Booth exhaled the sweet cigar smoke.
"I'm not too political, but we gotta get rid of Castro so I don't feel so guilty about smokin' these."
"Where'd you get them from anyways?" Muldoon inquired. It had been awhile since he had such a nice cigar; especially a Cuban. He liked coming to this spot and lounge around in the hammock after a hard day at work. On the occasion, he would just fall asleep and stay there all night. Outside is where he preferred to be. He found that walls were not only physically constricting but mentally as well.
"My Canadian cousin in Weybourn. Got the rye there too." She said shaking her glass slightly.
"How did you get it past the border?"
"Saskatchewan is pretty much the middle of nowhere." She replied nonchalantly.
The night sky illuminated followed with a rumble of thunder.
"Forecast said there's a good one coming tonight." He reported.
"I've never been this far south. Be interesting to compare it to some of the doosies we get back home."
"There was a hurricane in the first week I was here. It was like nothing I experienced before."
"I can't really say because I've only seen it on nature documentaries, but I guess some of the storms in Africa can get pretty intense." She leaned back in the chair.
"Oh, yeah. You can see the rain just rolling over the plains and it will downpour for hours."
"I've always wanted to go to Africa."
"I'll take you." He replied softly. "Under one condition." He added.
"What's that?"
"I've never seen the American prairies."
"It's pretty flat, there's a lot of pick up trucks and that damn Achy Breaky song is on every radio station."
Muldoon chuckled.
"What? Trying to save me some time?"
"No, I love it there. It's quite beautiful, peaceful. But, you'd have to meet my parents and that - uh, yeah."
"Surely, they're not as bad as mine." Muldoon finished the last of his cigar and snuffed it out in the ashtray.
"Wanna bet? I think my mother's worried I'll turn into a crazy old cat lady if I stay single much longer," she said taking the last drag of tobacco. "Mom's the librarian in town so I don't know if she's read too many of those crappy Harlequin novels or what, but damn, it's annoying. I hate spending holidays with the family too. 'No, I'm not married, no, I'm not engaged, no, I don't have a boyfriend but you'll be happy to know that I love my career. Oh, ok you don't care.'"
"I empathize completely. My younger brother is an accountant with his own successful company, married to another accountant, a house, two cars, three kids and a dog," he finished the rye and poured himself some more. He put his left arm behind his head, resting the glass on his chest. "And every time I see my father he asks: 'What have you done with your life, Robert? What have you done with your life?'"
"What do you say to him?"
"I have caught poachers; that there have been times I have risked my life to save animals that I critically endangered. I've rescued leopards from black markets. I've stopped lions and wildebeests and water buffalo from being shot by trophy hunters in pens. Hell, do you know how many Soviet weapons I've confiscated that might have been used by guerilla groups?" he paused "And by guerilla I mean the anti-government ones."
Booth giggled.
"You don't say? Though it would be interesting to see what a silverback could do with a Kalashnikov."
"It's a hard life but there's not another one I'd rather have. I help to save humanity from the deafening loneness that would come from an empty world."
There was silence between them. The only sound was the increasing wind followed by a rumble of thunder getting closer.
"Thanks." She breathed.
"For what?"
"For understanding that the world can't seem to handle people like us. There's more to life than money and possessions. Like," she said with a gesture, "This is pretty damn cool."
"I agree but it took a lot of money to make this place."
"Oh, I meant, this – you know - us spending time together," she smiled "I enjoy it."
"I do too."
She stared shyly at the ground.
All of a sudden, the sky opened up and a torrent of rain started to come down.
"Hate to tell you this, but the rain just makes the humidity worse." He informed. Muldoon finished his drink and put the empty glass down on the ground.
"I'm actually starting to miss snow, yeah."
"I can't wait to hear all the complaining tomorrow."
"The rest of you are used to the hot and stuff. I'm accustomed to temperatures with negatives in front of them."
