Go West
Chapter Summary
At last!
Chapter Notes
See the end of the chapter for notes
As promised! September 27-October 3.
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Rainbow Haven Acres
Published on October 7, 2017
The little party trudged through the darkness after getting the animals settled in for the
night. There was a last task before they could fall into their beds. They carefully
latched and unlatched gates, ingrained habit now, and entered the dimly-lit central
aisle that split the low barn in half. With a murmur, Alex took her post near the
enormous folding door that separated the ostrich from the dangers of the night while
Kara and Brainy headed into the storage area.
In short order, they had the couple of electric lanterns set on tripods dimly lighting
Kara and leaving the area behind her black as pitch.
"Ready?"
"Ready."
It was warmer tonight, the last few persistent insects making their noises in the
darkness. It made for a pleasant opening sequence as Brainy slowly panned from the
blackness of the night to where Kara stood, dimly illuminated.
She, and everyone else at the farm, was pleasantly exhausted and still shell-shocked
even after eight busy days. Kara did her best to pay attention to her task, but, oh, it was
hard! Forcing a somewhat bewildered smile, she rubbed her hands together and tried to
be perky.
"Hi guys. Okay! So, umm, last time there was a vid, I was sorta, well, a little
incoherent." Faltering, she cleared her throat and rubbed her eyes. Her smile was
sheepish and not a little vulnerable. "Jeez, I haven't been this out of it in front of a
camera in years…" Rallying again, Kara continued on. "So, it's been eight days since
the donation and we've been crazy busy, even for us, but that can't be a shock to
anyone."
Growing more animated now, Kara's natural personality shone through the lingering
shock and exhaustion.
"So, anyway, everyone is probably wondering what we're doing with the money,
right? First and foremost, our number one worry has been taken care of!"
Throwing her arms wide, Kara heard Alex throw switches back in the barn and the
darkness around her was abruptly flooded with electric light. The big alcove of five
foot high wooden walls was now a mass of bales, stacked rectangles like big green
bricks and enormous round wheels nearly as tall as Kara herself stacked three high.
"Behold! An entire winter's worth of hay and straw! And then some! We had a
miserable time finding decent orchard grass for Jerkbutt and the alpaca, but it turns out
that Nia actually has some decent family up in Montana who helped out, and now she
has more family to rely on, which is never a bad thing! The rest of this is from Eastern
Oregon and Washington and came in on a full-out semi-truck! And yes, oglers, we
have video of us all being studly, especially Alex, and getting this all stacked."
For all that Kara remained 'eeew' about Alex's many admirers, she -like Brainy-
would exploit it.
"'Kay, let me think for sec. Umm, we got both tractors looked over by a mechanic, so
we're ready for the cold temps, which we have more video for, so I bet it's playing
now while I'm talking. More gravel was poured and compacted around the side and
back of the village to stand up even better to plowing. We'll get to the back half of the
farm next spring so that Maria and Carol can really use the big field back there for
flying. There's little point before then. Same with the long-awaited real bridge, though
the wooden one has been reinforced and is holding up great! We're definitely gonna be
shopping this winter, getting stuff ready to be shipped to us once the snow melts off.
And I get my aviary! Yes!"
Dancing about, Kara was pure joy for a moment before her demeanor abruptly went
serious.
"So, on a more sober note, someone dumped a cat and her kittens at the edge of our
property. The poor thing was half starved and they were all a mess of fleas and worse.
How can people be so awful? Anyway, they're all cleaned up and well-fed now, and
live in Mama B's old cage in the barn for now. The mama definitely doesn't like
people, not even Alex! But the kittens are young enough to get used to us. I'm pretty
sure that Alex snuck into the cat corral and got a few bits of video of them all."
Forcing away her sadness over the poor cats, who were now safe and well-cared for,
Kara brightened again.
"Now, we still don't know who our mystery donor is, but as promised, here are the
rewards to be enjoyed. You'll have to 'fess up who you are to get the swag! Hit
it, DJ!"
It had been no easy feat to get the gang to toss away their dignity, but that many zeros
in the bank made them giddier than being drunk or in love. So Kara made a list of the
rewards and they worked their way through them. It would be up to Winn to make
something coherent of it all.
