Chapter the Third, Our Protagonists Meet and Dine Together.
20,000 miles to an oasis
20,000 years will I burn
20,000 chances I wasted
Waiting for the moment to turn
I would give my life to find it
I would give it all
Catch me if I fall
R.E.M. - Texarkana
Chapter 3 -- Oh My.
Mara's first thought as Grove handed the visitor his cane as he stepped out of the airplane was 'Oh my.' This was a little involuntary mental gasp, almost subconscious.
Her next thought was 'Here comes trouble,' as the man slowly walked toward her.
Rafael Moretti was taller than she expected, with dark hair and a splash of silver at one temple. His face wasn't conventionally handsome, more hawk-like, but with a definite charisma that made up for what he might be lacking in looks. His face was...compelling.
'Mara, get a hold of yourself,' she berated mentally, as she approached her visitor to introduce herself. She held out her right hand for a handshake and introduced herself.
Her rakish visitor, for she had now in her mind pulled the words "rake" and "rogue" to assign to her guest, smiled and shook her hand. "Rafael Moretti," he said, his voice a pleasant, clear baritone. "But please call me Rafe."
'Rafael, indeed,' Mara thought, 'this one could almost be a fallen angel with his looks...' "I'm so pleased to meet you," she said out loud. "Kevin's been singing your praises and warning me to keep an eye on you because, for some strange reason, he's concerned one of his best reporters may go missing if I didn't."
Rafe grinned at Mara, seeing a plain yet spirited looking woman in her late thirties. "Kevin is concerned I'll go AWOL if neither you nor he mother hen me -- he thinks if you don't keep an eye on me, I'll go hunting down stories and not take a vacation."
Mara grinned back at him, unconciously running her hand through her short, wheat-colored hair. "Well, I'll go get my car and we'll get your luggage loaded up and be on our way. Be right back."
Rafe limped after her, now frowning, but her brisk trot quickly carried her away from him. He really hated the fact that she was going have to bring her car out to him as if he were some sort of invalid. He was so used to being completely independent that any kind of dependence galled him.
Shortly, she returned with her pickup, wheeling the deep blue Sierra around and backing towards the baggage door of the Cessna. She parked it and hopped out of the cab. Rafe had anticipated her, and was loading his suitcases out of the baggage space of the airplane. She dropped the tailgate and helped him load his luggage into the back of the pickup.
She smiled again at Grove, "Thank you again for being our 'charter service,' Grove. You saved Rafe a rather boring drive from Sioux Falls."
"My pleasure, Mara. Rafe, any time you need a flight somewhere in the vicinity, just give me a few days' notice and I'll do my darndest to accomodate you." Grove had been watching the younger man, and had seen his face reflect his impatience and his scorn at his own weakness. That would bear watching, he didn't look like a man that would settle down and be cozy with the small-town pace and life.
"Hey Grove, you'll have to take us up for a flight over the state. Rafe, when it starts getting green around here, it's just gorgeous to fly over."
"Now Mara, you can't expect him to enjoy the prairie and the farm lands as much as you do."
"Well..."
"Mara, you know I'll take you for a spin, but sometimes you've just got to be born to the plains to appreciate them."
"Well, if anything, we could take him to see all of our West River tourist traps," she grinned at Rafe in a conspiratorial manner, and wondered why he was looking so dour. "We'll take you to see Mount Rushmore and you won't have to deal with a six hour drive across the state to get there. If you don't really care for the prairie, you'll love the Black Hills. Let's wait til you're free of that cane and then we can go on some gorgeous hikes."
Mara was slightly taken aback to see that the dour look had turned into almost a glower at her. Grove had moved back to the Cessna, with the intent to taxi it into the hangar, so he missed Rafe's darkening expression.
"So," exclaimed Mara a little too heartily. "Shall we?" As she walked towards the pickup she wondered why her visitor's expression looked like an approaching thunderstorm when he had seemed pleasant enough just a few minutes before.
She climbed into the pickup and slammed the door. A few seconds later, Rafe joined her, still looking crabby. They drove for a few minutes in silence.
"Er. Ah, whatever it was that I did to upset you, I apologize," Mara broke the silence, paused, then continued, "I think?"
