Unhiding Secrets ( Reserved for Serenity30822)

[ERedBoyd]

Jensen Brett Johnson leaned on the back dock railing at the one and only feed store in the town of Great Hills Indiana called Drake's Feed and Mill.

Chewing on a reed of straw, he watched as the 17 year old twin brothers Harold and Johnny Franks walked back and forth from the large pile of sacks of swine feed to the back of his oversized superduty Ford pick up dropping 50lb bags of food into it. He said, "How you boys doing at school? Did you pass your driver's test Johnny?"

"Hell no he didn't!" Harold chimed in as he said, "He forgot what gear he was in when Mr. Phelps told him to start and backed right into Lizzy's pop's station wagon! Instant Failure!"

Jensen could only smirk. That minor fender bender had been, in truth, the highly of this little small town's week. The way Mr. Phelps told it to him at the Council meeting last night, apparently Johnny hit the gas way too hard and went in the wrong direction and nearly killed them both. He just said, "Ah... well... you will get it sooner or later. Took me three tries to get mine..."

Johnny and Harold both stopped in mid stride with sacks of feed on their shoulders in shock. They barely knew anything about Mr. Johnson and so for him to reveal such a detail... even a small one such as that was a shock! They glanced at each other with a knowing glance and then headed back to work. Mr. Johnson was something of an enigma in the town. Everyone knew of him, but no one really knew him. He lived out in the country in the middle of about 200 acres that no one dared approach. He drove nice vehicles and lived in a really nice home with a bunch of barns around it. They knew he was on the Town Council, had quiet business dealings in town, and managed to hold on even during the economic recession last year when half a dozen other farmers had gone out of business. Rumor was he even helped some of those farmers out along the way... but no one else knew much about him. There had been some rumors way back in the day of him having strange parties with strange people on his property, but no one from town had ever been invited. There had even been rumors of him raping someone in the past as well, which kept most people at arms length usually. Had it not been for his own money he had, few people ould want to be associated with a man like him.

Jensen said, "Well boys... I got to get inside and pick up some meds for the cows too... and I think Liberty is about ready to have her pups too so ... you remember, I paid for 30 bags of feed... I need all 30 bags now." He kicked off the wall and headed towards the walkway around the mill till he made it to the front entrance.

He had no idea his life was about to change as he stepped into the mill and set his eyes on the counter.... setting his eyes on her.

 

[Serenity30822]

Delphine Rosalind Gauthier may as well have been new in town it had been so long since she'd been there. She had moved back to her mother's house, her childhood home, after a messy divorce.

She kept mostly to herself, preferring the company of her German Shepherd, Lola, to most people. The few friends she did keep called her Del, she didn't care for her full name, and always introduced herself with the nickname. She had come into town to pick up some flea and tick shampoo for Lola, stopping at the only feed store in town, Drake's. It had been there as long as she could remember. She had vivid memory of going there with her mother once when she was very young.

Del scoured the shelves, in awe of how many different options there were for flea and tick shampoo. Finally deciding on the shampoo she wanted for Lola, Del headed to the counter to pay so she could get to the grocery store and back home before it got too late in the day. She adjusted the strap of her black tank top as she waited for the cashier to come, wiping a drip of sweat from her chest as she did. As she passed the bottle of shampoo across the counter, she heard the front door open and turned her head to see who had come in, not that she knew many people.

She offered a polite smile to the stranger and turned her attention back to her purchase, handing over a ten dollar bill to the cashier. While she waited for her change, no more than thirty seconds having passed, Del glanced back toward the door and was surprised to find the man still standing there, looking at her. She wrapped her left arm around her waist, smiled at him again, and spoke.

"Hello, how are you?" She rattled off the typical polite greeting like it was nothing, her voice calm and even, the smile seemingly glued to her face but not quite reaching her eyes.

 

[ERedBoyd]

Jensen blinked twice before he realized she had actually talked to him. He cocked his head a moment, trying to understand the strange language she had spoken to him just now and realized it was still English?! Did he know English? What was this... English?

As she glanced up at him, okay this was getting a bit wierd, he cleared his throat and said, "Oh... I... I am good. My name is Jenson. People around here call me Jensen."

That was stupid.... he just said his own name twice. Get it together old man...

He held out his hand and said, "I ... haven't seen you here in town before. Are you new?"

 

[Serenity30822]

Delphine nearly laughed when he spoke, amused at his little stumble. When he offered his hand she hesitated for a brief moment but placed her right hand in his with a little nod.

