Chapter Two: It's Your Piston

The gentle coo from a pair of mourning doves just outside the window stirred Lena awake.

Warm and eager sunlight peeked in from behind the curtains. Befuddled at first, Lena craned her neck and set her eyes upon the curious gold and burgundy fleur-de-lis patterned wallpaper that seemed to surround her. The neurotransmitters responsible for carrying memories along the synapses in her brain were moving at a rather sluggish pace this morning. Lena yawned and struggled to sit up straight on top of what was an admittedly comfortable mattress.

The suspended fog in her mind soon cleared as she blinked into the bright light of day. A moment later it occurred to her that this was not her rental house, but was in fact a small bed and breakfast just outside of a nanoscopic town that she hadn't even caught the name of. Lena glanced down then and laughed quietly through her nose.

It appeared that she was still dressed in her business skirt and blouse from the day before. That and she apparently had been exhausted to the point of not even bothering to roll out the top quilt of the bed or climb inside of its covers.

Lena stretched her arms above her head and groaned, which was when a slight soreness made itself known between her legs. She stopped. Yesterday evening began to come back to her in flashes: her rental car breaking down, the tow truck, the tall, muscled blonde who drove the tow truck…

Lena's face fell into her hands.

"Oh my god."

Mortified, she peered over at the wall next to the door and suddenly remembered the hollow thuds it made as she was rocked against it. She remembered baby soft wisps of blonde hair that fell in her face, and the shuddered breaths against her neck. Regardless of her sitting still and silent as the grave, her senses were running absolutely wild. Lena thought of that irresistibly charming smile, and how it commanded the fluttering of her heart so effortlessly, even now. She reached up and pressed a fingertip to her lips. God, she could still feel her.

Kara.

Relieved beyond words to have remembered the tow truck driver's name, Lena shivered at the thought of how the night before was so unlike herself. She knew that she could either feel ashamed, or she could choose to regret none of it and move on with her day. Knowing that the decision was up to her and her alone, she chose the latter. Such was the logical thing to do, right? Besides, with the way her body felt right now, why would she regret it? Sex was great… but last night? Any word in the English language that could even begin to describe what that was simply didn't exist. She was sure of it.

Lena stood and made her way toward the small bathroom to shower for the day, but something on the floor caught her attention out of the corner of her eye. The shape of a hat stared her in the face. Kara's hat. Lena froze.

What do I do with it?

Do I just leave it here for her?

She seemed to know the woman at the desk…

It wouldn't do to just keep it on the floor. Her limited knowledge of Texans flashed forward in her brain then and said: sweet tea, upright horseshoes for good luck, and hats on the ground for bad luck. Lena walked over and took it up in her hands, noticing the oblong black stain in the shape of a thumb print on the underside of its bill.

Adorable.

She realized it would take her weeks or possibly even longer to get Kara the mechanic slash tow truck driver out of her head. Maybe she'd just give herself the morning to calm her nerves, maybe they'd go away. She knew so little about her, how could one night linger for that long anyway? Lena knew her name and her occupation, that was pretty much it.

That, and her body was carved by actual gods…

"Oh, stop it!" Lena shook her head at herself and tossed the cap on the loveseat opposite a small wooden coffee table littered with outdated magazines. She noticed a fireplace in front, and hummed to herself, intrigued. She knew Texas was famously warm for most of the year, but she also knew in the months of November, December, and January that it usually grew cold enough at night to light a fire. Most older homes and buildings like this one she knew weren't built with central heating, as there really wasn't any need. She was glad to have learned a bit when researching the weather in the area for her trip down in an effort to pack her outfits accordingly.

Showered and dressed, Lena decided to explore the locale while she could. In a split-second decision, the hat from the night before came with her. It seemed sensible to bring it along if she found her way to the repair shop in town. The owners of the cozy bed and breakfast offered her a quick bite to eat to start her day with a small bowl of fresh picked black berries and a tall glass of milk. They chatted for a short while in the large and ornate dining room of the house, and she thanked them profusely for their kindness as she left through the front double doors. Fifty years together and they seemed still as smitten as the day they were married. How lovely, she thought.

Lena was glad to have worn a better soled shoe today than the ones she wore yesterday. Her outfit altogether was more appropriate for the warm weather and consisted of a loose-fitting pale green v-neck blouse that tied together with a string. A favorite of hers, since she thought it brought out the color of her eyes. Well, one of them. Black leggings and a similar shade of green for her sneakers completed her day wear. It was of no consequence that these particular pair of leggings hugged her in all the right places. She certainly didn't choose them in case she ran into a specific gorgeous blonde with a smile like the sun while in town. That would be silly.

