Chapter 5
Lee
On Sunday I got a call from Farrah. I hadn’t recognized the number, but answered anyway.
“I phoned around a little to get your number, I hope you don’t mind,” she said, her voice smooth and sultry on the other side of the line.
“Of course not,” I said.
“I was hoping I could ask you for help. Frankie at the Tourism Board wants a couple of photos of you in your uniform to add to the collection of photos I already took of the town.”
My heart sank a little. I had hoped she was calling because she wanted to see me again. She wanted to see me, but it wasn’t for the reason I had hoped. I couldn’t refuse her though. If I wanted to see her again I would take my opportunity any way I could get it. After her call, I went into my room and changed into my ranger uniform. It wasn’t surprising that Frankie wanted photos of me in my uniform. The old woman was like a grandmother to the town and she had commented on my uniform and how dashing I looked in it since the moment I had taken the Ranger job. That was more than ten years ago, now.
How time flew.
After getting changed I drove my truck down to town and waited for Farrah on the porch outside the office. Five minutes later, her neat little car pulled up and she climbed out. On Friday night she had walked everywhere. I had loved that about her.
When she walked toward me, she took my breath away. She looked like a ray of sunshine in a bright yellow summer dress that looked spectacular on her. The contrast of the bright yellow was beautiful against her dark hair and pale skin, and it made her eyes look like the color of fall skies. She had her camera bag slung over her shoulder and offered me a shy smile.
“Thank you so much for doing this for me on your off day,” she said. “I can’t imagine it was fun climbing into your uniform for this. It was all Frankie’s idea, and she seems like someone who typically gets what she wants.”
She was apologizing and I found it endearing. I didn’t mind doing this for her if it meant I could spend a bit of time with her. I had remembered her as an amazing woman. Now that I was with her I couldn’t stop staring. Again.
“I don’t mind,” I said. “I know what Frankie can be like, and I don’t mind helping out.”
She smiled and nodded, putting her bag down on the porch. She kneeled and started unpacking her gear. Putting a large lens on her camera, she aimed it at me, clicking a practice shot. When she checked the screen on her camera, she nodded.
“This is great,” she said.
She directed me, telling me where to stand and how to pose. She played with light and with position, with views of the mountain behind me and dapples of the sun shining through the leaves onto my uniform. She had a unique eye. Every time she took a couple of photos she showed me.
“You’re really good at this,” I said, when she showed me another batch.
She smiled and I could have sworn I caught her blushing.
“It’s my job,” she said.
I shook my head. “No, really. You have a natural eye. I mean it. Frankie did the right thing, hiring you for the job.”
She blushed again and this time it was clear. Her cheeks flushed and she looked down, smiling.
“What’s next?” I asked. I wanted more photos. I wanted to see her in action, more. When she was taking photos it was like she forgot about what she looked like to the world and I saw a side of her that I didn’t think most people saw. I didn’t know her at all but it seemed like she had a big burden to bear. But when I saw her like this it was like she put it all aside for a while and soared.
We wrapped up and I watched her slowly pull back into her shell again, the timid version of Farrah returning. She was still beautiful but that magnetic quality retreated until I wondered when I would see it again. I wanted to see more of her.
She showed me the last photos and explained to me what she was doing. I found it hard to focus on the pictures. I watched her face, her eyes that lit up when she explained why she had done something a certain way. Her mouth was mesmerizing when she spoke and it made me want to kiss her. I remembered the kiss, early Saturday morning. The stolen moment had been perfect.
I wanted to see if I could get her to come out of her shell like that again. To be bold again. That was what she was trying to do and I wanted to help her. Not only because I thought she was drop-dead gorgeous, but because I wanted to do that for her as a person. She deserved to be bold and beautiful, and to make her mark in the world. I wanted to be able to draw her out the way her photography did. I had seen a little bit of that on Saturday night, and I wanted to see more.
“Thank you for taking the time to do this with me,” Farrah said.
I nodded. “Anytime.” And I meant it. “Do you always put in this many hours?”
Farrah shook her head. “I charge per image usually, and I allocate time to taking a certain quantity. Frankie is paying me extra for this, but I put in more time because I’m enjoying it.”
She glanced up at me and blushed again, and I grinned. When she said she was enjoying it, she meant her time with me. Not just her time taking photos. It only drew me to her even more. I wanted to see if she would be bold with me again. I wanted to see if she would step out of the bubble she had created for herself and if she would test the waters.
When we had been on the bench together in the middle of the night, it was almost like the witching hour. Reality had receded and anything we did in those moments, no matter what it was, would have been a fantasy.
Now, we were out in broad daylight and I wanted to find the same magic.
“Why don’t you come inside and sit down for a bit?” I offered, gesturing to my office. We had been working outside with no breaks or even water.
Farrah hesitated a moment and I wondered what was on her mind. She nodded and offered me a small smile. I unlocked the office and invited her inside.
My office wasn’t very big or very cozy, but it was my space. I had been working in it for a decade and over the years had accumulated enough decorations—rare for me—to scream it was my space. The plant in the corner was a fake because I couldn’t seem to keep one alive. I could save an entire forest but couldn’t stop a fern from dying.
I had photos on the walls of Hank, Hannah and Dustin, and some of the other folks around town who had added to my life. I had a mini fridge that contained everything from yesterday’s leftover breakfast sandwich to a cold beer, and I had a change of clothes in case something went wrong.
“Water?” I offered, when she stepped into my office and looked around.
“Please,” she said, and stood awkwardly next to my desk. She sat her camera bag on the table. I was relaxed and felt comfortable bringing her into my space. She looked uncomfortable, out of place somehow, and seemed like she knew it, too. I wondered what had her so unsure of herself all of the sudden. There were moments when she opened up and her confidence was magnificent. She was graceful and elegant and the spark that shone through when she focused on her work was beautiful. But then there were times where she was closed off and awkward, unsure of herself, and looking almost apologetic for being here at all. I couldn’t figure her out. It almost made me want to ask her to take a few photos in here, just to get her to relax again.
But I wanted her to crawl out of her shell without her camera. I wanted to see a part of her that came to the forefront because of me. It seemed selfish that I wanted to be the reason she lit up, but there it was.
I grabbed a bottle of water out of the fridge and walked toward her. She had turned around to look at the photos on my wall. I walked up to her, stepping closer than I should have been. When she spun around, she bumped into me and I dropped the water bottle.
“I’m sorry,” she apologized.
I shook my head and bent to pick it up.
Farrah was flustered. When I straightened out she was mumbling something I couldn’t catch. I wanted to tell her to calm down. Accidents happened and it was no big deal.
She didn’t give me a chance. She stepped forward, clumsily pushing her body against mine and kissed me.
I was caught completely off guard and froze for a moment. Her eyes were wide as if she couldn’t believe what she had done. I put my hand on her hip, touching her gently in an attempt not to scare her. I kissed her back and her eyes fluttered shut. I lifted my other hand to the back of her head and balanced her between my lips and my hands. The kiss was careful but heat rushed through my body. Farrah was something else. I didn’t know what to expect with her and it was just a thrill to be with her. She was so shy, yet both times we had kissed, Farrah had instigated it. It made me want to see what else she had in mind.
We broke the kiss and I looked at her. She was only a little shorter than I was and when I stared into her blue eyes in the light of day, I realized there was a little green in them as well. For a moment, she’d had no reserves.
She was beautiful.
She cleared her throat and the moment was gone. She stepped away from me, looking down.
“I have to go,” she said and turned around, marching out of my office.