Reluctant Hero (The Dunamis Covenant Book 1) (9 page)

Thomas was finally enjoying his time alone in the wilderness. The first week had been difficult; he almost felt like he was going through withdrawals. He missed Abby so bad, his body hurt.
Why?
He wondered.
I haven't even been with her yet, we only kissed three times. Was this part of the spell?
If so, it was one more thing he hated about the bigger world he was now a part of. The last three days, however, he felt pretty good. He still missed her a lot, but it no longer encompassed his every waking thought. He had taken to biking on the trails, and taking long hikes to clear his mind. He had even climbed the sheer rock face overlooking the lake, which he figured was frowned upon by the park rangers. In fact, he hadn't had any human interaction since he bought his groceries. He did feel it was time to go into town, rent a shower and restock on some supplies.

When he arrived in town, he went to the one, small, rustic Inn the little town had to offer. The sign was so worn, he couldn't even tell the name. He walked up the wooden steps and opened the screen door. He walked into the lobby with his bike and there was a cute girl behind the counter he was approaching.

He looked around and the small lobby looked like an antique store. "Hi," he greeted with a cheerful smile. "I've been camping for a couple days and I was wondering if I could rent a room for a couple hours. I just need a place to take a long shower and keep my bike while I buy some groceries."

The cute girl looked amused, and smiled a pretty smile. Thomas noticed a name tag that told him her name was Ashley. He could tell she was used to having guys fall all over her. She pressed her lips together in a look of mock concentration and replied with a mischievous look, "It's thirty for an hour, but only forty-nine for a night. If you think you need more than an hour, you might as well take the overnight rate. Who knows, maybe you'll meet someone that doesn't like camping while you're umm... shopping." She winked and slowly brought the tip of her finger up to her mouth.

Subtle
, he thought. She was a pretty cute blonde, long hair, big, blue eyes and a very well toned physique. She had a round, playful face highlighted by thick eyelashes and she constantly had her fingers near her red lips. She was wearing jean shorts and a tight, white tank top with a surf board and the words Surfin USA on it. She gave him an inviting smile, but he was still hung up on Abby. He almost felt like he should get Lucas up here, she was just his type. "I guess I'll take it for the night then," he replied. He handed her fifty dollars and she handed him a dollar back with his key. Her hand hovered over his with the key and he had to take it from her. She laughed in a playful manner when he added, "Thank you so much, Ashley, you have a nice day."

"Checkout is at eleven," She called behind him. She looked disappointed that he didn't take the bait. He imagined that most guys usually would.

Thomas stepped into the shower and it felt good. He almost felt human again. He scrubbed a week of camping away under the surprising pressure the shower head produced. It was pushing out the hot water very well. He thought he just might stay the night. Maybe a night in a real bed would be what he needed. He decided he would make a decision after shopping. At the very least, he could come back around ten thirty in the morning and take another shower. When he stepped out of the shower, he looked in the mirror and noticed a week and a half worth of scruff. He hadn't shaved in a while, but he decided to try a new look. Anyone looking for clean cut Thomas might miss scruffy TJ, especially with a hat and sunglasses on. That would be a helpful disguise in another week and a half when the park closed to campers for the rest of the season. He threw on a white tee shirt with a generic, navy blue, zip-up hoody perfect for an early November day in Oklahoma.

Thomas bought enough groceries to last him another week and a half. He also bought a small cooler to keep a few items in. He paid the cashier and then left the store. He had decided against staying at the hotel and returned to collect his bike. As he was leaving, Ashley blocked the door with a smile and said, "Are you sure you didn't find anything worth staying for?"

He gave her a slight frown and replied, "I'm engaged, Ashley, if I were single this story might have a different ending. I'm sure you'll find someone to take you out tonight. It was very nice to meet you." He tried to leave, but she again blocked the door.

"I don't see your girlfriend, and I'll never tell. How will she ever know?" She batted her eyes and continued to flirt with him.

"Even if I could get away with it, I'm too in love to ever do something like that to her. I hope you find someone that feels the same way someday." He tried to leave again, and this time brushed past her.

