#Deputy Leah Rook | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

hunnybadgerv · 4 years ago

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First Steps on a New Path | Far Cry 5 | Leah Rook

Summary: Leah’s mother finally agrees to her entreaties about rejoining the world after her father’s death. But the traditional Mother’s Day Brunch hosted by the local Women’s Club does not go the way Leah planned.

a/n: Forgive me for I am an idiot. This kind of went off on its own tangent, and I let it go.

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First Steps on a New Path

Leah hurried up the front steps, her heels echoing off the wood porch. She pulled open the screen door and hurried into her childhood home, hoping that she wouldn’t have to spend half the brunch escorting her mother through a shower and into suitable clothing. Since Leah’s father died in January, her mother had been in rough shape. She drove the three hours home the night before to make sure that her Ruthie Rook would not spend Mother’s Day alone. None of her brothers had been able to make the trip, so there was no way she could have missed this even if she’d spent the previous day running obstacle courses until her limbs felt like they might fall off.

Pushing open the front door, Leah froze. To say it surprised her to see her mother ready and waiting for her was an understatement. But her mother looked … well, like her old self. The pale dress bore a deep pink floral print and hit below her knees; she was also actually wearing sandals with a heel.

“Well, don’t just stand there lettin’ the bugs in,” Ruthie Rook said with a smile as she looked at her daughter.

“Sorry, Mama.” She kicked the door closed behind her and rushed across the living room and into the kitchen where her mother deposited her coffee cup in the sink. Leah took her mother by the shoulders and stared at her. She didn’t dare touch her hair, which was styled to perfection. “Are you wearing lipstick?” Leah whispered before she could stop the thought from rushing past her lips.

Ruthie pshawed and tapped her daughter on the hip. She turned right out of her daughter’s grip. “Look at you, being so silly.”

“I didn’t mean it like that, I swear. I just,” Leah said, slipping her hand into her mother’s and giving it a squeeze. “You look beautiful, Mama.”

“Thank you, dear. So do you,” she replied pinching her daughter’s chin.

Leah just laughed and wrapped her free arm around her mom. It had been so long since she’d seen her like this. Tears prickled at her green eyes at the feel of her mother’s arm wrapping around her, too.

“Come on now. We’re going to be late and you know how Louise likes to run a tight ship.” Ruthie gave Leah another tight squeeze then let go, though not of her daughter’s hand. She grabbed her purse off the table on the way out.

Leah waited on the stairs while her mother locked the door, then she offered the older woman her hand to help her down the steps safely.

“I love the color of that suit, Leah.”

“Thank you,” she replied, closing her mother’s car door. The suit had been an impulse buy, mainly because of the color—the salmon ensemble was anything but typical, even for Leah. Since entering law school, she’d leaned toward more somber shades. It seemed to be the expectation, and she didn’t want to rock the boat, yet.

“It’s so vibrant. I’m sure you’ll draw lots of attention.”

Leah winced when she started the car. “That wasn’t the intention, Mama.” She was pulling out of the long driveway when she mumbled an added, “I just thought it was pretty.”

“And that’s all that matters, dear,” Ruthie told her, reaching over to pat her daughter on the leg. Before sitting back, her mother switched the radio on.

Relief settled over Leah with the sound of the music. Her mother twisted the knob until she found the station she was looking for. The music’s harmony soothed, but once she listened to the lyrics, Leah realized it was a religious channel. Some of the hymns she recognized from church, but others seemed a little odd. She couldn’t place them but said nothing to her mother about it since she was humming along and singing softly under her breath.

Leah could only be pleased with the change in her mother. It was a far cry from the depression of the late winter and early spring. She shook those memories away before they could take root and darken the brightness that started the day.

Like every year since Leah could remember, the Hope County Women’s Club hosted the Mother’s Day Brunch at King’s Hot Springs Hotel. The big ballroom was about the only place in the county that was big enough to host the gathering.

“Would you like me to drop you off up front?” Leah offered as they pulled to the side of the road to inch into the parking lot with several other vehicles.

“Oh no. I’d rather walk in with you,” Ruthie told her, wearing a wide smile.

Leah could do nothing more than return it with visible joy. “Okay, Mama.” She couldn’t have hid her pleasure if she’d wanted to. In fact, she was in a bit of a hurry to find a good spot in hopes that they wouldn’t be forced to trudge through the mud.

Men and women dressed in all white directed the traffic expertly, but Leah paid them little notice. She figured the Women’s Club finally realized how popular this event had gotten throughout the entire region and hired extra help. This function was the envy of multiple counties.

Once they were inside, another grin lit Leah’s face. As always, the hotel was decked in flowers of pink and white with bunting in complementary shades draped over anything that would stand still. The whole lobby smelled like spring because of the blooms. Women of all ages milled around with their families, most of them moving around or toward the ballroom doors.

Leah followed suit and strolled across the lobby with her mother toward the room where the brunch would be held.

“Mrs. Ruth.” The voice was not familiar to Leah, and she turned with surprise while her mother beamed. A tall lean made eased through the crowd toward them and her mother let go of Leah’s arm to hold out both her hands to the young man. He took her hands in his and bowed to press a kiss to her knuckles.

“John,” she said, touching one of his cheeks with her hand and pressing a kiss to the other. “It’s so good to see you.”

“I’m so glad you could make it,” he confided, with his attention completely on Leah’s mother.

“As if I would miss this. I’ve been coming to this event since before you were born.”

“I hardly believe that.” His smile read as genuine.

Smooth, Leah thought with a grin. Though she read it for the line that it was.

“Oh, John.” Ruthie slipped her hand under John’s elbow and led him a few steps closer. “Let me introduce you to my daughter. Leah, this is John Seed.” Her mother patted his forearm.

“Mr. Seed,” Leah replied, offering her hand to shake.

“The infamous Miss Rook, please call me John.” He took her hand, turned it and brushed a velvety kiss on her knuckles. It was a genteel gesture that she hadn’t expected him to repeat with her as well. His bright blue eyes never flinched from her gaze the entire time he spoke to her.

Leah chuckled. “Not sure I’d use the word infamous.”