"In a way. I was born here, but I've been gone for a while, I just moved back a few months ago." She shook his hand, quickly withdrawing her own afterwards.

She turned to take her change and purchase from the cashier, stuffing the cash into the pocket of her cutoff blue jean shorts and stepping away from the counter toward the door with the intention of leaving.

 

[ERedBoyd]

He smiled at her with his hand still out there after she had let go and he said, "Oh... right... Well... welcome to the neighborhood." He watched as she headed to the door to leave and he added, "I hope to see you around..."

Seeing her nod, she left the store and headed to her car.

"Jensen... we been friends a long time right?" The storekeep said as he walked over to see Jensen staring out the door towards her disappearing car.

"Huh?" He glanced back over to see Roy Franks standing there holding a can of pop in each hand and offered him one.

"She is a looker ain't she." Roy said with a smirk as the car disappeared from sight.

"Who is she?" Jensen asked with a tone that indicated he planned on finding out.

"You know as much as I do. She came in the other day for a new dog bed... lives outside on that Gauthier Farm off FF highway." He said after a moment.

"Wait... Martha Gauthier? That is her daughter?" He said surprisingly.

"That is her. Taking over the farm and trying to bring it back up to speed." Roy said as he sipped on his own drink.

"That place was run down pretty good wasn't it?" Jensen asked as he sipped on his diet soda.

"It definitely needed some work." Roy admitted... he said, "I heard from Carl over at the hardware store she has put in an order for some new cabinets for her kitchen and bathrooms."

"Really?" He said calmly.

"Word is she hired Brett and his brother to do the work." Roy said with a smirk.

Jensen winced and said, "Oh... dear... I guess no one warned her huh?" The boys had a reputation for not completely their work, taking the client money and leaving them high and dry essentially.

"She doesn't know anyone really. Nelly said she comes by the grocery store some, but buys most of her stuff from one of those online stores out of town." Roy said with a smirk.

"You seem to know a lot about our young her lady. You think your wife would approve of knowing so much?" Jensen said while giving him a side long look.

"Maddy don't give too poops about me. If I am not on the Price is Right, she doesn't care." Roy said with a little irritation.

Jensen patted him on the shoulder as the two brothers walked around to the front and said, "All loaded up."

He smiled and pulled out a $10 apiece and handed it to each of the boys saying, "Thank you boys. Roy... see ya at church." He walked past them and headed back to his truck.

 

[Serenity30822]

Delphine left the Drake's and made her way to the hardware store to check on her order for cabinetry and pick up a few things. She made quick work of the stop, loading her purchases into her car, and heading to the grocery store to pick up some milk.

She couldn't help her thoughts turning back to the man she'd met briefly. She found his awkwardness a bit endearing, and though she didn't want to admit it to herself, was excited at the prospect of running into him again.

She made her way back home, taking everything inside and putting most of it away except the hardware store purchases. Her cabinets weren't ready yet but that didn't mean she couldn't be proactive in the meantime.

Delphine put her phone on the speaker dock and turned it on, music blasting out at her almost immediately. She smiled, heading into the kitchen to start working on removing the faded old linoleum flooring.

She kept herself busy most days, trying to make the house into something her mother would've been proud of. The music helped to calm her, drowning out her thoughts while she worked, keeping her focused.

 

[ERedBoyd]

Jensen went about his day doing his best to try and ignore the thoughts of ... a moment of panic as he realized he never even asked her what her name was?!?! How would he find her again if he wanted?

Of course that had been ridiculous. This town had about 500 people in it and anyone who was part of this town shopped at the hardware store, the general store and the grocery store. There were a few other places in town of note like the courthouse/police station/mayor's office all of which was run by Mayor/Police Chief/Judge Brent Jones. How he managed to keep all those hats was beyond him, but then again, last he had recalled, the worst thing that had happened in this town in the last 2 or 3 years was that time that drunkard lost control of his car and slammed into a milk trucking which caused a rupture in the tanks that spewed milk all over the city for hours. Of course it had been summer so after the milk warmed up it made the town smell terrible!

Now he was just trying to avoid what was really on his mind. That woman... she was... magnificant. Her eyes could melt him if she had stared at him much longer. It had been so long since he had felt anything for anyone that it actually kind of angered him that she had penetrated his walls he had so determinedly built up.

After he unloaded the swine feed, he fed the animals once more, let the cows out on the back pasture to graze. As he came back from the back property on his horse Dunbar, he stopped a moment at stared at the one building on his barn that he had left locked up for at least 7 years now... For an instant, he could almost imagine him taking 'Red' which he had taken to calling her since he didn't know her real name into that barn. When was the last time he had been in there? The building included an old feed silo on one side of it, which was empty and barren. A thick rusty old lock hung on the only door into the building preventing access in with the key he kept on his keyring. Even with that red stuck in his thoughts, he was NEVER opening those doors again and going back into the past.

