Lost Wanderer Awakened - Book One of the Airendell Chronicles (6 page)

During this time of the year the scrub oaks,
elms, hickory, and native pecan trees are bare. The only green to
be seen comes from the scrubby cedar trees that are encroaching on
the landscape. The dismal brown countryside has always bothered
Deidra before spring really sets in. She almost smiles when she
sees a few daffodils starting push up through the ground at the
edge of Lucian‘s property. It’s been another rough winter, she‘s
glad it’s almost over.

She looks at the clock on the dash, 9:43 am.
She gets frustrated because she doesn‘t clearly remember getting
dressed, leaving the house and driving over here. She has basically
lost nearly three hours and she doesn’t understand how come this
keeps happening to her.

“Oh God, I did it again! When will I stop
functioning on auto-pilot?” She turns on the blinker and pulls into
the driveway of the gray and green, two-story house where Lucian
runs his practice and maintains his residence. Turning off the
ignition, she puts the keys in a side pocket of her giant purse.
She wonders; Am I losing my mind?

A quick look in the mirror on the visor tells
her she’s not operating on all eight cylinders this morning. She
cringes when she realizes her hair is still damp, unruly and she’s
not wearing makeup, again. “Crap!” she mutters. And softly bangs
her forehead against the steering wheel. Deidra lifts her head.
Reaching for her purse, planning to get the keys out to restart the
car and make her escape. But a soft knock on the driver’s window
stills her outstretched hand.

“Come on Deidra. You’re here, that’s the
important part,” Lucian says through the glass. “Let’s get you
inside and get you some coffee.” He opens the car door, “By the
way, did you remember to turn off your coffee pot at home?”

“Probably not.” Deidra replies sheepishly.
“But I did buy the kind that shuts itself off. At least I won’t
burn the house down with my absent-mindedness.”

Lucian loops his arm through hers and they
walk in easy silence up the path into the house. Lucian leads the
way through the receiving area that is furnished comfortably, if
somewhat nondescriptly, up the stairs to his private residence.
Deidra hooks the cane over her arm and uses the railings to help
keep her steady as she ascends the stairs. He turns to see if she
needs assistance, and nods, satisfied that she can make it without
his help.

Deidra is struck anew by the beauty of the
man walking before her. He’s very tall, at least six foot eight,
with powerful, wide shoulders and lean hips. His medium length,
wavy, brown hair is kissed with red highlights. She wonders if she
were to wind her fingers in his hair if it would be as soft as she
imagines it is. She suspects that his whisker covered jaw would
tickle her sensitive lips, if she were ever brave enough to kiss
him.

Whoa Dee! Where did that come from? What
makes you think he would want you to kiss him?

She returns her attention to the man walking
in front of her. She knows that if he were facing her she could get
lost staring at his face. His complexion is very pale, but that
doesn’t detract from his beauty. His forehead is wide and smooth,
usually draped with a wayward lock of that lovely auburn hair. He
has dark, well defined eyebrows, and his nose is strong and
straight, framed by chiseled square jaws and a firm chin. His
mouth, well it’s just perfect; wide with full lips that are usually
stretched in a welcoming smile over even white teeth. And his eyes…
oh man! Those gorgeous eyes!

Lucian turns to face her again with that
welcoming smile of his. Deidra looks up into his eyes, those
beautiful, impossibly luminescent eyes. Today, they appear so dark
they are nearly violet, but most days they are a bright blue,
almost aquamarine, but bluer. She feels herself relax instantly.
She knows she is safe with this man. Those eyes hold no judgment in
them, only affection, acceptance, patience and strength. There’s
something else in those eyes, but she never can make herself see
what it is. It makes her uneasy, as though it’s stirring something
deep, and long forgotten within her. She looks away, suddenly
unsure of herself around him.

“Dee, make yourself comfortable while I get
your coffee,” he says casually as he walks into the kitchen area.
When she offers to help, he gently refuses. “Relax Dee. I won’t be
a minute.”

