Rings of Fire Ch. 08

Lauren was floating through the clouds. More like flying, gliding above it all. The sun was bright, warming her face as the wind gently caressed her cheeks. Spreading an array of soft kisses everywhere it touched.

"Good morning, beautiful," the soft, deep whisper of her ex-husband was enough to pull her from the dream as she sat bolt upright in the bed.

"Shit," she said as she looked out the sliding glass doors that were still just slightly ajar. The sun was so bright that it hurt her eyes and much higher in the sky than she would have thought. Her heart raced at the ramifications of that. "What time is it, Brent?"

Her ex had that 'eat-shit,' little boy grin on his face as he picked up a steaming cup of coffee from the table next to the couch/bed. But not even the peace offering of her first cup of coffee was going to save his sorry, but hot, ass from this one, "I told you that no one could know about this. What were you thinking? What about Megan? Knowing that we spent the night..."

She could not even put words to what they had spent the night doing. It had been monumental, unlike anything they had ever...

After that first time, they had talked, caught up a bit on one another's lives over the past seven years, and laughed. She had forgotten what it felt like to talk and laugh with this man, who had always been her best friend as well as her mentor and lover.

She reached for the cup of coffee, needing something to do with her hands and her eyes. Better to look at the mug of black magic than the visage of the man, who had spent the night worming his way back into her heart and mind. Not that she had ever managed to get him out.

No, Brent Jacobs still held the title of her one and only lover. Well, if a drawer full of toys did not count. But even with those, it was always fantasies of this man that fueled her orgasms, more than batteries and buzzing motors. Damn him, "Damn you, Brent."

He bent forward slowly, and the moment his lips touched hers, her mind cleared once more. He tasted sweet, better even than her morning coffee. She was glad for the hot liquid in the cup. Not spilling it gave her something else to concentrate upon other than the taste and feel of this man's kisses.

Damn, Brent Jacobs. He was not the only man she had ever kissed. She had briefly tried dating, a couple of colleagues from other departments at the university. While she had enjoyed the outings and conversation, she always dreaded the disappointment of this...the kissing. None of them had been this man, which was why it had never gone any further.

He nibbled at her bottom lip then ran his tongue along it before drawing back, "If you would let me speak, Mrs. Jacobs, you would discover that our daughter is eating breakfast right now. I told her that you had gotten up early and were already in the command center."

He motioned towards a tray of food and neatly folded clothes on the table next to him, "I said I had just stopped in for our breakfast. So, eat a bit then as much as it pains me to suggest covering those delicious curves, grab a quick shower, and get dressed. We probably have no more than fifteen minutes before our daughter makes her way there."

She glared at him, "And you wasted precious moments of it..." She rubbed her lips softly against one another. She hoped their child was not as astute as her grandmother would be. She knew that she would hear some comment from the woman about her tender and slightly swollen lips from the hundreds of breath-stealing kisses they had shared last night.

His laughter caressed her mind as she noticed the fine lines about his eyes. It was not fair. Almost thirty years and this man only got better looking each and every one. She shuddered to think what he would look like at seventy. She gripped the mug tighter to keep from reaching up to caress his blond locks that were beginning to lace with white. The thought of a whole head full of that snowy softness should not make her wet and tingly, but it did.

Everything about this man did, always had. From the moment, her sexual appetites had begun to bloom as a young woman until the day she died; she knew that this was the only man she would ever truly want. And no amount of wishing otherwise would help.

"As much as the idea of conserving water by joining you in the shower appeals to me, I think it would take far longer than we have to wash your back," his fingers reached out and tweaked her nipple, an action that elicited an involuntary moan from her.

"But we don't have that kind of time. I bought you a clean t-shirt and underwear. Figured wearing the same thing two days in a row might blow your precious cover with our baby girl. And no, there are no more hickeys on your neck. I heard about that one from Grandmam too," he smiled as he stood.

Lauren bit her lower lip as she tried to keep her mind from the way his jeans hugged his perfect ass. Damn the man for being so sexy on top of a genius. And the most romantic, intense lover that no other man could hold a candle to.

