My Novel: Chapter 30

Chapter 30 is posted below.

Running:

Everything in my life isn't about running. Especially now. Life is about being complete and whole. It's about a huge variety of activities and interests. Combined, they're designed to produce joy. When something essential is lacking, everything is tinged with a shadow, dimming the whole. I run (walk now) to help keep myself centered and able to participate in all the other rich offerings in life.

Writing:

Writing isn't everything to me either, evidenced by surviving nearly a three year hiatus. I write because it opens avenues of creativity. I research for my novels, and that opens up education and experiences. Reading also opens doors to learning. When I haven't written I've plunged more of my time into other fulfilling activities that express my interests and expand my horizons. I've always hoped my novels deliver a measure of expansion to my readers.

 

Anticipating a great adventure:

My hubby and son headed out on a 4- day adventure to California. I bowed out of the "guy" trip. I never dreamed that a few weeks later I'd be heading to the hospital and experiencing a major life change that would set me on a new adventure. My tree had tumbled over in a flash flood and I was scrambling in uncharted waters for my life!

Secrets at Midnight

Leona Palmer Haag

Chapter 30

Katie was the first to awaken. She planted a wet kiss on Jenn’s chin. Jenn groggily peeked her eyes open. “Seep party, Mama!”

“No, torture,” Jenn whispered

Matt's laugh boomed inside the cabin. “Wrong, Sleeping Beauty. Try again. We had a great sleep party.”

Jenn rolled over and blinked her eyes open. “I've never frozen to death at a party and I've never gotten a kink in my back, and I really didn’t sleep much, either.”

Matt chuckled. “Cheer up, kid, it's not all that bad.”

Jenn closed her eyes and wished sleep would return. She’d wake up to a whole new reality—anything would be nice but the one she found herself stuck in.

“Let me give you a few minutes to wake up—maybe on the right side of the sofa,” Matt said. He pulled Katie from her arms. Jenn relaxed and fell back into dreamland. Soundly.

Matt gently shook her shoulder a while later. “I'm going exploring. Is there anything you need before I leave?”

Without opening her eyes she murmured, “Electricity, hot water and breakfast in bed.”

A moment later a box of donuts landed on her stomach along with Katie. “One out of three isn't bad. Enjoy.”

Matt disappeared before she could complain about starting her day with a sugar-buzz. “Dandy breakfast,” she said, struggling to sit up. She opened the box of donuts and broke one in half and offered the smaller piece to Katie. Her daughter begged for more. “If this turns you into a sugar monster, Mr. Jensen will pay dearly for it,” she teased.

“Pay,” Katie mimicked.

“No, say monster,” Jenn coaxed.

Katie scrunched her eyes and growled.

“Yeah, that’s what I feel like doing every time I see him.”

Once she was up and had ditched the donuts and eaten a bowl of cereal and an orange Jenn felt better and decided it wouldn't hurt to do more exploring herself—to the very back of the closets—through every stupid, useless, insane object. Two minutes into the unpleasant task she found rubber gloves—a great treasure, given the situation. She waved them at Katie. “Life is looking up!”

Hours later they found something even better—an instruction manual for a water heater. Jenn stared around, hoping the metal tank would magically appear. A true treasure hunt ensued and paid off—one water heater, two propane tanks, and one wrinkled instruction notebook for everything in the cabin—and bingo—a box of healthy matches.

Jenn held up the matches and whooped. “Lookie here! Lookie here!” She danced a victory jig, holding the prize over her head. Katie squealed and clapped.

Braving a possible bear attack, Jenn found the water line in a tangle of vines beside the cabin and turned it on—banging her knuckles in the process. She hooked up the propane tank as the little instruction book instructed, found no leaks in the gas line, and opened the box of matches.

“Katie, you are witnessing a miracle,” she said. “Now watch this. Either I'll blow this rat's nest sky high and burn down the whole forest, or we'll have a bubble bath. Ready?” She struck a match and it flickered out. On the second try the pilot light lit. Nothing blew up and the flames stayed contained in their little compartment. Jenn jumped up and grabbed Katie and danced with glee. It was time to gather clean underwear and shampoo.

After lunch Jenn and Katie soaked in a warm tub until wrinkled. They smeared on stale sunscreen and lounged on the back deck in their undies. Katie napped in the shade on her blanket and Jenn dozed off while boosting her Texas tan. A fly buzzed near her ear and she swished it away. It came back and she swished again. It landed on her shoulder and crawled up her neck. Jenn swished and it buzzed off. A while later it landed on her back and crawled up her spine like a cold chill. Pesky thing with damp little feet spreading disease! She peeked to see if she had something handy to shoo with. Two brown boots stood inches from her nose.

A blood-curdling scream filled the forest and Katie immediately joined the howling.

Matt raced off laughing with a feather duster in his hand, saying over his shoulder, “That was a little excessive, Jenn. You scared your own daughter to death. Calm down!”

