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He lathered up his body and scrubbed from his head to his toes.
* Why the hell am I taking a shower? I took one this morning. Christ! It's not like I am going to get sick. * Adam thought.
He rinsed off, dried his hair, and himself. He wrapped up in the robe and he hung up his coat to dry.
* Maybe it was just her way of getting me to cool off and relax? * Adam smiled to himself.
He quietly opened the door and he made sure the room was empty, except for the dog. He snuck out and decided he had to do something with his sword while his jacket dried. So he hid his sword in her closet on the top shelf under pillows and sheets.
While waiting for Adam to finish his shower, Lynda turned on her computer to work on her journal. She tried to fill in the current day's happenings and what happened on the days that she missed. She put in a few paragraphs about Adam and included a little about Akamu. Someday she hoped that if she would ever have children, whether adopted or of her own and when they were old enough, she wanted to pass her journals on to them. She knew having a journal was against her boss's wishes, but she kept one in secret anyway. If anything happened to her she wanted them to know something about her life. Even though it had been hard for her in the early years, she hoped that her children could find solace in her words after she passed on for good.
Akamu walked around the apartment and got used to his new surroundings. He found his bone chew toy and went at it like a dog possessed.
Lynda looked at her watch and realized it was getting late. It would be polite to ask Adam to stay the night. By the time his clothing would be done, she figured he would be too tired to drive. She didn't want to be the reason for causing an accident. She is typing away on her computer when Adam came up behind her. She immediately closed her computer and stood up taking the portable laptop computer with her.
"What were you working on?"
"Sorry, I can't tell you…"
"Let me guess, or you would have to kill me?"
"Right. Feel better now?"
"Much. How long until my clothes are ready?"
"About an hour and a half. I'm washing them because I don't like clothing that smells of mold."
"It won't kill you, you know."
"I know but it's getting late," Lynda says glancing again at her watch, "Do you want to stay the night?"
"I'll wait for my clothing and head out into the night, I have things to do at home."
"Adam, please don't be ridiculous. It's still pouring outside. I'm sure whatever you have to do can wait until morning."
"If you insist. I'll take the sofa."
"No. I insist you take my bed. You can turn on the night light in the bathroom if you are afraid of the dark," she joked.
"All right, if you want it that way," Adam laughed inside, this time his reverse psychology worked to a T.
"I put your keys and change in a baggy in the kitchen. I'll go get the dog."
Adam did not feel bad about kicking her out of her bed, after all she offered, and as he told MacLeod, he was born long before the age of chivalry. He went back into the bathroom and started drying his coat with her hair dryer.
Lynda got the dog off of her bed and turned it down for Adam. She quietly closed the bedroom door behind her when she finished. She put Akamu down and moved her coffee table over. She removed the cushions and pulled out the hide-a-bed. Lynda moved back the blankets and put the dog up on the bed. She turned off the lights in the room and crawled into the bed, opting to wear just her jeans and t-shirt to bed.
Akamu helped himself under the sheets and rested himself next to Lynda for warmth. He rested his little head on her pillow and settled in for his own pup dreams.
The noise in the bathroom from the hair dryer blocked the sound of Lynda closing the door and of her making her bed. Adam opened the door, began talking about the plans for in the morning, and stopped his voice when he saw the dark living room. From the doorway, the dimmed light from the street, he saw the sofa bed and Lynda there with Akamu. Her chest rising and falling every four seconds, he counted.
"Good night and sweet dreams, Lynda," he whispered figuring she was well asleep by now. Adam went back into the bedroom and softly closed the door.
"Good night Adam," Lynda whispered, knowing he did not hear her.
Adam climbed into Lynda's bed and pulled up the covers to his neck, he fell asleep rather slowly. Lynda got up two hours before dawn and quietly went to go put Adam's clothing in the dryer. She returned, made up the hide-a-bed, and folded it away. She decided to move the furniture later, at least until after Adam was up. She went to the dining room table, turned on, and dimmed the light. Hooking up her computer to the Internet, Lynda logged online and began to render her resignation in an email program. With Adam hanging around her so often she could not take the risk of him finding out what her real job was. She busily typed on the keypad; Akamu came over, and licked on her ankle.