“I would beg to differ. Your mother is often singing your praises.”

She could feel the heat in her cheeks at the idea. Leah had no reply. “Well, then you have me at a great disadvantage. She hasn’t mentioned you.”

His other hand went to his chest and he finally looked away glancing at her mother. “How could this be, Ruthie? My heart is breaking.”

“Oh, hush. The opportunity hadn’t presented itself before today,” she scolded.

John smiled at Leah, one that lit his eyes and made her breath catch in her throat. “And I’m sure you two lovely women have so many better topics to chat about than me,” he said with a humbleness that didn’t quite read as sincere.

“That can’t possibly be true little brother,” another man added as he walked up behind Leah’s mother.

“Mrs. Ruth. It’s so good to see you here,” the newcomer stated.

“Father,” Ruthie replied, releasing John’s arm to hug his brother.

“And you must be Leah. I’m Joseph.”

Leah only then realized her hand was still in John’s, because she pulled it out of his grip in order to shake his brother’s hand. “Pleased.” She glanced between the brothers for a moment, hoping her blush wasn’t as noticeable as it felt.

“Mrs. Ruth might I have the honor of escorting you into the brunch?”

“Oh, certainly, Father” her mother answered eagerly.

Meanwhile, John had moved to Leah’s side. The two of them just watched her mother walk of arm in arm with Joseph Seed.

“It would appear that we have both been abandoned most completely.”

Leah smiled and looked up at the taller man. “I’m not sure that is entirely true, sir.”

“And here, I’d dared not hope.”

“Are you always this smooth?” she said with a laugh.

John smiled, a quiet laugh on his lips. “All Southern gentlemen are,” he said as if that explained it. “Perhaps you’d allow me.” He held his arm out for her.

Leah considered it for a moment, chewing on her bottom lip. Then she smiled and slipped her arm around his. “Why, thank you. But do tell. How did a Southern gentleman end up quite so far up north?”

“The city proved too fast paced. My family and I wanted a change—complete and total.”

“Well, Hope County certainly does fit that bill.”

“Indeed. The country up here is beautiful and serene.”

Leah could feel his eyes on her even though she’d had to look away from his piercing baby blues. He looked at her with an intensity that bordered between stifling and inspiring. It was like he actually saw her, rather than just catching a glimpse. Like he could somehow read every single thought and memory in a glance.

“That it is. But I’m completely biased,” she added.

“You’ve lived here your whole life?”

“I have. Except for the time I spent at school in Missoula.”

John nodded, glancing away to ensure their path was clear to the door. “And you’ve been in Helena the last few months?”

Leah nodded; her smile strained.

“Did I say something wrong?”

“No,” she insisted with a shake of her head. Her green eyes met his again. “I just—”

He stopped, laying his free hand over the one on his arm. “I was not kidding when I called you infamous. Your mother speaks of you often, and highly. Honestly, I feel like I know you. And I do apologize if I’m making you uncomfortable.”

Leah felt her mouth drop open in surprise. “Oh, not at all, John. I … it’s not something I really discuss all that often.”

“Shouldn’t a vocation be something a person is invested in?”

“I was. Am.” She sighed, her shoulders sinking a hair. “Life doesn’t always work out the way we plan.”

John’s smile crept over his lips. “Truer words have never been spoken. I went through something similar when I abandoned my law practice.”

“You’re a lawyer?”

“I am,” he confided with a telling smile. “Or I was. My life has led me in … new directions. Not unlike yourself.”

Leah couldn’t help but wonder at the statement. A lawyer who moved halfway across the country with his family. It didn’t seem too far a stretch from the situation that had prompted her own change in circumstances—family obligation and walking away from a dream.

He led her to the table where her mother was sitting and pulled out her chair for her. Leaning on the back of her chair, his voice caressed her ear. “Perhaps you’ll be kind enough to save me a dance later.”

She nodded, with a wide bright smile. “Certainly. Thank you for the escort, John.”

“The pleasure was mine,” he said with a sincerity she could not question. He pressed his hand to his chest and bowed slightly before taking a step back and crossing the room. Leah couldn’t look away. He glided across the hardwood floor and took a seat at a table next to his brother. She noticed a redheaded man with a scruffy beard and a young blonde woman at the table as well as several women of varying ages who were dressed in all white.

When a hand fell on her knee, Leah’s attention turned back to her own table. “He’s quite a striking young man,” her mother noted, wearing a smile that spoke volumes.

For the first time, Leah seemed to realize what might have just happened. “Is that why you didn’t want me to drop you at the door?” she asked on a whisper.

Her mother leaned over and kissed her cheek. “Don’t be upset. He’s a lawyer, you know?”

“He mentioned that,” Leah said tightly, embarrassment creeping over her from the tips of her ears to her toes.

“I thought you might enjoy meeting someone with similar interests,” Ruthie explained.

“That’s sweet, Mama, but I don’t really think—”

“Oh, hush now. I saw the way he looked at you when we walked in.”

Leah’s cheeks blazed, and she raised her water glass to take a sip, hoping it might camouflage the reaction in some way. “How do you know John?”

“Sunday services,” her mother replied.

The screech of a microphone cut their conversation short as the pageant began. It included speeches by the Women’s Club President Louise Anderson, the mayor of Deene—the county seat, and the group’s full scholarship recipient for the year. All the mother’s in the room were celebrated and given lovely orchid corsages distributed by the teenagers in attendance. Finally, the pageant closed with a local dance troupe performing a sweet floral ballet accompanied by the string quartet, which continued to play throughout the remainder of the meal.

All told it was quite a special occasion and out shined some of the previous incarnations of the celebration. After the dessert service concluded, the string quartet gave way to someone’s curated play list for the occasion. The dance floor filled with mothers and their children, husbands and wives, and anyone who could capture the beat or carry a tune, along with a few who couldn’t find it with a map or a flashlight.

Even Leah couldn’t resist the draw and managed to convince her mother to join her for a dance. The Rook women didn’t get more than one dance together, before the younger felt a gentle touch on her shoulder.

“May I?” a rumbling tenor interrupted.

