Luna Awakening

Chapter Three

The next morning, Aubrey opened her eyes and looked around the cabin. Now that the sun was up, she could better appreciate the quaint little space. There were two doors. One door clearly led outside, and she wasn’t too sure what was behind the other door.

“Hopefully a bathroom,” she thought to herself.

She shifted slightly and instantly noted something warm and heavy breathing next to her. She peeled away the blanket and before she could move, she was met with a big warm tongue licking her face.

“Well, hello there, cutie,” she said to her newly discovered canine sleeping buddy. She was face-to-face with a lab mix who had droopy ears and medium length black fur that was speckled with silver and white.

“Thank you for keeping me warm last night my friend,” she said while giving the dog some scratches behind its ears.

She began to look around some more and noticed all of her belongings were arranged on a small wooden kitchen table. She swung her legs over, and her furry sleep buddy slowly slid off of the bed stretching out its back legs so that its back paws were the last part to leave the bed. The dog stretched out it’s front end and let out a loud groan. Aubrey noticed the dog had a docked tail, and it started to shake as the dog walked around the room towards the front door. Once at the front door, the dog began barking and jumping up on the door.

“I’m not sure I should let you out bud. Do you have a leash somewhere?”

Before Aubrey could stand to inspect the cabin more, the door opened and the dog ran out. Broderick leaned his head in.

“Oh, I see that you’re finally up. You slept like a rock. I tried to wake you up so you could make your phone calls, but you were out cold,” he smiled.

“Yea, I guess the adrenaline wore off, and I crashed. It helped having a personal heater with me all night long,” she smiled.

“Oh, you mean Atticus? Yea, he’s quite the furnace, and he won’t turn down a night with a pretty lady,” he winked.

Aubrey could feel her cheeks blushing with red.

“My apologies if I made you uncomfortable just now,” Broderick said.

“Oh no, please don’t apologize. For whatever reason, I don’t have the typical response to compliments. I mean, compliments should make me feel good, but instead I react to them like I’m hearing nails on a chalkboard,” she smiled and released a big sigh.

“Well, maybe you just need to hear them more often,” he said.

“Yea, maybe…” she replied.

They stared at each other for a moment before Broderick cleared his throat.

“Is there anything you need or anything I can help you with?” he asked.

“Actually, yes there is. Do you have a bathroom I could use?” she asked.

“Yes, there is a bathroom just through that door there. It has a small shower if you’d like to clean up.”

“That would be amazing. Oh, and thank you for bringing me my belongings.”

“It was no problem at all. Are you able to stand or do you need a hand?”

“I think I’ve got it,” she said as she slowly raised herself from the bed.

She shuffled over to her backpack, swung it over her shoulder, and walked to bathroom. The bathroom was small, but she was so grateful for it. After she used the toilet, she stripped off her clothes that were still caked with her blood from the night before. She turned on the water and once it was nice and warm, she stepped under the hot spray and breathed the steam deep into her lungs. She didn’t think she appreciated a shower this much before this moment. Lately, she had been using her shower time to cry, but this time she didn’t seem to have the urge. She took this as a good sign that she was moving in the right direction with her grief. After she finished showering, she pulled out a fresh pair of jeans and t-shirt, some warm socks, and a buffalo plaid flannel. She stepped out of the bathroom and found Broderick cooking at the stove with Atticus by his side waiting for some bacon to fall on the floor. It smelled amazing, and Aubrey’s mouth started watering.

“Hey, I hope you don’t mind, but I thought you would like something to eat before we head into town to get your affairs in order and get you on your way. It’s not anything special; just some eggs, bacon, and toast,” Broderick said as he removed the bacon from the pan and placed it on a plate.

“Oh gosh, I don’t mind one bit! It smells amazing. Thank you so much. You have been so kind to me” Aubrey said while having a seat at the small kitchen table.

“It’s no problem at all. I try to treat people how I would want to be treated. You were in a tight spot, and I am happy I was there to help,” he said taking a seat at the other end of the table.

Aubrey noticed that Broderick was a man of few words. He responded only to questions providing enough to answer them but did not elaborate too much. At times, the silence became uncomfortable, and Aubrey found herself filling the void of silence by asking him more questions. During breakfast, she learned that Broderick had built and lived in the cabin for the last couple of years. He preferred to keep a low profile and didn’t particularly enjoy being around people.

“How long should it take us to get to town from where we are?” Aubrey asked.

“It should take about 15-20 minutes. We’ll take my truck. It’s nothing fancy, but it gets the job done,” he replied.