Rafe let out a long breath. "It's not you. It's just this damn leg."
"Well, how about if I let you know that, other than making sure you don't reinjure yourself, I promise I won't mollycoddle or mother-hen you. We'll leave that up to Kevin, okay?"
Rafe grinned at her and she felt her composure slip a notch at his smile. "Mollycoddle. Now there's a word I haven't heard in a while."
Mara, noting Rafe's tired eyes, just smiled back and didn't comment further. Silence resumed for the rest of the ride, but not the awkward silence of before.
--------------------------
Rafe felt a hand gently touching his shoulder.
"Wake up sleepyhead." A woman's voice. He opened his eyes and remembered where he was.
"Sorry, Mara..." Rafe trailed off groggily.
Mara's pickup had come to a stop in a driveway and garage a small distance from a large Victorian-style home, he counted two stories, plus what was probably a usable attic, and probably a usable basement as well.
Mara clambered out of the pickup and went to the back to unload Rafe's luggage as he slowly eased himself out the passenger door. She had unloaded both suitcases and his backpack by the time Rafe walked to the back of the truck. They had a momentary standoff over who was going to lug what in, and Mara ceded the backpack to Rafe.
"...these have wheels on them, Rafe -- I'm not actually going to carry them." She grinned at him and added: "besides if they didn't have wheels, I'd take the backpack!"
They made their way slowly into the house as the last of the sun disappeared under the horizon. She showed him his room and stashed the luggage just outside his closet door.
"I'm going to go start something for dinner, why don't you just go ahead and grab a couple of winks, sleepyhead."
Rafe glared at her.
She shook her head, "Those must be some pretty good pain pills you have going there. Most people complain that they CAN'T sleep in my truck. The suspension is so tight, so the ride's a little bumpy. I like to feel the road under the seat of my pants, especially in the winter." His glare softened into a rueful almost-smile as he sat down on the large bed that dominated the bedroom.
"This is the master bedroom for this floor and probably for the whole house," Mara explained, gesturing at the large bedroom. This was a boarding house for a while during the early 1900s, so each floor, including the basement has its own bathroom. You'll find yours through the door here. I did have it modernized to include a shower but the taps for hot and cold are reversed. The whole house is that way"
Mara threw open the door to a large bathroom. "There's a laundry chute in the bathroom so anything you want laundered you can just drop down the chute," she said, pulling open the small door to the chute, revealing a dark space behind it with a glint of the metal of the chute. "I'll let you get settled in and will come get you for dinner. Give a holler if you need anything. Oh, and, if you feel you really need privacy, this door locks from the inside. I do have the skeleton key for it, but won't barge in unless I have good reason to presume I should." She stepped out of the room, quietly closing the door behind her.
Rafe sighed and contemplated his luggage. He needed to get unpacked, but sitting on a bed, with a comfortable mattress that, most importantly, wasn't moving, was making him feel lazy about standing back up again.
Deciding to save the packing for later, and mildly annoyed that the meds were beckoning him back to slumber, he propped his cane up against the bedside drawers. Swinging his long legs onto the bed, he grabbed the afghan folded at the bottom. Pulling it over him, he lay back and closed his eyes.
---------------
Mara's dinner was simple, tasty and filling: chicken casserole with green beans on the side. Rafe kept her laughing throughout dinner with stories about some of the crazier news he had gathered information on.
"...so, fortunately, Punxatawney Phil was rescued in time to not gaze at his shadow on February 2nd."
Mara burst out laughing. "So why on earth would anyone kidnap a groundhog, or THE groundhog??"
"The guy was a ski nut. He wanted to make sure there would be six more weeks of primo skiing weather, even though it was an early spring and much of the good snow had already melted," Rafe grinned at her, enjoying her hearty laughter. It lit up her face and made her look more pretty than plain.
She grabbed her sides as she kept laughing, "Oh, stop, stop. My ribs are killing me." Rafe was proving to be another good story teller, especially of the more off-beat crazy-funny variety.
They sat in silence for a moment while Mara caught her breath. She started laughing again, "To think I told Kevin... no, never mind..."
"What?"
