Undercurrents

by Traci Hunter Abramson

  “She likes you,” Matt said after making his rounds.

  “What’s her name?” Shaye asked, still watching the beautiful animal.

  “Nugget.” Matt watched Shaye take another handful of grain and feed it to the horse. “I take it you’ve been around horses before.”

  Shaye smiled and nodded. “I rode a lot when I was a kid.”

  “We’ll have to go riding tomorrow,” Matt suggested.

  “Could we?” Shaye asked hopefully, dusting off her hands.

  “Shaye, we can do whatever you want.” Matt laughed, then pulled her into his arms and kissed her.

  “Okay, you two, break it up.” Charlie cleared his throat to alert them to his presence.

  “I thought you gave up spying on me years ago,” Matt teased his brother.

  “Mom sent me to get you. She said dinner is almost ready.”

  Taking Shaye’s hand, Matt turned to follow his brother out of the stables. Reluctantly, Shaye followed them back down to the house. Once they were inside, everyone was ushered into the huge dining room, where a long table was set to accommodate the large group.

  Matt positioned himself and Shaye at the end of the table near the door, and as soon as the blessing was said, questions from family members started pouring in. “How long have you been dating?” “How did you meet?” “Where are you from?”

  Shaye was grateful that Matt answered the brunt of the questions. He related the story about how he had plowed over Shaye in front of the aquatics center, which his family found amusing. Shaye, on the other hand, felt slightly self-conscious, as though she were on display. As the dinner progressed, however, she developed a special place in her heart for both Charlie and Amy, who, sensing Shaye’s discomfort, both diverted the attention away from her and Matt on several occasions.

  When everyone agreed that dessert could wait until later, Matt motioned with his eyes toward the door. Shaye gave him a subtle nod, and he stood up and cleared both of their dishes before returning to collect Shaye.

  “Mom, Shaye and I will go feed for you,” Matt told her, helping Shaye slide her chair back from the table.

  “Thank you, Matt.” Katherine smiled as she rose to start clearing dishes from the table.

  As soon as they were out the door, Shaye asked, “Shouldn’t we be helping your mom with the dishes?”

  “No, don’t worry about it. There are plenty of people to help,” Matt said simply. He slid his arm around her, then began walking comfortably up the path.

  Shaye helped Matt water and feed the six horses. She thought back to the summers she had spent on her grandfather’s ranch, most of which she spent exploring the nearby woods and open pastures. Rarely did the sun rise before she was up getting ready to ride.

  When Shaye finished, she stopped and watched Nugget chewing on her hay. The horse looked up and then slowly walked over to where Shaye was standing and nuzzled up against her.

  “I guess I know who you’re riding tomorrow.” Matt laughed as they strolled outside. “Where did you learn so much about horses?”

  “I used to spend my summers on my grandfather’s ranch.” Shaye broke off to realign her thoughts. With the familiar sounds and smells of the stable, it was almost too easy to slip and say something about her real identity. She chose her words carefully now, making sure to reveal only basic details of her past. “I got up early every morning so I could ride before swim practice. Then I would

  disappear again until dinner.”

  Matt waited a moment, hoping she would say more. He stifled the urge to ask questions, knowing that as time went on, she would tell him more. Instead, he just took her hand as they walked back to the house with the sun setting in the distant west. They arrived in time to eat pie in front of the television, where everyone was watching a football game. Shortly after the game ended, Matt’s relatives left and the house quieted considerably. Instinctively, Shaye went into the kitchen to help Katherine clean up.

  “Shaye, you don’t have to do dishes,” Katherine told her. She surveyed the damage and shook her head. “I should have just scheduled the cleaning lady to come in tomorrow.”

  “Well, I certainly wouldn’t want you to tackle this mess alone!” Shaye smiled and stepped up beside Katherine, staring at the mound of dishes still on the counters. One load had already been run in the dishwasher, but it wasn’t apparent by the way the kitchen looked.

  Matt walked into the kitchen behind her and picked up a dish towel. “Do you want to wash or dry?”

