Thomas Hewitt: End Of The Line

Fire Away

Okay. I really hate to give this away, but...
Warnings: NSFW

She woke to find Thomas had already started his day. She looked over to his side of the bed and furrowed her brow. She had hoped he would stay, though she knew he wasn't one to let the day's work wait. However, she wondered what on earth they could possibly have him doing that always kept him so busy. There didn't seem to be too much to do around here. Maybe that was why she found herself in the dilemma she was in. Her idle hands had been dangerously close to wandering the night before. Perhaps his absence was a necessary evil, she thought to herself. She had a mountain on her mind by the name of Thomas Hewitt. She had no idea what it was she was feeling, she didn't even know him, not really. Granted, getting to know him was no easy feat, the man didn't speak, but he had a way of communicating that she'd never experienced before. His eyes spoke more to her than any other man ever had before, the way he moved was intoxicating. She had started to hang off each of those movements, no matter how small, without realizing it. It was further invitation into him, who he was and she had a thirst for any knowledge he leant to her about himself. The only thing he couldn't give her was his story, which she felt she needed to know more than ever. She had a decision to make, that much was clear. She felt it between them as he laid next to her the night before. She wanted him to touch her, she wanted him to hold her and not because she needed him to. Ronnie wanted him to. Even if his hand had accidentally brushed her's, she would have been happy. She just wanted to feel him, but he hadn't allowed himself to stray too close to her, he made sure she had her space. For the first time, that wasn't what she wanted at all and it only left her more frustrated to wake without him.

She let out a groan as she tore herself from the bed. For once, she hoped Luda had a full schedule for her, at least that would provide a much needed distraction. She slowly made her way down the stairs to find the house was seemingly empty. She peered into the kitchen, but sure enough no one was there. She rested against the counter and sighed. It didn't seem like there were any dishes waiting to be cleaned or laundry lying around. A slow day. Great. She ran her hands through her hair as she pondered what exactly she could do to keep her mind from wandering back to him. Of course, everything in that house just brought her right back, especially one door in particular. She could never come down those stairs without allowing a glance in the basement's direction. She knew it held the answers to all the questions she had about him and she knew there were some she may not ever want to know. Still, she couldn't help but let her gaze linger.

The front door swung open and jolted her out of her thoughts. Luda made her way into the room holding a pile of what looked like clean laundry for once.

"I'm sure you're wonderin' what you and I are doin' today," she said as she set the clothes down, "lucky for you there ain't much. With two sets of hands, work gets done a lot faster 'round here."

Ronnie's dismayed expression didn't go unnoticed by Luda, "Somethin' on your mind?"

"No," Ronnie lied quickly, though she knew she couldn't hide much from Mama. She wasn't a woman who was easily fooled.

She grabbed a few shirts, Thomas' of course. The other two men in the house weren't nearly large enough to fill those sleeves. She wanted to let out a groan, but that would have given her away for sure. She did her best not to meet Luda's gaze as she set the first shirt aside. As she went to grab another, movement out of the corner of her eye caught her attention. Through the window she could see him. He was by the barn, fixing the siding. His sleeves were rolled up to his elbows and she could clearly see the sweat glistening on his exposed forearm as he ripped the old wooden panels from their nails. He made it look so easy, as though he was simply plucking feathers from a bird. Though the subtle way his muscles strained under his sun kissed skin made that newfound need for him spread like wild fire within her. He paused to wipe the sweat from his forehead and adjust his mask. For a moment, she thought he would finally remove it, but much to her disappointment, it stayed put.