Page 119 of A Light in the Dark
Damn it. Had I really slept for that long? “Noon as in Earth equivalent or noon as in the sun is halfway across the wretched sky?”
“We don’t use Earth time here, Valerie. It’s actually noon. I tried to wake you up earlier, but you whined, clutched the sheets, and threatened to cry. As I wasn’t sure if you’d actually cry, I decided to take the safe route. I brought some rabbits over, and they’re in the oven, so you can have a breakfast of roasted rabbit to go with your coffee.”
“Does that mean I can’t lure you into bed?” A romp sounded like an excellent way to start my day.
He chuckled. “What I have in mind for you, those sheets, and my bed will take a great deal longer than the time to finish roasting the rabbits, so we will have to wait to indulgeuntil after. Ideally, we’ll head to City Hall, let you chip away at that, and call your parents, after which we’ll return here for a leisurely and pleasant evening.”
I could handle waiting with such an offer on the table. I threw off the comforter, bounced out of bed, and took possession of my clothes before wandering around to locate the bathroom. “Morning showers are five minute affairs, so if you want leisurely affairs, those will have to wait for tonight.”
“My morning showers are lengthy affairs, but mostly, I stand there and try to remember what shampoo is and why I need to use soap,” he confessed. “It usually takes me an hour to become functional. You slept through my shower, several attempts to ask what you wanted in your coffee, and me poking you in the shoulder.”
“I’ll be back in five minutes, and I’ll show you the secret to getting me out of bed without a lengthy battle.”
“Does it involve the phone alarm I shut off this morning?”
“It really does.”
“I vanquished that demon before it could wake you,” he announced.
That did explain a few things, although I had no memory of setting an alarm. Yesterday, I must have hated the thought of sleep, choosing a time to wake up out of habit. “Well done. We shall have to explore how the hero is rewarded this evening.”
“Do you think you can find your way to the kitchen? If so, I’ll finish getting our meal ready while you shower.”
“If I get lost, I’ll wander around and eventually whine loudly for assistance. And if you didn’t want me exploringyour house, you would have given me directions to your kitchen.”
Joel laughed. “If you end up entering a dark abyss, that’s the garage, so turn back. If you end up outside yet contained by four walls, that’s the courtyard, and I will enjoy laughing at you from the kitchen window.”
“If I end up in the courtyard, you may have to retrieve me, especially if there are pretty flowers to admire.”
“There are pretty flowers to admire,” he confirmed before heading off to handle his kitchen duties.
While it wasn’t what I had expected from cohabiting space and sharing a bed with Joel, I found the situation to my liking and went off to take a shower so I could begin my day.
After feedingme a breakfast of rabbit, vegetables, and coffee, I braced and called my parents, wondering if they’d actually come to Stonecreek. On the third ring, my father answered, “Well, well, well. It seems my little girl remembered to call, although it is after noon.”
“I slept through my alarm,” I confessed. “I am only now functional. Sorry about that.”
“It’s no problem, but I’m not letting a chance to yank your chain pass me by.”
Of course he wouldn’t; if Dad could get his pokes and prods in, he did. Always. “Are you game for coming to Stonecreek still?”
“Will two weeks work for you? We’re doing some workon the house, and I don’t want to let the renovations sit half finished.”
I breathed a sigh of relief. Two weeks would give me plenty of time to get back into the swing of things. “Two weeks works. I’ll talk to some friends and see about getting you a ride. I might be able to come pick you up myself, but it would have to be a blitz trip.”
“With what car?” my father challenged.
“The one I’m going to be buying later today,” I confessed. “My neighbor is letting me borrow his, but with all the trips to City Hall I’m needing to do, I’m going to need my own. However, I might hijack my neighbor’s SUV for the trip, since he grew up near us.”
“He’s from the recluse town, right?
I sighed. While I’d been aware of the town’s existence, nobody had called it by name, there weren’t signs for it near my area that I knew of, and the people avoided us for good reason. “Joel, what’s the name of your town? I didn’t see it when we were headed in.”
“Watercrest,” he replied.
“He’s from Watercrest.”
“He lives near the luna moth farm, right?”