  “I can wash.” Shaye turned on the hot water to fill up the sink.

  Katherine glanced over at her son, eyebrows raised. Smothering a grin, she busied herself with putting away the clean dishes while Matt and Shaye made a dent in the dirty ones. An hour later, the kitchen looked like new and they joined the rest of the group in the living room.

  “What’s the plan for tomorrow?” Jim asked when they all settled onto the couch.

  “We were going to play some basketball over at the rec center,” Charlie told him and turned to Matt. “Did you two want to come?”

  “What time?” Matt asked.

  “Early, probably around eight.”

  Shaye smiled at Charlie’s definition of early.

  “Did you want to play ball too, or would you rather swim?” Matt asked Shaye.

  “I should swim.”

  “Swim?” Pete asked, his eyes on Shaye.

  “Shaye’s on the swim team at Royal,” Matt told him with pride in his voice.

  “Really? I used to swim in high school. Maybe that’s why you look so familiar,” Pete told her.

  Shaye felt her heart drop to her stomach. No wonder Pete kept staring at her. Before she could respond, Matt spoke up.

  “Are you from Colorado too?”

  “Colorado?” Pete looked at Matt and then Shaye. “No, I’m from Arizona. I guess I must have you confused with someone else.”

  Shaye nodded, hoping Pete believed his own words.

  “Well, kids, I’ve had enough excitement for one day,” Jim said, then stood. “I think I’m going to turn in.”

  “Good night, Senator,” Roger said, echoed by Pete.

  Shaye looked at Matt, puzzled. Matt just winked at her as everyone said good night. After Matt’s father left the room, Shaye turned to Matt. “I think I’m going to turn in, too.”

  He nodded, then stood and walked her to her room, turning on lights as they went. “I guess I didn’t mention that my dad’s a senator.”

  Shaye shook her head, fighting off annoyance and embarrassment. “Why do I get the feeling you did that on purpose?”

  “I wanted you to feel comfortable here. It was hard enough to convince you to come. I didn’t want to give you a reason to back out.” Matt opened the door to her room.

  “You should have told me,” Shaye insisted. “I’ve been calling him ‘Jim’ all day.”

  “He told you to.” Matt laughed. “In fact, he’ll be upset if you stop.”

  “Still . . .”

  “Shaye, I wanted you to think of him as my dad, not the senator,” Matt explained. He pulled her into his arms, and his lips met hers.

  She felt safe as she leaned against him, embraced by the security of his arms. “You certainly can be persuasive.”

  “I’ll see you in the morning,” Matt told her, kissing her one last time.

  Shaye slipped into her room, locking the door behind her. She pulled out her cellular phone and dialed a number.

  “Hello?” Pratt’s voice came over the line. The noise in the background suggested that wherever he was, dinner was in progress.

  “It’s me,” Shaye said simply.

  “Is something wrong?” he asked.

  “Remember how you told me to enjoy my college experience and that I should date and have a good time?”

  “Yeah, what about it?”

  “That may not have been the best advice,” Shaye told him.

  “Are you going to tell me what’s going on?” he asked im
patiently.

  “I started dating this guy, and he talked me into coming home with him for Thanksgiving.” Shaye paused for effect. “It turns out his dad is a senator.”

  “You have good taste. I’ll give you that.” He laughed.

  “It’s not funny. What am I going to do?” Shaye sat down on her bed, hoping for answers.

  “Don’t do anything. Just stay away from the senator if there are reporters around, and you’ll be fine.”

  “Are you sure?” Shaye’s voice lowered to a whisper.

  “Just stay out of the limelight. You need to fit into your life there. Being a hermit just won’t work,” he told her, and Shaye could tell he was using his best fatherly tone of voice.

  “I didn’t expect it to be this hard,” she admitted.

  “You just concentrate on making a new life for yourself and let us worry about cleaning up the old one.”

  “I’ll try.” Shaye sighed. “Thanks.”

  “I’ll be in touch,” Pratt said and then hung up the phone.