Their preview of it the night before had them all screaming with laughter.
When the suggestions for songs had gotten too ridiculous and raunchy, Kara had
finally cued up something boppy and fun on her phone. Cranking up the volume to
carry from her nearby house, she jumped up and posed. The gang cracked up at the
familiar strains of Carly Rae Jepson's 'Call Me Maybe', remixed to be catchier and
more danceable. Monica joined in, dragging her blonde mother into the shenanigans,
the firelight playing over them. Alex squirmed and pouted, but sucked her beer down
and let her sister drag her to her feet to play along.
Then Winn had cut away to music video careful editing of their various goofing off
over days of work, busting out in stupid dance moves and posing ridiculously with
various swag.
Nia and Lucy busted it out side by side on the gravel road, trying to outdo one another
like they were extras in 'You Can Dance'. The camera swung over to the Danvers
sisters, looking like fish on a line by comparison. What they lacked in skill -which
was a lot- they made up for in enthusiasm. With lines of pale dirt across the gravel
road standing in for a sidewalk, the Rambeaus reenacted the famous Beetles walk, the
feline sisters trotting along behind. A pause, rewind, start up again made it even
funnier.
Even Brainy had been worn down, doing a bad walk-like-an-Egyptian, chicken-dance
thing across the screen holding up a postcard like a game show host. Alex
pantomimed outrageously at several of her cleaned and decorated ostrich eggs before
snatching away her dinosaur stuffy from the tableau to stalk off in a childish huff.
Lucy danced a borderline strip tease in as much farm swag crap they had on hand until
she came to a halt beside an exasperated-looking Maria who shook her head and spun
like John Travolta and they both dramatically gestured to the side. There sat Goose
and Chewie, calm as could be in their colorful body harnesses and leashes marked,
'Rainbow Haven Acres'. Goose even hammed it up by flopping onto her side to writhe
and look cute, orange tail flicking in tandem with her sister. A playful swat at Chewie
started a body-slamming roughhouse that had the humans cracking up.
But the best was Alex swinging her hips and grinning flirtatiously as she kissed all
over Biscotti's face where she lay upside-down on her forearms, their red and orange
hair gleaming in the autumn sun. The decrepit barely-decent denim clinging tightly to
her lower half matched the song lyric, 'ripped jeans, skin was showin', and would
doubtlessly be a big hit.
The video drew to a close with the Danvers sisters leaning over to smooch the
captured crazy white chicken on the head.
Perfect.
Sam's POV
In the end, we pull the girls out of school a day early, having found a red-eye flight with adequate
first class amenities for Lena. It will also keep Lily quiet, as once that girl is out, little will disturb
her before morning.
She doesn't even last until the security check, whining and squirming until I hand off my carryons
and scoop her up. Really, she's gotten too big to be carried, but I relish the trust in her snuggling.
Luckily the airport is slower in the dead of night and the TSA goons can afford to leave the kid
alone. We only get halfway to the terminal before my entire upper torso is ready to give out, so
Lena pulls us out of foot traffic to set down her baggage and let Lily ooze into her arms. After I
shake myself out, her weight is much more manageable on my back, and we continue on.
By the time we settle in to wait at the terminal, Ruby isn't fairing much better than her little sister.
For all her stoicism, she's dead on her feet and her temper is thin. Thankfully, Lena knows her as
well as always and strikes up a quiet conversation until Ruby slowly sags over to fall asleep in her
lap.
The smiles we trade are pure fondness for our amazing kids.
After the flight before ours runs late and what feels like hours of waiting to board, even I'm feeling
tired and I've been primarily nocturnal for years! Thankfully, Ruby wakes enough to help carry our
things or we would have had even more chaos to deal with. I have no idea what we're going to do at
the other end.
Thank god for pre-boarding with children so I can get Lily poured into her seat and buckled in
while Lena and Ruby settle in close by. Then everyone else piles in and an exhausted quiet falls.
It's another twenty minutes before we leave the terminal and the engines rev up to get us
underway. By the time we are pressed back into our seats with the forces of takeoff, we're nearly
two hours behind schedule.
Even I sleep much of the flight.