Deidra perches on the edge of the gray modern
style sofa. Its deep cushions are soft and inviting. She looks
around the room. It is a very comfortable room, which is decorated
in mostly monochromatic shades of grays and whites, but there are
black accents and splashes of modern bright colors here and there.
The drapes are gray with faint, intricate geometric patterns of
muted teal and silver. The sofa and two chairs are solid shades of
gray, and constructed in simple modern designs. Both chairs are
comfortable with small throw pillows in bright shades of teal and
green, and are arranged to face the couch and create comfortable
area for quiet conversation or casual entertaining.

She’s hung out in this area a few times with
Seth and Lucian. But usually it is just her and Lucian sitting on
the couch, talking for hours on end when she comes over. They have
a lot of the same interests in books and music, while neither of
them are very interested in TV or movies. He’s a counselor and she
was a full time special education teacher who worked with kids who
had behavioral and psychological issues. So they have a lot of
common ground for safe, general discussion. She feels so very
comfortable with him, even connected to him in a way she doesn‘t
understand, but treasures just the same.

She hates to admit how often her mind has
drifted during those talks to her vivid fantasies of making love
with him. She blushes now at the thought, but can’t help the smile
that illuminates her face. After a mental shake meant to bring her
back to the here and now she continues to look around the room;
Lucian has good taste…

The coffee table and two end tables are sleek
modern black lacquer numbers. Very functional, but attractive too.
The coffee table is always neat, unlike her own. There is usually a
book or two, various medical and scientific journals on the coffee
table, but there isn‘t any of the chaotic clutter that covers
almost every surface in her house. The end tables each have a lamp
with gray shades and warm red, geometric sculptures for bases. All
three tables have a small yellow ashtray, but Deidra never uses
them because she once caught a glimpse of Lucian wrinkling his nose
in distaste when she was smoking at her place, so now she doesn’t
smoke when she’s around him.

There’s a hammered metal and glass desk in
one corner where the telephone and computer are. The desk is very
well organized and is always tidy, as is his office downstairs. She
grimaces as she thinks of her jumbled work area at her place. She
knows she hasn’t always been so disorganized, but she hasn’t quite
figured out how to get back to that place in her life yet.

There isn’t a TV in the room, but there are
three huge bookshelves filled with books. She has looked at the
titles before. She‘s even borrowed a few. His reading interests are
widely varied, like her own. All in all, it is a very comfortable
and inviting room. She enjoys spending time here when she comes to
visit him. She scoots her bottom toward the backrest of the sofa.
Feeling very glad that Lucian is her friend, and quite frankly more
than a little bit surprised that he is her friend.

She thinks back to when she met him with Seth
Bailey in the hospital. She chuckles at herself and the mistake she
made by assuming he was a P.T. student. Pop always said, ‘When you
assume, you make an ass out of you and me.’ How true.

Deidra smiles when she recalls meeting up
with him and Seth again. It was quite a shock. After she left the
hospital AMA she did everything she could to leave her old life
behind, short of moving out of state. She can’t quite bring herself
to do that, her memories of her kids are here… they are buried
here…

Stop it Dee!

Dee had spent that first night out of the
hospital sitting on the floor in front of her door crying. She had
wept and wept. She had no idea one person could cry so much. When
daylight finally filled the living room of her home that once was
filled with life when her babies were alive. She struggled to get
up out of the floor and eventually walked through every room in the
house.

That’s when she realizes she couldn’t stay
there any longer. She finds the folder the attorney gave her and
reads through it. Okay, so I have options. I can walk away from
this house. If I stay here… I will die, I will take my own life
because the pain of living among their memories will drive me
insane. The documents indicate that $100,000 had been deposited
into her checking account and the rest was held in trust. Yes, I
have options.

Deidra contacts a local group that works with
adults with disabilities. She contracts with them to come out and
remove everything from her home and sell it in their thrift store,
keeping the funds for the people they serve. She then files all of
the family’s important documents into a file cabinet and finds a
couple of plastic storage tubs to pack up with a few clothes and
the like. She fills another tub with all of the family photos from
the walls, the mantle and various shelves. She retrieves the photo
albums from the closet. At the last moment she finds her digital
camera, there are probably pictures of the kids on there that she
never printed. And then she steels herself to enter each child’s
room and packs up various mementos of each child and then closes
the door on her past.

