Michael laughed. "Oh, no. I loved the way you did it. You have such a wonderful sense of humor. No. You told me that you wanted me closer to you and I liked that... I have been a little distant the last few weeks. I guess... our conversation after dinner that night was a little overwhelming. Incredible, wonderful, but unbelievable at the same time. I never knew a woman could be so understanding of me and my... situation so soon after meeting me."
Jen was exactly right. Michael did retreat to his 'man cave.' "Michael, you've been incredibly sensitive and understanding of me and my situation too. Not many men would be so accepting of a woman who was abused and battered like me. Trust me. I know." She put her head on his shoulder and tried hard not to cry.
Michael pulled his hand from Sarah's grip and put his arm around her. "Sarah, I just knew that you'd been through something difficult, but we both had. We need each other. We're helping each other..."
They sat on the porch enjoying an increasingly cool breeze as the sun set and the warm feeling of intimacy between them kindled.
Michael devised the perfect finale to a perfect evening with a request. "Sarah, I need your help with something important to me."
Sarah's heart skipped a beat and she sat up to look at him. "What's that, Michael."
"Would you go to Austin with me to help me pick out furniture for the house?"
"What?"
Chapter 12
"Jen, we had a wonderful afternoon and evening at Michael's house. He has a gorgeous house by the way. Great meal. Good talk and you were exactly right. He told me he was holding back partly because he didn't want to push too hard and because we got so serious at dinner."
"Bingo. I nailed it. Guys just do that. We can't keep 'em from doing it, but we can fix 'em if we know it's happening. We make a great team when we work together, Sarah."
"Yeah, good catch. Anyway, things were getting really nice and dreamy between us and he breaks it up with a really strange request."
"Uh, he's not getting weird or anything, is he?"
"What? Oh, heavens no, Jen." Sarah turned bright red. Fortunately, Jen wasn't there to see it. "He asked me to go to Austin to shop for furniture with the same seriousness as if he asked me to marry him, Jen. It was the strangest thing."
There was silence on the phone for several seconds.
"Jen, you there?"
"Yeah, I was just thinking about what you said. He asked you to go to Austin to help him pick out furniture?"
"Yup, what's up with that?"
"Sarah, sweetie, you're a social worker. You analyze the psycho-social stuff in patients and families all the time. You don't see what's going on with Michael?"
Sarah thought for a minute. "No, not so much. You have to remember, Jen. I'm really new at this. I don't have much... any experience with men at this level. That's why I need you."
"Well, what I said about Michael retreating to his 'man cave' after you guys got hot and heavy with the serious stuff was true. He let you into his man cave when you asked to come for lunch. Now, he's asking you to help him redecorate his man cave by helping pick out furniture. Sarah, you're slowly but surely owning this guy. Good job, girl."
"So, Michael asking me to go furniture shopping is a guy's way of getting more serious in a relationship?"
"Heck, yeah."
"I'll never understand men."
"Don't worry, sweetie, they feel the same about us."
Sarah looked forward to her Thursday off and the expedition to Austin with much more excitement than bewilderment. She accepted Jen's assessment of the situation at face value. This was new territory for her. With each passing day she found it harder to focus on work and caught herself daydreaming about the trip more than doing paperwork. They would leave early morning and get back before dark since Austin was just an hour and a half away. She wondered what they would talk about on the trip. Focus, Sarah. You have work to do.
Michael called and emailed a few times during the week to plan the day, where Sarah wanted to go to lunch, store recommendations and such. For Sarah, just spending the day with Michael was a thrill. The details didn't matter but she had a few suggestions anyway.
The big day finally arrived and Sarah was up, dressed and ready sooner than necessary. The excitement got the best of her. She flitted around the apartment straightening an already immaculate home and gathering a few... several things she just had to take with her. Some of those things included samples of new snacks she found on Pinterest. Michael would be her guinea pig.