Thankfully, a tailwind makes up a bit of time and we're out of the plane in Portland about 4am and
racing off to try and make our commuter hop down to Salem. Lena, never a fan of flying, looks
exhausted and wryly jokes about our luggage making it. None of us have the functioning brain
cells to sweat it. The commuter jet is small and cramped, reminding me of a flying taxi. Which,
ironically, encourages me to fall asleep again. But it's not good sleep and halfway through the
hour-long flight, Lily is awake with a start, full of puppyish energy and climbing over me to look
out the window.
Ah, the joys of motherhood.
Once on the ground, none of us are disappointed to be done with airplanes for awhile. However,
we are disappointed when Lena's call to the RV rental place reveals that, because we're a day early,
the unit isn't ready.
"Honestly, L, s'ok," I reassure her wearily as we wait for our bags. "I need some real sleep anyway.
You said they could do the driving lesson this afternoon?"
"Yes. Tell you what, let's get a hotel for the night and you get a long nap in. I'll take the girls
sightseeing to get them out of your hair."
"You're the best, babe," I murmur and nuzzle her sleek scalp lovingly.
And so it goes.
Now, I'm not the best driver, it's a New York thing, but it's one of many skills I've learned over the
years. The hulk of the RV is intimidating in ways I haven't experienced before and the iron gray
sky and spattering rain isn't helping. Still, I live my life trying to set a good example for my kids
and not let fear stop me. The machine the bored twenty-something has me driving is actually
meters shorter than our rental, but it will get me the basic idea of how to control something this
size.
Then I get to hang out with my girls and see a few corners of central Oregon and have a nice
dinner. We're halfway through an excellent surf and turf when my phone rings. Normally, I'd
ignore it during a meal -unless it was the club- but it's a local number.
"Hello?"
"Miss Arias?"
"Yes."
"This is Bill over at Reign RV. Your unit just came in and if you wanted it early, we can forgo the
cleaning and get it to you immediately."
Glancing at the windows where dusk is turning the clouds gorgeous colors over the western
mountains, I make a quick decision.
"No, I think it would be better to wait until morning for the sake of safety. And a good cleaning
would be welcome. I do appreciate the call though, thank you."
"Of course, it's no problem. We open at ten and the unit will be ready to go then."
"Fantastic."
After exchanging rote farewells, I hang up and look nonchalantly at my family.
"What?"
Lily's dead-perfect mimicry of her sister's teenage exasperation is funny, but annoying. When I
explain the call, they all look torn about the wait, but no one questions me.
"There's no way I'm driving that monster in the dark. We spend a last day in real beds and head up
in the morning. Now what should we do with the rest of our evening?"
In the end it's a movie and crashing into our rented beds. Surprisingly, Lily doesn't climb in with
Lena and I, but neither of us take advantage of the privacy. A long day of travel and the stress of
my driving lesson fades away in the comfort of Lena spooned into my larger body, warm and
sweet-smelling. My clinging only makes her murmur soothingly and stroke my encircling arms.
Wherever she and our girls are will always be home.
Miraculously, I sleep soundly, and even more astounding, Lily doesn't jump on me, merely
crawling into the bed to take up the space between us left by my inevitable thrashing around.
"Hey, squirt," I force my drowsy body to say semi-coherently and roll onto my side to hug her.
"You ready for our big adventure?"
Squirming closer, Lily shrugs in that uniquely awkward way of small children. "Yeah, but…"
"But?"
"'M nervous," is little more than a murmur against my throat and I kiss her messy hair.
"We'll take care of you, Lils. And if the nice people aren't as nice as we think? We'll sic your
mama on them."
Lena snorts with amusement in tandem with her mini while Ruby laughs from the doorway, and
that's signal enough for our morning to get started. It's far too early to pick up the RV, but after
showers and gathering our things and a nice breakfast, we're pretty much right on time.
After the ritual of paperwork, we're walked out to the yard, and the employee is rambling at me as
he points to our rental, but it's a bit of white noise.
It's… big.
There's a panicky feeling in the base of my brain, but a familiar touch silences it. Lena's hypnotic
green eyes are a siren song, calm and supportive in the face of my alarm.
"Sam?"
There is a wealth of affection and question in that single word, the random designation of my
name. Trying to laugh it off, I still sound tense, but the panic is receding. "Yeah, yeah, I'm okay.
