Kiamichi Refuge Read Free

to shoot at an early age, right along with how to clean her weapons and handle them safely. She decided that she would get into the habit of never going outside unarmed. There were bobcats, bears, and mountain lions in the region, and since the area was known for suspected ties to drug smuggling, she planned to carry a gun when she went into Kanichi Springs, too, just to be on the safe side.
    After she unpacked her suitcases and put her clothes and shoes away in one of the downstairs bedrooms, Erin sat at the kitchen table and started a list of things to pick up in town. She hadn’t done much cooking in Tulsa, since there were so many places to eat and always friends who wanted to get together. But here, she knew, driving into town to eat every day would be impractical, and she was actually a pretty good cook, so groceries were a priority.
    The theme music from Star Wars made her jump. She grabbed her phone out of her pocket and grinning, answered. “Hi, Jen! I’m here, I’m safe, and I can’t wait to show you the lodge!”
    Jennifer Martin, an old high school pal, was coming down for a visit in a few days.  The petite blonde sold cars at a large dealership in Tulsa, and had been Erin’s closest friend for years, ever since they sat together at a pep rally in ninth grade.
    “Great. I’m glad you had a good trip. Hey, Valerie is taking a day off on Friday, and there’s no school, so she and Sarah are both coming, too. Do you have room for all of us? It’ll be like the sleepovers we used to have.”
    “Sure, there’s plenty of room.  I can’t wait!”
    The two friends chatted for a while, making plans for Erin to meet them in town. “This place is hard to find if you’ve never been here before. I’ll have to guide you in. It’s impossible to give good directions with so few landmarks, so I’ll meet you, then you can follow me to the lodge.  Just call me when you see the Kanichi Springs exit off the turnpike. You’ll turn left at the stop sign, then stay on that road for about 25 miles. There’s a grocery store on the highway, just as you come into town. We’ll meet there in the parking lot.”
    “We’re going to be in Sarah’s SUV. From your description of the lodge, we’ll need a vehicle that has a higher clearance than my car for the dirt roads out there.” Jen chuckled. “When you decide to rough it, you go all out!”
    ***
     
    Erin spent the next few days getting settled in. She swept the floors and dusted, then put fresh sheets on three of the bunks, making certain that her new home was ready for guests, and each evening, she worked on her uncle’s book.
    The four friends met at the grocery store as planned, and as they climbed out of their vehicle at the lodge, the three newcomers stared open-mouthed at the view.  They turned, looking around, astounded by the lodge and the green forest that surrounded them.
    Sarah Logan, a tall, slender, red-haired science teacher, was enthralled by the landscape, which looked like a lime-colored quilt draped over the mountains. “Oh, I wish I could bring my botany class here for a nature study,” she sighed. “But we just found out that due to budget cuts, we can’t do any more field trips at all this year.”
    “It’s a pretty place, I guess, but what about snakes and mosquitos? The outdoors just has too many things that bite.” Valerie Davis dusted imaginary dirt off her designer jeans, and sniffed. “I can already tell that this is not good on my allergies.”
    Jennifer twirled around, arms outspread, and grinned. “I love this! It’s such a relief to get away from the dealership and the pressure to sell more cars. Valerie, you can just keep your little bubble butt inside if you want. I’m going to enjoy all of this that I can. It’s so beautiful, it almost hurts.”
    “And the lodge!” Sarah stepped back to take it all in. “It’s way bigger than I imagined. It looks like it almost grew out of the mountain, nestled here on this flat