Patreon LogoYour support makes Blue Moon possible (Patreon)

The Raven and the Rose. (Ravenofpoe X Joyfulnoise)

Ravenofpoe

Ravenofpoe

Quoth the Raven "Nevermore."
Joined
Jan 22, 2020
Lucian Ravencroft sat on the porch of the new house. It was built with care to the old design but updated with modern amenities. Dressed in jeans boots and a tee shirt he was rocking back and forth listening to the sound of the wood beam holding the swing creak and groan. Fresh wood. It was a good sound. His icy blue eyes were staring off down the road that led to town. He had leased the land to a company to farm it and his actual property was still decent size.

He was 33 and had a decent pension from disability. He would have to do something about boredom. He could live quite comfortable on the pension forever. He had no work restrictions. His doctor suggest he work to help with coping. Scratching his head his fingers ran through the hair that was longer than regulation. It was his one freedom right now. He also was working on a slight beard. His eyes adjusted seeing a vehicle coming down the road. It passed. Standing his lean form stretched causing pops in his back and shoulders. Lucian felt older than he was.

Getting in the truck used but good shape the black Silverado made its way to town. He had done good about coming home. No fuss. There were always the small-town rumors. It caused a stir when the Ravencroft land began to have a mover’s truck in the drive after the house was built. Parking at Saints restaurant he got out. His face still new drew attention but out of politeness no one asked no one approached. He walked in and took a seat in a booth that was facing the door. He liked to see who came in. The high school aged girl that took his order smiled politely. She had gotten the most words since he returned home. He ordered a burger and fries with sweet tea. Sipping the drink his fingers danced over the paper that had been left by the last occupant. It was the local news. He ignored the local politics going instead to the classifieds.

His eyes danced the page skipping lost loves and those personals seeking companionship. Instead to help wanted his attention stayed. Handy man wanted for work around property. He recognized the name on it and made a note to try. When his food came, he ate in silence. He felt the eyes of regular customers on him. Lucian ignored them and munched on the pickle that came with the burger. He was aware that Bell would hold him in fascination till something else swept them up. He was sure it would last no longer than a month. If it did he would have to do something to get eyes off him.
 
Rosalyn “Rose” Giroux still lived in her family home, and it needed a lot of work. Unfortunately, she had been an only child and so man in her life to speak of to help with repairs along with the farming. She had finally leased the land to a farming company in order to keep her home, but she was finding it difficult to do many of the repairs herself. The floor needed mending, the wraparound porch replaced, and the roof needed work. She was doing all she could just to keep the place from falling apart. The 32-year-old knew she was going to have to try to find someone to come help her, but her pride was getting in the way.
Ever since Lucian took off right after high school, she decided she didn’t need a man in her life to make things happen. He had dumped her and left with no reason and, at first, she was depressed. Then, she was pissed. She picked up the pieces of her heart and did what she could to move on with her life. She never dated anyone else, because she knew deep down, Lucian would always have her heart and it wouldn’t be fair to anyone else for her to lead them on.

She had been working all morning on trying to fix the leak under the sink and finally got it to where there was no more water coming from the pipes. Throwing the wrench to the side, she stood up and decided she would go to the diner for some lunch. It had been a while since she had done that, and a burger with fries sounded amazing. She brushed off her white tank top and jean cut off shorts and washed up. Throwing her brown hair up into a messy bun, Rose threw on her cowboy boots and climbed into her own gray Silverado, turning the key in the ignition before heading to town.

As she drove by the house across the street, she couldn’t help but wonder who had moved in. She normally would have been neighborly and taken something over, but had made up all kinds of excuses as to why she shouldn’t go over there. Deep down, it was just painful to even look at the property because of the memories.

Once she pulled into a parking spot in front of the diner, she walked in and said hey to a couple of the regulars. One of the older gentlemen at the bar smiled at her. “Hey there, Rosie. You ever get that roof looked at?” She laughed and shook her head. “No Sir, Mr. Thorne. Are you going to do it for me?” she winked and sat at a booth behind Lucian, not realizing he was there. The teenage girl walked over to her table. “Hey, Ms. Giroux. What can I get for you?” Rose mockingly looked angry at her. “I told you not to call me that; it makes me feel old. I’ll have your cheeseburger and fries with a chocolate shake, please, Lyla. Thanks.”
 
