Robin Hughes stood next to a large boulder as she watched him approach from below. Scanning the horizon, she saw no signs of vehicles which confused her. How had he gotten here without a car? She had been watching him for over a half hour as he made his way off the road, along an old trail, and finally to a path that lead up the slope. It hadn't been a direct route for him, the man simply following whatever path appeared before him. As she watched, she was confident that he was alone and also that he had not seen her. The question for Robin was if she would help him.
Looking across the landscape again, she reassured herself that no one was following him. He was as alone as she was. His appearance both frightened and intrigued her. There was the danger that another human being brought but her own companion for the last couple of years had only been her dog, Bear. The sound of another voice would be nice.
He turned and followed a smaller trail off to his left, her eyes following him as he worked his way toward the small peak to her right. With a sigh, she realized her decision had been made. If he took that trail his fate would be sealed. Even if he managed to survive the rough, snake infested climb, he would die on the high plateau with no water for miles. Stepping out from behind the cover of the boulder, she called out to him.
Jim Brass froze in his tracks. He hadn't expected to hear anyone out here. He had set out to make the drive east, taking a long vacation and determined to just get away. The last case had really gotten to him, broken through the wall he had erected years ago that separated him for the horrors he dealt with on a regular basis. There had been chips in the wall but it had held, until last week. He had plenty of vacation time stocked up and decided to take it, get lost for awhile, and decide if he wanted to go back. He'd thrown a suitcase in the car with some clothes and taken off. Then a few miles back, his car had decided to quit on him. So he'd packed a backpack with as much as he could carry; non-perishables and water from the emergency stash he kept in his trunk, ammunition, a few clothes, and headed out. His service weapon was strapped on his belt and he'd pulled out his old leg holster and strapped it to his calf with a smaller gun. A third handgun was tucked away in the backpack.
His mind was busy as he hiked, formulating plans, calculating the distances he would need to cover, and how to shelter at night. Odds were he wouldn't see anyone in this desolate stretch of desert. He was busily chastising himself for leaving the highway to meander a back road and out of cell range when something unexpected happened; a voice called out from across the hill. He stopped, scanned the area and located the source. A lone figure stood next to a large rock, calling to him and waving before nervously glancing around. Jim considered his options and came to a decision. "What the hell," he shrugged and set out to meet the stranger.
Robin watched him approach, pushing down the queasiness that rose in her gut. Another few yards and he would become a serious threat, if that was his intention. She hadn't survived alone for a couple of years, having left the city and people who threatened her behind, to let some lone stranger take her life now.
Jim approached slowly. He was at a disadvantage, the mystery man having the higher ground. But as he moved closer, he realized it was a woman. She had a rifle pointed at him but was simply following him, her body in a defensive posture. She'd give him a chance to explain himself before she killed him, he told himself sarcastically. Finally, he lifted his hand to wave.
Watching him wave did not make Robin any easier. She'd seen plenty of people turn on each other in her old neighborhood. She wondered why she'd opened herself up to this threat. Because you're tired of being alone, she told herself.
Finally, about 25 feet away from her, Jim stopped. The two studied each other for a moment until he spoke. "I'm um…Jim Brass," he said just loudly enough for her to hear.
"Where you from?" Robin asked.
"Vegas," he replied. "You?"
She shrugged, choosing not to answer, just in case he'd been sent to find her. "Vegas huh?" She couldn't remember knowing anyone from Vegas…if that was where he really was from.
"Yeah," he confirmed.
Then shrugging, he looked sheepishly at Robin. "Okay, well…don't suppose you have a phone or anything? I have my cell but I lost the signal several miles back."
"Not here," Robin shrugged. "Won't get a signal for another twenty miles."
"So, is there someone around who knows anything about cars? Or maybe someone who can give me a ride to the next town?"
No …no one that knows about cars. I can drive you to town tomorrow."
"Oh, okay. Thanks," Jim replied. "I um…well…." Jim looked around as if he was deciding something.
"You'll need a place to sleep. You can stay at my cabin," Robin called out, suddenly not wanting to be left alone again. Jim turned and looked at her quizzically. "I have room …for you to rest."
Realizing he didn't have options, he nodded. "Thanks."
She led him along a trial down the other side of the slope and across a small dried creek bed. They followed a narrow trail through some brush and walked over another small hill. Her cabin sat just the other side of the hill hidden behind a rock outcropping. Jim smirked when he spotted a beat up old truck next to the cabin.
Once inside, he stood still, looking around. It was a simple place, something from a hundred years ago or more. There was a fireplace in the corner that looked like maybe it served some cooking duties from time to time as well. An opening on the back wall seemed to lead to a small kitchen. Another door to the side probably held a bed, he surmised. Then his eyes swept across the long sofa and a comfortable looking chair. There were a few tables scattered about and along the wall, near the fireplace was a table with two chairs for dining. It was simple but very clean.
