No Plans for Love

Chapter 1

You dang near caused an accident! shouted the young man who stepped down from the crimson Chevy Suburban. He stormed to where Sherry stood beside her old brown station wagon.

If you hadn't been tailgating, you would have seen my turn signal, she shot back. I was looking for a white house but it's green now. It wasn't until I saw the name on the mailbox... Sherry wished she could see his eyes hidden behind mirrored sunglasses.

His gaze traveled over her from her brown-crowned head to her worn sandals. His inspection stopped at her knees below her khaki shorts. When he saw the scar on her right knee his inspection stopped. Little Sherry all grown up. Welcome back. He stepped forward and seized her in a bear hug.

She jerked free and slapped him so hard it left her hand stinging and a red mark on his face.

He pulled off his sunglasses. Sherry, it's me, Mark. Mark Blakely. Don't you remember me?

She put her hand to her mouth. I'm sorry. I didn't recognize you. I was only four when my mother took me away from here. She noted a dimple in his right cheek when he grinned.

Are you planning on staying here? There are no utilities.

I know that. I bought water and non-perishable food and all I own is in this car. It will be like camping out. Or camping in.

Just don't build a campfire in the middle of the dining room floor. I'll help you carry your stuff inside. Without waiting her approval, he opened the back door to her car and began pulling out garbage bags filled with her belongings from the folded-down backseat. Go unlock the door to the breezeway.

I only have the front door key. She leaned in the car to take two bags of groceries from the front seat.

One key fits all, he informed her.

She set her groceries down on the concrete doorstep to unlock the door.

He followed her inside. That key fits the kitchen door, too. He deposited the bags on the red and white tile of the breezeway floor and went back to the car for more. She took her groceries to the kitchen set them on the counter.

He returned with more of her things and put the load down on the floor. By the way, there's no furniture either. Your Uncle Roy sold everything that wasn't nailed down.

That is what he was supposed to do according to Gram's will, Sherry informed him. He and Mom got the money; I got the house. That suits me just fine.

It took several more trips to carry in the rest of her belongings. They heaped them along the wall on the garage side of the breezeway.

Thank you for helping me unload.

If you need anything, just give a holler. Let me put your cell number in my phone.

I don't have one yet. I'm new at this house of my own business. I need to know how I go about getting my utilities hooked up?

The phone company and gas company are open until noon tomorrow. For the electricity you'll need to wait until Monday unless you have a power outage.

I do. She flipped a nearby light switch. See. No juice.

That brought a chuckle from him. If you have something to write on, I'll give you directions to the gas and phone companies.

Sherry dug in a box of books to come up with a tablet and pen. His hand touched hers as he took them sending sparks along her nerves. He went to the kitchen where he laid the tablet on the white marbled Formica counter to print the directions in neat block letters. Mom is manager at the bank. If you need to open any accounts, she's working tomorrow.

Thank you, She was still reacting to his touch. This handsome man could not possibly be the skinny kid she used to know, the boy who would keep an eye on her and his younger sister.

I'll be back in a little while with some water. He went out to his truck and left.

After she put her groceries in the pantry just inside the kitchen door, Sherry decided to explore her new home. More than the color of the house had changed. There was a roof over the patio and a back porch that ran along the side of the breezeway which used to be the deck. It looked cool and inviting if only she had some outdoor furniture. If only she had any furniture.

She went through the breezeway and opened the door to find the garage empty except for a built-in workbench on the far side. She glanced up at the garage-door openers. They wouldn't work without electricity.

Stepping out on the back porch, she walked to the south end and leaned on the wrought iron railing. Down the slope a line of trees marked the course of the creek. The last time she'd been to that creek she had gotten in trouble with her mother.

When she was four years old, she, Mark and Lisa went down to the swimming hole and Mark had taught the girls to swim. Her mother had been furious. A few days later her mother packed up her car and took Sherry away. She had felt that it was her mother's way of punishing her for doing something bad.

She was making up her bed on the dining room floor when the sound of a vehicle in the driveway drew her to the window. An old gray Chevy truck backed up to the doorstep. Mark got out to let down the tailgate and lifted a milk can from the back of the truck as if it weighed nothing. She rushed to open the door for him.

Cool water fresh from the well. He set the can down. I'll go get that other can. When he set the second milk can down, his cell phone rang. He took it out of the belt clip and opened it. My fiancee. I better take this call.

