First off, sorry for missing the Friday update this week-the weekend was pretty busy and relatively wifi-less. Secondly, thank you very much to The Girl from Badlands for the favorite. It means a lot. :) Third and finally, just a reminder that reviews are always appreciated. Thanks, and enjoy!
Ohh, it had been a long drive. One hundred percent worth it, though. I truly loved life on the road...but sometimes I just needed to spend a couple of weeks in a bed that wasn't on wheels. When that happened I drove up to my dad's old hunting cabin in Tennessee. It was up in the mountains and surrounded by woodlands. Apparently it used to be quite a dump, but dad had renovated it a while back. It was pretty nice for such an old place.
My own little cabin in the woods. I sighed contentedly as I took off my boots, finally done with unloading groceries, feeding my cat Anya, and tidying up. It was amazing how much dust gathered between visits. Then I flopped down on the bed, tuned the radio to the local classic rock station (reception was surprisingly great in the area), and settled in for a nap.
I was woken up by someone pounding on my door.
Sitting up with a groan, I checked the clock. What time...man, I'd been asleep for hours. Whoever was outside was still making a ruckus. "All right, all right," I mumbled, shuffling groggily to the door. It was pretty suspicious, actually, as my cabin was situated smack dab at the corner of No and Where. But the way I figured it, if whoever it was wanted to rob, rape, and/or murder me, they probably wouldn't start by making enough noise to wake the dead.
So I opened the door a few inches, leaving it chained just in case, to see who it was. Some guy dressed in medieval-style clothes stood on my doorstep. What the heck? Maybe he was with a Middle Ages reenactment group or something. I'd participated in one a few times, and it was actually pretty fun. And, I had to admit, the costume looked good on him. Or what I could see of him in the dim light.
"Can I help you?"
His face was shadowed, but I could practically feel him looking me over. "You know, I bet you can," he said, all charm.
I cleared my throat. "I meant with regards as to the reason you're wandering around the woods in a knight costume. Did your horse break down or something?"
He chuckled self-consciously, suddenly deflated. "Heh, yeah. Actually, he went home and I'm...well, I'm lost."
Inwardly, I rolled my eyes. The guy was obviously harmless. "You need a ride?"
He hesitated. He seemed nervous. "Right now?" Maybe he didn't like the dark. I couldn't say I blamed him—these woods were dang creepy at night.
I guess it could wait until morning. It wasn't like I was too eager to drive the two hours to town and then two hours back again after a whole day behind the wheel, anyway. "You can stay the night if you want," I told him. "But you're either sleeping in the trailer or on the couch. The bed is mine." I might have unconsciously bared my teeth a little—I was not giving up my first night in a real bed since last summer.
"Hey, no arguments here," he replied, holding up his hands in a gesture of surrender.
"In that case..." I undid the chain and opened the door with an exaggerated curtsy. "Welcome to my humble abode, sir knight. Nice breastplate, by the way."
"Thanks," he said absently, looking around the room as if trying to remember something. Suddenly his brown eyes widened, one dark eyebrow quirking at an almost comical angle, and he took a stumbling half-step backward. Swaggering self-confidence gone, he looked thoroughly shaken. "No," he murmured.