The Sage After Rain A love story

by Jaclyn Hawkes

  Stacy was somewhat taken aback and then asked, "It's not really any of your business, is it?"

  In no mood to deal with her, Taya answered. "No, you're right. It isn't. So maybe you should take it out of my camp. You can wait in your car until he gets back."

  Stacy meekly climbed back into her car and Taya finished making dinner and then crashed on her swing with Zeus at her feet. Matt came in at dark, hungry and tired and dirty and Taya felt sorry for him for having to get rid of Stacy again. At least this time she hadn't been drinking. Once Stacy had driven off in a huff, he came over to her camp and sat on the swing with her and pulled her up onto his lap. "Are you sick again? Don't breathe on me."

  She shook her head tiredly. "No. I'm just not feeling so hot, but I'm sure it's not contagious this time. I'm afraid I took it out on Stacy. I owe you another apology. I told her just what I thought about her cheating on you."

  He smiled. "It's okay. It's not like she didn't deserve it. I can't believe she came back here. I haven't taken one call since that night. She should have gotten the hint. I'm sorry she bothered you. I’ll tell the helicopter pilot not to tell her where I am anymore."

  Taya felt a little sheepish. "She didn't truly bother me. I actually think I was being a bit territorial. I didn't know I had it in me. I really wasn't very hospitable. Really."

  He laughed. "Gosh. I almost wish I'd been here to see that. I'll bet you were cute while you were being territorial."

  Raising her eyebrows, she admitted, "I'm not sure cute is the word. Are you hungry? I made some lovely gourmet sloppy Joes and potato chips."

  "I'll eat in a minute. What can I do to help you feel better?"

  "You're doing it. Just give me five minutes of your time before you have to go to work and I'll be fine. How was your day?"

  "Good. We're actually going to make this deadline. I almost can't believe it."

  "Believe it. You've worked you tail off for it, and you deserve it. You make a very good looking business man.” She touched his mouth with one finger. “Did you know that small business is the life blood of this country? Without small business our economy would collapse. A lot of people have lost sight of that I'm afraid."

  He kissed her finger and then said, "How come if you're such a proponent of free enterprise, you work for someone else instead of yourself?"

  She snuggled against him. "Actually, I own forty-nine percent of the company I work for. I helped put up the capital for them to start it. I chose structural engineering because I could do it from home easiest. I probably should have been a mechanical engineer instead. But honestly, I don't want to work forever. I want to quit and be a mom eventually. I know that's breaking the whole feminist sisterhood thing, but that's what I want."

  He looked out at the desert in the dark. "I'm relatively positive you’re safe from the feminists here. They haven't made it all the way to sheep yet. I could see you as a mom. You'll be great."

  For a second she was thoughtful. "Sometimes I worry about that. I don't think I had all that great of a role model. I need to do better than my mother did with me. She was gone a lot. And oversight wasn’t her strong point."

  He hugged her. "You are gonna be a great mom! You're whole personality will be perfect. Plus you have all the church's guidance. You'll be just fine."

  "I wish I was as confident as you about that. I read a lot of books, but sometimes the ‘experts’ are a bit wacko to me."

  He smiled as he said, "I think that's part of the technical definition of being an expert. How did your day go?'

  "Okay. I came in earlier than usual. But with the days getting shorter I'm getting more done at night. And I haven't had much trouble with coyotes lately, thank goodness. I thought I would have now that we're getting closer to the mountains."'

  He leaned his cheek against her hair. "Did you ever decide what you're going to do when you're through with the sheep here? Aren't you going to be done within a couple or three weeks?"

  It took her a while to answer. "I still don't know for sure. It's hard to know what to do until I know how this trial is going to go in a couple of weeks. I got calls today from both the police and my partner. The man who's running against John Channing has been trying to get hold of me. He wants me to come out for a fundraiser event on the eighteenth of October. It's just a day before the trial, so it might be dangerous, but I feel like it's important enough to try not to let John be re-elected that I should go."

  "Have you prayed about it?"

