The Sage After Rain A love story

by Jaclyn Hawkes

  Sighing, he gently pushed her off, stood up and then pulled her up beside him. He wrapped his arms around her tightly and bent and kissed her like he never wanted to let her go and when he finally drew back, she was more mixed up than ever. She knew for the first time in her life she was in love, but she didn't know if he felt the same about her and he wasn't a member anyway.

  He walked her to her door and said, "If I had my way, I'd be sleeping between your front door and your bedroom door until this trial is over, but that's probably not all that wise, and you have Zeus anyway. I'm in the cabin on this side and Drew is in the one on the other if you need anything. Thanks for not being mad at me for waking you up at two in the morning."

  Leaning against his shoulder, she reminded him, "I'm actually still several nights down on you for mouse rescues and sitting with me when I was sick, remember?"

  Smiling, he assured her, "I will always remember those mice until the day I die, Taya. You were far too entertaining to ever forget. If we ever make it back to that sheep trailer, I may plant one occasionally just so I have to rescue you. Kiss me, so I can go to sleep before I'm completely brain dead."

  She reached up and kissed him gently and he hugged her tight and said, "On second thought, I don't care if I'm brain dead. I think I'll just stay here and kiss you instead of sleep."

  That made her laugh and say, "Your mother is really sweet, but I don't think I’d want to get on her bad side. Something tells me she's tough under that gentle exterior and I'd hate to bring out the mother tiger on your first night home. You'd better go to your own cabin and come kiss me tomorrow."

  "That's probably a good idea. And you're right. She's tough." He leaned and kissed her again. "I missed you, Taya. I'm glad you're here and safe. Good night."

  "Me too. Night, Matt."

  She slept late the next morning. It was almost as if now that she knew he was there and done and okay, she could relax.

  Zeus finally made her get out of bed to walk him or she would have slept even later. She got up and dressed and took him outside and walked the path through the compound behind the cabins with him. Where she was now was much higher in elevation than the sheep camp had been and there were conifers and aspens, instead of the cedars and sage and the mid October morning was cold. She was going to have to either pick up some of her winter gear when she was in Maryland next week, or buy new.

  As she walked, she thought about what her plans were for the future. Joshua was already talking like he thought she was coming back as soon as the trial was over, and other than Matt, there was no reason not to. But except for her work, there was nothing back there she wanted to return to.

  She wondered what Matt was going to do. She knew he had closed his apartment and put his things in storage after Stacy, so she assumed he would get another one when he decided what he was going to do professionally. He'd been working here in Steamboat. Maybe he'd want to go back to his old job, although she didn't really think so.

  She and Zeus walked for over an hour, but she still didn't know what she wanted to do with her life, so she went back to her cabin, had a banana and a glass of milk and went to work on her lap top.

  It was after noon before Matt knocked on her cabin door and let himself in. He came in and pulled her up from her seat to hug her and then kiss her, still looking tired, but much better than he'd looked last night and she asked, "Did you get all of your sleep stocked back up already? You look better."

  He shook his head. "No, but enough for now. Are you up to going into Steamboat with me to see if I can find a tux? I'll take you out to lunch. We'll have a real date. What do you say?"

  Hesitantly, she asked, "Is it safe?"

  "Drew thinks it is. He checked in with the FBI and he's been watching for anyone hanging around. Steamboat is a resort town that's almost dead this time of year and they’ve seen no one so they’re going to let us go. We might not even find a tux. We might have to drive almost a hundred miles into Denver. Drew and some of the others will hang out near us. Will that make you feel more comfortable?"

  She smiled enthusiastically. "Yes. I'd love to go. Can I leave Zeus? Will he be okay?"

  "Is he house broken?"

  She glanced at her white friend. "He has been while I've been with him these last couple of days, but while I've known him, he's never been inside. I simply don't want him to bite someone, so I've kept him inside with me."

  "He'd probably be happier outside than left in. Do you think you can talk him into not eating my dad if we leave him?"

  Nodding, she answered, "Yes, but what about anyone else who comes?"