She exhaled and smiled a little ruefully. "When Kevin first called me and asked me to open my guest quarters for you, I made a little prediction of my own..."
"What was that?"
"Well, I figured when you got here, you'd be laughing so hard at having to stay in a tiny burg like Pitts, when you could be recuperating in Chicago and undoubtedly be more entertained. I told him you'd strain your ribs laughing..."
Rafe chuckled and their eyes met and held for a long moment. Mara felt a blush climbing into her face and was glad that she had turned on the overhead chandelier with its dimmer bulbs so he couldn't see her reaction to his direct gaze.
As the silence stretched out a little uncomfortably, Mara chewed on her lower lip for a moment and then spoke, "I hope you don't mind my asking, but is there a story behind your injury? Kevin didn't really say..."
Rafe cut in a bit abruptly, "I was covering a bank robbery in Lincoln Park by one of the city gangs. Someone called me to scoop me on the story as it was breaking and I guess I got there a little too early. Thus, the gunshot wound in my right leg," his face had become rather blank. Mara intuitively knew she wasn't going to get the full story out of him, at least not tonight. That blank look had the flavor of shellshock to it, so she didn't push.
Changing the topic, she smiled at him and said, "So. I'm afraid I crash a little early for the night tonight. Thursday, besides the regular Evening Prairiedog, we start the layout for the Sunday paper. That way I can be ahead of the game, and can take Saturday off if everything's ready to roll by Friday night. Tuesday's the same thing, because that's our big ad day with sales starting on Wednesday at the area grocery stores."
She continued with a touch of sarcasm in her voice, "it's been a sad trial for this night owl to be up at three or four in the morning some mornings. Can I help you with anything after I clear off here, before I head upstairs?" She stood and began clearing the table.
"May I help...?" he started.
Mara held up her hand to stop him as he rose. "I told you I wouldn't mollycoddle you, but let me take care of this. When you're feeling a bit steadier on your feet, don't worry; I'll be making you wash all the dishes. No undue slacking allowed in this house."
With that, Rafe grinned and stood. He thanked her for dinner and bid her goodnight, saying he would just spend the rest of the evening unpacking and maybe get a little reading done.
20,000 years will I burn
20,000 chances I wasted
Waiting for the moment to turn
I would give my life to find it
I would give it all
Catch me if I fall
R.E.M. - Texarkana
Chapter 3 -- Oh My.
Mara's first thought as Grove handed the visitor his cane as he stepped out of the airplane was 'Oh my.' This was a little involuntary mental gasp, almost subconscious.
Her next thought was 'Here comes trouble,' as the man slowly walked toward her.
Rafael Moretti was taller than she expected, with dark hair and a splash of silver at one temple. His face wasn't conventionally handsome, more hawk-like, but with a definite charisma that made up for what he might be lacking in looks. His face was...compelling.
'Mara, get a hold of yourself,' she berated mentally, as she approached her visitor to introduce herself. She held out her right hand for a handshake and introduced herself.
Her rakish visitor, for she had now in her mind pulled the words "rake" and "rogue" to assign to her guest, smiled and shook her hand. "Rafael Moretti," he said, his voice a pleasant, clear baritone. "But please call me Rafe."
'Rafael, indeed,' Mara thought, 'this one could almost be a fallen angel with his looks...' "I'm so pleased to meet you," she said out loud. "Kevin's been singing your praises and warning me to keep an eye on you because, for some strange reason, he's concerned one of his best reporters may go missing if I didn't."
Rafe grinned at Mara, seeing a plain yet spirited looking woman in her late thirties. "Kevin is concerned I'll go AWOL if neither you nor he mother hen me -- he thinks if you don't keep an eye on me, I'll go hunting down stories and not take a vacation."
Mara grinned back at him, unconciously running her hand through her short, wheat-colored hair. "Well, I'll go get my car and we'll get your luggage loaded up and be on our way. Be right back."
Rafe limped after her, now frowning, but her brisk trot quickly carried her away from him. He really hated the fact that she was going have to bring her car out to him as if he were some sort of invalid. He was so used to being completely independent that any kind of dependence galled him.