Sherry watched him get into the old pickup and leave. So Mark was engaged. She thought about the boy she had known as a child. She had worshiped the ground he walked on. He was her big brother.

One day when she and Lisa were playing in the sandbox out back she had told her best friend that she wished she had a big brother to look after her. Lisa was sympathetic, saying, Well, I can let you use mine. From that day on Sherry had treated Mark like her big brother.

While Lisa was willing to share her big brother, she was not quite so willing to share her father. In her childish way, Lisa had told her to go find her own. Sherry had no idea who her father was. All her mother had told her was that her father had been married and that she hadn't known until she was already pregnant. Sherry had grown up without a father.

Opening the milk cans was bit of a challenge. She tried pulling the lid off of first one can, then the other. Neither budged even a little bit. She needed a hammer. Then an idea came to her. She ran outside and came back with the jack handle/lug wrench from her car. A few whacks brought the lid off. But that wasn't the end of her problems. She had nothing with which to dip out the water and the full cans were too heavy for her to tilt and pour it out.

While she was mulling over the problem, she went to the kitchen, took a can of spaghetti from the pantry and opened it. Sitting on the floor she scooped the food from the can with the only spoon she had. When the can was empty she sat looking at it. After she removed the label and washed it, she had her dipper. She used it to dip water into her bucket to flush the toilet. As far as drinking water, she would use the water she bought first.

She knew she had to prepare for the darkness that would soon envelop the house. She had the scented candles she'd brought with her from her old home. She dug them out of her pile of belongings and set them on the counter beside the box of matches.

Lacking electricity to play her CD's, she went to her things and got her guitar. She loved that guitar; her grandparents had given it to her for Christmas when she was thirteen. The 1938 Martin was worth a lot of money; it had belonged to a great-uncle she never knew. He had been killed in Korea long before Sherry was born. He had played that guitar in a country music band, and when he died, he left it to his brother who was Sherry's grandfather. He gave it to Sherry when he learned that Sherry's best friend, Dawn Holmes, was taking guitar lessons. Sherry wanted to learn to play, too. Dawn took lessons and she taught Sherry.

Like many teenagers Sherry and Dawn dreamed of making it big. They competed in a few talents shows and even won once. As they grew older their dreams turned to college and what they would accomplish in life. Dawn got grants and student loans and was accepted at Princeton. Sherry was still waiting to fulfill her dreams. Her short term goal was simply to survive and to improve herself every day.

She got her bag of potato chips and a bottle of tea and took them out to the back porch where she sat at the top of the concrete steps to play her music and munch her chips. She was content with how things had gone that day. She had finally cut the ties that bound her to an impulsive, irresponsible mother.

The roles of mother and daughter were somewhat reversed with Sherry and her mom. Her mother was totally irresponsible where money was concerned. Ever since she was twelve, Sherry paid the bills and bought the groceries. Her mother would deposit her paycheck in the bank and Sherry would write out the checks for her mother to sign. When they went grocery shopping, Sherry had to be constantly alert that her mother didn't sneak something they couldn't afford or didn't need into the cart. Alison Winnette had been completely dependent on her, but Sherry'd had enough of it.

Her mother's boyfriend had walked into her bedroom stark naked and crept into her bed. She rolled out the other side and threatened, If you don't get out right now, I'll teach you a little karate.

He laughed at her but when she took a step forward, he scooted his bare ass out the door. Sherry had gone immediately and bought a bolt for her door. When she was in her room, even if she was fully dressed, the door was bolted.

But Sherry had to get out of Newark. Her life depended on it. So, it was a Godsend when she received the letter from Gram's lawyer telling her that she had inherited the house. After her mom went to work one morning, Sherry packed everything she owned into her station wagon and headed west on Interstate 80. Mifflin County, here I come, she said as she started on her journey.

Now she was there and could start her life over in the home she had known as a little child. It would be difficult until she got her utilities, some furniture and a job, but she resolved to continue her plans to get a job to save the money for college. She had vowed at an early age that she wasn't going to be like her mother.

Chapter 2

Sherry went to work for the Blakelys helping with the milking. Jan Blakely, Mark's step-mother, offered to give her food produced on the farm and the old table and chairs that had sat on the Blakely's front porch and now sat in her kitchen. Her kitchen. She liked the sound of that.

She learned that the Blakely's were friendly people. Frank did most of the farming when Mark wasn't home to help. Jan worked at the bank and Mark was an Ag-Tech teacher at the high school. He had a degree in agricultural engineering but could find no work close to home. I'm not ready to give up on the family farm yet, he told Sherry.

