Dominion Falls

Chapter Five

After dinner we went for an evening walk, Devon always said you can get a better judgment of the land when the sun is slowly setting. I never thought of it that way before.

We walked down the path towards the woods, "how many acers do you own?" he asked. "I have about three hundred, but most are wooded, everything is surveyed and marked in case I want to expand", I stopped at the edge of the wood line.

"What's the matter?" Devon asked looking at me and then back into the woods, "nothing I just don't go in there once it gets dark, just a childhood scary type phobia" I told him.

"Well then we can go back, and when it's daylight out we can go for a nice stroll in the woods" he said as he took my hand and led me back down towards the house.

I didn't pull my hand away, it felt nice to have a guy hold my hand, it may be nothing, but it still felt right.

Once inside we could hear the thunder rolling in the distance. "We made it inside just in time" I said as I went to the kitchen to put the kettle on, at night I always enjoy a cup or two or three of tea.

Devon went and sat down in the family room, "you know Sarah, this house is really beautiful, you did an amazing job all on your own, are you sure you need my help?" he called out.

I walked in with my tea, "well now that you mention it, I'm not sure" I said laughing and sat down on the couch, the windows were open, and you could feel the air change.

A storm was definitely brewing in the distance, I hope it's not a bad one, but I do love a good thunderstorm just not a destructive one.

It was nice sitting there talking about our lives and what went on to get to this point, I knew Devon wasn't telling me everything and that's okay. He didn't have to; we just met this morning.

So weird to think that we just met and here we are talking about our lives as easy as we have known each other forever. Just something simple as this was nice. I never had a connection like this ever.

My connection with Steve wasn't a pleasant one at first, since he was one of the ones that wanted to buy this place, but I also knew he wasn't going to push me to sell it no matter what.

It took a few months after our initial meeting to come to terms that we were going to be neighbors and with him being the sheriff, he wanted to be on good terms, so he made the first move to mend the distance between us.

The power flickered once, and I got up and grabbed a couple of flashlights and candles and placed them around the house. Devon sat there watching me, "What?" I turned and saw him watching me.

"Nothing, just watching you, you are always so in control. I've never met a woman like you and its refreshing, and I like it is all" he said. "Thank you" I told him as I lit a candle in the family room as soon as I lit it the power went out.

"And there it goes" I said laughing, "good thing I'm in control" I said and stuck out my tongue at Devon which had him laughing. "How long does this usually last around here?" he asked.

"It all depends on how bad the storm will be and how long it will go on for, last year after I got moved in the power was out for three days, luckily I didn't have any perishables at that time, so I snacked on crackers and peanut butter and soups" I told him.

"Well, we will just have to make sure in the morning to load up any ice and place it around the milk" he said.

"I'm going to head to bed, hope you have a good night's sleep, and if you leave the window open just make sure to put a towel down in the windowsill, that side of the house gets more rain than the other side most times" I told him.

"Hope you have sweet dreams Sarah" he said as he sat there, I went around the house, closed the windows, and locked the door, I put a note on the front door in case Steve stopped by.

I wanted him to know that the power was out, and I went to bed, he had the key, I made sure he had one a few months ago, since I live alone and if something happened to me, I wanted him to be able to get to me.

Secretly I wanted Steve to come over at night and climb into bed with me, but if you asked me that aloud, I would deny it fully. It was just a little fantasy I had running in my mind sometimes at night.

I went upstairs and shut my door, changed into my nightgown, it was a nice cotton one that went just above the knees, it was always perfect for the summer times, usually I had a fan on, so it was comfortable, but tonight with no power the sounds of the house were echoed.

I laid there tossing and turning, I just couldn't get comfortable in this heat, even with the breeze that was blowing in still couldn't take the stuffiness out of the room.

I got up and went downstairs to get some water, seeing that it was still raining outside, I grabbed my light blanket and went out onto the porch. One nice thing is that when there is a light drizzle the porch doesn't get wet.

Tonight, was perfect to sit on my swing, I lit a few lanterns on the porch so I wouldn't trip, and no animal could sneak up on me. Yes, I do have those kinds of fears out here in the country.

After a while I finally cooled off enough to relax, it's hard to relax when you're hot and not comfortable. Sitting there I saw lights in the distance and knew it was Steve coming to check on me.

That man is a sweetheart, I just am too scared to make that move from friend to lover.

Steve was still working since he pulled up and when he got out, he was still in uniform. That man could make a burlap bag look good I swear.

Steve walked up to the porch and smiled when he saw me, I scooted over so he could sit next to me, "I got your note earlier and wanted to check one more time before I head home that everything was good" he said as he sat down.

"Everything is good, I just had a hard time sleeping with no power and my fan not running, the room just got too stuffy to be able to have a good sleep" I told him.

"That seems about right, one of these days I am going to talk you into a generator, even a small one to run a fridge and your fan" he chuckled. "I know, I just didn't expect it to go out this fast, usually these hits in July or August" I said.

"True, but sometimes mother nature has her own ideas, but since you are good, I should head home" he said going to get up, I placed my hand on his leg, "I will grab us some iced tea with lemon and stay here with me for at least one glass?" I asked him.

"Sounds good to me, and thank you I believe I will, I prefer your company over a quiet house any day" he said and winked at me, I got up and went inside to get us some iced tea.