devins walked around the counter, moving to lift the small latch on the wooden door preventing us from passing the counter into the bullpen. He let the two of us in and we followed the few steps past the other desks towards his office.
''Now, I'm sorry, but why does the Wildlife Service care about an accidental drowning?'' he asked, as we walked and talked. Sam cocked his head to the side, eying him knowingly.
''You sure it's accidental? Will Carlton saw something grab his sister,'' Sam said and the Sheriff glanced back at him in disbelief and annoyance as he entered his office with a slight turn.
''Like what?'' Devins asked. ''Here, sit, please,'' he gestured to the two chairs across from his desk before he moved around said desk to take his own seat. ''There are no indigenous carnivores in that lake. There's nothing even big enough to pull down a person, unless it was the Loch Ness Monster.''
''Yeah,'' I said with a small laugh as I sat down. ''Right.'' Sam shot me a warning glance and I wanted to roll my eyes but couldn't due to the case. He was really beginning to ride my nerves. Maybe bringing him back in on this wasn't such a good idea after all. He was all bitchy teenage attitude all over again. Shouldn't he have grown out of this by now?
''Will Carlton was traumatised, and sometimes the mind plays tricks. Still…'' Devins said, putting his hands together over the desk as he spoke. ''We dragged that entire lake. We even ran a sonar sweep, just to be sure, and there was nothing down there.''
''That's weird, though,'' I said, leaning forwards. ''I mean, that's, that's the third missing body this year.'' He didn't look pleased I'd pointed that out.
''I know. These are people from my town. These are people I care about,'' he justified.
''I know,'' I assured him, trying to appear friendly and understanding. The problem with these small town police, any police really, is that they had no idea what they were really up against, and tended to resist the most when confronted with the actual evidence.
''Anyway…'' Devins sighed, throwing his hands out as he sat straighter upward, leaning back in his chair. He shook his head defeatedly as he spoke, he was a tired, broken man. All the better to leave this kind of thing to us. ''All this...it won't be a problem much longer.''
''What do you mean?'' I asked, and he cocked his head to the side.
''Well, the dam, of course,'' he said as if it was obvious. Panicking and trying to cover for my mistake, I ran through my mind of all the possible things that could be happening with the local dam. Were they constructing one? No, I'd seen it when we drove in. It's… It's… leaking! Of course.
''Of course, the dam,'' I said, nodding and leaning back in my own chair. ''It's, uh,'' I glanced at Sam who nodded in feigned agreement. ''it sprung a leak,'' I said and Devins looked like I'd barely hit the nail on the head.
''It's falling apart,'' he said firmly. I nodded finally in understanding. The dam falls apart, the lake stops being a lake, no more drowning, no more lake monster. ''and the feds won't give us the grant to repair it, so they've opened the spillway. In another six months, there won't be much of a lake,'' my eyes narrowed in concern at what that could mean for what we were hunting. ''There won't be much of a town, either. But as Federal Wildlife, you already knew that.''
''Exactly,'' I confirmed. There was a tap on the door and someone walked in behind Sam and I. Glancing behind me I was confronted with the sweet face of a hot chick, and instantly sat up a little straighter. Well, this hunt might be a pain in the ass, but at least I could have some fun along the way.
''Sorry, am I interrupting?'' she said and Sam and I both stood on ceremony. ''I can come back later.''
''Gentlemen,'' Devins said, standing as well, although not quite as fast. ''this is my daughter.'' Stepping forwards almost instantly, I turned on the charm. Putting my hand forwards, I knew I'd have her eating out of it in a matter of minutes.
''It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Dean,'' I introduced and she shook my hand with a firm grip.
''Andrea Barr. Hi,'' she returned, pleasant and warm.
''Hi,'' I said.
''They're from the Wildlife Service,'' Devins said and I turned my head, slightly annoyed at the interruption but trying not to show it. ''About the lake.'' Turning my head back, I watched her face shift from polite, welcoming warmth to a forlorn look of concern.
''Oh,'' she said. Poking his head out from behind her, a little boy with red hair came into view. Seeing this as my moment, I greeted him instantly, appearing friendly, kind.