The cicadas were out in full force as Lena walked in the direction of town. She didn't realize that they were much louder up close. They hung to the bark of the oak trees that lined the dirt road and their shrill, looped song began to fade as she made her first turn onto a larger, paved black top that actually came with a sign. A short while later, she made it to the main road through town aptly called "Main Street" and found herself drawn toward several tables lined with freshly made goat cheeses, fruits, vegetables, clay chimneys, garden décor and more. A quaint little corner farmers market. Lena noticed that it was in a rather strategic location as well, as it appeared to be the first signs of life on the long stretch of the two laned road ahead of her. Buckets of bright green, yellow and red apples were everywhere. There had to be an orchard nearby.

As she continued down Main Street, Lena admired the brick and mortar shop fronts as she passed them by one after the other. This place has to be very old, she thought to herself. With her head in the clouds, a flash of black fur shot out in front of her feet. A cat, larger than any she had ever seen, began to weave in and out of her legs. To her left, a large man with dark, sable skin and a head of gray hair stood in the doorway of a hardware store. He wore an engaging grin to rival that of Kara's. His name was Hank, and the beast of a cat circling her like she was next on the menu was named Streaky. Apparently Streaky was a proud shop cat, whom Hank claimed to be part bobcat. She had a short tail with tall, tufted ears and was definitely a size above most house cats. It was when Streaky opened her mouth to mewl that the resulting sound which came out definitely confirmed 'part bobcat' to Lena. After a small exchange of pleasantries, the friendly hardware shop owner offered Lena a ride the rest of the way to the repair shop in town, to which she gladly accepted. She had already walked quite a bit and was glad to sit and rest her legs for the remainder of her journey. Lena had decided earlier that she would forego making a phone call when she could just deliver Kara her hat back and speak about the repairs at the same time.

Why not? It saves time, right?

Lena waved goodbye to Hank as he honked twice and drove out of the small parking lot of the shop. Nervous, she squinted toward the open bay doors of the building before her and saw her car hoisted on a lift inside. She walked closer and peered around rows of cabinets for the blonde, half-heartedly hoping that she wasn't there. Maybe she was on a break or was away for some reason…

"Knock knock"

Lena jumped at the voice and spun around quickly, placing a hand over her heart.

"Oh—" She panted lightly as she patted her chest, a nervous laugh followed. "Kara… you put the heart across me."

The blonde tucked her chin towards her neck, confused slightly. "I'll take that as a… British… way of being startled?" Her inflection on the word 'British' seemed to carry a drop of doubt.

"Christ- I'm Irish, thank you very much." Lena replied, playfully taken aback. "It's just a thing my mother used to say when I would sneak up and scare her." Lena's gaze dropped to her feet then and she shuffled her weight a bit back and forth. Aware of the awkward and slightly unguarded confession, it was then that Kara chose to speak again.

"So…?" Kara asked.

Lena glanced back up, herself confused now. "I'm sorry?"

"When someone typically says 'knock knock', you're supposed to say…" Kara left the end of her question open and awaited Lena's response eagerly, her grin stretching from ear to ear this time. Lena wanted to kiss it from one end to the other.

But instead, she chose to play along and made a show of huffing loudly as if impatient or unwilling to give in to such childishness. Lena drew as long of a pause as she thought she could get away with before answering. Kara was nearly vibrating with excitement and Lena decided not to torture her any longer.

"Who's there?" Lena said finally and rolled her eyes with a smile.

Kara brought her hand out from behind her back which held a long, warped, metal, shaped… thing. Something from under the hood of her car, she surmised.

"It's your piston!" Kara chuckled.

Lena was confused. "Piston… who?"

"No—" Kara chuckled, rubbing just above her eye with the back of her free hand. "No that's my bad, I didn't get that far ahead with the joke. But it's your piston. Er… rod, actually. Ever heard the term 'throw a rod?'" Kara chimed animatedly as she bounced from one subject to the other.

"I think you'd be safe to assume that I know absolutely nothing about cars. Is it completely banjaxed?" Lena inquired hesitatingly.

Kara pulled the air through the thin space of her teeth while scrunching her brow together a bit. "I'm not sure what that means, but if it's anything like 'fubared' then I'd say so."

Lena scrunched her nose politely, not understanding.