He shook it off those dangerous ideas and turned his steed back towards the closest of the remaining 3 barns that spread across his property. The horse barn was built similarly to the first private barn save the horse pens on the side.

The remaining two barns include his cattle barn and the pig pen barns. The last piece of property was his own home which was all in that traditional red style painting to match up. That had been due to the previous owners though as he far preferred the color blue to red.

For nearly 3 days, he remained on the property doing what he needed to do till it was time to head back into town. He had ordered some 4*4*8 posts that he planned on using to replace the once on his farm house. It was to his delight he spotted that red head's car at the hardware store too! He parked next to her car and got out, heading inside only to hear a faint but irritated conversation happening at the back of the building...

 

[Serenity30822]

Delphine had worked diligently, removing the linoleum from every room of the house it has been in, which if she was being honest was entirely too many of them. Three days had passed and she'd heard no word about her cabinets. Though generally non-confrontational, she was agitated enough that she went into town to find out what was going on at the hardware store.

Heading inside she noticed nobody was there, but a sign on the counter said they were in the back. Pulling her hair into a low ponytail behind her to sort of steady herself she went to the door at the back and called out. "Hello?"

"Miss Gauthier? Is that you? I'm sorry I haven't called you, your cabinets came in a few hours after you stopped in the other days, but them boys you hired to put them in for you aren't answering their phones." The man called out as she made her way further back in search of the man.

"What do you mean they aren't answering? I already paid them to do this job, they need to come get these cabinets!" The tone in her voice was clearly agitated but carefully measured, too used to being reprimanded for any overt display of emotion to really show how she felt.

Delphine came up on the older man, moving some stock around to make space for something it seemed, and she stood there with her hands on her hips.

"I'm sorry miss Gauthier, but they don't work for me, I'd never hire them. Not an ounce of work ethic between them. I wish you'd talked to someone before hiring them, anyone could've told you it was a bad idea." He sort of trailed off, seeming genuine in his regret at her decision.

With a nod, her expression softened and she huffed her next words out, "I wish I had too. Now I've got to find someone else or try to get it done myself."

 

[ERedBoyd]

As soon as Jensen was able to figure out who was at the service counter, he took a couple of deep breaths and began to walk down the corridor to the back of the counter.

Carl Mitchell, the hardware store owner glanced up from the woman and saw who it was and his eyes bulged slightly. Watching Jensen walking through the store made his stomach clench up in knots considering the situation he had found himself in with Jensen and after the big economic crash. Jensen and Carl had been ... not really friends, but acquaintances when the economic crash hit. He had found Jensen once at the bar during that time clearly drunk for whatever reason and had talked a bit about the economy and the crash. Jensen had boasted he could help keep Carl from having to shut his doors and to be honest, Carl hadn't put much stock into it his boasts at the time and then had a few of his own and walked home.

The next day, Harold Peters, who was the branch manager of the bank in town that held his title to the company called him up and told him to come pay him a visit. Carl had thought that this was his notification of eviction considering he had fallen behind a couple of months on the store. However, rather than an eviction, his title was handled to him for the store stating a man who wished to remain anonymous just paid off the remaining balance and all late payments.

Carl had never gotten Jensen to admit to it, but he knew in his core that he had done it. No one else had the money and everyone knew the man had money squirrelled away everywhere. He seemed to be the only one who hadn't been effected by the crash. He had went into a partnership for the diner in town and the sub shop, the gas station, and even helped bring the volunteer fire station and it's one ladder engine back up to par with his mysterious money. For some reason though, he never admitted to any of his monetary investments though they all knew he would one day given his past...

"Jensen, nice to see you. I will be right with you sir." He said calmly and turned towards the young woman and said, "As I stated to you a moment ago, the cabinets are here... the boys are not. The problem is, they paid for half of it up front so I can put the order in and word is, drank the other half away. So their actions have put me in a bit of a bind too. It is their gimmick unfortunately... they target certain people, unbid any other bid that comes up for work, takes the money and runs... putting people out."

"Brett and Brant Owens I take it?" Jensen said not letting his eyes move to her yet. He wasn't sure if he would fumble his words again if he did.

He nodded and said, "Those jerks conned her out of her money and dra..."

"Yeah... I heard." He reached into his back pocket and said, "How much does she owe?"