His eyes would glance to the door each time the little bell chimed. Saints used one of those sleigh bells making everyone feel cheerful when the door opened. Bleh. It was the last door opening though that he almost dropped the paper. He listened to her voice as she cheerfully asked about someone fixing the roof. That made him give pause. It wasn’t the voice he recognized. It was the brief flash of that smile and her eyes.

Lucian had left Bell when he was eighteen. He was alone the bank breathing down his neck because his father had taken loans out to cover his mother’s medical expenses. Something had to give. Rosalyn was the light in the darkness but he knew if he stayed, she’d have followed. So, he enlisted using the last thing worth anything in the world when it came to his family. His fathers name. He hated it but after a few years he began to cultivate his own name. While Stephen Ravencroft had been a Vietnam sniper of some reputation. Lucian was able to surpass him. In a world where drones dominated now snipers would be used for specifics still. He fell into that group and the competition wins helped set his name from dear old dads.

When she sat down the waitress took her order and dropped his check off. He fished the debit card out and finished his fries. He was about to say something but the girl came back with his bill. “Thank you Mr.Ravencroft.” He nodded signed a decent tip and took his to-go tea. He decided against it and tension for him was insane he felt his heart race and he finally moved to his truck heading back to his home.
 
Rose heard the girl say what she thought was “Mr. Ravencroft” and froze for a minute, her heart rate increasing and her palms getting sweaty. By the time she tried to look, the man was already getting in his truck and backing out. The girl couldn’t get a good enough look to see who it was. All color was draining her face and she felt as though she would pass out. Lyla came to her with a concerned look on her face. “Ms. Giroux, are you all right? You don’t look so good,” she mentioned as she gave her the milkshake and a glass of water.

Rose took multiple gulps of water before looking at the teenager. “Lyla...that man. What did you say his name was?” Lyla beamed at her, “Oh, that was Mr. Ravencroft. He’s easy on the eyes if you ask me.” The younger girl bounced away and the woman took a sip of her milk shake. Surely Lucian wasn’t back; he wouldn’t come back after he left her all those years ago, would he? Her mind began racing as she began putting two and two together. Rose thought about the moving truck moving someone in across the street. The land that had belonged to the Ravencroft’s. Now, a man by the name of Ravencroft had just been in the diner.

There was no denying that it was probably Lucian. The thought caused many different emotions to course through her: excitement, sadness, and anger. Hope soared through her at the thought that she might get a second chance with him. Then, anger at herself and him: herself for even thinking that after the way he left her and at him for leaving her in the first place. Then, she would feel sadness that he obviously had felt nothing for her and could easily forget her.

The woman tried to eat her cheeseburger and fries when it arrived, but found she had lost her appetite, and instead picked at it. Finally, she asked for a to-go box and paid for the meal. Getting in her truck, she headed home trying to think of how to deal with Lucian Ravencroft knowing he was home and living across the street. Then, an idea struck her. She hadn’t been neighborly before, and could make her famous chocolate chip cookies to take over there under that pretense.

Rose pulled into her driveway and hopped out of the truck after turning off the ignition. She always kept some batter in the freezer so she could pop some cookies in the oven whenever she wanted. Thankful for that, she pulled it out and defrosted it quickly, spooning the batter out and onto a cookie sheet before throwing them into the oven. While they baked, she ran to the bathroom to touch up her make-up and changed into an off the shoulder white sundress to show off her tanned skin and white sandals. She heard the ding of the timer just in time and walked to take them out and onto a plate. Wrapping them, she hopped back in her truck and went across the street, driving down the driveway.

She stopped in front of the house and started having second thoughts, wondering if she could really do this. Squaring her shoulders, she knew she would never get full closure if she didn’t confront him. Rose also knew it would be better to get it over with sooner than later; maybe he wouldn’t even remember her. Getting out of the truck while holding the still warm cookies, she walked up to the door and knocked with her free hand.
 
