Afternoon Of A Fawn

Continuing Peg's story...Afternoon of a Fawn.
Ginny — 16 Sep 1998, 2:55 PM

Clare finished her meeting with Sevenita and spent a brief time reviewing the documents that Marshal Tuvok had provided. She made arrangements to come back the next day and headed off to find the best hotel in town. Once there, she checked to see that the chardonnay had been delivered and had a hot bath and tea. Refreshed, she decided that she should pay a call on the folks who would be paying for her representation of Seven. In addition, she had a few questions that she wanted to ask various family members. Clare rented a horse and buggy and started for the Janeway ranch.

Although she took a couple of wrong turns on the way, Clare eventually arrived at the Delta Q. Her stylish maroon travelling suit was dusty, and her ostrich feathers were somewhat bedraggled, but she was too relieved to be getting out of that horrible buggy to worry overmuch about her appearance. As she laid aside the reins, Clare thought, That's it. As soon as I get back to town, I'm hiring a chauffeur.

Clare stood, preparing to step gracefully from the buggy, but her skirt caught on the buggy door. She lost her balance and would have fallen, if strong hands had not caught her around the waist and lowered her to the ground. "My hero," Clare quipped, as she pushed back her hat, which had slipped down to rest on top of her nose, and found herself looking up into the most luminously stunning pair of gray eyes that she had ever seen. The fair skin around those lovely eyes crinkled, and Clare noticed that the eyes were part of a set that included an adorable nose and a sweet, sexy mouth. Clare's educated legal mind, which had briefly gone on hiatus, suddenly kicked back into gear and started sending frantic messages to her. "Breathe." "Close your mouth before you start drooling." "You're a successful, educated lawyer and the product of several generations of well-bred southern womanhood--say something."

Clare took a deep breath, wiped the drool from her chin, and announced, "If you read, deal kindly with animals and children, and chew with your mouth closed, I'll marry you right now." Good God Almighty--had she actually said that?

The handsome young man laughed and spoke in a pleasant tenor. "You have really beautiful brown eyes, so it's a tempting offer, but perhaps you ought to tell me your name first."