Hidden Talents

see Witt's End attract younger people again, the way it did in the beginning. We need kids and families here. I'm the only person who was actually born and raised here during the past thirty years.”
    “So Radburn was the first eligible male to hit town in quite a while, is that it?”
    “I suppose you could say that.” Serenity grew cautious. She had no idea of what was going through Caleb's mind. “He can be very charming company, and he and I had some things in common besides our age.”
    “Sociology. The world of academia.”
    “That's right. I was an instructor at Bullington College while I worked on my Ph.D. At any rate, Lloyd heard about Witt's End and got curious. He came up here to take a look around. He decided to study me. Only he forgot to mention that was the real reason for his interest in me.”
    “When did you find out that you were just a research subject instead of something more to him?”
    “I learned the truth the day I accidentally discovered his tape recorder.” Serenity smiled ruefully at the memory. “He was dictating into it at the time. Something about the role of myth in the social structure of Witt's End. He'd decided that I had somehow been woven into a local legend that was crucial to the structural dynamic of the community. It was a lot of nonsense, but I suppose it sounded interesting on paper.”
    “What happened?”
    Serenity shrugged. “I hit the roof. Threw his tape recorder on the ground and stomped on it. Told him to get out of town and to stay out. It was really quite a scene, if I do say so myself. I hadn't been that mad in a long time. This is the first time I've heard from him since the showdown.”
    “When you talked to him on the phone a few minutes ago you didn't sound as though you were still furious. Just a little irritated.”
    Serenity chuckled. “Well, it has been six months. I've had a chance to calm down. Besides, it's hard to stay mad at someone like Lloyd. I'll admit I was hurt at the time. Mostly my pride, I think. I felt like an idiot for having allowed myself to be used.”
    “Are you going to let him use you again?” Caleb asked softly.
    “No.” Serenity tossed her notes onto the table. “Even if I wanted to help him study Witt's End, it would be a wasted effort.”
    “Why?”
    “Do you honestly see anyone around here submitting to a detailed questionnaire and a highly personal interview for the sake of some outsider's sociological research project?”
    Caleb was silent for a few seconds while he contemplated that scenario. “Might be interesting to see Blade's reaction to being asked a lot of personal questions about his lifestyle and social interactions.”
    Serenity grinned briefly. “You've got a point. Maybe I should let Lloyd come up here, after all. He didn't get an opportunity to meet Blade last time. Blade usually sleeps days, you see. I could introduce the two of them and then stand back and watch the explosion.”
    “But you won't do that, will you?” Caleb asked.
    “Nope. I've got more important things to do.”
    “You're trying to save a town.”
    “Right. And you said something about helping me, as I recall.”
    “Serenity?”
    There was a new element in his voice. It made her wary. “What is it?”
    “Do you know what I'd like to do tonight?”
    “No.” A rush of excitement whipped through her. The adrenaline made her fingers tremble. What would she say if he asked her to go to bed with him? she wondered frantically. A part of her had been dreading this moment. Another part had been longing for it.
    “I'd like to get into your hot tub.”
    Serenity felt like a balloon that had been stabbed with a pin. Everything went flat. “My hot tub?”
    “I've never been in a hot tub.”
    “You're joking.”
    He shook his head. “No, I'm not joking.”
    Serenity was at a loss for words. She had been bathing in hot tubs, after all, ever since she was a youngster. People in Witt's End considered it a routine form of relaxation, akin to meditation. She frequently invited Ariadne and Jessie and some of the other women in town to join her in the hot tub on her back porch.
    “I see. Well, you're welcome to use mine, if you like,” she finally managed politely.
    Caleb turned around. His face was stark and unreadable. “I'd like.”
    “Uh-huh. Okay, then.” Still nonplussed by the strange request, she got to her feet and walked toward the back door. “I'll show you how to turn it on.”
    Caleb followed her outside onto