Harper followed Kris out to her car. He was a little wary about getting into it but, he trusted her and it was just an ancient Earth vehicle, after all. It was very unbelievable to be on his home planet and not to have to worry about Nietzscheans or Magog. "So, where are we going?" he asked her.
"Obviously, you don't have a place to stay. So, I'll put you up at my place. But, I'm not going to put up with any nonsense." Kris took the gun out of her purse again. "I know how to use this and believe me, I will if you get out of line." She put it back. "I just don't see you doing anything of the sort, though." She started the vehicle.
Oh man! A woman who was comfortable with weapons and not afraid to use them. Just like Beka. Harper had a feeling he was going to enjoy Kris's company.
She drove to her beach house. Harper followed her in. "I've got an extra bedroom that you can stay in. Take a look around." He did and he was amazed. Harper looked out the window towards the beach and he was fascinated.
Kris noticed. "Never seen the ocean before,hunh? You must be from one of those landlocked states, then? Want to go out and see it? Come on."
Harper nodded, wordlessly as he followed her outside. It was an Earth ocean and it wasn't a toxic waste dump. True, there was pollution in this time but, it was nothing compared to what they were like now. 'Excuse me, in my time' he thought. For all intents and purposes the past was now. It was freaking him out. He just stared at it.
"Why don't you go in? You look like you want to." Kris said.
Harper wondered if he dared. He thought about it for a minute, then made his decision. He went in. It was wonderful. It was just cold enough to be exhilarating without being freezing. And the waves. Man. Wow! The foam was beautiful.
He stayed in until Kris called him again. "Hey, are you hungry? I've got food, if you want." He realized that he was and followed her inside where she made some peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. They tasted awesome.
"This is a very cool place you got here." he told her.
Kris laughed. "Why, thank you. I inherited it from my sister Jill along with my job and car."
"I'm sorry about your sister."
Kris gave him an odd look. "Why? She went off to Europe to be a race car driver, so she didn't need them anymore."
"Oh, O.K" That explains that. So, her sister wasn't dead. 'Careful Harper. Even though it's Earth, it's not your Earth and you don't want to give anything away. So, don't go jumping to conclusions about what people might say. It's a totally different world and inheriting obviously doesn't always mean death.' So, he changed the subject to small talk which worked.
They spent a nice day together and then Kris showed him to his room. For her part, Kris still couldn't get over the fact that she was actually letting a strange man sleep under her roof. As a former police officer and now a licensed detective, she should know better. Yes, she had a gun and could use it, as she'd demonstrated but, what did that really matter in the long run? The risk was still there. Except, that there was something about him that told her he wasn't out to hurt her in any way.
Of course, there was that odd reaction when she'd told him she'd inherited her life from Jill. He'd thought that meant Jill'd died. Granted, that was usually the meaning of the word but, Jill Munroe was becoming a rather well-known racer. So, this Seamus Harper had never heard of her. O.K. maybe he wasn't up on the sport. That might be one thing.
In any case, she just knew he was harmless. On top of that, what he'd assumed about her sister spoke of a man who'd suffered personal loss. He certainly was in need of help and she wanted to help him. If she could.
"Obviously, you don't have a place to stay. So, I'll put you up at my place. But, I'm not going to put up with any nonsense." Kris took the gun out of her purse again. "I know how to use this and believe me, I will if you get out of line." She put it back. "I just don't see you doing anything of the sort, though." She started the vehicle.
Oh man! A woman who was comfortable with weapons and not afraid to use them. Just like Beka. Harper had a feeling he was going to enjoy Kris's company.
She drove to her beach house. Harper followed her in. "I've got an extra bedroom that you can stay in. Take a look around." He did and he was amazed. Harper looked out the window towards the beach and he was fascinated.
Kris noticed. "Never seen the ocean before,hunh? You must be from one of those landlocked states, then? Want to go out and see it? Come on."
Harper nodded, wordlessly as he followed her outside. It was an Earth ocean and it wasn't a toxic waste dump. True, there was pollution in this time but, it was nothing compared to what they were like now. 'Excuse me, in my time' he thought. For all intents and purposes the past was now. It was freaking him out. He just stared at it.
"Why don't you go in? You look like you want to." Kris said.
Harper wondered if he dared. He thought about it for a minute, then made his decision. He went in. It was wonderful. It was just cold enough to be exhilarating without being freezing. And the waves. Man. Wow! The foam was beautiful.
He stayed in until Kris called him again. "Hey, are you hungry? I've got food, if you want." He realized that he was and followed her inside where she made some peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. They tasted awesome.
"This is a very cool place you got here." he told her.
Kris laughed. "Why, thank you. I inherited it from my sister Jill along with my job and car."
"I'm sorry about your sister."
Kris gave him an odd look. "Why? She went off to Europe to be a race car driver, so she didn't need them anymore."
"Oh, O.K" That explains that. So, her sister wasn't dead. 'Careful Harper. Even though it's Earth, it's not your Earth and you don't want to give anything away. So, don't go jumping to conclusions about what people might say. It's a totally different world and inheriting obviously doesn't always mean death.' So, he changed the subject to small talk which worked.
They spent a nice day together and then Kris showed him to his room. For her part, Kris still couldn't get over the fact that she was actually letting a strange man sleep under her roof. As a former police officer and now a licensed detective, she should know better. Yes, she had a gun and could use it, as she'd demonstrated but, what did that really matter in the long run? The risk was still there. Except, that there was something about him that told her he wasn't out to hurt her in any way.
Of course, there was that odd reaction when she'd told him she'd inherited her life from Jill. He'd thought that meant Jill'd died. Granted, that was usually the meaning of the word but, Jill Munroe was becoming a rather well-known racer. So, this Seamus Harper had never heard of her. O.K. maybe he wasn't up on the sport. That might be one thing.
In any case, she just knew he was harmless. On top of that, what he'd assumed about her sister spoke of a man who'd suffered personal loss. He certainly was in need of help and she wanted to help him. If she could.