"What the," Lynda says looking down.
She stood, looked around the kitchen, and found the puppy food. Measuring out two cups of kibble, she put it in his bowl, and fed him. With Akamu being out of the way she finished up and sent the message. Lynda disconnected and wrote more into her journal file on her C drive. Satisfying her writing needs, Lynda quietly as possible, pulled out the pans for breakfast. Adam had made or brought her food a few times, and she decided that making him a good breakfast would be nice. Opening the refrigerator, she noticed there was not a whole lot to fix.
Figuring Adam would probably still be sleeping by the time she got back, she took his keys, and took the Cherokee. Lynda went to the bank and put most of the money in her wallet into her account at the ATM teller. She went shopping with her bankcard. Now five o'clock am, she pulled back into Adam's spot exactly. She filled up the tank while she was out, so he couldn't really get all mad at her if he found out that she had no license to drive, but that didn't matter.
Lynda opened her bedroom door and noticed his body wrapped in the blanket, just barely covering his derrière. His back twisted a little moving to face the dresser, and his behind is now free of the sheet. She tried not to stare but she felt her heart skip a beat. Lynda moved on and went to the bathroom. She used the facilities, cleaned up, and looked at her face in the mirror. She saw an ugly woman still overweight and helpless.
* You can't have him, why even try. Don't do it, he will hurt you, just like they all do. What if he has a girlfriend or a wife? That hurts even worse. What if he doesn't want you? The rejection is going to be unbearable. What if he still wants something from you? What if he tries to rape you? *
Her mind was playing games again. She put the toilet seat top down and had a seat. She could not help but shed a few tears. Lynda hoped Adam wouldn't hear her.
* At least he could have been decent enough to wear underwear to bed. * Lynda mused.
She cleaned up her face and quietly snuck back out to the kitchen. Lynda made herself a small bowl of cream of wheat, had a glass of milk, and started Adam's breakfast. She started the coffee; she cut up a few small potatoes for home fries. She whipped up some scrambled eggs and the toast she made thankfully did not burn. A little milk and a few orange slices later, breakfast was ready. Since she ate her breakfast before she was making his, she carefully arranged a plate and set the table for one. She took Akamu in her arms and told him to go get Adam. She put him back on the floor and opened her bedroom door. Lynda watched the scene through a cracked door. She had to stifle the laugh she had inside, she knew she wouldn't be able to stop until her sides hurt.
Akamu, the daring little puppy took a running leap and jumped up on the bed. He found Adam's face and proceeded to lick his cheek. He kept his licking going until Adam began to rouse. Then Akamu dug his little body in between his arms and felt his warmth. Akamu moved and jumped off the end of the bed. The little mighty dog proceeded to pull the covers off Adam.
As much as she was having fun, Lynda didn't really want to get a look at all of Adam. She hotfooted it back to the kitchen as Adam woke up. She poured him a cup of coffee and set it on the table.
"Lynda, your dog is bothering me." The scent of the food was beginning to travel and Adam smelt coffee.
"Akamu. Here boy. Adam, Breakfast is ready and getting cold," she called.
"Sorry, not his fault. I told him to come get you."
Adam appeared in the robe he borrowed from Lynda last night. He noticed the table was set for one. He didn't like that the table was set for one. He preferred that she sit and eat with him.
"How come you're not eating?"
"I've already had my breakfast and I have things to do today, for instance, I have to go check on your clothing. It should be all warm and dry."
Adam sat down and started eating while Lynda went down to the laundry room. He took a few bites and realized that Lynda could really cook eggs, they were fixed perfectly like he liked them, and then wondered where the food came from. He thought she must have gone out and picked up some food earlier that morning.
