Chapter Twenty-one #2
“Me neither,” Nora said. “But we can charge them in the car.”
Fallon stopped in the doorway and looked back into the room one last time. “This was amazing, Nora. Truly. I can’t thank you enough for—”
Nora stopped her with a finger on her lips. “It was my pleasure.”
“Not entirely, I can assure you.” Fallon kissed Nora’s hand, trying not to blush as she recalled last night’s lovemaking.
Nora had taken her to the edge of orgasm multiple times before backing off, making Fallon almost crazed with desire.
Afterward, while Nora held her, Fallon had contemplated how fulfilled she felt.
Being with Nora seemed to complete a part of her that was otherwise unfinished.
Or perhaps she’d stagnated over these last few years, and something about Nora opened her up and aired her out, like freshening a room that had been unused for too long.
The time they’d been apart had dissolved into new memories, and no matter what else, she needed to remember this feeling and be satisfied with that.
All those promising notions had been much easier to believe with Nora’s arms around her, but now, as they loaded the car, Fallon tried very hard not to think about what would happen next.
They’d been on neutral ground until now, but they were heading into Nora’s territory.
She couldn’t be upset that they hadn’t talked about their future, though.
She’d never really had a vacation before, and the last thing she wanted to do was disturb the idyllic quality of their moments together with unsolvable issues.
Sighing, she plugged her phone in and did the same for Nora’s.
“Can we leave them on mute until we get to the highway? Like when we’re on the way to Phoenix?”
“Okay, sure.” Nora looked at her. “Are you all right?”
“Yeah. I just…I wish—” Fallon stopped herself, looking at Nora in shock. “I mean…”
“It’s okay. You didn’t finish your wish.” Nora took her hand. “But whatever it is, we’ll do our best to make it happen.”
The drive to Sedona had exciting curves, along with picturesque geology, but as they approached the town, Fallon couldn’t look around fast enough. Nora said, “We could spend an extra hour here if you’d like. There’s a self-guided tour—”
“Yes,” Fallon said. “Please. This place is amazing.”
They found a deli and bought sandwiches and drinks. The tour of town was enjoyable, though there were people everywhere. Once the formations came into view, Fallon was enchanted. “I’ve never seen anything like this.”
It took nearly two hours because Fallon kept asking to slow down, and twice they pulled over so she could get out of the car and stare. “The air here feels different.”
“The locals say there are vortexes here. Like, energy sources, I think.”
“Wow. I’d like to come back sometime and learn more about that.”
Nora nodded. “We’d better keep moving for now. I want to get to Tucson before dark if possible.” Fallon tried not to pout. “We’ll be getting into the Sonoran Desert, where you’ll see the saguaro cactuses. They’re the tall ones with arms.”
The energy of Sedona seemed to drain away as they turned onto Highway 17. The traffic was heavy, and Fallon noticed a car ahead that was weaving erratically. “Is that person drunk?” she asked.
“Probably just on their phone. Oh, speaking of which, do you want to check yours? I should do the same.”
“I guess so.”
Nora put in earbuds before reaching for her cell. “Let’s count. The person with the most voice mails buys dinner.”
Fallon grinned. “And the person with the most texts gets to choose where.”
“Deal.”
Nora’s seventeen voice mails came in first, but Fallon prevailed with eleven texts. “So we both win,” she said.
Half an hour later, Fallon put her phone down, the last three texts leaving her stunned. She turned to Nora, noticing her mouth was in a tight line, a frown creasing her brow. “Is everything okay?”
Nora shook her head. “If you don’t mind, I’d like to drive on in to Tucson. If I hurry, we can get through Phoenix before rush hour. Something weird is going on at work, and I need to spend some time on my computer.”
“Sure.”
Nora gave her a wry smile as she turned on the radio. “Thanks. I’ll at least take you the more scenic route.”
Fallon tried not to worry. They’d been living in a glorious little bubble, just the two of them.
This was just a little bump as they readjusted to real life, right?
She didn’t comment on the multiple highway overpasses and ramps or ask about the rugged formations that seemed to rise out of the desert floor in places.
Phoenix seemed to go on forever, but then she saw a sign indicating they were in a different city.
When they got to open country at last, she breathed a little easier.
There was still a lot of traffic and signs, but at least they weren’t closed in by buildings everywhere.
The saguaro cactuses began to reappear, and she would have asked to take a picture with one, but Nora probably had a hundred such photos. Plus, she was obviously in a hurry.
