Unknown: An Animal Heat

"It's lovely…absolutely lovely!" exclaimed the beautiful, blonde Kitty as she walked into the cabin through the closed half of the Dutch door. "I've never seen anything like it. I never would have dreamed that there could be so much beauty in nature."

Her sister, Janet, darker and somewhat taller, though no less lovely for her being five years older, turned away from her cutting board in the small kitchen and smiled. "I thought you might like it. And judging from the fact that you've only been out for an hour, I can tell that you've only seen a small part of it."

Suddenly Janet's huge German shepherd bounded into the kitchen from another part of the cabin, his tail wagging in expression of his happiness to see his new friend.

"Oh, Duke," Kitty said, bending down to pet his great head, "you should have come with me. There were a lot of rabbits I know you would have liked to chase."

"So you like my little area here, do you?" Janet said as she ceased her preparation of dinner and dried her wet hands on a towel. Her hair was a little darker than her twenty-eight year old sister's, and she wore it in a stylish cut, unlike Kitty, who preferred to let her long golden hair fall loosely to her waist. "And you're right about Duke. He probably should have gone with you. He likes running around in the woods. Give him time, though. He's only known you for a day."

"I'll bet he's quite a companion out here for you," the shapely younger sister said as she continued to stroke the happy-looking dog behind the ears.

"Yes, I don't know how I would get along without him," Janet said, adding her own caressing hand to the powerful animal's muscular flanks.

"Did you see the small waterfall in the stream?"

"Yes, I did," Kitty answered. "In fact, I spent most of my time there.

It's very peaceful and relaxing."

Janet smiled. "You know, if you want, you can stay here for longer than a week. I hope you didn't think my invitation was limited."

"I don't know," said Kitty, her voice indicating that she was being tempted to stay forever. "A week was all I could get off. There were times today, though, when I thought I would never want to return to St.

Louis."

"Don't worry, honey," Janet reassured her. "I'm sure that after a week here, you'll be able to make a decision. And it will be one you can stick with."

"I hope so, Jan," Kitty said thoughtfully. "It's just so…so enchanting out in the woods there. To think that I might leave it to sit behind a desk and be a secretary all day, five days a week…

Sometimes it makes me sick."

Janet smiled a knowing smile. She could understand what her curvaceous sister was telling her. Her own husband of six years had literally killed himself working under the pressure of the city. He had often promised himself that he would take it easy as soon as he got enough money. But he never thought he had enough, even though by many standards he was quite a wealthy man. His drive to become more successful than he was had killed him rather suddenly, and Janet decided then and there that she was not going to let the same thing happen to her. She had used his money, a rather substantial sum, to build this cabin in a remote section of New York State's Catskills.

When it was finished, she had invited her sister and her brother to her house warming, wanting to show off her "little" cabin in the woods. It was a sort of memorial to her late husband, a man she loved very much.

Even though she had pretty much gotten over his loss, she felt a stab of pain every time she realized that he would not be there to share in its peace and relaxation, truly a setting that would have saved his life had he the chance to enjoy it. Janet and her sister had always been close, even though Kitty had moved to St. Louis from New York City after a love affair that had almost destroyed her two years ago.

Now they were together once again, and they were acting like little children, each caught up in the happiness of seeing each other after their long separation. They had written letters to each other, and talked over the telephone many times, making promises that they would get together "someday," but the plans had never come to pass. When Janet had informed Kitty of her plans to build a small cabin in the woods, the younger girl made a definite effort to be with her sister during this time of need. Kitty had explained to her boss that she needed the vacation time, and would quit if he didn't give it to her.

She was determined that she was not going to let this opportunity pass her by as she had so many others.

And now she was here. She was glad that she had put her foot down with her boss. The late summer setting was charming in the rolling hills, and she was determined that she would start living each moment as though it were her last. She did not want the same thing happening to her that had happened to Janet's husband.

"Well," the young blonde said, standing up. "I think I'm going to take a bath. I hope you have hot running water out here in the wilderness," she added with a slight chuckle.

"We have everything out here," Janet answered, "including a separate bathroom. I wanted to get away from the rat-race of the city, not the comforts."

"I hope you're making a large supper," Kitty said. "Walking around in the forest can make you as hungry as it can dirty."

"Oh, go on now and enjoy your bath," Janet said, returning to her work at the cutting board. "You're my guest here, so don't worry about things like that. Supper will be ready by the time you finish."

Kitty didn't even try to hide her ear to ear grin. She had always liked her sister, and she could see that Janet wanted to make her feel as comfortable as possible. As she walked through the cabin, large as cabins went no matter what Janet said about her "little house in the woods," she noticed that Duke was following her. "You want to watch me get clean, big boy?" she said to the large dog.

"He wants to become friends with you," called Janet after her sister.

"He doesn't get to see many people out here, and he really likes being with them. I think it's the only thing he doesn't like about this place."

Closing the bathroom door, she turned on the hot water and let it fill the tub. As the steam rose, coating the mirror over the ornate modern sink, she kicked off her shoes and sat down on the small chair, feeling her tired muscles beginning to relax at the mere thought of getting in the hot tub. Duke came over to her and placed his huge head on her slack-covered right leg.

"Oh, you beautiful dog," she said, holding his head between her hands.

"You look like you can be so loyal…Janet is really lucky to have you. It's too bad you can't give me a massage. All that walking has really tightened up my muscles. You'd give me a massage if you could, wouldn't you, boy?"

The large, sleek-coated animal whined his answer up to her, his limpid brown eyes bright and happy with the affection he felt for his newfound friend. The soothing, calm sound of her voice let him know that he was in the presence of someone who liked him, and he began to think of her as another mistress. After all, Janet, his owner, had acted as though this new person was more than welcome. He had decided to do the same.

The shapely young woman smiled fondly down at the friendly dog. She could see the difference between him and the dogs she had known in the city. Where she was living, dogs were kept on leashes and rarely allowed to run free. They looked unhappy most of the time. But here, in the woods, Duke was allowed to do pretty much as he pleased, and it showed in his eyes. He acted as though he wanted to show his happiness for the woman who had made this possible for him, and Kitty knew that Janet had a loyal companion, even way out here in the woods.