  Chapter Eight

  Darkness had not yet been broken by morning’s first light when Shaye awoke the next day. Quietly, she dressed in her jeans and sweatshirt and started toward the barn. She doubted anyone would be up for at least a couple of hours. As dawn began to break through the trees, she opened the door to the stables and went about feeding the horses.

  By the time she finished, the path to the house was well lit by the sun’s early rays. She went back inside to change and prepare for her morning workout, pulling on a pair of shorts and a sweatshirt over her swimsuit. In concession against the cold, she pulled on socks before slipping into her deck shoes.

  Toting her bag, she went into the living room and turned on the early morning news. She watched for a few minutes until Matt made his first appearance of the day. Just the sight of him caused her to catch her breath.

  “Are you ready for your swim?” Matt asked, raking his fingers through his tousled hair.

  Shaye nodded. “Whenever you are.”

  “Let me throw on some sweats and we can go over early,” Matt said and then disappeared back up the stairs. He reappeared five minutes later dressed and carrying a basketball.

  “Ready?” Shaye asked.

  “Yeah. Let me leave a note for Charlie so he knows we already left,” Matt told her.

  “Oh, tell your folks that I already fed the horses,” Shaye added.

  Matt turned around, surprised. “You didn’t have to do that.”

  “It’s no big deal. I just figured it might be a while before everyone got up and around this morning,” Shaye said and turned off the television.

  The drive to the rec center only took a few minutes, and Shaye was impressed as they walked in. The facility looked new and was complete with racquetball courts, a weight room, a basketball court, and an Olympic-size swimming pool sectioned off with bulkheads to make three smaller pools.

  Matt headed for the weight room after showing Shaye the pool. Minutes later, Shaye was warming up in one of the designated lap lanes. Her mind raced as she swam, filled with yesterday’s events. Finding out Jim was a senator was minor in comparison to Pete’s comments. However, with each lap, the frustration and worry eased, and she felt herself loosening up.

  After finishing a normal workout for her team practices, Shaye added several more sets, since she wasn’t sure how much time she would have in the water over the weekend. She was well into her second workout when a kickboard was thrown right in front of her. She stopped suddenly, looking up to see where it had come from. Matt was standing by the pool, waving at her. Shaye grabbed the kickboard and swam it over to the side.

  “Are you guys already finished?” Shaye asked, surprised.

  “It’s after ten.” Matt laughed.

  “Let me cool down. It’ll only take a few minutes,” she told him.

  He nodded and sat down on the bench behind him.

  “Hey, Matt,” Charlie shouted from the bleachers above him, “are you coming?”

  Matt nodded. “She’ll be done in a couple of minutes.”

  “That’s her?” Charlie pointed to Shaye who was moving smoothly through the water.

  Matt laughed. “Yeah.”

  “Man, I’m not ever racing against her.” Charlie shook his head as he watched Shaye do a flip turn at the wall.

  “Why don’t we meet you at the front desk,” Matt suggested laughingly.

  “Okay,” Charlie agreed, but he continued to watch Shaye swim. Not until she finished and walked into the locker room did he go find everyone else.

  A few minutes later, Matt and Shaye appeared at the front desk where Charlie, Amy, Roger, and Pete were waiting for them.

  When they arrived back at the house, Matt and Shaye decided to go on a ride. After changing into jeans and a sweatshirt, Shaye found Matt waiting for her in the kitchen, holding a grocery bag.

  “What’s that?” Shaye asked, following him out the back door.

  “Lunch,” Matt told her. “I thought we could have a picnic if it stays nice.”

  Two of the horses were gone when they arrived at the stables. Matt disappeared into the tack room and retrieved two bridles, handing one to Shaye. While Matt saddled his horse, Shaye tended to hers. By the time he was finished loading their lunch into his saddle bags, she was waiting for him, her horse ready to go.

  “Ready?” he asked, leading his horse outside.

