Looking for Wildflowers

Taylor sat at her desk, working on a story in her small, one-bedroom home. The rain from the strong storm that was rolling in hit her roof and windows like bullets and thunder rumbled in the distance. Her house was dark except for a few candles and the light from her laptop. Her house sat on a small field outside a small town, where everybody knew everybody. No one lived nearby, so normally, Taylor was left to herself. She was given this home by her parents and she fell in love the second she crossed the squeaky doorway into the older, well-loved home. She did some slight renovations, like painting and redoing the windows and buying a sturdy front door. But she kept the old screen door that was simply a thin layer of screen stapled to some wood and put on hinges. Taylor also made sure to not paint over the old family’s height checks on the kitchen doorway. She figured she might if she had kids of her own, but right now it just made it feel cozier. She was lost in her story, her eyes glued to the bright screen as she sipped on a glass of peach wine. It had been a long day gardening and she was more than happy to be back inside and able to relax. Suddenly, as she was sipping her wine and trying to decide where she should take her story, there came a pounding on the front door. The sound caused her to jump and look straight at the plain wooden door. She wasn’t expecting anyone and it was strange for neighbors to come visit at night. Or visit at all, really. Who goes visiting when it's storming like this, anyway? Slowly, she made her way to the door and looked out the tiny peephole, trying to see who was outside. She wanted to know if she should get her pistol or not. She struggled to balance on her tiptoes to see out, but she managed to catch a few glimpses. It was a man, he looked about her age but she couldn’t tell exactly. Dark hair and clothes. She also noticed that he was soaked to the bone, indicating he had been outside in the storm for a while. Keeping the chain on the door, she slowly opened it, ready to shut it and run at a moment’s notice. “How can I help you?” she tried to keep her voice firm, but even she heard the friendliness and concern coming out. “Yes, ma’am, please. I hurt my leg, can I please just use your phone or something?” the man begged. His dark hair, black hoodie, and beat-up blue jeans dripped water all over the old porch. “Uh..” she stalled. She wanted to help but can she trust this random man that showed up at her door late at night? “How did you hurt it?” she needed more information before she could form a final decision. “I was running from these guys, and they chased me into the woods. I ended up falling down a hill and hitting my leg on a tree.” She glanced down and noticed blood soaking his right pants leg. “Why were they chasing you?” “If you’ll help me, I’ll explain. Otherwise, I guess I should leave.” the man looked defeated but turned and headed towards the stairs, back into the storm. “Wait,” Taylor unchained the door and opened it a bit more. “Tell me your name and you can come in. I’ll help you mend up that leg.” “My name’s Riley. That’d be real nice, thank you.” he came limping back and cautiously crossed the doorway, Taylor hugged the door with fear of this situation turning south. “Well, Riley,” she started as she swallowed the lump in her throat and slowly closed the door, leaving it unlocked in case she had to make a run for it. “I’m Taylor. Care to explain?” she headed to her small bathroom to get the first aid kit from the closet. Living where she did, she had learned a thing or two about how to heal most injuries. Unless it was totally broken, she could probably fix it. “These guys, well it started with just one, they got an issue with me.” he began as he took the towel she brought him and began drying his long hair and what parts of him he could dry. “He thought I was trying to steal his girlfriend or some s**t, and tried to start something over nothing.” Taylor just cut her eyes up at him as she waited for him to continue while she patched his busted leg. Luckily, nothing seemed too broken for her to fix. “When he started a fight with me, I won. He got pissed off and got his friends to come and fight me. I tried, but I knew I couldn’t take down four guys, so I had to hope I could outrun them. I did, but it came at a price.” he motioned to his leg as he sighed. “This is a nice little place you got here.” he complimented as he took a look around. “Thank you.” Taylor said tightly, unsure if she trusted him or not. She did have to admit though, he was kind of cute. He had a strong build, indicating her worked on a farm or did some other hard physical labor. Taylor pretended she didn't notice, but it did make her heart flutter a bit. “Why did they think you were after his girlfriend?” part of her hoped he was single and it was all bullshit and maybe she stood a chance, but another part of her knew that was crazy and she should just shoot him now. “Because I did her math homework for her. But if she got one more bad grade, she was going to fail! So she asked me to help, and I did. That was it. I don’t have any feelings for her, she’s not really my type.” his southern accent got stronger the more worked up he got, which Taylor found made him even cuter. “Ah, the old misunderstanding,” she said as she stood up. “You should rest for a few days, let it heal some before you go walking around on it for any long period of time. Do you live around here?” “No. I was running errands when those guys saw me. I live a few hours from here.” he said, knowing she was going to make him sleep on the porch or in the shed out back if she even allowed him to stay. “Well, you can’t make it back tonight, even by a car apparently.” Taylor groaned. “You’ll just have to stay here.” she hated saying it but also it excited her. Living completely alone gets lonely, and at least until tomorrow, she had someone to talk to. “Alright, do you want me on the porch or in the shed?” he asked, hating the idea of sleeping on the hard ground but thankful for the hospitality. “Nonsense, the porch is too cold, and that old shed leaks. You’ll just have to stay in here.” she sighed. “You can sleep on the couch. I’ll get you a pillow and blanket. I’ll see if I don’t have some clothes or something for you to change into since those are soaked.” Taylor turned and disappeared into her room, digging through the closet for an old blanket and taking one of the extra pillows from her bed. She then began digging through her dresser for an oversized shirt and pants, which she found rather quickly. “Here, put these on and give me your wet clothes. I’ll wash and dry them and you’ll have them in the morning,” she tossed the shirt and pants at him, which he surprisingly caught easily. “And here’s a pillow and blanket. If you need anything else, just let me know.” she turned and returned to her desk, picking up where she left off. “Wait,” Riley stood there confused. “That’s it?” “Do you want a welcoming party?” Taylor asked, honestly wondering what else he could have expected. “Well, no. I didn’t think you’d let me stay here, and now you’re washing my clothes too?” “Yeah, and you can use my shower if you like. Just don’t touch my body scrub or hair oil.” she returned her attention back to her screen. It was clear to her that Riley was of no threat to her, so she might as well help him out a bit. “Do you live here alone?” “Yep.” “You know, it probably isn’t safe to let random men just come into your home.” Riley chuckled nervously as he headed toward the bathroom. “Well, I figured you stood no chance against my .44” Her eyes never left her computer as she typed the next paragraph. When Riley got out of the shower and came out dressed in the clothes she had given him, she started the washer filled with his clothes and random bits she found laying on her bedroom floor. “Thank you for helping me.” he said as he sat on the couch and got the pillow situated. “Don’t mention it. Just know you’re leaving first thing tomorrow.” she made it clear once more as she closed her laptop and headed to her room. “Oh, and don’t do anything stupid. I wasn’t joking when I said I had a gun.” she said over her shoulder as she closed and locked the door behind her. Riley took a deep breath as he looked around. The place was cozy, with a fireplace that looked like it hadn't been lit in years. There wasn’t a tv, but plenty of bookshelves and artwork on the walls. He noticed there were no family pictures, but figured he better not ask. Not now, anyway. Riley hoped he could make a friend out of this girl. He found her rather pretty and she was nicer than he could have ever expected. He threw himself down against the pillow, bringing one arm over his head and resting his hand underneath him. It wasn’t long before he fell asleep and woke up to the first signs of sunrise peaking through the window that stood at the end of the couch.