Unexpectedly but welcome to Muldoon, she laid down next to him. He had made mistakes in the past and had jumped without thought into a doomed marriage. He learned from that trauma and as a result, he guarded his heart maliciously. He trusted it with Booth. After only knowing her for a few days, he would give it to her freely if she wanted it.
"I can pretty much guarantee that if you were in North Dakota in February, you'd be bitchin' something fierce and I'd be like: 'What? In another month, it's t-shirt weather.'"
She sighed and put her head down on his chest. She didn't want Muldoon to get the wrong impression of her; that this would be a cake walk, but she felt so comfortable with him. It felt – right to her.
"Gerry's going to show me how to do a work up on the rex tomorrow."
"Yeah, I got to put her out for you."
"Or you could just ask Ger to give her his bird evolution lecture."
Muldoon smirked.
"It's horrible. I heard it when I was a freshman in college," she paused "For a brief moment, I wondered if I should switch my major to geology because rocks might be more entertaining."
Muldoon gently rubbed his thumb along her hip.
"I would have loved to have gone into the natural sciences, but my father paid for my schooling, so I had to study what he wanted me to."
"After I graduated, my dad asked me what I learned and I told him that life essentially can be essentially broken down into three rules: eat, don't get eaten and get laid," she paused "And he replied: 'Your mom and I spent thousands of dollars for you to figure out what the cattle could have just as easily told ya.'"
"Well, I think number three is more important for all the poor saps that are cursed with the Y chromosome."
"Oh, please."
"You and I have seen nature. We know how the game is played."
"Good ol' female choice theory."
"Well, it's true. Think about it. Being a male is essentially a business. You have to market the product to the customer. Take risks, invest wisely, attempt to operate at a gain."
She laughed.
"And you thought business school was a waste of time."
"Well, Doctor, in your opinion, is the theory true?"
"I give a lot of credit to our choosy foremothers, yes."
Muldoon needed to pick his words properly. The conversation was heading in the direction her wanted it to go. No one needed to know what would happen between them. No doubt, she would worry about how she would be judged by others - that she was here to husband hunt, not for a career. He often pitied professional women who found themselves on the wrong side of gossip. They would be discreet and he would not allow her to fall victim to such blather.
"I'd imagine you're quite, how did you refer to it? Ah, yes, choosy."
"You bet. I have impeccable standards, sir." She gave a bashful smile and averted her eyes.
Ever so tenderly, he turned her chin towards him.
"I sincerely hope that I've crossed your mind." He breathed. She gazed at him longingly, saying words that did not need to be spoken.
"Hey, kids. Don't mind me." A voice called out from behind them.
Muldoon growled in frustration.
"Hey Ray," Lauren called "You want some rye? I was thinkin' about turning in."
She looked a little embarrassed about being caught at a rather intimate moment. She quickly bounced up from the hammock; the velvety warmth of her skin against his evaporating instantaneously.
"I'll see you bright and early." She said resting her hand on Muldoon's forearm. She handed Arnold the remnants of the bottle.
"I'm surprised you actually pulled yourself away from the computer." She remarked with a friendly smirk. She was trying a bit too desperately to conceal her awkwardness.
"One can't live by keyboard alone." he said taking it from her.
"Night guys." She said, hurrying off into the rain. Once he was sure she was out of sight, Muldoon glared at him coldly.
"I blocked you didn't I?"
"Like a damn brick wall."
"I'm sorry, man," he paused "So, uh, I take it you're seeing her now, officially."
"I suppose."
Arnold frowned.
"You're old enough to be her father, you know."
"Yeah, so?"
Arnold's frown turned into a devilish grin.
"Lucky son of a bitch. How about writing a how-to manual for the rest of us?"
"Believe it or not, I do pride myself on being a gentleman and I really like this girl."
"Yeah, she can put up with your demanding bull shit."
"Don't say anything, would you? I really like her, Ray. I do."