When Lucian got home, he walked the old layout admiring the craftsmanship of the new that matched well. At the base of the stairs was a large gun cabinet he spun the dial and entered the digital pass code. One side had all the ammo he would ever need for a year if not more. He shot sparingly these days. Shutting the cabinet, he locked the doors and spun the dial twice.

Walking to the media center he plugged in his iPod and shuffled through a playlist. Music began to play throughout the house. He opened his phone and isolated the speakers to the lower level as he was not planning going upstairs. It was perhaps this reason that he was not able to hear the door.

Busying himself with in the living room with a book that wasn’t enough to help him. Rose was dancing in his minds eye. In fact she was in the memory library. He tossed the paperback he was reading and focused on that. He stood there watching her that sweet face now fully grown in his space staring at him accusingly. Those eyes acting like focused lasers boring into him. He went out of the memory library he built. A place he held in high regards to hide. Now there were two demons lurking. Consuming him if he let them.

Going to the cabinet he opened the gun side and pulled the sniper rifle a Winchester model 700 that was black and fairly decent. It was his daily driver in the Rangers. He pulled out a box of ammo and then a second. Going out back he sat things on the rail and loaded the rifle. Taking am at one of the targets set up on the back half he fired a test round. He adjusted the scope slightly and aimed at a second target. Bullseye. He rotated targets his ears adjusted to the crack of the rifle. It was one of the few reasons he came home. He like privacy and he would not be bothered by anyone if he was acting sanely with the rifle. Each shot hit the mark and he reloaded. He cocked his head to the front thinking he heard a knocking but it could also be the bass in the song playing. Southern Babylon kicked up a newer song he liked as he chambered a new round and took up aim once more.
 
Rosalyn was starting to get pissed at standing at the door knocking, feeling like an idiot. Was he really going to continue ignoring her? Was she that much of a regret to him? Before she could decide whether to raise her hand to knock again or just leave, she ducked when she heard the gunshot. “Jesus Christ,” she said when she realized it was coming from the back yard. It took the girl a minute to catch her breath from the heart attack of hearing the rifle go off. Then she heard a second and jumped. “What the hell is he doing?” She straightened her body and dusted her dress off before looking around.

She walked around to the back, finding the gate and unlocking the latch. She gingerly walked inside the gate and closed it behind her. That was when she really saw him, and her heart stopped. He had aged, but it only served to make him more attractive. The longer hair and the stubble suited him. Biting her bottom lip, she was wondering if the decision to come over had been a good one. It seemed she lost all common sense actually seeing him, and she wasn’t sure if he realized she was there. What would he do once he saw her? The next shot rang out, causing her to come back out of her own thoughts and she shrieked. She immediately covered her mouth after making the sound and watched him with wide eyes for what he would do. There was no backing out now.
 
Lucian was zoned out but not so completely that he ignored her scream. He spun his finger outside the trigger guard and the rifle at low ready. There was one of the demons come to life from his memory library. He sat the rifle down leaning against the railing as he looked Rosalyn over. Speaking in the soft southern accent that his family picked up some generations back he said, “Sorry was not expecting company.” The words came out measured and slow calm as another song began to pick up on the speakers.

He gestured to the door and picked the rifle and ammo up. “Why don’ you come in and sit. I will pour you a glass of tea.” The house wasa two story Victorian style with the classic farmhouse aesthetics. Painted in the original blue with white trim that was a carry over from when his mother had insisted it be repainted from the dingy red. The double porch that ran from the front to around the side was a new edition he liked because he knew when it rained he would want to sit outside and listen as the drops hit the earth. Music to his ears when it would rain. Putting the weapon and ammo up he returned to the kitchen and poured a glass of tea for her and him alike. Sitting he smiled but it was a shadow of a smile. What you did when you knew you had to do something. “Sorry again about the noise.” He turned the speakers off with his phone making the house silent now. His own heart was beating in his ears because anxiety was running through his veins pulling ahead in the marathon of emotions he was feeling.
 