The knock at 8:26 prompted Sarah to open the door to an attentive and handsome Michael. He's not like guys who just honk the horn. He's so cute. "Good morning."
"Good morning, beautiful lady. You ready to go?"
Sarah locked up and they walked arm in arm to the truck where Michael opened the door and helped her in.
He's just so darn cute.
The drive took them through several small Texas communities along Farm to Market roads and small highways. Michael liked taking the "scenic route" rather than the Interstate since the construction delayed and frustrated him. Towns like Cameron, Davila, Holland and Bartlett had such rich histories and tight-knit communities it would be a shame not to pass through them.
As they talked, Sarah mentally noted the roads leading to the houses of patients she cared for over the years. The longer they drove the fewer locations she spotted. After about thirty minutes they were completely out of the Sunset service area. She shared some of the stories with Michael, no names of course.
"It must be hard to get that close to your patients knowing that they will be gone soon."
"It is, but we tell new employees that hospice is a calling. If you are called to do this, God gives you the ability to deal with the unique stresses and blessings of the job." She thought for a minute. "It's like what you did in the Army, Michael. Very few people could do what you did. You and my brother Gabriel are a unique breed. You two are the same, but so different too."
"How's that?"
"You're calm, quiet, always observing. You listen well. You don't judge. That's what I like about you. I feel safe with you. I love my brother, but he can be so overbearing. Both of you are good soldiers, though."
"You know, I knew your brother. I hadn't told you that."
"Gabe told me he knew you. He spoke very highly of you too."
"Gabe's a good man. He's the one you want on your six in a fire fight." Michael drove silently for several miles. "I've lost touch with most of the guys in my unit, including Gabe... I'm not supposed to talk about this, Sarah, but Gabe was behind me in the convoy the night I was hit."
Sarah kept silent at the news, knowing there was a lot more to the story that Michael needed to tell.
Michael adjusted himself in the seat. "One of my responsibilities was to sniff out signals of an impending ambush. I have this uncanny sense about things even when you can't detect them with a machine. I never saw this one coming. It's the only one I missed and the one that got me and killed one of my men. Had it happened even thirty seconds later, it could have been Gabe.
"The after action report said nothing about me missing anything that could have prevented the attack. There were no warning signs, but I could always tell. I blame myself for that. I've had to get past that and it's been tough to do."
Sarah let Michal's revelation soak in before she proceeded. "Gabe called you a real hero for what you did. He didn't give me any details, but I could tell if he had any animosity toward you, Michael, and he doesn't. He's thrilled that we're together. He told me to take good care of you, if you can believe that."
"Wow, that's really saying something coming from your guardian angel."
"My what?"
"Well, you have a brother who watches out for you who's named after one of the archangels in the Bible."
"You know, I've never thought of it that way."
The conversation and company became increasingly lighter and more comfortable throughout the day. While Michael had a pretty goo
d idea of what kind of furniture he wanted, he had no idea what styles or colors would go well in a renovated farmhouse.
Sarah was in her element. She loved styles, colors and combining the two. She just never had the money or the opportunity to do anything about it. Armed with her Pinterest app and dozens of examples of farmhouse chic, they visited several stores that catered to DINKs (Double Income, No Kids) in the upscale Austin market who took on the monumental task of renovating some of the hundreds of older houses in the Central Texas area.
Michael just shook his head at Sarah's enthusiasm over selecting and suggesting a rustic Texas theme for the living spaces, white wash for the upstairs, and barn wood furniture for Michael's bedroom downstairs. The colors and patterns brought out Michael's personality.
At one point, Michael asked, "Just curious, Sarah. What colors would you pick if it were your room?"
Sarah paused for a minute, not sure how to answer. "Well..." and then continued picking a few that she liked, not knowing exactly why he asked.
Over lunch, Sarah ventured into a conversation she was just dying to have. "So, Michael. When you first told me about living at your grandmother's place it sounded like that was a temporary arrangement. I guess since you're considering furniture it means you're planning on making it more permanent?" She tried so hard not to make that sound like what it was.
