AN: Just some fluff I've been sitting on for a while because it didn't really go anywhere...but then again, who says fluff needs to go somewhere?
"We are never taking two cases at once ever again," Della said, collapsing into the couch beside Perry.
"Agreed." She leaned into his side, snuggling into his shoulder. It was late and they were alone, so she wasn't concerned about being discovered.
"I think we should take a day or two to relax," he decided.
"You could go to your cabin," she suggested. "You always come back rested."
"Come with me?" he requested, resting his cheek against the top of her head.
Della was quiet for a moment, as if she hadn't known her answer before he asked the question. "I suppose," she replied.
"How long will it take you to pack a bag?"
"Working for you, I've learned to have one packed at all times."
00
Perry found Della on the private little stretch of rocky beach, stretched out on a lounge chair.
She wore only a navy bathing suit with a thin white wrap around her waist. A floppy hat and sunglasses completed her simple outfit.
He made himself comfortable on the beach beside her chair and traced his fingers up her arm. Della stretched and yawned.
"Hello," she murmured with a small smile.
"Dinner?" he replied, leaning over and brushing his lips against her.
She made a non-committal sound in her throat, wrapped an arm around his neck, and brought his mouth back to hers. "Anything. Anything simple," she amended, "so we can smooch for a while."
"We could skip dinner," he suggested.
"Hmm...no. Dinner first, then smooch," Della decided, gathering her wits and sitting up on the chair. A breeze blew across the lake, chilling the skin beneath her damp suit.
"Come on," Perry invited, pushing himself to stand. "It will keep getting chillier as the sun sets. We can cook over a campfire and smooch while the sun goes down."
00
The fire burned bright against the dusk. The trees all around the cabin made the darkness even deeper, and Della's busy mind began conjuring images of thousands of pairs of eyes peering at them, unseen, through the forest.
Funny how that feeling hadn't been around as she sat shamelessly across his legs, so taken with his kisses that she entirely missed the sunset.
She'd been here before a time or two when she had to fish him out of hiding to deal with a case, and every time, she wondered what it would be like to fall asleep beside him in the loft bedroom with the window looking out over the dense forest. Certainly a far cry from the city…
He seemed to read her thoughts as, through a yawn, he mumbled something about hitting the hay.
They pulled their chairs onto the protective cover of the porch and left the supper dishes on the drain to be taken care of in the morning.
Della settled in on her side of the bed and shivered as she listened to him knocking around below. It took only a few minutes for him to climb the stairs and join her, a heavy blanket balled up in his arms.
"It'll get awfully chilly up here once the fire goes out downstairs," he explained, tucking her in tightly.
"I thought that I had you to keep me warm," she teased as he slipped in beside her.
"Well, if I have to keep you warm, I need the blanket to keep me warm," he retorted. He pulled her in close like he always did before they fell asleep.
"I guess I'll allow it," she replied, snuggling into his arms.
"I'll see you in the morning, Darling," he murmured into her hair.
"Goodnight, my love."
00
Della fumbled for the clock on the bedside table and found nothing-not even the table. She opened her eyes and remembered where she was-where they were: snuggled underneath a patchwork quilt in the loft bedroom of Perry's cabin. Dawn's light was barely visible through the cracked window on his side of the room. She had to guess it was somewhere around 5:30-that was when her internal alarm usually roused her. It didn't matter today, though, because they were on vacation.
Perry was lying with his back to her, snoring softly into the pillow. Della tugged gently at his arm.
"We are not waking up at six o'clock on vacation," he grumbled groggily, rolling toward her.
"I'm just cold," she promised. "You can go back to sleep as soon as you warm me up."
He chuckled sleepily and shifted so he was fully facing her, opening his free arm to snuggle her against him.
"I thought you midwesterners were supposed to have thick blood," he murmured, pulling the blankets tight around them.
"Well, mine must have thinned out over the last few years."
His reply was too thick with sleep for her to comprehend. What seemed to be only a moment later, she felt him roll away and begin to extract himself from their cocoon.
"Where are you going?" she asked, sitting up. Golden sunlight was pouring in the window, now.
"Coffee. I'll be right back," Perry promised, tying his robe on against the cold and shoving his feet into his slippers. Della had the pillows fluffed and the covers laid out flat by the time he returned, and he took his place beside her, passing her a mug. "Two spoons of sugar," he added, taking a sip of his.
"Thank you," she murmured, warming her hands around the ceramic. "What did you have in mind for today?"
"There's some rain and heavy wind forecasted for later today, so it would be best to get into the village this morning and plan on having dinner here tonight. We should have time for a boat trip around the lake if we get some gasoline. Or a walk around the trails," he offered.
"All of it sounds delightful," Della declared, leaning into his arm. "But first, I need breakfast."
"There's not much in the way of breakfast besides coffee in the cupboards. I usually go to Arlene's in town. It's the place where all the locals go. A lot of regulars. Arelene cooks up a good mess of bacon and eggs."
"Fine by me."
They sipped their coffee and kissed until the sun had the whole area illuminated. They got dressed and drove down to the village, parking in front of a free-standing brick building with large windows.
"Why, Mr. Mason, haven't had the pleasure of seein' you in awhile. How are things in the city?" The woman had auburn hair under a paper cap and was wearing a stained white apron over the blue uniform dress that several other women in the restaurant wore. 'Arlene' was embroidered into the pocket.
"Hectic. It's always nice to come up here where things move a little slower and people smile a little more," he said. Arlene flashed a smile of white teeth and led them to a table against the windows.
"You and Mrs. Mason like some coffee to start with?" she asked, laying menus down on the table in front of each of them. Perry and Della's eyes caught over the salt and pepper shakers.
"Yes, and two blue plate specials, please," he requested. She nodded and turned with a swirl of skirts to the door labeled 'Kitchen'.
"Quite the place you've got up here. Free wedding with every pot of coffee?" Della murmured, giving Perry her signature smirk.
"Very handy, indeed, Mrs. Mason," Perry teased.
00
The weariness of the past weeks fell away quickly as they enjoyed the day. A walk through the woods, a quick trip around the lake in the little boat, and a nap on the porch swing...all of their activities took away the stress and slowly, they were unburdened.
Clouds set in around 5:30 and a brisk breeze blew up. Perry started building a fire in the large brick fireplace as Della gathered a blanket and poured two glasses of wine.
The wind was howling with vigor by the time Perry had the fire going.
They settled on the sofa under the blanket, sipping wine and listening to the storm roll in. Darkness fell quickly under the black storm clouds. The lights blinked twice before going out.
"You wouldn't happen to have any candles in the house, would you?" Della asked through the dark.
"One or two to keep the bugs away. And there's a kerosene lamp somewhere in the kitchen," he said. They fumbled together through the darkness to find the candles and lamp and lit them with the cigarette lighter on the coffee table.
"Seems like we don't have to go to Ferrell's Cafe for a candlelight supper," Della teased. They baked potatoes in the coals and ate them with butter and bacon fried in the cast-iron pan. They ate dinner sitting cross-legged on the floor, and after they'd eaten their fill, Perry piled pillows and cushions against the sofa and they reclined against it.
The ethereal peace Della felt here, sunk into the mountain of softness with her head pillowed against Perry's shoulder. With his arm around her securely and his cheek in her hair, Della felt as if she could stay in that exact spot forever.