Reaching for The Moon by ThePekingNoodle
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Chapter Sixty-Four: She's a Little Bit Country
A visit to town for our couple…
Max and Logan were lying on the rug in front of the fire, wrapped in a soft afghan throw.
"What are you going to do about making Lydecker not want the chip, Logan?" Max asked finally.
"You're worried about the X5s who are still at Manticore?" Logan responded.
"If the Colonel gets that chip in any state or form, he won't hesitate to test it on his live guinea pigs, no matter what it does to them." Max said bitterly.
Logan stroked her hair, watching as it picked up highlights from the fire. "He's not going to get it right away. Sebastian is going to negotiate a six month testing period for us to 'perfect' it."
"So that buys time, but then what?" Max wasn't satisfied.
"The developer of the chip is going to engineer something that will have an adverse affect on any recipients. It won't cause lasting damage but it will make it inconvenient and not very practical to use. Then we'll offer to continue to work on it for the Colonel, which should buy some more time. I know it's not a perfect plan, but it gives us time to come up with something better. Seb is going to make sure the database records on the project are hack proof as well."
Max sighed.
"Max, I know you'd like more but give it time, okay? I promise we'll figure it out."
Logan looked at her seriously.
"I trust you, Logan."
Damn Logan, what if you let her down? Don't make promises you can't keep.
I'll keep this one. No matter what.
"So anyway Max, I was thinking."
"About?"
"We need to stay away for a few more days to make the honeymoon story plausible, and to let Sebastian take care of the Colonel. But the one thing this place doesn't have is clothes. There's a small town down the road. If you want we can head over there, pick up some clothes, and then stay for dinner."
"Sounds like fun, Logan."
"The stores aren't what you're used to, and the restaurant is actually a bar and grill. But the food's decent. They even used to have some entertainment in the past."
"I don't need designer clothes to be happy, Logan." All I need is you. "Blue jeans and T-shirts will work."
Logan smiled at her. "Well then, get dressed already."
"This was your idea as I recall." Max pointed out to him.
"I don't seem to recall any arguments from you."
"Who am I to deny someone in the dire straits you made it clear you were in?" Max shot back.
"So this was an act of charity?" Logan gave her a mock glare.
"Everyone knows men are prisoners of their hormones. I was simply helping you out." Max said sweetly.
"Let's see who's a prisoner of their hormones…" Logan proceeded to kiss her breathless, as his hands began to play in those spots he had learned drove Max nearly mindless.
"Logan…I thought we had to leave…oh…"
"We do, but you seem to be in need of something first. Just helping you out…"
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Logan had been right about the town he took Max to. It was set a bit further up the mountain from the cabin, and it was truly rustic. The town consisted of one main street with a General Store, a post office/bank, a gas station, a small bakery and the bar/grill he had spoken of.
Max looked around in curiosity after she pulled her bike into a spot in front of the General Store.
"Told you it was small." Logan said. "We go in here for the clothes."
"Lead on." Max smiled at him. In answer he took her hand and pulled her along into the store.
Inside the store, the aisles were packed with a variety of everything from groceries to books, to feed and grain, to hardware. In the back there was a small area with a few racks of T-shirts, some shelves with blue jeans stacked on them, two counters with packages of socks and underwear, male and female, and some shelves with shoes, mostly work boots or hiking shoes, with some sneakers thrown in. There was one dressing room.
"Knock yourself out, Max." Logan said. "I'm going to look at the electronics for a few minutes while you use the dressing room."
Max nodded as she gathered a few pairs of jeans and some shirts to try on. She spent the next half hour finding herself enough clothing to last a few days including a soft terry robe that she found shoved back on a shelf. When she emerged from the dressing room she was wearing a pair of low cut jeans and a tight red T-shirt with short sleeves and a scooped neck.
A soft whistle greeted her, and she turned to see Logan standing there grinning. He was standing next to an elderly man with grizzled gray hair. He turned to him and said,
"I told you she was special." Before Max could say anything Logan had pulled her forward and dropped an arm possessively around her shoulder. "Max this is Amos. Amos this is my wife, Max."
"Pleased to meet you, Max. I've known Logan since he was knee high and it's about time the boy found himself a good woman. One who won't let him get away with things like those society girls he used to bring around here, the ones with their noses in the air."
Max felt herself blushing lightly, Logan squeezed her gently in a clear message to go along with it and she gave Amos a sassy smile. "You just have to know how to handle, Logan is all."
Amos let out a guffaw. "And I can see that you do, young lady." He paused and looked at her for a moment. Those jeans need something special. I've got just the thing for you. Hang on." He turned and went through a door leading back to what was evidently the storeroom. In less than five minutes he was back. In his hands he carried a belt. It was of soft leather, hand tooled with sculpted patterns, and it had a beautifully designed silver buckle.
Max slipped it through the loops in her jeans and it fit her perfectly. "It's beautiful."
"It's yours. No charge."
"I can't take it for free." Max protested.
"It's a wedding present. That and a pair of my best boots. You go pick yourself out a pair." He pointed to a display of handsome western boots.
"Go ahead, Max. Amos'll be hurt if you don't." Logan urged her.
She shrugged and went over to find a pair of boots that would fit.
" I gotta get back to the front, Logan. I'll talk to you more before you two leave. You stayin' in town for dinner?"
"Thought we would. The grill still have live entertainment?"
"Sure does. You're in luck tonight – we got "Hooter and the Dog Boys" playin'. They been real popular, in fact they just got themselves a record deal with one a them fancy California companies."
Logan laughed at the thought of introducing Max to some down home country music.
"I'm sure Max will enjoy them."
With that Amos headed back to the front of the story while Logan set himself to picking out his own clothing.
End of Chapter Sixty-Four…TBC…