Michael looked at her and let out one of his typical barely perceptible smiles. "Yeah. To be honest, when we first met I didn't even know if Sunset would be much more than a short-term thing. I'm pretty sure now that I'll be here for the foreseeable future." His smile grew larger.
I hope I'm part of the reason. "I know I would like for you to stay."
"You sound like you'd have to try to talk me into it, Sarah. The way my business works, I could live anywhere there's a cellphone and internet connection. I hope you know the reason I'm staying in Sunset is... you."
Sarah sat rock still, too stunned to move, her eyes locked on Michael. Her only movement beside the tear slipping from her eye was a hand sliding across the table seeking his.
"Did you not realize that, Sarah?" He held and stroked her hand gently.
"I... I guess so. At least I hoped that would be why you would want to stay. It's just that... I don't know... making a big decision like that just because of me. Wow, that's a lot to take in." She looked down, lost in thought. "This is something I've struggled with for a long time, Michael, not feeling worthy... of that kind of..."
"Love."
Sarah looked up, breathless.
"Yes, Sarah, I love you. I didn't think I would say that to a woman again in my life. Certainly not one as wonderful and beautiful as you. I thank God every day for putting us together like this. So, love is the word you were searching for... hopefully."
Sarah searched for the ability to speak, not the words to say. "... yes, love." She held his gaze for a moment to be certain she could do so without feeling unworthy of what he just said. She had felt that way for so long with so many people that this was a foreign experience. "Michael, I love you." The release Sarah felt was like being released from a dungeon of her own making and seeing the sunlight again as a free woman. "... and I didn't know if I would ever say those words to a man. I didn't know there was somebody like you in this world, Michael."
The lunch time conversation gave the drive home to Sunset a whole different tone and a much deeper level of intimacy between a man who lost love because of his injury and a woman who became wounded seeking love.
Chapter 13
After a glorious day with Michael, Sarah changed for bed and collapsed for the night. Or so she thought. She tossed and turned for most of the night. Why can't I sleep? Sure, it was wonderful being with Michael today. What's bothering me, then... Wait... Did he want me to help him pick out furniture because he thought I might be sharing it with him one day? Oh, Sarah. Don't get your hopes up. Don't do that to yourself.
Try as she might, sleep wasn't going to happen, so she got up to write some emails to friends. She turned on the desk lamp and turned on the laptop screen. The message box on the screen surprised her. "Upload in progress." What does that mean? Try as she might, she couldn't get it to go away. She tried to restart the computer, but she couldn't. It was locked up. This is frustrating.
Sarah walked away from her desk to get a glass of almond milk and a granola bar. When she returned, her computer acted normally. I'll have to ask Michael about what happened. She continued on with her emails until the nervous energy dissipated. A few hours of sleep was all Sarah got that night.
Sunday just didn't feel as worshipful as Sarah hoped. She blamed it on lack of sleep, but in the back of her mind, she knew there was something not right about... something, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it. Her intuitive sense was a skill she honed in her line of work. It came in handy when dealing with patients and families who didn't know what they needed or felt themselves.
As always, it felt good to be with Michael. She usually felt safe, warm and secure around him. Today just felt different for some reason. You need a nap, Sarah.
During lunch at the Diner, Sarah decided to ask Michael about her nagging concern, silly as it may be. "Michael, I know you don't do hardware, but I think I have a problem with my laptop."
"Okay, tell me what's going on. I may be able to help."
"Well, I woke up in the middle of the night and couldn't sleep, so I got up to do some things on it and found a message box that said 'upload in progress.' I couldn't get it go away and couldn't do anything else until it went away on its own. Got any ideas?"
Michael perked up. "That's not a hardware issue. Do you use a cloud backup service that may have caused that?"
"Yes, but it's always running in the background and it's never done that before that I know of."
Michael looked at her thoughtfully for a moment. "Huh. Well, if you don't mind me coming over to your place for a few minutes I can take a look and run a quick scan."