Leah felt the nerves tingle down her spine at the sound of it. Her mother’s smile widened happily. “Yes, of course,” Ruthie offered, giving her daughter’s hand a squeeze.

While the younger harbored no intentions of declining, it was something wholly different to have someone volunteer you. John, however, waited for Leah to place her hand in the one he offered to her. Once she did, John raised his hand and spun her, making her giggle as a blush rushed to her face at the sound.

“I appreciate you saving me a dance,” he told her as his hand slid around her waist to the small of her back.

Leah laughed, placing her hand on his shoulder. “Well, you should be,” she teased with a mock seriousness in her tone. “With a dance card this full?” She shook her head, smiling up at him. “It was a real struggle.”

His smile was magnetic and brought a bright sparkle to his eyes. It drew Leah in. “Oh, I’ve no doubt that you’ve got a string of admirers who would gladly trade take my place.”

She just smiled. “I’m sure the same is true for you.”

“Perhaps,” he replied. It was quick, curt, and made her feel like maybe that didn’t matter.

She knew it had to be her imagination running overtime. Leah knew her mother meant well, but the surprise Ruthie had dropped on her at the table rushed back to her mind when John pulled her a little closer. His cheek brushed her temple as the two of them moved in minute steps that carried them in a slow circular motion.

“Was this whole thing planned?” she asked quietly.

“What whole thing might that be?” He leaned away and glanced down at her.

“Our introduction. Was it the whole reason my mother was so willing to do this?”

John’s gaze held hers unwaveringly. “Not that I’m aware of.”

“I mean,” Leah sighed. What do I mean? “Mama refused to go with me to Easter services, and she shrank away from so many invitations this spring that I lost count. But suddenly she’s willing to come to this, where she seems intent on setting me up with … you.”

The smile on his face turned almost shy, flattered. “If you’re asking if I was aware of that fact before she introduced us, I was not. Though she has mentioned you a number of times, and the fact that she would like us to meet.”

Another little sigh released some of the tension that had crept into Leah’s shoulders.

“Perhaps she was merely ready to take a step on a new path,” John suggested.

“Perhaps,” she agreed and let him bring her closer once more. Her chin rested near his shoulder as she considered the possibility.

“You care for her a great deal.”

“Of course, I do. She’s my mother.” Her voice shrank when she continued, “I’m all she has left … here in Montana.” His grip on her tightened a little, like a comforting attempt at a hug. “My brothers are all in opposite corners of the country. Dad’s …” She couldn’t bring herself to say that he was gone.

“I know.”

“You know a lot.”

“Your mother is a welcoming and gregarious person.”

Leah leaned back to catch his gaze. “Is that your ever so polite way of saying she talks a lot?”

John laughed but made no such accusation. He didn’t even nod. “She adores you. Worries about you.”

She leaned against him once more instead of replying.

“She also misses your father terribly.”

Tension shot through her, stiffening her body and the movements it made. To her sudden relief, the song came to a close and she let her hand fall down his arm from his shoulder. “Thank you for the dance, Mr. Seed.” The shift in her demeanor could not be missed. She flashed him a forced smile and gave a little curtsy before she turned and took a few steps toward the table where her mother sat.

It took the 15-foot walk for her to realize her mother was not sitting there. Scanning the room, she spotted her quickly on the other side of the room, sitting beside the blonde woman from the Saturday tea she’d interrupted months earlier; the one sharing a table with John and Joseph earlier. Leah breathed a little easier, and let her feet carry her away from the table. Her pace increased as she neared the open doors of the ballroom. Crossing that threshold, Leah reached a careful jog that carried her through the lobby and out into the courtyard.

Outside, she finally felt like she could breathe. After two deep breaths, she opened her eyes again and walked out into the afternoon sunshine, which had the attention of all the flowers in the garden. Her mind raced almost as fast as her heart. She walked farther from the building toward a concrete bench set among flowerbeds.

Who does he think he is? I know she misses him. We all miss him, she thought. “I miss him,” she whispered. Her eyes went to the sky, toward heaven, where she assumed her dad must be watching over them. “I miss you, Daddy,” she repeated with a quiver in her voice. Tears pricked at her eyes and welled too fast to fight them all back.

Her hand clasped over her mouth with the first sob, as if she could stop it or hold it at bay physically. It wracked her, folding her over herself.

“Leah.” His quiet voice brimmed with concern.

Her head snapped to her right; eyes wide like a deer in headlights. John’s eyes didn’t hold pity, but sympathy as he held out the handkerchief.

“I did not intend to upset you.”

She could do nothing but stare up at him, unblinking, not breathing. Afraid any movement at that moment would shatter her. His movement was slow and careful, as he sat beside her on the concrete bench. When he pressed the soft cloth into her open hand, he squeezed it tightly.

“I know how you feel. Well, at least in part. My family was separated when I was young. My brothers were all I had left, and they were stripped from me. Though I know that loss cannot compare to yours. After all, we’ve found one another again, been reunited. That …” He could tell by the tears streaming down her cheeks that she didn’t need him to confirm the fact that there could be no such reinstatement for her own family.

Her gaze fell to their hands, his still holding onto hers and pressing the soft cotton against her palm. Suddenly, it felt okay to not be the strong one for once. Her free hand muffled another sob as her shoulders hunched forward. She curled around herself, like somehow every other fiber in her being could protect the broken heart of a little girl that just missed her dad.

John didn’t try to shush her, and he didn’t walk away. He didn’t try to apologize her pain away. His hand moved over her back as he pulled her toward him. Somehow, she managed to get his handkerchief between the two of them, before she buried her face against his chest. He became her shield in that moment, her place to hide, the thing that muffled her sobs, and soaked up tears that had been threatening to break free for months and months. His embrace remained solid and constant as her emotions boiled over.

Minutes trickled by, like the flow of her tears. As Leah calmed, his hold on her only eased a hair, enough to allow her to pull away if she chose, but she didn’t. “I’m so sorry,” she muttered into the lapel of his coat.

“No need to be,” he insisted, his voice so close to her ear.

