The Moon is Not Enough by ThePekingNoodle
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Chapter Six: Of heroes and their sidekicks
In which our hero and heroine find out they have walked right into a situation they didn't expect…
When Logan woke up in the morning, Max was already out of bed and nowhere to be seen. The blonde wig hung crookedly on top of one of the wall mounted light fixtures and he idly tried to remember how it had ended up there, but gave up after a moment or two.
He smiled to himself and stretched out luxuriously, prior to climbing out of the bed and getting into a hot shower.
A low wolf whistle broke the silence in the room, and he looked over to the door to the small bathroom. Max stood in the doorway wrapped in a towel, her wet hair streaming over her shoulders. "Hmm, not a bad sight to come out of the shower and enjoy," she commented letting her eyes roam over his chest and down to where the sheet rode low on his hips.
"You wanna enjoy more?" he winked suggestively.
"Down, boy. My stomach wants some food and then we need to get on the road, or were you planning on another stop tonight?" She turned away and pulled down the small dryer that was mounted on the wall above the vanity. It didn't come on when she pushed the button marked Power, so she frowned and began to examine it more closely.
Logan sighed, knowing she was right. They hadn't bothered with unpacking any clothing the night before, so he pulled the sheet around his waist and headed for the bathroom. As he passed Max, she swatted him lightly on the butt. "Nice muscle tone, Biff."
"Ya think all those hours I spend over at the gym workin' up a sweat are for nuthin'?" he replied. "The Biffster keeps himself in shape for his little woman." He gave her a leer.
Before she could reply, the small dryer finally yielded to her fooling around and came on with a weak swoosh of warm air. Max immediately got busy drying her hair. "Get a move on, Biff. I want breakfast."
The click of the bathroom door was her answer, and she smiled to herself as she heard the water come on.
A second late she heard an exclamation and a muffled curse. She opened the door and called in to him, "Oops. Forgot to tell you the hot water was gone."
A wet washcloth came sailing at her, and she ducked back, laughing, and closed the door, leaving Logan to enjoy his cold shower.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Several hours later Logan finally pulled off the highway onto a private road. They had passed the checkpoints with ease and were almost to their destination.
"So do we have to keep up the Biff and Bunny charade while we're here?" Max asked. "'Cause this blonde wig is getting itchy."
"No. Since we're staying at a private residence and aren't likely to see anyone besides my friends it won't be necessary. We may not even see much of them. They've given us the guest house which is across the vineyards from the main house."
As he spoke, the road curved and a vista opened up in front of them. Vineyards stretched on either side of the road, leading off to gently rolling hills. They drove a moment longer and then turned into a curving driveway. The driveway wound through the vineyards and then slowly climbed up a gentle slope, ending in front of a one story house. The house was made of rich wood broken up by myriad glass windows. A porch wrapped around the front of it.
"Nice." Max said to Logan.
"We have it all to ourselves. Logan had pulled the car to a halt and climbed out. He grabbed their suitcases from the trunk and carried them up the steps. Setting them down he pulled a key from his pocket and had the door open with seconds.
"Coming?" he asked Max who was standing looking back over the vineyards.
"Sure. Do they have horses here?" she wanted to know.
"Don has a complete stable at the main house. I'm sure we could borrow horses one day if you want to ride."
They were inside now and Max was wandering around exploring.
"Well?" he asked turning to watch her.
She smiled "It'll do."
The house consisted of a single large great room. A fireplace took up almost all of one wall with soft comfortable sofas placed in front of it. Across from the fireplace, a bar divided the room and behind it was a gleaming modern kitchen complete with copper pans hanging over a butcher block work island. A door opened off the rear and when Max investigated she found a luxurious bathroom complete with two showers and a large Jacuzzi tub. A set of stairs next to the bathroom led upwards to a sleeping loft that contained a king size bed and a large armoire. A desk sat in the corner and Logan set his laptop case on it.
"So now what?" she asked.
Logan was standing at the bar reading a note. "Don and Amelia have invited us to dinner tonight at the main house. Strictly up to us. They think we're still on our honeymoon, so if we say no, they won't be offended."
"I'm up for it." Max replied.
"I'm going to hook up my laptop and check in to see if any of the searches I have running have come up with anything. You going to be okay?"
"I'm fine." Max flopped onto one of the couches. "I think I might do a workout and then go for a run while you do that. It'll be good to stretch my muscles out."
Logan was already vanishing up the stairs to the loft. Max smiled as she watched and then followed. By the time she had unearthed a pair of sweat pants and a t-shirt Logan was deep in his computer. She changed quickly and left eager to explore the area around the house.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Several hours later the two were standing on the front porch of the main house. It was a sprawling ranch house surrounded by several outbuilding, some of which Max recognized and others that she assumed had to do with the operations of the vineyard.
