The Rain Began to Fall (2 page)

“Snap!” she
hollered, pounding her small fist on the steering wheel. Watching him pull away
she floored it in frustration in a last ditch effort to catch up, but it was
hopeless. He had the distance, and he was the first one in the Falstead parking
lot. He pulled into an empty parking space and killed the motor, watching as
she pulled in behind him and parked in her designated space.

Leigh parked and
looked to the right, two rows over, and could clearly see him sitting behind
the wheel, grinning at her. Now that the race was over and a sense of normalcy
had returned, she could hardly believe what she had just done.
What on earth
possessed me
?  she wondered anxiously. She watched him jump out of his
car with a bounce, hurriedly
. If he wants to footrace me to the door he can
forget it
!  She got out of her car, smoothing her red skirt.
Locking the door with a press on her remote, she swung her pocketbook over her
shoulder. A slight breeze caught her long blonde hair and blew it back, and as
Kyle walked toward her he smiled, admiring her incredible beauty. When she saw
him approaching out of the corner of her eye, however, she turned away, aiming
to walk quickly toward the building and avoid any dialogue. Having now gained
some perspective, she realized this could be dangerous ground, whatever she
felt back there, whatever made her do what she had just done. This was the
second time she had lost it with this guy, and she knew if she encouraged him
anymore, it could lead her on a path to somewhere, with an unknown, physically
desirable man that would only create imbalance at a crucial time in her life.
And why, when she was to be married in less than three months, was she even
susceptible to such temptation? That was a thought better crushed and left to
die where it was.

She then realized
something that gave her pause. She was sure their little race would make lively
conversation this morning amongst the boys in the plant. How would that sound
if it got back to her peers? She had a position and a reputation to uphold.

She turned around
to face him, and there were those eyes as he walked up, looking straight into
her, beautiful and captivating.

“Not bad… for a
girl,” he said, smiling and pushing his keys into his front pocket.

“Listen, I don’t
know why I did that,” she replied, laughing nervously and choosing, for the
moment, to ignore his chauvinistic statement

”You like to
race?” he suggested, shrugging his shoulders. He was smiling that beautiful
smile, and it was infectious. She returned it, then caught herself and started
for the building. He followed.

“I mean, I just
went crazy for some reason, you know?” she explained, stealing glances at him,
“just having a little fun.”

“Nothing wrong
with that,” he replied. She stopped and faced him with a serious expression.

“Look, you know
the position I’m in here, and I would really appreciate it if you would keep
our little race to yourself, just between you and me. Can you do that?” she
pleaded. “If you know what I mean.”

He knew exactly
what she meant, but he merely cocked his head to the side and continued smiling
at her. He then turned away, walking toward the building. She followed him
after a moment, frustrated, awaiting his agreement. At the front door he held
it open for her, bowing and waving her in. She walked through, rolling her
eyes. The clock on the wall of the entryway read 8:01 am.

“Well?” she
pressed, with no little impatience, as she pushed the button on the elevator
that would take her to her office. He walked silently toward the plant
entrance, then turned around and smiled. With one hand on the door handle, he
made the scout’s honor sign with the other.

“It’ll be our
secret,” he said solemnly, and then, with a smile and a wink, he was through
the door and gone.

Leigh entered her
office, opened the blinds and sat down behind her desk. As she began perusing her
itinerary for the day, she heard Kyle’s voice speak up in her mind:  “
It’ll
be our secret
.” That had sounded awfully cozy, but she had only herself to
blame for creating the situation where he would be comfortable enough with her
to say that, to imply even a remote intimacy between them
. What happened to
me back there
? she wondered. Staring at him at the traffic light had felt
other worldly; something she couldn’t find the words to describe.  It was
truly bizarre. And then racing him? She shook her head and laughed. Her eyes
fell on a photo of she and her fiancé, smiling happily together from inside a
heart shaped frame. The picture was taken on vacation in Seattle last year, and
with the remembrance of that trip and her commitment to the man in the photo,
she felt guilty about her thoughts.

