Hidden Talents

One way or another, I'm going to get a paper out of this dipshit little town.”
    “So do your study. I'm not stopping you.”
    “Damn it, I need the cooperation of the natives, and we both know I won't get it unless you talk them into giving it to me.”
    Zone floated into the doorway and cleared her throat gently. She put her palms together and looked straight at Serenity. “Your fiancé is here.”
    Serenity gazed blankly at her. “My what?”
    Lloyd was a bit faster on the uptake.
    “ Fiancé .” His booted feet came down off her desk and hit the floor with a crash. “What the hell are you talking about? Serenity, you're not thinking of getting married, are you? You can't possibly be engaged. You can't do this to me.”
    “Fiancé?” Serenity repeated slowly. “I never thought of it quite like that.”
    “You'll have to excuse her, Radburn.” Caleb eased Zone out of the doorway so that he could fill the opening himself. He did a thorough job of it. “Serenity's still getting accustomed to the idea. Marriage is kind of a novel concept around here.”
    Lloyd gaped at Caleb and then rounded on Serenity. “Is this guy serious?”
    “About getting married?” Serenity glanced at Caleb. The dangerous expression in his eyes made her distinctly uneasy. “Uh, yes. Yes, as a matter of fact, he is.”
    Caleb braced one hand against the doorjamb. “Real serious.”
    “ You can't do this to me !” Lloyd howled.
    Serenity blushed furiously. She was not accustomed to being argued over by two virile males. It was rather flattering. “Lloyd, don't you think you're overreacting just a tad?”
    “Overreacting?” Lloyd echoed in thundering disbelief. “ Overreacting ?
    “As in going bonkers,” Caleb clarified. “Falling out of your tree. Going nutso.”
    Serenity shushed him with a repressive little movement of her hand. She smiled gently at Lloyd. “I didn't realize you felt that strongly about our relationship, Lloyd. I'm touched. But we both know that we would never have made a success of a long-term, committed relationship, even if we didn't have that unpleasant business of six months ago between us.”
    “Damn it, I'm not talking about our relationship,” Lloyd shouted, “I'm talking about my fieldwork. My paper. My career, for crying out loud. You can't get married, Serenity.”
    “I can't?”
    “She can't?” Caleb asked with one dangerously arched brow.
    “It will ruin everything.” Lloyd looked acutely desperate now. “It will cause even more damage to the existing social structure of Witt's End than your mail order catalog business.”
    “I don't believe this,” Caleb muttered.
    “I don't see how my marriage will destroy the world as we know it in Witt's End,” Serenity said stiffly.
    “Don't you understand?” Lloyd yelped. “Getting married is too damn normal for you.”
    Serenity blinked. “Too normal?”
    Lloyd began to pace the tiny office. “I've explained to you that the beauty of Witt's End is that it functions very much like a frontier town, complete with its own legends and customs. And you're the most important part of the local scene. You're the heart and soul of Witt's End, a legend that's being created even as we speak. Don't you get it?”
    “No, I don't.” Serenity scowled. “Lloyd, you're getting carried away with your academic analogies.”
    “The hell I am. You're the magic princess of Witt's End,” Lloyd insisted. “The fairy in their midst, the sacrificial maiden.”
    “Sacrificial maiden?” Serenity stared at him.
    “As far as the locals are concerned, you came to them from out of nowhere. Your origins are cloaked in mystery, just like the origins of any good myth.”
    “For heaven's sake, Lloyd, that's ridiculous.”
    “Think about it,” Lloyd urged. “It's so damn primitive, it's incredible. You were seen as someone special, someone important, right from the start. You were raised by the tribal elders. Educated in the ways of the community's arcane lore.”
    “ Arcane lore .” Serenity couldn't believe her ears.
    “Initiated into ancient mysteries…” Lloyd continued.
    Serenity held up a hand to stop him. “Hold it right there. This nonsense has something to do with your curiosity about those hot springs, doesn't it? How many times have I told you, there's nothing to that old legend about vision pools.”
    Lloyd was undaunted. “You've grown up with a sense of duty and responsibility toward this community. Witt's End saved you, gave you