  He yawned and turned toward the door. "I'll ask my mom if they're expecting anyone else. I'll be right back."

  Taya shut down her computer, got up, and combed her hair and put makeup on and then went to change her clothes. She had brought almost nothing with her to Colorado from Maryland, and for the desert she had only bought jeans and casual clothes, but she did have a couple of outfits that were nice from when she'd visited Madeline and she put one on.

  When she came out of the bedroom, Matt stood there and stared at her and she asked, "What? Is something wrong?" She looked down to see if there was something wrong with her clothing but couldn’t see anything and asked, "Why are you looking at me like that?"

  "Wow, I've just never seen you in anything but jeans and your church dresses, and even then you didn't wear much makeup. You didn't need it, but you look great! Maybe I should go back and start over."

  Shaking her head, she said, "No. You look perfect. Jeans fit you. Don't change for me."

  He rolled his eyes and grinned. "Taya, we're going to get a tux."

  "Well, you know what I mean."

  "You didn't have to change either."

  She took both of his hands and asked, "Will you still like me if I tell you that sometimes I wear nice clothes?"

  Releasing her hands, he held her waist. "Do you honestly doubt me?"

  "No, but it might bother some guys."

  He kissed her slowly. "I'm not some guys, Taya. I'm just Matt. I'll like you in whatever. Always."

  That made her smile as he opened the cabin door for her. "I think I knew that. What kind of food do they have in Steamboat?"

  He helped her into his Jeep. "A little of everything. What do you like?"

  "Seafood. I'm from Maryland, remember? I grew up near the ocean."

  Coming around and getting in, he assured her, "I think we can find seafood. We can eat lobster to celebrate surviving the desert. We'll have to see what we can find open. Some places in town close in the spring and fall between seasons."

  As she buckled in, she commented, "Your Jeep is so clean. What happened to it?"

  He laughed as he started it. "I celebrated the end of the contract by washing and vacuuming it this morning. No sand is a beautiful thing."

  She was thoughtful for a second and then admitted a little sadly, "I miss Horse. I'll bet she's lonely."

  He backed the Jeep out. "I think she's okay. Zan took her back to Joseph's with the sheep. He'll watch over her for you."

  Glancing at him, she asked, "What happened between you and Zan that you're all buddies now?"

  He smiled across the Jeep at her. "That's a good question. And I'm not sure what the answer is, but I think he finally figured out that he can trust me as far as treating you decently. It had something to do with me asking him to take care of you while I finished in the desert."

  She shook her head at him. "That's still a little strange to me. For some reason, I never pictured the two of you getting along all that well. You're both too used to being in control or something."

  He reached for her hand. "But we're on the same team as far as you're concerned. If it wouldn't kill him, I'd take him to D.C. with us. I wouldn't mind having another guy along to watch over you."

  "What do you mean, if it wouldn't kill him?"

  "I know you don't believe me, Taya, but he truly is in love with you, and I'm the one who's going to be at th
e ball with you. It would be mean to take him."

  After considering that, she said, "You’re a surprisingly nice guy. You know that?"

  "I'm getting better. That doesn't mean I wouldn't like to take a punch at John Channing some time. I'm still working on that one."

  Looking out the window, she quietly said, "He's honestly not worth your hassle, Matt. I feel more sorry for him than anything anymore."

  "Why sorry?"

  She shrugged. "Because in the big picture, he simply doesn't understand. When he dies, he's gonna have an ugly wake up call."

  He rubbed his thumb across her fingers. "Are you nervous about having to testify next week?"

  "A little. I'm not even sure how much I can help. I didn't know much about what he was into, but if I can help I should, even if it makes me nervous."

  He gave her hand a squeeze and reminded her, "We'll be there with you. You'll be fine."

  She looked across at him again. "I bought your tickets to come back here to Colorado before the trial. I'm sorry. I didn't know you wanted to stay any longer."

  "I’ll change them. Do you mind if I stay longer?"

  She shook her head. "Of course not. I'll love it, but it might not be a very fun time. I'm probably going to have to stay put to be safe back there."