As if to prove his point, he stopped in the doorway with the sunlight dancing off his golden hair. With that smile, he crooned, "I couldn't see the light, I didn't know day from night. I had no reason to care. Well, since you've came along, I can face the dawn cause I know, you'll be there."

His blue eyes glistened in the morning light, and Lauren would have sworn that they clouded with unshed tears for a moment, "Good morning, beautiful, how was your night? Mine was wonderful with you by my side. And when I open my eyes to see your sweet face. It's a good morning, beautiful day."

Damn, did the man have to serenade her with a sweet country tune? One day she would find that fatal flaw in him. The one that would finally extinguish this flame of love. Douse its fires until it was nothing more than a sleeping giant, dormant and harmless.

So, why was that thought not comforting? Why had she not been able to find that flaw in seven years apart? Even his stubborn determination...the alternative therapies for Elise...even this damned wild goose chase...she could not begrudge him even those because she knew that at their core, he did them out of love.

"Get that shower, sweetheart. Don't worry about rushing. I'll make an excuse to Megan that you have run out for fresh air and coffee," he stood there for a long moment just looking at her.

While it made her uncomfortable and self-conscious, it also made her feel beautiful, wanted, and very much loved. Safe, only Brent ever made her feel truly safe. "I love you, Lauren. And nothing will ever change that. You always have been the only woman for me."

His laughter bubbled and rumbled, breaking the morning silence, "So, no catfighting with Monique. For the record, I never have. The woman would rather have you in her bed than me, beautiful. Not that I can blame her from where I am standing. But I never did learn to share my toys, so don't even think it, woman."

Lauren was left confused and shaking her head as he disappeared into the morning sunshine like her golden boy. She hated the way that it left her feeling bereft and alone. She forced herself to eat a few bites of the fresh muffins and finish her coffee before rising to walk naked to shower.

"I'm gonna wash that man right outta my hair." Brent was not the only one who could sing first thing in the morning. Even if she did not believe her own words. And even if her ears almost hurt with her pitiful attempt.

***

Brent was still whistling the tune that had been stuck in his mind since he woke to the feel of her curves pressed tightly against him. His cock had been hard as it nestled in its favorite spot between the soft cushion of her ass cheeks. It was utter and complete perfection. For the first time in over seven years, all was right in his world again.

Until the moment he opened the door to the command center, and all chaos broke loose. People were rushing from computer screen to computer screen. The television was blaring the BBC. It took him a moment for it all to register. He was still trying to process it all when Monique came up to him. "Laki blew too."

"Damn," he exclaimed as he rushed to his office. He ran his fingers through his hair as the thing powered up.

Looking up, he was glad to see that Monique had followed behind him and tarried in the doorway, "We are downloading the latest data from Iceland and feeding it into the model." She shook her head, "But still no luck."

He sighed, "Lauren will be here shortly. She's..."

Monique giggled, "Having trouble walking this morning?"

Brent chuckled, that was his friend, as irreverent as ever even as their worst fears appeared to be unfolding before their eyes. Her friendship and this place had been all that kept him going these past few years.

He frowned as he realized what all of this meant for the woman personally. He pushed a button on the walkie talkie on the corner of his desk. It crackled as it came to life, but Samuel's voice broke the silence, "Yeah, boss?"

"Any news from West Virginia?"

"I'm on my way to your office..."

"Right now," the man towered behind Monique with a broad grin.

Brent chuckled at the comedy duo, "Come in so that we can talk."

But before the door could even close behind them, Megan burst through it, "Is it true, Daddy? Is there another eruption?"

He stood up quickly crossing the room to his oldest daughter, "Yes, princess. But..."

She stared up at him in panic. Brent sighed as he realized that even those closest to him had not truly believed this was coming. Of course, he was confident that Lauren would argue this proved nothing. And to some extent she was right.

Right now, though, he more concerned with soothing their daughter, "Relax, sweetie. We don't have enough information yet. It is still too early to know. This could be something minor. Just another of your old man's wild goose chases."