Grabbing her towel and wrapping it tightly around her, Jenn yelled, “You are so lucky you're still alive, Matt Jensen. If I had my gun you'd be dead. I swear I'll kill you someday—probably by accident, but don't count on it not being premeditated.”

Matt chuckled beyond the sliding door.

She snatched Katie up and stormed into the cabin. “Turn around, pervert.”

“Why? I've seen you in a towel already. When you were Katie's age I saw you in your birthday suit from head to toe. You had cute dimples in your cheeks—the behind ones.” He wiggled his tush and laughed at her.

Jenn disappeared into the bathroom with her sobbing daughter clinging to her shoulder. She called through the door, “Matt, you'd better be gone when I get out.”

“I can outrun you if you're seeking vengeance, because I won't be carrying a baby.”

Jenn sat on the edge of the tub and stared at her clothing options: towels, wash cloths and nothing more. “Bring me some clothes and my running shoes and you're on.”

A minute later, Matt knocked on the door. “I've got clothes for you.”

“Leave them on the floor, then back off,” she snapped.

“Done. Come out when you're ready and let the race begin.”

Jenn peeked out the door. She couldn't see Matt, but found her tent nightgown and no shoes. She snatched it up and slammed the door shut, then called through it, “Matt, bring me my gun and ammo. I need practice with a moving target. I'll give you a two-second head start. There's red nail polish in my purse. Paint two circles on your backside—little dimples I can't miss—and we'll see how close I get.”

Matt chuckled when she emerged. “And you thought you were alone and the door was bolted from the inside.”

“It was. I checked.” Jenn plunked Katie into his lap. “Hold your life insurance policy while I find my gun and fetch the ammo myself.”

Matt began baby-talking and Katie calmed down. Jenn returned with bullets and dug through her purse and pulled out the gun. “One more towel incident and I swear you'll wish you weren't around.”

Matt laughed and stood up, placing Katie on his shoulders. “Looks like I'm babysitting for a while. Maybe twenty years?”

“You'll get a temporary pardon if you fix dinner.”

“You cook better than me.”

“I usually do it with Katie in my arms, and since you've got her, it's either cook, or hand her over and put your life on the line because I’ll be using my gun as a spatula.”

Matt cooked—nothing glamorous—probably so she wouldn't force him into doing it again. He washed dishes beforehand and afterward, carrying water from the front pump and heating it on a propane stove she'd uncovered. He didn't know about the running water coming straight from the faucet via a heater. Jenn didn't mention it because at the moment she liked watching him do things the hard way.

“What did you and Katie do today besides sunbathe?” he asked as he put the last dish away, making sure Katie stayed close in case he needed a shield.

Yawning, Jenn said, “Before or after our long bubble bath?”

“In ice water? You're not that kind of mountain woman.”

“You're right. I love luxury. What did you do all day—secret spy stuff?”

“I found you a present. Wait here.” He left through the front door, and a moment later returned with the beer stein filled with wildflowers. “It's a thank you gift for not blowing me away this afternoon—and for trusting me through this ordeal.”

Jenn stared at the token. “You're a man of contradictions, Mr. Jensen. Recently you've given me money and flowers, treated me to steak and fed me tuna. You've put me up in a swanky hotel, then turned around and made me sleep with bedbugs. You've bought me lotion and Tylenol, served breakfast in bed and washed dishes. At one moment you’ve had me stick to you like glue, then turned around and left me all day. You've handed me a phone that won't work and given me a gun that will. What’s next?”

He grinned. “What do you want, kid?”

She got up and opened a closet and pulled out the vacuum. “Fix it.”

“What's wrong with it?”
            “It has a cord, but there's nothing to plug it into.”

He dug an extension cord from a closet and attached the vacuum and left the cabin dragging the plug end. Moments later the forest began rumbling. He stuck his head inside the door. “It's ready to go.”

She gasped. “For real? It will work?”

He shrugged. “I fix everything—or haven't you noticed?”

Inch by inch, Jenn happily vacuumed the cabin—every sofa, chair, bed, pillow, wall, stair, curtain and corner—repeated two and three times. Not a spider survived. When she finished, Matt turned off the generator and wheeled the vacuum into the closet. Jenn slipped into the bathroom with pajamas and enjoyed another luxury moment.

“You like icy baths?” Matt asked when she emerged, toweling her hair.

“I can endure anything to be clean. Your turn now.”

“I hate cold baths.”

“I hate stinky men.” She pulled Katie from his arms and nudged him toward the bathroom door.

“I need my bag.”

“You're stalling.”

“For good reason. You'd hate to hear me squealing like a pig.”

She patted his chest. “Stop being a baby. I'm sure you'll survive.”

He slunk to the bathroom and she turned away, giggling. She placed a pile of folded bedding on one sofa and took Katie upstairs.

“You didn't tell me about the running water and the heater,” he called up the stairs a short time later.

“You haven't told me what you've discovered either, so we're even.”

End Chapter 30

I happen to like this chapter. Maybe it's because Jenn finally out-smarted Matt. She became her own woman. I laughed when I wrote it and I've always laughed when I've edited it.  hope you enjoyed it too.