Rose gaped at him at how calm he was and mentally couldn’t believe it. Too stunned to come up with words, she followed him into the house. The woman sat down at the table with her plate of cookies, she looked around noting the differences that had been made since she last visited. The memories of being in this house that she used to consider her second home were almost too much to bear.

Rose watched Lucian as he went around the house, putting things away and then pouring sweet tea for the both of them. When he sat down, he smiled at her, but she noticed it didn’t quite reach his eyes like it used to, and therefore she didn’t smile back. All of the anger she was recently feeling dissipated for the time being. Instead, the woman’s heart ached for him and wished she could put a true smile on his face once more.

When the man apologized about the noise, she simply raised a brown eyebrow. Finally, she decided to speak, and it was barely above a whisper. “Come now, Lucian. You can’t really believe that I came all the way over here because of some noise. I came here to see if what I had heard was true: that Lucian Ravencroft, the boy I loved and lost, had indeed come back.” She folded her hands into her lap after gently pushing the plate towards the man and looked down at the table. “I brought cookies. You used to love them, so I thought you might like some now.”

She was beginning to wonder why she was here; it was torture knowing that he obviously didn’t care about her at all. Instead, it seemed as though she were a nuisance that he was just being polite to. She looked back up at him, searching his blue eyes with her own brown ones as if all the answers to her questions would be there. “I..I don’t understand this. Why are you here? You left...you left me without so much as a goodbye. And now you’re back here living like you never left.”
 
“I do like cookies.” He said as he sat watching her. That unearthly calm still coming off him in waves. Snipers trained to remain calm at all times. He was good at that calmness and stillness. Sitting or laying for hours on end made that easier for some than others. “I wouldn’t say living like before. I had to pay lots of money to get this place.” He still got a pension he had been more savvy with money than his father had ever hoped to be.



He sipped his tea moving as if he would break the glass if he did any faster. “As for why I am here. …I figured grounding me in hometown life again would let me get on with my retirement.” The real reason was far more mundane. He wanted to be close to the doctor and only a hop and a skip, up the road as his mother used to say. “Yes, I am home and little fan fare needs to be aroused. I figured the rumor mill started months ago when the workers were here fixing the place. Then again when the movers dropped my stuff off and put where it currently resides.” He shrugged. Lucian was good at navigating the battlefield. Here he was lost. He knew deep down what she wanted to know. He ignored it in favor of the surface level answer.
 
Rose found his calmness infuriating and she aws trying everything she could to not lose her cool. However, she focused on the idea that maybe he wasn’t as cool as he seemed. There had to be some semblance of the man that left somewhere deep down inside. The woman continued to listen to him and flushed with shame about him being home for months. She had heard that someone was building across the street at the Ravencroft home, and had noticed the moving vans. However, she couldn’t bring herself to come over here until now. The thought of coming here had been too upsetting.

Lucian seemed to be moving almost robotic and methodical. He was merely a shell of what used to be. Folding her hands together in her lap, she looked at him with an unwavering gaze. “Lucian, you’re right. I had heard that someone moved here and even saw the evidence of that myself. Can you blame me for not coming over sooner?” Her southern accent was becoming more pronounced, signaling that she was either excited, really upset, or pissed. “You owe me at least one thing, darlin’. I need you to look at me in the eyes and tell me I meant nothing to you like you’re actin’. You tell me that, and I’ll walk out of here and leave you to your life. That’s only if you can look me in the eye and don’t you dare lie to me, Lucian Ravencroft. You may have been gone for a while, but I can still smell bullshit from a mile away.”
 
Lucian sat the glass down. Lucian wasn’t going to lie. Truth was he hated what he did. Truth was slinking off in the night escaping this town and even the memories that were good felt like he was a criminal. “I would not lie to you if I had the ability to. You could smell one out as if it were the criminal and you the bloodhound.” Fingers ran around the glass causing it to sing slightly. Thin glass he had liked the pattern but now wanted nothing more than to toss it into a wall. Scaring her away might get a local lawman involved.