  She turned to stare at him. "Yes. Why?"

  "What did you think you should do?"

  "Go."

  "Then you should go. We'll have to hire you some serious security."

  She searched his eyes. "You're not going to try to talk me out of it?"

  Shaking his head, he said, "Taya, you're the sharpest lady I've ever known. And who am I to try to sway you from what you think you should be doing when you've prayed about it?"

  She hesitated and then asked, "Will you go with me? Your contract will be done by then, won't it?"

  "To D.C. or to the fundraiser?"

  "Both. I'll bet you look hot in a tux."

  He smiled in the dark. "I don't know about that, but sure I'll go with you. Maybe we should take my brother Drew with. It couldn't hurt to have another cop along just in case. He's not a big city cop, but he's good at what he does."

  "Would you ask him if he can take the time and I'll see about getting invitations for extra security. Tell Drew I'll pay him for his time. The FBI guys will hate it. They think I’m their turf. And we'll need to get clothes. I wonder where I can buy an evening gown around here."

  Matt laughed. "Good luck with that one. There's not an evening gown within a hundred miles of this place. Maybe two.” He paused. “Did you ever end up wearing your dress from the last one anywhere? Or was it ruined when you were hurt?"

  She looked puzzled for a minute. "I didn't wear it anywhere. And honestly, I don't know if it was ruined. They gave it back to me in one of those hospital belongings bags and I haven't even gotten it out since. I think it's somewhere inside the trailer in the back of a cupboard. That's an idea. I'll have to check it out." She got up to go into the trailer and start digging around in storage compartments.

  She found the blue hospital bag and brought it back out to the swing. She pulled the dress out and then reached back in for the jacket and jewelry and held the jacket up and tried to look at it in the dark. "I'll have to look at in the day time and see if it's ruined or not. I think I'm smaller than I was then. I wonder if it will still fit."

  He reached over and clasped the necklace around her neck. "I'm going to get to see a side of you I've never seen. This is going to be fun."

  "Well, sometimes the parties are boring, but the clothes are great! We can pretend that it's just you and me at the ball and maybe it will be better than it usually is. But it will be for a good cause. I think I'll even very publicly donate a chunk to this guy’s campaign fund."

  "Is this a vendetta or are you doing it for the good of the land?"

  She gently shook her head. "No, actually I've forgiven John for hurting me, and in all honesty, I'm totally grateful to him for keeping me from making the huge mistake of marrying him. I just don't want any more corrupt politicians. And he truly is corrupt. I know that now."

  Matt stroked the little bone behind her ear. "Good. Grudges aren't like you."

  "No. They're not.” She was quiet and then admitted sadly, “But I am still having such a hard time dealing with my parents leaving me that night. I'm still heartbroken. You'd think it would be easier to forgive someone in your family, but it hasn't been. They killed me when they walked out that night."

  Gently, he said, "It has to have been hard. I don't even know what to tell you except that they just don't understand the big picture. Maybe someday they will."

  "Maybe. Thank you. Thanks for agreeing to go and for listening to me and even for hugging me when I'm ornery and don't feel good. I'll be better tomorrow
. I'll reheat the sloppy Joe filling for you."

  She went to stand up but he pulled her back into his arms. "I'll reheat the sloppy Joes. Can I have two more minutes? I'm not ready to leave you yet."

  "Three minutes."

  He smiled as he bent to kiss her. "Okay, three."

  Chapter 23

  It was sometime in the very middle of the night and she was instantly wide awake. It wasn't that she thought one of John's people was around. She almost wished it was. The problem was there was another mouse in her trailer and this time she was pretty sure it was in her bed. It was all she could do not to let out a blood curdling scream.

  She made a flying leap out of her bed and was out the door of her trailer bare foot and in her pajamas tiptoeing through the brush to Matt's tent doing her best not to step in a cactus on the way. She tried to whisper just loud enough to wake him, "Matt. Matt."

  She could hear him move inside his tent and he answered back sleepily, "What?" He zipped down his tent door. "What's wrong?"