Lynda came back up a few minutes later, with a laundry basket of cooling clothing. She set about finding some hangers in the bedroom before the clothes got wrinkled. She hung up the clothing on the bathroom doorframe and his socks on the bed.
"This breakfast is excellent," Adam called from the dining room table.
"Glad you like it, I'm going to change. I'll be out in a minute or two. There's more coffee in the pot," Lynda called from the bedroom.
Lynda opened her closet door, turned on the light, and started rifling through her clothes for something comfortable to wear. She noticed that some of her pillows were out of order. The white pillows were always on top of the red ones. The red ones were now on the top of the white ones. She pulled them all down, reached up to feel something hard, cold, and long. Now she was scared. Lynda pulled it down to look at. It was a very old sword and an awesome one at that. It had to be Adam's and she wasn't supposed to find it. She decided to stay calm about it and try not to look shaken but she definitely was. Lynda quickly put the sword back where she found it. She puts the pillows back in the odd order that she found them in and continued about her business, like nothing had happened. She decided it would be best if she started to pack up her place and flee after Adam left.
* Run, Lynda, run! You must not stay here! He could be after your head! All this time he could be getting you well so that you could be a running target. You'd be easy pickings! He's leaving you, what if he comes back to finish you off? * Her mind went crazy and told her to leave among other things and she felt uneasy about the sword the more she was in the room.
Lynda held up her hands and noticed that she was shaking.
* Ok, ok, must not panic. What are those rules to survive by? 1. Calm down. 2. Get a plan together. 3. Run as far away as possible. Yes, do that. * She thought while she tried to stop shaking.
She had to be calm about this and she began to think. She would have to find a place to hide out, first. The thought crossed her mind of going to her secret hide out up in the woods by the coast. Where her backyard was the coast and her front yard was the forest. It would take a three day hike to get there, but this time she had an ATV to haul her luggage up there. It had been locked up in a storage shed near the house.
Lynda came out all dressed up to go out into the cold morning.
"I hung your clothing up on the bathroom doorframe and put the rest of your clothing on my bed," she said as she went to sit on the sofa to put on her socks and walking shoes, and to avoid making any eye contact, "I've got to go walk Akamu. You can leave the dishes in the sink and I'll do them when I get back. Lock the door on your way out. I have keys."
"Okay then. Thank you for your hospitality." Adam felt something was wrong but he tried to reach out and make her feel better by thanking her.
"Your welcome," she said softly while putting her coat on, on her way out the door with Akamu.
It had stopped raining earlier and Akamu behaved himself this time as they walked. Lynda tried to keep up the pace, but she found herself out of breath. She leaned on a nearby white picket fence and tried to catch her breath.
* Damn, I'm really out of shape! * She thought.
After resting a little bit she turned Akamu back towards home and hoped that Adam was gone.
Adam dressed and noticed that his sword had been moved.
* Damn, she was not supposed to find the sword! She seemed a little jumpy. I will have to explain to her about the need for it soon. Damn it. I should move on before she gets back. * He thought as he slipped on his trench coat.
Adam slipped on his coat and secured his sword back in place. He made sure he had all his belongings and he locked the door as per her request. He drove home and realized that his gas tank was at the same amount as it was when he arrived at Miss Maxwell's. Adam wondered if his gas gauge was broken.
Inside his place, he slipped off his trench coat and hung it up, and then signed online with his wireless connection while he finished getting comfortable. This meant a beer and a sprawl across the sofa. He did a little research and found out Mrs. Montgomery was coming in Friday on a 6pm arrival. Adam called Joe and found out what he could about her watcher.
Kiana Morgan had the reputation of being a bulldog; getting everything she could find to track her immortal. Kiana was on the same flight and would be meeting with Joe in the morning. She had been born and raised in Hawaii, and here she had left the islands to follow some immortal woman in frozen Canada.
Adam thought she was a little off her rocker to leave the warmth for the cold. He missed Bora Bora himself. The beer and chasing grass skirts seemed like fun last winter, so he booked a flight right then and there. He would be gone a weekend at the most.
