Free Catch a Falling Star by Fay McDermott

candles had burned
     down and the lamps in the barn shown more brightly through the
     door's opening.
    Denied a little fun
     and showing-off, Miguel behaved himself and settled for powering
     down the hovercraft in the woman's front yard, rather than
     taking the unconscious man for a spin around the field. Boots
     crunching on dirt, Miguel walked around to the back, hand on
     pistol grip, just in case Farley had come around during their
     little adventure.
    Lyrianne had
     dismounted from the mule with a lot more care than she had been
     using. Her gait, when she walked, was a little odd. With her
     foot and lower leg numb, she had to concentrate on putting it
     down and lifting it. To avoid having it noticed by the Fed
     pilot, she was making an effort not to be too obvious about it
     as she walked over to check on Farley. The big man was
     alternating between mumbling and groaning with drool running out
     of his open mouth. His eyes were moving rapidly under his
     eyelids from what she could tell through the fat rolls.
    She stepped away. “He
     seems to be coming around. Will he be groggy at first? That
     would be best since I'm thinking of having him stay in the
     basement and he'd have to get there under his own power. Our
     small grav sled isn't rated to carry his weight.” She pursed her
     lips, running through options in her head. “Go ahead and tie his
     hands behind his back before he wakes up any more. Then, once
     he's recovered enough to walk, you can get him down the stairs
     off the kitchen. There are some chairs that'll hold him near the
     bathroom down there. While you're taking care of him, I'm going
     to find a place to hide his hovertruck.”
    She was not asking
     for Miguel's input anymore but wasn't really aware she was doing
     it. Once she got into this mode, or so she'd been told, she was
     all about giving orders and expecting them to be followed. It
     worked just fine with her family and most of her neighbors once
     they got used to it.
    Seemed it would work
     just fine on the pilot, too, as he didn't object. Releasing the
     winch, and not slowly either, he waited until the big man
     flopped over like a dead whale, and then used his boot to the
     man's ample posterior to turn him over. Using the same rope
     looped about the man's ankles, the dark haired pilot managed to
     secure the farmer's hands behind his back, not so easy at all;
     in fact, greasy gut's hands couldn't even reach behind his back,
     so Miguel was forced to simply secure the farmer's arms down at
     his sides.
    Unhooking the winch
     cable, he let it drop back and signaled the woman that she could
     take the vehicle away, and then he moved and pulled his weapon,
     pointing it right at the big man's head. “Wake up, sunshine,” he
     said, and tapped his boot against the big man's jolly side.
     “Wakey wakey, puddin' cup.”
    Leaving the
     hovercraft next to the mule for the time being, Lyrianne
     returned in time to hear a loud and prolonged explosion from
     Farley's nether region. She got in front of Miguel and pushed
     him back, holding her breath until she'd got them to what she
     figured was a safe distance. “Breathe shallow or you'll be
     sorry.” She looked at Miguel, her expression halfway between
     disgust and amusement, but very seriously hoping her warning was
     in time.
    It seemed it was,
     blessed mother, as Miguel was staring at Lyrianne as if he'd
     just heard the most remarkable, unexpected, and downright
     hilarious sound ever. “On my father’s honor, I swear that I have
     never heard such a sound!”
    Lyrianne stared back
     at him then started laughing. Once she'd started, she couldn't
     stop, finally leaning against him with tears in her eyes. Every
     time she thought she had it under control and tried to speak,
     there'd be another toot, not as forceful as the first, but loud
     enough, and the laughter would take over again. Finally, holding
     on to Miguel, she was able to catch her breath and she gazed