Continuing he smiled a genuine smile on a happy memory from a picnic they were out. Inseparable sitting on the blanket watching fireworks. “Fact is you the meant the world to me. I knew if I stayed my world would fall and take you. I was eighteen and rash. Still rash if you listen to my C.O. I took off to let you escape me. I was worried I would fall into the same trap as my father. I was worried that you would follow to the ends of the earth.” He sat the glass away and stared at the table. This hurt him more than the gunshot six years ago. Though, the hospital stay sucked more than the wound. Clean shots healed quicker after all.
 
Rose smirked when the man sitting across from her compared her to a bloodhound. She always had an uncanny way of telling if someone was lying. That was when she saw it- the smile she knew and loved. It made him seem more the man that had left her all those years ago. The woman desperately wanted to see it again as soon as it disappeared and would probably do anything to make it appear again.

Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion when he explained the reason that he left. She knew he was telling the truth, or at least the truth as he saw it. So he had left out of fear of the unknown. The sound from the glass was the only sound for a few moments as she tried to compose her thoughts and sort through everything. “Of course I would have followed you to the ends of the earth if I knew where you were going. You didn’t have the right to choose what was best for me. That should have been left up to me; I wish you had told me how you were feeling before you decided to leave. Lucian...I loved you,” she said as she reached out to grab his hands to stop his fingers on the glass. If she were being honest with herself, she was still in love with him; that was why she was still single after all. She had always hoped that he loved her and would come back for her.
 
The contact caused him to tremble slightly. He pulled away a slight burst of anger racing through his composure till he wrestled it back into the book it belonged in. “No, I had no right and I am sorry for the pain it had to have caused. I did what I at the time….”And still do. “Thought was right.” His voice took on the air of authority his subordinates knew well when he got in a foul mood. “I figured we both would have moved on. Though the short stint turned into a career after they paid for college and I learned that I had a knack for language as well as quickly doing math.” He had a drill instructor told him not to get attached if he was going to the field often. He was deployed several times. He was also away from the states doing the things that he had to do for his country. He never settled. There were women but he never found the fit to his brand of lifestyle. It was also unfair to ask anyone to wait till the job was done. IT was never done. “What did you want me to do….” Rising anger again he tried to shut the book tight but it leaked out. “I didn’t want you to follow. IT would have made your life miserable. You know how many of the guys in basic stayed together with their girlfriends and wives?” He took the tea and finished the glass his hand squeezed on the glass in anger as he ran down the stats. “None….well one but I think it was cause he was killed two months after deployment.” AS he thought on both his selfishness and hers, he squeezed on the glass until, it shattered the shards dancing along the table and those not lucky enough to escape were in his hand. He sat unphased looking at her the blood dripping along his hand and int the remains of the glass.
 
Rose’s confusion soon turned to slight anger as he explained that he did what he thought was “right.” She noticed the change in Lucian’s voice, but said nothing and let him rant. However, the more he did, the tighter the woman’s jaw got in order to keep quiet. There were several times she opened her mouth to speak, but the man just kept going.

She flinched as the glass broke, but quickly got up and went to the kitchen sink. Grabbing a paper towel, she put it under the water and ran back to him. Rose knelt beside him and gingerly took his hand, opening it to remove the shards of glass. While she was tending to him, she glared up at him. “Do you really think so little of me? Of us? How do you know it would have made my life miserable? Those facts don’t phase me one bit, either. I still say you had no right to decide what was best for me. Now all we have are the unknowns and what ifs. Who knows if we would have made it last? We may not have, but there’s a chance we would have.”

She shook her head as she tended to his wounds, pressing the paper towel down to stop the bleeding. “You never even gave us a chance..” she whispered, showing a sign of weakness. Then she looked up at him once more, a flash of something between anger and compassion shining in her eyes. “I never stopped, you know...loving you. I always felt that you were my one and only. I need you to stop for one second. Stop listening to what your head is telling you, because obviously it’s not working properly if you think leaving me to be alone the rest of my life was the right thing to do. Instead, what is your heart telling you?” She tried searching his eyes for any sign of emotion.
 