When he brought her home after supper the night before, Frank Blakely invited Sherry to church with them Sunday morning.

She took a sponge bath in the room temperature water and dressed in her black skirt with pink roses and a pink knit top with a V-neckline. It was her favorite outfit for good. She slipped her feet in her black sling-back flats. Around her neck was the thin white gold necklace with a tiny starburst necklace set with diamond. Sherry's best friend Dawn Holmes' parents gave Dawn and Sherry matching necklaces for graduation gifts.

When Jan's black SUV pulled in the driveway, she went out. Frank Blakely got out of the driver's seat to open the back door for her. Mark grinned at her from the other side of the back seat.

Pretty in pink today, he commented as she buckled up.

Pink is my favorite color, she replied.

It suits you, he complimented.

Being next to him and smelling his aftershave made her feel self-conscious. She reminded herself he was spoken for and she should forget any romantic notions. Besides, her plans did not include romance. She was going to college. She had been saving since she was fifteen. All she needed now was a job so she could continue with those plans.

As if she read Sherry's mind Jan asked, What type of work are you looking for?

Right now, anything. I can't afford to be too choosy.

There's a help wanted sign in the dollar store window, Frank said.

I know. I have an application filled out. I just need to take it in.

Jan said you might want to go along down to Lewistown tomorrow to get your driver's license changed to Pennsylvania. You can drop it off then.

Thank you. I shall do that.

Frank pulled in the parking lot behind the church, found a space and switched off the engine. Sherry was already standing beside the car by the time Frank unbuckled his seat belt and got out. Across the lot a tall shapely woman in a cherry red suit trimmed in black came toward them with a smile on her face. Here comes trouble, Frank said softly.

Hello, Mr. Blakely, she said in a throaty voice.

Frank's introduction was simple. Sherry Winnette, Elena Bayshore.

Sherry held out her hand. Elena ignored it, informing Sherry, I'm Mark's fiancee.

Mark and Jan came around the car. Elena barely acknowledged Jan. Hello, darling, she said to Mark.

He leaned to kiss her, but from where Sherry stood she could tell their lips never actually met. Now what kind of a kiss was that? Elena pouted.

I don't want to wear your lipstick to church. Elena slipped her hand around his arm and they went off around the church.

I guess we've been properly snubbed, Jan said as she took Frank's arm. He offered Sherry his other arm. As they reached the walkway that led to the front of the church, they met an elderly couple.

You must be quite the man with a pretty lady on each arm, the man remarked.

Frank introduced them. Sherry, I want you to meet Mark's grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. Donald White. Sherry is Violet Winnette's granddaughter.

The woman held out her hand. Your grandmother was a dear friend of mine. I am glad you have come to live here.

They allowed the older couple to precede them. Frank stopped to talk to another farmer about the weather and the price of milk. Sherry and Jan went on into the church where they sat in the same row as the White's. They are Mark's grandparents from Frank's first marriage, Jan explained. Julie was killed in an accident caused by a drunk driver. I'm the same age as your mother.

Sherry became more relaxed once the service began. She knew the hymns and sang along joyously. As she listened to the pastor's message she was glad she had come When they passed the offering plate, she dropped in a five dollar bill. After the final hymn, they filed out.

Mark and Elena were waiting for them at the car. I hope you don't mind if I invite myself to dinner, Elena said.

If you don't mind tuna sandwiches and salad, Jan rejoined in a voice that plainly said she was not pleased. Sherry sensed an undertow of animosity.

Frank held the door for Sherry and she was already seated by the time Mark opened the door for Elena who sat in the middle of the back seat with Mark next to the door. Elena seemed to have trouble with the seat belt. In an effort to be genial, Sherry quickly snapped the belt for her.

Elena's voice could have frozen water. Thank you, Miss Win-it.

Sherry wasn't intimidated by her put down. It's pronounced Win-net, Miss Baysore.

Frank almost swallowed his chewing gum. Jan shot him a look that said, Don't you dare laugh out loud.

After they were out on the street headed east, Elena asked, So Miss Winnette, what do your parents do?

My mother is a hostess for an upscale restaurant, Sherry said.

Oh, then if I go out to eat, I might meet your mother. She let Sherry know that she had enough money to eat in the poshest places.

Only if you go to Newark, Sherry shot back.