Hard to believe these things come ten feet longer, huh?"
Excited, the girls have already rushed the RV, while Lena takes my hand to lead me over.
The rental is a class C that is a massive truck nose and chassis that carries the fiberglass box that
will be home for a week. Up close it seems even more like a mobile building, the thought not
fading as we climb the steps and look around. Ignoring the girls squabbling over the bunk beds,
Lena and I take it all in.
"Actually… it not awful."
Considering that this was the one thing that Lena had been squirrelly about, I figure that's high
praise. Not that I blame her exactly, because god knows where this machine has been!
"Right? No wonder this is their best rig. Leather upholstery and everything!"
"Lils!" Ruby barks suddenly. "I'm not going to have you tripping over me in the middle of the night
when you need to use the bathroom! Besides, I'll barely need the ladder."
"I've got them," Lena sighs and gives me a gentle shove at the driver's compartment. "You go get
familiar with your ship, captain."
While Lena disappoints Lily by agreeing that she gets the bunk on the floor, I drop into the driver's
seat and key the engine to life. I'm no car nut, but that's clearly a big power plant under there!
The employee warily sticks his head in to ensure peace has settled before joining us to show Lena
how to retract the slide-outs and pass on a bit of last minute info. As he leaves, Lily throws herself
into the passenger seat, her consolation prize for losing the top bunk.
"Hey navigator," I coax at her. "Here's my phone. You can take care of the map and guide me,
okay?"
There's that gorgeous Luthor smile.
"'Kay!"
After sweating bullets during the obstacle course that is getting the RV to the highway, I'm feeling
better about driving it. I'll take the bonus of the weather remaining mostly dry for the time being as
well. Lily is enjoying feeling important about tending to the map while Lena chats amiably with
Ruby where they are seat-belted into the couch behind us. Free of the city, the natural splendor of
the area comes to the forefront.
"The trees are huge," Lily admires. "Cool!"
Just before we wind into the eastern mountains, we make a pit stop, tucking in among the semitrucks
that make us feel more like a van than a caravan. Then comes the challenge of the winding,
mountainous roads that tax the big engine and my nerves. We admire the raw spot at the top of the
steep valley where a dam once spanned the rocky crevasse, the lake behind it drained years ago.
Then Lily directs me north where a long, low valley stretches away from the old lakebed that is
now lush meadows and sapling trees.
"Almost there!"
Sure enough, moments later, the youngest of the family squeals loud enough to make me jump.
"Moms! Look! It's the sign!"
Colorfully striped and adored with a trio of happy sunflowers, we all recognize the wooden sign.
Rainbow Haven Acres.
We've made it.
Lena's POV
It feels supremely strange and wonderful to be here at last.
Like an unfolding video, the RV lurches as we leave the paved road and onto the hard-packed
gravel we watched Team Lanvers sweat over so diligently. There is a cluster of ugly, ramshackle
buildings on our left -Uncle Marty's parcel of the farm- and another dilapidated little house on the
right. It's cradled in a large, weedy clearing rarely seen except in random aerial footage, and the
team has never talked about it. The pastures stretch out to towering trees beyond Marty's land, and
there's a glimpse of familiar buildings through the trees closer in.
Ruby startles as I unlatch my seatbelt and move to kneel by Lily's seat, leaving room for our teen to
join me.
"It's so pretty," Lily breathes out reverently as Sam creeps the RV towards where the road cuts
through the trees and the enticing buildings beyond…
"It's exactly how I pictured it."
The yurt is directly along the road, the Rambeau cabin on our right, the green container home back
a bit, the saloon-barn combo, the sprawling deck with Kara and Nia's little shed homes with the
clubhouse sentinel behind them…
And the big red barn against its backdrop of monstrous evergreens.
I'm so enraptured by the sights that it takes a moment for it to register that we have company.
"Check it out, Lils," Ruby says quietly and squeezes her shoulder. "They really are real."
At the far end of the village, Sam halts in front of the saloon as movement catches our eyes; Nia
standing up from the seating at the firepit, Maria tall and alert beside her. Both of them are dressed
for the crisp autumn air that rushes in as Sam shuts down the RV and opens the door. Slipping
from the seat, she stretches out her back and approaches the two women.