Carl stammered, "Umm... you... your going to... to pay her bill?"

"I can't rightly let the newest addition to our town get a bad impression due to two miscreants." He said as he pulled out his checkbook and began to fill it out saying, "How much does she owe?"

"Um...'' He hesitated and glanced at the dumbfounded red head and then to the purchase order and said, "$727.35"

 

[Serenity30822]

Delphine saw Jensen coming before the man ever spoke his name, and noted the sudden shift in his demeanor. She took a small step back as the men spoke around her as though she weren't there.

She looked up at Jensen as he spoke, clearly commanding the conversation, and only chose to interject when the subject of her bill came up.

"Hey, no--" she cuts off when they speak over her, heaving out an exasperated sigh. When the man, Carl as she now knew, gave her total, she stepped up, taking a deep breath to steel herself.

"Now just hold on, I don't need charity, I just need my damned cabinets put in!" Her eyes went slightly wide, surprised at herself for putting her foot down like that. Her next words were calmer, more measured.

"What I mean is, I can pay my own bill. I appreciate the gesture, Jensen, but it really isn't necessary." Pause, take a breath, calm down. She was avoiding looking directly at him, picking a spot over his right shoulder. "If you have a recommendation for someone accountable that would put my cabinets in for me, that would be great, but there really is no need for you to try and pay."

 

[ERedBoyd]

Jensen hesitated at her own remarks and then his mind began to process how it must have looked to her and his face paled a bit before he stopped and said, "Umm.. yes... you are right you can pay your own bill... I didn't mean to imply you..."

Ironically though, his hand continued to write the check and tore it off at the seam and slid it over to Carl. The hardware store owner looked down at the check and hesitantly let his eyes shift to the woman and back to it, clearly unsure whether he should take it or not.

After Jensen let the untouched check to, he offered a hand to her and said, "We met at the feed store. I am Jensen by the way...."

He shook her hand and then said, "Listen, I know you are new to town and you were unfortunate enough to fall prey to a pair of our local riff raff. Can't really do anything about them since they are the Sheriff's nephews. You said you are looking for someone to do the work? Allow me to offer my services... I can have them cabinets loaded into my truck and follow you home and help set them up for you."

He wasn't sure if that was any better than the first meeting he had with her but he hoped... His eyes shifted to the untouched check near Carl who kept darting his eyes from it to her and back...

 

[Serenity30822]

Delphine heaved out a sigh as Jensen kept writing then tore the check out and passed it across the counter. She didn't even notice Carl looking to her for an answer, her eyes slightly narrowed at Jensen as he offered his hand again.

She shook it briefly before withdrawing and crossing her arms over her chest in an agitated way.

"I remember you." She glanced at the check then turned her attention back to him. "Fine. I'll let you pay since you've already written the check. And you can help me put them in. But you're going to let me work off the debt. By the look of the feed in your truck when we met before, you've got plenty of work to be done."

It felt odd to be sticking up for herself so much but she didn't falter, determined to see it through. And she wasn't going to pass up the opportunity to see him again. She'd been thinking about him off and on in the days since their first meeting, and that intrigued her. She hadn't wanted anything to do with most people much less another man after her divorce.

She kept her attention on Jensen, her expression and body language very much a 'don't try to argue' look.

 

[ERedBoyd]

Jensen did end up smirking a bit when she posed in that 'Don't try to argue' kind of stance. Did all women go to some kind of special school to learn these kinds of things? When she paired the stance with a very firm look, he finally had to admit there must be some hidden school or secret class women took early to practice these things.

He said, "Well... " His eyes turned towards Carl who looked like a frightened quail caught between a hunter and the hunter dog. Then it occurred to him what she had offered which was to come back to his farm at some point and help him with his place. A mild panic filled him as Carl's eyes shifted up to him. No one ever goes to his farm... not ever, not since his fiasco was finally finished off with Liza and the courts. Any maintenance that he may have needed on his property, he would do himself. He was 100% convinced that one day he would die on his property alone and his body wouldn't be found for weeks. In conclusion, there was no way he could accept her offer to come to his place and help with his farming. In his own mind, with the hell he had been put through in the past, no way he would allow anyone to get near him like before.

He didn't want to come off poorly to this cute lady but she had already hit that first wall in his life. His smile wavered a bit and he was on the verge to pulling the check back and letting her go about her own business when another idea came into mind. Perhaps this might work instead....

He leaned on the counter once more and said, "I will tell you what... let me offer you a counter deal."

When she repositioned herself looking irritated, he raised up a hand and said, "Just... please... hear me out."

