Bread and Butter

Rachel didn't fail to notice how his expression softened, and his eyes seemed to glisten with affection and love when he talked about his sister and nephews. She also noticed John had dimples in his cheeks when he smiled.

"She's an accomplished equestrian now," John continued, "My grandmother left the farm to us. Sarah signed it over to me for a dollar so I'd always a place to hang my hat. How do you like your bacon?"

"Crisp and sunny side up for the eggs; is there anything I can do to help?"

"Yes, you're in charge of the muffins, but not yet," he took them out of the cupboard and put them by the toaster, "As I was saying, in consideration, Sarah had first pick of the family heirlooms. I have my grandmother's rocking chairs and this old kitchen table and chairs. He put two dinner plates and mugs on the table, followed by silverware and none of them matched. "I have all her cast iron kettles, pots, and pans; this coffee pot, and a few things stowed away in the small barn. Have you ever married, Rachael?"

"I've never been married either, John," and after finishing his food, Buddy rubbed up against Rachel for her to pet him. "My step-brother, Samuel is living with my step-mother in the family home," and Rachael picked up Bubby, he purred as she rubbed him, enjoying the attention, "Samuel is a momma's boy. When my step-mother passes, we get the house. If he passes first, it goes to me, and so on.

I don't care about the house. It is not the same since my Dad died. As they say, home is where the heart is. All I want is my Dad's antique Elgin railroad watch. My Grandpa was a railroad man; he was an Engineer, as was his father before him."

She took a deep breath and paused, closing her eyes," May I confide in you?" she asked, opening them and looking into his warm blue eyes. Rachel was feeling at ease and trusting about this handsome man. After six months on the road, and almost out of dedicated traveling money, she decided to ask him for help.

"Samuel and I had a falling out. My step-mother took Samuel's side and gave him the watch even though he has no right to it, and showed no interest in it until I asked for it. Fine I accept that, and I'm better off than many people. I have my health and independence.

I have my profession, and I'm debt-free. I've money in annuities my father invested for me that I'm loathed to touch. I've been traveling on a long sabbatical. I've camped out under the stars, and I've met all kinds of interesting people, and now, I'm almost out of traveling money."

"Are you asking me for a loan?" John asked, thinking, 'I knew it, trouble.'

"Oh, no, nothing like that. I'm worried that my minivan is damaged. Will you please allow me to keep it here until I find a job to get it fixed?"

"Let me think about it; however, in the meantime, breakfast is almost ready. It's time to toast the muffins."

After breakfast, John went outside to the barn wearing a heavy wool Mackinaw coat and well-worn Pac boots. He was thinking about what she told him. He returned a short time later with a storage tub full of military issue sleeping bags and a folding cot.

"Please put them both in the bedroom next to the bathroom, Rachel, and I'll sleep there. It is still snowing like crazy. Do you remember what direction you came?" He asked, pointing to the road, "Left is north, and right is south."

"I don't remember. This very kind of you, John," She said, smiling, "you truly are a good man, but I can sleep on the cot."

Ignoring the compliment although he was pleased, John said, "No, you will sleep in my bedroom, and that's an order." "Anything you say, Sir," she agreed.

"Good, it is settled then, I estimate you went off the road not too far from here.

If I can find your vehicle after walking a mile in either direction, I'll notify the Sheriff and arrange for a tow truck to have it brought here when the weather breaks. Is there anything you need from it if I do?"

"Yes, my small green suitcase, please, and my purse on the passenger seat," she replied, handing him the keys. It is a white mini-van. I'll have hot coffee for you when you get back."

John returned with good news and bad to discover the porch was shoveled and swept clear of snow when she met him at the door with a cup of coffee. "I found your Toyota minivan, and I'm sorry to say it's leaking transmission fluid; probably from the pan, and the rear half of the exhaust system is torn loose. It's colder than a witch's, well, it's bitter cold out and this hot coffee hits the spot, thank you, Rachael. If I stand out here much longer the coffee will freeze so fast the ice will be hot," he joked, smiling, as he stepped inside and closed the door behind him.

"You're welcome. I was outside a few minutes ago, and I agree. You weren't kidding about the outhouse, and it's almost out of toilet paper; of course, I'm kidding. Your sister Sarah called while you were out."

