Going Home [Party on the Prairie 1] (Siren Publishing Classic)

by Redrae Gunn

  Kira stopped at the edge of the dining room. The tile still ran in a half-circle to the sliding glass doors on her left but she wanted him to know. “My side of the house,” she said as he held out her arms and looked into the living room.

  “Your side,” Rock repeated as he chewed his lower lip to stop his lips from curling into a predatory smile. He glanced around the living room that stretched from either side of the house. Off of the sliding glass doors were a porch and a gas grill. Several snow-filled flowerpots were stacked neatly under the built-in bench.

  An enormous flat-screen hung from the wall surrounded by huge concert speakers. Rock walked over to the stereo cabinet and whistled. Kira knew her stuff. Vintage tuner, amplifier, 301 CD changer, and a jack coming out of the back of the tuner where she could easily plug in her MP3, iPad, or whatever other device she wanted to use. Fully cranked he bet that the two sets of Pro Studio Mach II’s would blow out both the sliding glass doors and the enormous bay windows. It looked like the system was wired through her TV as well.

  “You have satellite?” Rock asked as he pointed to the box under the TV.

  “Oh, yeah.” Kira tapped her finger against her temple. “I was going to tell you about that. I can only have four boxes so there is one in here, one downstairs for guests, one in my bedroom and one in the small living area upstairs.”

  “There’s two TVs upstairs,” Rock reminded her.

  “Yeah but I have the box angled so that you can pick the station from in the bedroom.” Kira smiled. “The TVs are both wired to the same box so if you have company, they have to watch what you want to watch. Or, whoever has the remote is in charge.”

  “I will have the remote.” Rock’s voice rumbled more than he had wanted it to.

  “I have no doubt about that,” Kira mumbled as she went down the hallway. “My room.” She pointed to the first door on the right and flipped on the light.

  She went to flip off the light and Rock’s hand stopped her. He was looking at her bed. “Did you make that as well?”

  Kira nodded her head shyly and looked at the floor.

  “It’s very nice,” Rock said and he took in her room. It screamed submissive. The mirrored closet doors faced the bed. Her mirrored dresser faced the bed. Her bed had metal rungs on the headboard and footboard. Rock thought of how easily a leash, handcuffs, or shackles could be attached to those metal rungs and he felt himself start to get hard. He quickly shut off the light.

  “Bathroom,” Kira said as she flipped on the light in the room across from her bedroom.

  Rock looked into the bathroom. A glass enclosed shower was tucked into the corner, the toilet discretely hidden behind a half wall, and the Jacuzzi tub was the center of attention in the room. He noticed the dual sinks on the sprawling vanity. Very classy, with floor-to-ceiling cupboards at the far end, opposite the shower.

  “Finally, my office, kind of,” Kira said as she flipped on the light in her study. It looked more like a filing cabinet for paperwork but there was a sewing machine on the corner table and it appeared that it was used often. “The shop is where I work most of the time.”

  “That door?” Rock pointed to the door at the end of the hall.

  “That goes to my garage.” Kira smiled. “Which reminds me that I need to replace the batteries in your garage door opener. I have my own fridge in the garage so the one in the kitchen next to the oven is also shared.”

  Rock followed Kira back into the kitchen and saw her relax as they were back on neutral ground.

  Rock sat at the island as Kira offered him something to drink. He said water was just fine so as she got him the water she explained the reason why there was a second faucet on the sink. They were on well water and she had the drinking water shipped in. Rock read through the rental agreement that Kira had composed and finally he asked the question that had been bothering him.

  “What’s the catch?” he asked.

  * * * *

  Kira looked at her hands, took a deep breath and willed her voice not to waver. Now was not the time to wuss out.

  “I have clients that sometimes want to come and see the furniture that I make,” Kira said. “I mean sometimes the standard size does not fit all and sometimes adjustments have to be made.” Especially when it comes to the cages. Kira pushed the thought from her head. “I don’t know these people well at all and inviting strangers out here, by myself, isn’t very smart.” Kira did not want to end up demonstrating any of the furniture against her will.

  “So I would do what?” Rock asked.

  “Just be here,” Kira said. She glanced up at Rock, who was studying her intently. “You can stay in the house, they’ll know that you are here, and that I’m not alone.”

  “When are you wanting clients to be here?” Rock asked. “I work nearly sixty hours a week.”

  “Whenever you are available,” Kira said firmly. “They can work around your schedule.”

  Rock sat back in the stool and rubbed his goatee. It wasn’t a bad deal. It was a great deal as a matter-of-fact. It was a really nice home. His own shower, room, garage, and access to the large kitchen whenever he wanted was too good to pass up. He couldn’t go somewhere else now that he knew she was out here alone. The idea of her being taken advantage of by someone made his hands ball into fists.

  “How much for rent?” Rock asked. This was the million dollar question. With a lack of housing in the area due to the influx of oil-field workers she could easily rent the room for over a thousand dollars. She could actually probably rent out the garage for a thousand dollars. He had been paying eight hundred dollars a month for just a bed and shared shower at his current residence.