“Well, I’m sure it does more than my car currently,” she laughed. Broderick began to laugh too.

“Yea, I would have to agree with you on that.” They laughed together, and Aubrey thought to herself how much she adored his laugh and smile. He struck her as the type of person that didn’t smile too often. So, this moment with him made her feel special that she got to share it with him.

“Please allow me to clean up. It’s the least I can do for all that you have done for me over the last twelve hours,” she said as she stood up and began collecting the plates.

“Have at it. I love to cook, but cleaning up I will avoid at all costs,” he smiled.

After Aubrey did the dishes and wiped down the stove top and table, Broderick helped her collect her belongings, and they packed them into his old red pickup truck. They climbed into the truck. Atticus sat happily between Broderick and Aubrey with his long pink tongue hanging from his panting mouth.

“This is such a beautiful spot you have here Broderick. I have to be honest and tell you that I am a bit jealous of your quaint little cabin with its gorgeous scenery hidden away from the craziness of the world,” Aubrey admitted as they drove down the wooded driveway away from the cabin.

“It’s sure a peaceful place,” he said turning the truck off of the driveway and onto the main road. They drove along in silence. To help dispel some of her nervous energy, Aubrey gave Atticus lots of pets. After sometime, Broderick pulled his truck into the parking lot of a rundown looking corner store. He climbed out of the truck, and held open the door to the corner store for Aubrey. She walked into the store and noticed Broderick’s intoxicating scent as she walked past him through the door.

“Broderick! How are you honey?” a short elderly woman greeted from behind the front counter.

“Hi there, Miss Dorothy. I am doing well. How are you?” Broderick replied.

“Oh, I can’t complain. My arthritis has been acting up with the weather getting colder. Who is this pretty young lady with you today honey?”

“Oh, this is… Um…” It was at this moment that Broderick realized he had never asked for Aubrey’s name, and he felt flustered and completely embarrassed.

“Hi there, my name is Aubrey. Pleased to meet you,” Aubrey said offering her hand to Miss Dorothy who took it and gently shook her hand. “I had an accident last night trying to avoid some deer. Broderick took me in last night until we could get into town this morning. I see that my phone has service here. So, if you both will excuse me, I am going to go make some phone calls,” Aubrey said before stepping away from the counter and heading outside of the store. Broderick watched as she left, and he could feel Miss Dorothy’s gaze on the back of his neck. He turned to face her.

“She seems nice,” she said raising her eyebrows up and down repeatedly causing Broderick to laugh.

“Yea she is and?” he said.

“And you should ask her out if you haven’t already. You and that four-legged boy of yours could use a lady companion,” she said.

“Aww h*ll, Miss Dorothy. You know I am not looking for that,” he said as he ran his hand over his buzz cut hair.

“Well, think about it. Sometimes God knows what we need even if we ain’t looking for it,” she smiled.

“I’ll keep that in mind Miss Dorothy. I’m going to check to see if Aubrey needs a hand with anything. You take good care, okay?”

“You too Broderick,” she said as Broderick headed out to find Aubrey.

Aubrey first contacted a tow truck company to deal with her car. Next, she called her parents to see if her 3- and 4-year-old daughters, Lizzie and Evie, had been dropped off. She briefly spoke with each of them on the phone before they wanted to go to get back to crafting with grandma. Next, she called Alex. Alex was relieved to hear from Aubrey, and promptly left the campsite to pick Aubrey up. Once Alex got to the store, Broderick transported Aubrey’s things into the back of Alex’s car.

“I can’t thank you enough for helping me. I am so grateful to you,” Aubrey said as she extended her hand to Broderick.

“Like I said before, I am happy to help,” he said as her took her hand in his. The instant their hands made contact; they both felt a jolt of energy travel up their arms. Neither wanted to break contact, but finally Broderick pulled his hand away.

“You take good care Aubrey,” he said as he turned away and got into his truck.

“You too Broderick,” Aubrey said as she got into the passenger side of Alex’s car.

She couldn’t figure out why, but she had an intense urge not to part ways with him. They hadn’t even pulled away, and she already missed his presence. As they pulled out of the parking lot, Aubrey kept her eyes fixed on Broderick, praying he would get out of his truck and run up to ask for her number. “Ugh, at least look at me one last time,” she thought to herself. As if he could hear her, just as she was pulling away, he looked up and made eye contact with her. She felt his gaze deep within her soul, as if something within him was calling out to something within her. And then he was gone.

“Soooooo, you going to tell me about Mr. Tall Dark and Sexy as H*ll?”