  “I think so,” she answered, following him into the clearing by the barn and then swinging herself up into the saddle. Her horse sidestepped and pranced for a minute until Shaye calmed her down, patting her neck and speaking to her in a calm voice.

  “Nugget can be high-spirited. Let me know if she gives you any trouble,” Matt mentioned as Shaye sat up, now in control of her mount. He led the way across the adjoining pasture on his chestnut Appaloosa, and when they were halfway across the clearing, he shouted back, “Do you want to run?”

  Shaye nodded and urged her horse to a canter. They let their horses gallop until they approached a trail leading into the woods, then rode for over an hour through the somewhat barren trees. The sunlight filtered through the branches but gave them little warmth.

  Finally, they emerged into a grassy meadow. Matt dismounted near some trees and tied his horse to a low branch. Shaye followed suit while he pulled a blanket from the back of his saddle and spread it out in a sunny spot.

  Shaye sat down on the blanket, enjoying the small amount of warmth the sun was providing. She looked around at the trees surrounding them. Instead of worrying about what was beyond them, she felt like they could keep the rest of the world away at that moment.

  “Did you ever play hide-and-seek in these woods when you were little?” Shaye asked as Matt spread their lunch on the blanket.

  “More when we were teenagers,” Matt said. “Mom worried we would get lost when we were little.”

  “It feels like the world can’t touch us here.” Shaye accepted the hunk of bread Matt offered her.

  “I never realized how lucky I was to grow up here until I went on my mission,” Matt admitted. “I loved Venezuela and the people there, but I missed Virginia.”

  “How long has your dad been a senator?” Shaye asked, trying not to think of her own home and family.

  “He’s in his second term. He was a congressman for eight years before that,” Matt told her, then grinned. “He really likes you, by the way.”

  “Really?” Shaye turned to him.

  “You shouldn’t be so surprised. I knew everyone would like you,” Matt asserted confidently.

  “I’m not so sure about Charlie’s friends,” Shaye said, regretting her words as soon as they were out of her mouth.

  “Don’t worry about them.” Matt laughed. “Pete’s got this crazy idea that you’re some swimmer from Arizona who disappeared

  last year.”

  Something lodged in Shaye’s throat, and she swallowed hard, somehow managing to keep her voice casual. “Disappeared?”<
br />
  “I guess he used to date this girl who was supposed to win state in breaststroke. She lost to this other girl. I think her name was Kay or Kathy . . . something like that. Anyway, she signed to swim at Stanford and then never showed up.” Matt broke off another piece of bread.

  “Maybe she just went to a different school,” Shaye suggested.

  “Yeah, I told Pete you don’t even swim breaststroke.” Matt shook his head dismissively.

  Shaye ate silently, wondering how much Pete knew. Matt didn’t appear to be suspicious of her identity, and she found it odd to be grateful that he believed her lies. She finished her lunch and looked around the peaceful clearing, wishing desperately that she had followed her instincts and stayed at school for the weekend.

  “What are you looking so serious about?” Matt asked, setting his plate down.

  “Nothing.” Shaye forced a smile even though she wanted to run and hide. She could go back to being a hermit . . . but only if she broke everything off with Matt. He moved closer and brushed his lips against hers. Her instinct to flee clashed with the promise of what maintaining this new identity could hold for her.

  Matt’s touch was electrifying as he pulled her into his arms, and at that moment, Shaye knew that even if being with Matt was risky, it was still what she wanted.

  Matt leaned back on his elbow and studied Shaye’s face, then reached over and traced her cheek with his hand. “You know, you’re the only girl besides Amy who has let me see her without

  makeup on.”

  “Keeping makeup on in the pool is more of a chore than it’s worth,” Shaye admitted wryly.

  “Well, I’m glad you’re not the kind of girl who looks in the mirror all of the time,” Matt told her.

  Shaye reached for his hand, linking her fingers with his. “Did you date a lot of Barbie-doll types in high school?”

  “You could say that.” Matt laughed. “My high school had its share of snobs, and you would be amazed at how many girls wanted to date the senator’s son.”