''Oh, hey there. What's your name?'' I asked and he turned on his heel, ducking his head walking away almost as quickly as he'd shown his face. Andrea, looked apologetic, but unsurprised as she followed him. Glancing at Sammy with an eyebrow slightly raised, I wondered how the hell that could go so badly, and what his deal was. Something was clearly wrong.
''His name is Lucas,'' Devins said softly. Watching Andrea hand him some crayons just outside the room, I held some concern on my face as I turned to check out Devins, looking for some sort of explanation.
''Is he okay?'' Sam asked empathetically.
''My grandson's been through a lot,'' Devins replied, nodding breathlessly. ''We all have.'' He headed for the office door, signalling it was out time to leave. We hadn't got much out fo the guy anyway, except for the fact the lake was about to go bye bye. ''Well, if there's anything else I can do for you, please let me know.''
''Thanks,'' he said, giving me a clap on the shoulder as we headed through the doorway. Looking back at him, I figured I may as well set up shop for the night. Glancing at Andrea who'd stood up straight, ready to say her goodbyes to us. ''You know, now that you mentioned it, could you point us in the direction of a reasonably priced motel?''
''Lakefront Motel,'' she said, smiling softly. ''Go around the corner. It's about two blocks south.''
''Two..'' I said, pointing to the side. Pausing, I glanced at her, trying my best to look clueless. ''Would you mind showing us?'' She laughed, her voice was warm, optimistic, but I did notice it didn't send bells singing in my head like Katie's did. But I couldn't dare give thoughts like that the time of day or Sam would be back up on his high horse.
''You want me to walk you two blocks?'' Andrea said, still slightly laughing but doing that swaying thing girls did when they were receptive to my flirting. Well, most girls, Katie usually just stuck to laughing in my face, held herself with a sort of suave confidence that was usually reserved to the guys in that situation.
''Not if it's any trouble,'' I said, maintaining my smooth, yet gentle flirting. Don't go too hard, you'll scare them away. Girls, especially single mothers, needed a gentle approach, a light hand to lead them towards you. She relented, wide smile slowly slipping from her face.
''I'm headed that way anyway,'' she said before turning to her father. ''I'll be back to pick up Lucas at three.'' She bent down by her son, putting both her hands on his small shoulders. ''We'll go to the park, okay, sweetie?'' She kissed him on the head, and I waved as the three of us moved to leave. Devins nodded at us and Sam offered him a professional smile.
''Thanks again,'' Sam said, the last of us out the door of the station.
Andrea kept a fast pace as she marched us around the street corner and down the block towards the motel. While it did mean I had to pick up the pace a little to seal the deal, it didn't scare me even a little. I was Dean friggin Winchester, I'd have her in hand easily. She was in front of us, so my first move was to quicken my pace for a few steps to end up by her side as I spoke.
''So, cute kid,'' I said and she smiled as we crossed the street, ending the first block.
''Thanks,'' she said. She seemed receptive to that line of conversation, so I tried to keep the conversation running that way.
''Kids are the best, huh?'' I said, she narrowed her eyes at me. Okay, so that one didn't land. I noticed she smirked a little, as we approached the motel and we came to a stop at the clerk's office. There were a few cars parked around, but I kept up on my main pursuit, getting laid.
''There it is. Like I said, two blocks,'' she told us, turning to me, eyes squinting slightly in the bright afternoon sun.
''Thanks,'' Sam said, remaining friendly, though I noticed she didn't turn back over her shoulder to acknowledge him, her gaze was solely on me.
''Must be hard, with your sense of direction,'' she said and I leaned to the side a little, smiling as she continued. ''never being able to find your way to a decent pickup line.'' She pushed off the road then, quickly walking away from the two of us. Brow furrowing, eyebrows raised, I wondered where exactly I went wrong. Dean Winchester, striking out? ''Enjoy your stay!'' she called over her shoulder. Sam smirked slightly, amused smile on his face.
''"Kids are the best"? You don't even like kids,'' he pointed out and I glared at him.
''I love kids,'' I protested. Kids, kids were easy. Give them food, toys, throw on some cartoons, done.
''Name three children that you even know,'' he said in disbelief. Pulling my hand out of my pocket to start listing them, I recalled, he was right. I didn't know any children. Sam waved me off, turning to walk into the motel as I scratched my head.
''I'm thinking!'' I said, still unwilling to admit defeat.