When Frank stopped at a stop sign, he took longer than usual look to the left. By the time he looked to the right, he had wiped the grin from his face.

They lapsed into silence for a few minutes, but Elena wasn't going to allow a little snip like Sherry to have the last word. And what does your father do?

I don't know, Sherry said truthfully. I do not know my father.

Oh, in other words, you are an illegitimate little bastard.

Elena, that was unkind, Mark protested.

Sherry let Elena know she was up to answering her catty remark. Meow. Do you hiss, scratch and bite, too?

Frank's hoot of laughter became, Whoa! as he jammed on the brakes when a doe with two half-grown fawns ran across the road.

They rode in silence for a while until Jan asked, Do you want to come to dinner, too, Sherry?

No. I have my own tuna but thanks for the offer. I didn't sleep well after that storm went through last night. She wasn't about to admit that her lack of sleep was because of the discomfort of sleeping on the floor. I plan to rest up this afternoon. After all, it's Sunday.

We'll see you at milking time, Frank said as she got out of the car.

I'll be there. She waved to Jan and went to the breezeway door. By the time she had the key in the lock, Frank had already backed out on the road and was headed for home. After changing to her favorite hot pink tee shirt and denim shorts, she looked through her pantry to find something for lunch. Selecting a can of ravioli, she scooped the contents into the white dish she had bought at the dollar store the day before.

After she ate, she went out the back door and walked around the yard in her bare feet. This grass needs mowed, she mused. She would talk to Frank about it tomorrow. The flower beds were woefully untended. Even so, the chrysanthemums were in bud. Among the flowers she found a perfectly egg-shaped rock that had remnants of paint on it. She carried it to the porch and laid it beside the door. Later she would wash it and paint it like an Easter egg to add a little color to her new home.

She went back inside to take the mystery she was reading out of her pile of belongings and lay down on her blankets to read. When she tired of the hard floor, she got her bag of potato chips and went out to the front porch where she perched at the top of the steps.

Mark drove by in his Suburban and tooted the horn. Sherry waved. Elena waved, too, but Sherry didn't miss her middle finger sticking up. You, too, Sherry said. She closed her potato chip bag and went back inside where she lay down for a nap.

It was almost four o'clock when she woke up hungry. A peanut butter and strawberry jam sandwich and powdered milk mixed with water in an empty juice bottle was sufficient to hold her until suppertime.

At a quarter to five she walked over to the farm where she found Frank and Jan already preparing to do the milking. She joined in the work.

They were half finished when Mark walked in the barn still dressed in his white shirt, gray trousers and shiny black shoes. He went up to Sherry, put his hands on her shoulders and leaned to kiss her. Her reaction was swift. She slapped his face.

Ow! That hurt.

She stepped back out of his reach. That'll teach you to mess with a street-smart kid from Newark.

Mark cracked up. Because of his laughter, he stuttered, Do...do you hiss, scratch and bite, too?

You better believe it. With a couple karate chops and kicks thrown in for good measure.

Karate? You? I'll bet you don't weigh a hundred pounds.

One hundred and six, she told him. Where I lived a girl needed to know how to protect herself. The only time I needed to use it was on a man about your size. When I left him, he was on his knees moaning with his hands over a particularly vulnerable part of the male anatomy.

Mark, why did you do that? Jan asked.

He shrugged. If I'm gonna have the name, I'm gonna have the game. Elena broke up with me because I paid too much attention to Sherry.

Go change your clothes and help with the milking so I can make supper.

After Mark went to the house, Frank came through the milking parlor. He smacked Jan on the behind as he passed. If you women worked as much as you talk, we'd get done quicker.

Watch where you put your hands, Mr. Blakely, Jan said.

He turned and grinned at her. My hands have been in much more intimate places than your ass, Mrs. Blakely. Mark's home. Go make supper. That tuna sandwich and salad you gave me for dinner wasn't enough.

Sherry put a little extra effort into her work, hoping they wouldn't see how she was blushing. Their sexual banter made her feel uncomfortable though they were husband and wife. When Mark came to the barn dressed in a tee shirt and jeans, she kept her distance from him. He was no longer off limits and she wasn't sure how that made her feel.

It was already dark when Frank took her home after a supper of chili and cornbread. When she had the door unlocked, she waved to thank him. Inside all was dark but she knew where her flashlight was.

Sitting on her pillow by candlelight, she played her guitar and munched potato chips until the bag was empty. She could pick up another bag when she took her application in to the dollar store the next day. Potato chips were her comfort food. She went to bed early because she knew that Frank or Mark would be calling to wake her up in the morning.