She sniffled and brushed her face over the cotton in her hands. “I don’t usually sob into strangers’ coats at public holiday celebrations,” she told him, her cheeks burning from the mixture of tears and embarrassment.

“This is a rarity for me, too,” he admitted. “I don’t usually make pretty girls cry.”

A rough barking laugh escaped her, and she looked up at him. “It wasn’t you.”

John smiled at her and brushed his thumb over her cheek. “Would it be cruel to admit that I said it just to try and make you smile again?”

Leah just stared at him. She was only minimally aware of the caress of his fingertips on her cheek, or the way their movement seemed to coax the two of them closer in the tiniest of increments. His eyes didn’t leave hers when his lips brushed against her ethereally. She almost wasn’t sure she hadn’t imagined it, but then he did it a second time. His blue eyes only broke her gaze when Leah tipped her head upward and let her own eyes drift closed.

Her fist tightened on his lapel, clinging to him like a dream that could fade away with that falling sensation that always woke her in the middle of the night. His warm hand covered her cheek while his tongue burned against her lips. When she parted them, John rushed forward, filling her. Leah clutched at the back of his neck. She never wanted the rush of their kiss to end; she wanted to be consumed by it.

It broke far too soon. John held her close, pressing his forehead against hers hard as he gasped like he’d been underwater too long. She noticed his eyes were still closed when she blinked hers open. Her fingers brushed down his neck.

“John.” It was the only thing she could say. This wasn’t her style—she was not the girl who cried for anyone, let alone the type of girl, who used grief as a jumping off point to a make out session with a man she just met.

He licked his lips and his hold gradually loosened. Finally, his eyes met hers again. But neither of them said anything more. They just studied one another as their embrace unfurled. It continued like that the rest of the afternoon, the two of them separating incrementally from one another.

After escorting her back inside, he waited for her as she tried to disguise evidence of her emotional breakdown in the ladies’ room. They dared another dance, the two-step far faster than the first kept them both moving and bore no risk that their lips might find one another again. His brother Joseph called him to his side not long after. Even from opposite sides of the room, neither John nor Leah could maintain the separation—shy glances and bright smiles flashed across the space as they moved in separate circles.

The crowd started to trickle out of the hotel.

“Leah, dear,” Ruthie Rook said leaning toward her daughter.

“You all right, Mama?”

“Of course, just a little,” she sighed, “tired.”

“I’ll get the truck and pick you up at the front,” Leah replied.

“Thank you, dear.”

Leah pressed a kiss to her mother’s temple before she crossed the room. As she walked across the room, she fished her keys from the small clutch she brought. Her eyes scanned the room, but didn’t find the face she was looking for. Even so, she reminded herself.

The gravel drive shifted under her careful steps across the parking lot. Their space wasn’t horribly far, but after several hours in heels, her feet were more susceptible to the discomfort of the uneven surface. When she reached her truck, she was internally scolding herself for not having brought a change of shoes.

“Leaving without saying goodbye.”

The voice caught her by surprise but brought a smile to her face. She hadn’t heard anyone following her and she should have. John laughed when her keys fell into the light crushed rocks.

“I looked for you, but you weren’t in the ballroom,” she said.

He crouched to grab her keys. “I had something to check on,” he admitted. He rose to tower above her in a motion that was smooth as silk. The gravity of him, pulled her in.

She couldn’t have kept the smile off her face if she tried. “Bye, John,” she told him, making up for the accused infraction.

He wrinkled his nose. “I don’t like the way that sounds.”

Leah laughed. “Really?”

He shook his head. “Too final. Especially when I’d like to see you again.”

“I’d like that, too.”

It was his turn to smile. “Then I think you should give me your phone number,” he whispered, leaning in closer.

“I could,” she teased. Her hands rested against the plane of his chest.

“Going to make me beg.”

“I’m not that cruel.” Her fingers tugged at the pressed fabric, and she got exactly what she wanted. His lips on hers again. The softness of this kiss rivaled the ravenous nature of the first. The two of them pressed and curled around one another like two vines fighting for the same space. When it broke, Leah met his gaze and rattled off her phone number.

John blinked at her in surprise. “One more time.” She repeated it, then he did.

“You got it.”

Again, they peeled themselves out of a tight embrace. John handed over her keys and opened the truck door for her once she unlocked the vehicle

She looked at him one last time, then said her number again. John grinned. “Can I call you tonight?”

“I have a three-hour drive back to Helena.”

“That doesn’t answer my question.”

Leah smiled, a blush kissing her cheeks. “Yeah. But I won’t answer if I’m driving or passed out.”

John shrugged, “I’ll just keep calling until you answer.”

She couldn’t help but laugh. Touching his cheek, she leaned toward him and pressed a soft kiss to his mouth. “I’ll talk to you later, John.” She looked into his eyes. “That better?”

“Much,” he agreed. Another kiss fell on her lips, before he stepped back and closed her door. He winked at her and pointed toward the front of the hotel.

Leah gave him a little wave and started the truck. John followed and ended up opening the passenger door for her mother as well. “Happy Mother’s Day, Mrs. Ruthie.”

“Thank you, John.”

He smiled at Leah again, flashing her a wink, before he closed the door and tapped the side of her truck.

“Such a sweet fella,” Ruthie said as they pulled out of the parking lot.

Leah hazarded a glance in the rear-view mirror. “Yeah, seems like a decent guy.”

Ruthie didn’t say anything else, but her daughter didn’t miss the smile on her mother’s face. Leah Rook just let it go. So, what if her mother set this whole thing up? She could have done so much worse, Leah thought. Hell, a part of her was just itching to get back on the road, get home, so that when her phone rang she’d be able to answer it right away.

#Far Cry 5 #Deputy Leah Rook #John Seed #Joseph Seed #Badger Scribbling #Leah Rook #Fluff #First Meetings #First Kiss #Mother's Day #First Steps on a New Path

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hunnybadgerv · 4 years ago

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WIP One Day

I’m super behind on these; I’m going to try and catch up through this week. Tagged by @starsandskies like a week back or so.

Tagging: @chyrstis, @foofygoldfish, @finefeatheredgamer, and @foofyschmoofer.