  "Um. I'm so sorry to bother you. I know you're tired. Please forgive me."

  "Taya. What? You're not saying anything. Have you got a prowler or another mouse?"

  She looked down, embarrassed. "Another mouse. I'm sorry. I tried to be brave, but it's in my bed this time!"

  He sighed. "Give me a sec. Let me put some shoes on."

  A minute later he climbed out of his tent in jeans and his Tivas and took her hand to take her back to her trailer. It took him a moment to realize she was barefoot. "Taya! Barefoot in cactus? What are you thinking? Here. Get on. I'll give you a piggy back."

  "No. I'm okay. Just go slow enough that I can see. I didn't dare to stop for shoes. I know! I know! They're more afraid of me than I am of them. Technically that isn't true, but it should be. I know I'm a marshmallow, but I can't help it. I can't even breathe when I know one is there!"

  He squeezed her hand. "It's okay, Tay. No one says our issues have to make sense. We just need someone to help us with them. I'll save you from mice whenever you need saving. That's what friends do."

  "Have I ever told you how glad I am that you came to camp by me?"

  He grinned at her in the dark. "No. Maybe you'd better."

  She hugged his arm. "I am so, so glad that you came to . . . Aahh! Cactus! Ow! Aahh!"

  Reaching for her arm, he tried to stop her hopping. "Here. Quit jumping around one legged and get on and I'll take you to your chair."

  "I'm too heavy. I'll kill you."

  "You're fine. Taya, stop! You're gonna step in another one. Just get on. Taya, be careful, you’re going to end up with both feet toasted. Taya! Stop hopping and listen to me! Just get on."

  When she finally climbed on his back, he said, "You're a lunatic sometimes. You know that?"

  "I know.” She was truly apologetic. “I'm sorry. Thank you. Set me down here. Okay, now give me just a second to pull the thorns out so I can climb up on the truck."

  He tried not to laugh. "Sweetie, you're gonna be fine right there. A mouse can't jump like twenty feet."

  "Are you sure? They're so fast! How can you be sure when they’re that fast?"

  "I promise a mouse isn't going to jump from the door clear to your chair. Do you have a flashlight anywhere?"

  "Just inside the door on the counter. I think it was in my bed with me, so look there." He disappeared inside the trailer and she could hear him moving around inside for a minute while she stared at the door. Suddenly, the mouse jumped out doing about a hundred and twenty and it ran straight at her! She screamed and tried to stand up on the canvas chair as it went past and just as Matt made it out the door, the chair tipped and she fell off of it sideways and landed flat on her behind in the sand and gravel. Jumping back up, she ran to him and then around behind him.

  He turned and tried to get her to let go of him, but she was still trying to hide against him as he said, "Taya. It's okay. It's gone. You're all right. Sweetie, let go." He took her hand from where it gripped his arm. "Taya. Taya! Look at me! It's gone. You're okay, honey. Calm down. It's just a mouse." Finally, he simply picked her up and carried her over to her swing and sat down in it. "Girl, how in the world did you survive living out here before I came?"

  She leaned against his chest and sighed. "I don't know. I'm okay with everything except the mice. They scare me."

  Dryly, he said, "I gathered that. Lay on me and calm down for a minute. You'll be okay." He pushed the swing with one foot gently, and ran one hand down her back. "Did you get all the cactus thorns out of your foot?"

  She nodded against him. "I think so. I'm sorry I woke you up. Thanks for coming to save me. I'll ask Zan if he can look under the trailer and see where they're getting in so I don't keep bothering you."

  He gently smoothed her hair. "You're not bothering me. I’ll look under the trailer. I don't mind helping you at all."

  Snuggling against him, she said, "Thank you. You're always my hero. I truly am so glad I found you in the desert that day."

  "Me too.” She could hear him smile in the dark. “Life is far more interesting with you in it."

  She leaned to look up at him. "Are you teasing me?"

  "Yes. I always tease you just before I kiss you. Remember?"