HE didn’t flinch as she tended to the cuts only rising to fetch the first aid kit when she had picked the glass out. What his heart said. Nope. That organ died long time ago. “How was I to know you’d hold out this long. You are still a silly girl.” He regretted it almost at once. Wrapping the gauze and tapping it like a medic friend had taught him. It was not the first glass to shatter in his hand. Though the pain would start when he was alone again. “I left thinking the Ravencroft line would die. It was a secret suicidal wish in part. Problem was I was good at my job. If you stayed alone that is not on me….” He cleaned the glass from the table tossing it in the trash. He wanted to say he had been alone too. No matter who he had been with he always took a can of gas and lit the match when he was back on the island of himself. He was alone because he found fault with almost everyone. “Please. I didn’t come home to fight or argue. If you want closure I can’t give it. I have done the worst things to the best people my whole life. Just…I can’t do this.” The can…the match all in place.



He looked up his eyes unable to mask the pain he was feeling as he simply said, “Please leave.” It was soft it was not anger filled but it was more real than he had been this entire conversation.
 
Rose was hurt when he called her a silly girl, but she did her best not to show it. She shook her head as she listened to Lucian, not believing a word he was saying. She started to say something until he looked at her with raw pain and her heart broke. Tears filled her eyes, knowing she was the cause of his pain this time.

The woman stood up and brushed her dress off. Sighing, she nodded. “You’re right. It’s not on you that I stayed alone. That’s on me, and I would gladly do it all over again. There is so much good in you, Lucian Ravencroft. You were never your father, nor would you ever become him. You are your own person. I will leave...for now.” She moved away from him and hugged herself, as if to protect herself from further harm.

“But don’t for a second think that I’m walking out forever. I can’t and I won’t do it. You’re back and I have to believe that it was fate. I have to believe that there’s still a chance. I…” She had started to reach out for him as she was talking but stopped short, watching him in pain. She didn’t want to cause anymore because this little bit was killing her. Sighing, she put her hand down by her side. “I’ll show myself out..have a great day, Lucian. Remember I’m right across the street if you need me. Please don’t let your pride get in the way of that.”

With that, she walked out letting the tears fall down her cheeks once she was out of sight. When she got in the truck, she sped out of his driveway and back home. Only then did she allow herself to cry. She opened the door to her truck and ran inside and up the stairs to her bedroom, slamming the door. Finding a vase that held simple flowers she picked it up and threw it at the wall, needing to get some of the anger, confusion, and sadness out. It smashed into pieces like her heart was doing all over again as she slid her back down the door, screaming and crying.
 
He cleaned the rest of the table and began to hum. He stayed busy until he was physically exhausted. Crawling into his bed he thankfully had no dreams. Waking though the dried tears were staining his cheeks. Grabbing his iPod he went for a jog down the road and back the miles melting away as he thought back to the day before. His mind was made up. This was a mistake to have come home and had there been an out clause in the contracts with the bank that he could still press, he would have left.

Coming home he found the sun was now just staring to rise. “Christ…” He tossed the phone and audio player on the couch stripping in the Livingroom and going to the shower. He let the water run over his skin. Taunt with years of active working out that was hard to break. His back was peppered with scars from years of service. He got more injured in the last few years. After cleaning himself he dressed and went to the hardware store. He got the things to fix a roof resealing any holes. Carting his ladder across the street he climbed on the roof of her house. He felt miserable and he began walking across the roof dropping to inspect things he found wrong. Least he could do was fix the roof. He hummed along to the music country was still his jam and the earbuds pumped music into him letting him work and ignore the outside world. Why was he here. She claimed fate. He claimed convenience.
 
Rose woke up the next morning in a heap on the floor in front of her bedroom door to the sound of hammering on her roof. What the hell..? She rotated her neck and stretched out her tense and achy body from sleeping on the floor. The woman was sure she looked like hell with her make up having run from crying and not being washed off along with wearing the same dress she had worn to Lucian’s house the day before. Now, it was wrinkled but she didn’t care. The only thought was someone had trespassed onto her property.