  “Half the utilities?” Kira asked. That’s what she had put into the rental agreement. “I’ve averaged the propane, gas, and diesel bill into the twelve months because as you can see it’s pretty steep when they come only once a year.” She handed over the stack of different bills.

  “This is two hundred and fifty dollars,” Rock said as he added up the averages and split it in half. “You could get that much just for a place for someone to park. Market is about a thousand to sleep in the garage. You know that.”

  Kira nodded her head. “Well, there are other things,” Kira admitted. “I have problems with raccoons and deer getting into the garden in the summer so I need help repairing the fence. I need to repaint the barn and re-shingle the roof. The cement in the sidewalk is cracking and I want to put in more of a rock path with decorative stepping stones. I hate mowing the lawn when I could be doing other things. Finally, I’m short and running the tractor to clear snow from the highway to the Quonsets and to the shop is a major pain.”

  Rock watched Kira, loving the way that she pouted about the chores of running the farm. He liked the way her bottom lip stuck out and she stomped her foot about being short. She didn’t care about the money, she wanted help with other things. He wondered just how many other things that she needed help with and if she would be willing to have him help her out with those things.

  “So I help around the farm on my days off, meet clients so they know that you aren’t alone, and pay half of the utilities?” Rock asked.

  “I’d like that,” Kira admitted.

  “Why don’t I pay all the bills and give you money for the groceries, you take care of the property taxes, do the shopping, and I will still help around the farm?” Rock asked. It seemed simpler that way.

  When Kira nodded her head Rock smiled.

  “Let me get back with you on this.” Rock held up the agreement and watched as Kira masked her expression perfectly. “I will call you tomorrow and drop it off. I just want to look it over.”

  Kira led Rock to the door, thanked him for coming, said she looked forward to his call tomorrow, and shut the door. She leaned against the door, grateful for the coolness on her back. The feelings of self-doubt crept into her head. She pushed the feelings away. It was a great deal for both of them. She nodded her head, straightened her shoulders and grabbe
d back the confidence that had nearly left with him.

  * * * *

  Rock pulled his truck into the Outlaws Bar and Grill. It was a restaurant located in Watford City. All Rock had to do was mention that he was planning on renting a room from Kira Knudson and people interrupted his meal all night. Kira had left her grandpa right after high school, Kira’s mom had left them both, Kira this, Kira that.

  “She left to join the Marines right after high school.”

  “She only came back to take care of her grandpa. I think it was because of his will.”

  “She drives strange vehicles, not suited for these roads.”

  “She makes odd furniture. Not the strange type as in it might be a work of art either. They are torture devices.”

  “She stole my husband’s job.”

  “Kira didn’t steal her husband’s job. Kira was better at welding than that woman’s cheating man.”

  “She grows pot in those locked sheds of hers.”

  “Kira leaves for days at a time.”

  “She has weird clients.”

  “Kira makes sex machines.”

  “None of us in the sewing circle have ever seen Kira at one of our gatherings although we know that she sews. She orders her material from out of state.”

  “Kira doesn’t attend our church.”

  “She has a meth lab in those locked Quonsets.”

  “Kira’s mom abandoned her when she was still an infant. Karl accepted her and raised her then Kira left him. I think he thought good riddance and now, she’s back.”

  “Kira was always so sweet in high school but she wore strange clothing.”

  “She didn’t join the FFA or 4-H.”

  “She wasn’t baptized, or confirmed.”

  “The Sherriff still strolls her property looking for drug evidence. He’ll find it one day, mark my words.”

  Rock’s head was spinning. Kira didn’t have much of a cheering section when it came to her home town. Nothing he had heard made him think different of the kind blonde who had come home to take care of her grandfather.

  “Kira got a bad rap,” a Native American, about Rock’s age sat down at the table. “She’s sweet, buys gifts for the kids every Christmas even when she’s not here. Kira donates books to the New Town library, sends funds to our volunteer fire department, even got us the inside scoop on a bid for a retired air force fire truck. She also gives to the family planning center here.”

  “So why the bad rap?” Rock asked, mimicking the man’s words.

  “She’s different,” the man replied as he glanced around the room, full of white people.

  “How so?” Rock asked noticing that the man was different as well. This was the best and only pertinent information he was going to get.

  “Kira loves this land, she knows her heart, and on occasion, she is unafraid to show it,” the man replied. “She dresses as we dress, she talks as we talk, she does rituals as we do, but according to them,” the man let his hand move across the crowd in the room, “she isn’t one of them.”

  “How do you know all this?” Rock asked.

  “Kira’s land, well, part of Kira’s land, is on the reservation, so that snoopy Sherriff, Sam Morgan, needs tribal okay to go and search her property.” The man leaned forward as if sharing a big secret. “Most of us on the BIA in New Town really like Kira as she does a lot for the kids in New Town. So we agree to the search, once a year, and warn her beforehand.”

  “BIA?” Rock asked.

  “Bureau of Indian Affairs.”

  “Bureau of Indian Affairs,” Rock repeated. “Why would you warn her if she’s suspected of doing something illegal?”