Gene was a lawyer,
naturally, following in the footsteps of his father. Sykes, Sykes &
Barnhill was one of the largest and most successful law firms in Charlotte, and
had been Thompson Tobacco Growers representation. Joseph Sykes, Gene’s father
and founder of the firm, and Austin Thompson had been both friends and business
associates as long as she could remember. The two families were close and had
vacationed together on a few occasions. She and Gene had been childhood
friends, and the idea they might be a match someday had been advanced subtly
over the years by both families. He kissed her for the first time on her
sixteenth birthday, and she had known no other since. He was a burgeoning
orator and litigator, like his father, and he had also inherited his workaholic
ways. He wasn’t exactly GQ in the looks department, but he was a good man for
the most part. She had not dated anyone during her college years, although she
had certainly planned to shop around, had planned to tell Gene that she needed
some time to discover herself. She had been afraid of settling, fearful she
might miss out on something or someone.

But when her
father passed away - just before she went off to school - the independent,
spirited girl she had been was relegated to the shadows. She simply couldn’t
handle the emotional weight of a new relationship. Much to Gene’s delight, she
had maintained communication with him on a regular basis, and they saw each
other every chance they got. The comfort and familiarity of their relationship
was a salve to her wounded heart and mind, and their paths ultimately led back
to each other after she finished school. She felt she loved him. She had never
allowed herself to seriously consider anyone else. Her phone rang, and she
answered.

“Hello?” she
answered.

“Hey Leigh,” Gene
replied busily. He
always
talked busily.

“Hey, how’s it
going?” she inquired.

“Doing fine. Did
you make it on time?” She had talked with him briefly before leaving home, and
had informed him then that she was running late.

“Yes, although I
had to race to get here,” she responded, smiling. “Looks like it’s going to be
a pretty day for...”

“Yeah, I know
babe, but listen,” he interrupted.
Here it goes.
They had planned to
meet for lunch today, and now he would back out. This had happened before, a
few hundred times. “I’ve got the Roberson case to review and that deadline is
all over me. I just can’t make it. You understand honey?” he pleaded. “I know
we haven’t gotten together much lately, but I swear I’ll make it up to you the
first chance I get!”

“Well, that’s a
bummer,” she replied dejectedly. “Are you sure?”

“Yeah, I’m sorry
babe, really I am,” he said remorsefully. “But I
will
make it up to you,
okay darling? Hold on.”

She used the
moment to check her meeting schedule for the day, and then heard a beep on her
line.

“I’m back,” he
announced. “Sorry...

“Hold a sec,” she
said, switching lines to answer the call.  He buzzed his secretary.

“Yes sir?” she
answered.

“Lillian, have you
gotten hold of Judge Hatley yet?”

“No sir,” she
replied.

“Keep trying
okay?” he implored. “I need to talk to him asap!”

“I’m on it,” she
replied. He clicked off.

“I’m back,” Leigh
said.

“Babe?”

“Yeah, I’m here,”
she affirmed.

“As I was saying,
I’m really sorry about canceling,” he continued. “We’ll do something nice this
weekend, promise.”

“Judge Hatley on
the line sir,” his secretary announced over the intercom.

“Great! Thanks
Lil.” Then returning to Leigh: “Listen, I have to run. I’ll call you later,
alright?”

“All right,” she
responded.

“Bye love.”

They hung up, and
she
was
disappointed. They hadn’t gotten together much of late, given
his work demands, and it promised to be one of the nicest days of spring so far.
She had looked forward to lunching outdoors on the deck at Lyle’s Bistro, their
favorite spot.
Well, so much for that,
she thought, and busied herself
with the first item on her agenda.

# # #

The sky was a marvelous
deep blue, and the air was crisp and clear. There was a slight breeze, and
limbs on the trees that surrounded the lunch area at Falstead were sporting
small buds, signs that full blown spring was just around the corner. Leigh sat
down at a table under the shade of a large, old oak tree and removed her sandwich
and bottled water from the sack. She had asked her friend and fellow employee,
Accounting Manager Mindy Whitlow to join her, but she was too busy working
payroll. Although Leigh had not ventured on the company grounds for lunch
before, the day was simply too gorgeous not to enjoy outdoors.