"Me, too," she replied in a voice just above a whisper as she let him pass.

"Bye Ashley." He rolled his bike down the three wooden steps. He was about to get on the bike to ride back to his campsite when two men approached him. He tensed wondering if the Ethereals had found him.

"What was that?" The first man yelled in his direction while glaring at him. Thomas was stumped as to who he could be talking to. He looked around as the man approached him. "I said, what was that?" He repeated in his outdoor voice while putting his index finger right into Thomas chest.

"What was what?" Thomas replied, slapping the man's hand away, which drew another angry glare. The man before him stood about six foot. He was fairly built and wore jeans and a red flannel shirt opened enough to see the black tee underneath. His tan cowboy hat covered most of his dark hair and he had angry, cloudy gray eyes. His friend was almost a clone except for the lighter hair and blue flannel.

"You was hittin on my girl, wasn't he, Johnny?"

Johnny nodded in what Thomas imagined was an intimidating manner and replied. "Yup."

"No, I wasn't. I was leaving the inn and I said goodbye."

"Uh huh, that's not what it looked like to me, how bout you, Johnny?"

"Nope!"

"Well, maybe you should get your eyes checked then, she held the door open for me and I passed through it, end of story." He was starting to lose patience with the situation when a yell came from the inn.

"He wasn't doin nothin, Bobby, and even if he was, you gave up your right to be mad about it when you cheated on me. Now we're done! Finished! So don't come over here acting like you own me. Just leave me alone!"

"You shut your mouth Ashley, before I come over there and make ya! And we ain't done 'til I say we're done, got that?" Thomas started to ride away and Johnny stepped in front of him.

"Where you goin? I ain't said you could leave yet," Bobby said, still seething.

"I couldn't care less about what you did or didn't say." He hated the fact that he couldn't teach this punk a lesson, but he couldn't draw attention to himself. He was trying as hard as he could, but Abby had awoken something that lie dormant in him for years. Thomas hadn't noticed them arrive, but by this time there were about a dozen people watching the situation. Now he really had to leave;
small town folk always turn on the outsider, at least according to the movies
. He was torn between his two natures. His cautious nature wanted to cut and run, but his Paladin nature wanted to beat the crap out of the big mouth bully and his mono-syllabic friend. The result was inaction caused by his internal battle. He refused to back down, but he wasn't going to attack either.

"What did you say to me, city boy?" Bobby yelled as he paced in front of Thomas. "You think you can come into my town, hit on my woman and look down on me? You got another thing comin." He took a quick step back towards Thomas after Ashley came out of the inn again.

"Leave him alone, Bobby, he ain't done nothin." She stepped in between Thomas and her angry ex, and Thomas couldn't stop what happened next. "I was hittin on him, Bobby, and he politely turned my down because he's engaged." she was pushing him away from Thomas while she yelled at him. "Because he's a gentleman, unlike you. He didn't do nothin." Bobby stepped forward and hit her hard in the face, knocking her to the ground. She cried out and the people that had gathered around yelled out in anger for him to stop, but no one stepped up to make him. He then looked at Thomas, murder in his eyes and stalked towards him. Johnny was on the other side and Thomas wanted to check on Ashley. He may not have been interested in dating her, but she was a sweet girl and didn't deserve that.

"See what you made me do? Now you're gonna pay."

"The only person you should be blaming is yourself. You'd better turn around and leave while you can still walk." That last comment sent Bobby into a frenzy. He charged Thomas and threw a big overhand right, trying to land a haymaker. Thomas dodged the attack to the right and countered with an uppercut that took him off his feet. Bobby's body kicked up a cloud of dirt as he landed unconscious on the ground.
I didn't even use half my strength
, he thought.
What's happening to me
? Bobby was out cold and Johnny thought better of coming any closer. Just then, the sheriff arrived. He surveyed the situation and asked the grocer what had happened.

"Now I'm in for it,
Thomas thought.
Small town folk always stick together.
He moved to check on Ashley while she continued to lay on the ground sobbing.