Shortly, she returned with her pickup, wheeling the deep blue Sierra around and backing towards the baggage door of the Cessna. She parked it and hopped out of the cab. Rafe had anticipated her, and was loading his suitcases out of the baggage space of the airplane. She dropped the tailgate and helped him load his luggage into the back of the pickup.
She smiled again at Grove, "Thank you again for being our 'charter service,' Grove. You saved Rafe a rather boring drive from Sioux Falls."
"My pleasure, Mara. Rafe, any time you need a flight somewhere in the vicinity, just give me a few days' notice and I'll do my darndest to accomodate you." Grove had been watching the younger man, and had seen his face reflect his impatience and his scorn at his own weakness. That would bear watching, he didn't look like a man that would settle down and be cozy with the small-town pace and life.
"Hey Grove, you'll have to take us up for a flight over the state. Rafe, when it starts getting green around here, it's just gorgeous to fly over."
"Now Mara, you can't expect him to enjoy the prairie and the farm lands as much as you do."
"Well..."
"Mara, you know I'll take you for a spin, but sometimes you've just got to be born to the plains to appreciate them."
"Well, if anything, we could take him to see all of our West River tourist traps," she grinned at Rafe in a conspiratorial manner, and wondered why he was looking so dour. "We'll take you to see Mount Rushmore and you won't have to deal with a six hour drive across the state to get there. If you don't really care for the prairie, you'll love the Black Hills. Let's wait til you're free of that cane and then we can go on some gorgeous hikes."
Mara was slightly taken aback to see that the dour look had turned into almost a glower at her. Grove had moved back to the Cessna, with the intent to taxi it into the hangar, so he missed Rafe's darkening expression.
"So," exclaimed Mara a little too heartily. "Shall we?" As she walked towards the pickup she wondered why her visitor's expression looked like an approaching thunderstorm when he had seemed pleasant enough just a few minutes before.
She climbed into the pickup and slammed the door. A few seconds later, Rafe joined her, still looking crabby. They drove for a few minutes in silence.
"Er. Ah, whatever it was that I did to upset you, I apologize," Mara broke the silence, paused, then continued, "I think?"
Rafe let out a long breath. "It's not you. It's just this damn leg."
"Well, how about if I let you know that, other than making sure you don't reinjure yourself, I promise I won't mollycoddle or mother-hen you. We'll leave that up to Kevin, okay?"
Rafe grinned at her and she felt her composure slip a notch at his smile. "Mollycoddle. Now there's a word I haven't heard in a while."
Mara, noting Rafe's tired eyes, just smiled back and didn't comment further. Silence resumed for the rest of the ride, but not the awkward silence of before.
--------------------------
Rafe felt a hand gently touching his shoulder.
"Wake up sleepyhead." A woman's voice. He opened his eyes and remembered where he was.
"Sorry, Mara..." Rafe trailed off groggily.
Mara's pickup had come to a stop in a driveway and garage a small distance from a large Victorian-style home, he counted two stories, plus what was probably a usable attic, and probably a usable basement as well.
Mara clambered out of the pickup and went to the back to unload Rafe's luggage as he slowly eased himself out the passenger door. She had unloaded both suitcases and his backpack by the time Rafe walked to the back of the truck. They had a momentary standoff over who was going to lug what in, and Mara ceded the backpack to Rafe.
"...these have wheels on them, Rafe -- I'm not actually going to carry them." She grinned at him and added: "besides if they didn't have wheels, I'd take the backpack!"
They made their way slowly into the house as the last of the sun disappeared under the horizon. She showed him his room and stashed the luggage just outside his closet door.
"I'm going to go start something for dinner, why don't you just go ahead and grab a couple of winks, sleepyhead."
Rafe glared at her.
She shook her head, "Those must be some pretty good pain pills you have going there. Most people complain that they CAN'T sleep in my truck. The suspension is so tight, so the ride's a little bumpy. I like to feel the road under the seat of my pants, especially in the winter." His glare softened into a rueful almost-smile as he sat down on the large bed that dominated the bedroom.