Despite the discomfort of the hard floor, she went to sleep quickly. She was awakened so suddenly that she sat right up in bed, her heart pounding. She grabbed her flashlight and looked at her watch. It was nearly one thirty. She sat there listening until she heard it again. Someone was trying to get in the door in the den.

She got up unsure of what to do. Then she heard the scrape of a footstep on the brick patio. Pointing her flashlight at the floor, she went to look out the kitchen window. Someone was out there with a small flashlight and he went straight to the back door to the breezeway but she had locked the storm door. He shone his light around until he saw the egg-shaped stone.

She grabbed the phone and dialed the Blakely's number. It took three rings before Jan's sleepy voice answered.

This is Sherry. Someone's trying to break in. He just smashed the window in the storm door to the breezeway. Her voice became panicky. He's inside. He must have a key.

Go hide in the bathroom and lock the door, Jan ordered. I'll wake Frank and Mark and call the cops. Jan shook her husband by his shoulder. Frank! Frank, wake up!.

Leave me alone, he mumbled.

Frank! Sherry just called. She said someone is trying to break in.

That brought him out of bed in a hurry. Wake Mark. Tell him to move it. Then call the cops. He headed for the door no more than he had his pants and sneakers on.

Jan ran back the hall to her stepson's bedroom to pound on his door. He answered immediately. I'm up. I heard you trying to wake Dad.

I've got to go call the cops.

He came out of his room pulling on a dark blue tee shirt. Call Sherry back. Maybe the phone ringing will scare the intruder away.

He ran down the steps and out the front door. Frank already had the truck turned around. He leaned over to open the passenger-side door. If you're coming with me, move it. He had the truck going out the lane before Mark had the door shut.

As he pulled into Sherry's driveway, the headlights reflected from the breezeway windows, but they could see the light of the flashlight the intruder carried as he came out the kitchen door.

Mark was out of the truck before it was stopped and ran full tilt around the house. A dark figure ran across the patio. Hold it right there! Mark shouted.

The flashlight went out and the man took off across the backyard and between the garden fences to the fields beyond. Mark raced after him. Mark always thought he could run fast but he was no match for the fleeing figure.

The sliver of a crescent moon and the stars gave little light. Once the dark figure was in the shadow of the trees along the creek, Mark couldn't see him anymore. On the far side of the creek he could make out a white or light colored car parked on a field road. But he couldn't see the intruder. He looked around straining his eyes in the meager light. He heard a soft footfall behind him and started to turn around.

Something hit the side of his head and a million stars exploded in his brain as he fell and the world faded away to oblivion.

Chapter 3

Sherry, it's Frank.

She opened the door and peered out. Did you see him?

No. Mark must have. I heard him holler out back.

I heard him, too. What could anyone possibly want? I haven't got that much. I put my money in the bank.

As they stood on the front porch waiting for the police, Frank shifted uneasily, looking toward the corner of the house. Mark must've chased that guy to kingdom come. He should be back by now. If he isn't here soon, I'm going looking for him.

His worriment planted a seed of worry in Sherry's brain. At last they saw the flashing lights of a state police car.

Here comes the cavalry, Frank said.

The car pulled in the driveway and stopped behind Frank's truck. The trooper shone his flashlight on the pair on the porch. Hello, Frank. Who's with you?

Chad. I'm glad it's you. You remember Sherry Winnette?

Of course. Chad crossed the lawn and held out his hand to Sherry. I'm Chad Wertman. Do you remember me?

No.

Frank interrupted. Mark ran after the guy and he's been gone a good long while. Something must have happened to him.

Chad shone his light over the tall grass in the yard. I can see his trail. I'll go try to find him.

Chad went off around the house following the trail in the dew-wet grass between the gardens and on between the soybean field on the left and the recently cut hay field on the right. He flashed his light from side to side to look over the fields as well as the path ahead. As he got to the trees along the creek, he shone his light around until he saw Mark lying there with blood on his face. He approached and squatted down to feel for Mark's carotid pulse. It was strong and steady. Chad let out a breath he didn't realize he was holding. He rolled Mark onto his back.

Mark. He patted his face. Mark.

Mark opened his eyes. Chad?

Chad reached out a hand to help him sit up. Do you think you can stand up and walk? I'd hate to have to carry you.

I'll manage. Chad assisted