Moonlight Road (9 page)

Lost in her thoughts, she put the dinner she had brought home from Jack’s in the refrigerator for later.

She took a low-fat yogurt and spoon out onto the deck, sat in her chaise looking out at the magnificent view and began to softly cry. She was thinking about the prom, of all things. She had picked out a prom dress one year, but she hadn’t been asked. And why would she have been asked? She was never available for the social things. No one knew she was alive.
Fuck the Prom,
she thought.
I didn’t care about the fucking prom. Which is why I’m actually crying!

“I should’ve gone on a goddamn cruise with a bunch of goddamn old people,” she muttered, giving a sniff and a hiccup.

Suddenly, a head covered with dark hair and a full red beard peeked around the corner. “I didn’t know you were home,” Aiden remarked. “I didn’t hear a car.”

Erin’s eyes grew round, she gasped, and then instinctively dug her heels into the chaise to push herself away from him. “What the hell are
you
doing here?”

He came around the cabin and stood in front of the deck. He was wearing his uniform of fatigue pants, T-shirt and boots and held a rake or something in his hand. “I thought you’d left. Given up and gone back to the city or something. But then I saw stuff, like the plants and pots, but no potting soil or fertilizer. I was trying to think of something to give you to say I regretted the head injury. I’m not taking responsibility for it, you understand,” he said, putting up a hand. “But I was going to get you a plant or something, and then I noticed the garden. Uh, well, it was sort of a garden….”

Erin wiped impatiently at her cheeks, trying to be nonchalant about it. “It turns out gardening isn’t my thing….”

“Yeah, I got that impression, but I thought maybe—” He bent at the waist and peered at her, frowning. “Are you crying?”

“Of
course
not!” she slammed back. “I have a little cold, or allergies, or something. My nose is runny, that’s all.”

“Oh. Sure. So I got to thinking, maybe you just needed a little help getting started. It’s been a while, but when we were kids, my mom kept a garden and made us all help, so I…” He squinted at her. “Allergies, huh?”

It was then that she noticed the plants she’d bought were now potted and sitting in the corners of her deck. “You potted the plants?”

“And got your vegetable garden going. It’s a little late, but with the right amount of fertilizer and water, you’ll get some stuff. Tomatoes if there’s enough sun. I put some flowers around the border. I planted sunflowers because they’re fun—you can almost see them grow. You could use a border of flowers along the front of the cabin. They’re on sale right now. I thought I’d run over to the nursery sometime this week and get you some, if you don’t mind. You can take it from there.”

She put aside the yogurt and stood up. “And if I just pack up and leave?” she asked.

“You thinking of doing that?”

“It’s possible I’ll be needed at work,” she lied.

“Well, I don’t have anything better to do than check on your garden now and then. Maybe you’ll be back in time to harvest a tomato or two.”

She walked over to the edge of the deck to look into the backyard. There was a perfect square, the soil tilled and rich-looking, staked markers showing where things were planted. There was no mistaking tomato plants, much larger “starters” than she had begun with. The whole thing was bordered by a short metal-mesh fence and marigolds. She had read that much—marigolds would keep some of the bugs away.

“You put a fence around it?” she asked.

“It won’t keep the deer away, but it might discourage the bunnies. For deer, you should pee around the edges.” Then he grinned. “That’s what I hear. There’s an old woman who stops by the bar in town who has a garden about the size of a small farm—she swears by a human-pee border for deer.”

“You hung up the hammock?”

“I probably should’ve asked,” he said. “I saw it on the deck and I wondered if you just couldn’t figure it out.”

“I couldn’t,” she said. “I thought I needed parts.”

“Nah, it’s all there. Maybe you had another couple of trees in mind?”

“No. That’s perfect.”

“Listen, I don’t mean to pry, but are you recently divorced or widowed or something?”

“No,” she said, frowning, shaking her head. “Why would you ask that?”

“I don’t know,” he answered, also shaking his head. “Plants and pots, no potting soil…hammock, no screwdriver or wrench…vegetable plants and flowers, no hose or adult-size gardening tools. It’s like the stuff the husband remembers to pick up.”

She let a small laugh go. “Just never had time for any of this stuff before. And you’re partly right—my sister and brother-in-law lived in my house for over a year. My younger brother—he’s twenty-seven—was there till last year. I was always working—if I brought home a bookcase or patio furniture or a hammock, one of them took care of assembling it. And if they didn’t, I knew who to call. Up here? Who do you call?”

“Well, maybe your friendly neighborhood vagrant,” he answered with a big smile. “I’ll get out of your hair.” And he turned, leaned the hoe against the deck railing and walked away.

“Where are you going?” she asked.

He looked over his shoulder. “Home.”

“Where’s home?”

He stopped and turned. “My brother has some cabins along the Virgin River. I’m renting one while I think about what to do next. I’m unemployed, remember?”

“How could I forget? But I was informed by a very crabby nurse that you’re actually not a vagrant, even if you look and smell like one. You’re recently discharged from the navy. Can I drive you home? As a thank-you for the gardening help?”

“I like to walk,” he said. “From home to here and back—a little over ten miles.” This was all true, except his car was parked at the bottom of the hill at an outlook point. Just out of sight of the house.

“Would you like some water?”

“I have water,” he said, bending over to pick up his backpack, which waited for him beside the garden. He also picked up the bow and quiver, machete and favored walking staff.

“Would you like a….a
beer?
” she tempted.

“You’re being friendly, this is a whole new you.” His white smile cut through the red beard.