"Fucked up beyond all repair?" The mechanic explained. "Pardon my language…"

A sigh billowed out of the raven-haired woman as she hung her head. "Wonderful."

Kara squirmed where she stood in front of her, as though her skin didn't fit quite right on her body. It seemed to make her uncomfortable to see someone in such dire straits.

"It's obviously not had any maintenance in years. I got maybe two cups of sludge out of the oil pan. And when there's no slick, they stick." The blonde said, gesturing down at the metal piece in her hand.

Lena frowned.

Kara added, "Managed to get a'hold of somebody at the car rental service after a while, though. They can bring you a new one as soon as Friday morning and they'll tow this heap back. You're covered, it's all on them- Serves 'em damn right, too." She gestured with her eyebrows now at the car on the lift.

Lena stared, processing. "Great. So… I'm stuck here."

At least I'll still be able to make the wedding...

Kara's crestfallen eyes hit the ground then, though she seemed to try and hide it. Lena noticed. A pang of guilt grew in her chest where her heart should have been.

"I suppose there's worse places to be stranded." Lena added quickly. "Have you seen the apples at the farmer's market?"

Of course she has, eejit. The town's the size of Moore Street…

Kara's eyes lifted with that and shot Lena a smile. Lena admired how easy it was for someone to smile with their eyes and not just their mouth… Thinking about it made her feel strange things in the pit of her stomach.

"Best apples you've ever had, huh? Everyone who passes through says so. I uh- I know the owner of the orchard they came from… I could show you after work?"

Kara's intonation at the end of her sentence turning it into a question made Lena smile, and she nodded her agreement.

"Is that my cap?" Kara asked, eyes drawn to the garment in question that was clasped in one of Lena's hands.

Lena had nearly forgotten. "Oh- yes. You… left it." She cleared her throat and spoke softer then. "Last night."

Kara flushed a bright pink over her sun kissed cheekbones. The slight rush of color drew Lena's gaze quickly over the rest of her exposed skin, following it down toward a long, thick barrel of muscle that rest between the base of her neck and the end of her round shoulder. The faint sign of freckles disappeared beneath Kara's slightly stretched shirt collar. She was painted quite like a ripened peach, perfectly tanned in some places with a reddish hue of a sunburn in others.

"See you after 5?" Kara said, snapping Lena out of her daze.

Lena nodded with a slight shade of embarrassment. "Sure. Pick me up at Hank's Hardware? He mentioned a tool catalog he's been trying to put together but doesn't know where to start. That's kind of my wheelhouse."

"Alright. I will absolutely have questions for you later about that… because wow." Kara laughed and bounced on her heels. "Did you meet Streaky?"

"I did! She's sweet. Terrifying, but sweet." Lena joked.

"Yeah, she's sort of a badass. I like to think of her as a 'super cat'. She used to be mine." Kara said, her smile beginning to fade.

Lena was curious. "Used to be?" She asked.

Kara twirled the piston rod in her hand by a finger. "My cousin Clark works with me." She explained, jabbing a thumb over her shoulder back into the shop. "He got a shop dog earlier this year that's also a mouser, so, kind of put Streaky out of business. She works at Hank's store now. Plus, Clark was sick of my cat kicking his dog's ass." Kara paused for a moment to take in Lena's quiet giggling before continuing, "Don't get me wrong, Krypto's cute but he'll turn tail and run if a leaf chases him."

Lena burst with a laugh.

Sexy and funny. God, I'm in trouble.

The day grew long, and the afternoon sun had swooped over the other end of Main Street which was essentially an east to west strip with plenty of "mom and pop" shops still in business. Lena had gathered over the course of the day that the town existed and thrived due to its own small-running economy, that and the people there seemed genuinely kind and good-natured. The amount of doors that had been held open for her and times where she had been looked directly in the eye had caught her completely off guard, a stark contrast to her city life in New York. Lena had left Ireland when her mother passed to live with her adoptive family in England, and then moved to the states as soon as she turned 18 to attend college. The young CEO felt calm here in Kara's little corner of heaven. Most of the townsfolk were older, but there seemed to be plenty of younger families as well, and everyone seemed to know each other.

Hank had told her of a gem mine that shut down in the nineties just outside of town that put a lot of hard-working people out of jobs, but that it was Kara's parents who saved the town by expanding their lumber mill and offering jobs to all those who had lost theirs to the mine.