Megan shook her head, "But what if it isn't, Daddy? All of my friends are back there. What's going to happen to them and their families?"

It was the same question that had been weighing so heavily upon his mind since Katla began to erupt. Even more so now. Where was the line between raising the alarm and inciting anarchy?

One thing was for certain: they could not count on governments, any of them, to make the correct call on that one. Modern history was rife with examples of just how ill-prepared they were to do battle with the all-powerful Mother Nature.

But as he had told Daniel, raising the alarm too soon carried just as many risks. Rushes on stores, riots, even civil war. So, where was the line? And what might be the consequences to those they cared about most?

"Let's see what they have to say on TV while the data downloads. Then we'll have a better idea. Okay, princess?"

She nodded her head slowly, but he saw the fear and worry in those bright green eyes that were so much like her mother's. He knew as he guided her and the others back into the central part of the building that his daughter had lost something precious today — her innocence.

He remembered how that felt...and he had been much older. Much, much older. Was that too the reality of this new world into which he believed mankind was being birthed?

It was not the first time he had watched as childhoods were lost. But perhaps he too had been naïve, had not counted all the costs. He might be able to keep Megan physically safe here, but what about mentally and emotionally? How had he failed to consider those consequences? And now that he had, what was he going to do about it?

He pondered it all as he watched the faces of those closest to him. He saw the shock registering on every single one of them. But he supposed he understand that too. Theories are one thing, but until the worst happened, until you witnessed the absolute power, havoc, and devastation that those nice, neat scientific theories did not fully explain, until then, it just did not seem real. Perhaps it never could?

***

Lauren was still whistling the show tune as she made her way to the command center twenty minutes later. But the music stopped when she saw everyone gathered around the television screens in the middle of the room. At first, she thought it was just more about the eruption of Katla, but she quickly realized that it was another more famous or more accurately infamous volcano that was rumbling to life.

"Laki?" she asked as she approached the group.

Brent nodded his head. Those small lines in his forehead appeared deeper than ever as he spoke, "Laki began erupting a couple of hours ago, and now it looks like the Grímsvötn fissure is coming unzipped."

"Like in 1783, Dad?" Lauren had not noticed Megan off to the side of the group with her friend Sammy and a couple of other teens a bit older than her daughter.

Lauren shook her head, "We can't know that yet, Megan. It is still much too early to predict these things. A previous eruption is not necessarily a predictor of future ones. This could be much shorter and less volatile. It is not even all that surprising. Laki is part of the EVZ, East Volcanic Zone, same as Katla. So, it could easily be localized."

Nothing could prepare Lauren for the eruption that followed her words, "Come on, Mum. Does everything have to fit your neat little scientific formulas? Do you always have to be right? What if just for once something bigger is at work than our limited knowledge can account for?"

Her daughter threw up her hands and shook her head, "I get it, Mum. It is about control. About everything fitting nice and neatly into place. About being able to predict what happens next based upon history. But not everything works that way. Remember I am the child of divorce too? I know how it feels. How you just want everything to make sense again. But guess what? Things don't work like that."

Her daughter was trembling by the time she finished her outburst. Lauren wanted to slink off into the desert alone. To have all her fears and anxieties laid bare before a room full of strangers, by her daughter, was a nightmare. But she also recognized the truth in her child's words and the pain behind them, "I'm sorry, sweetheart," she mumbled.

She wanted to reach for her daughter, take her into her arms, and kiss it all better as she had when Megan was a toddler. But she knew this one was not that easy as her daughter had said. So instead, she turned to her ex-husband, "Do you still want my help, Brent?"

His smile was tight as he nodded his head, "Always, Lauren."

She swallowed all those emotions; she had gotten good at that, after a lifetime of practice. Looking at the man, who had kept his word to taste and explore every inch of her body the night before, well except for him. "Do you have the latest data to feed into your algorithms?"

"It's downloading as we speak," he replied. "I really need your help here, sweetheart. There are people, lots of people that I care about, that are depending on us getting this right. You know as well as I do what happens if we raise the alarm too soon, or too late."

