Mat opened the door for her and waited patiently for her to get in. For some reason he noticed at that moment that she still retained a slight limp from the accident, though it was hardly evident, unless one knew what to look for.
He had no doubt that she was hiding something from him; she was definitely talking in circles at lunch and she had been quiet ever since she had gone to the bathroom. He just wondered what her secret was. He did not dare hope that she had feelings for him. Had she not kissed Brad this morning? He had barely managed to keep his temper when he had seen it. He had never thought that Brad would be competition for her, he must have read the whole situation with this woman wrong, he thought while he got in on the driver’s side and they started on their journey again.
“How much time do you need to freshen up?” He asked casually, trying to keep the calm conversation going so they would
The man typed something and searched the screen again. “We have one double room left, sir. Can I book it for you?”Matthew glanced at her questioningly. “We can go look for somewhere else.” He stated softly, giving her the control.“No, I think that room is fine, Mat. You’re exhausted; you need to get some sleep.” She answered with concern.Matthew looked back at the attendant. “Its fine, we’ll take it.” He answered coldly. He hoped she was not going to be annoyed with this; he really had booked two separate rooms for them, because he wanted her to be comfortable, like they’d been when they went to the opening of his show in the gallery.The attendant typed again and then looked up at Matthew with a smile of clear relief at them handling the mistake with such grace. “How many nights, sir?”“Two.”He
Kara quietly closed the door and started the water running for a shower while she started to undress. She needed this shower, her muscles ached more than a little from sitting still for so long, she just did not want him to feel guilty about it. She wondered why he seemed so tired today. Angrily she pushed thoughts of him aside. Was she always going to have this obsession over a man who obviously expected no more than friendship? For her own sanity it was better if she put some distance between them, but she could not bear losing the friendship, even if she suffered every moment he touched her or smiled at her.With a sigh she tied her hair up and stepped under the water. The warm water helped for her aching muscles and she lingered longer than necessary. As she allowed her thoughts to wander while she enjoyed the water running over her, she thought about the dress he had bought her for his brother’s wedding. With a slight
Kara awoke early morning and realized that Matthew was holding her in his sleep. She would have been content to lay there and pretend to be asleep once he woke, but she desperately needed to get to the bathroom.Quietly she tried to edge away from him and just when she was on the edge of the bed, her feet bracing on the floor, and gently lifting his arm to get up, he moved and spoke at the same time. “What’s wrong?”Startled by his sudden wakefulness, she lost her footing on the floor and, with a girlish squeal, ended up on her back on the floor. She groaned as she tried to get breath back in her lungs and opened her eyes to see a very amused Matthew grinning at her over the edge of the bed. “Are you ok?”“Yes.” She groaned and she started to sit up.“What’s wrong?”“Need to…” Kara blushed before she stood and rushed for the bathroom,
Matthew waited patiently as he flipped through TV channels. They had come back to the hotel room to change for the semi-formal dinner and dance and Kara had offered that he shower first, since she would be long in the bathroom. He had finished dressing and was waiting for her to come out of the bathroom. With a sigh, he flipped through all the channels a second time and, finding nothing to watch, he switched off the TV and reached for the magazine he had moved to the table earlier so he could sit down. He’d never believed the married men about women taking forever to get ready, but he was starting to believe it now. He had just started to sit back in the chair, when he heard the bathroom door open and he glanced round to see Kara. He had expected her to wear the black dress he had bought for her for his brother’s wedding. Instead she was wearing a pale green lace and satin dress, which bared both her shoulders. Sleeves hung from
They arrived at the venue and Matthew got out and trotted round to open her door. Once she had stepped out and pulled on her coat, he casually pulled her hand into the crook of his arm and led the way.At the door, an usher took their coats and tickets and led them to their table, pulling her chair out for her. Kara thanked him and looked around at the décor.A crystal chandelier hung above the crowds in a spectacular show of light bouncing off the clear pendants. The round tables were covered in white table cloths with lilac runners. The table had gold under-plates with plain white crockery on top. Lilac serviettes were folded to stand on top of the plates and wine glasses added their sparkle to the evening. In the middle of every table were a glass bowl with smooth light-colored pebbles in the bottom and three candles floating over it.In front of every plate was a card with the name and menu printed on a white
Kara felt uneasy all the way back to their ranches. Maybe she just was not ready to let go of the weekend. Or maybe she was afraid that she would not see him for a long time after he dropped her off. After all, they both had ranches to run and it wasn’t a regular nine to five job. She was ready to confess her feelings for him, but then she was not. They talked casually about the seminar and what they had seen to improve their ranches. They talked about the disappearing photographer and made teasing speculations about where he could have disappeared to. The ride back to their ranches seemed too short and Kara offered him some coffee before he left, but he seemed eager to get back to his ranch, he just brought her bag into the house, kissed her forehead and hugged her gently. “Don’t be a stranger.” She stated and he grinned before he left. Kara leaned against the doorframe and watched him disappear and stared in that directio
She did not see Matthew running towards her with a worried frown, trying to catch up. She found no horses in the stables and even the pigs were saved. All the animals were safe, but the feed had not been moved, since the tractor was still trying to put out the fire.Realizing that she was about to lose everything she had built and all the memories her grandfather had left her, she fell to her knees and sobbed. She was losing everything. Her house would soon be gone, so would the stables and pigsties, even the mill would be lost.How would she feed her animals? What was she going to do? Suddenly someone dragged her to her feet and pulled her away from the buildings, running towards the river. Men were screaming at others to get clear of the inevitable.They stopped only when they were sure they were out of danger and Kara turned to see her house and stables set on fire. The water had not been enough to save her home
Kara awoke in confusion. Slowly she opened her eyes and tried to remember where she was, but the last thing she remembered was sitting on the scorched ground staring at what was left of her ranch, before someone put her on a horse. Where was she? As she glanced around her, her eyes fell on the painting of her and she recalled that the painting had hung in Matthew’s bedroom. What was she doing in his bedroom? Slowly she sat up. Her muscles ached from battling against the fire. She was hungry…no – starving and she was exhausted, parched. At that moment a clean and fresh looking Matthew came into the room fully dressed. “Good morning, you had me worried for a while.” He smiled gently at her. She glanced at him in confusion. “If you’re wondering, you slept all through what was left of yesterday. How do you feel?” He asked with gentle concern. “Exhausted….depressed…” She answered whe