"Logan!" The door opened and a genial man who appeared to be in his fifties ushered them in. He shook Logan's hand heartily and then turned to Max. "This must be Max." His grin was infectious and she found herself smiling back at him. Within moments they were joined by an attractive woman who swept Logan up in a warm embrace.
"Logan, it's been much too long since you've been here." Logan hugged her back for a moment before she stepped away. "But I'm angry with you. How dare you get married again without letting us know?"
"It was kind of a sudden thing, Amelia." He protested weakly.
Max stood there watching, amused as her sophisticated husband turned into a stammering school boy. Amelia turned from scolding Logan and took in Max at a glance. Her eyes were measuring and Max detected a challenge in them. Amelia held out a hand with a smile, but Max could see that she was reserving judgment.
"Amelia, this is Max. Max, this is Amelia. She thinks she's my mother, since my own mom is gone." Logan was explaining, oblivious to the currents between the two women.
"Logan's mom and I went to high school together. Since she isn't here to do it, I try to keep this young man in line." Amelia explained. "Logan is like a second son to us."
Max smiled at her, liking the fact that she so clearly was ready to defend Logan if the woman he had so hastily married wasn't up to her standards. "I'm glad he has someone like you then."
"Max recently lost both of her parents in a plane crash." Logan explained. "That was one of the reasons our marriage was a private one."
Amelia melted a bit at that news. "Oh, you poor child. Do you have any other family?"
"Only Logan." Max said softly. "I don't know what I would have done without him after my parents…" She stopped not wanting to say more.
Logan smiled fondly down at her and gave her a quick hug. Amelia took in the byplay with sharp eyes and glanced at her husband. He nodded slightly and she shrugged as if to say, We'll see.
"Dinner should be ready. Come along into the dining room."
Max and Logan found themselves ushered into an elegant dining room. Dinner was excellent and the food was plentiful. Much of the meal was spent with Logan catching Don and Amelia up on what he had been doing for the last few years. Finally talk turned to the vineyards.
"Things look like they're going well for you." Logan commented.
Don and Amelia exchanged glances and didn't reply.
Logan didn't miss the byplay and frowned. "What's going on?"
Don hesitated and Amelia said impatiently, "There's no sense in hiding it. Logan is going to see it for himself anyway."
"What?" Logan wanted to know.
"In the last six months things haven't been going well for the independent vintners in our area. Last summer the Gallo conglomerate tried to buy out the valley. A few sold out to them, but half a dozen of us refused. We like our independence and our lifestyle. Since then there've been a lot of suspicious accidents. Things like fires in the wine presses, overdoses of insecticides that have ended up killing off acres of vines, even injuries to key workers. Two of the independents have sold out to Gallo since then. I've refused and just last week my foreman was injured in a freak accident at the press." Don's face was grim.
"The conglomerate trying to pressure you to sell?" Logan asked.
"That's my suspicion. Problem is there's nothing to take to the authorities, even if they weren't already in Gallo's pockets."
"What are you doing about it?" Max wanted to know, exchanging a glance with Logan.
"We're taking extra care. And I sent Andrew back east on a sales trip last week."
"Andrew is their son," Logan explained to Max. "They threatened him?" he wanted to know.
"Not in so many words, but I wanted him out of the line of fire. But this isn't your concern. They won't bother you two, and you're here to enjoy a honeymoon not worry about my problems. I've faced this kind of thing before and always come out on top." Don tried to brush it off.
"Maybe I can help." Logan offered.
"Logan, there's no need. We want you two to enjoy your stay. Just be a bit cautious if you see anyone acting suspiciously is all. I'm sure this will all blow over as soon as they realize their scare tactics won't work on us." Amelia soothed.
Logan looked like he wanted to say more, but Amelia smoothly turned the conversation. Before they knew it, the evening was over and they were saying their goodnights. Don had offered them free use of the stables while they were there and arranged to send two horses over the next day for them to ride.
As soon as they were in the car heading back to their house, Max broke the silence.
"So when do we get started?"
Logan looked at her startled. "Started?"
"Come on, Logan. You can't tell me Eyes Only isn't going to look into this Gallo thing. And I'm just the girl to do your leg work."
"Max, this could be dangerous." He didn't bother to deny that he planned to get involved.
"Logan, we've been through this before. Either you let me help this time or I go off and do some investigating on my own." Max was adamant.
He looked at her once again. A smile crossed his face. "You asked for it, Robin."
"Cool, Batman. Only can I be Batgirl? I like her costume better."
"So do I," Logan laughed, and the rest of the ride back to the guest house was spent in comfortable teasing and laughter.
End of Chapter Six…TBC…