Chapter 2
Mac viewed the display of food set across the table in awe. Only on television she saw this much food for one meal. She was placing a piece of fried pork on her plate when the living room came alive with voices.
"That would be the Robert's" Grandma announced as she stood to greet the newly arrived guests.
Mac looked at Harm with just as much surprise as he was showing. "Our Robert's?"
"We made it. Finally." Harriet smiled as she entered the dining room and into grandma's waiting arms.
"Harriet, Bud, what a surprise." Mac said as she stood to hug her friends.
"Well we just couldn't refuse the offer for a family holiday. The fourth with all of you." Bud said as he hugged the women and shook hands with the men.
As everyone settled back around the table and plates were filled, conversation was directed to young Mr. AJ Roberts. Happy to be the center of attention, he proceeded to tell the latest on him and his brother's adventures.
"Jimmy went sprinting through mommy's tea party in just his boxers and had a cape flying behind him whoopin and hollerin to beat all. It was the best. Mom just smiled, till later when we both got grounded."
"They were my transformer boxers." Jimmy added with a smile.
"I remember a time when Harmon did that. Only he had superman boxers on. He attempted to jump out of the tree, but then figured it would be better to fly through the luncheon I was holding in the garden." Trish laughed as she told the story, glancing occasionally at her son.
"Do you still have the boxers Uncle Harm?" AJ asked with such seriousness.
"No, no AJ I don't think I do. But they were my favorite ones. I do remember that." Harm answered.
"Harm wore his boxers like shorts, so cute in those little boxers." Grandma said as she rose from her seat for the iced tea pitcher.
"Oh trust me he still is." Mac said as she took a drink of her tea, then gulped loudly, realizing what she had just said.
"Excuse me?" Harriet blurted out, just as Harm choked on his bite of food.
"Mac…" Harm started as soon as he got his choking fit under control.
"Yes Mac, please elaborate on this subject." Trish smiled and cocked her head to the side, looking directly at both Mac and Harm.
"Uhm…I.." She frowned and scratched her forehead, wondering how that actually escaped her thoughts.
"You saw uncle Harm in his underwear?" Jimmy blurted out as all eyes landed on Mac.
Mac looked quickly to Harm with a plea of help on her face. Harm laughed and took a long slow drink of his tea. Setting it back on the table he cleared his throat. "Which time should I tell about?" He asked.
"Oh there's been more than one?" Harriet was enjoying every moment, as well as everyone else.
"No…. as I recall, it was the time Palmer was after you, I stayed at your place." Mac explained.
"That still doesn't explain why you saw him in his underwear." Trish pointed out.
"It was cold in his apartment, I was upset. This was the wrong story." Mac searched her brain for another one.
"No, I think it's a pretty good one. Continue please." Grandma said as she sat back down, smiling.
Mac rubbed her neck, searched Harms face for help, and finally gave up. "I was crying cause everyone I was around either ended up hurt or dead or something. He got up to check on me and.. well he was in his boxers." She prayed to God the subject could be dropped.
"Did he kiss you?" AJ asked with a giggle.
"EWWWW, mommy and daddy kiss all the time. Do you kiss Uncle Harm?" Jimmy added.
"You have to get married if you kiss." AJ stated as everyone laughed. Everyone except Mac. Harm laughed till he glanced at the Marine sitting beside him.
"Anyway, is there dessert?" Mac stood up and slapped Harm on the arm.
"I can't go help you Mac, that would leave so much suspicion at this table, it wouldn't even be funny." Harm dodged another arm punch.
Mac made a quick escape to the kitchen. She took a deep breath and leaned her hands on the counter. Not knowing anyone had followed her in, she jumped at the voice behind her.
"Mac, I'm glad you came. You have been a member of this family since the first time I heard my son mention your name. I hope we didn't upset you out there." Trish said as she cut the apple pie.
"No. I'm fine. It's a long story and you don't want to hear any of it. Trust me. Its been a long day, hectic, emotional, and so much more."
"Would you like to talk about it?" Trish asked with concern.
"I wouldn't know where to begin. Life is a whirlwind right now and I have a feeling this weekend is going to have another whirlwind barreling inside the original one." She smiled as she helped dish pie onto plates.
"Well, I say toss the old one out and start fresh this weekend. Let the past go, don't analyze anything and just be you this weekend. Let go and have the time of your life."
"But then I have to go back to my old life." Mac whispered.
"With the new one fresh off the press sweetheart. Breathe Mac. Have Harm take a walk with you. The farm is very relaxing, especially at night." She leaned over and gave Mac a motherly kiss on the cheek.
As Trish carried a tray of plates to the dining room, Harm came through the door toward Mac.
"Hey." He smiled as he wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her close to him.
"Hey." She replied as she raised up so her lips were even with his. "Wanna take me for a stroll down the lane?"
"Why Miss Mackenzie, would that be a proper thing for a gentleman to do after dark?"
Mac giggled and kissed him. "I think we can make an exception this time Mr. Rabb."
"I have the perfect place to show you." He smiled as he slipped his hand into hers and pulled her out the door.
"No way, Im not going in the barn after dark with you." She pulled back and laughed at his facial expression.
"Trust me Mac, going into the barn with me in the daytime would be no more safe than now. Ever make out in a hay loft?" He pulled her along after him through the barn door into the dark barn.
"Harmon Rabb, I will not make out with you in the hay loft. We aren't teenagers." She demanded as he pushed her up the ladder.
"I have to make a confession. I've never made out in a hay loft." He said he joined her at the top.
"Whatever. I don't believe that one bit." She laughed as his hand moved to her waist, pushing her toward a pile of hay.