This is from another of Leah Rook’s Far Cry 5 stories:

Taking it out of the box, she examined it, the way the brim was bent just so. Her fingers traced the familiar line. Like a child afraid of being caught with something she shouldn’t have, Leah glanced over her shoulder at her mother. Ruthie had her face buried in one of her father’s work shirts; her shoulders shook gently with silent sobs. Her mother had always been good at that, Leah realized in the moment.

Better than her at least, Leah wore her heart on her sleeve. She didn’t bear the same kind of guile, or ability to cover over her feelings. Her tongue pushed over her lips as she weighed the idea running through her head, but Leah couldn’t stop herself. She lifted the hat to her own head, even know it still fell over her eyes and ears, just like every time her father had playfully dropped it on her head as a kid.

It was almost too much. She ripped it off her head and dropped it in the box like it had burned her. Leah leaned there, teeth burrowing into her cheek as she held onto the footboard of the bed trying to fight back the sobs brought on by her broken little heart. She missed her dad, his laugh, his smile, his hugs. He gave the best hugs, she recalled, squeezing her eyes shut and trying hard to swallow her grief to keep it from bursting out of her like it had in the church.

“Mrs. Ruthie,” a voice called from the hallway. A gentle knock at the door followed. Leah rushed to right the hat in the box and get the lid back on it. “Can we take some of those boxes for you, dear?”

Faith’s face peeked into the room and Leah didn’t hide her scowl. Leah knew none of this was her fault specifically, but at the moment it felt good to have someone to blame and the leggy blonde was a convenient target of opportunity.

“Yes,” Leah’s mother answered. “Please. Thank you so much for your help. I don’t know what I’d do without it. Without both your help,” she added looking up at her daughter from the stool she sat on near the closet that now bore no traces of her husband.

“You’re so very welcome,” Faith said sweetly before Leah could say anything. The woman hugged Ruthie tightly, and Leah felt a pang of jealousy at the way her mother clung to this veritable stranger.

#Far Cry 5 #WIP Whatever #Deputy Leah Rook #Leah Rook

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hunnybadgerv · 4 years ago

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WIP Whatever

Tagged by @sharky-broshaw who was lovely enough to poke me about a week back when sharing some of their amazing work. Thank you kindly.

Going to leave this an open tag for right now. If you’re reading this consider yourself tagged.

Again, another Leah Rook snippet. This time around her worst fears come true.

A moonless night could be perfect for a lot of things. Though the newly minted Junior Deputy of Holland County should not be using it for breaking and entering or trespassing, but she was. Leah Rook knew the strip of wildnerness at the edge of the land beside her home. It also edged what had been her family’s land, though that now belonged to the Project at Eden’s Gate. She couldn’t be sure how or when it happened—she hadn’t been paying attention.

Leah gritted her teeth as she shifted through the thick brush. No, she’d let herself be distracted by a tall dark drink of water with sky blue eyes and soft lips. This is all my fault, she told herself. If her attention had been focused where it should have been, this never could have happened.

“If I hadn’t gone to Helena,” she muttered at herself as she stepped through the dried brush with care to lessen the sound she made with each step. “If I’d just been here. That’s all she needed,” Leah realized.

Of course, that realization hit her days ago on the road back to Helena with Deputy Hudson. Joey’d refused to leave Leah on her own until Monday morning; she knew exactly what Leah would have done if Hudson had left her to her own devices prior to graduation. And she would have tanked her own chance at a career to get back to Hope County to talk to her mother.

The land didn’t matter, neither did the house. Leah knew what was really important, what she really couldn’t lose. And deep down she knew she’d already lost it. The house was dark. The line just rang endlessly when she tried the phone number. She’d called Noah to see if he’d heard from Mom in the past few days or weeks; scared the hell out of him with the question, but he hadn’t talked to her since Mother’s Day.

Leah was taking a chance. She stopped at the fence and studied her childhood home from a distance. It looked like no one was there. And nothing made a sound save for a hungry owl hanging out in the copse of trees that separated the Rook’s land from their neighbors. There should be something, even if just the electrical hum of lights and appliances.

Once she hopped the fence, she knew there would be no turning back. She had no doubt about John’s threat. If anyone from that group found her here, they’d have her badge.

#WIP Whatever #Badger Scribbles #Deputy Leah Rook #Leah Rook #Far Cry 5

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hunnybadgerv · 4 years ago

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WIP Whenever

Tagged by @shellibisshe. Thank you for the tag, my dear. I really appreciate it.

So, have a little more Leah Rook. Not tagging anyone specific this time around. I have like 8 more of these to post, so some will be open-ended tagging. Consider yourself tagged if you have something you want to share.

“Son of a bitch,” she screamed. “You bastard.”

“Rook. Rook!” Earl’s voice barely cut through the rage in her. “Goddamnit, Leah!”

She fought him every step of the way, until he had to let her loose. The instant her feet touched the ground, she turned on a dime and started back after John. She’d teach him to mess with her, mess with her family. He took everything she knew, she’d be happy to return the favor.

“Damnit, Rook.” A thick arm looped around her waist and another face came into view.

“Leah. It’s not worth it,” Joey insisted. “Come on. Let’s go.”

“Please make sure the young woman steers clear. If she returns, we’ll be forced to press charges,” a man’s voice called across the front yard.

Leah surged into Deputy Joey Hudson, who just caught Leah in a hug of sorts. “Not worth it,” the other woman bit out.

“It’s my whole fucking life,” Leah replied, finally letting some of the fight eek out of her. One hand clutched at the back of Joey’s uniform.

“Don’t let them take the future too,” Hudson whispered in her ear. “We’ll take a drive.”

“Yeah,” Whitehorse agreed. “Get you back to Helena.”

“I can’t leave,” Leah argued. “They took our land. What if …?” She didn’t know what might come next. To be fair, she really didn’t want to think about what might come next.

“Let’s just get out of here,” Joey insisted. “We’ll figure the rest out once that’s done.”