“Well, you’ve done some nice things, and the E.R. nurse thinks you’re relatively safe. Thank you for putting up the hammock.”

“You’re welcome. Thank you for offering a beer, but I might smell like a vagrant. Or a gardener.”

Her smile was indulgent. “I’ll bring the beer out to the deck,” she said.

He chuckled to himself as he turned around and came back toward the cabin. But when he got to the deck in front of the pretty, open French doors, he didn’t choose one of the chaise lounges. He was dirty and smelly; he’d dug around in the garden for a while. His hiking boots were muddy, his hands dirty, he was sweaty and smelly in general. Instead, he perched on the step, leaning back against a railing, and stacked his things on the ground in front of the deck.

She brought him a beer and, surprise of all surprises, one for herself. And she was smiling. She was looking real good in her fitted khaki capris, white T-shirt and sandals. She obviously got up and did her hair and makeup every morning whether she had somewhere to go or not, but then he’d already established she was a dish. Prissy and feminine.

He rubbed his index finger at his hairline in the middle of his forehead. “It’ll grow back before you know it.”

Her finger went there, as well. “Looks pretty awful, huh? Well, I can’t do anything about it now, except be patient.”

“It doesn’t look bad at all.” He took a long pull from his beer bottle. “Nice,” he said. He held it away and examined the label. “Good beer.”

“My brother-in-law left it.”

“Your brother-in-law was here?”

“The hospital called my sister and brother-in-law and said they’d release me if I had a driver and wasn’t going to be alone all night, otherwise they wanted me to stay overnight in the hospital.” Erin shrugged. “Marcie knew I’d hate that. They drove up from Chico. Bailed me out.”

His grin was huge. “I heard you in the E.R., Erin. You really know how to throw your weight around.”

“I had a headache,” she said, looking away.

He chuckled. “Any more head pain?”

“No, it’s fine now.”

“Why are you here? At this cabin?”

“Vacation,” she said. “I haven’t had a vacation in a long time. Like years.” She smiled slightly.
Twenty-five years
, she thought. Until Mel said it earlier, she hadn’t really added it up.

“But why here?” he pushed. “Why not some spa in the islands? Or a resort somewhere exotic where there would be lots of singles to mix it up with?”

She shrugged. “Marcie, my little sister, age twenty-nine, is expecting her first baby, a boy. Our parents are gone, I’m the oldest, and this is the first baby, due the end of summer. I really don’t want to be too far away, just in case she goes early, but I still wanted to get away.”

“Ah,” he said. “Now, I can relate to that. My brother’s wife, Shelby, is expecting their first around the middle of July. Luke is the oldest. I could sit out this transition anywhere, but I don’t want to be too far away.” He smiled again. “Also a boy.”

She tilted her head. “What did you do in the navy?”

“I was in the medical corps. Fourteen years.”

“Why’d you get out?”

“The reason most people get out—the next assignment didn’t look so good. It was a big boat for two years. I already did that once. Like I said, I want to be around for the next baby.”

“But you’re not married?”

“Divorced eight years ago. Short marriage, quick divorce, no children. You?”

She shook her head quickly. “Single.” Never married, never engaged, never lived with anyone, never very involved. “This is embarrassing. I’ve forgotten your name.”

“Don’t be embarrassed. You had a head injury. It’s Aiden.”

“Well, Aiden, what do you suppose you’ll do next? After the little nephew is born?”

He shrugged. “Same thing as before, I guess. Thing is, I’m really enjoying doing nothing. I hadn’t been on leave in a while—that’s vacation to you civilians. I’m in no rush. I could get used to this.”

She didn’t smile at that. “Doing nothing isn’t as much fun as I thought it would be.”

He lifted an eyebrow. “That so? What did you do for fun and relaxation in Chico?”

“Chico? How did you know I was from—”

“I dug through your purse for your keys…took you to the hospital…talked to the nurses to be sure you were all right…Plus, you just said your sister came up from Chico and I assumed…”

“Of course. Well, that’s the thing—there wasn’t a lot of free time in Chico, which is why I decided I had to actually leave town to get a break, but like I said—”

“You didn’t want to get too far away. What’s Chico like?”

“Nice town—not too big, not too small. Right on the other side of that immense mountain range. The hustle and bustle there isn’t real intimidating, but we have everything, either in Chico or close by—colleges, hospitals, malls. Maybe a hundred thousand people? I haven’t checked lately. Not a bad freeway drive to Sacramento or San Francisco. I think it’s perfect, but I grew up there.”

“Hospitals?” he said, lifting that brow again.

“Hospitals,” she confirmed. “Thinking about that hospital job?”

He tilted his head. Almost a nod.

“I suppose the navy had you living all over the world….”

“Yes and no. When you’re aboard ship, you see a lot of water, but dock in some interesting places. I got off a ship about eight years ago and was stationed in San Diego. They must have forgotten about me. I was there the whole time except for a few temporary duty assignments in other places. Pretty unusual to be able to have one home base that long in the navy.”

“And you don’t want to live there?” she asked. “I love San Diego.”

“I could live there,” he said. “Or here—I could live here. But a guy like me, looking for hospital work, probably needs a bigger town than Virgin River.”

“What’s someone like you do in a hospital? Pass that bedpan around?” she asked.

“As it turns out, I’m pretty familiar with the bedpan. The question is, would a woman like you take a bedpan from a guy like me?”

“Maybe if you shaved…”

He scratched his beard. “You know, when the military keeps you shaved, spit and polished for a long time, something like this is fun. It’s kind of like having a pet.”