Hometown Boy

Chapter 6

Guys I don't know Alex Roe may have just stolen my heart and beat out Stanley Weber for the role of Coulter. Let me know what you think?!

Several days later, it was raining heavily outside and Eliza looked worriedly out the window as she dialed the White's. Ken picked up on the first ring like he always did and she asked could she just keep the shop closed.

The tropical storm blowing in was sure to keep any potential customers out of a bookshop and in their own safe homes. He appeared shocked that she would even consider going in to work, assuring her that her main priority was to keep Benji and herself safe.

She hung up, smiling as she watched Benji stand at the front door, staring out the window, his little nose smushed against the glass. He jumped as lightening flashed, the thunder booming not even three seconds later. She sank down on the couch as he dove towards her, panic marring his face. He clambered on her lap as she switched on the TV, looking anxiously at the lights as they flickered briefly.  They steadied and she let out a sigh of relief, wrapping her arms around Benji and turning on Tom and Jerry, his favorite. He settled down, not even flinching as the wind howled, even though the windows rattled, all his attention glued to the screen as he snuggled into Eliza.

Three episodes in, he was fast asleep, thumb in his mouth. Time ticked by and Eliza nodded off herself, jolting awake when a particularly loud bang pried her from sleep. Gently, she eased Benji down on the couch, knowing she needed to wake him up soon for lunch.

The screen door on the back was flapping back and forth in the wind and Eliza looked worriedly at the sky. It was a dark gray, low clouds scudding across the panorama quickly. She secured the door, sliding the hook in the latch and then checked her phone for a weather report, alarmed to see the storm was considered a Category 1 hurricane. She sighed, before heading to the kitchen to fix a light lunch and fill up some jugs with water. They were bound to lose power at this rate and she needed to be prepared.

Benji walked into the kitchen a moment later, rubbing his eyes and pouting up at her, his arms out, demanding to be held. She spoke softly to him, settling him on her hip, smoothing down his hair that was ruffled from sleep.

"Sleep well, buddy?" she asked, setting their food on the table and setting him down in his chair.

He blinked up at her and Eliza smiled and kept talking, hoping that if she could get him accustomed to the sound of her voice enough, one day he might answer her. She prayed for that day.

After a quick meal of sandwiches, Eliza tossed Benji on the couch, watching as a smile split his cheeks. "Let's build a fort," she suggested, jumping up.

He tilted his head quizzically staring at her. "Come on!" she smiled, "Let's go get the pillows and blankets off the bed!"

He scampered up the stairs excitedly and Eliza pulled out an old air mattress from the hall closet and aired it up. A few moments later, Benji entered the room with one blanket draped over his shoulder and dragging three pillows.

"Ahhh," hollered Eliza, "It's the pillow monster!"

His light giggle was barely audible and Eliza rejoiced at the small sound of joy out of him. She ran back up the stairs, him right behind her. Grabbing several more blankets and the rest of the decorative pillows that normally graced her bed when she wasn't in it, she headed back downstairs, smiling at Benji with his Spider-man blanket draped over his head.

The wind buffeted the house, but Eliza and Benji were too occupied building their fort, draping blankets over the back of the couch and using a chair to hold the whole contraption precariously in the air over the air mattress laying on the floor in front of the TV. When the lights went out, Eliza was prepared with flashlights and several board-games to keep Benji's little mind busy.

The afternoon passed quickly. Eliza frowned worriedly as she leaned against the counter in the kitchen. She had made a run for some snacks, leaving Benji in his cozy nest of blankets. The local news showed several power lines down. The storm had intensified, what they were experiencing were only the outer bands. The eye was expected to pass through over night. She grimaced at that. Nothing like a storm at night to freak a little boy out. She didn't really care for overnight storms herself. She grabbed the chips and headed back to the fort, making Benji sit up to eat so he didn't spill crumbs everywhere. He still spilled crumbs everywhere anyway but she figured it was the principle of the matter.

Several hours later, Eliza woke, disoriented before she remembered where she was. A quick glance at her cell-phone alerted her to the time. It was seven in the evening and it was dark outside. She could tell by the way the windows rattled every now and then that the storm was still raging. A quick glance at Benji curled up next to her made her smile. He was sleeping soundly. She wondered what had caused her to wake up. Carefully, she got up and crawled out of the fort. Since she was awake, she might as well get something to drink. She was thirsty as a horse.

A loud bang on the front door made her jump, her eyes widening. That sounded like someone was out there!

Quickly, she made her way to the door as whoever was on the other side of it hammered it with his fist again and hollered. She threw back the deadbolt staring out the window and thinking it was probably Ken come to check on them despite the awful weather. She got ready to scold him, throwing the door open.

Coulter stared down at her, water soaking his frame and dripping off his face. Thrown off kilter, she stared at him a moment, before a particularly hard gust of wind made her clutch the door with all her might to keep it from getting ripped out of her hands and thrown back against the wall. "Hi," he said hoarsely.

Eliza looked past him at his truck parked haphazardly in her driveway. "Oh for Heaven's sake," she exclaimed, flinching as a flash of lightning lit up the dark skies.

She grabbed his arm and jerked him inside, slamming the door closed and locking it behind her before turning to look at the man standing awkwardly in her foyer, dripping water everywhere. "I don't even want to know who told you where I lived," she said crisply, motioning him to remove his shoes, "What are you doing here?"

He looked abashed, standing in the light of her flashlight and said, "I was worried. Came to check. And it wasn't hard to find. Just looked Eliza Darby up in the phone book."

"I didn't even know I was in there," she grumbled, "You're sopping wet."

He looked chastised like a school-boy caught with his hand in the cookie jar, an expression Eliza recognized from Benji. She almost laughed before shaking a finger at him. "Stay put."

He nodded hastily and she disappeared into the bathroom right off the kitchen to grab some towels after checking on Benji who was thankfully still asleep. There were goose-bumps on his arms when she returned and she handed him a towel as she bent and mopped up the water at his feet. "Bathroom," she huffed, standing up, "There's clothes in there you can wear while yours dry out."

"I'm sorry for busting in on you like this," he said, running a hand over his head.

She shook her head. "Change first and then we'll talk."

He nodded. "Yes ma'am."

Eliza felt shaken, wondering what to do next. She moved into the kitchen, lighting some candles for light and setting up the flashlight on its end. She glanced at the closed bathroom door, taking a deep breath and moving to the hall to pick up the wet towel and take it to the laundry room. When she stepped back into the kitchen a moment later, Benji stood staring at Coulter wide-eyed.

........

And soooo they meet! Welcome back to Dogwood my friends! How have you been? I am deeply sorry it has been so long since I last updated, but my life has been so busy recently. Even more so than normal...

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Sincerely,
Scarlett McLeod