She made arrangements to have the file
cabinet moved to a local mini storage. She packs the four storage
tubs into the backseat and trunk of Rolan’s Camry, and drives away
without even looking back. She’s really not sure exactly why she
chose to drive out to Connerville to see her old friend, Mad
Mike.

Mike had lived in El Paso for thirty years.
That’s where she originally met him. She actually worked as a
bartender in his bar when she was attending college. It was a rough
biker bar, but Mike looked out for his employees and paid them
well.

They had kept in touch over the years. Mike
was a good friend. He moved to Connerville five years ago to be
near his grown daughter who was ill. It’s a small, freaky world we
live in. Mattie, his daughter, died last year. So now Mad Mike and
Deidra were both alone. When she showed up at his backwoods biker
hangout south of Connerville, he had offered her a job. She didn’t
need the money, but she figured Mike needed a friend and she knew
she did. So she went to work for him. Why not? I have already
turned my back on my former life. Hanging out with my old buddy,
Mad Mike, might be just what I need.

She had been working there about a week when
Dee suggests to Mike that they start hosting a regular pool
tournament night. She remembers Lucian telling her that he and Seth
were pool buddies and they enjoyed hitting tournaments in the area.
It might be a good idea for the bar, maybe bring in a broader
customer base.

So now, every Tuesday, The Shack holds a
small pool tournament, and sells half price pitchers of beer. It is
always a busy night. Three weeks in, Deidra looks up when more
customers walk into the rundown beer joint. A big smile illuminates
her face. It’s Seth Bailey and Lucian Michaels. Seth spots her
right away and goes to her to hug her.

Mike makes a move to run interference for
Deidra, but it’s quickly obvious that Dee knows these guys and is
friendly with them. In fact, Mike is happy to see the effect they
have on her. She actually smiles. Not that fake barmaid smile she
pastes on for the customers, but a real, honest to God smile. The
newcomers spend an hour chatting with Dee at the bar. She’s
animated when she’s interacting with them.

She couldn’t help herself she, had been drawn
to them, especially Lucian. Once they join the pool tournament at
nine o’clock she catches herself watching Lucian play pool. After
that, they came to play pool every Tuesday night at The Shack.
That’s how she came to be friendly acquaintances and later friends
with Seth Bailey and Lucian Michaels. But she didn’t become close
to Lucian until later.

She smiles at the memory and folds her hands
in her lap as she looks down at her feet. What she sees disappoints
her even further. Angry moisture wells up in her eyes. “Dammit! I
didn’t even put on real shoes,” she mutters as she glares at the
house shoes encasing her feet.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Lucian has been watching her from the
doorway. He is pleased that she likes the room and feels
comfortable here. She doesn‘t seem too keyed up right now, she even
smiled that smile he knows so well a few seconds ago. When he saw
her glance down and become upset over the shoes he knows she
probably sees them as another failure on her part. He sighs and
steps into the room.

“Deidra? Stop it, love, don’t get bogged down
in the details. You’re here, and not in your bed. That’s what
counts. Look at me.”

Lucian is kneeling before her. His cool, pale
hand is raised to her chin. He gently tilts her face up to his.
Their eyes meet. He smiles as he raises both of his hands to clasp
her face between them. She closes her eyes, and savors his cool
touch. He uses his thumbs to gently wipe the moisture that‘s
coating her lashes. It takes every ounce of self-control that he
possesses to resist the urge to kiss her and take her into his
arms. He misses her so much. Baby, come back to me. I need you!

“Look at me,” he commands softly. Finally,
she opens her now defiant eyes. He chuckles and effortlessly rises
to sit beside her on the couch. She never likes to be told what to
do. He gently takes her shaking hands into his cool, pale ones. She
shivers as she marvels at the hardness, and the strength she feels
in those hands.