  “The only thing that girl has done is not show Sam Morgan what is really on her property.” The man shrugged his shoulders. “She goes with her heart, and it’s a fierce heart. She has never done what has been expected of her. Karl, her grandfather, never placed any barriers on her either, so her spirit was able to soar. She has made it on her own, so she is a source of both admiration and aberration. I think Kira is an enigma.”

  The man across from Rock nodded, rose, and left the building.

  Rock looked at his plate. “Enigma.”

  * * * *

  Kira woke and went to the bathroom. She applied her make-up in the nude. Then she dressed in a sexy black corset, garter belt, stockings and matching thong. Nothing like lace to get her in the mood to finally clean out the front bathroom. She usually only went in there if nature called while she was cooking or to pull her hair back into a ponytail if someone showed up at the farm. Her curly hair tended to go the way of Medusa if she hadn’t applied a half-pound of product to it.

  She knew that Rock would call and she had steadied herself for the inevitable. He was going to say no to the rental agreement. If he believed half the rumors in town he would back out immediately. Kira laughed as she reminded herself that half of the rumors were true. In a way. She certainly wasn’t growing pot, she didn’t have a meth lab, and she absolutely didn’t consider her cages to be torture devices.

  She finished cleaning out the bathroom, mopped down the kitchen, vacuumed upstairs and down, dusted everything, and then noticed the sun starting to rise. She changed out of her housework clothes and made her bed. Time to start her real work day.

  Kira walked into the kitchen. Her stiletto leather boots clicked across the tile. She loved that sound. The leather pants were her standard wear for welding. Easy to get off, but protected her from any flying sparks, and they also covered the bottom of her boots so no sparks could fly down her socks. The leather vest protected her from any hot metal flying at her upper goods. She had leather arm guards in the shop. She was not taking any chances on severe burns.

  Her coffee brewed and Kira finished up the last of the dishes before grabbing her cell phone and iPad. She donned her black leather trench coat, poured the coffee into her thermos, grabbed her keys, and headed for the shop. She had a fabulous idea on a recent request for a special collar that a client had requested.

  Two hours later, Kira was grinding down the rough edges of the collar. She was ready to attach the chains and black leather cuffs that would secure the submissive’s hands behind her back, attached to the collar. Kira looked at the cuffs again before attaching them. They weren’t quite right for the buyer. His little pet liked lace, not harsh silver studs. Kira looked over some of the other cuffs that she had designed. She grinned. The white leather with the delicate black lace on the outside, soft white fur inside. Those were the perfect cuffs for the buyer’s little pet.

  In a last-minute decision, Kira attached a removable clasp from the front ring of the collar and tied black lace bows to the delicate dangling chain. It was perfect. Kira took pictures with her iPad and uploaded them to the buyer. Two minutes and four hundred dollars later, Kira had it ready for UPS delivery.

  * * * *

  Rock pulled into New Town and parked in front of the BIA office. It was a little after eight and after checking the doors he waited in his truck. Forty minutes later the Native American man he had seen the night before opened the doors to the office and waved at Rock. Rock jumped out of his truck and followed him inside.

  “I figured that after a good night’s sleep you’d have more questions,” the man said. “So I decided to come in early.”

  “The sign on the door says you open at eight,” Rock said gruffly.

  The man looked around Rock and looked at the door. “So it does.” The man offered Rock a chair and took a seat behind an old green military desk. “I didn’t introduce myself yesterday. I am Abraham Long Feather, but I go by Abe.”

  “Rock Pyre,” Rock said reaching out and shaking the man’s hand.

  “Well, it appears that I was wrong,” Abe said as he thumbed through some papers on his desk. “Kira was in trouble with the law twice in this state.”

  Rock raised his eyebrows.

  “She was caught trespassing on the Four Bears Bridge one summer. Seems she and some of her friends tho
ught jumping off it was a good idea. We had that problem every year until the new bridge went up some years back. Charges of course were dismissed. All kids receive a warning their first offense.”

  Abe thumbed through the papers again. “And she was caught trespassing again in a park. It says that she was sage smudging, that’s a Native American ritual, after hours at the Crow Flies High area. You saw the rock tribute on your way across the bridge if you were paying any attention.”

  “I saw it,” Rock said. “The circle divided into four sections.”

  “That’s correct,” Abe said looking at the report. “That happened after she got back from the Marines. She told the patrolling officer that she was just looking for answers to her place in this world. He let her finish and leave.”

  “Enigma?” Rock asked, smiling at the older man.

  “Yes,” Abe replied, nodding his head. “So are you going to move out there? I heard that she was renting a space. It’s a nice home, needs some updates, but still nice.”

  The two sat in silence for a while and Rock contemplated his options. Everything in his gut said it was a good deal. It was a great deal. Kira was attractive, and the house appeared to be orderly and clean. The outside had some work to do but that was understandable. How much time would Kira have had to devote to the upkeep of the farm when she had been tending to her grandfather?

  “I’ll be staying out there,” Rock said with finality as he stood and shook Abe’s hand. Rock looked at the lamp on Abe’s desk and noticed the resemblance between it and the headboard he had seen in the room in the attic. He tilted his head to the side and studied it.

  “It’s a great conversation starter,” Abe said as he pointed to the lamp. “I’ve heard that so is most of the furniture Kira designs.”