Lauren nodded her head, solemnly. It was the biggest challenge of volcanology. Accurately predicting eruptions so that they could save lives.

She turned to their daughter once more, "Care to bring your old lady some fresh coffee?" She struggled to keep it light.

Megan smiled at her, "What no tea? It must be bad," she teased. "Thanks, Mum," her daughter crossed the short distance to stand in front of her. Megan pressed a kiss to her cheek, "With you and Dad working together, I know it will be alright."

Then she and her friends were gone. And Lauren was left to face her ex-husband and the others. "I'll get you set back up in my office, sweetheart," Brent said as he placed his hand at the small of her back.

Even that light touch sent harmonic tremors coursing through her body. Damn, the man. Why did he have to prove the scientific theory that one small eruption could keep triggering larger ones? And why after their brazen tussle among the tumbleweeds and their night in nirvana was her body still aflame for this man?

It was a question that was more perplexing than Brent's crazy Apocalypse theories ever could be. And perhaps just as unsolvable. So, for now, she would focus on the calculations at hand and leave those mysteries for another time.

***

By the time that Brent had finished setting Lauren up in his office once more, complete with a fresh pot of coffee and more muffins that their daughter had snitched from Jill, Megan had disappeared from the command center.

He knew he had to go after her, have a serious talk with her. The problem was he did not know what to say. How to reassure her. How much to tell her even. Sure, she was bright like he and Lauren had been, beyond her years. But she was still a child.

The truth was this thing was bigger than he was. And if what his gut was telling him was right, if this was it, then he was quickly discovering that even he had not adequately prepared for the very thing he had poured his heart, soul, and money into for seven years.

He began to scour the village for her. He tried her room first, the kitchen, the cabin where Grandmam and Katie were staying. All the obvious places. Of course, everyone here knew everyone else, and there was no real danger, but still, he was worried.

He found Sammy, Jess, and Althea hanging out with Elise at the barn, but no sign of Megan. "Hey, kiddo, do you know where Megan has run off to?" he asked as he put his arm around his cousin's shoulder.

When had Sammy gotten almost as tall as he was? And was that hair on his face? Brent realized that perhaps he had spent so much time working, he had not been living.

"She said she needed some time alone to think. She went off into the desert on one of the ATVs, but she promised to stay close, so she should be fine," Sammy replied. "She asked us to keep an eye on Little Bit. Said she would be back in time for lunch for sure."

Brent sighed as he pondered the best course of action. It was another way that Megan was so much like Lauren. He had learned early on in their relationship that his wife needed to be alone to think sometimes. While he carved the stimulation of brainstorming, bouncing ideas off of other brilliant minds, and talking things through, they were different. So, he had learned first to give Lauren her time alone, then once she had her ideas formulated, only then to engage her.

Perhaps it was best to do the same with Megan? Like Sammy said she should be safe and he could always catch up with her over lunch in a couple of hours. "Thanks, kiddo. I'll catch her then I suppose."

Sammy looked up at him. He was smiling, but Brent could tell it was forced, "Is this it? Is it really happening? Is the world really coming to an end? The Apocalypse and all?"

Once more, Brent was left to answer the unanswerable, "I don't know yet." It was as close to the truth as he could give anyone, but left him feeling powerless and impotent.

Well, except around Lauren, he chuckled at the random thought. But once more sent a silent thanks to Fate that now of all times, she was back in his life. Just when he needed her most. In more ways than one.

He frowned as he said his good-byes to the group of teens. He knew better than to disturb Lauren just yet. The best option was to check in with Daniel and Samuel to see how things were coming with them. He knew that they were more than competent to handle it all and that he was probably a pest. He certainly hated the way his father always micromanaged him. But he just needed to see if there was any more word on Travis or Monique's lost family.

He did not even have to go as far as the bunker to find them this time; they found him in fact, near the small pool of ATVs and other vehicles. "Just the man we were looking for," Samuel smiled. "What's up, Doc?"