Page 20 of Half Blind

He grimaced a little as a pain shot through his leg. He needed time for it to heal. Jared also needed to do more repairs on the farm. The Sheriff gave him the icks, and the girls needed to know how to do basic self-defense, along with minor repairs about the place. Slowly he spoke, “The yard needs to be graded with all the pools of water; if not, the mosquitoes are going to eat you alive. A small tractor with an attachment would get it done. My truck is going to need tires, but I have to find out if there is more damage to the axles. Tomorrow, I can contact my insurance company and set a course of action.”

Ayanna, not missing a beat, said, “Don't know why you're in such a hurry to run off. We need a man around here to look after things, to look out for us. Too many hunters. We are easy prey.”

Jared sighed deeply. “Any woman who keeps deadly snakes is not prey to anybody. Neither are you. Before I leave, I'll make sure you know some basic self-defense moves and how to do basic repairs if that's okay with Doc Myrtle.”

“It's okay,” Lemon said, thinking about the odd young woman's words. A man was needed around the place. She simply wasn't sure the man needed to be him.

Chapter 7- Temptation

Ten Days Later- Salem, Oregon

The temptation to call Helen was so strong, it reverberated in his trigger finger. The past ten days had been nothing short of insane. His cash offer on the property was settled for an offer of ten thousand under the asking price, which left Jarius Neary the proud owner of a very large piece of raggedy nothing in Indiana. The outbuildings direly needed repair, the primary home structure proved to be too tiny to hold a thought, and the barns needed to be razed to the ground. All of it made him incredibly excited about this new chapter in his life. The life he was leaving was wedged in a rut, operating on autopilot and making him careless at a couple of stops on the back roads he'd been assigned.

There were no ruts with Helen. Each day as he prepared the items for the movers who would be coming shortly to relocate his life from here to there, he followed the clues she'd left him to end their day together even though physically, Helen was in Ohio. In the back of the cupboard, located in a coffee mug, was the latest note. Mustang didn't want to wait for tonight to read it. He wanted to talk to her; he wanted this moment alone with his woman.

He found the envelope and opened it slowly. She said she'd left sixteen notes to cover the sixteen days it would take him to shut down his life in Oregon and shift it to Indiana where she would take over as the Technician for the state if she completed the training. Mustang was worried about Helen's progress as a Forbidden Fruit because Lemon was a tough cookie. She didn't play around and the woman created some nasty shit in her home lab to end a person's life without the person knowing they were, in fact, dying slowly.

Helen was giving him a new life. He leaned against the counter as he opened the envelope, slightly scented with the oil she used on her skin. Mustang inhaled slowly, thinking warmly of her before extracting the contents of the envelope. From the inside, he removed the sixteenth reason Helen McDaniel had written that she was looking forward to sharing a life with him. He read it twice, thinking he didn't understand, but when he allowed the words to sink it, a smile covered his entire soul. The note read:

Jay, I love the mugs in your cupboard. Reason 16 I'm looking forward to our life together is that you and I get to go antiquing. Stop scowling; you're going to enjoy the outing for the day. One, we shall find me a reading chair so I can place it next to the first table we created together, which shall hold my afternoon cup of tea. Second, we need to find china and a place setting for eight for the immediate family, a setting for twenty if you count Joe and Mary plus your cousins. Imagine setting up the dining room as we host the family for a holiday or special dinner atyourtable. Of course, you'll be on the grill giving Mark a few lessons on how not to singe the meat. Until the next time we share ideas, yours, - Helen.

“I can see that shit,” he said smiling as his personal phone rang and he answered, “This is Jay.”

“How's it going?” the voice on the other end asked.

“Movers are coming today,” he replied. “I turned the keys and my shop over to Belial, my handler, a couple of days ago. I'm shipping my Mustang, flying in, and then renting something until it arrives. Thinking I may buy a little pickup for getting back and forth to the academy when I get into Indiana.”

“Are you giving up being a Technician or planning on starting a conversation with Azreal?”

“Honestly, I need a break from all the death,” he said. “Finding the holes these creeps are stashing their toys in has soured my stomach. I need the change.”

“The change includes her?”

“She's part of the reason for the change in me, how I see myself and my purpose in this world,” he said, sniffing the note again. “But I am making the change for myself.”

“Interesting,” the voice said. “I found the triple wide you wanted, and it was delivered this morning to the property. The workers started yesterday putting in the privacy fence. They are setting it up and putting in the septic, propane, and solar panel system. It will be tied into the city grid; however, that place is going to need some work.”

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