"Let's stop there. See, that place coming up. The one that looks like a castle."

Ron turned to Sally and gave her a look of disbelief--not to her face, because she was looking down the road toward where she was pointing.

"That place? You want me to stop there? It looks like . . ."

"I know, it's pretty much what it looks like--a glorified souvenir stand--but Susan told me we should stop on the way up. She told me it was a gas of a place to look through--junk like you wouldn't believe--a tourist stop in its own right. But it's also where Phil had that sexy photo of himself done for her. There's a photographer's studio there, and Susan says he does custom costume photos."

"Yes, and it looks like there's a bit of everything else there too. Look at those lawn dwarfs," Ron said with a little laugh. But he slowed down and pulled off the road into the parking lot of an old Victorian house, including turreted tower, that had been stuccoed over and made into some semblance of a castle, complete with drawbridge and portcullis--if you stood a good bit off and squinted your eyes. A billboard sign off to the side identified it as Temptation Castle, home to the most exotic souvenirs and valuables in the whole Copper Lake region. "Look, is that a fitness gym advertised over the door of that wing over other? Talk about everything including the kitchen sink."

Ron opened his car door and stood there in somewhat of a daze as his wife, Sally, and his two daughters bounded out of the car.

Sally turned half-way to the castle door and called out, "You coming or not?"

"In a minute. You go ahead," Ron answered. "I'm stiff from the drive. Got to do some unbending first. Maybe I should start with the gym?"

It was a weak joke, but he felt a little weak. He hadn't been able to think of anything but the Temptation Castle for weeks--guilty thoughts, thoughts that surprised even him. He'd told himself he'd stop here on the way back to the city from dropping Sally and the girls off at the cabin at the lake. The one that the two sisters had decided to rent for the summer for the two families to share--and the husbands coming out for weekends. But he'd thought he was just fantasizing. He didn't think he'd really stop. And here Sally, of all people, had taken the decision out of his hands.

He knew far more than she did about what was to be found in the Temptation Castle--if his browsing of the Internet hadn't deceived him. Much more than he hoped Sally would ever know.