  "So we'll sit in the hotel pool a lot.” He shrugged. “And order seafood from room service. You probably have great lobster out there don't you?"

  "It's marvelous!” Her enthusiasm made him smile. “And bigger than you can even eat. Well, bigger than I can eat. I'm not sure about you."

  He laughed at her hesitation. "I have never yet met a lobster I wouldn't try to eat." He paused for a few seconds and then asked, "Are you going to go see your parents?"

  She looked up and met his eyes. "I don't know. I don't know what to do about them. I'm trying to forgive them and move on, but my dad was indicted too. Somehow, whatever I saw with John incriminated him too. They may hate me forever after this. I certainly don't think they're going to want to see me."

  He concentrated on driving for a second and then encouraged her, "You simply need to do what you think is the right thing to do, Taya. And then you need to be okay with that. Just don't keep hard feelings against them forever. That would hurt you far more than it would hurt them." He reached across and took her hand.

  Sadly, she admitted, "I know that. But unfortunately, I'm human. It's been hard. I've thought I was past it a hundred times now, and then I realize I'm still bitter. I don't know how long it will take me to learn to be a better Christian."

  He rubbed his thumb across her hand again. "There's no such thing as a better Christian than you, Taya. You've been a wonderful example for me."

  "Thank you, but you didn't see me tell off Stacy that time. I was terrible. I still feel guilty. I have an awfully long way to go."

  "Did you accuse her of anything that wasn't true?"

  She shook her head. "No, but I told her to get out of my camp and wait in her car. Jesus would never have said something like that."

  He laughed at her face. "I still think I'd liked to have seen that. I'll bet you were a hoot!"

  Guiltily, she smiled. "But it was rude. I shouldn't have done it."

  "So if you ever see her again, apologize. If you don't, then don't worry about it.” He turned off into a parking lot. “This is it. I think this is the best seafood in town. Bring your coastal pallet and tell me what you think."

  They ate their lobster and she thought it was as good as any she'd had back east. Then they went in search of a tuxedo. They actually did find a place there in Steamboat that had one and Taya was surprised. It didn't seem like that big or fancy of a town. They were strolling down the street hand in hand carrying the long suit bag, headed back to the Jeep when Matt gave a low chuckle and squeezed her hand. "You know how we talked about apologizing to Stacy when you saw her? That's her and Justin just up ahead, headed our way. Now's your chance. Have at her."

  Taya looked up the street and almost felt a little bit nervous. She hadn't truly thought she would have to be ready to apologize this quickly. As they got closer, the other two recognized them and Taya became more confident when she saw their little moment of panic. As they approached she glanced over at Matt and almost laughed at his “I dare you” look. He was the first to say something. He nodded and simply said, "Justin, Stacy. How's it going?"

  He probably would have kept on walking, but Taya pulled on his hand to stop him and turned to call back to them, "Oh, Stacy. I'm glad I saw you. I've felt guilty ever since that second time you came to my camp. I was rude, and I'd like to apologize. What you had done truly wasn't any of my business and I should have nosed out and been more polite. Please forgive me."

  For a second Stacy froze and then she looked up at Justin guiltily before she said, "Sure," to Taya.

  As Taya and Matt walked on, behind them they heard Justin ask her angrily, "You went to see Matt since then? Twice?" He obviously wasn't happy about that and Matt laughed and Taya put a hand to her mouth to swallow her own smile. So much for apologizing. She had probably just opened an awful can of worms for the ever deceitful Stacy. Every once in a while Matt would shake his head and chuckle on the way home, and Taya laughed with him. Poor, stupid girl.

  That night Taya got to meet all of Matt's family when Sue had a dinner to celebrate Matt's coming home and invited all of her children and their families. There were thirteen people around Sue's big table and a couple of them were very small and very glad to see their Uncle Matt home again. He was so gentle and sweet with them that Taya had a hard time not staring. She knew he was gentle, but she hadn't ever seen this side of him.

