CHAPTER 1
Two unhappy years post-graduation spent working for his father in a small-town store dealing in rent-to-own furniture, appliances and electronics had convinced McLeod Jones he was becoming brain dead. His father refused to introduce innovations or allow McLeod to modernize the premises and at least half the customers resented dealing with Jones junior because of his young age, thinking he knew nothing.
McLeod quit.
His father shut himself in his office with a loaded shotgun, staring at the formal notice of resignation and McLeod's young step-mom tried unsuccessfully to farewell McLeod carnally which was rather innovative of her. All that pressure accomplished was to confirm to McLeod he'd made the right decision to move on.
McLeod went by bus to Charlottesville where he booked a seat and waited to board the Amtrak train to Cincinnati. He went into the lower deck of a car and found it unoccupied and that unnerved him a little but he thought it was preferable to a car filled with screaming kids and nagging women and bitching fathers.
As a stranger to the city he poked around Cincinnati and early on the third morning took a bus and got off when it appeared they were leaving the city. It must have been a ring route because he could find no return bus stop. He cursed for being so stupid not asking the driver for details. The area had a small shopping area. He was walking along the street when a young woman stepped out of a convenience store in front of him staggering under the weight of two cartons.
"Ma'am, may I help you?"
"It's miss."
"Leaving aside the semantics may I carry that load for you?"
"God you sound educated. You can't be around from here?"
That's the trouble with women, McLeod thought. They feel compelled to talk about a problem or an action before committing. He took the two cartons.
"I didn't say..."
"Lead me to your vehicle."
The black SUV was only ten feet away.
"This is so unnecessary of you," the woman fluffed, opening the rear door.
"How would you have opened that door weighed down by his load?"
"Easy. I would have... oh. Mother always says I'm too impetuous. Oh I guess I would have had to put the cartons down on the wet ground, opened the door and lift them in one by one and the wet one may have dirtied my dress. Thank you kind sir."
"Impetuous women are far more interesting that self-controlled, measured women."
"You mean in bed?"
The young blonde, now with a flaming face, now looked as if she could sink through the ground.
"No I didn't," he grinned, "but you raise a valid point. Perhaps we could debate that some time? I've just arrived off a bus feeling like a decent breakfast. Could you recommend a suitable establishment?"
"A 24/7 diner is now open and two cafés open within the next hour but if you want a decent breakfast you'd better come with me."
"Thank you ma'am but I really can't impose like..."
"It's impolite to turn down an invitation like that and will you stop calling me ma'am. I'm Desiree King, Miss King to most people but I'll make an exception for you. Usually men with whom I come in close contact wish to undress me rather than assist me with my shopping or other chores."
"Perhaps we could debate that interesting dilemma for men at a later date?"
"God can you turn anything into a debate?" she giggled. "My first thought was you looked sexually threatening but already I'm becoming glued to the idea you might be rather charming without having to make the effort."
"Glued to the idea?"
She smiled and said her late paternal grandfather tended to use that expression when making an emphatic point.
"I'm rather glued to the idea of placing myself into your lovely trustworthy hands Desiree and being taken to a great breakfast."
"God talk like that and my mother will warn me off you."
They laughed and she told McLeod to get in.
"Um first allow me to introduce myself Desiree. I've just resigned my job and am wandering, so I guess my status right now is vagrant. My name is McLeod Jones."
"Oooh, strong name and no crap with the declaration you are a vagrant. Does that mean you are a beggar?"
"No I have money. My personal status at present remains undefined because I left home for good yesterday just before 9:00 am. I'm seeking my future. As for my name, my mom before my birth decided with a surname like Jones it needed a strong handle. Her mother was born a McLeod."
"Oooh, you phrase words well. Are you a romantic?" Desiree asked as she started the vehicle.
"My pragmatic experiences so far don't indicate that I can generate such a quality."
"Local and college sluts eh?"
McLeod considered his reply and said, "Something like that."
"You have the appearance and speak like a college graduate and your easy manner with me suggests you are used to be surrounded by heaps of intelligent women. Town boys are not like that."
"Very perceptive. What do you do?"
"A little like you, college graduate with a MS in Management and waiting for my future to arrive."
"Unless you have something lined up you'd be best taking off and looking for your future, increasing your chances of finding a good one."
"You've arrived."
They traveled almost a mile in thoughtful silence until McLeod said, "All I'm saying you are in your mid-twenties and you owe it to yourself to consider all options."
"Yeah right. I am aware working six hours a day as assistant cashier in my family's lumber yard means I'm only marking time and the contrary argument to your premise is if I stay put I'll be found."