She crossed her arms beneath her perky breasts and stared up at him as he said, "Putting these cabinets in will take at least say... 2 days. I will load them into my truck, take them to your property, unload them, help clear out the spaces to install them and then install them myself. If your counters are ready, I will set those up for you as well. In exchange, you cook every meal for me while I am working for you and... you allow me to take you on a date after the work is all done. If your cooking skills are anywhere near to your mothers, I would imagine you could fatten me up easy enough. When your mom worked as the short order over at the diner, people filled the booths ready to taste her cooking. Her meals were legendary."

As she mulled over his counter proposal, he offered his hand once with a more secure smirk that made it clear he was kidding and said, "Not sure if I introduced myself though, I am Jensen. It is customary to provide your name in return in these parts?:"

 

[Serenity30822]

Del's eyes stayed on Jensen as he spoke, a flicker of emotion darting across her face briefly when he talked about her mother. She regretted not coming home sooner, having missed so much time with her before her passing.

Heaving out a sigh, she put her hand in his once again, her stance relaxing. "Del. You never asked before, Jensen." She sighed again. "Fine. It seems I have no choice but to accept your terms. Do you know where the house is?"

She knew how small town living was, how likely it was that he knew all there was to know about her, given the way gossip worked around here. She tried to keep to herself, making herself as small a target for the rumor mill as possible.

She'd heard some things about him though. Rumors of how he'd attained his wealth, mostly revolving around the mafia. Laughable. He didn't give off the stuck up vibe most mob guys did. Rumors of an ex wife, that she'd either left the country with a good chunk of his ill gotten gains, or he'd killed her and hidden her body on the property.

Del tried to ignore everything she heard, preferring to get to know someone over learning about them through strangers and second, third hand information. She turned her head to Carl, noting that he still hasn't touched the check, and wondered why he looked so... Frightened wasn't really the right word but she couldn't figure out what it was.

She reached for the check, lifting it up and holding it out to him. "If you'd be so kind as to settle my bill and point us toward my cabinets?" She said, a hint of exasperation in her voice.

 

[ERedBoyd]

Jensen smiled and said, "Oh yeah, I think everyone in town knows about Martha's Farm."

Seeing the odd look in her eyes, he smiled and said, "Not meaning to disrespect... she always loved heading into the city to go to the state fair. She mentioned once she had taken you a few times and it being her favorite memories... anyways... she decided to hold a local state fair right on her land. Every year on the first weekend in August we would all head to her farm with a town wide pot luck."

Carl smiled as he thought about those memories and said, "Yeah... she always managed to get the boys in town to set up all the pens for the various animal shows. The cooking... beat Christmas and Thanksgiving dinner combined. It was a big deal for us each year." He hesitated as he didn't want to make her feel bad by saying Martha had always wanted her daughter to come home for it...

Jensen glanced over at Carl as Del handed the check to him. He took it and glanced to Jensen who only nodded and then slid it into the register. He tore off the purchase order and handed it to her saying, "Your account is settled and I will keep it open for you if you want."

Jensen turned to head to his truck and when Carl said, "You are here for those posts right? They are out back too."

"Thank you. I will meet you out back." He glanced at Del and said, "If you give me about 10 minutes, we will get them all tied down and ready to go..."

Carl whistled an Ann, Carl's wife, a portly woman in her older years walked out of the back office with a grin saying, "Yes?"

'Hon... I am heading to the back to load those cabinets up..." Carl said and then headed away from the counter.

Jensen looked down at Del and said, "I am curious before I go... did you inherit her cooking skills?"

 

[Serenity30822]

Tears pricked at Delphine's eyes as the men went on about her mother. It felt like they knew her better than she ever could. It hurt, but at the same time their stories helped her, knowing her mother had touched so many lives.

When Carl tore the receipt it snapped her out of her thoughts and she blinked back the tears that threatened to spill over, hoping neither had noticed. "Yes, that would be fine, I'll be needing more things as I work on the house more. Thank you, Carl."

She smiled at him then dug in her pocket for her keys while they talked about Jensen's purchase. The sudden unexpected whistle startled her and she jumped slightly, looking at the woman with a smile as she came into the room.

When Jensen spoke to her again, she turned to face him, a wider, genuine smile tugging at her lips. "You'll just have to find out, won't you."

With that, she turns and heads for the door, tossing a playful glance over her shoulder at him. She would need to go to the grocery store before heading home, to get something to cook for him. She figured if she left now, by the time he got everything loaded, they should end up at her home around the same time.