"Umm, hi! We got in early and couldn't stay away. Sorry to just drop in unannounced."
That relaxes them immediately, Nia striding over with a slightly shy smile on her face. "Oh, that's
okay. Are you Lena?"
"I'm the other half. Sam Arias, pleased to meet you. And, certainly, neither of you needs an
introduction."
While I can't see Sam's charming rogue grin as she shakes their hands, I know it well.
"I suppose introducing ourselves is redundant," Maria says wryly and Nia's smile warms to bravery
with a member of her tribe at her back.
"Too true! We had a taste of that at the open house. So, yes, welcome to the farm."
Ruby reaches out to give Lily's sweatshirt hood a yank before scrambling for the open driver's
door. "C'mon, Squirt! Bet you can't catch me!"
Well, if anything will shake Lily out of being shy or upset, it's riling up her competitive Luthor
instincts!
"Can too!" she yells and I nearly have to lunge after her as she falls as much as exits the RV, hot on
her sister's heels. Well, there was no face-plant and tears, so I'll accept it as a good landing.
It's not like me to duck introductions, but that's exactly what I do, hypnotized by the surroundings
both familiar and foreign at the same time. The stuffy, self-conscious part of me that nags like
Mom and childhood tutors, is a rush of guilt I ignore.
As though I'm starring in my own video, I tread the ground that had only been a two-dimensional
image to follow along as distant audience and take it all in. The gravel road beneath my feet, the
cluster of buildings I watched being built into their village, the massive trees, the sounds of the
animals.
It is wonderful and utterly surreal, but my goal is the red barn, where their story here began.
Eighties pop music grows louder as I approach, admiring the sheer scale of the building. Fifty feet
of weathered red siding is larger than I thought it would be, particularly when the face is nearly as
tall! And weathered it is, the whole thing desperately needing new paint and the lowest two feet of
siding replaced at the very least. At least it seems to be straight and sturdy with no obvious
structural issues, and honestly, Alex would have brought that up on a video were it an issue. Well
at least that future project will give me something to watch down the line.
To my delighted amusement, the center aisle of the barn is crowded close with Brainy's old trailer
and the jumble of materials the team has collected. The smells of animals close by is distinct, but
not actually unpleasant… exactly.
A flicker of movement beneath the trailer startles me, but any trepidation turns to delight when a
cat I recognize leaves her shadowy haven to yawn and stretch lazily.
"Oh my gosh," I hear myself whisper loudly. "You're Biscotti!"
She's even more gorgeous in person, the mottled pattern of her coat making her look like the
autumn around us. She looks so grown up now, but I can see the vestiges of gawky kittenhood in
the shape of her.
My crouching down is invitation for the tortoiseshell to dawdle over and rub against my fingers and
then my knee. She is very soft to the touch, dry dirt clinging grittily to her coat grown thick for the
coming winter.
I've never had pets before. I mean, Daddy had his hunting dogs, but that was different and they
were certainly not allowed anywhere near the house! Mom didn't even like me and Lex getting
anywhere near them, though we did sneak visits sometimes. Lily never seemed overly interested
and with Ruby away at school so much…
With my hand stroking over Biscotti's lush fur and feeling her vibrate with her purring… I find
myself questioning why not. To my surprise, she hops up onto my knee and rubs her face against
my chin.
I'm utterly charmed.
Instinctually, I coil my arms loosely and find myself with a warm, purring mass of fur cradled to
my chest for the first time in my life. While some part of me frets over wondering if cats have any
strange germs, I can't help but smile over the snuggles and head-butts. I suppose I'd best get used to
it.
Oh, poor me.
Standing, I'm sweetly amused that my new friend seems disinclined to move and snuggles in
happily.
Moving carefully, I turn and jump a little at a medium-large dog not five feet from me, watching
intently. She's mottled brown and white with mismatched ears and a soulful face. With a start, I
realize this is the hound I saw in the video, sprawled all over Alex. For a moment, that
disconcertingly intelligent stare takes me in, before she turns and steps though the doorway where
the music pours out.
Why do I feel like I just passed some sort of test?
Too curious to resist following, all speculation vanishes when I stand in the doorway, frozen in the
best sort of shock.
