Dunston Falls by Al Lamanda

and hands and he responded, much to his surprise, like a man twenty years younger. They came together and he knew that he pleased her because after thirty minutes, she dug her nails into his back and drew tiny beads of blood.
    Afterward, they caught their breath, stretched out on the sofa. “See, practice is the key, Dave. Maybe you better come around more often.”
    They fell asleep for several hours, curled up against each other.
    Peck stirred and finally awoke. Deb had shifted in her sleep and her head rested against his chest. He gently lifted her and rolled out of the bed, careful not to disturb her. Then he went downstairs to find his cigarettes and lit one. Walking to the window, he looked out.
    The storm had mostly passed; the hail was little more than a fine mist of ice particles. In the background, thunder rumbled low in the sky. Snow lightning flashed and for a split second, it was broad daylight outside the window. Then the sky darkened and thunder rumbled once again.
    Seemingly captivated, Peck continued to stare out the window. Lightning flashed and bolted to the ground and thunder boomed, echoing for several seconds.
    A thought entered into his mind. He honestly could not remember the name of the last woman he slept with, it was so long ago. He could see her face as a dim shadow. She had shoulder length, blond hair, with pale skin and blue eyes. Her name suited her looks, but nothing familiar popped into his mind no matter how hard he tried to place it.
    Did it matter?
    Deb was right; there was more to life than parking tickets. Much more.
    The lightning flashed again, several times in quick succession. As thunder cracked loudly, Peck felt a tiny spec of pain between his eyes. He rubbed the spot with his fingers until it went away.
    Peck returned to the bedroom, slipped between the covers, and felt the warmth of Deb’s body against his. Listening to her shallow breathing, he was lulled back to sleep. When they both awoke, it was early into the next morning. Wrapped in each other’s arms, they greeted the new day with a smile.
     
    Driving the snowmobile back to the center of town, Peck relived the events of the morning in his mind. He made a fire while the generator heated the water hot enough for them to share a bath together. He shaved using one of her razors. In the tub, they made love for the third time in a span of twelve hours. To his surprise and her delight, arousal was almost instantaneous and the event lasted nearly thirty minutes.
    Afterward, while he dressed, Deb fixed a hot breakfast. They parted with a kiss at the door. He told her he would see her later on if he could get away. She told him busy or not, a warm bed and a hot meal beat the hell out of a cold cot and a woodstove in the office. He had to admit that she was right.
    Halfway to town, the hail finally let up. The sun shown for the first time in days and light glistened off the ice-covered branches of the trees like sparkling diamonds. He stopped along a trail to admire the shining star of nature and smoke a cigarette.
    By the time he arrived at the office, it was just after ten AM. Bender and Kranston were huddled around the short wave, listening to a weather update from Augusta. The news was fairly good.
    “Well, good morning, sheriff,” Kranston said when Peck entered the office.
    Bender grinned at him as he removed his jacket and tossed it on the coat rack. “What?” Peck said to his deputy.
    Kranston switched off the shortwave. “Ten days to two weeks before power is fully restored, so they say. We’d be lucky to see a month. But at least the ice has let up statewide.”
    Peck lifted the coffee pot from the woodstove and poured a cup, then sat behind his desk. “How is our food supply?”
    Kranston took the chair opposite Peck’s desk. “Genius, Dave. Bender and his hunting buddies bagged two deer, a half dozen wild turkeys and who knows how many snow shoe hares?”
    “Fifteen,” Bender said.
    “The deer have been