  ****

  The next afternoon in the light, she did look at the dress and thought it could be cleaned and would be okay. The beads on the jacket would need to be mended, but the very nature of them hid any damage. She was worried she would be too little for it after toning up this summer and she decided to try it on, but she had to rig a string through the zipper to pull it up and down alone.

  She finally got it zipped up and found that although it was looser, it still fit fine. She would rework the beading one of these nights and it would do nicely. She slipped back out of her shoes and went to pull the zipper back down and the string she had rigged pulled right out without budging the zipper. For over an hour she struggled to reach it with everything she could think of and finally resorted to waiting for Matt to come and rescue her again. She would never live this one down.

  Feeling like an idiot in a beaded evening gown in the middle of the desert, she made dinner and decided she was going to wait to go get the sheep even if she had to bring them in in full darkness. Cooking was bad enough. There was no way she was venturing after the sheep in this thing!

  Of course it was dark and then some when Matt finally came home. She could tell he was trying not to laugh at her, but it wasn't working all that well. Finally, she just busted up with him when he asked, "Is there any thing else I could help you with ma'am before I hit the showers?" Life with him was much more entertaining than it had been before. She wondered where he was going to go when he was done here.

  ****

  It was only about three days after the second mouse crisis that she got into a corner that had Matt sweating, but to her seemed no big deal. She had moved the trailer that day and then gone back out on Horse with the sheep. The terrain had become much more rugged and hilly near the foot of the mountains and there were times that he’d look up and see that she had sheep in three different little valleys at one time.

  Matt's crew had run out of gear and the helicopter was bringing them in before dusk for once and he was looking down to find her as they flew over. He could tell she was having trouble with Horse and wondered why the typically sweet and gentle animal was acting up until he noticed a huge mountain lion crouched just up the hill on a rock from where she was.

  Zeus was clear across the herd for once and Matt was at a complete loss as to what to do. They couldn't buzz the lion with the helicopter without spooking Horse. He didn't have a rifle with him and didn't think a hand gun would even come close to hitting anything except maybe her or Horse. She wasn't close enough to camp for him to be of any help once he was dropped off. Finally, he resorted to just trying to call her cell phone in time to warn her, while he had the chopper stay right there near her.

  Wondering if any second the cat was going to spring, he w
aited for what felt like an interminable time for her to be able to answer the phone and still handle her horse.

  Finally, he heard her hello, and burst out, "Taya, there's a mountain lion in the rocks above you! Get out of there! Now!" He held his breath as she put her heels to Horse and bolted away from the rocks and then spun the horse to turn and look back.

  She had her rifle out and was aiming while he began swearing at her silently for not getting clear the heck out of there. Then he heard the faint rifle reports right inside the chopper because she was so close below him. She hit the cat with both shots and it tumbled from the rocks and into the trail where she had been sitting her horse just seconds before. She held her gun on it to see if it was going to move and when it didn't, she finally looked up at the helicopter above her. He could have sworn again as she calmly turned her horse and headed down the trail to her sheep, without so much as glancing back at the lion behind her.

  An hour and a half later when she finally brought the sheep in, he still wasn't sure whether to hug her or cuss her for turning and shooting the cat instead of running. She came into camp carrying her saddle, set it under the edge of the trailer and turned to feed the dogs before going inside. Matt was sitting on her swing and for the first time, he was a little disgusted with her. Apparently she wasn't aware of the damage a full grown mountain lion could inflict. She could have been killed!

  He'd made dinner, but he'd been too up tight to even eat it and his plate was sitting on her table next to hers untouched. She poked her head out of the trailer and asked if he wanted something to drink with his food, and then he really decided he was mad. She was acting like nothing had even happened! She came out the door with a jug of milk and two paper cups and sat down at the table and bowed her head waiting for him to pray. Maybe that was a good idea. He needed some of the Holy Spirit right now. They said amen and she started to eat and finally stopped and said, "All right, Matt. Out with it. What's going on?"

  "What do you mean, what's going on?"