Chapter 6
There were several Morgans listed in the telephone directory, but no Rod Morgan. There was, however, an R. Morgan who lived on Chateau Chalet Road. With mixed emotions, Sue dialed the number. The phone rang several times and then a foreign, possibly Spanish, female voice answered.
For a split second Sue thought about hanging up, but she had gone this far and it did seem ridiculous to visit Sun Valley and not pay her respects to a member of the family. "Pardon me," she said, "but is this the residence of Rod Morgan?"
"Yes." That was all the information volunteered by the heavily accented voice. "Is Mister Morgan there?"
"No."
"Do you expect him soon?"
"Who ees calleng puleez?"
"This is Sue Morgan Bigelow. Rod and I are cousins."
Only then did the faceless voice seem to relent. Compared to its earlier noncommittalness, it sounded positively friendly when the woman said, "Oh, si! A relative! Un momento, I tell Senora Morgan." There was a clatter as the telephone was laid down on the other end of the line, then footsteps fading away into the distance.
After a delay of almost a full minute, there was a click as an extension phone somewhere in the chalet was picked up and another female voice came on the line. "Sue? Sue Morgan?"
"Yes. Is this... Rod's wife?"
"No, you goose. It's Jejune. Where in hell are you?"
"Jejune! I'm at the Lodge. It's so great to hear your voice again after all these years."
The two cousins exchanged pleasantries for a few moments before Sue asked, "Are you staying with Rod?"
"My husband-my fifth, or is it my sixth husband; sometimes I loose track!-anyway, my husband and I are here for a couple of days. We leave for Mazatlan on Sunday. Rod's up on the slopes right now, and Donna is in the sauna, or she would have greeted you herself. Seems something's wrong with the bloody telephone in there-must be the heat. When will we see you?"
"Well... I really hadn't thought... "
"Don't be anti-social, darling! After all, we are relatives--all kissing cousins. Come up for cocktails and dinner; better yet, come up for lunch. Are you by yourself?"
"I'm married now." Sue didn't add that the wedding invitations to both Jejune and Rod had been returned with all sorts of exotic-looking postage marks and foreign notations on them- as undeliverable.
"Bring him along."
"Look, we don't want to intrude."
"Don't be ridick. Rod will be simply furious if you don't. And Donna will be hurt; you two have never met, have you? She's a dear! Besides," she gushed, "I want you to meet my husband, Kirk DeLapp; you probably remember reading his name in the sports section. He sponsors race cars at Indianapolis and places like that."
Sue really hadn't heard of him, but she hummed over the phone as if she were surprised.
Jejune continued animatedly, "Anyway, darling. Come on up. Right now! I'll have Manuel bring the station wagon down and pick you up."
"Right now?"
"Why not?"
"Well... John's up on the slopes." She didn't add that he had said he wouldn't be back for lunch, would probably eat up at the lift cafeteria rather than come back all the way to the Lodge. This arrangement had been made because Sue was enrolled in the beginner's ski school and was expected to lunch with her instructor the first day.
"Leave him a note. Do you ski?"
"I'm learning."
"Well, hell, then! Why not let Kirk-who was almost on the winter Olympics team once -and Rod teach you. Rod's a great skier. You couldn't have any better instructors, and I know they'd love to."
A sudden spark of excitement ignited in Sue; that sounded fabulous. It would be something to brag about when they got back... might even make that supercilious John, who thought he was such a great skier, a little envious. The words bubbled out of her throat, "Oh, Jejune! Do you really think...?"
Jejune's laughter cut her off, "Of course, darling. I'll send Manuel right away. He'll be in uniform and driving a blue and white Chrysler station wagon. It takes about ten minutes to reach the Lodge from the chalet here, so look for him. That is, if you can be ready then?"
Sue was waiting out front with her skis when she saw the station wagon turn off the main road and come toward the Lodge entrance. A uniformed man was driving it. He apparently didn't know exactly what she looked like, so Sue gave him a little wave. He grinned and the car swung over toward the overhang.
"Se¤orita Morgan?" he asked, all teeth and obviously pleased at making connections so easily.
Sue didn't bother to correct him with her married name; she merely nodded, and then waited as he took her skis and put them in the back of the wagon.
She tried to make conversation with him on the way up to the chalet, but there was a minor language difficulty. All she got out of him was that he and his wife acted as caretakers when the Morgans were gone, and as cook and chauffeur when Rod and his wife were at the chalet. The Spanish couple lived there all year round.
Finally, after driving about eight or nine minutes, Manuel swung the car around a steep snow bank and bent forward, with his chin above the steering wheel, to point toward a huge house atop the next hill. "That is Se¤or Morgan's," he said, proudly.
It looks like a post card picture from one of the European travel magazines, Sue thought with a gasp. She could see three figures on lounge chairs out on the sun balcony. One of them, a woman-it looked like Jejune-waved.
A moment later, the car stopped in front of the house. Manuel had come around to open the door for her when the front door of the chalet opened and a tall male, dressed in white polo shirt and black ski pants, came out into the sunlight.
And it was then that Sue realized she probably had made a mistake, after all.
"Rod," her lips formed the word, but she was -in effect--speechless because the moment she looked at him and saw the way he was staring in appreciation at her, she knew he was thinking the exact same thing she was... and was remembering the mutual giving of their bodies that night eight years ago.
Wordlessly, he assisted her from the car, put his arms around her, and then, without preamble, French-kissed her with an ardor that brought the blood pounding to her face, breasts, abdomen, and pussy. Without volition, she found herself responding and the kiss was broken only by the sound of Jejune's laughter behind them. "All right, you two. Plenty of time for that."
Rod held her at arms length, critically inspecting her figure. "I knew you were going to be great someday, but I never realized... "
Jejune looked positively ravishing and seemed to radiate a youthfulness that belied her almost 40 years. Her violet eyes glowing with a sensual heat, she stepped up, embraced Sue, and kissed her on the lips.- It was exactly the same kind of kiss that had so bothered Sue when she was only twelve; there was a difference this time... Sue could feel the sheet lightning of wicked wantonness shoot through her loins. She knew now, for sure, what Jejune was-and somehow the dark thought excited her.
The three cousins stepped back from each other, then smiled in some secret understanding.
And, abruptly, Sue knew instinctively that she would never leave this chalet the same way she had entered it... relatively innocent. She would leave with a new knowledge of herself -whether it be good or bad. A caterpillar of fear slowly crawled up her spine. Maybe this thing she was going to learn about herself, her body, and her desires was something she didn't want to know. It would be better to turn around now, even if it meant insulting her family, go back to the Lodge, and forget all about her kissing cousins. But even as the thought crossed her mind, she knew it was already too late.
It had been too late ever since the moment last night when, in her mind, Rod had fucked her while husband John was making love to her.
And, as far as that was concerned, perhaps it had been too late since long, long before that event even... perhaps since she was twelve.
She did not resist as Jejune and Rod both put their arms around her and led her out of the open sunlight into the luxurious dimness of the chalet.