* What could possibly happen, right? * Adam thought.
Lynda came home with Akamu and let out a sigh of relief. She was on her own again and suddenly; to her, Adam seemed more dangerous than she thought. She unleashed Akamu and went into her room. She pulled out her three-piece luggage set and started packing. Packing her three pairs of shoes and all her clothing in the large bag, she used the medium sized one for packing up her music and video collections. The smaller one she used for cleaning the essentials out of her bathroom. Lynda called on her emergency cell phone to hire a cab to take her to the bus stop. From there she would get up to Winter Harbour by bus.
She really was not looking forward to the long ride to the seaside water town, but she felt it was necessary to be safe. Lynda tries to get her luggage down the hall to the elevator and she makes a little too much noise.
"Oh Lynda, what's going on out here? I've got a headache."
"I'm sorry Mrs. Swanson. I'm almost done."
"Are you going on a trip somewhere dear?"
"Yeah, I am," Lynda motions her over, whispers, "I am in danger, and I have to go away for a little while. I'm going to come back for the rest of my things when I can. I need you to keep getting my mail for me."
"Do you need anything else dear?"
"Could you hold my rent for a while? I'll get you the money order when I come back. You know I am good for it. You can help yourself to what ever is left in the fridge."
"Yes, I do. Don't worry about anything here. I'll take care of it."
"Oh and don't tell anyone what is going on."
"Is that young man giving you trouble?"
"You could say he's part of the problem, but not entirely."
"Oh. Well, I better get some aspirin for my headache. Good luck dear."
"Thanks, I hope you feel better soon."
Lynda hears the cabby's horn. The driver gets out and helps her load up the car with her luggage and Akamu. They stop first at her bank for much needed funds.
Then the cab dropped her off at the bus stop and she bought a ticket to Winter Harbour. It is a relatively smooth trip along the 8 hour and 32 minute ride to get to her destination. When Lynda arrived at the bus stop in Winter Harbour, she took another cab to the motel near her place. She rented a room for one night, and paid for everything in advance. In the room she took a shower and tried to relax. About an hour later she came up with a plan. She made sure she was pretty well disguised and then Lynda stopped in to a Mom and Pop general mercantile store. She bought everything she needed to get up to her cabin and paid for it with cash.
With a night of uneasy sleep because of nightmares of her head getting chopped off, Lynda got dressed and headed out before daybreak. With a black MAG flashlight, a daypack with food, emergency supplies, hiking boots, and Akamu tucked into her jacket against her chest, she headed up to the secret place to get the ATV and trailer to haul her luggage back. When she arrived at the two-story cabin three days later, she found it in a little disrepair, but she could fix that later. After all Lynda had not been there in quite a long time. She didn't blame it for breaking down.
A local man had built it, it had been abandoned when his wife died, and then ultimately abandoned it when he died at a hospital not too far away. Neither of the two had any family left. Lynda bought it and paid for it in cash, for herself as a graduation from High School gift. It may not have been a secret place to the old couple, but it was to her. Not even the town knew where it was exactly, because she had torn it down board by board and rebuilt it closer to the ocean. The home had been built on a large spread, since she had the extra acres to do so, she got permission to move it next to an old Native American Indian worship site, Holy Ground and she hadn't known it. She just loved the cool Native carvings in the stone near a few of the trees around the new site. She had her property blessed by the local Shaman and then Lynda planted a tree on the old site when she finished her project.
Back in Seacouver, Adam packed a bag for Bora Bora, was on the phone with Joe.
"I'm leaving town for the weekend. I'll be back Monday. Keep me posted on how it goes with Ms. Maxwell."
"I guess my beer stock can make do without you for a weekend. I will, see you around."
"Cute Joe. Later."
They would all have to make do without him for a weekend. As he boarded the flight to the French Polynesian island, he wondered if Lynda was going to be safe all alone with all the information he had given her so far, there was much more that he needed to tell her.
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