"What did you say to her?" John asked, taking a sip of coffee.

"Sarah called to check up on you, and I told her you were fine. She asked if I was the new lady in your life, and looked forward to meeting me. Is she always this open about your lady friends?"

"No, she isn't. "What did you tell her?" He took another sip of coffee, again distracted for a millisecond thinking of the Rachel in the green summer dress with white lace and kissing her.

"I told her who I am, and that I drove off the road last night into a ditch. I said you graciously took me in until the storm lets up, leaving out most of the details. Do you want me to help you with the wiring? My dad taught me all about tools.

He also insisted I take Martial Arts lessons from a young age. I may be a bit out of practice, but the basics remain."

"I can believe that," he acknowledged, "Your father must have been a very practical and reasonable man."

"Yes he was, and special, and I miss him. I'm very self-sufficient and still on sabbatical, so I'll help you prime and paint the bedrooms when we finish the wiring. I'm going upstairs to change. You should call your sister, and that's an order."

Rachel went upstairs with her suitcase, leaving him sitting at the kitchen table with his coffee, and he was thinking. 'She is so darn, pretty. I won't trespass again without her consent. Rachael is the down to earth marrying type, assuming she gives you her heart and she reminds me so much of my sister. Rachel is not the jump into bed, good time gals to whom I'm accustomed. She's a regular little Spartan, and if I'm not careful, she's liable to kick my ass up between my ears,' and this made him chuckle out loud. 'Apparently, she knows her mind and enjoys the freedom of being single. It was a moment of weakness brushing the hair from her face, yet, she has a soft and refined southern accent that caresses me when she talks.

If I were a Tomcat, just listening to her would have me purring with pleasure, and Buddy likes her, and he hides when I have visitors. What will it hurt to let her keep her vehicle here? It's packed full and organized with labeled plastic tubs; there is even a cedar hope chest in there. Let's see what she knows about being an electrician and then we'll go from there.'

John telephoned a childhood friend, Skip Thompson, now the County Sheriff directly to insure no tickets would be issued, and then made towing arrangements. He then telephoned his sister. Sarah, who insisted he tell about his Southern Belle.

It turned out Rachael was more than competent with tools. She returned wearing faded railroad strip bib overalls and a red tee-shirt. Her sneakers were still damp, so she was wearing her pink bunny slippers. They finished wiring the bedrooms, and they started priming the walls that same day. They installed his hot water on demand units a few days after that. They then moved a few pieces of furniture into the house from the small barn, including his grandmother's twin bed for her to have a bed of her own.

Ten days later, a warm front moved in, and as John predicted, the crocuses 'colorful heads were peeking up through the melting snow. He enjoyed having Rachel bustling about and having someone to talk to while they worked on the barns. He was in no hurry for her to leave, and she insisted on working for room and board. She took on the project of weeding the herb garden. They settled into a quiet and unspoken understanding of friendship, and that was enough for the time being.

One warm spring day in May, John was nailing the last row of shingles on the large barn roof while Rachel was working in the herb garden. While climbing down the ladder for a glass of her delicious sweet iced tea, his right foot slipped on a rung halfway down and he dropped to the ground. He took the brunt of the fall on his left foot while twisting to one side to avoid being hit with the ladder as it pulled away from the barn.

He managed to stay on his feet and was loudly cursing out a string of scalding profanities, catching himself, and then cursing under his breath so she wouldn't hear him, but she did. He shifted most of his weight to his right foot, trying to walk to the house as she rushed over to him when she realized what happened.

"You fell, didn't you?" she said, looking at the ladder on the ground. "Let me help you," and Rachael put John's arm around her shoulders to help support him. "You're going to need to have your foot x-rayed," She insisted as she helped him sit down on the porch steps. "If you're lucky it's only a sprain or blunt tissue damage. I'm going to remove your work boot, and it may hurt."

"I'm sure it's nothing," John assured her stubbornly, "and pain is merely weakness leaving the body. I'll take some aspirin and keep it iced. We'll see what tomorrow brings."

"No, absolutely not, you're going to the emergency room, John."

"Rachael, I'm all right."

