"Love in the Great Pine Woods" by Gratiana Lovelace (2015-2016) (Completed)

Ch. 43 (PG-13, D): When Babies and Bears Collide

"Love in the Great Pine Woods", Ch. 43 (PG-13, D): When Babies and Bears Collide, July 05, 2016 by Gratiana Lovelace (Post #933)

(An original story copyrighted by Gratiana Lovelace; all rights reserved) [(1) story cover, left]

Author's Content Note: "Love in the Great Pine Woods" is a mature love story with dramatic themes of love and relationships. It will mostly be at the PG and PG-13 movie levels. Specific chapters or passages may have a further rating of: L for language, D for dramatic emotions, and S for sensual themes. And I will rate the chapters accordingly. If you are unable or unwilling to attend a movie with the ratings that I provide for a chapter, then please do not read that chapter. This is my disclaimer. And as is my habit, I will summarize the previous chapter's events at the beginning of the next chapter.

Author's Recap from the Previous Chapter: The Federal Government's offer to turn into a National Park the old growth forest in the Great Pine Woods on Wakeforest Mountain surprised all of them. And though the family's response to that is divided evenly, they are agreed upon one matter regarding the resolution to the Carter Family civil suit.

"Love in the Great Pine Woods", Ch. 43 (PG-13, D): When Babies and Bears Collide

With the Wakeforest Family's vote regarding the old growth forest in the Great Pine Woods on Wakeforest Mountain being a tie as to whether they would allow the Federal Government to purchase it from them and turn it into a National Park, their attentions turned back to the Carter Family civil suit brought against them in the death of their son and brother, Aiden Carter.

The Carter Family sensing that the Federal Government's involvement was imminent in creating a National Park—thus conferring upon the Mountain protected status from civil suits--the Carter famly backed down from their civil suit and met with the Wakeforest Family to reach an agreeable settlement for all. Ultimately, it came down to Sam Wakeforest and Dr. Matt Carter having a man to man talk about the death of Aiden Carter—the dead man's culpability in his death by his reckless and unsafe behavior on the mountain after a blizzard of fresh snow left the snowpack high up loose and prone to an avalanche. Sam wisely refrained from referring to the deceased as an idiot for ignoring Wakeforest Mountain safety rules—let alone Aiden Carter ignoring common sense safety guidelines that every seasoned skier like himself would have known.

Sam also mentioned how personally sorry that his family was for Dr. Carter and his family's pain in losing their loved one—and that they hoped to increase Wakeforest Mountain's already well signed warnings by creating an expanded Visitor's Center to be renamed the Aiden Carter Memorial Wakeforest Mountain Visitor Center. Overcome with such a gesture, and pledging his family's support with the Visitor Center Memorial—in terms of an exhibit with pictures telling about the short life of Aiden Carter and his death from not following Mountain safety rules, in the hope of saving future lives—Dr. Carter agreed for his family to drop their civil suit as the two men shook hands. They also agreed that neither party would seek further redress—the Wakeforest and Carter families having to bear their own attorneys and court fees, is enough of a penance for each of them.

***

So it is one month later, on Saturday, August 27, 1956 that a much bigger and heavier, nearly fully eight months pregnant Olivia Wakeforest sits within her Wakeforest Family home's backyard open sided gazebo crocheting cute baby hats—now that her hats are now more baby sized, rather than tea cozy size. She and Sam will need lots of clothes with twins on the way. Her husband walks out to greet her lovingly and to take her back inside for lunch. Leaning down and kisses his wife adoringly, he compliments her.