Chapter 13
ARCHANGEL
Eli felt completely in over his head… and it was eye-opening.
Maureen seemed so genuine, so easy-going, and it felt so comfortable to be himself around her that it was a little invigorating, like yanking off his flight mask and drawing in that first breath in relief after a mission.
There were a few moments where he was afraid that he had already ruined things or crossed a line, but Maureen was strong and outspoken.
She told him openly what she liked or didn’t like – and it was as if she had the inside track of what was going on in his head.
He’d admitted that he had a rough childhood to others, but somehow, she ‘got’ him on another level.
He sat silently on the passenger seat, trying not to obviously stare at the woman beside him.
There was something about her that tugged at something deep within him.
Everything in his mind screamed for him to back away, reminding him that he was no good for her and would only create problems in her life…
but another voice was there too - a voice deep within his soul that whispered something much different.
Fate was not something he believed in. Destiny was a cute name for a girl, not a practice he subscribed to.
He’d dealt with too much pain to allow himself to hope for something more, that this was all part of a greater good or some elaborate design…
but lately he’d begun to wonder. There were too many coincidences, too many chances that lined up perfectly, and that had him questioning everything.
First, it was Bode… then it was Maureen.
“Here we are,” she said simply, but her voice breaking the silence was enough to make him jump. He hadn’t even realized the car had come to a stop in the driveway. She was distracting, put him off-balance, and made him consider things that he’d never imagined for himself - a future.
Looking at the small house with a simple front porch light that glowed dimly, he frowned. “You need a bigger light on the house. It’s too dark out here.”
“Bug light,” she explained, shrugging. “Means fewer bugs.”
“Someone could mug you…”
“Then they’d be awfully disappointed,” she chuckled and patted his leg placatingly, causing him to jump once again. “You’re sweet to worry about me, but I’ve been alone a lot longer than you’ve been to Yonder both times -combined – and I’ll make it. I promise.”
I’m going to replace that stupid light before I fly out… he thought grimly, opening the car door and getting out. He was walking toward her side to open the door, but she was already halfway to her feet – causing him to frown again.
“Do you need to go to the bathroom?” she asked candidly, her eyes dancing as she dug out her keys from her purse that was still unzipped. He’d noticed it at the restaurant, too. Did the woman not have any idea of how easy she was making it for someone to rob her?
“No.”
“You sure?”
“Yes, I’m sure,” he replied tersely, as he frowned. “Why?”
“Well, when you are making a pinched face like that – I’m trying to find out if you need to poop or if you need some Tums.”
“And you couldn’t go with the Tums idea first?
” he retorted, doing a double-take as she grinned at him – and winked.
She was doing this on purpose to get him to relax…
again. It was like the cantaloupe, the little comments, all the glib things she tossed in his direction to set him back on his heels – and it was working.
“I don’t need any Tums, but you should really lead with that instead. ”
She just smiled at him. They began walking up to the front door, and he paused, spotting her doormat.
“Pull the lever, Kronk? What’s a ‘Kronk’?
” he asked, looking at her curiously as she turned the key in the lock – and hesitated, her lips parting in surprise before she let out a laugh that curled his toes.
“Seriously?”
“What is it?”
“Oh, you poor sheltered lamb,” she teased playfully, beaming at him and for a moment he felt like a fool – only until she opened the front door and took his hand, pulling him inside. “We’re about to have so much fun. I hope you’re not in a hurry to leave.”
‘Never’ is starting to sound pretty good, a voice in his soul shouted – so loudly that he was concerned she might have heard it.
“I’ve got no plans,” he replied coolly as his brain took over, giving him the rundown of what he had waiting for him back on base, the issue with his parents, how close he was to hitting his twenty years, or how he’d gone against recommendations to take this trip here.
Bradford was not a happy camper in the slightest – and guiltily he’d lied, claiming that he needed to go check on his parents.
His parents were almost two hours away – and he sure didn’t have plans to go there anytime soon.
She reached up, pinched his cheeks, immediately giving him fish lips. “No snootiness,” she admonished him softly, clucking her tongue. “Whatever is going through that brain – spill it or leave it on the doorstep with Kronk before you meet him.”