Finally, Nora announced, “About thirty more minutes, but we need gas.”
“Good. I need to stretch. Guess there aren’t any friendly trees around here.”
Nora smiled at their old code for using the bathroom. “No, but we do have flush toilets.”
When they got back in the car, Fallon asked, “Did you ever call Tyler and tell him we were coming?”
“I just texted him, but he hasn’t answered yet. He’s probably got his eye glued to a microscope or is out collecting pollen samples or something.”
They drove on. Tucson seemed to get a little greener and have more variety of vegetation. After exiting the highway, they went through a downtown area and out to a suburb. “How many people live here?” Fallon asked. The traffic seemed intense.
“Over a million in the metro area, I think,” Nora said. Fallon tried not to flinch. Finally, they pulled into a parking lot. “Here we are,” Nora announced.
“Great,” Fallon said, trying to sound enthusiastic. Was Nora really happy living in this crowded concrete jungle? They stood outside number eleven while Nora fumbled with her key. The temperature seemed high for early November, but Fallon didn’t ask if it was typical.
When Nora finally got the door open, they walked into a small entry hall, greeted by the smell of food cooking in the air-conditioned atmosphere. “Tyler must be in the kitchen,” Nora said, her voice rising like a question.
Fallon took a second to scan her surroundings.
Nora’s place was very nice, with a newish scent to it.
The furniture matched, and colorful accent pillows and art gave the room a cozy feeling.
Following Nora around the corner, she discovered Caden standing over the stove holding a spatula.
It was hard to tell who was most surprised.
After a few seconds, Fallon found her voice. “Caden.”
“Falcon.”
“Where’s Tyler?” Nora demanded.
“Uh, taking a shower, I believe.” Color rose on Caden’s face.
Nora stood motionless for a few seconds before calling “Wait here” over her shoulder as she moved through a door opposite the kitchen. A few seconds later, muffled conversation could be heard.
“Did you have a nice trip?” Cade asked.
“Very nice, thank you.” Fallon shuffled her feet. “How long have you, uh, been here?”
“The crew finished last Sunday, as you know, so, yeah. Since then.”
“Everything go all right?”
“Oh yeah. Maris did great.” Cade brightened, probably having thought of something else to say. “How’s your shoulder and everything?”
“Good. Almost at a hundred percent, I’d say.”
“That’s great.”
Nora returned, mumbling something about “all I need.” Motioning to Fallon, she said, “In here,” and walked toward the other side of the room.
“Later, Cade.” Fallon grinned.
“Later, Falcon.”
Nora was halfway into her next sentence before Fallon could close the door. “…doing who knows what for how long. I don’t need a stranger in my house while I’m trying to figure out this shit at work.”
“What shit? Instead of being all in your head, why don’t you tell me about it?” Nora looked like she might explode, but Fallon risked moving closer and taking her hand. “I may not have an answer, but sometimes talking it out helps.”
Nora took a breath, then another. “In some ways, it’s a lot like your situation,” she began, before explaining about her new boss and his message.
“His voice mail said it was imperative that I come in as soon as possible. There’s something about a buyout, but as usual, he was pretty vague about specifics. ”
“Well, if he didn’t want to go into details over the phone, how about talking to someone else on the staff to see what they think?”
Nora shook her head, looking away. “I don’t usually talk to people in the office about business.”
Fallon heard what she wasn’t saying. Nora didn’t actually have friends at work. “Maybe you should start,” she suggested gently, pulling Nora over to sit beside her on the bed.
Nora blinked. “Okay, yeah, there might be a couple of people.” She looked at her phone for a second before putting it back down. “In the meantime, what am I going to do about that?” She stood again, gesturing in the direction of the other room.
“What?” Fallon asked, knowing but curious to hear what Nora would say.
“The fact that my little brother seems to be shacking up with some stranger.”
“Caden isn’t someone off the street. They met at the Kamberto fire, remember?” Nora started to protest, but Fallon said, “And remind me, how old is Tyler?”
“Twenty-five,” Nora muttered, sitting beside her again.
“What did he say when you went in there?”
“Basically, he told me to mind my own business.”
“Sounds like good advice.”
“You’re supposed to be on my side,” Nora objected.
Fallon kissed her cheek. “You know I am. Completely and totally. Now, make your calls, and I’ll go see if I can help with dinner.”
Nora huffed but picked up her phone.