Rose walked over to her closet and grabbed her shotgun and reached up to the top shelf to retrieve the ammo. Loading her gun on the way out, she went downstairs and opened the door to the outside and saw the ladder. Confused, she walked over and backed up enough to see who was on her roof and froze. What was he doing here and why was he on her roof? She thought to shout at him, but didn’t want to cause him to fall if he heard her and jerked.

Instead, she decided to at least make herself presentable and fix breakfast in thanks. Grinning like an idiot, the woman walked back inside and put her gun and ammo away before stripping down. She couldn't help but feel hope course through her; if he was fixing her roof, there was a chance he still cared for her. Padding barefoot to the bathroom, she took a shower, letting the hot water get rid of any lingering tension. She dressed simply in a white tank top and jean shorts. Once she made it down to the kitchen, she fixed eggs, bacon and biscuits. After pouring orange juice into two glasses, she went back outside and began climbing the ladder despite being afraid of heights. She always had been; going up was never the problem, but going back down.

Once she made it to the top, she waved her hands to get Lucian’s attention. “There’s breakfast ready if you want it. Nothin’ fancy, just eggs, bacon and biscuits.”
 
Never one to stop he was about hallway done when he sat on the top eave of the roof arching a brow at the woman that waving frantic. This was perhaps a bad idea. Popping his earbuds back into the case he said, “You mentioned the roof was leaking to Thorne. I figure this was the least I could do.” In fact h e had found two good leaks hidden by old shingles. He could patch all day but the fact was she needed a new roof. The one on his home had needed replaced too and they would do it in a year once he was more settled. For now, it would hold. He walked gingerly to the ladder and looked down. “Feeling brave morning? You hate anything higher than a two-story window.”

Lucian climbed down till he was hanging off the edge his forearms straining at the lost art of a proper pull up easing down he hung for a moment. Then with sudden purpose he dropped rolling to the side as he hit the ground. Jumping up he leaned against the wall of her home waiting. “Incase you fall least I can try to catch you.”
 
Rose was gripping the ladder until her knuckles were white but trying her best not to show that she was afraid. Especially after he pointed out the fact that she hated heights. However, it touched the woman that he had thought to come patch the roof, though she still wasn’t sure of his reasoning. Squaring her shoulders and lifting her chin, she said, “well maybe that’s changed. Maybe..maybe I like heights now.” Her voice squeaked a bit and cursed herself for being so weak.

Rose watched Lucian walk to the edge of the roof and drop down to the ground. Immediately she looked back up because looking at the ground made her queasy. “Are you crazy!? You could have broken your neck!” Shakily, she began to climb down. She hated her fear of heights, especially right now when she was trying to be brave in front of the man. She had almost made it down when her foot missed the rung, causing her to lose her balance and start to fall. She screamed and tried to hold on to the ladder to no avail. The woman closed her eyes and tried to brace herself for the inevitable thud and jarring for when she hit the ground.
 
“Would not have been my neck. Falling is skill everyone should know.” He watched and saw her making her way down the ladder. Her voice getting tingy with fear. He lived on that rush for years. It was a drug to some but he liked the feeling of excitement that heightened everything. As if on que though she slipped and he quickly moved to catch her. “You know the whole damsel in distress thing is not as cute as you think.”

Holding her for longer than he meant he finally helped her to her feet and glanced up. Going inside he washed his hands and sat at the old kitchen table. “Thank you for breakfast but I don’t want you to get …ideas. I am fixing the roof because it is a way to apologize. I told you how I felt last night and it still holds.”
 
She noticed she hadn’t hit the ground but instead fell in two strong arms and slowly opened her eyes. Rose’s heart was hammering in her chest and she was trying to catch her breath when he called her a damsel in distress. The smell of his pheromones filled her nostrils and it sent chills through her and closed her eyes for one second to embrace the feeling. She glared at him but didn’t move from his arms. “If you truly think I wanted to risk breaking bones to act like a ‘damsel in distress,’ then you’re much more of an ass than I thought.”

When he lifted her to standing, she brushed herself off and followed him inside to the kitchen. Sighing, she ran her hands through her hair. She washed her hands after Lucian and sat down across from him. It seemed as though he was so on edge that he accused her of having an ulterior motive in everything she did.