"Of course, that was before the fire that took—" Hank stopped suddenly and scratched distractedly at the coarse stubble on his chin. Lena felt as though she had come dangerously close to hearing something that she was not meant to hear. The old man then sat a stack of papers atop the counter next to where Lena had been sitting for the past half hour arranging price tags with an exerted clearing of his throat.

"Here are all the manufacturers that I've got a good mind to do business with commercially, ones that will entertain wholesale prices for a catalog anyway. I've got customers from all over. What do you think?" He asked.

Hank had piercing but kind eyes. Eyes that also told a story of great pain. He was nice to her, first and foremost. He had engaged in comfortable, effortless conversation with Lena as soon as Streaky caught her up by the legs when she passed the front door to his shop, effectively trapping her in a snare of kindness and hospitality. Somehow he made her feel as if she'd known him her entire life. A rare quality, for sure. Lena had decided early on that she'd befriend the man before leaving town.

"I think you've got something great here Hank. A lot of thought went into this, I can tell." Lena said, flipping through the stacks of printed emails and brochures.

He bowed his head forward a bit and smiled at her. "Well then I thank you for your help, young lady."

"It's my pleasure, of course. You've been so lovely." Lena replied warmly.

Streaky jumped on the counter then with a low trill that mimicked a growl, giving Lena a start. She laughed with a quiet breath, knowing that despite Streaky's massive presence in both personality and physicality, the creature would no sooner harm her than she would Hank.

Maybe Krypto just looked at her wrong?

Lena gave another inward laugh and a smile spread across her lips. A moment later, her phone buzzed in her back pocket.

Hey it's Kara, I hope it's alright if I got your number from your rental agreement paperwork with the insurance you gave. I'm gonna run home right quick and shower and then I'll swing by Hanks and grab you if you're still there?

A rapid fire second text chimed in just behind it.

Also, do you want my number? It's this one. LOL

Lena chuckled and felt a warmth skirt across her cheeks.

Yes, still here. Streaky says hello.

I'll be waiting. :*

She briefly doubted if sending the colon and asterisk for a subtle "kissy face" emoji substitute was a good idea, or if it would even land, but before she could overthink it, a quick reply came back only seconds later.

Okay! :**

Lena couldn't stop smiling. She felt Hank's eyes on her as he busily stacked farm truck and auto trader magazines to fill the coin operated dispensers out front. He seemed pleased just to have the company and to bask in whatever joy Lena was experiencing, albeit vicariously. Lena certainly didn't mind sharing a little joy.

Half past five o'clock, Kara pulled up to the curb out front in a older square-bodied pickup truck. There's that grin again, Lena thought. If she were truly stuck here for a few more days, Lena imagined that it wouldn't hurt seeing it as many times as she could manage. Kara wore a pair of caravan sunglasses with her hair falling in golden waves around her shoulders. Lena was almost glad Kara didn't rush out and offer to open her door for her, as she was very capable of opening it for herself. However, the thought also revealed newfound appreciation for Kara's chivalry when she realized that she probably wouldn't have been able to make it up the stairs of the bed and breakfast with her luggage last night if not for her…

The heavy passenger's side door gave a loud -pop- whenever she pulled it shut behind her. Lena imagined an old beat up pickup like this made lots of interesting noises, no doubt giving it a world of character. Kara reached out and handed her a pair of sunglasses whenever she settled into her seat.

"Put these on, darlin".

Lena felt a warmth pool in her stomach when she heard the name again. "Oookay… Whatever you say Goose." The raven-haired woman joked.

"Top Gun! Nice. But really, this time of day in the direction we're going… you're gonna want to put those on."

Lena swooned at the way Kara enunciated her T's sharply whenever she spoke sometimes. Her drawl wasn't heavy, but it seemed to become progressively more pronounced the more Lena listened. When she sat the sunglasses on her face, Kara shifted the pickup into drive and pulled away from the curb. She had been right. They were driving straight into the afternoon sun, making it slightly difficult to see the faded paint stripes on the road ahead of them.

"Does this adventure perhaps come with the promise of food? I grabbed a sandwich at the café across the street from Hank's a little earlier but haven't eaten since." Lena asked shyly.

Kara perked up at that. "Well, I've been meaning to ask you… how do you feel about apples?"

Lena had officially lost track of just how much Kara had made her laugh from her belly that day. It felt so good. Was it really this easy to be this happy? Kara made it feel like it was. Lena swallowed the last of her laughter and sat back into the warm glow of the sun.

Trouble. Definitely in trouble.