“Is Kronk your dog?” he managed to grunt out awkwardly, afraid to reach for her hand as his lips puckered and moved in opposite directions.
I probably look like a big-mouthed bass that had accidentally gotten a bee, not a mosquito on the water.
She laughed easily – and he made his fish lips move as a reminder. “Let go?”
Maureen complied, before looking at him.
“Kronk is a cartoon character that I love,” she replied simply, waiting in the doorway. “I love the movie, and I think it will make you laugh, but whatever is making you frown, we’re either about to discuss or…”
Her voice trailed off perceptibly as he nodded in understanding.
“Leave it here,” he acknowledged, pointing at the doormat. “With Kronk.”
“Yes.”
“I was thinking about work, bills, and if you really want to know – my parents,” he admitted, and saw her nod as she moved to the side, silently inviting him in. “Maureen, I’ve got things that I have to deal with and…”
“Nope,” she interrupted softly, watching him. “When you come in here, when you are with me, it’s my time. When we’re on a date, it’s time for us - and only happy thoughts. Leave the rest of your baggage out on the porch, because I promise it will be waiting there soon enough.”
His lips parted in amazement. She was right. His time was limited here, and the rest of the world’s worries, his concerns, his commitments would all still be there, waiting to weigh him down the moment he left this kind of sanctuary she was offering briefly.
“It’s our time,” he whispered in agreement, nodding. “And some gorgeous lady offered me hot tea and cartoons.”
“You bet your sweet buns she did,” Maureen beamed up at him in obvious approval of being called ‘gorgeous’ by him – and it made him feel good to see that he could make her smile like that.
“I’ll put the kettle on, and you kick off your shoes.
If you want to change out of that shirt, I can put it in the wash for you.
I’ve got to start a load of towels anyhow. ”
Thinking back to his other pair of jeans and his shirt he’d bought, he nodded gratefully. “That would be wonderful – thank you.”
“Of course,” she said, smiling. “I left the car unlocked if you want to grab your Walmart bag from the back seat… and don’t frown at me. This is Yonder. I never lock my car doors anymore.”
Eli hesitated, fighting back the words that flew to the forefront of his mind instinctively.
On base, if someone had neglected to secure something, he would have chewed them out.
She wasn’t bothering to even lock her car doors.
Someone could steal from her, surprise her, attack her, and…
and she was frowning at him, he realized.
Her eyes were squinting with an icy glare that was supposed to be intimidating.
That’s freakin’ adorable...
“Bathroom is down the hall, on your right, – and if not, Kronk is on the porch. Pick your poison, Kuzco – you’ll get it when we watch the movie, but until then - quit frowning at me.
You do you – and I’ll handle me. I don’t need whatever words of wisdom you’re struggling so hard to keep from spewing out.
Sheesh,” she said candidly before turning toward the small galley kitchen in the distance, putting her back toward him as if the conversation was over because she deemed that it was.
“Pick one and decide quickly because I need to know if I’m cutting one slice of pie for me or two – which would include you. ”
“I’m not frowning,” he called out toward her back, refusing to let her have the last word. Dang, she was glorious when she gets all bossy at me… and I like it!
“Gotcha,” she hollered back. “One slice. Nice knowing ya’…”
“I’m not frowning!”
“I heard you, and your face – and both are wrong. There’s a mirror in the bathroom, Colonel Poo. I suggest you check it out and then try again.”
“I’m a lieutenant colonel – and I’m not frowning.”
“TP is on the right, flyboy!” she hollered…
and he did a double-take, as he heard her chuckling in amusement.
Okay, so maybe he wanted to wash his hands and freshen up, but that was the only reason he was going to the bathroom.
There was no way he was going to flush the toilet because he couldn’t give her the satisfaction of being right when she was so…
Eli stopped.
“Oh,” he spotted his expression in the mirror above the sink.
There was a deep line between his eyebrows, a small crease down the bridge of his nose because it was such an intense glare staring back at him that even he was intimidated for a moment.
Was this the look, the glare, he gave everyone?
It was no wonder that no one ever talked with him – which made the fact that Maureen gave him the time of day even more of a miracle to him.
Trying to relax his expression, he washed his hands…
and then slowly looked back up to his reflection in the mirror.