"Sure, I think I can allow that." Sarah's grin signaled to Michael that he could loosen up a little. He needn't be concerned about threatening Sarah's comfort zone any longer. They were in love.
Arriving at her apartment, Sarah escorted Michael into her bedroom to show him how she had her laptop and docking station set up. Turning around, she noticed he was nowhere to be seen. She backtracked into the living area to see Michael standing there looking a little flustered.
"Michael, are you okay?"
"Well, yeah, I guess. It's just, that... I didn't think you'd be comfortable with us being in your bedroom together, Sarah."
She stood, looking at him with a compassionate and appreciative stare. "You are so cute." She kissed him on the cheek, held his hand and with an overly gratuitous tone took Michael slowly back to show him her computer setup. "Michael, let's pretend that this half of the room by my desk is my office and ignore the rest of it. That way you don't have to be uncomfortable with it."
Michael turned his traditional shade of red. "Okay, Sarah. I can deal with it." He smiled and sat down to study her laptop. He expertly brought the system to life and conducted a system check. "Good laptop you've got here... operating system checks out... antivirus and malware protection in place. I'm going to log in to my site and run a system sweep to see if there's anything to worry about." Michael brought up a browser and connected to his secure website.
After a few minutes of watching various bits of data scroll and flash on the screen, Michael stopped the scan. "Sarah. I think I found the problem. Even though you've got a good anti-malware program, you've got yourself a nasty Trojan program running on your system."
"What's that? Is it bad?"
"Well, it's a program that sneaks on to your computer disguised as something simple and non-threatening. You may think it's a good thing like a game or even a picture that's linked to an email, but it's really a malicious program that infects your computer. I can't tell from here what it's doing, but I know it doesn't belong here and needs t
o be killed before it can do any damage. Do you mind if I take your laptop to my place for a few hours and do a deep scan?"
"No, sure. Whatever it takes. I'm beat and could use a good nap. You go play with your toys and let me know when you're done."
Michael smiled, disconnected the laptop and headed for the door.
Sarah gave him a quick hug and kiss. "See you." After seeing him off, she changed into her favorite jeans and t-shirt then fell on the bed for a blissful and peaceful nap.
When Michael arrived at home he didn't even bother to change clothes. He immediately plugged in a flash drive with a complete diagnostic suite and watched as the data rolled down the screen. He could have done any number of things in the twenty minutes it took to complete the testing, but he didn't. This bothered him too much. What he got for his wait wasn't what he wanted.
His worst fears were true. Somehow, Sarah's system had a mind of its own, sending information through the internet to an as yet unknown source. What and to whom Michael would find out. It was not only his nature, but this was Sarah's computer. And Sarah was... Michael couldn't focus on that now. He had a mystery, maybe even a crime to solve.
Digging deeper into the files, Michael found email attachments with various embedded malware, most of which the antivirus software caught and discarded. The majority, Sarah simply deleted. Good girl, Sarah. A few, however, were clever enough to make it past all the barriers. The source caused Michael's protective instincts to go into high gear.
A check into the deleted files showed a treasure trove of pictures taken over the last several months. Hundreds of them. Many were so degraded Michael couldn't restore them, but the most recently deleted were easily reclaimed. Just because you deleted these files doesn't mean I can't find them, sucker.
Michael double clicked on a file to see what the malware program had been up to. His default picture viewer went into slideshow mode, showing a different picture every second. The first few photos caused a total disconnect in Michael's brain. He felt like he was staring into a window of Sarah's bedroom instead of looking at her laptop in his own home. The images were photos taken by the camera on Sarah's desk showing her dropping something on the bed. Why would she take pictures of herself... Then reality struck. Michael's heart raced and he turned a deep scarlet. He quickly closed the laptop and walked away. I can't believe this. What do I do? How do I explain this to Sarah?
Sarah's Prayer: A Sunset Single (Sunset Series 1.1) Page 7