Certainly I recognize the shop, no matter that it has been significantly improved since the last time
I saw it in a video. There is actual insulation behind sheets of clear plastic stapled to the structural
beams and half the large space is sheathed in more of the second hand wood siding from the
defunct farm. Actual work benches and tools clutter the space and cluster on a nice, flat gravel
floor, compacted tight.
But all of those details are brief as I am entranced by my internet crush… dancing like an idiot to a
vaguely familiar song where the singer is belting out, 'shake it' over and over to a bouncy tune.
Before I can stop gawking and start giggling, Alex spins like Michael Jackson and double-takes so
hard she nearly knocks herself over. I'm fairly certain I hear an utterly undignified, high-pitched
noise in the racket of pop music.
My traitorously girlie giggle is boiling up even as Alex stares for a moment like a deer in
headlights. Then those dark eyes roll over to where I can see a smartphone resting, then back to me.
For a long moment, she's torn, then shrugs and dances over to pose ridiculously. Dressed in a plain
blue henley, her usual Carhartt pants and workboots so bulky I wonder if there are horseshoes
nailed to the bottom, she makes quite a sight.
I'm as charmed as I suspected I would be.
"Do you dance, pretty lady?" Alex half-shouts over the music and my delight deepens.
"Not well!"
"Then you're in good company!"
Biscotti clearly recognizes shenanigans and wiggles away. Now, normally I would never do
something like this outside my little family unit, but I'm on the vacation of a lifetime, dammit!
Offering a hand gets a wide smile out of Alex that sets my heart to tripping. She grabs me and
gives a little yank over the raised threshold and into the sloppiest of twirls.
I don't dance, not really. Sure, I had to learn the stuffy classics due to my station in life, but that was
never fun. My daughters aren't really dancers either, though there have been times they've coaxed
me to do just this, awkwardly but joyously flail limbs about in terrible approximation of keeping to
the beat.
No, I don't dance, but I'm every bit as charmed by this sexy dork as I expected to be, clinging to her
hand when she tries to let go, noting the intent curiosity in her dark eyes. The liveliness of her, the
intensity, it's intoxicating.
So terrible dance we do, until we've moved halfway across the shop, bodies drifting closer, to
where Alex can tap her phone until the volume drops suddenly. She has her hands up awkwardly,
brushing my sides, hands curled around my elbows, and I put my own hands on her upper arms the
instant I was close enough to do so. Swoon!
A canine-like head tilt calls attention to the messy mop of reddish locks grown brassier in the sun
and longer than the initial shearing. There's no mistaking her speculation, the flash of real interest
in those eyes.
"So, are you our mysterious hero? Or just an angel come to visit?"
There's a pause while I ponder exactly how to reply to that, sidetracked at Alex's self-exasperated
look, her mouth twisting comically to one side.
"That was really cheesy."
The 'you idiot' tone is sweetly hilarious and my chuckle feels good. "It really was."
"Sorry."
"No. It's cute."
The sheepish look eases, as does her casual touch, and her right hand is offered. "Alex Danvers. A
pleasure to meet you then, mysterious angel."
My cheeks are taut with smile and I shake her hand, ignoring the thrill of calluses as best I can.
"Lena Luthor. I'm really very glad to be here finally."
"Oh good! I'm glad you're the Lena that Winn has been raving on about. We weren't expecting you
until tomorrow. We're a mess! Well, I mean, I am anyway. Did you meet the others? We had plans
you know, but we can totally modify that to make you feel welcome and not… well…"
Wow, from charming to gay disaster in the space of a handshake. She just keeps getting better and
better! My smile goes teasing and I can't stop the flirtatious tone.
"We'll dance like fools in your shop?"
The heavy snort of a scoff is hilarious and Alex waves me off, snarking, "please. I have no dignity
left. My life is a non-creepy version of the Truman Show."
The rush of laughter is intoxicating, making her grin in delight.
"I have to say, Alex Danvers, you're everything I hoped for."
She likes that, preening a bit. "Yeah?"
Emboldened, I grab her hand and tug, gently imploring her. "I brought my family. Come meet
them?"
"Yeah. Yeah, of course!"
And, grabbing her jacket, she lets me pull her away to meet the rest of me.