Timber Rich

This story is of two firefighters deciding to go to college and major in forestry and graduate to become rangers. They are as close as brothers.Jim and Phil were good at their jobs and advanced to good positions. They were fishing together when a fire broke out on the mountain, and they rushed to save the lives of a man and his small son. They managed to get them down to an ambulance and saved them both. Later, Jim was put to the task of saving his friend Phil. Phil's marriage had broken up, and he had gone to a borrowed cabin and drank himself into a stupor.Jim went the cabin and found him nearly frozen to death and saved his life by putting him to bed, starting a fire in the fireplace, and covering him up till his face began to pink up and show he was responding. In the meantime, they had a long talk, and they both went back to town knowing Phil was going to need to do something about ending his marriage to his wife who was cheating on him. The two of them had built a lumber business, and by 1943, the business was on its way to making them both a good living. Phil found Carol, his wife, on the sofa in the study with another man she had hired to entertain all the people she had invited to the party she was throwing at their home that night. Phil quietly backed away from the door he had almost entered and just left. He wanted to get out of there as fast as he could, but he still had to say good night to the rest of the guests. When everyone left, he went to Carol, and he took her wrist in his hand and jerked her to him and told her to follow him. She said no! The fight was on! He told her if she needed sex, then he would give it to her. She screamed that she hated him. She screamed to leave her alone! He told her no! When it was over, she accused him of rape. She slammed the bedroom door in his face and locked him out. He stood beyond the door trying to tell her how sorry he was and to please let him explain. She would not listen to his apology.

-- Joyce F. Hurst