“Fine,” Leah agreed. It was entirely reluctant and she didn’t leave completely of her own volition. Joey and the Sheriff all but pushed her to Hudson’s vehicle. And while Joey drove off, Earl stayed put. Leah wouldn’t know for how long, just that he was probably waiting for her to return, or at least making a show of keeping the peace for the people who’d somehow managed to talk her mother into signing over the house she’d grown up in, the land she’d worked with her father growing up, the horses she learned to ride on, and the equipment that taught her to drive. Every memory she had was tied to that place. Those acres of green in the middle of Montana. Losing that just made her feel her father’s loss more keenly.

And stoked her anger more brightly. How could anyone target a grieving widow? And she’s played right into it. Fallen into the trap of a hunting spider whose venom blinded her to what was happening around her. “So stupid,” she told herself. How could you be so stupid, Leah?

#Leah Rook #John Seed #Earl Whitehorse #Joey Hudson #Far Cry 5 #Deputy Leah Rook #Badger Scribbles #WIP Whatever

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hunnybadgerv · 4 years ago

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Rest in Pieces | Far Cry 5 | Leah Rook

Summary: Funerals are never easy, but they can be defining.

a/n: Wrote this to get an idea of who Leah was prior to her decision to become a deputy. I wondered what could have derailed her from her chosen course in law. And I realized she’s a country girl at heart who held onto a big little dream until she was the only one left at home to take care of her folks and the land she grew up on.

AO3 Link

Rest in Pieces

A biting winter wind howled down the mountains into the Holland Valley. Leah stood on the back porch and watched the flurries dance in the air obscuring her view of the vast landscape that surrounded the Rook family farm. This land had been in her father’s family for four generations, and from the sound of the wind the whole valley was mourning the loss of Paul Rook almost as powerfully as his daughter.

Pulling the neck of her coat more closed, she stared out into the field of white only broken here and there by the dark outstretched limbs of evergreens. One good thing about the cold, she couldn’t cry. It was like the tears froze before they could even get to the surface. That didn’t take away the pain at all. No, the sucking maw deep in her chest gaped like a black hole that threatened to swallow her up wholly and utterly.

A wailing from the house pulled Leah’s attention back to the present. Her mother was taking it bad.

“Mama?” she called, walking back inside and sealing the door behind her.

Another pained sob echoed through the house, pulling Leah up the stairs to her parents’ room. She’d almost never been in that space, though over the last few days she’d crossed that threshold several times a day.

“Mama?” she said more softly, trying to make even her voice comforting as she crouched on the floor next to her mother and draped her arms around the woman, who seemed to have collapsed under the weight of her own grief.

Ruthie Rook had always been the strongest person Leah knew. This crumpled form draped in black wool bore so little resemblance to the woman she remembered when she was growing up. Though the rough hand that grabbed hers, that was familiar. The whole family worked the land, and her mother had been no exception. In fact, she probably worked harder than everyone else considering she had to cook for everyone, clean, and keep up with four kids beyond the work on the farm.

She held her mother tightly, rocking her until the sobbing calmed a bit. Hearing the door slam downstairs, made her mother startle.

“Who?” she managed to ask before her voice gave out.

“It’s just the boys.”

Her mother relaxed against Leah.

“Ma, Sissy!” The full baritone voice that carried up the stairs belonged to her oldest brother Josiah. Leah hated when he called her that, but he always did, even more so whenever she asked him not to do it. She’d figured out to stop asking by middle school.

“Up here,” Leah replied. Judging by the resounding sound of boots on the stairs, he wasn’t alone. She shifted and tried to get her mother to her feet, but it proved futile.

“What happened?” Josiah shouted when he rushed into the room.

“She’s grieving,” the youngest Rook child replied like the answer should be obvious, even to her brawny brother.

Uriah leaned against the door jamb, trying to stay out of the line of fire like always. While Noah walked over and offered his sister a hand up. Josiah was broad and muscular like their father had been in his youth; he easily hauled their mother to her feet as she clung to him.

“I got you, Ma,” he told her, ignoring Leah completely.

Noah leaned closer to her as Josiah escorted Mother to the hall. “You doing all right?” he whispered.

“Could be better,” she admitted.

The youngest brother, Uriah remained silent and took up the rear as they all moved down the hall. The car Josiah hired for the family waited in the drive, the heat from the tailpipe billowed into the cold air like smoke from a fire. Leah stopped at the door and grabbed her mother’s coat, draping it over her shoulders. Both she and Josiah helped her into the warm garment; he swatted his sister’s hands away and buttoned it up himself.

Leah just let out a long breath and waited for her brothers to leave. She locked the door, making her pace slow enough to earn Josiah’s annoyance yet again. “Sissy, get a move on. We can’t chance being late.”

Her green eyes rolled as the tumbler of the lock slid closed. Even today, he couldn’t let up for just one damn minute, she thought. She climbed into the vehicle and sat between Noah and Uriah; the former draped his arm over her shoulder and gave her a squeeze. It was just like when they were kids. Uriah hung back and tried to go unnoticed; Noah played the calming influence and comforted the younger ones when Josiah was on a tear. It was almost a blessing when their oldest brother got a football scholarship to Ole Miss. After that, they only had to deal with his brand of prideful teasing and irritation during the summer, on holidays, and for special occasions. It was almost bearable.

Honestly, Leah didn’t know if she could take it today. She sank against Noah, trying not to let her own grief overwhelm her. She missed her father more than she could ever explain. She’d always been Daddy’s Little Girl; he’d taught her to hunt and shoot, encouraged her big dreams of going to law school, and was certain she’d be the District Attorney of Hope County, which had been her meager little dream.

The drive would not take long. Thirty minutes or so with the weather, if her guess were correct. She laid her head on Noah’s shoulder, remembering the last few weeks; most of which were spent in the University Hospital in Missoula. The man in that faded in that hospital bed had borne so little resemblance to the one that held her on his shoulders on parade days when she was a child.

Watching the landscape pass by through the windows, Leah realized that she hadn’t been home in too long, she had missed all the signs. The man who laid in that bed with barely the strength to get to his feet felt like a stranger at a glance. Only when she studied his face could she find traces of her dad. He’d gotten so gaunt, looked almost skeletal at the end, and she’d overlooked it—been so focused on her own goals, that she hadn’t been there for him when he’d needed her.