"You're going to the emergency room, John Ian McCord." she said firmly, "don't argue with me. I'll broach no insubordination from you, Marine!"

"Yes ma'am," he replied wincing as she carefully unlaced and removed the work boot, the pain shooting through his foot like a lightning bolt, "I'm going to the emergency room for x-rays, great idea," and he reached into his pocket and gave her his truck keys.

"Fine, it's settled then," and she sat down next to him. Rachel kissed his cheek and hugged him. "Are you sure you're OK?" and she hugged him again.

"I'll live, and I'm sorry for the bad language."

"I'll get the ice from the freezer while you wait here."

She returned and helped support him as they walked to the truck where John said. "Rachael."

"Yes, John?"

"You're a treasure, Rachael Ann Buchannan and I apologize."

"What are you apologizing for, cursing or falling off a ladder?" She asked, wrapping the bread bag full of ice on his foot between towels after helping him get in.

"No, I'm talking about the night we shared a bed."

"Don't be silly; you are and were a gentleman."

"No! I pushed your hair away from your face when you were sleeping. I had no right to do that then, or touch you in such an intimate way."

She got on the driver's side, closing the door and asked him. "Is that all? I was half awake when you did that. Are you shy around women?" and she was teasing him because she knew better.

"No, not at all," He answered surprised she'd ask such a question. "I'm not shy. Hey! I see what you're doing. All teasing aside, I was a hound in my younger days and always on the scent."

"Then why haven't you made a pass at me?" She asked as they left the long driveway and turned onto the road.

He tried to evade the question. "In three miles, turn right on the Marshall Road" he directed, "then drive until we get to Route 18. You'll then take Route 18 to the first intersection and follow 63 south."

"You're avoiding the question, John."

"OK, Rachel, no more avoiding. I'm going to have my say. Every morning you're up before me wearing your short flannel nightgowns and pink bunny slippers getting our coffee ready for the start of a new day. My coffee is the first cup from the pot. When you hand me my cup, your hands linger on mine as you flirt and tease me with your eyes, and I want to kiss you. I can get lost in the complex of kaleidoscope colors of your eyes; the browns and greens and gold. They shift in the light like opals. The essence of your perfume is lavender, and this scent mixed with you is intoxicating, and I want to kiss you.

You take your coffee with a splash cream. You hold your hot cup in both hands, warming them before for your first sip. You close your eyes and sip contentedly and smile. When you do that, I want to kiss you.

You arrived here as a tempting distraction; a warm and soft feminine delight to deal until the roads opened, and it was safe to travel.

Now we've been together for almost a month and a half. I enjoy having you here. We work well together. We go together like bread and butter, and you're anything but trouble. You know your mind. You're a strong, independent woman.

We have an unspoken understanding of friendship based on respect. I still see you as a warm and soft feminine delight and a tempting distraction, and I want to kiss you. Your flirting every morning suggests you want something more. Am I right?"

"I agree and no more avoiding, John, and what a sweet poetic way of putting things. You carried me upstairs as if I were a small child and undressed me. You put me in your bed, and you held me to get me warm.

Of course, you did the medically reasonable thing given the circumstances.

That was the first time in my life I've slept in the same bed with a man. You're right, and if you're patient with me, and if my father is right, and well, you've taken me by surprise. Comparing my eyes to opals, imagine that, you, Iron McCord, a poet? Keep up the good work. You've never talked to me like this before, and until now we've been more like buddies."

"Rachel, the night you arrived was the first time in my adult life I've been in bed with a woman and just slept, and this is all new to me, especially having a lady as a housemate, although, I enjoy your flirting. Please blow me a kiss?"

"I don't understand," She said smiling, "But sure, alright," and when she did he blew two kisses back, and he was thinking, 'My kiss owed to the Rachael in my daydreams in the green summer dress. I'm sure my grandmother would approve of you, Sarah too, although I must be getting soft in the head and losing my edge, me, love them and leave them Iron McCord blowing kisses? Now my hard ass reputation is ruined!'

As they were driving to the hospital, she was thinking of her fiancé and how close she came to marrying this man. A few months after she graduated as a Physician's Assistant, Doctor David Campbell swept her off her feet with his good looks, wealth, and charm. His family was old money. She was young and impressionable, and she was in love with the idea of being in love.