"So how is it you're all the way out here in the middle of nowhere?" Jim asked her as she moved past him.
"I could ask you the same," she shot back as she propped her rifle in the far corner.
Jim's eyes followed her action. Maybe she's going to cut me some slack, he thought. But his mind was changed as she slipped out of her light jacket and revealed that she too was wearing a holstered weapon, which she adjusted on her belt to emphasize to him that she possessed it. Unable to resist the temptation, Jim smirked. "Bet mine is bigger than yours," he quipped.
She blinked in confusion and then a small smile worked at the corners of her mouth as she fought back a chuckle. "Men always think they've got the biggest. But women have a few weapons too and we do know how to use them."
Not holding back his own grin, Jim nodded in acquiescence. "Don't I know it..."
"Yeah Vegas, I'll bet you do," she said as her eyes appraised him. Jim had the oddest feeling that he might be dinner.
Shrugging, he decided to continue the game. "I'll show you mine if you show me yours," he taunted.
Tilting her head, her eyes perused his service weapon in its holster. "I've seen bigger," she said as her eyes flickered back to his, challenging.
"Yeah, but it handles really well…" Then glancing down at her holster and noticing her weapon, he grinned. "Yours has some nice action to it too though," he conceded.
"So what are you doing here, Vegas?" she asked again.
Shrugging, Jim shook his head slightly. "I'm on vacation. Thought I'd just drive awhile to get away. Got off the highway to see the scenery and my car quit on me."
She snickered at him derisively. "That was dumb."
Running his hand over the back of his neck, trying to figure out how to break through her defenses, he decided on taking it easy. "Yeah, not one of the smartest things I've done. But then again, I met you," he winked. As he watched her eyes grow wide with fear, he regretted flirting at the end. But as he stood still and watched her, he saw her begin to relax a little.
"Well, I imagine you're hungry," she said darkly, "and I know I am. So I'll fix us something. Bedroom is through that door and the bathroom is there too, if you want to wash some of the dirt off."
Jim glanced at the doorway and then back to her. "Thanks," he nodded as he picked up his pack and headed through the door.
A few minutes later, after splashing off most of the dirt and changing his shirt, Jim walked to the kitchen. "Smells good," he commented from the opening between the rooms.
Robin glanced over her shoulder. "Enchiladas. I hope that's okay. I had them all ready to go in the fridge. Making some Mexican rice to go with it and some beans. "There's beer in the fridge or cold water."
Jim walked to the appliance and pulled out a beer, having noticed that she already had one open and half gone on the counter beside her. Checking the label, he decided she had good taste. "So I told you why I'm out her in the middle of nowhere. What about you?" He asked as he opened the bottle and leaned against a counter.
"I was tired of people asking me questions that's none of their business," she fired over her shoulder.
Jim smirked and tilting his head, studied her from behind as she worked. Her baggy jeans and man's plaid shirt had been a good disguise from a distance, but on closer expectation he realized she was filling out those clothes in the right places. He felt a twinge in his gut as he realized just how well she filled them. Without her floppy hat, her chestnut hair, cut short almost like a man's, showed little streaks of gray; but not too much gray. Watching her hands fascinated him momentarily. She had long delicate fingers, complete opposites of his. And she used them gracefully.
Quietly she put the knife in her hand down and straightened up after bending over the cutting board. Stretching her spine, she arched her neck and pulled her shoulders back. As he watched her roll her head, he realized she was feeling tension in her neck and stepped closer behind her. Reaching up with his large hands, he tenderly began to massage her shoulders, letting his thumbs work up her neck.
Startled by his touch, she jumped and started to turn to face him. "Don't," he commanded gently. "I'm not here to hurt you. Let me do this…call it payment for giving me a place to sleep tonight." She remained tense but she didn't move. Slowly, he worked both shoulders, rolling his hands over them, kneading her taught muscles.
"I…it's been a long time since I've trusted anyone," she said softly.
"Hey…you can trust me." He spoke lowly in a gravely voice.
"Most people don't walk around with a pistol strapped to them," she chided.
Smirking again, Jim sighed. "I'm not the only one packing. And I'm a cop….its sort of like part of me."
She turned and glared at him, her brown eyes challenging. "A cop?"
Confused by her reaction, he just stared. "Yeah," he replied. "I'm a detective with LVPD." Her reaction confused him. Most people, unless they were criminals, didn't react so warily to him being a cop. And she didn't seem criminal, but he'd been fooled before he conceded inwardly.