Her eyes screwed shut to stem the flow of tears. She had to be strong for her mother; she had to be strong like her brothers. You can do this, she assured herself.

Once they reached the church, Pastor Jerome rushed out to the vehicle and pulled the door open.

“Ruth,” he greeted, holding a hand out to the widow.

Leah ignored the conversation that sparked around her, instead steeling herself for the next hour or so. She just had to make it back home. That’s all. Noah let her walk on her own once they all exited the car. Uriah pulled the wrist of his coat back to check his watch. His sister didn’t know how to read the action, though she never really knew how to decipher Uriah’s behaviors and whims, even as children. Despite being the third child of four, he somehow managed to keep to himself. Though maybe being the youngest brother made him more likely to pull away.

She didn’t realize that she was analyzing her brothers as a coping mechanism, at least not until they reached the front of the church. At the first sight of her father’s profile, all the strength Leah saved up flooded out of her like an ice cube on the pavement in summer. Her knees gave out and she hit the floor with an echoing thud. She gasped fruitlessly but couldn’t seem to catch her breath.

The whole world seemed to collapse in on her all at once. She stared at the runner, her nails digging at the carpet fibers for purchase as she became aware of the weight of Noah’s hand on her back. His voice sounded in her ears, but she couldn’t make out what he was saying. And no sound left her.

He was gone, really gone. The man who’d always believed in her was gone. The one person that looked at her like she could do anything. He’d always been there. Loved her when it seemed like no one else could. Held her when she cried. Gave the biggest and tightest hugs. Encouraged her. Believed in her. And now …

“Why?” she finally sobbed in a whisper, when Noah raised her face in his hands.

“Shh.” That was all he said, when he pulled her into a hug, tears glistening in his own eyes. There was comfort in her brother’s embrace—he gave hugs like her daddy, tight and warm and unrestrained. The kind of hug that made you know for certain someone cared. He rocked her gently, well, rocked them would be more accurate. Even Uriah, laid a hand on her shoulder.

Puddled on the floor, Leah blinked past the edge of her brother’s shoulder. She hadn’t cried yet. She’d managed to escape it, until that moment. Seeing her father laid out at the front of the church cemented the whirlwind of the last few weeks.

Before anyone else arrived, Noah got Leah off the floor and into the family pew. Apparently, the ceremony was beautiful, if the condolence cards received afterward were to be believed. And Josiah gave a fitting and respectful eulogy, but that should surprise no one. Leah couldn’t attest to any of it. She stared at the casket the entire time, holding Noah’s hand, as the occasional sniffle shook her entire body. Besides that, it was like time stopped for her, and it did not restart until they reached the house again.

Thankfully, there was no graveside event. The ground was frozen. His casket wouldn’t be interred until the spring thaw.

“What the hell was that?” Josiah growled at her once he had handed mother off to Uriah.

Leah didn’t answer, couldn’t. She watched their mother rise up the stairs and into the house. The door didn’t quite close behind her. Josiah grabbed Leah’s arms and shook her until her head tipped enough to catch the angry look on his face. Still all she could do was blink, but the tears were too hot now, the cold wind couldn’t stop them even as they burned her already red cheeks.

“Back off,” Uriah called from the door. “Let her be.”

“He’s right. We all lost him. And she’s the one that’s been here the whole time. The one who had to put this all together,” Noah argued.

Josiah’s glare softened a shade, and he brought his hand to his sister’s face. She wasn’t sure if she really saw it or if it was an illusion. He’s eyes went glassy for a moment before he blinked it away. Then he pulled her toward him and planted a kiss on her forehead. It only served to shatter her all over again, but this time he caught her up in a big hug, one that held a surprising amount of tenderness.

“Come on, Sissy,” he whispered in her hair. “It will be all right. You’re going to be all right.”

Reassurance from Josiah Rook. In all her wild imaginings, that was not something Leah ever thought she would live to see, let alone experience for herself.

#Far Cry 5 #Deputy Leah Rook #Badger Scribbles #Pre-game nonsense #funeral #Grief #leah rook #family dynamics

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hunnybadgerv · 4 years ago

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Floating Day WIP

Tagged by @theoriginalladya, thank you my dearest, I really wish I’d been writing some ME stuff lately to throw your way. But unfortunately, other characters are camped out in my brain right now. So, you get Far Cry.

Tagging @finefeatheredgamer and @shellibisshe.

“And you did all the work for me.”

“Fuck your damn cult. Fuck your siblings.” She bucked wildly against him and his hold on her with every word. She only stilled when her piercing green eyes locked on his. “And fuck you, John,” she growled up at him. His hands tightened around her wrists. She didn’t remember him being this strong, then again she’d never had much chance to really know.

It was like so many other times. His gaze pinned her in place, held her there in limbo. She readied herself for retaliation. The tense muscles in her torso that expected a punch did nothing to help her when his mouth crashed against hers. She could taste the metallic tang of his blood on his busted lip when she nipped at it harshly.

When he pulled away from her, she followed brushing her lips against his again. She could have pushed him away when he let go of one of her wrists. Her hand went right to his neck, fingers digging into his skin right under his jaw. But instead of pushing him away, she used her grip on him to pull him closer. His lips parted in a surprised gasp against hers; her tongue thrust into his mouth claiming it.

She didn’t think about anything that was happening between them, was only mildly conscious of it all unfolding. His fingers skimmed her thigh, zipping past the hem of her dress. She broke their frenzied kiss with a gasp of her own when his long fingers brushed over her sex.

Glaring up at him, her hand tightened enough to make his breath catch. Beautiful bastard. He looked so irresistible. Blue eyes with pupils blown wide with lust. Bottom lip swelling. This was not what she’d meant. Even so, she didn’t stop it. Her grip on his throat eased. She didn’t want him to pass out, not yet. He had something she needed.

