Posted by Major General Charles Tenkiller (Vice-Commander, Colonial Customs and Defense Agency) in Safe Harbors

(snip)

The chime on the door rang and Charles looked up. “Holy s#!+, what time is it?” he asked as he extricate himself from Sharah’s limbs and body. He looked at the chronometer. “DAMMIT. Its 2 already?!” and he hopped out of bed and began throwing on clothes and hopping on one foot to put on his pants. He grinned at Sharah and said “Don’t… don’t move. I wanna savor that look on yer face for a minute.” and he finally managed to get his jeans on. He jumped onto he bed and crawled across and kissed her quickly and said “You sure do know how to make a guy lose track’a time.” and he kissed her again and the began heading to the front door.

Tenkiller

Sharah didn’t move for long minutes. She savored the lingering taste of lips, and his warmth that hadn’t disappated yet. His sudden departure was disappointing but thag was okay. They had lost a lot of time. But with his departure was the loss of that deeper connection. It was always there, just not always ‘on.’ That loss left her feeling like she’d been tossed back into the storm with no warning, and the thoughts and feelings of the team of workers was suddenly very loud. That wasn’t Charles’ fault or her own, just the circumstances. She laid, curled on her side, eyes closed, breathing lazily till it all settled. She let her mind follow as he made his way up the stairs and spoke with the workers. She was quiet, but every so often, he would feel her presence still with him.

After a few minutes she rolled to her back and stared up at the ceiling with a goofy grin on her face. She really should get up, but that man left her exhausted. He teased her and Yavia, but he instigated over half of it. Sharah stretched lazily before getting up, against her better wishes. She dressed, heavy but loose cargo pants, a button down shirt that she had the tails tied over her stomach and she pulled her hair back with a clip. She made her way up stairs with one of the totes and went out the back door. She scanned the yard and moved across the drive to the far side with a small cleared area before the trees that would make a decent garden bed. She set the tote down and knelt on the ground after popping the lid off and started working.

Sharah

There was a jumble of thoughts behind her: measurments, materials, tools, beer, issues with bosses… and then the thoughts stopped and she herself from behind. Specifically one part of her covered by the cargo shorts. The thoughts started to turn racy, but were suddenly interrupted by a sharp and commanding voice.

Major General Charles Tenkiller.

“Ladies and Gentlemen. The work site is here, not in my partner’s shorts. I encourage you to try and stay focused. Because while she can’t read minds… I certainly can. Eyes on the job, or I find someone else to pay. Simple instructions. Follow them.” The thoughts switched from racy to chagrined and slightly embarrassed. One stood dropped a tool box and said “Apologies. Just wasn’t expecting… well… how about we just start on this deck?” Tenkiller said “Good call.” and the crew began to do their best to completely remove Sharah from their minds.

Tenkiller

Those thoughts were never comfortable, not for Sharah. Some telepaths reveled in it, others, like Yavia, would remind her it was natrual as long as it didn’t turn dark or aggressive. Sharah knew this, and though these particular thoughts weren’t threateing they still made her uncomfortable.

And a little irritated. All she wanted to do was get these plants in the ground. They didn’t do well in pots. She should have planted them yesterday when she got home but she hadn’t.

Then Charles’ voice carried (boomed? cracked? echoed? all of the above?) across the yard, and it stopped. Well for the most part anyway. Her presence wrapped around him, gratitude and security. Sharah had never felt so understood and cherished. It moved through her, filling and healing some of the cracked and chipped pieces of her soul. Out in the yard she continued to work as if she had no idea what was going on near the house.

One of the guys elbowed the man worken next to him, “So do you think that is really his partner or is he just watching out for the hot gardener?”

“You really wanna be the one to find out?”

The man glanced back at the woman on the far side of the yard, “If she’s really single, yeah!” Then he glanced toward the Major General to see if he noticed his glance. Was the man really a telepath? “No…nevermind.”

Sharah