"I wouldn't lie about that. Now Miss Mackenzie, what do you suppose we do first?" He said in a horrible southern drawl.
"Go back to the house where it's safe." She laughed.
"Well now you know that isn't going to happen. Nine years Mac. What do you say?"
"I say, you suck at romance. That's how you're going to start this? What do you say?" She laughed as he turned and plopped down on the hay pile behind them.
"Fine then, you start it." He smiled and leaned back with his hands behind his head.
"Fine."
Mac smiled back and stepped toward him. As she leaned down over him, she brought her lips to mere inches from his. She stopped as if she were deciding to actually do this or not. Harm sensed her hesitation and moved his foot, knocking her off balance, and causing her to land right on top of him.
"Exactly where you should be." He whispered as their lips met in a jolt of passion.
He moved his hands down her body and gently rolled them over, never breaking the kiss. When he moved his head and started trailing kisses down her neck, she finally let out a breath and allowed herself to let go. She let her hands roam his back and sides as all of her past disappeared and a new life started. He started to move away from her, but she held him close to her.
"I love you." She whispered in his ear.
Harm thought he was hearing things. He raised his head from her neck and looked into her brown eyes. The love he saw melted into his and he smiled. That cocky Harmon Rabb Jr. smile he did so well. "Are you just saying that so you can get me in bed Miss Mackenzie?"
"You did not just say that, Oh my…" She was stopped short by a life shattering kiss that knocked her senses into major overdrive.
"Harmon, HARMON." Grandmas voice rang out over the yard from the house. "Come on back to the house now."
"Crap." Harm leaned up like a teenager caught making out in the hay loft, instead of a grown man caught making out in the hay loft.
Mac gasped and tried to move her body, or at least reposition herself away from the crazy man holding her down. "Get off…"
"Shhh, quit squirming. One more kiss?" He was smiling and leaning closer to her.
"One more kiss is going to get us into a lot more than one more kiss promises to be. You know that we won't make it back into that house." She laughed a worried laugh.
"I love you." Harmon Rabb Jr. finally confessed.
"You're just trying to get me to kiss you." She laughed.
"So.. is that a yes?" He smiled and closed the distance.
Mac could feel the warm sunshine on her face and for a moment lost all thought of where she was. She felt a strong arm around her holding her close to him. Him. Harm. Harms naked chest. He was touching her skin. Naked skin. She suddenly felt as though someone was staring at her and quickly opened her eyes. At the same moment, she let out a scream just as the man behind her bolted upright. The terrified rooster that was watching the couple sleep, dropped in its tracks.
"SHIT." Harm said as he rubbed his face and shook his head, which seemed to be happening a lot when he was around this woman. "What did you do to the rooster?" He gazed in amazement at the rooster, then glanced to the woman laying there covering her face.
"We have to go in that house. Someone will be awake." She mumbled.
"We fell asleep in the barn." Harm laughed and leaned down to kiss her. "Good morning."
"Ya, like they are going to believe that one." She sat up and looked around for her clothes. "Where did the blankets come from?"
Harm just smiled and handed her clothes over to her. He glanced down at the still rooster and kicked it with his foot. Letting out a hoot, Mac just glared at him. "Wait till grandma hears you killed the old red rooster."
"I did not kill him."
"You know Mackenzie; I should take you into a hay loft more often." He smirked as his shirt hit him smack in the face.
"How do we get in the house lover boy?"
"Back door, no one will be up yet. The rooster hasn't even crowed yet. Oh wait, he's dead." Harm folded the blankets and tossed them into a rubber maid container behind a stack of hay bales. "Come on."
As they walked up the back steps, they listened for any sound inside the house. Hearing nothing, Harm turned the knob and opened the door. The smell of fresh brewed coffee and frying bacon caused his heart to stop for the first time in his life. He felt Mac squeeze his hand and rattle off a string of words he knew were not nice at all. Good thing they were in Farsi so he could imagine she was praising him.
"Well, well, well. Look what finally crawled out of the hay loft and tried to sneak in before anyone knew." Grandma tapped her foot and frowned at the two.
"Harmon, you tried that once before and were caught then as well." His mother said as she took her seat at the table, glaring at her son.
"You said…. HARM." Mac was in shock and smacked him hard across the shoulder.
"Ma'am, you didn't fall for the "I have never been up here before" line, did you?" Harriet snickered from the table receiving a Marine grade glare from the woman at the door.
Harm pulled her further into the kitchen and shut the door behind her, smiling the whole time.
"I have a bad news. Mac killed the rooster." Harm announced with a saddened face.
"Is that because we don't have any rabbits around here anymore?" Grandma asked after a brief moment of silence.
Mac's face turned instantly red as everyone burst into laughter. Harm knew better than to laugh but couldn't hold it in any longer. As he laughed, he wrapped his arms around her and hugged her.
"So, have you finally come to your senses?" Trish asked just as Bud and Frank entered the kitchen.
Harm glanced at Mac and raised his eyebrow at her.
"Yes." She announced and leaned up to kiss the gorgeous man she had spent the night with in the hay loft.
"Finally." Harriet clapped her hands.
"Well, I guess someone needs to go get that rooster. I liked him too. Such a shame. Poor guy, probably didn't know what hit him." Grandma shook her head.
"Hey Colonel, you have hay in your hair." Bud said, oblivious to everything around him.
"Ill never live this down." Mac said quietly.
"Nope. This will definitely be at the next twenty years worth of family dinners." Harm whispered back to her, but loud enough for everyone to hear.
Mac closed her eyes and smiled, leaning her head against Harms shoulder. Everyone else burst into laughter.