#Floating Day WIP #Badger Scribbles #John Seed #Deputy Leah Rook #Not quite nsft #but it's on the edge of it #restraint #angry makeout

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hunnybadgerv · 4 years ago

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Dereliction of Daughter | Far Cry 5 | Leah Rook

Summary: Stubborn is an understatement, and Leah just can’t leave well enough alone. She knows it is foolish. That it could cost her everything, but she has to know. Has to be sure.

a/n: This just kind of happened. After writing Confessions, Leah decided she couldn’t not at least check on her mother, on the house. If I recall it also filled a prompt, but I can’t remember or find it.

Read on AO3

Dereliction of Daughter

A moonless night could be perfect for so many things. Though the newly minted Junior Deputy of Holland County should not be using it to break the laws of the jurisdiction she’d just sworn to serve and protect, but that was precisely what she planned to do. That brilliant plan included trespassing, breaking and entering, illegal search. For her, it could not be avoided; it was more than a simple wellness check.

Leah Rook knew the strip of wilderness at the edge of the land behind her home better than almost any other area in the county. She and her brothers had played there as kids, and they’d all used it as cover to sneak out at one time or another. . It always edged what had been her family’s land, though that now belonged to the Project at Eden’s Gate; a fact that sat in her sour gut like a stone. She couldn’t be sure how or when it happened.

She hadn’t been paying attention. Just another fact that made her stomach knot.

Gritting her teeth against the lingering anger at herself over that fact, Leah shifted through the thick brush. No, she’d let herself be distracted by a tall dark drink of water with sky blue eyes and soft lips. This is all my fault, she told herself. If her attention had been focused where it should have been, on her family, on her grief-stricken mother, this never could have happened. Of that she was entirely certain.

“If you hadn’t gone to Helena,” she muttered at herself as she stepped through the dried brush with care to lessen the sound she made with each step; though complete silence was out of the question. “If you’d just been here. That’s all she needed,” Leah said, “someone to be here for her.”

Of course, that realization only just hit her days ago on the road back to Helena with Deputy Hudson. Joey’d refused to leave Leah on her own until Monday morning; she knew exactly what Leah would have done if Hudson had left her to her own devices prior to graduation. And she would have tanked her only chance at a career just to get back to Hope County just to try and talk to her mother. Leah still kind of hated her friend for that, but also appreciated it. A cracking twig froze her in her steps.

Crouching, Leah leaned her shoulder against the trunk of an ancient pine. Her eyes searched the darkness for any trace of another human. Wildlife couldn’t call the sheriff.

Deep down, the family land didn’t matter, neither did the house she’d been born in. Leah knew what was really important, what she really couldn’t lose. And at her core, she knew she’d already lost it. The house was dark. The phone just rang endlessly when she tried the phone number over and over since she’d left with Joey, and then just one more time before she walked out her own back door. She’d called Noah to see if he’d heard from Mom in the past few days or weeks; scared the hell out of him with the question, but he hadn’t talked to her since Mother’s Day.

So, Leah decided it was worth taking a chance. She stopped at the fence and studied her childhood home from a distance. Dark windows all closed up, not even the hint of a clockface’s glow in the kitchen windows; it sure looked like no one was there. Nothing made a sound save for a hungry owl hanging out in the copse of trees that separated the Rook’s land from their neighbors. There should have been be something, even if just the electrical hum of lights and appliances. But there was nothing.

Once she hopped the fence, she knew there would be no turning back. John’s threat echoed in her head and she knew he’d carry it out. If anyone from Eden’s Gate found her on the property, they’d never even let her have her badge in the first damn place. But she had to know; she needed to see it.

Dashing across the yard, she crept up the steps, remembering where not to step. She and her brothers had done their fair share of sneaking out in their youth. They’d learned how to get in and out without waking either of her parents, or one another, because sometimes there just was no honor among thieves.

The screen door opened silently. Pressing herself close to the door, she moved to peek in the glass and finally noticed the envelope taped to the door. She ignored it. It had to be a ruse. Her attention returned to the interior. A quick turn of the knob and she found it locked, again. A lump grew in her throat along with a bad taste.

The thought that warned her against trying her own key carried little weight as her hand slipped into the pocket of her jeans for the key she’d had to the house since she was in grade school. The rush of surprise pumped through her veins when the lock clicked open. The squeak of the hinges echoed ominously in the total darkness. She’d been in Helena too long, forgotten just how dark it could be out here when there was nothing but starlight to battle the blanket of black cloudless night.

Leah turned the tip of the tiny flashlight on her keyring and a dull red light flooded the empty kitchen. There was no furniture to be found. She swept the room. Hell, there wasn’t even a dust bunny to indicate that furniture might have been there. It smelled like a mix of Mr. Clean and wood oil, reminding her of her mother’s insistence conducting a thorough cleaning of the house every March—usually during Spring Break, Leah remembered with a modicum of fondness. She’d give anything to be in that position now, runny-nosed and itchy-eyed, but with her mom.

Foolishly, she made her way further in. Each empty space she found pushed her to discover another. It was like some sick twisted experiment in masochism that emptied her out body and soul. Not until she’d checked every room and the basement, finding nothing but bare walls and empty space, did she make her way to the back door with slumped shoulders and a stumbling gait.

The faint red light shone on the envelope she’d noticed upon her entry. It bore her initials in the center in a blocky perfunctory script—LR. They knew she’d be back, or maybe only John predicted her defiance. Of course, her return to this place really shouldn’t surprise anyone in the entire county who had ever met her.

She stared at the envelope. It taunted her. Maybe he left it to gloat. Maybe it was just a trap—if she took it, he’d be able to prove she was there and could come after her more easily. Eventually, her gaze shifted out the open door toward the fields and the little hint of another structure, her house. With a twist, she turned the tiny flashlight back off.

It’s over. Gone. All of it was gone—Dad, her mom, her brothers. All gone. And it was her own fault.

Only after readjusting to the near complete darkness did she reach out and pull the envelope off the door. Fuck him. Let ‘em come. Guilt weighed heavily on her shoulders as she trudged down the back steps, not caring if the old wood squealed a note of warning or not.

#Far Cry 5 #Far Cry 5 Fanfiction #Leah Rook #Badger Scribbles #Anger #Guilt #Angst #Illegal Activities #Breaking the Law #Bad Deputy

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