Pushing past him, she crossed the room and then turned, taking a breath as if to speak and then closing her mouth. Her eyes flickered back to him, her guardedness showing clearly in her expression. "I should've just left you out there," she said bitterly.
Frowning, Jim wondered what she had against cops. "Why?"
"You asked why I'm here. I can tell you it isn't because I love the solitude. It is because…someone like you, a cop…he convinced me to testify against…well, some bad people. He said he would protect me. But they came after me anyway and I landed in the hospital. It took weeks…." She looked away, obviously reliving some painful memories. "Then when I got out…he took me to this cheap, sleazy motel just outside of town and we stayed in that nasty little room for three days, him building trust. And on the third night, he raped me. I tried to report it but no one would believe me, certainly not his friends at the police department. As soon as the trial was over, I ran. I found this place and I've been here ever since. Can't trust anybody," she concluded.
Jim was dumbfounded. Oh, he knew there were bad cops but this one…he had to be one of the worst Jim had heard about in a long time… building her trust like that and turning it on her. "I'm sorry," he said softy. "The bastard was wrong to do what he did. But that wasn't me." He tried to calm her with gentle words and a soft expression. "I'm no angel, but that…that was…well, it was wrong. You deserved better, especially since you were laying it one the line to testify. He owed you respect and he should have protected you, not hurt you even more."
She looked at him suspiciously. "Yeah, sure…you say that now. How do I know you won't come after me in the night like he did?"
Rubbing the back of his head, Jim tried to think of a way to ease her distress. "I guess you don't. Except you are armed," he said as he nodded toward her gun, still holstered on her hip. "Tell you what, I'll um…I'll put mine in my bag," he said as he carefully unclipped his holster from his belt. "That way, you don't have to worry about what I might do."
She blinked at him, confused. "You…you trust me not to hurt you?"
Jim smiled. "Yeah, I do. You don't strike me as the kind of woman that hurts people. Otherwise, you never would have come out from behind that rock."
They spent the rest of the evening in uneasy silence. Robin finished preparing supper and Jim offered to clean the dishes for her. She was reading when he stepped back into the living space. "If you don't mind, I'm kind of tired," he said. "I'll just go on to bed?"
She looked up at him and then around the room. He watched as decision played over her face. "You take the bedroom," she finally said. "I'll sleep out here on the couch."
"I don't want to take your bed…" he began.
"I'm not ready to turn in yet," she assured him. "This way, I can stay up a while longer."
Sometime in the night Jim was awakened by a sense that someone was standing next to him. Reaching under his pillow and wrapping his fingers around the gun that had been in his calf holster, he opened his eyes. In the moonlit room, he made out the silhouette of Robin standing next to the bed. "Robin?" he croaked.
"I…I'm sorry. I didn't mean to wake you."
"You okay?" he asked as he scooted into a sitting position.
"Earlier…I was…well, you aren't like the cop that hurt me. Well, in a way you are but…not really. You really were sorry…"
"Yeah…well, one bad cop makes it hard for all of us," he offered, confused.
She sighed. "What he did…I mean, I trusted him and he…"
"Robin, you're right to be angry and I can understand why you wouldn't trust people. But why are you hiding out here in the middle of nowhere, with no one around…so isolated?"
Carefully she sat on the corner of the bed, tense like she would spring up if he made a move. "I…I do miss talking to people. That's why I called out to you. I thought it would be nice to talk to someone. And you've been nice. I just….when you said you are a cop, it scared me."
"Hey, I'm just glad you let me stay inside," he grinned. "I had the feeling I might be spending the night in your shed out there."
Suddenly she turned toward him. "Would you mind…I mean, would it be okay if…" her head dipped.
"If what would be okay?" he asked patiently.
"I'm just so tired of being…alone…"
"What if you stretch out under the covers and I stay on top? And we can just talk a little until you are ready to go to sleep."
He felt more than saw her nervousness at his suggestion. But then she began to calm and she began to move up the bed. "I think I'd like to try that," she said as she slipped under the covers. For his part, Jim slid out from the covers and settled on top.
They talked for a few minutes, Robin asking questions about Vegas and Jim answering. He told her a few stories about the people he worked with while being careful not to talk about cases. She didn't need anymore horror stories in her life. Finally she began to wind down and they both settled into a comfortable sleep.
When I started this it was going to be a one shot of about 4,000 words, I thought. But it kind of grew, lol. Still, I was going to wait to post until I had it finished or almost finished. But I've been struggling with the next section. There's a picture in my head of where it is going but I can't seem to get there. So I'm hoping that by posting, I get inspired and find a way through the muddle. Please be patient; it might take me a few days to get it moving again and have something worth posting;-)