She had picked up
her sandwich from Pernelis, where they served only eight inch subs. That was a
bit too much for her, so she had instructed the deli to cut it in half. Too bad
there was no one here to share it with. She bent her head to take a bite off
the sandwich, and a strand of her long hair fell off her shoulders and onto her
mouth in mid bite.
Darn hair!  I’m going to whack it off
!
 she
thought threateningly, for the umpteenth time.

As she managed to
take a bite, sans hair, she saw a pair of blue jean clad legs step smoothly
over the bench across from her.
Masculine, very male
, she observed with
the first glance of the bottom half she saw. Brushing her hair back, she looked
up into Kyle’s face. Her heart fluttered as he proceeded to have a seat.

“Okay if I join
you?” he asked smiling. She waved a hand in front of her mouth, indicating she
couldn’t answer at the moment.
Not that it would necessarily matter
, she
thought.
Better to beg forgiveness than ask permission is probably this
guy’s motto
. “I’ll take that as a yes,” he said, not surprisingly. She
swallowed the bite, washing it down with a sip of water. She took her napkin
and dabbed her mouth.

“Sure,” she
answered. What else could she say?  She glanced down at her hands, then
back up at his still smiling, handsome face. A million butterflies took wing in
her stomach. It was an exciting, dangerous feeling, without precedent in her
life, but she immediately attempted to subdue it.  She was engaged (
remember
Leigh
?), and she placed her left hand prominently on top of her right hand,
slightly elevating her ring finger, just in case he had missed it the first
time around. A blind man could see the dazzling shine off that rock.

“Nice day, huh?”
he said, noticing the not so subtle display of her ring, but entirely unfazed.
He stared at it a moment, then looked around the grounds.  “There’ll be
leaves on those trees soon.” He was calm and relaxed; a confident man, she
thought, that would not be easily dissuaded. He brought one foot up on the
bench.

“Yes it is,” she
agreed. “Too nice to eat inside.”

“Or alone,” he
responded in a soft, lower voice, turning his eyes toward hers.

The butterflies
took wing again, and she stared helplessly back into his eyes for a moment
before shifting her gaze away.
Can’t take much of that
, she thought
weakly. She cleared her throat and looked at the sky, the trees,
anything
but him. Kyle looked at nothing but her. The silence stretched out between
them, and she was growing uncomfortable. She felt her face getting warm,
flushed. She had to think of
something
to say; he was certainly no help.

“So… are you
enjoying working at Falstead?” she finally managed.

“It’s a job.” He
did not elaborate, and the silence fell between them again. She had taken only
one bite of the sandwich. She glanced down at it, then back at him.

“You’re not
eating?”

“Well, you see,
like you I was running late this morning, and didn’t have time to pack. But we
made up for lost time, didn’t we?” His eyes twinkled playfully.

“You haven’t told
anyone about that, have you?” she asked apprehensively. “You promised.”

“Don’t worry about
it,” he assured with a wave of his hand. “That’s just between you and me. But
I’ve got to admit I was impressed. Can’t say I’ve ever seen a female drive like
that.”

“I’m no stranger
to it,” she replied confidently. “My father was a team NASCAR owner, and I’ve
gone around the track a few times.” She said this with some pride, and was
pleased to see his surprised reaction.

“Oh really?” he
responded, raising his eyebrows. “I didn’t realize I was running against a pro.
But on that curve you slipped huh? That’s all I needed. I figured you had
trouble shifting.”

She narrowed her
eyes at him. She didn’t exactly enjoy hearing his summarization of her mistake.

“You’re right,”
she admitted, her lips pursed. “But it wouldn’t happen again, I assure you,”
she responded without thinking. She immediately bit her lip and regretted her
retort. She didn’t need to be spurring this conversation on.