"This is the master bedroom for this floor and probably for the whole house," Mara explained, gesturing at the large bedroom. This was a boarding house for a while during the early 1900s, so each floor, including the basement has its own bathroom. You'll find yours through the door here. I did have it modernized to include a shower but the taps for hot and cold are reversed. The whole house is that way"
Mara threw open the door to a large bathroom. "There's a laundry chute in the bathroom so anything you want laundered you can just drop down the chute," she said, pulling open the small door to the chute, revealing a dark space behind it with a glint of the metal of the chute. "I'll let you get settled in and will come get you for dinner. Give a holler if you need anything. Oh, and, if you feel you really need privacy, this door locks from the inside. I do have the skeleton key for it, but won't barge in unless I have good reason to presume I should." She stepped out of the room, quietly closing the door behind her.
Rafe sighed and contemplated his luggage. He needed to get unpacked, but sitting on a bed, with a comfortable mattress that, most importantly, wasn't moving, was making him feel lazy about standing back up again.
Deciding to save the packing for later, and mildly annoyed that the meds were beckoning him back to slumber, he propped his cane up against the bedside drawers. Swinging his long legs onto the bed, he grabbed the afghan folded at the bottom. Pulling it over him, he lay back and closed his eyes.
---------------
Mara's dinner was simple, tasty and filling: chicken casserole with green beans on the side. Rafe kept her laughing throughout dinner with stories about some of the crazier news he had gathered information on.
"...so, fortunately, Punxatawney Phil was rescued in time to not gaze at his shadow on February 2nd."
Mara burst out laughing. "So why on earth would anyone kidnap a groundhog, or THE groundhog??"
"The guy was a ski nut. He wanted to make sure there would be six more weeks of primo skiing weather, even though it was an early spring and much of the good snow had already melted," Rafe grinned at her, enjoying her hearty laughter. It lit up her face and made her look more pretty than plain.
She grabbed her sides as she kept laughing, "Oh, stop, stop. My ribs are killing me." Rafe was proving to be another good story teller, especially of the more off-beat crazy-funny variety.
They sat in silence for a moment while Mara caught her breath. She started laughing again, "To think I told Kevin... no, never mind..."
"What?"
She exhaled and smiled a little ruefully. "When Kevin first called me and asked me to open my guest quarters for you, I made a little prediction of my own..."
"What was that?"
"Well, I figured when you got here, you'd be laughing so hard at having to stay in a tiny burg like Pitts, when you could be recuperating in Chicago and undoubtedly be more entertained. I told him you'd strain your ribs laughing..."
Rafe chuckled and their eyes met and held for a long moment. Mara felt a blush climbing into her face and was glad that she had turned on the overhead chandelier with its dimmer bulbs so he couldn't see her reaction to his direct gaze.
As the silence stretched out a little uncomfortably, Mara chewed on her lower lip for a moment and then spoke, "I hope you don't mind my asking, but is there a story behind your injury? Kevin didn't really say..."
Rafe cut in a bit abruptly, "I was covering a bank robbery in Lincoln Park by one of the city gangs. Someone called me to scoop me on the story as it was breaking and I guess I got there a little too early. Thus, the gunshot wound in my right leg," his face had become rather blank. Mara intuitively knew she wasn't going to get the full story out of him, at least not tonight. That blank look had the flavor of shellshock to it, so she didn't push.
Changing the topic, she smiled at him and said, "So. I'm afraid I crash a little early for the night tonight. Thursday, besides the regular Evening Prairiedog, we start the layout for the Sunday paper. That way I can be ahead of the game, and can take Saturday off if everything's ready to roll by Friday night. Tuesday's the same thing, because that's our big ad day with sales starting on Wednesday at the area grocery stores."
She continued with a touch of sarcasm in her voice, "it's been a sad trial for this night owl to be up at three or four in the morning some mornings. Can I help you with anything after I clear off here, before I head upstairs?" She stood and began clearing the table.
"May I help...?" he started.
Mara held up her hand to stop him as he rose. "I told you I wouldn't mollycoddle you, but let me take care of this. When you're feeling a bit steadier on your feet, don't worry; I'll be making you wash all the dishes. No undue slacking allowed in this house."
With that, Rafe grinned and stood. He thanked her for dinner and bid her goodnight, saying he would just spend the rest of the evening unpacking and maybe get a little reading done.
posted by Dace @ 11:32 PM
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