"I can buy that. Who can predict with absolute accuracy the throw of the dice? Do you have a steady guy?"
"God you don't hold back. If you must know there is no regular guy escorting me out at the moment. Here we are."
McLeod looked at the imposing three-level rough-sawn wood house.
"Granddad began building it, helped by his father, when he was twenty-five. Dad helped by granddad increased it in size another 40%."
"It looks impressive. So am I likely to get lucky with you?"
"If you stay around your chances would be good. But if you decide to get flirty watch out for my two brothers."
McLeod carried in the two cartons into the kitchen for Desiree where they found the family waiting for breakfast, mom, dad and two guys in their early twenties.
"I can see what took you so long," said the mother. Taking a carton from McLeod she said, "Hi I'm Michelle King."
"Desiree's sister."
She smiled. "Please stay for breakfast young man."
"Thanks. I'm McLeod Jones from a little ways east of here. I got off the bus when looking around the city and saw Desiree with the cartons and I offered to lug the weight. She politely offered me breakfast. I think I'd made a good impression."
"I bet you did. This is my husband Jake."
Jake remained seated when shaking hands.
"And my youngest son Harry."
"Hi. You delayed our breakfast."
"And my eldest son John."
"Hi McLeod," said the broad-shouldered guy of about twenty-eight. "How's the grip?"
He grinned and gave McLeod plenty of time to avoid his fingers being mangled and then applied pressure.
"Stop it John, behave," his mom sighed.
"He can stop this anytime he says submit."
Desiree said, "Oh grow up John."
"I'll try not to hurt your son Mrs King."
"Stop it both of you."
"He won't let me go Mrs King. I submit."
John grinned and pulled his hand away. "Gotcha."
Desiree said angrily, "Now let's run a quiz to test which of you two has the best knowledge and probably the greater intelligence."
"McLeod's a clear winner," John grinned. "He's a college grad isn't he sis? You don't team with dummies."
"I probably can run faster, swim faster and climb faster that you John but that doesn't necessarily mean I'm a better person," McLeod said thoughtfully. "Could you just try to like me for how you find me without physicality or brain-power being involved?"
"I guess so."
"Ohmigod, is that my John being reasonable," Michelle laughed, hauling out steaks from one of the cartons while Desiree, smiling cutely at McLeod, lifted tomatoes and frozen fries off the top of the kitchen provisions in the other carton.
The two women worked quickly and had breakfast on the table in good time, allowing Jake and his two sons to head off for work only a little late.
McLeod stayed for two days before his investigations showed there were no suitable work for him in this locality, in fact no work at all although Jake did say he could work at the yard for fifteen bucks an hour, twenty hours a week.
Desiree allowed him to work her up a bit but as soon as he attempted to free a breast or go below her waist he had his hand pulled away and was told to behave himself. Not good but Desiree said her loose ways were behind her, that she was saving herself for Mr Right. She must have said something to the family about that because they all appeared to lose their warmth toward him.
McLeod took the hint. He left behind a goodbye and thanks note addressed to everyone when he left at 11:00 on that third night and caught the 11:45 out of town and was pleased to find it had a café service. Later that evening he transferred to a train to St Louis where he looked around for a couple of days, booking a coach seat on the Texas Eagle before beginning his short stay.
The forgettable journey on the Texas Eagle of 939 miles and taking a little over twenty-three hours should have been broken with a stopover, preferably two he thought but too late. He should have gone by airplane. They also have screaming infants, noisy children and coughing old men but they also greatly condense the journey by their superior speed.
Aunt Rhonda, his father's youngest sister, met him at the station and kissing him in delight saying he was much better looking that her brother had been at McLeod's age of twenty-four. She asked, "And how was your great train journey?"
"Oh fine apart from appalling dumps of rubbish alongside wide of the railroad and a few other things I'm eager to forget."
"Oh. Well come home and shower and I'll feed you and you can go to bed."
"A shower and food would be okay but no sleep until late tonight. I slept quite a bit on the train, in a great number of broken intervals."
"You should have taken a roomette."
"I wanted to conserve money."
Rhonda smiled. "Oh yes, my conservative brother said you walked out in a huff. God I remember him being a self-righteous guy when I was a small kid. I guess you found him too conservative to work for?"
"That's exactly it."
"Well I'm delighted you are putting down anchor for a while. Ted said if you know anything about computer servicing he could get you work at the university. They have a backlog of maintenance."
"I'm handy with computers. I took computer science as part of my university studies."
As they reached the SUV Rhonda's phone went. McLeod only heard her side of the conversation.