  Taya was glad she had had so much experience at official dinners with her parents. Her automatic manners kicked in and she forgot to be nervous at meeting them all.

  Later that night, Matt had her on his lap again, this time on his mother's porch swing. It was so cold out that he was in his coat and she was wrapped in a blanket, but it was still nice to be back in a swing with him. He must have understood that she missed those nights with him in the desert already. Those had been sweet times. They didn't stay out too long and then went over to Drew's cabin and watched a movie with him before Matt walked her back to hers. He didn't go in this time and simply kissed her goodnight on her porch. Even though she was tired, she missed him when he left.

  She read her scriptures before going to sleep and then lay there with Zeus on the floor beside her. She was still wondering what she needed to be planning for her life. She'd been trying to pray about it, but she wasn't coming up with many answers. Chiding herself for being so wishy-washy about making a decision, she set a goal to have a definite plan for the near future within the week. She didn't know what she was going to do, but she knew she needed to make some decisions. Finally, she dropped off to sleep thinking of Matt's sweet good night kiss.

  Chapter 27

  At two-twenty-eight a.m. Matt heard Taya scream in the cabin next door and jumped up, threw on some jeans and ran. He met Drew on her porch with his gun drawn. When Matt told him to put it away and knocked loudly Drew was alarmed and said, "Matt, what are you thinking? What if there's an intruder in there with her? Get out of the way!"

  Matt gave Drew a grin. "Oh, there's someone in there all right. Or rather something, but it's not an intruder. If it was, she'd have shot him and Zeus would just now be eating the body. I'll bet you twenty bucks it's a mouse."

  He'd hardly finished speaking when the door flew open and Taya came running out and hid behind him. He took a second to calm her and then sent her to sit on the hood of his Jeep. Turning to Drew who stood by looking at them like they'd lost their minds, he said, "You'd better come help me, Drew. This is a seriously big cabin to hide a mouse in, and she'll never get back to sleep if we don't find it."

  As they went in and shut the door behind them, Drew whispered, "Why doesn't she just have Zeus look at it? That dog could simply scare it to death and then we could merely go in and pick up
the body."

  "Zeus sticks to things like coyotes and lions. I don't think a mouse would ever occur to him."

  "Gees, if she screams like that when she sees a mouse, what does she do when she sees a mountain lion?"

  Matt shook his head at remembering her first mountain lion. He told Drew what had happened and how upset he had been at her about it, and Drew looked at him to see if he was being serious. He raised a hand to defend himself. "Dead honest, Drew. She goes out in the middle of the night with a thirty-thirty and blams yotes without blinking an eye and then stays out there with her sheep for the rest of the night. I used to lay there in my tent and feel guilty for not going out to save her even though I was working like sixteen hour days. She's a dead shot, and I don't think she'd ever touched a gun in her life until this summer. In D.C. they don't even let you hardly keep them, do they? They have the strictest gun laws in the country."

  "So what's up with this mouse thing? Why do they bother her?"

  Matt shrugged. "I don't know, but she comes unglued every time. She's actually so darn funny I almost get into trouble laughing, but then afterward I'm her hero, so it's kind of handy."

  Drew laughed and said, "You’re disgusting. So what do I get out of this?"

  "Hey, you're a peace officer. And you're certainly not going to get any peace with a mouse in her cabin."

  "Are you going to tell her how many jillion mice are likely to be in here?"

  Matt shook his head. "Nope. I'm going to get her a cat and arm wrestle Zeus into not eating it. Even heroes have to sleep occasionally."

  Drew chuckled. "Good luck with that one. He probably doesn't even chew cats before he swallows them."

  "You'd be surprised how easily that dog can be bought with a good steak."

  It took them a while, but between the two of them and a broom and a mop, they approached her with the offending trophy at which she promptly stood up on the hood of Matt’s Jeep to get further away from it and screamed and swore. Then she slapped her hand over her mouth in embarrassment. At that point Drew threw the mouse out into the trees and Matt came to help her off his Jeep before she dented the hood and asked her forgiveness for scaring her into cussing.