The old grocer took his hat off and pointed at Thomas, "That young feller there was just mindin his own business. He was trying to leave the inn, but young Ashley had taken a shine to him. He politely turned her down, when Bobby and Johnny showed up all angry and fixin for a fight. The young feller tried to leave, but Bobby wouldn't have it. Then Ashley came out and Bobby punched her right in the face. His father, God rest his soul, would be so disappointed if he were still alive. Then, Bobby took a swing at the stranger, and the stranger knocked him out with one punch."

The sheriff looked around and asked the crowd of fifteen or so onlookers, "Is that what happened?" They all agreed to the old grocer's story while Thomas was helping a sobbing Ashley up off the ground. "Are you sure, Darnell?" he asked again,

"Yup, that's how it happened."

"I'm so sorry this happened to you, Ashley." Thomas said while helping Ashley to her feet.

"It's not your fault, it's mine. I picked him as a boyfriend even though I knew what kind of person he was." she said in reflection. "I just wish there was some guys as nice as you in this town. Promise me that if things don't work out with your fiancée, you'll come back and take me out to dinner." She looked up with pleading eyes and tear-stained cheeks as the sheriff made his way over to them.

"You have my word," he replied and she smiled.

"You're free to go, mister, I have a dozen witnesses that say you didn't do anything wrong. Ashley, dear, please tell me you're pressing charges this time," he added with a sigh that told Thomas this wasn't the first time a scene like this had played out between her and Bobby. He looked at her while she tried to make the decision she had failed to make so many times before.

She looked at Thomas and he nodded. She nodded back and replied, "Yes I am, Sheriff Tompkins."

"That's a good girl," He replied. Then he took out his notebook and prepared to take her statement.

Thomas rode off and found some satisfaction in the fact that Bobby had not woken up yet.
That was unexpected
, he thought.
I guess the movies were wrong about the small town, or maybe they all just hate that Bobby guy.
He continued to ride toward his camp site and the thoughts kept coming.
Maybe it's all true,
maybe I am one of these Paladin guys. I just wish I knew who I really was, without the spells. Who is the real me? Am I the mailman or am I the action hero?

He slept well that night, and for the first time since he had met her, Abby didn't dominate his dreams. He woke up the next morning and decided he had overstayed his time at Lake Texoma. He packed everything up and brought his extra food, and all his camping gear to the park office. When he walked in, he noticed one older woman was working. The office was spacious and was decorated in natural wood and wood themed statues. A mountain lion stood menacingly in a glass case, stuffed for posterity. There was a big round table in the middle of the room which had the feel of a family gathering table. A white haired woman wearing a sky blue sweater, sat hunched behind a wooden counter with a laminate top and she was knitting. Behind her on another counter was an old computer hooked up to an ancient printer and the phone was a rotary. Thomas marveled and thought;
somehow, updated technology would ruin the feel of this place.

Thomas cleared his throat hoping to get the woman's attention before he began to speak. "I decided to cut out early, don't worry about a refund. I was wondering if you could use any of this stuff, maybe some campers might need it or something. If not, do you have a bin I can throw it in? I can't carry it all on my bike." The old woman working the office smiled at him. He could carry all of it except the chair and the cooler, but he wanted to travel light since he had the wider tires.

"Well, that certainly is sweet of you. You can leave it on the table over there." She pointed a boney finger to the large family table in the middle of the room. "And thank you for what you did for my great niece Ashley yesterday. It's about time someone taught that no good Bobby a lesson. I don't know if you knew, but you shattered his jaw. They had to rebuild it. That bully won't be able to open that big mouth of his for a long time, so thank you for that, too." Thomas decided that he liked this old woman. She continued her thought. "Ashley is a sweetheart, do anything for anyone. No one could understand how she ever got mixed up with that no good Bobby. Thank God, Judge Jenkins passed a restraining order, and he ain't even allowed within a hundred feet of her. He's also fixin to make Bobby spend three months in jail for assault. His lawyer's gonna try to plead down, but Bobby just fights too much so everyone thinks the judge is gonna deny him. Trial will happen within the next couple weeks, but no one thinks it'll go Bobby's way."