One month before their church wedding, to be followed by a lavish reception and world cruise honeymoon to Europe, Rachel began to have doubts. She went to her father, the person she loved and trusted the most in the whole universe and he told her, "Bunny, when the right man comes along, rich or poor, you'll know in your heart. You'll have no doubts, and I'll support any decision you make," and her father did as he promised, despite the objections of her stepmother's setback in social climbing.

John's ankle was broke in two places. However, they were minor fractures, and a cast was all that was needed. He easily adapted to the crutches due to his formidable upper body strength. As they were walking to the truck, he stopped and said. "You know, I could eat a horse, but I'll settle for a big and juicy charbroiled Angus burger on a hard roll topped with roasted hot peppers and a side of wet fries."

"What are wet fries?" Rachael asked, surprised John was hungry and not in pain. She knew if she asked, he'd repeat pain is merely weakness leaving the body.

"Kiss me, and I'll tell you," he answered. "Think of it as a kiss on a first date."

She put her arms around John's neck and kissed his warm lips for the first time, feeling a tingling, almost overwhelming pleasure unlike anything she experienced before, including with her former fiancé'. She let her face linger next to his and asked. "How was that, handsome?"

"Your luscious lips are soft and warm and delicious, plus glorious and uplifting. May I have another?" John asked, sharing that same almost overwhelming pleasure and wanting to ravish her on the spot despite his broken ankle.

"Are you going to be a cooperative patient and do what I tell you?"

"Yes, ma'am and wet fries are French fries with gravy."

"Will you take the pain pills the Emergency Doctor prescribed?" and she kissed his cheek, almost afraid to kiss his lips. She then mentally scolded herself for being silly.

"No, I'd rather take aspirin to manage the pain, and we'll get a few reusable packs before we go home. How do I taste?"

"Let me see," Rachel said, and she kissed his lips again, more tingling all over and savoring his manliness, "You taste sexy and stubborn. I know how to deal with difficult patients. If you're sure you're up to it, hamburgers and wet ones sound great. We'll share an order of onion rings with the wet fries. Consider it our first date and my treat."

When they returned home, she fussed over him, enjoying every minute of it. It gave her an excuse to touch him, and John gladly gave in. He couldn't take a shower, so she gave him a sponge bath in the bathroom, kissing him when she leaned into him. She never saw John without a shirt on until now. She noticed three healed scars on his back and chest; healed bullet wounds, pucker scars on both sides of his back and chest where the bullets passed through, one scar, inches from his heart.

That evening, he expected to sleep alone, but Rachel joined him wearing his green, and a black checked flannel shirt with the sleeves rolled up, in place of her nightgown. It was the shirt he loaned her the night she arrived; most definitely establishing her claim on him, and after John's sponge bath, this shirt was now more precious to her than her Dad's pocket watch.

He was lying on his back with his cast wrapped in a towel containing an ice pack when she got into bed next to him. "This is cozy," she said, touching his face. "Do you want to snuggle with me?"

"Rachael there's no avoiding it. I've fallen for you in a big way. Of course, I want to cuddle. Don't worry about my ankle. Your sweet gentleness is the best kind of medicine." He turned on his side to face her, holding out his arms for her to slide closer. He held her gently and kissed the top of her head, sighing contentedly, and Rachel said, "John?"

"Yes Bunny, what is it?"

"Bunny?" she asked, squeezing his hand and delighted with this sweet term of endearment, one that she hadn't heard since her father passed; her Dad called her Bunny, and it was something she never told John.

"Yes, Bunny, you wear bunny slippers, and bunnies are soft and warm and cuddly, just like you." He said, rubbing his face in her hair.

"John?" "Yes," he answered. "I'm not spending the whole night," she said, "Is that OK with you?"

"Of course," he replied, trying to keep the disappointment from his voice, although she picked up on it.

"I want you to understand. I never slept with a man before, or made love," she confessed, hesitantly, slightly embarrassed although glad that she finally told him.

Rachel's confession took him completely by surprise, and in his mind, it was astonishing to discover such a lovely and charming professional woman was also a virgin.

"I won't make any demands on you, Bunny. When you're ready, you're ready," we'll take this once step at a time."