“Lucian, please just enjoy a meal that you didn’t have to cook. It was simply a thank you for coming over to help with the roof. I don’t want to fight with you, today, Lucian.” She couldn’t take another night like last night. Rose pushed the food around with her fork, quickly losing her appetite while thinking about last night. She was sure her eyes had bags under them and were still puffy from crying herself to sleep the night before.
 
“Just...Sorry. It is my way of putting distance. It was a joke.” He smiled and ate slowly methodically glancing at her every now and then. She had a rough night. He did too but he knew how to cope with his. Run it to exhaustion and then sleep it off. Things are better in the morning. He was tuned to just stay high strung and distrust anyone that even gave a compliment these days. Everyone had a motive. Yeah we will let you off the hook for your daddy's land...if you pay fifteen years back taxes. Yeah we ill throw in some repair and moving expenses...if you pay more than the land is worth. That first one made him get a lawyer and broker to deal with the bank. It worked out better with less red tape to deal with.

“You are still a fantastic cook. I missed home cooked meals.” He smiled at her a true smile though still shaded with years of regret and anger that clouded him these days. Lucian finally finished and pushed his plate to the side sipping the juice. “I will not apologize for speaking my mind or the reality in which I see things. I figured the roof would go away to building a bridge rather than me lighting a match and watching it burn.” Playing with the glass now he continued softly, “You are still a very beautiful woman and i am sure there are plenty of suitors that will have you that do not have half my flaws.”
 
Rose gave Lucian a hollow laugh when he told her what he had said was a joke. “We’ll have to work on your humor if that was a joke.” She looked around the old house, taking in all the things that were falling apart and sighed. “Your humor is about like this house: just sad.” She had been doing the best she could but the crops hadn’t been good for a few years and money was tight. She thought a few times to sell everything and start fresh somewhere, but she had always held out hope that Lucian would come back. Now that he had, she wondered if that had been a mistake.

The woman gave him a small smile. “This is nothin’ but a simple breakfast, but thank you.” There was that smile again. It had at least started to reach his eyes and she was glad to see it. She nodded as he explained he wouldn’t apologize. That was fine with her as long as he didn’t expect her to apologize, either. Rose also noticed that playing with glasses seemed to be a new habit for him. She looked into his eyes when he told her that she was beautiful. It was the first time he was showing any sort of thought about her since coming back. Giving him a sad smile, she shook her head. “It was never about having plenty of suitors, Lucian. That has never been a problem. Many people have tried and failed to date me. Have you ever thought that there’s only one person I want in my life?”

Without waiting for an answer, she stood up and grabbed the plates, taking them to the sink. She hadn’t touched her food but found she just simply didn’t have the stomach to eat. She faced the window that overlooked the yard so as to try and hide the tears that were forming again. Why couldn’t he see that there was no one else for her? She believed in soul mates, and she believed that Lucian was her’s. She wiped at the tears and turned back around, trying to act like she was fine. “Thank you again for tending to the roof. I’ll be sure to cook extra for you every once in a while and leave it on your porch so you can have a decent meal every now and again.”
 
“The roof is only partially fixed. He glanced around eyes going over her before darting away to the room noting things that she meant needed fixed. “Well my oar is unlikely to be noticed for a plow tool here but I have no need for my old tools. How about a trade.” He said the last part quietly.

“You fix me meals once or twice a week and buy the supplies and I will fix the house up to the best of my ability. The roof is needing replaced it went longer than it should have on repair. I am sure though I can fix pipes and other odds and ends without much trouble. Think of it like a honey do list that you only food on.”

She was beautiful and he felt unworthy for her attention. He was still so grounded in his life that he was unaware of anyone. He was happy alone for the most part. Lucian stood washing his glass and stepping back crossing his arms. He stared down at the woman who challenged him on so many notions. Though now she was doing it again and had to realize he was not playing fairly by keeping her at more than an arm’s length away. “Up to you just make a list and I will tell you what to buy.”
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom